#but there's so many interesting and unexpected corners everywhere

[elvenbeard]

Road Trip 3/4 🌅

Kerry: "Wait, stop!! Pull over!! See that? V: "A random lake, so?" Kerry: "C'mon, don't tell me you've never been skinny dippin' either..." V: "Well, there was that one time... I was on a boat that had unexpectedly caught on fire." Kerry: "... Oh well, now you're givin' me a whole other idea for gettin' out of this oven on wheels for a while..."

Nothing better than jumping into a cool lake after driving through the Californian desert all day 😌💦

A little behind the scenes pics here that I love but couldn't use for the set above cause they're supposed to be somewhere far away from Night City in SoCal xD

But damn was that sky pretty, and I'm such a sucker for the huge neon ads (even though I'd despise something like it irl, it's just such a cool thing to look at from afar xD). So yeh this is obviously the reservoir at Laguna Bend, not some romantic little lake on the roadside but y'know, it works!

I'm soooo in love with the reflections on the water, too, like damn, video game graphics are getting too real o.o

And the middle pic is one of my new favourite pics I've ever taken of them ;_____; my feels... them almost kisses get me so good everytime...

[sungiescheotluv]

falling dominos ⭑.ᐟ na jaemin

pairing: na jaemin x gender neutral reader

word count: 3.1k

tags/warnings: angst, fluff, minor swearing, jaemin being the best

summary: after one particularly cruel lesson, you swear off anyone in order to protect your mending heart. in comes jaemin, who's kindness must run out someday, right?

notes: hii there! ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა this is my first official post on here! this fic was honestly a very in the moment thing i scraped together, so if this doesn't make sense, i do apologise. it's 3 am here, and i can't be bothered to edit now lmao 😭 also, jeno makes a little cameo in this! (i'm sorry for making you an asshole in this T_T) i'm not totally sure if i'll be posting a lot on this blog, but i did want to contribute just a bit of comfort the dreamies are able to give me <3 thank you! much love! (˶˃⤙˂˶)

The first domino fell a while ago. 

Summer is drawing to a close, the smell of freshly-cut grass and sunscreen gone with the autumn winds. It’s to be expected -  things change, nothing lasts. Like your four years at university, they come and now, they’ve gone. It’s strange, adapting to a world that doesn’t revolve around 9 am lectures, that doesn’t include being within walking distance to your best friends, the always crowded student bars and bustling clubs. It feels like you were losing touch with yourself, a version you’ve bloomed into that’s brought you so many blessings. Friends to cherish, knowledge that takes you everywhere and a partner you’d do life with in a heartbeat.

Meeting Jaemin, like most social interactions, is unexpected. The bar you and your friends is unusually deserted for a Tuesday, disgruntled groans and beer bottles slamming against the bar at the ice hockey game broadcasted across the space. You have some interest in the puck movement, having been dragged weeks ago to the campus ice hockey arena for an exciting game against your university’s rival. The roof was moments from being blown off, the energy and screams so palpable you felt it in your frozen fingertips. You thought (naively so) that your night ended when the buzzer blared, ears ringing to commemorate your team’s 5-2 win. That couldn’t be furthest from the truth, your friends somehow convincing you to join them at a house party. Looking back, you should’ve declined - you had deadlines within the week and exams soon after, the smart choice would’ve been to bury your head in books and gain feeling back in your toes - and yet, there you were, tucked away in a dark corner, speaking in low whispers with a boy who was as troubled as he looked. 

You couldn’t blame yourself, once Jeno - or he who shall not be named - flashed his moon crescent smile and made a joke about no jeans fitting him from all the hockey he played. You were already a few drinks in, more approachable and less wise, so you gave in to your desires, let him put you through the mattress in a way that made your eyes roll and toes curl. Of course, he maintained his nice guy image throughout, checking-in with you every step of the way, cooking you breakfast the next day and kissing you in front of his housemates in a sealed promise on his doorstep. You weren’t the type to get your hopes up about men, because they always found a way to disappoint you, but the glimmer in Jeno’s eyes on his doorstep, holding your hand like he didn’t want to let go, you couldn’t help it. You texted a few times following that night, the rose-tinted glasses fading as time stretched on, him never finding the time of day to text you, much less meet up. You’d even gone the extra mile of watching his favourite pro-league teams’ games, becoming a fan of the game yourself. The nail in the coffin was right after exams, when your friends and you squeezed into a stuffy local bar to celebrate, so close to everyone you could hear whispers between lovers. In a familiar voice, you heard word-for-word what Jeno said to you, only to find him staring down at another with the same look in his eyes he gave you.

How foolish you were. Thinking you were anything more than a notch in his bedpost. And in all his audacity, Jeno catches your eyes, a polite nod sent your way before he reverts back to his other, like you didn’t kiss the breath out of you two weeks beforehand. It took you an embarrassingly long time to recover from the shock, the hurt - the whole Christmas break actually - and when you returned to campus, you vowed your friends only mattered because through your two years together, at least they didn’t disappoint you. Unlike the game playing.

Jeno’s favourite team was up against their fated rivals, a team you’ve switched to support out of spite. Unfortunately for you, they were trailing 3-1, and things were looking bleak. A heavy sigh empties out you, arms bracing yourself against the polished bar as you wait your turn to be serviced.

“Sounds like you’ve got the world’s weight on your shoulders.”

You cast the source a sidelong glance, an air of disinterest clouding you before you spare him a sliver of your attention, heart ceasing in the process. He’s a couple inches taller than you, chiselled face highlighted by the dimmed neon lights of the bar. His chestnut brown hair is shades lighter than the brown in his eyes, a twinkle so kind to them that you’re oddly at ease. He’s got an easy smile too, one full of a life you see together years down the line. He’s beautiful. Surely, there’s a catch? Maybe, this is the universe’s way of testing you. Seeing if you’ll make one and the same mistakes again. You wouldn’t, not after how discarded you felt after Jeno. But in the low chatter of the bar, you feel nudged towards him. Like if you take this chance, maybe you’ll rewrite your fate. End the curse of selfish interests and find someone worth loving.

“Hockey will do that to you,” you shrug, averting your eyes because you can’t stand how intentional he looks at you. “Something I’ve recently discovered.”

He laughs, hearty and genuine. “Comes with the territory, unfortunately. Planning my team’s cup parade has been an on-and-off thing since I can remember.”

“Leafs?” He nods and you snicker, recognizing his pain. “At least we’re in the same boat.”

“Misery loves company, I’ve heard,” he smiles, a stutter in your chest the after affect. “Well, since we’re gonna be subjected to this torture for the next two periods, might as well get to know each other. My name’s Jaemin.”

He offers his hand, a formal act that takes you by surprise. You simper regardless, accepting the handshake with a burn against your skin rivaling the sun, telling him your own name.

“Could I interest you in a drink? That usually helps with the sorrows.” he offers, a teasing grin amidst his charming features. As if you could say no to him. 

Jaemin flags the bartender over, two drinks placed before you two. You glance back at your table nearby, catching your friends huddled together on the edge of their seats watching the interaction unfold. The sea of nods and thumbs up makes your eyes roll, a gesture Jaemin catches onto as he looks over his shoulder. He’s playful enough to be amused, politely waving to your group who waves back, falling into a series of audible chatter afterwards.

“They’re not usually that uhm…forward.” You reason, gazing down into your drink.

“I don’t mind forward. It’s funny, if anything,” Jaemin says, running his fingers through his hair. “Do you?”

There’s a hidden layer to his question, nothing to do with them and everything to do with you. Would you like me to be forward? Let you know how much of my interest you hold?

 “Not at the moment,” his eyebrows raise slightly. “Depends on what’s in store.”

Jaemin hums, the corners of his lips lifting which he shields taking a swig of his beer. “I can think of a few things.”

You curse at yourself, opening the door for something that’s already led you down a treacherous path. However, to Jaemin’s credit, those few things conclude at casual brushes of the hand, warm smiles accompanied with heartfelt compliments and his number. He even gets a round of shots for your friends when you part ways, lending all the power to you who is quickly surrounded by squeals and eager looks from your friends. You try not buy into the hype, because you know how this story ends, but you can’t help but hope you’re wrong. 

How wrong you are unfolds the weeks following your encounter, texts sent back and forth at the speed of light like you’re the exception to his day, more encounters following. Jaemin shows up as who he is - warm, insightful and stupidly kind. You’re waiting for the sheep to shed its clothing, but the moment never happens. He treats you like you spin his world around, finding every and any excuse to speak, to see you. You bond over the very thing you started to resent - hockey - and turn it into something more. A topic of conversation, an excuse to spend time together, a date idea you toss around, all until other things fill in the gaps. Become the glue that joins your hearts together, beating in sync. 

You’d promised yourself you’d never fall for another selfish guy again, and you didn’t. Jaemin gives you every bit of himself, devoting himself to being the partner you deserve. A partner that remembers the little things, that picks you up when you’re feeling low, the one person who despite the constant change in your life remains constant. It’s refreshing having his stability in your life, particularly when that first domino falls. When you graduate and have to face the real world.

Jaemin accustomizes himself to the new change relatively quickly, finding a job and apartment before you even graduate. Some people are lucky that way, like some of your friends. You, on the other hand, struggle beyond your graduation day, your smile unnerved in your portrait because you’re so unsure of your future. Friends and family alike assure you you’ll find better luck as the sunny days go by, but when the leaves turn from green to yellow-brown, when they start to fall to the ground, your worries set in.

Another domino falls when the friends you could see on an given whim take over an hour to see, the end of university dispersing you back to hometowns or big cities that promised adventure. You’re holding yourself together, appearing unaffected when you have to move back in with your parents and take up a job you left to go to university. It shouldn’t be embarrassing, but it is, especially when you’re gathered at a cocktail filled table with friends glowing from their new lives polished by elite jobs and new experiences (new friends too). All you can contribute is how many customers have nagged you about the ice cream machine not working.

It isn’t all bad, per se. Since you’re living with your parents again, you save more money which you direct to a travel fund. Ever since you’d met, Jaemin and you always talked about traveling. He’d capture you in front of famous landmarks with his camera, but also capture you in candid moments - pleased that everything ended up working out. It was something you were working towards, a goal you’d taken concrete steps towards but soon, they had to crumble.

A string of bad luck begins to permeate your life, nothing too worrisome at first, but after spending more than necessary to fix your car, being publicly humiliated at work and watching your friends live their best lives online, your patience wears thin. The straw that breaks the camel’s back is the necklace Jaemin gave you early in your relationship breaking. It would’ve been fixable if it weren’t for it falling in between machinery at work that couldn’t be moved in case of a casualty and at this point, you’re no longer strong. You’re not bracing the dominos with all your might and as a result, they crush you, falling against your back and trickling down all the way until the end. 

It’s a wonder how you make it to Jaemin’s apartment for your at-home date and when you step inside, the scent of your favourite meal wafting in the air, you shed a tear. Or a few. Sniffling while you’re taking off your shoes, and of course, the shoelaces somehow get tangled and you’re suddenly fighting a battle you can’t win. Every tug of your laces a test of your willpower.

“Baby love?” 

Your bottom lip quivers, bitten down into as you turn your head to your boyfriend. Bathed in soft lighting, he wears a pink ‘Kiss the Cook’ apron across his My Melody pajamas that match your Kuromi ones. He looks as charming as he did the first day you met, even kinder than you’d known. Luna’s circling around him, her tail curling around his leg and it makes your poor heart burst, the tears overflowing.

He’s at your side before you blink them away, collapsed on the entryway ledge with you as his warm hands cup your face.

“What’s wrong, love?” he calls, gentle like he’s always been. “Please tell me so we can solve it together. Your heart’s too beautiful to be crying like this.”

You sob harder, his thumbs not fast enough to dry the stream from your eyes. “I’m so lost, Jaemi. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“With what?”

“I’m so far behind,” you sulk, looking at him through tears. “Everyone’s got their shit figured out. Life is happening for them, not at them.”

“Oh, baby,” he coos, bringing your body closer as you cradle into his arms, letting your heart break into a million pieces. “Life’s no race, no one knows where they’re going.  There’s nowhere you need to be right now. Everyone moves at their own pace, right?”

“But-”

“Don’t make yourself the exception. Life’s never easy, but you’re making the best of your situation. Yours is the only one that matters, because it’s your story,” Jaemin rasps, a soothing hand caressing your back. “It may not go according to plan, but if there’s anything I know, it’s that you have it in you. To pick yourself up and do the hard things, because you know you deserve more. You know you deserve better.”

A kiss atop your head. “And I’ll be there to support you, each step of the way,”

Another on your forehead. “I’ll remind you as many times as you need, okay?”

Your last tears absorb into your eyelashes, peering up at Jaemin, who on your worst days, looks at you like you hold all the secrets to the universe. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” And you mean it. With every fiber of your being.

The collapse of dominos seems to wear you out, surrendering yourself as you go limp in Jaemin’s arms. With a kiss on the forehead, he shuffles to the edge of the doorway ledge, scooping his arms underneath your legs and supporting your back as he stands to his feet. Instinctively, you cling to him, Jaemin providing that same stability he’s given you from the moment you two met. Venturing further into his apartment, he plots you down on the living room couch, all his three cats coming to rest alongside you in his absence. You hear the bath start to run and sink into the couch at the thought, being lulled to the sounds of soft purs and fur.

In your sleepy daze, you don’t realise Jaemin’s finished running the bath until the cats are launching off you, cradled in his arms again as he hums his way to the bathroom. The only lights hat occupy the space are scented-candles, lavender filling the air as Jaemin steads you to your feet, your shared chill playlist blaring a speaker nearby.

Working at the buttons of your blouse, your eyebrows furrow at the shirt he removes. “You’re getting in with me?’

Jaemin offers a sweet, reserved smile, hands picking up where you left off. “Of course. Who else is going to wash your back, hmm?”

He kisses your nose once done, shedding his own share of clothes before slipping into the bubble-filled tub. He makes a comment about how much you’d enjoy the temperature of the water, his flinching a clear indication as he pats against his chest for you to lay. Somehow, with your body sagging with prolonged exhaustion, he draws a simper out of you, tensions dissipating from your muscles as you turn your brain off and simply be. 

Head against his chest, Jaemin’s heart sings to you at a slow and soft pace, his hand overlapping yours as he massages the pressure points on them. It’s as if you’re transported to another world, all you know being quiet and serenity as your problems melt away for just those few moments together. 

“Thank you,” you croak, a sleepy film blurring your vision. “For everything.”

“No need to thank me,” he murmurs, fingers intertwining with yours. “I’ve got your back - forever and always.”

You give his hand an affectionate squeeze, turning your head to give him a peck, only to find his jawline lathered in foam. Jaemin does his best Santa impression, moving his chest with his laughs. It’s lame, but it does the trick, filtering laughter out of you with the shake of your head.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You still love me though,” he presses a kiss against your cheekbone, bits of his foam beard left behind. 

“Unfortunately.”

“Must be feeling a lot better if you’re speaking like that,” he squeezes your hand, a series of kiss down your neck making you giggle and splash around the tub. 

“I am,” you admit, an instinctive hand going to clasp against your necklace, only for there to be none. “My necklace - it broke off at work.”

“Aw, shit. I’m sorry baby,” another squeeze. “Is it in your bag?”

“It fell between some machinery at work, I couldn’t get to it,” a lump of emotion wells in your throat. “I’m sorry.”

“Accidents happen, it’s okay,” he reassures you, steady and calm to ground you. “Wanna know something?”

“What?” you ask.

“I actually bought you another necklace earlier today,” he chuckles, the sound vibrating against your skin. “There’s this store on the way to work that had one with your birthstone. It was going to be your Christmas present but,”

“Santa came early this year,” you chuckle, the tilt of your head giving you access to kiss his jaw. “How’d I get so lucky?”

“I ask myself that every day.”

You spend the rest of your night like this, basking in the boundless love Jaemin and you share, wrinkles forming against your skin before you climb out the bath, sitting in your matching pyjamas while enjoying your favourite meal and Leafs hockey game. It’s a bit different from your normal date nights, but it works for you two. Like how everything leading up to your meeting - good or bad - led you here, in the arms of a man who loves you like no other. A man who proved you wrong at every turn and never turned away, staying with you until all the dominos were in place again.

[nordickies]

I kindly request more NedDen content because I miss them. I know you’ve drawn them before but how would you interpreter their relationship (platonic or romantic)? I was in Amsterdam last year and I feel like they’d be the kind of couple that would just bike everywhere together.

They definitely would bike everywhere! I think the "unexpected" cultural similarities they share are precious and something that bonds them so exceptionally well. And since they get mixed up in many corners of the world, they feel even more alike. When someone they're not too familiar with wants to talk with Ned, they somehow always go up to Den first, and he has to remind them he's not the same guy.

They have known each other from a very early age, but perhaps their paths didn't cross until their later teenage years when their respective countries started to work together more. And cooperation started to get even more extensive after the Dutch Republic gained independence from Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. I think their relationship was purely professional in the beginning since both of them are rather work-oriented personas. Still, over time, it evolved naturally to something more meaningful for both.

I like to think that when Denmark's relationship with Sweden, or even Norway, was strained due to conflicting interests, he'd turn to Ned to ease his frustrations and loneliness. In a way, being with his colleague-turned-friend was like a breather from all the family drama, and the company started to mean a lot more to the Dane; he felt better understood, and someone listened to what he had to say. As they started to work along more often, Den began to look up to Ned, almost wanting to impress him. Netherlands and his country represented something Den should strive towards, too. He'd listen to Ned's stories and lessons so intrigued. I can imagine poor Norway just shaking his head when Den comes back home, his head full of new grandiose ideas and constantly quoting stuff he has clearly heard from Ned, thinking he sounds so intellectual.

But I also think Den relied on Ned not only as an ally but as a source of comfort, too. Whenever Den was going through a rough time, he'd find himself longing to be with Ned, doing the stupid things they always do, and getting a break from all the unpleasant work. But Ned is rather ambitious, never settling in one place for too long. He's always got one foot out the door, ready to seek new waters and adventures when they call him. He had way more going on in his life than Den was even aware of. Fortunately, Ned would always return home and share tales about the places he had been to, keeping Den entertained for hours. Even though Denmark is curious about Ned's travels to, e.g. Japan, it always crushed him a bit, knowing Ned had other important people he could open up to, and he didn't rely on Den as much as he did on his Dutch friend. But Ned would probably disagree if he heard that; he wouldn't return home and see Denmark as soon as possible if he didn't find him somewhat meaningful. 

The Netherlands, as serious as he may seem, really likes Denmark - the admiration isn't purely one-sided. The Dane can be full of energy and willpower, but he's sincere. Den has an evident passion for the things he cares about, and he isn't letting others discourage him from achieving his goals, no matter how silly or insignificant they may be to people. Denmark is never boring, and for Ned, who always expects variety in his life, it's an appreciated trait. Ned always admired Den's persistence; if he were frustrated at his peers about things not going as he had initially planned, Den would just storm off and tell everyone to screw themselves, which Ned would find hilarious - though, for some reason, he was the only one in the room laughing about it.

They're good friends who always support and inspire each other - offering a break from the more complicated and messy nature of their existence. But at some point, their friendship took a turn, and they started hooking up. I don't think they had ever intended things to go that way or even continue after their first experiment, but somehow, they often find themselves in each other's company in the late hours of the night when both feel lonely and starved. Their fling, if you can even really call it that, probably began from innocent experimenting. It was perhaps just harmless fun, exploring new sides of themselves with a safe and understanding person; maybe they weren't all that experienced or even comfortable with their identity at that point. But it has always been kind of an unspoken rule between them. They're friends, and bringing up anything more complicated than that would just make things awkward. When they hook up, they have fun, but they won't really talk about it the next day. They just continue with their lives - until it inevitably happens again.

That's how they thrive, being friends first and foremost but also making sure the other gets laid. They strike me as a pair who just like having fun together, regarding all aspects of life. They release their stress by being idiots because they don't know how to talk. When they hang out, they can feel liberated and unpoetically themselves. They're on the same brain wavelength, almost managing to guess when the other is about to call them. "I've had an awful week, let's go get wasted" sort of friendship. They use outdated slang and terms while listening to music the younger generation doesn't understand. They watch sports together and debate about trivial topics. Spend the warm summer nights on terraces, drinking and smoking too much for their own good. But they can also get surprisingly deep and philosophical at times, whether or not they actually misuse substances. It's not unheard of for either Den or Ned to get outlandish ideas out of nowhere, like traveling through the entire continent on bikes - to which the other is immediately on board! They're very impulsive and feed into each other's madness, which may not always be a good thing.

And perhaps that's one of the reasons why they have never desired to make their thing official. Deep down, they both know they'd never last anyway, so neither of them even seeks to make it more serious than it is. They're content with their situation and don't want to ruin their friendship. But I feel like Denmark would be more sentimental and affectionate of the pair, and he can't help but sometimes feel empty afterward, wondering if they should actually talk about these things between them for once?

But those are just my thoughts - how I like interpreting their relationship. There's tons of reference material for these two, so anything can happen! The Netherlands has historically been one of Denmark's most important allies, with long traditions of trade and cooperation. I think there are lots of historical factors that could be interesting to explore but maybe some other time!

[invye]

How They Met [2/3] - CoraHawk

[CoraMiShanks Fix It AU]

I think it's time I write up my thoughts about how exactly Mihawk, Shanks and Rosinante met and outline the start of what will become their relationship. And since I am pathologically incapable of writing short posts, I'll cut it into three, so I can take my time.

Mihawk & Shanks [link]

Mihawk & Rosinante/Corazón [this post]

Rosinante & Shanks [link]

- Mihawk & Rosinante/Corazón -

Technically, Mihawk meets Rosinante before he meets Corazón. It just takes until meeting Corazón for him to realise that he did indeed cross paths with then Marine Ensign Rosinante a couple years back.

For that he can 'thank' Vice Admiral Garp. The Warlord system was created about a year into the aftermath of Rogers' execution; and with nothing better to do, Garp apparently decided that Mihawk would make an excellent addition. They spent another year playing catch across the Grand Line, with way too many cannonballs lobbed at Hitsugibune way too close for comfort, until Mihawk gave in.

Really it was less giving in and more getting bored. He had fought his way through the new and coming pirates, had found himself the old and established swordsmen and beat them all. Two years and the only interesting challenge left for him was Shanks, and the Dark King Rayleigh, whenever he deigned to resurface again. It wouldn't be long until the title is his, some people already considering him the Strongest Swordsman, and with the amount of Marines he has killed along the way, he's gained quite a lot of attention. A fact that becomes annoying as the Marines sent after him are more of an insult than a threat.

So Mihawk accepts Garp's invitation to join the Warlords. His acceptance was met by Garp laughing, clapping him on the back and then turning to a blond Ensign and saying: "See Rosinante, I told your old man I'd get him!"

Mihawk didn't make a habit of remembering Marine Ensigns, but when five years later that very same Marine turns up at the Warlord meeting as a silent shadow to Doflamingo? Colour him intrigued. He knew it was worth attending the meetings for the wine and the drama alone.

Corazón is not having a good time. Two months in deep cover and he couldn't convince Doffy not to drag him everywhere and loudly announce his long lost brother returned. So now he's standing in the corner of a room with six of the Seven Warlords assembled and has to pretend he doesn't know Sengoku sitting at the other end of the table. To make matters worse Doffy is making a scene as usual and the (former? please say former--) Marine Hunter has been unblinkingly staring at him ever since they walked in.

To make it even worse, Knight of the Sea Jinbe, leans over to Mihawk, says something, receives a response and then proceeds to give Rosinante Corazón an extended quizzical look of his own. The cherry on top comes at the end of the meeting, in form of Dracule Mihawk, Marine Hunter, walking by Corazón on his way out and quietly, just for them to hear, saying: "Good luck on your assignment, Donquixote Rosinante. You will need it."

Corazón falls over his own feet with how quickly he rushes after him.

Turns out the Marine Hunter / Strongest Swordsman / (Hawkeyes?) / Dracule Mihawk a) is not at all intimidated by Rosinante's silence ability, b) remembers Rosinante from his Ensign days on Uncle Garp's ship, c) dislikes Doffy with an unexpected fervour and d) thinks Rosinante is the worst possible choice for the job. Great.

Oh and also his Observation Haki is so strong that even despite the Silence blocking out all sound, he knows Doffy is about to walk in on them having a conversation. With words. That he isn't supposed to be able to speak.

Corazón swears he has been given extensive undercover training before all this. He swears. The deep cover preparation was a whole big thing across an entire year. But how is he, an alleged mute, supposed to explain away an extended interaction with another Warlord during which he didn't write a single note??

So here he is. Kissing the Marine Hunter and praying that Hawkeyes won't kill him for it. Or blow his cover.

And for some insane reason Rosinante will never forget to thank his luck for, Hawkeyes goes with it. Kisses him back (okay, first off, wow), gives Doffy the coldest side eye that has even his insane brother take a step back, says something about Rosinante better being safe in the upcoming storm, and manages to slip him his contact information under the guise of pulling out Rosinante's sunglasses which he proceeds to put on his face for him.

Rosinante Corazón is floored.

Doffy is delighted that his brother brings a connection this powerful to the table.

The message going along with Hawkeyes' number reads: "For when you inevitably require competent assistance" in perfect cursive that Mihawk must have written before all this.

[tireddovahkiin]

📝: How would your story in canon go? How would you influence the events of the original story? & 👀: How does your ship with your f/o influence both of your characterisations and the world? Would there be any interesting metas written about your dynamic?

Hiiii thanks for the askkk ;D sorry for the long post in advance, I had to rant a bit >.<

I'll answer for Devil May Cry this time :)

For the first question, I haven't really thought about it in details, but I know that if I were to appear in any of the games, it would probably be in Devil May Cry 2. I thought of a funny scenario, where technically, Dante finds a young child "lost" and wandering alone, looking for something, and about to be attacked by some demons, but he saves me in the last second. I introduce myself, and tell him that I lost a special 'friend' of mine. A yellow puppy plush, named Junior. (For those who don't know, Junior is like a manifestation of my actual irl plushie that is alive and has some sort of magical powers and stuff! He basically represents like a guardian figure, and my comfort object/childhood, and follows me anywhere and everywhere ^^)

That is like the only explanation he gets from me LMAO💀I was generally a non-verbal child, and I just also infilcted it on little me in the game XD Poor Dante does try to get answers from me, but I either don't answer, shrug, or shake my head.

That is basically a whole "additional" mission in the game, trying to help the little me find my lost toy friend. When he eventually does help me, Dante can only be left dumbfounded as an actual plushie moves and speaks as a real living being. Thanking Dante, I dissapear off behind a corner, and if he chooses to follow me, there won't be anyone behind. Quite mysterious, right?

I do appear once or twice again, somewhere settled during the DMC Animated series, to thank Dante again, and that is when I meet Patty😌 we kinda become strange friends in a way, but I hide the fact that Junior is alive🤧. From then on, I stop appearing, and Dante thinks we'll never meet again...

UNTIL BEFORE DMC4!

Basically, during one of his many missions, Dante actually gets unexpected help, that happens to be a person that is just so awfully familiar to him. Handling a great crossbow (YES that is my weapon I LOVE CROSSBOWS), with a strange yellow puppy on their shoulder... AND THE HE REALIZES!!! It's Jayden expect big and all grown :3 I stick around and help him, before returning together to his office, and that is when I ACTUALLY talk to the man about me LOL XD

Seeing how my skills actually are very good for a hunter, he decides to let me tag along when I can, and I basically become a part-time devil hunter! Since I am not always around, that is alright, but when I AM, I always make sure to lend a hand :>

And THAT, is basically how I met everyone else. I went on a few missions with Trish and Lady, and we also became good teammates. I also got along with Dante pretty well, we became some sort of buddies, ya could say ><

Now, how I met my pretty pookie boyf NERO? After the events of DMC4. It's a bit of a funny scene, actually😂He finds me napping my ass off on the couch HAHA Dante is all nonchalant about it, and even tries to shush Nero to be quiet with a finger LOOOOL basically, napping is all I do when I hang around the office, so Dante, Trish and Lady got used to it. Except for Nero, he was so confused💀

That is how our friendship started! We would be paired the most for missions, by Dante no less, when Nero joined to work for his uncle. Nero was still with Kyrie during that period, but did slowly start to "loose" feelings. Truth is, I actually got a crush on him pretty quickly, but hid it from everyone because... Yeah, he was already in love :( Basically, a year passed before we actually got together, and Nero slowly realised his true feelings, what a dumbass (i love him.)

Now, as for the events in DMC5, I didn't come to that part yet, because I haven't even watched DMC5 yet T0T I'm waiting for my friend to finish showing me his playthrough of DMC3 before I continue to the last game. But, yeah, that is basically it!

For the second question... Um... I kinda don't understand it??💀💀💀😭😭😭 sorry, If i knew I'd answer it, really, but I'll have to skip this one😔 if someone would be so kind to explain what is a meta and all that...

[nighmares-art-and-stories]

Memoir - Elephant

This is an unexpected event. One that has taught me much about myself and the world around me.

I entered the grand gated zoo. It was one of the biggest zoos in all of China. Two majestic bronze tigers guarded the entrance. Each had a paw an embroidered silver ball. Their lips are pulled back in a roar as their sharp eyes gleamed yellow in the piercing sun. Impatient clouds danced across the sky. Fans posted on poles whirred angrily; the bee-like hum filling the air. My dad was with me at that time. The wind played with his almond-black hair as we walked.

“Squawk, Rerfff, Squawwk” The fiery sunset colored flamingos were yelling at each other, haggling over who has the best feathers and feed.

“Do you want to feed them?” The sound of my dad’s deep rumble startled me out of careful observations.

“Sure, why not?”

We quickly paid the money and went inside. The birds flapped their massive ruby colored wings in our faces and plunged their beaks in the cups that are filled with feed. Several more flamingos rushed at us and jumped on my dad’s arm. Beaks flashed as they ripped feathers from each other’s neck.

We walked and looked in the exhibits, the animals frolicked in the pools and chased the pigeons away from their food. Lions roared, and the prey animals crowded in a corner. Poor prey creatures, they are frightened by all the noise and the roaring lions. You could see that in their eyes.

Bikes zipped around and sang a robotic “twinkle-twinkle little star” every time someone was blocking their path. It was chaotic but at the same time very orderly. We walked our way to the elephant exhibit, dodging several bikes. This was very annoying; my dad yelled and waved his fist at a few people that didn’t put on the mechanical song. I couldn’t blame them. That mechanical song sounded like someone have messed with the radio so that instead of the normal songs and the news people talk, it sounds like two broken plates rubbing against each other.

I was being a complete nerd, lecturing about animals and their genus, habitats, and behavior. My dad listened quietly to my rambling and lecturing. His thoughts somewhere else in his mind. I can’t blame him; his job is quite energy-sapping.

The trees have cast the shadows on the sidewalk. Providing the much-needed relief to the scorching overhead sun. Birds chirped and hopped in the shadows of the trees. Peacocks strutted to the patches of sun and fanned out their massive tails. The catching the sun and spilling the light like green-gold diamonds

We walked to the elephant exhibit. Two elephants were playing in the mud; trees with spray hoses created a majestic waterfall. Several elephants were using their trunks to gather the water from the waterfall and drinking it. Around the corner, there are two elephants performing tricks. A large crowd is gathered around the performing elephants. One of them turned around and around in great circles; the other walked on its hind legs the trainer threw buckets and buckets of sliced apples, carrots, and other goods at them. They stopped to pick the treats up and walked away. Walking off the performing stage they went straight for the mud-pool and started to fling mud at the elephants under the mechanical waterfall. The mud splattered all over them, creating a gloopy brown and grey blob with small beady eyes. Everyone in the crowd laughed. The elephant then washed the mud off and charged at the elephants playing in the mud-pool. They flung mud everywhere and soon a full-blown mud-fight ensued.

We walked off at this point.  Behind the mud-fighting elephants, there is a large petting place. There you can feed zebras, ride camels, pet ostriches and fish for goldfish and many more. At each exhibit, there is a long, complicated line of people at every event. All of the people there were craning their necks to see what was happening.

I saw the elephant ride and my eyes gleamed. An elephant ride. That will be quite interesting, I never rode an elephant before, except when I was 3 but that was a long time ago. My dad saw my eyes gleam at the elephant ride and asked,

“Do you want to ride the elephant?”

“Yep!”

 I ran off to the ticket stand in the middle of the petting place; My dad jogging behind me.

“How much does riding the elephant cost?” I said when I reached the ticket stand.

“It costs 20 yuan.” The keeper replied cheerfully.

At this point, my dad ambled up next to me and gave the 20 yuan to the keeper.

We got the ticket and stepped in line. The excitement is contagious, soon I was jumping up and down like some over-excited toddler every time a lion roars or an ostrich booms at some zookeeper. The line got shorter and shorter I felt the impatience grow stronger and stronger until… it’s my turn!

I hopped to the stand and climbed on a peaceful-minded elephant. The thick hide is warm and gave off the sweet smell of lion-grass and fresh leaves. Its strong shoulders moved under my legs. We ambled across the muddy track there were carrots everywhere for the trainers have tossed them to the ground to encourage the elephant to move on.  That’s a wonderful way to do that, these elephants will have to be starving if there aren’t any snacks. Plus, this brings some fun to the elephants who walk around the track so many times.  

I looked around the place for a little bit. There is an artificial tree in the center of the enclosure. There are small black nubs that let out a hissing sound as it sprays a fine mist in the enclosure. My dad stands on the little photo-taking stand, a bright smile on his face as he snaps away; the camera flashing brilliant light.

The elephant ambled off the path to a drinking pool. It sucked in a trunk full of water and sprayed it all over me and its sides till we are dripping wet with water and some elephant boogers. Then it began to drink the water in the pool. That strong trunk rapidly sucked in water and sprayed it in his gaping mouth. In the time I took to say mouse, that elephant has gulped down three trunksful of water.

The elephant has finished and looked at me with its beady eyes as if saying “Are you ready?”

“Yep, I’m ready.” 

That have gotten quite a few confused and weird looks from the people in the stands. After all, it’s not every day you hear some teenager talk to an elephant. The elephant once hearing that I was ready to move on started it’s way to the main path. In the corner of my eye, the elephant behind me charges and at the same time let out a loud, ground rumbling trumpet. Then without much warning, the elephant behind me charged. The elephant that I was riding sat on the ground and wouldn’t budge. Fear, like lightning, flooded through me. The people on the stands stepped back. Shock and anger flooded their eyes. My dad looked like he was about to jump into the enclosure to get me out of that fight. Dozens of trainers used dusty dusters and threw carrots as an attempt to distract the two elephants to stop fighting. 

Somehow, despite the jostling, I’ve stayed on the elephant that I was riding. The elephant, clearly spooked by this attack has run on the track in wild stops and starts every time a trainer approaches. The eyes of the elephant buggy. Calming down, it has stopped and following the fluff-on-a-stick walked to the stand. 

There my dad was waiting. He grabbed my arm and hauled me off of that elephant. He is shaking but it’s hard to tell. His eyes have given his worry, fear, and anger away though. He quickly patted my arms and legs to make sure that I haven’t somehow got bruised.

“I’m ok, Dad.”

“What if you aren’t.”

“Well, the what if didn’t happen, so stop worrying!”

We walked off. Even though the people in the stands saw that attack, they still continued to ride the elephants as if nothing had happened. Are they all mouse-brains? Still riding the elephants even after that attack? I half-expected them to all run to some other part of the zoo.

We walked on. My dad still fuming over the attack and how “irresponsible” the zookeepers are. We looked at some monkeys and birds. Eventually, we have walked out of the zoo.

Boy, that was one interesting day!

Taglist:

@alaralee

[wndybyrd]

@heartlcssboy​ :: continued from HERE !

what she loved most about peter was not his face or the way he laughed, or even the magic that took shape everywhere he wandered. to her, he was a book and every page of him that she turned held some new, unexpected twist. it was impossible to decipher the riddle of words that shaped this unreadable boy, making him all the more interesting. yet, no matter the downward spiral his story took her on, she could never bring herself to hate to it, to hate him. this made everything else ( her choler, melancholy, confusion ) all the worse, as if any feeling other than glee should be followed by guilt.

wendy tilted her head ever so slightly, watching from the corners of her peripheral as he inched forward. still, she stayed resolute, refusing to crumble under his grand performance of emotion.     " you've forgotten ? how lucky you are, to forget things so easily. "     ‘YOU MUST REMEMBER', she’d yelled so many times before. her brothers had forgotten everything, as did the ( first ) lost boys. peter, too, would forget things all the time, or at least pretend to. everyone else forgot whilst she was burdened with the blessing of remembrance. it wasn’t fair. even the memories she had been graced to ‘forget’ still lived deep in her mind, shrouded by thin fog. they lived in her bones and were etched into her muscle, never fully gone. never really forgotten.

finally turning, she faced him fully, yet azure irises did not fully meet his of clover green. seeing that sadness swimming in his eyes ( even if it was just a facade ) would be enough, and, just like that, his head would be rested in her lap, the darling’s temper snuffed out. a light hand would smooth over his mess of curls whilst she strung together some stupidly sweet story to make up for such rude behavior. still, sometimes, the girl couldn’t decide if peter enjoyed their conflict as much as he did the pleasantries. even without intention, it seemed too easy to upset him. a fallen tear, an innocent question, an old coat. the boy was a bomb, tick tick ticking away in search of anything to set it off. the eruptions were not cause for fear as much as the underlying certainty ( a voice in the back of her mind, a feeling in the pit of her stomach ) that something worse lurked under the rage. 

“ what did you do ? well, nothing at all. you never do anything wrong, peter. yet, that night, all those apologies . . . so many sorries i couldn't even count. “     softness hardened, honeysuckle words replaced by bitter firmness. his temper need not be tip-toed around, nor was he a child deserving of her coddling. wendy didn’t want to be his mother any longer, the game had tired.     “ tell me, peter, what could you possibly be so sorry for ? “     was it for sending me away, or waiting until i'd become old and boring before coming back, was what she didn’t ask, settling for a bothered sigh.      “ maybe you were sorry for grabbing at me, but, then again, you never actually bothered to apologize for that. "     an accusing finger flicked towards the fading dash that marred red cheeks. in the split second taken to snatch her face, muzzling her mouth and stealing her breath, wendy had been convinced he’d intended to fly them back to london as cruel punishment for acting too grownup, a terror that followed her to this very moment.

" oh, and the gall to dare say that i’m yours ! "     a dry laugh followed the recollection. her apprehension at upsetting him, the fear that he could so swiftly steal everything back, slowly shriveled up. the girl was empowered by righteous anger, something that had been festering in the hollow of her being for months, possibly years.     “ what a mean thing to say ! you can’t just throw me away to the ‘other place’ to then claim me as yours. what about me ? i survived the other place all on my own. not once did i forget neverland but, now, it's like i grew too big to fit here at all. i think i've been so terribly cross at you because, well . . . because you took too long and i grew too big. “    she fought back hot, angry tears. this boy utterly confused her, a quality she’d once found endearing or fascinating. now, it was only cause for upset.     “ i did everything to come back. i was so good, peter ! " 

crawling forward, the girl gingerly took peter’s hands in hers. brushing his knuckles with feathery lightness, outlining their roughness with the soft pads of her fingertips ( wondering how they weren’t littered with scars from his years of play ), she held them close, just over her chest as if he’d reach out and take hold of her heart.     " i'm sorry, too, that i grew up at all. really, truly, i am. i couldn’t help it, but i won’t anymore. not even an inch. "     her smile seemed sweet, but the tenderness did not last. mania made a home in the well of her eyes, as wild as the anxiety rooting itself in her head. her grip tightened with the strength of a starved snake, coiling and entrapping him in her embrace. a grip so tight that, without meaning to, the curves of her nails began to dig deep into his calloused palms.     " but you can’t frighten me into behaving ! i won’t let you. i’m not a child anymore, i can’t be spooked by bogeys or monsters. and i won’t be banished, not again. not ever. "     after that night, the faintest of memories had begun to clear past the fog of her mind. however, she'd decided it was nicer to forget. wendy couldn't remember everything from over the years, but she remembered the feelings, and remembering only hurt.

[ultraheydudemestuff]

The John Foos Manor

810 E. High St.

Springfield, OH

The John Foos house at 810 E. High St. in Springfield, OH, is perhaps the most imposing Italianate in the East High Street Historic District. The house follows the symmetrical plan with a projecting central bay and is across the street from the Rinehart-Bowman house to which it bears a resemblance. It was built by John Foos in 1870, making it contemporary with the other houses in the area. Foos was one of Springfield's most important and diverse manufacturers, running mills and making sewing machines and agricultural equipment. The house's pretensions match Foos' wealth. It is faced in limestone and the facade is defined by a strong belt course molding and engaged pilasters at the corners.

Everywhere the house has thick Renaissance detail embellished with carving, a level of elaboration characteristic of the 1870s. As in the Rinehart-Bowman house, the first floor windows are segmentally arched while those above are rectangular with Eastlake incosed carving. The surrounds have heavy molding, pilasters, columns, and brackets. The pilasters and the porch columns are broken up with horizontal bands; again, this level of elaboration and the complexity of the column with all those extra moldings are very 1870s. I personally like that the facade's plain stone sets off the elaboration around the windows. The porch itself features an impressive stone balustrade rather than the expected iron.

The cornice is paneled, featuring s curve brackets and is broken by windows. The central bay is particularly emphasized by a broken pediment with a central urn and jigsaw foliage carvings. This broken pediment is similar to that found in the Kies House in Cleveland. The painting of the cornice to resemble darker brownstone is appropriate to Victorian color schemes. Perhaps the most unique feature of the house is the second door on the left side, which is particularly odd. I am not sure why a second door was included on the front, but it might have led to Foos' office. At any rate, it is an unexpected feature. Also, the front of the house has a patio running the entire front facade with an iron fence surrounding it. With so many original and interesting details, the Foos house is one of the most impressive specimens in Springfield.

[wyyvernn]

A/n: whoops seems my hand slipped- also look at this smug prick i love him

✧･ﾟ: Masterlist :･ﾟ✧

Pairing: Haytham Kenway x Reader

Summary: One passionate kiss in the heat of the moment between you and your Grand Master leads him to ponder on the authenticity of it for the rest of the night.

It was all a blur really, an unexpected turn of events.

Haytham Kenway doesn't run with an entire unit of Redcoats after him. He's not reckless enough to strike without thought, to command his own to seek out trouble where it might get them killed.

Never would he retreat into an alleyway, accomplice dragging him along as they shove him into the safety of the shadows.

Shouting is heard all throughout the streets, like a pack of dogs barking and chasing after a cat. There's confusion spread everywhere among civilians who appear terrified, their clothes dull beneath the vivid reds frantically searching through the crowd.

Your lips stretch out into a grin, and your eyes gleam with mischief at the chaos unfolding despite your huffing. Your Grand Master on the other hand seethes in silence, partly because you caused the trouble that you two were in now, but also because he allowed it to happen.

Some of the soldiers draw near the entrance of the alleyway, clutching their muskets to their chests as they stalk towards the gap with suspicion. You can only think of one thing that would have them turning away but you're not sure Haytham would like it.

Still, it's the difference between being thrown in a cell or suffering minor embarrassment and getting back to the tavern.

Haytham is about to open his mouth until you plant your palms against his chest, shove his back against the brick wall and fix your lips over his. You hear the stiffled groan in his throat, feel the way his muscles turn stiff beneath your fingers, notice how his anger simmers into uncertainty, hesitation and then finally, acceptance.

You feel his hands take your waist, inching to go lower but he keeps them firm and fixed - a true gentleman. You smile a little at his cooperation, grabbing his hat from his head so you can wrap your arms around his neck a little better, your bodies taut and compact against each other.

The both of you try to make it like a passionate moment between two lovers instead of a desperate attempt to scare off the apprehending soldiers but it works regardless.

One curious Redcoat sticks his head into the alleyway from the corner. There's a moment where his eyes try to adjust to the scene before him, of you having your Grand Master against the wall, and him rubbing his palms up and down your waist in a continuous motion.

The Redcoat shakes his head and mutters something beneath his breath that you manage to catch before he leaves.

"Bloody lovers."

He signals his fellow soldiers that it's nothing interesting before they all march off. More sounds of shouting and boots hitting the pavement rotate around the city before they disappear into the distance.

You withdraw from Haytham, huffing once more as he does the same. You ignore the way he looks at you with so much emotion behind his eyes, one part bewilderment, another intrigue and something else like...disappointment.

"We should probably get back to the Green Dragon," you tell him and he nods in approval.

"Indeed."

He sits at his desk now, fingers occupied with the amulet and his mind boggled with the events prior that took place in the city.

He ponders the brief moment, recalling how soft your lips were, how perfect you fit into his embrace. Then he shakes his head of the thought, doubts that there was something more than a distraction in that kiss.

It was meaningless, he thinks in his mind. It was nothing but...he wants it to be something.

He is interrupted when you disturb him. You come unannounced, leaning against his doorframe like you own it, but you've done that so many times at this point Haytham thinks you already do.

"Need you to come down soon, Sir - dinner is nearly ready."

Haytham nods once and watches you go to leave, but his voice has you pausing in your step, pulling you back to face him.

"A moment, if you will."

That would usually be meant as an order from your Grand Master, his authority seeping into his voice and cutting sharply through the air. Except, this time it sounds more like a genuine request. His face is calm, eyes sincere and gentle.

Even you can see how quiet and different he's been since you both made it back to the tavern.

Without questioning him, your hands clutch the backrest of a chair facing him and drag it by your side to sit on.

"What is it?"

"I was wondering about what happened before, in the city..."

You sigh, resisting the urge to roll your eyes.

"Okay, yes I get it. You're still mad that I lead a group of Redcoats after us-"

"After that."

To be honest he wasn't really angry about your reckless actions anymore. His fingers no longer fiddled with the amulet, instead they're now closed into a loose fist on his desk. Haytham gazes at you with nothing but seriousness, expression intense but not intimidating.

You try to refuse the memories suddenly flooding through your mind, of the chase, of the alleyway, and...the kiss, how his lips were so tantalising on your skin and his grip so firm on your waist.

You want to brush it off as nothing, in fact you did when you arrived back at the tavern. But with how intently he's looking at you now, with how he's expecting you to give an explanation, you just can't pass it off as a distraction.

It wasn't just nothing, you realise. You don't want it to be. You didn't think that it would haunt him all this time.

Despite his obvious feelings, you decided to approach him safely.

"You mean the kiss?" Your voice trails off softly, and you curse yourself for your sudden lack of confidence.

He nods simply in response. Your Grand Master has never liked wasting time, and you always admired that particular trait about him but when in the direct face of it, you've never felt so confronted.

"What did it mean to you? And please, no lies."

"What did you want it to mean, sir?" you counter.

You watch him raise his brow but it's not the first time you've answered him in such a way.

He says nothing but continues to stare, the emotion behind his eyes unreadable but so full of racing thoughts and silent confessions.

The amulet in his fist is placed alongside his hat in favour of taking your hands instead. The action startles you, almost prompting you to recoil if it weren't for how confident his grip was.

"Are you comfortable with this?"

Your mouth, although slightly agape, responds with a quiet yes.

His grey eyes flicker over your face, reading your body language and confirming your answer, then they drop down to your lips where they linger for a moment, giving you time to pull away.

But when you don't, his lips gently close the distance, warmth and an unexpected affection meet your skin.

The sounds from the tavern are drowned out, nothing but muffled noise in your ears as Haytham slides his free hand up to tilt your jaw. Both of you sink in peaceful bliss but as he withdraws, you miss the feeling immediately, and you're left with his thumb stroking your bottom lip with admiration.

"I'd like to have you closer by my side from now on," he whispers. It sounds like a demand, but you know it's more of a plea.

"Closer than I already am?" You reply, a teasing smile growing as you fiddle with one of his coat buttons, "I don't know how much closer I could be beyond your personal bodyguard or in this moment."

You catch a glimpse of a reciprocated playfulness in his behaviour, slight but most definitely there.

"Then how about as something more?"

"Why, do you mean to court me, Grand Master?" You respond, still playing with his coat.

As Haytham's face nears again, his voice becomes sincere.

"If you would have me."

[slasherlouvre]

A Love so Vulnerable

Bo Sinclair x gn! Reader

Warnings: language, angst, descriptions of gore, mentions of nsfw/t themes

Summary: Bo must confront the deep-rooted insecurities and childhood trauma telling him to push you away if he’s going to love you back.

Vincent’s version here 🤍

You supposed you always had a restless sort of nature; never being satisfied by staying in one place and always moving on to experience something new and unknown. Some people thought you were crazy to leave your hometown without a set location in mind, especially when you’d often find yourself in secluded old counties they considered meaningless, but you didn’t mind. You’d made quite a few fond memories in ‘insignificant’ places, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. If you only had this life to live, then you wanted to experience as much of the world as possible until you found a place you could truly call home.

However, not even you could have anticipated that place to be Ambrose.

You ended up in Ambrose quite the same way many of the town’s wax residents had; driving through empty rural roads before your faithful vehicle had finally choked to a stop a couple of miles away from a ‘Trudy’s world famous House of Wax’ sign on the side of the road. You merely followed the signs hoping you’d find the town harboring the attraction in order to get help, but the signs were few and far between, and you were beginning to think the place no longer existed on account of their dilapidated condition.

Your saving grace had come in the form of a roadkill driver who amiably offered you a ride in an old truck that had seen far better days. Lester Sinclair. A sort of carefree, grimy man that you immediately took a liking to; Lester was kind, making you smile with the occasional joke, and even going so far as to apologize for the state of his truck as he didn’t see a need to tidy it up since he wasn’t expecting a ‘guest’. You had assured him stuff like that didn’t bother you before humorously adding that you were certain you looked far worse after walking undirected for so long in the heat. Lester had giving you a crooked smile and a laugh at that, seeming to appreciate the light mood despite being strangers. You had thanked Lester a final time as he gave you a couple of directions once you’d both reached the end of the road where you’d have to continue on foot on account of part of the road being washed out ahead, but he assured you Ambrose was just around the corner as you waved goodbye.

You had met Vincent first between the twins, which you now realize was probably an unexpected variable on your part. Yes, you had heard the church organ music- it would explain why the rest of the town seemed rather empty at the moment of your arrival, but you figured that wouldn’t be unusual for a town as small as this, so instead of going to the church you chose to look around for the House of Wax you had been interested in. Besides, walking in during the middle of a church service with all eyes on you made you uncomfortable; you could already imagine the organ music coming to a screeching halt as the church would undoubtedly become silent due to your abrupt intrusion through those heavy wooden doors. No, you’d just patiently wait for the town’s service to be over, it was only polite after all, and it’s not like you were in a rush either.

The House of Wax wasn’t hard to find within the tiny town, and you noticed one of the doors was already partially pushed open, so you figured it’d be okay to enter. Truthfully, you hadn’t seen the ‘closed’ sign hanging off of the open door as you were immediately mesmerized by the artwork inside. Walking in, you were surrounded by detailed wax people in various positions and clothing as well as beautiful paintings hanging on the walls and smaller carved sculptures everywhere you looked. You weren’t very artistic yourself, but you could recognize talented craftsmanship when you saw it, and you silently appreciated the fact you had the place to yourself for a while- or so you thought. You came to a curious stop as you noticed a black and white spotted pittie quietly observing you. You’d almost mistook her for wax, but you were certain she blinked just a second ago.

“Hi, honey”, you gently smiled, lowering yourself into a non threatening crouching position and extending a hand in order to greet her, “Is this place yours? It’s very nice”, you mused playfully.

‘Jonesy’ as you’d come to know later, seemed a bit hesitant to come near you, but she eventually walked closer to you in order to press into your hand and receive the affection you happily offered. Vincent had walked in on you cheerfully cooing at the family dog and praising her with her head in your hands and her tail lazily wagging in content. His presence would have gone entirely unnoticed by you had Jonesy not turned her attention to Vincent and padded over to him. To say he was rather stunned at coming across you without warning had been an understatement, and he remained stiff at your sight. You yourself had gone a bit tense at the unexpected presence, but immediately relaxed seeing it was only a man.

“Sorry, it looks like we’re both quiet people”, you laughed while getting up and dusting yourself off, “I hope I’m not intruding!”, you continued quickly, “the door was open, and I was waiting for the church’s service to end…”

The man before you shook his head no at your apology, but said nothing else. He was quite tall with long dark hair, and loose dark clothing that intensified the contrasting white wax smudges and paint upon them. There was something curious about his visage as well you noted, it seemed flawless, almost unnaturally so, and it wasn’t until a blue eye came slightly into view behind his hair that you realized it was a mask. A wax mask.

“Oh! You must be the artist!”, you suddenly exclaimed, “are you Vincent?”, you were sure you had seen the name signed carefully on quite a few of the pieces surrounding you both. ‘Vincent’ you had now confirmed, nodded slowly at your question as if regarding you carefully.

“Well, Vincent, it’s very nice to meet you”, you finalized with a smile, “you have a beautiful gift. My new friend here distracted me a bit”, you said while motioning towards Jonesy who happily circled you, “but I truly enjoyed admiring your pieces”

At the time you couldn’t have been able to tell, but Vincent had become quite flustered at your kindness and praise, and even Jonesy seemed to think you were a good person; there was no way he’d be able to harm you now. Vincent politely showed you around the rest of the House of Wax as you continued to compliment his craft and ramble on a bit as to how you ended up in town in the first place. You figured he couldn’t talk after he’d continue to mostly only nod or shake his head in order to respond, but he was a good listener, and you didn’t mind. Just as Vincent had motioned for you to follow him out the House of Wax after completing the small tour, an aggressive man wearing a mechanic suit of similar stature to Vincent’s burst through the main doors.

“Vincent, the hell have I told you about goin’ off on your own when-”,

The man’s tangent cut short when you quickly placed yourself in front of Vincent to stall his angry advance, “It’s my fault!”, you quickly admitted without thinking, “Vincent was showing me around, but only because I sort of walked in uninvited, I’m sorry if I caused you trouble”

Your unexpected sight and rushed confession to defend his brother of all people was certainly enough to make him pause, “Well now, guess there ain’t no harm done if someone as good-lookin’ as you’s the reason for it”

You had blushed at that, and inwardly cursed your increasingly heating face as the man before you smirked devilishly without bothering to hide the fact his eyes were completely taking in your figure. He was no mysterious beauty like Vincent, but he was undeniably ruggedly handsome, and conveniently just the type of man you needed with a broken down car.

That had been a few months ago, and truthfully, you’re still not entirely sure as to why the Sinclair boys decided to spare you that day. You supposed your genuine kindness would have to take most of the credit there, but to the Sinclair’s you were oddly devoted to them as well. It hadn’t taken long for you to figure out the secret of Ambrose, and come across the twin’s acts of brutality, but you had discovered the truths of their tragic upbringing before anything else, and as a result, sided with them; unable to bear the thought of emotionally turning away from them. You wouldn’t condone all of their actions, but you empathized with the unfairness the world had forced on them that led them to where they were now. And there was no way you could bring yourself to hate them when they had never treated you badly. They had become family, and Ambrose had become home.

—————————

“Bo”, you attempted softly while wrapping your arms around his waist and pressing your cheek into his back, “I love you. All of you”

It was one of his bad days. On days like this, Bo could be particularly aggressive; often becoming destructive and saying things he didn’t really mean. He had just smashed a half empty beer bottle in anger when the alcohol failed to ease his nerves, breathing heavily with his back to you and his hands gripping the kitchen sink in front of him.

“Get off me, (y/n)”

His tone stung a bit, but you obediently let go much to Bo’s irritation. He hated how much he wanted you close while also pushing you away, and he hated when you would give him the space he specifically asked for; he’d only become even more exasperated when the withdrawal of your touch and presence made him feel infinitely worse. In truth, the things he felt for you were beginning to push him to his wit’s end, and although you yourself had never necessarily given him a reason to doubt your declarations of love, the voices in his head that sounded a lot like his parents and every other worthless bastard who’d been in his life never completely silenced.

To sum it up, Bo’s relationship with you wasn’t exactly defined. Yes, you had grown close to one another, far closer than you had grown with his brothers, and closer than you’d be with a mere friend. You’d even been intimate; eventually sharing his bed every night and not just on the nights he wanted to be inside you. You both settled into a rather domestic routine with each other in the Sinclair home much to the delight of his brother’s, but neither of you had specifically labeled the relationship itself. You because you were content and secure with what Bo gave you without needing to unnecessarily pressure him into more, and Bo (even though he’d never outwardly admit it) because such an official commitment terrified him.

He’d been sexually involved with others of course; easily allowing his body count and performance to boost his ego and feed that devilishly charismatic charm he easily put on, but you were different. He didn’t just want to fuck you. He wanted something more; something emotional and genuine he’d never cared to consider possible with anyone else. And that completely scared him. Bo didn’t know the first thing about allowing himself to love you. That would require a substantial amount of trust, it would require vulnerability, and why the hell would he be anyone’s first choice when not even his parents had loved him when they were supposed to.

The very first time you allowed him to touch you almost entirely consumed him with apprehension, something he’d never experienced before in a sexual setting. He wanted you more than anything, hell, he had thought about nothing else for weeks before the fact, but by god did it feel like he was going against every fiber of his being by hoping to believe this was more than just sex to you, that this was love. Could you really love him? He didn’t deserve something as good as you, he knew that. He even feared entering into something so deep-seated with a man like him would inevitably end in your ruination. That night had ended with him pulling away from you before things could escalate further, deciding instead to sleep alone on the couch downstairs despite your attempts at getting him to settle in bed with you even if you wouldn’t be having sex.

You had been patient with him however; seeming to understand enough of the reasons for his inner-most torment that disguised itself behind angry outbursts and excessive violence when dealing with the occasional ‘tourist’. He had no doubt his brothers revealed more of their childhood past than he would have liked to help you understand his behavior, but you never seemed to hesitate with expressing your love for him even before that. You had always decided to fully give yourself to him despite his doubts and deep-rooted defense mechanisms in your opposition, but not once had you ever faulted him for being unable to return those three words that you so freely gave him even after all this time. Your displays of affection whether small or large never wavered either, they remained constant despite Bo’s inability to always reciprocate. Yes, you had been patient with him, you were still patient with him, but that didn’t stop him from believing you’d grow tired of it all, realize he was more trouble than he was actually worth. And while Bo entirely believed you deserved a man far better than him, he also knew he’d never actually let you end up in someone else’s arms.

Today’s breaking point had been walking in on two unexpected men making advances on you when he’d come back into the garage after grabbing a few things from the basement. He hadn’t heard their initial arrival since you both liked to play Bo’s music loud, you often accompanying him while he worked, but it was obvious you were becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

“Can I help you?”, Bo asked through gritted teeth after turning off the music and coming to protectively wrap an arm around you.

“This him?”, one man mocked cynically.

“Baby, the only reason you're stuck with a man like him’s cause you live in this shithole. Why not come with us?”, the other joined in.

You had looked up angrily at that; you could take plenty of lowdown comments directed at you from others entirely unphased, but you drew the line at putting down the man and the home you loved. You weren’t quite sure what you were going to do or say in retaliation, but Bo had been faster, and much more violent in his methods. Within seconds the first man was kicked down while Bo pulled you back out of harms way and struck the second man with a right hook, effectively breaking his nose and staining the floor red. The man had staggered back from the blow; falling and impacting the back of his skull with a sick sound before gurgling up blood and ceasing to move entirely. You were sure he was dead. The other man had taken the opportunity to get a few good hits on Bo after getting up while he was distracted with his friend, effectively knocking Bo back into a counter and partially obscuring his vision with the blood gushing from his now split brow into his left eye. You desperately wanted to run to Bo, but you’d only get in his way, and Bo made a point of sending you a quick warning glare to stay where you were. He was feigning over exertion now as he leaned heavily on the counter, blood still running down his face as the man before him advanced. It wasn’t until the man lifted his fist again with a smirk thinking he’d be finishing Bo off, that Bo snatched a nearby screwdriver from the counter before plunging it into his chest. The man let out a shocked guttural sound before Bo returned the man's previous smirk and finally knocked him out.

Prior to Bo angrily entering the house with you following closely behind, he didn’t speak a word. Only regaining the ability to form a complete sentence again in order to bark orders at Vincent to take care of the mess in the garage. Poor Vincent had given you a sort of apologetic look before leaving, but you assured him you'd be okay with a silent nod and a half smile.

"Bo", you attempted again, quieter this time, "talk to me"

Bo let out a bitter huff at that, but he remained in the same angry position. Talk to you? What was he supposed to say? That some two-bit fucking nobodies had made him insecure about your relationship? Was he even allowed to label what you both had an exclusive relationship??

"Why don't you leave. Leave me, leave Ambrose", he finally spat, “Ain’t no reason for you to stay here”

He didn’t mean it. Any of it. And he was glad he couldn’t see your hurt reaction at the words he was already regretting.

Oh. It seemed the root cause for his anger ran much deeper than you initially thought. Of course you couldn't 'leave' per se, you were sure if you ever betrayed the Sinclair's trust and made them choose between you and keeping Ambrose's secret safe, that they'd choose Ambrose; a decision they'd never have to make because you'd never betray their trust anyway. Admittedly, hearing Bo doubt your feelings for him did hurt you, especially after all this time and everything you’d been through, but you understood in moments like these Bo needed patience and reassurance more than anything. His inability to process his emotions in a healthy way was the tragic result of years and years of formative familial abuse as a child.

"Do you think I stay in Ambrose because you believe it was my only choice? That I fell for you because you and your brothers were the only ones around? That my only options were to choose one of you or be killed?”, you asked him calmly.

That had struck a nerve. And within seconds Bo had turned to grip the sides of your arms in frustration, pushing you back against the kitchen table as he raised his voice, "It's true ain't it? The fuck else would it be!?”

Bo had never raised a hand against you, and you certainly didn’t believe he would now. He was shaking yes, but not because he was so angry he wanted to hit you, but because the pain of finding out you had only used him as a survival tactic when he felt so much fucking more for you would be too great for him to bear at this point.

"Bo Sinclair, I stay in Ambrose and I love you because I choose to", you clarified for him, "You may think you didn't give me much of a choice, but you don't dictate my heart, and that's what makes the difference"

Bo's grip on your arms was beginning to loosen with each declaration which gave you the opportunity to cup the sides of his face and press his bloody forehead to yours, "Can't you see that I love you truly? That it’ll always be you?”, you whispered now, "please don't keep pushing me away"

"I don't understand you", Bo finalized. He had meant for his tone to remain strong, but even he heard the way his voice unexpectedly cracked in defeat. He wanted to tell you that this had nothing to do with you, and everything to do with him. That he was still getting used to the fact that someone could love all of him genuinely, that he was infinitely thankful for you. He wanted to apologize and swear he'd do better by you, but his pride still wouldn't quite let the words come out. Instead, he settled for crashing his lips against yours in a desperate kiss that said all of those things for him before burying his face in the crook of your neck and holding you against him impossibly tight to avoid you seeing his watery eyes.

You had seen the tears, but you made no mention of them as you stroked your fingers through Bo’s hair and continued to gently reiterate your love for him. It had taken some time, but Bo had finally calmed enough to stop shaking and face you again; the only evidence of his tears now being the slight redness under his beautiful blue eyes. He was exhausted. Impossibly so. And as a result, he allowed you to lead him to the bathroom and sit him down in order to clean his wounds without a fuss.

“(Y/n)”

“Yes, Bo?”

“Thank you…for choosing me”

His words had been whisper quiet, but you had heard them, immediately making your heart swell as you finished up caring for the main gash on his brow.

“Thank you for choosing me too”, you smiled while carefully kissing his forehead.

Bo remained seated to continue accepting your affection, but wrapped his arms around your waist to pull you closer, gently pressing his face in your stomach as he breathed in your familiar and comforting scent. You remained like that for a while. Neither of you wanting to pull away from each other, but knowing you’d have to in order to get into bed for the night. When you finally reached your shared room, you carefully helped Bo strip, not bothering to turn on the lights or place any of your dirty clothes in the hamper where they belonged, instead letting them haphazardly fall to the floor. It’s not that Bo couldn’t do this himself of course, but the act of caring for one another and allowing oneself to be cared for was something so intimately special for the both of you, even if right now that just meant helping him change into something more comfortable. You took the liberty of sneaking an extra shirt of his to sleep in as well, but he’d be a liar if he said he didn’t like seeing you in them, and even in the dark you could feel his familiar blue eyes remain on your figure. Bo was far too exhausted to resist your arms softly pulling him into bed with you even if he was crazy enough to want to resist in the first place. You took a moment to loosely cover you both with the bedsheets, not necessarily needing them with Bo around to affectionately encase himself around you while you slept. He couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face at the feeling of you nuzzling into his neck and chest to get comfortable in his arms. It was something you always did, and he was certain he’d no longer be able to sleep in his own bed without you beside him. He was grateful he'd no longer have to.

“Good night, Bo”, you said softly, reaching up slightly to kiss his jawline before settling once more in his arms, “I love you”

For a moment, Bo’s only response was to squeeze you tighter, something he’d normally do to reciprocate those words nonverbally; an act you were already more than grateful for without needing more from him. But just before you drifted off to sleep, you heard it. Quietly, but he had finally said it.

“I love you too”

Bo inwardly swore he'd start saying it much more. He'd give himself to you entirely just as you had done so for him. He knew you'd continue to be patient and supportive, but he hoped you wouldn't have to wait too much longer for him to come to terms with the fact that he'd let himself love you without holding back now.

[like-rain-or-confetti]

A Little Too Close (Daniela Dimitrescu x Reader)

When Daniela wanted attention, she made life difficult. Everywhere she walked was a path of destruction. All for one reason. You. She knew you were avoiding her. Rather than confront you, she was just going to make it difficult for you. 

Losing patience with her daughter, Lady Dimitrescu ordered you to clean up her mess in the library. Whatever game Daniela was playing, her mother was losing interest. You could hardly say no. You were a maid for them. It was literally your job. So reluctantly, you trudged to the library. 

Books had been thrown, Random pieces of paper scattered. It was concealed to one part of the room, the middle, but that one spot was completely trashed. The library seemed empty, thankfully, that meant you could clean it quickly and quietly and Daniela would have had no clue you were ever there. Many hoped to avoid the three girls just so the didn't end up tormented or a snack. You had different circumstances. Daniela had grown attached, affectionate even. You were her favourite. It had its perks, she didn't torment you in the same way as she and her sisters did the others. She craved your attention, the way you squirmed as she doted her sole attention to you. You feared the day she grew bored but found the strength to try and stay away. Create the distance that Daniela grew to loathe. She treated you like a toy had been taken away from her and you had to protect yourself. Daniela's love could get you killed- if it even was love. Perhaps it was more suitable to consider it a fascination. The truth, you held close to your heart, the attachment wasn't one sided. You fell for the red-head a long time ago but you knew the danger if she ever were to find out. It'd likely mean the end of you. She had to be pretty upset to be so destructive towards the books. You moved quickly, collecting the scattered pages. What would you even do with the pages? You didn't know which book they belonged to and some of the books were goners. 

You froze at the sound of a faint buzzing in the dark corner of the room. Slowly you turned, to look at the source. Her gold eyes were bright, a unneeded reminder that she was far from human. She wasn't fully formed, flies surrounding a not so clear shape of a human body. Regardless, the shadows weren't enough to hide the human covered and surrounded in flies. Daniela smiled and sauntered forward, the flies disappearing, leaving the tall woman completely formed as she stepped into the moonlight. She and her sisters were incredibly tall, not inhumanly tall but definitely taller than most. Well over six foot. Regardless she, like her sisters and mother, towered over you. "So you finally came to see me?" Her eyes gleamed as she grinned. "Miss Daniela," Your voice squeaked slightly, anxiety skyrocketing. "I've told you before, when alone, Daniela is fine. I'll even let you call me 'Dani'!" She winked at you before giggling. "D-Daniela, I was just- I'm sorry- Lady Dimitrescu sent me to clean this!" You uttered. "My mother sent you? Good! I've been wanting a little private time with you." Your stomach sank. That meant little to no chance of escape. "You're mean!" Daniela grinned, nodding at your taken aback expression. "So mean! I thought we were friends. Yet you've been avoiding me!" She tutted, wagging her finger. "So mean, (Y/N)." You scrambled for any excuse. "Nuh-uh! Don't lie to me, (Y/N)." She cut you off. "If you don't want to play anymore then I won't make you." You paused. That was unexpected. Daniela moved to the nearby bookshelf. "I like you, (Y/N). I adore you. So if you don't want to play, I won't make you." Daniela said simply.  She reached up to the shelf above her head and your blood turned to ice. She waved her sickle at you. "Although, you'll forgive a girl for being a little hurt, right?" She giggled.  "D-Daniela-" You begged. "Hey, I'll make it quick." The buzzing grew louder as she swarmed into flies, closing the distance over you and morphing back into her human body once more. 

She grinned, her gold eyes twinkling as she looked down at you. "You won't feel a thing, baby." You staggered back, your foot caught and slid on a bit of paper. You fell to the ground. "B-but you said I was your friend!" You pleaded. "You are my special friend, (Y/N) but you don't want to be. Now you're being mean and avoiding me so...its the best for both of us." She explained, moving her sickle as she explained. She raised it above her head. "It's not that!" You cried out. She froze, her smile faltering with confusion. "Hm?" She asked. "I love you." Your voice cracked as your body wracked violently. "What?" Daniela asked, clearly taken by surprise and caught off guard. "What did you say?" She asked incredulously. "I love you...Daniela." You managed out. She stood over you, a faint buzzing emitting from her. "Promise?" She murmured as her eyes bore into yours. "I promise!" It sounded almost like a plea. She lowered her sickle. "Then why are you avoiding me?" She asked quietly. You trembled, your lip quivering. "Because I shouldn't. It's wrong and it'll get me killed. It could get you into trouble with Lady Dimitrescu. I'm scared!" Your throat felt like it was closing. Daniela stared at you for a long time, her brow furrowed slightly. "Like in the stories..." She mumbled to herself. 

After some more time of scrutinising you, she dropped the sickle in her hand and it clattered to the ground. You jumped. Quietly she held out her hand, an offering to help you stand. You looked between her face and her hand, a small upward turn in the corner of her mouth, a hint of a smile. You slowly took her hand and she pulled you up to your feet. "You'll get rid of these, won't you (Y/N)?" Daniela asked with a smile and you nodded. "Good. I need to speak with mother." You inhaled sharply and she giggled. "Don't worry, I can deal with mothers wrath. Behave and you'll have nothing to worry about. Daniela has this." She sent you a toothy grin and sauntered out of the room.

[scuttling]

Crush

Fandom: Criminal Minds Pairing: Aaron Hotchner/Female Reader Word Count: 3,349 Tags: 18+, NSFW, Crushes, Fluff and smut, Rough sex, Unprotected sex, Manhandling Summary: Hotch has had a crush on the new member of his team for as long as he can remember. He keeps his distance, but he knows everything about her—her favorite snacks, how she takes her coffee. They share a room on a case, and at first, he's nervous, but being around her is comfortable, and he longs for more. Is it possible she feels the same way about him? *Requested by anon Link to A03 or read below!

Aaron has a crush on the newest member of his team. There’s no use denying it, or trying to compartmentalize it and pretend it doesn’t exist; it’s inappropriate, irresponsible, and just plain stupid, but he can’t talk himself out of it no matter how hard he tries. He is completely infatuated with her, whether he likes it or not.

And he does like it, sometimes. Sometimes, she will catch his eye on the jet, or in the office, shoot him a soft smile, and his heart beats fast, his chest feels warm. He thinks, I might never get to be with her, but she does think of me, and that’s something, at least.

Sometimes, he hates it, especially times like these, when they’re all on the jet and Morgan is using every ounce of his charm and charisma, the easy smile he doesn’t think twice about flashing, to try to get her to go out on a date with him. She hasn’t accepted the offer yet, and he’s been trying for about five months, almost the entirety of her career at the BAU, but that doesn’t make Aaron feel any better.

He knows Morgan very well. He’ll convince her eventually, and even if it doesn’t go anywhere, he’ll think about the two of them together all the time and never be able to stop. It will take his (mostly) innocent crush to a darker place, a place of anger and jealousy he’s not proud of, but has no control over.

“I would take you on the most incredible date of your life, mama. Dinner, dancing, a moonlit stroll; we go out for a couple of drinks, maybe I'll try to steal a kiss...”

“Maybe I’ll punch you in the face...” she says with a smirk, but he knows flirting when he hears it, and her threat carries no weight. Morgan shrugs, grins.

“Maybe, but I can take a punch. You need a man, and I am fully prepared to be that man; one little love tap won’t stop me.” She raises her eyebrows, looks over at him with narrowed eyes.

“Okay, first thing’s first: I don't do love taps, I do right hooks, so don't tempt me. Second, I don’t need a man, I want a man, and not just any man will do. When I want something, I want something specific. If I want dessert—”

Cherry cheesecake, Aaron thinks. He’s seen her order it three times, is slightly obsessed with the sound she makes when she takes the first bite.

“—I want cherry cheesecake or nothing. Not chocolate, not strawberry. If I want a glass of wine—”

Pinot Grigio if she wants white, Merlot if she wants red—she almost never wants red.

“—I want Pinot Grigio or nothing. If I have to have red, I’ll order Merlot, but I won’t be happy about it. When we’re on a case and I can’t sleep, and I come out to stare at the vending machine for a midnight snack—”

She either gets peanut butter crackers, or barbeque chips. That’s an easy one. Morgan has to know that.

“—I’ll get barbeque chips, or peanut butter crackers, or nothing. I am uncompromising when it comes to the things I want. So, Derek Morgan,” she says with a smirk, and a bit of attitude; it only makes Morgan smile brighter, and Aaron refrains from rolling his eyes, “when I want a man, I want a specific type of man, and I won’t be worn down no matter how many times you ask me out.”

“And what specific type of man do you want?” he asks, crossing his arms. Everyone is paying attention to their conversation, even Aaron, though he tries to pretend he isn’t.

“Well for starters, a man. You’re acting like a guy right now, and I’m not interested in guys.” JJ says ooh, burn, and everyone laughs. “I want a man who knows who he is, even if who he is isn’t pleasing to everyone. I want a man who isn’t afraid to feel vulnerable, who can be tender, who doesn’t run from a situation just because it makes him emotional. I want a man who pays attention to me when it counts, not just when he wants something. I want a man who will respect my boundaries,” she says, a little pointed, “who will help me grow but not try to change me. Most importantly, I want a man who can handle me, and I don’t think you can handle me.”

Aaron blinks hard at that. He’s pretty certain he could handle her, absolutely wants to.

“Alright, I can’t argue with a woman who knows what she wants, and it’s obvious you know what you want,” Morgan says, palms up in surrender. “Let me know when you find the lucky guy—man—so I can warn him about you.”

“Baby, I am the warning,” she says with a wink, and Aaron shifts in his seat.

It’s going to be a long flight to California. When they get to the hotel, JJ hands out the room assignments as usual, and he’s very surprised when she hands her a key out of the envelope marked 313, and then does the same for him. JJ shrugs.

“They didn’t have any singles, I guess. We’re all doubled up.” The other woman adjusts her bag on her shoulder, looks up at him.

“Is that a problem? I promise I won’t disturb you,” she says with a smile, and he shakes his head and, hopefully, his nervousness.

“No, of course it’s not a problem. Thanks, JJ. Looks like we’re this way,” he says, guiding her down the hall.

Their room is a little cramped, but clean, and he takes the bed closest to the door, sets his bag on it. She walks past him, throws her bag on the other bed and puts her hands on her hips, stares down at the ground. It takes him a moment to understand why.

“We could probably move your nightstand against the wall, share the one in the middle.” She looks up, confused, and he rubs the back of his neck. “You need room to lay down your yoga blanket, right? I know you’ve mentioned before that it helps put you to sleep when we’re traveling.” A brilliant smile curves across her face.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I was trying to figure out. Thanks.” He moves to help her, but she lifts the table easily, tucks it in the corner between the desk and the lamp. She rolls out her blanket, pulls an outfit out of her bag. “I’m just going to get changed, and then the bathroom is all yours; I’ll be out of your hair.”

“It’s no trouble,” he says, and he means it; she just nods and smiles again, ducks into the bathroom to change her clothes.

Her outfit is… it’s tight, for lack of a better description, a strappy sports bra and patterned leggings; she does a lot of bending, and stretching, and balancing, her body strong and sleek. He tries to go about his business, but he can’t stop looking.

Once he’s finally able to convince himself to look away, lest she get suspicious of his inactivity, he changes his clothes, takes off his watch and sets it beside his gun, badge, and phone on his side of the nightstand. He pulls out his tablet to get caught up on the news, and it’s actually kind of comforting, the soft hum of her breathing the only sound in the otherwise quiet room.

He doesn’t realize she’s finished until she walks around between the beds, grabs her badge off the nightstand and slides her credit card out from behind her photo ID. “Heading to the vending machine; need anything?” she asks, and he shakes his head—he already brushed his teeth—earning one of her soft smiles.

She grabs her key, slips out the door, and returns a few minutes later with a pack of peanut butter crackers and a bag of peanut M&Ms—his guilty pleasure. She tosses them onto the bed beside him, and her lips twitch, and she strolls into the bathroom and turns on the shower.

He eats his M&Ms and does not imagine what she looks like wet.

Ultimately, he’s happy she was so thoughtful to bring him a snack, but that does mean he needs to brush his teeth again. The bathroom door is open, steam wafting out, so he figures it’s safe to enter while she finishes getting ready for bed. She’s standing at one of the double sinks, wrapped up in a fluffy white towel, brushing her teeth, and he steps up beside her and prepares to do the same.

It’s pleasant, companionable, the familiar sounds of scrape-scrub-spit, and then she washes her face with some foamy, herbal scented concoction he couldn’t begin to identify. He washes his with soap and a little hot water, and she cringes; he frowns.

“What is it?” he asks, toweling off. She hesitates a moment, then flicks open a blue bottle, squeezes a bit of cream into her hands, and lifts them toward his face, pausing with a question in her eyes. He swallows, but leans in closer, and she rubs it over his cheeks, his chin, his forehead.

“Soap like that isn’t good for your skin, not even for guys, and I figured you don’t moisturize. This stuff is unisex, and it will keep you looking young and fresh and handsome; you can have this one, I’ve got more.” She pulls back, washes her hands, and he’s left kind of dazed, longs for the feel of her hands on his face again. That was an unexpected, but very welcome, thing. The next morning, he’s up early, so he showers and gets dressed and then heads down to the lobby for some coffee and a paper. He grabs two cups, stacks them in his hand when he goes to unlock the door to their room; she is awake when he returns, freshly dressed, hair pulled back, and she takes the coffees from his hand before he spills them everywhere.

“Thanks. The one on the left is for you; two sugars,” he says offhand, grabbing his cup and setting it down on the nightstand, flipping open the paper. He sits down on the edge of the bed closest to the nightstand, doesn’t notice her smile, but she settles on her bed across from him, sips her coffee, and reaches up to pull the sports section out from between his fingers. He maybe cracks a smile of his own. That evening, they get back to the room a little cranky, another late night full of dead end leads, and she skips yoga and heads straight for the shower. The blissfully hot water feels good against her skin, and she thinks about touching herself, but it wouldn’t be appropriate, not with Hotch just outside the door.

The thought only makes her hotter, but still, she refrains.

When she’s wrapped up in her towel, she pushes open the door like the night before, starts brushing her teeth, and it’s not long before Hotch fills the space beside her, copying her actions. She washes her face, and he washes his with soap again—so, so wrong—but at least he uses the moisturizer she gave him afterward. Baby steps.

He leaves the room, and she follows him out to grab her pajamas, sees a bottle of water and a bag of barbeque chips laying on her bed.

Enough is enough, she thinks. She wasn’t sure, until they shared this room, but now she’s 100% certain that Hotch has a thing for her, and she’s harboring her own thing, which is stupid. If she wants him (she really, really does) and he wants her, why aren’t they naked already?

Thankfully, that’s easily remedied. She drops her towel, and Hotch looks up from his tablet, drops his jaw.

“I’ve been thinking about last night; how shy you were about our sharing a room. It made me wonder if you’re shy about other things, too.” She walks around her bed, stands between them, presses her fingers to his tablet to push it down, out of his hands. “Are you shy, Hotch?”

“No,” he says roughly, making no effort to conceal the way his eyes sweep over her naked body. She’d blush, but she’s not the blushing type.

“No?” She climbs up, settles in his lap—he’s tenting his boxers already and it makes her feel awesome—and his hands fall to her thighs, spread around him, squeezing roughly. She moans, rolls her hips slowly. “Do you think you can handle me, Hotch? I’m kind of a lot.”

He answers with his hands, grabs her face and pulls her down for a long, dirty, messy kiss. Her chest is heaving by the end of it, and she’s definitely leaving a wet patch on his underwear, she’s so fucking horny. He tips her back, so she’s laying against the sheets, tugs off his shirt, and drapes himself on top of her, tilts her head to the side so he can get his mouth on her neck.

“Oh my god, mmm,” she sighs as he sucks on her throat, grinding his clothed dick against her, and she moves her hands down to sweep them over his body, but he grabs them, pins them up by her head instead. “Fuck, Hotch.” It leaves her mouth as a trembling gasp, and he looks up at her, his eyes dark and hard; he growls out a command for her to stay—she’s sure as shit not going for a damn stroll any time soon—and leans up, pushes his boxers down, and flips her body over.

She’s laying a little sideways, kind of lined up with the bottom corner of the bed—it always makes her feel like a complete whore to fuck anywhere but right up against the pillows, so this alone is enough to get her super hot. He gets both broad palms on her ass, squeezes her hard enough to hurt (and damn if that doesn’t make her pussy drip) and then slowly slides his fingers over her slit, making her toss her head back and groan.

“Oh, yeah. So, so good,” she sighs as he rubs her, spreads her wetness between her lips, over her clit and her mound so she’s sticky and soaked and begging for more, and then he plants his hands on either side of her and thrusts in so hard she has to dig her fingers into the sheets or she’ll go skidding off the bed. “Holy fuck,” she gasps, clutching for dear life as he slams inside roughly and deeply, but so slow it’s almost torture.

“So how am I handling you?” he asks, low into her ear, leaning in to press his chest heavily against her back, rolling his hips and grinding where he’s seated deep. He pulls out almost all of the way and then slams back in so quickly her whole body stutters forward, and her head’s empty, no thoughts but my boss is fucking me and my boss is fucking me good.

She just pants in reply, and he repeats that motion over and over, fast, nearly withdrawing just to fill her until his balls slap against her; she feels filthy, and amazing, and a little pissed it took them this long to do this, and she comes screaming his name, yanking so hard at the bedding that she pulls the fitted sheet right off the mattress.

He keeps pumping inside her, and she clenches around him, moans. He grunts, leans in to nibble her ear. “That’s my girl. Can you handle me?”

“My god, yeah.” She wants to, at least; she’s never been fucked this good in her life, so she’s honestly not sure how much she can handle. It’s always the quiet ones, she really should have known.

“Trust me on this,” he whispers, and she does because she does; he puts his hands on her arms, pries them off of the bed and moves her forward, guides her hands to the floor to support her so she’s half off the bed, her ass up. She’s strong, and he knows she’s strong, but she’s not sure she’s strong enough for this because he just fucking destroyed her and her legs are still shaking. “Trust me,” he coos again, and he shifts up, gets one foot on the ground, holds tightly to her hips, and pounds into her fast and hard, short thrusts that have her moaning and groaning and coming a second time before he even comes once.

He does come, though, just after, and she’s glad she’s got an IUD because if not she’d be leaving here fucking pregnant, no doubt about that.

“Hotch,” she gasps, daring to reach an arm back to touch him, and he pulls her up, lays her back, and kisses her, smoothing his hands all over her body. “Jesus. That was incredible.” She cards her fingers through his hair—he’s breathing heavy too, looks as dopey and pleased as she feels, which makes her smile. “I’ve kind of had a crush on you for the last few months. Thought you didn’t notice me much,” she says softly, and he laughs, incredulous.

“Didn’t notice you? All I do is look at you,” he murmurs, brushing his fingers over her cheek. She grins.

“Yeah, no, I got that. I figured that out; sorry it took me so long.” He leans in for a kiss, softer and slower, and she gets a little horny again, isn’t sure how that’s possible. “Why’d you stay away so much, if you liked me?” She’d done what she could to get his attention, smiling at him, brushing up against him when she could make it look innocent enough, but he’s always been the picture of propriety, maybe even a little distant.

“Morgan,” he says, making a face like he realizes how silly that was. “He’s been trying to ask you out and I figured you’d say yes eventually; he’s confident in ways I’m not. He’s a lot of things I’m not.”

“Yeah, that’s true, and I like you both for the ways you’re different, but his pursuing me has always been a game. A joke. He’s like a brother to me and he knows it. All in fun,” she says, and then he looks like he feels really silly. She leans up for a kiss. “All's well that ends well though, right?”

“Has this ended well?” he asks, a question in his eyes, and she runs her hands over his arms, his sides.

“If it’s up to me, I’d say this doesn’t have to end at all.” He puts a hand in her hair, kisses her deeply, passionately, and brings a few fingers to rub against her clit. She inhales sharply, licks her lips, and sinks back against the bed. “Oh my god, Hotch.”

“That’s right, baby. I’m your man,” he breathes into her ear, and she groans. Yes, he fucking is. The next morning, she goes to the lobby to pour their coffee, grab a paper to share. She passes Morgan—not a morning person—who grumbles a greeting and then does a double take.

“Whatcha got on your neck there, sweetheart?” he asks, and she grins privately, then schools her expression and turns to face him.

“What? Oh, that,” she says, poking at the purple hickey from the night before. “I’ll cover it with makeup later; needed my coffee first.” He blinks a couple times like he's missing something, frowns.

“Did you go out last night after we got here?”

“Nope, jumped in the shower and went straight to bed,” she replies, which is actually the truth. It just wasn’t her bed. She didn’t say anything about sleeping.

“Then who…?” It’s then that Hotch brushes by them, reaches out a hand for his cup.

“One sugar, one cream,” she says as she passes it over, and they both smile. Morgan knocks his cup over and spills coffee all over the floor.

Taglist ❤️: @arsonhotchner @mrsh0tchner @ssahotchie @sleepyreaderreads @mintphoenix @meghannnnnn @disgruntledchowchow @azenpal

[genshin-impact-writings]

Hi there! I’m one of the many silent readers that enjoys your writing but rarely interacts with anything (I’m shy!) Speaking up this time to let you know that your efforts are 💯% appreciated!!!

Saw your reqs are open for Thoma and Baal but don’t have to do it if you don’t want to: welcome tour with Thoma but it’s an actual tour instead of some hidden agenda to try to recruit you into the resistance 🙃

Heya! Thank you so much for your kind words, I really appreciate your support! <3 And thank you for your request. I got a bit carried away while writing this and it doesn't fit your original idea perfectly but I hope you'll like it nevertheless. Have a great day/night and take care, dear! :)

Welcome to Inazuma – Thoma x gn!reader

Your palms felt a bit sweaty when you entered Inazuma City, immediately surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the area that was much more crowded and noisier than Ritou where you had arrived a couple of days ago. There were soldiers everywhere, and although you knew that you had a valid travel permit, the sight still made you nervous.

You didn’t know much about the things that had happened in Inazuma recently but judging from everything the Adventurer’s Guild had told you before they sent you here, the situation was still quite tense. Surely, it would be best to avoid any unnecessary attention until you had spoken to your new superiors, and so you took a deep breath and bowed your head as you continued to make your way through the city.

Finding the local branch of the Guild luckily wasn’t too difficult, and by the time you had arrived there, your nervousness had already started to subside. “Hello Katheryne,” you greeted the familiar receptionist before handing over your papers. “I’m (Y/N), from Mondstadt.”

“Welcome to Inazuma,” she replied with the same polite smile you had already seen so many times. “The local adventurers have anticipated your arrival but unfortunately, they are quite busy with their commissions today, so they can’t welcome you right now. But perhaps you would like to take a walk through the city in the meantime? There’s a lot to see and it’s surely more interesting than sitting around and waiting for the others to return.”

And that is how it came that you were wandering around the city for the second time on that day, trying to process all the new impressions that besieged you. There were various restaurants and food stalls, smaller and larger shops that sold all kinds of things, and you couldn’t deny that the whole situation was quite overwhelming, especially compared to your home town Mondstadt where everything was a bit more leisurely and relaxed. But at the same time, it made you incredibly happy to be able to explore a place like this.

“Excuse me but – are you (Y/N)? The adventurer from Mondstadt?” a voice behind you asked, snapping you out of your thoughts. When you turned around, you saw a tall, blonde man standing behind you, dressed in dark red and black clothes and, as you noticed almost immediately, with a Pyro vision attached to his belt. But what really caught your attention were his friendly, bright green eyes.

“Um,” you hesitated with your answer. “Yes.”

“Oh, great!” His lips curled into a delighted smile, and he quickly grabbed your hand to shake it. “I’m Thoma! Miss Kamisato told me you’d arrive today and asked me to show you around.”

“Miss Kamisato?” you repeated. Of course, you had heard of the Kamisato Clan and their role in the recent events but you weren’t too sure why they were so well informed about your arrival in Inazuma.

Still smiling, Thoma nodded. “Most of your future commissions actually come from the Kamisato Clan. As you may or may not have guessed already, things are a bit complicated in Inazuma right now and we all could need another helping hand to deal with some of these inconveniences. That’s why the local Adventurer’s Guild asked Mondstadt and Liyue for help, you see.”

You hummed in response. His explanations made sense, and he seemed to be a sociable and friendly companion, so there was really no reason to dismiss his offer to show you around the city. In the end, you thought to yourself, it could only be of advantage to explore the area together with a local.

“Okay,” you finally replied and hesitatingly returned his smile. “Where should we go first?”

*

“And here we have the Yae Publishing House,” your companion explained a couple of hours later, gesturing towards the building complex in front of you. It was an unobtrusive, yet fairy large building, compared to the others, but the stall right in front of it was all the more interesting. The shelves bent under dozens of books in various shapes and sizes, organized in a classification system you couldn’t figure out at first glance.

“If you ever need something to read, this is the place to go,” the man by your side continued, and you turned your head to look at him. “I don’t think I’ll have a lot of time to read in between my commissions.”

Thoma laughed, a contagious, joyful laugh that you found more attractive than you wanted to admit. “I’ll have to make sure that you don’t overwork yourself, then.”

“I can take care of myself just fine, thank you,” you replied and grimaced at him when he only laughed more at your words. “No doubt, dear adventurer. But everyone needs someone to look after them sometimes, don’t you agree?”

“You don’t even know me.”

“Is that so? We’ve spent almost the entire day with each other.”

You rolled your eyes but it was nearly impossible to fight back the smile that tugged at the corners of your mouth now. “You must be insane if you think that a few hours are enough to get to know me properly.”

He winked at you. “Thankfully, the day isn’t over yet. We still have plenty of time to chat. So, how about we take a break and grab something to eat before we continue our little tour? I know some great restaurants that are just around the corner. It’s my treat, of course.”

“That sounds like a really good idea,” you said, letting out a quiet shriek when he linked arms with you and dragged you along before you could even finish your sentence. “A bit impatient, aren’t we?”

An apologetic smile and an almost innocent look were his only answer at first. Then, with an overdramatic sigh, he added, “What can I say? Food is my weak point.”

“Then we should definitely hurry – who’s going to show me where I can watch the sunset if you’re going to pass out from malnutrition?”

He grinned. “Well, luckily I know the perfect spot to do that. Once we’ve finished our meal, I’ll take you there, dear adventurer.”

*

“Now, would you look at that,” Thoma said quietly, pointing towards the horizon where the sky was painted in the most gorgeous shades of orange, red and purple as the day slowly came to an end. The rippling surface of the ocean reflected the light of the setting sun in a way you had never seen before, and for a few seconds, you could only stare at the spectacle of nature that happened right in front of you.

“It’s beautiful,” you whispered then, your eyes still glued to the sky. Next to you, Thoma couldn’t help but smile; a soft, genuine smile that would have made your face heat up if you had seen it.

“Very beautiful, indeed,” he agreed, his voice barely audible, but he wasn’t watching the sunset anymore. Instead, he was looking at you from the corner of his eye. In the warm light of the sun, your skin had an ethereal glow, and your hair that framed your face almost looked like a halo from his perspective. “A sight to behold, one might say.”

You blinked at him, unable to hide your embarrassment when you finally realized that he wasn’t talking about the sunset anymore. He chuckled quietly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fluster you. It’s just – you’re stunning, you know?”

“You’re quite handsome yourself, Thoma,” you replied, a sheepish grin spreading on your face as his eyes widened at the unexpected compliment before he quickly turned his head away to hide the soft, rosy colored blush that creeped up his neck. “Um, thanks, I guess.”

“I mean it.”

Silence fell between the two of you then as you continued to watch the sky getting darker and darker until the sun had almost disappeared over the horizon. You could already see the stars, countless bright dots scattered over the dark blue sky. The quiet rushing of the ocean perfected the peaceful scenery, and for a few moments, you found yourself wondering if you could perhaps stay in Inazuma for a bit longer than originally planned. Surely, the Adventurer’s Guild wouldn’t mind. You could spend more time with exploring the Nation of Eternity – and you could spend more time with Thoma, too. Although you had only known him for barely a day, you couldn’t deny that he had made an impression on you, and you really wanted to get to know him better.

“Thank you,” he said quietly, snapping you out of your thoughts. “You impressed me, too.”

It was only then when you realize that you had wondered out loud about your stay in Inazuma and, more importantly, about him. Oh no. You felt your cheeks heating up in embarrassment and opened your mouth to explain yourself but when you noticed the soft expression in his eyes, you decided to remain silent instead before you’d say even more awkward things.

For a few seconds, neither of you spoke as you kept staring at each other, trying to figure out your next move.

“Would it be too bold of me to kiss you right now?” Thoma finally broke the silence, his voice barely louder as a whisper and his breath softly brushing against your face as he spoke. When you shook your head, leaning in ever so slightly to signalize that you wouldn’t mind it at all, he let his hand trail to the back of your neck to guide you forward before finally closing the gap between the two of you and pressing his lips to yours in a gentle kiss. Your eyes fluttered closed, your arms wrapping around his shoulders as you felt him melt under your touch.

You were both out of breath when he pulled away. A soft smile played around his mouth as he brushed a strand of hair from your face. Leaning in again, he rested his forehead against yours, looking at you with shining, green eyes that were filled with so much honest adoration that it sent a shiver down your spine. “Welcome to Inazuma, my dear adventurer.”

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed it please consider reblogging. I would really appreciate the support! <3

Taglist: @blissmal, @aimicoos, @childe-support, @rim0na,@the-gayest-sky-kid, @aphrodicts-imagination

[comfortwriting]

Unexpected - R.L

Masterlist, Requesting Rules, Writing Prompts

Remus Lupin (Marauders Era) x Fem Reader 

Prompts: 

62: He grabbed you by the wrist and pulled you into him, you could tell he was furious, jealous, and mortified. 

65: Your lips crashed against his whilst his hands fumbled with the zip on the back of your dress. 

Requested/About: Lupin and one of his good friends meet up a few times a month to have sex, one night at a party, Lupin sees her getting too close to his best friend and he hopes that their night of passion will change that. Unfortunately, their night of passion leads to something unexpected and only makes things worse. 

Warnings: Smut, unprotected sex, jealous Lupin, pregnancy, and swearing.

“So what’s going on with you and Mooney, then?” Sirius asked, leaning back in his chair, staring at your answers.

You looked over your shoulder, smiling at Remus, he looked up at you and smiled back shyly, his pale face and tired eyes more noticeable than usual.

You covered your answers with your hand, rolling your eyes at him “I don’t really know” you replied “we don’t really feel the need to put a label on things, y’know”

You and Remus considered many labels but none of them was able to justify how the both of you felt about one another without knowing each other's feelings. You’re both really really good friends that fuck, nothing more, nothing less - but outside the bedroom, his friends would always treat you as if what you had with Remus was so much more than the casual hook-ups.

“Have you fallen for our dear Mooney?”

“Now now, don’t get too excited, he doesn’t get any kinkier once he’s back to normal”

You were fine with being friends that fucked for the rest of your life, you never felt like you were in any hurry to make him your boyfriend or to put a spin on things, but not knowing how Remus felt - that sometimes bothered you, perhaps he wanted to be so much more than what you’re happy with.

Sirius stared at you, the corner of his mouth curling into a grin whilst Professor Flitwick collected in your mock papers.

James turned around in his seat, smirking with Sirius “will you be coming to the party tomorrow?” James asked.

You nodded your head and yawned, “yeah” you replied, stretching in your seat “It’ll be the last time I get to see him before the full moon”

Sirius wiggled his eyebrows up and down, causing James to smirk more, both of them breaking out into a laugh when you covered your face, your cheeks turning red.

“Look” you sighed, pointing at James “you try anything, and I mean anything at all, and you can kiss your second chance with Lily goodbye.”

James put his hands up in defence, pretending to be scared and murmuring “oh Y/N! please don’t set S-Snivellus on me, I’ll behave, I-I promise!”

Sirius couldn’t contain his laughter, shooting glares at Severus as he glared at you all from his desk. Peter looked a little afraid and cowered in his seat, you rolled your eyes at James, Remus blinked heavily to stay awake, smiling to himself at the sight of you.

You wound your hair around your wand, holding it for a moment and then letting go, watching your now springy curls twirl down and bounce, Lily walked around the room, applying the tiniest bit of blusher to her cheeks.

“You can get away with wearing such little makeup!” her friend commented as if she read your mind.

You applied your mascara and matte lipstick, looking at yourself once more in the mirror - you’d think you were going out for a meal, or to a dance, but you were only going down to the common room, you felt kind of silly for putting this much effort in, especially since Remus and you were friends; who did you have to impress?

Lily shook her head “I only wear it for special occasions, hopefully, this shade will keep that James Potter as far away from me as possible.”

“Hey” you called out, turning away from the mirror and walking towards Lily and her friend “I know you can’t stand him, and his ego is bigger than his shoe size, but James can be really nice once you get to know him” you defended your house teams seeker, walking towards the door “give him a chance.”

Bursting into the common room the smell of fire whiskey, smoke from the fireplace, and butterbeer overpowered the room, the chatter and laughter drowned out your thoughts whilst you searched for Remus.

You caught many eyes in the common room, none the beautiful shade of green you were so desperately interested in and searched for - you couldn’t find him anywhere.

“Bit lost, Y/N?” Sirius called out, nudging you in the arm playfully, another smirk creeping on his face.

You frowned, continuing to look for Remus on the spot, “I can’t find him anywhere, did he cancel?” you looked through the window at the night sky, searching for the moon.

“No, love” Sirius replied, taking a sip of fire whiskey “he’s a bit weaker tonight but he promised he’d be here.”

Part of you wanted to go into his dorm room and check, but you were friends - you couldn’t invade his privacy even if you were given permission to do so.

You nodded, feeling slightly better but also more worried about Remus, he hated the plague that was forced upon him and took over him once a month - you started to question whether or not he was already in the shrieking shack, all alone and falling apart.

Sirius noticed your sudden dip and put his arm around you, pulling you in closely “he’s going to be okay, Y/N” he said lowly into your ear “we’re all worried about him.”

Remus stood across the room, staring at you seemingly melting into Sirius’s embrace. Despite feeling sick, drained, and weak, he felt like transforming then and there, ripping Padfoots arm off his body.

“thank you” you smiled up at Sirius, part of your worries dissipating “I’m glad he has you lot to look after him”

Remus couldn’t bear it anymore, watching whilst his best friend got closer and closer to taking you away from him - he clenched his sweaty palms into fists, storming over to you with all of his strength, shivering against the cold despite the amount of heat engulfing you all in the room.

You looked over your shoulder, your eyes finally meeting those beautiful green ones you spent ages searching for. Pulling away from Sirius you hurried over to Remus and wrapped your arms around him as gently as you could, you nuzzled your face into his neck, his cool skin relieving you from overheating.

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” you breathed, now pulling away and smiling at him, then frowning “I thought you cancelled.”

“is that why you were so close to him?” Remus spat, his temper ticking like a time bomb casually jolting in his stomach.

You flinched away from him, staring into his eyes feeling taken aback.

“He’s my friend” you replied as softly as you could “are you alright?”

He grabbed you by the wrist and pulled you into him, you could tell he was furious, jealous, and mortified. Your lips crashed against his whilst his hands fumbled with the zip on the back of your dress.

You pulled away from the heated kiss “not here” you pulled his fingers away from your zip.

Remus licked his lips slowly, staring at you as if you were something to eat, he grabbed you by the wrist again and lead you to his empty dorm room, fighting against his paranoia.

James and Sirius watched the two of you leave the common room, muttering to one another about the status of your relationship, debating whether or not to make a bet with the little gold that sat in the bottom of their pockets.

“Potter!” Lily called out, walking over to the two troublemakers “your hair looks ridiculous”

The two of you got undressed and couldn’t keep your hands off one another, Remus pushed you down onto his warm bed, his cold hands tracing around your breasts whilst he planted kisses down your neck, your soft moans filling the dorm room and exciting him even more.

Remus sucked on your neck softly, leaving little love bites before pulling away and taking your breast into his mouth, sucking slowly as you took his length into your hand, pumping it. Moaning against your breast, Remus pulled away and reached for the lube in the drawers on his bedside table.

“are you sure you want to?” you asked nervously, staring into his lust-filled eyes.

He nodded and smiled softly, “of course” he replied, “do you?”

You mirrored his smile and nodded your head “of course I do, Remus.”

He applied the silky lube onto his length, and then more onto his fingers which he spread across your entrance, slipping two of his fingers inside of you, pumping in and out to get you warmed up.

His cock hardened and you watched him in awe, biting your lip and moaning at the feel of his touch, he held the base of his cock with his other hand and looked into your eyes for approval, you nodded and he lined himself up against your entrance, pushing himself inside of you slowly, filling you up as your walls tightened around him.

You moaned out softly, watching his perfect scarred body move whilst he thrust inside of you, Remus moved closer and wrapped his arms around you, pushing himself deeper inside of you. Your arms wrapped around him and pulled him closer, your lips hovering against his ear, each and every one of your moans you let out not going unheard.

His lips grazed against your collarbone, the sight of his lower back and bum making you blush with each thrust. Your hands travelled up higher, your fingers now tangled in his light brown hair, Remus pulled away from you and grabbed onto your legs, propping them up upon his shoulders, his cock travelling even deeper inside of you, the head brushing against your G-Spot.

“Remus, I can feel you against my-” you scrunched your eyes shut, unable to control your moans.

Remus felt his heart flutter as you moaned out his name, seeing you look so exquisite and blissful whilst he pleasured you - no one else, just him.

Bucking his hips, Remus groaned out and gripped onto your waist, keeping you in line whilst he fucked you deeper and faster, hitting your G-Spot over and over, sending you over the edge, your hands gripping onto his bedsheets so tight that your knuckles turned white.

“You feel so fucking good!” You moaned out again, your lip now red from all of the biting “I’m-” your legs began to jolt uncontrollably “I’m getting close!”

Each and every time you came undone onto Remus, it flicked switches inside of him, his cock started to throb inside of you, twitching with each and every thrust - he felt himself - like you - getting closer and closer to bursting.

The sight of your legs jolting, your back arching, your mouth wide open, the sound of you moaning his name, telling him how good he felt, your walls tightening around him, the thought of your cum spilling down his cock - he couldn’t take it anymore, and before he could control himself, he released his seed deep inside of you, being too dazed to realise what he had done.

Remus collapsed on top of you, chasing his feeling of bliss before his other feelings of shame and disgust crept upon him.

You laid there, Remus on top of you, your heart pounding in your chest, not knowing what Remus had done, your stroked his hair and felt yourself getting closer to drifting off to sleep.

After five minutes of cooling down, Remus’s body language made it pretty clear that he wanted to be left alone, guilt and hurt surged inside of you, a few meters behind the panic - you quickly scrambled to your feet, getting dressed and hurrying out of his dorm room.

James and Lily were having the smoothest conversation together than anyone had ever seen, not a single argument had broken out and Sirius watched, scanning the room for more fire whiskey with each cup he emptied.

Seeing tears run down your face as you scrambled towards your dorm, he tried to follow you but stopped in his tracks, realising there was no way he could get up there, instead he walked towards his own, bumping into a very poorly, annoyed, and irritable Remus.

Sitting on the tile floor of the shower, you pressed your eyes into your hands, seeing colourful stars appear in the darkness. Remus didn’t say a word to you since that night and he had been at the shrieking shack for over a week, refusing to return despite the begging and convincing of Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail. Your period was also late, your breasts swelling and constant nausea made you worry.

You wanted to sit under the flowing hot water for the rest of the day, but you knew you couldn’t, in a few minutes time your life could be changed forever. Your hand rested on top of your stomach, the thought of another life in there bringing you to tears.

Standing up, you turned off the water and grabbed your towel, drying yourself and wrapping it around you, trying to stay as warm as possible.

Getting changed into some comfortable clothing, you walked into your empty dorm room, opening your drawer and peering over at the pregnancy test two thick red lines peered back at you through their little windows; your now stomach doing flips, your heart sinking down into your flipping tummy, and your life-changing forever.

With your test stuffed into your tracksuit bottom pockets, you hurried across the Quidditch pitch, running over to James who was too busy waving at Lily up in the stands to notice you.

“Where is he!” you demanded.

James looked confused and slightly alarmed “who? Mooney? You know-”

“No!” you hissed under your breath, trying not to cause a scene “Sirius, I need him, where is he?”

“He’s catching up on homework by the lake-”

You took off and sprinted past James, too focused on finding your best friend to thank him or care about disrupting Quidditch practice.

Finally reaching Sirius you collapsed next to him on your knees, against the tree, tears running down your face and your lips going bright red and swelling.

Sirius dumped his books on the grass without a second thought, accidentally spilling his inkpot across the pages he had worked so hard on.

“I don’t know what to do” you cried, your head going back into your hands, rocking yourself forwards and backwards.

Sirius could feel his heart pound like yours, he put his arm around you and pulled you back into his arms.

“What’s the matter, Y/N?” he asked softly, rubbing your arm “please tell me.”

You dived into your pocket and pulled out the pregnancy test, handing it to him.

Sirius stared at the test, his heart dropping when he finally understood the results, knowing how Remus would react if he found out about being the reason an innocent baby would turn into a monster.

“I don’t know what to do” you cried “he’s just my friend, this was never meant to happen.”

Sirius debating many of the plans that swam around his head, but he picked the one he knew was best.

“We can’t hide this from him,” he said softly, lifting up your chin so you would finally look at him “he’s our friend, he deserves to know.”

Remus finally broke out of hiding, appearing and feeling much better than before, but unfortunately, he had walked over to you and his best friend at the wrong time - getting the wrong end of a very confusing stick.

“deserves to know what?” he called out, his voice shaking.

You jumped out of your skin and looked at Remus, more open wounds on his face slowly healing.

“Remus-”

His eyes fell on the pregnancy test in his best friends hands “are you...” he sounded breathless.

You nodded your head slowly “yes” more tears formed in your eyes.

Remus shook his head and swallowed hard, clenching his fists, his eyes shooting daggers into Sirius.

“I trusted you, Padfoot!” you raised his voice.

Sirius got to his feet quickly, shaking his head “Remus, settle down, this isn’t what you think-”

“sure it is!” Remus flashed you a glare “you’ve always been close to her, you’ve always tried to push me out so you could have her!”

“Remus, please!” you begged, standing up and pulling on his arm “let me explain!”

“explain what exactly?” Remus croaked “that you’re carrying my best friend’s baby?”

You shook your head, hyperventilating whilst your hot tears ran down your red cheeks “no, the baby isn’t his you idiot!”

Remus paused, stopping himself from inching closer to Sirius, his eyes desperately searching yours.

“W-What do you mean?” Remus asked.

“The baby I’m carrying” you choked “it’s yours.”

Taglist: @amourtentiaa @reeophidian @inglourious-imagines @alwaysnforeverfangirl @impulse-anchor 

[theanonymousloser]

dilemma

pairing: Harry Potter x fem!reader

requested: on wattpad

word count: 1.9k

warnings: trigger warning! (mentions of death and torture)

description: harry confronts one of his closest friends about a dilemma he has and she comes up with an unexpected solution

Harry Potter had a dilemma.

What, you may ask, was said dilemma?

A crush.

Who, you may ask, did he have said crush on?

Y/n L/n.

How, you may ask, did he meet said girl on which he had said crush?

Allow me to explain.

Now, Harry Potter met Y/n L/n during their very first train ride to Hogwarts, but this story starts long before that.

You see, at a very young age, Y/n L/n was put into a unique situation (though, sadly, not as unique as one may think). Y/n L/n came from a long line of wizards and witches, making her a pureblood. Now, many other purebloods had a mindset that they were better than everyone because of their heritage. The L/n family did not have this mindset, and so they were often called "blood traitors" by the other purebloods. There were several other families without the mindset, including the Weasleys, Y/n's cousins. You see, Molly Weasley and Y/n's mother were sisters, which brings me to Y/n's unique situation aforementioned.

Because the L/n family were "blood traitors" many families did not think too highly of them, specifically the Blacks and Lestranges. Bellatrix Lestrange (née Black) was known for being a "Death Eater." Because of this title, she had certain views, and, well, the L/n family disagreed with almost every one of them. Because of this, in the middle of the night, while three-year-old Y/n was spending the night with the Weasleys, her parents were murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange.

The Weasley family took Y/n in and, although she couldn't remember her, Y/n grew up to be more and more like her mother every day.

1st Year

"Ron, it's time to go!" Y/n shouted, zipping up her jacket. The Weasleys and Y/n were getting ready to go to Kings Cross where Percy would leave for his fifth year, the twins their third, and Y/n and Ron their first. Y/n was beyond excited.

"I don't know what I'll do without you for a whole year, Y/n." Ginny, who wouldn't start at Hogwarts until the following year, said.

"You'll be fine, Ginny. Plus, I'll see you at Christmas." Y/n said, for that was the plan (she had no idea it would be changed, but that's beside the point).

Once the family arrived at Kings Cross, Molly explained how to get on the platform.

Out of the corner of her eye, Y/n noticed a boy approaching them. He seemed to be alone, but he was, without a doubt, a wizard. The boy had dark hair and green eyes. He wasn't as tall as Ron, but was a little taller than Y/n.

"Excuse me, how do you-" he began asking Molly.

"Oh, you must be a first-year!" Molly exclaimed and the boy nodded, "Well that's no problem, Y/n and Ron are too." Ron gave him a large smile while Y/n blushed, suddenly extremely interested in her shoes.

Y/n and Ron boarded the train together, looking for an empty compartment. Y/n suggested sitting with Fred and George, but Ron insisted that they would do nothing but make fun of him the entire time.

The two stumbled upon the boy from Kings Cross. He was sitting in a compartment alone.

"It doesn't hurt to ask," Y/n shrugged. Ron nodded, opening the door and peaking his head into the compartment.

"Excuse me," he began, catching the boy's attention, "do you mind if we join you? Everywhere else is full."

"Not at all," the boy smiled, motioning to the open seat across from him. Y/n and Ron entered the compartment, sitting down opposite the stranger.

"I'm Ron, by the way, Ron Weasley."

"I'm Y/n L/n."

"I'm Harry, Harry Potter." Y/n and Ron both gasped, eyes wide.

"So, so is it true? I mean, do you really have the... the-" Ron started motioning to his forehead.

"The what?"

"The scar," Ron whispered.

"Ronald Weasley!" Y/n gasped, horrified that he would even ask such a thing.

"No it's alright, er yeah, I do," Harry said, pushing his hair back to reveal a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead.

"Wicked," the cousins said in unison. Harry only chuckled.

Y/n had a feeling they would be friends for a very long time.

It wasn't long, however, before another became their friend, or at least Y/n's.

It was after one of their very first classes. Ron was complaining about a girl who had corrected him.

"It's Levi-oooo-sa, not Levi-o-saaaa," he imitated her, Y/n rolled her eyes as he continued, "She's a nightmare, honestly, I mean no wonder she hasn't got any friends."

As soon as he said that, the girl, Hermione Granger, shoved past him.

"Ronald Weasley, that is so rude!" Y/n scolded him, hitting him on the back of the head.

"What? I didn't say anything that wasn't true!" He argued.

"You're unbelievable," she muttered before following Hermione to try to console her and apologize for her cousin's actions.

Needless to say, the trio soon became a quartet, but that's a whole other story.

Fourth Year

"Hey, Hermione?" Y/n said when the two were alone in their dormitory. Hermione hummed in response, not looking up from the book she was reading.

"I think I like Harry."

Hermione quickly put a bookmark in her book before slamming it shut and rushing over to Y/n's bed.

"Tell me everything."

Meanwhile...

"Hey, Ron?" Harry said when the two were alone in their dormitory.

"Yeah?" Ron asked, looking up from the letter he was writing to his parents.

"I think I like Y/n."

"Ok," Ron said simply before going back to the letter.

"Ok? What- did you hear me? I like Y/n. Your cousin."

"I heard you. Ask her to the ball or something."

"I can't. She said Dean asked her already."

"Oh yeah. That's definitely not going to last. You've still got a chance."

"Er, ok."

7th Year

"Why do seagulls fly over the sea?" Y/n asked Harry.

"I dunno."

"Because if they flew over the bay, they'd be bagels." The two burst into laughter.

"Shh," Hermione whispered to Y/n and Harry, who were sitting on the ground. Ron and Y/n had recently rejoined the group on their hunt for horcruxes. The two had left, well, Ron had left and had taken Y/n with him.

"What is it?" Y/n whispered, walking over to join the other girl by the barrier of their camp. Ron and Harry immediately began packing up.

Everything else was a blur. Somehow the barrier fell and Death Eaters found them. They tried to run. Harry grabbed Y/n's hand in an attempt to stay together, but that only slowed them down.

Y/n woke up in a dungeon of sorts and looked around. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were there too, still blacked out.

"Wh-"

"Malfoy Manor." A weak, yet familiar voice said, knowing her question.

"Luna?" Y/n gasped, not having noticed that she was there too.

"Y-y/n?" Harry's voice came before Luna had time to explain. Soon Hermione and Ron woke up too.

"Good, you're all awake." A low voice grumbled from the doorway. There was a sound of a door opening and the four stood up.

"There'll be none of that." Another voice said as Harry stepped in front of Y/n, and with a flick of a wand, Y/n was pulled toward the voice.

Three other figures entered the dungeon and each grabbed either Harry, Ron, or Hermione.

They were brought upstairs and were met with the sight of Bellatrix Lestrange and a few others. Y/n immediately tensed up, she was no stranger to Bellatrix.

"Ahh, Miss L/n, I've been so excited for this moment," Bellatrix said before laughing, though it was more of a cackle.

Bellatrix walked toward her, caressing her cheek with one hand. Y/n gulped as she noticed a dagger in her other hand.

"Don't touch her," Ron said.

"Ahh, the cousin. Don't worry, you'll get a front-row seat." She smirked. The man holding Y/n took her to the middle of the room before throwing her onto the floor.

Hermione had tears in her eyes. Harry and Ron clenched their jaws, they didn't want to make it any worse than it already was.

Bellatrix proceeded to stroke Y/n's cheek yet again, though this time with the dagger.

(I'm going to skip past this part but basically it's the same thing that happened to Hermione in the book/movie, but she wrote "bloodtraitor" instead of mudblood and they all had to watch)

"That's enough!" Harry yelled as loud as he could. He couldn't stay quiet any longer.

"I beg your pardon?" Bellatrix said. Harry didn't have time to repeat himself before there was a flash. He had no idea where it came from, but he used it to his advantage. He stupefied the death eater holding him, and Ron and Hermione followed suit. Hermione ran downstairs to free the others in the dungeon while Ron and Harry rushed over to Y/n, helping her stand. They met the others and apparated to Shell Cottage, where Bill and Fleur were living.

After Y/n had regained her strength, she decided to go outside, where she found Harry sitting alone on the dock at the beach.

"Are you alright, Harry?" She asked, her voice still hoarse, walking up to him.

"You always care about others first, huh?" He smiled.

"What do you mean?" She sat down next to him.

"You just went through one of the most traumatizing things someone can go through and you're asking me if I'm alright." He explained, laughing weakly at the irony.

"Well, I guess I just would rather keep that out of my head for now. I'll deal with it eventually, but maybe now isn't the best time." She leaned her head on his shoulder.

There was a long silence as the two sat there, their feet dangling just above the water, watching the waves crash onto the shore.

"I have a dilemma," Harry admitted.

"Oh?" She picked her head up, looking at him.

"The thing is, I've had this dilemma since first year, but I don't know if now is the right time to deal with it."

"What's your dilemma?"

"I've liked this girl since I first laid eyes on her at Kings Cross station. You see, I couldn't find my way onto the platform. I had to ask for help, and when her aunt called attention to her, she couldn't seem to look at me. She has been with me through thick and thin, and... and I think I'm in love with her." He looked at his hands.

"Does it have to be a dilemma?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean your dilemma is that you don't know how to tell her, right? You don't know if she likes you back."

Harry nodded, extremely confused as to where she was going with this.

"Well, if she told you that she has felt the same way the entire time it wouldn't be a dilemma, right?"

"I guess so."

Y/n smashed her lips onto his, in an effort to get him to understand. He froze, not expecting her actions whatsoever. He quickly regained his senses, however, and kissed back.

"I think that solves your problem," Y/n said, after pulling away for air.

"I think so too."

[kykyonthemoon]

A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Childe/ Tartaglia x Lumine Fanfic

During The Summer Festival in Inazuma, Lumine encountered a kitsune-masked man. He was strange, yet so familiar. Who could he be?...

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

When Lumine and Paimon set foot in Inazuma, the weather was midsummer. In the sweltering air, the streets strewn with cherry blossoms became ever more bustling. The Summer Festival had arrived, with residents across Inazuma putting aside their daily worries to enjoy the best things summer had to offer.

Even travelers like Lumine and Paimon could not resist being invited to the festival. The lady from Kamisato house had asked Lumine and Paimon to accompany her, but something unexpected caused her to make another appointment. Determined not to miss the occasion, Lumine and Paimon agreed to take to the streets in new outfits that Ayaka had sent them.

Inazuma clothing is multi-layered and slightly harder to wear than previously worn by Lumine. In the summer, people do not wear too many layers due to the hot weather. As she put on the yukata, Lumine secretly admired its beauty: each needle line was very neat and beautiful, the outfit was pale yellow, dotted with cherry blossoms, especially it was not as hot as she had thought. There was also a hand fan made of bamboo and fabric of the same color as her yukata, which featured koi fish. Lumine remembered that Ayaka once told her about the types of fans, and this one was called “uchiwa,” and the koi pattern symbolized good luck.

“Traveler! You look beautiful!”

Lumine turned to her companion. Paimon wore the same patterned yukata as her, but it was pink and white. Her little friend looked more adorable than ever.

“I was thinking if my dress is a bit tight. If Paimon can’t eat anything tonight, I’ll be so angry at the Kamisato!”

Lumine burst into laughter.

The bustling city of Inazuma greeted them in the glorious sunset. On both sides of the road, colorful lanterns were lit. Everywhere was filled with different restaurants and stalls; flowers, prayer charms, masks, and decorations that extend all the way to Amakane Island. The most sold was, of course, food. Needless to say, Paimon loved to be here.

“Whoa! What a crowd!” Paimon remarked as they mingled with the group of walkers. “Don’t leave me behind, Traveler!”

However, it was Lumine who was left behind when Paimon was caught up in the roadside food stalls. The little companion flew up and then swooped down on literally every stall she saw, as they offered free tastings. A few minutes later, Lumine could not see Paimon anymore.

Lumine could not fly like Paimon. She had to squeeze through the stream of smiling and talking people to find her friend. Inazuma City is large, with small streets intertwined and connected to one another. After a long search, Lumine accepted the fact that she had lost Paimon.

Lumine sighed. It’s also unclear where she was on the map of Inazuma City. She wandered alone, looking at the streets and rolled her eyes to every corner to see if Paimon was somewhere around. Not paying attention to the path, she suddenly bumped into someone's back.

“Sorry… I’m sorry!” Lumine said, embarrassed.

In front of her was a white yukata patterned with light blue waves. Whoever she bumped into was much taller than her. Then, he turned around.

Lumine noticed that he was wearing a kitsune mask on his face. Although his face was unknown to her, his appearance was very familiar; tall and slim, with short, choppy orange hair, even his voice was like that person.

“Are you alright, Miss?”

Lumine was frozen for a moment.

"You're not hurt, are you? You should be careful in such a crowded place like this. I can’t bear to see a beautiful lady like you get hurt."

Lumine frowned. Even these teasing words were very similar to a person she knew.

"We've met before, haven't we?" She asked frankly. Lumine does not like to play the vague game.

The one in kitsune mask laughed out loud:

“Quite a bold young lady, aren’t you? Perhaps we’ve met, in my sweetest dreams.”

Lumine blushed. She was both embarrassed and a little angry. How dared a stranger make fun of her like that?

“If you’re not the person I know, then I’m sorry for bothering you.”

Saying so, Lumine was about to leave, but the man stopped her.

"Wait. I'm sorry I teased you. But you look a little lost, Miss. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Lumine weighed in on it a bit. She really needed to find Paimon and get back to the inn. Yet was this stranger trustworthy?

“Are you a local?” Lumine asked.

"No. I'm an outsider, just like you. The only difference is that I've been here for a while. I have some personal business here."

If it's a private matter, it's best not to ask. Lumine thought so. She hesitated for a moment and replied:

"I'm actually looking for my friends. I’ve just lost her."

"Then you've met the right person. I know every corner around here."

Seeing that Lumine did not believe him, the man said, "Come on, don't look at me like that! I just want to help a far-away traveler. That’s all."

"All right." Lumine replied. "But if you ask for mora, I don't have much..."

The masked man looked at her for a moment and then laughed so loudly that passers-by stared at them.

"Haha! Miss, you're funny! Why do you think my kindness needs to be reciprocated?"

Lumine paused for a moment. Her days of adventure from Mondstadt to Liyue, and now Inazuma, helped her come to terms with one thing: everything has a price. In other words, you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.

"Well... I'm sorry I didn't think right about you..." Lumine replied.

"Then, would you accept my help?"

Lumine nodded and said nothing more, but she thought that she would definitely repay today's favor.

They walked through the crowded streets. The masked man told Lumine about Inazuma and about the culture here. It helped widening her perspectives. If she hadn't bothered to look for Paimon, she would have enjoyed the whole atmosphere.

But there's no denying that everything at the Summer Festival was so special and distracted her over and over again. She came across a mask stall by the side of the road and turned to look at the person next to her.

"Do you want to buy a mask too, Miss?" He asked.

"Not really... I'm just thinking your mask is more beautiful and elaborate than what they sell."

The masked man adjusted his mask a little. Lumine saw him laughing.

"Of course. This is something I painted myself! If you want, I'll paint a same one for you."

Lumine waved her hand. “No, there's no need…” she said, but he pulled her into a nearby stall and asked the owner about the masks which customers could paint themselves.

Lumine watched intently as he painted the mask with red, black lines, and yellow dots. Moments later, he gave it to her.

"Here. For you."

Lumine picked up the mask, examining it with amusement.

"Thank you."

"Let me put it on for you."

Lumine looked up at him sheepishly.

"I... I can wear it myself."

Seemingly unable to hear her say anything, he took the mask and put it on one side of her hair.

"T-Thank you..." Lumine said, gazing down at her feet.

The man smiled.

"Hey, I don't even know your name." Lumine said as they continued to go.

"Call me Mr. Kitsune. The kids in Inazuma call me that." He replied and waved to a group of children in the distance.

He seemed to be very loved by children. Lumine thinks that any person who is liked by children cannot be evil by nature. Suddenly she thought of someone she knew. Could it be...? But how could a Harbinger like him be here? She looked around. There's no sight of the Fatui nearby. Was it all just her imagination?

The two walked into a smaller yet not less crowded street. Immediately, Lumine’s attention was caught by a crowd playing a very interesting game. They gathered next to a large pot of water, inside there were many goldfish. Each person held a seemingly fragile racket made out of paper, and tried to get the fish into their little bucket as much as possible during a specific amount of time.

"Do you want to try it?" Mr. Kitsune asked after seeing Lumine’s interest in the game for a long time.

Lumine nodded.

Mr. Kitsune said something to the woman who appeared to be the owner there, and she handed them two rackets and two small buckets.

In excitement, Lumine sat down and Mr. Kitsune sat next to her. Picking up turned out to be much more difficult than it seemed. The racket was flat and very easy to tear, and the dodgy fish seemed to have learned to avoid players and irritate them, skillfully.

Lumine's racket was torn shortly after she thought she had picked up the first fish. She looked to the side. Mr. Kitsune gave her a new one.

"Thank you." Lumine responded and the excitement returned. There's no way she’s going to lose to these goldfish!

After a hard fight, Lumine finally got her first fish. She eagerly turned to Mr. Kitsune to show it off, but then her face went sullen immediately when she saw his bucket full of fish. What was more obnoxious was that he reseted his head on one hand and caught the fish only with the other hand. His attitude of fish-picking was very relaxed, not as strenuous as Lumine's at all.

"How did you get so many fish?" She asked.

"Oh... I don't know. Perhaps it’s my talent?"

He had just finished speaking when another fish fell into his bucket. Lumine gave up and dropped her racket into the bucket. She sat and watched him pick up the fish. From time to time, she pointed to the fish she wanted him to catch.

“This one! It has nice color.”

"You do know that we have to return the fish after the game, right?" He laughed and moved his hand to pick up the fish Lumine wanted.

After the time was up, Mr. Kitsune got the highest prize: a stuffed fox. He gave it to Lumine.

"It does look like you." Lumine looked at the fox in her hands and commented as the two left. It has a soft orange fur, a white belly and four black legs.

"Then every time you see it, you will think of me."

He replied without a hint of shame. But Lumine was blushing like a red tomato. Seemingly aware of her intention to return the fox, he said:

"In Inazuma, it is considered disrespectful to return the given gifts.”

Lumine pinched the fox's nose with a force. She thought about turning it into a sandbag for Paimon to practice her fighting skills, but then it was also too cute for that.

After coming to the end of the street, Lumine realized they had reached the gate of Inazuma. The outside of the city was as bustling as the inside, but the air was fresh and pleasant thanks to the sea. The moon was high, and Paimon was still nowhere to be seen.

Looking around for a moment, Mr. Kitsune said:

"Maybe your friend has gone to Amakane Island. It is the best place to watch the fireworks. Besides, there is also a well-known street stall selling delicious oden.”

Perhaps Paimon would not go there to see the fireworks, but for the food, yes. Lumine agreed to join Mr. Kitsune on the walk to Amakane Island to find her friend. They walked a long way across the coast. Along the way, Lumine noticed that the people of Inazuma City were also heading to the island as they were mostly hands-to-hand couples with smiles. There were butterflies inside her stomach when she thought that walking side by side with Mr. Kitsune like this made them look like a couple.

"Tell me about your friend." Mr. Kitsune suddenly spoke up. "The one whom you thought I was."

Lumine mused. "I don't know if we're friends anymore..."

"What's wrong? Did he do something bad?"

"It could be put that way." Lumine recalled the mess that the Eleventh Harbinger of Fatui – Tartaglia had made in Liyue. Worse than that, he had taken advantage of her trust, leaving her caught up in a dispute between forces like a puppet. Even though everything had been resolved, she still could not let it go easily.

"If he's a bad guy, you should beat him to death and never speak to him again."

Those words made Lumine laugh.

"I do want to beat him up. But..." She paused for a moment and then continued. "There’s also a good side of him that changes my opinions on him. I wonder what his true face is."

They walked a little further. The sound of waves was caught in her ears. Lumine saw some crabs digging the sand and hiding from people in the distance.

"Everyone has their own masks to wear, Miss." Mr. Kitsune said. "One day, I hope he'll have the courage to take his mask off in front of you."

Lumine gazed up at the man wearing the fox mask next to her for a moment. Wasn’t he hiding his face from her too? What's that fox mask hiding that she didn’t know yet? But everyone has secrets, and Lumine is not much of a pryer.

As soon as they arrived at Amakane Island, Lumine’s nose was immediately attacked by the aroma of food emanating from street vendors. Perhaps she was really hungry after the hopeless search for Paimon, and a long walk to this place. Now Lumine just wanted to sit down and eat all the food that the people here had to offer.

Mr. Kitsune led Lumine to an oden stall. They were seated right in front of the counter and the smoke and aroma emanating from the kitchen in front of them made Lumine's stomach rumble louder than ever. There was no need to wait long, their food was served soon after. Lumine's bowl had a variety of food: fish balls, boiled eggs, fried tofu, radishes and even noodles. She happily picked up her chopsticks and grab the food, but then realized that Mr. Kitsune was still sitting and looking at his oden bowl in a rather contemplative way.

"Aren’t you going to eat?" Lumine asked.

"Ah..." Mr. Kitsune seemed confused. He picked up his bamboo chopsticks awkwardly.

That person doesn't even know how to hold a chopstick too... Lumine brushed that thought away as soon as it appeared. She should have let go of the obsession which was him for a long time. Somehow, in all the places she went and the people she met, Lumine was looking for such a familiar silhouette in the past.

"Here, let me show you." Lumine reached out her chopsticks to Mr. Kitsune and demonstrated how to hold them little by little. There were moments when their hands touched and Lumine found herself blushing more than necessary.

"You're so good!" Mr. Kitsune's remarks made Lumine's cheeks flush to the ears.

"Well... It's just a normal skill..." She replied, recalling her days at Liyue, when she had practiced holding chopsticks skillfully to pick up food before Paimon ate it all.

Lumine ate her oden and praised the chef's talent. She also kept her eyes on Mr. Kitsune. He merely lifted the mask a little to eat, and the place they sat was not bright enough for Lumine to see his face clearly.

After the oden, Lumine was once again invited by Mr. Kitsune to a tri-color dango treat. Realizing that she was being treated too much, she offered to pay for some octopus balls called takoyaki which later on she had quite a memory with it. It's a dish of spherical scones made of flour, with chopped octopus fillings and some other ingredients inside, then fried in a special pan that has a lot of semicircular concave parts. Lumine bought a square plate containing four takoyaki arranged neatly inside and she skewered one to her mouth.

“Wait!”

But It was too late for Mr. Kitsune, Lumine had put a whole round takoyaki in her mouth. She looked at him and wondered why he was leaning up as if he’s afraid her tongue was burnt. The food was cold enough to be eaten. But that's just what she thought.

When she bit into the crust and spilled the filling, Lumine knew why Mr. Kitsune had warned her. The filling was so hot that Lumine's tongue tip was on fire. She rushed a hand to her mouth, tears welling up. She tried to chew and swallow the food. Fortunately, it wasn't so hot to the point it actually burned her tongue.

Mr. Kitsune gave her a cool cup of tea. Lumine, after regaining her composure, noticed that he had been chuckled all along. She grimaced, took a sip of tea and said in a furious tone:

"You don't have to laugh at me like that."

Mr. Kitsune tried to suppress his laughter and replied, "Sorry... I've never seen anyone eating takoyaki in such a cute way."

Lumine's face was red, not knowing whether it was the food being too hot or because she was embarrassed.

Nearby, there was a place filled with tiny hexagonal wooden cards. Mr. Kitsune said Lumine could write her prayers on the card and hang it up. She took one and wrote her wish, hoping that she would soon be reunited with her twin brother. Mr. Kitsune just stood beside her, his eyes were looking away.

"You don’t have a prayer?"

"I don't need it." He replied. "My wish has already come true tonight."

Lumine wondered what his wish was, but she doubt that a mysterious man like him would let her know too much about himself.

They still could not find Paimon. Mr. Kitsune said that having gone to this place, at least they should see the fireworks. So Lumine and he climbed the moss-covered stone steps filled with weeds, through the red torii gates that had faded over the years. The whole road felt as the entrance to a wonderland with fireflies and magical forests.

There were also a few others walking up to the fireworks watching location. One of them accidentally bumped into Lumine causing her to slip. She thought she was going to fall, but Lumine was saved. She found herself in Mr. Kitsune's arm and her head on his shoulder. He stood just one step behind her. And then, Lumine caught his blue eyes.

They’re the same like someone’s…

Embarrassed, Lumine stood up. "T-Thank you..." She said, turning her face away.

Lumine was not used to walking on Inazuma wooden slippers. She blamed on them just to avoid thinking about the real cause of her confusion. Mr. Kitsune suddenly stood closer by her and said:

"Hold on to my hand, you won't fall again."

He did not look at Lumine but his hand was reaching out in front of her. Lumine hesitated but held on to it at last. They walked slowly up all the stone steps, to a cherry tree and sat down on a large rock, just in time for the very first fireworks to break out.

The night sky was lit up and there was a loud explosion. Colorful fireworks flew into the sky, then dissolved into hundreds of small rays of light. Lumine watched and admired their beauty. It was truly an ideal place to watch fireworks shoot from Inazuma City. Lumine turned to the man who brought her here.

"Though I can't find my friend, I'm happy that I’ve had a chance to enjoy the festival and watch the fireworks with you."

Mr. Kitsune seemed surprised and delighted.

"It is my honor to accompany you, Miss."

Lumine felt her cheeks burning up again. Perhaps all along the way, she had already known who the man in the kitsune mask really was.

"I hope that we'll see each other again soon."

*

* *

It was late at night. There was no more fireworks or laughter. Yet there was still a shadow of the person sitting under the cherry tree, even when the girl with him had already left for a while.

Next to him was a crimson mask, which seemed to exude a kind of dangerous and tempting power. But all his attention was on the harmless kitsune mask in his hand. All that happened tonight felt like a dream. Having known the Traveler had come to Inazuma, he still did not expect that she had found him herself, bumping into him among so many people on the street.

He had always wanted to see her again, ever since their farewell in Liyue. He constantly talked about her in letters to his family, as if they were very close friends; perhaps more than friends?

What could he expect, when fate always puts them on different sides of the battle? He fought for what he believes, and she always chose to help those who oppose him. But deep down in him was the desire to see her again, to see her smile at him once more. He wanted to touch her, but feared she would disappear like fireflies.

Therefore, having a walk with her, eating together and watching the fireworks next to her; everything happened tonight was a beautiful dream in the middle of the summer night. Delightful and sweet, yet came and fade away too quickly. After all, at least he knew she still remembered him.

If only she didn't. That way, she would not have to be upset when they meet again, maybe in another battle here in this land. She had hoped that they would see each other again soon, but he'd rather she not knew who was with her tonight.

Tartaglia put down the kitsune mask and picked up his Harbinger mask. He turned his gaze to the sky, praying silently that the stars would remember today for eternity. Then he put on the heavy mask and left.

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Au's note: It's been a while since my last Genshin fic. Hope you guys enjoy this one. I really love Japanese festivals in summer and this piece was inspired by those, and with the in-game activities/ atmosphere too of course!

My Genshin Masterlist: x