#but also you cannot tell me with a straight face that he isn’t and hasn’t like omg. But then it takes 30 pages to explain how he’s coded

[fumifooms]

You’re the resident chilchuck expert, so I was wondering about it there’s any canon evidence that he did smoke or drink alcohol when the kids were younger. I always thought it was something he picked up due to the strain of long jobs, when the kids were already older, but you seem to think differently and I was wondering if there was anything in canon that made you think that way!

Now that you mention it I guess it’s true there’s no evidence he did. Smoking we literally only know he does at all because of one post-canon panel where he has a pipe, so no, maybe this stick-looking thing in the panel below too though, I’m not familiar with medieval blunts eh. We’ve only gotten one panel of him and his daughters interacting when he was younger so that’s not too insightful on that end, and every time we see him young and freckled it’s in a job context so again not really where we’d expect him to be drinking. The earliest proof (/heavy implication since we don’t see inside his cup I guess) is 3 years before canon when Laios hired him, where he’s at a bar, classily placed in front of all the bottles ✨

Yes alcohol is almost certainly a way through which he copes especially with stress, so if we go with the theory he started around when work got stressful, well… Chilchuck started working as a dungeon diver ~10 years ago so when he was ~19, making Mei, Fler and Puck ~6 and ~4 respectively, so from that draw the ‘stressful enough to start drinking’ line wherever. We don’t know what he did before that with any certainty, and it could be he did odd jobs, lived off mostly mutual aid and community work, or just focused on only raising the girls. Half-foots tend to be poor and I see a lot of that in Chilchuck specifically so I don’t think he could have afforded to not have some paying work though.

Alright, so then why do I think he did drink when the girls were younger?

I give a more complete rundown of the info we do have on his alcoholism & his family with panels and references + all the speculation I make from it here. But the most targeted and objective answer I can give is:

Of course there’s just very very little we know of Chilchuck’s life with his family, and I think that’s by design too. I think the details being up in the air is to allow more nuance of the topic, like, will trying to reconcile go well, is their relationship salvageable? We don’t know, because we don’t know. So the message of giving hope a chance even if it’s a long shot, that things could truly go either way, is more relevant, impactful and meta in that way. How long was he usually away for work travels into dungeons here and there? How did he act with them? All we can really do is "it’s likely that", it’s a game of which way we think it’s more implied. There’s no right and wrong answer, it’s all Marcille-like larping the events out.

My main reason for thinking he did is that his father died from overdrinking and Chilchuck is very aware of that. He mentions his death casually in the extra about their stance in alcohol and in his Adventurer’s Bible profile, etc. He acts towards the alcohol presumably the same way his father did: with abandon, uncaring for the health effects, probably happily too considering Chil says "dying doing something you love is a good way to go". Very nonchalant. So you see what I’m saying here right, wether he started early or late, his view of alcoholism is very influenced by what he saw of his father growing up, it’s something he’s always been aware of and saw in a mostly positive light, something that was inherited you could say. It’s something that was normalized to him from a young age. Regardless or where it goes from there I do think this part is pretty inarguable. If he views it positively and we know that in the present alcohol is his favorite food that he loveees, why would he have held out on it? Personally that all makes me think he started drinking very young, especially since I don’t think they limited alcohol to age as much as modern standards (and I mean, teen drinking is obviously still a thing). And here you could argue, maybe his father only started being more alcoholic later when Chilchuck moved out, or something! And to that there’s nothing I can say except I think that’s a strained theory, and that Chil might even have largely cut contact with his family after moving out (since he and siblings are listed as almost strangers and he doesn’t seem to have much emotional attachment to his parents, but also we know he rents out his place to "a relative"), but it’s true we have no evidence. "I’ve picked up the same unhealthy substance abuse as my father haha! No big deal right haha" repeated several times to me just reeks of intergenerational trauma, & the alcoholism gene as they call it. Like effortless sliding into drinking as if it’s second nature, it’s natural after all, it’s normal after all, it just makes sense, it makes you feel good and that’s what matters.

BUT from my interpretation then we have a whole other layer: Alcohol is of course not all bad always. I think he’s always liked alcohol and drank it on occasion and it brought him joy etc etc, but I think here the implication in the question is, how much effect did his drinking have on the family relations and how early? And that isn’t so much about when him drinking started but when the alcoholism started. Addiction is defined by a habitual need, that has negative effects from filling that need (physical, psychological, social, etc) and negative effects from withdrawal. If Chilchuck drinks to cope and he can’t not cope without it, that’s addiction, if it affects his relationships, if it’s a need he has, it’s addiction. Addiction can be very insidious or look very casual, and how much people around the person are affected by it is case by case. Cheerful drunks can be sooo annoying and uncomfortable though let me tell you. Drunks are drunks. And this sounds harsh, but even if people around them don’t mind drunks it’ll still have some effects here and there, living with one can be such a challenge, ily drunks good luck with everything much like Chilchuck you deserve good things 🫡　

Ok so with the dad thing and the "ok well maybe he’s always drunk casually but it grew worse with time around when he started working as a dungeon diver" precision made, the other bit of info we have that can inform this is that Chilchuck is on a harsh diet and that alcohol is a hunger suppressant. We know Chilchuck "used to be fine not eating for two days", that literally on screen to quench his hunger so it doesn’t keep him awake he goes to drink water, drinking is his instinct to hunger. Again alcohol is a hunger suppressant and if you want info on that the internet has a lot of research and anecdotes about it. He diets to be light enough to not trigger traps, so it’s something he’d have started after dungeon diving most likely. Between the stress and the diet, yes it’s extremely likely he started going harder on alcohol after he started working in dungeons. There’s arguments on wether two days without eating is less bad for half-foots than humans, but apart from smaller portions there’s nothing that indicates half-foots should get less than 3 meals a day. They need less food but that’s because their bodies are smaller: the need is proportional to the body, not smaller than others’ races, the % of need is similar even if the kg amount of food isn’t. There’s also a popular headcanon with support basis that half-foots run hot and have a faster heartrate and whatnot, and that points towards a faster metabolism rather than a slower one: a bigger need for eating rather than a smaller one. He has the same bmi, 18, as Mickbell, but perhaps because Chil is much taller he’s less intensely visibly underweight with ribs showing than Mick during the bath extra, it’s most apparent when he becomes tallman.

Alcohol is something so important and omnipresent in his character that I have trouble believing it’s something that was part of only a small fraction of his life. It’s his immediate go-to, his no-brainer solution to a good time, I’ve sort of always assumed especially after looking at his family that it’s something he discovered decently young. Like he just acts like someone who’s always had alcohol to fall back on and started young idk. Alcohol is one of his 5 keywords. Alcoholism is very ingrained into his world view and life, his "it doesn’t matter" stance his ‘work hard play hard’ mentality his idea that the world is harsh so you get relief where you can, so it just makes sense to me that it’s always been in his life, if not actively then at least looming.

So yes, in summary, my take: Alcohol was always something he wholly enjoyed to an unwise level, but it could have been considered casual until he started working into dungeons and his need for it on a regular basis intensified. Alcohol has always had positive association to him as far as we see, so when it started being a problem he didn’t see it as such. To quote him, "I drink anytime I get the opportunity to". Why always? Approval of father’s alcoholism. Why alcoholism at all? Diet + stress & coping mechanism & emotional stunting + relationship issues, and she decided she had enough after they went out for drinks.

Conclusion

Chilchuck having drunk from a young age makes sense to me and it’s the strongest narrative angle I see on the table, but that’s objectively a me opinion, yes! There’s no evidence, moreso there’s canon basis and supporting info, but it’s all very left up to interpretation. I’ve made my own interpretations of things from the scraps we see, like everyone else making Chilwife and daughters content. Wether you have a stance on the topic or prefer to leave it vague in your takes, it’ll be a matter of what you think makes most sense, or what you’d rather believe I suppose (which is literally fine)

There’s a lot of subjectivity in even just setting up causal links like you probably noticed during this and I was careful with my word choices, because we’re just extrapolating from what we see and unless Kui states it explicitly from a reliable mouth all we can do is have informed opinions on most things. This particular interpretation is influenced by other details I’ve come to form about my interpretation of Chilchuck too, the more psychological and emotional sides of him and the timeline and how his marriage even happened, unplanned pregnancy imo. Like I hope you see what I mean, this wasn’t supposed to be a speculation post just a quick simple answer but there’s sort of just no other and concise but complete way with the subjectivity nuance to put "maybe it could be yes because of this but maybe it could be no because of this" haha

Edit: Wait the phrasing on this… Interesting. "In recent years"— This does imply that if not just his alcohol consumption increasing then the diversity and quality of it did, so either he indeed did start drinking more (not necessarily meaning he didn’t drink before) assumedly because of his wife leaving, or he started drinking other/more different kinds of alcohol maybe due to the union he formed + his experience gave him greater salary than he had previously (and no wife and family to provide money for), a mix of both perhaps.

[puppietooth]

let me preface this by saying i will love and adore and cherish s3 no matter happens. however, i will say — the one thing i want to see is carmy going out of his way to get back on sydney’s good side.

i’m talking begging for forgiveness, grovelling at her feet, bending over backwards for her.

imagine:

carmy gets out of that walk-in, sees the queasy look on her face, and is already drafting that notes app apology in his head. he tells her he’s sorry and that he fucked up and she tells him they managed to pull everything off without him but she cannot with his bullshit right now.

that hits him like a punch to the gut and, well, he gets it cause it’s definitely deserved.

but as the weeks go on, carmy tries to talk to her she only responds in shrugs, nods, and yes chefs. sydney goes home straight after service, after she helps with clean up, does not linger and talk in the office with him like they did before. carmy tries joking with her and she rolls her eyes more often than not. he asks her if she wants to work on the menu with him and she says no and he gets the feeling that she doesn’t even want to be alone with him anymore.

and that’s when he realizes — fuck. she’s so mad at him.

my girl is mad at me i want to die.

so? what else is carmy supposed to do but the most?

sydney comes in one morning and tells tina she was running late so she couldn’t stop by her favourite spot to get her morning latte. carmy overhears this and takes it upon himself to run to that spot, ten blocks over, to get her that latte. and when he gets back, sweetly and breathless, he gives it to her only to find out it’s the completely wrong order. but syd smiles, just a little, says a small thanks.

during family, he casually hints at the fact that he’s seeing a therapist now — says sorry chef i have therapy saturday afternoon when marcus asks if anyone would be down to go to the farmers market with him. because he needs her to know that he’s trying to get better. for himself, yes, but also for her.

his notifications are on and his phone is never on silent anymore — carmy vows to never miss a text or a call from her ever again.

carmy starts checking in with her about everything. when the walls need to be painted again he tells her, asks sydney if she’s okay with changing the floral arrangements but the bar, lets her know he’s ordering new aprons for the line cooks, runs tweets by her before posting them to the bear’s twitter account. and it gets to the point where syd has to tell him to chill — that she appreciates him not wanting to keep her in the dark, but some things just don’t need her approval. pats him on the shoulder and tells him it’s his restaurant, too.

it might come off as a bit showy but he tells her great work today, chef sydney after every service — because she is doing great work.

when sydney’s finally moving out of her dad’s place carmy is there, bright and early, moving her boxes into his car, trying to avoid the subtle stink eye her dad is giving him. again, deserved. he drives her out to her new place, helps her set everything up and lingers when she asks him if he wants coffee.

carmy shows up for her, everytime. he sets his own priorities aside, swaps them out for hers. sydney says jump and he asks how high?

it all comes to head on her birthday. before service he goes up to her and gives her a present — a scarf, fabric pink and decorated with prints of various different flowers. it’s soft and silky and he saw it on a mannequin in a window front while he was downtown a couple of weeks ago, immediately thought of her. she tells him it’s lovely and beautiful and she’ll wear it all the time but that he really didn’t have to — that he doesn’t have to keep trying to win her over, that she isn’t mad at him anymore, that she hasn’t been mad for a few weeks now, that she can see he’s trying.

then, sydney hugs him, strong and gentle at the same time, tells him — i see you, carmy.

whatever is supposed to happen after that does not happen because fak starts yelling about an exploding toilet from the room over so sydney scoffs and says she’ll go take care of it.

and it’s at that exact moment that carmy becomes aware of what he hasn’t been aware of but that has been there, right in front of him this whole time.

holy shit.

he likes sydney.

he likes her a lot.

[coffbeanie]

Posting Celestoro’s full design just cause some bits were cut off along with some info on my bby <3

-Baraan’s hairpin is on the back of Ceri’s head, and the pin is used to keep Celestoro’s bun up!

-She also gives her holders two daggers.

-They’re meant to be pretty blunt so they’re melee defense weapons -think of them like Wonder Woman’s bracelets-they can deflect shots/beams, or just as mini shields for other melee weapons

-Defensively you can also just bonk people with them

-I also like the idea of the two daggers being able to connect, so it can turn into a double edged spear thing.

-Also have an idea that they can connect into nunchucks cause it sounds cool

-Design wise they fit is meant to be kinda ballet-esque

-That’s kinda my reasoning for the ribbons, along with the fact thats it a more fem thing

-I also tried to include the taurus symbol in their design, but it was kinda difficult

-I also like the idea of their skirt being able to detatch, and maybe when it does it can change colors so it can turn into a matador like cape

-Idk if other miraculous holders can kinda do whatever with their kwami then Celestoro can do whatever they want too

-As for their debut episode (under the cut)

-Don’t ask me about it

-If i gotta be honest idk how my fellas get their miraculous

-Does ladybug give it to them? Does the guardian of this miracle box give it to them? I’m not sure yet i’m mainly just making these guys to do character design plus ship them with characters

-I have a few ideas for who the villain in their debut episode could be

-In their original debut episode we would see their dance instructor and their students, and maybe one of them could be akumatized

-Either that, or maybe we could do a Silencer 2 and have Celestoro make their debut then

-I’m leaning for this cause if you could’t tell, I ship them with Luka and I like it when couples have to face each other, one as an akuma and one as a hero

-But besides that I’m also leaning towards Luka helping Ceri realize they’re genderfluid-i didn’t mention this but a part of Ceri being akumatized into Stopwatch is that Ceri kind of knows they dont identify with the gender they were born as

-That’s why they start with they/them pronouns-they know they identify as something else, but they didn’t put “contemplate gender” in their schedule so they have no real time for reflection

-As it’s a lot more noticeable for them when they were overcome with the stress that led to Stopwatch

-And after the events of Stopwatch, while not maybe shown but with Celestoro’s debut, it’s obvious that Luka and Ceri have been hanging out a lot, and while Ceri hasn’t told Luka anything, Luka kinda knows

-During the episode if Silencer was the akuma, we’d see Luka and Ceri talking, Ceri is being open to him about their struggles with their identity, and Luka would present the idea that maybe they’re genderfluid, but Ceri isn’t quite accepting of that at first

-Sticking with this, I’d like for Luka’s akumatization to reflect Ceri’s issues somewhat when they were akumatized (and also an issue i have with his character)

-Cause i get the ha ha funny of that one scene where Luka is just giving out free therapy sessions to everyone

-But why is this child giving therapy to adults that cannot be healthy

-So Luka feels a bit of weight cause he just knows everyone’s issues and feels so pressured to help and worries that he can’t, which leads to him being akumatized into Silencer again cause he needs everyone to shut up for a minute

-Ceri is chosen to get Baraan and become Celestoro because their ability will literally allow them to get close enough without being silenced, but because their whole thing being Loyalty is meant to convey to Luka that Ceri will always be there for him and Luka can always speak to them-they’ll listen, but Ceri can’t do that if they can’t hear Luka’s voice

-Guys its full circle trust

-Gotta be straight honest i’m just yapping and throwing ideas out

-So yeah that’s all i got

-Pls lemme know if u have any questions or even any ideas to help me out

[yellowkitkieran]

To Have and To Heal (Part 5)

Masterlist

Read part 1 here

Word Count: 3.7k

Summary: Single working dad Martin Odegaard is navigating the ups and downs of parenthood all on his own, and he’s struggling. That’s not to mention football, life and... love?

Martin loves his teammates, he really does. They're his brothers in every way but blood. They'll lift him up if he hits a rough patch and keep his feet firmly on the ground when praise from the press threatens to inflate his ego. There's a few of them that are acutely tuned into his moods too, which generally he doesn't think twice about. 

Today however, he'd rather be left alone than have Kieran hovering over his shoulder. The Scotsman has been in Martin's shadow all day, a constant presence that he cannot shake. Today is an individually minded training day, each boy following their own tailored regime in the weights room for the first few hours, meaning Martin expected to be able to work off his mixed emotions. But having Kieran so close is grating on his nerves, until finally he can't stand it. 

"Mate, can I help you?"

Kieran pauses on his machine, brown eyes wide. "Erm, no? I mean I don't need a spot for leg presses so…" Kieran maintains his mask of innocence despite Martin's hard stare, which only further aggravates him. When Kieran flashes Martin a smile that's all teeth, Martin swears under his breath and resets his machine so he can turn to face his friend. 

"Why have you been shadowing me all day? You're like a- a…" Martin searches for the English word, his brain short circuiting. "A flea on a dog's back! I'm trying to work through something here-"

Kieran snaps his fingers and leans forward, "there! That's exactly what I've been waiting for- an admission! All week you've been off mate, everyone can tell. I'm just the unlucky one that got nominated to figure out why!"

Martin rolls his eyes. His lads are busy bodies. If they could mind their own business, Martin wouldn't feel so shitty because he might actually be able to process his things properly. Instead he's ended up more frustrated, because Kieran won't give him an inch to breathe. 

Yes, it's true. Martin has been quiet lately, keeping to himself more than usual. He isn't surprised that the team has picked up on it. He hasn't done anything to hide it. He's allowed Kieran to take over team talks instead of himself; anyone with half a brain would recognize his out of character behavior. That doesn't mean he's about to pour out the contents of his wilted heart to Kieran in the middle of a training session though. 

"I'm fine Kieran." Martin's response is a touch too firm, causing Kieran's eyebrows to shoot up. Martin draws a deep breath and dials it back, forcing a smile, "really, I'm fine mate. It's nothing I need to discuss, I'm working through it on my own."

Of course, being Martin's best friend means Kieran can see straight through his cheesecloth lie. It also means Kieran can read Martin like a book, thus knowing when it's best to leave an issue alone. So Kieran simply nods, murmurs a soft, 'I'm here if you need me' and continues on with his day. 

Once Kieran moves to another machine, the rubber band around Martin's chest eases enough for him to breathe properly. It allows him room to think and reflect. He needs to clear his head… which is part of the issue. 

Martin's head is a mess because you muddle his thoughts. It's gotten to the point that he can't walk outside and see the sun without thinking about you, and that terrifies Martin. 

He hasn't felt this way about anyone since the day he met Maria. She became the center of Martin's world from the moment he laid eyes on her, only shifting to make room for Atla when she was born. For three years his girls shared equal space in his heart, until fate stepped in and ripped one of them out of the picture. 

It took Atla a long time to understand what happened. Martin honestly isn't positive she understands now, actually. The weeks immediately following Maria's passing were the hardest. Each night Atla would ask for her mummy to tuck her in and listen to a story that Martin would read, and each night Martin had to gently remind her that mummy wasn't there. Martin lost count of how many times he'd told her 'Mum's in the sunset now søta, she's watching over you even if you can't see her'. Through it all, Atla rarely cried, thank god- a three year old doesn't truly know how to process grief after all. If Atla had shed tears, Martin isn't sure he would have survived. 

For two years, Martin has thrown all his energy into being a father. Anything he has to spare goes into being Arsenal's captain, and he thinks he's doing a pretty damn good job of balancing both. The learning curve was steep, and he still discovers new nuances about being a better parent nearly every day. The fathers on his team have been his backbone, though none of them understand the full weight he bears on his own shoulders. At the end of the day, they have partners to lean on. Martin only has himself. 

The scary part is, he's beginning to wonder if he's meant to be a single parent forever. He's found himself caught between a rock and a hard place: continuing to remain a loving, loyal widow, or chasing his own potential happiness. It feels like a betrayal to even consider letting someone new occupy his heart the way Maria had, but at the same time he wonders if it's fair to Atla to allow her to grow up without a maternal figure to guide her. He's not stupid; one day Atla will have questions he can't answer himself, ones that only a woman can answer properly. No matter how much research he conducts or how much he prepares himself, he will never experience the world the same way a woman might. 

Is he robbing Atla of a fundamental right, the right to grow up with a mum at her side? Everything he does is for Atla, for his daughter- is he being selfish by cutting himself off from the chance to find love?

"Oi Martin! Come on, we're headed to the pitch!"

For now, his questions will remain unanswered. He has a job to do, and he takes that job seriously. Martin quickly cleans up his mess and wipes down his machine before following the rest of his team outside for some small group drills, which is one of his favorite activities. 

Martin leads a round of keep away, passing back and forth in a small circle whilst Saka tries to intercept. It takes his mind off of anything you related, which comes as a welcome realization. Martin laughs with his friends, doubling over to clutch his stomach when Saka falls flat on his back after tripping over the ball. It feels good to be his normal self again, not having to worry about anything except the task at hand. 

The end of their session comes sooner than Martin expects. He showers and organizes his cubby, preferring things to be neat when tours come through. Then he makes his rounds to chat with the staff to ensure everyone knows they're an important part of the team in his eyes. Eventually he can't stall any longer and he is forced to head out to pick up Atla from school. 

There is a pit in his stomach as he pulls up to the limestone building. Pick up is simultaneously the part of his day that he dreads and that he looks forward to most. On one hand, pick up means he gets the rest of the night with his family. On the other hand, he has to see you, which is both a blessing and a curse. 

The gymnasium is on the opposite side of the school but he always parks out front, preferring to walk the halls and chat a bit when he can. Today he chats less, intent on seeing his daughter as soon as he can. He whistles quietly as he walks, smiling when he hears Atla clock his tune. 

"Papa's here!"

Martin is already crouched when she comes barreling over to wrap her little arms around his neck to squeeze him in a bear hug. At last Martin feels the remaining bits of his troubles melt away thanks to his daughter. She is the center of his world, and being with her makes him feel at home. 

"Hallo søta, did you learn lots today?" It takes everything in him to not immediately look up and meet your eyes. Martin still isn't sure how to act around you; he'd extended an olive branch in the form of chocolates and tulips and he is patiently waiting for you to reciprocate his energy. Until then, he is determined to leave you be.

"So much! I had a fun day- David tried chasing me on the playground but don't worry papa, I made sure he knew I wouldn't let him!" 

"She was very adamant," you say, your sweet voice drawing Martin's attention. Your smile is the first thing he truly notices. The next is the way you fiddle with the badge hanging around your neck, and the third is the way you shift your weight from one foot to the other. 

Martin tips his head and speaks before he can filter himself. "Those boots are new, they look nice. I feel like I've seen those in the window at Harrods, no?"

"Oh, um- yes actually, they were an early birthday treat to myself actually. I saw them and couldn't resist!" 

Martin would love to unpack that, so he smiles at Atla. "Go clean up your coloring things, lille venn, okay? Go on, don't make Miss. Sunshine clean up your mess!"

Once Atla is out of earshot, Martin stands to his full height and smiles. "Happy early birthday. I suppose I'll have to get you something, seeing as you do so much for Atla."

"Oh, you really don't need to Martin! I appreciate you just wishing me a happy birthday. That's really more than enough."

Martin's heart sings when you address him by name. It amazes him how something as simple as hearing you speak his name can set a flurry of butterflies loose in his stomach. 

"I'd like to get you something, if you're alright with that? I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable. From one friend to another?"

There it is, another try with the olive branch. Martin silently prays you'll accept it, because in honesty he still isn't sure how he feels about this whole thing and he wants some sort of confirmation that he isn't committing a match-ending foul. 

It takes you a minute, but Martin exhales when you nod. "I think that's fine, friends give each other presents all the time… friends also come to birthday parties, yeah?"

Your voice is soft as clouds and your eyes are tentative as they search his face. Martin is certain you pick up on his amazement. You must, because you've stunned him into silence. Martin isn't a man who is silent often. 

"Mar?"

Oh, faen. Not that name.

It's as if you reached into his consciousness and plucked out the one surefire way to sink yourself into his heart. He hasn't allowed anyone to call him Mar since his wife had passed because it never felt right. But now? Martin finds himself smiling despite the twinge of bittersweet memories. 

"Yes. I'll come if you let me know the details. Friends… friends attend birthday parties, that's a friendly thing."

Martin is falling hard. Guilt gnaws at him despite the excitement that washes over him when you grin, clearly feeling much the same as he is. Your smile quiets the war in his head temporarily, reducing the cacophony of noise to a whisper in the background. 

Amazing. Absolutely amazing that you have such an effect on him. He's lived with that noise for years and in seconds, you've dulled it to nothing. 

"I'll see you there." You bite your lip and tuck your hands behind your back, which is somehow the most endearing thing. "It's at that same bar you saw me at last month, this Friday. You don't have to drink or anything I promise, I know you have a match on Sunday!"

"I'll be there, I promise." It's as if Martin is seeing you for the first time. The way the sun filters through the skylight and illuminates the gentle planes of your face mesmerizes him. He notes the little curve of your lips that grows the longer he stares. Beautiful with a selfless soul- that's how he'd describe you. 

"Papa, I'm all done!" 

Atla shatters the moment when she tugs on Martin's sleeve. She's too adorable to be upset with, so Martin gives her a pass and offers you an apologetic smile which you accept with a wave of your hand. Martin scoops up Attie with little effort, propping her on his hip and kissing her rosy cheek. 

"Say goodbye to Miss. Sunshine," Martin prompts, smiling when Atla does just that. "I'll see you tomorrow," he adds, that same smile playing on his lips. 

"Tomorrow for sure, and then Friday evening."

"Wouldn't miss it, søta."

**********

"Kieran, I need you to watch Attie on Friday."

"Uhh sure mate, what for? It's pretty short notice, but you're lucky I don't have anything planned." 

"Shut up mate- if you had plans you wouldn't let any of us hear the end of it." 

Kieran drops his weights to the padded floor. The resulting thud rumbles through Martin's bones, "Okay, for one, that's harsh even if it is true. And second, why am I watching Attie? I mean I love her and I have no problem doing it, but what's so important that you'd leave her with me?"

Martin knows he can be honest with Kieran. He's probably the one person who won't ever judge him. Regardless, Martin wants to keep this secret for a little longer, at least until he sees how Friday goes. 

"I'm just going out with some friends. You're sure you can watch Atla? I can make you up a list of what to do."

Kieran chuckles, "Mate, it's not my first time watching my goddaughter. I got this! Bedtime is eight on the weekends, no television an hour before bed, and… Friday isn't a bath night so that makes my job easy! I'll plunk her down with a set of coloring books and some blank pages and we can go wild, it'll be fun!"

"Alright yeah, that seems fair. Just don't let her have too much-"

"Sugar, yes Martin I am aware!" Kieran waves a hand flippantly, "I know what I'm doing like I've said! Just have some fun doing whatever secret mission you've got, you need to loosen up a little."

"I do not-" Martin begins to snap, but then notes Kieran's amused smile and stops himself. Martin forces himself to breathe and unwind before finishing, "I do not need to loosen up, I'm doing just fine thank you." 

"Sure mate if you say so- you're just going out with 'friends' that aren't at Arsenal, nothing odd about that!"

Again with Kieran being annoyingly perceptive. Martin is beginning to think having a best mate is more trouble than it's worth. Kieran is lucky Martin loves him because in the end, having Kieran around is more beneficial than it is a nuisance. 

Once a time for drop off is agreed upon, the two part ways. Martin only has two days to come up with an outfit that's acceptable for a night out but also doesn't scream 'I'm trying to show off in front of all your friends', which is a struggle. Considering his closet is filled with basic t-shirts and designer jackets with no real in-between, he'll have to head out after training and buy something. 

The only issue is Martin has no clue what's what when it comes to fashion. Kieran at least has some sort of idea of what's trendy and looks good…

Martin sighs and heads back over to Kieran, "Mate, are you free tonight to help me shop?"

"Shop for what?" Kieran feigns innocence as he finishes up his set of curls. "Food? Because I'd think you pay someone to do that for you. At least that's what most of us lads do!"

"Don't make this hard for me, you know what I mean Kieran." Forcing Martin to voice things he isn't ready to is like pulling teeth. Not only is he reluctant to do so, but it's also incredibly painful and Martin would prefer to keep it to himself. And for some reason, Martin feels oddly protective over you, as if letting Kieran know it's you he's going on a pseudo-date with will allow Kieran to sweep you out from under him. For now, Martin feels safer with a cloak of mystery to protect him. 

Kieran clears his throat and drags Martin into the present. "Right, sorry mate. I'm free and I'd be happy to help you shop for something to wear- you'll have to give me some details though? What sort of place you're going to, as a bare minimum. I can't have you showing up to a steakhouse in Dunks, you know?"

Martin nods. That much he is comfortable sharing. "It's just a club, so nothing fancy. I just don't normally do casual? So I only have really casual, and I don't think that's appropriate. I'd like to impress the people that are gonna be there."

Kieran nods, thinking for a minute. The grin that lights up Kieran's face has Martin's head racing with thoughts of what the Scotsman might be up to. 

"I know just the place, mate. Bring your credit cards cause it's gonna be expensive!"

**********

"Babe! What did I tell you?! Don't get involved with him- and you just straight up went against everything I said!"

"I know I did Jen!" Your pacing is nearly wearing holes in the circular orange carpet in the center of her room. You've walked the perimeter of your self-imposed prison cell at least a dozen times in the past ten minutes whilst enduring a well-deserved lecture from your friend. "Look, why can't I be friends with him? There's no rule against that in the ethics handbook is there? I'm just fostering positive relationships between myself and the parents of my students!"

"Oh, that reads like a textbook. Babes, you know why you can't do that. You'll catch feelings! Hell, you caught feelings for that writer at the Starbucks down the street for your flat and you never spoke a single word to him. You think you can be friends with Martin 'I'm the best looking single dad ever' Ødegaard and not feel a thing?"

Was it a foolish decision to invite Martin to your birthday gathering? Obviously. It isn't your fault that he's too damn charming and irresistible. You hadn't expected Jen to be over the moon with your idea, but you had crossed your fingers in hopes of her supporting you. 

"Okay, maybe I made a mistake-"

"You think?!"

"-but realistically what's the worst that could happen? Technically Attie isn't my student, so there's nothing that says Mar and I can't be involved."

Jen rakes a hand through her hair, her blue highlighter leaving a streak behind. "I mean technically you'd be fine, but if the other parents found out, who knows what they'd do? The entire school is filled with Mum's constantly lusting over that man- all it takes is one of them getting a touch too jealous and spreading some terrible rumor for things to go ass over tits."

You hate it when Jen is right. The fantasy you cooked up in your head is much more favorable than the reality she's just whacked you upside the head with. You deflate, finally ceasing your feet long enough to sit cross legged on the carpet. 

"Look Jen, I don't even think he's interested in me like that anyway. He's got this trauma, I can see it in his eyes- he just feels… broken hearted. I think he needs a friend to lean on, someone outside of Arsenal. Like a new perspective, you know? Maybe I can be that for him."

At this point, you're grasping at straws to invent a reason why this is a semi-acceptable idea. In truth you're being selfish, wanting to see if you can sus out how Martin feels beneath that steely armor he wears. You can chalk it up to your teachers instincts; seeing people struggling silently isn't something you can sit by and tolerate without trying to help. You don't have it in you to watch Martin continue to come in and paint on a happy face for his daughter when you've noticed flashes of something much more troubled beneath the surface. 

"For the record, I hate this idea." 

"I know you do, Jen. But you going along with it is exactly why I love you." You hold up one finger, pleading with your eyes for her to hear you out. "One outing, that's all I ask. You'll be there the entire time to keep me in check, totally supervised and everything."

Jen shakes her head, taking her time in answering to ensure her discontent is well noted. "I'm only doing this because I love you. One outing- and I'm not letting you drink until he's gone. You get all touchy when you have tequila and I know that's what you'll wind up having."

You break into a cheek-splitting grin that is impossible to hide even if you wanted to, "that's a deal. Have I told you I love you?"

"Not nearly as often as you should, considering how much I risk for you on a daily basis. Now go home and pick out an outfit, let me grade in peace."

"Trust me, I've got just the thing in mind."

[noodyl-blasstal]

Man I Love Frogs

It's @taznovembercelebration day 21 - we're still hanging in there! Today's prompt cards were: "familiar" and "problem". You can read below or on Ao3. Missed yesterday? Find it here!

-

“Hello Taako.” Kravitz inclines his head and tries his best not to smile. “Do you have some comments about my paper?”

“Whaddya know, my man, I do!” Taako smiles like he’s trying to power a city with it. 

Kravitz does his best not to stare, he always does his best not to stare. He fails, he always fails. It’s not his fault though! Taako’s bright and handsome and after the drunken squat off at the first conference dinner Kravitz knows exactly how toned his arse is. He checks in regularly, just to make sure it’s still the same. It is. It’s for research though, time series analysis. Anal-ysis. No, terrible. Bad! He cannot afford to think dirty thoughts or awful puns. Taako knew his shit, Kravitz had to be on top of this. 

The academic comment wrestling shouldn’t be so hot, but Taako doesn’t come up to him in the usual way, the patronising ‘I’m here to talk about myself and your paper is just a mouthpiece for me to do it, in fact, this is only tangentially related’ way. Taako’s comments are actually helpful, insightful even! Plus, plus, he backs down when he’s wrong (although he does it quietly, but Kravitz can’t blame him for that.)

“Taako appreciated the way your big smart guy brain got round the translation limitations on the application sigil.”

Oh. That… was unexpected. This isn’t the usual pattern. By now Taako should be telling him about a hole in his logic or something he could have referenced but missed. He wasn’t always right, sure, but regardless of what he was saying and how right it was, he never started off with compliments.

Taako steps closer, lays an earnest hand on Kravitz’s forearm. “I’m just a simple idiot wizard, but even cha’boy can appreciate a…” Taako pauses and looks straight into Kravitz’s soul. “...solid combination.” 

Taako has something in his eye, he finishes speaking and closes just one. He doesn’t seem to rub it after so, so maybe it’s not that serious. Kravitz wants to ask if he’s okay, but he probably shouldn’t make a big deal of it.

“Yes.” Says Kravitz, smartly, wittily, good at social interaction-ly, instead of fussing.

“There’s a certain combination that Taako wanted to talk to you about, kemosabe.”

Taako looks at Kravitz like he’s supposed to say something here, like he hasn’t just stopped talking part way through a sentence.

“Okay?”

Taako doesn’t seem to be perturbed by Kravitz’s conversational mastery, thank the lady. He just powers on regardless.

“See, we’re both geniuses, you and I.”

Huh. Kravitz knows that Taako’s a genius, it’s undeniable when you look at the research he’s involved in. All the bonds stuff is fascinating - especially the impact of food on the strength. Kravitz still feels sorry for Magnus and the month Taako only made food he hated to see if it changed their bonds. He also felt sorry for whatever ethics committee Taako bullied that approach through, he’d love to see the paperwork.

Taako (thankfully) doesn’t wait for a response, which is good, because Kravitz doesn’t have one.

“... and I think it’d be a good idea for us to get closer. You know, really tackle some important questions on bonds, if you know what I mean?”

Kravitz did know what he meant! He didn’t think it would ever happen. He’d hoped, sure, but to actually be experiencing it? He’s going to burst, his Mums are going to be so excited! They’d told him to believe, that he could do anything, but this seemed so impossible, so implausible!

“You want me to join the bonds research team? Yes! Yes I’d love that! Taako, thank you so much! Oh gods! This is incredible!” Kravitz tries to keep the excitement out of his voice, he really does, but it’s impossible. He knows that there’s a giant smile plastered across his face and his hands are flipping at his sides. Taako’s not going to think it’s professional, but Taako’s wearing cowboy boots with flame decals (which Kravitz would bet any money he stole from Lup) at a conference so who’s he to judge?

“Er…” Taako pauses. Taako pauses too long. Shit. Fuck. What else could he have meant? “Yeah. That’s exactly what cha’boy was asking you, Kravster. Lemme just… er… I’m just going to text the gang and let them know how excited you are, you know, to join us.” He grabs his phone and smiles at Kravitz as he backs away. “They’re all going to be excited too.” Taako says, from his corner, before turning away and frantically typing.

Kravitz waits happily, he’s riding the joyous wave still, hands locked in the inevitable tide of it swirling by his sides, riding currents which existed only in his mind.

“Hey.” Taako appears by his side.

“Hello!”

“So, I think it would be helpful to talk about over dinner. Taako’s treat. You can tell me about how frogs fit into bonds and I can tell you about not-science.”

Kravitz would very much love to hear about not-science as long as it relates to Taako. Oh… shit.

“Will you need to measure our bond?” Maybe it will just register overall, it doesn’t need to show anyone’s individual feelings, surely? 

“I’d certainly like to get the measure of it.” Taako says and links his arm with Kravitz’s, leading him out of the lobby. Kravitz looks back towards the ballroom, but Taako tugs him away from the hotel.  “We’re not going to the conference meal, it’s a million quid and there’s a disco.”

“I would have thought you’d like to dance.” Kravitz says absently. He knows it’s supposed to be about work, but Taako’s his new colleague, it’s important to get to know each other.

“Taako loves to dance. Taako does not do conference dancing. I’d eat it up. Obviously. But it wouldn’t be fair to anyone else who came. They’d be distraught, they’d never dance again.”

“Oh no. You’ll definitely have to demonstrate for me though. I’m ready to be impressed.”

Taako shimmies next to him. “Don’t tempt me, handsome.”

Handsome? Taako called him handsome! Kravitz doesn’t care if it’s an objective colleague assessment, Taako said it, Kravitz heard the words come out of his beautiful mouth and there’s no take backsies. 

“Okay.” Kravitz says happily. “I might later though.” If they go and dance after dinner he’ll get so much time with Taako!

“Cha’boy is amenable to some late night temptation with you.”

“Great! I’m in!” Says Kravitz happily. Maybe they can dance together wherever they end up?

He looks down at their looped arms and smiles. To think he nearly missed this conference, a new colleague, a new project! He can’t wait to get started on the new research.

“Anyway.” Says Taako. “... about the frogs? Don’t worry about the phone, I’m just taking some notes.”

-

I hope you enjoyed! Wanna read more? Here's the next prompt!

[moreespressoformydepresso]

You think the Descendants books are canon? And who's you're least fave AK and why?

Yes and no. I think the books color in canon, and things like the shrimpy debacle and Cruella’s abhorrent parenting certainly seem to fit in very well with the movies, but I don’t think they’re straight up 100% canon. Mostly because the rotten four in the movies are very close and behave like they’ve been besties since birth. They have a clear, deep bond and behave like they’ve known each other since forever. You cannot tell me with a straight face that they met in the same year that the movies happened. Also, their parents live together in the movies and they don’t in the books. Well I guess it’s not explicitly stated that they do, but how else do we explain them being together whenever they’re onscreen, and stuff like Evil Queen knowing how the “safe” works? It’s the most logical conclusion to me. Aside from that, Ben and Mal give no indication of recognizing each other in the movies, so the dreams aren’t canon either unless I’m supposed to believe that Ben made a declaration based on his dream, partially to get that one girl off the isle, and then didn’t recognize her when she stood in front of his face. To me it seems some parts of the books are canon, some are canon-esque, and the rest are creative liberties for the sake of telling a good story.

My least favorite AK is Chad, I hate his guts. Or rather his lack thereof.

It was a tossup between him and Audrey, but Audrey has redeeming qualities and a reason to be the way she is. I briefly considered going with Jane but she’s only kinda unlikeable in the first movie and just like Audrey has good qualities and a reason to be Like That. Chad does not. Like- at all. He doesn’t have a single good thing about him, he doesn’t do anything other than act horribly, and his only merit is that he’s so unlikeable we can laugh at him every time he face plants into the mud. His main character trait is that he’s mean, he’s judgmental, and he uses his good looks and status to get what he wants (like making girls do his homework and then dumping them/not following through on his end of a deal). Then in D3 he’s lost all the charming front and has turned into a pathetic coward who licks Audrey’s (fabulous) boots and that’s it. That’s all he has. His reason for being that way?

Good question, I’d love to know too!

Actually no at this point I honestly don’t care, but I guess I’d hear it out if we ever got anything. That’s why I dislike Chad so much though, there’s nothing to him. He’s an antagonist making our villain protagonists’ lives harder because he can and he’s something for the audience to laugh at or yell at, but he’s got nothing beyond that. I can’t analyse him, I can’t really talk about him in any meaningful way because there’s nothing to talk about. Audrey, I can talk about for days, because she’s fascinating and a lot deeper than you’d think in the first movie, but Chad just isn’t. Jane was only kinda mean in the first movie and it’s clear that it’s because she’s been an outcast all her life. Of course she’ll do anything to keep her newfound popularity once she’s finally accepted! When you get what you’ve wanted all your life you’ll do stupid shit to not lose that again, especially if you’re an insecure teenager. And Audrey was told since birth she’d be the queen of Auradon, her grandma (who she clearly cares about a lot) puts a lot of pressure on her and even talks down to her when Ben breaks up with her in a way I’d say borders on verbal abuse.

"A lifetime of planning gone. Our family status gone. Audrey you were supposed to be his queen and you let him slip through your fingers."

"Your mother could hold on to a prince her sleep."

Imagine someone you love deeply telling you that because your boyfriend broke up with you. Look at that and tell me queen Leah hasn’t been pushing Audrey to become queen since forever. Audrey herself says she and Ben were supposed to be a couple from an early age, practically betrothed, that whole thing was not her idea and I can imagine her boyfriend singing a love song for another girl in front of the entire school isn’t gonna inspire nice behavior. Was Audrey a little vain? Yes, but again she’s clearly had much pressure put on her to be perfect (she and my Anthony would get along great with the instilled perfectionism, I might write about them bonding one day 👀). Her behavior can be explained, and given her lyrics in Queen of Mean we can assume that she was very nice to people who weren’t the VK’s. As you can tell by the length of this, there’s a lot to talk about with Audrey. I can’t do that with Chad because there’s nothing there. He’s not a good person, and that’s all we get.

The most I can do is tell you he’s a representation of the nature vs nurture themes, with his parents being heroes and him being the way that he is, but not only is that very obviously his purpose in the story aside from driving the drama of the plot, he’s also not the only character serving that purpose. Queen Leah does it better than he does given the way she treats Audrey (her grievances with Mal and her behavior towards here are unjustified, but they do have a basis), and Audrey is just a more interesting angle to take in that theme. Jane’s little “mean girl” phase is better than Chad’s whole character, because it shows in just a few scenes how good people can become assholes in certain circumstances.

So yeah fuck Chad, at least he’s an easy pick for when I wanna write drama and need an inciting incident. He’s perfect for that if nothing else.

[intosnarkness]

From Assorted Short Stories:

Inej turns around, her back to him, and scrubs at her eyes with the heels of her hands. She’s not going to cry. Not over something that hasn’t happened yet.

“You know what the difference is?” Kaz says, his voice still strained, but soft. “Between me and Rollins?”

He waits for her to reply, but she doesn’t. She just waits for him to tell her.

“I remember.”

She turns to look at him, cataloguing the far away look on his face.

“I remember every person I put in the ground on my way up. Everyone I hurt. I remember their names. Their faces. I can’t forget them, I’ve tried. So when that kid puts me on his knees and demands I say that name, I promise you, I will say it.”

Now the tears are at the back of her throat, unbidden. She knows he has ghosts, they both do. But it suddenly strikes her just how haunted Kaz really is.

“All of them?” She asks, reaching down to take his hand

He doesn’t flinch away, just lets her lace their fingers together as he nods.

“Trust me,” he whispers. “I remember everything.”

I chose this one because I concur with the idea that Kaz would remember.

Ooooh very interesting choice!

(Get yourself a DVD commentary)

So my first instinct with this prompt was just to straight up plagerize Not So Righteous by 13agota (explicit, mind the tags) in which Inej is worried that Kaz will have forgotten what they had outside of Ketterdam when they go back. I decided not to steal their idea, but it was a temptation.

I don’t think I outright state it in the fic, but I imagined it happening in the Van Eck mansion, surrounded by opulence. He gets shot on his way home from there and turns around and goes back to bleed on their damask sheets.

I think Kaz has a hyper vigilance born from his PTSD but also from the specific nature of waking up on the barge- he and Jordie dropped their guard and he ended up there. So if I ever write a “without your armor or not at all” fic, Kaz letting go of that need to be on guard would be part of it. But that hyper vigilance is why he remembers so much- he has the kind of trauma response that won’t allow him to forget, and I am projecting.

Literally my first thought after finishing CK was that Kaz was building his own downfall the same way Pekka did, because you can’t live the lives they do without destroying a few people. I also think book Pekka is kinda a little bitch who honestly was not to blame of Jordie’s death. He absolutely wronged those boys, but he isn’t responsible for any of the choices they made after- they could have left Ketterdam. They didn’t have good choices, but they did have some. And I think the cruelest thing he did was give Kaz a sense of belonging and family that was an illusion.

I also don’t believe Kaz will be able to say the name when a person does get him, because Kaz is somewhat willfully blind to the scope of the damage he does. He might remember everyone he cons or hurts personally, but what about rival gang members who die in a shootout with the Dregs? What about someone who bets their life savings at the casino and whose kids go hungry? Indentures at pleasure houses he doesn’t save? Any of the people who love those people could blame him the way he blames Pekka, for creating an opportunity even if Kaz is functionally blameless. He is haunted by knowing names, not his actions, and those things are very different.

I don’t know if he knows they’re different, or if Inej does. I doubt it. They’re still felonious children in this story and that kind of nuance comes with age.

The very next thing that happens in this scene is that Inej crawls into bed with him and he lets her be the big spoon for like the first time ever. Kaz very much wants to be held and very much cannot let himself acknowledge that want. But being hurt is a good excuse.

[rinzis]

who i think would be best at cards against humanity: genshin edition

tw cards against humanity references ig LOL

1. CHILDE. you cannot tell me this guy hasn’t played it with his Actual Child siblings. whenever he plays he comes out with the best (or worst . depends on how u see it) combinations possible that are horribly offensive and just make u physically recoil with how evil they are. somehow gets all the best and most ambiguous cards like ‘pedophiles’. usually makes scaramouche cry from frustration when they play it together bc scara might be a total evil dick but childe has smart plays . childe def shits himself laughing whenever he gets any wild cards like ‘pac man guzzling cum’ because he’s literally 5 years old……. the other harbingers refuse to play with him because he always wins and has definitely lost friends over it 11/10 overall

2. kaeya ok listen to me this man fully SMIRKED and was snickering away during crepus’ funeral 100% canon had to be escorted leave the church bc he couldn’t keep it together. now. this man Does Not Hold Back when it comes to this game. tries his absolute hardest and literally prays to the gods that he gets the card with ‘orphans’ and then looks directly at diluc whenever he plays it . the only downside is that u can never beat him bc his plays are also downright ruthless and will slander ur entire family 9.5/10 overall

3. hu tao. every time she gets a death related card she starts like vibrating like JUMPING in her seat bc when she plays that card u know . u know she’s won . also laughs at every single combination that people play, laughs at the shit related ones like ‘shitting into a laptop and closing it’ because she’s just. she’s like that . also she practices on zhongli just to see the look on his face when she puts down her cards to make ‘a romantic dinner isn’t complete without your dead lover’s corpse.’ oh dear. 8/10.

4. albedo . listen to me. i just know this man comes up with the most downright evil combinations that would actually make a grown man cry. for some reason all the cum related cards just make him giggle ???? not quite the same slander level as kaeya but way meaner than hu tao and somehow manages to keep a straight face the whole way through even when kaeya’s roasting his bloodline . but then albedo would probably crack a tasteless evil khaenri’ah joke and then kaeya starts crying along with everyone else just from playing cards against humanity with albedo . ruthless 7.5/10 overall

5. ningguang . i just KNOW that under that mighty facade she enjoys bullying the shit out of the qixing and the adepti i KNOW that she can’t wait to just abuse morax . makes poverty jokes and makes the poor cry. ‘it’s a rich people thing.. you wouldn’t understand.’ absolutely rich bitch 6/10

honorable mentions: raiden shogun, dottore, eula, kazuha, childe’s family

[letcaleslack]

Cale and co in Korea Part 13

This high-school drop-out can’t teach

[Part 1]

On rested her head on her forearms and watched the people gathered around the dining table. Hong was sitting next to her and tracing the korean letters Choi Han had drawn on a sheet. On’s own sheet laid already finished before her. Raon was across from them and enthusiastically writing a list of questions about the korean language he was planning to ask Cale. On didn’t tell him that Cale wouldn’t appreciate that.

Beacrox had left the lesson early to prepare dinner, Ron was helping him. Rosalyn and Eruhaben were having a stilted conversation in korean. The ancient dragon had quickly absorbed the language and was now helping Rosalyn. On thought that dragons really were special. Not that she didn’t already know before, but she felt it more directly in that moment. She could barely keep the letters straight, remembered only a handful of words and could only speak sentences like “Hello, my name is On” and “I’m 13 years old”. Raon and Eruhaben meanwhile could converse fluently and had memorised the alphabet in what felt like an instant.

Everyone else was far away from being able to understand this world’s language. It didn’t help that Choi Han was as good a language instructor as he was an actor. There was a reason Raon was writing that list. It was because Choi Han didn’t know the answer to most of his questions. He’d looked embarrassed as he explained that it had been a long time since he’d been in school and while could still speak korean fluently, he didn’t remember any rules the language had.

On sighed. “I wonder when Cale is coming back.”

Eruhaben and Rosalyn stopped talking. Choi Han also looked up from where he was correcting Lock’s work sheet.

Rosalyn smiled. “I expect the young master-nim will be back in time for dinner. His work shift cannot reasonably be longer than that.”

Hong scowled and traced the next letter more forcefully. “I don’t understand why he has to work. We should just smack some bad guys and loot them dry.”

Eruhaben cleared his throat. “While I agree, I think Cale isn’t actually working for money’s sake. That punk … there’s no way he would do honest work with that personality of his.” He met Choi Han’s gaze. “That work … it must be a part of Cale’s plan.”

Choi Han frowned. “Why are you looking at me like that, Eruhaben-nim?”

Eruhaben: “Don’t you know what Cale is up to?”

Choi Han answered with a stoic face. “I don’t. Cale hasn’t told me anything.”

Everyone believed him. Choi Han had very obvious tells when he was lying and he had just spoken normally.

Thankfully a certain black dragon was much better at lying and avoiding blurting out secrets. Cale had told him to keep the meeting with Rok Soo a secret so he was doing that, just as he had kept Cale’s transmigration a secret.

Eruhaben: “Then can you guess what Cale’s plan is?”

Choi Han had been thinking about that for a while. However, he wasn’t actually familiar with this world. What little information he got from Jung Soo’s memories was outdated by now. He had a few ideas, but – “Cale is unpredictable. It could be anything.”

Eruhaben sighed heavily. “Isn’t that just right? He does the craziest shit.” He clenched his fist and looked down at it with an intense stare. “I don’t like that he’s out alone. There’s no one to stop him when he gets a stupid idea.”

Everyone’s expression darkened as they remembered Cale stabbing himself with the world tree’s dagger.

Raon flared up. “That won’t happen again! The human promised! And I’ve made a lot of progress learning korean so I can soon help the human out! Ah, but it would be even earlier if Choi Han were a better teacher.”

No one objected Raon’s assessment of Choi Han’s teaching. Choi Han’s shoulders slumped and he lowered his head. Lock patted him comfortingly on the shoulder.

***************

On the way back home from work Cale stepped by a bookshop and picked up a couple books on the korean language as well as childrens’ picture books. The children didn’t have any toys right now and Cale would rather pay for the books than have them bother him.

As Cale opened the front door he could hear many feet approaching.

Raon flew straight at him, stopped just before hitting him and gently grasped his jacket with his paws. “HUMAN!”

On and Hong also ran up to him and rubbed their faces on his legs. The adults and Lock also gathered in the entrance, but stayed a few metres back.

Cale: “Did something happen?”

Ron smiled benignly. “Everything was peaceful, young master-nim. This butler wasn’t able to catch any rabbits.”

Why did he sound regretful? And wasn’t the hunter much more dangerous than a rabbit? Cale frowned. “I see.”

He observed the group and his gaze zeroed in on Choi Han who looked very exhausted. It was a big difference from the usually energetic swordsman.

Beacrox: “Dinner is nearly finished. I’ll go set the table.”

Cale: “Perfect timing.”

Beacrox turned around and left for the kitchen. Lock followed him, saying he’d help.

Cale looked down at the children averaging 10-years-old. They were looking at him with expectant gazes. He tried to unpluck Raon from himself. Raon tightened his grip.

Maybe they had somehow anticipated that he’d bought them a gift? Children could be strangely perceptive.

Cale pried one of Raon’s paws off his chest and closed it around the bag with children’s books. “That’s for you, On and Hong.”

As expected, Raon let go and held the bag with both paws, staring at it in wonder. On and Hong also focused on the bag and moved away from Cale.

Cale stepped forward and gave the other bag to Choi Han. “I thought that would be useful for you.”

He moved past the group until he came up to Ron.

The butler spoke up as Cale passed him. “How was your day, young master-nim?”

Cale immediately stopped at the calm and somewhat frightening voice. He thought back on the boring lecture, the overheating due to using record, hearing and smelling the difficult pooping session of Ma’s secretary before he could flee, then replacing that secretary and doing coffee and copying runs.

Cale answered with his usual stoic face and voice. “As good as a work day can be.”

Ron chuckled and Cale quickly fled from that creepy sound.

Rosalyn kneed down before the children. “What did the young master-nim get you?”

The children were gathered on the floor and each held a book.

Hong: “They’re korean story books!” He could easily tell from the illustrated covers.

On looked toward Choi Han. “Did you also get story books?”

Choi Han was staring at the books in his hand with a difficult expression. They had titles like “Korean for Dummies”, “Korean Grammar and Phonetics Part 1” and “Korean Language Workbook”.

Choi Han sighed. “Haaa … Cale-nim, he really … ” He shook his head and smiled faintly. Cale had anticipated that he’d have difficulties teaching and found something to help him.

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

Ikevamp Act 2.5

Chapter 11

One late afternoon...

On a hill where red roses bloom under the setting sun, three pureblooded vampires faced each other.

Leonardo: "............."

Vlad: "I didn't expect you to send Da Vinci to fetch me."

Comte: "Long time no see, Vlad."

Vlad: "I haven't seen you like this for hundreds of years, Abe―no, the Count of Saint Germain."

Vlad almost utters the name he used to call him when they were still friends and quickly rephrases it.

Then, Comte, with his golden eyes, looks around the windy hill.

Comte: "This hill is the only thing that hasn't changed since then. It's as beautiful as before."

Vlad: "I used to come here once in a while, but I never saw you, so I thought you'd forgotten about me."

Vlad: "Why did you decide to see me now?"

Leonardo: "You're really asking why?"

Comte breaks the ice as Leonardo sighs at Vlad, who tilts his head like an innocent child.

Comte: "The other day, the residents of my mansion were attacked by the people they had a history with."

Comte: "The only one who can do that is you."

Comte: "After I left you, you built your own door, and you've been looking for a chance to test the great men I've revived. Isn't that right?"

Vlad: "So, what are you going to do? Kill me to stop me?"

Comte: "............"

Comte looks more annoyed by the unfazed Vlad.

Comte: "Vlad, I came here to talk to you."

Comte: "Is your ambition still the same?"

Vlad: "............"

Vlad looks into his old friend's eyes and laughs.

Vlad: "Pft-Ahaha! You're still the same man to ask my wish at this stage of the game, Comte."

Vlad: "You're as cruel and kind as ever."

He stares down and mumbles this to the rose at his feet and looks at Comte again.

Vlad: "My ambition will never change. By any means necessary, I will change the future of this world."

Vlad: "We, vampires, are immortal. We are outside the laws of the world."

Vlad: "But that's why we can change the world and watch over the humans forever."

Vlad: "Just like what I told you before we said goodbye, Comte."

Comte: "I don't agree with managing human thoughts for that purpose, much less using the talents of great men."

Vlad: "You said that before, too."

Although both parties share the same concern for the world, the future, and human beings, the words they throw at each other don't match, and silence falls.

Then...

Leonardo: "You guys are not on the same wavelength."

Leonardo: "I'm a pureblood, so I understand your feelings for humans."

Leonardo: "I once selfishly sought eternity with humans, too..."

Comte: "Leonardo..."

Comte looks at Leonardo, who reminisces and smiles bitterly.

Leonardo: "But humans live their limited lives as best they can."

Leonardo: "I'm sure you know how beautiful that is, Vlad."

Vlad: "............."

Leonardo: "No one in this world, not even us purebloods, has the right to tell humans how to live their lives."

Vlad: "You're right. People are fragile and lovable. I love them just the way they are."

Vlad: "But people make sad mistakes―mistakes that cannot be undone."

Comte: "You mean the devastation you saw in the future?"

Leonardo: "So you're going to set the course straight? You think you're a God?"

For a moment, a pang of loneliness flashes in Vlad's eyes as he hears the word, God.

Vlad: "If God is supposed to be perfect, why is there evil in the world?"

Vlad: "I remember some philosopher saying that."

Leonardo: "Leibniz?"

Vlad smiles like a ceramic doll, not a hint of loneliness in his eyes anymore.

Vlad: "When I saw that sad future, I decided that I would definitely save this world."

Vlad: "Hey, do you think what I'm trying to do is evil?"

Comte: "..........."

Amber, golden and crimson eyes intersect, mirroring each other...

After a while, Leonardo turns away.

Vlad: "Oh, you're leaving? I thought you would punch me at least once."

Leonardo: "If I punch some sense into you now, I'm no different from the brainwashing you're doing."

Leonardo: "If you're going to stick to your own justice, we'll also stick to ours."

With that, Leonardo walks away without looking back, and Comte, staring at his back, looks back at Vlad again.

Comte: "Hey, Vlad. You were once betrayed badly by humans."

Comte: "But then there was a "human" who saved you, yes?"

Vlad: "............"

Comte: "Don't you think that by controlling people's hearts, you're also trampling on the kindness of that person?"

Vlad shuts his lips in response to his question, then says something unexpected.

Vlad: "Hey Comte. Mitsuki is such a nice girl."

Comte: "Why do you suddenly mention her name? Is it because you've already investigated her?"

Vlad: "Don't be so paranoid. I met Mitsuki by chance on the street. I guess you could call it a miraculous fate."

Vlad: "I can't remember her face very well because it's been too long, but I felt like she was the one who saved me."

The look in his eyes is more wistful than nostalgic.

And yet, feeling a sense of regret that they can no longer understand each other, Comte tells him this.

Comte: "Vlad, your love is so pure. But you're constantly torn between your love for humans and your ego."

Comte: "However, if you hurt my family or Mitsuki, I won't forgive you."

Comte: "I promise to protect them with my own hands."

Comte turns on his heel, fluttering the hem of his coat, and leaves among the roses.

A gust of wind dances across the room and Vlad is left alone as petals block his view, drowning out his old friend's back.

Vlad: "It would have been better if I didn't have to carry anything on my back. But..."

Vlad: "Someone has to change things. I will only hate the sins humans commit and save this world."

Vlad: "This world in which you are living, Mitsuki."

Vlad's letter arrived at the mansion a few days later.

"On the night of the crescent moon, I will give you a gift. Show me your true worth."

It was unmistakably a warning of an attack.

[Mansion’s Garden]

Duke of Wellington: "Haa! I'll bury you this time, Napoleon!"

The sound of swords clashing violently in the garden and the yells of hatred reverberate through the air.

Duke of Wellington: "No matter how many wars I fought, a world of peace never came. And I realized, Napoleon, that if I don't kill you, my war will never end!!"

Napoleon: "Wake up, Wellington! There used to be righteousness in our fight."

Napoleon: "What's even the point of this fight right now!? Did you forget why you took up the sword!?"

Wellington attacks Napoleon and Gilles attacks Jean.

Gilles: "I couldn't save you from being accused of heresy. I couldn't do anything for you, my friend!"

Gilles: "So this time, I will kill you as you wished!"

Jean: "Gilles, maybe that's how you feel about friendship."

Jean: "But I think my true wish is―!"

Gilles: "True...?"

Comte: "Jean!"

Jean: "!!"

Comte pins Gilles from behind, breaking the position of their repeated sparring.

After struggling a bit, Gilles manages to escape from the restraints and glares at Comte.

Gilles: "You're the man who brought Jean back to life? How dare you...”

Comte: "Yeah, that's right. Gilles de Rais."

Comte: "Even if you're Jean's friend, I won't let you hurt him."

Jean is stunned by Comte's presence, enough to make the air tremble.

Then, Leonardo thumps his fist in front of Wellington, who is confronting Napoleon.

Napoleon: "Leonardo, you..."

Leonardo: "I don't like it when people mess around in other people's backyards. Even if you say you don't want me, I'll join you."

Duke of Wellington: "Well, here come the purebloods. Fine, if you won't die, I'll just cut you up into little pieces!"

Leonardo: "Never underestimate the power of a Pureblood."

Under the taunting crescent moon, the fierce battle began again between soldiers who had gone through successive wars and purebloods, who give off a tremendous air that no ordinary person can match.

While Napoleon and the others are fighting back in the garden, inside the mansion―

Sebastian: "It pains me to say this to a respected great man, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to stop you here. Ha!!!"

Salieri: "Guh!"

Sebastian stops Salieri from entering the mansion with a karate foot sweep, while Dazai comes up to him with a rope.

Dazai: "Breaking through a barricaded doorway with these slender arms―does brainwashing increase your arm strength too?"

Sebastian: "They say that humans normally suppress their natural power in their lives, so maybe he lost control of it when he was driven mad."

Dazai: "I guess you could call it superhuman strength. But I'm worried that only Gauguin hasn't shown up."

Mitsuki is left in charge of the others and has them retreat into the mansion.

Meanwhile, Salieri grunts as Dazai grabs him in the arms to restrain him.

Salieri: "Ugh, ahh! I have to kill Mozart. Mozart...!"

Dazai & Sebastian: "!!!"

Still having some power left, Salieri shakes off Dazai and Sebastian.

[Music Room]

(Sebastian, Dazai, and Theo, I hope they're ok.)

Mozart, Isaac, Vincent, and I took refuge in the music room.

Theo said he had a plan and went his separate way, and Arthur followed along, so now we are all split up.

Vincent: "Sorry. I'm going to check in with Theo and the others."

Isaac: "Eh? But Theo says he has a plan."

Vincent: "Yes. But Theo is my precious little brother, and I want to be there for him."

(Vincent has the same determined eyes as when he said, "I have to protect Theo" before.)

Mitsuki: "Go ahead. I think that would be best for both of you."

Mozart: "Seriously. The residents of this mansion are really selfish. Take care of yourself, Vincent."

With a smile and a thank you, Vincent left the music room.

Inside the quiet room, we can hear the swords clashing against each other from the garden.

(That's an intense sound, I hope everyone is safe.)

As I put my anxious, cold hands in prayer, cherry-red eyes peek into my face.

Isaac: "Mitsuki, are you okay?"

Mitsuki: "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll protect you if something happens!"

Isaac: "Stupid, you don't have to act so tough at a time like this."

Isaac stares at me with narrowed eyes.

Isaac: "This is why I'm worried about you. Don't push yourself too hard and rely on me."

Isaac's kindness slowly spreads through my heart.

Isaac: "Besides, Napoleon is not someone you can beat so easily. I'm sure he's safe."

Mozart: "And Jean, too. And there are two purebloods with them. So, don't worry about it."

Just as I am about to smile, I hear the door open...

Salieri: "I finally found you, Mozart."

Mozart & Isaac: "----!"

The door slowly opens, and a pale but very sad-looking man enters.

(This guy is Salieri!?)

(And is he holding a knife!?)

Salieri: "Mozart, just being around you is enough to make me jealous."

Salieri: "The suspicion that I poison you still haunts me to this day."

Mozart: "Salieri, you..."

Salieri: "Please disappear along with this ugly emotion. For the peace of my soul!"

Salieri readies his knife and approaches Mozart straight on.

Mitsuki: "Run, Mozart!"

Mozart: "............"

Shortly after Mozart distanced himself from us...

Strong and beautiful fortissimo tune echoes throughout the room.

The moment Mozart runs up to the piano and plays a key, Salieri stops moving as if struck by lightning.

Mozart: "Thank goodness. It looks like you still have some reason left in you for not wanting to stain the piano with blood."

Mozart: "If that's how you are, I want to believe in you again."

Salieri: "Mozart, I'll kill you! That's why you have to finish me off too."

Mozart: "Tossed around by insanity, feelings, and rootless rumors―Salieri, it looks like you want me to punish you.""

(What do you mean by that?)

Remembering Mozart's words and Salieri's words and actions thus far, I remember someone.

Isaac: "I wonder if he's somehow the same as Hooke. Maybe he'll come to his senses too.”

(True. Both Salieri and Hooke seem to recognize their talents.)

Maybe that's why they are jealous.

In Salieri's case, he probably couldn't even allow himself to feel that way.

Perhaps his honesty was driven out of control by madness.

Salieri: "But I hear a voice in my head saying, 'kill, kill, kill. How can you be sure that's not what I really want!?"

Mozart: "Wake up, for goodness sake. You were a damned good musician. I know that past all too well."

Mozart: "You don't need this stuff. Your hands and mine are supposed to create music."

Mozart unfolds Salieri's fingers, and the knife falls to the floor.

(Is the brainwashing coming off?)

Salieri tries to touch the piano like he finally finds his lost treasure.

Salieri: "Ugh...Ahhh!"

Suddenly, Salieri runs out of the room, painfully holding his head.

Mozart: "Salieri!"

Involuntarily, we followed him.

At the same time, in the parlor room, Theo is glaring at his friend.

Theo: "Oi, Arthur. Why are you following me?"

Arthur: "Hm? I can't just leave my reckless buddy in the middle of an enemy attack, can I?"

Theo: "I'm not reckless."

As Theo tries to retort, Arthur points his fingertips at him in the shape of a gun.

Theo: "Arthur, you..."

Arthur: "Sorry, Theo. But did you know how much I've seen you naked?"

Arthur: "I know you're a private person, and you're careful to hide it, but I saw it one time while we were taking a bath... Your back."

Theo's sea-colored eyes flicker slightly, and he sigh.

Theo: "You're a great detective. I'm sure you have a pretty good idea of what's going on."

Theo: "He, Gauguin, is going after my brother tonight."

Arthur: "So you split up with Vincent to take advantage of the opportunity and take revenge, is that it?"

Arthur: "To the point of using Vincent himself as a decoy."

Theo: "That's not my intention. I came back for this moment. I won't make a mistake this time."

Theo: "I'll take revenge on Gauguin and save my brother. I'll make up for everything I regret that day."

Theo: "So don't stop me, Arthur."

Arthur: "............."

When Theo tries to turn away, Arthur reaches out and slaps him on both cheeks.

Theo: "!?"

Arthur: "I'm not going to comment on your purpose. So what if you came back for revenge? I don't care. You're free to do whatever you want."

Arthur: "But what are you going to do after you get your revenge?"

Theo: "That's..."

Arthur: "I can tell. You're going to leave your brother alone after getting your hands dirty."

Arthur: "You're going to disappear."

Theo keeping silent would be the same as affirming it.

Arthur: "You know, trying to hold it all together like that is just too distant."

Arthur: "I want to stay friends with you. That's why I'm stopping you."

Theo: "Wha―Arthur, you..."

Arthur: "This is my choice. I don't need you to tell me what to do."

Arthur: "Mitsuki told me before that there's nothing wrong with following your heart."

Arthur: "And while we're talking, it looks like you got a visitor."

The next moment, one of the windows bursts open.

A man jumps in through the window and points a gun at Theo.

Gauguin: "Hey, Theodorus. I've been looking for you."

Theo: "Gauguin! I thought you were after my brother!?"

Gauguin: "Of course, I'm after Vincent, too. Because..."

Vincent: "Theo, there you are!"

Theo: "Broer! Why―"

Theo's eyes widen as Vincent bursts into the room, and Gauguin smiles crookedly.

Gauguin: "Hahaha! Nice timing Vincent!"

Gauguin: "Time to make the innocent you drown in despair!"

Seconds after Gauguin raises the gun and pulls the trigger on Theo―

Arthur: "Theo!"

Theo: "Got it!"

Arthur sends a warning and kicks over the billiard table with Theo.

Theo then pulls his friend by the neck with one hand and his brother's sleeve with the other. Shortly after, a gunshot rings out.

The shot scorched the billiard table without hitting anyone.

Theo: "Broer."

Behind the billiard table that served as a shield for the three, Vincent's arms were wrapped around Theo's head to protect his brother.

Vincent: "I wanted to protect you this time because I died before you did."

Theo: "Broer, don't tell me that day―"

Vincent: "But no. Even now, you're still protecting me."

Vincent: "Theo, thank you for always thinking of me."

Vincent: "But let's both carry the heavy burden from now."

Vincent: "I'm your broer, after all."

Theo: "............"

Gauguin, after missing his shot, clicks his tongue and tries to raise his gun again, but a long leg kicks him in the arm.

Gauguin: "Agh!"

Arthur: "I'm more of a brainy guy, so I'm not really suited for this kind of physical combat."

Arthur: "Please don't try to ruin the emotional scene between the brothers."

Gauguin: "Damn it..."

Gauguin drops his gun and runs off into the hallway of the mansion, catching everyone by surprise.

Arthur, Theodorus, and Vincent look at each other and chase after him.

[Mansion’s Garden]

Wellington draws his sword widely, and the tip slices through Napoleon's cheek.

Duke of Wellington: "Hahaha! What's the matter, Napoleon? Are you having a hard time!?"

Napoleon: "Guh... We've been going at him for a while now, and he's not even intimidated by the two of us. Is he a monster?"

Leonardo: "Maybe it's because of the brainwashing."

As Leonardo joined him, Napoleon, looking for the right move, continued to parry the attack, when Wellington's sword swiped at the water in the fountain.

Napoleon: "Merde!"

The splash on his face blinded Napoleon for a second.

Duke of Wellington: "This is the end, Napoleon Bonaparte!"

The next moment, a sharp sword is thrust at Napoleon―

Shakespeare: "Guh...!"

Napoleon & Leonardo: "Shakespeare!?"

Between Napoleon and Wellington lay Shakespeare, who braced himself to take the sword.

Previous Part╏Next Part

[darthwheezely]

dating fred weasley and being a ravenclaw

wow i am a SIMP for this man! this ain’t new info but! he is truly such a divine man and like…yeah i had to- also this might be longer because Fred has a lot more things to cover in terms of this and his own issues sksksjjs

warnings: light smut, angst at parts, wicked hot men named frederick gideon weasley, mentions of sexual degrading and not the hot or kinky kind :/ basically dudes being scumbags

people that might like this (?): @whiz-bangs78 @wand3ringr0s3 @gcdric @thatdumbbitchxx @pansydaisy​@vogueweasley @slytherinsunrise @thehufflepuffwife @theweasleyslut dm me to be on the twins taglist or for requests for blurbs/ships/one shots :)

fred thinks you’re an actual literal on god 111% angel sent by god

i swear-

he basically runs into (…literally) when escaping from filch, and knocks into you coming out of transfiguration

and i shit you not, he catches you by the waist like mid dip

oh my GOD please I’m in love with him

Fred Weasley, professional jackass, looked down at you hand still on your waist. He grinned at you and winked and you swore to god you heard the sparkle sound effect. “Hullo, gorgeous.” He heard filch scream “WEASLEY!” and broke away from you, pulling you up and pushing you off of him, leading a running filch to slip in the middle of the hallway, the hall erupting in laughter: including you. Fred inhaled harshly, heart pounding at you laughing at something he managed to pull off. “I’ll…I’ll see you again, yeah?” You froze smiling in place. “Um…yeah…yeah you will?” “Yeah?” He grinned. “Yeah.” With another wink he sped off down the hall…

he couldn’t stop thinking about the wicked hot girl in the hall

god what house was she he thought?

oh shit she had blue on fuck she’s a ravenclaw he thinks. why does he think like that?

she’s outta my goddamn league, he thought before he could stop himself

“Freddie, I know you’re not giving up on the idea of this girl this easy.” George shook his head smirking in the Hall.

“I’m not giving up on anything - she’s just…too good for me.”

“Mate, you know nothing about her except how her eyes ‘sparkled like the stars’ or some whack Tolstoy shit like that…besides, you always did love a challenge, yeah?” At that Fred grinned.

“Georgie, I was thinking exactly the same thing…”

frederick gideon weasley knew what he had to do

FUCKING RUN AROUND THE CASTLE AND LOOK FOR YOU DUH

i swear he probably skipped like a half a day of classes just running from classroom to classroom tryna find your gorgeous self

he also probably was like “anyone seen a literal angel around” and everyone was just like ~please shoot this kid he cannot be deadass~

anyway, he’s starting to run out of breath guys, pobrecito is about to give up for the day and throw in the towel but then

then, fellas and foals-

he sees you

sitting in the center of the quidditch pitch

reading a book and writing in your notebook

and god when i tell you he physically had his ass floored

i mean, Jesus Christ, it’s the way you were just serenely sitting in HIS favorite place in hogwarts, not even in the stands, just absorbing life in the ACTUAL PITCH just

just being there

“What are you doing here, love?” You look up and see Fred, chest heaving, rosy cheeked and fucking glorious. He looked otherworldly with the sun at his back, seemingly glowing. “Knitting a sweater.” You said coolly, and gave a small smile. He bit his lip and made his way over to you and sat down in front of you.

“I’d like that sweater somewhere else, gorgeous.”

“Where, in your mum’s dirty laundry?” He scoffed

“No silly, on me but I’ll take that option too ;)”

You scoffed back and rolled your eyes. “On you? Please, this is made to fit an actual person with a body, Fred.”

“And I don’t have a good enough body for it?”

You bit your lip, gathering courage to look straight back at him. “I wouldn’t know I haven’t seen it.”

and that alone has Fred Weasley garnering a massive tent in his pants

He gulped. “Whats your name, darling?”

“Y/N. Y/N Y/L/N.”

He grinned, blushing wildly. “Y/N, you’re never getting rid of me now”

that, my dear, was the truth at its finest

for the first time, he’d found a woman that matched his energy

his banter his intellectual mind was finally satisfied by this beautiful, honest, blunt girl that made him

HIM, THE MAN THAT CAN NEVER SHUT THE FUCK UP, be still.

be quiet. be at peace

“freddie, don’t fucking prank first years you’re better than that”

“Fred, please don’t be a bully. You’re not an unkind person so don’t act that way, okay? Come on”

it’s about three to five days of just non stop flirting

constantly leaving him breathless and without a rebuttal, again something no one has ever been able to do

after this period, he’s eating in the great hall, not having talked to you today and bouncing his knees violently

and he sees you get up and leave the hall

this prompts him to get up and run after you

“Y/N!” You turn to see him running full speed behind you, and you smile widely, blushing a fair ton as he stops in front of you, chest heaving. Your smile falters as he doesn’t say anything “Fred, w-what’s wrong?” He then bites his lip “I’m sorry but I have to” and presses his mouth to yours. You kiss back immediately, wrapping your arms around his neck as he backs you up against the wall. The kiss is hungry, passionate, and after a few moments he pulls off you and leans his forehead to yours. “I need you.” He says hoarsely. “And I need YOU, Freddie.” He smiles and you wrap your legs around his waist…

from that moment, you two are inseparable

we are talking handsy too

oh fuck this about to get fluffy as hell

freddie basically waits until you’re out of class and then will pin you against the wall and kiss you like he hasn’t seen you in years

“My angel, it’s been far too long.” He says breathlessly, smiling wide before giving you a kiss attack, sending ammunition of kisses all around your face, making you giggle uncontrollably. “My love, it’s only been an hour,” you say in between full body laughter. He then stops, looking at you very seriously. “Darling, that simply will not do,” he clucks and then throws you over his shoulder, sending you into fits of laughter again as he takes you to your next class.

you and fred have so much sex

empty classrooms

in his dorm

in your dorm

in the locker rooms

in the library

“Freddie, harder baby, please” you gasp out as he’s thrusting inside of you at a rhythmic pace, him slipping into you like hot oil, skin slapping as he has you in the shower. “How much do you need me, angel? Cmon love I wanna hear your words...” “yes, yes I need you please” you moan as he hits a new angle “That’s my princess, taking me so well, do you love it when I fill you up? Fuck you so good you can’t walk?” You nod and throw your head back. “Freddie, I’m gonna come” “Good girl, princess, come all over my cock” He growls setting a faster and harder pace, as he chants your name like a hymnal, his hips and movements getting sloppier as he finally releases into you, chest heaving and presses his lips to your forehead.

“Where should we try next, gorgeous, hmm? I think snape’s office should do it, he won’t even know us from the grease stains from his nose” this earns him a smack on the arm

fred marks you up constantly too

wants everyone to see how much his “good little princess” really feels

anything that says “I choose/belong to fred weasley” he’ll make you do

and you adore it and think it’s hot as fuck

he’s also marked his name onto your thighs and boobs before

george basically accepts the fact that you’re his new baby sister too, and when fred isn’t there will protect you like it ashsajdsahjsa

by this i mean fred has employed him to (but mainly george just does it because he loves you too)

but basically

during potions, draco slides in next to you and propositions you:

“How about we strike a deal, Y/L/N?” He looks at you smugly. You roll your jaw. “Yeah I agree, you shut the fuck up and let me pass our project, and I get all the credit without you destroying my handiwork?” He flares red and grabs your wrist. “I know Weaselbee the fourth probably tastes like the rest of his family - trash - but how I about I let you try something different, hmm?” You immediately pull away from him when he releases and make an attempt to focus back on your book. 

fred obviously hears about this because some slytherin guys in the hallway are talking about how much Y/N wants to suck Malfoy’s dick

he’s not stupid, he knows you get sexualized by that dumbass constantly, even before y’all started dating

basically he finds draco in the boys bathroom, corners him, and beats the fuck out of him 

“if you ever get near my girlfriend again, i swear to godric i won’t be so nice next time - don’t wanna get your balls cut off before 17 do you?” 

oh and he’s stupid hot when he’s mad btw but we all been knew

he finds you where he always finds you once you start dating, in his dorm stop his bed

He swallows thickly at the sight of you clearly upset, watching you sit up immediately tears welling in your throat as you begin to apologize. “Freddie, love, I didn’t do anything I promise I didn’t want him to come onto me-“ “Y/N, it’s never your fault. You have to trust me with that I...I hate seeing people hurt you love.” He pulls your body into him whne he reaches the bed, touching you like you’re porcelain, careful not to break you. “I know I get violent and angry or pouty when guys do that to you because I feel like you’ll either choose someone else or I can’t protect you and...you mean everything to me, my angel.” He whispers into your hair, tears stealing on his cheeks. “I promise no one will hurt you anymore because I love you and loving someone means you do anything for them.” He babbles like a small boy, convincing himself of everything until he realizes he’s said it and he inhales. “Y/N y-you don’t have to say it ba-“ “I want to say it back. Remember? I love you and I need you, Fred.” You look up at him softly, chin on his chest and he smiles through tears on his face. “And I love you and I need YOU, my love.”

fred knows you love him and choose him over everyone but again

he gets insecure

in the way George is scared people won’t see him as Fred

fred is afraid you’ll find someone better

someone more stable and less quick tempered

you guys have fights sometimes that end in frustration or angry sex

but fred is always there an hour later sitting outside your dorm door praying to god you forgive him for his mistake

he’s never abusive or malicious

he just gets impulsive with pranks or doesn’t consider feelings sometimes

ON TO THE BURROW!!!!

molly is so thankful for you and hugs you immediately as you walk through the door whispering

“Thank you for making my son feel how he deserves” and your eyes water lightly murmuring a thank you

you instantly catch bill’s attention as he notices the way fred is so much calmer and confident with you around

he seems more sure of himself, and not as angry

his temper too is calmer with your presence, as if the very essence of you is soothing to all youre around

he is, so so in love with you

and yes he can be brash

and yes he can be insecure

and yes he can be impulsive

but yes he would do anything for you

but yes he sees you like no one else can

but yes he knows you struggle and he wants to be there

fred weasley is absolutely incandescently in love with you

and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

[szallejhscorner]

This will probably be my last request for a while, cause I’m running out of ideas XD. Staying in that “they-remember-everything” AU from my first request, s/o’s first time visiting/finding Chishiya at the hospital. Basically just make it a happy and (probably pretty) emotional reunion ^^. Maybe also up to the point then he finally gets out of the hospital. If you want, you can also use the forelast chapter of 'HliF' as reference again, because it was so heartbreaking beautifully written 😭

So sorry you had to wait that long! But I finally managed to finish this, and I hope you like it as much as I do (:

Thank you for all the asks you have sent me. I enjoyed every single one of them x3

Reunited

It is weird – pretending that you’re fine even though you’re not. In fact, you’re everything but fine. The images still haunt you; all the blood, the death… the pain. What you experienced in the Borderlands is too much to talk about to anyone who hasn’t been there, but people don’t believe you anyway. You have heard the weirdest explanations for hundreds of people waking up after their heart stopped beating for a minute straight, with the same memories of the same cursed parallel world. They can’t accept the fact that whatever happened cannot be explained.

But you’ll manage to get over it somehow. All you need is to see a certain face, kiss those lips that you have kissed hundreds of times, make sure he’s alive and okay. The only problem with that: Chishiya Shuntarou isn’t stationed in your hospital. You don’t know where he is, and they won’t let you go until you have recovered enough to be exposed to the world outside of those hospital walls again.

So you make them believe what they want to see. The physical injuries aren’t the problem, since most of the wounds seem to be older already. Just another thing people can’t explain, no matter how hard they try. What’s hard for you are the scars cannot be treated with gouge and dressings.

You muffle the screams escaping your mouth whenever you wake up from another nightmare, you eat although you’re not hungry and force every fiber of your body to keep it together so you won’t throw up everything again. You force a smile, no matter how much it hurts your cheeks. You’re fine, you’re fine, you’re FINE.

You will be fine, once you’re with him.

-

With every day passing by, you wonder if he has made it. If he was able to survive long enough to get proper treatment for the wounds that were about to kill him. If he remembers the Borderlands as well.

If he remembers you.

The day arrives, and you chase through the hospital floors like a shooting star. Sunlight hurts your eyes, the noise from the street is almost too much to bear, but you don’t care. Nothing is important right now except one thing.

There’s no need to take out the note safely placed in your pocket. A nurse told you that it had been found in your clothes, but you wouldn’t have needed it. You were given days to find out where his university was located, and the hospital linked to it will be the very first place you’ll start your search. And yet the walkways are too long, the underground drives too slow. People seem to purposely walk into your way to slow you down, and you want to scream and shout at every single one of them. But you don’t.

It feels like hours until you finally find yourself in front of a certain hospital, panting heavily and the pain in your wrists almost killing you. Not that it’d cause you to slow down in any way; you almost stumble over the desk and scare the hell out of the poor reception lady.

“Chishiya Shuntarou. I… is he here? Can you… can you tell me his room number?”

She makes you repeat his name three times until she finally understands enough to search for him in the system, but you don’t like the frown on her face.

“May I ask who you are? His girlfriend?” pale grey eyes look you up and down while you think about how to answer. What are you, now that the Borderlands are left behind?

But the fact that she’s asking in the first place means that you were right about him being in the hospital, and he has to be still alive. So you take a deep shaky breath and nod, which seems to be enough of an answer for the lady. She gives you a room number, tells you to move to the left corridor once you’ve reached the second floor, and something more but you don’t listen any longer because your feet have already started to run again.

Second floor. The elevator takes too long, and you sprint up the stairs instead – less people to cross your way at least. He is here. That means he is alive. He has survived. And now you can finally see him.

Crashing through the door into the second floor, you knock over a petite nurse with full force but manage to remain on your feet. The contents of her tray scatter on the ground, a glass breaks and people shout in surprise, but you don’t have the time to care. You shout an apology and continue to run, shove away shoulders too close to you while doing so.

Room 1504. Why is it so far away? Why did they place him at the other end of the hospital – don’t they know you’re in a hurry?

1544, 1542… 1532… 1522, 1520, 1518… 1506…

There!

You’re about to feint from exhaustion when you press your hands against the wall, panting and breathing heavily although each move of your lungs burns like fire. Ten breaths, that’s all you allow yourself before you lift your head.

1504. This is the room.

As you open the door, dozens of beeping noises greet you together with the smell of disinfectant. Two beds are inside, and you immediately spot the blonde hair you have longed to be with for so long now. Chishiya slightly moves his head to see who has entered, and the moment your eyes meet, you know that he remembers too.

Before your mind can even realize it, your feet have begun to run again and you throw yourself into the embrace of the man you love so much. He groans in pain at the sudden weight of your body, but his hands tighten around your back nonetheless. Even if you wanted to release him from your touch, he wouldn’t let you.

Tears start running uncontrollably, and your body is shaken with sobs, so heavy that it hurts. “You’re alive!” you whisper in between two hiccups and finally move to cup his face into your hands, covering his forehead with kisses. “Thank god you’re alive.”

Chishiya places his hands upon yours, causing you to lock eyes with him. His touch is still weaker than usual, but his hands are warm. They are nothing alike to the cold, weak hands that tried to caress your face back in the Borderlands.

“So are you.” His voice is hoarse, pressed, but it’s Chishiya. The tears blur your sight so heavy that you can’t see him clearly, but that’s fine because you know he’s here without having to see him. “Stop crying now, will you?”

You laugh at the familiar smirk on his face and press your lips against his, and the salty taste brings back memories of the last time you did this.

You bend over his face to plant a kiss onto his lips, and it’s laced with the salt of your tears and the metallic taste of Chishiya’s blood. “I love you. I love you more than anything.”

It feels like an eternity ago that you cried those tears of sorrow while you had to watch Chishiya slowly slip away from the land of the living with nothing you could do. Both of you are here now, and the drops cascading down your cheeks are tears of joy.

A tremble passes through his body, and you can hear how he shakily breathes in. “I… like it when… you say that…”

“I love you.” You have said it a dozen times back then, and you’re ready to say it a thousand times more. “I loved you in the Borderlands, and I will love you here. As long as you’re okay… I’ll be as well.”

Chishiya chuckles softly, and you wonder for a moment how much he remembers from the last hours where you feared for his life. “Alive, yeah. Okay… we’ll see about that.”

“Oh, geez, you really have to do that next to me?”

A sudden voice from the left makes you jolt in surprise, and you realize that you didn’t even care to look who else is sharing this room with Chishiya. But this voice, even though it is weakened and brittle…

In less than a second, you’re back on your feet and cling your hands around a neck that’s covered in bandages. All monitors around you sound the alarm, but you don’t care about the rapid beeping noises.

“You!” The hatred chases away all the remaining tears as you stare into a pair of sleepy and confused eyes. Niragi looks much worse than Chishiya, and yet he doesn’t even deserve to be still alive. The one who almost killed Chishiya, recovering right next to him…

Something pulls you back with a sudden force just in time before two nurses hastily enter the room to check the systems. You realize that Chishiya has reached for you to stop you from doing something stupid, and it shows in his pained expression.

“What’s wrong?” one of the nurses asks while resetting the monitors, and she doesn’t seem able to decide if she should worry more about the heavy coughing attack shaking Niragi or the face Chishiya makes.

You drop down on the side of the bed, unable to move or say anything. How can they share a room and be so calm about it? How can those nurses not see that Niragi is a murderer?

Chishiya pulls away the blanket and you utter a cry at the sight of the dark red spot spreading on the pale blue fabric of his hospital shirt, immediately feeling sorry to have caused him so much trouble shortly after your first reunion. But this wouldn’t have happened at all if Niragi didn’t…

“The wound started to bleed again”, Chishiya quietly explains to the nurse as if this had been the reason for sounding the alarm. He squeezes your hand tight, most likely to keep you from saying anything, but you wouldn’t have been able to anyway.

How stupid! If one of the nurses had caught you strangling one of the patients, you would have been thrown out of the hospital immediately. Surprisingly, Niragi doesn’t give you away, but he seems too occupied with his own coughs to do that anyway. Good for him.

You bite your lower lip while you watch the nurse patch up Chishiya’s wound. It has to be painful, but Chishiya doesn’t show much of it. His eyes are focused on yours, and you can see them twitch once in a while whenever there’s a new sting of pain. With your own eyes, you try to tell him that you’re sorry, and behind your back you can hear the other nurse giving something to Niragi that eases the cough.

It takes them too long to leave, but they do so eventually, and you exhale the breath you didn’t even realize you were holding.

“I can’t believe he’s still alive”, you hiss with a nod towards Niragi, and said man drops his head back into the pillows with a tired sigh.

“No thanks to you, obviously.”

Chishiya pulls the blanket back up again and shifts a bit in his bed to lie more comfortably. “They found us close to each other and put us in the same room, since we both required intensive care.”

“Yeah, but he tried to kill you!” you shoot back, still confused about how they just don’t seem to care about the past.

Niragi laughs, a dry and cackled sound. “So did he. Never wondered where those burning marks came from?” The laugh turns into a cough, but it’s not so heavy this time.

“We’re even, I guess”, Chishiya smirks and you feel how his fingers start to play with your hair. Oh, how much you’ve missed that! “If only he’d stop that coughing. It’s hard to sleep with so much noise.”

“I’ve already tried to die more quietly.”

It sounds like a joke, but when you throw another look at Niragi, you wonder if it might be the truth. Is he actually dying? Most of him is hidden under the blanket, but his face is almost entirely covered in bandages. There are several tubes and infusion bags connected to him, and you spot a feeding tube as well.

Chishiya still has infusions too, but not nearly as many as Niragi. And he doesn’t seem to need artificial nutrition. “You failed, obviously”, he jokes back, but this isn’t funny to you.

“If you’re actually dying…” the hand in your hair moves down and softly pulls on your shoulder while you speak, “you should hurry up instead.”

Niragi laughs again, but it doesn’t last long before it turns into pained groans and coughs. You focus on Chishiya instead, letting him pull you into a hug while you try to find a halfway comfortable position next to him in the hospital bed.

When you close your eyes and snuggle up to him, it’s almost easy to pretend you’re in the caravan again. In the place that had become your home during the second stage, where you could feel safe despite the cruel world you had been trapped in.

“Don’t worry about him”, Chishiya hums after a while, when a light snoring has begun to sound on the other bed, “if everything’s good, they want to relocate me to a normal room tomorrow. My injuries don’t require intensive care any longer, it seems.”

-

It is true: when you visit the next morning, Chishiya has been moved to another room in the third floor, which makes the visit way more comfortable. Not only are you allowed to stay longer than only half an hour, which apparently has been a strict rule for intensive care, but there’s no Niragi nearby and no monitors, just a single infusion bag. You don’t know the other patients in the room, but they’re not of any interest and hidden behind white curtains anyway.

The first days you spend mostly with lying in the bed next to him, not talking too much since it seems to tire him. Sometimes he even falls asleep, and you feel like you’re the one protecting him in this most vulnerable state.

Since you tend to spend hours in the hospital now, you start to bring along something to drink and eat. Coffee for you and always something sweet for Chishiya, every day a different cake or pastry. And after two more weeks, you’re the one to support him when he’s allowed to take his first steps.

Chishiya obviously doesn’t like to be so openly called out as weak, with the infusion stand rolling on one side and you on the other while he tries to acclimate his legs to the weight again, but you’re the least person he seems to bother about. It is only a couple of steps at first, but the distance grows longer with every day. Another couple of days pass and Chishiya has become strong enough to walk to the balcony with you, where he drops down into the seat with a heavy sigh.

You pull up another chair and take a seat next to him, reaching for his hand and resting your head upon his shoulder. The view from the balcony isn’t exactly beautiful – it shows destroyed buildings and streets, remnants of the chaos left by the comet. You have become used to the sight of it, but for Chishiya it’s something new - judging by the frown on his face as he examines the city.

“A miracle we actually survived this, isn’t it?”

He hums in agreement, his thumb absently moving over the back of your hand. A very long time ago, you have done the same with his. “It will take years for Tokyo to recover, if not decades.”

“Well… the doctor said I should be able to get back to work soon. And since my old employment has been destroyed, I… I thought I could move closer to you.”

It has felt weird to return to your apartment without Chishiya. Sleeping alone in the hospital has been something else, but the following nights in your own bed, knowing that Chishiya was alive but not next to you… In those nights, when you wake up from just another nightmare, you miss the Borderlands the most, despite everything cruel. But at least Chishiya had been with you to calm you down.

“And you think you’d find a new work here?”

You shrug, a weird move considering your current position. “I don’t have a chance other than to search for something new, and this district is as good as everything else.” Holding tight to his hand, you move it up to your face and press a kiss onto the warm skin. “I’m not saying that we should move together immediately. Although I wouldn’t mind, you know that. But… it’d be easier to live closer to you.”

Without having to work, you can spare the extra hours that it takes to travel from your apartment to Chishiya’s hospital. But once you have returned to a normal daily routine, you won’t have as much time for that.

“Sure, why not?” Chishiya doesn’t go into detail with your idea of moving together, but he doesn’t say much more at all, so maybe he’s just tired again. You continue to sit there for almost half an hour without talking, and more than once you look up to check if he has fallen asleep. But his eyes are open, casually moving over the cranes and scaffoldings covering the city.

Time flies by, but you keep returning to the balcony once in a while just to sit there in silence. The infusion stand is the first thing to disappear, and after a while, Chishiya doesn’t need your support anymore. He still holds on to your hand, though.

While he becomes stronger with each day, the city changes as well. Fragile buildings are torn down, wreckage disappears and streets are being rebuilt. Despite the hard times Tokyo is facing, you find both a good job and a nice apartment not far away from the hospital. And while you can’t spend whole days with Chishiya anymore, you soon find a new routine that works perfectly fine.

Sometimes you tell him about work while he’s eating a strawberry cake, then you both chuckle over some memory from the Borderlands while muffin crumbles cover the floor to your feet.

Winter approaches when Chishiya is allowed to leave the hospital for a few hours the first time, and it leads you to a tea house with fresh waffles which are served with a full ton of vanilla cream and red berries. A couple more times you visit, no matter the thick layer of snow now covering the streets and buildings.

And then, only a few days before Christmas, Chishiya is allowed to finally leave the hospital.

His body has recovered well enough so it doesn’t require daily treatment anymore, and while he’s not allowed to go back to studying medicine for now, he can at least go home. After weeks and months he spent in the hospital, it is definitely about time for a change.

“Feel free to call me whenever there’s an appointment or anything”, you grin while walking along the street together. Chishiya’s hand rests in yours, and you carry the small bag with his belongings over the other shoulder. He has demanded to carry it, but you’re his stubborn for a reason and there are still wounds trying to fully mend, so you end up holding it despite his rolling eyes.

Your breath creates white clouds in front of your face, but the coat and the warmth of Chishiya’s touch keep you warm. He smirks down to you and gently nudges your shoulder without slowing his pace. “And I thought you’d be fed up with hospitals by now.”

“I don’t care as long as it’s about you”, you admit with a shrug. Sure, you really don’t want to smell the disinfectant or see those hospital gowns anymore, but a simple change of dressing isn’t that bad, because it means that Chishiya will be able to go home afterwards.

“Anyway… where’s your apartment? I thought it was located east from the hospital?”

The chuckle coming from Chishiya makes you look up, and he pulls on your hand when you stop walking. “Seems I forgot to tell you. I’ve given notice to quit it already three weeks ago.”

“But… where are you going to-“ you’re stopped mid-sentence by his smirk, slowly realizing what he’s up to. “I don’t even have a bed big enough for two…”

The expression in his eyes makes you laugh, and it’s hard to believe that this is actually his plan, but his next words prove it to you.

“We have managed the caravan. Can’t be worse than that, hmm?”

[doublefaceliker2808]

Spring Evening's Respite - Adasakura 4

 

Madara: ……..

Uhh, Anzu-san? This project is…? 

Hohh, so you planned this out of concern for Double Face’s future? 

We haven’t seen each other much since the day after the Antique Market, yeah? (1)

After all, you were put under house arrest by Gatekeeper right after. My condolences, I should’ve been more cautious of that man’s actions. 

Regardless, I’m just glad you’re safe. 

Hm..? You’re asking if I kept my distance so that you wouldn’t get targetted by overseas mafia…? 

I dooo wonder about that. If you look only at the results, you did end up being under Gatekeeper’s grasp. 

Now that I mention it, it’s nothing more than an excuse though. 

That’s that. Let’s talk about your proposal now. 

You’re super busy after all. You don’t want to waste time listening to me rambling on about my thoughts, riight? 

This “Sakura Festival (tentative)” project that you’ve arranged– It’s not bad, but I’m preeetty sure Kohaku-san hates cherry blossoms? 

Plus Kohaku-san is going to be quite busy attending IFF— The Idol Film Festival award ceremony next month, so I think another project might be better? 

Aren’t you being too demotivated about this... you say?

Ahhh. Double Face has a pretty bad impression right now, and there’s this new gossip reporter, you see? 

He goes by the alias, “Smoke” —- He’s an anonymous reporter who writes highly publicized internet gossip articles on the entertainment industry. 

As his name suggests, he’s a guy whose personal information and whereabouts is completely clouded in mystery. There’s also been speculation that he’s a group, rather than an individual, and I’ve been unable to grab a hold of him even despite my knowledge of the underworld. 

Any bad moves will have us right under Smoke’s palm. Rather than possibly being the subject of any future articles, it’s best if we stay quiet for now. 

Because of that, as apologetic as I am, I cannot accept this proposal. 

Hm? You think it’s odd to hate cherry blossoms? 

Hahaha! You’re not as familiar with Crazy:B, so I guess eeeven someone like Anzu-san can misread things ♪

Alright. Feel free to call for me if you come up with another proposal. Good work for now. 

……………

(Phew. Anzu-san’s back and all, but she hasn’t given up yet from looking at her face, huh?) 

 (That girl’s oddly sharp, isn’t she? It’s almost as though she can look straight through my thoughts regarding Double Face) 

(As for me, I really do not want to get ahead of myself while thinking of Double Face’s future)

(If possible, I want to quietly hand over Kohaku-san to Crazy:B and let him belong solely to them—)

Kohaku: I’m comin’ in, Madara-han. 

I thought ya would be at NewDi, but I was told that Anzu-han saw ya in the meeting room. Bon happened to be in the agency office an’ told me ‘bout it. 

Madara: …Nnn. Ahh, it’s Kohaku-san! 

Always be on the move! What’s the matter, having searched this much for me?

Kohaku: Actually, there’s some advice I want from ya, Madara-han. 

Madara: You want advice from me…? 

I don’t miiind, but is it not something you can ask your unit members in Crazy:B or your friends? 

Kohaku: I wouldn’t have gone all the way to search for ya otherwise. Yer elusiveness has become a daily headache at this point. 

Madara: Fumu, seems about right when you put it that way. Gotcha, tell me anything that’s on your mind. 

Kohaku: To tell the truth, Ibara-han’s entrusted me with plannin’ a live by myself. 

Madara: To think he asked for Oukawa Kohaku rather than Crazy:B as a whole, sounds like he wanted you for something underhanded?

Kohaku: Ain’t that right. Thought the same when Ibara-han told me. 

But it seems like he saw my recent rise in popularity an’ thought that now would be a good time to let me gain some experience. 

An’ he left it off after sayin’ that I could do anythin’ I wanted to do. 

Madara: I see, so that’s your situation right now? 

You’re not getting roped into his schemes this time, riiight? 

Kohaku: Nope. Just like ya, I think Ibara-han’s pretty relieved that he’s no longer bein’ distracted by dealin’ with Gatekeeper now that SS is over. 

Anticipatin’ his next move, Ibara-han probably picked a newbie like me as an investment target, or at least that’s what I’m gettin’ from him. 

Madara: Fumu. Putting geniuses like Nagisa-san aside, being capable of self-producing oneself is an inevitable path an idol must take.

Ibara-san is CosPro’s vice president at the moment, so you’ve received a greaaat honour ♪

Kohaku: Bein’ asked to make a proposal is somethin’ to be happy ‘bout, yea? 

Still, I’m a sheltered child who mostly grew up in a zashikirou. Since I’ve been protected by the Oukawa family, who jus’ follows the orders of the main branch, I’ve never made any decisions for myself. 

I’ve no clue what idols are like, an’ I can’t explain my own roots. I’ve no clue what I like, what my interests are, what anythin’ is. 

For someone with circumstances like mine to be plan a whole live? That’s just askin’ for the impossible— 

I’ve been so worried ‘bout this that I came here t’seek ya out, Madara-han. 

Madara: Putting aside my proximity to the underworld, it is true that MaM is one of the best examples of self-producing that you can find. 

In your case, I think it would be best for you to experience the vast world yourself first. 

Moreso than the information you receive from the Internet, the information you’ll gain from from your five senses will be much greater for heightening your self-awareness.

Kohaku: Self-awareness…? 

Madara: Yep. Just words and pictures— things on a display screen won’t let you explore the world as it is. It’s only through filtering the world through your sentences can you truly deepen your understanding of it. 

The other day, I co-operated with Switch in their new challenge, Tri-lights. 

Since I had personal experience with sports, I helped Switch discover a sporty image for themselves. 

That’s the gist of it. I’ll be veeery happy to help with Kohaku-san’s experience too. Leave it to Mama! 

Kohaku: I’ve got no intentions to be yer son, though. 

Anyways, can we get ready now? I wanna go to the arcade with Madara-han, ya see. 

Madara: Of course! I’ll get ready right away—

…Wait, the arcade? 

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

(1) The day in question is Myriad of Colors and Flowers, also known as Mama's White Day scout story! I hate him please read that story

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[skellebonez]

Prompt 76, MK accidentally lets it slip to Pigsy that Monkey and Macaque are “seeing each other” as in not quite dating but been on a few “dates”...again. Pigsy who is on a low profile and hasn’t told MO who he really is, let’s it slip how he thinks “his eldest brother can do better” and MK is very confused.

Feel free to ignore!!!!! I’ve never asked for something like this before and if I did it wrong feel free to ignore it!

I may or may not have a soft spot for protective younger sibling type scenes in media so I had way too much fun writing this.

It could be worse. They could be dating. Wait? They are?!

"I don't understand what that damn monkey is thinking half the time," Pigsy said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his snout with a groan. "Just... let Macaque on the ship, yeah, that totally isn't going to backfire. Not like he has ulterior motives at all, not like we just learned all the stuff he pulled over the last year including trapping three of us in a lantern to fight you and teach you some kind of lesson.”

Things had been tense on the drone ship for the last month. They’d barely begun on their journey before a certain immortal monkey managed to catch them off guard and chase them for multiple days under the White Bone Spirit’s influence.

It became apparent very quickly that she was using him to toy with them, a sort of gloating in her victory. Well, joke was on her. Sending him after them meant they were able to see just how far her influence and control actually reached and they were able to find a way to free him from that with more than a little force and some stolen artifacts.

The fact she hadn’t sent anyone else, however, was... concerning to say the least. If she wasn’t worried about losing her grip on Macaque, of all people, that did not bode well for them.

But for the moment that was neither here nor there. What mattered in the moment was that in the month since the immortal monkey had managed to be dragged onto their ship to recuperate Wukong had become far too comfortable with letting him have free reign over whatever he wanted to do on the ship (within reason).

And Pigsy didn’t like that. Aforementioned soul trapping in a lantern and trying to turn MK against his teacher and all that. Pigsy didn’t trust Six-Eared Macaque as far as he could throw him.

"It's been a month and nothing's happened yet?" MK offered not so helpfully, shrugging with an awkward nervous chuckle. “I mean... unless he’s playing a really long game he’d probably have done something by now, right?”

"Well... It could be worse," Pigsy admitted with a chuckle as he stretched out and started to cut up the ingredients for his lunch dish. "They could be dating."

MK made an awkward choking sound as he inhaled his water.

"Wait...?" Pigsy turned around slowly, leveling the young man with a half glare. He stared for a moment, watching as MK refused to meet his gaze. Looking left and right and literally anywhere not at Pigsy’s face. "THEY ARE!?"

"I didn't tell you!" MK shouted, jumping up and hiding behind the table and pointing at Pigsy dramatically. "I said nothing, you cannot pin this on me!"

"YOU KNEW AND YOU KEPT IT A SECRET!?" Pigsy yelped, tone not angry but loud enough to make MK freeze with wide worried eyes. The chef stopped, sighing again as he took in a calming breathe before continuing. "Ok... ok... MK, I ain't mad, being mad at you would be ridiculous. But exactly how long have you known?"

MK frowned, looking up at the ceiling in thought before a tentative but curious look passed over his face.

"...I can neither confirm nor deny that I caught them smooching in the med bay two weeks ago."

"TWO WEEKS!?"

“You didn’t hear it from me!” MK said, pointing at himself as he backed away with another nervous laugh. “I have plausible deniability, you figured it out on your own!”

“Of all the hard headed thick skulled bad decisions that stupid-” Pigsy mumbled to himself, burying his face in his hands as he held back a scream of frustration. “There are so many men. So many men! So many ex-enemies even! But no, he had to go and hook up with his actual ex that tried to take over his identity and kill his entire travel party!”

“To be fair he kinda seems to be changing for the be-wait...?” MK started to offer, watching at the chef paced around the kitchen. “How... do you know they used to date? I don’t think even Tang knows that.”

“He could have dated literally anyone else and he chose to get back with Macaque,” Pigsy said with another sigh, removing his hands from his face with a scowl. “I knew he was dense but elder brother can do so much better.”

“I’M. SORRY?” MK yelled, this time being the one to startle the other. “ELDER. BROTHER?”

Pigsy froze, eyes wide in horrified realization. “... you didn’t hear that.”

Pigsy ran out of the room, MK hot on his heels.

“PIGSY COME BACK YOU NEED TO EXPLAIN AND NOT MAKE RASH DECISIONS!”

Pigsy did not go back to the kitchen, instead heading straight to the rec room that he knew the two monkeys were spending most of their recent time in when not off alone who knows where (now he knows where). MK was following right behind, trying to both get an explanation out of him and to dissuade him from confronting the Monkey King and also looking generally very confused and concerned.

He didn’t succeed before the pig demon slammed the rec room door open.

"WUKONG!" Pigsy shouted from the doorway, startling the two immortal monkeys from whatever conversation they were engrossed in . "You. Me. Deck. Now."

"I-"

"NOW. ELDER BROTHER."

The facial journey through confusion to realization to horror on Sun Wukong's face was worth the delayed reaction shout of "WHAT DO YOU MEAN ELDER BROTHER!?" from the other immortal sitting next to the Monkey King.

“BAJIE!?” Wukong yelped.

“YOU’RE ZHU BAJIE!?” MK yelped in much the same tone.

“Oh fuck,” Macaque whispered under his breath.

“DECK!” Pigsy repeated.

“BAJIE WHAT THE FUCK!?” Wukong repeated himself.

“ZHU BAJIE!?” MK also repeated.

“How many other enemies did I piss off that are on this ship?” Macaque continued, seemingly resigned to his fate.

“YES I’M BAJIE STOP YELLING MY OWN NAME AT ME!”

Needless to say that conversation was the most incoherent non-productive mess they had on the ship in the last month. Until Sandy burst into the room and forced them all to talk it out peacefully.

Macaque did, in fact, learn how many old enemies he had on the ship when Sandy came clean that he was also Sha Wujing.

And Pigsy did not, in fact, manage to talk any sense into his elder brother given how much MK was yelling at him for keeping his identity a secret from him.

Wukong just sat with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands wondering what in the actual hell his life had become.

(The next day, after a night of rest and a day talking to MK and apologizing and explaining everything, Pigsy caught the two immortal monkeys asleep cuddled on the couch of the rec room and decided that his elder brother could make his own decisions. And maybe MK had a point, given Macaque hadn’t done anything. Yet.

If he pulled a blanket over the two of them while they rested and they noticed no one said anything about it. And if Macaque snuck off the ship and there were, coincidentally, some rare ingredients for some dishes Pigsy missed making and a few scrapes and bruises on the immortal when he resurfaced... well, he didn’t say anything either. But he made it a point to have more mangoes and plums on hand.

Just in case.)

[gamerwoo]

[Tales from the Pack] Joshua: Second Chance (Part One)

Characters: Joshua x female reader

Genre/warnings: werewolf au, fantasy, angst, possible character death, a little bit of fluff but it’s like angsty fluff

Word count: 1,837

Summary: After his mate died, Joshua always blamed himself and never wanted to imprint again. However, fate has other ideas when he meets you: a young, energetic werecoyote that’s quite the opposite of him. He insists he doesn’t want a new mate – nobody’s even sure if he’s ready for a new one – but he can’t ignore his instincts.

Next | Second Chance Masterlist

a/n: things in bold are in english. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!! hi i know everyone has been awaiting this series from tftp in particular. and while i wish i could say im updating this regularly,,,,,i cannot. there’s no definite update schedule, im just doing it when i can. i wanted to wait until i had all the parts written but im impatient. but i hope you’ll enjoy this series even with the slow updates, and i hope it lives up to expectations 💜

“Where’re we going?” Joshua grumbled as he followed slightly behind Hansol and Kyung, the younger boy’s hand wrapped around hers.

Joshua was going with them to the doctor without actually knowing. Kyung knew better than to tell him before they left because she figured the grumpy werewolf would just tell her no, not really caring whether he was unable to heal or not -- even though that was very clearly a bad sign that he had overexerted himself.

Kyung thought maybe Joshua would be a little less...angry all the time once she got to know him, but Joshua was stubborn well before he’d even met her -- he was just bad at shoving his stubbornness and anger down.

“I promised I’d get my back fixed if Kyung decided to stay, and you said you’d go if I went, didn’t you?” Hansol reminded his brother with a smirk over his shoulder. “We’re gonna go see that doctor we were told about. What was her name again?”

“Minjee,” Kyung replied. “Not to sound rude but...Josh, why don’t you want to see a doctor?”

“I don’t really care if I can heal or not either way,” he replied flatly, “but I said I’d get help if Hansol did. So...here we are.”

“Here we are...” she repeated in a mumble.

Joshua simply followed the mated couple in silence as the alpha led them to Minjee’s, being the first to knock on the door. It was a girl -- as expected -- that opened the door, bowing politely to the group before smiling brightly at the darker skinned girl in front of them.

“Kyung!” she exclaimed as she gestured the three of them in. “I haven’t seen you in so long -- I suppose that’s a good thing, though. How’ve you been? Your pack hasn’t mentioned you.”

“I’m not actually in that pack anymore,” Kyung told her with a shrug, her ‘cool’ exterior coming back in the presence of an old friend. “I’m an alpha of my mate’s pack now.”

Minjee seemed impressed, eyebrows raising with a smile, “Wow, look at you. How’d the sudden change happen? Jiung must be proud.”

“He’s actually...passed away.”

The doctor’s face fell, placing a comforting hand on your upper arm, “I’m sorry for the loss of your brother.”

Kyung nodded, “I’ve been grieving, but it’s been easier with my mate. Minjee, this is Hansol, and his brother -- er, our brother, I guess -- Joshua.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Hansol said as he nodded to her. “Our brother, Soonyoung came in before with a human girl to talk about fixing us -- I’ve got silver burned into my back, and Joshua’s the healer that can’t heal anymore.”

“Ah, yes, the healer!” Minjee’s eyes lit up as she nodded excitedly. She looked to Joshua now. “Your power still hasn’t come back?”

“No,” he replied. “I thought just resting would help but...nothing.”

“I see,” she hummed, eyeing him over before looking back at Kyung like she was their mother that took them to the doctor’s office. “I’ll do a quick look over and then see what I can do. It’s almost time for me to close up, and I have to go out of town for a few days. I won’t be able to do anything until about a week from now, but they’ll be fine until then if they’ve been fine this long.”

“That’s okay,” Hansol shrugged as Joshua replied, “No worries.”

“Alright,” Minjee breathed with a warm smile, grabbing some gloves from nearby, “then let’s get started and see what’s going on.”

-

Even though you were never careful, you wanted to blame this on shitty luck. You were too carefree and excitable, so you ran and ran and didn’t see the trap. So with you trapped under a net with little prickles that you were sure were laced with wolfsbane from how fucking awful you felt -- that was an understatement -- all you could do was wait for hunters to come find you before death took you itself. Honestly, you hoped the latter would come first.

You faintly heard footsteps coming toward you as your vision went out of focus, your eyelids becoming too heavy to keep up. You sensed a presence beside you, the body crouching down to get a better look at you.

“What do we have here?” a female-sounding voice asked, but it sounded far away and muffled to you. “Is this another werewolf?”

“I can’t tell,” another female voice replied in a sigh. “Sura, do you have any ideas?”

“Doesn’t smell like werewolf to me,” a male voice said. “It definitely is some kind of were-creature, though. This thing wreaks of wolfsbane and it’s clearly affecting her. I’d say...coyote, maybe?”

One of the women sucked in a breath between their teeth before saying, “Prajya, help me get this net off of her -- it’ll be heavy but I’m afraid to let Sura touch it.”

Slowly, you felt the weight of the net being lifted off of you. You could also feel every little barb stuck in you being pulled out, and you whimpered softly from the stinging pain that covered your body.

“Minjee, will she make it?” the second girl asked as you were lifted into warm arms.

“No,” the male replied, “probably not.”

“The house isn’t far from here,” the first girl insisted. “We just have to hurry.”

But you were out cold before they even took the first step.

-

Josh and Hansol weren’t really sure why so many people wanted to go with them into town that night for them to finally get fixed. Suvi was understandable since she just enjoyed going into town, and Soomin made sense since she was basically their resident know-it-all when it came to werewolves. However, Wonwoo wanting to tag along was weird because Wonwoo didn’t like leaving the house, much less going into town. They figured maybe it was because he wanted to make sure Soomin would be alright, but she was already going to be with two werewolves and a girl who had gone into town plenty of times. She was in good hands, but whatever made Wonwoo happy.

“Are you nervous?” Suvi wondered, looking up between Hansol and Joshua as she walked.

“I don’t know how they’re going to fix my back, so that’s a little concerning,” Hansol decided, “but I’m more excited.”

Joshua just shrugged, “Eh, not really.”

“Try not to be so excited, huh,” Wonwoo commented.

Joshua did like his power. He liked that he was able to help people with it. However, it didn’t benefit him -- as in, it didn’t make his own personal healing any better than anybody else’s in the pack -- and it wouldn’t be needed if his pack wasn’t so stupid and got themselves hurt. It wasn’t fun like Seokmin’s or Chan’s or Kyung’s, and it wasn’t interesting like Jihoon’s or Soonyoung’s or Hansol’s or Minghao’s. It was boring -- kind of like Wonwoo’s or Seungcheol’s.

Suvi was the first up to the door, knocking before she took a step back to wait. The door was answered by Minjee -- as always -- who greeted them with an almost pained smile.

“Hello,” she greeted them. “Before you come in, I’d like to apologize. My partners and I have just gotten home, and one of our patients... Well, she won’t make it.”

Now that she’d mentioned it, the wolves could just barely hear the faint, slowing heartbeat from inside the house. But they could also smell that it wasn’t the typical werewolf. It was something they’d never smelled before, but it still wasn’t completely human.

Joshua also picked up on a scent that was very familiar but also so very different from anything he’d smelled before.

“We’re just trying to ease her pain until she passes,” Minjee continued, letting the small group into the house. She turned to look at somebody else who was helping with the aforementioned girl. “Sura, could you put a curtain up around her? Prajya, I’ll need you to help me with--”

Minjee stopped when she noticed Joshua stop in the doorway, his body going rigid. His golden eyes were spotting red and locked on you, hands balled into fists.

You were dying; his mate was dying. Again.

“Josh...?” Wonwoo spoke up, placing a hand on the older boy’s shoulder.

Joshua’s thoughts and opinions on re-imprinting were out the window when it registered that the girl quickly losing her life was his mate. The only thing he could focus on was you and saving you -- but he only knew one way how.

“She’s not dying,” he stated, walking straight through the small crowd and over to you where your pulse was just a moment away from completely dying out.

“What?” Minjee asked, watching him as he approached you with a set jaw and narrowed eyes.

“I’m not going to let her die,” he said louder, letting his hands hover above your body.

Joshua was too focused on trying to somehow get his powers to come back to him that he wasn’t paying any attention to Hansol and Wonwoo’s conversation over their surprise of their brother imprinting for a second time. Truthfully, nobody thought anybody would come after Lilly since Josh was so against it. But then again, imprinting wasn’t something any werewolf could control. 

Joshua mumbled to himself as he tried to will his power back. He was concentrating so hard but nothing was happening. No faint glow from his palms, no color coming back to your face, and your heartbeat was still rapidly decreasing by the second. It wouldn’t be long until it was gone all together, and then there would be nothing he could do.

“C’mon...c’mon...” he grumbled, closing his eyes as his eyebrows creased together in concentration.

“Your powers won’t suddenly work,” Minjee spoke up, watching from where she stood by his pack, wanting to give the werewolf space -- especially since she was preparing for him to be grieving for the mate he’d lose before actually having her.

“They have to!” he snapped.

He refused to lose you. If he lost two mates -- even if he didn’t properly meet or know you -- he was sure he wouldn’t be able to take it.

With his last bit of energy he had in his body, his palms faintly glowed to life, spreading a tingling warmth across your body. His healing power was starting to cleanse the wolfsbane from your system, and your heartbeat was starting to become stronger and more stable. Hearing your heartbeat louder in his ears made Josh want to cry. But he didn’t have the energy for it.

As you let out a cough and a girl with brown skin rushed over to sit you up so you could empty your system, Joshua collapsed onto the floor, knowing you were alive and would hopefully stay alive. He put his everything into saving you, and he didn’t know if that would kill him, but he knew it was worth it.

[nastybuckybarnes]

Of Kings and Beasts  -  Six

Pairing: King!Bucky X Princess!Reader X King!Steve

Summary: Born a bastard of the King of Orlen, you’re thrust to the West to marry the Kings. However, the greeting you get is anything but warm, and your life with the King is far from enjoyable. He knows it isn’t your fault his husband is gone, but that fact alone won’t prevent him from taking it out on you.

Warnings:  Angst, Fluff, Near-Death, Smut (Oral, F receiving), 

Word Count: 4K

A/n: I think that this series has a vibe that is very blue and grey. Like, if I could associate the feeling with a colour it would be like a dark blue and light grey. Idk it’s just how I feel. I also have a playlist that I might drop for this series cause it’s gotten me writing soooo much. Anyway, I loved writing this part and I hope you guys like it!!

THIS SERIES CONTAINS SMUT AND DARK THEMES THAT MAY BE TRIGGERING TO SOME AUDIENCES!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

~*~

Your head tilts back, a melodic laugh falling from your pretty lips, and Steve smiles warmly down at you.

James watches from the library window as his husband drapes his cloak over your shoulders, keeping you warm as the two of you walk through the falling snow in the gardens.

“You called for me, your Majesty?” James turns to the voice, nodding and waving the doctor over.

“What I am about to tell you remains between us and us alone, do you understand?” The doctor nods slowly, confused beyond his wits.

“I have been experiencing thoughts that are not my own. I fear my mind... it is not mine. I know not how nor why, but I... I feel as if someone has taken hold of my mind and my body.” The doctor is silent, his eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline.

“Can you elaborate a bit, your Majesty? I... I don’t think I’m understanding.” James nods, sighing heavily.

“I... I have blank spaces in my memory. I awake in places where I have not gone and I have bruises and marks that I do not remember acquiring. It is as if I am not in control of my own body at times.” Banner ponders this for a moment before nodding.

“If you follow me, I’d like to do a few inspections to see if there is anything on the surface that could be of any use in figuring out what exactly is happening to you.”

The King follows the Doctor to his office, sitting down upon the operation table.

The Doctor’s cold fingers probe along the King’s hairline, feeling for any unusual bumps or scratches.

Just as he’s about to give up, he feels a ridge along the base of the King’s skull.

“Lean forward, Your Majesty.” He complies, leaning forward and dropping his head to give the Doctor a better view of the spot in question.

“An incision has been made here. And not by me. It has been stitched expertly. Were I not so trained I would have missed it. Your concerns are very valid, your Majesty. Should I call in King Steven and tell him the news?” James shakes his head immediately.

“If this has been done without even my noticing, it has been done by someone close and near. We cannot risk them finding out. Steve cannot know, and neither can (Y/n).” The very mention of your name has his blood boiling for some reason.

“Your Majesty... may I ask... what thoughts are you having that have been so concerning?” The King sighs, squeezing his eyes shut.

“I fear that whoever has done this to me has done it with the intention of ruining my marriage and destroying my kingdom right from the inside. With the very thought of my husband or my wife, I am filled with anger unlike anything I’ve ever felt. It fades as days pass, and then it will be brought back out of the blue.” The Doctor purses his lips, trying to piece things together.

“May I take a few tests? I would like to analyze some samples. Perhaps they can bring us closer to figuring out what has happened.” The King nods, laying down and allowing the doctor to do whatever procedures he’d like.

“Must you go?” You ask sadly, looking down at where your hand is linked with Steve’s.

“Unfortunately I must. I would much rather spend time with you, however, the council has urgent matters that must be discussed. I will join you for dinner, on that I promise.” He leans down and presses a kiss to your cheek.

“Do you think James will join us tonight?” You ask softly. Although he hasn’t been the kindest to you, you were enjoying the time you spent with him and are missing his presence.

You have hardly seen him since the day he and Steve came to your chambers.

“I cannot guarantee it. I hope he will, but I do not think we will be so lucky.” You nod sadly, sighing when he lets go of your hand.

He cups your cheeks in both of his warm hands, leaning down to press a chaste kiss to your lips. Your heart races in your chest and you hold onto his wrists, leaning up into the gentle touch of his lips against your own.

Your eyes stay closed as he pulls away and he chuckles softly, pecking your lips once more before stepping backwards.

“I will come to find you as soon as I can, my love.” With that, he takes his leave. A smile spreads on your face and you sigh like a young maiden in love.

The thought takes you by surprise and you realize that you could very much be falling in love with Steve. He’s kind and gentle with you, and he’s taken the time to get to know you. He’s a man that you would willingly marry.

You’re getting ready to head back inside when you’re intercepted by a knight.

“Your Majesty.” He bows deeply then stands back up, a smile on his face.

“Do you require something?” You ask. He nods, offering you his arm.

“I have been ordered by King James to escort you to the stables. He wishes to go riding with you.” Your heart jumps in your chest, excitement filling you at the thought of getting to spend time with your other husband.

The knight is swift in his walk and you nearly have to jog to keep up.

You find it slightly strange that James would want to go riding when the snow is starting to fall harder, but you pay it no mind.

The knight helps you up onto your horse when you get to the stables, a smile on his face.

“The King wishes to meet you out past the stream. It is ten minutes west. He is eager to see you.” You nod, gathering the reins in your hands and thanking the knight as your horse leads you through the growing snow.

Steve’s cloak does little to keep you warm as the wind blows hard against you. Even through the layers of your dress and your coat, the coldness seeping through and chilling you straight to your core.

You’re not sure how many minutes go by, but the snow is thickening quickly, and before long you can hardly see in front of yourself.

“James!” You shout, trying desperately to find the King.

Your horse slows, not liking the storm. She turns you in a circle then huffs out a breath through her nose.

You’re about ready to head back when she suddenly raises up onto her hind legs, sending you falling to the snow beneath you.

You yelp out in pain as you break your fall with your arm, pain shooting up.

The wind howls in your ears as you push yourself to your knees, fear grabbing your heart and making it race as you struggle to see past your nose.

Snow gathers in thick clumps on your eyelashes, weighing them down and adding to the struggle.

“Aryo!” You call out for your horse, pushing yourself to your feet and wrapping your arms around yourself to try and preserve what little heat you have left.

It doesn’t take long for you to realize you’re alone, your horse long gone to find shelter in the storm. You don’t blame her. You would have abandoned yourself too.

Teeth chattering, you try and find any trace of a path to follow back to the Palace as the storm rages on around you.

“Is that the Queen’s horse?” Nat asks, looking out the window at the blizzard.

James is on his feet in an instant, looking out the window then at the redhead.

“Where is she?”

She shakes her head, “Steve dismissed me. But he’s in a meeting now. I would have thought she’d come back but I haven’t seen her since.”

Before she’s finished speaking, James is sprinting down the stairs.

He pays no mind to the snow, feet pulling him to the stables as the stable boy tries to calm down your mare.

“Where is the Queen?” He asks desperately, shouting over the wind. The stable boy shakes his head.

“I was dismissed by a member of the guard. He had the queen with him and the last I saw she was riding west.”

The colour drains from the King’s face as he looks towards the dark clouds rolling in.

“Get me my horse. Now!” The boy turns and runs to get the King his horse, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste.

“You’re going out there?!” He turns around to face Natalia, nodding. “She’s out there and she may be in danger. I know Steve would not entrust anyone but Sam or you to escort her anywhere.” His conversation with Doctor Banner earlier rings in his mind and he feels fear claw its way up his throat.

“Have a warm bath prepped. Bring all the furs from the entire Palace to her chambers and have the fire ready. And find Steve as soon as you can.” The stable boy brings over James’ horse and the King is mounted upon his stallion and taking off into the storm.

You don’t know where you are or where you’re going. You can hardly feel your body. Everything is so heavy and you want to take a break, rest your eyes for a moment to regain your strength.

You stopped shivering a while ago.

Trudging through the knee-high snow, you blow warm air onto your frozen hands, trying desperately to warm something up. Shivering was so much better than this.

Something catches on your shoe and you fall face-forward into the snow with a yelp.

Instead of standing up, you roll onto your back, eyes half-open as snowflakes kiss your face.

Just a moment. That’s all you need. A moment to rest.

Your eyelids flutter closed and warmth settles into your limbs.

In the distance, you swear you hear someone calling your name, and you can’t help but smile. In this vast expanse of nothing but white... he cares for you.

Even if he’s only a figment of your imagination, he cares.

You’re jolted back to reality by the sound of your name being bellowed close by. Eyes heavy with snow, you slowly look around, neck stiff and frozen.

James jumps down from his horse, your figure barely visible through the snow.

“(Y/n)!” He sprints to you, foot slipping on a patch of ice and nearly pulling him to the ground.

His arms are cradling your frame as soon as he’s close enough, one hand pushing the snow out of your face and pressing his fingers to your neck.

“Oh thank the gods,” he whispers, your pulse like a drum grounding him.

He hauls you up into his arms and climbs onto his horse, the stallion taking off through the snow.

“Stay with me, (Y/n), please,” He murmurs, warm lips pressing against your frozen forehead.

Your eyes fall closed again and he has to take deep breaths to calm his racing heart.

Only when the Palace comes into view does he allow himself to feel any form of hope.

He rides right up to the front doors then slides off his horse, your body held securely in his arms. Guards are already waiting, one taking care of his horse while the others lock the Palace doors and clear a path for the King.

He swears he’s never moved this fast in his life.

The door to your chambers is open and as soon as he’s inside, Natalia is pulling you from his grip and hauling you right in front of the fire.

He kicks his shoes off and shrugs out of his coat.

“Get her out of her clothes,” he orders, pulling off his trousers and stripping until he’s nearly naked.

Nat does as ordered, confused until he lies down next to you, pressing your freezing body against his and pulling the furs overtop of the two of you.

The fire burns hot against his face but it’s doing its job.

Soon enough he can feel you breathing heavier against his chest.

"Where is Steve?” The brunet demands, looking over at Nat. She shakes her head. “With the council still. I tried getting him but they would not allow me entrance.” James sighs, tucking your head between his shoulder and his neck and smoothing his flesh hand over your back, hoping the friction will warm you up faster.

Nat takes her leave, hoping to find Steve, and James scoots the two of you closer to the fire.

When you let out a sharp breath then start violently shaking in his arms he lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

You’re burning. Tiny needles are prickling your skin all over and it won’t stop. There’s a clattering noise that is absolutely annoying you and you recoil away from the heat.

It’s only when your face gets smushed further against a hot chest that you realize the chattering is your teeth.

“You’re okay,” a deep voice whispers, lips pressed against your frozen hair.

“I-It hurts,” you croak, throat sore and aching.

“I know, dove. I know.” His nose is buried in your hair, warm tears dripping from his eyes as he hugs you close to his chest.

The pain slowly fades and you sigh gratefully, bringing your hands up to press your frozen fingers against his warm torso.

The muscles in his abdomen clench at the contact and he lets out a sharp breath.

“You’re so cold,” he whispers, bringing a leg over yours to drape you in more of his body heat.

Your toes press against his other thigh and he groans.

“S-sorry,” you manage to get the word out without biting your tongue.

“Shh. It’s alright. Just warm up. You’re alright.” You nod, cold lips brushing against his chest. You press the tip of your nose against his skin and the contact nearly burns.

He presses kiss after kiss to the top of your head, thankful his body is always warm.

You gradually stop shivering but he doesn’t let you go, far too terrified that this is the last time he’ll get to hold you.

It’s only when you pull back to look at him that his arms loosen.

You notice his red eyes and instantly frown.

“What’s wrong?” Your voice is hoarse and he makes a note to get Wanda to bring you some tea.

“I...” He shakes his head, squeezing his eyes shut tightly and kissing your forehead.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, hot tears dripping down onto the furs beneath the two of you.

“For what?” You’re genuinely confused.

“Everything.”

“James, look at me.” He does so, reluctant but desperate to see you. Your lashes are wet and you can’t tell if it’s from the snow or your own tears.

“I’m alright. Without you, I wouldn’t be here. You saved my life.” He shakes his head, sniffling and squeezing you tighter to his chest.

“Why were you out there by yourself?” His voice is weak and muffled but the question confuses you.

“I was told that you wanted to meet me out there. A knight escorted me and delivered me the message. I was confused because it was snowing but I was eager to spend time with you.” He shakes his head, dread settling in his gut as he realizes that someone is indeed trying to sabotage his marriage.

“Did the knight give you his name?” You shake your head, fingers tracing patterns on his chest.

“I never told anyone anything. I was with Doctor Banner for a better portion of the day.” Your brows furrow and you pull back to look at him.

“If it was not you who sent for me... why would...” You trail off, eyes widening.

“He meant for me to die out there, didn’t he?” James swallows hard then nods, sighing heavily.

“That’s how it would seem. I do not know if those were his intentions and we will need to question him. But that all comes second.”

You snuggle against his chest further, his warmth and scent engulfing you and making you feel beyond safe.

“James?” You ask softly, pulling back again to look at him when he doesn’t answer.

“Why have you been avoiding me?” The heartbreak in your voice makes him want to die. He presses his forehead against yours and his lips quiver.

“I am terrified of being near you because all I have ever done is bring you pain. I do not wish to do that. Not ever again.” You bring one hand up and cup his face, wiping a tear off of his cheek.

“The only way you will bring me pain is by pushing me away. I miss you.” Your eyes flash down to his lips then back up to his eyes.

“With every day that goes by and I do not see you... I am saddened. We did not start our marriage well, but we can fix it. Please, James, don’t push me away anymore.” Your pleading breaks his heart and he nods, sniffling again.

“If I ask something of you... will you do it?” You ask softly. He nods without hesitation.

“Anything.”

You wait a beat, your heart thumping hard in your chest.

“Kiss me.” His eyes flash open and he pulls back to look at you. When the edges of your lips curve up he nods again, leaning down slowly.

His warm lips meet yours in a kiss that is filled with unspoken words and forbidden feelings. Tears cascade down his face and he leans further into the kiss, pushing himself up onto his metal forearm and rolling slightly until you’re on your back and he’s on his side. His flesh hand comes up to rest gently on the side of your neck, the thumping of your pulse beneath his fingers enough to have him relaxing.

Your hands come up instinctively to his hair, fingers tugging through the damp strands as you share your first real kiss with your husband.

His tears drip onto your face and you feel your heart break for him. You pull him closer, leg lifting and hitching around his waist to bring him flush against your body.

It’s like he’s never touched you before.

The feeling of your breasts pressing against his bare chest combined with the way you’re pulling him tight against you is enough to have him stirring in his britches.

He pulls away, shaking his head.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he murmurs. You sigh, fingers threading through his glorious locks. “You won’t. I just want to feel you. Have you close to me. Please.”

The look on your face has his resolve crumbling and, as if smelling your success, you pull him down, lips crashing against his.

“Will you let me try something? To make you feel good?” He asks breathlessly against your mouth. You’re not sure if anything can feel better than this but you’re more than willing to try.

He trails kisses down your body, taking a moment to pepper them over the soft skin of your breasts. His tongue flicks over your right nipple for a moment before retreating back into his mouth and allowing him to continue kissing down down down.

When his head is between your legs you push onto your elbows, nervous about having him somewhere so intimate.

“Relax. It won’t hurt, I promise.” You take a deep breath and nod, relaxing slightly as he presses gentle kisses to the insides of your thighs.

He pulls your legs over his shoulders and traces his tongue over your slit.

You jolt at the contact and he breathes a chuckle before diving in, his tongue working on the little bundle of nerves that makes your toes curl.

“J-James!” You cry, hand instinctively coming to his hair. He loops his arms under your legs, warm hand splayed on your stomach while his cold hand comes to your mound, middle finger slipping inside of you.

He’s gentle, thrusting slowly while his mouth focuses on your clit. Your legs clench around his head as the pleasure builds, a coil tightening in your belly.

A second finger slips inside of you with surprising ease, but you don’t dwell on that for long. His metal digits find the spot inside of you that makes you see stars and, upon hearing the guttural groan of pleasure you make, focus on hitting that spot with every thrust.

Your back arches and your fingers pull his hair so hard that it borders on pain, but one glance at the bliss on your face and the pain is forgotten.

His tongue works your clit while his fingers fuck faster, harder until you’re crying out, legs trembling and face scrunched up in pleasure. Your cunt clenches around his fingers and your slick gushes out around them.

He slowly pulls his fingers from you, cleaning up the mess between your legs with his tongue. The gentle kitten-licks just enough to prolong your climax.

When he finally pulls away and looks at you, you’re already watching him, your chest heaving and sweat glistening on your forehead.

“I suppose we warmed you up, didn’t we?” He asks playfully, grinning when you laugh breathlessly.

He adjusts himself in his pants then lays down with you once again, pressing a kiss to your cheek.

“What about you?” You ask shyly, glancing down to the tent in his underwear.

“I can handle it, dove. You need your rest.” You cuddle up against him on the makeshift bed, the crackling of the fire and the feeling of his fingers tracing up and down your spine lulling you into a deep sleep.

He holds you in his arms, mind racing to who might want you out of the kingdom and why, and then to Steve. Steve who’s been gone for a suspiciously long time. Steve who’s supposed to be in a meeting with the council conveniently at the time of you disappearing.

When the blond in question is finally free from the council, Natalia is there to tell him what happened.

He’s bursting into your chambers moments later, his heart in his throat until he sees you asleep with your head on James’ chest, the brunet holding you close to his body beside the smouldering embers of what must’ve been a roaring fire.

A small smile spreads over his face and he closes the door, taking off his shoes and stripping down to his underwear.

He climbs onto the thick cushion of furs, shimmying beneath the blankets draped over your frame and placing his arm over your waist, hand resting against his husband’s stomach.

James reaches down and squeezes Steve’s hand gently, meeting the blond’s eyes over your head.

“What happened?” He asks softly, not wanting to wake you up.

“She was set up,” James replies, his eyes full of so many emotions.

“By who?” James shakes his head, sighing heavily.

“We have much to discuss, but it can wait until morning.” Steve nods in agreement, pressing his body against yours.

You sigh, sandwiched between their warmth and lost in a deep sleep.

Steve is pressed against your back and James against your front, the two holding onto each other’s arms over your waist.

And at that moment everything is as it should be. As it should have been in the first place.

But James knows that this may be only temporary unless they can find the traitor responsible for nearly killing you.

He hopes to the Gods that they find whoever it is soon because now that he has you in his arms, he never wants to let you go.