#i *could* very easily turn them all into OCs. but i'll only do that if big issues happen to me

[slumbergoblin]

I suddenly got obsessed with the idea that Stratos did baseball in high school

[roosterforme]

Covering the Classics Part 8 | Bob Floyd x OC

Summary: Now that Anna knows what Bob's hands feel like when he's holding her close, she doesn't know how to stop herself from going back for more. But she's unwilling to even humor Bob when it comes to what he wants the most.

Warnings: Fluff, angst, adult language, masturbation, eventually 18+

Length: 5300 words

Pairing: Robert "Bob" Floyd x Female OC (this story is part of the Beer Boy/Sugar and Jake/Jessica universe)

Covering the Classics masterlist. Check my masterlist for more!

"I'm waiting for you to thank me."

Bob looked up to see Nat in front of him with a little smirk painted on her lips. He'd been spending the last twenty minutes trying to act normal, something he forgot how to do after Anna kissed him in the kitchen. Because it wasn't just a kiss, it was everything. It felt like she really wanted him.

"Thank you for what?" he asked cautiously.

Nat laughed heartily like he'd just told a very amusing joke. "For pushing you and Anna together. Bradley told me the situation, and that woman was��jealous of me touching you. Her face was all pinched, and her lips were pressed into a tight line. Jealous. She wants you. And my god, she's hot. What the fuck do they do at San Diego State? Only interview you if you've got your PhD and a modeling contract?"

Bob knew he was blushing, and he was happy she wasn't calling him out on it. His friends were all talking about him and Anna behind his back at this point, trying to figure out what was going on. "We kind of just made out in the kitchen," he muttered, glancing across the yard at Anna who was talking to Jess and still holding the can of ginger ale he gave her.

"Yes!" Nat said with absolutely no subtlety, slapping Bob's shoulder. "Oh fuck, the two of you will have the cutest kids! Freckles and strawberry blonde hair!"

He had to close his eyes against the idea of it, willing the flush in his cheeks to subside. When he opened them again, Anna was looking right at him. Her gaze was a little unsure, and he was starting to get afraid she wouldn't let him drive her home later. But he wanted to walk her up to her door. He had been thinking about it since the very first time he drove her home.

"It's not like we're together or anything," he muttered.

"Yet," Nat told him, looking so certain. "Not yet."

It was getting late, the sun dipping lower in the sky. The temperatures would start cooling down once it was dark, and Anna was only wearing shorts. Bob's eyes easily found those freckles on her thighs once again. Her skin looked so damn soft. He wondered if he would feel goosebumps beneath his fingers if he traced that pretty pattern, gently connecting her freckles with an imaginary line. He had to swallow hard as she started heading his way.

Nat squeezed his wrist and muttered something about work, and then she vanished into the house. With Anna standing right in front of him, Bob wished he could just lean in and kiss her the way Jake always did with Jess, and the way Bradley always did with his wife. He wanted it. With Anna.

"I'm getting a little chilly," she told him. "I guess I overestimated how warm autumn was going to be in San Diego. It's still better than New Jersey though." She was talking to him like she hadn't been rubbing the front of those little shorts against the fly of his jeans barely an hour ago, and now he was sweating.

"You should wear jeans next time," he replied before realizing how stupid he sounded. "Not that you should be covering your legs or anything like that! You have very nice legs. Nice freckles? I just don't want you to be cold."

He cradled his forehead in his hand while Anna laughed softly. "I'll wear jeans next time. Do you think you could give me a ride home soon?"

"Sure," he promised immediately. "Absolutely."

"Great." Then she turned, and Bob heard her saying goodbye to Jessica. Why was he so awkward? Why was that exchange so weird? How was he supposed to make Anna want to kiss him again when he could barely string two normal sentences together?

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

Anna was trying to make a quick getaway, craving another few minutes alone with Bob. His truck was cozy, and she knew it would feel warm. His voice was sexy, and so was the way he moved. She wanted to kiss him again, even though she knew it was a terrible idea.

"Take some leftovers!"

"No, I'm fine," Anna told the hosts as Bradley tried to talk her into taking some of the extra burgers home. "But thank you." She was terrified that Jess may have said something about how sad Anna's lunches were; she had been doing her best to hide her current financial state from her friends, but she must have slipped up somehow.

"Well, will you come over for dinner one night? I love cooking for Sugar, but I always end up making way too much food."

Anna looked down at her feet. "Sure. I could do that. Jake invited me over there, too. I know he always cooks for Jess."

"Okay," Bradley said, his voice a little rough and his face annoyed when Anna looked up. "I'm a lot better at cooking than Jake is, first of all. Second of all, why don't you have dinner at his lame ass condo, and then let me know what he cooked. Then I'll cook a much better version of it for you and Sugar one night."

She was trying not to laugh; she knew they were competitive, but she didn't know it was quite this bad. "That sounds great, Bradley. Thanks for inviting me over today."

He just waved her off. "You're always welcome. You're one of us." He said it so casually before he started scraping the grill and cleaning it up, Anna just stared at the pattern of his tie dye shirt for a few seconds. He considered her part of this group now? This ridiculously cool friend group? If she thought about it for too long, she knew she would start crying. 

"Thanks," she whispered, turning and running directly into Bob's solid chest.

When she looked up at him as her fingers grazed along his shirt, he asked, "You ready to head out?"

"Yeah." Anna felt the slight pressure of Bob's hand at her lower back, guiding her toward the door.

"After you," he said softly. 

Anna had to walk inside the house and past Natasha, who she had clearly embarrassed herself in front of before. But the brunette just waved goodbye like she was completely unfazed by the events from earlier. Like it was totally normal for Bob and Anna to be together, heading out front to his truck as the setting sunset turned the sky orange.

Bob pulled the door open and helped her into his truck, and Anna thought maybe it was okay for this to be normal? To get a ride home from Bob after kissing him in her friend's kitchen? To have a painfully unrelenting crush on him that made her feel like perhaps love was a choice that you made for yourself? 

She watched him walk around the font of the truck, his glasses catching the last rays of sunlight as the streetlights started to warm up. He was beautiful. He climbed into the truck gracefully and looked at her bashfully. She was the reason he wasn't more confident right now; she knew it, and she was annoyed with herself for it.

He cleared his throat quietly and said, "Before I forget, I have your copy of Papillon." Then he reached for the glovebox, his knuckles brushing her bare knee. "Sorry," he whispered, pulling his hand away immediately.

Anna's heart was in her throat. How was she supposed to tell him that she liked it when he touched her, even by accident. He reached for the glovebox again, this time making sure his movements kept him clear of her leg. "It's okay," she told him, breathing deep. "I didn't mind it."

The only answer she got was Bob carefully handing her worn out book back to her. There was another little note folded up inside which made her remember she never read the one that was in Wuthering Heights before she left it in her office at work. He started the engine. The drive back to her place was too long, and too short at the same time. She was surprised to find that he was heading in the right direction without a reminder about her address. As the sky darkened, Anna tried to listen to the music playing on the radio, but all she could really hear was the sound of her own heart pounding. 

When Bob parked the truck in front of her building, she watched him squeeze the steering wheel with both hands while he stared out the windshield. "Anna...when you say you didn't mind it when I touched you...what does that mean? And what happened back at the cookout? Am I allowed to kiss you now? Or am I supposed to just figure out how to get over you?"

She fumbled with her seatbelt, heart thundering at the sound of his unsure voice. She wanted to ask him why he even liked her, because she had literally nothing to offer someone like Bob Floyd. But instead she said, "I meant I like it when you touch me. Even if it's by accident."

He turned to look at her, and when he saw she was crawling across the seat, his eyes went wide, and his hands slid from the steering wheel. "Anna." He inhaled a sharp breath when she planted one hand between his thighs, brushing his jeans with her fingers. She couldn't stand him thinking she didn't want him for another second. He was all she wanted. Somehow moving to San Diego got her some actual friends and a job she liked, and now a decent man with only green flags was into her, and she just couldn't make him think she felt otherwise. Even if they couldn't be together.

Bob's hands were planted on the seat at his sides, and he wasn't moving an inch as Anna straddled his legs. It was dark out, but she could see his gaze dip down to her cleavage before he met her eyes. When he spoke, his voice was deep with need. "Is it okay if I touch you now?"

"Please."

Anna's little cry of delight echoed through the cab of the truck as soon as Bob's hands settled on her bare thighs. His touch was light yet intentional, and it just left her wanting more. He was running his thumb along the frayed edge of her denim shorts, teasing her as he whispered, "I want to kiss you."

She didn't answer. Instead she reached for him, letting her fingers sink into his silky hair, leaning closer until her lips met his again. The kisses in the kitchen had been a little frantic, forcing her to get over the fact that Bob didn't want Natasha. He wanted Anna. But this was something different. Languid and slow. Needy yet decisive. She wanted to touch the rough stubble of his cheek, so she did. She wanted to feel his bottom lip tugged gently between hers, so she did. Then she parted her lips and tasted him.

The scrape of her nails along his jaw had his fingers sliding up inside the bottom of her shorts, and she wished she wasn't wearing them at all. She wanted to know the feel of his hands everywhere. "Anna," he murmured against her lips. She tugged on his hair and kissed him a little rougher, but she gasped and gave up control as soon as his big hands found their way over her shorts to her hips and yanked her snug against him. There was no more polite distance. No more breathing room. Just his hard body pressed to her soft one.

Bob's glasses were cool against her cheek, keeping her grounded as his fingers met the skin of her lower back while he tasted her tongue. His touch tickled her, and she rolled her hips forward, earning a grunt of pleasure from him. "Please," Anna whined, like it was the only word she even knew. Then her mouth was back on his. Bob's fingers traveled an inch higher, and she ground against him, but this time he broke the kiss.

When he tipped his head back, he looked bashful in the glow from the streetlights. She could feel him. He was getting hard for her, and it was delicious. Her brain supplied every suggestive line of poetry it had ever absorbed in her lifetime, and all she wanted was to make him get harder. 

She was ready to start unzipping his jeans when he eased his hands away from her body and whispered, "Will you let me walk you to your door? I've been wanting to do that for weeks."

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

It was slow going, trying to get to Anna's apartment door. They kept stopping to kiss, even going so far as to end up with her body pinned between his and the wall in the stairwell. Her soft laughter as he kissed the side of her neck echoed through the enclosed space, and then she said his name.

"Bob."

Actually, it was more like a whine, and it reverberated off of the walls beautifully. "Yes, Anna?" he whispered, letting her lace their fingers together. He wanted to do this all the time. He wanted to be her boyfriend. 

She just made a strangled sound as he kissed as many of her freckles as he could get his lips on before pulling her away from the wall. Then they finally made it upstairs to her door. If she invited him inside, he wasn't sure what she would expect. As much as he was ready to skip all of the pleasantries, he knew he needed to do this just right.

"Oh," she whispered, seemingly to herself as she unlocked her door. But she didn't turn the knob as she looked back at him over her shoulder. Her pretty brown eyes flashed with concern, so he took a step away, but then she just looked sad. 

"Everything okay?" he asked. She nodded. "Will I get to see you this week? I'd love to buy you a ginger ale at the Hard Deck. Or Chippy's."

She bit her lip before abandoning the door and wrapping her arms around his neck. She was all rough kisses on her tiptoes, and Bob was ready to turn the knob, head inside and deal with the consequences later. But she ran her tongue along his bottom lip before pulling away from him just as quickly. "I need to...I'll see you later, Bob."

In a flash, she squeezed herself in through the smallest gap imaginable, and then she gently closed her apartment door behind her. Bob stood there for a minute, his cock still half hard in his jeans as he stared at the spot where Anna had just been standing. She was giving him whiplash at this point, but maybe he sort of liked that kind of thing.

He quickly adjusted himself in his jeans before heading back downstairs and out into the cool night. He was going to have to ask Jake or Bradley how long he needed to wait before asking Anna out. They would know what to do. And he had Nat back now as well. He had enough resources that he would figure it out.

But the next day after work, they all seemed to make everything more confusing for him. 

"So did you finally fuck her then?" Bradley asked casually as he put deodorant on in the locker room.

"Well, no," Bob muttered. "We just made out for a bit."

"Kids these days," Bradley muttered, shaking his head. "Well, did you at least thank Nat? For coming to your rescue?"

Bob sighed, knowing this man was going to be no help after all. "I already talked to Nat," Bob replied as they walked out of the locker room. 

Of course Natasha was in the hallway and did a double take. "Did I just hear my name? I've been so popular since I got home yesterday." Her smile slipped into a look of excitement. "Did you fuck the redhead?"

Bob cradled his forehead in his hand. "Her name is Anna. And no, because I'm actually trying to date her."

"Why not both?" Nat asked, leading the way out to the parking lot. "Give that girl what she so desperately wants."

Bob was scared Anna was going to pull away again. He hadn't heard from her at all since last night when she disappeared into her apartment. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be texting her or not today. It was like he was living in a choose your own adventure story, but somehow none of the options were correct.

He turned right toward his truck while Bradley and Nat both turned left, but then he realized that Jake had parked next to him and was already in his own truck talking on the phone. Bob tried to sneak past, but Jake put his window down and said, "Jess wants to know what's up with you and Anna."

"Is she on the phone?" Bob asked, tossing his bag into his own truck.

"Hi!" came Jessica's voice through Jake's bluetooth. "What did you do to Anna? She was practically singing when she showed up at lunch today."

Bob immediately scrambled toward Jake's truck and stuck his head in the window. "She was?"

"Yes. And she was having a hard time paying attention. You know how she gets when her head is in the clouds."

Jake met Bob's wide eyed gaze and smiled. "You should go to her office hours," the other man drawled. "That's like a green light for fucking on her desk."

"Hey!" Jessica complained through the phone while Bob grimaced. "Jake, keep your mouth shut about it. But yes, Bob, you should go to her office hours. She'd probably really like that. It shows you're thinking about her."

Well Bob was almost never not thinking about Anna, so maybe it wasn't a bad idea. "Take her some flowers," Jake added. "Seriously, man, she'll be handing you her panties within a minute."

"Hey!" came Jessica's voice again, and this time Bob ducked into his own truck, not wanting to hear any more of that conversation.

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

Monday was a bit of a blur. The first thing Anna did when she got to her office was grab her copy of Wuthering Heights from her shelf. The note she forgot to read from Bob made her smile right away.

This book made me feel like it's okay to be completely caught up in another person to the point where you forget where you are or what you're doing. Also, I'm going to think of you every time I see a dog eared page for the rest of my life.

She whimpered softly. There had been a similar, slightly more intimate note tucked inside Papillon when she checked it last night after she squeezed herself into her depressingly tiny apartment in embarrassment. She would never be able to invite Bob inside for anything. Not for a cup of tea, and not for a sleepover.

After that, Anna spent the entire night on Sunday reading her favorite poems and touching herself. Sky Writing seemed to have fallen in love, based on his new post. That idea wasn't surprising at all. Anna was convinced he was the perfect man, so it was just a matter of time. But the thing that did surprise her was the way he wrote about a certain woman with red hair. Late into the night, she was laying in her tiny bed with her fingers inside the font of her underwear, picturing Bob as she read the words to herself.

It was almost too much. Her lips were still a little bit puffy on Monday from all the making out, and she felt sated if only by her own touch. She knew Bob's beautiful hands would be so much better, and she was still thinking about them when she went to find her friends at lunchtime. 

Tuesday wasn't much better. The only damper was that she hadn't heard a single word from Bob. Nothing. She hadn't texted him either, because what was she supposed to say? Hi, I think I could fall in love with you, but I'm not allowed. Can we still make out? That would be the worst idea in the world.

"She's got her head in the clouds again."

Anna blinked a few times and realized she was sitting by the weird tree with the warm sunlight on her face. Her uneaten sandwich was in her hand, hovering halfway to her mouth, and she had been staring off into the distance. "Sorry," she muttered, finally taking a bite. Her lunch didn't even seem as sad today as she thought about Bob's hands on her thighs. 

"Can you blame her?" Jessica asked. "She kissed Bob."

"Not one bit," the other woman said with a grin, as if Anna wasn't even there. "He's a damn catch. Sweetest man ever."

Anna rolled her eyes and said, "As if you aren't married to the human equivalent of a golden retriever."

"Oh, so she is paying attention," Jessica said with a laugh. "We thought you'd blasted off for planet Bob with no return ticket."

"Your astrophysics jokes are the worst," the other woman said, and Jessica pretended to pout.

"Listen. All I know is that he's a great kisser, and that his hands fit really nicely right here," Anna said pointing to her back and her hips. Both women squealed in delight. "But I can't take things any further with him."

"Why not?" Jessica demanded. "The two of you have been playing this game since you met at the bookstore. And also since you met again at the Hard Deck."

Anna thought about Kevin and all of her money that she'd never see again. She thought about her manuscripts she'd put on hold to work three jobs. She thought about how she'd willingly given up Princeton for him.

"I don't want to drag him down to where I am," she whispered, running her finger along the condensation on her can of ginger ale. "I can't be in a relationship." That's all she wanted to say about Bob and Kevin right now, still too afraid to tell her friends everything. So she cleared her throat and asked, "What's with the cooking rivalry between Bradley and Jake? It's like an episode of Chopped." That seemed to open a very controversial can of worms, but at least the focus shifted away from her personal life.

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

Bob didn't even know what kind of flowers were the right ones to get, and once again, everyone else gave him useless information. 

"I rarely get flowers for Sugar. I usually just grab some good beers on my way to pick her up from school, and that's enough to seal the deal. Then I get to drink the beer I like while my hot wife goes dow-"

"We get the picture, Bradshaw," Jake said loudly. "Bob, just get some cheap flowers and save the money to make her dinner one night."

"Do not get her cheap flowers!" Natasha chimed in. "If the two of you weren't attractive looking," she said, pointing to Bradley and Jake, "Sugar and Jessica would have bailed before they bothered to uncover actual brain cells underneath the pretty hair." Both men looked startled before eventually nodding in agreement. "You need to get good flowers and plan to invite her for dinner. Not one or the other," Nat finished, pounding her fist into her other palm. "No wonder Bob never gets laid when I'm not around to straighten everything out."

"Can we not talk about that?" he mumbled, adjusting his glasses. "And it's not like I just want to...get laid. By just anybody."

"Yeah, yeah," Natasha said, tapping away on her phone. "You're a romantic. Go get her flowers like these ones."

Bob examined her screen when she held it up for him. He memorized the red and orange blooms the best he could, and soon they started to remind him of Anna's hair. "Got it," he told her, turning toward his truck before anyone else could tell him something that may or may not end up being useful. He'd get the flowers and then invite her over. He wasn't as good at cooking as Jake or Bradley, but he'd try anyway. He was mostly out of practice since he didn't have anyone to cook for, really, but they both offered to send him their favorite recipes. 

The florist was nice and listened to him ramble about orange and red flowers for a minute before putting together something that was even prettier than he could have imagined. The sixty dollar price tag shocked him, but it didn't stop him from also grabbing a book from the front window of the shop next door. It was a new one he'd been wanting to read himself, not quite one of the classics that Anna seemed to favor, but he figured she wouldn't have read it yet. He'd let her borrow it and dog ear all the pages up, and then he'd read it and think about her the whole time.

But when he got to the San Diego State University campus, he sat in his truck and stared at the clock on his dashboard. It was 6:32. She had office hours until 7:00, so he really needed to head in there. Doubt was creeping in now, because they left things off at a weird place. He had no idea what Anna really wanted from him, if anything. If she told him no or hesitated today, he was going to have to start sorting out his feelings for her and dismantling them bit by bit.

It was 6:47 by the time he finally made his way through the academic building on his way to Anna's office. Several people turned and looked at him in his khaki uniform with the huge bouquet of flowers in his hand, and this would have been a lot less stressful if Anna was actually his girlfriend and not a woman he thought might never be that. When he reached the hallway that smelled like freshly baked bread, he found her small office right away where it was tucked back from the main walkway. The door was ajar, and he could hear her voice, so he stood there in the hallway a little awkwardly, trying to fight the urge to run back to his truck.

The door opened another inch, and Bob could see Anna's fingers and her burgundy painted nails peeking out as her voice got louder. "Here's a copy of the extra study guide. Don't forget there's a quiz on Monday. If you can ace that, then I think you'll be in better shape for the final. And try not to be too hard on yourself, Hemingway can be a bit of a challenge for anyone."

"Thanks, Dr. Webber."

The door opened all the way, and a young man filed out with a frown on his face, and then Anna was just standing there right in front of Bob. Her hair was in a loose braid, her lips had some sort of purple-ish gloss on them, and she was wearing some snug jeans and an SDSU sweatshirt. "Bob," she breathed, and it sounded like music. Her gaze raked over his uniform and the vibrant flowers before returning to his face, brown eyes more vulnerable than he ever thought they should be.

"Hi, Anna." He couldn't think of anything better to say as she backed up a step into her small office and nodded her head once for him to join her. After two of his long strides, Bob was practically bumping into her desk. Then she closed the door and leaned against it, hands tucked behind her back.

She cleared her throat, but her voice was still soft as she said, "You look nice in your uniform."

"Thanks," he replied automatically. She could have said anything, and he would have thanked her.

"Those are beautiful. Are they for me?" she whispered, eyes falling to the flowers again.

"Of course they are."

Bob watched her eyelashes brush her cheeks as her eyes fluttered closed. "You didn't have to do that. Flowers are so expensive."

"I got you a book, too," he said, sliding it out from behind the bouquet. Her eyes snapped open so she could read the title, and he said, "It's a new release, so I was hoping you didn't preorder it or anything."

Anna's cheeks were growing pinker by the second, making her freckles look more prominent. He was about to ask if she wanted to come over for dinner one night when she launched herself across the three feet of empty space, colliding softly with his body. Bob dropped the flowers and the book onto her desk just as she kissed him, her arms coming up to wrap around his neck.

She kissed him like they did this all the time, and his hands went right to her waist where they fit perfectly. "Thank you," she murmured against his lips. "Nobody ever got me books before you."

The words before you echoed in his brain. He didn't want there to be an after. He wanted this to be the real deal where neither of them had to be in a relationship where they weren't constantly trading books back and forth with someone. 

Anna kissed him until his glasses were crooked, and she raked her fingers through his hair until he was sure it was a mess. And somehow she ended up pushing him back until he was sitting on the edge of her desk with his long legs splayed apart. He knew he was in trouble; he could feel himself slipping already. She let her hands trail down the back of his neck, over his shoulders, and down the front of his shirt. She adjusted all of his pins and touched his name tag along the way as her lips barely brushed his. Her fingers moved so slowly, he thought maybe he could get himself under control, but it was no use. He was hard in his pants, and her exploratory hands weren't stopping.

"Anna."

All that did was make her kiss him harder again.

"Please."

All that did was have her pressing the font of her jeans to his khakis with a little gasp. Maybe the guys had been right about this kind of thing after all. Maybe visiting her during office hours was all it was going to take to get to the next level. Her fingers made it all the way down to his thighs, scraping along just inches from his erection, and Bob was afraid he was going to embarrass himself. He thought about icebergs and refrigerators and the Arctic Circle, but nothing alleviated the aching heat under his skin as Anna licked his lip and almost nudged the tip of his cock.

But then she said the most devastating sentence he could think of. "Bob, I really like you. But we're just friends, okay?" Then she kissed him again like she hadn't spoken something so harsh, and he thought maybe he imagined it. "Just really good friends who make out with each other."

"Fuck," he grunted, trying to get control even as his hands kneaded the bare skin of her lower back. "Anna." He swallowed hard and pulled his mouth away from hers, examining her wide eyes. Her teeth sank into her pouty bottom lip when he said, "I was going to invite you over for dinner later this week."

"As friends?" she whispered, her hands still planted on his thighs. 

Bob nodded like an idiot, because once again, he was going to agree to anything she said right then. "Sure."

She kissed him softly and said, "Okay."

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

But is it okay? Is it really? Next up, let's see how this dinner goes. We might need Nat to fully step in and take care of business again. Also, I love Bradley and Jake in this chapter so so so much! Thanks @beyondthesefourwalls

PART 9

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[styllwaters]

Figured it was time to stop putting it off so here's Kota (his new design, for veterans who remember him). I don't yap about my ocs nearly enough on here so I guess its time to change that

Very basic summary: This guy is a posthuman, the only surviving remnants of humanity in Vivere 44 (I'll make a big updated post for them later). When Earth was destroyed by Genizix the surviving humans were captured and used as test subjects for a digitised consciousness project. They managed to escape in ships, though their physical bodies were no more. Eventually they came across a wormhole and emerged into the Zhagaviit galaxy, where they were given refuge on the Arrow homeplanet of Hanidias.

(Longer backstory under the cut for textwall enjoyers)

EARTH

Kota was a highly successful and well-known astronaut working for Nasa back when earth was still intact. He was driven, determined, a good speaker, and more than prepared to take on any challenge. In his younger years he was a little impulsive and reckless, he liked putting on a show. He strived for the best at all times, and was known for great feats on Earth. He had grown used to the idea of being seen as a prodigy and had high hopes for his future and the future of his daughter. 

Kota pushes himself to the brink at all times, and is not known as someone who gives up easily. During the Genizix-Earth wars, he put himself at the forefront - doing the best he could with others to figure out what to do as Earth was bombarded by the weapons corporation. Though as time went on it became increasingly obvious that Genizix was toying with them and they were doomed from the start. Genizix used the survivors as test subjects for their new project which involved putting consciousnesses into digitized forms, creating the first beta-posthumans.

CAPTURE AND ESCAPE

When Genizix finally reduced Earth to floating space debris humanity was dead meat. Kota and his daughter Elise, who was a computer engineer, sought a way to escape their captors. Together with many other great minds they studied Genizix for months and managed to find a way out of the mothership they were confined to. In the ensuing chaos they lost many, including Elise.

The posthuman survivors escaped in Genizix ships, piloting them through space and trying to get as far as possible from their captors. The loss of Elise broke Kota, who felt responsible for it. This guilt would only grow and intensify as he led the exodus, unsure of where they were even headed. As the de facto 'leader' of the posthuman rebellion he was looked up to and turned into a figurehead of sorts, who shepherded them across the vast nothingness. This responsibility weighed on him like a mountain.

EXODUS

It was a lonely and painful existence, made worse by the fact that many people’s minds couldn’t handle their new digital forms. This is when Entropy began. Biological matter cannot easily be computerised. Many individuals entered what would be termed an Entropic state and ‘malfunctioned’ - they began to mentally deteriorate until there was nothing left of their mind except for snippets; repetition of voice, automatic status notifications placed by Genizix, and ultimately all functions shutting down.

Eventually the deterioration would get to a point where there was nothing but radio silence and the spacecraft would cease to move, lights permanently flickering out. There was nothing that could be done, even as they kept sending distress signals with no response. They were lightyears away from any other civilization that could possibly help them. For a while they were free floating with no direction, dropping off one by one, in the endless vacuum of space. All they could do to keep each other sane was to keep talking to one another.

CONTACT

They traveled for years until they came across a wormhole, and under Kota’s command they entered it with the hope that on the other side there would be salvation. It was an extremely risky and desperate move, but at this point they were willing to try anything. The fleet, which by now was less than half its original population, emerged on the other side into the Zhagaviit galaxy before the wormhole collapsed, alive but with damaged machinery. The first species that made contact with them were the Arrows, and like the other Zhagaviit sophonts they were a civilization recovering from their own war with Genizix.

First Light, an Arrow who was modified by Genizix as a weapon, saved Kota in more ways than one. It took a long time for him to warm up to the Arrows, having the worst possible experience with extraterrestrial first contact. He was guarded, distrustful, and hypervigilant. It took multiple days for him to work up the courage to leave his ship and transfer his consciousness to another medium - the blue c-particles which would house human consciousness from that point on. After gentle coaxing from Light, he began to open up. They shared their experiences, and bonded over them. Seeing Light, who was just as damaged as he was despite their differences - yet still able to smile, and laugh, and hope for a better future, gave him the encouragement to keep going. Kota distracted himself with work, figuring out accommodations for humanity on Hanidias and learning about Arrows. Eventually he and First Light joined the Beacon as ambassadors and diplomats for the Zhagaviit Galactic Community.

[ninjagood4]

Hello, I’m Cookie! I'm a self-taught artist, create content about Ninjago and write the comic “NINJAGO: Future of the Past” ~

YouTube · X · Instagram · Toyhou.se (soon)

You can support my work, it’s help my family and give me the opportunity to develop every day 🫂

Link to PayPal Donate Button or QR-code⭡

Life in Ukraine 🇺🇦 | 19 y.r | She/Her

A little bit about me, my hobbies and the most important thing - OC content!

ABOUT ME

Hmm, well… I'm not a fan of communication because of my closed personality, which has seen a lot addressed to it. But you know, our life is too short to waste it on fears, and so I started to work on myself. I'm also very distrustful and often doubt, I'm learning to adhere to the idea of ​​"measure seven times - cut once" (because sometimes I rush and ruin everything) xD Although I'm really silent and can seem creepy(huh?), if I find a person I trust, then on the contrary, I will not be able to shut my mouth!

I very much love animals, VERY! I would still like to become a vet, but… it will be hard for me to come to terms with the fact that I could not save some cutie (it really hurts), so I don't go too far with it. I'm interested in psychology, love reading articles about the past of the earth, science and all sorts of discoveries, experiments, theories, facts, and other things like that… Well, and also… some memes and strange videos on YouTube that you can laugh at, holding back your laughter while everyone else is asleep ^^

HOBBY

There are actually a lot of them, but they are all related to creativity lol. Simply because it gives the opportunity to create something new and interesting! Well, and I just like handwork lol

Drawing is what I love the most! I did it all my childhood, and it was what I really know how to do. But I prefer to think that can do more than just draw :') I somehow didn't think about art school, since instantly lose interest when I'm taught. It's weird, but that's how it is, lol. So I decided to learn it myself, and focused on Ninjago, because it's my favorite series since ~2013, but I watched it from the very beginning - 2011 (I'm old 💀). In 2018-early 2019, I began to actively study natural drawing, and since 2021 I have been actively managing social networks and learning digital art. It's hard for me to say which style I prefer, I really like to parody TV series animations, including WilFilm, WildBrain and the MonkieKid style! But still, I liked combining my concept with The Lion King style, and I think I'll stop there for FotP :) BUT☝️ I will not stop parodying styles/animations, because it is very interesting (this does not mean that I challenged copyright, no!). Yes yes, I'm capable of more than just Ninjago commiss, if that's what you're talking about; just show me the style of the cartoon and maybe I'll repeat it >:D Oh, and since 2023 I started accepting commissions, and I sincerely hope to develop with their help, to make it my job (and also recently opened donations). We do not live very easily, and I am afraid that at this rate I will have to give up art. The only option is to make it my job (in fact, I am not against such a turn of events) 👉👈

Not many people know about this at all, but I compose music :) These jobs is rarer, because they require a LOT of time, and maybe that's why I think no one pays attention to it. And music is exactly what I studied for. I once dreamed of becoming a composer, because I had a passion for music and loved to compose, but my father (who refused to go to music school as a child)) decided that I would do this. Well, when he sent me for testing, I hoped that they would refuse me and send me away, but they took me. I improved my skills thanks to this, but somehow I lost my passion. Although I still compose music and love it, something has changed… At the same time, it's a shame that I did not live up to my father's expectations, but if I release tracks on YouTube, does this not look like a career as a composer? heh 🤔

In 2019, I tried to make a plush Lloyd (the photos are gone, but I sometimes remake it lol, so they kind of exist), but this was the beginning of crafts! Crafts (handmade) are also rare due to the time of work, but they exist. Because of my love for ecology, it seems to me that this also gives some kind of second chance to things. I prefer to use garbage unnecessary things for this (sometimes it's hard to say what I made this or that thing from, there is ALL), and then I put them in a box and they continue to lie :ʼ) But no, Lloyd does not lie in a box, I put him on a shelf, and later I even made Agatha for him jhvjfjgvjgcvm

Other things like wood carving (sometimes even metal), but that's rare. In short: I love absolutely everything that needs to be created, where you need to work with your hands! I think that's enough.

FANFICTION!!!! I can get so deep into the story that I forget it's non-canon (like what happened with Future of the Past). Wait, let this be canon!

Thanks to my mom, I got into cooking, by the way xD I hated cooking because it always turned out to be something smelly and inedible, but when I learned how to cook pancakes and potato pancakes — the world changed 🤌✨ I want to make a cake "Lloyd" someday. LET ME MAKE THAT CAKE

Hmm, does making stupid memes count?..

OC CONTENT

Briefly about NINJAGO: Future of the Past. I just wanted Lloyd to have a girlfriend

Ahem! I didn't plan to go this far, initially my plans were just to create my own character for fanarts, but everything somehow happened by itself. I really liked Agatha (because I had a lot of unsuccessful attempts), I was even afraid that no one would like her because of the idea itself.

Considering that I love nature and simple things, Agatha is an ordinary rice farmer, who lives in the Valley of Mountain Fires (this is a remote area in the world of Ninjago, and the Monastery of Spinjitzu is part of it!). The ninja did not know where they live hahaha))

So, therefore, Agatha spends all her time in nature, thanks to which she is very agile, fast, can climb to heights and swim. This is ✨Child of Nature✨ ​​

Agatha has a fear of the future (the unknown), longing for the past (since she made many mistakes that cannot be corrected), death and minor fears like a dislike for spiders, hatred of Tuesdays, etc :)

She also behaves freedom-loving and sometimes daring, likes to find fault with what she does not like, speaks directly and can be too rude, but at the same time she is a kind person who will not abandon you in trouble, and is always ready to support. In places she is quite timid, withdrawn, afraid to open up to a person (so Lloyd will have to go through a lot until they become friends).

As for Leo, he was invented in honor of my cat, who had the same name. I took up OCs after the evacuation in 2022 to distract myself, and then I had to leave Leo at home because of the difficult journey, which he might not survive (fortunately, our city was untouched at that time, and relatives looked after the house with Leo). But I missed him very much and thought that I would never see him again, so I made such a pet for Agatha.

And Tiger Bongo... Because they are canon, and a huge tiger thinking he is a cat sounds funny :) My cat began to feel extremely bad, but we returned after 3 months and he was waiting for us, so I managed to spend a few more months with him before he left.

I didn't think about the faction for a long time, I had inspiration for it. I create FotP trying to touch on real events from my life, so the faction became the Bandits on dragons, who are doing what is happening now in my country. They occupy the Valley of Mountain Fires, and the inhabitants (including Agatha) will have to live in such conditions for 16 years. There are many more bandits and their dragons (for which I came up with a new type), so ordinary residents cannot resist. If everything goes against their regime, Agatha's vellage will simply be wiped out, but...

Actually, I would be very happy to tell you more about this, feel free to write me questions! :D

Here I will write briefly: the plot is that Agatha and Leo decide to escape from the valley in search of the Monastery of Spinjitzu, so that "five masters led by green" can help save her home. She know that this would be the beginning of a war, but she had no choice. On the way, she is spotted by the bandit, so after 2 days, when the ninja are flying on the new Destiny's Bounty to the valley, the dragon of the robbers attacks the ship on the way and takes the ninja captive - Kai, Nya and Zane (Jay and Cole get lost in the forest, but later find Agatha's village). Lloyd, Agatha and Leo are not noticed, but given that Lloyd did not accept Agatha from the very beginning/she was afraid of him and very soon hated, they began to have a big conflict. Since the whole team was confused, they had no choice but to work together, and gradually they saw a lot in common (even though Leo doesn't like Lloyd and makes fun of him).

Later, the bandits learn that Lloyd is the green ninja, and use his power to search for the last key to Death (this creature supposedly should help them cross the border of the Monastery and create chaos in the world, but in fact it will destroy everyone). Let's just say Lloyd falls into the hands of a man who skillfully manipulates him. To stop Death, Lloyd and Agatha need to learn the Skill of Yin-Yang, which will lead to the fusion of Jade and Energy (Lloyd and Agatha's powers), because without it, Jade absorbs a huge amount of Energy and causes it to the pain, which can destroy the master of Energy.

Forgot to mention that Lloyd struggles with his Oni side, depression, and traumas throughout the series.

By the way, if you're wondering again why Lloyd is chubby - the events take place after the Crystallized, and then peace comes. Due to the imminent separation from Harumi, he falls into depression, and Wu's death becomes a turning point that awakens the Oni side due to negative emotions. Then part of the family breaks up, the ninja are also going to disperse, but Lloyd forbids them and trains them, because he believes that because of the Oni side, they will have to confront him. At the same time, Lloyd prefers to eat away his depression with food, which has negatively affected him for many years. Anyway, I also briefly told everything here. This boy thought that the ninja would have to fight against him, but he didn't expect that he would have to fight for them.

But then again, I plan to write up to 400 pages for the first season (and I'm already close to the final stage), so there is A LOT of stuff there. Even so, I practically didn't say anything about it 😭 There are some things I'm still keeping quiet about, but... if you're interested in something, just ask! 🙌🫠

DON’T MIND/LOVE AND DISLIKE

Ninjago | Only Dragons Rising (sorry 😭)

Any orientation (every person has the right to their own choice)

Distribution/propaganda (of something in greater quantity)

Any wars/those who in any way approve of it

Acceptance of equals

Racism, sexism, any kind of evil banter

This list needs to be extended…

I have a lot more to write, but let's finish this and start watching the shit I publish?) ~really, because I use a translator and I can't imagine how "beautiful" it sounds~ Hope you have fun!

Thanks to everyone who read to the end

:3 ♡

and please I would be truly grateful for donations and commissions as it really help. You can distribute the image with the QR-code it can also help. Ty :)

[ninjago-oc-appreciation]

Ninjago Oc Secret Santa 2023

What is a Secret Santa? - A Secret Santa is a gift giving event; you'll be assigned someone to secretly make a gift for, and someone will make a gift for you. - It's very important that no one knows that you are making them a gift and vice versa, that you don’t know who is making you a gift! - This event is a writing and art event! Are there any rules? - Absolutely no N/S/F/W or Suggestive content is permitted for prompts, gifts, or references. This is /not/ an 18+ event. - No direct contact with the person you're making a gift for; you can communicate through me or someone helping run the event, or ask through anon on tumblr if you can. - No AI art/writing, Gacha edits, face claims, picrews, or bases will be permitted for oc reference submissions or gifts. - Oc x Canon and Oc x Oc ships are 100% allowed. - Fankids, sonas, and self inserts are also allowed; my only rule is that fankids of Lloyd x Canon ships are not permitted. - Please respect requests regarding holiday or seasonal preferences when making a gift. Don't depict an oc participating in a holiday or seasonal activity that the creator asked not be depicted. How many ocs can be submitted total? - At least one oc is required, but up to three can be submitted ^^ What will I need for sign ups? - Refs or art that show a clear, colored depiction of your oc. - OR at least two pieces of writing for said oc (does not need to be a whole fic. Could easily just be a quick blurb showing how they’re written as a character) - Basic Information/Fun Facts about your character. This can be background information, relationships, likes/dislikes, age and height, personality, etc. - Suggestions or prompts for your gift giver. Stuff to help get their brain going. - Your blog name (not the name you go by online but the url name. Like @/Ninjago-Oc-Appreciation. Make sure it's a tumblr url, and not from any other social media) What's the general timeline for this event? - Sign ups will officially begin near the end of October, around the week of Halloween. - Assignments will be within the first couple of weeks of November. - You will have until December 23rd to January 7th to finish your piece. These will be the designated posting days. - January 8th to 14th will be the designated late week. How do I sign up? - In Late October, I'll post a google form where you can submit your oc(s)! There will be one for writing and one for art! - Please reach out to me in someway after signing up. This can be through messages, asks, comments, etc. In the past we've had issues with the forms, where they'd "eat' a submission, and I'd like to know when to check to make sure this doesn't happen again. Additional Notes: - The forms won't collect your email, I turn off any settings that will to ensure privacy. If they are requiring you to sign in, tell me so I can look into why. - This year I am joined by @totally-not-into-drama! They have offered to help with assignments, so expect to get a message from either me or them when the time comes! - We'll be using #NOSS2023 and #SecretNinja2023 as tags for this event! That's all! If you have any questions feel free to let me know, I tried to cover everything but I may have missed something!

[eff-plays]

A personal rant about BG3, Larian, and writing fanfic

So let me preface this by saying that I'm weird. I'm a weirdo. I don't fit in. Have you ever seen me without this stupid hat on?

I am not really a fanfiction writer, which is ironic considering some of my first writing was fanfiction. Since then, it's been nothing but original fiction. The Wayhaven Chronicles was the game I started writing actual fanfic for, and that was only a couple of years ago (nobody look at me I haven't updated in forty years). I'm very new to the genre, basically. I barely even read fanfic, as for most of my life I've just been like "Well it's not canon anyway so what's the point of it?" and it's only recently that I've gotten more into it and understood the "point".

That is all to say that when I started writing my BG3 Tavstarion (I know, so new and never seen before) fic, I wanted it to be based as closely on the game as possible. To the point where I would boot up the game to get the smallest details right; which boxes were where and had what in them, the inflection of a character's voice, the movements, the animations. I could look it up on Youtube, but it felt like cheating -- I had to be there, as my OC, and filter it all first-hand through their thoughts. That way, my fic would have a solid foundation of canon on which I would build their story.

I admit, that's the main reason I've kept the game installed despite burning out of actually playing it months ago. Because of my stupid OC that I love. Here's what I even made the Steam banner look like.

It might be silly -- I would never hold a fic I read to these dumbfuck standards, anyway -- but it felt right. I'm writing a canon-compliant fic, so of course I need canon to support it. Maybe not to the extent I was doing it, but the fundamental idea made sense to me. I wanted my deviations from canon to be minimal and well-informed. Because I loved the canon and that's what made me love the game, and in turn my OC. It was all connected, you see?

Which brings me to the patches. The updates. The scene changes. All of it. I wanted to stay true to the game, so I hung onto it for dear life, letting it clog up my PC's storage just in case I needed it for fic purposes. But now ... what's the point? Larian won't leave well enough alone, so to which version am I staying true? Why should I respect canon when Larian can change it at any moment if a vocal minority has issues with something I personally enjoy and want to include in a fic? At this point, my personal experience doesn't matter -- my Tav's version of the game doesn't exist anymore. So looking up stuff on Youtube feels right. In fact, it might be my only choice, if I want to see the version of the game where they first and best existed.

And you might think "Wow Eff, that's a long-winded and melodramatic way of saying you're uninstalling the game!" Well, yeah. This is my personal gaming blog, so of course I will put my big gamer feels on here. That's just what I do. But this is the first time this has happened to me, where I feel like there's just no point in respecting canon at all, and I want to document that feeling. I was trying desperately to stay true to Larian's vision, playing the game when it brought me no joy just so I could then write fic which does bring me joy. But why do that? Larian does not respect me, and more importantly, they don't respect their own stories. So why should I?

Anyway, yeah. I'm uh. Uninstalling the game, finally. I will keep writing my fic, as that still brings me joy, and apologies for getting shit wrong, but at this point the game I remember doesn't exist anyway, so what's the point in getting the current game right?

The only thing I'll miss is being able to take screenshots of my Tav, and making gifs of them. I modded in a unique face for them (and long-time followers will know how much I struggled with that) and now that won't be as easily accessible anymore. I don't think it's a waste, though, not with how much joy it brought me, and I'll still have the files. Maybe I'll come back in a few months and gaze upon them again.

Goodbye for now, my blorbo. You will always be loved. The game you're from? Not so much.

[skyeslittlecorner]

It's 2nd April, so - time to meet the first lucky winner~

As I promised, today the first fanfic for your MCs and OCs. It's quite funny, because the first person in the draw turned out to be the one who entered last. Dear @de1-os, congrats! Looks like your waiting was a good strategy~

Writing was a challenge, after all, this is my first fanfic like this. But I had a great time doing it. Asher is a fascinating character, above all with a very sensible approach to these demons. I hope you will like it!

Note: If anything sounds wrong and ooc, please let me know. I'll change it. If you want, you can also change it yourself, it's entirely up to you, and you can edit these texts however you want.

Also, I apologize in advance for any mistakes, especially if I mixed up pronouns. I write in my native language, where there is no equivalent of "they". I could have translated something incorrectly and not noticed when editing. Then let me know too, of course I will correct it.

Words: ~1200

WHB MC Shuffle | Asher

Asher was the first to leave Leviathan's office. Prematurely - as the waiting Astaroth noticed - because the meeting had recently begun. The councils of Hades ended when their king released them. At least that's what he heard. In Gehenna, they ended when the king kicked them out. 

The demon stared at Asher, trying to guess what happened inside. But it wasn't easy when the only thing that changed in their expression was a wrinkled nose. They could just as easily be disgusted or angry as they could be terrified.

“Didn't everything turn out the way you wanted?”

Only a quiet grunt escaped Asher's lips. What were they supposed to say? What always happened, happened today too.

“Glasyalabolas.”

A few days ago, His Majesty Leviathan summoned the descendant of Solomon to attend an extremely important meeting; what was important, only he knew, because Asher was as bored as a pug during political talks. Today's session seemed even less interesting than usual. They achieved a new record of disconnection from the surroundings. They stopped listening before the nobles even started talking. What could they do? They were surrounded by a bunch of hot men, instead of stupid politics, they could have chill out a little. For example, unbutton the shirts to let the chill breeze brush their skin…

Astaroth's snap awakened them before the train of imagination could gain momentum.

“Huh?”

“I asked what he did this time.”

Legs carried them forward, away from this office, as if Asher were afraid that the boredom would spill out and consume them again. Or, even worse, Glasyabolas's hand would land on their thigh again. Although, actually, it wouldn't be that bad. He was quite hot. Except he was an asshole. But what could they do, it only increased the possibilities… They forced themself to at least partially come to their senses. Even though, the fantasies about Glasyal were much more interesting. Yes, they were angry with him, but they still could appreciate a good body and certainly even better skills. It's not easy to shake a connoisseur out of their professionalism.

“He is being himself.” Asher grumbled under their breath. “I'm starting to get fed up with him.”

“Maybe you should take a break. I know a place you might like.”

The place in question turned out to be a cramped shop. The shelves were full of suspicious drugs, they all smelled of herbs and that unusual, sleepy fog surrounding Hades. Raven feathers, stone amulets, and reptile scales were stuffed among laurel branches and incantation ribbons. Astaroth, wrapped in snake coils, looked like one of the exhibits. Surrounded by the mysticism of this place, he seemed even sexier than usual. But why did the demon brought them here?

“Look.” The man pointed to the jar of clay standing at their feet. “These are lumps of earth collected from the place where His Majesty Lucifer fell into Hell.”

Asher bent down and picked up a small thing that looked more like a vial.

“Should it really be standing that low? Someone will kick it and everything will fall apart.”

“The thing is, these stones are extremely…”

They put the jar on a shelf among engraved beads and blue-labeled containers. Old wood groaned and splinters appeared from the bottom.

“…heavy.”

“Never mind.” Asher quickly put that quirk back where it was. It occurred to them that they might throw it at Glasyalabolas. Maybe he would finally get his shit together.

“You're wrinkling your nose again. Are you thinking the same thing as before?”

“Maybe… I'm sick of him, you know? I want to throw it in his face.”

“I think you should let your desires take over. Be corrupted. Be yourself.” Demon reached for a drug with a blue label. “But I propose a more sophisticated way.”

“What do you mean?”

“These are sleep oils with little side effect. You fall asleep faster, but you wake up much more tired.”

Without much thought, Asher grabbed a package three times its size.

“We'll take it.”

The gift they had prepared didn't look suspicious. An ordinary pillow that smelled of lavender. People lie perfectly, so explaining it was supposed to be easy. Asher had some credible stories ready. In fact, they were even a little disappointed that Glasyal didn't ask where the gift came from. All that was left to do was wait.

On the first day, there were no signs of fatigue. As they sat in council, Glasyalabolas was as great and immovable as a mountain. The next day, the mountain hunched its shoulders, but so slightly that they barely noticed it. On the third day, dark circles began to appear under his eyes. The next evening, after a meeting in which Glasyal had given up even teasing them, another thing humans are good at stirred in Asher. Delicate, barely audible remorse.

they stood outside Glasyal's room, trying to think of why they wanted their gift back. Yes, the demon was annoying, but maybe, just slightly maybe, they a little, just a little liked him. Maybe it's a souvenir from another demon? Or maybe a pillow that is always warm on both sides and was mistaken for a real gift? Before Asher could think of anything, the door opened. Weird. They didn't knock.

“Do you need anything?”

“Yes.”

“Come in, then. I know you've been standing here for quite a few minutes.”

Even though Asher entered the snake pit with a straight face, their heart was racing. First, they entered the demon's room. A handsome demon. A terrifying demon. They regretted it even before the door closed behind. Maybe they should come back after all? 

All doubts were doubled when Glasyalabolas leaned forward, as if bowing, and took their hand.

“Two can play this game, you know that?”

Not only Asher's heart but also his breathing reached the pace of an asthmatic after a marathon when Glasyal placed their hand on his cheek. He rubbed their fingers under his eye, and the circles that were supposedly from lack of sleep became blurred. Everything that was speeding up, suddenly stopped. Makeup. It was makeup. And worst of all, when they looked closer, the makeup was of very low quality. 

“You think I can't recognize sleeping herbs? Especially since you poured so much into this pillow? Even a corpse would be disturbed.” 

Instead of letting go of their hand, Glasyal ran their fingers over his lips. They were surprisingly soft and warm. Asher couldn't help himself. They pressed harder, wondering if his tongue was as soft. Anxiety fought with desire as they stared at his tongue as it lazily licked its lips. Fuck. Before they take this pillow away from him, they can still use it in this bed.

They took a step closer and grabbed the dark horn to make sure the demon wouldn't get up. And that he won't have any stupid ideas. Glasyal just muttered under his breath, something that sounded like a cross between a groan and a laugh.

“It was a punishment to stop acting like an asshole.” 

“I guess it didn't work.”

“In that case” Asher tugged the horn, forcing Glasyal to bow even lower. “Looks like I'll have to work on this more bluntly.”

The demon knelt down. However, if Asher thought for a moment that he would politely give up, their legs immediately buckled under them. Glasyal grabbed them around the waist and lifted their shirt with his teeth, licking, nipping and biting their lower abdomen.

“I want to see you try.”

That evening, neither of them needed a pillow anymore.

[hisonlyreid-er]

School Girl Crush Pt 3

Part 1| Part 2| Part 3| Part 4| Part 5| A new BAU member appears and Spencer sees her as a little threat to his status of boy genius. Being unable to get comfortable with each other causes some issues within the team. Will they be able to move past it and work together?

Spencer Reid x FemBau!OC Warnings: a little angst, minor swearing.

Cold stung at my nose, flushing my face red. My coat wasn't providing enough shelter from the chilly environment. The small walk from the SUVs to the hotels reception was freezing. My trainers carried me quickly towards the door in hopes of returning some feeling into my everything. I glanced at my team. Morgan had nothing more than his jacket on and he looked totally fine. Stupid Morgan.

The lobby of the rural hotel was heating me back up, the feeling in my hands finally returning. Leaning against the wall, I watched Rossi and Hotch talk to the receptionist. My to-go bag was sat by my feet, waiting to be directed to a room for the night. It was our first night on this case so the rooms we got now would most likely be 'home' for the next week. It was past 12 so we were all pretty exhausted and it showed. The usual banter was nowhere to be seen as the team stood around, waiting to be assigned a bed. Hotch and Rossi walked back towards us, a strange look on their faces. "We've got some rooms." I waited for the but. "But, there's only 4 so we need to share." Hotch breaking the news erupted a series of groans. Decisions had to be made and they had to be made quick. JJ and Prentiss would clearly pair up. Rossi had a room to himself if he could and considering the number of keys in Hotch's hand, that was possible. My options were slim. I could either share with my boss, with Morgan or with Dr Reid. I needed to decide quickly before it was decided for me. I spoke up.

"Bagsy Morgan." He looked over to me, a little surprised. "Wow. I'm flattered Colesta." I pulled a disgusted face as I looked at him. "Garcia's not going to be a happy lady." Prentiss sounded tired but the humor was evident in her voice. Wanting to lighten the mood, I joked back. "She'll be fine as long as I send her some pictures." I wiggled my eyebrows at her, causing some chuckles from the group. Morgan seemed utterly appalled at my words, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water as he looked to Hotch for backup. Even Hotch seemed a little amused. His face didn't show it but you could see it in his eyes. "Agent Colesta, do not take photos of your sleeping colleagues." It seemed like such a stupid thing for my serious boss to say but it brought a happier mood. "Fine." I gave in, rolling my eyes but the smile stayed on my face. Dr Reid ended up sharing with Hotch. All of us headed towards our rooms. Morgan hadn't started walking yet. When the girls and I passed by, I whispered to him quietly. "I'll just take a video." Before he could respond I followed after JJ and Prentiss.

"I'm surprised you chose to share with Morgan. I would've thought you'd share with Spence." I looked over to JJ as she spoke. I could kind of understand where she was coming from, Dr Reid and I were close in age, shared some interests. Shaking my head, I sighed, preparing to confide in my colleagues. "I don't think he likes me very much. Any time I talk to him, he brushes me off." My shoulders slumped in defeat as I finally admitted to what had been bothering me for the past 4 months. "Reid is just weird with new people. He'll warm up to you eventually." Prentiss patted me on the shoulder as we came to a stop outside our rooms. I had heard that same thing so many times from Garcia but it was too late to argue, so I just nodded and smiled politely. The two of them bid me goodnight and entered their own room, laughing with one another. All I could do was hope that in time, I'd be as close with the team. The key turned easily as the door to the room opened. Just before I walked inside, I just so happened to glance down the corridor. Dr Reid came around the corner, head down staring at the floor. His hair was a bit of a mess and cardigan disheveled. I just wanted to be friends with him. Was that too much to ask?

After I shut the door, my first, very grown up action was to launch myself face down on the bed. Very mature of me. My limbs were spread out over the duvet as I shoved my face into the pillow. God, it was like being 15 all over again. I didn't move when I hear the door open and heavy footsteps enter. It was obviously Morgan based on the fact they had a key and had the same weighty gate as the door kicking FBI agent. "What's up with you, mate?" He was so annoying sometimes. I didn't bother lifting my head from the pillow before speaking. "Why does Dr Reid hate me?" A loud laugh made me shoot up and glare at him. Such an arsehole. "Do not laugh at me Derek Morgan." He held his hands up in faux surrender. "Boy genius doesn't hate you." Rolling my eyes wasn't enough to prove my point. It was so obvious that he hated me, anytime I tried to talk to him I was met with one word answers and annoyed tones. "Feels like it." I roll onto my back, staring at the ceiling with self-pity. Morgan drops down onto the bed next to me, dipping the mattress by quite a bit. "Give it time." I couldn't take this anymore. Pushing myself to my feet, I grabbed my to-go bag while making a beeline to the bathroom. "If one more person tells me that I'm going to lose my rag." That man laughed at me, again. The mocking I was sure to get later didn't matter. This was so stupid. I don't know why I cared about what Dr Reid thought. I didn't need his approval.

Luckily, our case was over within a week. I got along great with Morgan but I couldn't survive one more night sharing a bed with his snoring. God, the man sounded like a tractor. It wasn't ideal to be packing away at 10pm but we all just wanted to go home to our own beds. I stood in the reception area at the hotel, patiently waiting for the rest of the team to hurry their butts up. My fingers intertwined as I rocked back and forth on my feet. Footsteps sounded behind me, they were light and uneven. Dr Reid appeared in my peripheral as I stared at the doors to the hotel. No words were exchanged for a moment. It was the closest I had ever been to him. A slight scent of coffee reached my nose. Weird, there was also the smell of old books and leather, probably from his satchel. "I don't hate you." The sound of voice made me jump in surprise. Then the words processed. I looked over at him, my mouth slightly agape in shock. He didn't hate me? "What..How did you..?" The sentences weren't forming properly so I just spat out a jumble of mismatched syllables. "Hotch and I were in the room next to yours and the walls are pretty thin." My cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. God, he must think I'm so pathetic. Good job Lyn. "You never want to talk to me. I've been here 4 months and this is probably the longest you've tolerated me." I let out a bittersweet laugh as I spoke. Now it was his turn to look shocked. The receptionist must think we're insane. How long does it take the team to grab their bags? "I'm sorry." He sounded so genuine, it caught me off guard.

We didn't talk after that. The rest of the team joined us and it was as if nothing happened. On the flight back, I run over the interaction again and again. Maybe things would be different from now on.

It was around 1 by the time we could leave the office. My brain was lagging behind as I trudged towards my car. "Bye Colesta." Prentiss went her own way, as I dug around my bag for my keys. They were in here, I knew they were. I was always checking on my keys, too paranoid to risk it. My fingertips brushed the cold metal of my house keys. Relief. For some unknown reason, I glance over my shoulder. Dr Reid was there, clearly on his way home. Our eyes locked and he raised a hand to wave at me. I didn't even think about it as I waved back, smiling at my coworker.

It was only when I was halfway home that it clicked. He waved at me. That was a friendly interaction. This might actually be the start of a change. It made me feel giddy. That was weird. Why did I care? I went to a British all girls school, I was use to people disliking me. But the idea of him not liking me made my chest hurt. Strange. I just wanted to get on well with my coworkers. That was it. It had to be. I was still thinking about it when I entered my dark apartment. It was still on my mind as I lay in my own bed for the first time in a week. I was tired, I should have fallen asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. But the thoughts kept me awake. Oh god. My heart dropped as I realised. I had a crush on him. Every time I thought I felt uncomfortable around him or nervous when we spoke, was me getting butterflies. How could I let this happen? I was beginning the career I had always dreamed of and now I was acting like a giddy school girl around the coworker I thought hated me until about 3 hours ago. Lyn Colesta, the stupidest woman in the world. I pressed my face into the pillow and yelled while thrashing my arms and legs. It was like being in high school all over again and I had a stupid school girl crush. Going to work was going to be fun. I was just settling into my role in the team and now I was going to ruin it by having a silly little crush on the resident genius.

Goddamn Spencer Reid.

[smoooothoperator]

What a Shame

02: Love Story

Driver! Charles Leclerc x Singer! OC (Juliette Morelli)

Exes to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Childhood Sweathearts

Summary: she has to deal with him on her own way, and he has to deal with the consequences

Words: 2.5k

warnings: Lando x OC, charles being stupid, flashbacks are on italics. Love Story

Official Playlist (I will add more songs as I write)

Every interaction is very welcomed!!!!!

Masterlist

previous part | next part

a/n: hi hi loes!! welcome to de second chapter of this beautiful sroty i'm making!!! if you want to be tagged don't forget to massage me!!

🎤

He's here.

Charles Leclerc is here. Of course he is! Why did I never think about it? He is Pierre's best friend. He's one of those drivers that would come to the wedding.

"Shit, shit, shit" I groaned storming out of the room even before Valerie walked in.

"Juliette!"

I sigh and take a deep breath. She saw me, fuck!

"Hey, where are you going?" she asked me worriedly, walking towards me.

"Why didn't you tell me he was coming?" I asked her, hurt. "Why didn't you tell me Charles is Pierre's best man?"

"Because I wanted you in my wedding, Juliette! I wanted you to be here even if he was here" she sighed holding my hands. "Do this for me… Please?"

I look at her taking a deep breath. The last ten years the only moment I thought about him was while looking at the calendar and watching the day when he broke up with me. Every year I wrote my frustrations down in a notebook and those words became songs. And now he's here, standing next to Pierre and clearly not bothered.

"He better stay away from the entire weekend" I said walking back inside, sitting back on the chair and looking at him one last time before moving my eyes to the other side of the room.

The rehearsal of the wedding was quick, they just skipped their vows and the exchange of rings, just doing what they had to do to make sure everything was ready.

"The dinner will be at the restaurant of the villa" the maid of honor said to the few people that came to the rehearsal in the church.

I got up when I noticed his eyes on me, looking away and walking out of the church. The villa is not far from here, just to the other side of the village.

I took a deep breath and looked around, swallowing thickly when I heard him call my name. No, no.

"Oh god, you are Juliette Morelli?" a man asked behind me, making me turn around and smile.

He had curly brown hair and bright eyes, a British accent and a cute smile.

"I am" I smile, looking at Charles for afar walking towards me. "And you are…?"

"Lando Norris" he smiled, walking with me as I started the way towards the villa. "One of Pierre's friends"

"Yeah, I imagined" I nodded smiling.

While we talked I felt his eyes on the back of my neck. I know he's looking at us, I wish I knew what he was thinking.

"I guess you are staying here in the villa" Lando smiled looking at me. "Which room?"

"Oh number 203" I said smiling. "I'm Valerie's best friend, so…"

"Oh? And how is it that you are not her maid of honor? I thought every girl does that?" he frowned, making me laugh weakly and shake my head.

"I'm tired of being a maid of honor, so… Hey, but I'm going to sing at their first dance" I laughed.

"So I'll be at a free concert of Juliette Morelli?" he laughed.

I looked at him and bite my lip. Maybe I can have a little fun with him, just to get Charles out of my mind.

The dinner was a little messy. Kids around, parents trying to control them, Pierre and Valerie nervous and just to add to the mix, Charles was killing me and Landon with his eyes all night.

"So tell me, which song will you do tomorrow?" Lando asked me, leaning on the back of his chair.

"Hm, is a surprise" I smirk. "The only hint I'll give you is that it's a gift I made for them"

"A new song?" he said surprised.

"Yeah" I nod smiling. "I don't think I'll drop it, actually. Is a song I wrote for them and only them"

Lando was someone I could talk easily with. He liked many things and always had a way to start another conversation with me. At least it helped me to not think about him during the dinner.

When people started to go back to their rooms I just got up from the table, going to grab a drink. I just felt like I needed to drink something to stop my own instinct: going to Charles.

"I'm going to grab something to drink" I told Lando, getting up from the chair and looking down at him. "You coming?"

"Oh, I… Yeah" he nodded standing up too.

I smiled and bit my lip, looking at him. Yeah, I could have fun with him tonight.

"Juliette" I heard him say my name, making me stop my steps, freezing.

I wanted to keep walking, to make my legs work. But it was like they were jelly, shaking when I heard his voice. Is deeper than ten years ago, he still keeps that french accent I once loved, but the way he said my name is not the same he used to say it.

"What? You know her?" Lando asked him, surprised. "Dude! You know I'm a fan and you never introduced her to me!"

"Can you leave us alone for a minute, Lando? I have to talk with her" he sighed and I just took a deep breath when I saw Lando walk away.

Well, there goes my chance of having a funny night. Thank you, Charles.

"Don't you dare to hook up with him" he said on my back, making me turn around and look at him, incredulous.

"First of all, who I hook up with is none of your business anymore" I said frowning, looking at him disgusted.

"It is when he's my friend!" he exclaimed, making me laugh.

"Really? The first thing you say to me after all this time is that?" I laughed shaking my head. "How ridiculous"

"Juliette, I-"

"No, Leclerc" I said frowning, pointing my finger at him and making him shut up. "You are no longer my boyfriend. Not even my friend. You don't have any rights to tell who I am allowed to fuck and who I am not. I'm over you"

"Oh, yeah? Tell that to all your Grammy winning songs about me" he said crossing his arms, a mischievous grin on his lips.

"Fuck you, Leclerc!" I exclaimed and walked away.

He doesn't have any right to do this to me. He was the one that ended things, the one that said I was distracting him.

I just walked the way I saw Lands leaving, smiling relieved when I saw him sitting on one of the highchairs of the drinks bar.

"Do you two know each other?" he asked me, making me sigh and roll my eyes.

"Unfortunately" I sighed.

He looked at me and I just turned around, ordering a glass of whiskey and taking a sup of it after the bartender served it to me. I heard Lando humming and saw him nodding, looking in front of him.

"Well, he's looking at you" he said and I just sighed groaning.

"Good for him" I scoffed and looked at Lado, biting my lip.

I saw him looking at me and I just smiled, resting my head on the palm of my hand. He smiled back, taking a deep breath and leaning his back on the bar.

I bite my lip and smirk, cupping his cheek with my hand and leaning on him quickly to peck his lips, pulling away and chuckling.

"You are cute" I said smiling, looking at how he blushed and laughed nervously.

"Hm, you are too" he smiled, biting his lip, licking afterwards. "But why did you kiss me?"

"Oh, because I wanted to" I laughed. "I mean, if you have a girlfriend I'm so sorry!"

"No, no, it's okay" he laughed. "I'm single as fuck"

"Good, me too" I said, making him laugh. "Come to my room"

"What? I… Are you sure?" he frowned surprised, quiet shocked.

"Hey, let's just have fun" I said, nudging his side. "We're two single people at a wedding. Believe me, I know for experience how boring that is"

I looked at him and by the corner of my eye I saw Charles leaving mad, just making me smile at Lando more.

Good. Let's have fun.

🏎️

I wanted to talk with her. To hear her voice, her laugh.

But that didn't go how I wanted it to. I heard her voice, but not while she talked to me but to Lando. I heard her laugh, caused by Lando. I saw her smile, while she talked with Lando.

"Dude, you are staring again" Pierre whispered in my ear, making me jump on the seat and gasp.

"Pierre! Dude, stop doing that!" I exclaimed.

He laughed and it made me groan. My eyes went back to her, sitting with Lando and touching his arm while she laughed at something he said, throwing her head back. That means she's having fun for real.

"Why don't you talk with her?" Pierre asked me, making me frown and look at him.

"Are you for real? You saw how she reacted when she saw me in the church not long ago" I scoffed. "You really want to see her screaming at me?"

"I mean… You kinda deserve it" he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Now you have to deal with the consequences, all by yourself"

I looked at him frowning, kinda hurt with his lack of support, and looked down at the plate with food.

Hearing her laugh makes my appetite go away because I'm not the one causing it.

After some hours since everyone finished their dinner, people started getting up to go to their rooms or to the drinks bar, and I was still sitting on the table doing as if I heard what Valerie and Pierre were talking about.

They are not getting up. She's sitting closer to him. He rested his arm on the back of her chair. She's doing that thing when she feels relaxed, playing with a little strand of her hair and twisting it on her finger. They are sitting too close.

But then she got up and he followed her, looking back at the drinks bar.

Then my legs worked alone, making me stand and walk towards her. My lips worked alone and pronounced her name, and I hated it because it sounded different than when I used to say it.

I heard her heels stopping, how she took a deep breath. I ignored Lando, not looking at him and just fixing my eyes on her. She turned around and I just felt the world stop.

She looks more beautiful than ever. Her eyes are different, they don't look at me the way the used to. Her lips are no longer making that perfect smile she used to gift me. She's skinnier, but her body is perfect, all the curves she had are better and made her look more mature, more adult.

I didn't plan what I wanted to say to her, but it definitely wasn't what I said. I didn't want to argue with her, but watching her with Lando made something grow inside of me that I never felt before. Hearing her say that she's over me, even if I deserve it, made me feel angry, but I didn't have the right to say those things to her.

"I am stupid" I groaned to myself when I saw her walk towards Lando again, watching how she sat on the high chair and talked with him.

But what hurt me the most was when she kissed him.

That's not the Juliette I once knew. That's not the person I fell in love with. She's someone else right now. Someone, even if I hated to admit it, I was destroyed.

I felt many emotions inside of me. Anger, jealousy, pain, anxiety. All the emotions I had buried in the deepest part of my soul are now getting out of that box, coming to the surface and exploding right in front of my face since the moment I saw her a few hours ago.

I never wanted to recognize it, but now watching her with someone else makes me regret what I did to her.

I just walked out of the building, sitting on a bench that was under fairy lights. The place is beautiful, Pierre and Valerie made a great choice with this villa.

I remember when Juliette and I were younger, dreaming awake on the bed while holding each other how our future could be. She used to tell me that she would be my trophy girlfriend if I was her trophy boyfriend. That she would go to my races if I went to her concerts.

I still remember how I played the piano with her when she wrote her songs, helping her with the melody and finding the right notes for it. She was always a genius with words, writing beautiful poems that she transformed into songs.

"Hey, I just had an idea" she told me, sitting next to me on the couch with her back notebook and a book in her hand. 

"What are you doing reading Romeo and Juliet?" I laughed when I saw the title of the book, grabbing it and opening it to find some lines highlighted. 

"I just wanted to write a song, you idiot" she laughed, taking the book away from my hands. 

"Remember when I told you that the way we met reminded me of their story?

"Yeah, at the annual ball the prince does" I nodded, smiling at the memory. "Your dad really hated me that night"

"He was just overprotective" she laughed, rolling her eyes. "I just... I just wanted to write a song about us, you know?"

"That's so beautiful" I smiled, wrapping my arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to me. "Any ideas?  You already have the lyrics?"

She showed me the notebook and I just smiled reading it, falling for her even more. 

"Wait, let me add something" I said, grabbing the pen and writing the last verse.

Marry me, Juliet, you'll never have to be alone. 

I love you, and that's all I really know

I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress

It's a love story, baby, just say yes

"Wait, what?" she gasped, making me laugh.

"If this song is our story, it should end this way" I said while playing with her hair. "This is a promise, yeah?"

"It's a promise" she said smiling, looking at me.

I looked up at the dark sky full of stars and smiled sadly. I made many promises to her and broke most of them.

"I am so stupid" I sighed, closing my eyes defeated.

taglist

@lestappenloverr @racinggirl @roni-midnights

[whumpninja]

I’m having so much fun using these as an excuse to fill in backstory for some of my existing OCs. It just works so well. This piece uses OCs from my story The Coven- it’s set about a century before the main story, in 1600s Ottoman-era Greece.

Whumptober taglist: @whumperofworlds (let me know if I should keep tagging you in these or not, I wasn’t sure!)

The Coven taglist: @fabled-whump @scatteriskity @ba-bhump

Prompt used: Whumptober, “It’s us or them.”

Featuring: betrayal, human sacrifice (but it ends well!), vampires before vampires exist also you can fight me on this but vrykolakas do NOT count as proper vampires, humans viewed as prey and discussions about that

Whumptober Day Seven: moonflower

"Are you going to kill me?" the girl asked. She said it bluntly, and try as she might Iolanthe could not detect a trace of fear in her voice.

Iolanthe tested the sharpness of the girl's own dagger against her thumb. It slit the skin with a mere touch, and a bead of thick, tarry blood welled up to drip onto the sand. Hmm. Good weapon.

"I haven't decided yet," she answered. "I could."

"I know," the girl replied.

Iolanthe took the dagger and cut the ropes binding her. "Aren't you afraid I'll run?" she asked.

"If you do, I can stop you." Iolanthe let a few flickers of her magic weave between her fingers before she clenched her fist to snuff it out. "I want to talk to you before I decide what to do with you."

The girl eyed her strangely, then sat down crosslegged right there on the beach. "All right. Talk."

A half-smile lifted one side of Iolanthe's face. She sat down next to the girl, leaning back against a stone. "Do you know what I am?" she asked.

"A demon."

Iolanthe laughed aloud at that. "I suppose in some respects, I am. But no, child, I am not a demoness. I am vampiros."

"What is that?" The girl stared into her face, and now Iolanthe could see the fear hidden deep within her. She was impressed that the girl hid it so well. Usually she could taste it on her tributes before they were even given to her.

"It means that once I was very much like you," she answers. "And then I was not."

"You are still a monster, though. Aren't you?"

"Did Kostas tell you that?"

The girl scowled at the mention of the village elder who had offered her to Iolanthe in exchange for protection for the rest of his people. "He didn't have to. I know you eat humans. Of course you are a monster."

"I drink them, actually. Their blood. I have no use for the rest of them." Iolanthe waved a dismissive hand. "Have you ever been hunting before, child?"

"I am not a child. And yes, I have."

"Are you a monster for killing rabbits and such for food?" Iolanthe searched the girl's face and saw the questions there. "There is no difference. You need meat, and so you take it from creatures that are meant to be your food. I need blood, and so I take it from the same." She took the girl's chin in her hand, turning it towards her. "Do you see now?"

The girl jerked her chin away. "So I am the rabbit."

"No, I think I would like you to be the hunter." Iolanthe did not know exactly when she had decided it, but she had. "You saw for yourself how easily humans will betray their own kind. Kostas gave you up without a thought- I think you have caused some trouble for him, have you not?"

"I can fight," the girl replies, and then, with a slight smirk, "Better than he can."

"So he got rid of you. Humans are like that. They decide they do not want you, and so they throw you out. Give you to monsters like me." Iolanthe moved to the girl's side, whispering in her ear. "Sometimes that's only how more monsters are made."

"What are you saying?" the girl asked in an equally low voice.

"I do not always kill the people Kostas and others like him try to feed to me," Iolanthe answered. "Sometimes, if there is one that catches my attention, I change them. Into something like me."

"Vampiros."

"Yes."

"Why?" the girl asked bluntly. She was a blunt sort of person. Iolanthe liked those kind.

"Because I believe you can understand." Iolanthe reached out to cup the girl's cheek. "You saw for yourself what your kind is like. Selfish. Greedy. Willing to betray their own if it saves themselves. Willing to kill to save their own lives. The only reason they haven't killed me is because they don't know how. But when they learn, I will no longer have tribute and fear. I will have hunters and chases and death, eventually. Again." She smiled. "It is us or them. I would like to make you one of us, because you are too strong to be one of them."

The girl was silent for a long moment. "All right," she said quietly.

"It is not an easy existence," Iolanthe warned. "I will teach you what I can, but it will not be enough. You will be hunted. And you will have to kill."

"I've killed before."

"This will be different. You will have to kill simply to stay alive. You must turn your back on everyone you know. Can you do that?"

The girl nodded, her eyes alight with a new spark.

"You will have to change." Iolanthe reached for her hand. "Becoming a vampiros is all change. Your identity, your body...your name. What is yours?"

"Tasoula," the girl told her.

"No longer. I will give you a new name, just as I received when I was changed." Iolanthe gazed up at the full moon. "I will call you after the moon goddess. You will no longer be Tasoula of the mortals. You will be Selene of the vampiros." She leaned close to whisper in her ear again. "Always remember that it was humans who tried to sacrifice you. They wanted you to die. You will die. And you will keep coming back." Iolanthe looked deep into Selene's dark eyes. "Remember what they are to you. You are not part of them. They are rabbits. You are a hunter." She smiled. "You will have to kill before the next sunrise. I think Kostas has been allowed to live long enough, don't you, Selene?"

In answer, Selene reached out and took the dagger from Iolanthe's hand. "Yes," she snarled, and Iolanthe knew that this girl would embrace the change, embrace the hunt. "I do."

[braveclementine]

Chapter 18

Warnings: None. (Will however be a 18+ reader book)

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own a few OCs like Elizabeth, Katherine, Stacy, and Jessie. I do not condone any copying of this.

You dove to the stage floor as the bomb went off, sending tremors through the entire building. You glanced upwards, seeing Wanda on her feet, hands red as she held up the rubble that was threatening to collapse on the people in the bar. Wong and Stephen created two portals for people to run through which get them out into the parking lot. Along with that, Pietro was grabbing some of the small kids, running them out the door as fast as he could.

You could smell something burning and then remembered that Elizabeth had been right next to you.

You couldn't see her at the moment, but you could see that the fire was spreading around you on the stage, trapping you.

Shit, where was she?

And then suddenly, there was a whooshing sound and water started to run through the building, specifically around the stage, putting out the fire. You found Elizabeth standing on the stage, her feet planted firmly on the floor, hands out, eyes glowing blue as she maneuvered the water to put out the fire.

Pietro gaped as he watched her. Bucky leaped onto the stage, kneeling next to you as you pushed yourself up onto your knees. "You alright doll?"

"Yeah." You answered as the water slowly splashed to the floor, Elizabeth's eyes turning back to brown.

"Told you there were some suspicious people on this island." Elizabeth sighed, unfazed, before hopping down off the stage.

"Are you alright?" Vision asked while Pietro asked, "You have powers?"

"Yes and yes. I can control and manipulate water and flick ice out of my hands." Elizabeth stated as easily as though she was talking about the weather. She turned to me, "I'm supposing this is about the prophesy."

You flushed, "yeah."

Elizabeth nodded, "Makes sense. Well, do you at least know how to defend yourself with a gun or something?"

"Er-"

"I'll take that as a no." Elizabeth muttered.

"I have protection detail." You said, jabbing your thumb at your soulmates.

"Very true." Elizabeth said with a small smile and then looked up at the roof, "Perhaps we should move before the roof collapses on our heads."

"I wouldn't let that happen." Wanda said, still holding it up.

"Oh, I know, I was just suggesting that we get out of this building before the other bombs go off." Elizabeth said nonchalantly.

"There's more bombs? How do you know that?" Fury and Tony asked at the same time.

Elizabeth just looked at them over her shoulder, "You can't hear the ticking?"

Everyone fell silent. She was right. The ticking was actually really loud, but over the sound of us singing you couldn't have heard it.

We quickly left the building. Elizabeth's mother quickly bombarded her, asking her a thousand questions, and was extremely angry with the way that she had put herself in danger. Vision quickly interfered, though his calming words didn't little to appease her mother.

Meanwhile, Fury and Coulson were making calls to see if they could get some SHIELD agents- trustworthy ones only- and get them to check things out. Meanwhile, a Nassu bomb squad was called out and everyone was moved away from the karaoke stand and then the rest of you headed back to the hotel.

Back in the hotel, you guys all went up to Clint's room since it was completely empty and you all talked it out.

"The thing is," You added as they all had their own theories. "They knew that we'd be at the Scuba diving and then also Karaoke. Which means that either. . . well. . ."

You couldn't really finish the uncomfortable sentence. It felt to awkward or light to say that there was an imposter amongst you.

"Well we can rule out anyone soulmated to you." Loki said firmly. "Soulmates protect theirs, not hurt them."

"What if it's not a traitor?" Clint asked, "What if someone is bugged, or the rooms are bugged?"

"Maybe we should just do nothing for the next two days." You said, "We're lucky someone wasn't killed today."

Rhodey agreed.

"What about this Elizabeth chick?" Tony asked, "She seemed way to calm during the bombs. And how nonchalantly she talked about them."

"It's not her." Vision and Pietro said together.

"That's because it's what she's good at." You sighed. "She was our small town superhero, although no one actually knows its her, not even her parents. That's what she does. She stops bank robberies or shootings or solves kidnappings or puts out fires. She doesn't do anything big, just small things. So to her, the bombs were just another thing she's good at stopping. She probably waterlogged all the mechanisms and told us to leave as a precaution."

"Why hasn't she tested out her abilities with SHIELD or the Avengers?" Fury asked, leaning forward on his elbows.

"She doesn't want to be a big name superhero. She just wants to do stuff for the little people. She said she'd leave the saving the world to the professionals, but for now she'd just do her part to protect those she could."

"I like her." Steve said. "She has a good moral system. It's not her."

"Could FRIDAY possibly track any and all people that have visited the Scuba kiosk and the karaoke bar ahead of time and see if there are any similar peoples?" Rhodey asked.

"FRIDAY?" Tony asked.

"Right away Mr. Stark." FRIDAY's voice said from his watch.

There was some silence before T'Challa said, "So should we just stay in the hotel tomorrow?"

"If we do that the whole building will probably come down." Natasha muttered darkly.

Bruce gave her a warning look while Sam flat out glared at her.

You blanched a little.

OMG I'M FREAKING CRYING. I WAS LOOKING FOR MORE FANART TO POST AND I FOUND THIS:

I'M CRYING SO HARD  😭😭😭😭😭😭

Here is something happy:

Okay back to story  🥺 :

"We can just go out to the ocean." Stephen said. "Find a secluded spot away from people. That should benefit everyone."

"That sounds good." You said softly.

There was another moment of silence until FRIDAY's voice said, "Sir, I have a potential suspect."

"Good job sweetheart." Tony drawled, looking happier. "Send everything to you know what."

"Yes sir." FRIDAY replied.

Tony pulled out his laptop and then said, "This'll probably be a while. The rest of you should get some sleep, I'll let you know when I'm done."

You nodded, getting to your feet. You hugged the others good-bye and then you decided that you would go and stay with Loki and Thor tonight.

Loki and Thor had gotten separate beds and you climbed into Loki's for tonight. He sat up against the headboard, reading that poetry book again.

"What are you reading?" You asked softly as Thor started to snore. Despite popular belief, he didn't sound like an elephant. He was actually a very quiet snorer.

"It's a poem called 'Never trust a mirror'." Loki whispered. "Would you like me to read it to you?"

You nodded, pulling the covers over you while you laid your head down on his leg. He rested one hand in your hair as he read:

"Never trust a mirror, For a mirror always lies, It makes you think that all you're worth can be seen from the outside.

Never trust a mirror, It only shows what's skin deep You can't see how your eyelids flutter when you're drifting off to sleep.

It doesn't show you what the world sees When you're only being you or how your eyes light up When you're loving what you do

It doesn't capture when you're smiling Where no-one else can see And your reflection cannot tell you, How much you mean to me.

Never trust a mirror For it only shows your skin. And if you think it dictates your worth It's time you looked within"

And by the time he finished with the last word, you were fast asleep. 

[lady-iizsil]

WIP Wednesday

No pressure tagging: @vanilleeistee @izzetheopossum @skyrim-forever @dirty-bosmer @lucien-lachance @pocket-vvardvark @illumiera

As I settle down for the night and prepare to read a lot tonight, I wanted to toss the most recent WIP I have out there. It's in pretty rough shape still because I wanted to blurt out the dialogue while I was still inspired for it, and now I'm going back and trying to fill in gaps.

It's another excerpt based on my Snow Elf oc Aremor, who was a veteran of the Battle of Moesring -- he survived to the 4E by way of a Dwemer cryochamber experiment and now sees the ancient battleground of Moesring Pass all these years later, and finds himself overwhelmed by his guilt and trauma.

Idk if the context is needed or not but I wanted to blurt it anyhow: Upon the Fall of the Snow Prince, he swiftly abandoned his loyalties to the remaining numbers of the Snow Elven armies and betrayed one of his own to steal their horse, both in a desperate attempt to survive and also with the intention of getting back to his family in Nchuand-Zel so he could take care of them.

The Falmer he tore off their horse was who sliced his face and gave him a nasty cheek scar: a permanent reminder of his guilt and a testament to what he'd do to get back to his family.

ANYWAY I'll post the scraps of this scene I have and let yall read XD

The impact of where Aremor was didn't really hit him while he was in the ash wastes. It was simply too alien through the filter Red Mountain cast on the land. Yet it certainly did not stop the developing malaise of the spirit as he continued onward through the dead woods and the brittle brush, where the layers of ash gave way to spiky grass growing in rocky crags and mountain snow. The acrid smell of Red Mountain's belching permeated the air with a foul taste, and that was the only thing that felt familiar, in a way. It was not as sour as the air had been in the first era.

Aremor remained silent as the group kept trekking up the gravelly slopes, only turning to check on the progress of those behind him. Guilt weighed on him for how far ahead he allowed himself to go, but as they continued to climb upwards, and the air felt more brisk, the more the memories saturated his thoughts. He thought he could do this when armed with his friends at his side, but the air of the ancient battleground was making his resolve shrink inward.

His eyes were wide and his jaw was set like stone. Aremor’s ears were normally very animated, swiveling as he listened and emoted, but they were tight against his head, almost like he was trying to block out whatever was happening around him.

The ground was familiar now. When he stopped to look around and take in his surroundings, the thoughts swarming in his head felt like a thick and impenetrable cloud.

Here he was. The ancient battleground: The Battle of Moesring.

He could remember it now as he turned backwards, looking down the craggy slopes into the ash below.

Red. Red like no other on Nirn. The red slush of the battlefield, where snow and gravel and blood soaked in the crags and the footpaths.

The flashing image in his mind made him flinch. His lips were curled in distress as he looked around, his feet now refusing to carry him onward. He didn’t want to think of it, but everywhere he looked, there were ghosts.

The steep mountainside had few plateaus for fair battle. The only advantage of the Snow Prince and his cavalry were that they had the high ground. But the pass proved to have its own dangers. Their horses could fall easily here. The cliff sides spoke for themselves. The mountain’s surface could crumble beneath them - the Nords and their thu’um would be a dangerous adversary here. As much as he faulted the Prince for placing their final stand at Moesring Pass, Aremor himself knew that there was no better choice. It was here, and now, or not at all.

Lost in thought, the Snow Elf instinctively reached for the scar that opened his cheek, teeth gritted in shame and distress. His body felt perfectly comfortable in this weather. He was built to survive worse than snow and cold wind. But sweat clammed his palms and the hair at his temples darkened with it too. Feeling that made the thoughts worse. He could almost feel it - the grime caking his face. His hair plastered in tendrils against his head, stinking of blood and muddy sludge. His ears rang and his hands were raw from his grip on his weapon.

The Falmer brought up his hands to look at them, flexing his fingers. His palms were sticky with sweat. He knew this. Yet the thought of blood caked on them was too real. Why could he almost see it?

Steel against steel. Steel against flesh. A thunderous shouting followed by a deafening boom. Grieving wails and fearful cries. He saw a soldier on a horse – sweet escape, and it was right there. Elven armor mattered not.

The earth swayed and his feet faltered as he took a backward step. His body felt paralyzed while his mind raced, images and voices flashing like bursting powder kegs.

“You bastard! You thieving bastard!” The Mer screamed as he swung his dagger, slicing through Aremor's cheek as they wrestled on the snow. Hot blood filled his own mouth and he spat it in the rival Elf's face.

“Just let me go!” Aremor pleaded. He didn’t want this either. But he needed their horse, and they were an obstacle.

He shook his head, grabbing his own arms as he crossed them. His mind shifted toward the snow beneath his feet.

“No! Please don't do this!”

His arms unfolded and he lowered himself to the ground. He laid back and felt the snow compress beneath the weight of his head.

What if I died here? He thought to himself. He could have stayed and fought beneath the banners of his people until the very end. His life blood could have seeped into the rocks of these mountains and rotted there until the humans came to burn his corpse. He could have been a temporary part of this mountain and the melted snow that fed the grass. All he was, and all he ever would be…

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching. He sat up briefly to see Lorika standing above him, though from a respectful distance. While she managed to smile at him, he could see the worry stitched in her brows. She shifted her weight onto one leg as she asked, “mind if I join you here?”

Aremor swallowed, and numbly, he nodded. He looked away and reverted back to laying in the snow as she joined him. The heat emanating from his skin was melting the snow around himself and his clothes were growing damp, but he couldn’t bear to move from this spot. Being here was overwhelming. All he needed was to stop and take it in. Lorika’s presence was usually welcome at his side, but in this moment, it added pressure to the guilt swirling in his stomach.

He listened as she shuffled and laid beside him, and she crossed her hands neatly over her abdomen. A few moments of silence passed as they listened to the wind and simply took the moment to breathe. There was a desolate beauty to this place to be enjoyed, but he couldn’t see it past the lens of the atrocities that were committed here. The silence felt too deafening and the last thing he wanted were for the memories to swallow him again.

“I’m sorry if this is bothersome,” he croaks. “I needed to ground myself.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” the Nord woman responds, and the ascertained way with which she said it made Aremor feel a touch of comfort. “We were worried, but I decided it was best if we didn’t swarm you right now. I just wanted to ask what’s on your mind. I want to help, if I can.”

He gazed at her sidelong from where he laid, meeting her one eye with his own. She was the very picture of who he fought here all these years ago. That thought discomforted him, though not for the reason he thought it should.

He sighed heavily and turned his face away. “I was confronted with more than I thought I’d be, coming here,” he spoke. His tone was matter-of-fact, yet distant, still looking fixedly at the expanse of blue above them. “This mountain is the monument of my shame. I wonder sometimes if my people could have had a chance if I remained stalwart. I was the Hand of Syrabane, after all. Another symbol of hope.”

He heard Lorika sigh, though not in annoyance, it seemed. “Aremor. If you spend the rest of your days with questions like that, you’ll drive yourself insane," she said with a worrisome tone. "It's why I worried for you coming here. And I feel worse not knowing what to say to make this better."

Aremor shook his head subtly. "There aren't words for my situation. Not quite. But you needn't feel sorry for that." He pauses for a good while as he tries to sort his thoughts. "I feel disturbed with myself - and being here, well."

Lorika side-eyed him, and with a tone of cautious encouragement, she says, "feel free to speak your mind. I'm listening."

He went quiet again, swallowing the lump forming in his throat. The words and the feelings were there, but untangling them felt like an overwhelming matter. Finally, he began slowly, saying, “I try to be thankful — and a large part of me is. Not many are given a second chance at life, much less a better one. But when I turn inwardly, I see that… I am much the same, despite all I have been given, despite all I have learned. I did terrible things for the people I loved, and one would think after losing them, and knowing that all I did was for naught, I would learn to accept that. I thought perhaps something inside me would click, and I'd set myself straight. Violence for the sake of devotion earned me nothing but punishment. But when I look at the people I have now — us — I realize…”

He pauses, brows furrowing.

“I would do it all again.”

[i-starcreamed]

Hey, I was thinking of a oneshot request for MTMTE Rodimus, Megatron, Drift, Whirl, Tarn, Shatted Glass Optimus Prime and Bayverse Ironhide with a Cybertronian S/O who can transform into a weapon (and it depends on what weapon she turns to, depending on who the character she is with). I was thinking it could be a female S/O as well, to make it easier for you cause I'm aware that's a lot of characters lol. Thank you, have a good day/afternoon/night 🤗

oo this is a cool request! this was very fun to write especially since one of my ocs also transforms into a weapon..And I had to exclude Megatron and Ironhide since I sadly don't know how to write for them too well :(

Also I'll be uploading the oneshots separately so that the characters are easier to find and for organization purposes :D hope you don't mind. This post includes Rodimus and Drift

MTMTE Rodimus x Cybertronian!reader

Whenever danger sets afoot on the Lost Light or any other alien planet the crew makes a stop at, Rodimus is immediately looking at you with begging optics. Every time, you would sigh and know exactly what he meant.

Today was one of those cycles, the Lost Light had to make a stop at some random alien planet. According to Ultra Magnus and your significant other, the planet belonged to a bunch of techno-organics that weren't too welcoming to cybertronians. Or rather, which you learned too late, they weren't welcoming to any intruders.

"Alright, alright listen everyone! We're under attack, this planet is apparently defensive against us, but we'll be fi-" Another explosion ringed in the background. "we'll be fine!" Rodimus announced this to the whole crew, which were itching to fight or hiding within the ship.

"We're all gonna die!"

Someone in the crowd yelled, which led to more of the crew muttering to each other and doing the exact opposite of what Rodimus wanted. His optimistic smile faltered as he sighed. You were at his side, as always. You placed a servo on his shoulder in a comforting way.

"Hey, it's alright. We should go help out there though, system's scanner says they're closing in. How about we go protect the crew, yeah?" You said with a smile.

Rodimus seemed to perk up at this. Suddenly, a knowing grin crept onto his face. 3..2..1.."Does this mean...?" His striking blue optics stared down at you expectedly. There he goes. You sigh but nod your helm.

"Yes Rodimus. I'll turn into my alt mode.."

-----

Rodimus was the only bot you trusted enough to wield you in your alt-mode, which happened to be a rather cool-looking plasma rifle. With temperatures reaching to a scorching amount, you and him easily plundered through your attackers. Techno-organics and heat don't mix well, you learned. By the end of it, the nearby location was a nasty mess. But hey, at least you protected the Lost Light in an incredibly badass way. It's not every cycle they see a femme that can turn into a rifle and melt away at her enemies. Rodimus was proud of you, to say the least. He couldn't have a better/more badass conjunx.

He still holds you as you enter the Lost Light once again, to continue on your journey before the planet's inhabitants call for backup or something.

"Can I transform back now?"

"Hmm, nope. I need to make an announcement first, remember?"

"If you drop me again, I swear to Primus Rodimus..."

He groans, you were never going to forgive for that, were you?

MTMTE Drift x Cybertronian!reader

Early on when you embarked upon the Lost Light, you had quickly befriended the third-in-command. You happened to bond over your love for bladed weapons and swords, combat in general. As you got closer, those feelings for each other grew. You were so trusting of him despite his past, despite everything. And yet...he didn't know what your alt-mode was. You had mentioned to the crew and himself that you took the form of a weapon. When asked what kind, you kinda said it depended and left it at that. It wasn't until today that he just had to know.

"Y/N, sweetspark?" You heard your conjunx ask a your side. Currently, you were both in his hab suite, reading some old cybertronian literature Drift recommended. You lifted your helm from the datapad and let out a short hm?

"I never mean to intrude, but I'd still like to see your alt-mode..." HE asked rather cautiously. To be fair, it's not that you were ashamed or anything of your alt mode. However, the mode you chose truly depended on who er...handled you during combat. You have been with Drift for a while, you decided it wouldn't hurt to trust him enough for this. So you sat up from your spot and placed the datapad down.

"Okay, okay Drift. Here we go.."

Your alt-mode depended on your conjunx, gears and metal turned into place as your t-cog worked out its form. Not a second later you fell into Drift's servos, his optics widened as you finished transforming. He thought you were a sniper rifle or some type of gun, he never imagined you transforming into a beautiful and intricate blade. And there you were, on his servos. He would so much compare you to the Great Sword, powerful and he would give his absolute spark to you.

He'll admit, it's a bit trippy to be with a talking sword but he wouldn't change it for a thing. A soft smile made its way onto his face

"Thank you, Y/N."

[callsign-dexter]

Whisper in the Wind Pt. 1

Summary: The holidays are coming up and Natasha has no place to go. So, Bradley offers for her to come to his and his wife, Leah's place. She accepts the invitation not knowing she would be meeting the love of her life.

Pairings: Natasha Trace x OC!Benjamin Bradshaw, Natasha Trace x Daughter!Reader, OC!Benjamin Bradshaw x Daughter!Reader, Bradley Bradshaw x OC!Wife!Leah Winters

Warnings: fluff

Whisper in the Wind

Masterlist

Part 1 Part 2

December 20, 2010

Natasha "Phoenix" Trace hated the holidays. Why? Because she doesn't have anybody to share them with. All of her friends weren't anywhere near her and she hadn't been stationed long at Lemoore, CA to make any new real friends, she knew Jake "Hangman" Seresin but they were nowhere near friends besides he was going home for the holidays. She didn't have any contact with her family due to a falling out. She had concluded that just sitting on her couch with a bunch of junk food and watching cheesy Hallmark, which always has the same plot and some of the same actors, would be just fine with her. It was just 4 days until Christmas and she had planned on having Christmas dinner at the base and then coming home and watching a movie and calling it good. She was just about to turn on a movie when her phone lit up beside her. She looked at it and saw the incoming call from Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, she smiled. They had met in flight school and formed a very tight bond, she was there when he got engaged to his high school sweetheart Leah Sams, and at their wedding where Natasha was her bridesmaid, just 6 months later.

"Hey, Roos. What's up?" She asked as she answered the phone.

"Hey! You're on speaker." He said

"Hey, Nix!" Leah shouted out and smiled.

"Hey, Leah." She replied back.

"What are you doing for Christmas?" Bradley asked and she sighed.

"Had nothing planned, really. Probably just get dinner down on base and then come back and watch a movie." She said

"Not one of those cheesy, always the same plot, and same actors and actress Hallmark movie." Bradley said and in disgust and then she heard a faint 'Ow' from him meaning that Leah had probably hit him.

"Yes one of those." Natasha said

"Well, cancel those plans. Pack a bag. You're coming here." He said

"Bradley." She started

"No, he's serious. We talked about it and would love to have you around. Please." Leah pleaded and Natasha sighed.

"Fine. Since you said please." She said with a playful eye roll and a smirk.

"Perfect! We'll see you when you get here." Bradley said

"I'll let one of you know when I leave." She said with a chuckle.

"Good! See you soon!" Leah said and then they hung up. She sighed, now she already had a present for them both she was just planning on sending them by mail but this worked out better.

She sat on the couch for a few more minutes and looked at her phone it was only 12 PM on December 20th and if she left at 2 PM she could be in Oceana, VA at 7 AM on December 22nd. She nodded to herself liking those odds. She got up and packed quickly and looked at her watch is was nearing 1:30 PM. She grabbed her bags and the presents and made sure that everything was locked and squared away and now she was heading to her car ready to make the drive. She had been on a week leave due to having just gotten back from a deployment so it worked out perfectly.

——————————————————————

December 22, 2010

The trip to Oceana, VA was really uneventful. Natasha did have to stop for the night, she thought about pushing through but decided against it. Now it was December 22nd there was hardly any traffic which she was grateful for. As she promised she let Bradley and Leah know when she was leaving, stopping, and going again. She was 10 minutes out when she decided to give them a call. She decided to call Leah, it rang once before she answered. Both Bradley and Leah were early risers but could easily sleep in if they wanted to.

"Hey, Nix!" Leah said and that made Natasha smile.

"Hey, Leah. I'm 10 minutes out." She told her.

"That's great! We can't wait until you get here! It's going to be so fun." Leah said and then she heard two male voices, one she recognized as Bradley and the second one that she wasn't familiar with and that sounded exactly like Bradley's.

"Hey, Leah. Who else is there?" Natasha asked as she stopped at a stoplight.

"Oh! Just Bradley's brother and my brother-in-law." Leah said like it was nothing and to her it was but not to Natasha.

"Bradley has a brother?" She asked and Leah chuckled.

"He sure does. You'll get to meet him while you're here. Now be safe and hurry up." Leah said and Natasha chuckled and then said goodbye to each other.

10 minutes later she was pulling into their driveway where she noticed both Leah's black Ford Explorer and Bradley's precious Bronco but there was a car she didn't recognize it was a deep olive green Chevy Colorado. It was sleek and looked like it was just washed. She parked next to it and got out while grabbing the presents not wanting them to sit out in the car for too long.

Natasha walked up to the door and rang the doorbell "I got it." She heard a male voice say and she didn't have to wait long until the door opened, she was expecting Bradley or Leah, not this handsome, 6'2", dirty blonde-haired man with true blue eyes with flecks of brown near his pupils. Her breath literally got caught in her throat and that never happened to her. They stared at each other him smiling and her just speechless.

"Benji! Let her in!" Bradley said pushing the other male out of the way, if anyone else had called him that he would've gotten on them but his brother was allowed to and Leah as well but she mostly calls him Ben. "I'm so glad you made it!" He said and hugged her and she smiled. She stepped into the beautifully decorated house.

"Well I wasn't going to say no to an open invitation." She said and then handed the presents to him "These are for you and Leah for Christmas." She said and that is when Leah came out.

"Ben, you're drooling." She said and shoved him and he smirked.

"How can I not? Especially with a beautiful woman in my presence." He said and that made Natasha blush and Bradley roll his eyes as he sent a wink towards her. Benjamin Bradshaw was their dad made over, besides his mustache, and was not afraid to speak his mind.

"Natasha this is my older brother by 2 years, Benjamin Bradshaw. Ben this is Natasha Trace my friend from flight school. Breakfast is almost ready. Come on." Bradley said and ushered them to the kitchen.

"Nice to meet you, Natasha. Such a beautiful name for such a beautiful woman. " Ben said to her with a smirk.

"Nice to meet you too, Ben." She said finally finding her voice again.

——————————————————————

December 23, 2010

As everyone sat down for breakfast the talking began. "So, Natasha. Bradley has told me a lot about you especially when he said you were coming down." Ben said as he took a bite of a pancake Natasha was surprised.

"All good things I hope." She said still amazed how quickly she was falling in love with this man.

"I wouldn't tell him anything bad about you." Bradley said and Leah nodded.

"He told me that you're an aviator and stationed at Lemmore." Ben said and Natasha nodded.

"That's right. I don't know a lot of people there. It's nice though." She said as she took a drink of her coffee. "I didn't know Bradley had an older brother." She said when she put her cup down and Ben looked at Bradley.

"Rude." He said but there was no malice behind it. "Well, I'm 2 years older than him. I'm an aviator as well and stationed here at Naval Air Station Oceana." He said and then took another bite of his food.

"How is it working with your older brother?" She asked Bradley and he rolled his eyes and Leah smirked.

"Terrible. He likes to remind me every second that he outranks me and I'm older than him, even though we aren't in the same squad." Bradley said and then took a bite of his food as Ben smirked.

"Oh stop your whining. Just admit it's great. At least I don't fly with you." Ben said and Bradley nodded in agreement. "Matter in fact we have an air show that is going to be happing on Christmas Eve at 5 PM and I hope you all will be able to make it." Ben said.

"Don't worry we'll be there so you can show off." Bradley said and Ben leaned over and slightly nudged him in a brotherly fashion. The rest of breakfast went without a hitch and before they knew it they were cleaning up and going to sit in the living room where the Christmas tree was lit and decorated with presents underneath. "We have a lunch planned at one of our favorite places on the pier and tonight we're just going to hang out." Bradley added and everyone nodded.

Most of the morning was spent talking about random things and getting to know one another, more so of Natasha and Ben, that 12 PM snuck up on them out of nowhere and they were loading up in the Bronco and heading to the pier. They arrived quickly and found a good parking spot and they headed inside "How many?" The hostess asked.

"4 and can we have a table outside." Ben asked and the hostess nodded and Natasha swore she fell deeper in love each time Ben talked.

"Right this way." The hostess said and they followed her and she sat them. "Someone will be with you shortly." She said and walked away after they sat down but Ben held the chair out for Natasha and when she sat down he pushed her in and sat next to her.

"So, what is good here?" Natasha asked and Ben smiled.

"Their steak is to die for and so is their fried chicken." He said and she nodded the waitress came by and took their drink orders and then left again and soon came back with their drinks. They were ready to order and did so Natasha went with what Ben got trusting his judgment. Lunch went great and it was fun learning more about Ben. When lunch was done Bradley and Ben fought over who was paying and in the end Ben won and he smiled triumphally. They all headed back to Bradley and Leah's house.

The afternoon blended into the evening and everyone was few drinks in. "Ben you staying?" Bradley asked as the night was coming to and end, supper was just snacking since they had a big lunch.

"Yea, I've been drinking. No way am I going to drive back home." Ben said and Natasha looked him in awe.

"Alright. Well, Leah and I are heading to bed you both can do whatever you want but please don't doing here we have to eat and live here." Bradley said and Leah smacked him, Ben rolled his eyes and flipped him off and Natasha blushed.

"Goodnight guys." Leah said and begun to drag her husband away.

"Goodnight." Ben and Natasha said in unison. Once they knew they were out of sight and out of earshot they began talking.

"Do you want kids?" Natasha asked once they got into a knowing each other.

"Absolutely." Ben said almost instantly and that made her smile. "I want at least one and I have more than one I would love them all equally. You?" He asked.

"Yes, especially with the right one. What gender?" She asked and he had to think about it.

"Honestly either boy or girl again I would love them equally depending on their gender. But truthfully, I really want a girl." He said and she nodded. "What about you?" He asked looking at her lovingly. "Want another drink?" He asked.

"I'm pretty much the same way. Yes, I would love another drink." She said looking at him and they stared at each other for a few minutes and then they got up and headed into the kitchen reluctantly breaking eye contact. When they got to the kitchen he walked to the fridge and got out two beers and then joined Natasha who had been standing under the doorway. Ben jus happened to look up and found mistletoe hanging there and he chuckled. "What's so funny?" She asked smiling because his laugh was music to her ears.

"Look up." He said and she did and chuckled and then looked back at him. They then found themselves leaning in and then closing their eyes and then their lips met, sparks flew for both of them when they touched lips. He had sat his drink down and blindly on the counter and came to cup her face, she sat her drink down beside his and put her arms around his neck. They continued to kiss until air was needed and they pulled away. Their lips were swollen and they were flushed. "That was-" She began.

"Prefect." Ben added and she nodded. After a few hours and snuggling and stealing more kisses and finishing their drinks they had decided to go to bed.

——————————————————————

December 24, 2010

The smell of breakfast cooking is what woke Leah and Bradley up. They groggily rolled out of bed and headed to the kitchen and as they got closer to the kitchen they heard laughter and two voices that were all to familiar. They quietly walked down the stairs and stood by them having a clear view of the kitchen and watched the scene before them. Ben and Natasha were standing side by side practically leaning into each other, he was at the stove and she was by him making the pancake batter and other food. Occasionally they would bump into each other and chuckle. Bradley took a quick glance at his wife who was smiling at the happy couple. "How long until you think they get together?" She asked quietly.

"Next month. They're already so head over hills for each other. I bet they kissed last night." He said and Leah shook her head.

"No, way." She said and Bradley smirked.

"Yes, way." He said and Leah shook her head.

"Ready to head in?" She asked and he nodded and they walked into the kitchen. "Good morning you two." She made their appearance known. Nat and Ben turned around and smiled.

"Good morning." Ben said and then turned around and finished putting the last of the pancakes on the plate and turning the stove off.

"Sleep well?" Bradley asked

"Yes." Ben and Natasha answered together which just made Bradley smirk. Ben grabbed the plate of pancakes and bacon, walked over to the table and set it in the center. Everyone grabbed their drinks and they began to eat.

"Remember the airshow is at 5 tonight. I'm gonna have to head out soon to go home get changed then head to base and get ready for it." Ben said and Natasha pulled a face that told them she was clearly upset about that but Ben didn't see it but Bradley and Leah did and they smirked and nudged each other. Breakfast was eaten with chatter and then Ben was getting ready to leave. Bradley and Leah had gone off somewhere leaving Ben and Natasha alone.

"Can't you stay just a little bit longer?" She asked and Ben smirked.

"I wish but we have to get some things ready and make sure everything is in tip-top shape for tonight. We also have to get a round of practice in." He said and she nodded in understanding. "What are your plans for New Year's?" He asked and she had to stop and think.

"Well, I was planning on leaving on the 27th and spending it alone." She said and Ben pulled a face as if saying he didn't like that.

"Why don't you just stay?" He asked and she shook her head.

"I would feel like I'm overstepping my welcome." She said looking into his blue eyes.

"Well, you could always stay with me." He said

"I don't want to intrude on you." She said unsure what to truly say because she was speechless but secretly loved it.

"Nonsense, I have two guest rooms. You wouldn't be intruding. Besides you have a few more days of leave and driving now during the holidays would be absolutely murder." He said and she nodded.

"Ok." She said and he leaned in and kissed her. What they didn't know was Bradley and Leah were watching with a smirk on their faces.

This was their plan all along of course having Natasha over was always going to be the plan because they hated the thought of someone being alone and Ben would've been over anyway. They both had been complaining about being alone for the rest of their lives and Bradley and Leah knew they would be perfect for each other so they set the plan in motion. What they didn't know was that it would've taken off so well and quickly but were absolutely glad about it.

The afternoon was spent just staying and enjoying each other's company in the house while Ben was gone. Natasha caught up with both of her best friends and overall just had a good time. Before they knew it 4:30 PM rolled around and they headed to the base. Now you may think it's silly for two Naval aviators to go see an air show but it was to support the oldest Bradshaw. Base was only 20 minutes away from each house so it was perfect. They got into the base with ease and found a spot. It was almost like a tailgate party, some people chose to sit or stand. Bradley turned his Bronco around so he could open the tailgate and they could sit on it or lay down on it. 5 PM exactly the announcer started speaking.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the 6th annual Oceana Air Show! We have some exciting things for you to see! You'll be able to see all jets and planes up close and meet the pilots. Thank you for coming and let's begin!”

The crowd roared with excitement. Upbeat music started playing but no jets or planes had taken off. Most were sitting in front of the crowd so they could see them up close and personal. As they got to looking around at all the jets the name on the side of the one in front of them stuck out to them it had Cpt. Benjamin Bradshaw and then “Eagle” was written underneath. How did they get so lucky and be in front of his jet?

“In front of you are the jets that are gonna be flying today. In a few minutes we will have the pilots and WSOs come out so we can get this show up in the air. If we have time we'll have a simulation of a base attack. We will also have the pleasure of hearing what some of the pilots are saying while up in the air.” The announcer said. 

“So tell me more about your brother.” Natasha said as she turned to Bradley as he looked at her.

“He practically raised me after our dad died. He grew up way faster than he should've, even though he hides it well with his goofiness which he got from dad. He was the one I turned to when things got rough when mom died.” Bradley said 

“He sounds like a really good guy.” Nat said and Bradley nodded.

“He’s the best.” Leah added “The first time I met him he was a total gentleman even though he did try to flirt with me but Bradley warned me about that. He cares for the ones he loves and won’t take shit from anyone.” She said and everything they were saying was just making her fall in love with him more.

“He has chewed out many people because they either caused harm to us or to anyone that he cares about. He even chewed Maverick out when he tried to pull his application out and it was bad they’re relationship was and still is strained because of it.” Bradley said and Nat was shocked. He was going to tell Nat about Maverick pulling his papers but decided against it. When Ben found out Maverick pulled his papers he was about to call him and chew him out but Bradley stopped him.

“Did he end up going to the academy?” Shs asked and Bradley nodded.

“Yea after Maverick got chewed in front of Ice might I add. He withdrew the request to pull the papers.” Bradley said 

“We talked about kids last night. He sounds like he would be a good dad.” Nat said, turning to look at his jet.

“He’s the best with kids. Always doing things for them and playing with them, I think it's because he’s a kid at heart.” Bradley said and that made Nat smile.

“Alright ladies and gentlemen! We are ready to start! I’m Lt. Justin Summers and will be telling you everything that is happening in this airshow. I’m excited for everyone to be here. We will be showing you a bunch of different jets, planes, and have a base attack simulation. We will be able to hear inside of the cockpits of some of our aviators.” Lt. Summers said and then a bunch of planes and jets were taking off and doing stunts but Leah, Bradley, and Nat had seen them before. They just wanted to see Ben fly and show off. “Alright ladies and gentlemen we have some time to do a simulation of a base attack, so at this time I want to warn you that there will be loud popping sounds and gunfire.” Lt. Summers said. 

As he was talking the pilots had started to come out all in a line and they immediately picked out Ben because he was just like Goose. Each of them went to their jet and saluted their ground crew. Everyone saluted each other and the pilots and WSOs were getting into the jets. The pilots turned on the jets and it was a beautiful start up. Before everyone knew they were taxing and up in the air and flying. 

The announcer began to talk as the siren came on and the base attack simulation began. It started with a jet releasing fake bombs making smoke. More smoke was seen from the ‘enemy’ fighters. “As the enemy takes fire on the base. Air support is called for the F-18 to come to assist.” There was the sound of 2 F-18s taking off and up into the air going after the ‘enemy’ “The friendly F-18s are flown by Captain Benjamin ‘Eagle’ Bradshaw and Lt. Luke ‘New York’ Townsend,” The announcer said and Bradley, Leah, and Nat smiled at hearing Ben’s name. “We will be able to hear inside of these two cockpits.” Lt. Summers said the base attack simulation went on and Ben had done several low flybys, especially where his brother, sister-in-law, and his future girlfriend. “Watch them go after the enemy fighter and engage in a dogfight.” Lt. Summers said

“Alright Eagle. Let’s go.” Luke said

“Let’s turn and burn.” Ben said and they were off and going after the ‘enemy’.

“On your six.” Luke said after a few moments and Ben did a move that impressed them and got behind them and toned them. The enemy flew off. 

“One down, one to go. We got this.” Ben said and then they were tag teaming to take down the other jet and they did. 

Their part was done and then the rest of it lasted a few more hours until Lt. Summers announced the end of the simulation and the end of the air show. Now they were allowed to go and meet the pilots after the jets had all landed.

They walked over to Ben and watched him while he talked with people and let some kids go and look up at the jet up and personal. He smiled when he saw them. "Hope you liked the show." Ben said and as he finished hugging them.

"We did." Leah said and Nat was just looking at him in his flight suit and falling deeper in love with him. They all talked until he had to tend to the other people and he said that they would met back at Bradley and Leah's house.

After a few hours Ben was pulling into the driveway and walking up to the house and walking in. "Honey, I'm home." He said.

"In the living room, my dear." Bradley responded and they both laughed. He walked in and saw that drinks were already served and food was on the table. Ben grabbed the beer that Bradley had held out to him. The rest of the evening was spent talking, eating and drinking. Once it reached 11 PM they went to bed but Ben stayed up and walked outside as Bradley and Leah retired to their room. Nat was about to go when he saw him outside and joined him.

"You were amazing." She said and he turned to look at her and smiled as he slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him further.

"Why thank you. I love it." He said and she chuckled.

"I do too." She said and they stood there for a few minutes looking into each other eyes and slowly leaned and kissed. They pulled away when air was needed and then they just stood there for awhile until they ended up going back inside and up the stairs they ended up cuddling in bed until the next morning.

——————————————————————

December 25, 2010

Morning came early and Natasha was waking up with a weight around her and she was confused until she turned and saw that it was Ben. He was sound to sleep and peaceful. He must've sensed her looking at him "Staring is rude." He said and opened his eyes reveling the blue she loved oh so much. "Come on. Better get up. We got presents to open." He said and she chuckled. They got up and walked downstairs to see Leah and Bradley already in the living room waiting.

"Good morning, lovebirds." Bradley said and Ben grabbed a pillow and threw it at his head which he ducked and it flew past him. Everyone chuckled.

"Sleep well?" Leah asked and they nodded. "Good now let's open presents." She said and Ben and Nat sat down by each other and the present opening begun. It took a few hours but all the presents were opened and it was now lunch.

"So, Nat you staying for New Years?" Bradley asked and she nodded.

"Ben is letting me stay at his place until then." She said and they smirked.

"Oh really now?" Bradley asked and Ben reached over and punched him in the arm.

"Yes really." Ben said as he took a bite of his sandwich that they had all agreed on for lunch.

"When are you going over there?" Leah asked loving how this was turning out.

"Once you get tired of us and kick us out." Ben joked and they rolled their eyes as Nat chuckled.

"We can never get tired of you both." Bradley said

"We'll leave here around 6 PM." Ben said and they nodded "Until then, you're stuck with us." He said and everyone laughed.

The rest of the afternoon and the evening was spent together and watching TV and trying out their gifts. Nat sat back thinking that she could get used to this and she really could. While the boys were out in the backyard paying with their gadgets the girls were left in the house. "So?" Leah started.

"So?" Nat asked looking at her.

"You and Ben." She said smirking with a knowing smirk.

"I think I'm in love." Nat said

"I knew it. He loves you too. I can tell." Leah said as they turned their attention back to the boys when a crash was heard. They watched the boys look at the two remote control jets on the ground with their hands on their hips. "Are we sure their pilots? They can't even fly remote control jets." Leah said and they both laughed, she shook her head and walked out.

"Boys, what did you do? Some pilots you are." She asked and then they started going on about what happened at the same time and it was hilarious. Nat shook her head.

"Yea, I'm in love." She said to herself and walked out to see if she could assist with anything.

Tag list:

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[themissinghand]

One Piece: Of Sweet Donuts and Fortune Cookies [1]

Part 2! Part 3!

Summary: In which every child loves sweets, and loves her otherworldly treats. (Or Katakuri learns to love)

Pairing: A little bit of Charlotte Katakuri x Immortal! Female! OC-insert (In later parts!)

Note: Where all children deserve a little bit of love. A longer fluff (with multiple parts!) than what I am used to, but no regrets writing for my fav Sweet Commander! Yes, the female OC is a transmigrator that came from the modern world who (somehow) became immortal, and is a softie.

Slice to Meet You

"Hey! Are you guys the Charlotte kiddos?"

The guys looked up in a panic, adrenaline high from the disappearance of Brûlée. Oven and Daifuku watched the woman wearily, as in her arms was just the sister they were looking for, a passed-out and injured Brûlée.

Before anyone could react, Katakuri grabbed a spear and immediately went to attack her.

"Wait!" Perospero, ever the wise older brother, tried to stop him, but couldn't do anything. Blinded by rage and rash impulse, Katakuri lunged forward to kill the mysterious woman.

But a gloved hand caught the spear with ease.

"My lady. I believe we've found the Charlotte family." His voice was gravelly calm, monotone even as he intercepted his attack. The man was dressed in a formal suit, as if he was a butler meant to serve the lady.

His azure eyes met Katakuri's enraged ones without fear, and stood in front of the woman protectively.

Katakuri jumped back, and was about to charge forward again. His body was ready for it after all, and he had his brothers at his side. He could easily defeat the woman who had hurt his dear sister-

"Oh thank God." She grinned, as if nothing else mattered, as if he never attacked her. Speaking of which, she doesn't look afraid whatsoever, she didn't even flinch when Katakuri went to kill her.

Her eyes only concentrated on his sister and their group, endearing and even worried, she even knelt down to match their height.

"Katakuri! Calm down! Brûlée is okay." Perospero held his arm and he looked at him with cold eyes, warning him. Katakuri stared back, pondering for a minute, before he backed away and then allowed Oven and Daifuku to rush over to see their sister.

"I'm guessing you're her brothers right?" The woman asked patiently, before gently putting Brûlée into Oven's arms.

"I saw her being attacked by some stupid people. Luckily, we were around and stopped them before the situation got worse. But Theseus said that the shock might've made her pass out." Theseus, the butler, simply nods in acknowledgement.

"The young lady was very brave. She repeatedly said that 'Brother Katakuri is not a monster and he's fine just the way he is'." Theseus turned to the now-gapping brother.

"Nonetheless, she's only in a state of shock. She should awake in a few hours."

Katakuri froze in his spot. Why? Why did his sister get attacked? Why must they be so cruel?

It was because of him.

"What happened to the people that dared to hurt our sister?" Oven asked, and scowled.

"I'll fucking kill them. How dare they…"

"I'm coming with." Daifuku agreed, and stood beside Oven with a dark eyes.

"No need." Theseus replied curtly.

"My lady has dealt with them." The three boys looked at the lady, who looked more like a noble than a fighter, immediately assumed that she chose the peaceful option.

"But they will still come back!" Daifuku snarled, "Those pests…"

"No. They're gone. Permanently." The lady spoke confidently with a gentle smile.

"I won't let them hurt you guys again. How could they attack children?" Anger flashed just briefly through her eyes and the children felt a chill go down their spine.

What was that? It was as if…they were being watched by a predator!

Was it Haki? Perospero wondered, and realized it was similar to the aura that his mama expressed whenever she was angry.

This lady and her butler is strong, he concluded.

Very strong, and dangerous.

"Anyway, you guys should take her home. You guys should go too." She grinned and gestured for the butler to hand her something.

It was a small bag of cookies.

"Here. Take that with you." She recoiled slightly at their sharp looks.

"It's not poisoned! I promised!" She put her hands up in surrender, she even took one and ate it herself.

"I won't be going anywhere anytime soon, so you can hunt me down if I ever do anything wrong. Okay?" She then gave them a ripped piece of paper. Perospero widened his eyes whereas the triplets looked at the paper with raised brows.

"This paper will lead you to me. And if I die, then the paper will burn."

"A vivre card." Perospero breathes out and gently took the paper away. He was both bewildered and stupefied at her immense amount of trust.

No one gives out their vivre card like that!

"Yep. You're a very smart child aren't cha?" She smiles, and Katakuri found the stranger odd.

Really odd.

But he could care less, as long as those bullies were dead, and his sister safe, he supposed she was trustworthy.

"Thank you, Perorin~" Perospero took the bag of weird cookies with him, but decided to not eat it until it was absolutely safe to.

That was their first meeting with the two strangers.

Your First Bite into Fortune

When Brûlée woke up, she was greeted with worries and apologies, all of which she pushed aside. Instead, she asked about the two strangers that she met before.

"Big brother? They're nice people. They protected me."

With Brûlée's confident testimonial, the three brothers finally relaxed.

"Then it's safe to eat her cookies right?" Daifuka nonchalantly mentioned, though he appeared quite curious, and quite hungry.

"I suppose so..." Perospero took out the bag of cookies that was shaped quite weirdly, and most definitely different than all the ones he had before.

Katakuri didn't hide his curiosity.

It was butterfly-shaped, and looked crispy with its hard shell. But the most unique part of it all was that there seemed to a piece of paper inside the cookie. On the bag was a label.

"Fortune cookies?" Katakuri was just as confused as his siblings, in all of his life, attending meals and tea parties with his mom, he has never seen this! His brothers and sister too seemed intrigued and excited to give it try.

So when they all had one, and took a bite, they were all amazed by the taste, and the texture. In fact, within minutes, they ate all of the cookies, leaving the pieces of paper in the center.

Katakuri nodded to himself when he didn't taste or feel effects of poison.

"What's this? 'Be careful of who you trust. Salt and sugar look the same'." Perospero read out loud, and Katakuri widen his eyes at the implication.

What was this? A warning? Inside a cookie?

Were the assassins getting more creative?

"What does this even mean?! 'Don't let yesterday take up too much of today'?! That makes no sense! This is stupid!" Oven twitched a brow and immediately burned his paper.

Perospero raised at brow at that one, and then came to a conclusion that this is probably random, and had no real meaning. Otherwise, all of them would have threatening or strange messages, not words of wisdom!

"Hmph, at least mine makes sense idiot. 'The most effective way to do it, is to do it'." For some reason, Daifuku seemed smug about his message.

"What? That's stupid!"

"What did you say?!"

"Look brother Perospero, my message says 'Turn your wounds into wisdom'. What does that mean?" Before he could explain, Katakuri also opened up his piece of paper.

"'Loving yourself isn't vanity, it's sanity'."

Katakuri blinks, and looks to the oldest.

After translating and reassuring his siblings, did Perospero finally took a break, and Katakuri looked back to the now empty bag.

"Sell My Soul to Cake?"

What a strange name...

Who knew that very strange name was the name of a sudden bakery that appeared out of no-where on the very next day!

[madamecerberusfanfics]

Can You Love Yet

Ch. 5 Just Another Outing

Tom Riddle x Reader/OC

It had been some time since Tom & Rowan had met on that train in their first year at Hogwarts, it was now the beginning of their third year. So many things have changed & yet so many others have stayed the same. Tom wasn't able to rap Rowan around his finger like he wanted, hell anytime he tried to sway her with his charm or intimidated with vague threats it always seemed like they just went right over her head, either avoiding, down playing or even correcting whatever he said. They both knew what he was trying to do & finally recognizing that he was not gonna get what he wanted, at least with how was going about it, he stopped.

Even with their differences, Tom had come to appreciate Rowans skills & talent when it came to potions & the other kinds of magic, besides defense against the dark arts. Tom was dumfounded at just how bad this talented pure blood which was at something that just came to him so easily.

With the start of their third year only a week away they had to prepare & gather all of their needed supplies for the new year. They had been given some money so they could go down to diagon alley & gather whatever they needed.

"You ready Tom" Rowan raised an eyebrow her tone lightly mocking. His brows ferrow as he adjusted his vest "Of course I am, now let's get this over with."

"I just know how you hate using the floo network" taking a hand of the green powder as she stepped in the very large fireplace, "Diagon alley" she spoke as clear as day while her hand threw the powder down at her feet. Disappearing right in front of Tom, within the dright green smoke that had engulfed her & reappearing in a fireplace right in the midst of Diagon alley. Not even a few seconds after she had stepped out of the fireplace, while dusting the soot off her clothes, another puff of smoke came, with Tom Riddle emerging from it. A displeased look on his face, quickly trying to get all the filth off of himself. " Well why wouldn't I, every time you use it you just get covered with filth, now then" with his clothes finally to his liking he began to walk passing Rowan as he did so " let's get this done & over with" Rowan quickly catching up with him. Looking down at the list they had brought going over what they had " the only things we need are new robes & the new textbooks for this year & of course what ever else we desire" Rowan exclaimed in a dramatic tone & hand gestures to match, Tom just rolled his eyes at her "your ridiculous" sighing as she only responded with a smile.

Right as they approached the shop where they could obtain their new robes, a group of students were gathered outside, chatting, recognizing them as some of Tom's closest friends. As soon as they saw Tom their faces lit up, waving him over. As Tom saw this his facade went into full gear, with a smile on & a welcoming voice. "I hope all your summers had treated you well" Tom engaged, after all he did have a reputation to uphold, Rowan merely stood back with a friendly smile on. She was tuning them out, uninterested in what they were talking about, until she heard her name out of nowhere catching her off guard. "Huh"

It was the Reinhard Lestrange who had called for her, when she looked towards him, he had this curious look with a smirk to match. " You know Grimm since you've been hanging around Riddle so much I think it's only fair that you get to join in-" before he could even finish Rowan had interrupted, causing the smirk that was on his face to disappear. " oh no thank you I'm quite alright, I'll be busy enough with all my school work this year." Her face & tone told him that she was sad that she couldn't. However she was truly just uninterested in what ever Tom & his friends had going on, hell she even turned down professor Slughorn's offer to join the slug club.

Throughout that entire interaction Tom had eyed them both with this blank yet unsettling face. Tom knew that Rowan had started to grow into a beautiful woman, he wasn't blind & he sure wasn't blind to the fact that some will overlook the initial creepy rumors to try & flirt with a pretty girl. His assumption was only made right when Lestrange had tried, & miserably failed, to ask Rowan to hang out.

Despite the fact that Tom & Rowan were barely friends more akin to coworkers than anything, Tom loathed the way Lestrange had looked at her, & found the bright smile she gave was even more annoying than usual.

"Well we should really be going, you know how I hate to be late, come on Grimm." Monotoned, as the tall boy turned back towards the shop, walking away, Rowan close behind. Releasing a sigh of relief for she was out of the situation.

Finally entertaining the robe shop they went straight to picking out their new robes & uniforms. As Tom examined some of the more expensive options for uniforms he noticed the higher quality of fabric. Thinking about how if it weren't for the Grimms generosity he would have been given old worn down clothes, the same kind that he wore in his first year.

It didn't take long for them to pick out & buy their new robes. "I'm telling you that skirt is just too short" commenting on the new skirt Rowan had bought. Taking the bag from the cashier she chuckled. "Oh please it has the same proportions as last year, are you sure your not just scared of another boy trying to flirt with me" a sly smile & a questioning eye directed at Tom. A sigh of frustration left him as they exited the shop. "That wasn't flirting, that was just painful" grimacing at the mention of it, the feelings of anger that Tom had towards Lestrange also reemerging.

It didn't take long for them to finish their shopping, making their way back to the fireplace they had come from. When a hand lightly caressed his arm, turning to see Rowan, " I'll be right back just going to grab something." & before he could even abject she was off, lightly running right into Honeydukes.

With an eye roll he walked up to the store front, looking through the window only to see a very familiar redhead jumping on her tiptoes trying to reach for the last box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans on the very top shelf.

Rowan could feel the box of jelly beans graze the tips of her fingers with every jump. She just needed to- "Accio." Someone behind her had summoned the box to them, standing there frozen arm still outstretched. Someone had taken the last box, why hadn't she thought of using accio.

"You know for someone as dedicated to magic as you are it's astonishing how often you forget to use it." Snapping out of her shocked state she turned around to see Tom holding the box of jelly beans.

"W-well I don't see the point in using magic when I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself." Though her expression showed pride & dignity she couldn't stop the very red blush from covering her face. Seeing right through her Tom just rolled his eyes & handed Rowan the box.

"Thank you good sir." With the same dignified blush covered face she quickly started to walk towards the register.

Finally they both walked out of the shop with Rowan happy with her perches, they were back on track to finally go home.