#just look for De and fast forward the rest

[spawksstuff]

The De Completionist Checklist Part 6

1956

Note on the dates: I will mostly be going by when a show/movie was shot rather than its release date. Variety Magazine will be given first priority.

My score: 9 / 14

Need To Find:  Lineup-Ringing Bells, Strange Stories-Such A Nice Little Girl, You Are There (The Fall of Fort Sumter, The Heroism of Clara Barton, The Berlin Airlift)

Favorite Movie: Gunfight at O.K. Corral

Favorite TV Show: O. Henry Playhouse – Fog In Santone

Favorite Scene: Fog In Santone when Rosa takes (De) Carter back to her room to take care of him.

[girlgenius1111]

unhappy reunions

sol runs into her parents after the copa de la reina final no warnings.

--------

“Solstråle?” 

You froze. You knew that voice, knew it well. Your mother normally didn’t call you by the nickname Ingrid had given you, and that almost surprised you more than her surprise appearance.The noisy cafe still existed around you, but when you turned around, that was all forgotten. 

“Mamma?” You whispered, instinctually taking a step backwards from the woman in front of you. 

It made sense; you should have known better than to expect your parents to miss one of perfect, perfect Ingrid’s important games. 

“Hei, kjære.” Your dad said gently. He had his hand on your mom’s elbow, holding her back from taking a step closer. It wasn’t as jarring to see him, but your body had been plunged into panic the moment you’d seen your mothers’ face. 

“I-.... I can’t,” you mumbled, backing up until your back hit the door. The last thing you saw before you turned to leave was a heartbroken expression on your mom’s face. As if she was upset you wouldn’t talk to her. You were confused, overwhelmed, and so, so upset. 

You booked it back to the hotel. As fast as you could, walking as quickly as would be socially acceptable. You’d forgotten the coffee you’d ordered, which you only realized as you got in the elevator at the hotel. You were kind of torn on whether to head to your room, or to Ingrid and Mapi’s. They’d probably still be asleep; the celebrations had gone late the night before, and you wanted them to rest, to really soak in the victory. 

But honestly, you weren’t sure you’d be able to calm yourself down, and you knew your sister could. You made a decision that you wouldn’t have a few months ago, maybe even a few weeks ago, stopping in front of your sister’s door rather than your own. You chose company over self pity, and comfort over punishing yourself. And it felt wrong. 

Mapi answered the door. “Good morning Sol!” She said cheerily, stepping aside to let you in the room. The bathroom door was closed and you could hear the shower running, which explained where your sister was. 

“Hi.” You said, your voice much shakier and quieter than normal. 

“You okay?” Mapi asked, shutting the door and giving you a concerned look. 

“Yeah.” The lie was instinctual. “No, actually. No. I… I went to get coffee.” 

Mapi looked at your empty hands, raising an eyebrow in question. 

“I saw my mom. She- both of them. My mom and my dad, they were in the coffee shop I went to. And I saw them.” You looked away from Mapi as you spoke, staring down at your hands. They were trembling. 

“Sol,” Mapi sighed and reached out for your hand, though you stepped backwards, shaking your head at her. 

“Please don’t touch me.” You whispered, pressing the heels of your palms tightly against your eyes. You felt so unsettled, so uncomfortable. Suddenly, Zaragoza didn’t feel safe, you didn’t feel safe. You wanted to go home, or maybe you just wanted to hide yourself somewhere quiet and far, far away from anyone else. 

Mapi stood for a minute, not sure what to do. You’d never refused a hug from her before and though she realized that you coming to their room as opposed to hiding away in your own room was a step forward, everything about your body language was screaming that you were miles away, back in Norway. Norway, where you didn’t feel loved or noticed. Where you shied away from hugs because you weren’t used to getting them. Mapi heard the shower turn off and wasn’t sure whether or not to be glad. Ingrid might be overwhelming for you, as it seemed like you were already overwhelmed, but Ingrid could sometimes get through to you in a way that only she could. 

“Okay, Sol. Everything is fine, cariño.” She tried to soothe. 

“No! No, everything isn’t fine. They aren’t supposed to be here, I don’t want to see her. Are they here to take me back? I don’t want to go back. I want to go home, to Barcelona. I want to go home Mapi, please.”

“You aren’t going back and you don't have to see anyone, nena.” Mapi promised, stepping closer with her hands raised slightly in the air. “Tell me what to do, tell me how I can help.” 

“I don’t know, I don’t know.” All you could do was shake your head back and forth, trying to keep yourself in the present. 

“Okay, Sol, just breathe. Just breathe for me.” Mapi soothed, taking a slight step forwards. It didn’t seem like you were hearing her. It didn’t even seem like you were in the room with her. 

“Mom, please please don’t send me away. I want to stay here with you. Please mom, please.” You sobbed. Your head hurt from crying, from going back and forth in circles with your mother. 

“You are going, and that is final.” Your mother said firmly. She didn’t really seem to see your tears, or how upset you were.  

You looked towards your dad, who couldn’t meet your eyes. “Dad, please. I don’t want to go. I’ll be better, I promise, just please,” 

Your father opened his mouth, as if to reply, but your mother beat him to it. “Enough. We are not changing our minds.”

You wiped a few tears away. “How can you do this to me?”

“Do this to you?” She repeated incredulously. “I’m always the bad guy with you. No matter how much I do, nothing is ever enough. You are ungrateful. You are only capable of thinking of yourself. This is not the kind of person I raised you to be. You say that you are anxious and depressed. I think you’re lying, and I am sick and tired of your excuses for this poor behavior. It is a miracle your sister is even willing to take you in. I am sure she has no idea what she’s getting herself into. You will go to Spain, and you will learn what it's like to not have someone do everything for you. And until you learn that, do not bother coming back here. I do not want to see your face again until you have cleaned up your act.” 

The room fell silent as your mother took a step back, a flicker of emotion flashing across her face. Your dad still wouldn’t look at you. If he had, he would have seen that the tears had stopped. You stood, looking like you’d been struck. In that moment, you hated yourself as much as your mother seemed to. Even if you didn’t understand why she felt that way. You were pretty sure it was warranted. 

“I am sorry for yelling. I just get so frustrated with you sometimes, and I don’t know what else to do.” She stepped closer, stopping when you took a step back. “We are doing this because we care about you.” 

It was always because they cared about you. Never because they loved you. Your mother had stopped saying love a long time ago, around the time you’d started acting out. You wondered if you’d ever hear it again. From anyone. 

“Sol, I need you to breathe.” Mapi said, bringing you out of your thoughts. You raised your head to look at her, and she almost cried herself at the downright haunted look on your face. The next second, you were practically lunging towards her, a broken sob falling from your lips. 

“I want Ingrid.” You choked out, pressing your face into Mapi’s shoulder. She nodded quickly, arms holding you securely to her, even as you trembled violently. 

“Ingrid,” Mapi called.

“One second.” Ingrid replied, not hearing the urgency in her girlfriend’s tone. 

When Ingrid walked out of the bathroom, clean and dressed in the clothes she was intending on wearing to the airport, she stopped in her tracks. Mapi was holding you close against her, shushing you quietly, and you were sobbing. 

“María? Solstråle? What-?” 

Mapi just shook her head, waving Ingrid to come closer. Your sister crossed the room quickly, filled with confusion and worry as she saw the state you were in. When you didn’t seem like you were going to explain anytime soon, Ingrid looked again to Mapi. 

“She saw your parents. They’re here, in Zaragoza, she saw them in a coffee shop.” 

Ingrid felt fury rise in her, but she pushed it aside, softly stroking over your hair with her hand. “Sol, I’m so sorry.” 

Once you felt your sister’s hand on your head, you turned around, falling into Ingrid. You squeezed her tighter than you ever had before, the only thought in your head that you did not want to go back. 

“Ingrid, don’t let them take me.” You sobbed. 

“Elskling, I am not letting anyone take you anywhere . You are staying with me, okay? I promise you.”  

Ingrid had seen you upset before. Really upset. Nothing came close to this, though. It felt like just when she thought she understood how much damage your parents had done on you, something else would happen that told her it was far worse than she'd been thinking. 

And at the worst possible moment, the door flew open and Patri and Pina’s loud voices filled the room, before they fell completely silent. They froze in the doorway, realizing that they had walked in on a full breakdown from you. They’d heard from Ingrid and Mapi that you’d been struggling. Until now, it had been hard to fit that information into the image they had of you. Smiley quiet Sol. 

Neither of them knew what had happened to get you to this point, cradled against your sister, sobbing so hard they weren’t even sure you knew they were there. 

“Out.” Mapi said harshly, moving to block your trembling form. She’d never snapped like this to her teammates, and though they had already been on their way out of the room, they moved faster.

“Sorry, Mapi.” Patri said quietly, yanking Pina out of the room quickly and shutting the door behind them. 

“What-?” Pina began. 

“I don’t know. Whoever hurt her enough to be like that… I don’t understand. She’s such a good kid.” 

“If Mapi ever goes to jail for murder, we’ll know who she went after.” 

Patri nodded her agreement. 

Back inside the room, you had stopped crying, save for the occasional sniffle. Ingrid almost preferred the crying to the completely blank look that had washed over your face. 

“Sol,”

“Pina and Patri?”

“They won’t say anything to anyone, and they won’t make fun of you, Sol. Not for this.” Mapi promised. 

“Okay. Good. I need to pack.” You said stiffly, stepping away from the comfort of your sister, and turning to walk out of the room. 

“No, Sol. No. Stop for a second. We cannot pretend that didn't just happen.” Mapi cut in. A flicker of surprise flashed across your face, as Mapi was normally the one to encourage Ingrid to let you take things at your own pace. 

You looked between her and your sister, wondering how you could explain it in a way that made sense to them. “ I can’t think about this any more before we go home. I just need to go home. Please.” 

For once, Mapi looked conflicted while your sister nodded instantly. She understood. You hated unfamiliar places. You were introverted that way, while Mapi was very much the opposite. There was never a feeling of complete safety when you and Ingrid were away from home, and she understood why you didn’t want to deal with this now, here. Not when you were only a few hours from being home. 

“Okay. I get that. I am not leaving you alone right now, though. We still have a few hours until we have to go, so take Mapi with you to finish packing, and then go find me coffee.” 

You nodded weakly, moving only once Mapi had given you a kind smile and began to lead you out of the room. 

Ingrid waited until the door had shut behind you both before she grabbed her phone from her pocket, and clicked on a contact she hadn’t even looked at in a while. 

-------

She was doing the right thing. That’s what Ingrid told herself. It had nothing to do with the desperate wish to see her parents, even if she was so furious with them she couldn’t put it into words. She missed her mom, and she had for a while. Ingrid was doing this for you, though; she was putting you first. 

When she entered the bar in the lobby of the hotel, she saw her parents instantly. They were sitting at a small table in the corner of the bright room, conversing quietly. Her father kept shaking his head, and her mother seemed to be insisting on something. 

Making her way over to the table, Ingrid schooled her features and took a deep breath. 

“Hi.” She said neutrally, taking the open seat at the table without really looking at either of her parents. 

“Ingrid.” Her mom said happily. “I’ve missed you so much.” 

Your sister dug her nails into her palm. Think of Sol. Think of what they have done.

“I’m not here to chat. I am here to tell you to stay away from Sol. She isn’t ready to see either of you right now. I didn’t realize I had to be specific in my request for you both to not come to the final, but you’ve crossed the line here. You had no idea how upset Sol is.”  

“Ingrid, we didn’t mean to run into her. We just came to see you play. It was completely coincidental, our flight back home leaves this evening.” Her dad explained. 

“You told us what Sol needed, and we want to respect that. But we have really missed you, and you’ve had such an incredible season. We just wanted to see you play.” Her mom chimed in. 

“And what about Sol? Have you missed her?” Ingrid asked bitingly. 

“Of course we have. I know we… I messed up. I made a lot of mistakes. I wasn’t well, Ingrid, but I’m doing better now and I want-”

“Sol is not going back to Norway.” Ingrid snapped. 

Her mother nodded instantly. “I know. I want your sister to be happy, and it seems like she is. The best place for her is with you, I understand that. I don’t get to be upset that she doesn’t want to come home, not when I’m the reason she had to leave in the first place. I want to apologize to her, Ingrid. Not today, but maybe we can come to Barcelona? And we can talk to her.” 

The suspicion on Ingrid’s face said enough. Her mother knew then that what she had broken was not fixable. Her relationship with you may not even be salvageable, and her one with Ingrid was broken. Potentially beyond repair. 

“I don’t know. I’ll talk to her when we’re home to see if she wants to do that.” 

“Okay. Whatever you think is best, Ingrid.” 

The table fell into silence before your father spoke, his voice oddly choked up. “How is she?” 

Your sister’s eyes flickered to your fathers before she answered, trying to gauge his sincerity. “She’s okay. She’s doing better. It’s not perfect, but she’s happier. We got her a dog, and she’s making friends. Her and Mapi are… crazy together, but it’s fun. She’s going to be okay, I think.”

Your father gave Ingrid a watery smile, blinking hard. 

“Ingrid, I want to say I’m sorry to you, too.” Your mother said after a minute.

 Ingrid glared at her. “For what? I am happy to have Sol here, I love her. She isn’t a burden to me.”

Her mother flinched, wiping a tear off her cheek. “That’s not what I meant. I… she’s doing better, and that is because of you. Because you are doing an incredible job with her. I am sorry because what I have done has understandably pushed you away from me. And it isn’t fair for Sol not to have had an attentive mother, but it isn’t fair for you either, to lose me too. It’s my fault, and I’m sorry. I miss you, kjære. I love and  miss you both, but I understand.” 

Ingrid stared out the window for a moment, willing herself not to start sobbing. “Thank you for apologizing.” She said finally. “I miss you too, but that doesn’t change anything. Sol needs me, and she is my priority. She hasn’t been yours in a long time, but she is mine and I will do whatever she needs me to do. Even if that means not seeing you both.” 

Both your parents nodded solemnly. “We understand, Ingrid. Really, we do.”

Ingrid nodded, biting her lip hard to keep from crying. God, she wished Mapi was here right now. 

“Okay. You should get back to your sister. We’re so proud of you, Ingrid. We’ll be cheering you on in the champions league final, and if Sol decides to hear me out, you know how to reach me. I love you, darling.” Her mother said, standing and pressing a kiss to Ingrid’s head, before she walked away from the table. She, too, was trying to keep it together, for her daughter’s sake. 

Your father rose and gently patted her cheek. “I love you, kiddo. Fly safe.” 

“I love you too.” She whispered, but both her parents were too far away by now to hear her.

She couldn’t stop the tears from dripping down her face as she headed for the elevator. She wiped furiously at them, but they fell all the same. 

The elevator opened up in front of her, and she was met with a very concerned Frido. 

“Hey. Mapi told me you were meeting your parents, and I… oh, Ingrid.” Frido sighed. At the sight of Frido, Ingrid had stopped trying to fight it, stepping in closer and letting out a heart wrenching sob. Frido tugged Ingrid back into the elevator with her, carefully wrapping her best friend in a tight hug. 

“I know, I know. It really sucks.” Frido whispered, clicking the button for your sister’s floor. “You’re doing the right thing for your sister, though, and I’m really proud of you, Ing.” 

Your sister wished she could find it within herself to feel proud, but the only feeling she had was that she really just wanted a hug from her mom. And more than that, she wanted to go back in time and erase all the hurt from your life. She wished things could just be fixed but she knew they couldn’t be, not quickly, maybe not at all. And that was something she was going to have to live with.

-------

You seemed weighed down with despair when Ingrid arrived back in her room. And distracted, finishing the final touches of packing Mapi’s suitcase. Mapi hated packing, and you loved it, so there was no confusion on Ingrid’s part as to why this was occurring. What was a bit alarming for her, though, was that you didn’t even seem to notice the tear tracks on Ingrid’s face, even though you looked right at her. You were an observant person, and not noticing how upset your sister was spoke volumes towards how poorly you were handling this. 

Mapi didn’t miss it, though. Of course not. She glanced up, seeing her girlfriend’s face, her brow instantly furrowing in concern. Ingrid refused to meet her eyes, terrified that she’d start crying again, but this time in front of you. 

“Hey, Sol? Can you go up to Frido’s room and see if I left my book there?” Mapi asked. 

You nodded absentmindedly, walking right past your sister and out the door. 

“Come here, princesa,” Mapi sighed, allowing Ingrid to fall into her arms and bury her face in Mapi’s t-shirt. She just held the Norwegian for a few minutes, every so often pressing a kiss to the side of Ingrid’s head. Mapi made sure to thread her fingers through Ingrid’s thick hair, as she always did when it was down, scratching gently at her scalp. Ingrid tried to focus on the smell of Mapi overwhelming her, instead of any of the one million emotions she was feeling. “Did it not go well?’

“No, it went okay. Good, actually. They’re both completely aware that this is their fault, and they aren’t going to try to make Sol go back to Norway. It was just hard. I miss them, and I know I shouldn’t-”

“Hey, no. There is no should or shouldn’t when it comes to how you feel, mi amor. You can miss them and be angry at them all at the same time. And missing them doesn’t mean you love your sister any less. Okay?”

“Okay.” Ingrid nodded, trying to muster a smile for her girlfriend. “Thanks for sending Frido down, I was kind of a mess.” 

Mapi just flashed a smile at the Norwegian, gently kissing her cheek. “I love you.” She said softly. 

Ingrid wilted slightly, overcome, as she usually was, at how ridiculously perfect her beautiful girlfriend was. “I love you too, María.” 

-------

Ingrid and Mapi had left you alone in the airport for five minutes, going in search of coffee before Ingrid went on a killing spree of some kind. And it was in that short period of time that Patri and Pina very suddenly appeared on either side of you, flopping into the open seats next to you. 

You regarded them warily, trying to figure out if they were going to say something about it or not. 

“If we have to kill someone for you, we will.” Claudia said matter of factly. “More importantly, though, Mapi is going to fall asleep on that plane. And you are going to write something on her forehead.” 

“Am I?” You asked, a hint of a smile playing on your lips. 

“You are. I am thinking something along the lines of… I love my girlfriend?” Patri suggested. 

“Single and ready to mingle.” Pina countered. 

“Heterosexual.” 

“World’s biggest simp.” 

“Loser.” 

“Little bitch.”

All three of you were giggling at this point, attracting the attention of a few of your sister’s teammates sitting nearby. Among them, Esmee. She was a quiet girl, incredibly kind and also fond of your sister. Esmee was shy, and as such, the words that came out of her mouth were completely unexpected. 

“#1 Real Madrid Fan.” She suggested, a small smirk on her face. 

You fell off your seat, tears forming in your eyes as you pictured both Mapi’s reaction to that being written on her forehead, and at Esmee being the one who had come up with it. 

You didn’t notice Ingrid and Mapi watching on from a few feet away, having stopped in their tracks at the sound of your laughter. 

“I didn’t think I’d see her smile for a few days at least.” Ingrid murmured. 

“Me either. Thank god for the two biggest imbeciles on the planet.” Mapi said with a roll of her eyes. 

“No, not imbeciles. They saw she was upset earlier, and they knew what they were doing just now.” Ingrid said softly, exchanging a look with Patri. The young captain sent Ingrid a huge grin and a sly thumbs up. 

Mapi got a slightly mushy look on her face. “My favorite imbeciles.” She decided. 

Ingrid laughed, shaking her head. She knew very well that Pina and Patri would be right back to being Mapi’s least favorite imbeciles. Just as soon as Ingrid helped them draw on her girlfriend’s face. 

--------

“I don’t even like penises.” Mapi grumbled, dragging her bag through the door. “Stupid thing to draw.” 

You and Ingrid choked back laughter. “No one gets a penis drawn on them because they LIKE penises Mapi.” 

“You are on my list Engen.” Mapi sneered, her face cheering up greatly as Bagheera ran to greet her. 

“Hey, just be glad Alexia stopped them from putting it on your forehead.” You giggled. 

Ingrid turned to you, wide eyed, while Mapi whipped around, her jaw dropping. “Ingrid said SHE stopped them from doing that!” 

You dodged the wack Ingrid tried to land on your arm, laughing even harder. “Nah, Ingrid was pro penis on the forehead. Alexia was too, until she realized there’d be cameras when we got off the plane, and she changed her mind.” 

The Spaniard frowned down at the large drawing on her forearm, before her glare turned to you. “Oh, just wait, Engen. You’ll regret this.” 

A scandalized look appeared on your face. “Me?! It was Pina and Patri.” 

“They will pay too, pequeña, don’t worry. You’ll all pay.” 

You rolled your eyes at the Spaniard’s dramatics, but your amusement completely disappeared when Ingrid rested a hand on your shoulder and turned you towards her. 

“Can we talk for a sec, Sol?” 

Worry clouded your face as you nodded, allowing Ingrid to lead you into the living room. She wanted to be honest with you, tell you what had happened as soon as she could. You both were home now, and she knew you’d be upset if she kept her conversation with her parents from you for any longer. 

Taking a seat on the couch next to Ingrid, you turned expectantly to Mapi. Ingrid never had an important conversation with you without her girlfriend there as a buffer. 

“I am going to get the dog.” Mapi said, giving you a reassuring smile before she headed back out the door with Scout’s leash in hand. 

“Ingrid, I didn’t really want to talk about-”

“I talked to mom and dad.” Ingrid interrupted, wincing slightly at the panic and hurt that flashed across your face. 

“Oh.” You mumbled. 

“I just wanted to tell them to leave you alone, sweetheart. We didn’t talk for very long. They just said that they want you to be happy. Mom was really… apologetic. And she said that she wanted to talk to you. I told her that it was up to you, whether or not you wanted to talk to her.”

“Oh.” You repeated. Ingrid couldn’t get a read on how you were feeling. Overwhelmingly, it seemed to her like you were anxious, so she reached out and took your hand. “Mom wants me to go back to Norway?”

“No, Sol. She wants you to be happy. And you’re happier here than you ever were in Norway. I think she just wants to talk. To apologize.” 

“Oh. Okay.” You paused, trying to slow your pounding heart. You didn’t have to go back. “Do you- do you want me to talk to her?” You asked insecurely, eyeing your sister with apprehension. 

Ingrid shook her head again, running a hand through her hair. “Solstråle, I want you to do what you want to do. I want you to decide what will be best for you. Don’t think about me, Sol. Think about you.” 

She spoke so earnestly, you had a hard time figuring out which thing she really did want. But the more you thought about it, the clearer it became. 

Ingrid had always been close with your parents. The last few months must have been really hard for her, barely speaking to them at all. Ingrid probably wanted you to make up with them, so that she could do the same. Even if you didn’t go back to Norway. You could put your family back together again. That was what Ingrid wanted. 

You opened your mouth to tell her you’d talk to your mom, before you slammed it shut again. 

Ingrid had also said she wanted you to choose what was best for you. And if you were sure about anything, it was that you weren’t ready to talk to your mom, not yet. It didn't come naturally to you, putting yourself first and making a decision that would be best for you, and not for the people around you. BUt you felt you owed it to your sister to be honest. To do what she was asking. Ingrid had done so much for you the last few months. She just wanted you to be happy. And you wanted to be happy, too. More than anything. 

“I… I’m not ready yet. I don’t want to talk to her. Maybe in a few months, but not… not now.” You said quietly. You didn’t seem confident in your decision at all, but Ingrid understood what that insecurity was really about. 

“Okay, Sol. Whatever you want sweetheart. Whatever makes you happiest.” 

You looked up at her, tears welling in your eyes. “Really?” 

Ingrid exhaled sharply, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. “Really.” 

You nodded your head, before leaning in towards Ingrid. She hugged you tight. 

“I’m really proud of you, Sol. Really proud.” 

You squeezed her tighter. You were proud of you, too.

------- :)

[woso-dreamzzz]

Surgery VII

Mapi Leon x Ingrid Engen x Child!Reader

Summary: You get in trouble

"Have to be quiet," You whisper as you clip Bagheera's harness on.

It was one of the first things your Mami taught you when you were little.

Bagheera mews at you as you pick her up, pushing her into your backpack. You zip it up but still leave a bit of it open so she can breathe in fresh air. That was another thing Mami taught you.

Animals must have little holes in so they can breathe but not big enough holes that they can escape.

"I've got it, cub," Ingrid says, reaching for your bag but you push her hand away.

"I'm a big girl," You tell her, pulling your backpack on all by yourself," Can carry it myself."

Ingrid laughs, fondly ruffling your mane. "Look at you," She says," So grown up."

"I know."

Your bag is a little heavier than usual but you're very determined. You think if you can prove that you can look after Bagheera by yourself than Ingrid will finally take you to the shelter so you can get your own cat.

"Whoa," Mami laughs as you get out of the car with your backpack," Look at you go, cub. So independent all of a sudden."

"I'm a big girl," You tell Mami just like you told Ingrid.

"Don't grow up too fast," Mami says," Or you'll have to move out soon."

You give her a deadpan stare. "Don't be silly, Mami."

You run off after that. You know Mami and Ingrid are going straight to the field so you duck around the corner and pull Bagheera out of your bag.

She mews at you a few times as you finally work out how to clip her leash to your little belt loops. That means she can't wander off without you.

You're very proud of yourself as you make your way into the locker room, chest puffed out.

"Oh, cub," Patri groans with a little laugh," What have you done?"

You frown. "Nothing!"

"Having the cat doesn't look like nothing," Patri says, very pointedly looking at Bagheera."

"We're having a day out!" You announce," So Ingrid knows I can have a ginger cat too!"

Patri full on laughs now. "You're very sneaky. How did you manage to pull this off?"

"I'm mature," You insist," And me and Bagheera are friends!"

"Come on," Patri says," Let's go to the pitch and see what your mums think of this."

"I want a ginger cat," You say as Patri escorts you to the pitch," And I want it to have a proper tail. Bagheera's got a stumpy tail. I want my cat to have a proper one."

"Cub!" Ingrid's voice yells across the pitch and you instantly know you're in trouble. Ingrid doesn't use that voice a lot with you, her grumpy in trouble voice but she's using it on you now. "Why is Bagheera here?!"

Mami looks angry too, arms crossed over her chest and Patri pushes you forward.

"Tell them what you told me."

You take a big breath. "Showing that I can have a cat too."

"Cub," Ingrid says sternly and you wilt.

You sniffle a little as your throat goes all tight like it does when you're about to cry. "I really want a cat, Mama," You say morosely, digging the tip of your shoe into the ground," Just trying to prove I can look after one."

Ingrid massages her temple in annoyance.

"Cub," Mami says sternly," What you've done is very, very naughty. Do you understand that?"

"Sorry, Mami."

"Very naughty," Mami insists," You could have gotten Bagheera very hurt."

"Sorry."

She takes your hand and leads you over to the corner of the pitch, turning you around so you can't see the rest of the team.

"You're four years old now so that means four minutes in time out. Sit here and think about what you've done."

"I'm sorry, Mami!"

"I know but you're still going in timeout."

Mami doesn't take Bagheera from you and she curls up on your lap as you sit there.

You know you sit there for four minutes but it feels like a lot longer until Mami and Ingrid come over.

They sit in front of you.

"You were very, very naughty," Ingrid says to you," Not telling us you took Bagheera could have gotten her very hurt. Do you understand that?"

You nod.

"That wasn't very responsible," She continues," And it doesn't make me think you deserve a cat of your own."

You burst into tears. "I'm sorry, Mama! I was gonna look after her promise!"

You turn your bag upside down and shake it.

Treats for Bagheera fall out as well as a bottle of water and the collapsible bowl you use for Bagheera's beach trips. You've got a blanket too and toys for if she gets bored.

"Oh, cub," Mami says as she looks at everything.

"Left my bag a little bit open so she could breathe," You insist," And made sure it didn't fall in the car!"

Ingrid still looks mad though. "Cub," She says," Bagheera is a very special part of the family. She might have been scared all alone in your bag, did you think of that?"

You shake your head. "I'm sorry." All you can do is keep apologising.

"I can see that but it was still very naughty of you. Do you understand why?"

You nod.

"Why?"

"'Cause Bagheera could have gotten hurt and I should have told you and Mami."

"Well done for saying sorry," Ingrid says eventually," And well done for knowing what you did was wrong. You did a good job in making sure to pack everything Bagheera will need today."

"We can't do much now that Bagheera is here," Mami continues," So you'll have to take care of her today."

You nod. "I will, Mami."

"And when we get home, we'll discuss your own cat," Ingrid says.

[taro-pdf]

DCxDP: De-aged Danny is a Eldritch Little Ball of Mischief

This was not how Danny envisioned his evening going. Who knew that not only did an immortal ancient fae not only live in the infinite realms, but it also really didn’t like it when Danny told it that it couldn’t go around usurping other Kings’ kingdoms for funsies? Not Danny. Until about an hour ago that is. When the Observents observed the imbalance, they had told him about it. Apparently it was important enough to literally bury him in envelopes. Well, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to get away from paperwork for a while, Danny had thought. It turned out to be a much more difficult task than he’d anticipated.

Lucky for Danny, he’d just won the not-so-little spat and the fae capitulated in the end, agreeing to maintain but not expand the boundaries of its haunt. Unlucky for Danny, there was a different neverborn fast approaching, and from its posture, it was not wanting to just have tea. Taking just enough time to send out a “hurt/portaling away/talk later/careful” core message to his Fraid, Danny pushed the ectoplasm in front of him to the side and willed the Realms to take him somewhere safe. 

The swirling green energy was a relief. The Realms all but pushed him inside, and he fell through time and space, getting smaller and smaller to conserve the little ectoplasm he had left. He slid to the ground with a sigh. All he saw before the world faded was an overcast sky framed by the edges of apartment buildings.

****

Danny slowly woke up. The first thing he noticed was the gravel he lay on. It shifted beneath as he rolled over, bits clinging to his skin where he had been touching the ground. The second thing he noticed was the smell. The third thing he noticed was that there was a lot of noise coming from somewhere. He wrinkled his nose and sat up, rubbing at his eyes with his tiny hands.

Tiny hands?

Danny looked at his hands. They were indeed tiny.

He opened and closed his tiny baby hands experimentally. They made adorable little fists, but weren’t they supposed to make big fists? How big were his hands supposed to be again? He looked at his body. His hands seemed to be the right size compared to the rest of himself, so he decided to not worry about it.

What he would worry about was his immediate comfort, and the thing bothering him most was Why Did It Smell So Bad. He pushed himself into a sitting position and then floated just of the ground. He frowned at the metal wall in front of himself. Taking a few steps back, he saw it was a dumpster… which explained the smell, at least. So what was the noise? 

Peering around the dumpster, Danny saw a very small, colorful car, and the door opened to reveal a clown who shouldn’t be able to fit into such a small place. He laughed maniacally, just loud enough to cover the sounds of distress from nearby people. 

“Well, well, well, Batsy! Seems your little Arkham fun house can’t hold all this FUN!” Arms spread wide, a clown extricated himself from the car and walked forward, eyes fixed on something above him. “I think someone needs to remind Gotham how to live a little, wouldn’t you agree? Why don’t you all SMILE for me?”

He threw his head back and cackled. The sound sent shivers through Danny’s body and made him flatten his ears. Ears? He glanced up and didn’t see anything. When he patted his head with his tiny adorable hands, though, he found that he did indeed have soft pointy ears. Which was… something that he probably should have feelings about.

The sound of confetti popping drew his attention away from his (maybe new) ears back to the events outside. The bystanders were smiling now, tears streaming down their cheeks. Another pop of confetti, and their smiles stretched wider. They didn’t seem to be actually smiling. Danny watched as less colorful clowns brought more people up the laughing one. He reached into the car and pulled out another confetti popper. Danny frowned. It wasn’t right to make people feel scared, and it wasn’t right to make them smile if they didn’t want to, either. Danny may be small, but at least he knew that! He started forward. The clown was big but no matter how big you were, sharp teeth still hurt. Danny licked his lips. His teeth were very sharp. Changing his tail to less noticeable little legs and little feet, he crept forward.

As he opened his mouth to BITE that horrible no good very bad clown, he was snatched up and yote! Yote from one pair of big hands to another! They wrapped up his writhing form in a firm, one armed hug and then swung him away from the clown, away from the ground, and onto the roof, where he was unceremoniously plopped down. He blinked.

He blinked again. There were other people on the roof. Some were crying. Some were smiling. Some were standing and looking over the edge. Person Who Grabbed him was one of those. Person Dressed Like A Traffic Light was another.

“He doesn’t seem affected, but he might bite,” said grabbed.

“Tt. I will be able to handle the small child. What do you take me for?” Traffic Light uncrossed his arms, pulled something from his belt, and threw it with practiced ease. Danny heard a “oof” and then thud as someone’s body thumped to the ground. Traffic Light had hurt someone!

“No! Don’t hurt!” Danny lunged for Traffic Light’s elbow, only to be grabbed by Grabbed again!

“Woah, little one!” Grabbed wore a mask, but Danny could still see his smile. “We’re taking care of the bad clowns. They are hurting people, and we want them to stop.”

“Ok,” said Danny. He didn’t like the clowns. They could get very hurt for all he cared.

(started a long time ago and unfinished)

[kurogane2512]

*kicks in door*

i’m declaring myself as the futa anon now

i am humbly requesting you take us to the futs dimension and have himeko and/or ning absolutely railing our pussies harder than the the astral express as gentle doms

(also if you could not include anything involving mouth to cock that would be lovely thanks)

Oh we are getting destroyed with love for sure 🥵

18+ CONTENT

G!p Ningguang, G!p Himeko x fem!reader (separate)

Mostly pure smut, use of mommy

Ningguang sighed as she rested back on her chair, feeling exhausted from the neverending paperwork in front of her.

"Lady Ningguang, please get some rest now. I will complete the rest." you suggested to her. As her secretary, you were worried about her health and wellbeing as she had been working too much these past few days.

"What time is it, Y/n?" Ningguang asked then looked towards the window and saw the night sky.

"Oh, I didn't realize it's already this late. You should be going home now." she countered your plea, you knew she was going to work more after you'd leave.

"No, I'm fine. Don't worry about that. I'd like you to get proper rest, you haven't had a good sleep in days."

You kept requesting her but she wasn't keen on listening. She then stood up at her seat and beckoned her finger at you, gesturing you to come closer. You blushed lightly realizing what this action meant but walked up to her nevertheless. A smirk crept Ningguang's face as you stood by her side then she wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you flush against her body.

"If you keep requesting this much, then I'll have to take you to bed with me~"

"L-Lady Ningguang, this isn't a joking matter. Please understand that I'm worried about you...."

Ningguang chuckled then cupped your face before leaning into your neck, inhaling your scent and planting kisses on your skin. You shivered from her advances and tried to push away but your body couldn't deny her. Ningguang only ever did these things with you, it was an unspoken agreement you both had months ago. You felt her lips travel up your jaw before ensnaring your lips, kissing you gently.

"Help me de-stress for now then I'll rest as you want~" Ningguang ordered and you had no reason to deny her, you were just as eager. She lodged her knee between your legs and you felt a hard bulge rub against your abdomen, the feeling making you wet instantly. The next moment, you were swiftly turned over and bent against her table with your ass angled out. You gasped out a moan as her hands cupped your hips and caressed them before flipping up your dress to expose your core.

"Mmm, all wet for me already?~" Ningguang husked and rubbed her fingers on your soaked underwear then slipped it off, a rush of cool air hitting your folds. You heard ruffling of clothes as she flipped her own dress up and fished out her erect cock then pressed it to your vulva, slowly lubing the tip with your slick.

"You should have presented yourself this way for me earlier if you were so eager, I would have obliged for my darling secretary~"

Ningguang teased and continued rubbing her tip on your folds, intentionally not going inside.

"L-Lady Ningguang.... please...." you whined and wiggled your hips with her motions, trying to make her dick slip in.

"You know what you have to say, don't you?~"

You pursed your lips and your face flushed in embarrassment, "P-Please, put it in.... mommy, I need you...."

Ningguang smirked then bucked her hips forward and sheathed inside you in one go, "That's my good girl~"

You moaned out loud feeling her shaft penetrate you. She set a fast pace right away, hips thrushting forward and meeting your pelvis with harsh motions. You squeeled and held onto the table, she gripped your waist tightly and her nails dug in as she kept pounding away.

"Aahh, so tight for me.... good girl, I'll reward you graciously— mhm!~" Ningguang grunted and continued her relentless assault. Her cock penetrated you all the way and knocked all your sweet spots, the strength of a battering ram piercing you non-stop. She pressed down on your back making you arch beautifully for her then leaned forward on you, her lips making dark kisses and sucks on your back.

"That's it, so good for mommy.... you like it this way, my darling?~"

"Y-Yes! Aaaahn.... mommy! Please make me cum!~"

Ningguang's voice brushed past your ear as she chuckled, your walls tightening around her from the sultry tone. She leaned back up and one hand grabbed your neck while the other planted a quick slap on your buttcheek, a pleasured whimper leaving your lips.

"Yes, cry for me more.... scream for mommy and I'll let you cum!"

More slaps were put on your ass while she kept ramming into you, fucking you at an animalistic pace. Drool ran down your lips now as your tongue lolled out from pleasure, letting her practically ruin you. Ningguang watched your ass jiggle as she thrusted and subconsciously licked her lips, increasing her pace even more now. You didn't even know she could go harder but she did, mercilessly fucking you.

"Oh, my darling got so tight~ Do you want to cum?~"

"Y-Yes! I can't hold on more!"

"Beg for mommy to make you cum~"

"P-Please mommy! Make me cum— aaaahn!!~"

Ningguang chuckled then pushed your face against the desk and held it there with one hand while the other snaked around your body and touched your clit. You whimpered uncontrollably feeling overwhelmed by pleasure, her fingers rubbing your clit in quick motions while her dick rutted into you. Sounds of skin slapping were all that could be heard now, your voice hoarse from the screaming.

"Cum for mommy now, my sweetheart~"

Ningguang finally announced and hilted herself all the way, you felt her tip throb then release a hot and thick stream of cum. You moaned out as your own release approached soon after, the feeling of her cum filling you up making you ecstatic and absolutely fucked out. Ningguang sighed and grinded herself inside you as her cum poured out then pulled out with a pop, some of the cum dripping down your thighs.

She pumped her cock a few more times and squirted some cum on your back, staining your dress and skin further. You felt blissed out and only looked at her with hooded eyes as she approached you before flipping you over and pulling you on your feet. You could barely stand up and felt your knees become weak but she held you firmly and embraced you.

"Oh my, looks like we have made a mess. I suppose you can stay here for the night and have a bath with me~" Ningguang teased and you knew her intentions well enough; but truly, who were you to deny such a tempting offer from the Tianquan herself, especially when her cum was already inside you?~

Himeko had just returned to the Express after finishing negotiations with the IPC on Radiant Feldspar. She was expecting the Express to be empty but to her surprise, she saw you sitting in the lobby area all alone doing nothing but staring blankly into space.

"Y/n? I thought you were with Welt and others back at the Radiant Feldspar." Himeko called out and walked closer to you, you snapped out of your thoughts and saw her standing beside you then shook your head.

"A-Ah, is your meeting with the IPC done?"

Himeko's brows furrowed at your suspicious state, "Yes, it went quiet well. The Astral Express has a share in Penacony now and will hold some power to make decisions for its future."

"Oh, that's great. Everyone will be very happy...." you trailed off and went quiet, making Himeko's suspicions deeper.

"Is everything alright? Why aren't you with others?"

"I.... I was with them until recently. I just felt like coming back to rest."

Himeko softly cupped your face, "Is something weighing on your mind? You know you can tell me anything."

Your eyes widened and you averted your gaze in nervousness, "I suppose I'm just a little tired after this expedition.... So many things happened that I still can't get out of my mind."

Himeko could figure out what you were referring to and she couldn't blame you, an experience like this would be devastating for anyone. She wrapped her arms around your head and pulled you in for an embrace, your head lying on her soft breasts.

"It's alright, you can let it out. I understand your feelings, I'm here for you."

Himeko couldn't deny that she felt guilty for putting you through this, she only wished for you to have an enjoyable experience in Penacony.

"Would you let me soothe some of your pain?~"

Himeko led you to her room now. You knew what was on her mind when she proposed that and you became quite eager for it. Once you entered, Himeko locked the door and connected her lips with yours. It was a slow and gentle kiss, one that made you feel relaxed and melt into her. She pushed you back towards the bed while kissing and removed your clothes on the way, your lips moving with hers in a heated and passionate manner now.

You hit the bedside and she pushed you down then slid off her own dress, revealing her tempting figure. Your eyes wandered to her semi-erect shaft and you almost extended your hands to grip it but she instead pinned you on the bed and climbed on top of you. You blushed looking at her above you, she leaned down to place kisses on your neck and chest while her cock became harder and rubbed against your thigh.

"Mmm, H-Himeko~" you moaned and tried bucking your hips into her to feel any kind of friction.

"Oh my, already so eager?~" Himeko chuckled and kissed your cheek then parted your legs open to slip off your underwear. You watched her pump her cock and became more impatient by the minute.

"P-Please.... put it in...."

"Hehe, I won't deny you, my love. But I need to prepare you first~"

"No, please it's fine.... Just put it in already, m-mommy~"

Hearing the nickname flared up Himeko to no extent, she really wanted to be slow and gentle but it was difficult for her now. She brushed her finger past your folds and realized you were already sufficiently wet.

"Hmm, I suppose this will do. Tell me to stop if you feel pain, alright?~"

You nodded then she lined up her cock, she rested your legs on her thighs then slowly pushed in. Himeko was quite girthy and no matter how much you had done this, it was always a task to put her cock inside. You slightly arched as her tip went in then she bucked her hips forward and entered halfway before hilting completely with another thrust. You threw your head back as her cock snuggled inside you, breathing rapidly as your walls fluttered around her.

"O-Oh, my sweetheart.... mmh, you are doing so well for me~" Himeko praised before beginning to move. You clenched the sheets as she started with a slow pace then eventually increased, she gripped your waist and raised your hips more as she began slamming forward once you adjusted to her length. Himeko gazed at your pleasured face as she moved, your expressions only making her go harder.

"Do you feel good, my love? Does mommy make you feel good?~"

"Y-Yes, I feel soooo good— nggh!~"

Himeko softly chuckled then pulled you closer and pushed your legs close to your chest, folding you in a mating press as she thrusted into you. Your moans began incoherent feeling her thick length ram in and out of you, essentially fucking you into the sheets in this position. Her breasts squeezed against yours as she leaned down to kiss you, your tongues dancing in an open-mouthed kiss.

"Aaah! Aaaahn! M-Mommy— Himeko! Faster please!~"

Himeko was surprised by your request but happily obliged. She leaned back slightly and thrusted down with all her might, her hips slapping against yours in a brutal manner. She held your legs up to your shoulders and rammed at an animalistic pace. Tears of pleasure filled your eyes and Himeko gently wiped them before pulling you up to sit on her lap.

"Do you want to ride me?~"

You eagerly nodded and started bouncing on her cock, wrapping your arms around her neck while she gripped your hips and helped you thrust. She kissed you passionately and went down to bite your neck as you moved on her lap, her palm digging in your ass before she made a gentle slap on it. You whined and she only chuckled in response before bucking her hips with you, making a delicious rhythm of your bouncing with her thrusts.

"C-Cumming.... mommy, please.... I want to— hngh~!"

"Mm, cum whenver you want. You have earned it, sweetheart~"

Himeko pulled you flush into her shoulder and embraced you as her hips rutted with yours. Your walls tightened around her and her tip throbbed before you came together, a flood of cum burst inside you as your eyes rolled back feeling it. You hugged her tightly and moaned in her ear while grinding back n forth, her cum still being released inside you.

"Do you feel better now? I hope you know I'm always here for you no matter what happens." Himeko said while caressing your head.

"Yes, thank you.... I feel better." you nuzzled into her neck and embraced her back.

[soaringwide]

PAC: What's next in your love life?

Here is my love ahead spread, where we're going to look into what is coming for you in your love life, having singles or people in non-committed or early stages of the relationship in mind.

The reading doesn't contain any info on gender or orientation.

As always, this is a general reading meant for multiple people, there are only 3 piles, so it might not apply 100% to you. Take what resonates and leave out the rest.

I'm available for private readings and have a ko-fi. Free readings are currently closed at the time of writing this.

PILE 1

Cards: 7 of Pentacles, 7 of Cups, Judgement, the Tower, Knight of Wands, 8 of Swords, the Sun, 4 of Wands, Ace of Cups

We'll start by looking at your current situation regarding your love life.

It seems something has been growing in your love life for a while now. I'm thinking the early stages of a relationship or a crush situation. Zooming out, the growth seems steady, but it's possible that it wasn't so smooth when you look at it on the day to day. Some days might have felt like take 2 steps backward, and the next day you would move forward again. As a result you might be loosing your patience a little, ignoring the fact that things are indeed moving forward, even though not as fast as you want them to, or not exactly the way you want them to. You're eagerly waiting for things to take up speed and finally reach some type of harvest that you've been craving for. I also see you as somewhat passive, waiting for something to happen on its own. You're not necessarily taking any decisive action, but rather going with the flow of things and observing your relationship build slowly. Overall you feel quite impatient.

With the 7 of Cups in the position of things going for you, I think you have a tendency to get lost in your daydreams and illusions, regarding love and love interests. However, you're fully aware of that and actively de-fogging the whole thing. I see you trying to remain realistic and not too much in your head. I think that's a process that you had to learn the hard way. You're learning to pick up on the truth and discard the lies, which is quite painful and not a growth that happens in a straight line. Inside all this mess, there are nuggets of wisdom you're determined to find. It's like, either it helps you clear the way for this specific relationship, or it just makes you a healthier human, which is a win win situation.

However for what's going against you, I think you still have a tendency to put the blame on others instead of understanding that the current situation is your doing. If you're unsatisfied with the pace of things, you have choices. You can either wait and find peace in that, or move on to pursue something else. Whatever it is, don't wallow in misery because you feel frustrated and let resentment boil within you against your person, yourself, or the situation. What I'm trying to say is that you're refusing to make the call and pick a path to follow with determination, and instead you keep going back and forth in your head and creating a terrible emotional state for yourself. If you keep waiting for a sign in a passive and hopeless way, things will not change.

For what to take in in this situation, I see the need for a big wake up call with the Tower. I know this card has a bad rep but I think here it's mostly an indication of the intensity of the shift you need to do. It is paired with the Knight of Wands which is a clear indication that you need to take the reign and pursue what you want, taking a risk that things might collapse as a result. Welcome illusions being stripped away, let go of lies and take the risk to reveal your true self.

I asked for a clarification and got the 8 of Swords, which shines light on this state you need to wake up from: the fact that you keep yourself in a state of powerlessness when you have the means to cut your bonds. Really, this state of stagnancy is your doing and you need to own up to the fact and get out of that hole. Whatever you decide to do, you need to shake things up drastically and take a more active part in your love life.

What you need to release with the Sun, I get the idea that you're a bit too childish and immature when it comes to love matters, or at least in this situation. The card shows a child on a horse, but unlike the knight of wands who is in full control of his mount, the sun-child is merely waving his arms around and not doing much. It looks quite comical and does not embody a serious partner one might want to pursue. So I'm getting again the idea of the need to be more serious and committed, and releasing this naive mindset that things are going to fall on your lap without you doing anything at all.

For the most probably outcome in this situation, with the Four of Wands I was drawn to look up the astrological correspondence of the card and I got Venus in Aries, which is quite funny since Venus is currently in Aries until April 29th 2024 (writing this on the 23rd). I don't necessarily think this means everyone will find an outcome within the next few days, however, it does point out at changes happening presently, or as a direct result of this Venus in Aries season. Which again puts the idea of acting and stop wasting time.

It's also fun because it points at a very fiery approach to love, much like what the Knight of Wands was suggesting. Instead of worrying whether they love you or not, whether you should move on or not, you're being advised to go and find out. With the 4 of Wands as this placement in the tarot, there is an idea of celebration and coming together. The characters on the card are inviting, as if to welcome you in their circle, or hinting at a festive event or a gathering. A positive outcome is definitely possible, and if not, it's the opportunity to move on from heartache and find a better future with your heart unburdened.

The underlying energy is presented by the Ace of Cups, which definitely speaks of an exciting time for romantic feelings, where feelings are being birthed and coming to light. There is opportunity for a renewal in this connection.

PILE 2

Cards: The Devil, the Lovers, the Queen of Swords, Ace of Swords, 8 of Wands, 9 of Cups, the Fool 10 of Cups, 2 of Wands, 6 of Swords, 3 of Cups, 3 of Wands

We'll start by looking at your current situation regarding your love life.

With the Devil as you current situation, it is possible that you're crushing on someone or are in a non-committed relationship with someone that is loaded with sexual energy. However, it also points at an obsessive dynamic in the relationship which fosters an unhealthy atmosphere. It is clarified by the Lovers and the Queen of Swords, so I think there might be someone in this relationship hoping for love, and someone with their walls up, appearing cold and distant, even if there is physical intimacy at play here. It's also possible that the one interested in committed love doesn't respect their own boundaries and let themselves being stringed along.

As to what's going for you, I see you embracing clarity and the desire to cut through bullshit at this point. A part of you wants to reach the truth of this situation and is willing to think about it deeply. Get your sense of agency back by either communicating your needs and fears or by taking the time by yourself to work on that. It's clarified by the 8 of Wands so I see quick communication, heated arguments perhaps but it's for the best because you need to get to the core of the issue.

For what's going against you, I see you clinging onto the good aspects of this relationship, as in, it's not perfect but there's enough pleasurable aspects to it that you don't want to let go of that. You're protective of what you have and I also see you being a bit too carefree by pretending the negative aspects of this situation don't affect you that much, that everything is find and good, even though it isn't. You might be a bit of a hopeless romantic and you just don't want to see that this situation is not bringing you the true happiness that you seek but rather putting you in a unstable and potentially threatening situation. I don't know how to put it but with this + the Devil as significator for this relationship I get toxic vibes from this, but that you're too addicted to it to really snap out of it.

What you need to take in is shown by the 10 of Cups, and I think here it means that you need to find hope again that you're deserving of true and untainted happiness in matters of love. This card is about commitment and romantic, even familial fulfillment, and I think it's important to remember that if that's what you want then you can't settle for less because then you'll never get what your heart truly desires. This card is here to remind you of your dream, stop settling for less and suffocating your true wish.

You need to release your hope that the situation will solve itself without making a choice. I get the idea that you keep imagining how things could be, or would be if X or Y happened, but you're not taking the necessary step towards your wish.

All of this is highlighted by the general energy of the reading, which is all about going back to decision making after a time of hesitation. It's going to be your role to know which decision you need to make and how though, but you need to leave the harbor at some point.

For the outcome of this situation, I see you moving on to better days, letting go of this situation that doesn't fulfill you and going through a very social phase where you're going to either form new connections, or get back in touch with friends and celebrate your newfound freedom. It seems this decision of moving on will bring you a lot more happiness than sorrow. Yes it is painful to let go, but you have much to gain, and seeking different social interactions will help you feel better and get back on track. Perhaps it would help to find the humor in the situation and have fun gossiping about this relationship with your friends in order to vent and get another perspective.

PILE 3

Cards: Wheel of Fortune, the Fool, 3 of Cups, 9 of Cups, Ace of Swords rx, 9 of Pentacles, 6 of Pentacles, Temperance, 10 of Swords, the High Priestess, 9 of Swords

First off, let's look at your current love life.

For this pile, I don't think there is anyone specific in the picture for you. I see two possible situations depending on the people. Some of you might have experienced a breakup and are now in your new chapter, having left behind that situation and being past that; for others, I see you waiting for a relationship to show up eventually like some big turn of events. In both cases, you have a very open and carefree attitude right now, enjoying the moment and I get the idea that you might be enjoying casual sex as well, for some of you at least. In any case, you are currently not bound to anyone.

For what's going for you, I see you being social, meeting new people or enjoying time with friends. You're just enjoying yourself and your freedom and it's what you feel called to do right now. It seems you really needed to go through that phase in order to feel happier with yourself and find your balance again.

For what's going against you, I see the idea of casual, or at least, superficial connections showing up once more. You might also not be super ready to get into a committed relationship at the moment because you still feel the need to enjoy your freedom and have either multiple partners, or you just want to enjoy your social life without having to compromise or divide the limited time you have in your hands for one person only. I also see that you lack clarity on what you want. Is a committed relationship really what you want, or do you want to keep what you have right now? And if a relationship is what you want, what would it look like? I think you need to take some time reflecting on what romantic happiness looks like to you to see if it aligns with what you're doing.

For what you need to welcome in, there is a message here of reminding yourself that love is not just about sex and intensity, but also about sweetness and complicity. Looking up to your partner because you find them incredible, because they make you feel like a giggly child you can be your true self with. I also see the need to value true and deep emotional connection. There is a need to be the guardian of your fulfillment, not in a warroir-like way, but rather, in a nurturing way. Be the gardener that takes care of their blooming plants with love and care, and by that I mean that you need to put in the energy of what you want to harvest in the future, not just what's easily available in the moment. You also need to be more independent and advocate for your needs.

It's is very important to make way before you can receive anything new. Which means that you need to get clear on what it is that you truly want and release what doesn't align with that. Perhaps you're also quite detached and would benefit from getting in touch with your deeper emotions again. I think you've somewhat been hiding your heavier emotions inside and ignoring them for a while now and that might be what needs to be released.

For outcome, I think there is a deep need for realizing the options you have to choose from regarding your love life, and really take a look at what you truly want. I think this very social phase will come to an end for now, that you will be more focused on yourself and your inner world. This may trigger intense negative feelings that you were ignoring up until now because you were distracting yourself from them. You may need to hit the bottom before you can rise again, but fear not because from there, the only way to go is up. Learn to look for answers within, I think this time has the opportunity to teach you a lot about yourself and help your grow as a person and to gain clarity on your life.

I also wanted to note that there is a striking lack of Wands in this reading, which to me indicates that the main point of work in your situation is not so much taking actions, but processing thoughts and emotions to get clear on what you want and how to get there. A time for self reflection and growth is coming up.

[dragon-kazansky]

The song in our hearts

Lestat De Lioncourt x Female Reader

A musician with a heart that sings and an admirer who wishes to see his songbird thrive. Two beings in different worlds get caught up in each other when someone threatens to steal his songbird's spotlight. Loving Lestat isn't simple, and your life will never be the same again. What is eternity without chaos?

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Chapter Eight - Deep into the hole

“I can't believe this is happening. What do you think happened to him?” Amelie asks, looking more than a little worked up.

“I really don't know…” You lie. It feels awful lying to her, but telling her the truth would be far worse. Why did you ever have to cross paths with Lestat?

“I can't believe it.” She says again.

You focus on making the coffee. There was very little chance of you getting any sleep right now anyway. You pour two cups and hand one to Amelie. She takes it with a soft ‘thank you.’

“You know… you were the last person I saw him with…”

You look at her. “Please tell me you're not accusing me of anything. Amelie, I don't know where he is.” 

“I know. I was just saying…” The tone of her voice leaves you a little unconvinced. There's doubt lingering in your mind and for the first time ever you're left wondering who your real friends might be.

“I'm a lot of things, but a murderer ain't one.”

Amelie seems to realize how her words had sounded and moves closer to you. She reaches out for your hand and sighs loudly. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything. I've just been thinking too much.”

“I know. I'm sorry. Please don't let whatever is happening come between us. You're one of the few people I have.”

Amelie puts down her coffee so she can hug you. You return the gesture, but doubt is still eating away at your mind.

‘Come to me, Chéri.’

You hear him in your head. He was probably disappointed you had left. You needed time to think before you went back. There was too much going on.

You wake suddenly. Light is illuminating your room through your curtains. Amelie is fast asleep on your couch and you're curled up in a chair beside her. Two forgotten cups of coffee sit on the table.

Your head pounds as you get up out of the chair. You take a few moments to gather yourself and then start cleaning up. Amelie only stirs after you start filling the sink with water to wash up with.

“What time is it?” She asks, stretching.

“Noon.”

“Oh no! I'm supposed to be at the theater to answer questions about Noah. Damn it. I have to go.” She scrambles to get up.

“Wait a minute.” You wipe your hands and walk over to her. “What do you mean?”

“The police were going to go back to the theater today to ask questions. I promised Jack I'd be there.”

You feel an uneasy feeling in your body. “I'll take you.”

Arriving at the theater, you only see one police car parked outside. It gives you a feeling of dread as you look at it. Amelie leads the way inside.

All the performers are gathered in the lobby. They're all talking amongst each other. Through the commotion you can see Jack talking to two officers. After a few moments he turns to everyone and steps up on a chair.

“Quiet!”

Everyone falls silent. Jack turns to the officers. The tallest of the two steps forward. “We're here to enquire about Noah. It would seem his disappearance holds more questions than answers. One by one we're going to take you into the theater and ask you questions. If anyone knows anything about where he may be, dead or alive, please come forward.”

It feels like it gets harder to breathe.

The shorter officer steps forward and calls the first name. While they go inside, the rest of the crew all begin talking again. They're all trying to figure out what's happening. Jack gets bombarded with questions.

You take a seat on one of the small couches in the lobby. Amelie turns and looks at you quietly. She walks over and takes a seat beside you. “You okay?” 

“Yeah, just… can't believe this is happening. Do they really think something happened to Noah?”

“His sister certainly thinks so. She went to his place and all his stuff was still there, but the door was locked. Reckon he was taken or something before he even got home.”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Was Lestat even going to do anything about all of this? He knows what's happening. He surely knows how much trouble you're in. Then again, can the police even connect you with Noah's disappearance. No one actually saw you with him alone. Lestat came in quick at the time and took him just as fast.

There's no evidence you were with him after the show.

One by one more performers were called into the theater. The ones who have been questioned already get asked to leave immediately. You watch each of them head on home.

Jack comes over to you after half the lobby is empty. He sees you with Amelie.

“I didn't realize you were. You don't need to be here.”

You look up at him. “Don't they want to question everyone?”

“Yes, but you're clear.”

You furrow your brows at him. “What do you mean I'm clear?”

“I already told the police that after the incident on stage, you left and Noah came to me. You were gone before the end of the show.”

“What?”

“Noah came to talk to me after you left the stage that night. I don't know where he went after, but when I came to your room, you were already gone.”

Jack doesn't know about the brief altercation in your dressing room. It really did happen too quickly for anyone to notice.

“Oh, I see.”

Jack places a hand on your shoulder in support. “You look tired. Go home.”

“No, let me stay.”

The short officer comes out to call for the next person when he sees you and Jack. He walks over and checks his list. “You're the pianist.”

“That's right.”

“Jack has already cleared up your whereabouts, but may we ask you some questions?”

Jack goes to interfere, but you're faster. “Of course. I'll come with you now.”

Jack looks at you with a column expression and watches you go with the officer.

Amelie looks up at him. “She'll be fine. She always is.”

“I know.”

Inside the theater you make your way to where the tall officer is. He's writing some things down. As you approach he looks up.

“This is the pianist Jack mentioned,” the other officer said.

“Oh. Wasn't expecting you here today.”

“I want to help if I can.” You tell him.

He nods. “I'm officer Michaels. That's officer Jackson. Take a seat, ma'am.”

You sit down beside him.

“Did you know Noah?” He asks.

“Not very well. He came to the theater to perform. Jack had suggested we do a duet, but I declined.”

“Yes, I heard as much. May we ask why?”

“I perform alone. I play solo.”

Michaels nods and makes a note of that. He looks at you again. “What happened that night?”

“I was performing. Same as I do every Friday. I was only just into my first song when Noah stormed the stage singing his heart out. I was furious, but only because he ruined my music. Not that he was a bad singer, just that I like my music to speak without the need for words.”

Michaels nods again. “Then what happened?”

Lestat happened. But you can't tell him that.

“I left the stage, ending my performance early. I was not in much mood to be made a fool of. I retreated to my dressing room to gather my things.”

“And then?”

“I went home. I was too embarrassed and furious to talk to anyone. I was gone before the show was over. Didn't even say bye to Jack.”

It wasn't a complete lie. It wasn't the whole truth either.

“I see. Jack said as much. He spoke to Noah briefly and then went to check on you after he had the next performer on stage. Your dressing room was empty. No sign of Noah either. You did not leave with him that night?”

“Not at all.”

Michaels makes a note. “Understood. Thank you for your time, ma'am.”

You nod and rise from the seat. However, before you get too far, you turn. “May I ask, what do you think happened to him?”

“I can't say for certain, but it is likely he disappeared after leaving the theater, but before reaching his home. Rest assured, We will find our answers.”

You nod and leave quietly.

By the time you're leaving the theater, Amelie is going in for questioning. You don't stop to talk to anyone, just like the others did before you. You're on your way home when someone comes up beside you.

“Hey there.”

You turn and see Eleanor has joined you. You had just wanted to go home.

“Hello.”

“May I join you for a moment?” She asks kindly.

“Sure.”

You walk in silence for a few moments before she talks. “My brother wrote about you in his letter to me.”

“He did?” You ask, almost worried about what he had said. You felt too involved in something you didn't actually do.

“He said he had the most beautiful piano piece he had ever heard in his life. He had said to me that he was going to sing to that piano one day.”

You look at her. “He really wanted that?”

“Yes. My brother is an admirer of the arts. Music is his passion.” She smiles. “He used to sing to me all the time.

“I see…”

“It's a shame I didn't get to see him sing with you. You'd make a good pair.”

Her comment makes you feel rather sick. You can feel your stomach turning as you walk. You just wanted to go home and disappear for a few days.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just… tired.”

She seems to fall for your lie and loops her arm around yours. “Let me walk you home.”

You decide to just let her.

As you walk you drift away with your thoughts. It's still day, so Lestat will be asleep. Should you go visit him at nightfall? Should you just leave him be? Lestat seems like more trouble than he's worth.

Yet, the way he looks at you. The way he held you in his arms and kissed you. You can't deny your attraction to him. Lestat was like a drug you couldn't get enough of. You wanted to see him again.

Though he is still the reason this whole mess has happened.

You were confused on what to do.

Before you know it you're standing on your doorstep. Eleanor lets go of your arm and smiles kindly at you.

“Take care.”

You find yourself smiling softly. “I'll try.”

She walks away slowly, clearly lost in her own thoughts. You can't help watching her go. She shouldn't have come here. Everything would have been fine had she simply not come here.

Too late to do anything about it now.

@awanderingghost @theprettiesthead @cosmixstar @theblueslytherin @katherine2098 @sawendel @floofdeloop @sitkafay @bigbaddie45 @bluscryn

@secretisme4 @darkqueen1995 @bridkesby @caribbeangal @sarcasticandfangirl @missjadesfics @kaybart19 @whereismymindnow @chauchirem @angelrenee239 @ppureheroiine

[sitp-recs]

hi!i'm looking for some fic where draco and harry have age gap,can you recs some.thanks so much

Hi there! I’m sure I did a list about it in the past but I couldn’t find it so here are some recs - these are a mix of time travel and de-aging focused on romantic age gap. I also gotta mention Away Childish Things since it’s a fandom classic 🙌

Draco at Nineteen by birdsofshore (E, 5k)

It's the middle of the night and Harry Potter is sitting on my bed looking distinctly weird. I've had some fucked-up dreams in my time, but this one... this one is something new.

Not Nineteen Forever by @sorrybutblog (E, 6k)

A rogue charm hits on a mission and suddenly, Draco is nineteen again. Harry is still thirty-five and doing his best to look after his de-aged Auror partner (and forget about his long unrequited crush) until St. Mungo’s can brew the antidote.

The Eighth Tale by lettered (E, 12k)

Draco Malfoy tries to fix the past, but instead mucks it up some more. For Harry, it all becomes quite clear.

Wish You Were Here by cryptonym (E, 18k)

[Snape] leans on the table, towering over me like a vulture watching its prey, his eyes boring into me. “If I were in your position, I would be considering my history as I know it. If you are here now, you were always meant to be here.”

Twenty by leontina (E, 23k)

Just minutes after Voldemort’s defeat at the Final Battle, Harry is struck by a curse that sends him into a magical coma, and is only saved by being placed under a Stasis Charm that also prevents him aging. It takes 20 years to find a cure, and when Harry awakes again he is 18 and the rest of the world has moved on.

Just a Matter of Time by gracerene (E, 23k)

Draco's in a bit of a rut. He's nearing forty, divorced, and he still can't figure out how to make his Time Turner reconstruction work. He's bored, he can admit it, so he's not nearly as concerned as he should be when his pet project malfunctions and sends him twenty years into the past.

Fast Forward, Two Steps Back by emmagrant01 (E, 36k)

Everyone knows that Draco Malfoy died in the Room of Requirement ten years ago. So when he suddenly reappears at Hogwarts ten years later, still seventeen years old, Professor Harry Potter's life gets very complicated.

[arcane-vagabond]

I wanna see Jakes POV of rescuing Skipper, I just wanna know what he was thinking, whether he was panicked or pissed at Mickey for not sailing safely…I’m just imagining his emotions and how he felt when he realized it was Skipper who was drowning

Yeah, what was he thinking??

Jake had warned them, and they still were out well past the point of needing to return. He had ditched Reuben, Bradley, and Javy in favor of following you and the rest of his friends out into the sea.

He was careful to not be spotted, knowing that he'd never hear the end of it from Nat if he were. She'd complain that they knew what they were doing, but as he watched the waves become rougher, he found himself not being so sure. He knew that Bob, Nat, and Mickey were competent sailors, having grown up on the sea just like he did, but with you on the boat with them, he couldn't stop the feeling of dread that settled in his stomach.

"They're never going to let us hear the end of it if they find out we stayed out this long," he heard Mickey grumble as he and Bob scrambled to prepare the ship to head back to shore.

"So hurry up and get us back to shore before they do," Nat snapped at him, her eye roll practically audible. Jake frowned. Too late for that, he thought to himself. He peeked over the side of the boat, catching sight of where you sat off to the side as the boys hurried to finish the preparations. He watched as your teeth bit into your bottom lip, eyes glancing around the boat. He wanted to reach out to you, comfort you, but he knew he couldn't expose himself like that.

"Alright, we're ready!" Bob called, and Mickey immediately started up the boat's engine. Jake swam after the boat, watching with anxious heartbeats every time it hit a particularly rough wave.

"Easy, Mickey!" Natasha called.

"I'm taking her as easy as I can!" He hollered back at her. Jake watched in horror as the largest wave yet rushed towards the boat. It hit the boat with a thundering crash, and he watched as someone hit the water, body twisting and turning as the current hit them over and over and over again.

"Y/n!"

Jake's heart stopped beating for a moment, the sound of your name falling from Bob's lips causing fear to jolt through him as he recognized your form struggling to right itself in the dark water. He watched as your arms thrashed out, bubbles rising from your lips.

C'mon, sweetheart, he thought desperately. He realized seconds later as your body started going limp that you were out of time. He shot forward, a desperate keen breaking free from his chest as he raced towards you. Seconds later, he grabbed you in his arms, making for the surface as he watched your still form slowly sinking into unconsciousness. He broke the surface, rain pouring onto the both of you as small waves rushed at you.

"C'mon, darlin'," he begged you. "Stay with me."

He heard you cough up the water in your lungs, groaning before your head hit his chest. Jake felt beyond helpless in that moment, and another keen broke past his lips as he held you tighter. Land. He had to get you to land. You'd be safe there.

Jake made sure you were secure in his hold before he swam as fast as he could towards the shore. He'd always been the fastest of his friends, and he swam with all his might to make it to the rocks along the shore in record time.

Minutes later, he had you laid down on the slick surface, the rain having stopped as quickly as it had started, the sun shining through small holes in the clouds. Jake looked over you, already finding small bruises along your skin that made him frown. The others would get an earful after this one, he'd make sure of it.

Jake didn't know when he had started singing, but the song felt as natural as breathing to him as he stared down at you. His fingers grazed your forehead as he wiped the hair off your face, and he frowned as he watched you try to open your eyes. That wouldn't do, he decided. You needed to rest after everything you had been through, and he was determined to take care of you.

"Sleep," he sang to you, the power surging through him. The magic had its desired affect, and he watched as your eyes closed once again, body beginning to relax. Jake wanted to hold you forever, knowing that it was his arms that could keep you safe from all else. You were his.

The very thought caused the more rational part of his brain to turn off, the primal creature in him taking over. The beast within him begged to taste you, and Jake obliged. He hadn't felt like this towards anyone, not even during his last frenzy five years ago. He was sure that thought should scare him, but it didn't. Jake wanted to possess you just as much as you already possessed him after one simple look.

Jake dragged his fingers down the side of your face and to your neck, turning your head so he could place soft, open-mouthed kisses on the skin where your neck met your shoulder. The beast glowed with pride as you let out a pleased whimper. He hushed you gently, wanting you to enjoy his ministrations, and you did so as you arched up into his touch. Jake continued to nuzzle into you, all thoughts replaced with the thought of how good you felt against him.

"Y/n!"

Jake smirked as you whined, reaching your hands up to touch him. He was near feral now, the smell of you driving him into the frenzied state that reached its peak once every five years. You were his, and he knew that some part of you knew that too. He would stake his claim on you, and then he would court you as was tradition. By summer's end, you would well and truly be his in every way that mattered. He would see to it.

"Skipper!"

Jake snarled at the sound of another male near his mate, and he quickly bit into the junction of your neck. You let out a pained cry at the sensation, and Jake quickly worked his tongue over the bite mark, his essence healing the wound and leaving you with a mark that would let every other sea person in the area know that you were being courted. This mark wasn't permanent, and Jake felt his skin heat up at the thought of what it was going to be like when he placed the permanent one in the same spot.

With an inhuman determination, he pulled away from you. He watched just long enough to see you reach out for him, and beast within him begged him to return to your embrace. He caught the sight of his friends from the corner of his eye as they neared you, and with every ounce of strength within him, he pushed himself back into the waiting waters.

[cailinsblog]

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch- Charles leclerc

Charles leclerc x reader

This one is long I hope you guys like it

The crisp autumn air hung gently over the rolling hills of the French countryside as the Leclerc family made their way to the pumpkin patch. It was a perfect fall day—the kind where the sky was a brilliant shade of blue, and the orange and yellow leaves danced in the breeze. Charles had been looking forward to this day all week. With Formula 1 keeping him busy, moments like these with his family were precious, and today was extra special. His entire family was coming along, and little Cole, their 4-year-old son, was more excited than anyone.

As you, Charles, and Cole strolled hand in hand through the field, Charles squeezed your hand gently, a smile lighting up his face as he glanced at you. "Tu es prête pour une journée pleine de citrouilles, mon amour?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.

You smiled back, adjusting Cole’s little beanie on his head. "I’m ready, but I think Cole’s been ready since last night. He couldn’t stop talking about pumpkins!"

Cole ran ahead, his tiny legs bouncing with excitement. His eyes were wide as he spotted the first row of pumpkins. “Maman, Papa! Look at all the pumpkins! Can I pick the biggest one?” he shouted back, his voice filled with awe.

Charles chuckled. "We might need a bigger car if you pick the biggest one, Cole."

As you approached the patch, Charles’ family arrived—his mother Pascale, his brothers Arthur and Lorenzo, and even some close family friends. The warmth of family added to the already perfect day. Pascale immediately scooped Cole up, peppering his face with kisses as he giggled, his eyes—identical to Charles’—sparkling with joy.

"Tu as grandi tellement vite, Cole," Pascale said with a smile, brushing his messy brown hair from his face. "Aujourd'hui, on va choisir la plus belle citrouille, d'accord?"

“Oui, Mamie!” Cole beamed, clearly loving the attention from his grandmother.

The group wandered through the pumpkin patch, everyone laughing and chatting as they selected the perfect pumpkins. Cole, of course, insisted on picking up pumpkins that were almost as big as he was, but Arthur and Lorenzo were quick to swoop in and help him lift the enormous gourds.

Charles stayed close to you, his arm wrapped around your waist as you both watched Cole. "Look at him," Charles whispered, his voice soft with love. "I can’t believe how fast he’s growing up."

You leaned into him, resting your head on his shoulder. "He’s got your energy, that’s for sure," you teased, looking up into his familiar green eyes. "And your eyes."

Charles smiled, squeezing you tighter. "Et toi, tu as son cœur," he said softly. "He’s a mama’s boy, and I love that."

Cole ran back to the two of you, proudly holding a medium-sized pumpkin. “This one’s perfect for carving, Papa!” he declared, his face flushed from the excitement.

Charles bent down to inspect the pumpkin. "You did a great job, buddy," he said, ruffling Cole’s hair. "Let’s take this one home and make the best jack-o’-lantern ever."

As the afternoon passed, the Leclerc family enjoyed every moment. They took hayrides, sipped hot apple cider, and let Cole explore the patch, his laughter echoing through the crisp air. Charles’ brothers played with him, lifting him high into the air as he shrieked with joy. Pascale took pictures of the whole family, capturing the precious memories.

When the sun began to set, painting the sky in hues of orange and pink, the group gathered around a picnic table they had claimed earlier. Arthur had brought a thermos of hot chocolate, and Pascale handed out cookies she had baked earlier that morning.

Charles leaned over to you as Cole sat on your lap, tired from the day’s excitement. "I wish I could freeze days like this," he said softly, kissing the top of your head. "Just the three of us, with family… it’s perfect."

You smiled, brushing a strand of hair out of Cole’s face as he rested his head on your chest, eyelids growing heavy. "Me too," you whispered. "These are the moments I want to hold onto forever."

As the final glow of the sunset faded, the group packed up their pumpkins and began the journey home. Charles carried Cole in his arms, the little boy’s head resting peacefully on his father’s shoulder. The cool night air had set in, but you felt warm, surrounded by love and family.

Back at home, after Cole had been tucked into bed, you and Charles sat on the couch, cuddled under a blanket, reminiscing about the day.

"I think Cole’s going to dream about pumpkins tonight," you joked, resting your head on Charles' chest.

He chuckled softly. "Maybe we’ll wake up to him asking to go back tomorrow."

You smiled, feeling content and at peace. "I wouldn’t mind that."

Charles pressed a kiss to your forehead, holding you close. "Je t’aime," he whispered, his voice full of love.

"I love you too," you whispered back.

The warmth of the day lingered long after you closed your eyes, knowing that days like these—filled with laughter, love, and family—were what made life truly special. And with Charles by your side, every moment felt like the perfect adventure.

[8-rae-rae-8]

May I please request,,,, a itty ghost hurt/comfort (heavy on comfort) w cg soap? The demons got to me today and I can’t stop thinking about baby si just being inconsolable until soap comes and picks him up and gently rocks him-

-💖

YES U MAY

1.4k words

It was a bad day. A bad emotion day, as the 141 fondly called it. There were small disagreements that turned to full on arguments simply because Ghost metaphorically woke up on the wrong side of the bed. As far as the rest of them could see, he just needed to de-stress, they couldn’t see the darker eye bags underneath the eyeblack and mask. He needed what he refused to ask for; gentle love, care and rest. But mostly less stress. Johnny was right there, waiting for him to slip so he could catch him with open arms.

All day was spent mostly walking on eggshells until Simon crashed. 

Crashed. Not slipped. 

The man crashed in bed. Curled up into as tight of a ball as he could manage, and he slept. The nightmares clawed his brain till he tossed and turned loud enough to alert others. It was Soap who rushed in the second he was aware of the worrying sounds of the beds movement and the shuffling from behind the closed door. 

Upon entering, it was clear just how distressed Ghost was in his sleep. His mask damp at the neck and forehead with sweat. Small whimpers fell from his lips, grumbles low in his chest added to the trembling of his shoulders. His eyeblack smudging away after each movement of his head that pulled his mask with it. A pillow was held tightly to his chest. 

In an instant, as if he sensed Johnny’s presence, Simon jolted off of the pillows. Tears welled in his eyes, his eyes jumping from spots around the room until he saw Soap near the door. The sobs then fully came out, reaching out and grasping at air. 

“Buu-uh-bba!!” He cried, the tears mixing with sweat and eyeblack that eventually soaked the eye of his mask. Simon grabbed at the air near Soap, cries only growing louder.

Johnny looked frazzled at the sudden cry and change in position, then again, he knew just how bad Simon’s dreams could mess with him. He could only imagine the hell that was happening in his head. He stepped forward and quickly scooped Simon into his arms. Even as tall and heavy as Ghost was, Soap couldn’t ever say no. He even went to the lengths to buff himself up enough to hold the little one and still be comfortable. 

“Bubba’s here, Bubba’s got ye.” Soap softly settled Simon in his arms, all gentle love. Kisses were placed on Simon’s masked face as Johnny rocked him slowly. 

Inconsolable for minutes at a time, Johnny barely managed to get his mask off and a pacifier in his mouth before he rushed to grab the rest of Simon’s regressing gear. A diaper was a must. Especially after a nap with nightmares. Holding Simon was certainly a task while the little one cried and cried.

Laying him down was even more of a nightmare. 

Simon practically screeched as he was laid down, nonsense babbles of jumbled words came from him the second he was placed down. Lots of ‘up’s, and ‘bubba’s. 

The little one didn’t quite see that he needed to be padded up in times like this. But Johnny worked fast, even with Simon kicking his weak, tired, legs. He was padded up in just a few minutes then Simon was back in his arms. Just a hoodie on to cover him, his hoodies being on the baggy side helped with that. Soap rocked with Simon in his arms, slow and stable movement.

“I know.. Bubba’s got ye now. It’s all okay..” Soap placed soft kisses along Simon’s face, wiping away the tears though it smudged the eyeblack. 

Simon’s cheek mushed against Soap’s palm the moment he was close enough to get that contact. His cries became a bit more muted as the contact persisted. Johnny’s hand stroked away each tear that fell down his cheek.

“Yeah.. Bubba’s here.” Johnny whispered softly. “You’re so brave, M'eudail.. So brave facin’ those nightmares all on yer own, hm?” He praised as he kissed his nose.

A weak giggle was given to the kiss, teary and glassy eyes peering up at Johnny. The darkness in the corners of his eyes began to fade, brushing away all those monsters from his perception.

“Yeah! Bubba’s so proud of ye, ‘m so so proud.” The carer grinned down at Simon. “My wee lad.” He cooed.

Simon tearily looked up at him, tears steadily dripped down his cheeks till a stop. He babbled quietly up at Soap, putting his fingers in his mouth to chew on. The tears stained his cheeks with smudged eyeblack. He blinked up at him.

“Ah,” Johnny tsked as he chuckled, “No chewin’ on yer fingers, Si.” He removed the little one’s hand from his mouth, leaning over to the side table of the bed to grab Simon one of his pacifiers from the drawer. Seeing Simon calm down so quick just from being rocked by him warmed his heart.

The pacifier was gently popped into his mouth, and Johnny slowly began to sit down with him on the side of the bed. It only took a second for Simon to start fussing at that. The pacifier bobbed in his mouth as he began to wiggle in his lap. 

“Ye just wanna be rocked, is tha’ it, cutie?” Johnny fondly shook his head. He grunted as he stood up with Simon, rocking him slowly once again. 

It worked quickly, Ghost quieted down and rested his head down on Soap’s chest. Just over his heart like always, listening to the steady beat like it was a lullaby. 

“Yeah… ye just wanna rock with me, hm?” He kissed his head gently. He could clean Simon’s face later, he just needed the boy to be comfortable before he added any tasks to their day. 

“Bubba…” Simon babbled behind his pacifier, blinking up at him. One of his hands rested gently on Soap’s chest as he played with the fabric by rolling it between his fingers.

“What’s up, lad?” Johnny softly bounced him to get him in a more comfortable position for the both of them. He smiled down at Simon, giving a gentle hum of encouragement. 

Simon didn’t quite respond, huffing a little and nuzzling up to him instead. He grabbed a fistful of Johnny’s shirt to hold tightly. 

“I’m not goin’ anywhere, Mo ghraidh.” Soap kissed his head. He never stopped rocking him, swaying happily with Simon in his arms as he occasionally took a few steps to keep up with movement. 

“Bubba p’omise..?” Simon murmured, hardly intelligible behind the pacifier.

“Bubba promises.” Johnny assured him. A sweet grin spread across his face as he watched Simon melt against him at that. “I’ve got ye, love, rest those eyes.” He rubbed his back in slow motions.

He couldn’t quite say no to that. Simon closed his eyes, despite fighting it the whole time. He kept his head firmly pressed against Johnny’s chest, listening for both the rumble of his voice and his heartbeat.

When his eyes shut, there wasn’t anything scary waiting to grasp him from the safety of his carer’s arms. Instead, he found warmth and safety in the void of nothingness. No hands dared to pull him under the water, nothing shouted to him, nothing clawed at him. It was all safe instead. Soap’s soft murmuring of sweet words and assurances kept him afloat, he even got a few kisses.

Sleep was far away. That wasn’t the intention. He removed the stressful excess stimuli that kept his head running a mile a minute and simply trusted that Johnny would keep him safe. To watch out for him. And he always did, always had his six.

“I love you, Si.” He heard Soap whisper to him while gently pressing their foreheads together. 

Simon felt his gentle breaths against his face, relaxing further at the close proximity. Rather than forcing the words out, he babbled happy, but sleepy, nonsense in response. Of course with a goofy little smile as well, he couldn’t help it.

“There’s a smile..” Johnny purred, pulling back a little before planting a kiss to his nose. 

The little one babbled quietly before he simply hummed. He comfortably settled, deep breaths filling his lungs again. 

As always, Soap caught him when he fell. Picked him up when he broke. Ran to him when he was distressed and fixed him right up. Made the world right again.

This will probably be uploaded to ao3 later today !!

[bcdrawsandwrites]

[ID: A Team Fortress 2 fanfic banner in the style of the game’s achievement icons. Pyro and Spy's hands, holding a lighter and a cigarette respectively, are shown on a dark gray background. Their hands and the flame on the lighter are orange, while the lighter and cigarette are a mix of yellow-white and dark gray. The lighter is lighting Spy's cigarette. On the left of the banner is the chapter’s title in yellow-white, reading “CHAPTER NINE: GOT A LIGHT?” /end ID]

Flickering

Fandom: Team Fortress 2 Rating: K+ Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship Characters: Spy, Pyro, Sniper, various other mercs Warnings: General references to trauma, panic attacks, TF2-typical violence Fic Description: After the events of the comics, the mercs try to go back to how things were, but it’s never that easy.

Spy can see his teammates going through their own struggles… but something seems to be very, very wrong with Pyro in particular.

And since no one else seems to be doing anything about this, Spy makes it his mission to get to the bottom of what is troubling Pyro. For no particular reason.

Beta Readers: @mechmolar, @gonturan0, @junuve

---~~~---

Chapter 9: Got a Light? Summary: In which Pyro lends a borrowed lighter.

---~~~---

Another day, another pointless battle.

Spy was still getting paid, and he'd actually gone home the previous night to sleep in his own bed for once, so he couldn't complain.

This match was a simple payload, and they were defending against the BLU team. Everyone was getting ready in spawn, including Spy, who was sharpening his butterfly knife. Sniper, as well, was off in a corner sharpening his blade, though Spy couldn't tell where his eyes were looking due to his sunglasses, and he looked away from him, casting a glance instead at Medic and Heavy. Amusingly, Archimedes was perched on one of Heavy's fingers, cocking his head at the merc, who laughed in response. Demo and Soldier were preparing their sticky- and rocket-launchers respectively, while Engineer was running Pyro through some strategy he had planned. Pyro was nodding along, paying attention, it seemed.

When Engineer finished talking and went to select a wrench, Spy approached Pyro. "Starting to feel better, are we?"

Pyro looked up, startled, but slowly nodded.

"Good. Perhaps this match may yield more color for you."

It had no response for this, only watching Spy as he moved to the starting gate. Spy paid the Pyro no mind—he would like to concentrate more on the match, for once. He might check on it once or twice, but it usually did well enough in the matches without his help.

Once the gates opened, Spy hurried out toward the BLU team's base. He activated his Cloak and Dagger as he waited for the other team's gates to open, and listened, hoping to catch any sort of planning from the opposite team. Unfortunately, all he could hear was the sounds of whooping and laughter as the other team wasted time. The rest of his team got into position, waiting to ambush the BLU team when the gates opened.

When they finally did, Spy rushed forward and de-cloaked, backstabbing a soldier before he got the chance to turn around. There was then a soft click behind him—one he was all too familiar with, and that made him strain to run faster. Not fast enough, unfortunately, as the sound of a blast preceded an intense heat on his back. "Fire, fire, fire!" he screamed, bolting for the small stream just outside the BLU base, but his own Pyro reached him first, sending an air blast that wiped out the flames instantly. He gave Pyro a grateful nod, though all he could think was that someone had better swiftly kill him before the match was over so the respawn would fix his suit.

He was so consumed with this thought that he nearly missed when Pyro nodded back with the tiniest hum of acknowledgement. It only registered when Pyro ran past him to air blast the respawned soldier's rocket back into the enemy base.

Spy left the Pyro to it, heading for the payload but making a quick detour to hide and disguise himself first.

"Oy, lad," came a voice, and he realized Demo was nearby, readying to launch himself. "I didn't know ye were capable of smilin' with that fancy suit a' yours burnt to a crisp."

"Merely thinking of the revenge I'm plotting on the freak that set me aflame," Spy lied, whipping out his disguise kit. He selected the soldier that Pyro had taken out as he would be stuck in spawn for a while longer, and hurried back out into the fray.

The match progressed as usual. In a mixed blessing, Spy got his wish, and was taken out by a sniper. That was about the only good thing that could be said for the time being, as the BLU team was approaching the third checkpoint, inching even closer to their base.

Spotting Engineer struggling to haul his toolbox ahead of the BLU team, Spy whipped behind cover, turned invisible, and crept into the tunnel and behind the enemy, backstabbing the heavy that had nearly taken out the Engineer.

"Much obliged," Engineer panted as he rushed out of the tunnel. In a matter of moments he had the sentry up, and it mowed down the BLUs that were making their way out.

For once, the battleground was quiet—or quieter than usual. Spy crept behind cover again, waiting for the other team to rear their ugly heads, and watching for any signs of the enemy spy. The others were watching as well, Engineer occasionally swinging at the air in case the spy neared his sentry, Scout holding his bat at the ready, Medic preparing his ubercharge near Heavy.

The silence went on for what felt like longer than it should have, and the mercs couldn't help but exchange a few baffled glances. It was Scout who broke the relative silence:

"Well, where are they? They give up, or—?"

As though in response, a distant, wild scream echoed through the tunnel.

"Guess we scared 'em," Soldier said, leaning back with a toothy grin.

Spy, however, cast a look around the battlefield, taking note of their teammates. He did a quick headcount; the only ones he couldn't spot were Sniper—who was likely in a nest somewhere—and Pyro.

Before he could think on that further, there was another shout from the tunnel, which preceded the scream of a rocket that Scout narrowly dodged. Spy's heart hammered as adrenaline filled his veins, and he went invisible, bolting out of his hiding spot to creep behind the oncoming enemy lines. Several BLUs were scrambling out of the tunnel, directly into the sentry fire. Only the last two—a scout and a demo—balked before coming in range of the sentry. Spy had his sights on the demo, but paused when they looked back before looking at the tunnel's exit again.

"That sentry's gonna cream us, but I ain't goin' back there," the scout said with a shudder.

"It's dead now, lad," the demo replied, though his voice trembled.

"You sure? After that, I ain't gonna be surprised if it rises from the dead and—"

"Don't say that!"

Spy frowned—they seemed to be talking about Pyro. It must have really been throwing its all into the fight—more so than it had prior, somehow.

"Listen, lad," the demo continued, "I don't want to die like that again to that—"

"Then die like this to my knife," Spy whispered, decloaking behind the demo and backstabbing him.

"WOAH!" the scout cried, reeling back, and Spy backed up, whipping out his gun. For a brief moment he hesitated—the outfit was a blue mirror to their own Scout, but that was the same for all of them. This wasn't his Scout, this wasn't—

The scout's bat came down, knocking the gun out of his hand. But just as the young man drew the weapon back with a smug chuckle, an arrow shot through his skull, sending him careening to the ground.

Letting out a breath, Spy scrambled for his weapon and grit his teeth. Foolish.

While he'd been distracted with the demo and scout, the enemy spy had managed to sap their sentry, and the enemy heavy had survived the previous fire, taking out Engineer. Spy went invisible just as the BLU pyro swung around the corner. He narrowly dodged the flames, only for a jar to shatter on his back, shorting out his watch. "Oh, for—" was all he managed to get out before a rocket slammed into him, splattering his reeking remains on the side of the tunnel.

When Spy came out of respawn, the first thing that came to him was relief at no longer being covered in jarate. His second was the realization that he was not alone.

"...right? You're all right now, Smokey."

Engineer and Pyro were standing near one of the spawn exits. Engineer had a hand reaching out to Pyro, but he came short of touching it. Meanwhile, Pyro's head was lowered, but it was shaking itself before straightening.

"All right, there you go. Get on out there!"

Pyro nodded, hurrying out the door, while Engineer hung back, scratching his head. When Spy approached him, the Engineer looked back, and Spy raised an eyebrow pointedly.

Engineer sighed. "When I respawned here, it was freaking out. Dunno how long it had been there."

"Was it having an... episode of some sort?"

"Think so. It was sittin' there and breathin' real hard, clawin' at its throat."

So it hadn't just been fighting harder than normal. Something must have set off one of its episodes, which obviously freaked the BLUs out. "Well, it's fine now, but I'm not so sure about us. Let's move." With that, Spy hurried out of spawn, the Engineer at his heels.

Upon arriving at the cart, however, he found the tides of the battle had turned once again as the rest of the team was successfully pushing the BLUs—and their cart—back. It didn't take eleven pointless PHDs to see why.

"I'll be," Engineer murmured as he came to a stop beside Spy.

Pyro was charging at the BLUs, who were fleeing before its pilot light was even lit.

With a snort, Spy skirted around the edge of the battlefield, scoping out another hiding spot for the time being. Perhaps they weren't doing so badly after all.

Both teams continued to trade blows for a while, but the BLUs were hindered by their focus on Pyro, only making a true push once it was taken out again. Unfortunately this didn't last much longer, and the enemy team seemed to eventually lose its fear of the Pyro as the match continued as normal.

It was a good while before the RED barely came out the victor. The humiliation round was a great deal shorter than usual, fortunately, as their foes bolted the second their time was up. Spy managed to pick off the enemy pyro, much to his satisfaction, while Demo let out a whoop at blasting the heavy to bits. The rest fled in terror, barely escaping Pyro, who chased them through the tunnel before turning back.

Everyone returned to their base, tired but more-or-less happy. There was no noisy party tonight, though Demo did buy drinks as usual. When he shoved a bottle at Spy, however, Spy held up a hand in protest. "I don't plan on crashing my car on the way home," he said.

Demo waved him off. "Ah, drivin' sober's for the weak," he spat, before offering a bottle to Engineer.

Rolling his eyes, Spy moved past them and toward the barracks. He stepped into his room, scanned it, then nodded—nothing here he needed to bring home. He hadn't been in his smoking room today, so there was nothing that needed checking there. While there was technically nothing preventing him from leaving, he found himself heading into the lounge regardless. A baseball game flickered on the TV set, which Scout and Soldier watched animatedly. Demo, Sniper, and Engineer were drinking together on the couch, while Heavy and Medic sat on opposite sides of the room, which baffled Spy until he heard Medic make an odd cooing noise at his pigeon. Archimedes perked up and took off, zipping across the room over to Heavy, who held out his finger for him to land on. The bird looked at him expectantly before flying back over to Medic, and looping back and forth a few times until Heavy followed him across the room.

"Hey, could you get your freakin' bird out of the way?" Scout took off his cap to examine it for a second; it was clean, but he shot a glare at Heavy and Medic anyway. "Some of us are tryin' to watch the game!"

"No," Medic said simply, and smiled as Heavy approached. "Good work, Archimedes." He offered the bird a small handful of seeds, which Archimedes pecked at greedily. "Now, again!"

Heavy returned to his seat with a laugh, and their little game started over.

Spy watched a moment longer before realizing that Pyro was nowhere to be found. Frowning, he passed through the lounge and headed for the base's exit, only to pause when he realized he was being followed. He didn't need to look back to know whom it was. "What is it now, bushman?"

Sniper drew closer, though Spy refused to look at him. "You choked out there."

An image of the BLU scout flashed through his mind. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, and resumed walking.

“I think you do.”

“And what would you know about that?”

Behind him, Sniper sputtered before letting out a growl, blurting out, "It happens every time I step in water."

Spy paused.

"My heart starts hammerin' and it's like—it's like I'm there again, in that bloody bunker, waitin' to be blasted in the chest and not wake up in respawn."

Something the Medic had said came to mind. "Shellshock."

"Yeah." Sniper went quiet for a moment. "I'm not the only one."

"Obviously not. Why are you wasting my time with this?"

"...Look, mate." Sniper inched closer, his voice lowering. "You weren't alone in that hallway, back in that robot base."

Spy's eyes widened. His lungs inhaled the fumes from the burning robots, and his breath caught in his throat.

"You're not the only one who saw Scout—"

Something bolted down his spine, his face felt hot, and he whirled around before he could stop himself. "You leave Jeremy out of this!"

Sniper stepped back, holding his hands up.

It took Spy a moment to realize he'd shouted. His head was burning and his breathing was heavy, and Sniper was staring at him, his expression unreadable behind those stupid, tacky—

He whirled around, and stormed out of the base, nearly missing when Scout poked his head around the corner. "Yo, someone talkin' about me?"

As he stepped out onto the porch—which had been rebuilt after the bread monster incident—the warm twilight greeted him, practically scalding against what little skin he had exposed. Letting out a hissing breath, he leaned against the wooden railing, staring down past the tracks below. His breathing still came heavily as he thought of multiple ways he could kill the Sniper—planting a knife into his back, shooting him in the head, knocking him out of one of his stupid sniper nests...

The acrid smoke from the robots was still filling his lungs, and he longed to exchange it for a different kind of smoke. The next thing he knew, he had pulled out a cigarette, and his hand once again tried to grab a lighter that was not there. Stupid—he had more of them at home, but he kept forgetting—how could he forget, he smoked every day, how could he do this—how could he choke out on the—

A soft hum shattered through his frantic thoughts, and he jumped, nearly dropping the cigarette into the gorge below. But the following familiar click made him realize what was being offered, and he held out his cigarette gratefully.

At his side, the Pyro held out the lighter.

Spy stared at it before lighting his cigarette, and took a long drag. The familiar taste and burn eased his racing mind, and he held it in for a moment before breathing it out. "Merci," he sighed.

Pyro nodded.

After waiting for his racing heart to calm a bit more, Spy looked back at the Pyro, then examined the deck. A few chairs sat out here, and the floor was littered with ashes. "Is this where you've been hiding out?"

Again, Pyro nodded.

"I see. Not so bad now, since it's stopped smelling like spoiled bread," Spy remarked. Though now that he thought about it, it did have another odd smell around here, aside from the toxic waste barrels below. "And what have you been up to?"

Pyro whipped out a wooden kebab stick that it had evidently swiped from the kitchen, flicked open its lighter, and set the stick aflame. It gave off a distinct cedar odor. Ah, that explained the smell.

"Yes, fascinating," he muttered. Though he had to admit, it was oddly hypnotic watching the fire slowly eat away at the wood. But he shook himself. "Pyro, during our match today..."

Looking up, the Pyro stared directly into his eyes. It tilted its head very slightly to the right.

"Did something... happen? I couldn't help but notice you seemed... distressed when you came out of respawn."

Pyro continued to stare. Without looking away, it snapped the still-burning stick in half, dropped it, and whirled back around to face the railing.

"Merde!" Spy hissed, stamping out the fire before the deck was set ablaze. "Fine! I'm sorry I asked."

If the Pyro heard him, it didn't acknowledge it; it only stared out at the tracks below, the same as Spy had done earlier. Its hands held the railing in a tight grip.

Spy sighed. "You could have indicated you didn't wish to discuss—" He cut himself off, realizing abruptly what this whole conversation was sounding like. Imagining himself stabbing his knife straight through Sniper's stupid sunglasses, he turned away.

A shaky hum made him pause.

Looking back, he saw Pyro looking over its shoulder, back toward him.

Frowning, Spy approached the Pyro again, standing beside it. "You do wish to discuss it, then?" he ventured.

Pyro looked back down at the tracks, but did not protest.

"Something happened, then." Obviously. He pulled his cigarette away for a moment, breathing out a stream of smoke. "Was it something the BLU team did?"

Pyro nodded, then shook its head.

Spy sighed. "I see." He didn't, but he thought it over for a moment. "It was not... solely what the BLU team did. There were other factors?"

Pyro nodded.

Okay, they were getting somewhere. Not very far, but it was something. "Are you able to articulate what it was?"

This time it tilted its head one way, then the other. Uncertain, then.

"Whatever you did gave them quite the scare," he remarked, trying to keep some levity in his voice.

To his surprise, the Pyro shivered in response.

"You were scared, too?" he guessed.

Pyro nodded, then balled its hands into fists, pounding them against the railing.

"Scared and angry." When Pyro nodded, Spy hummed. It made sense, he supposed, based on what he'd seen. If Pyro was scared and angry, like a caged animal, it would follow that it would be savage enough to terrify the enemy team. "Well, you're no longer scared and angry, are you?"

Pyro tipped its head.

"You made something positive of it, no? You were quite effective against the BLU team today."

Sighing, it shook its head, and turned away.

So much for that route. Spy dropped his cigarette butt to the ground, lightly stomped on it, and kicked it off the porch. "Well, whatever caused your episode, I suppose we can hope it won't happen again." When the Pyro did not respond, he turned to leave, only to pause. "Have you had any luck with your colors, lately?"

Pyro made no further noise or gesture, so Spy sighed and began making his way back into the base. There wasn't much else to be gained from hanging around here.

As he was stepping back through the door, however, he heard a soft hum from behind him, and stiffened when someone grabbed his wrist. "What?!" he cried, and turned to see the Pyro shoving some crumpled-up sheet into his hand. This accomplished, it let him go, and he yanked his hand away. "...Merci," he grumbled, and stared down at the paper. Perhaps it wanted him to throw the scrap away for it. Snorting, he stormed out through the door, shoving the paper into a pocket, his thoughts only on returning home.

Spy headed out to his car in the darkening lot and entered it, prepared to leave the base for the night. But, feeling the paper in his pocket, he frowned, realizing he hadn't tossed it as he was heading out. Though... come to think of it, why had Pyro not simply burnt it itself, if it wanted it disposed of? Brow furrowed, he pulled out the paper again and, after a moment of hesitation, smoothed it out.

It was a transparent scrap of tracing paper that had been ripped off of a larger sheet, and it was covered in crayon scrawls. After a moment, Spy recognized it as something Pyro had drawn a few days ago—a lineup of the mercs. In spite of the childish medium, it was well-drawn, with each of the mercenaries being broken down into comprehensive shapes and simple colors—more triangular and pointy shapes for the Sniper, boxy shapes for the Heavy, rounder shapes for the Engineer, and so on. Even he himself was depicted with pointier shapes, though not in an unflattering way. But something struck him, and he squinted at the drawing in the dim light before punching on an overhead light switch.

The mercenaries were all rendered in color, but for most of them, it was not their standard colors. Engineer seemed the exception to this, being rendered with the most accurate colors to how he appeared in real life—or as close as crayons could get, anyway. Soldier was fairly bright as well, though with tinges of gray on him. Further down the line, some of them appeared with more colors than others. Sniper especially seemed mostly gray, but then... at the very end of the lineup, Spy stared at the drawing of Pyro and himself.

Both of them had been rendered in nothing but shades of black and gray.

[incognitobobcat]

The Earthrealm Boys and Female!Reader who is laughing hysterically with the below poster involved:

Warning: swearing (for the younger eyes) and subtle mentions of suicide and depression.

Johnny Cage

“Ah! Hsbfhhdhwbhwjssnjjkiakkkk!!!!!!!” You cussed internally as the nerves of your fingers couldn’t take any more of you literally pounding sand, a big basin filled with hot sand, which was part of your Shaolin training. You were careful not to actually cuss in the Wushi Academy for obvious reasons.

“Looks like you wanna tell yourself to go “pound sand!”” Johnny called out to you, laughing.

You glared at him, blowing a lock of hair off your face before retorting, “You pound this sand, then!”

“Oh, no no NOOO!” Johnny laughed, “I’m good! I’ve had my fill of that!”

You groaned pathetically, not wanting to go on, as you have been doing that for the past half hour. You listened to your sore, red hands, waving them in the cool air to alleviate the pain.

Johnny beckoned you by waving his hand towards himself, “Hey, I’ve got a gift for you!”

Curious, you followed Johnny. He led you to a tree, where there was a large sign. The first thing that caught your eye was the wording inside a large circle in the centre that read “Bang Head Here”. You then read the rest of the poster before bursting out in hysterical laughter.

“It’s something for your noggin to get it off the pain. You’re welcome!” Johnny exclaimed before walking away.

Raiden

After a full day of training, the last task being crawling forward down several flights of stairs built on one of the downhill slopes as fast as you humanly can, all you wanted to do was throw up from the pain.

How you held it in was a miracle. You wanted to cry, and cry you did. You contemplated your life choice, which included joining the Shaolin, wondering why on earth you thought it was an excellent challenge to upgrade your skills, as it seemed brutal and unforgiving so far.

You found yourself walking down a trail lined with trees until you spotted Johnny’s “gift”. Your sadness transitioned to you being greatly amused as you walked towards it, chuckles intensifying to laughter.

Before you could stop yourself, you banged your head against the poster, not hard enough to hurt yourself, of course.

“Y/N! What are you doing??”

Your laughing subsided some as you turned to see Raiden walking towards you with a concerned expression. Your face softened a little.

“Don’t do that! You’ll hurt yourself!” Raiden chastised you gently.

You waved a hand in the air reassuringly, “Oh, don’t worry, I was just having a bit of fun with myself while contemplating my life choices. Look what Johnny got me! Isn’t that hilarious??” You gestured towards the poster nailed to the tree.

Raiden approached the sign and read what it said silently. Then he sighed, shaking his head.

“Johnny!” Raiden exclaimed in an exasperated tone.

“I think it’s the best!” You laughed hysterically, then held up both hands when you saw Raiden’s concerned face turned towards you.

“Not to minimize your concern, Raiden! I totally appreciate your concern! It’s just a little humour and fun in a stressful situation. I promise you, I’m not hurting myself!”

You appealed with a reassuring and apologetic look for worrying him.

Sighing, he relented, “Alright, I’ll let it go this time. But if you need to talk to de-stress from training, I’m here.”

You nodded appreciatively, “Thank you! I’ll keep that in mind.” You felt bad that your amazing human of a friend worried about you, though.

Kenshi

Another day of gruelling training meant another day of extreme pain. It never seems to get better over time and you were frustrated as hell from what you perceive was a lack of improvement. It has been months since you joined, and though you had a martial arts background you were no spring chicken either.

In order to release yourself from any self-loathing, you need some senseless and random humour. That was how you you’ve always countered any “tragedies” (over exaggeration) of life; that or listening to Sum 41, Linkin Park, Rammstein, and the like, which was not allowed in a Buddhist institution. By the Elder Gods, you missed your music!

You headed to a wall where the “Stress Relief Kit” was tacked on, hidden from the masters as best as it could be. Sighing, you started head banging on it, repeating, “No…no…no…” in sync with each banging.

Without warning, you yelped as were lifted of the ground and were sent flying a few yards before landing on a soft patch of grass with a thud.

Confused, you scrambled onto all fours as you saw Kenshi walk past you.

“There are other ways to distress, Y/N,” he said with a stoic expression without looking at you. He continued to walk and he disappeared into the trees.

Out of all reactions, a bout of hysterical laughter hit you once you processed what just happened.

Kung Lao

Whenever you were paired with Kung Lao as a sparring partner, you had so much fun. Even though Kung Lao had an ego, it was the kind of ego that a child has when he wanted to be praised for his attention-seeking antics.

He was an absolute riot. You didn’t know if lost more calories and got flat abs from training or from dying of laughter.

That does not mean that he wasn’t a good fighter. In fact, he’s got an awesome fighting style, even without the hat.

“Hey, Y/N,” he began, beaming, “You know that sign that Johnny gave you? Where is it?”

”Oh! It’s on a wall!”

“Go get it! I’m gonna show you something amazing!”

You quickly went to retrieve the letter paper-sized metal poster, then you handed it to Kung Lao.

You followed Kung Lao to where there was a long wooden plank of about an inch thick and six feet long that was held up on either side by stone pillars of around four feet high. Kung Lao placed the poster on the centre of the plank.

“Now, watch and learn, Y/N,” Kung Lao said with bravado and a grin. After taking off his hat and handing it to you, he stood up straight with his arms on his sides, closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then-SNAP! At lightning speed, he broke the plank in half with his head.

It happened so fast and you stared at him with jaws hanging open and wide-eyed. Kung Lao smiled at your reaction as he took his hat back from you.

“OMG!! Teach me! Teach me!!” You exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down and pumping your fists in front of you.

Smirking, Kung Lao took another plank that was leaning against a wall and set it on the stone supports. He then took the dented sign that now resembled a bowl and flattened it as best as he could before placing it on the centre of the plank. He gestured towards the plank.

“Your turn,” he said.

You eagerly stepped in front of the plank and mimicked Kung Lao’s stance and breathing before you have at it. You smashed your forehead against the wood with all your might and, no surprise, nothing broke.

“OW!” You screamed as you fell on your butt, laughing hysterically while massaging your head.

“Y/N, a word.”

You recognize the voice of who called to you. Uh-oh.

Liu Kang

You clumsily scrambled onto your feet, trying to kill your hysterical laughter, but failing miserably.

You struggled to muster the most apologetic expression.

“Lord Liu Kang,” you greeted. Kung Lao, who was behind you, also bowed respectfully.

“Follow me,” the Fire God instructed.

You intuited the seriousness of the mood, so your laughter significantly subsided to a smile. You were led to a quieter spot of the area before Liu Kang spoke.

“Y/N, what is this I hear about you banging your head against hard surfaces?”

“Oh,” you began sheepishly, “It’s something fun that I have been doing to relieve stress. It’s for humour’s sake, I’m not really hurting myself!”

“While humour has its time and place,” Liu Kang began, “Further harming oneself as a joke to relieve stress has no place in training. There have been a few who have brought your behaviour to my attention. And, what is this “stress relief” poster?”

“Oh, Johnny gave it to me as a joke,” you quipped, slightly lighting up, “To lighten my mood!”

“Please retrieve this gift, Y/N.”

You did as you were ordered and handed the bent poster to Liu Kang who looked as it before sighing.

“I will have a word with Cage. In the meantime, I don’t want to see or hear about any more of this behaviour from you. If the intense training is more than you can handle, perhaps consider a break.”

“No, Lord Liu Kang. I will manage,” you replied, “I’ll bear it.”

Liu Kang nodded, “Good. One more thing, Y/N.”

You nodded expectantly, “Yes?”

“Don’t always follow whatever Kung Lao wants you to do. He has been training for far longer than you, and while his skills are indeed impressive, you are not yet at his level. The last thing we need is for you to needlessly injure yourself. It would be such a loss to Earthrealm. We need you, Y/N.”

Touched, you bowed deeply, “I apologize, Lord Liu Kang. It will never happen again.”

Smiling, the Fire God nodded, “ I trust that it won’t.”

He turned to walk away and you sighed in relief. As gruelling as Shaolin training was, you were glad that you didn’t get kicked out.

Sub Zero (Bi Han)

You and a couple of trainees were taking turns sparring each other in the courtyard of the Lin Kuei palace, where it was unrelentingly cold. Not only do you have to train under hard conditions and get your human bodies used to it, you also have to endure the dead serious attitudes and moody atmosphere.

You knew that you and a few others would love to let loose and be yourselves, but that can only happen out of the sight and earshot of your battle-hardened seniors, especially the frigid Grandmaster.

Luckily for you, the two trainees who you were sparring with were somewhat like-minded in terms of a sense of humour.

“I’ve got something to show you!” You said to your mates in a sing sing voice. It was your break anyways, and you took advantage of the situation. Your mates looked at each other then back to you with quizzical expressions.

You grabbed your bag and pulled out a metallic Stress Relief Kit sign and held it up. It only took a few seconds before the two erupted in hysterical laughter, followed by yours.

“If unconscious, cease stress reduction activity?!” The first mate said, “I think that’s a given!”

“Where are you gonna put it?” Asked the second one.

“Here!” You exclaimed, pointing to the nearest wall. You held the poster in place at face level, “Go ahead! Try it!”

“Excuse me??” the second one said, “It’s your poster. YOU do it!”

“Yeah! You do it!” the first one said, taking your place in holding the poster against the wall, “Go on! Show us how it’s done!”

You stood in front of the poster, braced yourself, and then banged your head against the circle three times. The three of you erupted into hysterical laughter and you were high fived.

“What’s the meaning of this?!” Came a harsh and gruff voice.

It’s safe to say that the hysterics stopped and the three of you froze solid with horrified looks, turning gingerly to face your Grandmaster.

If looks could kill, all three of you would be shattered ice statues by now.

Bi-Han eyed the three of you coldly, then he saw the poster held against the wall by the first mate.

His scowl deepens and he growled before speaking, “The Lin Kuei is an elite of highly trained assassins and warriors. We have a reputation and an image to uphold! I do not tolerate foolish and frivolous behaviours that will drag the Lin Kuei name down to the level of idiots! Conduct yourselves with dignity or face my wrath! And dispose of that at once!”

With a last growl, he turned on his heels and stormed off in a dignified manner, muttering, “Bird brains!”

The three of you just stood there staring at each other with held breaths. You guess you wouldn’t be having fun for a long time.

Scorpion (Kuai Liang)

It has been a few months since you became an initiate. Since the inception of Shirai Ryu, there was an urgency to expedite everyone’s training to get all of you where you needed to be, which is why the new clan was very selective of their initiates. Where time is if the essence, quality counts.

Since you had a friend who was accepted in first, she had dropped your name and were approached to become an initiate. You were lucky to have made the cut, since you had years of martial arts training.

While the training was held to very high standards, Grandmaster Scorpion was also fair and took into consideration a reasonable work-life balance. Because of the nature of your current profession, it only makes sense to include as much laughter as you can, while you’re still alive.

When you and your friend were still room mates back in college as international students, you had this one Stress Relief Kit poster for good laughs. Now that you were both initiates, that poster had found its way on the wall of your group’s designated dojo.

Everybody seem to have a great laugh out of it, but the most frequent user seem to be you, which put you and your friend in hysterics every time. That is why you got called into the Grandmaster’s office one day.

“Have a seat, Y/N,” Kuai Liang gestures towards the chair in front of the desk. You sat down, feeling anxious.

“How are you?” He began, looking you in the eye.

“I am well, Grandmaster,” you replied, slightly shifting.

“Is training going well?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Good,” he replied; then, “Is everything alright with you?”

Confused, you nodded, “Everything is ok.”

“Are you sure?” He held eye contact with you, expression serious.

Confused even more, you nodded, feeling uncomfortable.

“It has come to my attention that you’re engaging in self-harming behaviour,” Kuai Liang said seriously, “Your team mates report that this often happens during training.”

Your face softened, “Oh,” you began.

“They reported that you are “stressed out” and that the frequent banging your head against the wall to music of a questionable nature is catharsis,” Kuai Liang began, “If that is the case, that tells me that your mental health is affected to the point where I am concerned. Do you need to talk to someone, Y/N?”

The genuine concern in his eyes made you feel guilty and cornered like a child being questioned about bad behaviour by a parent or a teacher.

“Oh, no, I am fine Grandmaster,” you began explaining about the poster that you and your friend had since college, and that the poster was meant for nothing more than lighthearted fun.

After you finished, Kuai Liang kept eye contact with you, and you can’t help but feel like he was a human lie detector. He finally spoke.

“Y/N, the Shirai Ryu takes training seriously. We hold ourselves to high standards as we are now one of Earthrealm’s protectors. We also need to be vigilant as the Lin Kuei can strike us at anytime. Our bodies and minds need to be in top condition in order to withstand the stresses and dangers of this way of life. If you feel that you cannot handle the stress that being in our clan brings, maybe this is not the right fit for you.”

Feeling bad, you reassured the Grandmaster that you are able to handle the stress of training, and the poster, again, was a joke to help cope with stress. You are indeed fine.

Kuai Liang seemed to accept your answer, and continued, “It is imperative that we check in with ourselves and each other. Your team mates did the right thing by coming to me. Do not hold this against them. Also, be mindful that you’re in a different country and therefore you need to be sensitive to the culture and its nuances. Many people may not understand your sense of humour and may take offence at it.”

“I understand, Grandmaster,” you affirmed, nodding solemnly, “I apologize for my actions.”

“Good,” Kuai Liang nodded, “ You are dismissed.”

You stood and bowed with both hands clasped in front of you respectfully before exiting the office a changed person!

Smoke (Tomas Vrbada)

Long before the above meeting with your Grandmaster happened, you were having just another typical training day, where part of it was spent training with your group, and the other half was either working out and honing your skills on your own.

You and your friend were sparring. Since it was just the two of you in your designated dojo, you whipped out out your iPhone and went through you play lists to play some music while training to hype things up.

“Oooh! That’s a good pick!” Your friend exclaimed with eyes wide as she hovered over you shoulder while you tapped the screen to select your music. You turned the volume up to a reasonable degree as rhythmic clapping started, shortly followed by the guitar riff, then the drums and the rest of the instruments.

At this point, you were both head banging to the music going, “Yeah!” “ I miss this song!”

“Wake in a sweat again

Another day’s been laid to waste

In my disgrace.”

The opening lines of Linkin Park’s “Given Up” were sung; hyped up, you each picked up your bo staff and worked on your technique and form taking turn as offended and defence. Sticks clashed seemingly in beat to the music as both of you eyed each other trying to read each other’s moves.

There were more clashing of sticks, grunts, cries, spins, evasive maneuvers, and deflections with your intense sparring.

You felt a hard whack at the back of your calves as your friend swept her staff at a low angle, knocking you on to your back.

As if on queue, you heard Chester Bennington sing, “I’VE GIVEN UUUUUUUUUP!” This elicited hysterical laughter from the both of you. As your friend helped you up, you leaned on her shoulder for support, struggling from laughter.

Your friend was far more skilled at the staff than you were, as so far, you’ve lost count of the number of times that she’s knocked you on your back.

“Aaaaaaaah!” you cried out, heading to a specific spot on the wall. You started to bang your head to

“PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY

PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY

PUT ME OUT OF MY

PUT ME OUT OF MY FUCKING MI-“

Your head banging was halted when your forehead suddenly made contact with something soft and warm.

“This again?”

You looked up and locked eyes with those of your Sensei, Smoke. The Shirai Ryu’s Second-in-Command had an amused look on his face as he placed his hand between your head and the wall that was home to the Stress Relief Kit.

Still in hysterics, you struggled to stand straight so that you can bow in greeting.

“At least you didn’t progress to the “unconscious” part,” Tomas chuckled, reading the poster, “And what an interesting choice of music to train to, Y/N.”

You managed to control your laughter enough to give an answer, “We miss this song from our college days.”

“You know,” Tomas began, “I have been noticing that you’ve been having a little too much fun with this.” He knocked a knuckle on the poster twice.

“It’s called catharsis! You should try it!” You quipped back.

“I can think of other ways that you can destress besides head banging against a poster on a wall to this kind of music.”

“What do you mean?” Your friend countered, “It’s frickin’ epic!”

“If you think about it, don’t you think that it’s counter productive to train hard to survive to music about giving up on life?” Tomas asked, “Are you Going Under?”

“What do you mean?” you asked, looking to your friend then back to him.

“You know, like, you want to stay in love with your sorrow, but God, you wanna let it go through “catharsis”?” He looked at you deadpan this time.

You paused for a minute before answering, “Aren’t you poetic, Sensei.”

You got a stare back in return, his expression still serious, but his eyes with a hint of teasing, which confused you.

“if you ever feel like you’ve tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter, my ears are open,” Tomas offered.

”Geez, I’m fine!” you protested, feeling more annoyed about being teased.

“You don’t have to hide. We’d rather you talk, rather than you walk alone on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”

Something about what he said sounded familiar, then it clicked! That’s when your friend started howling.

“Oh! HAHAHAHAAA!! I see what you did! That’s very clever, man!” Your friend raised a hand to Tomas, which he returned with a high five.

Tomas cracked a smile, chuckling a little.

You shut your eyes in relief and laughed along. He had a sense of humour after all!

“I was, like, what’s going on?? Then, I’m like, “Oh, gotcha!!” You choked out.

“You’re fine,” Tomas lightly shoved your shoulder. As he turned to leave, he stopped and warned, “Y/N, being goofy is fine, just don’t overdo it. I might start getting worried, then I would have to have a serious talk with you one day if it continues. Remember, safety first!”

With that, he disappeared through a doorway leading to the next room.

Both of you were in high spirits and still giggling. It was a pleasure to see this subtle and humorous side of Smoke, which you hope you’d see more of.

**Can anyone guess what songs Tomas was quoting from? 😁😁😁

[bigasswritingmagnet]

Absolution

Fandom: Girl Genius Summary:

When an assassination attempt goes very right, Agatha is trapped beneath a collapsed building, saved by a Jager she does not recognize...at first. Vole has done his thinking, and he's got a question he can't quite bring himself to ask. Down in the dark, there's nothing to do but talk.

(warning for claustrophobia!)

AO3 Link

Agatha should have brought Tarvek.

She should have insisted that she and Prince von Lundburg be allowed to bring with them an aide or an assistant or something, so that she could stand in the background, nodding seriously, while Tarvek did the actual negotiating part.

He loved the negotiating part.

Agatha hated the negotiating part. She and Prince Oswin were now on minute twenty-seven arguing whether Mechanicsburg would give them a ten percent or nine percent discount on snail exports. Agatha didn’t know why Oswin had insisted they meet with not even a guard in the room, especially considering he was flipping frantically through his notes as much as she was, but she needed this to go well.

Lundburg was a two days journey from the Heterodyne Valley by foot, and Mechanicsburg had thought of it much the same way your average citizen thought of their local corner store—a good place to swing by for a cup of coffee and a quick pillage on your way to work. If Agatha could make friends with them, the rest of the neighbors might stop shoring up their defenses every time she set foot outside the valley.

“Fine,” Agatha said, already hearing Van’s furious shrieking in her ear but well beyond caring. “Ten percent. Fine.”

Prince Oswin, a ferrety man whose first words to Agatha were hoping she had better breeding than the Baron, scribbled down a note.

“I suppose we shall have to let the clerks put this into the proper language,” he sighed. “Lady Heterodyne, while I appreciate your…enthusiasm, let me advise you, as one raised to rule, it is far better to leave these things to the help, and simply apply one’s signature when neces—do you hear something?”

Agatha had registered the screaming about a minute ago but, despite having only lived in Mechanicsburg for six months, had already learned to tune it out as background noise.

“Yes,” she said. “Someone’s screaming. What did you mean, my enthusiasm?”

“Your request that all negotiations be handled privately. It’s hard the done thi-aaahh!” The word turned into a scream of terror. Agatha whipped around…and frowned.

“It’s only a Jӓger,” she said, disapprovingly. “They follow my orders, they won’t hurt you. Well, they follow my orders except for the ones about not following me.” This was said very pointedly, but the Jäger did not seem to notice.

“He’s. He’s. Big,” the prince gulped.

True, this Jӓger was much larger than the usual Jӓgers—actually, he looked more like one of the Jӓger generals than your average Jӓgersoldier.

“Oh!” Agatha said suddenly, brightening. “Are you General Zadipok? We’ve been looking everywhere for y—”

“No,” the Jӓger said. “Ve gots to go now, right now, come on.” He glanced out the window and then back to Agatha. “Fast.”

“We’re in the middle of—”

“Hy’z not interrupting hyu for de fun of it, ve need to go.”

Something about him was familiar. She would remember if she’d met a Jӓger this shape before, but his eyes—deep wells of black, apparently without pupils—those she was sure she had seen before.

But a Jӓger was a Jӓger, and this one was worried about something.

“Let me just—”

Faster than she would have thought possible for his size, the Jӓger lunged forward, grabbed her by the wrist, and dragged her out the door. She yelped as her arm nearly popped out of its socket; he muttered an apology and loosened his grip, but did not let go.

“Excuse you!” the prince exclaimed, hurrying after them. “We are in the middle of negotiating—”

“Negotiations go a lot better ven efferybody doing dem is alive,” the Jӓger called back over his shoulder. “So if hyu vould like to stay part of de negotiations, hyu come vit me, too!”

When Agatha had arrived that morning, the place had been a bustle of activity, servants and soldiers everywhere. Now they lay dead, some as if they were asleep, some staring out at the world with cloudy eyes still wide in surprise.

“What happened? What—oh no.” She stopped walking, recognizing Mechanicsburg uniforms, recognizing faces—but the Jӓger did not let her stay there.

“Dun stop unless hyu vant to join dem!”

“What the devil is all this? I demand an explanation!” The prince was more indignant than outraged. “Do you have any idea how inconvenient it is to train new servants? Was this your doing? Some kind of Heterodyne…joke…?”

The whistling began. It was high pitched and overhead, growing steadily louder.

“What is that?” the prince demanded. Agatha and the Jӓger did not stop moving. That was the last Agatha saw of the prince: standing stock still and staring up at the ceiling in irritable confusion.

They rounded a corner into the main hallway and the door seemed to be a thousand miles away and the whistling was getting louder and the Jӓger scooped Agatha up and began to run, charging for the door but it wouldn’t be fast enough.

And it wasn’t.

Agatha didn’t know what was the roar of explosions and what was the Jӓger and what was her own screaming as the ceilings and walls came down around them and the floor gave way and they fell into darkness and the thunder went on and on and on and on and

One would not think the words ‘puppy dog eyes’ and ‘Jӓger generals’ would belong in a sentence together, unless the words ‘never ever ever ever’ were also in there, but it was the only term Agatha could think of to describe the looks they were giving her. She’d known they wouldn’t like it, and that it would probably bring up all sorts of bad memories about her father and uncle and the last time the Jӓgers had been left behind by a Heterodyne.

She hadn’t expected to feel like such a heel about it.

“It’s not that I don’t want you there,” she said, as reassuringly as she could. “I just think the negotiations will go better if I don’t bring walking reminders of why half of this trade deal is just me promising not to invade Lundburg.”

“Ve can be sottle!” Gkika insisted, desperately. “Ve vill follow behind, qviet like!”

“And if someone saw you, there is nothing I could say that would convince them I wasn’t trying to smuggle Jӓger troops into their territory for a surprise attack.”

“Hyu could at least take Higgs,” Dimo said, dangerously close to pleading.

“He and Zeetha aren’t due back from Skifander for another month, and I can’t delay that long. I’ll be lucky if Prince von Lundburg doesn’t change his mind in the middle of negotiations, nevermind in a month. Listen,” she said, firmly. “You are not coming with me. You are not going to follow me. This is me asking politely, but I will make it an order if I have to.”

Six pairs of eyes stared at her as if she had just told them she’d cancelled solstice that year. She raised her eyebrows, expectantly.

“Yes Mistress,” the generals said at last.

Agatha allowed herself an internal sigh of relief.

“Thank you for understanding,” she said. “I promise when I get back, I’ll find go find a big monster and we’ll all go fight it together, okay?”

Agatha opened her eyes—maybe.

She was in pitch black, the kind of darkness you got in underground caves where the animals were bleach white and blind. The only noise was the distant sound of rock and wood settling, and slow heavy breathing very, very close to her.

“Who’s there?” Agatha demanded, trying to sound forceful.

“Iz just me.”

Agatha relaxed. Right. The Jäger.

“Are you alright?”

A noncommittal grunt.

“Been better. Been vorse.”

Agatha dug around in her pocket and felt another wave of relief when her hand closed around one of her pocketwatch clanks. She had taken it absentmindedly, just in case. Fumbling a little in the dark, she managed to press the button on its head to activate it.

The light from its eye was not very bright, but in the darkness it was nearly blinding. All the same, it was a welcome relief, a hand to hold back the clinging shadows.

“Okay, little guy, let’s see what we’re—”

As she spoke, she turned the clank around, shining the light on the rubble around her. It lit up the face of the Jӓger, barely a foot away. Agatha gasped and jerked backwards, the clank tumbling from her hand. She immediately slammed into the wall behind her—she could get no further than an arm’s length away.

It was his eyes. Despite the new tusks and the shaggy beard, the way the light shone on the starless void of his eyes made something click in her memory.

Captain Vole.

“Vuz vonderink if hyu vuz goink to recognize me,” the not-Jӓger said, false humor not quite managing to mask the wariness.

“What are you doing here?” Agatha demanded.

“Right dis minute?”

With the little clank on its back, the ambient light made her surroundings visible. Vole was on his knees, half-hunched and looming over her. At his back was a massive stone, big enough that it could have crushed Agatha, but also big enough to hold back the rest of the debris. Held on Vole’s back, it formed a pocket in the destruction big enough to breathe, but not enough to dig their way out.

“Hy’z not here to kill hyu,” he said, simply.

“No,” Agatha said, softly. “I can see that.”

Vole was all that stood between herself and a quick, painful death—although the alternative was a slow and very unpleasant one. It wasn’t by coincidence, either. He had come looking for her with the goal of getting her out before the bomb even came down.

“You knew this was coming.”

“Ya. Hy vuz…” he hesitated. “Nearby. Hy saw some of dese guys sneakink out of de house, and some of de servants. Hy din’t see hyu vit dem, so Hy knew hyu vuz still inside. Hy saw an airship comink, und dey all got real excited. Vun of dem says ‘ve finally goink to bury de bastard’, de odder says ‘hurry, ve got to get to de top of de hill so ve can see de show’. Hy came in here to get hyu. Saw vut dey did to everyvun else.”  

“’The bastard’—so this was about Oswin. Was I just…acceptable collateral damage?” Agatha scooped up her little clank, but kept it on its back to keep the little space as illuminated as possible.

“Maybe, but Hy dun tink any of dem vould cry about a dead Heterodyne. Two birds, vun stone, ya? Plus, if dey lose deir guy in de attack too, nobody goink to blame dem for hyu dying.” He looked thoughtful. “Hy bet dot’s vut dey voz countink on. Efferybody vould be lookink for who vuz tryink to kill hyu, dey vouldn��t effen think to look at him. Vy hyu looking at me like dot?” he asked, more hurt than indignant. “Hy got promoted to captain for a reason.”

Guilt replaced the surprise on Agatha’s face.

“Hy learned a lot about how pipple tink, vorking for de Baron. He voz good at seeink how all de pieces move. If hyu kill dis guy dis vay, hyu start a var. Kill him anodder vay, hyu keep de peace. Turned out, Hy vuz not bad at dot kind of tinkink.” He grimaced. “Probably could heff made higher den captain if Hy din get stuck on de start a var part.”

Vole grimaced again, but this time it was as he tried to shift his grip on the rock at his back. He froze as a small shower of pulverized stone trickled down from the ceiling.

“Demn.”

“How long do you think you can hold that up for?”

“Not forever,” Vole said. “Mebbe a few hours? Hy’s really stronk now, even for a Jӓger, but Hy dun know my limits yet. Haffen’t been like dis for long enuff.”

“What ha—” Agatha shook her head. “No, plan first.”

She strained to listen, but could not hear any voices overhead. Had anyone managed to escape? Had anyone survived who wasn’t in on it? Did anyone know what had happened? Was there anyone left to come looking for her?

“First step,” she said, “air flow. It won’t matter how long you can hold that up for if we suffocate first.”

Using the clank to light her way, she more closely examined the space they were in. She had to work very hard not to think about how little space there was.

They had fallen into the corner of a basement room, so there were two small sections of clear stone wall meeting at the corner. Agatha carefully examined the mortar around the stones, but it was all disappointingly well built. Chipping through would take a lot of time and effort for no guarantee she wouldn’t find more dirt on the other side.

Overhead, several heavy wooden rafters had fallen across each other, catching the debris between them. It was compacted together, but less sturdy than the stone walls—for good or ill. Agatha searched along the walls of rubble until she came to the part behind Vole.

To her horror, a long, thin piece of metal had pierced his shoulder, the other end disappearing into the ceiling.

“Doesn’t that hurt?”

“Does vut hort?” Carefully, Vole turned his head. “Oh.” Then, in a slightly annoyed voice, “Vell now it does.”

“Should I pull it out?”

“Only if hyu sure it von’t make de ceiling come down on us.”

Agatha set the clank down on Vole’s shoulder. Gripping the metal rod with both hands she pushed. There was a moment of resistence, then it jerked forward, out of Vole’s arm and further into the debris. Very slowly and carefully, she angled the rod so she could pull it over Vole’s shoulder and free of the rubble. A trickle of air brushed across her face; not as much as Agatha would be like, but enough that she could be sure they wouldn’t choke to death.

“Great,” Vole said. “Now ve can die of starvation instead.”

“Don’t,” Agatha said, sternly. “We’ll get out of here.”

“Hyu tink dot ting could climb out of here? Iz small enough.”

Agatha looked at her clank thoughtfully.

“Maybe. They are very good at getting in and out of places. But I don’t know if it could help. You said only the people who knew about this got out.”

“Ya, but hyu got about a hunnert Jӓgers followink hyu,” Vole said. “Dey could dig us out no problem.”

Agatha’s jaw dropped.

“What!” she exclaimed, indignantly. “I specifically told them not to do that!”

Vole smirked.

“After everyting dey been trough to get hyu, hyu vould have to nail every vun of dem to de floor.”

Agatha scowled…then gave up with a sigh.

“Well…good for us, I suppose.” She looked to the clank, still balanced on Vole’s shoulder. “Go out there and find the Jӓgers. Bring them back here. Tell them where we are. Got it?”

The clank gave her a little salute. With a little hop, it jumped into the new gap. Its legs kicked for a moment, and then it was gone.

And now Agatha and Vole were alone in the dark. Agatha felt blindly around until she found the corner, and sat down with her back to the wall. She could sense the panic hovering in the back of her mind, and firmly kept it there. Breaking down into hysterics would do nothing but waste air.

She needed to keep herself occupied, keep her mind off the fact that there was nothing to do but sit and wait.

“What happened to you?” she asked. “You look…different.”

“Hyu boyfriend happened, dot’s vut.” Vole’s voice was sardonic.

“Um. Which one?”

A snort of amusement.

“Wulfenbach. Effry time he tried to pull someting out ov de time shtop, it vould age to dust. So he figured he vould pull out somevun who could age a few hundred years vitout dyink, and do some tests to see how to shtop it.”

“But why you? Why not one of the generals?” Oh, what she wouldn’t have done to have Khrizhan or Gkika to help. Dimo certainly would have appreciated it.

“Cuz he didn’t care if Hy lived or died.”

It was the matter-of-factness of it that startled her.

“Oh.”

“But it vorked. He figured out how to keep me alive, and used dot to get hyu odder boyfriend out of town. Und now Hy iz like dis.”

“If Gil brought you out, where have you been? Why haven’t I seen you?”

“Hy vuz vit Higgs ven Hy voke up. Ven Hy got better, he vuz…lookink after me. Den he needed to go to Paris, but Jӓgers isn’t allowed in Paris. Hy isn’t technically a Jӓger, but ve didn’t tink de Master vould care about technically. So Hy vent to an old Heterodyne stronkhold from vay back, und Hy stayed dere.”

“All alone?”

“Ya. Hy vanted time to…think.”

“About what?”

“Lots of tings.”

Agatha recognized a deliberately vague answer when she heard one.

“Was the stronghold near here? I haven’t heard anything about it.”

A pause.

“No. Iz in de valley.”

“So what are you doing here?”

Silence.

“Did you follow me here?”

More silence.

“We have to talk about something,” Agatha said. “I need to think about something other than...than all this.”

“Maybe hyu tell me someting,” Vole said. “How do hyu feel about Mechanicsburg?”

Agatha blinked—probably.

“How do I feel?”

“Hyu poppa din’t like it. Din’t like any part of it, not der castle, not der monsters, not…” He trailed off.

“Not the Jӓgers.”

No reply.

“I love Mechanicsburg,” Agatha said, simply. “All of it. I even love the castle, as crazy and evil and obnoxious as it can be.”

“Hyu told de Jӓgers to stay.” It was utterly emotionless.

“Just this one time!” Agatha exclaimed. “I thought it would make the negotiations run more smoothly—I know,” she said, when Vole snorted. “Believe me, I am fully aware of what a bad idea that turned out to be.”

She slumped back.

“I told myself I would be a better ruler than my father,” she said, softly. “When I heard the whole story about the monster’s guild I was so…I got so angry. I know there were a lot of objectively terrible things about Mechanicsburg, but not all of it. They didn’t even try to sort out what was worth keeping. They never tried to understand. I promised myself I would never let my people down just to make other people like us more…and then I did.”

She felt tears well up in her eyes and Vole made a small sound of distress.

“Hy vosn’t tryink to make hyu cry,” he said, slightly panicked.

“You can see me?” Agatha said, startled.

“Hy gots good eyes.”

Agatha wiped at her face and told herself to watch her expressions.

“So hyu dun vant to be hyu poppa.”

“I want to be me and do it my way. I want people to stop judging me based on my family, and that includes when people say I’m doing a great job because I’m not catapulting kittens into the sun or something.”

“Dot vuz ven Hy tried to kill dem,” Vole said, suddenly. “Ven dey forst started goink on de adventures und ve realized dey vuz alvays goink to leave us behind. At de time, Hy tought Hy vuz angry because dey vouldn’t let uz fight, but now…Hyu spend a hundred years alvays beink de family favorites, und suddenly dey don’t vant hyu anymore, dot gets to hyu. Hy tink maybe dot had someting to do vit it too.”

Agatha was surprised.

“That’s very…introspective.”

“Hy told hyu, Hy’ve been doink a lot of tinking.”

“About my father?”

“About everyting. Voteffer Wulfenbach did to keep me alive, it vos…bad. By de end, Hy realized dere is good fightink and bad fightink, und Hy vuz a leedle sick of both kinds. Higgs told me to tink about tings, so Hy did. Den de more Hy thought, de more some tings made more sense, end odder tings made less sense.”

Agatha drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

“Nobody ever told me what happened. Just that you tried to kill the boys and they threw you out.”

“De generals trew me out,” Vole corrected. “Hyu poppa and hyu uncle, dey forgave me.”

Agatha stared.

“Oh,” she said, distantly. “That was…”

“Nice?”

“I was going to say not well thought out. I mean, you’re a Jӓger. They might as well have told you to your face that you weren’t enough of a threat to be worth killing.”

“Schmott gorl,” Vole said, audibly impressed despite himself.

“That’s why you wanted to kill me, wasn’t it? If they’d kicked you out or tried to kill you, you’d have only been mad at them, but then they insulted you and you wanted to take it out on the bloodline.”

“Ya. Talk about not takink rejection vell.”

Agatha choked on a laugh, but Vole was silent. She cleared her throat.

“Sorry. I thought you were making a joke.”

“Hy vuz,” he said, sounding surprised. “Hey, hyu vont to hear anodder funny vun? Higgs tinks Hy should be a general.”

Agatha goggled at him which, judging by the amusement in his voice, was the reaction he’d been aiming for.

“Hy know, dot vos my reaction too.”

“Don’t you have to be a Jӓger, to be a Jӓger general?”

“Ya.” Vole sounded less amused. “He told me to tink about it, but Hy dun tink it matters vot Hy tink. De generals definitely von’t listen to me. Hyu von’t listen to me. De Jӓgers von’t listen to me, not vunce dey know.” There was a thoughtful pause. “Hy alvays tought efferyvun knew, but ven Hy ran into Maxim under Mechanicsburg, he thought Hy vuz…Hy don’t know. He didn’t know vy Hy had gone missing.”

“The generals probably didn’t give any details because the other Jӓgers would have immediately tried to chase you down and kill you, regardless of what my father said,” Agatha said, dryly. After a pause, she said, “If you were thrown out, why go back when the Jӓgers were forced to leave Mechanicsburg?”

“Hy din vant to. Hy vuz vorking for de Baron already. Ven he hired de Jägers, he assigned me to de vun place he could be sure Hy vould neffere run into dem, und Hy vuz stuck dere. But den Hy could rub it in everyvun’s faces dot de vun Jager dey didn’t vant dere, vuz de only vun dey got.”

Agatha could not keep the disapproval off her face.

“Hy dun know if hyu noticed,” Vole said, dryly, “but Hy iz not a very nice person.”

“I don’t know,” Agatha said, softly. “Saving my life was pretty nice of you.”

For a moment, she thought he would go silent again, but eventually he spoke, and when he did it was in a soft, distant voice.

“At de time it vuz all so important. De hats, de clothes, hurtink de Heterodynes, hurtink efferybody, blood, var, it drove me. Now Hy tink about doze tings and Hy don’t feel anyting.” The tone of his voice changed; he sounded somewhere between embarassed and nervous. “Hy dun even feel like fighting, deze days.”

Agatha managed to keep her expression sympathetic, rather than horrified—although it wasn’t Vole’s feelings that so horrified her. What had Gil done to him, that a Jӓger would no longer want to fight?

She felt a now-familiar bubble of overprotective defensiveness rising in her chest and tried to shoo it away. Vole wasn’t even a Jӓger, he wasn’t hers—in fact, he was so much not hers that he had tried to kill her more than once—but he was Jӓger shaped, and that was apparently enough for Heterodyne instinct to kick in.

Vole was waiting for her to respond, but Agatha couldn’t think of anything to say.

“I’m sorry?” she hazarded.

“Iz maybe better dis vay,” Vole said.

“For me, certainly.”

Vole chuckled. They fell into silence again, though it was a less awkward one this time, almost companionable. Agatha leaned back against the wall and wondered how long they had been down here. Vole had said the Jӓgers were travelling half a day behind her, but they would have been travelling slowly to avoid running into her. Jӓgers could move very quickly when they wanted to, and they would come running as soon as they heard.

But when would they hear? How fast could her dingbot travel? They had little propellers, but Agatha had never bothered to test how quickly they could go. Surely the Jӓgers would have noticed something was wrong, would have been worried enough by the sight of the airship to move closer...

Vole grunted suddenly, and Agatha felt a trickle of dust and heard small stones rattle against the floor.

“Vole?”

“Hy’z okay,” he said. “Just gettink in a better position.”

They fell into an awkward silence.

“How iz Maxim doink deze days?” Vole asked.

Agatha’s eyebrows shot up.

In a slightly defensive tone, Vole said “Ve vuz good friends, back in de day.”

“Really?”

“Vut so veird about dot?” Vole asked, slightly indignant.

“I...Well, nothing. I guess I’m just used to you being…” She trailed off.

“De ex-Jӓger,” Vole finished for her. “De evil vun. De crazy vun. De bad vun. Traitor. Monster.”

His voice was not angry. It sounded like he was reciting a list.

“It must have been lonely,” Agatha said, not sure why she was saying it. “I know the pack is very important to Jӓgers.”

The detached Jӓgers had considered it a suicide mission, and they had been volunteers. To lose the pack not by choice, but to have it taken away…

“Hy vuz too angry to be lonely,” Vole said. “Or maybe too angry to notice dot Hy vuz lonely. Not sure. Dot voz vun of de tings I vos thinking about. Hy vunder if beink avay from de pack and de Heterodyne made me go crazy. Or maybe Hy vuz alvays dot bad, and ve neffer noticed because dot vuz vut de Heterodynes vanted from us.”

“You are what we made you to be,” Agatha said, softly. “I don’t think Bill and Barry understood that.”

“Ho, if ve goink to get into free vill versus determinism, ve gon have to get Jorgi down here,” Vole said, and she could hear a smile in his voice. “Ya, ve vuz vut hyu made us to be, but ve chose to be made dot. Ve chose to serve, chose to take de draught. Hy chose to break de troth. Ven Hy forst met hyu, Hy chose to let it stay broken.”

“You mean you considered not trying to kill me?” Agatha asked, unable to keep the surprise from her voice.

“No,” Vole said, bluntly. Then he amended, “Vell, Hy asked myself if Hy didn’t care dot hyu vuzn’t hyu poppa, end if Hy really vanted de line to stay dead. But de answer vuz ‘yes’ right avay.”

Agatha couldn’t help herself.

“So does this mean you’ve changed your mind?”

“It means Hy dun vant hyu dead,” Vole said, in a very final tone of voice.

“Maxim is doing well,” Agatha said, bringing the conversation to something less emotionally charged. “He and Oggie decided they’re my personal guards. Dimo would too, but he’s too busy being a general.”

“Vut—” There was a rumble and a crunch of wood on wood, and a string of hissed curses from Vole. Agatha’s hands flew up and pressed against the ceiling. She had no illusions that she’d be able to hold it up, but in this dark, she’d never know the ceiling was collapsing until it hit her.

If she was going to die, she wanted to see it coming.

But the rubble settled, and after a few moments of silence both she and Vole breathed a sigh of relief.

“Maybe dun surprise me like dot again,” Vole said, admonishingly.

“Sorry. I didn’t know you didn’t know.”

“Dimo a general. He iz not even dot older den me!” He sounded more amazed than indignant.

“All the generals were in Mechanicsburg while it was frozen, and he ended up taking charge. According to him it just ‘sort of happened’. He expected it to be temporary, but the other generals were so impressed that he managed to lead the entire Jӓger horde on his own, they made it permanent.” She couldn’t help but grin, remembering the look on Dimo’s face.

“Vell, maybe Higgs vill qvit bothering me about it, den.”

“Yes, I was wondering—don’t you have to be a Jӓger to be a Jӓger general?”

A brief silence.

“Dot’s it?”

“What’s it?”

“Dot’s de ting hyu have a problem vit. Not dot Hy tried to kill hyu poppa and hyu uncle, not dot Hy tried to kill hyu tvice, not dot Hy helped de guy trying to steal hyu castle—who also tried to kill hyu. Hyu’s stuck on me not beink a Jӓger.”

Agatha gestured around them.

“How many times do I need to point out that you are literally putting your life on the line to save mine?”

“Dot dun make up for de tings Hy did,” Vole said darkly.

“It’s certainly a start,” Agatha said, quietly. “Don’t you think?”

“Iz not not a start, Hy guess.”

Agatha laughed, softly.

“You’re secretly funny, aren’t you?”

“Dun tell nobody,” Vole said, dryly. “Vill ruin my reputation. How long hyu tink ve been down here?” he asked suddenly.

“I don’t know,” she answered, honestly. “It’s hard to tell. An hour, maybe two?”

Vole didn’t answer.

“Are you okay?”

“Hy vuz hopink it had been a lot longer den dot,” Vole said, his voice strained.

“They’ll get here soon,” Agatha said, with confidence and absolutely no supporting evidence. “I know they will.”

“Maybe ve keep talkink. Keep me distracted.”

“Okay,” Agatha said, settling back against the wall. “I’ve got lots of stories. I’ve had a pretty eventful year.”

She told him about growing up in Beetleburg with Adam and Lilith. She told him about meeting Maxim, Dimo, and Oggie. She told him about rescuing Othar and then almost immediately pushing him off an airship (he liked that one so much he asked her to tell it twice).

Agatha talked until her throat went dry and her voice was reduced to a thin rasp, and she was forced to stop. The only sound in the small space was Vole’s breathing—harsh, heavy, and painful.

“Hy vonts hyu to go into dot corner dere,” he said, abruptly. His voice was starting to waver. “As far back as hyu can go.”

Agatha did so, frowning suspiciously.

“Why?”

“De rock von’t hit hyu if hyu over dere, if Hy go down. Mebbe ve get lucky end de rest of it don’t come down all de vay. Give de Jӓgers more time to find hyu.”

“Don’t you dare talk like that,” Agatha said, fear rising up in her chest. “You’re going to be fine.”

“Gettink tired,” Vole whispered. “Hurts.”

“I’m not a fan of heroic sacrifices, especially when it’s to keep me safe.”

“Heh. Hyu in de wrong family, Heterodyne,” Vole said, amused despite the audible strain. “Effrybody in hyu city vould die for hyu—”

“I don’t let them,” Agatha snapped. Overhead she heard rock and wood grind together. “And it doesn’t even matter, you’re not a Jӓger anymore, remember? You’re not supposed to want to die for me.”

Vole said nothing and anger bloomed, clawing its way up over the fear.

“What is it with you?” she demanded. “You follow me here, you come charging in to save my life, and you won’t tell me why!”

“Hy had a qvestion, but…couldn’t…couldn’t make myself ask. Hyu know vut dey say. Hyu dun ask a qvestion if hyu dun vant de answer.”

He might as well have just told her. What other question could there be to drive a former Jӓger to such lengths?

“What if you do—”

“Don’t.” It was barely a whisper. “Dun say tings like dot.”

“Like what?”

“Like hyu could undo vot happened. Like enybody could. Some tings, dey break so bad not even a Spark can fix dem. De pipple of Mechanicsburg, de Jӓgers, de generals…Hy made sure doze bridges burned to de ground. No comink back from all dot.”

“I’m the Heterodyne. If I say—”

A laugh, strangled and half-choked, and Agatha cut herself off. Oh, she could order them to accept him, but she couldn’t make them want to. What kind of a life would that be? To be hated and mistrusted by everyone around you, even—especially—the people who used to be your brothers in arms.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Vole let out a sudden, violent groan. Agatha curled back against the wall and covered her head with her arms as pieces of timber rained down on her.

“Vole?” she whispered. She got a grunt in response. “Vole.”

“Still here,” he whispered. “Hy can’t…Hy can’t.”

“Yes, you can.”

Agatha reached out blindly until her hands met his arm. He was bent almost double under the weight of the rock, his hands gripping the packed-in rubble on either size.

Her fingers touched his cheek, and found it was wet.

“Hy vant…Hy vant to die a Jӓger,” he whispered, barely audible.

Agatha swallowed hard. The generals had given her the notes, taught her the words and the rituals required. Agatha had not yet decided if she wanted to make more Jagers, but she had reviewed everything for the sake of continuity, information and family history that she didn’t want lost.

And she remembered enough.

“Vole,” she whispered, still cradling his face. “This choice is yours and yours alone, and let no thing living or dead judge your answer. Do you wish to be a Jäger?”

“Yes.” His voice shook.

“Swear to me the Jägertroth, your loyalty unending.”

“Hy give to de house of Heterodyne my strength, my blood, my final breath. Hy give it freely. Hy give it villingly. Hy give it gladly. No pain or wealth or death shall break my vow. Dis Hy svear.”

Agatha squeezed his shoulders tightly, her fingers burying in the thick, coarse fur.

“With gratitude and honor, I accept. The house of Heterodyne welcomes you, Jӓger.”

A violent shudder ran through Vole, and a terrifyingly final sounding sigh.

“—and my first order, as your Heterodyne, is do not give up now.”

A laugh, weak, wet, trembling.

“Not f…fair,” Vole croaked.

“I’m a Heterodyne, I don’t have to be fair.”

Suddenly Vole lashed out, smacking her backwards into the far corner. Before Agatha could react, the world gave way around her. She curled up tightly and held her breath and waited for the end.

Agatha didn’t know if it stopped very suddenly, or if she’d passed out and woken up again, but suddenly the world was quiet once more. This time she couldn’t move. Her legs were pressed against her chest, tightly enough that it made it hard for her lungs to expand. She could lift her head, but it was still too dark to see.

“Vole?” she said. Her ears strained, but she couldn’t even hear his breathing anymore. “Vole?”

She tried to call again but her throat closed around the grief. It wasn’t fair.

Overhead she heard a sudden shout. The sound sent a bolt of adrenaline through her. She tried to hear over her own pounding heart, trying to tell if she had imagined it.

“Mizz Agatha!”

“Here!” She tried desperately to work an arm free, and nearly dislocated her elbow. “I’m here!”

The shouting grew louder, words indistinct but the rhythm of orders and instructions. The voices grew clearer as rubble shifted.

A beam was lifted and light streamed in, blinding her. Agatha flinched from it but breathed in deeply the fresh, open air. Hands and claws tore away rock and rubble, more hands gripped her tightly and lifted her up and out and into a hug so tight it nearly bruised her ribs.

“I told you not to come,” Agatha whispered, hugging back just as fiercely.

“Hyu asked politely,” Dimo said, voice shaking but trying desperately for humor. “Ve dun got to listen if hyu only ask.”

Agatha made a sound somewhere in the vicinity of a laugh.

“Dun effer, effer leave us behind again,” Dimo said.

“I won’t,” she whispered. “I promise I won’t.”

“Here!” someone shouted. Abruptly Dimo rose and swung her out of the way, into Jenka’s waiting arms.

“Hy got hyu, sveethot,” she murmured, half-carrying Agatha back to solid ground. “Ve gonna get out of de vay so ve can get hyu friend out.”

“The rock came down,” Agatha whispered. “He couldn’t hold it; I don’t know if…if…”

“Dig fast!” Jenka bellowed.

The rubble had no chance against the powerful, determined claws of an entire company of Jӓgers, and it seemed to be seconds before the rock itself came into view. Agatha’s breath caught. The thing was massive, at least three feet thick. It had been part of some great stone mural that had shattered in the explosion, and it took four of the largest Jӓgers to lift the rock up enough to drag Vole free.

“Who is dis guy?” someone asked, bewildered.

Agatha didn’t answer. She pushed free of Jenka’s grip—which wasn’t easy, the Jӓger was not happy to let Agatha out of reach—and hurried to where the Jӓgers were laying Vole out.

“Hy neffer seen him before,” Gorb was saying. “Hy vould remember a guy dis big.”

“Is he…?” Agatha asked.

“Alive,” Dimo said. “Just.”

Agatha met his eyes and saw no sign that Dimo had any idea who this was. Had Higgs really not told anyone? Had he told Gil to say nothing, or had Gil told him? She knelt beside Vole and put a hand on his shoulder.

Vole’s eyelid cracked open, revealing a sliver of pure black. Agatha let out a gasp of relief that did not drown out the sharp inhale behind her.

“No heroic sacrifices,” Vole rasped. It sounded painful. “Hyu said.”

Slowly, Dimo crouched down beside her.

“Hyu did good,” he said, solemnly. He glanced at Agatha, who gave him a tiny nod. Dimo hesitated, only for a moment. “Velcome back, brother”

Vole’s expression went soft and relieved. Without another word, his eye closed and he went limp. Only the rise and fall of his chest gave any indication that he was still alive.

Agatha tried to rise, opening her mouth to speak, and swayed. Dimo caught her easily.

“Hokay,” he said, firmly. “Ve gon go home now.”

Agatha groaned.

“Everyone’s going to yell at me,” she said, half-whining.

“Ya,” Dimo agreed, utterly unsympathetic. “Dot’s vut happens ven hyu do stupid tings.”

[eclipsedzs]

can u do quackity doing a video with short hispanic reader?

SORRY IF ITS TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR

have a nice day and stay hydrated ❤️

𝗗𝘂𝗺𝗯 𝗩𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼

𝗘𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗦𝗘𝗗 ▰▰▰▱▱▱ Volume: Quackity

Genre: ✓

Paring: Quackity x Fem!Reader

Summary: Irl Mario Cart with your boyfriend- Alex and best friend- John Smith.

Disclaimer(s): Cursing, Google Translated Spanish (Sorry D:) (sorry if it’s not good, got to get back into the grove of writing)

♫ ― ♫

YOUR FOOT RESTED snuggly on the small petals of the cart you sat in, phone snugly in your hand as you awaited your boyfriend to finish fiddling with his camera.

John, who was parked next to you, played on his phone- his tongue slightly out as he concentrated on his game.

Looking to him as you whip hair that stuck to your face from the window. “Qué juego estás jugando?” You ask, raising a brow as you peak to his phone. (What game are you playing?)

“Un estúpido juego lleno de anuncios.” He clicks his tongue, his hand pressing on the power off button with a click. (A stupid Game full of ads)

“¿El de los tacones altos?” You pondered- glancing over and pausing once you saw the subtle wave of Alex’s hand, alerting you of your needed entrance. (The one with the high heels?)

“Oh, Alex nos necesita ahora.” You wave your hand to Alex, alerting him you noticed it. You looked to John, indicating him to go first.

“Seré su en un segundo.” You ramble, nodding him to Alex. With a quick message of your phone you quickly sped to get caught up with the men who decided to race.

♫ ― ♫

“YEAH JOHN SMITH, i’m so happy.” The sound of Alex knocked you from you small debate with John, who was currently trying to steal a sparkly american type hat from your head.

“¡Ojo! Vete a la mierda." You cursed at him, grabbing the hat. Your eyes caught Quackitys, well at least as much as they could from his sunglasses.

Alex smiled softly at you for a moment, a clear blush on his cheeks. You watched as he bent over slightly to the side, grabbing something from the bag of items you and him had gotten a couple days ago.

“You know what else, i got somthing for you.” In his hands he held a big, plastic baby bottle in his hands.

“You big, Fucking baby.” He held back a laugh while handing it to the bearded man. You held back a laugh, leaning forward slightly on the wheel.

“You complain about everything ever John smith.” Quackity glanced at the camera and smirks. “You come in here and try to steal my girlfriends glittery hat.” He laughs, trying to stay serious.

John Gasps, holding the baby bottle for a moment before throwing it at you. “Bro!” You laughed- eyes closing as you gasped for air slightly. The mix of funniness were catching up to you.

♫ ― ♫

YOUR HAND STRETCHED OUT, grasping into the warm one of your boyfriends as you drove down the long curvy path. His giggles filled your ears as he held onto you.

Him and John were laughing, going on and on about that you guys were the new fast and furious.

Gasping when a pole was in the way you let go of Alex’s hand- laughing when he immediately started whining.

“Hold on you baby.” You laughed, though it was funny to watch his reaction when you purposefully stayed away from him.

You stuck your tongue out at him- watching his mouth open wide as if you just murdered his whole family.

Laughing you blew him a small kiss, speeding off to win the race.

[xuchiya]

"Chapter 3: daniel lee" || kang yeosang [a mini-series]

|| next: chapter 4 || if you haven't read the previous chapter, here's the masterlist.

genre: non!idol yeosang. fluff. angst. violence. mentions: gun. knives. attempt murder/kidnapping. blood. anxiety attack.

"my lady as much as I want to drive that ... chariot as our runaway vehicle ... you're on your own."

"KANG YEOSANG?!"

The morning sun filtered through the heavy curtains of your bedroom, casting a warm glow over the room. You stretched, feeling the weight of the previous day's conversations still lingering in your mind. As the next Lady of De Villalobos Corporates, the responsibility felt almost tangible, pressing down on your shoulders with each passing day.

The soft knock on the door pulled you from your thoughts. "Come in," you called, knowing who it was even before the door opened. NingNing entered with a bright smile, a tray of breakfast in her hands. "Good morning, Lady," she greeted cheerfully, setting the tray on the small table by the window. "I thought you might need a good breakfast to start your day."

You smiled back, grateful for her constant presence and support. "Thank you, NingNing. I do need it."

As you began to eat, NingNing sat across from you, her expression turning serious. "How are you feeling about meeting your grandfather's business partners today?" You paused, the spoon halfway digging to your food, considering the question. "Nervous, I suppose. It's a lot to take in, and I can't help but feel unprepared."

NingNing smiles gently. "You'll do great. Just be yourself and remember that you are capable of handling all of these. Your grandfather saw that in you."

Her words were comforting, and you nodded, feeling a bit more confident. "Thanks, NingNing. I'll try to keep that in mind."

After breakfast, you dressed in a tailored suit that exuded both confidence and professionalism. As you stood in front of the mirror, adjusting your pencil skirt, you couldn't help but feel a pang of longing for the simpler days of culinary school—It was those moments were you were challenge to recreate the said piece created by your professors and so far, you were able to finish it almost similar to it. 

But this was your reality now, and you were determined to face it head-on.

Yeosang was waiting for you outside your quarters, his presence as steady and reassuring as ever. "Ready, my lady?" he asked, offering you a small smile. You took a deep breath and nodded. "Let’s get over it."

The car glided smoothly through the bustling city streets as you sat in the back seat, iPad resting on your lap. As you scrolled through your schedule, making mental notes of the meetings and appointments lined up for the day. Beside you, Yeosang, being on guard meanwhile NingNing sat in front tapped away on her tablet, finalizing details for the upcoming events.

“Your meeting with Grandfather’s business partners is scheduled for 2 PM,” NingNing said, looking at you briefly. “Everything’s prepared, and they’re looking forward to meeting you.”

You nodded, a mixture of anticipation and apprehension swirling in your mind. “Thanks, NingNing. I hope everything goes smoothly.” NingNing gave you a reassuring smile. “You’ve got this. They’re going to be impressed.”

You nodded, looking outside the windows. It is as if days go on and on so fast that you barely grasp what was even happening, you weren’t even sure if what you signed two days ago by NingNing related to the company issues but nevertheless it seems to be a new policy added to the other branch.

“My lady … we have arrived.” Yeosang turned to you, concern written in his eyes when he saw you dazed—in your own world. The car had stopped 5 minutes after arrival and NingNing had already gotten out of the car, waiting for you. You snapped out of your thoughts, glancing at Yeosang who had already had his hand out as he waited outside the car. Yeosang, his watchful eyes scanning the surroundings, before he gave you a nod.

You took a deep breath before stepping out of the car. 

Cameras flashed incessantly, paparazzi eagerly sipping on fresh gossip for their articles. The news of a powerful and intense partnership with the new heir would be the headline by morning.

“Lady! Can you tell us more about your partnership as the new heir of your grandfather’s corporation?”

“What are your plans moving forward with this new collaboration?”

“Is there a personal relationship blossoming alongside this business venture?”

“Lady will not entertain your questions. Please step aside,” NingNing commanded in a strict, neutral tone. She shielded your eyes while Yeosang and another bodyguard created a path through the throng. As you made your way toward the front doors, you glanced back at the human barricade, noticing one paparazzo whose gaze was fixed on you, a look of intense curiosity and recognition unlike any of the others.

“My lady, this way.” Your eyes remained strained on the figure until it disappeared among the crowd, just as the elevator doors closed. Yeosang, catching your unwavering gaze, frowned softly, a hint of concern in his eyes.

Upon reaching the level, you made your way to the grand hall where the meeting was to take place. The ornate doors loomed ahead, a symbol of the legacy you were stepping into.The meeting room was spacious and elegantly decorated. As you entered, all eyes turned to you. You were greeted by a group of distinguished-looking men and women. Your grandfather’s business partners. They rose to shake your hand, their faces lighting up with polite smiles.

Your father stood at the head of the table, his expression one of pride and expectation. "Welcome, everyone. This is my daughter, the future Lady of De Villalobos Corporates."

You felt a surge of anxiety but quickly masked it with a composed smile. "It's an honour to meet all of you," you said, your voice steady despite the nervous flutter in your chest. 

“Welcome, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” said Mr. Kim, a tall man with silver hair and a warm demeanour. Your eyes light up on the presence of your grandfather’s long time friend and business partner, instead of shaking his hand. You have pulled the man in a brief hug, “Thank you for coming Mr. Kim.” He smiles softly, patting your shoulders softly, “I have to see how his favourite granddaughter will make my pal proud.”

The introductions were brief, each partner sizing you up with a mix of curiosity and respect. You could feel the weight of their expectations, but you held your ground, determined to prove yourself. The meeting commenced, and you presented ideas confidently, drawing on all the knowledge and skills you had acquired. The partners listened intently, nodding in approval as you spoke.

As the meeting progressed, discussions about the future of the corporation unfolded. You listened intently, occasionally offering insights and asking questions. It was a delicate dance, balancing your desire to learn with the need to assert yourself as a capable leader. After what felt like hours, the meeting finally drew to a close. Your father looked pleased, and the partners seemed satisfied with your involvement.

“You’ve done an impressive job,” Ms. Lee, a sharp-eyed woman with an air of authority, remarked. “Your grandfather would be proud.”

“Indeed,” Mr. Park agreed. “Your vision for the future is both innovative and grounded. We look forward to working with you.” The positive feedback boosted your confidence, making you smile bigger. The meeting wrapped up smoothly, and you felt a wave of relief wash over you. As you exchanged farewells with the other partners, you noticed a man lingering near the exit. He was well-dressed, with a charming smile and an air of confidence.

“Excuse me,” he said, approaching you. “I couldn’t help but be impressed by your presentation. My name is Daniel Lee. I’m interested in collaborating with you on a new venture.” 

You hesitated for a moment looking at NingNing—who already had her hands working on the tablet she carries to check up on the man and when she looks up to you with a confirm nod, you turn to Daniel Lee, smiling politely. “Thank you, Mr. Lee. I appreciate your interest. Perhaps we can discuss this further at another time?”

“Of course,” he replied smoothly. “Here’s my card. I’ll be in touch.” You accepted the card, nodding. As he walked away, you turned to NingNing, “I may not be in the business world like my grandpa and dad but this man just spawned out of nowhere.” You chuckle at her statement, you exit the room, you let out a sigh of relief and notice Yeosang, who had been silently observing the exchange.

Eyes still flickering back up to glance at Daniel Lee, knowing the bodyguard's instinct can be accurate, “What do you think of him?” you asked quietly. Yeosang’s eyes narrowed slightly. “He seems... eager. Just be cautious.” 

You nodded, after taking a good look at the card before slipping into your handbag. “I will. Thank you, Yeosang.”

Yeosang gave her a reassuring look but remained silent, his mind clearly at work. As they left the building, he stayed close, his presence a comforting reminder that you were not alone on these. Though the meeting had gone well, and you had managed to impress your grandfather’s partners.

 There was a lingering unease. Something about Daniel Lee’s approach felt off, though you couldn’t quite put your finger on it. As the car drove away from the company, you glanced at Yeosang. His expression was neutral, but you knew him well enough to sense his quiet suspicion.

"You did well by the way." Yeosang said, his voice low and reassuring. You blink, his head turning to you. You smile at him. "Thank you," you replied, feeling a sense of accomplishment. "I just hope I can keep it up."

"You will," he said with confidence. "Just take it one step at a time."

As the day turned to evening, you found yourself back in the garden, seeking solace under the cherry tree. The tranquillity of the space was a welcome reprieve from the day's pressures. Yeosang joined you, his presence a silent comfort. "It's a beautiful night," he remarked, looking up at the star-filled sky.

"It is," you agreed, feeling a sense of peace wash over you. "Thank you for being here, Yeosang. It means a lot."

He turned to you, his expression earnest. "I'll always be here for you, my lady. No matter what."

In that moment, under the starlit sky, you felt a renewed sense of hope. With Yeosang by your side and the support of those who believed in you, perhaps you could navigate the challenges ahead, you decided to trust his instincts, knowing that with Yeosang by your side, you could face whatever challenges lay ahead and forge a path that honoured both your family's legacy.

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