#every time i get ready for bed i see them and am like. ah yes. my little guys.

[spasechip]

my stuff from @potato-lord-but-not is here!!

i’ve been too scared to stick them anywhere (what if i put them in the wrong place and they are stuck FOREVER!!!) so instead they have been put up on my wall and now they watch me sleep 🫡 i LOVE THEM SO MUCH

[itadorey]

𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔

pairing: neuvillette x f!reader summary: being married to neuvillette always feels like you're living in a fairytale. notes: just fluff, you're married, anniversary dinner, neuvillette gifts you a bracelet and helps you put it on, thank you to the anon who sent this in! wc: ~1.2k

A smile spreads across your face as you look out the window, the sun shining down on the Court of Fontaine and making it seem livelier than usual.

You mentally thank the Archons, happy that even though there was a trial happening today, the usual accompanying rain was nowhere to be seen.

A quick glance at the clock has you rushing through your home, and you hop into the shower in order to start getting ready for your evening. Neuvillette is home by the time you step out of the shower, and he's greeted by the sight of you as he walks into your shared bedroom, wrapped in a towel as steam clings to your skin.

"My apologies," he says, respectfully averting his eyes as you approach him. "I didn't mean to barge in."

"Welcome home," you say, a smile on your face as you lean up to press a kiss to his cheek. He leans into the action, and you can't help but laugh softly at his refusal to look at you. "You know I don't mind it when you see me like this. We're married, and besides I feel comfortable around you."

"I know, and I am very honored that you feel that way," Neuvillette says softly, a smile pulling at his lips as he thinks about your words. "But there is another reason."

At your curious look, he clears his throat, looking away to hide the blush tinting his cheeks.

"I seem to find myself— what's the word?— ah yes, flustered when I see you like this," Neuvillette admits, causing a large smile to break out on your face.

"If it makes you feel any better," you start, walking into the closet to slip on a robe. "I feel quite flustered around you more often than not."

Neuvillette remains silent as you step back out into the room, approaching him slowly before reaching up to wrap your arms around his neck. He lets his hands rest gently on your waist, dipping his head down to press a chaste kiss against your lips when you tilt your face toward him. He stays quiet as you pull away, watching the way your eyelashes flutter as you sigh softly. There's a twisting in his stomach— one he's gotten intimately familiar with since marrying you— as he takes in your starry eyes and soft smile, and he wonders if this is what he looks like when he looks at you in return (it is).

"You should go shower while I get ready," you say quietly, your hands still wrapped around him. He hums in response, pulling you into a tight embrace as he rests his head on top of yours.

"I will," Neuvillette promises, his arms encircling you as he presses a kiss to the top of your head. "But first, let me indulge in your company for a few minutes."

The two of you stay like that for a while before you begrudgingly pull away, your hands resting on his chest as you glance at the clock. "If we don't start getting ready, we'll miss our dinner reservation."

"We can always stay in and celebrate our anniversary at home," Neuvillette says persuasively, earning a disapproving look from you.

"You know why we can't," you chide, patting his chest once before separating yourself fully from him. "Now go, let me finish getting ready."

Neuvillette sighs deeply before listening to you, heading towards the shower as you head towards your vanity. Your dinner reservation had been a surprise anniversary gift from the Melusines, and you had nearly been moved to tears when Sedene and Liath had pulled you aside before bashfully presenting you with the news. Neuvillette had smiled softly at them, patting their heads before the two of you proceeded to find every Melusine you could in order to personally thank them.

By the time Neuvillette has stepped back out into the room, he sees you sitting on the bed, fully clothed as you tug on your shoes before reaching for the jewelry box on your nightstand. He smiles to himself as he slips into the closet, getting dressed quickly before peeking his head out to look at you. The fond smile on your face lets him know that you had indeed liked the bracelet he had gifted you that morning, and he walks across the room casually as you try to loop it around your wrist.

"Neuvillette?" you say softly, drawing a hum of acknowledgement from the man. "Thank you."

"Would it be bold of me to assume that you like the gift I got for you?" he asks amusedly, reaching for his own shoes. His eyebrows furrow when you don't answer his question, and he turns around to see you fiddling with the piece of jewelry before huffing softly. He watches as you place one end of the bracelet in between your teeth, holding it in place as you use your other hand to try and clasp it around your wrist.

A soft laugh gets caught in his throat when you tug too hard, causing you to pull the chain out of your mouth before you can actually secure it. He makes his way towards you, coming to a stop in front of you and holding his hand out.

"Would you like some assistance?" he asks, fighting back a smile when you shake your head stubbornly.

"No, I can do this," you say, determination on your face as you attempt a new method. You rest your wrist on your thigh, putting one end of the chain on top of your wrist before bring the other end around. There's a victorious smile on your face when the clasp grazes the chain, only for it to drop when it falls onto your thigh.

A resigned sigh leaves your lips as you place the bracelet in Neuvillette's hand, raising your arm in defeat as a pout forms on your lips. His fingers brush against your skin as he easily secures the bracelet, and he twists it around afterwards do that you can admire the way it looks.

"You need just ask for me to do something, darling," he murmurs, bringing your hand up to his lips and pressing a kiss to your knuckles. You melt at the action, giving him a thankful smile as he pulls you up to stand. "I'd do anything for you."

"And I would do anything for you," you reply without hesitation, squeezing his hand softly before tugging him towards the door. "Now let's go or we'll actually be late."

Neuvillette smiles as he follows after you, taking in your full appearance before he offers his arm for you to take. You loop your arm through his with a bashful smile, gently playing with the bracelet on your wrist as he leads you out the door and through the city streets of Fontaine.

And if Neuvillette chose that bracelet because he knew you'd need help to put it on, well that's no one's business but his own.

rbs are appreciated <3 ty for reading!!

[aldryrththerainbowheart]

HIIII OMG I LOVE YOUR WRITING. Its so comforting but also quite accurate to the character’s personality.

I wondered if u could make a part 2 of Drunk, with Adrian and the reader.

Be free with your imagination i am sure it will turn out great!

🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

Hi anon, sorry it took me so long to answer but I had no ideas what to write for this request. 😳

My writing has changed a little since I wrote part 1 of this. Hopefully, it'll be still up to standard.

Days after the incident, Adrian was still haunted by the things he had said and might have said while inebriated. It seemed rather silly, considering you haven't mentioned anything about that night, kind as you were. However, the son of Dracula was shaken after exposing himself to you, in more ways than one.

At the memory of him practically showing his naked chest in your face whilst rambling drunkenly about his loneliness, he could feel his face warming up. He undoubtedly has that unflattering shade of pink on his right now. Adrian lifted his chin from his steepled fingers, pressing his forehead against them instead. Instead of moping behind the wooden table, he should be making dinner as he watched bits of dust dancing in the last rays of evening sun streaming through the Tudor windows.

At this moment, you're probably getting both their beds ready for the night. Pulling back the bedspread and making a fire in the fireplace. You made a habit of slipping a stem of lavender from the garden and putting it under the pillows. He can hear you fussing about it, even though you're one floor higher. The dhampir's senses were finely attuned to your every breath and every movement. It came to the point where it was torturous. He wasn't just trying to dull away the pain of his past, but these pressing feelings as well.

Damn him, again and again, he's becoming attached to people only to be left every time. No doubt you will leave too, once you're able to. He'll be nothing but a fond memory...

"How's the dinner? I hope there'll be someplace left on the stove for teap-"

He's dragged away from his gloomy thoughts by the sudden sound of your voice nearing the door. You stopped mid-sentenced when you saw him sitting at the kitchen table, instead of working at the stove. He felt an immediate pang of guilt.

"Apologies I've seem to be a bit addle-brained today."

Adrian offered an apology as he started pulling the cutlery from its hooks. Hopefully with his back turned and his hands occupied, you won't notice his rather obvious fluster.

"Ah, it's alright," you waved him off in a placating manner as you rounded the table towards him. "Head still spinning from the vine, I see." you teased him as he made a fire in the stove, almost making him set his brows on fire.

As you walked past him, you gently put your hand on his back to make him step away. A whisper of a touch, yet he was tingling all over, his heart beating irregularly.

He clutched the edges of the stove, ignoring the rising heat. It can't go on like this. He has to do something.

You prepared the dinner in relative silence. You chopped mushrooms as he prepared pastry into small pans. Soon, bulky savory tarts were pulled out of the stove. He watched you wolf down four tarts in the row, while his plate was left neglected, safe for the few pokings with the fork.

"Adrian?"

His head snapped to you at the sound of your voice. He noticed you were looking at him in concern.

"What is it? You've been spaced out for days now." It was your turn to study your plate as you mumbled, "Is it...about the kiss?"

He was definitely blushing now. Adrian took a generous gulp of water from his chalice as he contemplated his answer.

"Yes and no."

You looked at him in confusion and he sighed in resignation.

"I'm sorry...my friend. The thing is..." He caressed the grooves in the ground glass. Would she even understand? What kiss meant to him?

"There have been several attempts in my life. There have been people who stayed in this castle pretending to be my friend and then turning on me as soon as I became vulnerable."

Adrian closed his eyes momentarily, chasing away the tainted memory of their hands coiling around him like vines of a poisonous plant. The pleasure, and the pain. So, so much pain... He opened his eyes and there were your eyes, filled with some much tenderness he had to suppress the urge to look away again.

"But last night, you didn't... and you could, easily so."

"I'd never-"

"I know, I know," he gently cut you off by putting his hand over yours. Your palm was much warmer than his, dainty fingers covered completely by his long ones.

"Believe it or not, but you singlehandedly restored a great deal of my hope in humanity. What once had been destroyed..."

He hasn't allowed his mind to wander to dark places, not this time.

"I don't mean to bring up such depressing subjects. But when one leads a life such as mine, you tend to... figure some things out."

"Things?" You carefully prompted, pity overrun by curiosity at last.

Adrian smiled in a self-deprecating fashion. "Well, for example, I have now discovered that in this entire world, I only have one close friend. You are my only solace, the only person that I can talk to regularly."

There was Trevor and Sypha, of course, but they found solace in one another, something deeper than friendship. Adrian understood now, what those feelings meant. His next words were full of emotion.

"I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I don't know if more demons will come and I'll be forced to fight them off. I don't know if the world will end tomorrow... and that used to not bother me. I used to not mind the idea of death. To slip into the quiet sleep..."

He trailed off, and you squeezed his fingers in encouragement. He squeezed yours right back, so you know he's not spiraling again.

"However, whatever courage I have towards that cause always sours at the thought of what comes after. What does come after do you think?"

You looked over his shoulder in contemplation, you traveled places far away from here, no doubt. Thankful you're entertaining his silly musings, Adrian patiently awaits your response.

"I'd like to think it's a place where I meet all my loved ones once more." You gave him a warm smile.

He chuckles at that. "Interesting response."

"What about you? What do you think?"

Adrian shook his head, golden locks tumbling over his shoulders, "As I said, the fear of not knowing that is the only thing that kept me alive for quite some time. But now, now that I've spent some time with you, it allowed me to clear my mind of that sort of dangerous thought. I think I may have an answer, maybe not a very good one but..."

He gingerly trails his hand from yours to the curve of your elbow and you let him. He leans closer, tone bordering on a soft whisper as he looks into your eyes.

"It doesn't matter what comes next, that shouldn't dictate our actions while we are still here. If you want something, chase it." He puts the other hand on your cheek, making his intentions clear with his actions and his words. Carefully, so you can pull away at any time.

Please don't.

"You have allowed me, to come to this mindset," he sighs. "The thought that what I want is worthwhile to pursue. So I will pursue that which I want. I will pursue... you."

It is evident that his words left you speechless. You stare at him with your mouth slightly parted. Adrian lets out a small breathless chuckle.

Is it really that shocking? After our lips have already become acquainted?

"I know...I know that I'm... half human, half vampire, so at the very least I know it can work, but it's up to you, really." His thumb caressed your cheekbone, "I will continue to pursue you for as long as you allow me."

He can see your eyes glistening with emotion, and he hoped his words touched the part of your soul he wanted them to. However you still haven't said a word and Adrian needs you to voice your desires, or lack thereof, directly.

"I bid you command me now. My devotion is solely placed at your feet. I truly cherish you. Every step you take and breath you breathe."

You close your eyes and choke back a sob as he places one small kiss on your forehead.

With a voice clogged up with emotion, you finally release him from his torment.

"I... would love... nothing more... than to be pursued by you." You say as you give him a watery smile.

He lets out a relieved sigh as he presses his forehead to yours.

"Then pursue you I shall."

It takes only a moment for the atmosphere to change around you. With hunger, you never saw in his eyes, he whispers to you hoarsely.

"Come here, you..."

The kiss is devoid of any sweetness the first one had. This one is full of fire and blood and passion that takes your breath away. You don't have time to react as he pulls you to his lap. His kiss goes down your throat and settles in your belly like a fine liquor.

[theghosttrain]

I haven't been seeing bill kaulitz smut so I am just gonna make this also forgive me this is my first smut<3

"Princess"

Warnings:Dombill!,Subfemreader!,Breeding,Cheating,Rough sex,Name calling,Degradation(Plz tell me if I missed any❤️)

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Y/N's Pov

It all happ so fast I don't know what came over me one second bill was comforting me and next I was underneath him his slim yet muscular body engulfed me in a blanket of Adultery love I didn't want it to end not for a single second...

"Hey don't cry Y/N he was a fucking jerk"Bill said as I cried into his chest my boyfriend had just cheated on me and I didn't know who go to thankfully bill dropped in for a surprise visit how I loved his smell,His hair,his eyes his smile I loved him "I-i know it just hurts because I trusted him and I love him"I said as I whipped away my tears "You shouldn't let men like (Ex's name) get to you, your gorgeous,Stunning,confident"Bill said as his brushed a lock of my hair from my face his lips were so close to mine I don't know why but I kissed him I knew it was wrong but fuck it felt so right he tasted like cigarettes and strawberries a weird mix yes but it was amazing "Y/N" He moaned into the kiss his arms wrapped around my waist pulling me close to him "Yes bill?" I said as looked up into his soft brown eyes clouded with lust "I need you" Bill said as he ran his hands up and down my body his hands exploring ever inch of my body once we broke up the kiss I looked into his eyes "Then take me" I said in a flirtatious voice with that bill pinned me to my bed it really turned me on as bill kissed my neck he trailed down my body striping me off clothes untill he reached my womanhood "Your so fucking wet you really are a dirty slut" Bill said befor wrapping his lips around my sensitive clit "Mhm~" I moaned out feeling bill chuckle sending shock waves threw my body "Your so responsive princess" Bill said as he moved up and kissed my lips "Ready princess?" Bill said as he striped his clothes off his slim muscular body I took a deep breath when I saw his member it was bigger then I imagined and thick too "As ready as I can be" I mentally cursed at myself for saying that "Haha ok princess lay down princess" Bill said in a flirtatious voice as I layed down I watched him line his cock up to my womanhood "This might hurt I'm sorry" Bill said as he kissed me slowly push into my Tight women hood in the process it hurt it felt like he was ripping me open i knew he could tell by the way he squeezed my hand "I'm sorry princess" He said as he whiped away a tear the fell "I-its ok " he kissed me once more giving me time to adjust to his size after a while he started to slowly move in and out my wet cunt "F-Fuck: I breathly moaned feeling his cock hit deep inside me "You so tight" He mumbled into my neck once he felt me fully adjust his pase quickened his hands gripped my waist leaving bruises behind "B-Bill~" I moaned out as he let out a low grunt "Such a fucking slut taking your best friends cock" Bill said as he grabed my legs throwing them over his sholders hitting my g-spot "H-Holy shit R-right there" I moaned my nails digging into his back "Haha gonna cum my slut? huh gonna cum all over this fucking cock Say it" Bill hissed out one of his hands making there way to Chest pinching and pulled at my sensitive nipple "I-i'm G-Gonna C-cum on you C-cock" I moaned out my mind Fogged over with pleasure as bill chuckled "I know what you want baby say it Say you want me to breed yoyr sluty body" Bill hissed out as he slammed into my cunt at an in human speed "F-fucking H-hell ah b-breed me~" I moaned as bill as bill smirked and kissed my neck leaving purple marks all over my neck "Y-Your gonna look so fucking hot all swollen with my baby" He choked out feeling his climax coming near "B-bill i- I'm close" I moaned as he spoke "S-same" He pushed my legs to my chest and slammed into me I gasped as I came on his cock his cock pulsating inside me spilling every last drop of his seed into my womb "Fuck" I breathed out as bill kept his softening cock inside my pussy "Gonna make sure you take my seed" he chuckled "bill" I said as i closed my eyes "Yes Y/N?"Bill said as he pulled out "I love you" He smiled and picked me up bridal style "i love you too princess come on let's get you cleaned up" can we watch a movie after and order food?" I asked happily "Sure princess"

[inuiiwonderland]

The vision

You were born with a gift. The gift to be able to see the future. You would always have small or big glimpses of the future every now and then. And the visions are usually never something bad, until now…

Malleus draconia x fem!reader

Reader is also a Fae and malleus childhood friend:)

Angst

-

You never found your gift to be horrible. You always thought that it was pretty cool and amazing, being able to see little glimpses of the future. You found it to be very fascinating rather than scary.

And for the most part, your visions were never bad. You never saw anything that made you scared or uneasy, well besides the few times when you had a few visions that made you confused and or a little scared BUT it was all good in the end!

But today. You never expected to get a vision like you did today.

-

You were in your room, humming and packing some clothes for your small trip to Malleus palace. You're really excited to see malleus and the others again after so long. Ever since they received your text about you visiting them they have been counting down the days of your arrival.

You giggle at the memory of silver sending you a picture of Lilia marking down each day until your arrival at the palace.

“Y/n dear! Are you ready?” Your mom asks. You quickly packed the last of your clothing before closing your suitcase.

“Yes mom, I'm ready!” Your door opens to reveal your mother and a guard standing behind her.

“Ah! My beautiful daughter! I can’t believe you’ll be gone for a whole week!” She says as she pulls you into a tight hug.

“It’s only a week! Then I’ll be back until my next visit” You say with a smile. You and your mother talked for a bit until your father came into the room and told you that everything is ready for your trip to the palace.

“Bye my pretty girl! And be careful!”

“Be safe! And you already know what to do if anything bad happens!” You waved at both of your parents before getting in the carriage.

-

It wasn’t long until you finally arrived. You looked out and saw malleus and the others waiting excitedly for you.

“Ah it’s a pleasure seeing you again lady y/n!” Lilia says as he helps you step out of the carriage.

“It’s great to see you all again! I missed you all”

“Allow me to help with your luggage!” Sebek then immediately grabbed all three of your luggage as you began to panic.

“Oh no no no! I can’t possibly have you carry all that! I can help-“

“No, I'll do it! So please allow me”

“But-“

“Sebek is a strong boy. He’ll be fine” Silver reassures you. You just nod but not before asking Sebek if he needed help once again. But he only replies with a “I’m fine!” Before you let him carry all your luggage inside the palace.

-

“Thank you so much sebek. You really didn’t have to carry all my luggage up here”

“It’s no problem! I am a knight and it’s my duty to serve my master and any other royals!” You smiled before giving sebek a small kiss on the check.

“I appreciate your help, thank you” The boy was left speechless. A shade of dark red adoring his cheeks.

“I-it’s no problem! I-I’ll go now!” And he left. You giggle at his shyness. You decided to unpack before doing anything else. It didn’t take long before you had everything unpacked and the moment you sat down on your bed you heard a knock at the door.

“Come in” The door then opens to reveal malleus. You smile once you see your childhood friend.

“Mal!” Malleus smiles at you before pulling you into a hug.

“It’s nice to see you again child of man”

“How have you been mal? Have you been doing good? Eating good?” Malleus could feel his cheeks heat up as you continue to ask him more questions.

“I’m doing quite well. But I’ll also ask you the same thing, have you been taking care of yourself too?”

“Of course I have! I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t” You joked. Malleus just smiles before handing you some chocolate.

“I bought your favorite” You could feel your heart beat increase as he handed you the chocolate.

“Oh sevens! You shouldn’t have! Now I feel bad that I didn’t get you anything!” He chuckles at your worried expression.

“Don’t panic. But I would love it if you would accompany me on a walk around the palace garden” He asks and who were you to say no to someone like malleus?

“I’d love to”

-

The two of you walked around the garden as you talked about old memories from when the two of you were young and other funny embarrassing ones.

“Haha! I remember that! I still can’t forget the look on Lilias face” As you laughed, you didn’t notice the literal heart eyes in malleus eyes as he watched you laugh.

“Ohh my stomach now hurts from all that laughing!” He smiles before stopping and crouching down next to a rose bush.

“Oh? What are you doing mal?” You ask curiously. Malleus doesn’t respond and you can see him carefully getting a beautiful red rose from the bush before standing back to his full height. He turns around and you see a beautiful rose in his hand.

“For you” You were taken aback before heat rushes up your neck.

“For me?”

“Mhm” You carefully grabbed the rose from his hands before smiling.

“Ah I didn’t know you missed me that much!” You teased as he started to turn red. But you wouldn’t lie that you weren’t screaming inside by malleus sweet (or romantic) gesture.

Could this mean malleus also likes you back?

But soon the excitement went away when you felt a throbbing pain in your head.

A vision

It’s you. You wore a beautiful traditional briar valley wedding dress along with malleus who was also wearing a traditional briar valley suit.

It’s a wedding-YOUR wedding. You can see the excited smile on both you and malleus faces as family and friends congratulated you both.

“Congratulations to the two of you!”

“You look stunning as always lady- or should I say Mrs draconia” Lilia teases as you feel your face heat up.

“Congratulations waka-sama!” Sebek cries as silver just sighs before congratulating you with a smile.

You saw how malleus looked at you with heart eyes as he pulled you closer to him and gave you a kiss.

Then your vision changes and you can see yourself carrying what seems to be a baby. You were sitting in you and malleus shared bedroom and you cooed at the small bundle of joy as malleus sat next to you. A huge smile on his face.

“He looks just like you” You tell him.

“He has your eyes” Malleus tells you. You were both in awe as the little one opened his eyes before crying.

“He’s hungry”

It was so cute. So wholesome. So it definitely didn’t prepare you for what you were about to see next.

What you saw next was absolutely horrific. You could see yourself laying in your husband’s arms all bloody.

You looked…dead

You were dead

You were dead in your husband's arms as his cries of agony rang through the palace walls.

“No please! My wife! Not my wife!”

“Please wake up y/n! Please don’t leave me” He cries as he holds your body close. And then you suddenly hear your baby’s cries. You quickly turned around to see a horrified sebek gently holding your baby as his eyes widened at the sight in front of him. You could see that he was trembling a bit. But he was trying so hard to keep calm and calm down your crying baby.

You then turned around to see briar valley knights fighting. They were fighting what seemed to be other knights from a different kingdom. You could see silver and Lilia. They had some wounds but you could see how they hadn’t given up on fighting. Making sure those unknown knights didn’t get close to you, malleus or your baby.

You could hear bodies drop to the floor and blood splattering. Screams and shouts and also the sound of swords hitting against each other.

It was a mess. A horrifying mess. So bloody and gory you could almost throw up.

The vision soon stops and you gasp once it does, dropping the rose in the process. Malleus looks at you worriedly. You were shaking! You looked scared and that really worried him.

“Y/n are you-“

“I-I have to go” But before he could even finish his sentence you ran away. Malleus watches with wide eyes as you run away from him.

-

You locked yourself in your room after that. Not wanting to see anyone, especially malleus. You curled up on your bed as you tried your hardest to forget what you saw in your vision.

You were happy that in your vision you and malleus got together and married each other and had a baby but then seeing you dead in his arms as his and your baby’s cries filled the palace walls and also the bloody scene that you saw. It was to much!

You can’t let that happen. You can’t! The pain in malleus voice….it broke your heart hearing him like that.

If that’s what happens to you and malleus in the future. Then it’s best that you separate ways from each other.

You can’t let anything bad happen to malleus. You just can’t. Even if you love malleus with all your heart you don’t want to see him in pain.

“I guess it’s best to stay away….”

-

Lord it’s literally 3 am rn😭 anyways I hope you guys liked it🤍

[infoglitch]

i beg of thee... please... more blackguard stuff. am dyin over here...

It appears the sinners have demanded my attention.

Very well, it's time

TO LOCK THE FUCK IN!

Back bone.

Jaune found himself sitting in his dorm gaming with ruby and surprisingly Weiss was with them, watching as the two were playing "street clash revolve" with jaune winning 3 matches as it was a best of six. With ruby winning 4 matches.

Jaune: Oop! Oop! Here it comes ruby!

Ruby: oh you think?! Aight bring it vomit boy!

Jaune proceed to tap a chain of buttons.

Up forward and then B as jaune shouted with enthusiasm.

Jaune: KANE OVERDRIVE!

On the TV screen the letters K. O. plastered the screen as Ruby groaned but also laughed as her and jaune fist bump. With Weiss watching in awe.

Ruby: GG jaune, GG.

Jaune: what you mean GG? We only got two rounds left before one of us wins.

Ruby: unfortunately I gotta get ready.me and yang will be heading to our dad's cabin for our break, and I gotta grab my bags and get ready, me and her will leave in an hour.

Jaune: awe, well I understand

Weiss: you sure you two and your father couldn't reschedule?

Jaune and Ruby had to do a double take as they looked at Weiss who they completely forgot was there.

Weiss:... Look I'm on the edge of my seat and I want to see who wins!

Jaune and Ruby look at eachother.

Jaune: are you sure we aren't sharing a dream?

Ruby: definitely. But regardless sorry Weiss but I gotta go, if don't who knows when me and yang will be able to go again.

Weiss sighed and nodded.

Weiss: very well, I do hope you and Yang enjoy your time back with your father.

Ruby:.. thanks weiss

Ruby walked out as jaune and Weiss sat on the formers bed with Jaune just looking at Weiss.

Jaune: hey um.. real talk, but why have you been so interested in what me and ruby do lately.

Weiss: oh just curiosity, plus I figured it do me some good to get to hang out with my leader and her friend.

Jaune looked at her as he put his controller away and fully turned to her.

Jaune: it's Bleiss isn't it?

Weiss just sat there before groaning.

Weiss: i don't know why but whenever I try to be Alone she constantly pops up and bugs me over and over again, its getting frustrating and since i cant be alone any more-

Jaune: you started hanging out with me and ruby?

Weiss nodded and looked away somewhat ashamed.

Jaune: so I assume you dont actually find what we do to hang out interesting?

Weiss: at first yes but just being around you two, there's this energy you give off that is just.. nice to be around, your like air purifiers... That was a bad analogy I'm sorry.

Jaune just chuckled but waved his hand.

Jaune: I think I understand. But outside of that.. Weiss this is your sister we are talking about. And neither of you have seen eachother for...

Weiss:... 5 years.

Jaune: 5 years, and from what i can tell, she wants to atleast catch up.

Weiss: it's not like I don't know that! Its just- why can't she just be-

Jaune: normal? Weiss your normal is based around fancy balls and gala's. How Bleiss is acting is normal. Shes being herself. Shes being&

Weiss: loud, foul mouthed, and is flirting with basically every man here?

Jaune: yeah that. All I'm gonna say is this, siblings may come from the same family, but they don't always have the same lessons as us... I can't believe I actually used the advice saph gave me.

Weiss chuckled as she just looked at the knight. The two hadn't completely become friends but jaune hoped they were getting there, and so far from he could tell.. they were.

Then footsteps are heard as one Belamere "bleiss" noir givrése. Weiss Schnee's twin sister. Her attire still the same biker aesthetic as ever with her looking around the room, before seeing jaune.

Bleiss: ah you jaune I wanna talk to you for a second.

To both Jaune and Weiss's her tone was less rude and more... polite.

Weiss: where the hell was this?!

Jaune: uh sure just give me a second.

Bleiss: take your time but this is rather important.

Weiss: WHERE THE HELL WAS THIS?!

Jaune adjusted himself as he followed Bleiss outside the room only to be pinned to the wall as he yelped before being hushed by the twin of his snow angel.

Bleiss: I need your help arc, my dear sister and I have obviously not gotten along. So I need you to help me out here since you, Weiss, and that ruby girl, are buddy-buddy now. Got it?

Jaune simply nodded as Bleiss smiled.

Bleiss: good. And If you do well enough who knows.. I may give you a taste of people out of your leag-

Jaune removed her hand from his mouth rather calmly as he spoke.

Jaune: don't even think about it, I'm doing this because Weiss is my friend, and I prefer her not having to deal with any problem that can be solved. I don't care what you give in exchange.

Bleiss:.. that's surprisingly noble. Here I was thinking he was just a loser going for women out of his league.

Jaune: are we done now?

Bleiss: hm? Oh yes, I'll be going now, till then, noble knight~

Jaune raised an eyebrow at the nickname as Bleiss walked away with a smirk.

Bleiss: perhaps this place is nothing like vacoue, and if that's the case this will be lovely~

And that end this installment of the growing story between Bleiss and Jaune.

[marlynnofmany]

Kittens in Space

The first rule of keeping cats aboard a spaceship is don’t lose the cats on the spaceship. I know this. I know it better than the rest of the crew! I’m the Earthling here, the animal expert with actual veterinarian training, and I’m the one who brought them onboard. I told the captain with confidence that I could keep track of them.

Well, guess what I just did.

The problem was immediately obvious when I woke up. Every morning for the last few days had started with cutesy kitten pounces and thumps as they batted toys about the room. Sometimes I’d get a tail in my face; other times I’d hear a crash as they discovered how to reach another yet high shelf. Not once had I woken to silence.

Today I did. And as soon as I realized it, I sat up with a jerk to scan the room, my heartbeat loud in my ears.

Catnip mice and foam balls were everywhere. My shoes were still on the coat hooks; they hadn’t managed to knock them down yet. Nothing was swatted off the shelves. And no kittens lay on the floor dead after eating alien food, so at least there was that. But where were they?

I moved my feet toward the floor, disturbing a lump that meowed sleepily. Tapestry the mom cat was curled up on my bed; I hadn’t seen her. And now that I wasn’t jostling the blankets anymore, she curled back up for some hard-earned rest.

But no kittens. I stroked her tabby fur and looked for smaller balls of fluff, but found none. She didn’t seem worried. Hopefully that was a good sign. I stood and hurried to the bathroom.

My quarters were small, basically just the two rooms, since I spent most of my time with the rest of the crew. There really shouldn’t have been any good hiding spots that I hadn’t already blocked off. The bed didn’t even have space underneath it; that’s where my clothes drawers were. And I’d made sure the little fluffbrains couldn’t open those on their own, much less close them again.

They weren’t in the bathroom. Not in the closed-lid toilet, or the space-age shower stall, or the cabinet of supplies. Not in the trash can (again). They hadn’t gotten closed up in the foldable sink; I always left it sticking out of the wall. Where were they?

They couldn’t have gotten out into the hallway. No. Just not possible. I would have heard if someone inexplicably opened the door to my quarters without knocking, not that anyone would. Especially while I was asleep.

I told myself that there was no way they could be wandering the ship and getting stuck in the engine room. Mimi would notice animals hiding among his engine parts. Heck, the entire ship was bound to have someone around, ready to spot the furry little troublemakers, no matter how stealthy they were. I was pretty sure they resembled food on at least one homeworld. My crewmates weren’t the sort to hurt them, though; everyone knew full well that I had them here. The kittens wouldn’t be mistaken for pests.

Hopefully.

I really don’t want to announce to everyone that I’ve lost them, I thought, leaving the bathroom. They’ve got to be in here somewhere. What am I missing?

I surveyed the toy-covered room, trying for the umpteenth time to see catproofing opportunities that I hadn’t addressed.

Bed, bookshelf, other shelves. Bedside table with the lamp bolted down. Desk and chair. The litterbox was in the bathroom, with the food and water dishes along the wall beside me. There were no curtains to climb, and hardly any decorations, just the digital window with its chunky gold frame — someone’s secondhand idea of class — and the fake plants on the shelves. The bite marks on those weren’t new.

But the positioning was.  

I stepped closer, staring and second-guessing, and yes they were definitely pushed out of place. And now that I thought about it, the digital frame was slightly crooked too. That spectacular alien sunset with the planetary rings in the background was out of alignment with the corner of the room.

Like someone stepped on it. Now where would they—

I froze in place, feeling stupid. Ah. Right.

Ever look at something so often that you stop noticing it? I may have mentioned that this was a spaceship. Metal walls, plasticky floors, no real windows.

A ceiling covered in twisty pipes.

I hadn’t considered catproofing the ceiling; it was too high to reach (ha), and surely not the kind of place that kittens would hide.

But as I stepped onto the bed and brought my face up close to the lowest curve, I realized that the faint engine sounds I’d long gotten used to sounded an awful lot like purring.

There they were. All five of the fuzzy little bastards were snuggled into a happy pile among the pipes without a care in the world. They meeped sleepily when I stuck a hand in.

“I can’t believe you,” I murmured. They ignored me.

The air was warm but not hot, and the pipes were vibrating faintly. While Captain Sunlight had assured me that there was no radiation to worry about, I figured it couldn’t hurt to double-check. Sleeping on top of the things could easily be a different prospect from sleeping in a bed below.

“All right, down for now,” I told them, scooping up the kittens despite their protests and setting them on the bed. “Be good little fluffbrains and sleep here while I — no? No, of course not.” They were already tumbling to the floor with strident mews for food. Tapestry stretched and jumped down as well.

I sighed and got out the cat food. If I was quick about it, I could get out the door before they tried to follow me. That net I’d tried to rig up as a baby gate hadn’t stopped them crawling under.

“Good kitties,” I said, tugging my shoes on as they ate. “You behave yourselves. I’m just going to make sure your favorite new hiding place isn’t going to give you extra eyeballs or something. Maybe I’ll set up a new shelf there so you don’t fall on my face during the night.”

I slipped out the door just as the first kitten finished eating — appropriately enough, it was the gray shorthair who Mimi had insisted I name after him. There weren’t any green cats in the litter, so gray was close enough.

“Meeeeee,” declared Mimi-the-kitten as the door closed.

“Yup,” I agreed.

Once I was sure the latch wasn’t about to pop loose, I took long strides toward the engine room. My heartbeat was totally calm and normal; why do you ask?

~~~

The ongoing backstory of the main character from this book. More to come!

[trashywritestrash]

I loved your singer-songwriterStark!reader "Brutal" and I've been obsessed with "bad idea right?" by Oliva Rodrigo and was wondering if you could do another singer-songwriterStark!reader but with that song? :))

hi!! im sorry it took me so long to get to this, i honestly didn’t know it was in my inbox. but when i saw this request i was thrown for a loop (not in a bad way!!)— i kinda hated that fic and i’ve been thinking about just taking it down, but this request made me feel better about it, so thank you 💗 sorry for the wait

bad idea right?

Pairing: Avengers x Singer-Songwriter!Stark!Reader (platonic/family)

Word Count: didn’t count yet

Warnings: swearing, implied sexual relations, 18+ cuz i said so, song lyrics, probably poorly written but don’t come at me pls, no editing. i’ll maybe come back to it in the morning

A/N: Based on the song “bad idea right?” by Olivia Rodrigo. Also, reader is 21+ and I am not naming who the “bad idea” ex is lmao

gif by redherren

“Okay, I think we’re ready for the next one,” Clint says, causing the others to nod. “Hit us with it!”

You laugh, pulling up your music app. “Okay, okay. Here we go…”

Knowing what the next track is, you’re not sure if they are ready for it. What you do know is that they’re going to ask lots of questions that you can’t answer. You can warn Steve though. “This one is another punk one.” He nods. Take a deep breath, hit play.

Haven’t heard from you in a couple of months

But I’m out right now, and I’m all fucked up

And you’re callin’ my phone, you’re all alone

And I’m sensin’ some undertones

The speed throws some of them off, it takes them a moment to catch up with the lyrics. Looks of realization cross their faces at different times… Steve and Bucky seem to be taking the longest. Your dad raises his hand, and you ignore it.

And I’m right here with all my friends

But you’re sendin’ me your new address

And I know we’re done, I know we’re through

But, God, when I look at you

Now you pause the music. Tony’s already staring at you. “Who is this about?”

“I can’t tell you that.” You try to hold back a smirk, but the looks on their faces are just too good. “I’m not about to risk his safety by outing him.”

Natasha speaks up next. “Do we know him?”

“I am not confirming or denying that.”

“Oh my God, that means we know him!” Wanda shouts, and you know she’s trying to recall every guy your age she’s ever seen you interact with.

You chuckle at them, shaking your head. “Okay, I’m hitting play now.”

My brain goes “Ah”

Can’t hear my thoughts (I cannot hear my thoughts)

Like blah-blah-blah

(blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah)

Should probably not

I should probably, probably not

I should probably, probably not

Finally, it looks like Steve and Bucky are starting to put things together.

Seeing you tonight, it’s a bad idea, right?

Seeing you tonight, it’s a bad idea, right?

Seeing you tonight, it’s a bad idea, right?

Seeing you tonight, fuck it, it’s fine

Yes, I know that he’s my ex, but can’t two people reconnect?

I only see him as a friend, the biggest lie I ever said

Oh, yes, I know that he’s my ex, but can’t two people reconnect?

I only see him as a friend, I just tripped and fell into his bed

You know you need to pause when Tony stands up. “Okay, now I need a name. If you don’t give me a name, I’m going to use FRIDAY.”

Clint just looks confused. “Wait, you have an ex? I didn’t know you ever dated anyone.”

“Did you think I’ve just been single my whole life?” You tilt your head a bit as you ask Clint, trying not to laugh at his comment.

“Honestly? Yes.” Natasha smacks his arm when he says that, giving you a knowing look. Wait, does she actually know who you wrote this about? Shit.

“Dad, don’t use FRIDAY please. I’ll tell you, but not right now. I’m still recording and I don’t want the whole internet to find out too.” He agrees and sits back down, but you can tell that he’s uncomfortable. You decide to put your foot down before any more music gets played.

“Okay, I love you guys, but you have to realize that I’m an adult. I’ve made decisions— not all of them were good, but they were my choices. I’ve been on dates, I have multiple exes. Some of those relationships ended on good terms, and other’s didn’t. I’m sorry you’re not happy learning about it this way, but I’m not sorry for living my life. If you seriously have a problem with it, we’ll stop here.”

You try to stay calm and assertive as you speak, but there’s a waver in your voice that everyone catches. Blood, sweat, and tears were put into these songs, and all you wanted to do was share them with the people important to you.

Sam sighs, being the first to respond. “We’re sorry, kid. It’s just… shit, we just feel guilty for not knowing and not helping you.”

“I didn’t need your help though.” You look at them all, eyes flicking from person to person. “Whenever something happened that I felt like I couldn’t handle on my own, I reached out. I got help from you guys when I needed it… But I dealt with a lot of stuff on my own, because I knew I could. I didn’t need everyone in the tower losing it over my first breakup, and I didn’t need anyone hunting down my ex for my last one. Now… are we continuing, or do you guys want to process these songs on your own?”

Everyone looks around. After a moment, your dad turns to you and nods, sitting back in his chair. Without saying anything else, you hit play.

The rest of the song goes well. Natasha, Wanda, and Pepper take in the meaning of the lyrics with more grace than the others do. Natasha even huffs out a laugh at:

I’m sure I’ve seen much hotter men

But I really can’t remember when

Once the outro finishes, you stop the music before the next song can begin. You hold your breath as you wait for comments.

“You can stop clutching your pearls now, Tony.” Pepper lightly swats him, bringing him out of whatever daze he was in.

Your dad turns to Pepper with his jaw dropped. “Wait— did you know?!”

Pepper just looks to you and laughs, causing you to grin too. “Of course I did. You know how a first breakup is; it’s hard and you feel like the world is ending. She begged me not to tell you, so I didn’t. After that, she was older and responsible enough to make her own decisions.” She smiles at you fondly.

Tony looks flabbergasted at the idea that she would ever keep something like this from him. Meanwhile, Natasha raises her hand. “I knew too. But not because she told me. I wasn’t supposed to know.”

Your eyes widen. “Please don’t name anyone.”

She laughs, but you can tell it’s not directed at you. It’s the betrayed faces that she finds hilarious. “Don’t worry, I can keep a secret.” Natasha winks, and you believe her.

“I can too. Sorry, I accidentally found out while training with my powers. I promise I didn’t tell anyone though.” Wanda looks to you, using her eyes to ask for forgiveness.

You smile at her. “It’s okay, I trust you.” Her face softens and she smiles back, clearly relieved to have that weight off of her shoulders.

Standing up, you turn off the camera that has been recording their reactions. “I think that was enough of this thing.” The others start to argue, but you hold up a hand. “Let’s be honest, this song was rough. It’s going to get worse, much worse… I don’t want a camera recording for that.”

“Maybe it’s not a bad idea for us to listen to the album on our own?” Steve pitches to the group. “Everyone processes things differently and in their own time. This way, we can be in our own spaces and can individually take however much time we need. Okay?”

You nod. “I agree with Steve. I’ll still be here for questions or you can call me to come talk to you. But I think it’ll be better this way.”

Reluctantly, everyone stands and finds a place they feel comfortable in so they can absorb your music at their pace. Your dad looks to you with sad eyes. “How much is this going to hurt me?”

“Take tissues to the lab with you.”

“Fuck.”

[mc-lukanette]

Luka walked his bike towards the Liberty, ready to sit on his bed and meditate since he didn't have anything more to do that day. It wasn't a particularly stressful time, but school had just started up again and he was still getting used to it.

He was about to lift his bicycle to cross the gangplank when a voice called out, "Luka! Luka Couffaine?"

Turning to look over his shoulder, he spotted a girl around his age hurrying down the stairs to join him on the path next to the Seine. She hopped down the last two steps in her haste, Luka hitting his bike's kickstand with his heel so it could stand upright while he spoke to her about whatever he wanted.

He opened his mouth to confirm that he was indeed Luka and ask her what she wanted, but she'd already advanced on him. She gripped his arms, looking at him seriously as she asked, "Do you know who I am?"

He blinked, caught entirely off guard. He would naturally assume that someone who would step into his personal space and grab him like that must've known him, but he couldn't put a name to her face. He eyed her black hair, her blue eyes, and her white, black, and pink clothes, trying to put together anything at all. Maybe she was one of Juleka's friends?

His heart strangely skipped a beat as he took her in but, in the end, nothing came to him. Feeling somewhat guilty, he replied, "Sorry. I don't."

Rather than the disappointment he expected, she stepped back with a grin. Smacking her palms together, she turned her back to him and raised her fists in the air in triumph, exclaiming, "Yes! I did it!"

He grew even more confused, a fact that the mystery girl didn't seem to notice immediately. She spun to face him again, wholly animated in her gestures as she rambled excitedly.

"This is great! I can't believe it really worked!" She flailed her arms about like she had too much energy inside of her. "I went back, and now there's not even anything stopping us from dating! I'm ready!"

His lips parted, but nothing came out. He had absolutely no idea of what she was talking about, though his heart skipped another beat at the mention of them dating. He put a hand to his chest, keeping his poker face on whilst trying to puzzle out the feeling he was having.

Finally, the situation caught up with her. Her eyes darted up and down, taking him in, then squinted in thought. She eased back, gaze wandering like she was trying to gauge what she'd said and what she hadn't. Luka noted that she was still breathing a little hard from having run to him and figured that the exhaustion hadn't helped her thoughts come through coherently.

"Ah, I came here, then asked... and then..." She trailed off, mumbling more to herself than him. When she met his gaze again, it was with embarrassment. "I should probably explain, right?"

——

"You're from the future?" he repeated as they sat at the edge of the path, him sitting cross-legged while she dangled her legs off to the side.

"Yes! Or—" She hesitated, crossing her arms and correcting, "Maybe not the future, exactly? This might be another dimension. I went back in time but the time before now must've changed too."

He only nodded, blindly following this tale to whatever unpredictable conclusion she had.

"Long story short, I - we - were heroes? There were these miraculouses that you used to power up, but someone was using them for evil." She brought one leg up so she could hug it to her chest, letting her chin rest on her knee. It was strange to see her without the energy she'd had before. "He got a hold of a bunch of them, even yours, and found out everyone's identities except for mine and Chat Noir's. I couldn't stop thinking about how much danger you'd be in, and after you..."

She trailed off and blushed, covering her face. Luka couldn't make out every word she was saying, but there was something in there about "not planning this far."

"Anyway!" She put her hands down, forcing her next words out. "I had to do something, to stop him, to protect you, to protect everyone, so I made a wish!"

"A wish," he echoed, keeping his voice carefully neutral.

"...Ah, I guess you wouldn't know," she realized. "You need my miraculous and Chat's, and then you can make a wish for a price. It's—" She brought her hand to her mouth, biting her thumbnail from nerves. "It's kind of against the rules? I think I made the right choice though. The miraculouses are gone, but I'm sure that's what the kwami would've wanted. Now no one can use them for evil anymore." She paused, gaze contemplative, then glanced at him. "Oh, the kwami are..." She waved dismissively. "Never mind. I sound crazy enough already."

"But you still told me," he pointed out.

"Well..." She shrugged, embarrassed. "You had one of the time miraculouses, so if anyone remembered, I thought it might be you?"

That was a blatantly bad excuse, especially with how she'd approached him. Leaning towards her, he asked cautiously, "Is it about what you said? About us...?"

He purposefully didn't finish to give her an out, but she didn't take it. She straightened, letting her leg back down with her other, and sighed.

"Yeah. I—" She stiffened in an epiphany. "Wait, I—I should've started with this."

She started patting herself down, searching her person for something unknown. Her jacket didn't have pockets and the ones on her capris were fake, so she opted to check the purse at her side.

"I think my body came back with me, so..." She gasped in delight, pulling out something small enough to be hidden in her closed fist. "Here! Look familiar?"

Luka watched as she opened her hand, revealing a Jagged Stone guitar pick resting on her palm. To anyone else, it probably seemed inconclusive, because how could a guitar pick that anyone could have - and that he personally had multiple of anyway - prove anything?

Except he knew his guitar picks, to the point of having them on display in his room. That was how he could tell that the one in her hand wasn't just any Jagged Stone guitar pick, but his. He could see all the notable wear that he'd done to it ("tough love," as his mother called it) like they were fingerprints on glass.

He reached out, giving the girl a brief look for permission, then took the pick from her and started examining it further. She was happy to let him do so to prove her case and he caught her smiling out of the corner of her eye.

"You gave it to me the day we met," she explained, a lightness to her voice that wasn't there before. "I was in a pretty bad mood over another guy, but he's not important now."

Luka had no idea that the "unimportant" guy she was talking about was Paris's sunshine boy, at least in another timeline.

"I'm, um... sorry for throwing all of this on you." She giggled self-derisively, rubbing an arm. "I was so happy that everything worked out, even if you didn't remember me. I was always so busy being a hero that I didn't have any time for anyone, but now I don't have to worry anymore."

And she'd thought to see him first, even if she didn't say it explicitly. Her story being accurate meant that there had been any number of people to check on or go to, yet he was the one she'd gone for. He was the one she blurted out her whole story to, despite how fantastical it seemed. Despite them not having any relationship that he could remember, she was comfortable enough to be vulnerable around him. If he took everything she said into account, that had also meant that they were either near-dating or one of them had confessed, and considering that she'd already mentioned that she was too busy for people, that only left him to have done so.

At the thought, he felt something warm on his skin; lights that weren't from the sun exactly, but what he imagined it would feel like to have stage lights shining down on him. It felt right, somehow.

"Luka?" the girl called.

He'd been lost in his own head, still processing everything she'd said. He stared, noting the hand outstretched for a friendly handshake.

She smiled, though it was more awkward than before. "I already changed the timeline, so things probably won't happen the same way, but... it's just nice to meet you again. I'm Marinette." She glanced off to the side, the edges of her smile twitching as she added in a murmur to herself, "I should've started with that too."

She'd reigned in her earlier statements now that she'd calmed, having gone from, "we can date, I'm ready," to, "it's just nice to meet you again." She was preparing - expecting - for the possibility that they wouldn't hit the same notes twice, but if he were honest with himself, he was already interested in her in a way. She seemed nice, funny, and incredibly adorable, not to mention how she was entirely unpredictable in her actions.

He chuckled, deciding not to voice the thought for the time being. As she'd said, she was apparently free of anything holding her back anymore, so they could take it easy.

He reached out to her outstretched hand, holding the back of it with one and placing the guitar pick back in her palm with the other. Her eyes sparkled with hope as her gaze darted between him and the guitar pick, reading the wordless reassurance exactly how he'd intended.

Returning her smile with his own, he replied, "Nice to meet you again too."

[ravenmichaelisstuff]

"Better late than never" Part 12

Ghost gets a cold <3

Ghost got sent on a mission to Russia, it was supposed to be a quick job for Ghost and in theory, it was. He entered the hostile base situated on the northern side of the country, retrieved the documents Laswell needed and escaped unnoticed. The problem was that after he got to the safe “house” which most people would rather call a glorified shed in the middle of a forest, a goddamn blizzard began. 

So the chopper that was supposed to take him back to the base couldn’t land. Even Nikolai didn’t want to risk flying in that weather, so Ghost ended up stranded, freezing his ass off in that forsaken shack for three days until the storm passed and the chopper could land safely.

Not one day after he got back to base he was already feeling under the weather. The first thing Price asked him after he came back was if he wants to take a few free days. Of course, Ghost declined thinking he can power through it. Yet, he was feeling worse and worse with every passing hour and now he was miserable. He woke up with a stuffed nose, and a splitting headache while also sweating like he run a freaking marathon.

But did he go to Price to request a free day? Still no, he instead proceeded to get ready for training with Soap, ignoring the fact that he almost lost balance while putting his sweatpants on. He missed Soap even if he was gone only for a few days, especially since something shifted between them recently. He looked forward to that training and no flu was going to stop him.

He walked his way to the gym. Soap waited for him in the changing room already stretching, bending over and making his t-shirt ride up a bit. Ghost told himself that his heart beat fast only because he wasn’t feeling well.

“Lt! Ready for our workout?” Soap perked up when he noticed Ghost’s looming presence. “Although I must say, working with Gaz, Alex and Farah for those couple of days was a pleasant change.”

“What do you mean by that?” Ghost cringed at how rough his voice was, there is no way Soap didn’t hear how stuffed his nose was.

Soap’s smirk disappeared and he looked at Ghost unimpressed.

“I meant that they know their limits and don’t force themselves to do shit when they don’t feel well.” Soap crossed his arms.

“I don’t know what are you getting at, Sergeant.” He walked past Soap to the lifting bench, to avoid Johnny’s judging glare.

“You are sick, Ghost.” 

“I am fine.” He said, sniffling.

“You are already wet and you didn’t even move a muscle.”

“It’s hot here.”

“Ghost-”

“Will you spot me or do I have to ask someone else?” Completely ignoring Soap, he grabbed the bar.

The sergeant looked at the ceiling, asking whatever looked over them what did he do to deserve falling for someone as stubborn as Ghost. He went to stand behind the bench either way.

“Lik' talking tae a wall…” He muttered while focusing on Ghost’s weight lifting.

After a few lifts Ghost started to realise that it might have been a dumb decision. He had trouble breathing not only thanks to his runny nose but due to the fact that he had to breathe through his mouth, his balaclava got damp and clung to his face.

A cold shiver went through his body and he was ready to give up, and maybe go on a treadmill when he started coughing in a fit. His arms buckled under the weight and it would fall on his throat if Soap didn’t grab it in time.

When his hands were free he sat up straight still coughing.

“For fuck sake, Simon…” Soap patted Ghost’s back. 

“I am fine-” He coughs again.

“Ah kin see how fine ye are.” The Scot touched Ghost's hand, and was swatted right away. “Ye are boiling hot and nae in a good sense at the moment, ye are going to bed.”

“Johnny-”

“It’s not an argument. Ye either go to bed now or ah’m telling Price and he will put you on leave. Tae yer room- now.”

Ghost was a little taken aback at how commanding Soap got, but he also realized that he didn’t mind it at all, maybe he even liked it. Maybe. 

But Soap didn’t need to know that.

“Whatever, I have paper work to do either way.” He huffed and got up to go to his room.

“Sleep- not work, Ghost.”

Ghost only waved his hand and left.

But Soap wan now on a mission.

****

“Hi, maw! I have a wee question…” Soap called his mom, right after he left the gym.

He knew what he could do to get Simon back on his feet at a record speed. “Ah need yer soup recipe, my… friend is not feeling too good.”

“A friend huh? A special friend?.” His mother asked softly.

“A friend.”

“Och, yer something tae ca' me efter sic a lang time, ask fur hings 'n' nae even tell yer mither yer mukkers name!” 

“Mah, I called ye a week ago.”

“....”

He sighed resigned. “His name is Simon and he needs the soup, can ah get the recipe now? Please?”

“Ahh.. that’s a lovely name… Is he Scottish?”

“No…?”

“Well that's a shame… bit a'm sure he is a crakin' lad.”

“Mah.. he is not my boyfriend, don’t get any ideas.” No matter how Soap wished for it, they still were figuring out their… relationship.

“Och, bullshit ye wouldn’t cook juist fur ‘a friend’” 

“MAH!” Soap grabbed the bridge of his nose. “The soup, PLEASE.”

His mother chuckled.

“Ok, ok… let me think.”

****

Of course, the communal kitchen didn’t have all the ingredients his mother listed but he managed to make a good chicken soup non the less.

Making it took him some time, so when he entered Ghost’s room he expected the man to be asleep. It turned out to be wishful thinking, Ghost was sitting slouched at his desk, sniffling over his paperwork. His mask was nowhere to be seen as he had a handful of tissues pressed to his nose.

“First of all you were supposed to be resting, Two- aren’t you putting your balaclava on?”

“Do you want me to put it on?” He looked up at Soap.

Soap smiled softly when he saw Simon- very snooty and wet Simon, but Simon non the less.

“No.”

“Great, because it’s suffocating me.” He said relieved. “What is that?” Ghost pointed at the bowl Soap was carrying, reminding the sergeant how hot the thing is.”

“Ah, shit!” He placed it quickly on the desk, shaking his hand frantically. 

Ghost snickered at that, but it resulted in some coughing.

“Yer medicine.”

“You made that?” Ghost stirred it with the spoon.

Soap nodded.

Ghost tasted the soup and he sunk further into his chair as the stew warmed his body. It was pleasing and rich in flavour. 

“Thank you, Johnny… It’s nice.”

Soap beamed at the prize. “Ah asked my mah for help, she would make it way better. We don’t have everything on base, but I tried.”

Frow the way Ghost was devouring the soup, he didn’t mind at all.

Soap leaned on the desk.

“Will you please lie down after you eat?” Soap asked.

Ghost ran his hands over his face. “Soap, I am fine. I have been through way worse and I have work to do.” 

“Ye are a bambot! Bullets won’t kill ye, you will work yerself to death with that cold!”

“No one would care either way, Johnny.” He signed.

And that made Soap’s blood boil very quickly.

He grabbed his Simon by his shoulders and spun him in the chair so they were face to face.

“Wha-”

“Don’t ye fucking dare tae blether shit like that. Ah would care ���n’ ah care aboot ye very much every bloody second. Not only me but our whole team, Simon.  We a' care, sae let yersel' be cared for.” Soap’s voice wasn’t leaving any room for argument, accent thickened, his eyes were set on Ghost’s- making sure that the man will understand how much he means to him. “You got it, Si?”

 Ghost looked at Johnny in awe, not able to break eye contact. He blushed not being able to understand what did he to deserve someone like Johnny in his life.

“Yes, sir.” Ghost finally whispered.

Both of them were surprised, by Ghost’s wording. Both blushing, not being able to hide behind a fake bravado or a mask. The eye contact broke.

Soap cleared his throat and stepped away.

“Then please go to bed already. Ah promise ye will feel better.”

Ghost did as he was told. He snuggled under the warm but rough military blankets. He left some space on the bed.

“Stay?” The question was hesitant- like the answer wasn’t obvious.

“Always.”

So Soap lied on top of the blankets, not yet sure how much touching Ghost wants.

He seemed content with that arrangement.

“When I was a kid, I wasn’t allowed to get sick.” The confession was unexpected, even by Simon. It just slipped out, his mind wanting to share with Johnny, explain why he acts the way he does.

Soap turned to look at Ghost. 

“What does that even mean, Si?”

Ghost fidgeted with the edge of the blanket.

“You don’t have to explain-”

“I want to.” He cut in. “Just need to collect my thoughts… When I would get sick as a kid, my father would get furious. Call me useless or weak… He would get… aggressive whenever I would say I wasn’t feeling well.” He could feel Soap shifting beside him. “So I started to just pretend I am fine whenever I felt bad, but mom would always know something was wrong. My old man wouldn’t let her take care of me, saying she is going to make me even more useless. So… yeah.”

There was a silence and Simon began to worry that maybe he had overshared, made Soap uncomfortable.

But it wasn’t the case.

“Can I hug you?” 

Ghost didn't know that he needed it, but now that Soap asked he really wanted that hug.

“Yhm” That was enough for Soap to give him a bone-crushing hug. Ghost grabbed Soap’s shirt and hold on to it, hiding his face in the crook of Johnny’s neck. He took a deep breath of Soap’s cologne and the smell of gunpowder. This was nice.

“I would love to skin your father alive.” Soap squeezed him harder.

It made Ghost giggle.

“Get in line.”

I had SO much fun writing Soap's mom! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did <3 Have a great day/night!

[harrywavycurly]

My obsession with wanting to be spoiled is real so please indulge me with more Eddie spoiling his Princess please Sarah❤️❤️

Hiii lovey!! I am here to indulge you! Enjoy babes💖

-For fun I tossed in a conversation with Wayne and Eddie it’s marked with a✨

-you can find everything for Eddie and his Princess here

*Eddie is good at a lot of things, spoiling you is the main one*

“Ready for bed baby?” “Ten more minutes?” “You have a busy day tomorrow sweetheart.” “Fine…I’m ready.” “I’ll read to you for a bit if you want?” “Oh yes please…you know I can walk to the bedroom myself…” “you can? I’ve never seen you do it before.” “That’s because you carry me every time…” “because you get clumsy when you’re sleepy.” “It was one time…I swear the doorframe came out of no where.” “Mhmm right…and that’s all it took for me to decide carrying you is the safest option.”

✨ “now you know I’m not one to get into other people’s situations or whatever but…you do an awful lot for that girl…” “yeah?” “I saw you doing laundry the other day…when you lived here it was like you were allergic to the washing machine…couldn’t get you to touch it unless I paid you.” “It’s just different with her? I want to make her happy and I like…doing things for her.” “You cook too? Clean and all that shit?” “Yeah I do it all pretty much and it’s not because she tells me to or anything so get that look off your face…I just..I don’t know it’s hard to explain but I don’t want her to have to bother with things that I can just do for her…” “and you like doing all that stuff?” “I do..yeah..I like taking care of her.” “I mean whatever works for you two…who the hell am I to judge? You’re happy right?” “Honestly? She makes me the happiest I’ve ever been.” “Then that’s all that matters…but what’s a man got to do to get you to cook for me sometime huh?” “You’re welcome to come over for dinner anytime old man.” “Old man? Come here so I can kick your ass.”

“White with pink flowers or black with purple dots?” “Uhh white with flowers.” “Excellent choice Princess…right foot please.” “One day can I get some rings like yours? I think I’d look very badass with a skull ring.” “You can just have mine if you want…left foot baby…thank you.” “You wouldn’t miss it?…Are these new socks?” “Why would I miss it? I’ll see it all the time on your hand…yeah I got them last time I was at the store since half of your socks have holes in the toe.” “I’d love to wear your ring I think it might fit my thumb…I have holes in my toes from having to get on my tiptoes to give you kisses.” “Whatever finger you want to wear it on works for me baby…oh is that right? So I’m the reason your socks get ruined?” “That and maybe I slide around on the wood floor too much…” “Ah so tiptoe kisses and wood floors are the culprits then? Sounds about right…what shoes? It’s cold outside so something that’ll keep your feet warm.” “Brown boots please.” “Okay…there we go….you’re good to go baby.”

“Baby…sweetheart it’s time to get up…come on baby open those pretty eyes for me.” “Mmm too early Eddie…” “I let you sleep in ten extra minutes Princess but you’ve got to get up now…I made coffee and breakfast it’s waiting for you in the kitchen.” “Breakfast?…pancakes?” “Pancakes and some eggs just for you sweetheart now come on…that’s it open your eyes…no no baby don’t roll over…come on sweetheart don’t make me turn the light on.” “Kiss and I’ll get up.” “Fine..one kiss and then you’re getting up even if I have to carry you to the kitchen table” “you’d enjoy that…” “you know me so well baby.”

“I think maybe the green one? It’ll go with my vest.” “That’s true…green scrunchie it is baby. So you’re working with Robin today right?” “Yup just us two this morning then I think Steve closes…that’s a little tight…” “sorry Princess…how’s that?” “Much better…will you let me do your hair?” “Sure sweetheart right after I’m done with yours.” “But we won’t have time after mine? You said we are running late…” “damn looks like mine will just have to look like this for today.” “You’re so annoying…I just want to do your hair since you do mine.” “All I did was put yours in a bun baby nothing crazy.” “you braided it yesterday…”

[thehollowwriter]

Summary: Finn, Floyd, and Jade celebrate Azul's birthday. I'm too tired to edit so it'll probably be full of errors

(Pls reblog and leave a comment ❤️)

Birthday

"Azul. It's time to get up, darling."

Azul shifted, the comforting warmth of his soft blankets enticing him to simply roll over and stay there, to just give in to the sleepiness weighing over him.

Sky blue eyes fluttered open, wincing at the unexpected light flooding the bedroom. Azul sat up and rubbed his eyes, grasping at his side table for his glasses.

To his surprise, someone else slipped them onto his face, and his blurry vision cleared to reveal the smiling face of Jade Leech peering down at him.

"Jade..?"

Jade's teeth glinted, and his smile stretched wider. In his hands was a teatray on which was a cup of steaming tea, a bowl of sugar cubes, and honey.

"Happy birthday, Azul~" The eel sang, placing the teatray on Azul's lap and trying not to laugh at the octopus' sleepy, confused face. "Tea."

Azul blinked and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Yes, I can see that. Thank you, I suppose, I'll be sure to repay you."

There was a pause, and Azul gently placed a cube of sugar into his tea. "I am noticing a mysterious lack of scaring the ink out of me this morning. What do you want?"

Jade's face twisted to form an expression of hurt, and he placed a hand on his heart. "Why, Azul, you wound me. Can I not do something nice for my darling boyfriend on his birthday?"

"...This was Finn's idea, wasn't it?"

Jade sighed. "Caught out so quickly... yes, it was. He insisted we give you a calm, peaceful day, which unfortunately means no 'birthday shenanigans', as Floyd would put it. The other two are making you breakfast."

"Hmm. I see." Azul hummed, adding a dash of honey to his tea and stirring it. For a cannibalistic shark, Finn was a saint. No, not really, but close enough. "I imagine you are quite dissatisfied, then?"

Jade shook his head. "Not at all. As much as I adore your annoyed face, it's nice to spoil you. Besides, I got to make you special tea."

Azul paused mid stor and stared down at his tea. His brows furrowed, and he glared at Jade. "What did you put in my tea, Jade?"

"Oh, relax, it's just mushroom tea." Jade said happily. "I brewed it myself. It's perfectly safe, I tested it on the prefect."

Azul briefly considered visiting Yuu in the hospital before against his better judgement, taking a sip.

It... it tasted surprisingly good. Profitable, even. Find, maybe he won't ban mushrooms and all mention of them (not that that would do anything). He'd be cruel to dismiss Jade's little sales pitch.

"It's good." Azul said, raising his eyebrows. "I'll consider it for a seasonal menh. I'm sure it could be popular if even I can enjoy it."

He would be lying if he said the way Jade's eyes lit up didn't make him smile and sip his tea to hide it.

It was nice, relaxing in bed on a Saturdsy morning with a cup of freshly brewed tea. He was up early enough not to feel rushed, free to take his time.

"You said Finn and Floyd are making breakfast?" Azul asked once he finished his cup, setting it down with a gentle clink.

Jade nodded.."Yes. We can go to the kitchen when you're ready. They're quite excited to see you."

Azul huffed. "Really now..."

He never understood that sort of thing. They see him every day. They spend a lot of time with him. Well, he wouldn't rain on their parade.

There was a comfortable silence for a moment, and then Azul handed the teatray to Jade and got out of bed.

"Alright, let me get dressed and -"

"Ah, ah, ah." Jade took Azul's hand and pulled him close. "Breakfast first. Then we can help you with your makeup and birthday suit."

Azul narrowed his eyes. "I look like I crawled out of a pit."

"You don't."

To Jade, Azul looked positively delightful. Hair rustled, eyes bleary with lingering sleepiness, no makeup, and dressed in lavender and white pyjamas.

Not NRC student Azul, not Mostro Lounge owner Azil, and not Octavinelle dorm leader Azul. Just Azul. It was his birthday, he was seventeen, and his boyfriends were celebrating with him.

Azul rolled his eyes and let Jade lead him down the halls of Octavinelle towards the kitchen. The only reason he allowed himself to leave his room in such a state was because it was too early for other students to be awake, and if they were, they knew better than to wander.

When they arrived, the unmistakable smell of food hit his nose, and he couldn't help but feel excited, and the sight of Finn and Floyd working in the kitchen in tandem only made the excitement grow.

Finn noticed them and lifted his head to smile at Azul. "Morning, Azul. Happy birthday."

Floyd waved, his eyes fixed on the airfryer. "Morning, 'Zul. How was the poison birthday tea?"

Azul chuckled. "Surprisingly good. We should slip you some, Floyd. Maybe you'll enjoy it. "

Floyd gagged. "Hell no. Don't threaten me while I'm making your birthday breakfast. It's rude."

"We're almost done!" Finn called. "You can take a seat."

Azul let Jade guide him to the kitchen island and patiently sat down to wait, excitement gnawing at him as the smells and sights only seemed to become more saliva inducing.

"Order up!"

Azul's jaw nearly dropped at the large number of dishes placed in front of him with magic.

Stuffed crab, seaweed wraps, sushi, a variety of sliced meats (similar to ham), fish sticks, stewed clams, raw mussels... so many foods from their home, all placed right in front of him. And... what's that? Deep fried chicken! Oh, he really was being spoiled today...

Maybe a bit too much.

Azul sucked in a breath. "Thank you, you two, but I can't. The... the calories..."

"Consider it a cheat day." Finn said softly. "It's your birthday, after all. Of course, if you really don't want it, we can eat it."

Azul sighed. "I'll... see how I go. I'm sure it won't hurt to eat a little more than usual, and apart from the chicken, it's quite healthy."

Things went quiet as Azul compiled a plate of food for himself. There was so doubt, no doubt the other three were taking advantage of his birthday to make a large array of delectables to devour.

He ate slowly, savouring the taste and appreciating the skills his partners had. Truly, they had a gift.

"This is amazing." He said, nodding his head at Floyd and Finn. "Thank you for your hard work, I'll be sure to make you something just as wonderful in return."

Finn smiled and kissed Azul's cheek. "Thank you, but you'll have to save your plans for payment until tomorrow. We have a whole day planned for you. I know you're going to enjoy yourself."

"But the Lounge-"

"We've taken care of that." Floyd said with a grin. "Don't worry about it. Ah, here, we got some stuff for you when you're done."

An array of gifts were placed on the table, wrapped with varying degrees of success.

"Happy birthday, Azul."

...........................................

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this spontaneous bit of fluff!

Tagging: @distant-velleity @krenenbaker @cynthinesia @theleechyskrunkly @cyanide-latte @officialdaydreamer00 @whspermy-name @kitwasnothere @oya-oya-okay @skrimpyskimpy @boopshoops

[frodo-with-glasses]

More Reading Thoughts: The Grey Havens

Oh wow, another chapter review, haven’t seen one of those in ten thousand years

I’m not ready I’m not ready I’m not ready aaaaahhh

this has been such an incredible year and a half; i don’t want this book to end

but the sooner i finish, the sooner i can start over again!! so let’s go

Fatty Bolger!! 😭 We missed you, friend!

Man how am I gonna draw him skinny and still recognizable?? Guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it

LOBELIA!

Man I remember being so annoyed that she received a welcome like this when I was a kid, but now that I’m older, the display of mercy is overwhelmingly touching

She’s leaning on Frodo’s arm!! FRODO’S! He brought her out himself! And they all cheer for her courage and tenacity!

AND SHE LEFT HER MONEY FOR CHARITY

Y’know what? You’re all right after all, Lobelia. You’re all right.

I love the implication that hobbits will not accept a mayor who is not RotundTM 🤣

Ahhhhh okay so THAT’S where I got my childhood definition of “horny”

I’m sure in this case it means “like horn (the material), hard and rough”, which is an excellent descriptor, and it’s a shame I will never be able to use it in my own writing

THEY FOUND THE HIDDEN FOOD AND HAD IT FOR YULE! HECK YES!

Aww, I love you, Gaffer

“It was a purely Bywater joke to refer to it as Sharkey’s End” PFFFFFFT 🤣🤣

The four hobbits being known as the Travellers is so sweet

Frodo: “Ah yes, your box of dirt, the box of dirt from Galadriel, the box of dirt given specifically to you by Galadriel, Galadriel’s dirt”

I love that Frodo knows every single grain of this stuff is magical

I love even more that Sam is antsy and can hardly keep himself from running around and checking if the dirt is doing anything LOL

MALLORN TREE IN THE PARTY FIELD

I’M GONNA FRICKIN’ CRYYYYY

Year 1420 haha blaze it

“All the children born or begotten in that year, and there were many…” Tolkien knows how baby booms work

“And no one was ill, and everyone was pleased, except those who had to mow the grass” BAHAHAHA 🤣

Ohhhhh oh Frodo, oh bby

Sam was away 😭 And Farmer Cotton was the one who found Frodo in his bed in pain 😭😭 o w

Okay but Frodo just automatically assuming like “of COURSE we’re gonna be roomies” is just *chef’s kiss*

IMAGINE. FRODO WAS PERFECTLY PREPARED TO LIVE WITH JUST SAM WITH HIM IN BAG END. JUST THE TWO OF THEM. IMAGINE

I love these boys so heckin’ much

Frodo: So we’re roomies, yeah? Sam: Er, I…well I’d love to, but…but Rosie. Frodo: MORE ROOMIES 8-D

Tolkien: “And they loved Frodo dearly, and no one in the Shire was better cared for” Me: Thanks, Tolkien 🥹😭💚

Merry and Pippin walking around like the local legends they are

Sam doesn’t even know how well respected he is in the Shire 🥺

Noooo Weathertop

ELANOOOOOOR

“Taking after Rose more than me, luckily” And this solidifies my headcanon that Rosie is drop-dead gorgeous

Frodo hiding his illness from Sam hurts, man. You can feel him trying to stay cheerful. Ow, ow, ow.

“‘You can’t go far or for a long time now, of course,’ he said a little wistfully.” I AM GOING TO EAT THE CARPET

ALL HE WANTS IS TO BE WITH HIS SAM

BUT HE WANTS SAM TO BE HAPPY AND ENJOY HIS FAMILY EVEN MORE

HE LOVES SAM ENOUGH TO LET HIM GO

I’M GONNA BREAK SOMETHING

“The Downfall of: The Lord of the Rings” Rollllll credits! *ding*

Oh. Ohhhh. The Elvish song meeting Frodo and Sam as they sit on their ponies in the forest in late evening. I’m gonna cry.

Bilbo: Well, I’m older than the Old Took now! Bucket list completed. Time to go!

“But I thought you were going to enjoy the Shire, too, for years and years, after all you have done.” Same, Sam…same. 😭😭 (that’s what the Magnolia AU is for)

How. How does Frodo predict the names of Sam’s kids. “And perhaps more I cannot see”—how can he see in the first place?? How does he know? He’s getting Elvish, Frodo is. Very, very elvish.

Just. Frodo’s whole speech. I don’t have anything to say, I’m just soaking it in, and I feel so joyful and so sad all at once. It’s so tender and intimate and yet so distant. Tolkien, you’re so cruel, I love you.

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH

I JUST TURNED THE PAGE

AND THE RIGHT SIDE PAGE IS HALF-BLANK

I’M NOT READY I’M NOT READY I’M NOT READY

Okay okay be calm, it’s okay, just keep going

MERRY AND PIPPINNNNNNN

THEY CAMEEEEEE

And they’re ending the story the same way they joined it because Frodo is trying to leave and they said “NOT WITHOUT US” I’M GONNA GNAW HOLES IN THE COUCH AND BAWL LIKE A BABY

KISSES!! FOR EVERYONE!!!

WHITE SHORES AND A FAR GREEN COUNTRY UNDER A SWIFT SUNRISE

S H U T U P DON’T TOUCH ME

The three of them riding back home in silence but taking comfort in each other

I joke about these things making me cry but I actually, literally, have mist in my eyes right now holy cow

It’s so melancholy and comforting and it hurts and yet it makes you feel so happy and whole

The story is coming to an end, and there’s so much you want to say, but you can’t find words for any of it, and yet the silence says everything and more

(And Merry and Pippin don’t start singing until they take their leave of Sam, almost as if they were being considerate of his feelings first, but as they go and you hear their voices in the distance you get the sense that everything is going to be okay)

“Well, I’m back.”

…

The end.

.

[theerrorofmylife]

Witch Queen Ch.2

Thorin x Witch!Reader 

See Masterlist for complete chapter listing, send me... something, if you’d like to be tagged :) 

  Mwahahahaha, this is quite a lovely chapter and yes, I do get very sappy with Thorin and the MC. I love them both dearly, I can’t help it. I did add a little HTTYD quote in there hehe. I did end up drowning my pride and adding in (Name) instead of (Y/n). Please enjoy – Error

 Warnings: Mentions of death, grief, PTSD, Thorin being an instant simp for the reader, soul-crushing cuteness, Gandalf being a little shit, etc etc 

~

     60 years passed, and in my sorrow, I let the years go without care. I was still young, in my prime as a witch, and would continue to be young for a thousand years more if I so wanted. But, after 60 years, I can still be surprised. 

A knock at my door woke me. It was early, very early, and the dew on the grass had yet to settle. Climbing out of bed, I wrapped my dress around myself and secured my belt to keep everything in place. Waddling to the door, there was knocking again. 

“Alright, alright, my gods- Gandalf?” The old wizard stood at my doorstep, much taller than me, with gray robes and his staff. 

“Hello my dear. How have you been?” For the first time in so long I felt a little sense of peace. Gandalf seemed to carry that with him though. 

“As well as can be expected. It has been 20 years since you last came by. What have you been up to?” He smiled and his eyes crinkled in the corners. 

“Nothing too important. However, recent events have led me to be in need of a fellow magic user.” I invited him in, interested in this need for magic. 

“What have you done this time, friend.” He laughed gently and entered my home, sitting in the old chair near the window, his usual spot. 

“I have done nothing. However, a company of dwarves is massing, 13 in total, and they are to march on Erebor and kill Smaug.” I froze. I had been halfway to making tea and I couldn’t move. 

“They plan to reclaim the mountain.,” my voice shook and broke, my heart breaking just a little bit every moment. Thorin, my prince, they were going to reclaim the mountain. “Why have you come here, Mithrandir?” 

“I am here to ask you to join them, as the 15th member.” 

“15? You said there were 13.”  

“Well, yes, 13 dwarves, and 1 hobbit. They will be meeting in Hobbiton tonight, you will be escorting them across from Hobbiton to the lonely mountain.”

“Ah,” I know it would be foolish to go and risk my life with a bunch of strangers, but it would have made Thorin happy to have his homeland back, “I’ll go.” 

“Very good; If you will, I’m leaving immediately.” I narrowed my eyes at him. Of course he would come without giving me time to prepare. 

“Fine, let me pack.” I left him in the living room, puttering in his amusement. I put together a simple bag; two shirts, two pairs of pants, necessitates, and small wants. My apothecary book, ritual book, and small bag of spell needs were all tucked inside as well, and within 30 minutes I was packed and ready to go. My dress would be fine for the early parts of the journey, the wrap design hanging to my shins, boots laced tight, and cloak up to cover my head. 

“Well, come on then, let’s meet this company.” I raised my hands above my head and felt the wind grace my fingertips. A force I could not see pulled at my fingertips, tugging them straight up. When the pull became too much, I yanked my hands down and in a fuzzy flash of green, Gandalf and I were standing in the middle of a dirt road, cozy lamps hung along the edge, and doors were periodically placed in the cutouts of hills. Hobbiton was so quaint and cozy, and everything was my size! Flowers and gardens and fields and rolling hills were laid out before us, and it was beautiful. Gandalf put a hand on my shoulder and led me down the dirt road, all the way to a green circular door with a little rune carved into the bottom. At the door are two dwarves already. They are very friendly, and name themselves Oin and Gloin, brothers. From inside, a commotion is heard. 

“No! There's nobody home! Go away and bother somebody else! There's far too many dwarves in my dining room as it is. If this is some clotterd's idea of a joke, I can only say that it is in very poor taste. -” the door opens, and the dwarves let themselves in as the young hobbit stares. “Gandalf. And… friend.” 

“Hello, the elves call me Niethir, daughter of Yelmain, witch of the eastern Greenwood. But that’s just a formal name. You may call me (Name), friend.” I did a little curtsy and he smiled, bowing in return. 

“Bilbo Bagins. I apologize, I wasn’t expecting visitors.”a He gave a very pointed look at Gandalf. 

“He didn’t warn you, did he? He never does.” I sigh, and Bilbo welcomes me in. I place my things neatly in a corner and wander into the rest of the hobbit hole while Bilbo and Gandalf talk. Large wooden arches hold up plaster ceilings, little lanterns brighten the home with warm light. It’s sweet, the feeling of this hobbit home, and it’s wonderful. Anyone who steps in would immediately feel welcomed and at peace. As I enter the dining room, a voice I recognize stops me cold. 

“Mahal save me… it’s you.” Dwalin sits at the table with the others, staring wide eyed at me. I cannot breathe. The last time I saw him was the day…. In Dale. 

“Dwalin… you’re here.” He stood abruptly and stomped over to me. I might have been scared, but only for a moment, because he clapped my shoulders and pressed his forehead against mine. 

“He knew you were alive, lass. He spoke of you every day, drove us all mad!” He laughed and my eyes teared up. 

“Thorin… oh Dwalin I’m so sorry.” His eyes got sad for a second before another was pushing between us. 

“Move aside laddie, let us meet her. You’re name please, lass.”

“(Name), Niethir to some, Yelmaindottir.” They all took turns introducing themselves. Lastly was two young dwarves, one blond one brunette. 

“Fili and Kili, we’re Thorin’s nephews.” My heart dropped. 

“Of course, he told me all about you. Why are you not with your mother, Dis?” Their eyes grew bright with excitement. 

“You know of mother! -”

“He must have told you so much! -”

“Uncle is leading us to Erebor to kill the dragon!” My heart stopped. 

“But… hold on I- you are Thorin’s nephews, yes?” They nod with enthusiasm. “Then… your uncle… Thorin is alive...?” Dwalin pushed the two aside. 

“Of course… why would he not be?” I couldn’t focus on anything. 

“I heard…. In the battle of Moria… the prince had died. I thought… I thought Thorin…” My eyes watered. Thorin was alive. He was alive and he was coming here to lead the company to retake Erebor. Dwalin stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder. 

“You thought Thorin was the one that died…” I nodded, just trying to keep myself at least semi-oriented. Suddenly, the silence that festered was cut by a deep knock at the door. 

“He is here.” Gandalf grumbled. My breath left me, and tears fell freely as the door was opened out of view and that lovely deep voice from 60 years ago echoed in the house. 

“Gandalf, I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice. I wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door.” He was just the same, a tad older, and much tougher than when I’d last seen him. He carried with him a tiredness that only comes with carrying the weight of the world. I think he even got taller, if that were possible. He was. Just by a few inches, though. 

“Mark? There's no mark on that door, it was painted a week ago!” 

“There is a mark; I put it there myself. Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield.” Oakenshield, that was quite an impressive name. It made him gruffer than he used to be.  

“So, this is the hobbit. Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?” He was glaring, obviously not believing Bilbo could do much. 

“Pardon me?”

“Thorin, there are greater matters at hand.” Balin, who seemed to be the wisest, intervened. 

“And what would those be-” His eyes met mine, those same gray-blue eyes. “My Lady.” 

“My Prince. Or should I call you My King?” I was trying to have humor for my own sake, my nerves were nearly suffocating me. He was still in shock, slowly walking towards me, the hobbit forgotten. As he got closer my nerves began to get the better of me. “Thorin, Thorin what’s wrong?” I could barely whisper. He was finally in front of me and there were tears in his eyes that refused to fall. 

“You’re as beautiful as the day I lost you.” He collected my hands in his and pressed kisses to them. Fresh tears ran down my face and I all but threw my arms around his neck. His arms instantly wrapped around my waist. 

“I thought you were dead.” I whispered into his shoulder. He laughed. 

“I thought you were dead. In Dale… no one got out, no one ever saw you again…” Tears were blurring everything. When he pulled away, I frantically wiped my face to seem at least mildly presentable. Suddenly my whole body was jostling as the entire company slapped mine and Thorin’s back. 

That night, we supped like old friends, but with Thorin’s hand constantly searching for mine it was hard to consider us friends. He sat at the head of the table and the others made room for me at his side. 

“What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?” Balin spoke up from Thorin’s other side. 

“Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms.” I watched as he spoke, the way he engaged with his people. He speaks like a king; I don’t know how I didn’t see it when we first met. 

“What did the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?” Thorin hesitates, seeming to weigh his options. Just before he speaks, he tilts his head to the side and catches my eyes with his.

“They will not come. They say this quest is ours and ours alone.” 

“You’re going on a quest?” Bilbo pipes up from the hallway.

“Really, did you not tell him anything?” I picked on Gandalf, and for the first time in 60 years I watched Thorin smile like he used to.

“Ah, well, lets have some illumination instead.” I didn’t even think about the consequences. Snapping my fingers, a tiny flame sparked in the space between my pointer finger, thumb, and middle knuckle. The dwarves around me started huffing in shock while Thorin just stared at it. I spread my fingers outwards and the little candles Bilbo brought lit up all at once. One of the dwarves started clapping while the others were huffing. Seemed very few of them liked magic tricks. Thorin continued to stare until Gandalf placed a map on the table.

“Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold. When the birds of the old return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end.” Oin spoke up from the other end of the table.

“Uh…what beast?” Bilbo’s little voice spoke up from the pantry archway.

“Well, that would be a reference to Smaug the terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire breather, teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks, extremely fond of precious metals.” Bofur was messing with him, but with every word he spoke my memory conjured images to match. I could only sit back and remember.

“Yes, I know what a dragon is.”

“I’m not afraid, I’m up for it. I’ll give him a taste of the dwarfish iron right up his jacksy!” Ori was being arrogant, and I could suddenly separate those who had seen the dragon and those who had heard of the dragon.

“The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us, but we number just fourteen, and not fourteen of the best, nor brightest; excusing the Witch, that is.” Well, at least Balin was being honest.

“Hey! Who are you calling dim?”

“Sorry, what did he say?”

“We may be few in number. But we’re fighters, all of us! To the last dwarf!” Fili gained everyone’s attention.

“And you forget we have a wizard in our company, Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time.” Kili built off his brother’s energy. I pressed my lips into a line to stop myself from giggling. Gandalf had never killed a dragon. So much was clear when he began sputtering for an answer that wasn’t embarrassing.

“Oh, well. No, uh, I…I wouldn’t say…”

“How many then?”

“What?”

“Well, how many dragons have you killed? Go on, give us a number!” They were all yelling now, yelling at Gandalf, at each other, just yelling to yell. Thorin stood suddenly, his chair nearly falling back in the process.

“Enough! If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for sixty years. Eyes look East to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?” He was an inspiration, a true leader. Something about watching him speak made me terribly sad. I felt… robbed, of the chance to be near him as he grew into this leader.

“You forget, the Front Gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain.”

“That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true.”

“How come you by this?”

“It was given to me by your father. By Thrain. For safekeeping. It is yours now.”

“There's another way in.”

“Well, if we can find it, but Dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map...and I do not have the skill to find it. But there are others in Middle-earth who can. The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth...and no small amount of courage. But if we are careful and clever, I believe that it can be done.” The rest of the evening passed smoothly, save for Bilbo fainting at the idea of a dragon. The dwarves were collecting near the hearth, talking loudly and catching up. I secluded myself to the bench by the front door. I couldn’t help but feel dread, thinking about facing Thorin. 

“My Lady.” The voice that had haunted me for years called out. Thorin was standing in front of me, concerned and weary. I hated seeing him so worried. 

“My King?” He came closer and knelt in front of me, taking my hands as he had always done.

“You have magic?” I should have known this topic would come up.  

“Yes.” My throat closed up and a nauseating feeling settled in my chest. I had planned to tell him, eventually, somewhere down the line back in Dale; Maybe the next day when I said I’d return. Or maybe when we became closer. But that didn’t happen, none of it did, and it was never possible. 

“What are you?” 

“I’m a Witch, probably the last of my kind now…” Admitting it out loud was harder than I thought. Being the last, the only one… 

“Your mother?” I sighed. 

“She passed…56 years ago, in the winter.” Something close to understanding filled his eyes and he nodded solemnly. 

“I’m so sorry, I wish I had known.” I laughed wryly. 

“I’m sure we both wish we knew a lot of things…” he smiled sadly before his face fell into hard lines. 

“I’m asking Gandalf to remove you from the quest.” My heart nearly stopped. 

“What…? No, you’re not, I’m going with you!” He grabbed my hands insistently. 

“You’re not, I can’t let you, not with where we’re going, Smaug-”

“I survived Smaug once, I would do it again.” He sighed, his shoulders dropping. He was trying to fight a losing battle with me. 

“My lady-”

“(Name), my king. And I came here for you,” he stopped, his mouth half open as his words died. “I thought you were dead, and then Gandalf comes along and says your kin are reclaiming your homeland. You’re not dead… but I’d still do this for you. Do you remember what you said when we first met?��� He’s grinning again, but it’s sad, like remembering that day is both happy and terrible. It is for both of us. 

“I said a lot of things that day, My Lady.” He snarks. 

“‘Where would you like to go? Name it and I will lead you anywhere.’” I quote, and his face falls into a mock glare. He’s fallen into my trap, and I feel victorious. His head falls into his hand, his elbow propped up to support it. 

“(Name)-”

“Erebor. Take me to Erebor.” He sighs again in defeat, and I place my hands on his jaw to gently lift his head. His gray eyes meet mine. He’s not upset with me, nor is he angry, he’s simply tired and I know he has every reason to be. “You carry such a terrible weight My King, please, do not carry it alone.” 

~

@capricorn-anon @emmapotato88 @dontaskmehowdontaskmewhy @tschrist1 @eilin-brillewin​ @hpthalia126  <3 <3 <3 

_______________________________________

[mosquito-queen]

“And then?”

“And then there was a great earthquake that sank Atlantis and no one ever saw her again.”

“No, dad! You’re mixing up the stories again!”

“Oh? Am I? Do you think you could tell it then?”

“Yes, of course. Lay your head down,” She pats the purple pillow at the head of her bed and hands him her stuffed dog, “and here’s Hawkeye. Get tucked in, and it works best if your eyes are closed so you can see the story.”

“Right, thank you, Katie.” He plays along, pulling the extra blanket from the foot of the bed over his torso and settles into the pillows. His daughter sits criss-crossed next to him, her back against the wall as she holds open a book.

She clears her throat before beginning, “Dad, your eyes are still open.”

“Sorry, ok,” He squishes them shut, “I’m ready now.”

Kate adjusts so her knees are pulled up and she can rest the book against the tops of her legs. She turns the page, which is just a formality because she does not plan on reading from the children’s book.

Her father never does - only pretends while he makes up his daring tales of adventure. Kate is seven now and knows there isn’t a character named Pigsy Pie in the Magic Treehouse, but it’s too funny when her dad speaks his lines in a high pitched voice to tell him otherwise. It’s become their inside joke. Now it’s her turn.

She slides her finger down the page of Peter Pan, clicking her tongue like she’s just found where she had left off from the previous day, “Ah, yes, here we are. Our brave goddess isn’t in Atlantis, but she’s stuck in the Underworld!”

Kate frowns. The word ‘stuck’ doesn’t fit quite right. Feels funny in her mouth. “No, wait, dad. We have to start over and go back.”

“Just erase the page, Kate, and you can change the story.”

She nods very seriously, checks to make sure her dad’s eyes are still closed, and takes her hand to lightly swipe over the pages. Once satisfied with the course correction, she continues:

“A long time ago, before you and mom, and grandma, and the dinosaurs,” Her dad chuckles, “There were super powerful people, like Hawkeye, but not really people. They were made from the stars and outer space stuff probably, and it went something like this…”

***

The thundercloud over Olympus has not budged for forty nights. It had clawed its way from the underbelly of a rather calm sky until it made a black eye of Zeus’s realm. It was festering now like a rotted wound.

It started with a question, seemingly mild on the surface: “What do you mean she isn’t here?”

“I-I’m terribly sorry my lord, but no one has seen her.” And his servant had looked to the other, the smallest glance, and the sky had split open with a crack. The glance said: I know we have not yet discussed how we will speak our way out of this ordeal, but go along with this story for now.

And before Zeus seized Violence by the throat, he looked to Force and asked: “Is the other one still here?”

Force had her gaze lowered to the floor, “Yes. Yes, she remains.”

And then Zeus unleashed his wrath with a flash of red and the anger seemed to have turned into an overcast sky that every so often spit fire like venom.

He had lost one of his assets. He had lost. If Zeus was anything, it was a sore-loser. Demeter had fled and left her sister behind. Not a total loss. Still a loss.

The sisters had been captured as soon as Zeus defeated his father. They were born of something older, almost peers of Kronos, and Zeus feared them for it. He had to destroy them and remake them in his image. He had to.

Except Demeter escaped and now there was this obscene weather phenomenon seeping acid rain on his beautiful city. His subjects and lovers thought the powerful storm came from his own doing. They thought his mood so sour that it could conjure such a rage.

They were wrong. It was the abandoned sister’s anguish that drove the unrelenting storm. She mourned with the intensity of a thousand dying suns, and it was ruining Olympus.

So Zeus had done the next best thing: he had involved the Fates. Now he stalks towards the cell holding the remaining sister, his plan unfolding as Force and Violence follow in his shadow.

He opens the door that only responds to his electricity, and it reveals the thing he is most fearful of: a goddess born of death and life. She bares her teeth like a hound, but her hands and feet have been anchored together with old magic. She howls. He knows she would rip open his flesh and eat his heart. He worries she still might be able to.

That’s why he takes something wrapped in golden fleece from Force. That’s why Violence holds down the cursing goddess. She is too powerful to completely eradicate. He must recreate her in his image.

Zeus says to the goddess: “With these scissors forged from the flesh and bone of Kronos, I will cut you in two halves and you will never know your whole self.”

Her screams shake the room, rattle the entirety of Olympus.

And when he is done, and her new souls are wading away from the waters of the River Styx, he says: “From this time forth, you will be known as Persephone, the Goddess of Spring, and your shadow shall be Hades, King of the Underworld.”

***

“Hey kid, your nose is bleeding.” Derek Bishop had opened his eyes part way through his kid’s story. He had double checked the title on the upside down book in her hands, but it gave no insight to where his daughter was going with her tale. And now her nose was bleeding. She wasn’t moving though, just staring blankly at the pages of the book. The blood slowly spreading down her face.

“Kate?” Nothing. He reached out to squeeze her knee, “Hey, let’s go get that cleaned up before it gets on the blankets.”

Her eyes focused, “What?”

He’s frowning, rolling out of the bed and motioning for Kate to follow him, “Your nose. It’s bleeding. Come on, let’s get a move on.”

“Oh yeah, mom wouldn’t like it if it stains.”

“Yeah, don’t wanna make her mad, huh? You feeling okay?”

She shrugs in response and follows him to the bathroom just a little down the hall from her room. He says over his shoulder, “Put your head back, Kate, and pinch your nose.”

Now, in the bathroom her dad is tilting her head back to sneak a wad of tissue into her nose, “That was a heck of a story, kid. Where’d you hear it from?”

She waits for him to stop messing with the tissue, before answering: “I don’t know.”

“Was it your mom?”

“Mom doesn’t tell stories.”

“Something on TV?”

She tries to think, swings her legs from her perch on the toilet seat, but something hurts in the middle of her brain, so she stops trying to remember: “No, I don’t know.”

“Katie, the other side of your nose is bleeding.”

[dyrewrites]

In Fog -- 23

Ah, but my joy in the slaughter did not last, my love. I would not be here now if it did. As I slept, washed and dried of all that death, cradled in warm arms and warmer skin...those deaths haunted me.

They all did, in fact, every one. Every moment I slept, and when I was awake. Whenever I closed my eyes, I could not escape the faces, the screams. As delicious as they were in the breaths I took them, in the pain, the agony, all of it so beautiful...when all was quiet, calm, they wailed with sharper voice.

With shaky breaths, with gasps and giggles and tightly held silence they tormented me. Reminding me of all I had become, even as I refused to feed that darkness, even when I insisted against the death, they wailed.

Monster, fiend, unholy wretch! They called me. They were not wrong, of course; I had become all I accused it of being in our first week together. Worse, in fact, for I was not born to it, I chose it.

But never had those voices wailed louder than that day, my love, after that train.

That death, that blood, magnificent in its taste, its touch, its song...the quiet after it shredded me.

There had been children on that train, children, my love.

We fed on their death as all the others. Quick, painless—I made sure of it—but we killed them all the same. I killed them. Oh how it smiled when I did. So wide, so proud and I ached to earn it. But the voices would not leave me, their faces would not leave me.

When I woke in our stolen room, drenched in chill sweat and hot shame, it was there to soothe me—always there, ready to calm my weeping soul. My dreams were as bright and clear to it as all my thoughts, all my heart, and I needed no words to explain my terror.

“Witnesses, darling, you had to,” it comforted with gentle hands, soft kisses.

“I know, love,” I answered with kisses of my own, all over those sweet hands, and I did know, it was necessary for our survival to go unseen, “but, did I?”

“They would have given us away,” harder those gray eyes, tighter the hands, “our trick aside, we would be hunted everywhere, unable to have a moment of peace.”

It was right, was it not? Still I doubted, “You cannot die and I, I am not sure I can anymore either. What would it matter if all the world hunted us?”

“Did you enjoy our time at the beach,” its voice cut, fingers leaving my skin as it shrunk to the edge of our stolen bed, “what of the market, or that old woman’s home, do you long for more moments like those, more comforts?”

“Yes,” I reached and it shrunk further, “of course.”

Sudden, sharp, it snapped at me, “Then there can be no witnesses.”

I fell quiet in that snap, in that burst of fear—masquerading as anger—I had not seen in weeks, at least. And it noticed, softened, and reached for me with careful hands, pulling me into its arms. The nightmares were troubling, of course, but more was its fear and in that embrace, so warm and calming, I worried of it.

Too loudly, perhaps, worrying of what it would do if I did what built with the nightmares, that which had gnawed. I did not think with words, my love, I had none to give what I felt. But I had images of ‘home’, of fog, of you, and it saw them all.

“You cannot save them,” it told my hair, puffing my scalp with hot breath, “and if you think to drag me to them, to put them back in this body it is too late.”

That had not occurred, I told it so, “You misunderstand what you see, love. That is not my want. I love you, as you are.” And I did. I had no understanding for what I wanted, not yet. I only knew the nightmares would get worse if I did not find you. “I need to go back,” I told it, kissing the neck too close to ignore, “but not for why you think.”

All of me so open to it, it saw all I considered, whether certain myself or not I was laid bare before it. Pushing me away, just enough, it stared at what were likely wet, shimmering eyes for how I felt, “How do you know that will work?”

I smiled, or tried, “You fear my shadows, love, so surely there must be something in them that would—”

“A hunch,” it scoffed, gripping me tighter, “you leave me alone, on a hunch?”

“I cannot keep waking to these nightmares, love. I question everything we do, everything we are, no matter how sweet your touch, how kind your affections,” I cried then, weeping openly and it held me closer as I continued, “I know we are monsters, truly, we are. But I love you and I will be this monster for you. Yet I...I cannot be what you want, what you need of me while this wretched guilt haunts me.”

Petting my head then, it cooed, “Alright, darling, alright. Go to your love then, obtain this closure...and come back to me,” shifting to catch my eyes, it asked, “but with how far we have traveled, how will you find me again?”

“I think I could find you from across the sea, and this is barely across the country,” I smiled, and it narrowed its eyes before it returned it.

But it did return it, and the kiss, and all the others that followed.

We spent the remainder of that day, much of the evening...all of the next, in that bed, in that stolen moment of calm gifted by resolution.

Until it was ready to let me go.

After aiding me in dressing, and taking great care with my hair, it pressed a hand-drawn map into my hands. “In case you cannot find me,” it sighed, speaking to the map, “we were so close to home.”

Lifting its face to mine, I smiled, “I thought we were going everywhere, carving a trail of hot blood and sweet pain?”

“Tease,” it said, looking away from me, “And maybe we will, when you come back. I will wait there; in the mountains...you will find me, return to me?”

“All the world could not stop me, love,” If my words were not enough convincing, I hoped my lips and eager, desperate tongue were.

But I will not know until I find it, for that was the last I saw of my partner, my monster...