#my mc looks about ready to reconsider everything

[cuffmeinblack]

[andydrysdalerogers]

Cross-Checked - Chapter 3

Andy Barber x OFC Leighton "Leia" Andrews

Summary:

Andy Barber is having the best year of his life. His game is on point. It’s gets to play with his best friend and his fiancé just... dumped him?!. 

Reeling from a sudden change in status, Andy decides it’s time to just focus on hockey. Until his best friend's sister comes out with news that rock the entire organizations world., 

Andy has always carried a torch for the untouchable Leighton but in her hour of need, is now the time to shoot and score or risk getting cross - checked again? 

Warnings: Cheating (but not by the MCs); slow burn; friends to lovers eventually; SMUT!; pregnancy; jealousy; handsome goalies, evil exes...

A/N: The tag list is open!

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Previous: It's That Last Step - Leighton

Series Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 3 – Luke’s Gonna Kill Me - Leighton 

**Six weeks later** 

The season was off to a great start. Andy and Luke had an epic start to the season in light of everything that happened with Craig. Speaking of Craig, he ended up getting traded to Tampa Bay which made Andy extremely happy. From what I heard from some of the WAGs, Fiona refused to move to Florida with him.  So much for true love.  Last I heard, she took a job in New York.  

Good riddance.  

Andy and I had gotten into a good routine once I finished moving in and so far, I love living with my best friend.  As social media director, I got to travel with the team, so I saw Andy and my brother all the time.  It made dealing with the heart ache that much easier. Bret had left an email letting me know where the stuff I didn’t take with me was and that was about it. No groveling, no asking for me to reconsider. Three years together and that was it. I wasn’t sure if I felt relieved, heartbroken or depressed. Yes, when it happened, I cried on Andy’s shoulder but I think it was the shock of Bret asking me to be his little housewife. On well, life moves on. 

The Bruins were three weeks into the season, and I was packing up for a 10-game road trip when I heard the front door slam. Heavy footsteps hit the stairs and my favorite pair of blue eyes were in my doorway. “Hey princess!” 

Yes, I am well aware mat my parents are big Star Wars fans and named their kids Luke and Leia. After I grew up a bit and Luke and Andy had watched said movies, Andy took to calling me "Princess" no matter how much I objected to the name stuck and here we are. 

“Hey Chewy!” If I had to get an awful Star Wars nickname, then so did he 

Andy threw himself onto my bed. “Ready for the road trip?” 

I sighed as I packed the last packing cube into my suitcase. Yes, I was one of those that used packing cubes. I liked to be organized and plan everything out. Sue me. “Almost,” I replied. “Just got to get my carry-on tote.” 

Andy looked over my bags. “How much shit does one girl need?” He lifted out a cube and I yanked it back. 

“Don’t judge me! Not all of us were born devilish good looking in just a button down and jeans. I need to have options.” I put the cube back into its place as I looked over my packing list. 

“Princess, you are just living up to the title now,” Andy said with a laugh. 

I blushed. “One of these days you’ll need a sewing kit and can’t find one and you’ll be crawling to me for help.” I grabbed a pillow and smacked him with. “And If you continue to be mean to me then no chicken parm for you.” 

  Andy perked up. “Chicken parm?” I knew I had him with his favorite meal   

“Yep with home made garlic bread.” 

Andy flopped down with a moan. “What did I do to deserve you?” I giggled as I made check marks on my list. “Like you clean and cook and all I have to do is my own bathroom and laundry and give money for groceries.” 

“It’s Iike having a girlfriend without all the messiness,” I dead panned. I’m not sure why I said it but it pulled at my heart all the shit that Andy had to go through with the spawn of Satan. It also cut me to know that Andy would never see me as anything other than his best friend. I think that stung more. 

“Hey, its not like that, Princess,” Andy started. “You know that I cherish you more than anyone in the world.” He took my hand and kissed my knuckles. “I didn’t mean with anything my comment. I'm saying that living with my best friend has been the greatest time of my life.” 

Goddammit. Why does he have to say shit like that? I give him a soft smile. “Its been the best time for me too, Chewy.” 

Andy bounced out of bed. “Let’s go eat so we head out to the plane.” He placed himself in front of  me and I climbed on his back so he could carry me down stairs. 

As Andy takes out my bag from the trunk, a body slams into me from behind. “Oof!” 

“Hey girl!” I smile at the voice of Bruins trainer and best friend Stella Williams   

“Hey Stel.” I turned as I grabbed my bag. “I’m all set to be stuck on an overnight flight with my best friend and 30 men who have no sense of privacy.”  I gave a big smile to Andy, who rolled his eyes.  

“Yeah, yeah. If I wasn’t aboard, who will protect you from your brother?” My mouth went to argue but he was right.  Dammit. “That’s what i thought.”  

“You know, I hate you sometimes.” I stick my tongue out at him.   

“No, you don’t.” He flashes that fucking smirk that could make a nun swoon.  

I really don’t but I won’t admit it.  I headed to the plane with my head held high, ignoring the laughter coming from Stella and Andy behind me.  

“Hey little sister!” Luke came over and lifted me into a hug. “How are you, Cubby?” 

While Andy called me Princess, Luke called me Cubby as in his baby cub that he took care of.  Made sense since Lukas Andrews was not a small man. Standing 6 foot 1 and easily 230 pounds of solid muscle, Luke was one of the best enforcers for the Bruins. He protected his players, and he learned that by protecting me.  

“Hey Flyboy.” Oh yeah, if Andy and I had Star Wars nick name, then Luke would have one too. Yes, I know, that’s what Leia called Han but Luke had no good nicknames.  We’ve done the research. One weekend, six movies and Andy forever calling himself “General Solo.”  The man has a problem sometimes. “I’m doing good, attempting to control myself from hurting your captain.”  

“What did Andy do now?”  Luke smiled, looking over my shoulder at his best friend. I harrumphed at his attitude and shoved my suitcase in his gut, bending him over with an oof. “What?” 

“Gang up on me and pay the consequences, Flyboy. Just remember who makes you look good on social media so the ladies think they have a chance.” I flash him my “sugary sweet and so innocent smile that you should fear” smile. His smile falls and he swallows.  

“You are scary sometimes, you know that?” 

“I do, and yet, you still gave me your password.”  I flounced away, taking the stairs up the plane to get to my seat.  The plane is divided into three sections.  Coaches and trainers are usually up front, followed by support staff and then the players. Stella and I are the bridge between support and trainers and sit together on the plane.  As I was getting my headphones and book ready for the flight to California, I stopped and said hello to all the players as they walked by. Most just nod or wave, Andy moved to ruffle my head, which I dodged and smacked his hand as he laughed.  I got myself settled, waiting for Stella. 

“Hey Leia,” another voice sounds. I snap my head over to see one of our goalies, Jeremy, stop at my aisle.  

(Meet Jeremy)

“Hi, Jeremy.” I really don’t know what to say.  Jeremy stopping to say hello to me is new, not unwelcome but new.  He is one of the best goalies in the business and well, fuck it, he’s really cute. “Ready for the road trip?” I ask because I have nothing else.  

“Ready! Always wanted to go to Disneyland,” he said with a wink.  

My dead heart beats just a bit faster.  Its been two months since Bret left and I haven’t even thought of another man, besides Andy.  I forgot what it felt like to be flirted with. “That would be cool if we had the time.” I saw Stella board.  “Oops, here comes trouble!” I announce as Stella approaches.  

“I’ll let you get settled.” Jeremy smiles.  “Maybe we can have a drink sometime. See ya Leia, Stella.” He moved on to his seat and I watched as he walked away.  I caught Andy’s face looking at me and for a moment, he looked angry but then he smiled at me, and I knew it was ok.  

“Why was Jeremy Swayman talking with you,” Stella asked. She loved a good romance story.  

I shrugged. “No clue.”  

Thirty minutes later we were in the air and the team manager was going over the schedule for the next ten days.  A ten-day roadie is brutal in the best of times but one with a huge time difference was the worst. The captain announced we were at altitude and shut off the lights in the cabin.  I needed to try and stay awake so I didn’t get jet-lagged and would be able to snap our arrival in San Jose. Suddenly, my stomach twisted.  “Stel, move please?” 

“We haven’t even had anything to drink yet,” she grumbled slowly.  

“Stella, move!” I whisper yelled.  She moved and I raced up the aisle. I made it into the bathroom and heaved everything we had for dinner. I sank to the floor as I tried to breathe through the pain in my stomach and throat. After a few minutes, I was able to get up and wash my face and mouth as best I could.  

“What the hell was that, Leia?” Stella looked me over.  “Girl, you are pale and clammy.”  

“I have no fucking clue, Stel.  My stomach just hurt all of sudden.”  Great, that was the last thing i needed. I didn’t want to be sick while we were in California.  Early November in California still meant great weather and I wanted to take advantage since fall has already made an appearance in Boston. “I hate being sick on the road.” I threw back my head against the head rest.  

“Maybe it's just a one off, Leia.  It happens.  Let’s just wait and see in San Jose.”  

The rest of the flight was fine and traveling to LA meant that it was only three hours from when we took off according to the body clocks.  The guys were headed to the hotel bar, but Stella and I stayed in, reviewing the photos that i took as we left the plane.  

“These are so good, Leia.  Everyone is looking good.  Especially Swayman, Barber and your brother.”  She gives me a smirk while I gag.  

“Gross Stella.  My brother is not hot.” I make a disgusted face as I look at him.  His cocky smile came because I said I would send the photo to Miranda. I shuddered and looked at the photos of Andy.  The guys are required to be dressed in business casual at minimum.  Most are in slacks and a button down, but Andy is never in less than a three piece.  It's his signature fit and let me tell you, I and the rest of the female population, appreciate it. Today’s was a three piece blue pinstripe. Many blessings to his tailor because that suit fits like a glove.  

“You can stop drooling over Barber and tell me what is going on with Swayman.” Stella takes a drink of the wine we brought with us.  

I feel my cheeks burn a little. “I don’t know.  I know the guys know I’m single now because my brother had a big mouth but that thing with Jeremy is new.”  Very new.  As in, what the fuck is going on.  Jeremy is handsome, I would be blind to deny that but I’m just not ready to date. “It's nice though, to be flirted with.” 

“Andy flirts with you all the time,” Stella points out.  

“He does not.  He’s nice because he’s my best friend, my brother’s best friend. It's been that way for years.” Disappointment washes over me.  “Yeah, right would Andy Barber have a thing for me. I mean, let’s check Stella.  I clean for him, he makes me breakfast.  I make dinner, he does dishes.  We are in a mutually beneficial relationship, and not a romantic one.”  

Stella rolls her eyes.  “You are either blind or naive, Andrews. The man is into you.”  

I lay back on the bed with a sigh.  “I wish.  Especially when he is walking around in just a shirt and gray sweatpants. Or in the mornings when he is climbing out of the pool after his swim.”  

“Tell me,” Stella swoons.  “Tell me he had more than six abs.”  

“I will not.  He has six and they are spec-tac-ular.” I went to sit up and that twist happens again, and I run to the bathroom.  Stella follows to hold my hair back as I have my exorcist moment.  Finally, it stops, and I sit back against that bathroom wall.  

Stella gets a washcloth and wets it.  She crouches down and presses it against my forehead, and I moan at how good it feels. “I don’t mean to upset you but is there something you want to tell me?” I look up at my best friend’s eyes. “I mean, could you be pregnant?” 

I laughed a little.  “Stella, be real.  I haven’t had sex since...” and I stop. I count back and realize that I didn’t have a cycle and I’m late for this month. “Oh, shit.”  

I think Stella can see the panic on my face. “Ok, relax. I’m going to the corner market, and I’ll be right back.  It's gonna be ok. Can I leave you here and promise you won’t do anything drastic?”  I nod because I really can’t say anything. She leaves and I’m alone.  

Why the fuck didn’t I notice before? I mean, I guess the stress of the break up and the move took its toll.  Add on that and work and of course I wouldn’t have notice.  Bret was hyper aware when it was time because he liked to schedule his work trips around it.  He didn’t want to be around for the inevitable break downs and cravings of having your period.  God, he was such a jerk.  Thinking of him made me think of when this possibly could have happened. And it hits me. It had been around Labor Day, and we were fooling around before his work trip. I was that 0.03% of woman who have her contraception fail.  

Stella walks back a moment later and hands me a test.  I stare at it like it's a snake ready to strike my hand and I look up at Stella.  “The faster you do this the faster you can either panic or party.  It's up to you.”  

She’s right and I hate it.  I pee on the stick and set it on its wrapping on the counter.  I walk out and chug about half a gallon of water, in fear, I think. “What am I going to do?” 

“Not yet,” she says. We sit there in silence as we wait for the longest three minutes of my life.  I’m not sure if I want it to be positive.  Yes, I’ve always wanted kids.  But I thought I would be married and happy. I’m happy but I live with my brother’s best friend and what if he doesn't want kids in his home?  What if he asks me to leave? I know my brother would take me in but who really wants to live with their brother?  Miranda just moved in. Stella’s phone beeps and I look at her. “Ready?” 

“No.” She looks at me with her threatening face, which is terrifying by the way, and she points to the bathroom.  I get up, my legs shaking and head to the counter.  

“What am i going to do Stella?” We’re sitting at the restaurant in the hotel the next morning. I’m hungry, which is a nice change from being nauseous.  

“Let’s get through the road trip and then we will plan and worry.”  Stella slathered her toast in jam and then dunks it in her over-easy eggs.  

“If you want me to throw up, do that again,” I say with a gag.  I concentrate on my scrambled eggs and toast for a few minutes.  "Can I just say, I really have no idea how I’m going to tell my brother. He is going to lose his shit,” I stop and blurt.  “I don’t know how I’m going to tell Andy.” 

“Tell me what?”  

NEXT

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[justcallmefox89]

Cinderfella's Adventures in Cordonia - Chapter Twenty-Four

An AU of The Royal Romance with a male MC and a bisexual prince.

Masterlist

Drake starts to move on without Liam.

“You sure you’re ok with this, Brat?” I ask, dropping our bags onto the floor of the hotel room.  Given the ridiculously high tension between me and Liam I’d opted to stay here instead of at the palace, and in a surprising move of solidarity, Drake had opted to join me. 

He huffs and rolls his eyes, turning away from me.  “I’m not going to fall apart without Liam.”

“Hey.”  I hook my index finger through one of the belt loops on his jeans and tug him towards me.  I run the tip of my nose against his cheek, and he shivers slightly as my breath ghosts over his skin.  “I didn’t say you would.  But this is uncharted territory for all of us… I want to know that you’re ok.”

Drake sighs, leaning his forehead against my shoulder.  “It’s weird.  I never imagined a point in time where Liam wouldn’t be in my life, but now that probability is staring me in the face and it’s not as terrifying as I thought it would be.  I’m happy with you… and for once I’m finally about to focus on my future without worrying about what I’ll have to hide or the things I won’t be able to have because of Liam.”

“I just don’t want you to have any regrets,” I whisper, a tiny shard of doubt creeping into my mind.

Drake kisses me softly.  “I could never regret you,” he murmurs.

“Hm.”  I hold him a little tighter, nervous energy thrumming through me.

Drake pulls away slightly and peers up at me.  “You wanna get out of here?  I have something I want to show you.”

“Oh?”  I arch one eyebrow in interest.  “What is it?”

“You’ll see.  Give me an hour to get everything ready.”

**** TWO HOURS LATER ****

“I want to go back to the hotel.”  I scowl over at Drake as our hired car pulls up to the security gates surrounding the palace.

“So cranky,” Drake mumbles, kissing my neck.  “I want to show you something on the grounds; we won’t see anyone else.”

“Promise?”

“I promise,” he says, nipping at earlobe, laughing in satisfaction when I shudder at the sensation.

“Fiiiiine,” I pout, exiting the car. 

Drake retrieves two hiking backpacks from the trunk of the car and tips the driver before thrusting one of the backpacks into my hands with a smile.

I stare down at the pack in my hands, baffled.  “What is this?”

Drake grins.  “We’re going on a hike.”

“But why?”

“It’s part of the something I want to show you.  Besides, you could use some time in the great outdoors.  Fresh air is good for you.”

I have my doubts.

“But there are so many outside things in the outdoors.” 

Drake steps a little closer, his fingers toying with the hem of my t-shirt.  “Please, Callum?  For me?”

I groan, unable to withstand the power of the soft voice/puppy dog eyes combination.  “The things I do for you, Brat.”

Drake grins.  “Thank you,” he murmurs, popping up on his toes and pressing a warm kiss to my lips.  He steps away from me and slings the backpack onto his shoulders.  “Let’s go!”

I hoist my own backpacks onto my shoulders with a grunt and begin tromping after him.

****MUCH, MUCH LATER****

“We almost there, Brat?” I call out to Drake, who is several feet ahead of me, perfectly at home among the numerous trees and insects surrounding us.  Meanwhile I’m convinced I’ve entered my own personal hell and reconsidering my attraction to the man in front of me.

“We’re nearly there!”  He looks back over his shoulder and flashes me a brilliant smile.

Goddamn it.  How am I supposed to stay annoyed with him when he smiles like that?

A few minutes later there is a break in the trees and we step out into an open clearing, where a small lake shimmers in the afternoon sunlight.

Drake takes my hands and eagerly leads me to the lake shore.  “It’s beautiful, right?” he asks, smiling at me.

“It’s pretty,” I agree quietly.  “Do you come here a lot?”

His smile momentarily falters.  “I came here a lot with my dad when I was younger.  This is where he taught me to fish.  After he died it was just… too hard to come back.”

I glance over at him in surprise.  “Are you good to be back here?”

“Yeah.”  He nods slowly.  “It’s easier, with you here.  And I wanted to share a little bit of my past with you.  This place is important to me… and so are you.  It just seemed right to bring you here.”

I pull Drake into a hug, resting my chin on the top of his head.  “I love you,” I whisper.

“Love you too,” he mumbles into my chest.  We hold each other for a few more moments before Drake gently pushes me away with a mischievous smirk.

“What are you doing?” I ask, as he slowly strips off his shirt.  I dig my teeth into my lower lip, transfixed by the sight of his sculpted stomach and the trail of dark hair that dips below the waistband of his jeans.

“Going swimming.”  He pops the button on his jeans, grinning as I groan softly.

A stray thought manages to break through even as all the blood in my brain rushes to my dick.  “Wait, what?  Swimming?  In there?” I ask, pointing toward the lake.

“…yes?”  Drake frowns at me. 

I stare at the lake, unable to stop my lips curling back in disdain.  As a born and bred New Yorker I’ve never met water that wasn’t better after being properly treated and filtered. 

I shake my head.  “No.  Nope.”

“Why?”

“That’s wild water, Drake!  Fish fuck in there!”

Drake blinks, then lets out an honest to God giggle.  “That’s not…  You’ll be fine.”

I cross my arms over my chest and plant my feet firmly in the dirt.  “No.”

Drake comes closer, snaking his hands under my shirt and splaying his hands over my stomach.  “Come on, it will be fun.”

I glance over my shoulder at the rippling blue water that I just know is teeming with flesh-eating bacteria and fish sperm.  I shudder.  “No.”

“Seriously, Callum?”  Drake frowns at me.  “Get in the water.”

I shake my head again.  “Can’t make me.”

Drake’s lips curl up into a smirk.  “No?”

“Negative, Ghostrider.” 

He shrugs.  “You brought this on yourself.”

Before I can ask what he means Drake bends his knees, places his hands on my chest, and shoves. 

“What the -”  Caught off balance I go flying backwards, my arms windmilling as I try to regain my footing.  One more slight push from Drake and I go tumbling into the water.

Oh he is so getting a spanking for this.

I break the surface of the water sputtering and cursing, and wipe the water from my eyes just in time to see Drake laughing his ass off safely on shore. 

“I told you you’d be fine,” he calls out once he’s collected himself.

I grimly start sloshing my way towards shore, trying to avoid thinking about how many disgusting microorganisms I’ve been exposed to.  “You better start running, Brat.”

Drake’s smile instantly falls.  “What?”

By now I’m within five feet of him.  “Run.”

He takes off into a dead sprint.  “It was a joke!” he shouts.  “I love you!”

I charge after him, laughing.  I catch up to him quickly, snatching him by the back of his shirt and tugging him towards me, before crouching and tossing him over my shoulder with a grunt. 

“Hey!  Stop!  What are you doing?” Drake yells, trying to wriggle free.

I give him a sharp smack on the ass.  “Hold still, Brat.”

He instantly falls still, and his rapidly hardening dick pokes into my shoulder, revealing just how much he’s enjoying my rougher treatment.  I quickly reach the edge of the water and toss him in, before wading in behind him.  He pops out of the water with a sheepish smile, brushing his wet hair out of his eyes.

I smirk, enjoying the way his wet t-shirt clings to his chest.  “Now we’re even.”

Drake swims towards me and I pull him into my arms.  He loops his arms around my neck and locks his legs around my hips, and brushes the tip of his nose against mine.

“Hey,” I whisper, grabbing his hips to hold him closer to me.  “Gross water aside, I’m really glad you brought me here.”

Drake’s eyes light up and he gives me a shy smile.  “Yeah?”

“Of course.  I love you.  I wanna know everything about you.”

Drake tucks his head under my chin.  “Really?”

“Really.  Sometimes I want to crack open your chest, crawl inside you, and walk around wearing you like a Drake suit - that’s how much I love you.”

Drake freezes in my arms.

“Too far?” I ask.

He snorts and shakes his head.  “You’re so fucking weird.”

“You love it.”  I poke him in the ribs, making him laugh.

“I have no idea why, but I really do.”

[chouchinobake]

Ten characters, ten fandoms, ten tags

i've been tagged by @b-lizi, thank you dear x) sooo *cracks knuckles*

Nico di Angelo, 『Percy Jackson series』 : this character is one of the most interesting in the whole riordanverse, and my fav obviously. he's been through so much, and alone, he faced death, horror, time, his own feelings, the way he's been educated, loneliness, literal hell, and still he's fighting and stays a sarcastic badass bitch with an enormous heart. love my emo boy <3

Grell Sutcliff, 『Kuroshitsuji』 : my supreme goddess *^* no seriously this woman is my big crush of the series (with Gregory Violet, sweet baby), and i wish we get to know her backstory soon because yana you can't drop an information like that and not developing it, you c a n ' t. i really like the way she just lives her life the way she wants and doesn't give a shit about what others can say about her. she's so strong, and completely insane, and funny, and a sweet dumbass, and passionate, and i love her sm dnfkfksfn

Shougo Makishima, 『Psycho Pass』 : as an antagonist, he's to me the best. one. ever. i mean, his motivations to do what he did were just so valid?? he did use the wrong methods, but he was so right, he even realized what was wrong in this society before the main characters did, and he's the one that enabled them to open their eyes and really think about how dystopic their system is. many would compare him to light yagami but i do not agree. he sticked to his convictions from the beginning to the end, know : "i want people to be able to think by themselves and make their own choices, may them be bad or good". what a king

Double Trouble, 『She-Ra』 : my absolute crush of the series. they're so chaotic, so sassy, so dramatic, that's everything i want, that's everything i need. AND ofc they're the first enby rep i saw in a piece of media x) if they were to order me to join the dark side i totally would lmao i'm a chaotic evil for them

Irene Adler/James Bond, 『Yuukoku no Moriarty』 : she's THE love at first sight of these last years. i didn't have any crush in ynm, and i thought it was strange because they're all so good(-looking lol). and then i understood my heart was only ready for her, call me a silly romantic person but arghkgkfl she's incredible. her convictions are beautiful and she uses her status to break the law in order to piss the nobility off and destroy a society she thinks is rotten to the core. thinks outside the box, doesn't give a darn about people's judgment, assumes her choices, doesn't let people walk all over her. she's perfect

Jung Myeong-Seok, 『Extraordinary Attorney Woo』 : okay i haven't even finished the series yet, i have two episodes left tbh, but i couldn't not mention him. he's kinda different from the type of characters i like, but i recently realized i liked characters like him : strict, serious and professional, but who actually are big softies with a golden heart and who care for others. he completely got me the sec he smiled, i'm so weak omg. (andhessogoodlookingimlosingit)

Haruka Hashida, 『Blue Period』 : my tastes in side characters being so high in this list i just realized. anyway. this man is so weird and yet so down-to-earth and logical it's almost weirder. his thoughts about art, painting and likes and dislikes are just so true, he manages to bring the readers to really think and reconsider their perspective. he's also the one that helps the most the mc re-think about his own art and kinda frees him from his prejudices and the limits he imposes to himself. supportive character/20

Pina, 『Beastars』 : mamma mia is anyone surprised by this ? he's the kind of sassy bad bitch i love and manages to hide his big heart and actual care for his friends behind a sarcastic and self-absorbed attitude. he's so goddamn funny, pretty (in an animal beauty scale) and just brings the peps and light atmosphere the series needs since it gets darker and darker

Esmeralda, 『The Hunchback of Notre-Dame』 : i'll only be talking about the disney movie here because i haven't read the novel yet (gonna do it soon, victor hugo is a god). she's my favorite disney character tbh, for a lot of reasons. she's to me the most altruistic, just, kind-hearted and lovable character of all. she has every right to hate religion since the whole world hates her for "religion said so". she has every right to ask for something for herself since she's always had to fight in order to just survive. instead, she asks to a god (that she's been told hates her) love and justice for those who live without, reminding that everybody is a child of god and has the right to be loved, and doesn't ask for anything for herself. she plays with laws, she helps others and she fights for justice with joy, passion and insolence

Ryuunosuke Akutagawa, 『Bungou Stray Dogs』 : i really hesitated between him and chuuya, but i think i have more things to say about aku. i didn't like him at first, but i progressively understood him and had affection for him, he's my son now. his psychology is very interesting, especially when linked to his past and the original author's life. he's a really sad character, but also kinda funny, touching and such a stubborn brat omg. his evolution his the best and i look forward to see what he'll become (and i prey so he can actually have a chance to become something fjfkxks guys i'm so scared rn)

i talked sm lmao, never ask me about my fav characters i'll give you 500-page essays. i don't think i can tag many people, so it won't be "10 tags" sorry sorry. soooo i tag @gradually-watermel0n @shimy-deko @mariaoz @orphabirds @the-bloody-sadist + anyone who wants, have fun x)

[an-yeppeoso]

Reverie: Ebon Light Walkthrough

This guide is still under construction.

Edit about the title: I was around in the very beginning when it was called Reverie: Ebon Light. I can change it if you guys find it confusing. Lemme know.

This is a guide for Ebon Light by @underbliss. You can download the game at https://underbliss.itch.io/ebon-light

 I’ve been following this game since 2018 and some of my friends began to show an interest in it, so I figured I’d do the world a favor and make a guide.

The order of this guide will be stats, a review of the sort of prologue, Vadyen’s route, Laceaga’s route, Haron’s route, Ernol’s route, and finally Duliae’s route. I will briefly cover the what happens if you don’t want to date anyone as well.

First let’s talk about your character stats. The stats are important because they unlock certain options for you in the future. You can get through any of the routes with each of the dispositions, but I’ve found there are dispositions I prefer more for each route. Alternatively, you don’t have to romance any of the characters. That’s one of the nice things about this game. 

Character Stats

You characters has 4 core stats: cunning, curiosity, charm, tenacity. 

Cunning: a stat that goes up if you play smart, have a smooth way with words, and manipulate others.

Curiosity: a stat that goes up if you ask questions every chance you get. 

Charm: this stat was hard to figure out since options that seem like they might get your charm up, get your amity up instead. To get this stat up you need to play nice, be pleasant with others, and be okay with entertaining them

Tenacity: I’d say this is the easiest stat to understand. To get it up you have to never give up. Be sure of yourself, of your success. Be a fighter. 

These stats can only improve. They do not change if there are under a certain amount. The stats that do change are:

Amity: Amity is basically how peaceful you are. Make enough choices that aren’t peaceful and this stat will change and become discord. From what I’ve experienced, it doesn’t matter that much if you have it in discord. Sometimes, certain romanceable characters will have choices that you need amity for.

Desire: Desire is your desire for change. Do you take initiative to change things? This is helpful when you are trying to take advantage of the fracture, or trying to charm Lorne, but again, it’s okay if you don’t have high desire. If you choose enough choices that are nonchalant, this stat will change and become inertia. I try to have this stat up when doing Haron and Ernol’s routes.

Virtue: Virtue is what it sounds like; how morally upstanding you are. If you act with loose morals, this stat will become vice. Again, I’m not quite sure if it really matters, but I try to have this stat up when I’m doing Vadeyn’s route.

Daring: Again, it’s what it sounds like. How willing to face danger are you? How brave are you? This turns into timid if you act as such.

Faith: This is how trusting you are. I’m always trusting when I’m doing Vadeyn’s route. In general, it’s good to have a little faith. This will turn to doubt if you act suspicious of everyone. 

Charity: This is basically how kind you are, how selfless. This turns into malice when you are mean spirited. 

Might: Might is how weak you are both physically and mentally. If you stumble when physically attacked, rely on other too much and act helpless, this stat will turn into frailty. 

Grip: This is a very important one. At the beginning it is called rest. This changes after you come to the island. Grip is basically how much grip you have over the Cuthintal. Also how sane you are. Act in manners that display no grip over your power, and this changes to madness. The only time this really comes into play is during battles. If you get a lot of grip, this stat will change to haunt.

Prologue

The game is designed so you can get a good ending with the disposition of your choosing. That being said, For Duliae’s route I highly recommend choosing cunning as your disposition. Choices that don’t affect your stats will be left out of the guide.

“And what was I to take from this miserable little tale, [name]?”

Never trust anyone: this will lower your faith and will make it turn into doubt.

Fools make foolish oaths: from what I could see, it doesn’t affect any of your stats significantly. 

Darkness cannot be sealed away: this will lower your desire and make it turn into inertia.

Nothing: from what I could see, this doesn’t affect any of your stats significantly.

Just passing the time: again, I don’t think this one does anything.

“Well... I’m not sure.”

You’re not sure where you stole it?: this will decrease your faith and amity.

“Besides, do you really care where I got it?”

Yes!: this will increase your virtue.

Well... no.: this will decrease your virtue.

“And there’s Rylen to consider, of course”

Try to haggle: this option is only significant if you chose the cunning disposition. It won’t affect your stats. If you haggle with him you gain 5 trin. Trin actually doesn’t matter and I will explain why later.

Decline: does nothing but opens up another option for you to reconsider or decline again.

“Rylen turned to leave.”

I was happy to let him leave as quickly as he wanted: does nothing but opens up other options which do affect your stats: 

He was was irritating me: lowers your amity

He was making me nervous: lowers your daring

I wanted to ask for stories of the sea: does nothing but opens up other options which do affect your stats:

The places you’ve seen?: raises your curiosity

The might of the sea?: raises your might

Something rare and beautiful?: raises your charm

“It had been threatening to give way for weeks;...”

Kick it: lowers your amity

“What are you doing?”

Hello, Aunt Vanya: increases your charity

You startled me!: decreases you might and daring

None of your business: decreases you amity

“Fair? Save your breathe.”

Then I’ll go: increases your charity

You’re lying: decreases your faith

What business do you have in the village?: increases your curiosity

I don’t care!: decreases you charity by a lot

“I knew the Burned Forest well...”

Keep foraging: increases your tenacity

Explore: increases your curiosity

“No longer alone, I began to feel a bit calmer”

Though I was still plenty terrified: decreases your might and daring

I was actually very curious: increases your curiosity

I was ready to defend myself: increases your might

“Everything’s certainly been strange lately”

I’ve not forgiven you: decreases your amity

I think I’ll as Rylen about that man in the forest: increases your tenacity

I wonder what I was dreaming...: increases your curiosity

“No, he definitely wasn’t human.”

Run!: does nothing but opens more options after Laceaga catches you:

I was terrified: decreases your daring

I was enraged: increases your daring

I was going to destroy him: increases your daring and might

Attack: increases your daring and might and opens new options:

I’m not done!: increases your tenacity

Is there any point?: decreases your desire

Speak: increases your amity and opens new options:

Be diplomatic: increases your desire

Be aggressive: increases your daring and might

“Do you know what I am?”

You’re the stranger that’s been following me: decreases your faith

You’re a dead man!: increases your daring, might, and tenacity. To unlock this option you need to have acted in an aggressive manner towards him

You’re an elf?: increases your curiosity

If you traded with Rylen:

“The spice I got from Rylen was in a pouch..”

The pouch of spice, from the pirate?: increases your amity

(Lie) I don’t know what you’re talking about: as far as I could see this does nothing

If you traded with Rylen:

“The Cuthintal belongs to me...”

It is mine actually: increases your daring

And what makes it yours?: increases your curiosity

Fine!: decreases your might

Do you want to fight me for it?: increases your might and decreases your amity. This option unlocks if you were aggressive towards him

“Was he serious?”

Start walking: increases your amity

Shake your head: increases your daring

“There was a pounding in my ear”

Attempt to trap the elf in the hut: opens these options:

Look inside first: increases your curiosity

Go for it!: As far as I can see this does nothing. Let me know if I’m wrong

Put the slide down and abandon this foolishness: decreases your desire

“I could tell Vanya wasn’t...”

It’s alright Vanya: increases your desire and charity

(Beg her to do something): decreases your might and virtue and opens up these options:

Agree to come willingly: I don’t think this does anything

Refuse to come: I don’t think this does anything. Laceaga catches you either way and you have to come with him

I won’t come: Increases your daring and opens up these options:

Scared of me?: increases your might

Leave her alone: increases your charity

“I could tell we...”

Where is Gha’alia?: increases your curiosity

Ugly scars: this does nothing but I like to tease my boy Lacey. Plus MC gets roasted so it’s funny

Is my aunt okay?(unlocks if you resist going straight away): increases your charity and opens these options:

What does that mean?: increases your tenacity and opens the same options below 

Did you kill her?: increases your tenacity and opens these options:

If you let me think she’s dead, I might snap: To unlock this you need to have been aggressive. None of the options affect your stats but this one let’s you know what happened to Vanya

(Drop it): decreases your tenacity

“You will be on that ship.”

I will not: increases your daring and might 

You could have just asked: increases your charm

You have to give me more information!: increases your curiosity

This dialogue changes a bit depending on your past choices but the options are the same

We definitely will not be friends: doesn’t do anything but open 3 more options which also don’t do anything

(Please for the love of God call him Lacey, his reactions and everyone else’s reactions are so funny and you can change it later if you’re doing his route. Irl I actually call him Lasagna :3)

“I felt a surge of optimism”

Then fix this!: increases your might

Then you can let me go!: increases your tenacity

Are you all like him?: increases your curiosity

He’s a talented stalker: increases your charm

“Wasn’t that obvious?”

Thank you: increases your charity

“If you don’t mind... how did you end up...?”

Tell him: increases your faith and opens up these options:

Yes, he made me: I don’t think this does anything

I was ready to leave Edric anyway: increases your curiosity

Ask him why he wants to know: decreases your faith a lot

Don’t tell him anything: decreases your faith

“He thinks that if someone is defenseless,...”

 He’s right: decreases your virtue by an insane amount and decreases your charity

He’s wrong: increases your virtue and charity

I can defend myself!: increases your might by a lot and opens these options:

Then give me a few years to catch up, and we’ll see: increases your might

Then I should learn to defend myself: increases your might and tenacity and opens 2 options that don’t really do anything as far as I can tell

[drakewalkerfantasy]

The art of Solace. (Tatum x MC)

Summary: The truth is finally out, but how much truth and how bad is it? Will it finally bring the two friends in love closer to each other? Or will it break them up for good? Will their “I love you” will be the first and the last? Or will it be one of many to come later...

Words: 3865

Authors notes: I really hope you will enjoy this. Please let me know if still want to be tagged and what I can improve. Huge thanks to @jamespotterthefirst​ for proofreading and reading this for me and being amazingly supportive friend. Also huge thank you for @choices-bound​ for being supportive and also reading this before I published. 

Raiting: to be safe 16+

**Warnings: some torturing/death/pain**

See Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

But most of all I want to know why did you leave? Her words still rang in his head while he drove them to the safe house location. He knew that to tell her the whole story they needed to be left alone. Even though he still hoped that Missis President spies, and he was sure there were some in her security details, were not able to track them down. Knowing that it wasn’t safe for both of them to speak openly while still on the Vancross campus ground. His head was swimming lightly still trying to figure out how much he should tell her. And how much would be safe for her to know, without putting them both in danger. Without hurting her...

The fact that he loved her wasn’t a lie but it also wasn’t a whole truth of why he left. And if it would be up to him, he would never leave her like that. Even if it would mean he would need to watch her to fall in love with someone else some day. But to protect her? To protect her, he would do anything. Even leave her to believe that she meant so little to him and that this was easy for him to do.

Claire was right. Even though military training teached him a lot and he was partially thankful for that. The deployment The First Lady of Rutherland chose for him was not only the most dangerous place to send the young soldier to, but also not to protect his country... to protect Claire. No... it was to occupy another... to destroy... to kill. Something that he was opposed to.

After they finally got to the safe house, they sat on the window seat that couldn’t be seen from the outside, hidden from the world by the thick trunks of trees. The small garden with a beautiful pond toward the end opening in front of their eyes. The place of solitude for Claire, the one place she could be left alone in case of danger. The silence was still hanging in the air and they sat like that for a moment longer until Claire’s voice finally broke the silence. Her quiet voice slowly piece by piece pulled Tatum out of his thoughts back to the present.

“So? Why did you leave?” she asked in a half whisper, not trusting herself for her voice not to break. His hands tightened around her frame a little bit tighter still holding her hands in his. Her back leaning against his chest listening to the steady beating of his heart.

She could still feel how tensed he became the moment he promised to tell her everything. And she still remembered the flash of sorrow in his eyes when he made this promise, knowing that he was still contemplating what he can or cannot tell her. A frown on Claire’s forehead deepened, while she patiently waited for him to speak. Not rushing him. Knowing that he will speak, when he will find the words. She could feel how his body shifted behind her before carefully turning her around to face him. His hands still encircling her waist, bringing her closer, helping her to sit more comfortable next to him.

“Your mother ordered me,” finally sighed Tatum, closing his eyes, feeling how her hands tensed in his.

“She... she wouldn’t have,” gasped Claire, her eyes wide and pleading for this to be a lie, and he was so willing to let her have it. Wishing for this to be a lie, but it wasn’t and she could see it clearly in his eyes. “Why? Why would she do that? She knew you from when you were a kid. She knew how...” she swallowed thickly, the words not coming as easily as the first time. The time when she moaned them over and over while he kissed her. “She knew how much I loved you,” she whispered, lowering her gaze from his.

“Yes.... and she also knew that I was falling in love with you,” said Tatum, letting go of one of her hands to tilt her chin up. His fingers gently placed below it, making her meet his eyes. “Claire, you have no idea how strong and fast I was falling for you. How scared I was that this will destroy our friendship. And I guess she did it in some way to protect you. You were the First Daughter of Rutherland. And I... I was nobody.” He held her gaze for a moment longer before asking the question. “Do you still want to know what happened and why I left?” The slow nod of her head was all the answers she gave. Probably the only one he even needed knowing how stubborn and brave and strong she was, but he still needed to ask if she was sure. “Claire, are you really sure that you are ready for the truth? At the end of the day. Despite everything, she is still your mother. And I don’t want to hurt you... I’m not worth it, Claire.”

“Tate, this is why I need you to tell me everything. How bad can it be?” she chuckled softly until she caught the somber flash in his dark eyes. The sound dying on the tip of her tongue before she crossed her legs in front of her making him copy her pose. They sat facing each other. Her hands softly placed in his, while he absentmindedly rubbed the soft skin of her knuckles, searching for the words.

“It happened the day after you turned 17. Your mother called me in her office, telling me that she wants to speak with me about my future,” started Tatum, recalling the events of this fateful day he tried so hard to forget.

He was walking toward Missis President’s office not sure what to expect from her. As his father’s boss, The president of his country, and more importantly Claire’s mother he tried to respect her, but... he never liked her. The way she treated everyone... even her own daughter brought only more dislike and anger, but he still tried... for Claire.

When he finally reached the office, he took a deep breath trying to calm his racing heart. His nerves on edge, knowing that if anything Claire’s mother calling him in meant nothing good. His fist raised in the air hesitating just for a moment before firmly knocking on the door, hearing her cold reply.

Her voice bleak and when her eyes finally met his over a stack of papers, they were nothing but ice cold. Without saying anything else she handed them to confused Tatum, whose eyes widened and his jaw tensed, when he scanned the papers in his hands.

“What is it?” asked Tatum after a moment in a calm voice. His expression was unreadable, but his gaze - mocking.

“This is an offer,” replied she, leaning back in her chair. “But before you can refuse it I really would advise you to reconsider. If you really care about your father, accept the offer.”

“Or what?” asked Tatum, feeling how his heart squeezed painfully in his chest.

“Or Mr. Mendoza can accidentally be accused of selling some information to tabloids in regards to my daughter... my poor little Claire. And with that he will loose his job without severance pay and without recommendations,” she smirked watching how Tatum’s face paled, knowing that she had reached the target. Hitting him in two weaknesses at once... her own daughter and his father.

“Why?”

“Because, I know that you are in love with Claire,” said Missis President, holding her hand up for him to be quiet. “But she isn't meant for you... and she never will be,” the harsh voice of Claire’s mother thundered in the quietness of her office. The usually friendly mask on her face during the public speeches replaced by the scowl meant only for him.

“What will happen if I refuse?” he asked looking bravely into The First Lady of Rutherland eyes, the stoic expression firmly placed on his face.

“If you will refuse as I said already your father will lose his job. And accused of selling some compromising information and pictures to tabloids in regards to my daughter. After that no one from your family will be able to find a job. Not in Rutherland. Not in any diplomatically friendly kingdoms or countries. And I make sure that this little scandal will bring the end for yours and Claire’s “friendship”. As for the tabloid scandal.... A little bit of bad press will do good for her though it may not be very pleasant.”

For a moment Tatum stopped speaking, pulled out of his memory by Claire squeezing his hand a little bit too hard, and when he lifted his eyes from their interlocked fingers he noticed how hers were glistening with unshed tears.

“You accepted her offer, then why were you deployed?” quietly asked Claire, still trying to process everything what she just learned.

“Because even though I accepted the offer I never could really forget you. And our letters to each other were a proof... I never stopped having feelings for you, but to survive I learned how to hide them from anyone.”

“Sur - - - vive?” choked Claire, feeling how her blood run cold, and her palms started to sweat from the terror that suddenly washed over her.

Tatum nodded, closing his eyes for a moment, while another memory washed over him.

It was another day closer to demobilisation, when he was finishing the letter for Claire. The one he didn’t know yet he will never send.

Scanning the letter for the last time he handed it over to the sergeant before walking for their daily training.

Many hours later, spent and exhausted, he walked to his quarter that he shared with 3 others. Suddenly he was stopped by the harsh barking voice of the commanding officer. Ordering him to come to his office. And as soon as he got inside five others were on him, exactly as many as he needed to be immobilised and taken out even in his current state of exhaustion and even when taken by surprise. The series of blows fell on him from all sides, beating him with all might and with everything that they could get hold on. Making his breath catch deep inside his throat, trying to fight back. But at the end immobilised... barely breathing... tied to the chair. His lip split, and his ribs definitely cracked. The swell was already forming on his head, as did the swell under his right eyes.

He barely could make his first pained breath when he heard the door shut, and the hot blinding rod dug into his thigh. Making him scream in pain, almost fainting. He still didn’t know what possibly he could have done or why this was happening. But the only thing he knew for sure was that nothing here or anywhere in this country was happening without the order from Mrs. President and the next word said by the commanding officer made it perfectly clear.

“What did he say to you?” asked Claire quietly, her voice even quieter than a whisper, rasped from tears. “What have they done to you?” The tears streamed down her face unable to hold them any longer.

“He said to never write to you or think about you or love you. That you are not for me... and that you never will be and that... that you forgot me long ago...,” Tatum said with unreadable look on his face, but the way his fingers held hers she could feel that he needed her to say that it was all a lie and that the pain he endured wasn’t for nothing.

“I didn’t... These letters were the only thing that kept me afloat while you were away. And then they stopped,” said Claire, the tears streaming down her face. “I thought you have died... and than my mother made me think that you abandoned me... she made me believe that I meant nothing to you... saying that if you would die you would have come back in a metal casket, and adding that there is still every chance of it happening,” Claire said quietly. She squeezed her eyes shut, pushing the painful memories away. But it didn’t help and the same pain and devastation that she felt the day her mother said that washed over her, bringing back all the painful memories of her tears for weeks after that, alone and broken. Her voice tensed, and the anger bubbled out, her eyes darken, while her hands squeezed his. “Than two months later I received your last letter saying that you are okay and getting deployed to the south. This was your last letter, not like the ones I used to receive from you and after awhile... I started to believe that you did forget about me. Started to believe that I didn’t feel this hollow pain inside me. What did they done to you?”

“They tortured me until I couldn’t think. Until I stopped resisting. And until I made them believe that I gave up... that I will forget you,” His hand involuntarily let go of hers, dropping to the side of his hip.

“Than why... how did you get a place on my security team,” she asked, after a moment. Her hand dropping near his, her fingers softly running over the place where his were just a moment ago. His voice lowering to a masculine growl before he intertwined his fingers with hers, moving them away from his scar.

“I was the best in my squad. Most enduring, most vigilant, most fearless. And I have nothing to lose as all what I had, I thought I already have lost. When your mother’s political advisor came to me with this offer, I was surprised, but not interested. I said him that, but I guess it was another of her ways to torture me and to make sure that my feelings for you had gone. So she insisted... she knew that putting your safety in my hands would mean I will never jeopardise it as I knew you from childhood. And even though she believed I don’t love you anymore, she still knew that I better would get killed rather than let anyone hurt you,” said Tatum running his thumbs over her knuckles gently. He could sense how she moved closer to him, her forehead leaning against his, while they set together in silence until he spoke again. “I never wanted to come back. I never wanted to put your life in my hands as if anything would happen to you, I would not be able to live with myself,” he whispered quietly, and she felt how her hurt cracked for him even more. And the anger of her mother growing stronger. “The official version of why I agreed is that being a Presidential Guardsman is a "cushy" job compared to some of my other options so I would try and make the best of it. But unofficial,” he whispered leaning toward her. “The one only you can know, is that I still love you. Love you even stronger than before. And I want to protect you or die trying,” said he, his last words muffled slightly by his lips pressed to hers, kissing her tenderly.

Her rosy lips parting for him with a moan, kissing him deeper. Rolling her tongue over his, while she straddled his lap. Easily kneeling from both sides of his thighs without breaking their kiss. Her delicate fingers running up his spine until they were lost in the shortest hair on the back of his neck, guiding him even closer to her. Groaning, when his mouth claimed hers, and his fingers dug firmly into her skin. He could feel how his length started to grow, but before he could run his hands higher up her thighs the stubborn voice in his head repeated to him that here is something else he needed to tell her. Something that he needed her to understand.

Gently he ran the hand through her hair, losing himself at the feel of her silky curls. His fingers splayed on the small of her bare back, feeling how the warm radiating from her body. His lips moved along hers in a slow toe-curling kiss while he tried to find the strength to pull away. And he could feel how the tremor ran through him, when she shifted slightly pressing herself into him. Her body rocking over his hardness with the purpose till he finally stopped her with the low masculine growl. His hands gripping her hips holding them in place. His breathing laboured. And his eyes closed.

“CoCo, please...,” he groaned, his forehead resting against hers. Slowly he opened his eyes, meeting her confused gaze, smiling softly to her while tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. His fingers gently grazing her red swollen parted lips, wishing for nothing else but to kiss them. And it took everything in him to finally pull away.

“You pull away again,” Claire sighed, starting to move away from his lap before his strong hands stopped her. His fingers digging into her hips, settling her back making her feel how much he wanted her. How strong and fast his body reacted on hers even from the slightest kiss. Wanting her to know that it taking him enormous effort not to kiss her or to have her right here. Wanting her to make no mistake in his intentions. And needing her to make no mistake in his feelings for her.

His lips involuntarily touching hers in a sweet short kiss. Her face cradled between his palms, unable to resist temptation, but also needing her to know how much he loved her. Putting in this short sweet kiss all the feelings he held onto since they were just kids.

“I’m not pulling away. I just... Claire before we will move forward with everything that we know now. I need you to understand that the boy who left you... who was sent away from you does not exist anymore. This is me now. What you have seen during these weeks here is me. The man who hides his feelings behind the mask. The man who cannot get his personal attachments on the way of doing his job. The man who cannot be distracted in a fear for you to get hurt. I cannot... cannot lose... another person I care about,” his voice cracked, while his eyes filled with painful memories.

“Tell me...,” whispered Claire, placing her hand gently on his cheek, making him meet her eyes, watching him nod before starting his story.

“It was my first month in deployment... and the first real mission I was sent to... I and two other soldiers. The location we were given was only twenty minutes away from our base station. And based on the intel we received the city was just another civilian location loyal to their leader. One of many that your mother wanted to get on her side, one way or another. According to information we had, that city had no military trained soldiers, no snipers and no minefields. It was an easy mission as we just needed to gather more information and then leave, but something went wrong.

The guys I was sent with to this mission were good guys... my closest friends. The ones we spend countless hours during battles and trainings. The ones who knew everything about me and where I grew up. All about my niece. Same as I knew all about them... But even they didn’t know about you... they just... they just suspected there was someone. But they never asked. And I never allowed myself to open up... at least not this part. But it was so hard not to think about you this day as specially when the subject of their talks were the women who waited for them home... what I wanted to have, but knew that it would never happen. Jo was only a year older than me and all he could speak about was his fiancée who he would marry in the coming spring as soon as he would get back home. And Spence was a decade older with a wife and two children at home. And all he could think of was his pregnant wife and two girls who wanted for their father to come back alive. Ignoring their chatters I allowed only a moment of weakness... and I thought about you. 

We didn’t expect anything to happen so for the first time in months I let myself to think about you... And then... Spence noticed it first. The sniper’s target... But it all happened so quickly that none of us could react fast enough. We saw how the windshield of the car broke and then the swooshing of the sniper’s bullet hit Jo... I tried to get to him, but before I could I felt Spencer showed me to the side, saving me. And the next thing I knew was the sniper’s bullet coming straight through his heart. And then... Everything that happened next, happened in a blur. I acted on instincts, and by the time we were out of danger, they were both cold dead and I was still alive...

They were great guys... with families. And I... I had nothing. I should have been the one who would lose my life... Not them... and it was my fault that their lives were taken. I should have been vigilant... Probably if I wouldn’t be distracted, they would both live...”

“You can’t know this for sure...,” gently said Claire, the tears running down her face, while her hands cradled Tatum’s face making him meet her eyes.

“I know... I know. But after what happened, I promised myself to never ever get distracted while doing my job. This is why I need to act as if you aren’t my friend, or the woman I love. I need to act as you are just my assignment and nothing more. Claire, I cannot lose you too. Can you please help me? Will you help me to protect you?”

“I will... But you are wrong. You said that the boy who left doesn't exist anymore, but you are still here… you are still this boy. The only difference is that you became so closed off, so afraid to show your feelings that I started to think that you don’t care about me anymore,” whispered she honestly cupping his face between her palms. Her lips were so close that he could feel her hot breath ghosting against his lips. “But I was wrong too... the more you open up to me... the more I could see my Tatum... my friend and the guy I fell in love with so many years ago. I understand why you need to act like that, but for now... just for today let’s just be Claire and Tatum. Too best friends. Boy and girl who fell in love. No hiding. No fighting that. Just us.”

Tagging: @jamespotterthefirst​​​ @choices-bound​​​ @sophxwithers​ @openheartthot​​​ @ramseysrookiex​​​ @shaylan211 @annekebbphotography​​​ @boneandfur​​ @mercury84choices​​ @xxrainbow-princessxx​​

[mc-critical]

Since you said you just rewatched Isabella's arc, what do you think really happened at her end? Was she really killed or just sent away by boat to a monastery in Vienna like Suleiman said to Ibrahim? Hurrem told Nigar and Gul aga to throw them to sea, but scene was cut after Gul aga then said princess was still alive. A little hesitation seems to happen in Hurrem's face. Or maybe that really happened and Suleiman knew everything and just wanted to exculpate Hurrem so he kinda lied to Ibrahim? What do you think? :)

It remained more of a plot hole than anything, since the show didn't confirm it outright still, but I think there were much more hints given that Hürrem actually killed Isabella and SS eventually learned about it and covered for her than any other possible resolution for the plot line.

Hürrem was very adamant in throwing both Karmina and Isabella to Bosphorus and despite of the look she gave after Gül told her the princess was alive, there wasn't any indicator that she might have changed her mind. (or else they would have shown us, because think about it, would the show miss a chance in showing that Hürrem has some remorse/humanity left inside of her, even in regards to her enemies at this point? Highly doubt it.) Isabella and the servant were already gone in the morning and while I get why, say, Gülşah would wait until the morning to tell Mahidevran about her discovery through eavesdropping (she wasn't the brightest crayon in the room and the plot demanded it for a reason.), why would Nigar and Gül Aga wait until the morning to execute Hürrem's order? They knew full well that it was risky to keep her there, for that someone would find her sooner or later, Hürrem also knew that and wanted them to quickly deal with this problem (Nigar has shown her agency when it came to the orders of someone before, but given she helped with the poisoning, ordered by Ibrahim, that brought Karmina's death, would she risk Isabella being around to expose everything? And Gül Aga was unconditionally loyal to Hürrem.), so that's why I think they threw them both into Bosphorus before the morning came and were done with it.

Now, it would be something else if someone from SS's people found Isabella, told SS and he somehow intervened. Alright, but how and when exactly did that happen when SS had no idea whatsoever of what had happened to Isabella in the morning? Did he simply pull an act then? That would have been too much of a stretch, even for him. He wouldn't scold everyone and call for an investigation if he did. Even if he found out eventually, was there even a time for him to intervene? The episode was pretty tick with its plot threads, the pacing was very fast and we quickly, very quickly transitioned with Hürrem declaring her victory in front of little Mihrimah when we were still in day, while SS's confrontation with Hürrem was at night. How would he intervene and what would he do?  Make up a story and send Isabella back to her country instead? Actually, Melike Ipek Yalova once claimed that this is what happened in an interview, little Mustafa had that suspicion while Mahidevran was looking at the SS-Hürrem nightly confrontation as well, and that could be the truth and it makes what the show showed even messier as a result, but dizis are usually written week for week and Meryem Uzerli mentioned in her confession interview about her disappearance in S03 that the script was constantly changing due to Meral's illness, hence that could've been only one of the versions of what happened and Melike might have had no idea about what they ultimately chose. (similarly to Cansu Dere, who, as I discerned due to her take on Firuze's relationship with SS in the MC: "Secret World" documentary, had no idea about the poison twist, probably because that was revealed after Cansu left and they simply hadn't planned the twist in advance. Melike's last scene as Isabella was her confrontation with Hürrem before Hürrem gave the order to get rid of both Karmina and her.) In-universe, SS couldn't have possibly brought her back to her country in my opinion, why? Because he was so ready to use Isabella as a tool for his political game just until a while ago, wanted her as close as possible (that was his reasoning for having her in the harem) and while he may have given a sign to Ibrahim that he may do an exception with her as a state matter due to him having a halvet with her, wouldn't sending her to his country thwart all he had in mind entirely? Wouldn't that be a little too risky when SS declared her dead? (yes, Gritti sent a message to Frederick that Isabella was actually alive and Frederick planned to get her back somehow, but no one else next to him believed him about that and told him to stand still, hence most people still thought of her as dead and SS has no idea that Frederick and Gritti know.) Okay, maybe he wanted to protect Isabella from Hürrem doing something to her since she's too valuable as a state matter and he didn't want strife in his harem (or at least that's what he convinces himself), so he might have put her somewhere far from everyone. But wouldn't it be more logical to send her to Carl, just as he planned, again not a while ago? Maybe he wanted to have her somewhere no one expected her to be, but why in her country, he would lose political points like this?

If he brought her to a monastery for her to cleanse herself of her sins like he actually said, he gives up from using her as a political tool entirely.... why exactly? Because of Hürrem and because of protection, when he still prioritized politics over his harem after all? (and he said a few episodes ago that the empire cannot be ruled when you're influenced by a woman or her tears) He may have thought she was played enough and maybe he wanted to give her a closure, but again, we're back to when did that happen exactly when the events were running one after another? Yes, this way he would have a win-win and Isabella would be far and secluded from everyone, but where did all the grand plans with her go, how did it happen? He demanded investigation while Isabella was gone after all and if he found out from the investigation, I doubt he could've interfered, because I doubt Isabella survived a throw into Bosphorus or she somehow escaped herself or found a ship that could save her or something. Besides, what happened to Karmina then? If SS found out, she would've been thrown into Boshorus anyway, because she was dead and no one would leave Isabella hanging until he waited for the investigation results? And if not, what, his people would just drag Isabella along to a monastery off-screen? And would Isabella trust they even were SS's people after what happened to her in the harem? This would've been much of a chase. Even without people, how did SS order a boat in the middle of the night when what happened happened in the morning after? etc. etc.

I believe SS found out about this whole ordeal at a point when he couldn't have interfered anymore and made up a story to cover for Hürrem and the loss. This simply makes the most sense given the timeline of events. While we were still wondering what happened to Isabella, Valide heard Hürrem's words to Mihrimah, her telling SS and after a conversation between the foreigners that had nothing to do with Isabella, a transition between day and night happened. Then Hürrem is called by SS, Gül is worried and Hürrem tells him the following: "If you acted like this all day, everyone must have understood that it was you." (along with him being worried about Mahidevran telling SS about her suspicions, which hints even more that they were correct.) This says more than enough for me. Hürrem sees her order as executed and the results of SS's investigation must have come to him at the night and then he couldn't have done anything, but simply make up a story to save his dignity and Ego, what's done is done. The confrontation with Hürrem itself shows that SS already knows more about Hürrem's involvement in the matter than simply Valide's accusations: he looks madder than he would if Isabella wasn't a lost cause, he started to speak about how his kids should always know who he is and then switched to asking Hürrem to remember who she's standing in front of. She has apparently crossed a line, a pretty big line that went over SS's own head. He also says: "What kind of love is this, Hürrem?  Is love destroying? What's the limit of it? When will you stop? When will you be stopped?". Would he say that if she hasn't gone on the road to no return regarding Isabella? Yes, SS has punished her for something she hasn't done before in the past, he has played both with actions and words her and everyone else more than once, but this time these words leave room for something else. They hint that Hürrem has gotten what she wanted and that she couldn't be stopped, not even by him.

The confrontation with Ibrahim happened only the next day, after SS confronted Hürrem and came to terms with what happened. After all, he can't say outright, not even to Ibrahim who knew was against Hürrem and already doubted for other stuff, that Hürrem has done it under his nose. It would accommodate him much more to project the image of a higher authority who doesn't allow for stuff to happen without his knowledge and consent, for people to respect him as such and reconsider working behind his back or betraying his trust. SS wants absolute loyalty and when he can't get that or he suspects that he hasn't gotten that, he tends to remind everyone of how above them he is, no matter how much has he messed up himself or how right or wrong are his deeds.

I may be overthinking, because all this arc turned out to be was pointless fuel at the end of the day and I doubt they applied so much logic to it, but this is where I stand on its resolution.

[raleighcarrera]

oh girl it’s loving Jake hours here 24/7 so uhhhhh if you still want prompts how about Best Experience/Worst Experience for him & ur MC 👀

best vs. worst prompts / 28. best experience vs. worst experience

the worst experience 

thinking that taylor is dead is pretty fucking bad.

in fact, it’s just about the worst thing that’s ever happened to him, and he hasn’t exactly had a good run of things. 

the whole experience is miserable -- from the moment they share their last kiss to the way her hand slips out of his no matter how tightly he holds on, to how he has to force himself to do the right thing and help her along on her mission.

he doesn’t want to, is the thing. he wants to stop her from doing this -- this stupid, brave, heroic sacrifice. he wants to beg her to reconsider, to find another way. they can take the deal and bring everyone back and maybe things won’t be perfect but they’ll be together, won’t they, and then -- 

jesus christ, they’ll figure it out like they have with everything else.

but she doesn’t give him that option. it all happens so quickly, and then she’s gone, and they’re back to their regular lives and everything is perfect except that there’s a giant fucking hole in his heart that he isn’t sure how he’s supposed to live with.

it’s impossible not to dwell. he listens to her voicemail more times than he can count, sitting and stewing over everything that happened and everything that could’ve been. through it all -- the trial, being pardoned, moving back home and seeing his mom and sister again -- he goes over the what ifs until they threaten to drive him crazy.

most of the time it just feels like life is happening around him. 

he’s drifting aimlessly, watching things happen to other people while feeling so lost himself part of him wonders every day if he made the right decision, not doing more to stop her. 

and it’s strange to finally have all the things he thought would make him happy -- the truth, out there for everyone, a permanent place to settle, being with his his family -- and still be so utterly miserable every day.

that is until...

the best experience 

...there’s a knock at his door one random tuesday in june.

no one is home but him. rebecca and his mother have been doing their best to give him his space, though he knows their patience has to be wearing thin, too. “it’s been almost a year, jake,” becca had whispered to him on one particularly bad evening, as though he had any understanding of time anymore or cared.

through the worst time of his life, he hadn’t even dared to hope that things would be different. for all their promises to find each other in any dimension, any time loop, any lifetime -- her goodbye had felt pretty final. and he wasn’t an idiot.

so that’s why it feels like seeing a ghost when he opens the front door and sees taylor standing there, in the same little cutoffs and tank top she was wearing when they kissed for the last time on la huerta.

“hi,” she squeaks out, already choked up. those big, blue eyes of hers are wet with tears. her hands twist anxiously in front of her.

his jaw drops to the floor. the same time that had been so cruel to him and dragged on so slowly for the last nine months now stands completely still, the pounding of his own heart like kick drums in his ears. “taylor?”

she nods. her bottom lip trembles. “uh huh. it’s me. jake, i --”

“it can’t be.” he shakes his head, lifting a hand to rub at his eyes. this is a trick, it has to be. he watched her disappear into the sky, he saw her leave. “you can’t be taylor, she...”

...is still there, crying on his porch. jesus, okay. 

“jake,” she breathes again, and that crumples the last of his resolve. he’s only human, and she’s here -- however she is and whatever she is. 

he stumbles forward to pull her into his arms and wraps her up in the biggest hug he’s capable of, squeezing her body to his. taylor is warm and solid in his arms, smelling like sunshine and snow in equal measures. a vivid sensory memory smacks him in the face near-immediately, hurtling him right back to that last goodbye.

“fuck.” now he’s emotional, too. “i don’t understand, how did you --”

“me either,” she rushes to answer shakily, pulling back enough to see his face, cupping his jaw reverently in her hands. “i wasn’t supposed to, i should’ve stayed... but... yesterday i woke up at home like nothing happened and i -- i had to see you, but i never thought... god, jake, it feels like i’ve been gone for a hundred years, i didn’t know if you’d be here or if you’d be --”

he cuts her off with a kiss, the kiss he’s been dreaming about since the last one ended and he watched her disappear. taylor makes a sound against his mouth like she’s drowning and he greedily pulls her in closer, dragging her through the doorway and kicking it closed behind her back so there’s a flat surface for him to take advantage of, letting her get her legs up around his waist. 

“jake,” she sighs between kisses, her hands yanking at his hair and keeping him anchored to this moment when it feels like his mind is racing a mile a minute, trying to process the emotional whiplash that has his heart feeling like it’s about to explode. “oh my god, i missed you so much.”

“i missed you every -- fucking -- day, taylor, fuck,” he gasps, squeezing her so tightly there’s no way she’s going anywhere, this time. 

except for when they lose track of time again, somehow, and the door behind her back gives way what might be ten minutes or an hour later, sending them both tumbling forward onto the floor.

his sister blinks down at the both of them in surprise, but taylor’s hand never leaves his, keeping their fingers intertwined even as she climbs off of him apologetically. he’s sure they look the very picture of debauchery, if his hair is as mussed and his eyes are as wild as taylor’s are, her lips kiss-bitten and swollen.

“okay, wow,” rebecca says slowly, looking just as confused as he feels. that taylor hasn’t disappeared in a puff of smoke yet feels far too good to be true. 

he already knows he won’t be able to sleep a wink tonight -- that he’ll spend the entire evening staring at her, just in case. 

“i feel like you must be -- taylor?” she asks, and he watches as taylor’s teeth sink into her bottom lip and she nods, slowly and carefully. “well -- okay. i mean, i have a lot of questions, but...”

her eyes slide to jake, her eyebrows lifting curiously. “i’ll let you guys finish catching up first. jesus, mom is going to flip. you’d better be ready for dinner in two hours.”

[midnightmochi]

Can you write about jumin having an argument with mc and the arguments didn't end well. They went to work with bitterness. So mc work as a medical emergency team response and was sent to help the victims of a collapsed building. During the evacuation, mc was caught in the collapsed. She was badly injured but not life threatening. Jumin being busy he is doesn't know this until it was showed on the . If it's not to your liking you can ignore it.

Words that Shouldn’t Have Been Said

Parings: Jumin Han x MC/Reader

Genre: Angst w/ Good Ending

Warnings: Language, Hospitals, Crying

Word Count: 1,301 words

Notes: Hey! Thank you both for requesting this, it’s been in my box for a while since I went onto hiatus for so long. I hope you like this!

“Why are you so stubborn? Is it something I had done?” MC angrily exclaimed as her face flushed red from anger. 

“How many times do I have to repeat myself? It’s not. Stop asking me over and over again.” Jumin responded bluntly with hints of irritation in his voice. 

MC frustratingly sighed as they were putting on their work uniform hastily. Jumin and MC have been arguing all night. Every corner and bit of atmosphere of Jumin’s penthouse were echoed with words and voices filled with wrath. Jumin has been very distant and cold recently, it’s gotten to a point where it’s upsetted MC, causing them to bring the issue up.

“It’s not just nothing, you’ve been acting like a stranger around me for the past fucking week. You haven’t even been talk to me that much and all you have been doing is engrossing yourself in your piles of work and bottles and bottles of wine.” MC screamed as they were putting on their watch while looking at the time as they gathered the last few items while walking towards the door, ready to leave. MC was a first respondant and they were off-duty when they received an emergency page. 

MC hit a nerve within Jumin with their language and tone. Suddenly, Jumin’s usual calm composure was now overcame with anger as he uncontrollably spat out, “Perhaps, stop pushing your unpleasant curiousity into business that is not yours and refrain from being so sensitive.”

The moment those words left Jumin’s lips, MC halted their steps, facing the door with their back turned to him. Jumin’s insensitive words jabbed at MC, they bit their lips refusing to cry as tears started filling their eyes. Tense silence hung in the air for what seemed forever.

Jumin’s eyes widened as he covered his mouth realising what he has just said. “MC… I-”

MC lowered their head down as they stared at the floor, as they finally spoke wlth a trembling voice, “Han Jumin. As engrossed as you are in things that arent related with me, I’d still wish for you to remember that I am your wife/husband and you are my husband. I am worried and upset because my husband isn’t acting like Han Jumin. I’m annoying you and getting in your business because I give a shit about you, about us. So please, even when you don’t consider me the same way, keep that in your mind.” MC sniffled, wiped their tears and opened the door to leave and slammed it shut behind them.

“MC, WAIT, COME BACK!” he shouted as he listened to the sound of MC’s footsteps fading away, knowing he can’t stop them with people’s on the line requiring their aid. Jumin knocked all the papers on his large worktable onto the floor in anger, scaring Elizabeth the 3rd that was sitting on the side. Jumin buried his face in his hands in regret. He took out his cellphone to call them, only for it to go directly to their voicemail. He dropped the phone on his table and grunted in annoyance. 

Then there was a knock on the door, Jumin rose his head hoping to see MC, but was greeted with the serious face of his security officer. His security spoke, “the Gala building at downtown is collapsing sir, people are requesting our resources down to help.”“We shall send our helicopters then, and try to help all we can.” Jumin replied in his now monotonous voice, refuosing so show his loss of composure.

“Yes sir,” the security officer said, walking out of the room but then pausing to say, “and I’ll get you your maid to help you clean that up, sir.”

☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆

There were heavy layers of dust and debris floating in the air. MC rose their voice and screamed loud enough for everyone to hear through the mask that they wore. They yelled out instructions to get to safety and all the safety precautions they needed to take. They escorted every single one, tending the ones that are injured, taking their pulses, and trying to get the ones who needed ambulance to the ambulance cars. They pushed a loose strand of hair back as they look at the building that was barely standing up. The firefighters went in and out of the building, grabbing whoever they could. Out of the corner of their eyes, MC saw a child crying and yelping for help with a very loose beam on top of her. 

“LOOK OUT!” MC screamed as they sprinted towards the building, putting down all the fear and worries inside their mind aside. They grabbed the child by the arms flung them to safety. But then, the next thing they knew, there was a large crash and everything went black. 

☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ★✼☆

Jumin was frustratingly staring at the news that was playing on the huge flat-screen TV that was mounted on his wall. But, his mind wasn’t really listening to what the news reporter was saying because his mind reconsidering the words he said during the argument today. *I’m an idiot. Why did I say that? I lost myself within my emotions, and placed my anger onto them. I have to apologise when they come home today.* Jumin was lost in his thoughts until a familiar name rung in his ear.

“There was 25 casualties today at the scene of the collapse. One being C&R’s Director Han’s wife/husband, Han MC. They were saving a child from a collapsing beam inside the building. The beam collapsed onto MC and they are now being rushed to the hospital along with the 24 others.” The news reporter stated in her robotic voice.

At this Jumin’s eyes widened. He started to panic and yelled for his security to get his ride ready to go to the nearest local hospital. Jumin paced around his room as he started losing his sanity, crying and sobbing. For once in his lifetime, he decided to pray to the God that he never really believed in in his whole so-called Christian life. He prayed that they were okay and alive. He apologised to God for the hurtful things they said to MC and that they are willing to even give their own life in exchange for theirs. 

☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ★✼☆

MC’s eyes fluttered open as their vision was filled with the white ceiling and walls. The sound of the monitor beeped in their ears as the smell of medicine lingered in the air. They turned their head to see a sobbing Jumin with his head down in the bed, sniffling and praying. MC weakly reached their hand out to stroke Jumin’s face. 

Jumin was startled and surprised as he bombarded MC with questions, “Are you okay!? Are you hurting!? Why weren’t you more careful!? Why didn’t you tell me where you were going?” 

MC stared at Jumin with blank confusion on their face. They wiped Jumin’s tears away with the weak force that was left within them. Jumin cleared his throat and apologised for asking so many questions because he was so worried. He rose his hand to MC’s and held it and then started crying harder. 

“I’m sorry, love. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for the words I shouldn’t have said, I was inconsiderate and overwhelmed with work. It blinded me and caused me to distance myself away from you. You’re right I should’ve opened up to you and talked to you instead of hiding away. Please forgive me. I am so glad that you’re alive, I thought I was going to lose you…” Jumin sobbed as he broke down.

MC just smiled as they strated to cry too. They started apologising for the words that they said that upsetted Jumin. MC made Jumin promise them that he would never close himself away from them ever again. 

They faintly spoke, “I’m grateful that I’m alive too. I’m so grateful that your face is the first thing I see when I open my eyes, just like every morning in bed. And I hope that it keeps being this way as we grow old together.”

[a-cat001]

A Tailors Ambition

After a long week of exams, you were exhausted and ready to lay back for the weekend, especially since you would be going over to visit Tsathoggua, you had found yourself increasingly visiting Tsathoggua to retreat from the stress and relax. You make sure to tell Shiro where you’ll be before waving off to your friends and heading to Roppongi. Once there you manage to sneak into the casino without being spotted by the usual trio lest they try to foil your weekend relaxation, since they were all busy in a meeting except for Tsathoggua. Since the roppongi executives had made explicitly clear to  all workers that you were to be allowed access to the casino, you were able to quickly make it down the levels of the casino to Tsath’s room. As you walk up to the door you can hear what sounds like yelling coming from inside causing you to hesitate before you open the door, hoping that Hakumen didn’t decide to skip the meeting. Upon opening the door you instead see Tsath cowering in fear as Agyo waves a broom over his head menacingly  yelling about how Tsathoggua should keep his room tidy, which causes you to let out a rather loud laugh you were trying to suppress. At the noise Tsathoggua’s ears perk up and he turns to look in your direction before giving off a wide grin and practically jumping up and rushing over to you, “Oh my goodness!” is all you get to say before Tsath has lifted you up in his embrace and you are face to face with him. “I’m so glad you’re heeere” he says, peering over his shoulder you look down to see his little puffball tail wiggling with excitement, “Yep, definitely a happy sloth”. “Come, you can sit wherever you waaaant, I’ve got plenty of snaaaacks!” he says, upon mentioning snacks however Agyo points his broom directly at Tsathoggua  causing him to pull you in close like a lifeline as he pulls down his ears and cowers again, “There had better not be any crumbs left around after I just cleaned this place!” Agyo shouts. You smile and sigh as you pet Tsathoggua’s head to comfort him before Agyo resumes his cleaning spree, to which Tsathoggua carries you over to his gaming setup and sets you down. A few hours pass of nothing but games and relaxation, apart from one incident where Tsathoggua had ignored Agyo’s warning of leaving behind crumbs, earning him an overhead slam from behind with a broom causing him to bite down on his tongue that was sticking out like a cash register drawer. After just finishing an online battle royale with Tsathoggua the two of you cheer your victory before one of Tsathoggua’s minions taps his leg to get his attention and holds up an alarm clock causing Tsathoggua to sigh. “Oh yeah, I almooost forgot.” he says, you ask what he means and he explains that he had promised to help Arachne with something today and he was supposed to be meeting her soon. “Would you mind coming with meeeeee?” he asks, considering you didn’t want to get involved with anything this weekend you contemplated turning him down but any objections fell short when you turned to see him giving you three big puppy eyes “pleeeease?”. You were unable to resist and agreed to follow him as he led you to another level of the casino that Arachne was using as a workshop for her fashion projects with the door being pretty obvious as it had a large sign on it saying “Fashion in Progress”. Upon entering you find Arachne busy at work doing some stitching on some large clothes before she directs her attention at you two “Ah there you are Tsathoggua I’ve been needing you, and greetings to you as well MC” You and Tsathoggua say hello back before Arachne quickly starts back up. “Thank you for volunteering and don’t worry this hopefully won’t take too long and I have plenty of honey snacks for you while you wait.”, Tsathoggua opens his mouth to speak before silk threads suddenly shoot out and incircle his legs, tying them together and pulling them straight, “WAIT WHAAA-!!”, more threads shootout and wrap around his wrists and arms, pulling them outwards until Tsathoggua was pulled into a T-pose position looking like an insect caught in a spider’s web. Tsathoggua tugs at the silk ropes but they hold firm as more silk glues his feet in place, “What the heck!” you exclaim turning to Arachne, before she puts her hands up in defense “Don’t worry this way he won’t have to stand up on his own and will be able to relax while I do my work.”. You give her a puzzled look before she explains that she had planned to expand her fashion selection by including transients of different sizes considering the variety of sizes of transients that were present in Tokyo. In order to create new fashion designs for larger than average transients she had asked Tsathoggua to be a model for her, “Ok, but do these threads have to be so tiiiiight” Tsathoggua whines behind you, “Sorry I’ll loosen the the threads a bit to make this more comfortable but a model must be able to maintain their posture.” says Arachne. As the time passes you watch as Arachne weaves outfit after outfit to fit Tsathoggua’s frame while a column of Tsathoggua’s minions form a chain up to Tsathoggua’s level to feed him honey pudding, while you yourself sit back and enjoy some honey pudding. Everything is going smoothly until you hear a familiar voice shout “TSATHOGGUA, WHERE ARE YOU!”Tsathoggua's eyes blow wide open as he begins to struggle desperately to free himself but between the sticky silk holding his feet in place and tough silk ropes, he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. “He must have opened the clooooset!” Tsathoggua exclaims, “What's wrong with the closet?” you ask, Tsathoggua explains to you that he had been hiding his garbage when Agyo shows up by stuffing it all into his closet, to which you shake your head “yeah, that would definitely send Agyo on a rampage”. Suddenly the door swings open and Agyo steps inside, “There you are! I’ve got some serious complai- W-WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!?” you turn to look at Arachne who is eyeballing Agyo up and down while her back legs begin to twitch, a look you were all too familiar with. Suddenly she snaps from her daze and exclaims “Yes, you will make a perfect model for smaller transient sizes!” Agyo takes off in fear but doesn’t get far before a loop of thread flies out and lassos Agyo’s legs together causing him to fall over. Arachne then begins to pull in the thread with her back legs like a fisher reeling in their line, causing Agyo to scream in terror as he tries to free his legs “WAAAAHHH, STOP- MC PLEASE HEEEEELP!”, before he reaches Arachne you sever the thread with your sword and scoop up Agyo in your arms who clings to you while whimpering. “Maybe we can try a less aggressive approach!?”, “I apologize, it seems I lost control of myself again” she exclaims, offering some pudding to Agyo and asking if he may reconsider being a model some other day. Arachne continues on with her work as Agyo sits in your lap enjoying his pudding until Arachne is finished and unwinds the threads around Tsathoggua. Once released he stretched himself out before slumping over in his usual posture “I’m tiiiiired, let’s go back to my room, yeah?”. Being tired yourself, you're quick to agree, “come on you big fluffy sloth” you say as you boop his nose causing it to wiggle before a slight blush fills his cheeks. You then head out back to Tsath’s room with Agyo and Tsathoggua in tow, ready to get some rest.

[summonerscenarios]

this isn't at all relevant to sin so feel free to postpone this but in your opinion. out of the summorners who would be the most to least helpful if mc starts crying? I can literally already see toji standing there like :[

ASDFGHJKL OKAY SO THE SECOND I IMAGINED TOJI IN THIS SCENARIO I JUST IMAGINED HIM IN THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM COMFORTING MC LIKE THIS

Buuuuuut in all seriousness here’s my personal opinions of worst to best (though the middle is a mixed mess lmao)

-------

Toji

Toji’s arguably the most awkward out of all of the Summoners and handles it the least well when he sees you crying. He isn’t sure what the best way to comfort you is - with words or with actions Toji’s expertise really doesn’t lie in either of them. He’s kept to himself for a long time and as a result handling others emotions and figuring out what people want to hear when they’re vulnerable isn’t something that he’s used to. Toji keeps his distance unless you explicitly state that you want him to come closer, though he does try his best to comfort you with his words. He’s aware that he’s not the best to handle these sorts of things - he’s confident that Ryota or Hanuman would be better suited to cheer you up, but if he’s the only one there he isn’t just going to walk out and let you cry unless you tell him to get out - even he knows that sometimes you don’t want to be alone when you feel like the world is on your shoulders. 

Gullinbursti

Listen I would put Gullinbursti higher on this list if it wasn’t for one major factor. He means well in thought, but the execution can go very, very wrong depending on what’s got you upset. Of course, seeing his master upset, let alone reduced to tears is a sight that physically pains him, and he’s desperate to fix anything that has caused you such distress no matter the lengths it may take to do so. All you have to do is to say the word on what he can do to aid you and he is ON IT. You might want to be careful how you word it however, as we know Gull tends to take things literally, and at the insinuation that someone is responsible for your state he will charge headfirst to confront them before you even have the chance to - if you don’t want that confrontation you’re going to have to practically drag him back and explain that - no, you just wanna leave it. He may be insistent, but he values your word above all else, so if you don’t want to pursue it that’s that.

Kengo

Kengo walks in on your crying and the first words he blurts out is an awkward “Oh...you okay?” which if you weren’t openly sobbing you would’ve laughed at. Once he realizes that you’re seriously upset though he gets serious. His first thought is that someone’s responsible for upsetting you and he’s immediately on the defensive, demanding to know who made you cry and to just point him in their direction so he can kick their ass. Of course if it is someone responsible for making you cry it’s up to you if you want to give him names, just be sure before you do because he will 100% throw down with them with zero hesitation even if it gets him in trouble. If it’s something else though he’s a lot less sure on how to handle it, but seeing you upset of course he’s going to still wanna do something about it! The first thing he’s gonna do is get you to sit down, asking you what you want to do about whatever’s making you upset - talking things out isn’t always his style but hearing what you want to happen directly from you is the best way for him to understand how to help you. You wanna go out there and tackle it directly? He’ll be right behind you. Wanna just forget about it? Sure thing! The two of you can just talk about something else till you’re ready to move on. Wanna just get out of there? Kengo’s going to get you out of there asap and find somewhere you wanna go - whether that’s a bustling shopping district or somewhere quiet for some peace. You’re his partner and he’s got your back, regardless of how good he is at the whole comforting thing.

Agyo

Agyo of course freaks out seeing you start to cry - he’s not prepared to handle this and you can practically see him frantically trying to go through all of the ways to cheer someone up in his head as quickly as possible from across the room. For what it’s worth though he doesn’t just wait for you to cry it out like Toji probably would, and instead approaches you. The type to rub your back and pat your head while you get whatever crying to need to get off of your chest, telling you to just let it out and that you’ll feel better. With the way he tries to comfort you, you wouldn’t be surprised if he’s picked this up from someone else (most likely from Ungyo when Agyo was upset.) but it’s more comforting than you’d think to just have those lil head pats. Admittedly if you’re the hugging type of comforter he’ll whine a bit when you pull him in for a hug, holding off on scolding you about using him like a teddy bear since you’re upset and all, but for what it’s worth he’s super fluffy and squishy so he’s peak cuddling material. Just be sure to give him plenty of head rubs and he’ll relent on the fuss until you’re feeling better.

Moritaka

When Moritaka catches sight of the tears welling up in your eyes his first thought is to take your cheeks in his hands and wipe away those tears as they fall. If you make a noise of discomfort then he’ll quickly back off with an apology for acting before asking, however he can’t ignore that you’re upset and implores you to tell him what has caused you to cry. Mori’s an excellent listener, always willing an ear to your troubles and he takes it very seriously, even if you try to downplay it he insists that if it’s upsetting you it’s important. If you’re okay with physical contact you can be sure that you’ll be getting a comfort hug from him too, just holding you while you cry it out and bury your face into his fur as you let out all of your emotions. Letting your feelings get pent up is an easy way to get overwhelmed and he knows that lesson well, so he encourages you to get whatever you need to off of your shoulders and that you don’t need to carry these burdens alone.

Hanuman

Hanuman’s the master of cheering up through distractions. He sees you starting to cry and he’s immediately at your side asking if you wanna see something cool, catching you off guard as he tugs you over to whatever he thinks will help you forget alllll about what made you upset. There’s plenty of games that you guys can play together - he recommends multiplayer since he’s got some awesome fighting games the two of you can compete with! Or ones where you guys can work together! Or there’s single player options if you prefer - he’ll make it a game night and invite Tsath, Ryota and friends over if you want to be surrounded by people who care about you. And if you wanna see some of his ninja tricks he loves showing them off! Anything that is able to make you smile instead of cry he wants to do! To Hanuman so long as he can at least get a laugh out of someone when they’re upset it means he’s doing a good job of cheering you up; so of course he’s going to want to make you smile and laugh as much as he can until you’re crying from joy rather than sorrow.  When it comes to actually confronting your problems however Hanuman’s inexperienced; comforting sure, but unless it’s an issue that can be sorted out with some mischief or swiping something up from right under someone’s nose he’s stumped on how to help. Aside from that though if you’re just looking to get your mind off of what’s made you upset, if only for today Hanuman’s the boy for the job.

Shiro

When the tears start to fall Shiro takes the initiative, getting you into a position of comfort or safety while you cry, be it leading you to take a seat or getting you something to drink once the tears run dry (gotta keep hydrated after a cry if you wanna avoid the headache after folks). And of course if you need something to cuddle there’s already three lil D-evils on hand, swarming around you with concerned screeches upon noticing their Summoner’s fretting over you. Just seeing them worrying about you and clambering to wipe the tears off of your cheeks with chubby little fingers is enough to make you cry all over again at how much they care (which just makes everyone panic all over again thinking they’ve done something wrong until Shiro swoops back in to calm everyone down). Unlike most of the other Summoners, once you’ve calmed down he’d like to sit down with you and talk through the options that you have available to get through what upset you. If it’s a particular event he’d like you to walk him through it if you’re comfortable with it, and throughout he’ll ask you where you would like to go from here; and, if it’s a person who’s responsible, how you would like to confront them to deal with it. If you’d rather just forget about what happened altogether Shiro’s supportive but also thinks you should reconsider - if this situation was bad enough to reduce you to tears he just doesn’t feel right about it going unresolved, if you push though he will relent, afterall the choice is up to you in the end. 

Ryota

Ryota’s arguably the best in regards to comfort. He’s an empathetic soul at heart and seeing anyone in pain makes him want to do everything that he can just to see them smile again. And this is especially true when it comes to you - you’re one of his closest friends and at the first sign of tears in your eyes his heart breaks at the sight and almost immediately he’s closing the distance to hug you. Ryota focuses on cheering you up above all else - anything he can do to make you forget all about what’s upset you if only for a little while he’ll do it in a heartbeat. It’s up to you whether you want to talk about what happened or not but making sure that you feel better is Ryota’s main focus. All kinds of snacks, a good movie collection and a whoooole lot of blankets is in the cards for cheering up any of his friends! If you’re not comfortable with hugs that’s totally fine! But if you are, you can bet that Ryota’s going to cuddle right up next to you, his hugs proving to be super comforting when it comes to making people feel better. The whole time he’ll be comforting you with his words too - telling you that it’s gonna be okay and that whatever’s upset you will be sorted out and that you won’t go through it alone! You’ve got so many friends who want to be there for you, and he’s sure to tell you that he’s going to be right there with you the whole time, wiping the tears from your eyes until they stop.

[kelseaaa]

Hii, can you do #23 for Bryce x MC!!! I adored how you write them before and I love to see more of it!! 💕 have a nice day/night! ❤

Sorry for the delay! Finally had some time to write. It’s a bit longer than I planned so most of it is under the cut. I hope you enjoy it!

Prompt:

23. Taking a picture together to print and hang later.

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x MC (Casey Valentine)

Warnings: Some suggestiveness, little angst and fluff

~~~~~

Why Don’t You Stay

“You know, Bryce. If you had told me that your new place was on the fifth floor and that the elevator didn’t work, I would have reconsidered helping you,” Jackie complained as she made her way up the steps for the third time that day.

“Yeah,” Rafael agreed with a huff, “I mean, I’m all for a good work out, but this is a little much.”

Bryce, who was several steps ahead of them, grumbled under his breath. He didn’t know the elevator was going to be out that day. It had worked the last two days when he and Keiki brought the furniture up to their brand new apartment. But of course, the day his friends could help with the last few boxes, it wasn’t working.

“Leave him alone,” Sienna reprimanded her roommates, wiping sweat off her forehead with the sleeve of her shirt. “It isn’t that bad. Plus, since there’s the four of us we’re already almost done!”

Jackie rolled her eyes as she shifted the box in her hand. “There would have been five if the elevator worked,” she griped. Elijah planned on helping but quickly said goodbye when they found out the elevator was down. Truthfully, he was more than happy to head back home and spend his day off in front of the TV.

“Look, guys,” Bryce began as he continued up the last leg of steps to his floor. “I’m sorry about the elevator. But I promise pizza and cold beer will be waiting for us as soon as we get everything in.”

There were several mumbled of “fine” and “there better be” from behind him, but no one else said a word until they made their way into Bryce’s new apartment. It was surprisingly modern given the older building they had moved into. Recently upgraded and remodeled. Bryce was just happy he found a two-bedroom, two-bath so close to Edenbrook.

“So where’s your sister?” Jackie asked, setting down her box on the floor next to the kitchen table, then taking one of the seats.

“School,” Bryce replied cooly from his place on the couch next to Sienna.

Rafael sat down at the table next to Jackie and took a gulp from his water bottle. “And Casey?” he asked.

Bryce bristled at the sound of her name while Jackie and Sienna flashed each other a knowing look. Rafael noticed the shift in the air and looked around the room with a puzzled expression before speaking again. “What did I say?”

There was a beat of silence, then Sienna finally chimed in, “she’s at work.”

It wasn’t a lie, she really was working that morning. However, no one else wanted to mention the real reason why she didn’t ask off that day to help Bryce move. No one wanted to bring up the fight that Bryce and Casey had when Casey asked him if he wanted her to move in and instead of him agreeing immediately, he shrugged his shoulders and replied with “I mean, if you want.”

What Brye meant to say was “yes, of course, please. There’s no one else I would rather be with than you.” But instead, he thought acting “cool” and “not clingy” as he claimed would be the better option. He wasn’t scared of the commitment, he welcomed it. But he was scared that maybe she would realize that he was the one she wanted. That maybe she would realize it was a mistake.

That conversation which should have been simple - a no-brainer - turned into a massive snowball of a fight which resulted in Casey literally pushing Bryce out of her penthouse and into the cold Boston street to walk home by himself.

That was three weeks ago. Casey had barely said two words to him, only conversing when medically necessary for work. Keiki berated him, calling him a fool for letting her just go. He already knew that, and it didn’t help to hear it from his little sister every day.

Bryce knew all her roommates would have heard about what happened. Judging by their silence and worried looks alone, they were painfully aware of how stupid he had been. What they probably didn’t know is how much he really wanted Casey to be there. How bad he wanted her to be the other person moving her things into this apartment. How he wanted to share the large king-size bed he had purchased specifically for her - for them.

“Hey,” Jackie said, breaking Bryce was his thoughts. Her voice was surprisingly soft and kind. “I think there are only a couple more boxes. Let’s go, guys.”

Without another word, the group stood up and made their way back down the five flights of stairs to grab the remaining boxes. They worked quietly, quickly finishing up within the hour. And true to his words, pizza and beer were waiting for them once they were done.

~~~~~

“How was school?” Bryce asked from the kitchen as he pulled plates and cups out of one box to put in one of the cabinets.

“Boooooring,” Keiki replied from the living room where she was working on her homework.

Bryce made his way out of the kitchen and plopped down on the couch next to his sister. “Well, what’s new there?” he said with a laugh. Keiki nudged her elbow into his side but smiled nonetheless.

“Were you able to get everything from the old place?” Keiki asked, her eyes never wavering from the math problem on the sheet in front of her.

“Yep! Turned in the keys before I left.”

Keiki nodded her head thoughtfully but didn’t verbally respond.

“I’m gonna go unpack my room. Don’t stay up too late, okay?” Bryce said as he stood from the couch. Keiki simply waved him off then stuck pulled her headphones over her ears.

Once Bryce was in his room, he looked around the space, taking in the many boxes, laundry baskets of clean clothes, and the large, unmade bed in the center. He let out a sigh, then walked over to one of the boxes he was pretty sure held all his sheets and blankets. He silently cursed himself when he remembered forgoing to label the boxes with their specific items, instead of just putting “B” and “bedroom” on it.

However, when he opened the box, he soon realized it was not his sheets, but instead the box that held the contents of his side table drawer. And there, at the very top, was a picture frame. And in that frame, was a photo of him and Casey at a small nightclub where they had their first “date,” if you could call it that.

Bryce just stood there for a while, staring down at the frame in his hand. He remembered the day he had removed it from his wall and threw it in his drawer, unable to look at it any longer. It was the day after Casey had asked to move in and he essentially said he didn’t care - idiot. He had tried to call her but she didn’t answer. All his texts were left on read and voicemails were not returned. After a while he had gotten angry and grabbed the frame and threw it in, snapping the drawer shut.

He wouldn’t admit it, but that was the first time he had cried since starting at Edenbrook. 

Bryce let out a strangled sigh as he moved over to the nightstand and sat the photo down. If he wasn’t able to physically have her there, the photo would have to do. He continued looking through his boxes, putting things away, and eventually finding his bedding. As he looked down at the freshly made bed, he couldn’t help but feel the ache in his chest, realizing he would be sleeping alone in his new place.

“What are you looking at?”

Bryce’s heart stuttered in his chest and his eyes grew wide. He knew that voice. Longed to hear it for weeks. He quickly spun around and there she was, long, blonde hair pulled back into a messy bun and emerald colored eyes staring right at him.

“Casey?” he said almost breathlessly. “What… What are you doing here? How did you?”

“Sienna gave me the address and Keiki let me in,” she said matter of factly, like that was the answer he expected.

“But-”

“Don’t,” Casey said, effectively cutting him off. “I… I want to apologize.”

“Casey, you don’t-” she held up her hand, silencing him once again. He nodded wordlessly and let her continue. She shouldn’t be the one apologizing, it should be him. But he wasn’t going to mess this up by not keeping his big mouth shut.

“I’m sorry I tried to force you into something you clearly didn’t want. I thought that maybe this was the next step in our relationship and that you wanted me here, but I must have misread everything. I’m sorry for lashing out at you and breaking up with you.”

Bryce wanted to scream. He wanted to run over and grab her, take her in his arms, and never let her go. But he waited.

She continued. “I understand that I was moving too fast, but I’m here because… Because I still love you and want to be with you. Even if you’re not ready for this step. I just hope you feel the same way. If not then I’ll go and move on and leave you-”

It was Bryce’s turn to cut her off. And he did, by running to her, grabbing her, and pressing his lips to hers in a heated kiss. He was nervous, scared even, when her body went stiff in his arms. But then she was kissing him back. Her hands coming up to the nape of his neck, fingers sliding into perfectly styled hair. They kissed and kissed and soon his bedroom door was closed behind them. Clothes were shed on new flooring. Then a brand new, freshly made bed was broken in. They shared gentle touches and loving caresses, saying “I’m sorry” and “I missed you” between their love.

Minutes, hours, or maybe even days later - Bryce didn’t bother to keep track - the two laid between the sheets, wrapped in each other's arms. Bryce’s hands ran up and down the smooth skin of her back and Casey’s fingers traced along his abdomen, mapping invisible constellations that only she could see.

“Casey,” Bryce said, his voice a barely above a hoarse whisper when he spoke. “I’m the one who should be saying sorry.”

Casey stopped her hand and looked up to gaze into her boyfriend's eyes. “You don’t have to.”

“I do,” he began, “and I owe you an explanation.”

Bryce continued on, telling her how he wanted nothing more for her to move him but that he was just so scared. Scared of his feelings and what she might think if she knew how desperately he wanted her to move in. Scared that one day she would realize that it was a mistake - he was a mistake - and want to leave. Scared to be a regret.

When Bryce finished spilling his heart out, there was silence. He was looking at the ceiling, unable to meet her eyes. He knew that the moment they did, the tear would come. He wasn’t ready for that yet.

But then Casey had to go and grip his chin. The pads of her fingers were gentle, feather-like, as they tilting his face down. And he was right, the brim of his eyes filled with wet which, surprisingly, matched hers, as well.

“Bryce Lahela,” she said, her voice stern but still so full of adoration that Bryce wanted to look away. But he didn’t. “I would never regret you. I would never call you a mistake. I love you and will be here for you for as long as you want me.”

Bryce couldn’t speak, instead, he leaned down and met her lips with his again. He kissed her with fervor, stealing the air from her lungs as his mouth devoured hers in a searing kiss that left them both dizzy.

“I’m such an idiot,” he admitted once they pulled away for air.

Casey laughed. “Yeah, you kind of are.” Her eyes wandered past him and landed on the nightstand next to the bed. She smiled. “I love that picture of us.”

Bryce turned his head and stared at the photo of them he had placed earlier in the night. “You do?” He asked.

Casey nodded her head. “Very much. That was the day I started to fall for you,” she admitted, her eyes gleaming with the memory.

Bryce smiled. “You mean it wasn’t when we made out in the supply closet our first day?” he joked. Casey pinched his side, causing him to yelp and retaliate with dozens of kisses over her face, neck, and chest until she was effectively out of breath.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Bryce turned his body so they were face-to-face in the massive bed. He inhaled deeply before opening his mouth to speak. “Say you’ll stay,” he said, his heart so full is strained desperately in his chest.

Her fingers deftly tucked back a few strands of loose hair from his face. “Forever,” she replied. “Always and forever.”

“I love you,” he promised before leaning in for a kiss. “I love you.” Another kiss. “I love you.” Another. “I love you.”

And he did.

~~~~~

From this writing prompt list

[sheep-mc]

Valentine’s Day with Barbatos!

       You woke up, got ready, and went over to the Demon Lord's Castle. You march on over there, determined to see one person. Luckily for you, he's the one who answers the door.

       "Hello MC. I must say, this is certainly unexpected."

       You've already rehearsed what you're going to say to him. "Hello Barbatos. Happy Valentine's Day. I'm here because I want to spend the day with you." You end up sounding a bit more unnatural than anticipated, but you've gotten your message across.

       "I'll have to check with the Young Master. Please, come in. I'll get Lord Diavolo."

       "I'll come with you!" you blurt out. Why are you so nervous today?

       He hesitates for a moment, but doesn't deny your request. "Right this way." He leads you to Diavolo's room, but the door is locked. "Young Master, it's Barbatos. MC is with me. They have a question for you."

       "Ah! MC, is it? You may come in." Diavolo replies. Barbatos gets the door for you and you walk in, noticing that Diavolo is more dressed up than usual. "Hello MC! Happy Valentine's Day! What brings you here?"

       "Lord Diavolo," you say, your voice cracking immediately. You swallow hard and continue speaking, "I'm asking you to give Barbatos the day off. I...I want to spend today with him." You look cautiously at him, he wears the same expression as always. "I want to spend today with him...alone. Just the two of us." This causes his facial expression to change slightly; you've surprised him.

       "MC, are you asking for him to be your butler for the day?" Diavolo laughs. "I'll be out today, so he doesn't have work to do. If he wishes to take the day off, it is allowed." Diavolo leans in to you, whispering very loudly. "Between you and me, he doesn't like taking days off. You'll have to convince him yourself."

       You look over at him again. He clearly heard Diavolo's comment, but he doesn't seem bothered by it in the slightest.

       "Well, I'll be going now. Take it easy, Barbatos. And MC," he turns to you, suddenly serious, "Make sure he takes it easy." He resumes his usual smiling. "Goodbye, you two!"

       With that, you have Barbatos all to yourself. You, uh, don't have much of a plan now. You didn't expect this to actually work. You look at him and he smiles at you.

       "What would you like me to do for you, Master?" he asks, awaiting an order.

       You shake your head. "Barbatos, I didn't mean that I want you to be my butler for today. I just want to spend time with you. You know, just the two of us, hanging out together."

       He nods, understanding. "What would you like us to do first, then?"

       "I want you to decide that. We can do whatever you want, for all of today. I want to get to know you better, Barbatos. The best way to do that is through your favorite activities."

       "Well, we could clean," he suggests, but you cut him off.

       "That's work. No working, only relaxing."

       He thinks for a moment, trying to process this. "We could cook-"

       "That's still work. Let's do something easy, okay?"

       He takes another moment. "We could shop for tea leaves?"

       You think about it for a second. "That's just grocery shopping, isn't it? Technically work. ...Is there anything that you do to take it easy?"

       "I don't often feel the need to take it easy, MC." He notices the look you give him and reconsiders for a moment. "...I do enjoy embroidery occasionally, though."

       "Barbatos, that's..." you say, trying to figure out if it's work. "...Actually, that seems pretty relaxing! We can do that for today."

       He gets everything set up for the two of you. Embroidery is not as easy as you thought. He has no difficulty stitching complex patterns, but your creations seem rather lackluster in comparison to his. He notices you struggling and offers to teach you, and you allow him. It takes the whole day, but you're finally able to make something that you're proud of.

       "That's a beautiful design, MC."

       "You think so?" you ask him, examining your work. It's a very steampunk design, a set of cogs behind a pocketwatch. "It reminds me of you, somehow."

       "...May I keep it?"

       Your eyes widen at him. Once he realizes what he's said, he immediately starts backpedaling.

       "Please forgive me, MC. That was out of line for me. I should not have asked to keep one of your creations, no matter how beautiful it is. You any punish me in anyway you see fit. This behavior is quite unlike me, I apologize for acting so shamefully."

       "No, no, Barbatos, it's okay! I'm just surprised that you like it so much that you'd ask to keep it! Of course you can keep it! I'm not mad at you!"

       He breathes a sigh of relief and accepts the patch that you've offered him. "Thank you, MC. This means a lot to me. If there is something I can do to return the favor, please, let me know."

       You spend the rest of the day together. HE's so preoccupied by your presence that he fails to notice a rat sneaking off with some of the castle's best cheese. Being around you makes Barbatos act unlike himself. Or perhaps he's more himself?

♡ Masterlist  ♡

[maomao-words]

Hi there! Will you be okay writing a hc of the MLQC boys finding out that MC self harms and then help her with her depression? I get that Depression and Self Harm are sensitive topics, so if you are not comfortable, I'd understand too !

Hey, dear! I have written for several fandoms so far and each time a request such as yours comes to me I always feel terrified of writing it for the fear of it coming off as mocking or trivializing depression. 

Depression is not an easy topic to write about and I absolutely do not wish to offend anyone with this. But when I think of the possibility of these HCs somehow making someone, anyone, out there feel a little bit better about themselves, I always decide to write them even if it is out of my comfort zone.

Just few words of serious warning here. I am not an expert on mental illnesses nor am I a doctor. Although I am not exactly mentally healthy myself, I have never been diagnosed with depression either. I will try my best to make this as accurate as possible, based on my readings, my own experience and my friends’ struggles.

So, please, do not hesitate to tell me if something is erroneous or can potentially offend or trigger anyone who has depression and I will immediately take this post down, you have my word.

The purpose of these HCs will be to heal and to comfort and NOT to belittle or mock depression. For all of you out there, who are battling with depression, you are real warriors and I pray to God you never stop fighting. Keep clinging to hope and never be ashamed to seek out help. 

Trigger Warning: Depression, mentions of self-harm.

MLQC Boys helping an MC who self-harms and is struggling with depression:

Victor:

Victor knew from the start. He noticed the abnormal long sleeves in extremely hot days, noticed the unconscious tug you give their hems each time you think they are going to expose your skin and noticed the way your eyes violently tremble each time his touch gets too intimate. Victor knew something was wrong, knew that you were hiding a secret from him, but he never pressured you to say a word. He wanted you to come to him by your own free will and tell him what you were holding back whenever you felt ready and comfortable enough to do so. Only when your face got so much pale, your eyes grew empty and hallow, your appetite for food almost disappeared and your sleeves got longer and longer until they reached the tips of your fingers that Victor finally spoke to you.

It was during a late dinner date in Souvenir when Victor broke the silence with a quiet “How can I help?” spoken in a whisper. He didn’t want you to push yourself to speak nor did he want an explanation for the thin cuts scattered across your wrists. Victor simply wanted to help. In any way, in any form, using whatever means he had. If you wished for his own life, Victor would give it away for you, without as much as blinking an eye. Victor just doesn’t you to shut him out. He will not judge you or scorn you, nor ask you to “fix” yourself. Victor fell in love with a human; a human with abilities and flaws, strength and weakness and he will accept her as she is.

Victor will be there for you each step of the way. If you choose to seek professional help, be sure he will arrange to you the most talented psychiatrist out there no matter which country they reside in and makes sure that you are comfortable enough with them. Rest assured, Victor’s behavior will not undergo any major changes even if you choose to tell him all about the demons residing in your head or lift up your sleeves to show him your scars. He will continue you to treat you in the same way since he does not consider you to be any different. In his eyes, you’re the same dummy he fell in love with. It doesn’t matter for him that at certain days, you would feel too empty to even get up from the bed or too tired to brush your messy hair or drink your coffee. It does not matter for him if at days you feel incredibly happy and smile so brightly before suddenly sinking into darkness and sobbing your heart out to him. None of this matters because Victor will be there in any case, every day, whether good or bad, and will kiss you good morning, insult your bed hair before threading his fingers through it, tenderly kissing its ends.

No matter which path you choose to walk, Victor will be there for you. He did not fall in love with you to force you to wear a mask or pretend to be happy when all you want to do is scream your heart out. Victor fell in love with you because you are clumsy, spontaneous, strong, vulnerable, fierce and weak all together. You deserve to be loved for who you truly are, and Victor will make sure to do exactly that.

Gavin:

The blood. He needed to stop the blood.

Visiting your apartment on a Saturday afternoon with a carefree date plan in mind, Gavin was not exactly ready to be greeted with the sight of you sitting on the bathroom floor as blood trickled down your wrist and pooled beside your legs. Gavin’s initial reaction could be described as calm. The nature of his job, which made him quite used to scenes of blood, would enable him to rapidly make a rational observation of the situation and directly act. Gavin’s first priority was snatching a towel from a nearby shelf, tightly wrapping your wrist to stop the bleeding before carefully carrying you in his arms to your bedroom. His first instinct was to immediately bring you to a hospital and get you properly checked up by a doctor, but the empty look in your eyes as well as the silent tears dripping across your cheeks as you slowly shook your head in refusal, made Gavin reconsider his options. After all, the last thing he wished to do was put further pressure on your already broken self by dragging you against your will to a hospital and leaving you exposed to a variety of questions and pitying looks there.

So Gavin unwillingly compromises. He checks the cuts on your wrist himself and sighs in relief as they turn out shallow enough to be treated without risk. As Gavin picks up the first aid kit from your bathroom and sits down on your bed to carefully disinfect the cuts, the feelings of anguish, grief and self-hatred finally bursts to the surface. After holding all of these feelings back for the sake of taking care of your bleeding body and controlling himself to the best of his abilities, Gavin finally felt tears pricking his eyes. His lover, his world, his everything was suffering in front of his eyes. The woman he loved with all of his heart, the beautiful and kind soul was constantly putting a brave face even when the pain got too overwhelming that she wanted to scream and cry out. His sweetheart was facing a seemingly never-ending battle with the demons inside of her head everyday and still she found enough courage to wake up and face the world every morning. How could he not cry?

“How can you be so strong?” was the first thing coming out of Gavin’s lips. He gently squeezed your hand and looked at you in the eyes, gaze carrying all of the unspoken words he wishes to say. He wanted to sit there all night and tell you about the amazing woman you are. How brave, how strong and how fierce you are for facing the world while carrying so much upon your shoulders. The woman Gavin loves is a soldier much, much braver than him and he cannot be any prouder of you for not giving up on life despite it all. If you need an attentive ear to listen, Gavin will be there for you whether it’s four in the morning or two in the afternoon, whether it’s just to cry your heart out to him or to tell him all about those venomous thoughts swirling inside your head. If you ever wish to seek professional help, be sure that Gavin will support you in every step you take and will never leave your side. He loves all of you and that will not change no matter what your situation is. Whether you are laughing or crying, hurting or enjoying life to the best of your abilities, Gavin will be there, holding your hand, giving you the strength and comfort you will always deserve.

Kiro:

“It’s more than okay to feel this way,” Kiro softly whispered in your ear the day you decided him to bare your all for him, body and soul.

His hands tightened around your waist, bringing your naked form close to his chest. His long, smooth fingers tenderly trailed across your stomach, up to your breasts and down your arms until he reached your wrist. Kiro ever so gently traced the scars scattered on your soft skin, barely applying pressure as if scared he will hurt you if he pushes the slightest against the skin. You could hear him take a sharp intake of breath as his fingers traced your arm up and down, sending shivers of pleasure and comfort across your whole body. Kiro’s hands continued to do so for a short while, letting your tense body unwind and comes undone under his careful and tender touch before he spoke again. Kiro’s voice was no higher than a whisper beside your ear as he told you how grateful he is that you have never given up on life and how much he loves and adores you with all of your scars and pains. You could hear his voice tremble the more he talked and you could feel something wet hit the side of your neck as Kiro nuzzled his face in the crook of your shoulder. At that moment, one thought was swirling in your head: In Kiro’s arms you were home. And home is where you are simply accepted and embraced with no questions asked.

Once Kiro learns of the venomous demons inhabiting your head and pushing you to make yourself bleed, he will make sure to pour more of his addictively sweet love to you. So be ready to be pampered to death by this man. Do you feel like staying in your room all day doing nothing at all? Kiro will make sure to empty out his schedule, gather all of the soft blankets in the house and huddle up next to you under the sheets with snacks in hand whenever the darkness in your head gets too overwhelming for you to fight it. Do you feel a little bit better, ready to go out for a date? Kiro will also be there, hand intertwined with yours, as he allows you to pick whichever destination you want to go to, without ever pushing you too far or forcing you do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. 

So, in your dark just as in your bright days, Kiro promises he will be there. He will smile when you do and hold you close whenever you feel like crumbling down. He will give you space and time whenever you need them and stick close to you if you feel like the world is crashing around you .Kiro will be more than content to simply walk by your side and match your pace in your journey towards healing. He will be there when you feel courageous enough to take baby steps forward and he will never abandon you even when you shut yourself in your room and come so close to giving everything up. Kiro will be there, through it all. So do not be afraid, and lean on his sturdy back, and let his gentle warmth and kind heart heal your very soul. 

Lucien:

Lucien would have definitely noticed your mental situation long before you decided to tell him anything. Lucien’s strongest forte of observation would enable him to tell the darkness you would often find yourself drowning in and he would always try his best to help you as subtly as possible. Once you feel ready and confess it all to him, Lucien’s help would turn more explicit and vocal, now that you have given him your consent to receive help. Lucien might not be an expert in mental health but he is more than ready to introduce you to one of his psychiatrist friends, whom he has absolute trust in their skills. But if you do not feel ready to talk to anyone yet, Lucien will respect your decision and encourage you to take as much time as you need. He will be there for you, whichever choice you make.

Expect small gestures that make you feel instantly better every day from now on: Your favorite flower on your desk on days where work feels too overwhelming, a delicious breakfast in bed in the mornings where your eyes are puffy from crying and you’re feeling too hallow to even get up, the cutest diary in your favorite color left beside your pillow for you to write your heart out. All of these and more will gradually manifest into your life as days go by. 

Lucien understands. He understands very well, probably more than anyone else, that he cannot exactly banish all of your doubts and insecurities. Life is not a fairy tale. Life is harsh and unfair. It will knock you down and mock all of your attempts to get up. It will hurt you and scar you and turn your soft heart into a torn, bleeding mess. That is life and Lucien will not try to sugarcoat reality. But Lucien knows how to make you look at life and feel something else beside pain and hatred. He will bring you to parks and let you soak up the sun and doze off on his lap. He will bring you to watch your favorite movies over and over again and drive you to see the sunrise even if at the cost of his own sleep. He will invite you to cat cafes and watch as you swoon over the fluffy and cuddly animals and hug them closer to your chest. But Lucien will also be there if you choose to shut the wold off and you could no longer see the light surrounding you. He will sit there in silence with you and pat your head until you fall asleep. He will switch outdoors dates to indoors ones and try to lessen the weight on your heart as much as possible without ever giving up on you.

No matter how much your demons whisper and scream, Lucien will be there to deny all of their words and remind you that you are loved and that when all of this is over, “I will still be here and so will you”.

[luthorao3]

I forgot I sent in the Selkie!MC thought! But thank you for reminding me and also thanks for the Nadia thought because now all that's in my head is this following idea of how she finds out about MC (if you have your own idea please share, I'm just chucking mine out because I'm a mess for these characters and the myth and folklore genres).

Also forgive the length of it, I started typing and the idea grew much, much further than intended. I should not be as invested in mythical and folklore creatures as I am, but once I start thinking it does. not. stop.

Anyway, here's the initial idea I had:

Nadia's not a fan of hypocritical behaviour because, fine, some people have moral codes but at least have the strength of character to stick to them. So she's annoyed about the Poppy having a pet seal, so maybe she decides to be petty about it and give them the metaphorical finger.

How does she decide to do this?

By kidnapping the seal and releasing it back into the wild of course!

She figures out quite quickly that the seal in question isn't always in the pool, but for the life of her she can't find out where they keep it indoors. Is there a hidden water tank inside she doesn't know about? If there is she can't find it, which leaves the pool as the only viable option to take the "poor, trapped animal" from.

And sure, MC loves being (as you perfectly put it) a menace in the pool when others are around, but sometimes she just likes to swim yk? So she goes swimming on her own sometimes.

And during one of Nadia's checkups on the spot, she sees the seal splashing around unsupervised and sees her chance.

MC does not expect the net.

She thrashes, of course, but at first thinks it's an ill-advissd, not very sensitive prank and is just like "I'm gonna kill them" until she realises exactly who has just pulled her out of the water.

The plan for Nadia had been to use a seal-carrier bag usually used by rescuers after getting the seal out of the net.

The plan absolutely had not included the thrashing seal to almost immediately shift into an infuriated MC because she recognises the bag Nadia's holding and it might not exactly be a cage but it's pretty close and she doesn't know what the hell Nadia wants with a seal so she's at least going to get into a form where she can defend herself.

Nadia's of course frozen in shock and barely avoids getting her nose broken again.

The Poppy hear MC shouting and come running, and Vivienne nearly kills Nadia the moment she sees the net, the bag and MC clinging to her sealskin. The rest of the Poppy are fully ready to throw down but it's Nadia's shock that saves her because she just blurts out "You're a SEAL?" And the Poppy pauses because they're like "...you aren't trying to take her coat?"

"Wtf would I do that? You think I need sealskin?"

And they really don't like this situation, they don’t want to be in a position where they have to trust Nadia because, yk, it's Nadia, but they can't kill her either (Vivienne does ask again if they can reconsider their no killing rule, but this time she's only half joking) so they don't really have a choice. They chuck her out as fast as possible because they are not explaining anything that could give her leverage and also they don't want her around MC, and Nadia's more than happy to book it out of there because she needs more information but her mind is still reeling (MC, seal, MC, seal, MC is the seal, what the-). The Poppy move to another penthouse and are gearing up to dispell any rumours that might "crop up" about MC in the Underworld, practicing scoffing in people's faces like "Selkies? You mean like magic? That doesn't exist!"

But Nadia doesn't spread any rumours, there's just total silence, nothing to indicate that anyone's heard anything about Selkies or seals.

And nobody's going to, because once Nadia's done her research and worked out that, yes, MC is an apparently not-so-mythical Selkie, she knows she isn't going to tell anyone (aside from looking insane if she did so, she also does want to win the Poppy over and stealing a pet seal is one thing but this is on an entirely different level).

Of course her research of Selkies inevitably raises the point of how important MC's sealskin coat actually is, and it clicks in her brain exactly what the Poppy thought she was doing by attempting to kidnap MC, and Nadia's a terrible human being, okay? Absolutely terrible, she would kill a man without hesitation, she would wreck someone's life in all kinds of ways, but she wouldn't do that. She gets the implications of what taking the coat would mean immediately, what it looked like to the Poppy by the pool before they realised she didn't know, hadn't worked it out.

And the Poppy don't hear anything, not for a while, as Nadia tries to work out how to approach the situation, until she gets wind of Vivienne punching a man who hadn't known that MC was a Selkie, but had thought that the sealskin coat looked very nice and tried to steal it.

He ends up dead in a couple days.

please never never apologise holy shit also please tell me you write??? please tell me you have fic somewhere that i can read because oh my gos your mind???? i’m about to go zombie weird on you and your beautiful brain lmaoooo this had me laughing out loud!! nadia ‘releasing the poor, captive seal back into the wild’ ajdjdjfkfkfk.

all i could imagine when i read that, though, was— you know that one scene in the parent trap? where the twins take meredith (??) camping, and as she’s sleeping they drag her blow up mattress out into the middle of the lake? like either THAT or the fucking aristocats, with MC waking up in the middle of the wilds hearing a toad croak directly beside her ear like ‘MAMA? D:’

but oh my GOSH!!!!! at nadia understanding the implications of her rescue attempt looking like she’s trying to steal MC’s coat. oh god. i can’t tell you how much of a sucker i am when it comes to ‘yes, i will do unquestionably evil acts, but i don’t fuck with kids/animals/vulnerable people’ villains. you sexy piece of shit. 😔👌

also can we just for a second appreciate after everything calms down nadia rocking up to mc with like a bucket of fish or smth equally awful because she is still, alas, a rat bastard. <3

[fantasyoverreality98]

About Love

Pairing: Bryce x MC (Isabelle Rosenberg)

Summary: Isabelle finally gathers up the courage to admit her feelings for Bryce.

Author’s Note: This is nothing but fluff. I did it. I wrote pure fluff. And I got way too excited about it so I apologize if there are typos or grammatical errors. Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 1,069

---

“I don't really know a lot about love

A lot about love, a lot about love

But you're in my head, you're in my blood

And it feels so good, it hurts so much”

     - About Love, MARINA

 This means something to me.

Isabelle chewed on her bottom lip, pacing the room as she remembered speaking those words once, long ago.

She had never intended to fall for Bryce Lahela, but, god, was that impossible. Every minute of every day, she found herself thinking of him.

Try as she may to deny it, she was in love. And she wanted to tell him.

“Whatcha doin’, Rosenberg?” Even his voice was enough to send her heart racing.

The two of them had been together for months, but the time had never felt right for her to confess her feelings. It didn’t help that she’d never felt this way about anyone else before.

It was strange to think about how they’d even come to be a couple. Had someone told her when she was younger that she would possibly find the love of her life by making out with him in a supply closet the first day of her intern year, she would have laughed in their face.

Yet, here she was.

“Just trying to figure out what to make for breakfast,” Isabelle said, casting her eyes in the direction of Bryce’s bedroom. “Is Keiki awake yet?”

He shook his head, coming up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist. “That kid sleeps even more than I did when I was her age.” She shivered when he brushed his lips across her neck, his hands slowly making their way under her shirt. “What’s up? You look like you have something on your mind.”

Isabelle felt heat rush to her face. “It’s just—I wanted to—” With a sigh, she pulled away, rushing to the fridge to grab some things to make breakfast.

“You wanted to what?” Bryce grinned at her, tilting his head to the side as he stared at her. Some of his hair fell into his eyes, and she couldn’t resist reaching out to push it back.

The butterflies swirling in her stomach were only made worse when he grabbed her hand, pulling her into his arms once more. “Come on, Izzy. You can tell me.”

God, how was it possible for someone to be so irresistible?

“Promise you won’t laugh at me.” She had no idea how Bryce would react to her confession. Either it would be the best decision of her life, or the worst.

“What makes you think I would laugh? I am the most serious person you’ve ever met.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes. Still, she broke out in a grin, trying to ignore the way her heart pounded even faster. “Well, the thing is…I lo—”

“I’m starving. Did you two dorks make anything to eat?” Keiki emerged from his bedroom, pausing when she saw the way they were looking at her. “What? Am I interrupting something?”

Isabelle cleared her throat, turning away from Bryce to begin making breakfast. She knew the topic would come up again eventually. But right now it would be too awkward to say it in front of his sister.

Fifteen minutes later, the three of them sat at the table, eating in silence. Keiki kept looking back and forth between Bryce and Isabelle, her lips pursed. She frowned, and her eyebrows drew closer together.

“Seriously. What did I interrupt?”

“Nothing, Keiki! Just—would you eat your breakfast?” Bryce sighed, poking at his food with a fork. He looked up and made eye contact with Isabelle, the wonder still reflected inside.

There was no escaping it now.

Once they finished eating, Isabelle said she was going to run to the grocery store to pick up some things for her apartment. Elijah had reminded her the afternoon before that it was her turn to do the shopping for the week.

“I’ll come with you. Just give me a sec to change.” Bryce stood from the table, sauntering off to his bedroom while Isabelle watched and wondered how on earth she was going to approach her confession of love in a grocery market.

“He actually really likes you,” Keiki mumbled once he’d disappeared behind the door. She looked up at Isabelle and smirked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen my brother as happy as he is when he’s with you.”

Isabelle chewed on her bottom lip, still watching the door. “Really?”

“Really.”

Seconds later, Bryce flung the door open, a grin lighting up his face when he looked at Isabelle again. “You ready to go?”

With a quiet laugh, she nodded, casting her gaze down to Keiki one more time. The teenager smirked before focusing back on her breakfast.

“Let’s go,” Isabelle said, holding her hand out to him.

The car ride started out quiet, but eventually gave way to jokes and music. Bryce sang along to the radio, trying his absolute best to imitate the singer’s soprano voice. By the time they reached the store, Isabelle’s stomach hurt from laughing so much.

There was a moment when they looked at each other, and she could imagine the rest of her life spent this way. Long car rides to the supermarket full of laughter. Butterflies swirling in her stomach every single time she looked at this man, no matter how many years had passed by. Someday having a family of their own.

“I love you.” The words rushed out before she took the time to reconsider.

Bryce looked surprised, and for a moment she worried that she had ruined everything. Instead, his grin grew wider, and he pulled her into a kiss. “I love you too,” he said, the smile on his face contagious.

Oh, thank God. Isabelle fell back against the seat and started to laugh, hiding her face with her hands. That had been both the greatest and scariest moment of her entire life. Even more nerve-wracking than the time she feared she might lose her medical license.

Love was an entirely new concept to her, but it was the best feeling in the world.

“Well, you ready to go into the store?” Bryce watched her with affection shining in his eyes. He tucked some hair behind her ear, unbuckling his seatbelt.

Isabelle nodded, feeling a bit silly when tears threatened to fill her eyes. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

Together, they walked into the store. They kept stealing glances at each other when the other wasn’t looking, unable to stop from smiling.

In that moment, neither could be happier.

And it was just the beginning.