#just kidding I’ll keep her in her own au (probably)

[raiinshowers]

Making a trolls au based off The Croods

'What happens to BroZone’s parents?'

The same thing as Guy's.

It was little Branch's first outing, and as was tradition in the family, he was the only one of their children to go out with them. After not one of the three came back before the end of sunset, John knew that they wouldn’t be returning. He took over. Like his parents had always prepared him to do. Just like Grug in the movie (and like with the BroZone band), he would micromanage everything, but only to try and keep his remaining family safe. Later on he found signs of their parents and Bitty B around the tar(?)… he could assume what had happened. At least Grandma Rosiepuff is still around! (she’s a tad crazy)

John Dory never told anyone else what he saw. They moved immediately. Bitty B would finally find his way back home, alone, only to find it abandoned.

He would always think that he should have been able to save his parents

More GIFs/info below cut

Remember how everybody always thought Branch was catastrophizing about disasters in the 1st Trolls movie?

Yeah, that happens again. (same poses and expressions ha)

Branch also still went gray in this au, just this time due to watching his parents die. And it only got worse after finding their old cave empty and the rest of his family gone, almost as if they were never even there (were they? did he just imagine them?)

The Trolls movie roles are a bit reversed here. His brothers are the ones hiding in something like a 'bunker' (the Croods cave), always on the alert, while he spends the years roaming the lands. Eventually he doesn’t really remember that he once had a family outside of his parents. He doesn’t even remember his actual name: just something like 'B', or 'Bitty'. But that’s not a name. So he goes by — yep — 'Guy'. (Not to be confused with Guy Diamond). When he does 'meet' them again a decade or two later, he doesn’t recognize them at first, and they don’t either. They’ve never known a gray troll after all. John Dory doesn’t even trust him. At least, not until around the end of the movie's events… when 'Guy's' backstory is revealed and it sounds awfully familiar to old JD…

There's only one thing Poppy remembers about her sister —

She had loved the light.

As mentioned in The Croods, they once had other neighboring families that were over time, picked off. Following a disaster with Poppy's own family years ago they were all assumed to be dead besides her. After the fresh loss of his own sibling and parents, John Dory didn’t hesitate to take the orphaned trolling in to live with his grandmother and (remaining :)) brothers. And that’s where Eep's role came in.

One day though Poppy will reunite with her older sister 💕 Maybe even her dad too!

Come on…… Look at these two, you can’t tell me they don’t scream Poppy and Branch

They could even still have the whole 'grrr'/'rawr' thing going on

The brothers are all very protective over Poppy after losing their little sibling

Imagine them + Poppy doing a sleep pile or kill circle. 🙁💕

ALSO THAT would totally be Rhonda beside them :)

[carolperkinsexgirlfriend]

Steddie Upside-Down AU Part 19

Part 1 Part 18

Eddie comes back to himself with Will Byers slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He’s standing in front of his trailer, panting like he’d run all the way here.

He probably had. His thighs have their own heartbeats, pulsing off-beat with the thrumming of his heart where it’s up in his throat.

He puts Will down. The kid’s crying. Eddie is, too.

He wants to run back, find Steve. Even with his legs shaking so hard they barely hold him. Even without a weapon. Even if Steve’s probably already dead. But Steve said to keep the kid safe, so that’s what he’s going to do.

He pushes the door open, leading Will in by the shoulder. His fingertips are numb – static running through them until he can’t feel Will’s body hitching with sobs. The sound of them is muffled, too.

“It’ll be okay,” he says, feeling very far away. His throat feels like mincemeat. Has he been screaming? He can’t have been. There’s no monster on his door.

“My Mom—” Will says. He’s curled into a ball in Wayne’s chair. When did he get there?

“Steve’ll keep her safe.”

Eddie knows it’s true as he says it. Remarkably, Steve Harrington is a good dude, and isn’t that the worst fucking thing in the world to realize right now? Steve Harrington had risked his life for a little kid he barely knows, a lady he’s probably only met in the grocery store check-out line, and a high schooler who’s guts he hated a few days before.

And now he’s dead.

Eddie keeps thinking about his last words. They keep running through his mind, steady enough to keep time with, even as his heartbeat speeds up enough to make his blood vessels feel tight. “I’ll see you at home.” Home being the Munson’s trailer. Home being where there’s a little boy and Eddie fucking Munson waiting for him to make it out alive.

Who says that?

Steve fucking Harrington promised to come home when there was no chance of making it out alive.

Will is still crying in Wayne’s recliner, and Eddie wishes, desperately that his Uncle were here now. He’d know how to comfort Will, how to get out of here. How to keep Steve safe.

But he’s not here, so Eddie kneels by the chair and hold Will’s hand while he cries. It could last hours or minutes. Eddie doesn’t know. He’s not really here.

Not when Will asks, “will Steve be okay?”

Not when he replies, “Steve’s like an action hero, Byers. He’ll be walking through that door at any moment.”

Not when Will’s answering silence echoes through the room like condemnation.  

His tears have dried on his face, sticky with salt. He doesn’t notice when Will reaches over and wipes them away.

Eddie Munson isn’t in the living room waiting for Steve Harrington to come through the door.

He’s still in the Byers’ hallway, watching King Steve raise his gun. There’s no fear on his face, just a heartbreaking mix of wistfulness and resolve.

Eddie wants to know what he was thinking in that moment, with that expression. Was he standing there with a monster in front of him, wishing more than anything that he was hiding back in Eddie’s bedroom all the while, knowing his rightful place was right there saving lives?

Was he back further still, both in that hallway, and in the cafeteria trading pudding cups with Carol Perkins, standing at the threshold of a realistic fantasy and an unending nightmare?

Maybe he wasn’t thinking anything at all.

Eddie will never know. Steve Harrington is dead. And Eddie wasn’t there.

“Eddie?” Will asks. He sounds scared. Eddie comes back. Steve said to keep Will safe, and he will. “You need water.”

Eddie laughs. It sounds more like he’s choking. “You’re the one crying, baby Byers.”

Neither of them comment on the dried tracks running down Eddie’s own cheeks.

Eddie’s knees feel like concrete as he gets up to go retrieve his backpack. It’s not by the door, not along the path from the entrance to the living room. He checks his bathroom and bedroom, can’t quite remember where he’s been. It’s not there.

“I think I left my backpack at your house,” Eddie says, then laughs, struck hysterical at the way it comes out. Like he’d just gone to Will’s house after school to hang out, and not to contact his Mom from the wrong side of the beyond.

“I still have mine,” Will says.

He slithers forward in the chair, giving himself enough room to slide it down his shoulders from where it’s still strapped to his back.

They only put two bottles in the kid’s pack, not wanting to bog him down, but it should be enough for today, at least.

As they drink from separate bottles, grimacing at the taste of silt, Eddie’s thinking about how he’ll have to get more water tomorrow. Without Steve. Should he go alone? Should he bring the kid? Should he curl up in a ball and die?

Steve took the only viable weapon and fucked off to die. It hits him suddenly; how goddamn angry he is. How dare he? Couldn’t he have pulled this shit a few days ago when his only attachment to Harrington was that he was another living person, that Eddie wouldn’t have to be alone? How could he do this, after they’d played D&D, and played truth and dare, and survived together.

Steve Harrington had carved out a little spot for himself in Eddie’s sternum and then went off to die.

He doesn’t notice his hands shaking until Will crouches in front of him, grabs the open water bottle, and caps it.

“Shit,” Eddie says. “Sorry, kid.”

“Steve will be okay,” Will says, like he believes it and not like he’s just repeating Eddie’s own bullshit back at him.

Eddie nods. The anger is sucked out of him as quick as it arrived. His chin is trembling, and it feels like a lozenge is stuck in his throat. He swallows it, coughs out a “yeah.”

Will pushes Eddie’s bangs back and almost petting him in a move he definitely learned from Mama Byers. At the edges of his eyesight, he can see his bangs spring back down at wonky angles. He doesn’t bother fixing it.

“He beat Xanathar, he can definitely kick a Demogorgon’s butt,” Will says, smiling with his lips, but not his eyes.

“Yeah,” Eddie says, trying for his usual pep, moving forward anyway when it falls flat. “He’s going to come bursting through the door at any moment on his noble stead and tell us tales of his vanquishment of the great evil.”

They smile at each other vacantly. Will folds himself into Eddie’s side. The warmth is comforting. Nice. Eddie slides his arm around the kid, pulling him closer.

They wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Will’s asleep, face pressed into his ribs, by the time Eddie’s eyes start drooping. The stressful day is catching up to him. The days of hunger and fear stacking on top of his eyelids, pulling them down. But he can’t sleep.

If he falls asleep, the day will be over, and Steve Harrington won’t have come back.

He fights it. He loses. He sleeps.

The door creaks when it’s opened – a rusty hinge Uncle Wayne’s meant to oil for years.

It’s not Sir Steven on his noble steed, with his sword held high in victory. No. It’s even better. Steve Harrington stands at the threshold, a little worse for wear. There’s a bloody scratch cutting across his forehead, heading alarmingly up and into his signature hair. His shirts muddy, and there’s a bruise blooming alone his cheekbone. But he’s breathing. He’s alive.

Eddie loses time again, but it’s okay now because he’s in front of Steve, and he’s looking into his pretty, brown, living eyes. He slaps his face, once, too hard. Doesn’t even notice his hand moved until the sound echoes through the room.

Eddie darts forward, kissing the spot, three times quickly. He’s smearing snot and tears across King Steve’s face, and he couldn’t care less.

He feels out of control, untethered and wild, until Steve wraps his arms around Eddie tight. Eddie hugs back, harder than he should when Steve’s injuries remain largely a mystery.

But if he doesn’t keep his hold on the other boy, he thinks he might shake apart.

“You’re alive,” he says, wet and shaking, voice muffled into Steve’s neck.

Steve laughs. It vibrates through Eddie’s cheek, shakes something loose in his chest. “Yeah.” It’s barely a breath, but he hears it. “I said I’d come home.”

Steve Harrington is alive. And he came home.

Part 20

[scoops-aboy86]

Here, have an au drabble with always-a-girl Stevie Harrington and her boyfriend (husband?) being absolutely roasted by Max and their own dumbassery. Inspired by all the fics where Steddie open condoms with their teeth and a part of me cringes—even though, like, that’s probably accurate to the 80s, idek. 🤦‍♀️

”What?” Stevie says blankly. She resettles the baby in her arms, switching him to her other breast before he makes her feel lopsided—the mouth on this kid, just like his daddy. Who is on the other side of the room, frozen in the doorway with the tray of snacks she’d requested. 

“What?” Max parrots back, nonplussed by Stevie’s confusion. “You didn’t know? You seriously—“ and, fuck, she’s starting to smirk now, the little shit “—really didn’t know?”

“Are you sure?” Eddie asks, voice cracking and everything. His already big eyes are widened to maximum capacity, fixed on Stevie and their son and her baby bump that’s just starting to show with the next rugrat on the way, because apparently—

“Yes I’m sure,” Max nearly shrieks, lowering her voice just in time that little James doesn’t start fussing. “You’re not supposed to open condom wrappers with your teeth because the latex is right there too! Christ, how are you two considered functioning adults?”

Stevie’s face feels so hot, she’s sure she must look like a tomato right now. A tomato that hasn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in months and is ‘glowing’ from a morning spent praying out her morning sickness to the porcelain god. And like, don’t get her wrong, she’s happy with her life, she always wanted to be a mom… but neither pregnancy had been exactly planned.

They’d always wrapped up before sex, so it had never occurred to her that she should double up by getting on birth control or something. 

Her eyes meet Eddie’s, and they’re both looking at each other sheepish as hell because holy shit. Holy shit. 

“We can’t ever tell them,” Stevie says. 

“Never,” Eddie agrees faintly, finally approaching with her snacks. (About damn time, she thinks impatiently as she reaches for a pickle, shock and chagrin notwithstanding.) “Robin will never let us hear the end of it. And Dustin—oh my god, can you imagine the lecture? The little shit would bring visual goddamn aids!”

Stevie covers the baby’s ears with the burp cloth she’s going to have to move back to her shoulder in a minute and hisses, “Eds, I meant the babies!”

“Dustin’s kind of like a baby,” Max snickers. “You’ll have to call these ones the twins. Irish twins, y’know? For clarity.”

Meanwhile, “Don’t look at me like that,” Eddie begs Stevie with a wince. “My hand to god, I’ll never try to be sexy again!”

“You’re damn right you won’t,” she shoots back. “When I told you I daydreamed as a kid about having six, I didn’t mean it as a fucking sprint!”

Privately, she doesn’t entirely mean it. Sure, preparing for an infant when already in possession of one is a lot, but she can’t say she’s as put out as everyone keeps expecting her to be about an immediate round two of putting on baby weight. Eddie had been going crazy over her curves during the two minutes or so each week they actually have time and energy to take times for themselves, and personally she’s convinced her tits have never looked better. Still…

“You’re right about Robin and Dustin though,” she admits, turning to Max and steeling herself for negotiations. “How much to keep your mouth shut?”

Permanent tag list:

@hotluncheddie @lawrencebshoggoth @sofadofax @irishvampireboy @oatmilk-vampire

@wheneverfeasible @hamiltonswiftie @grtwdsmwhr @yesdangerpls @theseaofdespair

[mister-mickey]

Okay okay so this is exposing me as probably the cringiest person ever maybe but‼️ descendants au!

Okay so for anyone who doesn’t know the basic premise of descendants, all the characters are the kids (aka, descendants) of (Disney) fairytale characters, both villains and heroes. The descendants movies mostly focus on the villain kids and their redemption, and that’s what the trilogy is basically about (ignore the new movie, it sucks, don’t even bother watching it)

Okay so, Darry, soda, and ponyboy are the sons of Gaston because I think it’s silly. Darry is strong like Gaston, soda is good with the ladies, and Ponyboy is the biggest disappointment ever.

He likes to READ like a FREAK so Gaston hates his stupid little child. Gaston isn’t too fond of Darry either because although Darry is big and strong, he sucks with the ladies, and is also intelligent and dislikes his dad.

Soda might be Gaston’s fave, but even he isn’t perfect because he’s skinny and not tough. So they all have severe daddy issues lol

After that we have Dallas who is technically the main character because he steals Mal’s spot as maleficents child. (He’s a fairy haha so funny)

He’s like a little demon and we love/hate him. He does magic and all that. He hates his mom because… she sucks but he also lowkey wants her approval because she is the most powerful person on the isle. He has almost the same relationship with her as Mal does in the movies, so there isn’t a whole lot to change

I gave him horns because I felt like mal should have had horns

Next is Johnny! His mom is mother Gothel because none of the main parents seemed to fit him. They have a complicated relationship because that lady is crazy but she’s also really good at pretending that she loves him

Poor guy is so conflicted 24/7. He’s got long hair because mother Gothel has somehow gotten it into her head that he will eventually become magical.

And then there is twobit!!!! His dad is Jafar which I’m pretty sure was @crazability idea

This was mostly because he seemed very similar to jay in the movies, but also because like… it just works. We like it

He’s goofier than jay is because he’s twobit but I think he plays a similar role

Then Steve!!! Steve is Cruella DeVil’s son. He is very smart obviously because he’s Steve but since Cruella owns the only car then he is ofc the car guy

Steve is the same except he is deathly scared of dogs because of his mom lol. He HATES her she is absolutely off her rocker

Now after them is the auradon kids!! These are obviously the socs because like, come on

They get tiny doodles because I got lazy.

Paul is the son of belle and the beats! He is the future king of auradon and that power goes to his blond curly head. He is also hopelessly in love with the person he keeps seeing in his dreams (if you’ve read the descendants books you know, but if you haven’t, I’ll explain later in the plot section)

Cherry is Ariel’s daughter! She’s a mermaid obviously and I’m assuming she’s melodys younger sister. We made her Ariel’s kid because she’s a redhead lol. Cherry is super chill until she meets annoying Dallas. She’s currently dating Bob

Marcia is fairy godmothers child and she takes Jane’s role in the original movies. She’s kind of insecure (though not AS insecure) and it does affect the way she behaves

Bob is literally just chad charming if his name was Bob. Also if chad was violent. Bob is Cinderella and Prince Charming’s son. He’s very eugh I guess

Randy is the son of aurora and whatever her husbands name is. He dislikes Dallas because of that but I’ll expand on that further down

OKAY! PLOT!

20-25 years previous, the villains were resurrected and sent to the isle of the lost. This was as a punishment becuase apparently death was not punishment enough. Obviously the villains have kids and the heroes have kids, but the villains kids grow up in an incredibly violent and poverty stricken environment. Cruelty is not just encouraged, but necessary for survival. Nobody cares about these kids so they often raise themselves

Well, the good guys elect a king to rule over all the lands (auradon) and they pick the beast from beauty and the beast. Whatever. Well now Paul is about to be king (despite his father being alive and fine. Stupid descendants lore)

Paul has been having dreams about blue eyes for months. He doesn’t remember anything else. It’s haunting him and he’s been searching for the person with blue eye for so long. He eventually figured that the person may be on the isle, so his first decree as a soon to be king is for some of the kids to be taken off of the isle.

So Darry, pony, soda, Dallas, Johnny, Steve, and twobit get picked. They are carted in a limousine and taken to auradon. Now, these guys have an EVIL plan thanks to Dally’s mom

The plot is basically the same after this except dally is the one doing the magic, but Darry is the one with the romance plot.

Basically, dally thinks Paul’s is gross and he refuses to seduce him. They all draw straws and darry loses. Dally makes the love potion, darry gets Paul to eat it, and then darry has to deal with Paul being head over heels for him. Eventually Darry falls in love back (which is super scary for him) which makes him not want to take over auradon.

Dally is conflicted because he wants to take over auradon to show his mom that he’s powerful but he’s quickly realizing that she will never care. He feels stupid for ever wanting her approval and sticks with the people that he KNOWS will always love him (the gang)

Now, they all get their arcs where they realize that they like living in auradon and they like being happy and not on the defensive 24/7.

Steve gets the dog arc where he realizes that his mom lied to him to keep him under her thumb

Twobit flirts with girls and tells jokes like he does on the isle, but in auradon people act likes he’s special for being witty. They want to be his friend. They actually try to get to know him and it makes him realize that his humor was a sort of defense tactic. He realizes that he doesn’t want to be funny just as a defense. He likes to make people smile. (Also room for marbit where he jokes with her and makes her feel good and she is a little less insecure but still insecure because insecurity doesn’t just go away after one conversation)

Johnny cuts his hair! It was an accident and he felt so nervous he almost passed out, thinking about how mad his mom would be. But then the teachers helped him even it out and make it look okay, and made sure he was okay. He felt free and happy that he was given a choice. He realizes that he wants the space to make choices

Soda is used to feeling dumb. He doesn’t like to read or do much of that stuff. He leaves it to darry and pony. It’s never been an issue for him, until the teachers started caring. It was awkward for him having all his teachers offer extra lessons because he struggled so much. It was weird having adults CARE about his issues. He starts to hate his dad a lot more

Pony is clear cut tbh. He likes to read, he hates fighting, and gangs, and wars, and everything else that the villains DO want. He meets belle and they become besties. He was on the auradon side since the beginning tbh. He felt very validated swapping his stories about his dad with her.

But! Trouble still happens when Marcia tries to make herself “better” and accidentally opens the barrier. Maleficent comes, causes trouble, and dally defeats her with the power of friendship

Darry realizes that the spell on Paul wore off ages ago and that Paul really does like him, boom! Happily ever after!

For now. Descendants two will include the Shepards 😈 and other characters if anyone has ideas on how to make that work

Also forgive me if this is confusing my phone is super laggy and I’m having trouble actually typing

Also! @batidochokolat wrote a few cute little snippets a while back of this au and I’m still crazy about it

[coolshadowtwins]

The next step on my MDZS Pokémon au, with part 1 being here, we’re going back in time from the Juniors!

Rules that I mentioned- 1) Everyone has a team of three. 2) their started is the equivalent to their sword, and has their swords name. If they have a second, named weapon, then a second Pokémon has a name. Let’s go!

So the Pokémon protagonists that we will be following are, *Drum roll 🥁🥁🥁*

Yep! It’s Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian!

So the story starts out with them only having an Eevee each. All three siblings got an Eevee, as the family got the eggs from JFM’s own Vaporeon.

The Jiangs own the water gym in the region, except JFM is also an elite four. So when the tournament season starts, and JFM can’t take gym challengers and instead has to take elite four challengers, who would man the gym?

The answer is Madam Yu. But her main team is not primarily water based, so she has to use gym Pokémon to match her husbands theme, which she hates. (I don’t have her drawn yet, so when I do, I’ll post her) She wants JC to take over, but he can’t with just an Eevee. So, it’s time for his Pokémon journey!

JC just wants to do his family proud, and get water types to take over the gym. He’s fully expecting to evolve his Eevee into a vaporeon. I had a little trouble, debating what other Pokémon to give him that felt JC, and if you can think of something better, please tell me! But I ended up going with Feebas, because I can only imagining him trying to fish up a Magikarp to get a gyarados (after probably episodes and episodes of trying and failing to get a water type) only to get a Feebas. And through ~shenanigans~ he has to keep the ugly, weak fish.

Of course, he doesn’t really know what it evolves into. Imagine his surprise later…. (I have a separate, older JC drawn up to show later)

I gave him a lotad, because you’re fighting a angry looking trainer that sends out a Ludicolo is hilarious to me. I don’t have an image of how he got that Pokémon, or when, but I do think it’s his last.

Now to WWX.

He got his Eevee, Suiban, at the same time as JC, when they are 10~ just a little after coming to live with the Jiangs. Side note here- I have no idea how his dog phobia works here. Is it a specific dog? Is it just dog Pokémon? I said before that Yiling is the graveyard town of the region, so maybe he’s just scared of Greavard. He was still on the streets after losing his parents, just like canon.

I think Zorua is his last Pokémon. I gave him that one purely because I felt it fit his vibes. I think he gets Drifloon when they pass through Yiling, to challenge the gym there. He actually had this Pokémon as a kid, and it got left in Yiling because it wasn’t in a ball. So when it saw WWX again, it just started following him again. I gave him Drifloon because of the Pokédex entries saying how it steals children! I felt that it was horrifying enough to work! JFM comes to find his dead friends child, only to find him living on the streets, with a Drifloon following him? Horrifying.

I think he gets his Drifloon before JC gets anymore Pokémon. Maybe he even gets his Zoroa before JC gets anymore Pokémon. This makes JC that much more desperate to catch something, leading to his fumble with the fishing.

I also don’t know which Pokémon gets to be Chenqing. I feel like, being the one got in Yiling, it should be Drifloon. But I think Zorua would be the ‘feared’ equivalent to the demonic cultivation. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Another thing that I imagine for WWX is that he had expected to take over the gym when JC, in the future, started completely taking over for his dad- gym and elite four. Like Madam Yu is doing. He fully expects to evolve his Eevee into a vaporeon as well, and had expected to get a team of water types to match. JC is not that happy when he ends the journey with the team that he has!

But it’s fine, right? He’ll just used borrowed Pokémon like Madam Yu does, and it’ll be no problem!

I was going to add a third to this post, but it got long! So I’ll add it in the next one!

Next time! The boys first gym battle, with (reminder) only an Eevee each!

[waterfire1848]

cat ozai au?

Hello, anon!!! Shout out to @akiizayoi4869 for helping me!!

1. In a world with no war, the royal family still has some issues. Mainly that they suck at properly communicating with one another which has caused more than a few arguments. Ursa has tried to help the family communicate better but they’re really struggling. One night, a family dinner turns into one of the most heated arguments of all time. Zuko yells that Ozai doesn’t care about him at all and Azula claims that he only cares about her bending but doesn’t want to know her as a person (of course she still has some problems with Ursa but at the moment everything is directed towards Ozai). Ursa tries to talk to Ozai after the dinner but he says he needs some space and leaves. While out in the garden, Ozai wishes that he could know more about his children and be more involved in their lives. A nearby spirit hears him and says that he can make that happen. Ozai agrees to the spirit’s help and he’s turned into a cat.

2. Ozai, of course, tries to fight the spirit but just ends up hurting himself. He’s discovered by Ursa, who mistakes him for a stray, and takes him inside to help heal his injured leg. (Ursa: Poor thing. Did you get into a fight with a fox-owl or tiger-monkey? Ozai: Actually a spirit. Ursa: Talkative little thing, aren’t you? Don’t worry. Our healers will fix your leg and you can be on your merry way. Ozai: Yeah, not happening. I’ll be staying in the nice way palace. Thank you very much.) While she’s walking through the halls, Zuko spots her and the cat in her arms. He instantly asks if they can keep him but Ursa is reluctant because Ozai isn’t fond of pets. Azula hears what’s going on and asks as well. Ursa agrees that they can keep the cat for now but Ozai has final say. (Azula: Dad’ll never let us keep a cat. Ozai: Because they’re annoying, show no affection, and they’re pests more than pets. If you kids want a pet then we’ll invest in an actual pet befitting the Royal Family. Zuko: Awww. He’s so chatty. Ursa: He really is. I think his paw is hurting him. I’m going to take him to the healer. Azula: Could we name him? Ozai: No! No, Ursa, stop this! Ursa: Not right now, baby. I don’t want you kids getting attached. Besides, he’s so good with people. He probably has owners of his own that he’ll have to go back to.). The healer washes him and bandages up his paw before returning him to Ursa’s room. Ursa, worried about Ozai and wondering why he hasn’t returned, almost doesn’t notice the black cat on her bed until she gets ready to go to bed. Too tired to remove him, Ursa allows him to remain in her room. Ozai tries to think up how to get rid of this curse and why the spirit would curse him like this until he sees Ursa shaking and realizes she’s crying. He makes his way over and falls asleep nuzzled next to her and purring to provide some comfort.

3. Ozai is declared missing by tomorrow afternoon. The palace sends out a search part for him but no one can find anything. (A letter is also sent to Iroh to tell him that his brother has gone missing). While everyone searches for Ozai, Ursa agrees to let the kids keep the cat so they can have something good to focus on. Ozai is still dead set on them figuring out who he is but no matter what he does, it doesn’t work. He tries writing his name (it gets stepped on), telling people (all they can hear is meowing), and even bringing things to them that he had bought (this backfires horribly when he brings Azula a teddy bear he got her as a child and the family decides to name him Teddy.). Iroh returns to the palace a few days later, introduced to Teddy:the family’s temporary pet, but, much to Ozai’s shock, Iroh actually can understand him. (Ozai: You can understand me? Iroh: Years of spiritual training was not just for show, brother. Ozai: Tell them it’s me! Help me change back! Iroh: I don’t think I should do that. The spirits clearly did this for a reason. You need to live through this. Ozai: Iroh, I am not a cat! Get me out of this body! Iroh: When was the last time you spent one on one time with Zuko? Ozai: I…umm… Iroh: What’s Azula’s favorite dessert flavor?Ozai: I know her favorite dessert? Iroh: You see my point? Ozai: I’ll do better but not as a cat. Iroh: Sorry, brother. Noting I can do. Zuko: Uncle! Are you talking to Teddy? Iroh: You have a very talkative little fella. Ozai: Iroh. Iroh, picking him up: Here you go, nephew. Be gently with him. Zuko: I know. Come on, Teddy. Azula and I got you some treats. Ozai: Yay….cat treats.) Ozai is gonna kill his brother when all of this is over.

4. One day, while he’s relaxing in Zuko’s room (cat’s sleep a lot, he’s realizing), he notices Zuko come home in a huff from school and slam his stuff down then fall into his pillow. Ozai gets up to investigate what’s going on but is almost knocked off the bed by Zuko when he firebends in rage. Zuko ends up ranting about how there’s a big firebending performance happening at his school and he knows he’s going to fail it. Ozai tries to tell him that he wouldn’t fail if he put time into practicing only for Zuko to continue ranting and, eventually, he decides to head over to the training room, taking “Teddy” with him. When they get there, Ozai realizes that Zuko is doing the moves correctly—which isn’t what he thought—but is struggling nonetheless. He was always so focused on Azula that he didn’t notice that his son was doing the right moves, he just needed more instruction and help. (Zuko, feeling Teddy press his head against his leg: Teddy, I can’t play right now. Ozai: Keep your legs anchored to the floor. You need your legs rooted to the ground to help control your fire. *Pressing his paws against Zuko’s feet*. Zuko: Are you giving me firebending lessons, little guy? Ozai: I know you can’t understand me but please understand me. You’re putting too much power into your bending. You are a firebender. The fire will come. Zuko: Thanks for the pep talk, buddy. Now, why don’t we move you away from the fire. Ozai, ears falling: Right. Can’t understand me.) Later that day, he comes across Azula and finds her in her room freaking out over something. Jumping on her desk to hear more, he finds out that she has a crush on two different people: a boy named Chan and her friend Ty Lee. Ozai is beyond taken aback by this. He didn’t not know Azula was already getting crushes. (Ozai: You can’t date yet. You’re still just a kid. Azula: I don’t know what to do Teddy. Ozai: Don’t date. I never trusted Ty Lee and this Chan guy sounds like a jerk. Just stay single. Problem solved! Azula: You think I should handle it like a battle strategy? Great idea! *Runs off* Ozai: What? No. Sweetie, you can’t-….I never taught her what to do when she has a crush, did I? Iroh: No, you didn’t. Ozai: Were you just standing there? Iroh: I heard you talking. Ozai:….Am I just as bad a father? Iroh: No! No, you’re not. Because father never even thought he was wrong. You realize that you are. Ozai: I want to help them.)

5. A couple more weeks go by and the family starts to realize more and more that Teddy might not be an ordinary cat because he’s helping them with almost all of their problems. He helps Zuko with his firebending, getting him the highest report he’s ever gotten by his tutors, helped Azula with her dating crisis—even though he really thought she shouldn’t be dating—and provided Ursa with comfort and help since she was feeling overwhelmed with everything now that Ozai was gone. By now, Ozai has also been declared dead and the family is mourning his death. It’s hard for him to see everyone mourning him when he’s right there but the most he can do for his children and wife is to give them some form of comfort. One night, he’s asleep next to Ursa, when he hears someone outside. His ears perk up and he quickly realizes that it’s the same spirit as before. Ozai slips out of her hold and back to the garden. (Spirit: Enjoying yourself? Ozai, sarcastically: Greatly. Why are you here? Spirit: I think it’s time for Teddy to go and Ozai to return. Ozai: You’re turning me back!!! Spirit: If you wish. Ozai: Actually…I have a request.) Ursa wakes up the next morning to see her husband smiling at her. Of course, she and the kids are beyond thankful that Ozai is alive and well and back at the palace. But they’d by lying if they said they weren’t also thankful for the fact that he found Teddy wandering in the garden by himself. (Iroh: Asked the spirit to make Teddy a real cat? Ozai: They deserve a pet. Iroh: You know I’m going to tell them you were the cat, right? Ozai: Iroh- Iroh: Hey, Ursa, remember a few weeks ago when Teddy got into your secret stash of chocolate?)

[morurui]

Camp Cretaceous/Chaos Theory Arcane AU Part 1

I’ve been mulling over this AU for a while now and I’ll put the info in read more so it doesn’t take over my home page, but I would like to thank @mangosaurus and @theobscuredigit for helping me sort out my thoughts and bounce off ideas regarding the AU! Also this mostly covers act 1 of Arcane so I’ll probably do another part of this covering acts 2 and 3.

I’ve been working through what characters would fit which roles in the arcane universe and I’ve finally come to a somewhat solid conclusion on where I’m taking this AU if I decide to do more about it in the future (or it’s just this one off thing, maybe I’ll write a fic about it. I’m unsure), so here we go!

Yaz -> Vi- A head strong and athletic young girl who lost her mom due to a tragic conflict between the Undercity and Piltover. She’s the leader of a rag tag group of fellow orphans, those of which greatly admire her. While she may put on an act of having everything together she’s extremely terrified of letting those she loves down, especially her adoptive younger brother Ben who is the most important person in her life.

Ben -> Powder- Yaz found Ben all alone during the conflict that took the lives of the twos parents, and from that day forward Yaz became Ben’s protector and sister. Although, timid, Ben is determined to prove he can pull his own weight within the group. However, his attempts often fail leading disastrous consequences, which Yaz and the others have to end up resolving. The only person that Ben believes doesn’t see him as a burden is his best friend, Darius.

Mae -> Vander- Adoptive mother of both Ben and Yaz, she found the two during the conflict between Piltover and the Undercity. She also takes care of two other children she found during the aftermath and is well respected in the Undercity, due to her not so savory past. She now tries to keep the peace between the two nations, while also struggling to manage the rebellious children under her care.

Kenji -> Mylo- One of the other two children under Mae’s care. Unlike everyone else in the group who are orphans, Kenji was abandoned by his father after his mother passed away, using the chaos of the conflict going on in the Undercity as a way to make a clean break. Kenji greatly admires Yaz, and hopes to be someone that can proudly stand by her side, however his cockiness and laziness get the better of him. While he does care for Ben, he ends up giving the kid a hard time due to how often he messes up jobs. He believes that Ben somehow hexes the group whenever he joins them on outings.

Sammy -> Claggor- One of the other two children under Mae’s care as well as Yaz’s girlfriend. During the conflict, Sammy was separated from her parents and later found out they were killed during it. With no where else to go, she finds Mae and gets taken in by her. While trying to keep things positive in the group, it’s clear that she share the same hatred for those in Piltover as her friends, citing them as the reason why she lost everything.

Darius -> Ekko- Best friend of Ben as well as the son of the local pawn shop owner, he supplies tips he hears from his dad’s shop about wealthy customers to his friends. He highly respects Ben and motivates him to keep trying even when he wants to give up, being a guiding light in Ben’s life.

Brooklynn -> Caitlyn- The daughter of one of Piltover’s councilman. Her biggest dream is to investigate the inside details of Piltover and the Undercity’s rocky relationship and hope to achieve this by becoming one of the cities top enforcers in the future. She also assists Henry Wu in his work from time to time as he was taken under her families wing.

Here are the other roles that I don’t feel like writing descriptions for as of this moment but probably will if I go more into depth with this AU

Dr. Wu -> Jayce

Eddie -> Viktor

Daniel -> Mel

Tiff-> Silco

Mitch -> Sevika

Bumpy -> idk she can be heimerdinger or something

If I had better art skills I would draw designs for everyone, but alas I only use my drawing ability for shitty memes.

[totallyjustabunchofhocuspocus]

Fic: Something to Sink Your Teeth Into 4/?

Read on AO3

Pairing: Buck/Tommy, Vampire/Witch!AU

I was not expecting to have to delve this much into political structures, but I can't lie--it's kind of fun.

“Do we get to know why we’re kidnapping one of Gerrard’s party favors, or is this another situation where I sleep better if I don’t know?” Sal asked conversationally as they made their way to the big SUV Lucy preferred to drive.

“You don’t sleep,” Tommy retorted testily.

Sal sighed, and Tommy didn’t have to look to know he was pinching the bridge of his nose. “He got car keys? Gerrard’s got a few on his cleanup crew that’ll notice if there’s more cars than bodies.”

Damn it. That was a good point. “Fuck, I don’t know. He was talking to a friend or a roommate earlier; they might have come together, but I don’t know. Lucy, can you…?” He shifted Evan in his arms, holding him so that Lucy could rifle through his pockets. After a moment, she came up with a peeling leather keychain, on which dangled a couple of keys, one with the Jeep logo emblazoned on it. Sal snatched the keys and shot Tommy a look.

“I’ll go check where the staff was parking. If I don’t find anything, I’ll make my own way home. We are talking about this later, Tommy boy.”

“Expected nothing less,” Tommy sighed, and then frowned. “I’m taking him to the apartments, though, not the main house.” Sal looked surprised, but just nodded and loped off towards the end of the estate opposite the gardens, where presumably all of Gerrard’s victims had been told to park for the night. “You drive, Luce. I’m gonna have to handle him if he wakes up before we get home.”

Lucy’s eyebrows climbed towards her hairline, but she didn’t question him further, just hurrying along to the SUV and unlocking it with a quick chirp from the key fob. He clambered into the backseat with Evan and spent an awkward few moments trying to sort of lean him comfortably against the window in the seat before giving up with a groan and just pulling the kid back against his chest.

“I’m biting my tongue so hard I’m tasting blood, Kinard. I just want you to know that,” Lucy said from the driver’s seat, staring at him in the rearview mirror. “Also, just how much handling does one half-drained frat boy need? Not that I’m judging you. Much.”

Tommy glared at her half-heartedly, before turning his attention out the window, restlessly scanning their surroundings for any of Gerrard’s people. The SUV’s tinted windows—darkest UV blocking glass they were legally allowed to have in California, of course—should keep them safe from any prying eyes, but he didn’t fully relax until Lucy had pulled them out of Gerrard’s compound and they were out on the highway.

Evan showed no signs of waking, and Tommy took the opportunity to finally take a (metaphorical) breath and really consider just what the fuck he had done. He’d gotten the witch out of Gerrard’s territory…but now what? The kid had already proven he was dangerous. If it had been anyone else in that parlor apart from Tommy or Gerrard himself, he had no doubt Evan would have been able to escape.

He also had no doubt that Evan would not have been able to get off the estate. Against maybe a handful of younger vampires? Probably he’d have been fine. Against dozens and dozens of representatives of every coven in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area? He might have taken a lot of them out with him, but eventually he would have been overwhelmed by sheer numbers. But the fact remained that bringing him home was dangerous. It was stupid. He'd accomplished what he’d set out to do—which was get the witch away from Gerrard. The smart thing to do would be to have Lucy drive to the nearest hospital, use the thrall to blur Evan’s memories enough that he wouldn’t be able to identify Tommy, and leave him on a bench near the ER doors.

What was he thinking?

He wasn’t, that was the problem. He’d been riding on instinct from the moment he’d watched Evan burn Gerrard’s turn to ash…and his instincts were insisting he not let the witch out of his sight.

Tommy had not survived for eight hundred fucking years by ignoring his instincts.

A faint tremor ran through Evan’s body, a small grimace twisting his face. The delicate skin of his eyelids twitched and trembled, his eyes moving restlessly back and forth as though he was dreaming. With a soft sigh, he turned further into Tommy’s chest, his forehead brushing the skin of Tommy’s neck. The kid was ice cold—especially compared to the warmth that had been radiating off him before. Well shit, of course he was. He was a few pints of blood lighter and he’d been fighting for his life with his magic. He was probably going into shock. Fuck…he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d had to worry about a human’s welfare. The only one he spent any real amount of time with was Lucy’s girlfriend—and not only did Lena decidedly not need Tommy fussing over her, she would be one of them soon enough (Lucy had already asked, and Alonzo had consented…but Lena’s mother was in the final stages of a long battle with cancer and she didn’t want to abandon her human life before her mother passed).

He twisted in his seat, searching through the multitude of things that had been tossed into the third row until he found a jacket he vaguely remembered seeing Ravi wear a few times crumpled up under some random books and an umbrella. He snatched it up and turned back to drape it over Evan, drawing another long look from Lucy in the rearview mirror. He sighed heavily.

“He’s a witch, Lucy,” he said without preamble.

Lucy did not slam on the brakes in shock. But the SUV did swerve a little. An angry horn blared behind them, and Lucy rolled her window down to stick her hand out and flip them the bird.

“Tommy, what the fuck? Are you sure?”

“He burned one of Gerrard’s turns to ash with a spell. Tried to flatten me like a pancake. And I could barely hold him in the thrall. So yeah, pretty sure.”

“What the hell is a witch doing at a vampire coven gathering?”

Tommy shrugged one shoulder, massaging his temple lightly. Sal insisted that they couldn’t get headaches anymore, but Tommy called bullshit. “Tending bar,” he said. “I don’t think he realized what kind of party he was working until it was too late.”

“His familiar let him walk into a den of vampires?” Lucy asked in disbelief. “Wait…where is the familiar?”

Another shrug. “I don’t think he has one. Like you said, no way it would have let him walk into Gerrard’s place. And there was nothing helping him when he was attacked. Even if his familiar was a damn fly, it would have tried to do something.”

“Is that—I mean, the only witch I know is Chimney, but—isn’t that…kind of weird for a witch his age?”

It was fucking bizarre is what it was. A bond with a familiar was considered part of becoming an adult among witches. Most were bonded with a familiar by fifteen or sixteen, sometimes earlier. But hardly ever later. Familiars helped witches regulate and control their power as they became fully functioning members of their covens. Granted, Tommy wasn’t exactly sure how a familiar was chosen for a witch. He would cautiously say that he and Howie were friends, but it wasn’t like they regularly traded coven secrets, and Howie had never offered up the story of how he’d come to be bonded with the wrinkly-faced bat that clung to his clothes and fluttered around his head constantly.

“It’s not normal, no,” he allowed eventually.

“Okay…okay, so I see why you took him out of Gerrard’s. No way in hell you could leave him there. But what are you planning to do with him?” she asked carefully. Too carefully.

“Lucy,” he said warningly.

“Kinard,” she replied in exactly the same tone. Then she sighed heavily. “You know we have to consider how much of an advantage this could be. You already drank from him!”

He shifted, unconsciously tightening the arm he had around Evan’s shoulders. To keep him from tipping all over the place, of course. The power of the witch’s blood still coursed through him, and would for several days…maybe even a few weeks. Tommy was already stronger and faster than anyone else in the coven, was stronger and faster than almost any other vampire in this part of California, but right now? He was fucking untouchable. Lucy was right…having access to Evan’s blood regularly would be an incredible advantage for the coven. Even if they limited who drank from him and let the younger members of the coven drink from those people regularly, the strength of the coven would increase tenfold. He knew why Lucy had to put the thought out there.

Alonzo’s coven was well-respected and well-liked. But they did not have the sheer power that was required to be politically important in their world. Tommy’s presence in the coven was the source of a lot of what political clout they did have. Even with their relatively small numbers, there weren’t many covens who were willing to anger a vampire who was close to measuring his age in millennia rather than centuries. Alonzo and Sal were decently powerful in their own right—both of them having been turned sometime during the early Renaissance—but apart from them the rest of the coven were all under two hundred years old. Most of them had been turned in the last century.

But no witch would willingly let themselves be used like that by a vampire coven.

Witch and vampire covens had an uneasy truce. In places like LA, with large populations of both, interaction was necessary to preserve the secret of their existence from the even larger human populations. That was how he’d come to know Howard Han. He and Howie had known each other for going on ten years, had spoken often in both official and unofficial capacities. He considered Howie a friend, and knew Howie felt the same. But they had never been to each other’s territory. Never been alone together. Every meeting he’d ever had with Howie had been conducted in a public place, or on carefully agreed upon and regulated neutral territory.

If the coven were to utilize Evan’s blood, they would have to force him.

Keep him locked up somewhere. Neutralize his ability to cast spells. Keep him a secret from every other witch and vampire in the city. And the worst part was, he knew Alonzo would consider it. Gerrard had been expanding his powerbase in LA for decades, and the very real possibility he would enter into a formal alliance with Ortiz had every coven not formally aligned with him on edge. The situation was becoming precarious enough that he knew Alonzo was considering if it was even worth it to stay in California anymore.

He hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d told Evan what Gerrard would do to him back at the mansion. Gerrard’s solution would be to slice out Evan’s tongue and keep him chained in the basement of his most heavily fortified property and he would do it in a heartbeat.

Tommy had done unsavory things in the name of survival before. He no longer had to kill when he hunted, but there were hundreds, if not thousands of deaths under his belt in that pursuit. And that was just the hunting. Tommy had done many cruel, vicious things—in the name of survival or revenge or protecting something he valued or just because. The idea that he could be as old as he was with clean hands and a clean conscience was laughable. He certainly didn’t care that the other members of his coven still killed when they hunted, and far more frequently than he needed to. Tommy was no stranger to cruelty. It was true, though, that in general, Alonzo’s coven refrained from the worst excesses of their kind. That was what he liked about them, what had spurred him to join, and why he stayed.

The thought of doing anything the way Gerrard would turned Tommy’s stomach.

But it was one person—one stranger—held up against safety and protection for his entire coven.

“Tommy?” Lucy said again, and he shook his head.

“I don’t have a plan, Luce,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking beyond making sure Gerrard didn’t get ahold of him.”

“Well, you need to figure that the fuck out!”

“I know! Okay? I know. Look, just…just get us to the apartments. I’ll call Alonzo as soon as you’re gone and, I dunno, I’ll just see what he has to say.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa…who said I was leaving?” She turned fully in her seat to glare at him, and he smacked the back of her headrest.

“Eyes on the road!” he snapped. “Fuck. And I said you’re leaving. Did you miss the part where I said this kid burned one of Gerrard’s turns to ash? Why do you think we’re not going back to the compound?”

“He’s thralled, it’s fine!”

“Lucy,” he said firmly. “No. I’ve never actually had someone fight me like that, I don’t know how long I can hold him.”

“So gag him,” she shrugged.

“Right, because waking up like that’s gonna inspire him to listen to me calmly and objectively.”

Another glare in the rearview mirror, this one suspicious. “Why do you need him to listen to you calmly and objectively?” she asked warily. “Tommy—we can’t let him go, you understand that right? Doesn’t matter what reason you had…and let me guess, someone caught you trying to sneak him out? It still doesn’t matter. You drank from a witch, completely unsanctioned. His coven could demand your fucking head. Even if by some miracle they accepted that you were trying to save him, the SoCal high coven has been trying to find a way to drive you and Gerrard out of LA for years. They hate having vampires as powerful as you in their territory.”

“I. Know,” he gritted out, although in truth he hadn’t been thinking anywhere near that far ahead. He’d just known he had to get Evan out of that mansion. Besides…if what he’d seen when he drank from Evan was accurate (and he still wasn’t sure it was…experiencing flashes and fragments of memories and emotions wasn’t unusual when drinking from a thralled victim, but he’d never seen anything that complete, that solid), the witch covens in the area might not respond for Evan the way Lucy thought they would.

“Okay, well, then what the fuck is the plan? Cause if you can’t answer that, we’re going to have to kill him. Tonight. Fuck, right now!”

“We’re not killing him.” The words were out of his mouth before he even realized he was going to say them. Lucy turned to look at him again, shock plain on her face. The SUV drifted in its lane and another horn blared at them. Tommy rubbed a hand down his face, taking a deep, unneeded breath. “I am very aware of just how precarious the situation is, okay? But I don’t want to kill him unless we have to.”

It was strange, actually, how very much he didn’t want to kill the witch. If his position was reversed with Lucy or Sal, he’d be questioning if Evan had somehow cast a spell on them. But his instincts were screaming at him. Screaming. He had to listen.

“Tommy,” Lucy said softly, and when he looked at her face in the mirror, she was biting her lip, a worried frown wrinkling her forehead.

Without a word, he reached forward and laid a hand on her shoulder. Blindly, she grabbed it, rubbing her cheek against his knuckles. Lucy was not his turn. He hadn’t made her. But the one who had had completely abandoned her to her new life, cutting her loose only days after she’d risen. Tommy had been the one who found her, half-feral and on the verge of being declared for extermination by the local covens. He’d been the one who helped her regain her control, herself. He hadn’t made her, but neither of them really made that distinction anymore.

“Luce, do you trust me?” he asked softly.

“You know I do. More than anyone.”

“Then trust me. I’ll figure this out.”

Lucy swallowed convulsively but gave a sharp nod. She squeezed his hand one more time, and then let it go to concentrate on driving. They spent the rest of the drive in silence, until Lucy eventually guided the SUV into the underground parking garage of the apartment building Alonzo had acquired as a coven safehouse a few years ago. They’d gone to great pains to bury its ownership under multiple shell companies and shadow investors, and even occasionally rented out units in it to preserve the fiction. At the moment, it was completely empty.

The perfect place to bring what was essentially a ticking timebomb. It wasn’t like Tommy didn’t have the funds to buy the coven a hundred more apartment buildings if this went badly and Evan ended up burning the place to the ground. The witch was still deeply unconscious, but a little bit of color had come back to his face as Tommy gathered him up again and slid out of the backseat. His breathing and heartbeat were steady enough that Tommy wasn’t worried.

Lucy insisted on following him up to one of the loft apartments they kept furnished with the basics, dithering by the door while Tommy carried Evan up to the second floor and laid him down on the bed far more gently than was strictly necessary. He hesitated briefly, then mentally threw up his hands and made quick work of removing the witch’s shoes and belt. He searched briefly through his pockets, just to remove anything that might be uncomfortable to lie on, and came up with only his wallet and a pack of gum. He debated only a few seconds before flipping the wallet open, his eyebrow climbing when the driver’s license in the first plastic sleeve read EVAN DANIELS. That was weird…the kid had said his last name was Buckley when Tommy questioned him back at the mansion.

“Hey, Sal just texted! The keys matched an old Jeep in the staff parking area…what do you want him to do with it?” Lucy called up the stairs, breaking him out of his thoughts. He looked down at Evan again and closed the wallet, setting it down on the nightstand in easy reach.

“Have him bring it here,” he called back.

“Oh, so Sal gets to stay?” Lucy grumbled but didn’t try to argue further. Tommy rested his hands on his hips, drumming his fingers on his belt as he tried to think ahead for perhaps the first time tonight.

“Hey, Josh still does a lot of hacking doesn’t he?” he asked, going to the top of the stairs and looking down at Lucy. She looked up from her phone, a distinctly unimpressed look on her face.

“His literal job for Alonzo is erasing the coven’s digital footprint and keeping our finances straight, so, uh, yeah.”

“Think he could find out some coven information discreetly?”

Lucy’s eyes narrowed. “I’m guessing we’re talking witch covens, not vampire. Ugh. I can ask…but if he thinks we’d trigger something, he’s not doing it.”

“No, yeah, no, that’s fair. Just…see if he can find out anything about an Evan Buckley.”

“That’s not a very unique name—do you have any other details, or are we just looking for what we can dig up in LA?”

Tommy thought back to the strange…vision or dream or whatever. “No, no he can’t be from California.”

Lucy’s glare turned disbelieving. “You want Josh to go fishing through coven records for a name like Buckley and the only geographical distinction is ‘not California’?”

Okay, when she said it like that…

“I think…I think he was banished,” Tommy admitted after a moment. “Probably a few years ago.”

“Banished,” Lucy repeated slowly. “A few years ago? But you said he was casting spells?”

“I know. I—I might be wrong. But there’s something weird going on here.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Lucy muttered darkly. “Fine. Evan Buckley, banished from anywhere in the United States except California…you do think he’s American, right?”

“I mean, if he’s not he does a really decent accent,” Tommy said with a shrug.

“You’re giving me ulcers, Kinard!”

He smirked at her, spreading his hands in a placating gesture. “They’ll heal. Now get out of here. See what Josh can find, if anything, and text me later.”

At that, the irritation melted off Lucy’s face, and she stabbed a finger towards him, her expression deadly serious. “Stay safe, okay?”

“You know me Luce. I’m hard to kill.”

She didn’t look entirely convinced, but she nodded, and turned to leave. Tommy watched the door close and the deadbolt engage with a solid thunk, and then he was alone. With a witch. Who he had bitten without permission and kidnapped, and who had already demonstrated a complete willingness to try and kill him. And who he absolutely was not going to be able to let go when he woke up, regardless of whether or not he particularly wanted to.

Right. What could possibly go wrong?

[lvrcpid]

headcannons - modern!au

— my personal headcannons for my modern!au

neteyam

- keeps his room really tidy

- he probably works at tillys or footlocker

- most likely has a newer car since he’s a top tier child

- had braces from age 10 to 15

- i think he keeps his locs short

- speaking of locs, he knows how to retwist so he saves money on that part

- he’s allergic to nuts and blueberries

- he loves 2pac and biggie

- his favorite holiday is most likely christmas

- cargo pants are his go to

- probably asked lo’ak to put him on with you

- has the prettiest smile ever

lo’ak

- he doesn’t wanna work , he kisses up to mo’at for money

- he wears glasses and sometimes contacts

- he has his permit , his 9 months aren’t up yet 💀

- probably makes soundcloud music but it’s actually good

- he doesn’t tell anyone this but he wants to be a vet when he grows up

- he’s a dog lover , wants a dog named rico

- always taking tsireya on dates cause his love language is quality time

- he vapes. i’m sorry he just does.

- probably still gets in hella trouble

- when and if he does get a job, he works at footlocker/tillys with neteyam (he didn’t wanna do the interviews , he thinks they’re cringe)

- his room either smells of his vapes, chips or the occasional wallflowers neytiri makes him use

- everyone thinks his name is so cool and unique

kiri

- she plays guitar. no more.

- has a pet guinea pig

- probably plays roblox in her free time

- stays cutting and dying her hair

- she probably doesn’t care she’s adopted

- she bakes a lot

- girl in red is her favorite artist

- vines and incense are a must in her room

- her and rotxo are dating but they probably have that “im not ashamed of you i just don’t want everyone in our business” type relationship

- she works at khols and gets khols cash for her mom

- she probably smokes weed

- she definitely does.

- she’s not like always high but she’s always high

ao’nung

- he loves sleeping

- he also wears glasses but hate the way they shape his face

- he probably has a few tattoos ngl

- he stays looking at fight videos on twitter

- idc he’s a big cuddler

- he’s the type to see crying as a weakness

- still has ronals smile

- speaking of ronal he’s a mommas boy

- the type to secretly take pictures of you and set them as his background and get flustered when you point it out

- he probably doesn’t work since being an athlete takes up most of his time but when the season is over he works at zumiez

tsireya

- a big crybaby ngl

- pageant princess back in the day

- she probably knows how to play the violin

- head over heels for lo’ak

- she wants to marry this boy

- she probably wears a lot of vans

- i see her being prone to sickness really often like she’s always catching a cold and allergies are the devil

- i’m sorry but she vapes too , she does not CAREEEEEE

- avid starbucks drinker

- her favorite food is shrimp

- contrary to popular belief her and aonung are very close and have sleep overs all the time

- she works at a hair salon as an assistant

tuk

- that girl lives in claire’s

- reminder she is 8 , let’s give our girl some credit

- she’s probably not an ipad kid. she probably has her own phone and is surprisingly really responsible with it

- girl is so ready for high school and hasn’t even hit middle school yet

- i don’t see her as the type to kid to love sweets, something tells me tuk is more of a i’ll eat it but i know when to stop type kid

- lo’ak doesn’t watch her, she watches lo’ak

- probably mature enough to be left at home by herself

- she loves mac and cheese

- that is her MEAL

- she never knows what she wants to eat

- they’re always in the restaurant waiting on tuk

- i don’t see her as a big crybaby but moral support for her siblings like she’s always like “i’m here for you” when lo’ak and jake get into it , not like ranting but you get it

- her and neteyam are partners in crime

- her bedtime is 8:30 , 9:00 when she’s completed her homework early

- she’s so SASSYYYYY

[slexenskee]

MDNSY AU

Posting this WIP bc maybe if it sees the light of day I’ll actually get around to writing more of it

I originally wrote this right after the sick-fic arc even though its supposed to take place during the Eri arc so it gets kinda AU from there

It’s only afterwards— months afterwards, that he realizes the full extent of his own stupid actions. 

So many things had to perfectly align in exactly the wrong way for this to happen. But each and every one of them was his own damn fault, so there’s really no one to blame here but himself. 

It had to have happened when Hawks had been sick and recovering in his hotel room, that’s the only way the timing lines up. Gojo has always been good about practicing safe sex— considering how he sleeps around, he sort of has to— and has never slipped up even once… until Hawks. Multiple times, actually, not even counting the time he was sick. There’d also been that time in Palawan, when he hadn’t brought any condoms with him because he’d honestly thought he wouldn’t need them. That had been rather profoundly short sighted of him, in hindsight. And then of course there were the time(s) when Hawks was staying in his hotel room, when they couldn’t keep their hands off each other and once again Gojo hadn’t thought to go out and buy any condoms because he’d genuinely thought he wouldn’t need any. Hawks had been sick! Basically delirious! How was he supposed to know that the moment he’d recovered enough he’d jump him? And on a related note, how was Gojo supposed to summon up enough willpower to stop him? 

To that point— how was Gojo even supposed to know he should stop him?

That too, though, is entirely his fault.

Apparently it’s a regular part of sex-ed during middle school— except Gojo never went to class in middle school, so he’d entirely missed the memo. With the advent of quirks came a rare genetic mutation that allows for male pregnancies among a small subset of the population. Rare, but not entirely unheard of, either. It was certainly common enough for a segment to be taught in public schools, and testing to be done as part of the gamut of health checks most kids go through around puberty. Most kids aside from Gojo, who was out terrorizing organized crime syndicates just for fun at that age. 

God, he’s a fucking idiot. This entire situation was so laughably avoidable, and yet he’d managed to end up in it anyway. 

Anyway so now he’s having an existential meltdown in the middle of his still unfinished bathroom, staring numbly at the flecks of grout still flaking off the new tile, wondering what the fuck he’s supposed to do now.

“Satoruuu,” a voice whines from the other side of the bathroom door. “I need to pee.”

Gojo scrambles to his feet, binning the evidence of all the pregnancy tests and burying it under a cloud of toilet paper just before he wrenches the door open, smile fixed in place. “Sorry Eri-chan! I was spacing out.”

Eri just takes the excuse at face value, bounding into the only current usable bathroom in the house and shutting the door behind her.

Gojo sighs wearily, slumping against the wall just outside the door.

Alright, first on the agenda is finding a temporary residence for them while he gets an army of contractors to fix the worst of the ‘home improvement’ sins he’s committed upon this house as quickly as possible. He’d originally thought redoing the rooms would be a fun bonding activity for him and Eri, but now he knows all those chemicals will be bad for… for the baby, so that’s probably a bad idea now. He’s also going to need this house in livable condition as fast as he can make it happen, because apparently… there’s going to be a baby here in less than six months. 

He’s also going to need a doctor, and a very good and discreet one at that. From what he’s read in his mad frenzy of online searching, male pregnancies are very high risk. He’s not at all worried for himself, seeing as though he can heal from just about anything, but that same protection doesn’t extend to the other person currently taking up roost inside him. He frowns. Or does it? Wouldn’t his reversed-curse technique still work on them when they’re still a parasite leeching off of his body? When exactly does their cursed energy start to deviate from each others to the point he can no longer heal them as an extension of himself? Man, what he wouldn’t give for a conversation with Shoko right now.

He can worry about things like clothes and furniture and baby food after he’s settled the most immediate concerns on his list. Namely, fixing this house and finding a doctor. And telling Eri, although he doubts that will be much of an issue. The girl will be beyond excited to be an older sibling.

Now as for telling his family and telling Hawks…

Gojo winces.

Yeah, okay. It says a lot that he’d rather tell Endeavor, to his face, that he’s getting another grandchild than fessing up to Hawks about carrying his kid. Even the thought of it is going to give him a stress tumor.

Well, stress is bad for babies, right? So maybe he should just table the thought for later. You know, for his health.

[determinedwriter]

My Little Hawk (Tony Stark x Daughter OC)

Title from Fourth of July by Sufjan Stevens

Content Warnings: sickness, seizure, vomiting, hospital stay, medical procedures

Tony raises Ro from birth AU

•

Tony

Ro has been under the weather lately. It started with just mild headaches, but they’re getting worse. She tells me she’s been getting chills. I checked her temperature and she has a fever, so I assume it’s just a cold, maybe the flu.

I put her down for bed not too long ago and now I’m working on a car and doing some tune ups when I hear little footsteps enter the garage.

“Do I hear a little gremlin?” I tease, coming out from under the car. “What are you doing up?”

She frowns, looking pale and clammy. “I don’ feel good, Daddy…”

“Oh baby, let’s get you more medicine.” I coo.

“I don’t like it. It’s icky.” She complains.

I card my fingers through her hair and kneel in front of her. “I know, mini. But you have to take it so you’ll feel better.”

“I don’t feel better yet…” Ro pouts. “When is it gonna work?”

I sigh. “Soon. Come on, let’s go back to bed. I have something else that might help you feel better too.”

I take out a project I’ve been working on, looking at the glow in the dark aromatherapy and voice commanded stuffed bear with Jarvis installed to help monitor her breathing and heartbeat while she sleeps to keep my mind at ease.

She smiles weakly when she sees it, hugging it to her chest. “Th…th…tank you, Daddy.”

Ro doesn’t quite have her th sounds down yet, still having a baby voice. I’m gonna hate when it goes away. She’s growing up too fast.

Rubbing her eyes, Ro sways on her feet. “Mmm…feel sick…”

I hate seeing her like this. It breaks the heart I didn’t think I had. “I know. I know, hon. It’ll be better soon. I promise.”

She suddenly vomits all over the bear and the front of her ninja turtle pajamas, immediately bursting into tears. “I’m s-sorry, Daddy!”

I put the bear aside and scoop her up in my arms. “Shhh, it’s okay. You’re okay. Don’t be sorry.”

“I ruined it…” She sniffles, pointing at the bear.

“I’ll fix it.” I reply. “Daddy fixes things, remember?”

Ro nods. “Uh huh…I ‘member…”

I kiss her head. “Let’s get you into a nice bubble bath, huh? And fresh pjs.”

She snuggles into me, probably staining my shirt with vomit, but I don’t care. Some things are more important than the grossness that comes with parenthood. Raising a six year old tends to cross into gross territory often. Especially when your six year old likes to make mud pies and play with worms.

And eat spaghetti with her hands. It took forever to get her to use a fork. It wasn’t even that she didn’t know how. It was that she didn’t want to.

I love that kid to death.

She barely has any energy in the bathtub, barely able to sit up straight while I gently scrub her body, trying to relax her by massaging her scalp with shampoo and conditioner, washing it out with warm water and brushing her hair softly.

Her eyes droop and close, fighting to stay awake. I quickly take her out of the bath and help her dry off, dressing her in a pink nightgown with little white polka dots on it.

I’m barely able to brush her teeth due to her fatigue, but I manage, carrying her to bed and taking her temperature.

It’s gotten higher. I thought the medicine would’ve helped by now. “Get some sleep, bambina.”

“Can you hum Nonna’s song?” She asks with a yawn.

I grin. “Yeah, of course I can.”

Anything for you, Ro.

She falls asleep while I hum the song my mother used to hum to me. I think it’s something she made up. I never heard any words, just the humming and vocalizing. It always put me right to sleep.

I’d honestly forgotten all about it up until Ro was born. Her birth reminded me of my own childhood and brought the song out of me as I held her for the very first time, tiny hand wrapped around my finger, head against my chest, content and quiet.

That’s when I knew she was my girl.

She wakes up in tears again, fever not going down. Her head hurts and she’s complaining of a stiff neck. Poor baby.

I’m not able to give her more medicine so I just put a cold cloth over her head and try to cool her down. She’s whimpering and shivering in my arms as I cuddle her in her little twin bed.

I drift off once she starts to sleep, waking up maybe a few hours later to see her shaking, back turned to me.

“Oh baby, it’s okay. It’s okay. We’ll visit the doctor tomorrow morning, alright? I’ve got you. Don’t you worry, Ro.” I coo.

I gently flip her towards me so I can see her face, a chill running down my spine when I realize her eyes are half closed, vomit on her lips as she convulses. She’s not shivering, she’s seizing.

“Oh God.” I gasp. “Okay…okay, it’s okay. Jarvis, is this what I think it is?”

“It appears that the young miss is having a seizure. I recommend you get her medical attention as soon as possible.” He replies.

My stomach lurches. “Do I move her?”

“Lay her on her side and wait for the seizure to end.” Jarvis instructs me.

Watching her continue to convulse is hell. She’s so tiny and pale and vulnerable. She shouldn’t be going through this. What is wrong with my kid?

Once the seizure ends, I hurriedly carry her to the car and drive right to the hospital where they take her in right away and start to do tests.

Ro comes to, blinking confusedly at her surroundings. “Daddy?”

“I’m right here, baby.” I reassure her. “You’re safe.”

“Where are we?” She asks.

“The hospital. But you’re okay. The doctors are gonna figure out how to help you, sweetheart.” I tell her.

Ro frowns. “I thought the medicine was gonna make it better. You promised…”

My heart sinks. “I know, bambina. I know…I’m so sorry. I thought it would. I’m sure the doctors will find out what’s wrong and give you brand new medicine. Then you’ll be good as new.”

She nods sadly. “Okay, Daddy…”

It both warms and breaks my heart that she trusts me so wholeheartedly. I will let her down. I already have. I hate to break that trust when she’s so purely good and innocent and young.

But I ruin relationships. I self-destruct and hurt the people around me. It’s inevitable. I don’t know why I thought it would be different with Ro. Why I thought keeping her was a good idea.

I love her more than anything in the world, but I’d give anything for her to be safe, even if that means I never see her again.

But in my heart, I know I’ll never leave her. Part of it is selfishness. I don’t ever want to live without her because of how much I love her. She’s my kid. My little girl.

But that love may destroy her.

The doctors tell me they have to do a spinal tap after they do some blood work, not satisfied with the results and needing more diagnostic tests.

They mention a brain MRI. God, how serious is this?

I hold Ro while they stick the large needle in her back, causing her to shriek and cry. “D-Daddy! Daddy, it hurts!”

Clinging to her and fighting back tears, I manage to speak without breaking apart, though my voice wavers. “I know. I know. I know it does, bambina. God, I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry. It’s all gonna be better soon. I got you. I’m not going anywhere. I love you tons, honey. I love you so much.”

Things eventually calm down once the spinal tap is finished, but they go ahead with the MRI, taking her into a room with the large machine.

The thing looks like it swallows her once she’s inside, the technicians telling her to stay still multiple times because she won’t stop squirming in fear at the sound of the machine whirring.

I speak into the mic when their instructions don’t seem to work, hoping my voice will calm her. “Baby, you have to stay still. I know it’s scary but I promise it’s okay. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Daddy’s still here. It’s almost done. Just keep still and it’ll be over before you know it and I’ll give you a big hug.”

She does as I say, finally allowing the technicians to get a clear reading. Once she’s out of the machine, I go to give her a hug but am stopped by a doctor.

“Sir, I’m sorry but you need to keep your distance. We’ll give you gloves and a mask to wear but you have to be careful. We suspect it’s fungal meningitis and it is highly contagious and dangerous.” He explains.

Ro looks at me fearfully, making a face like she’s about to cry. “I don’t care. I don’t. I need to hug my kid. I need to hold my baby.”

“Sir-“

“No. No, I have to. I can’t let her do this alone.” I interrupt, hoisting my daughter up in my arms and carrying her back to the hospital room, laying her on the bed.

I do wear the mask and gloves, which seems to spook her a bit. “Daddy, you look like a scary doctor…”

“Why a scary one? I’m Dr. Stark. I’m a good doctor.” I reply.

“The mask covers your beard.” She explains. “It doesn’t look okay.”

“So you’re saying I should never shave it off?” I ask.

Ro shakes her head. “Nuh uh. That’s weird.”

I smile. “Okay then, baby. I’ll keep the beard. But u do have to keep the mask and gloves on too.”

“Why?” She questions. Such a curious kid. It’s a blessing and a curse.

“Because Daddy could get sick. We don’t want that.” I say. “We’ve gotta focus on getting you better.”

She nods. “Okay…”

“Love you tons.” I tell her.

“Love you tons.” She replies wearily.

Ro falls asleep for a bit while we wait for results, waking up a bit scared. “Daddy, where are we?”

“The hospital, baby.”

“W-Why?” She cries.

“You’re sick. But you’re gonna get better. I promise.” I reply.

“Why do you look scary? I-I don’t like it…I don’t like it…” Ro whines.

Why has she forgotten about the mask? Why can’t she remember where she is and why she’s here? It scares the hell out of me.

The doctor soon comes back and confirms that it’s fungal meningitis, explaining that they will give her an antifungal medication through an IV and that she should recover.

Thank God.

I’m still not at ease, but it’s a little weight off of my shoulders. I’m never at ease. Not after having a kid. I wasn’t expecting that when I first became her dad. The constant worry.

But my brain seems to hate me and decides to come up with ways that she could die or get seriously hurt. Wild scenarios that leave her in the worst of situations.

That feeling was particularly strong when she was an infant. I worried she’d get SIDS. That she’d smother herself or suddenly stop breathing.

Once she was crawling, I worried about her sticking her tiny fingers into electrical sockets or choking on some small pieces of something I forgot to put away.

And when she started to walk, I was scared that she’d bang her head on sharp corners or fall down. That she’d get tall enough to open cabinets full of hazardous materials.

Other than a few bruises and the occasional fall, I’ve done pretty alright so far. So this whole fungal infection thing has me feeling anxious and guilty.

How did she get something like this? Is it something I did? Something I could have prevented?

The doctors say it’s rare, so I’m left wondering how my six year old kid managed to get it.

After a few days on the medication and staying in the hospital, Ro is showing serious improvement and is allowed to go home, the infection running its course.

I don’t end up getting it even with my close proximity to Ro, refusing to leave her side. I’m pretty lucky. I wish it happened to me and not her though.

Once she’s all better and fully rested, I give her her now clean stuffed bear and allow her to eat ice cream for breakfast while we have a Barbie movie marathon. I didn’t want to give her these things while she was sick for fear of making her feel worse. Plus, I haven’t had time to fix the bear.

And by fix, I mean clean the vomit out of its fur.

Those Barbie movies are cheesy and annoying, but she absolutely loves them. I can’t really complain when I see the look of excitement and wonder in her eyes as she watches the screen.

Hugging the bear to her chest, Ro falls asleep on the couch as the credits roll on the fourth movie of the day.

I drape a blanket over her and kiss her head. “Goodnight, sweet pea.”

Despite all of my faults and fears of destroying her, I know I could never leave her side.

Plus, we’re gonna be okay. Me and Ro against the world. Nothing will stop me from being her dad. From raising her and watching her grow into the woman she’ll become one day.

I feel it in my bones.

Just don’t grow up too fast, baby girl.

END

Thank you for reading! Please let me know if you’d like more like this!

[katnisspeetaprim]

How Could This happen?

Little sister au

Warnings: idol!au, jungkook's sister au, stray kids 9th female member au, SA (read my AN for more detils about this) being mistreated, crying, panic attack.

Word Count: 2372 M.list

A.N: So this is based off the request above, was meant to be all in one part but was getting too long. I know some people won't be comfortable with the topic of SA but it's nothing explicit in this story, just groaping. Please note that I'm not just pulling this from nowhere, it is based oartly on my own experiences with SA, and I find writing about the topic helps me in some way. If you aren't comfortable reading this kind of thing, please feel free to skip this one!

(Set some time before the 5 Star comeback)

The new comeback was set to be one of the biggest for the group so far. Because of this, JYP had moved a few of your staff around, bringing some over temporarily from other groups that you were familiar with, and some new hires altogether.

One of the new hires was actually a temporary personal manager for yourself, considering your regular one had left for maternity leave.

Your new manager was an older man, probably in his 40’s called Mr. Lee, which you had no problem with. You were used to working with male staff members, in fact you excitedly introduced yourself on his first day.

‘Hello! I’m Jeon Y/N. I look forwards to working with you!’ You bowed respectfully with a warm smile. You expected to receive a warm response in return, but all you got was a scoff and some annoyed mumbling under his breath, before skulking away to some other new staff members.

‘what was that about?’ Hyunjin wondered over after witnessing the interaction.

‘I’m not sure.’ You frowned. ‘Maybe he’s just having a bad day.’ You shrugged off the incident on his first day, putting it down to a one off moment. Little did you know , things were about to get much worse over the coming months...

You knew your new manager hated the job he’d found himself in. He clearly thought that managing the only female in an otherwise boy group was beneath him.

Some may think that you were overreacting, but you didn’t have to be a detective to spot the signs.

It was little things at first, a snide comment here or an odd look there... But things had escalated physically within a few weeks.

Of course he was good as gold in front of your members or other staff, so you decided to keep quiet, not wanting to create a difficult situation during such a stressful time.

‘I’m so ready for bed right now.’ You stretched out your sore muscles as you walked next to Changbin after a long day of practice.

‘Bed? It’s only like 7pm! You’re turning into an old lady!’ changbin laughed and pushed your shoulder playfully. The cheery mood faltered when a female staff member called after the two of you.

‘Y/N I’m glad I found you.’ She ran up to you, looking flustered as she stopped for a second to catch her breath. ‘Mr. Lee is looking for you.’ You couldn’t hide the way your face fell at the mention of your managers name.

‘what does he need?’ You asked, trying to keep your voice calm.

‘I don’t know, just said he needs to see you...’ She trailed off with a huff, obviously not too happy about keeping the man waiting.

‘It sounds important. I can wait for you?’ Changbin looked over to you with a light frown, not feeling too good about you being the only one having to stay behind after a long day.

You desperately wanted to accept his offer, but as you took in his tired, sweaty form, you couldn’t bring yourself to burden him. Especially now that you noticed the other members obliviously walking ahead, engrossed in their own conversations as they turned the corner out of sight.

‘No it’s fine.’ You waved in dismissal. ‘You catch up with the others. I’ll ask Mr. Lee for a ride home.’ You tried to smile convincingly.

Changbin agreed to leave, though as glanced back over his shoulder to watch you walk away, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

You knocked on the door and waited for the all clear to entre. The staff member accompanying you had already left, clearly wanting to get back to her own work.

You were about to knock again when you received no answer, but you didn’t get a chance. The door suddenly swung open and before you could react, you were yanked inside by your arm. You couldn’t help but let out a pained gasp at the painful contact.

‘Oh please. It didn’t hurt.’ Mr. Lee scoffed as he slammed the door shut behind you.

You frowned deeply and rubbed the sore part if your arm, deciding to stay quiet for now.

‘I watched you all practice today.’ He came and stood directly in front of you. You weren’t the tallest person, so he practically towered over you when he stood so close. It took everything in you to not flinch away or step back. He would have only used it as another opportunity to mock you.

‘I couldn’t help but notice you’re filling out your clothes more. Have you put on weight?’ You were suddenly regretting your decision to go home in your training gear. It was a yellow sports bra, paired with camo print leggings. You knew the outfit showed a lot of skin, but it was easy to move in and you felt comfortable around your members, plus it was much less effort to go home first and change after a shower.

You suddenly felt very exposed under the mans gaze, and unconsciously brought your arms up to cover your chest.

‘N-no... I haven’t...’ Mr. Lee just sniggered before he suddenly lunged and pulled you towards him by your arm and running is disgusting hand over your backside.

'Really? Well this tells a different story!' He squeezed hard as you tried to squirm away from his touch.

Your mind began racing a mile a minute.

He’d been treating you awfully since day one, but you never expected him to be capable of something like this.

‘Stop! Let me go!’ You flailed in his arms, trying your hardest to escape, but he only tightened his grip on you.

‘Hey!’ He spit out, moving both his hands to tightly grip your upper arms. His face was so close to yours that spit from his words landed on your face.

You wanted to vomit.

Tears were streaming down your face as he leaned in to whisper in your ear.

‘Remember who’s in charge here. I could ruin you.’ With those final words, he attached his lips to your neck and began sucking and moaning, as he left slobbery, messy kisses wherever he could reach.

Your whole body froze up. You felt like you were going to pass out. You couldn’t control your panicked breathing. Your whole body was shaking as his grip only seemed to get tighter.

‘P-please...’ You tried to plead meekly one last time to get him to stop.

He only ignored you and continued his assault on your neck, as one of his hands left your arm and began to wander over your chest.

He wasn’t going to stop.

You knew full well he would take this as far as he could. You had to do something, anything to get out of this situation.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, you closed your eyes and with as much force as you could muster... You thrust you knee up, and connected dead centre wit his balls.

Mr. Lee was caught off guard and let go of you to cradle his man hood as he doubled over in pain.

You didn’t waste a single second to book it out of the room and down the corridor. You didn’t even stop to pick up your bag, just wanting to be anywhere but there.

You kept your head down as you walked through the dark street.

It was freezing out and you were still only wearing your sports bra, as you didn’t have time to grab anything before running out.

To people observing you from the outside, it looked like you were wondering aimlessly and currently regretting your wardrobe choice, but in reality... You knew exactly where you were going.

‘Ok I’m coming!’ Jungkook yelled out in annoyance as someone continued to bang aggressively on his door.

He ripped the door open, ready to chew into whoever thought it appropriate to knock like that. His anger turned to shock, then worry when he saw your shaking form before him.

Before Jungkook could even say anything, you rushed forwards and threw your arms round him, before beginning to sob uncontrollably into his chest.

Jungkook was at a loss for words. The last thing he expected to open his door to that night was his sobbing twin sister. He quickly composed himself and pushed the door closed behind you and returned your embrace. His eyes widened when he felt how cold your skin was.

‘Jesus you’re freezing! Why are you out dressed like this? What’s going on?’ he held you at arms length as he tried to gather any information about your current situation.

You tried to speak, but due to a mix of the cold and the sobs, you found it difficult to get any words out at all. Jungkook realised your struggle and quickly ushered you to sit on his couch, before scurrying off down the hall.

You rubbed your arms in an attempt to warm yourself up and calm down, before Jungkook ran back in almost as quickly as he left, with a folded fluffy blanket in his arms.

‘Here, you need to warm up!’ He draped the blanket over your shoulders, which you graciously scrunched around yourself.

Jungkook took a seat next to you and gently rubbed your back.

‘Will you tell me what happened? I can help you.’ He prodded gently, wanting to make sure you knew he was on your side.

You bit your lip nervously and looked away, already feeling new tears forming just thinking about what happened.

‘U-umm. You know how I told you that I got a temporary manager?’

‘Yeah?’ Jungkook drew out, scared to know where this could be going.

‘Well... He’s never been nice to me, but I could handle it since he’s only temporary...’

Jungkook clenched his jaw at hearing your staff wasn’t treating you right, but stayed silent to allow you to continue.

‘B-but today he umm..’ You trailed off, unsure if you should really tell him anything.

Jungkook picked up on your hesitation, so he gently prodded you to continue. He needed to know what happened, even if it made you uncomfortable to say. He couldn’t help if he didn’t know how.

‘It’s ok. Take your time... I’m here with you.’ He rubbed your back soothingly, coaxing you to talk.

You looked at your brother for a second. You could see the concern all over his face. He wanted to help you. Attempting to calm yourself down, you took a deep breath and wiped away your tears.

‘He cornered me and he t-touched me..’ You stuttered out and avoided eye contact as you spoke, too ashamed to look your brother in the eye.

Jungkook didn’t need you to elaborate on the word touched. His worst fear that came with his sister becoming an idol had come true. He could feel his anger bubbling up inside, but he tried his best to keep it together for your sake.

‘I managed to knee him in the balls and run away, but I left my stuff behind...’

‘Shit.’ Jungkook whispered to himself, face buried in his hand as the other stilled on your back.

‘You’re safe here, I’ll-‘ Jungkook started to address you, but suddenly stopped when two other men burst into the room.

‘Hey! Sorry we’re late!’

Fuck. He’d completely forgotten he’d invited Taehyung and Jimin over tonight. Taehyung abruptly stopped when he saw you, causing Jimin to almost run into him.

Blush formed on your cheeks when you noticed both men staring at you in confusion.

You quickly got up without a word and ran to Jungkook’s bathroom. You felt like you really needed to shower.

As soon as the bathroom door slammed shut, Jimin and Taehyung turned to Jungkook for answers. He reluctantly told them to sit, and began explaining your situation. If they also knew, then maybe they could help in some way.

‘What the fuck!?’ Taehyung shot up and burst out as Jungkook finished explaining. ‘How could this even happen without anyone noticing!?’

‘I don’t know.’ Jugkook sighed with a shake of his head, suddenly feeling like he’d lost all his energy.

Taehyung and Jimin shared a look, both equally as angry about what happened to you.

You were their maknae’s twin sister, which automatically made you family to them.

In the bathroom, you’d turned the shower up as hot as you possibly could. You could still feel his touch on your skin and it made you feel dirty. Especially where his lips had touched your neck.

You couldn’t stop yourself from crying once again as you scrubbed at your skin.

The heat had made your skin heat up in a light shade of red. The amount of time you’d spent in there, you were sure Jungkook would have no hot water left.

Little did you know whilst you were showering, Jungkook was receiving a frantic phone call from Chan...

Jungkook, Taehyung and Jimin had been talking furiously back and forth about the situation and how to approach it, when Jungkook’s phone suddenly began to ring. He had every intention of ignoring the call, when he caught a glimpse of the caller ID.

‘Wait guys! Chan is calling me!’ Jimin and Taehyung immediately shut up and gestured for him to answer.

‘Oh thank god you answered!’ Chan sighed in relief as soon as Jungkook answered. ‘Has Y/N been in contact with you? We can’t find her anywhere!’ Chan was clearly panicking from the tone of his voice.

‘Yeah she’s here with me. She’s really upset...’ There was silence from Chan’s end for a moment, confusing Jungkook.

‘Chan... Do you not know what’s going on?’  Jimin and Taehyung couldn’t here the other half of the conversation, but both their eyebrows furrowed in shock. Jungkook shot them a look, as he waited for Chan to reply.

‘....Mr. Lee has accused Y/N of attacking him. He’s going off to anyone who’ll listen and nobody knows what’s happening! I’m really worried about Y/N...’

Jungkook’s face paled at Chan’s words. How the heck could this be happening right now?

They needed to figure this out asap, for your sake...

[astoldbyaja]

Balance -JJK AU-

Single dad Toji never makes good decisions which leaves him and his two toddlers homeless.

Bee believes in universal balance and to repay a past good gesture from the older Fushiguro she just randomly invites the three to stay in her apartment.

I always believed in balance, doing what is needed to maintain the natural order of the universe. Good with good, bad with bad, bad with good or good with bad. Whatever must be done to keep the balance. I always preferred the good with good, because good things come back around to me in some way, shape or form.

The name’s Beatrice Love, call me Bee. I loved a world of solitude. I realized this when I had turned twenty-two. I’m close to thirty and I was tired of being hounded about my bachelorette life.

“Father, there’s nothing to worry about. I’m okay on my own.” I replied on the phone.

“But living in Tokyo? It’s so… loud there!” my dad replied. I smiled.

“It’s peaceful to me.” I replied.

“But Beatrice, you need a man or at least a weapon to protect yourself. I don’t like you being so far away from the family by yourself.” he protested with a scowl probably.

“I’ll be fine, Dad, I promise. I must go. Say hi to stepmommy for me. Love you.” I replied.

“Love you too darling.” he said.

“Hey baby why don’t you come and hang out with us.” a scaly voice said as two men stood in front of me in the parking lot of the grocery store, stopping me from getting to my car. I gripped my bags tight.

“No.” I replied.

“Aw come on sweetheart, we don’t bite… hard.” the other man mocked. I scoffed and just remained glaring. The two men looked to be up to no good, piercings in their faces to look more intimidating and tattoos on their necks.

“I’m not interested.” I replied mentally hyping myself up to prepare for some type of altercation.

If they get violent, better be prepared to do whatever is needed.

However, a large hulking figure was walking past us, a man in a black tight shirt and white pants bumps one of the dudes, quickly catching their attention. This man was intimidating as he didn’t even bother to acknowledge the situation before us. In his large hand was a small bag of what looked like a cup of noodles.

“Hey, watch where you’re going asshole!” one of the men said. The stranger laughed almost as if amused.

“Hey something funny!” the other guy asked, now both their attention was on the giant.

“Yeah, staring at you two losers who don’t know how to not block a path is pretty comical.” the man said sarcastically, and I tilted my head watching as the two men now decided to give this man all the attention, going so far as to follow him.

I took this time to get my keys and move into my car. Before I could even close the door, I could hear yelling and commotion. I turned and saw the two men flat on their backs, unconscious. I was perplexed as I looked at the man who continued walking rotating his left arm now.

These men had bad intentions, and this stranger took their attention off of me so that I could safely get into my car. I needed to thank him or do something.

I put my stuff down on my seat floor before leaning up to step out of my car and find the man. However, he was gone. That was the first encounter with Toji Fushiguro.

I told myself if I ever saw him again, I would repay the favor somehow of him helping me out. Maybe I’ll treat him to lunch or something. Or if he’s not interested at all, a simple thank you would suffice I’d hope.

Who would have thought I’d see him exactly a week later. I was driving to my apartments parking garage, a violent storm was starting to roll in, thunder booming loudly. As I walked down the block, I noticed a large figure at the bus stop with two smaller figures. I blinked a few times tilting my head to get a better look at the figures.

It was a man, and two small kids huddled together beneath a big blanket. They were taking shelter from the upcoming storm. I looked both way before crossing the street over toward the bus stop and peaked my head in.

“Um, hello.” I replied.

“We’re allowed to be here; we ain’t leaving, you got a problem with it then I’ll be more than happy to help you solve it!” the man blurted violently finally. It sounded like he was expecting me to yell at him or show disapproval for them being here. I was taken aback by the aggression before the man finally pulled the blanket off his head revealing a familiar side profile before looking at me. Glaring green eyes connected to brown orbs and he seemed stunned by the sight of me. He had a slight cut over the corner of his mouth, and I glanced down at the two small heads that poked out from the blanket. A little boy with black hair who looked just like the older man and a little brunette-haired girl who looked at me with a stubborn pout. However, as the two children looked at me, they seemed mesmerized and stunned by me.

I wondered how many black women they have seen.

“Are you… waiting for the bus?” I asked. I noticed the man’s arms wrapped around the two children and he glared at me with distrust.

“Does it look like we’re waiting for the bus?” he snapped sharply. A jolt of lightning shot across the sky followed by a monstrous roll of thunder that made the two children whimper and hide in their father’s arms. I could hear the defense in the man’s tone, hell his entire body language was showing he was on edge. I looked down wondering what to do in this moment before looking up at him.

“I have a two-bedroom apartment very close to here. Would you like to rest there?” I asked.

A quick flash of surprise shot across the man’s face.

Ten minutes later, I was unlocking my door and stepping inside. My apartment was one that was always cozy. The man’s name is Toji, his daughter is Tsumiki and the younger boy is Megumi who clung to his daddy’s neck as they entered my home. Their eyes roamed the place, Toji’s more than his kids. I removed my flats and turned to him after placing my purse on my marble white bar. Toji was carrying his son and holding his daughter’s hand, and I noticed the backpacks on all their backs.

“Come I will show you your room and then the bathroom where you all can get cleaned up.” I replied and moved down the hall in the back. Toji followed, the distrust still in his eyes.

“Daddy where are we?” Megumi asked.

“We’re just stopping somewhere to get cleaned up.” he said in a much softer tone. I opened the door on my left where my guest bedroom was. Inside was a king size bed with a black comforter and white thinner sheet below with a closet on the opposite side and a nightstand on either side of the bed.

“Here you three can sleep.” I said. Toji leaned his head in and examined the room a bit, as if making sure it was safe. I just smiled politely then moved to the door on the opposite side of the bedroom.

I opened the bathroom door which showed a garden tub and large shower. The sink was wide with a massive mirror that could show at least four people’s reflection. In the back was a large walk-in closet.

“There are towels in that closet there and soap under the sink. If you have any dirty clothes, you can put them in that hamper, and I’ll wash them.” I told. Toji’s eyes followed my fingers to each location.

“I’ll go fix something to eat-”

“Why are you doing this? What are you getting out of this?” he asked looking at me with a suspicious glare. I shook my head.

“I merely wish to return the favor.” I said before nodding at him. He looked heavily confused. “Please make yourself at home.”

I turned and moved down the hall and over to a door we had passed earlier. It was the master bedroom, my room. I removed my necklace and earrings, but kept my hair pinned up. Now the sound of heavy rain began to attack the complex and I looked out my window to see the dark skies. I’m still for a second and quiet as I finally hear the bathtub running.

“Okay let’s get you guys cleaned up.” I hear Toji sigh. I smile and move from my room and enter the kitchen. I take out some ingredients and a pot and begin to make chicken, beef, rice and vegetables.

“Megumi stop splashing your sister.” Toji says sternly. I peak over the hall noticing the hamper outside with clothes in them. I smiled and approached noticing the large set of clothes in there. I didn’t question it nad began to pick up the hamper.

“This tub is huge daddy!” I hear Tsumiki said.

“Yeah, it is.” Toji replies. Once the clothes are in the wash and the table is set, I hear different footsteps approaching and I turn to see the three in more casual looking clothes, pajamas really. I noticed their eyes all darted toward the table and the children’s eyes widened. I smiled setting down some plates and some juice.

“Please help yourself. I hope the bath was to your liking.” I said. Toji led the kids to my table and sat them down the chairs. He handed them their plates and let them scoop however much food they wanted. Toji and I sat across from each other and he watched me closely as I just smiled. Megumi would scoop some rice onto his place and move to get another scoop, before hesitating and looking at me with worry. I smiled more.

“Go ahead.” I replied. His eyes sparkled and he looked at his dad who nodded giving a tired smile before moving to get more food. Once their plates were filled, I moved to pour them both a cup of juice.

“Thank you!” they said in unison.

“You’re welcome.” I said and looked at Toji who looked at me. He motioned toward my plate.

“Go ahead.” he said. I shook my head.

“You are my guest. Guests always get served first.” I announced and I could tell he was trying to study my face, figure out what my true intentions are if there was any before filling his plate. His kids were eating quietly smiling big at the flavors that hit their tongues.

“Wow, Ms. Bee this food is really good!” Tsumiki blurted. I gave a soft chuckle finally fixing my plate.

“I’m glad you like it!” I replied eating quietly and looking at Toji who was understandably tense.

“Looks like the rain’s gonna go all night. When it lets up in the morning we’ll be out of your hair.” he replied. I hummed as I chewed my food.

“If that is your desire. You and your littles are free to come and go as much as you’d like.” I replied. The children’s eyes dazzled with happiness before looking at their dad who didn’t trust it. His scowl said it all.

“And why would you be so kind?” he asked. I continued eating enjoying the delicious flavor of my food.

“It never hurts to be kind.” I said.

“Kinda stupid to let some strangers into your nice place don’t you think?” he asked. I nodded casually.

“Of course. If you planned to do anything malicious, we’ll worry about that bridge when we come to it.” I said with a smile. I wondered if his kids were in school or anything, but I was sure I wouldn’t get an answer on it. Toji eyed me some more before moving to down his cup of juice.

“Ms. Bee, can I have some more food please?” Tsumiki asked almost shyly. I smiled at her and nodded.

“Of course.” I replied, and she smiled and took some more food. Once the three were full, I cut on my TV in the living room and watched as the kids were curled up in my fleece blanket on the couch together. Toji was taking a phone call down the hall but was making sure he could see me, and I could see him. I was cleaning up the table.

“Yeah, I can take the job. Don’t worry about them, they’ll be fine.” I hear him say, as I washed the plates. I hear his footsteps approach, and he moved to pick up the plates of food from the table.

“If you’d like I can pack those up in containers for you.” I offered. Toji looked me some with a wince before looking at the food.

“No, you should keep it…” he said. “Did you really mean we can come and go as long as we want?” I nodded placing the dishes in the strainer.

“As long as it’s just you three.” I replied of which he immediately nodded.

“It will be… look I’ve never made the best decisions in life, and the last decision I made, caused me and my kids to be out on the street. Their moms are not in the picture… I do odd jobs, and they pay well. If you’ll allow my kids to stay here, while I work, I’ll pay for the room and board.” he said rubbing the back of his head now.

“That won’t be necessary.” I replied.

“What?” he asked confused.

“You and your children can stay in that guest room as long as you need to. I will provide food and whatever else is needed until you feel ready to leave.” I said.

“Why would you do all of this for a couple of strangers?” he asked. I could tell his brain was on the frits.

“You helped me, and this is how I am repaying the favor.” I replied.

“What, when did I help you?” he asked completely clueless.

“Last week when those men were bothering me. You took care of them. Now as a thank you I am taking care of you and your children.” I replied. I wiped my hands on my kitchen towel seeing Toji shook his head.

“That was hardly a gesture big enough for you to let us in your home.” he said. I shrugged.

“A kindness for a kindness. Balance.” I replied with a smile taking the plate of food and packaging it all up and placing it in the fridge. “Feel free to eat this when you get hungry.” I replied. As it got darker, Toji was the only one watching TV with his kids curled up under each arm. I was turning off my kitchen light noticing he was standing up with both kids in his hands.

Tsumiki muttered some.

“Daddy, do we have to go back to the bus station now?” she asked, voice dripping with sleep. Toji smiled warmly at her, glancing at me as I tucked one of the kitchen chairs in.

“No. We’re going to stay here tonight with daddy’s friend.” he said. I quietly followed him to the guest room and wished him a good night after he tucked his children into the bed. Immediately, their bodies seemed to relax as they curled up beneath the warm blankets. I turned to leave.

“Bee.” Toji said lowly approaching the doorway. I stopped and looked at him ready to accommodate anything he needed.

“Megumi can sometimes get a little scared of the dark. Could you leave the hall light on, and I’ll crack the door. If that’s not too much to ask!” he said lowly, and I just smiled sweetly and shook my head.

“Of course.” I replied cutting on the light in the hallway before looking at him and nodding. I moved to my own room now.

“Bee.” Toji said again and I looked at him curiously to see him looking down with what looked like embarrassment.

“Thank you.” he said, and I nodded

“Of course.” I replied before separating into my room.

The next morning, and the numerous mornings after, I would get up, make breakfast for everyone and we’d eat together. Toji was worried about leaving his kids here and made it very clear he was not someone to take advantage of nor were his kids.

We set boundaries immediately. I wasn’t to question him about his work no matter what I saw when he’d come back to my apartment. I was not to discipline his kids, but they were to listen to me and help around the apartment if I needed it. If there was anything he or I needed while he was out, he asked me to wait until he got home so we could both go out together with the kids.

They kept the guest room as clean as they could, and I let the kids watch TV and ask me questions. They had stuffed animals which they clung to the moment their dad left for work.

 Sometimes Toji would take his kids out and ask if I wanted to accompany them to the store. I didn’t mind the company so sometimes I would go with them so they could pick out what foods and clothes they liked.

“Daddy, can I get this shirt?” Megumi asked and Toji’s first reaction was to look at the price tag and think for a moment.

“Sure bud.” he said throwing the shirt in the cart.

“So, Bee, what is it you do for work?” he asked. Oh, how was I to answer that?

“I work my own odd jobs.” I said and after we both shared a look to each other, he just nodded.

“Understood.” he said. We swapped numbers so we could keep each other updated on his kids. One day Toji was gone and did not come home, but he reached out and let me know his job would have him away from home for three days. I told him it was fine.

On the third evening, after I put the kids to bed, there was a knock on the door. I was familiar with the two patterns, but still checked the peephole. It was Toji. I opened the door and froze noticing the blood stains on his shirt and pants and we just stared at each other for a moment. He was gauging what I would do with the first time seeing this and I just looked him over. What would I do in this moment? I stepped back quietly, and he walked in, eyes not leaving mine as I closed the door and locked it.

I just stood there in my floral lace gown, and I just nodded quietly.

“You want to wash them, or would you like me to wash them?” I asked lowly. He let out a low sigh and looked down.

“No, I’ll do it. How were they?” he asked motioning toward the room. I nodded gently.

“They were good. You sound exhausted. There’s food in the fridge if you’re hungry.” I said gently and he nodded.

“Thanks.” he said and I smiled and moved around him. However, I feel his hand take my wrist quickly and I pause looking at him curiously. He wasn’t looking at me, more so looking at the floor with a gentle stare.

“Bee… if we’re overstepping our welcome, you’d tell me, right?” he asked. I blinked confusedly before nodding.

“Of course, Toji.” I replied. He nodded slowly and released my hand. The spot around my wrist felt cold as the warmth of his hand left me. I returned to my room and entered my bathroom noticing the slight ring of red around my wrist. I winced wondering whose blood this was. After showering I made my way back to my bedroom. I crawled under my blankets and just listened to all the noise outside my room.

I was so used to silence, but even the introduction of new noise did not disturb me. I could hear Toji’s heavy footsteps all about and I just closed my eyes letting the noises lull me to sleep. However, I could hear the doorhandle of my room open, and I assumed it was maybe Megumi or Tsumiki. However, when the door opened, and the sound of heavy footsteps slowly entered my room I slowly opened my eyes and look down.

Standing there in boxers and a tank was Toji. Quietly, I sat up and yawn.

“What is it?” I asked noticing the somewhat dark look on Toji’s face as he watched me. He closed the door and took a step closer to the foot of my bed and I watched as he began to remove his tank and then slowly play with the hem of his boxers until he finally pulled them down, semi erect cock pointing at me. I was a bit taken back by the sudden action. “Toji, what the hell are you doing?” He let out a low grunt.

“You’ve done a lot for me and my kids. They’re happy- happier than I’ve ever seen in a while, so I’ll do whatever it takes to keep them happy and safe with a roof over their heads and food in their stomach. You’re obviously alone and so I figure we can help each other out. Besides it’s a way I can return the favor to you for what you’ve done for us.” he said his hand airlessly moving to palm his own cock to further get it to harden. I watched him for a moment thinking about his words. That is not how the balance works!

“Yeeeaaahh no.” I said blankly.

[miracles-and-butterflies]

The second wip of the Reincarnation AU series; Isabela’s death.

Featuring another sketch at the end.

Time skip of fourteen years. What happened between Mirabel and Isabela’s deaths? You’ll never know.

Comments are always appreciated.

Warning, sensitive topics below: murder and character death.

~~~~~~

So Much Hides Behind My Smile

“Knock, knock? Mi flor? Are you in there?” Someone asks, opening the door.

Isabela is sat at her vanity, carefully taking out the flowers she’d woven into her hair that morning. From the mirror’s reflection, she can see Milagro stood in the doorway, her family going about minding their own business just behind.

It had been a busy day, of course. Her perfect, albeit long awaited, wedding.

“Of course, mi vida. Did you need something?”

“I just came to see you,” he answered, shutting the door behind him. He laughed, walking over to her, just about to set a hand on her shoulder. “Well, it’s been a long day but we’ve finally made it to the wedding night—”

“Get the fuck out of my room.” Isabela snarls.

Milagro blanks for a minute. “Um… where else am I meant to sleep?”

“I don’t care. It’s not my problem.” She seethes, turning back to the mirror.

“In case the rest of the day didn’t clue you in, mi flor, we are unfortunately husband and wife now. It very much is your problem. And from what I understand, the sooner you have a baby, the happier your Abuela will be. Which you’ll have a hard time achieving if you don’t want me here.”

“If you so much as touch my shoulder, I will rip your penis off and feed it to my carnivorous plants.”

Neither says anything more.

But it takes exactly two seconds for them to act.

Milagro goes to charge his entire body into hers but is yanked onto the floor by throned vines, as Isabela throws herself straight onto him.

“How dare you treat me like this!?”

“How dare you!? This is my room and don’t you forget it!”

“Just because you’re a Madrigal doesn’t mean you can get away with everything, princesa!”

They scratch and hiss and hit like wild jaguars, fighting over the last scrap of meat.

It just keeps going.

Not only does he deserve it and worse, she can let out all the steam that’s been building inside her.

~~~~~~

“A perfect match,” Alma hummed, as Bruno poured them all another round of wine. “Isabela deserves the best and that is what she has. They will both bring so much good to the Encanto.”

“I can’t believe it. Where has the time gone?” Bruno added.

Pepa nodded, still drying her hair. “It feels like just yesterday Isabela was born and now she’s married and going to have babies of her own.”

“That will be our Lolita soon,” Félix smiled.

“I’m too young to have grandchildren! We’re too young to have grandchildren! No offence, Mama.”

Alma was in too good a mood to even remotely care.

“Is it really Dolores’ wedding next?” Bruno asked, teasing. “Because I had a little peek into the future and I saw—”

“NO! DON’T YOU DARE RUIN IT! I DON’T WANT TO KNOW!” Pepa shrieked.

Bruno held his hands up in surrender as his sister began a play fight with him, Félix laughed riotously.

“Hey, I was only kidding!”

“Well, I don’t believe you!”

Alma chuckled too, before getting up. “I am going to check on Julieta and Agustín.”

“You do that,” Félix said. “I’ll keep an eye on these two.”

The rest of the grandkids, all of whom were drunk, were out in the courtyard, hyper as anything.

Camilo, Antonio and a variety of animals were dancing while Dolores played some lively tune on her bandola; Luisa singing a completely different song over the top.

Honestly, you wouldn’t know they were adults.

On any other day, she would probably have scolded them and sent them to bed. For now though, she is happy enough to just leave them. They aren’t hurting anyone or causing any trouble, to be fair.

Agustín and Julieta were sat quietly in another room, without the wine. Julieta has been in an odd state for the past few years with seemingly new cure, and Agustín has always preferred to keep some distance from his mother-in-law when he can help it.

But they should be together right now. This is Isabela’s day and they have all been her biggest supporters.

“They certainly make the happy couple,” Alma said, taking a seat beside them.

“Indeed.” Agustín agrees. “I had my doubts about this match, but I’m glad that I’ve been proved wrong.”

“So long as my girls are happy, then I’m happy.” Julieta declares.

“Well, mija, I can attest that Luisa is definitely happy.” She paused, trying to get the pair to hear the carryon happening outside. “And trying to make herself a soprano, apparently.”

After some wonky, forced long note from Luisa, they broke into laughter.

“It’s nice to see the kids are still enjoying life and spending time together,” Agustín remarked, smiling fondly.

Julieta’s smile drops.

“Not all of them.”

~~~~~~

Long after Milagro is gone and her temper has cooled, Isabela heads downstairs.

It’s late now.

The rest of the family is in bed. Or at least in their rooms.

She doesn’t know where Milagro went after she kicked him out, probably the guest bedroom, but she doesn’t care enough to check. He can sleep outside for all she cares.

She heard some footsteps on the way to the kitchen, but brushed them off.

One of Antonio’s animals, no doubt.

In the kitchen, she makes her way over to the coffee pot. It’s half full, just needs to be reheated - no doubt Luisa has beaten her to their usual midnight drinks.

Casita takes over, sliding her signature cup along to her.

“What do you think of all this, Casita?”

A few tiles clink.

“Mirabel? I’d be lectured for at least two hours about failed marriages in history or something if she was still alive.” Isabela glanced to the side. “Can’t imagine how she’d take this… knowing I just went back.”

More clinking.

“Well, what was I meant to do? I couldn’t say no.”

A cupboard smacks her shoulder, lightly.

She chuckled. Taking off the wedding ring.

“Haha, good point. You know, I always thought getting out of the Guzmán engagement would make me happy, and now I’m about two seconds away from committing murder.”

The beams squeak supportively.

“It’s nice to know someone’s got my back.”

The coffee pot, ready, is tilted over Isabela’s cup, filling it to the brim.

“Maybe I’ll let it happen. Let the family see he’s awful and then I’ll be free.”

It smells as good as usual, there’s an underlying hint of something that isn’t coffee though. She shrugs, and drinks it anyways.

Luisa’s been drunk since the ceremony ended, who knows what she’s put in here since. It’s probably alcohol - that she’s added in some spark of creativity. And Isabela isn’t too against the idea of alcohol in her coffee at all - it’s an idea she’ll try later, when she isn’t about to go to bed.

It doesn’t taste any different though.

She lets Casita dispose of the ring.

She returns to her room steadily, not paying much attention to the beautiful decorations that have been hanging since this morning.

It’s one of the odd times where she wasn’t the one to decorate Casita in her flora - it was her day. Abuela had made it very clear that she didn’t want Isabela to lift a finger.

She never really got a chance to admire them this morning either. She’s spent most of the day outside of Casita and when they have been home, she was in her room, getting ready with Dolores, her maid of honour.

Ah well.

They will still be there tomorrow.

All that matters now is that she’s alone, out of that hideous wedding dress and can sleep off her frustration with a drink.

She doesn’t bother switching on the light, just clambers into bed and setting the cup on her bedside table.

The café con leche is as inviting as always.

[Note reads, not in Isabela’s handwriting:

Dear family,

This is not about you, this is about me. I can’t cope with the pressure of being the perfect Madrigal any longer. I was not made to be a wife and mother - my most sincere apologies to Milagro, mi vida. I tried. You should not blame yourselves. I hope whatever is is next is better than this.

— Isabela]

[estrellami-1]

Cutesy prompt, also derived from my life but just because I’m thinking about getting a switch after falling in love with animal crossing playthroughs lol:

Modern au, no upside down : Steve hasn’t really been one for video games he doesn’t like the jump scares and the violence there’s enough of that in real life if he turns on the news, but Robin gets him hooked on animal crossing playthroughs on YouTube and he falls in love with how comforting and straightforward the game is, you plant a seed and you see it grow to a sapling right away there’s a sense of accomplishment. Steve usually drives Dustin and the kids to their Dnd nights at a game shop and while it’s pricier than he would usually splurge on he’s been thinking about buying a switch to play animal crossing himself so he decides to go to the one game shop he knows off the top of his head, the one he takes the kids to, that just so happens to be owned by eddie who does weekly DND nights. Eddie talks with him about the pros and cons of different consoles and games and maybe suggests that if he’d like he could come over to his place to try it out first hand and maybe join him for dinner while he’s at it?

(Okay side note while I was writing this I thought of twists that could be added to it, like maybe after hearing his reasoning for liking the calmer games eddie writes a sweet low stakes type of campaign for Steve and convinces him to join them for a campaign to show him it doesn’t have to be violent or scary. Or maybe they have those play in store to try it out kind of things and eddie offers that he can try it out in the store until he’s ready to buy and Steve keeps coming back to the store under the guise of trying out the console but really just to spend more time with eddie. I could think of more but I think it has potential)

💜

Ok so I’m like Steve, I don’t play video games. I’ve played Minecraft and my favorite thing to do is farm 😂 I’ve never played Animal Crossing so my apologies if anything is incorrect! I do think this is a SUPER cute prompt though and I’m so excited to see where y’all take it! 😉

Admittedly, my love, I did not complete this prompt the way you had specified, but I felt like I hit enough of the major points and got to a good stopping place for now. Feel free to send another ask if you want me to continue! ❤️

Title Screen - Part 1

“Robin, what-” he flails as his phone is ripped from his hand.

She judges him. “Sudoku, Steve? Really?”

“I like it! What are you doing?”

“You’re gonna love this. Promise.”

He throws his hands up and waits for her to hand his phone back. When she does, it’s open to YouTube. “Trust me,” she asks. “Just watch the first video.”

He reads the title. “A video game playthrough? Robs, you know I don’t like video games.”

“I know you don’t like violent video games. This one isn’t violent, Steve. Promise.”

He narrows his eyes at her, but she’s his best friend and roommate for a reason, so he plays it as soon as she leaves the room.

When she comes back in to ask about dinner, she’s got a smug look on her face. “Fine, you were right,” he says, rolling his eyes. “It’s cute. I like the bunny.”

Robin chuckles. “I thought you might. Y’know that video game store the kiddos love? I think they’ve got it.”

“Probably,” he allows, very much not thinking about it. Or the very attractive employee who seems to always be there when he is, shopping for the kids. He sets his phone on his chest. “How’s Chinese for dinner sound?”

“I’ll marry you,” Robin says.

Steve chuckles. “Wanna call it in? You know my order.”

“Orange chicken.” She makes a face. “Yeah, I’ll call it in.”

“Thanks.” She waves him off, so as she leaves, he calls, “I’m serious! Thank you! I love you! Marry me!”

“I’ll leave you at the altar!” She calls back, and he cackles.

He plays the video again.

Three days later finds him inside the video game store. Not for him, he swears, but Dustin’s birthday is soon-ish, anyways, and he needs a present, and he had been talking about some figurine or another.

“Hey, welcome in!” Very Attractive Employee says. “Can I help you find anything?”

Steve smiles, shakes his head. “Thank you.” He walks around, doesn’t necessarily look for Animal Crossing, but doesn’t necessarily walk away when he sees it, either. He picks it up, examines the case. Robin’s got a Switch, and he knows she’d let him borrow it. The one part he’s not really sold on is the price. He sets it down, looks at it for a minute longer, as if that would make the price change.

“If you’d like to try, I can put it in the system,” Very Attractive Employee says. His voice is soft, and something about it sounds familiar.

“I dunno.” Steve sighs. “I don’t want to impose, and I know most of the beginning is a bunch of talking and naming yourself and the world, right?”

Very Attractive Employee frowns. “Have you played it before?”

“Ah… no. I, uh.” He’s strangely embarrassed to say it. “I’ve watched playthrough videos.”

Very Attractive Employee grins and motions him over to the trial station. “Yeah? YouTube, right? D’you know who?”

“Uh…” Steve pulls his phone out, opens YouTube. It’s one of the first recommended videos. “HFClub?”

“Ah.” He stills for a moment, then smiles at Steve. “Well, if you’d like to try, it’s available.” He gestures to the console. “And believe it or not, this isn’t a super high-traffic store. It can get kinda boring being the only one here. If you don’t mind me watching over your shoulder, I don’t mind you staying until I’ve gotta close up.” He grins at Steve. “Whaddya say?”

Steve smiles tentatively back, takes a seat, and picks up the device.

He was right; it takes him a good amount of time to get past the opening, but he does have fun, especially with Very Attractive Employee imitating the other characters.

When he looks up again, it’s dark outside. “Oh, shit,” he murmurs, checking his watch. Somehow he’s spent three hours playing. “Shit, man, that’s dangerous,” he laughs.

Very Attractive Employee chuckles. “I know, right?” He shifts. “I’ve seen you in here before buying other games, and you don’t hesitate. Can I ask why today was different?”

“I usually come in to buy things for these kids I used to babysit. This one is purely selfish.” He grins and stretches, grins more when he notices Very Attractive Employee’s gaze is drawn down to where his shirt has ridden up.

“Kids?” He finally asks.

Steve hums. “You might know ‘em, actually, there’s one with curly hair, usually wears a trucker hat. A redhead who will put the fear of God into you. A bitchy kid with hair that could be great-”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Very Attractive Employee waves his arms through the air. “Dustin? Max? Mike?”

“Holy shit,” Steve says, and begins to laugh. “Yeah, exactly.”

Very Attractive Employee looks at Steve for a minute before saying, “So you must be Steve!”

Steve gapes. “They talk about me?”

“Oh, man.” Very Attractive Employee chuckles. “Dustin never shuts up about you, man, he loves you.”

“Oh.” Steve stills. “I, uh. Kinda thought they just tolerated me.”

“No way. Well, maybe Mike, but you know how he is.”

Steve chuckles. “Yeah. Do you know them just from how often they come in here?”

“Oh, no. I’m their DM. Y’know, Dungeons and Dragons?”

“Oh,” Steve nods, thinks. “Eddie, right? And- fuck, what was it. Elf Club, or something?”

Eddie chuckles. “You mean Hellfire Club?”

Steve snaps and points at Eddie. “That’s the one. Man, they love you too, every time I see the brats it’s always Eddie this and Eddie that and Eddie killed our characters but it was great.”

Eddie chuckles. “That’s good to hear. Can I ask why you’re just now looking at this for yourself?”

Steve sighs. “I know the kids love your campaigns, but I don’t like anything too horror-y. I don’t like jump-scares, and it feels like most video games have some element of that. My best friend got me hooked on the videos, and I decided to try it out.”

Eddie nods. “Yeah, this is definitely a very calm game. Feel free to come back in any time to continue trying it out, though. If you want.”

Steve smiles at him. “I might just take you up on that offer.”

Fic-specific tag, once again, is the fic name (no spaces): #titlescreen and as always, my writing tag is #starambles and you can subscribe to either or both to follow along with this fic! Let me know what you want to see happen next in this ‘verse!

[cb-writes-stuff]

Yes I would like to see some in hats and time stuff,,, and also maybe an explanation of what a hat in time is I know barely anything about it

Firstly, A Hat in Time is a 3D collectathon platformer by indie studio Gears for Breakfast. It stars Hat Kid (and, if you’re playing two-player, Bow Kid) who has to collect magical hourglasses called Time Pieces, which are the fuel for her spaceship, so that she can go home. Her enemy is Mustache Girl, a precocious rebel with a strong sense of justice, who is collecting Time Pieces for her own nefarious purposes—to deal with anyone she deems a “bad guy”.

Basically, the idea behind IHAT that it’s a crossover AU between In Stars and Time and A Hat in Time, with AHIT characters in ISAT. The idea came from the similarity in names, hence the title In Hats and Time. Up until now, it’s just been a couple art wips, but now, I’m gonna write some stuff, so buckle up.

Picture this. Siffrin and Isabeau, lying down in the field, stargazing. It’s Act 4 (because that’s as far as I’ve gotten so far). Isabeau excitedly tells Siffrin to look—a shooting star! Oddly, he interrupted them, unlike every other time. As usual, Siffrin doesn’t wanna turn away. But the script calls for it, so they do—and they freeze. Burning across the sky is a massive ball of fire. Way too big to be a shooting star. And it’s getting bigger.

Meanwhile, on board the Spaceship (Mk. 14 Custom), Hat Kid is in a panic. There was some sort of distortion, the ship went haywire, and now she’s crashing through the atmosphere of an unknown planet. Bow Kid disappeared somewhere, which sucks because she would’ve been a big help right now. The computer is screaming something about “escape pod ejected” as she desperately pulls back on the controls. She manages to bring the ship up, but not enough to avoid crashing. She blacks out.

Siffrin is shook. Completely shook. Something new happened. New things aren’t supposed to happen. He doesn’t know what to do when new things happen. He blanks on all his lines when Bonnie, Mirabelle, and Odile show up. Nothing goes right.

That night, he can’t sleep. Can’t even pretend to sleep. So he sneaks out and goes to the banana peel. The meteor, or whatever it was, was weird. But it’s just a one-off. An outlier. If it keeps happening, then something’s gone wrong, but if it doesn’t happen again, then it’s okay. So he loops back to that morning. No harm, no foul.

So yeah! That’s basically how it starts. I’ll be posting more stuff as I write it, probably not in chronological order, but I’m also very worried that I’ll make a fool of myself by not knowing all the ISAT lore, so it’ll probably be slow until I beat the game.

(Edit: I put “as usual” twice, so I removed the second one. It was past midnight and I was tired. Don’t judge me.)