#i set him down an a plant after this bc he was on the floor and i almost stepped on him!!

[kiss-me-muchoo]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭 || 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐮𝐬

summary_ having an affair with General Acacius overseas while conquering lands turned into a problem after coming back to Rome, when you fell for a gladiator that turned out to be a missing prince.

warnings_ CRINGE, girthy age gap (legal) (I’m 20, sorry) historical inaccuracy, angst, violence, gore, animal death, sexism and misogyny, fluff but angst, a lot of canon divergence bc I said so. NO PROOFREAD, BEWARE!

note_ i can’t remember if Denzel’s character was named Macrino, I can’t remember which year the movie is set in, I can’t remember many things but let me know if I fucked up too much. And listen to fallen fruit from Lorde while reading.

♪ ♫ Pedro playlist | ✰ Index (+ fics here)

𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆ 𓆇𓆸⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆ 𓆇𓆸⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆ 𓆇𓆸

The sea was a free land. Nobody could conquer it because there wasn’t anything valuable floating around. Perhaps at the bottom of the ocean, a treasure may lay, but no man had shown the desire to dive into the deep.

The screams of the innocents are loud enough to make you feel empathy for them. But Acacius had trained you to put a mask of neutrality when leading war.

Loving the most effective soldier of Rome was your little secret. He married the daughter of an old emperor and he fought to get her privileges and prevent her from danger.

Always the insane little girl running around the palace, rambling about plants, the stars, a dream of Rome in flames. It was enough to be secretly sent to a scribe's university in Egypt for some time.

Upon your return, not much had changed, only that your father, once lead of the council, then the wise of Rome had died. Consequently, your evil stepbrothers were crowned emperors. They named you a soldier and made sure you were at every battlefront, hoping for your death.

But your general trained you well, and with months of practice, you ended up tangled up with him on his sheets in Greece.

Adultery was considered a crime in Rome and you’d give the perfect reason to your brothers to burn you like a witch. Or worse, to send you to fight at the arena of the Colosseum.

But the people who accompanied you and Acacius overseas were loyal and couldn’t care less if you had an older man fucking you each night. They only cared about you being a good soldier on the battlefront and being a good princess in Rome.

With a couple of hours left to be home again, you had your wounds checked. Conquering Numidia was one of the last African cities to be marked by the Romans and your brothers desperately wanted to own it. Only a few burns scattered across your leg and your shoulder needed stitches were the price to pay.

The wooden floor creaked and the general turned around alert but as soon as he saw you, he seemed to calm down.

Your arms wrapped around him and he immediately had to lean and kiss you. His lips tasted like devotion, peace, and lust. Acacius always grabbed your hips first. Then he moved to your waist, only to end up caressing your cheeks as his lips kept marking you his.

“What did the doctor say?” asked Acacius as he gasped for air.

“Nothing to worry about…” You nodded at him and he turned his back to you again, looking at his open windows, to the sea.

“What about yours? How is the scar on your nose?”

“It’s fine. Could’ve been worse” You walked towards him, sensing he had bathed like you as well, his hair looked perfectly curly and you couldn’t help but smile.

You could stay looking at the horizon forever, just because he was by your side. The sound of the waves calmed your mind after another day of calamities brought by war.

“For those who chose the sea, greatness waits at the end of the rainbow,” you said smiley. But the general remained stood silent.

“Those are ludicrous tells, the truth is that even war has infected the sea as well.”

“Because we chose to fight, then yes, the sea is also an arena. But if we chose not to, the way will not depict war” his eyes kept looking at you, completely fixated and even threatening, like Acacius was trying to understand how much you were judging him.

“We do this because we don’t have any other choice, princess y/n,” Acacius said, finally turning to look at you.

“We could run away, to the south, the islands of the Tyrrhenian Sea are empty, nobody wants to live there” your voice trembling, nervous and waiting for his response. He stared at nothing, probably thinking. And that made you uneasy.

“I can’t leave Rome, I have to go back to…” he said coldly.

“Your wife….Right”

Silence. Even the sea seized the sound of the waves.

“Haven’t you told her?”

“What’s there to be told? I said this was only a thing of passion and lust” You bit your tongue at his harsh words.

“Was it? Would you say that all those nights you shared your past with me meant nothing, Marcus?”

There it was. His most personal name, that one nobody used. The general got closer to you, paying attention to your face. Princesses did not have scars, but you did. He wanted to say so much, but he couldn’t. You noticed how his fingers were about to trace the pink scar on your chin but he moved away.

“I was drunk most of the nights, doping the pain” Finally your eyes crystallized.

“Do you love Lucilla, General?” His steps stopped then turned around to face you one last time.

His eyes looked doubtful but soon landed on his feet.

“… I do love her” you nodded, holding the tears and bursting out of his room in anger.

“Of course you do”

Your disappointment was so evident that Acacius was able to look at your face reddening and tears falling freely. He could only sigh and go back to pack his things and get ready to arrive in Rome again.

If only you knew…

…

The crowds of Rome couldn’t stop screaming your name. It was “PRINCESS Y/N!” and “ACACIUS!” everywhere.

You were no hero, you just wanted a peaceful life in a free Rome with the man you loved. And you can feel his hand brushing yours while his left salutes the parade of people chanting both of your names. The truth is you have no purpose but to serve your brothers and pretend that is your life.

The twins always hated you. Their mother was a wealthy woman but yours was the emperor’s true love. The twins used to pull your hair and always picked poisonous berries to give you as a meal while being toddlers. It got worse as everyone noticed you were your father’s favorite. And with him gone, you were utterly alone in the world.

Your clumsy steps made you arrive later. There was no crown for you waiting like it had been for Acacius. Geta and Caracalla were talking to him. And when you noticed the sword in the general’s neck, your face went serious.

“Do not forget the privileges we’ve made for your wife” you heard Geta saying.

“Same benefits we’re making for your whores, frater” The twins turned to look at you, quickly releasing Acacius and going straight to you. Their golden armors were a mere matter of display. They could barely wield a sword. They were bad with the bow and arrow and their reflections were poor too. They were good with numbers and shapes, but that wasn’t much in the city they shaped. One full of segregation and violence.

“Dear, soror… you’re back…” you think Geta gets closer to hug you, but his hand has raised and he gives you a sharp slap across the cheek.

“Dazzling and with such a big mouth as always” he added while you looked down, your cold hand against the reddening skin and sending him the worst look you had.

“Leave the princess alone, emperor. We should be focusing on the games ahead. We brought many slaves that some of them could fit as gladiators” Acacius said, looking affectionately at you, with disguise.

Caracalla only laughs in your face and his monkey reaches you for some seconds, but your brother pulls him away quickly. You wonder how far his disease has spread. Before leaving Rome, he was completely against seeing a doctor.

“Acacius is right, Geta. Let’s focus on the games” the twins agreed but sure, they had to humiliate you one last time.

“Alright then. But the next time I see you, dear y/n… I don’t want to see your hair down freely. You look like a whore and not the princess of Rome” he whispered loud enough to make everyone hear. But finally, the twins were gone.

“Are you alright?” The general asked but you rolled your eyes.

“I don’t need your help, Acacius. I’ve dealt with Geta and Caracalla since the day I was born. Which was before we met you” he sighed, understanding you were still mad from your last conversation. He appreciated your free hair, long and healthy despite the fires you went through while in combat.

“I just don’t want to see you hurt. It’s enough they sent you to serve in the war when you should be here, safe from the horrors”

“Go home to your wife, Acacius. Your dinner will be cold…” you spit out with a bitter tone before walking away, disappearing through the walls of the palace.

…

Standing naked, dripping, and waiting for servants to dry you up, you stare at the dress hanging in your room. It had been months since you wore a dress, used to armor and tight braids, and the sensation of the fabric felt odd.

As a kid, you wished to befriend your servants, but they remained professional and apologetically brushed away your questions. Which made you feel even more lonely while they dressed you up; placing gold jewelry and rings with quartz, spraying perfume, and cleaning your teeth. Geta and Caracalla always stole the sweets from you as kids, you thanked them because instead, it was Caracalla who ended up with a decayed tooth and a gold one as a replacement.

“You’re ready, princess,” said one of the servants and you smiled at her as a thank you.

The whole time while you and your brothers awaited to arrive at the Colosseum, you ignored them. You sneaked away as soon as you arrived. Knowing the place like the palm of your hand, you took a secret passage, in hopes to go and tend your horse to delay the entertainment as long as you could.

Gladiator fights were of no interest to you. But the people loved it. Their ignorance made you understand why they hadn’t tried to throw your brothers from the thrones.

But being months away made you forgetful of the architecture of the Colosseum, forgetful enough to end up in the cells of gladiators. Looking perplexed, you gulped nervously. There were indeed many slaves brought.

Being the only woman there made you the center of attention. Even worse when you looked exactly like a princess would do.

“Princess y/n, What are you doing here?” Asked one of the high-rank soldiers, running towards you.

“I wanted to tend my horse. It was brought here by accident” you replied, eyes wandering through the cells, noticing the people inside them were full of new people, probably from Numidia. You wonder if they recognized you.

Your eyes met the ocean-blue ones of a man, he certainly recognized you as he looked at you with anger. You gulped once again, looking away from him. But his gaze had been so strong that you didn’t hear a servant come running from the end of the hallway.

“A TIGER ESCAPED! A TIGER ESCAPED! CLOSE THE DOORS!” he screamed and soon everyone went into panic mode. You didn’t have enough time to process what he said and do anything. You stood there confused for some seconds. The violent roars of the animal could be heard closer. You looked around trying to find a weapon.

“Stay behind me, princess,” said the same soldier but you didn’t trust him so you went to grab a bow and arrow. The prisoners yelled and quickly you understood they were having a private show. They hated you for being Roman, and they thought they would see you dying.

But you wouldn’t give them that satisfaction as much as you sympathized with them.

The tiger appeared, big and imposing. The animal was angry, visibly distressed, and ready to attack.

You had killed men, but an animal was different. There was no exact description of what to do. Just pure instinct. So you try to calm yourself before the tiger spots you and the soldier, who are the only ones that remain vulnerable. The guards closed the entrances as protocol, unbeknownst that you were there. And it had been too late to use the secret passage.

You felt the same man’s eyes on you and indeed, he looked carefully at you, probably wondering what would be your next move.

“PRINCESS, STAY AWAY!” The soldier screamed when the tiger came running towards you two.

The tiger jumped and threw the soldier, roaring as it tried to kill him. So you ran away in hopes of aiming at the eye of the animal to gain time. Your hands shaking and you could feel your legs get tangled up in the fabric of your dress. But your nervousness isn’t visible as your hands work on getting ready for the arrow. You don’t have time to calculate, the tiger has already bitten the soldier’s fingers.

You hit it very near the eye and the animal roared even louder, in pain. That’s when you spotted the sword the soldier had left behind, where you threw yourself to, as the tiger had tried to attack you again. The man with blue eyes pushed the sword towards you from inside the cell and you didn’t even look to thank him, you only grabbed the weapon and rolled to the right before the animal could scratch your face and kill you.

You heard the soldier cry out in pain but you couldn’t help him. Thinking you could end the beast chasing you, you failed, sinking the sword in the ribs of the animal. You felt a deep scratch in your arm and you cried out. Anger quickly builds up as you know you had to get out of there before everyone at the coliseum found out. The tiger roared one last time and before it could throw you to the sandy ground you grabbed another arrow and directly pierced the eye of the animal. Blood starts pouring and before the tiger can try to bite and break your neck, your hands end up in its mouth.

The fangs were dangerously digging into your hands and more blood started coming. Scarlet droplets fell all over your face and you didn’t care. You screamed in pain and pulled all the strength in your body to put the pressure on your arms and hands. The men inside the cells cheered and made you even more angered. Until you had torn open the tiger’s mouth, breaking its jaw and killing the animal.

Breathe….

Pushing the dead animal aside, you sighed, resting on the dirty floor for a couple of seconds before taking a long breath and standing up.

Every man inside each cell looked at you quietly. What’s there to say?

Five guards open the main entrance and look confused at the mess, then at you tending the heavily injured soldier.

“Bring a doctor,” you tell them and they nod without asking more questions. Only one comes to your side.

“The games are about to begin, princess. I must escort you back to where you should be” Trying to catch your breath, you nodded.

“Do not say a word about this mess” The guard only bowed his head in agreement.

The least you could do was to put some bandages around the bloody hand of the soldier. Then you cleaned yourself and noticed you were a mess.

Giving that soon-to-be gladiator one last look, you tried to thank him with your eyes for what he had done to help you. He understood, giving you a cold nod.

And as you walked towards the royal platea, you wondered if that was the slave your brothers mentioned. A poet…

“Oh heavens! What happened to you?” Asked Lucilla as soon as you tried to take a seat beside Geta. Then everyone turned to look at you in horror. You noticed Acacius looked worried and he couldn’t keep his eyes away from the blood in your dress and bandaged arm.

“An accident” you replied politely at the woman, not in the mood to face the wife of your ex-lover.

“You look horrible,” said Caracalla.

“It won’t; happen again, frater” you tiredly answered, sinking onto the chair, ignoring Acacius’ eyes on you.

Soon you are surprised to see the gladiator who helped you in the arena. You don’t face him when he ends up winning and he looks at you. But you do notice Lucilla’s behavior and quickly you have connected the dots.

What an odd coincidence…

…

This time, you checked the animals first, then you made sure nobody had seen you entering the cells, but you went where the mysterious gladiator of blue eyes rested.

“Barbarian, monkey eater, slave, gladiator…. Prince of Rome, How may I call you? Hanno or Lucius?” Soon you had him inches away from your face. At that moment, you had time to appreciate his features. He was handsome and looked pretty much like he belonged to Roman royalty. But his gaze was fueled by anger and pain.

“What do you want?”

“I know Lucilla came before me. She had been waiting for you ever since I can remember” he looked at you with cold eyes and unbothered. But you knew he was curious about you too.

“What do you care? You’re the princess, you support all of this” his anger was palpable, it was part of his way of fighting you had noticed.

“Who did you lose?” You asked.

“My wife” he replied after a little silence, you nodded apologetically. He didn’t believe you.

“My father was a friend of your grandfather, part of the council. Now I realize that when he was elected emperor, he started hunting you down. I’m sorry”

“You don’t. You joined their cause and you fight proudly on the battlefront. I saw you…” you chuckle sarcastically.

“The twins you met the other day are my half-brothers. And they have tried to kill me since I was born. They sent me to war as punishment, but Acacius trained me well enough to survive each battle”

“So what? Should I pity you?”

“No, please don’t. But I don’t support any of this. I want to be a free woman and be with the man I love but I don’t think I’ll live enough to make it happen” he seemed interested in your words but pretended he wasn’t. Either way, you kept talking.

“You can’t kill Acacius. He’s leading a rebellion against my brothers” he stood quiet, trying to taste the lies in your words. But you seemed very truthful.

“Interesting that you want his head when all I’ve wanted is his heart” Through the cell his eyes sparkled and looked tentatively at you, for some seconds you got too attached to them.

“What about Macrino?” The old man had been trying to gain your brother’s trust and you thought that was suspicious.

“Don’t trust him. Stop sharing any detail that could tell him what you want or fear”

“I don’t trust you either”

“You shouldn’t,” you said, a little smile unconsciously appearing on your face. And to your surprise, Lucius smiled too. There was something about you that he found lovely. You seemed honest, but he couldn’t trust you yet. So he cursed once you had left, you had him looking forward to meet you again.

…

Across the room runs a large table filled with food. A variety of fruits, bread, lamb, duck, pork, and lots of wine. Your hands float around the punch though, reminding you of the first time you tried Egyptian beer. You ended up drunk with Marcus Acacius, laughing on the sand and soon both ended up naked. You frown, trying to forget that messy night.

“You’ve been oddly quiet these past days,” said Lucilla appearing by your side, grabbing more fruits and placing them on her plate.

“I’ve been busy”

“Have you met Macrino?” She said pointing in disguise at the man who laughs with some senators and your brothers.

“He’s been around for some time. But I don’t like him” you confessed.

“I’ve also met his poet gladiator” you added, opting to not look at her eyes because she responded very shocked.

“What?”

“He wants to kill Acacius for the death of his late wife, avenge his homeland, etcétera etcétera. I told him not to because we plan to free the city. You can’t proceed with the nonsense of taking him out of the Colosseum. Your son can’t be the alibi to start a revolution, Lucilla” you said whispering. She gasped in shock, wondering how you knew already. All while you carefully watched if any of your brothers or that nosy man were looking. Not even Acacius was looking.

You sigh, shrugging and looking at the woman.

“As soon as he came out wielding that sword in the arena, your face said everything. Then just by hearing his mysterious backstory. It was obvious, Lucilla” She didn’t say anything else, so you continued.

“I shall repeat myself once again. You won’t encourage Acacius to get your boy out of the Colosseum.”

“Why not?” you chuckled at the woman.

She was very pretty, sweet and caring. No wonder why the general loved her.

“You and your husband were lucky that I found out one of your maids heard everything and was about to spill it”

“What did you do, y/n?” She asked tired, thinking destiny was so meticulous and how you had ended up in such a position to hear and stop the maid before chaos unleashed.

“Let’s say I granted her eternal silence,” you said, Lucilla sighed, understanding. And before she could thank you, you spoke again.

“Wait till Lucius is in the arena to save him. And stop looping Acacius into this madness, you’ll make him get killed” She understood everything by the way your eyes looked at her. It shocked her, but she remained calm as you left to sit at the table. Only a woman in love spoke with a mix of venom and sweetness like that.

Taking a seat beside the General, he turned to look at you.

“What were you talking about there with Lucilla?” He asked in a very low but deep tone.

“Just gossiping about Senator Brutus and his new wife…” he knew you were lying but tried to act normal.

“Princess y/n… How true are those rumors about you breaking the jaw of a tiger?” asked a scribe, making you look away from Acacius, Lucilla returned to the table and your brother was already laughing at you for something you couldn’t hear.

“Well… it’s true, domine.” The table burst into laughter. Only the general and his wife remained silent.

“You did what?” Asked Acacius looking at you in horror.

“A princess shouldn’t be in combat” added Macrino, making you set your eyes on him.

“Oh I am a princess but I’m also a soldier, domine. And I have to thank my brothers because they made me a woman capable of wielding more than one weapon by sending me to war” The twins stopped laughing. Geta sipped from his wine and returned to you.

“That’s true. While you were there getting battle scars, Caracalla and I focused on diplomacy, ensuring we gained more land” You want to laugh at his face. The council did that, not the twins.

“Did you ensure the poor were stable by cutting from the rich? Did you do the math to financially cover each branch Rome rules, Geta? Or did you and Caracalla just point at lands on a map to get like prizes?”

“y/n…” Acacius whispered your name, trying to make you stop. The tension has risen very quickly.

“You have one task, soror. To give us India. A woman shouldn’t even be speaking on the table” Caracalla said when you were about to stand up and burst out. Marcus grabbed your hand under the table.

And immediately calmed you down.

“I’m only saying you should wisely rule this great empire. Do not let it fall…”

Soon the chatting turned into drinking after the awkward moment. When most of the men were getting drunk you returned to the table, cautiously grabbing food again. When you looked up, you encountered the image of Acacius kissing Lucilla. And it made your blood boil.

In a thick piece of fabric, you placed bread, some fruits, cheeses, and a small piece of lamb.

“What are you doing?” you nearly screamed when you noticed Acacius standing by your side.

“I’m grabbing food”

“Isn’t it a little late to eat again?” He wasn’t judging you, he never would, but he was very curious.

You would start up a little fire after seeing the painful image of him kissing his wife.

“It’s not for me…” before he could ask you you sprinted away. His blood boiled too, his hand firmly grabbed your wrist to stop you.

“What are you playing?” He asked.

“Playing? I’m definitely not”

“Is this some kind of punishment for what I told you days ago?” You sighed.

“I didn’t mean to say it was nothing. But… you have to wait, y/n” Acacius whispered and you chuckled.

“I’ve waited long enough to realize you will always be trapped in a marriage with two different kinds of love. And Lucilla will never love you like you want because her heart will always beat for that gladiator whose name was carved from the Colosseum”

You had raised your voice, Lucilla was looking at you two, and everyone else was drunk. So you violently flinched away from the man, who looked at you with a mix of pain and rage.

You leave and he immediately sends a guard to follow you in disguise.

“We must talk,” Lucilla said to Acacius, taking his hand.

He nodded.

…

What did that man have that made you feel safe? He didn’t protest when you walked inside his cell. He didn’t demand you to go away. He quietly lets you inside, talk, and explain yourself.

Two visits filled with food from your dinners were enough to let him know you had no intention of killing him. Your curiosity must’ve been too big, his eyes too attractive, and an odd vibration that warmed your chest.

To be honest, you had no idea why you came back to him. You just felt something. And you hated to admit it.

“If the emperors have made your life so difficult, Why didn’t you leave?” Lucius asked. He had eaten everything you gave him and was sitting beside you on the dirty floor.

“Every time I tried to escape, I couldn’t make it far enough. So I stayed and accepted my fate. To serve them will keep me alive ” he nodded, finally understanding why you hadn’t revealed yourself against the evil emperors.

“You didn’t come down here just to talk”

“I didn’t. I- I guess I just want to believe you’ll do something greater than I have always tried. Everyone talks about your rage but I think you quite act like a prospect hero… with honor” you revealed and wanted to cut your thong like you did with that old maid. You hated oversharing. But instead, Lucius chuckled and you frowned confused, expecting him to talk.

“You reminded me of my wife…”

“How so?”

“She said similar things to you” Most unexpectedly, you blushed. Thankfully the darkness of the cell made it unnoticeable.

“I’m trying to find a way to get you out of here before your mother does something rushed”

“I was very harsh with her”

“How couldn’t you? I would have behaved the same way. But she loves you and she doesn’t want to let you go just when she found you” Lucius smiled once again, making you remain still, unsure of what to do next. Soon you realized the sun was very close to coming up again.

How many hours had you spent talking with the rightful Prince of Rome?

“I must go, Geta and Caracalla will know I spent the night away,” you said standing up, trying to clean the mess your dress had become.

“Will I see you again before that revolution happens?” You smiled, walking back near him.

He was tall, you had to completely raise your head to face him.

“The final day of the games is closer. I’ll bring you more food and I’ll try to see what will the next encounters look like”

“Thank you. I judged you too fast…” he said and you chuckled.

“You still have time to change your mind”

You didn’t notice when he closed the distance. Just when his face had been inches away from yours, you gasped.

But neither of you two protested, your lips touched his at the same time.

Tasting the wine you brought him made you feel intoxicated. No intrusive thoughts appeared while you kissed him.

You could only taste his passion, his need to take control. But all his hidden softness too. One of his hand caressed with softness your cheek and the other grasped your neck.

“Stay safe, Lucius,” you said as you moved away from him.

…

The whole day was lost because you spent it sleeping. Only when you woke up for dinner, did you learn you had missed the games of the day. But Lucius was alive at least. You dreamt of his kiss but when you woke up you had an odd sensation in your stomach. Confusion filled you and then… ache.

As you brushed your hair, you got lost looking at a red candle. It had been a present from your father some years ago. A red candle to be lit whenever you felt like you needed to feel love, he had said.

The wise emperor had wished to see his daughter with her true love. Just like had always wanted but couldn’t.

There was a broad shadow that you spotted through the mirror. It made you pull out a silver knife and point a the figure.

Soon the cape was removed and you sighed but also gasped shocked to see Acacius standing in the middle of your room.

“What are you doing here?” You asked worriedly, standing up and hurrying to close your windows.

“You had spent all these past nights in the Colosseum,” he said, sounding a little angered.

“Now you’re spying on me, Acacius?” He sighed exasperated.

“What are you doing with that gladiator?”

“What do you care?” You asked with defiance.

“He’s going to get you in trouble, princess y/n” Your eyes pierced his, but you decided to move away, leaning against the towers of your bed.

“He deserves more. And not only him, but every slave we brought and all those we left in ruins” you admitted, looking at the fire of the candle.

“They do, but it’s not our duty, at least not yet. We need to focus on the plan we have…” you wanted to roll your eyes and yell at him, his wife could’ve ruined everything and he was only paying attention to you.

Only paying attention to you?

“Stop going to see that man”

“His name is Hanno and I’ll visit whenever I desire” you spit out with bitterness and you knew he was angry. Acacius clenched his jaw and sighed once again. Under his cape rested his armor, his hair messy, and his scars fading.

“Why? Because he makes you feel things?”

You remained quiet. As simple as it was, his question took you by surprise.

“I-… I don’t know. I had no reason to go back to him, but I did it anyway”

“Oh heavens, y/n. Don’t you see that I’ve always told you to wait? Because I’m counting every golden coin I have to give you that house on the island you always point at. To leave Rome with you…”

It took you on a curve. You didn’t know what to say, only the tears wanted to be present.

His hands found your hips and his lips seek yours. Sometimes, while being overseas, you two would argue. And the only cure was to be silent and kiss after a day of ignoring each other.

This time feels different. You feel so confused.

His forehead softly bumped yours and you two stayed like that for some time.

“If you had those ideas to fulfill with me. Why do you remain married, Marcus?” He smiled.

“That’s different, satis. I was set to marry when you were very young. I just can’t undo it.”

“Why do I feel like you’re only doing this because you feel pressured?”

“It’s not like that”

“Either way you wouldn’t tell me that you love me. So it’s in vane…”

“BUT I DO LOVE YOU!”

You frowned, biting the inside of your cheek. For a moment you thought you could only hear how your heartbeats slowly thumped. What you wanted to hear for years had been delivered. It felt good, even right to hear it. And when you were about to believe it, something clicked.

“No, Marcus. You just realized you hate the idea of me falling in love with someone else. Even worse when it’s the son of your wife”

Without the strength to say anything else, you moved away. Your feet quickly dragged you out of your room, and then out of the palace.

You walked through the streets of Rome, seeing all the hunger, poverty, the lack of love from the government.

By midnight you arrived at the shore. The warm sand cured your bolting mind.

There was an imminent battle coming up. You had a place in the rebellion. And yet you had to be only thinking in two men. Who had made a mess of you in a matter of days.

You had nothing with any of them. It was just the causality of what they made you feel.

Lucius made you feel like the woman you would’ve been if you had escaped Rome years ago.

Acacius made you feel adored like the woman you turned into wasn’t as bad as you thought. He believed in you.

But it wasn’t enough. None of them were enough. Your mind was spiraling and you realized you were sobbing in the middle of the dark. You can hear and faintly distinguish the sea. You had cracked, like the fallen fruit every poet and philosopher always mentioned.

And even when you knew you had to only focus on the war, you still didn’t know what to do. You barely knew the men that had you losing it.

_________________________

Taglist: @stargirl-mayaa @willowpains @nicolebarnes

I don’t love the ending but I genuinely don’t know who should reader end up with. PLEASE SEND IDEAS!!

[wizardryig]

OH YEAH i saw this what i think is an io moth? at work yesterday

he has some gorgeous eyespots on his back wings

[anadiasmount]

as time gets close - jude bellingham x reader.

quick sum: almost close to your due date, what is wrong with a late-night grocery trip with your very excited and anxiously waiting fiance?

wc: 1.8k | masterlist | jude's masterlist

psa 🗣️: a little dad! jude blurb bc we haven’t seen much of this on the timeline!! like always hope you enjoy 🤍

"why are you bending down? you know that is bad for you," you rolled your eyes at your fiance's scolding, grabbing the keys from the floor. "i dropped the keys by accident," you say as you pick the correct key that belonged to the lock. jude rubbed your belly, ensuring you were okay before helping you out to the car, the reusable bags tucked underneath his arm.

"did you bring the list?" you ask him seeing as he nods and pulls it out from the pockets of his hoodie. "i did. i also brought you some snacks because you didn't eat much after getting some nausea," you pouted your lips leaning up to peck his cheek thanking him. "what would i do without you?" you tease, a playful scoff falling from his lips.

"what makes you think you'd be without me? i'm attached to you for life remember?" he grabs your left hand kissing over your ring finger as he gives you a knowing look. you feel as he brings your intertwined hands to your belly, "and you're carrying my baby in there."

"really i couldn't tell," you say sarcastically.

"let's make it quick because my feet already hurt and i want to sleep," you advised letting out a tired yawn. despite being close to your due date, you still had some work to do before maternity leave. making calls to set meetings, attending them over zoom, filing paperwork, in charge of making sure the firm doesn't backfire, and planning some stuff out for your wedding.

jude had told you multiple times to take it easy, but placing that aside, he always helped you unconditionally. in the shower, when cooking, taking care of chores, before bed, and attending all your doctor's appointments. he was your personal midwife and wanted to take care of you the most he could.

you remembered to look on his face when you told him you were expecting, the tears on his face as he spoke to your barely bump all night and traced his hands on your belly. singing and humming lullabies and stories about his day. since then he wanted to protect you the best he could.

going to the grocery store at this time was nothing new, in fact, it became so prevalent now that you were pregnant because you craved everything. making jude do a late run to pick up your cravings or groceries for the upcoming weeks. the same store, at the same time.

you placed your purse on the cart, snuggling into your jacket as the cold air inside the store blew you away. you followed jude who picked out veggies and greens for his meal prepping, helping him tie the bags and weigh them on the digital scale that produced labels. you watched in awe as your boyfriend picked out three pairs of different flowers. "what are these for?" you asked, smelling the flowery scent.

"for the house. we need to replace the old ones that dried out," jude says with a shy grin. "you were the one who said plants and flowers bring a sense of home into our house, " jude recalled your words, kissing your temple, pushing the cart since it became a bit heavier. "i did say that didn't i? well i wasn't wrong," you shrug, wrapping a hand around his bicep as he trailed along isles to pick up the different items on the list.

he did all the heavy lifting as you reached and picked stuff up from your level, like spices and eggs. you turn your back for a few seconds to retrieve some milk and coffee beans for the morning, to see the cart filled with pop tarts and other salty snacks. "no no no," you shake your head, as jude whines out protests. "y/n we need them! they're even on sale!"

“jude, i don’t care! we just got some three days ago!,” you say laughing, putting back the box of pop tarts. “y/n i’m telling you right now, in a couple of hours or days you’re gonna have me running back here for them,” jude states following behind you.

“am not!” you quickly defend, bringing a hand to your aching back. “are too! last night you had me running out for cheetos. what’s it going to be today? kettled popcorn? or wingstop?” jude teased making you rolls your eyes and focusing back on to what needed to get done. “don’t forget we need to pick some of that acid reflex stuff for you, to get rid of the heartburn,” jude reminds you, taking the cart and walking out of the pop tarts isle, sneaking a box in for you.

“what’s left on the list?” you ask him, taking out a small snack you had in your purse and offering some to jude. “we need bananas, strawberries, orange juice, and meats for upcoming dinners…” jude reads the list one by one, using his index finger as he goes along.

you pass by an isle grabbing some cereal and granola for your yogurts and bowls. jude insisting he grabs his favorite too since you refuse to share from your part. as you wait by the deli section jude come behind you, grabbing your belly and relieving some of the pressure.

you immediately lay your head back on his shoulder sighing in relief, hearing jude chuckle and place a kiss on your head. “almost there darling,” he whispered running one of his hands along your tummy. “i know what you’re doing jude… and if this baby starts kicking right now i’ll leave you here,” you warn.

“i’m just trying to help you love. doesn’t it feel good?” he reprimanded as you nodded. “yes but not when she starts kicking, i swear she does it on purpose and it’s your fault. like she knows it you,” you said feeling your lower back less tense and heavy. "i kid you not, last night she almost made me pee from this hard kick!"

"sounds to me like we have a mini footballer coming into our lives," said jude continuing to hold your belly since you were tired and your baby was heavy. he had read the method online with other tips and tricks. jude got more into reading when he found out you were pregnant, wanting to know every effect and secret to ensure a healthy and safe pregnancy.

"let's hope not, i don't think i could handle cleaning up broken stuff around the house every day," you sigh, releasing yourself from his hold because you began to get hot. you didn’t understand how your body was so quick to adjust and then de-adjust from hot and cold, but it was so easy and it drove you mad sometimes.

“you okay?” jude softened his eyes as you let out a breath of despair, holding your hand and feeling a sit squeezed tightly against his. “yeah just got a mini cramp,” you held your back and practiced breathing methods you learned, “i’m good, i promise,” you kiss his hand before retrieving the meats from the butcher. "we'll get home soon, and i promise you a warm tea and massage okay?"

"did you want chocolate or strawberry milk?" jude held up the pint containers, "strawberry, we still have chocolate milk at home," you said, jude nodding as he quickly picked the orange juice and your favorite yogurts. "i was never a fan of sweet or flavored milk but these are soooo good," you exaggerated, jude smiling hard down at you.

"never a fan? these were my childhood as a kid! my mum used to buy these or the powder to make it ourselves," jude says recalling a old memory thinking of his babygirl. "you reckon she'll like them too?" jude spoke softly as he saw you give him a fast nod. if there was one thing loved it was discussing his babygirl. he was so anxious and wanted to meet her. the itch in his teeth getting bigger as every day passes.

to hold her while she slept, hug her to keep her warm, coddle her to sleep, feed her. he was ready for it all. he loved to shop and spoil her already. her carrier, crib, different books, toys, and stuffed animals like he had as a kid. she didn't know it yet, but she would be jude's second best friend. firstly you. always you.

they saw if one ever finds love at first sight, and jude definitely did with you. a smile so bright, eyes gleaming with happiness, a stranger who he fell madly with almost immediately after hearing her say hello. through ups and downs, you found your way to each other and since then, it's a love story for the movies. jude had his career blowing, a beautiful fiancee, and now a baby on the way. what more could he want?

as jude helped bag the groceries into the recycled bags you had, you paid and thanked the cashier whom you got close with on nights like these. asking how her day was, about her kids, anything special, always something to distract her. "you two have a safe night!" she yelled as you turned and thanked, wishing her a good night as well.

after you insisted on helping, you carried four light bags as jude carried most bags since he hated double trips. you guys quickly unpacked everything, longing and wishing to get into bed. you ensure the stove and other appliances are off, grabbing your tea and heading upstairs with jude.

"lay here for me," jude instructed, grabbing some cream and begging to smooth and massage out the muscles on your legs and shoulders. "after we have her, i promise i'll return every single thing you did for me while i was pregnant," you say struggled and full pleasure as the tension went away at jude's fingertips. "oh i'm fully expecting the injured boyfriend method again," jude teased as he finished up.

he grabbed a new book, laying on your side as you brushed and played with a few curls on his head, twirling them around your finger as he breathed softly. he looked so gentle and full of excitement like this, reading to your babygirl, who sensed her daddy's voice as she kicked. she knew, she always knew.

he applied your belly oil to prevent any stretch marks and kissed the small ones that formed along the way. jude cherished your body for carrying his baby in there, for being able to give and bring a new life into his and yours. you laid on your side, jude's chest connecting and fitting the crevasse on your back, holding your tummy as in a way to keep it safe.

you placed and locked hands with his, as jude wishing you a goodnight, peering kissed on your shoulders then finally lips, moaning in delight, a tiny groan leaving his lips. "i love you so much darling," he whispered, kissing your temple and snuggling into you more. "iloveyoutoojude," you said fast, with a playful smile on your lips as you felt a familiar sensation of a certain craving. "okay now i do want some pop tarts..."

"are you serious right now?"

[felixknow]

Hi! Can you do Hyunjin 39

39. "I moan your name when I masturbate."

gn!reader, not edited, drunk hangout, truth or dare, poorly written bc we're just playing around and having fun ok let's goooooo

“Channie, truth or dare?” Felix asks, breaking the momentary silence in the room. Chan chuckles and puts his phone down, stretching his arms over his head and his legs out in front of him, letting his lithe body form a line as he slides down the couch cushions and onto the floor.

“Mm… dare,” he settles on.

“I dare youuu… toooooo…” Felix drawls, trying to think of something good. “Send a selfie on Bubble and say ‘oops, wrong chat’.”

Chan chuckles while Seungmin scoffs.

“Good one,” Seungmin says.

“The hardest part is going to be finding a selfie to send them,” Chan says, picking his phone back up. A few minutes later, after the messages are sent and the boys have a good laugh at the reactions coming through, Chan puts his phone away again.

“Is it my turn to ask then? Y/nnah, truth or dare?”

You startle and scoot a little closer to the group. You’d been sitting to the side, mostly keeping to yourself since half the boys had gone out to pick up dinner, including the two who tied you to the rest of the group in the first place.

“Um, truth.”

“Are you nervous to be around us without Hannie and Minho here?” He smirks and you scrunch up your face like a kid who’s being teased, because that’s exactly what it feels like.

“And so what if I do?” you playfully retort. “I just don’t want to make a fool of myself. Also, it’s a little odd being left with my friends’ friends before we in this room have become friends.”

“You don’t think we’re friends?” Felix asks, giving you a dramatic set of puppy dog eyes. “I think we’re friends, Y/nnie.”

“I think we are too, Lix. At least I hope so!”

The game continues on for a couple more rounds until Han, Minho, and Hyunjin come back with dinner and alcohol.

“Let’s make this a party!” Han cheers, and Minho rolls his eyes.

“You’ll be drunk in half an hour, jagiya. Eat your dinner first at least.”

Han bashfully responds with a “yes, hyung,” never quite the fan of being called a lightweight.

Han’s not the only lightweight in the room, though.

“Oh my god, we should play truth or dare again,” you say excitedly, an hour after dinner and several shots in. “Hannie, we played truth or dare earlier! We should do it again! Truth or dare?”

“Dare!!” he responds excitedly, matching your bubbly and drunk-dazed excitement.

“I dare you to get Minho to kiss you.” You giggle, while Han whines.

“Noo, that’s the worst because you know he will! He’s all over me at home, I can’t get a single night’s sleep without him trying to give me a bedtime kiss first!”

“Someone has to tell you goodnight and sweet dreams, otherwise you’ll have nightmares,” Minho says simply. Then he smirks as Han turns toward him. “Now come here and give me a big, juicy kiss.”

“No!” Han exclaims, struggling and squirming, trying to push back against his roommate’s chest as the stronger of the two slowly reels him in. The group gets a good laugh in before Minho finally wins out and plants a kiss to the corner of Han’s mouth.

“Ew,” Han says over-exaggeratedly, wiping his mouth, and Minho rolls his smiling eyes.

“Your turn now, Hannie. You ask someone.”

“Okay. Changbinnie. Truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“Put on the underwear I got you for your birthday,” Minho quips.

“Hey!” Changbin shouts, ever so easily worked up. “It’s Han’s turn to dare someone, not you! Stop being a creep!”

Minho laughs hard, throwing his head back and cackling until he has to turn and lean on Han for support.

“Ignore him,” Han says. “Changbinnie, I dare you to take two shots back to back.”

“Jesus,” Changbin scoffs, widening his eyes. “Damn. Okay. Someone’s annoyed he isn’t the only drunk one,” he says, watching as Jeongin pours him a drink. One shot goes down. Then a second one, less smoothly.

“This shit is disgusting. Alright, husband of mine. Truth or dare?”

“Hm?” Hyunjin sits up, rejoining the group. He’d been laying down on the ground, somewhere between food-coma and introvert’s recharge. “Truth.”

“Are you crushing on anyone right now?” Changbin asks, smirking. Hyunjin scowls at him, and the two make a show of switching expressions, trying to make the other laugh. Changbin winks cheekily, acting cute, and Hyunjin huffs and pretends to gag. Changbin makes kissy faces and holds up a heart to his cheek, and Hyunjin rolls his eyes and bluntly says “no.”

“That’s so not true,” Chan chuckles.

“No to Changbin. Yes to the question.”

“Damn,” Changbin sighs. “My husband is cheating on me.”

“Never, baby. You know who I go home to at the end of the night.” Hyunjin winks at him, finally play-flirting back, making Changbin and several others laugh.

“Okay, okay. Y/nnah. Truth or dare?”

“Hmmm,” you hum, long and drawn out. “Truth.”

“Didn’t you do truth earlier?” Seungmin asks.

“Yes, soooo?”

“Sooo.” Hyunjin draws out the syllable, thinking of something to ask. “Oh! What were you doing when you butt dialed me that one time?”

“Huh?”

“You butt-dialed me! Didn’t I ask you about that? I think it’s because you were doing something but you were saying my name, or something like it. I just heard, like, shuffling and your voice a little and I was like, ‘hello?’ and you didn’t answer so I hung up.”

Your face is burning in embarrassment by the time he’s finished his spiel. 

“Um… Dare…”

“Noo!” several of the boys chant and insist. “You can’t change your mind now!” Jeongin says.

“Answer the question!” Minho insists.

“Yeah, I’m curious now,” Han agrees.

“I really-- I can’t--”

“It’s okay,” Hyunjin says, shrugging. “I told Changbin about it and he said you could have been having sex. I thought maybe you were looking for your lost phone or something… until you moaned.”

“I WHAT?!”

The group laughs, Han and Felix both turning toward you and hugging you.

“Ohh, Y/N. Don’t listen to him, he’s just messing with you!” Felix insists.

“I never said that!” Cahngbin insists. “He’s joking, Y/N, I swear. Please don’t be embarrassed. Guys-- stop! Don’t laugh!”

“It’s okay, it’s fine, I’m totally fine, I’m totally not about to die of embarrassment or anything.”

“I really was kidding,” Hyunjin says, bowing all the way to the floor in front of you. “I’m so sorry! Please forgive me. There was no moan. I just thought it would be funny!”

“Please get up,” you laugh, patting Hyunjin’s shoulder. “It’s fine, really. I could tell it was a joke,” you lie. “You’re a dumbass, though, by the way.”

The group bursts out in laughter once again, and the night moves on, the incident almost forgotten, until…

The night is winding down, the group is cleaning up the mess they’d made, putting Chan and Jeongin’s furniture back where it belongs, cleaning dishes, taking out the trash.

You pass Hyunjin in the hallway as you’re leaving the bathroom, and he stops you with a gentle hand on your arm.

“It was what I thought it was, right? When you called me.”

“What, the phone…? Yeah, I was, um… looking for my phone,” you say nervously, unable to meet his eyes.

“No, not that… you were… moaning.” His gaze locks onto yours and your heart feels like it’s going to drop out of your ass.

“Well…maybe…”

“So you think of me? When you play with yourself?” He asks so quietly you almost don't hear him. You can only nod to confirm.

A slow smirky smile grows on his face.

“Call me next time. You don’t have to play by yourself, if you don’t want to.”

[hogwartslegacyreactions2]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm cute request of hlc react to the room of requirement when MC introduces them to it?

and perhaps a little thing at the end of a party within that little gang? like MC introduced them all to the room bc they’re friends with all of them and wanted to bring everyone together in one bigger group??

HLC REACT TO THE ROOM OF REQUIREMENT

MC stands proudly in front of the blank wall on the 7th floor of the astronomy tower. As if the Room had the same sense of theatrics, the door appears just before MC's friends were about to question their sanity.

The stone becomes a grand wood and iron door and opens to the grandeur of the main hall. MC holds the door open and gives a flourished bow to invite their friends inside.

SEBASTIAN SALLOW: He thought he had MC beat on secrets. His jaw was slack as he spun around to take it all in. "Wha- you-" he struggles to find the words. He can hear bubbling cauldrons down a hall, he sees door after shiny glass door going somewhere, and on top it all, they had their own house elf?? "The whole time...the whole time? The whole time??"

OMINIS GAUNT: He stands in stunned silence. His wand shows him as much unique detail of the Room as it can within its range. By the hushed and not so hushed awe of the people around him, the Room was incredible. He's the first to turn to MC and ask directly. "How did you find this Room?"

ANNE SALLOW: She finds a comfy looking chair and sinks into it. A room away from the bustle of the castle, so peaceful. A tea set in front of her starts making tea on its own. She looks at all the books and tomes the Room had provided and sighed, she could get used to this.

IMELDA REYES: She sees a broom rack on a far wall holding all the brooms MC had collected in the travels. "So you're more of a flying aficionado than you let on. No wonder..." She trails off and continues to look about the Room. "What's in there?" She points to the lantern like vivarium while the ominous blue glow.

NATSAI ONAI: She walks through the first vivarium to the beautiful sunny meadow. A few puffskiens and mooncalfs curiously approach her, looking for treats. She takes a deep breath of fresh air and smiles broadly as an idea comes to her. The wide open space, guaranteed safety and privacy. This was the perfect place to stretch her legs. She transforms into a gazelle and takes off full speed across the plain.

GARRETH WEASLEY: He is distracted from the main room by the distinctive sound and smell of brewing potions. He makes a B-line down the hall to the side room with all of MC's brewing projects and plants. He nearly faints at the sight. All the equipment and ingredients he could only dream of having. He gives MC a teary eyed look. "Can I? Please?" He points to an unused station.

LEANDER PREWETT: He goes down into the garden area behind Garreth. He doesn't know where he's going, just wandering. His mother would be so jealous of MC's set up. The side room was full of plant stations, some growing things he couldn't even identify. He stands with his hands on his hips. "This is a lot. How does MC manage all of this?"

AMIT THAKKAR: He's been up and down the tower innumerable times and not once has there been a door on the seventh floor. "This is incredible! No wonder you caught up so quickly. You had a whole room to yourself for study." He starts wandering towards one of the vivariums.

EVERETT CLOPTON: He stands next to MC, taking in the Room from the entry way. He looked at MC expectantly when Ominis asked how they found the Room. His jaw slacked when they answered it was Professor Weasley. Sure, MC needed all the help they could get to catch up with the other fifth years but this was way more than anyone expected. "Do you think I could borrow this Room if I needed to catch up on an assignment?"

POPPY SWEETING: She knows a vivarium when she sees one, her gran has one. She bolts up the stairs to the mountain vivarium. Inside she sees unicorns and hippogriffs swooping over head she's almost brought to tears. Then a unicorn foal trots up to her, expecting something tasty, and she does cry a little. Then something red and gold lands next to her. A phoenix. She breaks down. This is too much majesty. Too much cute.

DEEK: "Deek's friend said they would bring company today. Deek had food and drink prepared for guests." He snaps his fingers and a banquet appears on the long dining table. "Deek hopes you enjoy yourselves. If anything is required, Deek is happy to provide." He gives MC a smile.

MC: They were so happy to bring all their friends together into one space. Especially one as incredible as the Room of Requirement. As they thought of how much fun it would be to have them use the Room too, everything started to shift. The whole room adjusted and new segments were added. MC calmed their alarmed friends. "This just sort of happens sometimes, don't worry about it." They walked around to see what was new.

Another vivarium was added, this one by a lake with lots of trees.

A private balcony to the outside with various telescopes.

The potion room had more space.

Another side room was added for lounging or dining.

Multiple new bookshelves appeared full of new reading material.

MC had work to do, now they could show off their transfiguration skills.

[polaroidpascal]

morning brew || joel & frankie

AO3 || MASTERLIST

pairing : frankie morales x f!reader x joel miller

summary : when you and Frankie wake up, you find that joel is missing from bed.

tags : fluff but allusions to smut, no use of y/n, frankie being sweet, joel being a goofy menace, all love and silly jokes with these three, fic cover is for vibes only, reader is you babe!!

WC : 619

a/n : this might be the stupidest little thing i've ever spat out, and i wrote it in all of like 15 minutes, maybe, simply bc i saw one of those "passed out a couple times but your dessert is ready!" memes. also bc i haven't been able to stop thinking about frankie or being in a throuple with him and joel 🫠 so enjoy this stupid nonsense ig 💀

Joel’s not in bed when you wake up.

Frankie has his arms wrapped around you, the two men having sandwiched you in the bed late last night as the three of you drifted to sleep. His hot breath fans across your skin, slow and sleepy as he dreams.

You turn in his hold to face him and he tries to nuzzle his face into your neck. You pepper kisses onto his forehead, his cheek, and wake him up with a kiss.

“Good morning, hermosa,” he says, voice hoarse with slumber as it rumbles through your ribcage.

“Good morning,” you say, planting another deep, slow kiss to his plush lips. His hands roam sweetly and gently against your soft, warm skin. And you let him, the sweet boy, caress every inch of your body he can find just because he loves you so much.

You pull away from the kiss and he meets you with a small protesting whine. “Joel’s not here…”

“Hm?” he mutters, eyes barely open. “Where’d he go?”

“I don’t know, I think we should go find him,” you say with a smile, a small one. One he meets as his eyes fully open and he throws the covers off of you.

The smell of coffee meets you before the image of him does. You walk down the hallway with Frankie trailing close behind you, his hand locked in yours. You round the corner and see Joel standing at his coffee pot donning nothing but a robe and his slippers, three mugs sitting on the counter before him.

He hears the floor shift beneath you and looks up, a smile blossoming on his face. “G’mornin’, sleepyheads. Made y’all some coffee.”

You and Frankie sit at the island together and cradle the mugs in your hands. You both sip and hum at the bitter bite of the coffee and the sweetness that lingers after.

“Mmm… so good, Joel. Thank you,” Frankie says with a sparkle in his eye and Joel winks at him. He smirks at that, then asks, “This tastes different... but good different. Did you use a different milk or something? Like, a new creamer?”

“Sure did,” he says with a nod. “Passed out, like, six times though.”

You both choke mid-sip and Joel stifles back a laugh.

“Y— you what?” you ask, nearly setting the mug down.

“Yeah, got up early ‘n everything to make it perfect for my two angels.” A positively shit-eating grin explodes across his face as he takes another slow, audible sip of his coffee.

You and Frankie turn to each other wide-eyed, then back to Joel before he erupts with laughter.

“Darlin’, relax. I’m just teasin’,” Joel manages between giggles. “Yes, I bought a new creamer.” He holds a hand over his stomach while he laughs some more.

The two of you let go of the breath you didn't realize you were holding, shoulders slumping and looking down into the cups in your hands. Frankie starts to chuckle first, looking at Joel and shaking his head before laughing harder.

It’s not long before the three of you are in a laughing fit in the kitchen, coffee abandoned as laughter and giggles fill the kitchen.

“Well, today is off to an interesting start,” you say, catching your breath.

“That’s one way to put it,” Frankie chimes in before nudging your arm.

“Yeah, sure is,” Joel agrees, pressing a hand to his stomach while he exhales deep. “Man, almighty. ‘M not gonna have enough energy left.”

You breathe a laugh out of your nose. “Yeah? Energy for what?”

He looks up again, unable to hide his goofy smile like he did before. “For the dessert I was gonna fix for y’all later.”

[villalunae]

im in such a utena mood right now i think anthy would not use nuclear war codes if she had them but would instead drop hints of incoming nuclear winter to nanami by messing with the plants in the birdcage and mentioning dead roses are often considered an omen of war (lie) so that nanami attempts to discredit her by looking up omens of war through a book miki lended her and instead finding out that all the crazy shit happening to her in the last few days (kangaroo showing up on campus was actually a political refugee, tsuwabuki prepping her cheat sheet for an upcoming test on the ramificiations of nagasaki and hiroshima, students gathering about television sets that before she can see what terrible news theyre watching someone says "turn something nice on instead!" and she only sees shopping channels marketing items like gas masks, bomb shelters, and canned foods) has actually been subtle hints and omens that they're approaching world war three and nanami ends up going to touga asking if theyre gonna make it and if japan can withstand another genocidal war crime against humanity and touga somehow reads this as her telling him her dream job is to be a stripper and tells her "silly little sister. all women are inferior to men already bc of eve's fatal sin. dont degrade yourself further than you already have" and shes like "what do you mean degrade myself further than i already have" and hes like "dont worry about it youre perfect to me. like a 9.5/10. or an 8/10. maybe a 6. definitely not any lower than a 3" and after hearing that she goes to bed upset and confused because not only is her brother not taking nuclear war seriously he also once again made her feel infantilized and small and then after hearing a loud boom in the distance she thinks nuclear war is starting and starts freaking out and thinks "my brother must have been speaking in a code! he was trying to make me feel nostalgic about my childhood to comfort me before the upcoming attack! now that nuclear war is starting i should take shelter but we dont have a bomb shelter here but ohtori has a bunch of students! it probably does!" running to ohtori and trying to think of the oldest building on campus and goes to utena and anthy's door banging on it in the middle of the night and utena gets up in her jammies like "what?" and nanamis like "QUICK we all have to GET UNDERGROUND wheres your NEAREST BOMB SHELTER" and anthy comes in behind utena like miss nanami what are you talking about? :) and utena is like yeah seriously thats so weird. i guess you can come inside . we couldnt sleep anyway because -- and then nanami sees on the floor of their room a bunch of scattered papers with a big red button in a briefcase and nanami points at anthy and is like "IT WAS YOU THAT LAUNCHED THE NUKE??????" and anthy says "oh this? this button is enrichment for my pet parrot! ive named her nanami. nanami press the button" and nanami the parrot presses the button and theres a loud boom and nanami (not the parrot) is like but what was that?!?! i heard it from my house!!!! and utena is like "oh! you must be talking about the firework display! the button is rigged up to some fireworks we got for the upcoming spring festival and we were actually up late tonight trying to get the display to work! we messed up pretty bad and most of the fireworks went off at once though haha." nanami the parrot keeps pressing the button in the bg and anthy is like "aww i guess that was the last firework left!" and nanami is like b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-but what about the kangaroo? and the test on nagasaki and hiroshima?? and the shopping channels advertising gas masks and bomb shelters and canned food??? and utena says "oh the kangaroo was a political refugee from australia its boxing career went down the hill after it killed steve durwin in a freak accident. all schools are doing history tests on world war two this time in the semester!" and anthy says "yes and because theres no clear threat of nuclear winter anymore all the old holdovers from wwii are being sold at discounted prices :)"

as nanami leaves the house feeling much better but also stupider she gets traumatized one last time by another firework going off and utena yells out the window "sorry nanami! guess there was one more loaded in there!" the firework design is chuchus face and he has been mysteriously absent this whole time. we see him in the sex car with that cat thing from madoka driving

[kingschclar]

hello !! congrats on 300 followerss

may i request ruggie who learns a pole dancing/strip routine as a way to “earn money” (or so he says) and he performs it for the reader as a way to tease them

the reader eventually gets fed up and bends him over, you can decide what happens next

tysm if you decide to write this, if not i understand:) i love your works

lapdance

contains: aged up chara, sub!ruggie, amab!reader, possessive!reader for the bit protective!reader after sex, lingerie, ripping clothes, lapdancing, striptease, grinding

a/n — yes.. the title is based off a song.. (lapdance by N.E.R.D) but the fic has nothing much to do with it! also hope you enjoy this anon bc 300 was like a year ago 😭

You tapped your foot on the ground as you waited for your boyfriend to walk out of the bedroom. He’d told you that he’s picked up on some new “skills” to help him earn money, and wanted to keep it a surprise from you until he could “show you them himself”. You were impatient, or more like excited as you waited for the beastman to come out with the surprise.

“Are you ready?” He called out from your shared room, and you couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes, I’m ready,” you quip in return, hearing the sound of… heels? Clacking against the floor and edging closer to you. You gulped as Ruggie entered your field of vision, almost feeling your heart stop beating in your chest as you took the sight of him in. He stood in pretty lacy heels, seemingly a matching set with his baby blue lingerie, wrapping around his lean body and freckled skin. His cockhead peeked out the filmsy fabric, and you felt your breathing hitch. He donned a translucent shawl over the whole outfit, almost angelic if not downright sinful. He looked breathtaking, seductive like never before as he let your eyes ravish him. He was blushing a bit, most probably from the intensity of your gaze as he walked up to you ever so slowly.

“Like it so much that you’re speechless?” He teased, grinning toothly as he leaned over your sitting form. You snapped out of your trance, reaching forward to place your hand on his hips. He let himself settle between your legs, still standing and looking down at you as he did so.

“Shit, Rugs, you look so good,” you could hear the badly disguised lust in your voice as you let your eyes rake down his frame yet again. “But what kind of gig is this for?”

“Well, I may or may not have learnt a strip routine,” he started, grin widening as your smile faltered slightly. He was starting to get to you. “And I want you to see it before anyone else.” Before you could come up with a protest, Ruggie took a few steps back, and you cursed yourself for wishing that he’d turn around and let you see the rest of him.

From seemingly nowhere, he whipped out his phone, sensual music spilling from the speakers as he began the routine. You could tell that he was slightly embarrassed, but your eyes physically couldn’t focus on anything else but your boyfriend, fingers teasing over the thin lace of the lingerie and letting the shawl slide off his shoulders with faux clumsiness. He took his sweet time undressing, teasing, swaying, as he inched closer to you. When he was finally in front of you, the bra was discarded, the only piece of clothing left being the lacy, almost thong-like panties settling snugly on his hipbones. You could see that he was half hard, and you wanted wanted nothing more but to suck him off until he’s shaking and crying.

Your thoughts were cut short as he began to straddle your waist, crotch hovering just above yours as he grinded circles into the air. You looked up into his eyes to see that they were twisted upwards in a smug smile. It made you snap, hands once again finding purchase in his hips to plant him against you firmly. Ruggie let out a surprised gasp before it faded to a soft moan, his cock filling with blood as you rutted against him with need.

“I guess you r-really liked it,” he stuttered slightly, voice almost getting caught in his throat as he felt you kiss and suck at his neck.

“You knew I would.” The sentence came out strained, the sensation was just not enough.

To his surprise, you picked him up with some sort of newfound strength, heading straight for the dining table as you set him down. At some point, he leaned in to kiss you and you kissed him back sloppily yet passionately. You pulled away after a minute or so, leaving him breathless and flushed.

“Turn around, baby,” you ordered gently, working on getting your pants off you while you trusted him to follow your simple instruction. He seemed to be as eager as you were, hopping off the table and facing his ass towards you almost immediately. You could finally see his short, fluffy tail, shaking in anticipation along with the rest of him. It was tucked comfortably in a hole in the fabric, and you didn’t understand how the whole thing didn’t just fall apart when he put it on.

After a short struggle, you finally pulled your cock out, groaning as it met the slightly colder air. Ruggie was silently waiting, but you could tell that he’d wanted this just as much as you. With a firm grip, you grabbed onto the panties and a loud rip echoed through the room. He gasped, and you were almost sure his dick twitched as he squirmed in his place.

“Those were new,” he murmured as you kissed his shoulders.

“I’ll buy you new ones,” you hummed, reaching around to tap at his lips.

“Just fuck me already,” he whined, pushing his hips back onto your cock. He was tempting you, but you reasoned with yourself.

“I would love to, baby, but I have to get you ready first,” you tapped on his lips again, and he shook his head. You couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all.

“Already did.” He almost sounded embarrassed as he let his head fall, propping himself up on his wrists and waiting for you to take a look for yourself. Practically burning a hole through his figure, you pressed a finger against his hole, watching it flutter and your finger slide in with little resistance. He was already slightly lubed up, stretched out and all ready for you to fuck this whole time.

You couldn’t take it anymore, the sight his brand new lingerie tattered and ripped on the floor, his hole all ready for you.

With haste, you pulled your finger out just to replace it with your cock, pushing in at a decent pace but making sure you weren’t hurting Ruggie (too much, at least). It ripped a whine out of him as his nails scratched against the dining table, his back arching so prettily as he cried out for you. “Really gonna show this to others, hmm?” You tutted, shifting your angle slightly so you were nailing his prostate with every thrust. He let out a broken whimper as his hand reached down to jerk at his cock furiously. “Answer me, Rugs,” you commanded, acommpanied with a flick to his sensitive ears. A desperate whimper escaped him as he shook his head.

“No! Only you!” Correct answer. He clenched around you and you could tell by his wagging tail that he was dangerously close. Reaching around, you stopped his hand, replacing it with yours as you gripped the base of his cock tightly. Ruggie let out a pitiful sound as a fist banged against the table.

“Be patient, baby,” you cooed. “Don’t you want to cum with me?” He immediately tried to get it together, nails digging into the meat of his palm as he nodded vigorously. It sounded like a promise that you’d cum in him, and he’d rather die than pass up the chance of it. He then remembered to always use his words, barely managing to croak out an “I do”. You grinned weakly, speeding up your ruthless thrusts as you chased your own orgasm.

After another few more thrusts, you let go of Ruggie’s cock, making him convulse with pleasure as he came, whining out your name. The sight alone sent you over the edge as you buried yourself inside him completely, letting your cum paint his walls as the fuzzy feeling of your climax washed over you in waves.

You two stood there for another minute or two when the shockwaves died down, both panting and recovering stamina as you tried to process what’d just happened. You carefully pulled out of Ruggie, your cum dripping out making him groan tiredly.

“Didn’t think you’d like it that much,” he joked, his usual grin coming onto his face as he turned around to look at you. You laughed a bit, caging him against the table as you pressed a soft kiss onto his lips.

“Of course I would. You’re my beautiful boyfriend,” you chided playfully, and he was almost shy at your affection, but basked in it. Then, you remembered what he’d said before, worry rising in your gut.

“Rugs?” He hummed in question. “You’re not… actually going to do this for money right?” His eyes widened by a fraction before he started laughing a bit.

“No! No! I was just teasing you, silly,” he snickered, and you couldn’t help but let out a huge sigh of relieve. “And wow, you might have to carry me to the bathroom because my legs are going to crumble the moment I try to walk.”

[gabessquishytum]

Gabe I am kissing you on the mouth bc yes!!! Hob would be such a good influence on Dream! He helps him get his shit together during the tour and when it finally ends and they head back home, the offer is made for Hob to become their permanent guitarist. They had already spent most of the tour writing new material and so just two months after it, they already have a double album's worth of songs to record.

The recording process is smooth sailing. They're really meshing well as a band and being home around his son begets a wave of creativity that was unknown to him. He also cuts back significantly on the drugs so his mind could be focused at home with his son and the divorce proceedings with his wife. Calliope doesn't want anything really since she's made her money and prefers to be independent. Orpheus also finally starts to reconcile with his father. He even starts writing love songs again, first to his son and then to Hob. But he never tells Hob that these happier songs are for him. The press would rip them apart if they ever knew so he keeps it under wraps.

But with the record company happy with the new demos, life gets better. The bassist position filled by a long time and much-beloved musician Gault who Lucienne convinced to join when she saw her preform in a little club in Manchester, even Hob is better off when he finally and officially joins the band and gets some money coming in from it. It's his first real label deal since '76 when EMI had come sniffing around. He can now afford to send his son off to a really nice school and make sure he's cared for when he goes off on tour.

The record comes out and becomes their biggest seller. Their sound, while still a bit down, now has this air of optimism and pop sensibility. For the first time, they get offered a worldwide tour. Over two hundred dates in 15 countries. They play everywhere from LA to Capetown. They're giving interviews. It really feels like their moment has come.

But there's trouble on the horizon. First off, Constantine's drinking has worsened. He's a rockstar now and likes to party as such, which is a shame because now Hob has been chiding him for partying so hard. His work performance has been slacking and that's led to some fights. Which he finds hypocritical, as Dream has cut back, he hasn't gotten clean either. This leads Dream to rent a hotel room for a week and lock himself inside to sweat out the worst of the addiction. Which he does without telling anyone.

Hob obviously loses his mind looking for him and finds him on the floor of the bathroom, shivering like a shitting dog and so cold. He helps nurse him back to health, but by then it's too late. The tour starts and what a tumultuous tour it is! The first month or so, Dream barely has the energy to walk let alone give a three-hour performance. Lucienne loses her mind trying to manage his mood swings and Constantine's drinking problem. Gault nearly bails after the first show when he snaps at her for fucking up during rehearsals. Mr. Record Company also isn't happy with how expensive the set is to move and decorate which makes Dream threaten to walk. Hob has to talk him down. Even their relationship falters when they get hounded by paparazzi wherever they go and they start arguing over stupid issues. Like Hob sees a female fan getting harassed during their set and stops the show to have it out with the guy which leads him to jumping off the stage, over the barricade and into the crowd to fight him. Which is not a good look. Hob might be punk rock, but that's not their image. He can't be fighting whoever pisses him off anymore! Which plants it in his head that maybe him and Dream are a little too different for this work out.

I have more ideas like Hob being spotted during a show in LA when he sneaks off to go see Black Flag and gets fucking wrecked by the crowd who call him a sellout and bounce him from their space. He's not a real punk anymore! Or Dream's little catfight with Morrissey when he gets big, but I won't bore you anymore lol

🎸 (is this taken? if it is my apologies)

I'm still relentlessly obsessed with late 70s musicians au!! Here is the first part if anyone missed it! Thank you so much for giving us more 🎸 anon!!

I love the rollercoaster of this whole relationship. On the one hand the band is seeing so much success, and there's money, and the press is in a good mood for once. But fame brings so many issues and Hob finds himself almost missing the days when he was scrounging for gigs. He wants to make music and he wants to be with Dream but he's hyper aware - he's not immune to alcohol and drugs, he's a little scared that he might relapse when the stuff is just laying around in the dressing rooms all the time. He knows that Dream partly got clean for his sake but he hates seeing his lover in such a fragile state. Basically Hob is trying very hard to hold the whole band together: caring for Dream, dragging Constantine out of clubs at 3am so he doesn't get arrested again, trying to persuade Gault that it's really not all that bad, next week will be better... he's tired. He gets into more fights. He listens to a lot of Def Leppard. He's spotted outside strip clubs (mostly hunting down Constantine) and starts to get a reputation in the press as some kind of sleazy guy. Dream gets jealous even though he knows the truth. It's the most stressful period of Hob’s life and he is SO burnt out.

They have a couple of days off from the tour and Hob goes AWOL. Dream can't find him anyway, at the hotel or the bus or at any of the nearby cafes. Dream eventually finds him at a local church, just sitting hunched over in one of the pews. Dream can see that he's been crying, and suddenly he feels so awful for taking advantage of his friend, his lover. He's been so selfish but Hob still smiles at him and takes his hand. Dream ends up holding him in the empty church, rocking him gently and humming one of the songs that they've been writing together.

Dream tells him that they can go home. They can cancel the last 50 or so dates and just go back to Hob’s suburban home and get some fucking sleep. But Hob shakes his head and nudges Dream gently. The show must go on, right? No point in giving up now. It's just that they've all lost sight of the music somewhere along the way.

It doesn't get much easier, but Dream steps up a bit. Constantine is cajoled into toning down his rockstar behavior. Dream and Gault sweet talk the press by giving a few interviews and photo ops where they make sure to emphasise that Hob is NOT sleazy, he's actually a family man and a brilliant friend so everyone can fuck off talking shit about him. They even get a couple of other big name artists to say nice things about Hob. He's worked on so many sessions that everyone knows him. And yeah, there are some shitheads (and probably also johnny rotten) who call him a talentless sellout. But Hob is touched by how much effort Dream has put in to making him feel better.

And eventually they get to go home. Dream is still a shivery wreck but he hasn't relapsed, the record is still selling, the paps have calmed down now the tour is over so Hob doesn't feel terrified every time he meets Dream in public. Their relationship FINALLY gets more physical in private. They make love for the first time!! Dream finally sees the anarchy tattoo and writes a ballad about Hob’s wonderful arse (which will, mortifyingly, go on to be a top 20 hit).

Of course they're a pair of disasters and they have their ups and downs. But I honestly feel like their relationship is a rollercoaster that neither of them really want to get off. They're basically soulmates and however insane their lives get, they're always going to end up together.

[tiredofthehumanlife]

Just fine

Barbie dolls: Peeta Mellark x gender neutral reader

Word 2.1k

Summary: the day started lovely for Peeta until he found you laying on the floor unresponsive

Warning: YOU HAVE CHILDREN WITH PEETA (it doesn't say if you were pregnant or what have you if it's adoption or abo Idc how you work it into your life I'm just warning you you have children now), you're from district four now, mentions of the games and Peeta's leg/trauma, peeta snores, I gave the kids different names than he had in the book bc I felt bad taking katniss' children from her and I named them Maris (which means of the sea) and Barley (it's apparently a grain used in baked goods sometimes I didn't think that hard), Peeta calls Maris Mary as a nickname fyi, you faint and your head hurts, it doesn't specify why you fainted but you're out for a few minutes, Maris sucks her thumb, your kids play with Annie's kid mentioned, finnick's death is mentioned and it's implied you two were close, the last part is just cutie

What a lovely morning. Peeta and you actually got to sleep in a few minutes before your children came barrelling into the room. Not that he didn’t enjoy the experience, he just appreciated laying in bed with you a little more than having a six-year-old boy and one-year-old girl jumping on top of him. Then he came downstairs and made breakfast as you dressed the children and pulled them up onto their usual seats at the table. Peeta brought all four plates to the table, kissing you good morning as he set down Maris’ plate in front of her. Then after hours of playtime, the kids settled for a nap. A nap under the table but still a nap. After five years of parenting, you two realized, a win is a win. You and Peeta settled on the couch, just enjoying each other’s company in silence as your two children snored away. Well really it was Barely who snored, he took after Peeta in that aspect. 

Now you and the kids were inside playing board games and reading storybooks as Peeta got to mend to the garden in the backyard. He planted some herbs he liked to add to your meals and the baked goods he made in his free time. He smiled at the Thyme as he cut off sprigs, adding them to his small basket of already collected herbs. Peeta smiled brighter when he heard the fast pitter of Maris and Barley running out into the backyard towards him. Peeta set down his clippers, looking back at his amazing children. He greeted them in a joyful voice but his smile fell slightly at the panicked looks on their faces. Barley quickly reached out for Peeta, holding onto his hand. 

“Hey, what’s going on? What’s up with you two?” Peeta asked, looking down at Maris gripped onto Peeta’s shirt. She was worried, tears brimming in her eyes and her thumb had her saliva on it. That alerted Peeta that she had been self-soothing and he started to worry more. It wasn’t often that you didn’t redirect her soothing to something else. You always mumbled about her palette when she sucked her thumb but Peeta had no idea what sucking her thumb had to do with her painting. Maris started falling behind from the speed Barley was pulling Peeta at. Peeta dipped down and pulled Maris onto his hip, following after Barley. Barley was muttering your name, talking about board games, going to sleep, and falling. Peeta felt his heart beat rapidly as he thought of all the things Barley could've meant by that. 

Barley pulled Peeta into the living room, pointing over at the couch. Peeta quickly set down Maris onto her feet, at the sight of you. You were lying on your back on the floor in front of the couch. Peeta was positive you had fallen because your limbs were all twisted in strange positions. Peeta was sure if he combined all the fear he felt in the games it couldn’t possibly shine a light on the fear he felt now. He didn’t know why you were on the floor. He didn’t know why you had fallen or fainted or collapsed or whatever. He was upset now he wasn’t there to catch you. He worried this was a sign of something more serious. Peeta just didn’t know anything except for the fear that made his heart burn in his stomach. 

Peeta rushed across the living room, settling on the floor next to you. He leaned down, putting his face in front of your nose and mouth. He felt your hot breath brush against his face and he knew you were alive just asleep. Peeta tried to wake you up by shaking you slightly but your head just lolled to the side. Peeta turned to his two terrified children staring down at their parents on the floor not understanding a lick of what was happening. Maris was sucking her thumb again, swapping them out every two seconds. Barley was gripping his hands to his chest, looking in between Peeta and you. Peeta gave them a brief smile to try to calm their nerves but it was hard when his own nerves were skyrocketing. 

“Barley, could you go get me a glass of water please?” Barley nodded and ran off towards the kitchen. Maris stepped towards Peeta and set her hand on his shoulder. 

“Okay?” She whispered. Peeta nodded. 

“They’re just fine, Mary. They just need to wake up and they’ll be okay.” Maris settled slightly at his words. Peeta leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Maris groaned and pushed his face away. Peeta snorted and looked up at the sound of Barley’s feet. He walked as fast as he could. He kept his eyes downcast at the glass of water in his hands. Barley was making sure he didn’t spill a drop while making his way to Peeta as fast as he could manage. Peeta thanked Barley and took the glass from his hands. Peeta dipped his fingers into the glass, wetting them. He pulled up your arm closest to him and dragged the water up your inner arm.

You were from Four. You were a tribute in the 73rd games. You won and unfortunately, that meant your name was added to the 75th drawing. You volunteered for Mags despite her disagreement. You joined the rebels and after a long long long time, you both were able to settle down in Twelve. After a while, Peeta started to realize how much water meant to you. In the games you frequently splashed your face with water to remind yourself of home. It felt rejuvenating to you. You told Peeta all about how you were a thousand percent sure it would be able to bring you back from the grave. He didn’t want to test that theory but he knew it made you feel better in lots of situations. Once when you got the worst case of flu, Peeta would leave two glasses of water next to your bed. One was for drinking and one so you could sprinkle droplets on your skin. Peeta was a million times positive that it healed you 3 times faster than it would've taken you without it. 

Peeta dipped his fingers back into the water, spreading it out over your other arm. He sprinkled a few drops on your face. They slipped past the sides of your cheeks back towards the floor. It reminded Peeta too much of tears so he reached out and smoothed the drops into your skin. Even though you four frequently made trips up to Four to visit Annie so the three kids could play, you still needed the feeling of water on your skin sometimes. You once told Peeta that if Finnick lived to see your children he’d been their godfather. Peeta compared you to a fish that decided to walk sometimes. He even said you might be half-siren. You’d reply by saying he was half bread, he’d snort and kiss your cheek. 

As he rubbed a little more on your forehead, your eyes fluttered open. You inhaled deeply looking around the room in confusion. Peeta gently set down the glass of water on the floor. 

“Careful, easy. Easy. Not too fast, Okay?” Peeta said, holding a hand behind your head as you slowly sat up onto your elbows. You groaned, glancing over at Maris and Barely. 

“I think I fainted.” You whispered, looking around at the floor you were currently using as your bed. Peeta hummed, rubbing a little extra water into your cheek. 

“Yeah, thought so. What with you on the floor and whatnot.” Peeta said. It made you snort and then groan at your head. Peeta grimaced. 

“Think you knocked your head pretty good, baby,” Peeta whispered. You squinted one eye at him. 

“No one was here to catch me. I’m holding this above your head until Barley graduates.” You said, glaring at Peeta. Peeta’s joking smile fell. 

“Wait really?” You shook your head then groaned again. 

“Okay, I need to get off this floor, help me please.” Peeta nodded at your request, slipping his arm under yours. He helped you up onto your feet, letting you lean your weight on him. You two slowly made your way upstairs. Two miniature shadows followed after you. 

“I don’t know why you asked me so nicely, I’d carry you to the ends of the earth if you looked at me like you wanted me to,” Peeta whispered to you. You leaned your head on his shoulder as you two continued to walk down the hallway upstairs toward the bedrooms. 

“Next time I’ll insult you and demand you to bend to my every whim.” You whispered. Peeta rolled his eyes. He helped you lay down in your shared bed. Peeta shook his head and very lightly flicked your nose. You reeled back and felt a bit like a dog. 

“No next time. You're not fainting again.” You rolled your eyes and snuggled further into the blankets. Barley smacked his hands on the side of the bed. You glanced back at him. You gave him a small smile and rubbed his chubby cheek. Barley groaned as he pulled himself up onto the bed. He crawled over your legs and curled up against your chest. Maris whined next to the edge of the bed. She was just under the height she needed to be able to get into the bed on her own. It was quite a stressful factor in her life. She whined again, pulling on the sheets. As you looked back to ask Peeta to pull Maris up onto the bed, his hands slipped under her armpits. Peeta pulled Maris into the air. He pretended to eat her face, making loud chomping noises. Maris squealed with laughter, making you smile softly. 

Peeta plopped her down on the mattress next to Barley. You were glad he was able to avoid her temper tantrum. Maris snuggled up to you and Barley, pressing her face into your thigh. Peeta gently brushed his knuckle over your cheek. 

“I'll be right back. I just have to bring in my gardening tools. I'll just be a few minutes, I promise.” Peeta whispered. You nodded. You lay back into the bed, pressing a kiss to Barley’s forehead. Your hand caressed Maris’ cheek. She hummed and opened an eye at you. 

“Okay?” Maris asked. You nodded. You rubbed her cheek again. 

“I'm just fine, Maris.” You mumbled. Maris nodded and pressed her nose into your pant leg again. A few minutes later, Peeta returned to the room. He kicked off his shoes at the door and quickly made his way across the room. Peeta plopped onto the other side of the bed. He scooted closer to you three and reached out for you. Barley was already snoring. You and Peeta shared an amused glance, holding back your snorts. Maris pulled away from you and snuggled into Peeta’s chest. Peeta left one hand on her back and the other brushed your cheek. 

“Tomorrow morning if your head still hurts, we'll go to the doctor,” Peeta whispered, trying not to disturb your children. You gave him a light nod. 

“Sorry for scaring you, I know that must've been terrifying. Probably brought up some bad memories.” You said, glancing away from Peeta's face. He sucked in a harsh breath. Peeta gave you a small shrug. 

“Yeah. It did, a little. That wasn't you're fault though. I just wanted you to be safe. I'll be okay.” Peeta’s voice was balanced. A little too balanced and it made you worried that he was suppressing his feelings for your benefit. You nodded. You pulled his hand away from your cheek and pressed a kiss to his palm. 

“What about your leg? You didn't get any pains from old memories being sprung up did you?” You asked, glancing down at his prosthetic poking out his pants leg. He sometimes woke up in the night from the phantom pains, sometimes dropped dishware from the sudden pains, and sometimes he just curled up in your arms and cried from the hurt. Peeta shook his head. His hand pulled away from your mouth and dipped under your chin. He cupped your cheek and brushed his thumb in front of your ear. 

“Stop worrying about me. I'm not the one who fainted.” Peeta said. It annoyed you slightly but you rolled your eyes and dropped it. You let out a brief sigh and glanced down at your two children curled up between you two. Maris was snoozing along with Barley. You smiled at them. They were so beautiful and luckily they both had Peeta's overflowing heart. You weren't sure if that was genetic or just from them spending so much time with his love. You looked up at Peeta to find a similar smile on his face. 

“We're doing pretty good with these gremlins, huh?” Peeta whispered. You nodded. You reached over Barley and tucked a tuff of hair behind Maris’ ear. 

“Yeah, we're doing just fine.” 

[queenimmadolla]

i just thought of this to add to what are penny and wayne up to.

on sunday morning, the munsons (that includes maude and wayne) and the entire clan bundle into cars and head down to the gymnasium.

everyone has come a long way from spending their sunday mornings in bed nursing hangovers.

it’s penny’s big day. she is performing gymnastics to get her latest award. it’s not really gymnastics but the kind of small child gymnastics they have the 4-5 year olds do. penny does clumsy cartwheels, attempts the splits, walks along the balance beam and rolly pollys. she is absolutely beaming as you all cheer her on and toddler wayne stands in the aisle with his feet planted on the floor, hands on the floor in front of him and looks between his legs giggling as everything is upside down.

you all pile into the diner afterwards for lunch and penny is glowing with her little badge and certificate, loving the affection and attention everyone is giving her, cheeks sore from smiling 🥺

(Maude made it into the Munson family, we love grandma Maude🥹)

every scene you set makes my heart feel so WARM, MAISIE!!!!

and you bet they’re cheering and hollering from the stands like Penny’s competing at the Olympics instead of her clumsy little gymnastic showcase and she’s so excited to show off for her family and extended family.

she comes running to you in her little leotard, hair a mess despite how well you’d secured it because her head had been rubbing the floor during some of her ‘routine’ 😭

she’s so happy to have made everyone proud and Eddie hoists her up for everyone to cheer, that’s your baby!!!

and when Penny spots her little brother, she thinks he’s trying to get in on the gymnastics too (which makes you a little nervous bc you know she’s gonna try to teach him stuff he’s much too little for so you’ll have to watch them like a hawk lol)

After the little ceremony, you’re all packed into booths at Benny’s, the conversations and food are flowing, so is the love and there is no where your baby girl would rather be then showing off her participation medal with her family 🩷🩷🩷

you guys are better than Barney to her and that’s saying something.

[juicefield]

Meyp Skxawng - Neteyam X Avatar!Reader Part 4

A/N: My apologies for not updating the fic in so long, I was sick with some type of stomach bug and then had a really hectic week. I've also been suffering from writers block, so if this isn't up to par I apologize! Just been struggling with writing lately. Also I'm not sure if this was obvious but when reader is with the Sully siblings (besides Neteyam) she is speaking English, and that's why she talks a lot more casually then with others (not just bc she is more comfortable around them). As per usual feedback is appreciated! Also if you find any mistakes comment them down below or message me.

You can find the other parts here:

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3

Although the writing in this fanfiction is my own, I do not claim any  ownership of Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, or any of the subsequent medias. All rights go to James Cameron and the producers. 

Synopsis: After a few week in your new body the Sully kids and Spider take you out into the forest for the first time.

Neteyam X Fem!Avatar!Reader 6.8k 1st person POV

Y’know, Jake was right when he said that eventually everything becomes backwards when you have an avatar. Like out there is the real world and in here is the dream. I’ve only had this body for a few weeks and I already feel my sense of reality slipping from me. Time becomes blurred, days simultaneously feeling too short and too long at the same time. Every day I feel more and more like I belong out there, in the forest, and not here in the lab with Norm and Max. The first week was difficult, my new body weak and feet too pliant for the harsh peat of the forest floor. But, slowly, day by day I feel the calluses building and my muscles will themselves to go a little further. 

With the Sully children it's learn fast or be left in the dust. Hell, the first time I went to the forest with them I almost died. We had decided to take my first trip out, well actually out and not close to the cave entrance. Lo’ak led the charge and set out at breakneck speed and before long I was left behind with Kiri. Spider, Tuk, and him paid no mind as we disappeared from their view. Walking slowly, we were enjoying the forest's feast for the senses and Kiri turned to me with a strange expression.

“Why are you walking so slowly? You were faster on your first day.” She says, fixing me with a pointed look, even though she was clearly walking slower than me.

“Well it is a lot harder out here! I’m not exactly used to climbing giant tree roots and dodging excessively large plants.” I whine, annoyed that she dared to point out my slow speed. Stopping suddenly she spins around to point at me dramatically.

“Ah! Ah ah,” She tutted with a wag of her pointer finger, “you told me you were going to make the most of this opportunity. Taw, you are stronger than you think. If you want to thrive in this body, you must trust it. You have always been stronger than you think.”

While normally her words would have been extremely comforting I’m still sore about her comparison to my past self so I look to the side, pouting and refusing to answer. This only served to make her angry, which she quickly demonstrates by pulling harshly on my tail. Yelping in pain I open my mouth to respond before her fierce eyes train on me, quieting any verbal retaliation that I was hoping to attempt.

“(Y/N). Your spirit is very strong, and that is the most important part of someone. You have always been strong, despite your problems, and you need to realize that your outside now has that same strength. Trust your body. Here.” Kiri comes up behind me to place her hand on my stomach.

“Breathe. Feel the muscle, the bone. Feel its strength.” She instructs as I do as she says. Taking a deep breath I try to tune out the rest of the forest, turning my focus onto the muscles in my stomach. I feel tension rise in my abdominal muscles when she presses harder to illustrate her point. She gently removes her hand to grab mine and place it over my chest.

“Now, feel the heart beating here. Notice the sounds it makes. Your spirit lives here, and she is very strong. Feel how the strength starts there and flows down the rest of the body.” I gasp softly when my hand makes contact with the warm skin of my chest. I am surprised by the thunderous beat I feel below even through bone. It feels like the drum the people use for the many rituals and parties that take place in high camp. The beat of my heart reverberates through muscle and bone the way the air vibrates around the drum, taking the energy of the drum all the way to my little room in the lab. So too does this heart take this blood to my legs, imbuing them with life and power. As I focus on the beat I can start to hear it too, a distant thump in the blood of my ears. I don’t stop listening to its sweet rhythm until I am interrupted by Kiri nudging my arm. 

“Sit with me. I want to teach you something.” She commands me and points to a cleared area next to the tree we are standing on. I hesitate but ultimately decide to obey, sitting down on the soft moss and blades of grass that litter the forest floor.  Fixing me again with her intense stare she places her hands on her crossed legs and I mirror her.

“Oel ngati kameie. Do you understand what that means?” Kiri prompts and I almost roll my eyes. Of course I know what that means, I’ve literally heard it throughout my entire life, despite it never being directed at me.

“I see you. Yes, Kiri. It’s the most common phrase in the whole language, so uh- yeah.” I respond and look away from her eyes for a moment of reprieve from what I am starting to suspect is a lecture on ‘seeing’ myself.

“No. Wrong. Seeing is not looking. You do not understand because you do not see.” She says and flicks me between my eyes.

“Ow. Why are you flicking me? Of course I can see.” I whine and press two fingers over the spot she assaulted, massaging gently. She has had so many years of practicing her flicks on her brothers that her fingers are practically a deadly weapon at this point. I know that she doesn’t mean see like that, but I’m still irritated enough that I don’t want to give her what she wants. She hisses slightly and I can see the frustration on her face so I refocus and decide to actually listen to what she has to say.

“Taw. Seeing is not done with your eyes, it is done with your spirit. To see someone is to let go of the previous experiences you have had and to let them wash over you anew. When I say I see you, I mean the part of Eywa in me sees the Eywa in you. I see into you, your spirit and your kindness and I see the way we are connected. I see into you. I saw you when no one else did, and that is what I am asking you to do now. Do not see the forest as a dangerous place, see it as it is. It is the most wondrous creation of Eywa, and you are now a part of it. If you want to find a place in the clan, you must learn to let go of what has happened to you. You must also see your new self, to trust yourself as well as the forest. Do you understand?” Kiri finished the explanation with a gentle touch of her hand on my own. 

“I know but, Kiri, I’m not a part of this forest and I never have been. I can’t see because I am not a child of Eywa like you. I’m afraid there is no Eywa in me.” I speak my fear that I had been holding in since I took my first few steps in this body. The fear that I would be unable to connect with the world around me, despite aching deeply for a connection.

“Oh, (Y/N), you have always been one of Eywa’s children. You were born on this moon just like everyone else and Eywa’s heart beats in you as well. In fact, I feel that you may be closer to her than even some Na’vi I know.” Kiri comforts me in a soft whispering voice, looking into my eyes with tender sympathy.

“How? I can’t connect with her, I can’t visit the tree of souls, or even pray to her without feeling dirty and shameful.” I lament, shrugging my shoulders to try and hide how strongly the thought makes me feel.

“(Y/N), you don’t need those things to be connected with the Great Mother. I cannot explain it, I just feel her in you. Ever since you have been in this new body I have sensed that she grows closer to you everyday.” Kiri answers vaguely. I try to get her to explain, or at least to try to find words for what she feels but we are interrupted by the sounds of a branch snapping about twenty feet away from us. 

Kiri is immediately at high alert and brings a finger up to her lips to silence my many questions. My ear twitches at the sharp sound and I scramble up as silently as possible. Kiri nods toward a tree to our right and we both huddle behind it, looking around the trunk to where the stick had snapped. The hairs on the back of my neck start to stand when I see foliage rustingling in a way that looks like something is almost slithering through. Immediately I am sure it is a predator, I can tell by the way that the leaves shake that whatever is behind them is stalking us. Any prey animal would have run already, so we can rule out a yerik. Kiri is watching from the other side of the tree, gripping my forearm tightly with one hand and the other grips her hunting knife. We are almost stuck in place while the rustling comes closer, still skillfully hidden by the thick foliage. I can’t help the gasp that leaves my throat when a pair of yellow eyes locks with mine. 

“Nantang.” Kiri mutters as the viperwolf begins slowly moving forward, revealing it's hexapedal limbs one by one as it climbs over the stump it was standing on. I try to look away from the intense eyes but an invisible force causes me to stay rooted down. I am still staring at it when two other pairs of eyes join the first, causing Kiri to start pulling on my arm.

“They are out in the daytime… run! We must run, (Y/N)!” It takes only a moment before I am snapped out of my stupor and I take off after Kiri. The wind whips past my face as I jump over roots and plant, scrambling to catch up with Kiri. This causes the biggest one in the middle to come rushing after us, using its extra forelimbs to grapple over the ground around us. The wind is knocked out of me as the largest one slams into my back, its mouth wrapped around my tail yanking me to a stop and onto the forest floor. The next few moments are a blur as I wrestle with it, forcing my arm up under its throat to keep it from biting my face off. Kiri heard the sound I made when I went down and whips around, she shouts something but I can't hear her as the adrenaline has the blood pumping loudly in my ears.

Vaguely I register her calling out for Lo’ak as I wrestle with the largest of the viperwolves, its teeth sink into the flesh of my forearm and I cry out in pain as we roll over and over again. The other two viperwolves circle me and their packmate while Kiri yells something at me in Na’vi, but in my preoccupied state I can barely even  understand English. Eventually she yells one word in English. Catch.

She throws the knife towards me and it lands a few feet away. I use the arm that isn’t clamped between the viperwolves jaws like a vice grip to try to reach it. I stretch as far as I can go and my fingers only push it farther away from me. I strain against its gleaming fangs, which causes the flesh on my arm to tear slightly, but allows me to finally reach the knife. Gripping onto the leather handle I face the viperwolf. It releases my arm when my eyes meet its piercing amber eyes. The muscles on its face ripple as it lets out a loud snarl, fast as lightning it lunges toward my throat and my instincts kick in, sinking the knife up into the dip of its throat. It falls only a few inches from my throat and it thrashes a few times, horrific wet gurgling sounds leave its throat as I push it off of me. 

One of its packmates lunges towards me in retaliation, running on pure adrenaline I kick it squarely in its torso but before I have the chance to attack again with the knife now firmly in my grip an arrow whizzes past my face, landing in the torso of the poor animal. My gaze traces the arrows path and I spot Lo’ak between the trees. 

“Lo’ak!” Kiri shouts, and he readies his bow with another arrow, aiming it at the last viperwolf but it runs off after looking at its dead and wounded packmates. Lo’ak drops his bow to his side and runs forward toward us with Tuk chasing his heels. Spider follows a few feet away grabbing Lo’ak’s bow and calling out my name when he notices the crimson blood flowing down and pooling in several distinct spots around my feet.

“TawTaw are you okay?” Tuk says worriedly, rushing to my side and grabbing my injured arm. I wince and make a noise of pain when she grabs onto a part of the open gashes. She apologizes quickly and lets go, allowing me to hold the arm up to her.

“Yes, TukTuk I’m fine. It will scar, but nothing major.” I answer, my voice softer than I expect. Spider crowds around me and pulls my arm to him to examine it for a moment. He and Tuk ask a couple more times if I’m okay while I reassure them while her two siblings fuss in the background. Once he is sure that I’m okay he tries to lighten the mood.

“Yeah, Tuk. That’ll be like the coolest scar ever, right? Badass!” He says in an attempt to reassure her, placing a comforting hand on both our shoulders. I agree quickly and try to put a smile on my face to appease her. Before she can agree or disagree Lo’ak is storming over to us with an intense look of concern on his face. His eyebrows are furrowed and his mouth is in a downturned scowl when he opens it to speak.

“(Y/N). Are you okay? You need grandmother.” Lo’ak says, in a tone that's honestly more serious than I have ever heard him use.

“I can treat her, Lo’ak, like I said. She will be okay, many have suffered far worse.” Kiri assures him, placing a hand on his arm to calm him down.

“No! Grandmother needs to see her.” Lo’ak argues, eyes still wild with fear. I've never seen him look so scared before, and I saw the look on his face when he accidentally stuck Kiri with a poisoned arrow when they were just thirteen. He was really scared to go home after that, even though it was easily reversed with the help of Mo’at. I stand up, wobbling only slightly from my lightheadedness from my lack of adrenaline and the loss of blood. I  reach out to nudge his shoulder and he whips around to face me. Looking into his face he seems even more freaked out than I am at the moment. 

“Lo’ak I’m okay. Look I’m barely even bleeding, it will heal easily. And… thank you for protecting me.” I try to convey this while looking into his eyes. After I say this his ears droop and I can practically see the adrenaline leave his body. Again he surprises me with a fiercely protective hug, grasping onto my neck to avoid my hurt arm. I can feel his heart beating next to mine as I raise my arms to embrace him, enjoying one of his rare hugs.

“Okay. But, I still want you to see Grandmother. It’s not that I don’t trust Kiri to treat you, I just…” He whispers, trailing off as he lets go of my shoulders. Reluctantly I agree, knowing how hard headed he can be he will not let it go. Usually that would be just fine, but I didn’t really want the famed tsahik to know about how I almost got us killed by being dramatic about my new body. Tuk takes our embrace to mean it's time for hugs and practically jumps on me after he steps aside, carefully making sure to avoid my left arm. Silently I send thanks to Eywa for sparing my right arm, which is my dominant.

“We heard growling and Kiri yelling bad words. I was so worried.” She laments, squishing her face into my abdomen. Kiri steps back into the conversation, having sent the animals off to Eywa with a prayer with Spider trailing her like a much smaller shadow.

“We will head back. Grandmother will want to know what happened.” Kiri says, sheathing her knife back into its holster after wiping the blood of the creatures on a cloth. I can see Tuk visibly droop at this, obviously upset to miss out on a day of swimming and fun instead of the usual chores and training.

“No, Kiri, you go have fun with Tuk and Spider. Me and Lo’ak will go back. You rarely get time off, please enjoy it.” I insist and it takes a few more back and forths of arguing until Kiri relents and takes them to the intended destination, but not before rolling her eyes with a big fat dramatic sigh. While I had said the reason was because of Tuk and Kiri’s non-existent work-life balance, I really just wanted to talk to Lo’ak. He still seems shaken up from the attack and I want to address his worries in privacy away from his sisters and Spider, who would definitely tease him for caring so much about me. They have always thought it funny to tease him and imply that he cared for me more than a friend. I know that it would only make him more upset, causing him to retreat back into his tough guy shell. He needs a more gentle touch than any of the three can possibly provide him. While Lo’ak feigns being a macho unfeeling warrior he is really a sensitive soul. The trip back is silent and he jerks his head around at the slightest sounds, his body is rigid with tension like he expects something to jump out at us. 

“Lo’ak,” I start softly, placing a hand on his back and wincing when he jumps slightly. “Are you okay? We’re okay now. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing is wrong.” He responds curtly, refusing to look back at me. I sigh and shift my hand up to his shoulder, grasping softly causing him to stop dead in his tracks. 

“Lo’ak, c’mon, you know that I know you better than that.” I mumble softly and he finally looks back at me. I see a surprising amount of pain swimming in the depths of his eyes and his face sears itself into my eyes. With eyebrows drooping and his ears bending at and ears drooping lowly he responds.

“You could have died, (Y/N). If I wasn’t there you could have died. What would I have done if you had died on my watch? You have always been the only person in my life I knew was safe. The only person that I knew I could count on to come back to, the only one that this world couldn’t take. Now that you have this new body that isn’t a guarantee anymore and that… scares me.” He admits, looking away in shame at his words. My eyes sting as I realize what this is really about. My voice wobbles with emotion and my eyes grow misty as I try to respond to his words, struggling to find words that would comfort Lo’ak without dismissing his feelings.

“I know Lo’ak. This is scary for me too, but I need this. I can learn to protect myself. Hell, I killed a damn viperwolf! Shouldn’t you be proud of this meyp skxawng for that?” I finally get out, resorting to humor once again to avoid the big feelings that we are both laying out on the table. You see, me and Lo’ak have always been each other's constant. I was the only person in Lo’ak’s life that didnt see him as a fuck-up, the only one that he felt safe going to to cry. While we never talk about it (due to his usual attempts at stoicism), I have helped him through more than a few nights after Jake or Neytiri have really ripped into him hard. My joke seems to land when he smiles a little and nods.

“You are right. It was impressive that a useless baby like you could kill just one.” He says and his lips finally curl up back into their rightful place, into that signature smirk. I let out a faux offended noise at his comment and pushed his shoulder, telling him to shut up. I see the lines on his forehead disappear and can't help but mentally pat myself on the back for calming down my best friend. After a few more exchanges of friendly banter we continued on back to the clan, only stopping once when he let go of a huge leaf that flung backwards as I tried to stop it with my torn up arm without even realizing it. I got a few stares and sympathetic looks on the way through camp, but it was relatively uneventful until we stopped at the entrance of the healing tent.

I take a moment to prepare myself for what I am sure to be an endless barrage of questions. After taking a deep breath such as one would before jumping into water I step into the marui. Mo’at seems to be packing up some sort of tea into a small satchel. I catch the tail end of her instructions to the young man that looks to be not much older than me as he sits next to her, nodding dutifully along as Mo’at drones on. 

“... Let it brew for 20 minutes. Do not add anything. It is supposed to taste bad, you will deal with it.” She says looking him in the eyes and raising her eyebrows for a menacing effect. The young man looks away awkwardly and says thank you to her before shuffling out. Finally her eyes land on me and immediately go to my shredded arm. Her eyes slide back to mine and it's like I can feel palpable exasperation pouring out of them.

“Sit.” She commands and motions to the mat in front of her with the fluid sweep of her arms, adorned with a jeweled top that clinks as she moves. I gulp and hesitate before Lo’ak clears his throat, as if to tell me to hurry up. Hurriedly I sit down cross legged and hold my arm out to her as she greets Lo’ak with a hand, motioning down her face.

“What happened?” She asks, pulling harshly on the arm to adjust it so the light pouring in from the hole in the ceiling hits the still oozing wound. I try not to flinch as she turns the arm back and forth, trying to see both sides to assess the damage caused by the bite.

“Grandmother, Kiri and (Y/N)-” Lo’ak starts to explain before she cuts him off with the raise of her hand, silencing him effectively as the words die in his throat.

“I was asking her. Let her speak for herself.” She commands him and he shrinks back, going to sit in a darker corner of the marui.

“Well, Spider, me, Tuk, Kiri, and Lo’ak we’re headed out to one of the watering holes to swim and we got separated. They left me and Kiri behind and we took a moment to stop because Kiri said she had something she wanted to teach me. After we talked and meditated we heard a branch snap and then a pack of nantang jumped out and attacked us. Luckily, Kiri was faster so they didn’t hurt her. The biggest bit me and I had to defend myself before Lo’ak came and shot one of them…” I explain while she stares at me, showing absolutely no emotions, which only serves to terrify me. She says nothing so I continue rambling on.

“And I’m sorry. I had to kill one of them to stop it from doing this to my face instead. I do not know the prayers, so Kiri sent the animal off to Eywa for me.” I continue on before she raises a hand to stop me from word vomiting up more apologies. 

“How many nantang?” She asks, already pulling out some cloth and water to start cleaning each individual wound.

“Three. One large adult male and two juvenile males.” I respond, trying not to pull away from her harsh dabbing. She looks back to my face and tilts her head slightly, raising what would be her eyebrows in surprise.

“Hmmm.” She hums and I can feel my ears start to wilt under her scrutinizing gaze. “A sky person has not killed a nantang since Jake Sully. They do not usually attack in the day unless they are threatened. Did you threaten it?” She notes and starts grinding up a poultice to use on my skin, my nose twitches from the acrid smell so it takes me a moment to answer. 

“I think it was because I met its eyes. It was staring straight at me, I… I’ve never felt like that before.” I admit and she does nothing to respond except nod. Before long she is done with the poultice and starts to apply the goopy salve to my forearm. It stings quite a bit but I slowly relax into the pain, which is honestly not much worse than my normal days in my other body. While the burning pain is intense, it’s not anything I haven’t felt before. In fact pain is one of my longest friends, beating even the Sully siblings. She seems to notice and tilts her head inquisitively.

‘Does it not hurt? It is concerning if you do not feel the wound.” She looks at me expectantly and I shake my head.

“No, it definitely hurts. But I am very used to pain, so it does not bother me.” I almost mumble out my answer, trying to avoid her fiery gaze that is boring into my side profile.

“But you grew up in the lab, did you not? Why are you familiar with pain? Even my strongest warriors will complain about this salve.” She motions to the remains of the poultice in the mortar she used to grind it up, curiosity edging into her voice.

“Oh. Yeah, I forget that most people don’t know. My other body is… weak. There is something wrong with my legs, and they often cause me very intense pain.” I explain, using my hands to point at my blue legs. She chides me for moving my afflicted arm and pulls it back towards her to start wrapping it. She uses some unusual type of cloth to wrap around it a few times, securing the poultice to my skin.

“You are strong… for a lab rat.” She says in what I can only interpret as approval. Once again I somehow win approval from the hardest member of the Sully clan and my stomach feels like its flipping as I smile shyly at her compliment. 

“Thank you. And, thank you for treating me… and I really am sorry to have disturbed the balance of life without proper training, ma’am.” She waves off my worries, clicking her tongue in dismissal.

“It is fine. Now keep this on for a day and clean it thoroughly twice a day for a moon cycle. If it starts to burn or is hot to the touch, come back, or check in with Kiri. Now go, I must get ready for the returning hunting party. There is always an injury for me to tend to when they return.” She says dismissively, with such little expression that I cannot truly gauge her feelings on my actions in the forest. Lo’ak and I exit the marui, slowly shuffling out in tense silence. Once all the adrenaline wears off I realize I’m feeling pretty tired and just want to go home to my other body, this one is in sore need of a rest. Stopping Lo’ak I tell him I’m going home and thank him for taking me back, but insist that he can go now. He asks me a couple times if I’m sure and I assure him that I’m all good now and the walk back to the lab is very short. Finally he nods in agreement and we part ways. 

I take my time on the way back to the lab, trying to delay the inevitable scolding I will get from Norm and Max for my forest trip. As I stroll by the cooking area I take a deep breath, enjoying the scent and how empty camp is at this time of day. As I look around at the few people sitting outside I notice the screeching sounds of many ikran in the distance getting closer, signaling the return of the hunting party Mo’at mentioned. I walk to the edge of the cave mouth and watch the hunters as they return, noting how they all start lining up to carry the prey to the area where they butcher their prey. Among them I spot the tall figure of Neteyam. He seems to be instructing a few younger men and vaguely I wonder if he will be the one returning with a wound this time. I let out the breath I am holding when I note that his blue skin doesn't seem to be  marred by the crimson signature of an injury. 

It crosses my mind to wave to him or call out his name but I stop when he turns to one of the other young hunters and starts to discuss something with her. I continue walking past them and find myself sort of relieved at having successfully avoided him. We hadn’t really said more than two words to each other since our awkward dinner encounter. I’m not sure what it is but I just can’t bring myself to look him in the eyes since, unable to even think of how to apologize to him. What would I even be apologizing for, really? There's just something in those eyes of his that stirs something in me, they stir some part of me that I wasn’t even sure really existed. I’ve always felt like I am an animal in a cage, stuck, with everyone around me looking at me with pity and lingering distrust in their eyes. It is always one of the two. But when I look into his eyes, I feel like I am looking into the eyes of another animal in a cage all of his own. His duties form his own cage, making sure he does not take off in flight to get away from here. Much like me, many pass him with the same pity because of his harsh father, but instead of distrust it is fear that lingers after, fear of angering him or his powerful parents. However, when he looks at me it feels like he is seeing me, and me only, not my legs or my demon blood, just me. My pure soul untouched. Our cages fall around us, and there is only the other animals eyes boring into our soul. Such a tantalizing paralysis. I've never felt anything like that so it is obviously fucking terrifying to me, because I know that thought, that hope, which I will leave unsaid, is entirely impossible. 

I am lost in trying to find an apology for the next time I see him while I stand there watching that I don’t notice the first few times someone calls out my name. On the third time I hear it it finally registers that someone is actually calling out my name so I look around to see Neteyam waving me down. I hesitate for a moment and he waves a little faster, beckoning me to him as he waits by his ikran. Bracing myself for a moment, I begin slowly striding to him. As I approach I can see the agitated swing of his tail and the look of panic on his face.

“Hello, Neteyam. Is everything okay? Did something happen during the hunt?” I ask, finally sparing a quick glance into his eyes to see his reaction. His face morphs into a look of confusion and he shakes his head.

“No, no. I wanted to see if you were okay. What happened to your arm?” As he says this it makes me realize that most of the pain from the wound had actually subsided from the poultice. I will have to thank Mo’at for the care, maybe I will weave her a nice satchel, if Kiri can help me.

“Oh, yeah. Honestly I forgot about it for a minute, your grandma is such a talented tsahik that it barely hurts.” I offer up in response, too embarrassed to lead with the fact that I nearly got myself killed my first time outside of the Omaticayan stronghold. This only serves to make his grimace deepen and I can tell he is not satisfied so I continue on. “Your siblings, Spider, and I were headed to the swimming spot when me and Kiri got separated. She was helping me with some spiritual guidance when out of nowhere a pack of nantang attacked us, er well actually attacked me I guess. Luckily Kiri had her knife and Lo’ak showed up or I’m pretty sure I’d be running through a nantang’s guts right now.” His brows knit in concern when I finish my rambling explanation. “Oh, and don’t worry, I’m the only one that got hurt. Kiri was far enough ahead that they didn’t attack her.” 

“What? How many nantang? They do not usually attack during the day. Maybe I should warn father that there might be a pack of rabid nantang running around attacking people.” He says thoughtfully, rubbing his chin with his pointer finger and thumb. I can feel his eyes as they scan my body again to see if some new injury beside the one on my arm would mysteriously pop up.

“There’s no need. There were only three and two of them were killed in the fight. The other was scared off when me and Lo’ak defeated it's packmates. I doubt it will be back to the area anytime soon, and they did not seem rabid, just… hungry.” I say to try and ease the tensions that have gathered in his broad shoulders. I see them sink down for a second before perking right back up.

“You and Lo’ak? You killed one?” He asks and I get the feeling that he meant that he was impressed but the word kill instantly deflates any burgeoning pride I can feel. 

“Yes… I did not want to, but it was lunging for my neck. If I had hesitated any longer I would have…” I trail off and look to the side mournfully. I know that realistically Eywa and the clans members wouldn't blame me for my actions, but I feel like I've upset the balance of life in the forest without having learned the proper way of doing things. From watching Jake’s video logs I am aware that there are certain customs and traditions when it comes to the extinguishing of life in the clan. They did not even allow Jake to participate in hunts until he had proved himself as a member of the clan, something I have yet to do and have no idea how to accomplish.

“You need not worry, you were protecting yourself and my sister. Mother and father will know that and appreciate it, and so will the Great Mother…” Neteyam reassures me, and I let out a sigh of relief when he pointed out that I was also protecting Kiri. That’s definitely something that could help if Neytiri hears and starts to disapprove of me. I had only just gained her trust enough for her to allow her children to go places with me completely unsupervised. Plus it is a soothing balm for the guilt I’m feeling about it.

“I know, but it is still bothering me. I am not used to death and the flow of life I suppose. My world was so small, I feel unprepared for this huge new world.” I’m not sure why, but Neteyam makes it feel second nature to talk about the thoughts I haven't even shared with Kiri yet. Everytime I see him it’s like he does something to me that obliterates all of my self control and the waters of my thoughts flow through my mouth like rushing rapids. My normal defenses are no match for the charm of this gentle giant. Neteyam seems to chew on this for a few moments, gathering his thoughts into something easy to say. After a moment he places a large hand on my shoulder, something that seems to simultaneously ground and unnerve me.

“You will. You are brave, that much is clear to me. This world is large, but you will make yourself big as well. You have a desire to learn, and that is how you will do it. Learn well, Taw.” He responds and I am blown away by his confidence in me and the maturity of his response. Oh, and also the fact that he used my nickname. For a second it feels like he has stuck a live wire in me, electricity surging through me, making my heart beat loudly and my thoughts shift into overdrive. Placing a hand over my heart I try to quiet the cacophony of thoughts that attack me and I find myself saying a single word in question.

“Taw?” Is all I manage, almost breathless. Neteyam’s intense gaze falls and he starts to fidget, looking at the song chord at his waist. He fumbles with it to alleviate the nervous energy that is clearly filling him.

“Is it okay for me to call you that?” Neteyam asks, his voice unsteady and unsure. “It’s just… that is what my siblings have called you for a long time, so I thought you might like it if I also called you that. It suits you very well.” I cough a little from surprise and can’t help the smile fighting to show on my face. My tail almost wags for a second before I can still it.

“Yes. Yes, you can call me Taw… Just don’t call me TawTaw, Tuk might try to poison you. One time she tried to feed Lo’ak kllpxillw seeds after he called me that, even though they hurt his stomach. She is very protective of her special name for me.” I giggle as I tell the story, remembering the distinctly mischievous look on her face as she tried to hide the seeds in the dish they brought to eat at the lab with us. My story makes Neteyam let out a hearty belly chuckle, and he grins as he imagines the scene between his siblings. 

“Yes, she seems to be very protective of you in general.” He comments and opens his mouth to say more before a very irritated looking young man calls out Neteyams name from a distance away.

“Come on, man! We need help carrying these yerik. You can flirt with girls when you’re not on hunting duty!” He shouts across to us, his tail lashing back and forth in agitation. Neteyam’s grin drops and he rubs his temple soothingly, rolling his eyes at the voice.

“My apologies. That is my friend, Rinu. He does not have any manners. Thank you for the conversation, but I must go now. See you again, Taw.” Neteyam says his goodbye before setting off toward his friend. I let out a laugh at his friends before saying my own goodbye as he retreats. Taking a moment to recuperate from the second use of my nickname I start walking towards the direction of the lab again. Luckily I come back when Norm is out helping in his avatar so I am spared from one of his famous motherly sermons of being careful, instead I only get a small lecture from Max on the importance of being aware in the forest. He makes me promise to take one of Kiri or Lo’ak’s extra hunting knives next time before I lay down to wake in my new body.

A/N pt 2: Again thanks for all the love so far, and sorry if this part wasn't my strongest, I've been dealing with a lot so sorry if that same through my writing. Anyways I just wanted to share a piece of fanart I drew of Neteyam as Olo'eyktan while I had writers block. Enjoy!

@skeletondeerart @jackiehollanderr @anxietydrogz @farleyis @soleilmoon

[kimbapisnotsushi]

Your headcanons are always wonderful and accurate, can I please request some for shiratorizawa if you want?

oh my god hell yeah anon let's go

tendou's studying playlist is just all chill lofi remixes of pokemon soundtracks. he also loooooves those nanoblock pokemon figures you build yourself and wants to collect the entire eevee evolution line for his desk

(i have a galarian ponyta btw and i am totally accepting name suggestions for it)

the one way to piss off semi real fast is to say "and now, wonderwall!" whenever he walks into the room with his guitar

also may i introduce you to this wonderful thing called semiten

i kind of get the feeling they don't get along as first-years? first-year tendou is bffs with ushijima which means he's finally settled into being needlessly obnoxious bc ushijima is unflappable and takes tendou's bullshit with the utmost sincerity and first-year semi is hungry and aching and determined to prove himself

it is a terrible terrible combo at first

but, slowly, they settle into each other much like how dust settles into the cracks and crevices of a house long loved

and then second year happens and shirabu comes and everything falls apart again LMAAAAAAAAAOOOO

y'all know i love shirabu but like. goddamn if second-year semi wasn't full of angst and awkwardness about growing up and puberty and being cast to the side and all tendou wanted to do was reach out and grab him by the shoulders and yell in his face "YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH YOU IDIOT I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU YOU'RE ENOUGH"

anyways

yamagata wanted to get his ears pierced but he's also afraid of needles so reon had to hold his hand through it the entire time

tendou somehow has access to the dorm rooftop because of course he does and he makes the team have picnics up there for bonding time

goshiki: "shirabu-san, would you still set for me if i was a worm?" shirabu: "what makes you think i'd set for you now?"

during a joint practice match with karasuno narita praises goshiki and goshiki starts tearing up

karasuno first-year crew is genuinely so blessed to have the upperclassmen they do. like guys come on think about it they are SO spoiled with it like holy hell i feel terrible for the other miyagi first years

(that deserves its own separate post tho)

someone starts the rumor that tendou is an esper and he does absolutely nothing to deny this, but he DOES do everything to confirm it. one of his classmates will be like "haha yeah i lost my textbook i guess i'll have to get a new one" and tendou will be like "ooh you should try looking inside the music room piano after five pm ;)" and the classmate is like "wtf" bc they've never been to the music room in their life but they go do it anyways and it's THERE

(tendou may or may not have paid goshiki to swipe the textbook and plant it)

KAWANISHI my beloved i haven't forgotten him

yeah yeah kozume kenma is a master gamer BUT kawanishi taichi is on the 3713th level of candy crush which is also, coincidentally, the level that i am on right now

also i think kawanishi is def one of those ppl who has earbuds tucked in at all times bc a) he thinks it makes him look cool and b) it keeps people from talking to him

and if they do try talking to him he just whips out his phone and makes a big show of blasting the volume to the point where the other person can hear it coming from his earbuds

also you know how tendou told semi that he looks uncool in casual clothes??? that's definitely a cover-up for tendou thinking semi looks really good in them

tendou, lying face-down in his pillow on the dorm floor: " - and did you see the ripped jeans??? ripped jeans are SO stupid they shouldn't even look that good he should have been freezing his ass off but noooooo he looked like he stepped out of a goddamn MAGAZINE - " reon, texting yamagata at the same time: "you need to raid semi's closet and burn his clothes i can't do this anymore"

[where-is-francis]

𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝘿𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙄𝙣 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙮𝙖𝙧𝙙?

[𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙'𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙩

𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙧𝙮

𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜

𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨]

𝙀𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙈𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙭 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝!𝙈𝙖𝙡𝙚!𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙄𝙄: 𝙎𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨

Before You Interact || Part I

𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮: Weird things have started happening in Hawkins. When Eddie is nowhere to be found, he asks for help from the only person who might be able to navigate the situation. (Based on the songs by Secret Shame)

𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙨: He/Him

𝙎𝙩𝙮𝙡𝙚: Part angst, part fluff

𝘼/𝙉: Yes this took forever to write. Yes it’s going to take forever to read. Yes I’m going to make this a full blown series bc I love to torture myself. Acting like Secret Shame was around in ‘86 bc they would’ve done MAAAD NUMBERS with the goths. Hope you guys enjoy having my cats tho; I love them dearly and had to add them.

𝙏𝙒: In depth description of nightmare-vision hybrid, Eddie switches between (Y/N) and calling you Salem as a nickname, mention/use of drugs (weed), character death (Fred), lmk if I need to tag for anything else.

In the shadows of a setting sun, you stood in the forest. The thick foliage that grew from the branches of pine trees created a cloud above your head. Beneath your beat up Chucks were dead leaves of darkened orange scattering the ground. The forest was familiar; not in appearance, but in a gut feeling.

Train tracks had divided the forest floor into two parts, splitting it so simply like they nearly grew in with the fauna. Colors that might have been were now gone — you were too late for them; leaving only lifeless browns and grays. You began walking, quickly crossing the tracks, and entering the new tree line.

There wasn’t much of a motive or goal in mind. In all honesty, you couldn’t remember what you were doing out at night in the first place. But still, you continued — like a pull string was tugging gently at your body. The energy of the forest was strange, like it was empty. There were no birds singing, or squirrels chattering. As you looked around, there were no animals to begin with.

Sound only came from the leaves and twigs that crunched under your shoes. Just in the distance was an abandoned bike. A shudder ran down your spine at the sight of it — why would anybody leave their bike in the middle of the woods? You really didn’t want to stay and find out, so you curved to the left and kept walking.

The trees seemed to turn more gray in color as you continued on. Even though the forest was silent and only occupied by yourself, it felt like you were being watched. Every single step added to your uneasiness until you found a barren clearing.

It was a perfect circle of gray grass in the midst of the woods. The plants that grew upwards were nearly blue in tint. You could see a walkie talkie in the center of the patch that rang with garbled static. But not just any static; Should I Stay or Should I Go played as the chorus repeated itself.

Each repetition brought on a more sinister sound, like it was descending further and further into the words of Satan himself. When your eyes moved up from the walkie, you saw a girl.

She looked familiar, but very out of place. The gray surroundings seemed to blend into her clothes, but short red hair was nearly vibrant enough to make you wince.

“Can you see me? It’s been so long. I don’t like it here.”

You wanted to go talk to her — see if she needed help, or knew where you were — but after saying a name, she faded to smoke. You could feel the pressure building up in your throat to block it from making any noise. People began emerging from the tree line to invade the small circle you were standing in.

“We’ve been building it.” They chanted.

You were panicked at the sight, and bolted in the opposite direction of the hoard. The oak and pine trees had started to turn into a singed bark. They looked like they’d been burnt, and every footfall sent dust and ash flying into the air. You were quick to pull the collar of your shirt to use as a makeshift mask, but the chanting crowd behind you was keeping you moving.

One tree that came into your line of sight was a lot thicker. In the center was a grandfather clock, emerging from the trunk like a deceptively benign tumor. This time, a girl’s screaming rang through. She was nearby. Upon further inspection, the other side of the tree had another hole — but it was boarded up from the inside.

You began to panic, telling the girl you were going to help her, and started forcefully kicking at the boards. All of the hits landed like you were fluffing a pillow; it wasn’t going to budge.

“I’m trying! I’m trying, I promise!” You yelled.

“Don’t leave me here! Don’t leave me here!”

In a last ditch effort, you started slamming the boards with your shoulder. Part of one broke and sent the odor of mold and mildew flying in the air. The girl that was trapped inside began to reach her hand out, occasionally looking through to see where she was grabbing.

But she didn’t have eyes.

It was Chrissy.

Once again the crowd had approached, but it was led by Billy. Unlike Chrissy, his eyes were wide open — tears welling up and streaming down his face with an unwavering voice.

“Just be very still. It’ll all be over soon.”

The girl began to wail. “Eddie, don’t leave me here!”

You kept running, faintly hearing Chrissy’s screams fade to nothingness. All of the ash and dust gave way to a new land as you neared another tree line. It was all blue; red lightning flashing silently in the skies above. The large house seemed to hover above the ground as a marionette on strings.

Something inside your gut knew the house. You’d seen it before. It was huge and sinister, but you wanted nothing more than to escape Billy’s crowd; leading you to crash full-force through a back window. As you got up, you could only feel the floors — not the glass shards that snagged into the fabric of your clothes.

Like the walkie in the field, there was a radio playing Dream a Little Dream of Me. It repeated in the same way but shocked you when the line didn’t begin to distort. You were looking for a weapon and a place to hide all at once, but the house was only filled with old furniture. You saw two large pocket doors and began to go through them, ending up in a dining room.

A man and a woman sat with two kids at the long table of a grand formal dining room. The song from the radio in the other room had stopped, and nobody at the table noticed your appearance. They continued on with dinner like in a TV show, carelessly eating from the expensive plates. It all felt so fake and staged; contrasting greatly to the other rooms that had been left to decay.

You ran up beside the man, crouching to a level where he might be able to see your face. “Can you hear me? Hey — we need to leave! He’s coming!”

As the words left your mouth, you didn’t know who you were referring to. But it certainly wasn’t Billy.

Nobody in the family so much as batted an eye at your warning; it was like you were a ghost. But if somebody just made dinner, they had to have knives in the kitchen. Across the long room was another set of old wooden pocket doors. With a bit of force, they slid back on the hinges and presented a new scene.

It was a boy with glasses, staring out into the road as a car went up in flames. The road sign at the side of the road was too fuzzy to make out the state route number, but you instantly knew it was in Hawkins. Orange and red flames licked at the totaled car with glass shattered and spread beneath. The boy beyond the doors could only turn to look at you, flames being reflected in his glasses.

“You can stop this.”

The doors you’d just opened had slammed shut on their own, causing you to stumble and fall backwards. Once again, the family eating dinner was unfazed by the events. No, not just unfazed — they were completely and utterly unaware.

You began to try another door. This time it was the kitchen pantry. There was nothing abnormal at first, just a long and skinny room with shelves and cans, and a window at the opposite end. Just beyond the warped glass panes was a boy in a basketball uniform screaming for mercy. It sounded like he was losing a fist fight.

“It’s not too late! It’s not too late yet!” He shouted, but you didn’t know who it was directed at.

This time, you closed the door on your own. If you couldn’t manage to break some boards in the woods, there was no way you could help. And it hurt to admit it. While still panicked, you stood completely frozen in the kitchen.

“No, Billy, please — it’s not true—”

“I think you wanted me to die that day. We both know it, Max. Is it so hard to admit?”

At the sound of her voice, you turned to see your friend backing into the foyer. A sickening version of her older brother began to morph as he walked her back through the hall. The two passed a large grandfather clock, whose hands spun wildly, going backwards at dizzying pace.

“You can’t fight it, you knew it was coming.”

The voice didn’t belong to Billy anymore — at least it wasn’t his alone. There was a haunting and gravelly second voice that seemed to echo from every crack and crevice in the house. Finally feeling like you could move again, you dodged through a second entrance to the kitchen; it was further in the back and would let you get close to Max without crossing Billy’s path.

Max watched in horror through burning eyes as blood began to stain her hands. It had a mind of its own and soaked the sleeves of her windbreaker, trailing up her arms like some sort of leak. Billy’s wound on his abdomen seemed to pulse and spread in the same way; the blood soaked through his white tank top as he got closer to the young girl.

It was horrific. You couldn’t move or make any noise to help her. The puppet of Billy moved his glance from Max to you, cocking his head to the side. He saw you, but you’d seen everything you were meant to. He reached out a shrouded, claw-like hand to the point where it was just a small space away.

“Now you’ve seen what I have planned. It’s time for you… to go.”

The jolt that ripped through your body was enough to shake the entire bed, and disturbed the pair of cats that rested on the pillows. You were covered in a thin layer of sweat paired with a heaving breath. It wasn’t unusual to have a panic attack after a nightmare, but everything you saw was so vivid and so real.

You began to slowly ground yourself in the only way that seemed to work. Unable to speak, you repeated ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes’ in your mind to calm down. A few lines went by and you could whisper the words. A few more and you could do the motions.

It was strange but soothing, almost like being rocked to sleep. You were no stranger to waking up disoriented, but this felt different. As soon as you woke up, the nightmare was ejected from your memories. It was as if it didn’t exist anymore.

Eddie was still asleep beside you, even throughout all of the commotion that just happened. You turned to see how peaceful he looked while dead asleep as the sun casted rays over his pale skin. In the far window of the bedroom was where you hung the sun-catcher. Countless mornings were spent admiring the many vivid colors that flooded the walls and ceiling, but now they draped over Eddie’s bare skin like a silken sheet.

Even though he still needed to get cleaned up, he was still gorgeous. A sharp jawline, lips that were always just a bit pouty, and that mess of brown waves — you just wanted to take in every single detail for the rest of your life.

The duo of black and orange cats began to wake up and stretch. One classic ‘downward dog cat’, another, and then a scrunch that practically begged for belly rubs. Val let out a pleased yawn as your (s/c) hand made contact with the creamsicle-colored spot on her stomach. Dracula, however, was very much impatient for breakfast and gave you a glare strong enough to kill.

You slid from the bed without disturbing Eddie, leaving him to sleep as much as he wanted. The sight of his Hellfire shirt and dusty black jeans on the floor prompted you to scoop them up, figuring he’d probably feel better if they were washed. Your eyes wandered up the side of the bed to his closed ones. The dark gray duvet was being held tightly in his hand (most likely keeping you from stealing it in the night), while the other draped off the bed. He was too tired to even set his beloved rings on the nightstand that was mere inches from where his arm now rested.

It occurred to you how hungry he’d be when he woke up. Even if it wasn’t for a few hours, he could just reheat whatever you decided to make. With dirty clothes in one arm, you cracked open the door to let the cats go downstairs first. Something about the midday was peaceful, but especially considering everything that was happening. Your bare feet padded down the carpeted hall and down the stairs before landing on the hardwood.

Though you’d lived in the same house your entire life, it was routine to reach the bottom of the stairs and wish you had socks on. The smell of your mother’s perfume still lingered in the air where she’d forgotten to put it on until she was practically out the door. Off to the side in the dining room, the newspaper was open and left with a completed crossword puzzle — the only sign your dad had left for work. You made your way into the kitchen with the cats and contemplated what to make for breakfast.

A short lavender-colored bench that sat by a large window was quickly occupied by two cats as they waited for their own food. You mindlessly scooped some into separate bowls, then carefully set it on the bench. Even though they were sisters, they weren’t very keen on sharing.

With the cats taken care of, you moved back to the fridge and tried to decide what to make. The duo ate in peace by the window, occasionally sparing glances as you wreaked havoc behind the counter. Your memory of the dream from earlier was now somewhere far gone, but the energy from it lingered. It was impossible to recall even the vaguest of events from it, but it still left a bitter aftertaste in your mouth.

What had gone on? It wasn’t typical for you to forget a dream completely. Especially if it had been bad enough to have you feeling disoriented after waking up. You sighed and continued to crack some eggs into the pan, hoping the memory would come back with time.

Upstairs, Eddie groaned in annoyance as the sun trailed his eyes. He used a hand to block it for a split second before not recognizing where he was. Instead of the dusty boat in his dealer’s shed, he was wrapped in soft bedsheets. The brunette moved to take in his surroundings and remembered the events of the night before. He came to your window for help, you had a vision, some lights exploded, and he passed the fuck out.

With a voice still hoarse he started to ask the time, but the opposite side of the bed was empty. You weren’t there. The rest of the room was barren as well. It was only him.

“No, no — fuck!”

The sensation of his heart picking up in panic was enough to pull him from the comfortable bed. There was no trace of you or indication of where you’d gone. Eddie’s mind began to reel and send horrible images to the forefront; the mere thought of you ending up mangled like Chrissy made him nauseous.

With a layer of cold sweat covering his body, he bolted to the hallway to look for you. The bathroom was empty, same with the master bedroom and office. Every empty room made the contents of his stomach claw in an attempt to be released. His doe-like eyes began to burn with the familiar sensation of tears beginning to form.

You came into the other male’s view at the perfect time, causing him to slide to a halt. You weren’t a tortured puppet splayed out on the ground; instead, you padded around the kitchen with Val on your shoulder while making breakfast. The tv in another room was cranked pretty loud — suddenly making sense why you hadn’t heard him the commotion upstairs.

In tune to whatever was on MTV, you turned around and jumped at the sight of the brunette standing there. His breathing was heavy and face streaked with tears. Val hopped from your shoulders when you shook them in an attempt to get her off. Your heart sank into your stomach at the sight of Eddie all worked up.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” A hand reached out to grab Eddie’s, but he retracted and used it to wipe his face instead.

“I’m fine, just that fucking incense, man. Always bothers my eyes.”

The lie wasn’t believable in the slightest, but you didn’t want to push. He sat down at the counter as you returned to flip the slices of toast in the skillet. Val sat next to the brunette and gazed up at him with wide eyes. Eddie returned the look, scrunching his nose in a playful way while leaning closer. Even though she wasn’t exactly social, there always seemed to be a bit of favoritism shown towards Eddie.

With the eggs done, you plated them and passed them across the counter, before turning to grab the hot sauce. Your form caught the male’s attention as he faced your back, gladly watching you finish the toast. At first the feeling was strange; the entire town had been convinced in a single day that the Eddie Munson was a Satanic and ritualistic murderer. If his name hadn’t already been dragged through the mud enough, it just got even worse. But even in the mess, there was you.

His best friend with the most gorgeous eyes in Hawkins. His best friend with the warmest heart (and bed) who believed him before he so much as clambered in through the window. Even though his bandmates loved him dearly — and he returned their affections — Eddie wondered if they would’ve done the same thing you had if he’d turned up to one of their places instead.

You carefully watched as he poked at the last bit of food on the plate, while his own eyes were glazed over in thought. It wasn’t rare for him to zone out, but the expression on his face was unreadable.

“I threw your clothes in the wash before you got up. I’ve got extra towels and some pajamas drying if you wanna shower or something when you’re done.” Your voice pulled him from his previous thoughts.

At the offer, the other male hastily finished his breakfast and went upstairs. He wasted no time running the water as hot as possible. It was hard not to notice how nice your house was, especially as the brunette stood in the large bathroom. Something about the upscale fixtures and colorful tiles made him feel a bit smaller, a bit out of place as he entered the shower.

Hot water hitting his back was enough to earn a small groan of satisfaction. Every drop combined with the rising steam began to flood the weighted stress down the drain. It was impossible for him to keep one subject close in mind without jumping to another. Even after the constant movement from his train of thought, something specific continued to come up.

Things with you felt different and that was only made more obvious with the relative silence of the bathroom. Eddie’s feelings for other guys weren’t unusual and only caught up with him a handful of times; always trailing at his heels like a thin cloud of fog. Eventually he was suffocated and couldn’t speak a word of them, like once they’d come out of his mouth he wouldn’t be able to run away.

All that running just led him back to you.

The way your arms rested over his during the night, not once leaving his side. His bare back pressed just close enough to your chest was enough to keep him sane. To keep him safe from everything that had happened. Was he foolish to be thinking about you this way, given the timing of it all? Your friendship was somewhere between best friends and partners. And although he desperately hoped that, one day, it would be the latter — the lines were still blurred between them.

Having decided it was enough of the internal monologue, Eddie finished in the shower and stepped out. He felt a bit better, staring comfortably into the hazy mirror reflection; though still small in comparison to the somewhat expensive room, he was beginning to feel like himself again.

Across the hall, your door was cracked open, granting Eddie a glance at your relaxed state. Said door was nudged open carefully and he entered the room in search of one of the (many) shirts that was left at your place.

Nothing needed to be said.

Something about his build was so elegant in such a way you couldn’t pinpoint. His body was hand sculpted by the gods, but he remained blissfully unaware. Small freckles dotted his back just beneath the ends of his hair, similar to constellations that you’d spend a bit too much time trying to make out. His tattoos always seemed so dark in comparison to his pale complexion like they were brand new with fresh ink.

His brown waves splayed out over his shoulders and trailed down just enough to cover the tattoos on the left side of his chest. Of course you’d seen them before — he never stopped showing them off — but seeing them all displayed at once was enough to put you in a trance.

Outside the carefully decorated walls, dogs from other yards began to bark and growl. Eddie’s brows furrowed as he glanced from the window and finally found the cause of the canine disturbance. He immediately dropped and stumbled backwards a bit, falling on his ass.

“Shit—! Uh, Salem? We have a fucking problem!” His voice came out hushed through gritted teeth.

Just beyond the branches of the tall oak, you saw the issue. A cop car was parked on the street in front of a neighboring house while two deputies talked with the older man next door. There weren’t any sirens or lights, which was enough to be thankful for, but the current situation was far less than ideal. In your stunned state, Eddie took it upon himself to close the curtains, making sure nobody could see him do so.

The look of fear was back again. It rolled in beads down his face like the extra water that stayed tucked into his hairline. Though inevitable, it was only a matter of time until they came to ask if you knew of Eddie Munson’s whereabouts. You searched around the room in a panicked state and tried to come up with an option to keep him safe.

There was no telling if the neighbors saw him the night before — no indication as to whether the place would be searched. But it was better safe than sorry.

“You’re not afraid of the dark, are you?” You grinned nervously.

Confused, the other male shrugged. Just beyond your bedroom door and in the hallway was a box in the center of the ceiling. It had been a hasty addition to the house — and your dad was sure to mention that every time a leak sprung up. Luckily that last minute addition made it rather inconspicuous. You reached up to grab the small pull to open up the hatch. The folding ladder cascaded down to the floor.

Eddie gave a blank stare. “You have got to be shitting me.”

“I know, I know, it sucks — but this is our best option right now.” You groaned. “It’s just a precaution.”

So he started to climb. The small ladder teetered a bit under the new weight but had been steadied by your hands. Every so often you would glance to the door to make sure they weren’t there yet. Eddie muttered and cursed under his breath and brought a hand up to swat at the spiderwebs near the entrance.

He had reached the attic, though crawlspace might’ve been a more apt description. As expected, it was pitch black in any crevice that the light couldn’t reach. But if it was between getting covered in some spiderwebs or being hauled off by the cops — the spiders were looking a lot more friendly.

Down on the second floor you had started to fold the ladder again. Eddie stopped it before the door could be shut all the way.

“Do you even have a plan?”

“Of course I have a plan.” You grinned like it was nothing.

He seemed to take a bit of comfort in your words. The door was shut, and you reached up to hide the pull string. Hiding him was the easy part, and soon you’d have to face the hard part alone.

The rooms downstairs echoed with a few loud knocks on the front door. A knot in your stomach worked itself tighter and tighter with each knock from the door. Though merely a few steps away, the path from the staircase to the front door may as well have been a mile long. Your hand trembled a bit as you turned the doorknob.

Callaghan and Powell turned to meet your eyes and stony expression. Any nerves or fear that were grasping for dear life had been swallowed down far enough, instead replaced with a hardened facade. They stated your full name as a question, to which you nodded, and let them continue.

“We were wondering if we could talk to you about Eddie Munson?” It came as more of a request than a demand.

No matter how much easier it would’ve been to deny and slam the door in their faces, it wasn’t smart. You opened the door and gestured to the desolate living room. A simple look of fondness took over for a minute as they began to glance at the family photos on the wall. It was as if, even for a split second, they forgot about the entire situation.

The aged floral couch shifted uncomfortably when you sat down on the end. The officers followed, Powell taking a seat at the edge of your dad’s chair and Callaghan on the corner of the coffee table. Their eyes shifted from each other, to you, and back again. Once finished, they asked how you knew him. And then when you’d last seen Eddie.

Your nose scrunched a bit in faux annoyance. “That douche bag? Friday night. We had a club event going on during the championship game.”

Lying definitely wasn’t a skill you’d boast about to most people, but it did come in handy. You weren’t just good, you were too good. And if it meant lying to keep Eddie safe, you’d do it a million times over.

Callaghan took out a small notebook from the breast pocket of his uniform and began to fill it with chicken scratch. The officers asked for you to continue the story.

“There’s really not much to tell — I’m sorry about that. We did our club thing, and as soon as we were done, I came home.”

“I’m guessing you and Eddie aren’t on the best terms?” Powell asked, quickly gaining confirmation.

“Nope. He asked me if I’d be willing to help out with the band, and I said yes. We had a couple practices and whatever, then I was kicked out nearly as soon as I joined. No explanation or anything.”

An hour or so passed as you continued to feed the lie to the officers. A lie that Eddie pissed you off just enough, and with the end of the campaign, you’d be withdrawing from Hellfire. Though it was for the brunette’s safety, the words still left a bitter taste in your mouth.

Every set of insults gnawed at the flesh in your mouth and threatened to set it ablaze like the afternoon sun beyond the windows. In the back of your mind it began to circle — how could anybody think that Eddie, your best friend, did this? At that point, you’d just repeated anything that you heard in the hallways at school. The lies you fed them were believable but it still felt disgusting to say such things.

Sufficiently satisfied after your last retelling of the faux drama, the two men exited in the same manner in which they came. Even if it wasn’t a lot, you managed to buy some time. The weight of the situation slowly faded as Eddie backed down the folding ladder after the coast was clear. It wasn’t an ideal spot, but he didn’t seem to be complaining. Not verbally, at least.

You both silently maneuvered back to the bedroom. He held out a small case and lighter and looked to you with a raised brow. You nodded, gesturing for him to open the far window to smoke. The nervousness was back. Eddie was antsy and uncoordinated, nearly to the point of dropping the small lighter as he pulled it out. While you laid on the bed, the brunette began to crack open the window and light up.

One joint turned to two, and two nearly became three until he was met with an empty case.

Inhaling the smoke left his voice a bit rougher. “Shit,”

“Yannow, I hate to break it to you, but chainsmoking isn’t gonna help.”

Normally you two would’ve cracked a smile at the sarcasm but this time it had fallen flat. He knew you were right, but it was all he had to try and stay calm for the time being. A fuzziness had begun to invade his senses and paint the room a bit warmer in shades of yellow and orange. The familiar feeling of a confession bubbling to the surface hit him like a train as his eyes caught yours.

He imagined it so many times before in a similar scenario, though he would’ve preferred one less stressful. Your eyes caught his and it was like he was being tugged by an invisible force, just close enough until his hands rested on either side of your legs on the bed.

You’d be lying if you said he didn’t look gorgeous in the moment. Eddie’s half lidded doe eyes scanned over the features of your face, carrying an unreadable expression and circling through every detail like it was the last time he was going to see it.

You broke the silence. “Alright, what’s on your mind, man?”

He didn’t want to confess to you while he was high. What he wanted was to have some romantic moment and just say it when the time was right — not when the world seemed like it was about to end. Not when his life was turned in 180 degrees.

Eddie moved from the bed and stood in the center of the room, his feet pacing nervously.

“I tried to wait for the right moment, I did, (Y/N) — but… but I don’t think that’s gonna happen. You know me better than anybody else. I feel like I’ve been chasing your heels for so long now,” he emphasized by quickly looking at you again, “just… I don’t know, what do you think?”

While Eddie silently prayed that you got the message, your entire world stopped spinning for a few moments. The thought of a confession from him started a wildfire in your chest that worked outwards in a rippling wave. When you didn’t say anything, his eyes met yours again, but they lingered. Even the posters and pictures that cluttered the walls seemed to wait in anticipation of an answer.

You gave the male a weak smile. “I think that you’re very stressed and a tad bit high right now, Eds.”

“No, don’t say that!” His words came out as more of a shout.

Without much thought, he was back to the same spot on the bed with his hands resting on either side of your thighs. He was laying it all on the line in the center of your bedroom. No romantic gesture, and no song like he wanted — but with as uncertain as things were, he had to get it out.

“Don’t say that it’s the weed—! Look, everything is so fucked up right now. I have no idea what’s going on but I’ve been thinking about this since I first met you. A-and if you don’t feel the same way, that’s fine — just… just let me have this. Please?”

Time had completely stilled in your room. Here was Eddie Munson, your dramatic and eccentric best friend, confessing his feelings. Most of his outbursts were a mere show followed by a cheeky grin. This was different — his sweet brown eyes watered and hands trembled beside you. For the longest time you hadn’t known what to do about your own feelings, so they would always get shoved aside. You felt cheated. Wronged, even. The events of the past few days were so strenuous that they stole any hope that the brunette had of telling you when the time was right.

His brows furrowed lightly while he looked between your eyes and your lips as if he was asking permission to kiss you. The second you gave the smallest nod, Eddie had seized your lips. One of his legs slotted between your own and he held your face with both hands. It wasn’t what you’d expected, but at the same time, it was exactly how you thought it would be. There were too many words to describe the feeling, to describe how it felt to have him. But it felt right.

You moved your lips against his softly and you’d begun to lean back onto the bed. Eddie didn’t want to stop, but pulled away anyways. He now hovered above your form with hints of rose on his cheeks and ears. Though beauty took many different forms, none of them compared to him. His big doe eyes that warmed up when the sun hit them just right, the mismatched dimples on either side of his smile, and god that voice — so many features you’d happily point out and compliment for the rest of your days.

Eddie Munson was perfect.

“Stay again tonight.” You demanded in a whisper with the taste of weed still on your mouth. “I need to know that you’re safe.”

The other male’s forehead came down to rest against your shoulder with a pained nod. His pinched expression was a sign that he was breaking a bit again. And it hurt. You’d seen him cry more in the past day and a half than he ever did in the past four years of friendship. No amount of letters regarding a repeat of senior year or rejections from bars because, ‘sorry kid, not the kind of atmosphere we got goin’ on here’ compared to this.

Your hand resting on the back of his shoulder caused him to let out a shaky breath of relief. It seemed to be that the breaking was a much kinder and much more gentle way. Though maybe breaking wasn’t the right word; that had already been done — and this was the very beginnings of being put back together. Eddie smiled again. That genuine, gorgeously mischievous grin.

It was unclear how the two of you fell asleep that night. Neither one of you could quite remember but it didn’t matter much. The brunette laid in a deep sleep with his body shrouding your own. His head had been placed so carefully over your chest so he could fall asleep to the sound of your heart beating. While you teased him for how cheesy it was, he didn’t care. The steady hum that reverberated from your chest was a reminder.

A reminder that he was safe. That he was loved.

Unlike the previous morning, there was no dream for you during the night. It seemed that the hours were one giant blank or a skip in time. Underneath the light of the morning sun, a shrill siren forcefully pulled you and Eddie from the deep sleep. From the sound of it there was a bit of distance, but not much. You bolted — tripping the entire way — to the window in an attempt to get a glimpse at which road it was coming from.

The two of you could hear the roaring vehicle approach from the state route. Eddie had crawled from the bed to stand by your side, his hand in a death grip on your own. You both shared a glance and a sinking feeling, but continued to listen.

Beyond the tree line that created dense woods behind the neighborhood was where the sirens were headed. Not for your house, that was certain. There were multiple cruisers that followed in a line, one after the other, until they disappeared behind the pine.

Eddie swallowed nervously. “You don’t think… that somebody else, do you?”

He turned to you in hopes of gaining some comfort — but that isn’t what happened. Your eyes were glazed over and out of focus as you stared out the window. A stabbing feeling erupted in your head and spread outward to your eyes. You grimaced in pain, rubbing a hand over the spot. He watched as the life and color drained from your cheeks like it was trying to escape your entire body.

“You okay? What’s going on?”

“Yeah, just… migraine out of nowhere.”

A blatant lie. Eddie’s attention turned back to the window mere moments before feeling you falter. You were dizzy and lightheaded with the pain seeming to steal your stamina. Anything that resided on the desk beneath your hands shook as the tabletop bared your weight. Like the previous night, every light in the room was thrumming with a rush of too much power. Smaller lamps flicked on and off in a strobing pattern and were accompanied by clicking noises.

Your hearing had faded and what was once clicking noises had turned to the ticking pendulum of a grandfather clock. It was only then that you recalled the nightmare. The hoard, the house, the voice that made your blood run cold — the images were thrown into the forefront of your mind like a floodgate that had been opened. Your irises had begun to expand and swallow what remained of the outer (e/c) rings.

Eddie snapped his fingers in front of your eyes. “Hey, hey! Can you hear me?”

Every light in the room stopped pulsing completely and now started to glow as bright as possible. Whatever was controlling the lights had reached and turned on your stereo. It was like you were having a vision again but this time it was worse. Your body was standing frozen in your childhood bedroom, but your mind was back in the nightmare. Eddie looked around in horror at the makeshift light show.

Lyrics of a song were repeated through the room while the hellish vision came to an end. Not just any song — the same song from yesterday. In a fog you could see the boy in glasses as he stood in the center of the road. And it all made sense. Some sick kind of foreshadowing.

Your body had gone cold. Any sensation, anything that was touching your skin didn’t even register. It was like all of your nerve endings shut down at once and your brain had gone with it. At the sign of your body starting to go limp, Eddie attempted to get you onto the floor in safety. Every moment that you laid unresponsive was worse than the last.

A heaving gasp and coughs left your body as you transitioned back to reality. Luckily, the lights in the room didn’t burst — but any power in the house had been exerted and shut off with a loud snap. The stereo on your cluttered bookshelf continued to hum the song lyrics, eventually ending with an abrupt cut like it had been turned off by hand.

You weren’t nearly coherent as the nightmare pulled away. Its claws that sunk into your skin had retreated and left you dizzy in the mix. Eddie’s voice was still a muffled mess, but he kept asking if you could hear him. The only thing that filtered through the cotton in your ears was the song.

And like the last piece of a puzzle sliding into place, it clicked.

“The song.” You mused absentmindedly.

“What?”

Eddie gazed (up/down) at you and scanned your face with worry. So many questions circled his mind but the answers could wait. And they would have to. He was more worried that your mind had gotten scrambled during the incident.

Your room had finally stilled again. The brunette was taking his time to check on you, and gave a small noise of dissatisfaction when you shooed his hands away. Moments before, the black stereo rang out with a familiar song.

“Last night, the same song played when the same thing happened. But now I remember the dream from last night. It wasn’t a dream — more of a vision? Nightmare? Whatever, the point is that — that song. It didn’t make sense until now, but—”

“—Who Died in Our Backyard.” He finished.

A bit on the nose. You two turned to look out the window again. Just beyond the lush greens of pine trees in March, there was a boy who’d fallen victim to this creature. Like Chrissy. Like the others that you saw in the first vision. It left a hollow feeling in your stomach and chest — what had any of them done to deserve this?

You sat in the shadows of the bedroom in an eerily quiet house. Maybe if you’d been able to remember the nightmare, you could’ve saved the boy.

Eddie wanted to tell you it was alright. He wanted to make you feel like it wasn’t your fault. Though every attempt to find the right words only resulted in nothingness. Now you both shared a guilt — he felt responsible for Chrissy, and you felt responsible for the boy with the scar on his cheek.

You had slung your arms around your boyfriend’s torso and pulled him close. It felt awful, but something inside of you was relieved that it wasn’t him that had been taken victim. His cheek had pressed to your own and brought a faint warmth back into your body. Beneath your palm and the tattoo of a zombie was Eddie Munson’s beating heart. A strong, rhythmic drum that brought comfort into your life.

You began to think out loud. “Whatever is doing this, there’s gotta be a way to stop it. In my vision there were a few people, but I only recognized one of them. If we can talk to them — maybe we can stop it. Maybe we can save them before they get hurt.”

Eddie nodded sternly. “Alright. Who is it?”

“Max — Billy’s sister. You wouldn’t know how to find her, would you?”

“Well, considering my place is deemed a crime scene, that’s kind of not an option.” He offered you a sly grin. “However, I do know somebody who could help.”

Reblogs over likes — it helps other people find my work. More male/enby reader content on my blog. ST requests are still open.

[incomprehensiblelentils]

Personal Ranking of Warriors Novellas

Nobody has asked for this, but I decided to do it anyway because no one can stop me. I have finished all 21 of the existing Warriors novellas (took me a month bc the library was slow lol), and am going to rank them from my favorite to least favorite. In most cases this is vibes-based rather than based on the quality of writing, because they're all kind of the same level of bad. I'll try to include a short summary of each plot as well.

Ravenpaw's Farewell - I went in expecting this to be the gay one, but WOW was it gay. It's set before SkyClan left to join the other Clans at the lake, and details how Ravenpaw and his husband Barley helped their niece and nephew Bella and Riley journey to SkyClan to hopefully become warriors. Ravenpaw has been a favorite of mine since basically the beginning, so getting to see him one last time AND getting a lot of adorable gay shit with him and Barley was a fucking delight. Ravenpaw sadly thinking they've never spent a night apart since he first moved in and Barley coming to apologize after a big fight and saying "my home is wherever you are" and Ravenpaw delaying his place in StarClan so he can be there for Barley when he dies, and the last line is him as he dies thinking "I'll wait forever for you" HELLO????? This is romance, happy Pride!!!!

Mistystar's Omen - Me placing this one so high is for a couple of silly reasons: a) I just have a soft spot for Mistystar and I liked seeing more of her, and b) I liked that it contained a character growing and changing their opinion even if it was for goofy reasons. The bar is on the floor lmfao. This one is centered around Mistystar's discovery of Mothwing being an atheist, and the fallout of that. We love drama! We love betrayal, even imagined betrayal! I really don't think the series has properly explored how the atheist cats interact with the rest of their Clan who does believe in StarClan, and I got a lot of that in this one and mmmm delicious. It did get some of the timeline completely wrong, but based on vibes I kind of loved this one.

Spotfur's Rebellion - I like that some of these novellas are set during an existing book and just deals with some of the stuff happening in the background. This is about Spotfur fucking around a bunch in her youth, finding ways to break the rules up until she realizes she's going to have to break the rules to help her Clan (i.e. take down not-Bramblestar). I like that Spotfur did a lot of stupid shit when she was younger, because I feel like even when POV characters fuck up, the narrative is almost always on their side, so it's kind of fun to get to see a character getting in trouble for fucking around. It's also fun to see not-Bramblestar from the POV of just a bystander, basically. Oh, and I liked her and Stemleaf - I did not feel like we really got a sense of their relationship in the main series 7 so this was some nice backfilled relationship stuff. I liked them rescuing Thriftpaw and coming up with the suggestion to Bramblestar for a new rule to prevent putting more cats in danger. It's fun to just see mundane Clan shit sometimes.

Hollyleaf's Story - This one is about Hollyleaf's time in the tunnels immediately during and after killing Ashfur, and how she met up with Fallen Leaves until she returns in series 4. Hollyleaf is a cop but I always kinda liked her tbh. I find her rigid adherence to the warrior code and the way it fucked with her head interesting. Anyway, it was neat to just hang out with her in a different setting for a bit, and I kind of liked that it never did a big reveal with Fallen Leaves - I can't recall exactly when we find out he's a ghost in the main series, but I feel like the novella did a good job of planting clues but not outright saying it. I also liked the little sidequest she had with the baby fox, and then it not remembering her and attacking her later - nice little bit of realistic tragedy.

Thunderstar's Echo - This deals with Thunderstar having to name a new deputy after the death of his deputy and best friend Lightning Tail; as he did it at moonhigh the day after Lightning Tail's death, this is established as part of the warrior code and laws later. I have the original Code of the Clans edition somewhere and I genuinely cannot remember if there's a contradicting story that explains this rule in there. But anyway, regardless, I enjoyed this one because I think Thunderstar is probably my favorite of the original leaders and it's nice to hang out with him. I liked him outsmarting the dogs after they killed Lightning Tail, and I liked seeing more of his friendship with Lightning Tail earlier in the book. There was also a little moment with him interacting with Clear Sky's younger children where he's touched that they consider him a brother and I just thought that was really cute - I like it when Warriors remembers family bonds outside of the super obvious ones.

Tawnypelt's Clan - This is about Tawnypelt feeling destabilized in ShadowClan after the defeat of Darktail, the death of her mate Rowanstar, and her son Tigerstar returning with his ThunderClan mate Dovewing and their kits. She commits some light kidnapping to try to help one of the kits, who is having seizures and needs to be taken to the Tribe of Rushing Water for help. Now I'm a little biased because Tawnypelt has been one of my faves for a long time, but I do really love hearing from her. I love that she's not always right, and kind of a bitch, and in this story I love that she is confronted with a couple of difficult choices and has to work through them. I'm always happy to see the Tribe too, and I'm an old softie but seeing Stormfur and Brook's children (including the one named Feather) brought a little tear to my eye. I'm not a Shadowsight stan or anything but I like that he got some help with his visions from Skywatcher, and that he got to bond with his grandma. This got me really hyped for more Tawnypelt POV next year in series 9, tbh. Also it dealt with Shadowsight's illness/visions in a way that was compassionate, unlike another story we'll get to later.

Tree's Roots - This is about the first year or so of Tree's life, starting with his life with the Sisters and chronicling some of his time wandering alone up until he meets his father Root, who he bonds with but later loses when Root sacrifices himself to save his son. We got more of the weird lesbian separatist cat colony! (OK they are not lesbians, but also, it's funnier to say that.) I basically just enjoyed getting to hear more about their totally batshit radfem ideas about male cats vs female cats and how when toms die it's chill, because toms are of the earth, so them dying is just returning to the earth?? It was bonkers. Also I cannot recall if we knew that Tree's dad was named Root, and I found that context about his son Rootspring's name really cute. Again, the bar is on the floor and I found the novelty of information fun.

Shadowstar's Life - This one was pretty objectively bad and nonsense but THE DRAMA. It's set right as Shadowstar, the first leader of ShadowClan, is living her final of nine lives, and is uncertain what will happen when she dies for the last time, as she is the first leader to lose all nine lives. I enjoy the way that leaders often get really weird and paranoid in their last life, because it's very stupid and obvious but also very realistic behavior. And in this case it was a mini mystery novel, as Shadowstar tried to sort out who had tried to knock her into the path of a speeding car in AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT. When she finally figures out who it was, there is a very dramatic confrontation and she ends up killing the cat who ultimately kills her, and hearing her confession as she dies.

Leafpool's Wish - This is about Leafpool's discovery of her pregnancy, and how she and Squirrelflight left ThunderClan temporarily to conceal the pregnancy and introduce the resulting kits as Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw's. I am nostalgic for series 2 and I always enjoyed Squirrelflight and Leafpool's relationship, so I enjoyed that aspect of this one a lot. I also appreciated the explanation of how exactly they pulled this switcheroo off, as I always did wonder that lol. I don't know if this was objectively that good but it appealed to my nostalgia!

Daisy's Kin - I make some jokes about Daisy, but I do kind of like that there's a permanent midwife cat in ThunderClan - it's nice that there's space for someone whose skills are not necessarily those of a warrior. In this story, she's experiencing a combo of empty nest syndrome and deep grief from the deaths of all but one of her adult children, and strongly considers leaving ThunderClan for good when her ex Smoky desperately needs assistance with his newborn kits after their mother dies. I really liked the heightened tension in this story - though I knew Little Daisy and Coriander would survive, it was still really stressful reading about their attempts to keep these newborn kits alive without a nursing mother around to feed them. Daisy's inner turmoil made perfect sense, and I enjoyed getting a sense of her character beyond just "midwife" and "mother," although obviously both of those played a significant part in the story. Finally, I thought it was adorable how Mousewhisker was so excited to meet his baby siblings and how he and Daisy promised to come visit them.

Pebbleshine's Kits - I think this is the beginning of a section I will refer to as the Net Zero Information Books. Sometimes these novellas contain interesting insights into characters, or little peeks into events we got hints of in the series, but sometimes they are like this one, which is about Pebbleshine's travels while pregnant after being separated from SkyClan, as they were journeying to the lake. The problem with this is that, while it's an interesting premise, it ultimately cannot contain any new information (except possibly that Pebbleshine and Tree briefly met up, but I think he mentions this in the books proper), and therefore is kind of useless. Wait, actually I did just remember a bonkers thing that happens at the end of this: Pebbleshine opts to become a ghost to watch over her newborn daughters rather than go to StarClan???? Did we know this was a choice they could make before????? I said "what." out loud when I got to this part.

Cloudstar's Journey - Similarly to the above, this story is just leading up to the dramatic scene at the Gathering where ancient SkyClan is forced to leave due to their territory being destroyed. Not much useful information or character insight here, just kind of a bummer. I will give it some points for having cute moments with Cloudstar and Birdflight, but other than that it felt a little pointless. I think I said in an earlier post that this was one of the better ones, and by that I think I meant "this one didn't piss me off." I would've preferred, and I kind of hoped from the title it might indicate, the doomed journey of SkyClan and how/where they all ended up after having to leave.

Dovewing's Silence - This is set directly after The Last Hope and deals with Dovewing, Lionblaze and Jayfeather not having their powers anymore. I don't mind Dovewing; I know she's a divisive character but I like her fine. This just kind of felt a little pointless to me because...we know they lost their powers, and we've seen them living without them in series 6.

Mothwing's Secret - I wish this one had been better, but it just kind of annoyed me. I did like the scene of her and Hawkfrost as kits when they lost their brother and I think it did a good job of fleshing out their relationship and how they felt like they only had each other to depend on. But Mothwing felt weirdly passive in this, in a way that I found kind of OOC? And also I just find Hawkfrost really irritating lmao sorry. I did like that we got some insight into how she interacts with her job as a medicine cat despite her lack of belief in StarClan.

Mapleshade's Vengeance - I had to really work to give this one a fair shot because I find Mapleshade's place in canon so fucking irritating. I love female villains, as y'all know, so I was so into the idea of her! Unfortunately, as we'll get to later, they retrofitted her as the Architect of Everything and that annoys the shit out of me. But anyway, as far as her own novel goes, it's definitely interesting to get her perspective on how she became a Dark Forest cat. Basically, she (a ThunderClan cat) fell in love with a RiverClan cat (Appledusk), lied by omission because her kits' father had murdered a beloved warrior in her own Clan and led the Clan to believe the dead warrior was their father, and then got caught in her lie when the medicine cat had a dream and put the pieces together. While she attempted to explain herself, the Clan refused to listen to her and kicked her and the kits out, and she attempted to take them to RiverClan but unfortunately the river was flooded and the kits all drowned. Then Appledusk confessed their relationship in front of his entire Clan and was berated, but allowed to stay, while Mapleshade was driven out, and vowed vengeance on everyone who had caused her harm. (This was kind of funny because she started having visions of her dead children calling for vengeance, and it reminded me a little of a reverse Hazards of Love 3 except the ghost children didn't kill her themselves, but I imagine this connection was an accident.) Anyway, then she murdered a bunch of cats and got killed herself and as she died, swore vengeance on Appledusk's descendants. I wish this had been better but I found her utter disinterest in taking responsibility for anything, such as her reckless behavior with her children or her wimping out when actually going to lie about her children's father, irritating as all hell. I also just find her really boring and one-note as a villain? At least Curlfeather in series 8 has the decency to be manipulative in an interesting way.

Redtail's Debt - The next three are a trilogy called "don't whine at me about what you should've done." This one is about how Redtail failed to see Tigerclaw's cruelty and ambition until it was too late, because Tigerclaw saved him from a hawk when he was an apprentice and he feels that he owes him for that, and then he accidentally killed Oakheart and got killed by Tigerclaw because he was in the way of Tigerclaw's ambition. Fine concept for a story, I guess. It also includes a scene where Tigerclaw beats the shit out of a random WindClan apprentice for crossing the ThunderClan border, and Redtail doesn't stop him, and then he feels bad about not telling him off for that. I find guilt about inaction in characters only interesting if they actually do something about it - girl, I have plenty of my own guilt, don't make me read about yours too! It also contains some really OOC behavior from a young Ravenpaw, which was the final straw for me. Don't you pretend like my boy ever tried to act like Tigerclaw, because canonically he didn't!!

Blackstar's Reckoning - This story deals with Blackfoot, the future ShadowClan leader, and how he rationalized all his horrible actions as ShadowClan devolved into full fascism under Tigerstar. I didn't have any patience for this shit in the Leopardstar book and I don't have any patience for it here. Fuck this guy and fuck this book for making me read about him and his bullshit justifications.

Pinestar's Choice - The final in the "don't whine at me about what you should've done" trilogy. This one is about how, in his final life, Pinestar begins to crave a simpler life as a kittypet and ultimately renounces his name and place in ThunderClan to go to Twolegplace. I actually don't have a problem with this arc and I think it's really interesting - my main issue with this one is that it decided to bring in a bullshit prophecy about Pinestar's son Tigerclaw, and how he would be the downfall of ThunderClan. And Pinestar went "lol welp I can't do anything about that" and fucked off while thinking "I hope you are raised to be good and brave, my son." Man why don't YOU do something about that instead of literally ignoring him and then fucking off because you were too scared to raise him!!! I don't have a single shred of patience for that bullshit behavior, sir! Truly some "what if the child has bad vibes" nonsense.

Tigerclaw's Fury - This one was shaping up to be alright - it's set immediately after Tigerclaw's banishment from ThunderClan and how he gathers up his rogues and takes over ShadowClan. Unfortunately, this begins what we'll call the "backfilling trilogy." I am totally down for Tigerclaw just being ambitious and wanting power by any means necessary, and I still think he's a really good villain. I am not down for him having had Mapleshade in his head encouraging him to be evil THE WHOLE TIME ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME. This sucks!!!! What do you mean she's been there since he was born, speaking in his head like fucking Maximum Ride's weird Voice thing????? I started laughing because I couldn't believe the audacity.

Goosefeather's Curse - I was kind of into this one, although it was a HUGE bummer because basically this poor baby had visions since his literal first day and nobody believed him, and even when he got somebody who did (Cloudberry) she told him it had to be a secret, and no fucking wonder he lost his mind about it! It was kind of a realistic portrayal of untreated mental illness, I'm sorry to say, and how society sweeps it under the rug and refuses to help mentally ill people who desperately need help. And then...suddenly fucking Mapleshade was there, AGAIN, taunting not only Goosefeather but also me, the reader! Bitch, get out of here!! It made me so mad lol.

Spottedleaf's Heart - Surely, I said, this one cannot be that bad! Surely everyone was exaggerating! Oh, poor foolish me. I don't know that I think it's bad for the same reasons as everyone else, to be fair. This one is about Spottedleaf's journey from wanting to be a warrior like her idol Thistleclaw, to eventually discovering how horrible he is and accepting her destiny as a medicine cat. I think everyone hates it for the uncomfortable portrayal of a creep who's grooming Spottedleaf since she was literally a child to be his mate, which is fair because that was gross! Or maybe because it directly contradicts established canon that Spottedleaf always wanted to be a medicine cat. But actually no, the reason I hated it was because ONCE AGAIN they decided to make Mapleshade the fucking architect of every evil character's plans once again!!!! Thistleclaw being in the Dark Forest, stupid and bad but maybe forgivable. Mapleshade being directly involved with his training to the point of him bringing Spottedpaw there to be trained as well? NO I HATE IT WHY DO THIS. Wouldn't she have told someone??? There is no reason to pretend cats were being trained in the Dark Forest that far back, there just isn't. And another thing, she also witnesses Tigerpaw and Thistleclaw beating up baby Scourge - why do this. Why. Do not pretend every character witnessed some significant canon moment (also Bluestar was already there and already saw this happening!). It sucks and I hate it. The end.

[loser-jpg]

Leona and Dee drabble bc im sore from workouts and felt like writtin this

4 years after Dees graduation from NRC (i dont feel like doing any other world building other than that lol):

The first thing Leona heard waking up from his nap was the sound of keys outside the door. Normally the sound of the door opening would follow, but as usual it took Dee a solid half a minute to actually figure out which way to turn the key to unlock the door. Leona didn't understand why he insisted on locking the door every time he left, but it was funny to hear the same grumbles of annoyance every time Dee came back from wherever he went.

Their shared apartment wasn't that large, neither of them were actually fond of too big a living space, so Leona only had to shift himself slightly on the couch to be able to see Dee closing the door behind him.

"Ughhh." Leona watched as Dee kicked off his shoes and threw his phone and keys onto the table. His face was more red than normal and his hair had curled up around his face from sweat.

"Everything hurts." Dee face-planted into the chair to the side of the couch, his legs dragging onto the floor.

"What happened to you?" Leona laughed to himself as Dee turned his face to look at him with fake misery.

"You know how I said I should start working out?" Dee let out another fake whine as he turned his face back into the cushion, too lazy to finish his sentence.

"Well at least I won't have to hear you complaining about not being strong anymore."

"Yeah but you'll have to deal with me complaining about endless pain."

"The soreness will go away if you keep with it. Go ice, it'll help."

Dee pulled himself up enough to sit in the chair properly only to throw his head back to complain more "But I don't wanna ice! It takes so long and I gotta position myself uncomfortable to make the bag stay."

"Well at least go shower. You smell like shit."

"Thats the smell of muscle baby~" Dee groaned as he lifted himself up and trudged his way through the apartment. Leona also pulled himself off the couch and toward the fridge in the kitchen area. Dee was going to be starving in about ten minutes and a combination of not wanting to hear more complaining and kinda feeling nice today made Leona decide to make lunch for the two of them.

"Leftovers? Really?" Dee stared at the reheated remnants of the previous nights dinner. The dinner he made.

"You should be happy I even made you anything."

"Oh I am so blessed, you stuck a plate in the microwave for fifteen seconds for me." Despite his sarcasm, Leona watched Dee sit down and start shoveling food in his mouth the second he was done talking.

"It actually took thirty seconds."

"Oh now thats effort." Leona laughed as Dee struggled to talk with a mouth full of food.

"Food first. Then talk." Leona sat down across from Dee and also started to eat. Admittedly almost as fast and messy as his partner, but at least he had the decency to not talk with food in his mouth.

"Don tell me wah ta do." Leona looked up at Dee with a disgusted look, which only made Dee snicker at him. To Leona that stupid grin was recognizable in almost every situation. Food related or not.

Dee dumped his plate in the sink to wash later before walking over to the couch and laying down right where Leona had been earlier.

"Hey- no that's my spot." Leona set his plate in the sink as well and also made his way to the couch.

"Move your feet, lose your seat." Dee smiled that stupid grin again, before turning away from Leona.

"Oh, we'll see about that." Before Dee could protest Leona had grabbed him around the stomach and pushed him off the couch, reclaiming his spot with confidence.

"Hey! You tryna put me in more pain?!" Dee's face shot up from the ground into view, but the rest of him stayed sitting on the ground.

"Suffer." Leona yawned before shifting himself on the couch, planning to resume his nap from before Dee got home.

"Rude."

"hmm."

Suddenly Leona felt a weight on his torso and looked down to see Dee shoving his way into the space between Leona and the back of the couch.

"Seriously?"

"We share rent, we can share the couch."

"I pay more of the rent than you do."

"I still pay some of it." There it was. Stupid grin again.

"...Fine." Dee snickered as Leona readjusted himself so the two of them could lay comfortably on the couch. Though if he knew this was gonna happen he woulda just moved his nap to the bed.