#if he wants to ask auntie why she never ages and never eats now's the time LOL

[hvbris]

@multipleoccupancy​ . 𝐒𝐄𝐌𝐈 𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑

Lucretia was, as usual, sitting at the large dining table with nothing but a glass of red “wine” and today’s newspapers. She did enjoy sharing her breakfasts with Coriolanus, but of course, she did not need to eat. Not food, at least. 

She was reading the economics section, her glass in hand. Lost in a particularly interesting article about the rising of coal’s value, she almost didn’t notice the way her descendant was staring at her. Oh, it was subtle, she’d grant him that. He was, as always, careful. But her senses were too sharp for her to miss the discreet glances shot her way. 

“What is it, Coriolanus?” she asked, putting the newspaper back on the table, “if there is something you wish to tell me, out with it.”

[k0droid]

at the family function - twisted wonderland headcanons

A/N: Cleaning out my drafts :3

Content warnings!: - i'm black so i'll be going off of what happens at my family events - these are headcanons and not serious ones at that, pls dont get mad - these aren't in order (im forcing u to read lol)

Friendly reminder: I am black and searching for moots, specifically black but not exclusively <3

Jack Howl: - the cousin that all the younger cousins want to see - doesn't really like children but still enjoys seeing his family

Lilia Vanrouge: - the grandpa who sits in the same spot every reunion - has told you the same story a million GAJILLION different stories - D1 instigator

Idia Shroud: - hides himself in the room farthest from all the commotion - brings his consoles to every get-together

Epel Felmier: - the cousin who lives 2hrs away - always asking those dumbass superstitious questions abt the city - brings fruits/veggies from his family farm

Rook Hunt: - creepy ass unc, NO BODY wanna play with him - genuinely a good guy once you get to know him - dont ask "how did u and auntie (vil) fall in meet?" because he's gonna give u the strangest love story ever

Silver Vanrouge: - adopted son of granpa - hes NEVER awake when u need him - eats, chats a bit, and joins idia so he can fall asleep - don't know if he's an uncle technically but he's family now so 🤷🏾‍♀️

Cater Diamond: - cousin who's always running errands for somebody, his sisters especially - has plates made for him because he's too busy - always a part of the conversation tho

Ace Trappola: - fun cousin!!! - takes the lil kids outside to play when asked

Malleus Draconia: - also adopted son of lilia - he doesn't leave his room often so they forget he's even there - when he does come down, everyone is like "unc, you've been here?!" - very awkward but enjoys the conversation and card games

Deuce Spade: - fun cousin #2!!!!! - usually on cousin-duty - was supposed to bring the plates but forgot

Jamil Viper: - the auntie in the kitchen - like cater, he's always busy doing something - the family member who asks abt school and expects a real answer

Vil Schoenheit: - amazing gorgeous kind respectable aunt married to some guy (rook) - she arrives an hour early to help trey cook and jamil set everything in place - kinda strict about the tidiness of everyone but becomes lax after eating (got the itis)

Azul Ashengrotto: - the cousin you'd get compared to ("why cant you be more like azul?") - everybody owes or owed him some money at some point - hides all his old photos somewhere in the house

Ortho Shroud: - the little cousin - begs idia to drive him to grandpappy lilia's

Sebek Zigvolt: - loud asf like u can hear his conversations clearly - also on cousin duty - tracks mud in the house and gets told off by jamil

Kalim Al-Asim: - the cousin with 511 siblings

Ruggie Bucchi: - helps in the kitchen so he'll be the first one to make some plates - afterwards ruggie eats on the porch in a rocking chair

Trey Clover: - main cook/chef - unc who's always getting roasted for his hairline (barber fucked him up)

Leona Kingscholar: - 50/50 unc, sometimes he'll be in a good mood and sometimes he wont - arrives on time and gets out of his car 20 mins later (he was sleep) - tells those kids "AYE YALL STOP ALL THAT RUNNIN AROUND" - sat with ruggie on the porch and he just randomly got up and started walking down the street - sometimes forced to eat at the kids table because he wont eat his own veggies at his grown age

Jade Leech: - brought the drinks - brought cards and dice to play with azul

Floyd Leech: - brought soda (in spite of Jade) - brought monopoly instead - he got bored in the middle of monopoly so he just started chasing people for entertainment

Riddle Rosehearts: - the one who organizes most of the reunions - was FURIOUS at deuce for forgetting to bring the plates but cater went out and bought them - got chased by Floyd and collared his ass

ts was kinda ass, my bad, i just want likes and comments cuz i dont have many headcanons of my own

anyways u guys should totally ask me abt my twst ocs (not yuusona) so i can blab abt them <3/hj

[panjakes]

Black on black

Parings: Adams family!wonwooxBlack!reader

Summary: the Jeon family have always been a weird family

“Hey! Ever heard about the Jeon family?”

“The Who?”

“Your new around here, would really expect you to know who they are”

“Well, who are they?”

“See that house over there?”

“Yeah, it’s abandoned right?”

“Wrong, the Jeon family lives there”

“They live in that house? Why?”

“They like it like that. I couldn’t tell you why”

“Who are they?”

“Jeon wonwoo married Jeon Yn. They have two three kids. Wednesday jeon and their twin boys Atsu and Taiwo Jeon. Wednesday is about our age and the twins have to be like three by now”

“They always wear black and white. It’s like they’re attending a funeral”

“Do they come out?”

“The kids do. Wednesday goes to our school and she drops the twins off at daycare. You barely see their parents”

“I seen them once at the grocery store. Everybody tried their best to avoid them. The cashier didn’t even want to ring them up so they just walked out with their groceries”

“Whoa seems scary”

“Talking about my family again?”

The three boys jump turning around seeing Wednesday

“My parents arent scary. They just like keep to themselves. You should really mind your business. And didn’t I tell you to stop watching my house or my mother will eat you”

Wednesday says scaring the three boys. They scream and run away causing her to smirk. She walks into the house and was greeted by Jun, the family’s butler.

“Good afternoon Ms.Wednesday. Causing a ruckus again?” He asks taking her book bag

“You know it” she says causing the man to chuckle

“Your parents are in the study, your mother asks that I tell you that the twins are asleep so keep it down” Jun says

She nods and makes her way to the study. Once reaching the door she opens it to hear her mother rambling

“She had the nerve to tell me I scare her damn cats! Do I care about her damn cats?!” Yn asks

“Not at all” Wonwoo says flipping the page

“She’s lucky I didn’t steal the damn cats” Yn says folding her arms

“Do you want cats my love?” Wonwoo asks

“No. I’m fine with the four baby cats we have” she says and with that being said Wednesday and one of the baby cats walk into the room

“Afternoon princess, how was school?” Wonwoo asks closing his book after bookmarking it

“It was fine. Some kids were stalking our house again” she says walking all the way into the room

“When aren’t people stalking our house” Yn mumbles looking at the shelves of books

“Are they’re your friends?” Wonwoo asks

“Of course not. I have no friends” Wednesday says

“It’s okay to have no friends sweetheart. Your auntie Amina was my only friend growing up” Yn says

“But mommy, daddy said having friends is good” she says making Wonwoo says

“That’s because daddy lives with his best friend” Yn says making Wonwoo chuckle

“Mommy do you know there’s a rumor in town that your way children and cats?” Wednesday asks crawling into wonwoo’s lap

Yn rolls her eyes with a scoff

“Yes I do. They said I ate you when you were born” she says shaking her head. Wonwoo let’s out a chuckle making Yn snap her head in his direction

“It’s not funny woo” she says in warning tone

“I’m just laughing at how ridiculous it is my dear” he says as he takes down Wednesday’s curly pigtails

“I’ve never seen mom eat cats. We have four baby cats” Wednesday says

“And your mother loves our four baby cats” wonwoo says kissing her forehead

“I told them mommy would eat them” Wednesday says making wonwoo chuckle and Yn sulk

“That’s my girl” wonwoo says

“Thats not good Wednesday. Don’t tell anybody else I’ll eat them” you say

“But why? People are always taking about how ugly and scary you are!” She says making your jaw drop

“Ugly?!?!” Yn screeches making the girl nod

Wonwoo reaches over grabbing her hand caressing it with his thumb

“It’s okay sweetheart I find you very beautiful and…very sexy. I would say I’m a very lucky man” he says silting after kissing her hand.

She pulls her hand away with a smirk

“Thank you love” she says

“Honestly my opinion is the only one that matters” he says

Before Yn could respond, Jun walked into the room with both twins holding his hand.

“The twins are awake” he says

“Mommy!”Atsu shouts running over to Yn who scooped him up into her arms

“Hi baby! Did you have a good nap?” She asks making the boy nod. Taiwoo slowly let go of jun’s hand walking over to Wednesday and wonwoo. He didn’t say anything as he tapped her leg putting his arms up

“Up!” He says and up he went as Wednesday picked him up and put him in her lap.

Wonwoo runs his hand through his wild curls with a smile

“Hi son” he says causing the boy to wave. He didn’t talk much, it didn’t bother his parents tho.

“I have an idea!” Yn says

“And that is?” Wonwoo asks with a raised brow

“Jun! Get in here!” She shouts

Soon enough Jun was in the room

“Yes?”

“I need you to make us a reservation at a restaurant. Any restaurant” Yn says making wonwoo frown

“We’re eating out?” He asks

“Yes! Make them for tomorrow night and also count yourself” she says making Jun nod before leaning the room

“Why are we eating out if Gyu comes and cooks for us?” Wednesday asks

“Because I want people to see I don’t eat children and cats!” Yn says

“Honey…who cares?” Wonwoo asks

“You don’t care because it’s not you being accused! I’m a very nice women! I eat children and cats because I wear black and dark makeup?” Yn asks putting her hand on her hip

“No” Wednesday says with a shout

“No!”Atsu says following suit

“That’s right babies! We’re going out tomorrow night!” Yn says making the children cheer

Wonwoo sighs with a smile shaking his head at his family

“W-what’s the name of the reservation?”

“I think we both know the name” wonwoo says

“R-right sorry. Right this way”

The women was practically shaking and the restaurant was quiet. Every pair of eyes was on the jeon family

“They actually left their house?”

“They don’t serve cats and children here what is she going to eat?”

“They have three kids?”

“Who’s the blond guy with them?”

“She’s actually really pretty”

The family sit down at their table and pick up the menus looking over what they may want to eat

“Chickies!!!” Atsu says holding a crayon out to Yn

“You want chicken nuggets Su?” Yn asks grabbing the crayon

“Yes!” He says

“Okay daddy’s going to get you chickies” Yn says coloring the tiger with the small child

Everyone in the restaurant stared in shock at the women and child.

“You want Mac and cheese Taiwoo?” Wonwoo asks causing the boy to shake his head

“You want chickies?” He asks making him nod

“Su are you going to share your chickies with your brother?” Wonwoo asks

“No” he says causing Wednesday and jun to laugh

“Why not?” Yn asks

“He can’t have any” he says

“But why? Sharing is caring” Wonwoo says

“Fine” the boy mumbles coloring away

Yn giggles kissing his forehead

Everyone in the restaurant was shocked at the family. Especially Yn and Wonwoo. All the rumors that went around town about the both of them were Wrong. Yn wasn’t an ugly old women who ate children and cats. Wonwoo wasn’t an mean old cranky man who didn’t take care of his family.

“I’m going to the restroom” wonwoo says before getting up from his seat. As soon as he turned the corner a women with red hair sat in his seat.

“Can I help you?” Yn asks

“Is Mr.Jeon a good husband and parent?” She asks catching you off guard. You look over at Jun who held the same expression you did

“Yes…he is?” You say in a questionable tone handing Atsu his spoon so he can feed himself

“I knew it! From where I was sitting I seen it all! The way he looked at you as he cut your steak and the way he feed the kids?!” She says

“Uh thanks?”

“I can’t even get my husband to take out the trash! Girl he loves you I can tell! And look at these babies oh my aren’t they gorgeous!” She says tickling Atsu who giggles

“Thank you” you say with your brow still raised

“I can just look at you and tell your a kind women. Your so beautiful. Those rumors don’t even have a little bit of truth to them! Why did they start anyway?” She asks

You point to your makeup and dress

“I’m not exactly this towns norm” you say with a sarcastic smile

“Yeahhh…Wednesday goes to beacon middle right?” She asks causing you to nod

“You should come to the PTA meeting tomorrow! You and Mr.Jeon!” She says

“You sure? I won’t scare the other parents?” You ask

“Girl no! I got your back! You’ll be there right?” She asks

“I guess” you say taking the spoon from Atsu who was now playing in the bowl of Mac and cheese

“Great! I’ll see you tomorrow!” She says leaving the seat

“That was weird” Jun says

“Yes it was…Wednesday who’s mother was that?” You ask

“Cherry…I don’t like her. I want to punch her in the face” Wednesday says

“Honey, who was that women in my seat?” Wonwoo asks coming back to the table

“Cherrys mother”

“And who’s cherry?”

“My classmate. Daddy I don’t like her.” Wednesday says

“What did she want?”

“She told me to come to the PTA meeting tomorrow night”

“Are you going to go?” Wonwoo asks cleaning Atsu’s mouth

“Yeah” Yn says making the whole family stop and look at her . Even the babies

“Why?” Wonwoo asks

“Why not? We should be more involved in Wednesday’s school life” yn says shrugging

“This might not be as good of an idea as you think baby” Wonwoo says handing Taiwoo his cup of juice

“We’re going. End of discussion” yn says

“As you wish” he says throwing his hands up in surrender.

“You always look beautiful in black” Wonwoo says kissing your cheek

“I know. It’s my favorite color” Yn say fluffing her puff

She applied black lipstick to her lips before grabbing her purse. She leaves the room with Wonwoo in tow.

“Mommy!! Mommy!” Atsu shouts running over to her wrapping his tiny arm around her leg

“Hi Su baby! Mommy and daddy will be back okay?” She asks causing the smile child to nod

“Now, go get Uncle Jun!” Yn whispers

“I heard that!” Jun shouts from wherever he was

Yn giggles before opening the door.

“Wednesday!” Wonwoo shouts

“Yes?” She says coming from the shadows

“Be on your worst behavior”Wonwoo smirks with a wink

“Aren’t I always?” She says making her parents chuckle before leaving the house

“Now are you doing this to fit in? Cause I don’t get it?” Wonwoo asks

“Fuck fitting in! I just want to prove that I don’t eat children and cats. They took that rumor TOO far” Yn says making Wonwoo nods parking the car.

“Understandable my love, please understand your probably a better person that most of those women in there. That’s why they started rumors about you” he says kissing your knuckles

“Aww aren’t you sweet? I appreciate it love” you say leaning over to kiss his cheek.

Wonwoo rushes to your side of the car opening your door and you made you way into the school. When you made it to the PTA room everyone got quiet

“Hello ladies, and gents how are you?” You ask taking a seat

“What are you doing here?” A blond women asks

“Uh I am a parent of a student who goes here” you say looking at her as if she was dumb

“Well it’s good we have you here because we have something’s to discuss about Wednesday” another blond women says

“Ah! My darling daughter! She’s just an angel isn’t she” you asks making Wonwoo chuckle. You both knew wrong

“Quite the opposite actually. She threaten to stomp another girl into next week if she pulled on her pigtails again”

“Well what was another girl doing pulling on her hair?” Wonwoo asks raising a brow

“Is the other child punished?” Yn asks tilting her head

“Uh no but-“

“Then we don’t need to hear anything else. Next” you say waving your hand

“Well Uh Wednesday also threw a book at another student”

“And what did the other student do?”

“Is that really important? Your daughter is hurting and threading other students”

“It does fucking matter because I know my daughter isn’t just doing stuff unprovoked. So what did the other student do?” Yn asked crossing her legs

“The other student poured milk on her”

“So these students are just fucking with my child and you want to make her out to be the perpetrator? I’ve heard enough.” Yn says standing up

“Wait! Ms.jeon!” The women from the restaurant says

“No! Your lucky I haven’t heard about any of this sooner” yn says

“Or what?” A black haired man says getting in yns face

“I’d step down if I were you, and don’t step to my wife ever again.” Wonwoo says standing up from his seat

“Psh I’m not scared of you, your kid gave mine a black eye. You think your family’s all high and mighty because everyone is scared of you? Well I’m not. Get your dumbass wife and disobedient child under control” the man says

Before you can say anything else Wonwoo grabs the man by his shirt before punching him in the face. He hit him two more times before letting him go allowing him to fall to the floor

“That’ll be your last time disrespecting my family” Wonwoo says dusting off his all black suit

“Well Cherry’s mom. This was a very eventful PTA meeting. This was my first and last time coming to one of these. Please do not let me catch wind that my daughter is being messed up or I will reign hell…Thank you.” Yn says taking wonwoo’s extended hand

He clasp his hand in hers before leading her to the door and back to the car

“How’d it go?” Jun asks

“Oh it was splendid! Wonwoo punched a man!” Yn says chuckling

“Daddy! You punched a guy?” Wednesday asks

“I sure did. Why didn’t you tell me and your mother that kids were bothering you?” He asks

“I didn’t need to. I took care of it” she says making Yn clap

“That’s my babygirl! Defend yourself” Yn says

“That is good you took care of it but you still need to tell us just in case it gets out of hand, okay?” Wonwoo says

“Okay daddy” she says nodding

“We love you okay?” Yn says

“I love you too” she says smiling

“Love too!” Atsu screams coming down the stairs in jun’s arm. Taiwoo holding his hand

“Of course baby, we love you too” Yn says taking the child from jun and Wonwoo picking up taiwoo from the ground.

“Ya know what. Fuck everybody else. Our little quaint family is all we need. Ain’t that right Jun?” Wonwoo says

“That is right”jun says smiling

“I really don’t care about anybody else. I just draw the line at me eating cats and children” Yn says

“And it’s understandable sweetheart. Movie night?” Wonwoo asks

“Come on! Jun pop the popcorn please” Yn says walking towards the living room with her children and husband tow

[milesmoraleswife4l]

Miles 1610 X Nigerian Y/N

notes: nigga when I tell you this took my too long to make. Like writing this is not for the weak bruh

warnings: jus fluff ig

summary: y/n takes miles to meet her nigerian parents. ( im nigerian so umm yea)

“Miles, they are not going to like you if you don't take this seriously.” You said this for the 15th time. Miles is coming with you to a party your parents are throwing at your house. You thought it would be a good time to introduce them to Miles for the first time. As much as you were excited, you were hella nervous because this was the first time you ever brought into this household. And not just any household, but a Nigerian one at that. 

Miles needed to understand that one wrong move will ultimately end in your mom gossiping to all your aunts and your dad to the uncles saying, “ arabinrin mi, o ko ni gbagbọ aṣiwère ti ọmọbinrin wa mu fun wa lati pade oh.” (my sister, you won't believe the fool our daughter has brought back for us to meet oh) 

It's like you could hear it from a mile away. The thought made you sweat bullets because you know that they'll never approve if they have a horrible introduction to each other. “ No Miles try again, that's not right! C’mon you actually have to try. “ You said about just giving up and saying maybe this isn't the right time for him to meet them. ‘’Mami por que te preocupas tanto?’’ He said coming closer to hold your waist. “ because you don't know my parents, they're super judgemental and really strict. Like they didn't want me to even think about boys until i was at the ripe age of 30.’’ “ Thats crazy.’’ He said while laughing. 

 ‘Not its not, because as much as i love you, i need our parents to support our relationship.’’ you said as you were pacing around your room. ‘’ Ok ok I understand. Tell me what I need to do and I'll do it ok?” he said while grabbing both of your sides and engulfing you in a warm hug. And you sigh as you take in a pleasant whiff of his cologne.

TIME SKIP

Miles rang the doorbell to your parents house. “ remember everything i taught you please, and just be yourself at the same time.’’ you said while giving him a nervous smile. ‘’ Don't worry mami everything will be ok’’ He said wanting to give you a kiss but the door flew open.’’ e kassan mommy this is Miles” you said very sweetly to your mom. “ ekassan ma o dara pupọ o pade rẹ” Miles said while bending down to greet your mom. You just stand there; completely shook because you never taught him all of that. ‘’ Here are some roses I brought you, and you look completely beautiful, now I know where Yn got her beauty from.” He says smirking a little at you and how surprised you are. “ AHH AHH YN, why didn't you tell me you got with this handsome man?! Please arewa okunrin, what's your ethnicity, let me have three guesses!’’ your mom said begging the poor boy. “ No mom please no, he doesn't need to tell you all of that.” you said completely embarrassed that it even came out of her mouth. Luckily, Miles just laughed and proceeded to answer the question. “ I'm actually African american and Puerto rican ma.’’ “

Ehen so Yn has now gone and brought home a latin boy, ok ohh.’’ Your mom says, folding her arms in astonishment. “ Ok well Yns dad isn't here right now but you're more than welcome to stay.” Your mom says pulling him away for him to meet all your aunties. “ Come and see the fine boy Yn has brought to me ohh.’’ She exclaimed while pulling miles away. You laughed as you saw him being poked and prodded by many aunties at once. When they finally finished, which felt like hours after, he came back to meet you with a smirk on your face. “ Well, that was definitely something.’’ he said like he just saw a ghost. “ This is my family for you.’’ You said while laughing your head off. “ Haha. very funny.’’ He said while rolling his eyes. “ Anyway, im super hungry, can i get something to eat real quick?’’ He asked, wrapping his hand around your shoulder. “ Not too close omo, do you want her to get pregnant?!’’ Your mom yelled from far away. “ Mom! Stop please im begging” you said covering your face in embarrassment. “ Sorry!” Miles quickly said while moving his arm, but still scooting closer to you so that he can be near you as much as possible. “ Ok lemme just get something for you to eat c’mon.’’ You said while pulling him off the couch. 

He followed you to the kitchen and jumped up when he saw plantain. 

“ You guys have platanos too?!’’ “ Mi vida, here if anyone hears you call it that you're in big trouble. We call it dodo or plantain.” You said while rubbing his face by how cute he's being. “ Well whatever you want to call it, give me two big spoon-fuls of that please.” He said  while looking at it like it was his prey he was about to catch. “ Ok OK! It's not going anywhere why are you looking at it like that?’’ You said, chuckling at how hungry he is. “ Oh and gimme some fufu and efo riro.” He said looking over the table. “ Miles bruh, how do you even know about that?’ You said dying of laughter. “ Mami stop asking my questions and just put it please i'm dying over here” He said all dramatic.

Ok so this is litterally my first story so dont judge me pls. :)

[canidkid]

i saw that you have brett hand agere headcanons and as a trauma kin seeking comfort i’m going to have to ask you to share [pretty please?] /lh

Auuughh this took a bit I'm sorry!!

BUT WITH PLEASURE!! 🌠

..

BRETT HAND AGERE HEADCANONS ⭐🌈🐛🩹 !!

CW: panic attack mention, vent reg mention

**He first noticed it during the comedown periods after panic attacks. He'd get all floaty and ditzy for a bit. Brought it up with his therapist. They recommended looking into age regression and to see if he could potentially use it beneficially. - Sure, why not. Initially just got himself some adult coloring books and markers and started watching kids shows while he found his way back into a stable headspace. - It, eventually, did escalate. Namely with his regression being triggered at cognito, being the first time that had ever happened with someone else (Andre and Reagan) present.

He no longer struggles as much with accepting that side of himself. It's just the way he is. He's an adult, who sometimes just isn't. And that's okay. - **It's become more peaceful as well, no longer being exclusively triggered by panic attacks but also now being somewhat voluntary to de-escalate in certain situations.

His age range is both broad and hard to pinpoint! So he'll be sitting with a pacifier and a plushie...watching or doing something entirely not toddler appropriate!

He likes chewlery, teethers & pacifiers at any age! Though, he does have a general preference for chewlery!

Is really into just watching people, especially Reagan!! (she's still nervous about having the kid in her lab though, she doesn't like children, they are sticky…)

Definitely a little displaced in time, prefers 80s nostalgia over his actual 90s childhood

Loves to learn, anything and everything, bothering people with 2nd grade level fun facts is considered an activity for him

Fidgety. Never stops moving. His energy levels seem to somehow increase !? Loves outdoor play when he succeeds in pestering someone long enough to actually play with him!

Tends to float more around middle-space, at about 10-12!

"do you have games on your phone?" energy

Scooby Doo, Blue's Clues, Ghostbusters and Sesame Street are common background noise in the Hand Bachelor pad !

Not mega picky with food! But...if you really can't get him to eat something...ketchup or sprinkles will help 9/10 times..little weirdo /lh

Collects doggie toys!! Especially plushies!

The one thing he kept from his actual childhood is a yellow puppy luvvie,, it's still in pretty good shape and he's often toting it with him around the house!

Overall I think he's really just the sweetest little kid. He needs a fair amount of reassurance from those watching him that he, in fact, is not being too much or annoying. And they, IN FACT, are doing this because they love him and want to see him happy!!

**He does have his moments, not surprisingly. He's not always a happy camper when small, especially if negatively triggered. Sometimes it's a bit of a gamble if he'll come up from an episode and stay in his adult headspace, slip under and relax, or if you're gonna have an especially teary and clingy kiddo.

The gang loves him. Reagan would commit unspeakable atrocities for this kid. Gigi just wants to shower him in prezzies from rich auntie! Andre and Myc are..questionable babysitters...but nothing has happened yet! (because no one lets them babysit.) And Glenn has to be verbally whacked on occasion - no, Mr Dolphman, Brett does not want to learn how to [insert strange dolphin surgery veteran activity] !!!

I don't want this post to be too long but tbh I could go on!!! ⭐🌈

I hope these are good and enough for now >:]]

[jeanbie]

♡˳೫˚∗ LOVELY #2 ★ masterlist.

pairing: jean x reader

genre: domestic au | warnings: suggestive sexual themes at the end | wc: 3.3k

⏤ Jean and Y/N play Mom and Dad for a little bit.

Jean could cry. He could quite honestly, genuinely, whole-heartedly cry, right here and right now in the middle of his living room, surrounded by mess and feathers from the bedroom pillows.

He loves kids, don’t get him wrong- my God, he loves kids, and loves how kids can make a house feel like a home, how kids say some really fucking weird things; but, Jean finds that kids are a lot of hard work.

He has half the heart to call his parents and say sorry urgently, because children are like tiny spawns of Satan, demons wanting to cause chaos at every corner.

The last time Jean and yourself were given the mission of looking after your niece and nephews, they were much smaller, and therefore easier to look after. All they did was sleep, and cry when they were hungry or needed to pee or poop, and were perfectly content doing absolutely nothing all damn day.

Now, three years later, when your sister and her husband are going on a small self-care vacation to Spain, Jean removes himself from the situation to observe the situation, which in description is the view of his living room completely ransacked and bustling with life, crazed children dashing around at full speed, like Mario Kart characters using the star. 

It’s so overwhelming that he actually doesn’t even know what to say. When the fuck did they get so hard to look after?

Whenever your niece and nephews came over to visit, they clung to Jean like moths to lamplight. You never knew why, but it made sense. Jean was fun, and easy to get along with, and perhaps his kind-hearted nature was universally loved by all ages. Even when they were babies, they settled with Jean, staying silent and googly-eyed whereas in your arms they screeched, like banshees or dinosaurs swinging in trees.

You couldn’t fault them; Jean was irresistible, maternal almost in the way his voice changed around the kids, the way he laughed at their weird jokes and forced himself into pretend roles, like the mean villain coming to take over their Playmobil hospital.

Eight a.m, that’s when they arrived. Jean had got up at six, eager and anxious, already cutting up salad bowls made up of apple slices and watermelons.

Over an overly bitter cup of tea, you heard him ask, “wait, can three year olds eat watermelon?”, and you glared at him to resist the urge to respond with something that may well hurt his feelings.

(1)

“Y/N, I’m sorry, but you’re boring.”

Five year olds can be blunt and mean. You now know this to be a fact, because the eldest of the four just said that to you, his hands on his hips with his lips in an unamused pout. He stands by the window, one foot on the Playmobil ambulance and the other on his leg like a flamingo.

“What? Why, what did I do?” you ask, confused and honestly, slightly offended.

Jean sits off to one side petting the hair of the youngest, his secret favourite because she’s not quite old enough to ask questions or complain.

“That’s what I mean, you’re not doing anything,” he huffs. “You’re supposed to be the bad police officer.”

“There’s no such thing as a bad police officer,” you try to tell him. You pause, realising you’re wrong but also realising that you’re not advised to get political with a five year old, especially one who still thinks the tooth fairy is a real thing. “I’m trying to be realistic.”

“You suck,” comes his reply. Jean snorts, shrugging when you glance at him angrily.

“Stop, you know I’m your favourite Aunt,” you say to him sweetly.

Your nephew, sassy and honest little Jamie, pulls a face and sits back down with a huff, snatching the ambulance off the carpet to thrust the small man inside. “You’re my only Aunt, Auntie Y/N.”

Right.

The not-so-bad-police-officer gets snatched away from you seconds later and you decide, with finality and assertiveness, that you’re done with playing pretend with them.

You lift yourself up off the floor, crouching over to take Maria away from Jean’s arms. Jean pouts, his eyes blown wide as he watches the baby being lifted away from him and towards you.

“Uncle Jean can be the villain,” you suggest, making Jamie forget how uncool you are as he launches into an enthusiastic cheer, followed by his siblings who are making noise just because he is. Jean stares at you, pleading. “Anybody hungry?”

“No thanks, Auntie Y/N,” Jamie replies.

“Oh, do we have animal crackers?” asks Marcel politely, and you nod, taking his hand as you walk towards the kitchen, where a neatly packed bag sits on the counter where you left it when the four little monsters came by your apartment this morning. 

(2)

“Y/N, did you move Jamie’s inhaler?”

“No, why?”

Jean appears in the doorway to the kitchen, scratching the back of his neck out of a nervous, absent-minded habit. His eyes are glued to the four children in the living room.

“They’re running around a lot, I don’t want Jamie to lose his breath and have an attack,” Jean explains, meanwhile you rummage around in your sister’s handy dandy travel bag and search for the tiny blue inhaler.

Jean braves looking away from them and instead over to you, “if it’s not in there, it’s fine, I’ll check the bathroom again.”

You hum, searching blindly. “Yeah, it’s not here, baby. Check the cabinet under the sink, I’m eighty nine percent sure that it’s in one of those plastic boxes.”

Jean’s eyebrows push up in amusement: “Jamie’s life is counting on this eighty nine percent.”

“The more you question me, the less confident I get. Check the bathroom,” you reply, shoving a baby carrot into your mouth as you follow Jean out of the kitchen, opting to watch the kids while he rummages around in hordes of bathroom mess.

While Jean hurries into the hallway to check the bathroom, you step out into the living room and pause comically.

The four kids seem perfectly happy, loud and obnoxious and covered in a thin layer of white feathers, bleeding from one of the pillows mangled on the floor.

Without context, this looks like a murder scene, with crayons broken and split around the floor and the couch throw on the floor next to the Playmobil set, and you’re half praying on everybody’s behalf that those pillows aren't the ones from the master bedroom, because you’re pretty sure you don’t have any spares laying around for later.

“Found it,” Jean returns a few minutes later, holding the small inhaler in his hands. After taking a second out of the room, when he comes back he doesn’t quite know what to say. “The mess wasn’t my fault.”

You frown, your hands on your hips. “I know. Maybe you should put on a movie, keep them entertained for a bit so they don’t completely trash our house.”

Jean chews the inside of his lip. “Is it cheating if we call over Marco to help? He’s always on kiddie pool duty, he’s better with kids than we are.”

“You’re so good with kids, shut up,” you say to him, gently smacking his arm. “They love you.”

(3)

“I hate carrots.”

“You do like carrots.”

A gag. “Vegetables! Yuck!”

With one hand, you rake through your hair, staring tiredly at Jamie and Freddie as they fuss over the food on their plates. And it’s not even like you wanted to give them carrots! You’re just following the note left for you in the bag, with the instructions of an actual parent being your law.

Jean sits at the other end of the table, twirling his fork around his food as he watches, feeling increasingly guilty.

It’s hard being an Aunt, especially hard being the uncool Aunt. He knows it’s just a joke, just something the kids say because you’re looking out for them, and he frowns, looking around the table.

“I’m allergic to carrots,” Jamie says suddenly.

“Don’t lie,” you tell him, aeroplane feeding Maria who seems to be the only baby present who appreciates your efforts. She laughs and squeals as the spoon of food comes towards her and that makes you smile, animated sound effects as she eats it.

Jamie pouts, “It’s true.”

“Your Mom told me to feed you this, don’t hate me,” you say to him, making your own pout which he, as a stubborn five year old, ignores. “Come on, eat all your food and you can have pudding afterwards. I’ll let you have two slices of cake instead of one.”

He feels tempted. “Can I leave the carrots?”

“No. Carrots will make you super strong,” you explain. “Uncle Jean ate carrots when he was a kid and now he’s real strong, look!”

Jamie glances at Jean, who smiles for effect and encouragement. “Auntie Y/N is right. I hated carrots too, but I wanted to be big and strong so I ate all my vegetables.”

A groan of sadness comes out of Jamie’s mouth. At this point, Freddie is convinced, wolfing down his carrots that he actually doesn’t hate after-all, considering they’re gone in a matter of seconds. Marcel seems unbothered about the entire thing, quietly eating his food because he knows that he wants that additional slice of cake, even if Jamie is going to refuse it, he is not!

Before you can have a mental breakdown at the dinner table, Jean leans over slightly and looks at Jamie with a gentle and wide-eyed expression, child-like, engaging.

“Did you also know that all the good kids on Santa’s nice list eat vegetables?”

Mid-mumble, Jamie freezes, looking at Uncle Jean. “Really?” Intonation, his voice is so high.

Jean nods. “Mhm! Santa said that if you eat your veggies and say thank you to whoever made you the meal, he’ll bring you anything you want on Christmas Day. Don’t you wanna be on the good list?”

Jamie nods furiously. “Yep! Uncle Jean, that’s so cool, you know Santa!”

(4)

Splash.

“Careful, honey, don’t get the floor all wet.”

“Sorry, Auntie Y/N. It was the ducky’s fault!”

Bath time is a chore, surprisingly harder than it was when they were babies and needed extra attention in the water. Marcel sits solo in the bathtub, the sound of Freddie and Jamie running around in the bedroom an ambience as you crouch by the tub and help Marcel get clean.

Maria is the only child clean and patient, so calm and cute and cuddly and ready to go to sleep the second her bathtime is over. Jean groans somewhere in the apartment, keeping the twins entertained while Marcel finishes up.

“O-kay,” you say, after a few minutes of helping wash away some suspicious chocolate stains off his arms. Most likely super-cool-Uncle-Jean gave them something extra after dessert, and honestly, that wouldn’t surprise you if it were true. “All done! Feel better?”

Marcel nods, letting the duck float away. “Yep. I’m cold.”

“Once you’re dry and changed, we can put on the heating and finish up watching Cars, does that sound okay?”

“That sounds fun, Auntie Y/N! You’re the bestest,” he grins, and you grin too, because honestly, you’re taking coolness points in gasps, and anything to prove you’re not some grouchy unfun Aunt is welcomed and encouraged.

Marcel doesn’t make a fuss as he gets dried, shuddering for extra effect and happily snuggling into his duck onesie once everything is dry and ready for him to get changed.

Marcel is a human rocket. He hops into his onesie and races back into the living room, reaching his final destination of Uncle Jean as a loud groan fills the house, likely due to the fact that Marcel has jumped on top of his Uncle, like he always does, just to get the reaction.

You sniff, leaning to flush the toilet because apparently they haven’t quite mastered that one yet, and drain the bathtub. The floor sits wet, pooling like an extra tub or the floor of a shower and you sigh, grabbing an extra towel off the rack to soak up the bathwater, the low bubbling sound of the water disappearing briefly out-yelling the terrorsome three out in the living room.

“Need any help, honey?”

Behind you, Jean appears in the doorway, not quite in and not quite out. He hovers, waiting patiently to see if he can find an excuse to stop being a couch for the three kids. You lean over the bathtub, taking out their small toys and setting them on the side with hopes that they will dry overnight.

“Nah, I’m okay,” you tell him, looking over your shoulder with a smile. Jean stands there, having changed, in an oversized jumper and sweats. “What are they doing?”

“Fighting,” Jean says. “I’d break it up, but I wanna see if they’ll learn their lesson once they get hurt.”

“That’s perfect. But fucked. Are we fucked up?”

Jean shrugs. “Worked for me and my cousins when we were younger. I turned out okay!”

You look at him for a moment with a bewildered look. “Sure, if that’s what you want to call it.”

The bathtub makes a gurgle, the water gone and you crouch to pick up the bathmat, hanging it over the small radiator for it to dry faster. Jean then takes several steps backwards as you meet him outside, his smile widening as you close the door and turn off the light, falling into his arms with a soft thud and sigh. His arms wrap around you sweetly, warm and tight, like home.

Jean likes weekends for the moments he gets to spend with you, but today, he’s barely seen you in his own home. Longing- Jean tightens his arms around you and presses his lips to the crown of your head, gently swaying you from side to side like a waltz. He knows you feel the same way, the same kind of tired and wanting energy, as your arms lock around him tighter.

“Come on,” Jean mutters, pouting slightly when you pull out of his embrace and glance up at him. He exaggerates it, humming, and then leaning to press his lips to yours.

Moments after he pulls away, he comes back in for another, and another, his hands molded behind your back.

“Love you,” he adds in between one kiss, and you hum in reply. It’s enough.

There’s a pitter-patter of feet. “Ewwww! Auntie Y/N and Uncle Jean are having sex!”

You pull away from Jean with such speed that it might give you whiplash; Jamie stands looking slightly horrified in the hallway, near the door to the living room, proud of his rising of ews that follow from his siblings near the TV.

“Don’t say that! Where did you even learn that word?” you gasp, moving towards the five year old.

Jamie shrugs. “Heard it at Mommy’s birthday party. Uncle Reiner said it.”

You sigh knowingly. “Should have known.”

“Please don’t go around saying that when your Mom and Dad come to get you,” Jean adds in, looking flustered from behind you.

(5)

The bathroom light switches off. Jean closes the door and rubs his face, groaning out aches from his shoulders as he approaches the bed, shirtless, his toes curling into the carpet.

“I swear they weren’t that crazy last time we looked after them,” Jean says, sinking onto the bed. “Have they always been like that? Am I the crazy one?”

“It’s this scary thing called growing up,” you reply, sitting back against your pillows with your phone in your hands, the screen lighting up with new messages from your sister. “Can’t believe you got them to go to sleep without any trouble. It’s giving me baby-fever…”

“I’m gonna have to ask you to slow down,” replies Jean, sounding winded.

“Everytime you hang out with them, it just proves to me how good you are with kids, and how, you know, someday you might be a Dad and- ugh, you’re gonna be great,” you sigh, followed by Jean grunting with amusement and shuffling to lay right beside you, his nose on your arm.

You set your phone down, turning to match together against him like a puzzle. “They’re not shy when it comes to picking favourites. God, they really hate me.”

Jean rolls his eyes, “No, they don’t. They love you- you’re so good with looking after them. If I was doing all this alone, there’s no doubt I’d probs forget to feed them at dinner time. I’d straight up order a pizza and forget that kids need certain foods to grow up.”

Laughter suffices as a reply, and that’s that for a little bit. In his head, Jean wants to talk all about how great of a Mom you’ll be, how amazing it would be for him to watch you raise children, his children.

He doesn’t say any of these things, because he’s one-hundred-percent certain that you know it all already, and that you’re just modest and insecure about it. So, Jean hums and pulls you closer for a hug, smooching your lips when you’re close enough.

The door is closed. The four kids are sleeping, Maria so deep in sleep that not even her brothers could wake her up if they screamed. Jean knows this. You know this. So, he moves his hand from your back to your ass, feeling the curve, feeling the smile against his teeth.

“Stop, our niece and nephews are next door,” you warn him, quietly, mumbles against his mouth. Jean smirks, gently nipping your bottom lip with his teeth and pushing his head into your neck.

“And it would suck to wake them up,” Jean replies, worming his way into places hot and inviting. “So, keep it quiet, yeah?”

You huff, rolling to your back and parting your legs as Jean slots in between. “I love when you get bossy on an evening,” you say to mock him and he laughs quietly.

“I love you,” he breathes.

(6)

“And they were good?”

Jean and yourself share a glance.

“Golden,” you say.

Your sister stands in the kitchen, giving you both the stink eye while the three older kids race around the house, excited at the fact their cool parents are home three days later.

Honestly, she knows you’re lying, because these are her kids and she knows them better than anybody.

Anyway, she shrugs. “They must always be good for you guys. You can babysit more often.”

Jean tenses in his seat. He loves these kids but, holy fuck, the thought of looking after them again so soon makes him want to throw up. If there is one thing Jean has learnt from looking after three wild rampaging children and one angelic princess baby- but, again, he has no favouritism!- it’s that it is absolutely harder than it looks.

It’s not enough to put him off though.

(7)

[5:45pm] Mean Sibling #1: Tell me why Jamie is talking about how you and Jean had sex [5:46pm] You: OMG THATS NOT TRUE [5:46pm] You: well, i mean… [5:46pm] You: not in front of them !!!! what kind of aunt do you think i am????? [5:49pm] Mean Sibling #1: How does he even know what sex means….how does he know that word [5:50pm] Mean Sibling #1: Hubby is laughing at me. what does my husband know that i don’t [5:52pm] You: that sounds like a you problem [5:54pm] Mean Sibling #1: ok well sorry for accusing you :P gotta give my FIVE YEAR OLD a talk….dear fucking god [5:59pm] Mean Sibling #1: wait a damn second wtf do you mean NOT IN FRONT OF THEM??? [6:00pm] Mean Sibling #1: Y/N ANSWER UR PHONE [6:01pm] Mean Sibling #1: Y/N [6:03pm] Mean Sibling #1: fucker

[pleasantlyinsincere]

Part 2

(Part 1: Paul attacking Ruth over a TV appearance, Jim's prudent gambling, Paul and Linda being awful houseguests)

“It’s not working out with you” - Sleeves to the elbow, only skirts and short hair.

(This is an 11 minute long bit and has little to do with Paul directly, so I transcribed only a small part of it. But I find it so interesting how that crazy family worked.)

‘Mike and I’ve been having a talk. It’s not working out with you.’ … I said ‘What do you mean?’ - ‘You are too quick for me. [...] I’m gonna talk to Paul and he’ll buy you a house, or a shop, or a little business.’ [...] The night he said it’s not working, I said ‘What things?’.  He said: ‘Well you go around with bare arms and I’ve seen Mr. Jack, the gardener, [...] looking at you bare arms. And this thing with the long hair and the ponytail, it’s just not respectable. [...] And I had promised my first husband, who loved my long hair [...], he always said to me: ‘Promise me, you’ll never get your hair cut off.’ And in an attempt to save my marriage [...] I went to the hairdressers and said: ‘Chop the lot off!’. [...] And went back to Jim’s. He said [...] ‘I called Auntie Ginnie and asked her how to handle this. [...] She reckons we should go over there, have afternoon tea with her and talk this thing through.’. I thought, what the fuck does it have to do with your sister?  [...] So I was subjected then to go over to auntie Ginnie’s for afternoon tea with Jim and for her to say ‘Now, you know, is that side of your marriage alright?’ She wants to know about sex again. [...] Just so unbelievable, Geoffrey, it was like in a nightmare. And we came home that evening and Jim said ‘So what are we having to eat then?’. And I cooked steak in the oven, I made rice pudding, and we sat down and watched television and it was never mentioned again!

Musings on generosity

It seemed to be a game with Paul and Linda. They would do things for people and then sit back and watch them fuck it up by themselves. [...] The rush head-long into these things and then when people flounder and fuck up, ‘Oh, well. Shit happens. Nevermind’. Buy Jim a big house, gibe him all the money in the world. Then take it away. And then give him allowance that you know he will have to struggle on to pay the bloody heating bills. [...] I had just recollected that Auntie Millie, Jim’s sister Millie, who was a real pal to Paul and Michael. When their mother died, she spent every single Monday and lot’s of other days besides taking care of them. In her final years, she became infirm and wasn't able to live alone any longer. She finished her days in a nursing home. And I was told by a close member of the family that Paul was very good. He payed half of the bill. Auntie Millie gave entire old age pension as her portion. They took her pension in its entirety and Paul payed the rest of the bill. Now wasn’t that generous of him. I could only think, why didn’t he pay her entire bill and let Auntie Millie keep her few pounds a week, her independence, so that she could buy toiletries and books and nuts for her grandchildren, chocolate for her grandchildren, when they visited. That half to me was just so strange.

Adult type compliment

At this stage I was probably around 13 years old and I was about the same size as I am now. I got out of the bathtub. I had a towel around me. A towel on my head and a towel around me and I got out of the bathroom. And I was walking around to the left … back into my bedroom. Paul was coming out of their room. … And he said ‘My, my, my. Look at you. You’re getting to be a big girl, you’re growing up, aren’t you?’ He patted me on the rump. And Linda heard him and there was just world war three. … I didn’t hear the exact words, but she had heard him paying me an adult type compliment, noticing the fact that I wasn’t little toothless, six-year-old Ruth anymore. …

[calypso-finale]

Hundred Eleven.

I am such a school mom now, just standing outside gossiping to Prudent but gradually the circle is becoming bigger, at this age I am like this. The thing that gets me my mom was never like this, she wasn’t active in school life, and neither was my dad they didn’t stand outside like this. I mean he would park up and wait but like, activle just be there. I am making sure this is so much more different, I am making sure it is different from what my parents did “I am still waiting for the moment where the teachers tell me Jordan has done something wrong” Prudent mumbled “it’s been a week, give it time but Aziel seems more focused, he has really been soaking it up, I have been trying to keep it to the timetable but I need to tell him Grace will be picking him up, I am going over to America for a few days, I don’t want to actually take him out or home school him, it’s just been a week in and he is settling in just right” Prudent nodded her head in agreement “no you’re right, you can’t take him out because he is just settling, tell Grace he cam come out to mine for one day. I don’t mind the boys and Jordan has been asking for Aziel to come over, so what about it?” she asked, I mean I can’t say no, that is rude, but she offered “why not then, on Friday? That way he can stay a little later” Prudent grinned “I guess Friday will be pizza, he said he wanted Aziel and pizza, so he is going to be so excited” I cooed out, seeing the kids coming out, they come out class by class but because Aziel is only first year they are first. Aziel is the first one in the line, he just smiled at me but then got ever so shy that I was looking at him, I waved at him, but he is getting shy. The teacher pointed at me and let him go “hey baby, come here” he ran to me “how was your day?” he held my leg being shy “good?” he nodded his head “shall we go, our driver is waiting for us. Prudent, I need to go. I will tell Grace” hugging her “awww see you Friday Aziel” she waved at him “have a good time” holding his hand “thank you” I mouthed walking off with him.

Tianna is treating us to Nobu and I didn’t decline so I am currently dressing Aziel, I am leaving tonight so there is enough time for us to eat, put him to bed but then Grace will take over “Aziel, did you pick what top you want to wear” I asked him, I love his walk in closet, I made it so he can get his own clothes easily, nothing is high up “yes mommy” I cooed out “I like this top, you got good taste like mommy” getting down onto my knees “Aziel, mommy has to go away for a few days, but she will be back and Grace will be here ok” helping him take his top off “Ti go away too?” nodding my head “Ti too, auntie Ti, no more Ti ok? You say auntie, she not your friend. But I am going to be away, so I want you to be good for Grace, if I come back and I hear you been naughty, we going to have issues. Also, Jordan mommy has invited you to her home baby, how exciting, you and Jordan are going to have Pizza and all the fun stuff, but when I come back we can have a sleepover ok?” he nodded his head “are you ok with that yeah? I will be back, promise. I will be back in three days” I can’t be gone for too long; I can’t do it like that. I hated my mother being away, I love having dad around, but you always want mom “promise” he smiled “are you enjoying school?” he nodded his head “yes and no” letting out an oh “and why the no?” buttoning up his shirt “I sit away from Jordan” the way he says Jordan, my son and this British accent “that is fine, maybe teacher did that so you both can concentrate but then I bet you both play don’t you at playtime?” I know he does “yes” side eyeing him “see what I mean, so you do enjoy school, there you go. Handsome aren’t you, now pick what shoes and then we can go, give me kiss” poking my lips out and he kissed my lips “love you” getting up from the floor “look, auntie here to put shoes on” Ti eyeballed me “did I” I sniggered “yes you did” she can do the honours with that.

Dragging Aziel seat closer to me “you don’t even know how to eat properly, why did you pick chicken wings” this child “mommy hands” wiping his hands “yes I can see, but you got these to finish so finish the rest and then I will wash your hands ok” he nodded his head “he is so cute” Tianna giggled “cute?” I questioned “he is though, isn’t he, the only grandchild. I am so glad I didn’t get pregnant; I was on top of it. I swear I was like I don’t want one yet. I think you will be on the second by the time I am ready” shaking my head “only child he will be ok” who the hell is having another, not me “why is people saying this about me, trauma is all I think when I think of pregnancy” shaking my head “shut up you will be, you know what you can block numbers, but you can’t block a number when they ring on blocked. He keeps doing it” I took her phone, she is being harassed by this man “hello” I answered “I want to speak to her, I am sorry” I kissed my teeth “accept that this is over. You should thank god she didn’t air you out like that because she should have, I still have the picture of the bruise you left on her body, I will tell my dad and he will fuck you up again, leave my sister alone. Do not worry, she will find a good man, I promise you” he put the phone down “he is mad, let him cry on that” kissing my teeth “why don’t you move in with me” I really want her too “I can’t, I have the project in LA. I am so glad we never got a home together” I laughed “yeah, trust me. It’s awkward, that’s me and Oakley, fucking weird but we just keep it like that. But like I am scared he will try something, stay with mom and dad or I will tell dad, he is crazy!” I spat “those Instagram pages too, like he is saying the right words, but his actions don’t give, I am like healing. I think what it is, I knew what he was like, I was praying he would change, and it didn’t happen. I am not upset about it, but we move on also I am interested in this guy Oakley keep telling me about” I laughed out pulling Aziel chair out so I can go and clean his damn hands, he’s a mess “you sneaky, he is on tour with him and I can’t put my finger on it, it’s nice to see you get on with him after everything” getting up from the chair “that is my point, I said to Taylan I know the shit that went on, I know you both talk but he is ok with me, why can’t you be sane” she tried “don’t worry about it, and you!” I said looking at Aziel “come” he is so annoying for that.

Leaning down to Aziel “it girls mommy” he got issues with going to the women bathroom “and I am here Aziel!” I said “oh” looking behind me “sorry” I apologised, I know him he is an American basketball player “it’s ok, enjoying the view” shaking my head “right” he looked at Aziel “it’s girls” he pointed “it is, and it stinks” side eyeing “very funny” I don’t even know the guy “Zach” he said “he’s called Aziel” I pointed “ha ha ha, nice to meet you Aziel” I smirked “if you don’t know me then don’t ask, now walk” taking Aziel along with me “ok Rylee” he said my name, I stopped midway opening the door “whatever” how weird is that, walking to the sinks “it’s girls mommy” I swear this child “nothing like his dad” looking to the side of me, what is with today “oh wow, not you” of course Kenza is here “he’s grown now, wow” she said “he is” helping Aziel wash his hands “how is Oakley?” she asked “fine” what is it with today, this is why I stay inside “how is your son? I heard social services were called” which is true “being nosey isn’t cute” I chuckled “are you sure, everyone knows. Not only did you play a man with cancer the baby father hates you that much, but anyways Kenza. God bless, let’s dry your hands off” walking over to get paper towels “well you also the spiteful bitch that had to do all this dramatic shit because you wanted to be the only baby mother” let me not answer that, she is a stupid bitch.

I scoffed “everything is so weird, just seen fucking Kenza and then Zach Lavine was checking me out. Like ok, leave me alone. Is the mains coming” Tianna is laughing “funniest thing is, he came to the table and asked for your number, and I told him you’re taken” I gasped “did you” Tianna and I laughed out “I’m telling you; your man is in America. Just work it out” I pulled a face seeing just the man texting me, opening the text.

From: Oakley

U need to check in on Imani uno

To: Oakley

Why?

That is random of him “Oakley text me saying I should be checking on Imani, like ok?” He started calling my phone instead “hello” I answered “yo, yo, yo” I miss him, I do. I would say it’s been about a week and a half really “look bad, baddie” I chuckled “it’s nice to have a stalker you know, I just literally arrived an hour ago” he already seen the pictures “I have notification on your name you know, those google alerts work” he’s such an idiot “whatever, tell me about Imani, what she done now? You ruining my date with my son and sister to hear you” which is true “ayo, you miss me, that’s why you flying out. You going to make it for my date in Toronto? How you still in London? How rude” he got me there “I’ll make it for the end don’t worry, tell me” I’ll make it for the last song I think “mhmm alright so your sister isn’t even on this date because she’s unwell, but like I heard from others that she been partying every night, I’m like not Imani, she’s quiet. And gossip is she tried whippets that’s why she’s not well, now I don’t want to get involved but your dad asked me to add her on and now she’s unwell because she wants to try these things, like I don’t know” I am stumped “not Imani” I said “I said the same thing but I don’t want to be the snitch or get involved, she’s in Toronto, I went to see her and she was a little rude to me so I said ok and walked off, like I ain’t taking it but she doing that shit is not cool, you could see her or something. Like please don’t tell your dad, Herb is doing his own thing and then me I’m just doing mine” I am so confused because my sister wouldn’t do that “doing what Oakley? Other girls yeah?” He laughed out “oh god you’re jarring, but you reminded me I need to make sure the girls are off the bus” rolling my eyes “leave them, bring a friend Oakley but anyways don’t worry about it, I’ll see her when I come, what did she say to you? Like she shouldn’t be rude to you? Tell me what happened” she can be a brat sometimes “I went to her room, knocked on the door. Her friend opened it up, like she is Willow friend, but her friends are all weird and on tour. So I went to the room, and she just said my dad spy is here, I laughed it off and she just being like very weird with me and making a little joke. She said she don’t need to be babysat I said no I’m just concerned and if you’re ok, and like her friend, I don’t know her but said like some low-key comment of she isn’t young enough for you, Imani knew it was wrong, so I said what? But it was just all rude to me for nothing, just annoyed me” that bitch “I’m sorry Oakley, I’ll be there. I’ll see you soon” how dare she even allow anyone to say things like that, I’ll get her forget dad.

I huffed out “bitch, Imani is going to get a slap” Ti gasped “not my Imani, why?” I kissed my teeth “well keep it between us, we will deal with it but gossip on the tour is that she has been having too much fun, she tried whippets but since then she’s been out of the tour, so Oakley went to see her because she’s still travelling with the team, and he said she was very weird with him and her friend made a joke of she isn’t young enough, Oakley of course felt a type of way. That shit isn’t funny, you know him Imani, so clearly she needs to be dealt with. I want her to live life but not on the expense of Oakley so yeah, we need to find out” Tianna is so shocked “ladies, you have been sent cocktails from the table there” the waiter pointed, seeing where he pointed and it’s Zach “oh god, thanks” I smiled “Ti you can take them because I can’t drink, I’m on the no drinking and a drink from any man just gives me fear” Ti cooed out “you still have that fear” nodding my head “Saint fucked me up, what is it baby” Aziel is climbing the chair “I want it?” He pointed at the phone “ok baby, you can have it” unlocking my phone “let’s not speak on that” she mumbled “TT baby, I’m going to miss you. Are you wanting auntie to live with you?” Tianna asked, Aziel nodded his head “we can have candy when mommy is asleep” maybe Ti will stay with me “we want auntie to stay don’t we” I smiled at him, it will be nice.

I just know Oakley will be less then impressed that I did come but like at the end of his performance, but I will see him again in another city “we got the longest trip on these buses, eleven hours” is Wadz serious “ok but who is going on that? Is he stupid?” I know nobody is doing that “us!” he laughed, he can laugh all he wants because I am not “I will see y’all there. Hell no” walking off to go to the edge of the stage “hey” YB said waving “hello, hello, hello. I arrived” he laughed “yeah late, he said oh they coming before I go on, wishful thinking for that” I grinned “I tried” I chuckled, walking up the ramp “who is this guy that Cench keeps talking about, he is never around, is he here?” I shrugged “not a clue, he is a very mysterious guy because I know generally who he is with so yeah, I will get it of him don’t worry” Ti wants to know and I will find out, I want to know myself who it is. Smiling as I saw him on stage performing “you know damn well to come and stand here, he will peep you this way” I giggled “well least he knows I came” I shrugged, he can’t be mad at that. He pointed at me, and I just smiled awkwardly, looking behind me and Ti is taking a video “The way it's clapping I'm fascinated, matter of fact I'm infatuated. Bend her back she elasticated. Kill the pum pum, assassinate it” I sang along as she took the video and felt his arm go around me “you got the vibe just right come alive at night I'm on demon time. She don't trust man; I got no reason to lie” he dragged me along, like I have had a long flight, well kind of and I look a mess, in a way I do but what the fuck, now I want the ground to swallow me up “What you doing in the a.m., you only ever holla in the evening time. Toronto make some noise for the late comers” looking at his face “you ass” I mouthed, shaking my head “you came late” he said in my ear, now he has embarrassed me, looking at Ti and she is laughing at me.

[thewatercolours]

King's Quest Ficlet: "Dapplethorpe" (Goblin Graham, interlude)

The earlier Goblin Graham installments can be found here within the Rippling Consequences arc.

--

“Oh! Oh my stars. Oh, forgive me. Your face isn’t one I expected to see at my doorstep.”

“Hello, Auntie. I mean, um, Aunt. Sorry. Been a bit. I’m just used to – you know, can we start over? This is why most royals have someone else announce them before they arrive, I guess. And I really should have sent ahead instead of just turning up. I didn’t expect you to recognize me anymore, but you know, process of elimination… I’m sorry, I’m usually rather decent at this sort of thing.”

“Oh, I’m used to it, dear. I sailed with one of my first mates more than twenty years and he still did exactly what you’re doing any time he got back from a shore leave more than two days long.”

“Ha.”

“And let’s just go with Auntie, if it’s all right with you. I’m far too old to get used to a change. Will you be wanting me to call you ‘Majesty?’

“Rosella’s just fine, especially if we’re going the ‘Auntie’ route. Oh dear. I see you were going out. If it’s a bad time I can wait.”

“Oh, don’t. I was only bringing a basket of work down to the brook. It can wait just as well as you can. And the basket didn’t come all the way from Daventry with something on it’s mind. Oh – oh no. Is everything all right? Has something happened?”

“Um… not exactly? I don’t really know how to explain it without telling the whole story.”

“You’ve been riding hard, haven’t you? Haven’t you at least got a guard?”

“I never needed guards in the old days.”

“You must be worn out. And it must be quite the story. Come in and have something to eat and drink by the fire.”

“Is anyone in the house right now?”

“A couple of the hired hands are in the kitchen.”

“Then I’d rather go down to the brookside with you. I think it’d be easier.”

“My dear, you’d better watch it. This is an old body. You might kill me with suspense. Is it bad, whatever it is?” “I don’t know. The magic mirror’s gone all strange. It’s showing the story of Dad escaping the goblin tunnels. But it’s different. This time, it’s showing he got turned into a goblin.” “He got turned into a goblin?”

“In the visions, at least. And this whole thing where he gets out but finds the kingdom is under siege by the goblins. And it won’t stop like it used to. It just goes on and on showing. Gwendolyn’s convinced it’s somehow showing something real. It’s driving her mad. And we don’t have answers. I asked everyone in Daventry who was alive at that time what they remembered – and they all say it doesn’t line up. Dad came back, perfectly himself, they say, and other than a few kidnapped villagers, everything was normal and peaceful in Daventry. Just the way he’s always told it. The guards don’t remember it taking place that way.” “They’re still going?”

“A few old-timers are, anyway. They don’t remember it like that – but it’s all a bit blurry for them. Age, I expect. I haven’t seen Ken take his helmet off in ages, but he’s got to be positively ancient by now, and you know how old people and their memories – oh! Oh, well that’s put my foot in it.”

“A bit. Now take it out of your mouth so you can keep talking.”

“Well, there’s no one else left in Daventry who was alive at the time. And then I remembered you. And that Dad came here to see you and Grandma not long after the whole goblin thing, and I thought… well, it’s silly, but if you could just tell me something about it either which way, it might help. I’m so worried for Gwendolyn. She’s in an absolute state about it all.”

“Oh my. I have no idea what to say. I never heard of anything like this.”

“That he was a goblin?”

“Or any of it. But then, I wasn’t here. I was… let me think. If we’re talking about the time Graham got kidnapped, I was on the voyage to Tamir at that time – I was gone nearly a year. I’m afraid the guards are better help than I am.”

“Oh. I’m --”

“No, no apologies. Neither of us is wasting our time. This isn’t the end of your trail. We’ve hardly even talked. Look. You give me my cane, and if you wouldn’t mind taking the basket, we’ll head down to the brook and try to make heads and tails if we can.”

“I’m awfully grateful.”

“At least I’ll get a story out of it. It’s a crime how long it’s been since I’ve connected with the family. Come on. Down the path round the back. The thing is, at the time you’re talking about, I wasn’t home, like I said. It was our oldest sister who was still living with my Mom at the time. She’d have been the one to talk to.”

“But she’s gone.”

“Right. But she told me things. Madeline always told us things when we came and went. And she kept things too. She had so many chests of things she kept. A regular hoarder, rest her soul. Now I wonder. I wonder.”

[overgrowth-wc]

PYROPHYTE: CHAPTER FOUR

IN THE PINES

Emberpaw might be a menace, but she's also got a stubborn streak a mile wide and a temper to match. These might not be good things, necessarily, but they might just serve her well in the end. Poppypaw seems to think so, anyway.

               It was a beautiful day in Shadowclan, and Emberpaw was getting bored. She was eating with her uncle- well. Mentor. Crowcall, however you wanted to call him. They had spent the afternoon hunting together, and now had some down time before they started night training with her brothers and their mentors. Their aunts. Briarmask and Batflight, whatever. It was peaceful, and quiet, Crowcall contentedly munching on a lizard, but Emberpaw was done with her food and now feeling restless. A thought struck her then, and she turned to Crowcall with a curious look.

               “Uncle Crowcall, when are you and Auntie having kittens?” It was a fair question, in Emberpaw’s opinion, seeing as they had recently gotten bonded, and Mama always said that cats got bonded so that they could have babies- apparently, you couldn’t do one without the other. So why was Crowcall choking on his food?

               “Emberpaw,” he wheezed, “remember our conversation about personal questions?”

               “Yeah, of course I do, I do pay attention you know!” She immediately responded, feeling a bit defensive. I’m not Sparkpaw, stars’ sake. “You said it’s not polite to ask cats really personal questions, especially when they’re eating or sneaking or having a conversation with someone else.” Crowcall let out one last hack before stopping, fixing her with a narrowed gaze.

               “And if you remember that, why would you ask me about having kittens when I’m eating?” Emberpaw was nonplussed.

               “You’re not ‘cats.’ You’re my uncle. And my mentor. You don’t count.” Obviously. But Crowcall seemed unimpressed, and she couldn’t help the way her ears drooped, uncertainty sparking in her stomach. At her change in demeaner, the tom softened a bit, although he still let out a sigh.

               “Alright, how about this- don’t ask anyone personal questions when they’re eating or anything else like that, including cats you think don’t count. It’s so you don’t surprise them, like you just surprised me.” Emberpaw nodded, perking back up, although internally that spark of uncertainty flared towards annoyance. Why not just say that the first time then?

               “Well, that makes sense.” She paused, eyeing Crowcall carefully. He stared back at her. “So, anytime soon?” Crowcall let out another heavy sigh, but Emberpaw wasn’t one to let something like a sigh deter her, so she waited somewhat patiently for a response.

               “Well, it’s not just something that you can just… make happen the moment you want it to,” he hedged, ear flicking. “Uh, babies… happen when the ancestors decide to send them to a couple. After they’re bonded. So, I don’t know, uh, when Briarmask and I will have kittens.” A bit unsatisfying, but also totally in line with what Mama said about the subject, so she just nodded. Crowcall seemed relieved. “Besides, we’re a little overrun with kittens right now. I think the ancestors will probably wait a little bit before they send us more.”

               That was also probably true. While Emberpaw and her brothers had been out of the nursery for a moon now, it was more crowded than ever, as the Six were now almost ready to be apprenticed and Brooksong’s kits were getting bigger every day. Heck, Scratchkit was bigger than Tulipstem now- it was a miracle everyone still fit in the den.

               “I suppose that does make sense,” Emberpaw hummed. “The Six will be in our den soon, though. Maybe the ancestors will give you kittens after that.” It was fun having so many friends her age around, and she wanted to keep a good thing going- especially for Lichen and Newt and Gray, who had never known a world where they weren’t surrounded by friends. They’ll get lonely with just themselves.

               “Speaking of,” Crowcall said quickly, “we have some time still until the sun sets. Why don’t you go see your friends before we head out? I know I’ve been keeping you busy lately. It’s been a bit since you hung out.” Emberpaw felt it was more she was keeping him busy, but was kind enough to let him think what he wanted. Anyway, it had been a few days since she had been able to play with the others- it would be good to talk to Beekit. Emberpaw sprung up with a grin, giving Crowcall a nudge before bounding towards the nursery, the black tom shaking his head fondly after her. The Six were outside with their mother, playing after dinner. Tulipstem seemed to be dozing, but one ear was pricked, and Emberpaw knew they wouldn’t be able to get into any mischief with her on guard. Oh well, there were other things to do besides putting bugs in Sparkpaw’s nest. Beekit perked up when she saw the apprentice coming, bounding over to meet her, eyes crinkled in a happy smile.

               “Hey, Ember, I thought you’d forgotten about me!” She chirped, and while Emberpaw would usually bristle at such a comment she knew Beekit never meant things in a mean way. The tortoiseshell purred, kneading the ground.

               “No way! I’ve just been busy keeping Crowcall out of trouble. We’re gonna do some more training tonight, but I wanted to hang out before we go. What’s been happening?” Beekit’s smile grew a little more delighted, and she cast a glance over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening before she leaned in, voice barely more than a whisper.

               “You can’t tell anyone else, because I promised I wouldn’t tell, but you’re my best friend so you don’t count,” the little tabby whispered, and Emberpaw gave her a serious nod, leaning in closer as well. “Patchkit told me yesterday that he had a really weird dream, and when he told Mama and Papa about it they took him to Fernfire, and now…” Another furtive look. “He’s gonna be Fernfire’s apprentice! Can you believe it? Patch is gonna be a medicine cat!” Emberpaw’s eyes grew wide in wonder. Patch? Their little Patch, who was shy and scared of his own shadow, was their new star born?

               “Wow,” the tortoiseshell breathed, “that’s so cool! When are they telling everyone?” Beekit shook her head.

               “I don’t know,” she mewed, leaning back on her haunches. “He just said not to tell anyone, so probably not ‘til our ceremonies.”

               “Papa is very dramatic like that,” Emberpaw agreed. “He probably wants to make it a surprise for everyone. It’s been a long time since Fernfire became a full medicine cat, so it’s about time he got an apprentice.” The two mollies continued their chat, now less centered on gossip and more about Emberpaw’s training and Beekit’s recent exploits, until the sun set and their respective guardians came to collect them. Tulipstem called Beekit in for bed just as Crowcall padded up to them, and Emberpaw bid her friend a fond farewell before turning expectantly to her mentor.

               “We’re doing something a bit different tonight,” Crowcall said with a smile, and Emberpaw’s tail shot up in delight.

______________________________________________________________

               “Alright, you three,” Briarmask said, nearly impossible to see in the dark of the forest, “we have a new challenge for you.” Emberpaw, Sunpaw, and Sparkpaw, along with their mentors, were gathered in a cluster of pines on the north side of the territory, close to where the trees thinned and the swamp took over. “We’ve been focusing on how to sneak around and the different environments you’ll have to navigate. Tonight, we three-” here, she gestured at herself and the other mentors, “will be traveling to different spots on the territory. Your jobs will be to track and find your mentor while remaining undetected.”

               “We’ve recruited a few other warriors to try and find you,” Batflight said, fangs catching the faint starlight. “But you won’t know who they are unless they catch you, so you’ll have to really be on the lookout. If you get caught, you lose, but if you find us before you’re found, you win.”

               “Winners get first pick of dinner tomorrow night,” Crowcall said, “losers get last pick. And honestly, don’t worry if you get caught tonight. This is only the first time we’ll be doing something like this, and it’s mostly just to see how quickly you’re picking things up, and see what areas we need to focus on, alright?” Briarmask coughed out something like softie, which had Crowcall rolling his eyes. That’s all well and good, but I don’t need to worry, ‘cause I’m gonna win. Emberpaw had an advantage over her brothers, with her dark mottled pelt and lithe frame- she’d be a lot harder to see, especially with the new moon offering no help to their pursuers. Sparkpaw and Sunpaw, with their bright orange pelts and bulkier builds, would have a much harder time of it.

               “Alright, you three ready?” Briarmask asked, and all three siblings nodded seriously, expressions ranging from excited to nervous. “Close your eyes then, and count aloud slowly to thirty. And I mean slowly, Sparkpaw, no cheating,” she warned, and the orange tom gave her a cheeky nod.

               “Of course, Auntie, you can trust me!” He chirped, and Briarmask narrowed her eyes.

               “Sunpaw, you do the counting, Emberpaw and Sparkpaw, you listen to your brother,” she said, and then spoke over the apprentice’s complaints. “Alright, get ready, and… begin!” The world went completely dark as Emberpaw obeyed the command, and she strained to listen to the mentors walk away as Sunpaw began counting. He seemed to enjoy torturing his brother and sister, as he counted so slowly that by the time he said thirty, Emberpaw felt like ants were crawling through her fur.

               “Finally, Sunny!” Sparkpaw whined, springing to his feet. “Alright, let’s go!”

               The three mentors had stayed together for a bit, and so the siblings did as well, until they came to the very edge of the trees. The apprentices took a minute to detangle the scents, but then each found their mentor- Batflight had curved back around deeper into the trees, Briarmask had veered off towards the Dump, and Crowcall had headed straight into the swamp. Ugh, he knows I hate the mud. Wishing her brothers luck, Emberpaw slunk into the tall grass, remembering abruptly that oh yeah, someone would be following her, and she needed to be careful. Immediately she pressed herself almost all the way to the ground, making sure her belly fur didn’t drag an obvious trail through the damp soil. The apprentice tried to stick to the driest and darkest areas she could find, wholly focused on following Crowcall’s scent, until a little blip of color in the corner of her eye caught her attention. When she turned to look, she saw a little red flower peeping between the grasses off to her right. Like a flash, she remembered the first Gathering she had been to, and the medicine cat that had spoken to her.

               Honestly, the interaction had slipped her mind like smoke upon her return home, and she had never brought it up to anyone, too concerned with her impending apprentice ceremony and then her training to remember. But now the memory hit her full force, clear as if it had just happened. The first spring blooms. Find me in the pines. Like a moth to a flame, Emberpaw carefully walked over to the flower, spotting another one some distance away. An undeniable urge to follow overcame her, and, abandoning her task, she began searching out the trail of flowers. They lead her away from the marsh, back into the forest, until she came to a hollowed-out stump absolutely covered in them. And there, atop of it, blinking into existence like a twinkling star, was Poppypaw.

               “Hello, Emberpaw,” she grinned, “it’s so good to see you again.” Emberpaw blinked in astonishment at her sudden appearance, unable to understand. Not even the best Shadowclan warriors can appear from thin air, even if it looks like it. So how…? Unless-

“You’re a ghost,” she heard herself saying, and Poppypaw’s grin only widened. “How- only medicine cats can see ghosts-”

               “Ah, the ancestors can bless anyone of their choosing,” Poppypaw gently interrupted, “and they have decided to give this gift to you. Which is very good news, because I need the help of someone who can see the spirits of those passed.” She wasn’t smiling anymore. “I am blocked from entering Starclan, Emberpaw, because my death was not planned. Until my murderer is brought to justice, I am stuck here.” Realization struck like lightning.

               “You’re the one they’re always talking about!” Emberpaw gasped. “Why the spies went into the Town, and those cats who attacked Spark and Fernfire- that’s about you, right?” Poppypaw nodded somberly.

               “Indeed, I am the one in question. I cannot express how grateful I am, that all the Clans seek to help me go home. But there are things they don’t know, and can’t know, without the help of the spirits and those who can see them. Which is where you come in, Emberpaw. I need you to help me communicate with the Clans. I need you to seek out the spirits in the Town, and enlist their aid as well. The Clans cannot succeed without our help, and we can’t help them without you.” This was… a lot. Emberpaw was the only one who could speak to the ghosts? Ghosts, plural, because apparently there were ghosts in the Town she needed to talk to?

               “I… we’re not allowed in the Town right now,” she hedged, ears flicking uncertainly. “Dad says it’s too dangerous, that we have to wait until they find that cat. The one who…”

               “I hate to ask this of you,” Poppypaw mewed, “but I feel I have no choice. You have to go to the Town, Emberpaw, whether you’re allowed to or not. I know it’s dangerous, and that you could get in trouble for it, but please, will you help me? Not only my fate, but the fates of many others depend on it.” Well, what could she say to that? A little flare of determination and excitement flickered to life in her chest, then, and Emberpaw tried to imitate her father’s confident grin.

               “Getting in trouble has never stopped me,” she boasted, “and besides, if I’m the only one who can help, then that settles things, right? Dad and everyone can’t get mad at me for doing what the ancestors say.” She paused, cocking her head to give Poppypaw a considering look. “Although, are you actually anybody’s ancestor?” Poppypaw just laughed.

               “Thank you for your help, Emberpaw,” the other tortoiseshell said, and then all of a sudden her smile dropped and she looked… regretful? “And remember the other thing I said- you can survive the coming fire. I promise. I believe in you.” And then she was gone, and Emberpaw was left to stare at a stump covered in wilting red flowers. I’m really not a fan of her dropping ominous warnings and then disappearing, she grumbled to herself, rising to her feet. And I should probably go try to find Crowcall before…

               Too late. She could just hear distant cries of her name, and tried to come up with an excuse as she started off towards the noise. Her thoughts ground to a halt, though, as she drew closer and realized that Crowcall didn’t sound upset, he sounded… frantic? And wait, was that blood she smelled? She took off at a sprint, now calling out herself.

               “Uncle! Uncle, I’m right here!” Bursting through some scrub, she almost knocked straight into Crowcall, who seemed to sag with relief at the sight of her.

               “Thank the stars,” he gasped, and she could only stare at the scratches on his face, the ruffled fur, the smell of blood and something more acrid, almost but not quite familiar. “Are you hurt? Did you run into anyone else?”

               “No, no, I’m not hurt, I didn’t- what happened?” She pressed, nearly vibrating with anxiety. “Who hurt you?”

               “An ambush.” He said, but he wasn’t calming down. If anything, he was starting to get worked back up, fur prickling, and he began pushing her towards camp. “We need to get back home, now.”

               “What about the others?” She demanded as she stumbled along, concern for her brothers and aunts suddenly racing through her. “Where are they, are they alright?” Crowcall’s eyes became pained.

               “Batflight and Sunpaw are fine,” he said, and her stomach dropped because what about- “Briarmask and Sparkpaw were attacked, I found them when I came looking for you. Briar- she’s-” he choked a bit, and now Emberpaw felt numb, she’s what, she’s what- “Hurt. Badly. They were bringing her back to camp-”

               “Where’s my brother.” Emberpaw blurted out, stopping dead in her tracks, shaking so hard now she bit her tongue. The taste of blood, the smell of it, made her feel sick- “Where’s Sparkpaw?” Crowcall stopped to look at her, copper eyes bright with pain and fear and worry.

               “They took him. He’s gone.”

               Emberpaw was numb. Anything she tried to say lodged in her throat like bones, and so she raced back to camp in silence, Crowcall only growing more upset the closer they got. They burst through the thorns together, Emberpaw not even flinching as one caught on her ear in their haste. Her parents were in the clearing, a shaking Sunpaw pressed into their mother’s side, Batflight murmuring to him quietly. Lizardspots was trying to calm a raging Rosestar, who spit and snarled and paced like a tiger from the elder’s stories.

               “I want every available warrior out there, right now!” He was hissing, “They need to find them-” Emberpaw finally found her voice.

               “Papa!” She wailed, racing towards her father, and he whipped around to face her, blue eyes bright with tears.

               “Praise the ancestors,” he gasped, wrapping a paw around the tortoiseshell as she crashed into him. “Thank you, stars above, Ember, we thought you were gone too-” Pinenose shuffled Sunpaw forward so they could crowd together, and the press of her family only made her feel worse, because Sparkpaw should be there, but he was gone gone gone-

               “We have to find him,” she said desperately. “We- they can’t, Papa, they can’t just take him!”

               “I will find him if I have to burn the whole Town down, Ember, I promise you that.” Rosestar swore, and then all of a sudden, he had that look, the one where he wasn’t just her father, he was the leader of Shadowclan. It came over him like a wave, his expression now set, his fur flattening, and he threw back his head with a howl.

               “Batflight, Blackear, Spidershade, Browntail, Loudstorm, Frogthroat, Marshfoot- you all are coming with me. Batflight, show us where the attack happened. We’ll go from there.” The assembled warriors nodded seriously, Batflight trying to school her devastated expression. “Piketail, Shadefur, Bluebird, and Snakepelt, guard the camp. Beetlewhisker, I want you with Fernfire. The rest of you, stay alert. Keep the queens and kits in the nursery. Lizardspots, you’re in charge while we’re gone.” He then pressed his nose to Pinenose’s forehead, and they sat there for a moment, eyes closed, before he pulled away, lip curling once more. “Warriors! To me!” And with a final nudge to his children, Rosestar led his warriors out of the camp and into the night, his family staring after him.

               “It’s alright, darlings,” Pinenose soothed the apprentices, although her voice was choked. “Your father will bring Sparkpaw home. If they were going to hurt him, they would have. They took him alive for a reason.” Emberpaw didn’t know if she was trying to convince them or herself, but it did make her feel a bit better. Mama is right- Sparkpaw is at least alive. And Papa won’t let them get away with this. But… Pulling back from her mother, she looked up at her in concern.

               “Where’s Auntie Briar?” Emberpaw whispered, afraid of the answer. “Is she alright?” Pinenose looked at her with somber eyes.

               “I don’t know,” she murmured. “Fernfire sent Webheart to get Snowdrift. Said he needed the extra paws. We will just have to pray that the ancestors will be kind to us.” Emberpaw swallowed hard. He sent for help? It must be bad. “Come. We can wait outside the medicine den for him to tell us what’s happening.” The apprentices trailed after their mother, Emberpaw now focusing her concern on Sunpaw, whose eyes were wide and staring.

               “Sunny?” She whispered, nudging his cheek. “Are you okay?”

               “I saw them take him,�� he whispered, gaze still fixed on nothing. “Shadefur caught me before I got very far. Me and him and Batflight were going to meet up with Auntie and Spark when we heard the screaming.” Emberpaw shuddered, Sunpaw just stared. “There were at least six cats. Auntie was fighting three of them- the others were dragging Spark away. He was yelling something awful. Uncle showed up then, and they ran when they saw us coming, Shadefur said there were too many of them, that we had to help Auntie, I think she was dying-“ He clammed up after that, tears now starting to roll down his face, and all Emberpaw knew to do was press up against him and purr as hard as she could. Oh stars, why is this happening? They joined their mother in front of Fernfire’s den, and a moment later there was movement from the entrance. It was Crowcall, staggering towards them, and Emberpaw immediately leapt to her feet and hurried to his side. She let him lean on her as he sank to the ground, trembling.

               “Is she alright?” She couldn’t help but press. “Is she-”

               “She’s alive,” Crowcall croaked. “Besides that, I don’t know.” Emberpaw fell silent, not knowing what to say. She just put her chin on Crowcall’s head and purred like she did for Sunpaw. Her brother slunk over a moment later, closely followed by Pinenose, and soon they were all huddled together, seeking and giving what comfort they could. It felt like an eternity later when there was rustling at the entrance and a bright white blur pushed through. Snowdrift is finally here. He was carrying a large bundle, odd eyes determined, and he barely spared them all a glance as he swept into the den. Emberpaw pressed further into Crowcall’s side.

               Now all we can do is wait.

______________________________________________________________

               The sun rose before they had their answer about Briarmask. Rosestar had yet to return.

               “She’s not out of the woods,” an exhausted Fernfire had said, ears and eyes drooping. “She lost a lot of blood. Right now, we have to wait and see if she wakes up. After that, we have to watch for infection. If she can survive the next few days, though, I think she’ll make it.” If she wakes up? You think she’ll make it? Emberpaw wanted to scream, to sink her claws into the cats who did this, who took her brother and might be the reason that Auntie-

               “Emberpaw,” Sunpaw whispered, “you’re scaring me.” Too late, she realized her fur was bristling and her lips were pulled back in a silent snarl. Immediately she tried to relax, giving her brother an apologetic nudge.

               “I’m sorry, Sunny,” she murmured. “I’m just… angry.” It was just the two of them together, now. Their mother had gone to speak to Lizardspots. Crowcall had been allowed into the medicine den. Snowdrift had left, escorted by Webheart and Piketail. And the sun was above the horizon now, and Rosestar still wasn’t home. Emberpaw wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. “Do you want anything to eat?” She tried. Sunpaw loved eating, it was his favorite activity, always saying the sun is round, so I need to be too, but now he just silently shook his head. Emberpaw was stumped, and so she just sat there, unsure of what to do.

               “Do you think they’ll find him?” Sunpaw whispered. “The Town’s so big, and if these are the rogues that evil cat is in charge of…” Emberpaw scowled.

               “Don’t talk like that,” she snapped. “Of course they’ll find him. Papa promised. And Sparkpaw’s smart, he probably got away from them, and…” Emberpaw felt bad about snapping, because Sunpaw was crying now, paws over his face, and her stomach tightened with guilt. “I, I’m sorry, Sunny, I didn’t mean-”

               There was movement at the entrance, and both apprentices bolted up, focused desperately on who was coming through. Did they-? But it was only Rosestar, dejected, covered in mud, blue eyes dull, the other warriors trailing after him with dragging tails, defeat clinging to the group like the muck in their fur. Emberpaw thought her heart was going to stop. She went to move forward, but her mother beat her to it, Pinenose loping across the clearing to Rosestar, heartbreak lurking in the corners of her eyes.

               “Rosey,” she said, and even though her voice was little more than a whisper it rang through the silent clearing. “Is he-?”

               “We couldn’t find them,” Rosestar rasped, and he spit the words like poison. “They disappeared into the Town, further than we’ve ever gone. No one would help us. No one saw anything.” That rage was building back up inside Emberpaw’s chest, her skin feeling too tight, because how dare they, how dare they take him, how dare they refuse to help, how dare they-

               Now she didn’t care if she was scaring Sunpaw, she let out a furious hiss, stubbornly blinking away the tears prickling her eyes. Rosestar looked up at the noise, and Emberpaw couldn’t stand the pain in them.

               “Emberpaw-”

               “We have to find him,” she snarled, hating the way they all were looking at her now, a mixture of pity and pain, “I- I don’t care, I’ll find him myself if I have to-”

               “Emberpaw,” and Rosestar was serious now, expression firm enough that Emberpaw’s fury stumbled, “you are forbidden from leaving this camp alone. We don’t know if this was targeted, if they took Sparkpaw to get to me. They could go after you and Sunpaw now.” Instead of cooling her rage, that only enflamed it.

               “I don’t care if they come after me, Spark is my brother! He’s- Spark and Sunny, they’re-” Now, Emberpaw didn’t really talk about the fact that she and her brothers were adopted. None of them did. They had heard the story, of course, of how Auntie Briar and Auntie Nettle saved them, brought them to the Clan, how Auntie Nettle died fighting the rats to give them a chance. And Sparkpaw and Sunpaw, they had been fine with just what they had been told. They were happy in Shadowclan with their parents and their friends, and while they all felt the weight of Nettleclaw’s sacrifice, they didn’t think much of how they had come to the Clan. But Emberpaw… she couldn’t help but wonder. She loved her parents, of course, was so happy to have them and be loved by them, but what about her natural parents? A human had brought them to the Dump, not a cat. Did their natural parents want them? Were they sad they had been taken away? And they had been taken away, right? What if it happened again? And it had, look, Sparkpaw had just been taken away, and Emberpaw couldn’t stand it, she wouldn’t let them take her brother, one of the two cats she had always had, the ones she always thought she would have, she wouldn’t let them, she couldn’t let them-

               “It’s okay, Emberpaw, just breathe,” someone very far away was saying, and Emberpaw realized she was hyperventilating, the sudden realization jolting her into a panic, because she couldn’t breathe, her chest so tight she felt like she was being crushed. “Come on, now, deep breath in. Feel how I do it, alright? Deep breath.” Someone was pressed against her side, and she could feel the way they took a deep, steady breath, and she did her best to imitate it. It took a few tries, but she managed something more than a shallow gasp, her chest loosening a bit. “There we go, froglet, now another. Good work.” Slowly, with every breath, she came back to herself. She was shaking, her worried parents and Sunpaw nearby, and Fernfire was pressed up against her, helping her calm down. “Alright, there we go. Feeling better?” Emberpaw managed a shaky nod, although she couldn’t speak yet. “You’re okay, Emberpaw. You just need to relax.” And how am I supposed to do that? My brother is missing, she wanted to snap, but that wouldn’t help anything now. And besides, she was too tired to even speak. The apprentice just slumped forward, exhausted, and Fernfire let out a sigh. “You and Sunpaw need to get some sleep. Go to your nests, I’ll bring you some poppy seeds.”

               Slowly, Sunpaw came over to Emberpaw’s side, helping her stumble to her feet. Together they made their way over to their den, halting outside of it. It smells like Sparkpaw. Emberpaw felt sick.

               “I don’t want to go in there,” Sunpaw whispered, and Emberpaw was all too happy to agree. Casting her gaze around, she caught sight of the nursery, and the familiarity and comfort of the thorn bush called out to her in a way she couldn’t ignore. Wordlessly, she nudged Sunpaw towards it, and he went without protest. Together, they slid through the narrow entrance, a worried Tulipstem and Brooksong greeting them in soft tones.

               “Do you mind if we stay here?” Emberpaw asked in a small voice. The queens shook their heads, their friends staring at them with wide eyes. The apprentices made their way to their old nest in the corner, now crowded with Mumblekit, Patchkit, and Beekit, the kittens shuffling over to make room for them. Emberpaw and Sunpaw curled up together tightly, joined one after another by their friends, until there were so many others pressed up against her that Emberpaw could almost ignore the fact that Sparkpaw wasn’t there. Screwing her eyes tightly shut, she let the exhaustion wash over her, and soon after, she was asleep.

______________________________________________________________

               “Emberpaw.” A whisper. “Ember, wake up.” A pointed prod in the ribs. But Emberpaw didn’t want to wake up. Waking up meant that Sparkpaw wasn’t there, and everything was a mess, and… A sharp prick of a claw now, and that all too familiar anger flared up. Lifting her head, Emberpaw turned her narrowed glare on Patchkit, the little tom wilting but standing his ground. “You need to get up,” he insisted in a whisper, and reality started sinking in. It was dark. Emberpaw was in the nursery, but it seemed she had rolled away from the others, now by herself up against the woven wall of the den. Patchkit was standing over her, ears flicking nervously. “Poppypaw told me to get you.” Now that got her attention.

               “Poppypaw told you?” She hissed quietly. “You can see her too?” Patchkit shook his head.

               “Not, not really, I just had a dream. There was a molly, she said her name was Poppypaw, and that I needed to tell you to wake up and go to her. She’s at the stump.” Patchkit’s dark blue eyes were wide with worry. “Emberpaw, what is going on?”

               “If you help me sneak out, and you promise not to tell anybody about this, I’ll tell you everything.” She said quickly, carefully rising to her feet. “I mean nobody, Patchkit. Not Beekit, not your mom, nobody. You have to swear.” Patchkit hesitated for a moment before nodding, turning his cheek to Poppypaw with a solemn look. Understanding, Emberpaw reached forward, delicately grabbed one white whisker between her teeth, and pulled with a swift yank. To his credit Patchkit was silent, although he flinched. Emberpaw then turned her own cheek, wincing as Patchkit pulled one of her whiskers out as well. Laying them on the ground together, both young cats placed a paw on top of them.

               “I swear that I won’t tell anyone about this,” Patchkit whispered solemnly. “May all my whiskers fall out if I do.”

               “I swear I’ll tell you about everything,” Emberpaw returned. “May all my whiskers fall out if I don’t.” Pact made, Patchkit looked nervously around the den before leading her to the very back of it. Moving some old bedding out of the way, he pointed at a shallow hole that led under the thorns.

               “It’s an escape tunnel,” Patchkit whispered. “We had one in the Town, in our den there. Mama told the other queens about that when we moved here, and Rosestar thought it was a good idea. It’s supposed to be a secret, though. It leads out into the log pile around camp. From there, you can wiggle your way outside. You’re small enough that you should still fit.” His eyes were once again gleaming with worry. “Please be careful, Ember, we can’t lose you too.” Emberpaw gave him a comforting lick, trying to muster a smile.

               “Don’t worry, Patch, I’ll be back soon. I’ll come back through the dirt place, so if anyone wakes up and asks where I am, just tell them I went there, okay? I’ll worry about the rest.” The little gray and white tom nodded. Emberpaw took a deep breath, then carefully worked her way through the hole and out the other side, wincing as the thorn bush scraped against her back. From there, she navigated her way through the cluster of logs, and soon she was on the other side, on the very edges of the camp boundary. She froze, ears pricked, mouth open, scenting for anyone or anything. It was quiet, nothing sticking out, so she cast a careful look around-

               There.

               A small red bloom, winking at her from the base of a pine. Steeling herself, Emberpaw slunk forward into the night. The blooms led her along just like the first time, winding through the territory back to the stump from the night before, the flowers once again vibrant and alive. Poppypaw was already there, staring out into the darkness towards the Town.

               “Did you know?��� Emberpaw blurted, meeting Poppypaw’s solemn gaze with a glare. “Did you know they were taking Sparkpaw while we were talking?” The spirit shook her head.

               “No, I just had a bad feeling. I’m not…” And for the first time, the medicine cat seemed frustrated. “I don’t have the same power that Starclan has. It’s more like what I felt as a medicine cat when I was alive. I get feelings, I can interpret signs… but no, I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. I just know that there are difficult times ahead, but, well. I guess you don’t need to be in Starclan to see that.” Poppypaw shook her head. “Anyway, when I left, I went to see if I could find any Town ghosts. I can’t leave Clan territory, you see, but I can get to the border of Town. I was hoping some spirit from there might come by. But I saw those cats with Sparkpaw- he was alive, and didn’t look too hurt, just a few scratches.” Emberpaw could have fallen over, she was so relieved. Mama was right. “And I tried to guide your father and the search party to where they crossed, but I wasn’t very successful. They went in at a different point, and I think that’s why they had a hard time following the trail. If we can make contact with the Town ghosts, they can help us find Sparkpaw and Featherfall. I know the Clans sent spies into the Town, but what better spy than a spirit that only you can see?” Emberpaw was getting excited, but then she remembered what her father had said, that none of the Town cats had helped them.

               “Why would the Town ghosts help us?” Emberpaw asked, bitterness coloring her tone. “Papa said they wouldn’t help him find Sparkpaw. Why would dead Town cats be any different?” Poppypaw hesitated for a moment, before her brow furrowed in determination.

               “I met a good Town ghost,” she insisted. “Her name was Dolly. She was looking for the spirits of her babies- Town cats don’t go to Starclan when they die, of course. And with no one to pray for them, or lead them into the next life, a lot of them linger. Anyway, Dolly told me she had been friends with Shadowclan in life. If we can find her, I’m sure she would be a friend to us now as well.” Well… alright. If this would save Sparkpaw, and help Poppypaw, then she would do whatever it took to find Dolly.

               “So I need to find Dolly, then? What does she look like?”

               “She’s a calico with really long fur, but her face is flat. Hopefully, she’ll be accompanied by a pair of kittens. She said she was looking for her son and daughter, Flurry and Sweet Pea. A group like that should definitely stick out.” Emberpaw nodded seriously, taking a deep, steadying breath before turning towards the Town.

               “Alright,” she said firmly, “wish me luck.” Poppypaw blinked.

               “Where are you going?” Emberpaw gave her a disbelieving look.

               “The Town? To find Dolly?”

               “You can’t go to the Town now,” Poppypaw scolded. “Emberpaw, I need your help, but I don’t want you to get kidnapped or killed. They just took Sparkpaw- that changes things. We need to be a lot more careful about this than I thought.” Emberpaw rolled her eyes.

               “Why’d you drag me out here in the middle of the night and tell me all this, then, if I’m not supposed to go find out?” Poppypaw scowled.

               “Because I can’t talk to you in your camp. It’s weird, but there are certain places in the territories I can’t go- even being on another Clan’s territory is difficult. It’s like my spirit knows I’m not supposed to be here. But you can’t come to Windclan territory, so we have to compromise. When you need to talk to me, try to find me here. If I need to talk to you, I’ll just try to find you wherever you are, deal?” Emberpaw was now under the distinct impression that Poppypaw was not the awe-inspiring messenger of the ancestor’s she previously believed her to be, but there wasn’t much to do about it now. She nodded, a little put out.

               “Alright, I guess I’ll just… go back to camp then. But I need to get into the Town, sooner rather than later.” Poppypaw nodded in return.

               “Try to find a way in that doesn’t put your life at risk. And in the meanwhile, I’ll try to find Dolly on the border, or another ghost willing to help. Deal?”

               “Deal.” Poppypaw gave her one last smile before once again disappearing, leaving Emberpaw alone in the silent forest. Don’t worry Spark, she thought determinedly, resolutely nodding towards the Town. I’ll find you, and I’ll help you get home.

               I promise.

First|Previous|Next

[qierxing]

Obligations

Yan! Zhongli x Reader

Word Count: 2,837

How long can a man talk before he runs out of air?

Scratch that. How long can this man talk before you decide to strangle him?

"...as such, the rivers, plains, and mountains that are said to have been the remains of what is left of the dead gods remains…."

The intonation of Mr. Zhongli's voice nearly puts you to sleep at the ornate dining table, and if it weren't for the fact that you were at an esteemed establishment (even if you two were in a private room), you surely would've face planted and fallen asleep right there on the mahogany wood. But you don't, because it would be an insult to the very man (and the food) who invited you on this outing.

Mr. Zhongli is a respectable man and apparently, a good friend in your family's circles. Even though you've never met the man till now, even you're aware of his shining reputation; aunties giggling on how he's so charming and polite, cousins admiring his knowledge and strength, and other relatives likewise praising him to high Celestia and above.

And he is, you suppose, very handsome. His face is beautiful; high, defined cheekbones, molten amber eyes that glow warmly, pretty curved pink lips and nose to match. A good face, your auntie would say if she was here. An auspicious face.

“And that is how the geography of Liyue came to be...”

You're sure anyone in your position would be swooning over how his voice flowed like the trickling rivers that ran through Guili plains, but you just wished he would shut up at some point. Not even the delicious spread of food at the glass carousel wheel could distract from his tirade, and that was saying something.

Speaking of, why did he order so much food for only the two of you?

'In Liyue, you can always eat till you drop!' A saying that always echoed among the locals, and still holds true today. But even then, the intricately painted línglóng porcelain holding the remnants of steamed egg soup, roasted duck, squirrel fish, and more and more food, are way too excessive, even if he wanted to impress you.

You idly push around the Tianshu meat on your plate as he continues to drone on, wondering when you can politely excuse yourself without being rude.

-

"So, how was the dinner?" You internally groan as your mom's barely concealed excitement in her voice shows.

"Mama, we just sat there and talked." Well, Zhongli was the one doing most of the talking. But you weren't about to say that, not when you know a lecture awaits that answer.

"Isn't he a very handsome man?" Your mother's eyes gleam dangerously and a resigned sigh leaves your lips as she barrels on confidently. "Doesn't he seem like the perfect husband?!"

"Mama, it's ten in the morning…" What you wouldn’t give to eat your congee in peace.

"He is a respectable man, and quite knowledgeable to boot."

"Not you too, Baba!"

Your father merely chuckles as he continues reading the daily newspaper, and you roll your eyes as he continues chuckling behind the printed pages. Your mother swats at him to finish his porridge, turning to you with a frown on her wrinkled face. You brace yourself, knowing exactly what is coming next.

"[First Name], you're already of marriageable age, you should be looking for your future spouse! Your parents are growing old and when we die-"

"I will be perfectly fine without a husband." You cut her off, rubbing at your forehead. It was too early in the morning for this talk.

"Aiya, I don't want our only child to be by themselves! We will never know peace once we pass away, so much worry-"

You tune the rest of the lecture out, not even having the energy to refute her worries.

When you leave the house to take a walk, you meet the infamous Mr. Zhongli again.

"What a coincidence, I am also taking a walk to clear the mind. Would you perhaps like to join me?" And trapped by societal politeness, and the fact that this man did order you a three course meal the previous night, you agree.

So it's to your surprise that he does not immediately initiate dialogue as the both of you stroll leisurely through the stone gardens in Yunjin terrace, and a comfortable silence falls.

"You seem to have a lot on your mind." You turn to meet his gaze, and then away. Your frustration burns at you in the remainder of the morning's argument, but it dissipates at his concerned face. It is not his fault, you reason, that your mother wants you to court him for a possibility. For fortune. Despite the man's shortcomings, he is nothing but a gentleman.

"I don't want to pry but...I have heard that talking about your thoughts might ease your mind?"

You pause for a long time, breathing out your nose as you close your eyes.

"My parents want me to marry you." You've never been one to mince words, much to your mother's dismay at trying to teach you etiquette. "They think that you're a good match. And they're paranoid about me becoming a spinster."

There's silence for a moment and you open your eyes to not a face of disgust or shock, but rather one of musing.

"And you, [First Name]? What do you think?"

You turn your gaze to the water.

"Honestly? I don't know. I don't know you well enough to make that judgement. I know my parents are worried, but I don't want to get married for the sake of not being alone. I think it's rather selfish, to wish that solely for your partner."

The words tumble out of your mouth, one after another and you wonder how it is that it's easier to confess this to an acquaintance than your own parents.

"I was under the impression that people often like to pursue lasting romance in their lives. It's interesting to see this is not always true." Zhongli hums, hand coming to stroke his chin thoughtfully.

"Perhaps? I don't know. I've always been content with my friends." Shrugging your shoulders, you sigh. "Who knows? Maybe I have yet to meet the right person."

Zhongli hums again in response, seemingly in deep thought with a small frown pulling at his lips. A silence falls once again, and an awkward atmosphere falls upon the both of you.

"Oh yes, I never did thank you for the delicious dinner last night." You note offhandedly, half distracted by the swimming carp in the clear pond water. The water trails are hypnotic, and they help take your mind off the stressful morning you had.

"It was nothing. For my friend's precious child, that was the least I could do." He modestly replies, and you deadpan. It was nothing? A three course meal at Xinyue Pavillion, nothing? You know that squirrel fish did not have a low price tag.

"Regardless, I'm very thankful for your generosity." After all, not many tolerated your blunt, forthright personality, least of all the potential suitors your mother always brought before you. The memory makes you feel guilty at the irritation you had back then at the dinner. "The next time, I insist we have dinner at Wanmin--I've heard their black back perch stew is to die for. My treat."

He hums, and turns to you with a heartbreaking smile, a far cry from his previous countenance. "Is that a promise?"

You raise your eyebrow, "What are you, Morax? Yes, it's a promise, unless you hate fish, I guess."

His amused chuckles are soft but light a warm hearth in your heart.

-

Your mother is growing more daring than you remember.

She shoves you out the door as if you're some kind of fancy wrapped gift to offer to Mr. Zhongli, and there's a manic glee in her eyes as she eyes you and him standing together like a couple.

"[First Name] has been looking forward to this, haven't you, sweetie?"

The Liyuen hanfu she forced you into were a different cut than the modern cheongsam dresses of the current trends. Archaic, if you dare call it that. While some traditionalists still donned hanfu, it was not as common to see it in the streets. When she was shoving you in the under robes, she muttered about how it was something passed down in the family. Which explained a lot. These days, hanfu like this were something of a rich antiquity.

You sigh deeply, tugging your translucent pibo around you tighter as you decide to humor her, if only to get her to stop embarrassing yourselves and leave faster.

"Yes, quite."

Zhongli hums, and when you turn to face him, you're almost unnerved at how his eyes sharpen and scan over you, pupils slit like a dragon's. The moment is gone in a flash and he merely smiles at you gently before taking your hand in his gloved one.

"In that case, shall we get going?"

The nightlife of Liyue is in full swing and Zhongli tugs you closer, and there's something intimate in the way he presses you firmly into his side, the warmth he exudes sending pleasurable tingles down your body.

"Do forgive me for being so bold, [First Name]," He addresses you so tenderly, that you blush when you look back up from your joined hands, "You look absolutely radiant tonight."

How is it this man manages to say such an embarrassing thing so smoothly? What is his secret? He doesn’t seem like the playboys that often loiter around the downtown area of the harbor. You look away, unable to meet his eyes that reflect the lanterns and make his pupils glow.

"T-Thank you, Zhongli, you're too kind."

His eyes never seem to leave you, even when taking in the lovely scenery of Liyue at night. For the bright lanterns glitter and glow on the ocean waves, but his own pupils are glued to your being when you look in your peripheral.

“Is there something on my face?” Tearing your eyes away from the street in front of you, you turn to meet his gaze straight on.

He merely smiles.

“No.” He pushes a stray strand of hair behind your ear, the gesture innocuous, but leaving a burning trail where his finger tips touch your skin. “I believe we have arrived.”

Thankfully you can excuse the burning in your cheeks and neck away with the spices that the Li cuisine favors. If anyone asks, it was the black back parch stew making you look flushed and out of sorts. Never mind the fact that Chef Mao looks quite amused at the fact you’re sputtering in response to his cheeky questions about you showing up with a man to your favored restaurant.

When you look up from checking to make sure your hanfu didn’t get any stains, Zhongli is uncorking a white bottle and pouring it into your cups. At your questioning look, he replies, “Dàqūjiǔ. The Li technique ferments wheat for about two to three months. This one in particular, has a fine aroma after being fermented for a while.”

“Hoh…” You chuckle at his explanation, “You really do know everything.”

“Hardly. I cannot say I know as much as the regular scholar…nonetheless, to good fortune!”

Echoing his cheer, you raise your cup and drink.

The alcohol burns your throat, and you’re reminded of your low alcohol tolerance. Yet, your fellow friend refills your cup just as easily, and who are you to refuse him? By the time you’re on your fourth cup, your world is spinning and you’ve developed a headache.

“Ahaha…wow...everything...is...moving…” You slur incomprehensibly and slump onto the bamboo table.

“Oh dear, we best get you back. In this condition, you’re too vulnerable.”

“No way...if I go back with you...my mom….she won’t let me…!” You raise your head from the cool table, but the effort of doing that makes you groan.

Zhongli all too easily picks you up bridal style, and after bidding goodbye to Chef Mao with a hefty bag of mora, he walks down the now empty streets of Liyue.

“Won’t let you what, dear heart?” He hums, stroking your face gently with the pad of his thumb.

“Won’t let me...let...us...ugh…”

“[First Name], do you like me?”

“Mmh...yeah…” Is all he gets, but the stilted, jagged answer is enough for him. The content smile that breaks his face belies the haunting glow of his molten eyes.

-

When you step out of the door of your bedroom, you're accosted by your sobbing mother.

"Ma-Mama?! What's the matter?" You frantically ask, pushing at her shoulders.

"Oh my sweet child, oh I'm so happy for you! When were you going to tell me, you brat?!"

"Tell you what?!"

"That you're marrying Zhongli, sweetie! Oh, this is such a momentous occasion--"

You're too shell shocked that you do not hear her next words. What? Marry? Zhongli? What on Teyvat was going on--

"--Hurry up, he's waiting for you in the living room!" You're snapped out of your daze when you're ushered hastily into the room, casual robes and all, right in front of the very person you had so many questions for.

The door shutting behind you does not muffle the excited chatter from your parents and you wince when you hear your mother excitedly bantering with your father. Turning and meeting an intense gaze, you feel like you’ve stepped into an arena with a monster.

"Zhongli, why are my parents under the impression we're marrying?"

His golden eyes crinkle in delight at your blunt words, "Because we are, my dear heart."

D-Dear heart?!

"I don't understand."

"What is there not to understand?" You step back as he rises from the cozy armchair he was given. It only just occurs to you how ridiculously tall this man is, and he towers over you, like a mountain.

"I believe we share a mutual attraction. After all, last night only proved it." He leans over and you flinch as he gently cups your face with a small smile.

"We've only known each other for a couple days!" You protest, leaning your face out of his hands. His smile dips into a displeased frown, hands falling to his sides.

"Why need more time to prove what is already there?" He tilts his head. “If this is a matter about your dowry, I’m sure I can help--”

“This isn’t about mora! Zhongli, this is moving way too fast--”

“Is that so? If I’m correct, I believe that your family’s come upon some hard times, no?” And you’re left breathless, struck silent. “Not down to the pits, but just one little slip and...well, your father’s business is already taking loans, isn’t it?”

Your teeth are grinding so hard against each other to the point where it echoes in your head.

“Marry me, [First Name], and you won’t have to worry about any of that. After all, I’ve always had enough good fortune to share. Are you so willing to crush your parent’s hopes and dreams for their child?”

“I-” Your mother’s tears on her weathered face come to mind, wrinkles from stress deeply indented in her skin. Your father, weary, veiny hands covered in scars from hard manual labor, shoulders slumped from his strength sapping. And you realize with a bone chilling fear that this man, this man was threatening to destroy the very foundation of your life.

He smiles upon seeing your uncertain visage, gritted teeth, clenched fists and trembling body.

"You'll look beautiful in red and gold."

-

How numb you feel!

Having to sit there while being dressed, being fawned over by your cousins, cried over by your mother and aunties, and your father and uncles chuckling over your good fortune. All the while, you cannot bring yourself to bring even the fakest smile to your face, only being able to muster up a sheepish smile, but it is of no concern, as everyone seems to mistake it for a shy front for a person about to marry their true love.

At least that’s how your mother is spinning it to your giggling aunties. And even when the festivities are over, you know that this is not the end.

Bare fingers trace your cheeks and lift your veil as a chaste kiss is placed on your lips.

This was supposed to be a day of joy.

Said fingers begin to trail down your body, and more sobs begin to shake your body. When you think about it, this might be the first time you felt his skin touch your own. Zhongli has always dressed conservatively, even covering his hands with his gloves. Thinking about it longer makes your skin crawl.

This was supposed to be--

Zhongli hums appreciatively into your collarbone as he slips your wedding garb off your shoulders, your world collapses and dims, with only a haunting amber light as your guide.

[letarasstuff]

Showing the Bird

(A/N): This was requested by an anon, I hope you have fun reading it!

Summary: Spencer's daughter always is quick to pick things up she shoudn't do, this includes a certain gesture with her hand and middle fínger.

Warnings: A kid showing her middle finger

Wordcount: 1.6k

✨Masterlist✨ _____________________________

Spencer is a technophobe. That’s why (Y/N) has limited access to any kind of electronics, which is a good thing for a three year old. The only sort she is allowed to use is the TV in the living room and even there her choices are limited to the several DVDs the little family owns and cable TV. Emily is in the process of persuading him to get a subscription to a streaming service for (Y/N)’s sake.

“Ok, Sweetheart. One hour of TV today before eating dinner and getting ready for bed, like we negotiated”, Spencer reminds his daughter before turning it on a kid’s channel. She nods, already engrossed by Peppa Pig hanging up on that sheep for being able to whistle.

Earlier the two Reids made a deal: If (Y/N) got all the states and their capitals right, she is allowed one hour of television. This may sound like he forced her to learn this information, but it’s really just a way to stimulate her brain and the toddler is eager to learn. Spencer only has to make it look like she has a gain in it.

The young doctor doesn’t like to leave his kid alone while watching TV. It’s not because he can’t leave her on her own for a few minutes. Spencer wants full control over what (Y/N) sees and what not. Especially he can tell what effects something has on a child and he doesn’t want her exposed to things she shouldn’t be subjected to at her age.

“Daddy, why are the animals talking to each other? I know they are translating all languages to us, but a pig speaks not sheep language.” Spencer is slightly baffled at her question. It’s mostly cute that she explains most things to herself in such a plausible way.

“Uhm, well Sweetheart. You have to-” Saved by the bell. Or more like the ring of his cellphone. Still he hesitates to get it. It’s Morgan, who probably calls because the team needs help with the case.

Spencer had to stay behind for this one, because he planned on taking his vacation days with (Y/N) to fly up to Las Vegas to visit her grandma. But Diana spontaneously took the opportunity to go on a trip with the sanctorium. Now the two do all the things they don’t have the time for in their regular day.

They already were at the aquarium, visited three different museums and even went to the movies once to watch the latest disney movie. Spencer really had to keep himself from pointing out the inaccuracies to not spoil (Y/N)’s fun.

Now the father debates taking the call. He doesn’t want to leave his daughter alone while the TV is on, but also doesn’t want to talk about a case right in front of her. The option of turning the TV off is also from the table, because this would be just plain mean.

So he answers it, afraid that the voicemail will turn on. “Hey Morgan, wait a second, I’ll have to leave the room”, then he puts his hand over the speaker and turns to the toddler. “Sweetheart, I have to talk to your Uncle Derek real quick. I’ll be right back.” She nods and goes back to her cartoon.

But while her father is in the room next door, the audio gets awfully quiet. Frustrated, because she isn’t able to understand properly what they are saying, (Y/N) looks for the remote. And there it is, waiting patiently for her and her little toddler hands.

But instead of turning the volume up, she accidentally changes the channel to an old cop movie. Curious about what is happening on the screen, the girl leaves it on for a few seconds. Upon entering a room, another man greets him with his middle finger raised. (Y/N) looks at her own and tries to copy that movement. On the third try she kind of gets it.

Getting bored of not knowing what the plot of the movie is, she turns it back on the cartoon she watched earlier and settles back down on her little chair next to the table full of books (Spencer put it there to avoid her sitting too close to the TV and straining her eyes while watching her shows, the distance is perfectly measured).

Just as (Y/N) sits down Spencer re-enters the living room, feeling relieved because he was able to help his team. “Hey Sweetie, is everything alright?” Happily she nods, showing him the bird.

Spencer’s face? Just imagine the shook Pikachu. “(Y/N)! You don’t do that! This is really mean!” He tells her in a stern voice. Where did she learn that from? He doesn’t know it, but the genius is almost a 100% sure she saw someone on the street doing it, (Y/N) always was quick to pick things like these up.

The toddler looks at him with a sad face, close to tears. “I-i-i didn’t know. I’m sor-sorry”, she says, beginning to cry. Oh no, this is not what Spencer was aiming for. “No no no, don’t cry. It’s alright. I’m not mad at you. You just don’t do this, people can get really hurt by your gesture.”

After calming her down, he thinks of something they can do outside of their apartment, to forget the little incident. “Do you wanna go to the office with me? All your aunts and uncles are going to get there soon and maybe we can go eat dinner with them?” Excited by the thought of seeing her family, (Y/N) nods and jumps up to get her own little go bag.

It’s a bright pre-packed backpack with small coloring books, normal books, pencils and other knick knacks she might need when she goes out with her father. The only thing that they have to put in is her favorite stuffed animal of the day. They call it like Spencer’s work bag, because the toddler once overheard the word at the office and refused to call it something different than his.

“Hey, look at who decided to give us a little visit!” Penelope exclaims as soon as the team leaves the elevator. (Y/N) tries to keep up with her preppy step, desperately holding onto her hand to not lose her.

As they finally come to a halt in front of everybody, the little girl smiles sweetly at them. “Hi”, she says in the most adorable voice. But instead of doing her usual wave, she raises her small hand with her middle finger standing out.

You just hear a faint “NOO!” and a crashing noise before Spencer comes along in a jog. He scoops his daughter up, looking her into the eyes. He takes a few steps away from where the team is standing.

“(Y/N), what did we say about this gesture”, he asks her in a serious tone. Instantly tears start to form in her eyes again, but Spencer knows he has to be strong now. “(Y/N), you have to stop doing it. It can really hurt people. Do you remember when Jason made fun of the braids Auntie Penelope put your hair in?” She nods.

Meanwhile the team stands awkwardly in the background, not knowing what to do. They never really witnessed the genius reprimanding his daughter in front of them. Though it’s not directly in front them.

“You were hurt by his words. The same is with the gesture you just made. We don’t do this to people, we don’t want to make them feel bad. Now, I don’t want to punish you, because you didn’t really know the meaning. Just apologize to your Aunties and Uncles. Next time you do it, there will be a hard no on TV for a week.”

Quickly wiping her eyes, the toddler mutters a small “Ok Daddy.” Spencer’s heart hurts a little at that, but he needed to be stern in this one.

She wiggles out of his grasp and slowly makes her way over to the others. (Y/N) gives each of them a hug, apologizing individually to them.

“So, who wants to see the new pictures of Sergio I got on my desk?” Emily asks in a cheerful tone to break the awkward tension. Immediately the girl takes upon that offer and bounces off to the desk with her godmother in tow.

Spencer still stands near the elevator, watching the interaction going down through the glass doors. Hotch pats him on the shoulder. “I know it’s difficult to be mad at them or strict even, but you did the right thing”, he reassures him briefly before making his way to his office. The genius smiles, as a parent you seldom get encouraging words about how you raise your child. It kind of feels like walking down a path with closed eyes. But on both sides are deep rivers with piranhas in them.

Derek takes a place beside his best friend. “You know, as serious as this is, it’s also as funny. I mean how she just smiled sweetly as a cupcake and deadass pulled her middle finger up like nobody’s business? My man, in your case I would keep a close eye on her during (Y/N)’s teen years.” Both laugh at the bizarre situation.

But luckily the toddler learned her lesson from this and stopped showing people the bird as a greeting. This is until she learns the next inappropriate thing, she should rather not do.

Taglist:

All works:

@dindjarinsspouse @big-galaxy-chaos

Criminal Minds:

@averyhotchner @mggsprettygirl @herecomesthewriterwitch @ash19871962

Spencer Reid x child!reader:

@ilovetaquitosmmmm

[raineydays411]

Ember

Tony Stark X Daughter!Reader 

Warning: Child neglect, swearing, angst, death 

Summary: After being kidnapped by Hydra, Y/N does some reflecting on her home life. Especially her relationship with her father

italics = past pov

Bold= thoughts

Italic bold= ghosts 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You never thought your life would end like this. Alone, trapped in a Hydra cell, full of anger and resentment for the one man who was never supposed to break your heart. Of course, up until now you had been pretty optimistic your father would realize the error of his ways and miraculously spend years making up for years of missed recitals, ignored achievements, and multiple other offenses. You always forgave him because, hey the man was a member of the Avengers, what should you expect having Tony Stark as a father? 

But right now, as you lay on the cold, damp floor, writhing in pain from whatever glowey nuclear shit those assholes injected you with, you can’t help but remember the mistreatment and neglect bestowed upon you by your father. 

It was, it was September Winds blow, dead leaves fall

You’ll always remember that September day. The day your entire life had changed 

You were only eight when Loki tried to take over New York. You and your mom were coming home from the store when all of a sudden, people around you started to panic. Looking up, you saw a large portal in a once clear blue sky. Creatures appeared out of no where, destroying anything in their way. Your mother, terrified, took you by the hand and headed for a near by building. But, it seemed that others had that idea as well. Before you knew it, your vision was overwhelmed by the bodies of citizens trying to escape the chaos outside. After a few seconds, you found yourself in a crowed parking garage and no idea where your mother was.

You never saw her again after that.

After three days of searching, the police declared her dead and you were sent to live with your godmother, Pamela Isely. 

She was good to you. She held you through nightmares, told you stories about how your mother and her met, and even taught you how to take care of plants. The only complaint you had was that she would usually leave you alone every once in a while and come back with a lot of money, and occasionally, a loud blonde woman in a clown costume would come through the window and pinch your cheeks too hard. Other than that, you got adjusted to your new life quickly.

Four months passed and your life changed again. It was a cold September day, and you had just got home from school. As you walked into the apartment, you immediately felt a tension in the air, and you saw a man at the table with your Aunty Pam, who looked extremely uneasy and pale. They stared at you until your Aunt spoke.

“Y/N...you’re going back to New York.”

Those words alone made the floor fall from underneath you. You had just settled down. You finally felt comfortable without your mother in the world and now this?? Then the man cleared his throat, causing you to snap back into reality. 

“Y/n, my name is Tony Stark”

 You knew that name, he was the man in the metal suit who helped save New York. You didn’t care at the moment though, you just wanted to know why you were leaving your aunt.

Ignoring Tony, you looked at your aunt and whispered,

 “ Did...did I do something wrong?” 

Immediately, Pams eyes filled with tears as she quickly gathered you in her arms and responded with a loud, 

“Oh no, darling of course not”, She then proceeded to tell you the uncomfortable looking man at the table was in fact your father, who up till now you had never met. In fact, you never even fathomed the idea of having a father as your mom had always told you that you were a gift from some fairies she helped. You turned to the man who quietly sat at the table and looked over the man who was said to be your father.

He was definitely a handsome man. He wore a fancy looking suit and some tinted glasses even though he was inside. His hair was dark brown and messy, as if he was tugging or running his fingers through it. His skin looked to be am olive color but it was hard to tell as he looked kind of pale in the light of the small apartment you called home. You thought it was odd he hadn’t said anything other than introducing himself. 

“ Is it true? Are you really my dad?” You asked in a quiet voice.

He finally spoke, “Yeah kid, I’m your dad”

To you, I did surrender

Two weeks, you didn’t call

It’s been two weeks since you were taken by Hydra. Two weeks since you were injected with that mystery substance. You didn’t die, at least you don’t think you did. But you didn’t exactly feel alive either. You were colder than usual, like your body temperature lowered. You slept longer than normal especially the first three days after you were injected. The guards had to wake you up just to get you to eat. But the most worrying symptom of all is that your eyes were the same shade of neon blue as the liquid that was injected into your body. And everytime your eyes turned blue, something weird would happen. 

For example, the first time you noticed your eyes were blue, you woke up from the first long sleep.The second time, you thought you heard voices, screaming in agony and despair.This was odd because you were the only one in that cell block. As you came back to reality, you realized that you could see other ghostly figures in the once empty cells, and that you were floating three feet above your bed. 

Within the two weeks you were in that cell, you learned that that day you were injected, your heart did stop for an hour until you miraculously sprung back to life with a loud gasp, scaring the absolute shit out of the Hydra guards that were tasked with disposing your body. That would go through physical changes as well. Your once brown skin would change to a pale ghostly blue. And your black kinky hair would change to a shocking neon blue to match the color of your eyes.

For two weeks, you learned the ins and outs of your newfound powers. Two weeks of being pushed to your absolute limits by power hungry scientists. Two weeks of learning the names of the dead around you in those cells. 

It took two weeks, to realize that your father truly didn’t care about you.

And looking back on it, you should’ve known

Your life, goes on without me  My life, a losing game

It had been a year since you had moved into the Avengers Tower with your father. It had taken you a while to warm up to the team and for the team to get used to having a child around. But once you all got to know each other, it was like having multiple aunts and uncles. Especially because you were around them more than your own father. 

Unfortunately, once you had settled in and gotten to know everyone, Tony had locked himself away in his lab. Tinkering on a new project for weeks on end, ignoring his responsibilities as a new father.

Now, this didn’t really affect you till you started school. Tony had forgotten to pick you up multiple times, causing you to wait for hours on end till either Steve or Pepper realized that you hadn’t come home and rushed to the school , only to see you waiting on the front steps talking the ear off of the unlucky teacher who had to stay behind to wait with you.

Of course word got around that Y/N Stark was being forgotten at school everyday, thus prompting the kids at school to taunt you everyday after school.

“Where's your daddy Y/N??”

“I bet he leaves you here so you can get kidnapped so he doesn’t have to look at you”

“Your own dad doesn’t even love you”

Once you got to middle school, you joined as many after school clubs to hide the fact that there was no one to pick you up. And a small part hoped that it would be enough to gain your fathers attention. But it didn’t happen.

“Daddy! I made the volleyball team!”

“hmm, oh that's great kid, can you pass me that wrench”

“Dad! I’m in the robotics club”

“Y/N I’m really busy right now”

“ Hey dad...can you help me with--”

“Not now, go ask Pepper”

No matter what you did, you could never get his attention long enough. Nothing you did was good enough. You never got so much as a “welcome home” or a “ have a good day at school kiddo”. And you were fine with that. You were, because you knew that even though he didn’t show it, Tony Stark really did love you.

But you should, you should not doubt me You will remember my name.

After learning the extent of your powers, which included; flying,the ability to talk and see the dead, energy blasts, floating through walls, and the ability to shut off your powers at will. You decided it was time for you to make plans to escape. 

You’d like to think that you were really good at pretending. 

You did it on a daily basis, really. You pretended to be happy, not to notice Tony’s neglect, like you didn’t see the pity glances the rest of the team gave you. So convincing your captors that they finally broke you down wasn’t really a challenge. 

“....fine..i’ll help you” You said in a tired weak voice.

The two guards were startled at first, not expecting you to speak so suddenly

“You..what?” The younger of the two asked in a suspicious tone.

“I said I want to help you” you repeated a little louder. 

The first guard looked to the second, obviously confused at your sudden change of heart. They had a silent conversation with their eyes, as if debating on whether this was a trick or not. Finally, the older of the two turned to you and said,

“This better not be a trick, Stark.”

And with that, he started to unlock the door to your cell. 

“Okay, now I can either fight them now  and make a break for it, or I can wait till i get to the--” 

Your thoughts were cut off by a loud wailing, piecing your ears and automatically giving you a headache. Wincing in pain you look around the empty cell blocks and try to locate the spirit that’s making all that noise. When you see it, your heart breaks. It’s a young boy, around your age. The first thing you notice about him is that he had white hair, kinda Danny Phantom. As you continued to stare at the boy, his head suddenly turned and you both made eye contact, the movement startling you enough to make you jerk in the hold of the guards

“ HEY, eyes forward!” shouted the older guard. “There's no way out, if that's what you're looking for’ He said in a smug tone.

“I said I wanted to join you, why would I want to escape?” You reply, irritation dripping from your words.

“Just don’t pull any tricks kid.”

God does he have any other lines, you think to yourself mentally rolling your eyes. Sounds familiar.

Oh Ember, you will remember

Oh Ember, one thing remains

“Y/N I’m busy, go as--” “I know, go ask Pepper”

“Oh kid, I’m sorry I forgot” “ yeah, I know”

“You’re on the volleyball team” “ yes dad. For four years now”

“Y/N! I’m gonna be in the lab with Peter so try not to bother us.”

“Y/N me and Peter--”

“Good job, Peter”

“Hey Peter--”

God were you tired of that name. You never ever felt the feeling of envy and anger as much as you did when Peter came into your life. 

In fact, you were still healing from almost losing your family you found in the Avengers. Your dad didn’t want you around the “traitors” as he privately called them, so you were secluded. Watching them from afar and yearning for the comfort of hearing Steves pre-war stories, helping Clint pull off the most ridiculous pranks, helping Wanda teach Vision how to cook, and most of all you missed talking to Natasha. She reminded you of your aunt Pam, mainly because they both had red hair. You hoped that your father would understand this loss and step up now that you really needed a connection, but no. He decided that Peter Parker deserved all his attention. So you stopped trying as hard.

Oh Ember, So warm and tender You will remember my name

You walk into a room with a singular table and no windows. Sat at the table was a bald man writing in a notebook. The two guards lead you to the table and make you sit opposite of the bald man. He looks up at you and smiles.

“So, Ms. Stark has finally decided to comply?” He asks in a smug tone. You roll your eyes and answer back in a sarcastic tone,

“Yeah yeah, just cut the crap and tell me what you want me to do.”

The bald man just smiles and looks at you, as if trying to read your mind to figure out your motives. 

“Well”, he says, leaning back into his chair. “Lets get down to business.” He then proceeds to talk about the process of join his team and what you will be doing. But you don’t hear a word of it. Because you were going to escape this hell hole one way or another. 

“Well then, lets get you changed.” said the bald man. “Yeager, Jennings, take our guest to to her new room. 

“Huh so they do have names.” You think, as they pull you out of the chair and into the hallway. Walking back into the cell block, you make eye contact with that white haired boy again. He’s quiet as he watches you walk back to your room, then he disappears. 

You finally get back to your cell and notice a pair of black spandex, black halter top, grey boots and some black gloves on the floor. Changing into them, you take your hair into a pineapple with a hair tie they had given you. Looking into the piece of metal you used as a mirror, you changed into your ghost form. Suddenly, you hear a male voice behind you.

“Don’t let them know you can do that.” 

You startle and turn around, only to see none other than the white haired boy. He looked equally as startled as he realized you can see and hear him. 

“Why not?” you asked, changing back to your normal self.

“Because, they won’t ever let you leave.You’re already the first one to survive the injection. If they realize you can go ghost, they’ll do everything in their power to control you.”

Your mind flashed to Bucky. How Steve told you that they kept him. Brainwashing him over and over till he just became a weapon. You were not going to let them do that to you. You looked back at the boy.

“Can you help me get out of here?” you asked hopefully. The boy looked at you and said, 

“Well I’ve got nothing else to do.” You let go a sigh of relief. You were about to say something when you heard Yeager and Jennings walking down the hallway.

“They’re coming” You whisper, “ what do I do?”

“This base is small. All the people here are the only ones who know about it. They’re all going to be in the training room you’re being taken to. Wait till you get there, phase into the floor to the basement and blow up the heater. That should cause the whole building to cave in” 

You again don’t get to respond, as the two men finally get to your cell and unlock it. You walk out of the cell, head held high and allow them to lead you to the training room. Despite the look of confidence, you were dreading the next few moments. 

“So how come I’m the only one here?” you ask, even though you know the answer. The older guard looks at you and says

“You’re the only one who survived.” You fake a look of shock and look forward as if the news made you uneasy. And it did. It made you mad that these people didn’t care that they were murdering innocent people. They couldn’t hear the cries and the wails of agony these poor trapped souls emitted. In a way, it was ironic. Back at the tower, you were the poor soul nobody could see. And now you were surrounded by them.

Your heart, your heart is rendered Your loss, now bear the shame

This was the last straw. There was only so much you an take before you broke and this was it.

 Tony didn’t intend for you to hear it, but god did it hurt all the same. One phrase shattered your whole world. 

“You know Spiderling, your kinda like the kid I always wanted to have.”

An tense silence filled the common room. The first time in months you were able to see th eteam and they had to bear witness to this. Of course they did, who else would give you that stare full of sorrow and pity. You barely even noticed though. You were too busy looking at the “heartwarming scene.”

“that's such bullshit” Oh, how you wish you had a camera if only to capture the look of pure “oh shit” painted on Steve's face.

“What..what was that kid?” Asks your father. You turn to him, a fury in your eyes that nobody has ever seen.

“THAT IS ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT.”  You scream. “ FOR EIGHT YEARS I HAVE TRIED SO HARD FOR YOU TO LOVE ME. EIGHT YEARS I JOINED CLUBS, GOT THE HIGHEST GRADED IN CLASS AND FOR WHAT?” 

Tony and Peter look at you in shock “Y/n..wha..what are you talking about?” Peter asks in a baffled voice.

“Oh eat shit Peter! You know exactly what I’m talking about! Do you not find it weird, that your new mentor spends every single second of free time he has on you and not with his daughter?? Or are you so needy for some sort of parental validation that you don’t even care??” 

Deep down you know it’s not Peters fault. Hell, you two probably could have been good friends if your dad wasn’t such a tool. 

“Hey kid, I don’t know what's gotten into you, but that was way over the line.” Said Tony in a stern voice. Your eyes harden.

“Oh, did I hurt your poor little spiders feelings?? I didn’t even know you cared about other peoples feelings Tony? Or is it just your daughters that you ignore ?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t ignore you, stop being so over dramatic.”

OVERDRAMATIC?? DO YOU REALIZE THE ONLY THING YOU KNOW ABOUT ME IS MY NAME??” You are now sobbing. “ Do you even know my favorite color? How old I am?” 

Tony looks at you, eyes wide.”Y/N...” You cut him off

“Just forget it. I understand now. I will never be important to you. Not like Peter apparently is. I just wish it didn't take me eight years to figure that out.” And with that, you run out of the room, tears running down your cheeks and ignoring the calls of your father, the team, and Peter. 

You run for a few blocks and cry in an alleyway. not the smartest idea but you were too upset to care. And as you cry, you don’t notice the dark shadow behind you before its too late and the world goes dark.

Like dead trees, in cold december  Nothing but ashes remain

The hydra base was now engulfed with flames.  Your body was tired from phasing through the walls, and your head hurts from those energy blasts. But one thing brings some happiness in your heart as you watch all the souls that were trapped there realize they are free. All but one, the white haired kid. He walks up to you. 

“So you did it.” He says with a smile. You smile back. 

“Yeah I did.  Thanks to you.”

“Blue suits you.” he says with a blush. You squint at him for a second and let out a chuckle. 

“Thanks” ,You’re both silent for a few seconds, watching the souls leave. You speak up again. 

“Why aren’t you leaving like them” You question him.

“I don’t know, I guess my time here isn’t up.” he says looking out at the horizon. You nod and look at around trying to figure out where you are. 

“So, what are you going to do next” he asks. Your body stiffens as you are filled with resentment.

“I’m going to visit my father.” You say, eyes glowing a neon blue.

You will remember my name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: HI!so this is my first ever fanfic! i hope anyone who reads this enjoys it!! Let me know what you think and what i can improve on!💕

[johnsamericano]

𝔖𝔲𝔤𝔞𝔯 ℜ𝔲𝔰𝔥 𝔧.𝔧.𝔥

Hi everyone! As promised, here’s one of the two most voted fic continuations. There will be more chapters to this story though I'm not sure how many yet. Thank you for reading!

warnings: sugar daddy jae, mentions of injuries and hospitals, language.

taglist: @thoreeo @trustmahluv

Sugar rush m.list.

The machine monitoring your father’s heartbeat was the only sound filling the quiet hospital room, where your once healthy father laid unconscious, his perfect, chiseled cheeks adorned with cuts and bruises. Would they leave a mark?

The machine monitoring your father’s heartbeat was the only sound filling the quiet hospital room, where your once healthy father laid unconscious, his perfect, chiseled cheeks adorned with cuts and bruises. Would they leave a mark?

The machine monitoring your father’s heartbeat was the only sound filling the quiet hospital room, where your once healthy father laid unconscious, his perfect, chiseled cheeks adorned with cuts and bruises. Would they leave a mark?

The machine monitoring your father’s heartbeat was the only sound filling the hospital room, where your once healthy father laid unconscious, his perfect, chiseled cheeks adorned with cuts and bruises. Would they leave a mark?

The machine monitoring your father’s heartbeat was the only sound filling the hospital room, where your once healthy father laid unconscious, his perfect, chiseled cheeks adorned with cuts and bruises. Would they leave a mark?

Where did everything go wrong?

Your string of thoughts was cut off by a call from your aunt.

Your string of thoughts was cut off by a call from your aunt.

“Hello?” Your voice was raspy from not using it. There was no one to talk to in the quiet, hospital room but the nurses, who weren't especially keen on chatting.

“How’s your dad, sweetie?”

“They let him out of ICU, but he doesn't look good to me.” Your fingers traced the cuts in his chiseled cheeks that would soon turn into scars, ruining his perfect skin. Your eyes then diverted to his head, thoroughly covered in bandages to protect his damaged skull.

“Honey, I've got bad news...”

“They rejected the case, didn't they?”

“Not precisely.” She deeply inhaled before continuing. “It’s a tough case, almost impossible to win, nonetheless, they're willing to take it. But their fee is a little...”

“Expensive.”

“Yes.”

As expected from the best firm in town, they wouldn't take less than $8,000. Your bank account didn't have enough money to even cover half of it, and with your job at the convenience store, you'd only earn so much to cover your expenses.

“We can take the lawyer that the government provides us with, it would be free.”

“But then I'm sure we’d lose.” You groaned in frustration, using your free hand to rub your forehead. “Don’t worry, I'll find a way to get the money.”

“Why don't we just accept the compensation they're offering? It could pay for the hospital bills and you'd still have some left to pay for your tuition.”

“That would be like putting a price on my father's life. I don't want their money, I want them to make themselves responsible for what they've caused.” The sound of wheels approached the door of your father's room, signaling the nurse was outside with his meds. “It’s okay, Auntie, I'll take care of everything. You can go back home, I know my uncle isn't doing so well.”

“Are you sure, darling?” It was undeniable that she wanted to head back to her little ranch fat away from the hectic city life to take care of her sick husband, but still, her brother was laying down on a hospital bed, fighting for his life.

“Yes, I'm an adult, I'll find a way.”

“Take care of yourself, and don't hesitate to call me if you're having any difficulties. I'll be there in the blink of an eye.” She said before sending a kiss into the speaker, proceeding to hang up.

You sighed. It was never usual for you to ask for help, as you were an extremely prideful and independent person, and you doubted this time would be different.

“Don’t worry, dad. Everything will be alright.”

Three failed job interviews and one more to go. Your feet were killing you, the high heels covering them already worn out from walking to avoid taking the bus. Every penny counted, and as long as your legs worked, you weren't spending any more money than what was necessary.

You sat down in the waiting room of the company, massaging your neck to relieve some tension. College was becoming a burden. Maybe you'd take a semester off to focus on working, that is if someone wanted to hire an inexperienced student.

“Y/n, Y/l/n?”

“Here.” You darted up, gathering your belongings to enter the room on which your life almost literally depended.

You gave all the right answers, earning a polite ‘we’ll contact you’ in return. But you could see that they weren't convinced with your lack of experience, no company in their right mind would be.

As soon as you arrived at your apartment, you slid out of the uncomfortable pencil skirt, tucking yourself under the covers with your phone screen almost hitting your nose.

To take your mind off things, you decided to watch some videos. Halfway in, an ad popped up, interrupting the interior deco video you were watching.

A picture of a girl about your age hugging an older man was right in the middle of your screen. Written with fancy letters, the words ‘make your life simpler’ could be read, followed by what you guessed was the title of the app. Sugar rush.

Out of pure curiosity, your finger tapped at the small icon that led to the app store, absentmindedly clicking the download button. A few seconds later, an icon with the letters ‘SR’ was added to your home screen.

“Log in?” You murmured out loud, squinting your eyes to adjust your eyes to the bright, white homepage.

Just as you were about to click out, the phrase from the ad reappeared, stopping your finger from moving any further.

You could always delete your account if something went wrong, right? Nonetheless, you decided to use a false name, and that's how Melanie Kim’s profile was created. You left the circle of your profile picture empty for now, only filling the spaces that asked about your likes, dislikes, age, and all that stuff that people care about so much.

You knew what the app was for, but that didn't stop you from being surprised when a list of men and women of different ages greeted you. Right then, a small rectangle obstructed your sight, two buttons offering opposite things.

‘Pick the role you'd like to develop.’

Sugar daddy/mommy / Sugar baby.

Clearly, you didn’t have nor the money or the years to be the first, so you clicked the opposite button without giving it more thought.

‘Welcome. You've been registered as a sugar baby at Sugar rush. Meet thousands of men and women willing to finance you for free!’

You hummed.

‘As we're always looking to make our users’ experience better, we've developed Sugar Rush premium, a membership to meet the richest and hottest people in your surroundings. Get the premium version for only $5.95 a month. Click here to get Sugar Rush premium.’

Your finger pad was dangerously close to the blue button, almost grazing the screen of the phone. It was then when you were pulled out of your trance, blinking as if just then you'd realized what you were doing.

“I must be crazy.” You turned off your phone, not bothering to turn on an alarm for the next day. You had no interviews left. You had nowhere to go.

Waking up was getting harder with every passing day. Not being able to call your dad to go out for breakfast or even sending a simple good morning message hurt you deeply. You missed him. But seeing him laying down on a hospital bed, unable to do anything by himself, was even worse.

Ding

A notification filled the silence in your room.

‘Come back, you haven't finished setting up your account yet!’

You scoffed at your past self. What were you even thinking when you downloaded the app?

You simply turned off the phone before standing up to take a relaxing shower. As the water soaked up your tense body, your mind started wandering off back to the app. A million what-ifs filled your head, nonetheless, there was one that remained the most persistent.

‘What if this can pay for a lawyer?’

Your part-time job surely couldn't, and you had no one to assist you financially speaking. The whole idea of paying that ridiculous membership seemed more tempting as your fingers started getting wrinkly under the showerhead.

You decided to take some time to consider it, after all, you still had a week to give the lawyers an answer.

Hot soup seemed like a good option to comfort you, and thankfully, there was a store right in front of your place that claimed to sell the best soups in town.

It wasn't bad, but not nearly as good as the one your dad cooked when you were a kid. You sighed, wondering if you'd ever be able to eat it again. Just then, a woman about your age came into the shop, carrying a couple of bags where names of popular brands could be read. A pinch of jealousy made your heart stir as you glanced at yourself through the reflection in the glass at your side. You looked devastated, your skin pale and your cheekbones slightly sunken, a sign of the lack of rest and food you'd been getting.

Out of pure impulse, you pulled out your phone, clicked on the app you'd recently downloaded, and finally accepted the charges for a premium membership.

‘Welcome, new member of our wide community, click ok to get started!’

Well, no turning back now.

Right after pressing the blue letters with your thumb, you were presented with a list of potential prospects, some of them including pictures, some of them only including name and a brief description of what they were looking for. The minority included their ages, but most left the space blank.

A bunch of old men looking for a youthful, pretty woman to be by their sides, some of them even went as far as writing the weight and height their ideal partner should have. Of course, there were also some women in the look for young meat, but the number of men overpassed them.

About to exit the app in defeat, a profile caught your eye. His pale pink hair was parted, allowing his thick eyebrows to stand out. His high cheekbones made him look like a statue, the details in his face almost too perfect for a mere human. He must be the incarnation of a Greek God, you thought.

‘Jung Yoonoh. 41 years old. Owner of N & C.’

“Should I...?” You asked yourself in a voice lower than a whisper.

He has probably gotten hundreds of messages, so what would be the point of sending one yourself? Your eyes scanned the picture over and over again as the remains of your soup started getting cold.

He was probably the only acceptable man in the whole app, so why not give it a try?

You already spent five whole dollars on it, might as well make it worth the money.

‘Hi.’ Sent.

“Holy crap.” You breathed out, regretting every single action that led you to take such a stupid decision. “Ah!” You squeaked as three small dots appeared beside his profile picture, signaling he was writing a reply.

What if he rejected you right from the beginning? God, that would be so humiliating. His message stopped your train of thought.

‘Hi!’

Followed by:

‘How are you?’

Sweating like a pig, thank you for asking.

‘Fine. You?’ Read.

‘Thrilled. No one had messaged me since I created my account two weeks ago.’

‘How is that possible?’ You imprinted your thoughts on a message.

‘It’s hard to trust people nowadays. I guess people might think either my picture is photoshopped or I'm lying about my job.’

‘Their loss, ig.’ Read.

He was taking some time to answer. Had you said something inappropriate?

‘Hahaha.’

The conversation stopped there, as you didn't know how exactly to answer his message. But a few minutes later, another text from him popped up at your chat.

‘If you're okay with it, we can start talking about a possible arrangement.’

Already? You've known each other for like five minutes. But then again, arrangements were the whole purpose of the app.

‘Sure.’

‘May I ask your reasons for joining the app?’

‘I need urgent money, but my job doesn't pay nearly enough.’ You omitted the part of your agonizing father, he didn't need to know that. ‘And you?’

‘I need someone to be my partner at public spaces.’

‘Alright.’ Read.

‘Do you happen to have some free time tomorrow at lunchtime? I think it’d be better to meet first before making any decisions.’

‘Yeah, I'm free.’

‘Great, I’ll send you the address.’

You thought a day would be enough to prepare yourself, but time passed by quicker than usual, and soon enough, it was time to get ready for your meeting with Mr. Jung. He was only a few years younger than your father, and calling him by his first name wouldn't feel right.

Unsure if you should wear something formal, you threw on a beige (the color you'd agreed on wearing so it’d be easier to recognize each other) summer dress, pairing it with the gold hoops you'd inherited from your grandma to make it look more elegant.

The hardest part of your routine was makeup. Your sunken cheeks couldn't be covered, and only after a few layers of blush and highlighter, you could bring your skin back to life.

On your way to the cafe, you went through the things you'd say when you met him. It was your chance to get your father what he needed.

You stood at the entrance with wide, scared eyes, shyly scanning through the place to look for your date.

“Melanie?” A hand on your shoulder had you jolting. “I’m Jung Yoonoh, nice to meet you.”

What you saw after turning around was breathtaking. A handsome, healthy man, with the most beautiful pair of dimples.

“Nice to meet you.” You managed to blurt out without stuttering, extending your hand to make the greeting more formal. The fake name didn’t seem necessary anymore. “It’s actually y/n, I didn't want to use my real name.”

“I understand. Let’s take a seat.” He offered with a kind smile.

He left you seating at the terrace while he made your order, a latte, and a chocolate cookie. Your fingers played with your hoops anxiously, trying to regulate your breath.

“They’ll bring our food in just a sec.” He offered a warm smile. “Your dress is pretty.” Yoonoh said out of nowhere.

“Thank you.”

“I see you're not a chatty person.” You were about to object, but he started speaking again. “It's not a bad thing! I usually talk a lot, so it’s a nice way to balance things.”

You nodded, seemingly uncomfortable with the man sitting in front of you.

“So, uhm, this is my first time doing this, so I'm not really sure where to begin.” He pulled out a folded paper from the front pocket of his dressing pants. “It’s a bit creased, but I can always print another one. I brought it so you could take a look and let me know if you wanted to change anything. I don't mean to pressure you, but you said it was urgent, so...”

You read the paper under his attentive gaze, making sure not to miss a single word. Everything seemed correct, except...

“Six months?”

“Is that too much?” A small wrinkle formed between his eyebrows, a sign of deep concentration. “Okay, so let's do this instead.”

He took back the contract, pulling out a pen from the pocket in his dressing shirt to correct the original stipulations.

“Four months, and if by the end of them you don't absolutely hate me, we can extend the time. Deal?”

“Just one more thing.”

You cleared your throat, conscious that your following words might jeopardize the whole arrangement.

“Are you sure you want to make it official already?” You had to stop for a moment as the waiter left your orders on top of the wooden table. “I mean, it's not that I have a problem with it, but it's your money and maybe you'd like to give it a better thought.” You resumed.

“The fact that you're concerned about me proves I'm making the right choice. Now, tell me, how much would you like to receive as a weekly allowance?”

Would it be too reckless to ask him straight up for the $8,000?

“H-how much are you willing to give me?” You felt dirty, accepting a stranger’s money like that.

“Whatever you need.” His hand suddenly reached forward to yours, causing every ounce of blood in your body to rush to your face. “There’s no need to be embarrassed, I'm here to help you.” His voice tone dropped, acquiring an almost soothing feeling.

“I need eight thousand by Thursday, next week.” His eyes were wide open, mouth having difficulties remaining closed. “I-I know it's too much, but...”

“I can find a way to give you that money, but I'd like to know the reason why you need it. Just to make sure it's nothing illegal.”

You puffed your cheeks, trying to find an excuse good enough to justify the amount of money you were asking for.

“It isn’t illegal, is it?”

“No!” You retrieved your hand from below his, now embarrassed at the possibility of him having a bad image of you. “I need it for my father.”

“I suppose you don't want to talk about it.” He started at his palm, lips pressed in a thin life. “But when it comes to arrangements like this, we need to trust each other, alright?” You barely knew each other, yet, he demanded to know a very personal detail of your life. Not that he didn't have a good reason for wanting to know, it wasn't a particularly small amount of money.

“He had an accident at work...” You started, fearful of looking up to find pity in his eyes. “I need a lawyer to make his company legally responsible. They intend to throw it under the rug and pay a somewhat decent amount of money to make it go away. The firm I intend to hire is supposedly the best in town, probably my only chance of getting justice.”

“And why don't you just accept it? There's no guarantee that your lawyer will win the case.” You fisted the delicate fabric of your dress, eyes watering as you tried to hold back your anger.

“My father’s life is priceless, and if you think what I'm doing is a waste of money, then fine, we can both look for someone else to help us.” It sounded more aggressive than you'd first intended, but you meant every word that came out of your mouth.

Before you could even stand up, his slim fingers had already wrapped themselves around your wrist.

“I never said that.” He whispered with an almost sad tone. “Come on, sit down.”

He tugged at your arm the slightest, showing off his charming dimples once again.

“I’ll give you the money on one condition...” He raised one of his thick eyebrows. “I’ll go with you to see the lawyer.”

“Why...?”

“That’s my condition, take it or leave it.”

“Okay.”

The days before your meeting with your potential lawyer were nerve-wracking. You'd seen Yoonoh another time to sign the contract, which finally made your arrangement official.

You’d visit your father every day, always hoping he'd be sitting with his arms wide open, ready to hug you. But nothing had changed ever since he first came into that room.

“I’m here to see Mr. Kim.” The secretary's gaze lingered on Jaehyun a few seconds before he finally snapped out of it. “Y/n Y/l/n.”

“Just a second.” He opened his agenda and quickly found your appointment. With a warm smile, he guided you through the corridors of the building, all the way to the elevator. “It’s the only office on the last floor, I'll be at my desk if you need anything.”

Once again, he shot Jae an uneasy glance before the metal doors slid close.

“What was all that?” To be honest, you couldn't care less. But a small chat might calm your nerves and prevent you from throwing up all over the place.

“What do you mean?” He grinned, pressing the button to the top floor.

“You know what I mean.” You scoffed, annoyed at his evasive behavior.

“We just happen to know each other, nothing special.” Before the conversation could continue, a loud ding resonated through the metal cubicle. “Let’s go.” His hand found its place at the small of your back, pushing you towards the glass door. Through it, you could see a black-haired man reading a pile of documents, occasionally raising a photo to examine it with his gold-rimmed glasses supported at the bridge of his elegant nose.

Jaehyun extended his arm over your shoulder to knock on the door, earning an almost annoyed ‘come in’ from the man inside.

“Let’s go.” Once again invading your personal space, he reached for the doorknob with you trapped between his arms.

As soon as the door opened, the man raised his eyes from the documents he was checking.

“What are you doing here, Jung?”

“I knew something was off...” You murmured, loud enough for the man at your side to chuckle.

“I brought you a client, you should be happy.”

“Miss y/n, I suppose. Have a seat.” His demeanor completely changed while speaking directly to you. “I spoke with your aunt last week, she explained the details of the lawsuit, but I must say, it isn't an easy case.”

“I know that, but I've been told you're the best firm in town, I know I'll have more possibilities of winning if you're my lawyer.”

“Best firm in town my ass.”

“Be silent or I’ll kick you out of the building.”

That was enough for Yoonoh to zip his mouth. For a while at least.

“I suppose she also told you about our fee.” He pushed his glasses up using his thumb. “We’d also keep 25% of the lawsuit money assuming we win the case, is that okay with you?”

“Yes-”

“Okay, stop.”

“I’ll call security, Jung.”

“Look at me, y/n.” He squeezed your arms. “This clown is trying to scam you...” He pointed his finger at the lawyer without breaking eye contact. “You’d be spending loads of money for someone who isn't even confident in his abilities. It isn't worth it.”

“And I suppose you'd do better than me, then.” The black-haired man scoffed. “If that's the case, then you can both leave. I'm quite busy at the moment.” With a turn of his wrist, he signaled you to leave the room.

You were fuming, stomping out of the building with Jaehyun right behind you.

“I found a great restaurant nearby, we can go there and-”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Calm down-”

“Don’t tell me to calm down when you just fucked up my only chance to give those bastards what they deserve.” The sun was starting to set, yellow light casting shadows over his tender cheeks.

“Can you listen to me for a second?”

“Are you laughing right now?” You bit your lip, hard, trying to hold back the tsunami of tears threatening to come out of your eyes. “Asshole.”

“Ouch.” He furrowed his eyebrows mockingly. Oh, how close you were to punch that pretty face of his. “Can I explain now?”

You remained silent, staring at the ground with the smallest frown between your eyebrows.

“How do you think I know Kim Doyoung?” Before even giving you a chance to answer, he continued. “That son of a bitch has been stealing my clients for ages.”

“Your clients...?”

“He isn't even that good of a lawyer compared to me.” He scoffed with fake arrogance.

“You're a lawyer?!” You slammed your palms into your face, whining at the newly acquired information. “Why didn't you tell me from the beginning?”

“Just wanted to swing by and annoy him a bit. Don't worry, I wasn't gonna let you accept his deal.” He winked playfully.

The sun was now hidden, the sky darkening as the moon rose to take its shift.

“Though I gotta say, I'm kinda offended I wasn't even an option. I'm a pretty great lawyer, you know?”

“Sorry.”

“I’ll forgive you if you join me for dinner. What do you say?”

As you walked into the darkness of the streets, his shoulder occasionally bumping yours, you wondered if meeting him was a casualty. Maybe the world was finally smiling at you.

[crystal-moon-101]

Since I saw people talking about Ben's little big chill kids, I thought I'd finally do some headshots of my ones, who are also a part of my Ben 10 Next Gen. For me, I've always imagined that for young necrofriggians, they all start out looking the same (Beyond some size difference), but as they grow older, they'll start to develop their own patterns, small body traits and shades of colour, as showcased here. I'll share the little info on each sibling, and the basics of who they are as a person. When Ben first found them again, saving them from poachers and going full mum mode, they had been developing these different psychical traits, but not enough to identify each properly on their own, so while giving them names, Gwen used bandana pieces to colour code them, and each kid still wears theirs to this day, slightly modified. So here they are now, as full grown young adults. You can follow from left to right each row, or just the colours next to their names. -North (Black)- The largest and physically strongest of the kids, North acts as the leading member when Ben isn't around, doing their best to watch out for their siblings and be a middle ground to them. It's been this way since they were born, looking out for them and doing whatever they can to protect the others. This has resulted in North collecting quite a few scars and wing tears, though they wear them with pride, wanting to display how strong they are to others. They often looks up to Ben when it comes to being a hero, in how their mumdad protects others and the galaxy, and wants to be a fighter like him one day, often asking to train with their mumdad whenever he's around. Ben has suggested Plumber training for North, but they're still thinking about that. -Tundra (Red)- Tundra is a very curious one, and is known to wander off when things catch their interest. They prefer using experience to learn from, thus making them quick on their feet when something happens, and good at thinking logical. When the siblings are struggling with something, or come across some kind of problem, it's often Tundra who provides the quickest answers that should go well for them. That being said, due to their wandering, they gave gotten into trouble a few times and need to be saved by their siblings or Ben, as despite how smart they are, they can be a bit of a ditz when something catches their interest. -Grey (Silver)- Having a connection to the earth bellow, Grey often spends their time searching caves, and any hidden areas they can find. They especially love to research and find minerals of any kind, ranging from metals to gems, sometimes even studying their metal lunch for the day before eating it. Because of this, they can be carelessly dirty, and aren't the cleanest of people, but does pick up after themself when reminded. Grey is also pretty close with their sibling Storm, and surprising Gwen and Ben when first hearing the two call each other "Dweeb" and "Doofas", when first meeting them again. -Storm (Brown)- As someone who likes to spend a lot of time flying and high in the clouds, Storm is fascinated by the weather and how it behaves, and feeling the cold fresh air and challenging themself with flight training. This has provided them to have the most agility in the air, and knows the best ways to build up speeds, while also not draining themself. Whenever they aren't flying around, they're doing research on the weather, very keen to be a meteorologist one day. Whenever Ben visits, they will often ask him about the weather on other planets, and any adventures he's had in the sky. Storm is also pretty close with their sibling Grey, and surprising Gwen and Ben when first hearing the two call each other "Dweeb" and "Doofas", when first meeting them again. -Crystal (Blue)- Graceful on their feet, Crystal is a charming and gentle person, with a keenness for the art of dancing, especially when hovering in the air. This was something sparked in them when seeing how the patches in their wings, which are see through, glittered and reflected light through them, making Crystal often move around to see what they could get them to do, and the introduction of dancing was something they latched onto as a result. They are one of the hardest of the siblings to get angry, upset or rile up, and often goes with the flow and speaks in a slow and soft voice. Because of their kind nature and beautiful display of their wings, Crystal has attracted many others who are interested in them, many falling for them after meeting Crystal for a mere minute, though they tend to pretend not to notice, and turn down those who ask. -Orion (Orange)- Having an eye for art, Orion is a skilled painter and drawer, while also dabbling into other art forms to create things, their room filled with their works of art, and often creating gifts for others. From when they were little, Orion has always admired their auntie Gwen, and are always keen and eager to hang out with her when she visits, showing every new drawing and painting they have made while she was away. In fact their fondness for auntie Gwen is why they picked the orange bandana, as it reminded them of her hair. -Neva (Green)- Fashion focused and head strong, Neva is a keen one, who knows exactly what they like and isn't afraid to say it. They love designing things to wear, especially since fashion isn't that big on Kylmyys, and Ben brings them fabrics and items they request from earth whenever he comes by on a visit. Though, despite Neva's expensive tastes, they are most certainly aren't a snob, and more often than not create outfits and accessories for others that Neva knows they'd like, and wants to bring out the best beauty in them. Though admittedly, they can get a bit carried away if someone asks for fashion advice, or even brings up the idea of something related to it. Neva also a bit of a business mind too, having gotten some clients recently on their homeworld after seeing what Neva could make. -Raine (Aqua)- A very sweet young one, Raine has a keen eye for collecting things, particularly shiny or unknown stuff. From gemstones to simple earth utensil, if something interests them, Raine is known to take it with them, sometimes snatching without thinking. They don't mean any harm, and just sometimes think before acting, and will give something back if they've realized what they've done, but if it's clear they can keep it, then they aren't one to share, though do like to show off what they have with joy. They are also very well organized, knowing where everything they own is, and even when their siblings misplace something, having a photography memory and mental list of things. They may own a lot of stuff, but that doesn't mean they want to live in a pigsty. -Vale (Yellow)- Being one of the quiet ones, Vale likes to keep a lot to themself, and don't speak very often, only when they need to. They spend a lot of time outside, observing nature as it passes by them, using a little diary to note down what they see, hear, feel, smell and even taste. They like to appreciate silence and the world around them, and the beauty of nature, and collect little things to store away in their diary as memory. Whenever they visit earth, they love to visit the forests in the spring and summer, seeing the range of colours blooming from flowers, and has many flower prints because of this. -Lux (Beige)- Quite the basic of people, Lux likes to live life in a simple way, and tends to try and stare clear of any chaos, which is quite hard when you have 13 wild siblings. Because of them, they can come across as annoyed and frustrated at times, and can be blunt and honest, but they do love their siblings, and is often the one that says what's needed to be said. Lux also have massive wings compared to their body, a ratio none of the others have, and use to trip over their feet a lot growing up. Now, their massive wings are a great way to hide away when they're not in the mood to talk to read a book, or to hug a family member when seeing them down. -Micha (Pink)- Bubbly and sneaky, Micha has been dubbed the "Pink Ninja" for a reason, someone almost always able to hide away and sneak up on others. They love to jump scare people, and has found more and more crafty ways to get around without being noticed, even without their ability to go invisible. They love to pull jokes and get a laugh out of people, and Micha is known to have a snort with their own laughter. It's always their mission to catch Ben off guard when he visits, as each time it gets trickier due to him knowing it's coming, and his training and skills build up over the years, but Micha always finds a way in the end. -Zodiac (Gold)- Patient and often neutral toned, Zodiac is often seen to be pretty wise. From a young age, they've always loved stories from history, especially those about myths and legends they hear from around the galaxy, and spend a lot of their time reading and researching anything they hear about, always keen to hear a new story they may have never heard about before. It always fascinates them how much Ben has seen and done, and the stories he tells, Zodiac is practically fond of those about Alien X and Celestialsapians, and wants to meet one one day. -Alaska (White)- High on energy 99% of the time, Alaska is always zooming around and never has time to stop. They rarely sit still for long, and it takes a lot to drain them of their endless energy, always moving in a blink of an eye. Because of this, Alaska is the fastest of the crew, which has come in handy often. But they can be easily bored, and a little frustrating to deal with when they don't pay attention, but they do like to spend that energy by jumping around each sibling to spend the day with, and wants to engage in all of their activities to support them. -Arlo (Purple- The smallest of them, Arlo was born the runt of the group, but thanks to their siblings, especially North, they managed to survive childhood when most other necrofriggian runts would have died. This makes Arlo the baby of the group, and the one they all want to protect, even if it can be a little baring at much, wanting to prove they can be strong on their own. And Arlo somewhat got their wish, when reaching a certain age and Ben learning that one of his children had the spark, thus meaning Arlo is an Anodite, and is able to use magic, though they're far from being perfect at it, and their small body sometimes struggles to keep up. But each day Arlo practices, wanting to feel more than just the tiny one, but they are generally kind and great with emotions, being very supportive and just trying their hardest.

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Ch. 18: Girl’s Night (Heroes/Villains)

AO3

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First

Teleporting back into her room in Gotham, Marinette flops onto her bed. Passing Kaalki sugar cubes and Tikki a cookie, she suppresses the urge to scream into her pillow. She was sick and tired of Hawkmoth. Sick and tired of being the one who has to fix everything. She just wanted one week with no Hawkmoth, no akuma attacks. But no. Of course not. Of course he just had to send out a stupid akuma every single day. Because why not. How’re people supposed to know he’s still being the main villain of Paris if he takes a freaking day off? Once she finds out who he is, she’s going to punch him in his stupid face. A knock on her door pulls her from her plotting ways to get back at Hawkmoth. 

“Come in.” She sighs, sitting up and forcing a tired smile on her face. 

“Marinette, your father wanted-” Selina starts, pausing as she looks her over. “Come on kitten, we’re having a girls day.” She says. Marinette raises an eyebrow. Sure she’d met Selina before, but they hadn’t really hung out yet. 

“What?” She asks. 

“You look exhausted and angry, sweetheart. Spending too much time with these boys isn’t going to help. So you’re gonna grab anything you need for an overnight trip and we’re going to go watch movies and eat junk food til we’re sick.” Selina instructs. Marinette grins, jumping up and shoving stuff into her backpack. She puts Kaalki’s glasses into her purse and lets her and Tikki fly in before she turns to Selina. 

“Ready!” She says, practically bouncing up and down in excitement. It’d been ages since she’d had a girls day with anyone. She was so ready to just take a break and be silly. 

“Well come on then. Harley and Ivy are going to adore you.” Selina says, slinging her arm around Marinette’s shoulders. Somehow, they manage to not see anyone on the way to Selina’s car. Which is weird, but it is a weekday so everyone probably had something to do besides sit around the manor. Pulling away from the manor, Selina flips on the radio, the new Jagged Stone song blasting full volume.

“Nice taste in music.” Marinette says with a wide grin. Selina smirks. 

“I have to like the man at least a little, his designer is one of my kids after all.” She says. Marinette smiles, a warm feeling flooding through her. Selina didn’t have to accept her with open arms, she didn’t have to treat her like she was her own daughter. But she did, and Marinette was so thankful for that. Thankful that even so far away from her Maman, she still had a Mom there for her. The two nod along to the music, scream singing the chorus together as the car pulls to a stop in front of an apartment building. Marinette glances at the building, suddenly nervous. Would Harley and Ivy like her? Or would they just tolerate her for Selina. 

“Don’t make yourself nervous, sweetheart. Harley and Ivy are two of the sweetest people I know. They’re gonna love you.” Selina says reassuringly, reaching over and squeezing Marinette’s shoulder. Marinette lets out a breath before nodding. 

“Okay, let’s go.” She says, grabbing her bag and jumping out of the car. She follows closely behind Selina, not wanting to give anyone the chance to get between them. You could never be too careful in Gotham. They walk into the building and go straight into the elevator, Selina pushing the button and leaning up against the wall while they wait. Marinette bounces on the balls of her feet, excitement and nerves bundling together. The second the elevator stops, Marinette’s out, following Selina down the hall. She pulls out a key, winking at Marinette before turning and unlocking the door. 

“Honey, I’m home!” She calls, and Marinette’s jaw drops. The apartment was quite literally covered in plants and vines. They were beautiful. She grins as one of the vines near her leans towards her, a small flower blooming at the end of it. 

“And who did you bring with you?” A tall woman with red hair asks, walking into the room. The designer inside of Marinette instantly has a million questions about the woman’s outfit. It seemed to be made entirely of plants, but she could also tell that they were still alive. She had no idea how the woman had managed that, but she guessed that it was something that couldn’t be replicated for someone else. 

“I’m Marinette. Nice to meet you!” She says with a wide smile. The woman, who Marinette assumes is Ivy, grins back. 

“Nice to meet you, Flower. I see you’ve already made a friend.” She says, gesturing to the vine which was now wrapped around Marinette’s wrist. Marinette giggles. 

“Well, I was hoping they liked me and that’s what this was. I have a garden back in Paris, and I’d hate to find out plants actually hate me.” She says. Ivy shakes her head. 

“No worries there. They adore you, it’s a little odd if I’m honest.” Ivy says, dodging Selina who tries to flick her. 

“Did I hear Selina?” Another voice asks, a short blonde woman walking into the room. Her hair was short and choppy, the small pigtails at the top of her head dyed pink. Marinette grinned at the woman’s outfit- a Gotham Amusement Pier t-shirt, Batman pajama pants, and hot pink fuzzy socks. She wondered if her dad knows that Harley Quinn has Batman pj pants….probably not. 

“Yes, with a guest.” Selina says, plopping onto the couch and gesturing over to Marinette, who was still standing by her new vine friend. 

“Hi! I’m Marinette, it’s nice to meet you.” She says, smiling and waving with her free hand. Ivy whispers something and the vine squeezes a bit before letting go, letting her move away from the door. 

“Well aren’t ya just the cutest!” Harley squeals, running forward and giving her a big hug. “Didjya finally join your boytoy’s adopting habits?” Harley adds, still clutching onto Marinette. Selina snorts. 

“No, he beat me to her. But she’s definitely mine, too.” She says, making Marinette’s face turn red. Harley coos at her, ruffling her hair before stepping back. 

“So what brings ya here? Get annoyed with Bats already?” Harley asks. Marinette blinks in shock. Harley knows? She thinks about it for a minute, and realizes it just makes sense. They’d been fighting long enough and then he started his relationship with Selina, who was one of Harley’s best friends. It just made sense that Harley (who was extremely smart) would put two and two together. 

“No, just thought that Mari could use a girl’s day. She’s been stuck with just the boys for over a week.” Selina explains. Harley gasps. 

“The horror!” She says, making Marinette giggle. “Come on pumpkin, I’ve got the comfiest jammies ever. Oooo, and we can paint our nails! Ivy, find the movies, Selina, you’re on snacks. This is gonna be so much fun!” Harley orders, grabbing Marinette’s hand and tugging her along to one of the bedrooms, Selina’s laugh echoing throughout the apartment. 

“I did bring pjs, ma’am.” Marinette says, once Harley stops tugging her and starts searching through a drawer. 

“Bet that can’t be comfier than the ones I’ve got for ya! And call me Harley kiddo, or Auntie Harley if ya wanna.” She says, looking up from the drawer to smile widely. She looks back and cheers in victory, pulling out a pair of bright red pajama pants. Marinette snorts when she notices the logo all over the pants. 

“Really?” She asks, giggling. Harley smirks. 

“We’ll have to take a picture of us and send it to your old man. Really get ‘im riled up.” She says. Marinette nods excitedly, taking the Robin pants from Harley. This was gonna be awesome. 

---

Bruce sighs, looking at the news report from Paris from earlier. The damned butterflies were hard to track. He was used to figuring out problems quickly, and this one was taking too long for comfort. It wouldn’t bother him as much if it was anywhere else, but it was directly impacting his daughter. She was being hurt daily, and she’d even died and now she was plagued with nightmares. All because of a man with some magic jewelry. God, he hated magic. A knock on the study door stirs him from his thoughts. 

“Come in.” He says.

“Hey B, have you seen Mari? I was gonna ask her if she wanted to go get ice cream with me and Little D.” Dick asks, leaning against the door frame, Damian standing next to him with his arms crossed.

“Not since breakfast. There was another akuma attack earlier, but it wasn’t a bad one. She wasn’t injured.” He says, remembering the completely strange battle from earlier. It was some man with pigeons, and apparently this was the 34th time the man had been akumatized over pigeons. 

“Did you not check her room after the battle?” Damian asks, eyebrow quirked. Bruce sighs. 

“It was the pigeon one again. I assumed that she’d want to take a nap, if anything. She still hasn’t been sleeping well. Tim said she’s awake every morning when he comes up for coffee, whether it’s three or five, she’s up.” Bruce explains, frowning at the thought of his youngest daughter’s sleep habits. He certainly didn’t need another sleep deprived coffee addict like Tim. It wasn’t healthy. 

“Well I already checked her room. She wasn’t there.” Dick says, and Bruce frowns, pulling out his phone to send a text to Tim and call Jason. One of them had to have seen her. She never left the house without telling one of the family, unless it was for a battle. 

“What.” Jason says gruffly, Bruce is just grateful he answered. Up until a couple of months ago, Jason would have rather thrown his phone in the river than answer one of Bruce’s calls. 

“Have you seen Marinette?” He asks, getting straight to the point.

“No? Why? What’s wrong?” Jason asks, and Bruce hears shuffling as Jason rushes around wherever it is he is. 

“Nothing. I’ll call you back.” He says, hanging up. He glances down at his texts and notices Tim hasn’t seen her either. He frowns, but doesn’t panic yet. Pulling out his computer, he pulls up the tracker that was on each of his children’s phones. He scans the map, frowning when he sees that her phone is still in the manor. In her room. He stands and swiftly moves past his sons to get to his daughter’s room. He knocks, waiting for an answer. None. 

“Marinette?” He calls, knocking again. “I’m opening the door.” He warns, pushing it open. He frowns at the empty room, nothing appearing out of place. 

“Do you think she had to pop back to Paris for something?” Dick asks, coming up behind him. Bruce shakes his head. 

“No, she would have told us. Suit up, she has to be somewhere in-” He stops as his phone chimes. He looks at it and feels all of the tension leave his shoulders. 

Took our youngest daughter for a girl’s day, back tomorrow XO. Of course Selina had her. 

“She’s with the Sirens. She’ll be back tomorrow.” Bruce says, suppressing a smile at the annoyed look on his youngest’s face. She was safe, and that’s what matters. Even if he was certain he’d have to listen to Damian complain for the entirety of patrol. 

---

“Make all the boy moose go WAAAAAAAAA!” Harley says with the movie, laughing loudly. Marinette chuckles, passing Tikki a cookie in her purse before sticking another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. 

“I still like the first one more.” Selina says, taking a sip of her wine. Harley sticks her tongue out at her before turning her attention back to the movie. 

“Do you think Mia is secretly a superhero?” Marinette asks, frowning in thought. 

“What on earth are you talking about?” Ivy asks, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Even Harley pauses the movie to turn and stare at her. 

“Stan Lee.” Marinette says with a shrug. 

“Is that s’posed to mean something to me, kid? Cause I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.” Harley says, obviously confused. Marinette huffs. 

“Stan Lee makes a cameo in this movie. And Stan Lee is the creator of Marvel, right? He’s made a cameo in like, every single Marvel movie. So is Mia secretly a superhero? Is that why he’s in the movie?” Marinette rambles, almost flinging ice cream at Selina as she gestures crazily. 

“Sweetie, how much sleep have you had in the past three days?” Selina asks after a few moments of silence. 

“Not important. Is Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi, Princess of Genovia, also a superhero? Does she secretly work for SHIELD? Or is she more like Iron Man, like a freelance superhero? Was she a hero in San Francisco too? Or did she take over a hero's mantle when she moved to Genovia? Cause she was really clumsy in the first movie and also super awkward, but now she’s less clumsy and she seems to be more put together, but are heroes really put together? I don’t think so. I think sometimes heroes pretend that they’re put together to make everyone else feel better when in all reality they’re seconds away from a breakdown themselves. Is Stan Lee coming to recruit her for SHIELD? Is that why he’s in Genovia? Does SHIELD have any jurisdiction there? Is there a Genovian branch of SHIELD?” Marinette rambles, suddenly stuck on the topic. Seriously, why is Stan Lee in Princess Diaries 2 if Mia isn’t a hero? Why would he-

“Kitten, take a breath.” Selina says, her hands on Marinette’s shoulders helping her to ground herself. Marinette takes in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She blinks a few times, instantly feeling bad. 

“I’m so sorry.” She says, frowning. 

“What for?” Harley asks, looking confused. 

“For ruining girl’s night.” She says quietly. Selina pulls her into a tight hug and Marinette sinks into it. 

“Sweetheart, you didn’t ruin anything. I don’t know everything that’s going on. But what I do know, is that you rambling out a conspiracy theory about the movie we’re watching is not ruining girl’s night. Trust me. One time, we invited your brother Dick, and he ate all of the cookies by himself.” Selina says, Marinette snorts. Of course he did. “Now that’s a way to ruin girl’s night.” She adds, squeezing her once more before leaning back.

“Let's watch something that we can just get lost in and not have to think at all.” Ivy suggests, looking through the stack of dvd’s. Marinette glances over, eyes instantly catching one of her favorite movies. 

“Legally Blonde?” She suggests, Harley squeals. 

“That’s it, you’re officially ours. Brucie can fight me.” She says, putting in the dvd. Marinette laughs, laying her head on Selina’s shoulder, grabbing a handful of popcorn. She could get used to nights like these.

Next Chapter

Bonus chapter: Harley Vs Bruce

Drawing of Harley and Mari’s pajamas

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