#just making them kiss immediately turns the entire concept so so so boring

[imabiscuitinthousandworlds]

the endless curse of being utterly uninterested in romance in fandom spaces

[kaylor]

Idk if Taylor has always always been this literal in terms of the concept and the name of the album (maybe with speak now) idk i guess each album gets a bit of that but to me her entire explanation of this one being “this album is about those thoughts you have at midnight so my album is gonna be named midnights and in every single song i will used the word midnight, even tho sonically the album doesn’t make any fucking sense and it doesn’t look or even hear as an bum, because this album is set at midnight. It will come out at midnight because that’s the concept of the alb-“ and the fact that she claimed it’s a concept album, I’m crying laughing.

yeah i mean she's always been pretty literal with album titles tbh, like reputation was very on the nose but was just cool enough to work. lover/daylight again very basic on the nose, even though you have to respect the implications of referring to both yourself and your partner as Lovers on an album full of wedding imagery. it's still a bad album title but the implications.... 😈

folklore, 1989 and red, in that order, i think are her best album titles. folklore is exceptional because she is literally turning her life experiences into stories, warping them and disconnecting them from herself, but making them part of her own mythology anyway. no one will ever know the truth behind any of these stories, and no one ever should. they're folklore now, they're up to interpretation, and every swiftie will have a different version of taylor swift folklore in their minds. genius.

1989 is super cool because it's so mysterious, it gives nothing away beyond hey this music is inspired by 80s pop but it's also about myself but it's also not about myself anymore. it's like. this album is about rebirth, not as a person, but as an artist. the metanarrative about moving to new york to become herself + immediately solidifying her position as a pop behemoth, chefs fucking kiss.

red is great because, well, does it even need saying. the joni mitchell inspiration. the lipstick. the synesthetic emotional state of a fresh breakup. the literal colors in autumn. it shouldn't work, it should be super overdone, but it fucking works!!

on the flip side there's evermore, which to me is such a nothingtitle. it's very much a "we have all these b sides we have to call it something" vibe. no hate to evermore, there's some amazing tracks, but it's not an album it's a collection of songs. speak now is... fine i guess? very funny to title your album with a command to speak now when the album is full of songs you wrote because you did not speak then. again no hate to speak now because it's got many of my favorite songs on it, but it is only loosely cohesive as a unit because it's just a coming of age album. i would have to sit down and have a proper think about what i would have titled it.

and while we're here we may as well talk about fearless and self titled too. fearless is a good album title, it's very 2008, it's exactly what an 18 year old should be feeling, it perfectly captures the album. nothing groundbreaking, just decent and appropriate. i personally find it extremely boring for artists to name an album after themselves. i think it's uninspired, i think it's lazy, i think it should be illegal for artists to do this. i don't care how much you reinvented yourself or whatever, it's BORING. do better.

and then there's fucking Midnights. maybe the laziest concept ever conceived. it's literally just "i wrote a bunch of songs about my feelings" okay what's new? "i'm almost topless in the photoshoot" incredible no notes. but is the album interesting? hardly.

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

Childhood

Father of Mine – Part 1 and Part 2

+ This Game of Ours

Jason’s eyes snapped open at a sound that no human should be able to hear.

Ever since he’d been resurrected from the Lazarus pit, his senses had grown abnormally acute – amongst other strange things. 

Sometimes he swore he could even hear Y/N’s heartbeat. It was easiest to do with her, after all he was so intone with her very being.

But all of that made nearly impossible for anyone to sneak up on him – let alone in his own home. Which someone was. He could feel it.

Jason’s eyes glanced down at Y/N, who was sound asleep on his chest.

Ever so carefully, he lifted her body off of him so he could slip out of bed.

But Y/N was a light sleeper, unfortunately. She must’ve inherited that from Bruce, even though she wasn’t even raised by the man.

Y/N winced as her eyes opened just in time to see Jason grabbing one of his hidden guns from below their bed frame.

“What’s going on?” Her voice raspy.

“Nothing,” Jason lied. “Stay here.”

Now that she found out about another hidden gun in their apartment, Jason knew he was going to return to a lecture from Y/N. She never hid her hatred for guns, and had asked him to keep them out of their apartment.

“Jason…” Y/N whispered desperately, now more awake and concerned.

“Stay here,” Jason said, more firmly this time.

Then he quickly kissed her, leaving even less room for her to argue.

In only his black boxer briefs, Jason snuck out of their bedroom and into the living room without making any sound. Y/N had always been shocked at how quiet her giant boyfriend could make himself.

Just as Jason raised his gun, he heard the familiar voice.

“Put some clothes on, Todd.”

Damian stepped out of the shadows.

To Jason’s surprise, he was in civilian clothes and not in his Robin uniform.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, breaking in like that?” Jason reprimanded as he uncocked the gun.

But before Damian could defend himself, the bedroom door squeaked open and Y/N was rushing out into the living room.

“I told you to stay there,” Jason growled.

Y/N rolled her eyes at her boyfriend’s overprotectiveness. “Obviously I recognized Damian’s voice, Jason.”

Then Y/N looked at her half-brother for a second and quickly realized Damian had come there for a reason.

“Everything alright, Damian?” She asked carefully.

“Yes,” he lied.

Jason remembered when Damian despised Y/N. He saw her as a threat to his claim to the Wayne throne. But Y/N had immediately made her intentions clear. “I have my own reputation, money, and career that I built without a name attached to me. I want nothing to do with Wayne Enterprises,” she had told Damian as soon as she realized he saw her as some sort of competition.

It took Damian months to even acknowledge Y/N. And he really only did because both his father and Dick – basically his surrogate father – scolded him for not doing so.

Slowly but surely, the two grew closer.

Y/N didn’t put up with Damian’s attitude. But she also didn’t scold him like a child. If he was rude or aggressive, she spoke to him the same way she would speak to a grown man who behaved in such a manner. Somehow it made the boy slowly start to respect her more.

Eventually, they bonded over their mutual love of the arts. Damian was impressed with her photographs, while Y/N was honored whenever Damian decided to share his drawings with her. Y/N had gifted Damian his first camera. And Damian once gave her a few lessons on the basics of sketching and painting.

Who knew Waynes were the creative type?

And it was when Damian’s pets all seemed to be obsessed with Y/N that the boy finally decided to get over his original opinions and feelings.

It was by no means a short or easy battle. But the rest of the family was relieved when Damian finally accepted Y/N as one of their own.

“How about I make us some hot chocolate?” Y/N offered Damian.

The boy just shrugged, but she noticed his eyes subtly light up.

She never understood why he refused to let himself feel joy in the simple things. It was like she could catch him stopping himself from being a kid.

“I’m going to bed,” Jason announced with exhaustion.

It was clear to him that Damian came to see his sister, not him. And he was nice enough to leave the two of them alone. Even though he was a bit bitter that his girlfriend was being stolen from their bed.

Before turning back to the bedroom, Jason invaded Y/N’s space and gently grabbed her jaw before pressing a kiss to her lips.

“Gross,” Damian groaned.

Jason glared and pointed at the boy. “You’re in our apartment, demon spawn. I’ll kiss my girlfriend if I fuckin’ want to.”

Y/N just laughed as she watched Jason close their bedroom door behind him.

“Come on,” she nudged her head in the direction of the kitchen. “Let’s make some hot chocolate. I think I have some of Alfred’s cookies hiding somewhere, too.”

“I don’t know what you see in him,” Damian mumbled.

Y/N smirked and shook her head. Tonight, she wasn’t taking the bait. 

Once Damian decided he didn’t hate Y/N, he jumped right to making it known that he did not think Jason was good enough for her. But she knew it was an act – mostly.

“Why aren’t you on patrol?” She asked casually once they had giant mugs of hot chocolate and cookies in front of them, making sure to give the boy extra marshmallows. 

“I’m grounded,” Damian muttered.

Y/N tilted her head. “Grounded?”

It seemed like a far too normal concept for a family of vigilantes.

“Yes,” Damian confirmed.

“I’m guessing that means Bruce and Alfred don’t know you’re here…?”

“I snuck out,” he admitted.

“Why did you get grounded?”

“Father found out I was skipping school. And then that I skipped the school dance.”

“Why does it matter if you skipped the dance?” She asked, clearly confused.

Y/N was also struggling to imagine Bruce caring about such a trivial thing like that.  

“Father wishes for me to have normal experiences that young man of my age is expected to have,” Damian said with a roll of his eyes.

“School dances are lame,” Y/N commented.

Damian sat up straighter, not expecting that to be her response.

“I skipped prom. I didn’t want to go,” she added.

“Why not?” The boy challenge, somewhat caught off guard by that.

Y/N shrugged. “Bad music. Bad dancing. Tacky dresses. Just wasn’t all that appealing to angsty, teenage me.”

Damian just nodded slowly, and then got quiet.

“I have no desire to be normal,” he finally stated after a few minutes.

“I’m not taking his side, but I get why Bruce wants you to do these things, Damian. You were robbed of a lot of things because of the way you were raised. I’m not saying that it’s bad or good. But I think Bruce just wants to give you the opportunity to experience the life of a – well...of a kid.”

“And was your life normal?” Damian quickly asked.

Y/N nodded. “So normal that it was boring.” She laughed, “My entire life was normal until I met all of you weirdos.”

That got a smile out of Damian.

But then it slowly dropped and he seemed to get lost in his head.

“I don’t…I don’t have any friends,” Damian finally whimpered.

Y/N was shocked by the boy’s emotion.

Damian was always composed.

“It’s like they speak a different language. And it’s one I can never learn.”

“Oh, Damian,” Y/N sighed as she rushed from her seat to kneel beside him. “I know it must be hard to try and fit in. But you’re not doing anything wrong. None of that’s your fault.”

“Father is more than aware that I don’t need the education,” Damian’s voice shook as he tried not to cry. “He only forces me to attend so I can make friends. And that is one thing I am unable to do.”

Y/N let him breathe and have an opportunity to continue before she spoke again. 

“I hate school, so I skip. And the school dance seemed so ridiculous to me, so I skipped that too – even after father specifically requested that I attend.”

Y/N sighed, “And did you tell him how you’re feeling when he grounded you?”

Damian shook his head no.

She hadn’t expected anything different. She could easily imagine Damian lashing out at Bruce when he received his punishment, saying that the requests were a waste of his time and beneath him. 

Damian was good at hiding his emotional pain – maybe even better than their father.

Y/N was sure Bruce didn’t have a true understanding of what Damian was going through.

“Can I stay here tonight?” Damian asked.

“Of course,” she gave him a sad smile. “How about we take this hot chocolate to the couch and watch a movie?”

Damian shrugged. But it wasn’t a no.

Y/N let him pick the movie.

He chose Fantasia. 

When Y/N didn’t hide her surprise, he explained that he respected the animation and loved all of the classical music. Even when they did a child-like activity, he still always found way to remind the world that he was no normal child.

An hour later, both of them had fallen asleep on the couch with the movie still playing.

When Damian felt another presence, he awoke with a jolt and grabbed his hidden knife, holding it to the throat of the intruder.

But it was Jason, gently bringing Y/N’s sleeping body into his arms.

“Once again, demon spawn, you’re in our apartment,” Jason hissed with annoyance.

The man was completely unfazed by the feeling of a blade threatening to slit his throat. 

Damian huffed.

“I’m taking her to bed,” Jason explained the obvious. Then he nudged his head at the love-seat across from Damian. “There’s a blanket right there if you want to sleep on the couch. Or you can sleep in the guest bedroom.”

But Jason paused, with Y/N sleeping in his arms, as he noticed a strange look on Damian’s face.

“What?” He urged.

“If you ever hurt her, I’ll kill you myself,” Damian growled softly.

Jason looked utterly unimpressed. “You’d have to get in line,” he answered, making sure to keep his voice quiet to prevent waking Y/N.

But then Jason’s face softened. “Look, kid, I think you know that she’s the best thing to ever happen to me. I’d die before doing anything to mess this up.”

“Hmph,” was the only noise Damian made in response.

Jason rolled his eyes and carried Y/N back to their bedroom.

In all honesty, he couldn’t fall asleep while she had been in with Damian. With Jason’s weird enhanced hearing because of the pit, he was able to catch a bit of their conversation.

Jason softly place Y/N back in bed and pulled the covers up to her shoulders. When he joined her on the other side of the bed, she didn’t even wake as she slid back into his arms.

Now Jason could finally go to sleep.

When there was a knock on the apartment door the next morning, Damian and Y/N shared a look.

“I’ll get it,” Y/N sighed.

Jason had made all three of them breakfast that morning.

But now Damian pushed the food around his plate, knowing this was the end of his small rebellion. Who knew what his new punishment would be?

Y/N opened the door to unsurprisingly find her father.

Bruce was wearing a full suit, despite it being a Sunday morning. On top was a heavy, black overcoat with the back of the collar slightly propped up.

“You could have least told me he was here,” Bruce greeted his daughter.

She smirked mischievously and shrugged. “I’m no snitch.”

Damian appeared behind Y/N, not seeing the point in dragging this out any longer than necessary.

“Alfred’s downstairs with the car,” Bruce told his son evenly.

The disappointment in both his expression and tone was obvious.

Damian looked up at Y/N. “Thank you for having me, Y/N.”

“Next time, use the actual door so you don’t give me or Jason a heart attack.”

Damian smiled at that before walking past his father and down the hallway.

“Can I talk to you a second?” Y/N asked Bruce.

Her father seemed surprised by the request, but nodded anyways and closed the door behind him.

“I think Damian is really struggling – more than you think, I mean.”

Bruce’s brow furrowed and he crossed his arms. “He hasn’t even been remotely injured from patrols in months…”

“No, Bruce,” she quickly cut off. “Not as Robin. As Damian.”

Bruce was quiet.

“He doesn’t know how to fit in, Bruce. And you’re putting a lot of pressure on him to live a normal life. Bu he’s never gonna have normal. That was taken away from him before you even knew he existed.”

“He said that to you?” Bruce asked.

She nodded. “In so few words, yes.”

“And I’m assuming you have some advice,” he quirked a brow.

“Well, yeah. Maybe you should just homeschool him.”

“Y/N, the whole point of him going to school is to be around kids his own age. We both know the education is beneath him already.”

“But that’s the thing, Bruce. He’s never going to relate to any of those kids. Going to school makes him feel like a freak. Let him get homeschooled.”

“He needs to learn to make friends,” Bruce argued.

“You’re right. He does. But not with the spoiled brats of Gotham Academy. How many superheroes are you friends with?”

“He doesn’t consider them friends!” Jason shouted from the kitchen.

Y/N rolled her eyes. “Fine. How many superheroes are you acquainted with, who have kids around Damian’s age?”

Bruce’s jaw tightened.

“I know you like to keep your personal life away from Batman. But those are the only kids that Damian is ever going to relate to in some way. Do you get what I’m saying?”

To her surprise, Bruce nodded. “You’re right.”

Her brows shot up. “I am?”

Y/N had really expected him to fight her on this.

Bruce chuckled. “Of course you are. Out of everyone in this family, you are the only one who can say they had any semblance of a normal childhood.”

Suddenly his phone dinged and he glanced down at it.

“I have to go,” he regretfully told her.

When he looked back up at her, his face softened. “Come to the manor soon for dinner,” he asked her gently.

She gave him a soft smile and nodded, “I will.”

Bruce nodded in the direction of the kitchen where Jason was hiding. “And bring that one with you, will you?”

Y/N laughed. “He’ll go wherever I go. He’s like a puppy, that one.”

“I can hear you!” Jason called out.

Bruce laughed and stepped forward to give Y/N a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for looking out for Damian, Y/N.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Bruce.”

––––––––––––––––––––

[imaginethebeautifulworld]

Let’s say England has a long-term girlfriend he knows isn’t the biggest fan of marriage bc her family had been really really pushy (before she got the heck out of dodge) about her marrying + reproducing ASAP. How might he react if she came to him and said she was kinda starting to like the general concept of marrying him — that is, the whole ‘together forever’ bit. Thanks!

I confess darling that I have been trying to finish this prompt for well over a year, and I offer my sincerest apologies that it’s taken me this long to finish it. Still, despite my tardiness, I hope you enjoy, and I thank you for your patience with me.

You had never intended to fall in love, not with the constant push of your relatives to fall in line like a perfect child.

First, marriage to someone they deemed acceptable, raising the perfect 2.5 children, followed by quietly settling into parenthood and complaisant contentment until the day you last drew breath.

Truth of the matter was, you had avoided all chances of romance for the first few years after you moved away from home, carefully slipping away from anyone who seemed remotely interested in you.

You knew your folks would have disproved such behaviour had they learnt the truth, but you couldn’t find it in your heart to care. You had your own dreams to pursue, your own story to tell, your own life to live; you didn't need someone by your side to feel complete.

You were happy as you were, finding enjoyment in your work and figuring out your place in the world.

You didn’t need, or frankly want, anything more than that.

That was of course until you met him.

Falling in love with Arthur Kirkland had been a complete accident. He slipped past all of your defenses and took up residence in your heart as if he had always belonged there.

It started out slow enough; at first you simply knew him as a familiar face from the cafe in Waterstones, steaming cup of Darjeeling and a chocolate croissant sitting forgotten on the table in front of him, always too focused on his reading to pay any attention to the outside world. After one particularly crowded Sunday afternoon, he began to transition into your favorite dining companion, the two of you often taking turns paying for each other’s food. Slowly but surely, you began forgetting about your books, too wrapped up in conversation, and before you knew it-

You had come to love every part of him- the gentleman that you begrudgingly introduced to your parents, the rebellious and passionate activist, the cocky and playful little shit who had long ago memorised all the best ways to disarm you, and the ancient soul who cared so deeply, who still stretched himself thin most days in effort to protect each of his loved ones.

You fell in love with his voice, whispering sonnets and sonatas and sweet nothings in your ear while his arms cradled you from behind.

You fell in love with his eyes, still losing your footing sometimes when the light caught them just right, dreaming momentarily of summer forests and grassy glades and the misty dews of spring.

You fell in love with his smiles, from the satisfied grin at stirring up Peter’s ire to the breathless wonder each time you kissed or complimented him, to the bright, beautiful, blinding smile he wore when he was incandescently happy, his entire countenance iridescent from his joy.

You loved him completely- for his devotion, for his sweet gestures, for his damned impishness, for his wit, his sass, and the soft spoken affection.

You loved him: for his patience, for his recklessness, for his resilience, for his possessive pride that was somehow more charming than alarming.

He was unique, an enigma that, even after having lived together for years and dating even longer, kept you on your toes, his energy and random spouts of spontaneity proving to you that, even if you spent one hundred lifetimes with him, he would always remain a puzzle you would never fully solve.

And by God did you want to.

Arthur had stolen your heart away from you before you had even noticed he was close enough to take it, offering his own in its stead.

You had remained reluctant, confided in him your fears about settling down, how much you dreaded becoming trapped in a monotonous rut of tedium. He was quick to reassure you, showing through words and actions far more impassioned and teasing than he had ever shown prior, that an eternity with him could never be boring.

Even on quiet days, like today, with a steady drizzle painting the world in greys, Arthur humming quietly while adding another patch to his denim vest, and no other disturbance apart from the cat’s chittering at the robins playing in a puddle by the iron fence- Even now, you weren’t so much bored as you were pensive.

You had been thinking about a future with him a lot in the past few days, some irrelevant ad on your mobile about wedding venues catching your attention and slithering into the back of your mind.

What kind of wedding would he like? Would Arthur prefer something small and intimate, or would his hubris crave a larger venue, giving him yet another chance to prove to the world that he belonged at your side, no one else?  You couldn’t help but wonder if he would wear his uniform or a suit, if he would leave the rats' nest he called a hairstyle untouched, or if he would perhaps slick it back in that way that somehow made the normal rakishness disappear, a confident, refined cavalier standing in his place.

You knew of course that none of this mattered unless you actually talked to him first; as far as you were aware, he was content with the current arrangement, and he respected your views of marriage.

He had known, for a long time, just where the grim outlook stemmed from, and he never breached the subject again.

But now-

You had thought it was enough to hold his love, his faith, his vulnerabilities. But life was so fleeting, and now those few things were no longer enough.

You wanted to wake up every morning next to him, wanted the cheesy partners’ towel and flip flop sets. You wanted the physical reminder that you held his heart, the comforting reminder that he completely possessed your own. You wanted to be by his side forever, holding his hand through the good and the ill, facing new worlds and challenges and the uncertain future together.

You knew the risks, of course.

Marriage to a Nation carried an even heavier burden than the simple oath of “till death do us part.”

No, marrying Arthur would mean weaving your entire lives together, binding you on a spiritual level far surpassing mortality; it would mean sacrificing your chance to ever grow old, to eternally give yourself away: heart, mind, body, and soul.

But this was Arthur, who sang showtunes in the shower, who spent hours making silly faces at the cat, who was ridiculously competitive about Halloween costumes, the man who sat down and memorised the entirety of The Tempest in one night just for the bragging rights.

He already owned your heart, constantly invaded your thoughts and daydreams, and God knew he had long, long ago claimed your body, making certain not a single millimeter of his new territory went unexplored.

Would it really be so bad to give him your soul, too?

Glancing back up, seeing his eyes narrowed in concentration, his fingers handling the needle with expert precision, lips slightly parted, reading glasses fallen halfway down his nose-

You knew your answer.

It was always going to be Arthur for you, only Arthur.

Forever, should he have you.

But now you faced the challenge of telling him that.

It should be simple enough; you really held no more secrets from him, and he no longer bothered trying to hide anything from you. You loved how open you were with one another, cherished the honesty that served as the very foundation to your relationship.

But the truth was that you were terrified.

It had been so long since either of you had spoken of marriage, since the topic was even a thought in your minds, and-

What if he didn't want you anymore?

What if he-

"I can see the steam coming outta your ears."

The unexpected presence of Arthur's voice startled you, eyes darting back over to the very man who was unwittingly tormenting you.

He had barely moved from his earlier position, though his glasses had been pushed up into his hair and he was studying you curiously, if not bemusedly.

"You good there?"

By default, you nearly responded with an affirmative, some playful, lighthearted thing that would have dismissed his concern immediately. You cut yourself off mid-start, then, while shifting to sit properly in the armchair, you decided to push forward. "Can we talk?"

You watched as his expression shifted, revealing his concern as he tied off his thread, setting aside the patchwork and gestured for you to join him on the sofa.

There were a few awkward moments where you took up your favourite positions, Arthur tossing an afghan across the pair of you despite your insistence that you didn't need one, the flicker of a grin as you begrudgingly thanked him, and then shifting around as you both got comfortable, but soon enough-

"Alright, now; talketh at-eth me."

It was impossible to fight the smile his choice of words triggered, a reference to an inside joke so old now that you could scarcely recall its origin. Seeming to deem it a success, his own soft, reassuring smile greeted you.

"Seriously though, luv-" His hand came to rest atop your own, his fingers gently tapping a familiar rhythm against your skin. "What's troubling you?"

You were half-tempted to offer something short of sincerity, something innocuous and mundane that you could both laugh over and forget again within a few hours. Yet, you knew that if you didn't tell him now, didn't ask him now, you would never find the courage again.

"I've been thinking-"

"Ah. A scary premise in its own right."

"Oh, shut up," you retorted to his tease, smacking his arm for his troubles. He rewarded you with a grin, all fondness and mischief. Opting to ignore him, you pressed on, eyes downcast to avoid whatever judgement he may offer.

"As I was trying to say earlier, before I was so rudely interrupted-" The teasing fell off, and the worry crept back in. "I've been thinking. About us."

"O-oh?"

Were you not so consumed by your own anxieties, you would have noticed his stutter, would have seen the sudden tension in his posture, the fear in his eyes. As it was, you were completely oblivious to all of it, and made yourself continue at his prompting.

"I- I think I'm ready."

He mimed the word "ready" to himself, parroting it with utter befuddlement. "For wha-"

"I mean, I know I wasn't for such a long time, and-" Suddenly, you were off, half unhinged. Now that you had admitted the truth aloud, it was all rushing out of you, everything you had come to love about him, everything that-

A finger pressing firmly against your lips stopped you mid-tangent, and when you glanced up to find piercing, blazing emerald focused on you as if you were the very center of the universe, whatever remained of your ramblings disappeared entirely.

"What are you trying to say?"

A simple question, so easy to answer, yet it carried with it the weight of Infinities, demanding nothing save the truth, in its most basic state.

You were lost in his gravity, half-drowning in whatever this new feeling was. It was addicting, another riddle to be solved.

"Marry me."

Time stood still, the words weighing heavily in the space between you, now seemingly insurmountable despite being no more than mere decimeters.

Arthur showed no reaction, revealed no indication that he had even heard your plea, your query, your command, your request, and yet it echoed over and over in your own mind, the tone, the weight, the untimeliness-

Every facet- from your inflection to chosen tempo- crescandoed as an accusation, a mocking symphony that he would reject you, that you would be left with only the haunting strains of your ill-conceived proposal.

And yet-

There was a hesitation in his eyes, the face of a man who wanted wholeheartedly to believe what he had heard, but had been burned far too often in the past to dare allow himself hope.

"You-" His eyebrows furrowed, eyes narrowed as he studied you once more, only for the suspicion to disappear again almost immediately, disbelief swiftly taking its place. "You're serious?"

It was then that you finally read his nervousness, understood the strange emotion reflecting in his eyes.

You had lead him to a precipice, the vast Unknown before you both, and-

And he was just as fragile as you were, even if he was better at hiding it.

You gave his hand a light squeeze, hoping to ground you both, and offered him a nod. “If you’ll have me, anyway.”

His eyes flickered between your own, darting back-and-forth so quickly in search of a lie, of any doubts, of any hint that you were less than certain- yet you knew he would find none of that.

“What about your family?”

The question took you by surprise; in the moment, you had completely forgotten anyone else even existed.

You weighed his question carefully. Marrying Arthur would give your family leave to gloat in self-satisfaction, and you knew with absolutely certainty that they would hold it over your head for the next three decades. But looking into the eyes of the man before you, remembering all that you had already seen and done together, you found that others' opinions no longer mattered, really hadn't mattered in a long, long time.

“I couldn’t care less about them. Arth-”

Whatever you were going to say was forgotten as he closed the remaining distance between you, moving so swiftly that you scarcely had a moment to steady yourself before he captured you in a searing kiss, one of his most passionate by far.

Somehow, despite the suddenness of it all, the initial force, the intensity- 

He was being incredibly gentle, and moving slowly enough to almost be more a torment than a treat. Almost.

You found yourself lost in a daze when he finally pulled away, just enough for each of you to catch your breaths, just far enough that he could study you with rapt attention. You could have drowned in his eyes, endless greens magnetizing in their intensity. His hands were still cradling your cheeks, still holding you firmly in place, a not completely foreign expression creasing his features.

You couldn't quite place it, even as your memories shifted desperately in search of its mate.

"'If I'd have you?'" His words, a rhetorical refrain of your own mere moments earlier, were scarcely a shared breath between you, murmured in timbre so low it summoned a shiver. There was the smallest twitch of his lip, his head tilting ever so slightly as more of that damned deviousness made its presence known. "I fully intend to have you regardless, luv. But the formality of it all certainly adds a particular je ne sais quoi, wouldn't you agree?"

You'd be damned if he knew just how that made your heart flutter, if he knew just how much weight that reassurance had lifted from your shoulders.

Carefree, content, you offered a playful smile. "Till death do us part then?"

Arthur no longer bothered trying to restrain his smile, soft and sincere in a way that left you breathless. "I'll love you till even the stars go cold, my dear."

Thanks for reading~

[raspberryranpo]

announcing your engagement

fire emblem three houses: blue lions

i made a mistake and tapped post instead of save so i’ve had to start again 😭 this is in response to @angel6776 ‘s ask!! sorry!!

DIMITRI

dimitri probably wouldn’t even want to announce his engagement, only to one or two of his closest friends and then just send out invites to more people when you’ve both set a date for the wedding

but he’s the king of faerghus, and later fodlan, & the entire country deserves to know about the new monarch on the throne

all of your closest friends and family know beforehand, but the official announcement comes during a speech to the entire country, spoken from the balcony of the palace looking over the city

he’s talking about the new tax laws or something boring, and he then says something along the lines of, “my partner and i will…”

of course, the city takes notice of this and everyone gasps at the same time

dimitri then realises that not everyone knows about the two of you, and so he says, “it is with great pleasure that i announce my engagement to….”

and the city goes WILD. there’s parties everywhere. everyone celebrates yours and dimitri’s engagement, as well as the new realisation that the king has come out of his depression

DEDUE

the announcement & the wedding date is sent out on little cards to your closest friends and your family, decorated with little flowers and sparkles and whatever else goes on cards

each person who has received a letter has personally come to your shared home and has asked about whether the card is the truth or not

with a small blush and an even smaller smile, dedue nods and takes your hand, looking at you with a tender look in his eyes

dimitri was obviously the first person to know. in fact, dedue made sure that the two of you took the invitation to him personally

dimitri almost cries when he reads it, knowing that his friend has grown up and has realised that he’s not the big bad monster he made himself out to be

in fact, he’s so excited for his friend that he’s running around and telling everyone who’ll listen - not that dedue minds, of course, because he’s much too smitten with you to realise what’s actually happening

SYLVAIN

definitely the one to stand up in the middle of an important meeting and just scream it

it happens during one of the monthly meetings the nobles of fodlan have, during which they discuss (or rather argue over) all of the issues the newfound country has

they’re in the middle of discussing something like child poverty or something actually really sad when sylvain stands up & clears his throat, drawing all attention to himself

he has the biggest grin plastered on his face, and with all the satisfaction in the world, he just yells, “I’M GETTING MARRIED!”

you’ve got some like mercedes and dimitri, who quietly clap, genuinely happy for our resident ginger, but then you’ve got the ones like felix or ingrid, who promptly grab him by the ear and drag him down, yelling about how inappropriate that was

the look he gives you from across the table tells you that he doesn’t regret almost having his ears pulled out of his head

FELIX

brings it up quietly to annette, ingrid, ashe or mercedes, seeing as though they’re the only people whom he doesn’t feel would judge him, and they’re the only people he’d feel comfortable telling

the only way that sylvain and dimitri find out is through those four. they aren’t really formally told. felix does kind of hope that they find out, even though he refuses to outright tell them

he, mercedes and annette constantly talk about it - the girls because they love talking about weddings and decorations, felix because he secretly enjoys thinking about you dressed up in a wedding outfit

eventually, the entire monastery knows, simply because dimitri overheard annette taking about it, & he immediately yelled, “WHAT?! FELIX?! ENGAGED?!”

the poor lad would get incredibly flustered the second someone would bring it up with him but you can tell that he’s not embarrassed to be engaged to you

if anyone asks any questions about it, he won’t hesitate to blab on about it for three hours straight. they’ll be bombarded with him constantly singing your praises

ASHE

it’s like chinese whispers. he says it quietly to dedue, and dedue, not wanting to keep things from his king, tells dimitri, but dimitri doesn’t understand the concept of secrets and tells felix, felix laughs and tells ingrid, ingrid tells sylvain and sylvain tells the entire population

upon being asked about his engagement, ashe’s smile extends from one ear to the other, and he talks for a very long time about how pretty he thinks you’ll look & about how excited he is to actually be married to you

he decides to formally announce it because neither of you have actually said anything - the only way everyone knows is because of something someone else has said

he announces it at a formal dinner party the blue lions have every so often to meet up together. his chair scrapes the floor as he quickly stands up and the room goes silent

it’s very awkward, but he blurts it out with a smile on his face anyway. everyone is incredibly proud of the both of you

MERCEDES

the second you’re engaged, she runs to sing it from the rooftops. except she doesn’t sing, but she quite literally yells it from somewhere high up in the monastery

she’s full of laughter and immediately pulls you into her arms after she’s done, and doesn’t stop kissing you

omg imagine she yells it in the middle of the night & all you can hear is felix in the distance going “SHUT THE HELL UP”

everyone won’t stop talking about it the next day. turns out, everyone heard it, and mercedes is incredibly embarrassed for the entire day

her face is red and her left hand doesn’t leave her cheek, but her other hand stays on top of yours, every so often running her thumb over the ring on your finger

ANNETTE

imagine you propose to annette & she just screeches. it’s the most unholy screech you’ve ever heard and it gets everyone’s attention

that’s how it’s announced. annette makes the most primal scream ever heard to man & the entire monastery runs to her aid, wanting to know what’s going on

she slowly turns to the small crowd of people silently watching the two of you and very loudly says, “i’m engaged??????” and she sounds so unsure about it

everyone’s kind of unsure about whether or not you’re both engaged but after a long period of her being quiet, she starts laughing like a maniac, jumping up and down and crying about it

it’s all she talks about for the next year and a half. even after you’re both married she doesn’t shut up about you proposing

INGRID

tries to stay as quiet about it as possible before she tells all of her friends at once at one of the many blue lions reunions

she wraps an arm around your waist and everyone is shocked at the purely sunny look she has on her face

even her voice has a cheerful lilt to it as she happily announces, “we’re getting married!!”

everyone’s shocked at how genuinely happy she sounds since normally she’s quite serious, never really showing anything other than that

she immediately regrets acting like that because for the next few weeks it’s all everyone goes on about and she’s so humiliated

[shoichee]

part 4: hcs dedicated to reactions: seirin (their precious lil manager going out with that scissor-wielding emperor bastard!?) and rakuzan (their captain was in love with that girl who cussed at him near the vending machine?!? ITS SO FUNNY) ++ angst where akashi gets jealous of readers teammates (IZUKI kuroko kagami furi... but mostly izuki bc point guards with eye powers) because he still feels bad about what happened and thinks he doesnt deserve her -- teiko anon

OUR LEGENDARY TEIKO ANON HAS SPOKEN OF AN EPILOGUE, alright y’all the finale FINALE 🧘🏻‍♀️ OKAY, i don’t think I hammered too hard on the angst, but enjoy the fluff and subtle crack😌

OOH, looks like another anon wants a pt. 4! :0 Since it is primarily the Teiko anon’s request, I will be prioritizing the first request, but I will combine a few aspects of this request to make a fuller headcanon epilogue! Hope everyone enjoys this! part 1 here // part 2 here // part 3 here

Akashi x Reader

Part 4: Epilogue

[Teiko!manager Headcanons]

in the aftermath of the Winter Cup, your relationship with Akashi has certainly gotten much better, and dare you say, more intimate and romantic; though you were still healing a bit from the emotional scars from Teiko, they seemed to be going away faster than you realized, especially when everyone gathers for Kuroko’s birthday party

you were with Seirin, helping with the decorations and setting up the plates before Kuroko comes in the evening, but what no one expected was for him to bring in the GoMs

YOU’RE SHOOK AND YOU’RE BASHFUL SEEING AKASHI IN HIS WINTER ATTIRE, you’re getting MAD butterflies, but no one seems to notice because everyone’s attention is on the GoMs and Kuroko

of course Akashi was scanning the room for you first, and you immediately look away from his affectionate stare because you were still not used to the old Akashi, let alone his sweeter side for only you

Izuki notices how quiet you got and nudged your ribs with his elbow before telling a stupid pun… the thing is, you were one of the few people who genuinely found his jokes funny LOL

Akashi widens his eyes, staring at you laughing so unabashedly, and he feels really, really bad that he never got that level of a reaction from you whenever you were with him even despite knowing you for longer

now as the party goes on, Akashi is seeing your dynamics with Seirin for the first time and he’s just really grateful that you found an amazing support group during your low times; he’s not particularly someone to get jealous, but he’s getting a BAD case of FOMO because he’s thinking of all the “what-if’s” and all the times he could’ve made you happy and stress-free

“Akashi-kun?”

“Ah… yes?” Akashi snaps out of his daze to see a mild smirk coming from Kuroko on his right side, and Kuroko was about to ask a question about who he was looking at before a shout of “Watch out!” and a ceramic plate came FLYING across the table to hit the Rakuzan captain square on his face

CUE SCREAMS OF PANIC AS MOMOI PUNCHES AOMINE ON THE HEAD AND RIKO JUMPS TO STRANGLE KAGAMI, AND YOU LITERALLY ZOOMED TO HIS SIDE TO CHECK ON ANY INJURIES

see, he could’ve easily dodged it, and he supposed that it’s his fault for not paying attention and dodging on time

thankfully, the plate didn’t break because Kuroko caught the plate before it reached the floor and placed it back on the table

Akashi still has a bruise or two on his face though… and ngl, everyone gulped when they saw him checking out the injuries with a handheld mirror, ready to get their ankles broken

you were so worried over his safety, he finds it really endearing… but he wants to elicit an expression other than looks of worry or tears or anger (flashback to when you cussed him out)

“Wait, but (y/n)...” Koganei said. “Since when were you so close to Akashi that you didn’t hesitate to touch his face?”

a few moments of silence for everyone to register his words

“EHHHH?????!!!!”

everyone is throwing QUESTION after QUESTION at the two of you, and Akashi just has a neutral face with his mouth parted while you were so embarrassed LMAO

Kise being a real best friend, tells them:

“Alright, alright, everyone! Let’s not forget about the birthday boy! Kurokocchi should be the center of our attention today!”

“Kise, that’s…”

“Anywho! Let’s light up the cake and find those party poppers…”

after the party though, when you all return to school, Seirin was READY to jump on you for interrogation, and you do reluctantly tell them that you and Akashi are a tentative couple

Riko: “SERIOUSLY? I mean… that’s kinda cute though…”

Hyuuga: “I mean… yeah, as long as you’re happy, it’s none of my business.”

Teppei: “I hope he treats you well, (y/n)-san.” and of course he gives you his signature head pats

Furihata, Tsuchida, Kawahara: “??????????????????? But why?”

Koganei: “Huh, guess that explains a lot.”

Kagami: “???????????? pt. 2 LMAO” and also “What do you even see in him?” in genuine curiosity

Izuki: “ I guess you two dove into this relationship without hesitation, eh? Get it, get it? Because doves are a symbol of lo—”

“Izuki, shut the fuck up.”

“It means that you love (Ai)kashi—” [Ai means love]

“IZUKI.”

Kuroko simply pretends that this is the first time he’s heard of you dating Akashi, and he gives you his heartfelt congratulations, and as long as Kuroko approves of it, you feel like you’re on the right track (he’s such a good judge of character!)

you and Akashi actually live VERY far apart, considering that your schools are equally just as far in distance, but that being said, for our rich boy Akashi, distance isn’t much of a problem when he can easily find ways to come visit any time

he can also pay for your transportation to visit Rakuzan if you ever felt like visiting him too (although, you insist to pay for your own things, but he’s not having it because he says it’s a treat for him to see you too)

whenever Akashi stops by the Seirin campus to visit, he’s just kind of awkward standing there like the prince that he is, waiting for the perfect opportunity to walk in, but every time, he’d ALWAYS notice how you’re so happy being with everyone here, especially with Izuki, and his guilt just comes back full force again

he wonders if this was right of him to date you when there’s so much people who can easily do a better job in getting you to smile and be completely yourself, especially since he’s been the source of your anguish for all these months (maybe even a year or two if he was counting the duration of your entire crush on him that you assumed to be unrequited)

“Seijurō!” your voice rang out, beckoning him to walk towards you and the group

all of the Seirin teammates are so wary of him, and are all hyper aware of his movements LOL, and Kuroko is just like “hi, you’re back” very casually

Kagami uses this as a chance to challenge a one-on-one on Akashi

Kagami gets destroyed in a few minutes flat

the whole time you’re just watching Akashi with heart eyes, unbeknownst to him while he was focused on Kagami

after the interrogation and Akashi passing the “first stage” of acceptance, you and him find time to have a cute date at a local shopping district to walk around and sightsee

Akashi finds it fun, he really did, but there’s a part of him that thinks you’d have more fun with people who know you better… a.k.a. Izuki, or legit any other Seirin member

he’s visibly distracted by his own thoughts, and you wave a hand to his face, asking if this was too boring for him

“No, no, of course I’m enjoying this with you,” he muses, putting a gentle kiss to your temple. “Shall we get moving?”

“Something’s bothering you isn’t it.”

“No,” he chuckles, giving a gentle smile, but you only frown at him… once again he sees that you weren’t smiling at him

“I’m serious Sei, I want to get to know the real you,” you softly chastise, pinching his cheek. “So I also want you to speak your mind around me.”

“Oh ho… I see that your boldness is still very present here,” he says in referring to your touch.

“Oh my god, can you drop it already? That’s so embarrassing—I cussed you out one time… hey don’t change the subject!”

“Hmm…” he hums for a bit before he comes clean. “I’m afraid that I might not be the right person to be worthy by your side after hurting you for so long.”

“... What makes you think that?” He hesitates, for the first time, not being so sure of himself and his emotions; he immediately thinks of Izuki and your good chemistry with him but dismisses the thought

“... I just do not think I’m capable enough to make you happy.”

“But you are. I’m very giddy to be with you right now.”

“Even happier than when you are with… your teammates?”

“Huh?”

“I apologize,” he hurriedly says. “They are your friends. I was out of line to question them.”

“No, no, it’s okay. Talk it out to me.” He’s uncharacteristically quiet as you both continue to walk and browse through the shops, and you carefully watch Akashi while he’s examining a few souvenirs on the display, patient for him to continue talking

“... the point guard.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Seirin’s point guard.”

“Izuki-kun? What about him?”

“While I’m aware that you only spend your time with him as a good friend… I want to spend just as much of a koala-ty time with you whenever we have the chance.”

he... says this with the straightest face, and you’re utterly confused before you saw some animal plushies on the store window, and the the koala plush, and then the cogs started turning in your head

“... Did you just say a pun?”

“Was it not sufficient?”

a few moments of silence pass and Akashi thinks he did something wrong because he wanted to make you smile (HELP poor captain), before you break into hysterics

between your fits of broken laughs and wheezes, you managed to ask if he was jealous of Izuki, to which he wholeheartedly kept denying until you wouldn’t stop being persistent

you reassure him over and over that he doesn’t need to act like Izuki to make you happy, but it was a pleasant surprise to see Akashi crack a “joke” nonetheless

he’s a bit new to the concept of dating and is still quite unsure of how to navigate this PLEASE GIVE HIM TIME

the date that day was a success (some of the Seirin teammates TOTALLY weren’t spying on you mid-date or anything…)

while Seirin is okay with you dating, visiting Rakuzan ALONE with the scary-ass captain and his “CROONIES” (hint: the rest of the team LMAOO) IS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT STORY

RIKO AND HYUUGA are just like:

“What’s wrong with him coming here to visit you? Why do you gotta do the effort to visit him?”

“Uh… because I want to…”

“Yes, but who would you call to help over if something wrong happens? You’d be too far!”

“Uh, Akashi can help me if something happens.”

“With what, his scissors?” Kagami gives a deadpan look, and everyone turns to look at him in utter confusion LMAOOO like what does this redhead mean by SCISSORS???

Kuroko immediately jabs Kagami’s sides to silence him and smoothly changes the conversation before anyone asks any more questions about the “scissors” and potentially make them more reluctant to let you go

oh Kuroko, being the mediator and negotiator as always, trying to set some safety protocols for you to follow before everyone finally agrees to let you go see the infamous team alone

you know, Teppei is honestly just like, “Just go! Don’t worry about our (y/n) too much!”

Furihata is so concerned for your safety for valid reasons, but you reassure him that you won’t “die from the trip,” and no, this wouldn’t “be the last time” they’d see you before you leave

so when you stopped by Rakuzan’s gym after school after looking at the online maps, Hayama lets out a screech of terror before he starts pointing at you and calling you the “crazy ass chick” who tried to have a first-row seat ticket to death LOL

Hayama’s commotion brought everyone else’s attention to you, and Akashi was very surprised to see you all the way here

but he’s just standing at the back to watch how his teammates are reacting to you

Reo is the guy who would welcome you very warmly and would introduce you to the other team members who aren’t the starters, and he would actually ask if you were okay from last time

Nebuya is very laid back and throws a few muscle jokes much to Reo’s dismay, and he makes a comment about not you possibly not eating enough because at the time, he saw you almost tripping up your feet after you cussed out Akashi… he offers you his extra bowls if you ever feel hungry VERY SWEET GUY

Mayuzumi thinks you have balls, like who the fuck would come out alive after cussing out his captain but then COME BACK to said school of the captain… like why would you willingly walk back into the lion’s den??? so he thinks you’re dumb, but he has a shred of respect for you

Akashi is so amused at the spectacle and finally walks over to you after you noticed him

and he gives you an embrace and a chaste forehead kiss, and the entire gym goes silent

“Sei! I wanted to drop by as a surprise! Did you expect me?”

“Hm, I may have expected you to come sooner or later, but definitely not this quickly. Were transportation fees too much of a hassle?”

“Nope! I got everything covered! Do you want me to give you any chiropractic massages if you and your teammates need it?”

“You don’t need to do that, (y/n). You came here as a guest, not as a manager.”

“But…”

“Shhh, as soon as practice is done, I’ll take you anywhere you want in Kyotō. How does that sound?”

“Er… captain?” Reo holds up a hesitant finger to interrupt the two of you, while everyone else looks horrified at the sight of their captain looking serene

“Get a room, will you?” Mayuzumi only tuts in irritation while turning away to grab a nearby water bottle to down in one go

Nebuya merely stares in astonishment at the two of you, and his mind is thinking how the hell did you reel in this guy?

nah man, Hayama is GONE at this point: his brain has stopped functioning a while ago, and he’s standing there as stiff as a statue, scratching his head like a lost monkey // like he’s thinking how the fuck did this shit add up?? in his mind, he’s taking 2 plus 2 but it somehow ends up 94… that’s how he’s processing what he’s witnessing

the rest of the benchers and lower-string players are confused? who ARE you anyways?? Akashi?? dating??? that’s Rakuzan gossip of the century

TLDR; your first trip to Rakuzan may be awkward because the two of you stick out like a sore thumb, but eventually after multiple trips, the team slowly begins to consider you as one of their own

as per Akashi’s “suggestion” (hint: not a suggestion, but a strong recommendation), you were to be retreated with respect and kindness

why? Because Akashi never wants a repeat of the situation at Teiko ever again :(

as long as he is captain, and as long as he has the power and authority, he will do everything he can to make you happy and comfortable

don’t worry though, the Rakuzan starters are more than willing to punt any kid who talks shit about you

surprisingly, once Hayama comes around and accepts the fact that you were dating the captain, he’d be the most adamant and vocal protector, and he’s the one who shares the “inside tips and tricks” about the captain EEEE it’s so wholesome !!

the Rakuzan team is your certified bodyguard group, no debate

Reo might be the nosy mom who asks about who confessed first and the like…

the END, and I DO MEAN THE END THIS TIME

[oliverwvvd]

the potential for chaos

For the anon who asked about Yule Ball Flintwood, this is a beginning of sorts for you. This didn’t turn out the way I anticipated originally when you presented the concept, so I offer this as version 1.0 with something softer to follow.

pairing: Marcus Flint x Oliver Wood

premise: Marcus shows up to the Yule Ball solo. So does Oliver. Neither one is especially pleased about it, and the reasons why are personal.

wordcount: 2,194 words.

The Yule Ball. Welcome to the distinct scent of too much teenage desperation in one room.

The snide thought belonged to Marcus Flint, whose dress robes fit just fine, thanks very much, not that the same could be said of some of the people attending. Weasley the younger, for example, looked like a cat crawled onto the front of his robes, rolled around, and then obligingly threw up a lacy hairball before departing. Marcus’ were, shockingly, not green, because Slytherins were in fact capable of wearing colours that weren’t the house colours. Instead, he’d gone for navy blue, and they were tailored to fit. For now, he was leaning with his right shoulder firmly parked against a nearby wall, drink in hand (liberally spiked, courtesy of Pucey’s far too innocent face which had successfully hidden very good Firewhiskey somewhere on his person), and settling into the buzz around him.

He was razor-edged, dark hair and sharp jawline identifying him in the shadows, gaze steady still despite the warm burn of the Firewhiskey, and the growing warmth of the room. The music was alright, he supposed. He could work with this. He could especially work without being forced to find a date he didn’t like just to fit in, because no one dared give him crap about it. That left him with a sour thought of a very different kind he’d already decided not to dwell on. A lot of other people were on the dancefloor, but he was good right where he was, absorbing the potential for chaos and waiting for the lights to go just a little lower and darker. That was more his speed.

Unfortunately, someone else didn’t seem to care what his speed was, when they came up behind him and spoke into his ear. “You look bored, Flint. Looking for someone?”

Marcus didn’t even turn his head, simply took a sip of his drink. “Hardly. You evidently were, if you spotted me back here. Shouldn’t you be with your date, Wood? I’m sure you had a list of invites to choose from.” The words were cool and more than a little antagonistic, holding the pointed hint that he’d been fine by himself, and that Wood was welcome to leave him be now.

The other boy didn’t so much as take the hint, instead spoke more quietly, that hint of Glasgow burr there and gravelly in his ear. “Didn’t accept an invite, so no date. You?”

A little more to drink, but then he caught a hint of Firewhiskey that distinctly wasn’t from him. “So, you’ve also been in a corner drinking from whatever enchanted hipflask you and your mates in Gryffindor came up with, then,” he observed dryly. “Please to Merlin tell me at least that it’s not one with someone’s initials on it for when they inevitably drop and lose it later, at least.”

There was a very nearly painful silence then, and Marcus snorted, soft but still audible. “It figures.” It really, really did. “You know, it’s good form to at least cast a charm to hide the initials, Wood. I’m assuming it at least doesn’t belong to you.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Marcus usually had to shut his eyes and count to ten before he bit the offending person’s head off and told them to mind their business at this stage. The Firewhiskey mellowed him out enough that it took away the edge to some degree, but it was still there.

“Good observation skills there, Wood,” he remarked, aware of other people potentially in earshot. “It’s almost as though it’s not really any of your business. Which it isn’t. But since you apparently can’t let it drop, I chose to attend solo. This is like a knock-off of all the same stuff that half of us deal with on holidays anyway.” The curse of the Sacred 28, old pureblood family gatherings and traditions and parties littered every holiday throughout the year. Inevitably, they all found ways of coping with the boredom after the age of fifteen, and usually that involved finding substances or decent company (preferably both) and vanishing from the scene entirely once it was deemed polite.

Wood moved in front of him then, there in the corner, solidly built shoulders blocking the rest of the room, mirroring the way Marcus leaned against the wall. He didn’t have any choice but to look at him then, and could only be grateful that the warm breath into his ear had stopped. If it hadn’t, he might have had to think too hard about how it made him feel, and he really didn’t want to right now.

“So you didn’t come with anyone.” It seemed like Wood was trying to make a point, but Marcus couldn’t tell what. It was frustrating, so rather than focus on that, he looked at the boy in front of him instead. He’d been lanky when they were younger, a bit skinny and coltish, but Quidditch had bulked him out and he was solidly built now at seventeen. And then there was the choice of dress robes; apparently he wasn’t the only one who made use of a tailor for once. That was a fine outline right there.

Realising he was admiring the view and that that wouldn’t do given the reason why he was in a mood in the first place, Marcus exhaled a sigh. “Obviously. What do you want, Wood?”

Wood seemed to realise he only had a finite amount of patience. That was a years overdue realisation as far as Marcus was concerned. “To dance with you.”

That made Marcus stare for a few seconds. Seeming to register that he wasn’t going to get a response unless he pushed, Oliver tilted his head at him. “One dance, Marcus. Something slow. We can stay right here in the corner for all I care, since you seem to prefer lurking in the shadows.” Then brown eyes examined him far too closely, his lips curled up into a smile that held just a hint of smirk at the edges. “Presuming you’re not too caught up in posing and sulking, of course.”

Oliver was crowding him now, just a little, and Marcus wasn’t entirely certain how he felt about it yet. His immediate response was no longer to punch the other boy in the face, that had been gone for a long while, so that was progress. “You can’t hold your Firewhiskey and you’re seriously misreading things, if that’s the best offer you can give me,” he pointed out bluntly. “So if you don’t mind, I’ll continue minding my own business right where I am. Lurking in the shadows.” That was when he leaned back and away, and took another sip of his drink. No one could see them back here. That thought made his pulse race.

Oliver (Wood, his mind stubbornly reminded him, trying to hang onto it) wasn’t necessarily going to just leave him alone, though, or so it appeared. “Then come out of here with me for a minute,” he said, voice quiet but still carrying through the space between them. “I want to talk to you about something.”

Marcus sighed exasperatedly, and drained what was left in the cup. Obligingly, it vanished the moment he set it down on a nearby table, and at this point, he’d given up arguing with Oliver. “Fine. You get two minutes.”

Once they did get outside, though, Marcus hadn’t quite registered just how much Oliver intended to make the most of those two minutes. He found himself rapidly dragged around a corner and pressed into an alcove hidden behind a statue that he hadn’t even known was there. When he went to ask what the fuck, Oliver put a hand over his mouth. “Shh, someone will hear.”

Beyond annoyed and now suspecting where this was going, neither of which he enjoyed, Marcus dragged Oliver’s hand off his mouth and hissed his next words. “What are you doing?”

Earnest brown eyes were fixed on him then, and this time, Marcus couldn’t get away or give him the cold shoulder. “Are you seriously still mad that someone tried to ask me to this thing?”

Marcus gave him a truly evil glare then. “You mean, am I pleased that someone else asked the person I’m not allowed to walk down the corridor with? I’m absolutely thrilled. Someone else walks up to you and asks right where I can hear; I kiss you in dark corners and Quidditch changing rooms for three months and get ignored when convenient.” The tone was flat, but the sarcasm wasn’t.

He saw Oliver wince, and then, completely annoyed and altogether done with the conversation, Marcus went to shoulder past him. Instead, he found himself pushed back into the stone, found himself being kissed, and he wasn’t letting Oliver think that was the last word on it. He wasn’t about to be lulled into compliance. Rather than lean into it, instead, he nipped the other’s bottom lip sharply, just enough to make him feel it, a kiss like a warning, before he reached up and sunk his fingers into his hair.

If he couldn’t have the evening, he was going to make sure Oliver went back with bruised, swollen lips, hair a mess, and every possible hallmark to show that he’d vanished with someone. Let everyone wonder who.

That it changed when Oliver seemed to yield, to surrender to being kissed rather than one doing the kissing didn’t escape Marcus either. It wasn’t until he could feel him trembling that Marcus released him, leaving him looking faintly dizzy where he stood. He smoothed out his robes then, slow and insouciant, enough to make Oliver watch the trail of his hands. “I’m not going to take whatever scraps you decide to throw me and be happy that’s all I get,” he said, words short, making sure they landed home. This was probably one of the worst sides of him. “You don’t act like it, so you don’t get to call me yours. Because I’m not.” Wasn’t that just the biggest lie he’d ever told, but it was supposed to be, because he was doing it purely to be mean and he knew it.

He lifted his thumb to the corner of his mouth then ran it along to the middle of his own lower lip, as though he could taste Oliver there. He could, Firewhiskey and everything that had become so familiar since they first crashed into trying to understand what this was. The reason he really did it, though, was to be a little bit cruel, to watch Oliver’s pupils dilate some more, to see him want to close the distance again, and then to deny him. Or at least, that’s the intention, right up until Oliver shakes his head. “Merlin help me you’re impossible sometimes,” was the set of words bitten out. “I was trying to apologise. To tell you that I only wanted to go with you, but I also wanted to protect this because it’s ours and people are incredibly nosy. I’m not ashamed of what we’re doing. You might not be mine, but I want you to be.”

Those were a set of words that Marcus badly wanted to be true, and it was enough to stop him cold, to make him rein in the sulking (if he was honest about what he’d been doing, that was it) and register them. The attempts to deflect hard that his feelings had actually been hurt had all ultimately proven to be unsuccessful, and he knew better than to use kissing as a weapon, it too often backfired and this was very much a case in point.

As though Oliver sensed the weakness somehow, damn him for it, the next time he was being touched was much gentler. “We could dance right here, if you wanted.” The words were breathed between them. That was when Marcus realised that they could still hear the music from the hall.

He made a decision. “Nah,” he said, not hesitating to turn down the suggestion. “Come on. Let’s go back inside.” He gave Oliver a pointed look then, and threw down the gauntlet. “Together.” It was a ceasefire, or the closest that they’d get, because they still needed to talk about the actual feelings involved at some point.

There was no phasing a Gryffindor with that kind of challenge, though, so Oliver didn’t even bat an eyelid. Show them anything like a bet you can’t and they immediately decided that not only could they, but screw you who says I can’t. The only reply Marcus got was a hand in his. It turned out he did want to kiss Oliver softly then, so it still took a few minutes longer for them to get back to the hall. When they did, the night sky that illuminated the ceiling had darkened to hold a spill of stars, and the lights had gone down to something far lower and barely there.

Oliver got his one dance. What he also got was a truth in his ear. “I’m only yours if you’re mine. Non-negotiable. What about it?”

The night wasn’t over yet.

[ladyblogger-margie]

Traitor

Pairing: Mobius M Mobius x Loki (MCU)

Summary: The Loki Variants are captured and Mobius battles his personal versus professional feelings. 

Warnings: Mentions of bondage kind of?? A little angsty

Word Count: 1788

a/n: thanks to this post by @pietro-maximoff I have been listening to Traitor by Olivia Rodrigo and thinking about Lokius non-stop. This fic is what came out of that obsessing. Also I wrote it before Episode 3 aired. 

MY MASTERLIST

Mobius heard the alarms blaring and didn’t flinch. It had been set off so many times lately, it had lost all impact. This time though, Casey came flying through the halls of the TVA and skidded to an abrupt halt next to Mobius’ cubicle. 

“We found him,” Casey panted. 

“Who?” Mobius asked, fearful to get his hopes up. 

“The Loki variant,” Casey explained, his hands on his knees. 

“You may need to be more specific, there are several,” Mobius said, as he stood and led Casey back where he came from. 

“The variant, your variant,” Casey said, jogging to keep up. 

Casey’s words rang in Mobius’ brain. Apparently everyone could see how he felt about Loki, well except Loki. If Loki knew, he wouldn’t have ran off, or at least Mobius desperately hoped that was the case. The alternative was too gut wrenching to consider with everything else going to shit. 

Mobius had called out for Loki, begging him not to leave, but he went through the door anyway leaving Mobius behind. Loki had looked at him, but gave him nothing but an empty glance before he turned his back and ran to join the Loki Variant they were supposed to be chasing together. 

Now Casey was explaining how both Loki’s were now surrounded and Mobius needed to get there immediately. He was trying to keep his focus professional and stuff down the longing rising in his chest, a longing that would not do him a single lick of good. 

Suddenly Mobius turned a corner and saw the Hunters in position by the Time Door. He didn’t slow down as he gestured for them to breach the door and he was right in their midst as they arrived on the scene. 

Lady Loki sat with her eyes rolling tied up and contained, clearly annoyed, bored, as well as plotting. Mobius knew Loki well enough to know that she wasn’t truly as subdued as she appeared on the surface. The other Loki, the one in the TVA Variant jacket, was looking extremely put out with a collar back around his slender throat and his wrists in cuffs. 

Mobius banished his first thought in favor of the professional thoughts that followed. 

“We’ve apprehended the variants. Let’s reset this one here first,” he said, pointing to Lady Loki. 

The other Loki was desperately trying to make eye contact with Mobius, but Mobius turned his back to him. 

This was his first mistake. Loki slipped in behind him so close that Mobius felt that taller man’s breath against his neck and he suppressed a shiver. 

“I did it, I captured the Variant,” Loki bragged, his tone smug, “But these fools arrested me in the process of turning her into the proper authorities.”

Mobius caught the indignation in Loki’s voice at the second part and tried not to let it affect him. He was fooled before and he would not be fooled again. 

“Reset her, bring this one back to headquarters,” Mobius said, still ignoring Loki, “Someone’s going to have to question him to complete the paperwork.”

Then Mobius retreated with the team completing the Variant reset, leaving a stammering Loki behind him.

“Mobius, where are you going?” Loki asked, “Mobius?”

Mobius ignored him. 

After they successfully solved the Lady Loki Variant problem, Mobius returned to headquarters. He wasn’t told exactly where they had taken Loki, but he had a hunch, and until recently his hunches usually proved correct. 

He found Loki in the same room he had shown Loki his role on the timeline when they first met. There Loki was heavily guarded and they had added a gag to his collection of restraints since Mobius saw him last. 

“You can all go,” Mobius said, waving the hunters away, “I can handle him.”

Mobius shook the control to Loki’s collar in his hand and with minimal muttering, the Hunters filed out. 

Mobius sat in a chair across the table from Loki and just looked at him. He watched as Loki squirmed and tried to speak. He watched the frustrating boil over on Loki’s face and felt guilty for watching him suffer. He thought he’d enjoy catching Loki out, but he was wrong. The image in front of him made him sick. 

Mobius reached across the table and gently removed the gag from Loki’s mouth. He’d barely sprung the release when Loki began talking rapidly.

“Mobius, you have to understand,” Loki’s fast tongue clipped, “I had to go. I needed to catch the Variant. That was the plan, was it not? Use a Loki to catch a Loki.”

Mobius bit the inside of his lip, pouting them slightly as he did so, but he kept quiet. 

“I know what you must be thinking, but technically I didn’t stab you in the back,” Loki said, attempting a joke. 

Mobius remained silent and to his surprise he found it was making Loki look, well, nervous. 

“You don’t think I left you on purpose?” Loki asked, “Why would I do that?”

Loki’s face looked so open, so vulnerable in its proposed sincerity, Mobius was almost moved. He promised to himself he wasn’t buying the trickster’s words, but unconsciously he stood and removed the rest of Loki’s restraints except the collar around his neck. 

“Thank you,” Loki said, his voice soft with emotion and Mobius' heart clenched. Being in close proximity with him again had Mobius on edge, so aware of his own body and Loki’s as well. 

“What happened when you went through the door?” Mobius asked in a professional tone. 

“I heard you calling,” Loki said, standing to stroll the room. 

“I’m aware,” Mobius sighed, “You looked right at me.”

“Well I thought that meant you understood,” Loki said, his arms open wide, head cocked to the side. 

“Understood what? That you’re a traitor? You betrayed me,” Mobius said. He shook his head, this wasn’t the time to air his personal issues, he shouldn’t have fallen in love with a Variant, especially a Loki whose betrayal surely was inevitable. “I’m here to assess and record what happened after you walked out,” he said, pushing forward with his assignment. 

“I didn’t betray you, I swear. Besides, isn’t paperwork and cleanup a bit beneath your pay grade? There’s got to be more to you being here than just the job,” Loki suggested with a raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t trust you with anyone else,” Mobius admitted plainly. He didn’t trust himself with Loki either, but that wasn’t the point. 

“I didn’t leave you, Mobius,” Loki said, sitting back down. He reached his hands across the table to where Mobius’ were resting. 

Mobius ripped his hands out of the way and stood himself, taking up Loki’s pacing position. 

“I trusted you to see this through,” Mobius said, barely containing the tremble in his voice. 

“But that’s just it!” Loki said, following Mobius and completely disregarding his personal space, “I did! I caught the Variant.”

Mobius studied his face, “You were captured with the Variant.”

“No!” Loki was frustrated now, his hands in his hair, “Those imbeciles showed up after I had her in custody because I was trying to call you.”

Mobius was blinking very quickly now, “But you left me, I saw you look at me and deliberately choose to abandon the team and the mission. Loki, I am trying to get to the truth here and I know that’s a foreign concept-“

Mobius was cut off mid-sentence when Loki crashed his lips against his, kissing him and shutting him up in one fell swoop. The action short-circuited Mobius' brain and he stood frozen, his lips responding on instinct alone. 

Loki tasted like honey and peppermint, sweet and sharp and a little bitter, but absolutely perfect. Mobius raised a hand to Loki’s throat and in horror remembered he was still wearing his collar. 

Mobius shoved Loki away abruptly. It wasn’t easy to shove a god, but the advantage of surprise  granted him the space he needed. 

“You really think you can play me,” Mobius said with a sad chuckle. He had to drop this idiotic fantasy - Loki could never love him the way that Mobius loved him. 

“Play you? I’m trying to kiss you,” Loki said, his tone sharp. 

“You’re trying to get me to take off that collar,” Mobius said with a limp gesture of his hand. 

Loki’s fingers brushed across the collar almost like he forgot he was wearing it. 

“So take it off and see how I act then,” Loki suggested. 

Mobius actually laughed, “How thick do you think I am? I know you don’t respect me, but give me a little credit.”

“Of course I respect you, I care for you,” Loki sighed, “You’ve caught me many times before, I have no magic, and your team already confiscated my daggers, what have you got to lose?”

Loki watched Mobius with his head tilted, as Mobius squinted at him intently. 

Mobius released Loki’s collar with a press of the button on the controller. Loki tossed it aside casually and he made no effort to run. Instead he moved closer to Mobius, crowding his space. Mobius held his breath as Loki inspected him intently, his crystal blue eyes tracing across Mobius’ face. 

Mobius’ breath hitched as Loki kissed him again, slower this time, deeper. He felt his skin catch fire as Loki traced his thumb across his check as his tongue swept across his lower lip. Then Mobius’ resolve shattered. 

Mobius yanked on Loki’s tie, wrapping it around his fist as his other hand wrapped around Loki’s waist. Mobius could feel the smile on Loki’s lips through the kiss and he couldn’t help but smile back. Loki’s hands were soft and cool and Mobius relished in the feel of them, still not entirely sure if he believed his good fortune, but too overwhelmed to care. 

Suddenly the door to the room opened and Casey walked in, interrupting the kiss. Mobius flushed and jumped back in surprise, his hand still wrapped in Loki’s tie.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to - wait, what’s happening?” Casey said, obviously flustered. 

“What can I help you with?” Mobius asked. 

“There’s a new variant we need your help with,” Casey said, “After you reset this variant, there’s a file at your desk.”

Mobius turned to Loki and held his hand, “He’s not a variant, he’s a member of the TVA.”

Loki’s face lit up as Casey left with a shrug. 

Mobius turned to Loki, and fixed his tie and collar as Loki smiled at him. 

“I swear I wasn’t leaving you, I’d never do that to someone I love,” Loki said sincerely, and Mobius believed him so he kissed him, not for the first time, and certainly not for the last. 

[badwithten]

〉yuta x fem!reader

〉word count 1.1k

〉warnings vaping, drinking

〉from my 500 follower event

〉for @fruityutas​ ok so i was excited to write this but then actually writing it i dont think i did a great job? the concept is better than the drabble tbh. i still would love to hear what you think of it though + im super excited to read yours if you’re still going to do a rockstar!yuta au

The wolf whistle thrown in your direction immediately made you tense up, with cautious eyes you turned to see who it was from. But right away you relaxed, releasing the tension as you were meet with the smile of your boyfriend.

“Don’t do that” You gave him a light punch in his shoulder, smiling regardless as he tugged you in for a hug. “You scared me”

“Sorry baby” He still holds onto you as you lean back, tugging on his arms to pull him forward. “I didn’t mean to” A soft kiss is placed on your nose before he gives you a light kiss on your lips, leaving you following him for more but he pulls away. Still holding onto one of your hands as he leads you out of campus and into town.

Your warm hands are a harsh contrast compared to his cold rings, in fact, your whole demeanour is the opposite of his. His bleached and shaved hair, ripped clothing, pierced and inked body. It was a tough look, one that often got him in trouble with his family or even got him a beating or two. Not that he didn’t love the attention. But you hated cleaning up his bloody lips and kissing his bruises.

But that didn’t change your love for him. He was soft to you, treating you like you were glass. People had warned against him, but after hearing his band play at a local bar, you were intrigued. Never once had he hurt you, broken your heart or made you cry. He was good to you.

You stayed by his side as you made your way to the familiar building of Taeils apartment. It wasn’t long till said member was opening the gates for you two to enter. Greeting you with his lovely smile and scream laugh as he always did.

“You made your boyfriend late again” He joked as he patted both of your shoulders but you could tell there was some realness behind it.

“I guess I’m more important than ‘Superhuman’ then, aren’t I?” You could see the pain through his smile as he opened the door into his apartment for you. Once again you were bombarded with smiles while you felt Yuta leave your side.

“Yo,” Mark called from the couch, a cloud of smoke blocking him from your sight.

“Mark” You smiled and joined him, the end of his guitar leaning over your lap. He flapped the vape away to give you a proper hello and you both discussed the latest lecture of your psyche class.

“Boring” But it didn’t last long as Johnny came and sat on the coffee table, across from the two of you. “Do you guys talk about anything else?”

“Damn someones a salty college drop out” Yuta was quick to defend you, nudging in between you and Mark despite the little room left on the couch. His cup was filled with some sort of vile liquid that you didn’t want to question but he downed it quickly. “Where is Sicheng anyway? I can’t believe I wasn’t the last to arrive”

“I know it’s a miracle. But if Sicheng doesn’t hurry up, I’m going to lose my mind. I cannot have Mark and Johnny in here any longer” Taeil was the last to join you four, taking his seat on a nearby beanbag.

“Hey, what is that supposed to me?” Johnny and Mark spoke almost in unison. It wasn’t long until the bickering started and reminded you of how special these boys are to you. It was never quiet around them, either one of their mouths was running off or the loud noises of their instruments creating music. But it was nice, you were able to sit comfortably in silence next to Yuta, playing with his picked fingers.

The conversation is interrupted as a flushed Sicheng finally busts into the cramped apartment, out of breath and hair a mess. He struggles to hold papers and bags in his hand as he walks in and dumps them on the nearest surface. He’s quick to get a telling off from Taeil, which you don’t know if he deserves considering the state of the rest of his apartment. But Sicheng quickly brings the attention back to something more important.

“But guys! It arrived today, he finished it, on time surprisingly ”

“I’m glad something was on time today” Yuta groans as he stands up to look at whatever Sicheng is talking about. You join, still attached by the hand. You can’t tell what it is, a large disk wrapped in newspaper, but the boys seem excited.

“Let’s put it on before we start” Johnny suggests as you all make it down the hall into the room Taeil had dedicated for practice. A large set up of speakers, instruments and microphones decorated the room. A mess really, but it all felt correct and in place. You were quick to ditch Yuta and sit on the old Lazyboy in the corner. Watching as they all crowded around the drum kit. Sicheng had flipped it over and began unscrewing but your view was disrupted by Mark and his guitar still in hand. It wasn’t until they all stepped back and placed the drums in place that you saw what it was.

A new drum front, instead of the worn-down white of the previous one, had the bands logo and name printed on it. ‘Superhuman’, the paint dripping down, messy scribbles surrounding. But it was perfect. It represented them. This felt like the stepping stone to something bigger for them and you couldn’t help but be happy for them. Be happy for Yuta.

With new energy in their step, they all set up their equipment, Sicheng making himself comfortable behind the drums, Mark and Johnny tunning their guitar, Yuta plugging in his bass and Taeil setting up the microphone.

Their music shook the room, you were sure Taeil’s neighbours must have hated him. But his voice was heavenly, soft contrasts compared to their rough music. You couldn’t help but keep your eyes focused on Yuta. His beanie had been lost somewhere, hair sticking to his sweaty forward, tongue pushed out in concentration as he danced in place, swinging his body with his bass. You could feel their music in your chest, rocking your entire body with the message of it all. You knew one day they were going to blow up. Move out and stop recording songs in their friend’s apartment and instead, a proper studio. Perform at sold-out shows and not just local bars. And you were happy to know that you would still be by Yutas side at the end of it all.

[smallmediumproblems]

My Soul to Keep

“You know you shouldn’t stay,” said Jon. Callum Brody slouched resolutely before him in the middle of Night Street. His arms were wrapped around his middle, and his face was dominated by a truly world-class pout. Jon knelt down in spite of his protesting knees. “The Dark will have to chase something. As soon as we leave, you’re all it has left.”

“Don’t think so,” said Callum. His eyes fixed on a nearby stub of grass that had grown all the way up through the concrete only to wither in the darkness. “You’ve been out there, yeah? Past the end of the street? There’s still people, right? I can use them.”

“There are,” said Jon. “Some might even consider it a welcome distraction.”

“Long as it’s not me, that’s fine,” Callum shrugged. “Maybe fun, even. This place was getting boring.”

Jon studied him for a long moment. He’d expected him to be angry when they started their work. He had been fully prepared to fend off a supernatural tantrum. Instead, Callum had gone immediately to sulking. Jon could Know why, of course, if he really wanted to.

But it never hurt to ask, first.

“Do you think you’ll be alright?”

Callum finally met his gaze. He finally looked upset, and frightened and hurt, and all of the other things that he’d managed not to be in front of the other children. “Are you stupid? No. Nothing’s alright. Not anymore.”

“I know that,” Jon said softly. “I just… You shouldn’t have to do this alone. If there’s any way we can help, I-”

“Get out.”

Jon made no move to get up.

“I said get out, we’re done here,” Callum repeated, louder, as if perhaps Jon hadn’t heard. “I’m not coming with you. You want to help, let me have this. It’s all I’ve got.”

“Alright.” Jon stood slowly. “Alright. I wish I could promise that we were coming back,” he said.

Callum’s expression softened. It occurred to Jon that he probably hadn’t considered his unlikely guests being in danger; either because he didn’t care, or because he tried not to think of the world outside of his domain.

“Thanks,” said Callum. To Jon’s surprise, it sounded like he meant it. “Um. Don’t die, I guess. Or, whatever happens to people now.”

Jon laughed slightly. “You too. I guess.”

They both turned on their heels and paced back to their respective parties. Callum went into the darkness, unflinching at the hungry shadows that followed him. Jon retreated into the light.

“Did he change his mind?” asked Martin. He took a second to shift the weight of the bodies in his arms. Marnie had gone sleepily boneless in the soft expanse of his jumper, but Gavin still clung to his shoulder like an especially squirmy bandolier.

“No,” said Jon. He glanced down in surprise as little Jeremy took his hand, but didn’t pull away. “No, this… It’s best for all of them, him included. He understood that.”

“D’you think he wanted to come?” Martin asked.

“I don’t know,” said Jon, “I don’t think he would have admitted it. I certainly wasn’t about to make him tell me.”

Martin nodded, running a hand over Gavin’s back idly. “Kay. So, what now?”

“Now, we go back,” said Jon, loud enough so that some of the crowd around them could hear. “Back to the Lonely. I can get us there faster, now that we’ve already been. If that makes sense?”

“Nope!” Martin said brightly. “Never does. I’m dead certain you’re just making this stuff up half the time. But if it works, does it reeeeally matter?”

“I suppose not,” said Jon.

“What’s the Lonely?” asked a small voice from his side. He looked down to see Katya keeping pace with Jeremy, still eyeing Jon suspiciously. She wasn’t in the business of trusting strange adults.

“It’s like a big, awful haunted house,” Martin explained. “But instead of fun and cool, it’s sad and the worst. There’s still fog, though, so it’s got that in common.”

“Is my mum there?” asked Kayla.

“Yes,” Jon assured her, “In fact, I think… both of them, yes. That’s why we’re going. There are a lot of mums there, and I expect they’re missing you very badly right now.”

The first thing they’d learned about Night Street was that none of the parents were real. Their fear was far too valuable to let them waste away here until their children were of age.  Instead, the houses were populated with crude fabrications, stitched together from flickering television light and the muffled vibrations of shouting behind closed doors. They just needed to be hostile and sharp enough to drive “their” children away, into the arms of the Dark. Nothing more complicated or less horrible than that.

Accordingly, that was the first thing they’d explained to Michelle when they finally caught her. She was not easy to catch. She was faster than should have been possible, and ran from what she thought were two new spectors sent to torment her. Her downfall was that she preferred to hide. Not even the Dark could keep her from the Archivist’s sight. Unlike the shadows that prowled her house, Jon and Martin had every intention of actually catching her, not just letting her run and find a new place to simmer in her fear. When she darted to avoid Martin, she was caught up in the tangle of Jon’s arms, and the constant, quiet stream of words that spilled from him the moment he held her.

It’s alright. This is safe. They won’t get you. They can’t hurt you with me here.

Michelle screamed and cried and begged to be let go, but with each word, she knew more closely that he wasn’t lying.

It’s okay. You don’t have to be scared. We won’t hurt you, and neither will anything else, I won’t let them.

Michelle cried more softly, and pleaded for him not to leave.

I’m right here. You’re alright.

We’re not leaving without you.

Michelle knew that they wouldn’t.

She asked if they could help wake her father. Every now and then, she was able to dart across the house into his bedroom while the monsters weren’t looking, but he never gave her more than a mumble of annoyance for her efforts. Jon told her that no, that wasn’t her father at all- he could even show her the empty bed, the supposed bulge under the covers just a trick of the light, the muttering a creak of the floorboards. Her father was somewhere else entirely. (Jon had to look first, because he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to tell her what he found). He was in the Lonely. He was there because he was looking for her.

This discovery brought a new layer into their plan. In some ways, it actually made things simpler. The proof of concept was the important bit - if they could rescue one child, it was theoretically possible for them to rescue the rest, that was just maths and a matter of time, so very much time - but they had always gotten stuck on what to do with them. They couldn't take them all the way to the tower. The other Fear domains were arguably much more dangerous. Jon could keep a watchful eye on them all, but protecting them was another matter. Using the children to rescue their parents didn’t just free more people. It would provide shepherds who were uniquely willing and able to care for their newly acquired flock. Some children had parents in other domains. Some didn’t have parents left to find at all. But the overwhelming majority were in the Lonely, and it was such a number that all of them combined could hang on to the lost children until a more permanent solution was found.

So they told Michelle that they would get her to her parents.

Then, they told Sam.

And Chris.

And Briana.

And they did not stop until there was no one left to tell.

“I miss my mum,” said Ron, who was trailing close behind Martin. He yawned over an envious look up at Marnie. “When can I have a turn?”

“Ten minutes,” Martin said sternly, “That’s what we negotiated. Except that time doesn’t work, so, um, whenever Mr. Sims says so.”

“Excu- don’t bring me into this,” said Jon. “I will not be made into a hug trafficker.”

“I thought you were Mr. Sims,” Ron said faintly to Martin. Martin went very red, and Jon arched an eyebrow.

“Is that so?” asked Jon.

“Hmm,” Martin made an interested noise, like Ron had just shared a new and exciting fact about an obscure topic. What he did not do was offer any correction to Ron’s statement. Jon raised the other eyebrow to match.

“I wonder where you got that idea?” Jon pressed.

“Julia said that Mark said that you two kissed,” said Ron.

“Gross,” Jeremy commented. “Kisses are gross.”

“It wasn’t a gross kiss, it was nice,” Ron argued. “Like on the cheek, and then the other person smiles a lot.”

“All kisses are gross,” Jeremy repeated adamantly.

“Here, I’ll show you-”

“Ah-ah-ah, absolutely no kissing without permission,” Martin yelped. “Here. Jon?”

“I mean, as long as it’s not gross,” said Jon, struggling very hard to keep a straight face. Martin rolled his eyes.

He kissed Jon on the cheek.

Jon smiled quite a lot.

[outerbankswriting]

Innocent (JJ x Reader)

Description: The reader and JJ get high together and the sexual tension is too much... (again.. I suck at the descriptions just read the request instead)

Request: can you maybe make a concept where the reader and jj are high from smoking. sexual tension clearly being settled and the reader is like an innocent girl and jj wants to take that away from her. so jj starts to tease and kiss her neck and the reader starts to moan and get wet

warnings: drugs

INNOCENT

You were never like this, but you didn’t regret it a bit.

When you gave in to Kiara’s endless petitions for you to meet her Pogue friends, you were clearly not expecting to meet the one guy who would change your life completely.

JJ Maybank.

Ever since you and JJ became close friends, you’d forgotten about your comfort zone.

You were constantly joining him and the rest for their crazy Pogue adventures, going to parties outside of Figure Eight, getting wasted as hell and not sleeping at home for a whole week (of course you had to lie to your parents about it and say you were staying with Kie when in reality you stayed at John B’s place with the rest).

After all, you were a Kook and the Pogue lifestyle was all new to you, but JJ never failed to make you feel as if you’ve been a Pogue your entire life.

“Drink this.” A red-eyed JJ insisted as he handed you a red cup.

“What is this?” You furrowed your brows at the sight of the drink.

“Just trust me,”

“Are you sure it’s not poison?” You joked.

“You’re gonna have to find for yourself babe.” He winked at you.

You smelled the liquid inside the cup and gagged. The strong smell of a mixture of alcohol making your eyes water.

“JJ what the hell? What’s in this?”

“Don’t be so innocent,” he laughed at your gagging, “have a little fun with me.”

That had been the first time you’d experienced what having a blackout felt like. 

Of course JJ was there to hold your hair back as you emptied your stomach and he was also outside Kie’s place first thing in the morning with your favourite chocolate and some aspirin to “cure your hangover”, ignoring the scoldings of Kiara for making you get so drunk at last night’s party.

Something about your lack of experience in life made JJ so drawn towards you. He made it his duty to help you “live your best life” and he stood by his word.

JJ never pressured you to do anything you didn’t want to do though, in fact you were the one constantly wanting to hang out with him to forget your boring Kook life. You were tired of having to be the proper girl, always having to look your best and not mess up and JJ was your escape from all of that.

You would also be lying to yourself if you said you didn’t find him attractive. It started as a tiny crush when you laid eyes on him for the first time which later developed into something more than a crush. Your feelings for him grew the more you kept hanging out with him. There was just something about his carefree attitude that infatuated you.

Your friendship with JJ was unusual though, the two of you cared about each other a lot but there was constant flirting involved and you liked the feeling of it.

You liked having your heart speed up whenever you looked at each other that way.

You liked your insides fluttering whenever the two of you accidentally touched.

You liked feeling his toned arms around you whenever the two of you got too drunk and decided to dance.

And he knew you liked it.

You were hanging with the Pogues at John B’s place after a long and tiring day at the beach. You were feeling confident with yourself with your tanned and exfoliated skin from the sand, wearing your favourite orange bikini and your hair loose and surprisingly soft after some hair mask Kie made you wear.

John B was playing some music while Pope and JJ were mixing alcohol and sodas making some weird alcoholic mixture.

“Don’t you dare drink more than 3 cups of your weird mix tonight.” Kie warned Pope who was already gulping down his first drink.

“Relax Kie,” JJ said as he poured you a drink, “and it’s not a weird mix, it’s our elixir of life.”

“Damn right,” John B added and grabbed some of the way too red mix.

“I think your elixir of life will actually make you face death instead.” You said as you remembered that one night you had too much of that mix and spent the whole night at the bathroom.

“Your body just needs to get used to it, that’s all.” JJ winked at you and sat next to you on the sofa.

“I’m not planning on having a blackout tonight, thank you.” You smiled innocently at JJ as you denied the drink he was handing to you.

“So you’re not drinking tonight?” He raised his eyebrow at you before dramatically pouting.

“I’m not really feeling it.” You pouted back.

“Hmm,” he jokingly scratched his chin, “how about some weed?”

“Only if you join me.” You grinned at him, his eyes instantly lighting up.

“I could never turn down such an offer.” He smirked and turned his head towards John B’s backyard.

The two of you went outside and walked a little further from John B’s place so you could be out of sight from the rest. Once you found the perfect spot where no one would bother you, you both sat down on the grass, JJ rapidly taking out the joints and lighting them up while you laid down completely to stare at the stars.

“Hey, hey,” JJ exclaimed, “the only stars you need in your life are right here.”

He handed you a joint and you took a long drag, feeling the hot sensation inside your body.

After the two of you went over your first round, you watched carefully as JJ placed another joint in his mouth to light it up, admiring how hot he looked with the weak flame enhancing his strong jawline and blue eyes.

“So,” he exhaled, his hand slightly touching yours but your heightened sensations making your body shake on his touch, “tell me something.”

“What do you want to know?” You replied as you took another drag.

“What are you into?” He lazily grinned.

“As in,” you paused before grinning back at him, “do I like choking?”

JJ choked on his joint for a few seconds before bursting out laughing, making you follow his actions and laugh with him.

“I was not expecting that,” he said and raised an eyebrow at you, “but do you?”

You felt your insides begin to tingle and a wave of excitement and confidence taking over your body.

“I don’t know,” you intentionally bit your bottom lip, “maybe I do.”

JJ’s eyes widened for a moment before his lips slowly curved into a smile.

“Wouldn’t expect that from a girl like you.”

“A girl like me? What’s that supposed to mean?” You moved a little closer to him.

“You know,” he bit his lip now, “all innocent and shit.”

“I’m not that innocent, you know?” You whispered, smirking at him.

“Hard to believe.” His voice was low and raspy and your hormones were very aware of that.

You raised your eyebrows at him and your outburst of confidence (thanks to the cannabis), made you place your leg over his as you pretended to be unbothered by the tension building up.

JJ’s body shifted closer to yours as he noticed how dangerously close your leg was to his friend down there and you couldn’t help but bite the inside of your cheeks to stop the grin that was trying to escape from your lips.

“Good thing I have nothing to prove to you.” You let the grin out and slightly pressed your leg against his growing bulge.

“I beg to differ,” he whispered as he moved even closer to you, your body practically sitting on his lap.

“Mhm I see,”

You intentionally moved your hair behind your shoulders, exposing your neck and collarbones to him.

“Such a pretty neck,” he softly traced his finger down your neck to your collarbones, sending shivers down your spine, “does it really like to be choked?”

Your heart began to beat faster at his words.

“You’ll have to find out for yourself.” You smirked without leaving his eyes.

You watched as he licked his lips and took a last drag of his joint before putting it out.

“I was planning to.”

You took a deep breath as his soft hair brushed against your skin and the warmth of his mouth covered your neck, leaving wet kisses all over it.

You turned your body towards him to give him more exposure to your neck, wrapping your legs around his hips and pushing your body towards his, feeling his bulge press against you.

He moved his lips from the side of your neck to your collarbones, you felt him gently suck your skin and you immediately knew it was going to leave a mark, but you didn’t mind so you pressed his head closer to your neck.

JJ noticed your desperate moves and moved his lips to your jawline, leaving small and wet kisses all over its outline making a moan come out of your mouth which immediately made his arms grab your hips.

“You like it,” he whispered against your neck and you couldn’t help but grab his face and stare deep into his eyes.

JJ didn’t take long to realise what you wanted and wasted no time to press his lips against yours, slowly but passionately kissing you before your tongues fought for dominance intensifying the kiss.

You moaned against his lips and his hand moved from your hip to the bottom of your bikini, softly tracing over the hem of it, making you breathe harder.

“Let’s go somewhere else,” he whispered against your lips, leaving you breathless and only being able to nod at his command.

It surely was going to be a long night.

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

A/N: I LOVED WRITING THIS... sorry for leaving you like this ok I’m not sure if you guys want me to write smut and if you do lemme know so there can be maybe a second part??? 

[ultimatetrashgoblin]

My thoughts on Immortal Heart Society

DISCLAIMER: These are my OPINIONS. I do not claim any of this as fact, you are allowed to disagree with me. (Spoilers for Cassius and Alanna season 1)

First impressions for this series could have been better. There are plenty of problems with this series so far that I will address, but for now, let’s focus on the positives.

The writing is beautiful. As an avid reader and writer, one of my biggest pet peeves is lazy and unimaginative writing. IHS had some incredibly written lines, and I was immediately hooked even if I hated the love interests.

(I don’t have many screenshots but here are a few I did take)

The plot is interesting. While the pacing is a bit off at times, I found the concept of a corrupt secret society intriguing, and the mysteries surrounding the father was enough to get me invested.

The Inner Circle is (mostly) likable. I’m a sucker for found family, and my favorite series on this app (EAA, QoT, GIL, etc.) will usually have plenty of group banter, and the Inner Circle is no exception. One of my favorite scenes in Alanna’s route was in Richard’s office when everyone realized Alanna and FMC were exes.

Kiran. No further explanation. Lovestruck let me date her please.

For the most part, IHS seems like a promising series. But of course, when you have plenty of amazing side characters who would make wonderful LIs, you decide to premiere your series with the arrogant asshole and the compulsive liar.

Cassius Tarkhan

I should probably begin by saying I’m usually not a fan of the “rude, snarky, arrogant” LIs and read Cassius’s route solely because I was excited for the new series. So please take what you’re about to read with a grain of salt, since I am probably extremely biased against him.

This is a direct quote from me reading Cassius’s first few episodes: “I want to punch this man in his stupid fucking face.” I said this out loud, which should give you an indication of what’s to come.

As far as first meetings go, Cassius was probably one of the worst. At first it was all “fun banter oh look at the chemistry” until he sees the invitation and becomes the most insufferable pricks I have ever seen. (I’m sorry, but was that supposed to be romantic?! If I were in FMC’s position, I would be terrified!)

Most of the season went by with Cassius being infuriating and not telling FMC anything, and me questioning if I was actually supposed to like the guy I was supposed to be romancing. The villain dude (I don’t care enough about him to try to remember his name) was boring and creepy. I also had a strong desire to punch him in the face, but I’ll settle for him turning to stone.

It wasn’t until the season finale that I actually started to like Cassius. He started to open up more to FMC, he showed vulnerability, and was generally more tolerable. Hopefully we’ll be able to see more of this Cassius in later seasons, because I believe that it might save his route and maybe I won’t want to punch him in the face as badly.

As for the ending, I’ve read the final episode multiple times and I’m still not exactly sure what happened in that final scene. Cassius tells FMC that he won’t let her meet with the Society on her own and then... is he about to kiss her? This is a genuine question I’m asking I honestly couldn’t tell. It seemed like he was going to but it was very unclear to me.

If I was going to rate this season as a whole, I’d give it a 3 out of 10. Hope to see better next season, because he does have the potential to be better, but that wasn’t shown until the end of the season.

Alanna McKenna

At first, I liked Alanna’s route. I was excited about have an LI who was an ex, she was attractive (except for that weird smirk expression what was that???), she was funny, and I’ve already talked about how much I love the writing.

Then the lying started. I’ve had the misfortune of dealing with my family, many of which are narcissistic pathological liars, so I consider myself pretty decent at figuring out patterns in their behavior. And Alanna fits them to a T.

Please note that I am in no way educated on this topic and do not have the authority to state anything as fact. I am making observations based on personal experience dealing with people like this, and I encourage you to view Alanna’s behavior for yourself and come up with your own conclusions.

My first red flag was the emotional manipulation. Near the beginning, this was in the form of flattery. If FMC started asking questions, Alanna would flirt with her, which would cause FMC to either become flustered or flirt back, both outcomes momentarily distracting her from the original topic.

To FMC’s credit, she does notice when Alanna starts deflecting (she mentions recognizing certain behaviors from when they were together), but she backs down. As someone who hates confrontation, I can understand FMC’s reasoning for this. I find trying to communicate certain issues with these people exhausting. It tends to feel like speaking to a broken record, and can become emotionally draining. However, this is the exact outcome that these people want. They hate being called out on their lies, and when pushed further (in my experience), they tend to result to guilt tripping.

The flirting I could ignore. When I first read it, I thought that was just her personality (which is partially true). But then FMC stood her ground more, and Alanna fell apart. She started crying, talking about how much pressure she was under, making up excuses (a prime example of this was her saying that she thought ghosting FMC would make it easier, which I’ll touch on later), and causing FMC to doubt her (valid) reasons for being angry with Alanna.

I feel like it’s also necessary to talk about Alanna interacting with the other society members. FMC was noticeably uncomfortable with how genuine Alanna seemed to be, and I understand the feeling of betrayal of thinking you know a person, only to see them act like a complete stranger at the drop of a hat. The mental turmoil of wondering which version of this person is the real them, and whether your entire relationship was all a lie.

That part was way longer than I expected, so let’s talk about the “villain”. I’m glad that Arabella isn’t the big bad even if she tried to kill FMC, because she seems like such a genuine person and I’m tired of season WOC be villainized in visual novels (I’m not naming names but you know what apps I’m talking about Choices). I hope that FMC and Alanna will be able to help her and her sister, and that Arabella will get a redemption arc in the future and maybe a route.

The cliffhanger was actually sort of unexpected. FMC finally called Alanna out on her bs (GOOD👏FOR👏HER👏) and tried to leave the Society. Lowkey kind of scared to see how they follow this up in season 2, because it seems like they’re ready to murder FMC.

If we ignore the LIs themselves, I did prefer Alanna’s route to Cassius’s. I feel like we got to see more of the other characters, and I thought the pacing was better. But I don’t like either of them. As I’ve said Cassius seems like he’s improving, but Alanna? Nope. I’m staying for the plot and Arabella, but I’m more than willing to drop her route if this pattern continues (especially if I decide it’s too triggering for me, my mental health is more important).

Rating: 2/10

Final thoughts

As I stated previously, while IHS’s initial premiere wasn’t the best, I believe this series has the potential to be good. My main issues are with the pacing, and above all, the LIs (which isn’t good for a visual novel story centered around romancing the LIs).

Overall rating: 3/10

This is my first time doing something like this so any feedback would be very appreciated. Feel free to offer any criticisms, and let me know if I should make a series out of this! (This did take me a while so if I decide to continue doing this it might not be posted until a day or two later)

[aserethstorm]

The Galaxies inside jars🌌✔️

Levihan +104th Royalty Au Part 2

[Also available on AO3!]

______________________

Hange meets an old foe, the same one storming the depths of her dreams ever since.

Lucky for her, this time she isn’t alone.

———————————

There’s a giant wall of fire in the distance...

Rapidly rushing closer...

The air around her is burning, scorching her lungs every time she breathes.

Panic is evident. It’s present in the screams behind her.

She’s scared too, terrified...but she’s also never felt so sure in her life.

If only...

“Hey, four eyes.”

Hange gasps, body shaking as she pulls up from her rest. Horrified eyes glaring at the pale wall in front of her, the white paint illuminated by the moon.

This is not a port , she utters the words out loud. Engraving them deep into her soul. Admitting her consciousness to the reality in front of her.

It’s doesn’t ease the tension though, as trembling hands grip the covers beside them, the same ones that have now slid down to her waist.

“This...It’s always....”

Hange doesn’t continue, favoring the action of rubbing her left eye instead. She feels the damp wetness that pooled with it. Sniffing she puts her hand down, turning over to glance at her side.

She sees Levi. His chest to the bed exposing his firm back, heaving like the tides in the sea, their shared coverture  concealing his lower torso and his well-defined arms swaddled the pillow where his tranquil face, nestled in between.

Hange smiles, thinking how tired he must be to be sleeping so peacefully and unperturbed in this moment.

The Royal Court must have drained him , she assumes.

Moving closer she places a light kiss on the side of his brow. For some unknown reason, the pounding headaches of flashing pictures in the form of her dreams. Events that Hange is sure, that have never happened fades as soon as she feel his life. The sharp scowling features that bore the weight of an entire kingdom, body heavy and scaled by the responsibilities of his people is the same one that is healthy and safe by her side.

Just as she pulls herself off. A sharp cry erupts breaking the humble silence, soft mumbles at first growing louder and louder-

Hearing the noise. Levi lifts his head, instinct making him tilt to its direction. A low groan escapes his lips as his body pleads for him to stand. Hange quickly pushes him back down.

Drowsy with sleep Levi stares at her through blurry grey eyes half begging to be closed. “Sleep. I’ve got this.” Hange whispers. That was the only affirmation Levi needs for his head to meet the pillow once again, his body relaxing as his breathe steadied to a soft rhythm.

The night was still high as Hange pushed herself off the chaises, peeking through the curtains of their balcony. Viewing for a moment the empty night sky with only the moon at its display.

She then makes quick steps towards the cradle on the other side of the room. Reaching out to embrace the tiny bundle in front of her. The baby screaming her lungs out like their life depended on it.

“Hisu, come on now...” she pleads softly, rocking the baby side to side to calm her down. A beautiful mess of tears and blonde locks with sky blue eyes.

Ackerman genetics are truly amazing. Hange momentarily admires, her heart swelling at the image as she continues. Rocking back and forth, she glides across the smooth rug to no avail. Hange decides to resort a different tactic, pulling Historia close to her breast.

The baby pushes away her effort, wailing louder.

The Queen in amidst of panic tries to hum lullabies (where the words were barely uttered) and when that didn’t work Hange swayed her body gently to an imaginary ballroom song, that didn’t either.

It takes a whole minute of peppering before Hange decides to slip on her night robe, draping Historia in a bundle of warm silk.

“Now...Let’s get a move on shall we?” Hange grins, earning a second of curious silence from the child in her arms. Putting on her glasses she exits the room barefoot.

The floor is cold just as expected but Hange doesn’t mind just grateful for the needed distraction her 11-month-old baby provided for her on the spot.

She strides the castle’s familiar halls with determination. A plan set as her gears began to churn to distract Historia with every ornament or painting they come across. “Look here Historia.” Hange beckons, stopping in front of probably the 5th painting they’ve come across.

To the queen’s credit, the tiny princess did stop in her weeping, as if she were waiting patiently for her mother’s explanation. Hange mentally pumps her fist every time Historia does it before proceeding to thoroughly describe it to her, extending her vacant arm to trace its lines.

“This...now this one Hisu is the battle of the titans, a historic movement! Naked men and women battling for territory, all the while-actually let’s move on to the next.” They leave the premises quickly, Hange mentally slapping herself for exposing her month-old infant to the concept of nudity. When was that even there?

Dammit...if the children saw this.

Hange quickly takes note to take down that painting by daybreak. Historia seemingly wanting the opposite, extended her arms forward. Calling out to the tapestry behind them. “Gah!..”

“No Historia...your not ready for that one.” The Queen murmurs as a chubby hand slaps itself across her face, knocking the  glasses off the bridge of her nose. Halting, Hange secures her hold of Historia. Reigning the rampant infant before subduing the child in her own blankets, like a cocoon.

Holding her baby in front of her. Hange levels her gaze. Meeting the devil’s eye. Hange adjusts her glasses before saying...” mommy can only handle one naked butt at a time, sweetie.” Historia makes a face, an expression one can muster at months old. The tiny princess sticks her tongue out, ratting her mother in their own lie.

“Okay, maybe two” Hange scoffs, rolling her eyes at the annoyance and Historia for the first time since she cried, giggles. Hange’s whole face lights up at the sound, squealing she brings her daughter close to her lips. Blowing the infant's cheek making her elicit more of the sweet noise.

“Your majesty!” A voice invades, interrupting the short-lived moment as both mother and daughter simultaneously turn their heads to the stranger.

Flinching at the newfound attention the person quickly steps forward. Positioning themselves where the dim lights of the corridor could expose their features. “My apologies your majesty, I was not expecting to see out at this hour.” Her voice trembles and Hange is waft with a sense of familiarity, now pinpointing the attendant in front of her.

“It’s alright, your name’s Nifa right?” Hange waves as she pulls Historia close to her chest. Nifa looks up nodding, “Yes, I was just assisting Mrs. Jaeger with the children your majesty.” Hange nods and the young woman continues. “I hope you don’t mind your grace but they insisted on sleeping together.”

“The kids have just slept?”

“Oh no, your majesty! They slept at their usual hour, we just stayed behind to clean up.” Nifa clarifies, waving her hands frantically at the monarch. Hange smiles, the infant in her arms watching her carefully. “Thank you for your hard work today Nifa, please get some much-needed rest” she beams. Nifa smiles, relieved at the situation she bows before bidding Hange a good night.

Nifa was far down the hall when Hange hears the soft yawn. Her eyes widening as she looks down to the little blonde in her arms. “All that crying must have tired you out eh? Don’t worry I know a place where we can go”. Historia stares, her big blue eyes wide with fascination.

The handle clicks and Hange strides forward, entering the large fray. She easily spots the mess of bodies in one of the giant beds. With a twist of limbs and a handful of snores, Hange senses them all as she pushes away strays of hair before bending down to give each one a peck on the head. She places Historia somewhere else as she works her way in untangling the mess. A tedious process as she uncapped legs and unchained arms from one another.

Once satisfied with her work she carries Historia, bringing them both onto the pile. The baby at first was confused at the sight, noising her frustration.

Only once seeing Connie’s hand she awed, reaching out to hold it. Hange grins, spooning them all whilst protecting Historia from any of the kids' sudden movements.

Peace comes naturally to the queen as their noise lull her back to rest. The pesky nightmares locked away in the darkness of her mind for now. This is nice.  She sighs, reflectively pulling them closer, embracing a dreamless slumber.

The sun peeks through the mountains lining the distance, bringing with it a light purple and yellow. Blinking Jean pulls up, the young boy yawns stretching his arms uncomfortably over his head. His early risings have been a habit born out of instinct. He pulls off the blanket, throwing it over Sasha who was beside him. Scratching his back he looks around, shrinking when he meets a pair of gunmetal irises staring right back.

Hange is the next to follow. Bringing herself up she lazily wipes off the little remnants of drool before meeting Jean's gaze, who was situated on the other end of the bed.

The boy cocks a confused brow “Mom?!” He mumbles, turning back quickly to something in between them. Hange follows his gaze, eyes slightly widening at the saturated figure seated on the large chair.

Levi sighs, resuming a straighter sitting position. His nightwear hanging loosely on his figure. Hair half disheveled as strands of his black locks ruffles at the tips.

“Uhmmm...Levi?” Hange questions tilting her head curiously to the side. Levi glares at her and Hange almost immediately understands, the feeling evident when a smile spreads across her cheeks. “What are you doing here?” she chuckles, It doesn’t stop her from asking the question though and  Levi crosses his arms. Jean witnessing the display between his two parents hung his mouth lose.

“I find both my wife and youngest daughter nowhere to be found. What did you expect?” Levi answers, tone gruff and defiant he turns his head to the window unwilling to meet her gaze. Hange swears his pouting and the queen couldn’t help contain the boisterous laugh that escaped after it.

She accidentally awakes the rest of the children up. “Wait-Huh???” Connie says flailing his arms as his eyes adjust to the newfound brightness. Mikasa glares at him then at the depressing figure in front of her. Levi seeing her aggravated look glares back, the two ravens immediately locking into a heated stare.

Their gaze broke once Hange stood up from the bed, walking over to Levi and handing him Historia. The little princess still in deep slumber, unaffected by the rest of the family's commotion. His gaze softens, caressing the baby’s cheek. Hange leans over leveling her burnt honey eyes to him, she grins.

“Mission accomplished.”

[humanlighthouse]

Kitty Wu Xie AU

I have given up on making actual posts and will now subject you to conversations between me and @jockvillagersonly about AUs i will never write

humanlighthouse — Also, thinking in a much more innocent way about a dumb AU where WX gets turned into a cat by a curse or something and it's giving me warm fuzzy feelings

Can you imagine?? XG holding up a tiny brown kitten with fuzzy hair? Who swaps tiny paws at him and bites his cheek when he gets close? Kitten WX cuddled up inside of his hoodie? Taking a tiny kitty nap on his chest?? Sleeping together in sunlight??

And detransformed WX doing similar things? Responding to hair petting? Snuggling up in his neck? Napping together?

Also PZ would die from cuteness and overfeed him constantly

WX as a kitten is a WHOLEASS DISASTER though

He has broken about EVERY vase in Wushanju

Torn a hole in PZ's favorite shirt, that Human WX will later very badly but earnestly try to mend

jockvillagersonly — PZ isn’t even mad about it

Like he was gonna be

And the. He rounds the corner

And kitten WX a looks so PITIFUL

All big eyes

And PZ just melts immediately

humanlighthouse — When they have to bring him somewhere, he rides in the hood of XG's hoodie or in one of PZ's cargo pants pockets

jockvillagersonly — WX’s puppy dog eyes are ALREADY so powerful

They both have like ,,, anime sports show standoffs about who gets to carry kitten WX

humanlighthouse — XG wins, obviously, bc WX is very partial

But on the way home he sleeps on PZ's lap

jockvillagersonly — And PZ spends the whole ride home very smug about it

humanlighthouse — At some point, Kitten WX tries to eat something very bad for him that he likes as a human, and XG LEAPS OVER THE TABLE and tackles him

And Kitten WX hisses and swaps his tiny claws at him and XG just holds him in the air

Kitten WX spits it out and tries the puppy eyes on him, which work far better than expected, so XG sits back with him in the crook of his arm and feeds him stuff from his own plate instead

jockvillagersonly — XG can pretend to have at least some resistance to puppy eyes on actual WX, he can’t at all pretend when it’s kitten WX

humanlighthouse — PZ pats his shoulder when he gets up like I feel ya bro

jockvillagersonly — XG Looks a Little Shell shocked

humanlighthouse — His internal monologue is just a continuous scream high pitched enough to call dogs in Tibet

jockvillagersonly — This is only 1-2 octaves higher than usual

humanlighthouse — At some point they're on the couch and WX climbs over the back, head butts XG and licks his cheek and XG stays frozen for a good ten to twenty minutes

jockvillagersonly — WX has gotten bored, left, and XG is still just 😳

They get WX little mouse toys 🥺

He puRRS

Sometimes just from being around them like they haven’t even started petting him yet

humanlighthouse — He plays a lot with PZ

But sleeps with XG and is obviously super partial to him

XG sleeps half of what he usually does, which isn't much to begin with, just because he is overwhelmed by cuteness

WX putting tiny paws over his face when he sleeps

Or sleeping with his tiny fuzzy kitten belly up!

jockvillagersonly — How can he be expected to sleep!!!!

humanlighthouse — If XG had a phone his entire camera roll would be Kitten WX and then WX

jockvillagersonly — WX also yowls in the morning for food so they all wake up early

It’s his mental photo reel for sure

Gotta work in bastard WX

humanlighthouse — He bites visitors' ankles

When Huo Daofu is called in to help, he scratches his favorite leather boots

humanlighthouse — More on Kitty WX because I just spent the last 10mns goofily staring at my ceiling while thinking about it:

So WX gets detransformed and XG saves him from [unspecified danger] and WX grabs his hoodie and snuggles into him on reflex the way he's always wanted to do as a human and got very used to as a cat

Once the danger is over, PZ cuddles him too and WX makes a weirdass growling noise. They both pull back and WX is like I think I just tried to purr? Why can't I purr now, this sucks

PZ ruffles his hair and laughs

Later, XG is sitting on the couch and WX just. Plops himself down on him. Personal space whomst

And he realizes it a second too late and is like oh fuck woops, but XG grabs the legs thrown over his lap and says it's fine, he doesn't mind, so WX lays very very still on his chest for a minute or so before being like raaaaah fuck this and doing that thing cats do when they wiggle to get comfortable

It makes XG laugh and WX is like shut up being a human with too many bones is HARD okay nothing is comfy anymore

He naps on him :)

Later, PZ tries to wake him up with a little fishing toy and WX swaps at it before he realizes, then chases PZ around the house to get his revenge, by jumping on his back, claws out :p

He claws at PZ's legs a lot now, like they're watching tv and he makes biscuits on his thigh unconsciously

Or on his arm if they're at the table

The first night WX tries to sleep in his own bed it SUCKS, it's small but also too big and cold and he's alone and Doesn't Like It, so he grabs a pillow and goes to knock on XG's door. He says he could wake PZ up if XG doesn't want him there but he got used to it. XG just throws back the covers and invites him in. He doesn't get a single wink of sleep that night bc WX does, he curls up against him in his sleep and there is a very large, very human, very soft sleepy WX snoring against his ribs and XG's soul has left this plane of existence

The next day is very sunny and WX is laying flat on his back in the courtyard, soaking up the sun. He hears XG approach from further than he used to and calls him over. XG lays beside him and WX snuggles up to him with a hum of contentment. They nap together until PZ reappears to annoy WX with the fish toy, throwing it over him at some point. WX swaps at it then gets a little crazy and tries to claw at it, before turning to XG and throwing himself on his chest, face buried in his neck. He jokes that PZ is mean to him, and that only XG is nice. XG pets his nape. WX looks up at him with bright eyes, when PZ mentions (something like tuna) for dinner and WX's eyes widen of their own volition, which makes XG laugh. WX is like Betrayal! and does that thing where cat move a little way away and show you their back with disdain, which only make the two others laugh harder

Like 2mns later, WX returns and snuggles up to XG again. They have completely forgotten about the concept of personal space by then. PZ goes back inside to let them nap. WX is sprawled over his chest, noses at the skin of XG's neck gently, and on a whim gives it a little lick. He stops himself almost immediately and apologizes, but XG is beet red and blinking

He tries to get up but XG holds him back, telling him that it's fine again. WX says it was a reflex. XG pets his nape again, says that he knows. WX turns his best puppy eyes on him, which are still Very Effective as a human and XG melts. Maybe that's the moment XG kisses him? Very very softly?

[julies-butterflies]

“I can tell you’re upset. Do you need anything right now?” for (platonic) Alex and Reggie?

cuddle dialogue prompts  ( accepting!! )                                        ( read on ao3! )

Alex’s friends don’t come over to his house anymore.

It’s a weird change, because they used to. Bobby’s garage has always been home base, but the boys used to go over to Luke’s or Alex’s just as often; and when things at Luke’s started to get weird, tense, like a powder keg on the verge of erupting, Alex’s doors were always open. His parents were friendly, if a bit overbearing. They didn’t even seem to mind the mess his friends brought with them, or the noise, or the inevitable chaos; they just liked seeing Alex hang out with other “boys his age”. Their cabinets were always well-stocked with Girl Scout cookies, and Alex’s little sister (the aforementioned Girl Scout) was a pest, in a way he didn’t really mind. 

The guys seemed to...  like it at his house, for some reason — and yeah, that filled his chest with bubbles and made him feel like coming off the high of a drum solo. Alex liked to be liked. He liked that his place could be somewhere his friends felt safe... even if they all conscientiously toned down the casual physical affection when Alex’s parents were around.

Ever since he came out, though... things have changed.

Everything’s changed, and his friends not coming over anymore is the least of it.

The biggest change is, he’s no longer welcome at church. Pastor Hamilton made that very clear with his final sermon — a fire and brimstone rant against the ‘sins of sodomy and perversion’. Alex sat there for an hour, boiling in his own skin, as the eyes of the rest of his congregation bore into him. He couldn’t get out of the building fast enough... and after that, swore never to go back. He wouldn’t be welcome, anyways.

There was no chance of his parents missing the yearly church retreat, though — and Christina has been looking forward to a camping trip for ages, so Alex doesn’t resent how eagerly she clambered in the family station wagon. She barely waved goodbye, too busy cramming her bags in the trunk; his parents, predictably, didn’t say anything at all. They trust Alex not to burn the house down in their absence, at least, so he’ll consider that a compliment.

Alex almost wishes he was bothered. If he were — if such blatant rejection from his family actually stung, if he could stew in his own hurt feelings and resent how quickly they pulled out of the driveway — then maybe it would actually matter. (Maybe it’d mean he’s a good son after all.) 

Alex is a lot of things, though, but he’s never been good at lying to himself.

An entire weekend home alone, with no one but the dogs to keep him company? Honestly, it sounds like heaven.

By nine o’clock at night, he’s well and truly deep in this teenage rebellion thing. He’s got Sixteen Candles queued up on the DVR, has his legs up on the sofa, a bowl of popcorn in his lap, and an entire bottle of Fanta threatening to stain his mother’s precious white carpet. There’s something to be said for living on the edge; he relishes every second of doing something forbidden, fueled by the thought of his parents’ faces if they could see him. Just imagining their horror is sweet; almost as sweet as Molly Ringwald’s bubblegum-pop fashion statements. 

The night stretches before him like a promise, calm and comfortable. He’s free to be himself in his own home. It shouldn’t feel as amazing as it does, because it shouldn’t be a novelty... but considering nowadays, Alex feels more like an intruder, he’ll take what he can get.

His first sign of anything amiss is the sound of barking from the front hall. Alex sits up, dislodging the bowl of popcorn from his lap. He scrambles to catch it before it can go everywhere. After a few more seconds of fumbling, he pauses the movie, and springs to his feet.

“You guys! I swear —“

As he trudges into the foyer, he’s thoroughly unsurprised at what he finds. Zoey, giant maniac that she is, is literally bouncing off the front door. She hits, rebounds, and is immediately back at it, scratching at the wood and barking her head off. A few steps behind her, Cooper hovers, his tail hung low. When he spots Alex, he lets out a relieved whine, and paces a circle around the foyer. Alex — who gets it, really, weird noises at the door are even more nerve-wracking than surprise phone calls — gives him a soothing scratch on the head. Cooper glues himself to his side, and Alex keeps one hand on his collar as he steps towards the door.

“Someone out there, girl?”

Zoey hurls herself bodily against the front door. She hits like a wrecking ball. From the other side, Alex hears a noise — somewhere between a gasp and a  “Whoa!”

He knows for a fact he didn’t order pizza; the neighbors are the “keep to yourselves” types; and the Jehovah’s Witnesses are like reverse vampires, never seen outside of daylight hours. There shouldn’t be  anyone at the door. A shiver of anxiety runs down Alex’s neck… but it’s drowned out by irritation at just how loud Zoey’s being. “Hey, hey,” Alex exclaims, hauling her back as she makes another jump towards the door. “Cut it out! Get outta here!”

He’s too busy wrestling with the dogs to be nervous when he throws the door open. (Worst case scenario, he can just let go of their collars, and sic them; let the dogs drown any potential burglars to death in kisses.) The face that greets him on the other side is… unexpected.

“Heya!” Reggie pulls his hand back from the doorknob, and offers a tiny wave. “What’s up, man?”

Zoey answers the question with a running leap.

Reggie’s ready for her. He hits the deck, arms open wide — and when she barrels him over, his whoop of delight rings through the quiet neighborhood. Alex grits his teeth, glancing anxiously around the street. His neighbors mind their own business, but that doesn’t mean they want to be disturbed in the middle of the night; this isn’t Reggie’s neighborhood, where sirens and bonfires are raging at all hours. Of course, though, Reggie has no concept of quiet… and he loses all self-control whenever dogs are involved. He’s too busy rolling around on the porch, ambushed by two giant golden retrievers, to notice anything else.

Alex leans against the doorframe, taps his feet, and sighs. He’s just starting to examine the calluses on his palms when Reggie finally emerges from the literal dogpile. “I know it’s late — I woulda called first, but — aaah, Zoey, that tickles!”

His screeches ring out like sirens, and Alex’s neighbors are  definitely going to call the cops if this keeps up. Alex has to cut in. Wrestling one dog back inside, and then the other, he hauls Reggie to his feet just as swiftly. “Come in then, quick,” he mutters. “Did you come here exclusively to steal my dogs?”

“Alex, I swear, you’re the one I wanted to see the most. Stealing your dogs is just... a fun side quest.” Reggie strides in like he owns the place. As the door closes behind him, he glances around the foyer. “Home alone, huh?”

“Yeah,” Alex replies. “It’s been fun.”

“I bet.” Reggie dodges another jump from Zoey, nearly tripping over Cooper. The dogs both recognize him, even though it’s been ages since he was last here;  animals and Reggie get along like pizza and pepperoni. If he really wanted to steal the Mercers’ dogs, it wouldn’t be a challenge. Thankfully, Reggie’s parents have a hard and fast “no pets” rule, and stick to it. (Reggie was able to hide an injured squirrel in his closet for a whole  three weeks  before anyone caught on — after it got loose, chewed through the wires of the family TV, and wreaked havoc in the kitchen. His parents still don’t know how it got in the house, but Reggie spent weeks mourning the loss of his “Beloved Frank”.)

As Reggie hits the ground on his knees, enthusiastically petting both dogs at once, Alex tucks his hands into his pockets. He’s not used to feeling nervous around his best friends… but suddenly, he’s on unstable ground, unsure of what to do. It’s just Reggie… but it’s Reggie in his house, where Alex’s friends, Alex’s life, are no longer welcome. It’s just Reggie showing up in the middle of the night, without any warning… and he’s acting fine, sure, but this also isn’t like him. Alex’s instincts are thrumming with a sense of wrong, wrong. He can’t help frowning as he steps back, watching his friend play.

Reggie feels his gaze. He ignores it.

“Who’s a good girl? Oh, yeah, you’re the  best  girl, yeah —“

Alex clears his throat. Reggie ignores that, too.

“Come on, Cooper, gimme a kiss — there you go! Did ya miss your old pal Reggie? I missed you!”

Enough is enough. Alex turns to the switch on the wall. The foyer is suddenly flooded with bright light, sparkling through the crystal fixtures overhead. Reggie falls back and blinks rapidly, entire face scrunching up against the glare. When his eyes adjust, he finds Alex crouched at his side.

“Not to be all ‘what are you doing in my house, Reg’, but…” Alex reaches over and pats Cooper’s head. “What are you doing here?”

Reggie’s blank stare lingers on him for a beat too long— a quarter of a second, but still, it’s the only giveaway Alex needs. 

“Just visiting! I knew you were home alone… figured you might want some company.” His friend grins, like everything’s normal, just another wild antic in the life of Reggie… but Alex knows better.

“Okay, that’s real generous, but…”

He drags the word out for a few seconds too long. Somehow, his brain gets stalled on Reggie’s face; the strain at the edges of his smile, the dark circles under his eyes. His eyes are a little puffy — he’s been crying. He holds onto Zoey, not just like he’s happy to see her, but like he needs her — needs something soft and comforting to ground him.

Reggie rode his bike all the way to Alex’s house in the middle of the night. He wouldn’t have done that without a good reason.

Alex sighs, and scratches behind Cooper’s ears. When he looks back up at Reggie, his smile is small, but Reggie’s clearly reassured by it nonetheless. “Yeah, you’re right. Things were getting pretty lonely around here.” Alex nudges his shoulder. “You feel like some popcorn?”

Reggie bounds to his feet. “Always!”

“We can finish watching the best John Hughes movie, and then I’ll generously  give you next pick…”

Reggie’s no fan of the classic 80s teen romances, but he’ll suffer through them for Alex’s sake. Alex, in return, has seen Star Wars fourteen times.  He honestly couldn’t care less about defending the galaxy, or whatever Mark Hamill’s trying to do with the long stick and the gross robes… but it makes Reggie happy, and for that, it’s worth it.

So he’s surprised when, instead of insisting on  A New Hope, Reggie buries his face in Alex’s most comfortable blanket, and murmurs something Alex barely catches.

“What?” Reggie doesn’t answer. “Dude, you’ve got to speak up, I can’t — did I not tell you to keep the popcorn in your mouth?” He snatches a few kernels out of Reggie’s lap before they can fall into the cushions and get lost forever. When he looks up again, Reggie’s cheeks are bright red. Alex nudges him in the shoulder again, prompting him to speak up.

“It’s just — uhh—“ Reggie shrugs. “Don’t really feel like Star Wars tonight.”

Alex’s brows shoot up. “Oh… kay. What do you want to watch, then?”

Reggie clears his throat, and studiously doesn’t look Alex in the eye. “Could we watch the Wizard of Oz maybe?”

Alex stares at him; after a few seconds, he snorts. Reggie’s head snaps toward him, indignant in a second.

“It’s a classic, okay? Iconic cinema! You can’t get any better than Judy Garland, and tell me the Wicked Witch didn’t scare your pants off as a kid! And, and, and the flying monkeys are crazy cool, and—“

“You’re such a dork,” Alex scoffs. 

Reggie’s cheeks flood with heat; he looks down again, picking the blankets with his chewed-up fingernails. “Am not,” he mutters — and that’s Alex’s third clue something’s really up.

Second clue: Reggie will never pass up a chance to watch Star Wars. It’s always his top pick… so, for him to choose a kid’s movie instead, he must need something familiar. Something comforting. Something where the ending is a foregone conclusion.

And a Reggie who doesn’t bounce back from Alex’s sharp edged comments like a rubber-band ball is clearly in one heck of a bad way.

Alex’s smile slowly fades. He leans forward on the couch, elbows on his knees, and studies Reggie sideways. When his friend refuses to look up, he nudges their knees together. When he still avoids him — as stubborn as Cooper at the groomers, god  — Alex inches closer to him, pressing their shoulders together.

“Okay,” he says, “what’s up?”

Reggie finally looks up at him, but it’s no victory. His eyes are wide and guilty. “Wh— what?”

“What’s going on, Reg?”

Reggie shrinks back from him… but there’s nowhere to go. Caught between Alex’s body and the couch, he settles for burrowing further into the blanket. He looks like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar… who’s expecting to get spanked for it.

“Nothing,” he mutters. “Nothing, man.” The way he hunches in on himself gives the game away, even if his miserable face didn’t. Alex’s stomach twists. “I just wanted to hang out, I just thought — didn’t want you to be lonely, I mean, it gets quiet here, in a big house all alone, and I know you get nervous, so I just thought maybe, but if you want me to go I’ll g—"

“Reggie.”

His voice breaks through the tidal wave of thought, somehow. Reggie goes still and silent, frowning down at his lap. When Alex lays a hand on his shoulder, he reluctantly looks at him.

“I can tell you’re upset, that’s all,” Alex says… and, as a flicker of something absolutely exhausted passes through Reggie’s eyes, the decision is made for him. “I’m not gonna press. I don’t need you to tell me anything, Reg, but I don’t want you to go.” He pauses, considers, and rubs his hand over Reggie’s shoulder. “Do you need anything?”

“I—“ Reggie exhales a shuddering breath, and shakes his head. “No. I’m, uhh, I’m… good.”

It’s hardly convincing… but Alex suspects it's the best he’s going to get.

Which is okay, because Reggie’s right here. They have the entire house to themselves for the night… and Alex has the Wizard of Oz on cassette tape.

Alex’s house can be a safe place, just for tonight, and that seems like what Reggie needs most of all.

Alex digs the movie out of their cabinet, and pops it in the VCR. As he sits down on the couch once again, curling up at Reggie’s side, he considers his mother’s suede couches — the pride and joy of their living room, which she dotes over and vacuums religiously every Tuesday. The Mercers have a lot of house rules, but Rule Number Two (after No Gays Allowed!) is Don’t Mess Up The Couch.

Alex glances at Reggie, raises his brows, and taps the leather couch three times in quick succession.

“Zoey! Cooper! Up!”

They don’t even have time to brace themselves. All at once, Alex and Reggie are buried under twin lumps of golden fur… and Reggie’s laughter might be the sweetest sound Alex has ever heard.

As the movie starts, and the dogs settle down — Cooper with his head in Alex’s lap, Zoey flopped practically on top of Reggie — a quiet contentment settles between them. The anxiety humming underneath Reggie’s skin quiets so much that Alex can’t hear it anymore… and, in turn, Alex’s own nerves find some peace.

“I’m glad you’re here, Reg,” he says softly, tucking an arm around Reggie’s shoulders. 

“I’m glad you are, too,” Reggie murmurs,.

It might not be exactly what he needs — him, and dogs, and cozy blankets and comfort movies — but as Reggie curls into him with a sigh, Alex hopes it’s enough.

[radishaur]

May I request a female reader x zuko where both the reader and zuko have burn scars on their faces and the gaang asks about it? the reader has the scar because she tried to jump in front of zuko and protect him when he faced his father but he still got scarred anyways. Then ozai decides she should face the same fate so she ends up getting burned as well? (Also can the reader be a firebender and zuko and her have been dating since childhood??) sorry if it’s a lot I’ve had this idea for a while

For sure! I hope you like the concept. I know it’s probably very different than you were expecting but I hope you like it nonetheless.

- Zoe

•••

Scars of Love (Zuko x Reader)

Warnings: Burn imagery

Genre: Fluff

Part: 1/2

Summary: See request

•••

The temple was silent as we both stared as each side stared at each other. Y/N stood slightly behind me as I introduced myself. The tension in the air was thick as I spoke.

“Hello, Zuko here,” I said, giving a small wave to the group.

I began to explain why I was here as the group held their defensive positions. Y/N stood awkwardly by my side, but I could tell she was trying her best to keep her head up high. She had always been shy around new people. Now that she no longer had her black mask, which covered her burn scar, she was even more so.

The Gaang dropped their positions slightly upon hearing my intent, but then immediately got back into position again. They only spoke once or twice to argue against what I was saying. When I finally finished, I waited eagerly for a response.

They eyed me cautiously before turning their attention to Y/N. She shuffled slightly closer to me and gave a small wave. I realized I hadn’t actually introduced her before. I smiled reassuringly at her before turning to face the others.

“This is Y/N. She’s the girl you’ve probably seen by my side when...I was tracking you. And also my girlfriend,” I said sheepishly.

The Gaang was surprised to know I had a girlfriend, but they didn’t question it. Instead, they began to question why she hadn’t spoken yet.

“Why hasn’t she said anything? Isn’t she gonna try and convince us of your change of heart?” Katara asked, her voice filled with venom.

Y/N shuffled uncomfortably before looking at me. She began signing to me and I saw the Gaang watch in shock out of the corner of my eye.

“What’s happening?” Toph asked, not understanding what was going on.

I gave Y/N a small smile as she finished and began repeating what she said to them.

“Y/N is mute. She says she’s sorry for chasing you all and that she would also like to teach you firebending,” I translated, looking at them all as they stood still in shock.

“I always wondered why she never spoke,” Sokka mumbled quietly, mostly to himself.

The Gaang looked to Aang to see what to do. Y/N grabbed onto my sleeve out of nervousness. I watched Aang as he looked at me.

“You both want to be my firebending teachers?” he asked cautiously.

“Y/N and I are some of the best firebenders in the Fire Nation. We both want to help you defeat my father,” I explained.

I saw Aang look over at the group to see what they would say. Katara and Toph were too busy watching us to notice, but Sokka gave his a small shake of his head to say no. His gaze hardened when he turned back to us and told us to go.

We obeyed and only got to join the group once we saved them from the assassin. Both Y/N and I thanked them and we began to grow closer to them as time passed. Y/N accompanied me on all of the, as the Gaang called them, life changing field trips and they all warmed up to her much quicker than me.

Technically, most of the things they endured during our chase of them was from me. Y/N was usually not the one to actually capture them and was usually only there as my support. She wasn’t the one to instigate anything, so they forgave her quicker.

She, in turn, became more comfortable around them as well. She taught them some basic signs so that they could understand her and the Gaang tried their best to understand what she was saying. Most of the time, I ended up having to translate for her but when they did happen to understand, Y/N never looked happier.

I knew it weighed on her heavily that she couldn’t speak like everyone else did. Like she used to be able to. I bore a large amount of guilt for that fact. After all, it was my own mistake that caused her to get the scar on her face and loose her ability to talk.

We never discussed it, but I knew we would have to sooner than later. The Gaang always looked at our scars when they thought we weren’t looking, not out of disgust but curiousity. My scar was not as easily hidden as Y/N’s was, but her’s was much more intense. Her’s covered the entire bottom right side of her face, from her cheekbone to her neck. It went entirely over her right ear and the corner of her lips as well. It was much bigger and noticeable than my own, which was why she usually wore her mask.

I knew the Gaang was curious as to how we had both gotten scarred, so when we were all sitting around the campfire one night getting to know each other better at the Ember Island house, I wasn’t surprised when one of them finally asked.

“So,” Sokka began, clearly nervous about approaching the topic, “How did you guys get your scars?”

Y/N clutched my hand harder and looked at me confidently. She always hated having to hear the story again, but I could tell she didn’t want to lie to them. Usually, we just lied and said we had aquired them in a training exercise. But Y/N’s expression told me that she wanted them to know the truth.

I sighed, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead before turning to the group. They were all waited patiently for me to explain. Y/N squeezed my hand reassuringly and I took a deep breath. I would have to start at the beginning.

“Y/N and I have known each other since we were kids. Her father was a high ranking General in my Father’s military and her family would be at the Palace almost every day. We grew to be friends fairly quickly and were even engaged when we were only 10,” I started, bracing myself for the harder parts of the story.

“You guys were engaged at 10?” Aang asked in shock.

“Fire Nation children usually get married as soon as they’re of age, but especially when you’re a part of the Royal Family. They want to ensure that the throne will be passed down, which usually means your significant other is chosen from a young age,” I explained, looking over at Y/N before adding softly, “Very few are lucky enough to be engaged to someone they actually love.”

Y/N smiled at me and pressed a small kiss to my shoulder before encouraging me to continue. Toph was making fake gagging noises while the rest of the Gaang watched with happy smiles. I blushed slightly before continuing.

“Y/N and I had been dating for a few years before my father aquired the throne. My grandfather passed away and my Uncle, who was supposed to inherit the throne, didn’t have any kids so my father got it instead. Learning I was going to be Fire Lord someday made me want to start learning everything as soon as possible,” I continued, the feeling of dread growing in my stomach as I explained, “I begged my Uncle to let me into a war meeting when I was 13. He warned me not to speak out, but I didn’t listen. I criticized an old general’s plan and in doing so, disrespected him.”

Y/N scooted closer to me and gave my hand another supportive squeeze. I could tell she was just as nervous as I was for me to continue, but she was being strong for me. It was something I always loved about her.

“I was challenged to an Agni Kai. It’s a firebending duel that ends when someone gets burned,” I spoke, noticing them beginning to connect the dots as I continued, “I thought I would be fighting the General, but...I turned to face my opponent and saw my father instead.”

The faces of the Gaang immediately filled with horror. Y/N had tears brimming her eyes as she remembered the fateful day. She and I both remembered what had happened like it was yesterday.

“I refused to fight him. I begged for his forgiveness instead. He insisted that I get up and fight, but I didn’t. He was just about to burn me when Y/N stopped him. She jumped into the ring and stood in front of me, screaming about how what he was doing was wrong and that he wouldn’t let him hurt me,” I said, my voice cracking slightly as I finished explaining, “My father burned her for her disobedience and then burned me for my dishonorable refusal to fight. He banished both of us, only allowing us to return when I captured the Avatar.”

The group was silent as they let my words sink in. I had a small stream of guilty tears threatening to fall from my eyes and pulled Y/N close to me. I still felt so guilty about everything that had happened. I felt Y/N wipe her tears away before encouraging me to continue. I took a shaky breath before explaining the last part of the story.

“Both of the burns scarred, but Y/N’s burn was worse as added punishment. In the Fire Nation, your country comes before everything else. Feelings are seen as weak, especially those of love. Since she had put her love for me above what was “best for the nation”, she got a worse burn. When she was screaming...,” I trailed off, not trusting my voice to actually produce any sounds if I continued.

Y/N hugged me closer and then pulled away from me to face the group. She began signing and waited expectantly for me to translate. She always knew it was easier for me to translate her own words than to speak my own, especially when I was emotional.

“The fire managed to make its way into her mouth and throat. It burned her vocal chords and caused her to loose her ability to talk. She went mute as soon as the fire hit her throat,” I managed to say, my voice wavering as I spoke.

The guilt of her injuries was enough to crush me from the inside out. If I hadn’t of spoken out at the meeting, none of this would have happened to her. She could have lived a normal life. One without a scar and a disability. I would never forgive myself for it.

Y/N must have seen what I was thinking because she smacked my arm and began signing furiously. I barely had time to read what she was saying.

“Don’t blame yourself. I chose to stand up for you. I don’t regret it, even for a second,” she signed, her caring gaze empty of any signs of hate.

I smiled weakly at her before kissing her forehead once more and pulling her in for a hug. She signed I love you onto my back and I couldn’t help but laugh slightly before signing it on her back as well.

I almost forgot the group was there until I heard Aang speak.

“I knew the Fire Lord was evil, but I never thought he could do something like that,” he said quietly.

“I’m gonna kick his ass next time I see him,” Toph exclaimed, punching her own palm.

“Seriously, Aang if you don’t kill him then I will,” Sokka added, wiping a stray tear of his own.

“I guess that explains why you were so set on capturing Aang,” Suki said softly.

Y/N began to sign once more and the Gaang did their best to translate it. I could see them struggling so I just decided to translate it for them.

“She says that the reason I wanted to capture the Avatar so bad was because I felt guilty about causing her so much pain,” I said, smiling at her as she nodded to me in thanks.

“You guys are lucky. I don’t know a lot of people who love each other like you guys do,” Katara said, a small smile on her face.

“Yea. I’m the luckiest man in the world,” I whispered, my attention returning to the beautiful woman beside me.

The rest of the group escaped my consciousness as I pulled Y/N into a kiss. Her lips were soft besides a small rough patch from her scar. I didn’t mind though. I would kiss her again and again and again for the rest of my life. She truly made me feel like the luckiest man in the world.

I would love her until the end of time.