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darkdemeter · 2 months ago

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PHASES COLLECTION TEASERS:

✘ Wanda Maximoff x GN/Female/Male Werewolf!Reader

↳ Don't usually put out teasers for the collection but I'll make an exception this time. Some snippets I thought I'd share for my wanda x werewolf readers! And to think that this song has been a playing inspiration behind these 2 phases. ↳ WARNING: 18+ content contains adult and sexual themes, minors dni

SNIPPET FROM ISSUE #5 "THAT WILD DOG" ────────────────────────

Wanda moans, soft and a voice made from the silken wove of heaven. Her hips roll along the strong muscle of your thigh and you swallow thickly, gaze hypnotised by the way her hips move. Her blouse and corset loosened to reveal the delicious curve of her bouncing breasts already marked with a litter of dark bruises and bites.

Your hands, claws and calloused nature ungloved, guide her. One hand holds her at the base of her body and toys with the perky mound of her nipple whilst the other does the very same motion against her swollen clit.

Already you have milked one orgasm from her and you crave another. The full moon has this effect on you. Your eyes alert and in a blinded haze, eager to chase your blissful rut. Your blood running hotter than usual and the form of skin and fur faded into a blur.

Her spine arches with a teasing pinch on her clit and her thighs quiver uncontrollable. She moans your name, pleading.

“Thatta girl,” you chuckle, low and dark. “Doing so well for me, aren’t’cha?”

Your fingers curl, the razor of your claws nicking along her velvety, slick walls that squeeze around the intrusion. These intoxicating moments of this affair have become far too much to simply abandon. Wanda finds herself often plagued by the need to have you ravish her, to both praise and punish her with your hardened style.

She’s been so used to the plusher and simpler comforts life has to offer her. A sweet and educated girl turned and tamed to a darker tone of the west. From the city, what she thought she wanted was a humble life out here in the more reserved skirts of Westfield, further tutored by her lonely auntie.

But what she wants is you. To be yours in every sense of the sinful word.

The dark shadows of her recent choices follow her and she’s no longer running from that frightful predator. Instead she embraces thiswant, she accepts that her respectable image is becoming more and more tarnished.

If she can have you, then society be damned. She wants your teeth in her skin, your scent painting her over and your claws embedded deeper into her flesh; your litter of pups.

“I-I’m so close—” she stutters, hips mimicking the shake in her voice. You curl the lithe, worn working of your fingers and scratch your claws only deeper against her walls, hearing her cry out.

You coo with a roughened tip of your drawl, “Let me have it, darlin’.”

SNIPPET FROM ISSUE #6 "THE NEIGHBOUR IS A WEREWOLF!" ────────────────────────

From day one you have been a top neighbour. Welcoming and friendly, when she began to move her boxes into her new house, you were there at the truck’s side asking if she needed a helping hand. Of course, she took note of the scrap of metal sitting in your driveway that screamed for help more than her, but something about that charm you have made her accept instead.

Eager, you began to haul in several boxes at a time, saving her at least an hour’s more work.

She could never forget such kindness. It was scary to move somewhere completely new, heavy with doubt that she’d make any close friends so soon. Yet there you were, like a dog in the yard wagging your tail and hopeful, puppy eyes as you introduced yourself.

From then on, you were always around in a way. Every morning when she’d make herself a cup of coffee and some breakfast, she’d see you out in your yard going about whatever it was you were doing that day. Touching up some of the broken pitches in the fence, weeding the hedges or— how she’d go bright red in seeing you in the farther corner of the backyard chopping logs of wood.

She would quickly duck out of sight behind the floral pattern of her curtains just as you walked past, huffing and sweaty and carrying a load of wood that would take two men combined to haul.

It was always a marvel and mystery of the things you could do, the small and sort of oddities she found. But it mattered little the moment she came home from work to find you half beneath the body of a car you were working on in your driveway, stereo turned up on full blast playing older music dated to the sixties at least. The way your stained jeans would hug the muscle of your legs, knees parted a little to spread and reveal the sturdy space of your lap and the junction between your legs.

She had to think quickly and be smart in order to not get caught ogling at you when you spring out on the wheeled bed, tool in hand and hands covered darkly in car grime.

She had to think quickly and be smart in order to not get caught ogling at you when you spring out on the wheeled bed, tool in hand and hands covered darkly in car grime. How you always speak to her with that rumbly timbre edged into the vocal range of your voice, it sends tingles all down her spine and shooting into her core, leaving her with a dampened spot in her panties that she must now deal with after she shuts her front door at her heel.

The things you would allow you to do with her if she just had the courage to ask. The things you would gladly do to her if she just gave you a chance. But there were other things that you had best keep to yourself and those chores were often curated around a time when you knew she wasn’t home or when it was late and under the cover of night…

Who wants a snippet from issues #7 and #8?

#wanda maximoff #gn reader #female reader #werewolf reader #male reader #western au #wanda x reader #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x reader smut #wanda maximoff smut #wanda maximoff fanfiction #wanda maximoff x you #neighbour au #wanda maximoff x werewolf reader

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starhvney · 7 months ago

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𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝟑 | 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄: 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐇 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓

𝐂𝐖: hints to previous stalking

𝐀/𝐍: guys i'm really excited about the plans i have for this fic, like i'm geeking over the storyline i've written out. i hope you guys like this as much as i do!

𝐖𝐂: 2,400 +

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 ☆ 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 | 𝐀𝐎𝟑 | 𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 | 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐒

a sigh leaves your lips as you sprawl your sweaty arms onto the cool wooden planks beneath you. it’s a reward for your long day of work, hauling box after box up into the empty room that you had designated as your own. the late afternoon sun shone through the window sheers you had just hung up, casting a hazy warm light throughout the whole room.

“hey, sweetie,” your mom leans on the doorway, a light sheen of sweat shining on her skin. she tilts her head with a smile as you lazily turn your head to the side, using the minimal amount of effort possible. “i know you’re tired, but remember we need to go meet our neighbors? clean up and we’re gonna walk over there in a few minutes.”

a groan of pain leaves your lips as you kick out your feet like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

“but i’m sweaty and gross.”

“well you have ten minutes to become not sweaty and gross,” she nods, before clapping her hands and retreating back into the hallway. “hurry!”

you sigh, lifting yourself from the comfortable flooring beneath you and snorting out a laugh when you see you left a sweaty outline of your body on the surface.

“okay, let’s get this over with.”

☆

your converse lightly taps against the staircase as you descend them, hearing a glimpse of your mom and dad in the kitchen.

“we haven’t seen sylvanna since…” she trails off, her eyes darting to your figure emerging from the doorway.

her throat clears, before looking back at your dad with her hands sternly on her hips. “you’re going with us.”

your dad huffs, glancing back at you before scratching his chin in annoyance. “fine.”

she hums in satisfaction, before turning her attention back to you and tightening her ponytail. her lips stretch into a bubbly smile as she snatches the house keys off of the counter and ushers the two of you out the door.

the late summer heat hits your face as you make your way down the sidewalk, the smell of freshly watered grass and heated pavement entering your nose.

“mom, who are these neighbors again?”

“i told you, the salomes. you were friends with her daughter, aphmau, when you were little. i guess you were too young to remember.” her voice almost sounds distant as she explains, her eyes stuck forward on the concrete.

it’s only a couple houses down, a large gray house with a bright red front door. slightly overgrown hedges and white flowers decorated the otherwise neat landscaping, giving it a more homely appearance.

“a single mom and daughter lives here?” you ask aloud.

“her useless husband paid it off before he left.” your dad grunts, his voice not sounding too fond of this man he was referring to. “at least he did one decent thing for them… that no good–”

your mom cuts him off with a warning look before striding up the porch stairs, rapping her signature “shave and a haircut” tune against the wood with her knuckles. you vaguely hear the rushed thumping of feet inside before it opens, revealing a woman looking just a bit younger than your parents.

you were only able to tell by the assumption that she had a daughter around your age and the few streaks of grey that ran through her long black hair. her skin was a beautiful tawny color, and her eyes were a stunning brown that was only a few shades darker than her skin and had an almost golden shimmer to them as the sun shone against them.

the same eyes crinkle in joy as her eyes land on all of you, and she lets out an elated noise as she wraps her arms around your mom.

“ah, it’s so good to see you!”

“it’s been too long, sylvanna.”

your dad is next to greet her, giving her a friendly and firm pat on her shoulder as she hugs him.

“you doing alright?”

“yes i’m doing great, and,” auburn eyes turn to mine. “oh, mija! you’ve grown so much since i last saw you! you’re so beautiful!”

your cheeks heat up as she comes up to you and pulls you into a hug as well.

“oh, thank you ma’am,”

“no need for that, call me sylvanna!”

the four of you make your way inside. the interior completely contrasted with the suburban exterior. you almost felt like you were teleported in a different house completely. shades of yellow and green paint were used on the walls, paired with wooden trimming and floors. it felt so warm and cozy, specifically like an old wool blanket that you’d dig out the back of a linen closet.

by the staircase awkwardly stands a shy girl, a young replica of sylvanna. her long black hair was cut into layers that curled at the ends and framed her face, and drew attention to her large round eyes.

she fiddled with the edge of her short sleeved henley shirt, looking to her mom in panicked expectation for her to introduce us to her. you hear sylvanna let out a small sigh before she waves her hand, beckoning the petite girl over.

“here’s aphmau,” she proudly places her hands on the girls shoulders, nudging her forward. “aphmau, you don’t remember these lovely people but we were close to them when you were young.”

now that you’re closer, you can see her eyes are a striking warm amber color, wispy lashes framing them like a doll.

“um, hi.” aphmau quietly stammers out, eyes nervously darting between you and your parents before looking back to her mother.

“it’s nice to meet you again, aphmau.” your mom greets cheerily.

after your dad also mutters out a small greeting, sylvanna ushers both of your parents into the home for a tour.

“why don’t you two introduce yourself and get to know each other? you’re going to the same school, after all.” she waves the two of you off when you try to follow.

your parents’ voices muffled as they move to the next room, leaving you and the shorter girl awkwardly standing in the entryway together.

“…it’s nice to meet you.”

“you too,” her voice is shaky. “now that i’m looking at you, i think i’ve seen a picture of us when we were little.”

“really?”

she nods, waving for you to follow her as she trudges halfway up the stairs. she stops in front of one of the many picture frames on the wall, pointing to a picture of two young girls hugging. one of them was very clearly you and the other girl looked very similar to aphmau. behind the two of you there’s a few boys your age yelling in the background and slightly cut out of frame.

one had pale blonde hair, the flash from the camera nearly making it glow in the picture. you could see another head of black hair and an even smaller boy with brown hair, nearly completing the spectrum of hair colors.

“huh. i guess we really were friends. i can’t believe i don’t remember you.”

“i can kinda remember you, but just barely,” aphmau agrees, squinting at the picture.

“i wonder who the boys in the back are…?”

“i don’t know, i never asked.”

you two awkwardly stand in silence again, before you quickly attempt to bring up a new subject to break the ice.

“so, what do you like to do?”

she leads you up to the top of the stairs, turning left into the hall and entering what you assume is her bedroom. the walls are painted a soft purple, similarly to her shirt… and her bed… and her curtains… and the blanket draped on her desk chair.

the entire room is decorated in all different shades and tints of a pretty, toned down lilac color. the overhead light is turned off, and the room is instead lit up by tons of string lights and random night lights strewn across the different surfaces.

“i play a lot of video games… my mom pulled me out for homeschooling in middle school so i haven’t played any sports or anything like that.” she explains as you continue to gaze around the room.

“oh cool, i like video games, too.”

her eyes light up, and her shoulders lift up from their slouch.

“really? maybe we can play together sometime…?”

“yeah, for sure,” you’re about to ask what games she plays when your eyes drift and land on a grey fullbuster poster hung up over the girl’s bed. “you like fairy tail?”

“do you watch anime, too?” she's practically sparkling now, holding her hands together as she poorly tries to hide her excitement.

you nod with a smile, “yeah, fairy tail is a good one. i like erza.”

her hair bounces as she nods, eyes darting to the poster.

“yeah, she’s cool. my favorite is grey, though.” she says with a small smirk.

“hmm, i wonder why,” you laugh lightly, causing aphmau’s cheeks to turn red. “oh yeah, so you go to phoenix drop high, too?”

the girl shakily nods, suddenly appearing anxious again as she clears her throat. “i’m gonna be a freshman.”

“oh, that’s cool. i’ll be a sophomore.”

“that’s too bad, i would’ve liked to know someone in my class.”

“well, at least we can still be at the same school together. it’s better than nothing.”

she sighs, looking off to the wall behind you.

“yeah, i’m just really nervous.”

“it is pretty scary, but if it makes you feel any better i’m kinda new, too.” you say, reassuring her while also trying to reassure yourself in a way. “i went to a small school where everyone knew everyone, so i’ve never had to try and makes friends in a big crowd of people my age before.”

her eyes widen at you. “really? i’m kinda the same way, but… not. my mom pulled me out for homeschooling in middle school, and my only friends are online.”

“hm, that makes sense…”

“huh?!” her eyes widen even further, looking like they were nearly about to pop out of her head.

you slap your hand over your mouth and muffle a laugh, eyes widening in return.

“i didn’t mean that in a bad way! you just seem nervous and shy, is all!” you quickly explain, words tumbling over the other.

she sighs, before beginning to giggle under her breath.

“it’s okay, i know what you meant.”

“aphmau! you two come down here for a second!” sylvanna calls from downstairs.

you let her lead as the two of you bound down the staircase, turning into the kitchen where the three adults stood.

“your mom told me you’re going to walk to school everyday?” sylvanna looks at me expectantly.

“yes ma’am—sylvanna.”

she claps her hands, looking to aphmau with an elated grin.

“perfect! you two can walk together to school every morning!”

you glance over at aphmau, who is thinly veiling her own hopeful look as she seems to be gauging your reaction. you quickly nod with a smile.

“yeah, sure.”

“great! it’s safer for two young girls to walk together than just one, anyways.”

your smile flinches for just the slightest moment as you look over to your parents, who have much more serious expressions on their faces. when your mom notices you looking at her in accusation, she merely smiles, while your dad gives you a knowing look.

they must have told her.

“that’s true.” you say, hoping your voice didn’t sound as tight as it felt.

“well, school starts in two days and we have a lot more settling in to do, so we’ll get out of your hair, sylvanna.” your mom waves.

“oh, alright then! you guys will have to come over for dinner soon!” she waves, sharing a strange look with your parents.

aphmau waves bye as well, before lurching forward. “can we swap numbers?”

☆

the walk back is quiet, until you enter the empty and quiet house.

“did you tell her?” your voice comes out sharper than you meant for it to.

your mom sighs as your dad stoicly walks into the next room, busying himself with unpacking.

“she already kind of knew about it. i’ve been talking to her about us moving back, so it naturally came up when she asked why,” she rubs your shoulder, trying to comfort you with a grim smile. “but she won’t tell anyone about it, not even aphmau. i asked her not to. the situation isn’t something we should be talking about, anyways. i know you don’t remember her, but she really cares about you.”

you deflate, rubbing your eyes when you realize you had completely tensed up.

“yeah, okay. sorry if i sounded rude, i just-”

“don’t apologize, you went through something really stressful and traumatic,” she wraps her arms around you, and you realize her muscles are tense and shaking, too. “you handle yourself much better and maturely than others would.”

you sigh, resting your head on her shoulders, breathing in the comforting scent of her perfume. you gulp when you feel your nose prick, furrowing your eyebrows to stop the urge to cry. she pulls back from the hug, squeezing your shoulders and smoothing down the frizzy fly aways from your hair.

“why don’t you finish unpacking your room? you were really excited about getting to rearrange everything.”

you clear your throat, nodding as you sluggishly approach the stairs. when you enter your box cluttered room, you head straight for the window, pulling down the blinds against the setting sun and assuring they were snug and tight against the window, preventing anyone from looking inside.

it’s okay now, you were far away from whoever was watching you before. your parents are downstairs, and you’re alone in this room. you scan every corner of the room, sitting on your bare mattress when you reassure yourself of this fact.

this town is going to be a fresh start. you can completely start new, meet new people, and live the life of a normal teenager. a buzz in your pocket startles you from your thoughts.

aphmau: hi! do you want to leave a little earlier on monday so we can prepare ourselves?

aphmau: i’m super nervous and don’t want to be late ><

me: yeah! that sounds like a good idea :)

you: i’ll text you when i head there since school is in your direction

you: does 7:30 sound good? i think it’s a ten minute walk and school starts at 8

aphmau: yay! that’s good with me

aphmau: i’ll see you then! :D

me: ok cool! goodnight!!

a sigh leaves your lips as you fall back onto your bed, the boxspring dully squeaking underneath you.

it’ll be okay.

©starhvney, 2024. please do not steal or repost my works as your own.

#aphmau mystreet #mystreet x reader #mystreet #aphmau #x reader #phoenix drop high #aphmau pdh #pdh #reader insert #fem reader

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sunshinebingo · 8 months ago

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@gwynrielweeksofficial Day 11 - Alternate Universe

Synopsis: Feeling restless, Gwyn watches the rain from inside the library at Rosehall. When she is unexpectedly joined by Azriel, she realises that perhaps her dear friend could be the one to answer the question that has been plaguing her mind and keeping her from sleep.

A Gwynriel Regency AU inspired by the Bridgerton series.

Word Count: 4k

Read on Ao3 or below the cut

On the summer of 1813, sitting in the large library of Rosehall manor with her head pressed against the window while it rained cats and dogs outside, Gwyneth Berdara pondered. There was nothing unusual in the fact that she was partaking in the act itself. What was odd, however, was the subject that seemed to have taken her mind hostage to the point where she felt so restless that she had to leave the comfortable bed of the guest room that she had been assigned for the duration of her stay. She didn’t know why she was thinking about this so much but she knew that it was the novel she had been reading for the past day that had triggered the thoughts that had gotten her out of bed in the middle of the night, when the air inside the manor was so still that even the place seemed deep in sleep.

She opened the window just enough to let some air in. The flame of the candle that sat on the cherry wood table behind moved more wildly but did not snuff out. Gwyn closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as the cool breeze caressed her heated cheeks and blew her unbound hair away from her face. For a moment, the smell of rain and trees brought her 18 years back, to her childhood bedroom painted in soft blues and white – similar colours to her current room in London – where she had often sat by the window just like tonight to read or to simply stare at the beauty that was Ireland in Spring, or any season really. 18 years and she still missed the air of the country enough to revel in it every chance she got. Rosehall reminded her of how much she loved the greens and the outside; walking bare feet in the grass, swimming in a lake or a river somewhere no one could see, the freedom, the quiet and peace.

Gwyn had been 10 years old when her family had left Ireland to settle in England after her father’s death from an illness a few months prior. It had been at her brother’s request that the Lady Berdara, formerly Miss Vanserra, and her two daughters had moved to London where the rest of her family still resided. Gwyn had been in awe of London even before their carriage had stopped before the grand house that had already been prepared for them. The streets had been busy with the comings and goings of everyone who had already left their country estate to come to the city for the marriage season. Everything was so different.

While her twin, Catrin, had run straight to her new bedroom, Gwyn had sneaked out that day past the trunks and boxes filled with their belongings that were being moved into their new house to explore the outside. The green of the grass had reminded her of the hills that she saw every day from their manor back home. She knew that the garden, no matter how pretty it was, would not replace the view she had there. It was too confined with its tall hedges and limited space to run around. There were not enough big trees that she could climb and sit in to read quietly.

However, one thing had made the garden and life in London much better than Gwyn could have imagined. It had started with the – rather loud – whispered voices she had heard and who were wondering who she was. She had soon found out, after peering her head through the hole in the hedge through which they had been trying to see her, that the voices belonged to her neighbours, Nesta Archeron and Emerie Windhaven and that the latter’s house was right in the middle of hers and Nesta’s. Their friendship had started when Emerie had pointed out that she didn’t understand half of the words that Gwyn had said when she introduced herself and had wondered why they were being so nosy. Gwyn had laughed which had then sent the three girls into a fit of giggles. Although she had lost the thick Irish accent she had when she left her home country, it was still evident today to anyone with ears that she was not born in England – if the fact that she had coppery-reddish hair was not clue enough that is.

Till this day, there were still barely concealed holes in the hedges surrounding the girls’ houses that they had used to visit each other. Although Gwyn and Em didn’t use Nesta’s one since the day she had eloped to marry Cassian, the man she had hated and loved so fiercely. She had a feeling that the one between hers and Emerie’s house would not be in use for much longer either. Gwyn knew that Emerie was close to saying hang society and run away from her home too. That house wasn’t her friend’s home anyway. Emerie’s home was wherever Morrigan was, regardless of what their families had to say. And currently, it was at Rosehall Manor where it’s Lord, the Earl himself, had invited his brothers and closest friends to spend the summer with him.

“What are you doing?”

As though the mere thought of him was enough to summon him, Gwyn’s musings were interrupted by his warm and rich voice. He sounded like he had just come out of bed. By the look of it when she turned her head to the left, she assumed that he probably did. Azriel stood barefoot at the door, his hair looking as though he had fought with a harsh wind. He wore what seemed to be his sleeping pants and a white shirt that was unbuttoned halfway down his chest. She knew it wasn’t proper to stare, but she couldn’t bring her eyes to look away when the single candle in the room was illuminating his tanned skin in that subtle way and making his hazel eyes glow in such a beautiful way.

Azriel followed the direction of her gaze and looked down. Gwyn blushed, looking away and closing her mouth that she hadn’t known was open like a dead fish, when she realised that he had noticed where her eyes had been lingering. He huffed a small laugh before bringing his hands to his chest to button his shirt up.

Azriel cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean to intrude on your quiet time, Miss Berdara.”

Gwyn brought her feet down from the ledge of the window and adjusted her nightdress. There was nothing exceedingly scandalous about the long white dress she wore, but had she known that she would have stumbled upon other people at this time of the night, she would have bothered to put on a robe regardless.

She rolled her eyes at him. “Can it really be called intruding when it’s your own home? And please, you can drop the formalities. We are far away from eyes that can be scandalised simply from a tap on the shoulder.”

Everyone who was currently residing at the manor called each other by their first name, including Azriel’s mother who was used to the close bond that they all had with each other. It was not the case however when they were in company of other people where they were expected to use titles for the sake of decorum. It would be particularly scandalous for Gwyn and Azriel to use their first names with each other in public when they were neither married nor courting. Even the extent of their friendship could be deemed inappropriate.

Azriel laughed as he walked and sat next to her on the window ledge, adjusting himself until one of his legs was crossed on the other and his back rested against the wall. Gwyn turned to her side so she could face him. His mother would probably frown at him for sitting so close to an unmarried woman but they had sat much closer before. Close enough for him to rest his head on her shoulder as they read together, or close enough for her to whisper a joke to him at the expense of their friends.

Gwyn had met Azriel – Lord Azriel Singer or simply Lord Singer when among polite society – two years ago, at the time when his chosen brother, Rhysand Night, the famous Duke of Velaris, had started courting Nesta’s youngest sister, Feyre. Courting might not be the correct term but only their close circle knew of the circumstances that had led the pair to fake a courtship which had eventually turned into a true love match. It was at that time that Nesta had met her ‘nemesis turned love of her life’. One could say that Gwyn and Azriel’s first meeting was quite…surprising. Especially since it had left Gwyn in shock and Azriel with a bloodied hand after he had punched, repeatedly, a man who had tried to take liberties with her in a discreet corner of one of the endless parties that she had to attend during the season. Gwyn had left that evening with the hope of having made a new friend in Azriel and a new feeling that friends and her blood relations were the only thing that the future held for her.

Gwyn’s mother had been hopeful that living among the ton would be an opportunity for her twin daughters to make good matches when the time would come for them to marry. But Gwyn had been out in society since she was 18 years old and ten years had not brought anyone who could convince her to settle down. Gwyn’s twin had been lucky to find her happiness at the end of their very first season out. Catrin now lived several hours away from London with her husband and their son. Catrin had been trying to expand her family, especially since learning that their cousin, Lucien, and his wife Elain, the second Archeron daughter out of three, were expecting their second child. Gwyn smiled at the thought of the lovebirds who were even more in love with each other 5 years into their marriage as they had been on the very first day they had met.

It was not so much that Gwyn had been picky with her suitors. She might have been a little. But she mostly felt like she hadn’t been lucky. Ever since she could walk and talk, Gwyn had been taught what a lady should expect to be, which mostly summed up to being married and making babies. And ever since she could read, she had learned that there was so much more to it. There was more to marriage than acquiring wealth and making arrangements between families; there were feelings that some people were convinced weren’t needed for a marriage to work and other things said between pages of books that proper ladies weren’t allowed to read. It all seemed like a fantasy but deep down she wanted it to be real.

She had decided soon in life that she did not want to be someone’s doll. She did not want someone who would treat her like she was simply here to plan tea parties and make babies just for the sake of the ton’s eyes. Her mother had warned her many times that she would end up a spinster if she continued that way. “Better a content spinster than being not worth more than a horse in the eyes of an indifferent husband,” she always thought but did not always say. She knew her mother meant well. But she hoped for more. She knew it wasn’t impossible. She saw it in her sister’s marriage and that of her friends. It was not like she would go out of her ways to find what they had all found. She was very content the way she was. But knowing that love existed, she knew that she could not settle for less.

“You couldn’t sleep?”

Gwyn shook her head at his question.

“Is your room not comfortable enough?”

“No. I mean yes, its very comfortable,” she tried to explain before he proposed to give her another room. God knew that there were enough rooms in his manor to welcome the entire ton.

“I was just thinking about something.”

Azriel bumped his leg against her knee. “What something?”

Gwyn thought of the novel that she had left on the bed upstairs and the words she had read in it.

“I don’t want to tell you,” she replied with a shrug.

He raised an eyebrow at her. The candle on the table was the single source of light in the library but Gwyn didn’t need any light to discern the silent words spoken by his eyes.

“I am not certain that you are the best person to talk about such things with.”

Azriel placed a hand on his heart as though she had physically wound him. “Well, you didn’t have to hurt my feelings.”

She crossed her arms and stared at him. “It is not your feelings that are hurt but your ego.”

Azriel shook his head and laughed again. Gwyn stared and stared at him. The passages she had read in that book bounced around her head, putting forth images that her mother would faint to see and desires that some men would flock before her house to hear about. It was far from the first book that Gwyn had read that made her think such things. She suddenly felt like she wanted to tell him what was on her mind. Not the images. That would be going too far. But she wanted to talk about it. And he was the first person available.

“Can I ask you something?” Her voice was barely above the sound of the heavy rain pouring outside.

Azriel’s smile softened as he looked at her. “You know you can tell me anything.”

“How does one know, in the moment, if they are good at sex?”

By the way Azriel went still, Gwyn thought that perhaps she could tell him anything but this. She felt the intensity of his gaze on her until he finally seemed to remember that her question had remained unanswered.

“Have you...” he trailed off.

Gwyn furrowed her brows for a moment until his implication clicked in her head.

“Sorry...”

“No,” she exclaimed at the same time as him.

“I mean, it’s none of my business. Unless someone...Oh god, Gwyn.” He moved forward and took her hands in his. “Did someone manipulated you into doing something?”

“No. Azriel no.” Her confirmation seemed to loosen a tension in him. “I was just wondering,” she admitted.

“Why?”

Gwyn could have laughed at him and retorted that it was inappropriate of him to ask why but then she would have to laugh at herself for asking the question that had led him to wonder the why. So, she shrugged flippantly instead.

“I just want to know. Such information could help me someday.”

Azriel squeezed her hands. She knew that they were tempting scandal by ignoring propriety and even more with this conversation. But there wasn’t anyone here to witness any of this. Also, propriety had always been quite overlooked among their group of friends. Except when they were in public, when surrounded by their friends only, the couples never tried to hide their affection or conceal their...urges. Gwyn liked the way they openly showed their love. It was like their love was so grand that they couldn’t keep it all in. Though some things were best kept in. Gwyn’s ears and eyes had been assaulted more times that she could count in the week since she had been here.

“How much do you know about sex, Gwyneth?”

Gwyn sat straighter but didn’t let go of his hands. She held his gaze, emboldened by the fact that he did not treat her like an innocent little thing. They were close friends after all, she reminded herself. They had seen each other’s tears and had accidentally fallen asleep on the same couch.

“I might not have much experience but I do have extensive theoretical knowledge on the subject. Enough that I do not require the little talk that all ladies get prior to their wedding night.”

Azriel raised a brow. Gwyn was tempted to stare and stare at him again.

“Although, I have little enough knowledge in the practice of it that I had hoped to indulge in learning everything that my husband would be willing to teach me.”

The light from the candle flickered in his eyes, making the hazel shine as if from a fire within. Gwyn wondered what good she had done to have been blessed by the presence of such a magnificent man.

“I have read this book that has made me think about it. And I wonder whether it’s too much to ask of a partner to wish to learn from me.”

Gwyn thought back to the book again and how the protagonist, a woman with years of experience in the art of sex, had been praised by her partner for everything she had done to him and how, in several passages, she had gone on saying how grateful she was for her own experience before him.

“I was hoping that my partner would also find some things to learn from me. It sounds silly to say this with my lack of experience. But I was truly hoping to find someone who wants me, and is not just settling for the first random person just to have a wife. As such, I was hoping that they would find the experience with me to be...” She pursed her lips while searching for the right word, “...not akin to lying with every other woman.”

Gwyn had never tried to seek pleasure from anyone but herself. Her decision to wait for love extended beyond marriage. But now she wondered whether she should do what she usually did with every task she set her mind to and practice until she became perfect at it.

“But now I’m wondering,” she continued, “What if I have waited all this time and I’m just...not enough.”

The gentle caress of Azriel’s thumbs over the back of her hand send shivers down her spine that had nothing to do with the breeze coming in.

“If I may be bold enough to tell you something, I –”

“You may,” she interrupted, earning a smirk from Azriel that made her heart flip.

“I don’t think it’s possible for you to be bad at it.”

At the sceptical look on her face, Azriel continued, every single one of his words meant to reassure her.

“I can’t force you to believe me. But I can assure you that sex isn’t a game of who knows more of what. It’s about being together and enjoying each other.”

A strong wind blew, some of it made it through the slightly opened window. It sent a strand of Gwyn’s hair floating in front of her eyes. Azriel’s hand was faster in reaching it. He twirled it around his finger a few times before tucking it behind her ear. Gwyn held her breath for the whole time his fingers drifted from her ear, down her jaw, before he cupped her cheek.

“Trust me Gwyn. Whatever you do will be more than enough. Because it’s you. Because you’re perfect.”

She sighed. She knew she was blushing even before she noticed his eyes travelling across her nose and cheeks, his thumb soon doing the same. He had done this on the day he had told her that he enjoyed making her blush as much as he liked making her smile.

“In that book I read,” Gwyn leaned forward and brought her face closer to his. “It said that the act of sex is different from the act of love. The author added that only those who are lucky enough to make love at least once in their life will understand the vast difference between simply chasing release and giving yourself body and soul to your partner.”

She looked at him, at his lips then at that fire in his eyes that lit up her whole being.

“I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with only chasing release. But the way she describes the latter makes one want to pray harder to find the perfect partner.”

Gwyn had an idea why Azriel was still unmarried at the age of 32. He had confessed to her of the bitter feeling that his parents’ marriage had left in him. In this moment, sitting in the library of Rosehall while it rained, the only witnesses being the silent books and the single candle in the room, Azriel held onto Gwyn’s hand for dear life and looked at her like she had dreamt for some time that he would.

“How would you describe the perfect partner?” he asked.

A single word was on the tip of her tongue. But she swallowed it and forced others to come forth. Words that she had told herself like a list before, repeating them in her head every time she refused a suitor and every time her mother reminded her that she was close to becoming a spinster. But it was only now that she felt the depths of her own words. Suddenly they weren’t just a series of requirements that she was saying out loud. They were words spoken from the heart. A plea, almost a summon.

“Someone you care for. Not someone that you choose because it is required of you. But someone that you want so much that your heart needs them. Someone who, even if you see their flaws and don’t like them every minute of every day – God knows some people are not always tolerable,” she muttered the last sentence with a pointed look at him and waited for his inevitable chuckle before she continued, “- you still love them. To me, the perfect partner is a friend. One that you want to give yourself to body and soul.”

His thumb moved to her lips where he traced them from one corner to the other. “Can I tell you a secret, Gwyneth?”

Gwyn nodded when she found herself unable to form words. He smiled, eyes fixed on her lips as though they were pulling him in.

“I have a friend like the kind you speak of. That single friend who I love so dearly that I wish she would have me body and soul.”

She didn’t know her free hand had moved but when she felt a beating heart beneath her palm, she suddenly realised that her hand was now on his chest. The other one would be shaking if he wasn’t holding it so firmly.

“I have that one friend too,” she admitted, her face inching closer and closer to his.

Another strong wind whooshed, opening the window widely and snuffing out the candle at the same time lightning illuminated the whole room. A loud thunder followed right behind. But Gwyn neither saw nor heard any of it. The only thing left to her was Azriel’s hands holding her and his lips as he kissed her.

#this feels weird to me #gwynriel #gwyneth berdara #azriel shadowsinger #fluff #gwynriel weeks 2024 #gwynrielweeks #gwynrielweeks2024 #gwynriel fic #gwyn x azriel #azriel x gwyn #gwynriel fanfiction

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schmooplesboop · 1 year ago

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Toffee Apple

Pairing: Alex X Male farmer/player

Rating: Teen

For the past couple of years Alex had skipped out on Spirit’s Eve. It had gotten pretty stale. Fake plastic hedge maze, shitty plastic scares, and even shittier food that might as well have been plastic. Just bad all around.

This year, though… on top of keeping his farm afloat Colton had volunteered to grow a huge corn maze on his land for the town’s Spirit’s Eve celebrations. And the rumors had been buzzing around Pelican Town since: Colton had recruited the weird wizard dude who lived in the woods to provide spooks for the haunted corn maze, Gus had been inspired by Colton’s enthusiasm and dug up new recipes for Spirit’s Eve treats, Marnie wanted to set up a hayride for those who wanted a calmer vibe. Everyone was excited to see this year’s festival, Alex included. Even if he hadn’t cared about the event, he had a personal reason to be excited this year. Colton had straight up asked him on a date.

“I may not look it, but I’m a giant scaredy cat. I need a big, strong date to guide me through the maze. You up for it, dude?”

Haley had been staring at him so intensely that Alex could practically hear her brain screaming at him to “Just say yes, you big dope!” For once, he didn’t need her intervening, he’d said yes almost immediately. Colton’s smile and faint blush was worth the awkwardness of Haley standing there looking like she wanted to scream with delight.

Now the big night was here and he was nervous as hell. This was his first real date in a while and his first date with another dude, period.

Alex looked himself over in the full-length mirror in the hall outside his room. He’d chosen to wear a grey hoodie under his old letterman jacket and his cleanest jeans. Hair perfectly coiffed then perfectly re-coiffed, his usual hour-long hair care routine had lengthened into two. He anxiously looked over the cologne Haley had forced into his hand that morning.

“Spiced Orange. Seasonal and sexy!”

He sniffed it warily. It did smell nice… ah, what the hell. He sprayed himself then tossed the bottle through the doorway onto his bed.

Alex wished he had someone other than his grandparents to give their opinion of the end result.

His grandmother was terribly biased, “You always look handsome, dear!”

And his grandfather was not biased enough, “Hair is hair. You look like always do.”

Out of desperation, he’d asked Dusty’s opinion too. “What do you think, boy?” He gently scratched his old dog behind the ears. “How do I look? Underdressed?”

Dusty huffed a quiet doggy noise of reassurance and licked Alex’s fingers.

Alex set his jaw, chiding himself. (It’s a haunted corn maze, not the fucking opera. Just chill.)

It was definitely going to be a cold and spooky night. Alex’s breath misted in the air as he headed out of town toward Gullwing Farm, hands shoved in his jacket pockets for warmth. Fog swirled around his ankles.

Alex’s jaw dropped as Colton’s farm came into view. He’d really gone all out. Orange and purple fairy lights were strung everywhere. Ghost and witch decorations hung from the trees. Menacing scarecrows leered in the fields. Dozens of jack-o-lanterns lined the lane that led into the farm.

Right at the main gate to Gullwing there were two signs, both decorated with childish drawings of different townsfolk being scared by different monsters. Alex recognized Vincent and Jas’s handiwork straight away. One sign said that entry was free, but there was a suggested donation of five dollars. The second sign was slightly ominous, simply stating that the “Ghost Show” was at midnight… whatever that meant. Alex put fifty bucks in the slotted box nailed under the first sign and went through the gate.

Gus had a canopy set up under which he and Emily were busy doling out food and drinks. Trays of toffee apples, buckets of popcorn in three different flavors, ‘devil hot’ potato chips, pumpkin cookies, ‘mini brain’ cake pops, ‘graveyard’ cupcakes, apple punch, and hot cider. It must’ve taken them all day to get things ready.

Haley was hanging out with her sister, looking vaguely bored and eating a cake pop. When she spotted Alex, she gave him a quick once over and a round of brief silent applause. Feeling slightly better having his friend’s approval, Alex waved at her as he went by. The food looked delicious, but Alex was still mostly nerves. He didn’t think he could eat anything right now.

Pierre had set up his stand too, of course, selling Spirit’s Eve t-shirts and decorations. Alex bought a little plastic bobble ghost for his gran. She liked these weird, cheap little things for some reason. She had so many that she’d had to buy an enormous bookcase to display them.

The corn maze loomed in the distance, looking intimidating and surprisingly eerie in the fog and dim, colored light. It really was huge, it would probably take a couple of hours to get through, maybe even more. Alex was impressed by the enthusiasm and effort that not just Colton, but everyone had put into this. The whole town had really pulled together to make things better than before. Colton seemed to have that effect on people, Alex included.

Jodi was standing outside the maze with a tearful Vincent, telling him that it was too scary for him and trying to convince him to check out the more laidback hayride Marnie had going not far away. Sam, Abigail, and Sebastian stood nearby, pushing each other around and laughing.

Sebastian caught his eye and waved. Alex waved back. This is what he’d meant by Colton having an effect on him too. Old Alex dismissed Sebastian as “that weird guy” without a second thought. But when the weather had gotten colder and their morning beach runs had evolved into morning hikes in the mountains, Colton had invited Sebastian to join them sometimes and Alex had been surprised to learn that not only could Seb keep up with them even though he was 95% skinny legs, but he also knew a lot about wildlife (frogs mostly). He’d also discovered that they actually had things in common. They were both really into an old adventure-fantasy comic series that had been all the rage before either of them was born. Sebastian had even lent Alex two of the comics he was missing from his own collection. New Alex had learned not be so fucking judgy. He was liking New Alex way more than Old Alex.

Abigail linked arms with Sam and marched him into the maze. Seb pointed to a little picnic area where people were milling about eating treats, waiting for their turn on the hayride, or just enjoying the atmosphere. Alex could see Colton waiting there, munching enthusiastically on a toffee apple. Willing himself not to blush, Alex nodded his thanks to Sebastian and made his way over.

Colton towered over literally everyone around him and Alex was relieved to see that they had similar outfits on. He was wearing a fleece lined black-and-teal plaid jacket over a dark sweater and faded jeans. Now that it was too cold to surf every day, his tan skin had lost its golden luster and his hair had faded from bleached back to sandy blonde, but Colton was still super hot, to use Haley’s words.

Colton spotted him and quickly swallowed a bite of his apple, “Hi, Alex!” Like Haley, the farmer gave him a once over and Alex felt his chest tighten with anxiety. “Looking very spruce tonight, dude.”

Oh, thank fuck. “Thanks. You’re looking good yourself.” Alex was impressed with how chill he sounded, despite feeling very unchill. “Did you do all this yourself? It looks awesome, I barely recognize the farm.”

“Thanks! But nah, I had a lot of help. Demetrius helped me design the maze, but I did all the planting and watering and maintaining. Vincent and Jas helped with decorating and Marnie’s handling the hayride. Gus and Emily are in charge of the food and drink, of course. Rasmodius also said he’d provide scares for the maze and something called a ‘ghost show’. Not sure what that means, I’m kinda nervous about it to be honest—"

A scream came from the maze, startling Alex and sending a ripple of murmurs through the picnic area.

“I think that’s Maru, poor woman’s been in there for a long time. Even Harvey made it through the maze before she did. We should rescue her if we find her.” Colton finished off his apple and tossed the stick into the trash. “You ready to guide my wussy ass through this maze or would you like some food first?”

“Let’s get our maze on.” Ugh. New Alex still sometimes said mortifying shit.

Colton seemed charmed by it, thankfully, and they entered the maze. Alex didn’t scare easily, but he had to admit it was pretty creepy in here. The corn was so thick you couldn’t see through it, and it rose high over even Colton’s head. The only light in the maze came from the full moon and the fairy lights that occasionally criss-crossed overhead and it was like outside noises were muffled somehow. The ankle-deep fog outside the maze became knee-map inside. Somewhere ahead they could hear Sam whimpering and Abigail calling him a baby.

The first scare that Rasmodius conjured up, maybe literally, came running at them from out of the corn. A skeleton that glowed a sickly green sprinted right for them with arms outstretched. Alex jumped as Colton screamed. The skeleton blew right by them, bony fingers scratching at the farmer’s arm before disappearing into the corn again. Alex’s stomach flipping had nothing to do with the scare and everything to do with Colton grabbing hold of his hand.

“Sorry for making you jump, Alex. Did warn you I was a big ol’ scaredy cat.” Colton sounded self-conscious.

Alex hated to hear it. Didn’t feel right, that someone as awesome as Colton was feeling bad about himself. He gave the farmer’s hand a reassuring squeeze and smiled. “Nothing to be sorry about, dude. Happy to be bodyguard and date tonight.” Or any night.

And Alex played his part well. The wizard’s scares definitely weren’t of the plastic variety. Giant spiders, weird noises in the corn, invisible hands that brushed at their ankles and arms, figures in the fog, drooling red-eyed hounds, big swooping bats, footsteps that ran up behind them with nothing there when they turned. Colton didn’t scream every time, but there was always someone else screaming just out of sight.

By the time they reached the middle of the maze, Alex had one arm wrapped tight around Colton’s waist. The farmer looked around nervously. There was nothing here in the center of the maze except a creepy statue of what looked like a guy with an octopus for a head. Poor Maru screeched again, but it sounded distant. It seemed she might actually get out sometime before dawn.

Colton looked at the faintly glowing display on his watch, “The ‘ghost show’ starts soon. Wanna see what that is before we try making our way out?”

Alex nodded, even he needed a break. “Sounds good.”

The wizard’s ‘ghost show’ started at exactly midnight. Vaguely human-shaped figures, glowing pale blue, drifted up through the corn and started swirling over the maze. Fast, slow, they zipped and twirled overhead. There were a few surprised squawks from the maze dwellers, then a murmur of amazement. Considering what they’d been through already tonight, this was actually kind of… soothing.

(And romantic?) Alex’s brain supplied oh-so-innocently.

No! Don’t be stupi—Alex swallowed thickly. Apparently, Colton agreed with Alex’s brain. He’d turned to face Alex, leaning in slightly. The anxiety in his deep brown eyes had melted into something very close to desire.

(Okay. The hottest man in the valley wants to kiss you, don’t fuck it up. Shit. I can do this. Okay. Fuck. C’mon, Alex, you’re not afraid of ghouls and shit, but you’re afraid of a kiss? Just--)

He blinked. Colton was suddenly angling away, looking a little embarrassed. Belatedly, Alex realized that the other man had been politely waiting for him to lean in too and had taken his getting momentarily lost in his own panicked brain as disinterest. Great. Fucked it up instantly.

“Then unfuck it, doofus!” He heard Haley’s voice so clearly in his mind it was like she was swirling overhead with the wizard’s ghosts. Hoping this didn’t make things even more awkward, Alex slid his arms around Colton’s neck and leaned in. The embarrassment faded instantly. Colton leaned down… and holy shit, they were kissing, the farmer’s body very warm and very firm as it pressed against Alex’s. Colton tasted like toffee apple and he smelled like rain in the woods with a hint of the sea underneath. Then his fingers hooked into Alex’s belt loops to draw him closer and who knew that such a small thing could be so fucking sexy?

They parted, both slightly breathless, as the ghosts above faded out so that near darkness settled over the maze once again.

“That was nice.” Colton murmured.

Alex agreed wholeheartedly. “Yeah, it was.”

He shivered as Colton’s lips brushed against his ear and his fingers tightened in his belt loops. “You smell amazing, by the way…”

Score one for Haley, she’d be pleased to hear it. Alex was trying to form some kind of reply that wouldn’t want to make him shrivel up and die when somewhere to their left they heard the sound of Abigail screaming and Sam laughing long and loud and very donkey-like. Their little romantic moment was over, but not ruined.

Colton’s lips were at his ear once more. “Get me out of this maze alive and I’ll kiss you again.”

If it wouldn’t have ruined the experience for everyone else, Alex would’ve bulled a straight line through the corn and made his own exit.

Oddly, kissing Alex seemed to have bolstered the farmer. He was much less jumpy as they navigated their way out and only screamed twice. Alex felt his ego puff up. Just a bit.

Someplace ahead of them they heard Maru shriek again, but this one was different. It was a scream of triumph, “Heck yeah, I survived! Emily, two cupcakes, please!”

Colton laughed, “Guess she found her way out.”

A few more twists and turns and they found their way out as well, Colton breathing a sigh of relief in the cold night air.

“Thanks, Alex. My hero.”

True to his word, Colton was moving in close again. Alex moved as well, perhaps a bit too eagerly as their noses bumped lightly. Colton only chuckled, tilting his head just a touch more so their mouths slotted together perfectly. Goddamn he tasted and smelled and felt so good. Alex could get used to this…

Afterward they bought some snacks and cider and went to join Maru and a few others in the picnic area. Haley had disappeared, probably went home a while ago. Spirit’s Eve wasn’t really her thing. She’d likely just come to give her sister and Alex some support. With the kids in bed and the last few stragglers exiting the maze, Marnie was dismantling the hayride and loading her ponies into the trailer behind her truck. Alex took a bite of the toffee apple he’d bought, a sheepish grin on his face. He knew it was kinda goofy, but he wanted to relive the taste of Colton’s lips a few more times.

They were halfway through their snack feast when Sam, Abby, and Sebastian emerged from the maze, taunting each other about who was the biggest baby.

“Didn’t hear Seb once so he’s obviously the champ among you three.” Colton called out with a teasing smirk.

Abigail laughed as the trio came to a stop beside their table. “You and Maru had a chorus going.” She teased back.

“Oh dude, yeah, I definitely would’ve dropped dead five feet into the maze without Alex to protect me.”

Alex’s cheeks flushed as he felt Colton’s hand slide over his wrist. Abby and Sam’s eyebrows raised in surprised, Sebastian just looked smug that he’d known something his friends hadn’t. Old Alex would’ve cared, probably too much. New Alex didn’t give a fuck.

He just smiled and gave Colton a nudge with his elbow. “Don’t sell yourself short, you didn’t shit yourself on the way out.”

The five of them laughed together. It felt nice.

“Walk me home?” Colton asked as they threw their trash in the bin, gesturing to the farmhouse in the distance.

“Yeah, of course.”

Alex felt more sets of curious eyes on them as they walked off hand-in-hand. He still didn’t give a fuck.

As soon as they entered the farmyard Finn, Colton’s dog, came barrelling out of his doggy door and jumped all over Alex, barking excitedly trying to lick his face.

“Oh, I see who his favorite is.” The farmer smirked.

Alex laughed and scratched Finn around the neck, trying and failing to keep all four of the dog’s paws on the ground. “Hey, buddy!”

“Thank-you, Alex.” Colton said as they ascended the stairs onto the porch, Finn racing in circles around both of them. “I had a lot of fun with you tonight.”

A pleasant little knot of warmth formed in Alex’s stomach. “Me too.”

“No hike tomorrow. Gotta take all this stuff down.”

“Not by yourself, I hope?” Finn impatiently butted his head against Alex’s leg and he reached down to pat him.

“Nah. Wizard dude is taking care of the spooky stuff tonight. Marnie, Gus, and Pierre are taking care of their areas tonight too. Tomorrow morning Marnie, Shane, Seb, Sam, and Abby are coming to help with the rest.”

“I’ll help too. What time?”

“Yeah? I thought it’d be kinda tacky to ask my date to help me clean up.” Finn was harassing Colton for pets now, and he ruffled the dog about the ears.

“Nah, I want to help. Just tell me when to show up.”

A fond little smile curved Colton’s lips, “Why don’t you come by a bit earlier than the others? I’ll make pancakes.”

Alex felt his cheeks go red, “…I’d like that.”

“Seven, then?”

“I’ll be here.”

His affection quota satisfied, Finn slipped back through his doggy door into the house. Colton’s affection quota not quite satisfied, he placed a soft kiss on Alex’s jaw. “Goodnight, Alex.”

“See you tomorrow, Colton.”

#stardew valley #stardew valley alex #supportive bestie haley #supportive bestie sebastian #supportive doggo dusty #alex x male farmer #alex x male player #schmooples fic #farmer colton #colton x alex

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31jindo · 16 days ago

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Some seasonal Loth Cats. Some Halloween spirit Loth Cats, Star Wars adjacent. The tail of the Loth-Frog was an accident. There was a sliver I meant to chop off but decided to leave it for that polywog feel instead after I noticed it. The Skele-Tooka is still a work in progress. Should the tail be segmented bones too? Should the skull have more teeth? Will do better next year.

SKZ Dwaekki with hedge hog PJ's. The original idea was to paint Star Wars Pufferpigs on the PJ's. Unfortunately my skills at painting tiny details are not equal to that task.

The SW padawan ducks made for @house-of-naga. They have a write up on their page describing the ducks in detail.

These aren't magnets and not really balanced for keychains. They could be glued onto a thin wood strip and displayed together or individually stuck to a journal cover or box.

TxT HHM NYA RING with wire halo. worked out decently well. Needs to be glued into place. The little copper antenna on Kkaami also need a dab of adhesive to stay upright.

Needle in a Hay Stack and Red String of Fate. The needle is currently not in as I need to drill the hole for it a bit wider and deeper; as seen by the example drill bit. I honestly wasn't going to do this until next year, but figured I'd try a smaller trial version. There are imbedded magnets, but the figures Jiniret and Bbokkari cannot be seen when it is clipped to a surface. It was sketched based on a comment by @wr1ter0fwr0ngs and cowriter? @chamomile12708 Co-writer!

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fungifanart · 1 year ago

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Hello there! Ive read your rules about requests just to make sure I dont request anything you dont like-

Anyway, Ive read some of your twst works, and I LOVE them! Their so amazing! Anyway can I request a riddle x m!reader just having a tea party date? That would be wonderful! Its ok if you dont do this request tho!

Tea For Two

Characters: Male reader, Riddle Rosehearts, Ace Trappola, Deuce Spade

Cw: Mild cartoon violence

Word count: 807

Notes: That's so sweet! Thank you for your kind words!

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Riddle paces back and forth in front of the gazebo as he mentally goes over the list of everything he'd done to prepare for afternoon tea with you:

Fresh darjeeling tea? Check.

Toast with your choice of jam or butter? Check.

A wide variety of cookies, scones and miniature sandwiches laid out on a tea tower? Check.

Ace and Deuce being ordered to trim the bushes on the FAR opposite end of the hedge maze? Double check.

Riddle stops pacing to look over the table underneath the gazebo one last time, ensuring that he's content with the placement of everything, which he is, although he can't help but feel a little sad at the absence of a tart of any description.

When Riddle had first made the suggestion of afternoon tea, you specifically requested he not have any tarts prepared, much to his surprise and disappointment.

But still, what is a relationship without making compromises?

And so, Riddle decided to respect your wishes and leave tarts out of the preparations.

Riddle is then pulled from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps behind him and he turns around to see his lovely boyfriend approaching with a soft expression.

"Y/N! Wonderful to see that you made it!" Riddle says happily as he walks toward you before noticing a small box you're carrying in your hand, "May I ask what you have there?"

You give a small giggle before responding, "It’s a surprise! Let's sit down first." You say while motioning to the table.

Riddle nods as he and you walk to the table while talking happily to each other, so happily, in fact, that neither of you notice the sound of rustling leaves slowly getting closer.

After you both sit down, you proudly place the box in front of Riddle and begin to speak, somehow still not noticing the leaf rustling getting ever closer, "It’s been a while since we've been able to be alone like this, so I decided to make something special for you! I spent a whole week looking up and trying different recipes to make sure these were perfect just for–"

Your sentence is cut off by Ace and Deuce crashing through the hedge parallel to your table while throwing punch after punch at each other.

Riddle's curiosity at your creations is immediately replaced by fury at his underclassmen as he stands up to reprimand them before the butter knife suddenly disappears from the table and finds itself forcefully embedded in a wooden plank between the two freshmen's faces, causing all parties to freeze in shock.

Riddle watches as you wordlessly stand up with a blank expression, walk over to where the knife is and yank it out of the wood before pointing it at the freshmen and then using it to threaten them by making a cutting motion over your neck as both of their faces go pale.

Ace and Deuce run off as you sigh and sit back down at the table while Riddle does the same, albeit very stunned and mildly impressed by how you handled the troublemakers.

"Anyways, as I was saying," You begin calmly, leaving the large hole in the hedges to be dealt with later, "I put a whole week into making sure I could make these perfectly just for you!"

Riddle's eyes widen as you finally open the box, revealing six miniature tarts of various colors looking back at him. He sees a lemon tart and a blueberry tart among others, but most importantly, he sees a bright red strawberry tart at the center that feels like it's almost calling out to him.

Riddle stares dumbfoundedly as you take the miniature tarts out of the box and lay them out for him in all their glory, "So this is why you asked for no tarts…?" He says in awe.

You scratch your cheek sheepishly while responding, "Heh, yeah. It made me sad to see you so disappointed, but I wanted it to be a surprise." You say while reaching over to take Riddle’s hand in yours, "And…what kind of boyfriend would I be if I couldn't do something special for you?"

Riddle feels his cheeks instantly turn as red as the strawberry tart in front of him as he intertwines his fingers with yours and maintains loving eye contact with you for several minutes before the cheesiness of the situation settles in, bringing an awkward atmosphere with it.

"So…do you, uh, wanna try the tarts now?" You say as you let go of Riddle’s hand to bring yours to the back of your head awkwardly.

Riddle can't help but miss the warmth of your hand in his, but he still smiles softly at your question, "I'd like that very much." He responds while placing the strawberry tart on his plate and grabbing his knife and fork.

#twisted wonderland #twst #disney twst #twst riddle #riddle rosehearts #twst x reader #twst x male reader #twst ace #twst deuce #ace trappola #deuce spade #why is this mushroom writing fanfics?#MY MUSE ISN'T DEAD GUYS #REJOICE

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aito-mation · 1 year ago

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over the hedge (2006) could very easily have been another middling 00's cg disaster w an all-star cast, forgettable and kinda phoned-in like open season or happily n'ever after (which came out the same year) but i think its actually a thoughtful adaptation w a lot of really good qualities. its about deprivation and want, found family and stepping on others to get ahead, and (sub)urbanization encroaching on nature, and it has an emotional core n im deadass !!

its based on a newspaper comic that centers on rj the raccoon and verne the box turtle, who live in the woods behind a ritzy suburb and menace n befriend its inhabitants. the comic is usu 4-5 panels per comic, and story arcs can stretch across multiple comics. there r a lot of characters that come and go, both human and animal, tho the core group usually stays at three characters-rj, verne, and someone else relevant to the current arc. so it couldve been questionable to extend that core group of characters from three to eleven (11!) in the movie, but i think it really works out. they position rj as the main character, and the other characters have an existing connection with verne, so act as an extension of him and his character arc. hammy is based on a character from the comics, but altered a bit, and stella, penny lou and the kids, and ozzie and heather are all original for the movie. and they all get equal time with rj, at no point in the movie do u forget about any of them-the exact opposite actually, we learn things abt them every time theyre on screen. its a really great use of screen time and dialogue.

and the character arcs! in the comics, verne is the more philosophical, searching one, and hes more often than not the loser at the end of things, often the butt of jokes, contrasting rj, who is more cynical, an indulgent slacker who only puts effort into slacking, often making the aforementioned jokes. they have a charming and humorous relationship, tho it is very much established. the movie however, reads as a sort of prequel to that relationship-rj and verne meet for the first time abt 15 mins in. it also makes some changes to their characters-verne is the cautious, tactless psuedo-patriarch of a cross-species family while rj is a lonely starving scavenger who has to scheme for the things he needs. the inciting incident, a broken vending machine convincing rj to steal food from a hibernating bear acquaintance of his, which is then all destroyed, leading to him making a deal with the bear to get it all back in just one week, could lead u to believe his motivation is greed-hes a little raccoon, and he didnt need to take all that food. but the rest of the movie reveals his motivation is longing, and loneliness.

the opening credits are layered over a sequence of rj scrounging in the garbage for something to eat. when he meets verne and his family of foragers, they r frightened by a new hedge in their forest, which surrounds a new 54-acre housing development, and wondering how theyre going to find enough food to hibernate the following year. rj sees this as an opportunity to trick them into helping him collect the food he needs for the bear from the suburb. their first disastrous encounter with a human initially throws a wrench in that, prompting rj to lie about losing his own family to gain sympathy and trust from them. but over time, he begins to actually care for them-he's shown playing video games with the baby porcupines, listening to music with heather, encouraging ozzie in his acting, even checking up on hammy when one of rj's plans gets him hurt; in their final heist, he changes the way everyone sees stella, showing her that she's more than just her smell. but the very real danger of being eaten by a bear remains rj's motivation until the final act, and we r shown up to that point that rj does not think he can get anything simply by asking.

which is a great contrast to verne, whose initial motivation is altruistic-he's worried abt the safety and survival of his family, whom he's responsible for. they already had barely enough to survive, and now almost the entire forest is gone around them. verne feels threatened by rj's charisma and seeming capability, and intimidated by the unknown world of the suburb, which turns into jealousy, as the rest of the family warms up to rj and his ideas and change. in an attempt to get things back to normal after a pest exterminator comes to their suburb, verne inadvertently destroys all the food his family had collected earlier in a sick montage, leading to an argument where verne says some insulting and hurtful things. sort of expelled from the family, feeling chastised, verne reflects on his feelings and behavior, and comes to rj to apologize. at the same time, rj is realizing that he's kinda fucked-he doesn't have the food he needs, and he's torn apart a family in the process. he's about to come clean and tell verne the truth, when, in a parallel of the beginning of the movie, he sees the opportunity to have everything he wants-the food and the family. so they put together one final plan, to get everything in one night, and it works, until it doesnt, and the truth comes out and rj abandons them, allowing verne and his family to be caged by the exterminator while he takes the food to give to vincent (the bear). but faced with the reality of that decision, watching the family he always wanted be carted away to be killed, rj changes his mind, taking the food from vincent's hands to go back and save his friends.

their reunion is intense and funny and immensely satisfying. you're glad rj made the right decision, that verne apologized and was forgiven, and the mad-dash escape from vincent and the exterminator culminates in an impossible plan that works out bc its an anthro kids movie, of course it would have a happy ending. after the antagonists r defeated, there's a scene where verne formally invites rj into their family, and tells him that if he'd been honest with them, told them he needed the food to pay back an angry bear, they would've helped him. bc that's what families do. and rj says "i've never had anything like that," correcting his lie from earlier. and the but ive always wanted it goes unsaid, bc he has it now, and he knows that.

#stfu aito #perhaps this could b written better. but ive been thinking abt this movie for weeks.#long post #over the hedge #over the hedge 2006

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teamsunfluff · 1 month ago

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Inari mused for a moment. "I think we can manage with a group this size. Let's beat this dungeon."

Avin stood in silence for a moment, stunned by the confidence of those around them. How could they all remain so levelheaded in the face of the unknown dangers in the dungeon around them? Then again, they had seen Inari’s power on display for themself. That water spout earlier disintegrated the houndoom blight in a single shot. From that alone, Avin knew they weren’t anywhere close to being on the same level as Inari, but they weren’t completely useless either. Perhaps… they could clear the dungeon!

Avin closed their eyes, took in a deep breath to steady themself, then nodded. “Okay, let’s do this then. We’ll clear this dungeon and get Kaji that Gracidea flower!”

Their self-confidence temporarily restored, Avin felt their dungeoneering senses start to kick in. “Given the presence of houndoom and sawsbuck blights, this is definitely a high-tier dungeon. How one came to be so close to a town is a question for the guild later, but knowing that tells us some vital information on how to proceed,” Avin explained. “I’ll go over this quickly. We should have enough time to make a gameplay, but I don’t want to risk another surprise attack.”

Avin flexed their paw, unsheathing a small set of claws that they began to drag through the dirt on the ground. They hoped everyone’s eyes had adjusted enough to allow them to see the diagram. “I’m not sure how dungeons work in your worlds, if they exist at all, so let me explain as briefly as possible how they function here.”

“Dungeons, for all intents and purposes, function like living beings. Some scholars even argue they ARE living creatures, but I’ll skip the philosophical debates for now.” Avin drew a box on the ground, carving a few small dots inside it. “Much like we have immune systems that fight off invaders and infections, the dungeons have one as well. You’ve already encountered it. The blights serve as the dungeon’s protectors. They attack any sort of invaders into the dungeon, in the hopes that they’ll either leave or worse, die. If someone passes in a dungeon, most of the time there’s no recovering them. There are items to help prevent it but that’s why it’s important to always come prepared. The dungeon will devour them for nutrients and use them to grow, taking over more space and creating stronger blights.

“Low-tier dungeons like Apple Woods in the east can actually be somewhat tamed if you catch it early enough. Mid-tier dungeons too, but it’s much more difficult to achieve. This allows residents in those areas to have a symbiotic relationship with the dungeon. Sky Peak is one such case.” Avin drew a few vaguely hedge-shaped creatures around the box, offering what appeared to be fruit and other items to the box. “We fed the dungeon other sources of energy besides living people and in return, it allowed us to escort tourists through and provided us with food. Though even tamed dungeons can be dangerous since you can’t just entirely shut down an immune system and they’re easy to get lost in regardless, which is why we acted as guides.”

Avin paused mid-explanation as a shiver ran up their spine. They felt it. The winds. Not good.

“High-tier dungeons like this are very dangerous. This dungeon has consumed enough people to reach a point where it’s no longer tameable, and in return, this means its immune system is extremely strong and violent. It has capabilities that are far stronger than that of a regular dungeon, like disabling items, laying traps, and even suppressing our power levels if it’s strong enough.” Avin began to draw some squiggles in the dirt. “The wind you’re feeling now is the immune system too. All dungeons have it but it’s far more active in high-tier dungeons. It allows the blights to locate us more easily, which is bad, so I won’t have us dawdle here much longer.”

Avin quickly drew a zigzag shape in the dirt. “Somewhere on this floor is a set of stairs. It could be anywhere, so we have to keep our eyes peeled. These stairs will allow us to descend further into the dungeon, and temporarily reset the blight’s response.” Avin paused to sniff the air a bit. “I always had a knack for figuring out where they were in Sky Peak, since their locations change upon entry to each floor. Kaji calls it a gift. I think it’s dumb luck. Regardless, we better hope that luck or skill comes into play here.”

Avin closed their eyes and took another deep breath in as they sniffed around. A nagging feeling came over them as they focused. Northeast. They had a feeling the stairs were northeast of them. Opening their eyes, Avin took a moment to observe their surroundings. No immediate threats. Time to move.

“If everyone’s ready, let’s get going. I’ll take point.”

Avin’s entire demeanor shifted as they began to lead their little group through the dungeon. It seemed while they were still frightened beyond belief by the situation they had gotten into, the presence and confidence of those with them now was fueling their own drive.

Avin perked up and began to listen more intently to their surroundings. It took a moment, but the sound was unmistakable. Wingbeats. “A flying-type blight,” Avin muttered. “Probably a larger one too based on the frequency of the flaps. The canopy should cover us for now, but we’ll need to be ready for a potential divebomb.”

Avin paused their trot as a loud hissing suddenly filled their ears. “Tread carefully,” they warned, quickly scanning around.

A pair of gleaming yellow and red eyes pierced through the darkness as a ghastly white arbok emerged from the underbrush, barring the party’s path forward.

It appears the only way forward is to fight.

#shaymin #pokemon ask blog #pokemon mystery dungeon #inaris-pokemon-world #pokemon ask #poke ask blog #avinshaymin #teamsunfluff

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skipper-the-selkie · 8 months ago

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you finish school and you walk back with your friends and when they are all back in their houses you put on your music and as you walk through town with Ladyfingers playing quietly in your ear the sun shines in such a way that it is not too bright but just right and there are so many people out, but not too many that it is stressful and they all smile a little awkwardly but kindly at you as they cycle past or kneel in their gardens tending flowerbeds that have been dormant since August, and everywhere you turn there are daffodils and pansies and primroses and it is warm but not hot and everything is so beautiful and you are smiling so widely to yourself, and you turn onto the hill where you live and the woods are lit so gently by afternoon sun and you look at the old well and the towering trees around it and you go past the house where the old man is always trimming his box hedge, and he smiles as always but you can tell he's fuming at his neighbour's unkempt, overgrown hedge and you keep walking and as you pass the final field you press a hand into the scraggly moss on one of the trees and send a message to the Earth and you finally turn the key in the door and the dogs come at you in a small, furious whirlwind of unconditional love and joy and you take them to the garden where you see the wildflowers you forgot you scattered are finally blooming around the apple tree and the sun is out and shining and-

#spring #springtime #Happy:)#long text #seriously this paragraph hurts my eyes #but yea. when spring comes my life becomes a cozy game #real life stardew and that #cottagecore?#YALL I LOVE THE STORY SM ITS SO CUTE DONT STOP BUT THIS IS ME WRITING ABT MY ACTUAL LIFE #LIKE EVERYTHING IN HERE HAPPENED TODAY-#skipper speaks

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andromeda4004 · 1 year ago

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Share it Sunday - Rebecca AU

I'm planning to start publishing this in about a month, and since I made great progress on it yesterday, here's a taste of the opening soliloquy. If you're familiar with du Maurier's Rebecca, I am changing a few major points of the plot, but still drawing heavily on some of the key points of the novel, including the first person perspective from an unidentified female narrator...

Last night I dreamt (more under the cut)

Last night I dreamt I went to Sanderley again. It has been many years since I left that place – I shall not call it home – and yet at times my mind does drift back there upon a sleeping tide and wash me ashore where I used to dwell. In my dream I come, as it seems, from nowhere, upon the night-time gatehouse and that long, disorienting drive, with not a thought but the pull to move onwards, inwards, through. I part the gates, their white paint flaking, though they are caught up in vines and drag across undergrowth, and the gravel beyond is narrowed from a driveway to a meandering path through the woods, the route obscured here and there by a sprawl of shrubbery or the sudden upstart of a sapling, sprouting where once the car would run. The woods go on and on, and I go with them, first walking, then running, then flying, as one does in dreams, along what remains of the path, dark ahead and enclosed above, until finally the trees give way to the opalescence of the rhododendrons, blooming at the height of their powers, despite all else having gone to ruin. They rise steep to either side of me, the sweet domesticated perennials grown monstrous, twenty feet, thirty feet, forty feet high, and covered every inch in flowers, ghostly white in the moonlight of my imagining. I remember the scent even now, something spicy-sweet and indefinable; indefatigable. The inescapable scent of Sanderley in springtime.

It lingers even as I break free, finally, of the plants which choke the driveway and I spill out onto the lawns above the house. That view, it always challenged me, should I admire first the gardens, or the sea or Sanderley itself? Even in my dream, I cannot focus, cannot choose; after the homogeneity of dark trees then pale flowers, there is suddenly too much variety to see. But of course it is Sanderley, always, that demands my attention, though the moonlight skitters beautifully across the wavecrests beyond. The broad north-east face of the house stares back towards me, two unbroken rows of perfect matched windows that reminded me always of a set of teeth, locked in a gritted grin. And bordering each window-frame that ostentatious golden finish which caught the light so prettily in the dawn, but stands out brassy now in my moonlit dream, the only point of colour in my sight. There is something awful – in the sense of awe-filled – in its great mass of stone, and glass, and glorious history. Sanderley is undeniable. Sanderley simply is.

And as I come upon the house itself, I feel again that hope, that same, strange hope that dogged my footsteps always in those days; boundless, groundless hope that a wisdom greater than my own would guide me to a purpose. When first I saw Sanderley with my waking eyes, I had thought I’d found it, that purpose; when last I saw Sanderley, I knew myself better, and I had no longer any need for hope. I had certainty.

My dreaming eyes, however, they look across the years and miles and see Sanderley as it must be by now. The ivy beginning to clog the stonework, the windows cracked and broken here and there, the soot stains where the fire broke free. I move, without any sense of effort, around the building, to the terrace which faces the sloping gardens and the distant cliffs, where the driveway ends in a white portico and wide steps, now grubby and forgotten, and the perfect formal gardens overflow their box hedges. Such a shame. Someone ought to care for this place, I think in my dream. Although it shall not be me.

____

I would love to hear thoughts and speculations, since many of you voted for me to spend time on this. I'm planning to post the story through October and November.

#good omens fanfiction #good omens au #good omens fanfic #ineffable wives #Share it Sunday #shareitsunday #good omens fanfic wip

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gutsybitsies · 2 years ago

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Based on this post about a separate camp for Chthonian demigods

Jason mumbled to himself the words of the prophecy that led to him and Katie Gardner following Connor Stoll deeper and deeper into the woods. Piper and Leo were back at camp, waiting for them to come back from this pre-quest to begin their actual quest.

"Don't freak out when we get there," Connor told her and Jason. "It will just make them want to scare you more." He looked excited though, almost bouncing off the walls despite the heaviness of the two prophecies they had received. The backpack that he carried held cartons and cartons of box mix brownies, blondies, and lemon squares. Lou Ellen's favorite, Katie Gardner said through tears as she stuffed them in.

"So all we need to do is to ask for forgiveness?" Jason asked. "And this Nico, you're sure he will do that?"

"It wasn't our choice," Jason remembered their explanation before they left. "The gods, they refused to listen to us. After Nico and the the demigods who rebelled came back from the quest, their siblings and the rest of the Underworld demigods were cast away from the camp. We begged our parents for them to be able to stay, but the borders were closed, and they were shut off from Camp Halfblood since then."

"Nico is all talk and no bite," Connor said. "It's not him I'm worried about. It's getting to his council that I'm worried about." He made a surprise left turn and jumped over some hedges. "I can feel the pull of their council more and more these days. It means that they've erected a shrine in my father's name recently. They're settling down."

"Demeter as well," Katie said. "I feel her influence."

They came to a clearing in the woods, Jason looked around for an entrance to this other demigod "hideaway" that the rest of the campers talked about.

"It's not here, this is a red herring." Connor said. He closed his eyes and sensed the path underneath their feet. "That way."

They walked into the woods for an hour more, there were strangely no monsters around.

Connor stopped and lifted his finger up to his lips, he pointed at a somber poplar tree on the side of the road. He closed his eyes again and felt the mist around him, and he sensed for the tug of the destination he had in his mind.

"I am Connor Stoll, son of Hermes, god of travelers, merchants, messengers. Son of Hermes, psychopomp of the Underworld, the guide that leads souls from the plane of living to the plane of the dead. And I request an audience with the Ghost King."

"We brought you guys cookies and brownies!" Katie supplied helpfully. "And cereal as well."

The tree shook, and slowly wilted away. The Mist around the area faded as well, and Jason was treated to the sight of a huge, ghastly solid black iron gate. It was ghastly because on the door hung rows of the heads of very much dead monsters. Their jaws were slack in death, but their eyes betrayed horror of a violent end.

The gates creaked open, and the three of them walked in gingerly.

"I'm glad they're able to-to stay safe," Katie remarked.

"You won't stay safe, not for long!" Suddenly arrows fired at them. Jason blasted the projectiles away with a gust of wind, but the distraction was enough. A net blew up from under them and caught the three of them in a trap. Teenagers and children rushed in to surround them, leading the charge was Ethan Nakamura, his one eye squinting in triumph at the capture.

"Good job, everyone." He said. "Now where should we put them?"

A skinny kid with way too many freckles in an oversized armor raised his arm. "We should put them in a jar and throw them to the fishes!"

"No," another one glared at Connor Stoll. "We should just let them rot in that cage with no food or water."

"Is this because I spiked your food with ghost pepper one time?" Connor asked. "Because it tasted delicious either way."

"Also because you stabbed me during the war," the kid said. "But mostly because of the ghost pepper, yes. Fuck your hazing!"

"Language!" gasped Katie.

"Hi Katie, hi Connor!" Lou Ellen popped in from behind Ethan Nakamura. "It's so nice to see you again! I got your care package from my dad, everyone loved it."

Jason could see that Lou Ellen looked really happy to see the two campers next to him. Along with her, some of their other ambushers smiled and waved at both Connor and Katie. She had an ugly scar that ran from under her chin down to her collarbones. She smiled brightly at them nonetheless.

"You mentioned brownies, right?" Another kid said. "I want brownies. Ethan, if we let them out the cage we get brownies, don't we?"

"We are not letting INTRUDERS into our camp for brownies," the apparent leader, Ethan, said.

Five minutes later, Jason finds his arms tied up as he trots down a beaten path to this camp's version of the Big House while their guards on either side munch down on the Betty Crocker brownies that Katie had brought.

There were shrines in this camp. Many, many shrines. Many more than the ones in Camp Halfblood. Off in the distance Jason could see and hear construction of some cabins being built. The builders shimmered, some looked like stone, some looked like...bones.

The three of them were marched toward the entrance of a cave, blocked by a boulder. Ethan marched through like it was nothing, it turned out to be just an illusion. Another Mist creation. Katie and Lou Ellen were quietly conversing, as was Connor and a sandy blond boy who had similar dimples.

They were led down the cavern. Torches lit up as they walked past as if they were motion sensitive. The dark, somberness of it pushed down on Jason, who felt constricted and hard to breathe. Connor and Katie looked fine however, something about their essence seemed to shift when they walked into the camp and down underground.

There were symbols etched on the cavern walls, mysterious Greek glyphs that Jason couldn't read. They passed by a mosaic of poplar trees and a wailing woman beside a river. Mosaics of courts of law, judgement, swords, battlefields. Punishment.

Eventually they made their way into a large clearing in the cave. It became warm, and the decor changed. It was a round room. There were tall Greek columns around a beautiful indoor veranda. On the outskirts of the room were a bunch of sofas, ping pong tables, two TVs, and an array of video games scattered across the floor.

"You guys have a flatscreen?? Two of them??" Connor said excitedly.

"And the latest Super Mario," the kid Jason assumed was his brother grinned. "And we have a computer room! With a bunch of apple laptops! And look at this." He holds up a pager. "We can use pagers here." It was at this moment that Jason noticed that this kid had two fingers missing on his left hand.

Jason noticed that it seemed like all of the members of this place had some sort of physical sign, a mark. A punishment, a warning, his mind supplied. He felt sick at the thought.

"Enough talk. We convene," Ethan said. "Bring them to the room."

The room was connected to the activities center. It was a rectangular space, supported by columns, with a hearth in the center. It felt like a throne room, accentuated by a large gloomy throne at the head. The jagged throne was made from melted swords, knives, arrows, and other presumably Greek weapons that Jason couldn't recognize. It was empty, it was looked to be the only chair there. Looked to be, Jason realized as the other campers convened and sat on seats of their own that materialized as they made themselves comfortable, was a made assumption to make in this place.

The throne was still empty, but Ethan and a stringy looking brunet with freckles took their place next to it.

The air shifted again from the warm hominess of the activities room. This place felt more potent in magic than Camp Halfblood. There was more intent, more pressure. The kids in the room gazed at them with heavy eyes.

"So what brings visitors of Camp Half Blood here?" The skinny brunet asked. "Are we to embark on another quest to be punished for our crimes, or to prove our loyalty? Is this camp too blasphemous?"

"It's good news, Alabaster, I promise!" Katie said. "Where's Nico?"

"He is not here at the moment. We will inform him when he is ready to hear from you," the teenager, Alabaster, said. "We make the decisions here as a council."

"Nico can veto, though," A sleepy looking boy supplied helpfully. "He vetoed Alabaster's last vote to burn down Camp Halfblood. He also vetoed the chocolate fountain in the agora."

"Shut. Up," hissed Alabaster. Maybe he was mad because he really wanted the chocolate fountain, Jason thought halfheartedly.

"Did you not call Nico?" Someone asked, her seat was emblazoned with the symbol of Thanatos.

"We're not calling him until we know what they want," Alabaster argued. "That's what they want. We can't give them what they want yet!"

Jason glanced at Connor, who was about to speak.

"Katie's right. It's good news. Well, also bad news. More bad new than good news. We've lost contact with the gods, and Annabeth is missing."

"Nico's little crush," said Ethan. "That's why you wanted him here, because he'll do anything to help find Annabeth."

Alabaster looked like he was about to say something, then stopped.

Katie and Connor both looked surprised, but moved forward.

"We don't need you guys to do anything, I-I would hate to request anything from any of you, I'm so glad to see that you are all doing great." Katie said. "Jason here will be going on a quest soon, we think it's related to Annabeth's disappearance and the gods' lack of contact. But the oracle sent us here first."

Connor stood up straight and spoke the prophecy that poured out of Rachel's mouth.

"Before the quest proper, bring the Betty Crocker.

Seek the angel and ask for his blessing and pardon,

Confront the Olympians' choice with might,

Right their wrongs and restore balance and light.

As a family we began,

As a family we shall end."

"I think the oracle is saying that the Fates-they're saying that you can come home. That you can come back to Camp Halfblood now," Katie said. "The gods- the Olympians were wrong. We've always known that, but now we can make amends."

"You weren't there, when this happened," snarled Alabaster as he ripped away his shirt to show a ugly, piercing burn that covered half his torso. "When our parents are dishonored. When our siblings, our family, our brothers and sisters in arms, were refused proper burial at that Camp of yours. When I had to drag Luke's body away from the border of the camp because that king ASSHOLE decided he wanted no rites, no rest, no HONOR, for him! For any of us!"

"I'm sorry that I was busy burying my own sisters and brothers! Busy burying Percy Jackson who stayed dead for you! For this!" Katie snapped back.

"Hey, hey let's calm down," Connor said. "You know that we fought for the people in this room. Katie and I, the rest of the head counselors. You know that. You know what happened."

The room quieted. Jason apparently was the only one who didn't know what happened when Katie and Connor fought for the campers here, but he wasn't about to ruin to somber atmosphere.

Suddenly the light dimmed, the torches in the chamber flickered. The throne of swords seemed to glow with inky darkness.

Shadows moved around the room, they didn't obey the laws of physics. They curled around Jason's feet as if they had physical form. The temperature dropped lower, and lower, until he could see a figure forming out of the darkness on the throne.

Two gloved hands gripped the sides of the throne as the figure leaned forward slightly. His face, Jason could see flickers of it now in the whimpering torchlight, seemed to glower without glaring at them. He was gaunt, with a sickly pale sheen to his cheeks. His eyes stared deep into Jason's soul. Power emanated from his small form, even as he himself was almost drowning in an oversized aviator jacket. Jason didn't fear a lot of things, but he felt fear then.

"I smell the blood of Zeus," he said quietly, his dark, handsome and mysterious eyes still boring into Jason's soul, pinning him to his station. "Connor, Katie, why have you brought the scion of Olympus to this camp, to this safe haven for us outcasts?"

Lights flashed again, but this time it's the sudden glint of weapons appearing in the hands of the all the demigods that surrounded them. The room glinted of celestial bronze and- and Alabaster holding an Imperial Gold sword in the direction of Jason's neck.

"Hold your horses," Nico raised a hand, and most the weapons that were drawn lowered. "I said, hold your horses."

Alabaster and Ethan reluctantly stood down and lowered their swords.

"Now, what did you say happened?"

_____________________________________________________________

"Jason must go on a quest, but we need your blessing, and your forgiveness," explained Connor. "That's why we're here, this is a sort of pre-quest."

Nico was silent, before speaking in a somber tone. "There's nothing to forgive. Not from me." He glanced at Clovis. "I volunteered to lead our past quest and exile. Ethan and the rest of the followers of Kronos had to pay their toll for their peace right now. That is balance. But there are others who didn't deserve it at all."

"Ask for their forgiveness, and I will give you mine," Nico paused, then stood up from his throne. The shadows fell from him as he stepped into the light.

He was shorter than Jason expected, especially for someone who legitimately scared him a lot. His cheeks have an olive undertone now, in the torchlight. He made his way in front of Jason, staring down at him.

"But my blessing is freely given." Nico looked unsure for a moment, as if to say how does a child of the king of death give blessings? He awkwardly placed two hands Jason's shoulders and bent down to give him a light kiss on the forehead. "I bless you, go forth on your quest with the blessing of Nico di Angelo, however helpful this might be."

He looked up to the council that convened, and out into the room where the rest of the camp waited to hear what was going on.

"I think we should have lunch. And maybe Connor and Katie can have some conversations."

Lunch was a crowded affair again. This camp had a similar setup to Camp Halfblood. Each parent god had a table of their own, but Jason saw that the campers here freely mingled during lunchtime with each other. Katie and Conner were surrounded by a bunch of campers, happily speaking with each other. Some of them were crying and jumping with joy at the prospect of being "able to go home." Others looked unsure and suspicious.

As lunch ended, Jason saw groups of them go up to Nico to have a short talk. All Nico did was nod and listen, occasionally glancing at Connor and Katie.

As the invisible nymphs (they had invisible nymphs here as well, but nymphs from the Underworld), swept away the plates, Jason saw Connor and Katie head towards Nico for a talk. They gestured for him to stay put.

Eventually, after a long talk, the three of them came back. Katie and Connor made a beeline to the group that was waiting for them, Katie threw her arms around one of the girls and started sobbing. The girl began sobbing as well, and soon all those campers were crying.

"You shouldn't be here."

Jason jumped. Nico had materialized behind him.

"I-I'm glad I'm here. It was nice to see other demigods," Jason said. "I heard so much about you guys from Camp Halfblood."

"All bad things, I'm guessing."

Jason admits he did hear the word "traitors" being thrown around. But not just that. "They miss you guys. A lot."

"Lou Ellen and Clovis and the rest of them miss Camp Halfblood, too." Nico said.

"Were you..."

"No. I fought on the side of the Olympians. So did Lou Ellen, so did Clovis, Damien, they all fought for your father and the safety of Olympus. They were spared the quest, but they couldn't go back. At least we have this place," Nico said. "Here, it's hard for the Olympian gods to reach us, it's dedicated to the Chthonian Pantheon instead. For the ones who never got recognition. To bring balance back."

"Even you were banished? But aren't you the son of Hades?"

"I-" Nico's somber face hardened with grief. "I need to protect this place. Too much has been sacrificed for this, for peace and balance."

"I think you're doing a great job, by the way," Jason said. "Just so you know."

Nico looked surprised. "Oh, thanks."

"The way you commanded them to stand down was impressive, I thought I was about to be kebab," Jason joked.

"Half my job now is just to keep Alabaster from trying to burn down Camp Halfblood," Nico said with a tight grin. "And from installing a chocolate fountain in the agora."

"Maybe he has a point. Why not a chocolate fountain? People can have chocolate dipped food anytime with that."

"Jason, your name's Jason right?" A little color comes back to Nico's face as he whirls on Jason, more animated than he's ever been in the short time that Jason has seen him. "You know how you get ants? That's how you get ants!!!"

"Not if we enchant it!!!!!!!!" Alabaster's voice is heard from across the clearing.

The three of them were about to leave, after having given away all the Betty Crocker desserts to the ravenous demigods of this camp, but Nico stopped them.

"Jason's quest sounds urgent. Let me shadow travel you back to Camp Halfblood," He looked at some of the other campers. "Is there anyone else who'd like to come with?"

Lou Ellen jumped out immediately, and two other kids as well.

Before Jason could ask what shadow travelling was, his hands were grabbed on either side by Connor and Katie, and experienced one of the most sickening and nauseating experience of his life. When they reappeared underneath the shade of a tree (not Thalia's tree) in front of Camp Halfblood, he almost fell to the ground puking. Instead, he stood up while puking.

There was a pregnant silence, with the Chthonian campers afraid to make the first move past the boundaries of Thalia's tree.

"The last time I tried," Lou Ellen said, "I got this." She pointed at her scar.

A tall demigod put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, then marched straight through the border, and beyond. He disappeared, but the rest of the campers gasped and rushed in after him.

Nico stayed behind. He had a quiet smile on his face as Lou Ellen popped her head out of the boundary and yelled "I'M BACKKKKK!!!"

"I forgive you," he said. "A wrong has been righted."

"You should join us for campfire sing a longs tonight," said Connor. "We can have a party!"

"No, I'm going to make a few more trips to bring some other people back," Nico said. "I'll be staying at my camp. Good luck though," he nodded to Jason before melting into the darkness.

"See, what did I tell you? All bark and no bite," Connor said, smiling as he jogged back in camp. "Come on, let's get you prepared for your quest!"

Jason followed behind, with the vision of the other camp, and Nico as well, haunting him. Not in a bad way though. All bark and no bite.

#nico di angelo #jason grace #connor stoll #katie gardner #alabaster torrington #ethan nakamura #jasico #my fic #chthonian camp #the other wolf won here's a gritty fic #as gritty as i can make it anyway

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