#its a picture of a little toy i would steal from my friend for a few hours at a time all the time without her noticing in SIXTH GRADE

[cut-catches]

i was tagged by bestie @pink-vacancy to post my lockscreen, last movie i watched, last song i listened to, and the last photo i took

tagging @viktoriakomova @tutyayilmazz and @frontpike to participate if they want to!

[lulujeno]

finding out you sleep with a plushie

— nct dream ᡣ𐭩

cw : none! 100% fluff ^^

a/n : my tumblr debut yay! tried to make it as gender neutral as possible so i hope you enjoyyy

mark:

came home late from practice and found you sleeping on the couch with a winnie-the-pooh plushie tucked under your arms

first time seeing you sleep with the plushie despite knowing that you can't sleep without it

takes note of it for future occurrences

going on a flight? road trip? staying at your friends place? he will for sure remind you about the plush

when you forget the plushie at his place he will have it sitting on his bed against a pillow (sometimes 'reading' one of his books)

every time he sees winnie-the-pooh now he will take a quick pic of it to send to you

"yooooo why this lowkey looks like you"

doesn't forget to remind you that you're cuter tho

poor markie was so panicked when he couldn't find the plush after you texted him that you left it at his place

had a whole apology written down knowing how precious it was since its your childhood plushie

promised to buy you the exact same one and is basically crying now because he knows that it won't be able to replace the one you had

luckily he found it under his bed so we're all good!

renjun:

you were taking a nap on his bed when he saw you hugging a duck plushie

takes a quick pic for memories sake (and to tease you about it in the near future)

since then his little notes for you include a small duck doodle on it

"left early for practice 𓅭" "leftovers are in the fridge 𓅿" "goodluck for the interview today 𓅹"

when he's overseas for schedules he'll find something with ducks on it to give to you as a little souvenir

kisses both you and the duck when he sees you asleep after a long day (it calms him down)

would ask who's cuter, him or duckie?

you jokingly say duckie which causes him to nag to your plushie about stealing his partner

ducks are now his new favourite thing to draw (lyric sheets are his no. 1 victim)

when you couldn't find the plush he offers himself as something for you to cuddle with

resulted in him getting smacked and proceeding to help you find the duck

gets sulky after, saying that hes better at cuddling than the "piece of fluff"

you coo at his jealousy over a stuffed toy and cuddle the both of them

jeno:

he arrived at your place a little later than usual and sees you tucked in with a black bunny

he coos at how adorable the sight is and takes a picture to set as one of his many lockscreens of you

noticed that its the bunny he bought for you before he went on tour for tds2

"if you miss me just cuddle the bunny okay? he has black hair like me so it wouldnt be that much of a difference"

obviously cuddling a grown man and a 31cm plushie is different but what can you do when he's halfway across the globe?

also the type to kiss you and your bunny goodnight

caught him doing it one day and now try to stay awake long enough to catch him doing it again

you fail to do so since his schedules always end soooo late f u sm!!

would give your bunny a wash once every few months since the bunny is a representation of him and he takes personal hygiene very seriously! (his words, not yours)

the bunny would have a new ribbon tied to its ears, depending on what colour his hair is this time (always praying for the pink or white ribbon to come back one day)

gets jealous that you cuddle the bunny more than him

you'd get back at him saying that he's the one that bought the bunny

haechan:

could not shut up when he realised that the plushie you couldn't sleep without was a brown bear

teases you to no end because everyone knows the he is the og brown bear

he finds it too cute that you need a mini him to sleep

"awwwh, you're so in love with me that your plushie is basically me"

you tell him that its just a basic bear, theres no deeper meaning to it

you did buy it because it looks like him but he can't know that! the teases will be insufferable

doesn't care if it had another name before hand because it is now haechan jr.

if he sees the plush on the floor he'll pick it up and tuck it under your arms

the type to tell the little guy to take care of you in your sleep

you'd buy a mini version for him to bring around for schedules and tours

gives you updates about mini haechan jr. every second

practice room? recording studio? m/v shoot? fansign? filming 7llin? you will be getting updates!! not missing a single one

would post haechan jr. and mini haechan jr. on his instagram as a soft launch

it's a little too soft but its okay since you both want to keep it on the downlow anyways

jaemin:

found you sleeping one night with a pink bunny hidden under the blanket next to you

was cooing at how cute the sight was

also one to take pics because that's his partner!! why wouldn't he?

had to hold himself back from pinching your cheeks and opted to pat your head instead

will ask about it the next time he sees you and wont stop telling you how cute you are

you left it at his place once and suddenly theres a ribbon on your bunny's ears (i wonder who added it)

caught him having a full on conversation with your bunny a few times damn your bf is weird

basically treats the bunny like his child at this point

will remind you to bring your bunny when going on overnight trips with him

will not stop taking pictures of the bunny (he has a whole file for it on his phone btw)

"aigoooo look how adorable she is"

"awww both my babies look so cute I have to take a pic"

also one to send you pics of things with bunnies on it when on tour, buys it for you too sometimes

his cats loves bitting everything, including your bunny

makes sure that its as far away from luna, lucy, and luke after he caught them trying to bite on it

you're now 100x cuter in his eyes and he wont shut up about it

chenle:

slightly smiled to himself when saw you bring a dumbo plushie the first time you slept over at his face

he bought it so of course you'll be sleeping with it

why dumbo? because he has big ears and you're nosy as hell (his words btw)

you got sulky when you heard the reason and he corrected himself and said that it was because he was a yapper and you're the listener instead

starts calling you dumbo and the plushie dumbo jr. instead

would also ask to pick between him and the plushie

got so offended when you picked dumbo

"i am THE zhong chenle, who wouldn't choose me?"

would replace the plushie with himself after you sleep since he's petty like that, he wouldn't let a stuffed toy win over him

but would also put dumbo in between your arms if he wakes up first in the morning (it's to keep you company while he's cooking breakfast)

sends you pics of daegal and dumbo together like a proud dad

he's still chenle though so dont expect your plushie to get the same dad treatment as jaemin

the type to get you more dumbo related items since dumbo is the only plushie you sleep with

jisung:

his heart melted at the sight of you sleeping on the couch with a hamster plushie squished against your cheeks

if that man wasn't a simp for you already then he is now

needs a few seconds to just admire how cute you were for faling asleep while trying to wait for him to end his schedules

he's not one to bring it up directly, but that doesn't mean he won't tease you about it from time to time

probably annoys the members (read: chenle) about how adorable his partner is when cuddled up with a plush version of him

he's so down bad but you can't blame him for being in love

took him a few nights to realise that its the plushie he bought for you when you visited him during smtown live in tokyo

got so shy and couldn't contain his smile when he realised it

would ask you if you've given the hamster a name yet and when you said you haven't he suggested 'hamster'

you don't have the heart to tell him how corny it is so you agree to it

you both are down bad!!!!

if he sees the hamster on the floor he'll dust off any possible dust before tucking it under your arms again

takes a picture to make it last longer

you leave the plush at his place on accident once

send you a message saying that he can't believe you just forgot your son like that

takes a pic of him cuddling the hamster to show that he is being taken care of no ones focusing on the doll when his hands are right there

[moonmacabre01]

I wrote a (kinda silly) little oneshot to go with this. I couldn't come up with a name I liked, but I'm pretty pleased with it ^^

“Hey, smile!”

“Wha -”

The dee turned to his companion just as the camera flashed.

“Dedede! Ya stole Photographer’s camera again?”

“I didn’t steal it! I borrowed it!” Dedede protessed.”And ‘sides, the picture’s good! Look!”

He waved the photo in the air.

“Didja ask first?”

Fondue carefully held his picnic basket in one nub as he stood on tiptoe, trying to grab the photo out of Dedede’s hand.

“No! It doesn’t care if we give it back, right?!”

The chick dropped his hand and allowed his friend to take the photo.

“That’s not how it works, Dede’. Unless ya ask, it’s just stealing.”

Fondue examined the photo. In the foreground, Dedede’s head and one hand could be seen, making the “V” he was so fond of. He himself was caught midturn, glancing backwards. He carefully slipped it into the basket.

“Don't call me that, I’m not a lil kid!” Dedede squealed at the nickname they used to use when he was younger.

“Whatever Dede’.” Fondue rolled his eyes “and anyway, if you wanna bring along the camera - which ya did steal - so bad, least ya can do is put it in th’ basket so it don’t break. Unless ya wanna explain to Photographer how ya broke it again . . .”

The chick squeaked and hurried to put the camera into the basket. He already knew how angry Photographer Dee would get if it was damaged.

“Oy! Don’t shove!”

Fondue tried to keep his balance against the larger child. After Dedede was finally satisfied that the precious thing wouldn’t be jostled, he straightened up and started running towards the forest ahead.

“C’mon, let’s go!”

“Hey!”

The dee stumbled, and hurried to catch up to his friend.

The two kids crashed into the clearing, one after another. Dedede tripped and flopped down, and the toy hammer he always had flew off his back and landed in the grass with a squeak.

“Hey, you okay?”

Fondue hurried to the chick’s side. He placed the basket down and grabbed one hand with both his nubs. He pulled, and helped Dedede stand up.

“Thanks! Now c’mon, let’s set up the picnic!”

Dedede ran over to the basket, and pulled out a blue blanket spotted with stars.

“All th’ blankets we had, and ya chose that one?” the dee lightly teased.

“It’s my favorite, shut up!” the other kid retorted.

Fondue stifled a giggle, and grabbed a corner of the blanket. Dedede grabbed two on the other side, and the two of them carefully laid it down onto the grass.

Digging in the basket, they pulled out a pair of sandwiches, a couple juice boxes, a small pie . .

“Hey, I thought ya said stealing was bad!” Dedede shouted.

“I didn’t steal it, I made it! Jeez!” the dee retorted hotly.

“Huh, really? I thought it was one of the ones from the baker’s, the really expensive ones?”

“I made it last night, while you were asleep. All by myself, too!” fondue nodded proudly.

“Wow!”

The food was all placed on the blanket, and the two sat down to eat.

The midday sun beamed down into the clearing, where the two lay on the grass half asleep. The food was mostly gone, and the remains had been packed back into the trusty basket with the blanket.

“That was a really good pie, Fondue!”

“Thanks. I’m still surprised ya ate four pieces though.”

“I bet I could’ve eaten more if ya let me”

“I wanted to save some for me.”

“Oh.”

Fondue slowly stood up, and glanced at the sky. “Hey, we should start heading back, it’s getting kinda late”

“Oh” Dedede slowly pulled himself to his feet. He grabbed his toy hammer, and slung it back into its usual place on his back. Fondue walked over, basket again held in one nub.

“Ready to go?” The dee asked.

Uh huh! Race you to the edge of the forest!”

And just like that, he was off again, running out of the clearing.

“Oy! Wait up!”

Fondue bolted as fast as he could in pursuit.

The two kids ran giggling through the forest, and the sun beamed down.

And it was a good day.

.

.

.

Thanks for reading!

[sugdenlovesdingle]

Hi!

🙇🏽‍♂️ What embarrassing stories do Carlos' sisters like to share about him from when he was little?

🕵🏽‍♂️ Which is your favorite case that Carlos has solved? What types of cases do you think he'll take on in season five other than investigating Gabriel's death?

💍 What are TK and Carlos' favorite moments from the wedding, aside from the vows?

FINALLY getting around to answering this

🙇🏽‍♂️ Ana for sure has baby!Carlos stories (to go with the photos Andrea likes to get out and show TK). How he cried for three days straight when one of their tias got him a stuffed dog as a present and he got upset because he was worried their actual real dog would feel left out. Or how he'd steal Gabriel's hat and pretend to be a ranger arrest his friends and toys. And the story and picture that makes TK melt into a puddle of goo about how they'd lost 3 year old Carlos on the ranch, and turned half of Austin upside down to find him, only for Gabriel to find him in the barn sleeping in the hay next a foal that had been rejected by its mother because he didn't want it to be lonely. TK took a picture of that picture and has it saved on his phone with the caption 😍😍😍. Carlos only just managed to stop him from posting it online. Luisa has more annoying little brother stories (because they're closer in age) from when they were a little older. Like Carlos drawing in her magazines on pictures of Justin Timberlake and Nick Carter because she had a crush on them or trying to embarrass her in front of boys she liked by making up weird stories about her, or making fart noises for an entire evening when her boyfriend at that time came over for dinner.

🕵🏽‍♂️ Team Carlos and Grace working together to take down the "Smurf ass bitch" in LA. I'm going to miss seeing them team up in season 5 :( I'm not sure what to expect from Ranger!Carlos tbh. I read something about him investigating the train crash from the opening disaster? and there's that still/shot of Carlos in camo gear with a big ass gun and i think "state police" on his vest (i tried to find it but google fails me right now) I don't know - I'm just keeping an open mind (and my expectations low) and see where they take him - as long as he and TK are happy and together by the end, I'm not too bothered. Also Gabriel isn't dead - he just faked his death so that Carlos could solve his "murder" and lock up the bad guys (shh let me live in denial)

💍 favourite moment from the wedding is definitely the cake scene! I don't care if it was deleted - it counts!

Also Tommy singing for them and the two of them getting all teary eyed.

(Gina Torres can sing to me any time!)

[irlcats-bracket]

Bracket 3 FINAL

PRICETAG and BANDIT versus PUMPKIN FLUFF MARIE

PRICETAG

also named price in another submission

shes fat shes a terrible bitch and shes the love of submitter's life. they dont technically know her breed but she looks like a calico kinda. white and black and brown all over. their favorite spot to kiss her is the little brown diamond on top of her head, but she has all kinds of pretty markings. she'll cuddle submitter but not their parents and hisses at anyone else. hence the bitch. its SO funny. she doesnt "meow" so much as she chirps and yells. u touch her n its the worlds loudest MRAP. submitter leaves for work and they go "bye price!" and she goes "meep" and they say "i love you!" and she goes "mow" and it always makes them smile because she rarely does it to anyone else. shes so fat. she has a big ol premidorial pouch because shes 100% indoor and u can hear her claws go clicclicclic on the floor because shes so heavy. she likes to climb on peoples back. she chases moths but no other bugs and likes to make friends with neighborhood critters. she hates bellyrubs from everyone but submitter. if they leave their door open at night she creeps in and lays in the worst possible spot and makes it impossible to sleep. she makes the best bread loaf. shes so fucking round. SPHEREICAL. submitter love her more then anything ❤❤❤❤❤❤ (here submitter said that i can shrink it if i want to but no fucking way i am shrinking things abt a cat aside from their name maybe)

shes named after a canadian hockey player. submitter hates hockey. thanks uncle C dhsbdjjsjsjsjs

PROPAGANDA

THATS MY FUCKING CAT!!!!

GO VOTE FOR MY CAT!!!!!

how could you possibly vote against this face 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 shes the roundest, bitchiest cat in the whole world and shes my best friend. stealer of cream cheese and hearts.

submitter also provided a small collection of Pricetag looking very orb-like, but i hit the picture limit and so i can't show it in the post

perceive price orbs here

below i am only leaving the orbest price (in my opinion)

vote for price orb. shes practically a perfect circle. what more could you want

also look how polite she is

BANDIT

submitter's sweet baby boy. He passed away recently, and submitter misses him dearly. He was the softest cat they'd ever pet, and that's not just them being biased. His fur was silk. He was the friendliest cat too, and when he heard new voices he was always up to come meet people. He also enjoyed being around people, and you could always find him in a room with the family. He enjoyed terrorizing the family dog whenevr he got riled up (dont worry, she enojoyed it too), and he loved to bother submitter's parents when they started working from home. Any call submitter had with their folks, he would always make a background appearance, yelling quite loudly. He also had some of the loudest snoring theyve ever heard, and they're so lucky to have a small audio recording of him sleeping. Submitter had him since they were 8, and he was nearly 17 years old when he passed away. Submitter tries to sleep with a crook in their knee so if he's ever lonely, he can come cuddle.

PUMPKIN FLUFF MARIE

also known as Pumpkin Spice Latte

She's a adorable, a total diva down to the way she walks. Loves tummy rubs if she knows you, if she doesn't she'll probably just run and hide. She makes a little chirping noise and submitter loves it. She also loves running full speed around the house. Pumpkin doesn't really eat people food, not a big fan. She will however steal the bacon off your plate and lick the butter off of any food item.

PROPAGANDA

Some Pumpkin fun facts for propaganda:

her favorite type of toy to play with are springs (the cat toy kind). When we got our new oven we found at least 3 behind where the old one stood.

She's my first pet and the whole reason I lived through my sophomore year of high school.

I named her Pumpkin because years ago a classmate asked me what I'd name a cat if I ever got one and for some reason, I said Pumpkin.

Alongside bellyrubs she also loves being brushed

I am told that she is me in cat form

I swear she's a cryptic. She'll just appear and she'll be staring into my soul. I do not know where she goes or where she comes from but I'm a little afraid to question it.

She used to spiderman climb up our window screen and we had to patch it up

She likes to watch the birds and bunnies in our yard with her brother Binx (or by herself), it's the only time she tolerates him

Okay some more fun facts:

She likes to lay on visitors shoes. If your shoes are on the ground they are now in her laying range.

After my grandpa passed she slept with my grandma for the longest time.

Every time I sleep in the living room I wake up with her on top of me.

She's my very first pet, one I was convinced I was never going to get (I have loved cats my entire life but we've been a no pet household until her)

When we adopted her, she was the only cat who actively tried to get my attention via hoping on the cage and meowing. Which when you're dealing mental health problems and feel as though you're unwanted is just the best fucking feeling in the world.

Her original name was Harriet. I wanted to keep it or at least change it to a different human name because I thought it was funny but my grandma told me no.

[kimbap-r0ll]

Kimbap!! Lake date fic with Chrollo please 💕⭐️ thank you! I need soft chrollo 🥹

Hi, thank you for the ask! I was going to make this a bit angsty but then I stopped myself haha

Chrollo x reader - Lake date

While Meteor City had its charms, Chrollo never got the chance to experience a lake similar to the ones he had seen in picture books from his childhood until he left the junkyard. One of the most beautiful ones he saw, ironically, was the one in Lukso Province. He wasn't sure if he would have the chance to go there again with his busy schedule, but that was until he met you.

You worked as a hunter, mainly protecting wildlife but your dream goal was to work as a bounty hunter. The idea of finding criminals and serving justice was a glittering dream to you, but it wasn't one that you could fulfill without the necessary training. Because of this, you resorted to working as a different kind of hunter to get some experience in. Little did you know that the person who made your heart flutter at the nearby town market was a class-A criminal.

Chrollo was walking around the town to get his mind off of the work that he had at night, specifically stealing a painting that was held in an expensive hotel complex in the next city. The complex was owned by an arrogant mafioso who had wronged Meteor City in the past, so taking something nice to look at and avenging his fellow Meteorites seemed like a good idea. Besides, the chances of the mafioso knowing nen was slim as he heavily relied on weaponry.

The two of you bumped into each other while reaching for the same plush toy (he was planning on giving it to Pakunoda as an apology for taking her creme brulee during their last heist). "Oh, sorry about that!" you awkwardly pulled your hand back and gave him a little glance.

"No, that was my fault," Chrollo shook his head with a polite smile. "Do you like plush toys?"

"They're cute, I just needed to get one for a friend," you replied, "but no worries, they like other stuff too so I can just go to another shop."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah I'm good!"

You thought that the conversation would end there, but the two of you ended up spending the whole month together. Chrollo got the painting and killed a mafioso, but he wasn't leaving the town on the scheduled date because he was interested in you. He got to see some of your favorite destinations including a small bakery, an alleyway where kittens usually hung out, and finally a library. The library wasn't that big, but it was nonetheless a cute one. You two stopped by to check out some of the books and that was when he saw a picture book from his childhood, the one with a lake.

"Ah, I used to love this one for the art, it was when I first started to learn this language," Chrollo said, you leaned onto his shoulder to see the lake. The water was blue, almost glittering, and the surrounding flora and fauna were green and lively. That reminded you of another place.

"Hey, Chrollo right?" you looked at him. He nodded and asked what it was.

"If you wanted to hang out again, I know a place that looks just like this, wanna go?" you asked, you had to shoot your shot. "Er, could be a date?"

Chrollo's eyes widened. Sure he had read about dates and used the idea of romance to get things, but it wasn't like someone actually liked him. Deciding it would be a fun idea, he agreed.

You two went out to the lake early, right before noon. You had brought along a little picnic basket so you two could sit while looking at the scenery. Chrollo brought a book (he wasn't sure what to bring but he would never say that) and followed you out of the town. At first he started to become a little skeptical, but as soon as a clearing formed from the woods that you two entered, he could see water glittering in the sunlight.

"Ta da! This is one of my favorite places too," you smiled at him, searching his face to see any sign of if he liked the place or not. But Chrollo's face only showed surprise before he smiled at you.

"Ah, I've been here before, it's truly a wonderful place," he agreed. Oh, you didn't know he passed by here. In fact, the town was in Lukso Province but Chrollo had completely forgotten about that until this moment. But outside of that, he remembered why he loved the scenery so much: it was peaceful.

The lake looked like what safety could be. It was clear, the water was fresh and cool. The trees were alive and the grass was crisp. Animals sometimes peered behind the trees to catch a glimpse at the two of you sitting down and reading. It was all these things that felt dreamlike to anyone from Meteor City, which was why he felt so drawn to the area. You looked at him after finishing the last few chapters of a book and saw him taking a nap, perhaps he finally felt safe. He looked so peaceful, yet you also wanted to talk to him. Perhaps he caught you staring somehow because he woke up right when you were about to tap him on the shoulder.

"The sun won't set until a few hours, did you want to stay here a bit longer?" you asked.

"I was thinking of staying here until it was dark," he replied, and with that the two of you continued to enjoy the breeze.

"Do you come here often?" he asked you.

"When I have the time, I'm also really big into nature and wildlife so I see these kinds of places often but they don't have the same vibe as this right here," you responded. While talking about your passions, you sometimes caught him softly smiling at you, which only made your heart flutter and eyes dart away from him. Though you knew him pretty well after spending so much time together in the week he was visiting, he still managed to make you flustered.

"I wish I could experience this more, my line of work prohibits such leisure," Chrollo said slowly. You weren't sure what he meant by that, but decided to brush it off.

"They overwork you?"

"Quite," he nodded.

The date ended after watching the sunset next to each other (you got to put your head on his shoulder!) and he helped walk you back home.

"This is sadly my last day here," Chrollo said when he reached your doorstep.

"What!" you turned around sharply, taking him by the hands. "You should've told me sooner, I could've at least written you a plane letter to read on your trip back!"

"No it's fine, I really liked this day," he said, he was looking directly at you. "We'll keep in touch, we have each others' numbers now anyways."

"Yeah, you're right," you sighed. "Well, I'll see you soon then," you hugged him, but you didn't expect him to lift your head up and softly kiss you.

"I'll be sure to visit y/n, have a good night," he smiled. You stood in front of your door, stunned, as he walked towards the center of the town.

Wow, he was sure dreamy today, you thought to yourself, giggling at the memory of the kiss. You would visit the lake again to remember him, remember the book-loving man that befriended you and the one that you quickly fell in love with.

Chrollo met up with the rest of the troupe who were busy with other missions soon after the date in a close city.

"Where were you?! We had to take some of your tasks you know?" Phinks said when Chrollo entered the abandoned building.

"Oh, I was searching for a book I liked," he shrugged, "couldn't find it sadly."

"It took you a month?" Machi asked. "...You met someone right?"

The entire troupe slowly looked at him. Chrollo gave Machi a smile and didn't answer. For the next few days the troupe would ask Chrollo questions on what happened, but the most they got out of it was that he had a very peaceful time during the month.

[darkimpala1897]

So in my stories, the one original character that shows up his name is Martin. He just sorta somtimes wiggles his way into my stories because I just love him, so I thought I would talk about his general headcanons plus give you the face to a name.

His full name is Martin James Battles

Yes Battles is his last name, and yes Eddie steals it for his stage name

He's an old family friend a very old family friend, why do you think Wayne is so cool with his nephew being gay

He was born in Johannesburg but grew up in Hawkins with Wayne

Him and Wayne even though there not together anymore they bicker like an old married couple it's the funniest shit ever

He shipped Steve and Eddie before they were together

Steve took Eddie to him when Eddie was dying and it went down like this "Wildlife Biologist not a doctor." And Steve was like "So, where else am I supposed to take him."

Martin has a south African accent which Eddie tries mimicking and it's absolutely terrible.

Martin has a animal reserve in Mopani which Eddie begs to go to every year

Martin and Eddie have matching scars not because Martin was a chew toy for bats more a pissed off lion

Martin helped Eddie get his guitar

Martin use to babysit Eddie when he was really little

Martin adopted Gareth, well more he found Gareth as a toddler wandering and was just like "yep I'm keeping you."

Funnily enough Gareth does not have his accent

He introduced Gareth to Eddie and best friends for life

He's never was with anyone after Wayne, Eddie always asks him why he never married a woman or something and Martin was like "I found my person, but given the times we could be nothing but best friends. So that's what we are best friends."

He always gets Eddie and Steve to make up after a fight

Martin knows about the upside down mostly because of Eddie obviously but he likes to pretend its not a thing

He taught Eddie how to play the guitar

He bartenders at the hideout, he's the one making sure Corroded Coffin gets a gig there

He enjoy's making fun of Steve and his not mathematically correct house specifically the garages

Eddie wears one of his bracelets mostly because he stole it from him

Martin taught Steve how to take care of plants

Steve really wanted to see a giraffe and that's when he finally took Eddie to his reserve, so theirs a Polaroid on Eddie's mirror of Steve with a giraffe

Martin gave Eddie his handcuffs because a very very long time ago Martin was a cop in Johannesburg fun fact, he lived their for like a year after his whole breakup with Wayne

Eddie has a younger picture of Wayne because of this man and Eddie likes to joke that him and Wayne looked like him and Steve its cute

My boy Martin, I just love him way to much. He's based off a character from the movie beast they did him so dirty. Let's just say they did an Eddie to him.

Eddie wears a million layers mostly because of this man.

Martin is the reason as to why Jason's alive mostly because he sorta kidnapped Jason and Andy and left them about twenty miles outside of Hawkins telling them to walk and home and think about what they did to Gareth and Jeff because they weren't eighteen yet so he couldn't break their noses.

I think that's everything, so now when you read my stuff and someone named Martin pops up it's mostly likely my boy and now you people know all about him.

[hallowcked]

Isadora expected things to get messy when Brooke reached out to meet with her but, the guilt radiating from the other side of the table is terrifying. There's something else I have to tell you, first. And it might make you change your mind about you inviting me to come with you. As an overthinker, her mind races around several different scenarios that her best friend could have done to continue stabbing her in the back. She doesn't want to hate Brooke, they connected on levels she never knew existed. She was her twin flame - her sister; the Mary-Kate to her Ashley and the Tia to her Tamera. Which is why Brooke could tell her she fucked Volchok and although it would break her heart to a million little pieces, she would still find a way to forgive her.

Lucky for her and her fragile little heart, the incident doesn't compare to the agony she would have felt if Brooke was actually having an affair with her ex-boyfriend. "Give me your hand." Isadora reaches across the table and holds onto her. Even before touching her, she knew her best friend was shaking. It's obvious to her that Brooke's had a really bad run of horrible luck with the people in her life. From high school onward, she's been put through the ringer and betrayed by everyone - including the love of her life. There's no way Isadora's going to sit here judging her when she knows if the tables were reversed, she would have made the same mistakes.

"Brooke..." She stands up and maneuvers her way out of the booth. It might have looked like she had enough and was leaving but, on the contrary, she was coming around the table to sit closer. "Sending a dirty video? That's my specialty, girl. I've done it so many times. You don't have anything to feel ashamed of. Does it suck that Seth is such a prick? Yes. But I'm done blaming you for getting caught up in my brother's charm." She releases a soft, calming breath as her fingers toy with the fabric of Brooke's sleeve. "Let me tell you something that I need you to fully listen to and accept...okay? I was never mad that you had a thing with my brother. When Seth wants to be, he's a great guy. One of the best. I love him so much. And I love you so much. If you guys wanted to have fun, that won't upset me. I just hate being lied to. You're my best friend and he's my brother. I know that makes you feel less inclined to tell me things but, you can. It won't gross me out or hurt my feelings. I want you both to be happy."

As for Tyler and the sex tape...Isadora's at a loss. They could try to steal Tyler's phone before they leave but knowing him he probably backs everything up. What self-respecting tech-nerd wouldn't? "The only advice I can give you about the video is, who cares? You're hot as fuck. I've had pictures and videos get out. The only people who care are the ones who're jealous because its not them in the video with you. Guys call girls whores when they can't fuck them - or when they know someone else gets to. Girls call other girls sluts when they can't be them. If given the chance and had our bodies and our options, they would be doing the same fucking thing. You're a goddamn goddess, babe. So it doesn't matter who sees it. One day we'll do a spread for Playboy together and tell them to suck our clits. How's that sound? And in the meantime...keep your eyes open. Top Chef is on his way over. I'm gonna pee!"

Max brushes shoulders with Isadora on his way to their both. "Hey, how was the food?" He's not the best with small talk but, he wanted to catch her before she left. This is his last week at the Diner before he takes his culinary skills to the Rosewood Hotel. Depressed or not, Brooke's still an eye-catcher. He couldn't take his eyes off her and knows she's been eyefucking him right back. "I'm not usually this forward but this is my last week here and I would regret not asking you for your number. I can't get fired anymore so I can come right out and say it...I would love to take you out."

Brooke couldn't agree more with how Isadora viewed it because frankly, she felt the same way. They weren't into each other like that. Sure, they could appreciate each other's beauty, cherish one another's hearts and still remain best friends. People have meaningless hook ups all the time. It doesn't mean they want to run off, get married and start a life together afterwards. Isadora was like a vibrator that doubled as a best friend. She listened to her, offered advice, was there when Brooke needed her most. It's not as shameful as Volchok had evidently make it sound.

So once again, fuck him for that.

"Really?" At the offer to accompany Isadora home, Brooke perks up for the first time in over the span of a week. The thought of exploring her best friend's hometown, reclaiming her stomping grounds and getting drunk while doing it sounds amazing right now. Brooke couldn't think of anything more fun.

( Besides, fucking the cook - who she couldn't help notice was hot and older. Her two favorite things to look for in the opposite sex. And who had been eyefucking her back for the past thirty minutes. )

Which come to think of it - forced a dawning realization on her. "There's just one major problem." And once again, it's all Brooke's fault. They might've called a truce but, they hadn't really addressed the elephant in the room. The reason they stopped communicating and hanging out in the first place. Seth. Brooke had yet to tell Isadora she ran into him at the Halloween party and he extended a similar offer to her. Was he going to be there as well? Would it be awkward living in his family's mansion alongside his younger sister while continuing to shoot down his advances not only because her heart was still broke but for the sake of her best friend's feelings?

"There's something else I have to tell you, first. And it might make you change your mind about you inviting me to come with you. Which, I'll understand." And, of course, she would respect.

"I ran into Seth at the Halloween party. He wanted me to sneak with him out the back and have sex in his car. I told him no because I was there with Tyler and I wasn't interested." There's a deep breath before Brooke forces herself to continue. "Then he asked me to come to Peachtree with him. Get to know him outside of this bubble we're all in." Though, once again... "I said no. He ended up leaving the party and went home, I guess." Granted, the story doesn't really end there.

"Later that night, Tyler was driving me home and the subject came up. He could tell I seemed off after the interaction and I ended up telling him what happened." Then, she made the second biggest mistake of her life. "We ended up pulling over and he convinced me to make another sex tape with him. In the heat of the moment, I was still so mad at Seth for lying to me about being engaged and for screwing my mom that I sorta...." Brooke closed her eyes and flinched as if bracing herself for the impact of Isadora's reaction, "....sent the tape to him?" There. She said it. And my god, did it feel good to get it off her chest.

"I'm SO sorry Is, I know it's fucked up. I actually regret doing it now because Tyler still has a copy and I don't trust he won't use it against me if or when he's feeling vindictive again. I mean, clearly he never gave a shit about me to begin with so who knows where it's at now. Seth didn't seem mad, though. But, I don't know? I get it, if it may be awkward for you or you'd rather I not come and make your life even more of a mess. I am sorry, though. For everything. I never wanted my relationship with him to get in between OUR friendship. It means so much to me, I realized. You're the only person I have left that I still want around and I miss so much. And I never want to lose you again."

[dogbunni]

[begins coughing like a cat about to throw up a furball] [spits up several nendo headcanons and then looks at u proudly]

-nendo collects hot wheels. I have no justification beyond this except that I also collect hot wheels and I think we'd have that in common. if he was real I would take nendo to a toy shop to look at all the hot wheels. just stand there and observe them for an uncomfortably long time. my friends aren't deeply autistic enough to do this with me so I can never observe the little cars for long enough before making a purchase :(

-nendo trans ally #1

-nendo has no idea what his sexuality is but not in a confused/questioning way, in a "I have never thought about it longer than 1 second" way. he likes who he likes and has no thoughts beyond that. he is label-less in a [shrugs shoulders] way. (saiki is also label-less but in a "fuck you" kind of way)

-nendo loves rollercoasters and watches weird essay length youtube videos about theme parks and animatronics. its a hobby that deeply disturbs everyone around him bc this guy cannot do basic math but he can and will channel the spirit of akechi rambling about defunct animatronics. sometimes he shows saiki pictures of animatronics in late stages of decay in horrible pitch black nightmare settings and saiki reacts as if nendo has placed a live cockroach in his lap.

-he has a condiment problem. steals sauce packets from restaurants with diagnosable compulsion.

-he doesn't Get memes. everyone has tried and failed to show nendo a meme. it's like trying to show your mother a funny picture and she holds the phone as far away from her face as she can and then stares at it for way too long before silently handing it back. he just doesn't Get It.

-hes like, really good at making memes though. he will just absently turn a phrase or take an image so absurd that everyone is still saying and reposting and reacting with it years down the line. he has no idea that he has this power

-he feeds stray cats and makes little shelters for them outdoors <3

-nendo and kaido roleplay together sometimes. I'm talking like, warrior cats roleplay. sometimes dark reunion but kaido gets pissy if nendo messes up The Lore. nendo calls it "playing pretend" bc he has no concept of cringe culture and kaido dies inside every time

-he manages to forget his own birthday. every year. saiki remembers though, and it's the one and only day he will ask if nendo wants to get ramen with him, instead of the other way around. it gets to the point that saiki asks if nendo wants ramen, and he says "what, is it my birthday ahaha" and saiki is just like. you goddamn idiot. good grief.

-last time I did one of these I said that nendo loves cute things like sanrio plushies and holds them so gently. well I see that and I am correct, but I raise you nendo thinking that SAIKI is the cutest thing he's ever seen. something about the pink hair and glasses and the little limiter bubbles on his head and his purple eyes and little frowny eyebrows- nendo wants to. hold gently. sometimes he just grabs saiki by the shoulders and stares at him blank in the face and saiki is like [nervously] "what the fuck? what the fuck????"

-he and aiura actually get along weirdly well. they're unhinged in similar flavours and it gets saiki's blood pressure up. he tries at all costs to keep them away from each other. their singular brain cells cancel each other out on sight.

-akechi makes nendo's brain hurt a little. he just can't process all of akechi's akechi-ness and it makes him feel dumb. he's fine with being dumb most of the time but akechi just makes him feel a little self conscious for some reason. (definitely not because he's jealous that akechi was friends with saiki first)

-he still likes the funny lil guy though. akechi's the only one who will enthuse with him about rollercoasters and he values those talks. so much.

-toritsuka is afraid of nendo for some reason. no one is sure why but nendo LOVES it. he's always trying to jump out and scare him. saiki supports nendo in this endeavour ardently. toritsuka suffers.

-nendo falls down the weirdest tiktok rabbit holes. it got so bad once that they got teruhashi to distract him while kuboyasu lifted his phone and deleted the app off of it. it took nendo several months to realise he could redownload it.

[imaginepirates]

Pirate

For the anon who wanted a James x reader where they meet on the Pearl, but James doesn’t have the guts to admit that he’s falling for them. Later, (we’re pretending his death didn’t happen), they meet again at Shipwreck Cove, and James confesses his feelings during the battle on the Dutchman.

@emdrabbles​ @tesserphantom​ @paljonkaikenlaista​ @viper-official​  @hellspawn-brownies​ @groovyfluxie​ @wordsinwinters​

~3760 words. Long again. 

~~~~~~~

           His hair hung in wet strings around his face. Whether they were matted together with water, alcohol, or vomit, you weren’t sure you wanted to know, though you suspected it to be a mixture of all three. A guard rail was all that kept him upright. He was a disaster, even for a pirate. Not that he’s a pirate, either.

          The former Commodore looked a wreck. You would be, too, you supposed, if you’d drunk yourself into complete oblivion. And someone needs to take away that damned wig. Currently, it sat on his head much like some bird’s nest, and you half-expected a gull to land in it at any moment. Pity mingled with your disgust. There had been a time when his name alone had struck fear into you. Now, he was a pathetic image, unable to do so much as hold himself up on two feet. He couldn’t strike fear into a fly.

          You were a bit surprised that Elizabeth, of all people, showed him no sympathy. Even Jack looked a bit repulsed, which was saying something, given that Jack himself was never in a prime state. He staggered upright, puking over the side of a railing.

          You sighed, walking brisky over, snatching the wig off the top of his head and tossing it overboard. He looked up at you through bleary eyes.

          “What the bloody hell was that for?”

          “You look awful.”

          “Thank you for your astute assessment.” Even drunk, his tone dripped sarcasm, and you were a little surprised.

          He’s still in his wits, then. You looked him over again. Somewhat. “You look marginally less awful without the wig.” He grunted. You grabbed the bottle he was holding, too, and threw it over the side.

          “Now that’s just a waste.”

          “You need to sober up.”

          “And who exactly are you, that it’s your job to police me?”

          “You’re embarrassing, is all, and it’s no good to be embarrassed by crewmates.”

          He snorted. “You should write to the admiralty. That sort of thinking would have spared me many of my own crewmates throughout the years.” He stared down into the waves, where his water-clogged wig had begun to sink under the surface.

          “Well, you don’t want to be that person, do you?”

          “At this point, I don’t particularly care.” His wig finally lost the battle, disappearing into the murky depths.

          “Have some pride.”

          “Pride?” He pushed himself up, looking coldly into your eyes with his own. “I’ve lost my title, I’ve lost my station, I’ve lost my livelihood. I have no house, nor family, nor friends. I’ve lost everything I ever held dear, including the woman I love, because despite being with her,” here he gestured with his chin to where Elizabeth stood at the helm, “I’m further from her than ever before. Now please, tell me again why I should have pride.”

          If you were being honest with yourself, it was hard to give him an answer. “You still have your life, and for however little that’s worth right now, things could be worse. You could be dead. Take pride in the fact that you didn’t let things get that far.” He scoffed, but you continued. “Go clean yourself up; splash some water on your face, and do something about the vomit in your hair. Things can get better. Clean up, and you’ll be one step closer.”

          He looked at you then, a vulnerability in his eye that wasn’t there before. Hope. He stalked off then, stumbling a bit, but trying admirably to, supposedly, follow your advice.

          Norrington carried out his tasks admirably and without complaint, no manner how demeaning for a man of his previous station. He was watched with suspicious eye; but why wouldn’t he be? He had been a ranking officer, after all, and an effective one at that. Too many pirates had been lost to his scouring of the Caribbean. Just how far can you trust a member of the navy, former or otherwise?

          The way he looked at Jack’s compass didn’t escape your notice. He knows. “Not thinking of stealing it, are you?” His neck craned to look up at you from his position kneeling on the deck, a wet cloth in hand. He stopped his scrubbing to glare.

          “I’m not a thief.” He looked back down, returning to his task.

          “You are a pirate.”

          His head whipped up at that, jaw working in annoyance. “I’m not a bloody pirate,” he hissed.

          “Then what the hell are you doing here? Top secret mission? I’m surprised you were chosen; I wouldn’t believe your fall from grace if I weren’t here to see it myself.”

          Norrington was showing clear restraint, obviously wanting to hit you with something. You watched him breifly consider using the wash-rag as a projectile before deciding against it.

          “Commodore Norrington. That was a name to fear, once.”

          The ferocity in his eyes vanished, replaced by sadness, his gaze dropping from yours. “I haven’t been that man in months. I never will be again.”

          “Good.” He shot you a questioning look. “It’s no use to be afraid of you. And, if what I hear from Elizabeth is true, you might learn to have some fun and not be so stiff all the time.” Offence flashes across his face, but you only smiled. “I blame high society. Welcome to freedom, James Norrington. I hope you get a taste for it.”

          He turned to look out over the steadily changing horizon, a soft pink beginning to dust the sky. “So do I.”

          The days wore on, and the crew steadily adjusted to James’ presence. He no longer ate alone, though he ate in silence, and the crew was more willing to interact with him. Elizabeth, you noted, had barely paid him any mind since his arrival. How she could be so callous towards him you didn’t know; you had expected her to at least talk to him, but she barely even looked his way.

          Not that he didn’t look hers. His gaze would fall upon her, sometimes, while he worked, and there was a sadness there that tugged at your heart. He was confused, too, as to her treatment of him. He wanted, more than anything, to be close to her. Even if she could treat him like a friend. But she refused to give him even that much.

          You were tired of watching it. “Come on,” you walked up to him, “let’s do something about that hair.”

          “You haven’t grown tired of telling me what to do, have you?” he drawled. He was propped against a railing, eyes following Elizabeth as she walked across the deck above them. With Jack, you noted. So, it seemed, did James.

          You sighed. “It can only get in the way, hanging down by your face like that.” You turned away, heading down belowdecks. He needs to get away from watching her.

          James followed, pushing off the railing and heading after you. Good. You found a spot with a few barrels—full of apples, you assumed; you never had gotten rid of all of Barbossa’s cargo—that would be suitable for sitting on. You motioned for James to do just that, moving behind him.

          You found yourself at a loss for words. What was there to say? You had little in common, and less that wouldn’t bring back poor memories for him. You kept silent, instead running your fingers through James’ hair. It’s longer than I expected, for a naval man. I wonder if he always kept it like this, or if it was close-cropped, once.

          “What exactly are you doing?” He turned his head a little to look back at you.

          “Braiding.” You separated his hair into three parts, beginning to twine the strands together.

          You expected him to ask you why, or to move away, but he stayed put. “I haven’t worn my hair in a braid since the navy.” It was almost a whisper. Somehow, in the low light of the hull, it seemed appropriate.

          You almost pulled away and apologized, but he went on. “I used to braid it to fit it under that damned wig. It could get so insufferably hot in the sun, though I was always glad to have the hair off the back of my neck. I don’t know how Elizabeth ever managed, in those dresses.” A soft smile sat on his face. “How did any of us manage, back then?”

          You knew he wasn’t speaking of the heat. You tied his hair off with a small strip of ribbon from around your wrist. It was interesting, to see something of yours on him, and you stared at it a moment before moving. “You’ve always kept your hair this long, then?” You moved to a barrel across from him.

          “For years. My mother hated it.” He smiled. “She told me it would be easier if I just cut it off.”

          “Good thing you didn’t.” He looked at you curiously, and you felt yourself beginning to flush. “It suits you.”

          His eyebrows raised in surprise. Even in the dim light of the lanterns, you could see his cheeks turn pink, the color extending down into his collar. You sat in awkward silence a moment, James fiddling with the cuffs of his sleeves while you looked down at the black deck. “A name to fear, you said.”

          James was still toying with the cuff on his left wrist when you looked back up. “I think I like you this way better.”

          “I’m not sure I do.”

          You got up, moving to a barrel next to his. “I’d rather not fear you.” You grabbed his hand, taking it gently away from its fiddling. He scanned your eyes. “Like most people, you aren’t as terrifying as the stories make you sound.”

          “I never thought of it that way.”

          “That you struck fear, even into the best of us?”

          “I…” he trailed off. “It seems so ridiculous, that anyone feared me. I know I was good at my job—it was all I was good for.” He scoffed. “But I was so out of place in society…I always felt horribly awkward at all those social events. I was much more afraid of those people than they were of me.”

          “You were like…” you wracked your brain for a parallel. “You were told stories about Blackbeard when you were a child, right?”

          “Yes, of course. Upon reflection, I’m sure they were too dramatic to be true.”

          “That’s how you were to us. You were a reverse Blackbeard.” James laughed aloud at that. “I can’t even tell you how I pictured you. Larger, maybe. Older. And with a horrible, mean beard that took up half your face.”

          James smiled, and you found you quite liked the expression on him. “Am I as scary as the stories?”

          “Not even close. Though I’m sure I wouldn’t want to meet the business end of your sword,” you added.

          “Is Blackbeard as frightening as the tales?” James questioned. Then, more seriously, “Is Davy Jones?”

          You sobered. “Aye, he is.” You found that his hand was still in yours—he hadn’t pulled away. “But it’s mixed with disgust. He isn’t human, anymore. It can be revulting. And sad,” you said, upon reflection. “I can’t imagine; losing your humanity like that.”

          James said nothing, his eyes on your entertwined fingers. He ran his thumb over your knuckles. “Why do you talk to me?”

          You shrugged. “There’s no reason not to.”

          “That doesn’t seem to be the common belief.” He continued to rub gentle circles in the top of your hand. His fingers were calloused from years of hard work, but so were yours. He traced over your knuckles and each finger in turn. His brows furrowed. “It’s pity, isn’t it?”

          You could see how disgusted he was with himself. “Some, yes,” you admitted. “But you’re not half-bad to be around. This was…nice. I haven’t had a quiet moment with someone in ages.”

          He looked at you thoughtfully, using his free hand to brush a strand of hair behind your ear. “You’re not half-bad either, for a pirate.”

          You smiled, and he looked like he might say something more, but he stayed quiet, a soft smile of his own gracing his features. When he left, you knew he was in a better mood than when he came. I wonder if I’ll occupy any of the space in his thoughts that Elizabeth does. It was a silly thought, and you didn’t quite know why it came to mind, but there was a ghostly touch where James had brushed your hair aside, and you realized that you liked the idea of his thinking about you. Wishing for the attention of a naval man. Who would’ve thought?

~~~~~~~

          The news about Isla de Muerta came hard. You had been anxious the entire time, confined to the Pearl on the account that Davy Jones could make an appearance, and the ship would need to be crewed if he did.

          You weren’t prepared for the eventuality that James wouldn’t come back. You had worried, of course, wringing your hands with it, but you hadn’t actually thought…

          You kept your tears for him to yourself. Nobody else was bothered—not even Elizabeth. A man she’s known her entire life, dead, and she has no sorrow to show for it. How can she be so heartless? It was as if nothing had happened at all. The crew ignored it; they were used to that, you supposed. Half your number had been killed by cannibles, after all. But even Gibbs seemed unbothered by the prospect of James’ death.

          Only later did you realize that James had taken the heart. You didn’t believe it, at first, but slowly came to reconcile yourself with the idea. Elizabeth thought him a traitor. But was he ever really on our side? You thought back to your conversations with him. I like you this way better. It had been true. I’m not sure I do. That was true, too, and now he’d shown it.

          At first, none of it mattered to you. He was dead, anyway. Slowly, you began to realize that Jones didn’t have the heart. After all, he hadn’t quit pursuing the Pearl, even if you didn’t have the heart. When you learned that the heart was in possession of Cutler Beckett, damn his eyes, your heart leapt with joy. James is alive! No matter the mood of Jack, or Gibbs, or Elizabeth, or the crew, you could only think of James. He wasn’t killed, then. He used the heart as leverage to secure his old position.

          You pondered the thought. If ever you met him again, would you be afraid? Or would you just be sad?

~~~~~~~

          Shipwreck Cove was just as you’d remembered it. Dimly lit, ships stacked one on the other, whispered conspiracies in every corner. Every sailor’s legend had its place in these ships. There wasn’t a legend that hadn’t been speculated within the fortress, and not a pirate who hadn’t chased them without.

          You had fond memories of the Cove, but less fond memories of the Court. The Brethren Court convened on only the deepest of issues, and you still remembered some of their gatherings from when you were a child. It was loud, and there was no order, and the Court couldn’t meet without at least one death per session.

          It was that way now. Jack toyed with the swords stuck in the globe at the front of the room while the other pirate lords surrendered the miscellaneous junk they deemed their pieces of eight. The end result was a dish full of random trinkets. Not that you didn’t understand; the idea that pirates obtained mass amounts of wealth was a myth. Most of the time, you barely had a shilling to your name. Working with Jack was especially non-lucrative, but it was certainly more entertaining.

          Jack’s hand strayed briefly to the piece of eight at his temple. “Might I point out that we are still short one pirate lord and I’m as content as a cucumber to wait until Sao Feng joins us.”

          “Sao Feng is dead.”

          You recognized that voice. You whipped around to see Elizabeth, clad in full Chinese armor, sword in hand. You smiled to yourself; she was always full of surprises.

          The best surprise, however, was the man standing at her side. You mouthed James’ name, and his eyes locked on yours. He stepped forward, as if to greet you, but you were interrupted by further discussion of the Court. He’s alive, and he’s here, and I never thought I would see him again. You glanced over your shoulder. And he’s in full uniform.

          The Court was chaos. Barbossa’s plan to free Calypso was not taken well by the others, and you couldn’t blame them. Your mind was preoccupied, focussing on the man somewhere behind you. You wondered if he had seen the relief in your eyes. Had he felt the same?

          A hand settled on your shoulder. You turned to see James, worried eyes staring into your own. He pulled you back, leading you out of the room.

          “James?” You felt your eyes beginning to water. “For the longest time, I thought you had died.” Your voice cracked, and you were unable to stop it.

          He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only reached out to you, pulling you into a firm embrace. “I’m so sorry.” His breath tickled your ear. “I’ve done horrible things.”

          You held tightly to the back of his coat. “I’m just happy to see you again.”

          He stepped back, pain blossoming across his features. “I know you can never forgive me, for what I’ve done. I can only hope you-”

          The doors behind you opened, and the Court flooded out. The consensus is war, then.

~~~~~~~

          The rain made it hard for you to keep a good grip on your sword. The Dutchman pitched and rolled under your feet, waves crashing rougly into the sides of the hull. Its mast, tangled with the Pearl’s, loomed above you, a towering dark figure in the haze of the monsoon.

          These damned fish people. The Dutchman’s crew fought more viscously than even Barbossa’s undead pirates. Who knew starfish could be so angry? You feared that their weapons, often tarnished and jagged, would catch on your own and leave you defenseless. I should’ve stayed on the Pearl. But there are fish people there now, too.

          At least you weren’t alone. Elizabeth and Will were with you, as was Jack, though he seemed to be having difficulties of his own. If you hadn’t been fighting for your life, you might have been more amused. You had lost sight of most of your crew mates. You were too focused on the eel-headed freak in front of you to give your fellows much thought. With your swords locked, you had no other way to grapple with the beast. It hadn’t occurred to you that the eel could elongate its neck, which was exactly what it did, arching forward to bite at your face.

          A moment later, the head lay at your feet, the slimy body collapsing beside it. James was there, sword in hand, looking at you with concern. That, or he’s squinting to keep the rain out of his eyes. You gave him a nod, stepping in closer.

          “There are too many of them. We’ll never get to them all. Some of them are coming right out of the walls!” You both looked around yourselves at the endless numbers in the Dutchman’s crew.

          “We only have to kill one.” James gestured towards the other end of the ship, where Davy Jones stood, lobster claw digging into the wood of the deck.

          “We don’t have the heart.”

          “But we both know who does.” James’ face was grim. “I should’ve stabbed it while I had the chance.”

          You grabbed his arm. “No. You would be just like Jones, then, bound to this ship for eternity. You’d have no humanity left.”

          “I’d be better than I am now.”

          The comment broke your heart, but there were too many enemies around for you to focus on it. You slashed at a shark-headed monstrosity before James pulled you in close, stabbing something just behind you. Now isn’t the time for blushing. But James was holding you tightly to his chest, and you heard him shoot another member of Jones’ crew.

          You hated to let go, but you had to duck under James’ arm to go after another, and another. Your back ended up pressed against James’, and you could feel each others’ heavy breathing.

          “I don’t think we’re going to make it out of this alive.” You had to shout to be heard over the thunderous racket. Between the rain, the gunfire, and the sharp clanging of swords, there was little room for words.

          “It doesn’t seem likely.”

          “You were trying to tell me something earlier.” Rain ran down your face in streams. “Now might be your only chance.”

          James put a hand on your shoulder, turning you around to face him. “I wanted to apologize, for it all. I hope you’ll accept it.”

          “Of course.” You grabbed the pistol from his side, leveling it at a creature behind his shoulder.

          “You didn’t deserve what I did.”

          You cupped his face with a hand. “I understand why you did it.”

          “You were the only one who treated me like a person, then, on the Pearl.” He had grabbed your arm, keeping you close. It occurred to you that you were both going to die like this, paying too much attention to each other and not enough to your surroundings. “I can’t…” James took a steadying breath. “I can’t help but love you for it.”

          You barely had time to process the words before his lips were on yours. Despite the storm, and the gunfire, and the clanging of swords—despite the knowledge that neither of you were going to make it out alive—the kiss was achingly tender, with so much softness and vulnerability that tears began to slip down your already soaked cheeks.

          This won’t be such a bad way to go.

          There was a sudden shuddering of the ship, and you and James had to cling to each other to keep upright. You looked up, only to find that the Pearl had broken away, her masts now untangled from the Dutchman’s.

          You tugged at James’ arm. “We have to go. I think the ship’s going under.”

          He nodded, and you found a loose line to swing over to the Pearl. The Dutchman sank not long after you hit the deck. The ship fell beneath the waves, sucked under by the storm.

          “We still have to face Beckett.” James looked out over the water to where the British armada was advancing.

          You could already feel some of the fight leaving you. How could you withstand an armada, when you’d barely defeated the Dutchman? “At least we have each other, now.”

          James looked down at you. “Yes.” He cautiously wrapped an arm around your waist. “And after? If there is an after.”

          You smiled teasingly. “I hope you don’t mind returning to piracy.”

          James smiled back. “I don’t think I’ll mind at all.”

[aconstantstateofbladerunner]

The Glitch

I get the Broken Reality au is a haha funny joke but there’s been some legit great art for it and since Butterfly is over and I haven’t gotten into the groove of my other projects yet, I decided to try some flash fiction of my interpretations. Note that this is very small and informal; I used whatever idea came into my head over the course of an hour or so instead of the weeks of planning that go into my usual fics. This was an experiment for fun. But if people enjoy the concept, I may be tempted to expand on it.

Credit to @lollitree @moonpaw @gentrychild​ @owlf45​ and @cyber-phobia​ (I’m sorry if I missed someone I lost track of how many people were involved in this mess).

Content working for reference to infant death.

Please enjoy!

The city shut down for a typhoon warning.  Thunder rumbled in the distance.  Dark clouds blocked the sun so much that by mid-morning it still looked like it never bothered coming up.  And yet the humidity made it too hot for coffee.  Inko didn’t know how to feel.  Work would have been a good distraction.  But she didn’t want any coworkers or clients to see if today got to be too much.  And it was already shaping up to be.  She caught herself making two plates of food for breakfast.  

Inko sat alone in the kitchen.  She couldn’t bring herself to finish her own plate.  Sickness set in fast.  The food had been cold for a long time before she summoned the strength to get up and throw it away.  Then she stood over the open trash can a while, debating whether to try and hold it together, or just throw up and get it over with.  She eventually managed to keep her stomach steady enough to go back to her bedroom.  There was another trashcan in there anyway.

A sound stopped her.  From her office.  The distinct sound of something heavy falling onto the carpet.  Right as she walked past the door.

Please not this again…

She opened the door with her eyes closed.  Her mind conjured a familiar image.  A bedroom full of books and hero posters.  Bright colors and personal touches.  A child’s room.  Inko opened her eyes to her drab home office.  Some of the older case file binders slipped off the pile again.  She really needed to sort those into storage. Not today though.  She didn’t bother to pick it up.

Inko walked faster than normal the rest of the way to her room.  She doesn’t want to face the temptation to search for old toys she remembers storing in the empty closet.  Or search the walls for scuff marks from action figures tossed into them she could always see even after the walls were painted. She hid her planner on a tall shelf and put the ladder away to make it that much harder to go through it over and over looking for doctors’ appointments and school events she knew were coming up.  Finally reaching her bed brought no comfort.

Of course she knew today’s date by heart.  She hadn’t put it on a calendar in the fourteen years since she used to look at it every day.  Inko stuck her head under her pillows, as if they could block out the silent noise of her memories.  Memories of before, the time even when she was by herself, she was never alone.

Fifteen years now, today.  With a shuddering gasp, the tears finally came.  Thunder crashed outside.  It’s not fair!  Why is it still this hard after this long?  Phantom kicks in her belly joined the growing ice there.

The hardest part was she still felt like that sometimes.  Like she wasn’t really alone.  Inko didn’t believe in ghosts, but the lost of what could have been was more than haunting enough.  She felt it watching her.  Judging her. Waiting just long enough for her to settle down into a peaceful, content existence before it reared up to plague her heart all over again.  Cliché hauntings like spooky faces in the mirror or blood coming out of the drains would have been preferable.  Those would be generic enough not to remind her directly.

Rain started outside.  Her phone lit up with a notification she ignored in time with a thunderclap.  The storm was getting closer.

Maybe I should call Hisashi, the thought crossed her mind.  Maybe he’s going through this too.  She bit her lip bloody.  Her frustrated memories weren’t in question like the others.  Probably not though.  I don’t want to talk to him anyway.

Hisashi had been stuck in the denial stage of grief, which often came off as him acting like he didn’t take hers seriously.  Not a year, not even half a year looking back, after they came home from the hospital, he wanted to try again.  

“We can’t let mourning hold us up forever,” he said.  “And it’s not like we lost a once in a lifetime opportunity!  We’ve got at least another twenty years to keep trying!”

But we did lose him! she had wanted to scream.  Still did, years later.  Why didn’t he understand?  He was your loss too!  Inko wanted for the next roll of thunder, then shouted.  

“I don’t just want any baby!  I want Izuku!”

The lights went out.  The temperature rose five degrees instantly when the ceiling fan stopped going.  The rain stopped.

Power outage.  Inko sat up with a sniffle.  Turns out the notification was a warning about roving blackouts.  Of course.  Oh well. I wasn’t really in the mood to cook tonight any-

Thunder boomed even louder than before, making her jump.  Then another.  Lightning flashed outside at the same time.  It was right on top of her.

What?  I thought the typhoon wasn’t supposed to make landfall until later toni-

Another crash.  It vibrated through her bones.  Then another. The lightning lit up her whole room. Except for a shadow on the wall. Inko jolted to look, holding her breath, and found only her own shadow in the next flash.

“I’m such an idiot…”  She went for her phone again.  For peace of mind, she decided to use her data to check if an evacuation order went out. Or any updates at all really, since the weather came so much faster than the news said.  “Nothing,” she sighed annoyed.  “I hate being alone for weather like this…”

A new notification pinged.

[Mom]

Inko blinked rapidly.  The message remained.  All of her insides turned inside out in an instant, and she started crying again. Was this someone’s idea of a sick joke? No one ever got a chance to call her that.  She touched the note to open it, but nothing happened.  No app or source was displayed.  Nor did it go away after a few seconds like normal.  

“Wha- What’s going on?” she wept.  In a mix of sorrow and rage, she wound up to chunk the device across the room.  But she froze.

Outside her window, floating against the pitch-black sky, were two small orbs.  Perfectly circular and glowing.  Watching her. She didn’t dare move.  

Another ping.  She looked without moving.

[I’m sorry]

“…  What?”

For a moment, all the sounds in the world dropped out.  They all came back at ounce.

Lights flickered.  Both the ones inside and the lightning going outside.  Multiple strikes laid on top of one another.  No relief.  Thunder pounded over and over like a drum solo.  It shook the whole building.  Inko ran into the closet away from the window.  She slammed her hands over her eyes but it didn’t help.  Her terrified cried were whispers to the screams of the storm.

A child’s scream.  She heard it. Each flash of light came with a cry. The distinct sound of a little boy calling out in pain blended with unyielding nature.  It came from every direction.  Every hair on Inko’s arms stood up in fear.  She felt the charge in the air.  But she had to go out.  Her baby was crying for help.

She burst from the closet into the living room.  All the lights and appliances turned themselves on and off.  The TV showed only static between its flashes. Something drew her too it.  The storm was deafening.  It pounded through her head like a heartbeat.  The beats got faster.  The static flashes started to look like a face.  Her usual caution was abandoned as she fell to her knees and touched the screen.  The snow cleared for a single instant.  Just long enough to look like the blank eyes from the window.  She felt the heartbeat there too.

Then it stopped.  All of it. The noise and lights all went quiet and dark.  The TV went completely cold in an instant.  Inko, stunned, palmed over it looking for something.  Anything.  The pulse. Warmth.  A burnt fuse or faulty wire.  But nothing.  The rain started again.

She pulled her hands back to her lap.  Her heart was still racing and tears kept flowing down under her chin. She looked around.  Everything in the living room and kitchen looked the same. No sign of the earthquake-like convolutions the whole appartement experienced only minutes ago.  Inko combed the entire space for evidence.  An object knocked off the shelf.  A picture frame fallen from the wall.  The notifications.  Toys in the closet or scuffs in the wall.  Still not a sign.  She even stepped outside her door to check the sky.  Only light rain and shattered thunder, just like the news said the day before.

There was only one thing out of place.  Back in her bedroom, the bottom drawer of her nightstand hung open.  Inko had to steal herself before approaching it. There were only two things in there: a little green blanket, and a picture of the ultrasound.  The most recent one from her last appointment. The doctor said he was doing fine.

“Izuku…” she whispered to it in her hand.

She remembered the squealing little bundling being put in her arms for the first time.  The first time he smiled at her.  Teaching him to walk, then immediately launching into play.  Him coming home with bruises and scrapes after the kids at school were mean to him, and crying in her arms.  Then, him coming home with his first real friends in a long time. She made them all dinner. Katsudon.  That was Izuku’s favorite.

Only she didn’t remember.  The same way she didn’t really remember the toys and scuffs.  Those were fantasies.  Daydreams of what could have been.  She just thought about them so often they felt like memories. Especially today.  It was his birthday after all.  They’d fade back into vague dreams by tomorrow.  They always did.  

And she would be left with reality.  The silence.  The cold, still little hand between her fingers.  Soft cheeks without blush.  Eyes that never opened.  Clutching him too tight to her chest, knowing the second she let go he would be gone for real and it would all be over.  

But it was never over.  Inko went through this same torturous song and dance every year for fifteen now.  All the guilt and dread would subside slowly over the next one, until it all came back at once.  Just like this.

At least it’s done for now, she tried to reassure herself, climbing back into bed. It still wasn’t even noon yet.  Plenty of time for another breakdown.  Hopefully the next one won’t be, feel, as loud.  She sighed heavily into her sheets.  This sort of thing can’t be normal.  I should really try therapy again.

Against her better judgement, she kept the blanket out, and clutched it to her chest.  Static electricity pricked her fingers.  With her other hand, she reached across the bed, and tried to imagine someone else there. Not Hisashi, never him anymore.  Izuku.  He was fifteen and happy, but the storm was making him nervous so he came to lay beside her.  She remembered it like it was now.  If she closed her eyes, she could feel his warm, soft skin, with a healthy, if a little anxious heartbeat just underneath.  The mattress warped as he sighed.

“We’ll be okay.  It’s just a little rough weather,” she promised.

“Okay, Mom,” Izuku answered quietly.  “…  I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”  I’ll start trying to get myself together tomorrow.  For now, let me have this.

Izuku didn’t respond for a while.  “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.  Happy birthday.”

[heliads]

Guns Blazing, Tides Rising (Part Five)

When Kaz Brekker announces that they’ll be working with a certain Tidemaker to help with the latest heist, Jesper knows it’s not going to end well. He and Y/N L/N have a fierce rivalry, although feelings may change over a night.

previous / series masterlist

a/n: it’s finally over 😭thanks once again to @underc0vercryptid​ for being my muse for all of this

It’s hard for Jesper to convince himself to leave the alley, to let his hands leave Y/N and return to their places by his sides. Inej and Kaz will be looking for them, that much is true. But there’s still a sound like a sigh trapped and rattling in his lungs when he leaves, a regret that he can’t quite excuse away with knowledge of what Kaz’s vengeance would mean if he found a single Dreg disobeying one of his most enforced rules.

Y/N understands, that much is true. She’s become more involved with the Dregs as time goes on. She knows Kaz Brekker in the way that they all do- the Bastard of the Barrel isn’t one that you cross unless you wish to lose your tongue and your life. It still seems wrong to give this up, though, to let Dirtyhands keep walking all over him for the one thing that matters. In the end, they would have had to leave the alley anyways. This is just the first excuse that passes Jesper’s lips.

He manages to turn off his mind for a little while, convincing himself that it doesn’t feel harder and harder to leave, that he can be emotionless and cold. Jesper’s tone is clinical when he tells Kaz and Inej of the successful mission, his hands for once unshaking and firm when he hands over the list of names to Kaz. However, even his attempts at being fine and calm draw suspicion- Kaz hadn’t seen them rejoin the rest of the party when the guests relocated from the main hall, and he wanted to know why.

Jesper has spent enough time running with the canal rats for lies to spring easily to his tongue. There was a difficulty finding the safe, he says, they had to dodge some guards and they didn’t quite get there in time. It doesn’t really matter, though, does it? They got in, they got out, and they weren’t the reason the alarms were sounded. Kaz raises an eyebrow at this, but he doesn’t press it. Jesper might be well and truly hallucinating, but he swears he sees a tinge of unrest in Kaz’s eyes, like the boy is haunting himself over the fact that he may have made an error, one that could have gotten his gang caught like a too-clever fox in a trap.

Maybe this shift in Kaz’s usual ruthless demeanor is enough to unsettle him, or maybe it’s the gnawing knowledge that Jesper keeps walking away from the girl he might love that drives him to leave the Slat once more. It’s early morning now, dawn with its rosy-fingered hues, but a lack of sleep has hardly bothered Jesper before, and it certainly won’t now. He thinks as he walks, stretching his legs as he paces mindless circles around the city.

Jesper can’t shake the feeling that he’s been running for too long. He’s used to it, but for some reason, it feels different now. He doesn’t like this constant leaving, this weight on his shoulders like he’s holding true to a lie that will one day spiral out of control. Jesper is used to living life on the run, to being flamboyantly proud of everything that makes him, well, him. The skulking around back corners, stealing kisses only after he’s checked and double-checked that no one is watching? It feels like a noose is tightening around his neck.

In the end, Jesper finds himself climbing up a rickety fire escape and stretching his legs out over the edge of a roof, watching the golden dawn start to turn the waters surrounding Ketterdam bronze with light. It is not long before he is joined by someone else, someone with answering steps and a reassuring smile tossed his way. Maybe she could tell from how they’d left that he was still lost in thought. Regardless, Jesper is happy to not be alone.

Y/N sits next to him, carefully swinging her feet over the edge. Her heels kick up against the brick. “I like this view. I like being able to see the water. It feels like I’m more connected to it.” Jesper turns his head towards her, watching the way the early morning air toys with her eyelashes, her face. “Is it easy to be a Tidemaker here? I mean, you’re powerful enough that people don’t try to trap you with indentures. Does it ever get easy in Ketterdam?”

Y/N laughs quietly. “Not at all. I still remember when I first showed up and stepped off of the boats. My parents wanted to send me away from the disaster that was the Ravkan civil war. They guessed it would happen long before it did, and assumed Kerch would be safer. They sent me over first, saying that they’d follow soon after.” Jesper can hear the inflections in her voice, the way she casts her eyes towards the water with renewed vigor. He knows this means that they never showed up again.

She clears her throat, voice stubbornly loud as if ridding herself of doubts. “I was terrified when I first got here. Nothing made sense. In Ravka, Grisha were feared, yes, and there were always traders or mercenaries or even drüskelle out for blood, but we had a home there. If you had a home, people rarely came hunting for you. I had no such harbor here.”

Y/N looks out over the streets as if she’s never walked them before, as if she’s once more a stranger to the coal-choked airways always drenched with a spattering of rain and misfortune. “I had a friend. A girl who came with me. She was an Inferni, made the mistake of trying to summon up a small spark to keep her warm. I watched them take her right before my eyes, and I didn’t do anything at all. I vowed from that moment on that I would never be weak again, never hide in the shadows like I did on that night.”

Jesper’s heard bits and pieces of the story from here. He’d learned the most about her before he even liked her at all, actually, back when they still considered themselves to be rivals. Jesper had told himself that he was just collecting information on an enemy to best take her down the next time they crossed paths, but there was more to that, wasn’t there? Maybe that was a sign that even then, when Jesper had convinced himself that the only thing they could ever have was animosity, he still wanted something more. That was a gambler’s luck, after all- always reaching for a better deal, a shinier prospect. She was his best capture.

Y/N glances over at him like she can sense his thoughts. “That’s when you entered the picture, actually. I stopped being scared to hide my powers and started using them in bloodlust. I took up jobs, found this one really annoying sharpshooter who kept getting in my way.” Jesper presses a hand to his chest in mock indignation. “I think you can do better than just ‘really annoying’. Dashingly infuriating, maybe. Devastatingly attractive. A charming enemy who-”

Y/N cuts him off, laughing. “You’re awful. Utterly awful.” Jesper goes to protest, but she leans in, pressing a kiss to his lips that makes his heart swoop in his chest. Y/N raises an eyebrow at Jesper’s sudden silence. “Am I that good of a kisser? I don’t think I’ve seen you that awestruck in a while.” Jesper scoffs. “I can do better than that.”

He lets his hands find hers, lets the rising sun light the way his lips meet hers. They don’t leave the rooftop until the sun has fully ascended to its place in the sky, until the clatter of feet on cobblestones is the only reason for an exit. Not a gang, not its fearsome leader. Just the two of them, drowning out the whole world until there’s nothing left at all.

He is eventually found out, of course. All stories repeat themselves, all beginnings follow suit. When Kaz calls Jesper up to his office, he finds that he isn’t worried at all. Before, he might have felt his shoulders tense, hesitating at the door. When Jesper faces the oddly terrifying wooden paneling, however, all he can think about is the sun shining through Y/N’s eyes, the smile on her lips as his fingers laced around hers. If loving her is wrong, well, Jesper’s already been a criminal for quite some time. Why not add one more misdeed to the list?

Kaz waits for him in the office. He stands up, black gloved hands tapping on the familiar crow’s head cane. It’s all meant for a threatening display- Jesper’s seen this very posture used successfully on many a nervous trainwreck of a failed business partner or lackluster goon. However, Jesper’s still filled with the giddy rush of seeing his girl and he can’t quite force himself to care.

Kaz clears his throat, the metal hull of a ship scraping against jagged rocks. “Y/N L/N.” He doesn’t have to say anything else, just the name. Jesper nods. “Yes.” Kaz raises an eyebrow. “You’re not going to deny it?” Jesper shrugs. “We both know your information is good. Yes, I’m seeing her.” Kaz’s fingers still on the head of the cane. “You know how I feel about that. It’s a weakness.”

Jesper should take it as a possible sign of insanity that he’s considering the path before him at all. He knows what Kaz expects of him- an apology, maybe, a promise that he won’t stray from the rules again, or at least not so long as they interfere with Kaz’s master plan for the Dregs. He’ll see Y/N out, do his best not to cross paths with her again. He might return to the gambling halls once more just to stave off some unsightly emptiness inside of him, and then he’ll be as good as gold.

Jesper, however, does not intend to do any of this at all. What good are the odds if he doesn’t have his girl? He’s stepped inside the Crow Club over the past couple of days. The rattle of Makker’s Wheel doesn’t have that same fervor, the excitement doesn’t spread over him in the same delicious rush. Simply put, it isn’t worth it. It isn’t a gamble worth his time, and Jesper’s lost mightier fortunes over lesser odds.

So Jesper shakes his head. “Not her. Not like this.” Kaz tilts his head just slightly, eyes calculating, looking for loopholes to exploit. “So you’d willingly break the rules?” Jesper leans forward. “We’re Dregs, Kaz. It’s what we do.” Kaz returns his level gaze. “Not like this. Tell me, what is it that makes Y/N L/N worth this much to you? You were enemies before, were you not? Is it the power? The chance that she may be like you?”

Jesper lifts a shoulder. “It’s not always about finding the best possible advantage, Kaz. We work well together. It was only a matter of time before it was more.” Kaz Brekker might understand. Dirtyhands does not. “Your goal was not to find some pretty girlfriend in the Barrel, Jesper, it was to complete the mission and move on. I knew from the second you held her bleeding body in your arms that this wouldn’t be worth my time or my energy.”

Jesper doesn’t realize he’s standing until he is. “Then say it. I’ve spent my time playing your games, Kaz, and Saints know I’ll keep on turning your tables, but not on this. We all break the wheel at some point. I’m willing to do it for her.” Kaz is silent for a time, a time that seems to stretch on into such an eternity that Jesper finds himself tapping his revolvers again, feeling that same itch for a fight. It’s well and good to go into a battle of the bullets and feel the adrenaline kick in, he could handle that. This, however? Waiting for Kaz to do something, anything? You can’t fight that, only wait for it to end. And Jesper’s never been particularly good at waiting.

At last, Kaz speaks. “Then stay with her.” Jesper almost thinks that he’s started hallucinating. “What?” Kaz inclines his head. “She’s good for you. You’ve been more focused.” Jesper stares for a second, then shakes his head, fighting back the impossible urge to break into manic laughter. “Honestly, if it takes you considering the potential business opportunities to approve of us, I’m not about to challenge that.”

Something almost like a smile appears on Kaz’s face. Jesper is most certainly going insane. “I’m not completely heartless, Jesper. You’re a useful sharpshooter.” Jesper’s eyes widen. “That’s practically a compliment. Do you need me for a heist later? I can’t think of anything else to cause this.” Kaz tilts his head in acknowledgement of this surreal situation, pausing for a second as if listening to a voice that no one else can hear.

Then he gestures towards the door, allowing Jesper to leave. As Jesper walks towards the door, though, Kaz says something else. “Inej just left the roof.” Jesper nods in understanding. “Look at you. Dishing out the compliments for your Wraith to hear.” Kaz’s brow furrows, and Jesper decides to leave the office now before Kaz decides to take back his approval of Jesper and Y/N and hit him with his cane or something else overtly Kaz-like.

Despite his best efforts, Jesper is still teeming with anxious energy after the meeting, so he goes on a quick stroll around the crooked alleyways of the Barrel to calm the restless ticking of his hands and legs. When he comes back to the Slat, however, he notices that his door is slightly ajar. Jesper enters his room slowly, relaxing at the sound of voices.

The window is open, showing the faint drizzle of the streets outside. Y/N sits on the floor next to Inej as both girls consider a makeshift target of a few rags at the far end of the room. Inej tosses a knife up and down in her hand, then flings it towards the target. She hits it in the center, to no one’s surprise. Y/N’s eyes follow the path of the blade, and then she extends her hand towards the window, letting drops of rain fly towards her palm. She curls her fingers around the water, shaping it into a perfect replica of the knife Inej had just thrown, then directs it towards the target to slosh around Inej’s blade, another direct hit to the center.

Inej makes a scoffing sound. “That doesn’t count. You got to control the knife instead of just throwing it.” Y/N shrugs absentmindedly. “You got to pick a knife, I had to make mine myself. I think it evens out.” Inej glances up towards Jesper, smiling slightly. Somehow, it comes to no surprise that she’d known he was there all along. “Jesper, come tell your girlfriend that she’s cheating at target practice.”

Jesper shrugs. “As long as you hit the target I don’t think you can cheat. Also, I thought I locked this door.” Y/N grins up at him. “That’s the unbiased support I love to hear. And your door was locked, we just wanted to go in so we did.” Jesper nods. “That clears up everything.” Y/N laughs. “Good to know.” Inej stands up, stretching, and goes to retrieve her knife. She goes to climb through the window once more then pauses, turning to face them.

“I’m glad Kaz let you two stay together. I certainly did my arguing for you.” Jesper frowns. “How long have you known?” Inej sighs exasperatedly. “Practically since the start. You two are terrible at being secretive, you know that?” She doesn’t give them time to protest, just slips out the window and disappears into the roofline before you could even blink.

Y/N walks over to Jesper, a half smile on her face. “I suppose she’s right. We haven’t exactly been the most discreet, have we?” Jesper shrugs. “Maybe not. But we don’t have to hide anymore. We don’t have to leave.” Y/N smiles at him now, a true smile. “I like the sound of that.” Jesper hums thoughtfully, leaning down to kiss her. “So do I.”

guns blazing, tides rising masterlist: @kaqua​, @amortensie​

[ladyvader23]

The Lost Saber

Set in the Dad Vader Chronicles Universe, this short is dedicated to @silvereddaye as a belated birthday present! Silver is such a great friend. She works so hard for her Star Wars server, and she’s so talented. Her art is beautiful, and I have the privilege of playing D&D with her, where she has one of the coolest characters ever! She’s just so awesome and I wanted to write something for her and the idea of Leia stealing Vader’s saber just...seemed entertaining enough for that very occasion. I hope you enjoy Silver! 

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

Vader did his best not to panic. How many places could his lightsaber be, after all? He was certain he’d had it on his belt when he’d returned home the night before. He was certain he’d had it when he tucked the twins in bed. Leia had, after all, asked him about it, and he’d explained its properties as a weapon and companion in battle. It was an odd choice of a bedtime story, he had to admit, but she’d seemed satisfied afterwards and didn’t complain when he told her to sleep. 

Then he’d seen it in his meditation chamber that morning, and he distinctly remembered grabbing it...but now he was in the Imperial Palace and it was gone. 

And the Emperor was watching him expectantly, a disobedient moff shaking in his boots as he awaited judgement. 

The plan was to scare him before killing him by igniting his saber and casually and slowly moving towards him, letting the tip of his saber singe the ground. Then he’d stab him and let the man die a slow and painful death. 

But there was no saber on his belt. 

“Have you lost something, Lord Vader?” On the surface, Palpatine’s voice was as benevolent as ever, but there was an edge of annoyance there. Vader didn’t need the Force to tell him that. 

Vader didn’t answer. Memories of all the times he’d lost his saber as Anakin flooded his mind, memories full of Obi-Wan giving him long admonishments and lectures that...he’d basically given Leia the night before. What kind of father was he, if he couldn’t even follow what he’d told Leia? Already he could picture both of the twins losing their lightsabers and when he brought it up, they’d point out that he’d lost his and--

He crushed the man’s windpipe and he dropped to the floor. 

“That was not what we decided.” There was definite venom in the Emperor’s tone. 

“The wait for punishment had the same effect.” Vader pointed out. 

The Emperor scoffed and waved him away, irritated. “Come back when you are prepared for your job.” 

Vader didn’t argue, and he was grateful that he didn’t have to explain the embarrassing situation further as he strode out of the throne room. 

Where could it have gone? 

He racked his brain, trying to remember what he might have done that would have required him setting it down. He couldn’t think of any, beyond briefly stopping by Captain Piett’s office to have a word with him. Had he set it down there? He didn’t know why he would have…

His comm rang and without thinking, he picked it up. “I am busy, this had better be an emergency.” He snarled, assuming it was an idiotic officer with news on Rebel movements. 

“Um. Hi, this is Miss Kengall, Leia’s teacher?” 

Vader stopped in the middle of the ornate palace hallway. He paid no mind to the guards side-eyeing him from where they stood. “Is something wrong?” Already his mind conjured up a million things that could have happened--most of them caused directly by Leia. But if someone had threatened her and he was without his lightsaber...though he technically didn’t need the saber to protect his children...

This day couldn’t get any worse. 

“Well,” Vader’s jaw clenched. This woman didn’t know how to get to the point, did she? “Leia...um. She’s got your lightsaber.” 

He stopped cold.

“It was show and tell. She wanted to show your--oh, stars, she’s turned it on--” 

He heard the whoom of a lightsaber waving around, along with children exclaiming in wonder. 

An image of Leia chopping a limb off of a child, or worse, entered his mind. While he’d dismembered plenty of people with a saber, it somehow was very different when the one wielding the weapon was a five year old. 

“I am on my way.” He turned the comm off before the teacher could protest and began hurrying as quickly as he could towards his speeder. 

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

When he arrived at the school, he found Leia waiting for him in the principal's office. Apparently, her teacher was at least competent enough to get her to hand over the weapon, because it sat on top of the principal’s desk. 

“Ah. Lord Vader.” A short, portly, balding man greeted as he entered the office. “I was just explaining why--” 

“Leave.” He growled as he glared at Leia. He watched her sink into the too-big seat, as though that would spare her from his wrath. 

“But...it’s my off--” 

Vader stretched out a hand. The man flinched, but rather than strangling the idiotic man in front of his daughter, he called the saber to his grip. 

“...Very well.” The principal attempted to sound calm as he stood. “I’ll...I’ll leave you to it.” 

Vader waited until the man was gone and the door had firmly closed before he took a few steps forward. The office was small, so it only took him two steps before he was towering over his daughter. 

He didn’t even know where to begin. It was pure luck that no one had been injured because of her foolish actions. She refused to meet his eyes, too, which told him she knew she was in big trouble. 

“What have I told you about asking for permission before taking things that are not yours?” 

That seemed like a reasonable place to start, even though taking a lightsaber was far more serious than her taking one of her brother's toys. 

Leia squirmed in her seat. “I...I have to pee--” 

“You do not. Answer my question. Now.” 

He had never harmed his children. They were far too precious. But he had no qualms about using the vocorecorder in his helmet to its full intended effect when the time called for it. 

“...I need to ask.” 

“Why?” 

Leia squirmed more. “Because it’s not nice.” 

He hadn’t ever explained it that way. He was a Sith, he did not care for niceties, but he supposed it worked. “And why else?” 

“Because it’s against the law and I’m not allowed to break the law till you say so.” 

That was the reason he’d always given when explaining why stealing was wrong. 

“And did I say so?” 

“No.”

“Then you should not have taken my lightsaber.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What you took from me is very serious, Leia. You could have hurt or killed one of your friends. You are too young for such violence.” 

“I just wanted to have the coolest show and tell.” Leia mumbled. 

“I could have assisted you with finding something far less dangerous.” He paused as a thought occurred to him. He hadn’t actually ever shown Luke or Leia what a lightsaber could do. There had been no reason to. They were too young to accompany him anywhere that would have shown them how dangerous it was, and he doubted any of their cartoons portrayed lightsabers. 

“Leia. I want you to watch closely.” He said, igniting the blade. As the hum filled the room, she reluctantly looked up. 

Just as he turned and sliced through the principal's desk with ease. 

She jumped, staring wide eyed as the metal desk collapsed, the edges where he sliced through melting. He turned the saber off and motioned. “One day you will learn to wield your own saber, but without proper training, you could have done this to one of your friends or your teacher. Do you want to do this to them?” 

Leia was still staring wide-eyed at the desk as she vigorously shook her head. 

“Do you understand why I am so angry with you for taking my lightsaber?” 

She nodded. 

“Explain it back to me.” 

She finally tore her eyes away from the desk, huffing as she did so. She never liked it when he made her prove that she understood, but she also knew he would not give in until she’d done it. “I could have hurt someone.” 

“And you could have hurt yourself.” Carefully, he knelt down to her level. It was more difficult than usual, given the room’s small size and the chopped desk in the middle of it, but he managed. Barely. He reached up and cupped her cheek. “One day I will teach you to use your own. I promise. But for now, I do not wish to see you hurt because you didn’t listen to me. Do you understand?” 

Tears welled in Leia’s eyes and she nodded before throwing her arms around his neck. 

He was still angry...but it subsided slightly with her little arms around his neck, and he patted her back soothingly. 

“You are grounded for the foreseeable future. No holovision. No friends. Not until you can prove that you’re responsible again.” He told her as she pulled away. 

She pouted and held up two fingers. “Two days.” 

“This is not a negotiation.” He pointed at her. “Prove you are responsible and we will revisit the matter of privileges.” He paused. “And I’m sure you are likely suspended from school as well. You will have plenty of time to think on the meaning of responsibility in the meantime by writing a letter of apology to your teacher.” 

Her pout deepened into a scowl, but she knew when he was unswayable. 

He stood and clipped his saber back to the belt where it belonged. “Get your things. We are leaving.” He told her as he motioned with his hand and the door to the office opened. 

Where the principal stood, waiting. 

“I...ah, assume Miss Leia understands what she did was wrong?” The man nervously asked as Vader approached, blocking his view of the office within. 

“I have dealt with it.” Vader answered simply. “How long will she be suspended?” 

The man swallowed nervously. “I...that won’t be necessary--” 

Vader took one threatening step forward and shoved his finger into the man’s chest. “I do not care for your fear of me. You will discipline my children the same as you would any other. How many days would you suspend a child for such an infraction?” 

He watched the man pale. “Uh...I, uh...thr--three days?” 

Vader’s gaze narrowed. That seemed lenient for a child who’d brought a weapon to school. He leaned forward until he was practically in the man’s face. “You are certain?” 

The man shrinked away from him. “...A-a week, but it was really--” 

By then, Leia had emerged from the office, her pink princess backpack slung over her shoulders. Vader stepped away from the man and placed a guiding hand on his daughter’s back. “She will see you next week, then.” 

Without another word, he guided Leia past the school secretary droid and to the front office door. 

He did not miss the principal gasping, “What happened to my desk?” before they left.

[doodlegirl12345]

Mirror Image {2/5}

When you finally come back due to some unfinished business. Hello everyone, it’s Doodle here finally with the second part of my latest story Mirror Image. I hope this part makes up for the long wait.

So here’s the second part of my latest multiple part story: “Mirror Image”. I hope you like it.

Also available on Wattpad

Here’s a recap for anyone who needs it:

Things are going well in Sabrina’s life as she now has a great group of friends and thriving in her new role as the super heroine Honeybee. However, things goes awry at a Halloween dance when her friends accuses her for misdeeds that she never done. Have her friends turned on her or is there something more insidious happening in the background?

Mirror Image

Image.

Often in life we try to maintain a certain image of ourselves, even if it’s not a conscious effort. To maintain a sense of self in the group that we belong in. This means sometimes people stay quiet during acts of injustice to keep their image from shattering with certain people. However it must be known especially when you’re older that people will judge you more on your actions and words than a new pair of shoes or a trendy hairstyle. Friends can immediately become enemies based on their image of you. That is the crazy thing about image: it can take years to build for it to only be shattered in a moment.

This was a nightmare.

It had to be, that was the only way for all this to make sense. All she had to do is to blink a few times at what was in front of her to make it disappear. She would wake up in her bed with all problems melted away. Those were the rationalizations that Sabrina Raincomprix could come up with as shock filled tears rolled down her face while standing in the otherwise empty College Francoise DuPont girls’ bathroom. With every blink that she did her heart sank deeper as the horror of the situation grew. That doppelgänger who was standing right in front of her was real.

This was not what Sabrina expected when arrived at the school’s first annual Halloween dance. She had pictured herself hanging out with her friends, dancing and checking out the other attendees’ costumes. But when Sabrina had arrived and met up with her friends. She was greeted by a mob of angry people accusing her of throwing food at them, hitting one of them and being a backstabber. The poor girl was hurt and confused as the previous day she was on good terms with everyone.

But now after seeing this it has become a moment of clarity.

Her friends had interacted with this instead of her.

A doppelgänger that shared the exact same features as her. The exact same bright red hair, fair skin, glasses and teal blue eyes. It was even wearing the same angel Halloween costume that she was: a long white lace sleeveless dress that went a little beyond her knees with a matching white shrug, solid white tights, a pair of white wedges, a small silver purse with matching chain strap, a solid white headband, a long plastic pearl necklace, a orange rubber Halloween wristband and matching bracelets. The doppelgänger even had the same fake glittery angel wings that she had decorated at Marinette’s costuming party yesterday.

Suddenly Sabrina could feel the blame she had put on her friends somewhat lifting because if the poor girl didn’t know better, she would have thought she was looking into a mirror.

The resemblance was that uncanny.

However the angel was unsure what was the appropriate response for this situation, was it to faint or scream? But before making a decision she noticed in the row of sinks behind the doppelgänger was a long sliver plastic sword, a quiver with homemade toy arrows, a black top hat with glued on white fake rabbit ears and a brown wicker basket with a brown plush Cairn Terrier toy inside it. Those were Adrien’s, Kagami’s, Alix’s and Mylène’s costume props that she had been accused of stealing. The doppelgänger had a smug satisfied smile on its face as if it was getting enjoyment from her panicked state.

Sabrina wiped the tears from her face, asking sternly. “Who are you?”

The doppelgänger simply chuckled and replied in the girl’s own voice. “Oh Sabrina, you don’t need to act like we’re strangers here. However I can’t really blame you considering the vessel I chose to use to be here tonight. But it’s me, Shadow Moth.”

“SHADOW MOTH?” the angel backed away frightened, causing her to slam into the row of bathroom stalls that was behind her. “What are you doing here?”

“Don’t be scared,” the look alike reassured her. “I just want to talk to you.”

“Why do you look like me? Did you turn yourself into a clone of me?”

“No, don’t be ridiculous, I’m actually at a temporary remote location right now. What is standing in front of you is a sentimonster that I created named Mirror Image. It’s like an advanced puppet as I can make say and do anything I want. I can also hear and see the same things that it does. This was probably the only way we could actually talk in peace.”

“About what? I’m just a simple nobody!”

“Oh Sabrina don’t sell yourself short as I know for a fact there’s more to you than what you have originally let on.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I have been watching you for a while. It was clear just in the short time that I had you’re so much different than my other previous victims.”

“You’ve been spying on me?” Sabrina’s face flashed with fear, wondering about the state of her secret. “For how long?”

“Since last Saturday, so it has only been a few informative few days,” Mirror Image admitted. “I had sent out one of my smaller sentimonsters to do some simple surveillance in a few public places. Did you even notice the lavender butterfly that had constantly crossed your path? It even passed by you twice on your way home from school this week.”

“No,” she squeaked, realizing how much of her life had been infiltrated.

“Typical, you children are often busy skittering on your smartphones. You barely pay attention to what’s around you. Tonight was no different when my sentimonster observed you and your father leaving for the dance tonight. How else do you think I was able to get your costume just right?”

“But why are you doing this? Why did you attack my friends? They all hate me now!”

“The reason is simple, it’s because I need you to get akumatized again, Sabrina.”

“What?”

“Ever since Ladybug had started to give out those magical charms last spring my supply of victims have dwindled down significantly. The last person I had under my control was a tourist from Seattle a few days ago. He’ll be gone in a week and even if he decides to stay longer there’s a magical charm from a certain pigtailed superhero to keep it protected.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“You are one of the few people that still serves a use to me. One of the few people I have akumatized before but have yet to receive a magical charm.”

“But why are you telling me this?”

“Simple,” Mirror Image chuckled while parroting the villain. “Who would believe you? Like you just said, all your friends hate you now.”

Sabrina’s teal eyes widened as Mirror Image continued laughing. “In their eyes you’re nothing but Chloè’s little lapdog. A liar, thief and a backstabber.”

“How did you know-“ the angel started.

“Know what they had said?” the doppelgänger finished for her. “I have been watching you Sabrina. Why would you think it would stop tonight, of all nights?”

“They only said those things because of what you did posing as me!”

“I only made them reveal what they actually thought of you. I just applied pressure to already faulty friendships. That’s the funny thing about pressure. In rare cases it can cause diamonds. But in the majority of situations it causes things to crack.”

“Shut up!”

“Why? Is it because you’re afraid there’s some truth in that statement? Why doubt it when your so-called friends already proved it mere minutes ago? Didn’t Kagami just call you a liar?”

“I SAID SHUT UP!”

“Yet you couldn’t say that to your accusers. Alix really didn’t even give you the benefit of the doubt, did she? Don’t forget how Juleka looked at you when you yelled at Rose. It looked like she wanted you dead.”

Sabrina just looked down at her shoes.

“I only confirmed their basis against you. You saw how quickly they turned against you when Ivan mentioned seeing you with Chloè,” Mirror Image reminded her. “That was the moment you became poison to them. It also doesn’t help that you told the girls that you would have sacrificed them to Pizza Creature if you had a second chance.”

“But I didn’t mean that!” the angel shouted. “They were just pushing my buttons, just like what you are doing right now!”

“They have shown you how conditional that their friendship is. One misstep and they cast you out. It was Alya who told you to leave, wasn’t it? Marinette, who’s supposed to be your closest friend, just sat aside while they ripped into you. Face it Sabrina, all parties and outings with them that you posted on your social media feed doesn’t really mean a thing as you’re still seen at best as a charity case or at worst Chloè’s shadow.”

“No…no…that’s not tru…that’s not true…” she started to stammer. “They say that we’re my friends…”

“Actions speak louder than words,” Mirror Image stated. “It’s clear that they lied.”

“STOP IT! STOP IT!” Sabrina covered her ears with her hands, feeling anger flaring up within her. “Just stay calm! Just stay calm!”

“Why should you be in a situation that will always be stacked against you?” the doppelgänger pulled her hands off her ears. “But it doesn’t have to be this way. I can turn your anger into something useful. Make you into a person who could never be hurt.”

“You can?”

“Yes I can. I can see that you like angels. So how about the persona of Archangel, the angel of vengeance?”

“So you want me to work for you? Is that it?”

“I would rather call it a partnership as I would to have someone from the public to consistently rely on,” Mirror Image put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “That would mean even if we lose tonight you must refuse to wear the magical charm that Ladybug will give you. This way you can be useful, Archangel.”

“Archangel? So is that what we are going with?”

“It’s better than reprising your previous personas of Vanisher and Miraculer. So we can have the element of surprise.”

“Makes sense,” Sabrina smiled, gently putting her hand on top of Mirror Image’s hand. “It would be best if you have the upper hand.”

“I can tell that you are on board,” Mirror Image grinned. “So all that you need to do is accept the akuma that I’m about to send then we can truly get started. So Sabrina do you accept?”

The angel’s grip on Mirror Image’s hand quickly tightened as her features sharpened. “No, I don’t!”

Then without warning Sabrina yanked the doppelgänger’s hand off her shoulder and spun it around striking it in the back. Afterwards she swiped below with the same leg, hitting her opponent’s ankles and causing Mirror Image to collapse onto the hard bathroom floor.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Mirror Image yelled.

“I’m fighting back, my dad is a cop. Do you really think he didn’t teach me a few self defense moves?” Sabrina asked, restrained fury shone in her eyes. “I’m actually insulted. You really thought that I would willingly team up with the city’s most wanted criminal?”

She raised her leg ready to jam her wedge shoe right into Mirror Image’s face when the sentimonster scrambled, rolling away.

“You appeared to be on board just a few seconds ago?!” Mirror Image yelled back.

“Did you forget who I was friends with for nearly a decade? You learn how to appear to be agreeable really quickly unless you want to get hit in the head with a fashion magazine,” she told the villain while cracking her knuckles. “The thick kind too, with all those ads and perfume samples. Also even all those terrible things that you said are true. I’ll rather be friendless than team up with you. So, I have seen enough Ladyblog videos to know in situations like this there’s usually a blue feather involved. So tell me where it’s before I start plucking something else.”

Mirror Image just glared at her before suddenly becoming translucent and vanishing out of sight.

“Wait, where did you-“ Sabrina started, when felt her hands being pulled behind her back and whole body being propelled into the row of sinks in front of her.

She doubled over in a pain as Mirror Image reappeared behind her, reflection apparent in the bathroom’s mirror attached on the wall in front of them.

“Don’t even try to fight it,” Mirror Image told her, digging it’s fingernails in her wrists. “When I created Mirror Image I made sure to provide it with enchanted strength and vanishing powers inspired by your own old villain personas. I was giving you a chance to be on the winning side. But you decided to throw it away!”

“Winning side? Did you really think that you can call yourself when you are defeated by a bunch of teenagers at least once a week?” Sabrina questioned. “Sometimes twice in one day-ARGH!”

The angel screamed as Mirror Image twisted her arm and pulled it up toward her shoulder blades. The dance’s music from outside was drowning her screams out.

“That’s one thing that I have noticed during my surveillance period of you, Sabrina. You have changed substantially compared to our last encounter. It’s what has set you apart from my previous victims as they hadn’t changed, at least not in the way you have,” parroted the sentimonster. “Their motivations usually stay the same. Mr. Pigeon cares more about his flying rats than human interaction. Guitar Villain only cares about his relevance in people’s lives. Reflekta will always be afraid about being forgotten. But you, I’m not exactly sure how to read you anymore. You went from this mousy girl who couldn’t take two steps without Chloè Bourgeois permission to this proud outspoken brat! These past couple months you have even gotten more involved in akuma attacks such as letting yourself get captured by Pizza Creature, leading a distraction against Pity Party at your birthday party and helping Chat Noir evacuate that summer day camp during the Cinderblock Man attack. Now you are trying to play hero against Mirror Image. Is there something that you want to tell me?”

Sabrina’s eyes widened thinking to herself. Wait? Does he know about me being Honeybee?

“Your eyes are telling me a lot,” Mirror Image continued to twist her arm causing the angel to scream again. “So what’s the secret?”

“No secret,” Sabrina whimpered. “I just realized it’s better not to live in someone else’s shadow. Why do you think that I said no to you?”

“I must say your resolve has improved compared to previous encounters. Most people would have cracked from the stress by now. Maybe I should just move on to your friends instead. I messed with them before, so I can do it again.”

“DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH THEM YOU PIECE OF FILTH!”

“That’s right, get mad. You have to get mad at someone, so get mad at me. Since you keep defending your so-called friends.”

“They only treated me that way because of what you did.”

“Yet no one has even tried to check on you. You are in a hostile situation and no one has come to your aid. Face it Sabrina, they don’t care about you.”

“Oh and like you will? I never took you as the nurturing type Shadow Moth. If you’re like this all the time then I pity whomever is in your personal life.”

“So quick to make such remarks in a situation that you have no power in. Especially if I start raising the stakes.”

Suddenly Sabrina screamed as her arm got twisted again. She struggled feeling like her arm was going to snap at any moment.

“It’s clear that we have to do this the hard way,” Mirror Image whispered in her ear. “Just remember pain is a valid emotion too.”

The angel started to grit her teeth as pain shot up and down her arm.

Come on, you can’t let him win, think happy thoughts. Puppies…kittens there was that video on YouTube with the tabby cat asking it’s owners for food. That was cute. Daisies…your favorite flower. She thought. Um…um you like hot chocolate from Rosie’s Cafe. Remember you got some last week with…Kagami. Kagami, who hates you and thinks you’re a liar. No wait, happy thoughts only! You earn five new followers this week on your cosplay page after posting your Ladybug cosplay. Heh, Marinette really outdid herself with the design for that. Marinette…who sat by while everyone ripped into you. No stop! Quit bumming yourself out!

However, that was easier said than done.

Each positive thought she tried to force was trampled on with overwhelming feelings of loss. Her memories now felt tainted by the negative feelings of tonight becoming weaponized and poisonous. Sabrina looked at her reflection in the mirror, her once confidence expression had become faint and gaunt.

Her resolve was crumbling.

“What’s wrong? You stopped struggling,” Mirror Image said smugly. “Are you giving up?”

Sabrina just hung her head as a single tear rolled down her face.

“Not very talkative now are you?” the doppelgänger continued. “Not that it matters now as I’m starting to see the light of my miraculous shine through. All I need to do now is send out my-“

Suddenly the bathroom door swung open as Marinette, Kagami and Alya entered still wearing their respective stained Halloween costumes. It appeared that there were a few attempts of cleaning as food residue were gone but many of the apparent stains remained. Marinette’s pink garden fairy costume, a full length gown with covered faux pink flower, a pink flower crown, her trademark pink purse and pink bent fairy wings still covered with orange fruit punch and cupcake stains.

Alya’s Claudia, the celestial witch costume, a black lace dress that went a little beyond the knees with a matching lace half jacket, black tights with specks of glitter, black booties, silver crescent moon pendant and silver hoops earrings, was mostly covered with pizza and various dipping sauces stains. Kagami’s Katniss Everdeen costume, a black t-shirt, olive green pants, a black unity jacket with a gold mockingjay pin and soft brown ankle boots still covered with brownie, barbecue sauce and ranch dressing stains.

“Sabrina, are you here?” Marinette called out as they entered. “We just want to talk to-“

The girls completely stopped in their tracks upon seeing Sabrina and Mirror Image. Confused and shocked expressions crossed their faces as if they were trying to compute what they were seeing. Meanwhile Mirror Image had a look of terror in its eyes.

“What the heck?!” Alya yelled.

Meanwhile Kagami, who was standing beside, reached toward the direction of the broom and was tucked into the right hand corner in the bathroom next to the door.

Sabrina looked up, giving Mirror Image a big grin. “What were you saying?”

The doppelgänger glared at her then threw the angel onto the floor before vanishing again. Suddenly the other girls were shoved aside as the bathroom door swung open then quickly closed a few seconds later. Sabrina had fallen flat on her stomach, she put her hands forward on the floor to rise up and stabilize herself. There were red marks and scratches all over her aching arms. She winced, feeling almost animalistic while pulling herself up back to her feet like an injured deer regaining its strength to walk. But as she did Sabrina was met with a broom being shoved into her face, held by Kagami.

“Okay you need to explain yourself, right now” said her friend, still holding the broom. “Who are you?”

“Kagami, it’s me Sabrina,” she told her.

However the archer’s hardened features did not soften.

“Yeah, I think it’s pretty understandable to doubt that until you can provide us with some proof,” Alya approached them. “Especially after what we just saw.”

“But it is me!” Sabrina yelled. “What you saw was a clone.”

Marinette raised a brow as she trailed behind Alya. “How do you know that you’re not one of them? If you’re the real Sabrina then tell us something that she would only know.”

The angel just narrowed her eyes at her.

“Okay sure, in fact I’ll tell you three things to eradicate any doubt. Let’s start with you Marinette, two months ago I covered for you babysitting Manon after we finished my Chat Noir cosplay. I was about to leave around the same time that Ms. Chamack dropped Manon off. But suddenly you said you needed to go downstairs to talk to your parents in the bakery for a moment and asked me to keep Manon entertained for a bit. So I spent nearly an hour playing dolls with Manon while you were downstairs. I’m not mad considering that a block away there was the Inferno attack happening and I would have gotten burnt to the crisp if I stepped outside. But it’s something that we both should remember.”

Marinette’s blue eyes widened as if she was shocked while Sabrina turned to Alya.

“Alya, I had sent you a few videos to put videos on the Ladyblog of the akuma attacks that you had missed to help,” she told the reporter. “You sent me a text thanking me as you admitted that the attacks have been happening few and so far in between lately. It was the Silver Fly, Connector and The Adhesive Man videos.”

The celestial witch’s eyes shifted to the side while biting her lip, processing what Sabrina had just said.

“Kagami, the week before school started up again I gave you a pass to cut our hang out short so you could go on a date with Adrien instead,” Sabrina continued, now looking at the archer. “Remember we were eating lunch at Rosie’s when he called you on your phone saying his photoshoot got cancelled because the photographer had a family emergency. He asked if you wanted to meet up to catch a movie or something. You rejected the offer at first because we had plans to go shopping. But I told you to go because earlier you mentioned being disappointed not being able to see Adrien all week because he’s busy working, remember? Now is that enough proof for three?”

Kagami dropped the broom on the floor causing a loud clatter sound. She was completely stunned.

“Sabrina, is that really you?” She asked her.

“Yes, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for the past couple minutes,” the angel replied.

“Then who passed us?” Marinette asked.

“That was Mirror Image,” Sabrina told the garden fairy. “My doppelgänger.”

“Wait your what?” Alya asked.

The angel just sighed. “It’s a long story.”

She then told her friends everything that happened and what learned from Shadow Moth. What had attacked the group was actually a sentimonster controlled by Shadow Moth posing as her. In addition, what they had walked in on was Shadow Moth using Mirror Image to bully her into being controlled again.

This included the fact that it almost happened.

“So that means we all unwittingly helped Shadow Moth tonight,” Marinette said once Sabrina was finished.

“Oh please don’t say that,” Alya groaned, throwing her head back.

“Why not?” asked Kagami. “It’s true.”

“I know but I don’t want to think about the fact I unwittingly helped the city’s biggest criminal, okay?” the celestial witch told her. “This night has already been such a dumpster fire.”

“Well it would have become much worse if you all didn’t come in when you did,” Sabrina admitted. “But why did you three came looking for me? I thought you all hated me?”

“I never hated you Sabrina. I was just very hurt and confused about what happened. But after you left I started to think how out of character this was for you,” Marinette told her. “Also it didn’t make sense why would you throw food on us, leave then come back pretending it didn’t happen. Unless you thought we all had attention spans of goldfishes. Then I started to think about what Ivan said about seeing you with Chloè. So I began to consider that she might have been blackmailing you.”

“Blackmail really?” Sabrina questioned.

“It made sense as you girls had been friends for years. You both are bound to have a few secrets still between you two,” Alya told her. “Besides, after the book report incident from yesterday we know how vindictive Chloè is.”

“But we all know that she would never own up to it if it was true. So we figured it would be best to approach you instead,” Kagami added. “When Marinette suggested to the rest of the group there was a mixed response. So we thought it was best that just the three of us search for you. So you wouldn’t feel ambushed again when we come for the truth. But I never imagined it would be like this.”

“Me either,” Marinette admitted. “Sabrina, I’m sorry for not believing you before. I should have known something else was going on. You are literally one of the most loyal people that I know.”

“I’m sorry too,” Alya told the angel. “If I didn’t tell you to leave then Mirror Image would have not gotten a chance to corner you in the first place.”

“So am I, I’m so sorry for calling you a liar Sabrina,” said Kagami. “It’s just when it appeared that you betrayed us for Chloè. It felt like I just lost my best friend.”

“You didn’t,” Sabrina wrapped her arms around Kagami, also pulling Marinette and Alya in too. “Trust me.”

“So you forgive us?” the garden fairy asked.

“Of course, I was mad at first after seeing Mirror Image. I completely understand why you thought that was me,” she told her. “The resemblance is uncanny. Besides, it’s not like I haven’t made a few mistakes myself.”

“Wait a second, sorry for interrupting this touching moment,” Alya pulled out of the group hug. “But don’t we still have a Sabrina clone to worry about?”

“Oh my gosh you’re right,” Sabrina let go of her reminding friends. “Shadow Moth is probably still trying to drag my name through the mud.”

“But shouldn’t this be over? He knows that we know about Mirror Image,” Kagami stated. “That practically clears Sabrina’s name.”

“I doubt it, if Shadow Moth is desperate as Sabrina says he is. Then he’s definitely not going to let us stop that,” said the garden fairy. “There’s probably something else pending.”

“He did say when had me captive about considering moving on to my friends if I didn’t comply,” Sabrina told her friends. “That might be his next target.”

“But doesn’t nearly everyone have a magical charm by now?” Alya asked.

“Not everyone, I know Luka doesn’t neither does Ivan,” Marinette told her.

“Adrien doesn’t have either as he’s never been akumatized,” Kagami added.

“Great so unless we want a return of Stone Heart and Silencer with wildcard Adrien mixed in,” Sabrina stated. “We need to warn the group right now.”

“You’re right,” the garden fairy nodded. “But Sabrina I feel like I have to warn you that without proof the others might not be so forgiving when you tell the truth.”

“You’re probably right, but I can’t sit by and do nothing,” the angel told her. “That’s not who I am. At least not anymore.”

“Before we go there has to be a way to differentiate between you and Mirror Image,” said the archer. “The last thing we need is it sneaking up on us and pretending to be you again.”

“Well what’s I’m supposed to do?” she asked her. “Put a pink streak in my hair?”

“Not quite,” Marinette replied, digging through her purse pulling out a small plastic pack of pink hair elastics. “I packed these just in case I wanted to pull my hair back tonight. But you can have one.”

The garden fairy opened the pack giving Sabrina a hair elastic. Sabrina pulled her hair into a low bun. Alya unclasped her silver crescent moon pendant that was around her neck and Kagami took off her mockingjay pin giving it to the angel. They figured it would be best to have multiple failsafes, just in case. Afterwards the girls left the bathroom and began reentering the courtyard where the dance was being held. Sabrina’s arms were filled with her friends’ stolen items figuring it would be the first step of smoothing things over. Music was still blaring with a single beat as the girls passed the opened janitor closet in the hallway adjacent to the courtyard’s perimeter.

The vocalist sang:

🎶…You call me callous, you call me cold.

But all the warning signs about you are

in bold.

The mask you put on to is about to

fold.

You’re nothing but a tainted soul.

You’re just a clone…🎶

The girls approached the two tables where their friends were sitting still wearing their stained costumes. For what Sabrina could tell from the ambulance of used napkins on the table the group have attempted to clean themselves up a little. There was less frosting and sprinkles in Mylène pigtails compared to before and the food residue on the pinafore dress of her Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz have been wiped off but the stains remained. That was the same story for the rest as Ivan had wiped off the brownie residue off his Grim Reaper cloak. Rose had finally pulled off the candied apple off her Princess Peach costume. Adrien seemed to be able to get off most of the punch, ranch, brownie residue combo from his Dread Pirate Roberts costume. Alix’s stains on her black overcoat of her white rabbit costume appeared mostly faded. Lastly both Luka and Juleka had wiped off the zombie makeup from their respective costumes, a zombie rockstar and zombie prom queen leaving them with now clean faces.

Marinette and Kagami went to their respective boyfriends asking if they were okay which both of them replied with a confused yes.

“Hey, so everyone okay?” Alya asked the group. “There have been no other incidents?”

“Um no,” Alix said. “Besides what happened earlier, why?”

“Wait a second,” Juleka scowled while pointing at Sabrina. “What is she doing back here?”

“It’s okay, I come in peace,” Sabrina told her, holding up the costume props. “See? I found the stuff that got stolen.”

She then walked around the tables returning each prop to their respective owners.

“So Sabrina, did the girls finally convince you to apologize for what you did?” Alix asked while putting her top hat back on while the angel handed Mylène back her wicker basket and Toto plush toy.

“Actually it wasn’t Sabrina who did those horrible things to us,” Marinette told the group. “It never was.”

“But we saw her!” Rose shouted.

“What we saw was a doppelgänger that had been sent to target us,” Kagami explained, putting her quiver and arrows on her back. “Sabrina wasn’t even here when it happened. Her father hadn’t even dropped her off yet.”

“A doppelgänger? Actually that kinda makes sense,” Adrien said, while sliding his plastic sword into his costume’s holster. “A little more sense than Sabrina simply turning on us. Remember a couple months ago when my cousin Felix pretended to be me and sent everyone that mean video message? So Sabrina you have a look alike cousin too?”

“I wish then this situation would be much easier to handle,” she sighed. “What actually attacked everyone was a sentimonster named Mirror Image. It was made to look like me sent by Shadow Moth.”

“What?!” the pirate’s green eyes widened.

“Shadow Moth?” Mylène asked with a panicked look on her face. “Why is he involved in this?”

“Everyone just calm down,” said Sabrina. “I just came back to warn you not to freak everybody out.”

“Well that’s easier said than done,” Juleka spatted.

“Well that’s pretty convenient,” Alix folded her arms.

“Convenient?” the angel asked her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Come on Sabrina, at first you attack us and play dumb. Now you come back with an excuse that pins the blame on someone we obviously all hate,” the white rabbit told her. “To me you are doing everything you can to escape responsibility. So just own up to it!”

“I’m not going to own up to something that I didn’t do,” she shot back at her while pulling down her bracelets to show her marks and bruises. They have now turned a shade of a faded purple. “What I said was true. Look at these bruises, I didn’t do them myself. I got them when Mirror Image held me captive so I would get akumatized!”

“Alix, I completely understand being skeptical. I probably wouldn’t believe it either if I didn’t see it with my own eyes,” Alya said. “But Sabrina is telling the truth, Mirror Image is real. It looked so much like her it actually was pretty freaky.”

Just then Sabrina heard a loud ow sound causing the group to look toward Ivan’s direction who was rubbing the back of his head.

He turned to Mylène who was sitting right beside him. “Mylène, why did you hit me in the back of the head?”

“What?” his girlfriend looked surprised. “Ivan, I would never hit you.”

“Well someone did and you were sitting beside me,” he said. “It really hurt.”

Suddenly Juleka let out a loud yelp causing her to stand up for her chair. Her black glittery tattered prom dress and white PROM QUEEN slash now had a fresh fruit punch stain.

“Juleka what’s wrong?” Rose turned to her.

“My drink fell on my lap but it wasn’t even close to the end of the table,” she explained. “I don’t know what happened.”

“Well Jules, look at the bright side,” Rose told her. “At least your dress can’t get worse.”

The zombie prom queen’s eyes widened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Um…wrong choice of words,” the princess told her. “I mean it can’t get more ruined since what happened with Mirror Image.”

“Okay this is getting too much,” Juleka stated. “Maybe we should just all go home.”

“Juleka, just take a deep breath,” Luka called out to his twin. “You can always go to the bathroom to treat the stain before it sets-“

But before the zombie rockstar could finish that sentence his chair suddenly flipped back, taking him with it. His head bashed on the solid ground upon landing.

“LUKA!” Marinette screamed, turning to her fallen boyfriend. She crouched down to help him sit back up. “Are you okay!?”

“What happened….I…I was talking then…bam,” he replied groggily. “Did the chair…break…”

Adrien inspected the chair beside him as the rest of the group started to surround Luka. “The chair’s legs are intact and I don’t see any loose nuts or bolts. Besides, chairs just don’t randomly flip like that.”

The group started to question what to do wondering if they should try to get ice for Luka’s head, call his mother so he could go to the hospital or should Marinette dart across the street to get a first aid kit. Sabrina started to approach the group about to offer help when she felt someone’s icy grip wrap around her wrist pulling her back.

She looked around seeing no one but heard a familiar sounding whisper in her ear telling her, “Don’t scream.”

Her teal eyes widened realizing that Mirror Image was holding onto her. The angel was about to yell to alert her friends when she felt a hand covering her mouth. Sabrina felt her hands being pulled behind her back. Her body started to be dragged backwards as she felt practically immobilized in Mirror Image’s tight grip.

She mentally pleaded with her friends for a single person to look up from Luka and at her instead.

But no one did.

Sabrina was shoved into the nearby janitor closet, landing against a rack of industrial size paper towel rolls. The door swung close and Mirror Image reappeared pulling the chain of the overhead swinging lightbulb to give them so light.

“I told you that they didn’t care about you,” said Mirror Image. “Soon as someone else needed attention they dropped you like a hot rock.”

“You did that, didn’t you?” Sabrina growled. “You caused Luka to get hurt.”

“Yes and I’ll do it again. As I’m not a doctor but I’m sure that the boy now has a concussion”, the doppelgänger smiled. “The list can go on with your other friends if you let it. Or maybe I should just move on to your father so you finally get that I do mean business.”

“No!” she screamed charging toward the sentimonster to land a punch.

But Mirror Image simply grabbed her wrist slamming her back into the rack of paper towels, pinning her.

“That’s not going to work this time,” Mirror Image told her. “The offer still stands, become Archangel and I’ll leave your friends and family alone.”

“You monster!” Sabrina hissed.

“I’m not monster Sabrina,” the doppelgänger told her. “I’m just a person who is willing to do anything to get what they want. Now you just need to stop fighting me!”

“Never! Stop pretending that if I give in to you that would make them safe! You taking over the city will do nothing but hurt them!” she yelled, her eyes shined with stoic determination. “I will never stop fighting you! No matter how much you try to hurt me or force me to become a pariah! As long as it keeps the city safe from villains like you, I will never give in!”

Mirror Image stared at her before it’s lips spread into a cheshire cat-like smile. “Finally, it’s too good to know that I found you, Honeybee.”

Sabrina’s blood suddenly ran cold causing her eyes to widen to the size of saucers. “What?”

“I finally found you, like I said before about pressure in the rare cases it causes diamonds. You have just shown that you’re a diamond.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“All that has happened tonight was a test to confirm my suspicions about you. It was bait for a much larger trap. To see how you fared under stress and if you let your superhero side shine through. Even if you failed I still would have got an akuma out of it. But after that little speech that you have given seals it. You are Honeybee, the second bee miraculous holder.”

“No you’re wrong, why would Ladybug pick me? Timid, shy and uncoordinated Sabrina? That wouldn’t make sense,” the angel asked, trying to hide the panic in her voice. “She would be crazy to do that. I’m not one of those shining stars, I’m just a dim bulb.”

“Ah yes like how uncoordinated you were when you took down Mirror Image in the bathroom,” the doppelgänger growled. “In wedges no less.”

“My dad taught me that,” Sabrina said, trying to remain calm while a voice inside was yelling in her mind: Deny! Deny! Deny Everything! “Besides a few self defense moves I can’t fight.”

“Drop the act, too many things line up with being her. You both share the same character traits. You both are clever, witty, loyal, determined and stubborn. You both have red hair and blue eyes-“

“A lot of people have red hair. My teacher last year had red hair and so did a classmate of mine. Also don’t get me started on all the blue eyed people that I know.”

“You showed how clever you are pretending to be on board with teaming up to gain the upper hand with Mirror Image. The witty remarks that you had made tonight. How you didn’t give up on your friends when you had every right to, showing your loyalty. But all this time you weren’t just talking about your friends that had come to the dance, have you? You also have been talking about your friends Ladybug and Chat Noir as you didn’t want to betray them too, right?”

“Friends? I wish but again who wouldn’t want to be friends with them? That was one of the reasons why Chloè wanted to be Queen B. Like I have met them before but at this point who haven’t they saved?”

“Quit lying!”

“I’m not lying. You are literally justifying destroying my life based on some wrong suspicions. By the way, when did being witty and sarcastic become a crime? A lot of characters on TV and in the movies are. Especially in superhero media like cartoons, that is one of Spider-Man’s defining traits. Have you ever considered where I get my inspiration? Marvel is one of the biggest entertainment franchises in the world and it was bound to rub off. Especially in a time of great adversity to keep my cool like a super villain trying to bully me.”

“Stop denying it! Even with what you had said there’s still too many coincidences that line up. For example, Honeybee’s first appearance as a superhero was during the Lord Justice attack which threatened your father. Also those incidents that I listed before Pizza Creature, Cinderblock Man and Pity Party you were at the scene where Honeybee arrived shortly after with Ladybug.”

“Have you considered those incidents are what you just called them, coincidences? How do you know that Ladybug didn’t have Honeybee lined up for weeks before her first appearance? Especially since Chloè had left a huge spot to fill. Also maybe I wouldn’t have been at those incidents if you didn’t send monsters and villains where I’m going to be. My birthday party for example of course I was there. It was my birthday! I was at other attacks like Timebreaker and Reflekta. By your logic, I have been both Ladybug and Chat Noir this entire time.”

“Don’t be ridiculous-“

“Ridiculous? Like you have been this whole time? Me being Honeybee, that’s probably the funniest thing I heard this week. As if Ladybug would even take a second glance at someone like me! That’s like asking me if I’m Superman! Besides if I remember correctly from Chloè’s bragging you have to transform with one of those tiny floating creatures to be a superhero. I think she said that the bee creature was named Sugar or something. You’ve been spying on me all this week. Have you seen me transform into Honeybee or even talk to Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

Mirror Image just glared at her.

“Your eyes are telling me a lot. You don’t have any real proof do you?” Sabrina asked. “That means you ruined my night for nothing! You tried to turn my friends against me for nothing! So leave my friends and family alone as you got the wrong girl.”

“Quiet, I refuse to believe you!” the doppelgänger shouted.

“Refuse to believe me or refuse that you are wrong?”

“Fine, if you want to play the denial game then so be it. But once you are underneath my control you will have no other choice than to tell the truth. But in the meantime there’s still one friend of yours that I still haven’t messed with. After that the whole dance will hate you and you will be unable not to give in.”

Mirror Image yanked Sabrina’s purse off her shoulder and shoved her onto the ground. The angel stood up as her doppelgänger ran out of the closet slamming the door behind it.

Then there was the jingle of keys along with a solid metallic click from the door.

She bolted toward the door trying to turn the doorknob but it wasn’t budging, not even an inch.

It was locked.

Sabrina screamed, banging on the wooden door in front of her as the feeling of panic truly started to set in.

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

End of Part 2.

Thanks for reading! 😊

So, it was Shadow Moth the whole time and he’s knows Sabrina’s secret identity! Sabrina is also now trapped in the janitor closet! Will she be able to get out before Shadow Moth next stage of his plan? Or is it finally over for the bee heroine? Find out in part 3 of Mirror Image!

I hope you like this story even though the long wait. To be honest I had plans of posting this the week of Halloween. But that week without going into too many details was terrible for me mental wise and life wise. It felt like my life went into the gutter for a week. So I barely had enough energy for classes let alone writing. I’m feeling better now if anyone is concerned. But that really threw off my writing and posting schedule for quite a bit as you can see.

I will be finishing this story is just ironically this Halloween story will be most likely finishing the end December and at worst early January at the latest. I also added another part to help you with the story’s pacing.

The song this week is “Copycat” by Billie Eilish, fitting huh? If it not obvious the lyrics in this one are inspired by this song. I’ll just put this right here: I DID NOT WRITE THE ORIGINAL LYRICS. HOWEVER THE STORY ITSELF WAS WRITTEN BY ME.

Here’s a lyric video for the song.

Mirror Image {2/4} is also available on Wattpad.

See you next time! 👋

[kneamet]

Thomas Sharpe says to the portrait of reader that he has always loved, loved and will love her. He says he will not accept her engagement to Count Harrison. She belongs to him. The next day, reader wakes up in a strange room tied to an armchair. She pretends to be asleep. Thomas is talking to her now.

Trigger Warning: obsession, yandere, kidnapping, jealousy

Word Count: 2439

Character: Thomas Sharpe/reader

Summary: Thomas never wanted anything more than to marry you. When he learns of your future marriage to the hated earl Garrison, he knows that something must be done.

POV Thomas

Thomas knew he couldn't afford to be silent. He'd been silent for too long, and now was the moment to snap. He won't let anyone steal you from him.

Sharpe had never expected to find the love of his lost life. That he could find someone he would love and who would love him. A girl who would take care of him, and he would protect her from people.

But it just so happens that Thomas was born in a place where your right to vote doesn't count. Especially with Lucille. He loved her, he really did, but she probably didn't understand that it was more a need for a person than love, because Sharpe could hardly survive alone in this huge house, which also needs to be provided for. And her obsession with him, which Thomas hated, was also very annoying and dripping on his brain. It was very unpleasant to be thought of as some kind of object, thanks to which you can fulfill your desires. And these were used by all the girls in his entourage.

Parents, as Thomas noted, for the most part also did not care about the emotional outbursts of children and their hobbies. Well, why care about it? They're just kids. They can also be raised by nannies and teachers who were hired.

And the women... All those moments, all the things that his late sister controlled, mostly related to the women he married and later received money from. And he didn't particularly like it. Why is she controlling him? Why him?

However, even in the largest darkness, you can find a small corner that is dedicated to light. And that light for Thomas was you. His sweetest, most beloved, and most incredible girlfriend. He would pick up so many epithets, metaphors, and comparisons with you, fearing that even they could not describe all your beauty.

He smiled dreamily. It was so nice to think and fantasize about how you would live together, you would caress him, and he would stroke your soft, honey-scented hair, telling you how much he loved you and cherished you. But what was the point of thinking about it if they were going to be together?

Thomas looked down and passed his gentle hand, which had no bruises or wounds, for which he in turn had once been scolded by Mr. Cushing, Edith's father, perhaps the only woman who could attract his attention a little and almost even accept that he could not marry you, but his thoughts quickly dissipated then.

***

"Have I ever loved anyone before you?" Thomas spoke in a low voice that echoed small and tiny in the walls of the dilapidated but pleasant-looking room. He turned his slow gaze to the beautiful Edith, who lay beside him on the slightly stiff bed, looking straight into his eyes, blue as clear water.

Thomas sighed. He didn't want to talk about you. His favorite girl, who helped him believe in himself. I knew Edith wouldn't like it.

"Yes, I did once -" Sharpe began again in a whisper, lightly squeezing the girl's light hand in his. He did not want to share his thoughts and feelings with others, because he knew that they would betray him. Otherwise, they will use it against you, which was very insulting.

Thomas looked at Edith again with a lost look, a girl who was different from the others and who might soon be dead. Damn it. He didn't think she was beautiful. She might be pretty, but there was nothing remarkable about her. Well, maybe it was just the beautiful eyes and the unusual mole above the soft lips that she didn't even try to cover up. Perhaps it was the openness that drew him to her.

But no. No, no, no, no. He won't fall for that pretty face and possibly witty mind. He only loved you. Only her flower, which fortunately her sister did not know about.

***

Thomas shook his head quickly. He didn't care now. He and Edith had never been in love. A hobby? "yes, perhaps. But no more. He can't do more than that. After all, all his steely heart and soft soul belonged to you, his childhood friends.

Childhood friends. It's been so long... Memories of his past childhood flashed through his mind as if they were the wind that tries to impress a person. His most vivid memory of you and your current fate was when you came to visit them in Crimson Peak, as your parents were busy with his parents and spent time with Thomas while Lucille was doing something else.

That's probably what influenced him back then. After all, if you hadn't been there at that time. At that difficult moment, when he was, if I may say so correctly, beaten with his stick by his mother, with whom she always went, and even connected the rod after.

And Thomas didn't know why. What did he do wrong then? What's the big deal?

He sighed and touched the small framed portrait with his palm. Before the portrait of his favorite flower. His favorite girl, who probably doesn't even know what he thinks about her right now. He couldn't remember when the portrait had come to him. If an artist came to him who painted to order and he had a photo that his beloved sent him, then it was the portrait that sent his flower.

She was so beautiful in that picture. Her light, slightly curled hair fell gently over her shoulders; her lips smiled a soft smile that wished everyone well; her nose was slightly tilted up, but it did not show disgust or contempt; her beautiful, transparent eyes looked at him intently.

Suddenly, a fleeting but painful tear ran down Sharpe's cold cheek, and with a quick swipe, it fell to the carpet, then dissolved into water.

He always liked to imagine you — the most joyful and smiling princess-marrying him of your own accord. He has so often, since that very moment in childhood, imagined how he would put a ring on your fragile finger, which would symbolize your love.

"I loved you, my flower..."

It's true. His love was always there. She started the exodus as a child and never stopped.

"... I love you..."

But still an engagement. Yes, the damned engagement party you invited him to, apparently thinking Thomas would be thrilled that you were marrying the Earl of Harrison. But no, he already hated the hell out of him. This dirty man who was unworthy of you and probably only used you.

"... And I will always love you..."

He would not allow this engagement to happen. That's not why Thomas waited, waiting for you to fall in love with him. However, he is tired of waiting and hinting to you that he loves you. You belong to him.

"After all, my flower belongs to me."

The words spoken by the portraits were immediately swallowed up by the dark house, absorbing them.

***

POV You

Oh, how you loved Earl James Harrison. He was the very person who, at a difficult time for you, your family and your family situation in general, pulled you out of such a blizzard. He was the one who helped you.

James was probably the most attractive person you've ever seen. And both in terms of external parameters, and in terms of his spiritual and mental abilities. Being very well-read and intelligent, he always found moments in which you can learn something new. Yes, it's no secret, you both learned new things thanks to each other, because each had a field in which he understood.

And when he proposed to you, you couldn't help but agree, because you knew that he loved you just as much as you loved him.

If you were a writer, the kind of writer who delves into novels, describing the tumultuous lives of people, revealing all the mysterious secrets, then you would definitely describe your relationship as very fickle, unfathomable, and possibly equal. After all, he did not humiliate you, did not lower your abilities, but treated you as an equal person, which greatly impressed you.

Very handsome was your lover: dark, brown hair that was usually scattered in a careless hairstyle, brown eyes that were carefully watching what was happening and usually beautiful clothes. Beautiful clothes. Oh, you should have one.

***

"I love you so much, James," you murmured sleepily, resting your head on the man's strong shoulder and closing your eyes. You could feel him chuckle.

"I love you too, honey," he said after a few seconds. You no longer heard it, because you were in a perfect state of sleep. In a state where you can rest.

He never stopped looking at you, smiling a gentle smile

***

Suddenly, your wrists felt very uncomfortable. There was a persistent feeling that they were rubbing against something. But what could it be? It felt like a rope woven into several knots.

And the smell... The smell was also completely different from the one in James ' room, where you went to sleep. There was the smell of old books and tart milk, and here there was the smell of clay mixed with the smell of some metal. No, if Jim didn't decide to start making toys and drag you to the workshop, then fine. But there was a smell of something else, too. Something is unclear.

You opened your eyes a little, trying to see the place you were in. You couldn't have been kidnapped, could you? Or could they? And who could it be, if we follow this theory?

However, nothing surprised you. You were in a not particularly large room, which by its own condition was basically normal, only one thing did not paint it, so it was the smell and appearance of dust that lay on the shelves with old books. You flinched a little. A large bed stood beside you, strewn with a small number of rose petals, and covered with a dark corduroy coverlet. There were large windows nearby. Does the theory about your kidnapping include that if you jump out, you'll break every bone in your body? Or were you on the first floor?"

At the bottom, or rather the floor of the room, was decorated with a large dirty carpet with large drawings of incomprehensible shapes. It seems to have been a spontaneous fantasy. Although you could see the flowers there, too. Across from the bed was a large wardrobe that probably contained all of your captor's clothes.

"I've been waiting for this moment for so long!" an eerily familiar voice exclaimed. Such a soft, husky baritone. He was definitely familiar to you.

When you heard the voice, you immediately closed your eyes. I'd rather pretend to be asleep than face the man who kidnapped you." No, you'll talk to him later, but not now. Now is not the time.

Suddenly, you heard the floorboards creak beside you and someone blocked out the light that was continuously pouring out of the window in a cold stream.

"I love you so much, my flower," a voice murmured in your ear, barely audible. His heart was pounding at a furious rate now, replaying in his brain the words that the man had spoken earlier. Who is he? What is it about? Why had he waited for this moment? Why does he love you? Do you know each other at all?

"I know that you love me as much as I love you. I know you hate that damned Earl Garrison, and you want to marry me because you only love me."

What? You tried to focus on your thoughts, trying to remember what that familiar voice was. What kind of person would dare to do something as audacious as kidnapping?

"I loved you. I've loved you since the day you comforted me in this house, protected me from my parents, and showed me your concern... I never forgot about you."

All of a sudden, you feel like you've been electrocuted. Protection, comfort, care. The words echoed in your brain. You didn't listen to the man just now, because you realized who it was.

Thomas. Thomas Sharpe. Your first person to open up to. To whom she confided all her secrets. You didn't really know him as a person, only as a child, as children, you crossed paths a couple of times, and only because your parents and his parents collaborated.

And nothing else. What kind of love is he talking about? What do his thoughts know, which he seeks to convey? Why did he think it was love? Why not a less powerful feeling?

***

The clock ticked. They gave off a slight tinkle that broke the silence that had arisen in the room. Only the soft whispers of the children trying to comfort each other could be heard. They were quiet, almost inaudible.

"I'll always help you, Thomas, just call me," you muttered to yourself, turning to the boy and scratching his dark head with your thin hand. Trying to comfort him, to show him that you care.

***

But for this to happen — by kidnapping, by declaring love, and by binding — love simply could not arise. What kind of love is in a person's need for another person, you just didn't understand. What was the point? Unclear.

"I know that you have belonged to me since the day you comforted me..."

You didn't want to hear Thomas mutter about it. If you had been bolder, you would have screamed, trying to escape, but there was no way out now. It is better to obey him. Yes, the logic was wrong at the moment, since there was no need to think like that. It is better to resist than not to try to do anything.

"...I know you belong to me..."

No, you don't belong to anyone! Since when does he want you so badly? After all, as you remember, Thomas was quite a quiet, calm and peaceful boy. And what happened now? Why is he acting like this? What does he want? Love? So why would he fall in love with someone else?

"...And I know that you will belong to me..."

The only person you'll ever belong to is James, and that's only because he belongs to you. No more than that. Doesn't that include negotiated equality?

You felt someone's soft lips touch your lips, which were very thin, but pleasant. Spiced and slightly wounded, apparently bitten, Thomas's lips were not bad

"...Because we love each other, my flower..."

[some-kindofgnome]

Kinktober #13: can we always be this close? - Mirio Togata

In which you and Mirio spend a very romantic birthday evening together.

Characters: Mirio Togata / f!Reader

Warnings: smut (18+ please!) Quirkless Mirio, aged up characters, fluffy smut, fluffy fluff, this is tooth-achingly syrupy, with the barest edge of heartfelt angst. Boxed-birthday cake sweet.

Notes: It’s my birthday today. This is extremely feelsy and self-indulgent. I offer no apology.

Title inspired by this song.

Kinktober Masterlist

“Are you almost ready? Seriously gonna explode out here.”

You’re putting the last finishing touches on your hair as Mirio knocks on the bathroom door. Bless his heart, he’s been nice enough to give you full reign of the bathroom for the last hour and a half for the sake of your big reveal when you’re finally ready to go.

But you know Mirio well- big heart, small bladder.

“I’m coming!” You promise. “Thirty seconds and I’m outta here.” You take one last spritz of hairspray through your style, tousling the strands gently with your fingers. Then you unplug your styling tools, smooth on your favourite lipstick (the one that makes you look ‘the most kissable,’ according to Mirio) and pivot toward the door.

Your fingers hover over the handle for an instant. You take a deep breath.

When you pull the door open, Mirio’s standing directly on the other side of it. He looks polished as hell in a pair of well-fitting dark wash jeans and a turtleneck sweater that you bought him last winter. Your heart goes squish as you brace one hand in the frame of the door and watch his expression light at the sight of you.

“Aw, man,” he hums. His eyelashes flick downward as he takes you in. You’re dressed in the same fashion that he is- casual but polished, in a way that makes you feel the most comfortable and beautiful in your own skin.

“You sure it’s not my birthday?” He reaches for you, pulling you closer by the wrist. “’Cause lemme tell ya, that was worth waiting for.” He leans down and goes for a kiss, ducking sideways at the last moment to catch the corner of your mouth instead.

“Get in there,” you giggle, gently brushing past him and ushering him into the bathroom. “I’m hungry.”

Tonight’s dinner is something that Mirio insisted on. While the company you work for normally gives you a day off for your birthday, this year, yours happened to fall in the middle of the week. You decided to defer your day off until Friday, giving you a long weekend to enjoy instead. It means you still had to work on the actual day, but… you don’t mind. Not when Mirio’s been treating you like a princess from the moment you woke up.

He even stopped by your office earlier to drop off your favourite takeout for lunch. All your coworkers know him- he visits you at work a lot- and they’re completely smitten. You can’t help but adore how likeable he is, even if it tries your envious nerve every once in a while.

Your friends joke that he’s more like a golden retriever than a partner. But you know it goes both ways. You would do anything in the world for him.

You hold hands on the train like a new couple all over again, leaning against the doors and kissing between stops. You don’t care who sees. Mirio’s thrilled to be getting away with so much PDA. And when your stop finally comes up, you’re still grinning as you tug him onto the platform.

He takes you to your favourite restaurant, a ramen place downtown. You get potato dashi ramen, which comes with chewy egg noodles and a scoop of sour cream. It’s like a baked potato in a bowl of noodles. You know it’s not exactly the romantic evening that most couples would have planned, but there’s nothing that brings you more joy than cozying up in a little table by the window and slurping away on hot broth and noodles with Mirio smiling across at you.

As you’re finishing up, a slice of white chocolate cheesecake with a sparkler (and two forks) comes to your table. Mirio swears he had nothing to do with it, but he adores embarrassing you on your birthday. And the sparkle behind his navy gaze is a dead giveaway.  

It’s not until after you’ve both scraped the plate clean and you’re holding hands across the table that you decide to forgive him.

He’s brushing his thumb over your ring finger, toying back and forth with the sparkly diamond that sits there.

“Y’know,” he muses, “I was actually planning on saving that for tonight.”

You’re resting your chin in your other hand, but that doesn’t stop you from grinning. “Really?”

He nods, licking his lips to hide an indulgent smile. “I carried that thing around in my pocket for weeks. But then, when you said there was gonna be an eclipse…” He trails off and shrugs, smiling brighter. “It’s like it all fell into place.”

A couple of weeks ago, the moon fell into the Earth’s shadow for the first time in years. It was a beautiful clear night and just warm enough that the two of you could climb to the roof of your apartment building and huddle together under a couple of blankets.

It was there, under the dim glow of the eclipsed moon, that he’d dropped to one knee and promised you forever. To you, it was a complete surprise.

You’re still moony about it now. If you close your eyes, you can picture every single detail. But when you open them again, the look on Mirio’s face is not so different as he admires you across the table.

“It was perfect,” you told him. “That night was perfect.”

He pulls your hand to his lips, kissing your ring. “C’mon,” he mumbles. “Let’s get outta here.”

He takes you home and skirts you in the front door. Your apartment is still dark when he strokes your cheeks and kisses you, lingering and sweet in the hallway.

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he whispers to you, soft and vulnerable in the low light.

“I love you,” you murmur, holding him tight. He gets like this sometimes. He’s lost so much, it’s easy to imagine you slipping through his fingers, too. You know he’s trying hard not to let it show tonight but you’re not about to let that stop you. You reach for him, cupping his cheek and pulling his shadowy gaze to yours.

“Hey,” you whisper. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he huffs, stealing another kiss as he scoops you into his arms. He whisks you into the bedroom, laying you across the sheets. He flicks on the lamp by your bedside and it casts a warm blanket of light across your body.

His weight descends on top of you and you catch yourself thinking if this is it, if nothing comes after this life with him, I’ll be okay.

He strips you down, piece by piece, kissing every inch of the skin he’s exposing. Every moment you spend together feels precious- you’ve both been reminded, time and time again, how quickly it can all be stolen from you. Not this, you pray when the night is at its darkest, take anything, but let me have him.

“Let me love you,” he whispers to you, sliding down your bare body, “with everything I have tonight.”

He loops his arms under your thighs, nuzzling the soft skin where your leg joins your body. His eyes stray to your face as he licks up your slit. He watches you sigh, watches you shiver, watches you fall.

But he’s always there to catch you.

He licks until you’re begging him to stop and comes back to you bare. His body is strong and sculpted but scarred, serving as a solemn reminder of the life he was forced to give up. Just another dream that had been stolen from him.

But you, the life that you’re capable of building together- that’s become his new dream. He’s promised to love you completely. He wants to raise your children. He wants to build you a home. Maybe he’ll never save a million souls, but if he can bring you happiness, if he can be good for you, that’ll be enough.

When you’re finally ready for him, he keeps his body as close to yours as possible while he pushes inside you. One of his hands grips your thigh, but the other is intertwined with yours, smoothing across the bedsheets as his thumb strokes your knuckles.

He’s steady and strong, but tender as a lamb, whispering his love for you as he fucks you slow and rhythmic. You clutch at his back and grab his ass, urging his rhythm forward. But he keeps it easy until he can’t take it anymore.

And when he breaks, he breaks hard.

He thrusts into you with a brutal rhythm, letting all the words die between you. The harsh breath that you share is punctuated by the slap of his thighs against yours. He slips a hand between your bodies, driving you to the edge one more time- whimpering and sighing and quivering through your climax- before he can’t hold out and slips into ecstasy alongside you.

When he loses himself against you, you hold him tight and savour every moment. The tremor of his thighs against yours. The way his voice jumps from his chest to his throat as his expression scrunches into one of sheer ecstasy. The spill of sloppy warmth inside you-sinfully satisfying. But more precious than anything is the way that he collapses on top of you and peppers slow, sweaty kisses across your skin before he’s ready to pull out.

When he finally rolls off of you, you’re quick to shift onto your side, reaching for him. You wind your arms around one another, and he draws you in close, letting you rest your chin on top of his head as your legs tangle.

“Happy Birthday,” he mumbles into your neck, for only the dozenth time that day. You close your eyes and try to suppress your laugh, but you know he can feel it vibrating in your chest.

“What a time to remind me,” you tease. “I’m getting old.”

“Oh!” He bolts upright, suddenly alert. “Your present, baby.”

“No way. Give it to me tomorrow,” you hum. “I’m not letting you out of bed.”

“But…” He turns back to you, pouting. “I can’t give it to you a day late. That’s like… like I missed it.”

“How about…” you trail off, “I open it first thing in the morning. You’ll know and I’ll know. Nobody else will. Please? I’m so comfy.”

Satisfied, he settles down again. This time it’s your head he tucks under his chin, kissing the top of your head.

Later that night, moments from sleep, you feel him stir in your arms. He kisses your head again, wraps his fingers gently around your palm. You don’t move.

“Happy birthday, baby,” he whispers to you. “I’m the luckiest man in the world, y’know that?”

You drop off a few minutes later in total peace. It’s not something you ever thought you would have, but… with him, it comes as easy as the morning.