#her n her turnips

[shadowlurkerbug]

Miss Pauling is finally getting a vacation (not rly cause she’s still working a lot)

[yanderespamton78]

RAAAAA U GUYS I AM SO BORED GIMME THINGS TO DRAWWWW

PLS

(PREFERABLY DELTARUNE (ADDISON/SPAMTON) RELATED BUT ILL DRAW FOR ANY FANDOM IM IN (CHECK THE TAGS))

[checkeredflagggs]

Three Hearts Left

Pairing: max verstappen x fem!gamer!reader

summary: fans (and friends) are shocked when they find max is married and to who

a/n: I’m only a casual gamer so take it with a grain of salt

a/n 2: sorry it’s a really late - the weather hates me personally (it is actually September and doesn’t need to be 85* 😡) and it drained my creativity also I got hella sick so 🤷🏻‍♀️

a/n 3: I know I use the name Twitter when talking about that site. I’ll stop deadnaming it when musk rat does too

a/n 4: still not feeling 100% but I wanted to get this out for max’s bday!!

catpawsgaming

Welcome to the CatTree with the paw prints 🐾 ! I’m just a cat 🐈 mom Lady™ who loves the gaming but not the camera 📷. I’ve been playing games all my life and have been streaming for 3 years — as a hobby, not a full time job. I love my 2 cats, my handsome man, and you 🫵 all my lovely fans. You most definitely make all this worthwhile so mwah mwah 💋💋 (video)

catpawsgaming

liked by user, user, user, and 6,583,455 others

catpawsgaming: here we go! Baldur’s Gate 3 has been highly highly requested — so I bought it! …yesterday and forgot about it cause curse of capitalism I still have my day job 😭 but away we go!

As always, if you didn’t manage to catch my livestream it’ll be on my page and I’ll be uploading it to my YouTube channel tomorrow! My YouTube will have the 3 usual versions (one unedited with my reactions, one with just the game play, and one with no sound at all but with closed captions)

Next stream date and game tbh announced but will probably be this Sunday with Animal Crossing (fingers crossed 🤞🤞 I finally get a good turnip price 😭😭 Daisy Mae hasn’t been kind to me lately…)

view all comments

user1: guuuurrrrrrrllll it’s about time you got bg3! We been waiting

↳ catpawsgaming: definitely worth the wait though! I had so much fun and it was so hard to stop for the night

↳ user2: for sure it was 🤣 your reactions to shadowheart and astarion were hilarious

↳ catpawsgaming: they clocked my type on point

user3: glad we convinced you to become a bard! You’ll rock it 💙

↳ catpawsgaming: ok but this the closest you will get me to actually performing so enjoy it while it lasts

↳ user3: not gonna sing along?

↳ catpawsgaming: 🤣🤣🤣 🫵 🤡

↳ catpawsgaming: absolutely not.

↳ catpawsgaming: also handsome just bust out laughing at the thought of me singing so…🙄🙄🙄 he’s lucky I love him

↳ handsome: I am very lucky liefje

↳ user3: ahhhh we were so close to her singing but also awwww cause handsome is here!!

handsome: liefje this was amazing

↳ catpawsgaming: thank you 🥰🥰

↳ catpawsgaming: but also you were laughing at me the entire night so…

↳ catpawsgaming: not sure how much I believe you

↳ handsome: well I didn’t say it was good…

↳ catpawsgaming: 🤨😒😔😢

↳ handsome: 🥰🥰🥰

user4: oh to have a man that will spend hours with you doing separate hobbies together…

↳ catpawsgaming: gotta admit it’s the dream

↳ handsome: you’re the dream liefje

↳ user4: ok there handsome, no need to get sappy here on MY comment thread

Private Messages

mv1updates

liked by user, user, user, and 2,833,736 others

mv1updates: Max was streaming today! Just a short one but highly entertaining. Jimmy (or Sassy? I’m honestly baffled and for the life of me can’t tell them apart 😢) caused a small disturbance in the middle of his stream then slept the rest away in Max’s lap 😍

view all comments

user5: that was sooooo adorable!! Love seeing more cat dad Max

↳ user6: same! And don’t feel bad admin - I can’t tell them apart either

user7: to be Jimmy…🥵

↳ user8: right? What I wouldn’t give to be sleeping away in his lap…

↳ user9: blessed be. His damn thighs man 😳

user10: ok but am I the only one that heard a female voice in the background?

↳ user11: I THOUGHT I WAS GOING INSANE?? Like there was definitely someone there

↳ user12: wait when?

↳ user10: when max turned the camera to show jimmy on top

Private Messages

catpawsgaming

liked by user, user, user, and 5,822,944 others

catpawsgaming: and Daisy Mae delivered this week! Sunday I got a price of 90 and today!! Selling price of turnips is 658 this evening!! Woohoo!

I've got my usual set up going to allow visitors to sell and I’ll be playing for about 4 or 5 hours so let’s make some cash today! I just ask you be respectful of my island.

As always, if you didn’t manage to catch my livestream it’ll be on my page and I’ll be uploading it to my YouTube channel tomorrow! My YouTube will have the 3 usual versions (one unedited with my reactions, one with just the game play, and one with no sound at all but with closed captions)

My week is looking pretty busy (a lot of traveling happening) so my next stream will probably be sometime next week and I’ll be playing Horizon: Zero Dawn! Its sequel will be coming out soon and I want to replay the first to refamiliarize myself with the game!

view all comments

user13: yeessssss! I’ve been holding out that someone would have some fantastic selling prices this week! New house upgrade here I come!

↳ user14: oh don’t I know it! It’s been a downward slump all week for me — the high was 105 😭😭

↳ user13: ouch 🤕

user15: did anyone else hear the cat meowing in the background!

↳ user16: yes! Catpaws has got a couple of cats — they’re almost never on stream (they don’t like staying in one place for long) but catpaws got them right before they started streaming!

↳ catpawsgaming: 2 of them! They’re my babies! 🐈🐈

↳ user15: awwwww 😍😍

user17: can I say something? Is this a safe place?

↳ user18: it is not but say it anyway

↳ user17: it totally looks like she’s got a wedding ring on in the beginning of this stream

↳ user18: nurse! She’s out again

↳ user19: no no no let her cook. I totally thought the same. It was literally just a glimpse but I swear that she had a ring on

↳ user17: thank you! I knew I wasn’t crazy

↳ user19: but! That does mean our catpaws is married!!!!!

↳ user17: 😱

↳ user18: 😱

↳ user19: 😱

↳ catpawsgaming: 😉

↳ handsome: 💙

↳ user17: WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!?

catpawsupdates

liked by user, user, user, and 3,126,918 others

catpawsupdates: we’ve had a couple of requests lately asking about catpawsgaming and her cats! These are the first and last photo we’ve gotten — she’s incredibly secretive about them so we don’t know if this is the same cat in both photos or if she has 2 bengals (peep also handsome in the first photo. Catpaws was laughing when she posted that photo cause she’s usually the passenger princess)

view all comments

user20: I LOVE THEM

↳ user21: same! Insert that meme. “I’ve only had them for a day but if anything happened to them I kill everyone else then myself”

↳ user22: extreme but agreeable.

user23: that’s sassy - I’d bet money on it

↳ user24: sassy? What? Who?

↳ user23: sassy verstappen! F1 world champion max verstappen’s cat

↳ user24: ummm? This is a page for a small time gamer catpawsgaming

↳ user23: listen. Torture couldn’t get me to admit how long I’ve spent staring at pictures and videos of jimmy and sassy. But that is absolutely sassy!

↳ user17: I’m connecting the dots as I type

↳ user18: you’re not connecting shit

↳ user17: CONNECTING THE DOTS AS I TYPE

Private Messages

Bluesky

Private Messages

catpawsgaming

liked by user, user, user, and 3,712,222 others

catpawsgaming: tonight’s stream is gonna be a little late — I’m currently being held hostage by the cutest kidnapper ever

view all comments

user24: awwww

user25: your right. You simply can’t move!

↳ catpawsgaming: completely pinned down!

↳ user25: I don’t think anyone is gonna have a problem with your steam being late tonight

↳ user26: I’ve spoken to the council and we don’t! In fact we all vote for a stream of literally just the cat

↳ catpawsgaming:…you know that is an idea

↳ user26: omg. OMG. OH MY GOD!!

user23: THATS JIMMY!! I SWEAR ON MY LIFE

↳ user27: ok grandma. Let’s get you back to bed

handsome: so that’s where the little troublemaker is

↳ user28: omg hi handsome! Where’ve you been?

↳ catpawsgaming: ok I love all my fans but plz stop flirting with my man

↳ user28: can I flirt with you instead?

↳ catpawsgaming: 😳

↳ handsome: no

Private Messages

Bluesky

user29: ITS MAX VERSTAPPEN AND CATPAWSGAMING!!!! I TOLD YOU ALL

↳ user30: ok but are we really gonna take a gossip page as the truth?

user31: OH MY GOD THAT CRAZY FAN WAS RIGHT?!?

↳ catpawsgamingfan: I TOLD YOU. I TOLD YOOOOUUUUU

view all comments

maxverstappen1

liked by danielricciardo, charles_leclerc, landonorris, and 8,345,765 others

tagged: yourusername

maxverstappen1: liefje I know this is not how we wanted to share our love with the world but a light in the darkness is now I get to talk about how much I love you and how you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. These past 5 years have been a dream come true — and it’s been a dream I never knew I had. Seeing you that first time, you took my breath away. Forget the trophies and the victories, the world championships and titles I’ve won — becoming your husband has topped every single one of them. I can’t imagine my life without you anymore and I wouldn’t ever want to

comments have been restricted on this post

yourusername: oh my handsome man…you are the light of my life, the moon in my night, the stars in the sky, the best husband ever and the most loving cat dad I could have ever wanted to spend my life with. Thank you thank you thank you for picking me and staying with me and fighting for me and with me 💋💋

[marigoldenblooms]

April Foolishness - Headcanons

Pairing (Not all at once): Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader, Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader, Yelena Belova x Fem!Reader, Kate Bishop x Fem!Reader

MINORS DNI - 18+

Summary: How would they react to you failing miserably- masterfully pranking them at every turn?

Tags: Fluff, established relationships, swearing, attempted pranking (mentions of bugs/arachnids, fish), innuendos and tension, comfort, light power usage, no actual smut (fade to black).

A/N: Happy silly day, ya'll!! I wanted to do something fun between classes, so this is it- april fools pranks on my favorite girls. Not proofread at all. Enjoy the boops!

Images are not mine, credit to owners! ~~~

Wanda x Reader

You hadn't been dating Wanda for very long.

Well, if you don't count the years of pining, that is.

You had hidden yourself behind a corner in her hallway, arms out and ready to spook.

This had been your same trick from Halloween (which between that and the turnips did not go well-)

But this time it’d go swimmingly.

After thirty minutes later, you heard the familiar clack of her heels against the compound’s floors, and…

Nothing. Silence.

You peeked around the corner to see where the witch had gone, and-

“Boo.”

Her warm grasp hugged your middle , yet you swear you jumped out of your skin.

“What the- Fuck, Wands-“ Your terror was met with her musical laughter, patting the the sides of your stomach.

“Well if you insist, sweetheart.”

Her voice echoed

She’d let go of you, and you could see the sparkling mirth in her eyes once you turned around.

She placed a quick peck on your cheek, looping your hand with hers to play with your fingers, gaze downcast at them even as her mischievous words would enter your head without her mouth moving.

“If you want to spook a mind reader, darling..”

You gulped as her touch grew more bold, pinning you against the wall- face warming as she’d tilt her head,

“You’ll have to do better than that.”

She’d chuckle at your flustered reaction, her grin cheshire as she’d lead you back to her room, giddy with sweet excitement.

“And happy April fools to you too, Wan-“

~~~ Natasha x Reader

Natasha had always managed to prank you first before you could prank her.

One year prior, you’d ended up with an egg in your hair while your whipped-cream pie prank had gone unsung.

And that was some really good whipped cream.

This year, though- you had buttered her up. Perks of being her partner- the pranks could go even harder.

“Good morning, my dearest sunshine-“ You’d murmur, settling her in with breakfast in bed.

Your trick? Salt in her coffee instead of sugar. Genius.

Natasha propped herself up on her arms, giving you an upturned eyebrow, “Oh, and what’s the occasion?”

“Oh, nothing much..” A shit eating grin plastered her face, one that would soon be returned by the redhead.

“Birthday? Anniversary..?” She’d poke at your side as you sat down, her touch ticklish as she helped you settle the tray of food on her bedsheets.

“M-mmn, nothin’, sugar..” Oh, how you’d be eating those words soon enough.

You’d watch as she’d take a sip from her coffee, eyes wide and sparkling as she opened her mouth-

And sighed in bliss.

What the fuck was wrong with this woman.

“Delicious, baby..” Natasha purred, taking another hardy swig, and you watched as she swallowed. “You’ve outdone yourself..”

“I…uh-“ Your babbling words would be cut short as you took a drink of your own mug-

And was met with intense, uncomfortable sodium.

She cackled as you spit your mouthful back into your cup, punching her jokingly with a red face, “You- you fuckin’-“

“Switched them?”

“Not just the brew-“ Your hand would’ve found your forehead in shock, “But the mugs too- how the shit did you do that?”

“A spy will never reveal her secrets-“ She’d lean up to kiss you, but instead would shift the platter over to the side. “And you need to wash your mouth out.”

“Not before I drink my coffee..” You’d hiss, chugging her now lukewarm mug down.

That was, until you saw a plastic totally real cockroach on the bottom of the mug, shrieking before chucking it against the wall.

“Love you too, dear.”

~~~ Yelena x Reader

You didn’t think Yelena could be scared of anything.

She threw a knife at the fake spider you pranked her with last year.

And she spat in the face of the ‘piranhas’ that had infested your room’s bathroom two years ago.

And even so, you tried again this year- although with something much less terrifying.

You'd flooded Yelena's room with multicolored balloons, painstakingly blowing them up before gently setting them on her floor.

And the best part?

She was asleep in her bed the whole time.

You had almost finished the second bag of balloons when Fanny, ever the sleepy Akita, finally stirred from their rest.

The pup locked eyes with you, and you were so thankful that they didn't bark.

That didn't stop Yelena from waking, though.

The blond would rise quickly, eyes darting around as soon as her dog moved an inch. You swear she had murder in her eyes, although that might've just been from awakening so quickly.

It all left her once she found you, though.

Groggily, she'd wipe at her eyes, mumbling something before kicking her foot off the bed to stand-

Bumping into a stray balloon.

She recoiled immediately, yowling as though she'd been pained deeply- and you were at her side in a heartbeat.

"Yelena, shit- you okay?"

"Yeah.." She'd gruff, her shoulders slacking once your hands found purchase on them. She'd hide her head in your shoulder, a surprising gesture.

You wrapped your arms around her, rubbing soothing circles into her back, "No need to be frightened, honey.." She'd hold you closer, and a flicker of thought ran through your mind, "Lena..are you scared?"

"What-? No-" She'd deny, her voice especially thick this early in the morn. "You just startled me-"

"That's a form of fear, hun-" Your chuckle was met with a groan from her, before she pulled her blankets back over the two of you.

Her words were muffled, "Fine, you got me- but now you hold me until I say so."

"My big, bad, scary Lena...of course, honey."

~~~ Kate x Reader

No matter what you pranked Kate with, she was always worried about you.

It's not unfounded, after you fell down the stairs during last year's April Fools, but still.

This time, you’d actually get her.

"Kate, made you some brownies!"

You heard her clamor with a fevrency that made her sound like a one man band.

She burst out of the hallway, expression wild with hunger and apprehension-

Until she saw you holding some kiddy scissors exceptionally sharp blades of murder and death and terror and-

“Babe!” She’d screech, barreling forth to snatch the scissors from your careful hands, placing them gently on the counter, before inspecting your palm for even the slightest scratch.

She hadn’t even noticed the brown construction paper, or the cut letter you’d pressed towards her middle.

“Kate, earth to Kate-��� Your smile towards her shook her from her thoughts, “I’m okay, pretty girl..Happy April Fools!”

Between the panic and the praise, her brain had to do a soft restart after that.

After a few more seconds, her goofy grin would return again, almost coy, “Gave me a heart attack there, you know-“

“I know,” You’d motion to the tin of hello kitty bandaids you’d raided from Tony, “And I was prepared, you doofus.”

She’d smile, nodding along until her face flushed- her hand rubbing smooth circles into your hip.

“But if you, you know- wanted to do some scissoring, as they say-“ You’d sigh, shaking your head with a teasing lilt, “You’re verryy smooth, dear.”

You’d press a boop to her nose, a teasing whisper, “I’ll think about it.”

~~~

[rhenuvee]

Playing Animal Crossing New Horizons with Genshin Boys [Modern AU]

A/N: This is not important but I almost wrote sea bass with the characters

»»———————————-««

Treats it like Minecraft. Farms the heck out of your island for materials, and makes his own little "base" that's bordered by fences. Has enough wood, rocks, iron nuggets, etc to supply him for a year.

Razor, Bennett, Albedo, Alhaitham, Chongyun, Gorou, Kazuha, Mika, Thoma, Tighnari, Wanderer, Xiao

Chaotic. Attacks you with a net, sends you purposely cringey notes with a smelly sea bass attached, dresses like a hot dog after telling him to dress nice for a picture, probably decorates his house like a demon summoning ritual.

Childe, Cyno (does it to make you laugh), Itto, Kaeya, Lyney, Venti

Has sooo many bells... and from what?? He is your resident glucose father, always giving his bells to you to pay your debts. That 75,000 bell piano? It's yours. Really good with the Daisy Mae stonks, buys 100 turnips every time.

Alhaitham (asks you to catch a Coelacanth first), Ayato, Childe, Diluc, Kaeya

Broke. You’re the one with millions of bells. Takes so long for him to get out of the tent, and can't pay his home loans for days- but always has money for buying random things like a chair? Sometimes they have bells, but still ask you for some to annoy you. Also frequently gets scammed by Redd.

Bennett, Itto, Kaveh ("why does this feel oddly familiar..?"), Venti

Trash island. They are hoarders (honestly me). Your island's trees are still at the original random locations, along with weeds you have to pick every time, and some unknown "leaves" scattered everywhere. You say this is the reason Isabel gave your island a 2* rating but he denies it.

Bennett, Razor, Cyno, Itto, Venti

Clumsy. Always gets stung by wasps because he never takes out the net on time, falls for pitfall seed traps, and lots and lots of sea bass.

Bennett, Gorou, Itto, Kaveh

Treats it like Pokemon. Catches every single fish, bug and ocean species, completes the art gallery, every DIY. If you need something caught or made, he's your man.

Albedo, Bennett, Chongyun, Cyno, Freminet, Kazuha, Mika, Razor, Heizou, Thoma, Tighnari

Wholesome af. This one gifts you sweet letters with nice gifts, aw. Plants lots of flowers outside your houses. Always gives you things you need. Probably decorated a small little space your you two, and gives the villagers nice gifts too.

Ayato, Baizhu, Bennett, Freminet, Kaeya, Kaveh, Kazuha, Lyney, Mika, Thoma, Venti

Doesn't really play video games... but he knows you like it so he tries to understand it. He's like a tourist, following you around, occasionally getting sidetracked by random things such as villagers. He doesn't know about the mailing system (yet) so he drops off gifts for you in front of your house.

Alhaitham, Ayato, Baizhu, Diluc, Gorou, Kazuha, Mika, Razor, Thoma, Xiao, Zhongli

Villager drama enthusiast (but chaotic). You tell him about your island and the personalities of your villagers. He goes a step further by making up gossip like "_____ cannot be neighbours with _____ because he cheated on her with _____!"

Childe, Kaeya, Kaveh, Lyney, Heizou, Venti, Xingqiu

The artist. Takes Animal Crossing very seriously. Has only the best clothes and furniture, sometimes making his own custom designs. Terraformed and decorated your island to a T, and takes cute pictures with you in the museum's aquarium, fireworks festival, etc.

Kaveh, Kaeya, Kazuha, Lyney, Venti

The competitive one. Originally he thought Animal Crossing was just a cutesy game. Once you introduce him to it, it doesn't take long for him to complain about Tom Nook being a capitalist and struggling to pay his loans and complete the museum. You offer to help but he insists on doing it himself.

Itto, Tighnari, Wanderer, Kaveh

»»———————————-««

[bigtreefest]

Chapter 3: Honey Trap

From: You Catch More Bees With Honey Series

Pairing: Mob! Bucky x Farmer! Reader

Summary: A Farmer’s Market and Pouring out your heart over a beer leads to Bucky learning more about his favorite mysterious farmer

Content/warnings: mentions of previous heartbreak and descriptions, a surprising amount of crying/near-crying, soft mobster Bucky, Heartless Jake, Creepy Cole, mentions of blood/period (not graphic and should be normalized because this happens to me all the time and I know I’m not alone in that), excessive drinking and lowkey alcoholism, cowboy hat rule, mutual pining and reluctance towards that, y/n used like three times

Word Count: 5,295

A/N: I didn’t mean for this chapter to be this long, but also, I definitely meant for it to be this long. Sorry for making dear, wonderful, Jake Jensen out to be a bad guy, and NOT sorry for making Cole Turner a creep. Likes, comments, reblogs, and asks are SUPER appreciated. Thank you for reading, I love you *gives forehead kiss*

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

< Prev | Series Masterlist | Next >

Bucky knew lots of languages. Country was not one of them. You would think it would be, with how many arms purchasers were from the south, but he kept his dealings with those folk as short and formal as possible. It was better for his sanity and everyone else that way.

He’d been running into a lot of country folk today, helping you run this farmer’s market out of one of your barns. Half of his conversations with people were full of twangy words and phrases he didn’t understand, so he just lightly laughed, hoping that was the right response. The other half were children, asking him what the bump was on the side of his head, the result of the bee incident earlier this week. Before, it was slightly swollen and red, but it was nearly back to normal. Darn kids have keen eyes, though, and no shame. He’d just about had enough. These people were too polite, besides their annoying children. Lucky for him, though, he’d sold off the last of the turnip greens, and his cash box was full, so he made his way over to you at the stand holding the freshly jarred honey you’d successfully, and he’d not-so-successfully harvested earlier in the week. It was just in time to catch the tail end of a conversation he saw you were having with a slightly older woman.

“You’re like our very own honeybee”

“Oh please, Mrs. Jensen, you know the bees do all the work. I just put it in a jar”

“You’re too modest, dear. My Jakey says no one makes sweeter honey than you. I always tell him to come back and help if he loves it that much, but it seems he’s too late now. Looks like you’ve got yourself a new farm hand who’s easy on the eyes”

Bucky glanced up at her through his eyelashes with his signature smirk, raising to a stand from setting the empty turnip green crate at your feet. “Well you know what they say, honeybees don’t work alone. And their hard work makes the world go round.”

For some reason unbeknownst to him, Bucky slung his hand over your shoulder. Was it jealousy he was feeling? Possessiveness? Why, he didn’t own you and he promised himself he wouldn’t fall, physically or metaphorically (although it was far too late physically, and he didn’t want to think about how close he truly was metaphorically). Plus, it’s not like he was having the best time right now. This whole week was a nightmare, and the only reason he was in a decent mood was from seeing your smile as you interacted with the town’s folk today. You were a person of the people, in juxtaposition to how Bucky was often only looking out for himself. So why did the mention of Jakey make this feel necessary and why did it feel so right? Either way, he was proud of you and your hard work and the way it made people beam as bright as Mrs. Jensen. But he’d never say that. Where he’s from, hard work is expected and definitely not praised, although not nearly as manual. But seeing all the effort for that couple jars of honey made him question if the work he was even doing was that hard. Maybe he’d been away from the city too long and was losing perspective. Yeah. That had to be it.

“Well, either way, bless y’all’s heart for putting in the work. I’ll tell Jake you say hello.”

You and Bucky both waved goodbye.

“Well how about it Honeybee, Jakey appreciates all your hard work” he smirked, but watched the smile slide off your face.

“Try telling me that with our awful breakup years ago” you shrugged off with a small chuckle, but Bucky could see the light drain out of your eyes a little. He had obviously struck a nerve, but didn’t want to push farther, at least not now when there were still a few customers aimlessly shopping around for the last bits of produce left. Maybe he’d catch you once the two of you were alone.

You turned away from him to hide your grimace. Thinking back to that whole situation with Jake, on top of serving others all morning had completely drained you and it was quickly catching up.

“Um, why don’t you finish cleaning up the rest of the empty crates after you ask those last few people how you can help them with anything” you waved off Bucky back towards the other end of the barn, head down, starting to look through the cash box he had handed you. You waited until you could hear his receding footsteps on the hay floor to sniffle and take a deep breath. Bucky had keen ears, though, and hesitated hearing your sigh, before he continued on, giving you your chance to regroup. He had never seen you like this before, you were normally chipper and full of energy, often a little too much for his liking, but luckily it was Friday, and after he closed these deals, you both were home free.

Bucky quickly helped the last few stragglers take their rather large haul back to their car. An older man and woman who owned the bar in town had come to get some fresh vegetables for their salads, and Bucky convinced them to take the lot with his charm. That, and he wanted to make sure he didn’t have to carry them all the way back to storage. That was a long way, and you made him walk it. He rolled his eyes when you had told him about the task, too, handing him the handle to a little red wagon with a beaming smile on your face, insisting “that’s how Pappy did it before his first tractor” and “what did you think, I like wasting diesel for food that’s supposed to have a low carbon footprint? That’s why I’ve got you, Bucket.” So Bucky grumbled under his breath at first light, angry, yet amused that the nickname stuck, but still too tired to react any differently when he started the first of his dozen trips to move the produce from storage into the farmer’s market barn. And there was no way he was gonna do that again, so he convinced the couple to take the lot, even offering to carry it out to the car for them, because that was better than the quarter mile walk both ways through the tall grass of your fallow fields to return them.

“Thank you so much for your help, Jamie. You’ve taken such good care of us, you should come by the bar later if you can get some free time from Miss Y/L/N over there. She’s quite the hard worker, maybe bring her along. Drinks on us.” The older lady looked at Bucky with a soft smile.

Jamie, no one had called him that since his mom. Country folk and their want for instant closeness. He hardly knew this lady and already she was trying to be endearing, but her forced charm was nothing compared yours even when you weren’t trying. She looked over Bucky’s shoulder at you carrying a stack of heavy wooden crates out of the barn, hardly struggling, but very determined before sliding them back into the truck. Bucky’s eyes followed hers, a small grin of admiration creeping onto his face at your independence and mastery at everything you do, no matter how simple.

“Yeah, hardest worker out there. I’ll see if I can convince her to take a break.” He turned back and walked the lady to her door, opening it for her to get in.

“Drive safely. Hope to see you later Mr. and Mrs. Carter.” He shut the door and made his way back over to your truck. You had already gotten in and started it with the windows down. Bucky slid into the bench seat to be met by you with your forehead resting on the wheel in between your hands. You took a sharp inhale and shot up, putting on a fake smile, albeit less forced than earlier.

“Ready to go meet Curtis? We’ve just gotta touch base with him and then we’re good to be done for the day.”

“Um, yeah. Sounds good.”

Bucky wasn’t sure how to continue with you in that mood. Should be keep talking? Did you prefer the silence to think? The radio was low on the dash, but not silent, so he decided to speak up.

“Did you see who I was helping? They said they own the bar in town. Maybe we can go for a drink tonight? Celebrate a long week done?”

You sighed. Again. “Um, yeah. I actually think that sounds really good. We both need the decompression. TGIF, ya know?” You forced out a small laugh which Bucky returned and he turned forward as you continued the drive back toward your house.

When the two of you entered the farmhouse, your were greeted by Curtis, your weekend farmhand, sitting at the dining room table. He had already helped himself to a glass of sweet tea you kept in the fridge, mainly for him, which was made from your Aunt’s recipe he loved so much.

“Oh, good, you’re back from chores already.” Curtis had been kind enough to come in today to work on some tasks since you and Bucky had your hands full with the market. He usually only worked Saturday and Sunday since this was his second job, but he’d sometimes come in to help extra, like today.

“Bucket, this is Curty b—oh sorry, Curtis. He’s the one that makes sure things run smoothly when I’m not. He’s a whiz at fixing the machinery, perks of him also being the best mechanic in town.”

Bucky warily stepped forward, eyes narrowed, barely noticeable, and shook Curtis’s hand. Who is this guy who let himself into your house? “Bucky is fine, really.”

Curtis let out a chuckle, “nice to meet you, Bucket. It’s ok, I talked to Y/N about making cheese curds once, and she’s called me ‘Curty boi’ ever since.”

Bucky laughed and shook his head, looking over his shoulder. You just shrugged with a small smile on your face, already more relaxed and relieved to be inside your home with someone you didn’t feel like you had to put up a front for, that was reassuring. Bucky went into the kitchen to get you both a glass of water as you sat next to Curtis at the table, joined by Bucky sitting across after he handed you your glass. The three of you briefly talked about the chores Curtis had done that day, how the farmer’s market went, and what all needed done that weekend.

Curtis seemed nice, not threatening. The visceral tinge of jealousy left Bucky’s body as the conversation went on. If Curtis was going to make a move, he would’ve done it by now, surely. But the two of you were clearly just close friends. Why did Bucky keep feeling like this?

As you wrapped up, Curtis slapped his knees with both his hands and went to stand. “Well, I better get going, sun’s starting to get pretty low.”

Curtis and Bucky had been getting along pretty well, so you spoke up. “Well actually, Bucky and I were gonna go to the bar in town tonight. Care to join?”

“Yeah, I’d love to. There are just a few things I’ve gotta check on in the shop first, but I can drop by after. Does that work?”

“For sure. We’ll see you then” You and Bucky shared a small smile before you closed the door behind Curtis and turned back to the mob boss standing in your foyer.

“Ok, Cowboy. Good job today. Go take a shower, we’re going out.” Bucky beamed, which you returned, and he felt a warmth bloom in his chest at your praise.

“Yes, ma’am, Miss Honeybee” you smiled and rolled your eyes as he ran up the steps, following behind to get ready, yourself. He was really glad your mood was starting to turn around.

As Bucky went to his room to gather his clothing, his mind started to drift towards why he cared how you felt. He was just here for business, right? So why did it bother him if you were sad? If anything, he should want you vulnerable to help him come out on top of your business, but something deep inside of him felt more satisfaction when you were winning. He shook the thoughts from his head. Maybe a cold shower could help him sort this out.

Bucky came down the stairs and sat on the couch just as he heard your hair dryer start up. He had gotten ready quickly, throwing on one of his henleys, his nicer jeans, and a pair of boots Sam had sent him this week when he had heard about the whole ‘borrowing clothes situation.’

He shot Steve a text, telling him that the two of you were going out to the bar with Curtis, to which he replied Have fun, Bucket😉.

Ugh, why did he have to tell Steve about that, it was never gonna go away now. Bucky had gotten a call from Steve each evening giving updates on the business, with Bucky doing the same on his end, keeping it short, only noting the highlights and trying to keep his emotions in check and out of the updates. His best friend knew better, though, even if Bucky wasn’t fully aware of the extent of his feelings yet.

Bucky got up and walked around, looking through the photos and knick knacks in your living room, before stopping by the mirror behind your front door and checking his appearance. This look wasn’t what he was used to. He was extremely dressed down compared to the designer suit he’d likely be sporting in one of his clubs if he were back in the city. He hadn’t even bothered to gel his hair because it seemed you didn’t care when he did, plus, he wanted to save that valuable product for a real occasion, no use in wasting it to go slum with a bunch of hillbillies. He looked to the coatrack next to the mirror to see a hat that matched his boots perfectly and plopped it on his head, swaying side to side to see how it looked.

Just then, you started to make your way down the stairs but stopped in your tracks seeing Bucky in that hat. His head snapped up to look at you.

“What? Does this hat make me look dumb?”

You smiled and shook your head.

“No, not at all” Bucky could see tears well up in your eyes, accompanied by sparkles of fondness and, sadness?

“That was my uncle’s hat. He taught me everything I know”

“Oh, I’m so sorry” Bucky went to take the hat off but you stopped him.

“No- it’s okay. It looks good on you. Go ahead and wear it out tonight.”

Bucky looked back at you with a somber nod as you continued back down the stairs, taking a deep breath to settle the emotions that had nearly breached the surface.

Even in this state, you looked gorgeous. Hair flouncing in the breeze that was created as you drifted down the steps, wearing makeup he hadn’t seen since the first time you two had met and a sundress that blew him away. You were gorgeous in all states because you were you. Bucky looked down, kicking his feet, to pull his magnetic glance from you. He’s really gotta switch up the power dynamic here, and if there was one place Bucky could feel at home after a week of embarrassing himself, it was a bar. He grabbed the keys and you followed with an eye roll, getting into the passenger seat of your own truck. He didn’t even know where he was going, but he looked at you with a sly grin. Like for the first time, he had the upper hand, and that would only come from being anywhere but on your farm.

Bucky was a good driver, despite his statements about some guy named ‘Gio’ and grumbles about Sam, who you had met once before. Besides that, the drive was filled with laughs reminiscing all the mishaps he went through that week, well, mostly you laughing, and Bucky doing his best to hold a smirk from showing too obviously, his eyes narrowed at you in contrast.

The two of you pulled into town as you pointed Bucky towards a decent-sized building which housed the bar, still nothing compared to what he was used to. The two of you hopped down from the truck and walked through the front door, which jingled, signaling your entrance.

Bucky was greeted by the smell of old wood and stale beer, the dim atmosphere lit with old neon beer signs and fluorescent lights which hung over the pool tables. You looked back at Bucky as you crossed the threshold where he held the door for you.

“Hey, all I’m saying is, I bet you wouldn’t last a week in my world the way I did in yours.”

You rolled your eyes as you sauntered up to the bar, taking a seat at the corner, Bucky next to you, and a few more empty seats to the other side of him that would hopefully stay that way until Curtis came. As the two of you had walked up to the bar, you had seen a bunch of girls groups whose heads turned, seeing the stranger that was Bucky make his way across the floor. Why couldn’t he be ugly? And why did you let him wear that hat? Bucky didn’t even notice. His eyes were only on you, besides his trained peripheral vision catching the eyes of men whose heads turned towards, doing the same.

“Oh please, Bucket, you hardly made it through this week. I’ve never seen anyone cut their finger on wheat before. How did you even do that? You were literally up on the tractor… wheat should not have been anywhere near your hands, yet you came to me with several paper cut-looking marks. And what do you even do all day? Your hands have calluses but a totally different kind. You can hardly toss a hay bale a story high into the barn loft. I’m sure it wouldn’t be that hard for me to just sit at a desk, bark orders, and sign paperwork all day.”

Bucky’s mouth gaped open as he feigned offense and put his hand on his chest.

You flashed a fleeting smile at him in satisfaction as you waved down the

bartender ordering two shots of whiskey and two beers.

“Now just because that’s all you’ve seen me do for work, doesn’t mean that’s all there is to it.”

“Oh really? Please, Bucket, then be my guest…indulge me.”

“Well, if I told you, I’d have to kill you, so take that as one of the common requisites.”

He smirked at you, obviously more comfortable in this bar environment before your phone dinged and it was a message from Curtis.

Hey Y/N. So sorry, something came up at the shop. Rain check?

Yeah, no problem. Hope all is good, see you tomorrow?

Yep! Ty

“Well, looks like Curty boi isn’t joining us, so it’s just you and me, Bucko”

At that moment, the bartender set down the drinks in front of you and you and Bucky took a shot together, ordering an appetizer sampler platter to go with your drinks.

As the two of you nursed your beers, you joked more about Bucky’s farm mishaps and talked about all the men you had turned down from Bucky’s organization to get him out here.

“I’ve gotta be honest, I don’t know how you turned down both Sam and Steve. I’m hardly immune to their charms some days”

You laughed and threw your head back. “It’s not easy. They’ve both got these puppy dog eyes they make when I say ‘no’ to them, but they seemed pretty satisfied with the fact I wanted to see you in person.”

“And why exactly was that? You never quite said”

“Well, at first, it started as a way to delay the deal, but then I realized, if I’m going to be making some major changes to somewhere I consider a sanctuary, I wanna make sure it’s with the right partner” you nudged him with your elbow playfully and Bucky gave you a small grin. “But honestly, if I’m going to do something these days, I wanna do it at the source. I hate hearing important news from third parties, I mean, you’ve seen how I do business. It’s all me at the end of the day. Sure, Curtis helps out, but otherwise, it’s better to deal with things on my own and a few trusted people” you finished that statement breathless from your heated ramble. This didn’t go unnoticed by Bucky at all. Where did that come from? At first, to him, you were just another bug to be squashed in order to get more control over his industry, but did he care now? Did he truly care about what was upsetting you? What caused that hurt you were obviously tampering down? Does this have to do with Jakey?

Bucky hadn’t realized he said that last part out loud until you responded.

“No! Well, maybe? Like, sort of?”

“Can I ask? Can I ask what happened there? Only if you want to share”

“Um… yeah, sure, I guess. You’ve embarrassed yourself enough this week so I think you’ve earned this a little bit.”

You took a deep breath and began. “Jake and I grew up together. We met in kindergarten in school and were instantly close. We were the only two gifted kids in class, so the teacher sent us to the side for extra lessons while the rest of the class learned with her. From that point on, we were inseparable. Two smart little twerps who took on the world together, but our lives were so different. In middle school, I started to take on more responsibility on the farm and he started getting into computers, but we’d still see each other. In high school we started officially dating, and I was so happy to be with someone who I felt like intellectually got me. I think it was the same way for him, too. He’d crack such nerdy jokes, and no one got them but me”

You smiled nostalgically at the memory. “When our senior year came along and my uncle wasn’t doing that well, I applied to more local schools, but he didn’t. We had always talked about going off to college and living together, but he wanted that life to be far away from here, and I had obligations. I got into the local college on a full ride for agriculture and civil engineering, and he decided he’d rather go to MIT for computer science. I asked if he’d be willing to stay since he got into college around here, too, but he said he wanted to be around people who were ‘more like-minded to him.’ As if we hadn’t been the only ones who had understood each other for over a decade.”

Bucky gave you a sullen look as your head fell and you looked down at your hands. He signaled to the bartender for a water and two more rounds of shots.

“I just, I just didn’t understand how he could act like that after so long. So I asked him when he was leaving so I could see him off. We were still friends, after all, but he left without a word. When I saw him again over Christmas break that winter, I felt like he had turned into some overweening, highfalutin, jerkwad. I didn’t really know him anymore, and I had enough to focus on already, so I just kinda stopped talking to him. As you could see today, his mom still comes around, but it’s not really the same. I don’t think she ever really truly saw the way he changed, she’s too caught up in having a son who lives in Silicon Valley now, but apparently he still asks for stuff from the farmers markets.” You shrugged and thanked the bartender for the shots, pounding all four before you excused yourself to the restroom, leaving Bucky to sit there shocked.

He had known where you went to college and how smart you are, but things like what happened with Jake don’t show up on paper. However he clocked you before, you were even stronger than that, because despite how you were hurt, you still wore your heart in your sleeve and showed compassion to everyone around.

You washed your face and looked in the mirror. Sure, that experience with Jake sucked, but it’s been years and you were over it now. Didn’t mean it was fun to relive it all. You decided to go into one of the stalls, the alcohol already kicking in and making you have to pee. You sat down and that’s when you saw it: blood. So that’s the reason for the waterworks all day today. That’s why you felt so tired and couldn’t help tearing up at the slightest things. Luckily the girl in the stall next to you had some products. You cleaned up and washed your hands, forcing a smile in the mirror until it became real, honestly relieved at having a reason for your out-of-character behavior. You headed back out to Bucky in a much more chipper mood and he looked up at you with a quirked brow. He figured you’d taken the time you needed. He was appreciative of you being so open with him, and wasn’t going to question the switch-up since he was just so happy to see you being yourself again after a long day.

“Up for a game of pool, cowboy?”

“Oh, you’re signing up to lose, Honeybee”

“Ok, ok, best four out of seven” Bucky whined as you giggled, whiskey shots catching up to you as you held another beer bottle in your hand. Bucky was hardly affected, he essentially rocked this much alcohol in his system by noon on a daily basis. Just then, his phone rang, and he motioned to show you it was Steve. You gave him a thumbs up and started to rack the balls to set up for the next game.

You watched Bucky walk out the door as you felt a presence looming behind you. You turned around and stood up, eyes tracing up a body dressed in brown hues until you reached a set of blue eyes shaded by a cowboy hat brim.

“Oh, howdy, can I help you?”

“I sure hope so. Can I get you a drink? Two whiskey sours” the stranger yelled over to the bar.

“Oh, uh, thanks.”

“My name’s Cole, Cole Turner. What’s a pretty girl like you doing here all alone?”

He was handsome, there was no denying that, but something seemed off. You plastered your best fake smile on your face. You didn’t need a confrontation tonight, not in your favorite dress. You didn’t want to taint the memory of it because of some rando. Wait. Was he a rando? Where have you heard the name ‘Turner’ before? Before you could continue your train of thought, a waiter came over with your drinks. They were very sweet compared to what you’d had all night, just like his demeanor, which seemed like a thin veil over the surface. You tried to channel your drink’s energy into your words to sweetly reply until you could properly remember who he was through your alcohol-fogged mind.

“Oh, I’m not here alone. I’m here with a friend”

“Hate to break it to you sweetheart, but I don’t see anyone around. You up for a game?”

Before you could even open your mouth to respond, he grabbed a pool cue and made a move to break. After that, he was keeping a little too close to you constantly. You did your best to stay kind, but must’ve been sending the wrong signals as he asked you “You wanna get out of here? I’ve got a hotel room down the road.”

In an attempt to change the subject you asked “Oh, so you’re not from around here? What are you doing in town?” Looking towards the door hoping Bucky would be done with his update any minute now.

“Ah, I used to live around here. My family owns a string of dairy farms. I’m here to try and convince these small-town farmers to give up the land.”

Your eyes went wide. Luckily you were facing away from him. He was that Cole Turner. The one whose family ran a packaged beverage empire and prided themselves on squashing the little guy. You were lucky he didn’t seem to recognize you yet, as the last remaining competitor in town. The one he had probably come in to squash. Just then, lost in thought, you felt a hand snake around your waist and you flinched.

“Relax, Honeybee, it’s just me” Bucky whispered in your ear. Your shoulders visibly relaxed as you turned around and threw your arms around his neck, holding on for dear life. You pulled away, but not enough for Bucky’s hand to leave your waist, and looked between the two men, grabbing Bucky’s hat and placing it on your head immediately.

“Uh, James, this is Cole. He’s visiting town.”

Bucky reached out his hand Cole shook it. Cole took a large step back after, respecting the hat on your head, and, was he intimidated by Bucky’s stature? Sensing your discomfort, Bucky spoke up. “Nice to meet you. Shame we’re heading out now.”

You grabbed Bucky’s hand, not looking back, and headed straight to the door as quickly as your numb, wobbly legs would take you. Once you were met by the cool, crisp night air, you sighed in relief and rested your forehead on Bucky’s shoulder.

“Thank you for helping me get out of there”

He shuddered at your proximity and the comfort you felt in this type of contact. It felt natural and he never wanted it to stop. With a soft smile and a glance at the top of the hat, he said, “No problem, Honeybee. Let’s get home.”

He helped you get up into the cab of the truck, sliding you across the bench seat before he got in and started it up.

“So what was the deal with the hat? And that guy?”

You yawned and stretched, settling in against Bucky’s shoulder.

“Uh, when a girl takes a guy’s hat and puts it on her head, it means she’s going home with him. And don’t worry, I didn’t mean it like that, I just wanted that guy to get off my back. We can talk more about that later.”

You wiggled to get more comfortable, your hand still in Bucky’s as he used the other to steer the truck down the old country roads. Your eyes fluttered shut as you fell asleep on him. His eyes flickered between you and the road in the headlights ahead. He luckily had a good sense of direction and was able to remember how to get home from your instructions earlier.

When he pulled into your gravel driveway, your were sound asleep, softly snoring, drool having dripped onto his Henley, but he didn’t mind at all. He lifted you out of the truck and carried you up the steps, taking off your boots before tucking you into bed for the night.

Next >

Bonus A/N: so where I’m from, “Turner’s” really is a beverage empire and they make really good products. I just figured I can’t make a farm AU without putting Cole in it, no matter how inaccurate to character.

Series taglist:

@scuzmunkie

@openup-yourmind

[jevilowo]

RANKING TF2 SHIPS PART 1: SCOUT

Yeah i know I've done my shipping opinions before but I'm doing them again and this time by class order yaaay

Scoutcest

They would.

It would annoy everyone around them, and that would only serve to egg them both on further.

Batting Helmet

I'm not sure how healthy it would be, but consider: COMIC 4. 80% of it is just an extended Sollyscout comedy bit and it's great.

If they actually dated Scout would have to wear one of those dog neck cone things to protect his neck lmao.

There's something to be said about how Zhanna tried to get with Scout before giving up on him for Soldier. Polycule, anyone?

Flashfire

It's alright. Kind of nothingsauce imo.

Half the people on here who ship it ship it in a "we must protecc the 27 year old babies 🥺🥺 !!" way. Why.

Why doesn't Sniper ever get hit with this shit he's like only three years older than Scout.

Hopscotch

Holy shit yeah you know what I like this.

They would make eachother better. Demo would help Scout learn more empathy and selflessness and Scout would help Demo learn more positivity and self love. Ngl they could actually fix each other.

Mice n Men

Heavy can do better than Scout, methinks.

Could be cute tbh.

Texas Two Step

My brain has been so melted by the Engiedad Agenda I cannot properly conceive it in my mind. Sad!

Despite that, I like it more than sb. On principle alone.

Little Prick

URGH SO BORINGGGG

Medic is always sexed up and abusive and poor babey 19 for some reason year old Scout is a pantypissing twink oh noesss his INNOCENCE IS BEING TARNISHED!!

Also Emesis Blue ficwriters like it more than boots and bombs (ripppp) so that put me off.

Shout out to that one hypnovember oneshot I read that let Scout be the dom. Consider my brain chemistry REARRANGED

Speeding Bullet

Spyscout

Do you think God stays in heaven because he too lives in fear of what he created.

I'm pretty sure I've weeded out the incest fans already, but if I haven't, PLEASE FUCK OFF!!

Hit and a Miss

Call me back if Scout ever becomes a cool lesbian lmao.

Saxtonscout

On the top ten of most comedically toxic ships in tf2, somewhere between Magic Missiles and Adminsniper. Phwoar.

Maybe Scout should marry him and then bonk him to death for the will money.

Fried Chicken Girl and Scout

Despite her existence, Scout still both ran fast and died a virgin. What happened.

Her head shapes like a turnip and he looks like a chinchilla they're perfect for eachother.

Merascout

Uh. I guess they both like tom jones?? Idkkk.

They'd get along platonically in small doses I guess.

If Scout hangs around too long he'd break something and BOOM SHAKALAKA!! SCREAM FORTRESS FORTY THREE BILLION!!

Adminscout

She'd be like I Have Toppled Countless Empires Over The Course Of My Life. Your Existence Is Merely A Blip To Me.

And he'd be like Can Yuo Put That Out On Me

And then Miss Pauling would kill him, the end.

Scoutjerma

Walmart Scoutcest. 10/10, no notes.

Scout x his Ball

He loves his ball (canon)

[fivestar-outlaw]

New Horizons (Park Seonghwa) (Ch. 3)

Chapter 3: Scorpions

Pairing: Park Seonghwa x Fem!Reader

Words: 3.5K+

Warning(s): insecurities and discussion of insecurities, angst, someone's rude to MC :( (None of the guys), slight hurt/comfort, dumbdumbs in love but dont realize each others feelings

A/N: Here is chapter 3. I think this one is the second hardest to write (The fourth chapter is kicking my ass rn). I'm not sure how I am feeling about this chapter? I had like three/four different ideas for it. Sooo I did a 'spin the wheel' and went with what it landed on for this lol. I feel like this is the weakest chapter but it has some charm. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy <3

Reader is implied to be living in the US bc uh TIMEZONES ARE FUCKY and i didnt realize how reliant i was on mine (PST) when looking up KST

Summary: Attempting an all-nighter while playing Animal Crossing alongside your bias, you didn't expect your turnip prices to be such a high amount... nor did you expect Park Seonghwa to actually accept your offer to sell his turnips on your island.

Series Masterlist | Navigation

"I can't tell her, Woo." Seonghwa sighed.

Wooyoung nearly ripped out his hair at the very similar phrase he has heard you tell him before. The others all groaned as they lounged around in the recording room, 10 minutes before they needed to start recording and re-recording lines for their last song on the next album.

It was now February, two months since Seonghwa figured out his feelings towards you that night you fell asleep on video call. He immediately told Wooyoung the next day he had been right and ever since then, the younger has been trying to push Hwa into confessing. He even tried assuring the older male that you most likely returned his feelings without giving away you told Wooyoung you developed a crush on Hwa just a few days before Hwa told him.

Woo's mind thought back to his conversation with you a week ago.

"I don't think he likes me like that, Woo. No matter how much you tell me." He heard you say with a dejected tone through the call. He had snuck away on his own during practice, having the choreography down before the others. "I mean, I met him as a fan. I don't want him to think I offered him to sell turnips for this outcome."

"I don't think he assumes any ulterior motives, (Y/N)." He said softly. "He speaks fondly of you."

"And that's another thing. He is Seonghwa. He is the super kind, very lovable, handsome, and talented guy who loves to mimic his villagers, build Legos, and is an all around great person. It's hard not to fall in love with him... and then there is me. The average looking, college student working at the local bookstore. I feel so inadequate-"

"Hey. Don't speak like that about yourself." He scolded, his tone and facial expression serious. "You are amazing. You are beautiful. You've been a great friend and we all deeply appreciate and love you."

"Sorry." You sigh. "I just... I want to believe you, but it's hard, you know?"

"I get it, I do. Just... keep thinking on it, okay?" Wooyoung smiled sadly. He could see the self-doubt was still eating at you and his words didn't fully penetrate the self-conscious wall you built up. He just hoped you'd keep holding out long enough for him to try and push Seonghwa into confessing.

"Okay, why not then?" Yuhno asked, exasperated.

"It's clear she only views me as a friend. And I am fine with that."

"You don't know that for sure, hyung." San offered a kind smile.

"Are you guys sure (Y/N) likes me like that?" Hwa gave them each a pointed look. Everyone tried arguing that it was clear to them you did, though the only one who knew for sure was Wooyoung. "I... I truly come to appreciate her and every time we speak I feel like I am falling further and further for her. She is sweet, funny, gorgeous, and I feel my heart is always about to burst when talking with her..."

"He's a love sick puppy." Yeosang teased, making everyone chuckle. The eldest's face adorned a bright blush but he made no attempt argue against the notion.

"It's adorable seeing you crush so hard on someone, hyung." Mingi cooed.

"Why not try and talk to her now? It should be..." Hongjoong looked at the time, seeing that it was nearly 10am for them. "... about 6pm for her. Try gauging her feelings for you and bring up wanting her to visit next month for her spring break."

"I don't know..." The eldest unlocked his phone and had your contact pulled up. Wooyoung immediately moved spots and sat next to Seonghwa.

"Seonghwa-hyung, just go for it. We are all here cheering you on." Jongho smiled softly and the others nodded in agreement.

"And its not like your confessing now either. We've told you the signs, now watch for them." Wooyoung added. The others decided to join in on the call, hoping to catch anything that gave away you had feelings for their friend.

Seonghwa took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling as he pressed the call button. He felt two large hands on both shoulders pat him and give a firm squeeze as he slowly extended his arm to make sure everyone could be visible to some extent. He felt anxiety building up with each ring, waiting anxiously for you to pick up.

They all smile when you finally pick up. You were sitting at your desk, adding what looked like the finishing touches of your makeup on your face. You looked at the camera with a small smile before you looked down, picking up a tube of lipstick.

"Hello boys. Usually you text me before you start a call. What's going on?" You ask, eyes flickering to the phone again before you focus on your hand mirror.

Seonghwa felt Wooyoung nudge him off camera. "I wanted to check in on you, (Y/N), and they all decided to join me."

"Aw, really?" Your face seemingly brightened at the fact and the eldest could feel Jongho on his left excitedly tap his leg.

"Compliment her, Hwa." Hongjoong hissed into his ear, a toothy grin was on his face as an attempt to mask any suspicion.

"Did one of you say something?"

"O-oh it must of cut out." Seonghwa nervously chuckled. "I said you look amazing. Is there a special occasion going on?"

You got a bit bashful and smiled, though everyone could tell it didn't fully reach your eyes. "I got asked out on a date."

Seonghwa felt like he was punched in the gut.

But his face remained soft with a smile.

"Really? Who is the person?" He asked, his voice steady.

The others eyed him in concern but did their best to mask it while on video.

"His name is Charlie. He is in my English course this semester. We worked on some in-class assignments together a few times before he asked me out today."

"I'm happy to hear. Well, we better get going. We are about get to recording." Hongjoong could pick up some shakiness in Hwa's voice. "Have fun and please periodically message me, just to give me peace of kind on your safety."

"Thank you, Seonghwa, and I will." You gave them a wave goodbye before hanging up the phone.

It was silent in the room. Seonghwa slowly lowered his arm, resting his phone and hands in his laps. The smile he had dropped just as slowly as he took in a deep, trembling breath.

"Hwa, are you okay?" Hongjoong hesitated, placing his hand on his friends shoulder.

"Yes. I'm fine, Joong." He asserted, getting up from the couch.

"Are you sure?" San asked.

Languidly, the eldest turned to face the rest. Their breaths caught in their throats. His eyes were full of tears, his lips were quivering as he still maintained his smile.

"I told you guys I am just a friend to her. And I will be fine with that." He sniffled, one tear rolling down his cheek. He hastily wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. "Please, lets drop it and get work done today."

"Of course, hyung." Yuhno spoke with a comforting voice and stood up, wrapping an arm around the older males shoulders. "Lets grab some waters together." Carefully, the taller of the two led Hwa out of the room. The second the door closed, everyone exhaled.

"Maybe...Maybe we were wrong." Jongho mumbled.

"No we weren't." Wooyoung insisted, pulling out his phone.

"Wooyoung-" San tried to speak but the younger male kept talking.

"We weren't! (Y/N) told me herself she likes Seongwa!" The others watched as he called you, pressing speakerphone.

The phone rung a few times when they hear the line click.

"It's just me, (Y/N)." Woo gave the others a look to be quiet. "What was that? What do you mean date?"

"Exactly that, Youngie." You sighed, your voice sounding as if it lacked any confidence.

"But you like Seonghwa... You love him."

"... I do." The others in the room looked at each other in shock, their eyes wide.

"Then why did you agree to the date, (Y/N)?"

There was a moment of tense silence before you spoke again, starting your sentence off with a sniffle.

"Because I can't logically believe he likes me the same way. He just see's me as a friend and I just feel so inadequate to be on any level with him." You faltered. "I don't have any particular feelings for Charlie but I... I just wanted to try to get over loving Hwa."

"(Y/N)..."

"I need to get going Woo. I'll... message you tomorrow." Before he could say anything more you hung up.

The room was just as tense as before. No one knew what to say. Wooyoung pressed his lips tightly together as he kept his own tears at bay. When they heard the door open everyone else started getting up and getting ready to start recording. Seonghwa looked to have calmed down. Wooyoung refused to look at his oldest hyung until he could calm down.

---

After the video call with Ateez and the call with Wooyoung, you decided to try to to push any negative thought aside and finish getting ready. You put together a outfit that wasn't too fancy but still looked nice. You styled your hair the way you liked most for things like this. Overall, despite the heavy heart, you felt cute. You left your place with an Uber, figuring you may have something alcoholic to drink, with enough time to get to the restaurant on time, sending a message to Seonghwa letting him know you were heading there...

You glanced at the clock on your phone for the umpteenth time. It had been an hour since your uber dropped you off at the restaurant, 50 minutes since you were sat down at a table, and 35 minutes since that sinking feeling in your gut that you had been stood up started kicking in.

You sighed dejectedly as you finished paying for the meal you ordered. You may have been stood up but you weren't going to let that stop you from a nice meal. Luckily your waitress was kind and nobody paid you much mind. You felt that any pity sent your way would make you feel worse.

You slowly walked outside the restaurant, your phone out as you get ready to order another uber, when you heard loud cackling. Your head turned to the left and just a few cars down in the parking lot was Charlie in a car full of people. They were all laughing and looking at you.

It felt like a bucket of ice water was poured over you.

Ignoring them and the button to confirm the uber, you started walking in the direction of your apartment. You needed to get away. You could feel your chest tightening with humiliation and panic.

"Oh come on, (Y/N). It was a joke!" You heard Charlie yell but you just kept walking. You heard the car roar with life and could hear from their rolled down window various jokes directed at you.

They all cackled and decided that was enough teasing. Charlie then nearly squealed his tires as he drove away. The tears you kept at bay finally spilled over. You hiccupped as you glanced down at your phone. It was 8pm for you, which meant it would be around noon for him.

You didn't think, really. You just knew you needed to hear his low toned, comforting voice. You opened your phone and immediately dialed Seonghwa, pressing your cell to your ear as you walked back to your place. You felt pathetic but you knew you needed to speak to someone or else you would be a sobbing mess if you were left to stew.

---

It was lunch time in the canteen area at KQ when Seonghwa heard his phone ring. His brows furrowed when he saw your name on the screen. He finished his last bite and quickly wiped off any possible crumbs on his hands with a napkin.

"Didn't she leave for her date like an hour ago?" Mingi tilted his head, everyone else had a confused look.

Seonghwa pressed the green answer button and raised his phone to his ear.

"(Y/N)?" His voice with smooth and low. "You're calling me so soon-"

"Seonghwa..." He heard your voice trembling, making him freeze. His face must of gave away to the others something was wrong, as they stared at him intently.

"Hold on, (Y/N). Let me go somewhere private." He quickly got up fron his seat and wasted no time getting into the hallway where there were less people. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"I-I got stood up." You sniffled.

"What?"

"I sat there for an hour looking like a fool. And then... And then I went to leave and I saw him outside in his car with his friends." Seonghwa could feel his blood start to boil with anger. "They laughed at me. They made fun of me." He could hear you take in a shuddering breath.

"Where are you now?"

"I'm walking home..."

"How long until you get back?"

"Maybe... Maybe 10 or 15 more minutes?"

"Stay on the phone with okay? I want to make sure you get home safe." He needed to take deep breaths to stay calm. In the corner of his eye he saw the others leave the canteen, though they stayed back, giving him and you some privacy.

"I just don't get what I did wrong to-"

"You did nothing wrong, (Y/N). Don't start blaming yourself for some asshole's behavior." He glanced to his friends, feel a pinch of confidence. "You are a wonderful person. It's his loss."

There was silence for a moment.

"Did I interrupt work?" You asked in a small voice.

"No, I was just finishing lunch. Did you eat?"

"I had something small after I realized he wasn't showing up." Hwa felt some relief when he heard your voice getting steady. "I'll probably have some ice cream when I get home."

"It better not be mint chocolate chip." He joked and smiled when he heard you giggle. "You really did look amazing, by the way. You should send me and the group chat any selfies if you took any. I'm sure the others would like to see the full look."

"Really?" Your voice was meek.

"I would never lie to you... You truly look beautiful. You always do."

"Thank you, Hwa. I really needed to hear that, especially from you." He could hear your voice tremble again.

"Don't start crying because of me, jagiya." He gently teased, the petname slipping out seamlessly.

"Where are the others?"

"They are watching me down the hallway I'm in." He looked over and saw that they were still there. Wooyoung, San, and Jongho kept their eyes on him while the others were looking at their phones, occasionally looking back at the eldest.

"Am I keeping-"

"I want to be talking with you. They can all wait." Seonghwa huffed, which pulled a giggle from you. He was glad he was able to get you to cheer up, even if it was a miniscule amount. "They are very concerned for you though."

"You can tell them what happened. Woo will bug me when he can until I tell him."

"He is good at that isn't he?"

"Too good." You snort.

There was another moment of silence before Hwa spoke again.

"How close are you to home?"

"Uh..." You pause. "I'm pretty close. I'm passing the park thats nearby. I'll probably be there in two minutes."

"Good." He hummed. "I'm glad you called me."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Besides enjoying the sound of your voice, I am glad you felt comfortable enough during this vulnerable time to reach out to me. It warms my heart."

"I'm glad you answered."

"For you? Always. Well, unless I am on stage or Joong is lecturing us." He couldn't help but beam when he got you to laugh again.

"I see my apartment. I'm walking up to the door now." Hwa heard your keys jingle in your hand. "I'll let you go now. Thank you for everything, Hwa."

"It wasn't a problem at all. I'll check in on you when I have the time okay?"

"You don't have to." He faintly heard you unlocking the door and then heard the door close.

"I want to." He smiled. "Get comfortable, have that ice cream, and smile for me okay, (Y/N)? I'll talk to you soon. Have a goodnight in case you fall asleep."

"Have a good rest of your day, Hwa." There was a lingering pause before you ended the call.

Seonghwa let out a deep sigh, his face dropping into a scowl as he pocketed his phone. The rest of Ateez took that as a sign to approach him. They nearly froze when they saw the angry look on his face.

"I'm going to need one of you to stop me from buying plane tickets right now." Hwa muttered.

"What happened?"

"Why are you so upset?"

"Is (Y/N) okay?"

Were questions all asked at the same time.

"Let's get back to the recording studio first." Hongjoong offered. It took a lot of restraint for them to not run down the hallways.

The second that door closed to the studio, everyone turned to look at Seonghwa, who still looked pissed off. He sat down on the couch staring past the glass that viewed the recording booth. He needed to take a moment to calm himself down.

"Did something happen to our dear (Y/N)?" Wooyoung sat next to the older male, looking at him with desperate eyes.

"She called me crying, saying her date stood her up." Seonghwa finally spoke. Everyone let out shocked noises and some curses. "That's not even the worst of it. She said he and his friends were waiting for her to come outside to make fun of her."

Wooyoung pulled out his cellphone. "I'm buying you and I plane tickets."

"Count me in, I want to beat that guys ass for making her upset." San sat on the other side of Seonghwa.

Hongjoong quickly snatched Wooyoung's phone.

"Hey-!"

"You won't be making a spontaneous trip to her place and you all are definitely not going off to fight this guy." He said, using his captain voice.

"Come on, hyung. It'll be worth it." Jongho tried bargaining but quickly stopped at the look he got from their leader.

"Seonghwa." Seonghwa's attention was on Hongjoong's face after he called his name. "You already did most of your recording today. Unless you want to hang out with those who still need to record and need to re-record, or do some choreography practice with Yuhno, you should head back to the dorm and spend some time with (Y/N)."

"Thank you, Joong." Seonghwa smiled and gathered his belongings.

"We want to spend time with her too." Wooyoung whined.

"Too bad. You're assisting Yuhno after you re-record your lines." The eldest male smiled at his friends playful banter as he left the room.

He quickly fished out his cell and called you as he walked down the hallway. He was heading to his managers office to get home. He wasn't entirely sure if he had the confidence to confess right now, nor did he want to spring on a confession to you after the night you had... but he wanted to let you know he would be there for you. That he would never let you feel less than or alone. That stupid guy lost his chance and Hwa wanted to be the one treasure you. He was going to confess and tonight would be the start to his plan to do so.

"Seonghwa?" Your voice sounded confused when you quickly answered.

"Hongjoong is giving me the rest of the day off. Do you want to watch a movie with me? Or we can play Animal Crossing? Whatever you want, I want to do it with you." He took in a deep breath. "I'll even pick up mint chocolate chip ice cream and we can eat it together."

You laughed. "Sure, I would love that."

There was a pause in the conversation. Seonghwa was now waiting in front of the manager's office.

"I have a question for you, (Y/N)." He wanted to wait for later to ask his question but Seonghwa felt he had the confidence to ask now.

"What is it?"

"You said you took time off work for your spring break next month, right?"

"Yes, I have the Friday before that week off to Monday after it. Why do you ask?"

"Come visit me." He was shocked he got it out.

"What?"

"Come to Korea and visit me. I'll help pay for the flight and you can stay with us at the dorm. Is the issue with your passport?"

"My passport is fine." You sighed and took a moment before speaking again. "Are you sure, Hwa? Are the others okay with that? What about-"

"Everything will be fine. The others, our manager, and I have already discussed this in length and will probably want to discuss with you later."

"Well..." You didn't speak, which had Seonghwa feeling rejection would soon follow. "I would love to."

"...Is this a yes?"

"Yes it is." You chuckled. "I've been actually thinking of planning a visit after I graduate in May, but honestly, the sooner the better."

"Make sure to message the others about this, they'll be so happy." He smiled, unable to hide his excitement. "I am about to leave the office here soon. I will call you when I am back at the dorm."

"Get back safely."

"Of course. I will talk to you soon."

"And- Fuck!" You swore loudly.

"Is something wrong?" Worry seeped into his veins at how your voice sounded.

"I got stung by scorpion while island hopping."

Taglist: @stopeatread@hee0soo@pocketjoong-reads@seonghwaddict@tridkeys

[blissfulip]

—Legion

On AO3

Priest!Viktor x F!demon!reader

Rating: Explicit

Tags: Priest Kink, Blasphemy, Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Self-Flagellation, Demon Sex, Demon Summoning, Demon/Human Relationships, demon reader, AU - Canon Divergence, Post medieval era, Dubious Science, Church Sex, Roman Catholicism, Catholic Guilt, Improper Use of Catholic Rituals, Shameless Smut, Masturbation, No use of Y/N, third person.

Cw: Handjob

Words: 2k

[A/N: Happy Easter Sunday lmao, also whoever picks up all of the 'easter eggs' (get it wink wink) gets a kith and hug from me (let me know if you want to be tagged or removed in future fic updates!)]

Tags: @ihopeinevergetsoberr @chemical-killjoy @jinxed-jk @bobobomao @queen-of-elves @thedustybunny @syren201 @thayfass @thehistoriangirl @hypocritic-trash-baby @zaunitearchives

Previous Next

III. 

Viktor stood frozen, the voice that whispered those words echoing against the walls of his head as he gazed upon the creature before him, a figure blindingly bright yet of simultaneously all-consuming darkness. The sight obscured his thoughts and left him adrift in a sea of terror. How could he have been so blind as to believe that he could command such power without consequence? Or rather, was it the naivete of believing nothing would come of it that turned against him? 

The very essence of his faith fractured—that earth-shattering feeling that had become all too common for him that day—threatened by this insidious presence. What had he unleashed upon the world? What horrors awaited him in the wake of his hubris? Viktor trembled, and his soul lay bare before the abyss, but something sinister took him out of this blossoming meltdown; she, the creature, looked familiar.

And achingly so, yet her form eluded him like a half-remembered dream. Faces swirled in the depths of his memory, merging and shifting like shadows cast by a flickering flame, but he was unable to put a finger on them.

"Do you not recognize me, Viktor?" Her voice cut through the air, eerily sweet.

Viktor recoiled in horror at the sound of his own name coming out of her mouth, the weight of her words crashing down upon him. 

“I manifest to you as a reflection of your own desires, an amalgamation of every soul you have ever yearned for, sweet human.” She hissed as she offered Viktor a hand to help him stand, her touch oddly warm as they both sat on the bed. “Do you not see it? That young woman from the bakery, or the one you always look at for a tad too long while you buy turnips? You don’t even like turnips,” she smiled slightly. “What about that woman who comes to confess every week? The one with the slightly hoarse voice that you love, even that tan young man with the green eyes,. Yes, yes, I know about him too; I am him too.”

“Who…what are you?” He asked amidst a short-lived surge of bravery.

“My name is Legion,” she said with an off-putting tone of irony, “for we are many... or however that verse goes. Mawkishly sentimental if you ask me.” She chuckled and seemed to deflate in disappointment at her attempt at humor not being acknowledged. She sighed in oddly human-like resignation, “I don’t have a name, Viktor, but I know yours , and you know what I am.”

"I seek nothing from the likes of you, Demon, you don’t know me." he declared, though doubt gnawed at him.

"You do, and it is the truth that I know you; your biggest fear is to remain ignorant and blind to the truths that lie beyond the veil of your mortal existence; I can feel it. " She whispered against his ear. 

"You are but a trick of the darkness; I will not succumb to your temptations."

"Oh, but Viktor, you already have ," she purred. "You summoned me here, drawn by your own curiosity. Your anger simmers beneath that stoic surface, against the silence of the heavens and the absence of answers to your prayers. But I answered, so why direct your anger at me ?"

“I have faith in Him; God will intercede in my favor.” He said, covering his face ith both hands, afraid his expression would betray something that confirmed her accusations.

“Yet you question his wisdom and his justice. You resent his silence, you doubt .”

“I love Him, and I will repent; I will.”

“Why? Faith without cynicism is a hollow shell. Will you let yourself be domesticated like a beast? A man of science like yourself?”

The spark of courage grew into embers inside Viktor’s chest at the mention of his work. Although he remained silent, not wanting to concede, she saw it in him, just like she experienced every emotion that grew within the transparent exterior that contained his soul.

“Embrace this fire, and you will obtain what you seek.” She said, gently laying a hand over Viktor’s. 

His shoulders slumped in resignation, but even as he acquiesced to her demands, a seed of guilt still remained. What would God think of him now for consorting with a creature of darkness? Would he be cast aside and condemned for eternity for his folly?

"What do you fear, judgement?” Viktor nodded.

“Your god is nothing but an egregore," she declared, her voice a whisper. "A figment of mortal imagination, born from the collective beliefs of humanity, he only has power over you if you allow it."

“God is my shepherd, He…” He started to recite, but his voice betrayed him.

“Yahweh, Tetragrammaton, Adonai, El, Elohim, Shaddai, Tzevaot… it does not matter who you so fervently pray to! Ancient egregores hold no power over the ancient gods.” She started saying in a firm tone, her volume high in affront. “And you, my sweet, are so unfortunately Christ hunted…a lot of work to be done.” She continued, her voice tuning back down to her previously silky tone.

Viktor's breath caught in his throat, but simultaneously, the weight of her words lifted a heavy chain that had previously hung around his neck. Although this—his God’s identity and how much power He held—seemed to be a point of contention between him and his conscience, every word she uttered seemed to confirm things he had been long thinking about. But the smell of culpability Viktor emanated was pungent, and what she saw in his heart was a whirlwind.

She was proud that he had let himself be guided by his urges, that he had, even if only for a small moment, felt true freedom in pleasure. She felt his fear when he remembered he would need to face father Isidore and then she felt his rage. He felt so strongly against him that for a second she imagined he would be nothing short of a monster, his robust yet sweet face was an interesting sight to find framed in Viktor’s memory. 

She felt sympathy and sadness and confusion, she felt worried for the young girl with the twin braids just like Viktor had, and felt intrigued as to how she had come in possession of her coin, but what mattered most to her in that moment was one problematic sensation; despondency. Viktor was close to giving up, he had nearly decided rage was useless and so was science.

“Let’s begin by working on the heavy guilt you carry.” She said, after a long silence. Viktor noticed an unsettling tenderness in her eyes when he, for the first time, looked directly into them. 

“I made a vow.” He answered, his voice breaking as it turned into a whisper.

"Do not let the chains of guilt bind you, Viktor," she murmured. "The church may preach of purity and righteousness, but it is built upon a foundation of hypocrisy, and you don’t need me to tell you as much.”

“I know of the behavior of some members of the clergy, but why should...”

“I don’t speak of individual transgressions; the church as an institution seeks to negate eroticism and sexuality, yet it embraces them in its most sacred rites.”

The deeply puzzled expression in Viktor’s face prompted her to elaborate.

“Think about the things you do during sacrament; think of the smell of incense, the touching of beads, the kissing of sacred objects, the rubbing of oils... Think about consuming the physical body of the idol you adore, and think about what it makes you feel—enlightenment, apotheosis. Remember the deep pleasure you extracted from the pain of self-penitence? It’s nearly devine, is it not? That necessity to envelop all senses?” 

Viktor nodded.

“And that feeling you get of being close to god in a way that nothing else will get you to—that sensation of being outside the perception of time and space—have you experienced it?”

“I have, in prayer.”

“Can I show you what true ecstasy feels like? One that starts and culminates in yourself without any divine intervention? 

And once again, Viktor simply nodded. The air crackled with a tension thick enough to suffocate him, his breath shallow and rapid. A rush of anticipation surged through him, mingling with a primal curiosity that threatened to consume him whole as she slithered behind him. The shift of weight on the mattress gave him a strange awareness of the materiality of what was taking place, and the hot breath on the left side of his neck caused the last string of sanity holding him together to loosen. 

For a second, he wondered if she was nothing but a very sly yet human woman that had somehow found a way into his room, but that idea was quickly quenched as both of her hands slowly glided along the sides of his still-clothed thighs, emanating that unnatural white glow that was clearly not of mortal nature. 

Her touch was delicate and warm, her nails slowly creeping up to the hem of his cassock as she pulled it up to reveal the trousers underneath. If Viktor had any idea of what she planned on doing, he would have been of more help, adjusting to make his clothing easier to remove, but unaware of what awaited him, he sat there immobile. 

After some mild struggle, she managed to get to the stubborn clasp, and the slight accidental touches ignited a fire within Viktor's veins, sending tendrils of heat coursing through his body. Soon enough, there was nothing in between them, and the cold air that came into contact with the streak of viscosity that had dampened his underpants sent goosebumps across his arms. 

She hadn’t even made her way to his cock yet, but with each gentle caress around his stomach and thighs, Viktor's senses were heightened to a fever pitch, his body aflame with a hunger that burned brighter than any candle. With the first feather touch along his shaft, he felt as if he were teetering on the edge of a precipice, poised on the brink of a pleasure so exquisite it bordered on agony. 

And then, with a slow and deliberate motion, her hand closed around him, sending shockwaves of ecstasy racing through every fiber of his being. A guttural moan escaped his lips as she began to move, her rhythm mechanic and intoxicating. With every teasing stroke, Viktor's breath hitched, his body responding eagerly to her touch. 

"Ah…God!" he gasped, his voice a hoarse whisper of longing. 

She froze on her tracks, drawing out a protesting whine from Viktor. “Do not call upon his name now; at this moment, you belong to me .” She spoke, her voice still sweet but laced with a tinge of resentment.

Viktor's mind swam in a haze, his thoughts fragmented and disjointed as he desperately nodded in agreement, before she resumed the pace of her moment. And then Viktor felt himself hurtling his head back onto her shoulder, his world reduced to nothing. She gently removed the sweat-drenched pieces of hair from his forehead and whispered words in a language he could not understand while her hand continued its path down to his neck and back. 

 For a second, he felt a reminder of the stinging pain on his shoulder blades, and then it faded. As he reached the climax of his arousal, he cried out desperate pleas, only this time to her and himself, finally surrendering to this intoxicating embrace. After letting him breathe for a while, she took one of his hands in hers and placed the copper coin on it. Viktor knew he was bound to her now.

And in that moment, there was no room for guilt or shame, only the unquenchable thirst for more.

[dilatorywriting]

Monster Mayhem: Little Red Rapscallion

Gender Neutral Reader x Jack Howl Word Count: 3.7k

Summary: 'Dear Evil, Overlord, Patron. Please stop sicking your demon guard dog on me. I'm only trying to help. Kind Regards, Little Red Ridinghood'

A/N: Thank you so much to @insideous-beez for the brain rot, which became brain fertilizer, and eventually a functional story; This one is a bit darker than the other installments due to the Warlock/Evil Deity goodness, so there is a bit more horror here!

[PART 1]

Your grandmother had always told you to mind your manners when it came to the creatures who made the forest their home.

Or, well. That was a lie. Many lies, really. If you wanted to be nitpicky.

Firstly, the old crone who lived deep within the borough of the cursed trees wasn’t actually your grandmother. At least, not in the biological sense that seemed to matter most within your little, provincial, town. She was just a kindly, wrinkled, turnip of a woman who found you wandering the mudflats one day and decided she liked your spunk and general lack of self-awareness. She patted your head, served you strange, bubbling, teas laced with sweet magics, and always returned you to your fretful parents by sundown. And so, she was Grandma. Even if calling her that aloud made your parents go nearly green and had the local shopkeepers crossing themselves and spritzing you with Holy Water.

Secondly, Grandma had never told you to keep to your manners. Usually, she encouraged the opposite. (‘Why not curse them, huh?’ she’d complain loudly. ‘They’re thieving bastards, the lot of them.’ ‘Grandma,’ you’d sigh. ‘The street cleaners are just doing their job. They didn’t mean to steal your dead racoons.’) The idea of her demanding you act ‘proper’ and ‘kind’ was damn near laughable. But what she did enforce upon you with all the firmness of a world-weary teacher was the concept of not fucking with that which ought not be fucked with.

And the sprawling, Shaftland Forest was not to be fucked with.

It had always been a great, creeping, thing. The trees would groan and whisper as you passed, and when their sharp branches tangled in your cloak like grasping fingers, it never felt like an accident. The animals that lived beneath those trees were even stranger—wild, large, beasts with glinting eyes and an arcane mysticism about them that left icicles in their tracks even on summer days, or tangled the undergrowth into something that moved.

The people of your village did not enter the Shaftland Forests. They put up signs, and wards, and spun cautionary tales to every traveler who dared step even a single foot into their teeny, terrified, homestead.

You visited regularly. Because you were half-stupid at least, and because Grandma lived in those woods. And while she’d cautioned you about treating her habitat with care, she’d promised ages ago that so long as you were sweet to the forest, it would forever be sweet on you too.

‘There is a great power in these trees,’ she’d hum to you, as she stirred a simmering pot that looked to be filled with the blood of… something you probably shouldn’t think too hard about. ‘You would have been a lovely gift for it, you know.’ She laughed under her breath. It didn’t sound like a joke. ‘But you were too precious to ruin like that. So he decided we ought to keep you.’

You had no idea who ‘he’ was supposed to be, but you always made sure to shower the forest with compliments. As thanks for not using you as whatever being a, uhm, lovely gift entailed. ‘Oh what nice leaves you have,’ you told many a tree. ‘And what large petals have bloomed today,’ to all the flowers. You’d always been safe in these woods—sheltered beneath a bubble of golden affection and the soft scents of the richest perfumes. The forest always welcomed you with open branches and the coo of creaking bark.

Which is why the twisty field of black thorns blocking your usual pathway gave you pause.

You reached out a finger and prodded one of the sharp points. It bit into your skin with the clear intention of drawing blood, before swaying away at the last moment to twine loosely around your wrist.

Huh. How peculiar.

“May I pass?” you asked the thorns.

The shivering web of ebony tightened along the path and you frowned.

“May I pass, please?” you tried again.

The briar patch seemed to heave with a gusty, angry, sigh. You were about to reach forward and try your luck one more time when a deep, rumbling, snarl curled out from the shadows beyond. Out of the sea of roiling darkness and dainty thorns strode a great, white, wolf. It bared its teeth at you in an expression that was entirely unpleasant.

Immediately you held up your hands in placation and took a wide step backwards. The wolf just kept growling at you like you’d murdered its entire family or something else equally egregious. It skulked forward soundlessly, ears pinned flat.

“My apologies,” you said, dipping your chin in a gentle bow. “I didn’t mean to overstep. I’m just trying to use this path to—”

The wolf lunged at you with a near roar, and you just barely managed to roll out of the way with a shriek. The thing landed hard in the dirt where you’d just been not a moment prior, and it swung its great, fanged, maw in your direction.

“Apologies, old one,” you tried again, just as Grandma had taught you. “But I really just—”

The wolf snapped, nearly taking off your fingers, and you folded over like a turtle that had been upended on its back—rolling around helplessly with your limbs flailing wildly as you went. The sharp crack of your head against the ground left your brain rattling around like dried beans in a can, and you could taste the copper sting where you’d bitten down into your tongue. The failed cartwheel had set you back a solid fifteen feet from the wood’s edge, and the wolf huffed at you—a stupidly pointed ‘stay away’ if you’d ever seen one. It glared at you with glowing, golden, eyes for a long moment before melting back into the shadows.

You spat out the cocktail of mud and blood pooling along your tongue, and wiped angrily at your sore chin. The forest had never denied you before. So maybe it wasn’t your lovely, lonely, trees that were sending you away. Maybe it was just this stupid wolf. Maybe the beast was trying to make a stand—to usurp the role of whatever spirit had ruled over this dark land for so long now. You grumbled and made your way back to your feet. It was fine. Your forest was strong. It would never lose to such a stupidly fluffy opponent. You’d just have to try again tomorrow.

The next day you armed yourself with a small arsenal of goodies. Daggers, ropes, armloads of talismans, and kindling, and rations. You hoisted your bow across your back and carefully plucked at the soft fletching of the arrows. The feathers buzzed beneath your fingers, and after a moment of uneasy hesitance, you cautiously replaced the weapon where it hung over your bed. Grandma had never liked the idea of you carrying weapons in the forest (‘it invites troublemakers’ she’d warned), but if something really had gone wrong in her woods, then it was better to worry about asking forgiveness than permission. And surely you could argue for a dagger. The bow… With its weighted arcana and strange, dissonant, strength felt like something dangerous.  

So you apologized to the rippling thorns before cutting them back with swift, precise, strokes of your blade and starting down that familiar path to Grandma’s cottage.

You made it about fifty yards before one of your talismans began to ping worryingly. The tingling thrum along your side was just enough of a warning to keep you from being mauled outright.

The White Wolf lunged from between the trees and you skittered out of the way of its attack. For such a huge creature, it was so silent. And its gleaming, downy, coat should have more than given away its position in the gloom. There must have been some kind of magic to it—something old, and ancient, that let the beast slip through the darkness unseen.

The Wolf situated itself firmly in the center of the path, hackles raised and shoulders hunched like it was readying itself to pounce.

“I need to get through,” you told it, firm, and raised one of the Protective talismans. After a heavy moment you scowled and bit out, “Please.”

The Wolf snarled and propelled itself forward. It latched its overlarge teeth in the fabric of your red cloak and quickly began to drag you to the ground. You frantically flailed about, and just managed to avoid those glinting fangs enough to thrust the talisman up into the beast’s ribs with a heavy smack. The charm lit with a brilliant, amethyst, gleam and sparks shot through the air. You let out a triumphant, ‘ah HA!’ And then all that magic fizzled out like a dying candle. You gaped in horror as the ‘one hundred percent foolproof, don’t you worry about that child’ Protective talisman fluttered to the ground like a discarded bit of newspaper.

“Oh, shit,” you croaked, as your cloak was shredded between the wolf’s canines with a horribly shrill wriiiiiip.

You sprinted like a bat out of Hell, tearing through the undergrowth and only just managing to collapse beyond the border of the tree line before the wolf could snap its jaws around your ankles. You curled your limbs protectively up beneath you, and watched through a veil of cold sweat as it paced along the foliage—leaving no tracks in its wake.

Fine, you thought bitterly. Two can play at this game.

The next morning you walked North, beyond the only safe paths you knew. Carefully, you began to scuttle your way up the nearest, gnarled, tree. The bark groaned and rattled beneath your fingers, as if disquieted. But there were no trails of white fur yet darting about the underbrush, so you offered the tree a hasty apology before climbing higher.

From there, it was only a matter of cautiously hopping from branch to branch. Normally when you’d tried ridiculous feats of stupidity like this in the past, the trees seemed more than eager to help you along—practically reaching out with their branches to catch you in their willowy, wooden, fingers. But they seemed stiff today, testy. The leaves themselves seemed to complain as you went, and you shushed them as politely as you could.  

There was a sharp bark from beneath you, and you looked down to see the Wolf circling your perch in a frantic, pacing, dance.  

“Hello!” you beamed, perfectly, poisonously, pleasant. “Nice to see you too!”

The Wolf sneered, lips curling up into a tight, tense, bow over its fangs.

You leaned forward, keeping a hand securely looped into your roost.

“Aww,” you cooed. “Is it too hard to climb up here with those big, fluffy, paws?” you mocked, wiggling your own fingers contentedly. “Bet someone really wishes they had opposable thumbs, huh?”

And then, like you were being smited by God Himself, the branch beneath your feet cracked clean in half, and you plummeted to the ground bellow with a harrowing screech. Naturally, you landed right at the wolf’s aforementioned stupid, fluffy, paws. Its great head lowered, and you could feel the heat of its breath as it growled into your face.

With a pathetic little ‘eep!’, the talisman tucked into the back of your boot burst into life and you flickered like a janky illusion. You stumbled to your feet a dozen or so yards away, fighting the urge to double over and barf. Slipping through planes was unpleasant at the best of times, let alone when under actual fucking duress.

The Wolf blinked its wide, golden, eyes at the empty space beneath its paws, and then whipped its head in your direction like a blood hound. You pushed yourself upright with the help of the very tree who had betrayed you so thoroughly, and began your hasty retreat.

You crashed through a curtain of thorns and out into the open with a gasp.

You rolled forward like the world’s most inelegant acrobat and came to a skidding halt in the dirt. You sat up with an achy cough, dislodging muck, and rocks, and leaves from your windpipe.

The Wolf prowled behind you—its glare a set of golden pinpricks in the gloom.

“What is your problem?!” you wailed.

The wolf tossed its head, like rolling its eyes wouldn’t have been enough. And snapped at you with another one of those pissy, bitten off, growls.  

“You know what?” you seethed, swinging back onto your knees to jab a finger at it accusatorily. “Fuck you!”

The thing had the absolute gall to snort at you before turning to return to its ceaseless patrol.

By the time you hauled yourself back to your family home, you must have looked an absolute mess. No one bothered to stop you when you practically clawed your way up the stairs and into your small bedroom. Though to be fair, no one really bothered to stop you for anything anymore. Not since an old women with too much spare time and not nearly enough light in her eyes had decided that you were a child to be treasured.

You grabbed your bow off the wall and slung it over your back. The sleek, silvery, wood hummed beneath your fingers. It had been a gift, one whose very existence you stalwartly refused to question. The weapon was finer than anything that could have come from your village’s blacksmith, or honestly probably any human craftsman. It was weightless. It was too heavy. It sang in your hands. It was not a token to be bestowed lightly. But… Well. Whoever it had belonged to before, it was yours now.

And you were going to shoot that goddamn Wolf right in the ass.

On the fourth day of your apparent banishment from the Shaftland Forest, you stormed those woods like a would-be conqueror. The silver bow keened beneath your palms, and you held a thin, spiked, arrow knocked and at the ready. Your nemesis found you in no time at all, and you bared your teeth at the stupid, fucking, mutt before it had the chance.

“One last time,” you said, drawing your bow as tight as you could. “Let me pass, beast. Or I will go through you.”

The wolf’s hackles were raised, but the snarl had slipped off its face. It dug its claws into the dirt, and you watched something like surprise work its way across the thing’s regal features. Its golden glare flickered from you, to the bow, and back again, like it couldn’t quite believe what it was seeing.

“I have business in these woods,” you demanded. And then, petulantly—because you just wanted to know that your stupid, devil worshipping, turnip of a grandmother was okay, and you were so fucking fed up with this garbage—you stomped at the ground and shouted, “And I was here first! So scram, you overgrown Pomeranian!”

The Wolf’s ears drooped, and something like a tremor worked its way down its spine. But then the thing was shaking its giant head like it was surfacing from beneath a pool of water, and it straightened its posture with a rumbling growl.

“Fine,” you snapped, and unleased the first arrow. It whizzed past your fingertips with a thready, shrill, fwoom faster than you could track. The booming force of it shocked you enough to have you shooting wide, and you watched that pin-thin arrow hit a tree trunk and sink all the way through to the other side.

The Wolf rushed forward when you went to reload, fur standing on end like you’d run it through with a bolt of lightning. It tackled you bodily to the ground with a yelp, and you wheezed as the air was knocked out of your lungs in one, fell, swoop. The bow tumbled out of your hands and you scrabbled for it wildly. And then the beast lunged for the bright red of your hood, as it seemed so keen to do in each of your past scuffles. But maybe it was done playing with you. Or maybe it just wasn’t expecting you to flail around so terribly. Because its garish fangs bore down past the soft, billowy, fabric of your cloak and tore straight into the meat of your arm instead.

You gasped and weren’t entirely able to swallow down the sharp shriek of pain that bubbled up and out of your throat. The wolf reared back in shock, its mouth stained red. It immediately ducked back in close, and then away, and then in again. Like it wasn’t sure what to do. The stalwart resolve from earlier was gone—replaced entirely by a bumbling sort of panic that had your head swimming more than the blood loss.

You tucked your arm in close, feeling the tattered remains of shredded fabric curling beneath new, warm, wetness. The Wolf cautiously nosed forward, but when you flinched it reared back like you’d struck it. The beast stepped pointedly away, and then began to pace frantically back and forth. Occasionally it would stop, like it was going to move in close again. But then its pointy ears would press stiff and flat atop its head and it would skulk away all over again.

Whatever, you seethed silently, jerkily ruffling through your bag for some of the Healing talismans you knew were tucked away at the bottom. If the monster felt some kind of weird guilt for taking a chomp out of you when it’d already been doings its damndest to maul you for the past four days straight, that was its problem.

It was taking you longer to unearth the talismans than you would have liked, and your hand was really starting to shake in earnest. The Wolf whined high and miserable in its throat, and you rationally decided that it would be a terrible, petty, idea to waste what little composure you had left just to tell it to fuck right off.

The horrid mess of crimson had begun to seep its way along your skin—dripping down your wrist to plop against the damp, mossy, earth with an echoing plip plip plip that was not unlike the fall of slow, fat, spring rain. The air around you seemed to grow heavier with it—the trees swaying at their roots and the dark, shriveled, flowers straining against their stems to get a taste. The Wolf’s golden gaze flicked around the grove cautiously, and you watched its black nose twitch in obvious discomfort. You swore you could see hands—dozens, hundreds of inky appendages reaching out from the shadows. Fingers twisting up into claws like they meant to grab onto you and dig in, never letting go. The Wolf settled itself at your back like a brick wall, snarling doggedly at the wispy talons. The beast was so large it practically enveloped the entirety of you, and you had to fight the delirious, dizzy, urge to lean back into its impractically soft fur.

“Hey! Are you alright over there?”

Both you and the Wolf jolted in surprise as a group of adventurers plowed their way through the trees. The Wolf’s already distressed expression twisted into something nearly manic and it roared—putting all those ferocious teeth on display.

“Woah!” one of them yelped, crashing to a halt and dragging their friends to a stop beside them. “What the fuck?!”

The others all looked equally startled, hands settling heavily on their weapons. And while right now Mister Wolfy wasn’t outright nomming on you or your limbs, there was a still a steady stream of blood trailing from the wound near your shoulder—a set of very obvious teeth marks sitting stark and red against the rest of you.

“We heard a scream,” another spoke up. Then, pointedly raising the sharp edge of his sword, asked, “Is this your companion, Ranger?”

‘Ranger?’ you blinked, confused, before remembering the bow still sitting in the dirt by your feet. Before you could respond, the Wolf lurched forward over your shoulder. It didn’t leave you—didn’t stray from its steadfast position at your hind—but it pushed its gaping, angry, maw as close to the group as it could. The trio reeled back as the monster snapped, and snarled, and nearly vibrated out of its skin with rage. But… no. Something wasn’t quite right. As viciously angry as all that harsh barking sounded, there was something very, very disquieting about it. Something strained, something afraid.

The one with his sword raised stepped forward, the others moved to follow. And then they were gone.

You blinked, shocked silly. There had been people there—not a second before. You were sure of it. What the fuck was happening?—

And then there was a discordant scream from somewhere deeper in the woods. Distant, but close. Like there were arcane tricks distorting the way of the world. Keeping you separate from the horrible, grinding, shrieking noises while… whatever was happening carried on—not a dozen yards away. Cloaked in shadows and rotten, violet, petals like how a parent might gently close a curtain around a child’s bed at night.  You watched in half-awe, half-horror as seeping, purple, miasma leached from the trees and into the air. It chased the intruders with vicious intent. You could feel the sharp, dark, heat of it prickling along your skin, but when that swirl of near-black enchantments made its way to you, it slipped past you like smoke—leaving only a faint trace of awful, coppery, perfume against your clothes.  

“Why couldn’t you just stay away?” a deep, miserable, voice echoed in your head, and you jerked around in shock to see the Wolf staring at you with heavy, gold eyes.

“Did… Are you…” you trailed off, swallowing. Not sure how to even begin asking what you wanted to ask.

The Wolf sighed, bone deep and weary.

“I tried so hard to keep everyone away,” its voice rumbled in the back of your mind. “Why did you have to be so stubborn?”

“This is my forest, too,” you said after a long moment, fingers digging into the dusty material of your pants. “What’s wrong with it? What happened?”

The Wolf stared at you, quiet and considering. And then it lumbered to its feet with a defeated sort of slouch.

“Come, then, Little Red One,” it huffed, and swished its tail against your back. “I’ll show you.”

.

.

.

TAG LIST [CLOSED]

@marvelous-maxi, @ilikefanfics4, @jackalope08, @crocwork-clockodile, @cosmicobubisi, @buttplugs-stuff, @pomefleur, @decemebercircus, @ailynyan, @genzombie, @meliade-ot, @sunlightocean, @theofficialantitherapist, @hermiona18, @sailorenthusiast, @fantasy-dating-sim-trash, @thefiasco-onyourblock, @insideous-beez, @its-clockwork-princess

@novaloptr, @imlost-sendhelp, @matcha-berry @preciosayorgullosa @whoretaglia, @kookygirlwholikescookiesandcoke, @nanauedorian, @trixeraptops, @voxnipop, @starkling25, @thedum1, @horcrux-alchemist, @sleepykitty21, @apathicace, @instantregret101, @nekanecorvus, @looney-mori, @re-ducing, @my2phetaliaheadcanons, @naughtybodypillow, @rendy-a, @carmen-404, @candy284, @thealiennamedterry, @their-name-is-fake, @huetolog, @glacticrose, @seraphinariddle, @rabioa, @sn00zl4x, @dreasimping, @jeidoreech, @ai-dev, @galaxyshine24-7, @fatally-incorrect, @juulranch, @camrastuff, @nocteetdie, @stargaryengirl,

[writemekpop]

Do-Over | Johnny Suh

Summary: You give your kid’s deadbeat dad Johnny one last chance to step up. A snowstorm puts him in danger of letting you down yet again.  

Genre: Baby daddy!Johnny, ex boyfriend!Johnny, angsty 

Word Count: 1.2k

Johnny laughed at his reflection in the rear-view mirror. In his homemade costume, he looked like a turnip.

He was determined to go all the way for yours and his daughter Rakha’s play. He would make awful jokes, he would hold little Rakha on his shoulders, he would point her out to the other parents and say, That one’s mine!

He was ready to finally step up and be a father to his kid.

The bouquet of long-stemmed red roses for you was a bit much, he now realised. They were the floral equivalent of a confession of love. Maybe he should leave those in the car.

Thick snow piled up over everything. The world looked a day old.    

The dash on his bust-up Ford Fiesta said 5:40pm. He might just make it to Rakha’s end-of-term play in time…

Then he turned a corner, and cursed. He had just hit a mile-long stretch of road where the snow had not been shovelled. The land ahead of him was as blank and lonely as a piece of paper.  

There was no way to get through.

He whipped out his phone and tried to call you, but there was no signal.

He let his forehead fall forward in frustration.

He would never forget his last conversation with you.

“Just one more chance. Please.” he had begged, trailing you as you strode to your car. You strapped Rakha in the backseat without looking at him, then got in the front.

He held the car door open so you couldn’t shut him out.

You looked coldly up at him. “She barely recognises you, Johnny.”

“I’ll be at the next recital. On time. Early – early, in fact.”

When he saw that glint of steel in your eyes, he remembered why he had fallen in love with you. Your words cut like razors, but even as it ached, he loved you for it.

“Go get some sleep, Johnny,” you said. Your nose curled. “And a shower.”

You tried to close the door, but he stopped you one last time.

“Y/n” Johnny said quietly. “When will I see you again?”

You let out a shaky breath. “Fine. She has an end-of-term play. But if you don’t make it to this one… I don’t want to hear from you again.”

--

You stood at the back of the tiny church, glancing at the clock. You kept picturing Johnny thundering through the doors, blurting out apologies in his bull-in-a-china-shop way.

But he was nowhere to be seen.  

You still worried about Johnny. You would never tell anyone this, but it was true.

Every night, you would get up at around midnight, leave the bed without waking your new boyfriend Mark, and walk out onto your tiny balcony. Standing there, you would silently ask the universe where Johnny was. If he was still living in his parents’ basement. If he was eating alright.

If he still thought about you.

Then you would go back to bed, without ever telling a soul what you had done.

The curtains opened for the play, and you applauded with all the other parents. You watched Rakha’s little face fall when she realised Johnny wasn’t with you.

That was when you realised. Just like Rakha, you had still secretly believed that Johnny would show up.

Of course, he’d forgotten.

You felt like an idiot.

--

Johnny felt a fire burn in his belly, despite the freezing air in the car.

He would get to that recital if it killed him.  

It was a blizzard now, but he was only about twenty minutes’ walk from the church.

He pushed his way out of the car and started the slow trek, using an old map to shield his head. The wind howled in his ears. Each flake of snow was a tiny blade.

He couldn’t feel his fingers, but he was determined to keep going. It wasn’t just his baby girl he was fighting for.

It was you.

--

“You know what my husband Mr Giant likes best? Little girls on toast,” a girl in Rakha’s class shouted. “Quick, Jackie, hide!”

Rakha, who was playing Jackie in Jackie and the Beanstalk, jumped behind a cardboard cut-out of a pot.

There was silence.

That was when you realised your mistake. Unable to resist Johnny’s pleading, you’d let him play the Giant in the school play. It was a tradition that one parent would take part in the play with the children.

Rakha’s face started to turn red. Her eyes flicked to the door and back. The sight was torture for you.

You were rigid in your seat. Should you jump up and be the Giant?

Suddenly, the double doors at the back of the church slammed open. Everyone turned around.

A six-foot tall, monstrous figure limped into the room. It was shaking, and covered with snow and mud.

Its voice thundered through the room. “FEE-FI-FO-FUM! I smell the blood of an Englishwoman!”

All the kids squealed with joy. Even the teachers were laughing.

You were the only one not smiling.

Johnny’s half-hearted attempts at parenting were almost more painful than if he just disappeared. They made you hope. And hope was a road that led nowhere.

When the play was over, Johnny lifted Rakha up onto his shoulders. She proceeded to pull his ears and try to control his movements like a puppet.

When Johnny saw the look on your face, he put her down.

Your arms were crossed. “The play started at six, Johnny. Not six forty-five.”

Johnny explained everything about the snowstorm, and how he had to abandon his car.

You didn’t want to believe him, but you had to admit he was telling the truth. And… it was a little sweet how he’d learned all his lines.

Johnny smiled.

“What is it?” you said.

“I just realised how I remember this church.”

He walked into a dusty music room filled with old pianos and organs.

He turned to face you. “Have you really forgotten? My 18th…”

You chuckled, your face heating. “Oh my god. Was it really this room?”

Johnny pretended to lay himself seductively over a grand piano. “My very first time.”

“Shut up,” you said, grinning. Then you saw that he was serious. “I was your first?”

Johnny came close and placed his hands on your waist. You placed yours on his shoulders, just as you used to do.

Johnny leaned slowly down and kissed you. His lips were unbearably sweet.

“Why are you doing this?” you asked quietly, though you already knew the answer.

“I want to try it for real,” Johnny said. “I want us to be a family.”

You wished you could be like your daughter Rakha. You wished you could love Johnny effortlessly, for love’s sake. Without having to remember all the times he had let you down.

It wouldn’t be that easy. You were a parent now.

But then, why it felt so natural so be in Johnny’s arms, despite the years you had spent apart. Johnny was your home. It was as simple as that.

“How about… we start with the Easter fair, and we can take it from there?”

Johnny was about to protest, but you put a finger to his lips.

You grinned. “Just to warn you… that costume of yours did not exactly hold up in the rain. You might want to put that jacket back on before somebody calls the police.”

Smirking, you walked away, leaving Johnny in that little hall.

They say you cannot choose your family.  You could not choose whether or not to love Johnny.

You would always love him.

It was as simple as that.

—

MAIN MASTERLIST

Let us know what you thought in the comments or on anon! 💋

[fandomfucker]

Write ANYTHING for Zoey stark 😻😻 AND MY SOUL IS YOURS 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

ANYTHING ISTG

Lost-Zoey Stark X Gn!Reader

Your soul, my dear 🤲

This is solely based off of myself having lost crickets the other day so enjoy my very real pain. This also features my real bearded dragon and his real name, I'm not afraid to block if anyone disses him or his name😤

Word Count: 1,785

3rd Person POV

Other than dogs and cats, Zoey was never the biggest fan of different kinds of pets. Like exotic pets.

Especially her partner's "lizard".

"How many times do I have to tell you? He's a bearded dragon!" Y/n joked with their girlfriend. Zoey just rolled her eyes at their typical antics, an adoring smile tugging at her lips.

"All right," Y/n started, gripping Zoey's hands to make her look directly into their eyes. This was serious business. "Are you sure you'll be okay feeding Turnip for a couple of days? 'Cause his vet can keep him just fine."

While both Zoey and Y/n worked in the WWE, they would often be given different opportunities for various things. Currently, Y/n was going to New York for a photo shoot with a magazine for a few days.

"Y/n," Zoey stared deep into their eyes, completely serious. "I promise I'll be okay. It's just some crickets and worms, I'll be fine. And I have Kai and Sly both here for emotional support if I'm not." She smiled, proud of herself for that statement.

Y/n stared at her with their eyebrow quirked but eventually released a small huff of a laugh and pulled Zoey in to give her a lingering kiss.

"I got this, I swear." Zoey looked at Y/n's face, seeing the lingering doubt on their face. "What, do you think I don't got this?"

Y/n pulled away and brushed Zoey's biceps. "I think you think you got this. But I have to go, my Uber's here. I see you in a couple days, okay?"

They leaned forward, giving Zoey another kiss before grabbing their luggage and making their way out the door to the car parked at the bottom of their driveway.

Zoey stood in the doorway, watching as her partner left, waving them all the way down the road until she couldn't see them anymore. She clasped her hands, rubbing them together as she walked back inside, making sure to shut the door behind her.

She looked at the pets who both sat in front of her, both of their tails wagging as she addressed them. "Alright, let's go feed Turnip."

Walking into the spare room they used to house Turnip's tank, Zoey went straight for the rolling cart of food next to it, picking up the plastic cricket keeper.

She brought them up to her eye level, cringing with disgust as she watched the crickets run continuously run over each other and their own shit. It was revolting.

Grabbing the feeding tongs, she sat down on the floor in front of the tank, meeting Turnip's bastardly face. The two had never liked each other very much but Zoey tried her best to keep the peace for Y/n's sake.

He tilted his head, staring at her with his beady little eyes as she struggled to get the lid of the crickets open. She managed to pop it open at the same time she turned around to yell at Kai and Sly for scratching at the door to get in. For reasons unknown, they both had an obsession with sitting in front of the tank and staring at Turnip.

She kept the lid as close to the top as possible so as not to let any crickets accidentally escape. Sliding the tank door open, she held the container inside the tank so that if any did come out they'd be inside of the tank.

Sliding the tongs into the container, she managed to catch one of the crickets fairly easily and held it out for Turnip who immediately stuck his tongue out, snatching up the cricket and chomping down on it loudly.

Zoey repeated this process a few times until he was full. She removed the cricket container, slid the tank door closed, and put the tongs back, popping the cricket lid back in place before going downstairs to wash her hands and watch TV for the rest of the night.

"And Y/n was worried about me," She scoffed to herself.

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

After dinner the next night, Zoey was sitting on the couch when she noticed her cat, Sly, fixated on something on the stairs.

Not wanting him to eat something he wasn't supposed to, she walked over to check out what had attracted his attention.

In the corner of one of the stairs, was a dead cricket. "How in the hell did that get in here?" She mumbled to herself, going to grab a napkin from the kitchen to pick it up.

The thought that it was one of Turnip's had crossed her mind, but she deduced that it was too big and had to be a wild cricket that must've gotten in through the garage or front door undetected.

So, she just threw it away and went about her business until later that night when going to check on Turnip before going to bed.

An unusually loud chirping caught her attention and she made her way over to the tank, where it was louder.

She picked up the keeper, causing the crickets in it to stop making any noises but the chirping continued. And not from inside the keeper she noted.

"No," She whispered to herself in horror.

She set the keeper down and began frantically searching for the source of the noise. She had left a cricket in the tank earlier in case Turnip had gotten hungry again and decided to have a little snack but no longer saw it there.

Twenty minutes later and every object in the tank had been turned over and searched. Even Turnip had been removed from the tank for a short time just to make sure.

That was when she noticed the giant hole for cords and such at the top of the back wall inside the tank.

The blood drained from her face as her eyes widened. “There's no way,” She spoke mainly to herself, before turning to Turnip who was eyeing her warily. “It couldn't have gotten up there, right? It can't climb a smooth surface.”

Still, Zoey put Turnip back on his basking rock inside the tank, closed it, and stood up, hands on her hips.

“Alright Turnip, brace yourself." She grabbed the front right corner of the tank and gently lifted it, dragging it towards her to pull it away from the wall.

Once it was far enough away that she could see behind it, she grabbed her phone and turned on the flashlight.

Taking a deep breath, she shone it over the crack between the tank and the wall and peered into it.

On the floor, were not only three crickets walking around, but cricket shit littered the carpet.

She turned back to the keeper because how were there three back there if she only lost one?

And that was when she noticed that the lid had actually not fully closed shut and had not been closed this entire time.

"Oh my god," She clamped her fist over her mouth, not knowing what the hell to do.

Looking around in a panic, she grabbed the feeding tongs and decided she was going to catch them with the tongs and put them back in the feeder, easy peasy.

Except it was not easy peasy, as she held the tongs in one hand and her phone in the other, shining the flashlight on the crickets as they ran away.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit." Zoey scrambled around with the feeding tongs, trying to pick up the damn bastards to no avail.

She finally caught one, holding it away from her and cringing as she dropped it in the feeder. She fully closed the top lid this time to make sure no others escaped and opted to use the one-way side flap to dump them back in.

A few minutes later, and having pulled the tank away from the wall even further on both sides, one more cricket was caught and returned to the keeper. Two down, one to go.

Zoey ran back and forth to either side as the cricket ran, moving things out of the way beside the tank to make sure she didn't lose it.

She kept just missing the cricket as it would jump out of the way of the tongs at the last second every time.

And then she lost it under the bookshelf. "Damn it!"

Leaving the room to grab a wooden ruler small enough to go underneath the shelf, she passed her pets who were thoroughly judging her.

Walking back into the room, she got down on her knees and began swiping the ruler underneath the shelf, in the hopes that she'd catch the cricket with it and drag it out.

After fully sweeping back and forth several times, Zoey came to the horrifying conclusion that it must've crawled out without her seeing it. It then dawned on her that it could've been behind the bookshelf.

Grabbing her phone for the flashlight once again, she began using her camera to see the crack between the shelf and the wall.

With the pets at her feet, Zoey watched the videos she'd taken back, noticing something on the middle of the wall.

And sure enough, checking on the other side of the shelf with the flashlight, there the little fucker was. On the wall. Somewhere she couldn't reach.

After several futile attempts and two hours later, the cricket was still somewhere behind the bookshelf as far as she knew.

Exhausted and damn near crazed, Zoey turned to Kai who had stuck around this whole time, lying in front of Turnip's tank watching Zoey. "I think we're just going to have to call it a night."

She reached out and pet his head before getting up and going to bed, after making triple sure the cricket keeper was closed.

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

A few days later and Y/n was finally home, much to Zoey's delight.

They sat on the couch together, tangled up in each other's bodies with Kai and Sly lying by their feet. "Babe," Y/n gently nudged Zoey's head where it lay on their shoulder. "I need to get up to put my clothes in the dryer."

Zoey shifted her head to look up at them and kissed their jaw. "You stay here, I'll get it." And pushed herself up out of their comfy embrace, giving Y/n a small kiss before making her way to the laundry room.

As Zoey got closer, she noticed something small on the ground right in front of the door on the carpet and bent down to get a closer look.

It was the goddamn cricket.

Relief and fear both flashed through her as she ran to grab the tongs. Whether it was dead or not it was going back in the keeper.

She successfully managed to relocate the cricket back to its rightful place and move her partner's clothes into the dryer without any suspicion from them.

As she returned to the living room and cuddled herself back up to Y/n, she decided that Y/n never needed to know what happened while they were gone.

[haruniki]

Movie Night- CSM

What your fav is choosing for movie night!- Power, Kobeni, Reze, Asa/Yoru, Quanxi(+the gfs), Makima, and Himeno

a/n: first post that i am making from a computer waaaahhh, sorry if it’s bad lol I watched some movies today and i wanted to share what I think some of the characters from CSM would watch! I hope you guys enjoy, also trying to branch out writing some of the characters so there's a bit more in this one i think. Also all movies choosen are just ones that i think they would watch, these are also mostly movies I’ve watched! some of these movie choices suck/are probs overused

POWER:

Power has a very versatile list of movies that she wants to watch every single time

Getting to watch a movie dates are most likely her reward from you for bathing or being good

Power’s pick of a good movie are mostly likely horror movies. The more gorey the better, the more blood shown the better as well.

Always laughing at the horrific scenes

Doesn’t like horror movies where the people have to go through elaborate puzzles to live. Power finds those boring and way to long. (Definitely not disliking Saw)

Power’s go to movie is Texas Chainsaw Massacre! It reminds her of Denji and she likes taking notes of what’s going on then asking Denji if he’s able to do the things that were in the movie.

While watching the movie, Power is really invested! Finds the movies very interesting. Holds Meowy up to see the screen while asking Meowy questions.

“Meowy, don’t you think the movie is interesting? Oh wow! Look at him chopping up that human! Weaklings! I would never be killed in such a way.”

KOBENI:

Kobeni likes movies that have a nice storyline and cute characters!

When she’s able to, Kobeni always choosen a movie that makes her feeling happy! She’s most likely choosing a Studio Ghibli film or a popular romance film!

Howl’s Moving castle is one of Kobeni’s favorite movies to watch on her days off. She likes to be able to be in her pajamas while laying either on the couch or on the bed cuddling with you. Maybe even having a snack or two nearby.

She loves pointing out detail in the scene as well as repeating some of the lines that she knows by heart, though she’ll get embarrassed if you tease her about it.

Kobeni especially loves it when you remember little facts that she tells you about the movie!

“uhh, I know it’s not in the movie, but Sophie.. Sophie actually has powers in novel! I really think they could’ve added it in the movie but I suppose it makes the movie storyline move better. AH! Sorry, I was rambling!”

Kobeni’s favorite character is Turnip Head! She finds Turnip Head helping Sophie along in her adventures adorable!

REZE:

Action Movies with a bit of romance!

While it might be a bit cheesy, Reze likes movies that have both action and some romance. She think it’s nice that throughout all the violence that occurs that the main character and their love interest can still fall in love.

Her top movie of this kinda of movie is Divergent. 

She likes the main character and finds the storyline exciting and interesting.

Definitely read the book series and liked it just as much, maybe even better than movie itself.

Likes explaining niche details in the movie, maybe slightly spoiling the movie/book itself.

“So in this scene, you can see that she’s about to get a tattoo, but your gonna wanna notice the kind of tattoo it is! This will be important for later in the movie and- Heyy (y/nn) are ya listening?”

definitely looks up the actors to see what other movies/shows they’re apart of 

Reze also nit picks certain parts of the movie and how they differ from the book 

ASA/Yoru

Asa doesn’t really watch movies. I see her watching more documentaries than movies.

Likes watching documentaries with you on different topics from oceanic life to ancient greece life.

Doesn’t really talk during these moments you both are watching, but will pause to discuss part of it with you or to correct the speaker about how the information they said was slightly incorrect. (mostly does that during oceanic documentaries)

“I disagree with what they said. While yes you can eat starfish, you have to be careful. A large handful of starfish are poisonous and it’s dangerous to eat them. You can differentiate between them though but that would involve you having to do your own research about such a topic. I don’t see you having to eat those anytime soon, plus if you did-”

Asa is always proud when you praise her for knowing so much. Even offering to teach you a bit more as a study date!

Yoru doesn’t really watch movies or anything but does also like documentaries. Specifically, about weaponry or even wars.

Watching the weaponry documentaries provides her with more ideas for weapons. Likes to also watch the clips of the weapons being made.

War documentaries are a bit different with Yoru though. She oddly proud of them and wishes for you to praise her for them, going so far as to slightly nudge you to hopefully prompt you to compliment such awful events.

“Y’know, I’m the one who cause all of that. Such memorable events came from me! It’s shame that nobody else seems to remember them, ah! But you can boast about how your dating someone so powerful if you wish.”

You might have to explain why those aren’t boastful events even if she pouts.

QUANXI(+the gfs):

Quanxi doesn’t choose what movie is being watched. She usually lets you and the other girls choose. 

However, it isn’t unusually for her to be a tie breaker for a movie. Depending on the movie and her mood, she’ll choose whichever she feels more like watching.

These can range from a horror movie (Cosmo’s choice being Halloween) to mystery movies (Pingsti choice being Where the Crawdads Sing) 

Quanxi usually chooses the movie of whoever she hasn’t been paying more attention to. 

A cuddle pile always occurs during the movies in which almost everyone falls asleep.

Snacks are also always present during these movie nights too. A whole buffet of choices

Quanxi most likely feeds one of the girls and the rest then all ask to be fed there choice of snack

“Eveyone got to eat there snack right? Oh (y/n), c’mere, you got a little somethin’ on your mouth.”

This leads to movie getting completely forgot, sometimes it’s a wonder why a movie night is even held.

MAKIMA:

While a bit of a mystery, one thing that’s for certain about Makima is her love for films.

Makima loves having movies night, especially when you choose then film. She likes to know the reasoning behind your choice. 

Are you sad or mad? Perhaps in a mood for laughs? Romantic movies perhaps you wish for something to happen throughout the movie?

Whatever the reason is, Makima enjoys watching you pick movies.

Makima usually chooses films that might make no sense or that have an artsy way of videography. Though she usually doesn’t say anything or show much emotion during the film

Makima doesn’t really have a favorite film. She likes ones that can make her feel emotions that she might not normally.

A film I believe Makima might genuinely like is Titanic. While an old movie and probably over used movie, it still has a nice storyline and pretty visuals.

“This movie is quite interesting. Were you interested in the romantic aspect of the film or perhaps the tragedy that was the boat sinking? Truly an interesting event, yes?”

Whatever the movie choice is, Makima is sure to even slightly enjoy even if it isn’t something she likes or usually watches.

HIMENO:

On the days that Himeno isn’t working or out drinking with her friends in the division, Himeno enjoys watching movies all day in her pajamas while eating either take out or whatever she has in her house with you.

She always welcome a nice laugh, so comedy movies are definitely her favorites.

Himeno especially likes movies that feature Adam Sandler

Whether that be Grown Ups or Hotel Transylvania, she doesn’t mind.

Loves quote random lines even if the lines are cringey.

Will probably watch any/all comedy movies the she can get her hands on. As long as she can get a good laugh she’s fine with it!

Definitely calls you to tell you that she bought five new movies that you both just have to watch right that moment.

“ Okay so before you come home, head to the convivence store near our place and buy an assload of snacks, OH! And drinks, can’t forget those, No need to grab any beer, i think there’s already some in the fridge. See you at home, ‘kay?”

Overall, Himeno is probably chill with whatever kind of movie you want to watch, but prefers things with comedy or atleast a comedic relief.

[lieblingspulli]

Starlight: SKZ

W.C: 2.6k

Hyunjin x Reader

Summary: You meet a rather eccentric group of guys at the movie theater while trying to find your seat!

A/n: This one is such a guilty pleasure of mine lol, I LOVE Howl's moving castle. I just was watching it one day and thought of Hyunjin (for obvious reasons). Enjoy!

Masterlist!

SKZ Masterlist

You stepped in through the movie theater doors and breathed in the fresh smell of buttery popcorn. You smelled the faint scent of bubblegum and pizza slices. By all means, the different smells should have come together to create an odd scent, but strangely, it was comforting. 

You had come with a high level of excitement, a feeling you hadn’t had since you were a kid. The studio ghibli fest was being held in theaters for today and tomorrow. When you heard, you jumped for your laptop, determined to get tickets to at least your favorite movie, Howl’s Moving Castle. Unfortunately, none of your friends could make it to both dates, so you opted for one singular ticket- which made the process of getting tickets much easier. 

Howl’s Moving Castle has always been your favorite movie, ever since you could remember. You recalled watching the dvd so much that it would skip scenes, you had at least 6 copies of the movie by the time you were fifteen. It was your comfort movie. You watched it whenever you got sad, whenever you were bored, or whenever you felt like having a relaxing night in. Even through college, you kept the movie close, watching it with your roommate. Mayazaki really outdid himself with this one. 

Everytime you would see Howl on the screen for the first time, you would internally squeal, his voice warming up your soul. The romantic gestures and whimsical spells only made you yearn for more than what real life could offer. Whenever you watched it, you wished you had a handsome wizard to conjure up a flower field for you. Sophie’s determination made you giggle, and you would imagine you were her whenever your mom told you to clean your room. 

As you stood in line for a bucket of popcorn, you got giddy. You always did, no matter how many times you watched this movie. The theater was packed with people your age, probably feeling the same feelings you were. These feelings were amplified by the cool decorations the staff had put up. There were cardboard cutouts of the movie characters, even a full scale Turnip Head. There were some backdrops from the movie, cool shiny streamers, and special edition popcorn buckets in the shape of the moving castle. 

Suddenly being there alone was starting to be to your benefit: you could act as excited as you wanted without judgment. As you paid for a popcorn bucket and cherry icee, you watched as several other couples and people with children were smiling and having fun looking at the decorations. Several couples were taking photos with the backdrops. You even saw a child dressed up as Markl. You sighed in happiness before the cashier handed you your bucket, snapping you out of your observations. 

After getting your snacks, you had a bit of time to kill. You could have opted to stay in the lobby, but the open theater doors were just begging you to step inside. So you did. 

The theater was brimming with people. You had to stop and assess the situation. Most of the theater was taken, but luckily you had pre-selected your seat. Unfortunately, it was quite close to the screen. You hoped you wouldn’t be seated next to rude strangers. Your seat was the last single seat you could find. You listened to people chatting and whispering as you walked down the aisle to find your spot. 

14c. That was your seat. But 14c was preoccupied. Not your seat anymore. 

You saw that a long line of guys were sitting in the row you had chosen your seat in. There were 6 of them. All of them were sitting smack dab in the middle of the aisle, completely encasing your (now taken) seat. You made a face to yourself, sighed in defeat and contemplated the situation. There were people behind you, walking in your direction, so you could either politely ask them to move or try finding a spot, risking the same situation these boys had put you in. 

Thinking of the seating chart and how full it was when you saw it online, you opted for the former. 

You got real close to the nearest guy you could see, and attempted to get his attention. He had really wide eyes and was talking to his buddy next to him really enthusiastically about the movie. 

“Dude, I’m so excited to see this. It’s my first time going to a Ghibli Fest!” He whisper-screamed. 

“Yah, but did you have to drag all of us out here for a cartoon?” The second guy complained. “I could be like at the gym or something. I don’t know, anything else. Also, why didn’t Chan and Jeongin come? Why am I here?” He pouted. The first guy smirked. 

“Consider it bonding time. Team activities you know-” The first guy began saying, but was interrupted as his buddy nudged him and nodded his head in your direction. He flipped his body around to face you. 

“Hey, excuse me, sorry if I interrupted.” You stammered. He smiled and shook his head. 

“No worries. Just trying to get my friend to shut up here.” He laughed. The second guy looked offended and mumbled, “You can’t even shut up yourself,” under his breath. The first guy smiled widely and waved his hand behind him. 

“Don’t mind him, he’s always grumpy.” You smiled and shyly pushed your hair behind your ear. 

“I’m really sorry, but I think my seat is right in the middle of your group. I can move if you want, I just don’t want to cause other people to lose theirs too.” You tried to lean over to speak over the loudness of his friends talking. He nodded as you spoke and then his eyes widened even more as you mentioned your seat. His mouth made an O. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, let me move for you!” He scrambled to get his things up. You frantically waved your hands and tried to stop him. 

“Oh no it’s okay! If you guys can just move one down, that’s fine with me!” You observed him dropping his candy bag. The guy next to him noticed the commotion. 

“Yah, Han Jisung. Those are my sour patch kids! What-” The guy started to protest. 

The guy next to him looked over. 

“Bro, why did you drop Changbin’s candy? I was gonna steal from those!” ‘Changbin’ ( you assumed his name was) frowned and yelled, “hey!” ‘Jisung’ looked up at you before looking at his friends. You could visibly see the wheels in his head turn. 

He suddenly looked back at you and asked, “Are you alone? What seat did you pick?”

You stammered with your words, startled by the totally normal question. There was just something about these guys that gave off chaotic vibes. You barely got to answering your seat number before the movie ads began to fade away and the usual rule ad came on. You visibly panicked and Jisung did too. 

“Oh shit-” 

“Um-” 

“Hey! Hyunjin! Scoot your ass over a chair!” Jisung reached over Changbin and whisper-yelled to some blonde dude. Changbin was less than satisfied at Jisung, being as he was currently squished below him. The blonde guy looked over with bewilderment and a skinnier guy next to him started to shoo him away, sensing Jisung’s urgency. 

“What- I just sat down-” Hyunjin complained, but he grumbled and moved over anyway. Jisung looked satisfied and motioned to your now empty spot. 

“Ta-Da! The movie looks like it’s gonna start so you might want to hurry.” He laughed. You just stood there, dismayed at the prospect of having to sit in between 3 dudes on either side of you. But the credits began to play and you had to hurry, as Jisung had said. You sighed and mustered up some courage as you squeezed past 3 random dude’s knees, each one of them were careful not to stab you with them. 

Just as you plopped down on your seat, the blonde dude: Hyunjin, started to whisper to his friend across from you on the other side. 

“Yah, Felix, pass the Dr. Pepper.” You looked at Felix, who was in the process of taking a bite of his pretzel. He wordlessly nodded, and handed the soda to Hyunjin, right in front of your face. 

You looked at both of them. Felix smiled at you and shrugged his shoulders in apology. Hyunjin happily took a sip of his soda and made eye contact with you, his eyes widening a bit in embarrassment. 

“Woah, I thought you were Leeknow for a sec.” He said nervously. You could hear the title song start to play. Man, you just wanted to enjoy your movie. 

“No, I’m Y/n.” You begrudgingly said. Felix loudly chewed on his pretzel. You could smell it. 

Hyunjin took another sip before placing his Dr.Pepper down. 

“I’m Hyunjin by the way. Sorry for taking your seat.”  He apologetically said and reached his hand out. You stared at it. The train sound of the movie filled your ears. You reached out and lightly shook his hand before observing what Hyunjin really looked like (or as best as you could in the dark). Hyunjin’s blonde hair stood out in the dark. Although you could barely see, you could still make out his features in the movie. His face was soft, and his features were delicate. The soft movie light made his skin glow. You found yourself snapping out of it, realizing you were still shaking his hand. You nervously chucked and mumbled a “nice to meet you” before quickly turning back to the screen. Hyunjin chuckled and looked back at the screen too. 

Before you knew it, you were engrossed in the movie. As always, Howl’s introduction in the beginning made you sigh and smile, his voice never failed to make you swoon. As you watched, you found yourself unconsciously thinking about the man next to you (not Felix). Howl’s blonde hair was vaguely the same as Hyunjin’s and that stuck with you. As the movie passed, Hyunjin and his friends mostly kept to themselves. Except when the movie began to ramp up. 

As Sophie began to change and discover Howl’s true nature, you could hear Jisung mutter things about how it was “so unfair for Sophie, she has to be a hag while Howl gets to be pretty,” or you would hear Hyunjin pout about how sad a life Sophie had. You laughed at the occasional commentary and surprisingly rude remarks Felix had stored up for the Witch of the Waste. 

When Howl sent Sophie to the Castle, Hyunjin and his other friends, Seungmin and Leeknow, were all on the edge of their seats. It was only after Sophie’s and Howl’s escape did they cheer and sit back. Felix cursed out the escape of the Witch of the Waste. You giggled. You felt the same about her too. 

You easily ate your popcorn and Icee as you watched Howl slowly fall in love with Sophie. Their love story never failed to truly entrance you, and the soundtrack didn’t help with that. As the flower garden scene showed, Hyunjin accidentally touched your hand with his as he reached for his soda, which was on the same side as your Icee was. 

You blushed and muttered “sorry.” He didn’t say a word. The flower garden seemed so enchanting and the music just really set the scene for love. You smiled, happy at your decision to book this ticket. 

By the end of the movie, you lost count of how many times you heard one of the boys sniffle, laugh, cry, complain and curse out at characters of the movie. Felix even asked you if you were a Turnip Head stan after he tried to save them at the end. You nodded solemnly, jokingly wiping a tear and saying, “He’s their savior!” Felix just laughed. You smiled as the end neared, your favorite scene coming up. 

Just as Howl woke up and proclaimed, “Sophie! Your hair looks just like starlight!” You got a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Hyunjin nudged at your arm with his. You looked over, still smiling from the scene. 

“Your hair looks kinda like Sophie’s don’t you think?” He whispered at the quietest level. You blushed, and didn’t know what to say. The ending scene kept going as you quickly turned to avoid his gaze. This random stranger just compared your hair to Sophie’s. Was that a compliment? 

You looked back at Hyunjin, but he was already joking with Leeknow, who was arguing that Sophie was the true hero of this movie. Seugnmin was arguing for Hiel, the dog. Hyunjin was gushing over the love story. You started to think you were imagining what just happened. 

Sooner than you wanted it to, the lights to the theater slowly flickered on and people began chatting, creating a buzz of conversation. Some people exited the theater, others stayed to talk. You contemplated just leaving, but Felix began to talk to you about the Witch and what you thought of her. He seemed quite passionate about it, so you stayed. 

Just as Changbin suggested they leave for dinner and everyone began to collect their things, Hyunjin called to you. 

“Hey, Y/n?” He smiled and waited for you to finish putting your bag over your shoulder. 

“Yes Hyunjin?” You teased with his name. He blushed and Leeknow pushed past him, complaining about rude, tall, blonde men always being in the way. You laughed and gestured that you would follow him out. Hyunjin nodded and waited for you at the end of the aisle as you picked your way past empty popcorn buckets and trays. 

All the guys were chatting as they led the way out the door, but Hyunjin stayed behind. Right after you waved bye to Felix, you paid all your attention to the man in front of you. 

“Did you need something?” You politely asked, curious as to why he waited. 

“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come out to dinner with us?” He blurted out. Now it was your turn to blush. The theater was now completely empty and the lights were on. The feeling of having watched a good movie was still flowing through your brain. 

“You don’t have to be with all the guys, if you feel uncomfortable we can just go together? Or maybe Felix can come too?” He stammered. You laughed. 

“Sure, why not. You guys seem cool anyway.” You barely got to finish your sentence as Jisung came running back in, yelling, “Hyunjinnie!” You giggled and Hyunjin seemed really embarrassed, his ears turning red. 

“I’ll be right there!” He yelled behind him. Jisung stopped dead in his tracks as he saw you standing in front of him. 

“Oop, sorry if I interrupted your moment-”

“Go away Jisung!” Hyunjin snapped and hid his face behind his hands. Jisung smiled and winked at you. He mouthed and motioned with his phone, “get his number!” You smiled and nodded. Jisung sprinted off and you could hear his voice as he got further. 

“Guys! I think Hyunjin has a girlfriend now!” 

You could hear laughs and protests, presumably by Leeknow or Changbin. You looked back at Hyunjin who was groaning into his hands. 

You pulled out your phone and peeled his hand from his face, placing your open phone on his palm. 

“I’ll only go if you kindly give me your number.” You stated. He glanced at the phone in surprise before looking back at you smugly. 

“I hope you’re hungry then.” He laughed and inputted his number and name. As he gave it back to you and you walked out of the theater with him to meet with the boys, you glanced at your new contact. 

It read: “Knock off Howl ❤️”

 You laughed and he continued talking about how wonderful it would be to be able to conjure your own moving house. 

-

[blackjackkent]

Rakha enters the Counting House's high security vault on a balcony overlooking the main floor. It's an enormous room but mostly empty except for three people standing around a single chest at its center - a dwarf in a fine silk tunic and two guards armored like the ones upstairs.

No sign of Minsc. Jaheira has described him and he is definitely not any of these people.

"It's still... moving..." one of the guards quavers nervously, looking at the chest with an expression of deep anxiety.

Rakha's head tilts to one side and she squints. The chest gives an almost imperceptible twitch.

"Hush your fussing," the dwarf says irritably, pulling a pipe from his pocket and sticking it into his mouth. "Nine-Fingers had this one made especially. That little mouthful will barely slow it down."

(A/N: "Made"? This line raises a lot of questions about mimic biology and reproduction. Also, one of Glitterbeard's guards has Hector's face with an undercut and no beard, but the right eye color more or less, which is amusing me.)

"But the stories..." The guard wrings her hands.

"Stories," the dwarf scoffs. "Tall tales and big names." He pokes his pipe at the other guard, who is looking at his comrade anxiously. "Don't let them fool you, lad. Elminster the archmage. Drizzt the drow exlie. Heroes have power, aye - but not half so much as we do." He flicks his fingers, and Rakha watches with mild interest as fire flares up around his fingers, with which he lights his pipe before inhaling a mouthful of smoke.

"A little coin in the right purse," he murmurs pensively. "A soft word in the right ear. It's not glory that spins these planes, lad. It's gold. See? Now--"

He breaks off abruptly. The chest has given another distinct twitch, and this time its accompanied by a low, moaning growl that sets the hair standing up on the back of Rakha's neck.

She has only a moment to process what's happening, but it's long enough. She's seen this before, a creature disguising itself as a chest - in Grymforge, and in Moonrise Towers. A mimic, Wyll called it. A creature that is mouth and teeth and tongue and very little else, and would have swallowed her whole if she'd let it.

Extrapolation flick-flicks through Rakha's brain like lightning. The visitor logs said Minsc was here only minutes ago, led here by Glitterbeard, the bank's manager. Nine-Fingers said she instructed that he be killed. Jaheira has described Minsc as a behemoth, dangerously violent, and with his own streak of madness to match Rakha's.

There are only so many ways to safely kill such a man. One of them, Rakha imagines, is having him swallowed by a mimic.

Mmmm... whispers the beast in her brain. Too quick. Too clean. No mess left behind to show the deed was done. And yet... perhaps not so easy as they think...

The mimic gives another low moan, its whole body spasming and the eyes embedded in its "wood" flesh opening wide. And then a fist explodes outward from between its teeth.

Blood spatters across the ground. The scent fills Rakha's nose and her vision goes white at the corners. She grips the balcony railing, struggling to regain control, and watches in astonishment as a huge, muscular form uncurls itself from within the mimic's body, ripping its jaw upward with a sickening crack.

The mimic screams and shudders to stillness, its tongue lolling out along the stone floor. Minsc - for certainly this is Minsc - straightens up, his eyes bright with rage as he glares down at the dwarf.

"There is no gold in here!" he bellows, pointing at the dead mimic. With a grunt, he lifts the whole creature up by its tongue and hurls it aside.

"If there is one thing Minsc hates more than beasts with bad breath," he growls. "It is those who are tricksome with the truth."

His head cocks to one side, and then he smiles, showing all of his teeth. "And turnips. But you are no turnip! Let that be a comfort to you in your final moments!"

At Rakha's side, Jaheira laughs suddenly - a sound Rakha has never heard from her before. Every muscle in her body has relaxed with sudden visible relief and her eyes have brightened as she steps forward eagerly. "Meet Minsc!" she says cheerfully. "He still seems very much himself to me."

Rakha grunts. The smell of blood from the eviscerated mimic is still plucking angrily at the strings of her brain, and it is taking most of her available effort to retain control of herself. If this is Minsc, Jaheira can handle the reunion without her.

(Part of her is intrigued, attentive. Just as she has been led to believe, she can already see something of herself in this huge behemoth of a man - the rage and edge of madness in his eyes. The brute force ripping and tearing of flesh and teeth. But there will be time to understand that when she can breathe again.)

Let Jaheira reveal herself.

Jaheira steps forward, letting her boots click loudly against the marble of the floor. Minsc stiffens at once, turning to look up - and his eyes widen, seeing her face.

"You..." he hisses.

There is something strange in his eyes - it does not look like happy recognition. Surely Jaheira sees it too - but just as surely, she doesn't want to. Her smile takes on a forced quality. "Stone Lord?" she calls down teasingly. "Better to call yourself Stone-Head."

(A/N: For once when I say in my writing that there's a long silence, I actually mean it - there was a good fifteen seconds of Jaheira and Minsc just staring at each other with Minsc looking increasingly puzzled. XD )

A long silence passes, during which Minsc's expression shows his inward struggle to parse what Jaheira has said. Then his expression goes very dark, his eyes narrowing to slits. "Your false face does not fool my eyes!" he roars. "I will cut until you look like the monster you are!"

The words resonate inside Rakha's head. The beast keens eagerly. Yes, cut, cut, cut... spill her blood, spill all their blood, rip out their throats and then we shall rip out yours, Minsc of Rashemen--

Jaheira's brief moment of relief has vanished. She has gone utterly still and a muscle is working in her jaw. "Somehow you are making even less sense than usual," she says hoarsely.

And then a voice, all too familiar, echoes across the vault. "Perhaps I can explain!"

It's Jaheira's voice.

And at the far end of the room stands... Jaheira. Or someone who looks like her, at least. Her skin shimmers with the lingering Weave-ripples of the teleportation spell they have seen before, the one used by the Absolutists and the nautiloid. She raises one eyebrow, her lips curled in an unpleasant smirk.

Understanding once again cracks through Rakha like a whip. A shapeshifter - one of Orin's doppelgangers, this time wearing Jaheira's face. But not quite her manner; the smirk is too hard, too cold, and her voice rasps with a disdain that, even in the worst moments, Rakha has never seen from her companion.

"The Stone Lord sees through your lies, shapeshifter!" she barks up at Jaheira. Her voice rings like a bell in the high-ceilinged room. "Count yourself lucky he cannot stay." She turns the sharp edge of her glare down towards the dwarf next to the dead mimic. "Nine-Fingers set a poor trap, little banker. Let the Absolute's faithful show you how it is done."

The Weave rocks. From every corner of the room, figures with weapons and spiked armor shiver out of the dark. Absolutists. Bhaalists. Rakha's staves are out in her hands before she has fully registered what is happening.

"Now come, Stone Lord!" the imposter barks. "We have the gold - and the Absolute has need of it elsewhere."

For a long moment, Minsc does not move, just looks up at Jaheira - the true Jaheira - with narrowed eyes. Then he turns. "As you say, Jaheira," he rumbles. Crossing the room with a few enormous strides, he moves to the imposter's side.

The imposter's smirk widens. And then there's another flash of dark energy, and they're gone, and the cultists begin to close ranks on all sides.

Jaheira has gone very pale with fury and alarm. She pulls her scimitars free, but there is no time for her to do anything but watch as her friend disappears in the Absolutists' company.

"Stlarning shapechangers!" she roars, almost matching Minsc in thunderous volume despite her smaller frame. "Enough - let us deal with these cultists, then find out where they are nesting!"

[its-jaytothemee]

Until I Met You - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Fairytales

Pairings: Halsin x Tav

Word count: 5,071

Rating: Currently M, will be Explicit in later chapters.

Read on AO3

Previous Next

Summary: Tav and Halsin try to work through the confusing nature of their relationship before setting out on a quest to wake Art Cullagh. Part 30 of the slow burn fic. Tav and Halsin POVs.

Tags: Slow burn, mutual pining, hurt/comfort, emotional hurt/comfort, fluff, eventual love confessions, eventual smut, angst, implied past rape/non-con and abuse, graphic description of injuries, brief suicidal thoughts.

A/N: Have a bit more fluff before we get into the angst again.

Halsin awoke on the floor of Last Light to the sound of Tav’s soft breathing on the bed next to him. He must have drifted off into a trance at some point while trying to conjure up ideas to wake the Fist, who still remained lost in sleep.

Slowly, he rolled himself up off the floor, groaning at every crack of his back at the movement.

I might be too old to sleep on wooden floors anymore.

While his body caught up with his mind, he took a moment to check on Art Cullagh from his seat.

Still no change.

He was still singing the same nonsensical tune, and Halsin could still feel the dark claws of the Shadowfell gripping his mind.

Before he could stand up, he heard a sharp breath from Tav.

“Halsin?” She bolted upright and looked around the room frantically for him.

“I’m here, Tav,” he called out. The look of relief when she met his gaze caused his heart to skip a beat. “Sorry, my friend. I seemed to have dozed off.”

“You could have just asked me to scoot over,” she teased.

Her small jest brought a smile to his face. At least her sense of humor seemed to be intact.

“And deprive Lunari of her sleeping space? Perish the thought.” He nodded toward the wolf sleeping at the foot of the bed.

Tav sat up slowly, pushing runaway hairs out of her face and stretching her arms.

“I have to admit,” she yawned before continuing, “it was nice to be in a bed for a night. Even an old and musty one.”

“I wish I could say the same. It’s incredible that the softness of dirt underneath one’s back makes such a noticeable difference.”

“Like I said,” Tav snickered as he carefully brought himself off the floor, “I could have shared.”

“Or if I had been thinking, I would have simply grabbed one of the other empty ones.” He meant the words as a joke, but he saw Tav’s face fall at his words. “Oh…”

You useless turnip.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that I wouldn’t want to share with you, it’s just…” he let out a frustrated grunt.

“It’s okay,” a small smile came back to her face, “I just thought after last night that maybe…we could…maybe…” she stammered as her hands started running through her hair.

“I meant what I said, Tav,” he assured her as he sat back on the edge of the bed.

“I just thought that if you feel that way, we could still be…closer.” She looked away from him, cheeks and ears flushing a bright shade of red.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, erm,” she stuttered to find the words, “even if you did, uh, share, we wouldn’t have to…do anything.”

Her hands were shaking as she continued using them to detangle her hair, and she still wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“That is a very kind, and tempting, offer,” he admitted. She finally turned to look at him again.

He sighed heavily. Gods how he didn’t want to look into those eyes and see disappointment clouding them.

“I wish I could explain my hesitations in a better manner, Tav. But know that I appreciate the thought, and I will keep it in mind,” he assured her.

“You don’t have to explain, Halsin. If you’re not ready for a relationship, that’s okay.”

He started to respond but stopped himself. He was reasonably certain that his views on relationships were quite different from her own. It was often said that any courtship between high elves and wood elves was doomed from the start. Wood elf communities were known to reject monogamy, jealousy was seen as a childish emotion in their eyes. The same could not be said of high elves.

He didn’t want to add any worries to her already troubled mind. However, if Tav had feelings for him, she deserved to know his thoughts on the matter.

“Well,” he drummed his fingers on the mattress as he tried to find the words, “my opinions on relationships are a bit…different from traditional views.”

“Oh?” She turned on the bed to face him. “How so?”

“Some treat their relationship like a walled garden – tidy, tamed, cut off from the world. That is their right, of course, but it…it is not for me. I do as nature does, and let my heart run wild. Desire flourishes wherever it finds purchase.”

Tav’s brow furrowed as she listened to him, lost in thought. “So, that’s to say you don’t believe in monogamy?”

“I believe it’s the right choice for some people, but not for me. Even in nature it has its place. The wolf mates for life, but the bear roams free, partnering where its instincts dictate.”

He felt a sudden spike of panic with his words, realizing how fitting they could possibly be for the two of them. To his surprise, she just smiled at him.

“You sound like Tev,” she said with a wistful laugh.

“Do I?” Halsin couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice.

“He never was one to believe we have one person out there for us and one person only. And after our time with our family,” she let out a heavy sigh, “I suppose I started to agree with him.”

“What makes you say that?”

“We uh,” she gulped, “we grew up in the Upper City of Baldur’s Gate. Everything there is a game, including ‘love.’ And our father, well…”

“You…you’re from one of the great houses?” he asked, trying not to pry too much.

“Not exactly,” she wrung her hands in her lap, “but our father was obsessed with gaining more power, more influence. We’d attend any party or gathering we could, he’d try to secure alliances by promising a marriage…to me.”

Halsin listened intently, reaching out to take one of her hands. Something in the tone of her voice told him there was more to it than that, but he didn’t press her.

“When I was younger, I was so naïve and hopeful. I thought that one of these arranged marriages could be a good match for me, that I would get to be the noble lady of a great house, managing the affairs of my family with a loving partner at my side. I thought I lived in a fairy tale for so long, that as long as I listened and acted the part of a graceful, amiable lady, I would get my happily ever after. And I was more than happy to play my part at first.” She took a shaky breath.

“Eventually I grew wise enough to see what my father was doing. Training me to be the ultimate tool of seduction on his behalf. To lure allies to his side promising me as a prize. Despite his empty vows, I always knew he had no intention of following through. Looking back on it now, it’s pathetic how often it actually worked.

“He gained confidants, political alliances, and more wealth than we ever would have needed. I gained…” She gave a derisive snort. “Well…I gained nothing pleasant.”

“Tav, that…that’s awful.” Hearing her recount her time in the city made his heart ache for her all over again.

“It could be at times,” she smiled as tears welled in her eyes, “but I always held out hope that if I went along with him, if I made my father happy and proud that maybe I’d get to choose my own path. That I’d have a say in my future…but that was just the hope of that same naïve little girl, wanting a fairy tale as her life.”

He squeezed her hand as she struggled to catch her breath.

“I stopped believing in those fairy tales the day I met Noravi.”

“Who’s Noravi?” he asked as he stroked her hand.

“The only person my father made a betrothal agreement with, a real agreement.”

“Not a pleasant arrangement, I assume?”

“I’ve yet to meet anyone worse,” she sniffled. “His family are slavers.”

She spat the words with a particular venom that he had only heard her use once before. In the Underdark.

“Grymforge…” he whispered. She averted her gaze.

“I have reason to believe his family was involved with those slaves, yes.”

“That’s why you were particularly obsessed with wiping that fortress out.”

“I wouldn’t say obsessed, committed maybe but…” Her light teasing eased some of the pain he felt on her behalf.

“The night I met him is the night Tev first ran away. He nearly broke Noravi’s jaw when he…” her lips trembled, and she was unable to finish her sentence. “I told him to run. I knew my father wouldn’t take the slight lightly.”

“What do you mean?”

“He had already threatened to have Tev sold to one of the great drow houses, or to have Noravi’s family ship him off somewhere. He didn’t appreciate Tev always stepping in and ruining his plans.”

Tav kept talking, but he found himself unable to listen at the mention of the drow houses. For someone to threaten to sell their own son in that manner? He had a hard time imagining what could twist someone into such a cruel state of mind. Halsin knew all too well the fate of surface-dwelling elves that found themselves in cities such as Menzoberranzan, especially the men.

“Halsin?” Tav nudged him.

“Hm? Apologies, I was just…caught off guard.” He forced himself to concentrate once more.

“I’m sorry, I know this is a lot to take in.” She looked embarrassed.

“It’s quite alright,” he assured her. “How did you and Tev’aron find yourselves reunited?”

“He came back for me, even after he had escaped our family’s clutches on his own. Said he couldn’t stand the thought of me being married off to someone like Noravi. We ran away together, and we haven’t spoken to anyone from our life in Baldur’s Gate since.

“Tev saw through our father’s plans long before I did. He tried to convince me, tried to get me to run away for years. But no matter what happened, he was always there to intervene when things got out of hand. He spent his evenings starting fake brawls with drunken noblemen, making sure their hands didn’t wander too far. He took every opportunity to block them from a dance, just to give me a break from my flirtatious mingling. I think I’ve missed that the most, knowing he was just out of view, ready to step in on my behalf.”

“He sounds like a good man,” Halsin said softly.

“The best. He could have left on his own any number of times. He could have stayed away once he finally broke free.” Tav had a fond smile on her face as she reminisced about her brother.

“He stayed for me. He came back for me…” Her smile faded. “And now he’s gone.”

Halsin didn’t know what to say, so he just pulled her into a hug.

“I wish I could have met him.”

Tav chuckled and pulled away from him. “He would have liked you.”

“What makes you so sure?” he teased her with a light nudge.

“Because you’re good to me. You treat me nicely and I’m happy around you.”

“That’s it? That seems like a rather low standard by which to judge me.” He started to tease, but saw the sad, distant look on her face.

“You’d be surprised.” The sudden hurt in her voice caused his breath to catch.

“Regardless, I consider it a privilege to be someone who makes you happy, Tav. I hope I can continue to do so.”

His words caused a genuine smile to return to her face.

“Can you do me a favor?” she asked as her fidgeting fingers picked at the blanket beneath her.

“Of course, anything.”

“Can you…can you not tell the others? That I grew up in the Upper City? It’s just…” she trailed off with a sigh, “It’s just that the people that live there are notoriously disliked by everyone else. I uh, I don’t want that warping their opinion of me. I left the city so long ago, it doesn’t even feel like my home anymore.”

“Your secret is safe with me, my friend.” He hugged her tightly once more, hearing a breath of relief as she relaxed in his arms.

She nodded against him, taking deep breaths.

“I think I’ve distracted you enough,” she said as she wiped her eyes, “have you thought of any way to wake him?”

“Nothing, I’m afraid,” he refocused his mind to the task at hand.

Tav stood up and went over to her bag, fishing out the letter they had found on the Fist.

“Well according to his assignment, he was supposed to be at the House of Healing. Maybe we could check there? You never know, we could find another letter, an old backpack, something that could at least find us a next step.”

It was the only possibility they had. Although, how much longer could she put off chasing the Absolute before–

Wait.

Halsin got an idea as he listened to Tav read the letter over and over.

“That’s it!” He jumped up to examine Art Cullagh again, causing a startled yelp from Tav. This time he was looking for any distinguishing physical features that could help them. Signs of any activity that could help give his mind a jolt, a way to help him remember.

“Halsin? What is it?” Tav asked once she had recovered from her fright.

“If he was able to escape the Shadowfell, then he managed to keep his spirit from being consumed – not all of it, anyway,” Halsin explained eagerly. “We need to unlock whatever’s left of him, trapped in his mind. Something to trigger him – a word, a memory, an item.”

Art had plenty of scars, but that wasn’t out of place for a Flaming Fist or someone who spent one hundred years fighting for their life in the Shadowfell. Perhaps there was a preferred weapon he used, or maybe…

Halsin’s eyes fell on the man’s fingers. Calloused on just the tips, as if from strumming a lute or a lyre.

“There,” he lifted the man’s hand gently to show Tav, “look at these callouses. He likely played a string instrument of some kind. If we can find it and play it for him, we might be able to wake him up.”

“Why don’t we just get Alfira when she wakes up? Have her play a tune to see if it helps?” Tav suggested.

“Unlikely, for it to take effect, the instrument would have had to be owned or at least treasured by him,” Halsin guessed. Tav gave a decisive nod.

“Then it sounds like we’re going to the House of Healing today.”

***

Tav watched Halsin pace around the Flaming Fist, hands gesturing all around as he muttered to himself. She started to feel remorse creep into the back of her mind. Regardless of his support, she couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth about her family, about who she was. Still, it had been nice to get some of that off her chest.

Their conversations played over and over in her head. Halsin’s words had given her even more to think about.

I care about you, Tav.

But in what way? The light kiss he left on her lips was quick but brimming with affection. And the way he looked at her after made her dizzy just thinking about it. Such a loving expression that was new to her, but not unwelcome by any means.

I do as nature does, and let my heart run wild. Desire flourishes wherever it finds purchase.

Did that mean she would be just another notch on his bedpost? He didn’t seem like the kind of person who only looked for a quick lay before moving onto the next. If that were the case, he would have already slept with her and moved on…right?

A small, hateful voice once again crept into the back of her mind.

You simply aren’t enough to tame that wild heart.

The quiet squeaking of the mattress startled her out of her speculations as Halsin came to sit with her once more. He was still muttering under his breath as he kept a watchful eye on Art Cullagh.

“Once the others get here, we’ll head straight for the House of Healing,” she assured him with a smile, trying to hide the hurt feelings caused by her own nasty, selfish thoughts.

“I don’t deserve you, my friend,” he said with a relieved laugh. The hopeful smile on his face made her chest feel warm and chased away some of the grief clouding her mind.

“To think…” Tav said as she watched the Fist’s chest rise and fall with each breath, “after all these years we could see the sun here again.”

“Yes, I wish I could describe the joy that the mere prospect brings me.” He turned to face her. “I can’t thank you enough for your help.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” she snorted, “we still don’t know what we’ll find at the House of Healing, but this is at least…something.”

Halsin took one of her hands. “It’s everything, Tav. Do not sell yourself short. I have felt more hope in the short time I’ve known you than in decades before. Thanks to you, I have a real chance at making that hope a reality.”

He reached over and pulled her into another hug, holding her so tightly she was sure her spine might break. The gesture burned her hateful thoughts away.

Perhaps his roaming heart needed to run wild, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t find a home to come back to every now and then. It didn't mean he couldn't care for her.

“That looks like good news!” Karlach’s cheerful voice carried through the quiet inn. She sauntered into the room with the rest of their party in tow.

“We think we found a lead on getting rid of the curse,” Tav explained as she walked over to greet them.

All of her companions perked up at her words…except Shadowheart.

“So, we’ve just dropped all thoughts of going after the Absolute now?” she snapped back. “Need I remind you of the parasites residing in our brains?”

Tav felt her lip twitch up in a snarl before calling on her parasite to connect with Shadowheart’s. They both wriggled with excitement before falling still once more.

“Sort of a hard thing to forget.” Tav glared at her.

“Must you?” Shadowheart shook off the brief mingling in her mind.

The two of them pulled faces at each other before Gale stepped in.

“Come now,” he stepped between them, holding both hands out, “surely we can take a morning to investigate a lead for a couple of our friends?”

“Friends is a rather generous term, wouldn’t you say, Tav?”

“Associates of circumstance is a fairer description, I think,” she agreed.

“Look at that!” Gale clapped his hands. “Already getting on better than we were just a moment ago. I say we take some of this newfound camaraderie and channel it into our adventures for the day.”

He made a couple more back and forth movements with his arms as Tav and Shadowheart continued staring daggers at one another.

“I think we can spare the time,” Wyll offered his negotiating skills into the conversation. “I feel it wouldn’t do well to leave this land in such a state if we can do something to help.”

Shadowheart mumbled a few curses under her breath before breaking off her glare.

“Any help would be most appreciated, thank you.” Halsin gave a small nod of his head as he launched into a summary of what he learned from studying the Fist throughout the night.

“Where we off to then?” Karlach’s chipper demeanor hadn’t been dampened in the slightest by Tav and Shadowheart’s little spat.

“The House of Healing,” Tav answered. “He was sent there on assignment according to this letter.”

“What exactly are we looking for? If he’s been trapped in the Shadowfell for one hundred years, what can we hope to find on this plane?” Wyll’s question was reasonable enough, but it sowed small seeds of doubt in her mind.

“Anything that can be linked back to him. When he was whisked away to the Shadowfell it would have been unlikely that any material objects would have been taken with him,” Halsin explained. Tav caught the smallest glimmer of doubt cross his expression as well.

“Halsin thinks he may have played a string instrument of some kind based on the calluses on his fingers. If we could find that instrument…” Tav trailed off.

“It could be just the jolt he needs to recover what is left of his mind,” Gale finished as he rubbed his chin.

“Precisely,” Halsin let out a small sigh.

“This is absurd,” Shadowheart scoffed, “we’re wasting time that could be spent chasing down the cure to our tadpoles rather than the whims of two people–”

Karlach and Wyll cut Shadowheart off and pulled her aside.

“Come on, Shadowheart, Tav just lost her brother. She needs this,” Karlach tried to whisper, but still hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it.

“They’re chasing a lie,” Shadowheart hissed back. “Halsin claims the ‘spirit of nature’ was taken from these lands? I hardly believe that. Lady Shar has no need for such a spirit, why in the nine hells would she have taken him?”

“We weren’t here that day, Shadowheart. Perhaps he was more involved than we know,” Wyll offered quietly.

“I can still hear you all,” Tav called out, not bothering to hide her aggravation. She gathered up her hair in a high tail so she could braid it while they had their not-so-quiet argument.

Karlach and Wyll exchanged a look, Shadowheart rolled her eyes.

“Listen…” Tav started with a heavy sigh as she let her finished braid fall over her shoulder. “I realize this is a lot to ask of you. I’ve said it so many times before, but we make these decisions as a group. If…”

She trailed off, fighting the tears stinging her eyes.

“If you tell me that you can’t join me in this, I understand. I won’t force anyone to come with me.” Tav looked up to see Halsin with a pained look on his face.

“But I will ask, as your friend, for your help. These shadows came from Ketheric Thorm. If we find out how to rid this land of them, we might just gain an advantage against him. We might be able to learn more about him, find a weakness. Or we might not. We may find nothing, and we’ll have simply wasted the day.” She felt her tears start to run down her cheeks.

“I won’t deny that my personal feelings cloud my judgement right now. But I truly believe that bringing Thaniel back and restoring balance to this land can help us take down Ketheric.”

Karlach was the first one to walk up next to her.

“I’ll be right there with you, soldier.”

“Helping a friend is hardly a day wasted, Tav.” Wyll smiled as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Astarion asked as he twirled a dagger between his fingers. “Let’s go hurt someone.”

Tav let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you.”

One by one, the others gathered around as well. Shadowheart stayed in place, a frown on her face and her arms wrapped tight around her torso.

“Shadowheart?” Karlach cocked an eyebrow at her. Tav held back her glare as best she could.

“I–” Shadowheart cut herself off as she gripped the Shar-bound wound on her hand, hissing in pain. “I cannot aid you in this. You’re talking about working against Lady Shar. I…” She looked down at her hand once more.

“I cannot be part of it.”

Tav felt her nostrils flare and her heart rate quicken. Karlach’s quiet disappointment was obvious as Shadowheart shuffled away from them, flexing her wounded hand at her side. Halsin came over and placed a hand on Tav’s arm. She leaned into him before Karlach started pulling her out of the room.

“You coming, Halsin?” Karlach turned to ask him.

“I think I should stay here with Art, make sure there are no changes to his condition that require my immediate attention,” he replied, giving Tav an apologetic look.

“Suit yourself, let’s go sis.” Karlach shrugged and looped an arm around one of Tav’s.

Tav looked back over her shoulder, but Halsin had turned his attention back to Art Cullagh, once again lost in thought.

Please gods let this work.

*

Tav stood frozen in place looking at the corpse-strewn battlefield before her. She held her bow in front of her in a rigid grip, the single arrow she had notched still resting on its string, unfired.

Their group had been ambushed by another group of shadow-cursed Harpers. The moment she tried to fight, terror seized her muscles, dragging her back to the previous evening. Every face had warped into Tev’s and she found herself once again unable to act.

Her companions had barely been able to keep the shadows and cursed Harpers away from her. There was a vague memory of an arrow grazing her arm, but she still felt numb to the pain.

“Tav?” Astarion startled her out of her grief-driven paralysis.

She jumped away from him, drawing her bow once more.

“Whoa! Hey!” he yelled as he held his hands up in front of his face.

“Shit,” she hissed and immediately lowered her weapon. “I’m sorry…I…I don’t know what happened…” As she spoke, she realized she had been crying. Thin streaks dampened her cheeks, cooling her skin as the wind blew past her.

Everyone exchanged concerned glances.

“Tav, we agreed to do this for you, the least you could do is be here and present for us,” Lae’zel snapped. Wyll whipped around to face her.

“Lae’zel, perhaps that’s not the best–”

“No Wyll, she’s right.” Tav cut him off. “I’m sorry, I thought I could do this. I thought if I had a distraction, I could move forward but…”

“Tav, it’s been less than a day since you lost your brother. It’s quite alright if you need more time,” Gale tried to assure her.

“No…” she trailed off and choked back the tears clouding her vision. “No, it’s been over a century, Gale. I’ve grieved his loss over and over again, it’s time to move on. You’re all taking a great risk on my behalf, the least I can do is be helpful in completing this task. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”

She received a few nods and weak smiles in response.

Karlach came up and took her arm in tight grip as they resumed their walk.

“You okay, soldier?”

“I’m fine, really,” she responded, leaning against her friend. “It’s still a little hard to grasp, but…deep down I think I always knew he was gone. And now…”

She trailed off, not wanting to give her grief anymore leverage against her for the day.

“And now at least you know for sure.” Karlach finished her sentence before hugging her to her side.

“Thanks, Karlach.”

The shadows somehow seemed heavier as they made their trek across the cursed land. Tav found herself much more jittery than before. Every little curl and wisp of shadow caused her to flinch.

It’s not as if you can find him again.

She knew that Tev was gone, buried just outside of their camp. Yet around every corner, in every pocket of darkness, she still saw him.

After what felt like an eternity, they arrived at a large, domed building close to the center of town. A bronze plaque, streaked with blue and green from weathering the elements, hung on the stone that made up the stairs leading up to its doors.

The House of Healing.

Tav ran her finger over the worn metal. This building had been the pride and joy of the Thorm family. Ironic that it could also hold the key to their demise.

Fear threatened to paralyze her once more, but she forced herself to keep moving forward. Her heart pounded with a thundering rhythm as she took the first step across the threshold of the building.

The smell of death and decay greeted them in an overwhelming haze, heavier here than any other part of the shadows. Beds lined the walls on either side of the room. Bloodied rags and medical instruments littered the ground and every table in sight. Bottles filled with unidentifiable fluids and organs rotted away on the shelves.

“This has to be one of the creepiest places we’ve visited in our time together,” Karlach said as she pinched her nose shut. “And we cleared out an old crypt before talking with an undead skeleton man.”

“Keep your guard up, there could be other cursed beings here as well,” Tav warned.

She took note of the rags that looked to be covered in fresh blood, rather than the old, dried blood she saw streaking other piles. One of the corpses nearby looked to be only a few days old, and they didn’t appear to have died from the shadows.

Right on cue, she heard some mumbling from a nearby room. She motioned to everyone to follow carefully as she opened the door. The old wood and hinges creaked and groaned with the movement, adding to the unnerving ambiance of their surroundings.

In the next room, she saw what looked like a nurse of some kind, but she was strangely distant. Touched by the shadow curse, yet she somehow maintained some semblance of self. She had bandages wrapped around the top of her head, obscuring her eyes. Her tattered apron and clothing was dirtied and streaked with blood. Fresh blood.

She didn’t seem to notice their approach despite the old door announcing their arrival. Tav scanned the room, searching for any others. When her eyes finally landed on the bed in front of the undead caretaker, she let out a sharp gasp. Multiple other huffs of shock and disgust followed from her companions.

Two tieflings laid in adjacent beds, their bodies cut open, their blood seeping into the mattresses beneath them. Their familiar, unmoving faces twisted into looks of pain, hands reaching out toward one another.

Arabella’s parents.