#pretty sure the orbs were just floating in space too right? that would be A Thing

[mercury-prince]

Now, what I want to see from star trek is how aliens represent other aliens in art. Imagine if that ancient Bajoran guy who space-sailed to cardassia came back and told ppl how cardassians look, spawning hundreds of kinda shitty drawings in bestiaries after a long game of telephone where they barely look recognisable (like these: first is a scorpion, second is a panther)

[Image ID: a square medieval illustration of a creature with a human-ish face, a fish-like body, and four limbs sticking out akimbo. it has a sharp tail that is piercing someone's hand. /.End ID]

[Image ID: a deer-shaped creature with a red belly, face, and legs, a blue back, green butt, and beige neck. it has white streaks coming out of its mouth, as if it's exhaling or spitting. a group of rams, sheep and deer look at it, with very confused expressions. /. End ID]

All the pre-warp species that the federation had broken the prime directive with must have some sick paintings of vaguely humanoid creatures standing around in matching outfits.

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY: do other species have something like the zodiac? Or drawings of the star systems around their planet, using familiar figures to link different stars together? What did they call the foreign planets, before they learned they were called Vulcan or Romulus or Ferenginar? Imagine all the pre-warp star maps in different alien languages and art styles. the ones we have irl say so much about the cultures they were made in.

first pic [Image ID: a photograph of the nebra sky disk, from 1800-1600 BC. It is a turquoise coloured metal disk with a gold circle representing the sun, a crescent moon, and small circles depicting the Pleiadies star cluster. /. End ID]

second pic [Image ID: an annotated diagram of the Mayan Wakah-Chan Tree, a design found on the burial lid of Lord Pacal, from circa 680 AD. It is an illustrated diagram depicting the sun, moon and planets with intricately patterned symbols. /. End ID]

third pic [Image ID: an illustration from The Book of Fixed Stars by Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, circa 964 ad. it depicts the constellation of Orion, using a black ink drawing of a kneeling figure with the stars drawn as red circles on different parts of the body. Each of the stars are labelled in Arabic. /. End ID]

I could go on forever about how we love to look into the vast unknown to find reflections of ourselves, and how i think star trek is an extension of that urge we've clearly been having since the dawn of time. Its not just the need to study things that will help with our everyday lives (like looking at the harvest moon), its the way we often take a celestial body and make it the symbol of a human characteristic, like how klingons represent honour and vulcans represent logic. what we think about space and what we do to fill in the gaps of the unknown say a lot about how we think in general. and according to trek we think a lot about weird little blokes in weird little outfits so. yh fair enough

i think this is my most research heavy shitpost ever lmao. but please add ur thoughts or take these ideas however u like

[itsclydebitches]

I want someone to explain to me how the heck Blake ended up dropped nearby Weiss when she fell with Ruby?? Shouldn't, logically, she be closer to her? Or do we just say "it's fake wonderland, logic no longer exists". Also how did they all find each other but not find Jaune. Not complaining, exactly, that he's not made an appearance just... confused by it. (Would be hilarious if the writers somehow forgot they even dropped him to begin with.)

I think the explanation for that is in the Volume 9 sneak peek we saw a... year ago? A while, anyway. The one where we get the events of the finale from Ruby's PoV. When she falls Blake sorta disappears after Ruby looks away for a moment, then she winds up in the in-between place with the floating orange orbs (which are a strange detail ngl), Neo shows up, they fight, Ruby throws her off, and then Neo just kinda hovers there menacingly until she too fades away. Ruby then wakes up on the beach alone.

So yeah, it's an "explanation" in the sense that the story seems to have gone, "Magical voids mean we can just have everyone wake up wherever we please, rather than tackling the more challenging structure of keeping those who fell together." Honestly, I'd much rather Ruby wake up and forge an actual relationship with Blake + deal with Neo without the rest of her team than, uh, meeting a mouse.

As for Jaune, who knows. More convenient plotting where the team stumble across each other quickly--as in, the first episode or two given the theory that our trailer isn't showing much beyond that--but for inexplicable reasons he remains lost? Does it have to do with the fact that maybe they aren't looking for him if Weiss assumes/hopes he made it to the portal? Or the reigning theory: Jaune is an antagonist of the Volume, changed by Wonderland, and thus is actively avoiding the girls?

Personally, I'm not persuaded by that though, for a couple of reasons. 1. It would require a Wonderland where both space (falling in different places) and time are seriously wonky, given that Jaune fell last, but is presumably warped by Wonderland long before the girls even wake up. I mean, it's possible, especially given our inspiration, but it's way more confusing/messy. 2. If Jaune were the antagonist I would honestly expect them to hint at that in the trailer. Given his popularity across much of the fandom and the writers' own interest in his character, that seems the perfect way to hook a lot of fans after the long hiatus. And 3. The theory revolves around Jaune being the knight which yeah, tracks in an aesthetic sense (sword and shield) but the narration of our presumed antagonist is a woman and the shot from the back that the trailer gave us 100% looks like a woman (as RT would design one)/not like Jaune/I'm pretty sure that's her long hair up in a bun. The theory was more plausible back when the knight/armorer/whoever she is was only wearing a helmet.

Really, I'm not sure what to make of Jaune's lack of screentime in the trailer. Again, it could simply be that they only picked scenes from the first 1-2 episodes, but it feels like we're already struggling with the problem I pointed out all the way back in Volume 8: by having Jaune kill Penny and then fall into the void, RT created a situation where he has to be at the center of the next Volume's emotional journey--you can't just ignore what he did + his presence in Wonderland--but simultaneously, Jaune shouldn't be the focus when this is otherwise a Volume about our title team working through their own doubts. Now, we're seeing that precise push-and-pull in the fandom. Some fans are horrified that he didn't show up. How can you possibly ignore Jaune right now?? Meanwhile, some are relieved that he didn't show up. Good, this wasn't supposed to be your Volume anyway. RT really backed themselves into a corner with this one, imo, because if Jaune's journey gets a lot of focus we'll be right back to, Why is he Mr. Character Development when all four girls are RIGHT THERE, but if they don't do enough we've got more, Love that you introduced these HUGE plot points and then did so little with them. If Volume 9 centers the emotional journey around finding Jaune and comforting him over Penny's death, we've got a problem. If they mostly ignore his actions and focus on the girls, we've got a problem. It's not that RWDE folk are refusing to be happy about what's put up on screen (as I often see the more protective fans claiming), but rather we recognize the mistakes made in the past that are now leading to more issues.

[mae-gi-writes]

Once Again (PT.4) | Iwaizumi Hajime (Haikyu!)

ONCE AGAIN | PART FOUR

Summary

Iwaizumi’s broken marriage results in his five-year-old son trying to match him up with his primary school teacher, whom he thinks will make a wonderful replacement for a mother.

Genre: fluff, angst, f! Reader x dad! Iwaizumi

PREVIOUS PART | NEXT PART

----

"Miss Y/N, is daddy okay?" Hoisuke peers up at you from the backseat as you pull up to your apartment unit. You glance at him through the rearview mirror and smile, "don't worry, he's fine. He's just going to be slightly late."

Iwaizumi had called you earlier that day, sounding breathless and stressed out as he iterated how slow traffic was moving. On impulse, you'd proposed to bring Hoisuke over to your house to make things more comfortable and after a slight bout of hesitation, he'd agreed to pick his son up in the comfort of your home.

"This is the first time I come to your place, miss Y/N," Hoisuke's eyes are darting back and forth across the tiny kitchenette to your right to the small tv screen plugged to the wall on the left. Granted, your flat is merely anything special and far from ready for unexpected guests. But the sharp curiosity gleaming in your student's eyes holds no judgement and for that you apprrciate him all the more.

"You hungry?" You ask while settling him down at your tiny dinner table compact enough to fit snuggly up to your kitchen counter.

Hoisuke purses his lips in thought and you swear he's learnt this facial expression from observing his father, "hm yeah. A little bit," before throwing you a sheepish grin.

So you whip up something simple; omelette rice with your special Korean chilli sauce as a sudden downpour splatters through the cityscape, the rain dancing to its own rhythm as it splatters over your windowpane. The TV plays in the background, a random cartoon that gets interrupted with Hoisuke's giggles and that ignites an affectionate smile on your lips as you chide himto eat. And you're not really sure why your chest feels tight and filled to the brim with comfort, but you realise you don't actually mind having the small human around that much.

Teachers aren't supposed to have favourites. But you admit to yourself that teachers are only human. And if you are to choose, Hoisuke would be one of yours.

"Miss Y/N, do you have a boyfriend?" Hoisuke's voice pierces through your thoughts and as you blink down at him, you shake your head, "no, I'm single as a pringle."

"You are not married then."

"No I'm not."

"Great!" Hoisuke jumps up on his seat, eyes twinkling with mischief, "then do you want to marry daddy?"

"What?" You laugh out, "it doesn't work that way Hoisuke."

"But I like you miss Y/N," he replies with the seriousness of a child wanting his way, "You'd be a great mum. Can you be my mum?"

"Oh gosh kiddo," your hand reachea out to ruffle his hair, heart twisting at how easily he leans into your touch, "I'd love to be your mum, but--"

"Then marry my dad," Hoisuke's mumble is muffled against your side. He unconsciously snuggles up to you and you caress the top of his head down to his nape, "daddy likes you too. He really likes you. You make him happy. He laughs a lot when you're around, and he doesn't get sad like he usually does when Mama is here."

"But that would be unfair to your mum wouldn't it?" You say softly, "you can't have two mums. She'll be upset."

There's a slight pause where you can see the cogs turning in his brain, "yeah," he says eventually, "but I don't really like going to Mama's anyway--"

The sound of your doorbell jolts you both to attention. You give Hoisuke's head one more ruffle before getting up to unlock the door.

Only to come face to face with none other than Hoisuke's mother.

You blink. Once. Twice. Unconsciously taking a step back.

She's pretty. Prettier up close, with those feline cat eyes and that full mouth that renders any man crazy. Standing a few inches higher than you, there is no doubt as to why Iwaizumi had fallen for her charms in the first place. She looks like the kind of woman that would still be elegant even dressed in a mechanician's uniform.

"H-Hello," your eyes dart from hers to a blank spot on the wall opposite, "can I help?"

"Where's Hoisuke?" Her voice is smooth, yet hard enough to make you wince.

"I--" your mind races. Isn't Iwaizumi supposed to pick him up? And how the hell does she know where you live?

She seems to read your face as she says, "I saw you with my son leaving the school. You're his...teacher, aren't you? I was waiting to pick him up."

"I thought Iwaizumi-san--"

"I don't need a reason to see my son," she arches her brows at you in a way that makes you want to crawl under a carpet and hide.

"Mama?" Hoisuke's voice floats from behind you, a tentative waver of nervousness as you hear him pad up to the door.

"Does Iwaizumi-san know you're picking him up?" You hope your tone is diplomatic, but the way her body tenses proves you otherwise, "You can tell him Hoisuke's with his mother," she nods at her child, "now come on Hoisuke. Let's go home."

Maybe feeling the tension in the air, Hoisuke merely shrinks back, "but it's Daddy that picks me up."

"Yes well, Daddy's not here now is he?" She gestures aggressively towards him, "now come on."

"Maybe we should wait until Iwaizumi-san gets here," you try to smooth things over, "he's on his way--"

"Don't tell me what to do with my child," Mizune snaps and without warning, grabbing hold of Hoisuke's arm before pulling him out of the flat. He resists.

"Mama no, let's wait for Daddy--"

"Daddy isn't coming. Now stop being so difficult," she doesn't relent against the way her son twists and kicks at the ground while you stand there, mind blind with panic because you've never actually had to deal with such a situation before.

"Mama please!" Hoisuke cries out with a sob.

You want to move. You urge yourself to. But your feet won't budge. It's like you're rooted in place.

Hoisuke has started crying at this point and in an attempt to smoothen things out, you try again by saying, "I'm sure we can all calm down and talk this out. As a teacher, I cannot--"

"That's right," Mizune's feline pupils narrow down on you, making you flinch at the rage simmering through those dark orbs, "you're his teacher. And as a teacher, you should know how to keep your boundaries. You're not his mother and you never will be. So fucking stay out of my family's life."

The words burn as they etch themselves into memory and you can only watch, hand clutched to the door as Mizune drags her crying son away. His cries are loud enough that they bounce throughout the corridor and keeps resonating even when he's long gone, as you try to comb through the last fifteen minutes where everything has turned upside down.

Fucking stay out of my family's life.

Your brain reels. Your heart feels heavy. You don't know what to do, what to say.

And Mizune's words are as sharp as a knife.

Don't tell me what to do with my child.

A sob slowly catches the back of your throat, eyes slowly brimming with an onset of tears.

You're not his mother.

The truth hurts. You know that Hoisuke is not your child, know that all this time it's merely Iwaizumi and his son, and then you watching on the sidelines. But hearing the cold rejection thrust in your face hurts more than you'll admit.

You aren't quite sure how long you stand there gazing into the empty corridor as if if you will it hard enough, Hoisuke will come running back to you. It is only when a familiar alto reaches your ears that you snap back to attention:

"Y/N?"

Jerking at the sound and looking up to see none other than Iwaizumi, drenched and breathless, standing a few feet away from you, your breath hitches in warning.

He closes the distance between you, frowning upon noticing the tears at the corner or your eyes, "what's wrong? Where is Hoisuke--"

"I'm..." your eyes drop to the ground, "I'm sorry," your whimper is barely above a whisper and you feel him move closee, his hand gently grasping your arm.

"Y/N?" His voice is gentle, though ragged and breathy, "what happened?"

It's probably the gentlest he's ever been with you. Turning away to cup your mouth with your hand, your teeth clamp down onto your lower lip in hopes of keeping the emotion from spilling over.

"Mizune came," you murmur out, "she took Hoisuke home."

There's a sharp intake of breath on his part. A pause, "how did--"

"She followed us."

Iwaizumi lets out a sigh as he moves towards you and you stagger back to hide your tears, but it proves useless when his hand grasps your arm to pull your hand away.

Deep brown mocha meet yours. Your throat tightens.

"Sorry," you breathe out a forced chuckle but it's clear from Iwaizumi's face that he's spotted your tears, and that he just knows that there is something bothering you.

But he doesn't ask. Doesn't question your intent or your feelings.

Instead, he pulls you close, close enough you're stumbling into him, before his hand wounds around the back of your head and presses you against his shoulder.

It shocks you, the sudden intimacy of his touch. His citrus smell once again invades your space and you can't find it in yourself to keep on holding on before you break down.

Maybe it's because you had felt-- at this point in time -- that you were someone significant in Hoisuke and Iwaizumi's life that you're not crying into Iwaizumi's shoulder as if everything is going downhill in your life. But you're comforted by the casual way he holds you with his head turned away so that you can bury yourself in the crook of his collarbone.

"Sorry," you manage to mumble out after you've managed to calm down. He's moved you back into your flat and has sat you down onto your kitchen chair, having rummaged through your utensils to bring you a cup of water that you sip on gratefully, if only to act as a distraction from the way he's gazing at you.

Iwaizumi shakes his head silently, looks away and clears his throat, "I'm gonna call her. You good?"

You nod and after searching your face for a few more seconds, he slides out of his seat and walks away with the device already presses to his ear. Bowing your head and gulping down the rest of the water, you manage to block out his angry alto resonating through the compact space as you focus on regaining control of yourself. You rarely fall to pieces like that, rarely give in to the downward pull of your emotions because the nature of your job obliges you to.

"Y/N."

You jump involuntarily and look up to see the said man sporting a frown, "is Hoisuke okay?" You ask.

"He's fine," a sigh escapes his lips as he slides back into the chair as if there's a weight pressing down onto his shoulders, "I'll pick him up tomorrow after school."

You nod. Good, the last thing you need is for Hoisuke to be disrupted by problems that don't concern him.

When he speaks next though, his alto is hoarse and thick, "I'm sorry Y/N. You don't deserve to get in the middle of all this."

"It's okay."

His eyes pierce yours with burning hot intensity, causing your gaze to drop to your fists laying across the table, knuckles so tight they're turning white.

A bout of silence ensues, lest for the pounding in your heart while your thoughts take on a tumultous turn for the worse. What if Mizune is angry? What if she stops Hoisuke from coming to school altogether? What if she makes her child move just for the sake of keeping him away from his teacher who can't seem to keep her nose out of anyone's business? What if--

Warmth floods your hands so suddenly that it interrupts your train of thought. Head jerking up in surprise to see Iwaizumi's hands clasp yours, your blood suddenly pulses through your limbs upon feeling his thumb gently stroke over your knuckles.

Iwaizumi is not a man of words. That much you know, but this evening has been full of surprises for you both. So you force yourself to relax, almost enjoying the gentlest of his touches fluttering across your skin.

"How," your words are choked, "how angry is she?"

"That doesn't matter."

"But what if--"

"None of this is your fault, Y/N," he replies firmly, followed by a gentle squeeze, "whatever you have cooking in that head of yours, stop."

Nodding and sighing in defeat, you lapse into a more comfortable silence as the time dwindles on. It's different to have someone else occupying your flat, considering that you've gotten so used to living along after your horrible breakup. A good kind of different.

When you bid him goodbye that evening -- granted you shall wake up with dark circles and puffy eyes the next day -- he suprises you with another casual, one-armed hug which signifies so much more for the usually reserved man, Hoisuke's bag hanging loosely from the other. He holds you close, his grip strong and secure and making you wish you can melt in a puddle of warmth at his feet, while his cheek pillows atop your temple against the side of your head. You lean in, cozy and warm, while his heart beats underneath your ear like a gentle drum easing you of today's worries and you wish you have the willpower to keep yourself away, in vain.

He pulls away slightly, mutters a soft "night" before a ghost of a kiss imprints itself on your temple.

Your breath hitches but the moment is gone all too son. He's already swivelling around and making his way down the corridor, leaving you to stare after him with a wild, raging heart.

You know, without a doubt, that you're already a little too skin-deep.

----

Iwaizumi is furious. Filled to the brim with a rage that's threatening to bubble over his insides.

He'd gone round to fetch Hoisuke in the morning as promised, just managing to keep himself from knocking his ex-wife's double mahogany doors down only to be greeted by that stupid bastard who'd stolen his wife away.

Todoka had always roamed within the same circle of friends as Iwaizumi and Mixune, having met under the same dormitory roof and sharing common sports interests. So imagine how big of a slap it was to hear that he'd been the one stealing kisses and sharing soft subtle touches with his wife behind his back.

"I could've driven him if only you'd let me," Mizune had told him as they waited for Hoisuke to finish brushing his teeth. is ex-wife's familiar soprano made him tense. Her face was a cold mask of indifference that covered up her silent anger. She'd folded her arms, chin jutted out and lips pursed, "he's my son too, you know."

"Was he still your son when you went and fucked Todoka?"

She'd sighed. As if dealing with the tantrum of a child, "Why are you bringing this up again?"

"Because you never put him first. Not when he threw his tantrums, not when he cried for you. Not even when he was sick," Iwaizumi spat out, the words tasting bitter upon his tongue.

"I had issues Hajime, you know that--"

"Like what? Like we weren't good enough for you? Like I wasn't pulling myself apart while you were out for nights on end?" Iwaizumi would've continued with an onslaught of pent-up statements if his son hadn't spoken out:

"Daddy?"

"Hey bud," Iwaizumi's anger had deflated like a hot air balloon, "you ready to go?"

And so he packed his son up in the car, his ex-wife watching his every move, and just after he'd closed his vehicle door did Mizune mention something about you.

"Do you like her?"

He'd bristled, "none of your business."

"Hoisuke is my son," Mizune's eyes had hardened into steel, "I don't need anyone else filling up his head with stupid ideas, nor do I want him to get hurt--"

"Like you did?" The words were fire burning upon his tongue. His shoulders were squared as he faced her fully, "stop beating around the bush, Mizune. We both know you hate the fact that Hoisuke loves spending time with Y/N."

"That's not it, I--"

"Y/N has spent more time with Hoisuke in a week than you did in a month. She's wiped his tears more timesthat you've seen him cry," he swivels towards his car then, "are we done?"

"You're acting like a child."

"I'm not the one picking a fight because of some petty jealousy," Iwaizumi had snapped.

"I'm not jealous!" Mizune burst out, her patience finally wearing thin, "I'm trying to look out for him, for you! She's not right for you--"

"Don't. Talk about her like that,” Anger had flared at how dismissively she spoke of you, visible as his knuckles tightened and a vein throbbed in his forehead, "and if you know what's good for you, you'll stay the fuck out of my life."

He'd driven off without looking back, knowing full well he'd shocked her into silence and if he were to be honest with himself, that outburst had eased some of the knots in his stomach. Dealing with Hoisuke's anxiety after witnessing yet another argument though, that was something else.

"Daddy, I don't understand why you and Mama fight so much," Hoisuke finally finds his voice when they stop inside the school gtounds. His small chubby hand, fitting into Iwaizumi's large one, cling to him with more force than necessary as they make their way to his respective class.

"Your mama and I...have different opinions on things," Iwaizumi tries to explain, suddenly guilty that his son has to pick up all the broken pieces. Impulsively, he ruffles Hoisuke's locks, "don't worry."

And that's when his son stops in mid-walk, looks him dead in the eye, and tells him, "Mama doesn't like miss Y/N, does she?"

It's a different kind of slap, but he shouldn't have understimated the little five year old. Children know much more than they let on snd here's the proof of it.

Iwaizumi allows both his hands to clasp Hoisuke's shoulders and bends down until they are face to face, "hey," dark mocha meets lighter caramel tinged with a fear of a child desperate for a family that all his friends can take for granted, "that doesn't matter. Do you like miss Y/N?"

Hoisuke nods, eyes wet.

Iwaizumi's heart swells and he swears he doesn't ever want to see that expression on his son's face, not if he can help it.

"Then it doesn’t matter what your Mom tells you," he squeezes the child's shoulder for good measure, "no one can boss you around and tell you that you're not allowed to like who you like," he brushes a few hairs off Hoisuke's forehead, "not me, not even your mom. Got that?"

“Will we be able to invite miss Y/N again?” Hoisuke asks with a trembling bottom lip. 

“If you want to.” 

“Do you want to, daddy?” 

That question takes him by surprise, the familiar guilt lurching through his stomach as he tries to comb through an excuse to hide his growing feelings. 

Except, why does he have to hide in the first place? 

It takes a moment, before Iwaizumi nods, “yeah,” he murmurs gently with the softest of smiles, “I want to.” 

Hoisuke nods once more, which is shortly followed by lurching into Iwaizumi's arms as a sob echoes from his throat. His father holds him close, glad that the earlier tension from Hoisuke's has dissipated into relief for now.

What he doesn’t know though, is that you stand just a few feet away, body tucked into the corner of the wall and holding up your racing heart against your chest. 

------

The more you spend more time with the Iwaizumis, the more your heart gets invested in the coaxing warmth that makes up their family. You try to dismiss what you've overheard back in the school corridor but it's an itch you can't quite erase now that you've been exposed to Iwaizumi's feelings, which does nothing to stop the way your heart skips a beat whenever his gaze lingers upon yours for too long.

And you've taken notice. Or you think you do. Of how he sounds more gentle whenever he talks to you, how whenever you play hands they drift towards each other for a few extra seconds that causes your skin to tingle with warmth. How it is so goddamn easy to fall into this familiar routine of playing families with Hoisuke around like a human sunshine.

But there's still one thing nagging you. Which is why you corner him once you have tucked Hoisuke into bed on Saturday night, seeking him out on the small terrace tucked beside his kitchen that overlooks the glowing city lights.

"Can I ask you something?"

His gaze flits to yours. He nods.

Swallowing back the sudden knot of anxiety in your throat, your question comes out more like a soft proposition rather than a demand fot answers.

"I know it's none of my business, but-- I overheard you and Hoisuke a few days ago in the school corridor," your words are rushed and quick as you fold your arms over your chest, "did you and Mizune have a fight...about me?"

Iwaizumi shifts in your peripheral to face you, but your eyes adamantly find purchase onto the cement ledge splattered with dirt. For a split second, you wonder whether it wouldn't have been better to keep your mouth shut.

"What did you hear?" He asks quietly.

With a slow breath, you tell him what you've heard, underlining that this whole encounter was an accident.

"And from the way she acted when she saw me...well, it's not hard to put two and two together," you finish off in a mumble, then quickly adding, "look I--I don't want to come in-between you and your family. I just don't want Hoisuke to get hurt."

Surprise flits through his features. He regards you for a long moment, long enough that you feel like squirming underneath his gaze.

Then, taking you by surprise, he chuckles softly and shifts his elbows onto the edge of the terrace, "No wonder he likes you."

You blink at him. It suddenly feels a little too warm.

"None of this is your fault, Y/N," you wonder since when have the formalities dropped from Miss Y/N to just Y/N and decide that you like the way your name rolls off his tongue, "Mizune gets jealous over stupid shit and if she can't see someone else making her son happy then that's not our problem."

Your teeth unconsciously find purchase onto your lower lip, which he notices. That doesn't stop him from reaching over to press his thumb against your lower lip, "don't."

You freeze at the touch. His thumb is warm against your mouth, calloused and sending a series of tingles down your spine.

He must realize the intimacy of his touch, for he drops his hand away and mutters, "he's...livelier. when you're around. Happier, even. I've never seen him like that with his Mama."

"What about you?"

You feel like slapping yourself. The audacity coming out of your mouth surprises you and you swear your cheeks burst into flames.

Iwaizumi looks at you almost at the same time your pupils focus on his, causing your breath to hitch.

Why the hell can't you just keep your mouth shut?

Iwaizumi's voice is merely a murmur when he speaks next, deep and laced with a roughness.

"What about me?"

Your brain seems to turn to mush, "do you like having me around?" You hope you don't sound too pathetic.

Your heart almost stops at his next set of words.

"I do."

And there's that smile, barely there but enough that your own lips stretch to mirror his action. Until you realize you are smiling at him like a fool and quickly look away like you've just been burnt.

Something shifts in the air between you, spurred on by the way your eyes keep searching each other's with a growing tension that makes your skin rattle. Iwaizumi's frown is present, yet not unpleasant and you're not quite sure who moves, just that he's suddenly a little closer. Close enough you get a whiff of the citrus smell you've come to recognize as his own.

"Miss Y/N?"

Hoisuke's voice suddenly snaps you out of your daze. Quickly whipping around to see the said boy rubbing his eyes, a hand unconscioudly scratching his tummy, your entire countenance softens as he blinks up at you sleepily.

"I can't sleep," he mumbles out with sleep still in his eyes, "can you come back to bed with me?"

"Yeah sure," you're already on your way over to him, scooping the child up in your arms. He takes this chance to bury his face into the crook of your neck, sighing contently.

You turn back to his father, a dark silhouette against the bright landscape, "I'll be right back."

But Hoisuke surprises you by saying, "you too, Daddy."

Iwaizumi stills, "what?"

"Come to bed too, Daddy."

For one single moment, it's like time stops. You can't see Iwaizumi's face but a moment later he straightens and walks over, nodding at you when he's close enough. You don't realize your heart is besting like a hummingbird until you hear it throbbing through your chest as you try squeezing into Hoisuke's bed, you in the corner and his father barely hanging onto the edge, Hoisuke squished in-between.

It's like an instinct for the boy to latch onto your shirt. He turns to burrow himself into the curve you've made with your body, facing Iwaizumi who is half-sitting, half-lying down in an angle that surely isn't comfortable.

So you decide to point it out to him, patting the bed for good measure in hopes that he doesn't notice the warm flush of your neck.

"It's okay," your whisper tickles Hoisuke's hair, "it's only until he falls asleep."

He hesitates, before you see his head nod and he slides his body a little closer, chest curving into Hoisuke's back and close enough for you to get bathed in his warmth.

He smells good. He looks good. God. Why does he look so damn good?

Stop! You squeeze your eyes shut aa if that might help your racing thoughts, and you are so caught up in your own head that you almost miss the gentle brush of Iwaizumi's fingers against your shoulder.

You tense up right before realizing that his action is intentional. Your shoulders slowly relax, a shaky exhale escaping your lips as he takes the chance to linger over your arm a little longer, before falling away onto the mattress.

You fall asleep that night listening to not just Hoisuke's, but Iwaizumi's heartbeat. 

----

Taglist: @multi-fandom-fanfic, @168-cm-png, @bakugouswh0r3, @yatoatyourservice, @ayocee, @marvel-ing-at-it-all, @astrolcve, @lilith412426, @elianetsantana, @schleepyflocci, @oohlalie , @kaashikoi , @tendo-sxtori , @iwaroses , @its-the-aerieljeane , @lalalemon101 , @lanaxians-2 , @dora-the-grownup , @sharin-gone , @nekomavsnohebi , @crayonwriting , @imafan , @random-fandom-girl-24 , @bucinhajime , @izumikunmy , @iwaoioioi​ , @evesmores​ , @meri-soni-meri-tamanna​ , @paintedstarres​ , @okadaxo , @michaki , @archiepudding​ , @ysatrap​ , @cringe-freak​ , @thatprettybunny​ 

[shiftperception]

alternate take on legends protagonist, started as a self insert but I want to make them their own thing:

-Unhinged!! They don’t want to destroy the world per say, but becoming god? Harnessing the power of creation? Jokes on you they’re into that shit! You see the rift incident wasn’t a total accident on their part. Sure, they stumbled into it. But one does not simply spend their time creeping around spear pillar if they’re not looking for rifts to stumble into. Much like Volo they’ve been tailing arceus and the creation trio for years. Heard reports of strange activity, went to investigate. Oops I fell into the rift whatever shall I do~?

-Aside from Kamado’s general suspicions the village folk never truly question their intense fascination with pokemon, especially of the legendary variety. So easily impressed by their skill and quick to fall into praising their dedication to research and the Galaxy Team’s cause. They’re 100% a closet mad scientist, but it’s so cute how the professor and that sweet survey corp kid call them a hero! They don’t have the heart to ruin the fun! And of course free (not really) lodging is also a plus.

-Let’s 👏🏻 Get 👏🏻 Meta 👏🏻 !! I don’t wanna get into territory that implies a real ass person is interacting with what (to them) are literal game characters. Cause there’s a ship here and despite uhh everything I’m not that far gone. plz understand this. but plz also understand my whole point is to go wild with reality bending shenanigans. Case in point: This person is the only one who can read unown. Volo wasted hours of his life staring at inscriptions in ruins taking notes, cross referencing every language in recorded history getting absolutely nowhere. Because unown are english letters. The pokemon world has its own letters, they don’t look like unown.

-Occasionally slip in their vocab. People brush it off as them being from the future. In the thing I just wrote they go “at sp- The temple.” Ah shit it’s not called spear pillar yet. Call the lustrous globe and adamant crystal “orbs.” that’s future stuff. but then there’s other stuff. “Unown the pokemon. You’ve never heard of them? Little floating eyes, alphabet soup. Code of the world? Not ringing any bells?” *details their venture into a space time distortion* “Great haul this time! Grabbed a bunch of RGB shards too.” Think Narnia, Wizard of Oz, classic fantasy/fairy tale stuff y’know? MC is transported to a magical world. Which for the purpose of this AU is a very real alternate reality. Look the fourth wall and I have a history ok... I know what I’m doing. part of my hyperfixation is the excitement of getting to use my Thing™️ in a pokemon fic.

-The way they talk like a modern person in my time loop shitpost/ficlet is gonna be on purpose too. It’d sound pretty weird to talk like that in meiji period japan I think, and this character would know that. They’d edit their voice and dial it back a lot around... basically everyone. Except Volo. They get fellow mad scientist vibes from Volo and drop their guard for him quite noticeably. Especially after the time he accused the rift of spitting them out to get in his way and looked straight up, where their homeworld beyond the sky would be. If I were there now... he might’ve looked right into my eyes. They see him and think: He knows I don’t belong here, and that he doesn’t belong either. We’re the same! Mayhaps we can not belong together??

-Zero self preservation. Rushes into fights with creatures in the wilderness without hesitation, sees portals tear open the sky and bounces excitedly. “I almost wanna let Volo reset the universe just to see what would happen” wait crap don’t show your hand “but giratina would kill me before I got the chance so- anyway.” nailed it. People ask if they have a death wish. The truth is... they should’ve been dead yesterday. Maybe, in a way, they have died. Many times. Mauled by an ursaring in the woods, drowned, fallen off cliffs, fallen from the sky itself. But every time they “die,” they see it. Them. The code of the world. A sea of eyes drifting and swirling, arranging themselves into strange patterns. Singing an odd lilting melody. There are words they recognize, but the sentence structure is all wrong and the context the words are used in doesn’t make sense. It’s like a foreign language. A language within a language. coding class is kicking my ass And then they wake up. Back at base camp like nothing ever happened. It seems you were rescued. By what? Arceus? Maybe. But somehow... it doesn’t feel like arceus. Arceus has plans. Stories with predetermined endings. Plans that have no room for mine, they never did. No love for those who dare mess with the code of its perfect world. But the code itself? It holds no attachments. It cares not for wrong or right, fate, outcomes. It faces us only with openness. Acceptance. Arceus only cares for us when we play by its rules. Why strive for its approval when the eyes see us void of judgment ha gettit . Tell me Volo, if we could speak to them in a way they’d understand would they care whether or not we bear the name “almighty Sinnoh?” The eyes are pure possibility. If we could speak to them... in their view, what’s the difference between arceus and us? Quit your job. Join my unown farm. Fuck I have too many words I’m dying squirtle

[drakenology]

Yeah, My Boyfriend’s In A Band

guitarist!todoroki x fem!reader

summary: something straight outta wattpad! you go to a rock band’s concert and stand front row of the stage. The band’s vocalist /guitarist catches your eye and.. well, the rest is history! this is the story of how you first met.

author’s note: soooo.. how yall been? i kinda said fuck it to the schedule i made. why force myself to make content when I just can’t ya know? I’d much rather upload content when it’s at it’s best. so enjoy! I used some lyrics from some of my favorite rock songs for this, can you guess em? Also the art work above isn’t mine!

warnings: smut (duh.), drug use (weed), size kink, pinch of daddy kink, spitting, degradation

It was a hot Saturday night. You were all dressed up and excited to see your favorite heavy metal band the Diaspora play in your city. You were a huge fan, their posters adorned your bedroom walls. You’ve been a fan since they first came out as a cover band.

The members were all pretty fuckin cute, especially the band’s front man. Todoroki Shoto.

He was so handsome; black and red half and half hair, grey sullen eyes, the sexy scar on the left side of his face only adding to the edginess of his visage. His tattoos coated his left arm in a sleeve, his eyebrow pierced as well as his lower lip. He was fucking hot. Obviously not the kind of guy who would pay any attention to you right?

You threw on the Diaspora t-shirt you bought just weeks before the show and tied it in the back so it could be a little cropped and called your uber, frantically spraying perfume in a panic that you were going to be late to the concert. You ran outside, saying goodnight to your roommate as you rush out the door and jump into the car.

“Hey. I’m Shoto Todoroki and I’m the lead singer and guitarist for the band The Diaspora. Hope to see you guys at the show tonight at 8.” You hear as smoothe and sultry voice play over the radio.

You swoon and text some buddies who were also going to the show in excitement, the rush going straight to your brain in a haze as you blast some of their music in your headphones.

When you arrive to the stadium, you spot your best friend from highschool Nejire Hado. You two actually grew up together and even graduated together. It was like you two were sisters, inseparable since birth. Nejire saw you and waved excitedly, squealing with glee and motioned you to come to her spot in line.

“Y/N!!!! Over here!!” She yelled, causing you to run over and jump up and down with her.

“I can’t believe we’re finally here!” You say.

“Me either! Hey, did you hear? There’s rumor’s going around that their having an after party after the show! We have to go, Y/N please say yes.” Nejire rambled, clapping her hands with an inability to contain her excitement.

You look down at your shoes, unsure at first. What if you aren’t even allowed inside? It could be VIP only.

“Fuck it. Let’s go!” You say, causing Nejire to scream and laugh with joy.

Suddenly, the band’s security comes outside to greet the fans waiting to come inside for the show.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, please enter in a single fil-“ the poor guy couldn’t even finish his sentence before hundreds of eager fans rush past him and squeeze into the stadium doors, running as fast as the could to get to their seats.

Luckily for you and Nejire, you had front row tickets. Those days of refreshing the page for them as they sold out every second really paid off. You grab Nejire’s hand and run inside, elbowing and clawing your way through to your spot with your best friend by your side. The lights suddenly go dim and the crowd goes insane.

The show’s about to start. You heart seemed to float up into your throat as you stood sweating and nervous, Nejire screaming her head off and jumping up and down when the band came rising up from the bottom of the stage. Smoke covers them for a while until it clears and all you see is Todoroki standing above you, the real him finally being exposed to you as you gaze from the crowd.

He was even more handsome in person. Tonight he wore black jeans and a white band tank top ,showing off his muscular and tattooed arms. Chains hung on his hip and his boots as he propped his foot up on the amplifier in front of him.

“YOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” He screamed into the mic, causing the crowd to scream impossibly louder. He smirked, causing you to feel woozy just seeing him look so smug, as if he knew the effects he had on his fans.

You could’ve died right there a happy woman as the band started to play their hit single, the gritty sound of the electric guitar sending chills up your spine as you and Nejire headbang and dance to the music. You sing along to the top of your lungs, watching as Todoroki owned the stage. You gaze up at him again to see something completely and utterly unbelievable.

He was looking right at you.

You gasp, your eyes widening as you lock eyes with him. Shoto kneeled down towards you and reached his hand out to you. You almost scream and grab his tattooed hand with both of your own and smile at him, keeping your eyes focused on his. Shoto took your hand and kissed it as he sang a pretty racy part of his song to you,

“I wanna take you home.” (sleeping with sirens fans?? your nickle aint worth my dime???? NO?)

Oh. My. God

“OH MY FUCKING GOD! Y/N, HE-“ Nejire screamed, just as excited as you. You stood there shocked and flustered, staring into space. Todoroki fucking Shoto just kissed your hand. Shoto smirked and let your hand go, continuing the rest of his show in hopes you got the message. He wanted you. It was common sense that you go to the afterparty now.

The show continued for another 2 hours, Todoroki now dripping in sweat from the hot lights shining upon him and his band.

“Thank you all so much for coming out. For those invited, I’ll see you all at the afterparty! Goodnight everyone!” Todoroki bellowed to the crowd, causing them to cheer him and the band off the stage.

You stand there, high off of every guitar riff and belt from the performance feeling sad that the concert was over. But a rush of hope filled your heart in knowing that you were going to see Shoto again soon. You and Nejire walk out of the stadium hand in hand as you discussed the plan to get to the party.

“So the party is not too far from here, exactly 15 minutes away. We could totally call an uber.” Nejire explains, saying that it’s going to be held in Todoroki’s mansion.

When you both arrive at Todoroki’s Mansion your jaws drop. A huge fountain greeted your uber driver’s car, cobblestone driveways leading you towards his front door. There were hedge sculptures all over the front yard and expensive cars adorned the driveway as you and Nejire step out of the car to see the line to get into the party. Damn. More lines.

You approach the security guard; the same one from earlier that night with a nervous wave.

“U-Um excuse me sir, we’re on the list..” You said unconfidently. Nejire nervous laughed and nudged you for sounding so unsure after giving you a long confidence pep-talk in the car.

“Sorry, kiddo. I’m not seein’ an ‘Y/N’ or a ‘Nejire’. Back o’ the line, ladies.” The security guard huffed, hardly even looking at his list.

“Nah it’s cool, Ben. Let them in.” You hear a familiar voice utter before you get the chance to turn around and walk to the back of the line. Sure enough it was Todoroki standing there, joint lit and eyes hazy. Clearly stoned.

It was like he got more gorgeous as you got closer to him, your cheeks heating up as you realize you’re literally standing in front of your fucking celebrity crush. Nejire squeals and runs inside to go find the drummer and get his number, she says drummers do it harder.

Shoto took you by the hand and led you inside the rager in his foyer. The smell of beer and weed absorbs your nostrils as you walk inside with Shoto in hand, watching as Nejire talks up the drummer with ease as if she already knew him from way back when.

Todoroki sat down on the most comfortable couch you have ever sat in with you next to him, taking a big drag of his joint and motioning it towards you.

“Wanna hit? It’s not laced. Promise.” He said cooly, slowly blowing out the smoke. You take it and take a hit, coughing a little as you puff out the smoke.

Damn this must be what rich people smoke.

“Good huh? Grew it myself. Heh.” Todoroki laughed a little as he watched you take another hit.

“Shit. I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Y/N. Nice to meet you, finally.” You say, nervousness coating your tongue. Shoto gave you a warm smile, his hazy eyes gleaming in the dim lights of the room.

“Gorgeous name for a gorgeous girl.” Shoto said, kissing the same hand he did at the concert.

You heat up, your panties becoming slightly wet at him touching and kissing you. He smirked and grabbed you by your chin to make sure you look him directly into his grey orbs.

“When I saw you in the crowd, I almost couldn’t keep my eyes off you.” He said into your ear, causing your mind to block out any outside sound that wasn’t his voice. You gulp, blinking dumbly as you try to find the words to say something.

“I-I, um. Th-thank you.” You say, looking down into his lap. Shoto pulled away to smoke his joint a little more. You two talked all night, everyone around you both becoming irrelevant as you seemingly grow closer together.

Strangely, none of the rumors about Todoroki were true. He wasn’t this stuck up asshole the media made him out to be. He was calm and gentle, the sweetest guy you’ve ever had the pleasure of having a conversation with. You learned so much about him that night. He was so misunderstood.

You’re high now and completely hazy as you and Todoroki make out on the couch. You’re not sure how you two even got to this point but you loved it. One thing led to another and now you were straddling him on the couch, his hands in your back pockets as he groped and squeezed your ass.

Your lips mingled as you moan into the kiss, Todoroki’s tongue slipping into your mouth to make home of it. The kiss got so hot your pussy was sopping wet underneath your jeans as you mindlessly grind against him for some kind friction.

Todoroki pulled away and started kissing your neck, damn near ripping your clothes off in front of the entire party. You’re gasping and grabbing at his clothes, forgetting where you are as you become desperate for him. You wanted him so bad and you knew he wanted you too.

“Wanna get out of here? Go upstairs I mean.” Shoto asked, huffing into the skin of your neck as his hard dick poked at your thigh.

“God yes.” You say breathily. As soon as he got your consent he carried you upstairs, the party raising their glasses and their blunts in celebration for Todoroki getting some.

“YES! Y/N tell me everything okay!?” Nejire yelled drunkenly, pulling away from her makeout session with the band’s drummer. You giggle and wave down at her, Todoroki laughing softly as he watched the interaction between you and your best friend.

“Just so you know, princess. I’m not going to go easy on you.” Shoto said, pinning you against the hallway wall.

“I don’t want you to.” You mewl, leaning into his neck to nip at it. Shoto let out a low chuckle and nearly kicked down his bedroom door, tossing you onto his luxurious california king bed.

You take a quick look around his darkly colored room, black walls with coordinating grey funiture. Posters of his inspiration adorned his walls, almost similar to your room just $100,000 richer. He had a mirror above his bed as you look up at your reflection you see Todoroki crawl on top of you, unbuttoning and pulling your jeans off in one fell swoop.

You’re immediately embarrassed, forgetting it was laundry day at home so you threw a thong on because you didn’t have anything else to wear. It was black and lacy and oh so skimpy you quickly move your hands to cover up in shame, Shoto grabbing your wrists and pinning your hands above your head.

“Heh. How’d you know I love lace?” Shoto teased, practically salivating at the sight of your smooth legs beneath him. “You’re so beautiful, you know that?” Shoto said, running his hands along your sides as if he was a lion playing with his prey before he ate it.

You bit your lip, dripping and hungry for some kind of touch in the places you needed him most, your nipples prodding at the thin fabric of your band tee. Yeah, you forgot to wear a bra. Shoto pulled your shirt above your head, tossing it somewhere and hissing at the sight of your bare breasts.

“No bra either? Man.. it must be my birthday. I’m gonna have fun with you, princess.” Todoroki says taking a nipple into his mouth, not breaking eye contact with you as he suckled gently following with short lick causing your entire body to catch flame.

You start moaning miserably, your whole body begging him to take you. Shoto pulls away from your nipple with a light pull of his lips and slips his hand down to your slit, caressing it agonizingly slow to tease you. He takes his other hand and presses his thumb to your lips.

“Open your mouth.” He rasped. And you did, sucking on his thumb as he rested it on your tongue making Shoto moan at the sight, humming a ‘good girl’ under his breath. Shoto held your mouth open and spit, pulling you into a sloppy kiss as he plunged his thick digits into your needy hole.

You arch your back off the bed, biting down onto Shoto’s lip as he finger fucked you without mercy. Your moans filled the air, Shoto watching you intently as he took your breast into his mouth once more.

“Sho- ah! I-I’m gonna-“ You bellow, trying to hold onto something for dear life as he brought you closer and closer to your peak.

“That’s daddy to you, princess. Try again and maybe I’ll let you cum around my fingers.” Shoto hissed, slowing his pumping fingers a bit to ensure you got the point.

He was in control. You pant, your chest heaving as you try to catch your breath only for it to get caught in your throat again. Desperate moans fall out of your mouth as you beg him to let you cum.

“D-Daddy!~” You gasp, Shoto leaning into your neck, his ear right next your mouth as you scream for him. You collapse into his arms, fucked out and stupid off Todoroki’s strong fingers. All those years of guitar weren’t for nothing.

“That’s it baby.. fuck, you made a mess.” Shoto cooed, slowly dragging his fingers out of you as he watched your slick stick to him sloppily. At this point, he’s so hard you can clearly see the veins in his dick jumping out of his pants, his size making you wince in pain before he even entered you.

“Think you can take all of me, princess?” Shoto asked, throwing his contricting pants and boxers somewhere across the room, releasing his impressive size for you to see. You gulp but nod, licking your lips at the sight of him.

Shoto smirked at your reaction and pumped himself a few times before teasingly tapping the head of his dick against your clit, causing you to yelp from the sensitivity of your abused core.

“Pleaseee.” You whine, Shoto grabbing you by the neck and choking you almost to tell you to shut up and be patient. He wastes no time in plunging into you, the thickness of his dick stretching your walls with a delicious sting.

You claw at his back as he bottomed out, gasping sharply as he filled you completely.

“Am I hurting you?” Todoroki asked with what little sympathy he had left in his body. You shook your head no, moaning as he stayed still inside you.

“P-P-Please move..” you mewl, chewing your bottom lip. Shoto smirked and began rutting his hips into yours at a rough pace, not really caring if you adjusted to him or not. Hard slaps and the sound of your whiny moans filled the room as the headboard of his bed slammed against the wall, probably alerting the entire party downstairs.

You’re screaming now, a moaning mess beneath him as he split you wide open. As your eyes rolled to the back of your head, Shoto throws your legs over his shoulder and starts pounding into you.

He’s going to make sure you’re unable to walk straight for the rest of the week, marking you as his.

“Fuckkk, daddy. S-Slow down.” You pleaded only for Shoto to ignore you and continue his pace, laughing at the shocked and fucked out face you were pulling.

“Told you I wasn’t taking it easy on you. Did you forget already, princess?” Shoto breathed, moving his hands to rub shallow circles into your clit.

Your toes curled up tightly as your orgasm ripped through your body, your moans reaching a cresendo as your scream Shoto’s name.

He hissed as your walls fluttered around him, your pussy gripping him tightly as he fucked into you continuosly.

“I hope you didn’t think I was through with you just because I made you cum. I’m not done yet, doll.” Shoto muttered through your pathetic whines for him to slow down.

He cooed praises at you, a “good girl” here and a “you take my dick so well” there until his thrusts got rusty and sloppy; a sign he was close to cumming.

“Shittt, where do you want me to-“

“I-Inside m-mee! Fuck, cum inside me!” You shriek. And so he did, fucking his hot stickiness into you for a while as you both moan and pant. Shoto rode out your climaxes for a while before slowly pulling himself out as he watched his cum ooze out of your abused pussy.

As Shoto flopped on the bed next to you, you both stare up at the mirror on his ceiling. You’re both sweaty and your hair was a fucking mess from being tossed around the bed for what seemed like hours.

“Shit. Probably late as fuck by now. You wanna stay the night?” Shoto asked, taking your hand and famously kissing it once more. You smile and nod, unable to form coherent sentences as you feel yourself doze off.

Todoroki jumps from his bed and opened the door, screaming from the top of the stairs, “Oi! All you motherfuckers can fuck off home!Party’s over!” You laugh and throw a pillow at him.

“Don’t be so mean, Sho. Uh.. C-Can I call you Sho?” You ask embarrassed.

“You keep fucking me like that you can call me whatever you want, angel.” Shoto groans, grabbing you by your face and kissing you sweetly.

“Honestly, I wanna go again. You down?”

[llamagoddessofficial]

what was it like the first time Mc met Skull in the portal Au?

Is it story snippet time? I think it’s story snippet time.

The vent cover was loose.

You’d noticed, as soon as you’d rounded the corner. It didn’t matter that the facility was dark, quiet, deep in one of its night cycles... in the faint illumination of the safety screens and directional arrows left on, you picked up the silhouette of the cover. You were so familiar with the area of the lab around the room you slept in that you probably would’ve seen it anyway... but what immediately made all your attention snap to it was the fact that the glint of sleek metal in the darkness was, in fact, misaligned.

... Sans wanted everything neat. Sans wanted everything right. Red liked it that way, too, but Sans seemed to have the final say. And it showed- the entire facility was neat, angled, symmetrical and impossibly clean. It was so regimented and unnatural that you felt like an outlier yourself; a strange, curved, imperfect biological creature in a space that seemed to bleed robotic perfection from every corner.

... So... something about this one plating... this one vent cover, at a bad angle, tilted just against the grain...

... You were hyperfocused.

You moved over to it, bare feet cat-silent on the warm white floor, crouching down. You weren’t supposed to be out of your room at night, Sans didn’t like you wandering around when he was unaware, powered down for system maintenance and repairs... your fingers sealed around the loosened ends of the vent cover, and with the gentlest of tugs the whole thing came off, leaving a gaping hole in the wall large enough for you to crawl into. 

...

It was like you had a fog, separating one half of your mind from the other. Every day in this strange lab was confusing- and when you tried to ask yourself normal questions, like “where am I?” or “how did I get here?” or “why do I have no memories before this place?” your brain supplied you with absolutely nothing. And not only that, it couldn’t even supply you with the concern you knew you should be experiencing... the fear, the panic, it wouldn’t come. It was the most paradoxical and horrible sensation... the feeling of knowing something was wrong, of knowing you should be scared, but something in your head just not letting you access it.

... Maybe that was why the sight of the hole in the wall, the gap in the artificially perfect world around you, made your heart skip in excitement instead of fear. Maybe that was why you normally would have stuck to what was safe and not done stupid shit like going into vents...

... But this time, you got on your hands and knees, and crawled right in.

You weren’t crawling for a very long time; after what couldn’t have even been a minute of moving in a straight line through the smooth metallic system, the dark space opened up above you, more than enough for you to stand up to your full height in. Your eyes were wide, childlike in wonder- unlike the rest of the facility, that at least seemed to try and fake an air of safety, this place behind the walls... every surface around you was dirty, stained and rusty, there were tubes and buttons and tangled wires sticking out of the floor and ceiling, the whole place was lit up with an unnerving orange glow that was leaking through slits in the flooring. The air was filled with a nasty tang, metallic and almost blood-like, heavy and claustrophobic...

... It was like you’d crawled into hell. Like you’d gone from the head of the facility to the entrance of the throat. Another world...

...

As your gaze lowered...

... There was something in the room with you.

The hairs on the back of your neck bristled. Near the other end of the room there was a large, metallic box, most likely containing important wiring of some kind. From where you were standing you could judge that it was about your shoulder height... pretty big. 

... But it wasn’t the box that had your attention. It was what it was blocking from your view. A perfectly circular crimson light was peeking out from behind that box... a turret eye, bright and awake and alive, cutting through the murky coloured darkness. And the more you stared, the more you could make out, the more you could see the partially obscured hunched figure attached to the eye that was trained directly on you. 

...

“H-hello?” You whispered.

...

“sh-ouldn_t.. be.here.”

... The voice was like nothing you’d ever heard. Deep, deathly deep, you could feel it in your chest like standing next to a speaker- vibrating in your stomach, the palms of your hands, even tingling along your scalp. It sounded... automated, jittering and autotuned and with inflections no human would use, but so clearly with thoughts and feelings behind it, the unmissable edge of somebody who’s cautious, afraid... a downright uncanny mix of machine and man.

“... Should you?” Your voice sounded so... weak. So biological. Your heart was pounding.

... The eye noticeably changed; the dot in the centre became a fraction wider. It took an odd shape, too... from your distance it... looked like a heart...?

A soft, low “... no_.”

“... Then that makes two of us. Right?”

...

The owner of the eye stood up. 

He stood slowly, too. And as he did, the box he’d been crouched behind just got smaller, and smaller, and smaller... a beast, made of the facility’s leftovers. Large enough to crush you like a beetle. The dim orange light touched his silhouette to reveal thick tubes, misshapen metal plates, wires hanging off him like cut vines... a gaping cavity in his chest where a half-broken plasma motor was faintly humming and glowing. One of his hands looked vaguely humanoid but the other was just a badly affixed pincer claw... the plate on his face had been haphazardly cut away so his one red eye could see, and a skeletal nose shape had been carved into the centre. Everything about him was asymmetric, uneven, mismatched... 

You opened your mouth-

[Bleep!]

...

It floated through the room. A light noise, like a phone notification. You took note of the fact that you couldn’t hear it echoing through the rest of the facility... something that was only heard in the backrooms, perhaps? It was a very gentle little sound, nothing more than a light jingle...

... Except he flinched like a gunshot had gone off, eye blinking out entirely. Immediately, he turned around- you let out a little “H-hey, wait!” and raised your arm but it didn’t stop him. In a few giant steps he’d completely disappeared around a corner, clanging sounds moving so much deeper into the metalworks in such a short amount of time that you found yourself immediately disoriented. How... you were just standing there, how did someone that huge and heavy move so fast?

...

You wanted to pursue. You wanted to chase him deep into the bowels of the lab, down where you weren’t ever supposed to go, where no light would reach... you wanted to so badly you’d already moved a few steps without realising.

... But at the same time, you felt like you’d done enough for one day. Your nose stung from the strange smells in the air, your eyes were straining in the orange darkness... you wanted to go to sleep, back to your relaxation chamber, to rest for now and figure out what the hell you’d just seen.

What the hell you’d just spoken to.

... You turned, and clambered back through the vent. It took no time at all to re-emerge back in the regular facility... back to the whiteness, the cleanliness, the perfect and fake.

...

You had no idea why he’d reacted the way he had to that sound. What did it mean? You trailed your hand along the wall as you walked, making your way through the halls back to your chamber, the floor smooth and faultless under your bare soles. Was it... some kind of warning? An alert system? Was he running toward something, or away fr-

“subject.” 

- You almost jumped out of your fucking skin.

You were never sure where Sans’ voice was coming from. It always seemed to just spontaneously exist all around you, disembodied and impossible to describe, surrounding you on all sides as if emanating from the air in the building itself. No matter how hard you searched you could never seem to find any speakers on the cold, unfriendly white walls or floor... just further adding to the confusion and dream-like quality of this whole place. You clutched your chest, taking a little breath, trying to disguise the wild flinch that you’d just experienced.

“Y-yeah?” You said, smooth as always, and totally completely not-startled.

Sans always heard you, no matter how quietly you spoke- and judging by passing comments he’d made he always seemed to be able to see you and your expression. God, you hoped he couldn’t read the panic in your face.

“the facility is in night cycle.” Calm, emotionless, slightly autotuned, as per usual... but a little softer than the norm. “why are you out of your relaxation chamber?”

You glanced up at the nearest camera, a small black orb close to the ceiling with a gently blinking blue light.

...

“I-I can’t sleep.” Was all you could think of.

...

“... perhaps it will be easier to sleep... if you are reclined in a position, in which you can actually sleep. you should return to your chamber.”

“... I’m just walking around.” You kept moving, hoping he wouldn’t think about where you’d come from. “I mean... N-not all of us have a ‘go to sleep instantly’ button. I’m clearing my head. I’m fine, I'm on my way back anyway.”

...

“you’re stammering. your heart rate is elevated.”

Shit. Shit. No, it’s-

“... did you experience a nightmare?”

...

“O-oh. Yeah. Uhm...” You rubbed the back of your neck, eyes drifting down to the floor. “You know about those?”

“i have access to the combined entirety of human knowledge. yes, i am aware of nightmares.”

“W-well... yeah. Yes. I... had one. I’m walking it off.”

... A pause, on his part. 

...

“... i can turn the lights back on. if... you’d like to walk around.”

“No thank you. It’ll just make me feel more awake.”

“i see. ... well. i need to complete some more system reboots. i will be partially offline again. if... you need me, just call.”

“Okay. Sure. I will.”

[whatifxwereyou]

The Oncoming Storm Part 6: Blood and Ink

Liu Kang x Reader and Kung Lao x Reader (gonna do both, two paths!)

Yay! Two days in a row! Next post will be Saturday. I had extra time today!! Enjoy some Kung Lao! As always, open to suggestions. Thanks again. You guys are the best.

Part 5 Part 7 Chapter Index

The sky was still dim with the rising of the sun somewhere far beyond your window. You woke to find that you had been placed in your bed and tucked in. This time, however, Liu had left no note on your bedside table. You had been thankful to dream of nothing for the remainder of the night but were curious to know how long Liu Kang had stayed. You liked to think that it had been for a while.

You cleaned yourself up, got dressed into a white gi, ate, and then went to the infirmary to have your wounds cared for. The wound on your right arm was healing far better than your left thanks to Liu’s fire. Then you made your way to the fight pit though there was no one there waiting for you this time. It was pretty early, and you had both been up late, so you weren’t terribly surprised. It was remarkable that you were awake and had so much energy now that you thought about it. You walked through the sand and made your way across the pit, climbing atop the shortest wall on the other side. You sat on the platform there and meditated, grateful to finally have your rebellious imagination under control.

Footsteps approached the pit and leapt into the sand but the energy that accompanied them was not the fiery and familiar Liu Kang.

“Y/N!” Kung Lao called, and you snapped your eyes open in surprise. He approached with wide strides from across the pit, so you jumped down from the platform to meet him. He held a wide-brimmed hat under his arm and tossed it into the air behind him as he got closer.

“Kung Lao!” You couldn’t believe how happy you were to see him. It was odd, to have rekindled a bond with someone that you had thought long since dead. You hadn’t gotten to speak much or discuss anything, really, but the more you’d remembered of him the more fondly you’d thought of him. Much to your surprise, he lifted you right from the ground into a hug. You laughed and returned the gesture and when he set you down, you dusted off your gi. “It’s been ages.”

“Sorry about that. I had an important errand to run for Raiden but I’m back now for a time. I wasn’t supposed to be there that night. You got lucky.” He turned and much to your surprise, he caught the hat that he’d tossed behind him and then slipped it back on his head, tucking the strap under his chin securely. “I heard you’re in need of a training buddy today.”

You couldn’t hide your surprise. Were you in need of a training buddy? Did Kung Lao really need to wear those straps around his biceps? There were no right answers.

“We just started training yesterday. Liu Kang was supposed to meet me here this morning.”

“And your arcana? Anything yet?” He adjusted the armor on his shoulders.

“Nothing yet.” You sighed and he nodded in understanding. “What’s yours? I asked Liu but he wouldn’t tell me. Said he didn’t want to spoil the surprise.”

“It’s… complicated.” He tapped his hat, and you heard the metal beneath his fingertips. The brim was, in fact, a deadly sharp blade.

“…it’s not the hat, right? Arcana can’t be just a hat.”

“To my credit, it’s a very special hat.” He winked and then looked you over from head to toe which startled you immensely. You hadn’t gotten much of a chance to get to know each other again but he had been so careful that first night that you had misjudged him. He was much more the boy you remembered than you expected. “How are you feeling? Your arms are still bandaged.” He picked up your hand and turned it over so he could observe the bandages.

“It’s been slow going. That poison was… brutal. I was very well taken care of but I’m still on the mend. Liu cauterized the other arm yesterday during training so that’s a bit better off.”

“I told him that it was important that you were cared for.” Kung Lao let go of your hand and then took a step back. “Well, we better get to work then.”

“What about Liu? I’m supposed to meet him. Wouldn’t it be rude?”

“He’s not here. I am.” Kung Lao brushed his fingers over the brim of his hat, and you could hear the sound of metal against flesh which made you shiver. “Either you keep waiting of we get started.”

You felt guilty starting without Liu, but it would be good for you to spend some time with someone other than him. The two of you had become inseparable and you thought that maybe it would do your brain some good to be out of that mindset. It had become especially difficult to maintain any healthy distance since you’d left the infirmary. At least then you’d had the monks to chat with. You had clung to him in your time of need, and he had embraced you and reciprocated. It wasn’t a bad thing, but it would be good to lift your head and breathe something other than his intoxicating air every so often.

“I suppose that we’ll get started then.”

“Good.” Kung Lao walked away from you. “Ready?” He was very much that young boy all grown up into a man. He had the same confidence and charisma. It was wild for you to think that it had been the same person before but now there was no doubt left in your mind.

“Of course.” You readied your stance and he turned toward you, stepping carefully into a stance of his own and one that was incredibly familiar to you. Wing Chun was the very same martial art that your father had been proficient in. Kung Lao’s hat obscured much of his face from view and in that moment, he was incredibly attractive.

Unlike Liu Kang, Kung Lao didn’t seem afraid to strike. He rushed toward you and you dodged to the side. He turned and punched you quickly and repeatedly, but you blocked with your arms up and slid back from the force of the blows. Your wounds ached but there was little time to focus on it. You slid back further and ducked beneath his strike then stepped around him and slammed your palm hard into his back. He flipped around and kicked high so you ducked beneath him. He flipped back and then grasped you around the waist and wrestled you to the ground.

You yelped in surprise and panicked very briefly. You even heard Kung Lao laugh under his breath. You had to switch mindsets. You struggled and he pinned you. There was no way you would break from his grapple with your usual wushu. He was too big in comparison. So instead, you swung your arm over your head to force his grasp around you to release, and then gripped his palm, twisted his wrist, and pushed him from where he’d held his weight. When you got to your knees, you stepped further into his space and flipped him onto his back with a shout. He coughed on the ground and sat up quickly.

“Aikido? Really?”

“How else am I supposed to flip a guy so much bigger than me?”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

You backed up and bounced back into your stance. Kung Lao flipped onto his feet and then with a twist, he disappeared into the ground in a blazing white light.

“Oh.” You dropped your stance.

His arcana. It was complicated. You saw that now. With a deep breath you calmed your raging thoughts and searched for his energy. It was like Liu had said the night before. There was something tangible about your energy. It had to be the dragon marking. You turned just as he rose from the ground in a spin and a spray of white light. You were knocked back and rolled out of the way as he struck the ground then stomped toward you. You grabbed his leg, twisted, and flipped him onto his back.

He leapt back to his feet, pulled off his hat, and swung it toward you like a blade. You kicked it back and tried to knock him off balance, but he and the hat were one. He twisted back and you watched as he threw the hat. It zipped around the pit and you spun out of the way and ducked low. It stopped and turned back toward you, so you waited for it to get closer before jumping aside. You misjudged the throw and it sliced through your gi and left your right side bloodied. Kung Lao caught the hat and hurried toward you.

“Are you o-“

You switched stances and didn’t let him finish. You kicked then threw blow after blow, forcing him on the offensive. He used his hat to block the blows and your fists rattled to the clang against metal. You had to get behind him and knock him off his balance. He was too steady and stable. His guard would never be broken before you were worn out.

You stepped back and made to kick high then instead made to duck and roll around him but as you kicked, you were surrounded by a flurry of something dark and when it cleared, you were behind Kung Lao. On instinct, you kicked and made contact with his neck and knocked him to the ground with great control. Then you returned to your stance. It had happened so fast that you weren’t quite sure what had happened, and Kung Lao didn’t seem to, either. You tried again to will that aggressive energy back to you and your fists were at once covered in something dark and tangible. It wasn’t like smoke; it was like liquid and you could feel it whipping about your fists though it didn’t hurt you. It splattered against your skin and surrounded your forearms and elbows.

Instead of attacking, you held your palms up and willed the dark puddles to float above your hands. There they formed into magnificent orbs of shadow.

It was ink. At least you thought it was.

With a smile you willed the puddles of ink to dance between your hands. Kung Lao dusted himself off and approached you, slowly clapping, and tilting his head as if impressed, a small smirk on his face. He then placed his hat back atop his head. You let the magic go and watched as it faded before dripping to the ground. Your arms and hands were stained black and your gi was a mess. Kung Lao was stained with ink along his neck and back. You beamed with pride and punched the air happily.

You’d done it! You’d done it on accident and then on purpose. That was huge progress.

“Cousin? You’re back?” Liu Kang’s voice broke the happy silence and he stepped into the fight pit. Kung Lao walked to Liu Kang and grasped his arm in greeting.

“Got back this morning. Heard you were busy.”

Liu Kang looked him over in surprise and scrunched up his nose at the sight of the ink. “What is this?”

“Y/N found her arcana.” Kung Lao gestured toward you and you waved happily. Liu’s brow furrowed as he looked from Kung Lao and back to you. Then he approached you curiously.

“Is it fire? That would be odd.”

“No!” You smiled and made to explain but Kung Lao interrupted.

“Tonight, we celebrate your success!” He beamed with pride.

“If not soot then what is this?”

“I’ll show you.” You eagerly met him halfway in the pit. You held your palm facing upward and focused. It was more difficult to conjure out of combat and for a second, you weren’t sure you could do it, but then you manifested a small wave of magic above your hand. “It’s ink. At least I think that it is.” Liu reached to touch the wave curiously and as you admired his reach, the ink took the form of his hand and imitated his motions. You were startled and almost lost your grasp on it.

“Remarkable.” He was in wonder of your gift just as you had been of his. You turned as Kung Lao approached you and tossed the glob of ink right at him. It splashed and splattered over his chest and face harmlessly. He stared at you in mock offense.

“Now we’re even.”

“Be careful or I might just start a real fight, Y/N.” He laughed.

“As far as I’m concerned? I won that last one.”

“Not a chance.” He tapped the brim of his hat.

“Kung Lao? I need a word.” Raiden’s voice interrupted, commanding from the hall outside the fight pit. Kung Lao bowed to them both and then rushed out of the fight pit, taking the steps two at a time. You watched as he disappeared behind the pillars to speak with Raiden.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t show up this morning.” Liu bowed and you returned your attention to him. “There were urgent matters that I had to attend to. I had asked Lord Raiden to send someone to let you know that I would be late.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’d both been up late, and I knew that you had to be doing something important to not show up. Besides, Kung Lao was there to help me.”

“How did that go? Are you hurt at all?” He gently took your wrist and tried to look over the gauze on your arms, but you pulled your am free and swatted at his hand as he reached for you again. He laughed in disbelief. “You’re covered in ink! I can’t tell.”

“I’m fine. I promise.”

“That hat of his is much more difficult to control the damage of than my fire. And he can be a bit careless in such matters. I can’t tell you how many scars I have from that thing.”

“I’m really fine. Just a few bruises and scrapes, I think.”

“Good.” Liu gestured toward the platform that you’d sat upon earlier. “Come meditate with me.” He sat down and patted the ground next to him as you had often done for him. You joined him but sat in front of him instead. “Let’s see just how much you can manipulate your arcana. You mimicked me very well before, so let’s try that.” Together they sat and he coached you through the familiar breathing and grounding exercises but as soon as he held his hands in front of him and summoned his flames, your calm was gone. All that meditation went right out the window. His arcana was beautiful, and you briefly forgot that you were supposed to be imitating it. “Can you do it again? Mimic me?”

“I’ll try my best.” You wouldn’t admit that you had gotten distracted. You took slow careful breaths and focused on your own energy. It coursed not only through you but around you, much like that flickering lamplight Liu Kang had described it as the night before. You smiled as you were able to summon the ink above your hands just as Liu had done with his fire. It moved in slower and less controlled motions than Liu’s fire, but you managed. The more you did it, however, the weaker you felt.

You felt your posture failing and held a hand to steady yourself against the ground, the other focused on your magic.

“Take it slow, Y/N.” Liu soothed you and then closed his eyes. You followed along with him but were suddenly aware of eyes on you from the other side of the fight pit. Kung Lao was approaching you, and he was fixed on your magic. Your stomach fluttered with confused butterflies and you mentally threatened to drown them in ink.

Much to your surprise, there was a surge of heat and fire rose from Liu’s hands and spread up his arms and behind him, taking the shape of a magnificent dragon. It roared and breathed fire from fire before swimming in the air behind its maker. You leaned back on your hand and stared, awestruck. Liu opened his eyes, reflecting the reds and oranges of his fiery dragon.

“Show off.” You heard Kung Lao mutter.

“Don’t give up, Y/N.” Liu Kang urged but the sheer magnificence and power of what he was capable of had you overwhelmed. “Try. For me.”

Correcting your posture, you felt the weight of exhaustion on you. Your arms would not stay upright on their own, so you rested them against your knees. Even though you wished to give up, you breathed through the exhaustion and discomfort. You urged your arcana forth. Despite your willing it to, it couldn’t find a form like Liu’s, but a wave of ink flew through the air and followed the dragon’s graceful path. Ink splattered and hissed as it fell upon the dragon, but it did not extinguish Liu’s arcana. Each drip stained the ground black. You watched, bewitched by the beauty of this thing that you had created from nothing but your energy. The way that the darkness intertwined with the flames made you forget about all other things.

Applause broke you from your reverie. Kung Lao was smiling at you both. You gasped for breath and dropped onto your back with a thud where you laughed in exhaustion. The ink fell in a puddle and soaked you, making you only laugh harder. Above you the sky was a brilliant blue speckled with white and you were mystified by the beauty and complexity of the world. As tired and conflicted as you were in so many other ways, you felt at peace with this one thing. You’d done it. With any luck your arcana would give you the strength and skill to be a warrior worthy of Mortal Kombat.

Kung Lao’s face appeared above yours, blocking your view of the sky, but you didn’t mind. He extended a hand to help you up. He and Liu Kang had been talking but you hadn’t heard their words. You didn’t need to. You took Kung Lao’s outstretched hand and got to your feet with his help. Then you laughed at the sight of yourself. You were drenched in ink. Every bit of you was stained. Kung Lao wiped at your face and shook his head in disapproval.

“What a mess.” He looked you over and then looked to Liu Kang who had returned to the fight pit. “I think she’s earned a trip to the hot springs.”

“There have been hot springs here this whole time and no one told me about them?” You pouted. All this time you’d been missing baths and proper showers and there were hot springs? Liu bowed as you joined him in the pit.

“They slipped my mind. I don’t think of them often. My apologies.” He smiled softly at you, a look of pride in his eyes. You couldn’t help but be filled with glee to think that you were the source of that pride. “But Kung Lao is right. You have more than earned them and I fear you’ll never be clean without them. I’ll happily escort you.”

“I don’t mind.” Kung Lao folded his arms over his chest. “As long as you don’t throw anymore ink at me.”

“Well, don’t do anything to deserve it then.” In truth, you were so tired that you were certain you couldn’t have done it if you had tried. Liu bowed to you.

“Study later then?”

“After we celebrate.” Kung Lao interrupted.

“Yes, of course. I look forward to it.”

[a-is-for-abel]

"“I’m moving.” He froze, glancing up at his friend. The other boy’s eyes were gleaming with suppressed sobs, breath hitching and jaw clenched. “Mom got a job in another state and we’re moving in a month.”

Inspired by this prompt by @givethispromptatry

Sand and shells crunched under the belly of the kayak as it ran aground. With a wobble and a curse he tumbled into the water, paddle floating away from him and kayak shooting off in the opposite direction.

"Fuck."

He scrambled to collect both, tossing the paddle up onto the beach and grabbing the handle at the bow of the kayak to tow it onto shore.

"You're late."

He rolled his eyes and glanced over his shoulder to see Warren in all his cut-offs and sandals glory. "And you're early."

Warren crossed his arms. "I'm literally the most on time, dude."

"Whatever, just-- Help me grab the stuff."

He popped open the watertight chamber in front of the seat and reached into the belly of the kayak, all while Warren struggled to pull the backpack out from under the cage of bungee cords at the front.

"Just unhook them, dude," he said, his cellphone and two unopened cream sodas finally in hand.

"Don't tell me how to do it."

"It's not going to--"

"Shit!" Warren yelped, recoiling and clutching his hand.

"Told you."

Warren flicked him off, but turned to do what he said anyway.

"Come on, suns gonna start setting soon." He grabbed his backpack from Warren and stuffed the drinks and his phone inside.

"What? Afraid of some gators?"

"No," he said. "Rather a gator than my dad."

Warren grimaced. "He still got you on that curfew?"

"Yup."

He picked his way through the mangrove thicket that cut the beach off from the rest of the spoil island. The roots of the black mangroves jutted up like fingers through the sand and the stilts of the red mangroves tried their best to snag his feet as he ducked under the sprawling web of an orb weaver hidden in their midst. Thankfully, it cleared out past the initial wall of foliage, becoming more barren with only the occasional thicket.

He remembered when his dad had led them through here the first time and explained that the mangroves kept the spoil islands standing. That when hurricanes and storms threatened to wash them away, their roots would act like a little army, keeping off any barrage and harboring whatever took up shelter under them.

He frowned. His dad and him hadn't come out here since--

"Fuck, fuck, fu--" Warren sputtered behind him, high-pitched.

"Web?" he asked, glancing back to see Warren flinching away from a tree.

"Yeah, fuck--" Warren brushed his arms off frantically and patted at his hair. "Fucking spiders all over the fucking place, man. They call it Mosquito Lagoon, but it really should be spider god damn la-- Fuck!"

"Nice one, ‘spider god damn la-fuck’ really has a special sort of ring to it."

Warren shot him a glare and dusted off his shoulders and the front of his shirt with quick flicks. "You owe me for psychological damages..."

"Come on, we used to come out here all the time."

"When I was like ten! And with your dad!" Warren cowered away from another web that sprawled from a lone tree. "And I didn't have as much free real estate for a spider to like, you know-- Crawl all over me or whatever."

"Free real estate?"

"Yeah, you know the whole--" Warren gestured vaguely. "The meme."

"God, please stop," he groaned. "That shits like, what, twenty-seventeen? That's like ancient history, man."

"It's a classic."

"Sure," he muttered. "A classic."

"Whatever, man, you're just not cultured."

He scoffed. "That's definitely it."

The other end of the island unfolded into a drop-off, all coquina and shells packed tightly together and built up into a mound that cut off abruptly into nothing. It was the highest point of the island-- of most of the spoils out here honestly-- even though it's small cliff had been eaten away and eroded over time, shrinking and shifting as the island shrank with the waves.

Dropping his backpack, he sat and dangled his legs over the edge, shoes knocking back against the coquina with a scratchy rasp. Warren plopped down beside him, keeping his legs folded and away from the plunge. Not that it was much of a sheer cliff. Only about eight feet down at the most, but enough that it felt like a lot. Compared to the average of three feet below sea level for the rest of the mainland; eight feet felt pretty fucking huge.

The tide lapped at the base of the island, the water hissing and coiling, writhing and alive where it squirmed through the holes bored through the coquina face and back out with a soft crackle. Crabs, tiny and mottled, darted in and around the rocks and he could see finger mullet, their scales flashing as they turned and twisted with the waves.

"You tied up your kayak, right?" Warren asked.

"Naw, but it should be fine. I pulled it up pretty far."

"I'm not sharing if you get stuck out here."

He frowned, shooting Warren his best puppy dog eyes. "You'd leave me out here?"

"Yes."

He chuckled. "Fair."

Seagulls drifted in lazy circles far overhead, the occasional cry working its way down to them as the birds banked with the wind, following the gusts up to where they could catch a glimpse of a meal beneath the water. One wheeled down in a sudden arc, wings folded close to its side as it plummeted, beak first, into the water with a snap and then back out with a spray.

"Man, tough luck..." Warren said. "Hate whenever they miss. Makes me feel kinda bad."

"They're just gonna go do what the rest do and steal some fries at the jetty once they realize it's easier than doing this."

"Yeah, but it's like-- I don't know, man. Just wish he'd get a win."

"You don't even know him!"

"I feel like we have a connection." Warren pointed at where the seagull had gone back to patrolling the waters. "Me and seagull number one thousand and three, we're like this--" He crossed his fingers.

"Shut up," he snorted.

They watched the seagull try again and fail.

Warren started up a running commentary after the third attempt, cupping a hand over his mouth to imitate the slight grain of a sports announcer's microphone as he dramatized the whole thing. When the seagull finally managed to snag a fish Warren cheered, arms thrown up in a touchdown motion that he copied with a grin.

"Hell yeah, dude!" Warren high-fived him.

"Where's all that enthusiasm for when you're at my games?" he asked.

"Come on, dude, you know I always cheer the loudest. You're just too far out on the field to hear me."

"I'm sure that's what it is."

"Whatever, man-- What'd you bring anyway?" Warren grabbed his backpack and began rummaging through it. "Oh shit! Gummy bears, dude! And the good kind, hell yeah!"

"Yeah, grabbed them before I came here. That's why I was late, idiot."

Warren tore open the package. "Crimes forgiven, man. This is worth it."

"Give me that--" He pulled his backpack out of Warren's lap. "I also got some soda, but I guess all you care about is your precious little bears."

"Naw, naw-- Hand that over."

"Rude much?"

"What? You want me to kiss you on the lips for it first, bro?"

He laughed. "Now, that would be the polite thing to do."

Warren puckered his lips at him and then snatched the soda. "Fuck off."

"Not even a little kiss?" he teased.

"You dragged me out to spider-fuck-nowhere, while it's ass fucking hot out and where it smells like rotting fish taint-- Just to watch the fucking sunset, when we could have sat on my roof and done the exact same thing-- You expect a kiss for that?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. Bro code."

Warren snorted. "Hand me a bottle opener, dip shit."

He popped open his own bottle and passed it over to Warren, who struggled for a moment before finally getting it with a triumphant 'whoop'. The mixture of saccharine flavored soda and the slight rotting stench of algae, and whatever else the lagoon had to offer, wasn't exactly pleasant, but it wasn't terrible. It was familiar.

It was homely in it's off kilter sort of way.

"So, why'd you bring me out here anyways?" Warren asked.

He sighed and kicked his heel back against the coquina. "I’m moving.”

Warren sucked in sharply and he glanced over at him.

He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the water below his feet. "Dad got a job in another state and we’re moving in a month.”

"Dude…"

"I didn't know how to tell you. I just--"

"Is that why you decided it'd be a good idea to sneak out and go to that dumb party with me?" Warren asked, frowning.

"I figured it would be one of the last chances I had to do something fun, you know. Here. Before I just-- Leave all this shit forever. I mean, we're moving to fucking Ohio, man. Where the fuck am I gonna find a party on an island out there?"

"Right…"

"And look, fuck my dad--"

"Jake--"

"No, fuck him-- He didn't even--" he huffed. "Things were looking up, man. Varsity lacrosse in sophomore year, that's huge, dude. And I wasn't just the fucking loser kid in the back of class anymore and he just--"

"Works rough here, dude..." Warren cut him off, sighing. "Space programs taking a shit. Whole island's taking a shit, really. Plenty of people left the first time NASA tanked, remember? It's just… it happens, man."

"So, you're just fine with it then?" he asked, brows furrowing. "We're never going-- I'm never going to see you again and you're just okay with that?"

"It's not forever!" Warren said, throwing out his hands. "There's planes, man! It's the twenty first fucking century. We got phones, dude. We'll stay in touch."

He grit his teeth and looked down.

"Jake, bro. C'mon-- Look at me."

He met Warren's eyes.

"It's gonna be okay, dude." Warren said, smile wide, and he could see the little falter at the edges, but he didn't call him on it. "Look--" Warren held up his bottle. "We'll cheers on it."

"Cheers on what?"

"To staying in touch, to meeting up in the future. To staying friends and all that, I don't know."

"To you finally getting a boyfriend?"

"Actually, you know what, I'm not going to miss you at all."

"Come on--" he grinned, nudging Warren with his shoulder. "You'll miss me."

"Yeah," Warren chuckled, looking down with a small smile. "I will..."

His fingers tightened around the glass bottle in his hand, bottom lip threatening to worry between his teeth. "Look, let's do your dumb cheers thing before it gets too sentimental or whatever."

Warren sighed, seeming to shake himself off before raising his soda bottle above his head and towards the slowly setting sun. "To us."

"To us?" He wrinkled his nose. "Isn't that kinda cheesy?"

"Just shut up and do it."

"Fine..." he grumbled with a grin, raising his bottle to clink against Warren's. "To us."

--

//photo credit// me and my phone c. 2020 //

[icequeenbae]

Desert Flower (m) Ch. 4 [fin] | BBH

Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader x Baëkhyun

Characters: EXO and X-EXO (not all of them mentioned)

EXO vs X-EXO dynamics, complicated relationships, angsty, action, smut (as usual)

Warnings: sorta mingling with your ex’s ‘evil twin’, mentions of blood/ violence (nothing too graphic… I suppose), Y/N gets teary a lot(?), explicit content, rough sex, unprotected sex

Word Count: ~13.5k (full), ~2.1k (Chapter 4)

Summary: Baekhyun, your beloved boyfriend of three years, suddenly breaks up with you and disappears from the city in an attempt to protect you. But leaving you alone and clueless means trouble will surely find you. For it is easy to spot a flower in the desert.

Masterlist   >> One >> Two (m) >> Three (m) >> Four (fin)

Author’s Note: Yaaay, the finale is here! ✨ Hope you won’t be disappointed [I know it’ll be something you don’t expect, but the end can also be a beginning, right?] Please let me know what you think, I had fun talking to you about the previous chapters!! And thank you for following this story all the way through. Looove 🖤🖤🖤

Tags: @blahblahblah-boo @baeklightsx @wooya1224 @baekklove @usernameloaa @geniusloey​

Chapter 4. The end of you and I [Finale]

 Stepping out of the room the next morning, you felt like you were walking to the gallows. In a way, that would’ve been less devastating than the reality. The anticipation, or rather a bad feeling, settled in your gut from the moment you opened your eyes and made you feel sick to your stomach.

After declining an offering of food, you were escorted downstairs to a large space, which was essentially a parking lot, cars all around. The premises were dimly lit – some of the lights simply went out, some were flickering as if they were about to. It was mostly dull grey concrete, a few wide columns around the area, just like any underground parking would look. There were still quite a few vehicles left – EXO liked to have a good variety. Especially Baek- No, you didn’t want to go there.

If you were completely honest, it wasn’t like you hadn’t been in this place before. You’d spent quite some time down here when Baekhyun was trying to teach you a few car tricks for fun. Despite your unwillingness to recall any of that, you could almost hear his obnoxious laughter whenever you failed to disable the alarm or accidentally set it off and panicked. Yet now this place became wicked in your eyes due to the new context. Worse than any dungeon in this abandoned building.

Sat on a lonely chair, you had your wrists bound and scotch tape put over your mouth.

‘This is for your own good,’ Baëkhyun muttered as he placed it on you. ‘Just keep quiet and let it play out.’

Huffing, you looked away. Eyes wandering around, you took notice of the absence of windows in the area. They probably chose the most isolated place in the building, luring the opponent in here. Likely to block the exits as soon as they arrive.

You exhaled through your nose, wishing that the boys just didn’t show up. Not really expecting Baëkhyun to protect you in this case, you only hoped for Baekhyun to stay away and be safe. One thing you were sure of, was that your life was not worth that many others.

As you contemplated this scenario, a drop of water fell in your lap. Then another one.

You looked at the droplets in confusion. Then up – locating a spot on the ceiling that was leaking. The intensity increased with every drop, and when you lowered your gaze, you saw the water level rise quickly, creeping at the level of your ankles. This didn’t look like it could be caused by any leakage you could think of. It was like there was an invisible circle around you, that water couldn’t cross. Like you were sitting in a glass tube.

Breath hitching in panic, you fidgeted in your seat, trying to get out of the rapidly growing pool of liquid. You whimpered, drawing Baëkhyun’s attention, and as he saw your current state, he immediately turned to the leader.

‘What the hell are you doing?’

‘The sun is almost up. I don’t see a sign of our friends arriving,’ he shrugged, tapping at his watch.

‘Stop it,’ Baëkhyun snapped, hearing you squeak as the liquid reached your knees, rising above the ground unnaturally.

Were they going to drown you?

You tugged at your restraints in a poor attempt to free yourself, and Baëkhyun turned around, walking towards you decisively.

Until Chën stepped in front of him.

‘Get out of my face,’ Baëkhyun snarled, but his opponent only laughed.

‘Keep walking. If you want me to electrocute her before you’re done.’

A faint purple lightning bolt appeared around his right fist, and Baëkhyun’s eyes darkened further, sparks of red swirling in his orbs as he gathered his power in his hands. But the fight did not break out, as Sehūn walked between them nonchalantly, shoving them away from each other.

‘They’re here,’ he announced, taking his spot next to Suhø.

The water stopped climbing up, freezing at the level of your collarbones. It pressed down on you unpleasantly, holding you still, but it also allowed you to slowly start slipping your wrist out of the restraint. Baëkhyun left it a little loose, so taking it off was feasible, now that it was wet.

A rumble sounded from behind the farther wall where the entrance was, and a car came in, tires screeching. The yellow sports vehicle took a spot in the middle of the room, drifting and rotating a perfect 90 degrees. Then a van appeared, doing pretty much the same right behind it. The door of the latter flew open, and a blonde head appeared. You swallowed a lump in your throat. He was here, they were here. It was your fault.

Baekhyun’s eyes landed on you, and he examined your state, before eyeing the crowd in front of him and turning to Suhø.

‘Let her go. I’m here to trade myself in for her.’

Your own eyes went wide. Trade himself in? No, no, you could not allow this!

‘Mhm!’ You shook your head fiercely, trying to sound protesting with your mouth covered.

He met your desperate gaze, and his eyes looked so… remorseful, that you froze in place. Turning away, he continued.

‘I’ll surrender to you, but you have to let her go first.’

Suhø hummed, nodding seemingly in contemplation of this suggestion.

‘You know what, I have a better idea. Why don’t you all surrender, and then she walks free?’

He suddenly chuckled, looking Baekhyun in the eye. ‘Or she doesn’t.’

It was a split second later when you finally freed your wrists and ripped the tape off, ready to scream… But the sound didn’t come. It happened faster than you could register – you were underwater. Fully submerged now.

Struggling to float in the mass of liquid, you saw people around start moving. Baekhyun threw a ball of light in Suhø’s direction, presumably missing him since you were still drowning.

A shadow appeared out of thin air behind Baekhyun and you screamed desperately, losing oxygen and trying to rip yourself out of the suffocating pool of water. He reacted instantly to the ambush, as if he was waiting for it, and used his power to defend. On the other side, Baëkhyun blasted Chën in the back, to find his way to you, but got held up by Kāi, appearing now in his way. Your lungs were burning. Realizing that no one would make it to you on time, you lowered your eyes in resignation.

And then you saw it.

A small, maybe the size of an orange, bubble appeared at your feet and made its way up. It reached your face, and you took an incredulous breath. Another one appeared.

‘Sehun,’ you thought, breathing in and out as the bubbles reached your face.

As you were struggling to ventilate underwater, the whole battle was happening on the outside. There was fire, and blood, and flashes of red and white light…

You almost got startled when the water around you subsided, releasing you from its hold. Falling to your knees, you finally breathed in fully and looked around in confusion, noticing Junmyeon closing distance.

But before he reached you, a wall of fire appeared. Turning your head, you saw Baëkhyun, about to hoist you up, when he got an electric shock. Looking over his shoulder, you watched Chën approach.

‘B- Baëk-’ You stuttered as an arrow hit Chën in the side, making him slump to the ground from the impact and proving that Sehun was still watching over you.

‘Run to their van. Along that wall, behind the cars. I’ll give you cover fire as you go, okay? I got you,’ Baëkhyun instructed, tugging you up and shoving you forward. ‘Go!’

You ran towards the wall to your right, feet barely able to move after all you’d just gone through. But your instincts kicked in, giving you the adrenaline high you needed to function. Hitting the wall hands first to change direction, you then ran along the concrete surface, not looking back, only hearing blasts, and swearing, and fighting…

You almost made it to the van.

But the water in your sneakers made you slip as you jumped out of your cover to relocate to the safer spot, falling over and grabbing at your leg. Not thinking more than a moment about the pain, you got on all fours and began crawling towards safety.

‘Y/N, no!’ Baekhyun shouted, and you turned around, seeing lightning paint the room purple for a second before someone shielded you from its reach.

And then he fell on his knees.

Black leather and silvery white head.

‘B- Baëkhyun?’ You muttered as he pressed his hands to his eyes, thick streaks of blood instantly painting his long fingers red.

You gasped in horror, but before you could say a word, someone grabbed you by the waist and dragged you around the car you were hiding behind less than a minute ago.

‘Are you okay?’ Baekhyun looked at you, as he pressed his palms to your body, trying to assess your injuries hastily. ‘We need to retreat quickly, can you walk? Hold onto my shoulder, okay?’

You barely registered what he was saying, the horrible picture from seconds ago still imprinted in your vision.

‘Wait,’ you shook your head, getting up. ‘I need to help him!’

‘What? Y/N!’ You heard Baekhyun call out your name, trying to catch you by the wrist as you ran out into the ongoing fight, limping noticeably.

The silver light appeared, covering you as you reached your target.

‘Baëkhyun!’ You grabbed him by the shoulders. ‘Did it hit your eyes?’

He turned to you, eyes narrow as if his vision was blurry, blood running down his entire face. Your hand trembled as he grabbed onto it.

‘What the fuck are you doing back here?’ He snarled.

‘Come on!’ You urged him to circle the closest vehicle, as Baekhyun still blasted the other side of the parking lot with his light.

‘Leave me here and run, while they have the upper hand. This won’t last much longer,’ Baëkhyun gritted.

‘No,’ you stubbornly gripped his leather jacket.

‘Y/N!’ He raised his voice.

You stared at each other intensely for no longer than a second, and then you took a quick breath and leaned forward, pressing your lips to his in an abrupt kiss. Tasting metallic and salty from his blood and your tears, it was the most frenetic one in your life. As you broke it, he looked at you silently, eyes dark blue.

‘The next parked car is the one Baek used to teach me how to break in. It’s unlocked, so if you can make it inside, you’ll be able to drive off instantly. We’ll distract them, and you show us the other way out of here, okay?’

He slowly nodded, and you held his stare for another second.

‘Don’t die,’ you told him, getting up as Baekhyun appeared again and took your hand impatiently to finally get you into the van.

‘Go, go, go!’ He yelled at Chanyeol, who grabbed the wheel.

The tires screeched, and a black sports car drove off under your noses.

‘Yeollie, follow him! Baëkhyun knows the other way out,’ you shouted, catching a confused look from the driver, as well as others. ‘Trust me, okay? The one you came through is disabled in some way already.’

He nodded quickly, no time to hesitate, and went after the black car.

Jongin appeared in the crowded van, as an explosion sounded from behind.

‘That should hold them up a sec,’ he sneered.

‘Good job,’ Junmyeon praised, looking in the rear-view mirror, as the van sped up, making it out of the building right behind Baëkhyun.

He then fell back, diverting the attention of the cars that followed you, and driving in a different direction to lead them away. You were glued to the window, watching him being chased by another automobile, and wishing that he made it out safely. If he could manage that – with the horrific injury to his eyes, no less… It would be nothing short of a miracle.

The boys around you shouted something about the chase, and that they only needed to take a couple of turns to get to the parking lot where their other vehicles were waiting, so that they could individually shake the clones off their tails...

But you paid no attention to all the tactics. The world around you disappeared, narrowing down to just that one car, fading into the distance. Your bloodied hand left a red trace on the glass you were looking through.

‘Don’t die,’ you prayed, still tasting his blood on your lips as you watched the black vehicle disappear on the horizon. ‘Don’t you dare die, Baëkhyun.’

Masterlist

A/N: This is it! Thank you for reading this entire story <3 Probably not the ending you wanted, my beta was ready to throw hands too lol But it’s a pretty logical conclusion to this scenario, isn’t it? The OC is safe and reunited with Baekhyun... In any case, I hope you enjoyed this little journey and are willing to share your thoughts with me 💌 

[marvelyhp]

A thousand yous

Synopsis: Adelaide (or Y/n) opens up to Bucky and he tries to settle her fears and finally tells her how he feels.

Word count: 1790

Disclaimer: I don’t own the papasito of James “Bucky” Barnes.

Side note: This is another out of nowhere piece that came up. I thought about making this a series or a story but I’m not sure. I guess I got tired of seeing it in Google docs and put it somewhere else. Oh and Adelaide’s name can be changed for y/n or y/n l/n for the end, I just prefer to use actual names. I’m writing all this as if I expect anyone to read this.

++++++++++++++++++

Bucky found her sitting beside the window, her head propped against the glass pane. Eyes focused on the moving lights of the cars and the city, yearning gleaming in her face.

“I miss wearing my dresses,” Adelaide whispered, her breath leaving a trail in the window.

Bucky’s heart stopped at the sound of her voice. He let her words sink in before answering her, eagerly wishing she was opening up to him and felt more comfortable around him. Hope grew deep inside him.

“You mean the red one, with the white flowers?” Bucky started walking towards her to settle beside her on the windowsill. His knee brushed hers as he sat, looking at her face, not bothering with the twinkling lights in the city but the lack of them in her eyes. He missed that shine, her smile, and her carefree personality. But he was so thankful to have her next to him right then, it didn’t matter if he had to discover her all over again.

“Oh, the red shirtwaist. That was my favorite. I just miss the simplicity of it.” It came as a whisper, and he noticed the wavering of her voice.

Memories of her in that red dress, the one that left him more breathless than usual crossed his mind. He remembered her dancing with him in a fair, surrounded by hundreds of people. He remembered Steve dancing with a pretty brunette to his side. Her smile stood out most for him, the way it would light up her whole face, light up his whole world. The way her beautiful golden skin glowed. He remembered her twirling and giggling as she danced with his finger in her hand, her long onyx hair an umbrella as it rose around her.

The girl in front of him was not the Adelaide he knew. He couldn’t read her as well as he used to but she was rough around the edges, he saw the anger in her eyes every day. He saw the fear hidden behind a mask of indifference. He saw how fidgety she was around men, and untrusting of women. She didn’t let anybody in. He thought about how much she resembled him after he left Hydra, the things he saw in her that he knew he still harbored.

“It feels ridiculous to miss that,” Her voice resonated through the room. The darkness of the room would’ve swallowed them if it weren’t for the rays of moonlight coming through the windows. “To miss something so banal like dresses.”

“Don’t you miss anything else?” He didn’t want this moment to stop, he didn’t want her to stop talking. He wanted her to tell him, to open up to him more. But he wishes for her to mention him, even if once. He wanted her to mention him without that anger she felt towards him.

“I do. I miss the way everything was so simple then, even if it wasn’t. Nothing seems quite as complicated and exhausting as this,” A sigh escaped her lips as she shuffled on the windowsill, turning her body and her eyes towards Bucky. “I miss dancing. I miss Brooklyn and the way it was back then. I miss...” her voice trailed off as her eyes lowered to the ground, leaving Bucky’s blue orbs confused.

“What?”

“Forget it.” Her eyes lingered on his eyes before lowering to his lips. She quickly withdrew them, focusing in the moving bright lights.

“I miss Brooklyn, too. I-I miss Steve, so much. Every day I wake up and wish he was here to tell me what I’m doing wrong, or laugh at the stupid things I say or just call me an idiot. He was the only one who understood me.” Bucky’s voice had taken an edge of sadness. The memories of Steve laughing, dancing with his off-beat moves, being plain stupid and his heroics coming into view in his mind.

“I miss Steve, too.” It was a whisper, but the pain and sadness laced in her voice made him feel as though she was screaming. A pang of jealousy poked at his heart. Steve’s face and words as they talked about Adelaide that afternoon in the apartment in Romania shooting on his mind. He shook his head, Shame settling in his gut at his thoughts. It didn’t even matter now because Steve was no longer with him, he could no longer defend himself or say what he thought.

When Bucky looked at her face, she was still facing the window, her lips slightly pressed together. Her lids closed, a small tear glistening in the moonlight. He waited for something more but nothing came.

“He missed you too,” Bucky’s lips pursed. “He used to talk about you all the time. Anything we would do would remind us of you, but he would be the first one to comment on it. Damn it, sometimes I wanted to shut him up”

“Why did you?”

“Because it was too painful, talking about you.” A sigh escaped his lips as his hands traveled to cradle his face to then push his fingers through the mass on top of his head. “I couldn’t hear about the way you used to dance, or the way you smiled or the way you scolded the both of us. I didn’t want to remember the days we went on dates or think about the nights we spent together.”

Silence engulfed them both, the only sound interrupting were the horns of the cars below. Adelaide’s eyes closed tightly, her arms hugging her elbows. A tremble escaped her lips and Bucky felt afraid he had said too much, that he had pushed her too far. Even then, he decided to continue. He needed to say this, to get this heavy load off his chest.

“I couldn’t talk about you because I didn’t want to remember what I had lost. Of all the things and people I’d lost, you were the one who hurt the most.” His heart thundered against his rib cage, forcing his chest to rise and fall unevenly. He felt his hands shake slightly against the skin of his thighs. His eyes focused on her.

He focused on the way her chest rose and fell erratically. He focused on her body, shaking slightly as she stood up from the windowsill. He focused on the way she paced the living room. He focused on the way she kept muttering ‘no’ under her breath and shaking her head side to side.

“The only thing I thought for 80 years was you, Ady.” She was in denial and that’s when he threw caution to the wind.

“Stop.”

“Your smile was the only thing Hydra couldn’t erase, Ady. It didn’t matter how much of you I forgot, your smile was always there.”

“James, stop.”

“Your face was the first thing I remembered. Please, Ady-“

“Stop calling me that!” She cried out. She had stopped pacing at this point, having turned around to face Bucky. Her head was hung low, her white hair hiding her face.

Bucky just sat there with wide eyes and his mouth in a firm line. Her shout had surprised him having been the first time she had been so vocal. The first time she had expressed so much emotion since he had recognized her coming out of Doctor Raynold’s session.

“I’m not her, James. I am no longer that woman you so clearly loved and treasured. I don’t know who I was, who I am, or who am I supposed to be anymore. You don’t know me anymore, and neither do I.” Her fists were clenched at her sides, her voice shaking with every word spoken.

Seeing her so broken, so fragile, broke something inside him. He felt his heart twisting painfully in his chest. Without thinking, Bucky stood up and crossed the space between them in four powerful strides. His hands found her cheeks, tilting her head up.

Thin almond eyes stared back at him. Tears fell from her eyes, marking a pathway from the pool in her eyes to her chin. His thumbs cleaned her falling tears before he whispered his next words. His heart a thousand miles a minute.

"I don't care if you're not the Adelaide I knew. I would suffer through everything again if it meant finding you, whoever that is at the moment," Multiple tears fell from her bloodshot eyes, tears he washed away like the ocean washes the sand. "I would get to know you a thousand times if it meant having you." Their lips were mere inches away, her small refined nose brushing his. His breath mixing with hers. Both of them breathing heavily, their bodies leaning towards each other involuntarily.

Bucky thought about how close she was. He could feel the warmth of her body melting the coldness around his heart. Her stormy grey eyes looking longingly at him and he forgot the promise he had made to himself. He threw his promise out the window because he couldn't take things slower than they had been.

"Fuck it." That was all he said before he crashed his lips onto hers. He poured every lonely night spent thinking about her into the kiss, every tear he shed about her, every desire he had to see her for eighty years. The kiss was desperate and full of longing.

Adelaide's hand grasped the base of his neck, pulling his head towards her, deepening the kiss. All those emotions she had so desperately tried to hide came floating out of her chest. She had missed him so much. Her right hand caressed the soft brown hair on his head. She had taken a while to get used to the way his hair looked, much shorter than it used to be. His beard tickled her chin and even though she remembered how soft his face used to be, she had started to like the beard and how manly he looked.

They kissed passionately until their lungs no longer held any breath. Until a burning sensation flourished in the chest, lungs screaming for air. Bucky rested his forehead against hers, panting.

"I loved you," he pressed a kiss at the tip of her nose. "I love you, " his lips moved towards her cheek. "and I will always love you, Adelaide Wright." His lips settled on hers once again, this time slow and lovingly.

[heloflor]

So, given that I didn’t have much time to work on fics recently because school, I’ve decided to relieve some stress by making a random representation of how I imagine Cavendish and Dakota’s house in their time-period looks like. And since I have no plans to ever describe it in detail in a fic, here it is ! Though, given how bad I am with designs, showing the house is mostly an excuse to infodump on domestic headcanons.

Regarding the last names, I didn’t make a typo for Cav. I like to imagine the two getting married way before the events of the show, with Cav taking “Dakota” as a last name, mostly because he got several siblings in-law on the Dakota side who adopted him on the spot.

And about the representation of the house : yeah it looks like shit. Since I can’t draw, I’ve decided to do something rather quick using MSPaint but yeah, not the best thing in the world. Though, if I get back to playing the Sims 3 at some point and end up making a Dwampyverse savefile, I’ll most likely try to recreate that house and could share a few pics.

I also went with a rectangular house with one floor instead of some futuristic-looking thing, mostly because I have no imagination when it comes to design. Though, you could still use the excuse that they want something more “old-timey” given their job or that they don’t have all the money of the world so they chose a simple house for the small cost. But yeah, by the end of the day, the choice is mostly because I can’t design shit.

But still one thing in my defense : looking at episodes that take place in the future like “Missing Milo” or “First Impressions”, it seems that most buildings are square-y with the roof being the weirdly-shaped part, with B.O.T.T. being one of the few exceptions. And looking at “A Christmas Peril”, the buildings are definitely more wacky but it’s 20 years later so…

I could also mention that I’m a bit unsatisfied with how empty the living-room and the bedroom ended up being but I’m drawing a total blank when trying to come up with the kind of stuff Vinnie and Balth would have that are linked to their interests. Though, maybe the excuse of them not being often at the house works ? Idk. Let’s just say I have ideas for the “basic” stuff, aka what you find in basically every single middle-class house, but draw a complete blank for anything that’s decorative. Still posting a map of the house tho because I don’t really consider it a work in progress if I simply have no idea and may never do. I’m very bad at design so bear with me on that one ! It’s not only about the house, it’s also about the fluffy headcanons !

So here’s under the cut some random info about the look of the rooms and furniture + a bunch of headcanons regarding Vinnie and Balth’s lives in this house. For each part of the house, you first have the info about how it looks first and then the headcanons.

Those headcanons are made with the idea that Vinnie and Balth are married (duh) but also, for a few, that Vinnie has three siblings + a few in-laws that he has a good relationship with.

(very long post ahead)

General :

- They bought the house in 2162, 2 years after getting married.

- It’s in the suburbs, or at least what the future version of the suburbs would look like. In other words, the presence of a backyard is debatable.

- There could be a garage for their time vehicle, so that they don’t have to go to headquarters every single day. And if not an actual garage, there’s at least some space to put it. In both cases, it would be near the bedroom’s side of the house.

- While the walls outside would have that futuristic “metallic” look, the walls inside would be a bit warmer. At the very least, the inside isn’t “future metallic white”, especially with Vinnie having photophobia.

- The intensity of the lights in every room can be adjusted. That way, Vinnie can put the dimmest light and navigate the house without his glasses. This is mostly useful for showering and midnight snacks.

- When they went house-hunting, Balth was the one who insisted that they needed a place with those kinds of lights. This is also the same kind of lights that Vinnie had in his now-former apartment.

- You know how near the end of the episode “First Impressions” you have Balth going into Mr. Block’s office ? Well, the way the door opens in that moment is how the door opens for every room of the house, perhaps excluding the main entrance (I like the idea of their front door being an “old” one, aka the “normal” doors we have today).

- Every room would have a spot that can create “tactile panels”, like some holographic tablet that can be used to change the settings of the house, for example changing the lights or the internet or even lock the doors and blinds.

- In 2175, when they were forced to leave the future, Vinnie stole a device from B.O.T.T. that made him able to create some kind of forcefield around the house that only he and Balth can remove. So, even if they’re not there anymore, the house still is theirs and can’t be sold to anyone else. And before you ask why B.O.T.T. didn’t simply send agents to bring the duo back and force them to open the shield : the forcefield works with hand-scan detection and Vinnie convinced Balth to use their left hands, the hands with the wedding rings. So if time-agents come knocking, they could try convincing the agents to let them use the bathroom first and they could wash their hands and use the soap to remove the rings. That way, the scan wouldn’t work and the agents would have no way of knowing why.

    Living room :

- There’s more furniture than showed here like souvenirs from previous missions or some random stuff that belongs to them. I just don’t have enough imagination. : /

- Likewise, the corridor has a few pictures or posters, like pictures that Vinnie didn’t have the space to put in his memory room but still wanted to display. Also, I want to say that Vinnie would display pictures of his family (sibling, in-laws and nephews) but I’ll see him more as having an album for family pictures, or a framed picture on his nightstand.

- There could definitely be a carpet or two. They would either be modern ones to fit the fact that they’re from the future or vintage stuff found in some of their missions. One of the carpets would be under the coffee table. Another would be in the big-ass space between the living-room and the kitchen, or in the corridor.

- The style is a mix between old and new stuff, with also a few things related to their interests. Like, for example, the couch could have an animal pattern or something (AND BY THAT I DON’T MEAN REAL ANIMAL FUR).

- Speaking of the couch, after looking up “futuristic couch” on the internet, they would absolutely have one of those gigantic couches that have like a bed attached to them due to how big they are. Btw I have no idea which company came up with this design and I couldn’t care less. It’s just that the design looks cool and would fit a futuristic house.

- The side table is a floating square, given how we see in “A Christmas Peril” that tables in the future don’t have feet anymore (that’s one way to protect your toes).

- The floor lamp is more futuristic. It’s like a white orb attached to a lamp foot.

- The TV is attached to the wall. The remote is some kind of holographic tablet, kind of like the house settings thingy.

  - This is where Balth would spend most of his mornings and evenings when they stay home. He’d just be sitting with a cup of tea, most of the time also a book, with the sun illuminating the room, just feeling comfortable and peaceful. The side table/cube was bought specifically for Balth’s tea. He would also use the lamp while reading in the late evening, either for the peace of having little to no light and solely focusing on the book or as a way for Vinnie to be in the room with the lights at the lowest setting. And speaking of Vinnie, he would sometimes join his husband on the couch, lying down with his head resting on Balth’s legs (cue Vinnie falling asleep, leading to a frustrated Balth who needs to pee but doesn’t want to wake him up).

- Since there’s a mini-table for when Balth drinks tea, the table right in front of the couch is mostly used for Vinnie to rest his legs on.

- And speaking of fluffy headcanons : movie nights. From time to time, aka minimum once a month, probably more, the couple would be in their pajamas cuddling on the couch while watching a movie, with Dennis resting in Balth’s arms.

For the movie choices, Balth would choose science-fiction, especially if there are any Professor-Time-themed movies, but also historical fiction (for some reason I tend to see Balth as having a liking for history ? I think it’s because of the way he dresses + his small rant about pirates in “Game Night” ? Idk honestly. It’s mostly a random headcanon that’s here for some weird reason). As for Vinnie, it’s mostly animal documentaries (Balth falls asleep halfway through but Vinnie doesn’t notice until after it’s over) or animated/family movies (the future equivalent of D*sney, S*ny pitcures, P*xar etc. Which are movies Balth would enjoy as well). For some weird reason I’ll also see the two of them being into mystery movies (crime-solving movies basically).

And if they sometimes decide to watch other genres, I could see Balth having a liking for some romance movies, because for some reason I like the idea of Balth being sappy. Besides, the guy is passionate when it comes to proving himself at his jobs and takes them pretty seriously in order to reach his objective. And given how he can be insecure and sometimes feels like a ball of anxiety, who’s to say he isn’t passionate when it comes to love too ? And no, I don’t mean passionate as in “making out all the time”, I mean passionate as in taking relationships seriously and making it work while also wishing to make sure his partner knows that he’s loved, even if Balth isn’t really the best at expressing his affection all the time.

On a different note, to get back to other genres : Vinnie would probably like horror movies. Because if cuddling in front of a sappy movie is great, having your husband show his love and trust for you by clinging to your arm out of fear is even better, nevermind the fact that you’re as terrified as he is.

    Kitchen :

- It’s one of those kitchens with two walls of cupboards/cabinets, both on the ground and elevated. One of the cabinets is used entirely for snacks. Because Vinnie.

- The wall separating the kitchen and the living room “has a hole in it”. It’s like you have a small wall with cupboards, a hole, and a wall connected to the ceiling with a few cabinets. Basically, you look up “kitchen cupboards” and imagine that the space in-between is a hole instead of the wall (why is it so hard to explain something so simple ?).

- This would be the most futuristic-looking room of their house. Looking up at references, they’re that Pinterest post showing a room with white cabinets with round corners and what seems to be slide doors. This is pretty much how I’ll see their kitchen, except bigger, with a different wall color and with one wall not being here (see above).

- The table is floating because of course it does. The chairs don’t tho. Also the chairs are as futuristic as the rest of the room. And looking up the internet again, the chairs are shaped like chairs.

  - So I put a stove but tbh I’m not sure how much these two would cook, given how in the show they’re always seen eating out (granted they don’t have a kitchen in their ‘apartment’ in Milo’s time). And given how most things seem automatized in the future, let’s just assume that the house can do most of the cooking itself with like a robot (aka plot-convenience technology) but still needs the necessary furniture and ingredients for the recipes. Also, if there’s an issue with their cooking system, they’ll probably know a few recipes and can feed themselves (Vinnie’s oldest brother Enzie would definitely teach his younger siblings a few recipes, at least enough to survive on their own. And he would be more than happy to teach his brother in-law as well).

- I put 4 chairs at the table but honestly I could see them keep 2 at all times and put the others in the storage room, especially the times they get very busy with their job for a few weeks and don’t have the time for social life.

- At some point, Balth probably tried to convince Vinnie to have better food habits and tried to put his snacks on the higher shelves. Not only did it not work because chairs exist but also it led to Vinnie getting frustrated. So Balth dropped it. Though, he would still try to talk Vinnie into working out to stay rather healthy.

    Memories room :

- Vinnie’s personal space. He basically saw the third biggest room of the house and went “mine now” and Balth had no issue letting him have it (hard to say no when Vinnie’s eyes shine like that).

- He already had a memory room in his old apartment.

- Basically, Vinnie brings back souvenirs from his missions, along with pictures he took, and put them on display. For more information, I made a post about it a while ago, so check it out if you want info on it.

And side note : I learned more about ADHD and autism later on and found out that the correct word for Vinnie’s passion for animals is a special interest, not a hyperfixation. The main difference between the two terms is how long your interest last. The reason I used “hyperfixation” in my post is because 1. I didn’t know that “special interest” was a term that existed and 2. people with ADHD kept talking about having hyperfixations and most people see Vinnie as having ADHD. So yeah, my bad for using the wrong term. And while I won’t change the current text from my post, especially with someone in the notes correcting me (I don’t want them to look like an idiot), I’ll definitely add a few words at the end of the post about it.

 - This is where Vinnie spends most of his time when at home, trying to keep the room in the best condition.

- There’s a window in the room but Vinnie condemned it in case some of his souvenirs were sensitive to the sunlight.

- The room is made entirely of shelves, with like four-five rows on the same wall. The shelves are either integrated into the walls or they’re floating because future. In any cases, there’s nothing around the shelves, it’s just shelves with stuff on it.

- When you enter the room, one of the rows of shelves next to you has all the animal-related stuff he gathered before starting a relationship with Balth. The rest of the room can have a few animal-themed objects but the pictures tend to be more linked to him and Balth.

- Likewise, when you enter the room, on the shelf you’re immediately facing, there’s a miniature recreation of their wedding altar with their wedding picture in its center. The miniature is made out of the future equivalent of papier-mâché and the altar is themed around time-travel with objects from all kinds of time-periods and cultures. And for those who might ask regarding the picture : Vinnie has a black suit and carries the bouquet while Balth has a white suit. Both have a hat that’s basically Balth’s usual hat (with the Professor-Time goggles, because themed wedding) but colored like their respective suit.

    Balthazar’s office :

- The room has quite a few libraries but this is mostly decorations. Basically, this room is more of an 1800th century study than anything, especially a rich/royal study. Yeah, for some reason I see Balth as having an office that’s just “rich 1800th century” aesthetic. I think it’s from the headcanon of him being a runaway prince 🤔.

- So yeah. The bookcases are vintage, the piano is your usual black piano, the armchairs are vintage and tbh Balth almost never uses them because he’d rather read in the living room, and the desk is vintage, though the stuff on the desk is futuristic. Balth is up to date with the technology he’s using to work, he just likes the older aesthetic for the rest.

- On his desk, despite literally living with the guy, Balth has a framed picture of Vinnie (again, I want the stubborn gay disaster to be sappy from time to time, with his love language being small touches and attention to details like for example being able to quickly see the kinds of foods Vinnie like the most so that when he’s in a bad mood, Balth can get him that specific food to make it better ; or learning Vinnie’s body language to know when he’s upset or bothered by something).

  - Balth mostly spends his time here to make the reports on their missions or work some administration stuff when needed. When he isn’t at his desk, he’s there to play the piano.

And yes, I throw out the window that line from “Backwards to School Night” that indicates Vinnie doesn’t know about Balth playing piano but tbh I ignore or question quite a few things from this episode such as : the line indicating that Vinnie and Balth don’t live together in their time-period since Balth doesn’t know Vinnie’s weekend habits ; the line about how the ray thing age you down to 90% your current age and yet baby Vinnie seems younger than the parents despite his adult self seeming older; the fact that Melissa read a book 16 times in the span of 6 minutes ; the fact that it’s called a “age regressor ray” and not a “age regressor ray-inator” (seriously, I am the only one always expecting Vinnie to say “inator” and being disappointed when he doesn’t ?).

- The couple absolutely sing songs together with Balth playing the piano. Or at least Vinnie would sing a song in the middle of the living-room and have Balth be annoyed by it, only for Vinnie to hear Balth play the same song on the piano later and join him.

    Bathroom :

- Not much to say here. It’s a bathroom. It’s futuristic-looking. The mirror is a cabinet. The tub is round. The bin comes in and out of the wall. The clothes drier also irons the clothes. The toilet is glued to the wall. The walls are dark gray or dark blue or at least a darker color so that Vinnie doesn’t have to dim the lights to the lowest level when he’s showering. There are also several little lights along with a main one so that Vinnie can light the small ones instead of getting a headache due to the brighter light. During lazy/slow days, Balth would take baths instead of showers (and Vinnie would want to join him to make out). Balth may or may not sing in the shower (Vinnie definitely does). That’s pretty much it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    Guest/Storage room :

- Only used as a guest room when one or several members of the Dakota family are visiting the states and end up in the Tri-State-Area. So for 90% of the time, the room is used as storage.

- Bed’s not that big and very “squary”. Might or might not be floating.

- It’s mostly random junk that they don’t know where to put and don’t want to get rid of, like some stuff they got from their missions but that Vinnie doesn’t want in his room or some old things they want to give at a garage sale or that one Professor-Time body-pillow that Balth refuses to let go of while Vinnie just wants to trash the thing. The body-pillow being in the storage room in a junkpile was their compromise on the issue. Also, whenever someone might stay in the room, Balth makes sure there’s no way they will find the body-pillow (his sister in-law Bettie would never let him live it down).

- Not much to say here either aside from that.

    Master bedroom (the room in which the proportions are way bigger than the rest of the house because I have no idea what I’m doing) :

- I described the room quickly in my fic “nightmares” but yeah basically the room has several posters and pictures related to their interests, along with a bookshelf full of animal encyclopedias, time-travel facts, history books, Professor-Time fantasy books etc. There are also albums, whether it be family pictures or album of the two of them.

- Like for the living-room, there can definitely be more than what I described/pictured here. I’m just really bad at imagining the kind of stuff people would have in their bedrooms related to their interests. And speaking of which : at some point, there was the aquarium that Vinnie mentions in “Time Out”.

- Unlike the other rooms in which the windows have roller blinds (apparently that’s the english word for it ?), this one has curtains on top of it because Balth likes to open the window in the morning but he doesn’t want Vinnie to hurt his eyes. So with curtains, he can open them enough to light the room but not enough for the light to reach Vinnie’s face.

- The bed is pretty classic for a futuristic bed but with round edges and these two idiots definitely go crazy with the sheets design (animals, food, Professor-Time, past time-periods, stuff like that). Also, the bed is “open”. By that I mean that, if you look at futuristic designs, there tends to be some roof thing above the bed and linked to it. They wouldn’t have that.

- The nightstands are floating cubes.

- “Dennis’ chair” is just some random old wooden chair where Dennis stays most of the time. Balth almost never takes him during his missions and Dennis is a comfort object that Balth mostly talks to when sitting on the bed, movie nights aside. So the bear stays in the bedroom.

- The bookshelf would also be made of wood.

- The wardrobe is futuristic, with doors that can open by themselves with sensory detection. Also, unlike what that poor “drawing” shows, the wardrobe is “taller” than it is “larger”.

- The armchair is an egg chair.

  - They sleep

- They spoon

- Balth is the big spoon because 1. he’s taller and 2. he grew up sleeping while embracing a teddy bear and old habits die hard.

- When Balth goes to sleep or wakes up, he can’t help but play with Vinnie’s hair and give the small man a few kisses, feeling satisfaction in seeing his husband smile or try to pull away while laughing.

- Vinnie sleeps on the side closest to the window while Balth sleeps on the side nearest to Dennis.

- Balth’s nightstand has an alarm clock that’s basically just a holographic square with numbers on it, while Vinnie has an album or some random animal trinket. Vinnie’s alarm clock is not feeling Balth’s warmth against him. But if Vinnie has to use an actual alarm, the sound would either be some old-fashioned song or an animal noise (is this starting to get too much insistence on the “animal-loving” side of him ?)

- While Balth likes to read in the living-room, Vinnies likes it better to chill in the bedroom when reading. Also, during weekends and vacation days, Balth would sometimes read in bed before sleeping (yeah for some reason I really like the idea of Balth being a reader. I think it has to do with him being old or british ??? Weird brain is weird. And besides, if Balth reads, it would most likely be science fiction related to Professor Time). Vinnie uses this time as an excuse to cuddle.

- They have themed pajamas. Balth mostly has Professor-Time stuff (clocks, Heinz or Perry’s faces etc) while Vinnie has mostly animal-themed or food-themed pajamas.

- Vinnie sometimes sleeps naked in the summer. Balth is still trying to figure out how he feels about that.

- Random headcanon regarding Dennis : while he belongs to Balth who keeps him close when in doubt in order to vent or when he wants to get comfortable somewhere, I actually like to believe that, between the two, Vinnie is the one who talks the most to Dennis, mostly because Vinnie would just enter the bedroom and casually greet the bear, or he and Balth would have a dumb argument and Vinnie would playfully tell Dennis “Can you believe that guy ?” while pointing at Balth. Just, Vinnie being Vinnie and having random one-sided conversations with the bear.

And a little cute thing : while Vinnie really just talked to Dennis because why not, seeing the guy like the teddy bear so much would actually make Balth feel better about himself. I like to believe that grown-up men having plushies would still be seen as a ridiculous thing by most people (because toxic masculinity) and Balth got the habit of hiding Dennis when he was still trying to find the right guy for him. So seeing Vinnie have no issue whatsoever with the teddy bear and even liking him would definitely help Balth’s confidence, along with warming his heart.

- And since this post is all about headcanons : two things about phones and these two being sappy that have nothing to do with houses.

1. One day, Balth left his phone on a table and Vinnie decided to take a selfie with it because why not. After seeing that, Balth acted frustrated but ended up putting the pic as his phone background. Ever since, Balth’s phone background is a picture of Vinnie. The most recent one is from “We’re Going to the Zoo” with a picture of Vinnie holding squirrels in his arms while a third one is coming out of his pistachios-filled pants. The pic on the phone is a closeup, only showing Vinnie’s head and upper body. And for those who like angst, I’ll let you imagine how he must have felt having this as his phone background during the rogue arc.

2. Vinnie’s (numeric) phone password is 2703, aka march 27, the date of his wedding anniversary. The day is put first and the month second because Europe. Also, during busy weeks, this would be a good way for Vinnie to remember the anniversary.

(fun fact : I was trying to come up with scenarios for fics when I ended up thinking about Vinnie’s password and that number came to mind. So I just went “guess that’s their wedding date now”)

[litwitlady]

Never Have I Ever (5/?)

Read the Board Game Verse on AO3.

The next Friday night Michael shows up early and with a list of demands. ‘Put on some warm clothes and grab a couple of blankets you don’t mind getting dirty. We’re taking this show on the road.’ He heads into Alex’s kitchen to pilfer the fridge, and Alex doesn’t bother asking questions, he just does as told.

Outside at Michael’s truck, they toss the blankets and whatever Michael took from his kitchen into the bed. ‘Your firepit? Where are we going?’

‘The desert. Our old spot. Hop in.’ A little thrill shivers down Alex’s spine as he climbs into the Chevy. In all their years of each other, spending the night in the desert has only ever ended one way.

Their drive out is twenty minutes of quiet, radio softly playing between them. Michael’s window is down despite the chill, and Alex enjoys the way the wind dances through his hair, making a mess of his curls. Every couple of miles, Michael glances over at him with a promise-painted smile, the same way he used to when they were seventeen.

They turn off the highway, tires kicking up dust clouds behind them. Beyond the mountains the sun is setting, pink and purple and orange flames licking at the first stars daring to blink down at them. The desert around them looks the same as it ever does with pockets of snow still unmelted from the season’s first snowfall. Eventually, two familiar mesquite trees appear and it’s like coming home, both of them breathing a little easier.

Michael puts the truck in park. ‘This place never changes.’ He slides out of the Chevy and before Alex has even set foot on solid ground, he’s managed to float everything out of the bed and onto the desert floor. ‘You want to sit on the ground or would the tailgate be easier?’

He looks nervous and that makes Alex nervous. ‘On the ground, near the fire. Just need a hand getting down there.’ He reaches out to Michael, asking for help but also offering comfort for whatever anxiety is biting at both their heels. Michael helps him onto the blanket and plops down beside him, the fire close enough to keep the encroaching sting of autumn winds at bay.

Scattered around them is an array of food. Everything from paninis oozing melted cheese to a handmade Greek salad from a recipe Michael had found at Isobel’s house while rummaging through her cookbooks. ‘I might have gone a bit overboard, but in my defense, I skipped lunch and was starving.’

Alex is already halfway through one of the paninis, eyes closed in satisfaction. ‘This is delicious.’ Michael makes a mental note to keep the panini maker he’d borrowed from Max. It’s not like Max ever uses it anyway.

Once they’ve eaten their way around the blanket, Michael gets back up and removes a large black case from his truck. ‘There’s a reason I wanted to come out here tonight.’ He winks down at Alex. ‘And no, it’s not the reason you’ve been thinking since I first mentioned the desert.’ Alex looks away quickly, hiding the disappointment that suddenly floods his face.

Michael doesn’t notice, too busy pulling a large telescope from the velvet lining inside the opened case. ‘Mars is brighter than it’s been in years this month. I’ve been itching to get out here and have a look. Isobel gifted me the telescope on our shared birthday in June. I was going to pawn it.’ He shrugs and peeks his eye through the eyepiece, adjusting the fingerscope per the instructions he’s found on his phone.

Alex looks up at the night sky and finds Mars with his naked eye. It is extraordinarily bright, a glowing pink orb rising through the inky black expanse of space. And when Michael finally captures it in the lens of the telescope, he gasps and grabs at Alex’s arm. ‘You can see so much detail. All the pockmarks and craters. And the dust looks almost orange. It’s amazing. Look.’

He drags the telescope closer to Alex so he doesn’t have to move much, checking through the eyepiece one last time to focus directly on the red star. Leaning back on his heels, Michael motions at Alex to take his place and turns his own eyes upward. They are both looking at the same star but he also knows they are seeing something entirely different. He huffs out a sharp laugh which draws Alex’s eye away from the telescope. ‘What’s so funny?’

‘Nothing. Just metaphors and nonsense. The ways that perspectives get so warped and are so hard to understand when everyone doesn’t have the same telescope.’ Alex gives him a funny look and Michael laughs outright. ‘I’ve been hanging around Max too much.’

Alex shakes his head gently. ‘No. I think I get what you’re saying. For a long time, we’ve wanted the same thing, but we’ve been coming at it from our own messy angles. I’ve often thought we were similar to the codes I break. We’re on the same page, but written in a language the other needs help translating.’ Michael nods at him, smiling sweet.

They spend an hour searching through the various stars and distant galaxies before a growing ache in Alex’s chest pushes him to ask a question he’s been holding inside since they decided to work on their friendship weeks ago. ‘One day you’ll be able to find your star. The one you’ve been searching for since you crawled from that pod. And you’ll figure out how to finish building your ship.’ He pauses to collect himself, already feeling the emotion in his chest threatening to overwhelm him. ‘One day, you’ll be able to go home.’ His eyes start to burn with unshed tears, but he keeps going, meeting Michael’s gaze with determination and readying the fortress around his heart he was so sure he wouldn’t need anymore. ‘Is that still what you want?’

Michael reaches up and swipes at the first tear that falls from the corner of Alex’s eye. ‘I found my star a long time ago. And I’m not going anywhere without you.’

Alex drops his eyes to his hands. ‘I have no right to ask that of you. I know that. Not after all the leaving I did.’ He tugs nervously at the hem of his shirt, hands starting to shake with the cold. ‘But I’m never going anywhere without you ever again. I promise.’

‘I know.’ Michael grabs an extra blanket and wraps it tight around Alex. ‘So what’s tonight’s game? Didn’t see you toss anything into the bed when we were leaving.’

They both lean back against the Chevy’s tire. Alex stretches the blanket around Michael’s shoulders so that they are sharing more than just the woven wool’s warmth. ‘How about the classic drinking game, Never Have I Ever? Sans alcohol but with a new twist.’ He grins, lips sharpening at the edges and eyes darkening with dare. ‘Instead of taking a drink, you have to kiss the other person.’

Michael snorts. ‘So we’re just soundly saying goodbye to the friends experiment then?’

‘No. Platonic kisses only. No kissing on the mouth and no use of tongue.’ Alex hears the bullshit in his words and knows Michael does too. His nerves return and he begins to second guess himself. ‘Or we can play like normal. There’s still plenty of wine left. Or not at all. I’m happy to just sit here with you too.’

‘That’s okay. I like the new rules. Not much of a wine guy anyway. Who goes first?’

‘Me.’ Alex sits up a little straighter and spends a fair amount of time considering his first move. ‘Never have I ever used my telekinesis to do literally anything.’ He follows the statement with a cheeky grin, clearly quite proud of himself.

‘Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be? That’s how we’re going to play?’ Alex tries to suppress the manic giggle that bubbles up in his throat but loses the fight pretty quickly. Michael shakes his head. ‘Have a placement preference?’

‘Nope. I’m looking forward to wherever you choose.’ He blushes and struggles to meet Michael’s eye, muscles tensing in anticipation once he feels Michael shift against him.

A breeze nestles between them, but neither of them notices. The cool air doing absolutely nothing to assuage the heat pulsing between them. Michael presses his lips to Alex’s temple, less a kiss than a remembrance of every kiss that has come before. Alex closes his eyes and lets this new memory burn a spot next to all the others.

It’s strange. Michael has kissed him goodbye dozens of times over the past few weeks. None of them half as affecting as this barely glancing touch.

Abruptly, Michael pulls away. ‘Never have I ever gone to war.’

Alex reopens his eyes at the sound of Michael’s voice. ‘If we keep this up, we’re going to dig ourselves into a hole, Guerin. One we can’t get out of.’ He brings his fingers up to the sleeve of Michael’s shirt. ‘You told me to dress warm when all you’re wearing is this thin t-shirt.’ Michael watches as Alex slowly guides the sleeve up over the top of his arm. Alex bows his head far enough to leave a trail of rough, chapped kisses where the bony end of his collarbone meets his shoulder.

Michael’s breath hitches the instant Alex doesn’t stop with one single kiss. The dry scrape of his lips sending goosebumps down to his toes, his heartbeat a staccato rhythm echoing throughout his entire body. ‘That doesn’t feel at all platonic.’ His voice is low and strained, edged with the desire to flatten Alex hard against the wool blanket beneath them.

Alex smiles and smacks his shoulder with one last loud kiss. ‘I guess that depends on your perspective. Never have I ever stepped foot on another planet.’

‘How about I share a little bit of my perspective with you?’ He scoots impossibly nearer to Alex, hand cupping his cheek and tilting their mouths dangerously closer. Their breaths mingle together although Alex is almost certain he’s not breathing at all anymore. Michael’s lips hover over Alex’s, the anticipation building to a crescendo they’ve both been waiting for since five Friday nights ago at the Wild Pony. And it doesn’t matter how many times they’ve kissed before. Because there’s never, not once been this much hope waiting for them on the other side.

When Michael’s lips finally land on Alex’s skin, they narrowly miss his mouth. Instead they fall at the corner of his lips, a sliver away from touching home. Alex exhales, half-groaning with the comedown. He’d been sure, so sure this was their moment. Swallowing down what he really wants to say, Alex turns to Michael just as he pulls away. ‘Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.’

‘I think this was the best idea.’ He tilts his head and smiles at Alex so beyond innocent that Alex yelps when Michael pushes his shoulders roughly onto the blanket and slides effortlessly between Alex’s welcoming thighs. Alex barely has time to take another breath before Michael’s mouth steals it away, sucking at his bottom lip so desperately Alex has to lift his head to chase after Michael’s urgency.

The kiss is needy, both of them grasping at each other like they’re dangling off a cliff holding on with nothing more than their fingertips. Michael’s hands tug at Alex’s hair, jagged, work-worn nails digging into the softness of his scalp without apology. And Alex fills the gaps between Michael’s ribs with his fingers, feeling Michael’s lungs expand with each new, shuddering breath. Eventually twisting Michael’s t-shirt so tight in his fists it rips at the seams.

One kiss becomes two becomes twenty until neither knows whose tongue is whose anymore. Michael’s shirt is long gone and Alex’s pants are shoved halfway down his thighs before either of them has the sense to stop. ‘Your skin is like ice, Alex. It’s too cold out here for this, even with the fire.’ His breathing is ragged, his chest heaving. Leaning back on his knees, he helps Alex back into his jeans, despite his ardent protests that he’s not too cold, and grabs the remaining blanket to wrap around them. Even with two thick, wool blankets, the night air is still harsh enough to make both of them shiver. ‘Maybe we should go back to your place.’

‘No. Please not yet.’ Alex shifts closer to Michael, joining their bodies wherever he can reach. Laying his head on Michael’s chest, he hums in satisfaction at the steady beat of his heart. ‘You’ll keep me warm. Tell me about the stars like you used to.’ Alex points to a random patch of desert sky. ‘Isn’t that Polaris?’

Michael snorts into Alex’s hair. ‘You’ve always been so bad at this. You can’t really see the North Star from here. It’s not bright enough.’ He drags Alex’s still-raised finger to another part of the sky. ‘That’s Gemini. The twins. I’ve always thought of me and Max as Castor and Pollux. But the version where only one of them, Pollux probably, is immortal.’

‘Max is Pollux, I’m guessing?’

Michael nods, chin tapping against the top of his head. ‘Yes.’

The stars glow brighter as Michael spends the next hour recounting so many of their mysteries, fingertips dancing up and down Alex’s arm like he’s tattooing the stories into his skin. Alex pretends like he’s never heard them before when in reality he’s had them all memorized for over a decade. The stars and Michael’s stories are what had kept his first tour overseas from chewing him up and spitting him out.

Tilting his chin, Alex kisses into Michael’s neck, leaving a sloppy trail in his wake as he nibbles up to his ear. ‘Take me home.’

The warmth of Alex’s house beckons as they pile everything back into the truck. With no traffic, they pull into the driveway in record time, not bothering to unpack the Chevy before heading inside and straight to Alex’s bedroom. They collapse onto the bed and undress each other slowly, allowing the furnace’s heat to melt them into nothing but nerve-endings and sensation, their sweat-slick skin sliding smoothly together.

Once they’re sated and sleepy, Michael throws a leg over Alex’s thighs and wraps an arm around his waist, tugging him as close as possible. ‘I guess we’re dating now.’

[dragonologist-in-the-making]

Transfer Student

Pairing: Sirius x reader (Ilvermorny transfer)

Request: hello, wanted to say i really enjoy your writing!! can i request a sirius blac x ilvermorny transfer student!reader in the marauder's era? a kind of enemies to lovers type fic where the reader's new and sorted into slytherin and is already getting a lot of attention and popularity for being american and outgoing but sirius doesn't get the hype lmao so he teases about her accent and other american things and she bickers back but deep down they're just fighting bc they like each other. thank you!

A/N: Thank you! And thanks for the request! I hope you like it, sorry if it seems a little short or not developed fully. Just a note about requests, as it stands I think I have seven to do, but they’re all Sirius x reader so I think I’ll space them out a little for the sake of being able to write about someone else too. I’m dying to write some James, Charlie and Newt.

Wordcount: 1.3k

Warnings: None!!

 She approached the castle with apprehension. Transferring schools was never easy, but especially not so when she had also moved continents and had no friends to speak of. Her parents had moved to Britain from America for their work, and although they didn’t want to pull her out of her old school, Ilvermorny, but knew they had no choice but to make the move and take her with them. She walked up the steps and into a large entrance hall, which was mainly empty, other than the odd student, and a woman stood with a velvet green cloak and a pointy hat.

“Miss (y/l/n).” She greeted the girl, extending her hand which was shaken hastily. “My name is Professor McGonagall, I’m deputy headmistress here at Hogwarts and the Head of Gryffindor House.” She explained, waving her wand as (y/n)’s trunk floated up next to her, as the professor gestured to be followed. “I usually oversee the sorting ceremony at the start of each year for the first years, and so I will be escorting you to Professor Dumbledore’s office so we can sort you into a house now.” The young witch nodded, only half paying attention to the words being spoken to her, trying to familiarise herself with the castle and push away the anxiety that was rising in her chest. They stopped in front of a stone gargoyle, which promptly spun around to reveal a spiral staircase once McGonagall had whispered the password. As they stepped onto the stairs and began to move towards the office, (y/n) steeled herself, ready to face her new future.

 A few weeks had passed since her arrival, and (y/n) (y/l/n) was settling in as well as she could at Hogwarts. The sorting hat had sorted her into Slytherin house, and the girls in her dormitory were kind and more than happy to include her in their activities, as well as helping her to catch up on what they had been learning in their classes. Being an American transfer, she seemed like the shiny new toy of the school – it had taken a while for the whispers and the stares to die down as she walked through the corridors in the first week. Now, though, most people were treating her normally, they had gotten used to her accent, mostly, and they realised she was just as normal as everyone else. Most people, because a certain Sirius Black was definitely not used to her yet, and took every opportunity he could to tease her.

 “Hey America!” He shouted at her as she walked through the entrance hall. “Come on, let us hear that pretty accent of yours.” He pleaded – from the moment she had first opened her mouth he had found delight in mocking her accent, in pulling apart the different words she used or the way she would pronounce certain words differently.

 Refusing to give into his antics, feeling a flash of anger through her chest, wishing she knew why he refused to accept her, her only response to the raven haired boy with the stormy grey eyes was to flip him off, smiling triumphantly to herself a little as his friends laughed behind her at his failed attempt.

 Sirius’ attention refused to waver as the school year continued, but realising that he could never catch your attention for long with his snide remarks (“Obviously she’s not going to give you the time of day with the way you speak to her.” Had been James’ remark, complete with a roll of his eyes), he had turned instead to light hearted teasing and flirting, although most of the time this descended into bickering.

 Although she wouldn’t admit it, and she more than happy to complain about his antics, secretly she adored the attention he would give her. She knew his reputation, that hadn’t been a hard piece of gossip to pick up on, she knew that his attention on a girl never lasted more than a few days. Except for her. His attention had expanded further than the classroom too, now when she was studying alone in the library, he always seemed to ‘accidentally’ stumble upon her, sitting next to her and making joking remarks the whole time, which she was happy to retort. These hours in his company made her understand him much more, and rarely, in between the teasing and the bickering, they would have a real conversation, about their families, friends, lives. When he wasn’t there, she had started to strain her eyes looking for him, hoping that he would come and bother her again. She had realised too late that she had started falling for Sirius Black.

 She was in the library again, it was a free period and she couldn’t study very well in her dim common room. She was studying a transfiguration textbook very closely, trying to complete the essay McGonagall had set them the day before, when she heard the scraping of chair legs beside her, and smiled slightly, knowing who had approached her.

 “Do they not teach you in Slytherin that you won’t need to know this stuff once you’ve joined the dark side?” He whispered, pointing to the essay she had been working on as she huffed and rolled her eyes. Picking on her about being in Slytherin  was one of his favourite things to do, but (y/n) knew enough of his story to understand why, which helped lessen her anger to mild irritation at his words.

 “I’m ambitious, Sirius, not evil. I know what I want and I’ll work hard to make sure I get it.” She whispered back, pulling the parchment closer towards her and carrying on writing. “You know full well I don’t agree with blood purity and all that nonsense. Talent is talent, take it where you can get it.” She responded, looking up at his eyes which she was surprised to see already looking at her, with what she thought was a hint of… pride? Satisfaction? She searched his grey orbs with her own, trying to see what they held and getting slightly lost in the process.

“Found a new appreciation for pretty faces?” He asked, snapping her out of it as she turned away from him with a scoff, letting her hair fall over her shoulder to hide the embarrassment at being caught.

 “Oh, is James here?” She asked without too much thought, knowing that teasing him about his best friend was bound to strike a nerve. She was right, he huffed and crossed his arms in front of him. She was able to work in silence for a few more minutes, until he piped up again.

 “Why do you argue with me so much?” He asked. She turned to look at him, incredulous at his words.

 “Why do I argue with you?” she asked, shaking her head very slightly in disbelief. “You’re the one who’s been picking on me since the day I got here.”

 “But I stopped that, I tried to be nice to you!” He argued back, the both of them standing up by this point, her essay long forgotten on the table.

 “By teasing me incessantly and bickering?” She countered.

 “If it meant actually getting you to talk to me, yes!” By this point, they were stood chest to chest, both staring intensely into each other’s eyes. Before either one of them knew what was happening, his hands were cupping her cheeks and her lips were on his, hands in his hair and the both of them channelling everything they had been trying but couldn’t say into the kiss, one that was so full of emotion it was overwhelming. They broke away abruptly when Madame Pince caught them and shouted at them, causing them both to laugh as they looked up at each other again, happy that they had finally embraced their feelings for each other.

[quirkdotcom]

With the Setting Sun || Awase Yosetsu x Reader

Summary: Though their world is already filled with heros, villians, quirks and everything in between, Awase Yosetsu and Y/N's world is also granted a chance to find one's soulmate through a single dream. 

Authors Note:  So over the weekend I had a little event going for thr BNHA Sanctuary server, where you create a little something for a character you feel is under appreciated! So I decided to do something for Awase ! I hope you guys enjoy !!

×××××

Dreams. Everyone has them. But the one thing people love most about them, is the night where they get to meet their soulmate. 

In dream they have twenty four hours to figure out all they can while in this lucid state, and from there, once the night fades away, people are left to their own devices.

The dream comes at different times for each group of soulmates, maybe when you're young or maybe even when you're old. If you're lucky it comes at just the right time. 

Tonight you were expecting one of your usual dreams, whether about school or work or something mundane, so as it started, you were met with an unsettling feeling of being aware. 

You turned slowly, it seemed that you had been transported to a hillside, once you've never seen before, and were unsure if it existed. It was full of beautiful flowers, all varying in species, color, size and almost in the way that some seemed too magical to be true. 

As you looked away, and out towards the horizon, the sun was rising. 

"Im...im not really asleep am I…" you hummed, mostly to yourself, as the more and more you took in your surroundings, the more and more you seemed to find that you were too aware of it all. 

After a few moments you started down the hill, trying to find another area, maybe see if anyone else happened to be around. 

As you got to the bottom of the hill, the flowers became scarce, and the grass faded into a dirt path, which just by following it with your eyes, it led into a forest. 

It took you half a second to decide that you'd rather explore than sit around and wait. Oddly enough, the forest itself was quite peaceful...and almost familiar. 

You were so immersed in looking around, that you didn't notice the trail ending, and that you had just kept going into the underbrush. 

In fact, it wasn't until you had heard a snap of a branch under your foot that you had even stopped walking, realization dawning on your face. 

"Well...it's a dream so no harm in getting lost ?" You spoke aloud, mostly to keep yourself calm. 

"Yeah that's what I thought. Then I tripped and skinned my knee, dream or not I still felt it," 

You turned to your left, to where the source of the voice had come from,  and there stood Yosetsu Awase, who had been in class 1B with you. 

"Awase? " you krept forwards, wondering if this was just any old dream...or the dream.

"Thats my name," he eyed you back, the same question running through his head. 

The thing about the whole soulmate dream was, that you had to wait it out until the very end. If you waited until the sun set, you would wake up immediately, and according to people who had been through it, they saw a golden light dancing above their chest, where their heart was. 

For those who would wake up in the middle of their dream, or even continued to dream, were faced with the fact that their chance hadn't yet come. 

"I mean. I know that. " you paused, trying to figure out something to say that wouldn't make things any more awkward than they need to be, "So tell me this, where did you start off in this dream?" 

He looked around a moment, then sat down on the clearest space he could find, "Well, I actually started off in my room, so I thought I had just not dreamt..and when I opened the door to my room, I came out into the woods," 

In turn you sat down, and told him about the hill you had started out on, then paused for a moment, looking around once more, "Does this forest seem familiar to you?? Like we've been here before?" 

Part of you asked because you were truly curious, but another part asked to test out if this was any old dream, or if this was the soulmate dream. If Awase couldn't answer, then this was likely just a random night. 

"Actually, I've been trying to avoid that thought." 

Hear this, you shrunk a little, hugging your knees, "oh..I guess-"

"This was where the League attacked class 1A and us at training camp. One of those...nomus, I think, almost killed Yaoyorozu and I…" 

Suddenly a memory flashed through your head, the night was one you didn't remember all too well after being attacked by a member of the Vanguard Action Squad.

"Where is everyone?" You asked some kid from class 1A, he was blonde and had a tail, pretty sure his name was Ojiro or something. 

He turned to you for a brief moment, but the two of you had to keep running towards the main facility, "I don't know. I think we all got seperated, just keep going, okay?" 

You nodded, trying to keep an eye out, unsure of what dangers lay ahead.  Just when you both had figured you could slow down a tad bit, Spinner appeared, he seemed distracted, as he was actually looking for Mandalay.

Both you and Ojiro were weaponless, his quirk was good for close quarters, however neither of you seemed to want to go up against Spinner's sword or rather bundle of blades. 

Really though, you had no choice and took to combat, you trying to be a decoy for Ojiro so he could get in a stronger hit. And at one point you just remember seeing Spinner's weapon flying towards you. 

After that moment everything went dark. You weren't sure exactly what happened, just that he had saved you, and got you out of there. 

"Right. The training camp. That's why it's familiar. " 

It was quiet for a few minutes, until Awase broke it. 

"I visited you in the hospital, while you were still unconscious. At the time I wasn't sure why. I just felt this tug, and couldn't stop myself from going into your room. It was scary, you were pretty beat up. I kept thinking to myself that you were only asleep and that you'd come back to class in no time," 

You looked up, now focusing on Awase, his grey eyes not meeting yours, "We started to talk a lot more after I did come back, and you were the first person to greet me,"  you smiled slightly, glad that you at least now knew about your current situation. 

"Yeah I guess so," he responded, face starting to turn a little red. 

"Hey, do you think we can change the setting of our dream? Like if we concentrate enough? I get the feeling that we both don't like this forest, " 

At this he chuckled, and forced himself to look at you, "Yeah. But where should we try to get to?" 

"Do you remember in our second year when, you, me, Monona, Kendo, Testutesu and Kodai went to that old playground? " you asked, closing your eyes as you did so. 

He didn't answer, nodding as he forgot that you couldn't see him do so. 

When you opened them again, you two were sitting on a set of creaky swings. No kid had used this playground in a long time, it was in a forgotten section

 of Musutafu. 

"Okay. I'll bite. Do you think this is our soulmate dream?" Yosetsu stared down as he asked, trying to press his lips into a tight line, trying to keep from getting his hopes up. 

You toed the ground, trying to swing a little as you contemplated the question.  You weren't fully sure about Awase in the past. 

He was a bit hard headed, had a very brash personality, could be pretty tense, but when it came down to it, he could be counted on. 

You knew that he never meant to be mean or anything, and can understand why being social wasn't exactly his thing, hell it wasn't always your thing either. But ever since you two started hanging out, you were sure that he would stick around. And the thought of that had never bothered you. 

"I think it is," you finally said, breaking the silence, looking back to him.

Awase didn't say anything for a moment, he only turned his head to the sky, where the sun was starting to set. 

"Time went fast…" 

You followed his line of sight, and stood up suddenly, "It did!" 

Slowly, Awase stood up as well, and faced you, finally bringing his eyes to yours, "Are you ready to see if we're right?" 

You nodded, and in a quick movement, you hugged him, "Promise me that if we wake up to that light thing, that you'll try to call me! I still have the same phone number okay?" 

Awase froze for just a second, and carefully wrapped his arm around you as he nodded, "yeah...I promise," 

With the setting sun, you two pulled away, smiling to each other as it all faded away. 

With a startle, you sat up, looking around your room frantically, until you looked down. There it was, a golden orb just floating right next to your heart. It was so beautiful in and of itself. And it felt so familiar.  You brought your hand up, trying to hold it. 

But as you touched it, it blinked out, and instead, your phone lit up. 

You scrambled to grab it, hitting the answer button, "Awase!" 

"Hey there soulmate," 

[brideofcthulhu10]

Hey guys I'm gonna be out and about today but before I go out to town I thought I leave you with some little Laddie Headcanons! A special thank you to my co-writer @imlostinsantacarla !

Laddie Headcanons

Unfortunately, Laddie was a part of a home in which a divorce was in the process of being filed. There was an immense amount of tension in the family dynamic whilst his father and mother sought to gain custody of him individually as they were in the midst of a messy breakup. The young child’s grandparents were aiding his father in filing for custody over him as his mother was hell bent on having sole custody without any visitation rights.

It’s well known that Laddie’s face was on a milk carton in the movie, with the word ‘MISSING’ written above it. This is just primarily speculation, of course. However, why else would two parents who didn't care about their child put up missing person’s posters everywhere? It’s certainly obvious that his parents were deeply troubled and affected by their son going missing, in conjunction with being apprehensive over his safety as they had no idea where he was.

Whilst his father was attempting to gain custody of him with his grandparents' help, Laddie’s mother lost him one night whilst on the BoardWalk too busy getting drunk at a bar, which is how and where the boys found him. He was all on his lonesome, wandering the BoardWalk terrified. The sight sincerely pulled on their heart strings. Seeing a little kid lost in the dead of night searching for his mother desperately just did not sit well with them.

Armed with the knowledge that their fellow sister Star was having second thoughts over their lifestyle, David immediately took the initiative to coax Laddie into drinking his blood and turning into one of them. This was not only to provide the child with a home, but also a strategy put in place to keep Star close and have her fully commit to their way of life as vampires. After all, girls love kids, don’t they? Surely her maternal or big sisterly instincts would kick in and provide her with the drive to become a caring figure for the young boy whilst solidifying her place in their group. She’d already agreed to the terms, there was no backing out now!

The other boys come to a conclusion of agreement that this is the best option as they cared about Star immensely, least enough to put up a fight when she was considering leaving, and they could not just let a poor boy stay out on the streets with nothing. There was a high likelihood of him getting kidnapped, murdered or something far, far worse whilst he was out there on his own. So they made the collective decision to take him under their wings and into their home, promising him that he would always remain safe with them.

Graciously, as if it were a match truly made in Heaven, Laddie and Star got on swell. The wee boy clung onto her desperately as she truly did remind him of his own mother and how she once was when she was with his dad. Star also bears a resemblance to his mother physically, ensuring that Laddie would bond with her much easier. The boys could not have been more happier and celebrated their success.

And thus it was settled! The boys took Laddie to the hotel and turned him, buttering him up a little in order over the next several to gain his trust and comfort.

"So, Laddie, you like it here?” David smirked at the young boy sat on the edge of the fountain in the hotel.

“Yeah it’s super cool!” He beamed enthusiastically, dangling his little legs off the edge and swinging them back and forth, they barely even hit the ground.

"Would you stay forever?" David pressed further, blonde brow quirked up in intrigue.

"Can I?!" Laddie exclaimed with an enormous grin plastered on his childish countenance.

"Hell yeah little dude! We even have a pretty, cool big sister for you!" Paul interjected just as happily, patting the tiny guy on the shoulder.

"Really?!"

"Mhm," Dwayne added, "and you can play every night."

"And you can eat as much as you want without getting sick, dude!" Marko declared.

"So, Laddie, what do you say?" David asked, head cocked to the side as he watched the little runts eyes float from face to face.

He sits still for a moment... "Hell yeah!"

The guys cheered excitedly, Marko handing David some fancy looking bottle, who in turn passed it to Laddie. "All you gotta do now, is drink this."

"It smells funny. What is it?"

"Old grape juice."

All the while, when Laddie is missing, his mother is struck with excruciating bouts of grief and shame, and attempts to get herself into a better space. Overcoming the worry and guilt that she feels over losing her son through alcohol, drugs, whatever it was that had caused her to lose her son on the BoardWalk that night, is an incredible challenge. She felt she had let her son down as well as her previous marriage. It only spurs on Laddie’s father to find him and gain total custody of the boy.

Living with four rambunctious teenage boys is a handful in itself, so it’s not a wonder that Laddie swears like a sailor, a terrible habit he picked up from the boys. Yet his one sister attempted profusely to set a better example for him. David and Paul find it hilarious that Laddie has a filthy potty mouth, whereas Dwayne and Star aren’t a fan of his newfound language.

“Hey, watch your language, bud.” Dwayne states sternly, chocolate orbs glowering into Laddie’s smaller ones.

“Pussy!” Paul bursts out in between a false coughing fit.

Laddie truly adores reading comic books frequently. In fact, the Frog brothers knew Laddie far before they knew the Emerson’s, they just didn’t acknowledge the kid all that much since he was far younger than them. This was especially since they were far too engrossed in blabbering about vampires, their investment in their own stuff made it impossible for them to give an ounce of attention to him. In their eyes he was always just the little twerp that stood on his tiptoes at the counter in their parents store, sprinkling dollar bills on top of a fat stack of mad magazine, Batman, and secretly some horror comics stuffed underneath the other ones he’d picked out.

“ 'Scuse me, can I get these," Laddie inquired politely, his eyes peering up at the two brothers behind the counter arguing over what the best way to waste a vampire was.

“Uh, yeah sure kid, whatever.” Alan stated fervently, his eyes still plastered on his brother's brooding gaze.

Edgar stuffed them into a plastic bag without sparing the kid a glance. “$15.75.”

“Okay.” Laddie stated in defeat before scooting over a wadded up ball of a $20 bill onto the counter before collecting his change and leaving with his head hung low.

Laddie is still a sucker for comics and wants new ones on a constant basis, it’s certainly something that aids him in passing the time at the hotel. Yet Paul’s adamant that he isn’t going to pay those dorks at the comic book store a single cent from his pocket. And David is a master at mental illusions, so there is one hell of a team to concoct a way to steal comic books. Neither Paul nor David feel any shame in it. David will create the illusion that Paul is walking by the store, only to actually be stealing a stack of comics to keep the poor kid happy.

Star and her inability to part with her human nature and high morals, is never too thrilled about the entire ordeal of stealing comics for Laddie. Laddie sees nothing wrong with it and only responds with utter enthusiasm at how awesome Paul is because Paul can do whatever he wants! This leads to Laddie following in the footsteps of the other boys, believing that he can both take and have whatever he wants, whenever he wants it no matter if there’s real life consequences involved because he can use his gifts (with training from David) to acquire all of his desires.

It’s also a common occurrence for Laddie to experience homesickness; after all, he misses his parents dearly because even though they weren’t the most astounding or perfection parents, they were still his parents. When this occurs, he’ll often seek out Dwayne or Star for comfort, sitting beside them, perched into their sides. They will attentively listen to him, reminding him of how much they themselves and the other boys love him and how they aren’t going anywhere. They all will be together forever. They’d even let him know that his parents and grandparents still love him too, even if he has a new family now.

Laddie unfortunately had to learn the hard way not to go to David about this specific predicament, because whenever he did, David would unintentionally guilt trip the kid about missing his parents. It wasn’t something he meant to do, it was just that David had never really had a home or a family that cared about him, his world before being a vampire was a dog eat dog world. You had to fend for yourself and choose your family. Even then he’d seen people get chewed out for trusting the wrong folks. So there’s a huge disconnection between the pair when it comes to familial things.

Whereas Marko and Paul will do things that will take Laddie’s mind right off of the down parts of being a missing child. They’ll happily play with him, get him his favorite food, read comics with him, steal said comics from the comic book store, maybe even let him help them tinker on their bikes, blast some gnarly music, you name it! They’re prepared to go all out in helping him feel happier where he is in the present and understand that he has a place with them.

Now, as for Laddie’s tantrums… well, every child has them. Usually they tend to be pretty humorous to Paul, Marko and David- that is until something happens to their precious stuff. To be fair he is an eight year old boy, of course he wants to mess with Paul’s Walkman or Marko’s bike keys! Paul nearly had an aneurysm when he saw Laddie accidentally ripped his mint condition 1965 Playboy Magazine.

"Dude who the fuck- my fuckin- WHAT THE FUCK MAN?!"

Laddie, who had been a bit spoilt from months of pampering from a group of enabling teenagers, showed minimal signs of remorse. "They were ugly anyway, she hand on granny panties or something."

Dwayne had to step in and hold Paul back from wringing the kids neck out like a wet dish towel!  "Dude, Paul he's a kid"

"I will eat you, you little turd!"

Once again, David cracks up frequently until Laddie begins to delve into his stuff also. It all began when he wanted to go for a ride and David being the more lazy member of the group had turned him down, especially in a much firmer tone the second time around. So what did the little shit do? Hide all of their keys to their bikes.

"Dude, where are my fuckin' keys," Paul hissed, digging through the cave like a tornado went through the damn thing. 

"Yours too?" Marko exclaimed his question, settling down the couch he had lifted onto the ground. “Mine vanished.”

David chuckled to himself, that was until he patted his pocket where his precious motorcycle keys had suddenly proved to be void of its contents. "Alright which one of you assholes stole my keys?!"

However that confrontation ignited an inferno of a tantrum from the small boy, who was so used to suddenly getting his way and now he was faced with the harsh reality of being told no. The boys should have really thought twice of enabling an eight year old boy! A fit from a kid can get ugly real quick, yet it’s a whole different story when that kid is an emotional half vampire that flips tables and screams at such a volume and octave that glass cracks. Star tends to primarily be a softer disciplinarian, she isn’t fond of the idea of yelling or smacking him, she’s much too gentle for that. Dwayne on the other hand, while preferring to approach things along the placid route, feels that sometimes it’s a necessary evil- while David just straight up thinks that a good smack on the mouth ought to settle him down.

Laddie is a thorn in their asses when he’s bored out of his mind, and the boys learned rather harshly and swiftly that having a little brother was not as fun as the Brady Bunch had it appear. This kid got into all their stuff, no matter how fool proof they made it, the kid always found a way! He would follow them excessively around the cave like a lost puppy, tell them the same story for HOURS on end, ask far too many questions that Marko would just blank the kid out with his music, only for Laddie to talk even louder! It was more than evident that the child had little concern over the fact that they were killers, he’d still happily pester them until they vamped out. In fact, he went out of his way to do that! The crazy little shit…

Laddie would climb on top of one of the many dust caked couches in the hotel right next to where David was reading and peek over his shoulder to get a noseful of whatever he was focused on. "Whatcha reading?" Laddie asked innocently, chin resting on the blonde vampires shoulder.

"....War and peace." David grumbled irately.

"What's that? It's big! It looks boring! Why are the words so tiny? What's it about? Who's the hero? Who's your favorite hero? Mine's batman! Well, I like Iron Man too but Batman has all the gadgets and stuff, and I like his cape but I guess you don't need a cape to be cool, but I like the cape anyway- I like Superman's cuz it's red, red's my favorite color. What's your favorite color? Well I mean red's super cool- oh but black! Black is really cool, i guess you probably like black too huh? I mean you wear it all the time, but really maybe it's cuz-" he had blabbered all of that out in one go without so much as a breath in between his sentences! And David selfishly wondered what the repercussions were on if he flew the kid onto a random cliff and left him there for several hours. He knew it probably couldn’t be good, but it was worth a try if he was ever going to catch a break and get this book finished! Not to mention the countless times that Paul’s thrown into the mix of things, David can’t stomach it and leaves the room because he can’t handle two obnoxious chatter boxes all at once. Star yelled at him once for hypnotizing Laddie to fall asleep because he wouldn't stop talking about Batman and Robin.

It’s obvious that Laddie tends to ride with Dwayne, and it’s because Dwayne is capable of ensuring that Laddie stays in one piece. If the kid had his way and rode with Paul… let’s just say that Laddie would be smeared road kill! And frankly, none of the other vampires trust Paul with the kid. Last time he rode with Paul, he was nearly flung forward when he went off of a steep ramp. Star almost slapped the smirk straight off of Paul’s face! Even Marko thought it was a bad move of Paul’s. So, it was a collective decision - minus Paul’s whining and bitching, in conjunction with Laddie’s pouting - that Laddie rode with Dwayne from now on.

When the boys were killed off one by one, Laddie was the only one who was saddened by this, because he had formed genuine bonds with his older brothers and even though they weren’t perfect, they’d kept their word to him and kept him safe. He was going to miss Paul and Marko playing with him and teaching him cool stuff about bikes and rock n’ roll. He’d even miss David and the way the man got irritated whenever he flitted about him. But the one he was surely going to miss the most was obviously Dwayne. Dwayne was like the older brother that Laddie had dreamed of ever since he was a kid. Dwayne had taken him under his wing and ensured that no one messed with him. He listened to him whenever he was homesick and was always super patient with him and just all around compassionate. Out of all of the boys, Laddie related to him the most. And now he was gone. Though each boy held a special place in his heart. As he left the Emmerson residence, he didn’t have the stomach to look at their dead bodies as he sniffled on his way out, tears streaming down his face. Although they hadn’t been the best to Star and sometimes weren’t the kindest to him, he knew that they had loved the pair of them and deep down, Laddie would always love them.

After the entire ordeal, Laddie decided he’d set foot on finding his parents again and sadly left Star behind. She reminded him a lot of the boys and she would always have a special place in his heart. Before he left he hugged the life out of her, staining her gypsy purple skirt with his tears as he thanked her for loving him and taking such good care of him. He promised her that he’d never forget her and he hoped she never would forget him. Star was heartbroken but also knew that it was best for Laddie to return to his parents and live his life out normally. She hoped he’d grow up to be everything wonderful in life and she assured him that he would remain important and ever present in her gentle heart. A long way down the line they met each other again and embraced like close siblings that hadn’t seen each other in centuries. They were much older now and wiser.

But back to the present, Laddie stumbled upon his mother on the BoardWalk that night, as though it were a miracle. The woman looked strikingly similar to Star, she was the woman that he had remembered from earlier on in his childhood, and he was truly overcome with joy. He got to see his father again which made him happy also. Although his parents couldn’t work things out, they managed to come to a steady agreement that they would have equal joint custody of Laddie, which was something that made things easier on him to adjust back to ordinary life. However, whilst he was missing, his beloved grandparents passed away, never having lost hope in Laddie being alive and returning home someday. Laddie missed them dearly but he adjusted as best as he could to his brand new life. He was never really the same after being with the boys and Star and losing them all, his parents were aware of the change but Laddie never discussed what had happened to him, only responding in vague statements or exclamations.

Somehow though, he found a way to keep in touch with Star, Michael, Lucy, Sam and the Frog brothers. They were all connected through these twisted and sad chain of events, and his bonds with them only deepened as he got older. Even Though they had remained adrift in life, Star, Sam, Lucy and Michael showed up for Laddie's graduation when he finally got through high school. Even still he remained in Santa Carla up until his graduation dinner out with the Emmersons, Star and even the Frog Brothers had shown up. Wandering for a moment on his own, his pace slowed until he came to a haunting stop.

Just beyond the tilt-a whirl, outside the arcade, he swore, parked on the boardwalk he could see a group of biker boys. As the 80s peeled away into the wild teenage rebellion of the 90s, their styles had altered. A blonde still sported a wild lion's mane, another had messy curls grown out. The platinum blonde one was the first to alert the other three of Laddie's gaze. The four grunge rockers sported bizarrely skeletal motorcycles, laughing with each other, now carrying mischievous smiles. Before he could even confirm the haunting visage of said familiar faces they vanished in a flurry of roaring engines. The last to leave looked at him with dark, haunting brown eyes. He could see under the guy's leather jacket and torn up Nirvana t-shirt jagged scar tissue around each of his limbs faded into bronze skin. They just looked at each other for what felt like a lifetime, and a wave of chills trickled down his back. The raven haired biker smirked at him, no malice in his grin. Only a soft farewell, proud even. And then he was gone. Laddie managed to take a deep breath in, silently turning on his heel to return to Star and Michael at the diner. When he got home he was applying to a few out of city colleges, somewhere away from his past.

[dinrenan]

Dinrenan Origin

It took me ages to finish it all together, I had to rewrite it because the file on my computer got corrupted or something! Go and restart, then it did not save. So I opted to write on my phone and send it all to my discord server where I keep all my stuff, texts included, ported it to Drive and tadah! here you have it!

WARNING! This chapter contains: Mental torture (implied), physical torture (implied), mention of torture and blood, cannibalism, child poisoning and death. And Bad english grammar in some parts.

--

Sylaise had many children, but none of them survived, no matter how hard she tried to keep them alive. Until one did, a daughter, this one survived longer than any of her children and reached the age of 6 before passing out due to poisoning, the goddess found out pretty soon who it was, Hellathren, the child's slave and keeper while the Goddess had duties to attend to. The girl died in her sleep and Sylaise was devastated, no matter how much she tried to reach for the weakening spirit still inside her body. In desperation she went to the one who could help her, Falon'din, who did not know of the girl's existence, nor did the other Evanuris, they just assumed that the last child was dead, like the others. But this one had been the child she and June always wished for, and they tried many times to make any of them live enough after their first breath, and when this one made it, it was taken from them. Falon'din agreed to help the Goddess out, but made no promises of his success; he also needed to confront Ghilan'nain and his brother, Dirthamen, if he wanted to succeed. The young Goddess accepted to help, although not knowing for what she agreed to, and gave Dirthamen the knowledge he needed. Dirthamen on his part modified that knowledge, for it had flaws, and made it perfect if applied in the right way, if not the child would turn into something like one of Ghilan'nain's new experimental creatures, a beast with horns and grey skin, good only to fight like a rabid beast and nothing else.

-

Sylaise wanted to join the other Gods in this ritual while June simply mourned the loss by locking himself in the chamber they both shared, but the woman wasn't going to give up on either her Husband or child, there was still something that could be done and when Falon'din asked for blood, she gave it. She gave the traitorous woman who poisoned her daughter to Falon'din, for she had to live till the day of the ritual, then came the blood of her High Dragon Guardian, its unhatched eggs, and a vial containing her own blood. Falon'din chose the location, an underground temple he used to his own pleasure, few loyal slaves were permitted to stay there but mostly spirits roamed its dark and dreary walls.

-

When the time came only Falon'din was in the chamber, the high dragon throat was slit open to permit the blood to flow in the little canals carved on the floor and slide in the well, previously filled by a fountain figuring an owl, that was now empty of the stone structure and the child's body lay limp on the tiles. He had fun carving his markings on Sylaise traitorous slave, the blood still pouring from them was steadily forming streams in the canals and mixing with the High Dragon's Blood, filling up the empty space at the center, reaching the corpse.

He could feel the power held in the blood, and how it sought to enter the child's body, an empty shell perfect to host it and flow again, live again, it needed a spell to adjust itself and Falon’din was working on it when something started to go wrong. The Dragon's body began to spasm violently when the child's body got fully enveloped by the blood and the beast’s heart came out from its throat like it had regurgitated it from its place. The heart was big and pulsating, Falon'din lost his focus on the well and the spell broke loose, making the God hit the nearest wall, it was a moment before it all happened. The child's body began floating in the air, at the center of the pool, the heart was shrinking and reshaping itself while where once the High Dragon's and Slave's body laid, only a pile of bones could be seen now. The eggs that were placed on a corner started to explode, masses of blood, meat and scales flew towards the heart, now shrunk to a chest sized living organ, and with a stupor the God saw as all those materials started to mold over together and create a round shape, an orb. A blinding light had him covering his eyes, his ears could hear the screams of agony coming from the girl, he didn't move an inch, fearing that the sentient being, whatever it was, would strike him. And strike him it did, a stream of blood resembling a hand reached for him while he was still blind due to the light but heard the air moving, he reacted and tried to defend himself, only to be cut in the process, that did the trick, a thick line of blood got absorbed by the shaped blood claws and it all disappeared, like a spirit who lost its interest in him.

With slow movements, he rose up, dusted his clothes and advanced toward the Well. It was now void of blood and the orb was nowhere to be seen but the child was there, sitting on the floor and fixing him down with void glassy eyes, they were violet mixed with blue gems filled with nothing but despair in them. He swore he could feel his heart feel something resembling fascination, his brother and him were always curious after all. Some sentinels felt the blast and came bursting through the door to make sure nothing was attacking their lord, when they noticed the girl they all fell silent, for they could feel their Master magic radiating from her.

"Take her, my part is done" He decided to ignore the little pang his heart did but noticed the sentinels didn't move an inch when the girl simply turned towards them, staring at them this time, and with a scoff, Falon'din used his magic to make the girl float out of her 'nest' and right in front of the sentinels, they refused still to lay a hand on the girl, his temper wasn't known to last long, especially not after something came after his blood.

"Did I stutter?" He was now getting angry, he gave a simple order, were these loyal sentinels of his gone dead? He just marched towards them, took the girl in his arms, and walked off, if they weren't going to obey simple orders, he was going to do it himself. The girl did not speak during the whole time and was focusing her eyes on him again, he had to speak with his brother and focused himself on the task of reaching Dirthamens's room before a new day started. The child was not his problem to deal with anymore, or so he thought.

-

Sylaise received the child at the doorstep of her chamber situated in one of Elgar'nan palaces, the man had some territory issues to talk about, little did she care when she saw the girl. The two guards that accompanied her were Dirthamens's and she gestured them away while letting the girl inside, but something was off, she couldn't feel the same energy as before like it was replaced by something else.

"My girl...how do you feel?" her voice was trembling, she feared the worst and when the girl turned to look at the mother, glassy eyes was all she could see, the same eyes her brothers and sisters shared when the Goddess tried to revive them, something tore inside her once again, another failure. But with grief came rage, if the girl was nothing more than a useless shell there was no space for her love, but in reaching her the Goddess got stuck to the floor and no matter how much she tried to free herself, what kept Sylaise on the spot wasn't ice, no, it was too solid and transparent, she was being held by thick crystal.

"Mother" was a feeble little word that made the Goddess stop her struggling, if the girl spoke then it wasn't too late, she could still make her regain full consciousness, the crystal cage disappeared as soon as the rage inside her did, and the girl was between her mother's arms in a moment, not that the girl seemed to care, she just stayed motionless.

"It will be alright, I will make this right"

-

But the child had to remain a secret to the other Evanuris, Ghilan’nain did not know what her knowledge was used for, Dirthamen just told her he was seeking new knowledge and the Twins had little care for the existence of the girl as far as Sylaise knew. June was happy and relieved to see his daughter breathe again and held her body gently between him and Sylaise that night, fearing she would disappear in a cloud of smoke.

The day after, all the discussions were done, Falon'din and Elgar'nan had a disagreement, Sylaise cared little, she was ready to walk in her and June's room, take the child and go home, Her husband had made a little piece of jewelry for the girl, to hide her aura and give the illusion she was indeed a grown child, not even a teen yet, but enough to be used as a maid to the Goddess, and since there seemed a fight was to come, she wanted her daughter by her side if things got to the point of fleeing.

When Falon'din’s knight died both parents were ready to leave, their presence was requested no more, June gave a little look to his daughter, only to find her walking towards the fallen elf and with a firm voice, he called her, hoping she would obey.

"Maid, you are not supposed to leave your Mistress side " with those words Sylaise turned as well and tried to not panic in front of the others.

"It seems like this one does not listen to you, what family did you say she comes from?" was Andruil sneering comment, she always hated how Sylaise went around with a noble's kid always at her side, just to feel like a mother, she told the huntress a long time ago, Andruil did not understand the other and simply scoffed at whoever child Sylaise put her claws on every decade. The girl, in the meantime, had approached the elf lying there, Elgar'nan's knight looking down at her like she was a pile of dragon dung, but little did she care, she just knelt beside the dying elf, she could feel the regret for something inside him, and his life slowly fading, the elf wasn't dead yet and so she did the only thing she remembered made her mother relax. She started to sing while cleaning his face from the blood, his eyes focused on hers and his ears focused on her voice, he suddenly wasn't scared to close his eyes anymore, and for a moment he felt peace in the arms of someone so young willing to help a dying man finding his last breath, he hoped the best for the girl and wished that her life wouldn't end in slavery. When he finally went limp, the girl smiled sadly down at the pale face in her lap.

A soft hand reached for her and in a second she was on her feet, Falon'din himself was dragging her away while the other Gods were stunned, except for Elgar'nan, who smiled coyly at the other. Mythal simply shook her head, Sylaise and June froze on the spot, the Goddess didn't dare to reach for her daughter and June knew better than to go against Falon'din, so kept both hands on his wife's shoulders, to stop her from moving if she tried.

-

When the Eluvian closed behind them the girl had no trouble adjusting her eyes to the dark corridor they arrived in but had to look down when Falon'din turned to speak with her.

"Do you have a name?" His voice was a mix between cold and veiled amusement and on her part, the girl did not know, she never had a name for all she knew, her mother and father only called her with nicknames and Hellathren called her young Master, so she simply shook her head and subtly looked up, the God was smiling. He noticed right away the glossy emptiness had left her eyes, that meant she had regained her will to live. Then came the rational thought, such being could help him, and since she was so young he could easily use her as he pleased, he needed her voice, with the future wars to come the girl would be a valid asset. He had to deal with some problems, the girl's parents for a start, but he had time.

"Then welcome home, first off, remove that thing around your neck, I will ask June to make another one and I will infuse it with my own spell...and burn those clothes, you are not going back to your lifegiver anytime soon" with that he started to walk and the girl diligently followed him, not looking at anyone, she simply stared at the head of the God, or well, at his black long hair. After a short walk, they reached a throne room full of slaves and sentinels, there were some tables as well filled with Nobles who whispered between themselves as the God walked toward his throne, the girl still in tow. When he reached the throne the girl had stopped at the steps, not sure what to do with herself, she could smell the meat on the tables and something inside her stirred, her mouth started to salivate and she gulped, fixing her eyes on the clean floor, she had to stop that urge of biting and chewing, although something disagreed inside her. Falon’din saw as to how the girl tensed at the smell in the air and made a gesture towards one of the sentinels, he ordered that one chamber was to be made for the girl as well as a cell in the dungeon, near one where enemies were left to slowly fade away, only then he spoke aloud, to let everyone in the room listen to his claim.

"Let this be a joyful moment, for a new member joins my court, my loyal friends, I present to you my future High Priestess, Dinrenan!" with a smile he gestured with one hand towards her form, and she understood that he just gave her a name. All around the nobles all started to clap loudly, it was unusual for Falon'din to have a new member joining his court, more so if said member was no more than a child in their eyes. The feast was going to be that same night, Dinrenan was escorted to her room by Falon'din himself and whispers started to spread all around, thanks to the working slaves that saw them. Could she be the Master's daughter? Was she some powerful spirit that chose to form a body? What was her purpose? She had a scary look.

-

Her life was a simple one to the eyes of the people, singing when people died during a battle, for Uthenera, for the Gods, singing for the future to come, to mourn the lost, nothing more and nothing less. What they didn't know was that Dirthamen started to train the girl, under the permission of his brother, and discovered soon after her strengths and weaknesses. Unlike her mother, she wasn't a powerful healer, but more like a crafter, like her father. She had the ability to shapeshift in every living creature as long as she saw it first, and he tested that in every way possible. He had locked her in a black cell filled with people who couldn't give him any more knowledge, and he couldn't turn them into slaves, they were no use to him until he decided to starve the girl and see how she would survive. Survive she did, when the elf chose to reopen the dungeon, five months later, all he could smell were the rotten flesh of the decaying corpses and almost dry blood, it didn't take him much to scan the room: on the far corner were all white bones, near them there seemed to be a tall crystal bowl of what he could only assume to be wastes, even although the room didn't smell like them. He saw on how there was a pile of ragged clothes forming a nest of sorts, and on top of that body parts with flesh still on them, but Dinrenan was nowhere to be seen, then his gaze checked the walls and she was there, hiding in the darker corner where the light did not arrive, she seemed to be one with the wall, he could only spot her because of her blue and violet glowing eyes roaming his form like he was her next prey. Only once she stepped towards him he noticed that she had discarded the jewelry Falon'din made June craft for her and she turned back to her true size and looks, a girl of 6 years old covered in dry blood, with nothing but rags and sharp teeth shining in the feeble light, then he noticed the crown of horns on her head.

“I see, to survive you gave in to your dragon instincts...I won’t let you go out of this place until you return to your...civilized state, I thought this could happen...but it won't be a problem, you will have to stay with me for at least another three months, do you understand me?" he wasn’t going to let a feral thing run through his temple, she would burn everything down if the chance was given to her.

The girl did understand him, but at the moment she wasn't totally sure how to react to his presence, a part of her wanted to attack him, tear his limbs apart and drink his blood to satisfy her bloodlust, the other part, the rational and weak one, wanted nothing more than to beg him to let her out, to let her wash herself of the dry blood. As if sensing her intentions Dirthamen smiled coldly at her, his yellow and purple eyes shining in the dark.

"You won't get out of here unless you turn back, young one. My brother will be pleased in knowing he just has to starve you before locking you up with those who refuse to worship him..." he saw as she nodded slowly and the horns on her head faded away. She wanted to speak, to let him know she wasn't feral at all, not yet, the last meal had enough meat on his bones to fulfill her hunger, for the moment being.

"Food" it's all that she managed to say before walking, more like stumbling, towards the black-haired man, who at the sight felt a little guilty and disgusted, that was not something he was used to, the guilt. Only when he looked away from the creature, he saw the spirits in the cell, spirits of mercy, pity, hunger, and shame, they all stayed in the near corner where he stood, with grey colors as to not be seen by him got curious.

"How long before she killed you?" He asked them but it seemed like they did not want to answer, no one spoke aloud, they only stared at the girl and refused to answer the God, which meant he wouldn't get a straight answer from them, but Dinrenan spoke before falling on her knees and arms.

"I...I sang, I sang to them, to reassure them nothing was going to happen...and some of them refused to wake up...so...I...I..." she couldn't say it, Dirthamen saw on how the girl struggled to get the words out of her mouth, he only scoffed and turned around, leaving the door open, the girl was no threat once her instincts died down and so she was free to leave, he had a guest to attend to after all, and it wouldn't be kind to let him wait. The girl did not understand, she looked at the spirits and they all walked towards her sides, patting her on the back and on her head, she gave them the mercy they requested, to listen to her voice and never wake up again. With a sniff, the girl picked up the broken necklace she destroyed in a fit of rage and walked toward her so-called freedom, as long as she behaved normally and didn't give in to her dragon instincts Dirthamen had no interest in keeping her secluded. Step after step she found herself walking in the shadows to avoid the slaves and sentinels till she reached her room, but someone was already waiting for her, one of Falon'din noble sentinels that years later would still protect her from herself and keep her memory in order to protect her until the day she was ready to face them.

His name was Dinlin.

Someone that years later she would call Pity. -----------

Took me long enough to finish this! I started with a picture and ended up with another, the end picture is somewhat decent while the first I made included more bones, blood, and all happy stuff. Had to cut some parts as well, a friend of mine that read it threw up her dinner, so I choose to cut the Slave Carving, remove the reason as to why Hellathren did what she did (It will be explained in Dirthrenan "Blood relationship" with Dinrenan), the other funny exercises Dirthamen put her through and along the way I got carried away and put Dinlin in it as well...so, for the most part, now you know who Dinrenan's parent are!