#ehh happens!! maybe next time

[ghostbredtt]

Hihihi .. if you're still after a req after figuring out how to draw kai, benthomaar perhaps? :]

I decided to do request in random order but!! I'm still gonna draw everything, If you requested smth pls don't worry! I'm just a little bit busy rn

anyway, here's Benthomaar! he was surprisingly fun to draw, ty for this req :DD

he's messed up but I like it anyway

[zzencat]

Things To Expect + Advice In August 2024 - PAC

Hey, Teddy! What’s the forecast for August 2024? Where’s the energy headed? What should I expect? Any advice? What should I do?

Deck: deviant moon tarot

TO ENHANCE ACCURACY BEFORE CHOOSING: Clear your mind. Time is now patient and still. Close your eyes, inhale deeply, fill your chest up to the fullest, feel the soft air brush up against the ridges of your nose. Breathe out.

Breathe and choose. From left to right.

———————

Pile 1. Fight or flight?

• there might be a clash of ideas or communication issues. maybe a sucky group project. maybe some sucky friend group issues. maybe family is being a bit of a pain. whatever the drama is, you’re trying to keep out of it. in fact, you’ll be trying to avoid any drama.

• ^^it might bother you in the background, and if you have a leveled head, i suggest you speak up more this month. Stick up for yourselves or other people! This pile feels very introverted to me and keeping peace and harmony is very important for you. But keep in mind that sometimes, doing nothing is more harmful. Use your better judgment for these situations.

• if you have questionable people around you, people who do things you’re not proud of, or are in a bad situation, you’re being called to leave this group behind, find better scenery and connections.

• on the bright side, look forward to making a new friend or new friends this month!! I’m also hearing “stop being a wallflower”

• find those who share similar interests to you. Join online communities, get involved, find clubs, share your findings with others.

• have strength and be courageous! you might think you have no say or no right to speak up, but you do. this is going to unlock a side of you that you didn’t even know you had. You have a voice!!!Please use it!! Good luck pile 1!

——————————

Pile 2. Ehh…meh…feeling like a potato 🥔

• not much tbh. you might be at a standstill in life from trying to figure out what the next thing you want is, making yourself relatively comfortable first. so this month, there’s going to be extra effort going into self-care!!

• ^^ dance or sing when no one’s around!! Get moving!!

• be careful of any scams btw!! you should keep an eye on your belongings or money this month.

• you have dreams, but feel that it might not be the right timing. You could be in a stump. A lot of stagnancy and waiting for something to happen.

• ^^ this might be bothering you a lot, like feeling like you could be doing something better with your life (or with your time or skills). you might think in the back of your mind that life “oh, well. My life is just rotting away, but I’ll just deal with it” *shrugs* — Suggestion: Find a hobby or passion. Find your purpose in life again. Remember: only YOU can give your life meaning. No one else.

• not a lot of traveling. a lot of staying at home and figuring out life and what happens next. you might find your job to be extremely boring and draining, that you could use a break. Be careful not to get too careless or sloppy at work.

• there’s also a sense of laziness or not feeling motivated. An obvious lack of drive. You might make decisions without thinking too much or caring.

• (not my place to armchair-diagnose, but if you struggle with depressive symptoms and you’re not able to get professional help, sharing your thoughts/ideas with friends/family/even fuckin reddit, or writing them out in a journal would benefit you immensely. Just tell somebody. You just need any outlet to let out pent up creativity. Doesn’t even have to be creative—you could scribble something. As long as you’re not directing this self-loathing and pitying energy inwards.)

• a lot of stagnancy in this pile so this is a wake up call for change. Get active, get out there, and do something you actually like!!!! Don’t waste more time. Good luck to you pile 2 👍

——————————

Pile 3. Stop for no one.

• some people here will be going through a break up, but you’ll feel better after it happens. you’re going to leave a very significant thing behind you and move on with confidence. either some of you already saw it or you realized in hindsight that it hand to be done in order for you to move forward

• ^^ this is not exclusively romantic!! some will be cutting ties with friends or even family, but once it happens, you will finally be aligned with your emotions and what your higher self has been craving deep down inside

• it will be a little shitty, but I see some of you smiling!! Trust the process! You’re leaving behind things, people, and qualities that have held you down for so long

• a lot of you guys are taking a risk here, sending someone something, flirting, being honest, but you’re finally going in the direction you want. you’re tired of waiting. lots of doubts, but you’ll make your move and decide to see this to the end.

• you are going to face a lot of realizations (positive and negative) when it comes to other people in August (work, friends, school, potential love partners)

• it’s really up to you this month. stagnancy will lead you nowhere, whereas action will bring you great abundance

• ^^ some of you will receive awards or recognition for your efforts. others will be rewarded great wealth.

• a lot of business moves are prominent in this pile!!! investors, potential business partners and expansion! Be cautious and consider all your moves, but go for it pile 3!

• some of you will lead or have a chance to teach people while in a higher position (ex: a mentor, coach, etc.)

————————-

Teddy note: Hey guys!! I hope you enjoy this pac! I’m starting a self-improvement series (sorta?) and I will be doing these monthly! Rmr to take what resonates and leave what doesn’t. Thank you again 😎👍👍

[koiifysh]

Sweetheart 🍮

contents: Arrange marriage trope | Slow burn | Angst | One sided love? Part 3 to this

His birthday.

Kento never celebrated his birthday. He can't even remember if he ever celebrated it.

A drink and a book and maybe something sweet from the nearest bakery was enough.

It was just another day to him.

Even while being in a relationship, he didn't make a big deal about it. Because to him, it wasn't anything special.

Not to mention you two weren't exactly on...the same page.

You were being as distant as ever and Nanami craved more of you.

So when Nanami returned home to you wearing a cute frilly apron and flour smudged face, he was amused.

“Welcome home,” you smiled. “I ordered food and,” you pulled out a bag from his favorite bakery. “Tada! I got your favorite dessert. Happy birthday Kento.”

The smile on your flour smudged face ignited a warm feeling in Nanami's chest. After days, Nanami has seen you so bright, so happy and most importantly making a conversation with him. You thought of him, you got this all for him.

“You should freshen up, I'll be done here by then,” you sighed. “I hope.” “What are you making?,” he asked walking towards the kitchen counter. “Oh uh, I'm making milk bread.”

His favorite, you remembered.

“I hope I can make it, I'm awful at baking heh.”

It's the thought that counts, he thought to himself. “Let's bake together then.”

“Ehh but I wanted to surprise you,” you pouted. He smiled. “Baking together is more fun is it not?”

It is.

You loved baking but would always mess it up. But somehow with Kento you both were in sync. It was fun. But you being clumsy got flour in your hair as well.

It was like a kid's first time baking. Gentle smiles and giggles were heard in the kitchen.

For the first time it felt like a birthday celebration for Kento.

“I'll knead the bread.” Rolling your sleeves up, you started kneading. Your hair was a mess. Your bangs got in your way.

Kento gently put a strand of it behind your ear.

Your face heat up. “Thank you.” His touch brings warmth to you. If only he did it more often.

ᡣ𐭩

“Mm, it smells so good!” You were so happy with how it turned out. Even Nanami was proud of it.

A little candle was put beside the milk bread.

“I'm sorry I couldn't get you a proper gift this year. I'll do better next time.”

Better? You put so much thought into this. This is the first time in years his birthday feels slightly special.

“I appreciate everything you did today,” he said. “So please, don't be sorry.”

The way he looked at you with those warm gentle eyes and that smile..

“But, there is one gift I would like to claim from you,” he said, now standing up and walking over to you

“And what would that be?”

“This.”

Soft lips made their way to the plush of your cheek. The kiss was soft as if a flower petal touched your skin.

You stood frozen in the moment. Not being able to process what just happened.

“Thank you.”

[I feel like this was really badly written but late birthday post for Nanami. I love you 🍞 ⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚]

Taglist > @brazenliar @erishishigami @ffyona1214 @patpatspatz @eliuriastwo @namikyento @keira80808 @midnightbarnes97

[softboo]

love me, ever so gently

pairing: austin butler x reader

summary: you recently moved to a new apartment, making new some eccentric friends along the way. but what you didn't expect was falling in love with a stranger. a stranger you somehow couldn't stop thinking about

words: 2.1k

warnings: depictions of domestic abuse, dark themes of relationships

author's note: i made this on an extremely impulsive whim and i have never been so terrified of posting this. my anxiety of trying to make this story went from writing this for three days straight to now suddenly having multiple parts. i'm literally almost done with part III so we'll see how far this goes. hopefully you like my very first fic... i haven't written in years... ehh... and thank you in advance for reading this :3

next part

part I

"you're either incredibly talented or horribly lousy."

george stated right before you tore down the stack of books from the pile. you groaned in frustration, ignoring that thing buried right under the surface of your heart. if bookstores and libraries could make something aesthetically pleasing, then so could you. just like you were able to do a year ago.

you huffed once more before starting the process over again.

george took your silence as a precautionary warning, tentatively placing a small cup of coffee next to you, hoping maybe a little space and some caffeine couldn't hurt your pride more than he did.

"as long as you don't make a mess, it makes my job a thousand times easier," he offered you a toothy, yet slightly lopsided grin before leaving you to your uncomplicated complicated endeavors.

george circled around the remaining tables that were also still being set up for the fair at the community center. you were a regular volunteer for these events, moreso because your neighbors invited you to them in the first place. one of your neighbors being george, who hobbled right back to where you were, smiling proudly at his empty tray.

"well, my services are done."

he flashed another innocent grin before leaving you be, "make sure you get that done before cass sees you!"

"george I'm going to throw this empty tray at you."

he let out a belly laugh, even though he was as thick as a twig. he pulled you over to him, wrapping his arm around your shoulder.

"there she is!"

you rolled your eyes at him, but couldn't help a smile. you still remember when you met him for the first time.

~ ~

your first week at the new apartment building was stressful enough, splitting your belongings in each individualized box and suitcase. and somehow through all that stress, someone as joyous as george just so happened to crash right into you with all of his groceries.

and he had this distinct smell, something between a book you haven't opened in years and an old worn out knitted sweater. at the time, he greeted you like you've been friends for years, something you deeply missed when you moved away from your hometown. from everyone.

"welcome to the neighborhood!!" he screamed in your ear, forgetting his hearing aids before he left for the store. you let out a polite, yet awkward, kind of laugh, thanking him for his very enthusiastic greeting. it's funny to look back on it now, a stranger you would've never imagined becoming friends with. including everyone else you met along the way.

~ ~

evelyn and cassandra peered from the hallway behind you, coming from the kitchen. cassandra with her big box of jewelry for her stand, while evelyn followed suit.

"did george call me cass again? i hate when he calls me cass. it sounds like ass."

"because you are an ass."

cassandra shot him a quick glaring look before he started laughing again, placing her boxes down. she pointed a shaky finger at him.

"you know one of these days, i really hope i end up dying before you. i can't stand that laugh of yours." she grumbled, which made you laugh.

"can't keep a happy man down cass. you're stuck with me forever," he bellowed, leaving a messy kiss on her cheek before she swatted him away. george dramatically saluted them before hobbling away again, wanting to mingle and socialize before the fair officially opens.

cassandra gathered her things once more as she eyed your table with a sense of pride.

"you never cease to amazing me sweetie. i always love how you decorate your books."

her words swelled in your heart and that thing that was buried right under the surface dissipated, only just for a moment. and you were completely and utterly okay with that.

"thanks cassie..." your voice drifting ever so softly. like she was going to catch it in the end like she always does.

~ ~

when you met cassandra last year, you heard her voice before you saw her. you were seated at the lobby of your apartment building, waiting for a blind date that never picked you up. it was about two hours before you decided to call it and when you looked up, you saw her.

she was a bright eyed woman, her grey hair tossed behind a small pink scarf, something you've only seen worn a few times or rather only in movies. she looked at you with a look of concern. you weren't crying of course, why waste tears on some stranger right?

but you got your hopes up immensely high and someone as experienced in her years as she was, she could tell a disappointed look when she saw one.

"oh my dear, what's the matter? are you hurt?"

you shook your head no, having no energy to formally respond with a voice.

"come here love, let's bring you back home. do you live here?"

you nodded.

she waddled her way towards you, keeping you close to her. she was a tiny woman, hunched over slightly as she led you to the elevator. once you were both inside, she asked what floor you were on and pressed the appropriate button for you. her floor being the one below yours.

"sorry we have to stop at mine first..." she began and you shook her head to stop her.

"don't be. it's okay... i was heading up anyway." you finally had strength to talk again, "i should be saying sorry for keeping you from getting home."

she scoffed at your response, displaying one of the warmest smiles you've ever seen.

"sweetie, you're doing me a favor."

the elevator dinged and opened to her floor, the woman turning to walk out.

"i am?" you asked her and she nodded, standing outside the elevator doors.

"yes. because no man deserves to make someone as lovely as you this sad."

your face went from feeling defeated to utter confusion as the woman smiled again. this time knowing exactly what you were going to ask.

"i know disappointment when i see it."

and just like that, the elevator door closed.

~ ~

"how are you feeling otherwise?" cassandra asked you, momentarily glancing over at your beautiful table.

"better. only sometimes," you responded, a lump suddenly appearing in your throat. feeling as if you were half lying somewhere.

"that's okay. just remember that someone who's broken you then doesn't deserve to break you now," she gently held your cheek, looking at you as if for the first time again.

"and besides, who knows who you'll might meet today."

~ ~

cassandra's words rung in your ears, weighing heavy on a hopelessly romantic heart. being alone was easy and you weren't lying if you admitted that to anyone because it was true. that was one of the perks of moving here, along with meeting all of your new friends.

but being lonely... that was difficult. especially when the fall season would blend into the holidays. one night after the other. because everyone seemed to find their someone by the times gifts were supposed to be given. which is why you wanted to put everything into the community fair this year.

and because heartbreak anniversaries were apparently a thing on your calendar.

you glanced over at your table, the last few books lingered for awhile. some people glancing over at them, while others would pick it up just to place it back down again. you didn't really know why seeing a book not being chosen hurt a small part of you. but it did.

or maybe you knew but didn't want to face it.

soon enough, you noticed someone hovering near the entrance, like he was contemplating whether or not to let his curiousity get the best of him. it may have been a little more than an hour or so when he actually approached your table.

you quickly stood up in response, as you noticed him eyeing a few of the older books. his hands lingered on each cover, not saying a word. his hair was blonde, wavy and messy, like he'd just woken up. the rest of him was covered by a black mask.

you did notice the way his hands moved though, hesitating to pick something. shaking a bit, a shadow crossed your peripheral and you could've sworn you saw a bruise somewhere on his knuckles.

"do you need help finding anything?" your voice coming out a lot softer than you had hoped. he looked up and you felt this entire weight lift off of you. like something encapsulating you just shattered into a million pieces and suddenly you could breathe again.

his eyes were so blue, like you were swimming in this endless ocean full of life and somehow you couldn't tell the difference between the stillness of the water or the blueness of the sky.

you could see a slight smiling forming on his face before he shook his head no.

"oh well if you want anything... i really recommend any of the classics."

his eyes glimmered a bit, letting his hand linger on one of the few books he was eyeing before.

"how much is it?" his deep tone caught you by surprise as you hesitated to respond. your own voice catching in your throat.

"oh um... everything is free."

"really?"

and just like that, you noticed something switch in him, a sense of curiosity filling those calm waters.

"which ones have you read so far?"

you didn't realize it, but your eyes lit up at the question. and he noticed. a small smile forming on his face.

"oh this one is my favorite... i haven't finished it, but it was really good from where i left off," you pointed at pride and prejudice.

you smiled at him, like your excitement was taking over and he could tell how much you loved talking about books. his gaze never wavering as you spoke about the stories that overwhelmed you and the others that never lasted a few pages before you decided to stop. he listened with such intent, such intrigue, it made you feel like you were someone he had known for years.

his aura was beautiful and a part of you wished that something would lead to something which would lead to something else. you didn't even feel anything in that regard, not yet anyway, but that same part. it was pulling... gently. ever so gently tugging at your heart.

"thank you for all of your recommendations," he began, holding on to ever single book you spoke about. you were about to protest that he didn't have to, but he was adament on keeping every single one.

"are you sure you want to get all of them?" your voice wavering on worry, but all he did was smile at you, letting out a soft laugh.

"i'm sure."

his voice was so reassuring, you almost forgot to offer him a bag. there was a slight pause before you realized, eyes widened in embarrassment.

you quickly apologized to him, running to the back to get a bag. you left the table feeling this overwhelming warmness flow through you as you noticed your heart beating against your chest. you tried to hide the excitement, but your heart was already getting your hopes too high.

but when you came back, your heart instantly dropped right into your stomach. a woman was now standing next to him, but something was different in his eyes. the oceans were no longer waves crashing against the seashore. they were climbing under thunderstorms. drowning in its own current.

her hair was dark red in color, flowing to accentuate the curves of her body. she was unbelievably gorgeous and your heart sank even more. but there was something about her that you couldn't figure out.

"here's your bag, i didn't mean to—"

"why your table is absolutely gorgeous, isn't it austin?"

he didn't glance at you or her or anyone. all he did was nod. you noticed the grip she had on his arm. it was tight. suffocating.

you offered the bag to them, but she shooed your hand away, like you were merely just a bug.

"no need sweetie, we were just on our way out. he was just looking anyway."

you tried your best to keep your composure, but you were fuming on the inside. only cassandra could call you that and at least when she did, it was endearing. not spiteful.

she flashed you the biggest smile that fueled your fire even more as she pulled austin away. you noticed him stiffen when they left the table. he couldn't even look at you.

and he couldn't even say goodbye.

[darlingofvalyria]

❝You don't think I can please you?❞

part 05 | we're really in it now, darling

chapter summary:

[ Everything comes ahead at a hedge maze because. . . hedge maze. ]

[ +18 MDNI ] [ 4,517 ] [ series masterlist ] | best friend's brother!aemond targaryen x f!reader, ft. cregan stark x f!reader, aemond x alys rivers

contains— angst, a lil smutty but no full whorishness, ya'll good - i should really put idiots in love as a tag shouldn't i - nsfw: grinding + some sexy, sexy second base lmao - no kingslayers, no rogues, no betas.

a/n— i hope ya'll forgive me. comment, reblog & like at will, mi luvs, mwa!

You don't really know what you were expecting come Sunday. Once you started to 'ehh' 'hmmm' and 'maybe's your way through random moments with Helaena after the radio silence from Aemond— your best friend put her foot down.

"Fuck him," Helaena grumbled. "You've been going to Sunday dinners before he was even born, you are not backing down now."

 You snorted. "That's wildly inaccurate."

"Point still stands. Fuck. Him. You deserve my mother's tiramisu cake. He doesn't get to take that from you." Her eyes widen as if trying to instil her determination into your system via eye contact. "You are not going to let him take that from you."

You nodded. That's at least a point to pro you can stand by. Though she can't cook to save her life— Alicent's words, not yours — the woman sure can bake. It became therapeutic for her, she once said. How measuring ingredients and kneading dough to patiently folding cream after another kept her mind quiet and her hands busy.

"My faith strongly does not advise rage shooting, you know?" Alicent once hummed.

"Did you mean 'range' shooting?"

"Oh?" she nodded absentmindedly, smiling. "Yes, that too."

"That's true," you mused. Tiramisu cake was her mother's specialty. Every Sunday, she has all attendees pack up at least one cake per person and you and Hel usually stave off bites throughout the week until the next Sunday comes.  "I deserve some tiramisu cake, gods be damned it."

"Plus, if you come with me, we'll get two cakes to take home instead of one." She wagged her finger. "We count as two separate entities with one fridge, it's our greatest privilege."

"Daeron calls it preferential treatment."

"I am her only daughter, of course I get preferential treatment."

"As you should, bestie."

Even when you've stopped struggling with choosing if you were going or not, your mind is never faraway from thinking about Aemond. You wonder if he's finally gotten back with Alys was a bad train of thought, while an even worse train of thought is how soft his lips were and how he holds your hair to pull you close when his tongue glides across your bottom lip.

You blink, shaken from the thought. Bad. Bad brain. Stop it.

And repeat. At this point, it was safer to think about Alys and Aemond.

According to previous cycles, by this point they'd be at the height of their newly blossomed relationship— all sweet kisses and heated looks, unable to stop touching each other much less act a little bit better when they're trying to leave a group function to fuck their brains out — so you wouldn't be surprised to see come Sunday that he arrives with Alys— both of them tall, gorgeous with just enough undertone of smirky, smarmy tension that would make you want to stab your own eye out — pointedly ignoring you or whatever happened between you and him.

It hurt to think about sure, but what else did you think was going to happen?

That call made a space the size of a puddle that turned into a lake, welled deep with unresolved feelings and untouched topics. More questions than answers, drawing lines both of you were too scared to tug and see.

It's big enough to notice, and both stubborn enough not to anything about it.

You tried. Well, you almost did. In the weird hours of the day when your brain and body are more physically disjointed so rationality gives way to adrenaline. Most of the time, this is during working hours. You, checking your phone, running around his profile with your thumb a few times, biting your lip as your mind blanks and your body fights to call him. Or leave a message.

Before your mind and body reconnects and you fling your phone as far away from you as possible.

It's weird. You've never fought with Aemond before. If this was considered fighting. You've been disappointed in him, gotten angry and annoyed with him, but someone always, always offers an olive branch.

Every time you think about that call, you close up, your annoyance flares, and you shove your phone away.

In your amicable defense, this was primarily his problem. You weren't truly dating. He made it clear every choice he was making was en toward the agreed conditions were of making his ex jealous enough to take him back, yada yada yada.

Even if, possibly, you wanted more, he made no actual steps to make it known that he was considering it too.

Funny stares on your lips don't count. The only sabbatical from sexual adventures Aemond got were the breakup round with Alys, and as established before, they got it on pretty frequently.

Another thought bubble about Aemond's lips pops in your head, the mint from his toothpaste and the coffee from his black with no sugar, no milk, the way he seemed to suckle on your sighs—

Gods. Damn. It.

Focus.

That last call?

You're a grown ass woman. You're allowed to do whatever you want with whomever you want, and you're not going to make Aemond Targaryen's steely silence of what— disappointment? Of your choices? Of your choice in Cregan Stark and Cregan Stark Jr? Of what you were doing? Sure he was faithful to the Seven, a good old religious boy raised by his momma, but it doesn't make him a saint. Just because he's clinging to the vestiges of first love thinking it could very well be his last doesn't make him holy, or warrant enough to judge you for getting your little you some good dick.

Life is hard. Good dick is hard to come by!

So. Yeah. Days leading up to Sunday was radio silence and way too many thoughts circling your head like vultures, eating away at logic and rationality, and stubbornly still, you refused to make contact. If it's not out of pride, it's out of hurt.

Because he could apologise, but Aemond wasn't known for his apologies.

But then you remembered the flowers, the tulips, and now you just felt sad. Moping, getting annoyed, and trying to get through work without breaking your phone speeds the week in a blur.

Come Sunday afternoon, Helaena was coming to pick you up from her shift at the vet— the beauty of having a vet bff is the Russian roulette of pictures; you never know if you're about to get cuddly new patients with big, sad eyes and pouty snouts or her newest c-section win without any attempts of a blur — so you could get to her mother's house together, you decided to go for the nines with your outfit.

A sweet summer dress later, some gold gladiator sandals half off from your favourite but largely can't afford shoe boutique that you swear you were always going to wear to make up for the insane price (thank the gods Alicent didn't have a no shoe policy because it takes fifteen minutes to get them on and you cannot be on the floor, on her house, with Aemond around, rolling around like a hot potato on the entry way trying to get a fucking shoe on), dusted and prepped in you're fancier version of makeup, and was just finishing off your hair— using the good mousse whilst blaring Disney epics — when knocking came.

You freeze.

On one hand, it could just be Helaena, forgetting her keys again somewhere as she had done so numerous times before, but there hadn't been a slew of expletives or her impression of a cool, clinical voice saying, ''Tis I, the Stranger, have come for thee soul! Open up I gotta pee, woman!' so you got a pretty good guess on the alternative, sending your heart into a stutter and get smacked with a well deep of yearning.

You miss Aemond. You miss hanging out with him, even just having him on video call whilst you prepped a late dinner and he's working out his thesis defense, too late for either of you, but catching another's eye in the tiny phone and sharing a comforted grin. You miss being called my lady in a language that means so much to him, miss bumping shoulders and smelling his crisp scent of cologne and laundry.

Miss his lips, his very soft, very delicious lips—

"Gods damnit, woman, keep it together," you murmur to yourself. Another series of knocks, ever patient, and you're moved by body not mind as breathless giddiness yanks the door open—

Only to fall flat.

"Oh." You can't hide your disappointment at the curly blond with the smirk for centuries. "Aegon. I didn't know it was you."

"Yes, the expressive disappointment in your eyes could bring a man on the edge to his downfall, I must say," he jokes hoarsely, a little hurt. "Not even a hi Aeg. I've missed you Aeg, or— hey Aeg! You look good enough to eat!"

It's Aegon. Not Aemond. Or Helaena. Helaena and Aemond's older brother, Aegon. Party rocking, cocaine hiding, sweat and someone's lipstick smelling Aegon. You like him despite his whorishness because he's funny, because he's sweet when he wants to be, and he always, always gets you a funny mug when he comes back from wherever he came from.

You blink a couple of times, laughing awkwardly as you give him a quick hug. He still smells the same, with the lightest tint of sun in him from his days at the beach not so long ago no doubt.

"Sorry, sorry. Hi Aeg, I've missed you Aeg, and yes, you do look good enough to eat, Aeg."

He hugs back tighter, smothering you in the denim jacket he's wearing and the curly edge of his white blond hair. He's got a new piercing and smells of new perfume.

"So do you, princess," he says as you step back and he appraises you appreciatively. "Those shoes can step on me any time."

"I will never."

"You will never," he says chirpily, moving back with a teasing grin. "Let me guess, you were waiting for my uglier version to come by and got too overwhelmed by the majesticness of me."

'"Majesticness isn't even a word." You snort. "And Aemond is not your uglier version, you don't look that alike."

He raises an eyebrow as you blink. Fuck. "Dear me oh my, I meant Helaena, babe. When did Aemond get into the mix?"

You shove his shoulder, huffing as you pick up your keys and bag, forcing him to step back as you lock the apartment, trying to give yourself grace from his burning, teasing stare. "As if Helaena didn't tell you." You finally turn to him, lips pursed at his faux innocent pout. "Helaena tells you everything."

"She might have mentioned a thing or two about a thing or two." He bumps your hip as you both get into the elevator. "Imagine my surprise when Lae-lae tells me of a wondrous development between her two favourite people that involved a breakup, some gift-giving shenanigans, and kissing." He gasps dramatically as you groaned. "I leave for what— a month or two and suddenly you and Aemond are making out? Babe, I must say, you're doing the tongue tango with the wrong brother."

 "He's not the wrong brother, also the tongue tango? Really?" you snap suddenly. The wrong brother comments always irk you because you understand that it's a sensitive issue to Aemond, as well as Aegon himself.

But it's a bait you realise too late because Aegon Targaryen enjoys hauling truths from people in steps and tricks, uncaring if he takes a stab or two to get there as you meet his gaze against the reflective wall, positively smirking.

"Really now?"

"Why are you even picking me up? I thought you were in Oldtown."

"Already sorted. Hel wanted to make sure you get there in time, she's going to be late... After all your earlier ride backed out didn't he?"

Your mouth pursed, annoyance prickling at your edges as the elevator pulled into the lobby. "I don't want to talk about it, where's your car?"

He whistles, languid and all the time in the world on his shoulders with just the hint of smug. "It's a thirty minute ride, babe, you're going to spill."

You shoot him a withering glare. "Not if I have say in it." For emphasis, you yank his door and slam it. Fuck his new Maserati.

"Mature!"

Thirty minutes is more than ample time for Aegon Targaryen to weed his way into your brain like the worst case of earworm (like a stupid ass commercial jingle that just. Won't. Stop) that by the time you reach his mother's, you were ranting.

"—like I get it, saying I'm going out with another guy to get some good dick after confirming that we're going to your mother's for Sunday as a date is bad, but we're not really dating! He said so himself! He pressed the issue of it not being a real thing! And he didn't attempt any—"

"— any communication at all," Aegon echoes, stretching his legs as he stood. "Not a sorry or anything."

"Anything!" you bolster, slamming his door again that is less about him and more about the aggressiveness. "I know that he's bad at apologising, or facing things that are hard, choosing to stew in it and act all shitty to people, I just... I thought he'd at least tell me. Doesn't that warrant our friendship?"

"Hm. Ever think that's precisely why he struggles with you?"

"What does that even mean?"

"That he cares about you, so he struggles more with expressing himself."

You turn to him, cocking your head. "When did you get so wise, oh Gandalf?"

"A Seven focused rehab facility can do that to you," he muses wistfully. "There was this nun that says verses when she orgasms."

You make a face. "Love the fun fact."

"You're welcome. But back to point, isn't the issue also the fact that you never tried to make contact with him either?"

"Well. Yeah. Because..."

Aegon squints at you sympathetically. "Because you're scared of rocking the boat because of how much you like him?"

"Not, well," you hesitate. "Not like that precisely..."

"How much you're capable of liking him?" Aegon smiles wryly. "You had a crush on him, I remembered that at least. When Hel first introduced you to him, you couldn't stop teasing him until he lit up like a Christmas tree. I knew you liked him since then. You called him pretty half the time, and I started to realise it was less about his reaction but how you actually see him, and speaking as the naturally cherub, pretty boy of the family, I find this highly, highly offensive."

You pinch his cheeks, wounding your arm over his shoulder. Aegon was built like a linebacker with less muscles that aren't postern, with wide shoulders and a strong body that's too easy to lean against.

"You're pretty too, Aeg," you coo. "But he's just..."

 "If you say ethereal, I will vomit right in my mother's petunias." He makes a face. "How about this. The problem is that you think Aemond doesn't like you back."

You frown at him. "I know Aemond doesn't like me back."

"Oh, sweetie," Aegon coos, sympathy and pity swirling in his smug, smug smile. "I'm so glad you're pretty."

You pinch his sides until he squirms. "Fuck you, what the hell?"

"What I'm saying is, let's test that, you know? Because that's the only variable you aren't sure with?"

You sigh. "Aeg, even if he does, I'm not going to pounce—"

The door swings open, and there he is, of pretty boy face and good boy posture because his mother raised herself a good, devout boy who doesn't know what a slouch is because he's not an ape— and is he wearing his leather jacket? Of course he's wearing the leather jacket and you know that smell, that spiced cologne with the leather and his natural scent and fuck, Aemond is looking at you, looking at his brother, and the open expression, the shock, that smidge of relief— shutters to an icy politeness.

Aegon because he's Aegon, pulls you closer, his mouth curling into a grin that only says trouble, forcing Aemond to straighten up his already perfect posture in preparation for whatever his brother has in mind and his stare is white-hot on the conjoined appendages between you and his brother— and Aegon lands a wet, smacking kiss on your cheekbone.

"Had to pick up your girl, baby bro, I mean what kind of—" his blue gaze finds his mother descending the stairs, peering out to see on who it was, and you're frozen, waiting for the bomb to drop and simultaneously unprepared for it, "— boyfriend has his brother pick up his girl? Good thing you got a good excuse, huh? Oh, hey mother dearest! Your favourite son has come back!"

As Aegon leaves your side with a cheeky little wink, you bit your lip at the frosty look on his face that makes you feel like an absolute idiot and fills you with rage all in one go. Because Aemond has never looked at you like that, like you were at fault and acting like a child, but that you also want to jut a finger against his chest.

"Did you have a nice talk with him on the drive over?" he says, jaw hard.

"I didn't tell him," you hiss, taking the hem of his leather jacket instead of his hands enough so you can pretend to kiss his cheeks because his mother is right there, eyes wide at that two of you as Aegon gave you a discreet thumbs up.

"Helaena did. Get over yourself, your mother's—"

 "Aemond?"

As he freezes and Alicent calls your name, you plaster the best smile you can make as you twine your fingertips with his.

"Smile."

"Hm."

When you leave his side to greet Alicent, you make sure to stomp on his stupid shoes.

As soon as you've finished your mandatory greetings— even with Otto Hightower, Aemond's grandfather, who merely raised his eyebrows at the apparent new status of you and his grandson, Alicent having to blink multiple times, wrangling positives as she kept shooting her son looks while he stood like a block of ice behind you — Aemond takes your hand by his own volition, tangles your fingers too tight, and starts tugging you along like a bouy.

"Are you a child?" you hiss, trying to pry your hand as insistently without outright yanking, Alicent already sending you both concerned looks at a news that she called 'oh, that is wonderful!'

"I am younger than you," he murmurs back, holding you tight.

"Oh, fuck you."

With a defeated huff, you take longer, heavier strides and stomps so you're the one dragging him.

It's all illusion of control built on pettiness because you're still being navigated, it's more just pride at this point, but you don't care, and when he scoffs right back, you felt at least a pinch of a win.

And then he, of course, matches your strides so fucking easily.

"Freaking horse-legged motherfucker," you mumble. You don't know if he catches it, or you're imaging the soft, surprised noise that's both a snort and a laugh.

He winds you around the hallway, an unbreakable trajectory to the backyard, dragging you past an easy eye view from the dramatic, floor to ceiling windows and trespassing straight into the hedge maze because of course they had one of those.

"Really? Here?"

"Do you want to be ogled up by my mother?" he says in a nauseatingly chipper voice. "Is that what you and Aegon are planning with all this, hm?"

You twist out of his grip, walking deeper on your own until your eyes are swallowed by the darkness. When you turn to him, your eyes adjust, only seeing the silver of his hair, so different from his black leather jacket and dark green jumper. You don't see his expression or his sharp gaze.

"Planned this? Seriously? Nothing since coming here had been planned, Aemond," your voice has bite and if your eyes had adjusted faster, or if you could see better, you would see the flinch he makes, "if it had been, this certainly would be the last of my fucking choices. Or do I have to remind you of the fact that we were supposed to go together? Oh right, things change when you drop a call out of fucking nowhere!"

"I—fuck." He moves around, a hand through his hair as exhales in frustration. "I didn't... think you'd want to go with me. That Sunday plans had been cancelled."

"And you didn't think to message? I mean it's not like we're friends in literally every social media." You try not to sound hurt before taking a deep breath, offering your palms up. "I didn't—don't even know what the issue is, Aemond. Were you so offended that I was sexually active that you just had to rudely drop the call and not talk—"

It's maybe the darkness, or intuition but you can bet half yours savings that Aemond Targaryen is blushing.

"It... gods, no it's not... I wasn't offended that you were sexually active," he says softly, evenly. He clears his throat. "I don't... mind that you're... sexually active. I actively... support it. Even." He coughs. Swallows. Curses.

If you don't feel like your heart is pounding in your throat you would have laughed. You had never seen the boy this flustered before that it's affecting his words, because Aemond has always been the most well spoken person you know.

"Is it about Cregan? Do you have something against Cregan?"

His eye flutter close. "No... and yes."

"I don't understand, Aemy," you whisper, defeated.

He sighs. In the dark, you notice a movement. His hands flex. It's a habit he's had since you've known him. It's instinct. The way you reach out, finding a piece of his leather jacket until you find your way to his hands, running your fingers over the bones and ridges, his sinew and skin. There are callouses from his fencing, running your thumb over his knuckles.

He's frozen first before he sighs, melting through the warmth you share with him.

 "I have nothing against Stark," he finally says. "It's the fact that you were still having sex with him that I found unfair." He steps closer until you can see his face better, the struggle in him can be told through the furrow in his brows and the press of his pillowy lips, red and wet as if he had bitten through it. "I... understand that we're not really together, but I couldn't... not feel as if it wasn't right. As if I wanted it to be me."

His hands finds your arms, eye closing and gently placing his forehead against your own. At first you panic, your body trying to make your brain decide do you like this or not but it's Aemond, and he's warm, gentle, sweet almost. It's familiar and new at the same time. It's warmth you recognise, skin you will know anywhere, but in a way that you've never felt him before.

You close your eyes and breathe with him.

You know that this is rare. That this Aemond is reserved for people he loves and cares about, but with his forehead against yours, with his hands holding you steady, rubbing a comforting thumb over your skin that felt just as for him as it was for you, breathing you in and exhaling you out. A single breath between two bodies.

"I don't know if I can agree to that, Aemy."

"What?" He pulls back, hurt pulling taunt your favourite pair of lips. "Do you like Cregan more? You don't think I can please you?"

"That's not—"

His hands closes on your face, cupping it in his palms as you stare, wide-eyed at the blue fire lit up in his eye. His breath brushes your lips, making them tingle.

"Push me away if you don't want it," he says before his eye closes and he takes your mouth against his own, swallowing your gasp then pulling you away again, eye glinting.

"Push me away, ñuha riña." His voice is so soft, words crisp while your body thrummed in a single, frantic heartbeat. When you don't move, too shock, thoughts tangled, he smirks.

With his teeth, he captures your bottom lip, grazing it. When he feels you shudder, eyes fluttering, he chuckles meanly.

"Push me away as if you don't want me." He tilts your chin up as he looks down on you, eye confident in its lust. His thumb brushes your bottom lip. "As if you don't feel everything I do."

"Fuck you," you manage to exhale as you grab the back of his head and devour him just as you did at the restaurant. He groans, using his other hand to feel your side, pass your one breast, giving it a firm squeeze that makes you gasp, tongue clashing, legs tangling as you push and push and he pulls you to him, his back hitting the prickly hedge. It's teeth and tongue, breaths twisted in one air as you used each other like lifelines, like enemies in a swords match.

It's feverish and passion, infuriating want that gives. Because when you dominate the kiss, tangling his tongue with your own, yanking him down and down as if you want him to reach every part of you inside, he bends and follows. And when he pulls you, tangles your hair and takes every gasp and breath, you surrender.

He groans when you suck on his bottom lip, pulling away just enough to spit out, "You taste so much better than my dreams." His mouth moves down and down, leaving a path of heat as he suckles at your neck, practically ripping the buttons of the top of your dress as he slides down and grunts in pain.

"A-Aemy?" Your eyes flutter. "Your back, shit—"

"Fuck that." He tugs you down until you land with an oomph! on his lap, your chest at his eye level before he drags them back to your gaze. "Tell me to stop."

You shake your head, tangling your fingers in his hair. "No."

"Good."

Your back arches, supported in his hold, as he starts sucking the skin lower and lower, another hand massaging your tit that pools hot down your core until his hand, warm and solid, sinew and bone, and Aemond Aemond Aemond, slides between your bra and cups your breast and his hand is so big, and it feels so good that you start grinding on the hard length you feel right at your—

An ear-splitting shriek freezes the both of you. You and Aemond pull back, hand still on your tit.

"Wha—"

"Ew, ew, ew! Mom said you were fighting! FIGHTING DOES NOT EQUATE FUCKING IN THE MAZE, YOU FUCKING CLICHES!"

TAGGED: @snowprincesa1 @gemini-mama @fan-goddess @snh96 @valeskafics @opheliaas-stuff @tempo-rary-fix @fantasticpeaceharmony @diannnnsss @iamavailablesstuff @spinachtz @at-a-rax-ia @bespinnn @tsujifreya @moonlightfoxx @kemillyfreitas @joyouart @bananzaa @honey-on-mars @alexa4040 @cinnamonbambii @wintrr13 @wxb-slingrr @astroswift @queenofshinigamis @helaenaluvr @kaetastic @jxdegodfrey @laniii-on-your-left @watercolorskyy @microwaveallthedemons @kazuyatokue @herfantastyworldd @averyyreads @urmomsgirlfriend1 @bellstwd @jiminie-08 @ttkttt @nockerin @backyardfolklore @random-ocity @hc-geralt-23 @vendettasblog @cicaspair418 @malynn @anehkael @schadenfreude-and-sarcasm

[kombuuuu]

gwen romantic hcs or scenario please? 🥺🤲

Spidery Romance.

Gwen Stacy x Fem!Reader

another bunch of headcanons (and snippets, ur favs) with my favourite girl 🤍

GWENNBBBBB MMMWMAH HHHNG WEBEWEBWEEEHHHH

Gwen: Blue

You: Pink

Dad Stacy: Black

A cat..: Purple

mom friend this, mom friend that

how about just mommy?

is a HUGEE comfort roll in the realtionship

will do little things for you that you wouldn’t even realise

like keeping random containers because she knows you like them

jars 🫙 🤍‼️

she loves taking care of you, loves being who you go to for things

it makes her feel needed, which we know she struggles with

so she loves a partner who’s more co-dependent, like she is

“Baby?”

“Help.”

“Honey, what am I supposed to do with that?”

“Open it, please“ :(

“Oh, you sweet thing… What are you going to do with an empty pickle jar.”

“You’ve eaten all the pickles?”

“I’m… going to grow an ecosystem.”

ABSOLUTELY steals shit for you

she’s not rich, seeing as she doesn’t exacccctly live in her own universe

hey, star crossed lovers are multiversel..

so she steals

just nicks things from the mall she thinks you’ll like

little trinkets or anything small and shiny she can find

also cat figures

small, cute cats. she loves anything about them and will go out of her way to take em for you

(you think she just wants to deny the fact she loves the cats. or stealing)

your OWN little klepto cat

(you both love that game)

“Hey, Sweets.”

“Oh-! You’re home!”

“And I brought a cat.”

*gasp* “What breed !!”

“No clue, but look it’s tail moves.”

Will take you out to movie dates any time she can.

never really knew how to treat a lady so she takes notes from stupid eighties shows

will throw rocks at your window

or climb up the tree next to your house and break in even though she could just go thru the front door.

buys (steals) chocolates in heart shapes and roses to decorate your bed

it’s not even valentines she just wants too

don’t forget the candles and scented bath salts with a whole ass spa set up in your bathroom

“Baby? Wh—“

“[Name]! I missed you.”

“I missed you too, babe.”

“What are the flowers for?”

“Our anniversary’s not ‘til September.”

“Beautiful, we don’ need a reason. Just wanna appreciate you.”

smile and giggle like a little bitch? of course you will

Will eventually tell you about her spider woman endeavours

she’s guilty of hiding it from you

when you trust her so much

slipping out of your shared bed at night to go patrol feels

dirty.

She finally caved to her subconscious and spills it

you don’t freak out on her but she can tell you’re stressed

she tries to comfort you even when you have to opportunity to ruin her life

you could end it between the two of u right then and she’d forgive you

but not herself

“I’m spider-woman.”

“What?”

“The hero, [Name]. Well, vigilante I guess—“

“What the hell.”

“Baby, please. I know I should’ve told you sooner—“

“Do you know how much danger you’re in? Are you crazy? What happens if you get hurt and I’m not here? Fighting crime like that. Fighting villains.”

“I know, sweet girl, I know.”

she comforts you through it while you basically have an existential crisis in her name

you’re more scared she’s going to get hurt

or worse

than you are betrayed,

you can get why she kept this a secret

it takes you a couple week to hone down the worrying

gwen is hella patient with you 🫶

“I don’t like this. You’re putting yourself in harms way, and it’s careless,”

Guilty stare

“,But i’m not gonna stop you.”

“Thank you, [Name].”

“Please don’t die on me.”

“I won’t, baby.”

and when your finally calm you can kind of see the appeal in it

she convinces you to let her swing you around the city

and despite you both knowing you’re probably gonna pass the fuck out

you agree cause it’s cute

“Gwen.”

“Yeah baby?”

“I think—, maybe you don’t understand what I mean by ‘I don’t like heights’.”

“Wh— Oh.”

“What d’yu mean ‘Oh.’?!! You only just realised??”

“I come up here so often, it’s like a second thought!”

“It’s the fucking Empire state!”

“Ehh…”

She’ll take you nice places around brooklyn

mostly high up

to let you see the view

and to finally see you in it

she draws you any chance she gets

especially when she takes you to those places

shes been to em so often that she’s got muscle memory for the line to every building, but now she gets to trace the contour of your face around it too

will web you to the building if you ask

just so you won’t fall

“You know there’s not a single universe where I wouldn’t catch you, right.”

“There’s a first for everything,”

She snorts “Sugar—“

“I love you, Gwen. And trust you with my life. I do not, however trust wind.”

“Understandable, love you too.”

When you meet her dad he’s a little skeptical at first

only because you’re so nervous and he’s taught to be suspicious as a cop

but eventually he likes you, and you him

your both like old pals and it confuses gwen

he takes on a very fatherly position in your life

one you missed out on

gwen is ecstatic

the two people she loves the most in the world like each other

the stars aligned for her

she tells you about her struggles with him and is glad it doesn’t affect either of your relationships

“Do you treat my daughter well?”

“Dad, please.”

“Gwen, it’s okay. I’d like to think I am, sir.”

“Cause if you hurt my little girl, everything you do to her will feel a lot worse for you.”

“Dad!”

“I would never hurt your daughter Mr.Stacy, I love her. It’d be stupid of me to let her go.”

He smiled and clapped your back

*groan* “Why.”

she likes to keep you comfy

kinda has a thing for the housewife vibe

so she’s willing to do a lot for you

she’ll notice how empty it is in your house when she’s not there

it’s quiet and lonely

so totally for you (and not also her)

she’ll get you a cat

a small black american bobtail

she had found him while on patrol

saw a box left littered at the park and decided to pick it up

closer she got, more ‘mews’ she heard.

when she saw a short, stumpy looking kitten in the box

her heart melted

so obviously she took it

“For [Name].”

‘mew :3’

“Co-parenting practice.”

‘mmrp’

“God damn it.”

loves the cat with her whole heart

and so do you

you name it Peter

he’s adopted but he doesn’t need to know that

when he does something bad you threaten (emptily) to put him in back out in the street

“Go get a box, Peter. I’m gonna make your momma put you back where she found you.”

“He can’t understand you, baby.”

“Yes he can, look at how he’s looking at me!”

“See his face!? He’s so mocking me!”

:3

“Sure, baby.”

—

EEE 🤭🤭🤭

[avatar4life]

Twilightzone

Reader was walking to school after getting her backpack and saw something she immediately hated: Jacob with short hair

'well, there goes my small liking of him' she thought as she saw Bella go towards him. Reader decided to ignore that weird situation and just prepare herself mentally for another day at school. When she reached the gates of the school she turned around and saw Edward and Jacob glaring at eachother with Bella in between them 'ah so it's one of those situations' she thought nodding to herself "let's hope they don't compare dick sizes at the school's parking lot" she mumbles not knowing the boys were able to hear her as she entered the building. When she was at school she noticed out of the window a figure in the woods, looking at her with glowing eyes (yes I'm making this mfs have glowing eyes cause I find it cool) 'well, there goes my sleep schedule for the next two weeks' she thought as she decided to ignore that figure 'maybe I'm schizophrenic ' .

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

During another day she was sleeping while Jacob was rambling how much Edward wmis a danger to Bella and how much he will be actually be the best choice and be able to protect her. She suddenly woke up with a snort and looks around confused as he continues to ramble 'ah this bitch still rambling. Take a hint and stop it...I need to stop falling asleep when people are rambling ' she thought '....mmmm, I would go for a hamburger, or a kebab, yes a kebab. God I love kebabs to an unhealthy amount.' she thought as he finally stopped talking "thanks for listening to me" Jacob said to reader, who looks confused but fakes it "yup, don't worry. You can count on me for anything" she said before packing her stuff and leaving "bye Billy" she said to Jacob's dad. She passes by the house where Jacob's friends live 'I wonder if that hot girl I saw hanging out with them is living there too...am I gay? But I do find a few guys good looking, the few that are in Thai forsaken place anyway ' she thought but shrugs her shoulders and leaves for her house.

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

It's been days and reader came back from a sleepover from a friend's house and found Bella with rough clothes (this is after the fight with Victoria, you can't tell me this mfs don't have torn up clothes after a battle). Reader looked at her confused "what the hell happened to YOU?!" She asked but Bella just shook her head and batter her eyes a few too many times before replying with just a simple "nothing" and went upstairs.

Reader looked at the direction her sister went and scrunched her face "...Ew. that was...Ew" she said to herself before shaking her head and going to her room. Once she arrives there she thought about something she saw a while ago:

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

She was asleep before waking up to go to the bathroom, trying to keep her eyes closed to hold onto the feeling of sleep in her, not wanting to be fully awake. after the bathroom she walked past Bella's room and then opened her eyes as she stopped confused, before walking backwards and looking into her room, more specifically her window. She was holding onto her blanket around her body as she reached the window and looked out of it "what the hell??" She mumbled as she saw two figures, human figures, looking at the window with glowing eyes '...what kind of drugs did I ingest today, this can't be normal. What are those? Definitely not human' she thought but didn't have the strength to stay awake and find out and decide to get out of the room immediately 'Bella can deal with whatever that is, as long as they're not after me, I'm good to go' she thought as she went back to her bed and sighs in relief and goes back to sleep, hugging her pillow and putting herself in fetal position (it's comfortable ok?!) and falling back asleep

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

'oh yeah, wonder what that dream was about? Ehh, who cares. Time for a nap!' she thought as she puts herself into her comfortable pajamas and went to her bed 'good thing I took the bigger bedroom ' she thought before putting her bonnet (it's for everyone, it protects your hair from humidity and such, also does not give bad bed hair) and falling asleep, not realising someone is watching her: Cullen.

This is finally part 3 of the Twilight zone.

Ok byeeeeeee

[sekiid0]

" ҒᏆᏙᎬ ҒᎡᏆᎬΝᎠՏ, ҒϴႮᎡ ᏴᎪᏆͲՏ. ", 𝖣𝗋𝖺𝗀𝗈𝗇 𝖲𝖾𝗄𝗂𝖽𝗈 𝗑 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏

Warnings: This story is not recommended for minors, it contains blood and bad words, torture, a lot of blood, broken bones, unusual acts, etc...

Description ↓

𝖠 𝖽𝗋𝖺𝗀𝗈𝗇 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝖼𝗁 𝗂𝗌 𝗁𝗎𝗀𝖾, 𝖼𝗋𝗎𝖾𝗅 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗍𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗌 𝗂𝗍𝗌 𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗒 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖿𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖻𝗋𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝗌.

𝖥𝖾𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗈𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝗒 𝗁𝗎𝗆𝖺𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖾𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋 𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗒... 𝖴𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗅 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌 𝖾𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝖾𝖽, 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖻𝗋𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝗐𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗀𝗂𝗋𝗅.

𝖳𝗁𝖾𝗒 𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖻𝖺𝗂𝗍𝗌, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖿𝗂𝖿𝗍𝗁?

🔞怒

You can find this story in my wattpad too, I will do the chapters there too! My wattpad

The Black forest

The beginning

The dry and cold night flooded the dark forest where the full moon shone and showed the slightly dark surroundings, the surroundings of the forest were quiet and there was little wind which moved the leaves of the trees slightly.

Not far from the mountains there was a town, neither small nor big, which was inhabited by humans. She was walking down the street looking at her phone. Everything seemed calm for now, so she didn't worry that something would happen to her because she was walking alone.

Her phone suddenly rang, making her attention fly to the name of the person on her phone "Lilith".

"Hello?" The girl said putting her phone out loud to hear her friend.

"Y/N? Where are you? You're taking a long time and we've been waiting for you for a while!" Her friend Lilith talked, seeming impatient.

"I'm coming, sorry! Open the door..." The girl hung up the call and walked towards a White house that had bars on the outside, she entered through the first door where the bars were before closing it. The girl walked towards the house and went up the stairs anf before she could knock on the door they opened it.

"Y/N! You're finally here!! We've been waiting for you for a long time and we were worried." A red-haired girl spoke, smiling when she saw Y/N.

"We thought you wouldn't come... Although maybe that would have been for the best." A dark-haired girl who looked grumpy spoke, Charlotte.

She frowned in confusion, why did Charlotte always treat her badly if they were supposed to be her friends? She didn't understand it, why Charlotte is like that with her?

"Well, let's go inside! The boys are waiting for us." Lilith spoke, trying to calm the air a little between Y/N and Charlotte, the girls entered the house and walked towards the living room where two boys were, Mario and Alejandro.

"You girls are finally here, by the way Hello Y/N!" Mario spoke with his typical happy voice, he placed some plates with some snacks on the table before sitting on the couch.

"I'm sorry, I was more sure to come on foot rather than come by bicycle, but I see that perhaps it would have been better to come by bicycle.." Y/N looked at her friends a little uncomfortable as she sat next to Lilith on the couch.

"No problem Y/N! Now let's talk about what you guys wanted to tell us." After a while of everyone settling down on the couch and talking, Mario started to speak.

"I want us to go on a little excursion! Do you know about the Dark Forest?.." Mario had a slight smile forming on his lips, he was planning something that didn't sound 'very good'

"The Dark Forest? I didn't hear about that." Y/N looked at her friends in confusion, she didn't know very well about the stories or things about the town since she didn't get into things like that much.

"Ehh? Don't you know what the dark forest is?!" Lilith exclaimed in surprise, her friends looked at her confused when they heard her.

"Y/N, how many years have you lived in this town?" Alejandro spoke, who had been silent all this time

"Well, since... I think it was fourteen years ago, I think when I was four years old I arrived and I was in this town ever since." She shrugged her shoulders, she didn't think it was a big deal.

"Fourteen years ago? You came here when you were four? So you spent half of your eighteen years in this town and never found out what the dark forest is?! That's impressive!" Mario exclaimed in surprise, he got up from the couch and walked away from the living room towards his room.

"Is that bad? .. I mean, I never knew everything about this town.." Y/N looked at the ground a little sad, thinking that maybe her friends thought badly of her.

"No Y/N! It's okay, it's just that it seems strange to us because you are the only one of all of us who has lived in this town for fourteen years.." Lilith spoke trying to cheer up the girl "You know, I live here for two years, Mario for four years, Alejandro for six and Charlotte for one year... I mean, it's not bad, that you don't know anything about the dark forest it just seems strange to us that you don't know! We found out about the dark forest faster than you and you were the only one who lived here longer." Lilith clarified, touching your shoulder while smiling confusedly.

"Surely since Y/N is a girl who doesn't get into trouble and she's mommy and daddy's daughter she won't know about those things!" Charlotte laughed crossing her arms, Lilith looked at her annoyed by her bad comment and Y/N lowered her head saddened by the words of her 'friend'.

"Here are all the newspapers and important things about the dark forest!" Mario suddenly entered the living room with two boxes and some papers and newspapers "The dark forest was one of the most disturbing cases, it is the largest known forest in this town! Many people entered and never came back.. The case is not what happened to them, but who did something to them."

Mario put the papers on the table and put the snacks on the plates aside, he opened the boxes where there were more papers and newspaper, even photos. He took out all the papers, newspapers and photos and put them on the table showing his friends his research.

"I've been researching about the Black Forest since I arrived in this town! My grandparents lived here, and they told me many things about the Black Forest! It's impressive, for many, many years, maybe since the year 1700 or something like that they started investigating the dark forest and not many things or answers were found! Every time someone entered in they didn't come back." Mario showed newspaper about missing people who were never found by anyone

"That sounds interesting!" Lilith seemed more interested in the situation and grabbed a newspapers to read.

"Yes, very interesting! Plus, there are photos of the dark forest." Mario showed some photos, showing what the forest was like on the outside, and a few photos of what the entrance inside the forest was like. There were none showing what it was like inside the forest. "There are many more unsolved mysteries, more questions and more stories... But what I want us to do is take a little excursion, you all already know where it is, don't you?" Mario smiled, putting the papers, newspaper and photos back into the two boxes.

"In the dark forest? But didn't you say it was dangerous?.. I mean, you told us that there are people who went in and never came back from the forest.." Y/N spoke looking unsure and not satisfied by the idea of ​​doing that 'little' excursion.

"That's why! We are five, we have more advantage and we will take everything we need with us!! Food, lights, water and weapons! It will be like a trip, doesn't that sound great?" Mario smiled as he put the boxes on the side of the couch and looked at us confidently.

"Yes! I love it when we go on group excursions with food! It sounds great, I'm in!" Lilith exclaimed excited and happy at the idea.

"Well, I'm in, it seems interesting." Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"As long as we're in a group, I'm in." Alejandro spoke, he didn't seem very excited or afraid, always serious.

"Y/N, what do you say? Are you in?" Mario asked you, looking at you with a smile just like your other friends looked at you.

"I... Okay, I'm in.." You sighed, Lilith and Mario giggled happily.

"Great! And when are we going to that dark forest if I may ask?" Charlotte cleared her throat, looking at Mario.

"Tonight." Mario responded.

"What, tonight? Can't we go tomorrow when it's daylight?" You spoke raising an eyebrow, you moved on the couch to get comfortable and look at Mario better.

"Nope, that's why I said we're going to bring flashlights! So we can see and explore, it'll be like an investigation!" Mario chuckles getting up from the couch "For now, we are going to carry backpacks and put what we need, first I am going to pack and grab what I need, then we will go to Alejandro's house, Charlotte's, Lilith's house and finally Y/N."

"How exciting! Even though our parents won't say anything? I mean mine are probably sleeping now, I didn't tell them I was coming here..." Lilith looked a little confused and worried.

"Yes, I didn't tell my parents that I would come here either... We have to make sure they know or something..." you spoke remembering that you escaped away from your house to be able to come to your friend Mario's house, it didn't seem like a good idea to hide something from your parents. because it was a little dangerous to go with just five people alone in a forest without telling anyone

"Don't worry about that! I told my grandpa that I'm going on a little excursion with my friends. Even though I didn't tell him where.." Mario laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck as he looked at them nervously.

"We don't have to tell them, if something happens to us we have phones, we can call them at any time if we are in danger." Alejandro sighed and crossed his arms.

"But what a genius! He's right, we have phones!!" Lilith laughed and takes out her phone.

"Well, we're all set, and we don't need anything more to know! Now why don't we go?" Mario grabbed his backpack to go pack the necessary things.

You looked a little worried at your friends, what if something happened to them, to you? It's not that you didn't like excursions, but going at night wasn't that safe either. Even though everything would be fine, wouldn't it?..

This Au belongs to @mylou-doodlesworld !

[thegodmother007]

My New Neighbor Chapter 5: Got Plans?

TRIGGER WARNING: This story will eventually contain violence, angst, threat of death, swearing, dark humor, adult themes like sex & drugs, racism, classism, sexism etc. Do not say you have not been warned

Chapter 5: Got Plans?

It’s been about a week since Vi has fully moved in and besides the occasional shaking of my floors from a heavy misplaced footstep, things were going smoothly. I had not talked to Vi since we first introduced ourselves, and that was okay with me. I was meticulous about keeping to my routine. My routine was safe, manageable and predictable. It did not involve me interacting with giants, despite the new tenant. This was comfortable for me. 

I was sitting in my living room, catching up on some Baldur’s Gate when I heard and felt a knocking at my wall. The same wall I shared with Vi and also separated our units, giving us privacy from the other. I was not sure if that knocking was intentional until it happened a second time shortly after the first, but a little harder this time. I looked down to see I only had a pair of basketball shorts on with some powdered cheese smeared around the pockets from the doritos I was munching on. I quickly jump up, running to the door & pushing my thumb against the speaker we had that would allow us to hear the other through the door. “Hold on” I say quickly, grabbing a worn out sweatshirt I had hanging off a kitchen chair. Once zipped up, I pressed my buzzer, requesting entry & she buzzed me in. 

As I walk in, I can see that Vi was lowering herself to her knees to be closer to my level. Although still high above me, it did lessen the intimidation I felt at her great height. As I enter, I offer a confused smile as she sits on the floor, holding a flier in front of her. “Uh, yea?” I asked, looking up at her, not bothering to read the flier first. At the time, I only registered that the giant wanted something from me and I didn’t know what. I could see she was smiling, excited over something. “I just picked this up from the front desk!” she said, shaking the flier a bit. My attention was grabbed & I began to read this flier she held. Looking at it, it read: “Hedge Heights Trivia Night! Monday at 6:00pm, in the Common Area. Must be 18+ & have a  partner to enter. Apartment residents only.” I stared at it, finally understanding why she might be excited. “Trivia night?” I asked her, feeling immediately uninterested in the whole idea, but trying to hide my aversion. “Yes! On Monday, they’re having a Trivia Night for all Hedge Heights residents.” She turns the poster over to read more detail. “Subjects will include History, Science, General Knowledge, Sports & Movies! You have to have a partner to enter & I was wondering if you’d maybe be interested in going?” I stood there, kind of surprised she asked me at all, so I felt kind of bad declining the invite. “Ehh…I am not much of a trivia person. I was never a good test taker in school, I don't know if I would be much help to you…” I tried giving any excuse I could to get out of it. But in truth, I wasn't lying, I never was good at taking tests, so there is no way I'd be good at trivia. Vi’s face went from excitement to disappointment, clearly banking on a ‘Yes’ from me. “But you mentioned that you liked sports when we first met, that's the only category I don't have confidence in.” I felt nervous telling Vi “No” but reminded myself that this is my roommate, I would have to be honest if I am to remain comfortable in my own home. “I don't know Vi, I've never really been good at being put on the spot, I only follow a few sports, there is bound to be someone who knows much more than I do.” Again Vi slumps a bit, looking at the poster again but not saying much. I try to break the awkward silence “Thank you for thinking of me though, but it’s just not my scene…” I turn to walk back towards my door, trying to remember where I left off in my game. I am then stopped in my tracks by Vi’s next question: “Not even for $250?” She asked with a tempting inflection. I turned, looking at her puzzled. Vi reads off the poster “Grand prize of $250 to the winning team…” she says with a raised eyebrow. 

When money talks, I listen. I stood there, thinking about it, now there was added incentive. I don't work this upcoming Monday & $250 between us is $125 each, that could help me buy some new gaming equipment. I could even afford a new game or two if I wanted. “So?” She asks, holding up the flier “You in?” She says with a smirk, knowing she just won me over by the look on her face. I nod with my hands on my hips “I guess I could clear my calendar for that night. What about the other categories though? I really only know sports from what was listed on the poster.” Vi smiles “Don't worry, I got us covered” she says with a confidence I couldn’t quite bring myself to believe. “You got us covered? Are you sure about that?” I saw Vi’s face contort into one of questioning & obvious annoyance “Are you doubting me?” She asks with an almost playful offense in her tone, crossing her arms. I did not mean my question to come across as condescending, so I elaborate “No, no, I’m not doubting you. But those are a lot of categories for a gian- I mean, for a single person to cover…that’s just a lot to know.” I was hoping I did better at explaining myself as I watched her roll her eyes “Don't worry about me, I paid attention in school. Just worry about answering the sports questions, maybe a movie question or two & I’ll handle the rest.” She said pretty concretely, so I gave a nod. It’s not like I had much of a chance in any of the other categories, so if she felt she could do it, I was inclined to believe her. 

Although I still had my doubts, that $125 was a tempting prize to at least try for. “Alright, if you think you got this, I will meet you in the Common Area 10-minutes before 6:00pm.” Vi’s smile returned “I’ll go sign us up!” She says pushing off the floor to stand once again, which made my stomach do flips as her staggering stature once again felt like it was invading my personal space. I backed up as her footsteps were shaking the floor beneath me, but  in a moment she was already up & turned around, walking to her kitchen where her phone was. Immediately Vi was texting the Event Supervisor, entering our names into the contest. I caught my breath from the sudden jump Vi made to stand again and took that opportunity as my cue to leave. Closing the door behind me, I was suddenly no longer interested in playing my video game. Now I had the urge to brush up on my sports history & stats. I pull out my phone and begin prepping. 

Football, basketball, baseball, soccer & hockey were all I consumed for the next 3 days. I started feeling really confident in my skills as I brushed up on my sports history & caught up on recent sport developments, wins, losses & trades. By the time Monday rolled around, I had eaten and breathed nothing but sports, I felt ready to win the $125. As I got ready, I thought about my concern over Vi’s confidence in the other categories. Giants weren’t known for being very brainy or overall the kind of people to value high intellect. Often using their size, brute strength and senses to survive the world, they aren’t known for holding scholarly positions throughout history. Knowing what I learned in school about giants, the main jobs available throughout history were very laborious and required enormous amounts of strength. While giants worked in fields & built structures, Humans were the ones inventing technology, advancing medicines and developing modern conveniences. Giants were tasked with the harvesting of crops, wrangling animals, construction, lumber harvesting, landscaping & things that weren’t entirely easy for Humans to complete at our size. In the recent century, giant schools and education programs had become more popular & eventually became the standard requirement for giant children, just as it has been for Human children for many years leading up to that. From what I have seen in the media & heard when discussing the topic, the curriculums being taught in giant schools have remained rudimentary & are less challenging than that of a Human school’s curriculum. Considering many giants end up as laborers anyways, it made sense to keep things simple & stick to basics. 

I still had my doubts about Vi’s ability to win us the $250, but what else am I going to do on a Monday night? Looking at my phone, I saw it was 5:40pm, I had to be at the Common Area in 10 minutes. I grabbed my apartment keys, phone & wallet just in case, and began making my way towards the Trivia Night. I saw a few other Humans, a couple who lived together in the apartment, making their way down to the Common Room as well, undoubtedly going to Trivia Night as well. It would have been nice to have a Human roommate to do a Trivia Night with, would make collaborating a hell of a lot easier. I approach the doorway that leads onto a large balcony that resides in a much larger Common Room area that could host a few dozen giants at a time. The human platform had smaller cat-walk trails branching off of it, which allowed access to the tables where some giants were already sitting. I could see Vi at one of the tables, on her phone, probably brushing up on her facts & trivia. As I walked towards our table, I noticed there was a button for her & a smaller button for me on a human size table that sat on top of the giant table. I was surprised by the setup. It seemed like a lot of effort went into it by the Apartment Staff “This feels like some kind of game show” I thought to myself, as I saw the projector display some cheesy graphics about the approaching trivia contest. “Welcome to Hedge Heights Trivia Night!” The graphic said, with some clip art of a game show wheel & a crowd of people cheering in the background. I rolled my eyes and descended to where our table was, Vi’s eyes landing on me once I reached the stairs. “Hey! Glad you made it.” She greets me with a warm smile. “Are you ready to win this?” she asked me with a cheery attitude. I chuckled, both because she seemed very excited and, in a really weird way, it was cute to see. But also because I was not overly hopeful that we would win. 

Once I reached the table, I stood in front of Vi, who was seated at the table, next to her button. “As ready as I ever could be! I have been doing nothing but researching, memorizing & tracking everything sports the last few days. I feel like my brain is going to explode!” I joked. Vi nodded “I feel the same way. I’ve been brushing up on all my topics too. I’ve done nothing but prepare for Trivia Night. Shoot, I am still preparing” as she wiggles her phone in the air. I was right, she was still studying. I was impressed with her tenacity, though. “Just remember Vi, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. If we don’t win, it’s not your fault. There is always next time” I tried to reassure. Vi scoffed & smiled “That’s loser talk, Cain! This is the winner’s table, I won’t have any of that here!” That got a smile from me “Alright alright” I yielded with my hands up in a surrender “No more ‘loser talk’ from me, then!” I say taking my seat, but not before being stopped by Vi’s approaching fist. 

Out of pure instinct, I turn away, lowering myself to be on my knees in a ball & cower, covering my head and body from the impending strike I feel is coming. From above me I heard Vi say with a panicked voice “Oh shit, Cain, no, I was just trying to give you a fist bump!” She pulled her hand away quickly, I could see the shadow of her hand retract, as I keep my eyes cast downward, still in my ball. I wait a few moments before uncurling myself from my tense position and catch my breath. I thought for a moment she was going to crush me, my whole life flashed before me in the moment I thought I was going to die. I couldn’t look up at her right away, I was just making sure to ground myself before standing, feeling slight embarrassment at the misunderstanding and my extreme reaction. As I sat on my hands and knees, I felt an incredibly light & gentle weight on my back. I thought maybe another Human saw this and came rushing over to see if I was okay. I looked up finally & over my shoulder to see it was not another Human, but Vi’s finger gently patting my back, her face lowered further than it naturally would be. I made eye contact with her the moment I realized it was she who was trying to comfort me. Her touch was a lot softer than I anticipated. When I realized it was her finger, I felt goosebumps run up my back as she stroked it. With a low voice she says “I’m so sorry if I scared you. Are you alright?” she asked as if I were some wounded animal. I quickly try to right myself again, clearing my throat and pushing my hair from my face. With wobbly knees I stood & her hand stayed close to me, which was not entirely helping my composure. “I-I’m good. Sorry, I thought…I don’t know what I thought…” I did not want to admit I thought she was going to crush me at that moment, but I could see it on her face that she already knew. “I’m okay though..” I assure, hoping to just forget my overreaction and sit down. “Cain?” I hear her ask above me. I turn to look at her before sitting “Just want you to know I would never intentionally hurt you, okay? I get it, though. You have to protect yourself, but just know you’re safe around me.” I just stared at her as she said this, processing what she was telling me. “I figured I would clear the air before Trivia Night started…” I could tell she was feeling guilty for having scared me, it was like a billboard plastered all over her face. Her words brought a level of relief I did not know I needed. “Thanks Vi. I appreciate that.” Was all I could muster as I sat down. Just as I did, a giant man, the Event Host, approached the stage with a remote in one hand and a clipboard in the other “Welcome to Trivia Night Hedge Heights residents! I am Don, the Event Coordinator & I will be your Game Host this evening!”

[bite-the-bloody-hand]

@dujour13 very kindly tagged me in the Companion First Impressions tag game! Check out her answers for the magnificent Siavash here.

I have not officially completed the game yet though I've been spoiled on a lot of the ending haaa... so just treat this as Zell's thoughts after your average Azata ending, and I'll come back later once I've gone mad with power.

Tagging @rlainarin Give your KC’s first impression and final opinion of each of their companions!

First Impressions:

Seelah: You seem... charmingly sincere for Iomedae's lot. And I owe you for getting Terendelev so quickly... I guess we'll see how getting out of here goes, yeah?

Camellia: I don't even know you, and already I know it's gonna be you or me. I can smell the old blood under your nails... I wonder whose it is?

Lann: Wow buddy, how'd you get your head so far up your ass with that horn? Impressive.

Wenduag: Normally I don't appreciate strangers telling me what to do, but you aren't nearly as threatening as you think you are… and you're right about Lann being reckless.

Woljif: You've got the air of ehh... talented grifter who blows his winnings like a pimp, no wonder you got nailed. Anyway, want to go scandalize the neighbors with me?

Ember: Little one, I absolutely agree that they were just scared stupid men in a crisis, but you don't want to smack 'em around even a little bit? All right... we do it your way for now. I guess we'll see about next time too. And the time after that...

Daeran: Hnh, you were the single voice of reason back in the square yet play an imbecile party boy in your own home... So what should I know about you, Count? Whatever you're hiding smells like bad blood.

Nenio: Normally I'd be more wary about someone wanting to do 'experiments' on people a goofiness about you that I respect. I want to see where you're going with all this.

Galfrey: I love how you think you're being cute and clever but you have 'I am in a crisis because nobody is acknowledging me' disease and I can smell it from here.

Sosiel: You seem. Nice. I'm sure we'll get along fine, you just remind me of someone I'd rather not be thinking about just now.

Regill: Oh a Godclaw? The Hellknight mental gymnastics champions? Color me intrigued. Don't tell anyone, but I'm glad someone else around here isn't squeamish about making hard decisions in a bad situation.

Arueshalae: Never once have I imagined I'd meet a demon who would change my life for the better, but... strange things keep happening. We both strive for the impossible, ey? Perhaps we strive together.

Greybor: Weird how I'm two for two on a stranger giving me orders and me being okay with it, but I have been bewitched by your weirdly paternal swagger.

Ulbrig: BRO YOU'RE HUGE. AND ON TOP OF ME. BUY A MAN DINNER FIRST, DAMN. My fuckin *ribs* guy....

Trevor: Ah shit, man. Let's get you home.

Parting thoughts (Normal Azata Ending Edition):

Seelah: Stay questioning, my friend. A life full of joy doesn't mean a life of easy answers, you know? You keep your heart open, and I'll always be keeping an eye out.

Camellia: You just had to keep on lying.

Lann: You are like a brother to me (but sometimes I still want to commit fratricide you SHITHEAD. I love you.)

Wenduag: Is there no world in which you find your peace in life? I know I could have done more, but I don't know what that was supposed to be. I failed you just as much as you failed yourself.

Woljif: Tch, I can't wait to watch you turn into a rich, fat, happy old ram. Maybe cool it on the securities fraud for a little bit, I can't be breaking you out of prison. I mean I will but I don't wanna.

Ember: Kindness really is infectious, yeah? You helped me be a kinder version of myself. I'm so glad to know you.

Daeran: Ah, my best friend; love of my life. What an unexpected surprise, to feel so cherished... I wish you'd let the rest of the world see you the way I do. I never could have done this without you.

Nenio: Well, Professor? What new experiments shall we try next? Your loyal assistant is ever ready!

Galfrey: I'd pity you if I felt like that would fix anything. Everything that wasn't your fault was made your problem; I hope you can find it in your heart to rest from that someday.

Sosiel: Ah I guess you aren't so bad... Nah get back here and hug me, fool. I will see you at Harvest, make sure you're drawing silly things to stay loose.

Regill: Master Derenge, it has been an honor. I will always hold your memory in esteem.

Arueshalae: Hey, keep your chin up, recovering from your old life is going to take time. You know I'll be around, yeah? Always at your back, sister.

Greybor: Don't look at me like that, I'm not being smug at all. Anyway tell your family hi from me, hm? You'll be seeing fruit and flowers from me soon enough.

Ulbrig: I guess... I suppose we'll see each other again sometime, somewhere. Good luck to you, my friend.

Trevor: Give yourself the grace of patience, my friend. I will come to you when you need.

[silvrash-797]

For @bokettochild

Strangers in a strange land

Day 22: "You weren't meant to be there"

I don't write Legend a lot, so hopefully this is at least mostly in character for him

Read on ao3

Legend wove deftly between stalls, carts, and Hylians, the busy marketplace of Time's Castletown a soothing hum after the chaos of the last few portals. They’d been fighting infected monsters nonstop through Wild, Four, Twilight, and finally Time's Hyrules before they finally dragged themselves to the Ranch, all but collapsing as they crossed the threshold.

They’d already spent a few days cleaning up wounds, resting, and helping around the Ranch; now it was time for a supply run before the next portal swept them away.

Someone abruptly moved into his way, and Legend found himself laid out flat on the ground. “Hey!” he complained, “Watch where you’re…”

“I’m so sorry, young man, I wasn’t…”

Legend and the stranger paused, staring at each other. Familiarity pricked uncomfortably across Legend’s skin. There’s no way! How…how could he be here?

The man looked like Time, if he were a bit younger and missing the facial scars, but…he also looked like Raven, the ancestor he met on his quest to Labrynna. But they were nowhere near his time, never mind his timeline. This timeline would become Twilight's, how could Raven be here?

Not-Time-maybe-Raven was still staring at him, an undecipherable look in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he asked, “but…have we perhaps met before?”

Din, the man even talked like Raven. Then again, now that he thought about it, so did the Old Man. But Raven wasn’t meant to be here, and the stranger was definitely not Time, so who was this??

Legend shook the circling thoughts from his head. He refused to make assumptions. His intuition was usually scarily good, but not when it came to people close to him. “I’m not sure,” he finally replied, “maybe in another life?”

The man – whoever he was – smiled slightly at that, face softening like he’d remembered something. “Maybe so,” he agreed softly, extending a hand to help Legend up. “I apologize again for knocking you over.”

Legend allowed himself to be pulled up, brushing the dust from his tunics once he was stable. “Ehh, don’t worry about it,” he dismissed the sentiment with his characteristic aloofness, although his mind was still screaming at him, trying to place just who this guy was. “Coulda happened to anyone.”

The man's smile grew, but then he looked at the dirt beneath their feet and it faded. “Did you drop something when you fell?”

Legend felt around himself: pouches, bags, gear, everything seemed to be in order. “I don’t think so. Why?”

“I thought I saw…” the man's voice faded as he crouched near Legend's feet, feeling around in the dirt. “Never mind,” he said, standing again, “must have been a trick of the light.” He waved as he moved on. “Safe travels, friend.”

“Safe travels!” Legend called in return, merging with the stream of marketgoers to complete his shopping. He mulled the incident over as he went, unable to make any headway on who the man might be.

It wasn’t until he was back at the Ranch that he felt something sharp inside one of his boots. He removed the boot carefully, feeling around inside. His fingers found something rounded, with a sharp tip, and he pulled it out.

Legend stared dumbly at the fishing hook in his hand. The fishing hook that looked exactly like the one he’d used to pick the lock on his cell in Labrynna. The one he’d seen Raven use when he followed him to the hidden village. It wasn’t possible…

“TIME!” he called, hunting down the Old Man. “Where’s the closest fishing hole?!”

[projectnewmoon]

Sonic - Project: New Moon

Chapter 4 - Ghost Hunt

Summary: Sonic and Tails set off to find the next Chaos Emerald, and are joined by unlikely allies along the way.

Warnings: none.

Word Count: 2,116 words

-

“... Sonic…”

“... Sonic, can you hear me…?”

A voice, familiar, resonated in Sonic’s mind. It was close, warm, yet riddled with worry.

A small figure floats before him, blurred, yet there was a distinct green orb in its chest, glowing gently.

What was this? A dream? A vision? Sonic couldn’t tell. Whatever it was, it didn’t feel real.

“Chip?” The name leaves Sonic’s mouth before he can really think about it.

“Oh, thank goodness!” The figure becomes clearer, the form of a small canine with fluttering green wings revealing itself to him. “You can finally hear me!”

“Chip! It’s really you!” Sonic cried, reaching out to embrace his friend, “Oh, it’s been so long! I missed you!”

Chip hugged him back with a smile, his embrace feeling warm like the rays of the sun on a summer’s day. His little fluffy tail wagged excitedly.

“I missed you too, Sonic. I wish we could’ve met again under better circumstances, but…” Chip looked up to Sonic, a grim expression on his face, “I don’t have much time. Talking to you like this is taking a lot of energy, and I don’t have much to spare…”

“What’s going on?”

“Someone is tampering with Dark Gaia’s Energy, disrupting the balance… Using its energy to hurt people and power an army of robots.”

“That someone wouldn’t happen to be a spider, would it?”

“Yes, that’s right! Sonic, you need to stop him, no matter what. If you don’t, he could–”

A deafening roar breaks out in the dream, filled with primordial rage and madness. Somehow, it feels as if the earth shakes, despite the fact he was floating in a void of light.

Sonic can feel the dream begin to slip away, like sand slipping through his fingers.

“Sonic? Sonic! Wait…! He’s going to destroy everything… You have to…”

Chip's voice grows distant, and he drifts away from the dream…

Sunlight streams into the living room from the window as dawn breaks. Sonic slowly opens his eyes, sun rays hitting his face and dragging him away from his slumber. His limbs are heavy and sore, protesting even the slightest movement.

He didn’t want to get up, but he had to. He didn’t have any time to sleep in, not today, so he rose from the couch, hurried to raid Tails’ fridge for any leftover chili dogs, and made his way to the garage to meet up with his little brother.

“Good morning, Sonic!” Tails greeted him cheerfully. “How do you feel?”

“Ehh, kinda sore, but alright. Could be worse,” Sonic replied, taking a bite of his breakfast chili dog.

Was it just him, or did Tails somehow look… shorter than usual? Or was he taller?

“Good to hear. I was worried your condition would be getting worse considering just how much Dark Gaia Energy is in your system, but you seem stable now, at least.”

It doesn’t look like he’s noticed anything different yet, so maybe he was just imagining things.

“Still, the amount of energy I saw in those scans is dangerously high, to the point of being lethal to the average person,” Tails continued, “You’re not the average person, but it could still be pretty bad for you to have so much inside of you for prolonged periods of time. I still don’t quite know how your body is reacting to it exactly, and if your already unusual Chaos Energy signature is affecting anything…”

“Isn’t there a way to, I dunno, get it out?”

“Not that I know of, no. Usually, when someone is exposed to Dark Gaia Energy, it’s in a gaseous form that’s easily expelled naturally after some time. But in this case, it was directly injected into your bloodstream as a concentrated liquid. With it being administered like this, the energy could bond to your cells much more easily, which is most likely causing your sudden fur growth and who knows what other mutations we haven’t noticed yet.”

Sonic pondered Tails’ words for a moment. “So… you’re saying it could be permanent this time?”

“If we don’t find a way for you to get that energy out of your system, then… yeah,” Tails said grimly, “But we’ll figure out how to fix this, I know it.”

“Yeah. I’m sure we will,” Sonic assured, though he didn’t feel so sure himself, “Anyhow, where’s our next stop?”

Tails takes a look at the map on his Miles Electric. “Looks like there’s an Emerald located in the middle of Sand Ocean Zone. That’s a few ways away, but we should be able to get there in no time with the Tornado.”

“Well, then, what are we waiting for?” Sonic takes the last few bites of his breakfast before jumping up onto the Tornado’s wing with a sharp-toothed smile. “Let’s go!”

“Yeah!” Tails’ tails spin excitedly as he jumps into the pilot’s seat of the plane. The engine roars to life, the propeller begins to spin, the garage door slides open, and before they knew it, they were rushing down the runway and the Tornado took off towards the clear blue skies above.

-

Desert wind blows gusts of sand as the Tornado flies overhead. Sonic looks down at the sprawling dunes of Sand Ocean Zone below from his spot on the Tornado’s wing, observing the remains of an old Eggman base built into ancient sandstone ruins. He can’t help but wonder what the old man’s thought process was, building into what once was some kind of tomb that was steadily sinking into the surrounding desert, but the guy was never known to have that much foresight, despite his grandiose ambitions of world domination. He always seemed to value spectacle over practicality, at least back then when this base was constructed.

“Look there!” Tails called out to Sonic, pointing at a large structure down below, “According to my readings, the next Emerald should be inside that old building! I’ll find us a safe place to land nearby!”

“Sure thing, bud! At this rate, we’ll get that Emerald before the sun… sets…”

Sonic finds himself trailing off, losing his previous train of thought when he notices people treading the desert in the distance. Three figures, one much larger than the other two, steadily approach the same structure Tails and him were heading towards. He squints in an attempt to see them through the sun’s harsh glare.

“Hey, wait a sec, that’s…” He couldn’t believe his eyes. Specter and Phantom, the twins that had rescued him that fateful night, and that wolf-beast again. What could they possibly be doing in a place like this?

He calls out to them, waving hello and hoping they would notice. Thankfully, it seems like he caught their attention as the twins waved back and the beast glared at him from the ground below.

After landing, Sonic hurries over to the odd group with Tails following close behind.

“Woah, hey! It’s you guys again!”

“Oh my gosh! Hi, Sonic! Good to see you!” Specter greets him with a smile.

Meanwhile, Phantom’s attention is completely taken by Tails, whom he stares at as he walks up to them.

“Are you the people who helped Sonic out back in Spirit’s Grove?” Tails asked the two cats, namesakes wagging slightly. “Sonic told me all about it. I can’t thank you guys enough for taking care of him!”

“Aw, it’s no problem at all, kid,” Specter replied, before asking, “What’s your name?”

Tails stood tall and confident. “I’m Miles Prower! But everyone just calls me Tails,” he proclaimed with a smile.

“Miles Prower… Miles… per hour…?” Phantom mumbled to himself.

“What are you guys doing here, anyway? This is pretty far off from Spirit’s Grove.” Sonic walked on, leading the others to do the same.

“Ghost hunt,” Phantom replied bluntly.

“Yeah, it’s kinda, like, our thing,” Specter then elaborated, “We can see ghosts and stuff, so we hunt evil spirits in places like these to stop them from causing trouble. In fact, we heard some whispers in the woods saying the King of Spirits got its claws on a Chaos Emerald, and we can’t have that.”

“Woah, cool! That means you can help us with our Emerald hunt!” Sonic smiled.

“Awesome!”

He would’ve never guessed that the twins had such a connection to the supernatural, but now that he thought of it, the strange markings over the two cats left and right eyes respectively should’ve been an indication that there was more to them than he initially thought.

There was something else off about them, though, and he knew he'd thought about it before, but it seems to have slipped his mind…

Until he notices the beast that was with them earlier, the one he’d met when he found the first Emerald, walking a few meters ahead of the rest of the group.

“Wha- hey, wait a minute!” Sonic rushed to the giant wolf’s side, leaving the others behind in a cloud of sand, “What’s up with you?”

“I thought I told you to stay out of this,” they grumbled, their gaze still fixed on their destination.

“Not gonna happen.” Sonic grabbed onto their cloak and pulled on it to stop them.

They quickly snap at him, growling. But he was unfazed.

“What’s your name? And are you friends with Specter and Phantom?” Sonic asked, looking into their eyes.

The beast didn’t answer, instead ignoring him and continuing to walk off towards the old ruins, dragging Sonic along as he refused to let go of their cloak.

“Hey! Come on! Just tell me already–”

“It’s Rue,” they growled, before grabbing his hand and forcing him to let go, “And we are just acquaintances. Nothing more. Now leave me be.”

Rue walked through the dark entrance, leaving Sonic and the others right outside the old abandoned base. Sonic scowled as everyone entered after them.

Old sandstone walls now surround the group, reinforced by now slightly rusted metal beams of Eggman’s design. carvings and pictures were etched into the walls, lit up by the warm orange light of torches still aflame even after all this time. Hieroglyphs that once told a tale that is now lost to time. 

Not like the group had much of a chance to admire the ancient history that was all around them, because Sonic and Rue were rushing ahead, leaving the others to play catch up. Their footsteps echoed down the hall as they walked.

“Um, do you guys know this Rue person?” Sonic heard Tails ask behind him.

“Ee-yup, sure do,” Specter answered, grumbling.

“She lives in Spirit’s Grove,” Phantom continued, “She’s a loner. Patrols the place like she owns it. Scares people away.”

Specter nodded. “She’s, um… She’s something, that’s for sure.”

“Are you guys friends?”

“I like to think we are, but,” Specter shrugs, “It’s kinda hard to tell with her, to be honest.”

“Ah…”

Eventually, after walking down the seemingly never ending hallway, the group reach a large chamber, lit up in golden light. A large Warp Ring sat in the very center, floating. But something wasn’t quite right- the light looked off, and Sonic didn’t feel that hair-raising tingle of Chaos Energy in the air. No, this one felt… cold.

The lack of Nox's Badniks nor any resistance from the resident evil spirits struck him as odd, too. And it seemed he wasn’t the only one who was suspicious of the scene, as Specter and Phantom were looking around the chamber with scrutiny.

“Yo, Tails? Is this it?” Sonic turned to ask his brother.

Tails looks down at the Miles Electric. “Yep, looks like it,” he said, nodding.

“Hm. Ghosts are hiding,” Phantom says.

“Yeah, there’s no way this isn’t some kind of trap.” Specter’s tail thumped on the floor as she looked around, no doubt at some entity, or entities, he couldn’t see. “I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.”

“We can’t leave that Emerald in that monster’s hands,” Rue growled, “We can’t let Nox get ahold of it, either.”

“Eh, I’ve jumped face-first into traps plenty of times before, and I’ve come out fine,” he said with a shrug, “Whatever’s on the other side of that ring, I can take it.”

Tails gripped his Miles Electric tightly. “Sonic, please be careful. We don’t really know what we’re dealing with here.”

“I’ll be fine, Tails,” he assured as he took a step through the ring, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be back with that Emerald before you–”

Suddenly, he felt something pull him down into the ring. Tails cries out his name.

The last thing everyone hears is the sound of maniacal laughter, before the entire chamber was consumed by a pitch black darkness, and everyone was dragged down into frigid nothingness.

[memory-overload]

The Double Switcheroo (A short "Good Basilisk Luzura" side fic)

Author's Note: I originally posted this on AO3, but it's short enough that I think it can also work as a Tumblr post. (Click/tap "Keep reading" to see the full story. Don't want to clog the timeline.)

“Alright, Hunter. Which one is the real Luz, and which is Vee?” Amity asked the blond. Hunter was mid-bite of his instant maple and ginger oatmeal when he looked up to see two identical copies of Luz standing in front of him, with Amity standing off to the side.

“What.” Hunter intoned, looking up from his breakfast, oatmeal dripping from his spoon.

“Come on! Guess!” the Luz on the left said. “Who's who?”

Hunter just shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno.” He then pointed at the Luz on the right with his spoon before finishing his bite. “You’re Vee. That's my guess.”

Left Luz seemed to take offense at Hunter’s unwillingness to play along. “Really? You’re not even gonna ask us any questions? Drill us on our fondness for Azura? At least try to figure it out.”

Hunter reluctantly sighed. “Fine, I’ll play along.” Pushing his oatmeal to the side, the grimwalker propped his elbows up on the table.

“What’s your favorite food?” Hunter asked as his opening question.

“Maduros with whipped cream and chopped peanuts,” both Luzs said at the same time.

Hunter then realized that that was actually a stupid question since he had no idea what Luz’s favorite food actually was. Maybe that was his stomach taking over for his brain.

“Hmm…,” Hunter thought about his next question more seriously. He needed something that only Luz, the real Luz, would know. “When and where did I tell you my name?”

The two Luzs responded in unison yet again. “After you fought with Kikimora in Latissa.”

Whatever act the two were putting on was starting to wear on Hunter’s nerves. “Are you two going to keep answering at the same time just to annoy me?”

“Maybe. Is it working?” they both said. To their side, Amity was stifling her laughter, clearly enjoying the torment that Hunter was going through.

“What are you even doing here?” Hunter asked Amity, who had a big smile on her face.

“I’m just here to watch you struggle,” Amity answered. “So, have you figured it out yet?”

“No,” Hunter answered with a huff. “Let’s just get this over with. What happens in chapter seven of the sixth Azura book?”

“Azura proclaims her love for Hecate and they officially become girlfriends,” Left Luz said confidently, crossing her arms. “Do you really expect me to get any question related to GWA wrong?”

“No, that scene happens in chapter twelve of book five,” Right Luz countered. “Chapter seven of book six is when Hecate and Azura finally defeat the Sulp-Niarr monster.”

“Alright, I’ve come up with my guess,” Hunter proclaimed. He pointed at Left Luz. “You’re the real Luz. Nice try with the mind games though. Intentionally messing up something related to Good Witch Azura was a good call.”

Left Luz made a buzzer noise. “Ehh, you’re wrong.”

“Okay, then you’re Luz,” Hunter adjusted his guess to the other Luz. “There, I win.”

“Wrong again,” Right Luz responded smugly.

“What do you mean ‘wrong again’?” Hunter asked, dumbfounded. Then, he remembered the third person in the game. Turning to “Amity” he watched as the basilisk morphed into her normal form of Luz Noceda.

“Alright, third and final guess: which one’s me?” Luz, the real one, announced with a laugh.

“Wait, so if you’re Luz, then which one of you is Vee?” Hunter asked, turning to the two fakes.

Left Luz waved. “Guilty as charged.” She then dropped her disguise, returning to her own human form. She then poked Right Luz, causing a poof of illusion magic to dispel, revealing Amity Blight underneath.

“I couldn’t stand Vee lying about Good Witch Azura, so I had to correct her,” Amity explained.

“So was this just some kind of prank to make me look foolish?” Hunter asked.

“Yeah, and it worked perfectly,” Luz commented. She then turned to compatriots and rubbed her hands together. “Who should we prank next?”

Originally posted on AO3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55131493

[itsjustbell]

The Dive

Viktor x reader

Summary: It seems your feelings for your friend Viktor have grown into much more than you thought. When did this even happen?

This is literally just sappy drabble, just me gushing over Viktor. Too much time rewriting and editing--not nearly enough proofreading, but I'm trying to not focus on whether it's perfect or not. Hope it's at least comprehensible, haha. Enjoy <3

Love can be a lot of things. It can be a river, flowing constantly over and around obstacles, smoothing over hard edges, and even through stone with constant, gentle effort.

Love can be a fire. Growing from one glowing ember, with enough care and tenderness, to the roaring flame of a hearth. Strong enough to keep out the cold through dark winters and burning bright through even the most thunderous storms. 

But this… This had crept up on you, much like how sleep crawls to the insomniac. You couldn’t quite pinpoint the moment that you fell, only noticing the floatiness of sleep once you’d already dived in headfirst. One moment you were fine, and the next you’d somehow found yourself opening eyes you didn’t even realize you had closed. 

You’d known Viktor for a while now, enough to comfortably secure yourself a spot amongst the few he harbored as friends. This…fluttering feeling that threatened to choke you whenever he was around, like the butterflies in your stomach were trying desperately to fly out of your mouth in the form of some lovesick confession. Never before had you felt so strongly about someone.  Never before had you craved someone. His mere presence alone seemed to soothe your anxiety ridden mine, while also somehow increasing it tenfold at the same time. Even when he was gone, he still managed to force his way into your thoughts. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think you were sick– And perhaps you were in a different sort of way. 

Has he always looked that good? Had the sun always caressed his cheek like that? What would that same cheek feel like under your own hand? The amount of hours you had spent wondering how it felt to cradle his face in your hands and gaze into those striking amber eyes that seemingly glowed in the golden light of the evening, and to have them stare back— as if you were a star yourself? The thought alone was dizzying. 

It wasn’t just that he looked like he was hand sculpted by the gods themselves. No, Viktor was more than just a pretty face. He was kind. Sure, he might’ve seemed like some self-righteous smart ass when you’d first met him, but under all that he was gentle. He was understanding. He made you feel seen. Talking to him felt so… easy. 

Maybe it was on one of those late nights in the lab after a long day in your studio that you fell. Soft, easy conversations and eyes filled with mirth as you both exchanged wild stories and the kinds of secrets that only seem to come out when the lights dim and the stars are out. 

You’d had four cups of coffee between the two of you. He was telling a story from his and Jayce’s academy days. One of the student galas towards the end of the year. 

“--I’d never seen Jayce more…more, how do you call it? Ehh…” 

“Wasted?” You offered. His eyes lit up. 

“Yes, wasted!” He laughed, “He looked about ready to tip over– and he did, right into some poor girl.” 

You shook your head as laughter bubbled out from your chest. “I think I heard about that on the tail end of the gossip chain.” 

“Eh, I’m surprised you didn’t see it with how large the crowd was.”

“I didn’t go.” 

He seemed surprised at this. 

“I was too busy finishing up my final projects that year, I think.” You looked down into your lukewarm cup of coffee, now forgotten on the desk you’d been sitting on. “Wanted a perfect portfolio… plus I didn’t really have anyone to go with.” 

When you’d looked back at him, there was something in his eyes that had made your skin buzz. If love – or whatever this is, is a fire, then surely what he’d said after were the first sparks. 

“I’m sure that if I– If we, me and Jayce that is, had met you earlier you could’ve gone with us,” 

  Something about that slight fumbling of his words. The slight pull of his eyes before he looked back down at the machine he was tinkering with. 

"Yea?"

“Yes, plus… it would’ve been nice to have someone else there to deal with the aftermath of Jayce’s poor choices.”

And every moment after that simply fanned the sparks into the rumbling flame that lived between your ribs. The first unknowing foot into the deep end.

[nickeverdeen]

Helloo Can I make a request? Seamus Finnigan and the female reader. Reader is a Slytherin. In fact, Seamus has had some feelings for the reader for a long time. But he doesn't want to admit it because she's a Slytherin and has an infamous surname. But she's a good person at heart. Ehh one day, reader sees the 'classic' mishap experienced by Seamus in potions class. She offers to help him because we know Snape is always ready for minus intervention.~

Bad Blood | Seamus Finnigan x female!Slytherin!reader

Warnings: discrimination, a bit cheesy

—————

Seamus Finnigan had always prided himself on being able to take things in stride. Growing up in a magical household, he had experienced his fair share of magical mishaps, and being at Hogwarts only seemed to amplify that tendency. Yet, no class was as prone to disaster for him as Potions.

Professor Snape’s dungeon classroom was filled with the usual dark and eerie atmosphere, which did nothing to ease Seamus’s anxiety. The flickering candles cast long shadows over the rows of cauldrons bubbling with strange concoctions. As he prepared his ingredients, Seamus couldn’t help but glance around nervously.

Today’s lesson was a particularly complex potion, one that required precision and patience—two things Seamus often struggled with. He had already managed to singe his eyebrows once this term, and the prospect of another mishap was looming over him like a dark cloud.

He cast a quick look at the Slytherin side of the classroom. There, standing with an air of quiet confidence, were you, a Slytherin girl with an infamous surname. Seamus had heard all the stories about your family, but despite the whispers and the reputations, he had seen a different side of you. You were kind-hearted, and your (e/c) eyes always seemed to hold a hint of sadness, as if you bore the weight of your family’s name with a quiet dignity.

Seamus shook his head, trying to focus. “Concentrate, Finnigan,” he muttered to himself, measuring out a pinch of powdered bicorn horn. As he added it to his cauldron, a puff of green smoke erupted, followed by a loud bang. Seamus staggered back, coughing and waving his hand in front of his face to clear the air.

“Finnigan!” Professor Snape’s voice cut through the chaos like a knife. “What have you done this time?”

Seamus’s face turned bright red. He could feel the eyes of the entire class on him, and the weight of their judgment was almost unbearable. “I—I think I added too much bicorn horn, Professor,” he stammered, glancing at the blackened mess in his cauldron.

“Detention, Finnigan. And ten points from Gryffindor,” Snape said, his voice dripping with disdain. “Clean up this mess and try not to destroy the classroom in the process.”

Seamus nodded miserably, starting to gather his things. As he did, he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. He turned to see you standing there, your expression one of genuine concern.

“Hey, Seamus,” you said softly, your voice carrying none of the mockery he had expected. “I saw what happened. Do you need some help?”

He blinked in surprise. “You want to help me?”

You nodded, offering a small smile. “I’ve always been pretty good at Potions. And besides, I think Snape is just looking for reasons to take points from Gryffindor. It’s not fair.”

Seamus hesitated, glancing at your outstretched hand. It felt strange to accept help from a Slytherin, especially one with your family’s reputation. But the sincerity in your eyes was hard to ignore.

“Thanks, Y/N,” he said finally, returning your smile. “I’d really appreciate it.”

Together, you set to work cleaning up the mess. As you worked, Seamus found himself glancing at you more and more, noticing the way your hair caught the light and the determined set of your jaw. Maybe, just maybe, there was more to you than the rumors suggested.

Over the next few days, Seamus couldn’t stop thinking about Y/N. Your kindness and willingness to help him in Potions had left a lasting impression. He found himself looking forward to your next class, hoping for another chance to talk to you.

One afternoon, as he made his way to the library to finish some homework, he spotted you sitting alone at a table, surrounded by books and parchment. You looked deep in thought, your quill moving swiftly across the page.

Seamus hesitated for a moment before walking over. “Hey, Y/N,” he said, trying to sound casual. “Mind if I join you?”

You looked up, your face lighting up with a smile. “Of course, Seamus. Take a seat.”

He sat down across from you, feeling a bit nervous. “What are you working on?”

“Just some Potions notes,” you replied, pushing a strand of hair behind your ear. “I’ve got a few ideas for improving that potion we did last week.”

Seamus nodded, impressed. “You really know your stuff.”

You shrugged modestly. “I’ve always enjoyed Potions. It’s like a puzzle, trying to figure out the right combination of ingredients.”

You fell into a comfortable silence, each working on your own assignments. As the minutes ticked by, Seamus couldn’t help but steal glances at you, admiring your focus and determination.

Finally, he mustered up the courage to ask, “Y/N, can I ask you something?”

You looked up, your eyes meeting his. “Sure, Seamus. What’s on your mind?”

“Why did you help me in Potions the other day? I mean, you didn’t have to. Especially since I’m a Gryffindor and you’re a Slytherin.”

Your expression softened. “I helped you because I wanted to, Seamus. I don’t believe in all that house rivalry nonsense. We’re all students at Hogwarts, and we should look out for each other.”

Seamus felt a warmth spread through his chest at your words. “That’s really kind of you, Y/N. I appreciate it.”

You smiled, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand. “Anytime, Seamus. If you ever need help with Potions, or anything else, just let me know.”

He nodded, feeling a surge of gratitude and something else—something he wasn’t quite ready to admit to himself yet. But one thing was clear: you were different from the other Slytherins he had known, and he was glad to have you as an unexpected ally.

As the weeks went by, you and Seamus found yourselves spending more and more time together. You often met in the library to study, and you would patiently help him with Potions, guiding him through the more complex recipes.

Your friendship grew, and with it, Seamus’s feelings for you. He found himself looking forward to your time together, cherishing every moment. But he couldn’t ignore the nagging doubt in the back of his mind—how would his friends react if they knew he had feelings for a Slytherin?

One evening, as you walked back to your common rooms after a particularly challenging Potions session, Seamus decided to take a chance. “Y/N, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Seamus. What is it?”

He took a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest. “Do you ever feel like people judge you because of your family name? I mean, I know there are a lot of rumors, but I’ve seen the real you, and you’re nothing like what people say.”

Your expression grew somber, and you looked down at the ground. “All the time, Seamus. It’s hard living up to the expectations and trying to prove that I’m different. But I’ve learned to ignore the rumors and focus on being true to myself.”

Seamus nodded, understanding your struggle. “I think you’re amazing, Y/N. And I’m glad we’ve become friends.”

You looked up, your eyes shining with gratitude. “Thank you, Seamus. That means a lot to me.”

You reached the entrance to the Slytherin common room, and you turned to face him. “Goodnight, Seamus. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Y/N,” he replied, watching as you disappeared behind the stone wall. As he made his way to the Gryffindor tower, he couldn’t help but smile, feeling a sense of hope and anticipation.

Seamus’s feelings for you continued to grow, and he found it increasingly difficult to keep them to himself. He confided in his best friend, Dean Thomas, who listened patiently and offered his support.

“Seamus, if you like her, you should tell her,” Dean said one evening as they sat by the fire in the Gryffindor common room. “Life’s too short to keep things bottled up.”

Seamus sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I know, Dean. But what if she doesn’t feel the same way? And what about the house rivalry? You know how people can be.”

Dean clapped him on the shoulder. “You can’t let other people’s opinions dictate your happiness, Seamus. If you care about her, that’s all that matters.”

Encouraged by his friend’s words a bit, Seamus decided to take a chance. The next day, he asked you to meet him by the Black Lake after classes.

As you sat on the grassy bank, watching the sun set over the water, Seamus took a deep breath. “Y/N, there’s something I need to tell you.”

You turned to him, your expression curious. “What is it, Seamus?”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about us,” he began, his voice trembling slightly. “And I realized that I have feelings for you. I know it might sound crazy, but I can’t ignore it anymore.”

Your eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment, you were silent. Seamus’s heart raced, fear and anticipation mixing in his chest.

Finally, you spoke, your voice soft and filled with emotion. “Seamus, I’ve had feelings for you too. I was just too afraid to admit it.”

Relief and joy washed over him, and he reached for your hand, intertwining your fingers. “You don’t know how happy that makes me, Y/N. I was so scared you wouldn’t feel the same way.”

You smiled, “I’ve wanted to tell you for so long, but I didn’t know how. I’m so glad you took the chance.”

Seamus pulled you into a gentle hug, feeling your warmth and the steady beat of your heart against his chest. In that moment, he knew that you could face anything together, as long as you had each other.

As you and Seamus navigated your new relationship, you faced several challenges. The house rivalry was ever-present, and you often received curious looks and whispered comments from your classmates.

You continued to spend time together, finding solace and joy in each other’s company. Seamus cherished your moments of laughter and shared interests, while you appreciated his unwavering support and understanding.

One day, as you walked through the castle corridors, Seamus noticed a group of Slytherins whispering and pointing in your direction. He felt a surge of anger and frustration but took a deep breath, reminding himself to stay calm.

You squeezed his hand, offering him a reassuring smile. “Don’t let them get to you, Seamus.”

“I know,” he replied, his voice determined. “But it’s still hard.”

You nodded, understanding his struggle. “We’ll get through this together.”

[lisutarid-a]

[Gakuen K] Munakata Reisi Route Translation

Fireworks festival

LIST OF CHAPTERS

[Translation under the cut]

Saya: Ah, a phone call. Who could it be…?

Saya: Munakata-senpai!?

Munakata: Hello. Is it okay that I'm calling you at this hour?

Saya: Yeah. It's okay.

Munakata: I would like to have some of your time this evening, are you free?

Saya: Evening? Yes, I am free. Is something happened?

Munakata: We are going to a fireworks festival, so get ready.

Saya: Ehh!?

Munakata: Well then, I'll pick you up in 20 minutes.

Saya: U-Understood.

Saya: (This suddenness took me by surprise…)

Saya: (But thinking about it, I remember the printout of club activities for the summer vacation said something about a fireworks festival)

Saya: (I guess that means it's part of the club activities. Anyway, let's hurry up and get ready!)

Saya: (I thought it was a good occasion to come wearing a yukata, but I hope it was all right)

Munakata: Ah, Munakata-senpai! Sorry to keep you waiting!

Saya: (Senpai is also in a yukata…He looks different and more mature than usual)

Munakata: Good evening. I'm glad you came.

Saya: Huh… The others haven't come yet?

Munakata: The others? It's just the two of us.

Saya: Eh? Aren't we doing club activities today?

Munakata: No. It's completely private.

Munakata: Now, let's take a ride on this.

Saya: Eh… you mean this ferris wheel, right?

Munakata: Yeah. That's right.

Saya: (Somehow, there are only couples in line for the ferris wheel…)

Saya: (Are we really going to ride this? It sure seems like you have to be a pair to ride it)

Munakata: …It's our turn. So, after you, please.

Saya: O-okay…

Saya: (Munakata-senpai said it was private, I wonder what he meant by that…)

Saya: (Wah…It's going up pretty fast. Besides, it's a beautiful night view…)

Munakata: I guess it is about time.

Saya: Wow…! Amazing!!

Saya: (This is what they mean when they say a big flower blooms in the night sky)

Munakata: It was just the right timing.

Saya: Yeah! I have never seen such a big firework!

Munakata: Fufu. I'm glad, too, that you are happy with the reward for the puzzle.

Saya: Reward…?

Munakata: Yeah. I told you the other day I would consider a reward.

Saya: Ah! Was it when I did a jigsaw puzzle with a firework pattern?

Munakata: Yeah. You were the only one who didn't give up until the end.

Saya: (Senpai remembered that…)

Munakata: Well, we're almost at the top.

Saya: Wah! I-It stopped…?

Munakata: It seems so. What in the world is going on?

Announcement: The ferris wheel is now temporarily stopped for equipment maintenance. Please wait for a while.

Saya: Maintenance…

Saya: (It's not like it's broken or anything…? What should we do if it won't work again?)

Munakata: There's no point in panicking. Let's watch the fireworks quietly and wait for it to start moving.

Munakata: Thanks to the fact that the ferris wheel is not moving, don't you think that this is a special seat for watching the fireworks?

Saya: Ah…I see. That's right.

Saya: We're lucky to stay in the best place longer!

Munakata: It's an experience you don't get to have very often, so let's enjoy it to the fullest and go home.

Saya: Yeah!

Munakata: Ahh, by the way, there is something I forgot to mention.

Saya: What is it?

Munakata: The yukata suits you very much.

Saya: T-Thank you…!

Saya: (I was praised by senpai…!)

Saya: Em, senpai looks great too.

Munakata: Thank you. The fireworks are coming to an end soon.

Saya: It'd be good if the ferris wheel is working by the time it's over.

Munakata: Don't worry so much. Everything will be all right.

Saya: Okay…

Munakata: And if it doesn't start moving when we're done, maybe we can do some stargazing this time?

Saya: Oh, that's a great idea! There are no clouds today and it looks like we'll be able to see lots of beautiful stars.

Munakata: Fufu. We have one more thing to look forward to, don't we? Let's enjoy the fireworks slowly for now.

Saya: Okay!

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