#my parents are convinced i won't make the flight

[al-mayriti]

i have become acutely aware of the fact that in a bit over a month i will travel to italy to excavate for two weeks and so i've been looking flights and buses and everything and of course there's been complications, especially in the return flight. it seems i will have to stay a full day in bari and i will return home on the day of my sister's birthday. lol.

[lucy90712]

Coming home for Christmas- Jude Bellingham

A/n: Happy holidays guys, I have one more Christmas story to come out in the next few days and then a surprise new mini series for new years so get ready Christmas is supposed to be a happy and joyful time of year but this year I just can't get myself in the Christmas spirit. My boyfriend Jude was supposed to spend Christmas with me and my family this year I left a week before Christmas to spend more time with my family and he was supposed to join us after his last league game but due to bad weather he hasn't been able to get a flight. He's been trying for days and last night he text me and said the last flight that would get here on time got cancelled and he wouldn't be able to make it. I had to hide my sadness in front of my siblings as they didn't need me to ruin Christmas for them but once they had gone to bed I did have a good cry with my mum. 

Last year I spent Christmas with Jude's family so this year we were supposed to switch and he'd spend Christmas with my family for the first time. I was so excited to have him here and so were my parents and siblings as they love Jude. We had so many plans and Jude was going to join in with all the family Christmas traditions like the matching pyjamas which I have on while I cry looking at Jude's untouched pair on the dresser in my room. Jude did promise to FaceTime me for most of the day but it just won't be the same as having him here. 

~~~~~~~~~~

I must've fallen asleep at some point last night as I got woken up by my youngest sister jumping on top of me yelling that Santa had been. She was trying to drag me out of bed and straight downstairs but I managed to convince her to wait just a minute which gave me just enough time to brush my teeth and grab a hoodie to keep me warm. It was only as I walked down the stairs I realised I had one of Jude's hoodies on which made me miss him all over again. Yet again I put on a smile as all my younger siblings were so excited and looking at all the gifts waiting for them under the tree. 

The kids really wanted to open presents but my parents insisted we all have breakfast first which in recent years has become my job as everyone loves my pancake recipe. I got the hint and got up to start making the pancakes but before I could get very far the doorbell rang and because I was closest I offered to answer it. My parents didn't say anything which has me a bit confused as I thought they'd be more curious about who was at the door at 7am on Christmas Day but I didn't think much else of it. 

I opened the door still holding the spoon I was about to use to mix the pancake batter but that quickly landed on the ground when I saw Jude stood in front of me. I couldn't believe it he wasn't supposed to be here but here he is stood right in front of me. After taking a second to process what just happened I jumped into his arms which luckily he was expecting and he caught me holding me tightly to his chest. 

"What are you doing here I thought your flight was cancelled" I said 

"I may have lied the flight was delayed for a while but I got in at 3am and slept in the airport for a bit before getting a taxi here to surprise you I thought it would be fun to see your face when I turned up which is why I didn't tell you" he said 

"This is the best Christmas present ever I was so sad that you were going to miss everything but now you're here you can help me make pancakes as that's the first tradition we have" I said excitedly 

"Let me bring my bags in then I'll help make your famous pancakes" he said 

I helped him bring in his suitcases and he took one up to my room but he told me to leave the other one downstairs as it had presents in. He greeted all of my family on his way back down and  made sure to act over the top excited when the kids showed him all the gifts under the tree. Eventually he escaped and helped me make the pancakes and serve them as they came out the pan. As Jude can’t take anything seriously for more than five minutes once I'd made both of us some pancakes he grabbed the whipped cream and put some on the pancakes but also my nose. He managed to take a picture before I could wipe the cream off and put it in his face instead. We had to clean up otherwise I'd get in trouble but we laughed the entire time which really made me happy as this is exactly what I wished today would be like. 

After breakfast it was time to open presents so Jude went and got his second suitcase which was completely filled with presents which he'd clearly wrapped himself as they weren't very neat but it's the thought that counts. He'd got a couple presents for all my siblings and my parents then he piled the rest of them up in front of me. He has a tendency to go a bit overboard with presents but I didn't expect him to get so much for the rest of my family too as I told him that he didn't have to and I could put some of my presents from him too. The kids all opened their presents first which they were very happy with especially their gifts from Jude as he got them all things they really wanted so they were happy. 

While they played with their new toys the rest of us took turns opening gifts. Jude really showed me up with the gifts he got my parents but I'm ok with it as it just shows me that I picked the best boyfriend who cares for my entire family not just me. I managed to redeem myself with my presents for Jude as I went all out I got him things I knew he'd like but also some more sentimental personal gifts which he seemed to really love. Jude can be hard to buy for as he already has everything and he makes a hell of a lot more than I do but I like getting him things that mean something. Jude like always got me things he knew I'd love and like always he was right although I think I'm going to need another suitcase to get it all back out Madrid. 

Just when I thought he couldn't possibly have bought any more gifts for me he grabbed my hand and took me to my room upstairs where he handed me a small wrapped box. I took the wrapping paper off but hesitated for a second before opening the box because part of me wondered if it was an engagement ring and as much as I love Jude we said we would wait a bit longer to take that next step in our relationship. My heart rate felt like it tripled when I opened the box and saw a beautiful but delicate ring but Jude quickly managed to calm me down. 

"Don't worry this isn't an engagement ring I know we agreed to wait for that but I wanted you to have something that showed how much I love you and shows my commitment to you until the day I give you a proper ring so I guess this a promise ring my promise to always be there by your side and to love you" he said nearly making me cry 

"Jude that's the sweetest thing you've ever said and this ring is beautiful" I said 

"I hoped you'd like it and I get if you don't want to wear it on your ring finger we don't want to give people the wrong impression but I thought you could wear it on your right hand and it could be our little secret only we know the true meaning behind it" he said 

"Thats a great idea" I said leaning in to kiss him 

"I do have them sometimes" he joked 

I gave him another kiss before he put the ring on my finger and we headed back downstairs. It was a matter of seconds before Jude was stolen from me by my brothers to play football even though it's freezing outside. Before I knew it I'd been roped in too and I was forced to be in goal but it was kind of ok with me as it meant I could put on thicker gloves and pretend they are goalkeeping gloves. Jude taught the boys a lot of little tricks which they picked up quickly and soon they were able to get just as many goals past me as Jude. They had fun but eventually even they felt the cold and we all got to go back inside where my sister was waiting with her new dolls that Jude got her so he was made to play with her but he didn't seem to mind. One of the many reasons I love Jude is because he's so good with all my siblings and they all love him so much when I come home they always ask for Jude even when he's not with me. 

Jude eventually got freed from doll playing duties and we got to relax for a little while before my mum started cooking the Christmas dinner and I agreed to help along with Jude who decided he didn't want to leave my side. I was a little nervous about him helping as he's not the best cook in fact he's the worst cook I know but with detailed instructions he did quite well dealing with the vegetables. As he watched the water bubbling his arms wrapped around my waist while I made the Yorkshire puddings which didn't help me at all but he's cute and I've missed him in our week apart so I let him. Once my part was done my mum made us go and enjoy ourselves which we didn't need to be told twice we finally got a few minutes to ourselves to relax and cuddle on the sofa. 

Dinner was lovely my mum did a great job and Jude was proud of his contribution so I didn't bother telling him the carrots were slightly overdone. For the whole meal he had a hand on my thigh occasionally rubbing circles on it all while smiling at me like he'd just seen a puppy. His smile was so infectious that we were both smiling at each other throughout the entire meal and completely in our down world. This is exactly how I pictured Christmas with Jude being the little moments like playing with my siblings, cooking together and enjoying dinner together really just made my heart feel filled with love and the Christmas spirit. 

After dinner we didn't have to help with cleaning up as we both helped cook so Jude carried me upstairs over his shoulders to my room. He insisted that we put on our matching pyjamas as he missed that part of my family tradition and then he made sure we took pictures together which he promised he would post but I know in a few hours one will be on his instagram story. Despite it only being 8pm we got ready for bed and got under the covers to cuddle as that's the only thing that felt right to end off the perfect day. Just when I thought things couldn't get any better Jude put on miracle on 34th street which I love to watch but he doesn't so I know he did it just for me. 

"I'm so glad you could make it today has been the best day" I said 

"Me too your whole family are so lovely your brothers are going to be great footballers, your sister has one hell of an imagination and your parents are just so kind to me" he said 

"They all love you so much probably more than me but that's ok because I love seeing all of you get along" I said 

"Well my family loves you more than me so I guess we're even" he joked 

"I guess we are" I smiled kissing him before settling back down to finish watching the movie

[readychilledwine]

helloooo! had a super random idea that I thought I’d throw your way but if you don’t want to write it, no worries! i know there’s not really dragons in acotar but what if one of the bat boys (whoever you want to write this for) encounters a group of dragons and find an illyrian with them who was raised by dragons. (The dragons think she’s one of them bc she has wings lol) a female who was abandoned by their parents because they wanted a son or something like that. (but now I’m thinking what if she was cassian’s long lost sister or something but in that case obviously she wouldn’t be paired with cassian lol) and she’s basically like half feral and whoever you pair her with is her mate and cannot convince her to go with them to velaris but they figure it out somehow 🥹 and when they finally do she’s just like baffled by simple things like dresses and kitchen utensils and how soft their beds are 😂 and now the night court has a small army of dragons because they listen to her 🤷🏽‍♀️ you can make her an OC if you want!

I can respond to this now that Bound by Fate Part 3 is up and has some traction 🤣 I was going to ask if you got into my Google drive somehow. Kaylee is going to have a similar journey to this only Kaylee's is going to be based on the concept that magic has a price, and the more magic she uses, the bigger the price, where as this journey will be about finding her humanity.

I'm pretty excited about this. Not gonna lie. 💜

Flight Patterns Part 1

Summary - After years of hushed whispers and leads, Azriel has finally found Cassian's lost sister, Aerilyn. What he found with her was unexpected, though.

Warnings - violence

A/n - Aerilyn is going to be fairly feral for these first few parts. Also, she speaks sindarian (like Lord of the Rings elves sindarian, so translations will be at the end of the chapters)

Part Two Part Three

Aerilyn stared at the male wrapped in shadows as if she'd never seen another illyrian before. As if she'd never seen another fae before, Azriel thought to himself.

She was beautiful, exactly as he had expected her to be, with her long dark hair cascading into waves behind her, her tanned unmarked skin, the bright burning hazel eyes. She was a softer, smaller, and delicate version of Cassian. 

Azriel approached her slowly, his hands raised in front of him. " I do not want to hurt you. I have been looking for you for a very, very long time." Over 319 years to be exact. With you right under our noses this whole time, he thought bitterly to himself. 

She had been left to die after her wings were taken. Thrown into the Illyrian woods beaten and bloodied before Cassian eventually burnt that Camp to the ground. She was three at the time. How she survived was a mystery, one Azriel knew they'd need to figure out.

She eyed him cautiously, her head tilted to the side before taking a step back and away from him. "I won't hurt you, Aerilyn." Her eyes narrowed, but then she suddenly relaxed. A small smile forming on her face as Azriel felt the ground shaking behind him. 

He felt the warm breath of whatever it was before the deep growl came. His eyes shut slowly at the scent of ember and rot that lingered in the air. He turned slowly, feeling shock set into his system as he sat face to face with a fire Drake. He felt the ground rumble again, then again, and once more. Rhys. I'm going to need help. Now. Drop whatever the fuck you're doing.

Cassian and Rhys appeared beside him instantly. A grumbled, "Cauldron fucking drown me," leaving the generals mouth as they all stood back to back. "Azriel, what the fuck?"

Azriel looked to where Aerilyn stood, her eyes locked on Cassian and her head tilted to the side. "She knows you, Cass. And they're protecting her."  He could tell his brother was avoiding looking at her. Avoiding the pain that'd come from how much she truly looked like their mother. 

Rhysand grabbed their hands. "You have 30 seconds, Cassian or I'm getting us the fuck out of here." 

Cassian glanced at his little sister, his heart tightening in his chest at how small she was. They held eye contact for a moment and he lowered his weapons and held his hands up to her. He took one step and an immediate growl and shift came from the winged beast closest to him. A deep warning not to approach her. "Would she have memories of anything specific? Something special between the two of you?" Rhys asked softly. "I can't get into her head. It's.. it's a mess, Cassian."

Cassian didn't notice the feather light touch in Rhysand's jaw, the way his eyes kept flickering to the female in concern. Azriel had, though. He noted the immediate change in Rhysand's body language. The calm and composed High Lord was struggling to maintain himself.

Azriel would have laughed if there wasn't a black scaled beast staring him down as if he was nothing more than a delicious snack.

Cassian spoke to her softly. "When you were little, you had a little stuffed bunny. His name was Sir Hop." A flicker of recognition went across her face. Cassian took a small step forward. The beast growled softer this time. "I still have him," the soft confession hung in the air. "Rhysand's mom enchanted it. She made sure he'd never stop smelling like you. You could not sleep without him or me. Mom said you just tossed and turned crying constantly if he went missing or I was gone. I always worried about if you were sleeping when our father ripped me from the house." Another tentative step, but no growl chilling the three of them to the core. 

She studied Cassian hard. Stepping close to him until they were but an arms length away. Her brain knew him. It screamed for her to remember him. She didn't understand all of his words, but she knew his voice. His scent. "Come with me," Cassian offered. "Come home with me." 

"Cassian, 5 seconds. If she does not take your hand in 5 seconds, we are done here." Rhys warned as one of the beasts, a lighter Grey monster that seemed to blend into its surroundings leaned closer to the High Lord and growled. 

For whatever reason, this beast wanted him dead. 

"Duar," a feminine voice that reminded Rhysand of finely aged wine, spoke softly. The beast coiled away from him with one last growl. She was so close to Cassian, breathing in the scent of a warm fire and winter winds. 

"You have a freckle on your ribs," Cassian whispered, his hand reaching out to touch right above her heart. "Right here." She allowed him to bring her into him. He held her close as her arms stayed at her side.

Rhys took the chance, his hands shooting for Cassian and Azriel and winnowing them back to the townhouse with heavy breaths. 

The hug was no longer gentle, not as her fight began. Aerilyn kicked, screamed, and fought as Cassian pulled her into the warded house. Madja was there and ready, knowing the girl would need medical attention and an evaluation. 

After watching her land a harsh closed fist onto Rhysand's cheek as he spoke to her, Madja immediately switched what she had planned, grabbing a needle filled with a sedative and shoving it into the illyrian female's arm.

"I'm sorry," Cassian cried as he lowered her to the floor. "I'm so fucking sorry. Shhhh it's okay. It's okay, you're safe." 

His sister fell asleep in his arms, wrapped tight against his body as he rocked her back and forth against his chest. 

Rhysand held his jaw, "She knows s few words and the alphabet. We will need to work on that to communicate with her," he ground out. "She can speak an ancient language I do not even know, but Amren might. Also, she's my fucking mate." 

Cassian watched in silence as Rhysand left the room, went upstairs, and slammed another door shut with a soft click to indicate he had locked it. 

Madja inclined her head to the bed they had ready for her, "Lay her down. I don't need her awake to know how healthy she is or what she needs."

Duar - "stop/hault"

[purplecoffee13]

The Fake Girlfriend - pt. 2*

Summary: “The official fake dating can commence, and so can the exploration of a whole bunch of new… feelings.”

Wc: 4.9k

Tropes: semi-enemies to lovers (she hates him)

Warnings: jealousy, possessiveness, smut (f!receiving), a sudden deep analysis of wuthering heights followed by smut

*2 weeks later*

I'm going to move to Italy, seriously.

Ever since Harry and I arrived at the airport I haven't been able to stop myself from gawking at everything I've seen. That includes Harry's relatives, proving that his entire family consists of solely good genes.

The flight was excruciatingly long and a bit uncomfortable. Harry taught me as much as he could about his family, and we both complained about the hernia we were getting from our bad seats. Nevertheless, we both attempted to sleep, and I accidentally dozed off while leaning on his shoulder.

One of Harry's cousins, Matthew, picked us up at the airport. He was particularly fascinated with my existence, almost as much as I was with his accent. I love English accents, I could listen to them for hours on end.

Matthew led us to our room in the Villa and gave Harry a pat on the back before leaving us alone to unpack and get ready to meet the family.

"He's nice." I note, throwing my backpack on the Queen sized bed we have in this room.

"He's a little shit." Harry chuckles, earning a furrowed brow from me. He waves it off, literally, and sits himself on the bed. "You'll see."

We stay fairly quiet for the rest of the time, unpacking our stuff and freshening up. Well, mainly me, because Harry doesn't have to do half the things I do to look good. It's so much easier being a man.

I shoo Harry out of our bedroom and put on a long, brown dress with a wide slit and some floral print on it. As soon as I've changed, I open the door to the bathroom so he knows it's okay for him to walk back in. When he does walk back in, we both catch each other off guard.

While he is analyzing the dress that is currently clinging to my body, I'm gawking at his shirtless chest. My cheeks start to heat up when I realize that I'm staring, but luckily Harry doesn't notice because he's too busy staring at me. Then, he clears his throat.

"Nice dress."

"Thank you." I throw him a small smile.

It doesn't take long for Harry to get dressed and soon enough we are walking from our room to the villa, where the welcome dinner will be held, or at least that's what it said on the card that Harry handed to me on the plane.

We sit down at our assigned seats at one of many round tables. I don't miss the name tags of Harry's parents, and I'm glad to find that Matthew will also be sitting at our table. It will make things a bit less nerve racking.

Harry places his hand on the small of my back as he guides me to his mother. He looks just like her, and by the warm smile on her face, I realize that it probably won't be as bad as I might think it would.

"Mum, this is Y/N. The girl I've told you about. She's my girlfriend." The words leave his mouth in a way that makes me think someone is holding a gun to his head, and I can tell that his mother thinks the same thing.

"I'm Sheila." She introduces herself, nonetheless. I can tell that she is skeptical of me, despite the warm smile on her face. I know it's a genuine one, but I know that she knows her son, and she'll see something is up if he doesn't get his act together.

"This is Tom." She turns to a tall man that I immediately recognize as Harry's father. He doesn't have a lot of facial features from his dad, except for the nose, that is exactly the same. But the way he carries himself, the way he extends his hand for me to shake, those are the aspects that make Harry identical to his father.

We chat with his parents for a little, telling our wonderfully fake story of how we met. Tom keeps nodding but doesn't seem fully convinced. Not because he doesn't believe it, but probably because of the girl he'd rather have his daughter be with; the reason I'm here in the first place. Sheila remains skeptical, but that is just because she can see right through Harry.

So when his parents leave to get some food from the buffet, I'm quick to swat his arm.

"Ow!" He hisses at me.

"You're a terrible actor, do you know that? Your mom is totally on to us!" I say in a soft tone, but it doesn't discredit my disapproval.

"I'm sorry okay! It's hard to lie to her." He responds, and the confession makes my heart melt a little.

I let him off with a roll of the eyes and we join the queue for the buffet. During dinner, Matthew promotes himself to main entertainer of our table by telling countless of stories about him and Harry and all of their antics from back in the days. Harry seems slightly embarrassed sometimes, but he finds it funny nonetheless.

In an attempt to make me and Harry seem like more of a real couple, I take it upon myself to touch him during dinner. Just casual touching. Some hand-holding—above the table so everyone can see of course—and the occasional leg rub. It's only halfway through dinner that Harry finally initiates some touches to, and I have to bite my inner lip at the way his hand feels wrapped around my thigh.

After dinner, a few tables are removed in order to create a dance floor. People are quick to get on it, but Harry refuses to come along with me. Matthew doesn't let the opportunity to bust a move pass, so I leave my purse with Harry and get on the dance floor with him.

We have a big laugh, Matthew and I. He spins me around an absurd amount of times, dramatically dances the tango with me while a pop song is playing, and throws out some moves that I haven't seen since I played Just Dance when I was eight years old.

After a while I decide to retire from the dance floor and get a drink. Matthew offers to accompany me, and for a second I contemplate whether I should say yes. Then I figure, he is a part of Harry's family and I need as many of them on my side for this whole act to be believable, plus I'll be able to get Harry a drink.

We walk over to the bar and order our drinks, Matthew is quick to spark up a conversation as we wait for our beverages.

"How long have you been together again?" He asks, looking over at me with a smirk.

"A month, officially." I reply, and he raised his brows in surprise.

"Only a month, huh?"

"Like I said, officially." I tilt my head, a mischievous smile on my face. He leans over in my direction, with eyes ready to play, and I immediately start to wonder if the head tilt was too flirty instead of funny and playful.

"And unofficially?"

"Almost three months." I divert my eyes back to the drinks that are put in front of me, and thank the bartender.

"Is it serious? Between you two?" He asks, and I don't like the glint of desperation in his voice. Is this what Harry meant, when he said 'you'll see'? Is this guy seriously trying to hit on his cousin's date?

"Well, I cancelled spring break plans with my family, so I sure hope it is." I flash him a smile before taking the drinks and walking back to Harry.

He's sitting alone, despite most every seat around him being taken. Not talking to anyone, not on his phone, just staring into the nothingness. When I approach, he's thrown out of his trance and his eyes follow me instead as I make my way to him and hand over his drink.

"Whiskey on the rocks." I tell him. He smiles at me, putting the glass on the table and grabbing my now free hand. His legs are spread, so he pulls me closer until I'm standing in between them. He looks up at me, and the sole color of his eyes makes my hands sweat profusely.

"Are you having fun?" He asks, his head tilting just like mine did a few seconds ago.

"I am," I say, looking around a bit. "But my legs are a bit tired... Is there a free chair behind you?"

I squint at something that looks like a chair, but I can't really make it out from this angle. When Harry doesn't respond, I look down at him, and find that he was already looking at me. He grabs my waist and pushes me in a bit. Confused, I let my body follow his silent demands, and watch him sit up straighter before pulling me onto his lap.

My back leans against the table, and my legs are thrown over his left one. I hold my drink in my right hand while my left is slung over his shoulder for 'support'. My cheeks flush at the realization that my ass is right on his groin, but I try to make it seem as if it doesn't affect me at all. He holds my waist with his right arm, tracing his fingers around in a way that makes my body shiver.

My eyes fly to my left thigh when he puts his other hand on it, and I try to steady my breathing as much as humanly possible while the tingling sensation between my legs becomes too adamant for me to ignore. The low chuckle that leaves Harry's mouth isn't missed by me, and it makes me even more nervous. He notices, and strikes up a conversation about the party, his family and Matthew.

"He asked me how long we've been official." I decide to tell him. Harry finds it amusing.

"Really?" He smiles. "The fucker."

"What?" I ask, not really understanding how that question adds up to him being a fucker.

"He wants you, been eye fucking you ever since he met you." He explains. "He has a thing for unavailable people, especially if they're unavailable because of me."

"So he just steals your girlfriends? Or at least, tries to?" I clarify, eyes wide, and Harry nods. "How have you not been in thousands of fights already?"

"Never really cared about it." He shrugs. "Most girls were just flings or one night stands, it wasn't anything serious, really."

"Wow." I laugh in disbelief, and it makes me wonder if maybe he is going to let Matthew hit on me. After all, we're faking this. It shouldn't be relief that I feel when Harry's grip on me tightens as soon as Matthew approaches us once again, but I do, I feel relieved. A little bit giddy too.

"Hey, wanna go for a round two?" Matthew asks me after greeting us both. I'm about to decline his offer, but I don't get a chance to speak.

"She's busy." Harry says in a tone that makes my head turn to him. His eyes don't look as friendly as they did before, and the warm smile on his face is looking a little bit more cynical. Matthew takes the hint and wanders off, a bit of disappointment on his face.

"Wow, you really nailed that 'jealous boyfriend' act." I tease him, my left hand instinctively trailing to the back of his head, where I start playing with his hair. He rolls his eyes, pulling me even more into him. I shift in his lap a bit, placing my drink on the table and grabbing his glass instead.

"Here." I hand it to him. "You haven't drank anything since dinner."

"Wow, you're really nailing that 'caring girlfriend' act." He reconstructs my words, and I roll my eyes accordingly. He drinks nonetheless, and I snatch the glass from him, take my cocktail back in my hand, and turn to him again. I frown when his nails dig into my skin.

"Don't move so much."

My cheeks instantly flush. Right...

I am usually way more confident when it comes to flirting. I know exactly what to say, when to say it and how to flutter with my eye lashes in those ways that make men want to drag you to their bedroom. I can flirt with everyone, I'm not easily impressed. Well, except with Malcolm of course, but that was just because I had a crush him. I act like an idiot around people I have a crush on. But I don't. I don't have a crush on Harry. I hated him until a few weeks ago– no. Until a few days ago. I started tolerating him on the plane. Yes, the plane. Oh god, the plane.

"I–" I start a sentence, looking him dead in the eye while realizing that I didn't have something to finish it with. His green eyes along with the feeling of whatever I shouldn't be feeling while sitting on his lap is making me dizzy. "I'm gonna go get a drink."

I try to wiggle out of my seat — which is his lap, oh my god — but Harry seems to find this whole situation very amusing, because for some reason he tightens his grip around me — pushing me more into his hard-on —then nods at the full glass in my hand.

"I think you're good, love." He gives me a half-smirk like I've only seen those guys in the romance movies do and I don't like how it makes my heart pound. What the fuck is happening to me right now?

I look at him, trying to come up with some kind of response that doesn't end up with me sounding like an absolute moron, and then I get lost in his eyes. The loud music fades, and the only thing I can seem to focus on are his eyes and his left hand that grazes further up the slit of my dress. It's only inches, and he trails painfully slow, but he keeps going because he waits for my reaction and it's positive. He can tell by the look in my eyes, and by the way my grip on his hair is a bit too tight.

The tips of his fingers are dangerously close to my panties, and all of a sudden, the music becomes louder again and I feel like I'm waking up from a sinful dream. I swing my legs off of his and get up, my drink almost spilling because of the sudden action. I quickly place it on the table.

"Pee." I say, partly to myself and partly to Harry. "I'm going to... pee."

Harry looks a bit surprised, but more in a way that makes him laugh. I don't miss how his head shakes a bit before giving me a permissive hum. I begin to walk away when I realize a crucial detail is missing, and so I saunter back over to Harry.

"Do you know where the bathrooms are?"

"No." He smirks.

"Oh. okay. Uhm..." I look around aimlessly, hoping to spot some kind of sign. But then, Harry gets up, and stands in front of me. He towers over me easily, it's intimidating and hot. Two things I need him not to be if I want to survive this wedding.

"D'you want to go back to the room?" He asks, voice gone a bit softer. I nod before I even realize that I am doing it, and Harry places a kiss on my temple. Grabbing my hand, he leads us towards the exit, waving goodbye to his parents before we make our way back over to our bedroom.

The cobblestones define the pace of our footsteps, making a whole lot of noise to confirm us where we are. Not that I'd need those stones to find him—he's still holding my hand. I shrug it off, it's dark and he probably doesn't want me to fall face first into these little rocks.

Once we've arrived at our room, Harry walks into the place like it's his apartment, and he goes to occupy the bathroom almost immediately. I grab my white, floral pyjama set that I actually never wear because I like to wear an oversized t-shirt to bed and nothing more. But, I packed my suitcase with the knowledge that I was going to have to lay next to a man the whole week, so I only brought the cute stuff.

When Harry leaves the bathroom, some steam leaves along with him, and I quickly look away at the revelation that he is shirtless, again. I don't miss the amused sniff, but I ignore it nonetheless. I skip into the bathroom, lock it and take a very anticipated shower. A part of me hopes that the water would also wash this weird vibe off. Like if I got out and walked back into that bedroom, my hands wouldn't start to sweat at the sight of him on the bed.

Unfortunately, I am wrong. Because when I do leave the bathroom, not only do my hands start to sweat, but my heart also begins to pound. Fuck.

I'd actively been ignoring this ever since the party. This stupid feeling, thinking it was just me being touch deprived. But I'm not so sure now. Maybe I do have a crush on Harry. However, I can't afford to think about that too much now, so I shake it off and walk over to my side of the bed.

I throw a decorative pillow on the ground and climb into the bed, trying to act as if I don't notice Harry staring at me. He's on his phone, doing God knows what. I grab my book from the bed side table.

"Wuthering Heights, huh?" He smirks, and I can sense the pretentiousness from miles away. I look at him, then roll my eyes with a smile.

"Shut up, it's my favorite story."

"Why? Heathcliff is awful." He frowns, and his tone is a bit mocking. Not to me, just to the story. But it's my favorite story, so I take the offense.

"I just like the fact that it acknowledges that love can make you both whole and destroy you. That loving isn't always really the ending, or the solution. It can be a fleeting middle, break you in a thousand pieces and then leave it for you to pick up the pieces yourself."

"That's a bit pessimistic, innit?" He chuckles. I shrug.

"I think it's realistic to recognize that spite, anger, sadness, and revenge are almost always born out of love, or a lack of it. I think it's optimistic, actually."

He smiles. "Yeah?"

"Mhm." I hum. "Think it creates a space for empathy, does it not?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Harry frowns, as if I've just opened a new door for him. I smile at his face, full of contemplation over what I just said and I know that I'm inevitably screwed.

He should've bashed the freaking book so I could have a reason to hate him.

I decide that I won't be able to concentrate on anything anyway now that I have admitted these weird feelings to myself—and the subject of those feelings is laying next to me—so I shut the book and put it back on my nightstand. 

"Not reading after all?"

"Nope." I chime, my tone sounding way too forced. "Changed my mind. 'M gonna sleep."

I turn off the light on my bedside table and turn around to Harry who is still laying with his phone in his hands. It freaks me out that he is looking at me, it makes me so nervous, but I try my best to be cool.

"Good night." I sigh as my head hits the pillow. I finally look up at Harry—bad move—and my heart melts a bit at his sweet smile.

"Good night."

I am laying with my face towards Harry, mainly because I laid down like that and now I'm too scared to shift too much and look weird, but I feel Harry's burning gaze on me and frankly, it's making me feel incredibly tense. My heart is beating way quicker than it should and I have to consciously steady my breathing in order to provide my lungs with some oxygen.

"Harry." I finally say after three more minutes of tense silence, eyes still closed. He hums softly. "I can feel you looking at me."

I open my eyes, because suddenly I'm very afraid that I'm wrong and look like a complete fool, but he is indeed still staring. He doesn't look like a dear in headlights, he's just smiling. There is a sense of comfort in him that I envy, especially because I feel like I could explode right now.

"Yeah, well, you're nice to look at." He answers, making my cheeks flush with embarrassment. I quickly dart my eyes to his body so I won't have to meet his confrontational gaze — bad idea, bad idea! — and quickly find that staring at his body isn't going to help my case any more.

"Am I making you nervous?" He asks softly, in a way that you could almost describe as sweet. But it isn't, because I know he's reveling in this.

Out of instinct, I look up at him, wide eyed at the fact that he read my mind and my body so well. But I cannot afford this—whatever it is that is hanging in the air right now—so I shake my head.

"Nope, just frustrated." I sigh, which is more a way to get my breathing back to normal. I pull myself up and turn around, my back now towards him, and hope to have closed the conversation for tonight. There is some shuffling from the other side and for a moment I think I did it, I think I won, but then I feel a hand sneak around my bare waist and my mind turns into jelly.

I suck in a sharp breath at the touch of his cold hand and the heat of his mouth on my ear, and swallow a whine at the way it's making my head spin.

"Do you need me to help you relax?" He whispers, and I suck in a deep breath.

"I– I need to sleep." I attempt to reason — mainly with myself — and Harry just chuckles.

"I can think of a way to tire you out." He insinuates smugly and I clench my jaw at his stupid charisma and how well it's working on me.

"Harry, I can't..." I begin the sentence, even though I have no logical argument to say no right now. I want him, really bad but a part of me is forbidding it for reasons unknown, which makes me want it even more. You know what they say about forbidden fruit...

"What? Would you rather be with my cousin? Have him get you off, hmm?" He asks a bit condescendingly, which makes me think the jealous act maybe wasn't such an act after all. His thumb is now circling over my hips and it's making me dizzy, which is exactly what he's trying to do to me.

"No–"

"No?" He plays dumb. His hand lowers to my pyjama shorts and starts playing with it's elastic band. My stomach is on fire and my pussy is aching, it's getting too much for me to brush off. I can't not get off, it's going to kill me. I need life support.

"No!" I whine. He chuckles, kisses my ear lobe.

"That's right... you came to me when he started hitting on you. Such a good, sweet, loyal girl. Sitting on my lap so nicely. Making me so fucking hard..." He taunts, and I start squirming under his touch.

"Harry..." I cry out, because frankly, I can't take another second of this torture. I'm about to implode if he doesn't touch me where I need it between now and twenty seconds.

"What is it sugar?" I can quite literally hear his grin and I groan at the irritating pet name. I grab his arm and try to get out from under his touch, but his grip only tightens on me and he pulls me back into him, cock pressed against my ass. He hums disapprovingly.

"No, feel what you did to me." He leans over to look at me and when our eyes catch, I think my heart malfunctions. "'S not very nice, now is it?"

I shake my head, biting my lip nervously. His eyes dart from mine to my mouth as he breaths out a 'fuck', and he wipes some hair out of my face with his free hand.

He pulls his body away from mine and for a moment I feel like I could cry, but he distracts me by laying me on my back and throwing the sheets off our bodies. He then quickly slips his hand in my pants, grazing his fingers over my underwear.

I look at him, desperately waiting for his next move while he studies my body with a light frown. My eyes go to his sweatpants, and see the straining bulge that hides in it. I go to touch him, offer him some release too but he swats my hand away. The stern look on his face gives me shivers.

"I didn't say you could touch me, now did I?" He states, rubbing his middle finger over my clit, and I curse my underwear for being the only thing that stands in the way of his real touch. Nevertheless, I moan, because he could literally blow on my underwear and I would come right then and there.

"'M sorry." I say softly, shifting when Harry starts to pull down my shorts and underwear. He inspects me, or at least that's what it looks like, and a grin grows on his face.

"I think you'll make it up to me just fine." He beams and starts to circle my clit, causing my hips to shoot up in surprise. He chuckles softly.

"Does that feel good, baby?" He asks and I nod immediately. My eyes begin to feel heavy and I don't know for how much longer I will be able to keep going.

"Harry, slow down or I'm gonna..." I can't get the sentence out because he only starts rubbing faster, and my eyes shut permanently.

"Yeah? You gonna come for me already?" Harry taunts, and I bite my lip to steady the volume of the moans that are leaving my mouth.

"Ah! Oh my– Harry!" I try to sound angry but it's really just me moaning his name very aggressively and the realization that it's his fingers on my clit right now is what sends me over the edge. The explosion feels overdue, and it washes away all the unnecessary tension I'd been feeling since I started fake dating Harry. And now I realized; it was probably sexual frustration.

I close my eyes, trying to control my breathing as well as I possibly can. My legs are shaking and I can feel Harry hovering over me. His body heat warms my cheeks as he hangs over me, leaning on the bed with one arm, holding my face with the other.

"Open your eyes baby." He says softly, and it makes my heart flutter. I am in deep, deep trouble. I do as he says, my eyes meeting his, and the smile on his face makes me feel like I'll melt through the bed.

"You okay?" He asks, stroking my cheek. I nod, head still woozy but not wanting us to stop any time soon.

"I'm okay." I give him verbal confirmation, knowing it's what he needs from me. He kisses my temple, whispers 'good girl' in my ear and moves away from my face.

As soon as I have my breathing a bit under control, my hands reach for his sweatpants, but he Harry grabs my wrists and pushes me away. I frown, and I have to admit that my ego is a bit hurt. I feel like he can see it in my face, because he is quick to explain.

“Believe me I would love to, but another night, okay? Tonight was just for you.”

I can quite literally feel my entire body melt at his words, and it doesn’t help when he gets off the bed and helps me up so I can go to the bathroom.

After I’m done and enter the room again, he is sat up straight at the edge of the bed, and looks at me expectantly. I shoot him an awkward smile and get back into bed. He does the same and we lay silently in the dark for a while.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to…?” I can’t help but ask, feeling like I should return the favor, and still insecure about the fact that he doesn’t want me to.

“Patience, sugar.” He says lowly, and my heart thuds at the kiss I feel being planted on my forehead. The amount of calm I feel is unmatched, and it makes me very sleepy.

“Whatever you say, hot stuff…”

Part 3

[yandere-paramour]

So I just got a hilarious idea of Atalanta. So you know how I’m movies especially rom coms there can be that moment where the leading lady find the guy in a “comprising” position with another woman. Say like they fell and one of them is on top of the other. How would Atalanta react if reader walked in and like her secretary was on top of her or vise versa?

I just think it would be hilarious to see this woman absolutely panic trying to explain what happened. Especially if reader was just nonchalant about it.

(Oh my gosh this is such a good ask, this is so funny)

Okay, so the closest person to Atalanta who could be considered a friend is her secretary, Noelle. Like in terms of people she's close to, it goes parents, Noelle, college acquaintances. Noelle and her actually do talk about things and Noelle has signed a serious NDA and receives a very hefty salary. Like Noelle makes 6 figures for dealing with Atalanta's bullshit constantly. Atalanta could call her at 2 in the morning asking for a flight to Croatia with box tickets to the opera and Noelle will call back an hour later saying that her flight leaves in two hours and there will be a continental breakfast waiting for her on the plane.

The way I see it, there are two ways where this could go assuming Noelle tripped and accidently fell on Atalanta: Darling walks in and flips tf out, or Darling walks in and is completely cool.

If Darling came in and absolutely lost it, Atalanta would probably throw Noelle off her (And to be honest Noelle would throw herself off), and immediately go to explaining to Darling. Atalanta would beg for Darling to listen, and probably spend the next month being extra loving and sweet to try and make it up to you. She isn't cruel; in her own strange way, she really does care for Noelle and she won't fire her for tripping. Darling is going to have to get used to it, but Atalanta will do anything she can to try and smooth the tension.

If Darling came in and was super nonchalant about it, Atalanta would be happy. She'd take you out for lunch happily and you'd have a completely normal day together. But then later tonight, she would start nitpicking everything. Why didn't you react? Are you mad at her? Do you just... not care? She will go over every interaction that day trying to convince herself that you're not mad at her. By the time you wake up, she will have worked herself into a panic and she looks like this: 😱🥺😖😫🫠🤯. She will spend the entire month doing sweet and romantic things for you like buying you presents, taking you out for fun things, and spending endless nights devoted to your relaxation and pleasure. And the entire time, she will send you longing, pitiful looks that when you ask her what's wrong, she's just like 😔 Nothing, Beloved, Don't worry yourself. She's such a girlfailure that she keeps this up for a month before she finally gets it through her head that you're not mad at her and you don't even know what she's talking about.

Also, during this time, Noelle is so annoyed because she knows her boss is an incredibly successful loser, but she accidentally caused this despair by tripping over her feet, so she feels responsible for fixing this. She spends every single day trying to convince Atalanta that you're not mad and you probably don't care because it's an accident but Atalanta refuses to listen to reason because she's stupid. So now Noelle has to track down expensive gifts and theatre tickets and set up romantic scenes fully knowing that there's no reason to do this. So she tries to ask you to tell Atalanta your feelings, but every time you try to talk to Atalanta, she thinks you're just being brave and pushing down your feelings to not upset her, and now she feels worse and tries to romance you harder.

Noelle is so fucking tired of you two, but that paycheck makes her feel better. Somewhat.

[malicious-fisheeves]

Oathbreaker dragon biology finished!! Redo of a previous piece, now in water color and featuring some commentary from a demon hunter.

Some more info under the cut

The adult is an example - dragons are pretty diverse in terms of shape. Some are much bulkier, with shorter necks or fins along their backs, different wing shapes, etc but this is the general body plan - a crown, a mantle, lizard like limb posture, fish-like fins, and lots of big scales.

Dragons are a combination of flesh/magic that somewhat defies the normal rules of oathbreaker's world (eg demons are Magic Magic, even if they have bodies that might bleed or appear to, at death they'll typically decay unnaturally if at all - many just basically poof into dust). This is typically what denotes a creature as being related to dragons, but no other dragon-like demon is sentient.

Dragons use magic to fly and breathe fire, but require some adaptations to do both. A 'crown' is a large very hard structure that protects the dragons head and will grow continuously throughout a dragon's life, whereas their horns will not regrow if broken. The lack of lips as well as protective iron coating on their teeth prevents them from burning their mouths. Their wings channel magic to convince the world to allow the roughly orca-to-small-whale sized fortress to fly. Their flight would be slow but due to their size each wing beat propels it forward greatly, just don't expect them to be making any sharp turns.

As magical creatures in general, (cant see it in the picture but i used my shiny paint for this)they are extremely resistant to any forms of magical attack except for lightning.

Dragons use their tail spines in combat with one another, attempting to lance each other's weak points (typically around joints, eg under forelegs, pelvis attachment where the skin isn't as protected) but given dragons can speak it doesnt always come to deadly combat (as adults - adults will kill juveniles if they can to eliminate competition, but the dead venom juveniles possess is a deterrent) however the venom is very low potency - more or less like a bee sting, its just as long as a person is tall. Juvenile venom in particular the subject of lots of intrigue as use as a 'super duper fuck you' poison in various cultures, but given the danger of acquiring it, is rare.

the 'W' shaped pupil gives them good good distance vision and image contrast, however dragons other senses aren't very good (hearing, scent) in adulthood due to the 'burning your face off' thang. Their hearing isn't bad perse just very unexceptional, whereas dragons cannot taste for shit. The reflective third eyelid can give their eyes a very eerie glow amidst dark smoke-filled nights.

dragons are hermaphroditic and have ritualized combat to determine who lays the eggs. The loser will remain close-ish by during the laying and incubating process, mostly to drive off other dragons who might try to steal the lair, but usually dips after a while given it can attract too much attention. The winner (and now egg layer) may or may not spend lots of time digging out a cave with fake tunnels or enlisting other demons as protection - it varies by individual. Both parents can typically recognize their children but once into adulthood dragons typically won't tolerate their offspring hanging around

Dragons do spend a lot of time sleeping throughout their entire life. Due to their magical nature dragons don't need to eat as much as a similarly sized metabolically extravagant animal, but it still pays to rest a lot.

dragons are assholes

[aceofshitposts]

Well I've been tagged in a couple different wip games but honestly have just had nothing to show for them lmao but uh I've had this rattling around in my head for a while so I hope this makes up for it a bit lmao

-

Tim hikes his backpack up higher on his shoulders, weaving through the throngs of people in the airport. He got a few odd looks from the security people but even with hands clumsy with youth he was able to forge a convincing enough letter from his parents about him travelling to meet them.

It's before disaster, everything is a little relaxed and therefore it's simple, really, to get through with minimal fuss.

Tim isn't entirely sure how he ended up here, in a body too young and too healthy but he's never been one to waste an opportunity. He's perhaps lucky this was one of the weeks between boarding schools, where his mom pulled him out due to her beverage dissatisfaction with various school curriculums. It meant they were out of the country but he was still in Gotham and not being watched over by any teachers.

Gate 57B. This is where he should be. Tim scans the people sitting in the uncomfortable plastic airport chairs, all waiting to board. It's not a particularly busy flight so it's easy to spot.

Off white hoodie and baggy jeans, clothes designed specifically to not draw attention and disguise body shape. Black hair falling over turquoise eyes that are focused on the rough looking paperback in his lap. There's a duffle bag sitting against his beat up sneakers that Tim just knows the contents of without even trying.

"Jason?" Tim asks coming to stand in front of the other teenager with both hands gripping his backpack straps. He's aiming for curious. Disarming. He can't be too formal or Jason will really know something's wrong and not the way Tim wants.

Jason raises his head lazily. Like a bored teenager being called to answer a question by a teacher. But Tim can see the immediate suspicion, the slight tensing of Jason's jaw and the way his eyes scan Tim to identify threats.

Tim isn't a threat. Not yet, anyway. Not like this. He can sneak around undetected, can forge papers and send anonymous emails to Batman while hiding amongst a throng of other school kids. His mind remembers, knows all the how's, of course, but his body lacks the muscle memory to truly execute anything beyond simple defense moves.

Frustrating, honestly, but probably to his advantage right now. He still has his mind and that's the most important part.

"Do I know you, kid?" Jason asks.

"No" --not yet-- "but I need your help."

Jason raises a single eyebrow and Tim makes a bit of a show of inhaling deeply, gathering courage and whispers, "I need Robin's help."

Jason's eyes widen, all pretenses of calm evaporating with a single startled inhale.

It's a little bit of a gamble, Tim knows. But it's a calculated gamble. Telling Jason the truth was out immediately, as was telling Bruce. Waltzing up to Jason to tell him if he boards that plane he was going to die would probably only embolden him further. Telling Bruce would send him into protective parent overdrive. He was trying, Tim knows, to give Jason some space and independence.

Pleading for Jason's help, for Robin's help, it was at least going to get Jason interested. Tim being a kid was also in his favour. Even as the Red Hood, Jason always had a soft spot for kids in need. And with Jason knowing what he currently knows about his mother, that she was an emergency doctor in the Middle East, he would probably rationalize that his mom won't be upset if he shows up a little later than expected.

"Now boarding Flight AA6237, please form a line with your passport and boarding ticket ready."

That's Jason's flight. If Jason gets on that plane Tim still has backup plans but it would be so much easier if Jason just came with him.

Jason stands suddenly, hefting his duffle bag onto his shoulder with one hand and grabbing Tim's sleeve with the other.

"Alright kid, bathroom's this way," he says with maybe a little more volume than strictly necessary.

Tim beams, genuine and wide. Jason was at least going to hear him out. Jason Todd wasn't going to die, not today and not tomorrow or the next day.

This was only the first item on Tim's list but, it was a start.

And if for a moment, only a second really, Tim forgets about a terrible future, about the pain of a blade against his throat or a batarang in his chest or bruises and missing spleens and deaths and revivals, and simply relishes in the thought that Robin was now urgently leading him somewhere more private to probably interrogate him--

Well. That's just the adrenaline.

It doesn't mean anything.

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 58: The Rush Adventure

''Life starts with a sunny day, let's feel our ocean breath! We are cruisin' open seas, can't wait for a new venture!''

– A New Venture by Sonic Rush Adventure

xXxXxXx

Lucas had to admit that he was glad that the familiar prickling of anxiety had gradually disappeared and was replaced with complete confidence whenever he had to fulfill his duty as the Leader of Team Neos, especially when he had some exciting news for his friends. Speaking of which, said team was gathered at the Taylor Workshop, which has pretty much become the main gathering spot for them, eagerly awaiting the news.

''I got a message from Sana last night, and she and Blaze have invited us to visit them at the Surya Empire,'' he told everyone. The reaction was, as expected, filled with excitement and chatter about seeing their old friends. Despite living in a completely different country, Team Neos, mainly Lucas and Minami, decided to take charge of keeping in contact with Sana and Blaze, telling them about their adventures in Neos City and even giving them a detailed description of how to utilize Chaos Surge when Sana expressed the desire to learn how to use it.

''I can't wait to see Blaze and Sana again,'' Silver said, with Amy, who was sitting next to him, nodding in agreement. ''It feels like it has been so long since we met them.''

''I know that you're all excited to see them, but there is something we need to discuss first,'' Lucas said, drawing everyone's attention. ''How are we going to make the trip from Neos City, Starpoint Area, to Karuna, Surya Empire, considering how that country is located overseas?'' There was a moment of silence, with everyone staring at him, causing Lucas to continue, ''Before anyone says the obvious, I have checked the prices for flight tickets, which aren't the cheapest for a bunch of teenagers, as well as how long it would take us to get there, which would be around 11 hours. Sana and Blaze will be accomodating us once we get there, so we don't have to worry about where we'll stay. Still, this would be a trip we'd need to prepare for properly, not just leave whenever we want.''

''About the flight, maybe I could arrange something so we wouldn't have to worry about the cost of the trip,'' Lily said, with everyone giving her a curious look. ''My parents have access to a private plane which they use for business trips, since Rising Quest has branches in multiple countries and my parents aren't fans of commerical flights. I could ask them whether it would be fine to use it for our trip.''

''Okay, but what if they refuse? From what I'm understanding, the plane is supposed to be used for business purposes only,'' Makoto pointed out.

''True, but I have a way of convincing them to borrow it for this trip,'' Lily replied, a sly smirk forming on her lips.

''If that's so, then we still have to agree on a date. We're still several weeks away from summer holidays, but I don't think school shouldn't be much of an obstacle given our system. I had also called my parents about this, and they were fine with letting me go on this trip, so long as I'm with Sonic,'' Lucas explained, with the azure hedgehog giving him a cheeky grin.

''Dude, saying that they were 'fine with the trip' is an understatement. They were actually really excited to hear that you want to visit another country,'' Sonic pointed out. ''Besides, I think it would be best if we leave as soon as possible.''

''I think it won't be hard to get our parents' consent for this trip,'' Minami said, with the rest of the team agreeing with her. Considering the circumstances and the fact that the one who invited them for the visit was the imperial princess, it would be rude to decline the invitation.

''There is one more thing to consider, though,'' Shadow suddenly said, drawing everyone's attention. ''Have you forgotten that we would be leaving Neos City at the mercy of the Doctor?''

This caused everyone to suddenly fall silent, as they realized they sort of forgot about Dr. Eggman and the fact that he could easily attack the city in their absence. However, Sonic waved it off.

''Knowing Eggman, I don't think he'd be interested in launching an attack on the city if I'm not here. After all, that wouldn't be how the game works, and Eggman is dedicated to form,'' Sonic pointed out, confidently, with Shadow giving him a doubtful look.

''I wouldn't be as confident as you are,'' Shadow told him, arms folded across his chest.

''Oh, com'n, Shads, have a little faith.'' Sonic attempted to persuade the dark hedgehog, not at all intimidated by his steely gaze. ''Point is, this is all a game to him, and if I'm not around to provide a challenge, he won't be interested in attacking the city.''

''While that is true, I really hope that this won't be him deciding to just take over Neos City while we're away,'' Tails said, giving Sonic a look of concern.

''We could ask Rouge and Omega to keep an eye out for him. After all, Omega had been itching to annihilate Dr. Eggman,'' Touka suggested.

''I suppose we could do that,'' Shadow muttered, glancing at Sonic, who just gave him an assuring smile. He then sighed, but nodded in agreement.

''Okay, then we should go and prepare. Lily and Knuckles, you give me a call if you manage to secure the transport,'' Lucas said, with Lily and Knuckles nodding in acknowledgement.

xXx

''You want to go where?!''

''You want do do what?!''

Lily's parents were completely baffled when they heard their daughter's demand. Ever since she had brought Knuckles back home to act as her Guardian, her parents were making compromise after compromise in regards to where she was allowed to go. Only recently, they had found out what she was really up and were immediately intimidated into complying with her demands after she punched a hole through the wall of the mansion. Realizing that there was really nothing they could do to keep their daughter confined at home, they finally relented and let her do whatever she wanted as long as she was safe. They had figured that this would keep her calm and at peace, only to get hit by a sudden demand that left them stunned.

''As I had told you, me and my friends want to go to the Surya Empire and I wondered if it would be fine to take the plane you use for the business,'' Lily repeated her request.

''No, absolutely not! How can you even think of travelling into another country?'' Lily's father. Knuckles gave Lily a curious look, wondering if he should intervene, but Lily's expression told him that she had everything under control.

''Didn't you use it for vacation several months ago?'' Lily asked in a deadpan tone, leaving her parents a little flustered, only to immediately follow up with, ''But, I guess that's okay. I will have to tell the imperial princess that I'd have to reject her invitation.''

''W-Wait a moment!'' Lily's mother interrupted her. ''Did you just say the imperial princess?''

''Yeah, we were invited by the Imperial Princess of the Surya Empire, Sana Jai, personally,'' Lily clarified, a smirk forming on her lips when she saw her parents' shocked expressions. ''We actually met her a while ago when she was visiting Neos City.''

''Well, if it's the imperial princess, it would be plain rude to refuse an invitation,'' Lily's mother suddenly spoke up. Knuckles rose an eyebrow at her sudden change in attitude.

''I agree. It would be a bad idea to just reject the offer,'' Lily's father added. ''I hope you and your friends know how to behave before the princess.''

''Of course we do,'' Lily replied.

''Well, I guess that's settled. You are free to go, and please, make sure you put in a good word for our company. We could branch out into the Surya Empire,'' Lily's mother said, giving Lily a forced smile.

''Thanks. I'll go prepare for the flight,'' Lily told the two, turning on her heel and walking away alongside Knuckles, grinning smugly. ''I told you I could convince them.''

''Let me guess, they only agreed because you were invited by Sana and they want to take advantage of that,'' Knuckles said.

''You're absolutely correct,'' Lily replied. ''My parents had been telling me about the importance of connections, so I'm simply doing what they had told me.''

''They certainly taught you well,'' Knuckles commented, a grinning at her.

xXx

Lucas sighed, busy reading a book and trying to relax. Team Neos was on a plane well on their way towards the Surya Empire, and while they had managed to get everything in order, he still had that nagging feeling that something bad might happen. However, it was also possible that he was just a little nervous because he and his friends were literally travelling into a different country for the first time in their lives.

He looked up, noting how the rest of the team were either excited or just trying to keep themselves entertained during the flight. Warren and Makoto were playing a video game on the portable console Warren brought along; Touka, Lily, Minami, Amy and Silver were excitedly talking about seeing Sana and Blaze again, with Touka mostly listening to their conversation while looking out of the window, watching the landscape below; Knuckles and Tails were having a heated game of UNO; and Shadow was reading a book while trying to ignore Sonic who was pacing around the aisle the moment they were told that they could unbuckle. Despite the fact that Sonic had assured him that he was fine being on an 11-hour flight, it was obvious that the hedgehog would've preferred to run across the ocean rather than sit still for so long. He did join Tails and Knuckles for a few rounds of UNO, but then left after Knuckles won one too many of those rounds and started teasing Sonic about his loss, with the hedgehog becoming restless once again.

''Hmmm…''

Shadow's ears twitched as he heard Sonic humming, his rival having plopped himself down in the seat right next to him and tilting his head in such way that he could also read the book Shadow was reading. Shadow decided to ignore this and flipped the page, only to hear a disappointed sigh coming from his side, figuring that Sonic probably didn't read the page to the end. It didn't really make sense to Shadow that Sonic would just start reading the book while he was 1/3rd into it, but he decided to continue as if nothing happened. Another swift flip of the page, and he caught Sonic pouting, but not saying anything. Realizing that he wasn't getting his moment of peace, Shadow placed the book on the armrest between the two seats. Sonic gave Shadow a happy look, smiling at him.

''You know, if you really wanted to read the book, you could've just asked me,'' Shadow told Sonic in a deadpan tone, holding the right side of the book.

''I didn't want to bother you, Shads. I had figured I could read it in a stealthy way,'' Sonic replied, holding the left side of the book.

''Stealth isn't your forte, Sonic,'' Shadow told him in a matter-of-fact tone, with Sonic giving him a sheepish look.

''Heh…'' He then turned to the book, reading the page. Shadow decided to no longer pursue the issue, focusing on the novel he had been reading. It was only a minute or so later that Shadow then felt Sonic leaning against his shoulder, making himself quite comfortable in his seat and still sporting that goofy smile on his expression. Shadow couldn't help but smile a little, realizing that Sonic had finally calmed down.

Lucas also smiled when he saw this, turning back to his own book, but he kept thinking back to his conversation with Sana and Blaze, having called them to confirm that they would be coming. Sana had told him that she and Blaze were investigating another pirate raid and asked him whether Team Neos would join the two during their investigation, something Lucas agreed to, as he doubted any of his teammates would just ignore any opportunity for an adventure. Since they would be arriving in Karuna at evening, they would be leaving to investigate the pirate raid the next day, mainly because Blaze didn't want to waste more time as she feared that the pirates would be moving onto another target.

Lucas snorted in amusement. I guess our next adventure is basically going to be Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure. I wonder where that will go.

xXx

Fortunately, their flight to Karuna went without any issues and once they arrived at the airport, Sonic immediately wanted to leave for a run, only to get stopped when two cars that Sana and Blaze had sent drove up to them, with the drivers telling them that they would be driven to the Sun Palace, much to Sonic's dismay. He did relent after he was reminded that he doesn't know the way to the Sun Palace and sat together with Lucas, Tails, Makoto and Silver in one car, while Lily, Knuckles, Minami, Amy, Touka and Shadow sat in the other car. The drive itself was filled with people trying to get a good view of Karuna, as it turned out that they wouldn't be driving through the city due to the Sun Palace being built on a hill next to the ocean rather than being within the city. Once they had arrived, they were greeted by Sana and Blaze right at the gate.

''Hey, Sana, Blaze! It's nice too see you again!'' Lucas greeted the two, followed by the rest of the group.

''It's nice to see you all as well,'' Sana said, her and Blaze exchanging their greetings with the group, then motioning to them to follow the two inside the palace. ''I hope you aren't too tired from the flight. You can also leave your luggage in the lobby, I'll ask someone to bring it to your rooms.''

''We're fine, thanks,'' Minami said, no one in the group noticing Sonic's annoyed look as he itched to just leave and go for a run.

''You had told us that you've been having trouble with pirate raids. How bad is it?'' Silver asked.

''The situation is manageable, but we've gotten reports of robotic pirates raiding ships. Sana and I had realized that we might ask you for aid, since you would be very experienced in destroying robots,'' Blaze answered, with the group chuckling. Blaze gave the group a serious look. ''I mean it. These pirates have managed to destroy several of our patrol ships, so they shouldn't be underestimated.''

''However, I think we can talk about that later on. I'm sure that you're all hungry,'' Sana interrupted. ''My parents have actually requested to have dinner with you, because they were curious about your adventures.''

''You have told your parents about our adventures?'' Lily asked.

''Well, I kinda had to when I told them I'd be inviting you over, as well as me learning how to use Chaos Surge,'' Sana replied. ''Fortunately, they are more interested in hearing in detail how you have defeated Chaos rather than getting upset about it. They actually got the impression of you having a similar status to Blaze, being the protectors of Neos City.''

''Well, they wouldn't be wrong about that, but different than Blaze, we don't exactly have the approval of the government,'' Amy said.

''We decided to not bring up that particular issue,'' Blaze said. ''I'm glad that ARMS isn't giving you any trouble anymore.''

''You're not the only one who is relieved about that,'' Touka said. On their way to the dining room, they came across two people who were waiting for them, the group immediately realizing that they were the Emperor and the Empress, Sana's parents. Lucas was the first to bow his head in respect.

''Greetings, your Majesty,'' he said, with the rest following suit with the formal greeting.

''We're glad to finally meet Sana's friends. I hope you had a safe trip,'' Anisa Jai, Sana's mother said.

''Don't worry about formalities. Clearly, you're treating Sana and Blaze as your equals,'' Rahul Jai, Sana's father added.

''Uh, okay,'' Lucas replied, feeling a sense of relief.

''This is just to avoid any awkwardness,'' Blaze whispered to the rest of the group as they walked into the dining room. ''There were some changes after Sana and I had returned from our trip in Neos City.''

The group got seated, with the imperial family being obviously at the head of the table, still feeling a little awkward, but the atmosphere soon relaxed as they had started dinner and conversations had started.

''I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Sana and Blaze had managed to find a whole group of friends after such a short time spent in Neos City,'' Anisa said, addressing the group. ''You're calling yourselves Team Neos, right?''

''Yeah, we are,'' Lucas answered.

''I assume you're the leader or…'' Anisa trailed off, quickly adding, ''I have noticed that you're the one speaking for the whole group.''

''He is, and you can bet that he's a great leader,'' Sonic, who was sitting next to Lucas, suddenly said. Lucas was slightly flustered by the high praise, but simply smiled in response.

''Well, a group that protects Neos City has to have a great leader. Perhaps you could tell us more about your adventures,'' Rahul said. ''Sana and Blaze had told us about an attack from a water monster that left Neos City flooded.''

''That's Chaos,'' Lily suddenly said. ''Honestly, it's a bit of a long story.''

As Lily launched into describing the battle, she was joined by Knuckles, Minami and Amy, while Anisa continued to question Lucas, Warren and Tails about their family and school life.

''That is an interesting system,'' Anisa said as Warren finished describing the school system in Starpoint Area. ''We don't use AR Fields like this here. But, that's to be expected, as Starpoint Area is the center of AR technology.''

Meanwhile, Sana and Blaze were discussing their plans for tomorrow with Makoto, Silver, Touka, Shadow and Sonic. Blaze sat upright in her chair. ''We would have to get up early to meet up with Marine at the private dock. It is about 15 minutes away by foot though, but fortunately, all of the preparations were done.''

''You had told us that you wanted to leave earlier, but decided to wait for us to arrive,'' Silver said. Blaze nodded.

''As for the trip itself, we might end up being out there for a couple of days,'' Blaze continued. ''Despite the sightings, it won't be easy to track down the pirate ships.''

''Do you have anything in mind in regards to where exactly we'll be going?'' Makoto asked. Sana tapped on her AR Visor and after looking through the holographic screen, she switched it to a map and placed it on the free space on the table for everyone to see.

''The sightings were here, here and here,'' she pointed at several parts on the map, leaving red dots on the blue screen surrounded by green shapes representing the islands. She then encircled the area with a red line. ''Basically, this is a hotspot for pirates due to many trade ships passing through, delivering food, water and other necessities to the various islands. Our plan is to act as a bait to lure them out into a direct confrontation. Blaze and I had already tried this before, but during our last trip, our ship got damaged during the battle.''

''This time you'll have a lot more firepower, though,'' Sonic said, fist-pumping. Sana nodded.

''I really hope none of you will get seasick,'' she said. Suddenly, the table went silent, with everyone on Team Neos giving Sonic a pointed look, while Sana and Blaze remained surprised by the reaction.

''Why are you all looking at me? I don't get seasick,'' Sonic said, feeling rather confused.

''Perhaps, but you don't exactly have the best relationship with areas of water that are deeper than your ankles,'' Shadow pointed out. Sonic just waved him off casually.

''Nah, I'll be fine. We'll be on the ship, won't we? There's nothing I have to fear,'' Sonic replied in a confident tone.

''I guess we'll see,'' Lucas said, joining in on the conversation while slightly amused, with Sonic pouting in response.

''In any case, that is the plan for tomorrow,'' Sana concluded, clasping her hands together. ''We might be able to catch them this time. If we do, we would remove one of the greatest threats we currently have.''

''That is really nice dear, but could you please not turn the dining room into a war room?'' Anisa suddenly said, startling her daughter.

''Ah, I'm sorry… I just thought that it would be easier to explain everything now while we're all here,'' Sana explained, a sheepish smile forming on her lips.

''I suppose we could go into the specifics once we're on the ship,'' Blaze said, glancing at Sana. Anisa exhaled sharply, turning to the rest of the group.

''This is how Sana had been behaving since her arrival. She became way more interested in participating in the defense of our empire,'' Anisa explained.

''Well, I am Blaze's partner and the imperial princess. So, it is my duty to defend my homeland,'' Sana said in a determined tone. Blaze glanced at the rest of Team Neos, her expression indicating that this was what she was talking about earlier. Clearly, Sana became quite inspired by her little adventure.

The conversation then continued until Anisa and Rahul decided to retire for the evening, with Sana and Blaze offering to show Team Neos their rooms. Lucas, Sonic, Warren, Tails, Makoto and Silver were sharing one room, while Lily, Knuckles, Minami, Amy, Touka and Shadow shared the other room. After making sure everyone knew their way around and agreeing when they'll be up, the two then left as they still had some last-minute work to do. As for Team Neos, they finally felt the jet lag and general tiredness from their journey catching up to them, immediately agreeing to go to bed, especially since they were supposed to get up early.

Well, everyone except one.

''Sonic, where are you going?'' Tails asked, looking at the hedgehog who was doing some stretches.

''I've been waiting the whole day to go for a run, so I'll do a couple of laps on the palace grounds,'' Sonic explained.

''I don't think it would be a smart idea, especially since we're getting up early,'' Silver pointed out.

''Don't worry, I'll be back in a blink. You can go to sleep,'' Sonic replied.

''Okay, but don't get lost,'' Lucas said, with Sonic just giving him a confident look and leaving for the entrance.

However, on his way there, Sonic ran past a lit room, with the door being slightly ajar. Curious, he glanced inside, only to find Blaze in what appeared to be an office room, reading some papers.

''Hey, Blaze, why are you still up?'' Sonic said, walking inside.

''I could ask you the same question,'' Blaze replied, pointing at the papers. ''I've been reading the reports that arrived today.''

''I thought you'd be fast asleep by now. It's getting late,'' Sonic replied, with Blaze sighing.

''You're sounding like Sana,'' she muttered. ''She was insisting that she would help me out, but when I told her to go to sleep, she told me that I should also go to sleep. Fortunately, I'm almost done with my work.''

''Honestly, I don't envy you nor Sana. You're not only protecting a whole empire, but also have to deal with the paperwork, which sounds really boring,'' Sonic said, tilting his head as he looked at the reports. Blaze smiled tiredly.

''This is all part of my duty. Someone who isn't used to this would obviously find it boring.'' Blaze then got up, gathering the papers. ''Although, I agree that the bureaucratic work is more exhausting than hunting down pirates. Not to mention, this is only a small cog in the wheel in regards to how the empire works. Sana's parents are the ones taking care of the matters inside and outside the empire.''

''I'm glad that I'm not an emperor, or even king. I think I'd go crazy at the mere mention of dealing with political stuff,'' Sonic said, with Blaze placing her hand over her mouth and snorting in amusement.

''I suppose it is for the better,'' Blaze said, tilting her head. ''What about you? Why are you still awake?''

''I actually wanted to go for a run, simply to stretch my legs and get some fresh air,'' Sonic replied, glancing out of the open window. ''Speaking of being right on cue…''

Blaze followed his gaze, taking note of a dark figure standing in the courtyard right below the window. Despite the darkness, her eyes were sharp enough to recognize Shadow standing there and clearly waiting for Sonic. She was surprised when Sonic suddenly leaned over the windowsill, a sense of fear gripping her.

''H-Hey, what are you doing? You'll fall off,'' she said, trembling as she tried to ignore the fact that the office was quite high up and she wasn't exactly comfortable with that fact. However, Sonic ignored her.

''Don't worry, there is a ledge I can walk on,'' Sonic said, leaping over and standing on the ledge while holding onto the windowsill. ''See ya tomorrow, Blaze!''

Blaze felt her heart beating fast as she watched Sonic leaping from the ledge onto another, skillfully navigating his path downwards and meeting up with Shadow. The two then sped off into the darkness, with Blaze stepping away from the window and quickly closing it, trying to calm down her beating heart.

Despite being the Blazing Guardian, able to wield and control fire easily and terrorizing any pirate she came across – she still couldn't get over the fact that she had acrophobia, or an intense fear of heights. Even just watching Sonic leap down from this height made her feel terrified, nervous and uncomfortable. Forcing her jelly-like legs to move, she noted to herself that she probably needed some sleep.

I wonder what Shadow was doing outside, though, she thought, only to come to the obvious conclusion. I suppose when Sonic mentioned that he would go for a run, he actually meant a race. That makes sense for him.

xXx

It was about 06:30AM in the following morning when everyone had gathered for breakfast, some still half asleep. Sana laughed, while Blaze tried to hold back her laugh, when Lily mentioned how Minami and Touka were quite hard to wake up, as both were the type of person who liked to sleep in. Shadow decided to turn this into a lesson for Amy of how to wake them up by ripping the blanket away from Touka, causing her to wake up with a start and fall on the floor. Amy decided to do the same with Minami, who luckily caught herself before she could fall off.

''Ugh, I feel like I'm gonna have a bruise from this that will last for days,'' Touka grumbled at breakfast, gaining some looks of sympathy.

''It's your own damn fault for going back to sleep after I woke you up,'' Shadow replied in an irked tone, sipping his coffee.

''You'll get a chance to take a nap while we're on the ship,'' Sana joined in a teasing tone. ''It will take us a while to get to our location.''

''No, thanks. I'm fully awake now,'' Touka replied half-heartedly.

After breakfast, they made their way to the dock, where they had already found people and ARNavs working on the ships that were there. Sana and Blaze led them to a particular one, which Team Neos, or at least Lucas, Warren, Lily, Minami and Makoto in particular, recognized.

''Woah, isn't that the Ocean Tornado?'' Minami turned to Sana and Blaze, who felt quite proud when they saw their friends in awe.

''Yeah! Honestly, it's kind of a-''

''Ahoy, everyone!''

Before Sana could explain anything, they were met by an Irregular ARNav running up towards them and waving at them. The ARNav in question was an anthropomorphic raccoon with orange fur, a white muzzle, a small black nose, and sky blue eyes with one long eyelash on each one. She had brown triangular ears with cream canals on top of her head, brown rings around her rounded tail, and brown and cream-stripe markings around her eyes. On her head, she had two upturned pigtails with brown tips that were held together by yellow scrunchies. For attire, she wore a lime green tube top with a white trim, black capri leggings, tan gloves, white socks, and lime green and orange shoes with gray soles.

''I guess you're the crew Blaze and Sana were talking about. I'm Marine the Raccoon, and I'm the captain of this ship,'' Marine greeted them all. ''I hope you're all excited for the adventure of your lifetime, because there is no one who knows these waters better than myself!''

''I suppose we can talk more when we're on the ship,'' Blaze said. ''Are we ready to set sail?''

''We're all ready! I hope that we'll find those scallywags who dared to damage my ship,'' Marine said, an irked look appearing on her expression. ''Even if they damage got repaired, I still want them to pay for what they have done. I almost had them last time, but unfortunately, we couldn't follow them.'' Marine then beckoned everyone to follow her. ''Com'n everyone! We have some pirates to hunt down!''

After everyone got on the ship, starting their adventure on the high seas.

Links:

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#Sonic Cyber Revolution (Masterlist)

[fourleafclovxr]

15: delayed flight

Across from Rhian, two children begin to cry.

Kei’s eyebrows curve in concern beaide him; the children’s mother rushes to soothe them, and he shifts as if he wants to reach out, wants to help, though Rhian can’t think of any way he could. Kei has always had a soft spot for children.

They’re not the only ones in distress. The announcement went something like, this flight is being delayed twelve hours, and now they’re surrounded by clamour and complaints. Rhian pictures himself as an anchor of calm, of silence, in all this noise.

He’s kind of relieved, actually. He hadn’t particularly wanted to go home. He doesn’t, ever.

Neither had Kei, but worry twists at his mouth all the same. Rhian nudges at his shoulder in a silent question, and Kei shrugs.

“My parents will be unhappy,” he says softly. “Though I admit they would be anyway. My sisters— well. I don’t know what they’ll think. Maybe it’s just not meant to be.”

Kei speaks of his sisters often. At Arbed— when they would talk about other schools, more normal ones— they had almost seemed like a point of pride. It’s difficult to tell. For people like them, the problem children, the troubled cases, it is endlessly hard to think well of your family. They won’t ever think well of you. Even Japeth dislikes Rhian, and they’re both in the same boat, so it’s not like he has anything better to show.

But perhaps that’s just them, the Sader family. Kei talks about his sisters from a distance, more like characters than anything else. But he has never quite spoken ill of them. lt’s more that they were never afforded the chance to be close; a forced sort of isolation. Again, very much unlike Rhian and Japeth, who were stuck together, like it or not.

His parents are a different story, a more sensitive one, but so are everyone’s.

“I guess you’re happy,” Kei observes in that same, quiet way.

“Any excuse not to go home,” Rhian says. “Anything at all.” It’s a strange thing to say, in the midst of all these people who want to go home— because no one goes to Foxwood for any other reason, no one thinks of it as anything but a poorer, less exciting version of Camelot or Jaunt Jolie— but it’s the truth.

Rhian does not know what it is, to long for home. Home has always been this: absent father, obsessive mother, crazed twin. Not people Rhian wants to be defined by. Not somewhere he wants to go back to.

And sometimes it was this: inadequacy. Rhian tries— tried?— to be a good kid, to make it work, if only because he knew Japeth wouldn't. It won't ever be enough. There will always be something in him that his mother resents, even if it's only his father’s blood, his father’s face. And there will always be the fact that his father didn’t care for him, for them, that they were only an afterthought. And there will always be this family he cannot fix.

Home is too much work and not enough to gain from it, from trying. Rhian doesn’t really care to try anymore. He’s not scared. He’s not. He’s just— not willing to watch it fail.

Kei lays a hand over his. “You're in your own head again,” he says, not unkindly.

“I always am,” Rhian murmurs. Always dreaming, or, lately, the antithesis of it. Convincing himself of reality. He curls his fingers through Kei’s, and for a moment they just sit like this, holding hands at the boarding gate.

He is blessed, to have Kei, who is perhaps the only person from whom he has nothing left to hide. Rhian could not ever know how to thank him. Could not ever be grateful enough.

Kei squeezes his hand, near-gentle, and lets go. He picks up his phone from where it lies in his lap, starts typing a message. To one of his sisters, most likely. They’re lucky to be sitting next to a charging station, though they’ll probably have to give it up sooner or later. Rhian glances at his own messages— four from his mother, one from his cousin Agatha. He contemplates ignoring them.

“At least reply to Agatha,” Kei says abruptly. Rhian hadn’t realised Kei was looking over at him and his screen, close enough for their shoulders to brush. “I like Agatha.”

“Who I reply to isn’t defined by who you like,” Rhian mutters. But he clicks her message open anyway. Kei’s mouth curves into a slight smile, the only response that Rhian gets.

you’ll be here at seven tomorrow, right? Agatha has texted. my dad is worrying again.

And then there’s that. Rhian tries very hard to avoid family dinners with the previous generation of Sader siblings, which are made even more awkward for him by the fact that their entire branch of the family is technically illegitimate, and also born out of Rhian’s grandfather cheating. Going to school in a different region of the Woods has made that quite easy— for him and Agatha both, as awkward classmates, though she normally does try to go home.

This was supposed to be the first dinner he attended in a year or two. Well, that’s unfortunate. my flight got delayed, he types back. twelve hours. but mom and rj will be there at seven.

you’re KIDDING me, Agatha replies almost instantly. honestly, good for you. but good luck telling your mother. This is followed by a string of pictures of pathetic-looking animals, about ten more than Rhian asked for, or wanted. At least she didn’t say skibidi like she did the last time they texted, or he might have to block her again.

“I almost feel bad,” he mutters. “Throwing her to the wolves.”

“The good Professor will protect her from the worst of it,” Kei says lightly. “Unless your brother brings Aric, in which case there will be blood, probably. I wouldn’t put it past Aric to take a shot at Professor Sader, too. Animal that he is.”

Kei, of all of them— Rhian and his mother and Aric’s own mother and everyone else but Japeth— has always despised Aric the most. It’s been a long-standing grudge, held since Aric nearly killed Kei back in Arbed. Years have passed, now, and the scar still tugs at Kei’s lip when his mouth curls. A constant crooked flaw in his joy.

Kei, Rhian remembers, had been more angry than anything else. It had been Rhian who had worried, hands curled in Kei’s, heart in his mouth.

“If Japeth brings Aric, I’ll throw him out myself,” he says.

Kei laughs— breaks off halfway to say, “Hello, did you need something?”

Rhian stares at the kids standing in front of them. One taller girl, one tiny boy who can’t be more than five. Kei smiles, indulgent.

“Could we share the charging station?” the girl asks shyly. She holds up the phone she’s holding. “Please?”

“Of course,” Kei says, before Rhian has the chance to react. Not that he would have said no. He’s not a terrible person, just… not particularly fond of children. “You can sit there if you want?”

He gestures to the empty seats on their other side. “If your parents are alright with it.”

The two kids are already looking at their mother— and, oh, they were the ones crying. She waves an affirmation at them, exhausted, and Rhian feels a little more sympathetic. Fine. He can tolerate it, for now.

Kei tugs his charger out so that the kids can plug theirs in, chattering happily. They’re playing Candy Crush. Because of course they are. Five minutes later they lean over to ask Kei whether he knows how to play.

Kei is on level eight thousand and counting. Rhian is pretty sure he was playing earlier on. What a question to ask. What a question, indeed.

The kids are on level five hundred. Kei is practically glowing. Well, as long as he’s happy.

Rhian wouldn’t mind staying like this, he thinks, a little wistfully. Twelve hours, four more on the plane. A world to themselves. A little life of their own. A liminal space, a transition, a delay. Rhian and Kei, the way he always wants it to be.

If he’s ever longed for home, he thinks it might look something like this.

[thefangirlingdead]

asg mattdrai hook up and then get stuck in a time loop… idk if it’s better if just one of them is stuck in a time loop or both of them end up repeating the same day over and over until they realize that the only once that acts differently is the other lol

oh. my. fucking. god.

yes. 1000 times yes.

I have so many other lil ideas that won't leave my head in the works, but I absolutely ADORE this idea because there's just SO MUCH that you could do with it. Also consider: it being the ASG, but instead of the St Louis one, it's actually the Florida one after Matthew goes to the Panthers.

Love love love the idea that they're both repeating the same day over and over and maybe they don't realize it for the first couple of repeats until one of them does something different/isn't in the right spot at the right time and the other one immediately clocks it. Cue a really painfully awkward talk where they both realize that they’ve both been in the time loop for the better part of a week and while they both kept trying different things to get out of it, the one thing they consistently kept doing was hooking up with each other at the end of the night.

And like, at first it's really fun, because maybe Matthew had originally been lowkey freaking out about sleeping with Leon because he’s never done that - never fucked someone who actually knew who he was - but Leon knows and doesn’t care. In fact, he still wants him. Is like “the sex is good, yeah? Maybe we should keep doing that.” So for a few more days, they keep fucking around. Keep fucking. Get so good at knowing how the ASG is going to go that even playing hockey isn't all that fun anymore.

Finally they’re like “okay this is great and all, but I wanna get out of here.”

Matthew is convinced that there’s some sort of lesson that they’re supposed to learn. Something they’re supposed to do. He thinks about he’d actually been nervous to proposition Leon because it was giving into this side of himself that he’s never shared with anyone remotely close to him, not even Brady. So he decides that clearly, he's stuck in this time loop because it's supposed to give him the courage to finally come out to his family. (Leon is encouraging to him, too, because he's already out to his family and Connor and most of the team, which Matthew is secretly super jealous of.) Leon encourages him to do what makes him comfortable, so Matthew does baby steps, coming out to Barky, then Brady, then finally his parents. Maybe, Leon offers to be there as moral support when he comes out to his dad, and maybe, his dad doesn't take it very well and Leon is there to defend him. They obviously fuck their feelings out about it after.

But still, they're stuck in this time loop, so Matthew is like "okay well clearly my idea didn't work - what about you? What lesson do you have to learn?" And Leon's like "to be honest I just really want some fucking time off". Maybe opens up to Matthew about how much pressure he's constantly under in Edmonton, how winning a cup, feeling responsible for Connor finally reaching that milestone is just weighing on him so much. And of course Matthew is like, "Bro why the fuck do you think I left Calgary to come to a city that feels like vacation all the time? I get it. So let's give you a vacation."

So they play hooky and skip the ASG. Turn off their phones and go down to the beach. Go fishing. Get on a flight and go somewhere else for the day, fall asleep in another state and wake up back in sunrise the next morning because OF COURSE THEY DO, they're still stuck in the fucking time loop. Matthew sneaks them into the Panthers' practice facility and plays with him, one on one, to remind him what he loves about hockey. Tells him, "fuck it, we could probably get to Germany if you wanted to go see your family" and realizes partway through coming up with more and more of these elaborate "vacation" plans just to make Leon smile that they're becoming more and more like dates. Realizing that he really doesn't mind that.

And STILL, it doesn't break them out of the time loop.

But then one of them (Matthew or Leon, jury's out cause honestly either narrative is great) realizes that they've been doing all of this stuff in the safety and the comfort of the time loop. That maybe, in order to get out of it, they have to commit to doing it when their actions have consequences and when they can't just get a free do-over. They fight about it, because either one or both of them is scared of committing to that (for Leon, it could be realizing that he doesn't want to be in Edmonton for life, that hockey can't be everything for him, and for Matthew, it's realizing that he can't keep hiding who he really is and that's terrifying for both of them). But obviously they decide it's worth it, that THEY'RE worth it, and BOOM, time loop broken. (and you know, of course they fall in love along the way)

...okay so like. I really want to fucking write this whole fic. I'm open to more fun little plots or ideas for it too, oh my GOD.

feel free to prompt me more shit:

I wish you would write a fic where…

[darkbluekies]

Hedwig asks #1

Next one Concept: I've put multiple asks into one post to avoid too much loose posts on my account! This way, you have more to read too<3

Warnings: a little suggestive, yandere, manipulation, blackmail

How would Hedwig react if s/o left on vacation without telling her?

...what has she done to you? Hedwig will 100% freak out. She'll be so anxious and scared that she faints and won't be able to go to school. She stays shaking under her sheets with tears running down her cheeks. She'll call you hundreds of times and leave a dozens of messages where she BEGS you to answer. She's nothing without you, so why can't you just answer?! When she gets to know what you've done and why you have left her alone, she'll be so mad at you that you regret everything. She'll book her own flight and go to you because you can not escape her. Wherever you go, she goes.

How would Hedwig deal with an escape artist s/o who doesn't leave, lets say her s/o rejects her she kidnaps them and ties them up only for her to turn around and their sitting down like it's a regular Monday morning and is just like "It's pretty nice here I think I'm gonna stay😀"

"W-What did you say?" she stutters.

She can't believe how you got out of the ropes so quickly or why you aren't screaming. She'll be white as a ghost trying to understand that you're staying voluntarily. Suddenly, she'll feel ashamed of kidnapping you.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I-I thought that ... you know ... that you didn't want to be with me. You rejected me ... remember? But I'm not mad! Not anymore! Not when you accepted to stay. I will make up for the bruises you got. I apologize for that. Should I get the first aid kit?"

would like to see a scenario where readers parents are protective and wary of rich people bc they think rich people look down on people and hedwig tries to get them to like her

You try to convince your parents that Hedwig is different, but they're not buying it. 'Every rich person is the same, only caring about themselves', they say.

Hedwig has invited them over for dinner to show how well mannered and down to earth she is. Or that's at least what she hopes she is. You're trying to calm her down, but winning your parents over means everything to her. She wants to be the perfect daughter in law.

When they come over, Hedwig is on her best behavior. You think she's acting silly, being too friendly, too well behaved. It's unnatural. Your parents are reserved and quiet. You can see their eyes light up slightly when Hedwig tells them that the chef has prepared their favorite meal. She adds on that you've helped her make this special.

During the dinner, Hedwig asks your parents questions and tries to hold back her usual talk about things she does. She doesn't want to seem unrelatable. She engages in conversations, just like she does when talking to you, and gives appropriate comments. It almost feels rehearsed.

Hedwig even gives them a gift. Nothing flashy, nothing expensive. Just a box of chocolate as a 'thanks for coming'. She gives you a hopeful look. Maybe your parents will start to change their attitudes about her.

Can you do Hedwig and her s/o who doesn’t know what to do with their life? Like any career doesn’t really interest them

You sigh, rolling over on your stomach to let the sun grace your back.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Hedwig asks from the towel beside you.

"Nothing, I've just had time to think now that we're free from school and ... I realized that I don't know anything. I don't know what I want to be, i don't know myself and I don't know how the world works. I don't think school prepared me for anything."

Hedwig sighs and sits up to look at you. Her white bikini glows against her sunkissed skin. Hedwig thought that you and her could spend the first week of summer break at her house by the pool.

"You don't have to stress", she says. "It's not like you will become homeless. You have all the time in the world to figure out what you'd like to do ... but you could just be a stay at home partner. I wouldn't mind. I can always pay for the both of us. You could dive deeper into your hobbies instead of working!"

Hedwig won't admit out loud that she'd rather have you be a stay at home partner than go out into the big, scary world every day to work a heartless job. She doesn't want to share you with the world.

"Do you know what you want to be?" you ask her.

"I don't have to be something", Hedwig smiles back. "I have enough money to last a lifetime. But ... you're right. It's boring being able to do everything you want anytime you want it. Getting a job would make me a bit more occupied. Model, maybe?"

"You seem to have an idea at least."

"Darling ... you don't have to stress it. I have a wonderful future planned for us. We're going to go on a lot of vacations and just enjoy life. Doesn't that sound nice? Don't stress about it. Just stay with me and you won't have to worry."

Hedwig trying to explain to reader why they would make an amazing couple and family

If the laws of physics doesn't bend to her will, she'll force them to bend :)

If I may what is Hedwig's finger size??? Asking for research purposes obviously ☺️ (HEDWIG PLEASE MARRY ME IM SO GAY FOR YOUUUWUVVVWWBINFRRFCE💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💖💖💖)

Hm yeah, research purposes oBVIOUSLY. hedwig will marry you in a heartbeat.

How would Hedwig react to a teasing reader marking her neck. And then when things start to get even more passionate, they just completely stop and walk away like nothing happened

Her entire body will go weak with your touch. She'll start to use grabby hands to get you closer and whine. She's pudding in your hands. You pull her closer, making sure to put pressure points where you know she likes them only to let her go and walk away. She blinks in confusion.

"Y-Y/N, no, don't leave! You can't leave me like this! Y/N, come back! Please!"

Hey ! I love your fic about hedwig and the f-boy, and after reading it I wondered what would happen if he actually leaves her because she broke his trust ??Ps: your blog is so pretty &lt;3

[thank you so much!!]

oneshot this is based off of

She won't let him. Hedwig's a fantastic manipulator, but if he can see through that ... she'll take drastic measures and keep him with her. She'll blackmail, kidnap and convince him.

"I'm sorry for everything, Y/N. You know I love you. A lot. That's why I'm doing this. You have to understand that what I'm doing is the right thing. Now, please open your mouth so I can feed you."

How do you think hedwig would react if her darling wasn't into women

Hedwig would be so sad. In her perfect world, you love her and she loves you, but if you're not into women, she'll try to act platonic with you. if she can't have you romantically, she'll at least have you as her friend. She can't imagine a life without you in it and will do her best to be the person you want her to be.

GOSHHH, I LOVE HEDWIG SO MUCH..I just wanna spend a day just purely spoiling her with attention. You write so well!! It made me developed a hunger for this type of writing. 😖

Oh my god thank you so much! i'm so glad you like both Hedwig and the writing <333

[starwarsmum]

Day 21 is Heading Home 🫶

@maribat-calendar-events

Marinette was getting ready to head back to Paris for a few days and she had managed to convince Chloé to come with her. Marinette wasn't sure if Chloé had been back to Paris since her mother dragged her away at fifteen, so it was long overdue.

“Dupain-Cheng, are you sure you want to stay at the hotel with me? Won't your parents be upset that you're not staying with them?” Chloé still sounded like she was spoiling for a fight most of the time but just then she sounded nervous.

“They'll be glad they don't have to pick up after me,” Marinette assured her, throwing another dress into her suitcase. “Besides, it'll be nice to get a little extra time with you. And I know you're nervous about heading back to Paris and seeing everyone, so it'll be good to stop you from self-destructing.”

“Ugh, fine,” Chloé said grumpily, but Marinette knew she was happy about it. “Anyway, I'll meet you at the airport, alright? I've just got to get my last minute things together and then I'm heading out.”

Marinette laughed and agreed, disconnecting the call and zipping the suitcase closed. Marinette would be catching a connecting flight from New Jersey to New York and then they would both board the plane to Paris for eight solid hours in the air.

For once she was ready when her ride to the airport appeared and she smiled at Tim's message that he was ready for her. She was a veritable ball of energy when she made it out to his car and grinned at him widely.

“Thanks for saying you'd do this,” she said as she hefted the suitcase into the boot. “I've only had the bike for a little while, I didn't feel great about leaving it at the airport for the few days. At least if something happens to it here I've got my own cameras to watch for what happened.”

“It's no problem,” he said easily, setting off once they were seated. They had been messaging daily since the concert and Marinette still hadn't quite had the courage to ask where they stood, relationship-wise. She knew how she felt about it, but Tim was hard to read. And she wanted to tell him that she was Ladybug in a way that wasn't massively awkward.

It didn't help that Bruce kept intruding whenever they found time to spend alone. So far she had been over to the mansion three times and Tim was called away suddenly once and Bruce had watched them twice. It made it impossible to know when she should divulge her other identity.

But with half an hour from her apartment to the airport? Surely now they were going to be free to talk. She twisted her hoodie in her hands - one that she had made to match Tim's because why not? - and tried to work up the nerve to start the conversation.

But before she could even really start, something thudded onto the roof of the car and Tim had to come to a sudden stop. Only to let out an annoyed huff when a familiar face poked over the top. Nightwing, in stealth mode, hopped off the top of the car and settled himself in the backseat, apologising for dropping in.

Apparently there was a situation happening not far from the airport and Bruce had asked him to get over there as soon as possible. And, obviously, since Tim was going there anyway…

Tim couldn't believe just how far both Bruce and Dick were going to investigate Marinette. After she didn't divulge the identity reveal to them immediately (and the fact that Tim wouldn't leave them alone with her) they were determined not to leave him in ‘potential danger’.

He could tell that it was making Marinette nervous and it was the last thing he needed while trying to work it out. Dick filled the car with idle chatter until they were a few minutes out from the airport, at which point the car was painfully silent.

“Thanks again, Tim,” Marinette said quietly when they pulled up to the drop off point. He didn't hesitate before getting out to help her with her suitcase and say goodbye properly. She reached up on her tiptoes to kiss both cheeks and he felt his face grow hot. “I'll let you know when I land safely, okay?”

“Yeah,” he croaked. She was gone before he could fully process it all and he wondered if he should have hugged her goodbye. 

It took him a few minutes but he finally forced himself back into the car and started the journey home. It didn't really surprise him when Dick jumped back onto the car, making him pull over to let him back in.

“That was a quick mission,” he said sourly, glaring sideways at the man. Dick had the grace to look sheepish, his hands spread in supplication. “Do you both just not trust me or something?”

“It's not that we don't trust you…”

“But you don't,” he said levelly, putting his attention back onto the road. 

“Tim, two months ago you thought she was suspicious. And it is really worrying that she didn't tell B that you were compromised straight away.”

“It was a kind of stressful night! She'd been forcibly restrained in her own home and Jason probably traumatised her. It would be way more suspicious if she wasn't affected!”

“But then why not tell B that she knew? I'm sorry, she has to be hiding something and we can't risk letting it go.”

_ _ _

“Marinette! It's so good to see you, come in,” her papa ushered them both into the back of the bakery, smiling so widely it must have hurt. Not that Marinette could say much different; her cheeks ached from the broadness of her own grin. “And Chloé it's…”

“Completely insane that your daughter has invited me in, yes,” Chloé said, fidgeting uncomfortably. She looked embarrassed, ashamed, and hopeful all at once. Marinette had long since guessed that a lot of Chloé's behaviour came from the obviously loving family Marinette had. “Thank you for not immediately telling me to get out.”

“Gosh, stop being dramatic,” she scolded, moving forward to hug her papa tightly. “Are we still having dinner together tonight?”

“Of course, your Maman has been preparing your favourites,” Tom said proudly. “And I made a strawberry cheesecake for you, that we can all share afterwards.”

“Perfect! We'll pick up a bottle of wine for us all and see you then,” Marinette said, tugging Chloé back through the bakery. “You really don't need to feel so bad about school. If I wasn't over it, we wouldn't be talking.”

Chloé harrumphed in disagreement but didn't voice an actual argument, so Marinette considered the matter closed. They spent the rest of the day relaxing at the hotel and Marinette thought it might have been the most fun she'd ever had with Chloé.

_ _ _

After the meal with her parents, Marinette and Chloé made their way back to the hotel. They had a whole team meeting to introduce Couleuvre to everyone that night but Marinette had called Juleka ahead of time to meet first. It would look better if Chloé came from a different direction than Marinette anyway, so she waited until they were almost at the hotel to split off.

The talk with Juleka didn't take as long as she thought it would so she spent some time swinging through the Paris night, enjoying the familiar routes. She was joined by Chat not long into it and she grinned at him as they began their unofficial tradition of racing to the Eiffel Tower.

“Awww, I thought I'd have the edge since you moved away,” Chat panted when he finally caught up to her. She laughed breathlessly, sitting in their usual spot. “It's nice to see you back, M'lady.”

“It’s nice to be here for a visit,” she agreed, watching as several other shapes started making their way over to them in the darkness. “And I'm glad I can introduce you all to Couleuvre before she comes up to the WatchTower.”

“I'm looking forward to meeting her! I always thought it would be Nooroo getting a new holder next,” he said sadly, raising a hand towards the closest leaping person. “Though if you ever want my input on who should have the butterfly…”

“Nooroo still needs time to rest,” Marinette said gently. “But I'll let you know when it's time.”

They were no longer alone and she took a deep breath, glancing at Tigress before introducing Couleuvre.

_ _ _

“He could have killed me!” Tim shouted. The argument had been going on for at least half an hour but he didn't seem to be swaying Bruce. “Not to mention what he could have done to Marinette-”

“If she wasn't an accomplice,” Bruce interjected, though he sounded less annoyed and more tired. 

“She helped us capture him! Whatever, I just think it's too soon-”

“And how long are we supposed to keep someone a prisoner in the cave, Tim?” Bruce asked quietly. “He's been improving every day and we have no authority to just keep him here. He deserves a chance to get a new life. And if you're right, and Marinette wasn't working with him, then now that she's elsewhere is the perfect time to release him.”

Tim didn't have an argument to that and settled for glaring and muttering darkly. Bruce took his lack of a counterpoint as acceptance and called for Dick to come. It was frustrating but he supposed Bruce was right; at least this way they could monitor Jason for a few days before Marinette returned.

Once Dick arrived, they all headed down to the containment cells, Alfred leading the way to be the first one Jason would have to get past. It made sense, Tim guessed, since Alfred was one of Jason's favourite people prior to his death. Tim had found plenty of pictures of the pair cooking, or arguing literature.

He took a deep breath and prayed that this wasn't a mistake.

[scrollonso]

i have come to the realization that waiting room by pheobe bridgers is the most first kiss strollonso song ever.

let me explain.

If you were a teacher, I would fail your class. Take it over and over 'til you noticed me

I feel like the hint at a teacher-student thing shouldn't be taken as a taboo in this context because (not only is the age gap smaller but) lance truly does what he does for the attention and praise he gets from nando in return, he continues to fail because every time he does he is noticed by the "teacher"

If you were a waiting room, I would never see a doctor. I would sit there with my first-aid kit and bleed

This mainly makes me think of lance crying in nandos arms after he dnf, holding on tight to him as he "bled" but not necessarily "seeing a doctor" (talking about it) because the best thing for him was the "waiting room" (fernando)

I wanna be the power ballad that lifts you up and holds you down

He wants to be fernandos everything, his motivation, his friend, his lover, his supporter, HIS SUN.

I wanna be the broken love song that feeds your misery

He wants to be something fernando continues to come back to no matter what, like a broken love song fernando adores and even though it can hurt he cant stay away because it is his favourite

And I can wish all that I want, but it won't bring us together

As of right now in the au lance isnt even aware of his own feelings let alone the fact fernando feels the same, no matter how much he tries that longing and craving he has for more doesnt disappear because he isnt aware just how much more he needs

Plus, I know whatever happens to me, I know it's for the better

As lance continues in his rookie season he becomes used to losing, used to retiring early, used to fucking up, while fernando continues to win, but he cant bring himself to care when he goes and sees fernando on the podium

And when broken bodies are washed ashore who am I to ask for more, more, more?

When both of them have been hurt, been through things, struggled, had their own negative thoughts about the feelings they'll soon come to terms with, who is lance to beg fernando to be more than just friends and coworkers?

But you're breathing in my open mouth, you're the gun in my lips that will blow my brains out

Fernando literally takes lances first kiss. He's the first pair of lips lance has ever had on his own, the first person to hold him this way, touch him, love him, soothe him, praise him, his first everything, if this doesnt work out its going to kill him.

I wanna make you drive all night just because I said, "Maybe you should come over"

In the au lance lives in geneva switzerland like in real life and fernando was visiting mark in queanbeyan australia WHICH IS A 36 HOUR FLIGHT AWAY THAT LANCE TOOK WITH NO HESITATION JUST TO SEE FERNANDO A WEEK EARLIER THAN HE WAS SUPPOSED TO.

Wanna make you fall in love as hard as my poor parents' teenage daughter

He knows fernando is older and has most likely loved someone before but he cant help but want nando to love him as hard and passionately as he loves fernando (HIS POOR PARENTS' TEENAGE SON.)

She'll be the best you ever had if you let her

This could truly go both ways, with fernando being more expierenced and willing to do anything for lance with no hesitation and lance not knowing exactly how to love but willing to do anything to show fernando just how much he truly loves him.

I know it's for the better. Know it's for the better

With lances internalized homophobia in the au he believes that convincing himself he truly just looks up to fernando is for the better because admitting he's in love with another driver would be insane

[queen-scribbles]

"Aren't I lucky?"

17. Parents (post-WotR; Trinne/Lann)

Trinne often heard people bemoan their childhood home looking smaller when they returned to visit. Something about growing up and nostalgia coloring their memories. She had the opposite.

"Huh, it got bigger." She cocked her head, studying the façade of the Amell family estate.

"Bigger?" Lann echoed. Something flickered in his eyes that made her wonder if he was a flight risk. It had been enough talking him into this, she shouldn't have said anything.

"Yeah." Trinne leaned against his side as she pointed toward a section of the architecture. "There's a whole addition on the east wing- oh!" she gasped, grinning. "I wonder if that mean Sarro moved in... My initial bardic instructor," she explained when she caught his lost look. "She an' my folks really hit it off, and she doesn't have any family, so they told her she was welcome here if she ever needed to settle down."

"So they built her an addition?" Lann ran a look over the sprawling mansion. "Makes sense; they seem real short on space."

"Hey, I'm one of five, remember?" she laughed. "Mostly girls. It was smart to give us lots of space."

"Uh-huh." He still looked uncertain beyond the expected level of nerves. "How'd I let you talk me into this?" he muttered, running a hand down his face and swiping at the front of his loose shirt.

"I believe it involved a little of me playing dirty," Trinne said with a coy wink, before sobering and turning to take both his hands in hers. "But also the fact I've met your mother. Seeing as my parents live in Nerosyan, too, it seemed only fair you get to meet them while we're here."

"Yeah, but you'd already met my mom," Lann pointed out. "so visiting her was just... catching up and telling her I somehow convinced the most beautiful and amazing woman in Golarion to marry me. This is..." he darted a glance at the front gate, "you introducing your folks to your husband, the local cave monster."

His scaled hand twitched in her grasp, but she held firm as she countered, "Who happens to be the handsomest man on or beneath Golarion, aren't I lucky?"

"There's that bias of yours again. I think you got knocked in the head by demons one time too many, Commander," he joked, shuffling his feet.

"Oh, undoubtedly. Doesn't make me wrong. Look, Lann..." Trinne let go with one hand to instead cradle his jaw and make him look at her. "I can't promise how they'll initially react, true, or that you'll fit in here, and if you really don't wanna do this, we don't have to. But I promise, darling, they will love you when they know you."

"Promise, huh?" Lann sighed and bit his lip. "How're you so sure?"

"You make me happy," she said simply, pushing up on her toes to steal a quick kiss. "Plus you have a wonderful sense of humor, you're a deadeye shot with a bow--which is really hot--you're good with kids, you've saved my life so many times I've lost count, soon-to-be leader of your people" --her hand slid down to his chest, where the scar of Savamelekh's sting lingered-- "but above all, you make me happy. That's always been what they want most for us; to find what makes us happy and do it." She grinned. "In my case it's a who, not a what."

He chuckled, some of the nerves fading. "I appreciate the out, Trinne, but I want to do this." His fingers carded through her hair and tipped her chin up to steal another kiss as he teased, "They can't be worse than demons."

She laughed. "The only danger you're in from my parents is overfeeding and being forced to sit and listen to baby stories about me."

"Baby stories, huh?" Lann grinned. He turned his hand in hers to interlace their fingers. "Considering what you've gotten out of my mom, maybe this won't be so bad..."

Trinne lightly slapped his chest and rolled her eyes. "And maybe I'm going to regret it. Come on, before I change my mind."

She tugged him into motion, heading across the street to the now-open gates and the family who waited within.

[sparxaf]

Okay had to make a list and do this proper. Please provide a snippet of It Could Have Been Me. The people need to know!

And I want whatever you’ll give me about:

- Suresh something something

- Couples therapy

- Arjun After Hours

Maybe I missed it but was the Bobby Marisol fic left off this list 👀

Okay 🤣 This is gonna be forever long. You know I can't summarize!

If It Could Have Been Me: Noah's wanted her for far too long and he finally has her. For now.

Her walls clenched around him as he let himself succumb to the magic and madness of her sweet body. Poetry and music and lines from old books flooded his head, but they didn’t make any sense. They were a sensual muddle of noise and words. A rolling, tumbling jumble of feelings that weren’t namable. Weren’t even knowable. And without the ability to name them, he became feral. Savage. Utterly unable to find the civilised man that needed those artful things to make sense of the world. There was no more sense. There was only her. Fucking her.  Loving her. 

Suresh Something Something: MC, a very popular islander, was shockingly dumped by public vote. In a Love Island first, the fans were so upset by the abusive way she'd been treated on the show, they banded together and voted her off out of concern for her emotional health. At the 6 month reunion, she thanks fans for caring so much and announces that on her flight home from the dumping, she met another Love Island alum and they've been dating ever since. It's either Lucas or Arjun. They bring him out and he's head over heels for MC and proposes on air. Suresh has a complete melt down about it and posts up on the guy who isn't the least bit intimidated. Arlo, humiliated by Suresh's behavior, punches him in the face. Did I brainstorm all of that JUST to have him get punched by a semi-pro boxer? Yes. Yes I did.

Couple's Therapy: MC is in the waiting room for her first couples therapy appointment, but her fiancé hasn't shown up. Seb's girlfriend also hasn't shown up. To their confusion, they end up getting called together for their visit because Seb and her boyfriend have nearly identical names. They're both too mortified to tell the therapist and just play along, like they're an actual couple. They end up going to many therapy appointments together as if they were a real couple, and they learn how to communicate and end up falling in love.

Arjun After Hours: Arjun goes into CA with an agenda. Pick the easiest to convince girl, get into the villa, get famous, and prove his family wrong about what a loser he is. But meeting Olivia, brilliant and unbearably loyal, throws a wrench in everything. He falls hard and tries to hint at the truth he's not allowed to tell. Her relationship is a joke. Her partner has been using her since day dot and her so called bestie has been sabotaging her. Despite falling just as hard for him, she won't believe it and chooses loyalty. Heartbroken, Arjun returns to his life of dog grooming and disappointed parents. So imagine his surprise when he gets a knock on the door...

Oh, and no, the Bobby/Marisol story wasn't missing. It was in the section of active WIPS I believe. The sex scenes are too good (and horrifying) to leave unfinished 🤣

God, I forgot how fun these story ideas were. Thank you for the ask, my friend! And thank you to anyone who managed to read all of that 😘

[anthropwashere]

I've gotten two letters from my mom since my aunt died last month and they've both been just. So, so aggressively manipulative. Y'all can skip this post. I'm not looking for sympathy likes/replies. I just need a good rant and sometimes it does pay to yell into the Tumblr void.

Still—still!—she insists I have never told her why I refuse to speak to her anymore. She has the receipts on this, going all the way back over a decade ago to my early 20s when I conceded to communicate to her solely through e-mails. That avenue of communication ended with me blocking her pretty much everywhere online after she called me a sociopathic bitch on a public platform family, friends, and coworkers followed me on. Very cool of her, very mature.

(If memory serves she was arrested shortly thereafter. Pity it wasn't for something more serious than, jeez, I can't be assed to remember. Something to do with her driver's license? I know she asked me for a couple grand about it and cussed me out when I told her my baby Airman ass literally did not have the money even if I were inclined to help her.)

Every single letter she sends me includes a brief tangent about how she's been watching YouTube videos about estranged families (both sides! she always includes the both sides!). She always says she wants to understand but she can't because I've never told her why I refuse to talk to her anymore.

How many phonecalls, how many HOURS, have I wasted crying in rage and despair as I try to tell her all the ways she hurt me, physically and emotionally and mentally, before I realized she'd never accept it? That she would always, always try to gaslight me like this? That she'd give me that guileless, wide-eyed and furrowed brow anxious stare and that high, plaintive goddamn voice. That she'd convince me time and time and time and time again that maybe, maybe I'm overreacting?

This most recent letter was a real treat. She went out of her way to say she wasn't trying to guilt trip me, really, but she's JUST lost both her sisters AND her parents in the last year and she's terrified she might die soon next so WHY won't her ONLY DAUGHTER just TALK to her? 😭

So, firstly. I can only speak for myself and my interpretations of what my extended family will feel, but I'm pretty goddamn sure we're all gonna CHEER when she finally fucking kicks the bucket. Ain't nobody gonna miss her when she croaks. Even if her sisters outlived her that'd be the same. My only complaint when she does die is that I'm gonna insist on paying for all of the funerary expenses because she's already leeched too goddamn much from the rest of the family. No way is anyone gonna pay for her bullshit one last time, even if that means paying folks back with interest after I fly back to California. And you can be sure I'm gonna go out of my way to take the cheapest route possible at every opportunity out of spite. This woman doesn't deserve better than the bare minimum. That's all she's ever given everyone else after all.

Secondly, I will concede the fact that yes, she's lost both her sisters in the last year, not even a full year apart from each other. And that sucks! It's extremely fucking sad! My aunts raised me as much as she did, and they both sure as hell paid for more of my childhood needs than she ever did. I was able to afford to go to my younger aunt's funeral last year, but even with the surprise disability backpay I got this year I've been dealing with a lot of owning-a-100+-year-old house expenses (such as replacing the entire goddamn original roof) this year, so I genuinely couldn't make the trip for my older aunt's funeral. Two family members offered to pay for my flight and I just couldn't accept that kindness because I grew up watching my mom take and take and take and take from the family.

THIRDLY HOWEVER.

Her mom, my maternal grandma, died TWENTY YEARS AGO. Her dad, my maternal grandpa, died THIRTY YEARS AGO. And she hated her parents! She fucking loathed them! I spent more of my childhood being her psychologist instead of her goddamn child; ALL I HEARD ABOUT was how much she hated and resented her parents. This is THE first time I've heard her trot them out since I lived with her back in the 00s, and it might damn well be the first halfway-positive mention of them since long before that? This is so transparent an act I can't help but be insulted that she'd think I'd take the bait? Using the LITERAL DEATHS of others to try to goad me into talking to her?

Like. Jesus. Last year at my younger aunt's funeral just about every single member of the California-centric family pulled me aside to ask if my mom was being too much. My aunt's CHILDREN, damn near non-functional with grief, asked if I needed help handling my mom. And there were a couple occasions where I damn near admitted yeah! She's being too much! She won't stop fucking touching me! She won't stop making her sister's death about herself! And here she is, a year later, doing the same goddamn thing again with her other sister's death!

She's a manipulative, gaslighting abuser who refuses to grow up and accept responsibility and/or repercussions for her actions despite being in her late-60s. She gleefully twists the knife into whoever she can get her hands on and acts SO distraught and SO betrayed when people find fault with her actions and behavior. I don't know a single person who knows her to like her anymore once she's shown her true colors, and somehow she's still convinced she isn't the problem.

What a waste. What a fucking waste.