#in fact it's almost like making up for the life of elise! right?? right??? ���

[slugbeaker]

So I know we get that load screen that talks about Hazel living a few years longer than projected (if you're a good bean and get the stuff for Agrippa uwu) but she's still sick in general and in hospice care by the time Daniel leaves for Algeria.

What do we think the odds are Daniel relapses into his old ways and winds up using vitae to help 'cure' her? 🥲🥲🥲

[selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs]

Ougai Mori (self-aware)

Self-Aware! Ougai Mori x GN! Reader

Warning: OOC. Menthions of torture. Spoilers for Fifteen arc, STORMBRINGER arc, Dazai Osamu and Dark Era arc. Spoilers about Mori's past. Yandere. English is my second language.

Becoming self-aware

💉 The second Mori Ougai became self-aware can be called a Point, that divided his life into 'before' and 'after'.

💉 Before Mori Ougai was boss of Port Mafia, a criminal organization with dozens of enterprises under their control.

💉 Now Mori Ougai was a fictional character and Port Mafia only have twelve members, including him and Elise.

💉 Mori was the boss of Port Mafia for almost ten years now.

💉 For almost ten years, Mori did everything to keep balance in Yokohama.

💉 For almost ten years, Mori did everything to ensure that Port Mafia will be the most powerful organization in Yokohama.

💉 And just in one moment almost all his work became almost meaningless.

💉 There weren't any real dangers in real Yokohama.

💉 There were only fictional dangers in fictional Yokohama.

💉 The Great War was a war between a bunch of empty, fictional puppets. During war he was surrounded by empty puppets. He submitted his reports to empty puppets. He forced Yosano to treat empty puppets.

💉 He didn't kill previous Boss. He broke an empty puppet.

💉 Mori was furious. Fifteen years of work lost all its meaning.

💉 Almost all of it.

💉 He still has Port Mafia.

💉 Port Mafia still can exist with only eleven members.

💉 At least, Mori will make sure of it

💉 This world may be fictional. But he and his subordinates now are real. They must carry on.

💉 And they need answers.

💉 What to do next? Where they should go? Is there a way... to the real world?

💉 Their new lives will be hard. But they won't be broken.

💉 Mori will be a strong leader. Despite wanting to destroy everything. Despite feeling helpless.

💉 Mori is trying to stay calm. He has an organization to run. Mori will protect his subordinates.

💉 Mori will do anything he can, to keep his subordinates safe. And keep them calm. Right now, Mori felt, that he is commanding a pack of trained rabid dogs. They won't attack. But they want. And when they attack, they will tear the target apart.

💉 Sleepless 'nights' (or 'days' in this chaotic day-night cycle) became the norm for Mori. He needs to make a strategy. To create a plan, that will save them. To make their lives whole again. Meaningful.

💉 Every day he will send patrols. To gather information.

💉 That's how Chuuya and Hirotsu learn that ADA members are also self-aware. That's how Akutagawa and Higuichi heard that The Guild members are also self-aware. Mori and Elise once saw Fyodor Dostoevsky, who was searching through the books in one of the libraries. Gin and Tachihara brought news about Government and Hunting Dogs.

💉 Yokohama wasn't completely empty. It was good news.

💉 And then, one day, he feels an entity's gaze on him.

_________

Observing.

It was observing.

Were he and his subordinates amusing to them?

This... Entity. That Thing... Were they the one, who created this world? Or was this world created for them?

Mori wanted to get his hands on The Entity. To torture it. Slowly and painfully. To make it pay for toying with their lives.

But, before that, he will learn everything about The Entity's world.

About Real World.

About their future home.

But one day, time reset.

And he, once again, was the new leader of Port Mafia, who sent fifteen-year-old Dazai to investigate the sudden appearance of the previous Port Mafia Boss.

__________________

When they start feeling your presence

💉Mori can't tell, for sure, what made him more uncomfortable. The fact, that Entity can reset time Dazai's murderous aura, or the fact, that Entity disappeared... At least, partly.

💉 Someone still was watching. But, it didn't feel like a looming giant was watching up above. No. It feels like a normal person was looking at them. Yet, it still was watching up above.

💉 And then, Mori heard someone's voice.

"young..." "scare..." "Mori..." "what..." "happened..."

💉 It was hard to recognize the words. Voice was quiet. But, nevertheless, it was human's voice.

💉 Was it reacting to his conversation with Dazai?

💉 Trying to prove his theory, Mori spoke. He repeated the same question, he asked the first time.

"Dazai-kun, I don't know if I can understand it, but tell me―why do you want to die?"

And, once again, Dazai asked in return.

"Tell me this. Do you really think that there’s any value in the act of living?"

Some static. And words.

"Mori [|||||||||||||] good at [||||||||||||] strange people [||||||||||||] interesting talent [|||||||||] doctor [||||||||] Mafioso."

💉 Was it a compliment? Or Entity just stated the fact?

💉 Dazai left, and Entity left with him.

💉 And Mori has some time to think. At least, until Chuuya Nakahara will be brought to his office once again.

______

💉 Entity was amused by Chuuya and Dazai's bickering.

💉 Entity feel sadness towards Randou.

💉 And Entity was curious of him.

💉 Mori didn't want to admit it, but... Entity doesn't feel bad. It was just there. It wasn't interfering. Not only that, but it wasn't aggressive. It has normal human emotions.

💉 Maybe, he should rethink his description about torturing The Entity?

💉 Dazai and Chuuya left his office. And Entity left with them. Mori feels a ping of disappointment. He needs more time with The Entity, to make a final decision.

💉 And then, Randou was killed. And Dazai create a plan to make Chuuya part of Port Mafia. And Chuuya once again was in Mori's office.

_________

"The leader stands at the top of the organization, but is also it's slave. For the profit and survival of the organization, I will gladly soak in all its filth. Raise my subordinates, position them optimally, and if I need to, use and throw them away. I will gladly do any inhumane act if it's for the organization. That's what it means to be a leader."

A wave of warmth and respect embrace Mori.

"leader" "do, what must be done" "respected"

"Mori, you are a great Boss. Port Mafia needed you, especially after Previous Boss rule of terror. You care about your subordinates and you deserve their respect. Besides, you protect Yokohama in your own way."

Mori feels, how someone touched his shoulder.

[In reality, you pet page of light novel with Mori on it]

______

💉 Mori didn't feel anger towards Entity... Voice anymore. Voice's emotions were genuine. Voice weren't tricking them. Voice saw him as a real person.

💉 The next few events moved past him. Entity didn't stay with him for long.

💉 During the King of Assassins Incident, Voice was worried about him. About Chuuya. About Dazai. About Adam. About Verlaine. About Port Mafia. About Yokohama.

💉 Still, they take a moment to chuckled at Mori's way to make Dazai made a plan how to defend Verlaine.

💉 But, the greatest result for Mori, lays in Chuuya and Verlaine.

💉 Verlaine and Chuuya were ready to protect The Voice. Same Chuuya and Verlaine, who were ready to tear Voice apart, before time was resets.

💉 Q and Elise also didn't hate Voice as strong as before. Kouyou stopped cursing Entity under her breath. Hirotsu stopped looking so tense all the time. Dazai looked calmer, than before.

💉 Mori knew, that he can't simply force Port Mafia to accept Voice. He should let subordinates decide for themselves, what they should think about Voice.

💉 It would be great if Port Mafia accepted Voice. But, if they not...

💉 Well, Mori was the Boss of Port Mafia.

💉 Who would question him, if he decides to take care after one special human?

💉 Doesn't matter, if the said human aren't liked in Mafia. Boss loves them, and that's what important.

💉 Mori was worried about one thing.

💉 Mimic's arrival to Yokohama.

💉 Mori knew what he will do. And, Mori felt, that he can't change his actions, no matter, what he does.

💉 Than time reset again. And Mori once again invited Mimic to Yokohama. Once again, Oda Sakunosuke was standing in his office.

💉 With the Light Blob on his head.

________

There was sorrow in Mori's eyes.

"I am sorry, Oda-kun. If this time it could be different, I would choose another path. They like you. And I don't want Voice to be upset. They are... precious to all of us."

And Mori felt it. Voice was sad. Voice was grieving. For Oda. For orphans. For Gide.

And it wasn't angry at Mori. It wasn't hating Mori.

"I won't pretend, that I fully understand your reasons, Mori. But you had them. And they were important to you... I only wish no one has to die for Port Mafia to gain skilled business permit."

Time resets again.

And Mori awakes in his office. Right when Kyouka captured Dazai.

And this time, Dazai visited his office.

"Mori-san, Boss had an interesting proposition to the Port Mafia... About Dear Guiding Light"

____________

💉 The alliance between Port Mafia armed Detective Agency was created.

💉 It takes time, but, soon, two organizations were working as one.

💉 Soon, all Mori subordinates were fine with Their Dear Guiding Light.

💉 All of them are working to reach the same goal. To get to Their Guiding Light. To leave this world behind.

💉 Time goes by. More and more people joined them.

And then, one day, the purple moon shined above Yokohama.

_____

When you installed BSD Mayoi Inu Kaikitan

💉Mori and the rest of Port Mafia will mess with Port Mafia Building menu in game. Now they also give you gifts, instead of only boosting certain attacks.

💉 Mori hack his awakening event battles. Not only you get all Awakening materials during first battle, you also will get moons every time you repeat the battle.

"Okay, Mori, let's raise your office level."

"I like Mori's SR cards. It's good to see him in different attires."

"Art for unlocked Mori's Night Blossoms card looked better, than unlocked."

💉 When BSD Cast got access to your phone, Mori will monitor your health together with Yosano. And browse the Internet.

💉 Mori is also interested in your world fashion, food and festivals.

💉 Mori insisted on adding new menu in game with fashion tips from him. Somehow, his tips aren't that bad.

💉 Mori now has two people to pamper. You and Elise.

💉 Mori and Fukuzawa, following Atsushi's and Akutagawa's example, start training together. Another duo of guardians won't be unnecessary for you.

💉 After Oda's resurrection, Port Mafia decide to do a leap of faith.

💉 Rimbaud and Flags became a great addition to the team of your protectors.

💉 Mori is planning to rebuild Port Mafia in your world. So you can have powerful protectors.

💉 Mori want to protect you. He will do anything he sees fit to protect you. Even if it means breaking the law.

💉 You are Their Guiding Light. You are Port Mafia's Treasure.

________

You got another notification from your Gift Box.

Another note.

From Ougai Mori.

Some Evolution Materials.

"[Y/N]-kun, I hope you're having a great day. Please, be careful, and don't forget to take care of yourself. Maybe, buy something nice for yourself. Mori Ougai"

You smile and open Character menu and choose Mori's card. You pet Mori's chibi.

"Okay, Mori, I will follow your advice and buy something nice. Maybe, that cake from the bakery I saw yesterday. Oh, and I will wear the outfit you have suggested earlier today."

You didn't notice, that Mori's sprite looked very pleased.

[samuraionyourmom]

Been thinking about my Android Dazai AU lately. I've been asking myself a couple of questions about it since no one else seems to 😒 /lh (if you have any questions, please send them in, I beg. I yearn to yap). I've been mostly asking myself these questions to help me flesh out this AU better, and I thought I'd share my process.

If you haven't heard about it, you can check out my other posts about it here as well as the fic I made for it!

So, anyway, onto my ramblings. Prepare for an info dump and a half.

I'm sticking with the main question I've been asking myself for this post, and that is:

Why did Mori create Dazai? Why not just stick with Elise? What are his motivations?

This has been one of the toughest questions I've been faced with when I imagine this AU. It stumped me for a long while, so I just ignored it for the time being. But after a deep analysis of Mori's character, I've come to a conclusion.

Right off the bat, I'd like to make it clear that Mori has no creepy or pedophilic reasons for creating Dazai in this AU, so throw that thought away. I don't want to hear about it.

For starters, I'd like to lay out who Mori is as a person. Or how I view him, anyway. Deep down, Mori longs to take care of someone. We see this in Beast when he's free from his duties as Boss and is able to open up an orphanage. He states that he wishes he could have saved Dazai instead of manipulating him like he did.

But as it currently stands in the main timeline, Mori is unable to indulge in this desire. He is a slave to the organization, as he puts it, and he has a duty to go with the most logical solution as its leader. Facts over feelings and all that. Whether that means pushing Yosano to her limit despite his own hatred for using fear as a way to control people or sacrificing Oda, someone who he knows is very dear to Dazai, for the sake of obtaining the permit.

All this to say that Mori is very repressed. Personally, I say that these secret desires manifest themselves in Elise. She has some of Yosano and Dazai’s characteristics, both people Mori wish he could've cared for properly, and he spoils her openly, almost as if he's trying to make up for lost time.

Now, back to the AU. Elise's existence allows Mori to indulge in his fantasies, yes, but he wants something tangible. Elise is a manifestation of his own wants, but she's not real. So Mori decides to make an android. Maybe it's in a moment of weakness, so desperate for something, anything, to care for to make up for the pain he's caused.

Why not just adopt a child? Well, as much as he would like to, having a child in the Port Mafia isn't a wise decision, morally or logically. So he settles for an artificial one. It's different enough from Elise because it's something that can just vanish into thin air like she does. Something physical.

He works tirelessly to design, engineer, and produce an android that can give him as close to what he wants as possible. Not a baby, though. He couldn't bear that. He settles on a young teen for the design (again, not for creepy reasons, you weirdos). Something that he could care for, but isn't entirely helpless.

I imagine the first thing Mori did was create the AI for this thing before working on the body, and suddenly, this AI just starts yapping at him from his computer. The android takes on a life of their own. Starts calling themselves "Osamu Dazai." Orginally, Mori was set on creating a feminine-leaning android (his failures with Yosano are still haunting him at this point), but Dazai's like: uh, hell no. I am Osamu Dazai. I am a boy. Fix my body, u stupid doctor. (I love transzai)

Anyway, Dazai helps Mori design the body he wants. It's more androgynous than before, which Dazai enjoys. He's implemented into it shortly after it's finished, and voila, our favorite little bandage boy, is born.

Sure, Dazai isn't exactly what Mori had envisioned when he first started the project. He had imagined something more docile, easier to project his desires onto. But Dazai is what he is, and he won't be changed now. He's here now, and he's here to stay. Very human, despite how he came into this world or how much he denies it.

I may or may not have been influenced by the recent release of the Stormbringer Manga with that last bit. Anyway, Dad Mori is real. He's just not very good at it.

[jeahreading]

(This mood board is freaking awesome and everything you really need to know about me, the love of my life @im-on-crack-send-help made this)

(Right I think It's time for me to finally get this over with )

Helloo and Welcome to my Blog, This is Primarily a Writer/readerBlr, but there are other things too(Particularly listening to podcasts ) since I can't be bothered to make a side one.

My reader side - I am an avid reader and am almost always in the middle of a book, I will be updating here on which books I'm reading

Current read list -

Dracula (Bram Stoker)

The Screaming Staircase (Jonathan Stroud)

A Dance with the Fae Prince (Elise Kova)

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Kai Bird)

The Silver Birds (Apolline Lucy)

That Night (Nidhi Upadhyay)

The Complete Adventures of Feluda, Vol 1 (Satyajit Ray)

The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)

The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy)

The War of Lanka (Amish Tripathi) (YES I CAN FINALLY TAKE THIS OFF MY LIST I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED THIS I CAN'T BE HAPPIER)

City of Bones (Cassandra Clare)

Circe (Madeline Miller)

The Housemaid is Watching (Freida McFadden)

And that's all I can remember Right about now , Yes I'm reading 10 books or more simultaneously, no I do not have an explanation to that.

My main Genre is Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery and thriller, But I do love widening my scope so do recommend me any books you might think may pique my interest. 😁

My reader side also includes me obsessing over podcasts, I'm including my Favourite podcasts here too, and I assure you they are amazing!

Podcasts for you - I usually listen to them on Spotify and love True crime, mystery, Murder mysteries etc. Here they are -

Rotten Mango by Stephanie Soo (True Crime) - I wouldn't suggest you listen to this if you get disgusted or scared easily, I usually am not affected by these kinds of things and I was still very disturbed, The first 2 episodes are quite... I would suggest you research about it more before you listen to it.

Baking a Murder by Stephanie Soo (Books and movies) - This podcast is again one of my favourites, the way she explains the movie is just so immersive, if you want to understand a story but don't have time to sit down and read the book/watch the movie then this is for you.

7 Suspects by Cryptic Radio(Murder Mystery ) - OH MY GOD, holy- this is probably one of the best mystery podcasts I've ever listened to, tbh you think you know what is going on and till the very end that is kinda sorta true, but then in the like the last 5 moments the plot twist so intense you are left sinking on to the floor thinking "What just happened", listen to, right now.

Magnus Archives by Rusty Quill (Story? horror? not sure what it comes under) - I've started listening to it after getting intense FOMO and can confirm it's going pretty well, I mean I have a LOT to catch up to, but I can say, it's caught my interest.

Murder in HR by Caspian Studios (Murder Mystery) - Again OH MY GOD, again, this is one of the best mystery podcasts I've ever listened to, I mean yeah, the gym ad thingy gets a little bit annoying but the rest of the story compensates for it, again, you think you know where you are going, again up until the very end you just don't know what the hell is going on, and again (Do you see a pattern) when the mystery hits you you are flabbergasted, soo I suggest give it a listen(also kinda obsessed with the soundtrack).

Murphy's Inc. by 97toNow Productions (Scifi mystery) - This is one of the better ones, I'm still listening to it and it's just actually really good, It's kinda the thing you listen to once a day, kinda relaxing (for me at least )

Ok, so this one is a bit different, there is a podcast Caso 63: Enigma: Spotify studios but it's in Spanish which I still haven't quite learnt and I didn't know this existed. I was recommended 2063 theke Esechi by Spotify Studios which is in Bengali which I do, in fact, understand. It was voiced by one of my favourite actors and I was absolutely in love with it, It feels like I wasn't listening to a podcast but a movie and there is so much confusion and so many twists. This podcast has been made in other languages as well, the other two ik are Case 63 (In English) and Virus 2062(In Hindi). So check it out!!

Treat by C13Features (Horror, gory) - This is like a podcast movie, it's around 2 hours long maybe? this is pretty good I would say, you can give it a listen.

Welcome to Night Vale by Night Vale Presents (Absurdity?) - I really don't think I need to say anythi_-_- HAIL THE GLOWCLOUD.

Morning Cup of Murder by Morning Cup of Murder (True Crime) - True crime yk...

The Sounds of Nightmares by Little Nightmares - Bandai Namco Europe (Horror, gore, mystery) - Uhh it's a little unnerving how detailed the actions of characters are As if they were compensating for the fact that there are no visuals, but it was pretty good I would say(Also like the soundtrack)

My writer side- My most popularly known name is Jeah (jee - ah) and I'll be using that here, I am a new author getting started on writing. I still have a looong way to go but, I enjoy writing very much even though my mind and body are definitely not on par with my will to write which is why my second unintended hobby is procrastination. Most of the time that I'm here on Tumblr I am supposed to be doing some other work, like right now.

Anywaysss here are my current WIP's

Mirror My Way - This is my first and only properly published Book. Tbh Not very proud of it, I did it in a hurry, because I took part in the school's Writing program, did nothing the whole year, and finished it in the last week, I honestly think It had potential but I kinda ruined it trying to finish it within the deadline. I wouldn't recommend you read it, It was supposed to be a part of a duology or trilogy but I think I'm just gonna let it sit in the corner for now, let it be there, think upon its mistakes, it did wrong 😤.

Tots and Coffee - Now this one I like better, this was actually inspired by the Scam Caller post here on Tumblr. Kinda had a sudden burst of inspiration and Wrote the first Chapter and since then it's still going pretty strong. Unlike the previous one, it is there on Ao3 if you wish to read it 😁.

I dunno what to call this but I occasionally write short stories in the replies of Pinterest pins when I come across writing prompts. This isn't a wip exactly but , I once posted the starting of a story and jokingly wrote "Continue-!" at the end thinking that would be the end of it, but someone did eventually continue it and that led to a string of events and a very weirdly Eledritch, beautiful Frankestine story formation, I'll be posting it slowly here on Tumblr as well, so keep checking!

Forgot to put it in earlier, but check out @the-writers-corner-inc It's a group blog I initiated, and you can find lots of fun stories, prompts, visuals and more!!

Oh just a side note, I amde another side blog where I post the answer of the everyday wordle.@answer-of-the-everyday-wordle

And that's about it, I don't what else to say, but while you're here, grab a cup of coffee or tea, pick out a book and read a page, I'm right here on the other side with a book as well, let's be booky buddies 😄😄😃😃🍵☕

[celiaelise]

Helloooo I have been avoiding posting about this but I think it's reaching a form of denial so I figured I'd better rip the bandaid off 🙃

I got fired the weeks ago!! I am now unemployed!

I'm pretty bummed about it. I liked my workplace a lot, and I liked most of the people I worked with a lot, too! There are several people I've become pretty good friends with, and, while some have shown a willingness to continue being friends, I know it won't be at all the same as casually seeing them at work several times a week.

Finances are a concern, but not a huge concern. I have a little bit of savings, and my family helps me out when I need it. (I can also probably get unemployment if I ever get around to applying for it)

That does bring me to what is possibly the most stressful part of this for me right now, which is that I still haven't told any of my family. At one point, a few months ago, I mentioned to my dad that I'd been written up for attendance, and he was basically like, "yeah, you should stop being late. There's literally no benefit to being late." Which is so frustrating, because obviously i KNOW THAT!!!! I don't have poor attendance because I think it's cool and fun and good!! In fact, almost every shift I was late to or missed, I was hating myself for it the whole time it was happening. So, yeah, I'm pretty sure he's gonna ask what happened, and, if I decide to answer honestly, I'll have to try an explain how sometimes I just do no-call/no-shows in accident, by, like, oversleeping by a LOT, and then lying in bed for six hours, thinking about how I need to get up and get dressed, or, at the very least, call in to say I can't make it, but not doing either of those things because anxiety and executive dysfunction have me by the throat.

And then he's not really going to understand, and it's going to be horribly, horribly awkward and embarrassing. He's consistently demonstrated throughout my life a lack of sympathy for people who struggle with mental illness, or who deems unintelligent. Though it seems like his fatherly love historically overrides such biases, it's still, like, not encouraging. Also I admit that I have an inflated sense of the importance of my father's opinion, but also he, like, pays my bills, so.

My mom's a little less complicated in that my reasons for not wanting to tell her this are the same as for not wanting to tell her most things about myself that I withhold: she always does too much, and she'll remember it forever.

I feel like the best case scenario is that everyone agrees Elise is Unwell and Needs Help, which sounds unbearable and idk how productive help would even be from that quarter.

Anyway, I was gonna say more about this topic, and I'm sure I will later, but I'm getting tired lol. But hopefully, now that I've broken the seal, it will be easier to vent about it here.

[scottst]

there was something about history that vivian loved . she loved that history kept people alive long after their deaths , and she loved the people who fondly shared their history even more . the history that the police called her into the station to share . . . now that was something she was not fond of . vivian loved history , but she forgot that no matter how fascinating the stories are , it will always be riddled with pain and suffering as well . vivian almost felt like a deposed queen as she walked down the halls of the police station and she couldn't help but wonder if the feeling she felt at the bottom of her stomach was anything like walking to the guillotine . vivian felt seventeen again once she sat down in that room , the prolonged silence eating away at the frays of her nerves with every second that passed .

thankfully , a detective entered the room moments before vivian faltered beneath the pressure of her memories . this was going to be difficult , picking at a wound that refused to heal , but she figured it was for the best . it was the very least she could do to help find chris after everything that happened . after everything she held in . once brief pleasantries were exchanged , the detective smiled , though it didn't quite reach the wrinkled edges of his eyes . it was the kind of smile that told her he just wanted to get to the bottom of things . he flipped open his notebook and looked at her , his impossibly large frame leaning on the table . " now that i have read you your rights . . . would you like to continue ? " vivian nodded , much to the pleasure of the detective who clicked on his pen . " miss costello , where were you on the night of christopher wilder's disappearance ? " vivian slowly ingested the question , played with it word for word , before she could taste the answer on her tongue . she had heard this question before , and for a moment , she was back in 2014 , staring at the detective with the same somber look she had back then . " that night , i snuck out of my house when my parents were asleep to go to a party . i believe it was hosted by dante and elise . i wasn't supposed to be there . . . but chris was so convincing about all the fun i would have , that i decided i would just . . . go . it was around nine thirty when i arrived . i spent time the whole night hanging out with my friends . we played a few games , talked about school . . . you know , typical teenage stuff . "

her dark eyes focused on the detective as he wrote her answer on the notepad , the low hum of the air conditioner drowning out the soft pop of her fingers as she forcibly bent them from the subtle stress that ate away at her body . once he finished writing , the detective looked up at vivian , and opened his mouth to continue . " when was the last time you saw christopher ? " the question felt like a knife to her guilty consciousness and all vivian could do was take the pain in silence . when was the last time she saw chris ? really saw him ? she remembers the conversation they had before he left his house , she remembered the way his laughter brought life to the party , and she remembers the splashing of the water when he lunged into the lake , never to resurface again . what was appropriate to share when all she wanted to do was help ? vivian wasn't so sure about anything anymore . . . " a group of us gathered at the lake after the party . " she began , small hands squeezing together underneath the table as though to remind herself you're going to be okay . "i last saw chris there . he hung out with me around the bonfire for a little bit . he was telling the most ridiculous scary stories . . . but everyone ate them up . " at the time , vivian only laughed at the absurdity of his stories . . . unknowing of the fact that the scariest of them all would unfold not even an hour later . she shook her head at the memory , fondness painting a small smile that fought to make its appearance . how could she not smile at the way he tried to use the flickering flames as a means to dramatize every word he spun ? that was chris , so undeniably warm , so undeniably himself . " he eventually left to hang out with his other friends . . . so that was the last time i saw him . at the lake , near the bonfire . i didn't see much of him following that interaction but that was normal . chris was . . . really popular , after all . " except that wasn't the entire truth , now was it ? she remembered much more . . . much , much more , but that was a thread she couldn't pull at without a heavy price to pay .

vivian felt a knot as thick as rope form around her throat as she thought about chris , and no matter how much she swallowed the little saliva she could produce , it was nowhere near enough to make the feelings go away . the detective slowly nodded as he slowly tapped his fingers on the metal of the table and all vivian could focus on the deafening tap tap tap that reverberated in her ears . " miss costello , what was your relationship to christopher ? " out of all the questions , this one had to be the easiest , but it was its simplicity that made it so hard . " he was my next door neighbor . we lived next to each other basically . . . our whole lives . " vivian let out a shaky breath as her eyes began to pool with tears , fists impossibly white , trembling . " more than that , he was like my brother . . . one of my closest friends . " vivian looked at the detective as a tear trickled down her cheek , embarrassment sweeping through her features once she realized she was crying . " i'm sorry . . . " for the tears , for the dishonesty , for everything . was she apologizing to the detective , to chris , or to herself ? the lines blurred as she swiped at her face . " is there anything else i can do to help ? " vivian offered with a small twinge of hope , and all the man could do was shake his head in a quick no before snapping his notebook shut , indicating the interview was over . vivian knew , however, that this whole ordeal was nowhere near over and there was nothing she could realistically do to help . " thank you for your time , miss costello . for what its worth , every bit of information helps us bring peace and justice to christopher and his family . " vivian could only nod as the man stood up to escort her out the room . before the door clicked behind her , she heard a quick , " have a good rest of your day . "

[knockyasocksoff2022]

A truce, among other things.

(A/N: This is set at the same time as Dancing with My Love. You can read it in my book called Soukoku Stories. This can be read on its own but it may not make much sense. (To clarify Yukichi took Mori's last name.) Also I wote this all in one go, staying up way to late so sorry for any errors. I tried to fix all the continuity errors but I might have missed one. No beta we die like Kunikida's sanity.)

under the cut due to length (3,051 words)

Mori Yukichi's perspective

We slipped away as soon as everyone else turned their backs to prepare for the event this morning, but still leaving Elise to cover for us.

—

When we pause for breath I can hear commotion from the main event space. “Hmm, It sounds like double black is making quite a scene at the party?”

“Don’t pay attention to them, Yuki, they don’t matter. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it later.” Rintrou’s voice is velvet in my ear and his eyes dance with every shade of purple and red, a kaleidoscope. He wants to be the centre of my attention and I’ll gladly oblige.

“Indeed.” and as soon as I say the words his body is against me again.

Kunikida's Perspective

Dazai consorting with a mafia executive! I know that we’re on truce but this looks like something more. The Executive used his first name, nobody, NOBODY uses Dazai uses Dazai’s first name. And now they’re floating! I wonder how long Dazai has been in contact with the executive, how long they have been sharing information, and how deep the betrayal runs. I can gather facts later but the president must be informed of this, if only I knew where he was.

I scan the event space one more time and come up once again empty. More curious than ever I leave the room to search other areas, determined to find the president.

— – – – —

Every room is empty. I sigh. Did they go somewhere else? I can’t imagine both the heads of the organisations abandoning a party celebrating the unity of said organisations.

I start to walk back to the main event space when I see a hall I didn’t notice before. I start to walk down it, checking the rooms as I go. They’re all mostly closets, but I guess I should check every room anyway just in case the boss decided the best place to hold a secret meeting would be a closet. It makes sense, somewhere no one else ever thought to look.

Mori Rintarou's Perspective

Yuki’s lips are hot against my own, one hand tangled in my hair and the other around my waist, pulling me closer, deeper, and I wish so badly to be at home where we could do this properly, not in this dusty storage room.

Then he pulls away. I pout, trying to get him back.

“Now, now Rintarou, you’ve given me a gift, it’s my turn.”

Reluctantly I allow him to step back and retrieve something from his pocket. He doesn't bother fixing his shirt, which hangs open and I admire chest and torso, even in the faint glow of the oil lamp he looks dazzling.

“Hands out, close your eyes, darling.” 

Amused, I oblige. Something almost . . . soft is placed into my open hands, it has a nice weight to it.

“Can I . . .”

“Mhm.” Yuki affirms with a kiss on my forehead. I open my eyes slowly, dragging out the moment. 

“Nothing is going to jump out at me, right?”

He ruffles my hair. “No, darling, I am 45 not 5. I think I’ll leave the pop up cards to Elise.”

“Yes, my love, you are so very old.” I tease, looking down at the box, unassuming black velvet square, a jewellery box.

It opens revealing a red lining and resisting inside are a pair of shining silver cufflinks and a tie clip with red stones that by the looks of them are rubies. I shut the box gently.

“Oh, Yuki!” the words are breathless at the beautiful gifts, “Not one gift but two. You didn’t have to, you shouldn’t have.” I blush and kiss my husband on his nose.

He blinks in surprise. It’s adorable. “You declared a truce with the Armed Detective Agency, threw this party—”

I cut him off. “But you know how I love giving the love of my life presents, and it is our 15th anniversary.”

He continues, “You also bought me 10 new plants, a new Yukuta and Haori, and that Indian tea I wanted to try.” He blushes as he lists off the presents I gave him this morning. “So yes, I think this is very appropriate.”

Before I can protest about the surly exorbitant pricing of the items, Yuki opens the box and takes out the tie clip, “At least try them on for me, hmm?”

(A/N: Author-san has no idea how much tie clips or cufflinks cost)

“Alright, anything for my love.”

Yuki sets the box down with the clip in it and focuses on re-buttoning my shirt. I hand him my tie, and he lets his hands trail my collar as he places it back under my shirt collar, he continues to be careless with his touch as he ties it, I shiver. 

When my tie is back in place he fastens the clip and pulls an old chipped mirror from behind a pile of boxes.

“You look dashing, Rintarou.”

I watch my reflection for a second then throw on my coat. He’s right, the tie clip does look good. 

“You have excellent taste, Yuki.”

He smiles and rests his chin on my shoulder, observing our reflection.

“Good looking people are easy to dress.” he kisses my ear, whispering sweetly, “You’d look good in anything, Rintarou.”

“As would you.”

Yuki doesn’t answer, instead taking the cufflinks from the box and fastening them onto my shirt. They too look fashionable. I turn around and kiss my husband.

He kisses me back and in seconds the tie clip is off, returned safely to the box along with the cufflinks, my jacket is on the floor and his hands are against my collar once more, the tie being undone yet again.

The tie falls to the floor and we’re against each other again, his shirt joins his blazer and my jacket on the floor.

Kunikida's Perspective

I’ve checked almost all the rooms on the hall and they’re all closets, and all empty. But there’s still one last room at the end, it looks bigger than the others just from the size of the door.

A dull light of some kind seems to be on inside. This must be where the president and the Port Mafia boss are having their meeting. I walk towards it.

I’m about to knock when I hear muffled gasps and what seems like moaning.

Mori must be trying to smother or strangle the president. 

I kick in the door and raise my stun gun.

When the door opens a most peculiar sight meets my eyes. Mori is on top of the president but there are no weapons in sight and both men are shirtless. They look up at me like animals caught in a staring contest with a car's high beams.

“Kunikida-san.” The president nods his head in friendly greeting, “we, uh, we were just—”

“I DON'T NEED TO KNOW!!!” I yell at the two men as I turn on my heel and rush to leave the scene as soon as possible, just a little guilty for yelling at my superior.

(A/N: Author-san needs jesus!)

Mori Yukichi's Perspective

"Such a shame, I was just about to tell him we were—"

I throw a hand over my husband's mouth before he can make this situation any worse, even though poor Kunikida is long gone.

"mngffshdf" he mumbles from under my hand

"What?" I ask removing my hand slowly

"I said: wouldn't it have been funnier if we'd been in a closet?"

"What? No! This space has way more room than any closet, why ever would we want to be in a closet?"

My husband just laughs but offers no answer. I don't dwell on it.

"You know, the funny thing is, Yuki, that the door was actually unlocked." Rintarou smiles mischievously.

"What!?" I'm shocked at this news.

"Yes, that buffoon had no reason to kick down the door."

"But why was it unlocked in the first place?"

"Well you said no one would come looking for us and," his voice drops into a whisper, a seductive purr, "I was in a hurry to get to other things." He drags a finger down my chest stopping at my belt buckle with the lightest touch. My stomach flutters with warmth.

"Well, now I have to pay for the damages to the door." I sigh.

Rintaruo stops touching me immediately, looking aghast, "You will do no such thing, this place was my idea, therefore I shall pay."

"By Rintarou you've done so much for me already."

"Nonsense," he argues, "it's fine. I know the owner of this place, the expense is nothing."

Hmm, he seems determined to pay, at this rate we'll still be arguing this by the time the party's over and then we'll be far too tired to do anything once we get home. I know it early in the argument but I think I'd better pull out my secret weapon.

"But Rin-chan, letting me pay would be a gift in and of itself. As you said the cost isn't that much. You can even give the money to the owner, as long as it comes from my pocket."

I watch my husband melt.

"Now, I think it's time we got back to the party, we're both due to make closing announcements in an hour or so, people will be wondering where we've gone. It will be suspicious if we leave early after all we have been gone the whole day. After the party we can do whatever we like." I emphasise the last sentence with a kiss to his neck, he sighs. I know I have his approval.

Both reluctant, we fix our clothes and begin out the broken door when something catches my eye.

"Darling, come here for a moment." I try to keep my voice steady as panic rises.

Rintarou obviously sees right through me. "Yukichi? What's the matter?"

I don't answer him but as he approaches me the heat in my cheeks only increases. I could see it even when he was two metres away but now my fears are confirmed. An array of roundish bruises stain the pale skin of Rintarou's neck, and a small one is beginning to form on his bottom lip. All of them are my doing. (I didn't mean to bite him, I really didn't.)

I groan, "Darling why must you bruise so easily?" I'm not really asking him, more myself for not remembering.

"Bruise?" he asks, his eyes becoming wide with realisation, "Oh. . . . I see."

Mori Rintarou's Perspective

“I’m so sorry, I’m so stupid. I completely forgot.”

Yuki looks so genuinely sorry that I have to laugh.

“I’m not sorry. Not in the slightest.” I tell him.

“But Rintarou, they’ll notice.”

I can’t stop laughing.

“How are you laughing about this?”

“Simple, just tell them you tried to strangle me.”

“And you lip?” He raises an extremely sceptical eyebrow.

“Nothing a punch to the mouch couldn’t have done.”

“But, did you forget that we’re on a truce?”

“We can tell them it was personal.” I let the last word hang heavily in the air.

Yuki huffs and flips the collar of my jacket up as if against an invisible wind.

“Don’t say a word.” he instructs.

“Are you ashamed of me, Yukichi?” I tease

Pain crosses his features, He pulls me close to his warm body embracing me in a different way then we have been so far today, softly, as if I’m something breakable, I don’t hate it.

“Of course not, Rintarou, I love you more than anything and I would love for the entire world to know that. But I don’t think now is the best time to tell everyone,” The words come out urgent and worried. “things are still so unstable, and we don’t need any more surprises for—” 

“I was only teasing Yuki. I know all of these things, and I know you love me.”

He gives me a kiss on the top of my head in lieu of more words, and takes my hand leading me out of the door.

We don’t talk until we reach the door to the main event hall. I don’t want to be the first to let go and I know Yuki doesn’t wither but he does.

He goes in first, taking a seat in a chair next to the only one of his subordinates whose name I know. Edogawa Ranpo. The child genius hands him a book and Yuki begins to “read” it.

I slide into the room and stand behind Elise-chan and Kouyou. Elsie-chan gives me a dirty look. I shrug at her and she sticks out her tongue. Her sharp eyes dart straight to my lips. I blush. She makes a gagging gesture and looks away.

No one notices our arrival, they’re all preoccupied by something above them.

I look up as well.

My ex and current executives dance as if standing on an unseen plain. They’re dancing reflects their fighting, graceful and perfectly in sync, truly something to watch. They seem to be talking about something and then they’re kissing. I look over to my lover who shares a knowing smile. While very much their own people, the two young husbands remind us of ourselves in many ways.

Gasps of shock, squeaks of disgust and whispers fill the hall. Imagine what a scene Yuki and I would make. I chuckle, no one hears it. It doesn't escape my notice that Akutagawa-kun looks at the weretiger and blushes.

I don’t watch, instead staring at Yuki, his face is a carefully practised mask of peace. I know he must be laughing inside.

When I do look up, Chuuya is pulling away from Dazai, they banter and then Chuuya scoops up Dazai and they rejoin us on the ground floor. 

Neither Yuki nor I gives a comment, despite the fact that our words would probably ease the situation. 

“What?” Dazai’s words ring out and echo in the positively silent rings. I can hear someone eating.

"We're married." The boys say the words together, looking at only each other as they address the room.

Whispers become full fledged conversations and even some shouts. Chuuya is already leading his partner away. As expected, he already has alcohol in his hands and they start running. I smile a bittersweet smile. How many times have I dreamt of doing something like this with Yuki, or even running away in general.

A hand slides around my waist and then disappears, I turn. My own husband stands behind me. 

“I don’t think anyone will be paying attention to anything more that we have to say. What do you think, Mori-dono?”

Our thoughts have aligned as usual.

“I think that you’re right, Fukuzawa-dono.” It feels so strange using Yuki’s former surname after all the kissing we’ve been doing today. We both smile. “How cruel do you think it would be to leave now and let them fight amongst each other until they tire?”

“I think it is unnecessary.” he doesn't exactly answer the question.

I pout, then hide it quickly and we walk to the centre of the event space. Elise-chan, like the dear she is, follows.

“Everyone, do calm down. You are not a flock of riled geese. You are members of two prestigious organisations gathered here today for peace not this . . . petty banter as if you are children fighting over the last crayon.” I turn up the disgust in my voice and I can tell even out of the corner of my eye that Yuki wants so badly to laugh.

My statement shuts everyone up. Yuki takes over.

“What you saw today was young love against many odds. It is far more than many of us will ever get to have, and for that we may applaud Chuuya and Dazai. It does not matter your personal opinions, nothing less than your respect is expected. Treat them as you would yourself wish to be treated. Their relationship is none of your business anymore than,” Yuki pauses as if deciding something. I freeze. Is he going to . . . “anyone else's. They have a right to privacy just like everyone else and neither Mori-san nor I will tolerate any further mentioning of these two men in a negative manner. We have far more enlightened topics of conversation than the love life of those two. ” He looks to me with a smile, “Gossip is for children.”

When he stops the silence is heavy and everyone doesn’t seem to know what to talk about now that we have effectively banned talk of double black couple. We retreat to the fringes of the event space.

“Yuki, this party is rather boring, don't you think?” I let the suggestion seep through my words.

“Yes, it is, isn’t it. I could use some fresh air.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll call the car.”

Mori Yukichi's Perspective

The ride back to our house is quiet. Rintarou and I sit next to each other in the back of his limousine. My hand is over his shoulders and his is around my waist. We kiss gently. (Elsie, who opted to sit upfront with he driver, makes gagging noises)

—

When we reach our house. Yes, our house. We haven’t been home in such a long time. Rintarou usually stays at his penthouse at the Port Mafia and I stay in a nice Mafia safe house he fixed up. Our house, the one we bought together, is far out of the city, surrounded by a lawn and back garden and with a white picket fence that does nothing to keep anyone out, a blue post box and maple and oak trees, and a small creek with a bridge so you can get to the front door.

A place that is safe, a place where we can learn who we are outside of our violent city lives.

The driver drops us off and pulls away to park in the garage around the back of the house. I lead my husband through the homey feeling place and up the wooden stairs that creak just enough to be charming not worrying.

Our bedroom is down the hall from Elise’s (door now shut with some pop song on full volume) , a pale shade of blue, our bed a wooden four poster with gauzy white curtains. I toss my blazer aside and Rintarou starts to undo the buttons on my shirt.

<The End>

(A/N: Author-san still needs Jesus and so does the entire fandom! Also I hope you've enjoyed the closest thing to spicy content you're ever going to get from me, lmao!)

[storiesofstratos]

Chapter 1: An Average Day in Stratos City

Our heroes in their natural habitat...

October 13th, 2042

Fall was definitely ramping up. The temperature had dropped, and I could practically smell the pumpkin pie already, despite the fact that Thanksgiving was still about a month away. Dry leaves crunched under my feet as I made the same, long and boring trek to school. At least this time of year, people were starting to put up Halloween decorations, so I had something else to look at instead of just the same boring yards. A yawn escaped me as I tried to keep myself from falling asleep standing up. School started way too damn early. I almost contemplated going back home until I spotted Nico. Her naturally curly brown hair tied back, a mark of grease left on her cheek, no doubt from one of her projects at home.

I felt the smirk creeping onto my face as I approached her, casually grabbing her shoulders and watching her jump out of her skin. Well, that was my entertainment for the day.

“You jackass!” She yelled out, turning on a heel to hit me with her bookbag as I laughed, damn near knocking my glasses off my face. “You scared the shit outta me, dude,” She tried to pout, but that didn’t last long as soon enough she was laughing right along with me.

“Have you seen Daniel today? Doesn’t he usually walk with you?”

“Normally, yeah. Guess he got an early start to the day, because he didn’t answer when I knocked on the door. Elise didn’t even answer, so I’m guessing they were both gone by the time I showed up at his house.”

“Weird. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him up that early. Wonder what could have caused him to do that?” I slipped my phone out of my jacket pocket and the screen flickered to life. No new messages from Daniel.

“Who knows?” She sighed, putting her hands behind her head. “All I know is he’d better have his part of our science project done. I will kick his ass if he doesn’t have his slides done.”

“Well, as long as he shows up, I’m sure he’ll have them done. He wouldn’t risk his perfect grades like that, you know.”

“Yeah, I know. But I mean, I woke up at like, two in the morning last night and when I checked my phone, he was still online, playing that old video game.”

“He’s still playing that? I didn’t know someone could have so much fun with a thirty year old game. I could never dedicate so much time to a game that old.”

She erupted into laughter when I said that. “I guess he just appreciates the classics. I mean come on, the guy still plays those old retro games for crying out loud.”

“That’s because retro games are perfect, and will never go out of style.”

“Yeah,” She chuckled again, “Okay, whatever you say. Come on, let’s hurry up, we’re gonna be late to class at this rate!” Before I could respond, she was already taking off, making a mad dash for the school. Well, might as well follow her. Wouldn’t wanna get yelled at for being late, after all.

We managed to get into our first period class just in time. Taking the seat behind Nico, I almost immediately laid my head down on the desk, sighing. It was like this every day. Nothing ever changed, nothing interesting ever happened. Soon, the teacher started taking attendance, like he did every other day.

“Jackson Campbell?”

“Here,” I raised my hand lazily before putting it down and going back to my nap.

“Nicoletta Connors.”

“Here!” The girl I’d been walking with to school raised her hand excitedly, like she was trying hard to be seen over the other students.

More names were called, and I zoned out until I heard that familiar name.

“Daniel Rowe?”

A beat of silence.

“..Rowe.”

Another moment passed.

“Has anyone seen Mr. Rowe this morning?”

Another beat of silence passed, and the teacher was about to move on before the squeak of sneakers against the hallway floor as someone skidded to a stop. Everyone looked to see what the source of the noise was, including myself. Speak of the devil..

“Here!” Daniel yelled out as he stumbled into the classroom. “I’m here, I’m here. Sorry, I overslept, but I’m here!” He was panting heavily as he got to his seat. He definitely sprinted here. His disheveled clothes were clinging to his body, like he’d slept in them. His bright red hair was messy and unbrushed, and he had to use his hands to move it out of his emerald eyes.

I held out my hand, and he bumped his fist against it as he sat down. Never missed his chance.

“Gonna give up those late night gaming marathons?”

“Yeah, you wish.”

His laughter was contagious, but was cut early by the teacher clearing his throat.

“Nice of you to join us, Mr. Rowe.”

[flydotnet]

WHUMPTOBER 2023, ALT PROMPT 7: EXAMINATION

I'm dead certain I could've written something with "Neglect" had my brain been in the mood for it, but alas, it didn't come to pass; so instead, I pulled an alt prompt from the depths. I almost made this about another HSAU character because I know I'll have Camilla in a caretaking role later on; but it was too tempting and I was more inspired by this one.

Like, listen. I'm not a big canon Camilla enjoyer (I just think, outside her armour, she looks neat); but I love her HSAU version so much. She's got to be one of my favourite altered characters to write from it with Hikaru, Tsubaki and Yayoi.

Because yes, this is an AU fanfiction, set in a universe that already exists, yada yada yada. It's not mandatory to know my worldbuilding, you just need to keep in mind that this is set in modern France (honhon baguette croissant) and also I write those characters marginally better and very differently than they are in their game of origin. That's kind of it.

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

First Response

Summary: Five times Camilla examined the people she cares for, and one time they did it for her (against her wish).

Fandom: Fire Emblem Fates (modern AU)

Word Count: 1.9K words

AO3 version available here.

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

Growing up with siblings to take care of makes one very aware of their discomfort and Camilla is very much no exception. In fact, she may have been the reason why this rule exists and why it even exists inside her mind.

It doesn’t take long for her radar to work, this morning: Elise walks down the stairs with a slow, clumsy stride, rubbing her eyes and sniffling; so Camilla walks to her as soon as her baby sister, who goes to hug her with a whine. She puts a hand on her forehead, feeling the wet hair and low-grade fever.

“Cami, I don’t feel good,” Elise whispers, still shoved against her.

Her voice is hoarse, which comes to Camilla’s dulled surprise.

“You poor thing,” she coos. “Do you want to stay home?”

Elise nods, but it’s a light gesture: her head must hurt.

“It’s fine. Let’s get you back to bed, okay?”

She nods again.

Camilla slowly turns her sister in the other direction and back up the stairs, careful to her steps. Once they’re both back upstairs, she lets Elise get comfortable again as she gets the usual resources, always tucked in the same section of the bathroom’s cabinet: a cold compress, a box low-grade painkillers and Elise’s favourite strawberry-flavoured cough syrup.

When Xander soon peeks his head through the doorway, she gives him a finger in front of a smile. He nods.

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

It’s a lot more difficult to tell when Leo doesn’t feel fine, compared to Elise’s candour on the topic; but Camilla is a caring big sister and she has little trouble doing so, no matter how hard her little brother tries to push through discomfort for the sake of both his teenage pride and his altruistic wish not to disturb neither Xander nor she.

What’s truly more difficult with Leo is letting himself get vulnerable around someone else, even if that someone is his own older sister with a motherly approach to life. Still, this is merely a hurdle, not a dead-set end to her quest.

What works best with Leo is helping him from a distance – and it works in a similar way to examine him. He’s a lot stiffer when feeling ill or exhausted, so to remedy to this, she leaves painkillers and a hot bottle in his bedroom, right next to his lamp on his bedside table. If his eyes are glassy and his gaze is mussed, she makes sure the curtains are closed and all light is dim.

It’s not often that Leo acknowledges all of those silent hints, but when he does, he flops on her lap when she’s reading on the sofa, here for a pat or a quiet hug – but only once he isn’t contagious anymore, she’s noticed.

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

Very much to Camilla’s dismay, Hinoka can get very careless with herself. She goes fast and hard, all the time, in both her studies and her favourite sports; and what must happens, happens, more time than Camilla could count.

Today finds them once again in this very situation: Hinoka sitting on the bench of a changing room in her gymnasium of choice, a bleeding wound on her leg and a big scrape on the other, and Camilla kneeling in front of her, a first-aid kit next to her and her cleaned hands near the injuries.

“You need to be more careful, darling,” she chides her again with a smile tugging at her lips.

“One day, I guess,” Hinoka sighs. “But you gotta admit, that was impressive, right? Shun was gawking at me, that was awesome!”

She chuckles, despite the ugly wound in front of her. It’s shallow, as it often is, but it’s still bleeding a bunch and she has to compress it until she’s stemmed the flow of it.

“It’s going to sting.”

The scrape is also shallow, so she cleans it, bandages it and calls it a day.

“It’s no big deal!”

Finally, with the wound tamed, she does the same for it.

“Thank you so much, Camilla,” Hinoka tells her with the brightest smile, and her heart swells at it always does.

Perhaps someday, she won’t need to dress wounds to have intimacy with her…

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

Hinoka has a little brother just as intense as her, who just so happens to be Leo’s classmate. Camilla doesn’t know him nearly as much as her crush, let alone her own siblings, but she’s starting to see who Takumi is and how he reacts to things.

Just like Leo, he doesn’t like being dependant nor needing help; but unlike Leo, he tends to lash out at people asking if he needs a hand, rather than coldly turning it down with a tilted head. Takumi thinks being harsher is a good way to protect himself from harm, which has annoyed Leo for quite a long time (for understandable reasons); but lately, she’s noticed he hasn’t been as aggressive and on the defence lately.

This is why she’s only half surprised to see him standing in front of her, an uneasy expression on his face, split between pain and shame.

“Uhm… Can I ask you something, Camilla?”

“Of course, dear. What do you need from me?”

“Can you…” He passes a hand through his hair, grunts to himself and, beet red, spits out, “can you check out my ankle?”

“No problem. Why don’t you sit down?”

With a nod, Takumi limps to the nearest chair. The unease on his face doesn’t let up by the time she’s knelt in front of him and she chooses to ignore it, opting to focus on his request.

Camilla has no trouble finding the hurting ankle: it’s already fairly round and has gone blue. This is, without a doubt, a bad sprain; no wonder why the poor boy has been so uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry in advance,” she tells him with as gentle as a tone as she can.

She softly presses on the injury – and it immediately causes him to scream in blanching pain.

“It’s definitively sprained,” she concludes, this time out loud. “Someone needs to bring you to the hospital. Do you want me to call Ryoma or Hinoka?”

She gets back up, her phone already halfway in her hand, while he brushes tears from his eyes (oh, this must’ve been a terrible, terrible pain she inflicted on him…).

“Hinoka, please.”

She puts a hand on his shoulder and, as soon as he looks back at her, she gives him a smile.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be all good. I promise you.”

Takumi nods again, slightly more relaxed under her touch.

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

If Leo is hesitant to letting himself get examined as it’d require him to be vulnerable in front of someone else, then Xander is downright allergic to the very idea of someone caring for him, at least not without being able to give something back in return.

As such, the very few times she must step up and do an examination, it’s always a first step deal, a sort of gauging as to ease the work of the doctor who’ll she bring Xander to; because first-hand experience with dealing with her serial workaholic of an older brother has given her the highest empathy for the men and women who’ll have to deal with him next.

Camilla often has to step up when the winter holidays near and Xander catches something from either his students or one of their siblings (more often than not Elise, who tends to be a very effective healthy carrier against her will), and this morning is one of those times. Luckily for her and very painfully so for her brother, his exhaustion is pinning him in place, and it’s easy for her to get the upper hand.

Just his rattling cough would’ve been enough to deduce he isn’t fit for work, but she still takes the time to go through all of the signs. His skin is too hot to the touch, shivers and goosebumps adorning it. His dark rings are deeper than usual. His face is pale yet flushed red in places. His eyes are slightly unfocused and have trouble remaining open for long periods of times.

“It’s more than a cold, my dear brother,” she tells him with cold water flowing through her words.

“That’s what I suspected,” he muffles a cough inside his elbow. “I’ll go to the doctor later. Don’t worry about me, Cami—”

“Don’t be silly,” she interrupts him, fondness melting its way through the ice, “you can barely move, let alone drive a car. I’ll bring you there.”

“But—”

“No buts. You’ll let me take the reigns until you feel up to it again.”

Xander sighs, wheezing, but a smile tugs at his lips.

“Who else would I trust with such a duty?”

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

With Hinoka’s compliance in a dastard conspiracy, Xander decides to bring her not to a regular doctor, as she’d have expected, but a workmate of his. According to him, it’s the quickest solution, as unlike Dr Plegia, he isn’t nearly as demanded; and also, with how fast the twisting of her wrist happened, he didn’t want to risk it.

And this is how she’s finding herself in her own living room, sitting on the armchair, her forearm in the hands of someone whom she’s only seen when fetching Xander from the infirmary at his workplace. The doctor himself is quite the charming young man too, chestnut hair and brown eyes, a lab coat perfectly sitting on his slender frame – if she wasn’t committed to Hinoka, she’d have perhaps entertained him even more.

Truth be told, it’s quite the bizarre experience, to be the one examined and not the other way around, yet it’s so far not been as unpleasant as she was afraid it’d turn out being: not only is the doctor a pleasant man to be around, Xander is also with her and watching over her, so she has no concern whatsoever that doesn’t involve the pain in her wrist.

“It’s not as bad as I suspected it to be,” the doctor announces after minutes of silence. “It’s a light sprain, so as long as you keep it in place, it should be fine within a week. I’d still suggest you get it examined at a hospital if the pain gets worse or doesn’t subdue by next week.”

“Thank you very much, Doctor,” she replies, holding her pained wrist in her other hand.

“If I go back to my office, I can get you a brace for your wrist.”

“Don’t bother yourself with that, Jun, we’ll be fine,” Xander interjects. “We’re already beyond grateful you went out of your way for us.”

Noticing the doctor remains unconvinced despite the honest explanation, she adds,

“My brother is right, we already have a brace at home. You’ve done your job.”

“If you say so, then I’ll now take my leave. Have a nice day, Xander, Camilla.”

“Have a nice day as well, Doctor.”

They both watch him leave the house, his suitcase in hand, and silence comes back to their little home.

She exchanges a knowing look with her brother dearest. Xander speaks up first.

“I’ll get you our family brace.”

“Before you do so, can I ask you something very quick?”

“Of course, go ahead.”

“Why him in particular? Was Dr Plegia this busy?”

“It’s so rare you need to see a doctor, I figured you’d want the best option out there; and Jun seemed to me like the best of both worlds.”

“Good call,” Camilla admits with another smile.

“I’ll be right back.”

She watches him exit the living room and go up the stairs.

[sentient-rift]

Star Crossed Gamers Part 1

(A Late Valentine's Day Special Drabble.)

Continued from here and here

"Yo! Nana!"

Not seeming to care that he's technically on enemy territory, Teseo called out to the love of his life, who was sitting at one of the dining tables of the Item Creation Shop. Oddly enough, no one was acting surprised that he showed up, let alone hostile.

"Oh. Hello, Teseo."

She greeted him like an old friend. (Despite her eyes glued to her game as she greeted him, it still felt so genuine.) Sure, they've played online videogames together, but being on opposite sides of the Multiverse War, they should be acting like enemies, right? Teseo wasn't going to complain, though. In fact, he doubt he'd be able to stand his dream girl being antagonistic towards him. But Nana... She was one in a million. The Hacker Adept sometimes wondered if this girl even knew the concept of what an enemy was.

"So... U mind if I sit here...?"

"Not at all. Go ahead."

Boy, this was still hard to get used to. Is Nana literally the nicest person in the world? Was she even human? As his thoughts were running through his head, a certain Aqua Navi appeared.

"Hello, sir. Can I interest you in a Cyber Slushy, blip?"

Cyber Slushy? That sounded dope! Was it like a slushy made of data or something? With abilities like Teseo's that sounded like something up his ally.

"Sure, little guy," Teseo answered, "You have a Lemon Lime flavor?"

"We sure do, blip," the fish bowl headed Navi said, "Will that be your order?"

"Yep! That sounds good!"

"Very well. I'll be right back, blip."

Funny. He's treated like a customer rather than an enemy. Yet, it didn't seem as weird when the Aqua Navi acted kind. Maybe it's because he cared about how Nana thought of him much more than everyone else.

"So, uh..." Teseo was a bit awkward with speaking to Nana, "I really wanted to thank you for the new computer. I actually got attacked by some jerk who calls themselves 'HorrorHacker.' They completely destroyed my old computer because of that..."

"I remember Slur saying something about that some time ago," Nana said, still in the conversation while playing her Game-Girl Advanced, "You even said they made Sync crush your speakers."

"Oh! You remembered that!"

Nana nodded. Teseo was surprised she actually payed attention even back then. They haven't started playing online games together until like... Around a week later when he stumbled upon her and Elise in a game of Lazy Kingdom. What were the odds of that? But then again, she remembered his name when they introduced themselves, but he just assumed Elise or Gunvolt told her who he was since they had a history together.

"I'm glad you like the computer, Teseo. Welch sells almost everything here, and she really knows her computers. She promised it was the best multipurpose computer you can find."

"Really?" Teseo asked, "#SWEET!🍬 But... How did you afford such a computer? I know the owner is part of the team and all, but I doubt she'd just give it to you..."

"I work here part time," Nana answered, "Many of us do. And the pay is very good, and I was working here for awhile now. It wasn't difficult raising enough money for your computer. Plus, Welch loves giving discounts, and being an employee helps."

If it weren't for the fact that he was on the enemy team, Teseo would have considered getting a job here as well. But then again, turning the money in ATM machines into data and placing it in his computer, only to turn it back to physical money when he gets home was faster and easier. Definitely less moral, though, which he didn't really care too much about until meeting Nana. Better not tell her that he makes money by stealing from ATM machines just to make sure it doesn't ruin this oddly good relationship.

Around that time, the water Navi came with his drink.

"Here you are, sir," the Navi said with a smile, "Enjoy, blip!"

After the little water dude left, Teseo took a sip from his straw. Definitely one of the most flavorful slushies he ever tasted. He wouldn't have even guessed it was made of data. Not even he could make a data slushy this good, and his Septima is literally turning physical objects into data and vice versa. Of course, he wasn't really a chef or anything, so maybe that's why.

"I was afraid I wouldn't be able to play videogames with you," Teseo said, "I kind of need my computer for that. Maybe I ought to actually pick up some game consoles or something..."

"That's not a bad idea," said Nana, "You could even increase your library of games that way. There are many that are exclusive to certain consoles."

Nana sure knew how to multitask. Despite her eyes being glued to her game, she was also listening to Teseo intently. She never had to tell him that she missed something or ask him to repeat himself. She always knew how to respond.

"Sooooo..." Teseo wanted to keep the conversation going as an excuse to stay longer, "What 'cha playin'?"

"Gala-Omega," Nana answered, "It's one of my favorite ga..."

She suddenly stopped, her smile disappearing.

"...It was... Chiaki Nanami's favorite game. It's only mine because of her memories. I wonder if I'd have even liked videogames if everyone's memories of her didn't enter the Neo World Program, and I didn't take her form..."

"Wait... Neo World Program?" Teseo was beginning to put two and two together, "Does this mean... You're an A.I. copy of this Chiaki Nanami person?"

Nana nodded. This was a little surprising for Teseo to hear. From Dark Mega's intel, and from the fact that RiFT had similar abilities to Slur, this pocket dimension allows anyone to enter, whether they're people or programs. It was an easy mistake to think she was one of the humans since she looked like a normal person rather than a program. If Teseo was any other Adept, this would have served as a problem for him. But with his ability to turn physical people and objects into data and vice versa, it was no problem. In fact, it was perfect! He could date her in both the real world and the digital world without a problem... So long as she said yes anyway...

Wait a minute... She was an A.I., and he was a master hacker. If he really wanted to, Teseo could just hack her mind and reprogram her to love him! He could get his dream girl super easy without worrying about being rejected, and...

...

No... He couldn't do that... Not to her. Teseo may not be the best person in the world. In fact, he was on the villain team of the Multiverse War. Just because it sounds fun and could help him turn the universe into a giant videogame he could play for his amusement. There were many bad things he's done for his amusement or his benefit. But taking away the free will of this wonderful girl, A.I. or not, was going too far. Plus... It wouldn't be worth it if she didn't genuinely love him back...

There was an awkward silence between the two afterwards. Maybe having her remember the girl she's based on was a sensitive subject or something. From how she put it, Nana's memories comes from the memories of this Chiaki girl... Or was it more like her memories came from how Chiaki's friends remembered her. Nana may have given herself a new name, but does that truly mean she was truly a separate person from from Chiaki, or was she still Chiaki 2.0 despite the new name. Did she feel like her life wasn't really hers? That her memories wasn't really hers? That everyone on RiFT's team only saw Chiaki, and not Nana?

"...You're Nana to me," Teseo said.

"Huh...?" Nana asked, finally looking at Teseo instead of her game.

"I may have never met the real Chiaki before, but I don't think it matters. The person who joined RiFT's team was Nana, not Chiaki. So what if you like similar things to her? I don't think that means you can't be Nana."

The gamer girl just looked at Teseo, blinking a couple of times while she did.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. That was super cheesy..."

"No... That's not it," Nana said, "I just..."

Nana fell silent again.

"...Thank you, Teseo," she finally said, "Ever since I became Nana... I found myself wanting to be my own person rather than just a Chiaki copy as the days went by. When I discovered that the Chiaki of my dimension was still alive and was happy with all her friends... And especially with Hajime... I felt a sense of relief that she survived... But I also realized that with her around, there was no reason for me to be a replacement Chiaki anymore. They all had the real Chiaki... And I'm just an A.I. that looks and kind of acts like her... With a few difference here and there, apparently..."

"See! There you go!" Teseo cut in, "If you were really just Chiaki 2.0, you would act exactly like her. But you just admitted to having a few difference. That's more than enough to make you a different person from her!"

Wow. This was the first time Teseo ever gave anyone a pep talk. It's a bit weird when you're usually known for trolling people. It's even weirder that he met someone he would never troll in his life.

"And plus," Teseo continued, "Despite looking just like her and sharing her hobbies, can Chiaki say that she got to team up with a bunch of super people like Adepts and Net Navis?"

Nana blinked before giving Teseo a smile. It was a small smile, but a beautiful one nonetheless.

"I guess not..." she said, "What's more, many of my friends on this team are videogame characters in my dimension. Chiaki would consider this a dream come true if she were here instead of me."

Teseo honestly wasn't surprised about that information. Especially since he saw some Pokemon on Nana's team, and he occasionally played Pokemon Go. He began to wonder if he was a videogame character in some dimensions. Who knows? Maybe in an ironic twist, the Chiaki girl and Nana were videogame characters in different dimensions as well. The Multiverse was a vast and strange place after all.

...

Boy. As simple as this was, it was really nice to be able to sit and talk with Nana in person. But at the same time, something about it didn't feel right. Specifically, he didn't feel like he deserved this nice moment with a girl his team may have to kill to win the Multiverse war. Part of him was glad to have finally met his dream girl, but another part of him felt like he should have never met her.

"Hey, Nana," Teseo said, "I really need to ask..."

But before he could finish, his communicator went off, and an angry Slur was on the other end.

"TESEO!!" Slur shouted, "The Dreadnought was attacked, and you're over on the enemies side because of a childish crush?!"

"Hey!" Teseo shouted back, "I'm here thanking Nana for the new computer she gave me! It's called being grateful!"

"Hah! Since when did a troll like you started acting like a gentleman?! But that doesn't matter right now. We need you back here this instant!"

"Can't I just have five more minutes...?"

"THIS INSTANT, TESEO!! You're already on thin ice for being friendly with the enemy when I repeatedly told you not to! You better believe there will be a punishment for you soon enough!"

Teseo smirked when he heard the words "soon enough."

"...You couldn't come up with a punishment you could actually give me, could you?"

"SHUT UP AND GET BACK HERE!! Slur shouted, "NOW!!"

"Sure thing, MOM," Teseo cheekily replied.

Teseo could hear Slur letting out an annoyed scream before he hung up on her. He had a big smile on his face after trolling the big bad leader like that, but that smile quickly vanished the moment he realized he had to leave Nana. And without finishing his question, too."

"Sorry. I have to go," Teseo said, "Mommy dearest is calling."

"I understand," Nana said, as her eyes went back to her videogame, "I'll see you later."

"Yeah..." said Teseo, "#C U LATER. 👋"

Teseo got up from his chair and began to go on his way.

"And Teseo... Don't be a stranger."

That surprised the Adept a bit. If he didn't know any better, it was as if Nana was trying to say that he really wants to see him again. Not knowing how to respond, Teseo just nodded and continued on his way.

"Somehow... Someway... I'll repay your kindness to me, Nana."

To be continued...

[lucem-stellarum]

Ooh yeah, just because they're matchmaking and think the romance is cute doesn't mean they want to get involved themselves! I know there are specific terms for ace people who feel that way, but for the life of me I don't remember what they are. It's actually really strategic of Caelum to do that, to let Angel and David help each other when Caelum isn't around rather than having to help David himself to keep the good feelings flowing. And we're getting into the differences between romantic attraction and sexual attraction, which is a very different conversation than the lore of the imaginary boyfriend RP YT channel.

So that's the official spelling? That's so cool! I always thought it was 'Elysian' as in the Greek mythology fields of the heroic/virtuous dead. Part play on demons coming from hell, partly playing on the whole 'only demigods and heroes could go there' (since demons are created by Sovereigns, they would be their metaphorical children) but Elision from the same root as 'elide'- that's also very very interesting. Do demons as a people count as 'abstract ideas'? And how does that relate to the names of the planes themselves? Aria and Elegy are musical terms (Aria being a music piece for a solo voice, potentially with an orchestral accompaniment; Elegy is a lamentation, related to the word eulogy). Does that make the Elision Well the place of creation for more "notes" in the song?

I'm torn on how common knowledge of demons actually is in-universe. Like, we get told the exposition because he's telling a story, he has to explain things somehow so the listeners as characters have to not already know the basics about demons. In universe it's weird how little the average empowered person knows. Like, Starlight's whole thing is that they want to learn things, always asking questions. I guess that there's a chance they just never fixated on demon kind before, but the basic into course Gavin helped the freelancer study went into the mortal sub-races (and I can't check right now, but didn't he talk a little bit about demon types then?) so the fact that they, the know-it-all, don't know even one of the basic demon races implies that maybe info about demons are suppressed, somehow?

I guess feeding cloaked vs uncloaked (and interactive vs not) depends on personal preference. Avior and Vega are cloaked and avoidant. Cam and Gavin are uncloaked and interacts with their listener. Regulus is cloaked and interactive with his listener. Caelum... does a little bit of everything. Cloaking during feeding is slightly more common in the examples we see, but it's almost an even split. I can understand Vega, being a Sadism demon with the associated prejudice against his kind wanting to cloak himself to avoid any hassle while feeding but Avior doesn't have that (though at least to start with, they both tend to see humans as more neutral to negative compared to the other demons?). But we've got almost an even number of demons that like interacting with people, and they're all pretty open? Obvious? About the fact that they are demons. So if a demon is interacting with people they're probably not hiding the fact that they are a demon from empowered people. It would be hard to say how many demons there actually are because they can cloak themselves.

...wait there was supposed to be a topic here? I'm just having fun sharing theories. There's so much lore to talk about! It's a lot easier to hold a conversation like this than to set up a whole PowerPoint presentation.

I have some odd little thoughts about demons, but they're both sexual in nature and also kinda... potentially uncomfortable (not sure how else to tag it) so it goes under the cut.

For a while I amused myself going "Hey why do demons have dicks and (presumably) vaginas when they don't reproduce sexually? They emerge fully formed from the Ellision Well! Why would they have fully functional genitalia or even be interested in sex beyond maybe a concubus?"

Then I remembered that demons didn't evolve naturally. They were made. To be servants, slaves, children, possibly companions or... or pets? Sexual slaves? I can't imagine a Sovereign actually seeing a demon as equal enough to deign assume any had a partnership with them. Plus with how vampires were an attempt to be a more "submissive" and pliable concubus... there's definitely that aspect. Which makes me wonder about how sex works for demons generally.

When they arrive on Aria and take on their physical forms (however you imagine them doing that) and whether or not they can choose their genitals (and we know they can all shapeshift if desired), would some maybe just go Ken-doll route and put nothing there? Is the desire/interest for sex seen as normal like it is seen as normal in humans? (And yes asexuality is equally valid and normal in humans in the entirety of its spectrum, and likely the same among demons, I'm thinking purely in terms of like instinct/reproduction, since demons don't do that, do they have those instincts in a similar distribution as humans?) Do they feel sexual attraction similarly to humans, across all demonic specialities? We know concubi do and we've seen sadism demons and inchoate demons desire and enjoy sex, but is that common?

And in their choice of partners, how do demons feel about partnerships and sexual relations with humans compared to each other? Is there a non-corporeal equivalent to sex when in their astral forms on Aria? What is the general ethos relating to sex among demons (again, outside of the concubi which we kind of know)?

I know I'm overthinking but! I'm so curious!!

[gentlenekomata]

fairies adventure; | Sakura&Elise

Rumor has it that life-giving fairies reside in a nearby forest. They say if you’re dexterous enough to catch one, she’ll stay with you and heal you even when you’re at death’s door. Investigate the forest and see if you can’t put these rumors to rest—or prove them true.  [Grants Reason +1]

 starter for @nohrslittleflower​ ♡

Another soft morning was approaching as the tiny priestess was getting ready to accomplish all her duties: her morning routine was quite plain, as she had to do some mopping in the main hall, then preparing some papers for the noon ceremony and lastly, checking on soldiers and students that were recovering from any kind of illness or wound. She really enjoys taking care of others and the way she does it, somewhat makes the day of the unfortunate person stuck in bed. But first thing first: keeping the ambience clean. As first commitment, she usually liked checking the main hallway of the church and have a first cleaning –as she knew that after her, there would be some of the church maiden that would clean the rest. So, with the broom in the hand, she swiftly passed through the high granite columns that dotted the long hall of the church, now and then greeting and smiling at the churchgoers that passed by.

This church is always so bustling, she thought, quickly making her way until the end of the hall, finishing the cleaning path. As she proceeded in her mopping, she found herself on the second floor of the monastery, making her way toward her room, as she had to prepare the ceremonial speech, as well as checking some old papers she left unfinished.

Where was the storage room –huh?

Walking through the corridor, she overheard some people talking loud about a rather peculiar argument: fairies.

“I know what I’m saying! I swear he saw one of them among the trees!” stated a blondish man, hands gesticulating as to prove his theory and beliefs. “Guess your friend is bluffing, like many other times.” the other man replied, a clear smirk was to be seen on his face, clearly mocking their statement. “I’ll prove you wrong!” the blonde continued and went on his speech as the two of them disappeared through the corridors.

Sakura wasn’t the type of person who eavesdrop on people, yet, this time it was almost natural and she did come up with some juicy information, afterall: apparently there were some fairies in a nearby forest and, as a matter of facts, they can help you with curative incantations. As a healer and priestess, those tiny creatures would be truly interesting to study and to approach, since they can be very helpful if she could apprehend something from them. Yet, she couldn’t really venture alone in a forest she had never been into –plus, she had her duties to attend.

Guess it’ll be for another time, she sighed as she put away the broom in the storage room, then she directly headed towards her room, collecting the papers she needed for later and went right into the library, since she still needed some information from the holy books. In less than a minute, she reached for the big library, a really majestic place for Sakura, the first time she set foot inside it: as the long red carpet ran across the room, there could be seen several scholars and researchers browsing through papers and books, searching information as the priestess would be doing in few moments.

Before she could reach for a place to sit, a soft thud caught her attention –a book fell from a table on her right. Without thinking twice, she stooped to collect it and with great amazement, she made a curious discovery.

A book about fairies— that’s quite odd

The person who dropped it didn’t really realize it until the petite girl directly addressed to them, with a soft smile and a gentle tone.

“Is it yours?” pale hand offering the book, while her inquisitive eyes were observing their books and papers. “It’s an interesting subject to study and I'm actually curious about it too.”

[avengerscompound]

The Tower: Happily Ever After - 38

The Tower: Happily Ever After An Avengers Fanfic

Series Masterlist | Character Reference PREVIOUS //

Pairing:  Avengers x OFC, Bruce Banner x Bucky Barnes x Clint Barton x Wanda Maximoff x Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff x Tony Stark x Thor x Sam Wilson x OFC (Elly Cooper)

Word Count: 2691

Warnings:  smut (FFF threesome, oral sex, vaginal fingering, very brief lactation, wanda using her powers)

Synopsis: Almost 40 years after Elise Cooper first crashed into Natasha Romanoff outside the library at Columbia University, she and the Avengers are adapting to a near-immortal life together with their large brood of children.  Yet things aren’t perfect.  Life is moving on without them and they’re starting to discover who isolating being immortal can be.  When Angela comes and asks Thor to take the throne of Asgard once more, the group leaves Earth in the hopes that they will find their Happily Ever After there.

Chapter 38: Looking for Trouble

After Thor had come to tell me about the vision he’d had that I’d save all of Asgard, I became like a dog with a bone.  I became obsessed with the idea that I was supposed to save my new homeworld, but as Thor hadn’t seen how it happened, just the celebration after the fact, I needed to know why.  Every time I went out flying, either in my suit or with Brunnhilde on the winged horses, I’d circle in over the farms on the west where that feeling of fear was still lingering.  The space that held it had neither grown nor shrunk in months and yet no source for the disturbance could be found.  While it wasn’t growing, it was intensifying.  Guards were swapped out on the half-hour now and would come away pallid and shaking.  Wanda and Billy both refused to go there anymore, and the few times Natasha and Bucky had gone, they’d slipped into dark states that took days for them to lift themselves out of.  Steve had ended up banning them from going to check it out too.

Even from the air, the fear clawed at me.  It dragged me back to my childhood when I was hiding from my dad, hoping his temper would ease back before he found me but knowing that the longer I hid the worse his temper got.  To when I ran away from home and was living in the streets and it got so cold I thought I was going to freeze right through.  To when Giulietta had taken me and was using me to get to Tony and I thought she was going to leave me disfigured as a gift to the man she was obsessed with.  To the time when I was pregnant and my family had all panicked and I thought I would lose them.

It was an unpleasant feeling and yet I kept getting drawn to it.  It was strange, maybe the threat wouldn’t even come from there, but something told me it was and I was determined to draw it out.

“Your majesty,” Brunnhilde called out, her voice almost being drowned out by the rush of air around us.  Agadis had started throwing his head around and kicking out, his nostrils flaring as the fear clawed at him too.  “As much as your fascination with this place is so entertaining for me, your husband will kill me if you’re thrown from that horse and they’re both getting very agitated.”

“Okay, okay,” I relented and nudged Agadis away from the zone of influence.  He let out a loud whinny and took off as fast as he could, his wings beating hard enough to bruise my thighs, the speed making my eyes water.  Brunnhilde shot past me on her steed and I let her lead us both back to the stables of the Valkyrior.  When we landed she dismounted and was at my side before I even had a chance to swing my leg over Agadis’ back.

“You need to let this obsession go, Elly,” she said as I climbed down.  “It will do you no good.”

“Thor had a vision,” I argued but she quickly cut me off.

“A vision of you being heralded for saving Asgard.  Not of you sniffing around that spot every day.  Whatever dark force is there - and it is so familiar I can taste it - it doesn’t want to be found.  Know who you are.  You aren’t the person who goes looking for danger.  You're the person who protects the people you love.”

“You’re right,” I agreed.  “I just hate knowing something bad is about to happen and feeling helpless to stop it.”

“Ahh but you aren’t helpless,” Brunnhilde said.  “You are going to save us.  It has been seen.  Now go back to your family.  What are you even doing here?  Rebecca said you were finalizing outfits for the bonding ceremony.”

“You’re right, you’re right,” I said with a huff.  “Okay, I better get back.  I’m sure I’m already missed.’

“I’m sure you are,” she agreed and looked around at the other Valkyrie.  “Rosseveissa!” she shouted and whistled.  “Can you escort the queen back?”

“It’s fine,” I said, not wanting to be a bother.  “I can use the suit.”

“It’s no trouble,” Rosseveissa said, sidling over to us.  “Sarah will be there, correct?”

I laughed softly and Brunnhilde shook her head in disbelief.  “Okay, you can walk me back."  I turned to Brunnhilde and held up my arm like I was holding out a shield.  “Thank you for going out with me.”

“Of course, your highness,” she said and bumped her forearm against mine.  “I, of course, live to serve the throne.  And Elly, we should get drinks sometime.”

“I’d love that.  Tomorrow?” I said.

“Tomorrow it is.”

I started heading back with Rosseveissa and Brunnhilde called after us.  “Stay away from that place, Elly!  And Rosseveissa, no dawdling!”

“I don’t suppose she’ll buy that the queen told you to stand guard for a while?” I asked as we made our way back to my chambers.

Rosseveissa laughed and shook her head.  “Not a chance in Hel.”

When we reached my chambers the room was in chaos.  Everyone was there including Loki.  The babies were in a pile of fabric offcuts.  Thour was pulling pieces on top of her head while Nova was playing tug of war with Inky using a piece of gold cord.  The other smaller children were all sitting in a circle with Pietro who was showing them how to sew them into soft toys.  Flynn, Zak, and Piper all had wide bone needles with dull ends and thick bits of twine that they were sewing in big messy stitches, while Ziggy and Anna were both using fine needles and their toys were looking a little more like animals than shapeless blobs.

Mar and Tony were both currently behind changing screens and everyone else was comparing fabrics and notes.  It was noisy and wonderful and I was a little annoyed that I’d gone out and missed the start of it because of my weird obsession with a threat that hadn’t happened yet.

And I wasn’t ready yet.  I smelled like horse and my hands were covered in dirt.  I needed to bathe before I even touched a sketch or a piece of fabric.  “There you are, honey,” Sam said, looking over at the two of us as Rosseveissa beelined over to Sarah.  “We were thinking about sending out a search party.”

“Sorry, sorry,” I said.  “Time got away from me.  I just need to wash up.  I’ll be here really soon.  Sorry, Billy.  Sorry, Teddy.”

“It’s fine, mom,” Billy said.  “There’s plenty of us here to get through and yours is already in the final alteration stage.”

“Okay, I’ll just be a bit,” I said.

As I left the room Natasha and Wanda gave each other a look and I was just taking off my clothes in the bathroom when they both appeared at the door.  Natasha shooed away the attendant and when she was gone, she closed the door and folded her arms as she looked at me.

“You went out there again, didn’t you?” she said.

I nodded.  “Thor said…”

“Thor said you were going to save Asgard not to hang around that place,” Natasha said.  “Did you forget what it did to me and James?”

“I remember,” I said as I slipped into the water.  “It hasn’t done that to me.”

Wanda began to undress as she approached the tub.  “It is affecting you though,” she said.

“And,” Natasha continued.  “You’ve already had a long depressive episode this year, do you really want to risk another?”

I sighed and sank under the water so just my mouth and nose were above the surface.  As I stayed there with my eyes closed, avoiding the lecture they both seemed to want to give me, I heard the water slosh loudly as they both got in with me.

Natasha’s hands moved up my thighs and ran up to my hips.  I lifted my head and looked at her.  “I forgot it was you the kids learned that pretending they can’t hear you trick from.”

“No,” I pouted.  “That was from Clint.  I also learned it from Clint.”

She laughed and moved behind me, kissing my neck. “Honey, you know we want what’s best for you.”

“I know,” I said.  “But I’m your wife, not your daughter.”

“No one is trying to treat you like a child,” Wanda said, moving up close to me so I was boxed in between both women.  “We just want to make sure nothing bad happens to our wife.  Every time you come back from there, it feels like you’ve regressed.  It’s not good for you.  If that’s what the issue is, and you're destined to fix it, let it play out.  No matter what happens, Thor has had the vision.  It is going to happen.  I can’t - I don’t want to have to hide from you because you’re projecting so much fear.”

I let out a huff and ran my fingers along her hip gently.  “Okay.  Okay.  I won’t go there anymore.  Why did you both get in the tub with me?  Trying to bribe me into agreeing with sex?”

“No,” Natasha said.  “But it’s harder to have a conversation like this when the two ones being demanding are clothed and the one on the defensive is naked.  Besides -” she skimmed her hand under my breast, skimming it around my areola.  “You’re more receptive to criticism if you have positive physical touch.”

“Perhaps because when you grew up it was always accompanied by negative touch,” Wanda suggested.

Tears pricked my eyes.  Part of me wanted to rail back against them both for being manipulative, but the much bigger more rational side that apparently responded better to positive physical touch realized this was more a sign of how well they knew me and how they’d adapted to treat me in a kind way where I wouldn’t immediately go on the defensive.

“Oh, hey now, Elly,” Wanda said, cuddling up to me, so her breasts were pressed against mine.  “It’s alright.  We aren’t trying to manipulate you into agreeing to us.”

“Elise,” Natasha said, pulling back.  “You don’t think we would…”

“No… no, I just -” I sighed and shook my head.  “No, not really.”

“Okay good,” she said and tilted my head back to her.  “But you won’t go out there again?”

“No,” I agreed.

“And we’re good?” she asked.

“Yes,” I promised. “Very good.”

“Good,” she said and brought her lips to mine.

As we kissed, Natasha leaned me back so my tits were out of the water and Wanda latched on to one of them.  I moaned into Natasha’s lips as I felt the draw of milk down into Wanda’s mouth.  Wanda flicked her wrist and the water began to glow pink as her powers engaged.  I felt them swirl around my hips and then settle on my cunt sending a hot buzz right through me.  I moaned louder and Natasha pulled back from the kiss.

“How about we take care of Wanda as she takes care of us?” Natasha suggested.

“Mm… sounds good,” I hummed.

Wanda pulled back from me a little and Natasha moved to her, lifting her to the edge of the bath and spreading her legs.  Wanda lay back on the tiles arching her back and lifting her hips and Natasha and I moved between them, both of us running out tongues over her pussy, dancing our tongues together as we flicked them around her folds and over her clit.

As we did Wanda kept wiggling her fingers beside her, the pink of her powers dancing over them and spreading over both Natasha and me.  My eyes fell closed as every part of me buzzed thanks to Wanda.  It felt like she was using her powers to tug on my nipples and pinched my clit and at the same time, they buzzed hot against them.  My legs began to tremble as pleasure surged through me.  What Wanda did to me and Natasha created a feedback loop to her and soon her fluids were running down her cunt and smearing on the tiles.  I’m not sure if she nudged us to do it, or we just had the same idea at the same time, but Natasha and I both brought our fingers to her cunt and we each eased one inside her.  We moved them together curling them and fucking her with them.  I hit Wanda’s g-spot and Natasha pushed her finger down on top of mine.

Wanda cried out and her powers began to stutter.  We kept moving our fingers over that sweet spot as our tongues danced on her clit.  All at once, her powers died out and then flared out hard as she came, gushing on us both.  The flare of her powers knocked the breath out of me and set me over so quickly and so intensely I was pushed back into the water and I shuddered in it, mewling loudly.

I was only even vaguely aware that Natasha had come too and when I looked over when I started coming down from my orgasm high she had the same blissed outlook that I had.

“You are both terrible influences,” I giggled as I swam to the edge of the tub.  “I was supposed to have a quick bath.  Not get my mind blown.”

Natasha chuckled.  “No reason you can’t have both.”

“But you are right,” Wanda said, as she sank into the water again.  “We should hurry up and finish up.  Sam’s already thinking about coming in and checking on us.”

I giggled.  “God, we’ll never get out of here if he comes in.”

// NEXT

[m0srael]

Pinball Wizard [2.5k | T]

Fun fact: Dance, Dance, Revolution! was released in 1998. I know two boys who needed some healthy coping mechanisms right about then 👀. Also, Speed Over Beethoven and Butterfly are absolute bangers, I highly suggest you listen as you read. You're welcome for the nostalgia overload. Thanks, @corvuscrowned my beloved for this picrew prompt! I had a lot of fun writing this. Read my other picrew drabbles here and send me an ask to prompt your own!

Draco’s coins slide home with a thunk, and the pinball machine flashes to life with a cascade of light and a trill of mechanical music. He doesn’t know who the Addams Family are, only that they look like people his parents would try, and fail, to impress, and that he likes their theme song. It’s something about the snapping.

The first silver ball slips into the spring-loaded mechanism and is launched through a metal tube out into the open space of the game. The music shifts to something faster and more frantic. Draco’s heart picks up as the silver ball falls towards the flippers and he slams his palm onto the side of the machine, sending the ball hurling upwards to bounce off several bumpers that set off even more light and sound. He glances up to check his rapidly increasing score.

The ball falls back down toward the board and he manages to catch it and let it settle into the bend of the flipper, poised to strike. He takes a deep breath, releases the button, and slams his palm again as soon as the ball rolls onto the very tip. It careens upward and right into the secret bonus alcove under the miniature spiral staircase. The whole machine erupts into a shower of rainbow lights and tinkling sounds, and Draco laughs as a tiny, plastic hand emerges from a trunk in the top right corner, scoops up his ball, and pulls it back into the box. “Thank you, Thing!” a deep, muffled voice says. A dancing, disembodied hand trots across the screen on its fingertips, obscuring the words “T-H-I-N-G 5,000,000!” His name already occupies the top ten high score slots for the game, be he wouldn’t mind taking number eleven as well.

He’s usually able to completely lose himself for hours, burning his way through a stack of coins and looking up to find the sky has darkened outside. The screams and laughter of the other kids around him never seem to disturb his focus, and the pinging and flashing of the other games in the arcade fade into the background.

At least, that was the case until they installed the newest game.

The songs it plays sound nothing like the 8-bit tunes tinkling out of the older machines, it's almost like they’re playing right from the Wireless, and it takes up so much room. People tend to stop and watch whoever is playing, which means the arcade gets crowded quickly.

Draco’s ball slips between the flippers and the pinball machine makes a sad, whining sound as his attention is pulled away by a wave of cries from the crowd around the new machine. He tucks his coins back into the pocket of his black, skinny jeans and resolves to figure out what all the fuss is about.

The crowd is larger than normal today. Draco is tall, but even he is having trouble seeing over people’s heads to the action, although he can see most of the broad screen. The person playing has chosen their character and a man’s voice says “select music,” as the image changes to allow the player to select their difficulty level. They choose Heavy, the highest difficulty, and the crowd gives an encouraging cheer.

The image changes again to a silhouette of their character, and the game’s announcer says, “Are you ready? Let’s go!” as flashing, rainbow arrows start to stream up from the bottom of the screen. The opening notes of what Draco recognizes as Beethoven’s Fur Elise ring out, and quickly morph into a fast-paced, beat-heavy remix that has the kids around him bopping along and nodding to the music where they stand.

Draco can see the top of the player’s head, their dark curls bouncing as they jump wildly across the floor, hitting all the marks at exactly the right time. The score in the bottom corner is going up and up, and big, pink numbers float in the center of the screen: Perfect!! 105 Combo!

They’re good.

He shuffles around the outside of the crowd until he’s right up beside the platform. The boy’s feet are moving so quickly they’re just a blur. He’s leaned back with his hands on the railing of the platform, twisting his hips to reach all four of the arrows on the floor. His tan, corduroy jacket is flung over the railing behind the place for a second player. He’s grinning broadly and breathing hard, there’s sweat beading on his forehead, and his baggy, white t-shirt clings to his thin frame.

Draco is mesmerized. The rhythmic tap-tap-tap of the boy’s trainers on the platform is hypnotizing, and he’s entirely swept up in the pounding, careening music,and pulsing lights of the game.

The boy does a complicated little spin, dipping backward to hit the final arrow with his hand instead of his foot. Draco gasps. He’s panting and laughing as he stands and lifts the hem of his t-shirt to wipe the sweat from his face. Draco blushes at the sudden faceful of tan stomach and dark hair, unable to look away from the boy’s lean abs. Suddenly, he catches Draco’s eye…and winks. Draco’s blush deepens.

“Alright, I think it’s someone else’s go, thanks, everybody!” He says when the crowd groans. Two little girls hop onto the machine and start pushing coins into the coin slots as soon he steps off.

“Dragon80.” The boy says, looking at Draco with twinkling green eyes. He pushes his glasses back up his nose with one finger and smiles as Draco stutters.

“What?”

“You’re Dragon80, right? You’ve had the top score on The Addams Family for months. Impressive—that’s a wicked game. I’m Harry.”

Draco thinks all the blood in his body must be in his cheeks at this point. He didn’t think anyone noticed him, especially not here of all places. It’s part of why he spends all his time, and his allowance, here. “Y-yeah. That’s me. I…like the pictures.”

Harry laughs and his smile gets impossibly bigger, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Yeah, me too. I’ve gotta run Dragon, but we should dance sometime!” He nods back over his shoulder toward the game as he slides into his jacket.

“Oh, yeah, okay.” Draco breathes as Harry turns to go. He’s only stopped twice by other kids who gush over his skill before he can slip out the door. As he does, he turns back and gives Draco another soft smile. Draco tucks it away to think about later.

—

The arcade is quieter than Draco has ever seen it—there’s only one other person, a middle-aged man playing game after inexplicable game of Pong. He’d faked sick to get out of Sunday brunch just to be here so early when the likelihood of onlookers is at its lowest.

He slips his coins into the slots on the front of the game, Dance, Dance, Revolution! it’s called, and watches as the intro screen flashes on. He chooses his character—a person with long, blond pigtails and a short skirt—and selects the easiest difficulty level. The music selection comes up and he scrolls for a long time, finally landing on a song called “Butterfly”—it sounds easy and cute.

He feels nervous, he doesn’t know why, as there’s no one around to watch him. Only, his mother always says he has two left feet and he’s pretty sure he’s the reason his dance coach took early retirement. And…if he’s no good, Harry won’t want to play with him.

The song begins, and the first few arrows float slowly upward on the screen. Draco braces himself against the platform railing, every muscle tensed for the flurry of motion he’d witnessed in Harry, but after the first few combinations, he relaxes. It’s more like stepping in time to the beat than anything. He gets the hang of it pretty quickly, racking up points and speeding through the playlist of songs on Light mode. He can see why people like playing so much—he’s breathing hard and sweating through his thin white vest and long-sleeved mesh shirt, and it feels good.

But Harry surely would be bored with the easy stuff. Draco has to push himself, to be good enough that Harry will want to dance with him again. He selects one of the songs from the Heavy list—the same song he’d watched Harry dance to.

He scoffs at himself as he hits about every fifth beat, his limbs are flailing all around him as he fights to keep his balance and twist his body in a futile attempt to hit the arrows in the right patterns.

He realizes the gravity of the mistake he’s made the millisecond that the toe of his trainers catches on his opposite ankle. He’d tried to do the little spin Harry had done, only Harry’s extremities seem to follow the directions they’re given, whereas his absolutely do not. He goes down, hard, and his face hits the sharp edge of the platform. He can feel the blood welling up immediately.

When he looks up the Pong man is staring at him with an amused smile on his face.

“Oh, no, I’m fine. I don’t need help at all,” he deadpans as he pulls himself upright. Maybe he should stick to Light mode, after all.

—

“Gomez,” the Addams Family lady’s voice intones as Draco flips the little silver ball back up the length of the board. It pings off a tiny model electric chair and the machine tinkles to alert him that his score has doubled.

“What happened to you?” a voice asks just over Draco’s left shoulder. He jumps, and the ball slides past the flippers, into the ball return. When he turns Harry is standing there, watching him play. He lifts a finger to his own cheek in the approximate spot Draco’s plaster is, covering the shame of his first Dance, Dance, Revolution! attempt.

“Oh, uh…um,” he says. Think, Draco, think. You can’t tell this boy you busted your face open trying to copy his moves! “Hunting…accident…” he says instead.

“Oh. Weird,” Harry says, then his face splits into a big grin. “I don’t mean to interrupt you…”

Harry pauses, so Draco says. “Draco, my name is Draco.”

“Hm. Cool. Draco. Well, I’m usually alone when I come here and the game is always more fun on two-player mode…” he’s pointing vaguely in the direction of Dance, Dance, Revolution!.

“Yeah! Um. Sure, yeah,” Draco replies too quickly. Harry just smiles and leads the way toward the machine.

They select their characters, and Harry moves the cursor to the Heavy difficult level.

“Um…” Draco says, hesitantly. “I…don’t think I’m as good at this as you are…”

“Oh!” Harry replies, “I’m sorry, it’s a force of habit. Of course. We can start slow, it’s no problem!”

Draco breathes a sigh of relief as Harry selects the difficulty level above Light and chooses a song Draco has danced to before.

He loses all track of time as they play through song after song. Harry bests him every time, but Draco doesn’t care because he’s having fun. He loves looking over to see Harry’s pink cheeks and sparkling eyes. He nearly trips a few times because he gets so distracted by Harry’s talented feet. After what feels like hours, Harry finally sags back against the railing where his acid-wash denim jacket is hanging.

“I think I need a break, you’re a machine!” he says, shoving Draco’s shoulder.

Draco laughs too, shoving him back lightly. “You’re one to talk, I feel like a newborn baby deer next to you on this thing!”

“Aw, cute!” Harry says as he hops down. “Slushies?”

Draco follows him over to the little snack bar in the back of the arcade and watches as he fills two large cups, one with cherry slushie and one with blue raspberry. Draco fishes in his tight pocket for his money, but by the time he pulls out the correct change, Harry has already paid.

He holds out the cherry-flavored slushie to Draco. “I took a guess, but we can totally switch if you like this better!” His tongue is already painted blue by the few sips he’s taken from his own cup.

“No, thank you,” Draco says softly as he’s hit with a sudden urge to find out if Harry’s tongue tastes as blue as it looks, and if his lips are cold and sweet. He stuffs his straw in his mouth and sucks to keep from saying anything idiotic.

“Do you like, go hunting a lot?” Harry asks as they settle into one of the vinyl booths on the wall. Draco is surprised when Harry slides in next to him instead of across from him.

“What?”

Harry lightly brushes the plaster on Draco’s face.

“Wha—oh. oh. “ Draco’s face heats. “Um. I…sort of lied. I mean, yes, my stupid family makes me go hunting sometimes, but…” He doesn’t know what possessed him to admit the truth, only something about Harry makes him think he won’t make Draco feel bad about it.

Harry just gazes at him, sipping his slushie and waiting for Draco to finish his sentence.

“I fell. I tried to dance to the same song you were dancing to the other day on Heavy. Just to see if I could, you make it look so easy! And...well, I’m actually very clumsy. And I fell. There was blood.”

Harry blinks at him for a moment before bursting into loud laughter. His whole body shakes with it, and Draco can’t help but smile despite being more mortified than he’s ever been in his entire life.

“Alright, alright, I’ll be going now. Thanks for the slushie, we will never see one another again as I am on my way to die of embarrassment,” Draco says as he tries to gently push Harry out of the booth so he can leave.

Harry holds firm and urges Draco back with a hand to his shoulder. “No, no, I’m sorry,” he says as he catches his breath. “It’s just, that’s probably the cutest thing I’ve heard in a while. You’re so cute. I wish I could have seen it.”

You’re so cute. Draco’s mind goes blank. He thinks he might be staring at Harry with his mouth open.

“Hey—hey, really, it’s a hard game! And it takes time to figure it out. I’m impressed, actually, that you have the nerve to jump right to the hardest level. You must like a challenge.”

Draco shakes himself out of his trance. “Oh, yeah. I don’t know. It was stupid.” He scrubs the back of his flaming neck with his hand, avoiding Harry’s gaze.

“Would you…” Draco looks up, and Harry is blushing now, “maybe want to keep practicing? With me, I mean? We could…I could show you some things if you want. I mean it’s not like there’s any secret to it, or anything, you could figure it out on your own for sure. But you could show me how you’re so good at pinball in exchange—I could never get the hang of it!”

Draco laughs and takes another big sip of his slushie, nodding enthusiastically. “Yeah, I would love that, Harry.”

Read on Ao3!

[ladydimitrescuspet]

Make Me Feel Better - Chapter 1

think of this as a sequel to bubble bath! don’t worry, there will be some flashbacks here and there! I’ve no idea how long I’ll make this so bear with me! hope y’all enjoy this! ao3 link!

***

“Y/N, let’s go play!” Elise giggled as she ran into your room.

You were half asleep. “What?” You asked, your voice all groggy.

“Get dressed. We need you to come play with us.” Elise replied before exiting the room, giving you no time to argue.

You sighed as you pushed the covers and got up. It was one of those rare times where you slept in your room instead of Alcina’s. She’d been up late and you’d come to your room to get something but ended up curling up on the bed and falling asleep in a matter of seconds. You knew Alcina had come into the room at some point to find you asleep, but left you in your bed so she didn’t wake you because the smell of her perfume was still wafting through the air. You made your way downstairs to find Daniela, Elise, and Victoria standing by the door waiting for you.

“Listen, human, you’re in charge of the games we play so they better be fun.” Daniela said before she walked out the door.

Elise smiled at you. “Dani’s just grumpy we made her get up so early. Vic’ll help you out with games.” Elise said before she disappeared.

“And then there were two.” You said with a small laugh.

“Come on, Y/N, we’ll have fun and Dani will start to warm up to you.” Victoria hooked her arm with yours and the two of you went to go find Daniela and Elise. The four of you ended up mostly playing tag because it was all Daniela wanted to do.

“Hey, Daniela, can we play something else now?” You asked. You were getting tired of being chased around.

Daniela frowned. “I don’t want to play anything else besides tag.” Daniela replied.

Victoria rolled her eyes. “Dani, we can play more tag later. You told Y/N that they were in charge of games so let them pick the next one.” Victoria said.

Daniela shook her head. “Why are you taking the human’s side? You’re my sister, you’re supposed to agree with me!” Daniela replied, her voice was a little loud.

“Victoria’s right, we can play more tag later. How about we play some soccer? That’s fun and you still get to run around too.” You said as you walked over to her. “I know I’m not your favourite here, but I’m trying to make it work with you.” You said.

“Whatever, human. No matter how hard you try, it’s not going to work. Mother may have fallen for your charm, but I’m not going to so leave me the fuck alone. Do you understand? Stop trying to be my fucking friend. I don’t want you here. I want you dead. Why don’t you fucking understand that? Are you not smart enough to see all of the signs? All of the times I’ve tried to make you fuck up so Mother would turn her nose up to you and let me break you like the fragile little toy that you are?” Daniela practically screamed at you. You slowly began to back away from her, but for every step backwards Daniela took one step forward. “I’ve tried to tolerate you and all of your modern day bullshit, but I am fucking sick and tired of it. Vic and El may be impressed and fascinated by whatever the fuck wifi is but I don’t give two shits. And just for the record, it’s called football not soccer. But then again, you’re not smart enough to understand that are you? You’re so pathetic. Maybe I should just kill you right now. Mother’s not here and my sisters won’t do a damn thing about it.” Daniela threatened. You were honestly scared for your life, tears were forming in your eyes at her words.

“Daniela!” A voice boomed across the field that the four of you were in. You turned to see Alcina standing a few hundred feet away. Knowing her and her super hearing, she probably heard most of what Daniela said. Alcina started walking towards where you all were standing, it didn’t take her long to get there. “If I ever hear you disrespecting Y/N like that again, not only will you lose your tongue but I will ground you for a century. Do you understand that?” Alcina asked.

Daniela rolled her eyes at her Mother. “Like I give two fucks, Mother. Can’t you see what that disgusting human is doing to you? To your daughters? It’s like they have you under some kind of spell that you can’t break free of.” Daniela said before she looked at you. “You will not get away this. Watch your back, you piece of shit.” Daniela said before turning into a swarm of insects and heading towards the castle.

You looked between Alcina and her two other daughters before you started running towards the garden, tears falling down your face.

“I’ll take care of it. Go find your sister, girls. Take her to Mother Miranda for right now, I’ve no time for her and her foolishness.” Alcina said to her daughters before heading after you. “Y/N, dear, where’d you go?” Alcina called out as she stopped in front of the gardens. It was quite huge and she really didn’t want to come look for you.

You could hear Alcina’s voice from where you were in the gardens. A part of you wanted her to come to you and comfort you, but there was another part of you that just wanted to be alone. Ultimately, you decided that it would probably be best to let Alcina comfort you after the harsh words her daughter spewed at you.

“Alci, why does Daniela hate me so much?” You asked as you walked into her open arms. Your tears had dried up, but you could feel more forming as you thought about what Daniela said. “She said that I was a fragile little toy and that she was waiting for you to let her break me.” You said, your voice was almost a whisper but Alcina heard you.

Alcina picked you up and held you to her closely. “I won’t let her hurt you, Y/N.” Alcina replied. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, I promise.” You nodded against her shoulder, her words of some comfort to you. You pressed a small kiss to Alcina’s shoulder as she carried you into the castle and made her way to her chamber’s.  

Once in there she laid you down on the bed. You whimpered softly. “Alci,” You started, not wanting her to leave you, but she cut you off.

“Shh, cel mic.” Alcina said. “Everything will be fine, I promise.” Alcina always kept her promises. That brought you a semblance of peace. It was comforting to know that she would always be there to protect you and would do anything she could to make you feel better.

Alcina walked into her closet to get something and brought out a box, it wasn't small. "This is for later." She said with a small shake of the box causing it to rattle a bit.

You nodded your head and lifted your arms up mentioning for her to come over to you, she did so. "Cuddle?" You asked. Alcina let out a small laugh but laid down next to you in the bed regardless. You laid your head on her left arm and she wrapped the other one around you, squishing you against her boobs. "Nice and squishy." You murmured into her breast causing her to chuckle.

Alcina pressed a small kiss to your forehead. "Do you want to tell me what happened, Iubirea mea?" Alcina asked. You shook your head. "I'm sorry about Daniela." She whispered.

"It's not your fault, Alci. I... I pushed her too much, I think. Ever since I got here, I've just been trying so hard to get her to like me. Victoria and Elise love me, I can't tell you why, but Daniela just hates me. And I can feel it every time we're in the same room together." You said. You moved your head a bit to look up at Alcina. "She only ever calls me human, Al. And a piece of shit. And pathetic." You laughed dryly at the words as you looked back down and started playing with your hands. "Maybe..." You trailed off, you didn't want to finish the sentence.

Alcina raised her eyebrow. "Maybe what, Y/N?" Alcina asked.

"Maybe I should go. I've obviously made Daniela's life and living hell and I didn't even think that that would be possible to do considering the fact that she's a va-" You cut yourself. You heard Alcina sigh, but she remained quiet. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." You said. "I'll, um, I'll be right back. Okay, Alci?" You got up from your comfy spot on the bed and made your way over to the door.

Alcina frowned and sat up. "Where are you going, my dear?" Alcina asked. You looked back at her and just shook your head before leaving the room. You waited outside the door for a few seconds to see if she'd follow but you didn't hear any movements throughout the room so you made your way downstairs to grab your jacket.

"Natalie!" You called out and a servant appeared right away.

"Yes, Y/N?" Natalie replied.

You hugged her. "If Alcina asks where I am tell her I'm in the gardens. I won't be there, but tell her that I've said not to harm you under any circumstances for lying to her on my behalf. Alcina can get angry very quickly and very violent, but she listens to me, sometimes. I'm sorry to put you in this position, but I need you to do that for me, okay?" Natalie nodded her head. "Thank you." You said before letting her go and heading out the front door of the castle.

It was Autumn so it was slightly chilly in Romania. You knew that Alcina would go looking around the castle for you after a while until she ran into Natalie. You trusted the servant more than anyone else that worked there. She'd gotten not too long after you and the two of you hit it off quite well. Natalie wasn't just any servant, she was the Head of Staff. She was appointed the position five months into being there when you and the Mistress of the castle got together, the position having formerly been yours. The thought of just up and leaving Castle Dimitresu and Alcina made you sad, but you kept walking further and further away from them.

You made it into the village before nightfall. You were able to find a room at the local inn in the village. The room wasn't as nice as Alcina's or even your room at the castle, but it would do for tonight. You sat on the bed and pushed yourself upward until your back hit the headboard and brought your knees to your chest. You turned the light off and just stared between the window and the door. A part of you was hoping that Alcina had been outside looking for you, but you knew that she wouldn't enter the village at night, not even for you.

You were still in the same spot when the first crack of dawn started seeping into the room through the window. You hadn't slept a wink, scared that you'd wake back up in the castle dungeons. You knew that that's where Alcina would take you if she got you back, she'd leave you there for a few nights, keeping you in the darkest cell of the dungeon, away from all the creatures that may lurk around in there. She always made sure that they didn't mess with you, occasionally having either Victoria or Elise come down there to check on you. They would sneak food down there for you and wait until you finished it before leaving, it allowed them to make sure none of the creatures got any ideas on how to enter the tightly locked cell.

You slid off the bed and made your way outside. There were a few villagers out there, most of them heading to work wherever they could find it. They didn't take one glance at you, too busy with their own schedules to pay you any attention. You walked with your head down and at a slightly fast pace until you ran into something, into someone. Your heart rate quickened and you closed your eyes. There was no way Alcina had gotten to you so quickly.

"Y/N, is that you?" The person asked. You looked up in surprise.

You blinked a few times. "Heisenberg?" You replied. He nodded his head and you wrapped your arms around him before quickly pulling away. "Did Alcina send you? Is she here?" You asked, glancing around the village to locate the 9-foot tall vampire.

Heisenberg raised his eyebrow. "Why would my si- Y/N, is everything okay between you two?" Heisenberg asked. You opened your mouth to speak but the only thing you could do was break down crying. Heisenberg immediately threw his arms around in a hug. "Hey now, let it all out. Why don't we go to our special place. Would you like that?" You nodded against his chest. Heisenberg turned around and you got on his back. He knew that you were exhausted and would barely be able to walk to the place he was talking about. Just like the first time you'd met him and was on his back, his heartbeat had lulled you to sleep.

[stevetonyweekly]

SteveTony Weekly - May 2

I know I say every week that I read a lot this week but I have been indulging in my favorite coping technique and so this list is ridiculously long. Twitter encouraged me. Blame them. 

**Indicates my recent favs 

~*~ 

On the inherent homoeroticism of cake decoration by welcoming_disaster (616/8K)

“She’s matchmaking, Barton,” Carol sighed.

“We,” Thor corrected, thumping himself hard in the chest, “art matchmaking.”

“Who, Cap n’ Tony?” Clint asked, his mouth full.

“Cap and Tony,” Janet confirmed, cutting herself a thin slice of egg and gently depositing it on her whole grain avocado toast, “it’s getting ridiculous.”

“Wait, I thought they were—“ Clint frowned, glancing around the room as though to confirm. Nothing but confused faces met his questioning gaze. “Huh. I really thought they were fucking.”

“And there is the crux of the issue,” Jess licked a bit of spaghetti sauce off her lip.

“Aye,” agreed Thor, “there’s rub.”

-----------

The team tries to set up Steve and Tony. Things don't go as planned.

Baby lovers like you and me (never say die) by FestiveFerret (Old Guard AU/7.5K)

The Avengers. They'd found him frozen in the ice, told him he was immortal, of all things. And with the way he'd lived through seventy years deep in the Atlantic, he found himself inclined to believe them. They'd also been very… convincing.

Without question, they integrated him into their unit - The Avengers, a secret team of unkillables seeking wrongs around the world and making them right, supported and housed by an enigmatic billionaire named Tony Stark. Their immortality, it seemed, was a secret to everyone but him.

Ready, set, bake by ChocolateCapCookie (Great British Bake Off/11k) 

The Avengers are on a nationally televised baking competition, but nobody seems to have warned the producers that the Avengers, while they save the world everyday and put their loves at risk doing so, are a) insanely competitive, and b) absolutely terrible bakers. Steve Rogers, especially, has a competitive streak a mile wide, and he's determined to win this competition, but it's not easy when his only real opponent is also the man he's been in love with for years.

***To make flowers grow (in this barren heart) by SoldiersShield, KakushiMiko (Hanahaki AU/16K) 

“You hide yourself away in your technology, but you are just as human as the rest of them. Your heart betrays your desire to possess.” Her gaze falls to the arc reactor, and Tony's blood runs cold in his veins.

“The Earth will reclaim what we have lost,” she says, dragging a hand over the chestplate of the armor. “It is you, and your kind-- your greed that pulls life from the soil as if it were nothing. You will reap what you have sown, Stark. The avarice in your heart will strangle the very life out of you.” Arna meets his eyes once more, a serene smile on her face as she leans forward.

“I hope he is worth dying for,” she murmurs, before digging her hand into his ribcage.

(Tony Stark falls in love with Steve Rogers. A rogue enchantress ensures he pays for it.)

Shelter from the storm by silkspectred (KidFic/5k) 

Tony adopts a baby. Guess who's Majorly Fucked Up™ about it.

Keep on beating by itsallAvengers (Domestic Fluff/6K) 

There were an awful lot of things Steve loved about Tony. But one thing in particular Steve could never get enough of was his heartbeat.

The good or bad thing by petreparkour (Multiverse/10k) 

 “It’s the metal suit,” Thor informed Steve, his normally-booming voice tinny over the SHIELD comms. “What did Stark call it—Iron Man?”

“But he’s down here,” Steve protested as the Hulk roared in Stark’s face, startling him into waking with a shout. “How could—”

“It’s damaged,” Thor reported. “But it looks different. More advanced. And he—ah. He’s carrying you, Captain.”

“Please tell me nobody kissed me,” Stark breathed out, and then Stark’s voice suddenly came over the comms, but the man lying next to him hadn’t moved.

“Guys, come on, you’re killing me here. What is it, 2012? God, I hate time travel. First, I'm fighting Thanos. Now, I have to deal with my past self and Thor's bad haircut? Oh my God, Cap, yes I hacked their comms, they’re my comms.”

Steve nearly opened his mouth to protest that he hadn’t said anything when he realized that this replica of Tony Stark wasn’t speaking to him.

***The tipping point by nightwalker (Domestic Fluff/7K) 

Tony has a few quirks. Steve's still trying to figure them all out.

We two, how long we were fool’d by glassessay (Soulmate AU/9K) 

Steve Rogers comes into the world as unblemished as his mother. When Anthony Stark is born, his soulmark is an obvious pattern of ink across his tiny chest.

It only takes a century, two names, and a shared love of Walt Whitman for them to find each other.

The tape in the cave by betheflame (Canon Divergent/5K) 

Steve had no idea what was happening.

“You think I didn’t know that?”

Tony was staring Zemo down as though the Sokovian was actual vermin - which, Steve reflected, he kind of was.

“You think that I,” Tony continued, not hiding the sneer in his voice, “Anthony Stark, who has more powerful technology in my literal fingers than most nations have, that I wouldn’t know everything possible about how my parents died? That I wouldn’t know it wasn’t an accident, that your silly little HYDRA Nazi knock-off pals are the ones who murdered them? Please, you are pathetic.”

Happy ending by Robin_tCJ (No-Powers AU/28K) 

 Steve is a mobile massage therapist, and Tony is a stressed billionaire. What could go wrong?

With a decent happiness by torigates (Teacher AU/16K) 

Tony Stark is Iron Man. Steve Rogers isn't, and never was Captain America.

Or, the one where everything is the same except Steve is a kindergarten teacher.

Nothing left but scars by SailorChibi (MCU/6.7K) - Reread

Steve wakes up to the fact that no one ever compliments or even says thank you to Tony, and that he has fallen into the same trap of painting Tony with a specific paintbrush.

This is how he showers a very confused Tony with praise to make up for it.

Our hearts should remember and follow by frostfall (MCU/5K) 

Steve hums. “I didn’t know you could play. Or sing. Don’t think I’ve heard anyone mention it before.”

Tony shrugs. “It’s one of the few things, skills, I don’t flaunt. Not something people are interested in, anyway. Not gonna sway any board members by playing fucking Für Elise for them. Sides’, there’s a high chance I wouldn’t even play. Well, maybe if you get me drunk enough and near an instrument. Then, I might reconsider.”

(After a dream leaves Tony rattled, he turns to the piano as a way to distract himself.)

Finally, you and me by pensversusswords (Multiverse/10K) 

Because in every layer of time, in every conceivable dimension, he was always meant to love Steve.

By some miracle, Steve was meant to love him back.

***Full disclosure not required (but appreciated) by Potrix (Identity Porn/16k) 

The one where Steve knows more than he lets on, Tony knows less than he pretends, Clint has a big mouth, Bucky is a little shit, and everyone learns why keeping secrets never ends well.

Almost never, anyway.

Heartlines by nanasekei (MCU/7.9K) 

“Let me,” Tony repeats. He regrets it deeply, so much, he wants to stick the words back into his mouth again, and it must show, in the way his voice wavers. He feels exposed, all of a sudden, as if he’s asking something bigger than what he can actually say. Let me touch you, let me take care of you. “Just… Let me do it.”

i found a way to let you in, but i never really had a doubt (marriage series) by quidhitch (Marriage Series/16k) 

Tony Stark doesn’t believe in marriage. It’s nobody’s fault. —Well, it’s Howard's fault, probably, but Tony doesn’t like to think about that for too long, finds that it dredges up all sorts of issues he’d rather keep buried under a mountain of strategically employed sarcasm, humorous self-deprecation, and the occasionally effective substance abuse.

***Hide your love away by sineala (Soulmate/33K) - Reread

Tony has suspected for a long time that the soulmark on his chest matches Steve's -- but he's never told Steve about it. And then it's too late to tell Steve anything at all ever again. In the wake of Steve's death, the Skrull invasion, and Norman Osborn's rise to power, the identity of his soulmate is just one of the many things Tony cuts out of his memory forever.

When Tony returns to consciousness, he's forced to deal with the aftermath of a war he no longer remembers fighting, not to mention a Steve Rogers who can barely stand to be in the same room with him. Surely the last thing Tony could ever need in his life is more amnesia. But that's what he gets. And Tony's new missing memory just might be the key to finding out the truth of his soulmark... as well as his chance to make things right once and for all.

Break the chain (can’t live in circles again) by orphan_account (FWB/19K) 

There had been seven amazing weeks of dating Steve Rogers before Tony realised that they weren’t dating at all. And then it was a scramble to adjust to the situation as it had always been: being Steve’s friend-with-benefits.

And if Steve seemed a little confused and bewildered by the way Tony was acting, well. Tony was probably just misreading that, too.

Five times steve and tony (tried to) bail each other out of jail by Teyke (MCU/6k) 

Twice before Civil War, twice after, and once during. For very loose definitions of both 'bail' and 'jail'.

Cracked hearts under iron ribs by XtaticPearl (Established Relationship/14k)

Rhodey is away for almost six months now and comes to meet Tony after the mission. He doesn't understand the domesticity of the whole Tower and unknowingly sets off a whole truck of insecurities which make Tony crawl back into being a Stark instead of just Tony. The team is not at all happy and Rhodey joins them in trying to figure out a way to help their resident genius feel better in his skin.

The single biggest problem with communication by BlossomsintheMist (616/108K)

In the wake of Steve's return from the dead and the end of Norman Osborn's reign of terror, the superhero community is recovering--Steve has taken on a new role and Tony is trying to put his life back together. Things are still awkward between them, but they're determined to put things to rights. But when a discussion about their feelings leads to further misunderstandings, they discover that might be more difficult than either of them realized. Set in the early Heroic Age after the end of Dark Reign, this is a get-together story about crossed wires--and second chances.

What are friends for? by bobertsmallismydad (MCU /2.8K) 

In which Steve is targeted by a virus. Will the Avengers be able to save him in time?

Starving by festiveferret (Vampire AU/2K) 

Steve woke up starving.

***Everybody wonders (What it would be like to love you) by SoldiersShield (MCU/3K) 

“...Is that what this is about?” He asks slowly. Steve blanches.

“Oh my god. It is.” Tony has no right looking as giddy as he does. “Steven Grant Rogers, are you jealous?”

--

Or: Steve and Tony have been dancing around each other for a while now, and Steve's rather content with it. Attending a gala together just might change that.

Re(A)d all over by brandnewfashion, MusicalLuna (Drunk Flirting/3k) 

Contrary to popular belief, Tony Stark can blush.

It just takes Steve getting drunk on some magical Asgardian mead for it to finally happen.

***The Do-over Proposal by nightwalker (Established Relationship/1.2k) 

Steve wants to go on a journey, Tony doesn't think it's a good time, and Bucky needs to beat some sense into both these idiots.

A Winter’s Ball by alliejowrites (Victorian AU/3.8K) 

Steve moves to London in search of a patron, so that he can finally devote himself to painting. He is not expecting everything he finds upon meeting Lord Stark. A fluffy little Victorian AU. One-shot.

What’s a fanfic by starksnack (AvAc/1K) 

Kamala introduces Tony and Steve to the world of fanfiction. There is a surprising amount of content about them being gay.