#often despite repeated assurance I'm not

[lyraeon]

I wish I knew who or what or when caused setting even obvious boundaries or expressing even slight disapproval to feel like cruelty to others any time I attempt to do so.

[whumpsday]

Kane & Jim #56: Else

Chronological masterlist / Writing order masterlist

content: recovery and lots of it, angst, sickfic, accidental emotional whump, fear of starvation, vampire whumpee, whumper turned whumpee (turned caretaker), reunions

Whumpmas in July Day 18: "Or else"

i'm sorry for being so slow with k&j chapters! i'm going to try to be quicker with them in the future. here's one people have been waiting for for a very long time!

-

“You’re sick.”

Jim blinked, taken aback. “What?”

“You’re sick,” Kane repeated, taking another sip from the bowl. One of his last bowls before he was to start finding his own elsewhere. “I can taste it.”

“What? What kind of sick? Is it serious?” Jim asked with increasing urgency. Kane could see it in his eyes: he knew fear, and he hated to see it in Jim.

He wanted more than anything to reassure him, but he couldn’t lie. “I-I don’t know?” he admitted. “I don’t know much of human illnesses. You seem… fine?”

“Shit. Shit shit shit.” Jim grabbed his coat. “I’ll be back soon. I gotta… go to the doctor, or something. Door,” he warned.

“I’m sorry. I’m sure you’ll be okay! You can’t even feel it! You’re a healthy young man!” Kane assured him, ducking into the kitchen.

“Thanks for warning me!” Jim’s voice was laden with nerves. A flash of sunlight made Kane shiver, and he only returned to the living room when it was gone.

Kane knew what this meant: Jim would likely not finish out the week. This was his last meal given. He would have to go to vampire territory tonight, or else he would have nothing to eat come tomorrow. He had to find blood tonight, or else he’d starve. He’d go back to that horrible, empty state, always wanting, always in pain.

He knew Jim wouldn’t really let that happen, but it wasn’t fair to rely on him for blood forever, either. Kane had taken enough, with and without permission. It was Jim’s turn to rest.

Still, the fear of hunger never left him. It was a part of him now, permanently, no matter how much he fed.

And this meant one thing. The thing he’d been putting off and dreading since Jim set him free.

He would have to go to vampire territory and talk to his parents. He knew already that it would not go over well. Father would be either furious or crushingly disappointed that he’d allowed himself to be humiliated by humans, and he wasn’t sure which was worse. Mother would undoubtedly be the latter. He wondered, not for the first time, if they preferred him ‘dead’.

It shouldn’t matter. He knew now that they weren’t… good people. He could see that. He had a new family of sorts, now that Jim had taken him in.

But Jim wasn’t his legal next of kin, and Jim wasn’t the one he had to ask if he wanted his money returned so he could buy blood.

He could always get a job. But it seemed ridiculous to do when he had money sitting right there, and he would likely be found by his parents at some point anyway. There was no avoiding it forever.

Kane drank the bowl down quickly.

-

It was a flu, apparently. Nothing life-threatening, but it set Jim’s anxieties alight. His parents had died of illness, he explained.

While Kane had managed to catch it early, Jim started to devolve within a few hours of arriving home.

Kane knocked on his bedroom door. “Jim? Can I come in?”

“Ugh. Yeah,” he agreed.

Carefully balancing the tray, he entered. He found Jim curled up in bed, looking miserable.

“I’ve brought you lunch.” He’d been practicing his human food skills. He was still quite afraid of the stove, so though he used it when feeling especially brave, he mainly stuck to things that didn’t require cooking. He’d written down several combinations of foods that humans found appetizing, which could often be served in between slices of bread as a ‘sandwich’.

But he needed a tray instead of a plate, because despite his strength, he simply didn’t have enough hands to carry the six cups of water circled around it.

“Lotta water,” Jim noted weakly, grabbing a glass and taking a sip when Kane brought it close. His hand shook, the liquid threatening to spill. Kane watched it close, ready to steady it in a heartbeat if Jim needed him to.

He spoke gently, like he was worried speaking too loud would break Jim in his fragile state. “...Like I’d mentioned, I don’t know much about human illness. Most of what I know comes from you. I just remember… you wanted a lot of water, last time.”

He thought about that time a lot. How he was so close to losing Jim, because he was too proud to listen.

“Ah. Yeah.” Jim wouldn’t look him in the eye. “I remember.”

Kane set the tray down. “I should have taken better care of you,” he whispered. “I’m sorry. I mean–I shouldn’t have had you in the first place, but I did, and you were my responsibility, and I didn’t care for you like I should have.” A hint of tears in his eyes, he took Jim’s unusually-sweaty hand. “I’ll do better this time. Anything you need, I’ll be there.”

That earned a small smile from Jim. “Guess it isn’t so bad being waited on. ‘Specially because you can’t get sick, right?” The smile faded. “…Right?”

“I can’t,” Kane assured him. “You don’t need to worry. Just rest, and I’ll take care of anything you need.”

Jim huffed an almost-laugh. “You really changed, man.”

-

Liz did come over to visit come nightfall, which was good, since despite his promises, Kane had to leave. He didn’t like the thought of leaving Jim alone at night. He knew it made him scared, and Jim deserved to never feel afraid ever again. She brought a container of soup, a yellow liquid with colorful plants and large white orbs floating in it.

He waited, patient, until Liz emerged from Jim’s room. “Liz?”

“Hey. Thanks for looking after him,” Liz said.

“Of course!” The praise spread warmly through him. “There’s, um, something I wanted to talk to you about, if you have the time? Advice, I suppose.”

“Shoot,” she encouraged, flopping over on the couch.

Kane took a deep breath. “So, um, I assume now is a good time to start getting my own blood.”

“Yyyyeah.” Liz shot a glance to the stairs leading to Jim’s room. “I’d say that’s about right.”

“Blood… isn’t free. I have the money–had the money, but I’ve likely been assumed dead for many years. I’ll need to go to my parents to get it back,” he explained. “My parents are not kind people, I’ve come to realize.”

Liz raised an eyebrow, but politely refrained from making any comments about his former obliviousness. “You think they won’t give it back? Isn’t there, like, laws? This can’t be the first time this has happened with vampires, you guys are too good at not dying.”

“No! No, that’s not it, they’d give it back. It’s just, um, they’ll be… quite upset with me, I think. Especially my father.” He sighed. “I didn’t want to talk about it with Jim. I was worried he would feel pressured into giving me more blood than he’s comfortable with. I don’t know. It shouldn’t be as big a deal as it is. I’ve been through so much worse, I don’t understand why this is so terrifying. I suppose I’ve just never failed this badly before.”

“Hey, you made it out of five years with those monsters, alive. Bet there’s not a lot of vampires who could say that,” Liz pointed out.

“Ah, that’s just… not how Father would see it,” Kane said vaguely. Humans were supposed to be the weak ones. The fact that it took him five years to be freed, and he couldn’t even do it himself, would make him an utter embarrassment in their eyes.

And it was all because he couldn’t use persuasion. Everything they’d always believed about him, proven true.

Liz pursed her lips, lost in thought for a moment. “I don’t remember my parents that well,” she admitted. “I know yours suck pretty bad. I don’t think you have to admit more than you need to, right? Like, do they even need to know where you’ve really been? You could just make something up, for the sake of keeping the peace.”

“Make something up…” Kane murmured. He shook his head. “I’m not a very good liar. They’d see right through me. It’s fine, actually, the more I talk about it, the more I realize I’m being a bit ridiculous.” He forced a laugh. “It’s one uncomfortable conversation and then I can come back home.”

“You’ve got this.” Liz patted him lightly on the back, a modification from her usual clap she’d learned tended to scare him. “You’re tough.”

Kane certainly didn’t feel ‘tough’.

“Thank you. It was nice to at least… get it out of my system. Oh, and congratulations. Jim told me about you and Laken.”

Liz smiled. “After what happened, I just knew I had to say something, you know? If they could just be taken from me at any moment. Stuff happens. People die. I didn’t want something to happen to one of us before I could tell them how I feel.”

She stood. “I can give you one more night’s worth, maybe two. If you need some time to think about it and all.”

Kane startled. He and Liz had grown far more amicable over the past months, but he hadn’t expected this from her.

Maybe he should have. It wasn’t the first time. He thought of Jim, on that first night, vehemently denying Liz’s offer to provide blood, vowing to do it himself.

“...Thank you. That means so, so much to me. It’s alright, though. I’ll go tonight,” he decided.

“Good luck. We’ll be here when you get back,” she promised.

And that was all he really needed, in the end.

Kane got up, heading to the door with a quick glance back to make sure it was alright. For the freedom he’d earned, he hadn’t gone more than ten feet from the house since he’d returned with Laken. But of course, Liz made no move to stop him. “I’ll see you soon.”

-

The night was as beautiful as ever, even in the cool autumn air. He liked it better this way, in fact. It made it more comfortable to wear more clothing, the long pants and long sleeves and jacket he liked, especially when he ran. When he went this fast, he hardly felt the cold, and his mind was occupied elsewhere.

What if his parents made demands of him in exchange for their help? What if they expected him to return to vampire territory, to isolate himself out of the way in a socially-acceptable manner? Now that he’d tasted true companionship, he almost couldn’t bear to give it up. And what about Jim? Ever since Laken’s abduction, he’d been more scared at night. The very least Kane owed him was his protection.

His petty worries disappeared the instant he realized he could hear a vehicle coming closer.

Kane ran faster, opposite the sound. He’d likely been pushing fifty miles an hour before, and could make sixty if he tried–but he was out of practice, and the vehicle was faster.

A glance behind him showed moonlight glinting off a silver crossbow.

“I have permission!” he wailed as the off-roader gained, heart threatening to burst from his chest. This couldn’t happen, not again, no. Jim and Liz wouldn’t even think to look for him until a day had passed, a day that could easily be spent baking in the hot sun. “Liz Lieberman granted me permission to cross! Please, I didn’t do anything! Mercy!”

“Kane?” an unfamiliar voice called. The vehicle caught up to him, but there was no attack. “Oh shit, it’s you!” the driver said. “It’s so dark, I almost didn’t recognize you from the picture Laken showed us. Thanks for bringing ‘em back.”

Kane slowed, just a bit. “What?” he squeaked, tears streaming down his face.

The hunter in the passenger seat elbowed his partner, making quick movements with his hands that Kane could not understand. A signed language of some sort, he assumed. Though he didn’t know much about such things, other than that spoken orders under persuasion often didn’t work on humans who utilized it.

“Uh, my partner wants to know if you’re good? Like, you’re alright?” The driver asked. “Did we scare you? Sorry. Just, uh, you know, gotta be quick with the other guys. One second wasted and you miss ‘em, and that’s someone’s whole life, y’know.”

“Oh. Um, yes, you’d–you’d frightened me. I’m sorry.” Kane wasn’t quite sure what he was apologizing for. “Am I… free to go, sirs?”

“Yeah! Yeah, you can go… sir? Shoot, don’t let us keep you,” the hunter assured.

The one in the passenger seat made more hand-signs, waving him goodbye after. “Nice to meet you!” the other translated, finally driving away.

Kane picked up speed again and didn’t stop until he was sure he’d left the border far behind. He collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

He was so close to going back to the pain. If they hadn’t recognized him, he would have been skewered with silver–likely soon killed, not tortured, given they were from Liz’s guild, but still, he would have died in pain. No matter how hard he breathed, he felt like he couldn’t get enough air, and he wasn’t sure if it was that he’d been sprinting for too long or the sheer horror.

He wanted Jim. He wanted Jim to hold him and tell him everything was alright, that he was safe, that no one was going to hurt him. But Jim was miles and miles away, and could not help him here.

And he couldn’t cry on the ground forever. He was burning moonlight, and he needed blood.

Kane forced himself to his feet and wrapped his arms around him. If he squeezed his eyes tight, he could pretend he wasn’t alone, for just a moment.

After a minute like that, he started running once more.

-

By the time Kane reached his parents’ estate, he’d mostly calmed down. It was hard to feel as though hunters would ambush him out of nowhere when he went deep enough into vampire territory to see buildings and people. Any hunter here would be apprehended in seconds.

He touched the gate, brass-coated, though he knew there was silver underneath. There seemed to be some sort of electronic device attached to it, a new addition since his last visit, but he wasn’t sure how to use it. He could climb it, or simply shout, and one of the staff would likely hear him. If he wanted to be extra polite, which he did, he could simply stand here until someone came or went and ask to be let in.

And then that would be it. Kane would be standing face-to-face with his parents. He would accept Father’s ire without complaint. He’d had worse, he reminded himself, even when it came to the comparable. The hunters had spit on him while calling him worthless, ground his face into the floor while forcing him to decry himself as beneath them. It had been so much worse.

His hand shook against the gate.

You’ve really changed, man.

Had he? If he was still back here, ready to take whatever judgments his parents threw at him, debase himself and eagerly beg for their forgiveness, had he really changed? There were humans in there. Captive, hurt humans who he could never in a thousand years be able to free if he tried, locked away in their quarters. What happened to all his regrets? His vows that he would never associate with anything of the sort again?

What would he have done differently here before, if he’d realized back then everything he knew now?

Kane left.

-

It took him a bit to find it, he hadn’t been to this town before, but it wasn’t far, and he knew the address.

There was a different kind of dread this time. If he was rejected here, it might be even worse than his parents. But as he rang the doorbell, he knew this was what he had to do.

The man who answered looked almost exactly the same as the last time he’d seen him, thirteen years ago. The same dark skin, perfect hair, typically garishly-colorful shirt.

Bellamy’s eyes went impossibly wide, as though he’d seen a ghost.

“Kane?”

taglist in reblogs, chapter 57 coming july 30th :)

edit: sorry i was wrong about july 30th. it's coming thoooo i promise

@whumpmasinjuly

[ticklystuff]

Feather Weather

a/n: i had a silly little idea last year and decided to run with it

wc: ~1.8k

summary: ayato knits a sweater for thoma out of the goodness of his heart

---

"Go on, open it."

Thoma held the box in his hand, looking warily between the unopened parcel and his lord standing in front of him. Gifts from Ayato were always the.. special kind that often resulted in humiliation of some form, usually nothing more than the playful sort, yet were common enough to condition Thoma that keeping his guard up around this particular Kamisato was more than necessary. The seemingly innocent smile that Ayato wore well was no longer enough to fool Thoma at this point.

"What's wrong?" His expression morphed into one of genuine curiosity, yet Thoma knew better, his ears tuned to pick out the traces of mischief often laced into Ayato's voice. 

Surprisingly, his voice was clean.

"You know exactly why!" He said after moments of hesitation, prompting an amused chuckle from his lord.

"I'm curious as to what you think could possibly be inside the box," Ayato mused with a delighted glint in his eyes, clearly reveling in the apprehension.

"Anything!" Thoma huffed with a pout. "You manage to turn anything into a prank!"

"You flatter me."

"M'lord, please," came the usual sigh of dismay, contrasting the comical giggles that escaped Ayato's mouth. "I'm not going on anymore boba runs for you if this is something bad."

"Alright, alright," Ayato shook his head, heeding the warning, "I assure you that there's nothing wrong with the gift."

Thoma raised an eyebrow, reading Ayato's voice for the inevitable lie. "You promise?"

"I promise." Ayato proceeded to place a palm to his own heart, ending the gesture with a firm nod. "It was made with love, of course."

"Or demonic ambition."

"And love," Ayato tacked on, flashing a wink that Thoma could only respond with an eye roll.

Despite his suspicions, the package itself lacked hints of ulterior motives. The blue ribbons with silver trimmings were held together over the beige gift box in the form of an awkward bow, handiwork that could belong to none other than Ayato himself. Arts and crafts were not exactly his forte, indicating that Ayato had a direct hand with the package, which only served to further keep Thoma on edge.

Glancing at the parcel with hesitation, Thoma lifted the box and gave it a gentle shake, straining his ears as he repeated the motion twice more. Whatever was inside didn't create much force from the inside, barely tapping against the inner walls of the box. Clothes, maybe? 

His fingers pinched at the ends of the ribbons, tugging gently to let the thin piece of cloth fall away, revealing the white cardboard box underneath. Slowly, his fingers pushed at the top and Thoma braced himself for what might just jump out at him, but was pleasantly surprised at what looked to be a sweater. He lifted the sweater from the box, eyes gleaning over the warm orange threads as his fingers dug into the soft material. "Where'd you get this?" was all Thoma could murmur, taking in the sweater in awe.

"I made it myself, of course," Ayato said with pride. "Only crafted with the finest material during my trip to Fontaine. I ran into Chiori along the way and she guided me during the process."

"It looks amazing, m'lord!" Thoma gushed, eyes going over the sweater repeatedly. "Thank you, thank you so much! I-I'm going to wear it now, if that's alright!"

"It's yours, so do with it as you please," Ayato chuckled. "It's the perfect time for sweater weather, after all."

---

The sweater was everything.

It perfectly fit his body without being too snug, allowing for plenty of wiggle room, it was of notably high quality with how the fabric felt delightful against his skin, it even smelled faintly of vanilla, but most importantly, it was warm. And what paired better with a snuggly sweater on a snowy day?

Candles.

Thoma hummed to himself as he sorted through the variety of candles he kept neatly arranged, eyes scanning the shelf for the perfect scent to match his mood. Cinnamon was a classic choice, or he could go with one of the newer ones Ayaka had brought home from Fontaine-

"Ack!"

The sudden feeling of arms wrapped around his waist interrupted his candle perusing, but his nerves were put at ease with the familiar sensation of another's cheek gently nuzzling the crook of his neck. All these years working under the Kamisatos, yet Ayato always managed to sneak around, flying under his nose.

"Enjoying the sweater, love?" Ayato's voice softly brushed against the skin of his neck, sending tingles down his spine.

Thoma could only reply with a simple "mhm" as he relaxed into Ayato's hold, sighing whenever Ayato nuzzled into his neck. Strange to be holding such an intimate moment in the Kamisato Estate's storage closet, but Thoma would take anything he could get, what with his lord always having his hands full, not to mention being pulled away for so long during his recent trip to Fontaine. The occasional kiss to his skin and the gentle caress of Ayato's fingers under his sweater were enough to make his brain stir, causing Thoma to—

Wait a moment....

Ayato's fingers.. under his sweater??

What- How did they get there? His hands repeatedly patted at his abdomen where Ayato's hands currently rested against his thin undershirt, protected by the fluffy material of his new sweater. Surely he would've noticed Ayato's sneaky hands slipper under the hem of his sweater, yet somehow they've managed to evade his watch.

"Something the matter?" His tone was innocent, yet there was that familiar artificial tinge to his lord's sickenly sweet voice.

Something was up.

"M'lord.." Thoma's voice tremored as it dawned that he most likely played into whatever the devil himself had planned.

Yet the sickly sweet gestures persisted, now with gentle but firm grip to undoubtedly keep Thoma in place the minute he attempted an escape. "The little holes in the sweater are so convenient," Ayato explained, perfectly reading Thoma's mind. "They make it so convenient for times like these."

"Holes?! Why does the sweater have holes?! Did you not have the budget for fabric?" Thoma couldn't even begin to wrap his head around what purpose this would serve, let alone how he never noticed such a detail, or lack thereof, in the first place. This would teach him to never get too excited over what should've been a harmless gift, archon forbid. 

Ayato hummed in response, drumming his fingers against Thoma's torso that made the blond fidget. "Ah, you seem to be misunderstood," he sing-songed, his chin resting atop Thoma's shoulder. "It's an intended feature, of course. I can show you, if you'd like."

He was too afraid to ask, not that it mattered in the end.

"Wah- no! Nohoho! Whahahat are you dohohoing?!"

"Mm, is it not obvious?"

It was a rhetorical question, no doubt, yet there was a sliver of hope that Thoma himself was mistaken, only for those thoughts to be quickly dashed when Ayato's hands persisted, running up the length of Thoma's torso, each touch penetrating the thin material of his undershirt to make the blond squirm. His body twisted and squirmed in response, his own hands grasping uselessly at the other set currently messing with him, anything to escape whatever Ayato had planned.

"Isn't it excellent? A comfy sweater designed for easy access to tickle its wearer," Ayato expressed in low tone, bordering a whisper, though he made no attempt at masking the amusement in his voice.

"B-But you tihihickle mehehe all the tihihime!" Thoma managed through his snickers, squealing when one of Ayato's hands sneakily squeezed at one of his pecs.

"But this is more fun, no?"

"NOHOho!" The desperate cry was enough for Ayato to laugh alongside the giggly retainer, a contrasting mix to Thoma's own frantic laughter. He could just picture the smirk playing on his lips. "EheheheHAHA! Let gohoho! Stahahap!"

"Mmm, but I don't believe I can, even if I wanted to," Ayato remarked. "If you keep moving, my hands will be tangled up in the sweater. Best you do your best and sit still."

But he couldn't, not with how methodical the tickling was. Ayato wasn't the type to go in for the kill, as Thoma knew very well, often going through the bits and pieces in a more systemic way. A pinch to his side, tweaks to his ribs, finger drabbles along his underarms, even going so far to poke at his navel. Thoma could never get a read when he needed it the most, often distracted by Ayato's signature brand of teasing that somehow elevated the subtle pricks into something more unbearable, dissolving Thoma into helpless giggles the further his defenses broke down.

"And, y'know, why stop at sweaters?" Ayato pondered over Thoma's laughter. "Pants with slits at the hips, some modified tabis, maybe even just borrowing a crop top from the traveler."

The teases were enough to send Thoma over the edge, unable to protest once Ayato went down the list of clothing choices he could potentially threaten Thoma with. Laughter after laughter poured over, filling the small storage room with hapless shrieks as Ayato's hands made the most of the custom sweater and its unfortunate victim.

"HeheHAHA! No! Cohohome ohohon! Stahahap PLEAHAH-!"

Despite the menace Ayato often lived up to be, there was still the other side of the coin, the merciful part that knew not overburden his favorite tickle victim. Per routine, the tickling ebbed to a relaxed rhythm, still procuring giggles, while allowing Thoma more leeway to breathe, before his fingers came to steady stop, drumming along Thoma's torso once more as they awaited the blond's next action. Now, with the loosened grip, Thoma used the opportunity to quickly detach himself from Ayato before his lord could have a change of heart, allowing himself to catch his breath, ignoring the smug smirk that Ayato wore well.

"I'm fixing this sweater," Thoma finally exhaled. 

"No! You absolutely cannot!" There was a genuine tinge of disappointment behind Ayato's voice, one that didn't commonly occur. "I put a lot of effort into making this."

"Yeah, a lot of effort for evil," Thoma snapped with a tilt of his head.

"It started out with love, I assure you," Ayato explained, shifting his eyes about. "I might have gotten sidetracked during the process, but I can make you a normal one, as long as you promise to keep this one.. and maybe occasionally wear it every once in a while."

Thoma opened his mouth to respond, only for a sigh to escape his lips at the ridiculous request, yet the puppy eyes Ayato flashed him practically forced him to reconsider. "Alright, alright."

"Fantastic!" Ayato's eyes lit up at the response.

"Uh-uh, but on one condition," Thoma tacked on, earning himself a curious glance. "I get to make you an identical piece. That way we'll be matching for sweater weather."

[teastyun]

Hiii! How r uu?? I just read edges hatred and omg that was so good. I have a little idea for u 🤭🤭🤭

Okay okay so how about Abby and reader were best friends, they knew each other since salt lake (they were both fireflies) but since joining the WLF, Abby grew distant from reader and reader didn’t understand why. They ended up becoming enemies until one night reader found Abby breaking down (in tears, not dancing 😭😭) because she just broke up with Ow*n for the 3rd time so reader decides to cheer her up if u get where I’m coming from 🙏🙏🙏

༉‧₊˚ denial is a river in Egypt

sfw!

one night, you hear a big fight happening between Abby and Owen in her dorm on your way to the bathroom. will you be able to cheer her up, despite you two being sworn enemies for the last few years?

╰┈➤ masterlist

a/n: I'm fine, how are you?? thank you so much for trusting me with your idea!! I had so much fun writing it ♥

stationed in Salt Lake City, you and Abby grew up to be the best friends anyone would be jealous of. you two were the typical duo that would only be found together no matter place or time; eating meals, training or studying. anything you do, Abby would always tag along.

growing older, you and your crew joined the WLF in Seattle after a fatal attack by a madman on your people, including Abby's father dying from a shooting attack at the place he was stationed at. Abby's world was shifted by an instance and she needed any support and help she could get badly.

as her best friend, you were always there for Abby. sleepovers were already quite common for you, but after experiencing such traumatic experience, you two would always stay together at night and help each other through the rough times.

you still remember the way she would wake up drenched in sweat next to you, her breathing unsteady as you try to get her to calm down from an anxiety attack, which were sadly common for her to wake up to due to her repeating horrible nightmares of finding her father dead at a medical office. she clawed to you crying herself to sleep, as she slowly calmed down in your embrace.

Abby often has dealt with those nightmares, so she occasionally tried tried to sleep in her own half of her you two's shared bunkbed. failing miserably, those repeated stressful nights lead her to climb into your part of your bunk bed. most of the times you wouldn't notice her joining you as you were fast asleep, but you'd wake up tangled with each other, and you weren't timid of her touch. even the opposite, you loved to embrace the platonic intimacy by hugging and cuddling her in response.

like a cure, you always made her nightmares and terrors go away in an instance. she saw you as her guardian angel, but she could never tell you as she thought it was awkward admitting it to you in person.

few weeks before moving to Seattle, Abby slowly started to grow distant from you. the reason for that, as she reveals to you when you were on your weekly training sessions, is Owen, who she, at that time, recently grew romantic interest for. you weren't quite sure why, but you were deeply hurt. to not worry Abby, you assured her that you're happy for her as long as she is.

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡

few years later, your hurt feelings developed into irritation, frustration and also slowly into hatred.

although, the love and physical attraction you've already developed in Salt Lake for her never left. she became such a strong, masculine and slightly feminine woman, who is (against your will) absolutely your type. no matter what she's doing, your senses are always hyper fixated on her. god, you know those veins in her arms by heart. your physical attraction towards her growing over these last few years didn't help you at all, leading you to countless nights as you help yourself with a vibrator you found in an abandoned sex shop several months ago, hoping it was her tongue making you come.

luckily, your crew always stayed the same except for Manny, who joined you after moving from Mexico to Seattle. the only difference is that Abby and Owen are in a committed relationship for the last two years, which may or may not agitates you to a certain extend, but you are way too embarrassed to admit it. no one knows how badly you want to show her that you could be a better boyfriend than him, showing her all the things he could never do for her.

although those are only your fantasies, you're actually quite onto something. no one knows that Abby and Owen broke up several times already, simply because of disagreement or incompatibility. Abby would never tell anyone about it, since she and Owen would always come back together after a few days of separation.

the real reason she wouldn't tell anyone was that she was scared of you finding out, since she wants to appear as flawless as possible in front of you. since you two started having quite bad feelings for each other despite the strong friendship you had before, her aim is to prove that she can do well without you, and she is persistent.

she admits that it is definitely a toxic way of thinking, but she is in deep denial with herself; anytime she sees you, she feels butterflies dancing tango in her stomach. when you're around, her senses are hyperaware of anything you're doing. she always listens to what you're saying, even if she's not part of the conversation.

you grew from her cure to her curse, and you are the only one able to lift it.

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡

her roommate Manny and you are really close friends, so you'd see Abby at least once a week in her dorm when you and Manny play video games on their tv, but she would always find an excuse to leave the dorm.

for Abby, she feels like she can't breathe when you're around. it's much worse to her than actual spores; it feels as if you'd draw her in, but at the same time a way barricades the space between you two, keeping you separate from each other. after so many years of actively trying to avoid you, she feels like she's suffocating, especially when you're looking so pretty in your everyday clothing.

the smart guy Manny is, he notices Abby's sudden changes around you, but he would only silently observe. seeing how tense Abby can get, he doesn't want to put any more pressure on her. he thinks you two will be able to figure it out sooner or later.

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡

one night, you were on your way to clean yourself up after a hard day of work. you walk past Abby and Manny's dorm and you notice angry sounding voices, making you stop in your tracks to listen.

"you think I wouldn't notice? Abby, what the actual fuck!" you hear Owen say, as his voice rises with each word by the end of his sentence and you wince at his harsh tone.

you have no idea what their fight is about, but you had no time to think any further, since Owen bursts out of the room and slams the door shut behind him and runs off the hallway.

unsure whether you should intervene or not, you end up knocking on the door.

"Owen, there's no point in-" you hear Abby say in a broken tone as she opens the door several moments after. she stops when she realises it's you who's knocked on her door with worry written all over your face. although she sniffles, she tries to hide her emotionally wrecked state and tries to pretend nothing happened by taking a second to maintain herself.

"Manny isn't here yet," she starts, but she stops to take a deep breath to keep her facade up. "I know, that's not why I'm here," you speak quietly, trying to not stir anything in her. "may I come in?"

Abby hesitates and takes a deep breath, but opens the door eventually for you to step inside the room. she walks further into the room.

you can tell how exhausted she is not only physically, but mentally as well. she has her usual khaki cargos combined with a light tank on, showing her beautiful curves and strong build underneath. the black bra's straps beneath it peak around her shoulders, and god, she looked so fine despite the broken state she's in. her hair was in a French braid, but several streaks were loosely framing her face, telling you that she had a hard day of work as well.

she silently leans on the railing that separates Manny's part of the room from hers, as she looks through the window on the nightlife decorating the stadium. her gaze was focused on the sight, obviously avoiding any eye contact with you.

trying not to pressure her, you mirror her movements and carefully ask "what are you feeling?" hoping to not agitate her by your question.

you see a shift in her movement after a few moments, as she answers in a whisper "I don't know." she sounds confused, but your question seems to calm her down. you try to think of a logic answer, but she continues "well, no, I feel angry and frustrated,"

surprised by her honest answer, you turn around to face her. she still looks ahead at the stadium, clearly in thoughts. her eyes are reddened and her light eyelashes dark due the tears, which streaks you make out on her cheeks. the sorrow sight of her makes your heart ache, but you still remember the situation you both are in nonetheless, so you silently wait for her to continue.

"you know what he did?" she starts, finally looking at you. in response, you slightly shake your head.

she blinks several times before turning away from you again, "he cheated on me. several times, probably even more than I know of. with Mel," she tells you and takes a small break in between her shortened sentences.

shocked by what you just heard, you aren't sure how to react appropriately.

"I- we broke up, but not for the first time," she continues, not daring to look you into your eyes again.

"why... would you ever go back to him after what he did to you?" you ask clearly confused.

she sighs and drops her head. "there's no fucking way you'd ever understand," she tells you as her tone rises, and removes herself from holding onto the railing. at first, you thought she's about to leave the room, but instead she paces around the room, clearly trying to think of how to deal with the situation

her sudden change of attitude provokes something inside of you, so you say "why wouldn't I understand, Abby?" as you watch her still pace the room. she stops mid-tracks as she hears your tone.

"what does that have to do with me?" you sound equally frustrated as your tone rises, not caring anymore whether your reaction catalyses something in her.

Abby unsteady breath reveals her frustration even further. she seems to think of something, before she walks straight towards you. seeing her so angry creates goosebumps on your skin, but you try not to show your nervousness by gaining a steady hold onto the railing behind you.

stopping right in front of you, she looks down into your eyes. "you- you have no fucking idea what those years did to me," she tells you, caging you in by holding into the railing behind you. her eyes would glance between your eyes and lips, hoping for you not to see it.

"I- fuck," she curses in denial.

"Abby," your chest rises with each deep breath you take to calm yourself.

she blinks several times and breaks the eye contact again. her emotional state makes her bite on her own lip. her eyes are glassy, revealing how frustrated she is with the situation.

carefully, your hands rose to grab her chin softly to motion her back to you, "tell me, Abby, please" you beg in a whisper, your hands now resting on her warm cheeks. it feels so natural and strange at the same time to touch her so intimately. she looks at you so hurt and grieving, but lovingly at the same time, like you were always hers.

Abby feels your breath on her lips, just now realising how close you two are. her heart is racing, her mind spiralling, her eyes focusing on only your eyes. so many times she thought of kissing you, even after your two's friendship went downhill. she feels like she's slowly loosing control over herself.

now, your smell captivates her mind and she feels herself becoming dizzy in your presence.

she wants to touch you so badly. hug you, kiss you, make you feel good, all at the same time. she looks into your eyes, trying to read whatever is written in them. they are glassy from your emotions and she couldn't help but get lost in their mesmerising colour.

"I..." she starts, "I can't tell you,"

her answer frustrates you, leading you to sigh and shake your head frustrated, as your eyes get even more teary than before.

"here I am, thinking I finally get to talk to you. fuck, Abby, I really thought we could finally solve this," you say with a breaking voice, tears running down your face. you are about to push her away from you, but her hands go up to hold your wrists to stop you.

"isn't it obvious?" her voice sounds shaky, but she continues, "it's been you the whole fucking time. I always went back to him so I could forget you. to forget the desire of you, your touch, everything of you. fuck-" she stops her rambling, trying to focus back on what she actually wanted to say, "you have no idea how often I think of you. I'm in fucking denial of loving you and I don't even really know why,"

surprised by her confession, you stare at her. your wrists are still in her hold. like in a trance, Abby starts rambling again, "I- god, I can't even form coherent thoughts-"

"Abby, can you shut up for one second?" you interrupt her with a growing smile on your lips, slightly amused by her chaotic rambling.

she looks at you with her big grey eyes and slightly parted lips, just now realising your wrists in her hold. she releases them and your hands immediately go back to rest on her cheeks.

"-can I kiss you?" you ask in a whisper, and Abby doesn't think twice of an answer. she finally connects her lips with yours in a desperate and longing kiss, as if your touch was the only think she ever craved for her whole life. your hands wander from her cheeks to her neck, as wrap your arms around her tightly.

moaning into the heated kiss, she wraps her arms tightly around your waist, wanting to feel every single inch of you against herself. you bite her lips, when you feel her knee pressing between your legs, which create friction against the zip line in your trousers.

"fuck-" you mumble into the kiss, "I missed you so much" you continue as you grab her hair, longing for even more.

Abby grins in response, and squeezes your ass. "me too, baby," she kisses your neck, "me too," she draws you into a tight hug, while she leaves several pecks on your neck.

her love and affection after so many restless years make you smile so big, but a sudden thought interrupted your two's moment. you softly pushed her away to look at her face, as you say "did you just tell me you love me?" with a challenging tone, but still smiling big.

"do I really have to say it again?" she murmurs embarrassed. you softly cup her face in your hands, "I love you too, Abs."

at that, she takes you in for another kiss, but the door suddenly opened.

the door frame revealed Manny, who is still oblivious to what's going on, "Abs, I brought you dinner from the canteen-" he starts, but immediately turns around as he sees you two's position, "doesn't matter, see you later!" he interrupts himself and turns around to close the door behind him as he leaves.

you and Abby got back as a strong and healthy couple, catching up on all the things you couldn't do the last few years ♥

[natashasbanner]

giving my heart over to you

Summary: Agatha wants to run away, but Rio has been holding back a truth that might change her mind. Or, Rio reveals her Death form to Agatha for the first time. A/N: This is a follow up to my other fic, "when i'm with you (it's like nothing else)", but can be read as a stand alone. I planted the idea that Agatha didn't know that Rio was Death right away and this story was born. Anyway, please enjoy :) Title from "Heavenly Kind of State of Mind" by Lewis Capaldi

Also on AO3

X

“Where do you go?”

Rio turned her head to look up at Agatha, using her hand to shield her eyes from the midday sun to see her better. When her eyes adjusted she noticed Agatha’s furrowed brow and the way her lips were pressed into a thin line. Rio had found her alone in the meadow, as she so often did, sitting on her blanket with her knees pulled to her chest. She’d greeted Rio with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, but accepted the kiss Rio offered nonetheless.

Rio wanted to ask what had put her in such a sour mood, but knew that any attempt to nudge Agatha into talking about what was bothering her, no matter how gently, would only be met with snappish remarks and empty assurances that she was fine. Agatha had a tendency to retreat into herself and brood. So, Rio left her to her thoughts, instead laying at her side and watching the clouds float by across the bright blue sky, content to wait out her silence.

“Hmm?” Rio hummed in question.

“Where do you go?” Agatha repeated. “When you’re not here?”

Rio opened her mouth, but immediately snapped it shut again. She had no answer for her that wasn’t the full truth of who she was and Rio wasn’t sure that was something she was ready for Agatha to know.

“My home,” she answered evasively, knowing full well that the likelihood of Agatha accepting it was nonexistent.

Agatha frowned and shook her head. “You’re lying.”

Rio sighed and slowly pushed herself to sit upright. She was stalling, searching for an answer to satisfy Agatha’s curiosity, but coming up short.

“Why?” Rio asked instead.

Agatha dropped her gaze, drawing her knees closer to her chest as her arms tightened around them. Rio watched as she swallowed and cleared her throat, clearly fighting with her instinct to close herself off. Rio reached out a tentative hand and placed it on Agatha’s arm. When she didn’t pull away, Rio gave her a gentle, encouraging squeeze.

“I want to go with you,” Agatha muttered after a long stretch of silence.

Rio closed her eyes and slowly withdrew her hand. “Agatha,” she whispered, shaking her head.

Every fiber of her being longed to give in to Agatha’s soft request. Against the whole of Rio’s sprawling existence, the time she’d known Agatha was but a second. Despite that, and to Rio’s utter surprise, Agatha had managed to wind her way into her heart and take root there. The thought of having Agatha by her side until the end of time was almost too tempting to resist. But Agatha had no idea what she was asking and Rio wasn’t sure if she’d still want that if she knew the whole truth.

They’d known each other close to two years and Agatha hadn’t pried too much into Rio’s life outside of the bubble they created every time they met. She’d wanted to, Rio could sense as much every time she let the slightest piece of information slip, but never pressed her for more. But she always got this look on her face and Rio could practically see the wheels turning in her head, trying to put together a puzzle she didn’t yet have all the pieces to. Countless times, Rio wanted to tell her everything, bare her entire soul to the woman she loved with her whole heart, but she held her tongue for fear of Agatha turning her back on her. Because what mortal would willingly embrace Death?

“Why not?” Agatha asked, her voice taking on a desperate edge.

Rio sighed and met Agatha’s eyes again, the tears she saw glistening there making her heart break a little.

“It’s not that simple,” Rio started, but Agatha’s scoff cut her off.

“Then explain it to me,” she said through clenched teeth, the muscles in her jaw jumping from the tension.

“I can try,” Rio conceded, her heart beating furiously in her chest. “But I can’t promise you’ll feel the same once you know the truth.”

Agatha let her arms fall from around her knees and turned to face Rio more fully, giving her her full attention. Rio swallowed around the lump that formed in her throat, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. While she knew that the truth would have to come out eventually, she’d never given much thought to how she’d go about explaining her role in the natural order.

“You’re afraid,” Agatha said softly when Rio remained silent for too long.

It wasn’t a question and Rio wondered when she’d let herself become so easy to read before coming to the realization that Agatha had single handedly chipped away at the thick walls around herself. Even still, letting the last one fall was proving much more difficult, the only one she was still clinging to.

“I am,” Rio admitted honestly, but afraid didn’t fully encompass how terrified she felt.

The thought alone was laughable. Fear was such a human emotion and the idea of being rejected by Agatha was enough to inspire the feeling in Death herself. She was so far gone for this woman, more than she’d ever imagined possible.

“Is it so horrible?” Agatha questioned, bringing her hand up to cup Rio’s cheek, her thumb gently stroking back and forth in the way that never failed to make Rio melt. “This truth you’ve been hiding from me?”

Rio leaned into her touch and took a deep breath.

“No,” she said with a small shake of her head. “But not everyone sees it the way that I do.”

Because it wasn’t shame that was keeping her from revealing herself fully to Agatha, but her own reluctance to lose her. Death was just a part of the natural cycle of life, yet those who were acutely aware of their mortality had warped her image into something to be feared.

“And you’re afraid I’ll see you as they do?” Agatha deduced, understanding reflected in her blue eyes.

Rio nodded, the corner of her mouth lifted in a small smile. “I don’t think I could bear it.”

Agatha smiled, her thumb still lightly stroking Rio’s cheek. She leaned in and Rio met her half way, accepting the short kiss she brushed against her lips.

“I think you’ll find I can be more understanding than most,” she whispered against Rio’s lips.

The truth of Agatha’s words washed over Rio and her last wall crumbled. If anyone was going to understand or at the very least try, it was going to be Agatha. Her own mother feared the power she wielded as if she’d had a choice in what magic she was born with. Her own coven shunned her from the craft because they were afraid of what she might do with that power. Agatha was intimately familiar with being seen as a monster.

“I hope so,” Rio said, leaning in to steal another chaste kiss.

“Will you tell me now?”

Rio reached up and took Agatha’s hand in hers, pulling it from her cheek and placing a kiss on her palm. Agatha turned her hand over to thread her fingers through Rio’s and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

Rio nodded and offered a small smile. “I can show you.”

Agatha’s brow furrowed, but remained silent as Rio took a steadying breath. She closed her eyes, despite her new found confidence that Agatha wouldn’t immediately turn tail and run for the hills. She called forth her magic and slowly retracted the illusion of the form she’d chosen to walk among mortals. She heard Agatha’s soft gasp as her skeletal features were revealed, but Agatha’s grip on her hand remained firm. Despite that reassurance, Rio kept her eyes closed even after the thrum of her magic retreated. She felt Agatha’s pulse race beneath her fingertips and held her breath as she waited for her to say something, anything.

“Please look at me,” she finally begged after several long beats of silence hung between them.

Slowly, Rio blinked her eyes open and was immediately met with Agatha’s piercing eyes staring into her very core. As promised, she found understanding in her gaze as the pieces began to fall into place.

“Green magic?” Agatha questioned with a tilt of her head. “Growth and decay.”

Rio nodded. “The cycle of all living things.”

Agatha’s eyes widened at the sound of Rio’s voice unmasked before she let out a soft chuckle.

“The original Green Witch,” she said, shaking her head. “Death personified.”

“The one and only,” Rio agreed with a light chuckle of her own. She felt all the tension seep from her body in that moment as she watched Agatha’s eyes take in every inch of her form.

“You’re not nearly as terrifying as the stories make you seem,” she said thoughtfully, her eyes meeting Rio’s again.

“No?” Rio asked, her skeletal jaw unable to express the smirk in her voice.

Agatha shook her head and bit down on her bottom lip.

“You spent an entire afternoon conjuring up any flower I could name,” she said with another soft giggle. “It really diminishes the image of Death as a being to be feared.”

Tears welled in Rio’s eyes and her heart swelled with love for this beautiful woman she was lucky enough to get to call hers.

“Only for you.”

Agatha’s smile widened and she lifted the hand that wasn’t holding Rio’s, letting it hover in the space between them.

“May I?”

Rio nodded and sat completely still as Agatha’s fingertips brushed along the bone of her jaw. She watched Agatha’s face as she ran her fingers over her cheek bones before moving lower over her throat before she stopped at her breast bone and pressed her palm there. Her eyes met Rio’s once again, soft and so full of love that it stole the breath from her lungs.

“This doesn’t change anything,” she said with enough conviction in her voice to chase away any lingering doubt Rio might have had.

“You amaze me.” The words tumbled out of Rio’s mouth before she could think better of such a bold admission, but Agatha only continued to beam beside her.

Agatha’s eyes fell to where her lips should have been and for a brief moment disappointment colored her features. In a blink Rio shifted back into the form Agatha had become so familiar with.

“That might take some getting used to,” Agatha admitted.

“You can have all the time you need,” Rio promised her. “As long as you’re with me.”

Agatha’s eyes dropped to where her hand was still pressed against Rio’s chest.

“I still wish I could go with you,” she whispered, the smile on her lips faltering slightly.

Rio covered Agatha’s hand on her chest, tilting her head to try and catch her eye. “Me too.”

“I can’t stay here.”

Rio knew how much Agatha loathed her mother and her coven, but there was a small part of her that held out hope that they would one day embrace her as one of their own. That’s why she stayed, even if she’d never admit it out loud. Rio had imagined whisking Agatha away from it all to an imagined cottage in the woods where they could be happy together, but it was a selfish dream. Agatha hadn’t expressed any real desire to escape the only home she’d ever known until today.

“I don’t have a place for us yet,” Rio started tentatively, “but if I did, you’d leave this place behind?”

“Without a second thought,” Agatha answered with no hesitation, her hand squeezing Rio’s tightly as new hope shined in her eyes. “I just want to be with you.”

“It could be lonely,” Rio warned.

She needed to know that Agatha fully understood what she was agreeing to. Rio was bound to the constant flow of nature and that meant that she couldn’t always be there with Agatha.

“No more than it is now,” Agatha countered, moving her hand from Rio’s chest to caress her cheek again.

Rio smiled, her heart hammering against her ribs. “Okay, when I return, we’ll go together.”

Agatha surged forward, capturing Rio’s lips in a kiss that left her breathless. When she pulled away, she pressed her forehead against Rio’s and closed her eyes.

“I love you,” she breathed out.

Rio was momentarily speechless. It was the first time either of them had dared to utter those three words out loud. Rio knew that’s what she’d been feeling for a while now, but she’d been afraid it was too soon. It shouldn’t have surprised her that Agatha was the one to say it first, after all she’d been the one to initiate their first kiss.

“I love you, too,” she said and punctuated her promise with another short kiss.

“When will you return?” Agatha asked, leaning back with her hands still on Rio’s cheeks.

Rio smiled and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Nightfall?”

Agatha’s eyes widened at the suggestion, but Rio could almost feel her excitement rolling off of her in waves.

“So soon?” she asked.

“As long as you’re sure?”

Agatha nodded, dislodging the hair that Rio had just tucked out of her face. “I’m sure,” she said, her voice never wavering, her eyes locked on Rio’s.

Rio couldn’t help but chuckle as she moved her hands to caress Agatha’s wrists.

“Alright,” she said. “I have to go, but I will be back here for you just as soon as the sun sets.”

“And I will be waiting,” Agatha promised.

Rio smiled and squeezed Agatha’s wrists once more before she let her hands fall away reluctantly. Agatha dropped her hands with one last stroke of her thumb against Rio’s cheek. With a sigh, she gathered up the cloak she’d shed when she arrived. When she she stood and slung the cloak around her shoulders, Agatha’s hand caught her wrist and pulled her back down. Rio raised an eyebrow in question and Agatha only smiled up at her.

“One more kiss,” she said, already leaning in.

“Anything for you, my love.”

Rio bent and pressed a kiss to Agatha’s forehead and another one on her lips.

“I like the sound of that,” Agatha said as Rio straightened back up.

Rio winked as Agatha’s hand slipped from her wrist.

“I will see you tonight,” she promised.

Agatha grinned up at her, her entire demeanor a stark contrast to how Rio had found her. It filled her with an excitement for what the future held for her and Agatha like she’d never felt before. Rio was aware that their time together would come to an end eventually, but she was looking forward to all of the time that they had in the meantime. Rio had tried for centuries to understand why so many clung to their mortality without even an inkling as to what came next in the cycle of life. But being with Agatha, the love and happiness that suffused her simply from being in Agatha’s presence, maybe Death was beginning to understand what it meant to live.

[atticsandwich]

move fast, keep quiet

pairing: raphael / gn!mc [obey me!]

sfw - this is just pure fluff lol

hallway brushes that turns into casual conversations, that turns into walking to your next class together, that turns into whispered nothings, that turns into something more

[set in the OG timeline, pre-NB]

-

"Good morning."

His tone is casual, monotonous. You look up from your D.D.D to see the angel in front of you, arm raised halfway in a greeting.

"Raphael! Good morning," you respond in kind with a smile.

You haven't known Raphael for long, but you realize that sincerity is laced in every encounter you've had with him, despite what the tone in his voice might suggest. Although the brothers describe him as strict and meticulous, you find the silence that usually comes with his presence quite comforting, a complete contrast to the daily rambunctious antics in the House of Lamentation.

"You're early today. Don't you usually come with Mammon?" he asks, glancing around you in case he missed the demon in question.

"Oh, Diavolo asked me to come in early so I can look through some of the proposals regarding future exchange programs," you respond. "I actually came with Satan today, but he wanted to stop by the library first."

"I see..." he trails off, as if in thought. "Can I walk you there?"

You blink in surprise.

"To the student council room? Sure, but are you sure you're not busy?" you reply, not expecting the offer. He gives a curt nod.

"I'm waiting for Simeon and Luke, so I don't have anything to do until then."

"If that's the case... yeah, let's go! I could use the company," you smile. Though his face remains unchanged, you can sense he's content that you accepted.

The two of you chat about recent happenings, from Mammon's latest grimm escapades to Luke accidentally drinking Solomon's concoction that he left in the fridge ("--he should really stop doing that", you interject.) that made the poor angel croak for the entirity of the afternoon. Luke was apparently grumpy for the rest of the night, so Simeon baked some cookies to cheer him up, which worked. ("--the cookies were good," he commented.)

The walk to the student council room isn't too long, and before you realize it, you're both standing at its doors. "I might as well say hi to Lord Diavolo and Barbatos," was what he said as he held the door for you. You whisper a quiet thanks as you walk past, and hear the scuffle of his feet as he walks in right after.

"There you are, good morning!" Diavolo's voice resounds within the room, enthusiasm peaked as always. Barbatos bows beside him in acknowledgement, walking off to prepare your seat.

"Good morning, Dia, Barb," you return their greeting accompanied with a warm smile.

"Hm? Is that Raphael behind you?" The prince finally notices your companion, who gives a nod.

"Good morning, Lord Diavolo. I was merely taking them to you. I apologize for the intrusion."

"Nonsense!" The prince laughs in assurance. "You and the other angels are always welcome to stop by."

You glance at the angel, who only gives another nod in response.

"I'll be on my way then," he turns to you.

"Thanks for walking me here," you say, thanking him with a smile.

"See you around."

You might've imagined it, but you were almost certain your fingers brushed for a second as he walked back, and you swallow the warmth that overtakes you, pushing it aside so you can start your duties.

-

Walking with Raphael becomes somewhat of a norm.

The repeating trend goes like this - you've just finished your Devildom History class, and as you walk out, he's somehow also nearby, which ends with him walking you to your next class. Sometimes, one of the brothers notices, and he ignores every one of their whines when they point it out. There are days when Luke and Simeon join the two of you (and if it's lunchtime, the twins are there with you too).

You talk about many different things - you ask a lot of stuff about the Celestial Realm, and he'll often tell a story or two from back when the brothers were still angels. There's a fondness in his tone whenever he recounts those memories, but you know he's content just knowing that the brothers are all together and happy in the Devildom. He asks you about your life in the Human Realm and what you were like before the exchange program, and you tell him of your days before the greatest plot twist of your life.

Somehow, you also manage to convince him to start teaching you how to sew. ("--literally not a day goes by where I don't have at least one tear on my clothes," you tell him.) You told him of that one time Beel started chewing through your school jacket because you spilled some juice on it, and then another time you tripped over a tangled wire in Levi's room, causing the seam of your jeans to split. ("--it's a miracle you still have any clothing left to wear," he comments. You swear you saw him hold back a laugh, but you don't mention it.)

Eventually he starts walking you back to the House of Lamentation, too. You're usually stuck doing student council duties after classes, so when it first happens, you're surprised to see him still on campus.

He manages to find a different reason each time you ask.

"I was at the library."

"I was sitting in the garden and lost track of time."

"I forgot something in the classroom so I came to pick it up."

He doesn't bother defending himself when one day, you walk out of the student council room, waving at him - "Thanks for waiting for me." He simply nods in acknowledgment.

-

When he walks side by side with you, sometimes your fingers brush; some instances longer than others, and you can't help but wonder what his hands would feel like on yours. Simeon once mentioned that angels had higher body temperatures, so would that mean his hands would be warm? Gentle?

As these thoughts run through your mind, you don't notice turquoise eyes on you the entire time, almost mapping each crevace of your face. He looks at your empty hand right next to his, and he finds himself wondering how it would feel like as he held it.

-

One day, the dam finally breaks.

He's walking you back to the House of Lamentation as always, and you're talking about Thirteen egging on Mephisto earlier that day. You stifle a laugh as you recount the noble waving his cane around ("like an old man," you describe), as he chased the reaper.

Your fingers are brushing against his again, but unlike most days when it's an unspoken tension, you feel the other hand slowly creeping up to yours, before it wraps it in its warmth. You look at your now-intertwined hands, and then to his face, seemingly avoiding eye contact with you. There's a warmth in his cheeks, and you feel his hand squeeze yours lightly, as if asking for assurance.

"Your hands are warm," you whisper, squeezing in return. From the corner of your eye you see his lips twitch upwards in a small smile, but you don't point it out.

When you reach the house, it takes some time for him to release his grip, but as he does, he takes his other hand, holding yours with both of his, and he brings it close to his face and plants a kiss to your palms, his eyes on you the entire time.

Your face is flushed, both in embarassment and twitterpation, as you try to avert your gaze from his - to no avail. You fear he can hear how fast your heart is beating even from a distance, as he sets down your hand he's been holding.

"I'll see you tomorrow," a rare smile is plastered on his face, which only worsens your poor heart's pounding.

"Yeah," you finally manage to breath out. "Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow."

You watch him walk away, heading back to Purgatory Hall, and start formulating a plan to get back to him. Maybe a kiss when he's not looking? You'll polish that thought later.

And as you drift off to sleep that night, you dream about the warmth of his touch, and wonder how warm the rest of him is.

-

-

[a/n: i haven't actually written a fic in quite a while so i'm kinda rusty ;; feel free to send me suggestions, etc! i wanna get back to writing more... Thank you for reading!]

[bionicle-ramblings]

Sooooo

I just learned about a character named Nixie, and now I want to just ramble about this character

For starters, she's a Ga-Matoran and her job on Mata Nui is as an Astrologer

As we all know, most if not all of the Matoran in the MU were in Metru Nui before the Great Cataclysm and they moved to Mata Nui. Despite having their memories of Metru Nui wiped, the Matoran still maintained who they were; Takua still wandered around, Jaller was still by the book, et cetera

My train of thought here is that Nixie was very much an unofficial astrologer, or at least someone who studied astrology, doing so more than other studies. Like, her studying astrology wasn't a bad thing, but it wasn’t smiled upon because she was already studying something else, like history or something

I imagine Nixie was sort of "Ga-Metru's Takua," but instead of wandering around from place to place, her mind wandered instead, to the point where her destination was the stars above, and was often possibly either late to lectures because she was in Ko-Metru to borrow a telescope or frighteningly early and would remind the teachers of things they might have missed as they taught, as if she'd somehow found out what they would be teaching

And I imagine that she was a good, but infuriating student because despite being late or ealy to classes, she would know what the teachers were teaching, even if no one told her. Eventually, enough teachers got fed up and threw her to Nokama, who was a multi-award winning student

At first, Nokama was expecting someone to be a slacker, someone who wouldn't even show up, wouldn't engage, maybe even have to be threatened by Vahki to go to a class and stay for its entirety. What she found instead was a new Matoran in her class that was the first to be there and greeted her by name and asked if they were learning about purifying protodermis, which surprised Nokama because she usually keeps her notes on her lectures under lock and key. Nixie, to calm her teacher, assured her that her notes are safe, but advised she find a better hiding spot for them; under a sleeping pallet is cliche and that's the first place anyone will look

Nokama was, rightfully, shocked and made a mental note to keep an eye out for Nixie. That unease did not go away when Nixie kept staring up at the sky rather than paying attention, yet knew what Nokama was teaching, to the point she could repeat it back to her with no problem. Or when, after class, Nixie warned Nokama to be careful near the protodermis canal, something that one of Nokama's friends told her not to worry about

She started worrying when she almost drowned after falling into the very canal, and more when Nixie arrived late to a class, racing in from Ko-Metru, and told Nokama that she's about to have great honor bestowed on her, as well as tragedy that would take centuries to heal

And that tragedy came in the form of Lhikan giving Nokama the Toa stone and Nokama becoming a Toa

Just imagine Nokama seeing Nixie again with the other Toa Metru around, and Nixie, who has only ever met Nuju and Nokama, greets Whenua, Onewa, Matau, and Vakama by name and their previous occupations. It freaks out everyone, even when Nixie's disappointed that Vakama didn't see her in his visions, though she chalks that up to her role not being THAT big to be a vision. Nuju slows her down, telling everyone that he knows Nixie because she traded trinkets for using a Ko-Metru telescope, and then she got too good at seeing ahead. Nixie calls him a slow-poke, and Nuju tells Nokama she has a smart student

And, to go back to something I was saying before, I imagine that with her foresight, Nokama is worried because there's that occasional, "I'm being watched," feeling she gets, and later sees Vhisola GLARING at Nixie as Nixie stares up at the sky and tries to see the stars, even when it's broad daylight. Nixie does mean well, proven when she shows Nokama bits of an artifact she found and had to fist fight another Matoran for(don't ask), I just love the image of Vhisloa glaring at Nixie, seething at how a star staring know-it-all can both take Nokama's attention amd also be a source of Nokama's fear, when really Nixie is trying to read the stars and see which way home is the best trying to see how long it takes for stars to be hidden when the twin suns rise

Back to Toa stuff, imagine Nixie seeing Nokama leave Ga-Metru and, when asked to elaborate on the "tragedy" she foresaw, she only tells Nokama that a shadow is growing in Metru Nui and if she told Nokama what she saw, Nokama would hesitate and she's not in a position to do that anymore. With very ounce of respect she has, Nixie wishes Nokama luck on her journey and thanks her for being such a wonderful teacher and an amazing Toa. Nokama points out how Nixie makes it sound like they'll never see each other again, and Nixie admits she'd rather not elaborate on that

And Nokama only understands why when she becomes a Turaga and finds Nixie again, only now Nixie is staring up at a new night sky and is speechless at both how beautiful it is and how exciting it is to have something new to learn

[theacecouple]

I didn't see anything from somerton until about a month ago when he popped up in my recs and I ended up binging his content for about 2 days, but something kept being off and I noticed some of the lies/ignorance, and there was something really dismissive and weird about how he talked about aspecs and women in particular... I stopped watching him cause I watched one of you guys' podcast and realized I also just felt like crap after his videos.

I did end up getting his rwrb video in my recs when it came out cause of the binge and I just remember leaving a comment about the way he talked about aces in it. It was especially upsetting seeing people in the comments who were simply happy he mentioned aspecs at all. He replied to me just saying his cowriter was ace. I don't reply to youtube comments but I just remember wanting to point out that same co-writer he was using as a shield said aces don't face discrimination or conversion therapy, and in that video wrote that aces have to have sex to find out they don't like it. Being something doesn't make you instantly know everything about it, as somerton himself demonstrates with his ignorant comments about gay history.

I'm not really one of his victims since I avoided him as soon as I found him, but I feel bad for all the people he tricked and/or guilted into believing him. I hope some other creators make videos exposing the weird way he manipulated the queer community, cause I think a lot of young folks could use a breakdown of it.

Anyways I just wanted to finish by saying I love you guys' work and learning from you. You helped me understand why certain phrases make me upset, and that and watching your podcast back to back with his videos helped me figure out what I didn't like about Somerton, so you helped protect me from him and not convince myself I was just being Weird as I often do when I get Bad Vibes from someone.

Thank you so much for reaching out <3

It's so fascinating that you stopped watching Somerton after finding us. We've tried to keep things as professional as possible these last 2 years by only citing directly harmful things he's done to us and direct members of our community, and even then it was sparingly and as kind as possible.

When we first spoke with him about including Asexual representation in his future Telos endeavors, he assured us that not only was there already an Ace in the writers' room, but that two real, fully-fleshed out Ace characters were already being written. This was encouraging! After all, we had no way of knowing if he was the kind of cis gay man who loathes Aces or doesn't view us as queer. Since this didn't seem to be the case and rep is important, we supported him. We now deeply regret not doing our research on him first.

Even before his video "The Queer Erasure of Asexuality", we started watching a few of his YouTube videos for the first time and some of the subtext was NOT kind to our community. Subtle things that we'd see get repeated by his fans over and over again, like how queer art is bad these days because all the "artists" and the "exciting queers" who "really lived" died in the AIDS crisis. Or the implication that the Interview with the Vampire reboot was *more queer* because the vampires actually had gay sex on screen, despite this being a complete departure from the source material and neglecting the fact that Anne Rice's vampires have always been undeniably queer *and also* sexless. In fact, we didn't say his name, but we did mention some vague "bad takes" we saw about the series in our podcast episodes 75 & 76 The Triumphs and Failures of AMC’s Interview with the Vampire Part 1 and Part 2...At least some of those came from James.

We did not see his rwrb video, because we had long given up on him by that point, but it is not at all surprising to hear that he had bad takes and also hid behind Nick once again to shield himself from any criticism. It was very much his MO, and yet we're also certain we've heard him chastise straight women for using the "I have a gay friend" defense.

It is so good to hear that our podcast has been helpful to you. There are FAR too many Aces who are willing to let bad behavior or ill-informed takes slide just because someone with a decent following noticed us. We deserve so much better.

[evans23]

RICKMAS 2024 - DAY 18 - SECRET VISITOR

Pairing : Snape x OC (daughter of Harry)

Summary : You are the daughter of the famous Harry Potter. But the burden of your name and your family is heavy on your shoulders. But a tenebrous potion master has noticed you.

Tag(s)/Warning(s) : Slight mention of depression. Ghost.

Also read on AO3 - Wattpad

You didn't particularly like the end of year celebrations. That's why you had asked to stay at Hogwarts this year. Your parents had been disappointed and your mother and grandmother had kept begging you to come back, but you didn't want to.

Being the last born of the Potter family was your burden. James, your eldest, was a real celebrity at Hogwarts. Seeker of the quidditch team, popular with the girls and even with the teachers despite his insolence.

Albus was calmer, more serious. Everyone said that he would accomplish great things like the two wizards whose name he bore.

And then, there was your big sister, Lily. She attracted boys, was intelligent and one of the most popular Gryffindors.

You were the youngest, the little surprise-bonus as your mother called you. You hadn't been planned, but you were loved nonetheless. Except that you always felt a little bit apart, a little bit left out. You had ended up in Hufflepuff, and although your parents assured you that it meant nothing to them, you could see that not being a Gryffindor was like a small burden, but a small burden that you shared with Albus since he himself wasn't a Gryffindor but a Slytherin.

At home, your brothers and sister were always too busy to really take an interest in you. You were just a whisper among all these prestigious people who sat at your table at Christmas. The idea of ​​spending another Christmas alone while being surrounded by people, laughter and conversations in which you never found your place worried you so much that you knew you had made the right choice by staying at Hogwarts.

Only seven students, including you, had stayed at Hogwarts this year and you took advantage of a break in surveillance to wander the corridors without any specific goal. You had put on a warm coat over his pyjamas and, your eyes lost in the distance, you wondered if you would ever find his place.

You had just reached the astronomy tower when an icy wind swept the stairs, almost making it fall. It was then that a translucent silhouette appeared right in front of you.

You jumped more out of surprise than fear, it was not uncommon to come across ghosts at all hours of the day and night. Except that you did not know this ghost, and you must have been the only student at Hogwarts who could boast of knowing all the ghosts in the castle, because they were often your best company. Even Peeves could make you smile when he found you crying, hidden in the stairs leading to the dungeon.

"Who are you ?" you asked, your voice higher than you intended.

Across from her, a tall man with stern features and eyes as dark as his hair was staring at her.

"Severus Snape," he finally said.

You gaped. You knew who he was of course, a hero, the one without whom the war could never have been won, the one to whom your father owed so much.

"Severus Snape," you repeated stupidly.

"I doubt that's your name," he said sarcastically.

"I'm [Y/N] Potter," you answered.

He looked at you even more intently. You didn't really look like your father, except for the green eyes you shared, and you hadn't inherited anything from your mother except for your red hair. Your features weren't really Potter, and you weren't really Weasley. You didn't look like anyone.

"I know who you are. I've watched you many times."

"Really ?" you asked surprised.

"Really. The first time... the first time, I thought I saw a ghost."

You looked at him without understanding. He sighed heavily before inviting you to sit on one of the steps of the large stone staircase.

"I came the day you started school for the first time. I wanted to know where the last Potter offspring would end up. I was hoping that another Potter would find his place in my house. I recognized you right away," he explained.

"Because of my red hair ?" you asked with a pout.

You hated the colour of your hair that had often earned you teasing in primary school.

"No. Because you look like him."

"Who ?" you asked with curiosity evident in your voice.

"Lily. Lily Evans. Your grandmother."

"Really ?"

"Can you stop always saying really each time I tell you something ? Is it so hard to believe me ? You look exactly like her at the same age."

"Dad sometimes talks to me about her. She was perfect. Like him. Like my brothers and sister."

Snape raised his eyebrows, intrigued.

"Do you feel overshadowed, Miss Potter?"

You hesitated, biting your lip.

"I... I don't particularly aspire to be popular. I just... I wish I wasn't in the shadow of James and Lily, my sister. James is funny and charismatic, even at home it's all about him. Mum often takes care of Albus because he's more sensitive and Dad... he tries toe hide it but I can see he has a preference for Lily," you said almost in a whisper.

She looked up at Snape, expecting a hint of judgment in his expression or a sneer at her complaints, but he just watched her with quiet intensity.

"You underestimate yourself, Miss Potter."

"Easy for you to say when you're a hero," you replied with a shrug.

"I'm not a hero and I never have been. I did what I did to redeem myself, to redeem my mistakes. You carry a heavy family name and you come from a lineage that weighs heavily on your shoulders, but your talent, even if you can't see it now, is yours alone and the day you let it blossom, then your inner light will shine brighter."

"What if I can't do it ?" you asked, eyes shining with unshed tears.

"You have to believe that you can do it."

You didn't answer, but Snape's words resonated within you stronger than ever.

"Why are you never seen among the other ghosts ?" you dared to ask.

"Because I hate being surrounded by idiots. And the last thing I want is for some idiot student to come after me and ask me even stupider questions than they did."

You laughed softly, understanding that this castle was as much a sanctuary as a prison for Snape's mind.

"Do you think you're still here for a reason ?" you asked, looking at the snow that had started to fall again.

"I don't know. I think people like me never really find peace. But that's fine with me. I don't really deserve it."

"I think everyone deserves peace. Life is hard enough as it is without being tortured in the afterlife."

"Those are very wise words, Miss Potter. But you don't know anything about life yet. You are privileged, even if you can't find your place among your people. And I wish you, [Y/N], that you never have to know the harshness of existence."

He looked at you with even more intensity, his dark eyes filled with a mixture of melancholy and harshness.

Suddenly, the school clock began to chime. It was midnight.

"Merry Christmas, [Y/N]," Snape said with a slight smirk, so small that you almost thought you had imagined it.

"Merry Christmas, Professor Snape."

He turned away from you, and he left through the window before disappearing completely. You stood still for a moment, staring at the spot where he had stood a few moments earlier, your heart pounding, then, you straightened up, a slight smile on your lips, and you returned to your common room.

For the first time in a long time, you no longer felt alone. You knew even if he hadn't said anything about it, that your secret visitor tonight was watching over you like a silent guardian. And something deep inside you told you that this wouldn't be the last time you'd see him.

[artisticxlly]

Hey :)

I'm a huge Bokuaka shipper. For me they are canon. What do you think happend after Bokuto finished school? In my mind he tried to get held back so he could stay with Akaashi, but Kuroo stopped him. How was Akaashi's first time back and realizing that Bokuto wasn't there? Do you think they moved in after Akaashi graduated (with Honors of course) I like to think that Bokuto proposed like after a month of them being together. Like: "You will always be my favorite setter and I want to cuddle with you all the time, so please marry me! We would be the bestest of husbands!" And then Akaashi has to remind Bokuto that gay marriage isn't legal in Japan, so Bokuto wants to move or ask Kenma to use all his followers to make a petition. What do you think?

Here's the thing, I'm still relatively new to shipping them, so you will have to excuse some inaccuracies /lh (As said before, I was criminally sleeping on them).

However for you dear anon (and in general because I love getting asks), here are some thoughts!

(Quick sidenote, Bokuto getting the impulse to repeat the year is adorable.)

Bokuto graduating would definitely affect Akaashi a lot. Being a more reserved person, Bokuto helped get him out of his shell. I'd think his anxiety would get really bad too, on some days more than others. (Speaking from personal experience here) having someone who is very reassuring and confident when you yourself are not is A+ support.

That is why I can see Akaashi graduating with honors too, pouring all he can into his work to occupy his mind, seek assurance and stability in things like grades since his support pillar and crush greatest friend, the star giving him light isn't by his side right now.

I think it would also be hard for him to adjust, sitting alone at lunch so suddenly for example. He often packed more lunch than he could eat so Bokuto could steal some from his bento previously, but now the sight of his half-eaten lunch box gives him this pit in his stomach.

Similarly, I'm also pretty confident in thinking that Bokuto has his insecurities and bad days too. He doesn't let it show often but he does miss Akaashi and entering a new career path where everything is suddenly so serious, so grave, is overwhelming. He'd like to hear Akaashi's advice or maybe even his ridiculing (Bokuto admires his intelligence), get his help on things he can't fully comprehend not because he's too dumb to, but because he isn't sure if he fits into this adult life just yet. Or hey, just having Akaashi's presence would help. Doing things together always benefitted both of them.

When it came to volleyball Bokuto stayed longer, practising even after training was over (with Akaashi staying as well to set for him) but when he joins the ranks of professional players he tries to substitute that and takes really, really long walks. Kind of similar in nature to him hiding in tight spaces (which he still does I'd say) he takes time for himself, isolated. The walks don't always clear his mind in a way he'd like but exhausting his body is a somewhat pleasant side effect to help him sleep later.

I'd like to think they'd move together too but additionally their schedules are dreadfully full at first, meaning they barely see each other despite it. They try to arrange a weekly night out or have specific days where they make sure to eat dinner together to mediate it (it doesn't always work but most of the time? sure).

I do like your take on them getting married early on but I want to also offer an alternative: Bokuto can either barely get the words out, so he procrastinates on it OR they both don't really feel the need to have their commitment down on paper. To both of them it is pretty much a given that they'll grow old together. I do think Bokuto would get them promise rings though.

And I do think Bokuto is be very prideful about having such a wonderful partner. He wears the promise ring on a necklace when he's playing or carries it with him in a different way, kind of like a talisman for good luck and support. He gets interviewed after being seen wearing it and does get adorably happy, shamelessly explaining that he has a wonderful boyfriend (Akaashi nearly goes into cardiac arrest when one of his co-workers shows the clip of it to him).

Kind of keeping your theme of Bokuto advocating for same-sex marriage in Japan because I find it terrific, I think that that aforementioned clip would garner quite the mixed attention. Bokuto rarely gets irritated but when people start developing this habit to talk in a more condescending way or ask backhanded questions he is QUICK to shut them down. Some people are quick to assume he's dumb or too oblivious to pick up on it… He does.

Anyway, I hope I could do them justice!! Thank you so much for the ask, anon :]

[justmenoworries]

Lore Olympus Episode 251 Spoilers

"Yet in spite of everything, [...] look at the man you've become."

You mean, a slave driver, an abusive dipshit and a horrible parent. Yeah, that's not the best argument, Persie.

I find it funny how LO often goes out of his way to have characters assure Hades that he's nothing like Kronos, but honestly? Hades is extremely similar to Kronos. Uncomfortably so.

They were both lonely and filled that void with women much younger than them, whom they were also in a position of power over, Kronos with Hera and Hades with Minthe and then Persephone.

Both like to play victim. Kronos loves to guilt-trip Hera for deceiving him and ignores that his actions would most certainly have doomed the world and Hera and the other Six Traitors had basically no choice but to fight back by any means necessary. Hades frequently whines to Persephone and others about how he feels oh-so-lonely and oh-so-isolated as King of the Underworld, ignoring that he himself is a huge reason for why other immortals percieve him as scary and unapproachable. He's constantly intimidating and bullying people with both his status and his money, see him threatening that one poor nymph with closing her business if she didn't give him private information about Persephone or him constantly antagonizing Demeter for no reason.

They're both tyrants. Kronos is self-explanatory. Hades is downright proud of exploiting the shades who come to the Underworld. He literally brags about making them perform unpaid labor. Hades also seemingly doesn't give a rat's ass about his people. He threatens both his employees and regular citizens on a daily basis. The only person in the Underworld he shows a modicum of care towards is Hecate and that's only becaus she's a long-time friend of his. And also because she actively enables all the shit named above. If you wanna cheat you could say that extends to Persephone, since she's also officially a citizen of the Underworld, but let's be real here, that's only because he's in love with her. I sincerely doubt Hades would put up an embargo and show up at a trial as the lawyer if any other citizen of the Underworld was being unfairly persecuted by Zeus.

Both Kronos and Hades are horrible parents. Kronos ate all of his sons alive but one and the only reason he didn't eat Zeus was because Rhea was wise enough to hide him away. Hades emotionally abused and neglected Thanatos for all his life, didn't show concern when Thanatos was M.I.A and when confronted by Thanatos over being a shitty father, instead of apologizing or showing anything even resembling remorse, he instead made excuses about how Thanatos wasn't throwing himself into his arms eager to be fathered after his own mother gave him up into child labor. I've said it before but I'm genuinely afraid for Dionysus, Hades isn't father material and I'm positive he'll repeat the same neglectful bullshit he pulled with Thanatos.

"There were times in the last few years of my life where I felt truly hopeless."

Sure would've been nice if we could've seen those times instead of time-skipping right over them. Persephone keeps talking about how hard the years in the Mortal Realm were, but all evidence we've had of that were her hands going green. And even that's gone now.

"But then I thought about you and [...] your capacity for love despite all the cruelty you faced."

Excuse me, what????

Name one person in this goddamn Webtoon Hades was ever genuinely loving towards that wasn't someone he once fucked or wanted to fuck.

I see the child is only referred to as 'the interloper' now. I'm guessing RS doesn't want readers to think too hard about the fact that hxp have been doing fuck-all to save an endangered child for several episodes.

And we're officially going for the "Delusional Jealous Woman" route with Leuce it seems. RS' hatred for all women that aren't her self-insert is so palpable it hurts.

"I miss Minthe."

Me too, Thetis, me too.

I'm honestly scared of where this whole Kassandra/Apollo thing is going, I don't want any more Apollo woobifying.

[hackerqueen]

Another Love

Chapter 1 Heartburn

warnings: this fanfiction will tackle heavy topics such as mental health and violence. there will be sex scenes.

– Fuck!

This word was often repeated every morning in my apartment. I was not an early bird, quite the opposite. I definitely preferred to fall asleep late in the evening, often in the middle of the night, to sleep until noon. Unfortunately, I was no longer a teenager, but a twenty-three-year-old woman who had to go to work every morning to pay the rent and bills. Life was often a bitch, wasn't it?

More curses spilled out of my mouth as my windshield wipers sped faster than Dan making up another shitty joke. Or a meme. His memes sucked, though I never told him that.

Duskwood was usually cloudy and rainy at this time of year. This is the second time I am convinced of this, because I moved here exactly two years ago. At times like this, I ask myself why? I could live peacefully in sunny California, sipping drinks on my balcony. But sometimes life writes its own scripts without asking you.

The pouring rain made my commute a bit more difficult, but I finally made it to the office where I was supposed to stay for another eight or nine hours. My boss threw papers at my desk, which didn't bode well. Halfway through work, I looked at my co-workers. Since I was a child, I liked to observe, analyze and draw conclusions about human behavior. So it was also now. However, the current view made me drowsy boredom. A group of people locked in a glass building, caring only if their shitty paperwork will pay the rent and pay off the mortgage. Will it allow them to go out to dinner at a restaurant at the beginning of the month, or maybe they'll get lucky and they can afford four days away at the end of the year? Corpsrats whose minds were completely closed to the world around them. I was a hypocrite judging them. Because I was absolutely the same. I also chased after money, abandoning my dreams and passions.

Deep, philosophical considerations were interrupted by the ringing of the phone. Seeing the name on the screen, I smiled slightly, despite my obvious tiredness. I picked up right away.

– Hello, hello. - greeted a nice, almost singing voice, which finally regained this lovely note – I'm picking you up from work today.

– But..

– Without any buts. We'll be choosing decorations today, you can't be absent! Nobody I know has better taste than you. Besides, you know what Thomas is like. He'll agree with me about everything, even if I pick the worst shit.

I burst out laughing. There was no contact with Hannah for several weeks. She needed hours of therapy, shed tears, and shutting herself off from the world to recover. To understand what happened. Has she come to terms with it? Was there any reconciliation at all in this situation? No one in the group seemed to agree with it. Damn, how were they supposed to accept that their longtime friend, the man who always made them laugh, did something like that? They couldn't even talk to him. Only Jessy had this honor, but I don't know if it didn't affect her even worse. I was just a shadow. A hiding shadow that listened to their conversation.

– Okay, you convinced me. Be there at 4pm – I told her shortly and said goodbye. Maybe this day won't be so bad after all.

* * *

– Thomas, don't interfere. – I grumbled under my breath as I flicked through the catalog with bouquets

I heard his loud protests to which Hannah reacted immediately.

– Babe, you know I love you, but I'll be carrying the bouquet, not you. Unless you want too?

The man got angry and left us alone. I suppressed the urge to comment on her rather dubious choice of husband and rolled my eyes, but a mischievous smirk must have affected my face hearing my biting thoughts.

Did that sperm really win?

I stopped quickly when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

– I can see you're not getting along, but just a little more. It will be better after marriage. Thomas is just stressed out. – she assured me and I nodded – You know, two years ago it all ended. This anniversary has such an effect on him.

I felt a shiver run down my spine. How... how come it's been two years since this nightmare ended?

– Have you forgotten? – she asked, seeing the pale expression on my face

– N-No. – I coughed at my broken tone of voice. – It's just that... it's a bit weird? That, time flies so fast and we live like two years ago?

– Can we do otherwise? I think we'd be best off living for them. – she said, then smiled sadly and squeezed my hand – Have you been at his grave?

I sighed, slowly shooking my head.

– Me neither. I'm not ready for that yet. –she confessed honestly and my heart clenched. Today was the day I had to face my past.

Getting into the car, I typed into the GPS the cemetery, which was located on the outskirts of Duskwood. Half an hour later, I was there. I gripped the steering wheel, letting out shaky breaths. I had no idea how long I sat there, but I finally moved and took out the rose I had bought on the way out of the back of the car. It was intensely red, reflecting my feelings at that moment. My mind was unconscious, my feet led me all the way to the grave. No wonder, my body knew the way by heart. I looked up at the name carved on it.

Jake Donfort

I swallowed. One candle was lit, illuminating this late evening. So Lilly must have been here already. I crouched down and carefully placed the flower on his grave. It may have been two years, but some things haven't changed. My heart still burned as I remembered the black-haired hacker who once meant so much to me. Now my heart squeezed even tighter as I realized something else.

The memory of him was fading, a little at a time and I could feel myself forgetting.

Time passed inexorably, and my upside down life returned to normal. Two years ago, I couldn't imagine my life without him. We had a promise, right? He promised we'd meet. He promised he wouldn't let us be separated. However, his promise was burned with him in the mine fire because he never came back. Even though he said he would.

[bts-hyperfixation]

IM DYING ☠️

Okay no not really, I'm just sick and super melodramatic about it

It's been done a thousand times before and it'll be done a million times more: bangtan reactions to you being sick 🤒 I need comfort

here is one i did about covid a while back. - I didnt read the wwhole thing in a while so there might be some repeats.

Namjoon - Phones his mom for some sort of ancient Korean remedy that only moms seem to know. He then makes you eat/drink a lot of it until you're not sure if you're still sick or just nauseous from the intake. After that he will get you comfy in bed and sit on a chair nearby reading you a story so you can fall asleep to his deep comforting voice (If he isn't afraid to get sick so there are no promotions going on he will probably sit in bed and stroke your hair too.

Seokjin - Doesn't have to phone his mom, he had some kind of magic kimchi recipe that clears your sinuses right out. I think Seokjin is a fusser. He will hover around you constantly, checking in every half and hour to make sure you don't need anything and are getting enough rest. He provides you with many blankets and if he leaves the house he returns with a new stuffed animal or surprise box toy in the hopes that it'll make you smile just for a second

Yoongi - Very practical. When he first notices you are getting sick he will run a bath for you and sit next to the bath helping you to wash the areas you cant reach because its too much energy. He gives you his soft clothes to wear to bed so your's don't get associated with sickness in your head. He refreshes a cold compress for you every so often and then mostly leaves you be. He worries himself so much he will also probably end up sick.

Hoseok - Spends a lot of time cuddling you and watching whatever shitty comfort movie it is that you want to watch, he will even pay for extra streaming services or downloads just to get you the exact shitty movie that you are craving no matter how obscure. He orders in plenty of juice and soup to help flush your system and just ugs you until the worst passes.

Jimin - Probably frets a lot. Wants to call the doctor even when you assure him it's nothing. Phones Namjoon for his moms cure all. FIlls the room with fresh flowers and balloons everyday because he feels like if you can't see the physical manifestation of his love he won't be able to make you feel better. Big on force feeding you soup and laying in your lap while you sit up because lying down probably makes it hard to breath and your head pound.

Taehyung - I feel like sick people break Taehyung. He really struggles to think of ways to take care of people properly, he tries his darnedest though. As soon as he knows you are sick he deposits Tannie in your lap so you have a nice warm friend to hug and then he goes out and buys an almost criminal amount of pain killers and bath soaks. Then he comes back and climbs into bed with you so you can all take a nap together.

Jungkook - Clingy bunny(tm). I wouldn't call it hovering like Jin because hovering implies some space, this man tried to follow you into the bathroom... Still he is a reassuring and warm presence when you get the chills. and despite all of the hard abs he is a very excellent hugger and will do your bidding regardless of how ridiculous the ask.

I hope you feel better soon!

[rin-henricov]

Headcanons about Stork:

1. Stork smells like petrichor (earthy smell after rain) with a slightly musky scent.

2. Stork can safely use his legs as hands.

3. Merbs are an incredibly rare species, best known for their unrivaled endurance, intelligence, and beauty. Due to these qualities, humans willingly hunted them down and captured when they left their native terra. This is not the case now, but many Merbs, unable to resist the reverberations of the past, still lead as secretive a life as possible, for those unlucky enough to be captured were either sold into slavery or forced into rice plantations. It was for this reason that, with the exception of Stork, almost no one had ever seen a Merbs outside of their territory.

4. Since the rest of the squadron is underage, they often ask Stork to go out for energy drinks or to buy missing parts that can only be obtained illegally, because they believe that he is an expert in this business and can negotiate the sale of certain goods for next to nothing.

5. !IDEA IS NO MINE!

According to Stork's repeated assurances, Terra-Merbia is the last place he'd want to call his home. Thanks to a foreign fanfic, I'm thinking more about the possible concept of an abusive conservative family who often used the future pilot as a personal servant to serve their own interests; for example, if there was an ancient heater that needed fixing or wiring that needed to be changed, Stork was there (whether he wanted to or not).

In the past, most Merbs preferred to make their homes deep underground because it was much safer than on the surface. However, there were many reasons why they might temporarily return back, a prime example being to conduct illegal trade and/or hunting. Some of the terrifying creatures of Atmos used to live on Terra Merbia (most of them long since extinct), but there were daredevils willing to pay the right amount to capture them as spoils of war.

Stork was the only child in the family, he is unwittingly taking the position of breadwinner (despite being very young at the time) and were able to fully provide for the entire family for the reason that no one wanted to hire his parents (all due to an ambiguous criminal record).

At some point it seemed to them that the measly pennies that Merb was diligently putting into the family budget were not enough, and so they decided to use his father's name to register in the hunting business, but they always sent the eldest son to fulfill the contracts under strict orders not to return until the whim was fulfilled.

Worse, because his father's name appeared in the local papers, he was not only taking credit for Stork's accomplishments, but also creating a deliberately false role model among his colleagues. Stork could not risk telling the truth, for he knew what it would do to him. Much less could he guess whether he would get help or be ridiculed. In a way, he was kind of glad when the Cyclonians invaded his terra, for he couldn't guess when it would all end, waiting by sheer force of will for the fateful occasion.

Due to his harsh childhood, Stork's idea of family values was incredibly distorted at first, but with time spent in the squadron, he gradually begins to come out of his shell and becomes more civilized, which, by the way, is very well traced in the course of the plot.

[wordy-little-witch]

Earth and her littlest brother spend some quality - and indulgent - time together.

Sometimes a coping mechanism is good for more than one party at play.

[Age regression]

"Where's the baby," a light airy voice sang sweetly, bouncing with her hardly suppressed giggles. A plume of spun sugar, whiter than snow, shone brightly around her cerulean and green cheeks. "Where's the baby," Earth repeated, lifting a foam block with an indulgent smile. "Uh oh, no baby here! Wherever could he be?"

Tiny giggles danced in the air, very obviously drifting from the small ball pit. Hands pressed over a smiling mouth, trying in vain to muffle the sound.

Turning slowly, she very poignantly left her back open, hand to her brow as she mimed looking high and low around the small daycare wing turned playplace. Despite the late hour, the relative solitude, this little snapshot in time had become one of her favorite recurring responsibilities. Her other brothers couldn't always make the time needed for such things, and Earth was more than happy to spend some quality time with her little brother, be it at home or here. She adored little ones, and this tiny tot especially had a special place nestled in her heart.

She waited a mere moment longer, until she heard the tiniest movement of the plastic balls rustling before she turned and lunged. Large hands cupped a small waist tightly, yet still she kept the touch gentle. Lifting and spinning, she beamed a glowing smile at the squeak and hysterical little giggles from her baby brother, his feet kicking with mirth. After a few rotations, however, she let gravity tug and carried him with her as she fell back into the pit, swallowed in the toys and smothered by her brother's sudden deadweight. Blinking once, twice, she let out a merry laugh, delighting further as the other joined her.

Scrambling up to straddle her middle, clumsy hands attempted to push her hair from her face. "Sissy okay," Sunny asked, still laughing but mildly concerned.

Setting her hands on his sides, she gave a little tickle. "Yeah, sweetie, sissy is fine. Is Sunny okay?"

"Mm!" His rays spun as he nodded, ivory eyes mildly dilated as he clapped his hands, swaying in place. "Sunny happy!"

"I'm glad," she chirped, tugging him down to snuggle into her arms. "You deserve to be happy," she murmured between kisses to his rays. "Love you, little rabbit."

"Love you, sissy!"

Cooing softly, she wriggled a little, both to release some of the cuteness aggression and to ignite those infectious giggles and cackles. Sun's regression offered reprieve for many people - himself in the form of relaxation, to Moon for an opportunity to reaffirm his personal mission to do and be better, to Earth for a child to love on and a family member to help. Even Monty had grown the slightest of soft spots for the small starlet, though he often tried to deny it - a lesson in futility, she mused absently.

Curious hands toyed with her locks, and she pushed them both upwards slowly, curling against the wall of the ballpit. Settling the other against her chest, she brushed gentle fingers over his rays. Ignoring the twinge in her knees and ankles, she went to bring her legs up into the protective cage she knew the other often enjoyed.

Gunmetal and gold digits left her locks, however, and patted silicone palms on her lower limbs with a scowl, though. "No," he huffed, lower lip slipping out in a pout. "Sissy rest, no hurty!"

"It's not bad right now," she tried to assure, "I just wanted to cuddle you up."

"Snuggle without ouchies," he reaffirmed with a cross of his arms. Flopping sideways, he scrambled once more until he brought himself back to her lap, hugging her left arm to his chest. Bringing his own knees up, he bundled into a ball, tilted his pale gaze upwards and blinked. "Pats?"

Indulgently - and mildly confused - she continued with the petting motion over his rays with her free hand. It was only as he slumped into her that she realized what he had done. Squinting playfully, she pushed in one ray, earning a snicker at the ticklish sensation. "Did you just become a Sunny Ball and pin me down?"

"Uh huh."

"So now I'm tra- stuck here," she corrected quickly. It earned another unashamed nod.

"Now sissy rest and Sunny snuggle! Feel better." Nuzzling back in, he hummed, shaking his hands gently, delighting in the ringing of his bells. Lulled sufficiently, he let his head rest against her once more, humming a random tune as he stimmed.

Unable to escape the trap laid by what was effectively a toddler, Earth simply sighed, cracking a wane smile. Leave it to Sun to look after people, even with over half of his systems running on less than fifty percent. Shaking her head, she leaned back and settled, relaxing into the sea of balls and miscellaneous soft toys.

Yeah, she mused fondly, she really did love looking after her baby brother - even if he was secretly a tiny evil genius.

[tomyeros]

II.

Hi babe, it's me, Marcellino. I'm here writing this to you again. This surely gonna take a while for me to write whatever I want to say to you. Even if it's already been repeated many times.

Happy 2nd Monthsary with you, my everything! It feels like yesterday that we started dating and I still have butterflies in my stomach in every moment until now. I never once regretted it and everything was worth waiting for. Truly, it is a blessing from the God that has given to you to me. How did I deserve it? I would never wanted to waste every chance like this in a life time. So allow me to be faithful and to give you all the love that you deserved it.

Still scarcely believe that we are meeting again for the 2nd time on our 18th for the second time. It deeply ponders with a gazillion of thoughts to anticipate this day. Although today would be another ordinary day as usual on a normal daily basis we exchange teas/gossip, TED Talks, silliness, and throw each other with love and affection, not only do we enjoy a deep conversation with all the emotional strolls we face every day together.

Alana, my love. My everything. My irreplaceable diamond. First of all, you know what I want to say right? Of course, you do sweetheart. I love you, Alana. Seriously. May haps, that you feel a little tired of me hearing these three words the countless time. However, I'm really earnest that I keep saying this because you are so precious, you are so loved, you are so humbled, so kind, and all the list that I have seen you all corners of your side. Your flaws and everything.

I also want to say heartfelt thanks to you for your patience and understanding in being with me this month despite how busily packed your schedule was. Your absence made me long for you, every day. I often re-read our conversation like it is a habit that I will never get rid of. I apologize if I ever pushed you too hard to be there for me. I cannot help but miss you every second, minute, hour, day, and until now. I yearned for you but I wouldn't want to force you to be here for me. Don't pressure yourself or feel bad about me, your presence enough makes this man happy more than anything.

I may not be the perfect man, you'll ever have. But I assure you that your every day is filled with my unconditional love and I have no intention to stop it. It will continue as it is. Thank you babe for staying with me until now. You still love me even if I am brusque and stringent however my love for you never fades and it will never remain dust until everlasting. You have already felt all the love that I have given you and I want to stay with you, if you allow me for as long as it is possible. No matter what comes next. I love you with all my heart and my deep soul, Alana.

With love, Marcellino.