#but its kind of a key chapter for them and its one thats been giving me fits while also just being super fun

[vultures-and-scavengers]

I've got to know what 11 Bloomingtide. Annette Vs. Terror of Being Known is about!

:D ooh thank you for the ask!! and its a follow-on to one of my favorite chapters that i've written, so, A) very excited that you asked about this one and i might gush so sorry in advance and B) a quick run-down of the prior chapter because "annette vs terror of being known" is more like a part 2.

so-- prior chapter. she's just come back from the mire, and there's a dinner party that josie throws-- the dinner party isn't important, but afterwards, like. annette is Not Doing Great with the role of Herald, and she drowned and nearly died in the Mire, which is how i explain away the Inquisitor not able to swim in game-- she's petrified of open water after.

and she gets wasted. shes out there on the pier drinking, clinging to the thought of how well the dinner went and how it was a success and how lovely the stars look-- anything to avoid looking at the water under her feet, frozen though it may be.

and then her LEAST FAVORITE person has the TEMERITY to interrupt her and come find her. (her love interest, unbeknownst to her) cullen fucking rutherford shows up, and she's drunk, and shes terrified of the water and fine, she doesn't like him, but its an acceptable distraction. and she ends up giving away a lot more than she plans.

and so THIS chapter is her trying to cope with that fallout. she's played the orlesian politician for so long that she's genuinely terrified of anyone knowing anything that could be used against her. and not only did she reveal her new fears, she revealed them to the person she scorns the most, and the person who scorns HER the most.

she doesn't know why she did that. she's angry at herself. shes hungover. and shes genuinely terrified of what he might do with that information.

again, she's orlesian.

and cullen, who has viewed her as like cold and distant minus the moments she loses her shit and reveals she does have a temper (which he seems uniquely talented at provoking) is trying to fit all the pieces he saw the night before into like. his own perception of her.

i wouldnt say its the turnaround for him and his opinion of her, but it plants the seeds for that inevitable flip. if that makes sense.

and this is my favorite excerpt from this WIP chapter:

Commander Cullen cleared his throat, and Annette startled, her coffee sloshing within its mug. “Sorry,” he apologized, grimacing in contrition, “I thought… I thought you might want this.” She took the vial he offered, belatedly recognizing it as a pain relieving potion. Annette debated taking it, not wanting to admit she needed it and not wanting to be in his debt, but her head did hurt, quite a bit. “It’s not poisoned,” he added, seeing her hesitation. “That would be Sister Leliana’s style,” Annette replied, rolling the vial in her hand before mentally sighing and uncorking it, hiding her revulsion at the taste. Commander Cullen acknowledged that point with a shrug. He’d disapproved, loudly and at length, with some of Leliana’s suggestions, and Annette knew assassination wasn’t something he was comfortable with. She blamed the aftereffects of the alcohol obscuring her usual sense of discretion for what she asked next. “Why? Why bring this for me?” Commander Cullen only looked baffled. “Because I thought you might need it?” There had to be more to it than that. “I was trying to be kind,” he huffed when she didn’t answer. “Is that so unreasonable?” Naive, maybe. “No one is kind without motive, Commander,” Annette said slowly. The way Commander Cullen looked at her then was as if some puzzle piece had fallen in place and he didn’t quite care for the picture he was seeing. He looked pitying, and Annette tried to keep her expression calm even as she internally bristled. “No Orlesian, maybe,” he said dryly. “Lucky for you, I’m Ferelden.”

cullen is just. earnest? genuine? he's not at all a liar and he is what he is and annette has spent so long playing the game and staying in orlais that she's just thrown off balance by it.

now this is still definitely in first draft status, so i'll edit it some and continue to play around with the chapter, but its fun to have annette try to cope with like. she let her masks down and she was Seen by the person she would least want her to see her. but he's also not using that in any way she expects him too-- and she doesn't know how to cope with that, either.

[bunnywritesjunk]

My King

Series summary: Your parents signed you up for an Alpha Omega Match company when you were eighteen. It took years for them to find your match, but you meet the giant austrian man. Will he be a good partner?

Chapter summary: You get a call from your mother regarding your match. You are nervous to meet them, but they turn out to be a pleasant surprise.

Pairing: König x Fem Reader

Warnings: A/B/O dynamics (Never use this abbreviation without the slashes it is an indigenous slur) 18+ MDNI (no others for this chapter)

Word count: 4.1k (damn thats a lot for me)

Genre: Mostly Fluff a little angst here and there.

A/n: Yo Yo Yo whatup. New fic dropping. This one is black/poc coded but anyone can read. I haven't seen any poc coded cod fics just yet (if you know any send them my way). If you do not like Omegaverse fics please do not read. Also I tried making a cute little mood board, i think it sucks but I tried my best. Konig art credit. (I couldn't find the art credit for the girl). König and reader are neurospicy. I got inspired to do an Apex Alpha König from @ghostlythunderbird go give them some love please. Also this is kinda what I imagine him looking like.

Next Chapter

Chapter One:

His back ached as he climbed the few steps to his door. The passage back to his home was uncomfortable. All König wanted to do with collapse on his bed. The duplex he resided in was decent, the little old woman who rented it to him was very sweet. König had a hard time getting anyone to rent to him. His status as an Apex alpha was concerning for most people. They believed him to be violent and inconsiderate. His landlord is an omega that lives with her alpha mate. König managed to convince her. She thought he was sweet and kind. He opened the foyer door that lead to both apartments. He glanced at the mailbox, wondering if he should wait until morning. Begrudgingly, he took out the small mailbox key and fiddled the metal box open. He grabbed the plethora of mail and closed the box gently. The box was filled up quite a bit as he had not been home in a couple of weeks. 

Heading up the stairs he filed through the mail. Most were junk coupons and magazines, some were credit card sign-up letters. One envelope caught his eye. It had no company name just a large white manila envelope addressed to him. He opened his door and stepped inside placing the mail and his belongings on his couch. He ripped open the envelope and took out a thin book. It had the circular logo of the AOMO, the Alpha Omega Match organization. 

König started at the cover his heartbeat sped up the longer he thought about it. He signed up for the program after a particularly hard mission he had in KorTac. He left and joined the 141 and decided he wanted an omega. A lot of the men in the 141 had partners they could come home to. König wanted that. Most people were too afraid to be in a committed relationship with him. König often settled for one-night stands with betas but it left him feeling empty. He opened the packet to the first page.

'Congratulations!' The first word read. His heart beat harder the more he read. 

'We have found you a match!' König's heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest. 

'In the plastic wrap, we've provided a fresh scent sample from your potential match. If you like the scent of your match, please send us a scent sample from you as soon as possible.' 

König gripped the packet and leaned over the table, putting his weight on the table. He took a deep breath, he felt a mix of fear and excitement. When he signed up he was not hopeful for a match. He assumed his situation was too complicated for them. He flipped through the packet before reading the rest searching for the scent sample. A plastic bag fell out onto the table. It was sealed and had a verification sticker assuring its authenticity. König picked up the bag carefully. It had a square of white fabric inside it. He took his hood off before opening the bag gingerly. The scent instantly made his knees weak. This Omega had a warm and spicy scent. Coconut and sugary vanilla with hints of sandalwood. König stuffed his nose into the bag inhaling the deep rich smell of this Omega. 

König sealed the scent sample wanting to savor it. He opened the packet back up to the first page. It said once he mailed his scent sample and was approved by his match, they would arrange a meeting with him and his match. There was more information about this Omega and their family along with the reasoning for them picking them. They informed him that this omega was a twenty-six-year-old female. Her father is also an Apex Alpha, he is retired American military. They did not provide a picture of any matches because they wanted the connection to be based on instinct rather than looks. Her mother is an Omega that works as a teacher. There is not much else about the Omega but, König is hopeful. He reads the instructions to send his scent sample. They provided a kit with a form envelope, a small square of fabric, and a plastic bag, almost identical to the one he received from his match. 

'Wash your hands, and rinse any dirt off of your scent glands.'

'Then remove the fabric from the plastic.'

'Rub the fabric on your clean scent glands for 20-25 minutes.'

'Seal the fabric thoroughly in the bag provided .'

He shed his vest and protective gear, the last thing he wanted was for her to smell dust and gunpowder on him. König tried to quell his excitement as he followed the directions. Rushing to his bathroom and then back to his dining room. The fabric square was slightly smaller than his palm. He cupped the crook of his neck, sandwiching the fabric between his hand and his neck. He rubbed gently filling it with his scent. He read the rest of the packet as he rubbed. The rest was mostly semantics about the company and its policies. He combed it a few more times trying to memorize every piece of information about his Omega. 

König smiled gently, he shouldn't think of her as his yet. She smelled so good, too good for him. He smelled the cloth every once in a while to ensure his scent was potent enough. When he was done he placed it in the bag and sealed it. He filled out the form and packed the pre-paid envelope neatly. He grabbed his keys and left his apartment to go to the mail drop-off on the corner of the block. He needed to send it today, he wouldn't be able to sleep if he didn't. He walked back to his apartment having long forgotten about his back pain. 

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

You looked at the list on your phone pushing your shopping cart. Buying the week's groceries had fallen to you this time as your mother was dealing with state testing for her students and your dad was on a hunting trip. You maneuvered the isles expertly collecting the items on your list. As well as some extra sweet snacks you like to indulge in much to our mother's chagrin. You were about to put a pack of Oreos in the cart when your mom called.

“Hello?” You answered but all you can hear was excited screeching. You held the phone away from your ear until she quieted down. 

“He accepted you!!!” She screamed. 

“What? Mom, you're too loud.” 

“The match company! The match they picked liked your scent.” She giggled. 

You were slightly stunned. Your parents signed you up for the AOMO when you were eighteen. You weren't that on board with it but you let them. You know they only want the best for you. You kept sending scent samples every year but they never got back to you about anything. Now, six years later they show up with a match for you. 

“I just got the call, they're sending a scent sample for you right now it's gonna get here in a few days.” 

“Wow...” That was all you managed to say. 

“Now I know this wasn't your ideal way to meet someone, but just please be open-minded sweetheart.” 

You sighed. “I will. I'm finishing up at the grocery and I'll head home.”

“Alright, I'm gonna be home soon too, bye sweetie.” 

You hung up the phone and stood in the aisle. You placed the pack of Oreos in the cart and moved to get the rest of the items before checking out. 

When you arrived home your mother was there waiting. She squealed and hugged you before helping you take the grocery bags inside. 

“I am so excited for you! I have heard so many good things about the AOMO. I bet whoever they picked is gonna be great.”

“Let's hope.” You say. 

The next few days went by quickly. You dove into writing your next few chapters to take your mind off of the match. The sequel to your best-selling fantasy novel was underway. Your days consisted of writing, planning, engaging with fans, and talking to your editor. You typed out the outline for the next few chapters when you heard a knock. 

“Come in.” You said. 

Your mother walked in holding a large envelope. “Guess what came today?” She said excitedly. 

 Your heart thumped with anxiety. She placed the envelope on your desk.

“I’ll leave you to it, let me know if you like them.” She sauntered out of the room happily. 

You picked up the envelope and opened it pulling out a packet of information. You flipped to the first page. 

‘Congratulations!’ It read. 

‘The match we have chosen for you wants to meet you. Once you contact us with your acceptance of their scent, we will arrange for them to meet you and your family with the chaperone of one AOMO agents to facilitate. The two of you will go on a date and get to know each other before deciding whether to move forward. If you do not accept the scent, we will put you back in our database to be matched with someone else.’ 

In the middle of the pages, there was a plastic bag with a white cloth in it. You picked it up and sighed. You doubted you would like the scent. Most alphas were off-putting to you, either way too strong of a scent of they smelled like dishwater. You opened the bag casually and took a whiff. Your inner Omega preened at the musk that erupted from the bag. 

“Oh my…” You inhaled deeply. 

This Alpha…smelled good? He smelled like chocolate and dark roast espresso. There were some hints of fresh baked bread and cinnamon. You caught yourself before you got lost in his scent. You sealed the bag up and took a breath. Maybe, this would be a good experience for you. You scanned through the rest of the information looking over what little they provide about this Alpha. He is a male Alpha, non-American but they did not specify what country. The only other thing they said about him was that his demeanor was shy and that he is military. The instructions said to call the number if you wanted to meet him. You reached for your phone a little too eagerly and dialed the number. A woman’s voice answered.

“Hi, you’ve reached the Alpha Omega Match organization how may I help you?”

“Hi, um I got an Alpha’s scent in the mail, and I want to meet him.” You said awkwardly.

“What’s your name and date of birth?” You told her, nervously. 

“Please hold while I transfer you.” 

The light piano hold music came on, you fidgeted with your sleeve. 

“This is Kara, how may I help you?”

“Oh hi, I got an Alpha’s scent in the mail and I would like to meet him.”

“Alright, let me get your file from reception she’s sending it right now…Ah got it. Oooh ok great I am your agent that will be facilitating this meeting. Your parents will want to meet him yes?”

“Definitely.”

“Ok so, what we will do is you and your parents will meet me at a public space of your choice then. I will bring you to meet the Alpha first, then your parents. We like to keep parent meetings brief as they tend to try and challenge the Alpha. I will have you know, this Alpha is an Apex like your dad. That is one of the reasons we chose you as his match, you have experience with an Apex. Will you be comfortable with all that?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Your head was reeling from all this information. Great, I see you guys are in New York City which is one of my favorite places to visit. Do you have anywhere in mind to meet?” 

“Um, we could do the Highline, there’s food, and it's pretty.” 

“Oh, that’s a great idea let me write it down here. How does September ninth at noon sound to you? A weekday so there are not too many people.” 

Your heart jumped, that’s in two days.

“Uh, sure.” 

“Alright, I will send you a follow-up email regarding our plans all you need to do is confirm. Your match will be notified, and his flight will be booked as soon as we receive confirmation. Do you have any other questions?” 

“No not at the moment.” 

“Ok, don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any concerns. I will see you in a few days.” 

“Bye.” 

You put your phone on your desk and walked out of your room. Your mother was standing a few feet away from your door. When she noticed you, her face lit up.

“So? How was the scent? Are you meeting them?” 

You smiled and nodded “Yup, in two days.” 

She squealed and captured you in a bone-crushing hug.

“I can’t wait! Let’s go tell your father!” She practically ran down the hall. 

You walked to your living room where your otherwise stoic-looking dad was watching TV. 

“Tell us about them, sweetheart.” Your mother said. Your dad turned the volume on the TV down and looked at you expectantly.

“Well, I don’t know much but, I know he’s not American and that he might be shy…He smells good.” 

“That’s important, I hope you wouldn’t pick someone who smells like shit.” Your dad chimed in. 

“He’s also military, and an Apex.” You added quickly. 

Your mother gasped quietly, and your father raised his eyebrows.

“Now that’s intriguing.” Your mom said smiling.

“You already booked a meeting with him?” Your dad asked. You nodded. 

“You should’ve asked me first.” He pinched his nose bridge in annoyance. 

“Well, he’s my match and I wanted to meet him.”

“Apex Alphas are dangerous. I would know.”

“Oh, please honey it’ll be fine.” Your mother ridiculed him.

“It’s my choice, Dad. You guys are the ones who signed up, I finally got a match, so I want to see it through. If it doesn’t work out, then I’ll call it off.”

Your father growled lowly. “Fine.”

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

Your mother insisted to dress you in a cutesy outfit, so you let her have her moment. She dressed you in a dark floral dress that hugged your curves just right. She added dainty jewelry along with your protective collar. You didn’t usually wear it but again, she insisted. She did your hair half up half down. Your dad was waiting by the front door with your mom’s purse in hand. 

The train ride there was silent, your mother looked utterly content while your father was peeved about this whole situation. You arrived at the station and walked to the Highline. You got a text from Kara telling you what she looked like and where she was. She was wearing a dark blue pencil skirt and a white blouse. She stood up as you and your family approached. You stuck your hand out to shake hers.

“Nice to meet you guys, come sit.” She said motioning to the bench she was on. 

Your father stayed standing while you and your mother took a seat next to her. 

“So, there are some things I want to go over with you all and then I’ll talk to you privately and do the official meeting ok?”

“He’s here?” You said in an almost panicked tone.

Kara chuckled. “He is here but I left him to wait somewhere out of sight for now.”

She continued. “His name is König, he was born in Austria. When we did his psyche and personality evaluations, we found that he has neurodivergent tendencies, like you. Our matches with people that have a similar way of communicating have gone well.”

“Wait, neurodivergent?” Your mom chimed in. 

“Yes, your daughter did show signs of some behavioral abnormalities, but she is high functioning.”

“I told you that Mom.” You say giving her a deadpan look. Your mother looked down and gave a small ‘hmm’. Kara continued. 

“He does struggle with social anxiety so please be patient with him. Other than that, he currently lives in Amsterdam, if you choose to go forward that is where you will live.”

Your dad finally spoke “Is Amsterdam safe for people like us?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Oh yes, Amsterdam has many people from different places and backgrounds. It is one of the most popular immigration and tourist countries, don’t worry.”

“Alright, how about you come with me, and we’ll get your meeting started.”

Kara led you away, you turned and did a small wave to your parents your mom smiled back at you warmly. 

“So, I will be in contact with you the whole time. If you want to go just say the word, I am never going to be more than a couple minutes away. Honestly, I don’t think you’ll have any issues with him.” 

She led you to a restaurant below the high line, it had indoor and outdoor seating. There were a lot of people laughing and drinking. Your heartbeat sped up as you scanned the crowd. The scent of food entered your nose. Everyone’s scent in the dining area mixed into an indescribable concoction. Among the borderline overwhelming smells, you got a hint of something familiar, espresso. 

You scanned the large room trying to pinpoint where it was coming from or if you were just imagining it. I dark figure near the corner of the room caught your eye. He looked way too large for the chair he was sitting in. He was looking down at his hands, dirty blonde hair covered his forehead. He was wearing a black cloth mask along with a form-fitting black shirt. As soon as you walked in he raised his head. You looked away pretending you weren't staring at him. Kara led you straight to his table.

“This is König.” She gestured to him. 

He stood up to shake your hand still keeping himself hunched at the waist to appear smaller. You shook his hand and smiled as you introduced yourself. He nodded and said a small 'hmm' to acknowledge you. 

“Alright, I'll be near. Have fun.” Kara left swiftly.

You sat down in the chair across from him as he did the same. A wave of anxiety came as you did, not knowing how to break the ice with him. You picked up the menu and scanned it.

“Did you order yet?” You ask.

“No, I was waiting for you.”

“Well thank you, what looks good?” 

“The Steak frites look pretty good.” He glued his menu.

“I'm excited for dessert, they have chocolate cheesecake.”

He chuckled and it made your stomach flip.

“You like sweets?” He asked.

“Very much.” You smile at him. 

The waitress came over and asked if you wanted any drinks. König looked at you, waiting for you to order first. 

“I'll try the elderberry gin and tonic.” You said.

 Konig was about to order when the table next to us erupted in loud laughter. He jumped slightly before answering the waitress. 

“I'll get the house Lager.” He said. 

The waitress left to grab the drinks. The adjacent table was still very loud. The group of friends hollering and screaming obviously day drunk. Konig had his head slightly turned away from them in an attempt to lessen the noise. It was subtle but you could tell. You reached into your bag and brought out a pair of foldable headphones. You turned on the noise cancellation and gave them to him. He looked slightly confused. 

“Put them on.” You encourage him. 

When he did the noise muffled and the restaurant was much quieter. You could see the tension in his shoulders ease by the second. His scent sweetened

“Is that better? Can you hear me ok?” 

König swears he could've kissed you right then and there, but he settles on a nod. 

“Thank you, Leibe.” 

“No problem.”

The waitress came by with the drinks and asked if the two of you are ready to order entrees. You ordered the fish and König ordered the Steak. While you waited, you two had a pleasant small talk about his flight and how he is enjoying his visit. He hesitated to take off his mask at first so you focused on your menu to give him the space to be comfortable with you. You glanced up and took in his face. He was beautiful, he had scars on his face that added ruggedness to his chiseled features. König noticed your scent amplify as you gazed at him. His inner alpha pushed him to be closer, to know more about you.

“So, you're in the military?” 

He nods. “I work for a military contractor. Do you work?”

“Sort of, I'm an author so I work from home.”

“That is nice, are you published?” König was secretly very happy he'd get to have you at home all day. 

“Yes, I am. I'm working on my sequel right now. Do you like to read? Or, do you read in German?” 

He chuckled. “I have not had much time to read lately, but I will now.”

“Well, you have to buy my book of course.” You giggled. 

König nearly fell off his chair at the sound. This Omega was everything he wanted. He prayed to whatever god was up there that you felt something with him. By the time the food came you both fell into a comfortable rhythm. He asked about your childhood and hobbies. It was a change of pace, most Alphas are very self-centered, but he is putting effort into getting to know you. The food came out and you both ate. He offered bites of his food for you to try which you happily returned the favor. By the time you finished your food, you hadn't noticed how much time has gone by. Kara texted you to check-in. 

'Hey, so I saw things were going well so I let you guys talk for an hour and a half but, your parents are getting antsy. Are you guys ready to see your parents?' 

“Oh, Kara is asking if we're ready to see my parents.” 

König fiddled with his fork. “I'm ready.” 

He paid the bill and you both left the restaurant. You took in the full size of the Alpha you matched with. He was no less than a giant. He held the door for you but stopped before he walked through. 

“I forgot something, I'll be back.” He walked back into the restaurant. 

Kara walked up to you. “How did it go?” 

“I...really like him...”

“I know, that feeling is scary. I think you guys are a wonderful match.”

König came out holding a small to-go box. He handed it to you, you could tell he was smiling under his mask. 

“What's this?”

Inside the box was a slice of chocolate cheesecake and a fork.

“We forgot to order dessert.” 

You were stunned, you didn't think there could be Alphas that were so thoughtful. Your inner Omega soared, this Alpha was courting you so well. 

“Thank you, König, that's really sweet.” 

“Ah, here they are.” Kara said. 

Your parents walked up to the three of you. Your mother had a surprised but happy look on her face. Your father kept his deadpan face from earlier, not a good sign. 

“Wow, sweetheart you caught a big one!” Your mom chuckled. 

“Parents, this is König.” Kara said. 

Your mother introduced herself and your father as he stood there sizing up the taller Apex. 

“Alright, let's keep things brief parents do you have any questions for König?”

“Well, as long as she likes him I don't.” Your mother said. 

“Can you protect her?” Your dad asked putting some venom behind his words. 

“I would never let anything happen to her sir. You have my word.” König answered without hesitation. 

Your dad nodded and looked at you. “You like him?”

“...Yeah I do.” 

“Alright then, that's all that matters.” 

“Well, I think it's safe to say that the match is made. I will contact you for the next steps. Parents, let's let them say goodbye.” Kara led your parents away.

You turned to König. “Thank you for meeting with me, I had a really good time.” You saw a faint blush at the top of his mask. 

“I also had a good time, liebe.” 

“What does that mean?”

“Ah...it means love.” 

“Oh well...” You motioned for him to come bend down close to you.

When he got close enough you pecked his cheek. 

“I'll see you soon, love.” 

[bear-remn]

— ⋆✮ Deadly Eyes ✮⋆

n/t: hii, hope you enjoy even if its a little too short for my liking, but the next one is gonna be long asf, just wait for me cooking. and sorry if there are any mistakes on my writing.

tw: this chapter contains mention and use of drugs.

sinopsis: kirari finds in a complicated situation with shu and mako feels... different.

⋆༺ chapter three ༻⋆

kirari walked trough the hallways looking for shu, she remember him a little bit but not entirely, faces and names don't stick easily in her memory if she doesnt hear or see them constantly. she enter every room class and even the mens bathroom being very carefull nobody sees her.

she was anxious, in any minute her friend can call her so they can go, either way she didnt really care about coming back to the manor with shu, she could manage to make up an excuse. but at least kirari wanted to tell him and hope he didnt listen to her, that would be credible right?

every minute was a torture for kirari, she hates to search things, when she lost something she freak out easily, this time it was something new, looking for someone which face she cant quite remember. until she sees a familiar girl looking out the window and quickly kirari came up to her.

"hey... you" the girl turn her way and smiled instantly.

"omg hi, i see you didnt go with the sakamakis, they just left" so thats what she was looking out the window? a little too crazy for kirari, considering this girl crearly has a fascination with the sakamakis.

"yeah its ok, um... actually i was hoping you could help me" the girls eyes sparkled as kirari smiled with her best smile.

"what kind of help?" oh... kirari knew that tone.

"im looking for shu, im supposed to tell him something important before i go" kirari needed to be carefull, she already can tell that this crazy girl was obsessed with the sakamakis so giving to much information of what she does with them would totally become a big and annoying rumor, and she hates rumors.

"you dont know where to find him?"

"no... do you know perhaps?"

"i know some places he might be, but... now that you need my help" and there it comes "ill like something in exchange for my information, what can you give me in return?" kirari smiled, of course she wanted something, this girls was smart.

"what would you like?"

the girl crossed her arms and closed her eyes while thinking, until her face become a little blushed and opened her eyes excited.

"i dont have big preferences, im just asking for an object of a sakamaki who has interested me for some years by now"

"which... one?" the girl smiled and came closer to kirari.

"i want something that belongs to subaru, the youngest sakamaki, he is... the boy i have been in love since i got into this academy, i dont ask for much, even a pen would do it" the peticion take kirari off, she did not know that the girl was so intense, maybe it was something like a stalker or just a loyal an devoted followers of a boy with whom perhaps she has never spoken to.

"ok... i can do that for you"

"sweet, ill be expecting it by the next week" kirari sighed.

"as you wish... now, shu is where exactly?" the girl took some steps back and smiled wide.

"he can be in the library, the music room or the stairs from the building B, always sleeping in places with less noise" kirari felt relieved, by luck she knew all those places so her mind made a quick rute to look for the lazy guy.

"thanks, ill see you around then"

"good luck, and take care!"

kirari walked fast towards the stair the girl mentioned before, but she didnt see shu anywhere, so she quickly went to the music room, and for her bad luck, the lights didnt work so she just walked carfully into the room. she had never entered the room before, because it is under maintenance due to the malfunctioning of the lights, a huge piano catches her attention, kirari had never seen one before, because her life has been nothing but poor and simple. kirari's fingers touch the keys gently, until it reached the last key of the row, pressing a finger thus creating a loud, low sound, resonating in the room and giving her chills.

kirari was not sure if her excitement was about having a real instrument in front of her or just being surprised by the live sound of an instrument, as she has never heard live music, only through her cell phone or radio in her childhood. the idea of joining the music club passes through her head, perhaps she would enjoy it more than a chess club reiji suggested early.

"dont make noise... " she hears behind her a deep voice, new to her ears and jumps scares for the unexpected sentence. she turns back to barely notice the boy in the floor, confortably sleeping... or just resting.

"sorry... i did'nt see you" the piano had her attention so badly that she almost forgot what she was doing before, looking for the brother which face cant remember.

"dont care.." his voice was so indiferent and distant, like if he was sleep talking.

"you must be shu right?..." kirari got a little close, so she did'nt bother him by being loud. the blonde opend one eye and followed her body, slowly creating a strange tension and incredibly, kirari felt nervous for the look of someone in a way she never felt, her pulse accelerated and unconsciously her fingers played between them.

he is kinda... cute.

"yea.. now go away and let me sleep in peace" kirari nervousness died by that sentence, this dude was rude, unconsciously rude.

"actually..." she smiled trying to be nice "i need a little bit of your help, not entirely but a little".

"dont feel like helping you..." even if this boy was mean and rude she wasnt really angry, pretty privilege, or maybe she just wanted to get this deal finished as soon as possible.

"c'mon, i just need you to come back at the manor with me, i have to go..." she hesitated a little, telling him so many details migt not be a great idea "somewhere before... so reiji told me that i can go but i have to return with you" the silence was killing her, her anxiety was throught the roof.

"dont care what reiji wants"

ok... unexpected.

even if he didnt care about anything, everybody has a price.

"ok... i get that um... but i dont really ask for much, just to coordinate so we both arrive to the mansion at the same time, you dont have to come with me to..." what excuse can she tell him to not ask qestions? wait, he doesnt care "... meet a friend, i just want to get to the manor together, i really dont want beef with reiji, the dude is scary" the silence response was driving kirari crazy, she felt her phone buzz, maybe the guy was close to her location.

"whatever your saying has no appeal to me" the disinterest was making her nervous, besides feeling the vibrations of her cell phone in her pocket indicating a new message, her patience was not eternal. shu seems to be someone who only thinks of himself, he is not interested in helping or following someone's instrucsion and least his brother, what can she do to make someone like him listen?

oh, but he already have done this, she can make the same again, it wouldnt hurt, right?

"you know what? if you help me on this, i will do something for you as well, anything you want i'll do it so please... will you?" she hated begging but if it's the only way, plus she doesn't mind leaving her pride aside, it wouldn't be the first time either. clearly the offer caught shu's attention, who opened one eyes and a small smirk appeared on his face, the only thing kirari expected was that he would not ask her for any favor out of her personal bounds, nothing sexual, nothing that could hurt her or get her into potential trouble. outside of those conditions, she has no problem.

"anything... you say?" maybe it was the tone shu spoke in just now, but he didn't look like someone asking her for something questionable, maybe cooking for him or do some homework for him, her pulse calmed down for it.

"yes"

"alright" kirari felt a weight lifted off her shoulders, she sighed throwing her head back in relief.

"thanks, ill come back to meet you at the enter of the school in an hour ok?" the vibration along with a buzzing sound comes from her pocket, indicating a message, kirari quickly took it out of her bag and saw that the car was already on its way, which would not take more than ten minutes to arrive. instinctively kirari takes one of the strands of her hair and puts it on her lips, as if she were hiding from the screen, shu watch kirari's body language, noticing how her foot moves nervously and her eyebrows furrow under the little light of her phone.

his blue eyes ran over her anatomy, analyzing why so much nervousness to see a friend, was it her boyfriend? a dangerous group? Perhaps she was being harassed and should meet with this group to settle accounts? many possibilities flashed through shu's mind, and a plan to get to it.

shu didnt responded, just noded and closed his eyes.

kirari smiles uncomfortably at shu and turns to leave, as he leaves the music room, shu takes out his cell phone and sends a message "we need to talk, and you must explain".

...

kirari rushes through the hallways until reach the exit, good luck to her, the car still did not arrive. she pulls out her phone to check if she got any messages, but on the screen there is no notification. kirari sighs anxiously and hugs herself feeling the night breeze, looks around by inertia and see a boy lying on a bench, she does not pay attention to him but when kirari realizes it, a shiver runs through her body. Then approaches the bench and sees Shu, lying comfortably while listening to music.

how did he..? just how?.. kirari wonders.

"what? how did you get here so quickly?"

the blond just settles down and moves his head to see her, his cold gaze doesn't convey anything to kirari, who can't help but think that shu is just bothering her, the reason, no idea.

"you're slow"

oh, maybe kirari knew what he was doing, maybe her anxiety was getting these ideas into her head, but what if he was really following her? But why? They have never spoken before, and for him to behave in this way only makes his mind complex. even if he was actually following her, what did he get out of all this? and following her? for what?

"damn, ok" kirari wouldn't take the matter too seriously, imagining the worst scenarios wouldn't get her anywhere.

her thoughts were interrupted by the buzzing on her pocket, an incoming call. took a few steps so that Shu wouldn't hear her call, just in case.

"hi? yeah im outside... ok ill wait, youre not gonna charge me for the ride is init?" she joked.

but a vampire's ear is like no other.

shu found strange the complicity with which Kirari spoke on the call, despite her calm tone, she did not stop moving restlessly, the discomfort and nervousness were visible.

"I'll see you then, byebye"

After a while the car arrives, Kirari rushes to open the door and leave, hoping that Shu does not see her or approach but great was her surprise to see how he opened the back door first, Kirari and Shu looked at each other, a strange look for Kirari, Shu's expressionlessness surprised her and she could not understand his intentions, Shu gets into the car and in order not to cause any confusion for the driver in front, he played along, so as not to arouse suspicion.

"woah, whos your friend baby?" the man turned around in the driver's seat to watch kirari get in, looking at Shu and Kirari confused but with a smile. for him, kirari is always a pleasure to watch.

"something like my new.. friend" despite her sending accusatory glances at Shu, which was only staring at her with a cold look "apparently hes coming with me"

the driver nodded and smiled happily, began to drive while occasionally looking in the rearview mirror.

"its nice to meet your friends, he is into this?"

but of course, Kirari knew that if Shu came with her it would seem as if she was taking a new client to the boss, and worse, Shu would find out what Kirari does, although if he knows, wouldn't know much if he would do something. Maybe he'd tell everyone and they'd force her to leave it as a condition of living in the mansion, but she really hates living on the streets. The mansion is a comfortable place that caters to all her needs. It's better, just in case, that Shu doesn't know anything for the moment, keep him out of this.

"no! he is not!" the most convenient thing is to leave him out, even for the driver, it would only be more problematic for her.

"oh, just a little company then, thats alrigth"

luckily for kirari, the driver didn't ask any more questions, however she was still uneasy about shu's presence, trying to beckon him to tell her something, with his eyes or with his hands, a minimal explanation of why he is here, but Shu just ignores her and turns to look out the window for the rest of the ride.

"we are here, I'll wait for you two here" kirari saw how Shu was ready to get out of the car, but she knew that maybe he wouldn't get out if she clarified it out loud, just like before, when she said that he wasn't involved in this, shu doesn't have to go inside with her.

"my friend will stay here, ill be right back" kirari smiles at the driver and Shu, pretending that the situation was natural, but the murderous glanze Shu gave her just confirms it, he wouldn't do anything if she said it out loud, it would only raise suspicion of his presence there.

Kirari gets out of the car and approaches the door of the house, which had locks on the windows, as soon as her fist hits the door you can hear the barking of the familiar dogs, then looked at the car while waiting for the door, shu looked at her, those blue eyes were something she couldn't stand, like two blades cutting through her body, kirari had never felt that kind of look before. but didn't think much of it and the door opened, revealing a well-dressed man with a large scar on his eye.

...

kirari enters the room and closes the door behind her, still holding the cold knob in her hand as she looks at the man sitting in the chair of a large desk, a joint on one hand and his dark eyes looking at her anatomy.

"hi gorgeous, long time no see" the man stands up, he was not an unpleasant man, he was rather quite handsome, of course, kirari does not see the outward beauty in this man, she knows how wicked this man can be. he reached out to hug her, burying his face in her hair and caressing her back with his big hands.

"hey... how you doing?" hiding her discomfort, she returned the hug and smiled falsely.

"good as always..." he moved away from the hug and looked at her, caressed her face and smiled at her"...want the usual?" he finally separated from her.

"yes, what do you have at the moment?" the man walked to his desk and from a locked drawer he takes out three bags.

"well, since you called i went to get your favorite, fentanilo, and i have some new stuff for you, if you want to try something new" even if the offer was tempting, I didn't want to be beholden to him.

"ill be good with my usual" she was about to take her bag, but a big hand take it firts.

"are you sure? its on the house" at this moment she wished to have someone else selling to her, because the tone and look that the man gave her did nothing but make her anxious.

"i know what on the house means you know"

"that's just a little tip"

"i think im good with my usual"

"you know the price"

"this time..." kirari takes out of her bag some money and put's it in the table "... i'll pay, normally"

the discontent in her face was pasmable, clearly not liking the idea that her obsession with her was being hindered, and much less formal legal, or well, clean.

"whatever you say"

...

Mako was walking through the halls of the mansion, since she knew that they were all vampires she has been more depressed, but in her head everything fit, was her convent involved in this? or was it just a coincidence? I hated to think that she intentionally came to this place, and worse, to die. Then she would try to connect someone from her convent but for now, she preferred to keep a low profile, Reiji called her to her room a while ago, she just hoped that it would not be like ayato. mako reach the door and knock softly.

"come in" when the door opened, Mako thought about whether to enter or not, but Reiji's sharp gaze forced her to enter, despite being Ayato's brother, their gazes were so different, like if they werent brothers at all.

"why did you call me here?" Mako closed the door behind her and kept her distance from Reiji, who was just looking at her sitting on an armchair with a cup of tea in her hands.

"come closer" Reiji put his cup aside and took off his glasses to leave them on the table as well, mako wondered if he really needed those glasses to see better.

Even if Mako didn't want to move, something was driving her to move, she didn't know if it was Reiji's influence or something inside her.

"ayato has played with you enough dont you think?" Something in the tone in which he said that phrase just now, sounded like a mockery.

"i have no choice" Mako didn't understand Reiji's expression, it's as if being a vampire had a different way of expressing than humans, she didn't know if she was afraid or intrigued.

"but you do" Was this a vile game on Reiji's part? or was he trying to help her in some way?

"what do you mean?"

a sly grind appear in reiji face, like if was trying to... flirt?

"you can choose one of us" the way Mako's jaw opened almost dropping to the floor was impressive, what kind of information is it?, like a game? What did Reiji mean by this? so many questions were overshadowed by surprise.

"w-w-haaat? excuse me?" It's hot all of a sudden, isn't it? mako thought.

"you see, being a bride its completly different than being just... food" In Mako's mind everything sounded very contradictory, like a trick "in this case, you must choose one of us to make a good match"

"wait wait, why are you even saying this to me?" maybe it was the way Reiji looked at her, with his sharp eyes that penetrate the depths of her soul, in how that same look made her feel naked despite wearing clothes that covered almost her entire body, her skin burns from just those eyes, not knowing if it was because of her nature as a vampire or it was something darker "is this suppose to make me feel safe? in peace?" this was definitely a bad joke.

"I only imagined that this information could be of use to you" Reiji got up from his seat and walked until he was close to Mako, the only thing he wanted was to get away but as if it were magic, the air itself did not let her take a step back.

"i dont care" this must be some kind of joke, to fool her, maybe, to play with her, but even worse, she must be the one who chooses who will end her life, who will finish draining the blood from her body completely, in other words, she would choose who would be her executioner "i will not be part of this, i dont care what this is for you, but for me... its death" again that feeling, a palpable anguish that he could not understand, the mere thought that his death could easily be tomorrow, gave him a bad taste in his mouth and squeezed his stomach, it was a strange emptiness that he could not know where he was, in what part of his body, as if her body was incomplete.

"i had my exprectations much high on you" quickly, reiji pushed her to the ground and climbed on top of her, cornered, unable to move for some reason, it wasn't the first time she felt this power over her, reiji could move mako at her convenience. she was terrified of not knowing for sure what it was that scared her, the fact that it looked like she was about to be bitten, or the fact that this place was her death cage.

mako on that one exact moment.

[lemon-natalia]

Gideon the Ninth Reaction - Chapter 27

‘pure humbuggery’ sound the alarm bells, palamedes is using british-isms, in this book thats a sure sign someone’s gonna die

ooohh it literally only just occurred to me as Harrow was talking about ‘lyctoral power’ that its very likely all of the facility stuff, the key challenges themselves etc. were probaly all set up by previous Lyctors 🤦

i mean given the one clue they were given was about locked doors, Harrow’s whole ‘secret door’ theory actually makes a lot of sense

i won’t lie, i still don’t really understand all of the thanergy stuff, so the beginning of this chapter was a little hard to parse. i don't think its because of bad writing or anything, i'm just not really into magic systems or understanding how they work honestly

i mean the five deadlocks on the door make some sense, but given Jeannemary got killed in a sealed room unfortunately i doubt they’re gonna do the Sixth much good now

ok someone, possibly the same someone involved with the constructs is actively trying to stop them from accessing another door. the question is whether it’s another member of the Houses wanting to prevent competition, or something that only just occurred to me is that some outside/other force is trying to stop all of them. which given the fact that the big amalgamate monster things were made by someone apparently very necromantically powerful … are the lyctors somehow involved in all of the deaths? maybe they don’t want to give up their positions, we only have the emperor’s word for it that they do after all

listen i don't think this is actually the case, its against the singular rule and there's probably some kind of magic stopping it, but it would be funny if someone just like, picked the lock on any of these doors. just speed-run the entire thing without any necromancy

wow Palamedes isn’t wrong the both of them are getting wayyy too comfortable using the whole energy transfer thing 

i’m not so sure coronabeth is the one to really watch out for - she seems more confident/outgoing than ianthe, but ianthe is clearly comfortable keeping things from her 

aaaand things are really kicking off between Harrow and Gideon. there’s unresolved issues for days here, it was only really a matter of time before their tentative alliance started disintegrating honestly

there’s a Lot to unpack here about their fight… on one hand, Harrow is clearly a lot more jealous than she wants to admit and making a real dick move to keep Gideon away from Dulcinea, no matter how far they’ve come Harrow still seems to be in that mindset of being in control of/feeling superior to Gideon as she was back on the Ninth. 

but on the other hand, Gideon is very clearly projecting her own feelings of guilt about Jeannemary and everything else onto Harrow. plus Dulcinea has proven herself to be more clever and shady than she initally appears already, i don’t think Harrow’s wrong to still be wary of her. there’s just, y'know, an infinite number of ways she could have handled it better

‘Jeannemary the Fourth was ten times the cavalier I am’ i’m SOBBING

ohhhh and now they’re back at where they were at the start … Gideon saying she hates Harrow, Harrow saying she doesn’t think about Gideon. except now after everything they’ve been through, and how much they clearly do care, it hurts so much worse. Tamsyn Muir you’re driving me crazy

‘Gideon decided there and then her betrayal’ what an absolute banger of a line to end the chapter with

[imaginespazzi]

SOMEONE(you) COOKED HERE. WOWEEEE Mommy HOW DO I EVEN BEGIN THIS REVIEW THIS IS YOUR MAGNUM OPUS. Also sorry this is so late, work is crazy and all of my favorite fics updated last week. Do you, pb524830, and pboogerswbb have some kind of conspiracy to release on the same date?

May 2033 ~ A few minutes ago ~ (YA I WISH IT WAS ONLY A FEW MINUTES BETWEEN CHAPTERS AS WE'VE BEEN IN PAIN)

Stephie is so fucking cute I can't handle it. Just picturing her in a huge bed covered in a hoodie saying “Go away Mama. I’m mad at you,” I can picture her so vividly

"A craving to have Paige there too, a craving for the two of them to be cradled in the blonde’s strong arms, a craving for this almost perfect picture to be complete." -> Azzi lets get real your arms are much stronger than hers lol

Have I mentioned that you have made me do a complete 180 on Azzi -I lowkey didn't really love her early in the story (blasphemy I know). You know how to build a character arc thats for sure.

"they’ve always been hers." -> Ok this made me think about the phone call on Paige's wedding day and with the context we have now that is low key so gut wrenching for Azzi.

“she’s like family?” -> GIRL SHE YOUR DADDY

The verbiage of 'keep miss buecks forever' is making me laugh I am picturing her in a little closet under the stairs like harry potter 🧙🏿‍♂️

“how you don’t know?" -> I cry 😭😭😭😭😭

April 2027 - You know I'm always excited for some juicy Olivia content.

"The thing is that Azzi knows she can survive -can even succeed- without Paige- but she doesn’t want to." -> hmm I am wondering if this is a little glimpse into some of her reasoning for turning down the proposal. That she might cease to have her own identity and accomplishments recognized, a fear that she would be known as Paige's WAG and nothing more? Something Olivia was super happy to be known as 🤣

Ice's excitement about Azzi's plan is crushing me

Just a little while longer baby. I’m coming to you. Forever. -> TOO LATE BITCH

The glazing of Paige's hotness this chapter- those unrivaled ads really got to you eh? I mean I guess its not glazing if its true!

Oooh finally some Polivia action. Sex scene please🤣🍑🍑

May 2033 - No notes!

Wow this has really been the longest day ever

This conversation is so cathartic thank god finally

I have no notes on this conversation because it was very satisfying and honest and both of them have valid points lol

May 2027 - Tristan and Olivia should get together it feels right

Ok it has always made me laugh when you get asks being like HOW WAS STEPHIE MADE.. as if it would be anything but a one night stand with a dude

Sometimes you need to get laid in a drunken rage, and sometimes a penis is just right there 🤷🏻‍♀️

Azzi… keeping a baby because you don't want to be lonely is very much not a reason to keep a baby. I mean it worked out for ya but jesus christ!

Alright so I am so happy we finally got the reveal of this sequence of events… I think I pretty much predicted that Azzi getting pregnant was a direct result of her finding out about Olivia, but I absolutely LOVE how you added the factor of her deciding to keep the baby because of the engagement announcement. Just adding another way Paige is pretty much responsible for Stephie's existence. WHEN IT COMES TO 5 YEAR OLD STEPHIE, PAIGE, YOU ARE THE FATHER (crowd screams, Maury shakes Paige's hand)

One thing I was curious about - when we first meet Olivia after P's goodbye presser, she talks about how Paige kept them on the DL for months because she didn't want Azzi to find out and wanted to tell her first. Does Paige think the engagement announcement was Azzi's first time hearing about Olivia? Did she not give her a heads up in between Azzi seeing her with O and the announcement? Cold blooded 😬

Ok this was far too long and I have nothing left to say except the ending of this did leave me feeling optimistic, whereas the cliffhangers leave me feeling empty and sad lol. I vote Paige makes her decision quickly and the rest of the story is pure fluff the end bye love ya. 🤱🏻🤱🏻🤱🏻

OMG BABES I AM SO GLAD TO SEE YOU! I figured you were busy and I wouldn't get a live reaction this time but I'm so happy you're here <3

And lmao no we don't plan it but great minds and all that I guess...

Okay starting by calling me out....I see

Stephie is the actual loml like I'm so attached to this little kid

You're right, you're right Azzi's arms are definitely stronger but hey Paige's are pretty nice too

Awwww I'm glad I've been able to write Azzi in a way that made you like her again. She's definitely changed a lot in the last couple of chapters and has grown as a person in this fic.

Paige is really just Stephie's pet she wants to adopt

I like your break up theory :)

I'm just a girl who likes pretty girls...thank you Phee and Stewie for those ads

POLIVIA OH MY GOD DON'T MAKE ME GAG. Just writing them all cute made me gag a little, I couldn't do anything more without offing myself.

Writing the chapter was pretty cathartic; felt like a long time coming for them.

Listen as much as it pained me to write about a man....it was inevitable like truly nothing else was gonna make sense to the plot.

Never say Azzi hasn't made spontaneous extreme decision in her life...she will simply point to her fucking child.

At the end of the day, not by blood, but but destiny or fate or something like those things, Stephie exists because of Paige. They're tethered your honor.

Yes it was but that's not necessarily how Paige wanted it to happen.

[icyberrydoesthat]

reasons why i think my parents pissed off a fairy before i was born (why i think im cursed)

cursed pieces of media always seem to find me

im not exaggerating when i say ive seen more than my fair share of fucked up stuff. it always seems to land on my cellular device or my piece of paper. ill be simply enjoying a show or consuming a book as one does and the most heinous thing will happen and ill be expected to just carry on. and now i do just that, i keep calm and carry on. more specifically theres one topic that seems to pop up a lot (tw!!) incest.....now now you may be thinking "what!? incest....id drop whatever it was and go reconnect with nature...weirdo" now now lets not jump to conclusions, 9/10 that movie/book/manga/whatever is actually really good (the other 1/10 lands you in therapy) and the incest or whatever never progresses the plot at all, but is a big enough plotwist to give me whiplash. and dont you worry, ive got an example. last year, i needed a book so i went to my schools library with a friend. about 10 mins of searching resulted in no book i felt inclined to read....until my friend gasps, a book in her hands..."Shadowhunters"?? i had never heard of it but apparently it was a big part of her childhood, something that soothed the gaping hole Twilight left...okay ill read i said. reading the first few chapters was great, i could practically smell an enemies to lovers and the big mystery of who and where mc's brother is was lingering in the back, my type of book i thought happily. little did i know....mc and ml were infact revealed to be siblings......i dropped my book. i had already thought it was weird that ml's adoptive brother had a crush on him but that gets crushed quick and now this...? now you may be thinking isnt it illegal or sum to promote incest..? and yes u are right, so you can imagine my deep sense of relief i felt when mc and ml were infact not related... because i didnt know how much more i could take of the ml yearning for his literal sister..(he was relentless...). but it doesnt stop there, for all you sickos out there, the author still managed to weasel some incest in. when the ml and mc are still believed to be siblings by them and everyone, another ml enters, this boy is perfect, maybe even a better fit for mc, girl is feeling it too. turns out this second guy is none other than.....her brother !! shocked you didnt it...(hes completely sick and knows the entire time....he wants his sister). but dont worry guys other than that, Shadowhunters is really good, character development? chefs kiss. i luv isabelle.

all my pens perish

im not exaggerating when i say i probably go through 6 pens a week, either they explode in my school blazer, completely new pens dry out in my pencil case, snap or most common cause, i lose them. i try pencil and the lead snaps in the middle so now matter how much i sharpen it, it will never be useful again. this is a cry for help, any stationary reccs??

i lose everything all the time

would you believe me if i said ive lost my keys a total of 5 times this year? well dont. because ive lost them 7 times and only 3 of the times have they been returned. im a regular at the keymaker.... how many of you can you say that??? i hope none, i wouldnt wish this on my worst enemy. i think this 'losing stuff' thing ties in rather nicely into my fish memory too, im pretty convinced ive got a rare amnesia that hasnt been discovered yet. its almost impossible, scratch that, it is impossible for me to remember everything for school the next day, ill always forget at least one thing. my friends will try referencing a supposedly funny/memorable thing that happened and ill just stare. theyll stare back and then do everything in their power to try to make me remember...nothing works.

my friends always have the same crushes as me

you may be thinking, well thats kind of normal for a group of girls that hang around eachother to have the same taste in people and i i thought so too, until it was such a regular thing i just stopped telling them about my crushes. i do have a story, start scene-its the end of a history lesson and im really happy, its been good lesson and i love history. im abit tired because its P5, the end of the day, for that reason, im lagging just a little, i leave my book usually at school because ive got two and my bag doesnt need any added weight . as im packing, a boy, a desk away from mine, walks over and takes my book to the cabinet, some thing he really did not need to do. and i don't know why but i guess im attracted to people being nice, even if it was just a decent human being doing just decent things... the next day, i realise i do want this boy, sadly. i had noticed him before, hes the kind of pretty that doesnt need to exist in a boy but if it does, he unfortunately becomes an object of envy. long lashes, blonde hair, droopy kinda eyes that make him look sleepy all the time. we had just never talked, seeing as we never had reason to. the next day, in a maths lesson, my friend says, "hey don't you think so and so is cute..." as shocked as i was, partly because this friend had been gushing about a different boy an hour ago and partly because it had happened again, i think i played the "really? maybe if i squint really hard he's meh" role really well....long story short, they're dating now....

now youve read my reasoning, there are more...but i just cant remember, i just know you see what i mean. my parents deffo pissed off some magical being and in return it cursed their firstborn daughter.

xoxo

A

ps: this is actually my second time re writing this because i accidentally deleted but the world just needed to know...ty for reading to the end <3

[kaleido-write]

Chapter 6 part 8

Honestly, if you don't find your community irl you just suck at networking , because it was really easy for me to do so , go to public events , network with lesbians who think like you because yeah if you're looking for broad lesbian communities a lot won't want you in because you're hateful to their other queer siblings . Lesbians have been on the front line for the community for so long and for you to disrespect people who identify the same as you because you don't agree with gender is disgusting, they deserve better for all the works they done historically. Learn your history rusty and maybe it won't be so hard to get lesbian friends

This makes more sense than the rest of the last few panels , yes this is a good conflict , this is a good concern , this panel actually go to the point pretty straightforward for once !

Cliffhangers are great once in a while but making an habit out of them will make it lose it's intensity , and desensitized the reader to the point it will just be regular to them to be on edge so being careful with when and how you put your cliffhanger is really important

Thats ? The genius idea she had ? For real ? Basic empathy and common sense ? I'm sorry but it's a complete let down compared to the cliffhanger I thought there would be a genuinely interesting twist not basic decency ?? Like show us how erratical she can be and that she needs help , show us she is so worried sick she will take everything out of proportions

YES that's a very good panel finally omg

Visually wise it's amazing

But why are we seeing that kind of text ? It doesn't line up , if you want to put emphasis on Jaden, put emphasis on how she's worried for Jaden health over beliefs , or are beliefs more important to her ? Then show her thinking about what happened between Jaden and the trans women

Its so .. yet again missing the mark , we are at 63 pages for that chapter alone , we are overfed with information to the point its so exhausting it basically make reading leasebound a job , there's very little enjoyment to take from reading it due to how taxing it is to go trough a single chapter , we are asked to know every single intricate details in a told manner as if we are took by the hand like a kid , its ok to give stuff to your readers that they have to dissect and find out by themselves

Omfg around 2 hours dedicated to 60+ pages , no wonder leasebound doesn't go forward fr its low-key pathetic

Honestly there's nothing to like in Riley so far , she's a spineless gf set for failure , she sees a complete stranger be hurt by trans woman and completely shove her beliefs aside for her , beliefs she shares with her girlfriend, its obvious she's set to take Jaden side over and over again and that over her own girlfriend , and we aren't shown anything to indicate a reason she might be like that we aren't shown anything that could make that seems healthy or anything. We are shown a woman taking a stranger side over her and her gf beliefs

You are a bad person Riley , because she's not just insecure , she's so unhealthy that she can't even communicate properly with anyone leading to her avoiding other people entirely , its completely ridicule to set Riley as the one that needs to be saved , truly it's unhealthy and weird , why would you want to "fix" someone it's disgusting

If that chapter wasn't way too long it would've been a cute little panel to show how Riley calms herself down , but it's already way too long and that's for about 2 hours

[sankttealeaf]

Hello there - I was wondering when did you first start liking durgetash? How did you get the inspo for your story? ps Im a huge fan ❤

hi anon!! thank u!! <3

the thing that dragged me headfirst into the depths of durgetash hell was the prayer for forgiveness! i went into the dark urge playthrough knowing very little! (started rue's run in early september but only got around to actually playing her in early october! (act 3 was lagging so bad on my first playthrough i needed to jump ship to simpler times)

seeing other peoples interpretations of their durge & gortash got me thinking a little more about rue & gortash and what they couldve been like! i went into rue's playthrough knowing i was going to romance gale and went woah, theres some similarities between the two there. rue has a type!

(fun fact: my first tav playthrough & the beginnings of my durgetash era overlapped so when i got to meet gortash as my tav, cassiopeia, i was only slightly taken in by him. did not trust him at all, though. stupid man)

i think i love the tragedy of it all. no matter what relationship your durge has with gortash, its still one of closeness. and to have someone you worked hard with ripped from you, only to return now wanting to destroy everything youve made? thats gotta hurt.

as for my fic it kind of started as a series of one shots i started writing, never really with the intent to publish them! i wanted to work out how rue acted before the tadpoling and how different she was then!

the original plan was just a collection of moments shared between rue and gortash throughout their time together. back then rue was still called rue, i hadnt given her another name to further separate her life before & after being tadpoled. i also really wanted to make little letters and notes that you find in the game to go along with the writing. however i only ever made gortash's initial request for a meeting.

(as u can see below. i thought it was a cool concept. no idea how i wouldve fully executed it though)

then it sort of spiralled from there! what if rue and enver were friends as kids? what if they keep finding each other over and over again? what if they always fall to the same fate? i love tragic romances, friendships that are doomed to fail, relationships that can only end one way, so it was very fun to explore all this with them!!

the title was originally a title from a one shot i started writing about them. i think the phrase "let sleeping dogs lie" is very them - after all, why disturb what is a peaceful alliance? why ruin it by admitting feelings or saying words they shouldnt? also dog imagery & rue go hand in hand (despite me saying she's cat coded)

i had key events planned from the start that i wanted to happen, the main thing being how rue lets down her guard over the course of their friendship & how that becomes her downfall!

i also wanted to use this as a way to not only explore rue and gortash, but rue and orin, too!! it meant i could write in their povs, get into their brains and work out why they do what they do! i love villainous characters and finding out the root cause behind their actions (im currently running a curse of strahd dnd game and did the exact thing for strahd - writing up his motivations and intentions to give me better access into his headspace & why he acts like he does!)

at the start i never really intented to publish it on ao3. i added the little prologue after writing the second chapter, and then i decided to bite the bullet and post it! i made this account to share my writing, why not do that!!

im still a little in shock at how many people have enjoyed reading it & especially how many people love rue. ive never written any oc x canon before so it was a little scary putting her out there for the world to see!! sometimes i get that little voice in my head that goes "gr. youre being cringe" and i have to bap it away before it can rot my brain. im allowed to have silly characters and make them kiss other characters - no one can stop me!!

this got a little longer than i intended, but thanks anon!! <3 i hope this has been a lil insightful about the behind the scene of my very chaotic brain behind this fic! its all ive been thinking about for 6ish months now (oh gods)

[9tzuyu]

four months.

note: hiiiii! just trying to get into the groove again. i dont know what this is. the original prompt is below, however it did not turn out that way?¿ its kind of a mess, but fluffy i suppose. i hope you enjoy :>.

using my own experience so don’t think i hate poor people because i am those people </3

(also chapter 4 of children of tragedy will be out soon, i promise. ive just had awful writers block.)

+ thank you moli for proofreading so i dont have to. i love you.

warnings: none?

prompt: * reader used to be poor and stuff and w/n is like “you know you don’t have to get the cheapest things” and R covers it up and says “oh this is the brand i like, but w/n discovers hidden receipts and asks why they have a bunch of useless receipt and R is like “i was just tracking how much we spend....”

🏷 @natasha-danvers @midnight-lestrange @whatiziz @kermy48 @mycosmicparadise @peggycarter-steverogers @blackxwidowsxwife (lmk if you want off the tag list because ik i dont post as regularly as other writers, so im just going with people who have told me they want to be on my tag list in the past)

and lastly, for my baby @nermalina. its not really your genre per se [ i have a smut fic that i’ll dt you on ;)] however, accept this as a form of love.

it wasn’t so much that you were homeless and out on the streets, but you weren’t necessarily well off either. working as a waitress only got you far enough to pay your monthly rent and gas. somehow you managed to squeeze in a list of groceries.

every penny counted, you didn’t have room for mishaps or sick days. thats why you kept your budget small and a stash full of receipts on the kitchen bar.

natasha didn’t know about any of this though. you were sure she’d have you by the neck if she found out how long you’d been keeping your secret.

the redhead was generous, and no matter how many times you offered to pay for something she would never even dream of letting you. natasha insisted on it, and you were powerless to stop her.

it wasn’t until you tagged along with her on a trip to the grocery store when things began to unravel. she only needed a few things, nothing important.

but nat was quick to pick up on the fact that you continuously flipped every little thing you picked up to look at the price tag.

“here, it’s the cheapest one i could find.” you said, smiling as you handed her a cardboard box of pasta. natasha hummed, “you know you don’t have to get me the cheapest thing on the shelf.”

you bit your lip, eyes suddenly looking back at the shelf of different pasta boxes. “i know... it’s just- it’s my favorite brand.” natasha automatically knew you were lying by the way you began chewing on the inside of your lip.

she narrowed her eyes. “no it’s not.”

“huh?”

“you got this brand because it was the cheapest. you know i can afford more, which leads me to believe you do this out of habit.”

you shuffled uncomfortably under her gaze. “no, i just really like that brand.”

the sudden realization that she had never been to your place struck her.

“y/n?”

“yeah?”

“why don’t we go back to your apartment after this? we can just relax, watch a movie, do whatever you want.”

a mix of guilt and shame flooded your body. but damned if you didn’t still give it a try.

“my apartment’s a mess right now, you don’t want to see that.” you tried, offering a small, dry laugh in hopes of getting her off your back.

“you’re a terrible liar.”

“i’m not-”

“i picked you up from the park today, just like every other day. i’ve not once picked you up from your own apartment, so what are you hiding?”

when you didn’t give an answer, she tossed the cheapest box of pasta in her cart and walked away. you groaned as you watched natasha leave before catching up to her.

“okay, okay, we can go back to my apartment. just don’t judge me, alright?”

she smiled softly, “it wouldn’t even cross my mind.”

soon enough you began helping your girlfriend load her car with bags full of miscellaneous items. nothing needed to be refrigerated, so if natasha wanted to, she could stay at your apartment all day.

your leg bounced in the car as you gave her directions. but soon enough, after what felt like the longest fifteen minutes of your life, natasha pulled into a parking space right outside your door.

you silently cursed yourself for not renting a spot upstairs. at least then it would’ve prolonged the situation just a little bit longer.

natasha watched as you fumbled with your keys, your hands visibly shaking.

“fuck.” you mumbled after hearing the clank of metal hit the ground. you bent down to pick them up but natasha beat you to it.

“which key?” her voice was soft.

“the yellow one.”

the door swung open and you motioned for natasha to go before you.

it wasn’t bad, really. apart from the chipped brown walls, the lingering smell of cigarette smoke (you hated your neighbors for that), the broken windows, lack of space and furniture that was as good as the floor.

natasha noticed the windows first, a sense of protectiveness overpowering her. she didn’t like that you weren’t safe.

you went to offer her a water bottle, but she wasn’t paying attention. instead, she noticed the lack of food in your fridge, frowning when you tried to cover it up.

another few minutes of her silence went by and you couldn’t take it anymore.

“look, i know you’re rich. i know you like to have luxury brands and that you don’t have to worry about whether or not someone will break in and steal what little you have left. but that doesn’t give you any right to judge me. i’m sorry i don’t live up to your expectations.”

natasha licked her lips and leaned her back against the kitchen counter.

“how long have you lived like this?”

her question caught you off guard, but you managed to find an answer.

“i’ve always lived like this, nat.”

she nodded solemnly before abruptly turning around to look at what was inside your cabinets.

“what are you do-”

“you have no food.”

you sighed, “well yeah, i can’t really afford it.”

“and the receipts?”

natasha was met with a shrug. “have to keep track of everything somehow.”

she stared at you a minute longer before finding the exact words she wanted to say.

“i would never judge you, or anyone for that matter, on their living situation. i know people don’t always have a say in what or why things happen.” she paused. “but i don’t like knowing you go to sleep every night with broken windows practically inviting anyone to come in and intrude. i don’t like knowing all you have to eat is bread, canned fruit and grilled cheese sandwiches.”

you listened to her ramble on, still nervous about the fact that this was new to her.

“so come live with me.”

“natasha-”

“come live with me.”

you immediately shook your head. “no, no, no. nat don’t even-”

“i’m serious. you won't win this argument, y/n. let me take care of you. i don't mind picking you up and dragging you out of here myself if that’s what it takes.”

a sigh left your lips as you folded your arms across your chest. “natasha, i can’t have you do that. i’m okay, i promise.”

the redhead raised her eyebrow. “how many times have you gone to bed hungry? or let your car run on fumes for as long as you could? and how many times have you gone to work sick because you can’t afford to miss one single day?”

when natasha was met with no reply she moved closer to you, wrapping her arms around your waist, pulling you into her embrace.

“i know it’s only been four months but i don’t think i could ever forgive myself if something happened to you and i didn’t do enough to stop it.”

she kissed the side of your head, “let me take care of you.”

[hotpinkrathian]

The Dinner

(Kyalin) Cannon to The Box series.

Tenzin took a seat, sitting Rohan on his lap, bouncing his soon to be toddler.

"Oh, Bataar isn't he the cutest thing?" Suyin said fawning over the little.

"He's adorable." Bataar replied. "Any signs of bending yet?" Bataar asked.

"Well, I can't be totally sure, but I think we have another airbender on our hands!" Suyin cheered, drawing attention to herself.

"I would do anything for another one." She said, causing her husband's eyes to widen in fear.

"No. Please.""oh come on, one more honey." Bataar scoffed, moving to sit with his sons. Su frowned returning her gaze back to Rohan. She was caught off guard when her sister took a seat beside her.

"Lin! You made it!" She smiled, Lin nodded, setting down a place full of food Kya sat next to her and Suyin reached over to shake her hand.

"Its been too long, Kya."

"Much, there's so much to catch you up on, Su." The waterbender said, looking to Lin who ignored her. It wasn't long before Mako and Bolin stumbled into the room, heaving and leaning on each other.

"Hey! Take it outside!" Pema shouted, nearly spilling a tray of beverages.

"Sorry its just- Korra?" Mako asked.

"Shes outside with Asami, they'll be in as soon as Korra gets a whiff of this fish." Tonraq said, eyeing up the dish.

"Can't wait." They pushed past the crowd and Su rolled her eyes.

"Remind me so much of the twins." She remarked and Lin snorted.

"Worse." Her older sister said and Suyin laughed.

"Lin, I'm going to the kitchen to get a drink, want something?" Kya asked.

"Hmm? Something strong." Kya looked at her doubtfully and Suyin glanced toward Tenzin, who seemed to pick up on the energy.

"Come with me." Kya said, pulling her arm.

"Alright, fine. I'll be right back Su." Lin said being dragged away by Kya. Su looked to Tenzinsho put Rohan in his uncle's lap.

"Did you-" they said in unison.

"Sorry, you go." Tenzin said.

"That was weird, right?" Su asked, looking at her sister and Kya from the table. The two were leaned against the counter, Kya pouring a waterbenders portion of wine, engaged in conversation.

"They arrived together." Tenzin said and Su pursed her lips.

"Do you think Kya's living with her?" Su asked.

"Its possible. She's been staying in the city for a while now, I assumed she had her own place or an ex's to crash, maybe she's been staying with Lin." The two woman came back, returning to their seat.

"Sorry," Lin laughed as she sat down. Su looked to Tenzin again.

Is she laughing?

I think so?

"So, Kya, where have you been staying?" Su asked, flattening her robe. Kya took a long sip of her wine, finishing nearly a third of it before answering.

"With Lin. She's um... been letting me stay with her. Just to be closer to the hospital and all."

"Thats very kind of you Lin," Tenzin said, "I didn't know you were so fond of the homeless." Kya flung a spoonful of mashed potatoes off her spoon at her brother who blew it against the wall.

"Ha. Ha." Tenzin smiled, proud of himself.

"Beifong!" Su and Lin looked at the use of their last name, to see Korra, Asami, Mako and Bolin standing at the door. Lin rolled her eyes and Kya patted her on the shoulder, smiling.

"Yes?" Lin asked, standing up and spreading her arms.

"You... you lied to me!" Korra argued. Su looked between the two of them. It didn't seem hostile but.. playful wasn't in Lin's nature. At least she didn't think so.

"Actually I just didn't tell you the truth. Besides, you didn't ask me."

"You told them before us?"

"No, I gave you guys the key to our apartment, and I even gave you the box. You just didn't look in it." Korra's eyes met Asami's a look of realization dawning on them.

"Why... why did you-"

"Wanted to know what you thought. And maybe rub it in a bit." Korra furrowed her brows and Lin smirked. Su looked back to Tenzin when Kya wrapped an arm around Lin's.

Oh my god. She mouthed as the bald airbenders face lit up a bright red.

"Were you in on this?" Asami asked.

"Oh yeah, this whole operation was my idea." Kya replied. "I just thought it'd be funnier coming from Lin. And as always, I was right."

"You're not always right-" Lin began, she was shut down with a look from the waterbender.

"Does someone care to explain whats going on here?" Bumi asked, bouncing Rohan. "I'm getting the sense I don't have all the details."

"Beifong and Kya are getting married!" Korra said and the unanimous gasp in the room was followed by silence.

"Suprise." Lin said, a grin on her face.

"Kya, whats the meaning of this?" Tenzin asked.

"Tenzin, its pretty straightforward..." his sister replied. Su was too busy looking at Lin, and then to Kya, who now at a second glance did have a new betrothal necklace. One that had Lin's impeccable bending skills all over it.

"Lin are you... oh my god!" Su cheered, jumping up to hug her sister. "You're getting married?" Lin stood stiff in her sisters grip, patting Su on the back until she was released.

"Yeah, I mean I thought that was obvious." Su ignored her passive aggression, smiling at Kya who winked at her older brother across the room.

"Kya you... how?" Kya laughed, placing a hand on Su's shoulder.

"It just happened. These last what, fourteen, fifteen years, have been the-"

"FIFTEEN YEARS?" everyone shouted and Lin plugged her ears.

"Ow. Spirits you don't have to be so loud."

"You've been together for fifteen years?" Pema asked, finally setting down the beverage tray.

"Yeah. Honestly, I don't know how no one picked up on it." Kya said, "except Bumi."

"How'd Bumi know?" Kai asked.

"Thats... not for young ears to hear." Kya replied, causing the two of them to blush. Su sat down, her head rushing with thoughts. Her sister had been seeing someone for fifteen years and she had no idea. Some sister she was. She wasn't sure how she felt about the secrecy, but she shoved whatever feelings those were aside and focused on how happy she was for her sister.

___________________________________________

Kya flopped onto the sofa next to her fiance, the effects of the wine fading and leaving her feeling tired.

"That was a lot." She said to Lin, who was already half asleep next to her.

"Agreed, way to much."

"But it feels good, doesn't it?" Lin opened her eyes, looking at the beautiful girl beside her.

"It feels amazing, Kya." Kya kissed her her lips tasted like wine, she didn't mind totally, but she preffered the authentic Lin.

"Lin, I can't wait to marry you." She whispered.

"I can't wait either."

"We should do it. Tomorrow?" Lin looked to her.

"What?"

"Lets go to city hall, and get someone to do it."

"You don't want a big wedding? What about your mom?" Kya sighed, leaning back.

"Mom will understand. Besides, after today I realized that I just want it to be the two of us. Like its always been." Lin leaned over, kissing her.

"Okay, but we're not getting married in city hall. I have a plan."

"How could you possibly have a plan?" Lin shrugged, flexing a hand out in front of her.

"I wanted to make sure we had our bases covered." Kys chuckled, kissing her again."

"Thats why I love you, Lin Beifong." She said before nuzzling herself into Lin's shoulder, the two of them falling asleep on the sofa.

Thought it was done? Hehehehehe

"The spirit world?" Kya asked, staring into the beam.

"Yup. Korra recommended it once she got back. I figured we'd honeymoon, but this is better." Kya smiled, and the two stepped into the beam. On the other side was a green field, flowers stretched across for miles, and in the middle, a cottage. Spirits gathered around a table, sipping tea.

"They're here!" The spirits called and Kya looked to Lin, whos face revealed nothing. The door of the cottage swung open and an old man, carrying a tea pot and a saucer smiled at them.

"You're early!" He said over the spirit chatter.

"I'm punctual." Lin replied as the two walked up to him.

"Iroh?" Kya asked, tears forming at the corner of her eyes.

"Its been a long time, Kya," he said, "the last time I saw you... you were this high." He put his hand next to his waist.

"Lin did you-"

"Korra mentioned he was here, during harmonic convergence. I had to see for myself."

"And she couldn't stop coming to see her uncle!" Iroh added, pouring two more cups.  Kya looked at her wife to be, who smiled in a way that made her look ethereal. Lin had a connection to this place, different then Jinora's or Tenzin's, but a connection. The one time Kya had been here, it had been whole fully unpleasant. She was starting to think her opinion of it was going to change.

"Well, are we going to stand here all day or is there going to be a wedding?" Iroh asked.

It didn't take them long to get ready, the spirits put a veil of light around them, decorating Kya's hair with flowers and giving Lin a panda lily to give once their vows were done.

"Su's going to loose her mind." Kya said aftwrward, when they sat on the grass.

"She got married without me." Lin argued.

"Fair enough." Kya laid in the grass and Lin joined her.

"I could stay here forever," the waterbender said.

"Me too," Lin replied, holding Kya's hand in hers.  "Me too."

Thanks for all the love on this miniseries everyone!!! I really enjoyed it! Anyway, this is the finale, however I will have a bonus short in an upcoming chapter on Watty with strictly Bumi's reaction. As always, thanks for reading!

[fandom-blackhole]

I'm back from my mandatory two day socialization recovery period required for all socialization even if I enjoy it. It's time for some Mermaid!Din au thoughts (No thots unfortunately but we'll live)

First off I love the isolation that the reader faces because of the lighthouse they live in. And I love how the townspeople being nice to the reader help give them a reason to stick around when weird things start happening.

I love how it took months before anything strange starts happening, like were Din and Grogu just not around or were they observing the reader. Did Din ever try to stop Grogu from damaging the lighthouse or did he let the little rascal do as he pleased.

· And gosh I love the idea of reader dressing in old worn clothing, a knit sweater with fraying sleeves, sweat pants covered in paint from repairs, an old windbreaker to help keep the cold out. It makes me heart all warm and fuzzy.

Edna, who i've head cannoned as this series Miss Chatham (H2O: just add water charter) is honestly life goals. Like live near ocean - check(ish), have rare knowledge that can be used to help new person - check, being just slightly spooky -amazing. And is that a little matchmaker I see her playing? I love it.

Then Grogu being injured :( I bet that Din is absolutely being eaten alive by guilt even though we all know it’s not his fault and he does literally anything he can to keep Grogu safe and happy.

And In love how Din is venerable enough to ask for help, like he recognizes that this is something out of his area of expertise so he goes to the person he knows is “safe” to get help. He’s humble enough to admit that he needs help and is not capable of doing everything for Grogu. And being able to admit that is an important life skill that not enough people have.

· But even after he ask the reader for help he is still hesitant which shows that even though hes trusting reader he will still kick (is it still a kick if its with a tail) the readers ass if he hurts him.

“But you can help him” Oh my heart the trust in that sentence. Like Din just heard, “so yeah I can help your son but I have to take him somewhere it will be hard for you to follow. And he needs to stay there for at least a week, and even if you manage to come its going to be so far from your natural element.” But he was still on board with the plan. And then he goes to climb on the rock so he can drag himself all the way to the light house because he can’t let his little boy go alone even if it means hurting himself to do it.

Reader was smart af for doing the old blanket slipperaroo trick

Reader immediately knowing something was up when she walked into town is so realistic. She literally is hiding a massive secret at her lighthouse of course anyone would be on edge walking back into society. Especially a society that already knows a little something about the secret. But them to amplify it. Miss Chatham to the rescue. She knows that reader is up to something and she uses her powers as an old lady with lungs and karen potential to scare off the problem for a little bit. The reader just placed so much trust on Edna by straight up telling her that she's housing Din and Grogu.

· Also that fool browsing the menstrual hygiene rack, like dumbass. Is this your way of making him miss every shot? Because we know that storm troopers are well known for their ability to miss every shot so making him automatically turn to tampons? Genius

Cashier for the win, like beep beep bitch now pay up

The "cyare" omg and then the reader warning Din about the cookies and him being so curious about them. The way Din is so perceptive of the readers mood that he is already able to tell that something is wrong. It was such a smart idea to have the reader lead with asking him to give her a small chance to calm down about what happened in the town.

Din and the reader low-key flirting and teasing each other at the end is so adorable. Grogu with the cookie absolutely melts my heart like of course that boy is hungry.

So this is a slightly polished layout of my stream of consciousness while reading this. Does it make sense? Probably not. But I love this idea and you have done it justice.

Ahhhhhhz thank you for all of the lovely thoughts and compliments, im glad you like my story and I hope it continuesto meet your expectations!!!! And you made perfect sense darling!

To reply to some things:

Honestly, I chose the isolation for two reasons, 1- it made sense, especially for how the plot is going to play out, privacy and isolation is needed, and 2- im introverted and I like being alone, so I just projected

The town's people are great! They are used to having lighthouse keepers just up and leave because of all the weird stuff, so the second that one sticks around they were all overjoyed, because like I said, a lot of the people work on boats fishing so the lighthouse is super important to them

Din did wait and observe the reader, wanting to know what to do when to attempt to scare them off. But also like no, he tried keeping Grogu away from the lighthouse as much as possible, not knowing what the reader might do to him, and just being a protective father, but we all know Grogu is a little shit and he snuck out before Din could stop him

Reader dresses in the COMFIEST clothes, and honestly, I am very much a sweater and comfy leggings kind of person, so again, something I am projecting

I love that you and everyone is loving Edna, she is definitely one of those cool old ladies that sneak you treats and shenanigans when no one is looking!

Also because idk if anyone has pointed it out.... in the last chapter I thought I was heavily hinting at it, but maybe it was more subtle than I thought, Edna and her MERMAID were alot more than friends *wink wink* she's gay as fuck and thats why she made the joke about not liking NUTS

Din loves Grogu, in and out of this AU, and it was 1000% not his fault that Grogu got hurt, in fact he was trying to protect him! Din definitely panicked and the first person that came to mind was the reader, and while he didn't know them, he knew for some reason they were safe to go to for help (as well as knowing the lighthouse would be a good place to hide while some things cooled down 👀), but Din will always be cautious because he is scared for his son

Din is just *chef's kiss* 👌, an amazing father who will do ANYTHING for his son, no matter what it takes

The whole blanket thing literally came from my childhood, thinking about how my sisters and I would drag eachother around on blankets, and I just thought it would be great for this scenario

Like the reader is gonna get real paranoid during this series, im not going to lie to you, things are gonna get rough, but Edna is the MVP she's one of those people that could pull your darkest secrets from you just by glancing at you, and the reader pretty much assumed she was safe to talk to after she had informed her about the food offerings

Ok ok, as for the dudes, I was too lazy to look up their names and stuff but they were these dudes from season 1 that gave Din Grogu's bounty: the first dude is the one 'hiding' in the women's hygiene section

Din is just obsessed for human food at this point, and he feels things for the reader even of he doesn't want to admit it quite yet

Din also may be oblivious as fuck, but he's also observant, hes a bounty hunter for fucks sake, he needs to be able to pick up on these things, so yes in my stories Din is really good at picking up on emotions, even if he doesn't fully know how to react to them

Im aiming for a slow burn foc, but to be honest with you all, chances are it is going to be a regularly paced romance, which for my writing is slow paced, so yeah the idiots are flirting and teasing eachother, but also like they will not be talking about or admitting feelings for at least a few more chapters

Grpgu deserves all the cookies!!! He's a growing tadpole, who has been magically healing himself while in a coma like state, so he hasnt eaten in days, and if he wanted he'd probably be able to devour 2x his body weight and then some, so a few cookies recieved in some kind of mysterious way are well achieved

Merman!Din Tags: @writeforfandoms @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @honey-goth  @mando-abs @lux-cream-67 @rachelle-on-the-run @katcharm   @ladamari68 @bluegalaxyprime @my-life-as-a-bird @altarsw @zarakem @stargazingthenightaway

(Added the taglist in case any of you guys wanted to read over my thoughts and things bc I have some hcs and cleared somethings up ypu may be wondering about)

[worldserasingandcreatinginmymind]

Flesh & Blood | Part One (Prologue)

Series Summary: A mysterious stranger with ties to your past shows up in your small village

Chapter Summary: Saint Mary’s Convent of Budapest has an unwelcome visitor

Pairing: Count Dracula x reader 

Word Count: 1445

Warnings: mentions of death & blood (I mean, it’s a vampire story so..)

A/N: spelling and grammar is not my strongest skill so please be kind :) if you want to be added to the taglist please drop me a message in my ask box

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1897

It started when the undead man arrived. 

The fishermen found him caught up in their nets and they brought him straight here. He should have been dead. I mean he was dead, but he was also alive and talking. He didn’t make any sense. 

Once he was inside the convent walls none of us saw him. We were instructed by Mother Superior not to enter the room where he was. Only sister Agatha was allowed to speak with him. 

A week passed and we carried on our business as usual, but rumours were beginning to spread about who this man was. More importantly what this man was. 

One night as we were preparing dinner, the usually quiet walls of the convent were suddenly filled with the sound of windows smashing, and an unholy screeching noise. Bats flew frantically around our heads as sisters ran screaming. Then we heard the bell and we knew what was happening. We had been warned this night would come. 

As we hurried to assemble in the courtyard that's when I saw him for the first time. The Count we had been told stories about, stood naked on the other side of the big iron gates.

“Sister Agatha, have you been up to one of your secret projects again?” Mother Superior asks, a hint of annoyance in her voice. 

“You’d better hope so” Agatha responds confidently.

As we get closer I see the Count more clearly. He’s more handsome than I had imagined, even though he is covered in blood.

“This is exciting” he says in a British gentleman voice, pressing his face up to the bars of the gate. “this will be the most nuns I’ve had in one sitting”

Once we are in place Sister Agatha gives us the signal.

“Sisters, present arms” she calls and we take out the wooden stakes we had spent the past week carving in preparation for this very night. 

Instead of striking fear the Count seems more excited. 

“ooh, I see my arrival was anticipated”

“I was aware of the possibility” Agatha responds calmly. 

“Sister Agatha, what have you brought down upon us?” Mother Superior is trying to appear as calm but I can tell she is concerned. 

Suddenly the Count slams up against the gates, the iron banging loudly making us all jump. 

“Coo-ee! Hello ladies!” He shouts but gets no response “I don't want to worry you, but the army of the faithful cant seem to look me in the eye” he scans across the sister’s faces until he lands on mine. I lock eyes with him and feel my breath hitch in my throat. I know I should look away but I just can’t.

“except one” he adds.

Mother Superior turns around and I quickly avert my gaze, taking a deep breath. My heart feels like it’s going to beat its way out of my chest. Sister Agatha takes a step closer to him. 

“You're naked and they’re nuns. Its isn’t your eye they’re not looking at”

“Well isn’t anyone going to invite me in” he ignores her, addressing us again “I’ve come a long way to see you”

“Certainly not” Mother Superior states firmly. 

“Sister Y/N, the key” Agatha says and I look up at her in shock. 

She stands waiting, but she doesn’t take her eyes off the Count. I glance at the other sisters who are looking at me pleadingly not to do it, then back at Agatha. 

“you cannot be serious” Mother Superior questions her

“I am more than serious, I am completely confident” she responds before turning to me and holding her hand out. I send a quick glance to Mother Superior then take slow steps toward Agatha. 

“that’s it Y/N, oh you are a good girl aren’t you?” I try my best to ignore the Count’s remarks as I hesitantly place the key in Agatha’s hand before turning and rejoining the sisters. 

Agatha approaches the gate, puts the key in the lock and turns it slowly. The click of the metal as it unlocks places a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. She opens the gate, the Count stands grinning maniacally watching her. Once open she stands almost face to face with him. 

“This is Saint Mary’s convent of Budapest and you are not welcome here.” She says confidently “You are more specifically not invited in”

He glares at her for a moment before a loud roar spills from his blood covered lips. A few of the sisters let out small whimpers, but I stand silently with my eyes transfixed on his face. 

“Look at them” he shouts, gesturing to us “look at your sisters. One of them, thats all I need. If just one of your pretty little army beckons me in…” his eyes fall on me “I will tear your world to pieces and I will drink my fill”

With one last growl the Count turns and saunters away. The courtyard erupts into action as sisters frantically move around but I find myself stood frozen in place watching him disappear into the darkness. 

— — — —

An hour later we have all been called to the church hall to pray. Mother Superior stands at the front speaking to us all. 

“…he will not reach down to save us, we will rise to meet him. Let us pray”

We bow our heads and begin our pleas to God for help and strength but are interrupted by sounds of coughing and a familiar voice. 

“she was just clearing her throat” 

I look up to see the now fully clothed Count holding Mother Superior’s head in the air as he stands next to her headless bleeding body. Panic sets in as sisters scream and flee for their lives. 

The Count closes in on a group of sisters who are backed into a corner but stops when they present their crucifix necklaces. I grab mine from around my neck and hold it up in the air. 

“Oh of course. Nuns. You have those things, which work actually. Even though you will never guess why” he drags a wooden chair into the centre of the room and takes a seat. “So I suppose I’ll just have to control myself. But between you and me, controlling wolves in just so much more fun”

We hear the sound of howling as a pack of wolves enter the room, calmly watching us. A sister tries to make a run for it but is caught and ripped apart in front of our eyes.

“Woah! Oh, ow that must have hurt” the Count laughs and the room erupts into chaos. Sisters and wolves running. Screams and howls merge into one horrendous sound. Blood soaking everything. And in the middle of it all, the Count watching and laughing. 

I realise I would never make it if I tried to run so I fall down the floor and roll under one of the benches, praying silently as I wait for my turn to die. From under the bench I watch as the last remaining sister is knocked down and dragged away screaming. I slap my hand over my mouth tightly to suppress my own scream as the room falls silent. I lie there shaking as I listen to quiet footsteps approach and a wolf sniffing around the bench I am under. 

I close my eyes waiting for the inevitable. 

But it never comes. 

The wolf turns and leaves and I let out a small sigh. 

Suddenly the bench is ripped from above me and I cant stop the scream from escaping my mouth as I look up to see the Count stood over me. He grins at me as I lie there completely vulnerable. 

He extends his hand to me and when I don't take it he raises his eyebrows.

“Y/N” he almost sings my name, but I hear the danger in his voice warning me not to disobey him. 

I comply, reluctantly placing my hand in his. He pulls me up fast and I stumble, falling into him and he holds me close to his chest. 

He brings his face close to mine but I don't dare look at him. He moves my hair gently off my neck and I feel his nose trail across my skin. He pauses.

“You know what, I think I’ve had enough nuns for one day” he whispers in my ear as he releases his hold on me and takes a step back. 

I look at him wide eyed. He winks at me and walks away, leaving me stood alone in the middle of a pool of flesh & blood. 

I will never understand why he spared me, but I feel this is not the last I will see of the Count. 

Part Two

[wheelsupinhotch]

cardigan -- Aaron Hotchner x Reader (Folklore inspired series)

Summary - Once moving out of yours and Aarons family home, you find an all too familiar item of clothing with dozens of memories locked away inside.

Request - None! Part of folklore inspired series x Aaron hotchner. I tried to base this around the Betty,James and Inez love triangle. The ending was kind of rushed so sorry if its bad! :)

Warnings - Slight angst, fluff, swearing, reader goes by they/them (Jack does refer to the reader as ‘mom’ at the end of the story) she/her he/him etc.. pronouns! ( note - I haven’t had chance to proof read this yet so if I slipped up anywhere please don't hesitate to let me know!).

Word count - 3848

Pairing - Aaron Hotchner x Reader

Click here for Masterlist

Requests are currently open but expect a slight delay in writing them as I am working on this series currently! :)

NOTE - I haven’t spell checked this so sorry for any errors! This is a long one!

‘Vintage tee, brand new phone. High Heels on cobblestones, When you are young they assume you know nothing’.

The day was finally here. After five years of you and Aaron building your house. You home together, it was time to move on to a new chapter in your life. So here you are opening those dull brown boxes putting every piece of you remaining in the house inside. Clearing through your bedroom, under yours and Aarons shared bed you come across a box you hadn’t seen in a long time. Scrawled on top in black marker ink, it read ‘CLASS OF 87’. Smiling to yourself you open the box of memories that had once been closed away for a long time in your mind. Behind you could here Aaron scattering around the with the removal team as you turned back and lifted the chronicle of teenage dreams. Flicking through each dust coated page, cuckling as there yours and Aarons yearbook pictures stared back at you. Continuing to sort through this box of memories, finding graduation scrawls and polaroids of long lost childhood friends. Piles of vintage tees and worn out heels.  At the bottom of the box there sat an all too familiar white cotton article. Delicately pulling the antique of teenage romance, lifting the cardigan you religiously wore every day in your junior year. Almost in awe of yourself as you held the cardigan, every lost memory began to open like a fairytale book. Remembering every laughter, every cry and every experience in the cardigan. It was in that moment that every fond memory you had in that cardigan came to life once again, etching the scenes into your mind like a movie screen.

‘Sequin smile, black lipstick. Sensual politics. When you are young they assume you know nothing’.

The heavy bass of the music echoed throughout the house of the current halloween party you found yourself at. Settling into a high school was never easy, especially at seventeen years old. So here you are with your newly found friend Inez dragging you through the heavy crowds of the heavily overrated gathering you were at.  Feeling heavily uncomfortable in the situation you found yourself in, you merged towards the kitchen standing against the counter slowing sipping away at whatever was in the bowl of punch. ‘Y/N come on” Inez whined as she saw my displeased taste in the party. ‘Inez, you go and mingle, I just don't feel comfortable and you just-’. Cutting me off almost in an instant she replies ‘Y/N, you’re new here this is a perfect opportunity to get to know everyone’ she emphasises. Sighing protestingly, ‘Okay fine, just give me a moment’. Slightly squealing, she walks away smiling at you as she gets lost amongst the crowds.

Standing there now alone, you swirl around the contents of your drink pondering on what to do. It wasn’t until that monet in the corner of your eye, there stood a guy. Dark black hair and an almost intimidating posture about him. A small smirk carved his way up his face as he glanced over at you. Quickly pushing the encounter to once side, you hear heavy footsteps and there stood next to you was the mysterious guy you found yourself staring at before. Smiling up at him you break into the conversation and say ‘Hi’ with an almost nervous undertone to your speech. ‘Hi, im Aaron- Aaron Hotchner.’ he introduces himself with a small smile, returning the same expression I say ‘Y/N L/N, lovely to meet you’. Slitchy etching forwards to you he says ‘Well Y/N thats a beautiful name for a beautiful girl. A small blush creeps over your face as you playfully roll your eyes ‘Wow Aaron, the classic cheesy compliment, a great way to greet a girl’ you joke. Small chuckles erupt between the two of you as he says ‘Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. So Y/n are you new around here, I haven’t seen you around before’. Almost instantly you respond ‘Yeah, my parents relocated because of their job and my friend Inez dragged me here but as you’ve probably already figured out, parties aren’t really my think’. A grin formed across his face as he said ‘Well as much as you may hate parties, what do you say you come and dance with me’. Instantly shooting him a look of no, he intrudes and says ‘Come on Y/N just one dance’ begging for you to come along with him, you reluctantly agree ‘Fine but only one Aaron’. Smiling at his ability to break through into you ‘Sure whatever you say Y/N L/N’

‘But I knew you, Dancing in your levi’s, Drunk under a streetlight’

Soon one dance at the party with Aaron, turned into multiple dances. Multiple dances turned into multiple drinks, and after preivously giving Inez the ‘Okay’ nod to go home, here you found yourself drunkenly walking home, intoxicated with your arms wrapped around his waist. Giggling between yourselves as you tried to navigate your way home, you felt Aarons embrace quickly detach yours as he made his way in front of you, loudly echoing the lyrics of the last song you danced too. Briefly and abruptly stopping he exclaims ‘Come on Y/N, dance with me’. Not having the energy to protest any longer, you comply and found yourself dancing around in the middle of the night, never wanting this moment in time to end.

‘I knew you. Hand under my sweatshirt, baby kiss it better /And when I felt like I was an old cardigan, under someone's bed you put me on and said I was your favorite’

After a long time of navigating your way home, you found yourself and Aaron at your doorstep with the dimly lit front porch lights reflecting on your faces. ‘Well this is me’ you announce, slightly smiling at Aaron as you edged your way forward towards him once more. ‘This is you’ he replied just below a whisper, so much so that his sentence was barley coherent. About to break the silence, you felt Aarons lips connected to yours, unexpectedly you felt yourself falling into the kiss like a scene from a movie. The Kiss deepening as you stood there in his embrace as his hand etched his way up your back. Soon after you break away from the ‘perfect’ kiss and stood in front of each other smiling. ‘I'll see you Monday Y/N’ he said as he backed away from your porch, ‘Yeah’ you reply not being able to form a sentence from the event that just occured. After Aaron had left, you scrambled around in your coat pockets finding your house keys when your hand stumbled upon an unfamiliar crumpled piece of paper. There was a number etched in poor handwriting with the name ‘Aaron :)’ on top it. Smiling to yourself you made your way back into your home, unable to fill your mind with anything else but the events from that night.

‘A friend to all is a friend to none, chase two girls lose the one. When you are young they assume you know nothing.’

Not long after the events of the Halloween party and yours and Aaron's building romance. You began to hang out with each other almost every chance you got. He would pick you up for school every morning, searching for you in break and lunch, taking you out on spontaneous dates to the movies. The two of you became inseparable. The reputation of yours and Aaron’s relationship became known across the school quickly, seen as the Bonnie and Clyde of the school halls. Never seen without each other most times. Your friend group began to grow soon after  you guys became official. Although you adored being settled into the highschool with the ‘perfect’ boyfriend and friend group, you couldn't help but feel isolated, lost with it all.

So here you are on your bed studying with Aaron sat across from you. His head heavily engrossed by what was on the pages. You on the other hand, couldn't concentrate. Consumed by these thoughts of isolation, you sighed heavily pushing the book away from you as you sat on your bed and pondered away. Aaron urgently noticing the change in your body language, he broke the comfortable silence by saying ‘What’s wrong babe, do you not get it?’. He questioned quizzically, presuming your reaction was from your school work. ‘No, no it's nothing babe honestly’ you replied immediately after. ‘Y/N, come on tell me, we never keep things from each other’ he said pushing away his own books to the side and bringing himself towards you. Your eyes meeting his heavy gaze, you sighed as you prepared yourself to pour of your feeling for the first time with Aaron. ‘It's just, this, Us I-’ you began, making Aaron panic as he thought you were about to breakup with him, virtues that feeling towards you through its eyes’ ‘NO! It's not that it's just- Everything between us happened all so quickly and here we are with this huge friendship group and heavily known relationship does it not- Does it not just get overwhelming sometimes’ you ramble on. Aaron quickly cutting you off says’ I understand Y/N I do, but nothing about this is ever going to change the way I see you. You’re everything I could have ever wanted so please do not be consumed with this thoughts babe. I love you’

I love you. The three words that head yet to be spoken between the two of you. Aaron proceeding to apologise for saying those words so fast, you cut him off with an abrupt kiss and break apart almost immediately announcing ‘I love you too’. A comfortable almost welcoming silence echoes around the two of you as you sit there with big smiles on your faces wrapped in each other's embrace. You thought nothing could get more perfect that this moment, but oh how you were so wrong.  

It began with harmless doubts that flooded you mind from time to time. Him arriving late to pick you up for a date or forgetting to call you some nights. You merely dismissed them mainly wanting to keep yourself in a false sense of security by not admitting what deep down you knew was true. Or how Inez would bring up the gossip-girl rumours mentioned in the changing room that Aaron had been seen with another girl. But you were foolish, far too young and naive to realise what was truly going on. Except deep down you knew just apart of you was not willing to accept it and it wasn’t until that dreaded day. You knew. You realised.

Leaving gym class mid way through to go and use the bathroom and there they both were. Aaron and Haley. Haley. A godsent from above, the prettiest girl in school. The girl everyone admired and envied. There they both were, arms wrapped around each other, fitting like the last wto pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. You were numb. You had never felt so exposed and so stupid at the same time. Your brain struggling to register what was happening didn’t give you much time to react. Oh but when you did react, you crumbled. Scatters and shards of your heart spilt everywhere and you let out an all too painwrecking sob, that bounced off the empty corridors of the haunting school halls. The broken deafening silence. It was at this moment in time, Aaron looked over and saw you. A face filled with instant regret. You found yourself running away from him as fast as you could, your mind so cloudy that you managed to block out the cries of your name from Aaron behind you. That gut wrenching feeling was a piece of pain that stuck with you forever. ‘How could I have been so foolish?’ you think to yourself as you reminisce on the once picture perfect relationship you and Aaron had.

‘But I knew you, playing hide and seek and giving me your weekends’

That pivotal moment in yours and Aarons once treasured relationship became the epitome of pain in your life for the weeks and months that followed. You had inexplicably came to the conclusion you and Aaron were no more. You had not spoken since that day, but the rumours spread like wildfire as always. You were no longer perceived as ‘Aaron Hotchner's girlfriend’. Lover. Now you were just the girl everyone pitied and empathised with as you search for healing to your pain. However, it was hard to move on when Aaron was doing everything in his power to make it up to you. It was game of cat and mouse. He would show up to your house with flowers and beg for forgiveness, or ‘accidentally’ bump into you at your favourite cafe in town. Aaron spent most of his spare time, searching for you because after all this time he realized that you were all he needed all along.

Although you forever longed for Aaron back into your life, you were still deeply hurt. Almost like forgiveness was gold dust to find within yourself. So here you found yourself alone once again, preparing for the most dreaded night of the year. Prom.

You always longed for the idea of a fairytale fantasy experience but everything had been crushed since Aaron left, with Inez practically begging you to go with her instead. You were terrified. You were overwhelmed with thoughts of ‘what if?’ the build up to the entire day and you would be lying if you didn’t admit you hoped Aaron would show up on your doorstep begging for you to be his date. But he didn’t. Apart of you blame yourself for what happened. Maybe you were too clingy or too distant. These overwhelming anxious feelings clouded your mind more often than ever. However, you began to search for a part within yourself that was going to make it through the night strongly. You just had not found that part of yourself yet.

‘I knew you, your heartbeat on the highline once in twenty lifetimes. And when I felt like i was an old cardigan under someone's bed, you put me on and said I was your favourite’.

Hours had passed by and here you found yourself sitting alone on the outskirts of the heavily decorated gym, consumed with loud bass in your ears and the swirling of whatever drink you found on the table. You felt isolated, you wanted to go home. But still, you knew you couldn't leave Inez and opted for the ‘lonely’ role of the evening. Across, the gym you felt his eyes on you. Those all too familiar coffee warm eyes that once felt like home. You almost felt as if you were on a podium in front of him, his stares right at you showcasing a message of ‘I miss you’ and ‘I'm sorry’ in one of the most discreet ways possible. You knew all you wanted was to have him back in your arms but then you looked over and realised he was still in the arms of another. Haley. You’d never once spoken to her officially, just mere whispers of ‘excuse me’ every now and again. You felt like his toy. Chasing after both of you at the same time, you knew he didn’t know himself what he wanted but all you wanted was to be in the arms of the one you truly loved. Your soulmate.

It wasn’t until the familiar melody of your favourite song became echoed across the gym that Aaron immediately searched for your gaze. You saw as he almost had to restrain himself from walking over and taking your hand in his for the dance but insead watched how he sighed and felt defeated. At this moment you knew memories were flooding back to you both. How you would play the record on repeat in your bedroom while Aaron was amazed at how much admiration he had for you. You were his muse. Or how you spend nights driving around town and dancing in the night making memories you wanted to keep for a lifetime. So when one of Inez’s friends came over and asked you for a dance to the song. You felt a sense of betrayal against Aaron hin yourself. But you were so hurt you gave in, and danced away the pain once more longing for the day that things would feel right again. Complete. However, the corner of your eye was distracted and pulled towards Aarons figure as he watched you dance. Watching the anger and rage build up inside of him as he quickly left the crowd with himself. You sighed and plastered that all too familiar fake smile, wishing the hurt would go away just once more.

‘To kiss in cars and downtown bars was all we needed. You drew stars around my scars but now I’m bleeding’

You stumbled on home dragging the ragged prom dress through the damp, dimly lit streets of your town. A night you hoped would have been magical with the one you left but instead you stood on your porch without Aaron by your side. You looked at the frayed wood on the posts of your porch reminiscing on every moment you had with Aaron. The way he would drive you home after one of your pointless date nights. How he would kiss you with such passion and love, if was almost as if the world stopped whenever the two of you were around. Or how he would make you dance in the middle of the night under the streetlights on the way home. Letting out an exhausted sigh, you traced your fingers against the damp wood longing for him to show up. To just be with Aaron once more.

‘Cause I knew you stepping on the last train, marked me like a bloodstain’

It had been almost a year since you and Aaron split and you were getting ready to graduate. You having the responsibility to host this years graduation party was all you could think about. Until you saw him. Aaron. You hadn’t expected to see him around anymore since he left town for a placement opportunity in New York. You told yourself you’d gotten over him, figured he would have moved on after all this time. But still when his eyes met your gaze sparks flew in the air reconnecting the long lost love for so much time past.

‘I knew you, tried to change the ending, Peter losing Wendy. I knew you leaving like a father running like water I, When you are young they assume you know nothing

Thinking Aaron wouldn’t approach you after all this time, you moved on past. Acting as if he were never there. Thinking you could forget about the counter, you turned around when you heard calls of your name. ‘Y/N is that you?’ Aaron exclaimed. Hestistanly you respond ‘Aaron? How have you been’ trying to be open when deep down every memory of the two of you together. ‘G-good yeah good’. Feeling the all too familiar anxiety build in the pit of your stomach. ‘Yeah w-well, you know I should get going, I’ve got thing to do and-’. Aaron cut you off with a ‘Yeah, no go ahead, I’ll uhh see you around’. Not wanting to be apart of the awkwardness much longer your flashed a small smile and turned on your heel. All the memories once forgotten of yours and Aarons past, came flooding back into your mind, staining every image of you and him together in your mind.

‘But I knew you’d linger like a tattooed kiss, I knew you’d haunt all of my what ifs, The smell of smoke would hang around this long because I knew everything when I was young’

The whole afternoon that followed after your encounter with Aaron, your mind was clouded. So here you sat on your porch once again waiting for your party to start. ‘I wonder if he will show up’ you question yourself as you looked out the sunset. You had always convinced yourself that you had move on from Aaron, but now once again he was all you could think about.

‘I knew I’d curse you for the longest time, chasing shadows in the grocery line. I knew you’d miss me once the thrill expired and you’d be standing in my front porch light. And I knew you’d come back to me, you’d come back.’

The graduation party was going well. Your house crowded with alcohol, dancing and the loud bass of music. As you sat on your porch with your friends celebrating your final year in high school. There he was. A man you once thought would be your forever. A man you thought could never forgive. But in the flesh was the man you’d been longing to come and find you for the longest time. STanding on your porch, his eyes locked yours in instant. It was almost as if those two missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle found each other and everything felt finally. Complete.

‘Hey’ you announce almost above a whisper. Watching a grin grow on his face as he saw you approach him ‘Hey look I-’. You cut off what you presumed would be his long heartfelt apology with a passionate loving kiss. The same kiss you shared in the exact same spot all those years ago with the same thrill and butterflies that built in your stomach.  

‘And when I felt like I was an old cardigan under someone's bed. You’d put me on and said I was your favourite.’

‘Hey, the vans almost loaded. Are you ready to go?’ Aaron asked breaking you out of your daydream. You looked over at your husband in the bedroom door frame as you smiled and said ‘Yeah, just packing up these last few things’. He let out a light chuckle as he looked down at the box in your hands, recognising what it was before he could speak anymore. ‘That cardigan huh, you wore that everywhere we went’. Smiling up at him reaching out for his hand to pull you up offering a smile in response to his statement. As you once again packed your beloved cardigan into the box alongside the souvenirs of your teenage years, in the corner of your eye you saw Aaron staring at you. ‘What are you staring at?’ you questioned lightly, smiling in confusion. Stepping close to you he pulled you in for a kiss, which quickly followed with an ‘I love you’. Looking up at your husband, the man who you were completely besotted with ‘I love you too’ you smile. Your loving moment was broken when you heard moans of ‘Daddy, Mommy. Come onnn’. Sharing giggles between yourself, Aaron interlaced your fingers with his and said ‘You ready?’. ‘Yeah’ you responded lightly walking towards your son ready to start a new chapter in your life. Keeping all of yours and Aarons past memories locked away once more.

[hippychick006]

Misha Panel 

I’ve done this summary as it helps to have what Misha actually says to hand as more often than not, his stans misquote him. It’s also useful as Misha often changes things - as he appears to have done between his last virtual panel and this one. Note, I’m only focusing on the key parts where he talks about the show/Jared/Jensen.  It is not free of anti castiel/misha comments where I disagree, though those are few and far between for a change. It’s long so putting under a cut... 

- Misha confirms his filming finished in March prior to Covid [this comes up later in more detail].  Watching the last epiosode was an emotional experience for him.  For him, it represents the end of a chapter of his life. 

- Misha says fandoms not going anywhere [*hisses]

- Misha’s future work/projects?: working on senate race in georgia, publishing a book of poetry, couple of film projects he’s trying to get off the ground, one he’s not acting/directing in, the other he may act and/or direct 

- Jack brought Cass back but we didn’t get to see it, what happened?: different ending originally that Covid restrictions made impossible to produce. Cool ending involved bringing back lots of cast members over the years.  In the original ending, Castiel hadn’t gone to rebuild heaven, there was a different conclusion for him.  Misha purposely did not read the last two episodes before they aired as he wanted to be an audience member. He knew a little about Castiel/Jack’s fate in the abstract, but because he wasn’t in it, he doesn’t know what the answer was. He thinks them rebuilding heaven was less boots on the ground and more at a spiritual level [so he’s talking at the metaphysical/spiritual plane level and not corporeal) so they are everywhere (e.g. in drops of rain as per Jack’s speech to Sam in 19). That’s what I’m understanding at least.  He says that’s pure speculation though.]

- what qualities does castiel have similar to Misha?: there are a lot of similar qualities [backstabber comes immediately to my mind tbh]. Over time he and the character melded. Over time he evolved into something that didn’t quite fit in with either angels or humanity, he felt like an outsider which Misha has felt for much of his life. He became softer, more sensitive, he tried to do the right thing and be a good person. Oh wow, he says that in order to write to play to Misha’s strengths, the character had to “morph a bit”.  I loved bad!ass Castiel, he’s my favourite Castiel!

- What one thing will he take with him from playing Castiel?: on a professional level, it was fascinating to play a character for so many years. He discussed with J2 recently that the characters really became part of them. He doesn’t think that will happen again, just due to length of time the played them. On watching Jensen’s death scene, he cried but it was more “That’s Cass’ friend Dean dying”  It was weird to have a blurring of lines between yourself and your character but he thinks that’s what happened with all of them. He’ll take the character away, which will be a part of him forever. 

- Misha made fortune cookes and put inside lewd and inappropriate fortunes

[I don’t get this next bit as earlier in the panel he says he didn’t read the last two episodes so didn’t know what was going to happen and gave the answer I documented above and now we have this next question where his answer seems to contradict that]:

- Is there anything more he can say about the originally planned finale?:  He doesn’t want to be the one to reveal these state secrets, but what are they going to do, fire him?  He feels someone might have said to him, please don’t reveal what was going to happen, but can’t remember for sure if it’s true. He says there was a version of Sam and Dean’s heaven that was populated with all of the people that were from their past that they have come to love.  They could not do that because of Covid restrictions. 

- Favourite behind the scenes memory of “The boys”: He doesn’t have a favourite memory, they were close friends for 12 years. They had laughing fits and fights and got pissed off at each other. Some of his fondest memories of being at work anywhere were working on Supernatural.  He’s never going to be on a set again where there is so much mirth so he’s going to miss that for sure.

- he’s talking about Castiel’s wardrobe which is actually funny - e.g. original suit 3 sizes to big, sometimes showing blood and holes, sometimes being magically fixed, not wearing a tie, going back to wearing a tie... “Nobody complained about that too much...” [uh because some of us were watching other things and your own stans were looking at the background.]  He stole some trenchcoats and has them in his closet.

- How do you prepare for emotional scenes?: it’s hard for him to get into that emotional state. To prepare for the Castiel’s declaration of love scene and taken by the empty, Misha needs to be off by himself and not chatting with people, so for that scene he sat on his own in a dark corner of the stage and ruminated on his own.  Rob Hayter, stunt coordinator, noticed and stood sentinel and made sure no one disturbed him which Misha said was really sweet.  Everyone stopped fucking around for that scene to allow them to do what they needed to do.

-  How did you feel when you read the script when Castiel dies?: Misha knew for a long time that ending was coming, he’d been speaking to Rob Berens about it, he was really happy with it.  It was the ending he’d wanted for Cass so when he read the script, he was really happy it had made it to the page [i bet it was Misha, how are those destiel sales going through your Stands company?]. It felt it was a little “risky and a little brave” for the show to do [on a fucking network that is number one in Glaad reviews?  Are you being fucking serious right now?] He was happy to be a part of that [again sales] and have that character express love like that so he was happy with it. 

[Okay, so notice in his last virtual panel 2 weeks ago, he was very happy, he’s now starting to do exactly what he did with Karla movie as he goes on to say...]

He’s seen “some people” [you mean lgbtq+ people?!]  “complaining” about this is playing into the “bury the gays” trope which is an insidious and real trope in film and television storytelling in h/w over the years. Misha doesn’t think that’s what was happening with Castiel’s [he died second after the confession MIsha!] First of all Castiel isn’t dead, he’s in heaven working to rebuild it... [you didn’t know this 2 weeks ago, as far as you knew Castiel died and went to the empty].  So much good came from that declaration, because Cass was able to save Dean, which was essential to saving the world, so this declaration wasn’t so then fate strikes you down and you’re done forever. The declaration literally ended up saving the world. It was of Cass’ own volition, he wasn’t forced to do it, it was his choice, and he thinks that’s important, so maybe he’s naieve and doesn’t feel they are playing into that trope. 

[You were absolutely playing into that trope Misha and you didn’t give a shit as you did no research on playing an lgbtq+ character so sincerely fuck off]

He’s glad that Castiel got to express that and have that ending. He thinks thats kind of important and he’s proud the show did that. [again fuck off, this was done for you and it showed]  He thinks its a conversation they will continue to have as they continue to dissect it going forward [nope, consigned to the dumpster fire I’ve put the majority of the rest of Drabbernatural in]

- Do you think you will ever get an SPN tattoo?:  He doesn’t have any but he’s thinking about getting tattoos relating to his children.  Is that a sign of desperation that a true hasbeen will do? Should he get a tattoo of Jared and Jensen’s face.  He could get a tattoo of Castiel’s face on his abdomen.  He’s saying probably not. If they want to get one, totally supportive of that

-  what is his favourite moment of the finale?: Dean’s death scene, masterfully executed, excellent performances from both Jared and Jensen in that scene and made him cry

- best memory of your last day on the supernatural set?: everyone being really sweet, lot of tears from cast and crew. The last scene he shot as Castiel was the last scene of the day on a Friday. Him, Alex, Richard S and Jensen all had to get to Las Vegas for a fan convention the next morning. They shot late and finished at 1.30, it was Cass goodbye and Misha’s goodbye to the show.  He said they had to get a chartered flight because of the early flight [not sure why he’s saying this as I thought it was Jared’s plane they all travelled in?] He’s talking about going back - because of the issue with the plane - and they are all texting family, saying they love them, so it was such a strange night, he’d said goodbye to Supernatural, he said goodbye to Castiel and later on said goodbye to his kids because they thought they were going to die that night. :(

[Going to add that this puts to rest that Misha was due back for 19 and 20 even before covid, it confirms he was not going to be in either episode, though I maintain, they may have shot an extra scene while they had him to slot into 19 or 20]

- do you think Cass and the other angels got their wings back?: Yes, probably, they have Jack who is the new god. What a long and miserable experience that was of not having wings. Cass was so powerful when he started, he could snap his fingers and teleport and time travel and lost that with his broken wings and they didn’t come back. He doesn’t know why they didn’t fix him as Castiel would have been a much more powerful ally if he didn’t have to drive around in the pimp mobile [uh, for the same reason Sam lost his powers, deus ex machina]. He tells the story of Jared pressing buttons in the car causing the hydraulics to fail costing $10000 of repair.

- in your opinion, what colour are Castiels wings?: shit, I don’t know, I always thought they were black, but now that you’ve said that, they are rainbow coloured, how about that?

- What is the worst joke Jared and Jensen did to you?: [*cough fans looking for things to complain about or hate Jared on]: Jared and Jensen, as you know, they are not good people.  He talks about directing an episode and they got excited in the week before, they were going to break into his apartment and steal his furniture, they had all kinds of nefarious plans, the crew tipped him off and told him to watch his home and car keys. They put a fish under the seat in his car and one of the crew told him.  Jared removed the canvas on the director’s chair and laid it across so it looked like it was still the chair. Misha fell for that at least 5 times. That was pretty frustrating. Jared kept messing up his lines (which Misha said Jared never does) and Misha was directing in another room, Misha eventually went to see what the problem was and that’s when Jared pied him in the face. Everyone in the crew was complicit in the “assault”. Jensen brought him another shirt, said, “I’m sorry man, that’s sucks, that was too much.”  Jensen then pied him in the face.

- What is the real story behind the handprint in the finale?: Um I don't know, but I think it was a nice touch, that was a really lovely callback that worked well. I can’t remember how we came up with that, or was it in the script, I can’t remember. Wasn’t it a good callback to the very beginning. [Again, this appears to differ from what was being reported two weeks ago so might need to go back to that panel if I can get access to it]

-What’s your favourite memory from offline/online panels?: It’s much more fun to be live and in person. I don’t know, I have had some really fun... [PANDERING ALERT COMING UP] Jensen and I have some really fun panels together in Rome.  I don’t know why but we always just seem to have a real hoot there, talks about the resume off, they really enjoyed that. He had pizza delivered to a creation panel once.  He talks about the Saturday night special and he can’t wait till they can get back to that. 

[NOTE CYNICAL PART OF THIS IS FOR HIS FANBASE TO ONCE AGAIN CLAMOUR FOR MORE JENMISH PANELS. I DO NOT TRUST THIS MAN AT ALL]

- What was your favourite version of Castiel to play?: he had the most fun playing Lucifer because Mark P had left a great template to play Lucifer [you took the worst parts imo but Mark fucked his character up too]. He enjoyed playing the human parts of Castiel because it was fun to explore how to be human for the first time. Overall, just regular Cass. He wouldn’t have wanted to trade regular Castiel for other iterations. [A great question would be badass Castiel v late season wooby castiel preference]

[actualbird]

hello zak whats poppin!! question about your novel: how does the magic work? i would like to know the intricacies of it,,,thank u <3

HOO BOY LOUIE THANK U SO MUNCH FOR THIS Q, ive been waiting for a chance to ramble about the magic in this story

okay so like the magic in this story is something that Lydia Castro---the grandmother of our protagonist Dani de Guzman---discovers. it’s implied that there are many systems of magic present in the story’s world, but the magic that Lydia discovers and tries to teach to Dani is something very specific to the city they live in, Marikina.

heres an excerpt from the prologue of my first draft

“Marikina City is a low-altitude estuary,” Lola would always say as she reclined in her rocking chair and smoked a cigarette. “Do you know what ‘estuary’ means Dani, baby?”

“I know what ‘estuary’ means Lola,” Dani remembered rolling her eyes, trying to focus on her math homework. “It means the mouth of a river. It’s why it always floods here, because we get the rain from the Sierra Madre and also from the sea.”

“Hay nako, you’re too smart for me to keep up,” Lola leaned over to ruffle Dani’s hair. “But do you know what else floods Marikina?”

Dani looked up from her homework. “What else?”

“Magic,” Lola smiled. “All the magic from the mountains, from the trees and the animals and the people, it all comes trickling down into our city. It’s seeped into the ground and made our home fertile for the unreal. [...]”

some excerpts from chapter 3 of my first draft delves on this further

“Magic here, the magic we at MMA practice, the magic Lydia discovered and taught to us...It is real not because of something great, more like it’s real as a consequence. A consequence of all the indescribable things that exist in being human. [...]” 

“[...] The joy you feel when you see something beautiful, the sadness you feel when something heartbreaking happens, the anger you feel at how unfair the world is, all of that. The wonder, the sorrow, they’re physical forces, and we project it outward. Where do the dregs of that go? They drop to the ground, they are absorbed by the soil and manifested in creating indescribable things once again. A cycle.” Romar gestures a circle with a barbeque stick. “But now we have cities. Concrete jungles where all that energy has no choice but to travel until it finds somewhere to settle. Here is where they settle. Here is where so much has settled that the consequences of humanity has concentrated into something we can use. Into [magic].”

the magic that is key in this story is very geographical. it hinges on the fact that Marikina City is a basin, not just for water, but for energy. 

in simplest terms, all the excess magic from all those other implied magical systems? Marikina City is full of the sewage of all that. powerful, concentrated, and unpredictable.

another excerpt from chapter 3 discusses something important about this magic

“Magic here is so potent Lydia believed it was alive. She would always describe it like a restless child, waiting for somebody to give it something to do. So if you want hard enough, if you wish hard enough, that child surges forward and does your bidding.”

“It didn’t do what I want, though,” Dani says. “I didn’t want to cast a spell on my classmate.”

“Darling,” Nancy closes her fan. “When has a restless child ever done anything according to plan?”

the magic of Marikina City is separate from the people using it. it is very much its own being and its own character (i actually have Magic in my character roster kjshfkjsd) and the users can try their best to use it.

using this kind of magic though is something very very difficult---something that is made apparent as the story goes---because it has concentrated so much that it has its own personality. 

mischievous and over-enthusiastic, Lydia’s teachings were more about communing with this magic and compromising with it so both the user and the magic could come to a conclusion that both of them liked. a spell, a curse, any kind of use of magic is about having some kind of conversation with this intangible energy around them. 

if that conversation is skipped or unclear, well, thats a recipe for magic doing just whatever the hell it likes to do.

but what does magic like? if magic is a character, what are its values, morals, ethics? 

i am trying my best to stay true to the description i gave in the excerpt, that that magic is very much like a child, but an eternal one. it’s not bad, it just doesnt know a lot of things yet. it tries its best to please the people who call out to it, but it’s not above getting up to shenanigans to make things more interesting for it. reasoning with the magic is very much about finding things it finds joyous, fun, or worth its attention.

Lydia, Dani’s grandmother, was the one who was most in tune with the magic of Marikina. she was very powerful because not only did she converse and compromise with magic but also magic just liked her in that mysterious way children come to love certain people for one reason or another. 

in the story, Lydia passes away and it is made clear that Dani inherited all of Lydia’s power but none of her control. imagine being a child and losing your best friend and you hang around their grandchild for years and years and only when that grandchild is seventeen does she talk to you. 

magic got very excited. but magic was also very much not happy at being ignored for all those years. and so magic went and did something thatd make things interesting.

that is, to say, cast a true love death spell on the poor classmate that just so happened to be messaging dani at the time. oopsie daisy!!!!

ask me about the novel im writing, Saving Grace Hernandez

[ma-lark-ey]

((Remember that brief post I made on Lark(?) getting sick? Yeah here's a whole chapter. But this time its angsty))

CW; for sickness, mentions of vomit, dry-heaving, minor panic attack description, spoilers for Episode 39-40. Theres some Oakson if you squint, I dunno if that counts at a trigger,,, but yeah

Henry couldn't remember the last time Lark was the twin to get sick. He had such an impenetrable immune system he thought he was incapable of the thing. But here he was, fixing Lark a bowl of soup while he laid on the couch under a fuzzy blanket.

"Here, Birdie. Don't eat it too fast, alright?" He brushed Lark's bangs back and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Sure, his boy was nearly fifteen, but no child is too old for a sweet forehead kiss.

That usual fire Lark had boiling in him was dessimated by his case of some virus, and instead of his usual extravagant response to Henry, he just nodded.

"When's Ma gonna be home?" He asked, pushing himself to sit up enough to eat comfortably. His eyes looked like a raccoons, deep dark circles around them, sunk and dull. His skin was pale and lifeless. He could pass as a vampire. And that's his the boys went, either they were perfectly healthy, or they nose dove into being couch bound for a week.

"Somewhere around seven, she's bringing dinner. But, I may have to leave here soon. I have a meeting for something. You think you'll be alright by yourself for a little bit?" Henry hated the thought of leaving his boy when he was so vulnerable. Anything could happen in two hours. Especially with how quickly Lark's health could plummet. Last time one of them got sick, Sparrow was fine Friday morning and by Sunday evening they were taking him to urgent care because he had fluid in his lungs.

"I'll be fine, Dad." Lark set his half eaten bowl of soul on the coffee table, snuggling right back down into his blankets. "Hey, could you go get me the plush on my bed? The- the Pichu one."

"Of course, Lark. I'll be right back." Henry stood, making sure Lark was cozy in his blankets and went to grab the stuffed animal. It was rare the twins had toys un-destroyed as kids, but that Pokemon bear Nick had gotten Lark as a birthday gift when they were six? That thing always stayed perfectly in tact.

He picked the old, well-loved toy up off the bed. He could see the stitching on its ear where Sparrow had accidentally ripped it when they were seven. Lark cried for hours, wouldn't talk to Sparrow for thirty whole minutes over it.

The young granola-crunching dad trotted back downstairs. Lark was laying limp on the couch, breathing short and shallow. He looked horrid. Henry's going to have to cancel his meeting, he knows that. He's not leaving Lark alone when he looks this bad. Henry should recheck his temperature.

He set the Pichu down in the gap between Lark and the back of the couch, placing his palm on his forehead. God,,the kid felt like fire.

Lark gagged suddenly, throwing the blankets off himself and grabbing the pot he kept on the floor next to him. The soup he'd just eaten came right back up, he sat there, hunched over, crying and dryheaving for a good five minutes. Henry rubbed circles in his back and tried to soothe him. But, Lark couldn't even keep water down anymore. Henry knew he was dehydrated, and he didn't know what to do anymore.

Lark let out a sob, leaning into his dad. Henry held his boy against him, not daring to give a gentleman sway like he usually would.

"It hurts... Everything hurts..." He whimpered. He sounded so small, which wasn't a way Lark Oak-Garcia should sound.

"I know, baby. I know." Henry reached for thermometer he'd been keeping on the coffee table. He pulled it out of the protective case.

Lark looked at him, his eyes looked so tired. He opened his mouth and let Henry put the device under his tongue. It took a minute, but the thing beeled and Henry checked.

106.7. Oh hell no. Oh heeeell no.

"Get some shoes on, Lark, we're going to the emergency room." He said quickly, pushing himself to his feet and going to grab his keys, phone, wallet, and own shoes.

"Dad, I'm fine, I-"

"You're temperature is one hundred and SIX! That is not fine! Get some shoes!" Henry felt his hands started to shake. No, not now. He felt that familiar crushing feeling of his chest caring in on itself. Not now. Stupid panic attack disorder.

"Dad, really, itll go down in the hour I'm-"

"Lark Oliver Oak-Garcia, do not argue with me on this please, we are going to the emergency room and thats final. Now put on your shoes!" He knew he snapped, but he was freaking out. He didn't know anything about his stuff. In the Realms, when someone was this sick you'd cast a healing spell and bada-bing bada-boom, hes fine! But this isn't the realms, and there isn't magic! He pressed trembling fingers to his temples, trying to ease himself out of the coming panic attack before he really got consumed in the anxieties. He needed to be Dad right now, not Henry.

He looked around the room, listing off things he could touch or hear or see. Just like Mercedes had taught him.

Deep breath in.... Deep breath out. Its good. Lark's good. Focus on getting him to the doctor.

Henry snatched his keys and phone off the table, grabbing his wallet from the counter in passing and shuffling to get on his Birkenstocks.

Lark was shuffling awkwardly to the door, holding his Pichu plush. He looked nauseous just standing, but both Henry and Lark knew there was nothing left in his system to come back up.

Henry helped him into the passenger seat and buckled his seat belt, leaning it back so he wasnt sitting straight up and making himself light-headed. Then, he got himself in the drivers seat and pulled out of the driveway, handing his phone to Lark.

"Call your brother." He said sternly, eyes focused on the road as he moved to the urgent care clinical as fast as possible. Of course Lark listened, and Sparrow came through the Bluetooth of the car.

"Hey, Dad. What's up? How's Lark doing?"

"Hi, Sparrow. Letting you know, Lark's fever is almost 107, so we're going to the emergency room. Don't know when I'll be home, you can stay with one of the boys, or stay at home. I don't care. Mom's gonna be home around seven."

"Uh- oh! Okay. Um... Okay. Thats- okay, Dad. Is he okay? Just a high fever?" Of course Sparrow immediately sounding absolutely terrified.

"Don't panic,,Lark's good. He's just... He's low on fluids, his fevers high. I'll send you plenty of updates, promise. But, I gotta let you go cause we're here and I need to get him in. I love you so much, Sparrow."

"I... I love you too, Dad. And Lark. I- okay. I'll probably stay at Terry's."

"That's fine, call me when you get there, okay?"

"Okay... Bye."

"Bye, Sparrow.

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

Henry paced the waiting room. Its not that they were doing anything major to Lark, just running some standard health checks and getting him settled in a room for the night. But, your pride and joy, your beautiful son whom you love more than life itself being in a hospital room without you? Terrifying. Fucking terrifying.

Darryl had arrived about five minutes ago, and was currently trying to get Henry to stand still.

"Darryl, Darryl, darling, you're wonderful but you really need to shut the fuck up. If I sit, I will stop the adrenalin rush and when I stop the adrenaline rush my thoughts start going-"

"Henry-"

"and that means my brain turns back on and when my brain turns back on, it means I'll probably have a panic attack and I really don't want to have one right now,"

"Henry!"

"at this moment, because for the love of god, Darryl, I need to know when my boy is okay and I can't know when my boy is okay if I have a panic attack because then I won't be able to-" Darryl grabbed hold of Henry's shoulders and stared him right in the eye.

"HENRY!" Thank god he finally got him to stop going down the rabbit hole, it took Henry long enough. He stared the other father in the eyes. His mind stopped for a moment. Just a moment. But it was a long enough moment.

Darryl knew the tears were coming before Henry ever showed signs of beginning to cry. He pulled him into a tight hug and just held him there, in strong arms.

"Its okay, Henry. He's fine. Just a high fever and some dehydration. He'll be fine." Darryl promised him.

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

And, Darryl was right. Lark was fine. Henry freaked out over nothing. Late that night, Lark was discharged again. After his fever went back down and they gave him fluids.

It was now well past midnight, and Henry was exhausted. He got his just as tired son in bed, tucking him in and making sure the pichu was tucked in Lark's arms. He gave yet another forehead kiss, turning off the lamp.

"Goodnight, kiddo. Hope you feel better in the morning."

And, Henry dragged himself back to his bedroom, where Mercedes laid already asleep. He changed into a pair of pajama pants and crawled in next to her. Like her sixth sense, she rolled over to use Henry as some kind of large teddy bear like she did everything night. It was so nice. He took a long, deep, satisfying breath and settled into his pillows. His eyes became heavy, and he fell asleep faster than he had in years.