#cannot wait for the titanic au | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

enkas-illusion · 1 year ago

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Under The Mistletoe

Fandom / Pairing: Attack On Titan / Eren x f!reader

Rating: SFW / Fluff

Genre/Theme: Friends to lovers; non-titan au

Content warning: fluff, teasing, language.

Summary: A series of unfortunate events that lead up to a memorable Christmas Eve at the Jaegers’ house with your close friends.

Author's Note: Hello, here’s a short fluffy friend to lovers one-shot with my fav 2D man. Merry Christmas! Thank you for reading <3

~ Eren’s Birdie

Song Dedication: Mistletoe by Justin Bieber

“Yo, you home?” you speak into your phone’s speaker without waiting for a greeting from his end.

“Yes…?” Eren answers.

“Busy?”

“Nope.”

“K. Come to my place.”

“Cool,” he cuts the call. You place your phone on the sofa before moving the mess, that would soon transform into your Christmas decorations, out of the way. As you clear the floor of all the stray pieces and tiny ornaments, you place the tiny chair near the tall tree in your living room while waiting for your best friend’s arrival.

You hear the doorbell ring about 15 minutes later and rush to open it. You greet Eren with a wide grin as you move to the side to let him in. He takes off his shoes near the door as he enters the living room.

“So, what do you need me for, madam?” He asks as he takes off his mufflers and scarf, tossing them on the sofa.

“Ouch… do you think so little of me to assume I only call you over when I need something from you?” you fake gasp.

“If you have to ask, you already know the answer dummy,” he pinches your nose before walking to the undecorated tree, deciphering the reason you’d called him over. “For this? You’re far better than I am at this arts and crafts shit.”

“Well, I cannot reach the top even with the tallest chair I own… call it the perks of being the taller friend, I’ll always think of you for such things,” you smile at him before blowing him a dramatic kiss.

“Sure,” he rolls his eyes as you lean down to the tree to start with the bottom half of the decorations. Eren sits next to you, playing with one of the tiny red stockings he picks up, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”

“A best friend who makes cinnamon rolls cause she knows how much you love them is a friend indeed,” you try to imitate his voice, resulting in a terrible imitation.

His ears perk up at your comment nonetheless, completely ignoring the teasing tone and only focusing on what really matters.

“Did you really?!” he asks, excited like a puppy when he hears someone say ‘treat’.

“Yes… There's still about 10 minutes left though. It’s in the oven,” you say as you point to the tree, “So you should probably hurry up.”

“What a meanie!” he huffs as he fiddles with the ornaments, decorating them on the tree. You laugh as you begin working on the other side at a quicker pace than he does.

A few moments pass by before you hear his voice again, “This tree is so unnecessarily tall… You know, mum said you could just come to our house to celebrate the holidays when I told her you couldn’t go home because of work.”

“That’s so sweet of her�� but I still wanted my apartment to look like it’s the holiday season. If I can’t go home this year, the least I can do is recreate some of the warmth and Christmas feels here.”

“Awww, is that why you called me? Cause I’m the star that lights up your whole world?” he says as he holds the golden ornament over his head.

“Not sure about my world but definitely my Christmas tree,” you tease as you check the time. You get up to walk to the kitchen as Eren fixes the chair closer to the tree.

“Only tolerating your bullshit for the rolls by the way…” you hear him complain behind you. You put the oven mitt on as you pull out the batch of fresh cinnamon rolls. You carefully place the pan on the counter, evenly pouring the sugar syrup over the buns.

Your body jerks involuntarily when you hear a loud shriek from the living room. Your heartbeat picks up pace erratically as you run out the kitchen to see what had happened. You find Eren lying on the floor, his right hand holding his left forearm tightly. He writhes in pain when he tries to move his left wrist.

“Ren, what happened?” you panic as you run to his side as you help him stand up. He doesn’t need to explain however – you see the chair with a broken leg lying next to the tree.

“Ugh– Careful,” he hisses as you try to help him straighten his wrist.

“I’m so sorry, I had no idea the chair would break… does it hurt a lot, I’m so so sorry Eren, if I knew I wouldn’t have asked–” your shaky voice breaks, tears welling up in your eyes.

“I’d rather have me fall from a broken chair than you,” he gives you half a smile but it’s so sincere that it makes you want to cry even more.

“Let me get the first-aid kit,” you sniffle but before you can rush to get the kit, Eren rests his right hand on your shoulder to get your attention.

“Get the car keys instead, I think I’m gonna need a little bit stronger than pain relief spray,” he says calmly. On the inside, he’s freaking out, but he doesn’t let it show since he did not want you to panic even further.

Your expressions distort to the point where it looks like you’re in more agony than the man who just fell from a chair. You nod frantically as you go to grab your keys before hurrying out the door to get him to a hospital.

~~~

“Sign it,” he says as he sees you walking into the hospital room where the nurse is fixing a cast around his forearm and wrist, “after all, the artist needs to sign their artwork.”

Eren shows little to no signs of discomfort and you wonder if he’s a psychopath or it’s simply the painkillers working. You open the water bottle before handing it to him as you give another apologetic look – the hundredth one in the last hour since the accident.

“I’m kidding! I’m all good!” He reassures you as he raises the arm up once the nurse is done fixing the cast.

“It’s better to rest for at least 6 weeks if you want to heal properly,” the nurse interjects plainly.

“That long? It’s just a hairline fracture right?” he asks her, confused.

“You still need proper rest Eren!” you scold him as you take his phone, the bag of medicines and water bottle in your hands, not wanting him to carry anything at all.

“I’m fine! This is nothing!” he chuckles, cupping your cheek with his free hand to reassure you. You bring your hand up to his, pulling it away before intertwining your fingers with his.

“Is that all?” you ask the nurse with concern and she nods. “Thank you,” you sigh as you lead Eren out the room.

“The bill?” he asks as you walk out the hallway.

“Paid it already,” you reply.

“I’ll pay you back later, yeah?” he says as you get to the car.

“No, don’t. It’s my fault...” you murmur timidly as you drop his hand to open the door for him.

“Hey… it’s not. I love how much you care about me but please don’t worry so much,” he speaks, holding your hand once again, squeezing it gently.

“But I feel so bad,” you pout as you move your fingers lightly over his cast with your other hand before looking up at him with sadness in your eyes.

He headbutts you playfully, causing you to finally laugh as he says softly, “Give me all the cinnamon rolls and we’ll call it even.”

~~~

Eren wasn’t kidding about the cinnamon rolls – especially now that he had the golden ticket to get you to make as many as he wanted. Usually, you’d only make it occasionally or if he was upset with you after some silly argument and you wanted to suggest a truce temporarily.

So when you arrive at his place in the afternoon, with a container that doesn’t have any cinnamon rolls, 3 days later on Christmas eve, he acts like a bratty child who had been denied his favourite treat.

“Eren! This soup’s better for you. I’m not gonna let you binge on another whole batch of cinnamon rolls!” you speak sternly.

“I don’t recall asking for healthy shit. My mood’s craving cinnamon rolls!” Eren slaps his right hand on the table exaggeratedly.

“I cannot believe how childish you’re being. Where’s your mum? She’ll support me…” you shake your head.

“Carla’s out shopping for presents. I’m afraid you’re going to have to deal with him on your own,” you hear a voice and turn your head to look at Eren’s father entering the house.

The crease on your forehead that had formed while talking to Eren melts away when you greet his father, “Mr. Jaeger, good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon. Is my son bothering you too much?” he asks and you see Eren turn red out of embarrassment.

“Not at all,” you chuckle, “There’s no tantrum of his that I can’t handle.”

“Good. I assume you’re staying for dinner, yes?” Grisha asks politely.

“Yes. So are Mikasa and Armin, they might arrive anytime soon,” you reply, the polite smile fixed on your face.

“Great!” He nods before turning to scold his son, “Eren, don’t trouble the poor girl.”

Eren shakes his head before his father excuses himself to get to his room, leaving the two of you alone again.

“Poor girl? You’re so creepily formal with my parents. They think you’re the model child and I'm the one who corrupts you… even after all these years!” he snorts.

“Well… I am innocent,” you bat your eyelashes at him, “You’re the devil here.”

He rolls his eyes at you before leaning forward and opening his mouth, motioning you to feed him the soup.

“Your right hand’s fine! Drink it yourself.”

“This is the least you can do,” he says with puppy eyes, waving his cast up in front of your face.

“Ugh… fineee,” you take the spoon, blowing on the hot soup gently before feeding it to him.

When Armin and Mikasa arrive about an hour later, Eren goes into heavy, exaggerated details while telling the two about how he got the injury.

“... And then this one cried like a baby… more than I did,” he jokes, pointing your way.

“I was actually crying that my favourite chair of all time broke,” you shoot back dryly.

“Lies, you guys know she’s in denial about how much she loves me, right…? Anyway, the doc said it’ll be another 3 months at least before I’m healed completely.”

“What a drama queen, you’ll be fine in a month’s time!” you narrow your eyes at him.

“You guys bicker like an old married couple,” Armin notes and Mikasa nods in agreement. You’re pretty sure he’s teasing you too but he doesn’t follow it up with a laugh as if it's a serious statement, making you blush awkwardly as you try to avoid Eren’s gaze actively.

Despite Eren constantly teasing you throughout the night, it’s a peaceful celebration nonetheless. When Grisha and Carla retire to their bedroom after wishing your group ‘a jolly Christmas’ shortly after midnight strikes, the four of you gather around in the living room to exchange your secret santa gifts.

When you get a new set of oven mitts, a mini speaker and a perfume you’d been waiting to be restocked since forever with a note that read ‘Couldn’t decide which one was the best option so consider yourself lucky to get a genie like myself’, you jump up to give Eren a big hug while being careful not to bump into his wrist.

“Was it that obvious?’ he laughs.

“We never could’ve figured out the perfume one,” Mikasa giggles. Your eyes meet Eren’s and you feel your heart skip a beat as you eyes stray to his plump lips for a split second – brushing away the very inappropriate thought you just had about your best friend.

You quickly move away as you change the topic and get Mikasa and Armin to open their gifts. It’s obvious they got each other based on the gifts they'd received.

Eren is the last to open his mystery present. You feel nervous, suddenly second-guessing your entire decision. However, it dissolves just as soon as it arrives when you see Eren’s jaw drop at your gift.

“Holy shit! This might as well be the best gift I’ve received in a while,” his eyes gleam at the signed manga copy by his favourite mangaka Hajime Isayama.

“It better be! Took a lot of eff–” you smack your hand over your mouth mid-sentence at spoiling your own identity as his secret santa.

He smiles softly, hugging you as he teases, “Thanks Sherlock, it would’ve been so hard to figure out who it was!”

“Oh wait a min–,” you look around the sofa to find the other package you’d gotten him. You leave his side to get the tiny gift, handing it to him with a playful grin. He raises an eyebrow at you as he unwraps it. He lets out a chuckle when he pulls out the tiny cinnamon roll crochet plushie and bursts out laughing when he reads your note with it – ‘This should last you a long time, stop asking me for another batch already!’

“Never,” he wraps his arms around you, pulling you in tighter as you stumble in place, feeling the vibrations of his torso caused by his laughter. He gives you a quick peck on the top of your ear before letting go, your skin tingling with warmth at the gesture.

“Oh! Before I forget… mum knitted sweaters for all of you guys,” Eren grins proudly. All three of you basically pounce on Eren excitedly when he returns with the sweaters in one hand.

He hands you yours the last and it's your favourite colour. “Told mum to use that specifically,” he confesses, half-whispering so that only you can hear him.

You bite your lip and lower your head to keep yourself from smiling too hard. It's moments like these that have you feeling as if the platonic line in your friendship gets tangled with the romantic one.

Eren Jaeger could bully you to death, within his rights as your best friend, but then he'll randomly do something so sweet that it makes you awfully aware of the growing crush you have on him.

“Thank you,” you smile when you look up and your eyes meet. Eren believes that this smile could be the only thing to melt him if he were a block of ice.

At that moment, he wants nothing more than to squeeze your stupid face and kiss you to his heart's content. He feels a pang in his chest – the intense desire of his crush on you fighting against the rational part of his brain not wanting to spoil your friendship.

When you suggest watching a random Christmas movie, everyone cuddles together on the sofa like birds do on a cold morning. You don't remember most of it since you fall asleep halfway through the first movie itself. Since you fell asleep with your head on Eren's lap, he didn't dare move till the morning – he gladly accepted his fate as your pillow.

Maybe it was something in the air urging him to do something but when he saw the way you peacefully rested on him, he felt an intense need of wanting to protect and cherish you forever. Right there, he made his decision – he was going to confess his feelings to you. His love deserved a fair shot. Besides, he figured he'd simply call it a joke and move on if things didn't go his way.

~~~

Your slumber breaks when you hear soft whispers calling out your name. You feel the shuffling movement of your head being lifted up before being placed back down on a soft surface.

“Hmm?” You speak groggily as you sit up, rubbing your eyes as you sense Eren walking away. You check your phone and it’s just quarter to 5 in the morning. You're about to go back to sleep when you hear his voice again, along with footsteps pacing around from one end of the hallway to the other.

“Come here,” you hear Eren’s voice beckoning you from the passage leading up to his room. You want to go back to sleep but get up despite it when you remember he has a broken wrist and might need your help with something. You quietly tip-top to follow his voice, not wanting to wake up your other two friends who are splayed over the sofa, still deep asleep.

“Hey, what's up?” You speak softly when you look around in the dim light of his room to find him. You turn around when you hear the door close behind you.

“Merry Christmas,” Eren grins, standing just a foot away from you, holding a badly plucked green branch tied with a red ribbon over your heads with his free hand.

“Merry Christmas– what's that?” you mumble as your eyes fix on his hand to observe it closely. It's a Mistletoe – your eyebrows furrow as you look down to his face, expecting an explanation to be written over it.

You feel your heartbeat picking up its pace against your chest. You know what this means yet you can’t believe it entirely. You don't want to make a fool out of yourself by assuming something only for it to be one of his stupid pranks.

You think he's about to headbutt you like he usually does, but he catches you by surprise when he simply rests his forehead against yours.

“You know what this means?” he breathes as he brings his hand down to hold the mistletoe in the space between your bodies.

This is it! He's asking you to kiss him!!!

Still wanting to play it safe, despite his blatant hints, you nod your head as you speak, “This means I give you a bone-crushing hug.”

His eyes narrow at you as he pulls back, “No… what a chicken. Kiss me.”

Your heart flutters, yet you try to play it cool and tease him further, “What a baby.”

You wrap your hand around his neck to pull his face down to your level. He obliges and you place two fingers to his chin to turn his face to the side. You lean in to kiss him on his left cheek.

He lets out a soft chuckle as he imitates you, kissing you on your left cheek in return. You giggle as you give him another peck on his right cheek next, resulting in him repeating you once again.

Then comes the forehead and you have to stand on your toes to do it. He leans down to kiss your forehead, you're pretty sure he was about to joke about it but he doesn’t break the intensity of the moment.

Your heart feels like it's almost about to burst out of your chest when you kiss the tip of his nose, followed by his chin, giggling nervously.

You close your eyes in anticipation, expecting the touch of his lips on the same spots on your face but it never arrives. Instead, your breathing halts abruptly when you feel his lips land on your lips.

You pull back quickly and open your eyes to scan his face for any signs of mischief. Instead you’re met with the softest expression, displaying nothing but a kind adoration for you. He brings your hand up to place it on his cheek, smiling at you, encouraging you to dare.

Without wasting another second, you cup his face with both your hands as you pull him down for a kiss. He smiles into the kiss and you close your eyes, enjoying the feeling of his soft lips moving against yours.

Your legs feel giddy and your thoughts feel intoxicated by Eren’s sweet caresses. His free hand is wrapped around your waist firmly and even as you kiss him, you’re cautious about his cast, trying not to accidentally touch his left arm.

You pull away from his touch hastily when you hear the doorknob twist. You both stand next to each other, staring at Armin with a half-perplexed and half-embarrassed look on your face.

“I can’t seem to fi– oh,” he stops when he looks at both of your faces, his half-lidded sleepy eyes suddenly alert. Armin has always been a smart guy – which right about now is making you and Eren look like two deers caught in headlights.

Armin raises his eyebrows, the grin on his face growing wider. “Don’t forget to lock the door,” he mumbles as he simply turns back around before closing the door behind him, leaving you and Eren alone once again.

Eren’s quick to lock the door before turning around to lean against it, signalling you to come closer with the motion of his fingers. You roll your eyes but follow him regardless, wrapping your arms around his neck and resting your face on his chest.

Your hand moves to his pec, feeling around for his heartbeat before resting it there completely. You close your eyes and you soak into the warmth of his body as your best friend/lover places soft kisses on the top of your head.

Your heart flutters again, filled with happiness to the brim, making you wish you could trap time in a bottle to seal this moment with you forever.

~fin~

#erensbirdie #aot x reader #eren x reader #eren yeager x reader #aot x you #aot smut #aot #eren yeager #eren jaeger

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aruanimess · 2 months ago

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Round three, of me endlessly yapping on Reverse AU. I am still VERY new to this.. tumblr asking, notes and whatnot, so.. I apologise if I seem somewhat annoying and bothersome Anyway, less 'bout me, more on blondes! I'm going to try spitballing a few ideas there and there, because I don't have ONE big topic/arc to really focus on, so here we go!

1; Armin being captured after his identity is figured out. There are.. three way's of this going, in my opinion. >First, being that they managed to successfully take him down into the tunnels to capture him, possibly after some convincing by Annie, since he trusts her a lot? (Plus, if Armin sticks around to around S3 when they're all in that Cabin, hiding away from the Military Police and all. I think Annie and Armin would be.. somewhat awkward, between each other. Since, she cares for him, a lot and.. betrayed him.) >Second, same scene where his identity is discovered and remains at the top of the staircase, but more or less breaks down because he doesn't know what is right anymore, he cares for his new found friends, the thought of betraying them crushes his heart, so he gives up and surrenders peacefully. >Third, transforms and makes a run for the walls to dip, which could ALSO go multiple ways, but.. I don't really have much on that. 2; Warriors Reveal, though Armin is now in the midst of it. I cannot see Armin ever betraying Paradis Island and trying to capture Eren (a second time, mind you), now that Reiner decided to reveal their identites to the same bloke he tried capturing too - yikes. Armin could very well try making them surrender, in a subtle way so the situation doesn't escalate, nor turn his own comrades against him. So, he tricks them and everyone. Transforming along the other two to capture Eren, only to fight Reiner along with Eren but obviously ending in failure with Bert's Titan crushing them. On one hand, I think Bert would try getting Armin, though Reiner is too focused on the mission, he ditches Armin and makes a run for it.

3; Armin still gets captured by the Opaki, though he saves Annie from being the one to be captured by it. As fun and simple it would be if she was the one to be yoinked, so they couldn't use the power of the Colossal and rescue her, I decided to go differently with this. While Armin does end up getting captured, he isn't terrified that he can't protect his people, that they need him, without him he'll die. No, he's accepting his fate. They have Annie, they can still blow up the Doomsday Titan and they'll all be fine, he may die but will die at least doing something right for them, finally doing something useful after betraying his friends, and putting his life down on the line, as their Commander.

(I also agree he'd still be the next Commander that Hange would put the title upon, so.. it sorta means a lot, like he finally is one of them in some way? - I dunno, spitballing!) But, ahaa.. Yeah, that isn't happening. Annie is not letting that blonde go, despite they have a clear winning shot here, she is not about to let him die. Not now, there is still more to be said to him, with how she feels. So, the mission of saving Armin is once more! AND, to end it off, I like to think he'd still be suicidal and jump for the Parasite to hold it down along with Reiner, even if there's a chance of him dying from the Colossal's explosion.

I apologise having to read this entire shit-show of ideas in your inbox, I doubt I'll do more to not seem too big of a yapper, but we'll see! I hope everything is going well for you, have a wonderful day/night! Now, I depart. Toodles!

Hello, Rux!!

Please, never apologize for sending an ask! I absolutely love hearing your ideas and I’m very happy to know the reverse AU still resonates with people :D

Okay, now let’s see:

1. I do prefer the second scenario in the staircase scene. Armin at this point has nothing waiting for him back in Marley and as a character he generally prefers ending conflicts with talking rather than fighting so I believe he’d rather strike a deal and resolve this through diplomacy.

2. Now for the Warriors reveal… we do have to consider that this scene occurs very soon after Armin’s own reveal. Like it’s all happening within three days tops. There’s always the possibility that he’s too busy getting interrogated within an inch of his life to even attend these events.

Personally, I’m more curious as to whether Reiner and Bertolt would attempt to convince Zeke to launch an operation to “rescue” Armin at that point, or write him off as a lost cause. I think there’s potential for drama and bitterness in both cases. In the first scenario, you have a Reiner who fought to save Armin getting betrayed by someone he considered his friend, while in the second scenario, you have an Armin even more estranged by his peers in Marley, sad and disappointed they never even cared for him.

3. Here you’re gonna have to forgive me, because I respectfully disagree.

While Armin and Annie would absolutely act the way you described in the event of Armin getting captured by the Okapi Titan, I don’t see why the Founder Ymir would bother to kidnap him. In canon, she only does so because he’s the Colossus and is the only one with the power to stop Eren. So I’m afraid that our girl Annie would have to be the one getting choked by that tongue… (well that was a sentence I’d never thought I’d write xD)

As for the Commander part… I don’t know. On one hand, I do see how meaningful such a gesture would be from Hange, accepting Armin as one of their own wholeheartedly. On the other hand, the idea of an outsider coming in to “save” the Paradisians from their plight and lead them to the truth makes me feel kind of uncomfortable.

Personally, because I’m a useless bisexual with a one track mind, I’d love to see how Commander Annie could work. At the very least I’d like to consider the possibility of her assuming a leadership role. She’s not an out of the box thinker like Armin in canon, but she is very practical and very decisive when it comes to battle. In another world, raised alongside Eren and Mikasa and not as confined by her father and her circumstances, I can see her developing a keen eye for solutions, maybe not outrageous strategies, but clean simple yet effective and devastating in their consequences plans. She’s ruthless, she’s perceptive and she’s willing to give up her life to achieve her means.

Honestly? I’d love to see it explored.

#asks #armin arlert #annie leonhart #aruani #reverse au

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haoboutyou · 6 months ago

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idk if ur reqs are open rn but i was thinking maybe.. a titanic au with mingyu? hehe.. i love angst. honestly it's up to you to twiddle around with the plot but mingyu as jack dawson.. my mouth is watering rn BUT LIKE HE DOESN'T DIE YK AAAA what am i doing

I’m genuinely sorry this is now a headcanon fic. I cannot for the life of me string this into a coherent story. also real sorry 1) it's not angst 2) it took so long :'))

divider credit

right so

this is a strangers 2 lovers type beat

also modern-day cruise so it passes all the safety checks (no dying here)

oh gyu is on the boat with hao because they’re on a cruise with a friend group and y/n’s on the cruise with her family

gyu’s just like “Ugh why cruise? there’s no internet or whatever. with the same amount of money, I could’ve gone to Italy.”

y/n’s like “Omg cruise!!! I love young Leonardo Dicaprio!!!”

they bump into each other at like the swimming pool deck and y/n’s like “Why are you so grumpy? It’s a cruise!"

and he’s like “It’s a cruise. you’re stuck on a ship miles away from land. Have you seen the Titanic?? we can drown and die!!!!”

to which y/n’s like “Bro I fucking love the Titanic. I want to do all the Titanic things minus the r21 parts and the dying parts.”

he’s like “Recreating Titanic? I guess that’s not so bad. Do you need some help?” and y/n’s all “omg please I don’t want to recreate them with my family members”

titanic is where “you jump, I jump” came from right? cause I can totally imagine y/n and mingyu doing this at the cruise’s pool just before they dive in

“If you jump, I’m gonna have to jump in after you.”

mingyu is saying this to y/n because they’re on the diving board and y/n is too scared to jump, so he brings up that line.

y/n’s surprised he knows the exact lines “I thought you said the Titanic was stupid” “Well, Leonardo Dicaprio was hot” and with that, she manages to steel herself for the jump and goes “Well, if you jump then I’ll jump, right?” and then they jump together

(meanwhile, hao's watching on the sidelines like "... that is not how the movie goes but okay" hao is waiting for his turn to jump behind them)

They hear that there’s a caricature artist on board and mingyu’s like “I can’t draw very well, but we can pay this guy to draw us?” “neat. a souvenir!” (they go up to him and mingyu’s flabbergasted that it’s hao because remember: he doesn’t actually work there; he’s also a passenger, but he’s so bored out of his mind that he started drawing and people were noticing that he was drawing and going up to him like “omg artist?? can you draw us????” so he’s like hmm sure ig more money for me)

(i know it's dumb but hao was just this random character that keeps popping up no matter what they do. breakfast? he happens to be sitting at the table they pick. pool? he happens to be tanning there when they stroll past and she almost trips into the pool. drawing? he's the artist. photos? he might as well.)

yes so they do the whole “king of the world!!” and they’re getting another kind passenger to take a picture of them (not hao). he still has an arm around her waist when she takes back the phone from the passenger and the passenger goes “oh to be young and in love again. you guys are such a cute couple!” y/n’s cheeks are red and it’s not because she forgot to reapply sunscreen

he leans over y/n’s shoulder to peek at the phone. “can i see?” y/n is suddenly hyper aware of his close proximity and she’s gone super still as he’s scrolling through the photos.

and then he selects all the photos he likes and airdrops them to himself

mingyu: "do you know what else jack and rose did while they were at the top deck? "

y/n, whispering, well aware that jack took rose’s first kiss (idk that’s what wiki said): "i don’t remember all of a sudden"

mingyu, leaning in: they kissed

ok so there’s a bar on the ship and hao’s asking gyu to come because “bro the cruise is gonna end (it literally just started) and you still haven’t gotten your money’s worth of booze” so gyu naturally invites y/n. she’s skeptical at first but he goes “didn’t (jack and rose) go dancing too?” she relents and so she goes with him and gyu is just STARSTRUCK at how pretty y/n is even at day ?? of being out at sea

when mingyu and y/n disembark from the ship after the week was over, and mingyu realises that for all the time they spent together they did not exchange numbers At All so he RUNS. the hug when they found each other is so cute. like, it's peak romance.

i want that.

#mingyu fluff #seventeen fluff #seventeen #kim mingyu fluff #svt fluff #kim mingyu #svt #seventeen scenarios #mingyu #seventeen headcanons #˙✧˖° aiyu writes ༘ ⋆｡˚

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s4r1n-g4s · 4 months ago

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Amusia Concept (Cannibalism TW)

Still late, but thankfully at 10pm. So yeah, not in the am yet. (I need sleep). Anyways, Amusia is a MSM horror AU about a second cataclysm. But wait, how did this happen? So there is confusion amongst the colossal and Titans, as they are still wondering why the Celestials integrated the natural colossal (and Zarroë) with the magical Titans. Grennech and Zarroë view the magical titans (and the magical monsters) as a threat and want them exterminated, Frigil does not trust them but won't complain about them, Hyddryd and Sollum are neutral, and Dulcettéa wants to help them. Zarroë attacks the magical Titans, therefore causing disorder in the monster world. As the colossals had been isolated for so long, they are stuck in their own ideologies, and a war between them starts. Therefore, a second cataclysm starts.

Only this time, it's worse.

You see, the Colossals have forgotten how to sing once again, but now it's affecting the monsters too. Without their song, some of them lose sight of who they are and go insane. Some of them are so manic that they have no idea of the atrocities they are committing, others are purely out for blood, and the worst ones are the cannibals. They are constantly on the hunt and will indulge in whatever prey they can find. They seem to be physically affected by this too, seeming to feel constant hunger with no way to satiate. Davy, unfortunately, cannot turn off his mind-reading abilities, so he is constantly listening to the delirious thoughts of others who are either terrified or gone. Sometimes even he wonders if he'll protect himself from this deadly mind virus... Feel free to ask me about some of the pre-Amusia lore, and the dynamics between characters! Bear in mind that I will not give super complex answers, as I want to avoid spoiling as much as possible! Reblogs appreciated! I hope this doesn't flop...

#msm #my singing monsters #writing #my fic writing #my fic #my fic post #lore dump #lore drop #amusia #Amusia msm #Amusia msm Au #msm au #angst #horror

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castlebyersafterdark · 1 month ago

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if Byler was in Titanic, who would be Jack and who would be Rose and how would the sex go?

Ohhhhh my lovely anon, how dare you dangle this in front of me?! The way I adore Titanic and think they would be PERFECT for this AU oh gosh, I cannot write it, I swore to myself I would never indulge this trope in a formal fanfiction. It's so overdone and yet... and yet. They are kind of perfect for it, yeah?

Maybe in the far off future. Near... far... whereeverrrrr you are, you're here in my heart and my wips list goes on and onnnn. Yall cannot do this to me, giving me more on my plate hahaha. NO! Not writing it. Thinking about it a lot though...

Initial thoughts:

Mike is Rose, Will is Jack. Troubled rich kid with a cold family, the weight of an expected life path on his shoulders. Will, the third class passenger with big dreams and modest means. And an artist, of course!

I like a role reversal from the film, where Mike saves Will from a situation somehow. Maybe Mike was still running from a suffocating dinner and he planned on doing something drastic but he found Will cornered somewhere and he shifts his entire plan and saves him from some bullies or creeps, whoever. So that's the meeting, that's how they hit it off. Instant connection.

Paralleling the "you said yes" origins by Mike saying he doesn't want to be alone and asking Will to keep him company after the little rescue. Resounding yes. Hit it off from there.

Mike could have some sort of expectation of being married off to "Jane" if you want to keep that parallel here. But she's not on the ship, she's waiting off in the states.

I like to think they have a more adventurous time together. Mike's parents he's traveling with as more distant, apathetic to his presence, less controlling than the Rose situation, so it's the boys instantly hitting it off as a suddenly inseparable friendship. And whirlwind romance wrapped into that, too. As much adventure packed into a few days on the ship as possible.

Love the idea of Will and Mike breaking into the ship's swimming pool (which the ship totally had) after hours for a sexy little swim together. They go for their thrill seeking, adventure together but that's where they have their first kiss... and a little more 😉

DRAW ME LIKE ONE OF YOUR FRENCH BOYS! IMPORTANT!

I think the pool hook-up leads to Mike's rooms, where the modeling/drawing comes into play. Then they sleep together there for their night of passion. Different vibes for Byler than Jack and Rose.

If I wrote this, I'd have them get together a day earlier and not the night of the sinking, to give them one more day full of passion and falling in love. Because I see them hitting it off right away and spending more time together than Jack and Rose. Different classes still, but they're also young men, neither being a betrothed woman needing primped and polished and escorted around to obligations. A defiant Mike wouldn't have his parents chasing him around, they're exasperated by him but otherwise absently preoccupied. How very Wheeler of them. With a bit more freedom, the boys would be able to spend more time together on the ship.

Skipping the tragedy and saying that they make it!! Maybe they sneak onto a lifeboat by pilfering someone's rooms for disguises and crossdress or something. This is so anti the reality of the situation but I'm going for the ridiculous sappy melodrama because I'm a baby who can't commit to angst with them.

And Mike runs away with Will when they reach land. And they travel the states and have a long, happy life together full of adventure, living place to place, humble means but they have each other in happily ever after. Sssshhh let us have this improbability.

#Titanic is the perfect combination of history and romance and those are two of my favorite genres. Really love the film.#The love story and the historical event transpiring and a movie made on such an intricate grand scale? Fantastic #asks #Queued

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nona1323 · 3 months ago

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A Deal and an exchange

AU "Deal this the Time"

So, actually, the beginning of the AU

The plot begins with Chronos actively thinking about what to do next. (We remind you that Mel recently found a way to remove his pause from the gods he captured and has already pulled out the Zag.) Yes, her grandfather has brains, and he realized that now just throwing the dead to Olympus is no longer an option!

Therefore, as a result of his reflections, he comes to the conclusion that he cannot delay any longer and needs to return the brothers as soon as possible. This, coupled with the guess about Hypnos's involvement (poppy seeds in Tartarus, just think about it), leads him to the idea of a deal: the exchange of Thanatos for Hyp himself, since Chronos knows perfectly well that the twins connection is not a joke.

So Chronos gives the order to the servants to torture Thanatos if his sand dungeon falls (because of the inability to reap souls, Thanatos will be too stunned and weakened to leave the House in this case), and then goes to sleep. Yes, Chronos is arrogant. He has already broken into the kingdom of Hades (in a sense, more Nyx, than Hades, because at the time of the overthrow of Chronos, she was the one who held power in the World of the dead) and won, now he goes straight to Onerios, Dreamland, and is going to defeat Hypnos. Or rather, blackmail him. Fortunately for Hypnos himself and unfortunately for Chronos, Titan would not actually be able to defeat Sleep Incarnate in the world of dream in a direct collision. And Chronos understands this perfectly well.

So Chronos falls asleep. And as a being who appeared long before Hypnos, his dreams are a step more lucid than those of many younger gods, so he is, in fact, just waiting for the Hypnos to come to him. But, as it was written in the post on the Chthonic gods, Hypnos is in the very depths of his kingdom, and therefore does not hear Chronos. So, instead of Hypnos, Morpheus comes, not limited to restraining the Titans. The unfortunate teenager is forced, just in case, to take the form of his father and personally attribute Chronos's dream to Hypnos.

This is a sad moment, since Morpheus has not seen his father for a very long time and misses him incredibly much, not to mention that the appearance of Chronos does not portend anything good, and the child understands this perfectly well. Alas, he is unable to do anything but act in the most reasonable way, which means to let this meeting happen (Hypnos is so proud of his child and the fact that Morpheus was able to protect himself and his brothers).

At the beginning of the conversation, Hypnos is audacious, he is the god of this kingdom, the master of the situation. But Chronos quickly notices the tension and fatigue of Hypnos and knocks down his whole mood, reminding him of his captive brother. Hypnos understands that Chronos did not come here just to mock, and he speaks about Thanatos for a reason. He demands to name the price.

«The price of freedom of the Death is your captivity» – this is the demand of the Time.

Hypnos agrees. Of course, he agrees. But Hypnos is not an idiot. He takes an oath from Chronos (if Hera has taught Hypnos anything, it is to demand guarantees in the first place). At first, we are talking about full immunity for Tan from Chronos, but titan cools the fuse of the Hyp and vows only to let the Death go and no longer shackle nim in sands if the Hypnos shackles himself with the chains of Tartarus. That's all Chronos is willing to give. Secretly, Hypnos thinks that even so Chronos is overpaying. Hypnos always rated Thanatos above himself.

Let's digress a little and answer the question: why does Chronos need to capture a Hyp at all? Well, there are several reasons for this, choose the one you like the most:

1) The first, it is also the most important – to free the brothers and continue to protect yourself and them from the influence of Hypnos;

2) The second one is more interesting. Many of us have encountered dreams that seem to last either for days or just a couple of moments, although in the real world no more than 8 hours pass, etc. In other words, Onerios distorts time, and therefore Chronos wants to know Dreamlands. Funnily enough, Hypnos unknowingly performs this trick with Morpheus at the moment of dream transmission right in front of Chronos, and Chronos is angry (horrified) by this. He considers himself the only one who has the right to such power. The fact that Hypnos (or anyone else) has some part of it, even if it is so distorted, within the limits of sleep, he does not like at all. So. he subdues Hypnos to subdue Onerios.

Let's return to the plot. So, Chronos swears that if Hypnos puts himself in chains, he will let Thanatos go and not apply sand to him. He does not swear that while Hypnos is in chains, Thanatos is also protected from them. This is an intentional assumption. Chronos... He's a little playful at this point, and he's really interested in finding out what Hypnos is capable of.

Hypnos is ready to swear back, but Chronos snorts and says that this is not required. Hypnos will keep his end of the bargain, Chronos knows that.

«I'll be waiting for you at the Temple of Styx.»

After these words, Chronos leaves Onerios and returns to reality. He checks Iapetus (because of favoritism), and then takes Thanatos, who, as Chronos expected, is deafened by the screams of restless souls. At some point during the journey to the temple, Chronos smashes his face because Thanatos kicks too much, but overall, everything goes well.

At the same time, Hypnos sprinkles the chains of sleep with his ichor to keep the Titans a little longer, throws off his shackles, says goodbye to the children and Lethe (they are not all he would like to say goodbye to), and finally wakes up. Realizing that that he would be try to stop him, he puts all the Crossroads to sleep. And, to his surprise, exploring it, he finds Zagreus. This prompts Hypnos to leave a few parting gifts: an old sleep mask, which he used before Melinoe was born, for Zag; a bottle of Lethe's waters for Charon (considering how rarely the boatman is in the House, Hypnos hopes that he did not fall into Chronos's hands); a strand of his own hair, woven into a braid, for Thanatos; and a large, ever-fading scarlet poppy with a reply note "For Melinoe. From Hypnos" for Mel (a little earlier, he finds a couple of bottles of nectar at his resting place with a similar note from Mel, yes). Having said goodbye in this way, Hypnos goes to the Temple of Styx to meet his fate.

The exchange takes place almost without incident: Hypnos dutifully puts on the shackles in front of Thanatos, who with his lips begs not to do this, after which Chronos releases Thanatos. And only after that does he realize that there are countless dead around the Temple, just waiting to tear the Death to pieces. Which will bring Tan back to the House. Into the Titan’s hands. Who kept the loophole with the chains for himself. Yes, it's a terrible moment when Hypnos realizes that Chronos can get them both, and Chronos knows it perfectly well too (and that's not even to mention how much Thanatos and chains are a bad combination).

Hypnos asks about this, to which he receives a mocking answer: if the Sleep wants to get something, then he will have to ask appropriately. Therefore, Hypnos has to pray for this on his knees, with his face on the floor. But, you know, this does not prevent Chronos from simply rejecting the request. But he doesn't do it.

One of the main features of the dynamics of Chronos and Hypnos is that they are honest in their own way. Hypnos can lie to hide information, yes, but with regards to feelings and actions? No. Hypnos doesn't lie. Chronos too. He's not a good liar at all. It can hide information, try to dodge, keep silent about something or change accents. But to lie openly? No. Chronos does not do this. Therefore, when saying that Hypnos can get what he wants by asking correctly, Chronos means exactly that.

So no one touches Thanatos, but Chronos picks Hypnos up from the ground and takes him away. Unfortunately, the Hypnos’s blanket remains on the ground in the Temple.

In a fit of different feelings, mainly fatigue (neither Hypnos nor Chronos realize this at that moment, but Hypnos, as the god of sleep, involuntarily transmits his fatigue to others when he gets tired), Chronos allows Hypnos to see how Melinoe will take Thanatos from the Temple if he promises to behave himself at least the first few days. Hypnos agrees. And they watch from the second tier as Melinoe, guided by the light of Selene and the paths of poppies, finds Thanatos, after which they leave through the shadows at a Crossroads. Yes, they take the blanket with them.

After that, during a small exchange of barbs, Hypnos fails to keep his mouth shut, which drives Chronos out of himself, which is why he almost throws Hypnos from a great height. It reminds Hypnos well who he is dealing with.

After which they both return to the House. In the middle of the way, Hypnos, who is not used to walking, rubs his feet in blood (chains equate Hypnos almost to a mortal), which is why Chronos mockingly picks him up, being unintentionally delayed longer than necessary before meeting his brothers, and threatens to use force or drag him along the ground by the chain if Hypnos kicks. Next to the House, he throws Hypnos to the ground, and he has to walk through the pain himself.

Iapetus meets them on the threshold, and Chronos locks Hypnos in a room (Chronos’s), so that he can talk to his brother. This is where this episode between Hypnos and Chronos ends.

If someone stumbles upon this post and doesn't know what's going on. This is a concept, not a fic. Just thoughts.

Masterpost AU "Deal with the Time" here

The description of the au is here

(English is not my native language, sorry for the mistakes)

#hades supergiant #hades 2 #hades game #AU Deal with the Time #chronos hades #hades chronos #chronos #hypnos hades #hades hypnos

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orxna · 2 months ago

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|| In Our Talons Now || Evanuris Captive AU ||

“He’s always had a habit of picking up strays.”

The voice croons through the air like an oily black smog, Orana feels faint already as she blinks against the suddenly intense light. Like an insect beneath a magnifying glass. A hands cards through her hair, nails just on the wrong side of sharpness that nearly makes Orana wince. She feels terribly groggy, her limbs left feel uncooperative.

“He and Andruil are alike that way.”

Orana carefully keeps her eyes closed and her breathing as steady as possible. She cannot keep the small hitch at the name dropped before her like an unwanted gift--but the voices are busy with their petty squabbles somewhere above her.

“Hold your tongue, lest I take it.”

“I meant no offense to your paramour—“

“My wife—“

The first voice booms, righteous like thunder in her ears. The hand in her hair tightens, and the nails sharpen against the thin skin of her brow. It is this that has her scrambling down and away. She loses balance, as she often does when in unfamiliar locations. She crashes against the floor falling off of some sort of soft pedestal onto unforgiving stone, but lets but only a small grunt. It takes more time than she would hope, steadying herself enough to slither backwards and away from the voices.

“Eo canavarum, what is going on?”

She squints past the bright light, waits for her eyes to recover and adjust. Gradually she finds her breathe caught in her throat as she fully registers the two figures above her. They are so imposingly large it makes her heart stutter, remembering when she had dangled helplessly from such a monster's hand. For a moment phantom pain shoots up her lost limb while she scrambles to her feet.

Better to die standing, she decides. It was a courtesy few born within her station received.

Instead, she is once again touched, the large clawed hand reaching forward to stroke the side of her face. Orana steels herself, thinks of Danarius' hand tenderly caressing her baby soft hair as he boiled her Papa's blood in his veins.

The woman's voice sweetens, like honey meant to dul the taste of poisoned wine when she trills, “They call us a family, I suppose that makes me your Auntie.”

She takes in their twisted forms, Corypheus and his blighted corruption coming to mind. She suppresses a shiver and forces her face blank and her eyes foreward. She cannot look them in their glowing eyes but she can look just above, stare at skin stretched taut and tearing into flesh like horns. She thinks of the blood bond between Hawke and the Old Magister, that was not family. That was theft.

“You are no kin of mine.”

The male figure laughs, condescending and bright, “Come now, da'len, you’re smarter than that. We do not speak of your mortal father, I speak of your Babae.”

It shutters her thoughts, that this was somehow related to Hawke's blood, another warden curse. Babae, she knows that word, if only through the muddled voice of the Well singing in her ear. That is the connection, she realizes, that is who these people have decided she is kin to.

“S-Solas?”

“What a terribly rude da'len,” Mocking snickering unbefitting of such a titanic elf as he sneers, “Calling her father by his first name.”

The hand on her face travels, ghosting over the scar of her amputation and it takes all of Orana's will to keep still. A game, they are playing a game with her. They are the Evanuris and she would wager the woman must be Ghilan'nain a horror made flesh. She is less sure who the man is, but the way he spoke, the regard for reverence to the Father.

“Don’t be so harsh on her, manners have fallen to the wayside in the time we have been gone,” The Mistress of Monstrosities is petting her hair, like a noblewoman with a kitten. Her nails have reblunted, smoothing neatly over Orana's brow where the Ancient might find Vallaslin had she been Dalish, “His influence I’m sure.”

Orana takes a deep, even breath. They are only Magisters, more ancient and more powerful but she knows what it is they want from someone weak, prostrate before them. She bows, she has no pride not in the face of death. Pride is a waste of life when humility means she might live another day.

“It is an honor to meet you, Mistress Ghilan'nain and Father Elgar'nan.” She does not know the proper titles, the Well does not provide that to her but she knows courtesies. Orana pulls them over herself like an armor, like a shield of frost cooling her heart into something that cannot be harmed.

Laughter booms, not disapproving if his grin is to be believed. Her gamble was well spent even as unease creeps down her spine, “Now that's a clever da'len.”

The hands return, more than two and Orana breathes and breathes as they corral her further into this place--This temple, she assumes. “Yes, little Orana—No, I don’t believe I like that name overmuch,” A tight squeeze against her scarred stump. Orana presses her lips firmly and nary a sound escapes in spite of the pain, “It comes from vultures picking over the bones of our empire. What shall we call you, little Dread Pup?”

Her eyes are averted politely, just below their mouths as her betters but Orana's voice is firm when she announces, “My name is Orana Feddic-Hawke, my lady.”

Two grins greet her, “For now, da'len.”

#;writing #v; evanuris captive #//listen I had A Thought while I was walking to pick up my lunch today #//and now it's Whatever The Fuck This Is #datv spoilers #//sort of I guess more speculation #hoboblaidd

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teakookssi · 11 months ago

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Before I Leave You [Eren/Levi x Reader FF]

[ full story can be found here or here ]

[Overview & prologue]

➺ pairing: levi ackerman/eren jeager x fem!reader

➺content: mafia au, crime, arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, angst, lol so much angst

➺warnings: YO. SHIT. IS. DARK. violence, blood, strong language, guns/weapons, and illegal activities are all mentioned but hey, that’s attack on titan for you, so if you can handle that, you can handle this (:

chapter 10: crime & punishment

“Well, if it isn’t my wayward daughter,” Ymir says to you in greeting, his deep voice rumbling against the quiet night as he comes to stand in front of you. “Finally found your way back home, I see.”

You turn your head away petulantly, jaw clenched. His tone is mocking, trying to provoke you. Wanting to get you to admit you messed up. That the sole reason he is here is because you disobeyed him and are incapable of handling things on your own.

You have too much pride to admit to such a thing, but your father is not one to let you off the hook so easily.

His hand is cold and rough as he tilts your face to his.

Piercing sapphire eyes stare down at you, pinning you in place. You're not surprised by the lack of warmth or the hint of danger you find in them. But there’s a chilling intensity to them, reminding you of the deep, vast ocean in the middle of winter.

You fear you will drown in them.

“You’ve been out playing past your bedtime, darling,” Ymir chides in a fatherly tone while subtly glancing over your features for any signs of damage. When he finds none, his devilish smile grows wider, revealing his sharp canines. “We can’t have that now, can we?”

As he says this, two of your father’s men appear behind him and reach out over you to rudely yank Eren from your side.

Naturally, Eren panics and calls to you for help, but you do well to neither react nor turn back to look at him. Not when your father is watching you as closely as he is. Either way, you don’t need to look behind you to know they’ve dragged Eren up the stairs to your front porch and roughly shoved him inside your house to wait for judgment.

You let them all do as they please without protest, but the same cannot be said regarding your father, and you pull away from his hold with open resentment.

Ymir blinks, his hand hanging momentarily in the air as he acknowledges your little tantrum, but his calm demeanor remains unchanged and he drops his hand shortly after. He then straightens and beckons you forward with a crooked smile. “Come, now. We have much to discuss.”

Taking the lead, he follows his men's footsteps in the direction of your front door with the menacing grace that would make even the fiercest animal bow down to him. You throw Levi one last deadly glare in his direction before begrudgingly following after your father.

There is no hiding how much you don’t want him here. Ymir's presence for you is degrading and belittling. Reminding you that in comparison to him, you are still nothing more than an overindulged child who had been handed guns and knives to play with like toys. And that no matter what you do, you are incapable of inflicting any real damage or bring about any real change to the family business unless he willed it first.

But your sullen attitude doesn't seem to faze your father. Rather, he seems to find it all the more inviting—much to your great displeasure.

Making your way inside with the rest of your circle in tow, you catch sight of Eren sitting nervously in the foyer as two of your father’s men stand over him, keeping him in place. You feel his gaze on you as you walk past, but you don’t spare him a single glance. One of your father’s men stands waiting for you outside your study a few doors down, which is where you assume your father has taken station, so you head straight towards it.

You take a deep breath and exhale sharply before stepping inside. When you finally do, his guard closes the door behind you with a deafening click that leaves the room in eerie silence. The room itself is a mixture of leather chairs, fine furniture, and wooden floors—not much unlike the rest of your house—while the lamps in the room turn the lighting dim, and a warm rich yellow hue.

Your father stands near the far right of the room by your desk with his back to you, pouring himself a drink from your stash of liquor.

As you anxiously await for him to address you first, you deliberate the best way to approach this. If you want things to play out in your favor, you need to play your cards right. You can’t afford for him to know the truth about what really happened to you this morning or all your plans involving Erwin will be ruined.

After taking a shot of his drink, Ymir places his empty glass back on the table next to your bottles of liquor, and you brace yourself.

“I thought I taught you better than to let yourself fall prey to your enemies,” your father finally says, keeping his back to you. His tone is nonchalant, but you can hear the familiar edge in his voice that tells you he is very much upset.

“I didn’t fall prey to anything,” you reply back curtly, trying to match his casual tone, but a note of irritation remains present in your voice. “I chose to run away.”

He glimpses over his shoulder at you with a raised eyebrow. “Is that what you’re calling it?”

“It’s the truth,” you tell him sharply. “I left of my own free will.”

Your father hums in thought before slowly turning to face you. His expression still calm, but skeptical. “Then why do your people tell a different story?”

You roll your eyes with a sharp sigh, not missing a beat. “Because they only ever know what I need them to know.” You wave a dismissive hand in the air. “It’s a nuisance having to explain to them every little thing I do.”

Ymir studies you closely for a moment longer before pouring himself another drink and taking it back with him to sit at your desk. “They say you were in poor condition this morning,” he informs you, leaning back in his chair. “That you were struggling to even walk. You were advised against going out in such a state, but you refused to listen.”

Under his hard, stern gaze —were you anyone else— you would have bent down to his will right then and there. But you were not like everyone else. And if you didn’t want things to get worse for you, you could not be the one to cave in first.

You offer your father a tight lip smile. “Right, well as you can see…” You gesture to your fully composed self before pulling out the leather chair facing your desk to sit across from him. “I can put on quite a show.”

But your father remains unconvinced. He reaches for his drink on the desk and takes a swing at it. “Historia insists otherwise.”

“Does she now?” you mutter dryly as he goes on, leaning back in your chair.

“She claims she saw you lying on the floor in my office. Unconscious. That that’s how that boy was able to kidnap you.”

Your siren gaze locks onto him like an iron snare. “That boy was just doing as I said. I was the one who told him to make Historia believe he was taking me back here. I made him persuade her not to tell anyone so we wouldn’t be followed.”

A flicker of barely controlled fury crosses your father's face as his steely eyes narrow on you. “You left unprotected and without notice.” Slowly, he rises to his feet and leans over the desk in front of you with a low growl. “Why?”

It takes all your willpower to hold your ground and keep your leisurely posture from shifting under his scathing look.

You shrug halfheartedly. “I was…” you start to say before trailing off as something catches your eye over your father’s shoulder, making you pause as your blood runs cold with dread.

The dead girl in the white bloody dress stands behind your father, haunting you as if she'd never left at all.

Your eyes nervously flicker back to your father. Did he catch the wave of panic and fear that ran through you just now? You can’t read his expression, but if he did notice something, you needed to make it seem like it had all just been a trick of the eye and not you accidentally revealing how mentally unstable you really are.

Your father keeps staring at you, waiting.

“I was bored,” you finally answer him, hoping your voice doesn't betray how on edge you are.

“You were bored,” Ymir repeats flatly. He looks almost insulted that that’s the best excuse you can come up with for him. Still, he nods with a click of his tongue, and with eyes downcast in thought, stands to circle around the desk before you.

“I’ve tasked you to maintain order within this business while I secure our future in this world,” Ymir says with a scowl, his voice deep and rough. He points to the door behind you—to the world outside. “This sector is your playground. Crime gangs, your playthings. That should be more than enough to keep you entertained.” His scowl deepens as he leans forward, gripping the sides of your chair and caging you in his arms. “What more could you possibly want?”

His close proximity has you inhaling his familiar scent—a strong mixture of whiskey, cigarettes, and sandalwood cologne that overwhelms your senses. But his words momentarily still your demons, allowing your mind to refocus as he reminds you of your ultimate goal.

“You know what I want.”

A muscle in his jaw twitches. “Is that why you left that little message for Erwin with that journalist’s wife?”

Your eyes gleam against the light. Hitch.

Oh, that woman had done most beautifully. After you'd left Marlow’s household, you’d had Sasha stay behind —keeping herself to the shadows — to make sure Hitch delivered your message to Erwin as she promised she would in accordance to the deal she’d made with you. According to Sasha, Hitch did in fact wait with her sleeping daughter in her arms, in the middle of the bloodbath you and your people left behind until Erwin showed up. When Erwin finally arrived less than a half hour later, he offered Hitch and her daughter protection, as you knew he would. But much to his surprise, and your extreme delight, she out front denied him.

“You can’t protect anyone,” Hitch had spat at him before placing a blank white envelope in front of him. “The daughter of Ymir sends her regards.”

Inside the envelope was a sheet of paper with two sentences: I win. Your move. Which Sasha had assured you he’d read because he then crumpled the paper in his hands and left.

Admittedly, it had been a bold move. You had gambled it all on the love of a mother for her child, but Hitch was a smart woman. Allowing Marlow to side with Erwin had lost her her husband. She would not make the same mistake twice and risk losing her daughter the same way.

Your father's grip on the sides of your leather chair tighten as he notes the smug look on your face, bringing you back to the present. “Proud, are we?”

But you bristle at his tone and jump to your feet, scraping the chair behind you. “I did what was necessary!” you snap back at him unapologetically, pointing at his chest. “To protect your reputation. As you told me to do.”

Ymir’s patience wears out.

“No.” In one swift movement, Ymir reaches for your extended arm and pulls you in towards him, making you collide against his chest. “You acted out of foolishness,” he growls at you with bared teeth. “To prove a point. To put yourself on the playing field—without even thinking about the consequences. Of the delicate situation you would have put us in if things ended up getting traced back to you.”

But your father doesn’t have a firm enough hold on you. Fueled by your own anger, you easily twist free from his grip and shove him back, even though he hardly moves an inch.

“I was careful!” you cry out with indignation. “Have you so little faith in me you think I would risk everything unless I knew the outcome with absolute certainty?” You shake your head, bitter. “You and Levi are the bloody same.”

You turn on your heels and march for the door, having had enough of his scolding.

“We are not finished,” your father says brusquely just as your hand closes on the door handle.

You pause, hearing the warning in his tone. For a brief second, you contemplate leaving regardless, but you know it’ll just make things worse for you in the end. Reluctantly and through clenched teeth, you let your hand fall away.

“Sit down.”

Your hands curl into fists at your side, hating the way he speaks to you. So you remain standing where you are, refusing to face him.

Ymir scoffs at your defiance as you hear him light a cigarette behind you. “I give you a small taste of power and you think yourself untouchable. But all you’ve done is prove to me you are not ready for any of it, no matter how strong or skilled you think you are.” Disappointment is laced in his voice as he blows out a smoke and adds, “Levi was right about you. You’ve grown far too impetuous and way too bloody fearless.”

Your eyes widen, enraged. “Levi?!”

You turn and stride across the room to where your father now sits regally behind your desk, a cigarette in between his fingers.

“Levi doesn’t know shit about me.” Not anymore. Not how he used to. “But of course, go ahead. Take his word over mine. Like you always do. What do I care.”

A small smile commandeers your father’s lips as he exhales a puff of smoke. “Oh, I don’t need to take his word for it. You’ve seen to that yourself.”

Your eyes narrow dangerously. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He gives you a pointed look. “This isn’t the first time you have deliberately put yourself at risk for the sake of getting what you want.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” you exclaim, exasperated. “I was never in any danger! Despite what you and Levi believe, I’m not helpless. I’m not weak. I don’t need to be protected. I can take care of myself. That’s what you trained me for all these years, isn’t it?”

Ymir's features harden. “I raised you the way I did so that I wouldn’t have to worry over you.” Your eyes follow his right hand as he moves it across the desk to tap the end of his cigarette on an ashtray. “But your actions as of late are rather concerning. I was willing to let it go, but now we have you disappearing for hours, acting recklessly and without reason.”

You shake your head and look away, frustrated. This was rendering futile. No matter what you said, your father wasn't going to believe any of it.

“For the time being,” he goes on to add, “I want you home. Where you will be heavily monitored.”

You tense. “What?”

But Ymir continues. “You will have no control over the business. Nor will your little circle of misfits toys be obeying your every whim. They will be under orders to not let you leave the house.”

“For how long?” you ask through clenched teeth.

Ymir shrugs and puts out his cigarette on the ashtray. “Until Levi sees fit.”

You close your eyes and exhale sharply. That manipulating son of a bitch! Nevertheless, you reign in your temper and throw the traitorous bastard to the back of your mind. You would deal with him soon enough.

Flashing your eyes open, you focus all of your energy on your father. “This is fucking bullshit!” you tell him reproachfully. “How is any of this fair? I only did what you would’ve done.”

Ymir fixes you with a gaze dark and hard as coal. “And I need you to be better.”

With an air of finality, he directs his attention away from you. “Call in Mr. Yeager,” Ymir orders aloud across the room to one of the guards stationed outside the door.

You stiffen nervously as your gaze shifts to the door and then back to your father. “Why?”

Your father’s tone grows mild. “He has an interesting last name. Yeager. Don’t you think? Not very common.” But the evaluating look in your father's eye tells you he’s scheming, and you’re left feeling uneasy. He then slides his gaze over to you with a tilt of his head. “But perhaps more intriguing is this odd fascination he has for you that everyone keeps telling me about.”

Your jaw sets. “I’ve already looked into him. I told you, he’s harmless.”

Ymir raises an eyebrow. “You surprise me, daughter. Since when do you start letting your guard down around people that isn’t us?”

You scoff incredulously. “Are you serious? You’ve met the guy. You can’t seriously think he is capable of any ulterior motives—”

Your father cuts you off with a dangerous glare. “That boy did not come out of nowhere without reason and fall helplessly into your lap just to let himself be groomed by you. A wolf dressed in wool is still a wolf.”

You both slide your gaze to the door as you hear footsteps approach from the other side.

“But who knows?” your father muses ominously from behind your desk. “If he survives, we might make something out of him yet.”

You frown. If he survives?

Before you can ask anything further, the door swings open and Eren steps inside.

—

“Mr. Eren Yeager,” Ymir says in way of greeting to the nervous looking young man making his way across the room towards him. “Take a seat.”

Eren wisely does as he’s told and sits across from your father in the same chair you had been sitting in moments before. His green eyes flick over to where you stand behind your father’s chair, but a look of indifference is all you greet him with and he flinches, disheartened.

Your father observes this exchange quietly before drawing Eren’s attention away from you.

“You seem to be playing quite the hero for my daughter lately,” Ymir begins calmly, almost pleasantly. “Always coming to her rescue. Obeying her every whim. Giving in to her little tantrums…”

Eren promptly shakes his head. “Sir, I didn’t mean to cause any trouble—”

Ymir raises a hand to gently cut him off with a tight lip smile, sliding his icy gaze over to you. “Listening to her will always lead to trouble, I assure you.”

You grimace and lean back against the bookshelf behind you with arms crossed, unamused.

“But…” Ymir reverts his focus back to Eren and gives him a knowing smile. “Something tells me you already know that.”

Eren doesn’t miss a beat. “I only wanted to help her,” he swears, throwing a glance at you.

But this is as much patience as Ymir is willing to offer because though his demeanor remains calm, your father's voice grows hard as steel. “You helped put her life at risk. At any given moment she was away from her guards, she could have been captured, held for ransom. Murdered. You could have led her into a trap. Betrayed her.”

Eren looks appalled. “I would never—” He turns to you for help, but your cold expression tells him not to expect anything from you so he hastily turns back to your father. “I would never do anything to hurt her.”

Ymir raises an eyebrow dubiously. “I’ve heard better lies spoken from lesser men. My wealth and success is no secret, Mr. Yeager. And people are capable of monstrous things if it means a chance at getting their hands on it.”

But this only causes Eren to withdraw back slightly in his seat, understanding clouding his expression as Eren confirms where, or rather whom, it is you’ve picked up your vindictive attitude and negative view towards the world.

Sensing this change in him, you watch him carefully as his hands curl into fists in his lap, thinking he might give in. But then he steals a sideways glance in your direction and says pointedly, “Not all humans are monsters.”

You scowl, taking this as an invitation to come out and play.

“No,” you tell Eren none too kindly. “They’re worse.” You cock your head to the side, cruelness dripping from your voice as Eren stares back at you warily the closer you step towards him. “But not you, right? You’re the exception?”

You sense your father observing you closely from behind, wondering where you're going with this. Unaware that Eren’s words had been addressed to you and your morally grey decisions.

Your eyes narrow as you go on to say to Eren with open disdain, “In comparison to us, you’re a bloody saint, right?”

Eren looks pained. “Anya, please—”

You cut him off and throw Ymir a wry smile over your shoulder. “How blessed are we, Father, to have a holy angel in our midst?”

But Ymir simply raises an eyebrow at you, unimpressed. As if to say, “Are you finished?”

Lips pressed, you make an exaggerated gesture towards Eren, replying silently, “He's all yours.”

You leave them to serve yourself a much needed drink, all the while scanning the room for any signs of that ghastly ghost of a girl. But the girl in the stained dress has remained absent ever since Eren first stepped into the room.

You refrain from dwelling on that fact.

Twirling the drink in your hand, you observe from afar as Ymir rises from his seat to make his way around your desk, forcing Eren’s attention back on him. He lights another cigarette in the process.

“Mr. Yeager,” Ymir says, taking a seat at the edge of the desk in front of Eren and gesturing lazily in your direction. “Considering my daughter is standing here alive and well, I am willing to overlook today’s incident. But if this happens again, and I find you in the center of it, I promise I will not be as forgiving. So for your own sake, I advise you to keep your distance from her.”

Eren blinks up at your father in alarm, not at all expecting to hear such an order. “You want me to…?” Eren trails off as his head turns and his eyes slowly make their way across the room to where you stand.

Your jaw clenches as you struggle to keep it together because that devastated look on his face is affecting you far more than you care to admit. So when Eren finds you taking in his reaction, you briskly turn away and walk off to the other side of the room, feeling unsteady.

But that does little to stop him. Without thinking, Eren starts to get up, intent on reaching you to make you change your mind. Probably thinking this is a request you made that you wanted your father to fulfill. “Anya—”

Your father, however, keeps him seated, a heavy hand clasped firmly on Eren's shoulder.

“Looking after my daughter isn’t what you were hired for, Mr. Yeager,” your father reminds him coolly. “There’s no need for you to concern yourself over her.”

And yet, despite your father’s warning undertone, Eren grows unresponsive, eyes lost in thought as he stares blankly at an invisible spot on the floor in front of him.

Ymir cocks his head at him curiously before giving Eren's shoulder a firm shake. “Eren.” At his name, Eren slowly blinks to attention, signaling your father to press forward. “All I need from you is to keep working that charming smile of yours on my business partners and keep my company profiting.” He then gives Eren's shoulder a tight squeeze. “Fair enough?”

When Eren makes no further protest, Ymir starts to walk away to prepare himself another drink, thinking this is the end of the conversation. But Eren is far too still for your liking. And you fear the things going through his head as he then says to your father, “With all due respect, sir, but I can’t do that.”

Cold dread roots you in place as your father stops short a few feet away from your table of drinks. He stands unmoving for the longest of seconds, his back facing both you and Eren as you anxiously wait for him to respond.

Finally, Ymir gives the slightest tilt over his shoulder. “What was that now?” he asks Eren politely.

But even with his back to you, you can hear the smile stretched on your father’s lips, and you realize this must be what your father has been goading Eren towards this whole time.

“Stop,” you find yourself warning Eren as you try to cross the room towards him in urgent strides. “Stop talking. Now.”

But your father turns before you can reach Eren and Ymir raises a hand in your direction. That’s all he needs to do to stop you in your tracks.

“Please continue, Mr. Yeager,” Ymir prompts, regarding Eren with a dark look in his eye that confirms your suspicions over this mysterious ploy of his. “You can’t do what exactly?”

Eren swallows nervously, but he locks eyes with your father nonetheless. “You want me to keep my distance from your daughter because you don’t trust me.” He nods once in agreement, his tone mild. “That’s fair, but…” He shakes his head with a clenched jaw. “I also can't turn my back on her.” His voice suddenly hardens, turns angry. “I won’t. Not when I know that every day her life is at risk. That the reason she’s always in danger and needs to be protected in the first place is because of the kind of businesses you run behind closed doors.”

You slam your drink on the table beside you and lunge for Eren before your father can react.

“Are you mad?!” you demand Eren vehemently, trying to play the role of the loyal daughter coming to her father’s defense. “You dare accuse my father—”

“Now, hold on, darling,” Ymir cuts you off, stepping in your path before you can properly get your hands on Eren. “I’d like to hear more about what Mr. Yeager has to say about the matter.”

You steal a nervous glance up at your father who keeps an arm around your middle to keep you in place. Ymir’s focus, however, never strays from Eren.

“Why?” you demand, haughty. “He clearly has no idea what he’s talking about.”

Eren's gaze cuts to you sharply. “I know enough!” he snaps back at you, refusing to be blindsided. “I know that people walk the other way when they see any of you walking down the street. I see their fear. And I know what happens to those that threaten your family.”

You fight back a grimace, thinking now he’s really done it, as a sinister smile begins to creep up across your father's lips.

“You speak of things that can get you killed,” Ymir tells Eren before leaving your side to approach him the way a wolf sizes up its prey before going in for the kill.

Sensing his impending doom, Eren rushes to explain, “Because I think you’re making a mistake.”

“A mistake?”

“Yes.”

You don't miss the way Eren passes saliva down his throat as Ymir’s six foot three figure closes the gap between them. But despite your father's height tactic—which you know he enjoys exploiting to intimidate and exert his dominance over his enemies—Eren doesn’t back down.

His voice remains steady as he tells your father, “I think I can be of better use to you if I remain by her side.”

You tsk in contempt so as to intervene. “As what? My guard dog?” You bark out a laugh. “Please. You have no survival skills whatsoever. You can’t protect anyone.”

Eren manages to look slightly smug as he turns to face you. “I saved you once before, didn’t I? I can easily do it again.”

That earns him a harsh scowl from you. “You acted out of stupidity, not skill.”

He lets out an irritated half laugh. “Then where were the rest of your ‘skilled’ guards when you needed them? I wouldn’t have had to jump in and save you if they had been doing their job in the first place.”

Before you can argue back, Eren turns to Ymir. “Sir, her friends are too loyal to her to go against her. If she gives the word, they’ll let her do whatever she wants, even when they know it poses a threat to her life. Just look at what happened today. They let her leave the house this morning when she was struggling to even walk!”

You scoff in disbelief, your blood boiling as you sense yourself losing further control of the situation. Because what the hell was happening right now? Was this how Eren was planning on securing his bet with you? By sabotaging your relationships and forcing his way into your life so you had no way of escaping him or his moral influences?

You turn on your father angrily, expecting him to put an end to this and back you up, only for you to find him standing a few feet away, busy pouring himself the drink Eren had interrupted him from preparing earlier before.

“Father!” you cry out impatiently, demanding his attention. “Are you seriously going to let him keep talking about this? Tell him to fuck off already!”

“Well, actually, darling…”

Ymir takes a languid drink of his liquor, the ice in his drink clinking against the glass with each slow and calculated step he makes back to his seat behind your desk.

“He has a point.”

You stare at your father for a long moment, dumbfounded, before your eyes drift back to Eren and you slowly start to connect the dots.

You shake your head, marching towards your father. “No. Absolutely not. That’s not why I brought him here!” You lean over the desk standing in between you and him. “His image is supposed to remain clean. If he’s seen in places he’s not supposed to be, working with people who—”

Ymir cuts you off with a wave. “That’s the least of my concern.” He leans back on his chair to evaluate Eren carefully from where he stands behind you. “What I want to know is just how far he’s willing to go to protect you.”

“As far as it takes,” Eren promptly answers, stepping forward. “Whatever she needs from me, I’ll do it.”

Your shoulders sag and you close your eyes in defeat as his response rewards Eren with a wicked grin from your father. “You would die for her?”

“Yes.”

Ymir raises an eyebrow. “Even…kill for her?”

A small noise of hesitation, like a strangled breath, escapes Eren's throat, snapping your eyes open. You twist towards him, noting his prolonged silence.

Only for you to find he’s already looking at you.

You try to look away, not wanting to get caught in those bright green eyes of his, but your body won’t cooperate. The way he’s looking at you is unnerving. Like he’s able to see past all your jagged edges and metal armor into the weary soul buried within.

Perhaps he can, because his eyes do not leave you as he answers your father with vast conviction, “If it meant saving her life, yes.”

You falter, breaking free from his gaze, as you feel something heavy unfurl in your stomach, and it takes you a moment to understand it's guilt. To hear that Eren would allow himself to be corrupted for your sake…

Your father laughs, deeply amused. “What deep devotion you spark in the hearts of men, Anya! Such bravery!”

His words cause you to flinch, but Ymir doesn't seem to notice. “You reckon he'd still feel the same way,” your father questions, “if I told him of all the countless hearts you’ve collected and buried deep underground?” You freeze, the color draining from your face as Ymir adds, “Of all the blood and death that follows wherever you go?”

You watch Eren’s expression fall, turn woeful, as he lowers his gaze to the floor, unable to look at you anymore.

“You did not know, did you?” Ymir asks Eren cruelly. “Of the murderous little creature she really is.”

Not wanting to hear Eren’s answer, you turn to your father angrily. “What is even the point of this? He’s not actually going to take part in—”

Eren cuts you off. “It doesn't matter,” he says tersely, trying to force himself to believe what he's saying, that he really doesn't care. And yet, he cannot control the unsteadiness you hear in his voice. Or the troubled look displayed across his face, expressing how much he’s struggling to override his moral code.

Your father notices it too. “Oh?” he asks Eren curiously. “It doesn’t, now?”

You try to step in, wanting to put an end to this. “Father—”

But Ymir is far from finished. With Eren still positioned on the opposite side of your desk from Ymir, your father leans towards him in his chair with keen fascination.

“Then you think someone like her—” He gestures to you standing to his right with an open hand. “—someone of her nature… is worth signing away your life for?”

Against your better judgement, you steal a glance over at Eren anxiously, awaiting his response.

He wouldn't agree to this. He couldn’t. Because despite what your father believes, Eren is very much aware of the kind of monster you are. You’ve killed in front of him, threatened his life countless of times. Plus, the only reason he told your father he knew what happened to people who betrayed your family was no thanks to you. Eren was distraught after learning what you’d done to Marlow. He wouldn't stake his life for someone capable of something like that. You were sure of it.

And yet…

Eren straightens, squares his shoulders. “She’s important to you, Sir,” Eren answers your father evenly, staring him down. “So, yes.” His eyes then lock with yours. “I believe she’s worth protecting.”

You stare at Eren in shock, completely taken aback, until you glimpse over at your father smiling up at him. As if what Eren said is exactly what he wanted to hear.

You turn away, feeling sick.

Ymir proceeds, oblivious to your growing restlessness. “Very well, Mr. Yeager. If you are so highly familiar with the framework of my organization, then you must know that if you do this, and you pledge your loyalty to us, there will be no going back.” With his elbows resting on the arms of his chair, Ymir claps his hands together like a businessman ready to seal a deal. “Do you understand that?”

Eren nods earnestly. “I have nothing left to lose.”

Your father glimpses over Eren's shoulder to where you stand glaring at him and Eren from afar, quietly seething. “Then you have your work cut out for you.”

Eren remains undeterred as he starts towards you expectantly, eyes glistening with joy. In his mind, he thinks he's won. Your father has granted him the permission and freedom to remain closer to you, which is what he wanted.

But you instantly draw back, maintaining your distance.

Eren halts, confused, and you ball your hands into fists at your sides. Hating how completely unaware he is of the triumphant grin plastered across your father's face behind him. Of the conniving plan your father surely has in store for him that will most likely cost him his life.

You shake your head at Eren with a look that’s equal parts pity and disappointment. “You’ve just made the worst mistake of your life.”

Before he can ask you anything more, you turn on your heels and storm out of the room. Overwhelmed with how trapped and powerless you feel. Because you can't shake off the reality of what's just happened. Of how, out of the three of you standing in that room, the only person walking out of there victorious here tonight was your father.

—

As you walk out of your study, the two guards standing outside the door join Eren and your father inside.

Not expecting your father to call you back in, but wanting to create distance between him incase he does, you make your way out of the hallway. As you try to slip away undetected, you catch a glimpse of your cadre waiting for you in the living room, looking concerned. But it's not them you're on the hunt for. You need to regain some sense of control again, and to face them now will only serve as a reminder that you in fact are not.

Unfortunately, Mikasa spots you first before you get the chance to make your getaway. “Anya! What happened?” she asks, coming to join you in the hallway. “Is everything alright?”

But it appears the events of tonight have begun to mess with your mind because all it takes is Mikasa’s Ackerman blood and resembling grey eyes to have you seeing Levi instead. The hallucination lasts only seconds, but it's enough to trigger you.

Mikasa draws back as your siren eyes, red with irritation, zero in on her. But it's too late for her now.

“Is everything alright?” you repeat dryly, taking predatory steps towards her. “Yeah, everything’s bloody brilliant! No thanks to your stupid cousin. It was him, wasn't it? He went running off to my father like a bloody snitch and exaggerated everything to make him come down here and investigate.” You reach out and yank her collar to pull her towards you. “Do you have any idea what this has cost me?”

Nimble footsteps sound behind you that might otherwise have gone unheard of if your senses weren’t as sharp and highly trained as they were.

“So then what would you have had us do?” Comes Sasha’s fiery retort. “Twiddle our thumbs and do nothing?”

You release Mikasa from your hold as you slide your attention over to Sasha and the rest of your circle who have followed behind her into the hallway.

Sasha faces you with arms crossed and a deep scowl on her face. “We thought the worst. You were gone for hours, and with no word from you—”

“That’s the fucking problem!” you exclaim in frustration. “Why? Why do you all suddenly doubt me? I always say I’m fine, don’t I? That I’ve got everything under control. But no one fucking listens to me!”

Connie bristles, stepping forward. “If you had just let us know you were leaving—let anyone know where you were really going—this wouldn't have happened!”

Your eyes pierce him like daggers. “If I had wanted you to know, I would have told you.”

“Anya,” Jean calls to you softly then, surprising you with the amount of hurt you hear in his voice.

Still, you turn to him irritably, expecting more retaliation. But when you find nothing but weariness on his face, his eyes soft and pleading, you feel like someone has suddenly doused you in a bucket of ice, cooling you down instantly.

“How can you still not trust us?” Jean asks you with a level of pain that ruins you. “We’ve been by your side for years. We do everything you ask. We don’t question you because we trust you. We will do anything for you, just as you've done for us.”

“You don't have to keep everything all to yourself,” Mikasa adds gently beside a remorseful looking Historia. “Let us carry the burden of your sins with you.”

For the briefest second, your anger and frustrations subside as your heart caves in to them, and it's like you can finally breathe again.

The bond you share with these people is a strange, but powerful one. Before you met them, you'd always carried with you this inexplicable sensation. Like you were searching for something, or someone, and that feeling never fully went away. It wasn't until you finally crossed paths and laid eyes on them that you knew with absolute certainty they were the ones you were searching for, the ones you were meant to find.

But the moment is cut too short.

From the corner of your eye, you catch sight of your father's men begin to approach your circle from down the hall. And with a clenched jaw, you stifle down the blinding rage that burns within you as you’re forced to watch them round up your people and start shoving them out the front door.

“Oi! What are you doing? Get off!” your cadre protest in alarm as you lean against a pillar near the front entrance, needing to see them off in a seemingly unbothered fashion.

“Oh, but haven't you heard?” you inform your cadre mildly amidst their confusion, folding your arms across your chest to keep your hands from drawing out your weapons and attacking your father's men. “My father has relieved you all of my command. You don't take orders from me anymore.”

Their stunned expressions is the last thing you see before your father's guards slam the door in their faces. Once they station themselves at the door, they finally turn to face you. One of them gives you a wolfish grin.

“Off to bed, princess,” he says mockingly. “You’re under curfew now.”

But your deadpan gaze wipes their stupid grins clean off their faces as they catch a glimpse of the danger lurking within, reminding them that you are not someone to be taken lightly. Something your father had failed to do.

Ymir was free to take everything away from you as he pleased. Everything, except your cadre. For better or worse, they had chained themselves to you. They were yours to keep and protect and command as you willed. Your father could not have them.

“Tell my father,” you say to his guards darkly, “if he thinks I’m going to take this all quietly, he is sorely mistaken.”

Leaving them to their post, you head upstairs in search of the man responsible for causing all this mess. You had seen Levi come inside with everyone else so you knew he was somewhere inside the house. The rooms you'd walked past in the hallway downstairs were all empty so you’re safe to assume he’s in his room upstairs.

As you climb the last set of stairs and round the corner leading to his bedroom, you can feel the fatigue of this day begin to catch up to you, urging you to turn back and rest. But the level of rage burning inside you was overflowing. It needed an outlet, and you were about to give it one.

23 notes · View notes

hayanwulf · 4 months ago

Note

For the wip game: I’m curious about the How to kill your dragon

(WIP Game)

I am starting to feel self-conscious about how highly detailed all my fic plots tend to be.

Anyway,

Royalty + fantasy + a/b/o AU. Vaguely inspired from How To Train Your Dragon as well as Frozen.

Stephen is a sad lonely (omega) dragon who just cannot live a solitary life like the other dragons seem to happily live. The solitary lifestyle drives him insane. So the obvious solution is to shapeshift into human and live amongst them, right?

For those who are familiar with a/b/o verse, sometimes there's this element in the story that Alphas are able to control/command Omegas using pheromones / "Voice".

Since Stephen is a dragon, a human Alpha's Voice should not work on him. Biologically speaking. Heck, dragons don't even have the same concept of Voice as humans do, so their Voice shouldn't work on him at all. But it does, for reasons he doesn't understand yet.

It was a concern in the past [ insert past trauma ;) ] but ever since King Howard Stark's reign, there have been many laws put into place for Omegas' protection. So Stephen decides to try living as a human. He develops keen interest in the Healing Arts, finds a mentor by the name of The Ancient One, and manages to become a part of her small pack.

So, his life is good here. Until it isn't...

Recently, a large purple dragon by the name of 'Mad Titan' has been attacking the Kingdom of Rakshida, and Prince Tony is tired of sitting inside a stupid palace, waiting for the next attack to strike their Kingdom.. so he sets out in search of this dragon, and that leads him to the Kamar-Taj province.

Something something unfortunate circumstances meeting unfortunate timing...

There's more. God, so much more. For now, I'll let this Frozen-inspired snippet do the talking.

As he was walking towards the stairs, he caught a conversation between two people in the lobby that made him freeze.

“Oh, I can’t imagine what Prince Anthony must be going through, to have finally captured the dragon, but then lose his parents to it!”

What!!?

“I pray the Vishanti will curse that beast with a thousand years of pain.”

“We should rather pray for our safety. The dragon escaped from the prison right outside the Capital. What if it came this way?”

“Don’t be ludicrous, it hasn’t been spotted at all in days. It probably went back to its...”

Stephen didn’t have patience to sit through their useless gossip, even less so right now. He marched up to the pair of omegas, unabashedly intruding into their conversation. “What were you saying just now?”

Both the persons were startled as they turned to him. “What..?” Asked the woman.

“About Prince Anthony.. What were you saying? What happened to his parents?”

The pair looked at each other as though Stephen had just asked a stupid question, then turned to him again as the man replied, “Two days ago King Howard and Queen Maria were killed. By the dragon that Prince Anthony had captured.”

Stephen’s entire world seemed to come to a stop.

The King and Queen were dead.

Rakshida’s King and Queen were dead.

The people who had allowed Stephen to create a safe human life for himself, were dead.

Killed.

Killed by the dragon.

Stephen had killed them.

Stephen had murdered the two people who had given him his new life.

A murderer.

Useless. Weak. Good for nothing.

Can’t even control his fire.

A monster—

“Hey, I think you should sit down..” The woman steadied him with a hand on his arm, snapping him back to reality.

“I think he needs a healer—”

“No,” Stephen cut the man off. “No,” he said again, releasing his arm from the woman’s grip. “I’m fine,” he said while wobbling in his steps. Both the persons tried to reach out to him, but he backed away and ran towards the stairs.

With only half of his conscience still working, he somehow found the room that was his for tonight. Gripping the key between his fingers that now shook way more that they should, he tried to insert the key into its lock, growling under his breath and eyes tearing up when his hands wouldn’t listen.

“Come on, you useless thing!” He growled out louder than he should, and in a split second channeled way too much magic into his hands. All the luminescent lines of his body lit up a bright white-blue, excess magic seeped out of his skin turning into blue butterflies, and instead of putting the key through the lock, he accidentally crushed the entire lock in his grip.

He froze up, staring at the broken lock in his palm, and then at all the bright magic lines that ran down his hands disappearing under his sleeves, felt each of the magic line under his skin pulsating with magic.

And then he felt his throat growing warm.

No.

NO!

He smacked his free hand over his mouth, trying to will the fire down, and rushed into the room to lock himself in, praying to the Vishanti to give him strength to control himself. He leaned against the now closed door and slowly let his body slide down, until he was sitting on the floor.

There was a knock against the door, and he flinched, a flicker of blue fire escaping from his mouth. He brought his other hand over his mouth too, covering it fully, ignoring the soft murmur of ‘water’ that came from outside.

He trembled in fear. He was going to lose control. He was going to spit fire absolutely everywhere. He was going to burn down all of these innocent humans who had done absolutely nothing to him. He was going to kill everyone. Like he killed the King and Queen.

Vishanti, why had he unleashed his fire back there? What had he been thinking? That he’d be able to control his neutral fire? That had already failed when the Prince had attacked him. His ‘neutral fire’ had melted their armor. Why did he ever think he would be able to control it at all?

His throat felt too hot. He choked on his own fire as more magic started to escape his skin, materializing into butterflies. He closed his eyes, tears running down his cheeks as he tried to summon any bit of willpower that still remained inside him.

It wasn’t working. He couldn’t do this. His head was spinning and heavy. There was too much magic trapped under his skin. He was going to lose it. He needed to run. He needed to get far away from these humans.

He tried to get up on his knees, but immediately collapsed to the ground.

He should have never come near humans. He should have never left the mountains. He should have locked himself up in his den forever.

If he was always going to be defective, he should have never been born.

Why was he even alive yet..?

His vision and thoughts faded into nothingness.

#wip game #ironstrange #fic #fic talk #dragon stephen strange #omegaverse #hayans writings

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sunflowersunite · 18 days ago

Text

for @emweek day 7: let there be light, a little AU in the world of "all the light we cannot see".

Summary:

“... before today’s broadcast is over… Armin, I hope you’re listening and that you know how much I await your news. Erwin, I’m waiting for you, we all are. Cousin sends his regards. And to…” she falters, debating something. “... to my most beloved, my dear.” Eren’s heart tightens in his chest, he wants to cradle the transceiver in his arms, shut it up before it’s late. But at the same time he wants to listen, he wants to know. // or: Marleyan Warrior Eren hears a familiar voice in the radio, as he's trapped in a city that he once called home

with angst, feels, war, conquerors and resistance, and a backwards countdown. Enjoy!

#eremika week 2024 #eremika #mikasa ackerman #eren yeager #eren x mikasa #eremika fanfiction #eremika au

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uhohdad · 6 months ago

Note

Can’t wait until the aftermath to come out!! By any chance can you give more headcanons on König and reader?? 👀👀

well duh darling i’ve only been waaaaaiting for y’all to ask

‼️ ⚠️ MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE KONIG X READER HUNGER GAMES AU BELOW⚠️ ‼️

• Konig hated the whiskey. hated the taste, hated the smell, hated the way it made his brain foggy. he only drank it on the train bc he thought it would make Reader think he’s cool 😭

• another reason konig didn’t want to go on the balcony is because he’s afraid of heights. he only did it to hang out with Reader

• seeing Reader in a jacket in his size ahbsbxhahhzxb he was so nervous to offer the jacket to her and seeing her drown in it was making him feel some type of way. you’re so small.

• in addition to watching her sleep the night before the games, he also stayed up late on the balcony to watch Reader sleep. felt like a straight creep he did.

• Konig always sits so far away from Reader because he’s terrified of making her uncomfortable, especially after getting turned on when her leg was on his. Also why he was so fucking baffled when Reader had her leg pressed to his on the train. He so badly wanted it to happen again but he didn’t want to push it. And it really speaks to the true elation he felt it when she was still alive at the end it literally brought him to a sprint to pull her in a hug that was tighter than it should have been.

• Konig’s not one to jump to violence, especially after the incident from his past - but when One called Reader a dog he had his fists clenched fs You’re his weak spot dude he’s always ready to throw hands for you. He feels like it’s his duty, especially since he feels the need to repay her for standing up for him. It really shows in (aside from literally killing for her) when he spoke out of turn to Price - something he would never do if it wasn’t concerning Reader. He really gagged the whole dinner table.

• Konig is especially awkward with Price. and vice versa. They don’t really ‘get’ each other. Konig still respects him and his opinion of him, though. He’s much closer with Ruby.

• god he is just so. enamored with Reader. he is just so happy that they have good banter. he just thinks everything she says is the most charming thing ever.

• I don’t think I can stress enough just how jealous our boy was when Titan was flirting with Reader. Nauseous. He had a whole ‘that’s so raven’ day-mare about you and Titan. The thought of him laying his hands on you. And knowing he had just upset you made him believe he just pushed you right into Titan’s arms. So relieved when you started talking shit on him.

• aside from being devastated that she was upset with him about considering allying with the careers, watching reader handle weapons did something to him.

• He feels so lost when you’re upset, and he has a tendency to blame himself and not the whole ‘being sent to your death thing’

• During Konig’s interview, he was sure Reader knew he had a crush on her. He thought the jig was up.

• I almost made Pluck have a full on moment after the interview, the night before the games - like throwing chairs, breaking glasses, and destroying the suite, but it didn’t end up making the final cut it just didn’t seem to flow with the story.

• It took hours for Konig to work up the courage to go to Reader’s room the night before the games - and he still chickened out.

• Konig was just as haunted if not more by Eleven. He could feel his neck snap.

• I’m screaming, crying, throwing up that I can’t give y’all more games fun facts since I don’t wanna spoil The Aftermath

• y’all ain’t gonna like this one but the TRUTH? Konig was sneaking mad looks at Reader at the waterfall when she wasn’t looking. felt like such a creep.

• felt like the luckiest man alive getting to carry her through the desert. what a simp.

• Konig is the love that cannot be reasoned with. Reader is the hate that cannot be reasoned with.

• Konig sacrificed himself because he couldn’t stand the thought of her not living, period. He truly believed she deserved to live more than him. Reader sacrificed herself partially because that was always the plan - but her motivation in regard to Konig was because she didn’t want to live without him. Her motivations were selfish while his were selfless.

• Reader’s spite was her downfall after all. Price warned her not to let it get the best of her and she ended up taking her own life because of it.

‘We’ll see who wakes up tomorrow, Konig.’

more TGWCM fun facts :)

#idk if these are technically head canons #more like #fun facts #i kind of assumed you meant about the HG au also #so if i goofed i apologize unfortunately i’m a moron #love ya babe thanks for asking <3 💕💓💗🩷💞💓#uhohask #tgwcm #konig #konig cod #könig cod #könig #call of duty #cod #x reader #konig call of duty #könig call of duty #dadscannons

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eleanore-delphinium · 1 year ago

Text

The Beginning of a New Life: The New Member

JLDAW AU

1 : Damirae Week 2020 : BOUND TOGETHER

2 : Damirae Week 2020 : SOULMATES

3 : Damirae Week 2020 : MARRIAGE

4 : I remember You

5: The Beginning of a New Life: The New Member ( YOU ARE HERE )

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Recap of the New Timeline After JLAW

I woke up with a gasp, the air within my room felt heavy. I sat up on my bed as I wipe sweat from my forehead.

“Great! You’re awake!” My father says annoyed. “You were making me feel things I do not appreciate, child.”

“Like what father?” I ask just as annoyed.

“Miserable.” He grunts.

“Good. Because that is what I feel with you, and I hope you feel that too.” I mutter at him and he starts cursing me for being ungrateful. I ignore him so that I can focus on my surroundings to calm myself down.

I look at my room in the Titan Tower. Everything seemed normal, nothing was out of place. My father was right. I felt miserable when I had woken up from my sleep. Why did I feel miserable? Oh yes, it was because of my dream—no that was a nightmare.

The details—what were the details? I found that I couldn’t recall my dream. A dream? What dream am I thinking about? The one from last night?

I slowly lie back down in bed; it was still night out. I was just confused from being woken up suddenly by my annoying father. Yes, I will back to sleep now.

I allow the drowsiness to come to me. Today was a very tiring day, I need to go back to sleep. My eyes flutter back to sleep.

I felt like there were people in my room talking. It was faint, but it was a full-on conversation.

“Will I remember you?” A male voice says.

“Yes…” I felt something warm against my lips. “Unknowingly…” The female voice continues with a sad tone.

“Like the word at the tip of your tongue, like a memory you couldn’t completely recall, like a kiss from a butterfly…” I muttered as she finishes what she was saying, our words completely in synced. I wondered if I was having a fever dream. It had been a really long day.

“A feeling you cannot shake.” I felt that I had to hold onto those words. Yes. I have to hold onto those words. They were important. I know they were. I felt that there was even something more that was said before it ended.

Wait, what ended? My heart felt like it was being clenched.

What was it that I was supposed to hold onto? A tear slips from my eyes.

Why do I feel so sad? It was probably nothing. Yes, it was nothing. And everything was dark.

“You and I have become soul mates. You are bound to me as I am bound to you. No matter when or where, this will be true. Even if we do not know.”

I awoke with a jolt as though I was falling.

“Raven, hurry up, we have a new member coming!” I heard Garfield yell from outside my door. I gave him a hurried reply and I prepared myself to meet the new member.

“Meet at the yard!” Garfield yells outside my room.

When I got to the yard the Batmobile was coming to view from a far. I felt a tug on my heart, I couldn’t help but frown.

“Is Dick the surprise, Kori?” I couldn’t help but ask. And she looks at me with a smile.

“Of course, not silly! Don’t you remember? Today we are going to take in a new member—I told you all about this a few days ago.” The car had stopped in front of us and the doors opened. I saw black hair and my heart skipped a beat. “The new Robin, Damian.”

A boy with black hair stood before us in his Robin uniform. And my heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. And my eyes couldn’t help but follow a certain person’s black hair.

He looked different; It felt like I had not seen him in ages. He certainly looked different. But his black hair was the same. My heartbeat quickened as he approached. Closer and closer.

The black suit with blue over his chest suited him well. Dick and Kori approached one another and gave each other a quiet squeeze with their hands and I looked away awkwardly. What was I thinking, this is bad, this crush is bad.

I evaded the couple and somehow my eyes drifted to the new member. He too had black hair, and wore the robin suit. And my breath hitched at the sight.

No. Not again. Not this again.

But I felt that he was feeling perplexed. My face must have shown too much. I felt naked under his eyes. They were the color of emeralds– of evergreen trees– of a forest so lush that the scene would always take your breath away.

I was facing the newcomer but my eyes looked elsewhere.

“You must be Damian.” I said rubbing my arm, hoping he had really not noticed what I have been trying to hide for so long.

“Yeah.” He replied, and my eyes couldn’t help but flicker at him. I felt a different kind of breathlessness when I heard his voice and it amplified when his green eyes stared back at me.

In my mind, I saw a man with black hair overlap his figure but it was so blurry, that I wasn’t sure if it matched. I couldn’t even see his face, and soon after I could barely recall the image.

But I knew for a fact that I had seen very briefly the man I’ve been dreaming about. And that his image was overlapping over Damian. Somehow it felt almost so right. But didn’t I feel a similar thing with Dick and Tim?

I blinked in confusion. The thought disappeared from my mind. And there was just him. A boy I just met that wore such a perplexed expression on his face.

Even in his confusion, it felt like it was mine too.

He must have noticed. I looked away in shame.

“Do you—do you want help?” I offered, waving a hand at his duffle bags.

“Oh—uh—sure.” He said and offered me the smaller bag. Our fingers lightly brushed one another and I felt both our confusion through the contact. There seemed to be something there. No, it’s probably in my head.

After all, it’s a Robin.

This would only make it the third time that I fell for the boy in the costume.

I really do have a type. I couldn’t help but click my tongue silently.

“I thought you said he had an attitude?” I heard Kori ask Nightwing as I turned on my heel.

“I honestly can’t believe this. He actually even offered his bag.” I heard Nightwing reply. I felt Damian’s emotions turn sour.

“Let me lead you to the tower then, and your room.” I quickly said and somehow it quelled his anger. “By the way, this is Garfield,” I said as I pointed at Garfield. “And this is Jaime, and the one talking with Nightwing is Kori, which I’m sure you already know.”

I hear him hum a response as I feel his acknowledgement to the information and I nod. My pace was a bit hurried but Damian matched it well. I just didn’t want to see them. It hurt even more when I saw Dick from the back, the pain would be laced with the faintest hint of fear. And I don’t know why, I never know why.

Dick was Kori’s boyfriend. I don’t understand why I was feeling this way.

This obsession I have over men with black hair, must have stemmed from the dreams I’ve been having recently. No, to be honest, these dreams weren’t a recent occurrence. I just so happened to be more aware now. This man whom I have been longing for—for who knows how long– would I even recognize you?

When I saw Dick Greyson for the first time in his Robin uniform, my heart was beating so loudly. I was convinced everyone could hear it. But when his mask was off, I was overwhelmed with such great disappointment. The same thing happened with Tim Drake. I was at the point of wishing for this dream man to arrive already. But I could barely see that person, even in my dreams, everything was a blur. And the moment he slipped out of my mind, I instantly forget that I even longed for him.

You. Who has been haunting my dreams. Who are you?

“Raven?” Someone called out as a hand wrapped around my wrist, I looked up and saw beautiful green eyes. And I felt like the world just stopped for a moment.

No. Not again.

I quickly evaded his green eyes as I calmed my heart down and pulled away a bit too quickly.

“I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be rude.” I added when I felt his disappointment and confusion.

“Rae, are you okay, you just stopped walking.” Garfield said his hand extended to touch me.

I don’t even know what you look like—this man in my dreams.

I looked at Garfield with a downcasted gaze and sighed aloud, “Yeah, just… you know, just worried about our mission…” I shook my head and smiled trying to dispel the longing I had for a stranger.

It was unfortunate, but the longing was more of a distraction than anything.

“Anyways, we got a new member. Kori plans to have a small get-together–” I had turned to Damian but froze as I stared at his serious gaze. The feeling that told me that there was this level of familiarity had gripped me so tightly that I couldn’t think.

“Rae?” Garfield placed an arm around my shoulder, breaking me from the sheer and raw emotion that was clawing at me. Demanding to be acknowledged.

“I’m sorry, my head is aching again.” I gave a little shake of my head as I touched my temple with one hand.

Garfield looked at me worriedly and nodded, “Why don’t I take the new guy around and you go and rest.” He glanced at the bag I was holding and took it away from me. I sighed aloud and gave Damian a small smile.

“Sorry.” I politely said and Damian smiled at me in such a pure manner that I was left startled by it. I nervously looked away from him and Garfield as I mumbled a thank you to the green boy.

I quickly rushed back into my room, I felt quite overwhelmed. There were just way too many new things happening. In some cases, some reoccurring things too. I can’t keep falling for each man with black hair. Well, it seems like it’s a natural course for my heart to skip a beat the moment I see black hair.

I sighed aloud as I slumped down to the floor against my room door. The coolness was oddly comforting.

This was ridiculous. I can’t keep doing this.

But it’s not like I was doing this on purpose.

I brought my legs to my chest as I hugged them and buried my face in my legs.

‘You are such a foolish child.’ I rolled my eyes at my father’s words.

“I’m quite well aware.” I mumbled, but I am sure my father didn’t know the details of my dilemma, just my general emotions. The thought was comforting.

‘I wonder what that orange-haired friend of yours would think if she knew how your heart beats when you see her boyfriend.’ I sighed aloud. Azar, I hope Kori wouldn’t ever know. I can’t even explain why I felt like this every time. I admit, I even started feeling something for the newcomer too.

Azar, make this end.

I squeezed my eyes but the image of black hair and a sunset behind the dark figure came to mind.

“Why can’t I see your face?” I whispered, feeling exhausted even though I had just woken up.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Somehow Damian and I became close. It felt rather organic. Right even. Like it was destiny.

Sometimes when I see him I would feel my hands become sweaty, my heart would beat a little too fast and I couldn’t breathe. But this wasn’t new to me. I had felt this way for his older brothers too. It was unfair for him if he caught on to how I was reacting around him when… Well, honestly, I act the same way, around each other Robin that came my way.

I had to control whatever this is– because clearly this wasn’t love or a mere crush. It just seemed like a toxic obsession. And I didn’t want Damian to be the third victim of this yearning that has been consuming me whole.

It’s just so unfair. I just wish I could see the face of the man that has got me feeling like this, then maybe I can find him and not look for some replacement. Because at this point, it just feels like I am looking for his next potential replacement.

And I already feel so bad when I look at Damian and think: maybe it’s him.

This needs to stop. I need to let him go. This stranger that I knew I loved with everything I had to offer. It’s kinda funny–sad really– how certain I am that I love him when I have never even dated someone and love someone that way. At least in this life, all those were foreign to me.

I suspect that maybe that black haired man in my dreams was someone from a past life.

He must have really left an impression on me. Or rather my soul. For me to continue looking for him the way that I was. Too long for him and his presence.

But I need to let him go. I need to tell someone. And I know just who to let this all out.

Damian.

He wouldn’t judge me.

And so I did. I told him how I had liked his brothers but not how he himself was making me feel– the same thing as they had. Because whatever I was feeling for Damian was likely the same as his brothers– just a fleeting emotion that stemmed from wanting to fill a void that just can’t be filled in by just anyone.

I know that the only one who could fill the void is the man in my dreams. It had to be him. But I don’t know who he is.

And this is just so exhausting.

I need space to not be driven by this longing for a stranger.

And even when I decided to put up a shield so I don’t feel others emotions Damian did not judge me. I do find it odd how easily I bonded with him, but there is this strong sense of doubt that would tell me that maybe we got close because of my desperation to fill my longing for that stranger– with gorgeous black hair.

But that doesn’t matter now. I have made my decision.

I’m letting him go, and hopefully this longing for him would vanish too.

My days went by peacefully. It felt like I was freed from shackles that I didn’t even know were there until they were gone.

I felt so light.

So relieved.

Every passing moment felt more meaningful as I wasn’t keeping an eye out to meet this man in my dreams. I admit, there were times I would find myself thinking about those dreams– that I can’t really recall. And then there would be some thoughts that linger in my head.

Like how I know he had a nice smile, but it wasn’t like I could see it in my dream because the light was just too bright or the fact that he looked like a mere shadow.

But I knew it to be a fact.

There were times however, where I felt like there was a familiar gaze on me and I was certain that for a moment, it was the person I was longing for. And when I try to look for the source I see no one out of the ordinary or more like no one was looking at me.

I admit though, there were times that my eyes would meet the vibrant green eyes of Damian. And Azar, I admit, I desperately wished that it was him.

Then I remember that I thought the same of Tim because Dick left an impression that seemed to have caused a domino effect on me. Every man after Dick with black hair just screamed at me, seeking my attention.

Because if I didn’t pay attention to them, it felt like I wouldn’t be able to breathe.

“Raven.” I looked up from writing in my journal, jumping a little on my bed as I was startled.

It was Damian and he looked rather conflicted. I was laying on my bed with my belly down as I wrote. I didn’t notice him enter my room or knock. But by the way he stayed by the door I could tell that he likely had been trying to get my attention for a while and opted to enter because he had something important to say.

I didn’t really mind. I often think about why I allow Damian to do things I normally wouldn’t want others to do. I think it’s because of his black hair. A trait I can’t seem to resist.

I sat up, closing my journal and waving it and disappeared, “Sorry, I was consumed in my writing. I like to write and let my thoughts out.”

Damian stared at me and nodded, “I understand, I keep a journal myself too.”

I was surprised by the information and a smile bloomed on my face. I casted my gaze down, trying to hide the amusement in my eyes from him. When I knew that I wasn’t giving my emotions away I looked back at him and he looked rather nervous which made me frown.

He was rubbing his arm and stayed at the same spot, his eyes avoiding me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked cautiously and his eyes flickered at me and I could clearly see the guilt. I found myself at a loss for words. It was almost like there was a voice from within me telling me that he should never feel guilty. He should never look at me like that.

“I didn’t want to.” He began and I furrowed my brows. I gestured for him to take a seat on my bed and he walked to me with guilty eyes.

He sat on the bed with his head bowed as he continued, “Dick suggested I ask for your help– and Batman– he… he ordered it.”

I pressed my lips, patiently waiting for him to clearly state his intentions.

He looked up at me and the guilt in those green eyes knocked my breath away. For a moment, I had thought that my shield was down. He made me feel that guilt with that one look. It felt so familiar too. Like I’ve seen him look at me like that before, but I know I haven’t.

This was the first time I ever saw him this vulnerable.

So why was the sense of him looking at me like that– so strongly wrong?

But I controlled myself and the emotion I was feeling. I reached out for him, my hand on top of his and stared at him earnestly with an encouraging smile on my lips.

He stared back at me for a moment and then sighed aloud, closing his eyes, “I know you had just told me that you placed your shield up,” His eyes opened and the guilt was still there, “And I understand why you did it. And I must sound like such an ass for saying this, but I need you to bring it down. I need your help. I didn’t want to have to get you involved because I know–”

I squeezed his hand and he looked down at our hands then looked up at me and I told him, “Consider it done.” I didn’t even know the details, but I trust that Damian wouldn’t ask me such a thing if it wasn’t important.

He blinked at me, “Raven, you don’t have to do this I–”

I smiled at him and he seemed to have frozen and I shook my head, “You wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important. So, what is the mission?”

I chewed my lower lip as I tried to focus, the way Damian was looking at me was making me think of the phantom man in my dreams. Almost everything would lead back to that man.

Damian was looking at me right now as if he was wondering how he got someone so great at his side. And I was being washed by this overwhelming familiarity and longing.

He inhaled heavily as I found him looking at our hands and he fidgeted with my hand. It was the first time that he did this but I didn’t hate it. Again, it just felt familiar and right.

“I need you to use your empathic abilities like a tracker.” He started and I nodded, low-key enjoying the warmth from his rough hands. “We will have to be undercover at Gotham Academy for this mission. Something is up and I honestly can’t figure it out. They were hoping your particular skill set can help.”

I was silent and he looked up at me with worry.

“I’ve never been to a school.” I smiled weakly while raising my shoulders a little bit. I understood now why he was so guilty. I didn’t want to feel others' emotions and here he was asking me just that.

“I’m sorry…” He couldn’t help but say, squeezing my index finger and for that second I wished he had intertwined his fingers with mine.

I shook my head to remove the thought from my mind, “You wouldn’t be asking if this wasn’t important.” I stood up letting go of his hand before I acted on my impulses. “I guess we have to meet Batman or Dick to be briefed?” I smiled faintly, putting my hands behind my back, still feeling his touch.

And how much I was longing for it. I hope it wasn’t clear on my face.

He nodded then stood up, his fingers fidgeting against each other as if he had lost something. He then brushed invisible dust off his thighs, “Yeah, they have prepared your cover in case you’d say yes.”

I smiled and then adapted a teasing tone to lighten the mood up, “I bet they prepared it knowing I won’t say no.”

He shook his head with a small smile on his lips.

“I mean, how could I say no to my leader?” I added, glancing at him as I took a step toward the door and it looked like his eyes were sparkling.

“You could always say no to me, I wouldn’t be angry.” He said and I was surprised with his words, causing me to stop in my tracks.

I crossed my arms and raised a brow at him. “Oh really? A lot of the members would insist that you have some favoritism toward me– and if they hear that, they will be very convinced about this favoritism you have.”

He laughed a little at my words and the laughter felt familiar. I wondered if Dick and Tim made me feel like this when they do these kinds of little things. I pushed the thought away. It’s always just me feeling this way.

“Maybe I do.” He shrugged his broad shoulders as he walked away from me, leaving me speechless.

“Well? Aren’t we going to Batman?” Damian asked, peeking at me by the door. I looked at him with clear annoyance.

“You really should keep that to yourself. The team would not be happy.” I replied walking toward him. He looked thoughtful and then ultimately shrugged.

I was annoyed. The small interaction I had with him right now, made me long for that man in my dreams. And this longing was even deeper than normal. And that is saying a lot as I knew that the longing was pretty heavy as it already is.

And yet also, I couldn't help but wonder if his words were serious. And if that statement was real, was I really his favorite or maybe it was someone else and he was just teasing me.

But if it was really me, then why me?

The thought of him favoring me made my heart flutter.

Did I even deserve it?

‘No. You locked up your own father.’ Trigon suddenly said and I rolled my eyes.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Did you guys like it? Did it frustrate you? Well, I just hope you guys enjoyed it.

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