#he's so attached to ivy its so cute

[avastyetwats]

You weren't going to hurt us.

The wolf sounded so damn sure about that and it only added to the guilt and shame he felt because of it. "I was going to. I... I wanted to." At first he did, anyway. Just Charles. Not the children. He'd tried to kill him before, after all, and continued to chase him down in hopes of finally one day succeeding. But then he found out he was a father, he had children, and suddenly he couldn't bring himself to do it. Then the truth came out. Or so they claimed, but surprisingly, Flint didn't feel much doubt. He didn't disbelieve their words that Charles had nothing to do with it. For some damn reason, Flint felt as though it were true.

"So what stopped you, then?" Anne asked, then grinned. "'sides me, of course."

Flint sighed hearing that question, but he knew it was coming. It was basically the same question he just asked Charles. He then raises his head to look down at Ivy who was still sleeping soundly curled against his side and he so gently ran his fingers over her soft fur. That seemed to be answer enough judging by the scoff she let out followed by silence. Thank fuck because he really was tiring of her voice, but he let himself focus on Charles's touch again and his soothing voice that was helping to relax him further. He wasn't wrong when he called him broken. He wasn't wrong at all.

But god, his words about not killing unless absolutely necessary got to Flint. He was merciful and kindhearted and compassionate. More than most humans, even. But humans were a fucked up species. They were quick to judge and condemn and even quicker to punish. That included Flint. He thought Charles responsible simply because he was the alpha, the leader of the wolves - of Singleton - without thinking that he tried to stop it. That he wanted nothing to do with it. Flint had been so quick to condemn him and wanted nothing more than to punish him. To take his life the way his pack took Thomas's.

"Guess we know who the monster truly is, then." He sighs, clearly speaking about himself.

Charlotte scoffs. "No shit." She freezes at the look her father gives her. "What? Dad, he tried to kill you! He almost went crazy and shot all of us! Humans are so messed up."

"She isn't wrong." He chuckles, closing his eyes again. "I just... I wanted to avenge Thomas. I wanted to-..." He squeezes them shut when he feels them fill with tears. "I cared for him." He mentioned before that he was his best friend, but judging by his reaction and how hurt he was, he cared for him far more, but nothing ever came from it. He turns his head then, forehead pressed to Charles's hand now. It was obvious how comforted he was by the wolf, how he was relying on his soothing touch, to help him. How much he was enjoying it. Craving it, even. He was so touch starved and it showed.

"I say we throw him outside," Anne speaks up again. "He's done with us, we're done with him. So really be done with it,"

Flint growled then. "Don't you fucking touch me." He glares at her, his hand remaining on Ivy's body. It wasn't that he didn't want Anne to lay a finger on him, he just didn't want anything, or anyone, to disturb Ivy. He was going to stay right fucking here until she woke up.

“ He was trying to fucking kill you, Charles. “ Anne had returned to her human form and was standing with Charlotte.

Charles on the other hand was sitting on the floor of the cave, the human’s head in his lap. Ivy was snuggled up soundly against one side of his unconscious form. He sighed heavily, looking back down at the bloodied head on his legs. “ He wasn’t going to pull that trigger. He couldn’t. This wasn’t necessary. “

“ A Hunter tries to kill you and your pups and you don’t think what I did was necessary? ‘ch. it’s shit like this that got you kicked out as alpha. “

Even Jack winced beside her when she said that, and Charles looked at her with absolute rage. “ Jack, you better get your bitch in line or he won’t be the only one knocked unconscious. “ He growled.

Charlotte was watching with disapproval. “ We should just go. Who gives a damn about him? “

“ I do. “ He muttered quietly, bringing his fingers to curiously run through that messy red mop of hair. It was beautiful. He always thought Anne had the most beautiful hair. Hell, he’d asked Eleanor if she had redheads in her family. It was all quite fitting. “ He’s as lost as we are. Hamilton was his best friend. “

Jack scoffed. “ No wonder he tried to kill you then. “ He looked down at Flint, his arms crossed. “ I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but have any of you thought that this man is clearly a hunter? He might not have wanted you, Charles, but he would try to kill us anyhow. We should put him out of his misery. “

Charles shook his head, continuing to gently pet at him. “ No one lays a hand on him. We are a pack and my rules still abide. No meaningless killing. “

[star-girl69]

OMG THE LITTLE FAMILY STUFF IS SO CUTE now imagine ivy like accidentally calling the reader amd clarisse mom for the first time OR OR someone (percy) like coming over and being like "hey I don't think this parenthood is a good idea here" (bc just imagine clarisse junior in the future) and ivy is wtf so she starts defending them and being like THOSE ARE MY PARENTS (10 yo vs 12 yo standoff go!!)

LETS GO I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS FAMILY I LOVE EVERYTHING

the first time ivy calls you mom it’s not on purpose

you just basically are her mom

all she knows is you treat her how a mom is supposed to treat their daughter

you’re probably like dropping her off at arts and crafts class and she casually goes

“ok bye mom see you later!”

cue the tears

you’re screaming and crying and hyperventilating and RUNNING straight to clarisse who is training and she’s like OH MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED ARE YOU OKAY

and you’re like

“i-i-i-ivy oh my god clar ivy-”

“SOMETHING HAPPENED TO IVY?!?!??!?” protective mom mode activated

“NO SHE CALLED ME MOM”

“oh. OH. SHE CALLED YOU MOM?????”

“I KNOW” 😭😭😭😭😭😭

clarisse is so happy she’s like aw omg she’s a little jealous on the inside but she’s fine she’s fine she’s fine

she’s not fine if you couldn’t tell

but clarisse doesn’t have to wait too long bc the next day clarisse wakes up at like 3am and has to go to the bathroom and little adorable baby ivy sits up too rubbing her eyes and is like

“mom? where are you going?”

she’s about to LOSE. HER. SHIT.

but it’s late and she doesn’t want to overwhelm ivy so she keeps it cool and just says she’s going to the bathroom she’ll be back soon

anyways later you both sit ivy down and ivy is like WOAH WOAH WOAH WHATS HAPPENING

and you’re trying to be professional and adult about it

but you’re like “YOU CALLED ME MOM!!!! YOU CALLED CLAR MOM!!!!!! AND ITS OK!!!!! WE LOVE YOU AND WE ARE YOUR MOMS BASICALLY!!!!!”

ivy is like “I DIDNT EVEN NOTICE BUT I LOVE YOU MOMS”

happy family ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

just to clarify y’all PERCY DOES NOT ACTUALLY THINK CLARISSE AND Y/N ARE BAD FOR IVY ITS JUST THERES TWO OF THEM CAN WE ATTACH A LEASH TO THE LITTLE ONE MAYBE

so let’s pretend it’s just another random rude ass 12 year old who’s name will be…. hm…… mark!

so mark and ivy are like chilling around at the training grounds waiting for their turn and then mark is like “oh my god you’re so bad you can even hold the sword correctly”

ivy is ????? she’s holding it the way clarisse taught her to hold it so what…….

“um? idk…. this is how you hold it dude…..”

and then you come over innocently and you’re like “hi ivy baby you forgot your water i’m gonna leave it right here!” and she’s like “ok mom!” bc you’re her mom and she loves you

so then mark is like “NO WAYYYYY YOU CALL HER MOM????”

“YES BC SHE IS MY MOM DO YOU HAVE A DAMN PROBLEM!?!?!?”

“i just feel sorry for you like your own parents didn’t want you so the best you could get was two random teen girls??? LMAOOOO i bet they’re horrible ‘parents’ too ”

“BITCH IM GONNA-”

ivy may be tiny but she uses that to her advantage and jumps on top of people

so she starts scratching and kicking and hitting screaming “TAKE IT BACK TAKE IT BACK TAKE IT BACK”

bro mark is crying

one of mark’s friends drag ivy off of him and then you and clarisse run over at the commotion

and all you see is this kid crying, another kid holding ivy back- her hairs all messy and she’s kicking and screaming still

the kid very quickly drops ivy when he sees you

you have to THROW yourself in front of her so she won’t attack him again

clarisse just presses the tip of her spear into mark’s armor and he’s like “IM SORRY IM SORRY WAHHHHH WAHHHHHHHH”

ivy is laughing hysterically “THATS WHAT I THOUGHT THATS WHAT I FREAKING THOUGHT YOU LOSER!!!!!!!”

you’re in such shock WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR PRECIOUS BABY

clarisse is proud but confused

ivy is hugging you, her face pressed in your stomach when clarisse crouches down next to her

“you wanna tell me what happened?”

“well first he said i was holding my sword wrong but I WASNT i was holding it like this the way you taught me and then mom came over and then he started laughing when i called her mom and then he said you guys were probably horrible parents and i was SO MAD so i started attacking him”

ivy rn: 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗

you’re horrified shocked and angry like it’s not an idea situation but ivy is loved and safe what more do they want from you?

you feel kinda shitty bc you love ivy so much but if you’re not what’s best for her than you’ll do anything

clarisse hugs her and kisses her head “good job protecting this family little warrior”

and you’re like “yes ivy you did an amazing job but remember violence is not always the answer”

(clarisse and ivy share their secret look again)

but later that night while ivy is getting ready for bed you’re telling clarisse that you’re concerned, maybe everyone who throws you the dirty looks are right, maybe you’re not what’s best for ivy

clarisse is ???

“ivy…. baby….. uh…. equals…. mine??? ….confused..”

but ivy overhears you and then SHE starts yelling at YOU

“EVERYONE IS SO SAD AND MAD AND I HATE IT LETS JUST BE HAPPY AND YOU GUYS STOP BEING MEAN”

ok 🫡

eventually clarisse expresses it more articulately to you than ivy can, “who cares about what anyone else thinks? i’m happy, your happy and ivy’s happy. everyone else can get punched in the face!”

IVY IS EXCITED

anyways happy family again ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

—-

taglist:

@lvrue @t-wylia @laughingcheese037 @kroumi @urdeadpoet @colezb @rey26 @harmzilla @elliewilliamsbae @amberfreemansburntface @kyuupidwrites @neverwaakeme-up @shark1008 @liballer @heyimadison @nvirskies @pnsteblnme @mar2ss @restellsss @ravisinghs-wife @marsconer @evangelinexo @randomhoex @luvrrish

[cielospeaks]

ok predictions/reactions to f-h (not negative necessarily?)

firstoff the banner itself

-shame abt the 17 stuff. imo its really fucking clear that the people in charge of f e as a whole hate the game for its more whimsical/shonen/super sentai tone of “friendship and understanding” and just want a cringey “angst” fest (aka angst that just excuses horrible characters) like 16 (and to be fair a lot of other things in the franchise too). but like imo its not the worst. the vas are clearly doing a good job and the artist too, and its cool and cute to see ivy in the game, even if its just a seasonal

-the others i dont rlly care abt. if i liked e ir at all i def dont after she screwed over an entire country and her presumable former friends there just because she found out her birth family’s world is a place she likes better. like its awful what she went through but imo she still killed a person for no reason when she couldve just told the truth, and even if it would have been painful she should have taken responsibility for her position. but whatever its very eh. and thats all my thoughts pretty much. actually suprised f jorm wasnt the duo but whatevs

-the new story/new oc: i was rooting for all 4 alfr to get resplendent/ect darn it! oh well. it looks like most likely peo and plumie will be the focus (which is good for me bc i love plumie but i wish tri would get good things too ; ; ) and hopefully tri and peo will actually get scenes together acknowledging their relationship as sisters (esp as it was alluded to in last years peo! gosh i hope so pls.) bc b4 screwed them over (esp tri) big time with its fruitless and nonsensical “plot twists”

-another thing that im really happy abt is that the temptri stories (except b3 for... reasons) tend to not involve the main cast of the game, which honestly is a breath of fresh air. b2′s one was horrendous bc of the dragons and the retcons, but it could have been so much worse. 3′s too if im being honest. e irs obsession w the main cast is... very regrettable but also understandable, so it wasnt too much detracting imo. im just hoping they keep this up with b4 and dont fucking involve those horrible and ridiculous “plot twists” from book 4. can we please just fucking forget any shitty changeling stories/plotlines in any media ever pls. (except m l p. youre cool you can stay. cough cough unrealistic expectations for this kind of story cough cough)

-that being said plumie + peo is hilarious and sweet. plumie calling her a little petal or something is so funny/cute. and my kasuplumie shipper heart is like “aw plumie took up nicknaming people from kasumi!” like this is character development done right take notes b2 temptri. i think itll be really wholesome if they do end up being the ascendants for this year, seeing them become friends. i would have liked tri but i feel like it also fits as the two of them are the more active of their groups (mira is really passive, and i feel like tri is more distant than aggressive like plumie is). so plumie being super jaded and scornful + peo being really caring with no strings attached and self sacrificing will be really wholesome to see if it comes to pass

-new character: interesting that theyre a rearmed but ok saitama face. people are saying maybe 4/5 next but i feel like it could be 17 (and add less royalty characters- maybe one of the younger siblings, the player character, side characters/enemy only? morion pls im politely asking). i think the best case scenario is theyre the queen from the past, that would be wholesome to have her actually meet kind friends in the alfr. kinda like another character i dont really have anything against her when she was a child- she kidnapped and forced children to work for her just bc they were poor and from a bad home life as an adult, but as a child she was abused by her peers and only treated well by her brother bc he wanted to marry her off to them. like her actually meeting nice people and getting standards would be great but idk if itll happen.

-also just fucking release that dirtbag in the next mythic. just let the memes die. im sick of this guy and ive been sick of him for years. glad hes not much plot relevant.

tldr the good news is i get to save orbs bc i spent them all on not getting shez wooo (sarcasm) (also donny is so pure im so glad hes the free unit!!!! get hype!!!)

[karmawillcollectyourdebt]

Queer coding and Queer characters

So, I know that we as the DC fandom are ESTACTIC about the Joker/Batman being more seen, Harley leaving Joker and going to Ivy for a relationship, and Tim/Bernard, and Jon/Jay

But as a long time DC fan, I feel like Tim....wasn't the right character, like I understand that Tim is a fan favorite- but I don't think it fit him.

Or at least not when it came in to play, because as a queer person I am of the stance of Bi/Pan is the default because it gives more story telling abilities but- that's just me.

But you know who I think was ready for that, who could actually be there for that development, and who has so much potential behind it?

Dick Grayson.

And people are going to rage at me, but it would mean so much more from him than from Tim. From the beginning of his character Dick was always the one who defied the rules, it was him who made Batman soften from his violence, it was him who made the title, it was him who made the hard choices with Tim and Damien.

It's always been him. And it would mean so much if he got that kind of freedom, because if Dick would get to come out as anything it would show how he's growing as a person, because at his core he still follows Bruce, he isn't free from it yet, he doesn't feel like his own hero yet, he feels like robin who's wearing a new suit.

Which as someone who adores Dick is super upsetting. Dick even though he is the oldest and the furthest from being robin- he still acts like a robin.

And I will say that Tim has this problem as well. But Tim is also still a kid, Timelines are rough but he's 17(ish) so its expected that he's still attached to the mantle of Robin, but Dick is 23 and still feels like he's in the shadow of Robin.

But if we could have Dick growing as a character and realize things about himself- it would allow him to grow as a character, Nightwing is his own hero, but right now it feels like 'Robin who got bigger'

I don't know, I just think that having the first Robin come out would mean more than the third, because it also helps older comic fans see themselves in the DC universe.

I went on for a while, but my point is the Dick Grayson would mean more than Tim, Tim should've gotten more development before he came out, it would've hit harder-

-but damn are Tim and Bernard cute together

*frustrated DC fan noises*

[propaganda-for-poets]

Bestie pls can I have some Chameron headcanons?? I'm desperate honestly it's a problem. You don't have to btw.

bestie. of course. my old newsies mutuals may have noticed that i do this thing where i enter a fandom and suddenly i can only talk about one specific ship, yeah that ship here happens to be chameron and i am always more than happy to talk about them.

let's just do some nice happy headcannons today bc a couple days ago i wrote a fic about charlie leaving welton and i've decided i officially need a break from angst, alright

IN FACT YOU KNOW WHAT let's make them post-welton !!!!!! y'know after all the poets including neil graduate and keating never gets fired as always since that is the canon ending of the movie, nothing bad happens ever.

okay so.

charlie and cameron have been rooming together since year 1, it's kinda the end of an era that they're now both supposed to move into separate apartments and they're both really sad about it but refuse to say anything

you think this wouldn't be a problem for two people who have been dating for a year and shared a dorm since they were children, so they can easily move in together, but this is charlie and cameron communication kings so obviously they're being stubborn and aren't saying anything

and they just spend their last weeks at welton all like

"yeah yeah i wonder who's gonna help you find your stuff when you're not living with me anymore,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,cause like you won't. in a few weeks you won't."

"come on stop studying and talk to me i'm bored" "well soon you won't be able to talk to me whenever you want. because i will be in a different place. like i'll no longer be around 24/7."

"you know you better treasure these last moments you get to see me. cause after we graduate who knows when you'll see me again,,,,," "okay, charlie that's a little dramatic, you're not leaving the country-" "i'll be gone, cam, very soon. forever." "you won't be-" "i mean god knows where i'll be-"

it ends up being charlie who asked (i wrote about that here !) and so we have charlie and cameron sharing an apartment :)

both of them get into harvard because,,, that's welton boys for you of course literally the entire school makes the ivy league. cameron's literally smart as shit he can make whatever school he wants and charlie,,, well charlie has a lot of money.

i'm kidding i'm kidding, charlie's no doofus and attending welton is already a good look for any university, charlie can definitely make harvard on his own if he could survive welton but y'know being filthy rich wasn't exactly a disadvantage

charlie will always show cameron off all like "my boyfriend goes to harvard you know !!!!!!!!" and cameron's like "char,,,, so do you,,,,,,,"

but y'all don't care about who goes where i'm aware of this, let's get into the apartment shenanigans

okay, sharing a dorm for years in welton definitely had its advantages because there's none of those annoying habits of someone's you only start noticing after you're under the same roof, like leaving their clothes on the floor or playing music too loudly, they're already aware of all that stuff, they don't care anymore

they do have their own rooms now, but it doesn't matter a lot because they keep just falling asleep together on the couch.

most of the time cameron will just wake up in the middle of the night and attempt to take charlie to his room but he's learned overtime that charlie will just whine and complain until he stays with him so he ends up just taking him to his own room in the first place

slowly it becomes less "cameron's room" and more "their room", the other room just kinda stays there.

cameron is a GOD TIER cook we'e been over this but somehow they only take advantage of that skill of his on really??? questionable occasions?????

like they'll order chinese from the place down the street for dinner but if cameron wakes up to find charlie in the kitchen at 3 am munching on a piece of toast he'll be like "okay let's make some onion soup."

midnight snacks are for amateurs. here we have midnight meals.

they bake together a lot, though. whenever they find time cameron will just whip out a recipe and they'll bake something together, and they'll be very couple-y and disgusting while doing it too

of course it always resorts in them making a big mess

"charlie. charie stop putting your hands in the brownie mix."

"okay, fine."

"charlie, your hand's still in there, stop it."

"or else what, what're you gonna d- WH- DID YOU JUST THROW AN EGG AT ME WHAT THE FUCK"

then they'll have to spend the entire afternoon cleaning up the kitchen

"what're you laughing about now, dalton?"

"you have flour on your cheek."

"and whose fault is that?"

"stop being annoying, you're cute right now"

"oh yeah?"

"mhm, yeah."

cameron overworks himself a lot and a lot of times charlie will get up late at night to find him still studying

he'll always go up to him like "cam, tf. it's four in the morning. come to bed."

"i just have to get this finished."

"well, okay, i'll just stay up with you until you go to sleep."

"charlie that's not healthy you need to-,,,,,,,,,,oh you're evil, dalton, threatening me with your own well-being."

"damn right i am, now go to sleep."

okay we all know charlie. we know how he is. so it's no surprise to anyone that it didn't take long for him to bring a random stray animal into the house

cameron just comes back from class to see charlie with a tiny ginger car.

"cam, you're back-"

"nope. not happening, take it back."

"hey, it is a she, and i love her now."

"no, no you don't, she's going back."

"i can't i'm attached to her! look at her! she's adorable, she's my new favorite ginger."

",,,,,, okay now she's definitely going back."

she did not go back.

charlie named her arabella and cameron insisted she was annoying and always wanted attention and wouldn't let him study

"hey, you said the exact same things about me and you love me now, give her time!"

"i don't love you right now."

"well, i love you a lot. and i love her too, she's part of the house now."

",,,,,,,god, fine, you're lucky you're my weakness. i'll tolerate her."

one time charlie returned from class to find cameron sleeping on the couch with arabella on his lap.

he never hears the end of it once he's awake

"so, how's hating her going for you, richard?"

"shut up, she's warm."

"so you no longer despise my cat? because she's warm?"

"first of all she's our cat i don't clean cat fur all over the house for her to be your cat and,,,, she's not all that bad."

[voidstilesplease]

ELITE: Season 1 (Episode 1) Summary & Notes

*of course this contains spoilers*

Episode Title: Welcome

Summary: After a public high school collapses, the builder tries to repair its image by paying for three impacted students to attend an exclusive private school. (description straight from Netflix)

EH!:

Starts very dramatically, but I’m really oddly.... into it? Right off the bat, you see a crime scene; you see blood, you see the police getting involved… basically, you see the deal. Someone’s dead. Could be anyone, and the killer could be anyone as well. You might be attached to the dead person by the end of the season, or rooting for the killer all along. Who knows. And I love that.

The outside shot of the school is gorgeous. I don't know what I expected, since it's literally supposed to be an ELITE school, but yeah. I was very impressed.

Another really impressive thing is: Nadia. I just love the girl. I don't know how to express it in words. I just do. I want more of her.

“When your name is Nadia Shanaa, you better know what can get you expelled.” HOOOO THIS LINE. The connotation of this line is of course not the least bit amusing, but I love how homegirl came prepared. Lmao. Like, 'I'm already here. I'm not going out. None of y'all rich brats will make me. This is my shot, and I'm not throwing it away.'

On a similar note, Samuel’s introduction to the class is *chef’s kiss*. Though it’s self-deprecating, I think it’s the perfect way to show that he’s unfazed by the prejudice from them wealthy kids. That makes him kinda the opposite of Nadia because homegirl wants that trophy and the Ivy League, I can already tell, and she lets them know it - but I’d like to interpret Samu as kind of passive-aggressive, at least? Might actually not be the case, of course, and Samu’s really just this gentle dude who stays away from confrontations, but I still enjoyed the clap back when it happened.

And this one, lol. Okay. I knew there was gonna be lots of sex and nudity in this show (hello, Manu freaking Rios seduced me into doing this) but in the case that I didn’t, I think it’s…… very considerate of Netflix to let us know that they’re not gonna be shy from showing asses and breasts in this series. And sixteen-year-olds having sex in the goddamn shower. Christ. (I mean. Why am I surprised anyway? I just said Manu Rios made me do this, and his character's probably the STAR of the boys locker 🤣) Anyway....

Marina is cool, I guess… That thing about her STD is terrible irl, but an interesting plot point for the series imo. It sheds light to her rebellious streak and why she kinda has issues with her parents and Guzman who's really overprotective of her.... I don't know? Will that be important? Will she, like, infect someone? Will that somehow play into the main plot?

ALSO, important note: Ander is my male eye candy this ep, lol. He's really cute.

THE DEAD BODY REVEAL AT THE END WTF. Is this how it’s gonna be for the next seasons? Because I am shooketh. I didn't expect to know who died so early. But thanks, ig? Lol. Now I know not to invest my emotions in Marina 😂.

MEH?:

All right, I don’t hate Christian, but I strongly dislike him the first second he’s on-screen. Maybe he came on too strong? Idk. He just felt forced somehow? Although I admit the walking naked in the corridor scene was hilarious, I'm still not sold. He is very imposing in a very annoying way. Can’t even really blame Guzman for being an asshole to him lol. This brings us to the next bullet:

Guzman is an asshole. He has reasons I’m sure, and he’ll eventually drop from the high horse, but for now…. he's meh to me.

NO. They did not call the hijab an accessory. Yo, wtf is that? And they also threatened Nadia’s wearing it as a probable ground for expulsion? YO, that’s not cool. They should reevaluate that handbook and make it more open to diversity. Like??? Honestly, fuck you, ma’am.

Yooooo Samu’s older brother is a trouble-maker. And not the type that I enjoy, too. Not against it, I love trouble-makers as much as the next bitch, but I just haven’t found the reason to appreciate him? I’m sure I’ll figure out where he stands in the next episodes because he seems like an important part of the big picture. But in this ep? Nuh. No. Bye.

I'm just gonna come out and say it: I hate Lu. Which is the same reason why I should have loved her, in this backward logic of mine. And actually, she was part of my EH!s. Until that racist comment to Nadia. They’re just really bothered by her hijab huh.

Polo is hella attractive but idk wtf’s up with him? And Carla, too. Their relationship was ????? Voyeurism and consensual cheating are common kinks in the many fandoms I’ve been in (and read fics for), but…… that sex scene between Christian and Carla with Polo watching through a mirror was really lmfao ?????

Finally, I am NOT a fan of the attraction between Nano and Marina. Not at all. But I guess nothing comes out of it in the end, right, or at least nothing that lasts into the second season. Because, well…. The DEAD BODY REVEAL lol. That’s good. Perfect. But as long as Marina’s alive, and I guess she will be until the last episode, a relationship forming between her and Samu’s brother is not impossible. And that’s what I’m most dreadful about. Because I can already see it happening asgbfdhfdj. And I don’t wanttttttttt.

Standout character of the episode: Nadia

Character idfc about: Christian???

Overall: I think it's a very solid pilot episode!

Gonna do two or more episodes at a time in the next. I'm excited!!! And I wanna add screenshots, but Netflix doesn't allow it 😒

[pumpkinpot]

Hoshi

A/N: this is part of the Citrus Dome Sci-Fi collab. this is also pure fluff. no smut, no real angst. just spooky summer vibes and poly love. I hope you enjoy. (I’m sorry for grammatical errors in advance.)

synopsis: since beginning your relationship with Katsuki Bakugou and Ochako Uraraka you’ve developed a love for exploring abandon places with them whenever you three have time to explore. This time, so happens to land on a derelict observatory. (additional head canons for this story on my tik tok under pumpkinpots)

“It says here it was abandoned in the mid-nineteenth century due to the spike in light pollution with the growth of the city,” you say, pointing to the dome at the peak of the building. “All of the mobile telescopes were transferred to the university's observatory, while this placed rotted away.

Uraraka half listens, levitating sheetrock from the doorway and discarding them in the nearby field.

“Why just abandon it?” Katsuki asks, fiddling with varying lenses in his camera bag. “Couldn’t this have been a museum or something?”

“Yeah,” you agree, shifting a glance to make sure Uraraka doesn’t need help. “It looks like it was bought by a merchant in the eighties who wanted to turn it into a house, but he was indicted for tax evasion before the renovations ever finished. It hasn’t been touched since.” 

He scoffs with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “Rich idiots.”

Uraraka brushes specks of dust off her palms across her cut-off shorts before urging us alone. “Shall we?” 

It takes two and a half pushes to nudge the door wide enough to squeeze through. The observatory opens to us with a groan of whining metal and the scratch of loose dirt on concrete. 

Centered in the main foyer, a gaping mural of blue and white cobblestone depicts a dusty map of astrology stars. 

Katsuki has to be coaxed with a promise to be flashed to pose under the Taurus constellation for a picture, meanwhile, Uraraka floats just above Pisces with a cute puffy cheeked expression. 

Names, small sayings, and symbols decorate the wall in vibrant graffiti, the place a cocktail of color and wild Ivy.

"It's a lot more lit than I thought I'd be," Uraraka says, stuffing her flashlight into her bag. 

Katuski keeps the light attached to his camera lit as he weaves in and out of rooms, zooming in on old books and broken equipment. 

We follow him through a puzzle of what seemed to be living quarters and small classrooms, ending in a half oval auditorium. 

At the center of the stage a white globe balances on a pillar of cement. 

“What’s this?” Uraraka asks. 

You touch where someone had attempted to derail the sphere like a baseball before trailing your eyes above the layered seating. “It's a projector ball. Technicians would likely project light from there into the ball to make it seem like the planet or star they were studying. That's why it's,” you knock on the sphere's cool solid surface. “Crystal.”

Uraraka shines her phone’s light into it, the shattered pieces reflecting shapes in a dim glow.

Katsuki points the camera into the orb, the bluish tint reminds you of the similar one in the abandoned lighthouse you’d explored with them two years ago. Though that one would have lit from the inside. 

Quickly you explore the base and second levels, eager to get to the actual observatory. It's evident where the renovations to make this a home had been started and never finished. Small cracks in the floor, sealed with caulk, loose wooden planks pillaring knocked in walls. 

It could have been a beautiful home, you think to yourself. 

Up the second flight of stairs gradually more and more light fills the space until you are bathed in the orange glow of early dusk. A large open scare slits the dome, edging with rust and ivy. The circular room holds nothing of true value, nothing left behind but broken tables and a ladder to the viewing balcony tailing the opening of the dome. 

“The big telescope that would have been here-” Uraraka says, fiddling with the screw holes in the floor, “- would have been a refracting telescope. It uses small bits of glass to magnify what you’re looking at, then is bent back through the telescope hitting the eyepiece. The other kind is a reflector,” she continues, “It's got a primary mirror at the bottom of the lens into a second mirror than a third eyepiece mirror. This one is mostly used to see the different parts of a star to see what it's made out of.”

Katsuki and you exchange looks of pure astonishment. "how do you know all this?" you ask.

She fishes a gum wrapper from one of the holes, tossing it to the side. “Before I was accepted into UA I was really considering going into astronomy. I thought it fit so well with my quirk, but the courses were too expensive.” 

"More expensive than UA?" Katuski asks, refocusing his camera. 

She nods, seeming just as dumbfounded as us. 

“Do you think it could work on my explosions?”

“If you were in space maybe,” you hypothesize, “but in that case, we probably wouldn’t see it for a long while.” 

He seems semi disappointed as if his evening plans had been somehow derailed.

You run your hands across the walls of the dome, dusk sun baking its metal frame like a soup pot. 

For a moment you just watch them. It’d been so long since the opportunity arose for the three of you to go exploring. With you still temporarily stationed in the American hero commission and those two workings in Japan it was rare to find time to skype let alone go on adventures. You were lost in the bliss of having your partners so near without having to scream about a lost wifi connection when your hand hit something protruding from the wall.

“What are these?” you ask, inspecting circular gears attached to a crank.

“It looks like the wheel to turn the dome,” Uraraka says.

Katsuki zooms in on the puzzle of rigid plates. “This bitch turns?” 

“Yeah, that slit doesn't move so the dome has to, to accommodate where in the sky they were looking.” 

Katsuki fingers the gears a moment, mapping its track all across the sphere. He traces along the parts not layered in rust until he’s back at the start. “Do you think it still works?” 

“Not without some serious lube and strong arms.”

“We’re one for two,” you suggest. 

Katsuki hands over his camera to Uraraka, positioning himself opposite you to push the lever, while you pull left.

At first, the dial stays put, its stance unforgiving, but after a bit more pull than push a deafening whine reverberating through the entire observatory. 

No visible move happens until the second crank roundabout when the shift of light against concrete becomes clear.

Katsuki’s eyes light with sheer amazement as the entire dome rotates around you. We are halfway through a full rotation before Uraraka shouts for you to stop. 

You push on the lever stilling its movements as quickly as you can.

She holds a finger head tilted to the side. “Do you hear that?” 

Your breath balloons in your chest as you lean in closer. The tiniest of whimpers echo around the dome from the viewing balcony. 

One after another you file up the ladder, hopping on the edge of the dome. Balancing on the concrete crease between the moving track and the rest of the building you search for the sound. 

“Here!” Uraraka yells from the other side.

 You sprint as much as you dare, teetering along the two-story edge. 

She squats over the body of a squirming animal, a tuft of fur caught in the track of the dome's rotation. She coddles its little frame, before reaching a hand out to you. “Y/n, your knife-”

Hesitantly you hand it over. She snips away the stuck pieces muttering thanks that none of the actual tail got caught. She folds the blade back into itself, pinching leaves and sticks from the animal's fur and tossing them over the side. 

She holds it up, floppy ears and a black nose making it a nearly recognizable creature. A puppy. 

He looks to be light brown, but that could be the soot. 

Katsuki checks around the dome for any signs of a litter or mamma, before joining us with a shake of his head. 

The pup squirms and with an open mouth, letting all sorts of noises tumble from his dirt-covered tongue. 

Uraraka floats the puppy to the floor of the dome, as we file down the ladder. You empty the contents of your water bottle into a cup for drinking and the rest onto its back for cooling.  

His fur peaks through white and brown spotted under layers of grime. 

“Well,” Uraraka says, “we’ve been talking about wanting to expand our family.” 

“I suppose there’s no better place to start,” you add, both of us looking to Katsuki for consensus.

He passes glances between the three of us. “Fine, but I get to name it.”

“Alright, but we get veto power.” 

“Explosion-”

“Veto,” you say in unison. 

He looks around puffy-lipped. “I didn't even get to finish.” 

“Explosion nothing,” Uraraka clarifies. 

He’s silent for a long moment looking around the space. “Hoshi?.” 

“Star?” you confirm.

“This observatory was used to study the stars, wasn’t it?” He bats.

You and Uraraka exchange a satisfied, yet surprised look. You hadn’t expected something so- normal. This is after all the same man that made you name your golden pothos “boom boom boi” in his honor. 

“I like it,” you say.

“Approved,” adds Uraraka. 

We better take our picture before it gets too dark,” he says, turning away so you can’t see the blush on his cheeks. He switches out his filming camera for a smaller polaroid, propping it up on the edge of a broken table. 

He runs back as the timer ticks down. He slides to your right side, Uraraka on your left. Their arms link behind you as you hold Hoshi up to your mid-chest. Clicking down from five you all give your cheesiest grins. A rectangular card spits from the bottom of the camera. 

Ochaco shakes it a few times, swapping you a picture, for a puppy. 

You wait for the picture to pixelate before opening the ninety-cent notebook of film slips and position it in the next available spot.

Urarka’s cut-off shorts and Katsuki's tanned shoulders are a stark contrast to the puffy blue coat and chunky knit beanie from the last abandoned mansion expedition last time. Before that, the three of us accidentally matched our windbreakers to Midoryia during a tour of The Ghost Candy Shop in Kyoto. We look like a group of tourists. 

The small book seemed to be filling quickly despite the rareness of time to get away. Memories pile up from when it was just Uraraka and Katsuki to when you became a staple to their adventures. They’d given you responsibility for the book to garner your importance to them in their relationship until the reasoning for the gift became nothing more than routine. You were theirs, and they were yours. 

Now a new member had sprouted in your little family, and if you squinted, you could imagine the rest of the pages being filled with the pup in aged years to maybe more as time goes on.

 Right now, you were happy with the three and a half of you.

[painting-wings]

Secret garden | ASTRO |

Description: You knew about a secret garden that had the most beautiful flowers and the rarest of flowers but there was something interesting with the people who looked after them. 

Warnings: None

Astro x fem reader

M.list

A/N: *fun fact this story has been sitting in my drafts* but Here it is a short drabble of the events inspired by the song and video ( all night )  enjoy! 

                                                            ****

Everyday on your walk to work you always pass this greenhouse, it’s big and grand. Inside is always filled with healthy plants that hug the glass windows, attached is a small house which is consumed in vines and ivy. It looks aesthetically pleasing, but today you wanted to know what was inside. 

Walking past the stone wall that guarded the greenhouse, you notice the tall iron gate wide open. A stone path that seemed very inviting almost like the yellow brick road, looking around and peering into the garden you notice that there is no one around, just as you're about to leave and carry on your day a small whisper of your name catches your attention. 

“Hello?” you say as you take a small step into the garden, walking over the threshold you feel a soft wind swirl around you intoxicating you with a sweet smell of flowers. Gently pushing open one of the glass doors of the green house you are amazed at how beautiful this place was. 

Hand carved stone path that had swirls of patterns made by different colour stones, hues of green from the shrubbery as well as splashes of pink, red and purple, walking around this wonderland of perfect plants there is a fountain in the middle, the bottom is a pond while the other tiers of the fountain are consumed by lavender and soft pink carnation flowers. 

Captured in its beauty you knew this was trespassing on someone's land as well as home, looking around one last time you hear some soft talking as well as clinking of glassware. Timidly you go in further to investigate, peering over one of the large bushes of a flower you never seen before, there was a boy wearing a white flowy shirt and beige pants his dark hair contrasting with the vibrant colours around him as he looks at some light purple substance in a test tube. As well as other glassware with more unusual substances in them. 

To be oblivious you did not feel the new body that was standing next to you. “Can I help you miss?” a soft voice spoke, making you gasp and jump back nearly falling into a bush. 

“I - I am so sorry” you speak as you try to compose yourself. 

“Sorry for what?” he speaks again but this time it’s not the flowers that are holding the beauty, another dark haired boy, wearing a pastel rose shirt, matching pants. His features look like they were blessed from heaven. 

“I’m trespassing...I’m sorry, I walk past here everyday and your flowers always look so beautiful anyway I should really go” in a flustered state you go to walk past him but he gently grabs your wrist. 

“Miss please stay, no one said you were trespassing and if you like the garden so much feel free to look around i’m sure the other boys won’t mind” he spoke giving you a smile that melted your heart. 

“Other boys?” you mumble, as this mysterious guy leads you up some stone steps into another part of the green house, this time it looks more like a conservatory. 

Inside the flowers and plants still follow as the floral pattern on the furniture matches the plants consuming the walls. “I didn’t get your name?” he asks you. 

“Y/n my name is Y/n and yours?” you ask him as he takes your hand gently kissing the back of your hand. 

“Cha Eunwoo nice to meet you Y/n. would you like to meet the other boys?” Eunwoo asks as your face is probably as read as the rose bush next to you, giving him a slow nod.

Turning the corner you see a boy similar to Eunwoo but he has pink hair, wearing the same colour clothing. He looks peaceful with his eyes closed, that is until you approach his eyes gently open to reveal bright blue eyes. 

“Cha Eunwoo who’s your friend” he speaks giving you slight shivers as his cat shaped eyes look fondly at you. 

“This is y/n and she was admiring the garden we have” Eunwoo spoke “Y/n meet Moonbin” you give him a small wave as he lounged on the floral sofa they have giving you a smirk. 

You felt Eunwoo gently grab your elbow as he led out of back into the main garden area, taking in more of the unusual plant life, the soft lighting made everything look like a dream from Eunwoo pastel coloured shirt that flowed as he walked, and also his dreamy looks. 

Eunwoo took you to another part of the greenhouse tucked into the corner was iron railings that went up and over into a curve creating a cosy hiding place filled to the brim of a rose wall, in the middle was a table with beautifully designed glassware. But sitting at the table was another boy, he looked younger, he had a cuteness to him. Watching him intently he held something in his hands, to your curiosity yourself and Eunwoo walked in.

“Sanha, this is Y/n she came to admire our beautiful garden” Eunwoo spoke as Sanha placed a goldfish into a cup of water, you wanted to question his choice but decided not to, Sanha looked up at you and smiled. 

“Hai! I’m Sanha, thank you for liking our garden” his smile is bright as you smile back. Before you get a chance to ask him anything you hear someone coming up behind you and Eunwoo. 

“Eunwoo, Sanha and friend I’m Mj nice to meet you” Mj says brightly as his smile has an effect on you, making you feel warm and happy inside. Enwoo gives a small wave, “what are you doing Mj?” Eunwoo asks Mj as he holds up the basket filled with lemons. 

“I was going to make some fresh lemonade, have you seen Rocky yet I need to ask him a few things.” 

Eunwoo plucked a pink flower from one of the bushes nearby as he twisted it between his fingers, giving a sigh “No I haven’t seen him but I assume he is with Jinjin.” You looked at his side profile and was still in awe by his features, you still believed that this was a dream, how have you walked into this mystical place with the most handsomest people, it was definitely a fairytale dream. 

“Y/n I think you meet the other two” Eunwoo speaks softly, again gently grabbing your elbow “I think I saw one of the others, he had dark hair and was doing some chemistry?” You question as Eunwoo gives a small smile, “Ah yes that would be Rocky he is our Botanist” you must’ve given Eunwoo a puzzled look as he let out a small breathy laugh, “Botanist is someone who studies plants and experiments with them, Come I will show you” being led off to the other side of the green house near to where you first saw Rocky, hearing the clinking of glassware, the small sound of something bubbling over and the delicate smell of flowers hung in the air. 

You had a sense of déjà vu when you saw Rocky again but now you knew his name, you stood behind Eunwoo timidly peeking from behind him, Rocky looked so intently on the glass beaker that had purple liquid in it, swirling it around, “Rocky, are you busy?” Eunwoo spoke as Rocky glanced over, slowly placing down the beaker, his face held little emotion, his eyes flickered over to you, studying you as you slowly slipped out from behind Eunwoo’s shadow. 

“No I’m not busy” his voice was calm, “who is the guest?” he questioned; Eunwoo placed a hand on your shoulder pushing you forward “Rocky meet Y/n” you gave a small wave feeling somewhat of an intimidation from Rocky as he gave a small nod of the head. “Not much of a talker” you mumbled. “I’d rather observe” he replied, you clenched your jaw, casting your eyes away from his not wanting to feel intimidated.

 The room was silent for a moment as a new voice came out of nowhere, “I wouldn’t take it too personally Rocky isn’t much of a talker” the voice was slow, you spun around to see a guy with pink hair sitting up in a tree, reading a book. “You must be Jinjin'' you blurted as he gave a smile “how do you know?” he asked again with a smirk growing on his face, “I just guessed and you're the last one I haven’t met yet” you replied seeing Jinjin’s eyes light up, jumping down from the tree you noticed that he was slightly shorter than his other friends. “Well now that you have why don’t you stay for dinner?” Jinjin proposed kindly taking your hand, you glanced down at your now entwined hands and you felt a blush slowly pink your cheeks. 

“I, well I should really be going I was only stopping by-” “it's already noon”  Eunwoo spoke over you as your eyes widened, looking down at the watch on your wrist it read 2:30pm, realisation started to catch up with you as it was only morning when you first wondered in and you was only having a quick glance, with all these thoughts building, you became overwhelmed and then 

You blacked out. 

                                                           --

Your eyes slowly opened, everything was bright, when they adjusted you was in a white room with vines climbing the walls as they were decorated with pink flowers of various shades, you was laying on a big bed, lifting your head up looking around the minimal room, your eyes landed on a figure sitting in a bathtub in the corner of the room. Confused was an understatement, sitting up in the bed you soon realised that it was Moonbin sitting in the bathtub, you watched him slip under the water. Panic set in as you jumped out of the bed and over to the tub to see him under and the water filled with flower petals, just as you went to grab him his eyes opened and he broke the surface.  

“Moonbin!” you panicked, held his head down low watching the water roll off his body “you never seen someone take a bath before?” he questioned, glancing up at you with his cat eyes, “you take baths in your clothes” you deadpanned watching him break out into a laugh. “Hahaha...no maybe I should take my shirt off,” he began to unbutton his shirt, squirming as you placed your hands over your eyes, “NO! No no keep the shirt on I will find you a new one- a dry one!”  running out of the room and down the corridor you soon noticed that you don’t know where you are going and that the walls were glass with unusual flowers behind them.

“Oh Y/n your up” a voice behind you as you whipped around and saw it was Mj “oh MJ hi..i’m a little lost” you spoke as Mj broke out his beaming smile, “no worries Y/n I will help, did Moonbin wake you?” he asked “Erm..yea but does he normally take baths in this clothes?” you questioned. Mj shook his head and sighed “I need to remind him to stop doing that, the others are in the downstairs if you wanted to be with them” you nodded as then being escorted towards the room where the rest of them were. Coming down a spiraling staircase, into a grand foyer with a large chandelier hanging in the centre of the dome ceiling, that was framed by four pillars. Going through a large grey door you see the rest of the boys lounging on sofas, the first to your surprise was Rocky who spoke first. 

“Y/n how are you?” as he flashed a smile, that made you melt on the inside, trying to form words you stood there looking like a fish with your bobbing mouth, Sanha giggled “looks like she fell under the rocky swag spell” Eunwoo playfully punched Sanha in the arm making him squeak. 

“I’m fine thank you Rocky” you replied as his smile grew and he nodded, satisfied with your answer.

“Y/n we hope you’re feeling better, we’d hate for you to be ill” Eunwoo spoke as he gestured to the seat beside him. “I’m fine, really I think it’s because I forgot to eat” you explained as you now took a seat. It was comfortable sitting with them as the silence was soon broken by Mj and Moonbin entering, your eyes widened as Moonbin came in shirtless, you squeaked as Eunwoo placed his hand over your eyes. “Moonbin not in front of the guest.”

Moonbin smirked as Mj handed him a shirt to slip on, conveniently he decided not to button it, as he sat across from you, Eunwoo removed his hand when he thought was clear, as you looked over to Moonbin, who bit his bottom lip and raised an eyebrow at you, looking like a gaping fish again, you just wanted the sofa to eat you up so he couldn’t see your blush. 

“Y/n what was the real reason for you coming here today?” Jinjin spoke as you looked over to him sitting in a singular arm chair, you’d admit he looked like a king the way he held himself in the chair, not like the chill laid back guy from when you first met. 

“Well I always walk past on my way to work and I see the beautiful flowers and it smells amazing and well...curiosity got the better of me” you shrugged as the boys all agreed, 

“Well Y/n you're more than welcome to come back anytime” Mj said as he gave you another infectious smile. “Oh thank you guys it really means a lot, erm if you excuse me I must really get home” you said as you prepared to leave, Eunwoo got up to escort you out.

Walking back through the greenhouse it looked a lot different at night than it did in the day, now it was filled with fairy lights, the soft glow made it feel cosy, turning around to say goodbye to Eunwoo you noticed that all of them are there, you smiled “thank you guys for a lovely day and again the garden is beautiful.” 

“Our pleasure Y/n” Jinjin said giving you a small smile and wave, you opened the gate to go taking one last glance behind you, they all waved and smiled. 

And that you left the garden, Eunwoo looked up into the star filled sky, sighing,

 “Such a goodnight.”

[darkhymns-fic]

There's a sweetness to you

With a basket full of fresh strawberries, Colette takes a little detour outside of Iselia to make her sales until a strange dog leads her down a path to an out-of-the-way farmhouse - and to a gentle-eyed farmhand, whose smile lights something in her chest.

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters/Pairing: Lloyd Irving/Colette Brunel Rating: G Mirror Link: AO3 Notes: Fic request for @frayed-symphony​ based on this art of colloyd in a farmer AU! Expect fluff.

-

Colette found her bravery underneath the sinking sun, and all when she met Lloyd for the first time.

The farmhouse was a bit out of ways from her own, just a few miles over by the hillside, past the brush where some ranchers brought their cattle to graze during the hot summer months. It was so out of the way, that she wasn’t sure if it even had an address?

There’re no roads over here… And try as she might, she could see no signposts anywhere that indicated she was still going in the right direction. Only the landmarks of the small trickle of a river that curved by her left, and where the fields of wheat stalks rolled out before her by the hillside, like a shimmering sea of gold.

It had been quite an ordeal to get here…

Colette had stumbled numerous times on her journey, boots scraped in both mud and grass stains, her twin-plaited hair dangerously close to unraveling. Even her overalls had gotten a rip or two on its front, making her look as if she had just gotten into a fight with a bush and lost (which had basically happened.)

Every part of her showed the fatigue of her trek – everything except for what she held in her hands. Somehow, the basket full of strawberries looked as fresh and unharmed as when she had first picked them that morning. Which was good! Because no one would want to buy any bruised strawberries, that was for sure.

Though maybe going out of her way to this solitary farmhouse out in the country may not have been the smartest decision...

Colette would have given up then and there, her basket still feeling quite heavy in her grip, if it weren’t for the dog that walked into her path. A dog with great big ears, a fluffy tail, and an intelligent look in his black eyes.

Just like that, Colette’s strength was instantly regenerated. “D-doggy!” she blurted out, her mind going in circles as it tried to process this new, amazing information. “Wait… are you the doggy from the place I was trying to find…?”

It was almost like something from a fairy tale, the dog, nearly up to her chest in height, tilting his head at her question. He didn’t wait long, already trotting off down the dirt-trodden path ahead, looking back to her with eager whines. Colette’s strength was instantly refueled at the sight, so she followed after the animal quickly, suddenly going over the dips in the road with expert grace, all while dozens of strawberries bounced in her basket.

She then heard the passing of a river, full and brimming instead of a meek string of puddles, its clearness shining underneath the deepening twilight. Right next to the river was the very farmhouse she had been looking for – though it looked more like regular home that was three stories tall, complete with a balcony where ivy clung to its railing. It was a structure crafted from oak, with a stable attached to its side, a sign hanging from above it on creaking hinges.

On its face was the design of something familiar – and she looked to the green-furred dog then who had led her here, seeing his face on that very same sign.

By then she looked further, at the wooden posts that encircled the farm and its land. At the animals that ran across the grass, at the adorable way they barked and yipped, and soon Colette realized that the sounds she had thought she heard in the breeze had not been wishful thinking then.

There are so many dogs! she thought in complete awe, eyes opened wide. Dogs of all shapes and sizes! From short and stout corgis to furry huskies to gentle bloodhounds, and even to mixed breeds with all their wonderful features. Was this… a doggy farm?!

And in the midst of all that, she saw a boy – a red handkerchief tied around his neck, his forehead beaded with sweat from the heat. He wore black suspenders, along with thick work boots and gloves as he held up one tiny, black-furred dog over his head, while others milled around his legs. There was a smile on his face as he held up the animal. “Feeling better today, Noishe junior?”

Her first thought, after her own wonder at the farm and the animals they cared for, was at this boy, and how cute he seemed just then.

The dog who had led her there just then jumped over the fence posts, whining to catch the boy’s attention, along with a dozen of other dogs. Numerous furry heads turned, and Colette nearly melted at the sight of adorable furry snouts and wide black eyes, with both floppy and pointed ears to match. I wonder if I can pet them…

“Oh! Are you the strawberry girl?” Lloyd asked, plopping down the dog back on the ground to join the others. There was a mass of snuffles and yips, but he didn’t react to it. He must be so used to it , Colette thought. He’s so lucky!

“Um, yes! You’ve heard of me?” Colette’s exhaustion caught up with her again, and had just enough energy to place the strawberry basket on top of the fence post.

“Yeah, of course! My dad always says the strawberries from Iselia are really amazing!” He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand as he walked up to the fence, carefully moving around shuffling doggies, some following his every step, while others got bored and ran off to chase any wandering butterflies. Colette noted that the first few buttons of his shirt were loose, but even that wasn’t enough to stop the heat apparently. “And that they usually delivered strawberries to places too. But I can’t believe you really came out all this way! You didn’t get lost?”

Colette stood up proudly. “Nope!” she lied right through her teeth, then felt guilty at such a blatant lie. She sighed. “Actually… I did… But I was led here by your dog so I wouldn’t lose my way.” She smiled at the green-furred animal, seeing him go to that stable and curl up in the middle of it. He looked so big, big enough to carry a person!

“Oh, Noishe helped you!” The boy grinned, sunlight turning his hair several shades of bronze. It was the twilight, the way it heightened colors, burnished them in different angles. “He’s always wandering around here, but I never expected him to lead a girl to our farm… Oh, my name’s Lloyd by the way! I didn’t mean to give you my dog’s name over mine…”

Colette giggled, her chest feeling a strange sense of lightness. “That’s okay. I’m Colette! It’s nice to meet you. I can’t believe I never knew about this doggy farm…”

The boy named Lloyd placed his hands on his hips, looking particularly proud. “It’s new! This used to be just a regular place but after finding some strays around the woods, I decided to make this a farm for stray dogs everywhere! I take care of them and people come by to adopt one if they want to!” Noishe, still in his stable, then began to whine a little. “Although I think it makes Noishe kinda jealous now.”

Colette would have stood there and hear all sorts of doggy stories all day if she could. But she figured by the large gathering of dogs that ran around the great yard, some chasing each other (or their tails) while others napped in the waning sunlight, that not many people came by. Maybe if they had a sign for it somewhere…

She couldn’t help her gaze going to them, watching the way one small puppy tried to dig a hole in the ground with such a fervent zeal, as if they would find the treasure they would seek if they just dug even faster! Lloyd followed her eyes to the same dog. “Hey, careful there, Noishe the third! You’ll hurt your little paws!”

Colette blinked at the name, so familiar. “Noishe?” she asked aloud, and Lloyd suddenly looked nervous.

“Er, it’s a working name! I’m… not good at giving names, really. Not to dogs anyway.” He scratched at his cheek, facing her again, the sunlight now streaming against his face in bright strokes. “And every dog is like Noishe, so, it made sense!”

Colette couldn’t help but smile even more at his explanation, his voice so earnest and warm. She turned to look at that particular dog so obsessed with digging. At their curly, fluffy tail, their wheat-colored fur, and a face that always looked like it was smiling, no matter what it did. “Hm, but how about… Pookie? She looks like a Pookie to me.”

Lloyd paused, staring at her. “Huh, that’s not a bad name… Wait, how did you know she was a girl?” He looked back at the dog, who had dug just enough and was now laying on her back to soak up the rest of the sun before it dipped beneath the hills. “I always get confused with that stuff…”

Colette giggled again, still fiddling with the basket handle as she looked around the farm and the various dogs. “That big one over there looks like a Teddy. And the little corgi by the door feels like a Caramel. His tail is so cute! And the dalmation definitely feels like a Kitty!”

“Kitty? On a dog?” Lloyd questioned, but soon she saw the same realization in his eyes as he looked over at the same dog, who was busy gnawing at a stick. “Now that you mention it… that does fit! Heh, you’re like the ultimate dog namer, Colette!”

She instantly flushed at the comment. The sensation was similar to standing out in the sun too long, or walking up hills too high up, which she had done today… but this was different though. She was sure of it. “Thank you…”

Her gaze when downward to the strawberries, bright red still, but their shade darkening with the slow setting of the sun. “Ah, I meant to ask you though, if you wanted, um… uh oh!” She nearly dropped the strawberry basket, but just caught it in time, gripping tightly onto the handle. “Um, these? Fruit?” The word suddenly escaped her!

Lloyd started a bit at her action, hands half going for the basket as she still held it precariously. “Oh, the strawberries? Yeah, I want some! Er, actually can I have most of it?”

“Y-Yeah! Please!” Oh, and now here she was, sounding so desperate too. “I mean, I’d be happy if you could purchase these from me.”

“Hehe, well I’m kinda hungry too, and I’m sure dad would love these too.” And as Lloyd leaned in to look over her product, she could catch the way a lock of his hair fell over his forehead, the way it just begged for a hand to brush it back, to linger near his face and catch the focus of his eyes.

Colette had never felt this flighty before; her chest so close to bursting, her hands fidgeting with the basket over and over. And in the corner of her vision, so many doggies that roamed all over the grass – maybe that was the reason she felt so weak in the knees right now? That must have been it.

Lloyd reached into his pants pocket, where the sound of rustling coins followed. It took her several tries to tell him the price of a dozen strawberries, and then she had to multiply that by a few times to match the very basket… And though it took a few stumbles, they eventually got to final price. Except…

“Ah damn, I’m not sure if I have that much on me right now…” Lloyd looked at his hand where some gald lay, then reached into his other pocket. “Let me keep checking though!”

And then, an idea burst into her head. A silly idea. An awful idea. One that she could imagine her friend Zelos would come up with. Maybe it was his influence that whispered at her ear, making her consider it for longer than she should…

“300 gald…350… um, I think I have some more in my other work suit actually.”

Colette fiddled with the woven threads of the basket handle before timidly placing it back on the ground on her side of the fence posts. It was getting harder to balance it, making her arms ache. Also, she didn’t want to accidentally drop it this time… “Maybe… you can pay for the rest of these with something else?”

Lloyd raised his face to hers, blinking. “Oh? But with what?” He tilted his head the same way the dog named Noishe did, except this was a boy, and the way his hair drifted with the breeze caught her gaze just so.

So she blurted out before her fear took hold completely, her voice squeaking with every syllable. Was it the fading sun giving her courage? Was it the fatigue from traveling, making her tongue loose? “You can pay the rest with a kiss!”

Oh. Oh no that had sounded so awful coming from her.

There was still the sound of the dogs milling about the yard, some going to the stable to curl up with the giant Noishe, some resting on the grass. Colette felt the heat engulf her face, and she could only blame it on herself instead of the sun, which sank so low that only a sliver of its shine remained in the sky.

She could feel Lloyd’s stare, his confusion, and maybe his embarrassment for her. She shouldn’t be impulsive like this. “I’m sorry-”

“Okay,” came his voice, barely audible, and only through the grace of an errant breeze did she even hear him.

Colette raised her head, eyes drawn to the locks of hair that fell over his forehead, to the nervous smile on his lips. “I mean…” he started, laughter spilling all over his words. “I wouldn’t mind it! If, uh…”

This place was far away, off down a beaten path that was hidden underneath leaves and moss. She wasn’t even sure if she would ever see this same boy again, if she could even follow the twists and turns without a friendly dog to guide her. What was the chance that she would find this same place, alone within the fields?

So, she felt daring. Something about meeting Lloyd made her suddenly braver then she’d ever been.

Colette moved closer to the fence post, her boot scuffing against the wood. “Well, if you want to pay me… You should move closer!”

Another little dare, another little leap. And Lloyd met her dare with another smile, hands leaning on the fence post, slouching just a bit to match her height. “Like this?”

“Yes,” Colette whispered. She had only just met Lloyd, but the almost instinctive way she reached for his face, placing her gloved hands against his cheeks, it was natural, comfortable. “That’s perfect.”

And Lloyd didn’t move away, placing his face in her hands with complete trust. She could see the color of his eyes now, russet-brown like a dog’s fur, looking as soft as one too.

She had never kissed anyone before, so when she leaned in, she imagined a number of ways this could go wrong. A bump of their heads together, or missing his mouth by inches. But she felt warmth against her lips, the way Lloyd’s own moved over hers, mingled with the feel of his breath. She smiled into the kiss, and so did he, along with a smattering of giggles that escaped them both. But he continued to rest his face in her hands, trusting her to take her payment for as long as she wished.

Maybe she had taken more than her share, but Lloyd didn’t seem to mind.

The fence creaked just slightly under his weight as he kept kissing her, and even when she leaned back to speak, sometimes she found her mouth covered again, as if Lloyd had missed a spot, like the corner of her lips. She didn’t complain, and only found herself so awed that Lloyd would do his best to give her what she asked for.

The sun had long set before she finally felt the chill breeze against her face.

“So…Can I keep paying this way?” Lloyd murmured against her mouth, eliciting another giggle from her.

“Mm, maybe not all the time…” she said. Her father would wonder why she was giving out free strawberries. “Unless you want to give me extra next time?”

She said it as a joke, winking at him, finally releasing him from her hands. But his own reached up to grasp one of her own gently, the grin on his face so wide and bright. “I think I might want to.”

It was as if they had already known each other for years, with the way she felt so comfortable around him. Even when she made her silly request, it felt like something she had been waiting for all her life.

Or maybe, it was just the sight of all the dogs running around the farm, some sidling near Lloyd’s legs to see what he was doing. She did always feel more content with dogs around.

So Colette left the basket there, with its dozens of strawberries, and just remembered that, Oh. I’ll need to come back for that basket though . That had been her only one! She needed that for her daily deliveries for her family’s business. She’d have to see Lloyd again for sure.

She found herself smiling, her lips still feeling so warm. Maybe he’d be kind and help pay her for her trip, back down the beaten pathways to where a gathering of cute puppies played. It would only be fair.

[a-day-in-the-afterlife]

14th Department Outdoor Survival Competition: Mane

This has been in my head for 1344657856 years, so I’m going to post it on Tumblr, even though I had planned to write it in prose and post it on AO3 and link it here (which I will do, eventually!).  

The basic premise is that the Manager takes the entire 14th Department on a camping trip and challenges them to survive on their own in the wilderness for a week.  Whichever team wins (survives the best???) will get some kind of prize involving patrol/cleaning/farm-care exemption!

I think we all know which team will win (... Noctu literally has the most survival-obsessed characters in Aitachi and Kirr), but it’s fun to see all the shenanigans of all the other teams, too!

First we start with Mane!

Ell

Tries his best, really, but as per the usual, makes so many mistakes.

When trying to put up the tent made from some kind of tarp that Ghilley procured from somewhere, he cheerfully hammers all the stakes and his teammates fingers into the ground on accident.

Does not know how they are going to survive for a week in a random tarp, but sneezingly assures Ghilley that they most certainly will succeed.

Attempted to fish for food in a nearby stream!  Caught three itty-bitty minnows and will not be attempting that again as he fell into the water more than once.

So, he was right and the tarp Ghilley found did not last them more than a day due to heavy rainfall and wind, but he kind of liked sleeping under the stars and staring up into the heavenly hosts until Ghilley and Licht constructed a mini lodge of sorts.

(He could do without Licht’s snoring and on more than one occasion went for a walk in the middle of the night to “clear his mind, achoo!”)

Was congratulated by his team for realizing that the stream that he (and some of the others) fished in was indeed freshwater and they didn’t have to scope out any other source.

Jamie

The rest of the Morning Team sent him out to hunt, since in typical Disney Princess style, animals flock to him, but after spending four hours in the forest, he came back with nothing, because “why in the world would y’all think that I’d wanna hurt any of those cute lil’ critters!”

Mane forgot to tie up their food and put in a tree in case a hungry bear came along—which it did—but everything turned out all right, because Jamie apparently is a bear-whisperer and gently coaxed it to find food elsewhere and not disturb them.

Tried to plant some fruit seeds that they had leftover (since they couldn’t hunt under Jamie’s orders and had to survive on fruit and fish—the latter of which he was not happy about, but conceded to, anyway), and Ell didn’t have the heart to tell him that there’s (hopefully) no way that they’d still be there when they sprouted.

Is the only one on the team that is able to discern which plants are edible and which ones are not, which is great, because Licht almost ate a bough of poison ivy.

When cooking the team’s fish, he managed to make a nice salad to go along with it with all the greenery he’d picked from the forest.

Discovered an immense talent for comparing the clouds in the sky to various foodstuffs and the Manager.

Licht

Ghilley told him to scout the forest for edible plants, and he obeyed with great alacrity, valiantly coming home with several branches of poisonous plants and berries.  “But darling~they look too pretty to be poisonous!”

Went fishing with Ell and caught a decent-sized fish.  He was incredibly distraught when he watched Ghilley descale it, for it looked ugly after losing its glamorous silver scale coat.

Tried to fight the bear that tried to steal the Morning Team’s food and ended up fighting Jamie, who wouldn’t let him lay a finger on it, instead. (Jamie is weirdly strong and left him lying in the ground; Ghilley had to peel him off the grass.)

He and Jamie reconciled when he let Jamie sleep in the best place in the tent, which he had previously declared for himself.

Ghilley and him together built an amazing (read: really, really, really mediocre) log cabin when their tarp tent gave out and they decided that they needed new housing in case another storm blew past.  It was four feet by three feet and could barely hold the four of them.

Thought he looked very handsome picking berries and longed for the Manager to watch him doing so.

Flirted with a twisted tree, thinking it was a curvaceous girl.

Ghilley

Do not ask him where he got the tarp the team had originally used as a tent, because he will just smile and say, “Ufufufu, that is for me to know, and for you to find out.”

Would’ve made a great stealth hunter in the woods, but Jamie refused to let him kill a single animal.  

Was kind of disheartened by the failure of his tent, so he worked extra hard with Licht to build a sturdier lodge for Mane.

Very attached to his team and in general, worked his ass off to make things somewhat easier for them, even though no one noticed or realized.

Wondered why the hell Licht was picking berries so provocatively. 

Watered Jamie’s plants diligently.

Went fishing with Ell too and actually caught several fish.  It turns out he’s extremely good at sneaking up on aquatic creatures, too!

Used up half the water in the stream when washing his hair.

Was going to go sneak up on the other teams and see how they were faring, but Jamie and Ell reminded him constantly that that was strictly against the rules.

Encouraged the rest of the team to go cloud-watching with him.  Found out that all the clouds for some reason looked like clouds.  

I’m going to forget to update this with all the other parts, so please take a look at my masterlist for the other teams’ posts!

[b-rainlet]

Gotham for the fandom ask thingy.

(I ran here so fuckin fast you have no clue)

Hello anon! :D I will answer this now, so you don't have to wait any longer but also....this would be very nice to answer through gifsets...(maybe when I am feeling up for it).

For now, have this:

(It's not proof read because I just sat at this for several hours and I don't wanna look at it anymore).

Favourite Male Character

You mean...besides the obvious answers?? :D

Ngl, it's S2 Jerome. I love that little twink with his parental issues and his tragic backstory and I wanna see him happy. There's a reason I have a bunch of AUs where he ends up having a family (mostly in the form of Lee as his Mother) and gets some actual help instead of being ostracized for being a mentally ill person snapping after years of abuse.

(This also ties into my very strong feelings regarding the fact that nobody actually helps the people at Arkham. And I don't mean the main villains there, I mean all the inmates who get treated like shit and are left behind on the regurlar (remember in S2 when Arkham was about to explode and nobody was talking about evacuating the inmates???? I do).

Other than that, one of my faves is also Jonathan. Which may be a little surprising because I barely talk about him but he was my favourite character throughout the show and he had way too little scenes.

(Kinda telling that the characters I latched onto are both helpless teens who were fucked over by the people who were supposed to protect them and can both trace their villain origin story back to Jim Gordon not caring enough about them lmao).

But the cast is big and varied enough that I actually like everyone? Butch, Zsazs, Penguin, S1 and 2 Ed, Jervis, Harvey, Jim......I like them all!!

(Special shoutout to 514A too, he was soft and baby and I wanted to keep him safe and sound really desperately).

(Another special shoutout to Barnes!! I didn't expect to like him when I first saw him, given he looked like he was gonna be mean and stoic and all, but I ended up really liking him and his story!)

Favourite Female Character

Let's just pretend Ecco doesn't exist for this answer ajdkaskaslj.

I fell in love immediately upon seeing Ecco but all! the women! are so!!! good!!!!

I especially have a soft spot for the side characters. I mean, upon first watching I got attached to Alice (even though she only features in two episodes lmao), and also Kristen Kringle - who isn't talked about much within Fandom, but she was pretty and her and Ed were actually quite cute but then she had to die for him to become the Riddler which was...pretty much telling us from the beginnning 'The woman here die to advance the men's plots'.

Barbara was also a big surprise to me because I figured she'd be the female love interest and nothing more but!! her and Jerome were the best thing in S2 and also the most entertaining thing about the Maniax Plot. (In several ways, I think I had the most fun watching this show during S2 , it was just. Good).

Also upon being in this Fandom and thinking about certain characters a bit longer I also really like Vicky Vale. And Montoya. And I wish they had kept both around for longer.

(I also wish they wouldn't have made Vicky a love interest for Jim. Or Sofia. No love interests for Jim except Lee and Barbara please).

Also Selina!! I love both Selina and Tabitha with all my heart - which may also be surprising because I barely ever talk about Tabby but I contain multitudes aklskddsm, and while I like sharing my horny thoughts about Ecco, I also love to think about Tabby and daydream about her being happy and exploring her (and Selina's) issues with showing weakness and affection and their strong loyalty regarding people that they trust.

I just.....women. Women good.

(Women also deserve to have more character than just being somebody's love interests and I have enough wips that completely sideline the guys to focus on the woman instead lmao).

Least Favourite Character

I don't have many characters that I hate??

I generally tend to instantly love everybody unless they are specifically made to be unlikeable. (I also spite-like characters who are hated for petty reasons, I just have a lot of love in my heart and not much energy for hate lmao).

But there were characters who annoyed me while I was watching.

For one, I think Gotham has a variety of super entertaining villains, but the main villains of each season tend to be....boring.

Safe for Strange they all kinda fell flat for me. Theo. Kathryn. Ra's Al Ghul. His Daughter. Mostly because their plotlines were less exciting than stuff like Jerome's carnival or Mother and Orphan's Hotel of Horrors.

Or their motives seemed a lot less understandable than the ones of the other Batman villains who pretty much always come from a place of suffering and abuse and break/snap under the pressure that's put on them (continuing this take of Gotham creating its own villains by leaving behind - mentally ill - people that need help, which I think is very true to most - if not all - Batman villains).

And then you have some characters that simply suffer from the fact that the show was cut short - which is pretty much any and every S5 character that had way too little screentime, but in this specific case means Jeremiah.

Because I disliked Jeremiah a lot while watching.

Without wanting to step on anybody's toes, him and Nygma are probably the two characters on this show I ended up disliking the most.

Mostly because Miah felt like a very cheap copy of Jerome and to this day I think it was a bad idea to replace Jerome with him, since Jeremiah - to me - seems like a super flat character.

Maybe if we had gotten him without meeting Jerome first, just having a Joker character introduced in S4, maybe I would've adored him, who knows.

But in comparison to Jerome...no. Just no.

(I will spare you from any longer rambles, but I think if you follow me, I talked about the ways Miah is lacking for me before).

My made up version of Miah though? I love him.

With Nygma it's even worse because I adored him. I instantly liked him. I was 100% behind him right up until the godawful Isabella plot happened and then it just all went to shit so quickly, I couldn't stand seeing him on screen anymore.

It's surprising that I didn't stop liking Oswald but to me, Oswald pretty much stayed the same while Ed became all bitter and hard and I just miss dorky S2 Ed you know?

It actually got so bad, I completely turned my back on Nygm/obblepot as a ship because I was so severly disappointed and I barely talk about Ed because I just can't stand what they did with him.

(Another victim of bad writing).

Favourite Ship

I'm just gonna stick to canon ships because I don't ever shut up about my Fanon ships so you probably know which ones I love the most :D

There isn't much romance going on within Gotham if I think about it - apart from Jim - which I definitely prefer. You wouldnt guess it from my blog, but I am not a fan of too shippy stuff because in most cases it just means sex scenes and I can live without those. I want action! Blood! Dead People! Not a two minute make-out session between two bland characters!

I gotta admit that Ed and Lee have some cute scenes and I would definitely ship them if I didn't dislike S4 Ed so much (S2 EdLee tho?? Yes).

Also I thought Jim and Lee was okay and Baby Batcat was quite cute at times but mostly I don't care about the canon ships.

I do ship Barbara and Jim though :D

I remember right before they hooked up in S5 I was like: 'I wouldn't mind if they got back together' and then went 'yay!' when they did and I wouldn't have minded a little more 'Will they?? Won't they??' between those two and them just having the mother of unhealthy relationships on this show.

(Also Jim/Barbara/Lee poly relationship but we can't have everything).

Favourite Friendship

So many good relationships on this show!

I need to rewatch the show soon because I probably already forgot about most of them but from the top of my head: Oswald/Butch and Oswald/Zsazs

Which were both then done dirty lmao. One by having Oswald be overly petty (one of the few times I was like...Pengy...wtf...) and the other by passing up the obvious opportunity to have Zsazs find out who really killed Falcone and just...letting Oswald and Victor never interact again. 

Then of course Ivy and Selina which also gloriously fell apart. Just like Ivy and Oswald. 

(Gotham isn’t the best when it comes to maintaining friendships). 

And the biggest and most grandious friendship of them all: J Squad. 

(Who have too little scenes together honestly and then also simply fell apart after Jerome died. Consistency who?)

Favourite Quote

I don’t know, I don’t have many quotes in my head from the show. Me and my niece mostly reference: “Yeah, that’s a spoon.” - “IT IS ALSO A FORK!!1!!!”

Also: “Gotta Go! Gotta Go! They’re after me and the Scarecrow!”

(There are some dialogue blurps I have written down somewhere because they are inspriration for gifsets but in order to be able to just recite some of them from Memory, I would have to watch this show way more obsessively). 

Worst Character Death

I don’t even gotta say anything do I? :D

But I think the character death that actually made me cry was Jerome’s first death. I clearly remember crying because...he just wanted recognition! And praise! And instead he was used as a pawn and betrayed by someone he idolized and he was only 18! My poor little meow-meow!

Seriously, the only things that make me cry on this show: Jerome’s first death, any and all mention of Bruce as a baby - told by an emotional Alfred, any and all Bruce/Alfred interaction at all and Solomon Grundy. 

This made me so happy you have no idea Moment

I seriously need to rewatch this show, it’s been so long :D

But I remember being pretty excited for the J Squad Team Up - because I was like ‘If I were Jerome I would definitely work with Tetch and Scarecrow since they’re also in Arkham atm’ and then he did!!

And I also distinctly remember in S3 that I was close to falling asleep right when they scene came on where Oswald realizes his feelings for Nygma and let me tell you - it caught me so off guard, I was awake instantly lmao. 

(I knew that people shipped them but I was so used to mlm ships being popular when they only have a handful of scenes and are platonic friends that I didn’t expect them to actually have a possibility of being canon). 

From then on I was super pumped for them to deliver on that ship but well....we all knew what happened asnksnndk. 

Saddest Moment

Aside from the already mentioned scenes in the character death column, the scene where Bruce leaves and Selina runs to the airport. I always liked Selina but she wasn’t a priority character of mine (much like Bruce isn’t) but then that scene happened and in an instant, I felt super protective over her. 

She is now my baby. My daughter. My beloved wife. She deserves everything and most importantly she deserves better than Bruce Wayne. 

(Coincidentally that was also the scene where I decided I don’t care much about Bruce asldjkjlj. I absolutely adore early seasons Bruce though). 

Favourite Location

There are so many different locations, I don’t think I can adequately answer this with my spotty memory :D

But I always loved the few episodes where Alice features, because I love how her scenes are shot so probably the little carnival Jervis prepares for her.

Also!! Jeremiah's church!

Or Commissioner Loeb's secret house (Especially the Attic).

There are a lot of cool locations, I gotta gif some of them soon :D

[fencesandfrogs]

cloudtail’s daughter au

so i decided to do a full write-up of this au instead of doing a second post to cover books 4-6 and then everything will be self-contained.

the essence of this au is pretty simple: dovewing does not, imo, fulfill the prophecy by being the granddaughter of firestar’s nephew, because that’s at least 3 “kin” away from him. so while i think she’d actually have to be princess’ daughter to fit, i’ll let her be firestar’s grandniece and call that “close enough” because it’s better.

anyway, there’s no real reason for this to change anything, but i think given who cloudtail and brightheart are, and how close dovewing and ivypool are to whitewing, it would probably change quite a few things.

[4k words. 15 minute read. proper section headers.]

this is a big summary so i’m sure i’ll forget things, i’ve already had to add in the events caused by the dovewing/tigerheart romance/conflict that carries through the first three books, and that cloudtail being an atheist has a major effect on ivypaw. i know i wrote a detailed summary of the first arc, where i didn’t forget any of that, but nothing exists for the second arc. anyway this au is tagged cloudtail’s daughter and apparently i have a lot to say about it so i’m sure if you click on the tag you can find info about it. assuming this isn’t the first thing i post. which it might be.

section one: things that don’t happen

so i don’t want this to be a po3 rewrite, which means i’m going to take a moment to explicitly discuss what doesn’t change.

first, po3 stays pretty much exactly the same. i want jayfeather to be a warrior too. i also want him to be dovewing’s brother. but the au where brightheart gives birth to dovekit, anxiety child, and jaykit, blind, and feels like a failure despite the fact that its not like her half-blindness is genetic, is not this au. that is another au.

anyway, hollyleaf does keep herself more together, because she needs to be alive for some family drama. she’s in background character hell (BGCH) for a while, though, especially the first book.

she still goes to the tunnels, mind, she just comes out sooner.

but otherwise, despite my personal tastes, i’m not changing po3 very much.

section two: brightheart’s litters

okay so cloudtail and brightheart have four children, i believe, and my choice is either to replace whitewing, or to replace the others. now, i don’t particularly care for either of these options, but i’d rather they have their second litter younger, so we’re replacing amber/dew/snow. this still lets you have old queen drama, but not so much that you’re like “brightheart how on god’s green earth did you have 3 children with no issues”

instead, she’ll have dovekit and ivykit at about the same time whitewing had them.

now, for complicated cat genetic reasons, cloudtail could have been a black cat. now, here me out: what i mean is, if he wasn’t white, he could be black. basically, white is a masking color in cats, it goes on top of whatever pattern they would have displayed. both he and brightheart would have to inherit one dilute gene (princess was not dilute, so she had to carry it), and then either dovewing or brightheart are tortie, and that’s the best i can do for keeping dovewing grey.

i, personally, lean towards tortie brightheart, because i always pictured her that way, but i have seen some pretty cute tortie dovewing.

ivykit inherits red from her mother, and is tortie either way, because tortie ivypool is cute.

in fact, i’ve been tinkering with the idea that ivykit and dovekit have kind of mirrored grey and cream spots. not, like, perfectly mirrored, because that’s not how tortoiseshell/calico (they would technically be calico, since they have white) works, but close enough to be cute.

section three: arc one (summary)

these books are going to have six protagonists (dovekit, lionblaze, cinderheart, hollyleaf, jayfeather, ivypool, in that order) with a secondary character who gets less chapters but the most important b-plot (ivykit, hollyleaf, lionblaze, jayfeather, cinderheart, dovewing).

arc one focuses on “two braincells” i.e., dovewing, lionblaze, and cinderheart (sorry bb, ur not like the other two, but i’m putting you somewhere) and the main theme is dovepaw learning to manage her power. it’s a tug and pull between dovewing: glass canon, and dovewing: can’t do shit.

cinderheart and lionblaze also have a romance going on, which irritates ivypaw, who has a bit of a catalyst with the dark forest in the middle/end of the arc (like in the original). we only get this through external perspecives, though, because when this happens, lionblaze is in the secondary position.

one of the ways to fix this book series is to decouple it from ivy and dove, much as i love them. both the beavers and the dark forest make up a b-plot in this arc, while the quest for the third prophecy cat, as well as growing tensions between clans, take center stage, and lionblaze and cinderheart work in the second and third book to give us the adult perspective of the tension that dovekit and ivykit can’t in the first book.

mostly, this is fairly low stakes. part of that is because characters are having stakes appropriate for them, rather than smeared around in a book. (looking @ u, flametail buddy). so dovekit/paw spends her first book worried about apprentice things and doesn’t get to narrate again until the end of the series.

section four: book one — growing shadows

i think the fourth apprentice is a stupid name, okay?

so book one is dovekit and ivykit, for pretty obvious reasons.

although actually i’m pushing off the beavers in this to book two or three. i’m not 100% sure where i want that, yet.

so anyway, dovekit is born and wow is she anxiety child. (i call dovewing anxiety child a lot, because, well, she is? i feel like it’s sort of implicit in the books and i’m making it explicity.) anyway, she’s in sensory overload like 100% of the time. see, she was born late, and so she didn’t have her powers kick in over time like lionblaze and jayfeather. nope. she got the adult version right away.

so she spends a lot of time hiding with cloudtail because he’s big and fluffy and not complicated to look at. cloudtail and brightheart are understandibly pretty worried about her, because no one really knows what to do about it. she’s skittish and distractable and extremely sensitive. she hates going out in the rain, hates bright sun, etc.

(side note: dovekit’s powers extend to pretty much all her senses. she can see, hear, and smell much farther than she should, and she can taste and feel much more strongly than an other cat.)

ivykit doesn’t feel unloved, but she does know her sister is getting more attention, and that always kind of hurts, even if you’re understanding.

cloudtail and brightheart work to try to help dovekit get on her feet, but they’re not super successful. she learns to cope enough to be able to function as a kit, but she’s always kind of a strange, quiet kit. she doesn’t know how to talk about seeing too much because she doesn’t realize its too much.

dove is given to cinderheart, because lionblaze is a terrible mentor for small anxiety child, and ivy is given to lionblaze. this will also create drama later, just wait.

so the main plot of this book is keyed into dovepaw learning to hunt. the stakes are pretty low, honestly. they’re mounting around dovepaw and ivypaw, but the girls are too young to properly understand everything.

dovepaw is initially successful hunting due to some luck and being good at spotting prey, but she can’t replicate it. ivypaw only trains with her a bit at first, and she sees this success, and feels like her parents’ attention on dovepaw made dovepaw better than her.

this gets ivypaw into the dark forest. this is the b-plot: ivypaw training, realizing she made a mistake, and not knowing how to get out. plus, she doesn’t have to mind her sister. (ivypaw is raised by an atheist, so while she’s smart enough to eventually work out that these cats are evil, she doesn’t have a sunshine and rainbows view of starclan. that’s the only way i can justify her not being smart enough to nope the fuck out of there, even if she is really young and really angry.)

in clan life, ivypaw knows she needs to look out for dovepaw. she doesn’t mind, but she gets to experience a life without that in the dark forest.

dovepaw does mind how everyone treats her like she’s made of glass. she sees cinderheart talking to brightheart and jayfeather and firestar and feels like everyone thinks she’s useless. so she decides to go out on her own and prove she can function.

dovepaw starts sneaking out at night and she finds the tunnels. her senses dampened, she panicks, running deeper and deeper, getting lost. fallen leaves will find her, and help get her strength up and then get her out. kind of like with hollyleaf, who is out of the caves by now.

ivypaw sees everyone searching for dovepaw and starts to feel guilty about wanting more attention, and the fact that part of why she wants dovepaw back is so people pay attention to ivypaw again. she also feels responsible for this.

cinderheart is distraught, because she really did care about dovepaw, and it’s been three days, her scent tracked to the tunnels but it was raining and no one has seen her since, so she’s probably dead.

ivypaw, grieving, refuses to accept that dovepaw is dead and she hunts outside the tunnel mouth until she thinks she hears something.

dove and ivy reunite and return to the clan. ivypaw’s convictions that dovepaw needs to be protected are strengthened, and dovepaw knows she failed in her goal. everyone is happy to see them.

we get some fretting about how washed out everything is, how the rain didn’t even stick because the soil is so dry. that’s a cue to the drought, which will be a bigger deal next book.

section five: book two — fading echoes

honestly i’m not attached to book titles, but this works here too.

so this book is split between lionblaze and hollyleaf. i’m pretty sure hollyleaf is out of the caves by now, but i haven’t decided if she’s rejoined the clans. she feels strongly for fallen leaves: they’re listed as mates on the warrior cats wiki, and if hollyleaf and jayfeather are both going to have ancient dead ghost mates, she’s at least going to visit hers. her end goal is to get him to starclan so they can be together after her death.

anyway, this is beavers book. i don’t have a ton to say about it because it’s pretty much the same, except hollyleaf goes with dovepaw and cinderheart and she’s our pov as dovepaw falls for tigerheart because (and this is my understanding of her logic in the books to begin with): “big fluffy tom is safe fluffy tom.”

lionblaze feels the disconnect between him and ivypaw, but he can’t help that cinderheart is away. ivypaw is clearly preoccupied, but he can’t tell with what. his larger conflict is in finding the third cat.

this isn’t a filler book, per say. the tree falls and that happens, and lionblaze gets thrown into rebuilding camp. ivypaw feels doubly abandoned. lionblaze tries to win her affection, but he doesn’t know how.

beaver crew gets back. dovepaw has stars in her eyes. ivypaw is close to passing her warrior assessment, but lionblaze can tell she’s holding back because she doesn’t want to leave dovepaw. dovepaw can hunt by now, but she can’t really split her attention.

she’s scared of going into battle.

after a border skirmish where dovepaw just freezes, ideas of her being a medicine cat are raised.

ivypaw sees tigerheart in the dark forest, and she goes all bluefur being like “snowfur ur bf has rabies” on dovepaw, who is not happy with this. ivypaw pushes dovepaw to be a medicine cat because of this. the sisters are squabbling and barely talking.

book ends.

section six: book three — distant whispers

again not 100% sold on the names.

so this is cinderheart’s book, and she’s going to figure this out, because dovepaw and ivypaw are falling apart, and dovepaw deserves to be a warrior. so she convinces firestar to let her and lionblaze take ivypaw and dovepaw to the mountains. she believes, well, i’m not sure i haven’t worked that part out.

anyway, they go.

the tribe is like “yeah the world sure is a big place with a lot to look at. that’s why only half of us look.” (i know that’s not exactly how cave guard’s work but close enough.)

cinderheart is like “hm. what if, dovepaw, just a thought, what if you just, you know, avoid battles? i know it’s part of clan life but judging by the two souls crammed into my body, i’d say there’s been very few major conflicts over this and, reasonably, you should be able to avoid being chosen for battle control.”

dovepaw says, “but cinderheart, i’m a main character! unless i’m being punished or taught a lesson about duty, i’ll be automatically registered for every battle patrol until i die!”

cindheart says, “you’re right, i’m so sorry. hey ivypaw, [whoops yeah ivy and lion are here too sorry i forgot to mention that] what if you two learn to work as a team.”

dovepaw says, “i don’t want to work with her.”

ivypaw says, “that’s a great idea.”

because dovepaw talks very quietly (she forgets not everyone can hear as well as her), ivypaw wins.

they spend at least a month in the tribe, maybe longer, i’m not sure. eventually, they decide to go back. dovepaw is never happy in the tribe, it’s way too loud all the time, but she does manage to sort out her hunting issues, and so fighting is left.

so there’s still a big push for dovepaw to consider maybe being a medicine cat.

but that is not this au. this is the jaywing/dovefeather au where they basically switch roles. there’s a really good fic where dovepaw goes to riverclan for a while that i love and anyway this au is a as-close-as-possible to canon au for me to rectify my issues with dovewing in canon (nominally, i don’t have any, but i think her character was displayed…curiously, and i’m mad about the prophecy.)

ivypaw is team medicine cat. cinderheart and lionblaze are struggling. cinderheart eventually teaches dovepaw an extension of the techniques of the tribe, and they work out that dovepaw can kind of, track the cats she’s with to anchor herself in battle. this means dovepaw no longer is tied to ivypaw for her success, and so they both become warriors.

while they’re still in the tribe, ivypaw has time away from the dark forest and lionblaze finally puts two and two together, and that basically makes up the b-plot for the back half of the book, lionblaze trying to get ivypaw to admit what’s going on and then trying to help her.

dovewing’s senses begin to return but since they come back slowly she’s able to manage them. so she quickly excels in hunting.

ivypool cottons on to the dark forest breeding loyalty between its members, not to their original clans, and realizes that this is going to threaten all four of the clans.

end book with a bang, end first arc. we will now turn to the actually-have-more-than-two-braincells crew (sorry cinderheart, you don’t deserve to be in this group, but your prefix doesn’t end in -y, so you can’t be with jay/holly/ivy in the brainy crew.)

section seven: arc 2 (summary)

so this arc is when the main conflict (dark forest battle) becomes obvious. dovewing’s problems have been sorted out, so she’s pushed into BGCH for a little bit while the smart adults sort things out.

book three ends with ivypool realizing the dark forest isn’t a personal problem, but a clan-group (like, all of the clans together? not sure how to call it) sized problem. ivypool, jayfeather, and hollyleaf together manage to sort out a lot of the dark forest’s eventual plan, and they try to sort out a way to solve it. then the battle happens. that’s basically the summary?

in here, the clans start working together way sooner and the prophecy comes out way faster.

section eight: book 4 — the forgotten character

alright, hollyleaf is liberated from BGCH. actual title is still the forgotten warrior.

hollyleaf and ivypool start to bond, and hollyleaf is convinced all the clans need to know about what’s up.

ivypool disagrees, and they talk about it like rational people.

hollyleaf and fallen leaves are still cute.

jayfeather has his timetravel thing in this book so he can do flametail’s job in the next book. he gets to talk to hollyleaf and fallen leaves about it.

i don’t think i’d mess with jayfeather and briarlight’s relationship in this au, because i think it’s sweet in canon as is, but you know i have thoughts about half moon and briarlight. anyway, jayfeather gets his book next, this is about hollyleaf.

fallen leaves helps hollyleaf learn to control, idk, spirit dream travel? jayfeather helps with this too. hollyleaf has to share extra hard with jayfeather because she took up a disproportionate amount of time in lionblaze’s book.

so anyway, hollyleaf is learning to travel into the dark forest. similar to the way dark forest cats leave it? but in reverse. this is the main plot.

like the second book, it’s not really filler, so much as lower stakes, and like the second book, i don’t have a ton to say about it because the plot is self evident. unfortunately, hollyleaf has the two “chill” books. sorry bb.

anyway, this is building into jayfeather going all angry old man yells at sky at starclan next book, so the biggest conflict in this book is hollyleaf realizing she can just, leave. she can go back in time the way jayfeather did, but on purpose, save fallen leaves, and they can be alive.

i mean, that wouldn’t actually work, not the least because i’m not keen on hollyleaf being a reincarnation, espcially in the reincarnation-lite universe, but also because she can’t save fallen leaves, then he wouldn’t be a sharpclaw, not really, and like a whole host of other issues but anyway

at the end of power of three, hollyleaf runs away from her problems. this book is about her standing up to defend them.

i don’t know if she explicitly breaks up with fallen leaves, but they have a falling out that won’t get resolved until after the great battle. this is a mutual/not mutual thing where they both know that fallen leaves is stopping hollyleaf from fully committing to helping her clans now, but they love each other.

relationship conflict that isn’t forbidden romance.

speaking of, ivypool getting close to hollyleaf means that the two of them start to reconnect with their siblings. hollyleaf’s actions alienated her from jayfeather and lionblaze and she kind of just was sad and apologetic but they didn’t want to forgive her.

(sorry hollybush, says jayfeather,

that’s not my name, says hollyleaf,

oh, says jayfeather, guess i forget. well anyway, i have a new sister now. her name is dovewing.

dovewing?, says hollyleaf. but you don’t like her.

it’s okay, says jayfeather, she never tore my family to shreds and then abandoned me to deal with the fallout.)

(jayfeather and hollyleaf always seemed closer to me than lionblaze and either of them, until hollyleaf’s whole event. anyway he remains petty about everything and lionblaze stands by him because, well, he’s not wrong, also dovewing is important to cinderheart so he feels like he should be on her side on this which means jayfeather’s side. even though cinderheart is friends with hollyleaf look i said lionblaze is a loveable dumbass already, didn’t i?)

so anyway hollyleaf is sad and ivypool sees that and is like “hm maybe i shouldn’t be a petty bitch for no reason” and this is fine until after this series is over when dovewing and tigerheart are like “bitch we gon b together”

dovewing’s emotions get jayfeather to, well, not go back on his actions, but recognize hollyleaf is the most effective person to work with. because lionblaze and dovewing are just. so dumb.

and yeah this book ends with things feeling almost hopeful.

section nine: book 5 — sign of the moon

i cannot overstate how little i care about the titles of these books.

anyway, jayfeather and cinderheart.

i don’t have a ton of thoughts about this one. jayfeather reunites starclan, cinderheart helps convince ivypool and dovewing to work together. this is the book where clans find out about the propechy but not the dark forest that is for next book

they know something is coming, but everyone agrees not to give ivypool away yet. they like her, you know, alive.

anyway, i don’t have much to say because it’s pretty obvious what happens, because this is just a bunch of events from other books crammed into this book, now, and they’ve been written and i don’t see the need to make many changes.

cinderheart and lionblaze have kit drama, maybe? cinderheart counsels dovewing about tigerheart, maybe? my point is it’s not super important.

the book ends with the two warriors to every camp. and dovewing, jayfeather, and lionblaze, are going to get split up.

this is my biggest change so far imo because it’s the most plot relevant.

dovewing is going to shadowclan with ivypool. jayfeather is going to windclan with…i’m not sure yet? i don’t want him going to riverclan because leafpool has ties to riverclan and, well, i want jayfeather to get a chance to stand on his own. and lionblaze goes to riverclan, with either cinderheart or hollyleaf.

jayfeather is super grumbly about this, but admits that it’s important as a show of unity, and also, he’s pretty functional in wind clan? like they’re all playing to their strengths.

jayfeather learns to navigate pretty quickly, dovewing appreciates quiet and also not being that-strange-cat who everyone is super careful around, and lionblaze is big and gregarious and enjoys riverclan being chill and friendly. so yeah, people get a chance to chill and be happy.

ivypool is in position to be angsty next book.

end book.

section ten: book 6 — the last hope

despite my claim that the biggest change is sending the three to different clans, i don’t have a lot to say about it.

basically, well, okay

first, we see ivypool and dovewing again. reminder that last time we were in one of their heads, they were apprentices. in book one.

dovewing couldn’t even hunt last time we had her pov.

so there’s a few chapters to some characterization that happens. dovewing is no longer anxiety child. she’s somewhat shy, she’s soft spoken, but she’s not skittish. you can’t surprise her. and she’s intense. she’ll just stare at you with wide eyes if you come talk to her until you say something she wants to respond to.

ivypool sees why dovewing and tigerheart are good together. she’s still not supportive, but, like, he understands her. he doesn’t treat her like she’s fragile, but he also is kind and forgiving and soft to her.

plus he’s a total simp for dovewing. that helps.

anyway, ivypool gets along fairly well in shadowclan. i don’t have ton of thoughts about this.

ivypool, hollyleaf/cinderheart, and jayfeather’s companion, as well as half of the other cats away on missions, are acting as messengers between their host clans and their home clans. that’s how ivypool gets to find out about info. they meet on the island every morning. or something.

anyway, this bit is where i most hate the set up of this with two pov per book hard cap because it’d be cool to see into everyone else’s head but that’s for novellas and side stories.

the battle happens.

everything sucks. dovewing has basically committed to tigerheart, but bramblestar’s storm messes with the timeline.

and that’s pretty much it.

section eleven: what’s next?

so i swore i wasn’t starting new fic and then i thought of this and now i do want to write it so, maybe?

the most important thing is:

tl/dr: the reason dovewing shouldn’t have been a prophecy cat is because she’s not the kin of firestar’s kin.

[insporaelynn]

📲 raelynn && roman

WHEN: january 24-26th 

DESCRIPTION: just best friends talking and being obsessed with each other. rae confides in him about her ex drama.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: drug mention, probably sex mention.

@romanbeckett​

Roman

Hi love of my life. I miss your face. How’s it going??

raelynn

my baby

god, i miss you too. i'm doing okay, how're you tonight?

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

it’s been an off day, not even gonna lie lol super sore and tired. I just wanna be back to normal already

raelynn

oh no

how's your scar healing up? the boys are taking care of you right??

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

it’s okay I guess bleh lol and not tonight. I’m all alone

raelynn

Where's Q? Is Aaron working?

Well I guess I should know that since I'm literally at work. Lmao.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

Q is working on music. Aaron has des tonight

raelynn

ugh. i wanna lay with you and kiss ur face.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

are you busyyy? I can burn us some cookies

raelynn

i'm working but I'd love to see you after if you're still up.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

of yeah you just said you’re at work lmao fucking weed

yes please come by when you’re done

raelynn

LMAO I KNOW THE FEELING

absolutely, i'm yours.

u know niamh was trying to figure out who rue's date was and she was like "is it you" bc i mentioned that I have a dick appt with him tomorrow night.

and i was like. dude, no, for like, a thousand reasons. like, why would that ever be me???

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚n.

oh god, I’m so out of the loop with gossip lately, it’s sad. I didn’t even know he had a date lol

raelynn

it's apparently some big secret but he's having people help him dress up and asking about flowers and candy and niamh is like "bitch is it you" and i'm like. LMAO.

like is there anything about me that says flowers and candy

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

Hahahahahhahahahahaha HAHAHA

that really made me laugh too hard.

raelynn

like, i'm not the flowers girl, i'm the sneak out in the night girl, the middle of the afternoon girl, all those things, but flowers girl???? sdkfdskksd

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

I’m 100p a flowers girl

raelynn

YOU ARE AND YOU'RE WORTH IT MY BABY

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

my parents are coming in to town this week. Gotta tell them I have two boyfriends haaaa. Pray for me

raelynn.

I feel like that should be the least shocking thing about you??? In a good way.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

yeah, I definitely keep them on their toes

raelynn

tell ur boyfriend that if he wants me to continue wearing body glitter he's going to have to pay me extra

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

omg but I love body glitter fyi

raelynn

I did an onlyfans video with Lilah earlier and I'm like 80% sure that I left glitter on her sheets. Like I'm a fucking unicorn.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

that makes me so happy I can’t even lie

I too wanna leave glitter everywhere

man I need to do only fans

raelynn

i would a thousand percent subscribe

both bc i'm a perv and also bc i'm a very supportive best friend.

we could get naked and do a body glitter photoshoot

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

and I love this about you

that sounds like a dream?? Wow

raelynn

would love nothing more than to apply body glitter to ur glorious tiddies.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

my tillies would appreciate it

Hahahaa it hurts to laughhhh

raelynn

SORRY SORRY I'M GOING TO BE VERY SERIOUS NOW

clears throat Um. The National Debt.

it is my understanding that there is. National Debt.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

hahahah I love you

raelynn

Blah blah, topics. Blah blah, smart people jargon, blah blah

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

god it’s so boring isn’t it

would so much rather talk about titties

raelynn

God same.

Like how yours are somehow bigger than mine.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

I know, I need some sort of support at this point I think

raelynn

we could get you fitted for bras somewhere maybe that'd be fun

it'd look actually so hot

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

well I already wear lingerie in the bedroom. Might as well.

raelynn

you will be the absolute death of me, you're simply too gorgeous and too sweet to exist.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

stahhpppp you’re making me blushhhh. Right back atcha my babe

raelynn

is there anything you want me to bring you when i'm done here?

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

just yourself. I’ve got good ass weed

raelynn

and for the millionth time, i realized, you are my soul mate.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

you’re mine, lovie.

raelynn

i wish i could've had appendix surgery instead of you

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

noooo don’t be silly lol I’m okay darling.

raelynn.

no i hate that you were in pain even for like a second i hate it so much!!

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

stop it, I love you. You cutie. Oh god okay I’m gonna make us cookies.

raelynn

Dont burn the house down my beautiful twin flame

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

I always get cookie dough thinking I’ll do better next time. I still have that unearned confidence

raelynn.

Thats bc im always building you up and rightfully so

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

yes you do and I live for it. I also really love fresh cookies right out of the oven, I just want to make that happen

raelynn

I believe in you my little tropical starfish

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

raelynn

literally you

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

hehehehe ⭐️

raelynn

i don't think anybody's ever gonna love me more than you

and i think. i think maybe that's okay?

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

that’s not true. You’re gonna find someone who is gonna blow you away

raelynn

yeah but even if i did, would I even be able to love them without being scared of them?

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

yeah, I think so. I’ve had to overcome a lot of walls and fears myself that I never thought I could. The right person makes it easier.

raelynn

idk there are a lot of people i could've loved if i hadn't been so....this lmao

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

I think it’ll just take some time!

raelynn

you have so much faith in me.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

of course I do. I think you can do anything.

raelynn

i'm not really sure.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

you don’t have to be cause I ammmmm

raelynn

and you're the smartest person in the world

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

in the whole world?? Damn. I’m not near as rich as I should be then.

raelynn

how about I stay over with you tonight and we get some breakfast in the morning? I did really good on tips tonight.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

okay!! I’d love that

raelynn

good 'cause i don't get to spend nearly as much time with you as i wanna

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

I knowwww. We haven’t had a sleepover in so long

raelynn

you can cuddle up to me and i'll feed you cookies and kiss your hair

revolutionary. better than therapy.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

Yes!!!!

raelynn

loml

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

I finished the cookies baby and I didn’t burn them to a crisp

raelynn

you fucking legend

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

I’m pretty damn proud of myself not gonna lieeeee

[...]

raelynn

extremely sad that i couldn't stay at breakfast with you all day

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

same

now I’m bored

raelynn

i swear after i left you my day went down the tubes.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

oh no I’m sorry

who do I need to fight

raelynn

well carson is back.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

oh god, tell me more

raelynn

idk why he's back but wes gave him my number bc i guess when i told him to lose it he took it to heart which like good i wanted him to

but anyway i screamed at him in the chat

everyone called me a hypocrite bc i told ivy to stop being a bitch in the chat awhile back. which tbh i didn't remember even doing, i just be saying shit.

like alex opened his fuckin mouth and i'm like what dog do you have in this fight

oh and DELILAH is moving in with carson bc he's "like her brother!!!" never mind the fact that he cheated on me bc i guess friendship doesn't mean much anymore

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

wow that’s...messy. Wtf lilah though seriously

raelynn.

So then Carson texts me bc wes gave him my number and that felt like being??? Pushed back in time against my will

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

that’s not cool

raelynn

So yeah a lot of crying today

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

*chick with knife emoji*

me rn

raelynn

Cute but lethal

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

*img attachment* 

and not at all high...

raelynn.

you're so hot jesus christ.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

I love you.

raelynn.

love u more than life itself

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

*img attachment of a keychain that says PUSSY WAGON* 

this was recommended to me on Instagram and now I want it.

raelynn

LET'S GET THEM MATCHING.

EVEN THOUGH I DON'T HAVE A CAR

AND THEREFORE NO KEYS FOR SAID CAR

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

it would be perfect for my Volkswagen

raelynn.

omg and with me in it...it really WOULD be a pussy wagon......

big brain

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

hahahahah

raelynn

we should road trip soon

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

I would love that so much honestly

raelynn

where should we go?

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

Disney world!!

raelynn

will u propose to me there

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

wouldn’t that be romantic as heck

raelynn.

THE most romantic and also we'd maybe get free dessert

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

I never turn down anything free.

raelynn

me neither. not the taylor family way

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

hahaha I love you.

raelynn.

we'll start planning a summer trip, just us.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

yay yay yay yay!

raelynn.

i'm gonna wear a tiara the whole time.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.BOT01/25/2021

with Mickey ears?

raelynn.BOT01/25/2021

of course, i'm not a monster.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

hahahaa

[...]

raelynn

I hate dudes.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

they’re a mess aren’t they lol

raelynn

Had a temporary lapse in sanity and agreed to meet Carson for coffee lol and he canceled like 15 mins before we were supposed to meet for a probably fake meeting lmao its so typical but I fell for it

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

babe I’m so sorry

raelynn

Like im just so tired

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

how can I make it better

raelynn.

I don't know honestly and I wish I did.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

I love you.

raelynn

I love you.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧.

you’re my baby

raelynn

you're MY baby

[embarrassingsmartphonegame]

Anything (Chapter 5) - Nik Ryder x f!MC

Summary: After surviving an attempt on her life, she discovers there are worse fates than dying. And they’re all ice cold.

Warnings for this chapter: gun violence, swear words, and some fluff

Links to previous chapters: one // two // three // four

True to her word, Leah returned to Nik’s apartment a few hours later with more sleep under her belt than in the past three months. She smiled shyly as she walked into his apartment and noticed that he shaved his beard to his old neat stubble, and her stomach did a funny flip as he led her to his car. The two made disjointed small talk coupled with long bouts of silence; it was as if the events of the previous night hadn’t happened now that it was daylight and the two were more awake, more sober. And neither wanted to admit that they were surprised by the turn of events. 

Leah still tried to wrap her head around the fact that not only did Nik not hate her after she suddenly left, but he was also willing to go with her to Lamrian on her wild goose chase to find herself. And Nik was still wary it was all a dream or a trick and that she wasn’t actually there with him, that he truly had lost her like he lost everyone else in his life. Both stole sneaky glances at the other as they drove Nik’s car and walked through the woods and eventually towards the vast, open fields to the cathedral guarding Lamrian quietly, still keeping a careful distance from each other.

“Soooo…” Leah began, keeping her eyes trained forward. “Anything weird happen at the Graveyard Shift while I was gone?”

“I mean...it’s always weird in this city,” Nik replied, his eyes also trained forward. “But Garrus and Krom are still going strong. Never seen either of ‘em that happy; it’s kinda cute but kinda gross.”

“Aww, that’s so great! They deserve each other!” Leah remembered that night she and Ivy convinced Krom to make a move since it was so painfully obvious they liked each other. “Is Ivy still making you hunt ghosts for her services?”

“Strangely enough, she hasn’t been accepting any requests lately,” Nik chuckled, shaking his head as he recalled the time Leah tagged along to hunt a ghost for Ivy. “I think she’s been busy with some research. Something about her New York vampire Internet friend’s friend dying and then turning into a vampire while being a Bloodkeeper, whatever that means. And I think trying out some human video games with that same friend.”

“Okay now that’s wild, complete bonkers. I hope that person’s okay; dying wasn’t exactly a walk in the park…” Leah shivered, all of a sudden feeling cold even in the late spring weather of Louisiana. She tried to block out the memories that plagued her for a good two months after she left New Orleans.

“I know I probably shouldn’t ask, but how did you cope after everything?” Nik asked, glancing at her to make sure she was okay. “I can’t even imagine what that was like for you. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“How did I cope? Well...I didn’t.” Leah laughed mirthlessly, a smile not quite reaching her eyes. “I think I already told you the majority of it: stuck with my boring office job, avoided my mom, tried to pass the time with hobbies but failed so I got drunk a lot and did a bunch of people and other bad stuff. But probably the worst thing I did was cut my own bangs at 4am.”

“...Seriously?”

“Yeah I was having a crisis.”

“Because you saw your best friend get attacked, were hunted down relentlessly by a genocidal monster, found out your dad’s a Fae lord, saw your dad die, and then you died?” Leah blinked as he listed it all out in one breath; had she really been talking about it that much?

“Well...okay yeah pretty much. But also because I turned 25.”

Nik paused, confused. “What does that have to do with anything? Is that seriously a crisis?”

“A mid- okay fine not really, quarter-life crisis.” Leah let out a small laugh as she hazily remembered her conversation with Kristin, shaking her head and putting her hands in her pockets. “You’ll understand when you’re older.”

“I’m only a year younger than you, rook.”

“Then we’ll have a talk a year from now.”

Nik let a grin spread across his features. “That mean you’ll still be here a year from now?”

Leah shifted her eyes for a moment, and when she spoke again her voice was the perfect mix of playful and sincere. “Maybe.”

The two paused as they reached their destination. The castle guarding Lamrian loomed over them, its broken windows staring down at Leah like judgment. Leah felt very small. She felt as if she was a specimen on a petri dish placed under a microscope, and the Fae just behind those magical doors were scrutinizing her every being. 

Leah froze in fear, and she could feel the panic rising in her tight, tight chest. Nik noticed her expression and instinctively took one of her hands in his, giving it a small squeeze. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay. And I’m with you every step of the way.”

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t get a hold of her emotions, no matter how hard she tried or what she told herself she needed to do. Tears sprung on the corners of her eyes and ran down her face freely, and big, gasping sobs escaped from her mouth. She wrenched her hand from his, turned her back to the castle, and started walking away. Leah was hunched over and her hands grasped each other as she walked with Nik following her.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Leah could only see red, and that red was directed at herself. “I really dragged you out here for nothing! Why can’t I fucking face them?!”

Nik stopped her by placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her around so they were face-to-face. “Rook...breathe.”

She shook her head, trying to will the tears away but failing and launching into an anxiety-fueled. “Ugh, this is pathetic and embarrassing. I never should’ve stepped foot in Lamrian and I keep dragging you into my problems. I drag everyone into my problems! Kristin’s probably still paying for an entire week of hospital bills, Vera had to face her mom, Cal had to go against his pack, you and Katherine risked your lives by hunting Thomas down...fuck! When this was all happening, I should’ve just ignored you and stood in an open field and let the Bloodwraith—”

She was cut off by him pulling her into his strong arms, squeezing her so tightly she had no choice but to stop talking. “Don’t. I mean it, rook. Goddammit.”

“Why do you keep helping me?” she sobbed into his shoulder. “All I do is drag you down.”

He rubbed her back tenderly. “Because I want to. I care so damn much about you, rook, you have no idea.”

Before Leah could respond, the sound of someone clearing their throat came from behind them. Nik instantly positioned his body in front of hers, his crossbow aimed at the voice before Leah could even blink. He put it down once they realized that it was the same Fae guarding Lamrian. His lips were set in a straight line and his eyes devoid of any emotion, a soldier on duty.

“Daughter of Lamrian,” he kneeled reverently as he spoke. “You have returned. Welcome. Let me lead the way.”

“Thank you. But unfortunately, I can’t come inside. It’s not the right time.” Leah steadied her breath. She appreciated the fact that he ignored her crimson red eyes and shaky voice. “But will you please relay a message for Lady Thalissa for me?”

“Anything you wish is my command.”

��Please tell her that Lord Elric loves her and will be waiting for her. And that I’m sorry for everything that happened and will one day return. Just...not today.”

He nodded and straightened up, preparing to relay the message. Leah stopped him. “And also...this is for the people of Lamrian: I’m sorry. I’m just sorry that they lost a leader and an heir because of me.”

The Fae guard nodded again, his lips in a thinner, harsher line; Leah could have sworn that his eyes displayed hints of anger and grief before they fell into the trained dutiful expression. She let him walk away, and when he was finally out of sight in the castle she let out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding.

“You did the right thing, rook.”

“Then why do I still feel so shitty?”

The two began to walk back to Nik’s car and eventually reached the woods. “It’d be weird if you didn’t feel like shit. It’s a lot, and sometimes you feel like you’re never gonna get out of that tunnel. But you will. And I’m here.”

“Nik, I--” But Leah was cut off by Nik suddenly shouting and tackling her to the ground as a knife embedded itself to the tree right behind where their heads were seconds before.

“Son of a bitch…” Nik muttered, quickly dragging them both back to their feet. “Can’t catch a break for one day!”

“What the fuck was that?!” Leah ran with him through the woods, her hand attached to his.

“He’s back. Remember that shapeshifter I pissed off? He must’ve followed us.”

“That I did, Ryder,” a snide, mocking voice replied from behind a tree. A man dressed in all black stepped out of the shadows. “A little birdie over your shoulder as you paid attention to your little girlfriend here.”

“For fuck’s sake, Mark, it was nothing personal. Grave robbing is a sick, sick thing to do!” Nik got into a fighting stance with his crossbow on his shoulder and Leah directly behind him.

“You just can’t appreciate the intricacies of a human bone broth soup!”

Leah grimaced in disgust and poked her head out to the side of Nik’s body. “Ugh, that’s what you were using it for? That’s messed up.”

Mark’s eyes flashed with rage, putting his hands in his pockets. “Just shut up, and you’re dying with him!”

“To hell with you!” Nik shot several arrows at him, and Mark rolled out of the way and back into the shadows. “Leah, stay out of the way!”

“I’m not letting you do this alone!” Leah stubbornly replied, running after him hunting down the shapeshifter. She channeled all of her energy into her palms, but to no avail. “Seriously, let me help!”

“You can help by keeping yourself safe!”

“He’s right; this ain’t a place for ya, missy.” Mark threw another knife from the shadows, and Nik deftly avoided it and more arrows. But Mark turned into a crow and flew above their heads to avoid the attack.

He landed on a tree and turned into a jaguar, and promptly lunged at the both of them from above. Leah managed to get out of the way but Nik punted him in the abdomen with a powerful kick. Mark landed a few feet away, groaning in pain and back in his human form. But within seconds he pulled a pistol out and started shooting at them. Nik and Leah ran in a zig-zag formation with the murderous shapeshifter hot on their heels.

“Arghhh!” With Leah a few feet ahead, Nik suddenly went down, clutching the side of his right thigh. He pulled his hand away for a moment to assess the damage, and Leah could see a linear laceration on his skin from where the bullet grazed his leg.

Leah watched in horror as the shapeshifter suddenly appeared above Nik, a heavy boot on his hand nearest to his crossbow and the gun aimed at his head. Mark grinned maliciously. “Nighty night, Nighthunter.”

“NOOO!” Leah shouted, sprinting towards the barrel of the gun and blindly pushing her hands out in front of her. All of a sudden two identical blasts of light bounded from the palms of her hands, both hitting Mark square in the face. The skin and nerves on her hands were burning, but she didn’t notice or care, adrenaline pumping through her vasculature. She could feel a power, a deep and great power bursting forth from her core. With a shriek, she sent more blasts towards Mark, the power boundless and suddenly at her disposal to do what she wanted. And all she could focus on was destroying Mark.

“Leah! Leah!” A seemingly far away voice called her name, but it didn’t register until she felt two arms wrap around her from behind. “Come back to me! Rook!”

Leah stopped blasting at her target, and a white haze that she didn’t even realize was present suddenly dissipated from her vision. She finally realized where she was, and that she was responsible for the pile of ashes on the ground where the shapeshifter once stood. Leah fell to her knees and Nik went down with her, refusing to let go.

“I...I did that,” Leah whispered, looking down at her trembling hands. “My powers...they’re back!”

“You saved my life, rook.” Nik held her with one arm as he pressed down on the wound on his leg. “That was...that was the most power I’ve ever seen from someone.”

Maybe it was the fact that their faces were suddenly so close to each other, or maybe it was the fact that they avoided certain death again. Maybe it was the silence gathering around them, warm and electric. Maybe it was the tenderness in his expression as he held her. Leah brought one hand up to his cheek and pressed their lips together softly, and they both sighed in relief as they kissed. A warm, gentle rain misted around the pair. Leah pulled away, and both sported giddy, shy smiles.

“Not how I expected today to go...but this is perfect...well, perfect for us.” Leah hauled him up and to his feet and tied her light jacket around his thigh as a makeshift tourniquet. “Best way I could help was staying out of the way, huh?”

Nik shook his head in disbelief as they walked. “You are the most bullheaded and impossible woman I’ve ever met. I would be dead now if it weren’t for you.”

“Nik…” Leah began seriously. She knew what she finally had to do. “What happened today...I want to be with you. As your partner, both personally and professionally.”

His eyes met hers, and he searched for any signs of hesitation only to find none. His face was completely relaxed for the first time since she met him, and it sent her heart fluttering. “Are you sure about this?”

“You’re a mess...and I’m a mess.” She shook her head, chuckling incredulously. “But that just might be why we’re perfect for each other. I’m in love with you, and I think I’ve always known it. Being your partner is what I want, if you’ll have me.”

“Goddammit, Leah…” He laughed with her before he spoke again, his voice vulnerable and sincere. “I love you too. I want you with me every second, from the moment I wake up to when I rest my head. I want you with me in the trenches, and then I want you with nothin’ at all between us.”

Every word lifted a heavy weight off her heart, and Leah beamed as she took Nik’s hand. “That’s all I want, too...partner.”

The now-official couple reached Nik’s car, but instead of getting in, Nik opened his trunk. Leah quirked an eyebrow. “Getting something?”

“You could say that,” Nik replied, stepping out from behind the car with his hands behind his back. “I’ve had this in here since the day you got out of the hospital, and I couldn’t bear to even look at it. Now that you’re back, though…”

“Are you...nervous?” Leah couldn’t help the teasing, amused tone in her question as she noticed his blush. She had to admit it was odd yet slightly satisfying seeing him squirm. 

“...You left this.”

Nik held out her cherry red leather jacket, the same one he gave her on her first night in New Orleans. Leah ran her hands down the soft, worn leather, smiling softly. “You really kept this all this time?”

“Well...yeah.” Nik rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Maybe I hoped that you’d come back one day.”

“Well you were right, Mr. Nighthunter.” Leah put the jacket on, relishing in the familiarity of the cool leather and smell of the bayou. “How do I look?”

Nik smiled brightly. “Like it was made for you, Ms. Nighthunter.”

She sidled up to the driver’s side of the car mischievously. “Awesome, now get in.”

“Wait, what? Who said you were driving?”

“You got shot in the leg! I need to take you to the hospital!”

The pair continued to bicker the entire ride to the emergency room, and amidst the chaos Leah grinned; she wouldn’t have it any other way. Everything was different, but maybe it would be okay after all. 

==============================================

A/N: Andddd after almost 4 months (!!!)...I’m back on this series with a real chapter. Thank you so much to whoever has stuck with reading every chapter; this is my first time actually writing a multi-chapter fic. There’s one chapter left before I move on to my next Nightbound series, which is pretty much a sequel to this story and the canon story. I hope you enjoyed this, and I welcome any and all comments!

Tagging: @furiouscloddonutpeanut @nighthunterkatherine @saivilo @samara-rani @god-save-the-keen @xxdangerouscapri15xx @inlovewithrebels

[toloveawarlord]

Pt. 1

Meet my first baby for Ikevamp! This is a short story of how the Ikevamp boys met a little girl who was destined to be in their little family.

Tagging @plumpblueberry for always supporting my ocs and tagging @xathia-89 for stealing my ocs away to use them for her amazing fics! I love you both so much!

Intermittent flashes of lightening lit the muddy path that the child struggled to follow. Bare feet slick with mud squished down into the soft earth with each rushed step. Her entire body drenched in the chilled rain that pelted against her skin. The dense forest’s terrain rough for the six-year-old to navigate. Her fear of the dark and unknown completely swallowed up by the fear of her pursuer.

The storm above threatening to the drown out the sin to be committed should she be caught.

Alara ran as fast as her little body would carry her, breaths growing heavier as the distance between her home and the safe haven that surely laid in this direction. Their house out in the countryside, far enough away from town that she could never hope to have made it there.

A light danced in the distance, drawing the child towards it. She searched for someone to help her, to take away the demon nipping at her heels. Brighter and brighter it grew drawing the little moth to its flame. The trees stood behind her, a mansion much larger than she had ever laid eyes on towered before her.

Her name echoing through the forest shattered the mesmerized state that she had begun to fall into. It came rumbling through her like the thunder booming across the darkened sky.

She trembled with how close that had sounded, slipping through the bushes neatly placed around the property like a barrier. The large back door had a handle far out of reach for her short stature. Options for escaping the raging entity dwindling down.

Should she keep going?

Light spilled out onto the neatly cut grass, unimpeded by a glass barrier. An opened window forgotten by the residents. A trellis filled with ivy gave her a makeshift ladder to access the house. She couldn’t keep her balance, slick hands unable to grip the ledge properly, sending the girl tumbling inside with a loud clatter.

Preparations for dinner spilling onto the floor around her, a metal bowl rolling across the once sparkling clean floor. A cloud of flour hung in the air.

“A child?”

The voice drew her attention up. Not alone in the kitchen, two men were equally shocked at her sudden entrance, and through the window no less. Her green eyes drifted over them, falling upon the sword attached to one’s hip. Danger flashed through her mind.

“Wait, come back here-”

Alara ignored the calls, bolting for the door to go further into the estate. The large dining hall in the process of being set for dinner gave little places for her to hide, but she settled beneath a side table with a red cloth draped over it, shielding her from immediate view. She drew her knees up to her chest smearing mud from her small legs onto her arms. The warmth from being out of the rain only sent chills down her.

The two from the kitchen had followed her, debating how to handle the situation. “Monsieur Napoleon, keep an eye on her while I inform le Comte of this development.” The one she assumed to be the butler exited the room swiftly.

Napoleon approached the table, dropping to one knee and gently swiping the cloth aside to get a better look at her. Drowned by the rain and speckled with mud all over, the girl looked absolutely pitiful. She was peeking up at him, wet strands of hair like a wrinkled curtain to block her face. “There’s no need to be afraid.” On a closer examination, her crème nightgown had been stained in crimson red.  “How did you find your way to this estate? You must have come a very long way.”

At his words, her head dropped, the girl retreating from the conversation. It was only a matter of time before the demon stumbled upon this place and would take her back to a living hell. The very thought of it creeping across her skin.

The door creaked open, two pairs of footsteps approached where Napoleon still observed her with concerned eyes. “She hadn’t spoken a word,” Napoleon said, allowing Le Comte to take his place.

“Bonsoir, little one,” Comte greeted her softly, coming to the same conclusion that the soldier had. Something terrible had happened to the child. None her age would have come so far in the deafening storm so late at night.

Trembling green eyes rose just enough to get a glimpse of the new man smiling softly at her. He must be the owner of the house, clothes made from the finest cloth, like hers had been. She could find no malice in him, nothing dangerous.

“Can you tell me your name?”

She opened her mouth to speak, sorely dry. “Alara.” Her voice barely a whisper, as timid as a cornered mouse.

Comte hummed, finding the name as cute as the girl before him. “A beautiful name. Will you tell me how you came to be at my estate?” From Sebastian’s explanation, she’d climbed in the kitchen window. It seemed her reason for being here was urgent. The girl wasn’t hiding from them, but from whatever had brought her this far away from town.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, his question forcing her to relive what had happened to her. Her arms covered her head, as if keeping her head safe from a blow about to strike her. “She wouldn’t wake up.”

“Who?”

“Mama! I just wanted her to wake up. She was bleeding and she needed a doctor. But she wouldn’t wake up.” Her entire frame quivering with fear, breaths choppy as the girl began to cry, repeating the same words over and over. She didn’t understand what had happened.

But, the three men knew.

Comte reached out to her, placing his hand atop her head. “It’s alright, little one. You’re safe here.” He did not ask who had committed the crime. She’d run away, and the culprit would surely be here soon enough. There was no need to add more fear for her. “Won’t you come out?”

The girl shrank back at those words, pressing her back against the wall, but there was no where for her to go.

“Sebastian, draw up a bath and see if we can get any clean clothes for her,” Comte called over his shoulder, still very much observing the girl that began to relax at his words. The idea of being warmed up and out of her wet clothes sounded good, and at its core, it sounded safe. “Napoleon, if you have the time, maybe Alara has a favorite food you could make her.”

Her mouth was watering at the sound of that. Dining habits at her house were not good, and never did she get the food that she wanted. The timid girl began to crumble into the innocent soul he knew she was. “Pancakes.” Green eyes alight with a spark of hope that had been buried beneath a blank stare. She’d only tasted them twice in her life, asked each morning for her mother to make them, but they were never made.

“Theo’s going to like her,” Napoleon commented, giving one last charming smile to the one slowly braving her way out back out into the open. He too, exited the room to return to the kitchen and clean the mess that had been made.

Alara cautiously placed her small hand within Comte’s, silently placing her heart as well. Trust reflecting in her pale green irises, showing desperate desire for safety, something that she had been deprived of in her own home.

“Tres Bein, mon petit cheri,” Comte praised, swiftly picking the child up into his arms, cradling her close. Sebastian wouldn’t outright complain but the trail of mud leading to where Alara had been hiding need not continue further into the mansion.

As requested, a bath had been prepared in a large basin, large enough to accommodate her small body. Stripped of her bloody clothes and comfortably sitting in the warm water that chased the chill from her body, Comte stepped away to drape his overcoat and suit jacket over a chair. “Is the temperature alright? Not too hot?”

“I’ve never been in a bath this warm before. Mama always bathed with beau-pere and mama would let me go after. It was always short because she couldn’t leave me alone since I can’t swim.” Alara cupped the steamy water, eyes staring into it as if seeing a precious memory within the ripples.

Comte rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up to his elbows as he bent to one knee by the basin. Her wording suggested that the man she lived with was not her father, but a step parent. “Well, take as long as you wish, but first allow me to get this mud out of your hair.

Her easy, idle chatter about the mansion, how big and marvelous it was, continue on until the water had begun to turn tepid. In the end, Comte had to persuade her to leave the bath or they may have remained there until dawn. After drying her hair, he tied it back with a silk ribbon. The only clothes available was an old button-down shirt that Sebastian had procured from another resident and tailored it to the best of his ability.

“Sir Isaac graciously surrendered the top,” Sebastian has said. With all his work, the shirt fell to her knees and the sleeves had been cut nearly completely off.

Alara sat in front of the fire, golden skin illuminated in the glow of the flames. Under all that dirt and grime, she was a breathtakingly beautiful child, and surely not of French descent. The mystery surrounding her only seemed to thicken.

“I believe your meal has been prepared. Are you ready to return to the dining hall?” Comte chuckled under his breath at her excitement. She hardly resembled the child that had hid under that table. A brilliantly innocent light radiated from her.

Not a speck of dirt could be found in the large hall, Sebastian meticulously cleaning it spotless. Alara hardly noticed, bounding across the plush carpet with silent bare feet. Sitting atop the table were three large pancakes dripping with syrup and butter. She scampered up to the emperor and a warm smile grew on face. “They look so yummy! Merci--” An abrupt stop brought about a despondent expression. She couldn’t remember his name.

Napoleon ruffled her damp hair, not bothered by the slip. “My name is Napoleon.”

“Merci, Napoleon!” Her cheerful demeanor returned. Alara only hesitated for a moment before hugging his leg. Doing that at her own home would have gotten her severely reprimanded. She climbed up into the large chair, sitting up on her knees to properly reach the table. The scent of sweet maple wafting up to her made her mouth water.

One bite in, the main door to the hall creaked open, bringing in another resident of the estate “Well, this is quite the unusual scene? What a brilliant little guest.” The mystery writer thoroughly intrigued by the human child. A playful grin spread across his lips as he claimed the vacant chair next to her. “And who might you be, little miss?”

“Alara.” Her voice nearly a whisper. The fork clattered against the plate of barely touched pancakes. Alara fully focused on the man beside her. With both hands on the arm of the chair, she rose up further on her knees, purely mesmerized and curious. “Why do you sound like that? Did you come to France from a faraway place too? What’s your name?”

Arthur chuckled, tapping a gloved finger against her nose to silence her. “That’s a lot of questions, princess. You can call me Arthur. I come from a place called England, which is why my accent isn’t French.”

A soft “oh” fell from her mouth and she brightened up with delight. “Well, I like it. You should talk more.” Alara could hardly get enough of hearing the way he spoke. It was nothing like she had heard before, being cooped up in her home all day long.

“Don’t worry, we can never get him to shut up,” Another voice interrupted, gruff and sounding slightly irritated. Two more residents had come in, having heard the gossip of her arrival.

“Theo, don’t scare her.” The other came up to the table, sitting across from her. They, too, didn’t sound quite like the French but it was close. An angelic smile soothed any fears that might have arose. “Hello there, kleine bloem. I’m Vincent and this is my little brother Theodorus, but we all call him Theo. You’re a beautiful little girl.”

The girl beamed at him, already finding their company to be enjoyable. All of those living here were being so kind to her. The staff at her house avoided her unless told to give her instructions or to scold her for breaking the rules. “What does that mean?”

Theo plopped down next to his brother, eyeing her pancakes with narrowed eyes. “He called you little flower. You’re having pancakes for dinner?” He wasn’t disgusted by the idea, no, more a look of jealousy that she had his favorite food.

“Mmhmm. They’re really yummy!” Her head bobbed with her words.

Vincent rested his chin on his palm, elbow leaned against the table, observing her closely. “Theo loves pancakes too. He eats them nearly every morning.” He received an empty glare filled with shock from the one next to him.

“Mama used to make them for me before we moved to France but now, she doesn’t make them. I wish--” Her happy expression melted into sorrow. The events of her evening flooding back to her mind. Alara dropped her gaze down to the table.

The sight of her mother’s body, drenched in blood, took away her breath. Her empty eyes had gazed right through her, like she wasn’t even there. That had been when her stepfather had found her, a crazed glint in his eyes. And he had smiled.

He never smiled at her, rarely even acknowledged her existence.

But tonight, he had grinned at her like a predator finding the perfect prey.

This only intended to be a one shot to introduce her to all the boys but it turned out much longer so I had to split it up between 3 ish parts. I wanted to get up a tiny tidbit of this munchkin before Xathia unleashes her AMAZING fic with her lovely oc Evelyn that also features my little Alara in it!

[xx-eatmyheart-xx]

So I uhm, have the second chapter and probably will have the third one soon so yeah, there you go! I decided to post my story here too to you know, keep the blog a little alive cause drawing isn't really my thing lately, I kinda have a bad artist block.

This chapter will be a little "boring", but I felt like it was necessary.

Hope you like it 🌸

-Abigail

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2 - Cupcakes

The image of her smile had tormented his entire night. That morning Arthur couldn't stop thinking at the woman's words while getting ready for his daily job, he couldn't stop wondering how someone that kind could exist in that city.

"Arthur? Are you sure, y/n? Randall is-"

"I'm sure, Mr. Vaughn."

Your stare almost scared him too, even if it was intended for his agent and his agent only. All that fire disappeared so fast when you turn to look at him that Arthur felt somehow special, for a moment.

Gotham was a really cold city. The trash that adorned its streets surely didn't help painting a good image of the big town and the still-not-painted clown's face was lost in those thoughts. Why would y/n chose Gotham? Was she really from another country? Or was that accent just an act? Her voice sounded so well in his ears, her words were so perfectly pronunciated that that must have been just a very original way to get a better and more realist idea of whoever she met.

Right, she wasn't a liar, she couldn't be one.

She was kind and gentle.

And she chose him.

"I want him"

While Arthur was feeling the seed of an obsession starting to force itself in his brain, his journey come to an end and his tracks stopped right in front of your shop.

Cupcakes, he should've imagined. They were so good, he surely was surprised when he took a bite out of one but he was even more shocked when he found himself wanting another one.

It wasn't a big shop, but you liked it so much. The walls were striped with the pastel version of your two favorite colors, the tiles on the floor were in shining black and white, as if mimicking a checkerboard.

The shop window took all the wall that faced the crowded street and it was decorated in the cutest way, with pastel cupcakes and delicate writings that said that one could have a tea party in your little shop.

In front of the showcase there were four black round iron tables, with ivy-branch-like legs that started from their center and fell gently on the floor with curles and iron leaves. The chairs recalled the tables, and in the same fairy-like way adorned your little tea space.

And your working space? Oh it was your favorite part of the shop. Behind your counter, which was the same color as the wallpaper, there was a wall full of toppings, tea sets and jars with tea leaves of all kind.

It was colorful, cozy and it was like entering in a tale.

That is how Arthur was feeling outside your shop: about to step in something that wasn't real.

You couldn't be real, neither could the wonderful little shop. He wasn't that far away from home, he probably walked for what? Twenty minutes? It couldn't be real. Not in that part of the city.

But then he looked at you, cleaning your counter, and your happiness while preparing for the big opening, he swore he could touch all of that joy.

"Come on Arthur. You can do it."

Maybe he let his thoughts slip from his lips, but nobody cared about whoever was speaking to themselves in that egoistic metropolis. So the man just took a big breath and stepped in your fairytale, ignoring the voice in his head.

"G good morning!"

He could feel it.

It was so close.

That damned laugh, it was so so close.

"Arthur!"

He had noticed the day before how your eyes sparkled when you smiled. He liked their color, it made him feel like everything was going to be okay.

The tenderness in your voice seemed to caress his anxiety and soothe it away, your energy was almost intoxicating.

Maybe the seed had started to grow.

His sudden entrance didn't even make you flinch the slightest, you had just turned your head toward him and smiled.

His appearence, though, made your stomach twist a little. He looked so pale and skinny in his camel jacket, you were just feeling like hugging him and telling him that it was okay, that you would protect him from everything.

Was it necessary though? You didn't know the man in front of you, but your instinct was once again louder than your worries.

You know you wanted to be friends with the trembling man.

You know he neede-

"I'm sorry for what Randall said yesterday."

Arthur's eyes were again locked to the ground.

"Dear you don't need to apologize for him, you did nothing wrong"

"Y yeah but he... He shouldn't have c called you that and I I I just-"

Oh no. Oh nono.

"Ha... Haha..."

No no no NO.

Stupid stupid STUPID.

"Did you already have breakfast? Do you want a cupcake?"

Y/n's voice was... Silvery. And sudden.

It was pleasant, clear and sweet.

Concerned.

Caring.

Arthur's voice was tremoulos, thic, it didn't want to be there.

He didn't want to speak.

Did he have breakfast?

" No, I hadn't"

Next thing Arthur knew was that he was sitting at her counter, with a warm cup of tea between his no longer shaking hands and your even warmer smile in front of his incredulous eyes.

Did you really just stop a fit with a single question?

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

You could've watched the clown all day.

Carnival, that was his name.

He told you that whilst getting ready in your little bathroom. Somehow the makeup seemed to help him, you did feel his voice getting more confident and it was not as shaky as before. Arthur told you about his mother too, how he took care of her, how they used to watch the Murray Franklin Show together, how much he enjoyed watching that man's performance.

And now that he was outside your shop swinging a bright sing that read "Gran Opening" and welcoming the people that had started to enter your shop, you couldn't stop asking yourself if that man was really as fragile as he seemed.

He looked almost happy.

Almost.

At a certain point he came inside the shop and spent the rest of the day entertaining kids. They loved him. You couldn't describe what was in their eyen in no other way.

For a few hours your shop really was a fairytale, with little giggles, chatting and people looking like they were enjoying the moment like nothing could touch them. Everything felt so far away from the cold reality of the city's critic situation that maybe, just maybe, you really made them forget about every single one of their problems for a few minutes and that feeling, that was what you were looking for.

Completeness.

But that didn't last as long as you would've liked.

Emptiness found its way back to your chest when the last costumer of the day left your shop.

You had dismissed Arthur a couple of times, but he insisted on staying until the very end. So now you were landing him a little paper box with an envelope attached.

"What is this?"

His gloved hands reached the thing and took it from yours, the fabric blocking his fingertips from feeling your soft skin.

"A little thank you, you did great. It's just a couple of cupcakes, but you have to wait till you'll be home to open the letter, okay?"

"... Okay"

Curiosity was clearly devouring him but your soft eyes were enough to suppress it. The man hold the box close and slipped the envelope in his jacket.

"Thank you again Arthur, I knew that you would've been the right choice"

He could feel his heart trying to break his ribcage to run away and scream at the world what you just said to him. But that was a good day and his embarrass bloomed in a simple blush and a little smile, no fits, no more awkwardness than the usual.

"Thank you, mis- y/n"

You had already jokingly scolded him for calling you "Miss l/n", but in all honesty you had found it kind of cute.

"I'm the one thanking you Arthur. Have a good night"

The sky was about to go dark and you had no intention of walking home at night. Sure, your little apartment was just a block down the street, but we're in Gotham, right?

The two of you remained in silence for what felt like hours. It was a comfortable type of silence and when Arthur almost jumped, you smiled at the thought of him feeling so at ease with you that he didn't even realize his own smile or his intense staring at you.

"I... Good night"