#i should bring back another OC from that era... he had nothing to do with shiloh but i think i did Q&A comics of him too

[yogoblog]

augh, i want to draw shiloh suddenly. i don't have my tablet currently though...

[pricklepicklepie]

It might be hard to ask for faves… so who is the oc you’ve had the longest?

OH EVAN, thank you bless you i love you. Let's open this can of worms together -

(forgive me, this got LONG. I mean LONG. It should be a simple answer but NO)

So, my oldest OCs, I didn't even post yesterday. This is a group of some of my oldest. I'm sure there are older ones, but these are the ones I remember/have images of. Lucis is probably the oldest with Katey being the second. There were piles more with this crew. Pretty much anytime I drew anything that wasn't transformers fanart, I added them to this "world". Which was nothing special, none of these guys ever had solid backstories or even interests or jobs. They were just designs that I returned to. Zoi and Lucis eventually got a little more developed (but not a lot lol) and got pushed into my "second gen" OCs. I don't really draw these guys anymore accept occasionally or when I want to make something new, sometimes I revamp an old OC and insert them into whatever story I'm making. Here are some of their more recent designs. I think these are all I've drawn of them in like, ten years or more lol.

Eventually, I made Zoi an office worker who plays bass in a band with Lucis and another OC, Elliot. SPEAKING OF ELLIOT

Elliot is kind of my oldest OC with a 'story'. SORT OF. First, I had all those loose OCs, not in a story, not doing anything. Then one day I make Elliot and Adrien and I decide they're going to be in this angels and demons type story where Elliot dies and comes back to life and they encounter evil angels, etc etc. Joel was a villain, Lucy was like, 'the girl', lol.

This whole plot didn't stick and I eventually just made Adrien human and now they sort of exist in a nebulous, melancholy, dreamy, sorta real-world setting. Elliot is roommates with Zoi and Lucis and the three of them are in a band. Adrien is a guy who just happens to be at their show. Some of my other OCs are in the background of this world, but I don't really think about them lol.

Here's kind of the transition period between the original, fantasy-type story, and the normal world story.

This was late in high school/college that I started calling Elliot's story Elliot's Sword. And it was going to be like Elliot going into a fantasy world from the real world and becoming a god-like figure. But after college, I made them the normal, real-world story. Here are some drawings from the modern era of Elliot and Adrien

It's hard for me to even find drawings of them bc I don't draw them so much, which is a shame! I really like the way they had become. I want to do a story with them where they meet at a show (or reunite since they went to college together) and Elliot eventually helps Adrien through the loss of his Grandmother who is his family's matriarch. And this brings up a lot of feelings for Elliot about his mother who died when he was a child. And together, they sort of explore this half-waking/half-dreaming world of grief. I had this idea that Elliot is like, a dream hopper and goes into people's dreams. And it's a story I really want to write one day, but ALAS. time will tell.

The Oldest Oc I posted about last night, is Puck! OOOHH BOY DO I LOVE PUCK. BUCKLE IN.

These are some of my first drawings of Puck, along with Richard and some other OCs in her setting. I made Puck for a character design class in college. I think my Junior year. She and Richard were basically Fallout rip-off OCs - they came from a post-apocalyptic world with Puck from the country and Richard from a large settlement. They were kind of 'Prince and the Pauper'. And I had this whole thing where they meet, dislike each other at first, have to work together to rebuild Puck's hometown, grow to love each other, adopt a girl named Tommy and raise her in the town, and eventually, Richard does something to betray Puck's trust when they're in their late 50s and they spend the rest of their lives in this bitter divorce arc. Here are some comic pages I made for various college assignments. This was a story I called The Town of Shilo.

Their story now is a little different than it used to be. Now, the idea is Puck comes to this large, sci-fi-ish city and meets Richard and all these other people and helps them maintain their little community by keeping robotic police off their turf. Puck's mother and sister are the CEOs of this large pharmaceutical-turned-weapons company, (though she has been sort of cut off from them and is their unknowing test subject, so she's not involved in whatever they've been up to). And Richard is the son of some politian and is trying to play double agent and use what he finds out from his nepotism job to inform his friends. There is SO MUCH MORE to it that I need to write down and nail down. But that is the basic idea.

These are all the OCs I think about who aren't DnD related. So I kind of have two worlds (elliot's and puck's) that I revisit from time to time and fuss with. The thing is, I never write anything down and never try to world-build or nail anything down. I just draw them with non-specific ideas in mind lol, which definitely has to change. With DnD ocs, it's just so much easier to make a quick guy who has a flaw and then his story is just figuring out that flaw and you get to do that with your friends and it's EASY. But I have a hard time getting back into my other OCs bc I can never settle on a story for them. But I do have dreams of making comics of them, so who knows, hopefully soon I will actually build out their worlds and be able to be more specific about what they can do/what happens to them. lol. BUT I UH NEVER GET TO TALK ABOUT THEM REALLY SO I SORTA TOOK THIS CHANCE TO SAY EVERYTHING EVER ABOUT THEM. HOPE THAT'S ALRIGHT??

tldr: I have this OC, Lucis, who is probably my oldest Oc who I don't draw anymore LOL

[antebunny]

April 27: games

A sequel to archer and bridge, an identity porn extra of a modern cultivators Olympic sports AU.

Note: this is from the perspective of an NB OC named Elaine Chao who uses they/them pronouns. I did this because 1) the number of NB people I know has exponentially increased in the past year, and they all use they/them pronouns so I wanted to make myself familiar with using they/them pronouns to refer to a single person. I chose the name Elaine Chao because that’s the name of Mitch McConnell’s wife and I think I’m funny.

Elaine Chao is taking a class on cultivation, which is a new class offered at their university and also not very popular because cultivation is supposed to be a dead practice now just used as a sport. So it was expected to have like five students, max. The professor is an expert when it comes to the culture and history of xianxia, and now decided to also offer her skills and knowledge on cultivation, which she is also an expert on, despite having previously just taught the history/culture of that era. Then suddenly at the last minute, the class gets six new students. Initially, this isn’t the weird part. With an eleven person class, the students interact somewhat, but for a while all Elaine could tell you was their names.

Soon enough, their professor goes on a tirade about the international cultivation competition. She hates it because 1) it makes a mockery of the original purpose of cultivating, i.e. night hunts and defeating monsters oh and also war, and yet it still 2) puts the lives of the competitors in danger. Not in the way that sports usually do, in that there’s a risk for injury which can sometimes be permanent, but the competitors are all world-class athletes and generally don’t come to harm. But in an active, monsters-are-trying-to-kill-you sort of risk that has led to severe/permanent injuries recently, but no (recent) deaths. And the professor hates that the lives of these teenagers and young adults are so blatantly being put in danger for entertainment. She also hates how gamemasters pass their roles to their kids, who are usually competitors themselves, and so on. So the professor rants about the international tournament and these competitive cultivators and how much she dislikes it.

Then she mentions the last international competition, which everyone has heard of just because of how wrong it went.

The recent competitions have been rife with controversy anyway; there was that whole thing with gamemaster Wen Ruohan where he was favoring his sons and almost got the other competitors killed, and usually the other gamemasters would vote him out but Jiang Fengmian (and his wife) passed away from disease recently, and Jiang Cheng was his nominal replacement since it was assumed that Jiang Cheng would be too old for competition by the time Jiang Fengmian retired, and Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian were skipping that year’s competition anyway because of jfm and yzy’s deaths, but then Jiang Cheng was dragged back to vote Wen Ruohan out. That all worked out in the end, because the Wens were just removed from the competition.

But last year’s competition was the final nail in the coffin. Basically, one of the gamemasters (Jin Guangshan) rigged the game for his own purposes. Since Jiang Cheng was still competing, Jin Guangyao was chosen as the new gamemaster. When only five contestants were left–the same five as the previous years–the monsters suddenly stopped dying and their time-out flares suddenly stopped working. This maybe would’ve worked except that Jin Zixuan was surreptitiously warned at the last moment that the game was rigged in his favor, and immediately told the others once he found them. Then they realized that they were stuck in the arena with monsters that wouldn’t die and no way to get out. They had a collective come-to-grace moment in which they realized “hey maybe putting our lives on the line like this isn’t healthy or normal just because it was what our parents did”. (Meanwhile, the other two grandmasters are panicking because their little brothers are out there jgs I’m going to wring your neck–) Then Wei Wuxian goes “actually I think I can control the monsters using ~demonic cultivation~” and the others go “it may be against the rules but we’ll back you up”. So that was last year’s competition. It was even more controversial because Wen Ning died as a consequence. His sister, Wen Qing, the best cultivating doctor in the world, who has treated all of the competitors in the past, literally hit the ceiling. She treated the five returning contestants and then promptly quit. That would be a problem because there’s no other doctors willing to treat all the cultivating contestants after a competition. But the bigger problem comes when Wei Wuxian, who should have gotten first place, gets banned from competitive cultivation for breaking the rules. They try to award first place to Lan Zhan, who promptly refuses and also vows to stop competitive cultivation because they banned Wei Wuxian. Then they try to award it to Jin Zixuan who refuses because he doesn’t ~deserve~ it and he’s wrecked with guilt that all the others went through this just because his dad wanted to make him win (and also wanted to kill the others). They go to Jiang Cheng who takes one look and goes “you’re kidding, right” and everyone knows that Jiang Cheng is suffering from an inferiority complex due to Wei Wuxian constantly upstaging him but Jiang Cheng is like “if you think I’m going to take a first place prize when I should’ve been fourth and you’re robbing not only the first three but also my brother by banning him from the game that almost killed all of us just because you think I have some stupid complex then you have another thing coming and also fuck you.”

So next year’s competition is canceled. Suddenly, these professional athletes have nothing to do. The five of them sit down and say “maybe we should learn more about our supposed profession” since the only reason they survived was because of Wei Wuxian’s demonic cultivation. Jiang Yanli brings up the university class, and the next thing they know, all six are enrolled in the class.

When Elaine overhears Wei Wuxian needle Jin Zixuan about something to which he responds “that was years ago!”, they can’t help but ask, “do you know each other?” And Wei Wuxian glances nervously at the professor and says “we’re…uh…family friends!” (That brick wall Lan Wangji is glaring at Wei Wuxian because he doesn’t like lying, but Elaine can’t tell because Lan Wangji is a brick wall. In more ways than one). Basically, while they didn’t have any intention of hiding, Wei Wuxian panics when he remembers how much the professor hates competitive cultivators, and everyone else gets sucked into his lies because of him.

And then it all comes spilling out: Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, and Jiang Yanli are siblings, Nie Huaisang is high school friends with Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian is dating Lan Wangji (and that much was already obvious from the very public pda), and Jin Zixuan is Jiang Yanli’s fiancé, and his family is friends with Jiang Yanli’s family, which is how he knows the siblings from earlier. It also comes out that all six of them aren’t regular students at the university, they’re just taking this class in particular. Their answers aren’t particularly enlightening, and Elaine doesn’t understand why they’re being so dodgy on the question. Well, if “dodgy” means Jiang Cheng snapping “none of your business” and Lan Wangji staring at you until you walk away nervously.

This is how Elaine gains perspective on their classmates. Jin Zixuan is an arrogant rich prick who can’t last a conversation without mentioning how much better he is than you. Jiang Cheng would be cool (and maybe even cute, Elaine notes) if he wasn’t perpetually angry, even with the people he supposedly got along with. He’s polite enough with strangers but any personal comments and he acts personally offended. Wei Wuxian is nice enough, but he’s also an annoying troublemaker who’s always late for class, and has the social skills of an agoraphobic lobster. He constantly inserts himself in conversations and gets on the professor’s nerves. Well, the professor appreciates the questions and knows that Wei Wuxian is actually interested and also really really smart, but. Nerves. Lan Zhan is handsome, and a model student, but that’s about all Elaine can say about him. He has the emotional capacity of an old shoe, and rarely offers more than one word answers, as if talking is beneath him. The only exception is Wei Wuxian, and that’s a whole other can of worms, because Elaine cannot for the life of them figure out how those two are dating each other. It’s clear they’re the most in-love couple to ever being in love, but that doesn’t answer the question why. And how. And what. Nie Huaisang is nice enough. He actually has some social tact and can hold a conversation, but he also has zero spine and isn’t interested in anything but art and procrastination. Elaine doesn’t understand why he’s even taking this class. He’s not in uni anyway, why is he here.

The only acceptable person is Jiang Yanli, and that’s because she’s a human person with actual feelings. She’s always nice, but knows that her siblings are not, and she has interests besides ??? and none. She actually goes to university and is majoring in political science, which is how Elaine learns that she is a debate champion, and already managing a business left to her by her recently deceased parents. Elaine brings up their parents once and then Jiang Cheng the aggressive angry grape starts yelling and Wei Wuxian turns downright vicious all cold and dark and Elaine never brings it up again. So Jiang Yanli is the only one that Elaine actually likes/considers a friend. The only thing is that Elaine cannot understand why she associates with the people that she does. Siblings are understandable, but why is she engaged to that rich brat Jin Zixuan? The terrifying thing is that Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian agree with Elaine and think Jiang Yanli could do better, and Elaine knows this because they’re so vocal about it. Like are they trying to ruin their sister’s engagement? Actually maybe they are.

So that’s Elaine’s university class experience.

[just-the-hiddles]

Writer’s Spotlight | myoxisbroken

Happy hump day, peeps!  This week’s spotlight is the queen of a historical fic, AU or canon.  The maven of food porn in a fic. And the reigning champ of teasing me with smut @myoxisbroken​ !  Let’s dive in!!

The Basics

MASTERLIST HERE

Any other names you want people to call you?

Miss Ox, myox, whatever you feel like!

How long have you been writing fic?

2 years.

What fandoms and/ships do you write?

MCU (Loki, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes), other Tom Hiddleston characters (Pine, Conrad, Sharpe, Buxton, Nicholls, Plumptre, and ever-growing), and just branching out into Pedro Pascal with The Mandalorian; I also have a few Doctor Who fics in my Masterlist (Ten/Donna Noble)

How did you get started writing fic?

I was reading a ton of Doctor Who fic and enjoying the Doctor/River Song stories. Then I rewatched DW season 4 and was so depressed about Donna's ending that I immediately watched the David Tennant/Catherine Tate version of Much Ado About Nothing. And then I started to ship the Tenth Doctor and Donna.

So I read a bunch of their fic and thought, "You know what would be awesome? If someone wrote a WW2 AU where Donna's a single mother and the Doctor is an injured fighter pilot that she takes in as a boarder." And then I started to get snippets of dialogue in my head, and ideas for scenes, and I wondered if I might be able to write a story myself. I hadn't written anything in years, but I decided to give it a try. And a few months later, I had my first story completed, a 14-chapter Doctor Who AU.

 After that, I had the writing bug and I haven't been able to stop coming up with ideas and working to put them into words!

Story Recommendations

Which of your stories are your favorite?

It is honestly so hard to choose. I'm only going to choose completed works, because I always love the WIPs I'm working on. So, let's see: You Bring Me Home is one of them, because it was so fun to just jump into a sexy vacation romp with some playful kink exploration for James Conrad (Kong: Skull Island). With Brooding Wings was my first attempt at a vampire story using multiple Tom Hiddleston characters, and I really enjoyed playing with the dynamics of different personalities and settings in that world. 

 In A Restless World Like This Is is another, because I had such a great time writing a fluffy love story for Steve Rogers and an older OFC. It started as a spite project because of someone's objections to older characters and turned into such a lovely experience. It was one of the easiest I've ever written in terms of how quickly it flowed from my brain through my fingers. I'd loved writing for Loki (An Excellent Suggestion was my first Loki story, and my first time writing smut) and for Bucky (We Are All Victims of Physics Sometimes was my first dip into capturing Bucky's quiet reserve and depth of emotion).

I honestly could go on and on about stories but would only sound more conceited.

Which story are you most proud of?

I think A Pursuit of the Heart. It was my first time writing in the Regency/Georgian era, and I did a TON of research for it. It was also my first novel-length story, and I didn't even know if I could take on something that big or write a historical romance convincingly, in a way that felt era-appropriate and true. I was so proud of the finished product.

Which of your stories do you think is the most underrated?

Let Your Heart Be Light, a Bucky/OFC story with a Christmas theme - its companion piece, Kissing The New Year In, also didn't get much traction. But I loved writing them!

Someone is new to reading your stories, which story/stories should they read first?

It depends on what actors and characters they like, really, as well as if they like smut or fluff or both. For a smutty one-shot, I'd recommend An Excellent Suggestion (which has a one-shot sequel). For a swoonier longer fic with smut, I'd recommend either You Bring Me Home or my fake relationship Steve Rogers fic The One Thing You Can't See. 

For fluff, An Unforeseen Outcome is a Loki one-shot with both fluff and a little emotional hurt/comfort. Interestingly, I've written more not-smut fluff for Loki than for any other character. I think I just want him to find connection and love and acceptance so much. 

And if you are a fan of historical romance, I'd recommend either my Thomas Sharpe AU A Compromising Situation, or if you like your fics with a healthy dose of angst, Beside Us When Beauty Brightens, my William Buxton (Return to Cranford) story about what happens after he loses Peggy.

Which Story did you do the most research for?

A Pursuit of the Heart, since it was my first one set in the Georgian era and I had a lot of catching up to do! I research for most of my stories, and definitely for my multi-chapter stories. Even if they're contemporary, I still look up resorts, locations, restaurants and local foods, things to do, etc. I can't help it. It's like I'm addicted to research.

Which Story was the easiest to write?

For a multi-chapter fic, In A Restless World Like This Is. For a one-shot, probably my Loki Christmas fluff All I Want For Christmas Is You.

The Writing Process

What is your favorite part of writing?

When a scene I've had in my head just flies out of my fingers and onto the page, and I can read it back and think, "YES! That's just how I wanted it!"

What is your least favorite part?

When my brain is too scattered and unfocused to actually allow me to do any writing.

Describe your style in 1 to 2 sentences.

Well-researched stories that use the information to make you feel like you're there and that incorporate sweetness into even the smuttiest scenario. Also, food porn, and porn porn.

Who are some of your writing idols and/or influences?

For published novels, Mary Balogh and Sabrina Jeffries are two of my favorite historical romance writers, and I think that reading them has helped to make my writing better. In terms of fic authors (some of whom are also published), @nildespirandum​ and @caffiend-queen were two of the first I read in the Tom/Loki fandom and their excellent quality and intriguing plots are an inspiration, even if I will never be able to write plots as twisty as theirs. Also, reading @yespolkadotkitty​'s stories helped me push myself to get better at setting scenes and at incorporating the various senses into stories, because she is so good at both of those things and so much else.

What programs do you use to write and/or edit?

I use Google Docs. I have also been dancing around buying Scrivener for an original novel I plan to write and shop around, so I'll be doing that soon.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Plotter, for sure. My brain would implode if I tried to pants my stories.

Do you write RPF or not?

I have a few chapters of a Tom Hiddleston RPF in draft form but haven't proceeded with it. I'd kind of like to write a Pedro Pascal RPF one-shot. I love reading RPF but feel odd about writing it for some reason.

Who is your favorite character to write and why?

Again with the tough questions! It might be Loki, because he is such a chameleon and there are so many hidden depths to him. I really want to write some multi-chapter Loki stories, because so far I have done one-shots and one 3-chapter short fic. I'd like to explore a longer character arc for him.

What do you think are your writing strengths?

Authenticity because of my research, realistically depicting emotions, and writing in a style that feels genuine to the setting and era.

What do you struggle with?

PLOT. I do think that there is plenty of room for all kinds of stories, and I like to tell stories about relationships. But I would like to get better at adding outside conflict and other types of plot to my stories.

Favorite Trope?

It's so hard to choose between There Was Only One Bed and Fake Relationship. I think those are my top two.

What is the best piece of writing advice you have heard?

Write something. Anything. Even if you think it's crap, get your first draft done, because you can always go back and rewrite something that's bad and make it better. Also, if you're stuck on your WIP, write something else - a piece of another story or one-shot, a description of something you saw, a character profile, a bit of personal journaling. Keep writing and don't let a temporary roadblock turn into a long-term one.

What would you say to a new fanfic writer starting out?

It's hard when something you wrote doesn't get a lot of attention, especially when you love it. We share stories in the hopes that other people will discover and enjoy them, but you have to at least partly do it for your own satisfaction, or it will get pretty discouraging if the likes/kudos, comments, and reblogs just don't happen.

What is a random bit of research you have not managed to work into a fic yet?

Ladies' drawers (underwear) were not commonly worn until the mid-1800s. They were thought to be gentlemen's garments and it was thus vulgar for a lady to wear them. Yes, ladies of the Georgian (incl. Regency) era were generally commando beneath their skirts, petticoats, and shifts. But that was still a lot of layers.

Any goals or WIPs you want to share?

My goal is to write an original novel (series) set during the Napoleonic Wars. My hope is to get it researched, written, and put in final draft form so that I can send query letters out before the end of 2021.

This or That

Fluff or Angst

Fluff AND Smut

Reader Insert or  OC

Canon Divergent or AU

Pepsi or Coke (Neither: Cherry Coke Zero)

Coffee or Tea (Neither: Cocoa)

Sweet AND Savory

And that is it, until next week, remember to check out the masterlist here.  And your new fav fic is just around the corner!  Until next time, toodles!

[ddixons-angel]

Fated: Season 2

Summary: Gloria Rhee narrowly escapes Atlanta with her brother as the outbreak reaches the city. Luckily, they find a camp outside the city and together, they fend through encounters with the living and undead.

Starts a little before Season 1 and then follows the main storyline of the show.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Glenn Sister!OC

Warnings: major TWD spoilers, language, violence (the typical TWD stuff), major character death

A/N: Only 2 more chapters left of Season 2! And then we’re off to the Prison with Season 3! I love the Prison era, haha~! The finale of Season 2 will be up this Friday!

Chapter 8

Gloria was in Dale’s RV, putting back her first aid kit in the compartment. She limps back out as she left the crutches outside, deeming it a hassle to go into the RV with the crutches. She’s greeted by Dale who helps her down the steps of the RV, handing her the crutches which she mounts once she’s out, thanking him.

“I wanted to ask you about something.” Dale says, his expression serious.

“What’s up?” Gloria says, looking at him, returning a serious expression.

“What are your thoughts on the execution?” he asks, crossing his arms, ready to listen intently.

“Honestly, I don’t think it’s right, but regardless of what we think, it’s going to happen.” she sighs.

“Well shouldn’t you say something if you think it’s wrong? More people need to voice out their opinion if they don’t agree with it, I can’t be the only one! Staying silent is the same as agreeing with killing the poor kid!” Dale rants, throwing his arms in the air in frustration.

Gloria takes a breath, “Dale, what else can we do? If we let him out there, he might bring back his entire group and kill us all in our sleep. We keep him here, we’ll have one more mouth to feed and I don’t think the others are willing to spare any more of our resources, or we starve him which is an even crueler way of execution in my personal opinion. I hate to say it, but killing him is the only clean way to guarantee our safety from his group.”

Dale’s face falls, defeated, he nods as he understands Gloria’s point. He climbs into the RV, Gloria gives him an apologetic look then goes off herself. She hobbles around the farm in deep thought about the entire situation with Randall that she didn’t even realize she had walked to the side of the barn he was kept in. 

“Your mom out here too? You’re lucky, still got your family.” Gloria overhears Randall speaking to someone, she hobbles closer to the barn, “Hey, I-I don’t know what people have been saying about me, but I didn’t do nothing, I swear! Your dad was gonna let me go until his friend started fighting with him.”

She looks around the outside walls of the barn, searching for a hole or crack she can peek through to see who he’s speaking to, finally spotting one, she puts her eye to the crack and looks in, she gasps, “Carl...”

“It got pretty bad, I was kinda worried. My camp, we got lots of supplies, you help me, I’ll take you and your folks back to my people. We’ll take good care of you.” he continues.

Gloria frowns as she feels anger towards Randall, “asshole’s trying to manipulate Carl...” she’s about to go into the barn when she saw that Shane had barged into the barn, shouting at Carl to get out, then proceeds to interrogate Randall about what he said to Carl.

---

Back at the house, the meeting was taking place as the group discusses what to do about Randall. It’s evident that most of the group is on the side of execution as they have no other good alternatives to guarantee their safety.

“So, how do we do this? Do we take a vote?” Glenn questions.

“Apparently only me, Glenn, and Gloria are opposed to this.” Dale says, looking at the siblings, Glenn waivers hesitantly, “Glenn! They’ve got you scared!” 

Glenn stutters, “Wha- h-he isn’t one of us!” 

Gloria takes a breath, “I originally was opposed to it, but now... now I think it really is the right call.” 

Dale looks at her with wide eyes, enraged and disappointed, “What changed?!”

“Well...” Gloria looks around, everyone’s eyes on her and she hesitates, deciding not to tell them that Carl was in the barn, “I spoke with Randall.” 

Glenn turns to look at her immediately while Daryl pushes himself off the wall he was leaning on, “he tried to manipulate me, saying that if I helped him, he'd take me back to his people, that they’re good people and they’d treat me well. The complete opposite of what Daryl told us when he interrogated the kid. He’s up to no good, and I don’t trust him.”

“You went into the barn?!” Glenn shouts, upset that she would take that risk.

“I told ya to stay outta there!” Daryl joins in, fuming. 

Gloria rolls her eyes and groans, “I’ll deal with you two later! Right now, we have to deal with the piece of shit in the barn!”

“Why the hell were you even in the barn in the first place?” T-Dog asks, a frown on his face as he’s also worried about her safety.

She sighs, knowing she’s going to get into trouble with Daryl after she says this, “I was gonna patch up the kid, just in case... You know, we decide not to kill him, but after he started trying to manipulate me, I just left him.”

At that, Daryl storms out of the house, his vote was already clear. The rest of the group proceeds with their votes, and with Gloria’s new information, the results were all in favor of the execution. It was decided that Rick and Shane as well as Daryl would do it tonight in the barn. Gloria makes her way out of the house, wanting to find Daryl when Glenn stops her. 

“What the hell were you thinking, going into the barn without letting anyone know first? Are you crazy?!” Glenn scolds, the last part in Korean. 

Gloria sighs, “the kid wasn’t speaking with me, it was with the sheriff’s son.” she responds in Korean, referring to Carl.

Glenn frowns, “then why didn’t you just say that you overheard their conversation?” 

“Are you crazy?” she rolls her eyes, “both his parents were in there, and if I told them that their son was in the barn alone with the kid, you really think they’d be calm? Also, I don’t want to be the reason he gets grounded forever.” 

Finally, Glenn nods in understanding, then a thought dawns on him, “hey, I know I keep asking you this, but seriously, is there something going on between you and the archer? He looked pretty upset when you told us all you talked to the kid.”

Gloria sighs, “he’s probably just upset that I didn’t listen to him when he told me not to go into the barn, and now I’m gonna have to explain it to him.” she responds in English, “wish me luck.” 

She starts to make her way to find Daryl when Glenn calls out to her, “You still didn’t answer my question!”

“That’s a discussion for another day.” Gloria calls back without turning around. 

She makes her way to the stone structure where Daryl had first moved his tent when they had found Sophia. He was sitting on a rock, shaving pieces of wood with his knife to make more arrows. Gloria hobbles towards him, sighing when he purposely ignores her call. 

“Daryl, will you just listen to me, please?” she pleads, looking down at him.

“When the hell will ya listen to me, then?” he retorts, not even looking up at her.

“I did.” Gloria starts, “I did listen to you, I didn’t go into the barn and I didn’t talk to Randall.”

“Then why the hell d’ya say ya did?!” Daryl yells, facing her finally.

Gloria looks around and makes sure the others are far enough to not hear what she was about to tell Daryl, “because it was Carl. He snuck into the barn somehow, and Randall was trying to manipulate him, not me. I couldn’t tell Rick and Lori that, Lori’d most likely freak out and nothing would have gotten done.” 

Daryl purses his lips as he looks at her, “so ya’d rather freak out me an’ Glenn instead?”

“Hey, in my defense, Lori’s still pregnant and I doubt the news would sit well with her.” Gloria shrugs. 

Daryl nods and stays quiet. He goes back to making arrows, only looking up at Gloria when she starts chuckling, he raises an eyebrow at her. 

“Did you just indirectly admit that you care about me, Daryl Dixon?” she smiles at him.

Daryl scoffs at that then looks away, trying to hide his blush, “nah.”

Gloria takes a seat beside Daryl and nudges him, making him glance at her, “I think you care.”

“Ya think what ya want.” he tries to hide a smile growing on his lips.

She takes a stick from the ground, one that Daryl would use to make arrows and watches as Daryl shaves the wood. Taking out one of her own daggers, she tries to imitate his blade work. Daryl gives her some pointers and ends up teaching her how to make his arrows. 

---

The group is resting in their campsite as they wait for Rick, Shane, and Daryl to return from the barn after they execute Randall. Dale had walked off, unable to be around them as he strongly disagrees with the execution. Shortly after, Rick and Shane return to the tents with Carl, both of them seemingly very frustrated.

“He was watching, he was telling me to do it.” Rick tells Lori, shaking his head, “I couldn’t with him watching...”

She soothes her husband, holding him to her. Shane looks away from the two, sighing at the sight. Gloria looks over to Carl who’s sitting down near his family’s tent, making sure that he’s alright, she sees him pout. She sighs as she thinks that he’s probably pouting because he wanted to witness the execution first hand. She shakes her head at the thought, a child his age should never have to witness something like that. Gloria’s thoughts are interrupted as well as everyone else’s conversations as a blood curdling scream sounds throughout the night air. Everyone looks in the direction the scream had emitted from, seeing Daryl who had stayed in the barn with Randall dashing to the middle of the field. He sees a walker and tackles it down, immediately stabbing it in the head. He rushes over to the man it had attacked, Dale. 

“Help! Over here!” Daryl waves his arms towards the rest of the group, shouting loudly, “it’ll be okay, buddy.” he says down to Dale, comforting him as best he could given the circumstances.

Everyone rushes over, Gloria’s standing beside Glenn, she had left her crutches back by the tents due to the frantic situation, Glenn had helped her limp over. Gloria gasps at the scene, Dale had his abdomen ripped open, his intestines and guts spilling out as he laid there, groaning in pain and agony. Andrea kneels by his side, crying helplessly.

Glenn turns to Gloria, “y-you gotta do something...” he chokes out a sob.

“I... I can’t... we won’t be able to move him... h-he’s lost too much blood.” Gloria breathes out, her body shaking; even if she’s worked in a hospital, she’s never seen anything as gruesome as this. 

Hershel rushes over to the scene as Rick had been frantically yelling out for him, “oh my God...”

“Hershel, we gotta do something, anything!” Rick pleads, tears falling from his eyes.

“He’s passed saving... I’m sorry.” Hershel says regretfully, looking away. 

Dale reaches his hand out to Andrea as he continues to groan, unable to form words from all the pain, “He’s suffering... somebody do something!” she sobs out. 

Rick wipes his face with his hand and sniffles, taking out his gun and aims it straight at Dale’s head. He stares at Dale and struggles, regret written all over his face. Daryl takes the gun from Rick, nodding to him, telling him it’s fine, that he doesn’t have to do it. 

Daryl kneels down, putting the gun directly on Dale’s forehead and cocks the gun, “Sorry, brother.” with those final words, he pulls the trigger.

---

Next Chapter

I felt like this was a rather eventful chapter, with the voting, to a little fluffy moment, then Dale dies... sigh... well, as I said before, one more chapter left until Season 3! What do you guys think is gonna happen? Let me know what you thought of this too!

I hope everyone stays safe and healthy, please don’t panic, we will get through this!

And as always, I would really appreciate any comments left for me! I’ll be replying to any comments in a new post because this is a sideblog!

Taglist (please let me know if you’d list to be added/removed!):

@twdeadfanfic​ | @fandomfanatic97​ | @crossbowking​ | @watchmeaspire​ | @spidergirla5​ | @kamieshep​ | @letsstarsfalling​ | @molethemollie​

[alj4890]

None But You

(Thomas Hunt x oc*Amanda) in a regency era romance as requested by @pixieferry​

A/N So sorry this took so long. Migraines and writer’s block are making life so pleasant. We are slowly coming to the end of our series. I have loved how Thomas is in a regency AU. That proud man oozes Mr. Darcy vibes. Let’s see how everyone reacts to the shooting and plans to depart the Rawlings’ residence.

@graceful-popcorn   @krsnlove   @alleksa16   @hopelessromantic1352    @pixieferry   @emceesynonymroll   @buzz-bee-buzz   @hopefulmoonobject    @rainbowsinthestorm   @lxaah11   @my-heart-beats-for-ya @everythingmarvelsherlockspn @friedherringclodthing   @aworldoffandoms   @ab1901   @i-bloody-love-drake-walker  

Masterlist

Summary: Everyone comes to terms with Lord Ryan Summers being shot. Was it an accident? Or, was someone else the intended target? We also begin our journey to Lord Hunt’s home, Kirkwood Manor for the wedding.

Part 12

"Shh." Lady Henrietta Rawlings held her daughter close. "All will be well, darling."

"Oh Mamma." Millie cried. "I cannot lose him. Not after I realized" She trailed off as another sob tore through.

Henrietta smiled softly to herself. It had come as a pleasant surprise to find that her daughter had fallen in love with the one man she and Lord Gabriel Rawlings wished for her.

When Millie burst into tears upon hearing the news that Lord Ryan Summers had been shot, she knew her daughter must truly care for the man. After leaving Lucy in charge of the guests, she took her daughter to her bedroom so that she could cry in privacy.

Her smile dimmed as she remembered that the young marquess might not survive his wound. She couldn't bear the thought of her daughter finding love to only lose it so quickly.

"Stay here." She ordered. "I'll go see what the doctor says."

Millie blew her nose while nodding. "Please find out all you can."

***************

Thomas and Chris decided early on to escape members of the house party. With Amanda in tow, the three claimed one of the empty parlors.

Guests were frantic with gossip and predictions that Lord Summers would die from his injury. Ladies were sniffling in their handkerchiefs, lamenting the loss of a young man of both excellent breeding and fortune. Some of the visiting gentlemen took advantage of the situation to offer comfort to the more desirable matches.

Once Sir Chris shut the door, the three relaxed as best they could under the circumstances.

"How is Lord Ryan?" Amanda asked "Have you heard anything yet?"

"The doctor was able to remove the bullet from his shoulder." Thomas poured a libation for himself and Chris and then a glass of sherry for his lady. "It was a miracle that it missed anything vital."

"That is a blessing." Amanda set her barely touched glass down.

"What I want to know is," Chris bit out, "how the bloody blazes, forgive me, my lady, do a group of seasoned grouse hunters manage to shoot a man?"

Thomas gripped his glass. "Ryan was standing beside me." He took a healthy gulp in the hopes the brandy would burn away the image of his friend bleeding before him. "He then stepped back to ready his rifle."

Amanda covered her mouth. "You would have been shot in the back if he hadn't moved."

He nodded. "Seems odd that after enduring days of tense encounters with the duke that a man next to me is struck down by a stray bullet."

Chis snorted. "Tense barely scratches the surface."

"Has any gentleman stepped forward, claiming they shot Lord Ryan?" Amanda asked, praying it was truly a fluke accident.

"Not that I'm aware of." Thomas quirked an eyebrow in question to Chris.

"I haven't." He answered. "I believe that Lord Gabriel and Michael are going to question everyone."

While Thomas and Chris continued to speculate the shooting incident, Amanda's attention was drawn toward a flurry of activity outside the window.

Carriages were pulling up outside. Some of the houseguests were taking their leave. There were many that hoped to be the first to share the gossip at the many ton events that awaited them in London.

Her eyes darted to the left. Duke Viktor Montmarte stepped forward after giving a farewell to a trio of ladies, tittering at his flirtatious comments.

"I believe we should corner Montmarte's valet." Thomas explained. "I find it strange that he accompanied his grace for the hunt."

Chris softly cursed under his breath. "I didn't notice he was there. What gentleman has a valet that is also well versed in reloading rifles?" He set his glass down in the midst of standing up. "Where is the scoundrel?"

"They've left along with others." Amanda replied. "I do not think we will ever know who truly shot Lord Summers"

***************

"Papa?" Millie whispered outside Ryan's chambers. "Are you certain he is being properly cared for?"

Lord Gabriel's lips trembled with mirth. "Feel free to check on him if you wish. I was planning on sending Sanders in periodically to make certain the marquess is resting comfortably."

"Periodically!" Millie gasped in outrage. "Lord Ryan should have someone at hand until he is strong enough to leave his bed."

Lord Gabriel decided to withhold the information that Lord Ryan had regained consciousness earlier and had no trouble whatsoever with getting up to find a softer shirt to change into.

He had already spoken to Henrietta about letting Millie nurse the gentleman in the hopes the two would finally see that they belonged together.

"My dear," her father said in a condescending tone he knew would spur her on to defying him. "He will be fine on his own for the rest of the evening. We have guests we must entertain and help prepare for their departure on the morrow. You should--"

"Hang the guests!" Millie snapped. "If they are too witless to know how to act when a man lies at death's door, then they deserve no such courtesies!" She opened Ryan's door and slipped inside.

Henrietta popped her head around from around a corner. "You handled that well."

Gabriel chuckled as he walked over to her. "I've learned over the years how to get my ladies to do exactly what I wish."

Hen's eyes narrowed on her husband. "What was that?"

He winked at her as he escaped downstairs. "How else do you think I managed to trick you into bringing up marriage before I did?

"You wretched beast!" Hen screeched.

He laughed as he dashed downstairs.

Her lips eased into a smug smile once he had disappeared. "Foolish man. If he only knew I knew that was his plan all along."

**************

Ryan's eyes flew open when he heard water being poured. He scanned his dim chamber and nearly bolted upright when he saw Millie wetting a rag.

Curious to what she planned to do, he closed his eyes and feigned sleep.

She tiptoed over and gently placed the cool rag on his forehead.

He peeked at her from under his lashes. Her teeth were tugging at her bottom lip as she observed him. There was a crease forming in the middle of her forehead as her eyes narrowed somewhat in thought.

He relaxed when he felt her fingers gently combing through his hair. It was a soothing, almost loving touch that he felt down to his toes.

It took all his willpower to remain still when he heard the click of his door opening again. If anyone were to catch Millie alone in his bedroom, the scandal would rock the entire ton.

Millie's head jerked up at the intrusion. When she saw who it was, she decided to not bother being kind.

"What the devil are you doing here?!"

Victoria paused before shutting the door. "I could ask you the same question."

Ryan flinched from the hiss in the intruder’s tone. Both women noticed the movement and lowered their voices for his sake.

"I am nursing Lord Summers." Millie ground out.

"I believe he would prefer my tender ministrations over yours." Victoria's smile was a touch brittle. "After all, he has made a point to spend more time in my company than anyone else's."

Millie bristled at her not so subtle meaning. "Be that as it may, Lord Ryan is a guest in my home. Therefore his care falls under my responsibility."

Ryan frowned somewhat at that statement. He didn't want her to feel obligated to care for him. He had hoped she was doing so for a deeper, more heartfelt reason. This irritated him even more that he desired such an emotion from the bane of his existence.

"Well, I have a way with men that helps speed their recovery." Victoria countered smugly. "Why don't you go and try to obtain that which you don't have."

The lady made a shooing motion with her hands as she approached the bed.

"And what exactly have I yet to obtain?" Millie's voice had lowered and sounded more sinister than Ryan had ever heard. He cracked open his eyes. Never had he been more grateful to not be the recipient of her temper.

Victoria was oblivious to the effect her provocations had on the young lady.

"Poor little Lady Millicent." She sadly shook her head. "It must be devastating to have your closest friend, who we must admit is not a great beauty, make such an advantageous match in the midst of her first season while you have yet to capture attention from any gentleman within the span of nearly three seasons." Her lips curved into a mocking smile. "Even now the less popular ones are not inclined to give you anything but a cursory glance."

Millie was practically shaking with her anger. "How dare you?!"

Victoria ignored her, moving to fluff Ryan's pillows.

Millie snatched her wrist and roughly pushed her away.

"You wicked little viper." Victoria snapped, wrenching her arm free. "Do you honestly believe he would choose someone like you over someone like me?" She narrowed her eyes on Millie. "You are nothing but an annoyance to him."

Ryan noticed the color drain from Millie's face. Her hesitation touched his heart. In that brief moment, he realized that she believed he wouldn't choose her.

"Millie, are you--," Victoria's laugh echoed in the chamber, "You are! You are in love with Lord Ryan."

The man fully opened his eyes to see how Millie would respond to what had to be a farfetched notion.

Her blush and twisting of the rag in her hands appeared to point toward it being true.

"Oh this is rich." Victoria snorted while laughing again. "You'll never be able to show your face in London again after everyone hears about this." Her malicious smile reappeared. "Not only have you caused a scandal, but you fell in love with a man that barely tolerates his acquaintance with you."

Ryan spoke up when he saw the tears building in Millie's eyes. "Leave my room. Now."

Both ladies jumped and turned to look a him.

Victoria smiled sweetly. "My lord, I've already told her that she is unwanted." She went to pull the covers up over his chest.

Ryan caught her hands. "You are the one that is unwanted, Ms. Fontaine."

She narrowed her eyes. "You must be delirious, sir." She forced another sweet smile. "I'll call for the doctor. A fever might be setting in."

Ryan's polite veneer that he had worn throughout his life was nowhere to be found. Millie watched in a state of disbelief as he set the misguided woman straight.

"Ms. Fontaine, I have unwillingly endured your forced company this entire visit." He began. "If not for my respect of Lady Cora and Lord Michael Rawlings, I would have cut any and every conversation with you." His words were clipped and held an edge sharper than a blade. "My patience has reached its end."

He turned toward Millie. "My dear Lady Millicent, will you please pour me a glass of water?"

She gave a brief nod and hurried to get him what he asked for.

Victoria, upon realizing she was being ignored, decided to leave and spread what gossip she could.

She was in for quite a surprise on learning that Lord and Lady Rawlings had already explained the situation to their remaining guests, making Millie's actions all above board.

"Here." Millie slipped her arm behind Ryan's shoulders.

Instead of admitting he could easily sit up, he decided to play along, struggling with every movement. He weakly grasped her hand that held his cup and took a long, slow sip.

"Thank you." He exaggerated a groan as he sank down against the pillows. "That altercation took a great deal out of me."

Is there anything else I can do for you?" She worried over him.

"What can be done at such a dark moment?" He asked, tinging his voice with sadness. "I have been brought to my lowest." He covered his eyes with his uninjured arm. "How does one go on after this?"

Millie hemmed and gently grasped his hand. "My lord, you will come back from this. I know you have a deep strength that will aid in your recovery."

"My life will never be the same." He said in a gravelly voice. "What will become of me?"

Millie swiped at her stray tears. "Ryan, I--"

"Nothing but a lifetime of pity." He wailed, getting into his role of injured gentleman. "No lady will ever wish to marry me for myself. I will only be desired for my wealth and title."

"That's not true." Millie argued. "You--"

"She won't be able to look at me without seeing a once dashing, handsome man wounded beyond repair." He continued, peeking from under his arm at her.

"Ryan, you're going to be fine." Millie insisted. "You must recover. I need--"

"This is the end of Lord Ryan Summers." He interrupted. "The man you once knew who made ladies' hearts race is no more." He let his arm fall weakly to his side. "I am forever scarred."

Millie narrowed her eyes. "Is that all you care about?"

He turned toward her. "Is what all I care about?"

"Your effect on women." Millie bit out. "One would think a brush with death would cause a man to rethink his life and strive for something more."

"Millie, I-" he began, struggling with his laughter.

"Perhaps Victoria should tend you." Millie stood up and threw the wet rag in his face. "I am not the kind to give you the comfort you so rightly deserve."

"Now Millie," Ryan tossed the rag on the table, "I prefer your tender--" he grunted when she pushed him back down on the bed.

"I cannot believe I worried over you!" She pointed at the bandage at his shoulder. "You're perfectly fine!"

"I was shot in the shoulder." He argued, sitting up once more. "And it hurt like bloody hell removing the bullet."

"Not nearly enough!" She snapped. "You deserve so much more discomfort."

"Millie!" Ryan scrambled off the bed and blocked her exit. "Now Millie, you know you love me."

"I do not!" She screeched. "Whatever," she searched for the appropriate comparison to her previous feelings, "weakness I might have felt, it has thankfully disappeared." She waved her hand. "Kindly move."

"No." He folded his arms, then winced at the pain it caused.

The flash of anger Millie felt disappeared at glimpsing his actual pain. "Oh Ryan." She stepped forward and gently touched his cheek. "You must take it easy."

She slipped her arm around him and guided him back to his bed. She once again fluffed his pillows and covered him up. The entire time, she insisted he allow her to care for him.

Ryan's lips curved at her fussing over him once more. A man, he thought, could get very used to this.

***************

"Did you discover anything?" Amanda asked.

Thomas had pulled her off to an alcove after dinner. He kept her hand in his as they discussed his fruitless search for the shooter.

"Nothing pertinent. The few gentlemen that have remained for another night were all focused on the grouse." He lifted her hand to his lips. "Perhaps it was an accident after all." He grimaced with his next thought. "What if Montmarte's game was simply to cause me doubt and misery? To ruin our time together as a newly engaged couple."

"That is a possibility." She conceded. "Though I believe our original stance to remain guarded around him was wise. He does not strike me as a man that chooses inaction." She smiled softly as he brushed another kiss against her knuckles. "At least he is gone."

Thomas nodded, a hint of a smile forming. "Yes, and we will soon be at Kirkwood Manor." His eyes lifted to hers. "I am anxious to acquaint you with your new home."

"Oh?" Her teasing smile appeared. "Not for the wedding then?"

"That goes without saying." He grumbled. "You are very aware of how much I am looking forward to that."

She laughed, squeezing his hand. "I am looking forward to both."

Thomas hesitated, then leaned closer to whisper. "Even though Montmarte is gone, I would prefer keeping watch over you tonight." Before she could argue, he held up his hand. "I promise to rest during our journey tomorrow."

"Very well." Amanda conceded. "I see that you refuse to be swayed." Her breath hitched when he pressed a lingering kiss to the inside of her wrist. "I will see you later "

Thomas watched her wish her aunt and the Rawlings family goodnight on her way toward the stairs. His lips firmed in a frown as he wondered if they were truly once and for all rid of Viktor Montmarte.

******************

The next morning...

"Are you certain you feel up to leaving this morning?" Millie asked.

Ryan gave his thanks when one of the servants poured him a cup of coffee. "I do." His dimples deepened with his charming smile. "With you caring for me during our journey, I know that I will be fine."

His smile grew at the rosy hue forming on Millie's cheeks.

"Good morning." Amanda greeted when she and Thomas entered the dining room. "Lord Ryan! I am very pleased to see you up and about."

He stood and kissed her hand. "Nothing will stop me from seeing you and Thomas wed." He winked at her. "I have a vested interest in your marriage."

Thomas rolled his eyes. "I believe I was the one to actually court her."

"I'd like to think mine, Lady Millie's, and our closest friends' influence had a hand in nudging you toward the altar.

Chris and Matthew joined them at that moment.

"If I recall correctly," Chris grinned over his shoulder while filling his plate at the sideboard, "Our dear Thomas was very much against the notion of holy matrimony with any lady he came into contact with."

"He even encouraged other men to make a match with a certain lady." Matt added, chuckling at the glare Thomas sent him.

Amanda couldn't help but laugh at their teasing. She reached over and grasped Thomas' hand.

His eyes met hers. Seeing her warm smile, his frown disappeared. He pressed a kiss to her knuckles. Though he wouldn’t admit it, he was grateful they had such interfering friends.

Millie sighed at the tender action, thrilled beyond measure that all was how it should be. Nothing was standing in the way of those she cared for. 

****************

A few hours later, Millie was ready to commit a murder before the wedding. With Ryan injured, she had readily agreed to riding in his carriage with him. Lady Lucinda was riding with Millie’s parents so that Amanda and Thomas could enjoy some alone time in his carriage. All seemed to point toward a pleasant journey for everyone.

Then Sir Chris and Lord Matthew insisted on joining her and Ryan.

It might have been pleasant if not for their teasing and hints that Millie and Ryan felt something deeper than mere friendship. Then again, it most likely would have been a miserable ride. The man she thought herself in love with was irritable with every jostle to his shoulder.

“Perhaps you should have waited a few days before traveling.” Millie suggested.

“I am not about to miss a single moment of my closest friend finally settling down with a young woman I actually approve of.” He snapped.

Millie’s eyes narrowed. “Then perhaps I should have chosen to ride with my parents.”

“Heaven forbid you remain with me and help nurse me back to health.” He grumbled between gritted teeth.

“I can think of a few ways to nurse you.” she mumbled under her breath, imagining shoving a rag in his mouth. “Why don’t you try and rest?”

“Capital idea.” Chris interjected when it appeared that Ryan was about to bite their only feminine company’s head off. “Go to sleep, Summers.”

“You all make it sound simple!” He snapped. “And here I am, thinking that the movement of the coach makes this contraption a torture chamber on wheels.”

“If anyone is tortured it is us that are trapped with you.” Millie countered. She folded her arms and purposely turned so that her back was to him.

“You may leave at any time you wish.” Ryan pointed out. “I was a fool to think having you with me would be a comfort.”

Millie’s gasp of outrage caused the other two men in the carriage to shrink back within their seat. 

“I was more than ready to do all I could to ease your journey.” She hissed. “I had no idea though that not only are you stubborn but you are also prone to whining over every little thing.” She huffed and reached for a book to read. “I did not know I had chosen to travel with a petulant child.”

Ryan opened his mouth to deliver a crushing set down to the woman he thought he was losing his heart to. 

“Here we are, sir!” His coachman called out.

Millie peeped out the window at the inn they were stopping at for the evening. She scrambled down the coach steps when she saw her father helping her mother and Lady Lucy from their carriage.

Her eyes scanned the charm of the small town and she noticed that a number of carriages were stopping at the various inns that lined the main road.

Thomas and Amanda paused on their way inside to check on Ryan.

“I pray it wasn’t too difficult on you.” Amanda said once the gentlemen had made it out.

“I managed.” Ryan quickly assured her. 

Chris choked on his laughter. “He is a man to admire in how he suffers in silence.”

Millie was about to add her own cutting observation when she noticed how pale Ryan was. Sweat was glistening on his upper lip and he winced when he straightened his posture.

She stepped forward and took his uninjured arm. “Come, we should get you settled so that you can rest.”

Her sweet tone caught him by surprise. “Thank you.” He murmured, walking with her into the inn. “I do apologize for my rude behavior.” He grimaced at the pain throbbing in his shoulder. “I should have insisted you ride with your parents.” 

“I should have been more understanding.” She gently squeezed his arm. “I need to work on my patience.”

“And charity.” He added, grinning at her quick temper.

She met his gaze and reluctantly smiled. “That too.”

He leaned down to whisper to her. “Perhaps you shouldn’t work too hard. I will look even more churlish if you become too angelic.”

She laughed out loud, causing his smile to to grow. “Very well. I will only partially work on my lack of patience for your sake.”

****************

“Thomas!” Amanda whispered. “What are you doing?!” She carefully opened the window to her room and stepped back so he could climb in.

“I wanted to check on you.” He replied, looking around her room only lit by a candle. “I have gotten into the habit of being unable to relax at night unless I see for myself that you are safe.”

She walked into his arms to kiss him, snuggling closer when he wrapped his arms around her. “What am I to do with you?”

“Marry me.” He suggested, pressing another kiss to her lips. “Then I can rest easy.”

She shut her window and tugged him over to her bed. “Hopefully you will once we reach Kirkwood.” 

He removed his coat and cravat before settling beside her. “Hopefully.” He reached out to hold her, repositioning her until her head lay on his chest. Thomas closed his eyes as peace seemed to seep into his very bones with the feel of her in his arms. Her hushed whisper of her love for him made him even more grateful that she would soon be his for the rest of his life.

****************

Across the street, a man cloaked in shadows kept his eyes on the window that held the young lady and the man she was engaged to. He remained there, long after the candle was snuffed. Once he believed the man was not going to return to his own room, he left his post and reported all he had witnessed to his employer.

“So he is still keeping his nighttime habits, eh?” The duke chuckled while swirling brandy in his glass. He took a sip before returning his attention to his valet. “We will need to rethink our plans for the viscount and his lady.”

[amenomiko]

Pic made in Picrew.

IkeSen MC is a Fighter and She's in Action

-Applying My OC MC here ❤❤❤. Please refer to "IkeSen MC is a Fighter" Fic or scroll down to read about her background in my page 🌸🌸🌸-

What if..

They went to the future and she have to go back to her old duty for a while (even though the Mafia Family knows her condition and approved to whatever she wanted to do, but at times they need her service since she is among the upper level of the family. Basically she is in action.)

Nobunaga

Casual shirt and pencil skirt is mmhhmm THAT thigh and black panty hose.

Will roll her eyes to his smirk. OBVIOUSLY he was CHECKING her out.

Before Hideyoshi could sense for the enemy, she already shield him from the bullet and fire the shooter back swiftly.

Which was very..... Cool--That serious face that didn't even wince despite having a grazed wound on her shoulder.

He was flabbergasted but that action itself enough to show her side that swoon his feet.

"You are really a queen, even in this era hm?"

"What? Isn't it enough for me to be your queen?" She giggled as they shared a kiss.

Hideyoshi

"I will handle this, Anata.".

"You always protected me. It's my turn to protect you when we are here." She winked at him.

His eyes followed when she scrapped her skirt to pull out another hidden gun that are strapped to her thigh.

She was so beautiful when she wield two guns in both of her hands, her eyes glint; showing her real face when she was aiming for her prey. Which didn't escape his lips,

"You are so beautiful."

It distracts her for a while and she nearly shoot her own companion and were nagged at later.

Masamune

"Oho?? A fight?? Aweso-"

Masamune's intention was nothing but to protect his wife, but he blinked in surprise when he realized his swords were not in reach.

She already wield it in her hands, standing in her fighting position. "I'm the Left Hand Woman of ____ Mafia Family, Ame Rie." She smiled with pride as she continued, "And I'm the wife of the One-Eyed Dragon, Date Masamune! Prepare yourself!!"

"She didn't say she is the Goddess of Death huh? That's a new introduction. Heh." One of her companions chuckled as another added, "Showing off that she is married to a legend huh?"

"Of course. One-Eyed Dragon is her idol afterall."

He flushed so red, muttering, "I didn't know about that--" While the others laugh and whispers, "Keep it a secret aye?"

Ieyasu

"Gather the wounded! Bring those who can fight to the front lines!" She immediately shred the hem of her shirt to apply torniquet on one of the underlings.

It was a first time Ieyasu saw her dominant side. Her leadership skill. Her serious look, her smile of confidence. Unlike the clumsy side she shown to him, the affectionate-motherly feature of hers.

"She really glows when she become like that, right?" Her boss smiled to Ieyasu. "Is it your first time?" As Ieyasu nodded, he nods as well. "I'm not surprised. Even though she is strong, she must be protected too. She become strong so her underlings won't be afraid of losing. So I would like to thank you for being there for her, spoiling her even." He chuckled.

"Of course. It's my responsibility as a husband." He smiled as both of their eyes met in the midst of the battle.

Mitsunari

He is ready to assist her in strategy of battle. But no, she have taken the lead herself.

Maps are not needed, she only define codes and positions, and they understand right away. Even though the underlings starts to decrease, she still protect the new ones and bring them to let them experience their battle tactics.

He admired her from afar, he find himself smiling ear to ear.

"Anata..! What's the matter? Are you injur- mmnn??"

He pulled her into his embrace, kissing her deeply, making the other companions bewildered and shocked. "No.. But don't injure yourself. I know you can do this but rely on me too alright? I wouldn't want my wife to be in danger when she is pregnant."

"Wh- Anata-- shhh don't!!"

"Hm? Why (ㆁᴗㆁ✿)?"

Then she was banned from involving into the battle after that.

Mitsuhide

*BANG!*

"5."

"Hooh. Not bad. But.."

*BANG!*

"That's 7 for me, little mouse."

"Wha?? Hey, that's unfair!"

Mitsuhide chuckled, as he turned to his pouting wife, pointing a gun at her head. "Sulking over the amount of enemies? Don't be childish, my dear wife."

She points her gun at his head as well. "People that are not from this time should just mind their own business than hogging all the enemies to himself."

*BANG!*

Both of them shoot the enemies that's about to attack from each other's spouse's back at the same time.

He grinned. "Heh. Not bad."

Before Mitsuhide could lean towards her, she pulled him down to kiss him first. "I win, Anata."

He smirked into the kiss.

Kenshin

She aim her blade to swing at her enemy, "Die, scu-"

*SLASH*

Kenshin did it first.

"Again?? Anata, can you not--"

"Don't disturb my fun, Rie. It's a rare occassion to be able to enjoy modern battle."

"Uhuh, I get it, but I told you to aim for short distance enemies only, right?"

"Hmh, boring."

"Sheesh! Our baby will wake up, that is why..!"

One of her underlings look at the pair of spouse with full of admiration and... weirdness. "Their baby are sleeping on the back of the husband and they can act as if it was nothing (　ﾟдﾟ).."

Shingen

"Shingen, get to a safe distance, this is the shooting area..! Shit..!" She turn around and shoot to one of the bushes, revealing a spy among it.

She cursed. He gulped to her change in tone.

"Damn it..! Not another bullet..! Anata, come here!"

"Huh- mmf!"

She shred her upper shirt, pulling out a small gun that were hidden in her breast pocket before pulling Shingen's head to bury his head in between of her chest, in order to shield him from the enemy.

Oh wow. The smell of her perfume is just-- woohoo. No, no, it's not the time to bleed his nose right now.

"Hmh. Try to aim for my husband? Not even 500 years could make it possible, trash..!" She spat. "You alright, Honey?" Her serious tone changed into those loving ones once more. "*Gasp* Anata..! Your nose is bleeding!!"

"That is.... So... Sexy." He smiled, nose dripping with blood all over.

Yukimura

"Anata..! Get behind me..!"

"Anata..! Look out!" *BANG! BANG!*

"It's okay I got thi-" She had pushed him to the side and flick a small dagger from the sleeve of her wrist and stabbed it through the enemy's chest.

"H-hey..! Just let me protect you okay- nnh!"

She pull away from the kiss, giving another peck on his lips before poking his nose. "Just take care of our baby okay, my dear wife?""WHA O//////O??" She run back to the battle before he could stop her.

Sasuke pat on his shoulder. "Hello "Wife.". Want to borrow a lipstick? You look pale."

"..Shut up Sasuke."

Sasuke

Hidden gun on her thigh. Check.

Mafia language, ORA ORA ORA check.

Mafia language 2, YANNOKA ORA check.

Black, silky panty hose, check.

Confident smug, check.

She was called as "Ane-san" by her underlings, check.

"Anata?"

He nod as he jot down, "Cuteness is still there when she call me, check."

"Anata, can you hear me? Looks like the enemies has stepped on your shurikens and some successfully bump on your wooden blocks.."

"Helped wife, check."

"Anata..!" She huffed,

"Where is ____?"

"Uhm.. Your boss volunteer to babysit?"

"..HE WHAT???"

(*˘︶˘*).｡.:*♡ ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[saiilorstars]

The Beginning of Everything

Ch. 18:  The Medicine Man

Fandom: Doctor Who

Pairing: Female OC x 10th Doctor

(OC Renata’s Face claim: Marjorie de Sousa) (Gabby’s face claim: Victoria Moroles)

// Story Masterlist // 

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DISCLAIMER: This chapter’s plotline is from Doctor Who’s comic stories. Most of the dialogue is directly written from the comic. The plot is NOT mine.

Chapter Summary: The Doctor and Renata have brought their companions to the very early days of Earth. While the Doctor tries to get back in Renata's good graces -- after pulling a very small bit with her -- he suffers and injury that renders him unconscious, leaving Renata fully in charge.

When Renata woke up, she was almost immediately swept away from her room by Donna. It was breakfast time but Renata kept pointing out that she hadn't yet made breakfast for anyone. Donna didn't seem to mind as she brought the Time Lady down the hallway until they reached the kitchen...where breakfast had already been served.

"What...is going on?" Renata's eyes were wide as she took in the table set up with different breakfast plates. She saw a few pancakes stacked in the middle of the table, a neat file of toast on another plate, fresh strawberries, apples and berries in a bowl. There were even a few crepes in the corner that, while oddly shaped, did look pretty good. The Doctor and Gabby stood beside the table seeming far too innocent for Renata's liking. "What did you do?"

"Breakfast!" the two chorused together with the same grin on their faces.

"What?" Renata glanced at Donna for some additional information, but the ginger shrugged.

"Don't look at me. They already had this done when I came in."

Renata shifted from one foot to the other. "I don't understand..."

The Doctor smiled at her and walked up to her. "What's to understand? Gabby and I thought you always make breakfast for us-"

"And delicious dinners!" Gabby added with a raised finger in the air.

"-and we just thought it was time we made something for you," the Doctor took Renata's hand and led her to the table. He watched her study the plates with such a shock on her face. It was almost as if nobody had ever done something like that for her. "Renée?"

"Hmm?" she raised her head, meeting his gaze to show sparkling eyes. "Oh, um...thank you." She brought her other hand to cover his hand holding hers. "Really, thank you."

The Doctor wouldn't admit to himself the strange rush he felt when Renata touched his hand, much less when she smiled at him. He would also not admit to the feeling he got when Renata pulled her hands away from him, even when she'd only done it to thank Gabby next. He was being too weird, even for himself.

"You two are wonderful," Renata gave Gabby a hug. "I didn't think the Doctor was capable of cooking-"

"Hey!" went the man in question, frowning while the others giggled.

"But I should've known you, Gabriella, would have inherited your family's cooking abilities. Well done."

"Well, Mom taught me a few things here and there but it's just breakfast," Gabby shrugged. "Mom knows how to do the best stuff though."

"Still, I'm really thankful for this sweet gesture," Renata looked between the two responsible for the meal, though it lasted very short because of the blush that'd run through her face. It's just breakfast don't twist things, she berated herself.

"Sit," Gabby ushered Renata to take the open seat in front of her.

"Don't mind if I do," Donna gladly said and grabbed a seat for herself.

As Renata looked over the plates, she admitted that most of it - if not all of it - smelled pretty good. Her eyes perked up even more at the sight of her favorite ingredients for the best breakfast ever. She grabbed a piece of toast then spread butter over it to finally top it off with sugar.

"I guess now I know where you got that from, huh?" the Doctor quietly asked her.

Renata froze just as she was about to take a bite out of the toast. Zuriah had loved this precise breakfast and so now it was only logical for the Doctor to believe that 'Zuriah' taught Renata about it.

"Y-yeah," Renata ultimately nodded.

"My Mom eats toast like that," Gabby pointed happily when she noticed Renata's plate. "I love it too." Renata nodded, grateful that Gabby was unknowingly moving the subject along.

"Alright, so where are we going today?" Donna then asked in-between bites of her pancakes.

"I dunno, where do you want to go?" the Doctor returned the question and watched the ginger consider her many, many options. She ultimately chose the past.

"But none of that New York or ancient Greece thing! I want something different!"

The Doctor thought about the possible places he could bring them. He crossed gazes with Renata who, like Donna and Gabby, was patiently waiting for him to make a decision. "How's about we turn it into a real life lesson?"

Gabby perked up knowing he meant her. If this trip would be a chance for her to learn something, it gave ample chance for Renata to tell the Doctor about her fate's prediction. Gabby really hoped Renata would reconsider the idea of keeping it all a secret because, frankly, it wasn't working for Gabby. In fact, it was driving her crazy.

And the worst part was that the Doctor and Donna were beginning to suspect there was something going on with Gabby. Twice she had come very close to spilling the secret. She understood Renata wanted to keep it away in case it meant nothing but...there was also the chance that this meant something and that something would lead to Renata's death. The Doctor already discovered that Renata had been contaminated with alien energy. That was something alright, and still Renata hadn't told the Doctor what the Ood predicted for her. Maybe, just maybe, if Renata spent some time with the Doctor, she would be more inclined to tell him what was going on.

Gabby could only hope.

~0~

Things had started off nicely. A calm - yet very cold and snowy - Earth landscape was the exterior of the group's latest adventure. It wasn't as cold as the Ood planet, but Gabby and Donna did have to bundle up a bit more than usual. When Gabby wondered why neither Renata nor the Doctor seemed that bothered by the cold - since the former had only a thin pink coat while the latter had his usual brown trench coat - Renata explained they were less susceptible to cold and heat.

One new thing Gabby learned.

They spent the entire day wandering through the forest, gazing upon odd ancient creatures roaming around.

"It's so weird seeing a woolly mammoth in person," Gabby chuckled, though it was strained on account of her having to peer over a small rocky hill. "The only ones I know of are from that movie the Ice Age."

Donna scoffed beside her. "That kiddie movie?"

"...I'm 19 Donna." Gabby's cold cheeks flamed with embarrassment but Donna didn't make of the remarks her family usually would. She still liked watching kids' movies and there honestly shouldn't be anything wrong with it! They were quite funny!

"They're pretty huge though," Donna remarked. "Although I thought they would be bigger than your usual elephant."

"That's a misconception," called Renata from below. She and the Doctor were standing right in front of the cliff Gabby and Donna were on. She had her arm wrapped around the Doctor's and it'd been like that ever since they stepped out of the TARDIS. Each time she thought about how long they'd just been casually linking their arms but she felt quite comfortable, very...at home.

"What?" called Donna.

"I, uh, said that was a misconception. Woolly Mammoths are no bigger than your typical African Elephants," Renata clarified and was immediately subjected to bemused looks from the trio. "What? I read. Plus, ancient creatures on Earth are fascinating."

"Oh, so now you think this planet's fascinating?" the Doctor couldn't help the smirk that played on his lips.

"Don't get started," Renata held her free hand at him, motioning that he better stop right there. "I think some things are fascinating. I pick and choose. Woolly Mammoths are one."

Gabby snorted from her spot, choosing to ignore Renata's scolding huff as she gazed back to the snowy field. "They're really beautiful."

"Yeah," Donna agreed with a content sigh. Sometimes it was nice to stop all the running about in space and the future. It gave them a chance to admire the beautiful sceneries they had the privilege to see. The Doctor and Renata brought her and Gabby to a real past trip - the Neanderthal era or the 'Pleistocene Epoch' as the Doctor said (but she couldn't pronounce it).

"C'mon down," Renata instructed to the two after a few more minutes of watching the mammoth herd. "And be careful please."

The women climbed back down and offered the Time Lords to take their chance but Renata flatly refused.

"With my luck, I'd fall," she shook her head and told them they should keep walking. "Evening is going to come by soon so whatever we're going to see, we better do it now so we can start heading back for the TARDIS."

So, they walked again.

"I keep thinking a dinosaur's going to pop in on us," Donna shivered after a particular cold breeze hit them.

"Don't be silly Donna. Dinosaurs are extinct by this point in time," the Doctor said, stopping by a fallen, thick branch. "Oh look at that!" Gabby and Donna hurried around him and Renata but the latter let out a shriek that made a spiky little creature run to the other side of the branch.

"Don't be alarmed, Renée," the Doctor straightened up and patted her hand curled around his arm. "It's an ancestor of hedgehogs. A tenrec!"

Gabby and Donna were quick to snicker behind the Time Lady. Hearing them, Renata snapped her head at them. "Shut it!"

"It's harmless," the Doctor assured her.

"Yeah? Then you go pick it up," Renata said without thinking, because if she had been thinking about it she wouldn't have said such a foolish thing. The Doctor would take it as a challenge.

"I will," he, predictably, said.

"No, wait, Doctor!" Renata said as he was already pulling his arm out of her hold. "Doctor, I didn't mean it - get back here!"

The Doctor smirked at her and hopped over the branch. He followed the branch to the edge and squatted down in front of the tenrec which, in all honesty, couldn't have been bigger than his palm.

"Doctor, maybe Ren's right," Gabby crinkled her nose at the spiky creature. "You might get poked. We should leave it alone."

"Let him touch it, see what happens," Donna smirked similarly to the Doctor.

Renata almost smacked her forehead - those two were definitely a good match when it came to being reckless. At least her companion seemed to have caught onto sensibility. Gabby was right at her side while Donna drifted towards the Doctor.

"There we are, hi there!" the Doctor had the tenrec on his palm. He straightened up and moved around the branch to show the women the harmless creature. "You wouldn't hurt anyone, would you?"

"He's kind of cute," Donna admitted when the Doctor had come beside her. "Though you can't make me hold it!"

"Gabby, Renata, come see," the Doctor carefully let the tenrec crawl to his other palm.

"I am not getting close to it," Renata crossed her arms, almost sounding like she was huffing.

"No reason to be afraid of it-"

"I am not afraid of it!"

"Then come look at it."

"I don't want to."

The Doctor couldn't help the small smirk tugging at his lips. "Renata, it's not bigger than my palm. You're a grown woman, I promise you that it will not hurt you. Don't be afraid."

Renata's eyes blazed with anger at his disbelief. "I am not afraid!"

Donna shared a knowing smile with Gabby. She was too afraid.

"I'm not standing for this!" Renata exclaimed and, with an actual huff now, she started walking in the direction they'd come in.

"Oh, Renata!" the Doctor chuckled and carefully set the tenrec back on the branch. "Take care dear," he said to it then rushed off behind Renata. "Renée, come back."

"I'm going back to the TARDIS!"

But as much as she would've liked to stomp quickly, the snow-covered ground had another thing to say. It eventually led to the Doctor being able to grab her arm and stop her.

"Very mature for a 700 year old Time Lady," his mouth twitched as if he was restraining himself...and he was. He wanted to smirk at her for her behavior but doing that would just make her want to keep walking away. "How's about we get some snacks?"

Renata pulled her arm from his grip and huffed. "There's no snacks around here you idiot."

"Yeah there are, look!" the Doctor pointed up above them. Renata raised her head to see dangling apples from the trees. "I bet I can get some down for us."

"Please don't," Renata returned her gaze to him, now clear of anger but with concern quickly filling her features.

"I can do it, no problem!"

"Do what?" Donna asked once she and Gabby caught up with them.

"The Doctor wants to get some apples down for us," Renata wearily eyed the man heading for the closest tree.

"Oh! I could do with an apple!" Gabby's eyes gleamed at the idea of a fresh apple after so much walking.

"Doctor, these are some very tall trees," Renata warned but the Doctor was already climbing his way up a tree.

"I have climbed trees, you know," he calmly called from above. She rolled her eyes. "Get ready to catch some apples." He reached for a branch on his left side and started shaking it as much as he could.

"They're not falling!" Donna frowned, unimpressed with his hunting skills. "We'd starve if food was up to you."

The Doctor paused to glower down at her. "Thanks." He sucked in a deep breath and attempted to entirely move to the branch.

"Doctor, please be careful," he heard Renata's pleas. She honestly worried too much over them, but that was just her.

He successfully got on the branch but he could feel it wobbling with his weight. He needed to be quick about it so he started pushing the apples off its roots so they could fall. He smiled when he started hearing Gabby's gleeful cries after catching an apple.

"Doctor, get down now!" came Renata's cry.

"Yeah, alright!" He managed to stand up and, for a minute, paused to admire the snowy land. "You know, the sight is pretty beautiful from up here."

"DOCTOR!"

He winced. He better get down or Renata might self-combust one of these days. It was fairly amusing how quickly her rosy face would redden whenever he would irritate her, but sometimes he wondered if she would actually burst from all their episodes.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he stepped towards the stump he'd have to climb down on but the branch wobbled and sent his right foot to the side. "Ah!" he cried and scrambled to grab onto another. His hands flailed for the stump but in his attempts to grab it, his forehead hit the bark instead and down he went.

"Doctor!" Renata cried when she saw the Doctor's body falling down. Their companions screamed when he crashed onto the ground, splashing snow bits all over them. "No, no, no, no!" Renata hurried to his side, letting her knees fall to the ground next to his head. Straightaway she could see an ugly gash across his forehead. Renata's hands trembled as they checked him for any other injuries.

"Is he going to be alright?" Donna worriedly watched Renata pull her hand from under the Doctor's head. She, and Gabby, gasped when they saw blood dripping from Renata's fingers.

"Oh my God!" Gabby's hands flung to her mouth. "What do we do!? What do we do!?"

"Shush," Renata hissed. She was about to push some of her hair out of her face when she remembered the blood on her fingers. With a sigh, she flapped her hand to get rid of it. "He's out could and the TARDIS is too far away to carry him to.

"Okay, so what do we?" asked Donna. Her eyes were scanning their immediate area with fear. "We we can't exactly stay here can we? It's the olden ages - there could be dinosaurs!"

Renata rolled her eyes. "For the last time, we are not in the dinosaur age, Donn! There are no dinosaurs!"

"Renata, what do we do?" Gabby bent down beside the Time Lady. She could Renata was afraid as well, perhaps not on the same level as Donna, but she was still afraid. They needed to help her, not add more to her problems.

"We need some extra muscle," Renata decided after a few minutes of pondering. "Go find anyone - literally anyone - and get them here. If we're lucky we might be near some type of civilization we can camp out at before the cold really strikes."

"Okay," Gabby straightened on her feet and moved towards Donna.

"What are you going to do?" Donna inquired from the Time Lady.

"What I need to do: stay with him," Renata looked down at the Doctor and smiled softly. "I can't leave him alone." Not again.

~0~

It was nearing sunset when Gabby and Donna returned with help. It was one lone man but he was strong enough and, apparently, a doctor as well.

"Is that a wolf?" Renata panicked the moment she saw the gray creature roaming around them.

"He's good, Ren," Donna made a nod at the man with them. "Comes with him."

"I know of none like you," the man remarked as he studied the group one by one. "But I have seen many strange things over the past few moon tides."

"I'll file that under 'explain later'. Right now, would you please help us?" Renata rose from the ground. "He really is-" she gestured to the Doctor, "-a smart man but he just does...incredibly stupid stuff." And said stupid stuff could be stemmed back to her because he'd gone off climbing trees to get apples down for her in an attempt to get back on her good side.

The man bore no expression that would indicate whether or not he would definitely help. He bent down beside the Doctor, checking on the two injuries he sustained but he never made a comment. It made Renata nervous. What she was supposed to do if he refused in the end?

"I have fresh water and healing herbs," the man suddenly said. "We'll bathe your friend's wounds."

Donna loudly sighed in relief. "Oh thank God. For a second I thought you said 'bathe him'! I did not sign up for that!"

Renata shook her head, wanting to be upset for Donna's imprudence but she found it hard not to laugh instead.

"Your friends said he is a medicine man," the man looked directly at Renata. "You did not leave him. I assume you are you his wife?"

Renata's eyes widened, comically if Gabby had to describe it. "I am not not."

"You sure act like a married couple," Donna mumbled behind her.

"Stop talking," Renata hissed and addressed the man instead. "I am not his wife, but I am a very close friend. You will help us, then?"

The man nodded. "Of course. Your friend needs rest. My home is far but I know a place we can shelter."

"Please lead the way," Renata urgently said.

The man easily picked up the Doctor's body and led the way through the woods. At least it seemed like he knew the area because in two minutes he had led them out of the maze of trees and onto a clear plain.

"I too am a healer, a Shaman," the man began to share with them. Perhaps it was a way to warm up to the three women who continued looking nervous. "Though some would say I am not a wise man."

"Then you would definitely get along with the Doctor," Renata was the first to respond.

"What's your name?" Gabby peered in front of Renata to see the man.

"I'm Munmeth, of the Wolf Tree Clan."

"Nice to meet you," Gabby grinned and even waved. "I'm Gabby. That's Donna and this is Renata."

"What were you doing so far into the woods?" Munmeth asked.

"Gabby thought it would be a fun idea to explore the woods," Donna tugged her coat closet to her. "It was not."

"What - we did see some cool stuff!" Gabby exclaimed. "Remember that bee hive? Those could not be just bees!"

"They weren't," Renata confirmed. "Ancestors of bees."

"Bees?" mused Munmeth. "Ah, like the makers of honey? That's why you are scented so. Longclaw - my wolfhound - she likes your smell."

Renata's eyes widened when she noticed the wolf right behind them. "Oh... that's nice." She wasn't really one for animals in this incarnation.

"She's kinda cute," Gabby admitted but Renata immediately scolded her.

"Don't touch her!"

Munmeth brought them into a deep cave and carefully settled the Doctor on the ground. He started using some herbs for the cuts on his forehead and under his head. Renata was right behind him, watching every movement of his as if to make sure he wasn't further hurting the Doctor.

"He should be fine," Munmenth declared after what seemed like an eternity for Renata.

"Really?" Renata didn't waste a moment and quickly bent down beside the Doctor.

"He will probably sleep for the night but he will wake up," Munmeth assured her and the others. "I will bring something to eat for you all. Do not leave the cave."

"No problem," promised Donna as she scuttled into a deeper crook of the cave to get some warmth.

Before he left, Munmeth created a fire so they could keep warm. Donna and Gabby settled around it while Renata remained by the Doctor's side.

"So, what exactly is our plan now?" Donna asked Renata a few minutes after they were left alone.

The Time Lady did not answer as she was tending to the Doctor on the ground. Her fingers gingerly grazed the deep cut across his forehead but even that still left her fingertips with some blood. Munmeth had helped the injuries dry up but still seeing the cuts made Renata feel like there was still something wrong with the Doctor. She couldn't stand it.

"Sorry Doctor, she whispered when she had made her choice. She wasn't sure how the Doctor would react to it but why debate when it was the only sensible, reasonable thing to do?

She readied her right hand and let it hover over the Doctor's forehead. As soon as it started glowing orange, Gabby and Donna went wide eyed.

"What's happening!?" Gabby was concerned and, first and foremost, scared now Renata was getting hurt too.

"I'm just helping the healing process go quicker," Renata said quietly. She could feel her regeneration energy oozing from her fingertips and she was mighty relieved to see the cut on the Doctor's forehead closing up. She then slid her hand under his head and let her fingers search for the second cut. In another moment, she would've blushed like mad raking her fingers through his hair. But right now, she just wanted him to be okay. In a matter of seconds, he was completely healed.

"Is he going to wake up now?" Donna asked afterwards.

"No, it was still a pretty harsh fall but at least this way I know for sure he'll be okay," Renata smiled at the unconscious man. "He's had plenty worse without me and he's survived."

Donna watched the woman as she took off her pink coat and rolled it up into a pseudo-pillow to put under the Doctor's head. It was done in such a tender way that Donna just had to ask, "How long have you truly known the Doctor?"

The question was startling until Renata remembered that there was no way Donna could know anything about her first incarnation. "What do you mean, Donna? I've known him for about a year."

"Nu-uh," Donna wasn't afraid to scoff and correct her. "The way you treat him - especially right now - tells me that you have known him far longer than just a year."

"Well if you want to be technical then I guess it'd be 2 years what with the whole year-that-never-happened," shrugged Renata but once again Donna scoffed.

"Do you take me for an idiot?"

Renata blinked at the sudden snap and glanced to see the ginger giving her a rather sharp look. "I didn't mean to…"

Donna dramatically sighed and wrapped her coat closet to her body. "C'mon Ren, just asking a question. I bet Gabby's thinking about it too."

At the mention of her name, Gabby awkwardly smiled at the two. She didn't want to get in-between. Plus, she already had a lot in mind concerning Renata and the Doctor.

"Donna, it's really not that big of a deal. I, uh, happened to know a friend that was really close to the Doctor back on Gallifrey," Renata did her best to sound and even appear casual.

"What friend?" Donna narrowed her eyes on the blonde. She didn't know a lot about the Doctor's life on Gallifrey but she knew enough to know that he couldn't have many friends on that planet since he traveled a lot.

"Just...a friend. We worked together at a charity foundation," Renata looked away so that her widened eyes wouldn't be seen. She was really building lie after lie and it was becoming easier too. That scared her.

But suddenly Donna's own eyes widened. "You knew Zuriah!?"

"What!?" Renata nearly fell back from shock. "How do you know about her!?"

"Doctor told me a couple of days ago."

He was becoming very loose lipped on that subject. It was as if once she opened up about 'knowing Zuriah', the Doctor felt more comfortable bringing her out of the shadows.

"Who's that?" Gabby's question broke the silence in the cave. Her eyes were flickering between Renata and Donna.

Before Renata could come up with a practical explanation, Donna made it short and thorough.

"The Doctor's old flame."

"Donna!" went Renata soon after. She hid her face from them when she felt the damn heat return. Old flame? The words brought a wave of butterflies in her stomach whether she wanted them or not.

"What?"

Renata heavily sighed. She brought a hand to her forehead and rubbed circles over her skin before a headache formed. She couldn't believe she was really having this conversation with them. "She was...someone the Doctor really cared for and she's also someone I happened to know. Therefore, I didn't know the Doctor back then but I knew of him."

Donna tilted her head at the woman, almost looking like she was trying to decide whether or not to believe her. It concerned Renata, honestly, because why wouldn't Donna want to believe her? Had she done something to make Donna doubt her words?

"I guess that makes sense but it's just the way you act Ren," Donna's voice softened. Her eyes flickered from Renata to the Doctor and vice versa. "You are the complete opposite of the Doctor, yet sometimes you're so...soft with him."

Renata tried her best not to appear so nervous but her warm face was sure to give her up sooner or later. "I'm just a friend, Donna."

"Is that all you want to be?"

Renata practically froze. Gabby was sure that Renata's eyes would definitely pop from her head because of how wide they were. Renata turned her head away from the two companions, the unconscious Doctor, and took in a deep breath. "No, Donna," she surprisingly answered in one go and without sounding upset. "I am a friend, nothing more. Now I firmly believe it is time for us to rest."

"But we haven't had dinner yet," Donna said in confusion.

"I don't think you'll want to eat raw animal meat." Renata may not have expressed an angry tone but her hard face said it all. She made herself a spot near the Doctor's body and laid her head over her arms. If she was lucky, she would get a few hours of sleep and thus evade Donna's torturous questions.

"I don't think you should've asked Renata all those questions," Gabby spoke to Donna when Renata finally dozed off.

"Why not? Made her think, dinnit?" Donna replied with a proud smirk on her face.

"That was your point?"

"Not specifically but it was a bonus. Look," Donna shifted on her spot to better face Gabby, "I know it's not just me who sees these odd behaviors. You see it too but you don't want to say anything."

"I-I mean... it's not really my place," Gabby said. If it was then she would've told the Doctor herself about Renata's fate prediction.

"Sometimes we have to give a little push in order to get results, no matter how many ugly looks you get from the Time Lady," Donna nodded to Renata. "I've come to figure out Renata's type. She's proper, too proper to do anything. And the Doctor is the opposite. He'll do everything and sometimes that's scary for people like Renata."

"Okay...but what exactly are you trying to get another to do?"

"Whatever she needs to do but hasn't. I suspect Renata is hiding something but I don't know what."

Gabby wondered if Donna was talking about the prediction because, if not...what else did Renata have to hide? She glanced at Renata's sleeping form. Renata was pretty old (technically) so perhaps there were plenty of things to hide.

~ 0 ~

When the Doctor woke up, the first thing he remembered were apples. He'd been climbing a tree to get apples but now he was in a...cave? It looked like a cave. After a few minutes of him just blinking at the cave's ceiling, he started to remember what happened to him during his attempt to get apples.

'Renata is definitely going to kill me this,' he thought and as soon as he realized his thought his mind flashed to the Time Lady. "Ren!" He sat upright only to find Renata fast asleep a few inches from him. He spotted Donna and Gabby sleeping on the other side of fire that was no longer burning, but his eyes flickered back to Renata. She was so close to him - he wondered if she'd been like this all night and he didn't even notice!

Why would you have want to notice? A little voice in his head asked. There would be nothing to it.

The Doctor then noticed Renata's pink coat neatly folded on the ground. It'd been his pillow. Oh Renata. She was always caring for him and everyone else around her, even when the Doctor knew they drove her mad. It was such a kind quality that he didn't see in anyone else. He felt his hearts swell thinking about how she came to decide giving up her coat for him.

So, he made his own decisions. He took her coat and gently slid it under her head. She only shifted a bit and continued to sleep. Then, the Doctor took his own coat off and laid it over her body. As soon as she had felt the extra layer over her, Renata pulled it closer to her. The Doctor smiled at her and decided to figure out where they were...as quietly as possible.

A few hours later, Renata started stirring awake. She could feel the warmth of the sun on her face but she actually felt pretty comfortable where she was. Along with the warmth on her face, she felt an extra layer of heat over her body. Maybe she could stay right where she was for a bit more...

"...that lasts thousands of years and thousands of moon tides under the right conditions…"

Renata groaned. That was definitely an alarm. She snapped her eyes open and sat upright.

"Ah, Renée!" the Doctor was up and talking to Munmeth. "You're up!"

"Yeah and…" Renata yawned, "...so are you. Your head-"

"-all fine, see?" the Doctor pointed to the injured spot on his forehead that no longer bore any cut. "Thanks to our friend here, Munmeth!" He made a gesture at the man sitting near the campfire.

Renata needed a few more minutes to gather her bearings. She slept more than she'd planned to and her body wasn't really used to such a thing. "What is this…?" she lifted the familiar brown trench coat off her body and held it to the Doctor.

"You looked kind of cold earlier," he walked over to take it back then held a hand for her. She grabbed it and got up from the ground. "Thanks for the help yesterday. Donna and Gabby told me you stayed with me. They also told me that you used your regeneration energy on me."

Renata awkwardly nodded and looked around for the two blabbers. She spotted the two huddled near the fireplace and glared at them. They quickly dove their gazes to the fire. "Right, well, you would've done the same."

"Of course," the Doctor instantly said, momentarily startling Renata with his quickness to agree. There he went again making such statements. But it wasn't like he had to think about it, especially when he learned she'd willingly used her regeneration energy on him. That was limited, even more so now that it was just them and she'd chosen to use it on two petty injuries of his. "Thank you," he smiled softly at her.

Renata nodded her head and matched the Doctor's smile with her own. She silently screamed at her hearts to slow down though because at the rate they were going, they might burst from her chest.

Donna nudged Gabby and nodded towards the pair. "That's what I mean," she whispered to Gabby since neither alien had looked away from each other. They seemed stuck in their endless smiling. Gabby could agree in that moment, but she probably wouldn't be so outspoken like Donna.

"Well, thank you Munmeth," Renata turned to Munmeth with a warm smile. "I truly am grateful for your help." Munmeth gave an acknowledging nod. Renata looked around and noticed the cave drawings on a wall that most certainly wasn't there the previous night.

"I'm a signmaker," Munmeth said since he noticed where her looks were.

"Drawing...one of the first and oldest forms of technologies," Renata mused over the odd pictures. A lot of it seemed like a bunch of squiggles and circles but she was sure it meant a lot more to Munmeth.

"I make signs, or fire dances, to try to trap the things I see in memory," Munmeth explained.

"Symbolic thinking," hummed the Doctor.

"I see many things for which I have no words. Yet the way you both speak is as clear as running water. I begin to see your meanings, inside my head."

Renata had to chuckle as she said, "You're understanding the Doctor?" she pointed at the man. "That's a true talent."

The Doctor only briefly glared at her while both Donna and Gabby snickered behind. He shook his head at them and redirected his attention to Munmeth. "Munmeth, my friend, you are so ahead of your time!"

"You're an artist," Gabby said with a grin. "And I identify with that. I want to be an artist too."

Munmeth nodded but he seemed preoccupied with his drawings, as if something perturbed him.

"You alright?" asked Donna.

"These curved things...almost as a full moon…" he traced his fingers over the circles on the wall, "...but flat like a river pebble, each one riding upon the wind itself. They're hunters from the sky. They took some of the river people as they speared fish."

"Speared fish?" repeated Renata. She glanced at the Doctor to see if he'd caught on as well. "The fishing village we saw before the mammoths."

"Mhm," he agreed. It had looked like a pleasant, normal village.

"So, what are these?" Gabby had gotten up from the ground to go point at the red circles on the wall.

"Others," answered Munmeth. "Not the sky hunters. I have seen these only once."

"But we haven't," Donna muttered and looked up at the pair of aliens. "Right?"

"They're fighting…?" the Doctor presumed.

"When they came, they follow the sky hunters and I heard noises like A storm. Little fires burst across the air. The spearfishers called me as they were taken. I know them - Kria, Meerok, Nekma. They called out for help...and I ran." There was a deep sorrow laced with guilt etched across Munmeth's face. It was clear he regretted his actions but even then it probably wouldn't have matter if he'd stayed or not. What he saw was not of this world.

"There is no shame in that, Munmeth," the Doctor said as a means of comfort. It was understandable.

"I ran," Munmeth repeated himself with more harshness. "I am Munmeth of of the Wolf Tree Clan. I've faced lions, hyenas, long tusks! I do not run away! The River people's clan Elder asked me for help, to find others to aid them against the sky hunters. But, none will help or they have been taken. I want to protect my own clan from the sky hunters too."

"Well, lucky we ran into you then!" the Doctor declared happily. "We'll help you, Munmeth!"

Munmeth stared at him like he was crazy. "You will?"

The Doctor didn't falter. "Of course! Right?" he checked for Renata's opinion then Donna's and Gabby's. They all seemed on board, including Renata.

"Of course," Renata smiled kindly at the stunned Munmeth. "You helped us when we needed it. It's only fair we return the favor."

~0~

Munmeth led the group into the River Clan's village only to find it desolate. Despite searching through the tents and even in the immediate area, they found no one.

"We must hurry! I want to make sure my own clan are safe!" Munmeth took charge again and hurried out of the village.

"What do you think happened to them?" Donna whispered to the Doctor and Renata.

"Maybe it's just extinction," Gabby's uncharacteristically sour answer gathered the attention of the group quite fast. She did a double take when she noticed their reactions. "What? I just…" she sighed, "I don't like using the word neanderthal to describe Munmeth but that's what he is. And we all know what happens to them...they die. We, Sapiens, drive them to extinction, right?"

"Gabby," Renata smiled sadly at the girl full of unnecessary guilt. "I don't really think it's because of 'Sapiens'. I think it's just evolution that does it all." She checked her facts with the Doctor, while also silently begging for his help. The last thing she wanted was for Gabby to blame herself of something she had no control over.

"Honestly, no one really knows," the Doctor said. "It didn't happen suddenly. It occurred slowly, over thousands of years. In the end, I think they just got out-competed by your lot. You can overtake evolution by rapidly modifying yourselves and the way you think."

"But we're not better," Gabby shook her head. "I mean...Sapiens... we're... we're aggressive, violent...my lot and a whole bunch of other species out there in the cosmos, right?"

"I mean...she does make a point," Donna quietly inputted her opinion on the matter. She wasn't as animated as Gabby but she did agree on most of what she was saying. "We developed but...are we any better? The way Munmeth thinks... he's a lot better than most of the blokes I've met."

"I think we're getting a little bit agitated over the wrong things," Renata sighed.

"When you-" Gabby pointed a gloved finger at the Doctor, "-go on about how great humanity's potential is, what you really mean is how great Homo Sapiens' potential is."

"Now that is not true," Renata said before the Doctor even opened his mouth. Her eyebrows had furrowed together in irritation. "You have no bloody idea how much this idiot loves this planet and all of its people. And I do mean all."

The Doctor smiled at Renata in wide grin. "Well thanks for that, Renée." The blonde Time Lady rolled her eyes playfully. The Doctor then turned his attention to Gabby who was still distraught. "Time travelers, it gets to you sometimes. Nothing you feel is bad, just...perhaps out of proportion."

Gabby could agree there. These were thoughts she that she would've never had of she hadn't met the Doctor and Renata. But even then she didn't regret anything. She'd rather be here than stuck at home in the laundromat and the restaurant. She would just have to learn to take things in a better way.

"Noomin!" Munmeth's sudden cry pulled the group's attention ahead. Munmeth had found an elderly woman climbing down from a higher ground. "Noomin! What are you doing here!?"

"Oh Munmeth, you've returned!" the woman cried and hurried to Munmeth.

"Noomin, where is Muthmunna?"

"I'm sorry-"

"-sorry? Where is she?" Munmeth asked again, though more urgently. "I told you to go with her to the Shaman's caves!"

"The whole clan did as you said!" Noomin promised. She seemed far too distraught for someone wandering alone in the woods. "Then the Sky Hunters came. They flew over us as we walked. Like great birds, and everyone ran and…" she trailed off when she saw the travelers catching up.

"Is everyone alright!?" Renata quickly asked and looked around for any obvious danger zones.

"Newcomers," Noomin blinked. "So strange…"

"They are friends," Munmeth clarified. "Now where is Muthmunna?"

Noomin got lost in anger. She pushed Munmeth away from her and exclaimed, "I'm sorry Munmeth! No one can help against death! Muthmunna was taken by the Sky Hunters! They were all taken! They didn't take me or old Rigro. He fell and smashed his head and I ran for my life."

"That sounds...gruesome," Donna whispered to Gabby who quickly nodded in shared fear.

"I thought they'd be safe at the Shaman's caves," Munmeth said in confusion. He seemed lost, hope dwindling as the reality set.

Noomin shook her head. "You should all run too!" And she took off into the woods.

"Who is Muthmunna?" asked Gabby, but Munmeth didn't answer.

The Doctor took in a deep breath and exhaled with a "Right!" coming out of his mouth. He pulled out his sonic and started examining the area. "Now this might look very strange to you Munmeth, but this is just a special kind of fire to protect us."

"Doctor, what are you doing?" asked Donna.

"I'm giving us a fake biometric signature. Those Antigrav discs that are kidnapping people are very picky about who they are choosing, so I'm making sure they'll be taking us next time they appear."

Donna stared at him for a few seconds, only blinking as a reaction, then turned to Renata. "What's he doing?"

"The Sky Hunters are aliens," Renata shrugged. "He's making us look very appealing."

"Well I think it's working cos look over there!" Gabby cried out with a finger pointed up at the sky.

The group turned their heads up to the sky to see spaceships zooming by.

"This is going to be a rough ride, everyone," the Doctor warned them as he put away his sonic. "And don't run."

"Are you kidding me!?" Donna exclaimed.

One of the spaceships released two yellow string-looking pieces.

"Energy nets!" the Doctor recognized them first. "Hang on-" Said yellow strings wrapped him up in two seconds.

"Doctor!" Renata called after him as he was yanked up into the sky.

"Renata, we're seriously not supposed to run!?" Gabby cowered behind the Time Lady. She didn't want those string things to take her too.

Munmeth was next on the list and went up to the sky. Renata breathed heavily but she knew this was the Doctor's plan. If they wanted to know what was happening, they needed to be taken away.

"Yes, don't run," Renata hated the answer, but no one more than Gabby.

"Ren, you better be right about this - AAAH!" Donna screamed when the nets wrapped her body like a present.

Renata closed her eyes and allowed herself to be taken as well. Gabby was the last one, but she did try to run for a few seconds before she pulled into the sky.

"Gabby, don't fight it!" the Doctor called from his next prison. Each spaceship now had butterfly nets underneath it, carrying each prisoner like a butterfly.

Gabby squirmed as the strings moved her around to trap her in a net like the others. But one wrong (or perhaps right) move ripped one of the next around her waist.

"GABBY!" Renata screamed when she saw the young girl fall from the net's hold. She shook her own net urgently as if ripping hers would somehow help Gabby.

A different type of spaceship - resembling - a rocketship - zipped by in time to catch Gabby in a blue field. As soon as it had Gabby captured, the spaceship fired against the Sky Hunter ships.

"Doctor, we have to get to Gabby!" Renata cried but their concern was short-lived because each of their nets released two more 'strings' that attached to their temples.

Gabby was horrified (and terrified) to see all of her friends scream in pain until they were out cold. The war between the Sky Hunter ships and the rocketship went on for a bit more until one Sky Hunter ship went down.

"You disgusting impostor," Gabby suddenly heard a voice insult her. Gabby hadn't realized when she was brought into the spaceship, but there was an eerie blue surrounding her.

"I-I thought I was getting rescued here," she said, trying to find courage she did not own in that moment.

"Rescued?" the same voice scoffed. "What a filthy trick "

"Let's just atomize her and be done with it," went a second voice.

Gabby almost squeaked in terror. "There is no trick, possibly a misunderstanding but definitely no trick!" She wanted to stand but the field was still around her and she couldn't very well see outside of it. "My name's Gabby."

"You are not a native to this place. Explain," the first voice commanded.

"Kind of wrong there," Gabby nervously smiled. "I am a native here. Trust me."

"No!" roared the second voice, making the girl flinch. "We already exposed your fraudulent biometric cloak."

"Oh, that was just a disguise to confuse the, we, Sky Hunters. You know, the big frisbees, the Antigrav Discs."

"I knew it!" a third voice exclaimed. "She's in league with them!"

Gabby shivered when the field began to drop around her. Her chest heaved hard once she saw the group that'd been talking to her. A team of...aliens?

"We have to kill her right now!"

[xillveart]

Return To Me

Ch. 6: Sanity Vampire, Quirkless, Victorian / Medieval Era AU

Based off of THIS AU by @vines-of-an-ivy / @aizawasbedtimestories

Genre: Angst / Romance

Rating: Explicit | Violence / Blood / Mentions of suicide and self harm / Depression / Mental Illness / Sex and intimacy

Main Pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x Koge Naegi (OC)

Side Pairings: Seijirou Eguchi (OC) x Dokuji Kobayashi (OC), Eijirou Kirishima x Nene Date (OC)

Chapter Rating: Mature | Make out, Mild Foreplay

Be sure to follow the READ MORE

Pale blue eyes were locked on him, wide with shock and welling with tears. Sitting up, Koge had one of Bakugou’s old blazers in her lap, sewing up a hole he had made. A single candle rested on the bedside table, creating just enough light for her to see. Sewing and tailoring clothes had always been one of her skills, so the fact that she was doing it wasn’t what shocked him. The fact that she was up literally in the middle of the night fixing one of his blazers was. In fact, it was so bizarre that he couldn’t help but give a short chortle, smile spreading across his lips. “Utsuro… You do realize that one is so old it doesn’t fit me anymore, right?” 

Koge blinked at the sound of his voice, the tears spilling down her cheeks. “O-oh… I…” She looked down at the dark red fabric, running her hand along it to smooth it out a bit across her lap. “I just… I remembered that you had torn it, and… I figured I could fix it and perhaps make it a bit bigger in the arms for you. Then it would… It would fit.” Hands trembling, she gripped onto the fabric tightly, keeping her head down. “You’re… You’re a hallucination.” 

Bakugou frowned, reaching up to remove his hood. “So what if I am. I’m here, aren’t I?” He took a few steps closer to the bed, gripping onto the wooden footboard, which creaked under his weight as he leaned on it. Koge gave a small jump at the sound, quickly looking back up at her lover in surprise. “I suppose…” Sticking her needle into a pin cushion, Koge folded up the blazer and placed it down beside her carefully. “Katsuki… Seeing you here just confirms that I’m crazy. Losing you has made me completely lose my mind. Everyone thinks that, so it must be true.” 

“Do you think you’re crazy?” Bakugou questioned, hating to see her so down. Though, his keen eyes caught onto something that he hadn’t noticed before, something he had no idea about. The scars that adorned her wrists told him that she had tried to end her own life sometime after his disappearance, and the guilt that immediately crushed him filled him with a sense to flee. His stupid actions had hurt her more than any physical pain he had gone through, all because he had decided to act like a child. How stupid and selfish he had been made him sick, and he wanted nothing more than to take all her suffering away. 

With a small shake of her head, Koge pushed the blankets off of her legs, her pale skin glowing against the flickering candle flame. “I know I’m not crazy. I knew all this time that you were still alive, and I know that I kissed you the other day. The bruises on my arms prove it.” Although she brought a hand up to touch the yellowing bruise on her left arm, Bakugou wasn’t looking at it. All his attention was on the rest of her body, how perfect she looked in that silk shift that clung to her curves. It hung off one shoulder, tempting him with an enticing view of her neck. He hated that all he could think about was sinking his teeth into her when he should be holding and comforting her. 

“You’re not crazy. And I’m not a hallucination. I’m really here.” He held a hand out towards her. “I… didn’t mean to bruise you like that. I’m still working on… controlling my strength, even when I’m not spooked.” Koge glanced from his hand up to his face, feeling a panic beginning to bubble in her stomach. She wanted to take his hand, but then what? He had claimed that he couldn’t come back to her, so what was all this?

“Katsuki… Why are you here?” 

Bakugou’s expression turned a bit stern, though he only motioned with his hand for her to come to him. ”I… can’t stay away. Come to me.” Koge felt happiness beginning to swell within her heart, a hint of a smile forcing its way through. Although she was still a bit cautious, she shifted her body down the bed towards him, not shy about her shift sliding further up her legs. The closer she got to him, the more his scent filled her senses. He smelled so good, like warm caramel, and it didn’t help that he looked absolutely gorgeous in the candlelight. It took every inch of her self control to not leap onto him, though her focus was shattered has he suddenly let out a hiss, yanking his hand back and stepping away from the bed. 

Without really noticing, Koge had reached out to take his hand. The negative reaction from her touch startled her so badly that she quickly backed up, clutching her hand closer to her chest. “O-Oh no, Katsuki, I--” 

“It’s not you.” Bakugou hissed between his teeth, glaring down at the red and irritated skin on his index finger. “It’s your ring.” 

“My ring?” Koge looked down at the piece of jewelry that adorned her finger, suddenly feeling a rush of fear at the thought that she would have to remove it to be able to touch him. “Why my ring?” Bakugou gave a small shake of his hand as the pain faded, returning to his spot at the end of the bed. “It’s silver. I… Can’t touch silver. Can you take it off just while I’m here?” 

“I… Okay.” With a deep breath to calm herself, she carefully pried the ring from her finger, feeling instantly vulnerable without it. Still, her wanting to touch him was stronger than her need to keep it on, so she carefully placed it down onto the bedside table next to the flickering candle. The soft clink it made against the wood made her stomach lurch a bit, having not seen the ring anywhere but her finger since he first proposed to her. It was the only thing she had left that truly tied her to him, and now, she had to get rid of it to be with him. If this was all truly in her mind, then losing it during whatever psychotic break this could be would ruin her. But if it was real, if he was truly standing at the end of the bed they once shared, then that meant that she would have him back. 

Tenderly touching the now vacant spot on her finger, Koge looked back towards her lover, who was waiting silently for her to make a decision. She could see the frustration in his furrowed brow, the longing in his crimson gaze perfectly matching her own. Without another thought, Koge moved down the bed towards him, taking his hand as he reached it out towards her. It was as if a spark rushed through them, short circuiting any rational thought or reluctantancy. Before either of them could even stop or think, Koge had her arms around Bakugou’s neck, kissing him passionately. 

But, as she kissed him, she realized nothing was how it had been. It was all so much more intense, from both sides. He tasted like heaven and smelled so delicious that she found herself hopelessly drawn to him, wanting to kiss and touch every inch of him. The lust that Koge felt was nothing she had ever experienced before, even from back when their relationship first began. Even the way he touched her, holding her body tightly against his with his hands eagerly exploring her back, was different. Sure, it was something that Koge had expected, for them to want each other so badly that the entire interaction would be nothing but crazed sex. But this was different. 

It was as if everything about him made her want him. It felt… dangerous, like she was a fish attracted to a shiny lure, only to meet her death at the end of a hook and a skillet over fire. She thought it was odd that she would compare herself to a meal, like he was going to eat her. It almost felt that way, like all his passion was driven from hunger. 

And, if Bakugou were honest with himself, it was. By now, he had grown used to the typical routine of feeding, attracting women to him with just a glance, whisking them away with false promises, only to provide them with a very unpleasant night. Typically, it was common for those of his kind to enjoy a bit of fun before they fed, but that was something that Bakugou had refused to do, no matter how enticing the thought. Just because he had vanished from the world of the living didn’t mean that his soul no longer belonged to Koge. It had and always would. 

Thus, his raging hunger and sexual desire were fighting with each other. On one hand, he wanted to make love to her, to feel her and shower her in the affection they had both been robbed of. But, on the other hand, he wanted to rip into her flesh like a crazed animal, to fuck her while draining her of life. He couldn’t believe how strong his negative desires were, even after a hefty feeding the night before. It made him feel disgusting, for thinking such a thing of the woman that he loved. He could only hope that his love for her would be enough to tame him. 

Koge released a soft gasp at the feeling of his hands gripping onto her backside, catching his gaze as the kiss paused. Having been lost in the heat, she hadn’t even noticed that her shift had been pulled up, nor did she remember bringing her hands around to fiddle with the buttons of his cloak. With the snap of the last one coming free, they both allowed the heavy cloth to fall free from his shoulders to become a lifeless lump on the floor. “Why do you wear that, Katsuki? To hide your new haircut?” Koge teased playfully, her fingers moving to the buttons of his vest as he kissed her. Once that clothing was also discarded, Bakugou hoisted himself up over the footboard, scooping her small frame up into his arms as he did so. 

“That’s the first thing you comment on, Utsuro? My fucking hair? Of all the dumb shit to notice first--” He lied her down beneath him, pausing for just a split second as he yanked his shirt off over his head. Koge’s shift was quick to follow, leaving her bare and vulnerable. Bakugou had no time to admire her, however, locked in her embrace and entranced by her lips. That didn’t stop his hands from wandering, sliding up her sides to caress her breasts. 

With the release of her first sweet moan, Bakugou felt an intense swell of hungry passion rush through his body, the urge to feed off her becoming only stronger. In an instant, it nearly overwhelmed him, forcing him to sit up and release her. “God fucking damn it, I can’t do it!” Panting heavily from the rush of primal urges, he glared up at the white ceiling, watching the dancing shadows created by the flickering candle flame. He couldn’t even look at her, too scared that the sight of her nude body would break his control. “I’m not strong enough… I don’t trust myself not to hurt you.” 

Laying there in her own bewildered state, Koge timidly covered her chest with her arms, trying to catch her breath. The fact that he couldn’t even look at her was heavy on her battered heart, and guilt was beginning to creep over her. She felt selfish, wanting him so badly that she didn’t even think about how hard it might be for him. There was the tangible weight on her mind that nothing would be as it had, even if he was truly by her side again. She wanted so badly for things to be normal, for him to love and touch her as he always had. It had almost been a reality, teasing her with every touch or kiss. Now, it was cracking, threatening to shatter if she didn’t find a way to pull him back. 

“Let’s… Let's slow down, Katsuki.” Slowly, Koge sat up, taking it upon herself to pull her blanket over her body. Taking a deep, trembling breath of his own, Bakugou finally turned his gaze down to her once he was confident she was covered. The dejected look on her face only made him feel worse, and as he flopped to sit he rested his elbows onto his knees. Hiding his face in his hands, he let out a groan of frustration. 

“I’m fucking worthless, Koge… After everything I’ve put you through, I try to come back and just… Fix it. Somehow. And I can’t even fucking touch you without… Without--” 

“Wanting to feed off me. Right?” Koge caught his gaze as Bakugou lifted his head from his hands. He was surprised that she was so quick to understand, even though he really hadn’t revealed anything to her. It was the conversation she had with Dokuji, he assumed, that had truly tipped her off about what he had become. Now that he was here and she could physically touch him, she no longer doubted what had been told to her. 

Deciding there was no point in hiding any of it, Bakugou gave a nod, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. His expression and body language told Koge that he was ashamed of how he felt, so with a slow and gentle touch, she placed a hand on his knee. “It’s not your fault, Katsuki… You can’t help it. You’ve… done really well, though. You got me naked, at least.” She cracked a smile and a small giggle, lifting Bakugou’s spirits just enough to not feel like a monster. 

“I can’t believe you don’t hate me… After everything.” Bakugou let his hand rest over hers, softly stroking her skin with his thumb. Koge made no further moves, letting him adjust at his own pace, though a swell of emotion brought a burning to her eyes at how cold his touch was. She hadn’t really noticed during the heat of their moment before, but now it was near shocking. There was no heat. No life. 

“I could never hate you,” Koge spoke softly, fighting back her raging emotions. “Never. I’m so happy you’ve come back to me, Katsuki.” She clutched onto the fabric of his pants as her voice hitched. “But I’m also scared… What if you can’t stand to be around me, now? I won’t survive losing you again.” 

“You don’t have to be scared of that… Nothing will keep me away from you now. But I… There are rules I have to keep following. Or she might want to get rid of you…” Bakugou slowly slid his hand up Koge’s arm, stopping at the yellowing bruise that he had left on her. In response to his touch, Koge shifted herself just a bit closer to him, though she kept her body hidden behind the blankets. 

“Why don’t you just tell me everything… From the beginning. So that I can understand, and maybe we can just… work this out.” Koge couldn’t resist nuzzling her face into his palm as he caressed her cheek, her skin flushing at the rough feeling of his thumb wiping away the rogue tears. With a sigh, Bakugou glanced out at the night sky, trying to gauge how much time he had left. Although the thought of being caught out in the sun weighed heavy on his mind, he didn’t want to leave her, nor did he want to give her a watered down version of what happened and what was now his reality. She deserved to know it all. 

And so, he told her. For hours he went on, describing in detail all the things that he could remember. From the first moment of following Izuku Midoriya into the forest to scare him, finding that they were instead forced into a fate that, in his opinion, no one deserved. It took him two months to fully transition, and he was pretty positive that he had been dead for the majority of it. He couldn’t remember how it was done to him or what the entire process entailed, nor could he ever get anyone else to tell him about it. He then spent the next five months locked up, fighting to learn how to control his rage and new found strength before he could be trusted outside. 

Bakugou admitted that, at the time, he had completely forgotten about her. He didn’t remember anything from before, his need to kill and feed clouding his mind entirely. He couldn’t remember how to be human. The one who helped him the most, out of the entire clan, was Seijirou. That ‘kook’, as Bakugou called him, was the only one who could get through to him, and that was only because Bakugou could recognize him. And, upon recognizing him, the memories of his lover, friends and family slowly returned. 

That is what made him calm down enough to be allowed freedom, his wanting to be able to see Koge again. 

“So…” Koge spoke up quietly when there was a moment of silence, softly running her fingers along his arm. During the hours of conversation, the two had moved to lay down, Koge dressed in his shirt while they cuddled beneath the blankets. Keeping things at a relatively low level of intimacy seemed to allow him enough control to be this close to her, and with her head resting on his chest, the only thing she had to complain about was the lack of heartbeat. “Now you’re Lady Kayama’s… clan member? You hunt for her and protect her territory. That’s why you roam the streets at night.” 

“Mhmm…” Bakugou watched his hand as he ran his fingers through her white locks, having been stroking the same area for a good twenty minutes, now. “As long as I am here, I have to listen to her. If I don’t want to be killed or punished…” 

“It’s so odd to hear you say that you have to obey someone. You, my stubborn Katsuki…” A yawn forced its way though her lips, closing her eyes as she nuzzled her face further into his chest. “She would be really angry if she found out about this… right?” 

“Yeah. I’ve been watching you and visiting for a few months now… Lighting your fire. I also went to visit the flowers every time you replaced them. I’ve even been taking one, I have them drying out in a book. I remember you showed me that trick once.” Caressing the back of her neck, he kissed the top of her head softly, able to feel how she smiled against his skin and the heat in her cheeks. “Lots of stupid mushy shit, you know…” 

“Because you still love me.” Koge tilted her head up to catch his gaze, worry obvious on her furrowed brow. “Right? Those feelings aren’t… different?” 

“No, Koge. If anything, they’re stronger. Because now I know what it feels like to not have you… And I can’t imagine a life - an eternity - without you.” Bakugou kissed her softly, holding her body closer. “I still want you as my wife… But--” 

“Change me, then.” The lack of hesitation in her proposal made Bakugou pause, staring down at her in shock for a moment before he shook his head. 

“I… Don’t know how it works. They won’t tell me and… Biting obviously doesn’t work, because when I feed, nothing happens. Are you even sure you want to? It’s… painful and you might not make it through.” 

Koge placed her hand on his cheek, stroking his fair skin softly with her thumb. “We can figure out how. But once we do, I want it to happen. I’d rather take the chance then spend my entire life only seeing you at night and growing old without you.” 

“You’ll have to leave everything behind… Nene, my parents… No one can know we’re still alive… or, alive-ish.” 

“You know I’d follow you to the other side of the world, Katsuki. No one would miss me, anyway. Everyone thinks I’m some kind of insane witch, your parents are sick of me, and Nene barely tolerates me…” The reminder of just how outcased she had become brought new tears to her eyes, though she held them back the best she could. “No, I don’t belong here anymore… I belong with you.” 

Bakugou found himself at a loss for words at the moment, contemplating her words. If he were honest with himself, he wanted more than anything for her to be like him, so he could kiss and caress her without any need to restrain himself. He wanted to love her at his fullest, and with this new barrier between them, he knew that he couldn’t, not without risking putting her in danger. 

Sharing another loving kiss, Bakugou answered her with silent affection, which Koge took as an agreement. When their kiss parted, Koge sighed softly in happiness, an emotion that she thought had been forgotten. “I love you so much, Katsuki. I still can’t believe you came back to me… That I get to kiss you again and hear your voice. I never thought I would.” 

“I love you, too, Koge. You should rest, now…” 

“I don’t want to. You’ll be gone when I wake up.” Although she was defiant, she snuggled her body closer to him, resting comfortably. Bakugou went back to stroking her hair softly, giving a heavy sigh. 

“Yes… But just know that I’ll be back every night. Unless I have to eat...”

Koge giggled softly, already beginning to drift off. “That’s a good idea… I don’t want to become dinner….” With that, Koge found herself lost to the dark grip of unconsciousness, dreaming of her lovers smile and his hands against her skin. 

It was a disappointment, however, to wake up alone. The sun shone bright through her window, forcing a groan from her lips as she turned her head into her pillow. Though, as she shifted, she felt something in her hand, hearing it crumple against her grip. Curious, she suffered through the blinding light to look down at it, finding a piece of paper folded up in her palm. Opening it carefully, she first found her engagement ring, followed by words sprawled across the paper. They were more than just a simple message. It was proof that he had truly been there, that everything she had felt and been told wasn’t just a dream. Her lover was a being that could walk this Earth, and in that moment, she made a silent vow to never let him slip from her fingers again. 

Don’t forget this. I’ll be back tonight for my shirt.

K. 

[eternityunicorn]

Love is Madness: Part Four +18

Author: eternityunicorn 

Genre: Romance/Drama/AU

Pairing: Elijah Mikaelson x OC

Warnings: Smut (*Smut chapters marked +18)

Summary: AU of an AU: Elijah and Eternity had been lovers centuries ago, in a brief but profound love affair that ended terribly when Eternity had betrayed Elijah by choosing duty over the heart and nearly killing him along with his siblings. Now in present day, they find themselves forced together by dire circumstances that have intertwined their paths once more, but what will become of them when it becomes clear that their love for each other is still as profound now as it had been all those centuries ago?

NOTE: OC and original elements are from my up and coming novel series!

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One rainy, cool night, Elijah found himself drinking alone at Saint James, four weeks after Eternity’s visit to Marcel’s place. Gia had another engagement with Marcel and his vampires that he needn’t be involved with. He could have insisted on going with her anyway, but had decided it was for the best if he didn’t join in. He wasn’t much in the mood for a lot of company or any really, not even his family, especially with Kol and Eternity always around, acting so in love with each other.

It was too much to bear. 

Though he lived across the river, Elijah was always being summoned to the Mikealson compound to deal with family matters and to check up on Hope. Or he went for his own strange need to torture himself by bearing witness to the love affair unfolding between Kol and Eternity. Not that he ever done so intentionally per se. It was merely a side effect of going there, yet he found he couldn’t look away from the sight of them together.

In truth, the real reason why Gia was not with Elijah right then was because she had begun to sense his wound up demeanor, ever since Eternity had returned to his life with that damned premonition. It had begun to cause some tension between them on the rare occasion that the baby vampire made the journey to the compound with him and had witnessed the way he watched Eternity with Kol in that horridly pathetic longing and jealous way no doubt. He had tried to play it off as nothing when the young vampire bluntly confronted him about it, but she was wise enough to see what was going on and had gotten angry with him over the matter.

Not that Elijah could blame her for her agitation. He was still in love with the woman from his past, the very one that his little brother had snatched up for himself. Despite her betrayal, he still wanted Eternity for himself, but was too fearful and stubborn to pursue her.

The Original took another hearty drink from the bourbon he was nursing right when a flash of white caught his eye and he turned to find Eternity standing there. 

He was surprised to see her there, even as he admired her. She was stunning, dressed in a short mini dress of scarlet red and silver pumps. Her hair was put up in a stylish updo to show off the teardrop diamond earrings she wore. She had a small smile upon her rose pink lips and her eyes twinkled with slight amusement, no doubt at his appreciative staring. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked gruffly, in a borderline rude way, in an attempt to cover up his lusty feelings. “Where is my brother Kol? Surely he is accompanying you.”

“Actually I am here on my own,” answered Eternity evenly, unperturbed by his attitude. “Kol does not know I am here.”

That piqued his interest. “Why not? You two seem rather inseparable.”

She did answer immediately, coming over to lean forward against the bar top next to him. She gave a slight shrug, “Kol is sweet, but he is like Niklaus is all the wrong ways, always has been. He likes to kill indiscriminately, without thought or mercy for his victims. He’s impulsive and reckless. 

Elijah nodded in agreement. She wasn’t wrong in her assessment of his brother.

“Despite knowing that,” Eternity carried on, “I had thought maybe things had changed, maybe he had improved since last we were all together over a century ago. So I gave him a chance, since....” She trailed off, flashing him a look beneath her lashes, before she looked away again while licking her lips, “Alas, it seems nothing has changed. Though I do not know why I expected things to be different. We are talking about Kol Mikaelson after all.”

Elijah could tell there was something she wasn’t telling him, besides her near slip up regarding her hopes that he and her might get back together. He pushed that aside, not wanting to go there himself. Instead, he focused on the former verses the latter. 

“What happened?” He asked.

“I bore witness to Kol slaying an innocent human couple a few days ago,” she confessed. “It was the first time since that century and a half prior that I saw that side of him. I had thought that maybe he wasn’t the reckless, merciless monster he had been. I was wrong in thinking such things. I had attempted to stop him, to talk him down before he killed those poor people, but he played the killing off as if it were nothing, as if those lives didn’t matter. They were only food to him.”

The older Original became concerned then. The words automatically slipped out, “Did you kill him?”

Eternity scoffed, “No! Of course not! I certainly should have. He deserved death, both I’m the past and the other night, but I stayed my hand. Though, in truth, I didn’t do so for his sake.” She looked at him under her eyelashes again, this time meaningfully.

Elijah couldn’t believe what she was implying. That she hadn’t killed Kol for his reckless behavior, not out of love for his little brother, but out of love for himself.

His heart filled with bright, warm emotions he tried his damnedest to suppress at the realization. He stared at her with his mouth agape while his heart racing through his chest in excitement. He didn’t know what to say or do. He remained angry at her for her betrayal all those years ago, but he was also very much still in love with the ethereal woman. He felt his love for her outweigh his anger as he continued to stare at her at a loss for words. 

Despite this, however, he quickly found the reason for his hesitation in responding was caused by the fact that he was afraid to let her in again, to take the risk of being betrayed by her a second time. He wasn’t sure if he should allow her the chance to bring him more pain should she decide to let duty override her heart as she had in the past.

No, he couldn’t let her do that again, Elijah stubbornly decided, upon remembering the pain of that bygone era of his life.

“Well, at least, you didn’t let duty come before the heart this time,” he replied before he could even realize what he was saying, as he downed the rest of his drink. “You must really care for him, more so than you ever cared for me.”

With that, Elijah left Saint James before Eternity could respond.

He headed back to his loft apartment, knowing Gia wouldn’t be there waiting for him. No doubt she would be staying elsewhere for the time being, after their disagreement. It was just as well since he lacked the patience needed in dealing with the baby vampire. 

Once safely inside, the suave Original stood before the blazing fireplace with yet another drink in hand. He couldn’t stop thinking about Eternity, especially about the way he felt about her, despite everything. He feared letting her back in, true, but no matter how hard he tried to resist, the temptation to do so was simply too great. He knew he had been incredibly jealous by her budding relationship with Kol. He had felt possessive and easily irritated by their constant displays of fondness these past weeks. 

Hell, this was why he had said what he had before leaving the jazz club. He hadn’t meant a word of it. He knew that she had stayed her hand when dealing with Kol for himself and not whatever feelings she had for his brother. His cool words had simply been a deflection of the truth, of his desire to reclaim her for himself. 

Yes, Eternity was still very much under his skin, but he was unsure of what to do about it. He didn’t know which path to take. He was at a loss, maddened by his lack of direction in dealing with his desires for the immortal woman.

Ah, love is madness, Elijah thought to himself with bitter amusement, as he drank heartily. 

He was so lost in his thoughts that he never heard her come in.

“Elijah,” called Eternity’s sweet voice, breaking thought the madness.

Though he hadn’t expected her, he couldn’t say that he was surprised that she had followed him. Part of him had a feeling that she might, especially with how he had left things. 

Elijah didn’t turn to look at her, not sure he was strong enough to Starr into her sweet face without breaking. In fact, he didn’t dare to even speak. Any words that he might have said died before they could leave his mouth, leaving him to simply wait for her to say whatever she needed to.

“I know that I chose my duty over you and by doing so, I hurt you greatly,” she told him softly. “The truth is that ever since we parted ways, I have been doing better in finding solutions that appease my duty without sacrificing my heart in the process. I am not the same stubborn woman I was then, who refused to find a different path, who chose to think in black and white.”

Still, Elijah remained silent and ever still.

Eternity sighed, “I understand that you’re still angry with me for the past, but I didn’t spare Kol because I care about him. I mean, I do, but it wasn’t whatever fondness I have for him that caused me to hesitate, to find a different path the other night.”

That caught his attention and he turned toward her to ask, “A different path?”

“Aye,” she nodded, looking away sheepishly. “I made a deal with your brother. He promised me that he would try and be better by denying himself fresh blood, but only if I came and confessed that I’m still very much in love with you.”

Elijah didn’t understand. Why would Kol do that? Was he not in love with Eternity? Were they not together?

“I thought you and my brother were in love,” he said barely above a whisper. 

“I tried to be in love with him, and I had thought I was succeeding, but in the end, we both understood where my heart still lay,” shrugged Eternity, before she looked at him with big doe eyes that shone brightly in the firelight. 

Elijah couldn’t believe it. The words escaped him again as he stood there gazing at the immortal woman, whom despite her past transgression, still held his heart. He wanted to tell her how much he still loved her in return. However, his reservations still held him back from doing so. The need to protect himself was simply far greater than his desires.

No, he couldn’t do this again, he decided with finality.

Licking his lower lip, he schooled his face into an emotionless mask as he curtly said, “I think you should leave.”

Elijah watched as her face fell at his cool dismissal of her. He tried to not let it affect him, as he moved from the fireplace and went around her toward the front door. He made it halfway there, when her next words stopped him dead in his tracks.

“Elijah, I love you. I never stopped,” she said with great emotion. “I have lived a miserable existence without you this past century and a half, but you should know that I have done my best to atone for the mistakes that I made. I have done better when making a choice between heart and duty. Surely you can see this. Please, Elijah, do not deny this second chance at happiness. I need you. I am not whole without you. Surely you feel it too.”

That broke him.

He turned back and with a few long strides, he had Eternity wrapped in his embrace with his mouth latched onto hers passionately. He pulled her bodily against him as he plundered her mouth with his tongue, tasting her sweetness as he hadn’t in so long - too long. 

She reciprocated eagerly, running her hands through his short brown locks as he kissed her breathlessly. They moved downward over his neck, before one descended lower over his back.  

Yes, it had been too long. He needed her. Now!

Without words, Elijah lifted Eternity up so that her legs wrapped securely around his waist. He sped into a nearby support column, slamming the pale beauty into it. His tongue continued to dance in her mouth greedily and with his body holding her up, his hands freely ran over her scarlet clad form and onto the silky smoothness of her legs that were curled around him. 

“God, I want you,” he murmured lustfully against her lips, before pulling back to look at her sweet face.

Eternity groaned in response, her sapphire eyes flashing with her own desire. 

A brief pause of stillness fell between them as they gazed at each other lustfully and then his mouth was upon hers again, devouring her hungrily. All the while her hands began to claw at his clothing, practically tearing his tie from around his neck and then urgently pulling his suit jacket from his shoulders. He aided her in removing it completely by swiftly shrugging out of it, while her hands tore open his shirt. Buttons flew everywhere, but neither of them cared. 

Eternity ran her hands over the exposed skin of his chest, before pushing the ruined material off his shoulders, much like she had done with his jacket. He aided her with that too, practically tearing the fabric from his body, as he then moved to lay open mouthed kisses to her jaw and then her neck, nipping and suckling at the flesh as he went. She gasped and writhed in response, her hips rocking against him needfully.

“Please...Elijah,” she moaned as he licked along her neck upward, before capturing and suckling on her earlobe. “Please!”

Moments later, he released the lobe and pulled back to gaze at her. He smirked at how needy she seemed. Eternity’s eyes were ablaze, her chest heaved, her nails clawed at his shoulders and neck, all in want of him. She look d absolutely feral and it was enough to fill him with male pride, knowing it was he who made her this way.

Unable to resist driving her even more mad, Elijah let one hand slip between their bodies to touch her intimately between her legs. He groaned at the warm wetness that had collected there, stroking over her clit and then dipping a pair of his fingers inside her, thrusting them in and out repeatedly. He watched Eternity’s wild reaction as he alternated between stroking her clit and thrusting inside her, until the ethereal beauty was bucking wildly against him, breathlessly pleading with him to finish her.

Once he felt her walls begin to flutter around his digits did he cease and cruelly pulled away completely. He enjoyed the way she groaned in frustrated disappointment and the way the fire in her eyes increased tenfold as they locked onto his. He enjoyed the blaze of her passion very much. Then to further it, he took the fingers that had been playing between her thighs and sucked them into his own mouth to taste her sweetness, licking them clean with his eyes upon her the whole time.

“Hmm, you taste divine, Sweetheart,” he murmured, once he had successfully cleaned them of her juices.

Eternity moaned at his seduction, before she grabbed the sides of his head and pulled him to her, kissing him for all he was worth. Her tongue pried open his mouth and dove inside to taste him for a change. She moaned again at the flavor she found there, no doubt tasting herself upon his tongue as she sampled him.

While she kissed him urgently, his hands ran over her still clothed body, growling at the hindrance that kept him from her bare flesh. Immediately, to remedy the problem, Elijah took the flimsy fabric into his hands and tore the tiny mini dress cleanly in two. Tossing the scraps aside, he let his hands wander her now bare form, touching everywhere he could, including her soft breasts, while he kept her pinned to column.

Before long, the need became too much for the both of them. With vampire speed, he moved them to the large bed, where he tossed Eternity carelessly upon it. Using that same superior speed, the rest of his clothes were done away with him moving like a predator ready to devour his prey as he crawled over her fully bare. He took a moment to brush back her hair from her face, before kissing her lips tenderly. 

Elijah let his mouth wander from her lips, down her throat, over her breasts, and then down her stomach, listening to her pants and rapid heart beats all the while. He paused just at her mound, grinning at her wickedly, before ascending back up her body until he could reach her mouth. 

Eternity groaned in disappointment.

“I’ll taste you more throughly next time,” he told her playfully, as he briefly kissed her. “My need for you is simply overwhelming.”

The ethereal woman grinned and shook her head at him, before pulling Elijah closer with her legs winding around his hips tightly. She kissed him throughly, before she nudged him even closer. “Please, Elijah. I want you inside me,” she quietly begged, reaching between them to stroke his hardened length seductively. 

He needed no further encouragement. He swiftly pulled her hand from his cock, pinning it to the bed. Letting his mouth descend upon hers again, he kissed her lips passionately and then trailing them down her jaw to her neck. All the while, he moved into position, rubbing his cock over her slick heat teasingly, before he finally joined their bodies with one hard thrust. 

Eternity gasped at the intrusion which turned into a loud moan. To keep herself grounded she let her hands rake through his hair and then down his back as he wasted not a single moment in bringing them both exquisite pleasure. His thrusts were not soft and gentle. No, they were instead hard and fast, full of animalistic need as he rocked into her willing body harshly.

Elijah buried his face in her neck as he slammed into her over and over again. The hand that had pinned hers to the bed laced their fingers together as he held on. The feeling of her wet heat wrapped so tightly around him was as wonderful as he remembered. Then there was the burning sensation of her nails on the hand left free to wander as they scratched down his back, the wounds she inflicted healing immediately. The pain and the pleasure drove him on, rocking into her even harder than before until they were both thoroughly drunk on the incredible carnal high.  

It wasn’t long before Eternity was chanting his name over and over again, becoming louder and louder the higher she climbed. She began to pant with exertion as she moved with him, holding him even tighter to her as she came closer and closer to falling over the edge. 

Feeling the end nearing for himself, he started to move at an even faster pace. “Come with me, Sweetheart,” Elijah whispered to her, upon the sensation of her walls starting to flutter. “Come with me.”

His words acted like a trigger because moments later he felt her walls contract around him, squeezing him for all he was worth as she screamed in ecstasy as her orgasm took hold. Her end triggered his and his trust became erratic until he finally spilled into her with a muffled shout.

Elijah stilled and slumped onto Eternity’s body, unable to keep himself up. She took his weight without a protest, holding him closer with one hand stroking his hair. The chaotic atmosphere of animalistic eroticism gave way to one that was relaxing and peaceful in the afterglow. Her actions were full of love and caring, reminding him of all the other times she had done the same. It was as if nothing had changed.

He lifted himself up just enough to gaze down into her sweet face while Eternity stared back lovingly. He brushed back her hair and laid a chaste kiss to her lips as he did. This was paradise he realized, and upon that realization, all the bitterness and fears of the past seemed to be less significant. 

They didn’t speak in the aftermath, as there wasn’t any need. They simply held to each other, enjoying the tranquility of being reunited.

With the happiness of that thought, Elijah was ready to have the pale beauty all over again. This time, he took her slowly, with tenderness, showing the love he had always had for her...that he would always have for her.

As he moved unhurriedly, he whispered in Eternity’s ear, “I love you, Sweetheart, always and forever.”

To Be Continued....

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Tag List: @elejah-wonderland @rissyrapp20 @mikaelson-trash @dendrite-lover @inmylifeilovedthemall @elejahforever @xanderling @hawaiianohana15 @missnmikealson @phoenix-potter-bailey @lolelijahishot @x-memi12 @iamaquarius2 @echosnowflake666 @scarlettsky0998 @zillahvathek

[smhtaehyung]

when all daisies disappear🌼|| chapter 15

• masterlist

• Pairing: taehyung x OC (mental hospital au)

• Genre: angst, fluff, smut, romance

• Word count: 5.9k

• Warning: swearing, will contain themes such as suicidal thoughts,depression and mentions of physical violence. Some of the backstory for Taehyung’s character is taken from the BTS concepts during the hyyh era. If you feel uncomfortable with the topic of mental illness, I advise you not to read further.

•••

chapter 15 ➸ 38🌼

The next couple of days were troubling for the both of us. Ever since our passionate night and that awful following morning, both of us started feeling uneasy and unsure of our emotions and thoughts. Being forced to take medication made us feel even more miserable. It suddenly changed everything, catching us completely off guard. Taehyung's dosage has been upped almost twice as much as the usual, and I was forced to take all my medication because of a promise I made to Jiyu. We were too confused without the medication, let alone taking so much of it and forgetting our trail of thoughts. The nights were the worst. We would take them and the entire night would be wasted, leaving us grumpy yet numb the entire next day until another dosage. Especially nights like this one.

“Mouse.“ I tiredly spoke, noticing his sleepiness. “Hmm?“ He hummed, desperately trying to keep his eyes opened, the sleeping pills working taking a toll on him. He was sprawled out on the bed, his soft lips shut together as his head pointed to a ceiling. "Look. I put more daisies here." I spoke with a numb look on my face. Taehyung's tired out body barely moved as he listened to my words. "Baby. Look." I desperately whispered, making him turn his head towards me. He managed to slightly pry his eyes open with a strong will of his brain. "They're beautiful." He whispered, observing the vase I slid across the table near the window. I taped a few to the wall, just like Taehyung always did when he would bring fresh daisies to the room.

"Are you okay?" I softly asked, only getting a hum of reasurrement from him. "Come...here." He spoke and stretched his arm out to me. "I want to cuddle." He whispered. "You sure?" I questioned. "Let me feel you, even if I can't feel it." He spoke as his eyebrows furrowed, creating a confused face as his eyes were gently closed. He knew he was talking gibberish but couldn't stop his mind from doing so. “Ah, Mouse-” I shook my head and walked over to him. He looked so peaceful, yet in all that peacefulness there was such a reluctance that his own not drugged self tried to break through. Taehyung  somehow managed to sit up, positioning his back to lean against the cold wall. I stood by the bed on his side until he gently grabbed my arm and pulled my entire body onto him, making me straddle his lap. I slightly stiffened, trying to dig out my sober self to observe if he’s in pain. He scrunched his nose slightly, feeling some kind of discomfort for a brief second. His discomfort was soon replaced by a soft kiss he pressed onto my jawline, his lips lazily dragging themselves down my neck. I let him do what he wanted, arching my back at every touch I felt graze my skin. He stroked my bare thighs, playing with the hem of my panties. Taehyung’s hand travelled to my heat, cupping me gently. I softly removed his hand away. “Taehyung-ah. Now? Really? You’re going to fall asleep in a matter of seconds.” I spoke gently as I timidly stroked his cheek. ”Then don’t let me fall asleep.” Taehyung mumbled, guiding my hands to his crotch. “Mouse, no.” I spoke and looked down, moving my hands away from him. “What’s wrong, Ji? You know I’d touch you even if I wasn’t on my pills right now.” He spoke and continued, this time opening his tired eyes almost fully. “I don’t know why they are sedating me this much. I can touch you. Isn’t that important?” He spoke, making me look into his eyes. “I get that, but Taehyung, you’re not here to be able to touch me. There are a lot of other things that unfortunately got you stuck in here.” I explained my thoughts, slighting shifting up and down his leg. He spread his legs a bit further, making me glance at his visible bulge.

”But, I just don’t want to get sedated. It’s so fucking annoying.” He spoke as he shook his head, looking to his right as he instantly became upset. I stroked his cheek with my hand and guided his head back to look at me. He was slightly pouting, looking at me before he spoke again. “It makes me just run away from here. It gets bad, and I hate how everyone-Jimin, Hoseok, Namjoon, everyone  knows where I am.” He sighed again. "What did you talk about with Jimin and Hoseok?" I asked as I felt Taehyung stroke my upper arm. “The same stuff I talked about with Namjoon hyung. I don’t want to go back to them, Jia. It’s best if we all get separated like we did before, because it can only bring trouble.” He gently explained, trying to desperately make sense. “But, Mouse-you shouldn’t let those things bother you. You should just-” I tried to reason with him and comfort him, but Taehyung had something else in mind. “Let’s run away together-” He quickly spoke, cutting me off. widened my eyes and felt my heart jump. I slowly scooted away from him, moving down his upper thighs to the position above his knees. “Mouse, don’t speak nonsense. You’re on a lot of meds right now, and-” I tried to speak but he cut me off again. “I’m serious.” He spoke again, holding my hips so I couldn’t get away from him. “That’s ridiculous. Don’t you know what could happen if they find us? If the police find you?” I spoke up and continued, staring deeply into his eyes. “The court told you that if you don’t follow this program and try to escape this place, you might end up in prison-for for what you did. Don’t say that stuff so easily, Mouse. It’s not that simple-” I explained and moved away, escaping his grip on my hips. I tried to get off the bed, but he flipped me over, making my back hit the soft covers. He hovered over me and pressed his lips against my ear. “I can’t stand being here the entire year. Who knows when you’ll get out, too. What if you get out before me, or even worse, if you’re stuck here for many years like you already are. How can you deal with that, Ji?” he whispered and moved away from my ear as he pressed his forehead against mine.

“I’m tired of it too, Taehyung. But  how can I leave after all these years? I’m scared what’s out there. And I don’t want to get in trouble.“ I spoke, trying to avoid the intense gaze he had on me. “But you don’t have to face with your past. And I don’t have to either. We can figure it out, together. I hate seeing you stay in here for so long. So long, and it’s not helping at all.“ He spoke, his sentences slightly cut off, almost not making sense through his barely audible speech. “Taehyung. Don’t risk your freedom for such a damaging life that’s out there when we’re on the run-“ I tried to convince him it was a bad idea, feeling my breathing become quicker under him. “I’m not free.“ he cut me off, the pained expression appearing on his face. “No institution could ever help me accept what I did. I’m tortured by my own regrets. I can’t escape that, Jia-I can’t.“ He spoke in a hurtful tone, making me softly kiss his lips. “It’s better in here than in a prison, Mouse. how could you go there-“ I spoke, only to get a distracted voice once again from him. “in prison, or here - it’s all the same. Nothing won’t change the fact how I feel when everywhere feels the same with my thoughts. I even deserve prison more-“ he spoke again, but I immediately cut him off, reaching for his ear to softly press kisses and to speak. “You don’t deserve to rot in prison, Taehyung. That man ruined your life. You would have never done what you did if things were different. And if you could turn back time.“ I spoke softly, making him slightly shiver. We spent almost a full minute in silence, our soft breaths becoming synchronized as he nuzzled his head towards my cheek and lips.

“Please, Jia.“ He breathed out, making my neck tingle from his hot breath. “I don’t know Taehyung, aren’t you scared? Are you thinking this through?“ I whispered, feeling myself come apart hopelessly. “I’m so scared. But I’d rather know what’s it like to be far away from here. Far away from the pills. They’re not going to find me. And I won’t let them do anything to you. Let’s just both start somewhere new. I finally have you.” He bumbled and continued. “As long as you’re with me, I have nothing left to lose-” he softly spoke, emotions washing over both of us. “Please, baby.“ he spoke as he lazily brushed his lips against mine. “We can figure out where to go-“ He continued convincing me as my mind blanked out, focusing on my own thoughts

I always complained about this place. the way it only focused on medication and tried to desperately avoided any talk therapy, a comfort it could offer with words. Even when we would get offered to talk, the psychiatrists only focused on medication process we were forced to take to shut us up and make us feel numb as a main goal of each day. I started to give in to Taehyung's idea, somehow making more sense with every encouraging word he spoke. If I was alone, I couldn't escape this place. Having him with me might spark a new start. And why wouldn't I want to start my life? Why wouldn't I get away from everything bad that held me attached to this place? Away from family, away from a thought of Jinhwan, away from the pills and forced conversations. Being with Taehyung while getting away seemed the only hopeful thing we could cherish guilt-free. Both being scared was comforting as much as it seemed difficult and hopeless.

"Stop." I spoke and pressed my finger onto his lips, shushing him from trying to convince me. He observed me with a stunned look on his face, waiting for me to speak. "Okay, Mouse. I'll go with you." I spoke as I greedily stared into his eyes. He couldn't believe my words for a brief second. After a few long seconds, he sighed in relief and leaned in to brush his forehead against mine. His lips lazily brushed against my bottom lip, devouring it. I parted my mouth and let him deepen the kiss. "Thank you." He clingily whispered, feeling himself finally wake up. I kissed him back, parting his lips open with my tongue. He took the initiative and started kissing me using his own tongue, making me choke out a moan as his broad chest blocked my view of the opposite side of the room. "Can I touch you?" I whispered in a greedy tone, making him slowly grind himself onto me. "Yeah, please. I really want that." He spoke, trying to convince me he's okay with it. "You're not going to feel bad in the morning?" I spoke again, restraining my hands from touching him. "I won't. I know I'm slightly drugged right now, but I would reassure you that I'm fine with it even if I wasn't." He spoke and continued, pressing his saliva coated lips against my ear. "I'll tell you when it hurts - but it's becoming more enjoyable every second. It's nothing like what happened that morning a few days ago." Taehyung spoke, making me close my eyes and focus on his words. "I just wasn't in a right mindset and I wanted to ask you to run away with me that morning. I was awake the whole time while I was holding you, Jia." Taehyung sincerely spoke, making me notice the depth his voice and words reached. "Really?" I whispered, feeling his soft hair press against my lips. "I was over thinking it hard. And it made me snap. I promise I'll tell you the next time. I'm sorry I made you worried." Taehyung spoke, closing his eyes as he slowly blinked a few times. “Okay.” I whisper whilst nodding, stroking his cheeks. He eased his head into the palms of my hands, softly letting out noises that I couldn’t quite define.

I kept kissing his lips, deepening the kiss with each second passing by. He hovered over me as he brushed his crotch against my core. His hand travelled down to my upper thigh and spread it apart from my other thigh. He positioned his knee in the empty space between my legs and waited for me to grind against him. I started to rub myself onto his leg, the friction making me throw my head back into the soft pillows. I gently grabbed his neck and guided him to kiss me. His tongue immediately toyed with mine, making me submissive by his dominant technique. I moaned at the sensation once I felt him suck on my bottom lip. I did him a favour back, catching his bottom lip between my teeth too. He moaned my name out, his hands reaching down to stroke my hips. He lifted my shirt slightly up, exposing my stomach. “Mouse?” I moaned his name out, wanting to ask a question. “Hmm?” He said under his breath as his lips attached to my neck.

"Do you prefer touching, or being touched by me?" I questioned, slightly tugging at the hair on the back of his head. “Tonight, I want to be touched.” Taehyung whispered to my hair, making me wonder if that was another way of him saying he wants to feel the pain he thinks he deserves. “How do you want me to touch you?” I asked a question again, wanting to check the boundaries but also accidentally making the moment of intimacy between us even hotter than it was. “Mmmm, I really like the way you kissed the tip of my-uhm.” He spoke shyly, checking with himself if it was okay to just blurt it out or actually think about it. “Okay.” I softly giggled, grabbing him by his shirt closer to me. “Flip me over.” I spoke softly. He immediately reacted, positioning himself on one elbow and with a swoop pulled me with his other arm on top of him. I moaned once I bounced on his now hardened length, hitting my clitoris spot on. I got lost in the moment, not being able to decide whether it was the mellow high of the pills or the arousal creeping up hard on me. I started to grind onto him, the thinness of my underwear being enough to get a sensitive friction on my wet core. I looked up and closed my eyes, my hips moving in circles as his member kept rubbing hard against my clit. I opened my eyes and looked at Taehyung. He was hungrily observing me, biting down on his lip hard. “Fuck, you look so hot like that.” He spoke as he kept staring at me. He kept his arms and hands restrained, making me get myself off by just holding onto him and grinding on him like that. His dick gently twitched with every moan I let out, making the tightness in his pants feel painful. I looked down to his bottom half, noticing his painfully restricted member. “It hurts doesn’t it?” I said as I rubbed against him one more time. “A little bit-y-yeah. But keep going if you’re en-enjoying it.” He slightly grunted, his dick twitching multiple times to break free. “Just a little bit more.” I desperately whispered, feeling my panties dampen as I rubbed onto him with less force so it wouldn’t put much more pressure to his erection. “Fuck.” I spoke as I felt his hand grip my hip. He couldn’t restrain his hands anymore. I rubbed myself onto him a couple of times, making his lips let out high pitched moans. “You’re so hard, I can’t imagine how it must hurt.” I spoke, undoing his belt. I moved off of him, observing the way his face scrunched once he looked down to his painfully strained dick in his pants. “Sit on the edge.” I told him and he did so, obeying everything I said. He licked his lips and watch me crawl over to him. I moved off the bed, catching him staring at my ass. I went on my knees, my head dangerously close to his crotch. I left a kiss on his clothed length, kissing the tip that was visible through the hard fabric of his pants. “Ahh.” He moaned, immediately throwing his head back. 

“Taehyung?” I called his name out, slight unsureness in my voice. “Yeah, baby?” He let out his deep voice, his eyes completely closed. “I don’t know how to suck you-” I started talking, immediately catching his full attention. He opened his eyes and looked down to me. I sat in silence for a brief second. “I never done that. Can you guide me?” I shyly spoke, making him giggle. “You’re a natural then, the way you kiss it is amazing. I’ve never felt something like that from any girl.” He praised me, making my cheeks flush slightly. “I’ll guide you, Ji. You don’t need to worry.” He spoke and cupped my cheek, making me ease into his hand for a brief moment. I smiled and continued undoing his belt, both of our facial expressions darkening after being washed over by arousal once again. He bit his lip, loving the way of feeling my fingers so close to his big strained boner. I gently unzipped his pants, earning a slightly pained moan from Taehyung, his dick not being able to break completely free. It was painful to get it out, so I softly tugged his pants down to free his testicles and his member. I pushed the pants down his tanned thighs, making them fall to his ankles. “Ahhh.” He moaned out in relief, loving the way his thin underwear was the only thing that was restraining him. I placed kisses down his length all the way to his tip. His underwear began seeping his precum, the wet spot on his underwear making my mouth water. “Take them off, please.” He desperately moaned, letting his head fall back. 

He slightly lifted himself up, letting me slide his underwear down to his ankles too. He moaned at the feeling of sudden freedom. I leaned in closer to him, noticing he was already twitching by a lack of touch. I pressed my lips against the tip of his erected penis, immediately dragging a sensitive moan out of him. I started kissing on his tip like I would kiss his mouth, making him stroke my hair as he whispered profanities. “Fuck, baby.“ He whispered in an accent, making me clench my thighs together. I continued kissing his tip and around it, loving the feeling of his dick pressed against my lips. He continued to moan out, all sensitive under my touch and my lips. He opened his eyes and looked down to me, completely loving the sight. “Lick it, please.“ He pleaded, running his fingers through my hair and taking a grip of the hair on the back of my hair. I did as he told me and began leaving long licks against his tip and up and down his length. “Yeah, just like that.“ He moaned, shutting his eyes out of pleasure. “Now move u-up and lick fast on my tip.“ He sad whilst biting his lip, helping by guiding my head to the tip of his penis. I immediately started to kitten lick his tip, making his hips move up and his voice let out uncontrollable moans. I closed my eyes and let myself fall under that erotic moment completely. “N-now suck the tip bit.“ He spoke, losing all of his shyness. I did as he told me, taking the tip in my mouth and sucking onto it like I would a lollipop. “Jia.“ He moaned, lifting his hips up as his length started to go down my throat. “Take it in and suck it with your pretty mouth up and down.“ He spoke dirtily, making my hand sneak to my throbbing clit. I massaged it for a little bit, desperate to feel some friction. “You’re so fucking hot.“ He spoke, biting his lip as he moved his hips on purpose to hit the back of my throat. I took his entire length in and started off sucking him with a steady pace, trying to take him as deep as I could. “You’re so good.” He praised me, making me bob on him even more. “Use your hand and stroke me.“ He spoke, making me remove the hand from my clothed clit to his saliva and precum coated member. I started to stroke the base and shaft of his dick up and down, my hand softly bumping into my drooled chin as I did so. 

"O-Oh." He moaned out, feeling bliss as he blankly stared up to the ceiling. "Harder. Faster-I-I think I'm close." He mumbled, desperate to move his hips. I upped the pace completely, making him only more aroused as he saw me gag on his dick, my hand desperately stroking him. He guided me by my hair down to take him even deeper. He started to move his hips up, face fucking me. I moaned at the sensation, my mouth completely full. His movements sped up, but I had in mind another way to make him cum. I moved away, making him groan and look at me confusedly from a sudden lack of contact. "I'm so close, don't stop." He desperately moaned, trying to move his dick to brush against my mouth. "I know how I want to make you cum." I spoke and moved my attention back to him. Mouse raised his eyebrow at me. "Yeah?" He questioned my sudden lead and independence. I gripped his thighs so he couldn't move. I started attacking his tip with kitten-licks, catching him completely unready. He began moaning uncontrollably, biting down on his lip so that he wouldn't be too loud. "Don't stop." He spoke whilst he rested his head back, wanting to push his length inside of my mouth, but I made him sensitive even more by licking and kissing his tip like that. One final long lick was enough for him as his erected penis twitched, causing his entire body to clench as he shot his seed to the back of my tongue. He shut his eyes as his orgasm washed over him. He blankly looked back to the ceiling and down to me, observing the way I swallowed all of his semen. He licked his lips and stroked my cheek, observing me with admiration from above.

His sweaty forehead made some of his hairs stuck together and some of the sweat on his chest was stuck to his white shirt. I couldn't escape the focus from the fire pit in my stomach, the knot of arousal making me greedy for a touch. I started to rub my thighs together, making Taehyung instantly notice. "How do you want me to help you with that?" He seductively spoke, pulling me in for a kiss. I stood up and straddled his lap. Taehyung took off his shirt from feeling the hot wave from his orgasm wash over him. "You want me to use my hands that you adore so much? Hmm?" He spoke, quite harshly biting down on my neck. "Yeah." I moaned as I arched my back and accidentally felt my clit brush against his firm thigh. Taehyung flipped me over and let my head fall onto his pillow. He immediately spread my thighs apart, not wanting to tease me. He pulled my t-shirt up, slightly stiffening from feeling my skin, but as soon as his hands found my bare breasts, he squeezed them with ease. "Ahh, Mouse." I moaned, feeling my nipples harden under his fingers. I pulled my t-shirt of and let my back hit the soft bed again. He moaned upon seeing my pale naked body like that, licking his lips as he went down to slide my underwear off. He pulled them off with ease, his fingers brushing against my inner thighs. When he went back up to kiss me, I noticed his newly hardened length, poking the side of my thigh. "Fuck you're hard already?" I moaned out, feeling his lips part and sloppily kiss me. He giggled and let his fingers trail down my abdomen and all the way to my slit. He positioned himself on his elbow and observed my dripping pussy that desperately thrived for contact. He started to press slow and wide circles around my clit, making me arch my back from the sensitivity. Every time I arched my back, Taehyung would lean to my right breast and licked, kissed and gently bit my hardened nipple, making me moan at the tingling sensation.

I started to grind onto his hand, motioning for him to go faster. He moved his long fingers to my entrance and slipped his middle and ring finger in, immediately curling them. I moaned loudly as I didn't expect him to immediately finger fuck me. I glanced down to his hardened member, making me bite my lip. "You want me to help you?" I giggled, making him immediately moan. Without a thought, I wrapped my fingers around his big member, stroking him fast. He moaned my name out and slipped his fingers in and out, moving to my clit and then back to my hole, making me shut my mouth to not moan loudly. I felt my stomach clench and my clit become sensitive once I felt my climax approaching. I stroked him fast, the sloppy sounds from the both of us echo through the room. I slightly clenched my grip once his pretty fingers circled inside of me, hitting my g-spot. He moaned and started to fuck himself into m hand. "M-Mouse, I'm close." I whispered in a stutter and began grinding myself onto his pretty hand. "M-Me too, ahh." He moved his fingers to my clit and began rubbing fast and harsh circles, making me squirm under his hand. His lips moved to my neck, licking and kissing the soft flesh. I threw my head back and held him by his hair as I kept moaning his name out. The sensitivity took over his body completely, making him reach his 2nd orgasm. "Ahh-I'm cumming." He moaned out and shut his eyes. Not wanting to lose his focus on me, he sped up his hand, not letting his orgasm slow him down. I observed his pretty face as he bit his lip, cumming for the 2nd time. His semen spilled onto my thigh, his penis becoming limp from his orgasm. His sweaty golden skin immediately caught my attention, as well as his fucked out face.

My moans quickened and Taehyung rubbed me even faster, knowing I'm almost reaching my orgasm. I grinded onto his hand hard, observing his desperate need to make me cum. I lifted my hips up and stiffened as I shut my eyes tightly. With one last moan of his name, I felt my orgasm wash over me. I gripped the strands of his soft hair that I kept safe in my fingers. I opened my eyes after feeling the bliss, slowly moving my hips in circles. His eyes moved to look at me, loving the way I looked so blissful and blank. He moved his hand from my heat and cupped my cheek, kissing me softly. I calmed down and observed him in admiration, completely getting lost in his facial features. I covered the both of us and turned towards him, focusing on his lips. "Mouse." I whispered, trying to get his full attention. "Hmm?" He raised the tone into a question as he took one of his tissues and cleaned the cum that got stuck to my thigh. He cleaned his hands too as he stared into my eyes. "We're really doing that? We're running away?" I asked, trying to lose myself in his wandering eyes. He stared into my eyes as he discarded the tissue to the bin beside his bed. “Yeah.” he softly spoke, smiling to himself. “It’s going to be alright, right?” I asked, desperate to find confidence in his voice. “Let me worry about it, Ji. It’s going to be great.” He spoke and cupped my cheek, pressing his lips onto mine. I nodded and eased into his touch. he observed me for a few seconds before I spoke again. “Do you want those cuddle now? I mean-that was the whole purpose of this before we fooled around.” I giggled, making his boxy smile appear across his face. “I’d love that.” He spoke and before I could make sure he was okay with it, he cut me off by placing his fingers onto my lips. “I’m sure.” He whispered and replaced his fingers with his lips onto mine. He pulled me in for a hug as he held his breath slightly, his orgasm slightly sobering him up from the mellow high of the pills.

He laid on his back and let me nuzzle my head close to his heart. My hair brushed against his shoulder and his fingers sneaked their way to play with my fingers that rested on his stomach. I felt his heartbeat slightly speed up, his soft and thin flesh not able to block out the noise of his loving and loud heart beat. He let me cuddle close to him, our bare bodies pressed together. He breathed in and out, feeling himself completely calm down. I smiled upon feeling him relax, both of us closing our eyes. “Jia?” He whispered my name in that intimate moment we shared. “Yeah?” I sightly opened my eyes, letting him speak. “Read your letters to me.“ He spoke, making me look into his eyes. “You’re really curious about them, aren’t you?” I spoke, making him giggle. “Did you read any of them?” He questioned, making me immediately answer “67.” I answered as he widened his eyes.

I wish I could tell him I remember what each letter said and who wrote it, but the state of my medicated self for these past few days was stopping me to remember and to understand every single word written on those papers. I only remembered some details. Some details like my little sister’s drawing of a really weird looking dragon, that for a 10 year old really looks impressive. I remember the beautiful handwriting of Jinhwan’s mother as she kept telling me how lovely Jinhwan talked about me. I remember some of my mother’s words full of  desperate hope that I would be reading her letters. And I felt really bad for reading them years later. But through those details, I got to know many things. My father got promoted on his job about two years ago and they prepared him a surprise party. They also got a dog about three months ago, and named it Ji in honouring me. Being medicated, I slightly took offence that they named a dog after me, but felt at peace once realising how beautiful the thought behind it actually was. I found out my mother opened a tailoring shop, something she always wanted. I even found out some of my friends got drunken tattoos and that some of them still help my family out and hang out with them like they used to when we were kids. Some of my cousins even learned a useful life lesson to pay their parking tickets as they almost ended up in jail. Firstly, to me it was surprising they owned cars, remembering the small kids my age that I couldn’t quite picture how they look like all grow up now. And of course, I remember the crumpled daisies in my pockets that I kept storing at after pulling them out of the envelopes. I found extra daisies in the family box, letters softly pressed onto them.

“You’re a fast reader.“ He spoke whilst stroking my hair. I giggled and moved from his warm body to reach for my nightstand. I took a few letters in my hands and crawled back to Taehyung, loving the way his warmth was brought back to me. “68.“ He spoke whilst I was opening a letter from my aunt. He closed his eyes and began listening to every word I read out. This letter was one of the most recent ones, and the shortest ones that talked about how even my auntie and uncle met the new puppy as a part of the family. They all gathered at the house for my mother’s birthday, and wished really hard that I would come home soon. “You’re still my favourite Ji.“ I read out the last sentence out loud, slightly giggling to myself at the thought of naming the dog after me. Taehyung chuckled too, making me feel vibrations of his chest hit my ear. He took the daisy out of the envelope and brushed it against my nose, making me giggle. “Next one?” I asked, making him instantly nod. I took another letter and gently opened the pastel blue envelope, that one being from one of my cousins. “69.” Taehyung counted and immediately chuckled in a dirty manner. I looked up to his eyes and rolled my eyes. “Ahh, why are you like that?” I playfully asked, shaking my head at his dirty thoughts. He pressed a kiss onto the top of my head and listened to my reading once again.

I began reading, getting lost in those words that after many years made me homesick. Taehyung listened carefully, both of us relaxing by the soft sounds of my words that filled the entire room. I read for a long time, crossing the 100 count of the letters that entire night. He loved hearing about my past and how lovely it all seemed. In a way, it helped him escape his own troubled past and wondered why I was desperately running away from mine. As I finished the 103rd letter, painfully discarding most of withered daisies beside us, I felt his soft breathing against my forehead and his chest moving up and down as he was slowly falling asleep. I started to drift off to sleep too, loving the way Taehyung was completely relaxed as he held me in his arms.

I felt myself entering a new world this intimate night. It didn’t take me long to fall asleep onto his caring heart, the sound of it beating helping me enter into a deep sleep. I found myself being aware I was dreaming as I vividly dreamed about Taehyung in some kind of a garden. He was in all black, something that never happened before my eyes. He was sitting in a corner of a colourful room. The room was filled with flowers, mostly roses. It made me wonder why there weren’t many daisies, but as I walked towards his figure I observed his hands that caressed the water and flowers in front of him. Then, a sunlight hit his face, making him glow and sink in the rays into his pretty tanned skin. All of that vivid scenery made me think of him as a human flower. A flower that was so fragile. A flower that was the most beautiful flower there amongst other plants. a lovely flower that loved the sun rays and caressed the water with his hands as petals.

part 16

[553butterfly553]

Another Girl From The Well-Sesshomarux OC 5

Their journey was going well. Kirai had finally gotten a good grip on riding on Ah-Un, Rin's attitude was never better and there were no demons bothering them at all. Even Sesshomaru and Jaken seemed to be in a good mood, well as good of a mood as they could ever be. Well, that was until night fell and they set up camp. Then, a seemingly stray demon wandered into their little camp. It was a giant ogre looking demon who seemed to be friendly... until he looked over at Kirai. “You bitch, how dare you still be alive after all these years!” The demon yelled and began to charge at the young girl. “Wh...What?” Kirai was freaked out and frozen as the demon came at her and Rin who was right by her side. Both girls were sitting on Ah-Un and were knocked backward by the demon. Kirai wrapped her arms around Rin, protecting her from the fall. However, with nothing protecting the other woman, she hit her head on the ground, hard. A moment later, Sesshomaru took the demon down with little to no effort at all using his sword, Bakusaiga. “I just want revenge for my brother that you and your damned sister murdered!” The demon called out as he disintegrated, fading away as if he was never there at all. With the demon taken care of, Jaken made his way around the dragon to see if the girls were alright. “Kirai, wake up!” Rin called out, shaking the now unconscious Kirai. It took a few minutes, but eventually, the woman woke up and sat up dizzily. “What the hell... My head feels all fuzzy.” Kirai grumbled as she stood up a little shakily. Rin helped support her to ensure the girl didn't fall down and get even more hurt. “Are you alright Kirai?” “My head hurts, but I'm okay. My head feels a little scattered though.” “Stupid human,” Jaken grumbled as he returned to his original position. Sesshomaru looked at Kirai for a few moments before turning around an returning to his original position. His original position was him sitting down and leaning against a tree near the fire. “Are you sure you're okay? You hit your head pretty hard.” Rin was still clearly very worried about her friend. However, Kirai did not respond. She had her hands on her head and a grimace of pain on her face. “Ow, what the hell...” Kirai swayed and collapsed to her knees. The world around her seemed to fade as memories began to play in her mind. They were broken memories and out of order, but they were enough. Kirai saw Safaia in her memories, but they were memories that she didn't make recently. They were memories from long ago. Along with Safaia, that demon and his brother were among the memories. It all happened so quick, the next thing Kirai knew, Rin was shaking her again and was calling her name. “Kirai! Kirai!?” Rin was freaking out now. Panic was rising in the girl, but thankfully Kirai looked up at the young girl and seemed to be in pain, but alright otherwise. “I remember things. Things that I shouldn't be remembering from this world even though I'm supposedly from the world Kagome was from.” Kirai explained when she found the strength to talk. “Are you alright girl?” Sesshomaru called out, surprising both Rin and Kirai. “Yes, I think I am. I'm just a little confused is all.” Kirai was shocked but thankful for Sesshomaru's concern if that's what he was asking due to. “Explain what is going on with you, you stupid human. Don't worry us!” Jaken snapped, looking actually concerned for once. “I think I'm remembering my past, but my past was here in this world.” “What do you mean?” Rin questioned as she sat down next to Kirai. “How about I sleep on it and see if any other memories come back, then I'll explain it to everyone?” “That sounds good.” Rin smiled and got out a blanket. “Come on then, it's time for bed anyway. Let's sleep against Ah-Un. He'll keep us warm especially with this blanket.” “Alright then.” The two girls snuggled up against the dragon demon and got comfy under the blanket. Within minutes, the two girls were asleep. ~ That night, many more memories of Kirai's returned. She finally got the truth she was looking for. “Alright, I think I can explain my theory on my life now.” Kirai began as she ate her breakfast. “Is it going to be a long story? I don't really like long stories.” Rin muttered between bites of her breakfast. “Oh hush child. Let the woman explain her story.” Jaken snapped at the young girl. He seemed to be interested in listening to the story for some reason. “Well, I think I actually come from this era, but I think I fell into the well at some point and was transported to the future. I might have joined with my future self or something like that, which caused my memories to become all scattered or something.” Kirai began to speak after she was done with her food. “I think I'm a powerful witch and that girl, Safaia, that Rin and I met, I think she's my sister and I'm the girl she was talking about who disappeared.” “I see. So that means we need to take you back up to the mountains where Safaia is. She needs to know about your truth. She needs to know her sister is still alive and that you are her sister.” “How do you know for sure that those memories are memories and not something your brain made up?” It was Sesshomaru who finally spoke up with the question. “Well, I think that these are actually memories. They give me a feeling of truth and not something made up. I just feel that these are my memories.” “Hmm.” “Lord Sesshomaru, can we head towards the mountains so Kirai can be reunited with her sister?” Rin questioned happily and eagerly. “Why should we go out of our way for a human?!” Jaken snapped angrily as he waved his staff around. “Enough, Jaken.” That was all Sesshomaru said, but to Rin, it was a yes so she began to cheer. “We'll get to see Safaia again. Isn't that great? She was so nice to us.” “I guess she was. A little scary and crazy though.” “We should find a crystal to bring her as a present. Let's go look now.” With that, Rin hopped up and pulled Kirai along with her before running off into the forest. “You two girls need to not just run off like that!” Jaken yelled after them as he got up and ran after them as well. Looking for a rock wasn't something Kirai had wanted to deal with, so she ended up making an excuse and headed back to Sesshomaru. Once she was back at camp, she realized Sesshomaru was looking over at her. “Is something the matter, Lord Sesshomaru?” Kirai questioned calmly, even though she was freaking out on the inside. “Your sword. Do you wish to learn how to properly wield it?” Sesshomaru questioned as he stood up. “I would like to. Will you teach me?” “Who else, but I to teach you?” “I guess you are the only one here who uses a sword, other than me.” “Draw your sword, girl. Let me see what abilities you currently have.” He drew his sword as she spoke, making Kirai pick up her sword quickly and pull it out as well. “Abilities I have currently? Well, that'll be flailing around and panicking. Somehow I don't think I'll do too well against you, but please don't kill me.” “We shall see.” With that, the two began their fight. Sesshomaru made a move first, forcing Kirai to panic and just blindly swing her sword. She managed to block a few of Sesshomaru's swings, but eventually, she couldn't block him and got knocked backward, nearly losing her balance, finally ending the match. “You have much to learn.” That was all the demon said as he turned away from Kirai. “Will you teach me?” “I have a feeling you already know how to use a sword, you just have forgotten.” “Oh, well I guess that's possible, but until I remember, maybe you should teach me. So I can protect myself and Rin better. That's a good idea, right?” “Hmm.” Kirai wasn't sure whether to take that as a yes or no, but for now, she'd let it go. Rin and Jaken had reappeared with a few stones in their hands, so clearly it was time for Sesshomaru to return to being silent and back to his usual self. “What were you and Lord Sesshomaru doing?” Rin questioned as she looked around to see that Sesshomaru was standing near Kirai. “Talking about swords.” Kirai simply spoke as she sheathed her sword. Sesshomaru already had done so with Bakusaiga. “I see...” Rin clearly wasn't interested in it at all. She just put the stones she and Jaken had in her bag and then turned back to the others. “So, we'll be heading to the mountains next, right Lord Sesshomaru?” “Yes.” Came Sesshomaru's simple response. With that, he began to walk off in the direction of the mountains where Safaia lives. Kirai and Rin quickly climbed up on Ah-Un, but before they could get situated, the ground beneath them began to shake. Kirai was thrown off the dragon demon, right into the arms of Sesshomaru. She was surprised he'd caught her but before she could get out of his arms, black smoke appeared all around the whole group. “What's going on?” Kirai asked as Sesshomaru finally set her down on the ground. “Witches and demons are attacking us.” He sounded calm, but Kirai could tell he wasn't at all. Before anyone could do anything else, the smoke cleared. There where Rin, Jaken, and Ah-Un originally were, was nothingness.  

[nefertiti22002blog]

Fanfiction writer asks

@criminal-minds-fanfiction​ sent out an epic set of 50 questions under this title. (Thank you!) It took awhile, but these were excellent questions, and I enjoyed answering them. (I just reblogged them without answers, in case any of you want to have a go.)

I don’t expect many will want to read all 50 answers, but people who have recently started following me might be interested in the fics I write in the Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell fandom (and even those I used to write in the Lord of the Rings fandom).

Fanfiction Writer Asks

Most of the writer ask posts I come across are only like ten or so questions long so I thought I’d try to make a longer one because we like talking about our writing! Feel free to reblog!

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fanfiction?

52, still going at 68

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favourite if you write for more than one?

Started out in The Lord of the Rings, writing Gandalf slash. (My fics are available on my old website, “Meddling in the Affairs of Wizards.” Haven’t had time to add them to AO3 yet.) After a seven-year pause, got started again by the Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell tv series, after having been a fan of the book for seven years. (Those fics are all on AO3.)

3) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.

I have written OCs, but only if they fit into canon, which I try to stick to as much as possible in most cases. (I had to look up “reader inserts.” Never done one.)

4) What is your favourite genre to write for?

Given my two fandoms, it must be fantasy.

5) If you had to choose a favourite out of all of your multi chaptered stories, which would it be and why?

I suppose it would be “From the Ashes a Fire,” a Gandalf/Aragorn romance. I tried to pair Gandalf with as many different guys from the novel as possible, but Aragorn always seemed to most logical lover for the wizard. I think most of my fics up to that point had been practice for that one.

6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

“Service at the Prancing Pony,” which pairs Gandalf and Bob. (Yes, there is a Bob in LOTR.) It was only my second fic, and it’s pretty trivial.

7) When is your preferred time to write?

Evening.

8) Where do you take your inspiration from?

The challenge of figuring out a fic with explicit content (usually) and keep it true to the original source novel.

9) In your xxx fic, what’s your favourite scene that you wrote?

“Thrice Returned” is a multi-chapter novel pairing Gandalf and Frodo. My favorite scene is when Frodo wakes up in Ithilien after the Ring is destroyed and discovers that Gandalf is alive. I always felt that Tolkien should have shown that scene, but he skips over it. Of course, my version is more romantic, which is partly why I like it.

10) In your xxx fic, why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternative ending in mind?

I don’t recall ever having an alternative ending for a fic in mind. My funniest ending, I think, is in “Mr Norrell’s Breeches.” I had no idea how I was going to end it, and inspiration struck just as I got to the ending. (Usually I know how the story will end, sometimes down to the last exchange of dialogue.)

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?

Yes. In Chapter 8 of “Two Masters in the Darkness” Norrell and Strange summon the new King of Lost-hope (to call it by its old name). I referred to the King as King Stephen, but as one reader pointed out, he wasn’t using that name after the death of the gentleman with the thistle-down hair. I amended the story to be more consistent with that premise.

12) Who is your favourite character to write for? Why?

It was Gandalf for six years, until I ran out of inspiration. (I just COULD NOT find a way to pair him with Sam.) Since I started writing JS&MN, it has been Mr Norrell. Although I write book-canon, I imagine my Mr Norrell as he is played by Eddie Marsan, who brings such warmth and empathy (and cuteness!) to the role, despite the fact that the screenwriter made him such an inconsistent character. (If he can do the fantastic York Minster magic, why can he not do sea beacons? And so on and on.)

13) Who is your least favourite character to write for? Why?

Generally I don’t write for characters I don’t enjoy. Lady Pole was the hardest; I only did her once.

14) How did you come up with the title for the xxx? - You can ask about multiple stories.

Often I do variations on quotations from the book. My favorite title of my own is “One Spell not to discover what My Friend Is doing Presently,” where Mr Strange speaks harshly to Mr Norrell, who casts a spell to make them invisible to each other. I loved writing the farce that resulted.

15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names?

I generally do a search for Regency-era names, as with the Misses Whitworth and Bastable in “Mr Norrell, ladies’ man.”

16) How did you come up with the idea for xxx?

Often I rely on prompts, but I came up with the idea for “Stark Staring” on my own. It started with a simple premise, that Mr Norrell would get a little tipsy and cast a spell that would allow him (but no one else) to see Mr Strange unclothed. I thought it a pretty feeble idea, but it worked out very well.

17) Post a line from a WIP that you’re working on.

From a fic with the premise that Mr Norrell is (of course) secretly in love with Mr Strange and highly distracted by his pupil’s habit of pursing his lips when he is concentrating on his work. He inadvertently lets slip some indications of his desire when the two are close together looking for a book in the library: “Mr Strange had not failed to notice the man’s gaze directed at his mouth and the faint whimper and the subsequent slight confusion and the heavy breathing and the mere pretense of examining the books when instead Mr Norrell was staring into space and blushing furiously.”

18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

Nothing that I carried on beyond a few paragraphs. Just couldn’t find the inspiration to go on.

19) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to?

I would love to continue my “Jonathan Strange ♥ Mr Norrell” series by taking the two magicians on one of the adventures that are only hinted at at the very end of the novel. I’ve gone so far as to set them up as planning to go to Egypt, but I have not had the time to do the necessary research to figure out a plausible evil spell for them to save someone from. Maybe someday, but I doubt it.

20) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently?

No.

21) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?

I am very fond of the JS&MN fics by Predatrix. She also writes Norrell, pairing him with Childermass most often but also with Strange. She sticks less to book-canon than I do, but she has a great imagination when it comes to thinking up magic for the characters to do. I have not got that talent and usually derive the magic, when necessary, from Clarke’s book.

22) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it?

Not really.

23) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence?

Either way. As long as I’m not listening to vocal music with English lyrics, I don’t get distracted.

24) How do you feel about writing smutty scenes?

Love ‘em, though I have written so many by now, and for the same characters, that I kind of dread them.

25) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story?

Yes. At the parting (inevitable) of Gandalf and Aragorn at the end of “From the Ashes a Fire” and at the letter Childermass writes to Norrell in Chapter 9, the end of “Two Masters in the Darkness,” after he has been separated from Norrel by the Darkness. Even though my main pairing if Norrell/Strange, I loved writing the relationship between Childermass and Norrell in “Master and Man” and its consequences in “Two Master in the Darkness.”

26) Which part of your xxx fic was the hardest to write?

I did an AU version of “Thrice Returned” (the Gandalf/Frodo epic) where instead of being killed by the Balrog, Gandalf survived and went with Frodo and Sam (and Gollum) to Mordor. Figuring out what effects that would have on the rest of the book’s plot was a killer, but I struggled through it and came up with something that someone manages to be sort of book-canon and yet AU at the same time.

27) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow?

Sometimes I do an outline for the multi-chapter fics. Not for the one-offs. In doing “Jonathan Strange ♥ Mr Norrell,” I had to do an elaborate chart with a chronology of all the things that happened to the two in the Darkness, since I wanted it to be absolute book-canon despite involving events in the final chapter that Clarke barely hints at. The chronology (when was Norrell born? 1765 in my head-canon) is the hardest part, since Clarke is so clear about hers.

28) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fanfiction?

More of the conventions. I just saw a prompt on Library of Moria requesting a Gandalf/Pippin fic, as if it would be something hard! I saw how to do it right away and just launched in.

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

I think “The Toasts of Venice,” a sequel to “Jonathan Strange ♥ Mr Norrell” that takes the two magicians to Venice immediately after the last scene in the book, is pretty darn good, but for some reason it got far fewer hits (averaging by chapter) than the original. It has an amusing scene of Strange trying to get Norrell to be a bit less shy about going out of Hurtfew by taking him to a sweets shop.

30) In contrast to 29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?

I’m rather surprised that “A Book with a Strange Spell upon It” gets more hits than most of my other one-offs, some of which I think are better. But it’s a good story, so the disparity if not odd enough to make me roll my eyes, even a little.

31) Send me a fic recommendation and I’ll post it for my followers to see! (The asker is to send the rec not the answerer)

Having plugged Predatrix’s work already, I’ll say “The Perils of Being a Virgin in Faerie (Together with a Solution Thereto)” by Nothingshire. An excellent premise—that Mr Norrell’s virginity makes him an attractive kidnapping target for Fairies—with delightful humor and genuine affection between the two magicians.

32) Are any of your characters based on real people?

Not apart from the ones in JS&MN that Clarke based on real people.

33) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten?

So hard to pick, but I really appreciated one I got for my series “Jonathan Stolen & Mr Norrell.” The premise is that after a few years in the Darkness, Jonathan attracts the attention of a beautiful lady fairy who kidnaps him, and Mr Norrell has to get up the courage to rescue him. I was a bit trepidatious about writing a Fairy character, especially given my lack of imagination when it comes to writing magic. But I gave it a try, and one reader made me confident that I had succeeded: “I love Lady Turn-of-Tide! You've pinned down the character of Clarke's fairies exactly: capricious, self-centred, vain, generous and cruel all at once, and utterly incapable of seeing humans as anything but cute playthings. As Strange says, she's a good sort (for a fairy), but I know I wouldn't want to meet her! She was a lot of fun to read about, though.” Yay!

34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

There was a troll on tumblr who was lambasting those of us who write really explicit stuff about JS&MN characters. She or he was denouncing a group of us (specifically by our pseudonyms) for ruining Mr Norrell and the others. As if anyone was forcing her/him to read the stuff! Fortunately the fandom sprang to our defense, and I actually got more hits than usual on my latest Norrell fic, “Stark Staring.”

35) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest?

I’ve run some stories past Predatrix and even collaborated with her, and I’ve done that with past betas.

36) Can you give us a spoiler for one of your WIP’s?

I only have one, which I quoted above. It is based on a prompt that requests that Norrell be the top in the sex scene, for a change. That goes against my head-canon, but I shall do my best.

37) What’s the funniest story you’ve written?

Hard to choose, but I guess I would say “The Epic Battle over Mr Norrell,” where Childermass and Lascelles both want Norrell sexually, for different reasons, and they decide to have a contest demonstrating their various skills for a delighted but increasingly frustrated Mr Norrell (since of course they have to start over at each stage of the contest without him coming). Guess who wins!

38) If you could collab with any other writer on here, who would it be? (Perhaps this question will inspire some collabs!) If you’re shy, don’t tag the blog, just name it.

I’ve collaborated with Predatrix, but the sort of stuff we write requires very similar tastes, and I doubt I would find anyone else.

39) Do you prefer first, second or third person?

Definitely third, though I have done some first person in letters within the fics.

40) Do people know you write fanfiction?

Only people online.

41) What’s your favourite minor character you’ve written?

I don’t know whether he counts as minor, but I have built up Mr Norrell’s servant Lucas into a fairly major figure in my “Jonathan Strange ♥ Mr Norrell” fics. He agrees to return to Hurtfew, even in the Darkness (as do some other servants), and he works his way up to essentially replacing Childermass as Norrell and Strange’s Man of Business. I quite like him as a character.

42) Song fic - What made you decide to use the song xxx for xxx.

I’ve never done one.

43) Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it?

Not that I know of.

44) What is the last line you wrote?

I added this to the WIP quoted above, in 17: “The exchange of Jeremy’s Tott’s little monograph, ENGLISH MAGIC, for its mirror had been a thrilling revelation that there was a second genuine practical magician in England.”

45) What spurs you on during the writing process?

Like Tolkien, I write what I would like to read. I am a professional writer and love dealing with the English language. It’s fun, and I love reading the results.

46) I really loved your xxx fic. If you were ever to do a sequel, what do you think might happen in it?

See number 19.

47) Here’s a fic title - insert a made up title. What would this story be about?

I fear I cannot come up with a title before starting to write the fic.

48) What’s your favourite trope to write?

Basically my Norrell/Strange fics are based around the idea that Norrell, who in the book is so boring and dry and selfish, becomes a different person when he’s with Strange. More lively, talkative, and even passionate. That makes writing about these two when they’re finally reunited in the Darkness is such fun. Norrell is transformed into a fascinating character.

49) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about?

It was called “No Windows,” and it was a LOTR AU in which Gandalf seizes the Ring because he loves Frodo and wants to spare him the agony of carrying the Ring—and naturally he’s corrupted by it. It was a terrific story, but unfortunately the author apparently withdrew from the fandom and deleted the fic. I was lucky to have started with such an excellent fic, since it made me go on and read more and then start writing.

50) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

I would say smut, since virtually all of what I’ve written has included very explicit scenes. But I’ve also enjoyed working out the other scenes and making them book-canon. I think I would choose fluff if I could only do one, since I enjoy writing comedy and farce.

[speedybaeandbirdiebae]

The assignment (Pietro x OC)

This is a short story idea I had in my head for a few days since I am currently in the process of developing Cadence’s relationship with Pietro. I really wanted to make a story about how they met. I am hoping that I kept everyone in character and the idea of a vulnerable Pietro is kind of cute in my eyes. 

Warnings: None

Pairings: Pietro x Cadence Wilson (OC)

Words: 2,870

           Cadence remembered the day she met the man she knew that she’d love forever. It wasn’t as if she had expected to find love at her job nor did she have the courage to even mention it to her brother. It’d be weird for him to understand her sudden love for what essentially was a dead man. She remembered the day they brought him in, it was hours after the battle in Sokovia. The helicarrier landed and she saw Hawkeye running into the SHIELD hospital carrying a body. It wasn’t a civilian but rather a newly initiated member of the Avengers team. She could tell the archer was worried as he screamed for medics before finally laying the dead man on the table with care.

           For a moment she wasn’t sure what to do, one-minute Cadence was heading to Director Fury’s office with some files and then the next she was standing outside a room watching as the doctors worked on saving the life of the fallen hero. She found herself standing outside the door next to Hawkeye, not saying a word but silently praying with him for the young man’s recovery. It wasn’t as if there was anything the two could do about it nor could they say anything more than a few words that were either a prayer or in Hawkeye’s case berating himself for getting caught by a machine called Ultra or Ultron or whatever it was called.

           Shaking her head Cadence once again went to the small window and made out the doctors trying to wake the young man.  However, it was all over when she saw them cover his face with a white sheet and doctors looking down in sadness. They had done all they could and weren’t able to save the fallen hero. Looking over her shoulder Cadence saw Hawkeye sitting on the bench, his head against the wall, and his hand covering his eyes. She wasn’t sure if he was shedding tears or praying but she knew he’d probably shed tears once the doctors came out to tell him of the loss.

           Walking back to the window Cadence looked in and saw the doctors talking amongst one another before she saw them wheel in a large crate? Or was it casket made for members of the Avengers?  She made out the faint outline of three doctors lifting the young man’s body and placing him inside the casket-like item. She raised an eyebrow and saw them close it before pressing buttons. What was that thing? Were they going to send it into space or something?

           Giving a soft sigh she went over to where Hawkeye sat and looked at him as she put her arms around his shoulders and hugged him close. She could feel him shaking and her shirt become wet. The archer was crying as he already knew that his comrade had died.

~A week later~

           “Sam, I’m going to work now,” Cadence called out to her brother Sam Wilson as she stopped outside the bedroom that belonged to him. “I’ll be home late since I want to stop at that new restaurant near Stark Tower, apparently Tony recommended it to me.”

           Sam Wilson better known as Falcon opened his door and looked down at his younger sister with a small smile. He placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair. “Have a good day Candi.”

           “First of all, Sam, call me Cadence when I am here, and second please stop messing up my hair, it took me two hours to get it the way I liked it.” Cadence moved his hand from her head. “Also, can you be sure that the others help Wanda get used to the city layout? She got lost when she went out on her own, so please be nice and help her.”

           “I’ll tell the others to help her,” Sam promised. “Go on now Candi, I’ll see you later and maybe if you’re good I’ll let you join me and Steve on a midnight jog.”

           “Oh, you are so kind,” Cadence gave a mock bow before heading down the hallway. She passed by Steve Rogers better known as Captain America. “Hi Captain, Bye Captain.”

           “Have a good day!” Steve called after her, he watched as she walked down the hallway, tilting his head to the side as she did. His face held a small look of interest. Did all women in this era wear miniskirts to work? He turned around when he heard a snort and saw Sam staring at him. “What?”

           “I saw you staring at Candi,” Sam snickered. “But remember, she’s MY little sister and I won’t have anyone, not even you stare at her like that.”

           “Sorry, sorry,” Steve held up his hands in mock surrender. “Come on, let’s get going, we still have to set up the training room.”

           Sam laughed. “Alright.” He walked out of his room and shut the door before slugging Steve in the shoulder. He fanned his hand out of the sheer pain that went through him. “Man, you’re lucky you’re my friend, I would’ve had to send red wing after you for ogling Candi like that.”

           “Agent Wilson,”

           Cadence walked into the office of Fury as she held the stack of folders in her arms. She had been busying herself with sorting through the large list of charges that had been accumulated from the last battle the Avengers had fought. Oh, the joy of being able to do accounting with SHIELD when not on a mission.

           “Yes Director?” Cadence asked sitting the folders on the desk as she saluted the man sitting behind the desk.

           “I have an assignment for you,” Fury said. “Are you familiar with the Avengers’ battle in Sokovia?”

           “Yes, I am well aware of it,” Cadence answered. “My brother told me about what happened, and I saw Agent Barton bring in a body from said battle.”

           “Then you won’t be against the assignment I have for you,” Fury brought up a screen with the image of the young man that Cadence had seen being placed in the strange casket-like device. “I want you to help with one of our Avengers.”

           “Unless you have an Ouija board then I cannot help a dead man,” Cadence replied dryly. She straightened up when she was glared at. “Sorry sir, a little dead person humor.”

           “He isn’t dead,” Fury explained bringing up another screen showing the silver-haired young man lying in a hospital bed hooked up to some machines. “There was something to his fast metabolism that helped him stay alive.”

           “But he died.” Cadence insisted. “I saw him get placed inside a casket when it was determined he was dead.”

           “That was one of Dr. Cho’s regeneration cradles,” Fury explained. “Agent Wilson, I am asking you to complete this assignment.”

           “Alright, so I’m to help him get back on his feet before he goes back to the Avengers?” Cadence asked. “So basically, I’m playing Florence Nightingale to a fallen hero?”

           “Essentially yes,” Fury said. “And I don’t want Speedy to wreck this place the moment he realizes he’s fully healed. You’re to keep him in check.”

           “Fine,” Cadence said waving a hand. “I’ll take care of him.”

           “Good.” Fury said. “You may leave now.”

           “Yes sir,” Cadence walked out of the office mumbling under her breath. “Bald one-eyed bastard…”

           “I heard that!”

           “Damn he has good hearing,” Cadence grumbled walking down the hallway and to the elevators to go to the medical wing.

           “Ok, I need to go in there check on him and then walk back out,” Cadence said to herself as she paced outside of the room. “Ok, that should be easy, I can make sure he’s comfortable and get out of there without making small talk.”

           She turned and went to open the door before groaning and pulling her hand away. She couldn’t just waltz in there and tell him that she’d been assigned to look after him. For god’s sake, he was a grown man! He probably would stare and laugh her out of the room. Shaking her head Cadence cleared her thoughts.

           “Ok, I can do this,” She said to herself and pulled open the door. She was greeted by the sound of machines and the sight of the man lying in the bed with his eyes closed. She kept herself quiet and walked over to where he lay. She began her task of checking the machines monitoring his heart rate and making sure that his pillow was at least fluffed.

           “Wonder why I have to take care of you,” Cadence said quietly as she began the task of fluffing the pillow behind the young man’s head.

She looked down at him with a small smile taking note of his features. She had to admit he was rather handsome, the way his hair fell over his forehead and his chiseled features. What stood out the most was the strange color of his hair, it was a silvery blonde, but the back had hints of brown in it.

As she worked she didn’t notice that the young man’s hand moved as it lifted from the bed and took a hold of her wrist.

“What the hell!?” Cadence let out a loud scream and tried wrestling her wrist away. She gave out an annoyed grunt and tried prying the hand off her. “Let go! I swear I will kill you! I’ll smother you!”

The sound of a low chuckle was heard, and Cadence saw the young man sit up slowly, his hair tousled and out of place. God, he looked painfully good that way. She wanted nothing more to run her fingers through it. She bit her lip to suppress her gasp of awe at the beautiful blue eyes staring at her in interest.

“Are you an angel?” the young man asked, his voice laced with a thick accent that Cadence quickly assumed was Sokovian.

           “No, my name’s Cadence Wilson but please call me Agent Wilson,” Cadence said. “Could you release my wrist?”

The young man let her wrist go and he looked at her closely. “You work for SHIELD?”

“Yes, I do,” Cadence answered as she resumed her tasks she’d been assigned. “I’m here to help you with your rehabilitation so you can go back to fighting with the Avengers.”

“So, you’re a SHIELD agent yes?”

“Yes, I am,” Cadence answered with a roll of her eyes. She turned and looked at him closely. “Are you in any pain?”

“No, I’m not but…” the young man put a hand on his stomach when it growled. “I’m hungry.”

“Well you’re in luck,” Cadence went over to the nearby wall and opened a small silver door that had a tray of food inside. She grabbed the tray and closed the door before she went to where the young man was and sat the tray on the small table. “Here, this is chicken soup, I know that it’s not much, but we need to be sure you’re able to hold that down before you get anything heavier.”

           “Thank you,”

           Cadence smiled and watched him a moment, she saw him shakily holding the spoon, with a shake of her head she took it from him and proceeded to dip it into the soup before holding it to his mouth. “Here, eat.”

           The young man stared at her a moment before obeying her. She was actually feeding him? Was this something that all SHIELD agents did? Or was it something that Americans did for one another?

           “So, your records say that your name is Quicksilver,” Cadence began as she fed him more soup. “It’s an interesting name.”

           “My name’s Pietro.”

           “Oh, that’s a nice name, I am guessing that’s Quicksilver is just a codename you have now,” Cadence looked up at him and held back a laugh as she picked up the napkin and wiped his cheek gently. “You’re from Sokovia right? You used to work for Hydra and then for that robot thingy Ultron?”

           Pietro nodded. “Yes,” he quickly remembered something. “Where is my sister?”

           “Your sister?”

           “Yes, my sister’s name is Wanda.”

           “Oh, you’re Wanda’s brother?” Cadence asked with a laugh. “She’s with the Avengers at home.”

           “You know her?” Pietro asked. “Is she ok? Is she safe?”

           “She’s about ok as one can get after a battle,” Cadence saw Pietro look down at his hands quietly. “Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll be glad to know that you’re ok.”

           Pietro looked up at Cadence. “You think so?”

           “Yes, but we’ll work on telling her once you’re able to leave that bed,” Cadence explained. “And once you finish your rehabilitation.”

           “Rehabilitation?”

           “Yes, you were dead after all,” Cadence set the now empty bowl aside and worked on opening the small cup of juice for him. She held it up to his lips. “Drink.”

           Pietro did as he was told before continuing his questions. “And I’m still in Sokovia?”

           “No, you’re in New York City,” Cadence explained. “You were brought here to be taken care of, and given the best medical treatment.”

           “Oh…”

           Cadence smiled softly. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine,” she said patting his shoulder. “You just need to rest up and recover.”

           “Could you get me some more food?” Pietro asked. “I’m very hungry.”

           “You just ate but of course, I’ll see what I can do.”  

Cadence laughed and went back to the wall panel as she pressed a few buttons and the door opened a few minutes later with a large bowl of soup and an orange. She grabbed the tray and went back to Pietro’s bedside and proceeded to feed him.

“Do all people in America do this?” Pietro asked. “The feeding someone.”

“No, just when people are too weak to hold the spoon on their own,” Cadence said. “And of course, we do this for babies.”  

“I’m no baby.”

“Didn’t say you were,” Cadence said. “Your hands are too shaky, and I doubt you’d want a lap full of soup.”

Pietro looked at Cadence and had to admit she was pretty from the side and the way her petite hands held and guided the spoon was rather adorable. He took note of her slender frame and could tell that she was like one of the lithe fairies that his mother used to tell him and Wanda stories about when they were children.

“You know Pietro, I’ve read a few files about you,” Cadence’s voice broke the silence. “You have super speed, and you got those powers from being experimented on by Hydra.”

“I did it to get revenge on Tony Stark,” Pietro said quietly. “I hated him and the Avengers of years because of what they did to my parents…. but that was until they showed me a better way.”

“Trust me, you made a good decision to join the Avengers,” Cadence said. “All of them are pretty cool, well except Tony, he’s a prick sometimes especially when it comes to his relationship with Pepper, oh let me tell you, he has serious commitment issues.”

“You are close with him?”

“Meh, define close,” Cadence shook her head. “I am acquainted with him if that’s what you mean, I am closer to Dr. Banner than anyone else but that’s because my best friend has a small crush on him, I feel so bad when she finds out he is in love with Nat.”

“Dr. Banner? Who is that?” Pietro asked thinking it over for a minute. “Oh, you mean that green giant?”

“No that’s the Hulk,” Cadence corrected. “Dr. Banner is who the hulk really is, he’s a pretty nice guy once you get to know him, I also hang out with Nat from time to time.”

“Nat?”

           “She’s Black Widow,” Cadence said. “She’s one of the Avengers along with my older brother Sam.”

“You have a brother?”

“Yep,” Cadence said. “He’s way older than me, he’s like in his umn…40’s now?” She held back a laugh at the thought of Sam pretending to be slain by her words. “I was a surprise baby for my parents.”

“Are you close with them? Your parents?” Pietro asked.

“Yeah, I was,” Cadence said quietly. “They were killed when I was really young, so I ended up being raised in foster homes with my brothers and sister until Sam was old enough to raise us on his own.”

“You’re an orphan like me and Wanda.”

“Sort of,” Cadence said gently as she forced a smile. “Come on enough about sad backstories, you need to rest and I have to go take care of a few things.”

“Will you come back to see me?”  Pietro asked quickly.

“Yeah, you’ll see me around,” Cadence said with a small smile. “I’ll be back later on, I’ll help you with your dinner before I go home for the night.”

Pietro nodded and smiled. “Thank you, Agent Wilson.”

Cadence laughed as she walked to the door, she turned and looked at him. “Call me Candi.”

“See you later Candi,” Pietro said brightly as he laid back down tiredly.

Cadence smiled and walked out of the room as she shut the door behind her. Maybe this assignment wouldn’t be so bad after all.

[alj4890]

Christmas Prompt

(Thomas x Amanda) with the given prompt from @jlpplays1-41daysofcheerchallenge​​ for black and white

(Thomas Hunt x oc*Amanda) in a Christmas one shot

A/N I had something planned for this movie for our RCD Appreciation Week, but ended up going with another. Using it for @jlpplays1 41 Days of Cheer Challenge seemed meant to be. This isn't a part of my AU's though I had considered Thomas and Amanda meeting under simliar circumstances in Another Night, Another Dream storyline. Still, I am a sucker for fluff and first impressions. So here we go again.

Above image taken from the 1940 holiday classic Remember the Night and I do spoil most of it in this. Sorry!

@lxaah11​ @alleksa16​ @penguininapinktuxedo​ @blackcoffee85​ @stopforamoment​  @hopefulmoonobject​  @krsnlove​   @annekebbphotography​ ​ @cora-nova​ @bella-ca​ @hopelessromantic1352​. @sunflowergirl05​ @desiree-0816​ @greywitchyshots​ @lilyofchoices​ @emceesynonymroll​ @dr-nancy-house​ @aworldoffandoms @ab1901 @pixieferry @lolablackwrites  @flyawayboo @i-bloody-love-drake-walker. @trappedinfandoms @kate-mckenzie

Masterlist

The Theater

Amanda settled into the red cushioned seat and set her soda down in the cupholder. She pulled up on the tab to open her box of Junior Mints and glanced around. She couldn't believe that hardly anyone was here for the holiday movie marathon.

When she told those back home in Cordonia that she was traveling to Los Angeles specifically to attend this week of nothing but classics from silent era to ending with 1954's White Christmas, none had volunteered to come with her. 

"If I'm going to California, I want to sightsee and party with the stars...not attend some tiny theater for old movies." Maxwell had reluctantly admitted when she voiced her surprise that he didn't want to go.

Everyone else pleaded with her to do something else. After all, she had only seen it advertised on the theater’s website.

“What if it isn’t in a safe area of the city?” Liam asked. “You will be alone, late at night in what could be a dangerous area.”

“Why are you spending money to see movies you have seen a hundred times before?” Drake rolled his eyes at her explanation of experiencing it in a movie theater.

"It's the week before Christmas." Olivia had argued. "You should be here with us where you belong, not alone in some strange city watching movies you already own on blu ray.”

When it came to things that she truly loved, Amanda's stubborn streak made itself known. They all shook their heads. If she had to have one crazy weird attribute, willing to travel for movies might not be the worst thing she could have.

And here she was on her third evening, ready to watch the first half of the 1940's classics. The evening was beginning with Remember the Night.

Amanda adored this particular one. She could remember when her mother first shared this movie with her when she was nine years old. It had been late one night when neither could sleep. They had cuddled under a blanket and only had the Christmas tree lights on.

She had fallen hard for Fred MacMurray's portrayal of John Sargent from the very beginning. His sarcastic, dry humor mixed with his gruff, morally right persona had hidden what was later revealed to be a very tender heart toward those he loved.

Barbara Stanwyck's con artist/thief was just the right person to shake him up. Of course, he managed to open her eyes and smooth out her understandable rough due to circumstances edges.

Their love story had all the elements from humor to bittersweetness. The perfect movie made even more so because it was set during a snowy Christmas and New Year's.

Amanda had secretly searched a long time for her tall, dark, and handsome Fred MacMurray/John Sargent. Most of the men she thought might be the one seemed to be lacking that one key element that made him so desirable: the tender heart. She had recently given up that long held dream. The man simply did not exist in the real world.

"I was born in the wrong time period." Amanda would say to herself each time she watched this. "That's why I can't find anyone like him."

She shook herself out of these unhappy thoughts and watched as John argued against dismissing the case of Barabara Stanwyck's character, Lee.

________________

She's back, Thomas thought when he saw the same woman come in by herself and take the exact same seat she had the past two nights. She had another box of candy and soft drink, just like she had each other time. She laid her jacket on the seat next to hers and he knew from observing her the other times that she would end up using it as a cover around the second hour of the movie marathon.

He settled more comfortably in his own chair further back. Seeing her dedication in supporting this small, independent theater made him not lose hope in people knowing and enjoying these classics. He had tried to encourage his film students to come and had even played around with the idea of offering extra credit. He decided against it in the hopes they would come simply because of what these old black and white movies contained: emotional storytelling at its finest.

There was no CGI nor any enhanced techniques. No method acting. Nothing except a story acted out with the sheer talent to draw one within the imagined world and make the individual wish they could remain.

Something about these black and white movies made the winters and snowfall seem even more shiver worthy. Knowing it was all done on a soundstage, made it even more impressive.

He was surprised that his attention continued to stray to the woman sitting a few rows ahead of his and a couple of seats over to the left. He had looked forward to seeing the movies he actually owned on various discs on the large screen.

"I was born in the wrong time period." He would mutter when reading about the golden age of film. To be a part of the beginning of not only sound in films, but also during a time of discovering a wealth of talent in actors and screenwriters, would have been a dream come true. A dream to be able to feel that excitment of making movies was something he was in desperate need of.

He had gotten burned out. After filming The Last Duchess, he felt empty. Nothing had sparked his creativity. Nothing made him want to jump back into the director's chair and bring a story to life. He felt like he was teetering on the edge of something about to happen in his life...something life changing. He hoped whatever it was would happen soon.

Being unable to sit back and wait patiently for the mystery life changing event to happen, he had decided to return to his second love of teaching. It had been going well the last few semesters. There was only one drawback to this. He didn't know quite what to do with himself now that he was on winter break.

He shook himself from the quagmire of his depressing thoughts and focused on the scene of John offering to take Lee to her mother's home in Indiana on his way to see his own.

______________

Amanda laughed at the scene of John's irritation and resulting sarcasm while dealing with the small town judge. She could hear a deep laugh somewhere behind her. She supposed it was the same lone man that had been here the last few nights.

He shares my sense of humor, she thought. Hearing that laugh didn't make her feel quite so alone in the theater. She had never minded being on her own. There were many times that she loved to escape the nobles and her friends for a needed breather. Yet something about the holiday season made being alone seem...well...lonely.

She needn't be. Amanda had a wonderful life. One day she would meet someone to share it with. It might not be her dream man that was currently on the screen, but he would be perfect for her.

_____________

Thomas watched the lone woman dig in her purse for a tissue. She had been moved to tears over how cruel Lee's mother was and how sweet John had been to tell her he was taking her to his childhood home for Christmas.

He wracked his memories and realized he couldn't recall the last time he witnessed a woman of today crying over a black and white movie of yesterday. Perhaps I've been around the wrong women, he thought.

He wished he could see the expression on her face caught up in the bittersweet emotion. What had made her cry? Was it simple pity for the heroine of the movie? Did it remind her of something from her own past? Was it John's actions that set off her tears?

He grimaced and tried to keep his attention strictly on the movie.

________________

Amanda sighed at that ending. To make such a choice...could I do that if I had been Lee?

"I must be a horrible person." Amanda mumbled as she gathered her things. She planned on getting a refill before The Shop Around the Corner started.

"Why do you think you're horrible?"

She turned around in surprise. "Oh!" Amanda stared at the famous man who had been the only other one in the theater tonight. "I..." Her smile held hints of self-depreciation. "I don't know if I could leave John and willingly plead guilty to my crimes. I would be tempted to marry him like he wanted and allow him to pull all the tricks to make the jury side with me."

Thomas nodded. "Yes, it would be difficult. I believe though that nowadays the heroine would probably do that very thing."

Amanda's grin reappeared. "Now that we no longer have the Hays Office making certain the wicked paid for every action, I imagine that someone would rewrite this to Lee not only being claimed innocent but that John was evil to continue to serve as prosecutor.”

His eyes widened. "You know about the Hays Office?"

"Of course." She stepped out into the aisle. "I love film history."

He followed her out into the lobby. "You're not leaving yet, are you?"

She turned around once more in surprise. "No. I was going to get a refill."

He hesistated a moment. Thomas couldn't help but notice that not only could she keep up intelligently conversation wise, but he also found her attractive. "Would you care to sit with me during the next film?"

"I don't know if we will be able to find two seats together with such a crowd." She teased.

He chuckled softly. "If I am able to find two side by side..." Thomas trailed off and waited.

Amanda lowered her eyes and grinned. "Then I would appreciate you saving me a seat."

______________

A few movies later and at a small nearby diner...

"Do you have any particular recommendations?" Amanda asked as she picked up the menu.

"All of the pies here are some of the best around." Thomas lifted his own menu, yet continued to glance at her over it.

She smiled when the waitress approached.

"What can I get you and your lady friend to drink, Professor?" The middle aged, slightly tired woman asked.

He nodded toward Amanda to go first.

"Iced tea, please." She replied.

"Coffee." He added.

"Are you ready to order or do you need another moment?" She asked.

"I am, are you?" Thomas asked.

Amanda grinned. "Go ahead. I make decisions for food better under pressure."

He chuckled. "Apple pie a la mode."

The waitress turned to Amanda.

"I'll have the same." She decided at the last moment.

Once they were alone, Thomas folded his arms on the table. "I have a question that has been driving me mad most of the night."

Amanda lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? And what might that be?"

"During Remember the Night, you were crying. Why?"

Her cheeks turned a little red under his steady regard. The Thomas Hunt wanted to know why she had teared up. She still couldn't believe his interest in her thoughts. Granted it wasn't like anyone else had been there to steal his attention away from her. She might as well enjoy it for what it was: a once in a lifetime opportunity. They had spent most of their time sitting next to each other in the theater, talking and pointing out various aspects of the scenes they loved in the movies they had seen so far.

"Everything about that scene when John and Lee go to her childhood home hurts. When you compare it to the first glimpse of John's it really strikes you at the differences." She explained.

"How?" He asked, wanting to hear more of her thoughts.

Amanda leaned forward as she went further into detail. "Take the lighting for example. Lee's home is cast in shadows. No lights are on inside that we can see, welcoming anyone approaching with warmth. John's had lamps shining like a lighthouse, beckoning one to safety from the cold. Lee's mother and stepfather didn't bother to step out on the porch or even invite them inside from the cold. The single light near the mother cast harsh shadows, adding even more to the foreboding sense that no love would be awaiting the prodigal daughter. John's had family coming out into the cold, wanting to hug and hurry them inside to warm up. Current joy at seeing him again and memories of happiness waited inside that bright house."

He listened to her silently in complete agreement. He marveled at her ability to cut right to the aesthetic of the two instead of focusing in on the dialogue. The words spoken were of course moving in terms of emotion, yet for her to point out something he tried to do for his students made him want to talk to her even more.

"Here you go." The waitress set their plates and drinks in front of them. "Has my nephew been behaving himself?"

Thomas nodded. "He has been doing very well this past semester. You should be proud of him."

The tiredness left the woman's face hearing that. "You really think he has a future in cinematography, Mr. Hunt?"

"I do." He said a bit gruffly. "I recommended him for a scholarship." He picked at his pie. "You should receive the letter soon about the approval."

"You mean--" the waitress teared up and tried to get the words out. "Thank you. This...this means the world to us."

He waived off her thanks. "His talent and your tenacity is what did this. I had no part in it."

She turned to Amanda who was observing their interaction quietly. "Don't let him fool you. He had everything to do with giving my Brandon his dream future."

The young lady realized that her suspicions were correct. There was a good deal more to the famous director than what he decided to reveal to the outside world. 

Thomas cleared his throat and avoided eye contact. The waitress poured his coffee and left them alone.

Amanda picked up her fork and took a bite. "You were right. The pie here is very good." She noticed relief flood his features over the attention no longer being on his kindness.

"I'm glad you agree." He took a bite of his own. "Are you planning on attending any of the other nights at the theater?"

"All of them, actually." She grinned at him. "It was why I decided to come to Los Angeles for a visit."

"I see." His brow furrowed with thought. "I plan on attending the whole week also."

She reached for the sugar packets to add to her glass of tea while waiting to hear what he would say next.

"If you are planning on being there and I am, then perhaps we could go together." Thomas looked at her over his coffee cup to gage her reaction.

"I would like that." Amanda said with a hint of color to her cheeks. "Then perhaps we could talk about the movies over pie."

His lips curved into a soft smile. "I would like that."

_____________

Last night of the holiday classics...

"Thank you, Thomas, for making this week so enjoyable. I have loved our discussions each night." Amanda kissed his cheek on impulse outside the theater.

He took her hand and cleared his throat. "I have enjoyed it also." He looked down at their fingers laced together. "When do you leave for Cordonia?"

"Day after tomorrow." She said, wishing time had not gone by so quickly.

His frown formed. "Must you go so soon?"

Her eyebrows lifted. "I suppose I don't necessarily have to." She pushed the strands of hair back that were determined to remain in her face as a breeze blew. "Christmas is a few days away though."

"You could spend the holidays here, if you would like...with me." Thomas tugged her close and slowly captured her lips in a tender kiss.

She was rooted to the sidewalk in shock over him kissing her. She had hoped he would. But as each night ended without one, she assumed he wasn't attracted to her. Now, though...

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into another more active kiss. She smiled against his lips when his hands slipped in her hair, encouraging the kiss to go on.

When it ended, she took a brief moment to gather her thoughts. "Perhaps I could stay until after New Year's, if you would like me to."

Thomas held her pressed against him and brushed his lips against hers. "I can't think of anything more I would like."

_______________

3 years later in that same theater...

"Would you like any Junior Mints?" Thomas asked, helping her off with her coat.

Amanda set her hand on her very distended belly and shook her head. "I don't believe our baby shares my love for peppermint and chocolate." She slowly lowered herself in the seat and sighed. "I can't believe you thought of coming here again."

He sat down next to her and placed his arm along the back of her seat. "I thought it might be nice to relive the night we met that led to this." He placed his hand on her stomach, smiling softly at the movement he felt.

She laughed while looking around the empty theater. "Seems to be the same crowd as was before."

"That is my doing." He explained. "I rented the entire theater just for us."

"You did?" Her smile turned tender.

He nodded, presssing a kiss to her lips. "And I have the same movies as before."

She rested her head on his shoulder and thought back to that night. "I didn't expect to end up staying here when I first came."

"I'm grateful my powers of persuasion worked so well." He gently rubbed her tense back while thinking of when he first approached her.

After spending the holidays together, he had received a script that had reinvigorated his passion for directing. He returned to Cordonia to film it and to spend more time getting to know Amanda. On the night of his new movie's premiere, he asked her to marry him. A few months after that they were on their honeymoon.

Now here they were, anxiously awaiting the arrival of their own classic film lover, who was already a week overdue in making his or her appearance.

As Remember the Night began, Thomas pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I am very thankful I met you that night."

Amanda sat up and held her stomach. "Meeting you was quite a surprise, though I believe tonight's might give it a run for its money."

His brow furrowed. "Why is that?"

She looked up at him with an excited smile. "My water just broke."

[ikesenmotonari]

yay that ikesen oc thing. she’s a multifandom oc but hey im not creative so i might as well JAM her into another universe lets go lads

idk who to tag but if u have an ikesen oc go for it i wanna know bout em!!!

i was tagged by @nyktoon-ikemenlove thank you sweetheart!!!

Age? Height?

“Hi! I’m Melody Wyverne, but my friends if I had any would call me Mel, Mells… that fun stuff! I’m nineteen and I’m five foot two!”

She’s petite, on the curvy side. She’s 5′2″, or 155 cm; she is only nineteen and wants to go home. lmao

What’s your fashion like? [Time travelers – pre & post-wormhole!]

“Er, pre time-jump I was a fan of sleeveless hoodies and high-waisted jeans. I didn’t go out much, so I dressed comfortably. Now I wear kimono and hakama… it’s pretty. I sure hope it didn’t trouble people too much to make these…!“

The top one is an older doodle. thonk emojis

Where are you from?

“I’m from Canada, actually. I lived alone for a bit then my dad reached out to me and asked me if I’d like to spend some time with him in Japan. So uh, I just wanted to talk to him again and thought this would be a good way for me to intern somewhere… it might as well be his business right? Then the storm thing.“

Her mom is French, her dad is English. She’s got a ridiculously high IQ level and no social skills whatsoever, so she knows most Japanese and speaks it pretty okay despite her North American kind of accent. Is that a thing? thonks

Feudal era – pros and/ or cons?

“There are pros?!“ She’s not very happy being surrounded by blood and death…

Pros? Cool clothes. Cons? HAVE YOU MET THESE PEOPLE?!

If you’re not in your homeland/time, do you want to go home?

“Gosh. Absolutely.“

What’s your home life like?

“Well, I’ll run you through a usual day! Ah… well, I’d eat something, then play with my cat, talk to Avery for a bit, then… yeah I’d spend the rest of it at the garage, just working on my projects! It’s… I like working. It’s not healthy, and I’ve been told… but it’s nice, you know?“

Melody doesn’t go outside.

She scarcely leaves her property and the only close friends she has is a cat and a cyborg (a man with no arms). Her parents split years ago and she wasn’t properly socialized as a kid. Being raised as a certified genius? It’s… lonely. She doesn’t know how it’s affected her, but being thrown back in time is forcing her to look at things differently.

You just got your dream job! What is it? / Or, what’s your line of work?

“I’m a programmer on the side, but first and foremost, I make prosthesis for people. I have a background in medicine and engineering I suppose…”

Any other hobbies or skills? Do you use them / how do you use them in the Sengoku period?

“Not really… I can barely take care of myself as is, haha! Erm. I can’t use my skills much at all in this era. Other than some simple automatons, there’s also guns I can piece apart, but I’m more hesitant with those… all I can do is use my expertise in biology I guess. There’s a lot of injuries going around, and I’m glad I’m not completely useless.“

Where is your base of operations? Azuchi Castle? Kasugayama Castle? A pirate ship? Running all over the woods or in a secret monastery? Some other cool place?

“I woke up in a forest near Azuchi and stayed in a neutral tea house for a while before Lord Masamune pretty much dragged me to the castle. So I stayed there for a few months, and the warlords grew on me, but… I… got kidnapped. So I guess my base of operations is a pirate ship.”

Oh?

“…I don’t like it. Don’t get me started on their captain…”

How do you feel about killing and violence?

“I just wish there’s another way past it all. I don’t think I’ll ever understand the logic behind killing someone. I… I’m a doctor. Not a murderer.”

Have you learned to fight? If so, what’s your weapon and/or fighting style of choice?

“Nope, actually. But there’s some good guys on board that might be willing to teach me! At least, I hope so. The only thing I’m leaning towards are guns, unfortunately, but they’re the closest thing to a modern mechanism I can get. Eep… I don’t know how to fight! I don’t want to!”

What are you fighting for?

“Um, my life?!“ It changes. Eventually. ;3

What are your feelings about authority?

“As long as they’re not bullies? Fine.” She pauses. “Lord Nobunaga was different though. I didn’t understand him fully, but he doesn’t really make fun of me or anything. He’s just curious I guess. I don’t tend to question authority unlike some pirates.”

How do you handle someone invading your personal space?

“I just get really uncomfortable and back away if I can. I can’t bring myself to yell at people unless they’ve seriously whittled down on my patience. I didn’t know I had it in me, actually… huh.“

…do you invade people’s personal space?

“Ha…. haha! Yeah, sometimes. I get nosy okay? I didn’t even know what personal space was until I was eleven!”

Are you more open, or more reserved? Are you secretive?

“Avery says I’m an open book. I have nothing to hide, no secrets to keep. There’s not much that happened to me before, so I guess I’m some kind of blank slate? Gee, that sounds so harsh…”

Is this the first time you’ve been truly in love?

 “Love? Have you spoken to these people?”

Eventually? Yeah. Yeah this is her first time.

What’s your style as a lover? (interpret this as innocently or not-innocently as you please ;) )

She’s sweet, affectionate and balanced. She knows when to handle time with her partner and time working on whatever independent activities. Though she’s quite a dense person overall and won’t realize if she’s even fallen for someone, she deeply and wholeheartedly trusts them. It takes a while for her to know this.

Also, she’s 99% submissive and slightly masochistic. As well as a rope bunny.

What are your favorite ways for someone to show you love?

Touches, fleeting ones. Tight hugs, any kind of embrace. Show her something unconditional, undivided. She’s been isolated for so long she convinced herself she won’t have someone to love, so she carries on merrily alone, not knowing how deprived she is of human contact. Hmm.

Take her on an adventure. Bring her out of her comfort zone. Show her what the world could be like… you’ll change her.

Do you use a petname or endearments for your lover(s)?

Not really, she would give nicknames if she could! She already says things like ‘honey’ and ‘dear’, but nothing too mushy unless it becomes super playful and joking.

How do you feel about…

Nobunaga? “He’s such a complicated warlord… I don’t know if I’ll ever understand him. But he’s shown some really keen interest in me. Is it because I’m a Westerner? Either way, Lord Nobunaga scared me and he still does. But after spending months in the castle and talking to him, he’s not actually as mean as I thought he was. I don’t know why he laughs at me though! I guess the things I do seem really silly to him!”

Hideyoshi? “Oh he’s super nice. He taught me how to make tea when mister Mitsunari and I put way too much leaves in. He tends to scold me for staying up though, but I can’t help my insomnia without my pills! It’s really comforting to know that Lord Hideyoshi is looking out for me though. The things he does reminds me of how Avery takes care of me, so I guess he’s like a big brother? Heehee.”

Masamune? “He was the one who brought me to Azuchi castle, and boy is he wild! His energy shocked me honestly, it’s like he never runs out of it. He’s so cool though! He kinda scared me too, and I’m pretty sure he can stab me once told to, but he’s been really playful. I didn’t know I’d have so much fun in Azuchi thanks to him. And he makes amazing food! Though he should stop bugging me to eat three meals a day…”

Ieyasu? “Aw man, I wish I can talk to him without him speedwalking away or trying to avoid me! He’s reading stuff about medicine, right? I’d like to know what he’s learning. It’s no doubt super different from modern medicine. I try to talk to him sometimes but Lord Ieyasu’s always busy… was it something I said?”

You know that question about invading personal space? Melody leans in to peer over at his books sometimes. She’s a bit too friendly to his liking.

Mitsunari? “I relate to him a lot. He’s really friendly and sometimes I’d spend my free time reading with him. Time goes by so fast though and either Lord Hideyoshi or Lord Ieyasu would step in to tell us we’ve missed dinner…”

Literally. They are so alike. They got along swell.

Mitsuhide? “S-Scary… have you heard of those rumors about him? I mean, in person he’s okay, but he’s just tall and intimidating to me. He did take me out to the marketplace once and show me around, which… well, nevermind. I guess he’s nice. Apparently Lord Hideyoshi told him to stop teasing me, but I don’t recall being teased?”

She’s dense. 

Shingen? “Big man. Very tall, and… I think he was flirting with me. Whatever it was, he’s… really.. erm, polite and all, and I met him along with Yukimura and Sasuke at the forest tea house before I was taken to Azuchi. I don’t know him too well, but with what Lord Nobunaga told me, he must be a strong warlord…”

Kenshin? “I never met the guy. With a title like the ‘God of War’, I don’t think I want to…!” Fear.

Yukimura? “He’s… he’s kind of… what’s the word, gruff, isn’t he? I met him along with Shingen and I guess it’s a good quality to be honest and stuff. I think we got off on the wrong foot.”

She spilled tea on him. You can imagine the rest. Sasuke came in clutch.

Sasuke? “He’s super great. I wish I had more time to talk to him! He kinda saw right through my attempt to hide the fact that I’m from the future and he gave me helpful advice on fitting in and staying under the radar. Eep, sorry I got dragged to the castle, Sasuke! We can talk about astrophysics another time…! Seriously, I’m so grateful to him. Without his advice I’d probably be in big trouble.”

Kennyo? “He went near the tea house once and was feeding the fish in the koi pond. He’s scary, but… he’s nice. I served him tea and some dumplings. I had no idea he hated Lord Nobunaga so much…”

Motonari? “Ugh… infuriating. I didn’t know I could be so angry at someone before I met this guy. The nerve he has, to kidnap me in broad daylight, spit on Azuchi defenses, and then use me as his impromptu surgeon for the high seas! Hmph. … I… I don’t know. The more time I spend with him, I feel like I’m not going anywhere - you know, I try to get along, I really do, but I think he’s keeping me away? Like, he just tends to stay shallow with people. As annoying as he can get… I want to know why. He’s shown how playful he could be, and his crew loves him. He gives me the same vibes as Lord Nobunaga, actually… intimidating, but I want to know more about him.”

Any other friends/notables?

“I have a friend named Avery and he’s awesome! He took care of me ever since I was eleven, he was twenty-one at the time and now he’s thirty. He’s like a dad to me. Oh, and this isn’t too important, but he has metal arms. I made those! Er, the updated ones, actually. Just to make sure they’re functioning like real arms and all. The prototypes were made by my mom and he was severely injured, so the surgery took a while. He and I grew really close after my parents’ divorce. He lives a few blocks down, and he has eight dogs. Don’t ask ME why, you should ask HIM. … I miss him. I hope he’s okay.”

She also has a cat named Charlie. He’s a grey ragdoll. That’s… that’s about it.

hooray for my shallow motonari headcanons with trust issues