#near the campfire where his friends are all doing their Things

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

colored! not sure how i feel about it! not terrible but also not 100% satisfied!

warlock wizard Wally scribbles... Thinkings! oh and a bonus bard-ish Barnabys in the corner for flavor

outfit ramblings:

first of all that is a Terrible rendition of what Home looks like in my head. i just needed to fill empty space </3

the staff was the toughest part honestly. bc it Had to be paintbrush-themed, but then halfway through scribbling i was like "oh shit. there are only so many ways to draw a paintbrush-wizard-staff and Weevmo already hit it out of the park." so if you're seeing similarities! you're right! i tried to make it as different as i could! there is Inspiration from their marvelous design, however accidental or subconscious! Apologies!

he gets a pointed hood instead of a hat because a) it looks great on him! and b) it has less of a chance of messing up his hair! also c) it helps muddle the difference between Wizard and Warlock. typically hoods have evil/duplicitous connotation - blur the lines! i want his long gloves and forearm wraps to have the same vibe. his neckerchief is a big help in hiding Home's seal!

his layered (loosely apple-themed) capelet (which the hood is attached to) has a nice high collar & hides the details of his loose shirt - eye embroidery! and some flowers on the shoulders but yk, mostly eyes. on one side of the shirt buttons has open eyes, the other side they're closed! there's also one big eye on his back!

his belt buckle is two halves of an apple! he wears tall thigh-high boots w/ low heels to feel Taller! he has a book-holster hooked to the back of his belt, which holds his grimoire! and he has a lil thigh-bag that has been magicked to be Bottomless and warps size! he can fit pretty much anything in there! canvases! paint! apples!

his half-skirt thing (idk what the word for it is!) is really plush, like a quilt - his capelet is the same fabric. soft, cozy. sometimes he'll use the skirt thing as a blanket in a pinch, or as a picnic placemat!

is his outfit a little Complicated? is it annoying to replicate? yes and yes. but im a maximalist at heart and Nothing But The Best for the blorbo <3 layers my beloved <3

[starless-nightz]

Okay so I saw whose Daughter of Hestia headcanons (my compliments to the chef) and I also saw you write angst... see where I'm going?

So, might I request headcanons for the child of Hestia getting injured after a battle and just how that might impact the people at camp/morale

Not sure if this makes sense, so sorry about that, but thank you.

Child of Hestia getting injured in battle

note -> Glad you liked the HCs! Yes i do write angst, it just happens that either no one ever requests it or i dont have any idea for the requests.

warnings -> none.

content includes -> angst, the campers are pissed, reader is heavily injured.

The entire camp is shocked when you get hurt. As Hestia's only child, you're the one everyone associates with warmth, safety, and tranquility—so it's profoundly unnerving to see you hurt. It's like there has been a crack in the very foundation of their house, and it sends them reeling to the very core of their bones.

The campfire is chillier without you. Even at the infirmary recovering, your presence is missed. The usual comfort lingering around the campfire ebbs and the gatherings by the fire are not the same. Campers draw closer to the fire but are sans the warmth they're so used to because of the absence of your quiet, calming energy.

Campers take it personally, at least the ones that know you well. The more battle-hardened demigods—the children of Ares and Athena among others—find themselves feeling an anger, rare and deep, toward whatever got to you. To them, you are this sort of symbol of the gentler side of camp life, and seeing you get hurt as some sort of attack on the very heart of what they are fighting so hard for.

Hermes' cabin is affected the most. Although they are normally known to be a playful bunch of kids playing pranks and pulling all sorts of mischievous antics, they're subdued when you're injured. They miss your soft laughter and how you always offered to help clean up after one of their more chaotic moments. They band together to make sure your cabin is looked after while recovering, as means to repay some of the comfort you've given to them in return.

The mood in the infirmary is grim, yet determined. Will Solace, the healer of the camp, treats you with extreme care; after all, your well-being means the world to the camp. He's stern and intent, rarely leaving his post, ensuring that you are receiving all the best possible care. The Apollo kids put in an all-out effort to heal you, aware that it will make a great deal of difference to the morale of others.

Your closest friends refuse to leave your side: duty-operated, that is, they get shifts sitting beside your bed, trying to keep things light-hearted, telling stories, or making quiet jokes. You know that deep inside they're worried, yet they know you will not like seeing their anxiety, and so they try maintaining the usual cast of characters for your benefit, even when it's hard to camouflage worry in their eyes.

Camp activities are much more subdued now. Training sessions and sparring matches are nowhere near as energetic, and even capture the flag is a little more subdued, less peppered with shouts and playful competitiveness. There's a sense among the campers that they should be more careful, like the idea of someone like you getting injured has made them all realize that they're vulnerable.

The other campers make up for your lack, though: Demeter children care for the garden you were always in charge of, the kids from Aphrodite make common places of the camp cozy to the possible extent, and so on and so forth. Everyone tries their best at keeping the spirits up at the camp while you are recovering, but they really do miss your personal touch.

People find themselves visiting the hearth more often, looking to the proximity of the fire somehow reuniting them with you as you are out of commission. They will sit at the flames, muttering their apprehensions with crackling wood, thus hoping it be heard by Hestia herself for your recovery.

Nico di Angelo is particularly distressed by your hurt. He's not foreign to loss, but he has always looked upon you as a sort of anchor-someone who reminded him of peaceful things in life. The thought of losing you is a fear he doesn't want to admit to himself, and he'll be haunting the infirmary more often than he'd like, just to make sure you are still all right.

Your recovery means normalcy returns very grudgingly. As you get well enough to start your work, the energy in camp starts to return in homeopathic doses. When you're finally ready to join the others around the fire, there's celebration: full of treats and stories as campers press close to the flames now, as if to make up for lost time. You stand for a more complete warmer experience with the feeling that one weight has been removed from everyone's shoulder.

Your injury leaves an indelible mark on the camp. After you have regained your health, demigods are more cautious in battles and less often take superfluous risks in them, as they are more aware of the price for that. At the same time, your recovery becomes a beacon of resilience and the campers feel a deeper bonding knowing they've been through a rough time together.

[volklana]

To You I Belong

Title Comes From This Song:

Summary: It was supposed to be a simple spying mission, like the ones he had done many times over, draw no suspicions, take no prisoners, leave no casualties and then slip away into the night with the precious information he had learned. What he did not factor into this equation was encountering the love of his life.

Warnings: Reader is a slave for the first part of the story.

The moment he laid eyes on you something stirred in his very soul, something he had never felt before, and it unsettled him, deeply.

Sihtric had never failed Uhtred before. 

Not once. 

But he was about to.

And if he was honest with himself from the moment he had entered the Dane’s camp, he knew he was going to do something he had never done before, he was going to be selfish.

Because from that very moment he saw you he had decided he would do whatever he could. Suffer whatever consequence came his way to get you out of here. 

It was supposed to be a simple spying mission, like the ones he had done many times over, draw no suspicions, take no prisoners, leave no casualties and then slip away into the night with the precious information he had learned. 

Except he was sure of one thing with great certainty, he would not be slipping away into the night unless it was by your side. 

He had watched you for nights now, pouring ale into the cup of the brutish Dane Ulf, who possessed you, slave irons around your neck, which tethered you to him. 

He watched you flinch every time he rose, and watched in horror as he backhanded you roughly for dropping his cup once when he yanked too harshly on your chains.  

“Saxon bitch,” he hissed as you held a trembling hand to your cheek, before gathering yourself and pouring the drink into his cup. 

“Pour one for my friend too,” he instructed, and Sihtric almost held his breath as you stepped into his proximity to pour into his empty cup, he thanked you with a small nod of his head, and for a moment your eyes lingered on his before you were yanked backwards and were forced to stand beside your brutish slaver again. 

“Why do you keep those chains on her?” Sihtric had asked and Ulf sighed a long hard sigh before leaning forward, voice dipped as if sharing a secret with Sihtric, “Do not let that face fool you. She is wild like a mare, bites like one too.” 

Sihtric was beginning to despair at how he could get you away from Ulf.

He thought about slipping into his tent at night, slitting his throat and simply stealing you away but he couldn’t trust that it would be so easy, and Ulf never left your side for long enough to simply steal you away.

The only time he ever left you unguarded was when he had you chained to a stake not far from his own tent and it was in these rare moments where Sihtric could talk freely with you. Bringing you stolen rations of food or allowing you to sip from his own water pouch.

If,you fought like a mare, Sihtric thought it was only because you were frightened, he could read it in your huge worried eyes whenever he was near you.

You always expected pain and it took you days to accept the food straight from his hands and not from the ground where he placed it, hands up and backing away to show he meant to harm.

It broke his heart.

Sihtric once again found himself around the campfire, sipping slowly from his cup, eyes once again on yours when Ulf’s booming voice pulled his attention.

“You like the look of my woman?” he teased, half slouched back on the ground, his gullet filled with ale and Sihtric swirled the liquid around in his own cup instead of answering.

He yanked roughly on your chains and you were pulled forward, “I said,” he commanded again “Do you like the look of my woman? You have been humping her with your eyes all evening. Perhaps I should cut your eyes from your head so you learn to not look upon things that do not belong to you. Or perhaps,” he suddenly rose and made to tear at your clothes to expose you, “I should show you what you are missing.”

Sihtric rose from his seat like a lightning bolt, sword drawn and ready to strike when Ulf suddenly laughed and stood back with his hands raised “I jest friend, come, let us sit, there is no need for blood to be spilled this night.” 

He plonked himself drunkenly down on the ground and even though Sihtric was seething, chest rising and falling in anger he slowly put down his weapon, before doing a quick check over of you.

You remained standing eyes wide, looking like a rabbit cornered by foxes, and remained frozen in fear of another blow from Ulf.

You were being punished. For two nights now you had been forced to sleep outside, chained to that godforsaken stake in the ground, denied food and drink because you had nearly bitten Ulf’s ear clean off in an attempt to flee him a few nights before. Tired of enduring him, tired of his violence. And you would have made good on your escape were it not for the stupid shackles you wore around your neck, for as soon as you had run a few hundred paces he managed to grab a hold of the chain you dragged along behind you and yanked you down to the ground, you still bore the cut where your lip had split from his blows and your throat still ached from where he had nearly strangled the life from you, but unfortunately you had survived the ordeal and knew you would never have the chance to flee again.

The nights were freezing, and frost covered the ground, you shook so violently your teeth chattered in your skull and Sihtric came both nights to cover you in his furs, sitting with you in silence until your body stopped shaking, although sometimes you wished he wouldn’t so that the frost may take you with it, but you would have been lying if you said your heart didn't flutter in your chest when you saw his figure approach each night.

“Here lady,”  a gentle voice pulled you from your despair as Sihtric hunkered down in front of you and passed you his leather pouch filled with water to drink from, “You must be thirsty.”

Your anxious eyes scanned the night for a glimpse of Ulf, and Sihtric whipped his head around to follow your line of sight, and realised it was the brute you were looking for, but you visibly relaxed when you could not find him.

The cold liquid soothed your scratched throat and Sihtric encouraged you to drink some more, “Take as much as you need, I will bring you more later,” he said honestly and your heart fluttered in your chest at his unwavering kindness.

“You are not like them,” you said after a few moments' consideration, “You don’t belong here, you are gentle.”

Sihtric stilled all actions for a moment, it was the first time you had ever spoken to him and he had not been expecting it.

“That has always been my problem lady, I have never wanted to be like them,” he smiled sadly, remembering back to the days when Kjartan the Cruel would have him tortured simply for being so soft. “Weak,” he had spat at him, yet him and Sven, his one eyed goat turd of a brother, were gone and only Sihtric remained. 

“You will not hurt me?”

“I will not.”

“You will not try to claim me?”

“I will not,” he promised again and you took a second of liberty to look up into those open, honest, mismatched eyes and found no lies there.

“My name is Y/N,” you told him as you handed his leather pouch back into his hands, his rough fingers momentarily encapsulating yours. 

“I am going to get you out of here,” he promised and a lump caught in your throat.

“You cannot promise that,” you cried and he took your hands fully in his.

“I swear to it y/n, when I come for you and I will, be ready to run,”

“You swear it?” you cried, voice wobbling and he squeezed your hands with conviction.

“I swear it, on my gods and yours.” 

There was a skirmish in the camp and your heart caught in your throat, you were trapped and caught in the centre of it all. You could smell the burning boats and blood and next thing Sihtric was in your vision, axe in hand hacking at the chain that held you in place and when it finally snapped in half he was pulling you wordlessly, your legs ached and your lungs burned but you ran as fast as your legs could carry you, Sihtric hacked and stabbed at any Dane who attempted to stop him “Keep going to the horses,” he urged whenever he was slowed down “Don’t stop I will meet you there!” 

True to his word he hoisted you effortlessly onto his horse and took to riding with all his might, away into the night.

As you finally reached Coccham, Sihtric offered you his hand and helped you climb down from his horse, he brushed you down but was careful not to allow his hands to linger or make you uncomfortable. 

“You will be safe here,” he promised.

His friends had suddenly gathered around eager to hear what information he brought with him and the head of Uhtred’s household stepped forward.

“I claim her,” she suddenly demanded “She is a good strong one. I claim her as a servant.”

“No,” Sihtric barked and Uhtred stood to attention in front of him, “She is not yours to claim and she will never be a servant again. Is that clear,” he commanded, demanding anyone to even dare to defy him.

“Fine,” she sneered “Keep your little slave.”

“She is no slave,” he spat “She is free.” 

Sihtric was like a wild animal, teeth bared and ready to bite.

“She is free!” Finan concluded coming to stand beside his friend and he did not need to speak it aloud for Sihtric to understand he too would fight any man or woman who dared to challenge Sihtric.

“It is agreed,” Uhtred nodded and Sihtric was marching upwards to the burgh to find the blacksmith to finally remove the shackles from your neck, there would be time to pass on his information over supper.

“I don’t know if I have the tools,” the smith looked sympathetic but not too worried about finding the tools but Sihtric was irate, “You will find the tools or you will never yield another tool again,” he threatened and within moments the iron shackles were removed from your bruised neck and you were free.

You stood before Sihtric in bewilderment as he was pulling off his armrings and placing them into your hands. 

“You are free,” Sihtric said gently but sadly because he genuinely expected you to flee, now that you had the option to but you remained rooted in place.

“I promised you I would not claim you, your destiny is your own. If you would like to return home I will arrange a horse for you, if you would like to stay I will arrange boarding for you here within Uhtred’s household.”

You considered him for a moment, standing before you shyly and then you flung yourself into his arms, wrapping your own arms around his neck, “Thank you,” you whispered softly into his skin “Thank you.”

His own arms locked around your form, and he gently brushed his fingers through the length of your hair.

“I wish to stay,” you said when you broke away and Sihtric made to say he would arrange it, “Not in boarding, not in Uhtred’s household. With you. I would like to stay with you.” 

Sihtric swallowed thickly and blinked quickly, but nodded nonetheless.

You bathed and dried your hair by the hearth in Uhtred’s hall, and with warm food in your belly and proper clothes on, you felt somewhat human again.

Sihtric was sitting amongst his friends, eating and deep in talk, no doubt deciding what their next plans would be. 

You touched your hands to where the weight of the shackles had been for months and were not used to the feeling of not finding a weight there. 

Osferth, the monk came to sit by your side so he too could warm himself by the fire.

“You are Christian?” Osferth enquired and you shook your head.

“I was,” you said, looking towards Sihtric “Now I only believe in strength and those brave enough to do the right thing.” 

“You look to him,” Osferth mused, following your line of sight. 

“He cared for me when none other did.” 

“Could you? - Might you care for him?” he asked sincerely and you nodded, unable to stop the tears that formed in your eyes, when Sihtric’s own eyes landed on yours.

“Yes, I believe so.” 

“We are to ride on to Winchester,” Sihtric informed you, “You will be safe here until we return,” he added and you shook your head violently.

“I will go with you,” you stated and he shook his head.

“Y/n, you should stay where you are safe.”

“I am safest with you,” you pleaded and he grimaced.

“You are free. You owe me no fealty, you are not bound to me. You do not owe me-”

You pressed your lips to his, cutting off whatever it was he was about to say.

“I do not choose to stay with you because I feel indebted to you. I stay because I am your woman now,” you told him, cupping his face in your hands “You hear me? I am yours by my own choice. Of my own free will. If you will have me, that is.”

The smile that broke out over his face was almost boyish and his own hands sprung up to rest on yours, still holding his face.

“You are the only decision I’ve ever made that was selfish, that was purely my own- that was for me and me alone.”

“Then choose me again,” you smiled back “Choose me every time, as I will choose you.”

Sihtric closed the distance, crashing his lips to yours and he was agreeing to take you to Winchester because he would have asked the gods to carry you to the moon if you asked it of him.

"To you I belong Sihtric," you had whispered that night as you made love under the stars, and you traced the scars of Sihtric's body trying to commit every one to memory. "To you I belong."

Father Beocca joined your hands together and Sihtric’s smile was contagious.

“Behold my oath, that I will take no other as my wife but you,” Sihtric promised.

“Behold my oath, that I will take no other as my husband but you,” you returned and Father Beocca blessed the union, and when he finally announced you man and wife, Sihtric leaned in to seal the union with a kiss.

You reached for his Thor’s amulet and brushed your thumb across the hammer and whispered,

“May Thor bless our union with strength and courage. May Freya bless us with family and prosperity, and may Loki never deny us laughter.”

Sihtric chuckled and swept you up into his arms as Beocca looked on blissfully unaware of the heathen oath you had just made in his presence.

“And just where did you learn these words?” he mused and you turned your head in delight towards Uhtred.

“Say the part about Freya again my love,” he urged. 

“I have said it once,” you teased “And now only our actions will bring it to fruition.” 

“Well let us make haste,” he cocked with a smirk “For we would not want to disappoint the gods.” 

And indeed Freya did bless the union for many years later, when Sihtric became the Lord of Dunholm you had enough offspring to form your very own witan.

And true to his word Sihtric never allowed you to be a servant again, but he would never know that you served him and only him from the moment you laid eyes upon him until the day they would shut forever. 

But your vow to him was always the same.

To you I belong.

Tagging:

@canyonmoon-2 @sihtricfedaraaahvicius @whitedarkmoonflower @thenameswinter99 @foxyanon

@acdassenza @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @gemini-mama

@troyottonick @alexagirlie

a-beaverhausen nebulamorada izzydlb knight-of-flowerss

justcuriousandbored

[strawberryblue-blog]

Summer love —Pablo Gavi.

summary: Spending the summer with your friends had always been something you loved but this time something is different, especially with Pablo.

warnings: none. cute/fluff, soft, friends to lovers, lots of kisses.

words count: +2.4k

The starry summer night shone over your heads as your friends laughed at the small campfire they had made. It was the summer vacations and all your friends had decided to come to Pedri's house in the Canary Islands where the best summer nights were spent.

After several hours of drinking, chatting, bathing in the water and returning to the campfire, the night was finally coming to an end. Some were falling asleep on the sand while the others were fooling around about anything. It was already too late and you were starting to feel a little tired. You had spent most of the day out and about, in the sea, running around, drinking, playing stupid games, enjoying the night.

"I think it's time to go to sleep" you warned getting up from your place. The others looked at you confused.

"Boringgggg" Ferran complained mockingly and they laughed.

Some of them were drunk and would probably wake up here sleeping (or not sleeping at all). Normally when they came here the first few nights were spent awake enjoying their youth, doing everything but sitting still. It was like coming back to life after months in college or focused on football for them.

In response you stuck your tongue out in mockery as you laughed. Your eyes focused on your friends, trying to get their attention to see if they wanted to go back to the house.

Fermín and one of your friends were near the shore, making out for quite a while now. Ferran and Pedri were hugging like two drunks laughing with each other, Fer was still chatting with some of the girls. Pablo and Hector were also chatting with each other. While the younger ones Lamine, Nico and three of your friends, were running around the sand with the ball on their legs.

"I'll go rest, you guys can stay" you said laughing at their complaints.

"Do you want us to go with you?" one of them asked. You denied, you didn't have beds assigned yet but you didn't care who you got to sleep with since you guys always used to come here and sleep with anyone.

You wave to your friends while wiping your sandy butt, your gaze drifted to the guys and you got a weird smile from Pablo, he was the one you had the least relationship with of the group but you liked him, maybe because you had never had the chance to get to know each other enough. So you quickly smiled back at him before turning your back to walk away from them, the house is a bit far from the beach so you walk carefully so you don't hit anything.

A sigh leaves your mouth as you feel the summer breeze you love so much, finally with your head free and at ease. This place was perfect. You arrive at the house in a matter of minutes and go upstairs to the room where your things are, you need to take a quick shower before you go to bed. You are full of sand and a little wet from the last time you dove into the water.

When you finish showering, brushing your teeth and drying your hair a bit, you wrap yourself in the towel to go out and get dressed. As you leave the room, you jump a little in fright when you see a figure sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor as he plays with his feet.

Pablo.

His head comes up and he finally sees you coming out of the bathroom. You smile a little as you look into his eyes.

"Hi" he says barely.

"Hi you" you greet him with a smile.

Your wet feet walk carefully around the room dodging young man who follows you with his eyes. You hold the rolled up towel tightly to your chest, covering yourself and feeling embarrassed for being like this. You smile nervously as you take the clothes out of your suitcase, thinking you'll have to change in front of him or go back to the bathroom, it's a little awkward especially since Pablo keeps looking at you like nothing. You should have taken your clothes to the bathroom but you forgot, you weren't alone in the house to walk around like this but you thought you were alone here or that one of your friends would show up but not Gavi.

After an awkward silence you turn to him. You bite your lip as you feel his deep gaze on yours. He hasn't said anything yet but your cheeks start to heat up for some reason. Why? You've never felt self-conscious around him or any of the guys.

"I wanted to bring the boys but they are refusing to come back inside" he mumbles stretching his shoulders back.

You laugh at his words. Of course they are. They won't come until the sun hits them hard in the morning, if it were up to them they'd still be partying until New Year's Eve.

"It's the first night, they'll sleep after the fourth" you say laughing as you deny and Pablo laughs a little too.

Silence returns and your gazes are still glued together but you remember that you are still only wearing one garment (and not at all secure). You clear your throat and wrap your hand around your chest.

"Close your eyes" you ask him as you take the clothes in your hands.

He looks at you confused with his eyebrows raised.

"I have to change..." you stammer pointing subtly at yourself.

He doesn't seem to mind and goes back to roaming your body with a look that makes you shiver. He barely relaxes his lip and you hide a sigh when he finally nods indifferently. Hadn't he noticed that you were practically naked? The expression on his face made you doubt. He didn't care that you were like that, he came into your room, watched you for minutes and now didn't seem to care if you changed in front of him.

A tingle ran down your spine at the thought that you were closer than you had ever been. It was the third time you had come to this place, your friends were friends of Pablo's friends, you used to go out, have dinner, hang out, all together but you had never felt like this with him.

Gavi sighs bringing his hands to his eyes and covers them without complaining. When you make sure he's not watching, you take off your towel and run your underwear down your legs quickly. You grab the oversized shirt and quickly pull it on covering your body as you try to hide your discomfort and nervousness.

"Will you stay here?" you ask as you approach the chair and lay out the wet towel.

You clear your throat after noticing the question. How awkward. Fuck. It's like you're inviting him to stay. He lifts his shoulders.

"Can I stay here?" he says looking at you.

"Sure" you agree without any problem, finishing arranging the clothes on the bed and floor, trying to act normal.

You weren't embarrassed that he's staying but it was kind of weird. Normally you guys used to be friends as much as any of the other guys, though you had never gotten as close to Pablo as you did with Ferran, for example. Still, you didn't mind sleeping with him, or Ferran, Pedro or any of the guys or your own friends, it's not like it was a big deal, you were all trusting enough to sleep in the same bed and you were friends.

After watching you finish settling in, Pablo gets up from his spot. He takes off his shoes and his beach pants leaving him in his underwear and t-shirt. You don't look directly at him, but you can see his pale, beefy skin out of the corner of your eye, making you bristle. You bite your tongue and crawl into bed without saying anything, without even looking at him. You don't dare. Your belly flutters as you feel him open the sheets beside you and climb into bed with you.

"Are you... having a good time?" he questions after a while.

You know he's staring at the ceiling and so are you, they're far apart and still. You relax your dry lips as you feel a shiver run through you at the sound of his strong, honeyed voice.

"Yes, I love it here" you admit nostalgically. "Do you?" you also ask.

"Yeah, it's great" he sighs and you nod.

It's a little uncomfortable, you have to admit, but it doesn't feel bad either. You're curious to know why he wanted to come here... there are five other rooms and a super comfy couch. But you don't dare ask. The smile he gave you at the campfire comes back to your head and your cheeks catch fire. What's wrong with you? You look like you're suddenly fifteen again.

Again, there is an overwhelming silence. You can only hear their quiet breaths in unison. Pablo sighs deeply and you bite your lip staring at the white ceiling as if it were a work of art. Why are you so weird? You think to yourself as you turn your body around with your back to him so you can get more comfortable. Your body relaxes as the sheets embrace you and you gasp with pleasure as you feel the softness in your limbs, today had been a long day and you were looking forward to going back to bed to rest. You feel how the softness of the mattress helps your senses to relax little by little and you try to fall asleep.

A movement makes you shiver as Gavi's body rolls between you and settles behind you. His leg brushes against yours and you swallow nervously. One of his hands grabs you around the waist and pulls you close to him, your back is pressed against his chest and you gasp as you feel his warmth invade you. However, you say nothing. You don't refuse. You don't run. You don't move.

Your eyes slowly open again and his hands embrace your body, his legs touch yours and you caress him a little. It's a pretty comfortable position, you have to admit. His body hugs you from behind, his hands wrap around you and for some reason... it feels good. Too good.

It may sound cliché and even ridiculous but it's the first time someone hugs you like this. So delicate, so warm, so different.

Your heart starts to race when you feel on your back how his heart beats fast, maybe because of his daring to hug you or maybe because he's nervous. You don't know but what you do know is that you are. Your palms sweat and your pulse races, as if you're having a mini seizure.

His face sinks into the hollow of your hair and neck and you hear him sigh. Your hand moves and stays on top of his, enveloping it. Shit.

You are paralyzed. You just grabbed his hand. Like an idiot. Why did you do that? What will he think now? He'll think you're an idiot. You just held his hand like it was... romantic.

You quickly let go and bite your lips nervously. But your heart stops when Gavi takes your hand again and puts it under his, wrapping it around him, like you did before. Only this time it's him who takes it.

Fuck.

It's fucking romantic. And you don't even have feelings for him, do you? You fight your thoughts when you think of all the times you felt shy under his gaze. For all the times you found him looking at you while you danced, sang, or played at the campfire. For all the times you felt weird around him because for some reason, Pablo made you feel different from everyone else.

Did you like him? Sure, Gavi was good looking. Everyone would like someone like him. But you liked him differently. Like he was the only guy you wanted to get his attention. Like he was the only guy you wanted to be noticed, looked at, touched.

You gasped. You really liked him. But you could only confirm it now when his body was behind yours and his hands were touching you. Damn it.

«You liked him and you liked him a lot»

You know he's awake, you can hear him sighing behind you. You bite your lip when unconsciously your body slowly turns towards him. Gavi seemed to be waiting for him, because he himself helps you turn around with his hands on your waist.

When your eyes meet his, the world stops. The little light from the window enters and focuses directly into his eyes, illuminating his glow in them. You feel your belly contract and you want to kiss him. You want to touch him. You want to have it. Pablo watches you delicately, his fingers squeezing your back, as if encouraging you to come closer and you do.

One of your hands cup his face and you bring your lips to him, slowly and softly. When they touch, your belly roars. You don't even move, you just want to feel what they taste like. They are wet and taste sweet, warm and soft. A few seconds pass and his hands on your back, pulling you to him to kiss you. Strong and passionate. Needing your lips, as you need his lips to reciprocate.

Your hands encircle his neck and you pull him close to you, feeling his hard chest muscles on your chest. You kiss fiercely but deep and delicate. His skin feels warm from underneath yours and you gasp as his tongue enters your mouth. It's the best kiss you've ever had. Damn. You don't even take time to breathe properly when they part in a matter of milliseconds you take his lips again.

Desperate as if it were a drug. Kissing him hard and sure. Your stomach is a dance of butterflies, your body trembles and you're dying to feel it. No one had ever kissed you like this, no one had ever made you feel like this. What had changed now? Clearly it wasn't just the fact that Pablo liked you. There was something else. Something deeper in you that you still couldn't figure out.

His hands lift you up and help you sit on top of him, while they continue kissing. It's not sexual at all. It's just different. That's not to say you don't want to touch him in that sense, of course you do. But for now it's enough for you to kiss him. His lips are addictive, tentative, warm. You want him to kiss you until you're breathless. You want his arms to hold you. Hold you.

When your lungs beg for air, you part and your foreheads are pressed together as you sigh for air. His eyes fall into yours and he smiles as he licks his lips savoring the taste of you still on them. You gasp desperate for air. His hands taste from your thighs to your back and he caresses you while yours are on the sides of his neck.

"You are" he kisses your lips. "Fucking" he kisses you again. "Gorgeous" he kisses you again with each word.

A shy smile seems on your lips and you kiss him soft and wet again. You are lost in his mouth, in his gaze and in his caresses. You can't tear yourself away from him. It's as if you've been waiting for this your whole life but never dared.

Is that why you wanted to come back to this place after the last time? Because like no one else you had hoped to return to the Canary Islands to see your friends. Although you weren't sure if you wanted to see your friends... or you wanted to see Pablo.

"You made my life fucking hard, nena" he mutters in agitation. "I wanted to kiss you since two summers ago, since I saw you at the airport, while you were dancing at the bonfire, while you were laughing with your friends, at every moment" he confesses and your heart squeezes.

"Why didn't you?" you question in his eyes.

"Because I didn't know if you felt the same" he says and your breath catches.

You also didn't know if he felt the same and for that reason you never approached him that way. Although you weren't that aware of your deep feelings for Gavi either. At least until tonight.

"Then do it now" your hands go around his face.

"Oh yes. You'll get tired of me, nena" he laughs nuzzling his nose against yours.

"I don't think so, Gavi" you say laughing before crashing your lips against hers again.

[easy-there-leftovers]

“While I hope that isn’t your intention, staring any harder at the fire won’t make it any stronger. No matter how accomplished you may be.”

You feel the muscles in your brows relax in the dark of the night. Interesting, that. Considering how you don’t recall them furrowing so tightly in the first place.

Hearing the scratch of shoes against stone, you feel him make himself more apparent, as he always did. Moving to stand beside you. Not resting his eyes upon your visage just yet. Choosing to study the dying embers you must have been glaring at in front of you.

He takes quite an awful amount of time in doing so, too. Whatever thought you might have been thinking about long gone from your grasp as his presence unnerves you.

You feel your hands clenching and unclenching to alleviate yourself.

Yet the very air around him still makes your head swim, and your blood boil.

He takes a deep breath, as if steeling his resolve, before turning to look at you.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Cut the shit, Dekarios. What do you want?”

He shudders at the use of his name, but raises his hand up in false surrender. Gesticulating with his arms and hands as much as he did when you last saw him this close up.

“I mean no harm, and I see no point in denying to remedy whatever rift may have come between us.” He motions to the both of you, as he speaks.

“Come now,” he moves to lessen your distance, but you only turn to keep facing the dying campfire as he continues.

“Surely whatever schoolyard taunts and transgressions exchanged aren’t worth jeopardizing our efforts in our search for a cure, hm?” There’s a hopeful lilt at the end in his voice. He looks almost sincerely apologetic as continues on. Words, lacking their usual garrulous nature, as if keeping things short and simple would appease you.

If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he was apologizing out of the goodness of his heart.

“And who told you to apologize this time? Was it our fiery friend, or ‘The Blade of Frontiers?’ Or perhaps even our closest confidante; Astarion?” He raises a finger up with a confused expression to counter, but you beat him to it.

“With all due respect, Mr. Dekarios, we can go on our merry little way without discussing this.” You still refuse to look at him as you settle on admiring your nails for a change of scenery.

“Perhaps we’ll find some other fortune altogether and be rid of our parasites in the mornings that follow! And our little truce will matter not once we part ways and we both return to where we belong.” You finally move towards your tent to close your conversation, but Gale seems to ignore the implication as he follows you.

“You can finally return home to your beloved tower in Waterdeep, and I will be happily rotting in my little hovel.” You make one final tilt of the head to look at him, as if turning your whole body would be too much of an effort or grace to bestow upon him.

“Good night, sir Archmage.” You huff out as you disappear into the flaps of your tent without even letting your old classmate a chance to retaliate.

He stares incredulously at the still swishing material of your sanctuary. He releases a heavy sigh that built up in him and walked back to his own space in the camp to stew in his thoughts.

His eyes catching on the spyglass that he set up right outside his tent with disappointment.

If things had gone pleasantly, he would’ve asked you to observe the stars with him, as they were clearer to see from here than in Baldur’s Gate.

He distantly recalls you wanting for one during your academy days as the view from your little hovel, as he once called it, was rather murky. What with all the factories in the area.

He takes one last look at your tent from his and shakes his head.

It eludes him why you’re so hostile around him.

And even more so when you’re nowhere near this way around the others. He figured you two would be closer, given your shared interests and trade.

Hells, he even admired you all those years ago. Watching you accomplish so much, despite many difficulties. He wonders if you’ve ever respected him in the same way.

He sees Wyll looking at him, and he shakes his head to tell him that he doesn’t feel like talking. Entering his own tent to turn in for the night.

Hoping for any good that the gods can afford them come first light.

[midnightmoonytales]

hey can I ask Slytherin x reader what if the reader got into detention with Mattheo and Theodore and like in the first episode the detention was to help hagrid do something in the forbidden forest and the reader got lost and they all panic just to find tomorrow morning that the reader was peacefully eating breakfast at the campfire she build and be like "look guys I found a unicorn hair " sorry if it is to long I just can't get it out of my head

A/N: Uhm first off...I love this. Ya'll are feeding me, and I'm supposed to be feeding yall. It's also not too long, my dear; great ideas come at great lengths. sometimes. I started writing this at work and continued it in class - I totally have my priorities straight lol. I also apologize if it aint that good - I felt bad for how long it took to get this out

CW: Animal abuse, friends being sarcastic assholes to each other, death?. Lmk if I missed anything.

DON'T HURT ANIMALS - IF I FIND OUT YOU HURT AN ANIMAL IM COMING FOR YOUR KNEES

Summary: Mattheo and Theodore drag you into one of their little schemes, resulting in the three of you getting detention. What will they do when they seem to have lost you in the forbidden forest.

Not edited

WC: 2.8K

<><><>

It was an eerily quiet night in the castle. Too quiet, no student nor teacher in sight…not even a ghost. Halting to a stop, looking around suspiciously, straining your ears in search of a noise - maybe Peeves' vexatious schemes or Ms. Norris's beady paws- yet you heard nothing other than the wind blowing through the trees. Shifting the stack of books in your arms you continued your stroll back to the Slytherin common room. You spent the last beading hours of free time scrunched up over piles of books, preparing for OWLS. Chimes of the bells noted there were only a few minutes until curfew, most students had already found their way back to their common rooms - rather hoping to not be pulled into detention. 

You hadn’t worried about increasing your pace, seeing as the dungeon was only around the corner and down the stairs. Even if you didn’t make it inside the common room before the last chime of the bell, the prefects didn’t tend to be in the area till five after. Clocking when and where at certain times, after falling asleep one too many times in the library. The sound of rapidly increasing footsteps and the shout of inaudible yells caused you to stop at the corner, confused. Peering over your shoulder, you noticed dumb and dumber running from a fuming filch and Ms. Norris. The smell of burnt skin filled the hall as they approached, you didn’t have time to question what they did before they forcibly grabbed you by the arms and continued running, the books you had just checked falling onto the floor. 

You would think that the best place to hide would be the common room which was less than thirty feet away, and the benefit of Filch not being able to access inside. Unfortunately, Mattheo and Theodore dragged you down a different route. Up the stairs on the left, past the dragon statue, only to ascend up more flights of stairs. There was no reason that you would have to run away with these two - until the last bell of the night chimed, ringing through the halls - now you had no choice but to run from Filch. 

The boys were ready to dash left - until you forcefully grabbed them by the collars - forcing them down a different path away from the group of Ravenclaw prefects that patrolled that section of the castle. The last thing you needed was to get busted by a know-it-all Ravenclaw prefect. Your legs were aching and your chest felt like it was going to burst from running all around the castle non-stop, but Filch was still on you. That lot of you hastily made your way to the moving stairs near Gryffindor Tower in hopes of losing Filch. He might have enough joy from throwing students into detention to fill his stamina for a while, but sooner or later it would have to die out. 

You rounded the corner, the stairs were about to move and if you didn’t get on them now, you would be caught by Filch. The three of you booked it with what energy you had left, jumping over the gap created by the stairs moving. Mattheo and you landed barely just making it. Theodore on the other hand wasn't as lucky - holding on by his hands from the stairs trying to pull himself up before the stairs reconnected to another. Hastily, Mattheo and you grabbed him by his shoulder, hoisting him onto the stairs with you. Filch yelled at you all from his place on the bottom set of stairs that led to the third floor of the castle. 

As you all caught your breaths you made it into the hall, taking the long way back to the common room. Grateful for the breeze cooling you down, you didn’t realize how hot it had gotten running. The adrenaline pumping through your veins makes it feel as if your body is cold. Maybe this was the feeling Mattheo and Theodore were always looking for. The excitement…the rush. The boys were rambunctiously laughing and hitting their hands together, sweat flinging from their heads as they moved around. Already feeling gross, choosing to speed up faster to get in front of them and away from their sticky sweat. 

Rounding the corner, you immediately halted to a stop as you peered at the silvery-gray tabby cat, its eyes glistening eyes staring up at you before it morphed into a lanky woman in green robes, with pristine-pinned up gray hair. Any amusement that you previously felt earlier instantaneously drained from your body. At that moment, you wished it was Filch who had caught you and handed you off to Professor Snape, that would have been more tolerable. Maybe a little scrubbing of the cauldrons or the mopping of the dungeon floors. Mattheo and Theodore weren’t far behind, too busy messing around to notice the presence standing before them. As they approached your side, your hands quickly smacked them upside the back of their heads. Their quick remarks died out on the tips of their tongue as they finally recognized the women standing before them. You could almost see their souls physically deflating. 

“Professor McGonagall, looking good tonight,” Mattheo said with a wink, shooting finger guns at her. A swift bludger to the side would have been better than being forced to see Mattheos’ weak attempts at smooth talking his way out of another detention. She remained motionless, but her presence was still ever so threatening. Hands clasped together in front of her, quizzical brow sitting high on her face. The wind appeared to be enacting a mirthless taunt as her eyes bore into you all. 

“And what are the three of you doing away from your common rooms after curfew?” She questioned expectantly, her gaze piercing through your soul. A chill ran up your spine at her awaiting stare. There was no good lie for being on the other side of the castle during this time of night. Ms. Norris wouldn’t be the only cat you would have to watch out for in the halls from now on. It was like you were second years all over again, running into Professor McGonagall in her animagus form when you were roaming the castle - similar to tonight. 

A horsed breathing appeared from behind you, turning around slightly, you noticed an extremely out-of-breath Filch and Ms. Norris. You hadn’t heard his lopsided footsteps coming, too focused on the trouble you had gotten dragged into. If your fate wasn’t sealed before it would definitely be now. “T-they were,” Filch started, leaning over to take a breath, “They were setting things on fire, burned the end of poor Ms. Norris’ tail in the process, ma’am.” It felt like you had hit a brick wall. Of course, that's where the smell of burning flesh came from. Not even wanting to know how they managed to get Filch's mangey snitch involved. Leave it to Mattheo to set things aflame. 

With that, the professor requested that you all followed her to her office as she decided your fate. Maybe you would have to clean all of the animal droppings from today's Care of Magical Creatures class. Maybe she would have you scrub the great hall, or have you organize the entire library with the librarian. That would be a bore for sure. She sat at her desk silently, gazing up at the three of you every couple of minutes. Taking it upon yourselves to sit and relax before you found out your fate. Mattheo and Theodore took it upon themselves to start flicking pieces of paper at each other, not caring if it hit you in the process. It was a bad idea to decide to sit in between the two. “I’m surrounded by bloody idiots,” you groaned as you rubbed your temples, slipping further into the chair. 

“Hey, at least we’re hot,” Theodore barked out, flicking a piece of paper straight at the side of your head. Mattheo laughed in the background, giving Theodore a high-five. Maybe you could get away with their deaths, that sounded more appealing than sitting with them. 

“The only thing hot in here is the heat radiating from the lanterns,” you shot out with a laugh. Earning a ‘Hey!’ from the two boys sitting next to you. They weren’t going to be the only ones having fun tonight, especially not after dragging you into this. Mattheo and Theodore weren’t bad looking, but you would never confess that. It would go straight to their already small heads. They shared a singular brain cell most times for crying out loud. 

It didn’t take long for McGonagall to shush you all.  Standing up from her desk, pulling her glasses off to hang from her wrinkly neck, “Enough, tonight you three will be helping Hagrid in the forbidden forest.” She continued, gesturing to where Filch was standing in the corner, “Mr. Filch will guide you all there.” Filch's grimy smile spread across his face at the news. Groans left all of your mouths, going into the forbidden forest was a death wish. While Hagrid was never rude to anybody, unless they deserved it, being around him could be a bore. That was all left for Weaselbee, freak brain, and four eyes. You would think they were a gamekeeper like Hagrid with how much they hung out with the giant. 

<><><> 

The whole way to Hagrid's hut, Filch was going on and on about how he wishes he could punish students like he did in the old days. He even wished the lot of you a fake ‘good luck’, along with a ‘we’ll see if you're even alive tomorrow. His sickening laugh filled your ears as you pushed past him, ready to get this detention over with. Hagrid warned everyone of the danger promptly before rushing you all into the forest, complaining that it was us against the poachers. Whatever that meant, he didn’t elaborate until a while into the search, remembering that you didn’t know what you were searching for.

It had been an hour since you entered the forbidden forest with Hagrid, searching for an injured unicorn. Poachers had been on the rise and news got to Hagrid that an Unicorn managed to escape from their capture. Everyone was on high alert, between the acromantulas and dungbogs and the other creatures that resided in the forest, it wasn’t particularly the safest. Using your wands wasn't an option either, Hagrid was keen on it. Saying, ‘We don’t wanna get their attention,’ or something along those lines. Your attention is focused elsewhere. It was hard to see through the thick trees with only Hagrid's lantern. 

The forest was dense and never-ending, fog covered the grounds making it hard for you to see where you were stepping. You swore you stepped on a pile of bones at one point, the crunch under your heel leaving you disturbed. That poor unfortunate soul. The further you walked into the forest, the harder it became. You swore your ears were playing jokes on you, a distant wailing ringing in your ears every now and again. It almost seemed to be beckoning you away from the group. 

<><><> 

Mattheo had lost count of how long you all had even been inside the forest. He wasn’t really paying attention, to begin with. To him, this was just another unfortunate detention. The poachers had to get the unicorn by now, their “attempts” at saving the creature were slim. It was the cycle of life anyways, there would be more unicorns in the future, but it's illegal so gotta go save 'em he guessed. He rolled his eyes at the idea, shoving his hands into his pocket. 

Theodore and he tried messing around - whacking each other and jumping around - but were immediately stopped by Hagrid. Told that if they messed around they would scare the unicorn or attract poachers. Not that he cared much, he knew spells to easily get away from them or kill them. But he couldn’t mess up his father's plans, so getting away was the only option. Opting to mess with his wand in his pocket to entertain him. 

After a while he started growing hungry, having missed dinner. He knew you typically carried snacks in the pockets of your robe, turning around he was bamboozled to see you were no longer there. Smacking Theodore, he prompted him to turn around, becoming equally confused when he noticed you were gone. ��Oi, where is she?” He quipped, stopping to look through the dense trees for any sign of you. 

“No idea mate, she was there a few minutes ago,” Theodore commented, walking back to where you were less than five minutes ago when he checked. He searched the bushes for any sign of struggle or broken branches but saw nothing. It was as if you vanished into thin air. There was no way in hell you would have gotten away from them without making some sort of sound. 

Hagrid turned around at the sound of their voice, “What are yer’ talkin' bout?” He questioned, raising his lantern so he could get a better view of the boys. “And where's yer’ friend?” He searched around the area, worried that someone might have snatched you up from behind, but he was sure he would have heard footsteps. “We ought to find her, let's go.” He grumbled, not only was he searching for a unicorn, he was now searching for a missing student. 

They had spent hours searching for you. The boys offered to split up to find you but were shut down. Hagrid couldn’t have more students to go searching for, finding you now was already hard enough. They had run into an acromantula nest at one point but luckily weren’t spotted. That was the last thing they needed. Theodore was unlucky as he had fallen into a hole, Hagrid spent five minutes pulling him out as Mattheo was dubbed over in laughter. That would be the highlight of his night. There was no way in hell that he would ever let Theodore live that down in his life. At this rate, they were lucky if they were to find you by daybreak. 

The sound of laughter filled their ears, the three of them going on to high alert. Or, well higher alert, their shoulders tensed with stress as they were already searching for you. Believing it ought to be a poacher camp nearby. Mattheo and Theodore grabbed their wands out in preparation, worried that if they stumbled upon a poacher camp, so could you. Hagrid was getting ready to sneakily guide them away when they heard your voice.

Stopping, Theodore pushed the bushes apart ever so slightly to try to find you. Hagrid and Mattheo stood over his shoulder to see. They all sighed when they noticed you sitting on the ground, a small fire lit in front of you with an injured unicorn sitting at your side. They stepped through the bushes, “We’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Mattheo spat in disbelief, “and with a bloody unicorn at that,” He was absolutely exhausted from searching damn near the entire forest for you, and you just happened to be with the one thing they came in here for. 

“Awh, you guys do care about me,” You gushed, tightening the fabric from your robe around the unicorn's injured leg. “And all this time I thought you were just heartless children with parental issues,” you laughed. You had broken off from the group when you heard the distant wailing. Normally you wouldn’t be bothered to look, but something in your gut told you to. When you reached where you heard the wailing, it happened to be the unicorn you were looking for.

 Her leg had a large gash in it and she couldn’t walk anymore. She looked exhausted. Approaching her slowly, you made sure to put your wand away and walk towards her with your hands where she could see them. She was a sight to behold, her coat shining as if it was moonlight. You understood why her coat was so valuable. It took her a while to trust you but eventually gave in. Ripping the end of your robe, made a makeshift bandage around her leg, having to tighten it every once in a while when she moved. Pulling out a baggie of mixed nuts, you offered some to her, while you didn’t know about unicorn diets you hoped she would eat some. Luckily she ate away, and when she didn’t leave after a couple hours you made a small, unnoticeable fire to keep you warm until morning. She snuggles up to your side, safely.

“Maybe we should have left you to die,” Mattheo grumbled, ready to smack you for making them worry. But they would never tell you how worried they were, they wouldn’t hear the end of it if they did. At the end of the day, or well morning, they were just glad you were safe. This would definitely go down as one of their most eventful detentions. 

<><><>

@ghostofscarley @devilishwitchfantasies

[yourmomxx]

— random relationship headcanons for jj maybank —

male!reader

a bit nsfw under the cut

just to be clear from the very beginning, we are talking about a secret relationship here

I mean come on, jj has a dead-beat dad, he’s not just gonna go all out and tell him “yeah i’m fucking someone with a dick fyi”

ain’t happening

starting a relationship with jj was hard, he kept pushing you away because of his fear of attachment and his trust issues

But you didn’t let him push you away

It took a while for him to let you in

But after those walls were broken, he was justKirk the most affectionate boyfriend ever

Everyday he would wake you and not know how he deserved you, and the pogues would never hear the end of it

so yes, obviously the pogues know about your relationship

even if he kept it a secret from them, too, at first

kie was the first to actually figure it out

because john b is a bit slow

and pope thought y’all were just really good friends

(no one had the heart to tell him what really made the bumping noises in the next room)

but they all love you

while you’re dating jj, you’re a pogue now, like it or not

you most definitely had it easier than sarah

but hey maybe that’s because your brother wants a psychopathic killer

speaking of siblings, if you have some (younger ones), jj adores them

like, seriously, he always tries to include them whenever you do things together, and jokes and plays around with them

if your siblings are older, they’re a bit suspicious of him first, but eventually grow really fond of him and start seeing him like a sort of a little brother too

we ain’t mentioning JJ’s dad in this house

except for the times where you threatened to beat him up until it was him lying in a hospital bed rather than his son

jj always held you back tho

he told you his father wasn’t worth a sentence in prison

you always take care of JJ’s wounds, even when he’s reluctant about it at first

silent smoking sessions where the two of you simply enjoy each other’s company

“who’s the man in the relationship?” “there’s no man in our relationship, idiot, but if there was, it’d be me.”

he always brags about you when he’s with the pogues

“did you know that y/n did …”

“y/n actually told me …”

“have you seen how fucking good y/n looks today?”

“can’t believe I fucking pulled that.”

the pogues mostly just smile and nod along, knowing how happy you truly make him

he’s just drooling whenever you walk over to him, shirtless with wet hair and only in swim shorts

his brain short circuits

It’s like that one slowmo scene in baywatch ya know

jj plans the cutest dates

like stargazing, small roadtrips, surfing together, campfires with roasting marshmallows

soft touches

and because you two aren’t in a public relationship, I am so heavy on this

like imagine you’re walking to the beach with the pogues, all together laughing and chatting

and you walk so close to jj that your shoulder always *accidentally* bumps his. all the time.

or bonfires

sitting next to each other and each talking to someone, but your knees are so close that they are just touching the entire time

you can feel jj’s warm skin against yours and it sends something like electric waves down your body

fingers linking slightly when you stand near each other or walk with the pogues to the beach

putting your head on the other’s shoulder because that’s not gay you’re “just tired”

shoulders or arms grazing when you’re close

your pinky linking with his thumb when your hands are placed near each other

f o r e h e a d t o u c h e s

hello and goodbye kisses

puts his arms around your waist from behind and lays his head on your shoulder or upper back when he’s tired (and you’re with the pogues)

falls asleep leaned against you when you’re at john b’s hanging out with the pogues

such dramatic golden retriever puppy energy

says he will literally die if he doesn’t get enough touches and kisses from you

jj practically lives at your apartment

he has his own toothbrushes over there and everything

when he’s at home he sleeps in your clothes because they smell like you and it comforts him

will literally return said clothes to you and tell you to wash/wear them because they lost your scent

with jj’s impulsive personality it’s hard, but the two of you do your best to argue as little as possible

and even when, you try your best to not yell and trigger him, but to be honest - the two of you rarely argue. like, heavily

of course there’s some harsh exchanges from time to time but not ever screaming fights or something like that

communication is key in your relationship

you’ve ensured that from the very beginning

you promised to talk things out when you feel like there are problems or something that needs to be talked about and then you can work on it together

there is literally no grudges you hold that could be thrown at each other to worsen arguments

cooking breakfast for him because you want to let him sleep in

stealing away from parties or bonfires to have some private time

his wardrobe is mostly your clothes

you would go to jail for each other

“jj i swear if you don’t stop pissing off police officers-“

you meet him at the beach to watch him surf

because he’s so talented, of course, not because you want to see him shirtless or anything

he’s the best at cheering you up

he’s everything but a dry texter

you mostly cook because the only meal this man knows how to make is toast and pasta

how he’s survived this long without you is a mystery

jealousy because, again, secret relationship

“I thought you weren’t the jealous type?”

“oh, I’m not.”

“so the girl over there that’s talking and smiling all over jj has totally nothing to do with the fact that you’ve absolutely crushed your plastic cup?”

“mhm.”

but not in an i don’t trust you and I think that you will cheat on me-way jealous, more in a you’re mine and seeing you with other people that i know don’t know that physically hurts me-typa way

has his own private smile for you, all teeth and giggles, and just so in love

you give jj your clothes and he gave you one of his leather bracelets to wear

knuckle kisses

just staying in bed all day and cuddling

he has less nightmares when he sleeps next to you

whenever jj got out of the water after surfing, he would make sure to hug you, no matter how much you struggled to push him off you, so you would get just as wet as him

— nsfw ————————————————

you actually had to introduce jj to a few things because he had never done them before or ever even heard of them

he’s good with girls but the whole boy thing? that was new territory

so you had to teach him some stuff

but it turns out, jj is a quick learner - when he wants to be

he’s a switch but mostly bottoms

it’s his inner child that just wants someone to take care of him

sometimes the sex helps him to calm down after his dad hurt him, but that is a thin line to walk

he whimpers

he has a praise kink

“so beautiful” “my handsome boy” “atta boy that’s a good one”

those just do it for him

there’s times when it’s just rough and emotional and angsty (cue choking, knife-play, heavy dirty talk and degradation)

and other times that are slow and soft and loving (cue praise, careful movements, private mornings, many and long kisses)

he takes a shower and you just surprise him by stepping in too

quickies on the boats that jj is supposed to clean (you officially keep him company for “moral support”)

his sweaty surfer curls sticking to his forehead after while he’s grinning at you😫😫

head in small caves at the beach

hickies because “if that girl tries hitting on you one more time, I am gonna hit her. with my car- ”

the pogues tease him about them the morning after

“ayo jj had a rough night I see?”

teasing. like so much. from both sides

whether it be “innocent” touches or well-placed words … it’s all over the place

high sex

handjobs in the back of john b’s twinkie

[madschiavelique]

F8

(i had written this in june and forgot to post it. after seeing you guys agree a lot with this post about isekaid reader i just had to put it out there)

What if Tav is conscious of the quick saves and the F8s, but not the rest of the team ? What if they remember every moment where their adventure companions stood on the very precipice of death or on the extreme of it ended up soulless, laying on the ground like a bag of cold limbs, deprived of any life ? 

What if they used F8s in the hopes that somehow, on the next try, no companions would receive a critical hit that would bring them to the abominable sight of matte eyes, missing the glint of light that shines when one’s spirit still remains ?

Perhaps then someone else could replace one of your companions in the group? Perhaps by using Withers' hirelings you could prevent the others from being affected?

Imagine one night after a long day,, you’re by yourself next to the campfire for the long rest.

The stars have been piercing the black sky like pins in the web of night for a long time now, and it's your turn to keep watch.

Everything was quiet, so quiet, too quiet. It was a sharp contrast between the little crackles of the fire taking hot splinters into the air, and the raging storm of your mind.

Your eyes are immersed in the flames, as if they alone held the precious strategy that would allow you to overcome the horror of the many deaths you wanted to prevent.

You consider the strategy you might employ for the next day. Maybe start with a small bomb? No, if the range is missed it could cause more area damage than necessary. 

Maybe throw a bottle of grease to slow them down? Except that if any sparks flew, it could get complicated.

Then maybe shoot an arrow of many targets... 

‘Can't find sleep ?

You could have expected any of the companions. But the one who came to see you was Karlach.

“No.” you replied simply, without taking your eyes off the fire.

“What’s on your mind soldier ? You’ve been… absent minded today.”

Absent minded was a euphemism.

You had seen up close all of your companions nearing the party wipe, more than a half of them on the ground trying to get their death saving throws as the rest of the party barely had any health remaining.

And out of the few dialogue options you had for her tonight, between them all, was : 

[PERSUASION] Nothing, it’s a bit of a personal matter, you’d find it very boring.

The rest of the options were either too rude for your taste, or would ultimately lead you to unveil of the true reason you were here. You knew that, it wasn’t the first time you were having this conversation.

The dice to roll was 15, and you had no guidance to get from Shadowheart, nor friends from Wyll. Barely a good bonus, you’d have to deal with it.

The first roll was a miserable 4, luckily for you, you had as many points of inspiration. The second roll was a 10. 

Maybe you should embrace it and tell her ? you thought.

The next was a 7, and the one after was a 14. 

Was the game really pushing you to reveal your situation?

Your last roll came, a natural 1.

“Come on, you know so much about all of us at camp !” she said as she sat down next to you. “Let us know more about you.”

You weren't surprised that it was Karlach who came to talk to you. You'd seen the video of Karlach breaking the fourth wall a while back, before you were transported into the game. But it intrigued you, why should she come at this precise moment of rumination.

“I just wonder... why can't the past just die?” you say, turning to her.

“I guess because sometimes you gotta kill the past yourself ? Or something like that, I don’t know, probably something wise about it. I could ask Gale if you want ? I’m sure he’d bounce on the occasion to talk about something that requires his intelligence!”

“No please, don’t get him up.”

Gale would ask too many questions, too many right questions, and would never get away from the subject. This was the last thing you needed at the moment.

“Why do you wonder that ? Something from your past chasing you ? I could take care of that.”

“I doubt you could.” you scoffed.

“Oh come on, there’s nothing that can surmount us.”

You observed her for a moment, her undying joy and energy feeling so natural. How could it feel so natural ?

“You’re not real.”

The sentence came out of your mouth, dialogue options all gone and unneeded.

She frowned, confused as the joy that inhabited her calmed down.

“What ?”

“You’re not real,” you repeated, the emotions twisting your throat.

“What do you mean ?”

A sort of panic slowly took hold of her as a heavy rumble echoed in the distance, like thunder.

“You remember all these memories, you feel all of these emotions.”

The rumbling grew louder, the ground beginning to tremble. 

“Your anger, your joy, your sadness.”

The camp floor cracked, Karlach standing up suddenly.

“None of them really belong to you.”

Beams of green light passed through the fissures of the cracked floor.

“Because you're not real.��

Your eyes landed on Withers, his gaze urging you to do the right thing.

“F8.”

A moment passed, and before long you were back in front of the campfire.

Back with your thoughts, with your torments, with heavy choices. 

They can't know, at least not yet.

______________

i wrote this while listening to this and gosh it matches so well

[alexwritingspot]

Request from @isabelboo :oml i had like the worst dream last night so i would love that flufftober of percy jackson and prompt #2 🥹

——————————————————————————————————

Nightmares’ comfort

When during the night nightmare hunts you in your dreams you find comfort in the arms of your boyfriend.

prompt 2: “Shh… it was just a nightmare”

warnings: mention of panic, nightmares

pairing: Percy Jackson x gn!reader

A/n: hi love, hope you feel better! And I also hope this fic will bring you comfort, I shaped this as a demigod nightmare so it could make sense in the plot, stay safe! 🧡

——————————————————————————————————

Being a demigod sucked, you had always something to do for the gods, you could easily die in a horrible way, you saw your friends and half-siblings die every day, and you were haunted by monsters day and night. However monsters weren’t the only things that haunted demigods, the worst part of this kind of life were the nightmares that plagued your dreams.

After having a rather amusing campfire with the rest of the camp you headed to the Poseidon cabin with your boyfriend to get some nice and refreshing sleep. Your muscles were sore from the early morning training, and even if you and Percy weren’t technically allowed alone in the same cabin, even worse sleeping together, everyone at camp closed an eye after all that the two of you had been through.

Percy had his arm around your shoulder as you walked to the cabin “Today the food was better than usual, have you noticed?” He then asked you “Yeah, maybe the nymphs understood that putting the water of the lake in the soups isn’t the best choice” you joked, and the both of you laughed together. You enjoyed moments like this, where the only problem was if dinner had been good enough, or if the stars were clear in the sky.

Once you arrived at Percy’s cabin you changed into the spare clothes that you had left in his cabin for times like this, you quickly brushed you teeth and then lied on the bed near Percy. He wrapped his arms around your waist, (like he always did when you were sleeping together) and rested his head in the crook of your neck. You fell asleep together.

You woke up to the sound of the camp alarm ringing in your ears, there had been a monster attack. Percy got up immediately, not even looking at you, took riptide and headed outside to fight the monster. You ran to your cabin to take your weapon too, sweat dripping from your face , and heart hammering in your chest. It didn’t matter how many monsters you had fought, a shiver still shook you every time you had to combat. Weapon in hand you rushed to the entrance of the camp, and there stood your boyfriend, fighting against what seemed to be an harpy. Before you could even move, the flying creature’s claws stabbed Percy right in the chest, you saw him fall to the ground with a soft thud. You rushed to his side, he was bleeding hard.

you couldn’t move.

you couldn’t breath.

you frantically tried to do something, to stop the bleeding, to save him, your heart was beating so fast you thought it would jump out of your chest in any moment, a scream of pain stuck in your throat, the world had stopped for a moment.

you leaned in his chest crying hard, this couldn’t be real, you couldn’t have lost him like that…

you woke up to a very alarmed Percy grabbing your shoulders and trying to wake you up, you felt tears building up in your eyes and your breath coming short. You searched for his eyes, for them to tell you that it was just your imagination. Percy pulled you close, stroking your hair softly and whispered sweet nothing in your ear “shh… it was just a nightmare” he kept holding you close, reassure you with his touch, you clutched to him as if once you let go it would disappear into thin air, and your dream would turn out to be the sad reality.

“You- you were gone- and I- I-“ you were shaking like a leaf, Percy just held you close “I’m here, I’m not going anywhere, not now not ever” and you let yourself be reassured by his words, you held each other close in the darkness of the night…

A/n: hope it was what you were searching for! 🧡

[lorimnnn]

Hi! I really liked your Ghostface crybaby! Post! I was wandering if your requests are open if you’d write a Ghostface with a unrequited survivor/reader/yn where Ghostface has the hots but the survivor/yn just ain’t feeling it. If requests aren’t open plz ignore! But seriously love your work! Totally made my day!

ahhhh i usually hate angsty things like this so I actually considering not doing it.... but the potential was too good to resist. ty for your kind words, i seriously love writing up requests <3

p.s. i accidentally deleted it and got so unmotivated :((((( here it is though

the second he sees you he's convinced the entity has sent him a gift. you're literally his type head to toe and while he's insanely attracted to you, he's twice as excited to kill you

you become his obsession.

over. and over again.

your teammates realise that he will always go after you first if he can and they abuse this fact to an inch of it's life. you understand, of course.

you hate pain. the innocent type, the sweet type. compassionate to a fault even if it's plunged you into pain again and again.

Ghostface wants to break you

there is a perverse thrill in seeing you helpless in the dirt, sobbing, begging him to stop. he has to have mori-d you one thousand times across all the trials you've had together, now. but it never hurts any less and you never get used to it.

you don't seem to understand that this is a game, either. it's like real life.

"God, you're hot." His breath shutters in his throat as he takes you in, bloody and shivering on the ground. The Entity had been feeling generous recently and because of his good behaviour, had put you in a skimpy little dress.

You whimper when he nears.

"No, no no," you say, trying to back away from him. "Please."

"You know it turns me on when you beg, babe."

You sob harder when he crouches, weaving one hand into the back of your hair to haul you upright and against him. As always, he's deceivingly gentle. If not for his wondering hands you'd think he felt bad for you--- but that was never the case.

"Please stop," you say again.

"Now why would I do that?" He combs his gloved hand through your hair. The metallic scent of your blood has him dizzy and plunged into a haze that is purely you. You, you, you. Sometimes he swears he could care less about hurting you. He just wants to see you. Your face, contorting with pain, with a smile, with---

So maybe he liked you a little.

"I know I'm your favourite," he says confidently, and then rearranges you to sit in his lap. You sniffle. He groans.

You're so cute.

And you can't help it, even if you're afraid of him--- by nature you've always been obedient and timid and good. So good. It had costed you everything by the end.

It makes him feel so powerful.

Makes you feel so small.

"I'll give you the hatch if you play nice today," he lies. He rubs your thigh and nuzzles your hair, the plastic probing into your bruised flesh. "Hm? What about it?"

You hate him.

You hate him so much.

And before you know it, it's falling out of your mouth, bitter and harsh and sapping almost all of your remaining energy.

"I hate you. Fuck you."

It's so unexpected that he flinches.

He knows you're not best friends or anything, but he never prepared himself to hear it. and it was different

it actually hurt

and you said in the same way the he claimed to like you--- eternally, unchanging, unaltered

was it the continuous mori-ing?

you had to understand that everything in-trial was purely business, even if he did get a good kick out of it. after a while he'd gotten used to how naive you were and assumed he could twist it to fit his ways

he underestimated you

and he hates himself for feeling like he doesn't know you when you say this, because he's obsessed in every sense of the word. he watches you at the campfire, doting on your teammates. so kind. bright, smiley. then you would cry yourself to sleep and he would only feel the littlest bit bad, but not enough to count

but he should have guessed it

he shouldn't feel hurt by it, either--- you're his victim first and foremost. his beautiful, kind, compassionate victim who he wanted to lock away and protect as much as he wanted to hurt.

he'd never seen you so set in your ways before. so strong. it was a complete contrast to your usual soft-spoken shyness.

He blinked, incredulous. "Aw, sweetheart. I'm sure it isn't personal."

"I hope you die in a ditch."

"You killing me would be hot."

You don't laugh.

Now he's starting to panic a little, because usually he can ignore it. You never laugh. But he can't deny it now.

You hate him.

More than anything in this plane of existence. And that's a problem. Because after this trial, it quickly occurs to him that he doesn't only like you, but likes you a lot. More than he should be allowed. Against his own will he finds his work ethic challenged and his sadistic pleasure dwindling into his guilt, his sole motivation to stay sane in this shitty reality. Now he doesn't know what to make of it.

What was he supposed to do?

He tries everything after that. He genuinely starts trying to give you the hatch and now you're slamming pallets over his head with twice as much of force.

He starts getting artsy with his pictures of you. You're actually alive in these ones. You throw every single one into the fire.

Fuck. He even consults Bubba for help and picks out a bunch of flowers to give to you alongside a heartfelt apology, but you laugh in his face.

it hurts

it hurts even more when you leave and cuddle up to some of the survivors--- the people who left you behind time and time again. the fact that you'd rather them over him spoke volumes and he would find himself incurably jealous.

he couldn't even hurt them to get over it because it would only make you hate him more

for the first time in his life, Jed Olsen regretted killing. It had led him to you and also driven the two of you apart with twice as much force

he hates it

he hates what you've done to him and he hates that he's starting to love you and he hates, most of all---

the fact you will never love him back

[staytinyville]

OUTLAW (15)

ATEEZ poly!ot8 x Reader

Cowboy AU / Wild West

Series Masterlist

Warning: None

BETA READ (@mariana-mmtz)

It had been two weeks later by the time any of the boys came back to tell you about the others. Yeosang and Seonghwa had been staying with Jongho and Yunho in the meantime, rather than going back to the camp. The whole thing with the outlaw and you, made you feel unnerved. Your neighbors would look at you like you were dirt, sneering when you would pass by.

You realized the only people who didn’t look at you a certain way were the ones who stayed out late at night. Word hadn’t spread far for the real reason why you were sent to the police station, but you already knew that whatever the sheriff thought of you was what he told everyone else. 

The girl who you had saved, you learned worked in the stables of your neighborhood. She was 17, only a year older than your sister. In fact, your sister expressed how they went to school together, telling you that the girl had always been shy but after the murders she didn’t dare to look at anyone. 

It made you upset knowing she was traumatized. You wanted to get to know her, try to make her return to normal. But going through something like that, you guessed it wouldn’t be easy. You sighed to yourself as you were brought out of your head with Jongho and Yunho walking up to the front desk. 

Yeosang and Seonghwa walked out of the office, coming to stand next to you as you leaned your torso over the wood. 

“We might have found something.” Yunho spoke up. 

“What do you mean?” You frowned.

“Captain left a message for us.” The tall man leaned closer, glancing around to make sure no one was near. “They made tracks going one way but the ashes left from the campfire were blown another.” He explained. “They left in that direction.” His eyes found his friends, watching as they understood what he was talking about. 

“We have to find them.” You quickly said. 

“One step at a time, Love.” Jongho sighed. “Me and Yunho will take care of it, seeing as you all need to stay for work.”

Yeosang and Seonghwa both pursed their lips, realizing that they couldn’t just take off with a good enough excuse. 

“That's not fair.” You softly cried. 

“Honey, it's how jobs work.” Yeosang wrapped his arm around your waist, rubbing his thumb in a soothing manner.

“I'll find something to tell my parents.” You shook your head, turning to look at the man. “I have to go see them too.”

While you knew they were safe from the law in Cromer, it didn’t stop you from worrying about other towns being on the lookout for the outlaws as well. It was common for towns to be in the know about other crimes happening nearby. Who knew how far they had to go to find a safe place. 

“We'll come up with something.” Yunho sighed, watching as your eyes seemed to become downcast. 

You took in a deep breath, trying to come up with the best idea you could. The only issue you had at the moment was coming up with an excuse to give to your parents. There were a lot of things you could tell them, however it was best to create a full story just in case cracks started to show. 

Looking over at the boys, your eyes stopped on Seonghwa which caused him to look at you with wide eyes. 

“Seonghwa never told my parents where he was from.” You spoke up. “What if we say he has sick family in Dune. It's a few hours by horse. We'll be back in two days.”

They all began to think over the story, nodding to themselves when they saw it as a good excuse. However, while that would be able to get the boys free from work, they couldn’t guarantee your days off. 

“That settles our story, but why would you need to be going?” Yeosang questioned. 

“I'll tell them I'll be your navigator.” You quickly prattled off. “That you don't know how to get to Dune from Cromer.” Seonghwa raised a brow as you looked at him. 

His gave Yunho a side eye, trying to fight off the grin that threatened to overtake his lips. There were things you wanted to do in life and you would do anything to achieve them. At the moment, going to find the rest of the boys was all you wanted to do. It made heat bloom within his chest to see you care so much about wanting to see all of them.

You had four very capable men standing in front of you and yet, you knew that they felt lost without the rest of them. You couldn’t choose to stay with just one, you wanted to make sure they were all together. He had never met someone who thought of others needs before their own. You were selfless, and it caught all of their attention.

“You sure about this?” He asked you.

“I have it planned.” You smiled, nodding your head. “You two go to tell them about Seonghwa’s family. Once they accept your leave, tell them you need a navigator.” 

As they boys all took the moment to come to an understanding, they all set off in the direction they needed to. When the deputies went back to their room to gather their things, Yeosang and Seonghwa went to find your parents. 

When they came across your father in the saloon, deciding to ask him, seeing as he was the boss. With a smile on his face, Yeosang was the one who spoke to him.

“We would like to speak to you about asking for some days off.” The man softly asked.

“Oh,” Your father raised his eyebrows. “What is it?” 

“I got a letter that my grandmother is sick.” Seonghwa sighed deeply, trying his best to sound like he was worried. “She's currently in Dune where my family is taking care of her. I would like to go see her, just in case the worst comes.”

“Well, I mean of course. You can take however long you need.” Your father was a kind man. He knew what it was like to have sick family. 

Your grandmother left this world before your grandfather, having died of fever. Your grandfather died shortly thereafter to a broken heart. While your father wasn’t an only child, he was the only son and the eldest. His sisters left the home to care for their husbands, which left your father in charge of caring for his parents. 

It wasn’t Seonghwa’s duty to take care of his grandmother, but your father remembered how upset you were to lose your grandmother. If Seonghwa was as close to his grandparents as you were, your father knew how much it hurt to know they were sick. 

It pulled at your chest to know that it was all a lie. But when you returned, all you could easily say was that it was a normal sickness and that she would be fine in the following weeks. 

“Three days should suffice. It's enough to rest and travel.” Seonghwa continued on.

“Both you and Yeosang then?” Your father questioned. 

“Actually, we were hoping we could ask for a navigator. I don't really know the route to Dune from Cromer.” Seonghwa took a glance at you, watching as you came up behind your father.

“Well, I guess you can take (B/N)-”

“I'll do it.” You spoke up, a grin on your face as you looked at your father. 

“You?” Your father says skeptically.

“You told me to talk with Yeosang. I'll have plenty of time on the trip.” You tried to explain to him. 

“I don't know about that anymore, (Y/N).” While he did tell you to act buddy-buddy with Yeosang, going out for three days with two men was not exactly something your father saw as a good idea.  

“It'll be fine. I promise.” You told him, giving him a bright smile to show there was nothing to worry about. 

“Well alright.” Your father said slowly. “You all be careful.” He was looking at you, worry showing in his eyes. 

You gave him a hug, turning to give the boys a smile. “I'll go pack. We can leave in a moment.” As you turned to leave, your father was left with the two boys. 

“You boys better take care of my daughter.” He told them. 

“With our life.” Yeosang nodded his head. 

It took 30 minutes to pack up all you needed. With a tearful goodbye from your mother, you went on your way, riding on your own family horse this time rather than sitting behind Yeosang or Seonghwa. 

You sighed to yourself as you started your journey once you hit the road out of your family's estate. It was the first time you were leaving the house alone for a couple of days. You understood why your mother was upset, but also you felt like this was the first time you were someone. 

You had spent your entire life up until then doing what your parents told you to. You never went out when there was a curfew, never stayed with friends for sleepovers. Not that you ever wanted to do those kinds of things. You were living day to day, thinking that what you saw and did was all you were ever going to know. 

Meeting the boys really seemed to change the way you looked at the world. Things that you used to do in the past were so dull in comparison to what you were so used to. You had always known the kind of person you were, but having met the people you call friends now, put your thoughts into actions. 

You would have never dared to interfere with those thugs, probably living the rest of your life in guilt that would eat you away from not going to investigate. But they brought a sense of adrenalin into you. A push that leads you to want to be the hero in this story. 

“The ashes were blown that way.” Jongho showed you all where the fire pit was moved to point in another direction. 

You watched how the ashes were brushed to the side in one single direction and knew that had the wind blown away the ashes it wouldn’t look so clean. You pursed your lips, thinking about how anyone could have missed something like this. As you looked off into the direction the ashes pointed, you tried to map out the surrounding area you knew.

“There's a creek that runs off the river.” You called, pointing in that direction.

“The police of Cromer already checked it.” Yunho told you. 

“Yes, but they didn't follow along it.” You moved to climb back onto your horse. “Look around for more clues.” You told the others. 

“Are we just going to ignore that the way she bosses us around is actually really sexy?” Seonghwa placed his hands on his hips, watching you look around the area. 

“Who are you?” Yunho teased. “Wooyoung?”

It took a good 30 minutes of searching around the surrounding area of the creek to find something out of the ordinary. You came across a tree with what looked like bear claw marks on the bark. There were four slash marks going down the tree bark, but there were four more going up in the opposite direction. 

The first two marks seemed to be overlapping on another, creating an H that immediately stood out to you. “I think I found it.” You called over your shoulder. “It looks like bear marks.”

Yunho moved his horse alongside yours, raising a brow at the marks on the tree. “Yes, but Hongjoong leaves the scratches diagonal as well.” Yunho explained.

As you both looked around, you started to notice the trail of marked up trees. They all lead in one direction, making you smile brightly at the fact. “They're this way.”

You quickly tried to get your horse to move swiftly, feeling all the more hopeful that you will get to see the boys again. 

Series Masterlist

@thefrog3223 , @iarayara , @0rangemilk , @explorewithd , @detectivedoodle , @bangtanxberm , @a1i33a , @loveforred , @drunken-deitence , @0325tiny , @the-ghostest-with-the-mostest , @atinyreads , @atinytinaa , @lexiigom , @smilingtokki , @mismatchfluffysocks ,

[luveline]

Hello!! For the zombie au, I would love to see something (no pressure at all tho - I love you and any of your writing regardless ❤️❤️) where the reader gets overwhelmed at the camp and goes off on her own for a bit, causing Steve to go absolutely insane with worry in the meantime. Totally up to you whether something dangerous actually happens or not. Thanks a ton either way!!

thank you for your request! i didn’t make him as worried as I could’ve potentially so please request again if this isn’t quite what you meant! zombie au steve x fem!reader

There are three different children having tantrums at breakfast. You wince at the sound, hands at your knees and squeezing, looking for relief. You have a headache the size of Mount Everest, in the midst of recovery from a cold that had you weak with fever and aching, and this isn't what you'd pictured when you crawled out of your tent this morning. 

Steve had been snoring, and Robin's newly adopted cat had been restless, climbing up and down your bodies like you were nothing more than lumpy pillows, and combined with your headache it had been a little too much to bear. Rather than wake either of them to amend their problems, you saw no harm in getting up for a walk and a moment's respite in the small communal area of camp near the fire pit. 

The fire hasn't been lit. For a while you'd all operated on nocturnal time, worried your smoke trail would attract the unkind, but it hasn't been a feasible plan to stay that way with so many young children living in the commune. These days you make very small fires when you need to warm food or boil water, and you try to stick to dry wood to minimise the amount of smoke. 

You're not sure what's causing the tantrums, perhaps they're setting each other off, but things are starting to get too much for a second time. Without a friend at your side, it's easy to fall into despair. You're sick without medicine, you've been sleeping on the floor outdoors for weeks and it's making you incredibly sore. The children are here and alone and most of them are orphans now because the unspeakable happened and it keeps on happening. Your life is a tragedy novel, the situation is dismal, and you're not sure life is ever going to get better. 

You stand up and walk for the river. The sound of rushing water will cover everything else, at the least, and there's a tree you can climb with minimal effort, a branch you can perch on that's high enough that nothing can reach you while you're overstimulated and distracted.

Today could be a good day. You need to clear your head first, is all. 

—

Steve frowns at the empty blankets beside him. He'd prefer you didn't leave without waking him, 'cos he won't be able to breathe properly until he knows you're okay. He wishes he lived in a world —that you all did— where you could go wherever you liked without telling him and he wouldn't need to worry. He hates that he needs to know where you are. 

He wiggles his toes in his shoes, trying to wake them up as he stands from the tent and casts his gaze over the camp. There's a little boy crying near the single fold out table they have. A man scoops him up and starts to rub his back, shushing him. A gaggle of girls laugh beside a small fire, camping pans and cans of soup in tongs held over the flames. Dustin and Will are already up, coming back from the river with a bucket between them. 

"Hey," Steve says, jogging up to them. He looks around. "Seen Y/N?" 

"She wasn't by the river," Will says.

"But we caught you guys a fish," Dustin says. 

Steve looks down into the bucket, where a few smaller carp lie dead. "Oh, nice going. You didn't stab them, right?" 

"We're humane," Dustin says. "You have to debone your own. We're not doing all the work." 

Steve pats his shoulder. "Hey, thanks. Just as soon as I find Y/N." 

He doesn't find you soon. You aren't at the campfire. You aren't in the general area surrounding it. You aren't in someone else's tent, and he's sure they all think he's a control freak for checking. 

He tries to calm down. Chances are you needed the bathroom and wanted privacy. He isn't freaking out, he isn't freaking out, really, he's just– he's thinking logistically, because nothing good happens where he can't see you. 

Steve turns in a frantic circle, eyes everywhere, searching for your hair, your big coat. 

He's about to admit defeat and start shouting your name when you chirp up from behind him. "Hey, handsome. Fancy seeing you here."

He turns, sees you all in one piece in your big warm coat, your clean face shimmering with damp. 

"Oh," he says, feeling like he's been punched, "those losers lied to me. You were by the river?" 

You trudge over long grass to nudge him. "Just for a bit. My head was hurting. I saw them catching fish for a while, they're pretty good, but don't blame them, I don't think they knew I was there." 

"Idiots," he says, not meaning it. His head is pounding. "Why, where were you?" 

"Sitting on the 'dangerous' tree branch." 

He takes your shoulders into his hands. He can see you preparing for a kiss, your eyes closing slowly, your chin lifting just a little. Newsflash! You made him worry and now you're climbing up trees. He shakes you gently, and when it doesn't upset you, he shakes you more. You laugh infectiously and let your head loll back and forth. You don't ask him to stop, but he feels bad, and he hugs you rather than scramble your brains any further. 

"You have a conniption?" you ask into his neck. 

"Maybe." 

"Sorry, honey," you say, which is funny and sweet, because it's the name he always gives you. 

He rubs your back. "Hmm. I should give you a speech on not wandering off along and unnecessary risks." 

"Don't do that." 

"No, I'm going to, actually." 

He sits you by the fire and makes breakfast. The speech isn't a speech, really, just an excuse to talk at you, thankful that he still can. You give him all the meatballs from the weird canned spaghetti and he starts to forgive you for the heart attack. You wipe a dab of spaghetti sauce off of his lip with your thumb before giving him a peck, and he forgets what he was talking about in the first place.

[dullgecko]

1: Gorgug's favorite story when he was in 5th grade and middle school was of a land of candy, where a chocolate rabbit challenged a corrupted church and saved the world. In truth, the rabbit died a few chapters in, so he rewrote it himself.

He recommended it to Kristen after prompocolypse, and gave her his rewritten copy.

2: Riz, upon getting an apartment after graduation, began to feel very homesick. He'd always lived with his mom, and the nights he wasnt in the apartment he was at Fabian's or another Bad Kid house. It felt so terrible to be living alone.

He voiced this to Adaine a few weeks later and- Adaine being Adaine- dragged him out to every pet shop and cat cafe and foster service in town. They eventually settled on a pair of squirrels, which Riz loved with his entire being

3; Study Goblin headcanon: The second year the Study Goblin began taking cases, a group of Aguefort students were working on a VERY important mystery in the middle of winter break. They went to the cemetery, hoping to ask for help, only to find the goblin asleep. They tried again day after day, with no luck; the goblin was dead asleep and nobody could wake them up.

The news spread throughout the school and it took a goblin student in another party to realize Study Goblin was hibernating, and needed to be warmed up in order to wake.

Cue a bunch of adventuring parties grabbing blankets, starting fires, casting spells, etc, all around the statue. The Goblin eventually awoke, and, extremely grumpily, took the stack of files that had added up over the winter.

1:

Kristen is absoloutly devestated when she reads the original copy after finding it in the library. She likes Gorgugs version better.

2:

Goblins really are not creatures that are supposed to live alone. His friends are already checking in on him pretty regularly to make sure he's doing things like eating (Fabian constantly visits with groceries) and sleeping regularly but he still gets incredibly lonely when there's no one around. His pets help a lot.

3:

Riz had left his statue in the cemetary curled up and lying down to make it look like he was sleeping and not availible because he was on a mission for most of the beginning of winter break. He figured it would be fine, none of the kids he regularly tutored had any assignments this time of year and there would be no homework so he'd be able to focus all his energy on his actual job.

Needless to say when he finally got BACK from his mission for the LPRTF (three weeks in literal hell doing undercover work) he had been very confused by the scene that greeted him. His monument was COVERED in blankets, they'd stuffed hand warmers in the gap between the statues wing and body, and there were at LEAST three campfires going.

He had to laugh when he realised what was going on, especially with the case file that was placed near the statues head when he got back. The statue looked like it was sleeping and it was winter. Of COURSE the kids would think he was hibernating and they'd been trying so hard to wake him up.

Riz was still exhausted from his work but decided the kids probably really needed his help if they were trying to wake him up this desperatly. He even threw them a bone and let them see the statue actually moving for once, rather than his usual game of only shifting it when people weren't looking.

[ssukidesu]

a better method

Fandom: Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale

Pairing: Inukag

Rating: T

Inukag Week 2024 ( @inukag-week ) - Day 3: Bickering

Summary: After a messy fight, Kagome offers to clean the beads of subjugation. She has every intention of putting them right back on afterwards, but Inuyasha's not so willing.

Read on AO3

Read under the cut

Kagome was bent over, towel in her hands, ruffling her hair dry. The smell had taken forever to get out. The very memory of it made her stomach curl in nausea, and she shoved the thought away hastily. Sango had borne the brunt of it; it was hiraikotsu, after all, that sliced the pig demon into pieces. Its blood and entrails were flung absolutely everywhere—and all five of them had been drenched. Luckily, there was a river nearby, and they were able to clean themselves of the worst of it. Sango had been grateful for the shampoo and soap, which was equally strong with its floral aroma.

The girls had gone first, of course; currently, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippo were making use of the river, though Kagome doubted it would do them much good; she and Sango had used up all of her soaps during their cleaning, and the boys would unfortunately be going without. Not that she thought Inuyasha in particular would have used her perfumed shampoo… but still.

The girls were working together to get a fire going for dinner when the men and Shippo returned. They at least looked better, Kagome noted immediately. She would make sure to purchase some unscented soaps whenever they passed the next village. The soap of this era was far less offensive to demonic senses, at least.

Fifteen minutes later, and they were all sipping on venison soup, thanks to Inunyasha’s successful hunt earlier that evening. It smelled glorious, and they were all grateful for the additional refreshment to their olfactory glands.

But afterwards, when they were settled around the fire to ward off the dropping autumn temperatures, Kagome got a whiff of that terrible scent again. It happened right as Inuyasha plopped down next to her—and she immediately roamed her eyes over his figure.

“What?” he accused sharply.

“That smell. Where’s it coming from?” she said, getting right to the point. “Your clothes look fine.”

He grit his teeth. “It’s this stupid thing,” he said, gripping the beads around his neck. “It’s impossible to clean. Too many crevices.”

“…Oh,” she said, rather stupidly. She shared a look with Sango, and then Miroku. They both shrugged at her. Inuyasha was picking something from under his claws when she returned her wary gaze to him. “Do you… want me to clean it?” 

His fingers stopped their twiddling. “Huh?” His eyes widened briefly before narrowing. “Are you messing with me?” he charged.

Kagome swallowed, solidifying her decision. “N-No. We can take it off for a minute,” she said.

“Yeah,” he scoffed. “Right. Go ahead, then!” His tone was sarcastic as he dramatically leaned his head down, as if he was daring her. 

Kagome took one last look at her friends. Apart from Shippo, they seemed… relatively okay with the idea. They were probably having the same sort of doubts she was—that he’d be a little insufferable for a bit, but that he’d surely do nothing too diabolical.

She returned her gaze to him. He was peering up at her now, seemingly convinced that she wasn’t actually going to do it. But when she lifted her hands to grip the beads, his breath stuttered, and his eyes widened. She lifted and lifted, detangled some hair, and then lifted the rest of the way. 

He was gawking at her. She lifted her hand and closed his mouth. “You’ll catch flies ,” she snapped before flipping her still-damp hair and walking away.

He immediately turned to look at his friends, who were staring at him tensely, and he couldn’t help himself. 

He hooted. 

Kagome expected something like this, that the first thing he’d do is scare the kit a little. As she tinkered near the campfire to boil some water, she heard Inuyasha chasing Shippo around with terrible laughter, and she felt an inner peace take her. Of course he would be harmless. He didn’t even have it in him to actually catch Shippo; he just wanted to mess around. If he was good, maybe she wouldn’t make him put it back on until tomorrow. She grinned at the thought.

The thing really was filthy. Not just from the pig demon, either; it had needed a good cleaning for months, most likely. The plaque and grime was disgusting, even after letting it soak in the boiling water for ten minutes. She decided she could spare an old toothbrush and used it to scrub the thing bead by bead. Before she knew it, she’d been working on it for an hour. 

Inuyasha gave her no more time than that; he was ready to set off toward their next destination. She tried to convince him to let them keep that campsite another night, but it seemed he was… a little too confident in his newfound freedom for her mere pestering to work.

She didn’t think much of it. He wasn’t wrong to be in a hurry; there was a lead to follow, and it would be risky to linger. So they indeed set out. 

After a rather… bothersome three hours of walking, night finally fell. Inuyasha graciously allowed them to stop, and they ate some leftover soup for supper. 

It looked like he would make it to tomorrow without having to put it back on, after all; Kagome still wasn’t done scrubbing it, and she was too exhausted to pick up where she left off before. 

“Don’t go crazy from excitement, Inuyasha,” she told him as she crawled into her sleeping bag. “I’ll finish cleaning it tomorrow, and then it’s back to real life.”

She heard him scoff from the tree he’d chosen as his resting place. “Yeah, right,” he laughed.

Her stomach sank a little at this. Kagome did worry a little that he’d fight her about it, and if she was being honest, she didn’t quite know how she would go about winning that argument. But she told herself it would work out, somehow. She wouldn’t worry about it just yet.

But in the morning, after they had broken their fast and she had completed her cleaning job, she found herself at the moment she’d feared sooner than she expected. He was lounging in a low branch of a thick tree, eyes closed. The others were closer to camp, trusting the task to her.

She cleared her throat. “I’ve finished, Inuyasha.”

“Hmm.”

Well, that wasn’t a helpful response. 

“Come on down so I can put it back on,” she tried with a forcibly normal voice.

“No way,” he said simply.

“…What do you mean, ‘no way’?”

“I mean what I said. I already told you I wouldn’t let you put it back on.”

Her stomach hardened into a knot at that. This was going to be more difficult than she’d hoped…

When she threw a pebble at his head, she at least succeeded in getting him out of the tree. 

He landed roughly on both feet, growling. “What was that for? You tryin’ to start something?” he said, glaring down at her.

“That’s my line. Stop being childish and put it back on,” she said, lifting it up with her hands. 

He instantly stopped the movement by gripping the beads with his own hand, tugging and holding it back down with a strength that humbled her own.

He was smirking. “You couldn’t do it if you tried.”

Her mouth was agape. 

“Don’t look at me like that. You’ll catch flies,” he said mockingly.

“Inuyasha,” she scolded, keeping her temper down. She tried tugging the beads, but they didn’t budge from his grip. 

His smile was more cruel than playful, and she’d be lying if she said it didn’t scare her a little.

“Are you being serious?” she tried.

“Of course. You’re an idiot if you think I’m gonna let you put that thing back on me,” he goaded.

“Hey,” she huffed, mask slipping. “Don’t call me an idiot. It doesn’t have to be a big deal.”

He chuckled bitterly. “You’re not the one who kisses dirt because of it.” Releasing the beads, he pressed two fingers into her shoulder and gave her a weak shove, though it was enough to jostle her back a step. “You can’t make me,” he grinned savagely.

She saw that he was playing… sort of. He was smiling, for sure, but there was something resentful behind the facade of banter. He seemed genuinely vengeful. 

She wouldn’t show her growing fear—no matter what. Better that she acted the same as always, right? If she acted the same… maybe he would, too.

“Come on,” she badgered. “I’ll get you more ninja food next time I go home.”

“Nice try, Kagome,” he spat, towering over her with a puffed chest. “Admit it. You messed up. Stupid,” he drawled.

She would not let the tears form. Yes, she was growing terribly frustrated, but she couldn’t let him see. She’d have no shot of convincing him after that; she had to stay level-headed. Had to keep her reins in her own hands. She couldn’t reveal that she was getting embarrassed at her own naivety, and she certainly didn’t want him to know he was succeeding likely more than he meant to in intimidating her. Kagome didn't like thinking that her confidence in him depended on his wearing the beads; the thought made her feel dirty, like she had broken some sacred unspoken part of being his friend.

But then, he went a step further. And a physical step closer.

“Say it,” he taunted.

She scowled up at him, weighing whether to try and surprise attack him. But she knew he was too quick for something like that to work. “Say what?”

“Tell me to sit. I just wanna hear you say it.”

“Why would I?” she fumed. “It wouldn’t work.”

His smile was less of a smile and more like a smug way to remind her of the sharpness of his teeth. “Exactly.”

The sight was not ineffective. Her heart began to race, and not for entirely pleasant reasons. 

“You’re being mean, Inuyasha,” she said in a desperate attempt to regain herself.

He didn’t falter. If anything, his expression grew in vitriol. “I’m a demon, Kagome.”

“I know,” she yelled, rising to her toes. Her fist clenched around the necklace at her side.

“Then maybe you should start acting like it,” he growled. He was seething now, and Kagome realized that he had probably wished to say this—to reestablish his pride as a demon who wasn't leashed by a little human girl—for a very long time. In his view, the beads had been a sign of humiliation. Kagome had always known this, but she had come to believe that he didn't take himself so seriously as to be genuinely offended by it. The revelation of her mistake was no less than discomfiting. Yes—of course she knew he was a demon. But when he had the beads, this fact had seemed... unimportant. And as it turned out, an unfettered Inuyasha was a little more overwhelming than she'd expected.

What had she done?

“You’re—” she stuttered, and she wondered if the moisture gathering on her lash line was real or imagined. “You’re so…”

She watched the muscles in his jaw clench, watched his pupils grow to slits. Her ears stopped working; her eyes were blurring.

And when he lifted his hand toward her face, she couldn’t help herself.

She flinched. 

And it was quite dramatic. No way to hide it if it ends with your feet tripping over each other and your butt landing on the filthy ground. No way to cover it up when your breath is still recovering from a gasp like that. 

The shame of the moment had not hit her yet; she was still reeling, still refilling her lungs, still blinking her vision clear. She kept her head bowed, stuck on her lap. 

When she heard her name on his lips, she began to sense her mistake. But before she could fully decipher it, his hands were on her, under her knees and behind her back. She was in the air. She clung to him as he bounded through the trees, not even remembering the beads still wound around her fingers, until he found one he liked and burrowed them there within the branches.

Her hands were plastered to her face even after he released her. 

“Kagome…” he said, voice dangerously low. “Are you really…?”

Pounding. Her heart was pounding. She knew she was being stupid, but she had lost control of her body—and all she had was instinct, instinct, instinct when she saw him bring his fatal fingers toward her neck. Luckily, when he made the same motion this time, her eyes were shielded from seeing their approach. His hands pulled her wrists down, freeing her mortified face. She stared down at where he gripped her.

“Hey,” he said, jostling her hands. “Look at me.”

He didn’t continue until she obeyed. Kagome wondered if she looked as terrified as he did in that moment, and it encouraged her to attempt a calming breath. His voice, however, retained its anger from before—though its direction had changed. 

“I would never hurt you. Got that?” He shook her again, desperation taking over his features. “Burn it into your damn head. Beads or no beads, you’re—" he halted abruptly, black brows still drawn taut in the middle. “To hell with it,” he growled to himself. He loosened her wrists and gripped her shoulders instead, bringing himself closer. His golden eyes bore into hers. “You’re everything to me. The only person who’s in danger if I don’t have the beads is any person who’s stupid enough to lay a finger on you.”

Her tears streamed outright now, but she didn’t even notice. She was staring at his mouth, which was snarled in an angry frown. She licked her dry lips and said meekly, “I’m sorry, Inuyasha—I shouldn’t have doubted you. I don’t know why I…” she trailed off, the risk of her voice breaking too great to ignore.

“Keh,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Give it to me.”

Eyes widening for only a second, Kagome managed to nod her head before she loosened the beads from around her fingers. His right hand unlatched from her shoulder, and he placed his palm in the air to receive it. She lowered it onto his skin, the beads clacking quietly against each other as it collapsed from gravity. 

She supposed it wouldn’t really change anything for him to break them. He hadn’t lost control of his demonic blood in a very long time, and she figured the beads had lost their edge against him in such a form, anyway. Tetsusaiga was far more effective. And she supposed she technically didn’t sit him nearly as often nowadays, either. His behavior today would prove an outlier, she told herself; he was just readjusting to his freedom. It would be fine. She believed this firmly now, and she was ashamed that she didn’t from the start.

But Inuyasha did not break them; instead, he pulled them right back over his head and let them drop with a loud clatter around his neck.

“Wait, Inuyasha—“

“Shut up,” he snapped, but his remaining hand on her shoulder was gentle, and his eyes were, too. His voice remained firm, but he softened it for his next words: “I don’t ever wanna see that look on your face again. And if this is what I gotta do to prevent it, then I’ll do it.”

“Inuyasha…” she winced. “I’m sorry. Really, I trust you—you don’t have to wear them anymore.” Kagome pushed herself onto her knees and lifted her hands to grab the necklace, but his own hands were faster: he gripped and halted her wrists against his chest. She froze, eyes locking onto his from a mere foot away. 

His eyes flashed in warning. “Leave ‘em,” he scolded. “I’m not letting go until you say you won’t try to take them off.” He punctuated his words by a quick squeeze of her wrists, which were still pinned to his firm, warm chest. 

Kagome gulped, half dazzled and half annoyed. “…Only if you promise you believe me when I say I trust you.”

He looked at her, hard. She wondered at how his anger, for a moment, seemed to sharpen. Then, in one fluid movement, his hands shoved hers off of his chest and backwards—back, back, back until her wrists were pinned behind her against the thick trunk of the tree. She had lost her balance on her knees in the movement, and she fell back on her rear. He was leaning over her now, face even closer than before, close enough to feel his hot breath on her face.

“Do you trust me, Kagome?” he said doubtfully.

Kagome’s breath caught. “Inu—”

“Prove it. Don’t sit me.”

Before she could question him, his nose was at her throat. He opened his mouth—she could feel his heavy sigh—and he grazed his teeth against the skin there. “I don’t blame you for being afraid of me without them,” he said bitterly. “It’d be easy for me to kill you.”

“You would never,” she whispered, eyes clenching shut at the feel of him on top of her, at the strength of his hands, at the edges of his teeth. 

Something like a whine escaped him. “Sit me,” he said.

“No.” She angled her chin toward him, cocooning him even closer to her throat. 

“Do it,” he begged, hands tightening around her wrists.

“Inuyasha,” she crooned.

Her tone was more effective than that damned word ever could have been. He tore himself from her neck and stared down at her with an expression so pained that her heart ached. Their eyes met with an intensity he wasn’t ready for—and when she broke away to look at his mouth, he looked like he was going to lose his godforsaken mind. 

As a final nail in his coffin, she tilted her head up to brush her nose against his. “I trust you,” she said again, and he was off of her in a flash. 

Chest panting, he watched in awe as she sat up, brushed her fingers over her neck, and eyed him sadly. 

“Kagome, I…” He trailed off, the apology sitting on his tongue. 

“It’s okay,” she said. “I know you didn’t mean it.”

She was wrong, though. He did mean it. He meant everything he had done. Maybe not everything he’d said, but… there was something depraved inside of him that enjoyed hearing her heart beat insanely beneath him. Whatever it was—whether it was the demon inside of him, or the man even deeper within—he knew that whatever it was that gave him pleasure at seeing her flustered and heated and pliant was what the beads were really for. 

He would never hurt her—he knew that. He prayed she did now, too. But he also knew that there were different kinds of pain, and while he knew he would never hurt her with his hands, he couldn’t say the same about his words… or about his mouth, in general. 

And it was for days like today, when temperatures were running a little too hot, when words were flying a little too sharp, that he needed that extra incentive to stay in line. To not push her (or himself) too far. To remember that she was still just a girl, and he was almost fully a man, and that that might matter even more than the fact that she was human and he was not.

Maybe one day it would be different. Maybe one day, she would be ready to take those beads off of him—to keep him in line the way that he wished she would, with different words and a different method. A better method.

But in the meantime, he supposed they could just keep bickering like they always have, as if petty little arguments were really the worst thing he could do to warrant a kiss to the dirt.

“Inuyasha,” she said, pulling him out of himself again.

With just a look, he understood her, and he gathered her onto his back. They were back at the outskirts of camp before the others even noticed they were gone.

But what they did notice was Kagome’s commanding voice as she let fly one resounding word, and the loud crash (and wince) that followed immediately after. 

They also noticed that he didn’t even complain about it.

[makothedorito]

A Single Dying Orchid

BAAU by @cuppajj

If only she wasn't such a coward.

the guilt was overwhelming as Vanilla Swirl Cookie laid in the flour-dusted dirt, a maelstrom of emotions overtaking her.

She was too late. He had struck yet another village, its denizens turned to flour, coating everything in a pale, grim, white, permeating the air and casting a foggy look obstructing everything in the distance from view. it was suffocating. Vanilla Swirl sat like that, for what seemed to be forever, taking in her failure. memories flashed behind her eyes, a village not unlike this one.

she remembered sharing tea and raisin buns around a campfire.

-she remembered sprouting little flowers to appease a crying child, even if they faded away moments later-

-and then she remembered the screams.

the dust.

the fear overtaking her as she ran, fight-or-flight taking over, too cowardly to turn back- or even look back for that matter- as the friends and memories she had known turned to mere flour in a matter of a few hours.

the guilt taking her to beast-yeast where she tried- futilely- to start anew, unaware that she would only lead more friends to their demise as silver clashed with thorns.

and Odollam Cookie. she paused, in the middle of getting up and dusting herself off from the flour.

her greatest friend. and her greatest shame. Vanilla Swirl winced from the guilt she bore when she ran, time and time again from the first sight of confrontation. she shamed herself for all the false promises she made, the cowardice, the weakness.

for much of her life she ran from her pain, her fear, and her responsibilities. and it has finally caught up to her and ravaged her, ravaged earthbread and destroyed all that she has known. turning back to the dry forest, Vanilla Swirl tried to focus on the next village, doubting that she'd make it in time to warn them about Saint Vanilla.

and through the forest she saw something. something out of the ordinary.

a single blue-white orchid.

It was like a slap to the face. Even if its petals were dusty with flour, the core was as vibrant as if it was newly bloomed.

"come to gloat your latest 'purificiation' to me, havent you?" she said with a whisper. the orchid ignored her, swaying in an invisible wind. Inside, Vanilla Swirl felt herself collapse, giving up.

she wanted to give up, didn't she? Take the easy way out, maybe do a kindness to earthbread. she lowered her palm around the orchid, as if planning to pluck and eat it. she had enough jam on her hands, didn't she?

Vanilla Swirl felt the softness of the petals as she started to pluck, but she hesitated.

is it really her hands the jam is on?

Or is it the tyrant, who refuses to allow for compromise or compensation, torturing her adversaries to make an example when she could've easily let them go and assimilate into her kingdom.

Is it really her hands who spreads the flour over earthbread with each so-called "purification" one by one as if her view was so twisted that she believed her mass-murders were a kindness?

or is she just taking uneccesary blame?

her glare snapped to the flower, hardening in realization that maybe, just maybe, she has been blaming herself for things out of her control. and that maybe she could finally throw that guilt away.

If kindness kills, then ruthlessness is mercy.

the wilted orchid crumpled to dust in her fist, saint's sight silenced and her location a secret, for now; as the remains of the dying forest around her started to decay, only to be replaced by new life, dangerous life, plants that kill. with a wave of her hand, the forest returned to its dry, stale state, turning her back behind the village with a near-unnoticeable new spring in her step, as if she sucked the life out the damnned orchid.

It's about time "Saint" Vanilla stopped prying into everyones secrets with those flowers of his, and leading lambs to the slaughter.

From then on, all sightings of Vanilla Swirl Cookie have dissappeared from both Earthbread and Beast-Yeast simultaneously, as if she faded away like a secret on the wind.

Only later have there been sightings of irregular abundances of dangerous plants on formerly dead land, of which not even saint orchids could thrive that peoplestarted to speculate.

And then came the rumours a new Beast was coming. A name, like the plant life she bent to her will and the poison they contain, silent and ruthless.

Blackthorn Cookie.

and she is hell-bent on eradicating all traces of this self-proclaimed saint no matter the cost. even if it means becoming one of them.

because when you've got nothing to lose, so what if you become the monster?

[everydayyoulovemeless]

Please anything with Ulysses please please please also you’re like the only person who writes for new Vegas ily for that

Ulysses SFW Alphabet

➼ Word Count » 1.5k ➼ Warnings » None ➼ Genre » Romantic

A - Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Ulysses is very physical and will show his affection through how he does your hair or traces his fingers along the bones of your hand. He worships every aspect of yourself and you can see it come out clearest when you're in his reach.

B - Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

The friendship would have to start somewhere in the Divide, either through you being the Courier or surviving the detonation. He'll be extremely loyal as he sees you as the only thing he has left, which also leads to him being keen on protecting you.

C - Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

He adores it. He likes to cradle you in his lap while he reads, or while you're both watching the sun fall behind the mountains. Being close to those he loves is all he wants and you'll find that he likes to bury his face into the nape of your neck during these moments.

D - Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Eventually, he'd like to start a family with you but wouldn't want to stay in one place. His tribe was nomadic and he's been on the move his entire life. He'd like to keep that if he were able. He's a great cook when it comes to campfires and he considers himself experienced enough to be able to defend both you and your child.

E - Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

He might honestly just kill you. He'd make it quick and painless as there was a point where he loved you but, you'd had to have done something awful for him to ever want to end things with you (like working with the Legion).

F - Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

He'd love to be married to you, although, he'd wait till the political climate in Vegas settled down before he proposed. He doesn't want to constantly be concerned about assassins coming to get him while committing himself to you permanently.

G - Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Ulysses would view his partner as being delicate, even if they weren't, so every touch and word of his is as soft as he can possibly make it.

H - Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

He likes to hug at random. You'll be hunched over a bench, working on your gear, and he'll come up behind you and gently hold you against him, or he'll cradle your head to his shoulder whenever he feels you need to be comforted. He'll do it as often as he can. He knows how unpredictable the wasteland can be and wants you to know how much he genuinely adores you.

I - I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Almost as soon as you get together. He doesn't hold back. Again, he knows how erratic the Mojave can be and would like you to know what he's feeling in case anything were to happen to either of you.

J - Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

There are not many people around to really be jealous of but, even if there were, he wouldn't be bothered. If he feels it's unsafe, then he'll want to be near you, but otherwise he'll be fine.

K - Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

He loves leaving kisses along your forehead and temples. Being able to cradle your face in his hands and shower you in affection makes him feel so blessed to have you in his arms.

L - Little ones (How are they around children?)

He likes to think he's good with them, but he's got no clue what he's doing. He talks to them the same way he'd talk to anyone else, which, normally has them tilting their heads in confusion or giggling because they think Ulysses is funny.

M - Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Mornings are either spent hiking around the Divide, or sitting on the edge of a collapsed building and watching the sunrise. He likes his mornings to be out in nature and generally silent.

N - Night (How are nights spent with them?)

I imagine that Ulysses has a huge fascination with stars so, at night, he likes looking up at the sky with you and explaining the constellations the best he can to you.

O - Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

I feel like you’d have to know about his past before you ever started dating him. Ulysses isn’t a fast-paced guy, especially, when it comes to his relationships. He’d want to tell you everything about himself, and you everything about yourself, before you even made it official.

P - Patience (How easily angered are they?)

He’s a lot less patient toward others but, for you? He’s the most patient man in the world. He’ll wait forever if it’s what you require from him, and he’d be happy doing so. The only way you could ever cause him to be angry is by being a part of the Legion or NCR. They destroyed his home, after all.

Q - Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Ulysses makes a point to study everything about you. In fact, he might even keep a log on you. He tracks everything from little unknowns you tell him about yourself to your hometown (or perceived hometown). He knows so much about you that he feels confident he could find your old roots and where you used to reside if he wanted to.

R - Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

His favorite moments in your relationship are when you're twisting his hair in the way his tribe used to. Or when you let him do so to you. He takes a lot of pride in sharing his culture with you and would love it if you shared yours with him as well.

S - Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

He's always keeping an eye out in case of danger. He'd be damned if you ever got hurt with him around. On the flip side, if you ever showed interest in keeping him safe as well, he'd fall a little deeper in love with you.

T - Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

He does the absolute most when it comes to any of these occasions. He LOVES putting in the effort to show you how much you mean to him. It's what he lives for.

U - Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

He can be a tad close-minded and self-centered. There are times when he expects you to have all the same viewpoints and opinions as he does, not considering the fact you’re your own person with your own experiences.

V - Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Moderately? He's hygienic and tries to keep up appearances, but it's not a crazy amount. He's not too concerned about how he looks to other people, mainly just you.

W - Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Absolutely. It'd be rare for him to find a partner so if he finds that in you, he's going to be devoting his entire self to you. Every part of you will be implemented into his life in some fashion. So much so that he couldn't imagine what his life was like before, or what it'd be like if you weren't in it.

X - Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

It doesn't matter where the two of you are staying for the time being, he always has an American flag etched somewhere on the wall. He'll keep it there when you leave too, as a little keepsake that you had stayed there at one point in time. He's a sucker for marking your memories down in this way.

Y - Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

He couldn't be with someone who has trouble focusing or paying attention. He needs you to listen when describing the background of particular moments or items. It's important to him and if you got distracted every time he did so, he'd find himself incredibly annoyed.

Z - Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

There’s no set-in-stone time he falls asleep or wakes up. He sleeps when he’s tired and wakes up when he wakes up. It’s something he’s kept with him from when he used to live with his tribe.