#poor girl can't catch a break and she's trying to be so brave

[rin-u-pos]

Last night was the first time I cried because I was getting close to the end of the book and I didn't think there was gonna be a happy ending.

No, I wasn't on my period.

[blackbloodteeth]

Okay so last night I decided to use this week's ficwip's Word Game Wednesday post as a writing prompt ("Magic"), especially since I was casually prodded into writing a snippet by a friend. However, I was apparently possessed by my sleep debt demons, and not only did this reach 2.6k, I didn't even use the prompt word at any point. Nice.

As said, this is a little bit of a long snippet and apparently awkward dialogue takes me places, but here's somethin' for today while I see if I got the spoons to finish The WIP™️ after having actually gotten some sleep today despite accidentally staying up 23 hours previously.

Reject normality, return to italics.

————

The feeling of sand continuously clops beneath each slow step as he quietly sighs again, looking down at the pitch-black sea stretching endlessly throughout the darkness surrounding him. If it weren't for his light keeping him company he wouldn't even be able to see his legs, and he's quite grateful for it as he holds onto it as the only thing he has out here, but… feels like the more he wanders, the dimmer it's been getting.

Another sigh drags on while he wonders how long he's been wandering, how much longer he has to go, and if his family even misses him right now. Do they miss him? I mean, they'd have to, right? Even if he's not… the smartest or the most talented… or…or……

He gives his head a good shake to toss those thoughts out when the darkness starts to creep across his steps, instead trying the best he can to think about their worried faces and his poor ol' nana… Well he misses them, even if they don't notice he's gone, right where he shouldn't've ran off to……

The ache in his chest weighs him back down to his light weakening up his arms, leeching the hope of finding his way along with it. If only he could say sorry. He's always been the cracked stone of the family, but… but…… maybe if he……….Huh? What's that?

His head suddenly perks up when he spots a different light in the distance, new and- and exciting, breaking him into a gallop just to catch up with it and finding a warmth he's never felt before begin to fill his chest when he gets close, its light glowing brightly against his body. He trots in place a little, curiosity practically bounding around it at this feeling it gives him, like… being strong? Brave. It looks kinda like… a star? Weird…

Lowering his neck, it doesn't particularly smell like anything, but somehow it reminds him of all the bright, warm days of spring as they lead into summer. It makes him giddy to think that this may even be some sort of exit, like a portal, and with an eager prod of his horn to investigate this theory, the contact instantly engulfs him with the same light and makes his mind go blank.

. . .

…Huh?

Suddenly his eyes are blinking open again, and here he is, sitting in some kind of… field? Or well, less sitting and completely slumped over onto the grass as he's overwhelmed by the sensation of a world around him, and soon the voice of someone right next to him before he notices they're there.

"Hey, are you okay?"

He jolts when the… girl? Bu-But not like him, with weird colors and front legs that reach up to him with small horns at the ends- "I said are you okay? Geez, you might actually have a concussion…"

Both his mouth and his stare are just gaping at her(?) and how flat and hornless her face is, with the only thing he really recognizes being the pretty mossy eyes and the mane dangling where her ears are supposed to be while her weird, furless face keeps moving around like that- Until he scrunches back when she tries to prod him with her freaky arm horns because this just too weird-

"Okay, now you're just being a jerk," she snorts, which he thinks might be a laugh?

Like you're one to talk, you're just being weird…

"…So, you gonna say anything, or…?"

Wait, what are you on about, can't you hear me?

"…Ooookay, guess not…" His head darts wildly up and down when the weird girl gets up- on just two of her legs?!? What the h- "What? Are you going to keep staring at me like that, or are you actually having a stroke or something?"

Frantically, having no idea how to communicate at this point given apparently whatever had just happened to him weakened his horn too much, he begins flailing around like any still-sane horn-haver would until, as it just so happens to turn out, he is not in fact still sane: Completely frozen in place after seeing his arms and… an-and they're not right in the slightest! They're just like hers, with- with the color hide over him and the freaky flesh horns and- what happened to his hooves?!?!?

"Okay, so this might be a stupid question at this point, but like are you actually okay; you're really starting to worry me now."

His face whips back up towards her, lungs breathing a gallop a second while he quickly reaches his hoofless arms into his mane and- Oh. Oh no, oh starlight where is his horn- No no no no no-

"Soooo… you did hit your head?" He completely ignores that as his twisted, messed-up flesh hooves jitter and tap all around his eyes and feeling everything wrong with his freaking face being flat and furless and- and-

When she goes to talk again he's cutting her off by slapping his hooflessness in desperation on top of his hornlessness, causing her to jump down to his current eye level and thrust her arm ends into his mane. "Wait, crap; Are you bleeding-"

Just like that, another wave of light from before swallows him like a current, whirling through his mind and body until almost just as quickly he's sitting again, but differently this time, held up entirely by her hands.

Wait. Wait.

"…Um."

Hands. They're called hands?

"Y…Yes?"

Wait, you can hear me now!?

"Oh good, so you do speak." The girl… Maka? How does he know this and that she's laughing because she's nervous- "Okay; one, um, step at a time…"

He sits there as he's told, partly because he's trying not to freak out right now, and especially because he's really trying not to freak out about how he can't move while avoiding looking at his body again so that he can remember how to breathe normally.

"Okay, so… Yeah, I'm Maka. I have hands, you're… currently in my hands… and I just met you after you suddenly bumped into me out of thin air, and for some reason I have a really big feeling you weren't a human boy before this." Human… Human, that's what… Why… "One step at a time. I've got this right so far?" …I think so. "Okay… So you're a human now, I guess, and just learned about hands and that you… don't have a horn anymore? I think??"

Deep breath, deep breath- Yeah. I have… I had a horn, and now it's gone because I guess I… turned into a human after touching that light I found, and I- I'm… Wait, why can't I remember what I'm named, Maka; I know yours but I-

"Okay, don't freak out. Just… I can kind of… see? That you were somewhere dark until you saw the light, and you got flashbanged by it, so I think…" That it made me forget some things when it changed me? "Exactly. Now that we're on… the same wavelength kinda, and know we both just met and are really confused and for some reason you can talk to me through my head because I guess you don't normally speak with your mouth…"

He lets Maka take a deep breath as the dread of their conclusion slowly lifts her hands to straighten his handle up.

"…Why did you just turn into a scythe when I touched you?"

Maka, I'd reeeeally love to answer that right now.

The dread fully plummets down his nonexistent stomach when she flops her forehead against him and he finally lets himself look at his body now being a metal pole and his horn… blade curves longer than probably even her size. It's black on top, and sharp and red on the bottom, which kinda isn't that much different from what his horn was like actually except its much more… vivid. Pronounced. Clear works, actually.

"God, this is so weird… Just like all the stories my papa used to tell me when I was a little kid……" Something curious bubbles up even through his deluge of anxiety and bafflement, making him interested enough to speak up a So you… have a family too? Like a human family? "Of course I have a family," she chuckles, at least until it snuffs out. "Had."

I don't think I'm supposed to ask, but somehow I feel a lot like you're feeling just now.

"Yeah, weird how I can feel that too… Do you have a family? Not humans, or…" Yeah, but we looked a lot like each other when I wasn't here. All of us have a horn and hooves, and a mane… oh, I guess you call it hair. 'Cause normally you don't have short fur all over you. "Yeah… Wait."

Somehow he can still move his eyes (although only at the same time and just one is facing her) to watch as Maka suddenly cranes her head up, staring at him with… wonder? Intrigue? Man, he's learning way too many words today- "Are you… are you telling me you're actually a unicorn?"

Images flow through his head like sand into water, of… horses, with long seashells for horns, and… That's… pretty close to how we look, actually. Is 'unicorn' what we're called to you? I don't think we have a same word for our family…

"Holy crap you're a unicorn…" she utters as if that somehow was any less strange than whatever the hornhole is going on with him right now, and also her. "All this time you're actually a unicorn, and now you're a scythe- and oh god, I must be dreaming. Hit by a car because I finally studied too much. I'm probably in a coma right now and this is all just a dream and you're just in my head, or an angel, or-"

Maka. One step at a time.

He feels her breath shudder when he does the same thing she did just now, playing his memories for her like reflections on calmed water of his brother and him racing through the burrows, and his nana humming her tune that turns the air into waves of starlight, and his ma and da greeting each other with their horns before he inevitably can't make his horn glow as strong as his brother's- Okay, maybe not that one.

A lighthearted giggle, like the fluttering wings of a bird taking off, raises Maka up onto her feet, looking right at him again with… a smile. It's so… warm, and… pretty? I like that a lot actually, it's a lot like when the sun hits the sea when- Oh my godlight, I just said that to you.

There's a way her face is turning red that he is just now learning is blushing and is the exact feeling of embarrassment she is showing by covering her mouth with one of her hands and not being able to look away while her voice goes soft from under her palm. "I've never been called pretty before- by a unicorn…"

We-Well you've never met a unicorn before so that makes it different and it's not like horn-sparking so just- I was just saying what I saw, yeah, he deflects, much like one deflects the dirt off of their shovel while digging their own grave. And yet somehow, mysteriously, he feels like he's deep beneath the ground where he could end up finding that dark place again at how she's… laughing? Happy? Entertained? This is too many words and thoughts to have in my head anymore.

"Y'know, when I imagined actually meeting a unicorn, this definitely wasn't what I thought of." Yeah that's one way to put it. I'd probably say the same thing if I even knew about humans first, and also hadn't turned into one. And then a scythe. "Well, um…"

Her smile falters when he can feel that the particular detail on the 'becoming human' bit also made him unable to think of what he's called (like as himself, not being a unicorn) so she has no idea what to refer to him as. "…Do you want a name right now?"

…I think that would make things a little easier, yeah.

"Okay, how aboooout…" Strange reflections ripple into him again, much faster this time so he doesn't have much room to grab onto any of them until they start to slow down, memories of some… movie? What's this fast-running pictures of?

"Oh sorry, I was remembering the time I used to watch The Last Unicorn when I was a kid; just trying to think of a name that would fit, sorry if that's offensive." He laughs, No, it's… interesting. I want to see it sometime, just maybe after I figure this out. "Yeah, alright. Let me try to actually pinpoint a name for you."

Words of stars and light rain like droplets through his mind, and strange words he could not possibly understand fall like pebbles, things that tie this earth to people and ones that reach the heavens, while everything in between- "Okay, potshotting now – How about Aether?" What a weird word. "I'm trying, okay- Grimm? Edgar? Stephen?" These are all weird words.

"Uggggh, fine," Maka rolls her head back, very much out of frustration until a moment of… something different goes through her head to him. "Okay, this might be a little stupid, but I think I have a good name…"

Should I want it if it's stupid?

"No, no; the name is fine, it's just the reason I thought of it…" A sense of interest looks at her with what he feels is called an eyebrow raise when another movie? gallops through his head, ushering her to well, tell me, then. "Alright hear me out, but… It's a name that's kind of similar to my dad's but I thought of it because there's a, um, horse movie with the same name, so I thought since you're like a horse- but cooler, I thought I'd give you… a name like that, but cooler than my dad, so…" he's on the edge of his what the hell is a seat when Maka takes a deep breath through her teeth and offers it up hesitantly. "…Can I call you Soul?"

…Y'know… I think I finally understand what grinning is.

Soul starts to get infected with her laugh as she readjusts his handle in her hands, the name likewise looked around in his head like he's had hands his whole life. "…So, I take it you want it?"

Yes, actually, this is like, the opposite of stupid. It's so cool even though I've never heard it before but it's cooler than your dad. Like cooler than cool, like- This feels like my name. Like you call me this and it's what I'm called- His feelings in his- his soul light up like they were his horn again, voice all giddy and practically leaping in place. Maka, call me it. I wanna be called it.

She can't help but chuckle, "Okay, okay; You're Soul. Nice to meet you."

Yeah. Yeah. That is so my name- THIS IS AWESOME!!

"Yeah! Yeah it is!!"

This excitement racing through them both is unstoppable and unlike anything he's felt before, almost like he is strong and bright, better than he ever could be on his own – but in a way that made him not alone, and like running across the world, also.

It's just something so unique and precious and he wants to hold onto it forever, much like the way Maka actually starts twirling him around while they both start whooping, until she pauses as a quieter thought rises up to the surface of even his mind. "…Hey Soul, if you came from somewhere else… what are you going to do now?"

And it just sinks into him for a moment while they're standing there out in the middle of a trail in the woods that he doesn't recognize.

…Huh.

[limpnoodles]

So recently...I got a Venus flytrap. And I absolutely love them to bits. I was so happy to FINALLY get rid of the flys, but after searching a bit about them I learned that unfortunately they die off after they close multiple times.

So of course I'm devastated by this. That my pretty baby's are ganna die sooner than I thought.. BUT on the contrary, it has given me a new Willow headcanon.

------

So what if like one day... Luz and co. go to the store or smth. (Mabey a Menards, we're I got mine😉) And Luz points out the garden area of the store, and ofc Willow immediately perks up and drags Amity or one of the them over to it.

And then she just SEES these fricken CUTE LITTLE PLANTS WITH TEETH?! And like they eat bugs TOO!?

Girl freaks.

Full on fan-girl mode.

She would probably buy the littlest one, as I truly believe she would be happier to raise it on her own, and like just giggle. Cooing to it in the cutest way while saying VERY unsettling things. (And no ofc I did not do this too them when I first saw them)

And then Hunter and Gus just peek over her shoulder in confusion.

Of course Camila buys it for her, very happy the girl is smiling brightly again. And on the way home Willow is clutching the traps in her hands, so terrified their ganna break.

Oh and Hunter would definitely be helping reading the directions, and how much water and sunlight it needs, ect.

So daily, and mabey even more than that, she checks up on them. Even going as far to catch bugs herself and feed them with a tweezers.

And then just one morning, when the sun is shining, Flapjacks are singing, a scream is heard.

Now, everyone is fucking terrified. I mean ofc they are. And so when they all notice Willows empty sleeping bag..Hunter's the first out the door.

And all of them including Camila, are just bounding down the stairs, tripping each other in the process, trying to find there beloved Willow.

And they all just kinda stop when they see her knelt down right by the windowsill.

"Willow? Are you okay?"

Hunter's the first to speak, totting up to her worriedly, placing a tentative hand on her shoulder.

And then she just looks up to him in absolute tears, holding her beloved Venus flytraps in her hands..

Oh.

And before the poor boy could speak, she flung her self at him developing him into probably a bone crushing hug.

Hunter let out a choked gasp, stiffing at the contract. But just as he was about to ease into her soft touch, she pulled away immediately. Sniffling, she wiped her nose on her arm sleeve.

"Im- I'm sorry Hunter, I didn't mean to I just got a little upset about-"

Her panicked gaze drifting to his eye before looking down in the floor in shame. But just as she, herself was about to respond with more apologies, she felt arms wrap around her.

"It's okay...it's not your fault." He would mutter, placing his head onto of hers.

Tears started to well up in her green orbs once more, before returning the hug, griping his sweatshirt. Small sobs escaped the witch, in wich hunter responded by running a soothing hand along her back, not caring how soaked his favorite sweatshirt would be after this.

-----

Look I'm not much of a writer but I love making headcanons.

And im sure everyone is confused as to why our strong and brave Willow is so upset about her plants?

Well it's simple really.

On her 14th birthday her father's got her a Venus Fly trap. Now take I to consideration on how a BOILING ISLES VENUS FLYTRAPS LOOK LIKE. NGL BUT THEY GOTTA LOOK LIKE THIS.

Anyways..I'm guessing she always wanted one when she was little, thinking that it's a great solution for her bug investigation. ( Oh god Clover-🐝)

But ofc, being in the abomination track her father's declined. So like when she finally got it she was probably so happy!! And the memories of her father's doing this for her?? Like come on.

So ofc she would be so happy to see a Little version of her baby's. But the guilt in seeing them die- like that's probably ganna hit her hard, and to think she can't even keep these alive how on earth will hers live, even after how much her father's paid for one!

So she's afraid. She's scared. She scared for her plants. She's scared for her FATHER'S.

So yeah, she broke because some stupid plants died..the same thing that reminds her of her father's back home.

[iwasbored777]

First of all, don’t be a coward, we know the only person brave or stupid enough to get Kagami pregnant is Adrian, secondly let’s keep this hilarious headcanon train rolling and go for Juleka and Rose for pregnancy headcanons

This is one of the best asks I ever got, it had me crying! 100/10

But my headcanon is in future (obviously) where Adrien and Marinette are married and already had their own kid but it happened WAY before the rest of their friends - I'm trying to tell you that Kagami would never have a kid with him cuz a) he's with her friend already and b) he knocked up her friend when she was a teenager so Kagami was like "nah this guy can't keep it in his pants and has never heard of protection, I'm not taking any chances". But maybe Kagami had sperm donor or something, maybe that makes more sense cuz I'm pretty sure she's a canon lesbian.

My friend did the Juleka headcanons before he knew you sent an ask about her and it's great:

Now it's time for our adorable girl, Rose:

- Rose also has the donor but it's some guy with a good medical condition and a good family, they don't know him personally but they know the name

- She goes from sweet to crazy all the time. No one knows why or how or when is that going to happen. Mood swings are INSANE with Rose!

- Rose is having triplets and she is panicking cuz it's too much kids but Juleka is super happy

- Uncle Luka is STILL trying to get pregnant women to like his music - apart from his sister - but Rose just smashed his guitar, poor guy can't catch a break. He's not even sad anymore, he's just offended

- In case you were wondering, yes, the baby Marinette and Adrien had is still madly in love with his music (I wonder why sjsksks)

- If you think Luka's music is annoying Rose, IMAGINE what Jagged's music is doing to her. The poor girl is running away every time he starts playing, Juleka told him that he sucks but he can't stop. Rose tried to jump off of the boat one time cuz she couldn't handle it

- Anarka is making fun of Jagged but feels sorry for Luka

- Speaking of boats, morning sickness is THE WORST on boats so Juleka and Rose had to move somewhere where it's calm, they also did it to protect Rose from Jagged's screeching

- Juleka is still worried because Rose was ill as a kid but Rose is telling her she'll be ok. Of course, Juleka is still overprotective of her

- Rose is crying like crazy all the time when mood swings hit her the hardest

- Juleka got her a puppy to play with as a gift before they get their babies - Luka will take care of the puppy once the babies come cuz these two won't have the time for it

- Rose has come up with at least forty possible baby names and she keeps getting more ideas but nothing sounds perfect for her

- You think your life is hard? Imagine being a sunshine flower kid married to a goth chick and you have to make a compromise for your kids' style. Nothing is ever good enough. Rose picks adorable pink dresses while Juleka picks ripped jeans but one thing they can agree on is that it's all cute cuz it's tiny

This is too adorable to write! Thanks, anon!

[adzrielfaie]

I got to watch The Wheel of Time alone tonight, so I took notes about the episode because I love reading those and seeing what catched people's attention. It was, again, so good! There's a lot I didn't notice the first time 🤣 I looked for Fain when I heard the whistle, but couldn't find him. The portal stones, the tiny guitar on Asmodean. Second time around with my bf, I only spotted Fain once 😮‍💨 felt a lot like where's Waldo!

Here goes :

Oof, Stepin has such a haunted look, it makes the scene very emotional even if I didn't care much about Kerene.

Nynaeve holding on to her braid 🥺

That round funeral shot looks so good.

I'm really liking the intro, now. I wasn't a fan at first, but it's grown on me.

Oh wow, huge time jump!

Moiraine and Lan are so precious!!

Oh, they exchanged their horses for cloaks and some money? Dagger Mat is intense. Rand thinking he's seen that mountain before 😭

Oooooh the bridges are pretty!! So is Tar Valon! Blood and ashes indeed, Rand!

Basel Gill or another old friend of Thom? 🤔 He's supposed to be in Caemlyn, but I think he was cast for season 1? I'm confused and it doesn't matter.

Ouch my heart. "Tell me again... The little girl on the farm...". Ouch, don't hurt me like that! Poor baby.

Nynaeve ♥️ lol Moiraine sees right through her tough act "it's alright to be afraid" yeah no, not to Nynaeve 🥺

Tuatha'an are brave, but like, don't stand in the way of Valda, please, he'll hurt you 🥺 yup, he did.

Nerdy Rand ♥️♥️♥️ Loial!!! "I'm not an Aielman!" Oh baby. Jain Farstrider! Yeah sure, it reminded Rand of Egwene... and he didn't mention that he loves those stories, too, right. Like, to the point of naming his horse after Jain's, somehow... 🧐 I love that his first move to help Mat is : books! (Also, no tower, and comfort, and love, but still... Prophecy book!)

Oh Mat won't remember that promise when he's healed, won't he?

Liandrin hit by a radish and we didn't get to see?! Rude.

Stupid young boy with a death wish being bonded by an Aes Sedai is quite a common trope in this universe...

Yup, Lan and Moiraine are so precious.

Wo! Hands off Egwene!!! Wtf. Wtf. Gosh do I love Egwene 🥰 aaaaah hands off Perrin, too!! Ohhhh Perrin Goldeneyes!! Wtf is Valda doing? (Much emotions, here)

I'm surprised Nynaeve stayed where Moiraine told her to... Poor baby must be so scared. Stepin breaking my heart just there.

Nynaeve and Rand, my precious babies reunited by Loial 🥰 Bonding over their distrust of Aes Sedai, of course. Love them. Oh, I love that they kept Nynaeve healing Egwene and their link. She's unbreakable. Yup. 🥺🥺

Perrin 😭 sweet baby. Gosh Marcus is so good in this scene. The wolves sure are taking their sweet time, uh.

Pfff, fuck off Liandrin, you know very well where Moiraine hid Nynaeve. Stop trying to be sexy, I don't want to like you!

Wait, the forsaken!?! Forsaken statuettes? 🤣 Ishamael, thanks for pointing to him, I wouldn't have known. Graendal is the only easy one to spot. Is that Lanfear (not sure, no moon to help me), the long neck one gives me Semirrhage vibes, I don't know why. Gosh I'm so bad at identifying the male forsaken, I can't figure out any of them 🤣 I'm pretty bad at visualizing stuff from books in my head (vibes I get, looks? Not so much), so that was hard.

At first I thought Alanna was eating a peach and got so confused.

Damn Lan's speech to Nynaeve is going to be so good. Oh no. Stepin used Nynaeve's herbs on Lan! Of course. Like, I guessed it from the teaser, but still, argh, I got caught in the moment and forgot he had to go kill himself. 😭

Hmm ok, Lan's yell makes sense. I figured it would, but it's so weird for Lan to express that much emotions.

[harieltaj]

Your mother has convinced her friends to bring their kids over, "for a get-together," she says. "Give the kids a chance to know themselves."

You listen as she makes the call, the date is set and you pray they get food or get in an accident so you don't have to see or interact with them. You flash her a smile when she tells you you're going to love Nduka, her best friend's son. You pray Nduka gets sick, or falls into a well and isn't rescued until the day after the get-together. You realize you're being mean, so you pray the trailer falls on you instead, or you fall into a well and aren't found until the event is over.

You're a pretty girl with large brown eyes. Emeka the potter said it makes you look cute and that was when he kissed you. Inside his room that smelt of burnt clay, you let him fondle your breast. But then you had to leave because your mom had called. That was the last time you saw or spoke to Emeka. He left for his uncle's place in Onitsha and changed his number.

You're short and your petite height is just an added feature to your overflowing beauty. If only you knew Bankole spent all his time reading poems and trying to write one, maybe you'd have been able to see through his bluff and refuse him the chance to place his warm mouth on your breasts. You didn't know and the next time you saw him, he told you he got a message from the Lord; you're not it for him.

Your small mouth is beautiful and your cocoa-colored skin is a work of art drove you to Hassan's hand. It was the accent he spoke with, your belief that love knew no religion or tribe, and the way he paid attention to your every word that made you fall for him. He had the brightest eyes and all these dreams he wanted you to be part of. But then, he had to go abroad and you broke when he told you not to wait for him.

Your sense of fashion is explicable and enviable, the way you let your skirt stop just before your knee is an art only goddesses can achieve. You are a goddess. Vanessa was the best friend you've ever had. Everyone compared her to pawpaw, so yellow and edible. Same height and you both had a great connection; it would have been weird if you didn't end up as friends. She was your hype woman. She cared about you as you did her. Then you walked into Gideon's house, the boy you were dating, and found them tangled in the sheets, going at it like spent swimmers.

Bose was quite the sympathetic soul. She cursed Vanessa and Gideon on your behalf and shut down any attempt they made to talk to you. You were grateful for her; she was heaven sent. Your money ran out quicker than water in the desert. You had to buy for two. She guilt-tripped you whenever you didn't buy for her or said you were broke. She reminded you, in case you suffered amnesia every now and then, that your parents were well to do whereas hers put the poor in poverty. When you didn't give her the money she had asked for, she called you a bad person and told you to prepare yourself because there was no way hell would pass by you. And when you get to hell, because you would, she won't give you a drop of water even if Father Abraham begs her to. She slammed the door after saying you deserved every heartbreak you got.

Samson was your strength. He told you he admired the way you held your head high. He said you were the strongest person he knew because after having your heart broken and used like that, you still put on a brave front and smiled like you didn't have the weight of the world on your shoulders. He said you were a hero and with so much sincerity in his eyes, he said you reminded him so much of his mom. Boys preferred women who reminded them of their mom, everyone said so. You felt like you've hit a gold mine. He was the one for you, but you held out just in case. You gave it up when he told you he loved you in a way only writers could describe.

It was in his apartment. He had kissed you with so much intensity that shook your knees and the only witness was the blue bulb that tried to light up the tiny room. He had raised you up and placed you on the table which, happily, was wood. Plastic wouldn't have been able to support the wave of intensity that was crashing through you. The way his tongue invaded every corner of your mouth made your body go wild. His lips were on your neck suffocating every reasonable thought you could form. He nibbled dedicatedly on your neck, writers would say he was marking you as his. You could still remember thinking that he was about to turn you to a vampire, a clear sign that he was in it for the long haul.

Then he pulled away and kissed you even harder on the lips if only bulbs could narrate. You felt everything he wanted to say. He was in between your legs and your shirt was hitched really high. Your bodies were pressed together and he had one hand on your cheek, holding your face to him, while the other made miracles on your nipple.

He pulled away and placed his forehead on yours. Both of his hands rested on your face and you exchanged air. You watched his eyes close as he struggled to catch his breath. He swallowed a lot and you knew he was trying to control himself. His eyes opened and you felt trapped in the want and love that resided in them. There was lust, plea, and something else. He opened his mouth to say something and shut it back up. You're breathing heavily, anticipating his words, and then finally, he spoke.

"Somto, I love you. I really do. The thought of you consumes me so much that it actually hurts. I can't function without you; you're invading my thoughts."

Your heartbeat could be featured as drums in punk rock. He kissed you, and by Aphrodite, you couldn't form a thought that didn't involve sex. Romance authors should see you; you finally found your prince charming. He unclasped your bra and you whisper his name.

"Samson."

His hand was out from your shirt and resting on your waist. He brushed his lips against yours.

"I need you. Please, don't make me stop."

How many times have you read those words wishing they'd be said to you? Like the million characters you've read about, you gave your book worthy reply.

"I don't want you to."

Your shirt came off as did his. Soon, you were going at it like cavemen. Not on the table, goodness no, Samson couldn't afford to replace it if you ended up breaking it. On his small bed, you gave yourself to him. Funny, the romance books didn't mention that he would cut all forms of connections from you. Maybe they did and you didn't read that part. You were confused and hurt, even more, when you found out it was all a bet and he didn't know his mother. He grew up in an orphanage.

Your self-esteem gave way for insecurity. There had to be something wrong with you. Maybe a curse that made people want to hurt and abandon you. There was no sunshine in your world and gloom and darkness lead you on. You couldn't trust anyone. You faked and pretended your way through it all. at school, premarital hell was condemned. At church, you were announced a candidate of hell. At home, your mother condemned the girls whose stories came out. You could barely breathe.

You're sitting in the dining room and everywhere is packed. Your mom's friends and their kids have arrived. You're watching them talk and exchange pleasantries. The girls in your age grade are sitting close to you at the dining table chatting, but you don't join in. You have your eyes on your siblings, both boys, watching them play host. They're talking with boys and flirting with girls and being cute with kids. One of the girls says the younger boy, the one you're older than, is cute. You say nothing, you smile. You don't tell her he has plans to be a priest because something about people didn't work well with him. The glass of orange juice feels like royalty as you pay it all your attention.

You hear your name and you find your mother and her best friend beckoning for you. You walk over to them, a fake smile in place. Your mother tells you he's here. She points to the young man standing with your older brother. Your mother hands you a mirror and you stare at your twenty-three-year-old face and wonder when the pimples showed up.

Your mother hurries you to him, her and her friend dishing out instructions. You catch only one.

"Be yourself. Nduka doesn't like pretenders."

As you make your way to him, you know Nduka isn't going to love you so much. You search your head for who you truly are. You push past your demons and personalities and you find her sitting by the corner, her knees to her chest, her hands wrapped tightly around her knees. She's crying and hoping the walls she had built won't crumble. She doesn't want to get hurt again. Your brother smiles as you reach them.

As he introduces you to Nduka, you reach for your charming personality and slip it on. Your brother comes up with an excuse and leave. You see your mothers grinning.

"I'm Nduka," he says even though you just been introduced. You flash him a smile and shake his outstretched hand.

"I'm Somto."

When your hands connect, you see her raise her head. Your personalities are thrilled as they rush around prepping to be slipped on. She shakes her head furiously and your personalities are asking her to shut it. She's refusing the idea of him and in your head, you hear her recite her mantra about how she can't take another hurt. You tell her you understand. She doesn't have to worry.

Nduka smiles at you and you smile back. You already know this is a fruitless venture, this wasn't going to lead anywhere. As Nduka tells you the reason you haven't been seeing him around was that he was abroad. You tell her it's okay.

Not today, not ever.

[maryenette-writes]

His Eyes [Dick Grayson x Reader] AU

A/N: Based of A Tale of Nine Lives by Akimiya Jun

Pairing: Dick Grayson x Reader

Warnings: Nothing much

Word Count: 2101

The day was young, yet you found yourself lying on the couch of your shared apartment, flicking through the array of channels for one that would satisfy you. Nothing was on this early in the morning and your boyfriend was still asleep. 

You glanced out at the sky from the window and smiled at the darkening sky. You loved rainy days, especially when it became dark, with thunder rumbling in the distance. It was no secret that you loved the rainy weather. Not only was the sound of rain drumming against the glass calming, staying inside, safe in your cozy home was also a very attractive way to pass time.

“Mornin’ beautiful.” you heard the alluring voice of your sleepy partner. You turned your head and giggled at the sight of him--with his messy bed hair, half-opened eyes and sluggish actions. He was still as handsome as ever and butterflies filled your stomach. What an effect this man had on you.

“Good morning Mr Grayson, rise and shine honey.” you greeted, jumping off the couch and wrapping your arms around his neck as you leaned in for a short kiss. Apparently it was too short for his liking for when you pulled away he gave you a disappointed pout that reminded you of a child.

He followed you onto the couch and glanced at the sight outside the window. “Shine indeed…” he commented. His arms snaked around your waist and you found yourself sitting in front of him with your back pressed against his chest.

“Not gonna eat?” you quizzed. You felt him shake his head.

“Not hungry, not yet anyway. It’s way too early in the morning.”

“Mhmm…” The two of you sat in silence, flicking through the channels and listening to the rain appear, turning from a drizzle to a full storm. It was so peaceful and strangely calm.

“Hey [F/N]?” Dick whispered, breaking the silence. “Tell me about your lives.”

“My lives?”

“Yeah, your lives.”

You nodded slowly, knowing that it was a subject that you had to discuss sooner or later. When you first got into a relationship with Dick, you had informed him of your ability, how you had nine lives. Whenever you died, you would reincarnate in some other era, with all the memories of your past lives. You never talked about your past with him, until now of course.

“Okay.” you agreed, shifting to the side so you were facing him.

“Well… how would I start…” you hummed, forming your thoughts, “in each life I had only one goal; to find someone.”

“Someone?”

You nodded. “Someone very special…”

In my first life, we were nothing but mere peasants, but our love? Oh, our love was grand and written in the stars. We were carefree and oblivious, but even when our life was difficult as the poorest of the poor, we found happiness in each other.

However, we were fools to think that our god would grant us the luxury of happiness. A plague was spreading across the land, one which would be known as the Black Death. It took many lives; the lives of my parents, of his parents, of our neighbors and friends. It was only a matter of time before it reached our doorstep.

We tried our best to stay alive. We sought every medicine and remedy but the healers of our time were nothing but pretentious fools, only there to lie their way into our pockets. We were poor, we couldn’t afford proper care.

I was the first to go, and I always thought that god was kind to me, letting me die first, for I know not how to continue if he were to die first. He was by my side the entire time, holding my hand and never letting it go until my last breath.

“[F/N], my love, I beg of you.” he cried, gripping my hand desperately, “do not leave me.”

“I cannot…” I muttered, doing my best to hold on, “I-I am so sorry, please… do not be sad… please…”

He cried so much, he couldn’t hold his tears. “I cannot lose you too…”

“I-I love you… never forget that…”

I didn’t want to go, but I had no choice, but I knew, from that moment, looking at his gorgeous azure eyes, I knew that I would find him again. No matter what, through thick and thin, until the dying breath of my last life, I would find him again.

In my second life, I was no longer some peasant. In fact, we were both born into a respected house. We were fortunate and I thought that our god had finally given us the life we had deserved, even when I, a girl with nine lives, was an abomination of nature.

We were wedded on a bright summer day, sky brighter than the color of his eyes, those eyes I remembered oh so well. It was a perfect wedding, and I can recall our vows as if I had uttered those words yesterday. A month later, I was with a child.

But alas, it was all too good to be true.

A cry of anguish left my mouth and I tried to control my breathing. “I-It hurts, it hurts so much!”

“Keep pushing, your baby is almost out!” the midwife informed.

“I-I can’t--”

“You must! For your child, and your your husband! For your family!”

The pain of childbirth was unbearable for me, perhaps too unbearable, because when my child was born, I didn’t even get to see his or my child’s face before the Grim Reaper came to claim my soul once again.

And that was how my second life ended.

In my third life, I found him once again, and oh how happy we were. Like the naive fool I was, I thought that perhaps this time, it wouldn’t end with a tragedy, as the last two did. I was hopeful and faithful to my god. I prayed every single day that He would have mercy on me, a lonely girl who wants nothing but happiness. If he were to punish me, he shall do it in other ways, for my lover did not deserve my curse as well.

But my prayers went unanswered.

“Burn that witch! Burn that witch!” The monotonous chant of the crowd filled the village he and I lived in.

“She is not a witch!” he cried, struggling against the villagers holding him back, “stop it! Do not harm her!”

“She has bewitched him!” a villager cried in horror. “Burn her!”

I watched him struggle even more, crying and shouting for them not to hurt me. However, I was already tied to a stake, and they had already lit the fire which was spreading towards me at an alarming rate.

As I try to implant the blueness of his eyes into my mind for my next life, I shed no tears as the flames engulfed me.

In my fourth life, we were explorers, always at sea searching for new land. Out of all my lives, I think this was my favorite, for the sea always reminded me of the color of his eyes.

It was the most freedom we had in so long. In our other lives, we were tied down to one place, but in this life, we were free, roaming the world. No rules tied us down. No one could judge us and we could be ourselves.

By now, I knew something would go wrong. It always did, yet I still allowed myself to let go, to be happy, even when I knew that one day, that would all be taken away from me again.

It was on one very stormy night when it happened.

We were both in deck with our crew, trying to control our ship as the storm raged on. Water splattered onto my face and the sea tipped the ship from one side to another, threatening to turn us over. We were scared, but I wasn't, for I knew this was it.

This was our time.

“The storm is lifting! Come on, we can pull through!” he yelled through the crashing waves.

I ran towards him to assist him. He glanced at me, giving me a grateful smile. “We can do this, we’ll make it through.” His voice was shaky, due to the fear of the cold, I couldn't tell. All I could do was nod, but I knew the truth.

And then the inevitable happened. I catches a glimpse of his ocean-colored eyes once more before the water drowned me whole.

In my fifth life, I experienced the beginning of the first Great War. I was terrified but my lover, oh he bravely volunteered to fight.

We were oblivious and thought the war would end by Christmas but it only dragged on. He sent me letters, telling me of the horrors of war and the disgusting, inhumane things he was forced to do, yet he never forgot to mention his love for me. In every letter he reminded me of how much he loved me, of how much he missed me and of how much he couldn't wait to return to me.

A knock resonated through my small, cozy home in Britain, and I moved to open it. I was greeted with an officer, one that I didn't recognize, and the officer had a sad look on his face.

“No…” I shook my head in disbelief, “no, it can't… it can't be…”

“I’m sorry Madam, but your--”

“No!” I clasped my hand over my mouth. It was the first time he died before me, and the pain consumed me. It was as if my heart was being ripped out of my chest.

I cried like never before that day. I was in a dark place, mourning for the loss of my love. I never got to kiss his face one last time, I never got to see his smile or his lovely eyes again.

It wasn't long before I fell ill.

And soon enough, my time had ended, just weeks after his.

I guess one could truly die of a broken heart after all.

In my next three lives, I never found him.

I had died quickly in my sixth life, being a victim of a crossfire between the police and the mafia in Chicago.

My seventh life brought me back to Europe, where the Second World War occurred. As if God was punishing me, I was among the unfortunate that died as civilian casualty.

In my eighth life, I lived a little longer. I always roamed the country, searching for him. It was difficult to remember things, having a memory that spanned over several lives, but I always remembered his eyes. Those eyes were eyes that I could never mistake anywhere.

However, as years went by, I began to lose hope. I couldn't find him anywhere, nowhere at all. I couldn't help but think: was this it? Have I lost him forever? No matter how much I search, no matter where I traveled, I couldn't find him.

I met my end in a road accident before I had the chance to meet him again.

“And this is my ninth life, my last life.” you explained, “and I must admit it is my happiest life yet, because after all this time, I have finally found him again.”

Dick stared at you in confusion, wondering who you were talking about. Then it clicked.

“W-Wait… are you… are you talking about me?” he stammered, his eyes widening in shock.

You placed your hand on his cheek and nodded, tears welling up your eyes. “Yes. All this time, it had been you.”

“But… for all your… I’m not…”

“You are, and you always will be.” you reassured, “I have loved you for centuries, Dick, and I have yet to stop. In all my lives, I had never met the same person twice, all were different, all but you. It was meant to be, I know it.”

“Still…” Dick murmured, “to think you spent all your lives searching for me… how could you even remember me?”

“I could never forget your eyes.” you stated, playing with his hair, “and don't feel bad because I could never find true happiness unless it is with you.”

Dick laughed, a single tear falling from his eyes as he did so. “I don't deserve you, someone you dedicated her entire existence for me.”

“What is meant to be, is meant to be.” you said, stealing a kiss from him, “and like I said, our love is written in the stars.”