#said fanfic will just be stuck on my head forever so no stress

[melonymint753]

me: hmm maybe I should make this hades (game) fanfic into modern AU just because I don't think this one word existed in ancient Greece

the actual devs, in the actual game: Nemesis gives off bad vibes, Scylla's song slays, and Poseidon thinks it's swell to pick him first

[snelbz]

Life As We Know It {Chapter 19}

Summary: After the sudden deaths of Nesta’s sister and Cassian’s best friend, they gain guardianship of their nephew, Nyx.

Based on Life As We Know It (2010) and a prompt sent in by anonymous for our Nessian fanfic contest. This is a modern au.

Instead of doing a tag list for this story, we have decided to have a set posting schedule. Chapters will be posted weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Occasional surprise chapters could be posted at miscellaneous times. Chapters will be posted on both my and Tara’s blogs! >> @tacmc.​

Life As We Know It Masterlist

Shelby’s Masterlist

Tara’s Masterlist

A/N: Well, we promised a chapter today, so we decided to follow through on that. Even if we did post a surprise chapter last night. Oh, well. Enjoy! 🙃✨

Cassian sighed as he opened his eyes.

Another year older, another year wiser.

Well.

Another year older, anyway.

He blinked as he looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand. 7:58. Two minutes before his alarm would have gone off.

He hated when that happened, when his mind woke him up just before his alarm went off. There was no time to go back to sleep, it was perfect sleeping time wasted.

It was bullshit.

With a yawn, Cassian swung his legs over the side of his bed and got up. He stumbled to his dresser and pulled on a pair of sweatpants, just in time for his alarm to go off.

“Fuck you,” he muttered, quickly turning it off before flinging open his bedroom door.

It smelled delicious.

He meandered down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Nesta was icing a giant cake.

Her eyes darted to his.

He blinked.

“Get out!” she ordered.

“What the hell are you-.”

“Out!” she ordered, yet again.

Nyx babbled something at the top of his lungs that closely resembled, YEAH!

He did as he was told, blearily blinking as he stumbled back into the living room. He dragged a hand down his face. “Can I at least have some coffee?”

“In a minute!” She called and he heard quick footsteps, followed by the back door opening and closing. It opened again and she said, breathlessly, “Okay. You can come in now.”

Tentatively, Cassian rounded the corner and he found Nesta placing a platter of cinnamon rolls on the counter in place of the—

“Where did the cake go?” He asked, raising an eyebrow as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

Nesta was lifting a cinnamon roll onto each of the plates in front of her, cutting the one for Nyx into tiny bites for him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He blinked again, half-wondering if he’d imagined the decorated monstrosity he’d seen on the counter, but he sniffed, smelling the air again.

It mostly smelled like the sweet and spicy scent of cinnamon, but—

No, that was definitely cake he smelled.

“Right…” he said, pulling forks out of the silverware drawer and setting one next to each plate. “You’re up early.”

“Had a lot to do before renovations start this morning. I’m meeting Helion and the contractor at the restaurant at nine.” She sipped her own coffee, not looking at him. Mixing truth and lies, it seemed, since he knew she was meeting the contractor this morning. As for a lot to do, he knew everything at the restaurant was already taken care of. She cleared her throat. “I wasn’t expecting you to be up so early either.”

Cutting into the gooey cinnamon roll, he said, “I gotta be at the bar in an hour. I’m talking with Kallias this morning before my shift starts.”

She set her coffee down and finally looked at him. “You have to work today?”

“Yeah,” he replied, popping the bite of pastry into his mouth. He resisted the urge to moan. “It’s Tuesday. I always work on Tuesdays.”

She hesitated, deciding whether she should speak or not. “But it’s your birthday.”

He couldn’t stop his smirk. He knew there had been a cake.

“And who told you that?” He asked, leaning over to wipe Nyx’s face off. The poor kid had icing all over his face, all the way up into his hair.

“That’s not important,” she said.

“Elain, then,” Cassian went on with a grin.

Nesta pretended like she hadn’t heard him and took a giant bite of her cinnamon roll.

“I’ll take Nyx with me to the bar,” Cassian said. “Viviane texted. She has the stomach flu.”

Nesta cringed. “That sucks. I...wait - you’re taking a baby to a bar?”

Cassian shrugged. “He’ll be fine. I only have to stay until two or so.”

“A baby,” she repeated, blinking. “To a bar.”

“You prefer to take him into a construction zone?” Cassian asked. “One that you’re in charge of? That sounds stressful.”

Nesta’s eyes narrowed. “I can ask Elain to watch-.”

“I’m taking him with me and he’ll be fine,” Cassian said, shaking his head. “I promise.”

Nesta narrowed her eyes. And he held up both hands. “I promise,” he repeated.

“Fine. But call me if you need to and I’ll come get him,” she sighed, shaking her head. “I’ll be in my office most of the day, so it’s not like he’ll be running around in a construction zone.”

“And I’ll take the carrier and physically wear him all day, so it’s not like he’ll be running around the actual bar.”

Nesta groaned. “Fine. Fine. But take the pack-n-play, his monitor and toys. He can entertain himself well enough.”

“Okay,” Cassian nodded, finishing off his cinnamon roll. He pulled Nyx out of his high chair, who was now playing with and wearing most of his food, rather than eating it, and said, “I’ll give him a bath while you get ready.”

“Okay.” He was nearly in the living room when he heard, “Cass?” He turned and looked back at her, still not completely used to the familiar nickname from her. She was blushing slightly. “Happy birthday.”

Smiling, he said, “Thanks,” and turned to head up the stairs.

Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad after all.

*

“Any birthday plans?”

“You’re looking at it.”

Kallias chuckled as he observed Cassian, a wiggly baby strapped to his chest, counting the liquor bottles that lined the wall.

“How old are you anyway?” he continued, wiping down the bartop. “Thirty? Thirty-one?”

“You wound me,” Cassian muttered, scribbling a number down on his clipboard, not bothering to tell Kallias just how close to thirty he was getting to.

“I would say we should do shots to celebrate your big day,” Kallias began, taking Nyx’s outstretched hand. “But, I think your little housewife would disapprove.”

Cassian snorted. “If Nesta Archeron ever heard you call her such a thing, you’d lose a very important body part.”

“Not interested in that, thank you very much,” he muttered. “She ever gonna stop in, so I can see this terrifying woman you’ve told me about?”

“About that…” Cassian pulled Nyx out of the carrier and carried him into the back office, setting him down in the play pen. Grabbing the baby monitor, he made his way back into the front room.

Kallias looked up from where he was cutting limes at the bar. “About what?”

He leaned a hip on the bar and crossed his arms over his chest. “Nesta is going to be expanding the restaurant, adding a bar. That’s actually where she is right now, why I’ve got the kiddo with me. Didn’t really want him in a construction site.”

“Hot nanny couldn’t keep him?” Kallias asked, grinning.

Cassian rolled his eyes. “No, she’s sick. But, uh-.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m gonna be leaving and going over there, managing for her.”

Kallias eyes widened. “Oh. Shit.”

“Yeah. And I’d like you to come over there with me. Be my assistant manager at the new place.”

Kallias stopped cutting, mid-lime. “You do realize we are two out of five people that work here, right?”

Cassian nodded, slowly. “Yeah, I do. And I also know we can hire more people here.”

Kallias looked back down at his half-cut lime. “Assistant manager, huh?”

“It’s in a great part of town, we’d get amazing tips on top of already being paid more,” Cassian said. “It’s an amazing opportunity.”

“So I’d be stupid to say no, then?” Kallias asked, continuing to cut his limes.

“Incredibly stupid,” Cassian agreed.

Nyx’s happy babbling came through on the baby monitor.

“I’ll think about it,” Kallias said, at last.

“Think about it, then tell me yes, because I’m not going there without you,” Cassian said.

Kallias snorted. “You’re a shitty liar. You’re going, whether I go or not.”

“And why wouldn’t you come with me?” Cassian asked, facing his friend. He and Kallias had worked together for years, since Kallias came in at twenty-one, during his senior year of college. “You want to be stuck in this dive bar forever? I know you. You’re a creature of habit. If I leave you here, you’ll be here for the next twenty years.”

Kallias didn’t bother telling him it wasn’t true. He just shook his head. “I guess we better start interviewing people, then.”

*

The day did not go as planned. Cassian had to stay and help out until nearly five-thirty, and by the time Cassian walked in the front door, Nyx was knocked out cold in his car seat. He gently set it down and unbuckled him, carrying him into the kitchen. It smelled divine, like roasting herbs and cooked veggies, even if he couldn’t see anything radiating the delicious smells.

Nesta was also nowhere in sight, so he took Nyx up to his nursery and laid him down, setting the baby monitor back up where it usually sat. He slipped the screen in his back pocket and made his way back downstairs, hurrying out to his truck to get Nyx’s diaper bag and the folded up playpen.

As he was setting it back up in the living room, he heard the sliding glass door open and close and made sure he was making enough noise to alert Nesta of his presence.

“You’re home,” she said, leaning on the doorway. “Nyx asleep?”

“Out like a light,” he said, tossing the few toys he’d brought with him back into the pen. “He had fun though.”

“Good. Dinner is almost done,” she smiled. “I hope you’re hungry.”

“Starving,” he sighed and took another deep breath in. “It smells amazing.”

Turning, Nesta walked back into the kitchen. “Steak, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and green beans, and homemade rolls.”

He watched as she took the carrots and green beans out of the oven and placed them next to a plate of steak she must have just brought in from the grill.

Cassian’s mouth was damn near watering.

He looked at the spread as she spooned the mashed potatoes onto his plate. “I think I’m in love with you.”

Nesta tensed, then something like nervous laughter sputtered out of her mouth. “Well, I had to cook red meat for you on your birthday.”

“Does that mean you’ll be having yourself a steak, Archeron?” he asked, taking the full plate from her outstretched hands.

She gave him an amused look. “Hell no. You get both. I have a chicken kabob on the grill.”

Cassian licked his lips as he took his plate to the table. “Consider me a lucky man. Thank you.”

“Of course,” she said, clearing her throat. She piled her plate high with potatoes and veggies before going onto the deck and coming back with a grilled chicken kabob on her plate. She sat across from him. Cassian’s mouth was already full.

“How is it?” Nesta asked, cutting up a carrot before popping it into her mouth.

“Delicious,” Cassian said, mouth full. “So good.”

“If you don’t slow down, you won’t be able to enjoy the flavor,” Nesta said, knowing full well that he wouldn’t listen. Cassian practically inhaled everything on his plate within minutes.

He moaned, stretching back in his chair before running a hand through his hair. “I must say, Nes, you really outdid yourself.”

“Well, it was the least I could do after you worked and were on baby duty all day,” she said, popping a few green beans in her mouth.

They talked about their days as she finished eating. He told her about Kallias’ agreement to move to the restaurant, she told him about the beginning of construction.

They’d kept half the restaurant open, putting up a temporary wall to keep as much noise and dust out as they could, but the sooner the build was done the better. They both agreed on that.

“So, despite your switch with the cinnamon rolls this morning,” Cassian said from where he sat as she rinsed off their plates, “I’m fairly sure I saw a cake when I came downstairs.”

“Really now,” she said, and he saw the small smile on her face.

“Mhmm,” he nodded. “And, you know, I like cake.”

“And why, exactly, would I make you a cake?” She crooned, that little smile remaining.

“Because I’m the world's best roommate and uncle, obviously,” he said.

Nesta laughed as she stood. “Yeah, whatever.”

After exiting through the back door, she returned a moment later with a big, homemade cake.

It was exquisite.

Perfectly decorated and topped with vanilla and buttercream frosting, it read Happy birthday, Cassian!

As Nesta placed it on the countertop, Cassian asked, “Nesta, when the hell did you find time to make this?”

She shrugged. “Stayed up later and got up early. Didn’t have to be too early since you decided to sleep in today, but…” Her words trailed off. “I figured it was the least I could do.”

His mouth tightened, emotion he wasn’t expecting hitting him and he cleared his throat. “You gonna sing to me?” He asked, cracking a joke to break the tension that was slowly growing.

Nesta threw her head back and laughed. “Absolutely not.”

Cassian bit back his retort and the monitor in his back pocket went off, crying coming from upstairs.

“I’ll get him,” she said, standing up. “I’m sure he’s hungry. Will you cut up green beans and carrots for him?”

He nodded, the cake forgotten as he did what he was told, and Nesta returned with a bleary-eyed Nyx a few minutes later.

“Hi buddy,” Cassian said, chuckling at Nyx’s hazy expression. He was already sitting at the table with a plate of cut up food.

The second Nyx saw the display, he was whining and reaching for it.

“Slow down, you need to be buckled into your seat first,” Nesta said, shaking her head.

“I can’t blame him,” Cassian said, as Nyx was strapped into his high chair. “I’m starving when I wake up, too.”

Nesta rolled her eyes. “Men.”

The second Nyx’s diapered butt hit the seat, he was stuffing his mouth.

“I guess we should wait for him to eat the cake,” Cassian said, looking longingly at the cake.

Nesta chuckled. “No patience?”

“When it comes to homemade baked goods?” Cassian scoffed. “No.”

She snorted, which had Cassian raising an eyebrow. She looked at him. “What?”

“Nothing,” he replied, shaking his head. “That was just…cute.”

Nesta didn’t reply, but he swore she could see her cheeks heating as she turned to put the leftovers from dinner away.

Once Nyx’s plate was cleared, Nesta cut three slices of cake. One was barely a sliver, one was mostly icing and one was damn near a quarter of the cake. She took the one with extra frosting for herself, placing the small one in front of Nyx and the larger one in front of Cassian.

Again, Nyx wasted no time scarfing it down. Cassian didn’t either, helping himself to another, much smaller piece afterwards, but not touching it yet.

“You sure you don’t want to sing to me?” He asked, taking a bite of the cake. “It would complete my day.”

Nyx, an impending sugar crash, was already dozing again. Apparently, his day with Uncle Cassian had well and truly worn him out.

She rolled her eyes and wiped the excess cake off of Nyx’s face. Pulling him out of his high chair, she said, “No, I think I’m good.”

“I’m just saying,” Cassian pushed. “If you wanted to really wish me a happy birthday, a song would do.”

Nesta snorted, taking Nyx in her arms and swaying, back and forth. “You’ve never heard me sing.”

“If your singing is as good as your cooking, it must be amazing,” Cassian promised.

Nesta rolled her eyes. “Have I told you that you’re full of shit?”

Cassian pretended to debate it. “Maybe once or twice.”

Nesta chuckled, and said no more about it. “Finish your cake, Nazari. This little monster is ready for bed. I’ll put him down. It’s your birthday.”

It wasn’t that putting Nyx to bed was exhausting. Although sometimes it could be a chore, Cassian nodded and took another bite of his cake as Nesta and Nyx disappeared.

In their absence, Cassian cleared his plate.

The cake was delicious.

He knew Nesta was an amazing cook, but didn’t know that her baking skills were just as good. It was the best cake he had ever eaten. He was even considering getting himself a third piece, but decided against it as she rounded the corner back into the kitchen.

She sighed, falling into her chair. “That may have been record time to get him down. He was practically asleep before I’d even pulled the curtains shut.”

“He had a big day,” Cassian said, eyeing the piece of cake on her plate that she hadn’t even touched. “Taught him how to make a mojito. He’s a pro. Maybe we should hire him on at the bar.”

Shaking her head, Nesta cut into her cake and took a bite. She chuckled. “I’m sure that doesn’t violate any labor laws.”

“Nah, we’re his guardians,” Cassian said, waving a hand. “We can certainly get some free labor out of him.”

She rolled her eyes. “I honestly can’t tell if you’re kidding or not.” She took another bite of cake, and Cassian’s eyes dipped to her mouth. He was quiet for long enough that she asked, “What?”

He hesitated but said, “You’ve got a little—”

He didn’t finish his sentence, instead he leaned forward across the small space between them and swiped the frosting that was on the corner of her lips away with his thumb.

Nesta didn’t move.

She didn’t push him away, didn’t tell him to stop touching her, either.

Cassian’s thumb lingered against her lips, and when she looked up, he was already watching her, quietly.

She opened her mouth to say something.

What? She wasn’t sure.

But, when her lips moved, Cassian’s did, too.

He kissed her, softly, slowly, and Nesta melted right into it.

[thotsforvillainrights]

(Whoa it’s been what? A year since my last update? Who knows. Anyway, I think I’m on chapter 18 by now so that’s what we’re going with. If I already made one then disregard it. THIS is where we’re picking up on this fanfic haha. Apologies for tossing it to the side!)

(PART 17 IS RIGHT HERE)

~Pivitol~

Summary: The long awaited apology is finally here. 

Chapter: 18

Warnings: None

The sound of your phone buzzing on your bedside table made you quickly jolt up from your rest. You peeked at the notification and frowned when you realized it was just Yuko texting you about a sudden company dinner planned later this week and not a message from Kai. Memories of last night came flooding in as you felt the creeping guilt and shame once again. Maybe it was the stress of the big project from work that had caused you to snap at him like that. Or maybe Yuko was right about the advice she’d given you in the breakroom earlier that day. Either way, you felt like shit having said all those things to him that you did. You wanted to call and apologize but the shame just wouldn’t let you right now.

You sighed and placed your phone on the charger before creeping out of bed and walking into the bathroom. The reflection of yourself in the mirror had given you a small fright. Your eyes were puffy and dried tears with drool stuck to your cheeks as well. No doubt it was from the way you cried yourself to sleep last night. You took a quick shower and ate a nice breakfast. You put on a good movie and opened the windows for some fresh air. Nothing was distracting you from the emotions creeping up on you. His hurt expression replayed in your mind over and over again. You did that to him. Right now he was probably regretting ever crossing your path. 

Little did you know that you were wrong. 

He wasn’t doing much better than you were.

At the house Chisaki was moping around for the first time in forever. Pops could only watch from afar after having gave his best advice to the boy last night. The old man knew it would hurt, but giving you space would be the best thing for right now after how suffocating Kai was acting. It gets better before it gets worse after all. “Care for a game of Shogi?” Pops asked while leaning against the wall. “No thanks. Just leave me here to die please.” Kai mumbled as he sunk further into the couch cushions than before. “My boy I know it’s eating you up but you need to hang in there. I can give you my solemn swear that it will be okay. Remember my words will you?” Kai scoffed at him and turned his head in the opposite direction. “What if that was a breakup last night? What if Y/N broke up with me? I’ve never been broken up before. I feel like my heart is covered in some kind of tar. I don’t want to eat, to sleep. I don’t want to do anything, especially play Shogi. So leave me alone old man.” Kai grumbled and covered his head with the thick fur-lined hood of his jacket. Pops had to hold back a bit of laughter after seeing the childish sight. He sighed and pat Kai’s head before heading on his way somewhere else.

For the rest of the day both of you were checking your phones non-stop, but neither of you had taken the initiative to apologize or talk to the other. Kai was trying to give you the space he believed you needed, and you were still too ashamed to text him back after the way things went last night. For the entire day the two of you were hollowed out from the inside, feeling like going through the motions of the day and missing the part of them that was half so dear. It’s rare two souls connected so quickly the way you two did. Finally later in the evening you decided you simply couldn’t take it anymore. You gathered your anxiety and bottled it up before slipping on your shoes and heading out the door. You didn’t make it far as you bumped into something firmly as soon as you took two steps out of your apartment. Looking up you gasped as familiar golden eyes stared down at you with such intensity. “Kai?” Your eyes wandered to the flowers he held in one hand and the stuffed bear he held in the other, a neatly written ‘I’m sorry’ stitched into it’s fur. Your eyes met with his again and you hardly noticed his mask was nestled below his chin, mouth fully exposed in front of you. “Ang-Y/N...” He cleared his throat and you felt sadness at the way he avoided using his nickname for you. “Kai. I uh...I was just going to come see you but I guess you beat me to it huh?” You chuckled nervously. “Yes it would seem so.” There was a bit of awkward silence between the two of you with some tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Finally you moved to the side and silently invited him in. He didn’t hesitate as he trailed into your apartment and place the items onto the coffee table. He took his jacket off and hung it up as you shut the door. The two of you stared at each other, both going to speak at the same time but apologizing to each other after stumbling over words. “Sorry aha. You can go first.” You said and he nodded. His eyes stared at the ground for a moment and it seemed like he was searching for the right words to say. Finally he looked back up at you and began to speak. 

“I’m sorry about my behavior lately. I know I’ve been a bit of an ass and it must’ve been too much for you to handle. I don’t blame you for what happened last night. I’m sorry about all the texts and the calls. I ended up jumping to conclusions too quickly and pushing a lot of stuff on you that you didn’t deserve. It’s still so early and I know I’m moving a bit fast with everything. If you can take me back then I promise I won’t do it again. I’ll give you as much time as you need with me, I swear it Y/N.” Now it was your turn to speak.

“What do you mean take you back? I’m not breaking up with you first of all. Second of all, yeah...you were a bit of an ass. Even so, that doesn’t give me the right to snap at you the way I did. I guess I was just feeling a little bit overwhelmed with the pacing of things is all. I love you and it’s not that I don’t want to move in with you. It’s just that I need a little more time to figure things out is all. I’m so sorry I yelled at you like that. I love you Kai. Please don’t ever doubt that.” His eyes were watery by now and so were yours. Without words the two of you closed the space between and held each other in a tight hug, rocking slightly side to side. “So you’re really not breaking up with me then?” He asked after a moment of quiet. You laughed and shook your head. “No way in hell. That wasn’t a break up, I promise. I love you and I’m not kidding about it.” The two of you stared at each other for a long time before he began slowly leaning down to meet your lips with his. It had been a while since you kissed like this. Maybe since his first one you two shared a few weeks back? This kiss was different, a little less clumsy and a lot more passionate. He quickly pulled away as he felt those feelings bubbling back up and creating that spark of fire burning in him. The same spark he felt when he thought of you showering not too long ago. Before you could question the blush on his cheeks, he reached to the coffee table and shoved the gifts into your hands. “These are for you. They’re my peace offering.” You laughed at him and shook your head. “Oh really? Thank you. I didn’t have a peace offering for you so instead would you like to stay the night with me here?” This was only the second time you’d stay the night with each other, and it would be the first time it was here at your place. 

“Y-yes...”

[buckys-other-punk]

Hold on..THIS IS YOU?!

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x Reader

Request: where she is a fanfic writer and Sebastian stumbles upon her blog and messaged her as well not letting her know who he was but being an open person she is as to who she was, sending pictures and all, and until one day, decides to meet with her and she is surprised that it was the one she was writing for?

Word Count: 3.6K

Warnings: fluff, sarcasm (of course) and cussing? i think that’s all

A/N: Hello my lovelies. I am sorry I haven’t been posting as much, but that’s usually how I roll..no jk I legit had no time to write because of my classes this semester, so if this sucks I’m sorry lol. I’m still trying to get back into my writing groove...Also don’t mind my minor mistakes 😅

A/N 2: Anyways I AM BACK AND this is my first request ever!! I’m so excited to write this, I am soo sorry this took forever, but hope I did your request justice and that you like it (and so do others). I feel like I wrote this kinda cheesy, but whatever.

[Y/B/N = your blog name]

As always lemme know if you wanna be tagged in my future works and feedback is very much appreciated. Enjoy! <3

Just another normal day without stress and a less anxiety filled world...no, today was actually awful. You were swamped with work and your best friend was complaining about her boyfriend. Let’s just say that the stress she was having with him was making you feel happy that you were single. Trying to relax you heated up some coffee (a/n: or tea) and sat on the couch of your small apartment. Grabbing your laptop you wanted to unwind reading. Probably some fanfics on Tumblr usually does the trick. 

After reading some pretty good marvel related fics by your mutuals, you got inspired to write some fics yourself. Opening up a new tab you began writing about your favorite actor, Sebastian Stan. That man literally makes your miserable day a little better. Sadly, like all the girls and women who fantasize over him, he doesn’t know you. But, whatever right? You can always use your imagination and conjure up a make believe world where the two of you are happily engaged and have a German Shepard puppy named Stitch. Shaking your head to clear your thoughts, you opened another tab on your laptop to pull up your writing playlist, you began typing away on your keyboard writing a new AU where you’re the celebrity of the world you were creating and he was a huge fan of you. After you finished your new fic, you posted that immediately without edits because you were so excited to see people read it.

*across town*

“Have you guys ever read any fanfiction about your characters or yourselves?” the interviewer asked the pair.

“You know I’ve seen a few that were quite impressive. These writers are damn creative.” Anthony replied with a smile. “I will also not lie. I’ve read a few steamy ones and y’all are dirty.” he added with a slight disgusted face shaking his head towards the camera.

“What about you Sebastian? Have you read any?” the interviewer lady asked, looking over to the man.

“Honestly. I haven’t.” Sebastian chuckled looking back at her. “Maybe, if Mackie here finds a good one about me I’ll give it a read.” shrugging towards his friend.

“Oh man, I got a few that are worth reading.” Mackie laughed, rubbing his hands together.

“Hey, might as well share them with the world. Let’s give that writer a shout out!” she exclaimed, placing her notecards on her lap.

“Well, like I’ve said I’ve only read a bit, but I do have some blogs that I’ve saved. Maybe next time I’ll name drop a few and give fans some well deserved praise.” Anthony smiled looking at the two.

“Alright, well you better have a huge list for me.” the lady said with a smile looking at Anthony. “Thank you both again for your time. For everyone watching Falcon and the Winter Soldier comes out in March 2021.” She finished off the interview smiling and waving at the camera and the two men followed her actions as well. Once the cameras and mics were turned off the lady came back to the two men.

“Thank you again guys for your time” the lady said to the pair shaking their hands (a/n: ok let's pretend there is no corona in this world so yeah. Everyone is healthy and so is the world!). The two replied with a simple you’re welcome and another thanks in return.

“Wait, have you really read fanfiction before?” Sebastian asked his co-star as the pair walked towards their manager, who was waiting for them outside the room, getting their schedule for the pair’s next interview.

“I mean yeah. I got curious on what people were writing about us and our characters.” Anthony responded with a shrug looking down at his phone.

“Aren’t most of those like fifty shades of grey?” Sebastian asked, staring at his friend as stood near their manager.

“Only if you want them to be..” Mackie stared at his friend with a blank face as they came to an abrupt stop. “Nah man, I’m just playing. Some of them are steamy, others can be sad, like crazy sad and some are like tooth rotting cute. Like I recently read one that was with Captain America and this original character that the author came up with and it made me say ‘aww’ when I finished it. Me. A grown man said ‘aww’ after reading a fanfic. A FANFIC!” he added. Their manager quickly explained their schedule and walked them over to their car to head off to the next location. The two were seated at the back, while their manager sat next to the driver.

“You know what. Send me that story you read.” Sebastian said to Anthony.

“Are you sure Seb?” Anthony asked with a chuckle.

“Yeah, why not.” he replied with a shrug. “Might as well read a good story before our next interview.”

“Alright let me send it to you right now. Honestly I think this writer is one of my favorites. I don’t know if it's her writing style or how she portrays our characters, but she’s amazing.” Mackie said with a smile getting the fic he recently read and sending it to his friend. 

“So all her stories are good?” Sebastian asked, looking at the notification.

“I just said that she is my favorite writer.” Anthony looked at his friend with a ‘are you serious face.’ 

“Okay. Okay.” Seb said with his arms up in defense. After a few minutes of reading the fanfic Sebastian actually said ‘aww’ aloud just like Mackie after he first read the story.

“It was good wasn’t it.” Anthony asked with a toothy grin.

“Yeah this was really good. Y/B/N is a pretty good writer.” Sebastian said looking through your feed.

“You should tell her!” Anthony exclaimed.

“What, like make an account?” Seb asked.

“Well yeah, but I mean not your actual name of course. Make a fan account. Show these writers your appreciation, I know that if I were an author I would love that (a/n: wink wink). I’ve messaged a few writers complimenting their work without actually telling them who I am.” Anthony said, placing his hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“I’m gonna read more stuff from her before I message her.” Sebastian chuckled. Sebastian clicked onto your main blog page to find that you had just posted a new fic about him. “Wait, dude she just posted a new story...About me!” Sebastian exclaimed, showing his phone to Anthony. 

“Nice, but we have to finish these interviews. You gotta read it during your free time man, sorry to crush your dreams.” he chuckled, unbuckling his seat belt and getting out of the car. Sebastian sighed and followed his co-stars actions getting out of the car and continuing the rest of his day filled with interviews.

*later that evening*

After the interviews Anthony and Sebastian had dinner together at a fancy restaurant. During their dinner they talked about how crazy some interviews were. Sebastian brought up the subject of how Mackie publicly announced that he had read fanfiction. With that still stuck in his mind the two finished their meal and after parting ways. Sebastian took a cab and arrived at his apartment, changed out of his fancy suit to some comfy clothes and grabbed a bottle of water from his fridge. He walked over to his couch turning on the tv, not really paying attention to what was playing, grabbing his phone he opened the tumblr app finally creating an account.

*one week later*

Sebastian has read almost all of your works and texting Anthony almost every time after he has finished a new fic giving his reactions to each. He has liked and reblogged everything he has read from you and other writers, but he favors your stuff the most.

Mackie: dude you should tell her you like her stuff and stop texting me!

Seb: Alright I will, I just don't know what to say.

Mackie: Just say you like her work. It's as simple as that.

Seb: okay okay I will

Mackie: ok good, no stop texting my its legit 2 am

Seb: fine

Sebastian opened up the messaging area of the app and began typing away his appreciation to you. He didn’t know why he felt so nervous after he pressed send. Getting out of the app completely he tried to focus on whatever was playing on the tv. Then all of a sudden he heard a notification go off and his phone light up. Looking down on it he saw that it was a notification from you. Again his nervousness took place as he unlocked his phone to read the notification. The app opened and the direct message filled his phone screen.

(a/n: this is my first time using a fake dm thingy so just imagine that Seb is following you)

Seb: Holy shit dude, she actually replied back to me!

Mackie: Well of course she did, she's not a robot. But maybe she is since she’s up so late...

Seb: shut up and why are you still up? I though you were mad at me for texting you

Mackie: well you woke me up so what am i supposed to do

Seb: whatever I’ll let you go

Mackie: alright. bye lover boy 

Sebastian shook his head at the text, he went back to the app to reply back to you. “What should I say?” he said to himself. “Maybe she’s in a different time zone or lives across the world or something… Okay okay. Maybe be chill and say I hope i didn’t wake you? No that sounds weird.” he shook his head trying to come up with something to say. Eventually he fell asleep trying to think of what to say to you.

*the next morning/later that day*

Sebastian woke up with his phone gone from his hand. He quickly got out of his bed in panic to look for it. Maybe you had said something to him or he had said something dumb to you. Once he found his phone he quickly unlocked it to check and thank god he didn’t say anything stupid. But he didn’t say anything. He shook his head clearing his thoughts. “Alright I think I know what to say.”

Y/N’s POV

You woke up to the sound of cars honking, groaning you looked at your clock. “How is it already 10 am?” you said aloud to nobody in particular. You sat up on your bed and grabbed your phone scrolling through various social media apps. At the top of your screen you saw a notification from tumblr. Opening the app to the notifications section, you noticed it was a blog that had messaged you from earlier in the morning.

sebstan_fan: Nice to meet you Y/N. I’m Carter. I don’t know where you live, but I just woke up and had a dream about one of your fics. (wow I hope that didn’t sound creepy)

You smiled at the message, since you loved interacting with your followers.

y/b/n: haha its ok. I actually live near New York City and I also woke up. What was your dream about? (if i can ask)

Sebastian’s POV

Sebastian had just finished taking a shower and began preparing his late breakfast. “Holy shit she replied again!” he said to himself looking at the message.

sebstan_fan: Wait, you live near NYC! Me too! Wow such a small world. But anyways my dream was honestly just a reenactment of your fic.

y/b/n: that’s so crazy how we live near each other lol. But that's so cool how you dreamt about my work. You must have really liked it.

sebstan_fan: yeah it was really interesting how you wrote such a life like scenario.

y/b/n: thank you Carter <3

sebstan_fan: ok I now this is random, but what’s your favorite place to eat in New York?

y/b/n: ooh that’s tough. Let’s go with Lombardi’s since its the very first pizza place to open in the US

sebstan_fan: oh wow an excellent choice :)

*a couple weeks later*

You and your new tumblr friend have been talking about one another’s favorite hobbies and interests for the past few weeks. You feel like you have grown a new connection with your new friend and telling them about your shitty days at work. Today your best friend wanted to bring you with her and her boyfriend to some fancy restaurant. 

y/b/n: Carter, I’m practically third wheeling with her and her boyfriend. 

sebstan_fan: well that sounds awful. Where is she taking you?

y/b/n: idk to some fancy restaurant I’ve never heard of. Anyways she’s making me wear fancy clothes, but I just wanna wear my pajamas!

sebstan_fan: y/n come on. you gotta dress nice if other people are dressing nice too 

y/b/n: ughh ok I think I found something nice. *sends picture of yourself in an elegant dress* what about this?

Seb’s POV

Sebastian got a glass of water and sat back down on his couch. Unlocking his phone to see the new dm from you he spit his water out of his mouth wetting the coffee table in front of him. “HOLY SHIT SHE’S GORGEOUS!” he yelled aloud staring at his phone in awe of your beauty.

sebstan_fan: Y/N, you look amazing! That dress is literally making you glow!

y/b/n: stop you’re making me blush..my friend just pulled up. I’ll dm you later once this stupid night is over. 

sebstan_fan: alright have fun 

y/b/n: <3

Sebastian quickly called Mackie to tell him that you sent him a photo of yourself. 

“Dude, she is unbelievably gorgeous. I actually spit my water out all over my coffee table when I saw the picture. ” Sebastian said on the phone.

“Man you are so obsessed with her, it's kinda creepy.” Anthony replied through the phone.

“What? No man, we just clicked. We have a bunch in common and she’s really easy to talk to.” Sebastian gushed to his friend.

“Yeah, but she doesn’t know that you’re lying to her about your real identity. You’re like fucking Superman with a secret persona!” Anthony snickered at the man on the other line.

“Dude no, but I’ll tell her eventually that I’m me.” Seb replied back to Anthony.

“Well you better do it soon because I’m tired of hearing about you gushing over this woman.” Anthony huffed under his breath. “Anyways I gotta go so bye bitch.” 

Sebastian laughed at his friend hanging up the phone and heading to his room getting ready for bed. As he laid on his bed he couldn’t take his mind off of you in that dress. You were so open with sharing your life to him, a complete stranger, yet he couldn’t do the same.

*the next day*

y/b/n: Carter! I forgot to dm you once I got home, but that dinner was terrible. I hated every minute of it.

sebstan_fan: what happened? Also good morning :)

y/b/n: good morning, sorry if I woke you. But anyways my best friend and her boyfriend brought some dude to make it a double date and the guy was a complete douche. I couldn’t stand a minute being there.

sebstan_fan: damn I’m sorry to hear that. I bet if I was there with you the night wouldn’t have been so bad haha

y/b/n: creepy..jk But I bet we would have completely ditched my friend and her boyfriend lol

sebstan_fan: wait, I got an idea! I mean since we live around the same area why don’t we meet!

y/b/n: what like in person?

sebstan_fan: no through zoom, yes in person!

y/b/n: wow the sarcasm in this one, but that sounds like a lovely idea. I feel like I already know so much about you tho...

Sebastian huffed under his breath, “not everything.”

sebstan_fan: lol yeah but it’ll be different to meet in person. Anyways where should we meet?

y/b/n: lol that’s true. Well I know this small cafe that’s so cute and I heard they have pretty good pastries. It would be awesome to meet there :D

sebstan_fan: alright how about Saturday afternoon? You don’t have work right?

y/b/n: nope I’m off! but that sounds good to me! I’m so excited and nervous at the same time. Like what if you’re some creepy stalker...

Sebstan_fan: why would you accuse me of such a thing?!

y/b/n: lol you know i’m just messing with you. But I gotta go my friend is now calling me, probably about that douche from last night...but I can’t wait to see you Carter!<3

“Yeah, me too.” Sebastian said to himself smiling.

*Saturday*

You sat at the cafe where you told your new tumblr friend to meet you. You ordered a drink and once it was finished, you grabbed it and sat near the windows saving a seat for Carter. As you waited you pulled out your laptop and began on typing away a new fic idea drawing inspiration from the small cafe and the gloomy weather outside. 

“I’m sorry that seat’s taken...” you muttered to a man who pulled out the chain next to you, looking up at the figure. “Holy shit!” you exclaimed to the man who sat next to you.

“Shhhh...Please don’t say anything.” Sebastian whispered to you, sitting on the chair next to you and taking off his sunglasses.

“What? But how? You’re!? I can’t breathe.” you exclaimed erratically looking down at your drink.

“Hey, hey Y/N, just calm down and take slow deep breaths.” he said calmly placing his hand on your back.

“How the fuck do you know my name?!” you exclaimed again staring wide eyed at the actor. “Am I getting pranked or something? Where are the cameras?!” you nervously laughed looking around the empty cafe.

“No, you’re not getting pranked. It’s me Carter…” he said quietly rubbing the back of his head.

“You’re Carter?! I thought you were a girl!” you said looking into the man’s blue eyes.

“I may have lied about who I was, but I wanted to meet you.” he started as he stared down at the ground. “I didn’t want you to freak out knowing that it was actually me.” he said looking back up at you.

“Let me just gather my thoughts for a sec.” you said, putting your hand to your temples.

“Wait, why did you assume I was a girl?” he asked with a smirk.

“I don’t know! Carter is a unisex name.” you frantically said with a shrug. “And I mean most of my followers are female, so I just assumed you were one too.” you added grabbing your drink and taking a sip to calm your nerves.

“That makes sense I guess.” he said chuckling, looking out the big window of the cafe.

“This is so crazy that you are here. Sitting next to me and talking about my stupid tumblr blog.” you uttered. “Like you’re famous!”

“Yeah so what.” he looked back to you. 

“I mean aren’t you busy filming and stuff?” you asked the man.

“Nope, we just wrapped up the interviews a couple of weeks ago. I’m on vacation.” he said with a toothy grin, which made you blush. “Aww look she’s blushing.” he said sweetly towards you.

“Shut up. It’s not like I get to meet my favorite actor who I’ve had a crush on since forever sitting next to me and casually conversing with.” you muttered quickly hoping he didn’t hear your profession of love for him.

“You got a crush on me?” he smiled at you.

“Fuck you. I do not!” you exclaimed looking away from him.

“Aww I think you do.” he said, nudging your shoulder.

“Whatever.” you said under your breath trying to hide your embarrassment.

“Hey, I’m in awe too.” he began, which made you look at him. “It’s not like I get to see a beautiful woman who I like.” he smirked at you.

“I think I’m dreaming. Did you just say you like me?!” you asked pinching yourself back into reality.

“I mean yeah. I really like your work as a writer and the past what month we’ve been talking I think you’re a really cool and sweet person.” he said now blushing. 

“I bet you say that to all the women you meet.” scoffing at his comment.

“No I’m serious Y/N. I think you’re a really talented writer. And I think you’re also really pretty.” again blushing, but this time he looked straight at you.

“Oh, wow. Thank you so much Sebastian.” you hesitated, your cheeks heating up. “That means a lot coming from you.” you smiled.

“Of course. And also I wanted to ask you in person if after coming clear about who I actually am, if you wanted to go out sometime. I know its weird and all sudden but-”

“Yes!” you exclaimed quickly cutting him off. “I mean. I would love to.” you said more calmly. “God, I’m trying so hard to keep my inner fangirl in.” you huffed under your breath. 

Sebastian laughed at your comment and then asked, “Alright then. What about tomorrow I take you out for dinner?” 

“That sounds delightful.” you smiled at the man. The two of you fell silent watching the people who passed by the small cafe.

“Oh, but can I ask you one more question? Why are you wearing a hat? And shades earlier? It's legit rainy and cloudy as hell outside.” you asked, looking at the man with your head resting on your hand.

“I’m going incognito. I don’t want my fans to recognize me.” he replied, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Are you embarrassed of them seeing you with me?” you hesitantly interrogated.

“No, I just don't want them to interrupt our first date.” he responded with a smirk looking at you.

“Wait, this is a date?!” you exclaimed with wide eyes.

“Only if you want it to be sweetheart.” Sebastian smirked, winking towards you.

“Fuck you.” You said with a smile.

A/N: Yay you finished! Was that good? bad? cheesy? lemme know lol Again if you wanna be tagged in future fics, have any requests or just wanna chat hit me up! Thank you guys for reading and I hope you get excited for more stuff to come.

Tags: @lostinthoughtsandfeelings @sebtheromanianprince​ @aquabrie @who-the-hell-is-sebastianstan​ @princess76179​ @anbrax5553​ @wintersoldierissucharide @caplanbuckybarnes​ @miraclesoflove​ @kitkatd7 @msgreenverse @saiyanprincessswanie​ @fandomsandxfiles @hailmary-yramliah @coffeebooksandfandom​ @thefallenbibliophilequote

^please lemme know if you wanna be added to future works or removed for tags^

[kaimelia]

Hi, I love your work. I hope you doing well. I was wondering if you have time and feel inspired would you be able to write an Amlink fanfic where Amelia and Link go away for the weekend or for work and they meet Amelia sisters.

Thanks,❤️😊😊

new beginnings

a/n: hi! thank you for the prompt and I hope you enjoy it!

--------------------------------

"You wanna find someplace to sit?" Link laughed slightly, placing his hand on the small of Amelia's back as she gained her footing. She glanced back at him and narrowed her gaze. "What? You did last time, and you're looking a little out of it right now."

"Maybe just head back to the room," she muttered, rubbing her forehead. "In conclusion, sound baths mess me up." He grinned and guided her down the hallways of the hotel containing the different conference rooms. "When's your thing again?"

"Tomorrow. You've got time to recover." Amelia sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder, Link's arm wrapping around her waist and supporting the weight of her body. "You look like you're gonna pass out." He watched as she shook her head.

"I'm fine-"Amelia's eyes widened dramatically as she stopped talking, and Link followed her gaze.

"Amelia?" Her body tensed as Nancy approached them, her arms outstretched to hug her sister. Link stepped away as she wrapped her arms around Amelia. "What are you doing here?"

"I-uh-Link's giving a presentation, what-uh-what are you doing here?" Nancy turned and eyed Link before holding out her hand. He shook it.

"Nice to see you," he muttered, pursing his lips in a tight smile.

"Likewise," she smiled, retracting her hand. "Liz and I needed an excuse to get out of town, and this counts as a work trip. You're giving a presentation?" She directed her question towards Link, nodding her head.

"Yeah, tomorrow. On the dangers of dependency and how physicians can take better steps to prevent it with their patients," he smiled politely.

"Where's Liz? You're sure Kathleen isn't with her, too?"

"We invited her, but she couldn't come. We should get dinner tonight."

"Yeah, so it can go like last time," Amelia shook her head. "I think we're good." Nancy reached out a hand to Amelia's shoulder.

"It won't, as long as you're not lying about who he is, but we already went through that." Amelia grimaced slightly, some of the tension in her face relaxing as Link placed his hand on her back.

"We're supposed to meet a friend of mine for dinner," Link said, shrugging his shoulders. "And, we're leaving tomorrow afternoon, right after my presentation."

"Oh," Nancy sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, we'll come to find you tomorrow? We haven't seen you in years, Amelia."

"Sure," Amelia muttered, forcing a smile on her face. "Yeah, you can come to Link's presentation."

"I think Liz got lost, I have to find her, but I'll see you tomorrow!" They waved goodbye as Nancy walked away, and once she was out of sight, Amelia turned to Link.

"If I had a nickel for every time we ran into Nancy somewhere we completely didn't expect," she ran a hand through her hair. "Thank you for covering."

"Of course," he smiled, "although I was looking forward to meeting your other sister."

"And you will, tomorrow," Amelia groaned, leaning her head back against Link's shoulder. "Do I have to?"

"I mean, I have to give the presentation, so I'll see them, but if you want, I can tell them you died after we went back to the hotel room."

"You'd be over my death in less than 24 hours?" He nodded firmly, the smirk on his face growing.

"Oh, yeah, you think you're special?"

--------------------------------

"What're you thinking about?" Link asked, taking off his watch and setting it on top of the dresser. Amelia was collapsed on the bed behind him, staring up at the ceiling.

"My sisters."

"What about them?" He swapped his day clothes with pajamas and then sat on the bed beside her.

"They don't know about Scout. And, I didn't have a problem with that; we never saw them, they never made an attempt at reaching out, but seeing them today?" She rolled to the side, placing a hand on Link's chest and resting her head beside it. "I don't know, I know they're not going to be as close as Meredith and Maggie are, but I love the family we have for Scout, and to think that there may be more people to love him that I'm holding him back from?" Link glanced down at her and tangled his fingers in her hair.

"If you tell them, you're opening yourself up to criticism of every parenting decision you've made. This means staying in contact with them, Kathleen, and your Mom finding out. I mean, are you ready for that?" She sighed.

"No. But I don't want to keep them from Scout if they're willing to be family to him. He deserves to have as much love and annoying family around him as possible." She moved her head so that her chin was on his chest, and she was looking at him. "Your parents are the best grandparents there are. And, what if my Mom wants to take him for ice cream on the weekends and send him postcards from every place she visits?"

"When was the last time your Mom was in contact with Mer's kids? They're her grandkids, and I don't think I've ever heard them mention her before." Amelia looked away and sighed again. "If you want to make an effort with them, I will be by your side the whole time. But, just think about everything that's happened between all of you, and think about if you want that around Scout." He reached down to pull the comforter over them, and Amelia grabbed her phone from the bedside table. "What're you doing?"

"Facetiming Maggie. I miss Scout." He smiled and kissed the top of her head, grins covering both of their faces as the call opened to see Scout asleep on top of his Aunt.

--------------------------------

"It'll be fine," Link muttered against her hair, pressing a quick kiss to the side of her head. "They're walking over here." Amelia smiled as her sisters approached them.

"Hey," she greeted, raising her eyebrows as Liz pulled her into a hug.

"It's been forever, Amelia; I'm so glad to see you!" She pulled back and stuck her hand out to Link. "Liz. And, I'm the last one to meet you." He shook her hand and introduced himself.

"And, the only one to meet him as himself," Nancy muttered snarkily, crossing her arms over her chest. Amelia refrained from rolling her eyes.

"We can't stay for long; our flight leaves in a few hours, and we still have to pack," Link smiled pleasantly, "but we figured we would stay to see you." They all sat down at the table in the cafe.

"So, what's going on with you two?" Amelia looked at Link, who placed his hand on her leg and squeezed gently.

"We just bought a house, one close to the hospital and to Meredith so we can be near her," Link spoke. "Other than that, working all the time. This conference is our first time away since the pandemic."

"A house?" Nancy raised her eyebrows. "Are you two getting married?"

"No," Amelia shook her head, breathing slowly to calm herself. "Just finding our own space. We were stuck watching Mer's kids for most of the pandemic, and we needed to get out of there."

"Mm, I would love to come and visit," Liz muttered, sipping her coffee, "I haven't been to Seattle since Derek needed a nerve transplant."

"Maybe we can all make a trip out of it?" Nancy added, leaning back in her chair. "We never see Derek's kids."

"Link and I have a son," Amelia blurted out, her eyes widening as soon as she said it. "Uh, sorry, I thought I should say that so you don't come to Seattle and surprise! There's a toddler running around our house." Link squeezed her leg again.

"A toddler? He's a toddler, and you didn't tell us?"

"Yeah, we don't exactly talk very often, and we were a little stressed with a newborn and Mer's kids during quarantine," Amelia paused. "His name is Scout, and he just turned two a few months ago."

"Can I see pictures?" Liz asked, leaning forward and clasping her hands together. Link smiled and pulled out his phone, opening the album with thousands of photos of Scout. He turned the phone to her. "He looks just like you, Link." Liz turned the phone towards Nancy.

"I'm sorry, how did you have a baby and not tell your family?" Nancy scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Family means being there for each other, and I didn't want to say anything after you and Kathleen spent a dinner throwing things in my face."

"After you lied to us." Amelia breathed out slowly and bit the inside of her cheek. "We're your family."

"I'm trying to move forward, and if you want to be part of the life that we have now," she motioned between her and Link, "you can. And if you don't, I have plenty of family in Seattle who will be there for us and our son. Family isn't just blood." Nancy held her hands up in defense.

"So, you don't want us in your life?"

"No," Link spoke beside her, squeezing Amelia's leg again as he sensed her upset. "We're saying that if you want to be involved, and you're willing to do that without constantly bringing up the past, we'd love to have you in our lives."

"I know my kids would love to come and visit," Liz smiled and handed the phone back. "They'll be so excited about their baby cousin, can I get your address to send things? A late birthday gift, so my kids have an excuse to buy too many baby toys." The neurosurgeon smiled and took her phone out.

"I'll text it to you," she whispered, trying to hide her joy. "We'd love to have you visit; he loves meeting new people ever since the pandemic ended."

"Does Mom know?"

"Not yet," Amelia clasped her hands together under the table. "We're figuring things out. And, I can't control whether you tell her and Kathleen, so I'll probably tell them soon."

"This is insane," Nancy shook her head, "this is insane."

"Nance, give her a chance," Liz looked over, watching as their eldest sister stood up and grabbed her jacket. "She's trying here; can't you give her some credit for that?"

"No, she doesn't get to join the family when it's convenient for her." She took her phone from the table and dropped it into her pocket. "I'll see you later, Liz, and Amelia?" Amelia raised her eyebrows. "I hope you understand, and I hope that one day, you'll make an effort to be part of the family." She walked away, leaving the three of them alone at the table. Amelia sighed and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her forehead with her hand.

"I'm sorry about her," Liz whispered, glancing towards where she had left. "But, I'd love to hear more about your son, if that's okay." Amelia grinned and pulled out her phone, showing a picture of Scout with his birthday cake in front of him.

--------------------------------

"Nancy hates me," she muttered, tightening her grip on the armrests of her seat, glancing as people hurried past the waiting area they had occupied in the busy airport.

"And, Liz doesn't." Link placed his hand over hers and squeezed lightly. "You found someone who wants to be involved, who wants to be family, and maybe the others will come around. And if they don't, we don't need them. We have a perfect family back in Seattle." Amelia looked into his eyes and sighed.

"How do you always know what to say?"

"Because I know you, and I can see the wheels turning in your brain, and I'm telling you to slow them down. Take a deep breath." She did and laid her head on his shoulder. "Whatever happens, you're always going to have everyone back home. Like you said, Scout deserves to have as much love around him as possible, and some people in your family might not be willing to give that, and we don't need that." He kissed her head and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"I'm glad I told them, though."

"You've still got a phone call to make," Link muttered. "Unless you want your mother to find out through Nancy."

"I know, I know. And, I'll do it." She closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath.

"I'm proud of you, you know that?" Amelia looked up at him and smiled.

"Thank you."

[hibisha]

Hello, a friend of yours said you might be able to recommend some radiodust fanfics, and it can be anything im not picky

RadioDust fanfics you say? Alright *cracks knuckles* here we go.

1.) The Charismatic Cannibal’s Guide to Self Care

Rating: E

Summary: Alastor chuckled around a hand. Angel would never get over how shark-like he could look. Fangs were the norm here, but Alastor’s had a certain animal quality that fit strangely in a humanoid face. Too big and too many. And right now they were tinged with a hint of red from his choice of drink.

“So what,” he said, “would liven up the place for you, sport?”

You might assume that Angel Dust is the bad influence in every situation. You would be wrong.

The Radio Demon has plans for Hell, and plans for Angel. And they aren't pretty.

Will contain gore/cannibalism/murder and plenty of fun, bad people. Please read the tags and content warning. Plot now, smut to follow.

Personal thoughts: It only one chapter so far but I really like the premise.

2.) Their Arrangement

Rating: E

Summary: Alastor and Angel Dust have come to an agreement after Angel pushes the Radio Demon's buttons a little too far and inadvertently awakens the long forgotten urges buried under decades of bloodlust.

Personal thoughts: One of my literal favorites. Alastor and Angel’s evolving relationship from sex friends to ‘oh shit I have feelings’ *chef’s kiss*.

3.) Absolute Territory

Rating: E

Summary: Angel Dust is an absolute terror for Absolute Territory.

Alastor never knew he had a thing for stockings until Angel decides to flaunt a pair, matched with a pleated skirt and an oversized sweatshirt.

Personal thoughts: Have some good ol’ smut.

4.) Heart Between His Teeth

Rating: E

Summary: So maybe there are better things to life than being drugged and fucked so hard you can't even think for yourself.

Personal thoughts: OMFG. I CAN NOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS FIC.

5.) Angel Dust’s Not So Illustrious Life

Rating: T

Summary: Alastor isn’t sure why he’s become Angel’s primary target, but the more he attempts to dissuade Angel’s advances, the more fervent they seem to become.

And maybe Alastor likes that...maybe...Yet it seems there’s more to Angel than innuendos and a quick romp.

Personal thoughts: I kinda love this fic a lot where Angel and Alastor respect each other’s boundaries.

6.) Caught In His Own Web

Rated:E

Summary: "So when the devil wants to dance with you, you better say never. Because the dance with the devil might last you forever."

Redemption is hard when you don't want to do it. Redemption is even harder when a certain Radio Demon keeps enabling your sinful behavior.

Personal thoughts: My favourite trope, bad people being worse together.

7.) I Thought I Knew You 

Rated: M

Summary: Angel Dust can't ruin the hotel's reputation if he can't go outside. Or, at least, that's what Alastor says. Of course, it's all a ploy to torture Alastor's least favorite spider demon, but maybe he doesn't know Angel Dust as well as he thinks he does.

Personal thoughts: I really like this one especially since it feeds into my “Alastor is a dick in all AUs.”

8.) Sex, drugs and radio host

Rating: E

Summary: For some ungodly reason, Alastor decides to keep Angel safe and sound - meaning no sex, prostitution and certainly no drugs. Of course, this wild idea is met with more than a little resistance. But... no one ever cared if Angel was safe. And sometimes, all he would like is a hug. Sex sure is nice, but he is more than willing to explore the possibilities.

The trouble is, it doesn't seem like Alastor is offering anything specific. Keeping things strange and vague is not helping, especially when a new guest catches Alastor's attention.

Personal thoughts: Its cute and theres feelings involved is all I’m saying.

9.) Gentleman's Wager 

Rating: None

Summary: Sick of listening to Angel Dust's crass and vulgar language, Alastor makes a bet with him. If Angel Dust can remain absolutely silent for one whole week, he'll give in and kiss him.

Personal thoughts: *inhales* JVKJGCHJCHJCVJHVJHGCJHCJHCGFD I LOVE THIS SO MUCH PLEASE READ IT.

10.) Triggered 

Rating: None

Summary: Angel Dust had never really thought too much about the static hum surrounding Alastor wherever he went... until now anyway.

Personal thoughts: It's a very good fic about ANgel dealing with PTSD. Def check it out.

11.) Dinner and Drinks 

Rating: None

Summary: Alastor and Angel Dust can barely tolerate each other and Charlie seeks to fix that.

Personal thoughts: Again, a slow development of Angel and Alastor’s relationship.

12.) You Do Something to Me 

Rating: T

Summary: Alastor's radio signals go both ways, and for the past few decades he's tuned into the most beautiful voice. What a surprise to find the source in the Happy Hotel right under his nose.

A relationship that grows through music.

Personal thoughts: AGAIN, PLEASE READ THIS IT IS CUTE HECK AND WILL CLEAR YOUR SKIN. Also, its part 2: No One Knows Anything But Us 

13.) 1932

Rating: M

Summary: The 1930s are the for perfect time to nurture any up-and-coming radio host or serial killer alike. Alastor is no exception.

Set in New Orleans in 1932, Alastor is living his best life. Broadcaster by day and home chef by night, he's learned that Jumbalaya is best served with a side of human liver and a still beating heart. That is until he brings the wrong meal to his table, a member of the Italian mafia, and ends up biting off more than he can chew.

With his latest meal escaping the table and his identity running the risk of being found out, Alastor faces his biggest hunt yet. The streets of New Orleans are his forest and this time, it's his head on the platter.

AKA Alastor screws up and now has to fix his mess in Dixieland while balancing his day job, cannibalistic hunger, and learn how to be a decent human being for once along the way. Should be fun.

Personal thoughts: I absolutely adore this fic. Please give it a shot.

14.) Contracts and Deals Series

Rating: E

Summary: Angel Dust, Hell's number one porn actor.

Alastor, Hell's most renowned overlord.

The two cross paths.

Angel makes a deal with Alastor to get out of his contract with Valentino. One thing leads to another.

Personal thoughts: It’s a good series that eventually gets really fluffy.

15.) Good Management

Rating: M

Summary: Alastor thought he had Angel Dust filed away into his niche box in the Hotel. He was wrong. But he's a good enough manager to fix his responsibilities.

Personal thoughts: Its AngeliaDark. You know it’s good.

16.) Anything for you

Rating: M

Summary: Valentino faces the consequences of hurting someone that Alastor deeply favors

i.e. Val fucking dies

Personal thoughts: Any fic where Val dies is a good fic.

17.) Predator and Prey

Rating: M

Summary: Every couple of years, Angel Dust goes through a change that makes him a lot less tolerable to be around, for many more reasons than one. The staff of the Hotel are about to learn that the hard way, none more so than Alastor.

Personal thoughts: Okay so, slight dubcon, would recommend checking the tags before going into it. Though I love how it tackles on the story of Alastor being a deer which is technically a prey animal and Angel being the predator for once. Absolutely love it.

18.) Good Tidings 

Rating: T

Summary: A Christmas party in Hell isn't the big selling point for the Happy Hotel (For Hazbins), but Charlie feels that the holiday season is just what her friends need to open up to and help one another.

So what better way to do it than with a Secret Santa?

When Angel Dust draws none other than his crush, the Radio Demon, he knows he has one shot to not eff it up.

Personal thoughts: Really fluffy, a good read. Highly recommend it.

19.) Vanilla Bean

Rating: T

Summary: Alastor decides to try his hand at pet names and inadvertently offends Angel Dust. Rated T for swearing and there's suggestive content if you close one eye, tilt your head, and squint.

Personal thoughts: Okay so i loved this one because of how badly these two handle communication.

20.) For Auld Lang Syne, My Dear

Rating: M

Summary: Alastor's solitude is interrupted by Angel Dust who has just escaped a rough client and the two spend the last moments of 2019 together.

Personal thoughts: Love love love this. I just love Angel and Alastor dancing together okay.

21.) I Like It Better When I'm With You 

 Rating: M

Summary: Angel deals with feelings. Alastor deals with feelings. Just a whole lot of pining.

Personal thoughts: Summary says it all.

22.) Technical Difficulties

Rating: M

Summary: The hotel is running relatively well. Relationships between Alastor and the rest of the staff are budding surprisingly smoothly. And then the rainfall starts up, threatening all of it.

Alastor's out of tune.

Personal thoughts: I love how this is written. Slowburn but worth it.

23.) Lurking in the Shadows 

Rated M

Summary: 5 instances where a curious and head-over-heels shadow follows Angel Dust around and 1 time where Angel decides to follow it instead.

Personal thoughts: It’s very cute how Alastor’s shadow pines after Angel.

24.) Crossroads

Rating: M

Summary: A mafioso’s and a murderous radio star’s paths collide in New Orleans in the winter of 1933.

Personal thoughts: OKAY SO I REALLY LOVE THIS BECAUSE HUMAN AUS ARE MY JAM AND THEN ALASTOR AND ANGEL BEING TERRIBLE HUMANS TOGETHER IS EVEN BETTER.

25.) Needle Through a Bug

Rating: E

Summary: Angel wakes up in a hospital after a party. His doctor is very strange, worryingly so. Still, he can't help but be intrigued.

Personal thoughts: Doctor AU. Alastor is insane. I love it because Alastor manages to be as creepy as possible while saving lives.

26.) My Roommate's a Demonic Deer 

 Rating: M

Summary: Don't you hate it when you "accidentally" summon a demon to fix a problem within your home, only to find out that they don't do that, so now you're stuck with a cannibalistic demon that constantly tracks blood onto the floor, brings other unholy beings into your apartment, and makes amazing jambalaya? It's amazing insanity!

Personal thoughts: Lmao I love demon summoning gone wrong so this was really an amazing read. Angel being a true himbo is always the best.

27.) Human Hazbin Roommates AU series

Rating: E, M

Summary: A series of porny RadioDust one-shots depicting modern human AU roommate life.

Notes:

Glimpses into the human lives of insufferable roommates.

(AKA This was supposed to be a practice at writing present tense smut and it devolved into sex and feelings)

Personal thoughts: Dive in for the smut, come out with the feels.

28: Darker Side of Hell series

Rating: E

Summary: Follow Charlie and later Alastor as part of my Story for the Hazbin hotel... It ain't pretty, so enjoy!

Personal thoughts: Not everyone’s cup of tea so i suggest reading the tags but I really love this series a lot. Angel being awkward and in love is the best shit ever. Its an amazing series.

29.) Scorched, Uninhabited, Rejected

Rating: M

Summary: When Hell suddenly loses all working functions, and angels start dropping from their overhead perches to attack the underworlds population, Charlie has no idea what to do before she's suddenly face to face with a Archangel. Though something, clearly, isn't right about the air the angel assures her to keep those who are dear tucked tightly by her side as the disaster struggles to fix itself.

But nothing is as it seems, Overlords' powers are dwindling and even her own is becoming strained as she struggles to protect her beloved hotel and friends from the Exterminators outside.

Personal thoughts: *vibrates* Can’t say much without spoilers so I’m just gonna beg ya all to read this.

30.) The Thin Line

Rating: None

Summary: Studies say it takes fifty hours of interaction before you consider someone a casual friend and two hundred to be a close friend. Alastor and Angel Dust manage to skip right past close friends to something more without either even noticing they've crossed the line.

31.) La Vie En Rose

Rating: G

Summary: Alastor learns that Angel is afraid of thunderstorms, and Angel in turn learns about the Radio Demon.

32.) falling 

Rating: M

Summary: "You're hot as fuck, be my boyfriend."

That was perhaps the worst thing he could've possibly said from that standpoint.

A college setting where Angel gets suddenly awful at flirting when it comes to the face of his crush, a cute library assistant that goes by Alastor.

Personal thoughts: COLLEGE AU COLLEGE AU. 

33.) Old Habits Die Hard

Rating: G

Summary: Angel decides to bring back a little habit of his after having a rough time.

Personal thoughts: Hella soft, please read.

34.) Handwritten 

Rating: None

Summary: Alastor imagines Angel must be lonely in heaven, he writes to keep him company.

 A series of letters addressed to Angel.

Personal thoughts: Hi, do you like crying into your pillow at 2 AM? You do? The look no further, this is the fic for you! Now, with extra heart wrenching feels!

35.) Relapse and Recovery

Rating: T

Summary: Going clean was never going to be easy, but easy was something Angel Dust never expected going into this anyway. At least he has a good support system to help him along the way.

Personal thoughts: I just really like AngeliaDark’s fics okay.

36.) Catalyst

Rating: T

Summary: All couples have their downfalls, and an event that should have been celebrated only drives Alastor and Angel Dust apart.

Personal thoughts: Love love love this. It’s very well written, reads easy and you’ll feel fluffy for days.

37.) Dinner Date: A RadioDust Tale

Rating: E

Summary: Angel Dust finally finds a way to get Alastor to agree to a 'date'. After all, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

Sometimes literally.

Personal thoughts: One of my favourite stories about RadioDust.

38.) This One's Dedicated to [static interruption]

Rating: M

Summary: A couple of years since the hotel's opening, the residents have settled down into a fairly tolerable routine. Recently, some of them have begun experiencing peculiar symptoms which become more noticeable as time passes. To his dismay, the Radio Demon finds that he is not immune.

A chance encounter with Angel Dust propels the two demons together as they attempt to answer what's behind the unusual phenomena, while rediscovering all the things they thought dead and buried along the way.

Personal thoughts: Slowburn but definitely worth it. I love the story and how it’s progressing with a certain mystery surrounding the whole plot.

Also slight self plug I guess:

39.) 14 ways to say “I Love You”

Rating: T

Summary: Just a collection of small drabbles I’m writing on based on single word prompts.

Please check it out if you’re a fan of odd AUs.

Wowee, that’s a lot. I’m gonna call it a night and say that’s all for today. I hope you enjoy these! 

[betweensceneswriter]

Island Hopper-Chapter 28b: Just Add Water Part 2

Shots and the ‘Shungle’

Previously on Island Hopper:  Chapter 28: Just Add Water Some things are instant.  Not usually sons.

ISLAND FEVER (Jimjeran Book 1)

ISLAND HOPPER (Jimjeran Book 2)

FanFic Master List

 The days blended into one another after that.  Mornings began with waking a reluctant child to give him his long-acting insulin.  Jamie started taking Perkaj into the stall with him after I was done with my shower, washing Perkaj’s hair, wrapping him in a towel and sending him in to me.  While they were out of the apartment I would rush into my own clothing. On Perkaj’s arrival back in the apartment I would dry him off, brush his hair, and give him a little privacy while he dressed.  

He was amused by the bustle and pace of our household.  If we ever tried to rush him, he would respond after a deep sigh, “Oh, Mama Peach, I am lazy,” or “Oh, Baba Shamie, I am lazy.”  Jamie assured me that ‘lazy’ didn’t have the same negative connotation in Majel, but it still made me laugh every time Perkaj said it.

Perkaj was also surprised by how often we bathed, but after a few days Jamie said the boy had started to industriously scrub his skin with a washcloth and soap while Jamie washed his hair.

Breakfast was when he would test his blood sugar and give himself injections with an amount based on his level and how hungry he felt.  In the beginning he turned up his nose at the steel cut oats we would usually have for breakfast, but he was delighted by bread with honey or jelly and peanut butter.  Eventually with a sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar, we were able to coax him to eat the ‘porridge’ as well.

Jamie had to leave for school a few minutes early so he could drop Perkaj off at his house, or if he was running late I would take him. There the little boy would be fussed over by his family and then walk to school with his brothers and sisters.  His mother would pack him a lunch to be eaten at school, when he would check in with Jamie for testing and another dose of short-acting insulin before joining the other kids on the lawn for lunch & recess.

After school, Perkaj would come home with Jamie.  They would test his blood sugar to make sure it was high enough for play and family time and give him a snack if it was on the low side.  Most days of the week  Jamie would walk him the rest of the way to his house, returning to our apartment to do grading and planning for the next day.  Around six I would take my turn to travel to Perkaj’s house, supervise as Perkaj would prick one of his poor fingers again, and then the little guy and I would assess his dinner plate with his parents & auntie, talking about the insulin amount needed before eating.

At 7:30, one of Perkaj’s family members would walk him to our house where we would tuck him into bed with a story.  One more test and snack or insulin would finish his long, eventful day.  

After Perkaj headed to bed was when Jamie and I made sure to cuddle up to each other, having a little contact while reading or writing letters by the  warm light of the bedside lamp.  More  often than not one or the other of us would nod off accidentally and wake up only when the other person turned off the lamp. Jamie or I would rouse long enough to climb under the sheet and turn to the other for a goodnight kiss before we would drift back into slumber.  

Our life felt strange, broken up into little chunks like this-- repeated interruptions and moments of being apart when we would normally have been together. It wasn’t easy, but I steeled myself with the fact that there weren’t any other good options.  This—serving the health of the islanders—was why I was here; not marriage, not sex, not selfishness.

“Ijab konaan,” Perkaj cried, sitting at the table with his tester and insulin pen in front of him. “Emetak.” He rubbed his face with his hands, smearing the dust from an afternoon of active play into gray streaks on his skin.

Of course he didn’t want it.  Of course it hurt.

Jamie looked up at me, his eyes full of compassion and desperation.  We had to get Perkaj to buy in to his own health if we were ever going to get our own lives back.  

All of a sudden I had an idea.  I grabbed a syringe from my black medical kit and a vial of sterile saline.

“How many carbs are you going to eat, Meester Shamie?” I asked him. He eyed the syringe and then looked back at me, narrowed eyes giving way to a tiny smile of understanding.

He took a deep breath, looking at the soup and muffins on the table. “Hmmm,” he said thoughtfully, “I  know I’m hungry, and I’m lukuun kilep, so I’ll have five servings… some noodle soup and three muffins. How about you, Miss Peachay?”

“Oh, I’m not very hungry,” I responded. “When it’s hot like this, ijab konaan moni, so I’ll have three.”

Without looking off to the side at Perkaj, I picked up the tester, a strip and a lancet. “I wonder what my blood sugar is right now,” I mused. I pricked my finger, the sudden shock of pain giving me shivers, then pressed the drop of blood to the testing strip. “Eighty-five,” I remarked.  “That’s good for before a meal.”

Jamie took the tester I offered him and did the same. He winced and stuck his finger in his mouth after he’d touched it to the testing strip. “Seventy-six? No wonder I’m starving!” He passed the tester on to Perkaj, who had grinned at Jamie’s over-the-top reaction to the prick of the lancet and blood on his finger.

“Okay,” I said. “Five servings means five units.”  I held the vial up as I inserted the syringe and drew out several milliliters of saline. Then I handed the syringe to Jamie.

Up until then he’d been playing along with me.  When I handed him the needle his face drained of color. His raised eyebrows communicated clearly, “You’re kidding, aren’t you?”

Perkaj had tested his sugar and was already clicking the units into his insulin pen.

“One for being little high,” he murmured to himself. “And tree for carbs.”  He screwed on the fresh needle tip and looked over at Jamie. “Why you waiting, Baba Shamie?”

Jamie frowned. “Ijab konaan,” he said, his eyes showing some genuine fear. “Enaj metak.”

Perkaj’s response was adorable.  He patted Jamie’s arm like I’d seen my husband do to him  countless times over the last few weeks. “Is okay, Baba,” he said reassuringly, shaking his head. “It not hurt forever.”

After that, there was no way Jamie was going to let his fear of pain stand in his way.  

“Let’s do it together,” he said.  “Will you count?”

“Juon, ruo, jilu,” Perkaj counted.  On ‘three’ both boys jabbed themselves with their needles and pressed down on the plungers.  They made faces at each other as they did, and when the syringe and insulin pen were returned to the table, Jamie pulled the little guy in for a hug.

“You’re so brave!” He exclaimed. Perkaj grinned and grabbed a muffin.

Out of necessity we discovered that about five minutes after Perkaj fell asleep he would be dead to the world for a solid fifteen minutes.  If we’d saved enough energy, we could engage in a clandestine lovemaking session, covered by the bedsheet, trying to keep the bed frame from squeaking or the headboard from banging against the wall.

Unfortunately, I was gun shy after our ‘coitus interruptus’ and Jamie seemed to be internalizing the stress of parenthood even more than I was. He was still affectionate, and would frequently wrap his arms around me for a hug, come up behind me when I was doing dishes and rub my shoulders, or pull my head to his chest when we lay next to each other in bed reading.  But after my experience being married to him thus far, it wasn’t like him. It was surprising that Jamie wasn’t lusting after me, wasn’t taking liberties with my body, wasn’t making it clear he wanted nothing more than to have me naked.  

Perhaps even more disturbing to me, I was okay with the lack of sex. I tried to reassure myself.  Jamie and I were still cooperating with each other, accomplishing an important thing.   We were still working together, laughing together.  Despite the inconvenience, Perkaj was adorable and Jamie was adorable with him. But both of us were exhausted at night. We were all sleeping in the same room; less alone time meant fewer opportunities when the same idea would strike both of us, when raised eyebrows or a simple caress would be the snowflake that started an avalanche.

But as my dad had said, this was ‘just a season.’

And what a season.  Along with the hot, dry conditions that made it challenging to keep my garden healthy and brought the mamas to clinic fanning themselves and telling me they were lukuun bwil, the level of the catchment continued to drop until the bucket would scrape against the cement bottom of the tank when we drew our drinking water.

One afternoon after school Perkaj announced that he was going to stay and help Baba Shamie cut the grass.  Apparently he and Jamie had been talking on their walk home and Jamie had shared his plans for the afternoon.

“Ikonaan jibaneke,” Perkaj said.  “I want help you!”

Perkaj helped me water my plants and then used the hand-held grass clippers to assist Jamie by trimming the grass near our outbuildings and well.  Jamie used an old school scythe to cut the grass, a wicked looking curved blade on a long wooden handle with two grips.  When he held it on his shoulder as he headed out to the field, he looked like a tropical themed version of the Grim Reaper, with khaki shorts, a tee shirt, and flaming red hair.

I followed the boys as they worked, using a rake to heap up the grass and lift it into our wheelbarrow. Jamie had decided that composting was a necessity to increase the quality of our soil, so we were layering grass clippings with palm fronds and kitchen waste in a heap in the back corner of the property.

I was across the yard when two girls walked hesitantly up to Jamie.  He leaned on his scythe, giving them his attention.

“Meester Shamie,” one of them said, “we no have water to drink.  Our catchment is emmat...empty?

Jamie looked at them, at their water container, and at the big jug by the still, three quarters full from the days’ filtration. He glanced at me.

“Of course,” I insisted, “we have enough to share.”

As Jamie poured water into their bottles, I crossed the yard to the well. Someone would need to draw more well water to refill the solar still.

Through the sunny hours of the day while Jamie was teaching, I had taken it upon myself to keep the reservoir of the still filled with enough well water to keep the trickle of distilled water constantly flowing. When one water jug was filled, I would transfer the hose to the next jug and place the cap on the now-full container.

“Jibaneke?” The little voice asked from behind me. “I help you, Mama Peach?”

Perkaj might have been only seven, but he was an expert at the wrist flick necessary for getting water from the well, and the rapid hand -over -hand motion to bring up a full coffee can. He filled the five gallon bucket in half the time it would take me, then beamed up at me as we carried the bucket together to pour into the solar still.

He stood up on his tiptoes to peek through the sloped glass cover. “Well water enana?” he questioned, brown furrowed.  

“Is it bad?” I responded. “Not bad.  Just doesn’t taste good  for drinking .”

“But Mama Peach,” he said with his forehead wrinkled, “Aolep well water,” Perkaj said.  

It was all well water? I didn’t understand what he meant. Rupert had brought the lower grades over to teach them a lesson about the solar still and evaporation, so I had seen them peering in interest at the setup. I was sure Rupert had explained how the process removed minerals, salt, and impurities from the water.

“Ke?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

He showed the motion of the water with his hands -- the upward wafting of moisture, at which he said, “Well water,” then indicated the abrupt stop at the sloping glass, “Well water also” and then showed the drops falling into the collection channel. “Aolep well water,” he finished, holding up his hands as if to encompass the whole water cycle.

“Well, not exactly,” I tried to explain, hesitantly trying out my baby Majel.  “This is a small version of how the earth makes fresh water.  When the water goes into the air, it leaves behind germs and salt and bitter minerals.  Do you see the white crust on the black fabric?  That's the bad part-what was left behind.”

Perkaj peered into the still through the condensation -covered glass curiously.  “Oh.” He exclaimed, wide eyed.  I wasn’t sure he’d understood, but at least I’d tried.

The day stayed hot past sunset, the air barely holding any humidity.  Without a breeze, the house didn’t cool off even when it got dark.  Jamie had tried to cuddle me, but any place our skin contacted we would stick together, and any movement would feel like trying to detach from an octopus.

Perkaj was snoring quietly in his bed when Jamie got up and headed to the door, shoving his feet into his flip flops.  He headed outside without an explanation; I figured he needed the restroom.  

I was lost in my book when I startled at a faint sound behind me. Was that shifting gravel outside the window? I paused to listen. We’d opened the curtains because it was so damn hot, but that meant anyone outside would be able to see me… and could see that Jamie wasn’t here with me.  Still, none of the island men would even try to  bother me.  I wasn’t a single woman anymore, and they wouldn’t dare insult Meester Shamie…

“Tssst tssst,” a voice hissed from outside the window.  “Tssst tssst.” I pretended not to hear them, hoping inwardly that Jamie would return any minute and this person would fade away into the night and stop embarrassing themselves.

“Miss Peachay,” the voice sang, “I want to talk to you.  Tssst tssst.  You want to go to the shungle with me? Kwe konaan bwebwenato?”

As the invitations continued, I turned slowly to squint out the window.  The light from the apartment shone faintly on the pole supporting the short wave radio antenna.  There was a large hand gripping the pole, and next to the hand… there was curly red hair.

“You dip wad!” I hissed.  “I nearly peed my pants!”

“Shhhh,” he responded.  “Grab a quilt.  Come to the shungle with me.”

Perkaj was sleeping, so I figured what the heck.  I obeyed, grabbing a quilt and the mosquito net, turning off the lamp, shoving my feet into zories, and joining Jamie on the road in front of the clinic.

“Come on,” he whispered, taking me by the hand and leading me across the road.  There was only a little sliver of moon, but it was enough to keep us from crashing into trees as we wove deeper into the ocean-side palm forest.  

We got far enough that we couldn’t see the clinic light anymore, and giggled as we spread out the quilt and covered ourselves with the mosquito net.  

Out of the house it was actually cooler, and I sighed in relief as I looked up at the stars, Jamie’s arm behind  my head.

I couldn’t help it, laying on that quilt, covered by that mosquito net, looking up at those stars. “Oh, Frank…” I breathed.

My husband froze, and then he reacted. “Oh, you did not just call me Frank,” Jamie exclaimed.  I giggled as he rolled over on top of me.  “You take that back,” he ordered, his hand forcing its way under my tank top.

I laughed again, meeting his lips with mine, helping him peel off his shirt, wriggling out of my shorts and panties.

It had been so long and the circumstances were so novel I was fully engaged, blissful at his hands on me,  kissing his neck, reaching for him with my hand.  I attempted to change positions, to urge him inside, but he seemed determined to dominate me, insistent.

His hands were on my breasts and then his mouth was, teasing my nipples, biting them gently.   His hands were on my thighs and he was between my legs.  But he seemed to just be teasing me, pressing his pelvis towards me but then pulling away as I opened to him.

I realized he was waiting for something.

I took a deep breath. “I know who you are,” I whispered.  “Jamie.  Soulmate.  True love.  Partner.”

He paused, relaxed against me, kissed me gently between phrases.

“Provider,” I continued. “Protector. Gift of Providence.  Father of my babies. Friend.  Jimjeran.”

When we joined, finally, I was crying. I reached up and found his face, placing my hands on his cheeks, keeping his lips on mine as we moved together, as we connected, as we bonded ourselves together once again.

The whine of mosquitoes chased us inside, but not before we heard a wolf whistle from Anni and Kona’s yard as we crossed the road in front of the clinic. “Miss Peachay, Meester Shamie!” She exclaimed.  “You go to shungle?”

We headed inside to the sound of her laughter.

The next morning as we were getting ready for work and school, I noticed Jamie scratching himself rather intently  on the ass.  

“Hey Meester Shamie,” I joked, “How did you get a mosquito bite?”

He grinned at me adoringly. “I wonder, Miss Peachay.”

[stevie-kd]

Whumptober 2020

Day 4: “Running Out of Time”

Caged | Buried Alive | Collapsed Building

::Bakugou is trapped under a collapsed building with his boyfriend, but Kirishima is stuck under a massive boulder. They’re running out of time fast as their cramped space fills with water, and there appears to be no way out.

••••••••••••

“You can’t hold it up forever.”

Kirishima winced at Bakugou’s words. It was true though, Kirishima couldn’t keep his hardening up forever. It had already been a half hour, and Bakugou knew he would be feeling the strain of keeping his quirk going so long.

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Kirishima replied surprisingly calmly.

“I can blow the damn thing up!”

“And risk bringing this place down on our heads again? No. We’ll wait for the pros.”

Bakugou grit his teeth. He hated waiting. Hated being so helpless and pitiful and needing to wait for help from actual heroes—as if that wasn’t what they were training to be. If he couldn’t even save his boyfriend from this, a few fucking rocks, how was he ever going to be a pro?

“Katsuki,” Kirishima said patiently. “I see you overthinking. Stop. I’m fine.”

“How long is it going to take them to find us, Ei? An hour? Two hours? You don’t have that kind of fucking time!”

Kirishima reached up and gently placed a calloused hand on Bakugou’s cheek, succeeding in shutting him up. “Darling,” Kirishima said, his voice dripping with smooth honey. “I’m going to be fine. No point in worrying about things out of our control.”

“I can’t help it,” the temperamental blond whined. “I’ll blow this whole place sky high before I let this damn rock crush you.”

Kirishima chuckled. “That risks hurting others who might be trying to rescue us.”

“Hell if I care.”

“I know you do.”

He clenched his fists so tight, his knuckles turned white. He hated that Kirishima knew him so well. Probably knew him better than he knew himself. All these years throwing up walls and keeping his emotions guarded, and Kirishima comes waltzing into his heart like the door was wide open.

Bakugou wanted to scream at him for making light of such a shitty situation, but he knew what Kirishima was doing. He was trying to keep Bakugou calm so he didn’t lose his head and do something stupid. Bakugou was always screwing things up. Was Kirishima really his boyfriend, or was he just his babysitter?

“Babe, please,” Kirishima begged. “Lay with me. Let’s talk about other things.”

Bakugou grumbled, but a few moments of consideration later he was lowering himself to the ground beside the redhead. He knew better than to think Kirishima was just dating him as a safety precaution for others, as if it were his manly, heroic duty to keep Bakugou in check. He hated himself for even thinking it. Kirishima loved him, and he loved Kirishima, however much it pained him to say such sappy shit.

“Alright, Shitty Hair, I’m here. What did you want to talk about?”

He shrugged the shoulder pressed to Bakugou’s arm. “Dunno. Whatever. The future, I guess?”

“How far into the future are we talkin’?”

“Mm, let’s say next week. Any plans next Saturday?”

Bakugou rolled his eyes. “Is this a shitty attempt to ask me on a date?”

Kirishima smiled big. “Is it working?”

Bakugou couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth from twitching up. “Unfortunately.”

Kirishima interlaced their fingers. “Wanna go to the aquarium?”

“So you can visit your own kind?”

Kirishima snorted. “I’m not a shark!”

“Humans don’t have razor sharp teeth.”

“This one does!”

Bakugou chuckled. “Sure, Shitty Hair. Aquarium sounds fun.”

They let the silence settle over them, just taking in each other’s company. Bakugou stared up at the fragments that once made up a house and now imprisoned them here. He hoped there was someone up there working to get them out. He was more worried for Kirishima than ever.

His record time for keeping up his hardening was something around forty-five minutes, so long as he didn’t go Unbreakable. How long had it been now? Was his time almost up?

Bakugou’s ears caught on to a strange sound, pulling him from his thoughts. A trickling noise, like a small river nearby.

“Kats, do you hear that? Like, water running?” Kirishima questioned.

So he heard it too. “Yeah, I hear it.”

He pulled himself off the floor to investigate. Within seconds, water was pooling at his feet, coming from somewhere beyond the rubble where he couldn’t reach.

“Shit!” he cursed. “Ei, this is bad.”

“What’s wrong? Where’s the water coming from?”

“I don’t know, but it’s coming fast.”

Kirishima was quiet. Already, the water was an inch deep, soaking Kirishima’s backside. The redhead looked like he was finally starting to panic.

“What do we do?” Kirishima asked quietly.

Bakugou slammed his eyes shut, trying desperately to think of something and ultimately failing. “I-I don’t know.”

The water was nearly over Kirishima’s trapped legs. Within a minute or two, the water would be above his head. The pros weren’t going to make it in time. It was up to Bakugou.

“H-help us!” Kirishima cried out. “Help!”

“What are you doing?” Bakugou asked, although it was obvious.

“They’re never going to find us in time. We need to get their attention.”

Bakugou didn’t like it, but he knew Kirishima was right. The redhead would be underwater in a minute, over Bakugou’s in maybe three. They didn’t have time to sit and wait anymore.

“…Fuck. HELP!”

The boys shouted and shouted until the water reached Kirishima’s neck. He had seconds before he was completely submerged. Bakugou was in a full panic.

“Katsuki!” Kirishima gasped. “It’s okay! This wasn’t anybody’s fault!”

Dammit! Kirishima was about to die and he was still thinking of sparing others’ feelings. It made Bakugou’s stomach twist.

“Shut the fuck up, Shitty Hair. We’re getting out of here.”

“I love you,” he said just as the water rose above his head.

Bakugou screamed. He didn’t know what to do—dammit!—what can he do?! Explosions might just make things worse! But Kirishima was about to die. He didn’t have time for this shit!

Light shown through a new hole in the debris above him. There was a face there, but Bakugou couldn’t make it out through the tears clouding his vision. “FUCKING HURRY!” he yelled at them, then sucked in a deep breath and dove under.

Kirishima was holding his breath, blinking up at Bakugou. Even underwater, he was beginning to look blue from oxygen deprivation. Bakugou could do the only thing he could think of for his boyfriend.

He pressed their mouths together and breathed into Kirishima. If he had to breathe for him, so be it. He was going to keep Kirishima alive, whatever it took.

He swam upwards again, sucking in a breath before diving down. He pressed his lips to Kirishima’s again and breathed the air into his lungs.

It went on like that until Bakugou’s head hit the ceiling of debris above them. He couldn’t reach the surface anymore, and they were trapped underwater for good.

They were done for.

Until a strong set of hands grabbed Bakugou by the shirt and ripped him out of the water. He coughed and spluttered, flailing desperately in a poor attempt to get back in and reach Kirishima. Hands held him back, unyielding.

He tried to yell at them, but his lungs weren’t quite working properly. Kirishima was still trapped underwater, and Bakugou couldn’t do anything. He hated himself for being so weak in that moment.

A head broke the surface, then a second one with beautiful, cherry red hair. Death Arms lifted Kirishima up so Manual could pull him out completely. He laid the unconscious boy down gently.

Bakugou shoved away whoever the person holding him down was. He scrambled over to his boyfriend, face blue and expressionless. Manual pressed a hand to the boy’s chest and had his eyes closed, focusing.

Water spewed from Kirishima’s mouth like a geyser. Bakugou’s heart soared as he started to hack and spit the water intruding his lungs.

Bakugou pulled him into a hug, patting his back hard to help expel the rest of the water. Kirishima’s arms wrapped around him too, squeezing weakly. He took a shaky breath.

“You saved me,” he said in a hoarse, wet voice. “Katsuki, you saved my life.”

“Pros saved your life,” Bakugou argued.

“You breathed for me,” he said sternly. “I’d be dead if you hadn’t.”

Bakugou smiled, squeezing Kirishima even tighter, not wanting to ever let go. “Whatever, Shitty Hair. I love you too.”

••••••••••••

Ah, yes. Another day down. I’ll try my best to get day five actually posted on day five, but I make no promises. I’m having a lot of fun with this Whumptober! It’s a liiiittle stressful trying to manage work (I’m learning a new job and it’s a lot of paperwork and ugh) and pumping out a fanfic every day, but I am having fun with it so I’m going to try and keep up! If it gets to be too much, I’ll probably skip a day here or there. I doubt I will tho, lol. I’m having so much fun

Read previous day here

Read next day here

[smalltowndetective]

Lean on Me

So, I was not planning to do more fanfic this quickly, but in the new update, it is mentioned that the last time that Nick made so many jokes was when their parents had left for Milwaukee, and it got me thinking.

I did this with my Glitch Button, but obviously that’s years in the future

Ao3 Link

Title: Lean on Me

No Pairing, simply Nick and Alvina being siblings

Words: 1.1k

Summary: Alvina is struggling after what happened with her and her mother. Luckily, Nick is an amazing older brother. :)

Alvina still did not understand what had gotten her so upset at her mother in the first place.

               But all she knew now was that she had broken her family forever.

               And there was no going back, not this time.

               The realization had taken a while to fully sink in, as if she had just a few days would past and everything would go back to normal, back to how they were before. They would find a way to move on from what had happened, and be able to move on forward. That this was not the end of everything that she had ever known.

               But it was.

               Her mother had not returned any her calls, and it made her more and more anxious the longer it went on. She knew that she needed space after what had happened, but it just made her realize the ugly truth, a truth that she did not want to accept, but was forced to anyway.

               This is all my fault.

               For some reason, as much as it scared her to remember those twenty-seven minutes that had felt like twenty-seven hours, that was what hurt most of all. Being the sole reason why here family would never be the same again.

               And once it had finally hit, she had spent most of the day in her room, trying hard not to cry, but ultimately failing, giving into the sob that had built in her chest, the traitorous tears falling down her face anyway, and even though she tried to hide it, she knew that Nick could probably sense it all anyway, and part of her begged for him to leave her alone.

               And part of her wanted him to come in and tell one of his stupid jokes and for a second, make everything feel alright in the world again, needing someone to tell her that it would all turn out okay. That the world would someday make sense again. That everything would turn back to normal.

               Even if it won’t.

               Alvina twisted her auburn curls with her fingers tightly, almost pulling at her hair, something that she had always done when she was stressed, her hair frizzy from nothing being done with it the past few days.

               It did little to calm herself, but it was all that she could do as the toxic thoughts never left her mind. And try as she might, nothing she did would make them leave.

               What would even happen now? Would her mother actually ever want to talk to her again? Would she even want anything to do with her?

               Focus Alvina. Sulking never fixes anything, you know this.

               You don’t have all the answers now, and that’s okay.

               But the rational side of her mind never won over the turmoil, always drawing her back to the anxiousness that was threatening to ruin her.

               What’s the future going to look like for me now?

               She had never wanted someone to look into her future before, and even if she did not like what was shown to her, it had to be better then the unknowns. It would at least let her grasp at something, an idea on what to expect now.

               A sudden knock on the door distracted her, and she heard a familiar voice in her head.

               Button?

               “You can come in”, she said aloud, and he did so, the image of him blurry from her taking her glasses off and her own tears, but there was not doubt that it was indeed her brother, his auburn hair identical to her own, if not as tightly curled as hers was.

               “Hey”, Nick said as he came to sit next to her on the edge of her bed, giving her a bright smile as he did so, and she tried to wipe the remaining tears out her eyes, hoping that they were not overly red.   And she knew that he could hear all that she was thinking, so as he slightly raised his eyebrow as permission to speak, she was unsure on what to say.

               What I could possibly say that he couldn’t possibly already know?

               “It’s going to be okay”, he whispered, trying to meet her eyes while she was doing everything to avoid making eye contact with him.

               No, it’s not.

               “What’s even going to happen now? she asked aloud, knowing that he did not know either, but wanting some semblance of a plan. That would make things easier to understand. If she knew what was coming next.

               “For now?”, he responded, the smile on his face growing even brighter, “Looks like you’re stuck with my wonderful company, Button”

               Even though it hurt, she could feel a smile form on her own face, “That isn’t the worst thing in the world”

               But a thought made her smile disappear.

               It’s not fair to him though.

               “Don’t start with that”, he said lightly, but with a twinge of seriousness as well, “It’ll all be fine, you’ll see”

               He then gave a snort, “I wonder what we’ll get up to together now that seems you’ll be sticking around”

               “You’re such a dork”, Alvina said, rolling her eyes, but a laugh on her lips anyway, and she could not deny that she felt slightly better, the lightness of it all helping her breathe a little better.

               It’s nice to have someone to count on.

               “You’re not so bad yourself, you know”, he said, giving her a slight nudge with his shoulder, obviously having had heard what she was thinking.

               “Thanks”, she spoke dryly, but still touched by it anyway, giving him a smile

               “It’ll all work out, Button”, Nick reassured her, “I don’t need to be a precog to know that. It might not be the way that we planned, but when has life ever worked out the way we planned?”

               “I suppose you do have a point with that”, she conceded, “But I’d like it to cooperate sometimes”

               He laughed at that, making his hazel eyes almost seem to gleam, “Don’t we all?” His face then softened, “No matter what, I’m going to be here for you. No matter what happens”

               “I know”, she beamed, the words helping calm the storm of anxiety inside her mind, “Thanks, Saint Nick”

               It’s the same for you, you know.

               Nick gave her a smile, and then went to leave the room, “If you ever need anything, you know where to find me”

               He left, and Alvina settled back down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

               Things would be a lot worse without Nick.

               This would be harder if he was not here right now.

[sparklyicecube]

Papa the falcon

A Genshin Impact parody of Pokemon 3: The movie

Starring (loosely equivalent to):

Diluc as Molly

Master Crepus as Papa

Falcon as Entei

Kaeya as Delia

Disclaimer: This storyline was curated and fanfic made based on my understanding and own headcannons of things from both the Pokemon movie and Genshin Impact that were never confirmed in canon. 

The main character is also Kaeya, though it had quite a bit of emphasis on Diluc, this is a Kaeya-fic and a lot of it is in his point of view.

Prologue

Diluc lay in bed as he and his father looked through an expansive picture book. This book was about the divine beings of the world, immortal creatures who watched over Teyvat. 

“This section shows the archons. Of course, it is a bit old so the ones we see are the original Seven from all those years ago.”

“Woah!” Diluc cried, “Murata looks scary.” 

Crepus laughed, “Indeed she does. But this is a Monstadt book so maybe the illustrator was biased.”

They flipped through the pages, where flashes of sea serpents and old gods, befallen in the archon wars went by, DIluc being more and more interested. 

“What’s this one called?” Diluc asked, pointing to one that sprouted pristine but deadly crystals all over the battlefield. 

“I don’t know, son. There are many things we don’t know about the archon wars, this book is only speculation.”

As the page flipped to Diluc’s favourite section, on the four winds and most importantly, Lady Vanessa, the Falcon of the West. Diluc’s eyes lit up.

“Lady Vanessa!” Diluc ecstatically pointed to the drawing, as though his papa didn’t already have a knowing smile and gazed down at him with utter fondness. “You know papa, you’re a lot like Lady Vanessa.”

“Oh am I?” Crepus asked with a chuckle, “That is praise of the highest order.” Diluc giggled as Crepus picked him up, “Well, the best part of being a falcon, is that you can fly!” With the small child on his back, Crepus stuck him arms out both sides and ‘flew’ his son around the room, throwing him into the air and catching him with utmost dramaticsm. 

A knock came at the door. 

The two paused, Master Crepus went over to answer it, while Diluc had depressed into himself.

“Master Crepus, Elliot is here to see you.” With a bow, their butler stood aside and another man came into view.

“We have a lead, we found an entrance into the Thousand Winds Temple.” Crepus looked back at his son with a pained look in his eyes, Diluc already knew what was about to happen.

“I have to go, son.”

“But when will you get back, papa?” Diluc asked, as Master Crepus picked up the child and placed him in bed, tucking him in as apple-tucked as he could.

“As soon as I can. Be good for me okay?”

Diluc watched as his papa kissed him goodnight, walked towards the doorway, turned off the lights and closed the door. 

Chapter 1 - Papa

Diluc watched from his window out of the Dawn Winery, as a carriage pulled up into the driveway. As his small legs pitter-pattered down the steps he raced out into the doorway.

“Papa!” He yelled, coming to a stop when the carriage door opened and Elliot gave him a sympathetic look. “Where’s Papa?” Diluc demanded, a bit desperately.

“I’m sorry Diluc.”

Diluc sat with his back on the railing, listening to the adults talk downstairs. They talked about how sad it was that they couldn’t even retrieve the body and that poor Master Diluc was now completely alone.

Diluc heard everything. He had a handle on some of the things his papa was researching, ancient gods in ruins with mechanisms too complicated to understand, except Papa was able to understand it. 

As night fell and Diluc found himself unable to sleep, he found himself going over to his dad’s notebook and flipping through the pages.

“Where are you papa?” Diluc muttered to himself, determined not to cry. “What happened?”

Scanning through the scribbled handwriting, he stumbled upon a page with copied texts, ancient ones. He had learned some ancient writing out of curiosity, which his dad was more than happy to teach, and when turning to the next page a green slip of paper with a curious shape slipped out. The paper also had ancient words on it, and Diluc supposed it was a sigil of sorts. 

Diluc took out a pencil and paper out of the notebook, he began copying the sigil. 

“I want papa back. And mama. I want my family back.” Diluc felt tears roll down his cheek, plopping onto the pages with his own little writing. 

The sigil started glowing, with its strokes lighting in a gold light and basking the room in a bright white. 

Suddenly, there was a strange creature that poured out of the sigil, rising above the small child who was looking up in wonder. 

“I know you! You’re a god, aren’t you?” Diluc watched as the large, golden entity swirled around him, assessing the small child. “You resided over geo, and can make entire crystalline structures right?”

The creature continued assessing the child, seeming to fill to occupy the large space that was the main hall of the winery with a dark, golden fog that seemed to get heavier and thicker by the second.

Diluc considered something, then asked in a more ‘dominant’ voice, “You’re powerful right? I want my papa. Can you do that?”

The entity grumbled. Diluc was unsure of whether it had a face, but amidst the now darkening room, Diluc saw a flash of light, and a large falcon swooped through the room, landing on his waiting arm. 

“Papa?” Diluc had shiny eyes and a hopeful face. “Papa! It’s really you!”

“Papa?” Asked the falcon in a low, grumbling voice.

“Yeah, you’re my papa!”

The falcon looked down at the red-haired boy, whose long hair currently fell down freely around his shoulders and whose eyes looked at him with the happiest expression a few-second old falcon had seen.

“If that is what you wish.”

The floor then gilded with a crystal lacquer, spreading out from where Diluc was at an alarming pace to reach the walls and crystallising in large, translucent chunks as they grew upwards. 

Diluc heard a thump, then another, then another as his butler and other staff burst through the door, shocked by seeing their young master sitting on the ground with a large, hostile ancient being swirling around.

“Everything’s fine Butler, I have papa with me. You can go.”

The butler was highly concerned by this point, “Master Diluc, your father is dead.”

Diluc’s eyes filled with tears, “I have papa with me, you can leave.”

“Master Diluc-” “LEAVE!” Diluc shrieked, and as if the entity was attached to him, the thing howled in the faces of the staff, blowing them right out the door then crystalling the door shut. 

The maids tripped over their nightgowns and the winery staff stumbled as they hurried out of the mansion as fast as they could, with the crystals nipping at their feet. Once outside in the open air, they still could not stop as the crystalline structure seemed to engulf the building’s outside as well, covering the windwheel asters and eternalising them, freezing their movement making them look like carved, delicate figurines. The expansion did not stop there, covering the grapes that decorated the outside and creating such a bubble around the place that one could only imagine how much space the actual mansion occupied.

Diluc, in the meantime, had brought his papa to his room, where he laughed and giggled at the falcon’s swoops and swirls in the skies. 

“It’s a shame you’re so small. I’d love to ride on your back as you fly.”

The falcon flapped in mid-air, staring down at Diluc’s face. “If that is what you wish.”

The falcon then started growing in size, until it became big enough for Diluc to happily jump onto its back and fly around his large room, with squeals of glee and happiness. 

Diluc leaned his head onto the falcon’s feathered back, “I love you papa, I want this to last forever.”

Chapter 2 - What do we do?

“You said what was surrounding the child?” Elliot was a bit stressed. Afterall, if his thoughts were correct then the young boy might have just summoned one of the most destructive gods of the archon wars.

“Calm, Elliot, what is that being?” Asked the Grand Master in his low voice. 

“Well, it is a divine being whose wrath the ancient god of Sumeru had incurred. It had power over the element geo, as obvious from the crystals growing around the winery. Though not much info remains on them, the god is said to grow powerful on the imagination, and used the fears of the people to create their greatest nightmares.”

“Imagination? That is concerning.” The others looked over at the Grand Master, not understanding his statement.

“What do you mean, Grand Master?”

“Well, whose imagination is stronger or more powerful than that of a child?” The room went quiet, as this revelation settled.

“What are we to do?”

---

With shovels and visions in hand they smashed through the crystals, destroying the pristine flowers and making a pathway towards the winery.

“What are they doing?” Asked young Diluc, watching from his window. They crushed the pretty space that the mysterious god had made for him, and he felt tears bubble up into his eyes. “Leave us alone!” He yelled.

Just the wish was the command of the entity, for the shovels were snatched up by the crystals, as though conscious, and the tendrils of geo grew more and more hostile, making the people fear for their lives, running in the opposite direction. The geo crystals grew to cover the damage but not quite replacing it, for, to repair required much more precise power.

The Favonius knights huffed, scared from nearly losing their lives, reporting to the Grand Master immediately.

“This is bad, this is oh so very bad. I believe that young Master Diluc had only awakened but a part of the being, for it was destroyed many millenia back, but it seems that even the mere fragment is powerful yet.” Elliot fretted.

“Could we ask Sumeru for help?” Asked another high-ranking officer. “Sumeru’s god is the youngest out of everyone, the war we are referencing is not one that the country would be able to help us with. No. If I am to understand correctly,” the Grand Master had stood up and walked towards the window, where the crystals looked far away but painfully visible. “The entity seems to follow the will of young Master Diluc, in which case the solution is clear, though we only have one chance.” The Grand Master looked up, eyes dark, “We must convince the young master himself.”

Chapter 3 - Endless crystal

Kaeya felt his heart thumping in his chest, he never liked tight spaces and yet, here he was. The Ragnvindr butler was leading him through a secret passage, a well of sorts into the manor. The running water seemed to be untouched by the crystals, and with some effort, the door to the cellar burst open. 

“Now Kaeya, you know what you have to do?” The butler asked, glancing at the open door as if it would screw shut instantly, which it could. 

Kaeya nodded his head, his face trying not to betray his nervousness. He had memorised the floor plan and knew how to get to the hall and to Diluc’s room, whichever he might be in. 

“Good.” The butler hesitated slightly as Kaeya stepped through into the cellar, this child was the same age as Master Diluc, it was hard not to feel sympathy, “Good luck.” He said eventually. 

Kaeya heard the door close behind him, and the dreaded feeling of being alone hit him. The room was almost pitch black, which made Kaeya feel as uneasy as possible. The floor felt hard and smooth, undoubtedly lined with crystal. His slow and careful steps trod across to where he was told the door was.

Bump.

He hit something. 

Kaeya carefully put his arms over and around where the object was, it was also crystal covered so it could range from a bottle with a lot of crystal surrounding it to a wooden box to a wine barrel. Stepping around it as carefully as he could, a thought crossed his mind that his direction might have gotten mixed up and he could not be going in the direction of the door anymore, and might be stuck here forever. Gulping an anxious lump down his throat he kept moving slowly and steadily.

Bump.

Kaeya slowly felt along this object. It was taller than him, and very wide. Could it be the door? Kaeya slowly took the knife out of his pocket and tried to find a crystal that was more doorknob-like than the rest. 

Chink. Chink. Chink. 

Kaeya worked away at the crystal, hating how the echoes carried in the small, shrinking room that seemed to close in on him the longer he tried to sense it. 

Kaeya was getting desperate, he could feel the engraved metal of the door handle, but the majority was sewn shut. He was now not so worried about the noise he was making, slamming his tiny body into the door. The crystal cracked, worn by his chinks from his knife, and slowly, it was budging. 

When the first crack of light shone through, Kaeya felt as though he could keep going. Not like he had a choice. He continued slamming his body into the door, his left side now, he was sure his right side was completely bruised. When it got to a state that the door was open just enough for Kaeya to just squeeze through, Kaeya collapsed onto the floor and breathed heavily. 

His heart felt like they were going to pound out of his chest, closing his eye as he tried to regain composure and his bearings. He looked around. He seemed to be in the main hallway, and if that was so, then those stairs led to Diluc’s bedroom. Kaeya froze, the hallway seemed to host a swirling vortex, a large whirl of some muttering entity. With his eye widening, he realised that this must be the powerful being that the adults warned him about. Though he knew nothing about the being, he understood that it could kill him easily, though that held true for most people and things he met.

After calming down again, Kaeya made his way up, carefully walking up the slippery stairs to where Diluc’s bedroom was, the entity seemed not to notice him at all. When he made it, Kaeya felt a wave of nausea wash over him as he realised that Diluc’s bedroom door too, had crystals gluing it shut. 

Kaeya straightened up, if he had not been picked up by the Grand Master, then he would have died. With that logic, he was already living on borrowed time. Kaeya brought one hand up to the crystal and knocked.

Chapter 4 - Brother

Diluc looked up. There was someone knocking on the door. He slipped off of papa and walked over to it.

“Do you wish to get rid of him?” Asked the falcon.

Diluc stormed angrily towards the door.

“Who is it?” He asked angrily.

Kaeya, nursing his bruised knuckles, bit his lip.

“It’s Kaeya.” A small voice came. Diluc’s forehead scrunched in confusion. 

“I don’t know a Kaeya.” Diluc replied.

“How do you know? You’ve not seen me yet.” Diluc considered this, then turned to ‘Papa’.

“Papa, I wish to let him in.”

Kaeya felt confusion, who was this ‘Papa’? Wasn’t Diluc’s dad dead? And who was this strange man inside that he was talking to? Before he could address any of these questions, the crystals at the door melted away and the door swung open, 

Diluc and Kaeya locked eyes. Being about the same height, the two boys stared at each other with the same wonder and curiosity.

Diluc gave Kaeya a once-over. “Hello Kaeya.”

“Hi.” Replied Kaeya, with a small smile. “I heard you got your dad back.”

“Yeah!” Diluc ran over to the alarmingly large falcon sitting in the middle of the room. “This is my papa.”

Kaeya cautiously took a step inside the room. “He’s a really cool papa.”

“Isn’t he?” Diluc looked up at the falcon with bright eyes, Kaeya watched very closely.

“If he’s your papa, then I’m your brother.” Kaeya said, wondering if he was too bold.

Diluc paused, scrutinising him. “But you don’t look anything like me.”

Kaeya gestured to the falcon, “And papa is a falcon.”

Diluc considered this, then beamed. “Yes! You are my brother.” Diluc came over to Kaeya and took him by the hands, dragging him over to the bed. “There is soooooo much you need to learn, afterall, the Ragnvindr name is an important one.” Kaeya smiled in relief.

The two boys sat on Diluc’s bed, leaning on the falcon as though it was a pillow. As Diluc flipped through the picture book with Kaeya staring in awe, Diluc explained all about the legendary divinity shown in it. 

“The anemo archon, lord Barbatos, who presides over Monstadt, with his trusted four winds who together, ensures the country is safe and happy.” Read Diluc. Kaeya stared at the pictures, with characters of nobility and power. 

“This one’s papa.” Kaeya said, pointing at the falcon. 

“No, it says here that this is Lady Vanessa, who led the rebellion against the aristocracy and was the hero of Monstadt. Papa is just another falcon.”

Kaeya ‘oohed’ and pointed at the words next to the wolf, “What does this say?”

“This says ‘Wolf of the North, otherwise known as Boreas or Andrius’. Do you not know how to read?” Suddenly, Kaeya became very self-conscious. 

“No. Most children our age don’t know how to read. You’re special because you got to learn so young.” Diluc stared at him, Kaeya gave a look of sincerity.

“Well you should learn how to read. Afterall, you’re my brother. So learning these things are important. Right papa?” The falcon gave a sagely look and nodded.

“Papa doesn’t speak very much, does he.”

“Falcon’s don’t speak very much, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t saying anything.” Diluc leaned over to hug the falcon, “Right now he’s saying, ‘I’m not going anywhere. I love you two.’” Kaeya felt a lump in his throat.

“Really?” Kaeya asked, looking towards the falcon with unease. Diluc pulled Kaeya into the hug and Kaeya felt the warm body of the falcon press into his.

“Of course!”

Kaeya closed his eye as he sank into the hug. He could see why Diluc would want this. He really did.

Chapter 5 - The eye of the storm

An entire day had passed, the crystals were growing to cover an even larger portion of Monstadt and the Grand Master was concerned. There were several things that could have happened: Kaeya could have been rejected by Diluc, Kaeya could have not managed to get to Diluc to begin with, Kaeya could have offended Diluc, or Kaeya was still working on it. He sighed, for the fate of the country to ride on the back of such a young child was a huge risk, but one that they had to take.

Kaeya, who was teaching Diluc how to braid hair, was considering what his next step should be. He had succeeded in bonding with Diluc and establishing his place in this ‘family’ and next he should work on removing that entity. So far, a few things seemed clear:

Diluc knew that Kaeya wasn’t actually his brother and the falcon wasn’t actually his papa. But considering the fact that there have been people who could turn into falcons that is taken as truth in Monstadtian folklore, Diluc might consider it a possibility that this is actually his papa.

“Do you miss papa Diluc?” Kaeya asked, as the two were half-asleep in the bed.

“So much.” Diluc replied. 

‘Papa’ has a warm body uses the term ‘if that is what you wish’ several times. Diluc is then able to order him around and even the crystals around based on that.

“What’s a windblume?” Kaeya asked, after Diluc had mentioned it several times.

“That’s the fun of it, no one knows what a windblume is. It is a mystical flower that thrives in the harshest of weather and in the strongest of winds. Some people say it’s a dandelion or windwheel aster, but I think it’s small lamp grass.”

Kaeya cocked his head, “Lamp grass?”

Diluc studied him, “Papa, could you get us some lamp grass?”

The falcon nodded, “If that is what you wish.”

Just a bit later, Diluc had gotten the falcon to collect a variety of flowers, from dandelions to calla lilies, where Diluc was explaining all about them.

Diluc can create “dream-worlds” that Kaeya is very unsure about.

As Diluc fell asleep to Kaeya softly stroking his head, Diluc muttered, “I gotta teach you sword fighting.” As Diluc’s consciousness drifted away, a new Diluc manifested.

“Who are you?” Asked Kaeya, a bit unsure.

“I’m your brother, silly. Now come on.” Dream Diluc (at least, that’s what Kaeya thought he was) pulled on his arm and Kaeya ended up being dragged onto the Falcon. 

The Falcon leaped up and flew, with Kaeya bracing for an impact that never came as it sped down through the floor and into an entirely new landscape. 

There was a floating island that was decked out with bright green grass and a bright blue sky that looked like it came out of a picture book. They alighted on the island where Diluc turned to face Kaeya. 

“Today, we learn sword fighting.” Kaeya was confused but then quickly put a confident smile on his face. 

“Okay brother. But one problem, we have no swords.”

Diluc smiled, “Well that’s not a problem at all.” Diluc stretched his arm out and with a glow, a long, pretty sword manifested in his hand. He stretched the other one out to achieve a similar effect and tossed it over to Kaeya. 

Kaeya caught it easily with a laugh. “I forgot, this is your world and you can do anything you want. Where do we start?”

Chapter 6 - The hard truth

Kaeya sparred with Diluc for a while, finding the sword to be light and easy in his hand. He found he could manipulate it quite well, actually, and quickly got the hang of these techniques that Diluc was teaching him. Just then, the falcon came over, in small form now, like an actual falcon.

“I have spotted intruders trying to get in.” 

Diluc wrinkled his nose. “Those guys are so annoying. Make them leave.” The falcon nodded.

“Wait,” Kaeya grabbed Diluc’s arm. Diluc looked at him, “What did the intruders look like? Do they have swords? And spears?” The falcon paused and turned to him. 

“Yes.”

“They might be Knights of Favonius!”

Diluc’s eyes lit up. “That’s perfect! Let’s go meet them and we can spar with them!”

Diluc grabbed Kaeya’s arm and the two got onto the expanding falcon, sitting on its now giant form comfortably. 

The three bounded down from the floating island, which Kaeya noted is actually a collection of floating islands with golden bridges connecting them. As they bounded downwards, Kaeya looked up and noticed that the island they were on before also had a golden bridge that seemed to connect to higher in the sky. Perhaps to the bedroom, Kaeya considered, curious. 

As they alighted onto the lowermost island, Kaeya could see that there were indeed four Knights of Favonius soldiers who were here. 

Kaeya felt uncomfortable, he only recognised one person, that one being the ‘Grand Master’. 

“Master Diluc!” One of the soldiers cried, as the two got down from the falcon.

“That’s me. Who here can sword fight?” Diluc and Kaeya’s sword’s re-manifested in their hands. Kaeya was unsure of when the swords had disappeared to begin with but wasn’t about to question it. Instead, he stood tall and confident with a smirk to match Diluc. 

Kaeya watched as the knights whispered amongst themselves and one of them stepped forward. 

“I can. Are you sure you want to duel me Master Diluc? I wield a greatsword and it deals much more damage.” Diluc’s eyes twinkled.

“A greatsword! Well then, I’ll use a greatsword too.”

Diluc’s sword disappeared in favor of a majestic greatsword, which Diluc wielded easily as if it weighed no more than his last one. 

“Understood. It will be one on one, when one is disarmed or held at vulnerable swordpoint, the duel ends.” 

Kaeya watched as the grass ground hardened into a duel ground, with markings on the ground to establish a sense of space. He also noted that the other three knights were sneaking off to hurry their way up the golden bridge up the islands. He didn’t say anything.

Diluc and the knight’s match was interesting. Diluc wielded his sword with much skill and power, with every blow being so overpowered that Kaeya abruptly was reminded that this was ‘dream’ Diluc. Just then, the knight’s sword came down with a crackle of electricity.

Diluc startled. “You have a vision!” Looking over at the falcon, he then declared. “I wish to have a vision too!” Just then, a shiny red glass orb descended into his hands, with gold metal work already welded onto it.

From that point on, the fight was practically over. Kaeya was surprised by how easily Diluc used his vision, as if he had worked with it for years.

“You’re pretty good, your father taught you well.” Said the knight, whom Kaeya admired for being able to stay composed despite his panting.

“He did. Come on Kaeya, we have more matches to get through.” Kaeya didn’t spare a glance at the knight, lest it give him away, and joined Diluc on the falcon.

“That was so cool!” Kaeya exclaimed, with them reaching the next island by the time he was done uttering just that sentence. 

“Wasn’t it?” Diluc grinned. They got off of the falcon to intercept the next batch of knights. “I hope you guys are more challenging than that guy, he was pretty easy.”

The knight’s seemed to come to another agreement. 

“I will duel you next, for I am the captain of the 4th order.”

“A captain?” Diluc asked excitedly, clearly hooked. “Well captain, we’re not duelling. It’s going to be two on two!”

Kaeya felt a cold, glass orb appear in his hand. Giving it a closer look, this vision had a light frost with the cryo symbol and the metalwork had cute little wings on them, which he supposed was the Monstadt style. 

The second knight stepped up, Kaeya noted that the Grand Master was conveniently slipping past. 

Kaeya readied his sword as they began the battle.

The battle was fairly easy, Diluc and Kaeya’s visions being opposite accounted for any weak spots there could be, with Diluc burning through the dendro of one knight and Kaeya freezing the hydro of the other. Kaeya noted that he was having a harder time than Diluc was, who was clearly finding this too easy and only taking this long to test out his pyro moves. The knight Kaeya was fighting then tried to talk to him. 

“Any progress?” 

Kaeya felt his head swirl, yes he was having progress but, did that really count as progress? Kaeya felt his balance get shifted off and a small ‘ah’ was let out as he fell backwards onto his bum with a small thump.

“Kaeya!” Diluc was right next to him in a heartbeat, though Kaeya was completely unhurt, Diluc seemed furious. 

Without any words being spoken Kaeya was picked up by the falcon gently and lifted up, the falcon’s wings beating as it carried him higher. Kaeya just managed to find the time to look down at the battle happening where he just managed to see a flaming falcon and Diluc’s bright red hair before he was carried through the floor of the bedroom. 

Kaeya felt a strange anti-climax, as the noise and liveliness of before became the peace and quiet of the bedroom. The falcon gently lay him onto the bed where Diluc was still sleeping.

“Are you okay?” Asked the falcon, staring into him with black beady eyes. Kaeya gave a big, childish smile.

“I am. Thank you, papa.” Then he threw his arms around the falcon. 

Was Kaeya okay? His head was spinning with trying to grasp how this world worked. More than that, which Kaeya was unsure whether to admit, he felt so conflicted about being loved. He had never been loved before and to have two  people  (well the falcon was iffy) that cared about him was very overwhelming.

Kaeya stared at the cool, cryo vision in his hand. Was it real? His sword was gone. Kaeya placed the vision on the bedside table and looked over at Diluc, who seemed to not be having a very good dream. Was that because of him?

“Diluc, Diluc wake up.” Diluc’s red eyes blinked slowly.

“Kaeya?” He asked. “Good morning.” Diluc yawned. Kaeya felt a pang of fondness go through him. If he was born in this family, well, Diluc had many troubles as well, but maybe he might not be as broken as he already was.

Just then, the Grand Master came into the room, ascending from a hole in the floor that Kaeya was sure wasn’t there the first time he had come in. Kaeya peered over and saw the tint of gold that probably came from the golden bridges over those floating islands. 

Diluc looked over at the Grand Master. 

“Hello Diluc,” He said, kneeling down to match the height that Diluc was, sitting at the side of the bed. “How are you feeling?”

Diluc shifted uncomfortably, Kaeya scooted slightly closer to Diluc, which seemed to make him feel more at ease.

“I’m fine, thank you. And you?”

The Grand Master laughed easily, with a warm smile. “I’m fine, thank you. You don’t have to be that formal Master Diluc. I’m here to help you after all.”

Diluc, whose arm seemed to be twisting its way around Kaeya protectively, replied with “We’re happy here. We don’t need your help.”

“Is that so?” Asked the Grand Master, a twinkle in his eye. “What about the big, scary, entity in your hallway? Do you know about that?”

“Yea! They gave me my papa and my brother.”

“Hmm. And do you know what it is?”

Diluc narrowed his eyes. “It’s an ancient god that was present in the archon wars. Papa was researching it. We don’t even know its name.”

“Very good! Your papa taught you very well.” The Grand Master gave a sad smile, “I miss him very much.”

Diluc seemed to respond to that, Kaeya got the sense that he might have been trying to hold back tears. 

“What do you want?” Diluc asked in a smaller voice.

“Well,” the Grand Master started, “Let’s start with removing that entity from your house.”

“NO!” Diluc yelled, in a hostile voice. He now had a vice-grip on Kaeya. “You just want to take my family away!”

“I don’t want to take your family away.” The Grand Master soothed in a calm but slightly rushed voice. “It’s just harder for people to take care of you while it’s here.”

The falcon had now come over and put itself between the Grand Master and them.

“You are making Diluc upset. Leave.”

The Grand Master had stood up now, trying his best to stand his ground. 

“Diluc, that thing is dangerous. You must know about how it almost destroyed Sumeru. We need to deal with it before it destroys all of Monstadt too.”

Diluc quieted.

“That thing, will destroy all of Monstadt?” Asked Kaeya in a small voice, making sure to inject some fear into his tone.

The Grand Master turned to him, “Yes. But not if we fight and subdue it now.”

Diluc turned to look at Kaeya. “I don’t want you to go.”

Kaeya clasped Diluc’s hands. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” Kaeya bit his lip. “Diluc, think about your real papa.”

As Diluc’s face softened and sniffles started, a BANG made everyone in the room flinch, as Diluc’s bedroom door crashed open, revealing a dark, brown vortex of what used to be the hallway with some wisps of smoke starting to pour in.

The Grand Master did not hesitate in pulling out his bow and arrow, letting one fly resulting in a low rumble that Kaeya likened to a cry.

The two kids were scared now, as the Grand Master ran toward the thing, arrows flying. 

The falcon took one look at the two boys and also set off, engaging in the battle as well. 

The bedroom was huge, so the ancient god would take awhile at this speed to reach the far end of the bed that the boys were sitting on, but the fear that paralysed them was petrifying nonetheless. 

Kaeya broke out of it first. “Diluc, Diluc look at me.”

Diluc looked at Kaeya, which was hard to do as sounds of bloody murder kept enticing the two to look at the battle. 

“You’re going to be the one to win this battle.”

“Me?”

Kaeya nodded. “That thing needs you to wish. It needs your imagination and your wishes to win. So the more you think that it’s scary the more it is.”

Diluc nodded slowly. “What should I do?”

“You need to wish that it will go away. You need to believe that papa is strong.”

“But isn’t that counterintuitive?”

Kaeya shook his head. “Papa is made from that thing right? But papa is on our side. So if you think that papa is super strong and that god is super weak, then that is what will happen.”

They two locked eyes, and Diluc stared at the determined look in Kaeya’s eye and nodded. 

“Yeah! Papa is super strong! You know once, he managed to defeat five ruin guards allll by himself.”

Kaeya nodded fervently. “And he’s really fast too!”

“Yeah! He always races me, and let’s me win, but he can run at super speed. He knows everything too! He can beat archons as easily as-” Diluc snapped his fingers, “That!”

Kaeya forced himself not to look at the fight, doing that will only tempt Diluc and may break this streak of belief and hope.

BOOM!

Kaeya and Diluc flinched, though neither of them got hurt. The two looked up to see the entity hissing and recoiling as the swirling dust seemed to just instantaneously clear. Diluc’s toys and books which were previously strewn across the floor were blown haphazardly to the far ends of the room.

“Are you two okay?” Asked the Grand Master, rushing over to them.

“Yeah.” Diluc said, with a shuddering breath.

Then there was a light.

“Diluc, Kaeya.” It was the falcon. In its huge, glowing form.

“Papa.” Diluc whispered, staring up at the bird. “Are you going now?”

The falcon nodded its head. “That will be what is best for you two. But don’t worry, I will always be watching over you.”

The light that made up the falcon seemed to disperse, with the crystals fading along with it. The crystals seemed to retreat from the room, with the entire house being more or less unscathed except for where the last battle took place. Kaeya breathed a sigh of relief. 

He turned to Diluc, “Diluc-”

“Kaeya!” Kaeya found himself in a tight hug.

“It’s okay! Everything’s fine now.”

Diluc sniffed, “I’m so glad you’re not gone too. You didn’t leave me.” 

It hit Kaeya that Diluc might have thought that he was a ‘dream’ or ‘made up’ brother similar to his ‘papa’. Kaeya wrapped his arms around Diluc.

“I’m not going anywhere. If-if you’ll have me that is.” Diluc pulled away from him. “I mean, I’m not your real brother I’m just,” Kaeya took a breath, “I’m just some orphan off the street.”

Diluc shook his head. “You’re my real brother. Some people have different versions of what family is, but if you’re not my family, no one is.” Kaeya felt his heart throb. Maybe they could get through this together. 

“Also, to make everything absolutely clear, I was well alive and existed looong before that god came in. So yeah.”

Chapter 7 - Things get better

Kaeya was at first unsure of whether he was accepted here. Afterall, he had only been Diluc’s brother for a total of two days technically, and now that everything was ‘over’ he was scared that he’d have to leave. It seemed that Diluc too, had that exact fear, and was very defensive and protective of Kaeya when the adults talked to them. 

The two became inseparable, and though Kaeya got his ‘own room’ he continued to sleep in Diluc’s bed. 

They enjoyed playing around the winery where Diluc continued his quest to integrate Kaeya and get him up to speed with the ways of the Ragnvindr. He taught him how the wine is made and brought him all around the house. Kaeya felt pretty happy. Afterall, this felt like a sweet, peaceful life. Could he have this?

A week on, and the two are sparring with practice swords near the lake, when Diluc freezes (not literally) and Kaeya easily disarms him. 

“Is something wrong?” Asks Kaeya, looking back.

There are two adults, walking towards them. A lady with flaming red hair and a man with a warm smile. Kaeya sees Diluc, with teary eyes, run towards them, it was Kaeya’s turn to freeze up now. 

Kaeya broke through the shock and started walking towards them, dropping his shoulders and arranging himself to look as childlike and small as possible.

“I can’t believe you’re back!” Diluc beamed at them, then grabbed Kaeya who was standing at the side, looking awkward. “Also, mama, papa, here’s your new son.”

Kaeya stared up at the parents with a sheepish smile. Was he out of place? He had somewhat bonded with falcon-papa, not actual-papa! 

Diluc narrowed his eyes, “When everyone left me, Kaeya was the only one who was here for me. So he’s my new brother.”

“Hi~” Kaeya greeted, his face betraying his nervousness.

“Hi Kaeya. Now child, where did you come from? Is Diluc holding you hostage? Where are your parents?”

Kaeya shifted uncomfortably, “It’s a long story.”

“He’s an orphan.” Diluc supplied helpfully.

The parents gave each other a look that clearly said: “We should talk to the Grand Master.”

As the family made their way back inside, Diluc grabbed Kaeya’s arm and beamed at him. Maybe everything does get better, eventually.

AN: I recently watched the Pokemon Movie after becoming addicted to Genshin, and this setup fit Kaeya and Diluc far too well to not be written down. They cured my writer’s block (for this fic anyways) and I had a lot of fun with adapting the world to fit. Hope you guys enjoyed it!

(Also the chapter’s are unneccessary but make me feel like I’ve written a lot so let me get away with it please)

[hysterialevi]

His Name Was Isaac - Ch. 15

Fanfic summary: During a mission to avenge his mother’s death, Isaac hunts down the men responsible for her murder and kills them off one-by-one, only to discover that his last target is taking refuge among the Van der Linde gang. In an attempt to kill them, Isaac attacks the gang and unknowingly becomes enemies with his own father, who is in the process of fighting his own battle for redemption.

Point of view: third-person

Previous chapter | Next chapter

This story is also on AO3

THE NEXT DAY

GRIZZLIES WEST

Resting a hand on the journal’s worn pages, Dutch hesitated to turn to the next chapter as he thought back on the things he’d just read, wondering where everything went wrong.

Just this morning, he finally took the time to sit down and skim through some of Arthur’s private thoughts, only to end up discovering that they were much worse than he expected.

It was evident from the entries that Arthur lost his faith in their gang years ago. His words had no motivation behind them. No hope. No purpose.

They were all just so... bleak, and so full of finality.

It only made Dutch wonder if things were always meant to end this way. If, perhaps, Arthur was meant to turn on him from the start.

He knew the man wouldn’t be able to stick around forever. No one would. Not even Hosea. But the fact that he lost Arthur so quickly and so easily made Dutch question if there was ever a true relationship between them.

If there was, he would’ve given anything to get it back.

“Boss!” Micah’s voice suddenly barked from behind, leading Dutch to look up from the journal.

“What is it?” He asked, still somewhat preoccupied.

The other man sniffed, strolling in his direction through thick snow.

“...We got a problem, Dutch. It’s Bill.” Micah stepped next to him, letting out a disappointed sigh. “I think... he’s cut loose.”

Dutch snapped his head towards Micah in surprise, furrowing his brow.

“What? What do you mean he’s cut loose?”

Micah gestured towards the horizon, casually explaining his thought process.

“I saw some tracks leadin’ to the south from where I sent Bill to investigate last night. His horse is gone too. You ask me, I think he made a run for it. Probably decided to make his way back to New Austin. Try to survive on his own in the desert. He certainly talked about it a lot.”

“You sure it wasn’t somebody else’s tracks?”

The outlaw chuckled. “Who else could it have been? The Pinkertons? They’re mean bastards, I’ll give you that, but I reckon we’re the only ones crazy enough to actually come out here, Dutch. No... I’m pretty sure it was Bill.”

Dutch firmly shut the journal closed, storming off into the distance. “Dammit...! That goddamn coward.”

Micah gazed after him, shrugging in confusion. “You wanna try findin’ him?”

The older man coughed before waving a dismissive hand. “No. We’re here for Arthur and Isaac. No one else. If Bill wants to leave us behind and freeze to death in these mountains, then so be it.”

“Of course, of course. But you should know, Dutch... it’s gonna be trickier, now that it’s just the two of us. ‘Cause as much as I hate Arthur and his lil’ brat, I can’t deny that them boys know how to fight. I mean, look at what they did to my goddamn eye.”

Dutch glanced down at the journal, mindlessly tightening his grip on it. “...I’ll fight Arthur myself if need be. I raised him ever since he was a boy. I know how he thinks.”

The man coughed a few more times, his strength wavering with every jagged breath as the wind howled loudly around them.

“...Listen, son,” Dutch continued, his tone much softer now, “I don’t know how all this is gonna end. I don’t know if... Arthur will kill me, or if the tuberculosis will, but... whatever happens, I appreciate you stayin’ by my side this whole time. You’ve always had my back ever since you joined us, and I won’t forget it.”

Micah grinned, his eyes dark with insincerity. “Of course, Dutch. You’re practically family to me now. There ain’t much I wouldn’t do for you.”

Dutch nodded in reassurance. “I know, son. I know.” 

Slipping the journal back into his satchel, Dutch walked over to his horse and began mounting up, eager to continue his search for Arthur while the day was still young.

“C’mon, Micah.” He beckoned. “We’ve got one last score to settle.”

~~~~~~~~~~

MEANWHILE

NEAR LAKE ISABELLA

“Here,” Isaac said, handing a warm mug to Arthur as the campfire crackled between them. “Drink this.”

The man took the cup in hand, curiously examining the dark liquid inside. “What is it?”

“It’s... medicine, I guess you could say,” Isaac answered. “I made it from some herbs I picked. I was gonna brew it when we got done fishing yesterday, but I never had the chance. It should calm your cough down a bit.”

Arthur raised the mug in appreciation, beaming at the boy. “Thanks, kiddo.”

Isaac held up a hand just before his father could consume the drink, giving him a last-minute warning.

“Oh, um, just so you know -- it’s probably gonna taste like shit.”

Arthur chuckled, bringing the mug to his lips. “Yeah, I figured as much. That tends to be the case with most medicines. Though, it can’t be worse than salted offal.”

He took a sip, immediately grimacing from the bizarre taste. “Jesus Christ, you wasn’t kidding. What kinda herbs did you make this with?”

Isaac smirked at his father’s disgusted expression. “English Mace and Alaskan Ginseng. They’re pretty hard to find in Ambarino, but they’re a common mixture when it comes to curing illnesses. I remember mom always used to make this when I got sick.”

Arthur cocked a brow in interest. “Did she?”

The boy smiled fondly at the memory. “Yeah. I’d always get nervous whenever I saw her makin’ it in the kitchen ‘cause I knew it would taste horrible. But... I can’t really complain. It did its job, after all.”

The older man nodded in a nostalgic manner. “Yep. Eliza always had a knack for takin’ care of people. I remember she’d fret over me every single time I came home, lookin’ to see if I had any stray bullets stuck in me and whatnot.” A sigh escaped Arthur. “Your mother was such a sweet woman. She didn’t deserve the stress I put her through.”

Isaac gave Arthur a gentle look, reminiscing about his times with Eliza. “...She loved you, you know.”

Arthur cupped the warm mug in his hands, setting it down for a moment. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Mom always talked about you whenever you was away. She could never say much since she didn’t want me to know about your work, but I could tell she missed you. She was never angry, though. She understood why you couldn’t be around.”

Arthur felt a tinge of guilt. “...Did you?”

“Not at the time,” Isaac admitted. “But I do now. You had people to look after. A gang to protect. You couldn’t just abandon them.”

The older man glanced at the ground in remorse. “I guess that’s true. But I still wish I could’ve protected you and Eliza. You were in danger, and I wasn’t there when you needed me.”

Isaac shook his head in disagreement. “It was four men against a woman and her child. Even if you had been there, you probably just would’ve gotten shot with her. And trust me, that’s not what mom woulda wanted. For either of us.”

Arthur found some peace in those words. “...Maybe you’re right.”

Falling into silence for a moment, the two of them quietly enjoyed each other’s company as snowflakes gently fluttered down from the sky, painting the ground around them with a new layer of snow.

The weather was getting colder in this region, or so it felt. It was probably due to the fact that they were further up north than before, but the sun seemed to appear less often these days, and Isaac couldn’t remember the last time he saw anything apart from dying grass and naked trees.

It just made the boy wonder how much longer they had until they’d reach Canada’s border. He had never been anywhere outside of the United States, so the idea of finding freedom in a different country was admittedly daunting for him... but he knew they had to do it.

There was nothing left for them in America. Both of their gangs had scattered to the winds, and it was more than obvious that the age of outlaws was finally dying out. 

Civilization was moving on without them, and if they didn’t catch up, they wouldn’t survive. It was a sad truth about their lives, but one they had to accept.

“Hey, Dad,” Isaac said. “I gotta ask. Did you... hear what Bill said last night? About Dutch bein’ sick with TB?”

Arthur nodded, his tone more serious now. “Yep. It would explain why we’ve both been coughin’ so much.”

The boy sighed. “...I’m sorry. I wish there was somethin’ I could do.”

The older man coughed into his elbow a few times. “You’ve done more than enough, Isaac. Don’t go blamin’ yourself, now. We talked about this.”

“I know,” Isaac replied. “It’s just... hard to accept, you know?”

Arthur took another sip of his drink. “I understand.”

Finishing the rest of his medicine, Arthur put the empty mug down and stood up from his seat, stretching out his arms as he began gathering their stuff.

“Hey, Isaac, why don’t you go make sure the horses are ready? I think it’s time we get movin’ again. We’ve been stuck here long enough.”

The boy followed his father’s actions and headed over to the hitching posts, helping to pack up their camp.

“Okay. You think this weather will hold up? It got pretty bad last night. I just hope there won’t be another storm blowin’ through here before we can... we can...”

Stopping mid-sentence, Isaac’s voice suddenly trailed off into silence as the young man noticed something in the distance, leading Arthur to follow his gaze.

“Isaac?” He called out. “Everything okay?”

The man glanced at Arthur, his tone now low with caution. “Dad, I think I see Pinkertons.”

Taking hold of his gun, the older man instantly strode over to Isaac’s side and stepped protectively in front of him, looking to see who it was approaching them from the horizon.

Their uniforms certainly resembled that of the Pinkertons, but unlike before, it wasn’t just Edgar Ross and Agent Fordham. This time, it looked like they had an entire group of men riding with them, ready to take Arthur and Isaac in at a moment’s notice.

Arthur whispered quietly to the young man as the Pinkertons rode in their direction, making sure to keep his movements subtle.

“Keep your gun close, boy. And be ready to ride when I say so.”

Isaac nodded, taking position near the horses. “Got it.”

Standing his ground, Arthur readied his pistol as the Pinkertons got closer to their camp, causing a trail of snow to wildly spray behind their mounts.

So far, no one was shooting at them, so Arthur took that as a sign that the Pinkertons wanted them alive. But based on the heavy amount of security Ross had brought with him this time, he assumed that lethal force was no longer out of the question.

Arthur would have to do his best to keep things peaceful. There weren’t a lot of places for them to hide out here, and if anyone started firing, he and Isaac would be caught dead in the open.

It was unlikely that they’d be able to run away from this without a fight, but for the sake of not getting Isaac killed, Arthur was sure as hell going to try.

He just had to trust that the boy would do the same.

“Mr. Morgan.” Agent Ross greeted upon reaching the camp, remaining mounted on his horse. The rest of the Pinkertons lined up beside him, keeping their rifles at the ready.

“I’m surprised to see you all the way out here,” Edgar confessed. “I didn’t think you’d risk trying to survive out in this cold, but it seems Mr. Bell was correct.”

That caught Arthur off-guard. “You spoke with Micah?”

The Pinkerton casually adjusted his sleeves, straightening the cuffs. “Regrettably, yes. Not too long ago, actually. He was quite the informant. Said he didn’t know exactly where to find you, but that he suspected you were wandering somewhere in Grizzlies West. Looks like he knew what he was talking about. For once.”

Arthur grunted at that. “I’m sure he did.” He coughed a number of times, trying to stifle it as he spoke. “Look, what d’you want? It’s clear you ain’t just here to chat.”

Edgar’s eyes narrowed. “No, I’m not. We’re done giving second chances, I’m afraid. Though, I’ve given you far more than that, haven’t I?”

The agent took a few steps forward, signaling the other Pinkertons to brace themselves.

“Look, Mr. Morgan, I know we’re both tired of having this same conversation over and over again. Lord knows I am. But I need you to listen to me. Ideally, we would like to capture you alive and have you face full justice, but I think it’s safe to assume by now that you’re not the type to cooperate with the law. Or with anyone, really.”

Ross held up a cautionary finger. “This is why I’m only giving you one last opportunity to comply. Surrender your weapons, and come with us peacefully. Do this, and you have my word that you and your son will not be harmed. Not for now, anyway. Once we return to civilization though, your lives will be in the hands of the law. You will both face a trial, and a judge will sentence you. What happens after that is up to them. If you refuse to surrender, however...”

The Pinkertons prepared their weapons, causing Isaac to grow restless in his position. Arthur threw a side-glance at him, reminding him to stay calm.

“...well,” Edgar continued, “I think you know what’ll come next.”

The outlaw scoffed at the meager offer, glaring at Ross in disbelief. “So, my only options are to either die right here, or let you drag me and my son all the way to Blackwater where you can parade us around before havin’ us swing? You really think that I’ll--” a cough interrupted him, “--that I’ll--”

Another series of coughs came bursting from Arthur’s throat, causing the man to keel over slightly as the Pinkertons watched him from their mounts, waiting for a response.

Meanwhile, Isaac stared at his father in concern and felt the need to rush over to him, but restrained himself out of fear of alarming the Pinkertons.

“...That’s quite a cough.” Edgar remarked plainly.

Arthur spat some blood onto the snow, wiping his mouth. “TB will do that to you. I got it from Dutch himself, apparently.”

“That’s a tough disease.”

“Sure. But it makes your job easier, I suppose.”

Edgar rested his arms on the saddle’s horn. “I know you see us as the bad guys, Mr. Morgan. We’re the ones threatening your livelihood, after all. But what’ll it take for you to see that you’re also threatening the livelihood of others? You people are all about violence, and living in the wild. Your code revolves entirely around one man and his gun versus another man. It’s survival of the fittest, put simply. It’s a living hell.”

Arthur shook his head. “You’re talkin’ philosophy with the wrong man, agent. I done some bad things in my time -- that, I won’t deny -- but I don’t care about any of that no more. Right now, only concern is my son. And as much as you and I may disagree, you are right about one thing. You are a threat to my son’s safety, and there ain’t nothin’ you can do that’ll convince me to let you lay your hands on him.”

The agent sighed in disappointment. “Well, unfortunately for you, there’s nothing that can stop us.”

Realizing that it was pointless trying to dissuade Arthur from the inevitable, Edgar decided to put an end to this chase and reached for his gun, swiftly pulling it out so that he could shoot the man.

Just before he could properly aim however, Arthur quickly caught wind of his intentions and hastily fired a stray bullet, shooting Edgar’s horse in the neck. The creature reared in panic and collapsed to the ground, causing the agent to be trapped under its massive body. 

Though, that didn’t stop the man from pulling the trigger. Despite the unexpected turn of events, Edgar still attempted to take a shot at the outlaw, and before Arthur even had time to react, he suddenly felt a sharp pain hitting him in the abdomen.

It didn’t take long for him to figure out what just happened.

“Father!” Isaac shouted in horror, hurrying to Arthur’s side. He fired two bullets into the line of Pinkertons, taking down an agent with each of them. 

Letting out a strained groan, the boy desperately dragged Arthur over to his horse as the agents continued to fire back at him, only to end up shooting a large tree that stood between them.

“Stay with me, Dad...!” Isaac urged, helping his father onto his horse.

Climbing onto the saddle in front of Arthur, the young man let loose another bullet in the Pinkertons’ direction before bolting off in the other, causing Agent Ross to yell after them.

“Goddammit!” He barked. “Don’t let them escape! And somebody help me out from under this horse!”

~~~~~~~~~~

A FEW MINUTES LATER

NORTHEAST OF LAKE ISABELLA, COLTER

Galloping frantically through the snow as the Pinkertons fervently chased after him, Isaac found himself riding into what looked an abandoned settlement not too far away from Lake Isabella, leading him to come to a halt.

The last thing he wanted to do right now was give the Pinkertons a chance to catch up to him, but with the state that Arthur was currently in, he needed someone to look after his wounds. 

There was already a worrying amount of blood staining the fabric of his shirt, and judging by the roughness of the man’s breathing, Isaac assumed the horse’s sporadic movement wasn’t helping him much either.

He hopped off of Aldo’s saddle, quickly bringing Arthur into his arms.

“I got you, Dad.” Isaac whispered, letting the older man lean on him as he headed inside one of the cabins. “Just hold on.”

Arthur groaned sharply at the pain piercing through him, struggling to keep up with the boy’s pace.

“...What the hell’re you doing...?” He wheezed, pressing a hand on his stomach where the bullet had hit him. “You need... to run...! The Pinkertons--”

“--I’ll worry about the goddamn Pinkertons later!” Isaac dismissed. “I ain’t lettin’ you die. Not like this.”

Kicking the cabin’s flimsy door open, Isaac practically hurled Arthur inside before shutting the entrance again, giving the older man some time to rest on the floor. They couldn’t hear any of the Pinkertons’ voices at the moment, but Isaac knew it wouldn’t be long before they picked up their trail again.

He crouched down next to Arthur, taking a closer look at his injury.

“Shit...” Isaac muttered under his breath, unsure of what to do. He fumbled through his pockets for a minute, desperately searching for anything that could’ve helped. “I... I have some bandages left. Here.”

Stretching the bandages into one long strip, Isaac tightly wrapped them around Arthur’s waist as the man hissed in pain, trying not to make too much noise lest the Pinkertons hear them. 

Blood was already starting to seep through the thin layers of white cloth, and with every agonizing second that slipped by, the more Arthur could feel his energy escaping him.

No, Arthur thought to himself. Not now. Not like this. He couldn’t give up. He just couldn’t. Not after fighting for so long. Not after finding his son after all these years.

He had to stay strong. For Isaac’s sake. The boy was counting on him to survive. He couldn’t die now. He refused to.

“...Dammit...!” Arthur cursed through clenched teeth as Isaac pulled on the bandages. “That son-of-a-bitch got me good...!” 

The outlaw’s body shook with another series of coughs, causing even more blood to gush from the open wound.

Isaac immediately placed his hands on top of the injury and pressed down, doing whatever he could to stop the bleeding. But it was no use.

The red liquid only ended up leaking through the cracks between his fingers, and by now, Arthur’s skin had transformed into an alarmingly pale color. 

His eye sockets were almost purple, and judging by how the man could barely walk right now, Isaac knew there wasn’t much of a chance of him getting out of this alive. But that didn’t mean he was willing to quit.

“Hold on, Dad...” the boy pleaded, “...please. Just hold on.”

“...Isaac...” Arthur groaned out, his voice grating against his throat. 

“You’re gonna be fine.” The boy insisted. “Don’t you give up on me now.”

The outlaw coughed weakly, struggling to get his next words out. “...Isaac, listen to me.”

“You’re gonna be fine.” He repeated, but Arthur knew what was coming. “We just... we just need to...”

“Isaac...!” He said more firmly, gripping the boy’s arm this time. “Listen to me.”

The young man fell silent, his eyes glossy with tears. He looked up at his father, fully aware of what the future held. 

“I’m... I’m dying, son.” Arthur said softly, almost sounding apologetic. “I can feel it. I know... this ain’t how we wanted things to end, but it’s what we’ve come to. It’s what we gotta deal with. You hear me...? I need you... to be strong, Isaac.”

The boy gazed downwards, unable to hide his true emotions. 

“I...I don’t know if I can, Dad. First mom, and now you? I can’t lose both of you. Not after we just found each other again.”

Arthur placed a hand on Isaac’s shoulder, urging the man to keep his composure. “I know it’s difficult, Isaac, but...” a cough rattled his chest, decimating what little energy he had left, “...I know you can still survive this. You’re strong. Much stronger than you realize. You just... have to keep pushing. Just for a little longer.”

Isaac shut his eyes, shaking his head in refusal. “...I ain’t goin’ to Canada without you, Dad. You’re outta your mind if you think I’m gonna leave you behind--”

“--You have to, Isaac...!” Arthur reiterated. “I wish things was different. I do. But look at me. I’m sick, I’m dying... I ain’t much use to anyone in this state. But you... you can still make it. You can still reach the border. You’ll be a free man. You’ll have the chance to start a new life for yourself. One that isn’t full of death, and violence, and fear. It’s the life your mother and I wanted for you.”

“But you said it yourself,” Isaac recalled. “What’s the point of survivin’ if you’ve got no one to care for?”

Arthur’s hand began to slide down Isaac’s shoulder, his exhaustion finally being reflected in his movement.

“You will find other people, Isaac. And besides, life don’t end just ‘cause you’re alone. I’m sure you’ll find someone you love. Someone who... you can start a family with.” A quiet chuckle escaped Arthur. “...Heh. Who knows...? You might even have a son of your own, someday. But whatever happens... you need to get out of Ambarino alive, first. You can’t stay here. You can’t... let me hold you back. You understand?”

Interrupted by the sound of men yelling at each other from outside, Isaac glanced out of one of the windows and suddenly noticed the large presence of Pinkertons closing in on the area, causing Arthur to reach for the boy’s hand.

“Isaac...!” He whispered urgently. “Tell me you understand.”

The young man gazed down at his father, still reluctant to leave him behind. The idea of leaving Arthur alone in the middle of these mountains tore Isaac apart with guilt, but deep down, he knew it had to be done if he wanted to live.

There were far too many Pinkertons for him to fight alone, and if they managed to corner him in this cabin, they’d both be finished.

Isaac would be shipped off to Blackwater to be executed, and all of Arthur’s efforts would’ve been in vain.

He couldn’t let that happen.

“...O-Okay.” The boy finally agreed, his voice trembling softly. “I’ll... I’ll go.”

Arthur appeared content with that and let out a relieved breath, his shoulders now slouching due to the fatigue quickly overtaking his body.

“...Thank you, Isaac.” he murmured weakly. 

Reaching for his satchel’s strap, Arthur slowly pulled the bag off and reached for his gun before handing both of them to Isaac, ensuring that the boy would have some supplies in the wilderness.

“It ain’t much...” Arthur said with a cough, “...but there’re some provisions left in here. They should keep you goin’ for a few more days. And take my pistol, too. You’ll need the extra firepower.”

Isaac cradled the last-minute gifts in his palms, staying quiet as his father lived out his final moments.

“Oh,” the older man remembered, “and there’s one last thing... I want you to take...”

Lifting a shaky hand up, Arthur gently gripped the dented crown of his hat and gave the accessory to Isaac, placing it so that it sat proudly on top of his head.

The hat looked like it was made for the young man, and for just a split second, Arthur almost felt like he was looking at a reflection of his younger self. Isaac had the same ruffled hair, the same blue eyes, and if he looked closely enough, Arthur could’ve sworn he saw some of Eliza’s features hiding behind his expression.

It was the perfect fit, just like when Arthur took the hat from his own father.

“You look just like me when I was younger,” the outlaw reminisced with a faint smile. “...Eliza would’ve been so proud of you. You’ve grown so much.”

Isaac’s sharp gaze softened a bit at the remark. “You think?”

“Well, I know I am.”

Letting his head lean back against the wall, Arthur finally decided to rest and and gazed up at the cabin’s decrepit ceiling, sighing in peace as Isaac stood up from the floor.

This wasn’t quite the death he imagined he would experience, but no matter how cold these mountains were, or how desolate their environment remained, Arthur still considered himself lucky for being able to be with his son in his final moments.

Part of him wished he could simply ignore the pain and follow Isaac out of these woods, but as the edges of his vision started to go black, the more reality began to sink in... and the more Arthur came to accept the fate that had been given to him.

His job in this world was done. His time with Dutch’s gang was over, and his responsibility as a father had been fulfilled. 

Isaac was his own man now. The boy still had much to learn about life and the people around him, but from now on, Arthur would have to trust that he would do the right thing in the future.

It was his journey to lead from this point, and Arthur could only hope that the kid had a better chance at life than he ever did.

It was the only thing he ever wanted for the boy. The only thing he and Dutch ever dreamed of.

Freedom.

“...Isaac...” Arthur whispered, his breath faltering with every syllable, “...if you see Dutch again.... tell him I never hated him. And I’m sorry I weren’t there when he needed me.”

The young man nodded in an assuring manner, trying his best not to break down in front of his father. “I will.”

“...Thank you, son...” The older man said quietly, letting his head tilt to the side. “Thank you.”

On the outside, he might’ve looked miserable to the boy, but on the inside, he was surprisingly content. Arthur found himself flipping through all his memories like an old photo album and recalled the days from when Dutch first met him, all the way to when he finally reunited with Isaac in Tall Trees.

There were so many emotions flowing through him. So many what ifs. So many things he wished he could’ve said when he still had the chance to say them.

He thought about his parents. He thought about Dutch and Hosea -- about their gang. He remembered the days they’d spend riding freely through the open deserts of New Austin, and the nights where they’d share stories around the campfire.

He thought about the years he spent falling in love with Mary. About the life he wished he could’ve had with her.

He remembered the pain of her absence when she decided to marry another man, and the happiness that quickly replaced it when he ran into Eliza a few years later.

But most importantly, Arthur remembered the day Isaac was born. He remembered the feeling of holding him for the first time, and wondering how on earth he was going to raise a family.

The boy was so innocent back then. So pure. He was completely untouched by the troubles of the world, and every time Arthur came home to visit, he’d feel at peace seeing his son’s face again... only to be forced to leave a few days later.

In the beginning, Arthur thought he’d never see Isaac again. He thought that Shay and his men had finished the kid off for good, and that he was condemned to be alone for the rest of his life.

And yet, here he was -- fifteen years later -- a full grown man, and fighting against the world entirely on his own, stronger than ever.

He carried a lifetime of sorrow and remorse with him, but Arthur knew that Isaac was still good at heart. The young man had the same compassion that Eliza held for others, and Arthur couldn’t have been prouder of the boy if he tried.

He loved him more than life itself, but now... he had to leave him behind. One last time.

Finally reaching the end of the road, Arthur welcomed the cold sensation that embraced him and calmly shut his eyes, falling still as one final breath escaped him.

His body was completely motionless now. Completely devoid of life. And the longer Isaac stared at the corpse of his father, the more he could feel warm tears welling up in his eyes. 

He was alone again. After all those years of seeking vengeance for Eliza’s death and finding the strength to move on from it, the process of mourning had reset itself.

It felt like the world around him had stopped turning, and despite the urgent threat of the Pinkertons lurking close by, Isaac couldn’t help but feel nothing except emptiness.

But he knew there was no time to grieve. Not right now. Arthur would’ve wanted him to get out of here safely, and he wouldn’t have wanted him to look back.

So, with one last farewell, Isaac said a brief goodbye to his father before heading for the cabin’s exit, and taking his leave from the abandoned town.

He felt like the same scared, little boy that watched Eliza die again, but this time, he wasn’t going to let others determine his fate for him.

He wasn’t going to allow anyone to control him like Shay or his gang did, and he wasn’t going to lose himself to vengeance.

The only thing he was going to do was reach the border, and he’d be damned if he let anyone stop him.

~~~~~~~~~~

OUTSIDE COLTER

Stepping back out into the unforgiving weather of Ambarino, Isaac removed himself from the confines of the cabin and began making his way back to Aldo, only to stop in his tracks when he noticed a man waiting for him outside.

The man was clearly a Pinkerton based on his uniform, but unlike his fellow lawmen, he seemed to display no hostility towards Isaac. His gun was resting in its holster, and even though the boy was obviously alone now, the agent showed no intentions of taking advantage of the situation.

In fact, his temperament suggested quite the opposite. The man wore a sympathetic expression on his face, and when his eyes landed on the signature hat sitting on Isaac’s head, a proverbial light bulb seemed to illuminate in his mind.

Isaac tentatively walked towards the man, analyzing his face.

It was Agent Fordham.

“There you are.” The Pinkerton said as he leaned against a wall, keeping his arms crossed. 

The boy kept a hand close to his gun, admittedly suspicious of the lawman’s motives.

“Archer Fordham...? What are... what are you doin’ here? You knew I was in there?”

The man nodded. “Yes. I saw you and your father go inside earlier, but I didn’t have the heart to interrupt.”

Archer sighed morosely, gazing at the snow-covered ground. “I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. Morgan. Your father and I may have been on opposite sides of the law, but it sounds like he was a good man.”

Isaac replied halfheartedly, still somewhat shocked by the sudden death.

“He was.”

The Pinkerton steadily approached Isaac, careful not to alarm him.

“Listen, Mr. Morgan, I know this is a traumatic time for you, but you need to understand your current position. If Edgar finds you, you’ll be a dead man. After that little shootout he had with your father back at camp, he’s fully intent on taking you back to Blackwater as a corpse. He won’t let you walk out of here alive.”

Isaac picked up on the man’s tone. “...But you will?”

Fordham let out a conflicted breath, furrowing his brow in thought. “I believe in a world of law, Isaac, but I don’t believe that a world built on order has to be one without mercy. I’ve read your files. I know you’re only twenty-one years old. And I know that if I alert my superiors of your presence here, they’ll take away everything you’ve worked for. They’ll have you killed.”

The agent stepped closer to Isaac, looking around to make sure no one else was nearby.

“...I know Edgar disagrees with me on this, but I think you deserve a chance at life. It may be the unlawful thing to do -- letting you go -- but I believe it’s the right thing to do. After all, how much is civilization really worth if we reflect the same savagery we fight?”

Taken aback by Archer’s compassion, Isaac found himself at a loss for words and simply stared at the man incredulously, unable to believe his stroke of luck.

“You-- you’re--” Isaac stuttered, “...thank you, Fordham. I doubt your friends would’ve done the same.”

The Pinkerton maintained a stoic demeanor, but Isaac could tell he felt empathy for the young man.

“Just don’t mistake my mercy as a pardon. You’ll still be a wanted man in the United States, and the Pinkertons will take you in if they find you again -- myself included. So, if you have any plans to get out of the country, I’d use them now. This will be the only chance you get.”

Isaac nodded despondently, his mind still preoccupied with Arthur’s final words. “Of course. I understand.”

Archer turned on his heel and walked back to his horse, promptly ending the conversation there.

“Good. Then I think it’s best if you and I pretend we never had this talk.”

Mounting up, Agent Fordham took hold of the reins and clicked his tongue, urging the horse to begin trotting away.

“It’s a shame that it had to end this way, Mr. Morgan, but I wish you luck. For both our sakes, I hope we never cross paths again.”

Isaac watched the man slowly vanish into the distance, holding onto Arthur’s gun as if his father were still around. He was fully aware that the man wasn’t coming back, and yet, part of him couldn’t help but hope.

Strangely enough though, that just seemed to make it even worse.

“Yeah...” Isaac whispered solemnly, his tone burdened with loneliness. 

“...Me too.”

[disregardcanon]

end of year writing meme

time for my end of year writing meme! this has been a tradition for me since 2015 or 16, so i’m excited to keep it up :) i normally do it ON new year’s eve because i write over winter break. but.

i have the depression/anxiety cocktail and have to go back to teaching next monday so i highly doubt i’ll get anything else written or posted by then. sigh

tagging @titaniumsansa @bodhimcbodeface and anyone else who wants to do it

Total Stories Written: 18 on ao3 19 completed total

Total Words Written: i know my ao3 stats are shifted p drastically this year because i updated two extensive drabble collections, but i do have more unposted drafts this year so i’ll just go with it. 96k Average Words Per Story: about 5k as the mean, which tracks Shortest Story: 370 words Heaven on Her Mind Longest: 11,875 words Academia Nuts

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted?

less! i knew i’d write less this year than i have in the past because student teaching and then first year of teaching are both supposed to be hell, but i kind of expected going into quarantine that would give me the time and energy to write.

but NO! in some months of quarantine i wrote less than i did during student teaching, certified most stressful time of my life

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write most?

pairing: cassunzel! coming in clutch at 6 stories

genre: no fucking clue

fandom: tangled was the most by number, but i think jedi fallen order is the most by word count because those two fics combined come in about 13k

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? uh, that’s probably rwby. i always knew that when i watched rwby i’d go feral but i didn’t expect to watch it this year

Did you take any writing risks this year? i think my biggest writing risk was writing a 12k fic with romcom tropes about a platonic relationship no one cares about from a mainly dead fandom

Academia Nuts, the one where merlin and morgana are bickering in-laws and academic rivals

Do you have any fanfic or general writing goals for the new year? i would frankly just like the time and energy TO write. this year has been the most stressful and depressing time of my life and that’s reflected in my writing output. i would like to see more output because i have more energy and drive to do the things that make me happy again

From the past year of writing, what was your…

Best story of this year: the thing with feathers fluttering in her chest the jedi fallen order fic about trilla suduri capturing cal kestis but still eventually deciding to defect

Personal favorite: Smoke Rises, Cinder Falls my personal take on the cinder backstory before it dropped! while i definitely like where the show took the backstory better because the hotel imagery is TOP NOTCH i still love what i did here. i think that i made good use of style and the information that we had, and i think that the salem connection works very nicely

Most under-appreciated: i know calling a fic with 65 kudos “underrated” is a bit ridiculous, but this is for a very large fandom. it might be dead but i still think it could drum up a bit more support :(

Academia Nuts, the merlin and morgana are bickering in-laws and academic rivals fic

Most fun to write: as a reward for being so fucking happy that biden won the election for real, i rewarded myself by writing the pines family reacting to it

Remember, Remember the 7th of November

Story with the single sexiest moment: how about that inquisitor caltrilla au?

I Want You to Want Me

Most “holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story: captive caresses, the one where the v shaped polyamory dynamic that i normally do with cassunzel and new dream isn’t so healthy

Most challenging to write: from a technical standpoint that would be academia nuts, but from a personal standpoint...

Scar Tissue, the steven universe fic about connie still keeping secrets from her parents

Biggest disappointment: frankly, nothing i wrote this year can be a disappointment because i put words on a page. however, i will say that i could have polished this one that i wrote years ago up more before i posted it

Holy Ground, the shireen/jeyne poole fic from like 2015

Favorite character to write: i didn’t get stuck on a fandom long enough to get a favorite character to write tbh

Favorite opening lines:

Sometimes, when Rapunzel wakes up in the morning, she likes to pretend that everything is alright. She closes her eyes and imagines that Cass is right down the hall, just like she used to be. Rapunzel will burst into her room as soon as she gets up, ready to plot some new mischief to keep them busy for the day. Cass will roll her eyes, but she’ll go along with it because she secretly enjoys Rapunzel’s plans. She’ll smile when Rapunzel isn’t looking, and she’ll call her Raps with a soft fondness that makes Rapunzel's heart melt.

Jeung

Sophie knows that she shouldn’t be walking home alone at this hour. Of course she knows that. She’s a tiny white girl who lives in Gotham with little self-defense training or experience in athletics. She’s had “don’t walk home alone” beaten into her head for so many years she wonders if those were the first words the nurse said when she came into this world.

 Not “it’s a girl!” but “don’t let her walk home alone at night!” 

Walk Me Home in the Dead of Night

Favorite closing lines:

“Follow me,” the fairy godmother ordered, taking a brisk step forward. Cinder followed without question, just a step behind. Following, following, following- just as she would be following her until the end of time. Cinder was her protege, after all, and must be prepared to take over the fairy godmother’s work someday.

That day would not come for many years, but it would come. And the fairy godmother would finally have everything  she ever wanted.

Smoke Rises, Cinder Falls

Trilla can’t exactly have her second-in-command stay that low in the hierarchy forever. A consort to a queen needs to walk only a few steps behind her, after all.

I Want You to Want Me

Other favorite lines:

She can lead a horse to independent thought, but she can’t make him think.

The Name Game

When Trilla gets back to her room, she grabs the damn cube and throws it against her wall as hard as she can. It doesn’t break, because the holocron is made of stronger stuff than that.  Cal Kestis  is made of stronger stuff than that.

Maybe she’s the only one in the world who’s so capable of shattering.

the thing with feathers fluttering in her chest

“You don’t have to forgive him,” Fuyumi says, “just don’t kill him.”

“Because he can’t come back from that?” Dabi demands, “a corpse can’t  decide that it wants to love its daughter, right?” Dabi watches as the  knife twists, and Fuyumi’s facade finally crumbles. She slams her mug of  tea down on the table, and they're both lucky that it's not full  anymore or the hot liquid would have come flying out.

Justice Without Dispassion

“But you’re a good trainer,” Lillie says, “you’re what I want to evolve into.” Selene shakes her head.

“We're  from different evolutionary lines,” she says, “you evolving into me  would be like- I don’t know. A Charmander evolving into a Blastoise.”  Lillie looks like she’s holding the fur even tighter, and Selene snakes  her hand underneath to disentangle Lillie’s hand from the fur and give  her something else to clutch. Lillie squeezes her hand like a stuffed  Jigglypuff that people carry around to squeeze away their stress.

“But  what if I’m stuck at Charmander forever, and what if Blastoise is  better than Charizard, and what if I’m just- just not cut out for this?”

Even Gods Like Cuddles

“Do you remember when we were really little,” you say, “and I used to  come over for dress up parties. I’d wear your extra princess dress, let  you do my hair however you wanted.” You smile, thinking about how cute  the pictures that Bianca’s mom took of you two looked. Your mother  always said that they’d be good blackmail material, someday, but-

It wasn’t ever shameful, especially not if your mother didn’t make you feel ashamed.

“Of  course,” Bianca says, “you were always the best at sitting still. No  one else would have let me do their nails and makeup.” You’re not  looking at her, but you can hear the soft smile in her voice.

“You were always so indulgent, Hils. I really appreciated that.”

“I wasn’t being indulgent,” you say, balling your hand into a little fist and rubbing your thumb over your knuckles.

“I always- I just,” you say, “I wanted to be that “girl friend” that you always wanted.”

Girl Talk

[mka1098]

I Ask For Your Hand In Marriage -A PJO Fanfiction

A Percy Jackson Royal AU Fanfiction

Description: Percy is a prince, Annabeth is a royal overseer and they both are idiots who don’t realize they are in love.

If you want this fanfic read out for you, click the link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rngkxsHmkAU 

Chapter 2

In truth, Percy’s head was reeling and he was not very happy with what his parents had just asked of him. Or more so what Annabeth had signed him up for! He wasn’t planning on being a bachelor forever, that would literally be impossible as a first born and only child monchach of a thriving kingdom. 

“Why would you do this to me?” Percy whined when they got into the hallway and headed back to his room. Annabeth rolled her grey eyes.

 “Do you want the traditional version? Because believe me you’d hate it.” She shot back. 

“I don’t like this.” Percy said like a child, planting himself onto his bed. He crossed his arms and pouted. Annabeth sat down next to him and allowed him to lean his head on her shoulder. “I know. But you’ll find a Princess you’ll like. I promise.” She said, wrapping a hand under his head to rub his cheek like she did back when they were kids and Percy was stressed about ruling the kingdom one day. 

“Why can’t you just do the things?” He said.

 “Oh my god. We literally went over this with you like three times. How else am I going to drill it into your head. This is like the one thing I can’t help you with.” She groaned.

 Percy made a whining noise when she stopped moving her hand; she restarted. “You usually can help me with everything!” He pointed out.

 Annabeth gave him a tightened smile. “I know. This is a first.”

 They were silent for a couple of minutes. Annabeth was probably thinking of everything she had to do to prepare for the Princesses and how it would add to her pre-existing workload; Percy was just whining like a baby about how his best friend couldn’t help him with this situation. A rogue part shouted to ignore all rules and make everyone agree for her to take over the queen duties for however long it would take for him to find a girl he liked. Percy couldn’t listen to that part of his head, no matter how much he wanted to. 

“Would you like to hear more about the plan? Or about the Princesses you’ll be meeting?” Annabeth asked gently. Percy nestled his face into her hair and whined. 

“No.” He said like a baby. 

He felt her head nod. “Alright. Do you wanna a blue cookie to feel better? And then go swimming?” She asked. Percy grinned. God, she knew him so well. Annabeth’s tinkling laughter shook into his ears. “I thought so.” She said with amusement in her voice. Percy pouted at her like a child; she laughed. God, she knew him so well. 

It was an hour later that Percy found himself surrounded by 3 of his top 5 favorite things. Annabeth, water and blue cookies. All that was missing was his mother and his sword, which he lovingly named Riptide. As a normal person does; name their sword. 

“I feel better already.” He commented with a smile on his face. He leaned his arms onto the floating Annabeth was laying on, careful not to tip it over; Ironically, Annabeth was not a fan of being in the water. 

“You’re a simple creature.” She teased, smirking behind her sunglasses. A thought rushed into his head that made him frown. 

“What is it?” She asked him quickly, reading the expression.

 Percy sighed. “Nothing, just… with the whole queen thing… it’s coming so soon. Ruling I mean. Sure I have 12 years or so but… it feels like it’s coming close. And honestly, I’m kinda scared.” He admitted. 

Annabeth put a counseling hand on his arm. “I know, the future is scary. Ruling, sure it’s big. But that’s because you haven’t done much with it just yet. We’re easing you in; our kingdom had the best power transfer of all the power kingdoms because we prepare you years and years in advance. By the time it comes, you won’t be scared. You’re not going to be alone. For once, you’re gonna have your future wife with you and she'll be learning the ropes too. And I’ll be here to hold you steady until you get there.” She said. It was supposed to be comforting; he was supposed to feel better now hearing that. But, it just made him sad and a little more nervous. 

“No.” Percy shook his head, the water flew off his dark locks. “Royal overseers only help till the monarch turns 25. I’ll still have up to 5 years to go without you; all alone.” He pointed out. Annabeth brushed a hand down his face softly, her face had a gentle smile on it. 

“You’re not gonna need me when you’re twenty-five. You’ll be ready. And you won’t be alone. You’ll have your queen. You’ll have learned enough to not need my help or my guidance or presence or anything.” She said.

 Percy frowned deeper, it felt foreign on his face. “But what if I want your help and presence and annoying nags?” Percy said. 

“You won’t.” She sounded so certain. It was as if Percy could just close his eyes and believe fully that once he was 25, he wouldn’t need his best friend’s help. But he did; he knew that. 

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because you’ll have all of that from your queen.”

“But what about my best friend?” 

Annabeth raised a brow at him and smiled in an amused way. “Do you really think it will be easy to get rid of him? You’re stuck with me for life.”

 Percy smiled at that; normally he told her that so it was nice to hear it back. And of course, he didn’t mind being stuck with her for life. Sure she nagged at him every second of the day, out of love duh, was insanely organized and had a conniption whenever she walked into his room on a lazy day and was absolutely terrifying, but that was what made Annabeth his best friend.. Percy didn’t want to change a single thing about her; all those annoying things were just reasons to love her and her uniqueness.

“No but you won’t be my royal overseer.” He said with a sad sigh. 

He couldn’t imagine doing anything without Annabeth guiding him or at least standing by his side. Her grey eyes watched him seriously without a word; it was mildly intimidating but also comforting. A sharpened gaze your way was how Annabeth showed she was listening. 

In truth, Percy was growing frustrated, at all the rules he had to abide by and how he couldn’t just have his best friend in the entire world help. “Because you’ll have your queen. God how many times do I have to say this.” The blonde-haired girl said with a laugh. Percy tilted his head so his cheek rested on the floaty. He was not feeling very happy, to be totally upfront and honest. 

“I hate this. In 7 years, or maybe less. You’re no longer going to be able to help me like this. I’m gonna have to depend on someone else, someone I don’t even know the name of right now! I don’t want to do that. I wanna depend on you! I’ve already put my life in your hands multiple times and each and every time I did it with complete trust. How am I gonna put that kind trust into someone else? I’ll only know them for 6 or so years. And they have to control the kingdoms too? How can I trust someone that much if they aren’t you?” Percy groaned into the plastic. “You won’t even live in the castle anymore.” He said with a sinking feeling in his heart. There would no longer be sleepovers in each other's rooms or secret sneakouts to the roof of the castle to look at stars and talk about unimportant things. Royal overseers didn’t stay in the castle once the monarch was betrothed after all. 

“What will you do when you’re 25?”

“I’ll plan your wedding and then find a different job. I’m sure it’s not that hard to get hired when you’ve worked for the royal family.”

“Are you still going to be the godmother of my heirs?”

“No, that has to be a noble. You know that.”

“But you promised!”

“Yeah, when I was like 10. Before I had this job. Back when I was an homeless orphan.” She cringed at that last word. 

Percy took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly “I didn’t know any better or any of the rules. But I do now.” Percy sighed sadly; she squeezed his hand in response. 

A rare gentle smile made its way onto her face and it shone only for him. In total dorkiness, Percy liked to call it her Percy smile; she never smiled at anyone else that way. It was soft and loving and sweet and understanding and only for him. 

“You’re going to be fine. It will all work out. And you’re going to meet one of the Princesses and fall head over heels in love with her and you’ll trust her more than anyone in the world. Even more than me.” Annabeth looked at him evenly in the eyes. She looked so sure; he wasn’t. 

“You’re not going to need anyone but her, okay?” Percy couldn’t give a response without outright lying to her or telling her a truth she’d start a lecture over so he settled for nodding. Plus, he made a promise to himself to not lie to her.

“You’re going to be fine.” Annabeth said, gently pushing back his damp hair. Percy sighed and nodded. 

He hoped she’d be right.

He had a feeling that he'll always need her, despite what everyone was saying.

And he didn’t know if he wanted to be right or wrong in this situation. 

[xsixxx]

Bad Influence - Chapter 11

Word Count - 5.4K

Authors Note - It's been a while! 👋🏻 About 4 months I think 😬 If there are any Bad Influence fans actually left out there, I'm so sorry & I love you. I had a really fuckin shitty last few months of 2019 & because of that, I kinda stopped doing the stuff I enjoy, writing this fanfic & using this blog being one of them.

Then I tried to come back before I was ready 😂 I wrote this chapter out about 2 months ago, but never bothered to post it bcos I didn't care enough about it. But I've recently returned to it, rewrote it & remembered why I fuckin love writing this fanfic. So I'm super excited to post this chapter & I hope you don't all hate it after how long it's been 😂 It's a bit rough bcos I'm getting back into it & I'm kinda rusty!

I love you guys for baring with me, I can't wait to get back into writing this fic for you 🖤

Warnings - Um, the f word is used in like every sentence oops, some implied smut when Nikki is remembering (choking trigger warning), I guess 'violence' but not really violence???, a whole lot of angst & a teeny bit of fluff at the end

Tags - @cruecifymesixx @freddiessmallnipples @queen-crue @scarecrowmax @lovesick-heart0 @littlesunnymoon @80sheart-strings @cranberrirolls @inthebackofmycarlaytheirbodies @versnatasha @zoenicolesetser @crazysaladchopshop @ggorehorror @lunamadhatter99 @justtryingtoovercome @chaoticvybe @you-know-im-a-dreamer @eightiesrockbaby @valentines-in-london @xrosegoldwolfx @fupatroopaa @lilypetite88 @this-blog-must-be-the-place @ashleecrue @lauravic @dark-princess99 @unknownoblivion @mgkobsessed @antheasnow @rockaholi @nassauartist @sparxx27

(there's one bit where Nikki is glaring across the bar at a character & this gif is spot on)

*Nikkis POV*

I drummed my fingers to the sound of a guitar as I watched Mick do his thing through the glass of the recording booth, his fingers working magic as he played the riff to Looks That Kill.

Fuck, that weird little guy could play.

“Nikki, this song is gonna fucking kill!” Tommy yelled enthusiastically, beating his drumsticks on the arm of the battered couch his was lounging on.

I smiled weakly back at him, my nerves keeping me from matching his excitement. “I hope so,” I mumbled. I look around the studio, basking in the enormity of where we were right now. Mötley was recording their second album & my nerves were shot. It had to be perfect. It had to do well.

“Stop stressing man, everyone’s gonna fucking freak over this album, I just know it!” He replied, smiling encouragingly, his usual Tommy level of positivity feeling sickeningly sweet, but still, I nodded at him gratefully. “So we hitting up The Whisky or what tonight boys?” He continued, addressing Vince as well as me, who was pouting on the couch next to him.

I chuckled without amusement, shaking my head. “Fuck no, not a chance I’m going in there yet.”

Tommy scowled at me. “Sixx, come on dude, you cant avoid the place forever. Plus, she might not even be working tonight!”

“I’m not risking it! I’m not gonna be able to enjoy the night if she’s there, judging my every fucking move, you know how she is.” I replied, rolling my eyes.

“So you’ve still not talked to her since..” Tommy trailed off, awkwardly. But Vince happily picked up from where he’d left off.

“Since you lead her on, fucked her & then blew her off?” He snapped arrogantly, instantly causing my jaw to tense.

“Don’t fucking start with me, Vinny. I’m not in the mood.”

“Oh, you mean you don't wanna hear about what a dick you were? What a surprise.” The sarcasm thick in his voice.

I slammed my hand down on the recording table & stood up sharply. “The fuck is your problem, man?” I snarled, his attitude & the mounting stress from the album mixing together to create a dangerous cocktail of anger & belligerence.

“My problem?” He questioned, standing up to meet my stare. “My problem is you Sixx. Beths a good fucking girl, what you did was real messed up, I should fucking floor you again for how you treated her. You owe the chick an apology at the goddamn least.” He spat, his anger in Beths defence honourable, but fucking irritating.

I chuckled arrogantly at his misplaced valiance. “Give it up the knight in shining armour act Vinny, I didn’t see you rushing to commit to her when she was getting your dick wet.”

I saw the danger flash in his eyes as he took a warning step towards me. “I didn’t fuck her & leave either.” He hissed, the venom in his voice palpable.

“Aw, did I upset your girlfriend?” I joked patronisingly, very aware that I was pushing it too far, but yet I couldn’t help myself, Vince acting all high & mighty was really starting to piss me off.

Vinces eyes narrowed sharply & I saw his hands ball into fists at his side. “Like I said, she’s a good girl. She didn’t deserve that.” He said through his teeth, the strain to keep calm evident in his voice.

I smirked at him amused, looking him up & down. “Whatcha gonna do Vince? Hit me again? Defend her honour? She’s a chick dude & a stuck up one at that. And she ditched your ass if you remember, you should be thanking me.” I laughed, shrugging.

“You know what Sixx, you’re an asshole. You know as well as I do that Beth isn’t another fucking groupie to this band. Nah, I didn’t wanna date her, but I like her- We all like her.” He corrected himself quickly.

“Vinny’s right man, I’m not taking sides, but Beths cool & I kinda do like having her around!” Tommy piped up, nodding.

“Fuck off T-Bone, you only want her around because you know as soon as she goes, so does your uptight piece of ass.” I shot at him, my frustration with the pair of them growing at a dangerous rate.

“Dude c’mon, there’s no need..”

I cut Tommy off viciously. “What the fuck has happened to this band?!” I shouted, shoving Vince out of my face. “Since when do we give this much of a fuck about chicks?! Look at where we are?!” I gestured around the recording studio. Mick had stopped playing & had casually lit a cigarette as he watched us bickering through the sound-proof glass. “This is what’s important. Now I’m going for a fucking smoke, this conversation is done & when I come back in we’re gonna record a fucking album, got it?!”

I barged out of the studio, flicked open my lighter & sparked up my cigarette, leaning back against the wall as I took in a shaky drag, my anger still surface level. I exhaled & closed my eyes, feeling the May sun warm my face & start to melt my mood away.

What was everyone’s fuckin’ obsession with this girl?!

Yeah she was cool, but she’s still a chick. And chicks = trouble.

I let my mind wander back to the look she gave me as she lay beneath me, my hand around her throat as she came undone & smirked to myself as I lifted the cigarette back to my smug lips. She was so worth the chase.

But Christ, I’m supposed to feel bad because I don’t want all that cutesy shit afterwards? No. Beth knew me, we’d had enough arguments about the kinda guy I am, she did this to herself. Not my fault that she thought she meant anything more to me than any one of those other girls. She was a fuck. A good fuck. But a fuck nonetheless.

I took another drag as the image of Beth sat in her bed with that stung look on her face snuck its way involuntarily into my mind. I could see those hurt tears & hear her bitter words ordering me to leave. I couldn’t help the pang of guilt in my stomach that accompanied the image.

She’s a fuckin’ chick, Nikki. Chicks = trouble, I recited to myself, rubbing my face roughly with my hands, almost in hope that I could scrub away the memory of her pained face. Get over it man, it’s done.

I sharply exhaled the last of my smoke before throwing it aggressively to the floor, somehow more frustrated than I was before.

Time to go record a fuckin’ album.

*Later*

*Beths POV*

I smoothed out the material of the tiny black dress I was wearing as I pouted my lips at my reflection in the mirror, appreciating the sight of myself all dolled up & ready to forget all about Nikki fucking Sixx.

I flashed an all too familiar looking smirk at myself before I spun around of my sky high heels & strutted out of the ladies bathroom & back over to Sophia who was waiting at the bar, two drinks in hand. She winked at me as I got closer, holding out one of the glasses for me to take.

“Girl, you look unreal! If we weren’t here trying to pull for you, I’d take you home right now,” she laughed, nudging me & winking again.

I let out a laugh as I took a swipe at her arm, “I am not here trying to pull!” I insisted, not even managing to fool myself. It’d been a little over a week since I went from the all time high of fucking Nikki to the crashing low of realising I meant nothing to him in a matter of minutes & I’d laid around feeling sorry for myself ever since. Well, not tonight. I was gonna find a guy & I was gonna remind myself what a goddamn catch I am.

“Oh Beth, there’s a reason you’re wearing that dress tonight & girl, it ain’t for the coverage,” she giggled as I took another playful swipe. “Hey, there’s no judgements here! I’d want a good lay after the emotional rollercoaster that has been Nikki Sixx!”

I raised my eyebrows at her as she quickly mimed locking her lips. “Sorry, sorry, we don’t mention that name, my bad.”

I shook my head. “It’s fine, I’m over it,” I lied. “But, if a cute guy wants to buy me a drink & maybe show me a good time, I’m not gonna say no.” I shrugged as we both burst into a fit of giggles, before I took a long sip of the very strong cocktail.

“Well that sounds like my queue.” Came a smooth voice from behind me. I turned to face the handsome stranger who was stood leaning casually against the bar, eyebrow cocked as his eyes scanned up & down my body, drinking in the sight of me. “You have excellent timing.” I blushed, appreciating his good looks right back. He was classically good looking, with blonde hair & a chiselled jaw, dressed smart in a shirt that hugged his toned physique & muscular arms just enough to spark a little intrigue as to what lay underneath. He was the exact opposite to Nikki in every physical way. Where Nikki was unruly & unkept, this guy was clean shaven & well groomed. He wore no leather or studs & his smile was friendly & genuine, not smug & he wasn’t dripping in arrogance.

“I’m Daniel.” He introduced himself, holding out a hand for me to shake. I looked into his electric blue eyes & blushed once again.

“Beth, it’s nice to meet you.” I replied as smoothly as I could.

“& I’m Sophia, but I guess no-one asked,” she piped up mockingly, winking at me. “Now Dan, unless you’ve got a cute, single friend for me, I’m gonna get outta your way & go for a dance.” Soph smirked, grabbing her drinking & flouncing off towards the dance floor, blowing us a kiss as she did.

We both let out a laugh. “She seems great,” Daniel said as I nodded, taking a sip of my drink. “She mentioned something about an emotion rollercoaster though? I hope I’m not stepping on anyone’s toes?” He queried.

I swallowed my drink before letting out a little laugh. “Not at all, there are no toes to be stepping on, don’t worry.”

“Well good, I’m glad. I’m surprised though, a gorgeous girl like you doesn’t have a man. You’re sure there’s no-one, because you seem way too good to be true!” He flirted, as I laughed

“Oh you’re smooth.” I teased, “but no, there’s absolutely no-one.” I answered, pushing any & all thoughts & feelings I might have towards Nikki Sixx out of my mind.

*Little later*

“Wow, so you’re a doctor?” I asked, impressed.

Daniel laughed, shaking his head. “I wish! I’m a med student currently, but that’s the hope one day.”

“What made you wanna get into medicine then?”

He paused for a second, his warm smile faltering for a brief moment & I sensed his hesitation to answer. “I, um, lost my dad when I was younger. Spent a lot of time in hospitals with him when he got sick. I remember watching all these doctors around me taking care of people, helping, curing.. They seemed like superheroes to me back then. After we lost my dad, I knew I wanted to help people, be one of those people that kids could look up to in the same way I did, yanno?”

I nodded, smiling at his compassion & genuineness.

“Sorry, bit heavy for a first meet, I know.” He laughed awkwardly.

“Not at all!” I replied, “I asked the question, you just answered it honestly, I appreciate that.”

As Daniel carried on talking about his studies, I couldn’t help but admire him. THIS was the kinda guy I was supposed to end up with. Smart, hot as hell, a brilliant career ahead of him, goals, aspirations.. He was exactly the kinda man I could take home to my father. Daniel was everything I should want & he was actually interested in me.

And yet, I still felt that unwanted & yet infuriatingly all-to-familiar flame ignite the second I heard his voice drift over from the bar.

“Jack & coke please darlin’.”

Nikkis voice hit me like a slap in the face & rush desire all at once & I immediately froze, my body unsure how to react to my contrasting emotions.

“Are you ok?” Daniel asked, reaching out & touching my arm, concern written across his face. I flinched as his touch, still lost somewhere in Nikkis voice, & snatched my arm away instinctively.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ Started Daniel, his concern look now laced with panic.

“N-no, its fine honestly, its not you, its just..” I drifted off, briefly glancing behind me, trying to pin a location on the voice. My eyes caught sight of the four of them standing at the bar, waiting on their drinks. Nikki was dressed in his usual leather trousers, torn at the knees, & combat boots & a torn up shirt. His hair almost appeared messier than usual & he had a cigarette hanging from his lips. He couldn’t have been more different from the sharp, handsome man sat opposite me.

Daniel followed my line of sight & spotted the literal motley crew. Nikki was already hitting on the bar maid, distracting her whilst Tommy & Vince reached over & stole a bottle from behind the bar; all whilst Mick stood by, watching disapprovingly & swigging from his trademark flask.

“You know them?” Daniel asked hesitantly.

“Nope.” I replied bluntly, snapping back to reality & turning back to him. “I fancy getting out of here though, you wanna head back to mine, continue the drinking there?”

Daniel looked a little taken a back at the upfront offer as I stood up & downed the last of my drink, but I was fairly certain he wouldn’t refuse. I didn’t care either way at this point, I just needed out of here.

“Um sure-“

“Great, I’ll go find Sophia..”

“She’s over there, talking to those guys you apparently don’t know.” Dan stated, his tone now flat & a little judgemental as he raised an eyebrow at me.

“Look, Daniel, I don’t wanna get into it, but its better we just leave.” I said, hoping to avoid any questions, but his face was growing more unimpressed by the second. “I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you Dan, ok? But I can’t be here right now, so I gotta go. I’d, um, I’d like you to join me.. If you want to, of course. I mean, you don’t have to..” I mumbled, suddenly very aware & embarrassed by how he must be viewing me in that moment.

I saw his eyes narrow at my discomfort &, I’m assuming against his better judgement, he nodded & stood up to join me. “I’m not sure what’s happening here, but I’ve enjoyed getting to know you too & maybe you could fill me in on why you’re running away over that drink at yours?” He asked, a little suspicious but friendly. I nodded, giving him a small smile.

We started towards the exit when I felt a pair of hands snake around my waist & lift me excitedly into the air. I squealed in shock & suprise as Tommy span me around before placing me back on my feet.

“Beth! I cant believe you guys are here, what’re the chances? Soph said you came here to avoid us & we came here because Sixx wanted to avoid you! How fuckin’ funny is that?” He said, roaring with laughter, his hand resting on his stomach as he struggled to regain control on his amusement.

“Tommy.” I said sternly, shooting him a look that told him to shut the hell up. He quickly stood up straight, coughing a little to hide his laughter, before glancing over towards Daniel.

“Hey, who’s this? I’m Tommy dude, how ya doing?” He said, offering out his hand enthusiastically.

“Daniel, I’m good man, how’re you?” He answered, accepting the handshake hesitantly.

“I’m good? Hey, you wanna come meet the rest of the guys?” Tommy offered enthusiastically, without a second thought as to why that might not be such a good idea.

“Actually T-Bone, we’re just heading out.” I replied sharply, giving him another warning look.

“Ok, ok,” he laughed, holding his hands up in defeat as he got the hint. “It was nice to meet you man!” Tommy smiled at Dan, who nodded awkwardly back to him before T-Bone practically bounced back over to the bar.

“Don’t know them huh?” Daniel asked, his voice oozing with sarcasm suddenly, making me cringe.

“I’m sorry, they’re just.. A lot, ok?” I tried to explain, frustrated, mainly with myself.

“What’s the deal with this one?” Asked Dan, gesturing towards Nikki, who was leaning against the bar, sipping on his Jack & coke, his eyes fixed coldly on he two of us.

“That’s the, um.. Emotional rollercoaster.” I answered sheepishly, coughing to distract from my amounting discomfort, whilst simultaneously avoiding the eyes of both Nikki & Dan.

“Right.. Well, your rollercoaster is on his way over here.”

Fuck.

I glanced up to see Nikki, in all his arrogance, strolling towards us, his usual smirk fixed in place.

“I’m so sorry for whatever he says.” I quickly whispered to Dan, before Nikki came to a stop in front of us. I watched his eyes scan up & down Daniel, obvious sizing him up without an ounce of subtlety, before he turned his attention to me.

“Leaving without introducing us, Lizzy?” He drawled, the pretension thick in his voice.

“Yes Nikki, I am. So if you’d like to move-“

He cut me off, his focus back on Daniel. “I’m Nikki Sixx,” he stated, without the courtesy of a handshake.

“Daniel,” Dan replied, flatly, seemingly glad there was no extended hand to shake.

“And how do you know the lovely Lizzy here, Dan?” Nikki asked, his smirk never once faltering.

“We just met tonight, but we’re justing heading back to hers, if you don’t mind.” Dan replied simply, taking my hand.

“Oh but you see, I do mind.” Nikki stated bluntly, his smile as wide as it was dark as he side stepped back in front of Dan who had tried to manoeuvre round him. “Lizzy here is what we like to call a groupie & we,” he gestured towards the rest of the band behind him, “don’t particularly like sharing.”

“Oh fuck you, Sixx.” I scoffed, my face growing hot with a mix of anger & embarrassment. I turned to look at Dan, cringing at his raised eyebrow & gave him an apologetic look. “Don’t listen to him, he’s just being an asshole, I’m not a groupie.”

“Really?!” Nikki replied, dragging out the word dramatically as his shit eating grin somehow managed to grow wider. “Because I remember fucking you about a week ago & my boy Vince over there,” he pointed to at the very pissed off looking lead singer, “swears he remembers fucking you not long before that? Or are with both mistaken? I mean, there are a lot of you girls, you do all kinda look the same.. Feel the same too.” He chuckled darkly, shooting me a sly look. I glared at him with an expression so deadly that dared him to carry on. He rose to the challenge. “I tell you what though buddy,” Nikki continued, leaning into Dan so he was speaking into his ear, but just loud enough for me to catch what he was saying, “if you’re heading back to hers you’re in for a treat. She’s got the mouth of a motherfuckin’ Angel.” He finished, glancing over at me & winking. I was prepared to fly at him in a blind rage, fists balled, ready to wipe that smug smile off of his face permanently, when Dan spoke up, in a voice so peaceful & gentle, that it made his words seem somehow harsher.

“You are an arrogant piece of shit. I’ve been sat with this girl for the last hour & I spend a minute in your presence & it’s immediately clear to me that she’s way too good for you. But I’m sure she’ll realise that in her own time.” Daniel turned back to me, his expression stoney & irritated, but I could swear there was a hint of sympathy in his eyes. “If you ever get off of this rollercoaster doll, you know where you can find me.” He said, letting go of my hand as he stepped around the unmoving Nikki.

“Daniel, wait..” I caught him by the arm & quickly stepped in his path, stopping him.

“Beth, you seem like a great girl & I don’t think I’ve ever hit it off so quickly with someone like I have with you. But it’s obvious you have something with that guy & I’m not really interested in competing with him for your attention.”

I nodded slowly, knowing his words were fair. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok. And I mean it, if you decide to get off the rollercoaster.. I can probably offer you a slightly calmer ride. A carousel maybe?” Dan winked, laughing as I let out a light giggle. His blue eyes focused on mine, sending a surge of electricity through my body that momentarily extinguished the flame that Nikki somehow always managed to light. I lifted my lips & placed them softly on Daniels for the briefest second, before pulling away.

“Thank you.” I whispered.

His eyes lingered on my lips for a second, silently asking for more, before he came back to reality & gave me a genuine smile. “It was nice to meet you Beth. I do hope I get to see you again”, he nodded, before kissing my cheek & heading for the door.

I stood still for a second, gathering my thoughts & regaining my composure, before walking towards the bar where the Crüe & Sophia were stood, trying to act as if they hadn’t been watching.

I had barely made it over to them before Nikki was straight in there with his sly comments, immediately trying to get under my skin.

“Aw was Prince Charming not happy to hear the Princess was actually a band slu-“

Nikki didn’t get the chance to finish his insult. He was silenced by the remainder of my drink soaking him as I threw it at him furiously, dousing his arrogance with my cocktail.

“That is for thinking you have any right to chase away a good guy just because your petty, selfish ass is jealous.” I spat. “And this..”

The loud crack of my hand slapping him sharply across the face echoed around the bar, followed by the whooping of Vince & Tommy. I even caught a glimpse of Mick smirking.

Nikki recoiled, his hand flying to his crimson cheek, shock & fury on his face. But his rage couldn’t match mine. I grabbed his face roughly, my hand cupping his chin & cheeks, forcing him to meet my wrathful glare.

“That is for fucking me & leaving me like I was one of your whores.” I seethed, my voice quiet & dangerous.

Nikkis face went from white hot anger to an ice cold stare in an instant as he straightened up, pushing me off of him as he did. He took a step towards me, but I didn’t move an inch. I was way too fucking angry to back down.

“Listen Princess, you’re fucking lucky I’m not a bad guy-“ he began, but my sharp laugh rang loud, cutting him off.

“Not a bad guy?! Nikki, are you really that delusional?! You’ve done nothing but purposely fuck with my head from the day I met you. You’ve insulted me, dragged me down to your level, used me, screwed my chances with two different guys & for what?!” I screamed, tears threatening to form. “No, you know what?! You're fucking lucky Sixx, I’m not gonna do this here. I’m done. I don’t want anything to do with you.”

I span around, ready to make my dramatic exit, when I came face to face with a very happy looking band manager, Doc. He clearly couldn’t care less about our drama as he marched over to us like nothing was happening.

“Bartender, a round of shots for these boys & their girlfriends. We need to celebrate;”

“The fuck are you talking about Doc?” Snapped Nikki, his eyes still fixed on me.

“Boys, you’re in!" He announced, unable to hide his obvious pleased-with-himself smirk "I've just been told that Mötley Crüe have been offered a last minute slot to play alongside the likes of Judas Priest, Scorpions, Van Halen & The Prince of fucking Darkness, Ozzy fucking Osbourne at the US Festival on Memorial Day weekend!” Doc exclaimed, laughing as the band began shouting & whooping, looking disbelieved & excited as hell. Choruses of “are you serious?!” & “you’re fucking kidding!” we’re passed between them as Doc reassured them that they were on their way up.

In that moment, watching these guys I’d grown to love over the last couple of years get the break they worked so hard for, I couldn’t be mad. I watched as Tommy jumped on Nikkis back, Vince hugged Doc & Mick silently smirked to himself. They deserved this.

Doc handed me & Sophia a shot as we congratulated them all, although I couldn’t quite bring myself to share my enthusiasm with Nikki. But he was too busy to notice as he held up his shot glass in a toast.

“To us! We’ve got an old man, a kid drummer, a cover band singer & a fucking run away. Win it all or loose it all, we’re Mötley fucking Crue!” He yelled, his excitement & energy almost infectious, as much as I wanted to hate him.

“To you guys!” Sophia cheered, laughing as we all downed our shots.

“Let’s get another round in, we’re celebrating! And pour one for yourself gorgeous.” Vince called to the barmaid who was more than happy to oblige, blushing as he winked at her, turning on the Vince Neil charm that would assure she’d be going home with him at the end of the night. I remember that well, I chuckled to myself.

The atmosphere of the night had changed so dramatically from what it was 10 minutes previously, everyone’s anger & awkwardness forgotten in the wake of such elating news. I looked around all the happy faces; Vince flirting with the bar maid, Tommy all over a giggling Sophia, Mick & Doc eagerly discussing set lists & felt an overwhelming sense of misplacement. After all that had happened, I just couldn’t bring myself to match their enthusiasm, not tonight.

I noticed Nikki's gaze focused on me, his face betraying his now obvious guilt as he watched me stand alone, uncomfortable & upset. His sudden success had clearly snapped him out of his petty, jealous mood.

Uninterested in an apology from him, I let my eyes continue to scan the room, looking anywhere but at him, when Sophia glanced over, catching my eye & gestured for me to join in. I forced my best smile as I walked over to her & Tommy.

“Take another shot Reynolds!” Tommy shouted, pushing a shot glass of mysterious liquid at me. I laughed politely as I shook my head.

“Thanks, but no thanks T-Bone. I think I’m actually gonna shoot yanno, I’m getting pretty tired.” I lied.

“Beth, don’t leave, please?” Tommy pleaded, his face suddenly serious, moving away from Soph & towards me.

“T-Bone, it’s not a big deal honestly, you guys enjoy your celebrations!”

“Just talk to him. I know the fucker doesn’t deserve it, Beth, I know. But he cares for you more than you think, I promise. We all do.” He added, placing his hand in mine & giving it a squeeze as he flashed me a goofy half smile.

I gave him a half smile & squeezed his hand back. “I know Tommy & I love you guys, I really do. But I can’t be around him, its.. it’s too hard.” I muttered back, so quietly it was almost inaudible above the music playing in the bar. But Tommy caught it.

“You care for him too, don’t you?” He asked, just as quietly.

I nodded, my eyes filling with tears. “God knows why T-Bone, he’s made it clear he doesn’t care about me. I’m just another girl he fucked.” I sniffed, furiously wiping away my tears before anyone noticed.

“Beth, Sixx is a dick. I’ve watched him fuck over chick after chick who was convinced they’d tame him & he tosses them without a second thought. But not you. I don’t know what the fuck goes on in Nikkis head, but that fucker cares about you. So please, don’t ditch us all just because you think he doesn’t.”

“I’m sorry Tom, I know he’s your friend & you wanna see the best in him, but you’re wrong. Nikki Sixx only cares about himself.” I replied, straightening my posture & regaining my composure. I pulled Tommy into a tight hug & congratulated him again. “I’ll see ya around T-Bone, I’m sure.” I winked, gesturing towards Sophia.

He laughed, “I’ll look after her.”

I blew him a kiss before heading towards the door, not wanting to disturb anyone else’s night with my drama.

“Lizzy, wait up.” I heard Nikkis voice call. I closed my eyes briefly, choosing whether to stop or keep going. I chose the latter & walked swiftly out of the door, pretending I hadn’t heard.

But my ignorance was in vain & he was right behind me, following suit out of the bar.

“Nikki please, just go back-“

My sentence was cut short by his lips crashing onto mine. I froze, feeling anger, lust & passion sweep through my body as my brain tried to compute the correct emotional response. I pushed him away sharply, deciding anger overwhelmed any feelings I had towards him.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?! Are you asking for another slap?!”

“Lizzy, I’m sorry ok?” He blurted out, clearly uncomfortable with apologies.

“You’re sorry?! Oh, well that makes everything ok then.” I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes at him.

“I know ok, I fucked up. I’ve been a dick to you & I’m sorry. I just, I don’t know how to do this shit.” He mumbled, running his hands through his tangled hair.

“Do what, Sixx?” My frustration mounting with his half-assed apology.

“I don’t fucking do.. This.” He gestured between the two of us, struggling to find his words.

I sighed with exasperation. “What is this Nikki? Is this an apology or what, because honestly there isn’t much you can say right now, just let me go home.” I finished, turning to leave, but he caught hold of my hand, pulling me into him. He placed his hand gently under my chin, bringing my face up to his.

“I don’t do this, ok? I don’t do feelings or relationships, fuck, I won’t even sleep with a girl twice.” He laughed, before clearing his throat when he saw my unamused expression. “Lizzy, I am sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I got pissed as hell when I saw you with that fucking pretty boy, I snapped.. I don't know, I guess I was kinda jealous.. I do care about you.”

I scoffed. “You’ve got a funny way of showing it.”

“I do, Lizzy. But listening to you telling me why I’m a bad guy, all the shit I’ve done to you, you’re right. And I’m sorry. Just, please don’t leave. Come celebrate with us, we all want you here. I want you here.. You’ve been with us from the start, it wouldn’t feel the same without you. You mean a lot to me... Um, to us. You mean a lot to us.” He corrected.

I looked into his green eyes & saw the sincerity, noted the lack of arrogance in his voice & the absence of his usual smug smile. I so badly wanted to give into him. I wanted to taste his kiss again, melt against him like I always do. I wanted to take his hand & go back inside, enjoy the night with the band, drink, have fun & fall into bed with him when the night was over.

But I’d fell for Nikkis sweeter side before, I knew how the night would end. He’d leave afterwards & I’d be hurt all over again. And I wasn’t gonna let that happen.

“No Nikki, I’m sorry.”

[seekingseven]

Ah, feel free to not do this if it's too much, but... 11 for all of your LU works? You often seem somewhat self-conscious about your writing, and I wanna force you to appreciate your own work because it's really good 😘

The first thing I thought when I saw this ask was >:O, this anon really did just outwit me! 

But I’ll try and answer this question to the best of my ability. It’s true that I’m not always as confident in my writing as I could be, but I’m trying to train myself to only compare my writing with my writing. There’s no need for me to try and get as many hits or kudos or comments as someone else or mimic their style if I’m writing things that are valuable and well-crafted by my own standards. It’ll take some time for me to fully internalize that, but the fact that I haven’t yet seems to stress out a lot of people, so I’m taking it a little more seriously now. :) 

All of this will go under a read-more cut as soon as I get on a computer.

Alright, to the ask! 

Based off of the fic ask meme 

(11) What do you like best about this fic? 

How do you do, fellow kids? 

Ah, my first crack fic. This one was loads of fun to write. Without a doubt, Bolson!Sky and MasterCycle!Hyrule are parts of the story that make me most proud. They were both such weird ideas and I think that I implemented them well enough to get a chuckle out of my readers! Also, I will forever be proud of the fact that I was able to rickroll my readers via. fanfic XD 

Sponge Cake for Four 

Ah, my second crack fic XD. Crack fics are actually really really fun to write, believe it or not! I think the thing I like best about this fic is the part with Wars flexing on the innkeeper. Something about Warriors just flexing his pecs in front of a normal townsperson, probably t-posing to complete the picture as well, just makes me laugh. The story was written as a gift to everyone who frequents the supportive channel (at that time, channels) on the LU discord, and the fact that some people found it funny and well-written enough to take their mind off their current situation also makes me very proud. :D 

Of Minish and Men 

Without a sliver of a doubt, my favorite part of this fic is the character dynamics. Even though I like to think I’ve grown a lot as a writer since I first published the story, I think that the dialogue between Hyrule and Four in chapter 1 is still very thought-provoking and does the story’s namesake (not exactly a namesake though XD) a modicum of justice. And the way that Twilight and Legend’s dialogue built off each other was also pretty neat! Yeah, I’m quite proud of this story as a whole! :D 

Safety Hazard 

Ah, my third crack fic XD. Only now am I realizing how much crack I’ve written for this fandom, haha, oh lord. 

Anyway, I think my favorite part of this story is the resolution. Sun is actually such a fun character to write, and she really illuminated the last portion of the story with her cheeriness and motherly attitude. I’m also very proud of that detail with Wild thinking Sky’s letters to Sun were all romantic and then finding out that all of them are just Sky rambling about how much he loves his found brothers. Considering that I came into this fic with the most barebones outline you could imagine, I’m so thankful that the brain cell blessed me with a workable ending!  

10 Years of Lightning 

Ooh. This is a hard one. 

I think that the thing I like most about this fic might be the lightning imagery? I had just finished watching ATLA, and the lightning redirection scenes in Season 2 just stuck around in my head. They ended up writing their way into the story, and I think it came off pretty okay! 

Eastward Bound 

Eastward Bound is probably one of my better stories, probably because it’s one of the most recent, haha! Even though a lot of people seemed to like the snow imagery, my favorite part is the temple scene. I’m a Christian, and I’m heavily involved in my church and in biblical studies. I was even planning to study for a PhD in Biblical Studies for the longest time before I found myself slowly but surely becoming fixated on the idea of becoming a medical first responder. Anyway, I wanted to channel the sense of wonder and awe I get whenever I’m in church all alone and the light is just coming through the windows...oh those moments are so powerful. I did my best to communicate that feeling of gratefulness and gratefulness in the story, and I think I did it pretty well! 

Tarshish 

The emotions in this story are by FAR my favorite part. It’s such a weird little fic, with 0 plot, no resolved conflict, and very little dialogue, but I’m extremely proud of it. I was able to channel a lot of my confusion and anger into the story in a way that was constructive and thoughtful yet still stayed true to my emotions. I can’t wait to finish Chapter 3 and get it out, I’m very very happy with where it’s going. And I’m also pretty happy that the story is so low-attention, that takes a lot of the pressure off my back to cater to the crowd and makes me feel safe just writing what I want. :D 

And Silence Was Their Language 

This story was written for Caleb (aka the Lego Animation Guy), and he said that he liked it! So that’s my favorite part of the story, that it was able to make the giftee happy. :D 

But on another note, I like the way that the full-circle idea came through in the story. I started and ended the story on very similar notes, and that gave it a sense of completion and closure that even had me smiling. And the last line is pretty good too XD 

The Most Sincere Kind of Lie

I’m going to be honest and say that it’s extremely hard for me to answer this question for this fic. The story has received a lot of attention lately -- attention that I’m beyond grateful and honored to receive -- but attention comes with pressure, and with pressure comes perfectionism. At least, for me. And I’m only human. I can’t make perfect work, yet I really REALLY wish I could. But even though this question makes me supremely uncomfortable in regards to this question, I’ll try and answer it as best as I can anyway. 

I think that the subtlety I’ve employed in this story supersedes anything I have written in my life. The amount of double-meanings, foreshadowing, showing-not-telling, and misdirection I’ve done the story so far never ceases to make me smile at myself. I cannot wait for the Big Reveal later on in the story, one of many, actually, that will hopefully make all my readers stop, think, and remember all the little hints I’ve dropped along the way. I’m also quite proud of the dialogue coming up in Chapter 11. :) 

This was a tough question to answer, but thank you for asking, anon! I hope those answers were sufficient. 

Please feel free to send in more asks if you have any, but you have 0 obligation to do so! Only if you’re particularly curious about something. :) 

[deviant3lover]

Personal Headcanons for the Trio

On a rare spark of inspiration, I’ve decided to compile my list of headcanons for the Trio for you all to look at if you’re interested. :) 

I tried my best to make them rooted in canon so that they may be plausible while still allowing me to indulge. ;)

Putting this under Read More because boy, it is long.

Metal Bat/Badd

- From my asks to @atinychai​, Badd likes traditionally masculine things because it makes him feel empowered and keeps most people away. He shows almost all the traits: being into sports, working out, being fierce and intimidating… all except for being attracted to women. (Came as a real shock to him too: his team often found girls cute but Badd couldn’t help but notice that some guys were pretty hot and nobody pointed it out. Doubly so because he loves the thought of being married one day and none of the ladies appealed to him.)

- Very straightforward thinker, but unlike Genos, he isn’t completely tactless or over the top with it. His thought process focuses on what needs to be done, what is needed to do it, and to do it ASAP. Considerations are taken into account, such as what would happen if he doesn’t do it right or in a certain way. This is especially good for him since he’s a busy guy even by S-Class standards, but it does leave him vulnerable to not thinking through long term plans that well.

- The most empathetic and physically affectionate of the three. He keeps his tough look on him in public and in private, but he’s one of the first people to offer to hug it out if you’re breaking down. 

(Obviously where no one can see it: that’s embarrassing on you and would attract too much unwanted attention to him, so he makes sure there’s no one watching. If there is, he’ll clap you on the shoulder, look you in the eye, and offer some advice and encouragement.) 

Young boys and teenagers look up to him, and they usually feel better about crying into his shirt when Badd tells them how hard it was to stop himself from bursting into tears at his first loss in a match, or when he was trying to keep quiet for Zenko’s sake at her recital.

- Continuing on that note, he keeps a nice relationship with some of his sporty fans. Not anything too intensive, but he’ll keep track of the boys who come to him asking him what he was like on his baseball team, what to do if there’s infighting in their group, which ones are worried about their baseball matches and he gives them a proud congrats if they win, or a consolation + inspiration to do better next time if they lost.

- When he’s not blinded by anger, Badd’s surprisingly pretty adept at being a social expert. His experiences of being on the baseball team + hanging out with problem students like him has given Badd a pretty good perspective on both the popular kids and the hated, loner kids, as well as what they’re going through. As a result, he’s usually well received by them. Feels a little embarrassed and uncomfortable around smart kids though, especially when they explain something that sounds a little complicated to him.

- Back in his younger days prior to all the responsibilities piled on top of him, Badd was a pretty good leader for his baseball team. He checked in regularly with his team mates, their equipment, their training regimens, and their upcoming opponents. He helped some of his team mates with confidence issues, and made sure to keep in check with how they’re doing to prevent in-team fighting. All-star baseball team in their region for sure. :3

- In the future, I imagine that Badd might take up some boxing after taking a hint from all the times monsters knocked his bat out of his hands away from him. Lost his weapon? He’ll use his fists until he can get it back again, and he’ll use them well. Turns out loves the sport, but baseball will always have a special place in his heart.

- He empathizes easily with people experiencing stress; he goes through that daily with everything he has to take care of- but he’s more clueless with issues such as mental illness. Badd’s a little insensitive about it, sometimes suggesting things to take care of it which don’t work, but he’s trying his best to understand what someone is going through and knows enough to know that it isn’t something that can’t be solved by blowing off steam or cutting off some bad things in your life. Gets pissed off if someone dismisses it as ‘something that’s all in their head’ or ‘they’re crazy’ and will confront them. Forcing apologies out of the offender isn’t out of the question. Might want to stop him before he gets too pissed off.

- Like you’d expect, he’s a pretty big fan of sports, but in a more casual way. He likes hearing about his favorite athletes, training regimens, and certain meals/diets that helped stars to build up/maintain their strength and skill, but doesn’t obsessively get himself involved in the subject. On a more sentimental note, Badd finds some solace with famous athletes because they had to work hard to get where they needed to be, and on top of that, have to deal with the pressures that come with their popularity; whether they like it or not.

- Despite not having much time to cultivate attention to honing his skill and interest in cooking, he loves Gordon Ramsay. Seeing him rip entitled, spoiled people apart with words alone and gently encouraging + teaching kids has him placed high on Badd’s list of celebrities that he respects.

- Badd is a Closeted Romantic and a Family Man. Always found it touching where in some old action/thriller films, the male married lead thinks about his wife and kids back home and tells himself that he shouldn’t die, powering through the pain/adversity to get back to them. At some point it shifted to him liking some intense drama/action movie focusing on romance where the couple race against time to get to each other before it’s too late. The idea that someone you love and treat as an equal might actually be gone forever really gets him, and if done right, he’ll cry.

- Cannot, for the love of him, focus well on books. He’s literate, but he always wants to get to the most important stuff, often skimming over details that might be important later on. This is also evident in how he writes, explaining something simply and to the point, which makes him pretty good at teaching kids basic, simplified concepts, but not so good at constructing incredibly thought out and nuanced writing. Books and audio books just aren’t immersive to him. Consequently, English is one of his worst subjects in school, and he often has to rely on online notes and essay examples to help him out.

- Extending on that, I imagine him to be a kinaesthetic/visual learner. He was born with amazing dynamic vision after all. (Under ‘Fighting Style: Keen Perception.’)

- Loves American action movies, but they’ll have to be really well made for him to remember a specific one. If you asked him about his favorite action scenes, he’ll describe it, but more often than not, he won’t remember the movie’s name unless you gave him some clues.

- (Inspired by this fanfic.) His mother died in a monster attack just moments after giving birth to Zenko. Badd used to love and respect his father, but her death lead to him spiraling down to alcohol abuse and neglect due to his grief, leading to his broken pedestal status in his son’s eyes. Badd’s still bitter over it when he thinks about it, saying that his ‘old man nursed his bottle like it was his new kid’ instead of being there for him and Zenko. Caught between poor grades in school, a rough home life, and a baby sister he didn’t know how to take care of, Badd had to convince himself that he needed to be twice the man his father is, and ever was, to get through the worst of what life had to throw at him.

- No matter how hard he tries, he still loves his father, and wants to see him endeavor to become better again. But the combined grief of seeing him crumble and give up on himself, the bitterness over his dad failing to be there for him when he needed it the most, and the anger over how seemingly self-absorbed he was in with his booze and watching the static on the TV when Badd was struggling to cope, makes him force the thought of reconciling out of his mind. Badd forces himself to be outwardly angry over what happened to avoid the conflicted feelings he has over the man he used to see as his hero.

- That being said, if you know what his father used to mean to him, you’ll see subtle signs that while Badd can’t forgive, he had never forgotten him. His father was a big sports fan too, and taught him how to properly hit a baseball. If you knew what he taught and looked closely when Badd fights or does some swings, you’ll see that the tips and tricks that he taught his son has never left him.

- Wanted to get a dog because he thought they were cool, but realized he wouldn’t have enough time for it. Begrudgingly got a cat for him and Zenko after she picked one out. He expected it to be the widespread stereotype for cats: cold, mean, and ruins your stuff… and then he saw how lovable and sweet it was and fell in love. That cat is Tama.

- Hates horror films because some of them remind him of the fact that monsters can manifest for the stupidest reasons, anywhere, anytime. It gets him worked up and restless because anything can happen, and the fact that some monsters in the past had tried to target Zenko to lure him out doesn’t make him feel any better.

- When he’s sick/injured, he sleeps. A lot. A very heavy sleeper; expect snores and heavy eyelids. Seriously, this guy is practically stuck in either Stage 4 NREM or REM sleep until severe injuries heal quite a bit, and germs making him sick are killed off.

- Does not take kindly to anyone calling him weak or stupid. Despite getting angry easily, he’s very resilient (emotionally and mentally.) He knows from experience that if he can’t resolve it quickly, it’s best to put it on the backburner until the opportunity arrives where he can, and does his best to blow off steam in the meantime. He’s not that smart academically and he knows it, but it’s still a berserk button you should stay away from because while he’ll never admit it, it hurts him to know that despite forcing himself to attend school so that he can build a future for himself and Zenko outside of hero work, he’s still failing at getting the grades he needs.

- Expanding on that, he’s smart, but it’s more akin to Saitama’s words of wisdom than eloquent, polished reasoning and beliefs; straightforward and inspiring in a simple way that leaves no room for misinterpretation.

- Don’t let him play video games. Especially rage inducing ones like Cuphead. He will crush the controller and wonder why his character isn’t responding mid-game. The keys on the keyboard are smashed in. There are cracks on the area around the buttons. There’s a Wii remote sticking out of a wall after a frustrating defeat and the wrist strap wasn’t securely fastened.

Garou

- He likes athletic wear better than punk styles. They’re easier to put on and move in, whilst the leather from some punk clothes heats up too much/gets too stiff for his liking.

 - Hates being restrained. Sometimes, on a very, very rare occasion, it can be interpreted as him being scared of the idea since he lashes out pretty angrily at it. Garou had been held down and beaten up by bullies twice, pinned against a tree and choked by Genos before escaping his blast by the skin of his teeth, and then was implied to be chained up and tortured/punished for his insolence against the MA in their torture room. He’s strong enough to escape most bindings, but he will be on edge if he feels like he can’t get out of them. If you play your cards right, his attack patterns will lack their usual cunning and be more animalistic.

- He’ll eat almost any kind of food except for sweets. It’s too sugary for him, leads to a crash later on, isn’t sustainable, and it doesn’t offer much nutritional value to him either, so he steers clear of them if he can help it. The odd exception are energy drinks. The sugary taste isn’t something he exactly likes, but Garou loves the immediate rush that kicks in soon after drinking them; the slight burn on his tongue from carbonated drinks such as coca cola is a plus.

- Loves the thrill of the challenge of almost any sort. The excitement comes from giving it his all and not knowing for sure how things will turn out; if he won, that’s another trophy to him. If he lost, he relishes in a milestone he has to beat and loves the idea that there’s still room for improvement. Winning or losing too much tends to be boring for him, and he’ll abandon it if he sees no way to rectify it.

- When he’s sick or injured, he’s a restless sleeper; it’s hard for him to get the proper hours that he needs. He drifts in and out of sleeping and waking, usually sleeping a few hours at best before waking up for 10 minutes and falling back to sleep. Being attacked while vulnerable, in places with little means of defense or shelter is a pretty good plan for monsters/bigshots who want his head and he knows it. One of the places he can sleep more peacefully at is Bang’s Dojo, but he hasn’t been back there for some time now.

- Tsundere. Not necessarily the blushy ‘I-it’s not like I like you, b-baka!!’ sort of way, but he’s a more subdued tsundere. He’ll come off as mean spirited at times, but the most reliable way of knowing he loves and cares about his loved ones is when they’re being threatened; he’ll rough up the threat so they won’t get any funny ideas in the future.

- Is Russian-French, with some (suspected) Norwegian in there. Is generally a European mutt who takes a keen interest in Asian culture, especially those that developed sick martial arts and/or those who have interesting, complex histories; however, Garou isn’t as interested in wars and political intrigue as he is in weird, clever, and hilarious events and hijinks that sound too surreal to be true… like Zhao Yun's army being outnumbered by the enemy, retreating, and him choosing to make their fortress look empty so that his enemies get suspicious, thinking that it was an ambush and withdrawing... before launching an attack on them, killing off his enemy's army by inciting chaos. (E.g. Some of them got trampled, others fell into a river and drowned.) He won.

- Continuing off of that, he generally regards European history with distaste due to how... unkind, some of them are.

- (God, I love @the-goddessfighter​‘s headcanons for Garou’s parents, so honestly? I’m all for this being 100% canon. Murata or ONE, make it happen. In my eyes, this is as good as you possibly can get with Garou’s backstory.)

Check out her tumblr for her OC’s for Garou’s parents! (Although I do headcanon Toru as a more neglectful father who didn’t care much for Garou, if at all. He didn’t sugarcoat his words to him nor try to comfort his son.)

- Prefers black/white/grey/neutral colors for his clothes, if only to avoid people saying that the colors clash and that he looks like a fashion disaster.

- It’s an unconscious move on his part, and while he usually has impeccable control over his power, sometimes his fingers feel like they’re jabbing you when he’s distracted. Especially when he grabs or hugs you. Sometimes, there are some small bruises where they’ve dug in a little forcefully. When he’s feeling affectionate or sentimental and you’re his lover, he traces over your skin, and it’s a contrasting mix between the calloused, rough textures from the fingers, and smooth, fluid movements that slide like water. It’s a distinct Garou feature, and whether you love it or hate it depends on your tastes.

Genos/Demon Cyborg

- Doesn’t care too much about his popularity, but acknowledges the work that his fans put in when it comes to promoting his work and what little information he shares that others will pick up on. E.g. He doesn’t like to be bothered when he’s busy/with that bald guy, but otherwise is OK with signing a few autographs and shaking hands, he avoids certain obnoxious fangirls, he hates it when there’s a group and they crowd him, etc.

- Despite appreciating this info circulating so that some fans are more mindful about how they interact with him, he’s one of the hardest heroes to connect with due to how cold, closed off, busy, and/or socially awkward he may be. Not that many of his fans mind, as it feeds into the mysterious ‘Cyborg Prince’ fantasy that’s popular in his fan base.

- Thinks that Nice Guys/GirlsTM and people who use ‘I’m an Alpha, those betas/omegas can suck it’ are pathetic. At best. He thinks that they’re compensating for something instead of actually trying to improve themselves: for the latter, the added weight of using a disproved scientific theory makes him lose respect for them even more.

- He has a certain amount of fondness for fauna and flora. Prior to meeting Saitama, he’s had to travel long distances in search of the Mad Cyborg, and more often than not, company is fleeting, leaving him alone most of the time. Flowers by the side of the path, blue skies, the sound of chirping birds, or even some berries with rainwater droplets on them are familiar, nice sights that put him at ease. Some of his notebooks outside of taking notes on Saitama have hand drawn illustrations and notes on some plants he’s encountered, as well as their various uses.

- Conversely, barren cities will put him on high alert. Buildings act as great hiding spots, and Genos isn’t a stranger to being ambushed by monsters and criminals alike. (His eyes can be a great asset in these situations; scanning for threats and movements can give him a heads up on how dangerous the area is.)

- His sense of humor is pretty dark, if not outright sadistic at times; especially towards the people he hates. Otherwise, he likes making (mostly. Key word is mostly) harmless jabs and teases at those he loves because he finds it funny when the other person gets riled up/flustered. His tone and expressions don’t change (most of the time) when he makes them though, making it hard for others to know whether or not he’s joking until he clarifies on the matter.

- Hates those who spread misinformation about medicine, or demonizes scientists. He cares about keeping the public safe, and admires/respects science for everything it’s discovered for the sake of humanity: people such as those are a direct attack on both.

- Though on the outside he takes even the most inconsequential things seriously, to the point where he’s gullible and too honest to lie, he keeps his more solemn thoughts to himself and ingrains them at the back of his mind so that he’ll never forget them. His notebooks don’t hint at them even existing. The only way you’ll ever get to hear them is when you directly attack something he holds very dear to him (beliefs, values, aspirations) so that he may fiercely (and furiously) defend them. He berated Saitama for seemingly making a joke at his expense, but he was somewhat more lenient since he knew that Saitama wielded the power he needed. He won’t be nearly as nice if you’re not someone he likes or respects, so it’s a sure-fire way to get onto his blacklist.

- Is German-Japanese. German father, Japanese mother, though a lot of people mistake him for being fully German thanks to his looks. He understands some parts of the language, but isn’t fluent in speaking it. Japanese he’s fully fluent in, and English is getting to that point as well.

- He doesn’t usually use pet names if he gets a lover, but if he’s fallen in love hard, they get sort of ridiculous and a little cheesy. ‘My beloved’ and ‘darling’ are the most modest ones, but you’ll have to stop him from going after extremely specific and loving nicknames because they blur the line between being hilarious and embarrassing.

- Awesome at stake outs, and often keeps a first aid kit handy in his temporary bases (in the case of civilian injury) alongside a repair kit for himself. Genos is incredibly well prepared just from the equipment he has inside them, but unlike other matters (such as learning how to fold clothes efficiently and going taking it far too seriously), Genos shows pretty good judgment in how he sets them up. He doesn’t take more than what’s needed, and prepares some emergency supplies just in case there’s a new development and he needs to stay a bit longer. He’s learned from experience that taking too many things for them makes it harder for him to clear his tracks, and in return, the enemy (or enemies) that he’s been keeping an eye on might catch onto the fact that they’re being watched, making it harder for him to discover new information.

Shared Traits & Other Bits

- The no-brainer: you will get intimidated into fleeing if you mess with them. Things may get physical if you target their family/loved ones. Injuries vary depending on level of apologetic attitude, how much of a threat you pose, how far you’ve pushed things, etc. Best case scenario is that you flee the scene with no injuries, but scared out of your mind.

- Badd and Genos use the same nickname for their lover: ‘Darling.’ Although Badd will say it as ‘Darlin’’ instead. Other than that, their nicknames are fairly different, with Badd going for things such as ‘sweet cheeks,’ ‘babe,’ and ‘sweetheart.’

- Both Genos and Garou have the tendency to mess with people for their own amusement. Garou comes in the form of taunting and goading, whilst Genos likes to make underhanded comments and jokes that will infuriate you.

- Genos and Garou like books. Genos however, is more introverted and will share his knowledge more thoroughly when prompted by someone who needs it. Garou being Garou, you wouldn’t even know he was into reading until he offhandedly mentions a bit of knowledge from a book he read. Odds are you won’t have time to ask him if he knows how to do x because he would have already gotten up to do it before you can open your mouth. This occurrence is far more common in emergencies.

- Genos doesn’t take any visible joy in fighting. He sees monsters as a threat to society that must be eliminated quickly and effectively. Badd used to enjoy throwing himself into battles and coming out of them victorious, but thanks to time and HA’s obligations, he sees monsters as destructive assholes getting in his way and creating more work for him when he’d rather come home to catch up on other things on the forefront of his mind. Garou loves fighting, the challenge- but it has diminished by a notable amount after his webcomic arc as he’s reflecting on what he needs and wants to do now. Despite this, he usually keeps his eye out for any interesting challenges, if only to distract himself.

- Slightly digressing from the Trio: Zenko shares the burden of taking on responsibilities with Badd, though he doesn’t know they exist. She’s aware of the fact that her brother isn’t living a normal teenage life and is bothered by the fact that he can’t act like his own age most of the time, making her want to be headstrong, capable, and independent soon so he doesn’t have to worry about her. At the same time, she knows that there aren’t many heroes his age that he can get along with, so she tries to fill in that hole by spending time with him while finding heroes she likes, and hopefully her brother will like- the reason being is that hopefully, Badd will make friends with them, and she can meet her idol often! It’s part of the reason why she was so insistent in having him obtain AM’s signature.

- Genos can sing, but sometimes struggles with singing with enough emotion in his lyrics. Garou can sing pretty well, (and sings almost every Disney villain song like a champ) but he’d be resistant to others goading him into it. He’s pretty uncomfortable at the notion that he’d have to sing in front of people. Badd can… sing, but he’s best at singing the lullabies he sung to a baby Zenko- songs that get him into it can have him be really, really into it; to the point where it’s almost embarrassing to watch. He’s pretty good at rap/singing more sentimental pieces such as this: