#hope its okay to join in on day 16

[softmutt444]

For Day 16 of @figuwhump

[welldonekhushi]

Silent Decay

Disclaimer: This fic contains content that may be unsuitable for readers uncomfortable with profanity, body horror or grotesque visuals. It is a psychological horror story featuring me and my friends' OCs! Story is all written by me!

The age description to read this fic is 16+ so if you're younger than that, please avoid reading this! Proceed with caution, and enjoy! (Don't worry! You may opt out of this fic if you like, self-care is absolute necessary <3)

Special thanks to @efingcod, @imagoddamnonionmason, and @alypink for allowing me to use their OCs for this collab fic! Park and Adler belong to Black Ops: Cold War, by Treyarch!

MASTERLIST.

PART TWO.

PART ONE

The morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a soft glow across the Adler House. A day had passed since their father’s departure, and the household slowly fell back into its regular routine. Mila was preparing breakfast, while Jodie was taking a nice warm shower, and lastly, Vincent was cleaning his room, arranging his books and making space for the new ones that would be coming soon once Adler was back home with the surprise.

Jay comes out of her bath, and looks at herself in the mirror to wipe off the water from her face, only to find out that her eyes had dark circles. Frowning, she reaches for a small jar of cream, taking some on her finger and spreading it carefully over the discoloration. Yet, no matter how much she applied, the exhaustion lingered.

Confused about this, she wondered when was the last time she slept? It wasn’t like her sleep schedule was messed up for some reason; she always slept on time.

Sighing as she ignores that subtle detail that made her face look different, quickly dresses herself up and goes downstairs. Mila walks out of the house to pour Timmy’s food into his bowl. He excitedly lifts himself up and wags his tail, eating it all eagerly as she pets his head. “Good boy. I want you to finish it, okay?”

Walking back into the house, she set up a warm breakfast ready on the dining table. She coughed lightly as she approached the table, grabbing the small ring bell next to her plate and shaking it. Jodie comes walking downstairs, joining her sister..

“Morning.” Mila smiled, as Jodie joined at the dining table, dragging the chair back so she could be seated. “Where’s Vince?”

“Ah, he’s coming. He’s been so excited for the new books that he’s already making space for them on his personal shelf.” Jodie chuckled, picking up the knife and spreading butter on the toast.

“Tell him he can arrange them a bit later, his breakfast is getting cold – Vincent!” Mila calls him again from upstairs.

“A few minutes!” Vincent groans, and opens the door to his room, shutting it quickly and making his way downstairs. His feet slumped through each staircase, as he made his way to the dining table with Mila and Jodie for breakfast. Pulling the chair opposite to them, he seats himself in front of the plate and the food, observing what was made today. “Toast and eggs, again? With vegetables?”

“Vegetables are healthy for you. In fact, everyone should eat vegetables for their well-being.” Mila replied as she ate her broccoli, and looked at Vincent.

“I was hoping you’d roast some bacon..”

“We ran out a few days ago, remember?” Mila reminded him as she settled in. “You don’t even check what’s left in the fridge. You just inhale everything like Kirby.”

Jodie nearly choked on her food, stifling a laugh. Vincent shoots Mila with an offended look, shoving food in his mouth mid-sentence. “Hey! It’s not my fault that I need something to munch on every time. It’s called a fast metabolism which you don’t." He justified his statement, his chewing being faster than usual.

“Come on, Vince. Give the fridge a break for god’s sake.” Jodie laughs and puts some of the egg on the toast and eats it. “I just don’t want Dad coming back to find the food supplies gone. He’ll say, oh who ate all the food! And we’ll not even try to defend you.”

Vincent waves her off dismissively but then squints at her. His chewing slows. “Wait a second. What’s up with your eyes?” He leaned in slightly. “You look exhausted. Did you not sleep well last night? Have you started studying that seriously?”

She gently caressed her eye circles. “No.. it’s not that I had no proper sleep, either.”

“Tch, you’re literally making this up. Just say you stay awake at night like an owl. Your face even looks like that.”

“Oh really? Should I tell Mila that you also stay awake late at night, as well? You think I wouldn’t notice?”

"Wait a minute, how do you know that I'm awake in the middle of the night?" Vincent raised an eyebrow towards Jodie.

Jodie shrugs, stabbing the eggs with the fork. "Whenever I go downstairs for a light snack or grab a bottle of water, I always notice you're sitting on that couch, looking stressed and weirdly staring at the basement or something."

When Jodie says that, Mila tilts her head in confusion and eyes at Vincent, hoping for an answer from him. Vincent really didn’t have the courage to face anybody on the table and patiently ate his breakfast. "That's not me.. I-I sleepwalk at times."

"Very smart of you! As if we both will never find out what you're going through, huh?"

There was a long pause in the middle, as Vincent sighs and finally breaks the silence. “Jay. The fact is, I’m trying.. it’s hard, and stressful because of the competition among many colleges. So to avoid myself from being lazy, staying awake at night from this guilt of not being able to do anything, and unconcerned about my future which.. looks kind of bleak—”

“You always self-degrade yourself, Vincent I’m tired of this!” Mila groaned.

“Alright, alright.. sigh, so in order to not have my efforts go to waste.. along with the psychology books I got from the store in town, I’ve been reading novels by Fyodor Dostoevsky too. He’s such an excellent writer who writes complex characters while studying the nature of humans with their psyche.” He continued. “Which is why, I was arranging my shelf up there once Dad gets back. He talks about guilt and suffering too.. something that I quite oddly resonate with.”

“I’d not let you waste all of Mila’s money over your tons of boring, sad and so-called suffering books, Vincent!” Jodie argued. “Why don’t you read something happy for once?

“They’re classical literature!” Vincent groaned. “They teach this in schools back in Russia, too! And it’s not boring when this is reality! The real world! Have you ever read one of his books that makes you judge my favorite author for no reason?”

While Jodie and Vincent argued in the background, Mila’s mind wandered elsewhere, towards something quieter, something just hers. Lately, she'd been thinking about saving up for a motorcycle. It was a silly dream to some, but not to her. Back in high school, she used to ride one. Her ex-boyfriend had taught her how. Those moments felt like freedom, like absolutely liberating with nothing to worry about.

But after their mother died, and with Russell barely around, Mila had to let go of that part of herself. Responsibilities came first. The dreams? They had to wait.

Due to the family pressure and her role as an elder sister, she made sure Jodie and Vincent create their best future before she makes her own, with nothing to worry about.

“Okay, hush!” Mila defuses the little argument the two siblings created with each. “God, don’t make a ruckus in between our peaceful breakfast at least!” Their voices silenced, as they proceeded to finish their food.

Vincent looks at Jodie with a concerned look. “You really need to rest more nowadays, Jay. I’m worried for you. I mean, we all are. You also haven't been doing your daily exercise these days."

Timmy in response wagged his tail, whimpering as he too agreed to what the two said.

Mila turned to Jodie, her brows knitting together as she took a closer look. “He’s right. Jodie, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine—” Jodie started, but mid-sentence, a cough escaped her. She quickly cleared her throat, rubbing a hand to her chest.

"No, you're not. I can tell something’s off." Mila rubbed her back, helping her relax so she could ease her breathing. Her hand then reached the jug full of water, pouring it in the transparent glass and handed it to her. "Here, drink this."

“Maybe the dust is making me sick.” She takes the glass from Mila’s hand, gently taking a sip of it. “My lungs feel full of it.”

"If it gets worse, we’ll call the doctor. Heck, Aunt Helen is not even far from here.” Vincent ate the rest of his toast, munching onto the last piece. 

“She lives an hour away. By walking it’ll feel like ages. Still far, though, but not much.” Jodie puts the glass of water aside, softly sighing in relief. “At least we have someone familiar in our contact.”

“Wait, did any of you get to know about Uncle Hudson?” Vincent remembered they had another relative, along with Aunt Helen.

“I don’t know. We never heard of him anymore.” Mila answers, laying her back on the chair as she explains. “It’s been like.. three years ago since we last saw him? All I remember is that Dad and him argued a lot and he abruptly left without saying anything.”

“He didn’t even say goodbye.” Jodie pouted a little, softly stabbing onto her food with the fork in her hand. “Did he even care about us?”

“Well, not all relations turn out to be healthy, Jay. There can be conflicts, misunderstandings, arguments. But it also depends on the kind of relationship you have with the other person.” Mila continues. “Some believe they don’t mean it. Some believe they may be lying about it. And some believe they must be hiding something. Those never ending questions are the reason how everything around you breaks.. once the truth comes out.”

Outside the house, the shadow of a woman’s legs showed walking into the entrance of the Adlers. Timmy, who was outside, saw the woman and barked. She tried feeding him biscuits, but he growled at her, angrily.

“Not hungry? It’s fine, darling. I’ll keep them here just in case you’re feeling starved.” She placed the biscuits in the bowl, and pet him, before reaching towards the door.

Timmy never appreciated Park’s presence, despite the closure the three siblings had with her, especially. Maybe because Timmy had never spent time with her much, or have a kind of deeper connection to the woman.

"Anyways, Dad said before leaving that she’d be checking in on us often. Which is why I need you two to behave well." Mila added, narrowing her eyes at them. “Because you know how nosy she can be.”

“Don’t look at me. Just look at Vince, he’s more of a troublemaker.” Jodie raised her hands in surrender, putting the blame on her brother instead.

"Hey! You little—" Vincent’s sentence was cut short by the sudden chime of the doorbell. The siblings froze, exchanging quick glances before hastily gathering their plates.

Mila was the first to move, making her way to the door. When she opened it, there stood Aunt Helen on their doorstep. A woman in her early thirties, being a frequent visitor, sometimes bringing fresh bread, sometimes just stopping by for a chat with their father. And now, as per Adler’s request, she had come by to check in on the siblings.

“H-hello, Auntie Helen!” Mila gave a welcoming smile, bowing herself a little in respect. Their aunt, Helen Park smiles back, hugging Mila in her arms.

“Oh, my precious, sweet Mila!” Aunt Helen chuckles, happy to see her again as she pulls back from her to walk inside the room. “Your dog still doesn't seem to want to be friends with me, what a shame.”

“It takes him a while to get used to somebody he doesn't know properly, Auntie.” Mila replied, shrugging as she couldn't seem to understand why Timmy never got along with the woman.

“Well, I can't blame dogs when they see what humans can't from within.” Helen added. “Where are the other two?”

“Aunt Helen!” Jodie and Vincent stepped out of the room to see their aunt, greeting her with a warm welcome as well.

Aunt Helen’s face lit up as she saw the siblings. "There they are!" She exclaimed, her voice full of warmth and playfulness. "The troublemakers themselves. I believe your father left yesterday?”

“Yeah, and we got the message you were coming.” Vincent replied, lifting his head up as he talked to their aunt.

“I did get your father’s message too. He left town again for a few days, right before poor Mila’s birthday too." Park caresses her face gently. “But I trust him, honey. Your father kept his promise, and he’ll be back.”

“But how long can we hold onto this hope, Auntie? We’ve seen it many times.” Mila’s voice tinged with pain. There was a moment of silence after that sentence. Jodie couldn’t really say anything, but Vincent was feeling very skeptical about it, as well, folding his arms and huffing in slight annoyance.

“I know him, sweetheart. He has often talked to me about you three. He’s been absolutely grateful to have you as his children. But unfortunately, he couldn’t see you all the time due to his business. Which is why your father trusts me. So don’t worry, if you ever need anything, I’m here. You know my house, right?” Helen grins.

“But what kind of business Dad does? Surely he must have told you about it.”

“Uhm, not exactly because.. I don’t even know what goes on in his head.” Helen laughs jokingly. “There are some things he never told me about, so I can’t say the same.”

“Good lord.” Jodie responds.

“Now anyways! If any of you munchkins can carry this bag for me. I have brought some yummy blueberry jam, made just for you!”

Jodie gasps at the mention of blueberries. “Blueberry jam! Oh my god, I’m going to have this right away.” She grabs the bag and takes it to the kitchen, as Helen chuckled, the day resumes as the three enjoy their time with Aunt Helen, before she takes her leave in the evening.

Hours later, she steps out of the house, casually wearing her basket hat, and wrapping the scarf on her neck, while the siblings talk about the things they discussed with their aunt, laughing and giggling along the way.

"Alright, little troublemakers, I should get going before it gets dark. But don’t you three get into too much mischief again, alright?" Helen teased, adjusting her scarf as she stepped onto the porch.

“Thanks for the day, auntie. The blueberry jam was delicious!” Vincent grinned. “But you got to bring some more because Jodie finished it all. Now I wonder who’s the real Kirby in the house.”

“Should I tell auntie that you almost emptied the fridge? At least it was just a jar of jam.” Jodie replied, folding her arm as she fires back at him sarcastically, as Vincent looks at her with his brows narrowed in disappointment, Helen laughs at their banter. She walks closer to Mila’s ear, whispering in it. “I secretly hid some more jam in the cabinet. Feel free to eat from it as you like.”

Mila passes down a smile with a nod. “Sure, Auntie.”

“And Jodie.. do take care of yourself. Your eyes don’t seem like you’re okay.” Park said with concern in her voice. “Did you have the right amount of sleep?”

Before Jodie could say something, she coughed once more, wheezing a bit louder as she huffed. “Ugh.”

“She doesn’t seem to be feeling well. Have you given her any medications?”

“We did give her some cough syrup and a warm cup of ginger tea.” Mila answered. “We’re keeping a check if anything goes worse, we’ll contact the doctor right away.”

“Good. You should always be prepared. You never know when a simple cough might turn into something much worse.”

Aunt Helen’s words raised something within the siblings that made Vincent and Mila exchange uneasy glances, while Vincent absentmindedly rubbed Jodie’s back, concern evident in his touch.

Helen cleared her throat, adjusting her scarf one last time before flinging her bag over her shoulder. “If you need any help, give me a call. Or reach my house this instant.”

“We’ll take care of this, Auntie, don’t worry.” He assures.

“Bye, lovelies. And bye Timmy.” She waved at him, as he gruffed and turned away. She opened the fence and stepped onto the path toward her house, walking away.

Mila saw Vincent staring at Aunt Helen leave, holding a small smirk on his face. She gently slaps his head, bringing him back to reality. “Hey, ow!”

“Just because you find our auntie pretty doesn’t make you want to stare at her like you’re in love with her or something.”

“But she’s pretty! Admit it, duh!” Vincent justified as he looked at Mila.

As things were going normal, Jodie coughed again, this time a bit harder as she walked in the house. Timmy saw Jodie in distress, and his ears flopped. Vincent and Mila exchanged another uncertain glance, their concern growing even worse for their own sister.

While Aunt Helen’s words still lingered in their heads.

END OF PART ONE.

Taglist (opt in/opt out): @ctxinari @liamthemailman @islandtarochips @imjustsocute @ladysouthpaw1213 @mutant-okuri-inu @burnatnight @fitzycoffee @iamcautiouslyoptimistic @aroserinosman @kingofowlsandcards @writercloves @alexa-mwll

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - It's the Dog Days of BL Again

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

May 2024 Final Week

Ongoing Series - Thai

Wandee Godday (Sat YT) ep 5 of 12 - The side couple is so damn pouty and adorable. So far as Yak and Dee are concerned, I love that they kept up with the cosplay stuff and didn’t just drop it as a one off. I'm just genuinely enjoying seeing how much fun they have together and watching them accidentally falling in love with each other and trying not to.

Linguistic corner!

I don’t normally watch any BTS stuff, but for reasons known only to my serotonin-seeking brain, I’ve been watching a few for this show. And I MUST talk about the way Great speaks Thai. It’s so different from all of the other Good GMMTV Boys. He’s way more casual. Not rude, but definitely not as formal or as polite as any of the actors around him. It’s difficult to describe but just LISTEN to the way he hops registers and pronouns pretty consistently. Sometimes in the same sentence. He even softens his polite particles. I've never heard an actor do that out of character. It’s fascinating. I wonder if it has to do with the fact that he is older (then most of his costars) and comes outta the Bangkok club scene, and was older when he joined GMMTV. Frankly, it’s the closest I’ve ever seen on TV to the way people actually talked in Bangkok. 

My Stand-In (Thai Fri iQIYI) ep 6 of 12 eps - honestly these two shows are neck and neck for my favorites running right now and Wandee got the edge because it left me smiling, but yesterday, Stand-In would have come out on top. Such a great show. It’s so sinister. So not romantic. Which makes me feel like... it's not really a BL. And, yet, I DO NOT CARE. Because I’m enjoying its little evil soul so much. “Poor Joe” is pretty much all that goes through my head the whole time I'm watching, and I'm enjoying poking at that pain.

We Are (Weds iQIYI) ep 9 of 16 - I love all of the 3rd wheels. Kluen is kinda great. And I’m not just saying that 'cause I have a crush on Title, it’s because Kluen is so open and genuine. (Unless they fuck up his character.) I even enjoyed the backstory for Fang and Tan. Honestly, the friendship group is the reason to watch this show, they’re great and funny, and make everything enjoyable. It’s a soap opera, like Only Friends, but gentle with its characters and us watchers. Which is what I really want from my BL. I don’t want all of this Friend Zone backstabbing bullpuckie. 

Knock Knock Boys (Thurs Gaga) eps 1-2 of 12 - I like it, frankly more than I expected to. It’s a bit slow moving, but the characters are interesting and the dynamic of everybody living in the same house together is fun. I haven’t seen this style of housemates centered Thai BL in years. I identify FAR too closely with the crass-talking bug-killing pansexual. On a completely different note, I really hope Best and Seng have an NC scene together. Last week I would never have said that, but now I think they have good chemistry. Am I crazy?

Only Boo! (Sun YouTube) ep 8 of 12 - They are sickeningly sweet boyfriends, and Moo is such a brat and so demanding. It’s charming. There was even a little bit of dancing together which I’m sure made @heretherebedork happy. Dancing okay but NO SINGING. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

At 25:00 in Akasaka AKA 25 Ji Akasaka de (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 7 of 10 - Asami's past was cool to see. I enjoyed that his character finally got fleshed out and given some solidity. However, it felt like it came a little too late. Even though I know this is the way Japan tends to roll with BL timing. I wanted to like him sooner then this. Now I'm not really that invested.

Living With Him AKA Kare no Iru Seikatsu (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 8 fin - It was an extremely good and very satisfying ending for a JBL, which we cannot expect, so I'm disposed to dole out top marks for that. Also we definitely have a new contender for Namgoong award for best wingman. (Japan's favorite: the bespectacled variant.)

Summation:

Kindly Ryota goes to uni and ends up rooming with his former childhood bestie, Kazuhito. Kazuhito doesn’t have a girlfriend for, as it turns out, cute roommate reasons. Same director as Old Fashion Cupcake, the framing is gorgeous and it is a stylish piece. As a friends to lovers cohabitation narrative this was a classic 2000s sweet yaoi. I enjoy that kind of tradition out of Japan even if it (and the characters) come off as a little slow as a result. Still, it's nice to get a traditional BL out of Japan that is satisfying, not slapstick, AND did not hurt us. 8/10 recommended

Blossom Campus (Korea Thurs Gaga & iQIYI) ep 5-6fin - gonna have to wait until next week, for mysterious hotel wifi reasons.

It's airing but...

You Made My Day (Thai YT) ep 1 of 5 - mini series staring the I Will Knock You couple Tar & Bom, started but I couldn't find it. I also didn't try very hard.

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer released to Korean theaters 5/25. HoTae & DongHee, side couple from Unintentional Love Story are back! Same actors, same character names. I love them. I NEED TO SEE THIS. How?

OMG Vampire (Thai Sun ????) ep 2 of 10 - yeah I can't find it. Comments from last week suggest this is not my thing anyway, but Lee Long Shi very much IS my thing, so... maybe I'll put it on hold for a bit and y'all can let me know.

In case you missed

VBL (Taiwan) is released 'Special Episode' epilogues to their 4 2023 series on Gagaoolala, Viki & Viu - watch each on the respective shows' page: You Are Mine, VIP Only, Stay By My Side, Anti Reset.

My Biker 2 (Thai movie trailer) suposedly released somewhere, search me.

The Time of Huannan (Taiwan movie) went to theaters, not sure if we will get this, and it may not be BL.

And here's a 2023 that I missed and finally watched:

After Sundown AKA Saengrawi

ZeeNunew vehicle from 2023, recut into a movie on YouTube. It's from Mandee and horror, yet I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

Pronoun use is ter/chan or rao (no nai or pom) because of the historical setting + softness of the relationship.

It's oddly sweet and wholesome, for a ghost story. Phloeng and Rawee enter into an arranged marriage for confusing prophetic reasons and a twisted fate, solving a mystery of the past that is haunting Phloeng's family and harming Rawee. Honestly, it makes no actual sense, but it's kinda historical, and very pretty, so I enjoyed it more than I should. 8/10

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

June Releases

6/7 My Love Mix-Up (Fridays Thai Adaptation not sure where this will air) - I do love G4 and I did like the original and maybe this time these characters will actually kiss? I'm actually fine with this pick-up. I kind of enjoy seeing different countries remake the same IP. Especially if it's IP I'm mostly unfazed by.

6/7 The Last Time (Thailand Fridays YouTube?) - Convoluted story of loss and possible reincarnation or something?

6/9 Love Sea (Thailand Sundays MAME warning iQIYI - New characters to the Mameverse. While travelling, a writer has a one night stand with a very irritating man. YES I WILL TRASH WATCH THIS. Drinking will happen on Sundays I guess. (Look, I do usually travel on weekends, so it may end up being Monday Mame Trash - which jives.)

6/14 Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru 2 AKA Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo Tabetai 2 Haime! (Japan movie Gaga?) - Continues the (frankly) lackadaisical story from part 1.

6/15 Sunset Vibes AKA SunsetXVibes (Thailand Saturdays) Star Hunter and MosBank on iQIYI so if nothing else it's gonna be a wild and sexy ride. A one night stand but "uh-oh he’s my boss," adapted from a web series. I’m game. Maybe it’ll have a better story than Big Dragon? Maybe it will have a plot? We can but hope.

6/26 The Rebound (Thai Weds VIU?) - MeenPing are back in their 3rd BL together, a basketball based romance (Meen was a national basketball player, so yay for that). I like this pair better than most (I still do miss Meen with Est but Est has a fantastic looking new BL coming from GMMTV so yeah...) Anyway I'm up for a sports romance starring a man who, yah know, actually played that sport so... I'm game (pun intended).

(Speaking of, why can't Est be a merman? This... I ask you?.)

Why You? (Khmer movie - Billed as a horror romance BL this is supposed to release this month.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

In my world we call this smug. (Only Boo!)

LOOK AT HIS ARM?! This has been your Goodness Gracious Great Guns Of Huge 2024 moment.

(All Wandee Goodday)

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity

@rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in it's infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

There's these tricks, remember.

[missaengg]

The Empty Hearth

16 Days Until Christmas: Fireplace Made for Ikemen Advent hosted by @queengiuliettafirstlady and @candied-boys Shoutout to @wistfulwanderingone for inspiring today's fic ❤️ Featuring: Ikemen Villains Ellis Twilight x f!reader Tags: major angst, depiction of strangling and violence, reader/MC death Word Count: 1046

A chill hung in the dark room. A chill that would disappear if a fire blazed in the fireplace. But the fireplace burned nothing, just as cold and empty as the room in which it sat.

A lone, young man shrouded in the darkness lounged in an armchair before it, staring blankly into the grate. His eyes were still. Devoid of any warmth or emotion, save for just one.

Regret.

Faintly, somewhere in the depths of his bleak mind, he heard the sound of a young woman’s cheery voice calling his name – yours – one he thought he’d forget with time.

* * *

“Ellis,” you sweetly called out to him, patting the space next to you. “Come join me.”

A bright smile glowed on your face, even brighter than the fire flickering in the fireplace and filling the room with a cozy, golden warmth. A smile Ellis always looked forward to. A smile meant just for him.

Ellis joined you, settling in under the blanket that you had draped over your lap, and as you snuggled into him, resting your head on his shoulder, his heart stirred. The heat radiating from the fireplace felt hot against his face, but the side of his body that touched yours burned even hotter.

“Ellis,” you whined.

Ellis looked down at you. You, with an adorable pout on your pretty lips and a plea in your gorgeous eyes. Ellis immediately understood what you were asking for, and he wrapped an arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer, one you leaned into with a pleased hum.

It always amazed him how perfectly your bodies fit together, almost as if you were made for him. He loved the way your body seemed to always want to curl into his. How effortless it was to hold you in his arms.

He glanced down at you, taking in how peaceful you looked with your eyes closed, a radiant smile on your lips, a blissful sigh floating from your slightly parted mouth. You looked at ease, at home, the way you always did when you were in his embrace.

All Ellis wanted was your happiness. Your happiest moment. The happiest you.

Happiness for you, but not for him. Never for him. He wasn’t allowed happiness – it was beautiful on others, but on him… it was ugly… selfish… an abomination.

“I love you, Ellis,” you softly murmured, breaking Ellis out of his brooding. “I’m so happy right now.”

A sudden chill ran down his spine as if he took a plunge into a frigid bath filled with ice. An evil urge bloomed with him, hooking its claws into his chest, so deep he could barely breathe.

‘Preserve her,’ the voice inside him whispered.

Not yet. Ellis shoved the urge back down, burying it as far as he could back into the deep abyss of his mind. She wasn’t at her happiest yet. Not yet.

But something inside of him knew he was deluding himself. He was trying to prolong the inevitable. He knew that deep down in his frantically beating heart.

“Are you… are you the happiest you’ve ever been?” Ellis asked hesitantly.

Half of him hoped you would say this was the happiest day of your life, but the other half desperately prayed – screamed – for you to stop there, to not say the words that he feared would come next.

You nodded, oblivious to the war raging in his head and tilted your head to meet his gaze. “I’m so happy I could die.”

He barely heard your answer over the sound of his heart pounding in his ears.

He shivered, a mix of anticipation and dread coursing through his veins. The voice within him screamed, ‘Do it, do it now!’. You’d finally said the words he’d been longing to hear, but despite hearing them, he still couldn’t bring himself to do what needed to be done.

“Ellis, are you okay?”

Your quiet, concerned question lilted into his ear, and then you looked at him, peering at him with concern and love in your gorgeous eyes.

You looked beautiful.

So beautiful he wanted this moment to last forever.

Before he could stop himself, his hand was wrapped around your delicate throat, his slender fingers gouging into the soft flesh. As if in a trance, he watched your small hands fly to his hand and claw at his hold, but they were no match for his strength.

Terror and confusion swirled together in your wide eyes, your mouth round, your lungs desperately trying to draw in the oxygen it needed.

“El… lis…”

Ellis didn’t stop until the last of your breath left your body, until your heart stopped beating, until your eyelids fluttered closed and your body slumped over, held upright only by his crushing grip.

He gently laid you out on the blanket, tidying your dress and folding your hands over your stomach, one hand over the other. He tucked your hair behind your ears, running his fingers through your silky locks and smoothing off the wayward strands clinging to your brow. 

You looked as if you were sleeping.

Forever peaceful. Forever calm. Forever happy.

Just for him.

* * *

That was the last time he heard you call his name.

Ellis took in a shuddering breath, his fingernails digging into the coarse fabric of the chair’s armrests. This was what he did. He preserved people at their happiest. He’d never once had second thoughts, and yet…

He missed you terribly.

He missed the way you’d call his name, the way you’d beam at him and smile, the way you’d nestle against his chest and lay in his arms.

He missed the feeling of your lips against his, your scent tickling his nose, your warmth bleeding into his body.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. He wasn’t supposed to miss you like this… but he did, and the knowledge that he’d never get to hold you again drove him insane. Ever since he watched the light in your eyes dim, a twisted despair took hold of his heart, refusing to allow him to forget.

A solitary tear slipped down his cheek, and a mirthless laugh tumbled out of him.

Maybe this was what he deserved for taking your last breath… a life of loneliness without you by his side.

[lady-ashfade]

All For Us

Day 16 of celebration marathon

Luke Castellan x Apollo!reader

-♡ ask: this might be a lil confusing idk but can u write something where it's the scene that luke's scorpion thing stings percy and like luke is trynna convince reader to come with him

-♡ words: 700

-♡ good thing I read the book- and posting this 20 minutes early

-♡ warnings: short, angst, betrayal, percy literally dying, book spoilers? Idk if they still counts here

maybe you should have paid more attention.

there were times were you saw the look in his eyes while he talked about the gods to the younger kids. you knew him, you could hear the venom in his voice when he tried to hide it. you also knew how his cheek creased when he smiled, how his eyes looked with tears stinging them, how his face tightened when he was mad. after all that you may have not knew him like you thought you did.

he had taken percy alone at his celebration and you wanted to join them so you looked for them. never did you think you’d hear what you did, see what you saw.

“luke?” you whisper and step out from the tree you hide behind. both pair of eyes turn to you, one with surprise and widen, the other panicking and scared. the scorpion was crawling up percy’s leg and you tried to not spook them.

“what are you doing here?” just a few seconds ago luke was smirking but now his face fell. how could he be so cruel and acted worried?

“let percy go, he’s just a child.” your feet slowly moved forward while your hands stayed in front of you. “I understand, you know I do— but this isn’t the way to get back at the gods.”

“and what is? should we sing a song?” his growl set shivers through you spine. he’s never snapped at you like that. his eyes never looked at you like that. you take a deep breath and glance down at percy as he tries to stay still.

“kronos? luke really?”

“I have to do this, like you said— you know. come with me and I promise it will be better then what it’s like now.” you try and move back when he walks towards you with his eyes going back to love. even know he was just as beautiful, he was yours.

“I can teach you. we can command a army together, can’t you see I’m doing this for us? our future can be better then what they promise us. stick by my side.”

once he is in front of you his hands reaches up to your cheek. it’s so hard to not pull away from his touch. “you know I’d never lie to you.” tears pooled in your eyes as you look along the face you knew. the scar along his cheek, the smile he tried to give you, but the guilt and sadness was new.

“I love you,” you lean in to press a kiss to his lips which he was glad to expect. you pull away and pain captures your heart and makes it ache. “but I will never turn my back on camp.” you push him away and reach for your own weapon, tears now spilling from your eyes.

luke stands there with a sour look and his chest falls heavily. the look you both shared was twisting the fate you once shared, lovers no more.

you turn when percy groans and moves. the scorpion laid sliced by his side but his hand injured by its bite. you rush to him, you look up at luke with anger. “you’re a monster.”

“you loved that about me once, just because it’s towards him now shouldn’t change anything. goodbye, my love.”

his sword spilt open a portal and he hopped into it without saying anything else. you cried and forced yourself to pay attention to percy for now. his life need to keep you going. so you dragged him to the creek as he still held some strength to move with you. you hoped it would heal but the water did nothing to him so you screamed for help.

in the end chiron come and took him from you. you sat in the creek and let the water flow around you and soak your clothes as you sobbed. was it in anger? was it sadness? you had no idea what you felt in that moment. in times like these he would wrap his arms around you and tell you everything was going to be okay, that he would never let anything happen to you.

what were you supposed to do with him gone.

Taglist: @maria699669 @purplerose291 @itzmeme @ravenmedows @repostingmyfavs

[justwinginglife]

You and I & The Bright, Blue Sky

25 Days of Simpmas: Day Ten December 10th: Challe Fen Challe, Rank 16 Anime: Sugar Apple Fairytale Event Masterlist

Guys, this may be one of my fav fics I've ever written, I'm just saying.

“I don’t associate myself with other fairies.”

You raised a brow. “So what, you’d rather stick with the humans who capture us, beat us, and enslave us? Is that it?” You were merely teasing him, but the atrocities you’d come to know as truths were unable to be spoken of without some slight tone of bitterness seeping in, and he inevitably reacted to your rancorous attitude with scorn. 

You’d always thought that Challe’s eyes looked something like the calm before the storm- a pristine lake of blues and grays, catching glimmers of light on its surface, like the sun shining through the eye of a hurricane. But right now, as he sat beside you, listening to you question his every intention, his eyes looked less like the calm and more like the storm. “I don’t associate myself with anyone.” He scowled. 

You’d hoped that after traveling with him all this time, he’d be more inclined to appreciate your company, but as you’d pretty much forced your companionship upon him, he was nothing short of vexed. 

One day, while journeying, you’d run into him in the forest and though your excitement at meeting another fairy quickly turned into distress at his appalling manners and frigid personality, you made the decision to stay by his side regardless. It’d been decades since you’d seen a free fairy, and some part of you longed for the old way of life; the life in which fairies could exist freely, in which they could converse happily with each other, without fear of being persecuted or sentenced to slavery. It was this desire, naive and juvenile as it was, that led you to cling to him like he was the only breath of fresh air you’d ever know. 

So you joined him on his travels. You fought off wild beasts together, spent nights by the fire together, braved wilderness and desert together, braved mountains and oceans together, and little by little, his presence in your life became as precious to you as the sands of silver sugar. But as far as you could tell, to him, you were still nothing more than a pest intruding on his solitude. And you were determined to change that. 

“Sorry, sorry. But c’mon, Challe. Be mad at me another night. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a clear, night sky before, and I want to enjoy the stars. Bet I find more constellations than you do.”

His response was to keep stoking the fire silently.

You grinned as an idea popped into your head. “See that one, over there? The one that looks like a lion? That’s called the Siren. And that one, beside it; the one that looks like a bird. That’s obviously depicting the great hunter Drago. And the one shaped like a bear is meant to be based off of the Kraken from legends of old.” You continued rattling off incorrect constellations until Challe could no longer ignore you.

“You talk too much.” He grumbled, eyes still fixated on the flickering flames. Then, after a moment’s pause, he finally said, “You shouldn’t even be able to see the Lion’s constellation at this time of year, so I know you’re speaking nonsense. As for the rest of them, you just sound ridiculous.”

Your smile widened. There he was. “So tell me then. Which constellations do you see?”

He poked at the flames a couple more times. Then a hint of a smile appeared at the edge of his lips. “What do I win if I find more than you?”

Your brows furrowed. “Win? What do you mean, win?”

“You said you bet that you’d find more constellations than me. So if this is a bet, what do I get when I win?” 

You coughed. “Well, what do you want?”

“Haven’t decided yet. I’ll pick when the time comes.”

You rolled your eyes. “That’s such a cheat, that could be a million things.”

He shrugged. “Fine, then. Have fun stargazing by yourself.”

You groaned. “Okay, okay, fine. But that’s if you win. If I win, you have to do anything I say.”

He smirked slightly. “I’ll take you up on that deal.”

Before you even had time to blink, he was pointing out stars left and right. 

You rubbed your eyes, fumbling to find everything he was pointing at. “Hey! You totally made that one up just now, I didn’t even see what you were looking at! Are you cheating?” You whined. 

He chuckled and positioned himself behind you. Then he took your hand in his and guided it in front of you, tracing the patterns of the stars he’d been listing. You felt his breath on your neck as he murmured the names of each constellation.

“Fiiiiine, so you know a lot more than I thought you did. Guess this means you win. I’ll do whatever you want, whenever you decide what you want.”

He sat back, satisfied, and that was that. 

The two of you went back to enjoying the clear, night sky in silence, but his mood was already changing for the better, and something told you that maybe now you could sit a little closer to him, maybe now you could sit a little longer with him. And who knew? Maybe one day, you could even rest your head on his shoulder, fall asleep on his shoulder, wake up on his shoulder. Maybe you were slowly chipping away at his icy facade, and maybe summer was right around the corner. 

“I think…” Challe started, eyes casually darting over to you before flicking back up to the sky, “The clearest night we’ve ever seen was probably that night up in the mountains.”

A smile bloomed on your face as the memory replayed itself in your mind. You couldn’t believe he’d remembered. He had pretty much ignored you the whole trek up there. You were honestly starting to think he’d only made the journey just to see if you’d still be breathing by the time he reached the top. But when you finally caught up to him, panting and wheezing and cursing his name the whole way there, the view was well worth it. The blue sky seemed to stretch on forever, as though no matter where you were on the planet, on that night alone, everyone would share the same sapphire sky. And maybe he was pleasantly surprised that you’d managed to make it that far, or maybe he just pitied the mess that the trek had turned you into, but once you assumed your familiar place by his side, atop the mountain, he silently handed you a silver sugar confection that he'd been hiding all this time. You weren’t sure where he managed to find it, but it almost made the trip worth it. There was no way you were forgetting that night for as long as you lived. 

But he didn’t know that. 

With mischief on your mind, you dared to nudge him with your arm. “Are you sure it wasn’t the night at the beach that you’re thinking of?”

He scoffed. “Do you always have to argue with me? It was most definitely the mountains.”

“Okaaaay, but did the mountains have a rainbow? I don’t think so.”

He rolled his eyes, biting back a smile. “You only ever remember things in terms of rainbow or no rainbow. I wonder how you remember anything at all in that small brain of yours.”

“And I wonder how you’ve not gone mute with how infrequently you talk.”

“I’m talking now, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, well, you could stand to talk more, Mr. Grouchy.”

“Grouchy, huh?” He crossed his arms, growing silent, and for a moment you thought you’d unintentionally ended the conversation. Then he spoke again. “I suppose I could… stand to talk more.” 

You clapped your hands together. “Yay! Okay, so what’s your favorite color?”

He stared at you, unimpressed. “When I said I’d talk more, I didn’t mean I’d answer all of your trivial questions. That was seriously the best you could do?” But for all his protests, after a moment of ponderance, he finally answered. “Blue. Dark blue. Like the sky right now.”

“Aha- so we do have things in common after all, would you look at that?” You teased, nudging him again.

He shook his head. “I take it back, it’s green.”

“Nuh-uh. You can’t take it back now. Face it, Challe, we’re two of the same.”

He snorted. “I’d hardly call us the same, chattermouth.” 

“Really? Well look who’s so chatty right now.” You declared smugly. 

He rolled his eyes, but a small smile made its rare appearance on his face all the same. “And who’s fault is that? You’re the one who told me to talk more.”

“Because I like when you talk.” You said simply. Then, feeling brave, you added on, “Because I like you.”

Tension filled the air again, like fog rolling over the mountains. 

“You shouldn’t say things like that.” He went back to stoking the fire, and all progress you’d made with him was reduced to mere ashes. 

But you were not about to let this go, not when you’d gotten closer to him tonight than you ever had before. So you continued to push. “And why not? It’s true, I do like you. I might even love you, if you’d stop being so stubborn and ridiculous all the time.”

“You shouldn’t say things like that.” He repeated, more sternly this time.

You sighed, exasperated. “Quit being such a grump, and just admit you like me too. You don’t even have to love me, but I know you at least like me. Or you wouldn’t let me stay by your side for so long.”

“Well then maybe you’ve been by my side for too long.” He said harshly. “And maybe we should part ways in the morning.” 

You drew back, wincing at his words. You were used to him being harsh, but it still hurt every time, and tonight, it hurt even worse. Especially when you’d just blatantly lied to him. It wasn’t that you might love him, you did love him. He’d just never love you back. Not when he couldn’t even admit to liking you. Maybe it was time that you accepted that there would be no day when he’d let you in, when he’d let you close, when he’d let you become something precious to him. Maybe all you were to him now was all you’d ever be. 

“Well then. If that’s how you feel, maybe we don’t need to wait until the morning. Maybe I should go now.” You grabbed your bag to leave but some part of you was still hoping he’d tell you to stay, beg you to stay, admit he was wrong, confess he really did love you. 

But he didn’t. He simply kept stoking the fire, unwilling to even say goodbye. 

You sighed and began to trudge away, with a heart as heavy as your feet. You’d only made it as far as the river when you heard the clashing of steel behind you. 

SHIT.

You ran back to Challe’s camp, jumping over bushes and dodging low hanging branches, all the while cursing yourself for your stubbornness. You should’ve just left in the morning. Why didn’t you just leave in the morning? 

Please Challe, please just make it until I arrive. Please, I’ll never leave you again; even if you curse me, even if you chide me, even if you hate me, I’ll never leave your side ever again. Just please, please, stay alive.

You neared the clearing where you’d both set up camp and nearly choked.

There were too many humans. 

And he was injured.

He’d fought off a lot of people before, but not when the dead of the night was working against him, not when they’d caught him by surprise, and certainly not when he appeared to be off his game for some odd reason. He was making mistakes he shouldn’t be making, almost as if he didn’t care anymore whether he lived or died. But you knew firsthand that if they caught him, he’d suffer a fate worse than death: enslavement. And you’d be damned if you let that happen.

He couldn’t enjoy the night sky if he was chained down.

You stepped into the clearing and his eyes widened.

He quickly straightened his posture, as if by some miracle he could obscure their view of you, but you were working against his efforts. You cleared your damn throat, drawing everyone’s attention. 

“Do you really want to waste your efforts, and the lives of half your men, maybe even all of your men, fighting a warrior fairy? Wouldn’t you prefer to have someone who could fetch a larger price on the market? Just let him go free and you can have me, I’ll gladly hand over my wing.” You bit down on your lip. Bluff or no bluff, it killed you to even speak the words. You thought of your friends and family who’d been taken, never to be seen again. You thought of the years you spent wandering, alone, fearing humans, hating humans. If you were honest, you were scared shitless right now, but you had to continue for his sake. “Just think of the money you could make- a helpless, female fairy. Pretty picture, right? Sells big. I won’t even resist, so you won’t have tarnished goods.” You stepped towards them and Challe cursed under his breath.

His eyes were wild like you’d never seen them before.

But somehow, it soothed your heart to know they were like that for you. You’d always liked his eyes. You’d always loved his eyes. You’d always loved him. 

You took another cautious step, holding your hands up in surrender. 

The humans seemed to be contemplating their next moves.

“What are you doing?? Get out of here!” Challe hissed at you, clutching his wounded arm. 

“I think you’re right. I think this night isn’t nearly as nice as that day on the mountain.” You spoke aloud, still slowly moving forward, ignoring his angered protests. 

“You idiot, what do you think you’re doing?” He growled, moving into a defensive position in front of you. 

You laid your hand on his arm, lowering his sword. “It’s alright,” You whispered. “When I hand over my wing, you run as fast as you can. And don’t forget to clean the wound or it will get infected; you never remember to clean them first- that’s like the number one rule of survival.” You almost laughed, remembering how stubborn he was every time he got injured, never willing to admit he might need help tying a bandage or applying medicine. You hoped he’d look after himself once you weren’t there to scold him anymore. You hoped he’d live a long and happy life. After all, you wouldn’t be there to pester him. It’d be just like he’d intended to live.

Before you could take another step forward, his fingers dug into your wrist, holding you in place. “I can… I can still fight. Don’t do this.”

“Challe- you’re injured. I know you can fight, but at what cost? It’s better this way, it’s easier this way, I have to do this. Let me do this. Go find some nice mountain view for us to see together, okay?” Tears stung your eyes at the mention of a future you’d never get to see with him, but you turned away so he couldn't see. You knew they’d never let a fairy, let alone a female one, out of their grasp. You knew this might very well be your last free breath underneath a beautiful, night sky. But the least you could do was provide him with some hope. Something to latch onto. The least you could do was say goodbye. Remind him of better days. And then pray he forget about you someday.

You rubbed his hand with your thumb, but your reassurance only made his grip around your arm tighter. You’d never been able to win against him in a fight, but you prayed to God that you’d have the strength to win now. You yanked your arm away from him as hard as you could -it was either very lucky or very unlucky that he was too weak to resist any further- and strode forward to face your foes. 

Then you kneeled at their feet, squeezing your eyes shut in preparation for the severance of your wing from your body. Maybe if you couldn’t see it happen, it wouldn’t hurt so bad. Maybe. You squeezed them even tighter.

“You- you promised I could have anything!” Challe burst out suddenly. 

Your eyes snapped open.

“You promised that when the time came, I could have anything I wanted! That was our bet, THAT! WAS! OUR! BET! So I want you…to stay with me! That’s what I want!” He shouted as if you weren’t a few mere feet away from him. As if the entire forest had to know that you owed him a debt and he intended to collect. When you remained silent, he bellowed even louder. “Are you just a liar?! Do you intend to back out of our deal now?! Well, I won’t let you!! You're staying!!”

You let out a small laugh. God, the two of you were one stubborn pair. But you were a pair. You knew that now. He’d never forget about you. You knew that now. For him, you’d do anything, you knew that. But for you, he’d move mountains. For you, he’d summon storms. For you, he’d fight heaven and hell and everything in between. And you knew that now. As he shakily pulled himself back into a fighting stance, as he prepared himself to defend you with his very last breath, you knew now that he wasn’t letting anyone but him leave here with you. 

Oh, Challe. We’re going to have to have a talk later about properly expressing your feelings. Could use some work.

In an instant, you swung your leg out and toppled the man in front of you. 

“You know, Challe, you have a thing for making me do exercise. I really hate it.” Grinning like an idiot, you charged into battle.

But he was right there beside you.

He was always right there beside you.

And he’d never let you go again.

The battle raged on until the perfect, night sky became a bright, burning sunrise. The forest was bathed in light and blood, and the two of you lay beside each other, panting, aching, injured, but happy nonetheless. Happy and alive. Alive to enjoy more sunrises, to enjoy more sunsets, to enjoy more clear skies and snowy mountains and sandy beaches and all of it together. 

“I hope you know, there’s no take-backsies. You picked what you wanted, you don’t get another reward. You’re stuck with me.” 

He shook his head, chuckling. It hurt his bruised ribs to laugh like that, but he couldn’t help it and he didn't want to help it. He wanted to let himself laugh now. He wanted to let himself smile. He wanted to let himself just be yours. “You idiot. I wasn’t complaining, but it is just like you to rub it in my face. Maybe I should’ve asked for someone who talked less.”

“I said no take-backsies! And besides, I thought you said you don’t associate yourself with anyone.”

“I don’t. But you’re not just anyone. You're my someone."

Taglist: @pixelcafe-network @minasfwoopyponytail @ouiouimochi @inkytypewriter

[klarolinexluv]

“All Slytherins are evil”

Okay, so this is actually not true. This is a stereotype. And a way to drive fear.

Yes, some of them were evil, they became death eaters but you know who else became death eaters. EVERY OTHER FUCKING HOUSE AND NOBODY SAYS ANYTHING!!!!!!!!

You cannot say that all evil came from Slytherin because being evil IS NOT a trait that solely belongs to Slytherin. In fact, NO trait solely belongs to ANY of the Houses. The sorting system is a joke anyway.

I feel uncomfortable actually.

Just the sorting system and the way people fall prey to that single minded thinking that people cannot grow up or change is devastating and I feel it definitely is reflecting the world WE live in.

Regulus Black for example.

He is a Slytherin. He becomes a death eater at 16. The moment he steps into the real deep shit at 17, mans is turning his back and marching to his death to defy Voldemort and try and do something to end him.

That is an example that people can change.

Dorcas Meadowes for example.

She was a Slytherin. She turns her back on majority of her friend group and joins the Order after she graduates. She tears apart what Voldemort was doing and had to be killed by him personally be to be stopped.

That is an example that not all Slytherins are evil.

Severus Snape for example.

He was a Slytherin. He joins the death eaters and fights for them for years until he switches sides and becomes a spy. He ends up playing a major role helping Harry (his methods were decidedly awful) who then went on to kill Voldemort and end the fucking second war.

This is an example of a very morally grey Slytherin who was both good and evil.

I would also like to point out that these people (the Slytherins) are all repeating the words are actions they were taught by their parents and their parents and their peers. This is generational trauma and cycles of abuse whether that is physical, verbal or emotional. These people were conditioned and trained to be this way for generations!

If you think for a moment that Sirius Black, a Gryffindor who was raised for 16 years by Slytherins(who endured centuries of abuse), that he didn’t struggle to rid himself of his prejudice and continues to struggle for the rest of his life then you have got another thing coming.

Some people genuinely scare me with their inability to recognise nuances in things.

Prime examples to me of this behaviour in the marauders era are people/shippers/stans who call people who like characters like Regulus Black, fascists.

Like these are the same people who absolutely adore James Potter as if he wasn’t a bully in high school. As if he didn’t change and grow as a person to become better. As if James didn’t take a while to learn from what he was doing and change.

I hope these people realise that change is hard for a lot of people. Circumstances sometimes do not allow for people to change.

FOR EXAMPLE

Regulus Black and Peter Pettigrew.

The parallel between them is insane.

A Slytherin who becomes a death eater only to realise everything he knows is a lie and decide to defy Voldemort, turning his back on everything he knows and loves.

A Gryffindor who becomes an order member only to turn around and become a death eater for reasons unknown, turning his back on everything he knows and loves.

It is insane to me that people can clump a group of characters together and call them evil without exploring the depth of any of them.

It’s 100% easier to ignore these characters, say they were evil and call it a day because there is so little information about them.

But if you cannot take the time explore things outside of the perspective of ONE character who is incredibly biased in certain aspects, then what’s the point.

I don’t think my point is very cohesive here. But whatever.

What I’m trying to say is let’s stop generalising and saying “Slytherins are evil because there is not a Slytherin that hasn’t gone bad”. ITS NOT TRUE ITS NOT TRUE ITS NOT TRUE!!!!!!

It’s not to the same extend, certainly not because one is WAY worse than the other but this is a form of prejudice. A preconceived idea that all Slytherins are evil. Just like the blood purists saying that muggleborns steal magic, that their blood is dirty.

IM GENUINELY TWEAKING ACTUALLY

The blood purist thing is a lot worse because of how extreme it went.

HOWEVER, I think that had the stigma not be around either parties, this would not have escalated so hard.

That might be a hot take actually.

I think I’m going to stop whilst I’m ahead because I feel like I’m insane.

[moonliched]

Hello baby!

Kisses u on the forehead

How r u feeling? I just finished rereading your fic and damn i love it so much it's in my solid top 3 of mer fics and is keeping its 1st place proudly. I just melt into a happy puddle while reading it! And during a day my mind often drifts to think and theorise about your work! Also you are so cute and bubbly it only adds on to the whole vibe in the book. I loved little fun facts! They are adding so much character and perspective to the people and situations! Can we have some more?

Btw can we give you some ideas for plants and stuff?

Kisses!

can't wait to see more of your magic 🌸✨️

you n me, perchance (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

i am feeling like i need a long holiday! i hope your autumn is off to a good start🍁🍂

you have no idea how big of a complement this is aaaaaaaaa, i always wanted to make a fic likeable enough to reread xD you're so nice to me❤️

you can absolutely give me whatever ideas you'd like, i welcome the excuse to chat n make up cool fantasy stuff😊✨ thanks for the ask, i am absolutely squeezing you in a hug rn!!

i gotcha more fun There Are Many Benefits facts ;3

🪸 Sun and Moon coexist calmly and happily. they are very close and their bickering isn't in seriousness. so if you join in, at any moment they might exchange a glance and gleefully gang up on you at the drop of a hat

🪸 Meryn can see a deeper range of certain colours than the mers can, like the difference between the white of Sun's eyes and his paler pupils. so Sun thinks he's being sneaky when he looks at Meryn without moving his head, but obviously Meryn can tell that he's staring dead at them. they find it funny

🪸 after Meryn revealed in chapter 16 that they intend to build BON-BON a body, he promptly spent the rest of the night searching up cool robot images and brainstorming stuff to put in it. he 100% has not thought about the sheer work that's going to go into making just a regular body, nor the fact that Meryn would never ever trust him with rocket launchers

🪸 Sun and Moon are aware on some level that Humans Wear Clothes (though how they know this is a spoiler!) but they don't fully understand the minutiae of the when and the why humans keep covered. so, just enough to get flustered when they're removed lol

🪸 Meryn was considering getting piercings before their hand webbing was removed. now they have lost their taste for any permanent body modifications

🪸 BON-BON spies on the Glamrock team's meetings, but not as much as he used to. he gets bored easily and a lot of what they discuss references previous tasks and goals he also didn't really listen to when they were first brought up. as a result, he misses out on a lot of stuff that would make for juicy gossip-and-mystery-solving content to share with Meryn😅

🪸 Sun thinks that Meryn's 'nest' (bed) is tragically bare. it must be because they have no one to take care of them! he has plans to rectify that

🪸 Meryn typically responds with a one word 'okay' when they're agreeing without meaning it

🪸 BON-BON thinks the Glamrock team's apparent bleeding-heart stance on AI is just performative, and that if the time comes to ever put those beliefs into action they would fall back on reporting him as sentient

🪸 Vanessa only followed Meryn's example of using he/him pronouns for Sun when he spoke like a human, by mimicking her words

🪸 it's often obvious to Sun and Moon when Meryn doesn't understand something, and they find it amusing to call them on it, or let it play out if Meryn doesn't express their confusion. they think it's cute

🪸 As of chapter 16, Meryn is getting sick of Monty helping himself to their food and drink and has a plan to punish him for it >:3

🪸 BON-BON's enjoyment of shopping is more to do with the new experience of getting to express himself through his appearance than fashion itself. he's still learning what he likes and how he wants to present himself

🪸 Sun and Moon love making Meryn laugh, as they don't actually laugh or smile by themself often. but tbf all of their expressions are super interesting to the mers

[zorosjuicymelonsx]

Finding You

A/N: Guys I'm here and I'm so sorry I'm a week late with this. I got a new job after losing mine a few months ago so things have been hectic lately with my schedule. All I can say is sometimes adulting SUCKS but I love money so 😭🤑

A lovely reader on AO3 had helped me realise there was an anomaly with the timeline of how Y/N and Zoro meet and all so I went through it and I thought I would go through this:

Y/N's flashback of Zoro sleeping in the forest in Chapter 3 was when they were 15 so its actually 7 years ago and not 4 years ago. I've edited this and amended the story you tell Zoro slightly in Chapter 5 to correct this so my apologies for not finding this sooner. I wanted to show that she had a crush on him before they officially met after he rescued her in the alley. They then turn 16, graduate school and then Zoro asks her out. They date till 18, get engaged and marry at 19. Zoro disappears a few days after this and you spend the 2, almost 2 and a half years looking for him so he's 21 and your 21.

Its sometime after Wano and Egghead doesn't exist in this "dimension" when you find him in Chapter 1 so they're just cruising right now. I wanted to match the actual One Piece ages he was before and after timeskip.

I hope this has helped clarify if anyone else was confused of the timeline but please do enjoy this chapter. Because of my new job, I'll do my very post to work and post in a timely manner. Thank you for everyones patience and support with me.

Chapter Eight Previous Next “Zoro? You okay?”

“i-I have to go, m’sorry.” 

That was the last thing he said to you a week ago in the Crows Nest. You had gone through every single possible reason for why he suddenly would switch up the way he did which left you nowhere near to a conclusive answer. You were sure you’d done absolutely nothing but at the same time doubted yourself and wondered if you had done something unconsciously. 

Since then, he'd practically been living in the Crows Nest. He never ate in the galley anymore, never came on the deck to hang around with anyone and you weren’t even sure if he was sticking with his once a week baths. Every time you tried to seek him out, you noticed the hint of stress in his face and would walk away in the opposite direction. Thankfully you weren’t the only one who noticed the swordsman's strange behaviour. 

“Marimo is really starting to piss me off, can you believe he’s making me bring his meals to him like I’m some waiter?!” Sanji spat with annoyance as he piled nourishment onto Zoro’s breakfast plate. You knew Zoro wouldn’t have asked Sanji for food, you just understood Sanjis code of ethics when it came to making sure that every member of the crew was properly fed and nourished. You appreciated him for it. 

You were one of the few who remained in the galley after breakfast, sitting with Jinbe and Usopp who were finishing off their own meals. You’d leaned forward to sit your chin on your forearms as you traced the rim of your coffee cup with your finger caught in a net of progressive overthinking of the enigma that was your husband. 

“Has he really not said anything?” Usopp asked Sanji, the cook turning to face them, the plate in his hand piled high in mostly eggs, sausages and toast. 

“Not a word. I swear the algae on his heads really taken over his brain.” Sanji cursed before leaving the galley, chewing on his unlit cigarette. 

“Isn’t this normal for Zoro? I mean he is pretty quiet.” Jinbe asked Usopp. Since Jinbe was the most recent crewmate to join Luffy and the crew before you, it was understandable he would ask. You would have agreed with Jinbe on the fact Zoro was quiet, however, you knew better than to mistake this for just his regular self. 

“When something is bothering him, he shuts down. He avoids everyone, he won’t talk, he’ll just isolate. I just can’t figure out what's bothering him.” You grumbled out before lifting your cup to take a gulp of your coffee. Setting the cup down, you realised you couldn’t hear either of them talking anymore and turned to see them both staring at you with wide eyes. 

“Has he really never done this in front of you guys?” You questioned the gaping pair with a raised brow slightly mocking their owlish stares back. Jinbe shook his head as expected whereas Usopp's gaze drifted off behind you in thought. You assumed he was revisiting his album of memories with the swordsman. 

“Well…there was the time on Thriller Bark when he shut himself away to train but it wasn’t anything like this.” Usopp answered cautiously, his mouth slightly turned down in slight distress.This caught your attention and your heart filled with anxiety. 

“What happened?” You asked, unconsciously frowning. Usopp's gaze refocused back to yours, adjusting himself uncomfortably in his seat as he seemed hesitant to retell the story. Nonetheless, he sighed before clearing his throat to speak. 

“We were on Thriller Bark where we met Brook. Brook was stuck on his old crew's ship and he couldn’t leave because his shadow being taken by the ex-warlord Gecko Moria.”

“Brook has a shadow?” You asked in surprise trying to suppress a laugh. You valued Brook as a crew member despite his panties fetish. Thankfully Nami always stepped in after he asked to put him in his place.

“I don’t even know anymore, ANYWAYS ....we managed to defeat him but another ex-warlord named Kuma came for us.We don’t know what exactly happened because Kuma knocked us out but we know Zoro got really hurt. He was unconscious for a few days after that. I think at the time we underestimated them but knowing him, he blamed himself for not being strong enough.” 

Usopp clarified, his tone laced with guilt. Your heart ached at the idea of Zoro being that severely injured to that extent. You knew he didn’t care as long as he met his goal in the end even if you did reprimand him on his mentality many times over the years you both dated. You had eventually accepted it and you didn’t want to stand in his way.

“Let's just give him space and see what happens.” You spoke assuringly to the two despite your chest hammering with the anxiety of unsurety. 

One Week Later

Two weeks had passed since you last heard Zoro's voice. The patient person you were two weeks ago was buried deep inside and now your patience was wearing thin along with your paranoia running rampant. You couldn’t take the silence anymore and neither could the rest of the crew. 

It was the afternoon and Nami had called everyone in for a crew meeting on deck, including Zoro who had unsuccessfully attempted to blend into the background. Your eyes has locked in on him from the moment you walked in and spotted green. You also saw the obvious attempt he made to avoid looking your way as he chose to focus his gaze on the wall behind Nami. 

‘Just what was so interesting about the wall you fucker?’ You thought to yourself as you leaned back in your chair in observation. 

“Right guys, I called this meeting in because I came across information that there's an island nearby rumoured to have a fuck ton of treasure. We gotta make a game plan.” Nami excitedly spoke, the berries practically beaming out of her eye sockets. Reluctantly, you took your eyes away from Zoro to focus on Nami. 

For about an hour, she went over and planned in detail how to navigate the island, showing you and the others the maps and other sources of information from a book she read detailing the treasure and its history. 

“I also decided that not all of us can go on the island so I’m picking Zoro and Y/N to stay behind on the ship.” Nami added. From the corner of your eye, you noticed Zoro stiffen before clearing his throat to speak up. 

“I’m coming with you guys, have Sanji stay on the ship with Y/N.” Zoro spoke in a low, reserved manner clearly disguising his obvious discomfort towards you. It was the first time you’d heard his voice in two weeks but hearing the words he chose only had you gritting your teeth. You took a deep breath in and decided that at that moment you couldn’t take anymore. 

He had drawn your last straw. 

“Oh Y/N-chan, I’d love to-” You cut off Sanji as you stood up from your seat, the feet of the chair roughly scraping against the floor boards as you paced your steps towards Zoro to now stand strong in front of him. You felt the intense gaze of the others on you but ignored it, the anger you felt overpowered your rationality. 

“Whats your fucking problem?” You spat out as you looked up at him. 

This caught him off surprise. You could see he was trying to shift away from you but you weren’t going to allow him to get out of this. You moved in tandem with him whenever he attempted to get away from you only to have him give up and stay glued to the wall behind him. 

“I ain’t got no problem-”

“Bullshit. You’ve been avoiding me for the past two weeks. In fact, you’ve been avoiding ALL of us.” 

“You’re being dramatic.”

“No I’m fucking not.” You somehow got even closer, your chest practically touching his as you felt his body heat against you. 

“She's really not Zoro, did something happen between you two?” Nami asked cautiously behind you.

“Did I do something?” 

He could see you were frustrated with him and he could see he was only hurting you more than he wanted to. 

‘I’m sorry….’ He thought as he looked at you, the guilt overwhelming him. 

Whilst he didn’t appreciate the questioning from you and the heavy gazes of everyone, he will admit he had isolated himself from you. It wasn’t because you did anything to him personally and it wasn’t because he started rejecting your presence on the ship; by far you'd been patient with him by letting him be. The persistent questioning he got from the others, especially the shitty cook despite being appreciative of him bringing his meals to him only to be met with silence from him only fueled his guilt. Since the discovery of his feelings for you, he felt overwhelmed. Being around you distracted him. He felt the want to be with you but at the same time, his mind shielded him from you as if he was protecting himself from you. He prided himself in being strong minded and he felt frustrated with himself over how he could possibly feel this way when he prided himself in being strong minded. He could only theorise that this mental block with you had to do with the guy who’d wiped his memory. 

‘Was his named Edward? Ethan? Whatever, it didn’t matter.’

He knew he was being a dick by staying away from you but he didn’t know what else to do. The moment he accepted his feelings for you, he’d also accepted what felt like an overwhelming burden in his stomach. He felt panic, a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time. He left you in the Crows Nest, remembering the feeling of not being able to breathe. This was why Zoro did not do feelings; they were complicated. 

“You didn’t do anyth-”

“Then why have you been avoiding me?” You persistently questioned, the frustration brimming in your eyes. 

“I’m done with this, I’m leaving.” He felt his heart climbing up into his throat with you being so close to him.

“Oh no you don’t, you’re not getting out of this one.” 

You made an impulse decision out of anger. With your free hand, you summoned a hole behind Zoro. You pictured the very island where you spent time training yourself with your devil fruit, knowing it was quiet and you wouldn’t be disturbed. The hole behind him had formed and Zoro had realised too late he was no longer leaning against solid and fell through the smoke of clouds that enveloped him. 

You turned to the others who were gaping at you in shock. Even Luffy stayed glued to his seat with no attempt to jump through the cloud of smoke. 

“I’ll bring him back tomorrow.” You huffed out before going through the hole yourself. 

As you landed in the sand of the island, you looked up to see the hole you summoned. You then looked around to see your surroundings. The island hadn’t changed one bit; the wave of nostalgia hit as you breathed in the smell of the sand and sea, the lingering scent of greenery coming from the forest coming into the mix as well. If you looked around again, you’d be able to find the rock you carved the last date you were here before leaving to continue your search for Zoro. 

You purposefully summoned the hole on the empty side of the island, choosing to leave the small population of habitants to the other side undisturbed. They were peaceful people and had even shared a few meals with you from time to time whenever a few of them found you exhausted from exertion after training. They knew you well and that you didn’t pose a threat, choosing to peacefully coexist with them. 

Once closed, the anger still ever present in your system you looked around to spot Zoro sitting in the sand as he looked around taking his surroundings. 

“Wh-where are-?” 

“You gonna talk or what?” You aggressively asked. 

Zoro was now angry. He didn’t want to fight with you, he just wanted to piece together his feelings and rebuild his courage to be around you. He wasn’t ready to face you and being here with you only made him feel worse.  

He stood up from the sand and stomped over to stand over you, pushing the bile from his thumping heart back down his throat.

“What…the FUCK…were you thinking? Why would you do that? Do you realise without me there, you’ve put the others in danger? Take us back NOW.” 

“First of all, step the fuck back and calm down. Second of all, they’ll be fine. Third of all, were not going anywhere until we sort whatever the fucks gone up your ass and died.” You said as you matched his energy. 

“Fuck this, I’m out.” Zoro refused to admit anything. He couldn’t. He turned away from you and began walking. 

“Roronoa Zoro, come back here now.” You ordered him as you followed behind. 

“No. Piss off.” He called back as he continued stomping. 

“Zoro, stop.” You shouted, your voice almost broke as your anger now turned into hurt. 

“Leave me alone Y/N.” 

“WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?” You now cried out. You couldn’t stop the tears and the lump in your throat as you stared at his back. 

Zoro stopped at the sound of your voice breaking. He frowned at the thought of you upset, his heart ached but he couldn’t turn around. 

“I’m not doing anything to you Y/N. I just need space.” He spoke regretfully before he continued walking again and turned left heading into the forest. You stood still as you watched him walk away.

“Fuck.” You whispered to yourself, taking your palm to rub against your forehead in frustration and then using the back of your hand to wipe your tears away. You hated crying, you’d always felt so weak. No matter how much you try to control it, the tears always win. You decided to sit, digging yourself further into the sand before leaning back to let it envelop you. 

You breathed in, allowing yourself to take in the sound of the waves crashing against the damp sand. You didn’t realise how much you missed being back on land. You loved being on the Sunny, you really did but sometimes allowing yourself to be grounded for a bit always helped. 

You let your hands moved with the sand, feeling the softness of it between your fingers. You clenched the sand into your palms finding the action soothing and allowing the anger you’d felt seep into each particle.

What were you going to do with Zoro? 

————————————- ⚔️✨ ————————————

A few hours had passed and you found yourself waking up from a nap you had unconsciously taken. You noticed the sun was beginning to lower, you predicted you had a few hours left before nightfall. You sighed before getting up from the sand, swiping off the residue of sand that was left on your clothes and turned to face the direction Zoro left you from. You were grateful the island was small and you knew it  wouldn’t take you long to track down the lost swordsman. 

As you were about to start walking, you felt a presence lurking near you. You stiffened before smiling and realising there was more than one and posed no danger. 

“How long have you guys been there for?” You called out. You turned to find a small group of what you assumed were hunters gathering food. The group consisted of three men and one woman. 

“Y/N, are you okay?” One of the male hunters asked. 

“I’m fine don’t worry…you didn’t happen to see a green haired guy with three swords roaming around?” You queried. You didn’t know them personally but you assumed the few that did check in on you when you were training spread the word to the others of your existence.

“He’s sitting by the waterfall.” The female hunter softly answered. You nodded as you brought the memorised path to the area up into your mind to plan out your short walk. 

“Thank you, don’t mind us. We’ll be gone tomorrow.” You promised before you began making your way to him. A short walk through the forest and your feet found you at the beginning of a small lake. As you continued, your eyes caught the waterfall and the blue hues of water falling over into the lake. You looked around and soon enough your eyes caught on a head of green hair. You frowned at his slouched demeanor, noticing his eye was lost in the water and in thought. You took a quick breath in before continuing your walk to now stand near the swordsman. You noticed his body stiffened as you felt your presence before slouching back, his eye not breaking out of his lost gaze. 

“Zoro…I.” 

“Don’t speak.” 

Your mouth closed into a straight line, the words ‘I’m sorry’ stuck at the tip of your tongue. You felt like you stood for eternity but just a few short minutes later and you decided to find a seat on the grass near him. Your eyes followed his and soon enough you were also lost in the water with him. Apart from the sounds of the water crashing into the lake and the gentle calls from the birds in the trees, the angst between the both of you laid thick. 

As you watched the water, you were reminded of how much you missed swimming and the ability to just float. You had thankfully never fallen into the ocean since obtaining your devil fruit but the thought of sinking struck fear in you. You missed the feeling of saltwater soaking into your skin, letting your fingertips wrinkle and allowing your mind to wonder and be free. Sure you were able to shower in non-sea water but it just wasn’t the same. 

Time had passed and the sky had turned into a deep hue of orange indicating the end of daylight. The forest had begun to fill out with fireflies, adding to the ambiance and giving light to where you both sat. You knew you’d have to start a fire and look for food soon but you couldn’t find the will to do so yet. 

You had decided to scoot closer to the edge of the lake, allowing yourself to indulge in the only closeness you can have to water. 

“You ain’t plannin to jump in right?” 

Hearing his voice shook you out of thought, you shook your head to answer his question. 

Zoro had every right to be pissed at you but seeing the sadness in your face made him feel guilty for letting himself behave like a teenager for hours. This was his fault after all but admitted he let his pride get the better of him. 

“Why’re you moping?”

“I’m not moping..I’m just remembering how much I enjoyed swimming and just being in the ocean.” You confessed, pouting and allowing yourself to lean on your hand. 

“I thought you didn’t regret-” 

“I don’t regret anything. I’m allowed to feel sad.” You snapped. 

He allowed silence to fill the space between the both of you for a moment before he made an anxiety-consuming decision that would definitely change everything. 

“You wanna go in?” Zoro softly asked. 

You turned to face him, surprise evident in your face. 

“That's impossible, I’ll just feel weak and sink.” You answered. 

“Not if I’m holding you.” Zoro said. 

“I thought you were avoiding me, now you wanna hold me?” You questioned back. 

“Answer my question; you want to go in yes or no?” Zoro bit back with slight annoyance at you being argumentative. 

You bit your lip to stop yourself from going into a tangent, turning to look back at the water before nodding. 

From seeing your physical consent, Zoro stood up and began to strip. You visibly blushed and let your gaze turn away from him refusing to turn it into ogling. He brought himself into your line of vision as he walked forward and stepped into the water, waiting with his back turned to you at the edge to allow you privacy. You were able to see he was just left in his boxers. You stared for a bit before finding your brevity and beginning to strip until you were just in your underwear and bra. You walked a few steps forward until you stood just behind him but you hadn’t stepped in the water yet.

“Am I okay to pick you up?” Zoro cautiously asked, his back still facing you.

“y-Yeah you can.” 

Zoro turned around, pushing back his raging heartbeat and ignoring the growing heat in his skin before scooping you into his arms bridal style and slowly walking back into the lake until he was halfway submerged. You relished in the warmth of his skin and you hadn’t realised just how much you missed his presence. 

“If it gets too much for you, tell me and I’ll take you back.” Zoro’s voice almost broke. He was currently fighting back the blush that had threatened to consume his wholebeing as he avoided looking down at your naked body. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen a naked woman before, heck Nami and Robin walked around the ship in practically nothing and it never once bothered him. Seeing you see this way; shy and almost vulnerable gave a completely different meaning to it. He couldn’t fathom anyone else seeing you like this and the mere idea of any man seeing you this way made his skin itch and his temper rise.  

He hadn’t even allowed himself to be consumed in the lust-filled thoughts he had of you since his recent awakening of feelings he had for you. He felt too much respect for you to subject you to his internal needs. He didn’t even know if you both even consummated the marriage before he disappeared but refused to go down the tangent of thoughts surrounding it. 

He slowly began to lower you into the water, allowing the flow of the water to cover your legs and your arms. You gasped at the sudden coolness of the water, immediately feeling the weakness of the ocean consume you. Rather than fighting the weakness, you allowed it to sit as you relished in the feeling of the cool water and Zoro’s body heat. 

“You okay?” 

“Thank you Zoro.” You quietly spoke, grateful to him. 

His concern alone was enough for you to choke on a sob. You were overwhelmed. 

“Why did you avoid me?” You weakly asked, allowing yourself to cry. 

“M’sorry.” Zoro mumbled back as he bit the inside of his cheek.

“I don’t want a sorry…I want an answer.” 

Zoro said nothing. He didn’t know how to confess his feelings to you. He couldn’t even begin to explain or know where to start with talking about what was wrong with him. Seeing you broken hurt him badly and he knew he couldn’t let this go on anymore. 

‘Show her.’ 

A small voice in his head spoke. He frowned at the intrusion of the voice. 

‘Show her how you feel.’ 

He looked down to see you looking back up at him. The yearning he felt to hold you closer, the want to be with you overtook him. 

He decided to listen to the foreign voice, putting his anxiety to one side as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours in a chaste kiss.

————————————- ⚔️✨ ————————————

A/N: HE DID IT!!! FINALLY HE KISSED YOU AHHHHHHH 🥳 😭💚

Taglist: @starlightanyaaa @eggrollforyou @rosellerinfrost @qalable

[eeriepromis]

no angels 😏 (wings sold separately)

When heaven sends its most fashionable mistakes.

HEAVENLY COURTROOM - JUDGMENT DAY

Archangel #392: You are all hereby expelled from the Celestial Order for… reasons. Zayne: Be specific. I follow rules. I demand a list. Archangel #392: Fine. - Caleb: weaponized charm. - Xavier: excessive napping. - Sylus: illegal dragon transformation during choir practice. - Rafayel: painted over the Gates of Heaven in coral blood. - Zayne: terrifying interns into sainthood. - And all of you: disruption of harmony because of your arguments. Caleb: They liked it. The interns were into it. Ask them. Rafayel: You said "express yourself" and I expressed. Besides, the Gate was dull. Sylus: You’re all just mad I accidentally set the Cherub harp section on fire as collateral damage. Xavier (half-asleep): ... Why are we here?

EARTH, POST-BANISHMENT - THEIR MISSION: "BUILD TEAMSPIRIT"

They land, shirtless, sparkly, with glowing restraints labeled "CELESTIAL REHABILITATION UNIT"

MISSION: "Do Good Deeds"

Zayne is medically clearing squirrel bites at a vet clinic. Sylus is selling "blessed" fake merch at a street market. Caleb is banned from three nurseries for "inspiring rebellious behavior." Xavier is asleep in a tree hugging a baby duck. Rafayel is "accidentally" inspiring a cult of art students who now worship him as the Sea God of Thirst. Heaven (via voicemail): This is not what we meant by "inspiring hope."

MISSION: "Bond as a Team"

Archangel Jenna makes them do a trust fall. Sylus: If any of you drop me, I will rebuild Tartarus with your bones. Rafayel (catching him): Ugh, you’re heavier than your trauma. Caleb: Okay, but who let Zayne write the team values document in Latin?? Zayne (deadpan): It was thematically appropriate. Xavier (waking up mid-fall): ... I dreamed we failed this mission.

MISSION: "Public Outreach - Talk to Humans"

Caleb: Heya, pipsqueaks. Want an apple? It’s only mildly cursed. Sylus: Want to make a pact with a shadowy celestial being with excellent hair? Rafayel: If you join my cult, I’ll paint you into something people will never forget. Zayne: Don’t talk to strangers. Especially not us. Xavier: I think my bird just created a fan club ...

BACK IN HEAVEN’S FILE ROOM

The Celestial Review Board reads the Earth logs. Archangel #392 (reading): They failed to build peace but created the most aesthetically pleasing chaos known to man. Archangel #274: Are we … keeping them? Archangel #392 (sighs): Put them under extended probation. Send them more missions. And maybe … sell merch.

EARTH REHAB FACILITY - THERAPY CIRCLE, DAY 37

Therapist (Angel Rank B-): Okay, welcome back to "Healing Through Harmony". Alright boys, you’ve been sent here for the same reasons again. Anyone want to read the list? Caleb (leaning back): Let’s see ... "General insubordination. Disregard of celestial protocol. Too many emotionally charged declarations mid-battle. Excessive shirtlessness." Oh, and ... Rafayel (sipping tea): Don’t forget "constant work disruption due to bickering." Zayne (pulling out a highlighter): I submitted that complaint. Sylus (smirking): And I submitted an appeal to be more disruptive. Therapist (sighing heavily): Let’s go around the circle and share. Caleb, would you like to start? Caleb (arms crossed, halo cracked for ✨edgy aesthetic✨): No. Therapist: … Thank you for your vulnerability. Xavier, why do you have a duck? Xavier (holding a duck): I don’t see the problem. She follows me. She’s loyal. Her name is Jezebel now. Therapist: That’s … just a duck, Xavier. Xavier: She’s an empath.

THERAPY SESSION: "DESCRIBE YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE"

Zayne (perfect posture, 16 journals in his lap): No one reads the daily agendas. Not even the one titled "How Not to Burn Down A Kitchen: A Team Exercise." Sylus (chewing a stolen cinnamon bun): We were testing fire safety. You’re welcome. Rafayel (filing his nails with a blessed dagger): My biggest challenge is existing next to this chaos without wine. Do you even understand the emotional labor of looking this good and carrying this team? Caleb: You haven’t carried anything but your mirror. Zayne: I also made a five-week training schedule with assigned cleaning duties. No one read that either. Caleb: I read it. I just folded it into a paper plane and set it on fire mid-flight for dramatic effect. Sylus: You also rewrote the group chant to include "emotional devastation is growth." Rafayel: That was beautiful, by the way. Xavier: I was banned from three kitchens last week. Apparently, "don’t microwave the metal tools" is a thing. Zayne: (snaps pen)

THERAPY SESSION: "SAY SOMETHING NICE ABOUT EACH OTHER"

Sylus (eye twitching): Fine. Caleb has ... chaotic conviction and good social skills. Rafayel has excellent cheekbones for someone so emotionally unavailable. Xavier- honestly, you're a cryptid, I have no idea what you are but I respect it. Zayne ... I trust you to plan my funeral. Zayne: Thank you. It’s already in the itinerary. Caleb (smirking): Aw. Group hugs? No? Shame. Rafayel: My turn. Caleb looks like an apocalypse I’d flirt with. Zayne is the only person who hasn’t tried to kill me yet and I’m not sure how I feel about that. Xavier’s duck has better fashion sense than most humans. Sylus- you setting the harp section on fire almost ruined my coat but it brought out the pink in my eyes, so thanks? Xavier: Rafayel’s art made me cry once. I think. Zayne gave me a handbook. I used it to stabilize a chair. Caleb's loyalty is feral and oddly effective. Sylus doesn’t start fights, he just ends them.

MISSION: "Public Outreach 2.0"

Zayne: Volunteered at a clinic. Scared three patients into flawless recovery. Sylus: Sold fake energy shields to billionaires. Funded a food truck for the poor. Rafayel: Taught an "aura painting" class. Accidentally became a TikTok thirst trap. Not sorry. Xavier: Gave a workshop on "Light Safety." Set the projector on fire. Rebranded it as a "holy flare show." Caleb: Got hired at a bakery. Gave free cookies and unsolicited flirting. They call me "Pastry Daddy" now.

MISSION: "Group Activity: Bake Cookies Together"

Zayne: Why is the oven glowing red? Sylus (rolling dough with his knuckles): Because Rafayel tried to sauté icing. Rafayel (fanning himself with the exploded parchment): I said it needed drama- culinary tension is essential for flavor. Caleb (raising an eyebrow while mixing with precision): Who even sautés icing? That’s not flair, that’s a fire hazard. Xavier (in the background, followed by a sudden white poof!): ... I think the flour was pressurized. Zayne starts writing apology letters in calligraphy to the oven spirits.

THERAPIST REPORT

SUMMARY: Team: Still unhinged. Progress: None. Outfits: Immaculate. Energy: Concerningly sexy. Recommend: No kitchen access. One (1) group mission involving a shared enemy. Preferably fate.

HEAVEN'S GOT TALENT - Probation Edition™

Archangel Host (sparkling clipboard, dead eyes): Welcome to Heaven’s Got Talent: Probation Edition™! Our contestants today? Five ex-angels on thin metaphorical ice. Compete to earn back your wings - or at least stop being HR’s problem.

ACT 1: SYLUS - DRAGON ENERGY POETRY SLAM

Sylus (stepping up in smoke): My heart is fire, my thoughts are void, Your gaze? Pathetic. Your will? Destroyed. Mic turns to dust. The judges look shaken.Caleb (clapping aggressively): Yes, DRAGON DADDY. PULVERIZE THE MIC. Rafayel: It’s giving !I set my ex’s soul on fire and journaled about it."

ACT 2: ZAYNE - LIVE HEART SURGERY & STAND-UP SET

Zayne (putting on gloves): Today, I will perform a coronary bypass while roasting my team. Zayne (scalpel ready): Caleb thinks "emotional support" means threatening someone’s boss. Xavier once called a microwave "an unpredictable sun box." Sylus is why I sleep with pepper spray. Rafayel brings his trauma to brunch like it’s a +1. Rafayel (off-stage, sipping tea again): Excuse you. My trauma wears Chanel.

ACT 3: RAFAYEL - FLAME ART & INTERACTIVE EMOTIONAL DAMAGE

Rafayel (shirt open, paintbrush on fire): Observe. I shall paint your soul. With judgment. And glitter. Angelic Audience Member: You made my childhood sadness look … aesthetic. Rafayel (blows kiss): That’s because pain is art. And I’m your favorite mistake. Caleb: I volunteer to be your next muse. Set me on fire emotionally. Sylus: Please don’t encourage him.

ACT 4: XAVIER - LIVE LIGHTSHOW / UNINTENTIONAL CHAOS DEMO

Xavier (standing center stage, voice steady): I will demonstrate the memory-encoding capacity of light. This scene is from the first time someone made me smile. Light swirls into a delicate, glowing tableau- soft colors, a distant hill, the faint echo of laughter. It’s beautiful. Then one of the light threads overcharges and short-circuits the stage’s entire left wing.Rafayel (now outlined in accidental sparkles): Was that a memory or a celestial attack? Zayne (blinking in the dim emergency lights): This is why we use rehearsals, Xavier. Xavier (genuinely confused): It was working fine when I tested it on the roof. Caleb: Of course it was. The roof doesn’t have fire codes.

ACT 5: CALEB - UNHINGED MULTI-SKILL DEMO

Caleb (in an apron, holding an apple, standing next to a half-assembled motorcycle): Today I’ll be cooking, fixing a ride, and seducing everyone in this room. Sylus: You’re literally just doing thirst traps with tools. Caleb: It’s called branding. Rafayel: It’s called cheating. He’s using his "Pipsqueak Voice." Xavier (quietly holding up a 10): He’s not wrong. It’s effective.

FINAL JUDGEMENT - HEAVENLY COURTROOM, AGAIN, UNFORTUNATELY

The floor glows with ancient sigils. Divine trumpets blare in the background. Somewhere, a choir is trying to harmonize over the sound of Rafayel sighing too loudly.

The five Angels on probation stand in formation. Sort of. Caleb is leaning. Rafayel is twirling a paintbrush. Xavier is glowing slightly. Sylus is smirking. Zayne looks like he’s regretting immortality.

Archangel Council (collectively): You stand accused of violating the Celestial Accord of Order & Grace. Today your probation time will be judged and further future plans will be decided.

THE COUNCIL DELIBERATES

Archangel #1: They’re unstable. Dangerous. Beautiful. Archangel #2: Sylus turned the Choir of Peace into a metal band. Archangel #3 (whispers): Caleb flirted with Justice. Archangel #1 (whispers back): Justice flirted back.

THE FINAL VERDICT

High Judge (wings unfolding): After much deliberation … and celestial therapy bills … We sentence you to: - Continue your Earth-bound mission. - No access to divine kitchens. - No open flame usage for Rafayel. - No seduction-based diplomacy for Caleb. - No unauthorized animal adoptions for Xavier. - No scheduling surprise "mandatory reflection sessions" for Zayne. - No group baking. Ever again.

[justabigoldnerd]

Thank you so much @cha-melodius for the tag!!

Here's a bit from "Flufftober Day 16: Yes No Maybe"

“Mm-hmm,” they both nod, exchanging a glance. Solo's face warms and a pit forms in his stomach. The world tips sideways and he nearly trips over his own feet on his journey to the adjacent armchair, collapsing into it with a poorly suppressed huff.  “Okay. I mispronounced a word. Even I'm not perfect, and this scotch doesn't help that fact,” he snips, taking another drink for good measure. Nausea rears its head at his own phrasing, coating his tongue in the phantom aftertaste of ketamine. He sets down the glass. “Hm,” Gaby's face is riddled with mischief now, “So it's the scotch that's making you sound like a proper cowboy?” “Yes– No. No, because I'm not– I don't sound like–” “Wait, you are, aren't you? That's an accent we're hearing!” “I do not have an accent,” Solo firmly denies, forming each word with the care of a steady hand at a pottery wheel, hoping the clay comes out as a vase and not an ashtray.

No pressure tagging @huggiebird @happybean17 @falling-into-peril @heytheredeann @pippinoftheshire

@bighandsforabigheart @kcscribbler @yallwildinrn @the-golden-comet @thattripleabattery

@too-young-to-fall-in-love @times-up-alone-tonight @vnyu73 @nicijones @prettyboynapoleonsolo

And an Open Tag for anyone who wants to join!! 💕💕💕

[starqueensthings]

PREV | NEXT | FOREWORD | MASTER | AO3

Summary: June joins Howzer on a mission for caffeine. She learns a little about his role, his men, his outlook— and he, unknowingly, helps her navigate her struggle as a teacher. For a fleeting moment, June forgets to uphold that self indoctrinated distaste… that long-upheld aversion. For a moment, his companionship feels like nothing she’s ever felt before… nothing that she’d ever permitted herself to entertain… enjoy. But a moment is just a moment. Enjoy the roller coaster of this chapter— please remember certain aspects of a character (snippets of dialogue, facial expressions, etc) are all specifically placed so the audience can witness growth. We all about growth up in this house!

Rating/WC: all chapters are rated 16+ unless stated otherwise | 4475 words.

PLEASE ENSURE YOU’VE READ THE FOREWORD LINKED BELOW FOR AN IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION OF WHAT DEGREE OF CONTENT YOU CAN EXPECT THROUGHOUT THIS STORY BEFORE PROCEEDING.

The jubilant breeze tumbling throughout the confines of the courtyard perched just opposite those glass doors instantly brandished her hair from her shoulders, beaming rays pouring mercilessly from overhead instantly capitalizing on the opportunity to remind her enraged skin of its power, and she near-winced upon feeling her neck prickle neath its unwelcome intensity. 

“You okay?” Howzer asked as they trod down the half dozen stairs toward the locked gate, seemingly noting the sudden cringe atop her features. 

“Yeah, fine,” June answered casually. “Spent too much time by the pool with my friend the other day and I’m still paying for it.” 

“I saw that,” he chuckled, offering a sympathetic little grimace. “I’d offer some advice but I honestly can’t say I’ve ever had too bad of a sunburn.” 

“Yeah, well… Quit braggin’,” June demanded with a smile. “I say this to my best friend all the time: not all of us are gloriously melanous.” 

A tingle unrelated to that overhead radiance rolled down her back as his head tipped backward amidst a genuine laugh, and attempting to veil the flush rising rapidly back to her cheeks, she quickly reached to fiddle with the cuff of her sleeve… only to remember she was not wearing long sleeves, instead awkwardly shoving a dawdling finger neath the strap of her watch and giving it an pointless twist around her wrist.

As it turned out, the Combat Base’s close proximity to their chosen cafe perfectly elucidated why Hutchie’s was an establishment of which she’d never heard. Though for how distant it was from the central, senatorial sector of which June was largely familiar, only mere steps atop the pathway leading toward the jovial tinkle of its distant doorbell exposed how just how favoured of a spot it was for the denizens.  

Yet even more astonishing than the steady flow of travel cup-laden patrons, stolling past with their steaming flimsi containers of delightful aromatic caf, was truly how simple it was to converse with the man next to her. Despite the butterflies in her stomach continuing their silent attempts at internal homicide, chatting with Howzer felt as intuitive as simply placing one foot in front of the other atop that bustling pathway. 

Though their first encounter had far superseded the second in terms of duration, the plaguing ailment and the gentle coaxing he’d required before consenting to treatment had, unfortunately, dominated most of their conversation. Their only encounter since had been tragically too-short to engage in anything more than the hopelessly giddy “hi, I have to run but I really hope I’ll see you soon!” sentiments before the pair parted ways with dopey smiles atop their lips. 

And in the void of pain or urgency, it was difficult not to marvel at just how casually that Captain carried himself. Imbued an insouciant energy of which June was sure she’d never be able to embody as effortlessly as Howzer did, breezy probes at conversation spilled from his lips as if he were intrinsically aware of all the topics she could chitter about for hours (though the way that mildly crooked smile wrapped its way around each word had her increasingly confident she would have been perfectly content to just listen to the music of that accented tone). Meanwhile, those large, boot-clad feet moved unhurried toward their destination as if the pathway itself had wordlessly offered to glide below at whatever speed he’d prefer; thankfully he’d defaulted to a cadence more comfortable for her much shorter legs. 

As they wove through the ambling crowd, Howzer gushed about his Company; the 742nd was, admittedly, an anomaly of sorts. Not only did their authority ladder end with a Clone Commander and not the Jedi General that typically apexed large sectors of soldiers, but a period of extensive training in its earliest days of formation had seen those boys in teal thrust into an unusual hybrid role. Though classified as a “reconnaissance collection company subfractured from the 91st”, the 742nd was often deployed, instead, as an “assault and secure force”, meaning they were just as frequently tasked with infiltrating an enemy base and securing its perimeter until such a time that reinforcements could arrive and claim the location as their own. Yet, he spoke of his career with the same admirable informality as he would speak of the weather, reminiscing of battles as if recalling the events of a party he’d recently attended, and though she was sure it had rendered her expression to something near a slack-jawed grouper fish, that  unforeseen disposition had captured June’s attention and simply refused to free it.  

His perspective of war seemed …well, different to anything she’d overheard from soldiers amidst her duties at work. Often those armoured troopers spoke of their duty with an unignorable severity; of the responsibility they carried to both loyally serve and immutably protect the Republic to which they served; of their allegiance to their CO’s, their brethren, and the legion they’d been assigned; of the demand for stoic, unvarying courage in the face of enemies they’d never seen before. Howzer spoke of governing his men as if they were nothing but a bizarrely oversized and appropriately dysfunctional family— ‘vod, he kept calling them before quickly explaining this was a common Mando’a word for brother. He spoke of their battle experiences as if those teal painted men had collectively experienced several disjointed parts of a larger, harrowing adventure; those that were sadly killed on the way were celebrated to a higher degree than those that survived, as the lost had simply moved on to a more exhilarating life of which none of them knew just yet. He spoke of the unremitting desire and obligation to keep his men grounded— to ensure they felt nothing but relative ease and confidence as they marched into the relative unknown… 

“Just in here.” 

June wrenched her gaze from that enamoring square jaw as he slowed his pace and veered slightly toward a glass door on the right, instead redirecting her eyes upward toward the sign overhead. Hung from the soffit by two oversized copper chains, that deep emerald placard and the loopy gold cursive laying bare the name of that little cafe was immediately familiar, June’s mind quickly extracting the image of the tiny green card she'd opened and cherished some days previous. 

“Oh, thank you,” she muttered upon realizing Howzer had pulled the door ajar and was waiting for her to enter ahead of him. 

But hardly a step through the door and into that foreign space had thrust an inherently wholesome fragrance into her nose; unseen steaming loaves of delicious crusty sourdough bread, carafes of fresh caf gurgling just out of sight, crystallized and caramelized sugars mixed with an enticing blend of aromatic spices… vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon, clove… and something earthy and deeply familiar. 

Though her olfactory system seemed instantly content enough to simply stand atop that threshold and breathe in those potent whiffs of sheer delight, the opportunity was usurped by just how visually overwhelming the interior of that tiny shop was. 

“Wow,” June whispered, gaze dancing fervently from corner to corner, item to item, person to person, whilst her feet took her thoughtlessly in Howzer’s wake toward the treat laden display cases on the left. 

Like her companion, Hutchie’s was nothing short of …different. Utterly void of that sterile rigidity of which Coruscant remained notorious, three steps into that creaky, rustic cafe had June feeling as if she’d been unknowingly transported to a little bistro on a distant planet. High ceilings and limewashed walls worked in tandem to ensure that relatively cramped square footage was suffused with an indescribable, natural comfort. Taking up the majority of the cafe’s interior real estate was a sitting area along the right side; dozens of time-worn wooden chairs housing patrons of all shapes, colours, and sizes, an equi-diverse array of baked treats perched atop tables anchoring those esoteric conversations. 

“Ouuu, Alocasia Zebrina!” June suddenly uttered aloud, excitement surging through her veins as her eyes affixed themselves upon a very familiar-looking striped plant perched in the center of those scrubbed pine tops. 

“Say again?” Howzer asked, the din of chatter echoing around those four corners forcing him to lower his ear to only inches from her lips. 

“Um, Alocasia Zebrina,” she repeated somewhat meekly, the subtle addition of his aftershave in her nose quickly overpowering that fleeting glee. “The plant on all the tables. I have one at home too. They’re notoriously hard to keep alive.” 

Though not robbed of its clarity by the merciless cacophony still ringing around those walls, his chuckling response went wholly unheard, a sharp gasp escaping June’s lips as a searing pain erupted in her knee. 

“Ow!” she exclaimed, left hand absently reaching to steady herself with the nearest pillar of solidity, while the other darted downward to appease her now throbbing leg.

“Sorry,” a passerby grunted. “Busy place. Watch where you’re stepping.” 

“You okay?” 

Again, Howzer went ignored, June’s narrowed gaze affixed on the back of the retreating Zabraki man who had nearly knocked her off her feet as he pushed his way through the throng. 

“What happened?” Howzer tried again, this time successfully stealing her attention. 

“Nothing,” June dismissed, cheeks flushing upon the realization the support she’d mindlessly sought amidst that unexpected jostle was the crook of that Captain’s elbow. “Guy just knocked into me on his way by. I’m fine.” 

“Yeah, this place is always a madhouse,” Howzer answered, resuming normal posture and offering her an apologetic nod. “Stay close.” 

Whether the shift was intentional or not, June soon found the back of her hand near-clamped between Howzer’s torso and elbow, the gentle pinch he’d applied to seemingly keep her grasp exactly where it had landed instantly took her mind off the bruise forming earnestly just below her kneecap.

As they lumbered forward in that lagging queue, mahogany floorboards creaking with every step, June’s focus shifted from the drape of her cold fingers around that scuffed plastoid to the display cases passing on her left side— floor to ceiling shelves presented some of the most immaculately prepared pastries she’d ever laid her eyes on; glazed donuts gleaming like edible orbs neath those overhead lights, richly decadent brownies blanketed in a crust of finely chopped nuts, strudels happily leaking their jellied innards onto the emerald green doilies they laid upon whilst waiting to be ingested. On the other side of that scrumptious exhibit, and only visible through gaps between that prolific array of decadence, scurried a dozen green-aproned staff members. Multicoloured hands of all shapes and sizes appeared routinely behind those delicacies, a sheet of protective wax flimsi draped atop palms preparing to extract the confection that some lucky patron up ahead had just claimed as their own. And though her mouth watered uncontrollably at first sight of a delectable looking meiloorun muffin, June’s thoughts had wandered near urgently toward the egregiously overdue caf her very cells continued to demand with each passing, uncaffeinated moment. 

“Whatcha gettin’?” Howzer asked as they neared the front counter, her nose flooded with that intoxicating yet unfamiliar, delicate musk as he lowered his lips to a mere breath from her ear. 

“Ummmm,” June hesitated, brows furrowing as her eyes danced fervently around the exorbitant list of foreign-beaned caf’s scrawled upon a chalkboard on the wall opposite. “Whatever it was that you sent to my office last week?” 

“That was the Apple Java,” he advised her, pointing toward the center of the list. “Large?” 

“Extra-large…” 

The sudden exposure of that chronic caf addiction, and the way those dark brows raised at her seemingly mechanical, knee-jerk response, would have had her near-cringing neath the weight of self-consciousness had it not been for the smile quickly peeling across those dark lips, twinkly eyes softening as they danced warmly atop her features. 

“Extra-large it is,” he repeated with the subtlest of snorts. 

“I’ll buy though,” she hastily added, reaching to extract her wallet from the depths of her bag as he turned to greet the humanoid waiting behind the cash register. 

“What?” he demanded. “No way! I’m ordering for like sixteen people.”

“So?” 

“So! That’s going to cost you a fortune.” 

“You fed the entire surgical floor with all those treats last week,” June argued with a shrug, removing her hand from the security of his elbow to unzip her wallet. “I can repay the favour.” 

“That was differen—” 

“Trust me when I say: I’m more stubborn than you are, and you will not win this.” 

She watched his once-smiling lips purse ahead of unsaid protests, gaze  narrowing slightly as it bore into hers, seemingly resolute in witnessing the first twitch of muscle that might lay bare any hesitation on her part… but she met that surveying leer with a stern, unwavering one of her own, blue piercing brown as if daring him to object further. 

“Fine,” he consented atop the ghost of chuckle. “But put that hand back.” 

She repressed a smile as he turned and began to order (twelve regular caf, four decaf, and one extra-large Apple Java), every subsequent breath escaping past her lips struggling to ignore the flutter that had erupted in her gut as he'd assertively collected her cold fingers and directed them back to their previous wreath around his elbow.  

“Here’s the Apple Java, and the decaf,” the cashier announced hardly a minute later, passing a familiar looking flimsi cup across that mahogany counter to June’s outstretched palm, and a cardboard carrying tray of four others to Howzer. “We’re just brewing a fresh pot of regular caf. Give us a few minutes, and we’ll call you over when it’s ready.”

June followed in the Captain’s wake a half dozen paces toward one of the smaller tables anchored against the wall, the soul-warming aroma of apple and peekaboo vanilla wafting upward from the container in her hands near-banishing those irksome butterflies. With a small squeal of released anticipation and excitement she popped open the tab on that duraplas lid and took a sip of that scalding delight. 

Snickering at the undeniable joy atop her features, Howzer pulled the nearest chair out from its perch beneath that scrubbed pine tabletop and gestured for her to sit, before placing both that laden travel tray and his helmet atop the table between them and taking a seat of his own. 

“So you’re a full caffeine kinda guy,” June gleaned with a smirk, noting instantly that Howzer had failed to collect a cup from the collection on the table whilst she cradled hers with both hands.  

“Oh absolutely,” Howzer answered, casting the decaffeinated collection of cups in front of him a near-revolted look. “What’s the point of drinking a caf if it’s not to wake you up?”

“Warmth?” June suggested with a small shrug. “Flavour? Even with reduced caffeine levels, it’s a fantastic analeptic. Some like to keep their cortisol levels low. Not to mention it keeps the bowels moving…”  

June hurried to hide the flush rising earnestly to her cheeks behind that flimsi container as Howzer’s head tipped back amidst a full chested laugh that promised to dismantle her composure, nose scrunching neath his amusement and raising the little hairs on her arms. 

“I guess those are all pretty valid reasons,” he spoke, draping an arm casually atop the backrest of his seat and peering across the table at her with that characteristic twinkle behind his eyes. 

She shirked his gaze as discreetly as she could, pretending to pluck a nonexistent piece of fluff from the rim of her drink as she fought to restrain the newly invigorated flapabout in her gut. 

“Tell me about class,” he continued as she hurried to pacify the lingering capriciousness by bringing her caf to her lips again. “What happened that made your boss so happy?” 

June paused only long enough to force that still blistering liquid down her throat before offering him an evasive, one-shouldered shrug. “I don’t know,” she mused, licking the remnants of the last gulp from her top lip and sitting up straight in her chair. “The guys in class have always seemed so …uninterested? It's been really hard to get them to engage with any of the content we’ve been trying to teach them, despite doing everything we can to make the lectures interesting.” 

“They’re just not paying attention?” Howzer probed. 

“Right… or paying attention to the wrong thing, or being disruptive. Some of them would just spend all three lecture hours sleeping… Some of them would stare at me like it was some stupid game and it drove me up the kriffing wall… Others at least tried to make it look like they were paying attention, but it’s not hard to spot someone that’s napping with their eyes open… 

“Today they were actually responsive… even borderline excited about what they were learning. I know, for a soldier, it’s probably not super exhilarating stuff that we’re teaching but… I don’t know. I think it’s all pretty cool once you understand the importance of the material? Maybe I’m just a giant dork, but…”  

 “Well…” Howzer started as her thoughts trailed away. “You said it, not me...” 

“Oh ha ha ha,” June feigned with a roll of her eyes, though a smirk peeled across her lips. 

The feeling of his amber-eyed, surveying gaze back atop her features forced her eyes back to the lid on her cup, bringing a cold finger to trail thoughtlessly around the rim of that white duraplas.

“I know it’s easier said than done, but try not to take it too personally,” Howzer continued after a moment’s pause. “That’s a bit of a weird age for troopers, to be honest. This is their first time off Kamino. They’re used to being barked at round the clock by ARC Troopers who wouldn’t recognize ‘consideration’ if it bit them on the ass. All these guys know is having their critical thinking tested every minute of every day, learning respect, and camaraderie, and strategy… all that kind of stuff. Now they’re sitting in a quiet classroom on a foreign planet, separated from everyone they grew up with, being taught combat medicine by civilians. It’s no excuse for, well… staring, but it’ll all be pretty foreign to those guys for a while.” 

Gnawing mindlessly on her left thumbnail, June let his words wash over her, a peculiar sensation lurching deep in her gut that felt something-near …guilt. 

“Hmm,” she hummed, pulling her finger from its clamp between her lips atop the cold realization that maybe… after all these weeks… she hadn’t been the only person uncomfortable in that classroom. “So it probably feels as awkward for them as it does for me?”

Howzer nodded, that infamously warm gaze thankfully lacking any semblance of judgment or critique as it landed back upon her. “Probably more so, considering almost all of them have probably never talked to a girl before. I know the ‘hot teacher’ comment bothered you but�� they’re still learning.”   

“Who said it bothered me?” June retorted, though the indignance of her demand diminished instantly upon seeing the deeply skeptical look he cast from across the table. Pursing her lips to repress a culpable grin, she hid behind her coffee cup and asked, “I was that obvious, eh?”

“June, your face speaks louder than your words ever could,” he snickered. “Those eyes could light someone on fire if they glared hard enough.”  

June offered only a repressed snort, unable to offer him the titter he deserved whilst her insides churned amidst a simmering remorse that she hadn’t expected to feel for that century of once-disrespectful soldiers. “Kriff, now I feel like an asshole,” she mumbled. 

“Nah, don’t sweat it,” Howzer replied with an appeasing smile. “They’re tough. And if they’re not yet, they will be soon. But—” Abruptly plagued by an unprecedented wash of what appeared to be diffidence, he paused to clear his throat and redirect his gaze to a blemish on the crown of his helmet. “—If you want them to stop staring, I’d maybe ditch the glasses.” 

“What?” June asked, upper lip cocking in confusion. “Why?” 

“Don’t get me wrong,” he started, eyes following his fingers as they began to absently drum atop that worn wooden table. “They’re nice. Um, really nice. Almost distracting… I guess?”  

The profound reddening of his ears nowhere matched that of her cheeks. Skin prickling as uncomfortably as if the beaming sun beyond that tinkling doorbell had managed to scorch both her shoulders and every inch of her face, she instantly lifted her hand again to subconsciously hide behind that emerald green cup. 

“Caf’s up!” 

That stentorian call thankfully spared June the need to respond, and they stood from those rickety wooden chairs as if the seats had suddenly burned white hot below their butts. As Howzer scooped his helmet from the table and tucked it neatly neath his arm, June collected the travel tray and followed him back toward the counter. 

The twelve regular cups of caf had been smartly divided into trays of four like their decaffeinated counterparts, but with one of June’s hands occupied by her own cup, and Howzer’s helmet plaguing the mobility of his right arm, it quickly became little more than a game of tetris attempting to figure out exactly how the only two remaining limbs were going to successfully cargo sixteen steaming cups of caf for the four-block journey back to Base. 

After several precarious and time-consuming attempts at stacking them on top of each other, and much to the mixed amused annoyance of the still bustling queue behind them, June heaved a sigh. “Can you just put that damn helmet on,” she bossed at Howzer atop an exasperated chuckle. “We need your second arm.” 

“No,” Howzer refuted instantly. “I won’t be able to see you properly. And I don’t like having it on if I don’t have to...” 

“You don’t need to see me, you just need to see where you’re walki—”

“But I want t—” 

“‘Kay fine,” she interjected, rolling her eyes and putting her cup of caf down on the counter. “If you balance them on my arm, I can take two trays in one hand and my cup in the other.” Though he cocked an eyebrow at her in a motion of unadulterated doubt, she dismissed his silent concern with an impatient shake of the head. “It’s okay, I used to be a server.” 

Atop the rapidly growing pressure of agitation behind them, June insisted. “I’ll be fine, just do it before someone tries to take out my other kneecap.”  

Looking as though he thoroughly disagreed with this seemingly impulsive plan, Howzer carefully lowered one tray on top of the other on June’s awaiting right wrist, hands lingering only inches from that teetering tower, poised to resume the weight should she let slip even a whimper of discomfort. 

Though it prickled against her sunburnt chest, letting those heavy trays tip backward against her skin diminished some of their burden, and she quickly offered him a nod of approval before collecting her own cup and stepping back from the counter. Once Howzer had balanced his own allotted pair of travel trays, they carefully made for the door. 

“You were going to send a cadet to do this?” June snorted as they traversed that sunlit path back to Base, heart seizing for the fourth time in as many minutes as her dribbling freight gave a perilous wobble in her arms and threatened to douse her lower half in scalding hot caf. 

“Absolutely,” he laughed. “It’s a great character building exercise.”

“Character building?!” she repeated, utterly aghast. “Pffffft! Seems kinda mean if you ask me, but if that’s what lets you sleep at night.” 

“Says the girl who slept in this morning,” he snarked back at her, turning to give her a smirk so dazzling, the discomfort of that hot and heavy cargo momentarily vanished.

“You know what,” June argued neath a chuckle, “I think I deserve a little credit for not sleeping in every kriffing morning. Not only do my shifts never end on time, but my bed is soft, and big, and warm, and a challenge to get out of on any given day…” 

“Sounds like a place I’d like to be,” Howzer chortled, turning to grant a fellow trooper in a suit of white and orange a casual nod as they passed each other along that path. 

Howzer clearly thought nothing of it, continuing toward their destination unaffected by that off-the-cuff remark, and wholly unaware of the way June’s shoulders had slumped near-theatrically in its wake. Yet, June’s stomach fell with speed thrice that of which they walked, disappointment wiping the lingering remnants of that diminishing amusement from her lips whilst the darkest corner of her mind eagerly raised a red flag and flapped it earnestly across her awareness. 

‘So that’s what he wants,’ she concluded, the hubris of her distaste for men instantly usurping the unfamiliar giddiness that had seen her near-intoxicated by his presence for days… weeks. ‘To visit to my bed.’ 

And the sudden and complete banishment of that teased sense of adventure— that fleeting feeling of ‘maybe I was wrong’ or ‘maybe there are men I can tolerate…’ — had that once gloriously enriching Apple Java cascading down the back of her tongue like spoiled vinegar. 

“Sorry—” she muttered after a contemptuous snort, dropping her gaze to her toes and watching that gum-embedded pathway lead them back to Base. “By formal invitation only.” 

An impossibly urgent sense of relief surged through her veins as the first signs of that construction-laden building came into view across the road, the gargantuan glass doors they’d left through some time earlier glimmering in the oppressive midday sun as they approached that barbed gate, stopping only so Howzer could scan his wrist comm below the sensor and permit them access. 

“June?” 

It was only then she realized he’d been talking. Too lost in her own welling disappointment and simmering sense of regret, she’d thoughtlessly tuned out everything around her. 

“Sorry, yeah?” she answered, squinting amidst the effort of finding that olive face. 

“You still okay there?” Howzer repeated, gesturing with a nod to the cargo she’d, once again, entirely forgotten she was carrying. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she lied, knowing if she divulged the small river of scalding hot caf trickling from her wrist to her elbow, it would only further delay the end of this interaction. 

“Okay. Gimme one quick sec,” Howzer requested of her, stopping as the gate closed behind them and shifting his own freight enough to bring his forearm to his mouth. “Spades… come in.” 

“‘Sup, cap?” chirped a nearly identical voice through the static of that hidden communication system. 

“Status on barracks?” Howzer asked. 

“Barracks?” that voice repeated neath an incredulous laugh. “Uhhh… well, nine battalions have landed since last night so it’s safe to say ‘crowded’ is an appropriate word.”

“Duty or dismissed?” 

“Unless uniform policy has changed and we’re allowed to loaft around in our underwear on duty, I’m going to guess dismissed. Why? Aren’t you supposed to be in the briefing anyway?” 

“Meeting doesn’t start for a few minutes,” Howzer clarified, and I’ve, er… got some company. Thanks for the intel.” 

June watched him glance somewhat apologetically in her direction before ending that somewhat cryptic conversation, eyes hardening slightly, as if her labeling her as such was mildly offensive. 

‘Company?’ she scowled. ‘Barracks?’

“You trying to show off your bed, now?” June queried with a cocked brow, watching that sharp jaw tense whilst he chewed his lip, brown eyes narrowed in concentration as he silently deciphered some mental puzzle she wasn’t yet privy to  

“No,” Howzer chuckled, a lop-sided smile returning quickly to those lips. “Trust me, it’s nothing to bat an eye at. Come on, we’ll go through the hangar.”

PREV | NEXT | FOREWORD | MASTER | AO3

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[flightlessribbons]

BRIDGETTE: SCARLET DANCER ERA

ML AU PT.3

When Bridgette was 16, she was given the ladybug miraculous from Sabine. Sabine told her she herself wasn't in the condition to wear it anymore, and that it was safer with Bri. Sabine didn't explicitly tell her daughter to take up the responsibilities of Ladybug, but began to be her mentor and train her when Bridgette expressed an interest to protect the city.

Deciding against keeping it a secret from Marinette, Bridgette confided in her little sister since they shared a room and Mari would get suspicious eventually. Tikki grew fond of both girls and stayed a member of the family- hanging out with the four at meals and other home family activities.

Felix was gifted the Black Cat miraculous from his mother Amelie, and kept it secret from everyone else in his extended family while she trained him.

Felix and Bridgette were partners, going by the names of "Tuxedo" and "Scarlet Dancer". No other miraculous holders joined them in their time, but the two helped out with crimes and helped everyday civilians out in this quiet peace.

Tuxedo was a more serious Chat Noir, and served as the reasonable and pragmatic one. He did have a sense of humor, and was often laughing when around the more joking and carefree Scarlet Dancer. The two had feelings for one another, Ladybug taking a liking to Chat first soon after meeting, and Chat beginning to grow fond of her after a while. They never told each other how they felt during this time.

Around a year and a half in of the current Ladybug and Chat Noir, Emilie's health declined, and she fell into a coma. This spurs Gabriel's reluctant transformation into Hawkmoth.

Hawkmoth sets an akuma in the beginning of the day to wander around itself in search of a vulnerable enough host, so he doesn't really know when an akuma attack will begin. (It's also his way of trying to lessen the guilt of subjecting innocents in this- but the guilt still hits hard).

Using the broken brooch alongside the overwhelming power from Null drains Gabriel very easily, causing him to grow gradually weaker the more he uses the miraculous.

As akuma attacks begin, Bridgette and Felix are in unfamiliar territory that even their mentors are unsure about.

Tikki teaches Bridgette how to purify akumas, and the more enemies they fight, the more Tikki notices similarities in their powers and mannerisms to that of old fae friends that she had known in eras past. Tikki concludes that these strange akumas are not just the work of the butterfly miraculous, but Null as well- and that he's the one fusing akumas with the powers and fae he's absorbed. Purifying the akuma causes the faerie's spirit to pass on.

There is no miraculous ladybug cure, but when a faerie's spirit passes on, its energy undos any physical damages the akuma itself caused to the city.

As the attacks seem to get more dangerous, Sabine pleads with her daughter to stop, but Bridgette refuses- knowing that she needs to save the city and be there for her partner.

This routine goes on for months, until an especially dangerous akuma comes into play. This battle lasts two days until Ladybug was able to purify the akuma- but not without a cost.

Felix's legs were badly hurt in the battle, and Bridgette hoped purifying the akuma would heal his wounds but it didn't. He asks her to take him to a specific alleyway, where Scarlet cries and apologizes and Tuxedo promises her they'll be okay. But he says that she has to go or else she'll see who he is, and convinces her to leave. When she's gone, he calls Amelie to pick him up and tells her what happens when she arrives.

When Bridgette comes home, she gives Tikki the earrings and tells the fae to find a more suitable holder. Tikki objects, but Bri is adamant that she has failed and let her partner get hurt. She refuses to take the earrings back, and only begins to cry again when Tikki has flown out the window with the earrings. Marinette comes home to her crying, and listens to what happened, and sits with Bri through the night.

Tikki, unsure of where to go and reluctant to leave the only family she's known for centuries, hides in the cluttered attic and ponders what to do.

Felix is hospitalized and is told that he is paralyzed in both of his legs from the injury. Realizing he can no longer be Chat Noir, Felix gives the ring to Adrien hours later when he comes to visit and asks him if he'd take on the responsibility- or at the very least return the ring back to Amelie at a later date if Adrien chooses not to. His young cousin talks with him and finally decides to keep the ring, introducing himself to Plagg and letting Felix and the faerie say a proper goodbye before he leaves.

When Gabriel learns of Felix's injury that is too close to Chat Noir's injury, he puts the two together and falls into a bad state. Refusing to send out more akumas because of what he's done to hurt his nephew, Gabriel calls off the deal with Null, telling him to release Nooroo and find another to do his bidding. But Null refuses.

From using the broken miraculous, Null's power, and emotional grief, Gabriel is extremely vulnerable. Using this as an opportunity, Null uses the powers of multiple faeries and takes control of Gabriel's body.

Null visits Felix in the hospital, looking out for the ring but sees nothing. Felix quickly suspects something is wrong with his uncle and calls Amelie when Null leaves.

Amelie, who is with Adrien at this time since he came right to her after his visit to Felix to see Amelie as his mentor, hangs up the call and asks her nephew if Gabriel has been acting differently recently. Adrien tells her about how he's been really tired, but he's always tried to spend time with him when he could like usual so he'd just been chalking it up to work.

Amelie knows there's more they don't know, but until they know exactly what- advises Adrien to be careful. Knowing well how to hide things from her own ex kingpin father growing up, she gives him pointers on how to hide Plagg and the ring well and sneak around. With promises to visit often and do his best, Adrien goes home, leaving Amelie worried for all members of her family.

Previous: SABINE: MINI MENACE ERA

Next: MARINETTE: LADY LUCK ERA

[orangedodge]

Okay, another few questions:

1, how old were the original five X-Men at their introduction? 2, how old were they (OG team) when Banshee and the other "new X-Men" joined Cyclops in stopping Krakoa? And 3, how old were the original five when M-Day happened?

Sorry, these are details I just want to know for myself. Hope you don't mind the questioning, and keep up the good work!

According to [Uncanny] X-Men #1, Bobby Drake was sixteen when the team made its public debut. Furthermore he describes himself as a "couple" of years younger than his friends. We also know that Hank is somewhat older than Scott, Warren, and Jean. So, the short answer to your first question is: Bobby is 16, Warren, Scott, and Jean are 18, and Hank is probably 18 or 19.

It's not specifically clear whether Bobby is literally two years younger, or if "couple" is being used in a more figurative sense. I think it's safe to take at face value though, given that he is clearly presented as a member of their age cohort (along with Lorna and Alex); is meant to be reasonably close to the same age as Peter Parker and Johnny Storm (who should also be in the same general range as the original X-Men, as they were all teenagers at the same time); and lastly when Claremont revived the X-Men publication years later, Bobby was depicted as now comfortably a young adult, finishing up his accounting degree, at the same time that Jean was dealing with her first job drama, and Warren was off with the family business.

I also think it's safe to guess Hank is no more than a year older than the others. He's treated as a peer of his teammates rather than as a helper to the Professor, and seems comfortable as a member of the group even outside of X-Men training. Hank's more advanced academic pursuits with respect to his teammates are also shown to be a product of his intelligence and not simply him being in a more senior class, which I think furthermore point to him being loosely their age.

Later authors have occasionally given different ages to the first team, or at least to Scott. Bendis, who wrote them for the longest, identifies the younger Scott as sixteen when he first comes face to face with his modern counterpart (Uncanny X-Men volume 3 no. 12). In Matt Fraction's inexplicably titled Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus, Scott gives a televised speech in which he claims to have joined the X-Men at age 15. And in Stuart Moore's X-Men Origins Cyclops, Scott is shown to have first met Charles when he was 17 (which works), but he also dates X-Men #1 as taking place when Scott was 21 (which contradicts every other version of the story).

I think it makes the most sense to just go with the original story, and take 18 as the team's median age. I think you could also just as well argue that the 15-17 number isn't in contradiction per se, but only reflects Scott's age when Charles started training him, or even when he first became Cyclops, and not his age in X-Men #1 when Jean joined the team and they confronted Magneto for the first time.

I know some fans also feel that the Bendis' run discounts the possibility that they're in their late teens, because he writes them so young, but I think that's kind of ridiculous. Bendis writes everyone like that, and in any case people are basically the same at 14 as they are at 34, so how much more mature does anyone get from 16 to 18, really?

I think having them remain (mostly) at 18+ is the most plausible reading of the original run, and the most consistent with their general dislike of Charles recruiting actual child soldiers in later classes, and as well with Marvel's editorial policy that the X-Men have existed for ten years in-universe in perpetuity and are now just shy of 30.

Second question: Their ages later on, when the All-New, All-Different team first formed aren't given directly, but they're easy to work out.

So, at time of first death, Jean was 24ish depending on when her birthday falls in the year. Scott and Warren are the same age, Bobby is two years younger, and Hank is probably around 1 year older.

How much time passes between Jean's introduction to Storm, Thunderbird, Wolverine, Banshee, etc and her death isn't specified, and during his first run, Claremont tried to maintain a pretense of everything occurring in real time, but already it had started to become untenable and can't be trusted.

At the time of Jean's death, the core Claremont trio of Storm, Wolverine, and Nightcrawler are still very early in getting to know each other as people, despite spending a lot of time together on page. So I think it's very likely that only a few months have passed between the new recruits joining the team and when Jean died and the remaining original X-Men make their departure. So I would just treat the Dark Phoenix Saga as taking place in the same year as the first mission to Krakoa, with Jean/Scott/Warren remaining 24 throughout.

Third question: To get to their ages at M-Day, I need to do something cataclysmically stupid. Something that I always tell everyone to never do when talking about the X-Men: I have to talk about how old Kitty Pryde was. She who has had three separate, non consecutive, fifteenth birthdays; and she who, famously, began the 1990s three years older than Jubilee, but still managed to end the decade two years younger than her. But, for once, bringing her into things is going to make everything else make more sense.

In X-Treme X-Men we're told directly that Kitty joined the X-Men five years ago. This is useful to know, because she joined the team on the exact same day that Jean died, so it has also been 5 years since that happened. X-Treme X-Men takes place at the same time as New Mutants volume 2, later to be relaunched as New X-Men: Academy X, which documents the first academic year of the Xavier School post its outing as a mutant boarding school. The two books ran parallel to one another and reference the same events in the lives of the original New Mutants.

Academy X concludes during the House of M crossover itself, and with the depiction of the typical US/Canadian school dances, and the inclusion of a year book issue, I think it's reasonable to conclude that the entire Academy X era takes place over about one full school year. So adding that together, M-Day should fall around 6 years after Jean's first death, making her, Scott, and Warren around 29-30, Hank 30-31, and Bobby 27-28.

If you want corroboration while also having the chance to experience a desperate urge to kick something, here's a cropped out section of the House of X/Powers of X timeline.

My version has a type mistake, where years 49 and 50 were incorrectly reversed. Genosha should be year 50, and Moira's "death" at 49. (IIRC later print editions fixed this) M-Day and Decimation would happen in year 51. The Year 47 event references the storyline beginning in Jim Lee's X-Men #1, and so the formation of the Claremont X-Men would likely be in Year 45 or 46. Scott and co being 30ish at Year 52, and working backwards...It actually all kind of lines up?

Which I hate! I hate that it works. It forces you to accept that everything after M-Day occurs over the course of just one single year. And it's so annoying that it's actually kind of possible, when you remember how much everyone loved decompressed storytelling in those days, and subsequently how almost nothing actually happened for a decade and a half of comics. But still! That's so ridiculous! Why do they do this!

Hope that helps! Thanks for the ask.

[thesoleilla]

okay this is a long and specific request (sry just a random thought)

Dazai X Reader (with teleportation ability)

background story

Y/N (16 at the time) was a half time worker at the ada but was very often at the PM (btw she didnt tell that they worked in the ada) because she was Chuuyas younger sibling (only by one year) and looked at Koyo like a older sister. she was the one that trained Gins assation skills. She was also kinda close to Dazai, and was bestfriends with Yosano. But since she was 16 she had to go somewhere to study, so she decided to study somewhere in Europe to study coding or something and got in. But while she was there she needed a job so she went around and looked for a job and she found a good paying job but ofc it was a trap that was setup by Nikolai cuz he just wanted to. But somehow she was able to become Nikolai`s student and Sigmas bestfriend. She did finish studying and all that before becoming a DOA member. Years later (21 years old now) went back to Yokoami because Fyvodor was able to get arested. She finally got to catch up with everyone both from the pm and ada (but left out that she joined the DOA) Even though she was with everyone she was alot with Dazai, so Yosano and some other ADA memebers gets curios over this and the do some thing random you decide.

the plot and the request

the reader wants to quit the DOA but feels bad about it beacause she has been with them for a long time so its hard for her (but ends up leavinf before the end)

Dazai x reader

pls no NSFW or smut

chuuya finds out about dazai and reader

looks : 155 cm, Ginger with a white streak of hair, no specific e/c, loves baggy clothes but dosent wear all the time

personality : kinda like Oda but a bit more expressive and lower chanse to get angry than Chuuya but close, loves Cheese chocolate and cats. Dislikes killing for fun, rats (fyvodor PTSD) and creepy people (cough* cough* Mori cough* cough*)

the rest is up to you

its ok if you dont want to do this :) hope you have a wonderful day/night

Dazai x F!reader: falling between stools

A/N:Thanks for the request lovely anon! Sorry for how long it has been sitting in my askbox lol- but now that my break is ended I finally wrote it! I hope you'll like it anyways!

Masterlist

You felt like you were constantly falling between two stools - No, three stools now. You knew this couldn't last. You had to make a choice. But your friends were as scattered around the board of enemy organizations as could be! You couldn't bare leaving even one of them... yet you had to make the choice. The weight of that burning pile of lies wasn't bareable anymore.

You had to leave at least one. Of course, you were going to keep some kind of connection with the PM due to being Chuuya's little sister; but you could manage having connections from the PM all while being in another organization; so the only question would be which?

Which friends were more precious? Those from the ADA or from the DOA? You couldn't just rank them like that! It was ...inhumane! Yet... it was the logical solution. And it's not like being inhumane was a new thing for you, sadly. You had been in the Agency for the longest time. It was time to send your farewells to the DOA.

And there you were, thinking about all of that in the ADA's office. Thankfully, everyone had gone home long ago so no one could witness the mess your face was making as you kept debating with yourself on who to betray. Yet, it was better not to take that risk so you headed home-

"Boo!" There he was. Of course Dazai had to be standing just next to the door, in front of a window from where you were pretty sure he could've seen everything.

"Uhm... good evening?" You awkwardly laughed, hoping he wouldn't question what he, let's be honest, probably witnessed.

"Why are you still here? I thought such a lovely lady would be home by now, bella!" Dazai playfully said, but you knew he had noticed everything. He knew what was up. Yet, he acted like he genuinely had no idea. What was he doing?

"Let me return the question. Why are you standing in front of the agency this late?" You tried to play it cool. I'm not gonna say it worked, I'm trying to do my job as a reliable narrator here, I don't wanna get fired...

"Avoiding the question I see..."

"NO! I just fell asleep working! Not that you'd be able to relate to that." You were trying sooo hard to make his mind wander off somewhere else. Not that it worked though Will I get fired if I'm too mean or too dishonest? This job is so hard I'm quitting goodbye I don't wanna be a narrator anymore I'm traumatized the author is torturing me I'm stuck in their attic please help

"How dare you try and mock me! I thought we were close! How could you!" He dramatically gasped and acted, but you knew it was nothing serious, and this banter made you cheer up a bit.

"But seriously, what were you up to? Let me guess, did you find yourself in yet another enemy organization while you were away?"

Right on point. As always. But afterall, he was the only one who already knew about both your ties to the PM and to the ADA, due to his own ties, so...he'd understand your situation more than anyone.

"Your guesses are too close to reality sometimes. Scary. I like it." You laughed as you said this, trying to keep a straight face. God this was supposed to be a serious moment! Author don't bring out the chainsaw please I swear it's not my fault!I'm a good narrator! Yet... you couldn't help but feel good in his presence, changing your normal behaviours... you weren't supposed to laugh at times like this! And this is going to get me killed ahhhhh

"Anyways, I wouldn't let a lady go home alone this late!" He said, as he confidently took your hand in order to lead you out of the Agency's building. And lead you out he did as he was running through that building.

You felt warmth spread all around your cheeks as he did that, your brain soon overwhelmed from the heat rushing so close to it. "Don't pass out Y/N, Do NOT pass out", you kept on repeating to yourself.

"Would you mind letting me accept your proposition before making me run through the halls?" You managed to let out between your needed gasps for air. Fresh air... how nice it must be to have that...can't relate this basement doesn't really have fresh air

"And would you mind being honest with us? Or at least with me?

Uh oh. Honesty certainly wasnt your forte, especially considering you were a port mafia executive's little sister, yet most of your coworkers were unaware of it. But...Dazai knew almost all of these secrets already. Would it hurt if he knew just one more?

And so... you told him. Everything , from all the organizations, to the atrocities they made you witness. As you were both walking towards who knew were, you shared everything, something which you had never been able to do.

You knew that realistically, this wasn't safe, not in the slightest. Yet... yet it felt safe, talking about it with him, right here, right now.

And...he wasn't even answering. But the strangest thing was that it didn't bother you in the slightest. It felt as if you were just writing in your diary... except it wouldn't leave any trace. Which you were quite scared of, considering your past in ennemy organization.

Except of course...Dazai's memory. You thought this would scar him forever, but considering who he was... he had probably seen way worse. Which only made you feel even more comfortable in his presence.

Progressively, the buildings you were passing by got more and more familiar. But you were so focused on your talking, that you let him lead the way to wherever you were going.

Until...you finally noticed it...he was leading you... to yours and Chuuya's meeting point! At which you were supposed to see him 20 minutes ago. Oh your brother was going to be pissed by how late you were... especially when he'll see who brought you here. Maybe you'll start to understand what my life's like as a poor narrator;;

"Y/N! You're twenty whole fucking minutes late! What the fuck were you doing?"Chuuya yelled at you from across the street right when he heard your voice. That was until he saw you... And the man you were with.

"And...What the heck is this mackerel doing here with you?!" Dazai was grinning ear to ear when you finally noticed what his plans were. Which really wasn't a pleasant realization.

"Well Chibi, I'll have you know that if it weren't for me, your poor defenseless little sister would have went home alone, in this dark of a night! She could have gotten kidnapped!" He put his hand on his heart, taking a dramatic tone, which your brother certainly didn't like.

"You know she could have just...teleported away, right?" Chuuya laughed, pointing at Dazai jokingly.

"But if she did that, could I have done this?" Dazai grinned as he suddenly kissed you, making Chuuya run across the street to throw his fist at him.

Well this was going to be one hell of an explaination to make, and you weren't looking forward to it

A/N: Thank you for reading! I'm so sorry this is almost a whole year late, but I'm finally doing my damn requests now! Sorry for the wait!

[much-obliged-timothy]

Whumptober #16

Day 16 - The Old Guard - "Don't go where I can't follow"

I'm late posting this but I am once again torturing my favs, enjoy

*

The gunfire was loud, echoing around the building as they fled through the thick smoke. They clutched hands as they ran so they wouldn’t be separated, Nile leading as she was the only one confidant she remembered where an exit was.

Joe felt Nicky violently squeeze his hand as more gunfire went off, likely having been shot. Still, he held on, so he was alive. That was all they could hope for right now. 

He and Nicky had taken up the rear to take any stray or lucky shots to protect Andy. The pain was worth it if it meant keeping Andy safe now that her immortality was gone. 

Her hand was clutching Joe’s other one, a strong, steady grip. He took comfort in that. This mission had gone sideways so damn fast that it’d be a miracle if they all made it out of here.

But then, through the suffocating smoke and blazing heat, Joe felt a sudden gush of fresh, cold air. He sucked it in too fast, coughing hard. Andy yanked on his hand, dragging him out of the burning building into the night.

“The car is this way!” Nile called, the four of them still holding onto each other as she led the way. Joe was grateful for it; his eyes were burning and the tears made it hard to see clearly. 

Nile led them around the side of the building to where they’d hidden their car when they arrived. Something crashed behind them as the building’s foundation finally began to catastrophically fail. Anyone who didn’t get out in the next minute or two would never get out. 

Nile unlocked the car and jumped into the driver’s seat. Andy finally released Joe’s hand to get into the passenger seat, so Joe grabbed the back door and pulled Nicky in next to him.

Nile gunned it out of there, tires squealing loudly. They were jerked back against their seats as they tore away from the doomed building.

“That was a shitshow,” Nile said once the burning building was a fair distance away in the rearview mirror.

Joe found himself laughing, just a little first. But then the relief that they’d made it out caused his laughter to grow, and soon, Nile and Andy joined in, and their laughter filled the car.

Nicky’s cough cut through the laughter like a knife.

Joe’s whole body tensed, because he’d heard Nicky cough up blood before. But it had been long enough; he should’ve healed from any injuries. 

His eyes shot to Nicky, who had pressed a hand to his mouth and hunched over. His shoulders trembled, and he raised his free hand to try to signal he was okay.

“Nicky,” Joe said, putting his hand on Nicky’s back. 

“Fine,” Nicky gasped. He tried to straighten up, only to moan and hunch over again, clutching his stomach. 

Joe gently pulled Nicky’s hands away, his blood going cold. Blood continued to seep through Nicky’s shirt, where a bullet had torn its way through cloth and skin.

“He’s not healing,” Joe said, his voice numb. His own words penetrated his ears, and his voice grew higher-pitched, more frantic. “Andy, he’s not healing!” 

“Pull over,” Andy snapped, even as Nile was already guiding the car onto the shoulder of the road. Andy got out before it was fully parked.

She came around to the back, crawling in next to Nicky and pulling his hands away to look at the wound. She took her jacket off and handed it to Nicky, who bit his lip to hold back a whimper as he used it to put pressure on his wound.

“Did the bullet go out?” she asked.

“No,” Nicky wheezed. 

“He’s not healing,” Joe whispered. “Why isn’t he healing?”

“Joe,” Nicky said, pressing his head into Joe’s shoulder. “Joe, I’m sorry. I healed when the fight started. I’m sorry.”

Joe kissed Nicky’s hair, putting his hand on the back of Nicky’s neck to hold him close. “No, no. Don’t be sorry. We’ll fix this, Nicky. We will.” 

Nicky shook his head weakly, coughing up more blood. “I’m trying, Joe. But it’s…”

“No,” Joe practically begged, lifting Nicky’s head so he could press their foreheads together as tears gathered in his eyes. “No, Nicky. Don’t go where I can’t follow, my love. Please.” He lifted his head to look at Andy, knowing it wasn’t fair to put this pressure on her, but needing this situation to be fixed. “Help him, Andy!”

She was trying, helping Nicky hold the jacket to his wound. She smoothed Nicky’s hair back as he coughed up blood again.

“Joe,” she said, her voice breaking as she shook her head. “Oh, Nicky.”

“You have them. You will not be alone,” Nicky said, grasping at Joe’s hand. “Yusuf, my Yusuf. I am so sorry.” 

Joe just held Nicky close, kissing his head over and over, rubbing his back, trying to offer him any comfort he possibly could. Trying to make sure Nicky felt safe and loved. 

When Nicky grew heavy in his arms, he held him closer, pressing one hand to Nicky’s chest to wait for his heart to beat again, just like it always did. They sat in the car for so long that time ceased to have meaning for Joe. He blocked out the soft cries of Andy and Nile, because if he let them in, he let in reality.

And he would not do that. Nicky would not go somewhere Joe could not follow. He would not leave Joe alone.

Joe held his love in his arms and waited for the world to bring him back where he belonged.