#she would have had the upperhand for the rest of this conversation

[ilynpilled]

im still so mad that cat didnt call his bluff and get the instant W. she has to understand that this man has not had sex with anybody other than his twin sister. ever. he would cry and piss from the mere idea of sex with another woman he is essentially a virgin. also he would kill himself before cheating

[plus-size-reader]

Leverage

Magnus Bane x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 2107 words

Warnings: none

Summary: Magnus taking a special interest in you, Clary's human best friend who resembles a lover Magnus had centuries ago

Just a concept I was tossing around. Let me know what you think and If I should work on a mini-series based on this

—————————————————————————————————

“Just stay close and don’t say anything” Jace reminded, leading you and the rest of your party into Hardtail, his eyes focused on the surrounding crowd, constantly scanning for danger.

This whole thing should be easy.

All they had to do was find Magnus and get him to give Clary her memories back. All things considered, it should have been an in and out mission, something they had done a million times before.

...but they could never be too careful.

Especially considering that they had been forced to bring along some dead weight, in the form of you, as extra insurance.

Just in case the Warlock in question tried anything.

“This is a terrible idea” Alec grumbled, the words falling on mostly deaf ears, though by this point, even Clary was wondering if bringing you along had been the right call.

You were insistent, as soon as you found out that you could be of help but you weren’t blind. You knew that you were in over your head, heading into a downworlder bar with a couple of shadowhunters without any real idea what you were doing there.

Under any other circumstances, you would have turned tail and ran in the other direction, but this was for Clary.

If this ‘High Warlock of Brooklyn’ could give Clary her memories back, and help her figure out what their next step was, you were going to do anything you could to make that happen.

“We don’t even know if this will work-” he continued, earning an elbow to the side from Izzy, who knew exactly where he was going with that.

She knew what they should have already figured out, that once you found out why you were here, you were going to freak out for sure. After all, it wasn’t everyday that you found out that you bore a striking resemblance to someone else, long dead.

It wasn’t something you would be prepared to hear, so it would just be better if you could all get through this without you figuring out what you were actually doing here.

You took notice of the strange exchange between the Lightwoods but decided to ignore it.

The two of them were known to bicker, even to someone who had known them for a few short weeks, and you had more important matters at hand.

Like making sure you didn’t accidentally bump into a vampire or something as you made your way into the club.

“Keep your head down, and don’t go too far” Clary whispered, webbing her fingers with your own as you passed through the crowd, your grib unintentionally tightening as the reality of the situation set in.

Clary was built for this, it was in her blood, but you weren’t.

It wasn’t until you showed up to things like this that you realized just how far out of your depth that you were.

“I’m not going anywhere, trust me” you whispered back, focusing more on putting one foot in front of the other more than anything. Before now, you were sure that the correct answer to the question Jace asked you was yes.

Now that you were here though, you weren't so convinced.

You understood that getting Magnus to meet with you was a long shot in the first place, and you couldn't afford to mess it up, but you just weren’t sure why they needed you. Out of everyone here, you were the most out of place.

Anyone looking in on the scene in front of them would have seen just how much you didn’t belong. Not that anyone around you was all that concerned with you so far, all too focused on the music and lights.

As long as you did as you were told and kept your head down, everything would be fine.

All things considered, your job was easy.

You just had to stay out of the way, and hope that Jace and Alec didn’t need you for whatever it was they thought you could be useful for. Which could have been anything and you wouldn’t have known any better.

The Shadowhunters were so secretive, only telling you what they thought you needed to know, and even then, they always tended to leave out the important stuff.

It made working with them very difficult.

Still, you did what you were told and kept your head down, doing your best to blend in until something changed, which didn’t look like it was going to happen at first.

All in all, it looked to be a pretty standard conversation, though you couldn’t hear any of what they were saying from the distance you were at.

Of course, It wasn't until someone shot an arrow into some guy in the background that you realized just how wrong you were. Evidently, there had been an assassin in the crowd the entire time and no one noticed until Alec put him down.

Which, in turn, spooked the reclusive Warlock into nearly diving back into his wormhole.

He got his jewel, but from the looks on Jace and Clary’s faces, they didn’t get nearly as much as they were hoping for. The only thing that kept Magnus in place was the redhead’s grasp on his wrist, which likely wouldn’t be enough to hold him.

Clearly, they needed something else, which was exactly why they brought you.

You had inadvertently become the most important part of this mission just now, and that meant it was your time to shine, even if you didn’t exactly know what your part to play was.

Without missing a beat, Izzy shot over to whisper something in your ear, something that really didn’t seem like it would work. Though, by this point, you weren’t sure that you had any right to question any of the shadowhunters.

After all, you didn’t even know they existed until a couple weeks ago.

You shot Izzy one more questioning glance, just to make sure she was serious about this before she nodded, telling you to continue with the plan. If anything was going to get Magnus to stick around, it was this.

“Magnus, wait!” you called, doing your best to cut through all the noise that Alec’s arrow and subsequent murder had brought on, which worked surprisingly well.

As it would turn out, just because the Shadowhunters had neglected to tell you that you looked like the long lost love of his life didn’t mean that Magnus was going to. Even the sound of your voice was enough to ring alarms in his head.

He hadn’t heard that sound in so long.

Almost immediately, the Warlock spun around on his heels, his attention finding you immediately. It didn’t make sense, and there was no way that he could have explained it but there was no denying the truth.

Not when it was staring him right in the face.

It was you, and it didn’t matter how it had happened, not now. All he cared about in this moment was that you had come back to him, after all these years. . It was incredible, but even with as thrilled as Magnus was, staying here wasn’t safe. If Valentine managed to find him here, that meant that he likely already knew where the others were.

Every second he spent away was another second evil had to prevail.

Not to mention the fact that he couldn’t exactly trust the shadowhunters to tell him the truth. For all he knew, Magnus could have been looking at some glamour of sorts, and they were tricking him.

He was just having a hard time believing what he was looking at. After all this time, it didn't seem right to see you again.

“You always did like places like this” he hummed, that same far away look clouding his vision as had been this entire time.

No one had ever looked at you like that.

He was looking at you like the whole building could come crumbling down around you and it wouldn’t have mattered one bit. Like you had physically put the sun in the sky, and you barely knew who he was.

“I’ll be in touch”

...and with that, he was gone.

Though, the thought of walking away from you a second time was nearly enough to break his heart, he didn’t have a choice.

There would be no opportunity to talk to you if he was dead, besides, if they wanted to get Clary’s memories back, they were going to need his help.

~

“Who was he talking about? Who does Magnus Bane think I am?” you started, already asking all the questions that they should have seen coming but no one bothered to answer them.

They weren’t even sure they were going to need you when they asked you to tag along, and just because you had helped them out a little back there didn’t mean the Shadowhunters owed you anything.

You were still just some mundane.

The only reason you were still here was because of Clary, that and they needed you once Alec realized that they were going to have to meet up with Magnus in the first place.

Someone had to get him to agree to help.

“Don’t worry about it. All that matters is that he agreed to help us” Jace shrugged, ignoring you, which by this point was par for the course.

You were so tired of everyone acting like you weren’t here. .

“Come on. I did you a favor back there, can’t you at least tell me what I did?” you sighed, turning your attention to Izzy and Clary instead, because you already knew the males in your party couldn’t care less about what you’d done.

To them, you might as well not be here and you had come to terms with that. You just wanted to know who he thought you were, that was it.

In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t even that big of a deal.

“The last partner Magnus had, she looked a lot like you” she allowed, recalling the photograph she’d seen, which might as well have been you a couple hundred years earlier.

You couldn’t believe it.

All this time, you were masquerading as someone else, someone that you didn’t even know existed, and everyone else knew all along.

It was ridiculous.

Though, before you could inform the surrounding Shadowhunters of just how ridiculous, Jace chimed in just enough to let you know that, even still, it wasn’t really your place to ask questions or have opinions.

“We were hoping to catch him off guard, we needed the upperhand” Jace shrugged, truly not seeing how wrong this whole thing was. Not only did they use you without bothering to tell you what was going on, but they exploited him too.

It wasn’t right.

“You should have told me!” you scoffed, thinking that at the very least someone would have had the decency to fill you in on the plan but it would appear that no one thought about that before now.

Jace didn’t even look all that interested in having this conversation at all.

“I would have helped even if you told me beforehand, you know? It would have just been nice to know what I was walking into” you continued, well aware that you were basically talking to yourself but not caring enough to stop.

You couldn’t be both the mundane they didn’t even care enough to address by name and a member of the team that they used when they needed help.

You could be one or the other, but not both, and certainly not at once.

“Well, now you know. Congratulations! Can we get going now?” Alec called, several paces ahead of all of you by now, and not stopping even still. He didn’t care at all about whatever little moral dilemma you were having.

He was much more interested in getting back to the institute before another assassin got the better of one of you.

“Thanks Alec, I appreciate that” you countered, not bothering to cover up the sarcasm flowing from your lips. If he could talk to you like that, there was no reason you couldn’t give it right back.

The truth was that it didn’t matter what they said or how much they pretended this wasn’t a big deal. What had happened back there with Magnus was a big deal, at least, it was a big deal for you.

After all, you just found out that you looked like some dead chick that was hooking up with one of the most powerful warlock’s of all time.

How was that not supposed to be a big deal?

[zuluc]

summary: maybe thinking about you affects them more than they thought? or have they really realized just how much you occupy their minds? who knows, but it is pretty cute to know their reactions to you whenever you may be mentioned in conversation

pairings: childe, diluc, & xiao x gn!reader

style & genre: written; fluff, modern!au

notes: the albedo museum date will have to be rescheduled because i found this in my drafts and never remembered to post it haha. to be honest idk what this was supposed to be exactly so i’ll just say a little slice-of-life genre in school with the boys

and also i am living for the friendship pairings i put here

i am so drained from school and i need one of them irl rn please 🤧

Childe

“I’m telling you I’m fine!” Childe scoffs as his friend insists on shoving him in the direction of the nurse’s office. He hisses when a particularly sharp jab is directed into his side and his friend huffs, clearly satisfied at the reaction and annoyed at Childe’s reluctance to get himself checked.

“Fine, you say. You have to stop picking fights when you know you can avoid them.” Kaeya chuckles, knowing this’ll just go in one ear and out the other with him, but it never hurt to try. Especially with the recent information that allowed the blue-haired student to have the upperhand.

A smirk appears on his face and Childe raises an eyebrow in confusion and wariness. “What?”

Kaeya shrugs, a mischievous grin now overtaking his features as he walks ahead of the other. “I suppose that y/n will be sitting alone in the office, waiting for the bell to ring for their next class.” He doesn’t have to turn around to see Childe stop his tracks as he takes in the information.

“Th... They’re in the nurse’s office?” Childe looks up slowly to see Kaeya tilt his head, “Are you messing with me right now?” Kaeya only laughs and walks away, waving his hand in the air. 

“I mean, I did say you should get yourself checked but if you don’t want to then--” Childe doesn’t hear the rest of his friend’s statement as he limps over to the room where you were waiting.

It wasn’t like you knew he would walk in with “minor” injuries, as he says,  and a bright smile on his face that he only seemed to have whenever he was around you.

Diluc

This is hopeless.

Diluc leans back in his seat during the break they’re given and stares out the window to see you walking with your friends. They must have said something funny to have you laughing, a light look on your face that has his cheeks dusted pink in seconds. 

His ears pick up the scraping of a chair on the floor and he flips his notebook closed to hide the small notes of practice confessions he wrote while he should have been listening in on the lesson. It was none other than Lisa who seemed quite cheerful in contrast to himself.

“Whatcha thinking about?” She nods her head over to his hastily closed notebook as she smiles knowingly at the warmth on his face. Her voice is considerably louder with her next statement that has him nearly shutting her up with his own hands, “Could it be about your dear, sweet y/n?”

Her voice tapers off at the end so the rest of their classmates couldn’t hear the name, but their stares indicated their intrigue. It was very surprising for the ever cold and stoic Diluc Ragnvindr to have a crush on someone. Many have confessed, and all were rejected, and they assumed there would be nothing to be done to win his heart.

That is, unless you were y/n l/n.

His classmates shudder at the glare he gives them and return to their own conversations. He wasn’t mad, just slightly embarassed.

Lisa deems his current state finished for her daily teasing and leans in to give him a word of advice. But really, it was yet another word of truth that he could choose to believe or not.

“I have a feeling that they feel the same about you.” She leaves with a little hint of a smile and Diluc is left to his thoughts once more. He ponders over her words, generally the same ones he hears from her whenever she sees he’s thinking of you. And it’s important to note that Lisa has good intuition.

Maybe his plan to confess wouldn’t be so hopeless after all.

Xiao

To be able to hang out and keep up someone like his closest friend took all Xiao had in himself for social interaction. It wasn’t like he absolutely hated it, but he preferred to not speak to anyone lest they get the wrong idea from his “normal” tone of voice.

Venti shoves another book in his face to look at and he scowls at the title, “How to Date The Person You’ve Been Pining Over For Years Now.” Why was there a book like this in the school library and who the hell decided that this was a good title to go through publication? Now, Xiao would never admit it to being true because he hated how he felt very called out at the moment.

“The books don’t lie, my good friend.” Venti muses, placing the book in his arms before skipping off to avoid it being shoved back at him. Xiao sighs and tries to find its place on the shelf only to realize that he is now left alone in the self-help section. He can’t call out Venti’s name now, assuming that the other had gone far now to seek his own genres he had been looking for. 

Xiao had been teased for this little crush on you for years now, which probably has grown to be a full blown one by now, and he never found the courage to do anything about it. For now though, he was perfectly fine with being able to wave hello to you in the hallways or have a small chat when you would be partnered together for class activities.

Just thinking about you makes him the slightest bit giddy inside.

His wandering thoughts along with finding the book’s place is cut short when the library doors open and you step in. His face lights up for a moment before it is replaced with narrowed eyes when Venti skips up to you. The boy whispers in your ear and you smile, sending Xiao into yet another state of being flustered at the little things you do.

He looks down at the book in his hands and closes his eyes. 

At least Lisa never judged anyone at the book checkout.

[hawkinsbestmom]

S3 Jopper Canon Divergence AU!

@ahoystilinski

The plan hadn't quite worked the way they had wanted it to. Both Joyce and Jim had managed to place the key, however that Russian soldier had come in yet again to screw with their plans. A fight between Jim and the Russian happpened, their guns fallen into a corner and long forgotten... And the Russian had the upperhand. Meanwhile Joyce was trying to turn the keys, having gotten rid of her belt, trying to turn them at the same time. This had to work. However the Russian knew what they were going to do, and with a skilled precision the Russian Guard had swooped up Joyce and taken her into the engine room. Somehow Joyce had managed to wiggle herself free, and give him a push... Into the machine. It spiraled out of control after that and her brown eyes met his blue ones... She knew that this would be it, she couldn't get past the machine. She couldn't get to safety. "It's okay." She mouthed at him, he had to turn the key. He had to save their kids. Her only chance of potential survival was to jump down, so she did. No longer looking at Jim Hopper as she leapt down, her hands protectively covering her head. The explosion however still enough to knock her unconscious.

She woke up to a face she had only heard stories about. She woke up to the face that had cursed. She didn't know what he had in store for her...

"I'm going to have fun with you." The chilling voice of Brenner spoke.

Fast Forward eight Months later...

Doctor Sam Owens had heard the whispers, but not once had he dared to contact the Chief of Police Jim Hopper, who now found himself caring for 3 kid's instead of one. Sam had thought it cruel, to give the man hope when possibly there was none. For months he and his squad had chased the rumours that seemed to be going around, about Dr. Brenner still being operational and doing experiments on a American woman who had been detained after Star Court, no that was something they couldn't have… Especially since he seemed to be working with the Russians no less. And besides all that here was only one American woman unaccounted for, and that was no other than Joyce Byers. No, this would mean trouble, but Sam felt obligated to do something. So for months he was tasked to find him, to put those rumours to rest or to make them, and him, go away forever. However, what he found was much more troubling than he could've expected. Not only had they finally found Dr. Brenner, inside of a Russian base no less, no… The rumours about the woman were true… And he found her, Joyce Byers.

The facillity was raided, and Joyce was brought into safety. The woman had been unconscious when they got there, however she had woken up after the transport, when she was safe. Big brown eyes had looked up to him… The smart driven woman just a shell of who he knew her to be. She wasn't the same fierce woman he had once seen when he was helping her son all those years ago. Her injuries had been treated and she had been settled in a private clinic he owned with employees he trusted. He had personally been there to oversee her treatment, but now he sat in his office the phone in hand dialing the number of Jim Hopper, despite of it being midnight. Sam Owens knew the lenghts these people would go through for one another, so he knew waiting would not be appreciated. Not with them. Not in this case. Once he heard the voice of the Chief Jim Hopper, Sam spoke softly. "Jim, it's been a while. We, uh… We need to talk. It's really important, however I feel like this conversation is better to be held face to face. Do you think you can meet me in the morning? Meet me up in my clinic? It's about an hour's drive I'd say." Sam spoke, hopeful that he could handle this matter face to face.

[8bitscarlet]

Hi, I love your work. can I request a Wanda x fem reader where reader's mom ends up in the hospital and Wanda comforts her? My mom had a heart attack today and I'm worried about her. Please don't feel pressured to do this if it makes you uncomfortable in any way! Thanks.

Taking Care of You Today

Summary: After a rough phone call from your family, the weight of everything falls heavily onto your shoulders. Wanda holds you up and makes sure that today, you're not alone.

Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort

Pairing: Wanda x Reader

Word Count: 2k

A/N: Thank you for the request and I hope this helps you in some way! I also wanted to get this out as soon as possible for you, so apologies if there's any major errors in the writing. Hold fast and stay true! 💞💞

_________________________

“Oh come on! If you keep pulling your punches, I can’t properly beat you!” You tease, dodging around Nat’s incredibly slow kick towards your chest.

She chuckles, backing up a little from you, “If I didn’t pull my punches, you’d be a sore loser.”

Charging towards Nat, she moves too quick to keep your eyes on her. Her legs wrap around your arm as you’re tossed face first into the mat with a heavy thud. Pinning your arm back, she nearly pops your shoulder out of place trying to get you tap. Grimacing, you slap your hand against hers twice. Stepping away from you with a smug laugh, Nat watches you roll onto your back as you gently slide your arm down.

“That wasn’t fair,” you mutter as Nat raises her brows, “I am not a sore loser. You just cheat.”

“Y/N!” Steve's sharp shout carries from the other side of the room as you climb to your knees.

His steps are quick, a stern look on his face that tries to hide the alarm in his eyes. You meet him halfway as you furrow your brows,

“Where’s your phone?” He asks you, jaw set taut as his blue eyes stare at you.

You point towards the lockers with a grin, “Nat would smash it to get an upperhand.”

Steve nods, waving for Nat to come with him, “Go get it.”

An unsettling weight grows in your stomach as Nat starts to whisper with him, leaving you out of the tense conversation they’re having. Your first thought is Wanda but she’s at home taking a much needed day off for herself.

“Steve, what’s going on?” Your voice nearly fails you when you think about the only other people who’d be calling you in an emergency.

Rogers stops in his tracks, turning as he glances up from his feet “Get your phone, Y/N.”

________________________

You got your phone. With all of its fifteen missed calls, twenty missed texts and five voicemails. The moment you got ahold of your father, the strong foundation of your legs nearly fell apart at his words. You never moved faster in your life, slipping into your shoes halfway as you sped away in your car.

Hospitals. You always hated them. Always too clean, the smell of cleaning products always stagnant in the air. The hallways were always confusing, especially in your panicked state. Everything merged together until you heard a familiar voice. It was your father calling you over from the other side of the hallways, a tired look in his eyes.

Machines beeped throughout the small hospital room. Charts lined the hospital bed with numbers and lines you didn’t even try to understand. You paced the room as you waited on the doctor for more news. What would they need to do for your mother? A stent within her arteries or maybe a whole bypass surgery?

As you stared at her, listening to the jumbled and muted words of the doctor, you relied on your father to take in the brunt of the information. The exhaustion of everything was weighing heavily on you and everyone could see it. The worry on your shaking brow, how you wring your hands against your body and the trembling of your chin. Your father told you that there was nothing either of you could do right now. Your mother would stay asleep for the rest of the day so the nurses could take care of her.

“Go home,” he told you. “You won’t miss anything.”

You listened to him, taking the drive back with your mind somewhere else. As you turned into your driveway, you didn’t even realize you were home until your subconscious mind turned off the car. With a sigh, you climbed out and dragged your way towards the front door. Shutting it and breathing in a familiar smell, you looked around the hose, your favorite childhood dish that your mother cooked you was on the stove.

Tears sting at your eyes, your hand gripping the front of your shirt as your back hit the door. You fall into a squat, pressing your eyes into the palm of your hands. You let yourself feel the tiredness crash over you, allowing yourself not to do or think anything, just feel. You were tired. As the worry washes over you, auburn hair comes from around the corner after hearing the quiet thud.

“Hey, you.” Wanda whispers, her cool hands wrapping around you, pulling you into her chest.

Your hands grip onto her shirt tightly, your body beginning to shake with quiet tears as Wanda whispers quiet shushes to you and strokes your hair with the lightest of touches. Dark moments weren’t something foreign in this household. Each of you had your own demons to battle, Pietro and her family haunted Wanda while you had your family to worry about. No matter how vulnerable either of you became, the comfort that formed was stronger. Neither of you could take away the pain or the worry, but you knew you’d never be alone in facing the world.

She helped you through it all. Encouraging you to take the time you needed, getting you to do just the littlest things when the weight threatened to hold you down forever. Reminding you of appointments you had to talk through this dark weight with someone who read more than a few articles off the internet. You loved her for that. She never gave up on you.

You let out a breath, picking up your head to rest against the threshold and look at her, giving her a courtesy grin.

“How is she?” Wanda whispers, her hand wiping away the tears that fell from your eyes, pressing the softest kiss against your nose.

With a sigh, you look up at her, “Stable. Just waiting to see what the doctor wants to do, the nurses are going to watch her today.”

She nods quietly, watching your vacant stare past her face. Wanda grabs your hands and helps you to your feet, holding onto you as you step out of your shoes. As you start to slip past her to go to the bedroom, she grabs your arm gently and pulls you the opposite way.

“Wait, come here.”

You let out a quiet groan, “Wands. I didn’t shower after training.”

She doesn’t let you go, only continues to pull you along with her as she walks backwards. Gently, she places her fingers against your eyes, covering them as you walk past the kitchen. With quiet trust, you listen to the backdoor slide open as she instructs you to watch your footing as you feel the cool breeze from outside on your skin.

“Just come here.” Wanda holds your hand so she stands next to you, letting you blink your eyes open.

“What am I looking at?” You ask, your tone tilting towards annoyance but you catch yourself, taking in a deep breath.

“Just close your eyes.”

You stand there, staring out into your backyard on what seems to be any other summer day. A breeze rolls through the branches of the trees, gently shaking them as the day’s rainstorm starts to roll in. Feeling Wanda’s cold hand in yours, her thumbs caressing your knuckles, you feel your tensed muscles begin to loosen. Turning your head, you watch Wanda's calm breathing, the small grin on her face as she stands next to you.

You step in front of her, cupping her face in her hands and pressing your lips against hers. Gently, her lips move against yours, trying desperately to take the pain from you, the worry from your mind. It could never happen, but just the presence of her there keeps you in the moment, not consumed with the future.

Her eyes slowly open as you part, nose scrunching softly as she sees you there in front of her.

“Did you feel it?” she whispers to you, fingers pushing back your hair.

You nod, the warmth inside of your chest still there, “Every day.”

Her hands rest on your chest, your lips touching as her chuckle washes over you, “You didn’t close your eyes did you?”

“Would you be upset if I said no?”

She rests her chin on your chest so she can look at you, “No, my love.”

You close your eyes just to humor her. Breathing in carefully, your nose is a bit snotty and clogged but you suck in sharply. She laughs as you open your eyes to her beaming smile, the crinkle of joy around her eyes.

“You’re amazing,” she rests her hand on your face.

You lean down for another soft kiss with her, “Only for you darling.”

“Now,” she starts as she presses into you, not protesting your smell, “I have something else for you.”

Gently, she guides you back inside and you see exactly why she was covering your eyes. Piles of books your mother used to read you, your childhood snacks and drinks, and photo albums litter the kitchen island. Your lips part at the sight, glancing at Wanda with a tearful grin,

“Wands what-?”

Her hands squeeze your arm in quiet support, “I called everyone in the family. Asked around for some stories, all the little things.” Wanda’s delicate fingers slide across a canvas photo album, “Your father sent these with an uncle. I can’t remember his name but he told me to remind you about this.”

Reaching forward, you feel cold metal against your ear and when she pulls back, she holds a quarter in her hand. Taking it from between her fingers with a chuckle, you give her a small nod,

“Of course he did.”

Leaving her side, you gently rest your hand against the family photo albums you hadn’t flipped through since last time you were home. Filled with years and generations of memories through the family. Tapping the small family namecard, Wanda rests her hand on top of yours and you glance over to those curious green eyes,

“Tell me the stories again.”

Taking in a shaking breath, you do. Remembering all the times your mother showed up sleep deprived to practices and school events. The way she held you after a nightmare, smiling at you when you asked her to watch you do some mundane task or jump off a curb. All of the family trips and family dinners together. The stories came easy as you munched on childhood snacks and had all of those preservatives and sugar bombarding your tongue, washed down with an even more sugary drink.

Wanda laughs with you. She holds you close when you cry and presses kisses along your face when your stories get closer and closer to the present. Remembering introducing Wanda for the first time. The first holiday all together as one big family. Your finger runs along the newest family photo, everyone is there, smiling and holding each other close. A sigh releases from you, a tear dropping from your chin onto the plastic cover below.

“Everything will be alright,” Wanda tells you, quickly taking her place next to you with a steaming dish of your favorite childhood meal.

“I know darling. I just… I can’t help but worry.”

Wanda smooths out your face, pressing against the wrinkles from your furrowed brow until you let them go and give her a grin. Her lips touch your nose,

“It’s only natural, my love. She’s your mother. You love her.” Wanda pats your cheek, “Tomorrow we’ll go back together and sit around like we always do during the holidays. But today,”

She pushes the food closer to you, putting the fork into your hand with a raise of her brows, “Today, I’m going to take care of you and you’re going to like it! No complaints or I’ll make you another dessert.”

You grin, placing a large helping in your mouth and stuffing your cheeks with all the flavors of your childhood.

“I love you,” you talk through the food in your mouth and watch her nose scrunch as she wiggles your chin.

“Don’t make me tell your mother you talk with food in your mouth,” Wanda scoops up some food on her fork as she pats your thigh, “I love you, too.”

____________________

Taglist: @iliketozoneout @lostandsearching @bi-rdofprey-writes @rooskaya-yelena @yeeterthekeeper @aos22 @sxfwap @women-am-i-right @marie45019 @lucydiibi @raincloudtoyoursunshine @olsensnpm @cristin-rjd @idkbubs @yeetus-thyself @hello-mtf

[c-e-d-dreamer]

For AU Day for @nessianweek I thought I’d test out this College AU that’s been bouncing around my brain because I’m College AU trash that I’m considering writing a proper/chaptered fic for. Hope you enjoy! :) 

Most days, University of Prythian feels like every other public college. All brooding brick buildings and precisely placed green spaces and students loudly milling about in droves. A group of frat boys throwing around a frisbee on the common. A group of girls in bikinis tops taking advantage of the late August sun. Shouts of “oh my god, hey” and “how was your summer” just barely drowning out crying parents dropping their kids off. It’s migraine inducing. 

Nesta throws the car into park, the old Chevy only groaning slightly as it settles after the trek up to campus. She hears the doors open and close, but she just grips the wheel and closes her eyes, taking in three steadying breaths and hoping the oxygen can find a way to calm her spiking blood. In through the nose, out through the mouth. It’s a new year. After everything that happened last year, technically up should be the only direction. She hopes. Once Nesta feels like she has a hold of her frayed nerves, she slides out of the driver’s seat to find Feyre already excitedly pulling her bags from the trunk, settling them on the pavement next to the car. Elain comes up beside their youngest sister, pulling her own suitcases out. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drop you off closer to your dorm, Elain?” 

“I’m in Oakwood this year. It’s not that far a walk.” 

Nesta nods, grabbing the last of Feyre’s bags and closing the trunk. Before Elain can wheel off with her bags, Feyre’s wrapping an arm around each of her sisters’ shoulders, a wide smile plastered across her face under her U of P baseball cap. 

“The Archeron sisters are back together again!” 

“Well, until Nesta graduates,” Elain reminds Feyre. 

“Maybe she’ll do a fifth year, just for us.” 

Nesta just raises an eyebrow at her sisters’ antics. A fifth year? Impossible. Not only because she takes her studies very seriously, keeping her GPA well above the average, but because the idea of spending an extra, unnecessary year in this place sounds like her own personal circle of hell. The sooner she can finish her degree and get on with the rest of her life, the better. 

“Alright,” Feyre concedes. “Bad suggestion.” 

With a wave and a promise to meet up for dinner later, Elain is off towards Oakwood Hall. Nesta hoists one of Feyre’s duffle bags onto her shoulder, following her youngest sister toward her own dorm hall. As she steps up onto the sidewalk, though, her shoulder collides with a firm body, Feyre’s bag almost falling out of her grip. 

“Hey! Watch where you’re going,” Nesta seethes. 

“Sorry, sweetheart,” a voice calls in return, already swallowed up by the groups of students moving in and out of the dorm hall. 

Nesta rolls her eyes at the saccharine nickname, resettling the duffle on her shoulder and catching up to Feyre. Her sister’s dorm reminds Nesta of her own freshmen dorm from back in the day, simple and small, all white walls and plain wood furniture. Despite the things already in the room, Feyre’s roommate is nowhere to be seen. 

“Do you need help with anything else?” Nesta asks, dropping the bag she had been holding onto Feyre’s bed. 

“I should be good. Orientation starts in a few hours.” 

A moment passes as the two sisters stare at one another. They aren’t exactly the most affectionate of families, hugging and that sort of thing. So with a small nod and smile, Nesta is on her way, back out of the dorm hall and to her car. 

Luckily, the off campus apartment she’s staying in this year isn’t that long a drive, and when she walks through the door, Emerie is already inside, leaning against their kitchen counter, a fork poised between her fingers and what looks like a slice of chocolate cake perched on a plate. 

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Emerie drawls, but the smile tugging at the corner of her lips gives away the teasing nature. 

“Hope you brought enough to share,” Nesta replies, eying up Emerie’s plate. 

“Do I look like I’m made of money? Go to the dining hall and get your own.” 

“When’s Gwyn meant to get in?” 

“Not until later this week. I’m surprised you’re on campus this early.” 

“Feyre has orientation this week. Plus I need to hit up the bookstore. I have Williams this semester.” 

“That man seriously needs to get that stick out of his ass when it comes to having the “right edition” for his class.” 

“Tell me about it,” Nesta sighs, sneaking her hand into the utensils drawer and then snagging a bite of Emerie’s cake before the female has a chance to react. 

“Hey!” Emerie calls after Nesta as she retreats to her room. “You’re lucky I like you, Nesta Archeron!” 

~ * * * ~

The campus bookstore is mostly filled with parents and baby-faced freshmen trying to decide which University of Prythian gear to spend all their money on, but once Nesta pushes back to where the shelves of textbooks live, the throngs of bodies thin out. She can’t help but run her finger along the spines of the books, all lined perfectly along the shelves. Each spine is a different color, a different texture, bold or curvy font declaring its title to the world, and while many are textbooks, that feel under her fingers is still a comfort. Like a heartbeat lives between the soft linen pages and beats in time with her own. 

A turn around the corner and Nesta finds the section of books she needs. She scans the different titles, and when her eyes finally land on the one she needs, she can’t help the long sigh that looses from her lungs. Of course, it’s on the very top shelf. Nesta reaches her arm up, stretching up onto her tip-toes until the pads of her fingers just brush the spine of the book, trying to inch the book closer to the edge where she could get it down. 

“Need some help, sweetheart?”

Nesta falls back on her heels in surprise, the voice and nickname snagging on her memory. She whips her head around to find a guy leaning against the shelf, arms crossed casually across his chest and a smug smile plastered across his face. He’s tall with broad shoulders, dark curls pulled into a bun at the back of his head. Nesta’s eyes can’t help but snag on the lines of ink dancing across the skin of his arms and peeking out of the open cuts of his bro-tank. When her eyes dance back to his face, his hazel eyes are alight like he had clocked and was delighted in what she had been doing. It makes her brain crash back into action, a scowl settling easily across her features. 

“You were the one who bumped into me earlier. Outside of Somerset Hall.” 

“That was you?” the guy asks, not even being subtle as he checks Nesta out. “My apologies. Let me make it up to you by taking you out to dinner.” 

Nesta doesn’t even deen that with a response. With a scoff, she turns back toward the front of the bookstore. She can come back later for the book she needs, ideally when this insufferable man with his cocky grins and overconfidence is nowhere to be seen. As she weaves her way through the shelves and toward the exit, she pointedly ignores the heavy set of footsteps she can hear trailing behind her. 

“At least tell me your name.” 

“No.” 

“No? Well that’s definitely an interesting name. My name’s Cassian by the way.” 

“I don’t recall asking.” 

“You didn’t have to. Your eyes were asking for you.” 

That has Nesta halting in her steps. She whirls around and clearly her sudden stop has this Cassian thrown off, his own steps stumbling. Good. She likes having the upperhand. 

“Does that line actually work for you?” 

“Actually, I usually have to use less words. My ruggedly handsome looks do all the talking.” 

“Rugged? Sure. But handsome?” Nesta pointedly rakes her eyes down his figure, and when they meet back with hazel, Cassian’s cock-sure grin slips the barest hint at the corner. “I don’t think so. You looked like you crawled out of a dumpster.” 

Nesta expects his smile to fall fully at the jab, and she hopes it’s enough for him to leave her alone, but instead that smile is still stubbornly there. Even worse, it twists and shifts into a smirk, like this is all some kind of fun game. It makes Nesta’s heart give an extra kick in her chest, and before she can even think about dwelling on what that means, she turns on her heel. 

“Goodbye, Cassian.” 

“Goodbye, sweetheart.” 

~ * * * ~

On Thursday, Nesta finds herself at the dining hall. It’s a little late for breakfast and too early for lunch, so luckily the place is blessedly not too crowded, just a few pockets of students talking and laughing at various tables. She’s standing in front of the pastry display when her phone starts buzzing incessantly, and she slides it out of her pocket to find Feyre going off in their sister group chat. 

I just met the most attractive man I have ever seen

I’m not fucking around. HIS FACE 

And he called me darling

He asked me to drinks tomorrow night!

“I personally prefer the blueberry muffins.” 

Nesta snaps her attention to her left to find Cassian standing there, that same wide and cocky grin from the bookstore settled across his face. His hair is down today, soft curls framing his face and brushing against his cotton tee covered shoulders. 

“You again,” Nesta sighs. 

“Isn’t it funny how we keep meeting?” 

“Funny isn’t the word I would use.”

“It’s almost like the Universe keeps pushing us together.”

“Or you’re stalking me.” 

“Maybe you’re stalking me,” Cassian says, tossing a wink Nesta’s way. 

“And why would I do that?” 

“I thought we already established the fact I’m ruggedly handsome?” 

“Pretty sure the only thing we’ve established is that you’re full of yourself.” 

Nesta turns and snags one of the wrapped chocolate chip muffins out of the display case, fully prepared to end this conversation and enjoy her snack in peace. 

“You forgot something the other day, you know.” 

Nesta looks back toward Cassian where he has an outstretched hand between them. There, clutched between his fingers, is the book she went to the campus bookstore to pick up. She blinks a few times at the wide script proclaiming Art Through the Ages, the cogs in her brain tripping over one another and trying to comprehend the sight before her. Her hand begins to reach out to take the book before she snaps it back to her side, her eyes locking back on Cassian’s face. 

“You got the book I needed?” 

“The perfect excuse to find and talk to you again.” 

“Well, I can’t accept it.” 

“Then you can Venmo me,” Cassian says, leaning into Nesta’s space and pressing the book into her hands. “And your Venmo will have your name, won’t it? So it’s a win-win.” 

This close up, Nesta can see all the green vines and gold flecks that make up his hazel eyes. The way his nose sits just off kilter like it’s been broken and set not quite right and the stubble pushing through along his jawline. She can feel the warmth that seems to radiate off his person in rolling waves. It’s a bit overwhelming. 

“It’s Nesta,” she offers, taking a step back. 

“Nesta,” Cassian says, like he’s testing the weight of her name on his tongue. “Well, Nesta, how about that dinner? The offer still stands. Or we could skip straight to dessert.” 

Nesta lets out a snort at the comment. She’s sure the sound isn’t particularly attractive, but she can’t help it. The audacity of this man. 

“Only in your dreams,” Nesta quips, turning on her heel and heading toward the register to pay for her muffin. 

“Is that a promise?”

She pretends she doesn’t hear him as she swipes her meal card and makes for the dining hall exit. She can feel Cassian’s eyes tracking her the whole way. 

Later, when Nesta gets back to her room and is thumbing through Art Through the Ages, she finds a note folded up between the pages. She opens up the paper to find an unfamiliar scrawl, simple black lines spelling out ‘Cassian’ and ten digits. She hesitates for only a moment before crumbling it up and tossing it in the trash. 

~ * * * ~

Classes start up on Monday, and Nesta is ready to throw herself back into her books, notes, and work. She has a jammed packed schedule this semester, knocking out the rest of her general education credit requirements needed to graduate on time. The perfect distraction to keep her mind busy. At least, she was able to squeeze in enough classes that actually interest her, including a course on Early Women Writers. 

On Tuesday, she walks into the science building and her chemistry class. She finds a lab table a few spots back from the front, settling onto one of the stools. She pulls her textbook and laptop from her bag and is just typing in her laptop password when she feels a presence behind her. 

“I guess I should thank you for coming through on your promise. The best dreams I’ve ever had.” 

Nesta can’t stop the pained sigh that pulls its way out her lungs. She rubs a hand down her face before turning to the right, just in time to find Cassian sliding into the stool beside her. He has another cotton tee on, his hair once again pulled up into a bun style. 

“Please don’t tell me you’re taking this class.” 

Cassian reaches into his backpack and pulls out his own chemistry textbook, holding it up as some sort of proof. 

“The Universe strikes again.” 

“So you keep saying, but clearly the Universe has bad taste.” 

Cassian throws his head back and laughs at the comment, surprising Nesta with his reaction and earning them a few curious looks from the rest of the class. The sound is deep and warm, seeming to radiate from deep within his chest. His shoulders shake like his large frame isn’t enough to contain the sound, and Nesta finds herself staring at the crinkles that appear beside his eyes. 

“Alright, class. Welcome to chemistry.” 

A hush falls over the whole room as the professor strides in the door and to the front of the room. She hands a small stack of syllabus sheets to each person sitting at the front to be passed back and a blank seating chart to fill in is passed between the tables. The professor goes through the syllabus for much of the allotted class time, and Nesta makes notes in the margins of hers about the grading system and circles the important deadlines she’ll need to remember. 

“I hope you’re comfortable with where you’re sitting and who you’re sitting with,” the professor addresses the class an hour later. “They’ll be your lab partner for the rest of the semester.” 

Nesta wants to groan as she buries her face in her hands. How did this become her life? As if simply seeing Cassian’s insufferable face three times a week for this class isn’t enough, now they actually have to interact and work with one another. If Cassian’s theory about this being the Universe's doing is correct, Nesta is pretty sure the Universe is just laughing in her face now. 

“Well, would you look at that, Nes,” Cassian drawls from beside her. “Another point for the Universe.” 

“I’m going to murder you in your sleep,” Nesta mutters from between her fingers. 

“As long as we get to cuddle a little beforehand.” 

“Cute,” Nesta says, putting as much dry sarcasm as she can behind the single word. 

“You know, lab partner,” Cassian offers while he stands up and slings his backpack across his shoulders. “I think it’s going to be a great semester.”

[fuckinuchihas]

🌹 - Neji

Sorry this is so late I haven’t had wifi for like a month so thanks for being so patient <3  Also side note I really enjoyed writing this so I hope it’s okay!! 

Neji insists that he doesn’t need to get married. He can lead the clan without distraction if he stays unattached and unencumbered by the weight of those kinds of things. It's a little easier to imagine having a child now that the main branch of the family has grown in a variety of ways. However, he isn’t about to let down his guard just because the peace they reached after the war, seems to be holding up fairly well. 

His uncle is not pleased with this revelation. 

As he is still the head of their clan, Neji does have some obligation to meet his demands but after the first, second, and third attempts of ‘urgent meetings’ that quickly devolve into arranged marriage contract negotiations, he’s at his limit. 

He finally turns to Hinata for assistance but with her being married to the man she’s been in love with since she could barely walk, it’s not exactly helpful.

Neji doesn’t have a Naruto. 

There’s no one that has drawn him in or piqued his interest in the slightest. 

He really wishes his uncle would just stay out of it. 

That is until Hinata tells him about an upcoming ceremony where an ambassador from the village hidden in the waterfalls is meeting with all the local clan leaders to discuss a political marriage for their next in command. 

Marrying for money or privilege has never appealed to him, nor is he idealistic enough to put his faith in a cosmic power; be it fate, soulmates, or even something as abstract as love.

However, since the war, the land hidden in the waterfalls has rightfully felt cut off from the rest of the Land of Fire despite being centered between The Hidden Leaf Village and The Hidden Stone Village.

To have something to bond those in power wouldn’t be a terrible idea…

“Who all will be present?” Neji asks, almost surprising himself that he’s actually showing an interest. 

“Unfortunately there’s not many clans with unmarried heirs. The Nara clan is sending their third in line, Shino has requested that he not be included, but he’ll probably have to make an appearance anyway, and...and the Fuma clan will be sending someone, though I’m not sure who.” she says, showing quite a bit of worry. 

The Fuma clan is known for their aggression but none more than the most recently appointed heir. If not for how well things were already running, mostly due to Naruto’s heart and Shikmaru’s untouchable mind…

Well, to allow that man more power doesn’t sit right in his gut. 

“Tell Uncle I’ll be in attendance,” he says, ignoring the way Hinata’s eyes widen in surprise. “It can never hurt to keep an eye on the Fuma clan.” 

“I’ll let him know.” 

Neji gently bows his head to her and takes off in another direction. 

He has some research to do. 

The night of the ceremony he’s dressed in his formal wear despite the discomfort that comes from it, and his hair has been neatly straightened and pinned. There’s a prickle of nervousness at his fingertips but he ignores it in favor of arriving just a few minutes before the other guests. 

His uncle is giving him the most enthusiastic smile he’s seen from the man in years and it almost immediately makes him flinch back and turn around. 

No...this was his plan he’ll see it through.

It will be fine if you take up with the Nara clan member or even Shino he supposes but if it looks as if the Fuma clan have the upperhand, he’ll step in.

He isn’t full of himself, knows it’s nothing to do with who he is, his hopes, dreams, desires, but his clan is well known throughout all the villages and he has been appointed to be their heir as soon as his Uncle wishes to step down. 

Some nagging voice in the back of his mind is telling him that the old man is just waiting to marry him off before doing it.

Still, a contract with him is far superior to a contract with the Fuma clan and Neji understands the power of his position if nothing else. 

When you arrive, your face is hidden entirely under a thick veil, he bows his head to you politely and you return the motion, the same for your father. 

His uncle then proceeds to ‘keep casual conversation’ which in political rooms means something entirely different, as the four of you wait for the others to show up.

Shino is first, he stays humble and polite for a few moments but is suspiciously called to the school no more than five minutes after the introductions are over. 

Neji tries not to envy him. 

You’re soft spoken and quiet, Neji isn’t sure if that’s actually who you are or who you are in moments like this but he’s at least glad that you’re speaking on some topics as the conversation loops from one thing to another. 

The young man from the Nara clan...well he can hardly be called a man. He’s probably only barely old enough to be married at all, is nervous and awkward which is slightly amusing to him, but clearly not a viable candidate. 

Honestly, if you can just get things sewn up before Fuma gets he-

As if right on cue, the ceremonial curtain that was hung at the entrance of the room is loudly pulled away and in walks the overly entitled cesspool of DNA known as Fuma Ichizoku.

Servants follow him into the room despite the fact that marriage negotiations are meant to be private with only one advisor per each interested party. 

“Hey there, why don’t you take all that off and let me get a look at your pretty face,” he says, then he steps toward you and you subtly back away from the advance. It’s just a small movement really, the curve of your back arching just a little.

It’s enough for him. 

Neji wastes no time, he stands, politely bows to you and then meets Ichizoku head on. 

“I’m afraid you’re no longer welcome in these talks. Bringing uninvited guests into a treaty signing is not allowed,” he says cooly, ignoring the gasp from his cohorts. “I would advise that you read up on the formalities of contract negotiations before entering into one.” 

“Do you know who I am?” he asks, his words slurring a bit as the stink of alcohol invadesNeji’s air. 

“A previous guest who has been uninvited, now please see your way out,” Neji answers, looking to his people. It is in vain because they are clearly too intimidated to do anything about his disruptive behavior. 

In one quick, precise movement, Neji thumps his hand against the side of Ichizoku’s neck and he barely has time to start his complaint before crumpling to the floor.

He turns to you, eyes pale and gorgeous and he asks if you’d like to file a formal complaint. You quickly shake your head no before he turns back to the group that came in with him. “See to it that he gets home safely,” he says, but he makes a mental note to discuss this with Ichizoku’s father. If he can’t do better than this, he’s not fit to lead a clan of any kind, not even theirs. 

They quickly carry him out of the room and Neji returns to his seat. 

Your father scratches his chin with stoic features for a few beats before Neji watches the small uptick at the corner of his mouth and he feels a flood of something warm through him. 

“I’ve heard rumors you were reluctant to marry…” he says, and Neji slowly bows and nods his head. 

“That’s true yes...I had no altruistic intentions of marrying and having a family. I think-I thought it would be easier to lead my clan if I wasn’t concerned about a partner or children or returning home every night,” he says, but he looks to you, bows his head again, “But if I can be of use to my clan, to the people in my village, to the Allied Nations I want to do that. I want people in every hidden village to feel included in the peace that we’ve fought so hard to get,” he says, and he doesn’t think he’s talked this much in a while but it still doesn’t feel like enough. 

“So not for money or love, but political marriage interests you?” 

“It’s not that, sir. I just think that when you’re part of something greater than yourself or your clan, it gives you a sense of purpose and I believe anyone who experiences that is more invested in maintaining those ideals and feelings,” he says, and you find yourself smiling under the veil. 

“And you think you can share that feeling with our people?” he asks, and Neji goes quiet, lost in his thoughts for a moment.

Hiashi tries to cover the silence but your father just waits for him, observes him and waits. 

“To be honest sir, I’m not entirely sure I’m the best person for that. Until recently I was blind to most of the world outside the Hyuga compound,” he says, pausing to take a breath. “Perhaps you could find a better match elsewhere. Someone more open and kind. You see, I’m not very personable. Even my teammates and closest friends find me difficult…”

“Well I certainly didn’t expect quite that much honesty,” your father says, a hearty laugh bubbling out of his chest. 

“Sir?” 

“You’ll do fine, young Hyuga. You’ll do just fine.” 

“I’m not sure I understand…”

“The contracts can be amended if you find something to your dislike but read over them and make your decision. I know we’re eager to officially join in the peace treaty and have such respectful and honest allies at our backs.” 

Neji looks to you like he’s expecting you to stop him or something but you just nod your head in agreement and let him look over the pages, your skin tingling with anticipation.

You wait, breath feeling trapped in your throat as his eyes skim over the document when his signature is finalized across the bottom, you feel yourself smiling.

[reflectionsofacreator]

Time for William’s conversations -- and he has five of them. Wordy motherfucker. As per usual, you can go here to listen to the voice inflections, though not many of them stood out to me for this set of convos. 

Will: Son?  Will: I ... I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have lashed out like that. You have to understand I’ve never been very good at this. Nevermind that we live rather... extraordinary lives.  Desmond: Yeah... I kinda liked my ordinary one.  Will: You can’t escape who you are, Desmond.  Desmond: So I’ve noticed.  Will: Look... It’s silly for us to go back and forth like this. I admit, I did a shitty job raising you. I apologize. I’m sorry. But it’s important you understand that it didn’t come from a bad place. You’re my son. I love you. I guess I was so busy trying to make sure nothing bad happened, I didn’t... consider the consequences.  Will: Truce? 

Notice how Desmond doesn’t say a word to all of this. No agreement to a truce, no real word for Will’s justifications other than a few noncommittal snarks. Sighs. As much as Will says he loves Desmond, that doesn’t change the fact that Dez faced abuse at his hands. The way that Will talks just grates at me, trying to frame it as a “let’s make up and move on”, not really with any sort of actual like, real acknowledgement of it, and the way that William phrases brooks no room for argument. 

Onto the next convo. 

Desmond: I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to ask, but - how’s mom. She’s not...  Will: No, no. Your mother’s fine. We decided it was safer if we split up for this job.  Desmond: Always assuming the worst.  Will: Hmph. For good reason.  Desmond: Can I at least say hi to her?  Will: I’m sorry... It’s too risky. Maybe when we’re done...  Desmond: ... Right. When we’re done. 

Please, sir, a crumb of a canon name for Desmond’s mother, last heir to Altair’s bloodline? Please, sir, a crumb of acknowledging that mothers are important figures too to a person’s life, not just fathers? 

God who am I kidding, ac3 is just “daddy issues: the game” isn’t it, with both Desmond’s and Ratonhnhake:ton’s mothers thrown under the bus for the sake of father-oriented narratives. Sigh. It’s worth noting that Dez actually sounds pretty resigned on that last line, like he doesn’t quite believe it. Ha ha. Yeah. 

Desmond: Have... Have we ever tried to make peace with the Templars?  Will: Throughout our history there have been moments... Several, in fact. But... It’s impossible. There are... existential differences. Insurmountable. If there were to be unity, it wouldn’t be a truce so much as a submission.  Desmond: But knowing what’s about to happen... Wouldn’t it make sense to try and talk to Vidic? Come to an arrangement? Even if it’s only temporary?  Will: We’d all be so busy watching our backs, nothing would get accomplished. [slight chuckle] Imagine that. We’re more productive at war...  Desmond: Well have we ever tried... sending in someone? Doing to them what they did to us with Lucy? Or Cross?  Will: We have. And it’s never worked. We’ve sent people who were either too weak, and found themselves turned - or too strong, and were unable to carry out the charade.  Desmond: I just feel like we all want the same thing.  Will: We use the same words, but that’s all they are... words. In the end it all comes down to freedom. We seek it. They detest it. And so there’s never an end to the fight. Not until one side is completely gone.  Desmond: Is that even possible?  Will: Probably not. Our two groups have existed in one form or another since .. well... forever. But things can be better than they are. And that’s something. 

You know, when the person that was inhumanely experimented on advocates for peace with the people that did so, I’m a little more inclined to think he’s got a point than the Mentor of the Brotherhood who just outright refuses.  Honestly I think there’s something to be said for the fact that Desmond is largely an outsider looking in, and he’s able to see that this war is getting them nowhere, especially in the face of everything else. He’s spent his last 9 years living as a civilian, trying his best to get rid of the ideologies of the Assassins, and that leads him to having a lot of interesting perspectives. 

Honestly, it’s probably what the Brotherhood needs. They’ve spent so long trying to get the upperhand on Abstergo, or a lot of other things, and they lose sight of what’s important, I think. Like, yeah, you can say that Desmond is being naive, sure, but I just -- it’s like how Ratonhnhake:ton pushed back against Sam for saying he’ll grow out of his own naivety. Like, the game isn’t exactly being subtle with the parallels between Desmond and Ratonhnhake:ton, but man if it doesn’t make me worried. 

I know, ultimately, that the modern day plot kinda goes to nowhere (save for maybe the Origins onward), and that there’s not much in the way of change that happens. Also, I know that Ratonhnhake:ton’s efforts for his own people are futile in the long run, resulting in a very similar feeling futileness that these two characters have to grapple with. But like, that’s the rub, isn’t it -- ac3 is more tragedy than anything else, with inevitable failures that can’t be circumvented. 

It interests me that Desmond lumps Lucy in with Cross though. Like as not he doesn’t exactly know the whole story there, but still. Makes me think. 

Desmond: Did you look for me, dad? When I was gone.  Will: Every day.  Desmond: Come on...  Will: I mean it. Every night I’d look. Searching for you name - or variations of it - hoping you’d slip up. Abstergo only found you first because they had better access. A few more days and it would have been me.  Desmond: Well, I’m here now.  Will: And I’m glad. 

Desmond sounds resigned on that last line, damn. Tbh, the vibe I got from this one is that Dez couldn’t really believe that his father actually cared about him. (I mean, I can’t either, but that’s neither here nor there) I do vaguely wonder how long it took for the frantic searching to become just an ingrained habit, how long it took before William would just click through results and never actually hope to find anything, resigned to never knowing the fate of his son. 

Dammit I think I just made myself feel for the bastard. [beats with stick] back! Back I say! 

Desmond: Do you think Lucy regretted what she was doing?  Will: I used to think I knew her well, but clearly that wasn’t the case. So I really can’t give you an honest answer.  Desmond: She seemed so sincere, though. Like she really wanted to make a difference.  Will: Yes, well when I first met him, I thought the same thing about Cross.  Desmond: It just keeps happening over and over again.  Will: What does?  Desmond: Everything...  Will: Don’t get weird on me, Desmond.  Desmond: No. It’s fine. I’m fine. Don’t worry.  Will: Alright, then. You should think about getting back in the Animus... We’ve got to find that key. 

Catch me worrying anyways :D Like, really worrying :D

Groans I just. there’s so many worrying signs in these conversations, and I don’t like where it’s going!! at all!! 

If you liked this, or what I do, consider checking out the rest of my ac3 playthrough!  Or my other playthroughs in general! 

[is-that-another-soulmate-au]

Me? Combine two soulmate AUs and add in an animal hybrid AU????

Of courze, buckle up buddies this is gonna be a bit if a bumpy ride

Dream soulmate/soulpairs AU/Soulmate Ribbons AU/Animal Hybrid AU

Dream: Basically like last time you cant control when you visit, you cant see them, you cant say your name or where you're from. But this time its a legit group dream. In the dream your soulmate(s) will have a ribbon around them apposed to the simply blurred soulpair(s)

Ribbon/animal hybrid: with the ribbon au it ties in with the animal for the most part. You're born with a ribbon tied around your animal feature, whether it be at the base of a fluffy wolf tail, the end of a cat/lemur tail, at the base of cat ears/bunny ears, on any type of horns. Regardless of where it happens to be tied, it cannot be removed, it can be burnt or singed but it cant be cut or removed. The color of your soulmates nation appears after you meet your them, and you can then see the color of yours around them during dreams

So basically Zuko's 12th birthday he goes to sleep and in his dream there are three people with one surrounded by a pale white ribbon.

"H-hello?" He called out.

"Hi!" A cheery voice called out

"Im assuming you're all.. not my soulmate, because I'm 8" a slightly annoyed young girl called

"Your a soulfriend for me!" A chipper Boys voice broke through, the voice of the bright figure

"Uhm, I know I can't know your names, but I'd like to be able to distinguish between all of you... uhm,"

"Call me Bandit" the younger girl called out

"You can call me Oshi"

"And uhm..."

"I'll call you turtleduck" zuko interrupted him

"What? Why that?"

"Uh, well, I have a turtleduck pond by my home and I like it there, and uh, your my soulmate so..."

"Oh! Uhmm... what should I call you?" The boy paused a moment

"Sunshine? Maybe?"

"Yeah! Sunshine!"

"Alright, so, Bandit, Oshi, Turtleduck, and Sunshine?" Oshi piped in

"Yeah," bandit hummed "by the way, whats a turtle duck?"

"Ill show you one whe-"

"Im blind"

"What? Oh, im sorry, I didnt know. Well, if we ever meet I'll let you hold one. I'm sure it'll get the idea across."

"Youre blind?! That sounds so cool! I bet your other senses are heightened" Oshi chirped at the thought

"Yeah, and so is my bending! I can see with me bending, but im not too good at it yet"

"You're a bender? I dont know if we can find out what kind" Turtleduck mused

"Let me try... im an earthbender!"

"Woah! Cool! So you use earthbending to see?" Zuko questioned

The rest of the dream was fairly blurry to him. He ran to his mom to talk about his dream, going on about Oshi, Bandit and Turt; he shortened turtleduck because well, he wanted to.

They dont meet up until later that year, after his mother had left him he was found crying

"Sunny?" He heard Bandit call out

"Huh!? Oh hey guys, sorry, im fine" he sighed "I- I lost my mom just last week"

They all comforted him and then pulled the conversation to different topics, Turt talking about going hunting with his dad and getting hit wolf tail caught on a fishing line. Bandit talked about her earthbending and how she learned how to use her badger tail to bend as well. Oshi all the while hovered as close as the dream would let her, it felt similar to a motherly protection and he appreciated it greatly.

The next time they saw eachother was about two nights after his banishment he was found pouting but quickly came out it the pout when he heard Turt calling out

"SUNNY! Sunny! Hi! Oh Tui! Hi Bandit! Hi Oshi!"

"Hey Turt!" The girls called out "Sunny, whats got you down?"

He sighed "i left the firenation today"

"Woah woah, hold on, why did you leave- oh were you from there? Why would you leave?" Oshi pried.

"Uhm, I was banished for losing an agni kai against my dad"

"An Agn- thats a firebending duel! Your still just 13!" Turt cried out

"Yeah, well, my dad doesnt care about that, he made sure I'd remember that by burning me, now i have to find the avatar before I can return home"

Their conversation lasted for what felt like several blurry hours. When he woke it was to Iroh walking in with some tea. Zuko shot up and managed to get his blanket caught in his horns "AAAGH!" He growled out "help... please" iroh simply chuckled and untangled the blankets from Zuko's horns

"How was your sleep nephew?" Iroh asked as he started to pour them some tea, handing Zuko his cup.

"I talked to Oshi, Bandit and Turt again" he mumbled while bringing the cup to his lips and blowing some of the steam away.

"Thats good, were you able to discuss your banishment? I'm not sure if the dreams will let you, my soulmate and I have never met nor have we ever left our nations"

"Yeah, I was able to tell them everything, well the banishment and" he motioned to his now healing eye wound.

They had met a few more times over the next three years, Oshi revealing that she has a lion tail that is most certainly not as clumsy as Turt's consistently caught wolf tail.

About a week after Zuko arrived at the southpole and managed to lose the avatar there was another dream

"Sunny!" Turt sounded angry

"Uh, y-yeah?"

"You visited my tribe today" the ribbon around Turt was red

"Oh, uh yeah, I'm sorry. Did I hurt someone, I wasn't trying to, I just needed to grab the avatar"

"YOU DONT NEED THE AVATAR SUNNY!" Turt was fuming "youre chasing the avatar for what? The love of an abusive father?"

"Hes no-

"He is Sunny! I dont know the full extent of it. But if he broke your horn, burnt you, and then BANISHED YOU all for speaking out of turn, then that spells abusive!! That level of abuse and your level of wanting to be back says clearly that you were neglected and abused, what the FUCK Sunny!"

Zuko was frozen but it wasnt silent

"We've been trying to tell you this Sunny, your dad is terrible and you deserve actual love, your uncle is a much better dad than him, and you know it" Oshi piped up

"Yeah, I know but-"

"And! If I ever get my hands on him, it'll be his last day alive. Mark. My. Words" Bandit cracked her knuckles

The dream went on for a while longer with the trio eventually convincing Zuko he shouldn't search for his fathers love by capturing the avater. Turt managed to convince him to join forces with the avatar the next time he saw them. The next time he met up with the avatar was on Kyoshi Island, where he entered the town without his armor or helmet, and instead wearing casual garmets.

"What are you doing here Zuko?" Katara growled at him with the hairs on her tail standing on end. Aang was behind her with his lemur tail flicking angrily.

"Well, im not here to capture you if that's what you think. I came to join you"

"Why would we ever believe that?" Aang's voice was nearly as angry as Katara's

Sokka was beside Katara in a similar stance but had yet to respond

"Well, I honestly don't expect you to believe me, unless any of you happen to be Turt, Oshi or Bandit." He paused "look I was burnt and banished at 13 by my own father just for speaking up in a war meeting about how cruel it was to sacrifice new recruites for a bigger win, and my father sent me out to find the avatar." He sighed "i would have continued but Turt and Oshi managed to help me understand where I was wrong in thinking and made me see just how abusive my dad is"

"Sunny?" Sokka finally spoke but was matched with one of the Kyoshi warriors

"Huh? I mean, yeah they call me that, wait are you Turt?" He then turned to the warrior and saw the lion tail "Oshi!?" He stepped back in a moment of surprise.

"Oh my gods Sunny what the hell!" The wolf and lion laughed

"Wait, Zuko is the Sunny you've been talking about!?" Katara and Aang said in unison.

From there out Zuko was a part of the team. Suki having to stay behind for the time being. The group traveled via Appa or by boat. Katara, Sokka and Iroh having lengthy in depth conversations about waterbending and pai sho. He may or may not have been making an attempt to recruit them both slowly but surely.

When they met Toph she put two and two together so fast. "You're Sunny and Turt!" She exclaimed before they duo could introduce eachother

"Wait! Bandit!" Thay said in unison

"The one and only Blind Bandit!" She said proudly.

After meeting with her Zuko became acquainted with a chaotic good type younger sister as apposed to his own chaotic evil. Toph would often launch herself into his shoulders, grab his horns and say "onward noble dragon steed!!" Which he didnt mind so he never complained much.

Let's fast forward to the desert. While Sokka Aang and Katara went into the library to explore, Zuko and Iroh stayed behind with toph to protect Appa, when the Sand benders arrived while the Library was sinking the two firebenders fought off the sandbenders until the trio emerged and they ran off. Zuko, however had fought practically tooth and nail to keep appa there, dodging sand and blasting fire to distract the benders when they tried to use the sand beneath his feet against him. He collapsed from the exhaustion of not only fighting with a dozen benders in their element, but also the heat of the sun. Iroh on the other hand asked Katara for a bit of water to make sure he didnt collapse as well.

"Zuko!" Aang cried out when he watched Zuko collapse in the sand. They all got back on Appa and made their way out of the dessert.

Not long after they stopped at a small body of water to rest and wash up Appa so he wouldn't be shedding and attracting anyone Zuko taking a hot minute to get his strength back. They were approached by a couple who happened to have a baby on the way and Zuko nudged Aang "we should take them with us, yknow, spread some joy"

So they flew the couple with them to Ba Sing Se with them. They managed to get in to tell the earth king their invasion plan, as well as taking down the dai li with the proof of the drill right outside the wall. Without having the advantage of the Kyoshi disguises Azula didnt manage to gain the upperhand against Ba Sing Se, and in turn she had no idea about the invasion plan. Aang had his crisis at Ember island before the invasion and met the lion turtle just before they had to leave.

When the invasion began Zuko and Aang both went off to the city, Zuko in his blue spirit get up with his swords on his back literally being dangled in the air by Aangs weirdly strong ass tail. When the landed on the roof, it was still a bit until the fire kicked off. So they were dodging fire balls while running towards the palace, however right before they went into the throne room Azula appeared. She went to shoot fire but was shocked to see no fire come out. Aang smirked and bended the earth around her to keep her in place.

They went in to Ozai, Zuko drawing his swords and Aang readying himself to fight a powerful bender who possibly had skills other than bending. But they were met with a practically powerless man who didn't take long to defeat, taking his life wasn't the option, however, Aang knew that, and so he took his bending away, to the absolute awe of Zuko who watched the blinding light for a moment before shielding his eyes.

After the success of the invasion Iroh took the throne when Zuko told him he was simply not ready. However Iroh made a deal with him, he would be firelord for all of 5 years, set the ground work for Zuko and let his nephew take up some studying in the other nations as well as his own to figure out how he would rule after the 5 years were up.

And he did, he gathered as much information from the other nations, all with Sokka joining with him. He spend a year at the south pole, helping rebuild the place, he spend a year at the northpole studying the scrolls available, he spent a year going to each large earth kingdom city, and then he spent his fourth year in the firenation reading every scroll he could. One night while in his room reading through a pile of scrolls he leaned onto Sokka's shoulder for support, but Sokka took the scroll out of his hands "alright enough reading for you tonight, come on little dragon its bedtime"

Sokka's tail was absentmindedly wagging side to side as he helped his soulmate undress and get into more comfortable clothes, of course getting the cloth stuck on those pesky horns a couple times. But soon they were both laying in bed with Zuko resting his cheek against Sokka's chest while Sokka ran his fingers through his hair.

They could stay like this forever. And wouldn't you know it, after Zuko took the throne he proposed to Sokka and the two were soon married, the Wolf and the Dragon.

At the wedding Toph and Suki were the first to show up, bringing gifts, Suki gave them a pair of gold fans, one with a turtleduck on it and the other with a sun on it. Toph on the otherhand had brought a dagger with a dragon carved on the blade and a wolfs head on the handle.

>another marraige wrap up? Of course, its me what else would I do?

[one-shot-plus-size]

Crossbow Love - Chapter Fifteen - Revenge 18+

The work was created, through collaboration @bladeroseocrp​ https://www.wattpad.com/user/BladeRose_18

Daryl embraces her and hugs her tightly. "Jesus Blade" He whispers into her hair. Blade embraces him tightly and touches her arms around his neck and closes her eyes tightly. "Daryl. Oh god." She whispers breathing heavily holding the back of his head. "Are you okay?" He leans back a little. "How's your neck?" He asks. Blade cries and holds his cheek and nods and smiles through the tears. "I'm fine, I'm okay. I’m a bit light headed but Simon saved me and he bandaged me up." She says staring into his eyes. "That's good" He leans in and kisses her lightly and uncertainty.

He doesn't know what Negan has done to her or how she will react to this. Blade kisses him back softly. and stares into his eyes. "Daryl. He didn't do anything to me okay. He didn't rape me okay. I’m okay. I’m completely fine. I'm the same girl you fell in love with. He didn't break me. Remember I'm strong. I just kept thinking about you. But I had to agree to be his wife in order to not be in the cell." She says through tears. "I understand" He nods slightly. This cell can be awful. Blade smiles softly and with tears and embraces him tightly "I knew you wouldn't give up on me." She says not letting him go. “I will never give up on you" He hugs her tightly to his body "Never Blade, I will always come for you" He says. Blade smiles and covers her face with his shoulder and rubs his hair and neck. "I love you so much Daryl Dixon. Forever and always even after death." She says Daryl smiles slightly and blushes hiding his face in her neck, he places soft kisses there. "You are mine and mine alone" He says.

Blade smiles and nods. "Yes Daryl of course I am. Nobody can take me away from you. No other man can touch me or love me as much as you can. Let's go back home." She says "We can't yet, Rick has a plan" He moves away from her "We need to hide for a while, Negan can't find us. Until our group defeats him, the group and I have agreed that the two of us will withdraw from the fight for our safety, okay?" He says. Blade steps away and shakes head and gets upset. "There's no way. No fucking way I’m not going to hide! I want to fight, this is our fight, I'm not running away. Negan needs to pay. If you wouldn't I will. I don't care what Rick says'' She stares him in the eyes. "Easy well" He puts his hands on her shoulders “I expected this from you so we will fight but then we spend time just the two of us" He says.

Blade looks at him and nods, she touches her throat softly and breathes in a deep need to calm down. "Good. It should have been about us not fighting, and I want to get five minutes with that son of bitch." She says "How about if the group catches him and we give you five minutes with him or even ten, but in the fight itself we will not participate?" He asks. Blade looks at him and sighs "Fine." She says wanting to make sure that she needs her time with him. When they get back to talk to Rick and look at him. "We need to sabotage their weapons. I know he has Eugene so he can sabotage their weapons undercover." She glances at Rick and looks around the room to the others.

Daryl sits on the parapet of the car and listens to this conversation. "What do you mean?" Rick asks as he furrows his eyebrows, Blade smirks and looks at him. "They have tons of weapons Eugene has been making bullets for their guns so he canl fuck up the gun to where they will explode in their hands. That is the only way we can have the upperhand." She says staring at him. "We have no contact with Eugenie, we can only count on him to come up with it himself" Rosita snorts under her breath Blade looks at her and smiles and nods. "We all know if he is still part of our group he will do this and we have a man on the inside." She says sitting on the table with her legs crossed still wearing the black dress and has the bandaged on her neck.

Daryl slides his gaze over her body, this is the first time he has seen her in a dress. He bites his lower lip and looks at the men in the room, he no longer likes that she has so much exposed skin. Blade has had the time to change her clothes since she was home. She tore the bottom of the dress a bit to make it look cooler and be able to move better in it. She glanced at Daryl. He squinted his eyes staring at her legs, clenched his hands into a fist. It wasn't the best time to get excited, but he couldn't help himself. He corrected himself in his seat. Blade looks at him and then at everybody "Lets just hope Eugene will come up with this plan." She says as she walks out of Rick's house heading over to Daryl and her house and goes upstairs and sees herself in a dress and growls and quickly takes it off, and turns the water on, being careful of her neck. Daryl moves right behind her, he hears the shower. He bites his lower lip and runs upstairs, he opens the bedroom door and sees her clothes lying on the ground, he throws off his own shirt and swings the bathroom door open, he sees that she is in the shower. He slips off his shoes, socks, pants, and boxers. Blade keeping her bandage dry and not getting wet she doesn't want to ruin it and she is still weak from the blood loss.

Daryl slides into the shower "Hey kitty" He says. Blade jumps a bit and turns to him and smiles. "Hey Darbear. I just need a shower I'm trying to gain my strength back. so I'm sorry I can help you with your friend there. I guess the dress that Negan's wives have to wear got you excited." She says, smirking glancing down at his boner "I just wanted to take a shower with my woman" He smiles gently "I'll help you wash up" He says. Blade smiles and nods "Thank you Daryl. I know I should have changed out of that dress sooner than later. It doesn't help that I want to get this fight started so we can finish it." She says "I know, it's okay," He runs the sponge over her body, "But you need to rest a while." He says.

Blade looks at him and sighs and touches her neck and takes a deep breath. "I didn't want you to see me in the position I was in. When we got inside I ran away from him after kicking him in the face. I'm just glad he wasn't going to rape me he said he doesn't rape." She says softly "Look at me kitty" He touches her cheeks "Don't think about it, the important thing is that he won't hurt you, the important thing is that you are safe now, you are with me. And I won't do anything you don't want, so enjoy the warm water and relax" He says. Blade smiles and nods "I know Daryl I would have gone insane if I was in that cell longer than I was. I'm just glad he let me get out of the cell." She says as heads slightly and hums under her breath, he focuses on washing her carefully. He slides the sponge over her body, washing every bit but being careful of her neck bandage "We will need to change it later" He says.

Blade nods "I know I need sometime to make sure I don't make it bleed." She says Daryl helps her wash up, after she gets out of the shower he helps Blade change her dressing and brings her clean clothes. Blade smiles and nods "Thank you Daryl. when was the last time you slept?" She asks him, Daryl looks at her in the mirror standing behind her, I embrace her lightly around the waist and lay my head on her shoulder. "Some time ago, I couldn't sleep without you," He says. Blade smiles softly and holds his hand and rubs the back of his hand with her thumb. "I was lucky enough I got some sleep while I was gone." She says Daryl kisses her on the shoulder "Maybe now we can rest together huh?" He says.

Blade smiles and nods. "Sure Daryl, I like that. I just hope we can get this fight started." She says looking at him through the mirror. “It will work out, Rick has a plan. Don't worry about it now." Daryl smiles at her in the mirror. He grabs her hand and intertwines her fingers together and then leads her to the bedroom "Would you rather here or in the basement?" He asks. Blade smiles and sits on the bedroom bed and holds his hand. "Why don't we sleep here tonight? I want to make sure we get used to actually living in a house not living in the basement." She says "Ok" Daryl nods "I'll just go get some sweatpants for myself to sleep in, maybe you want something to eat? or something to drink?" Blade smiles slightly and nods "Yeah I wasn't fed while I was there." She says "Okay, I'll figure something out" He smiles, He kisses her on the forehead and leaves the bedroom.

Blade smiles and blushes and sits on the bed and touches the bedsheet knowing she is back home and living in the moment but she is enjoying this until this war starts. Daryl heats up some stew on the stove, grabs some of Carol's cookies from the cupboard, and brews some tea. Daryl grabs a pair of sweatpants from the basement to sleep in and goes back upstairs. He goes into the bedroom, puts the food on the counter. He goes into the bathroom, changes into sweatpants. Blade sits on the bed and smiles as she watches him. "Thank you Daryl this place is starting to feel like home. Your heart is my home." She says.

Daryl blushes furiously, he can get used to all this. He lies down on the other side on the bed and watches Blade as she eats her meal. Blade smiles and drinks the tea and starts eating. She doesn't want to rush on eating because she doesn't want to upset her stomach. Daryl stares at the ceiling and tries to calm his growing desire. He knows she can't do it now because she is weak, he slides his hand down to his crotch and corrects himself, covers himself with the blanket to avoid embarrassment. Blade smiles, watches him and giggles and blushes. "Got a friend under there? You can pleasure yourself Daryl I don't mind. I like to watch anyway." She says blushing and giggling.

Daryl looks at her with curiosity in his eyes. "I don't want to do this alone," He mutters under his breath. Blade smiles and giggles and looks at him. "Maybe I can help just let me finish eating but I’m helping you without having sex." She says smiling "Oh" He smiles broadly and adjusts his position on the bed. He still has her look in the dress before his eyes. Once all this war and fighting is over and they have peace and quiet he will go for a run and look for a dress for her. Maybe she would agree to have some fun in the bedroom. He bites his lower lip. Blade smirks and giggles as she finishes eating and smirks as she grabs herself something out of the drawer and goes into the bathroom. "Give me one second. I'll be right out with a surprise." She says

Daryl pulls himself up on the bed and leans his back against the headboard of the bed, intertwining his fingers while keeping his hands on his stomach. Blade looks in the mirror and takes off her clothes and some other outfit on. She is going to strip tease him and help him by pleasuring him. Daryl stares at the bathroom door waiting for her, his curiosity almost reaching a peak "Kitty" He moans louder "What are you doing?" He asks. Blade smirks and puts on the lipstick and opens the door and slowly comes into view and looks at him with smirk having the robe tied and not showing the lingerie yet. "Like what you see?" She asks seductively Daryl's eyes widen in surprise, a moan escapes his lips. "You're not helping Kitty," His hand lands on my crotch.

Blade smirks and giggles. "No this is helping you with us being physically together I just tease you and wear this." She says untying the robe slowly. "Jesus Kitty'' He moans at the sight "You look appetizing to me" He tightens his hand on himself through his pants Blade bites her lip and comes close to him and runs her fingers through his hair. "You must have really missed me huh?" She asks as she slides the robe off. "I haven't been with any woman since the apocalypse started and then when I tasted your body I can't stop thinking about it" He looks into her eyes and blushes Blade smirks and licks her lips and bites her lip. "I'm glad you can't live without my body." She says as she slowly pulls his sweatpants down.

Daryl gasps as it pops out of his pants, he closes his eyes being at her mercy. "Do what you want," He says. Blade smirks and starts stroking it and grabs his hand and puts it on one of her breasts. "I know you want me but you have to be gently with me" She says He moans under her touch, squeezes her breast lightly, has it in the back of his mind that she's been hurt and he shouldn't force her to do anything, but his sex drive is too high and at the beginning he promised himself that he wouldn't masturbate while he's with her. “Take it in your mouth kitty” He moans.

Blade smirks and starts licking and sucking him and rubs at the same time. "Oh fuck" He moans. Daryl improves on the bed. He slides his hand into her hair and squeezes lightly. His body responded quickly to her touch, relishing the warmth of her lips. Blade licks all around it and sucks softly as she goes down on it alot more and rubs it gently in case of her throat. Daryl's hips rise wanting to go deeper into her, he feels her throat hit. "Blade it feels so good" Blade smirks and goes faster knowing if she goes faster and deeper it will make him feel good. "Oh Daryl, I'm so glad I can pleasure you." She says "Kitty I am on the edge, if you don't want in your mouth then finish with your hand" He moans.

His muscles tighten, he thrusts his head into the pillow and clenches his hands into fists. Blade smirks and strokes him faster and keeps rubbing knowing he's getting close; she kisses and sucks his neck as she does so. Daryl tenses and lowers himself onto her hand, her name falling from his lips like a prayer. Slowly he comes down from his orgasm, his body relaxing and his breathing quick and shallow. Blade smirks and goes into the bathroom, washes her hand and tosses him a towel and she puts on a shirt and shorts and kisses him softly. "Feel better?" She asks as she sits on the bed. "Yes honey, thank you" He slips his pants on and lies back on the bed "Sorry I can't help myself.” He says.

Blade smiles and giggles "Is this way of telling me I am sexy and beautiful?" She asks glances at him as she lays down "Yes" He smiles and blushes furiously, hides his face behind his hair and settles on the bed Blade smiles and kisses him and giggles "Well Mr. Dixon I'm glad to help." She says staring at the ceiling. "Well Mrs. Dixon" He smiles slightly and hugs her "Sweet dreams" He says. Blade kisses him softly and lays down "Goodnight. I love you." She says blushing "I love you more" He smiles and can finally fall asleep peacefully. Blade smiles and closes her eyes and turns on her side. Daryl as soon as he feels her body next to him moves to her and hugs her from behind. finally they both have the opportunity to rest together. Blade sleeping peacefully she starts dreaming about someday getting married on their wedding day, a beautiful day outside. A few days later, the whole group is standing in the middle of a field, not quite sure what's going to happen here.

                                             One month later

Daryl grabs her hand gently to let her know he is beside her. Blade looks over at him and nods and holds his hand tightly. She then glares at Negan from afar, and smirks showing him I'm alive and well and strong. Everyone in their group takes aim at Negan's men, each ready for a fight. Daryl's body tenses as he unlocks his gun. "Let the war begin," Daryl growls under his breath. Blade smirks holding her assault rifle in her hands and aims it at Negan. "Hello Negan. Miss me?" She asks "You bitch" He growled loudly "I wondered where you disappeared to in all this brothel, but now I know seeing one of my men is on your side. Simon it was his mistake" He says.

Blade growls and smirks "Rick will be dealing with you now. Simon helped me escape and now he's gone." She says "You will all die without even knowing when it will happen,"He laughed, "I could spare you, but too many of my people have died." He says. Blade smirks and laughs and takes out her knife. "Oh please I would kill you in 5 second but I rather torture you for 10 minutes or until you beg me to stop." She says licking the knife blade not cutting her tongue Daryl shakes his head and smiles under his breath, knowing that his girlfriend is unbalanced but he loves her "What Negan you are shitting your pants" Daryl speaks up Blade smirks and chuckles "Are you going to start or should we?" She asks.

Negan's men line up, each one unlocking a gun and the moment they squeeze the triggers, the gun explodes in their hands. Blade smirks and laughs and sees all the explosions and sees Eugene and nods knowing he thought what she was thinking. Daryl is aiming at people and wants to get to Negan as soon as possible, he has to catch him, he has to get him so Blade can get back at him. Blade smirks starts running towards them with her knives out and stabs them to where they get down in pain. She goes towards Negan but Rick holds me off and handles him himself. 

The rest of the group runs up as Rick cuts Negan's throat and yells something unintelligible at him. Daryl runs up to Blade "Are you ok?" He asks. Blade looks up at what Rick did and looks with wide eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine." She says hearing what he says and gets angry knowing Rick wants to save him. Rick breathes deeply and turns to the group. "You can save him now" He says and walks off somewhere. Some of the people throw themselves to help him. Daryl looks at it all, unsure of what she should do or feel.

Blade sighs and knowing she knows how to help and walks up to Negan and helps with the bleeding staring down at Negan. Daryl is standing there like he's in a daze. "Blade, what are you doing? He deserves to die." He says. Blade looks up at him. "Hey this gives me my opportunity to question and get my 10 minutes with him, and he is no longer a threat." She says and looks into Negan eyes. "I will get my 10 minute to torture you and make you regret living." She growls at him Negan smiles looking into her eyes. "Admit Blade, you missed me" He says weakly. Blade growls down at him and puts her knife to his cheek. "NO." She says getting up and kicking him in his ribs then walking away.

Daryl stands by the car and leans against it, he is angry at what happened, he himself felt like watching him bleed out for what he did to her when he took her to Sanctuary. For what she had to go through when he kidnapped Blade. Blade gets to the car and gets in the car. Daryl sits in the car and bites the crust off his fingernail. He waits for Tara and Rosita some more and then they head off to Alexandria together. Blade looks out the window as they leave to go to Alexandria and wants to be alone with Negan after he gets taken care of. Everyone goes home to The Kingdom, Hilltop, and Alexandria. 

Daryl gets out of the car and goes straight home. Blade gets out of the car and sighs and goes to the target area to get some anger out by throwing her knives at the target, hitting the bullseye every time. Daryl goes into his basement, the best way to calm down is to do something. He sits down at his workbench and starts making arrows, keeping his hands busy so he doesn't have to think. Blade sees them bring in Negan to the infirmary she walks over and talks to the doctor after they worked on him. "I'll keep guard to watch him." She says as she holds her knife and plays with it with her hands. "No he needs to rest, this isn’t a good idea Blade " He shakes his head "Go home and calm down" The doctor looks at her.

Blade sighs and shakes her head. "I don't need to calm down and we need to guard him at all times, and I'm not going to hurt him until he is put in a cell." She says glancing at him "I don't believe you." He says. Blade looks at him "Just let me do this okay he's defenseless he can't hurt me or anybody. Once he heals we need to put him in the cell." She says "Fine" He sighs and leaves the infirmary Blade looks inside seeing Negan and walks up to him seeing he is awake "How does it feel to get your throat slit?" She asks to stand above him. Negan grunts something but can't necessarily speak but stares at her and wrinkles his brow.

Blade smirks at him "Oh I'm sorry I can't hear you. You and I are going to have a talk soon, believe me" She says as Negan stares at her, his brain trying to comprehend what has happened. He is weak and his throat hurts, but he sees the anger in her eyes. Blade looks at him with her knife but she puts it away "Rick slit your throat and he decided to save you." She says "Fuck" He growls quietly in a snarling voice and clenches his jaw Blade smirks and chuckles. "I could have you killed but you know Rick needs me to keep you alive and we will put you in a cell." She says "What are you going to do?" He asks.

Blade looks at him and smirks. "Watch you rot in the cell, and make sure you suffer. I'm going to make sure you aren't in charge or a leader anymore. You will suffer for all you have done to everybody. Killing people and torturing people, and I will guard so you don't escape or try anything." She growls "I was protecting people, just that, nothing more. Just like you protect yours." He says. Blade grabs him by the throat and shakes her head chuckling "I protect them because I care about them. You force the woman to be your wives and kill their husband, and you force groups to gather things for you and use scare tactics to do so." She growls.

He is choking on his own saliva and cannot move because he is pinned to the bed. His movements are restricted, he stares at the ceiling and tears appear in his eyes. Blade smirks and lets go of his throat and sits down next to his bed keeping an eye on him. He coughs and looks at her. "What do you want?" He asks. Blade looks at him "You are going to be our prisoner and I'm going to need a sorry." She says and leans back into the chair and crosses her legs and arms. "You're not much different from me," He says, turning his head and looking at her "I like your feistiness” He says. Blade looks at him and glares at him "I’m nothing like you. I don't kill people for power and to scare people." She says "I never wanted power," He says shaking his head, "They elected me." He says.

Blade shakes her head and rolls her eyes "You scare them to make them choose you." She says playing with her knife in her hands "You'll never understand." He says closing his eyes and falls asleep. Blade shakes her head and just plays with her knife as she softly sings to herself. Daryl at this time gathers his things, taking his crossbow, knives, some food. He gets on his motorcycle that he managed to retrieve and heads out the gates. He needs a little breather after all this time. He doesn't know where he's going, he's just riding Ahead. Daryl feels the wind in his hair and smiles, finally feeling the freedom that a motorcycle has always given him.

Blade looks over Negan and sighs as Rick walks and sees him. "Hey Rick." She says "What are you doing here?" He asks going inside. Blade looks over at Negan and sighs "Keeping guard." She simply says "I thought you went with Daryl." He says wrinkling his eyebrows, Blade looks at him and stands up "What are you talking about? I have been here since we got back. Where did he go?" She asks "I don't know" He shakes his head "He left ten minutes ago. Maybe it's nothing, I don't know." He shrugs her shoulders, Blade sighs and shrugs her shoulders "He's probably just going for a ride.” She says.

[houseisekai]

FE3H:HI Shadowbringers - Part 2: Forward, Relentlessly

House Isekai Shadowbringers AU Masterlist Here

----

Being awoken by a familiar voice, Class VII find themselves stranded in unfamiliar territory, separated and confused, and set out to find their classmates.

Meanwhile King Dimitri plans a daring mission, gambling his entire kingdom and perhaps all of Fodlan if he fails...

----

[Trouble Outbreak - The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel OST]

(Boy's voice) "...-uctor? Instructor!"

Sara slowly opened her eyes, holding her head.

She felt as if it was about to split wide open.

(Sara) "Ugh...Oh, good we’re alive...I think...”

As her vision adjusted to the area they were in, she could see Rean right next to her, alongside Emma using some sort of healing spell.

(Emma) "Instructor Sara, are you feeling okay?!"

(Sara) "We just fell down into a bottomless pit, how do you think I feel?”

(Emma) “...She’s okay.”

Rean sighed in relief and stood up, looking to the rest of Class VII.

The area they were in appeared to be somewhere in the north, judging by how cold the wind was.

Looking to his left, he saw half the class talking with each other, also trying to get a bearing on their surroundings.

To his right, Valimar was kneeling with the other half near him.

Rean frowned when he examined Valimar.

At this point he had done it several times while everyone was waking up, but the Divine Knight was in such good shape considering the circumstances.

Valimar should have been destroyed in the fall. Then there was the question of how anyone was still alive.

...Shaking his head, he decided to turn his attention back to the present. He'd have plenty of time to worry about that later.

When he turned around, Emma was helping Sara get to her feet.

(Sara) "What happened?"

(Emma) "It looks like we were saved. How, we don't know."

(Rean) "Right now we're trying to get ourselves situated before we start investigating the area. Sharon should be back in a few minutes to tell us what she's found."

(Sara) "Right. Hoo, alright just give me a few minutes I'll be ready...!"

Rean nodded and walked towards Valimar as Emma tended to Sara.

Crow, Towa, Elliot, and Alisa were right next to Valimar, and noticed Rean coming to them.

(Crow) "Hey look, Sara's awake."

(Elliot) "Whew, thank goodness! I was starting to worry something was wrong."

(Alisa) "It's a miracle that we managed to get up as fast we did, honestly."

(Towa) "I suppose we should just be grateful everyone is okay. That fall was pretty scary!"

(Rean) "Hah, that doesn't even come close to describing it...We still haven't seen any sign of our other classmates have we?"

(Crow) "Nope. It's just been us as far as I could tell. Maybe we should ask Valimar if he can sense them."

(Towa) "He can do that?"

(Alisa) "I thought that only worked on Class VII since we were the only ones to activate him?"

(Elliot) "It might be worth a shot at the very least."

Rean shrugged.

(Rean) "Yeah, can't hurt to try. Valimar."

The Divine Knight's lenses flared to life with a bright green shine.

(Rean) "Can you detect any other member of House Isekai?"

(Valimar) Negative. A magical disruption in the area is preventing my scanners from working properly.

(Crow) "Well good, it does work, but the hell is causing the problem?"

Two figures watched from on top of a hill covered in trees.

They could see Emma walking over to the group, most likely being asked if she could sense anything.

The woman in black turned to the man on her right.

(???) "Lahabrea, we should attack them before they return to full strength. They're weak, we have the upperhand-"

Lahabrea shook his head.

(Lahabrea) "Patience. It'd do you well not to underestimate the professor's students. ESPECIALLY, the wielder of the Ashen Knight."

(???) "Our orders were to destroy any member of House Isekai and-"

(Lahabrea) "-And we know our higher ups are idiots. They seek to destroy this wild card because it threatens our plan. I like to think otherwise."

The woman's facial expressions weren't visible, but he could tell that she was fuming.

(???) "Just because you were put in charge of this operation does NOT mean you can just use this as an excuse to further your little pet project!"

(Lahabrea) "Hah! You have the nerve to refer to what I’m doing as a ‘pet project’? You know full well if Thales were to continue we'd-...It is VERY rude to eavesdrop, I'll have you know."

Sharon stepped out of the trees, her signature smile still present. Her hands were over one another, in front of her apron.

(Sharon) "My apologies. I just overheard someone threatening my class and had to make sure they would not have the opportunity to do so. You cannot fault for that, can you?” 

(Lahabrea) "I would not, in fact. Forgive us, perhaps we got off on the wrong foot. My name is-"

(???) "Is this some sort of joke!? Why are we bothering to give her any pleasantries when we should kill her!?"

(Lahabrea) "... My name is Lahabrea. My uncivilized companion is Gaia. I am quite familiar with who you are."

(Sharon) “Oh, so polite! It’s very nice to meet you! Now, could you please leave us? I would hate having to be forced to kill you.”

(Gaia) "Hah! And what could a single maid possibly-?"

Lahabrea cut Gaia off by shooting a dark spell at her feet, a bundle of wires unfolding themselves.

(Gaia) "Wha?!-"

Gaia noticed that Sharon was covering the beginning of the wires in her hands.

(Lahabrea) "And THIS, is why I say not to underestimate ANYONE of that house. You invite death by doing so. Since you are so hellbent on the mission, then leave me!”

Gaia mumbled something under her breath and teleported away.

Lahabrea bowed once she left.

(Lahabrea) “My deepest apologies, Miss Kreuger. We will meet again later when the time is appropriate. While my colleagues would rather show hostility towards House Isekai, I would offer friendship. But, that conversation will come later.”

Lahabrea began to teleport away but spoke one last time.

(Lahabrea) “You are near Fhirdiad, by the way. Make your way south towards the gates, and you will find your friends. I recommend doing so with the utmost haste. Farewell for now.”

Lahabrea vanished, leaving a trail of dark purple smoke before it faded into nothing.

Sharon went down the hill and to Rean. All of Class VII went to Sharon, awaiting the news.

(Rean) “Sharon, did you see anything out there that might give us an idea of where we are?”

(Sharon) “I have found out our location, but...”

...

(Towa) “T-Those people who attacked Remire Village are here?!”

(Laura) “Not only that, they are watching us...”

(Sara) “The real question is why didn’t that guy named Lahabrea give the order to attack?”

(Millium) “Yeah, he would have kicked our butts while we were sleeping!”

(Sharon) “That is the next part I was about to bring up. He freely admitted that his friends would like nothing more than to kill us, he said he offers his hand in friendship.”

(Alisa) “I’m not sure I’m ready to believe that considering what his group’s done to us.”

(Rean) “...So, after that he said our friends are in Fhirdiad, right? Does that mean the rest of House Isekai is in there?”

(Crow) “Wouldn’t get our hopes up, honestly. First of all we’re in Fhirdiad, from what I remember from our history lessons, Faerghus actively supports them.”

(Gaius) “And it’d be safe to assume we’re basically wanted criminals of the Church AND Faerghus.”

(Machias) “Well, what better choices do we have than to go to Fhirdiad? There isn’t any other town nearby for miles.”

(Rean) “We should at least go and see how bad the situation is over there first. It’ll give Valimar some time to recharge anyway.”

(Vailmar) I will have recharged back to full power by the time you need me.

(Fie) “Alright, then let’s go.”

Throne Room in Fhirdiad...

[Will and Reason - Tales of Berseria OST]

Knights of Seiros clad in ornate white armor walked past the guards towards a blonde man who sat on a throne next to his advisors.

(Knight Captain) “King Dimitri, you will heed our words and do so carefully!”

(Dimitri) “Very well. You have my full attention, Lord-Captain.”

(Knight Captain) “Several of our own have claimed that you have been conspiring with heretics these past few moons-”

(Dedue) “By what right do you accuse his highness of such treachery?!-”

(Dimitri) “Dedue, you will stand down.”

(Dedue) “...I beg your forgiveness for my outburst, your highness.”

(Knight Captain) “Hmph. These claims originate from knights, laborers, and even of your own forces. We are not so keen to pass judgement, lest we would have sent inquisitors instead of myself.”

(Dimitri) “Your trust is most grateful, Lord-Captain.-”

(Knight Captain) “And that trust has its limits, King Dimitri. You will quell these rumors by following the order of Seiros without fault by the coming days, or you will answer to the goddess herself!”

The knights turned around and marched out the room, letting Dimitri take a sigh of relief, sitting back into his throne.

(Dimitri) “I think it would have been best if you remained silent, Dedue. Their inquisitors have been known to behead those even showing any slight signs of antagonistic feelings towards the Church.”

(Dedue) “They do have to believe we’re on their side, with all due respect.”

(Dimitri) “Fair enough.”

Dimitri stood up and walked to a room nearby.

Several people wearing red armbands turned to the door and saw Dimitri open it, shaking his head.

[Troubled - Persona 3 OST]

(Dimitri) “We’ve been too careless with our actions as of late.”

(Minato) “Think they’re onto us?”

(Minako) “Psh, you hear how pissed off that guy was? Definitely!”

(Mitsuru) “Then that means we need to get out of here before they start sending Inquisitors.”

(Dedue) “Agreed. All of our group is ready to leave. What about the rest of S.E.E.S?”

(Mitsuru) “We’ve gathered our things and ready for the order.”

(Minako) “I’m worried what will happen to the Capital when we leave though...”

(Minato) “Almost everyone follows the Church more than Dimitri anyway, I think they’ll be fine. They don’t know the truth like we do after all...”

(Dimitri) “We leave for Enbarr in the dawn then. We’ll figure out someway to liberate Fodlan from their madness.”

A knocking came at the door, which made everyone go dead silent.

Minato, Minako, and Mitsuru slowly reached for their evokers while Dimitri and Dedue stood at the doorway.

Dimitri cleared his throat and shouted at the door.

(Dimitri) “What is the meaning of this interruption? We are in the middle of an important meeting!”

(Sylvain’s Voice) “Jeez, what’s crawled up your butt toda-”

THWACK!

(Sylvain’s Voice) “OW! H-HEY THAT HURT!”

(Ingrid’s Voice) “If you don’t take this more seriously, I will make it REALLY HURT. Ugh, apologies your highness! It’s just us two.”

Dedue opened the door for them as they walked in.

Shutting the door behind them, Ingrid bowed while Sylvain continued to stand firm.

(Sylvain) “Our remaining forces have agreed to make sure the Church doesn’t burn the place down while we’re gone.”

(Ingrid) “And we have our stories in place for when we depart.”

(Dimitri) “Perfect, my thanks. Now let’s-”

(Ingrid) “Actually your highness, there was one more thing I wanted to report. It...might cause some complications in our plan.”

(Minato) “What kind of complication?”

(Ingrid) “I just received a report from a pegasus knight patrol that stated they found some sort of statue kneeling by itself in the outskirts of Fhirdiad. It wasn’t there before, and looked far too heavy for someone to have just placed it there overnight.”

(Mitsuru) “Were they able to see what it looked like?”

Ingrid nodded and turned to the S.E.E.S members.

(Ingrid) “They ran back to me as soon as they found it, so I went to investigate myself. It looked like an Ashen Knight.”

(Minako) “An Ashen...-” !!! “Rean?!”

(Mitsuru) “Class VII!”

(Sylvain) “Oh, great! That means our caravan just became that much more secure!”

(Dimitri) “Ingrid, Sylvain, we are heading out right now to find Class VII, then we journey to Enbarr, alert everyone to the news!”

(Ingrid) “Yes, your highness!”

(Sylvain) “Got it!”

Dedue grabbed a nearby sword and shield as Dimitri went out of the room.

(Dimitri) “I will get Areadbhar, I trust you to find your classmates, S.E.E.S.”

The members of S.E.E.S nodded as Dedue and Dimtiri left.

(Mitsuru) “Fuuka, do you hear me?”

(Fuuka’s Voice) “I do, Mitsuru-senpai!”

(Mitsuru) “Good, we’re beginning the operation! Intiate Phase 1!”

...

Church in Fhirdiad 

Mercedes sat in one of the pews, making a silent prayer to the Goddess.

She was one of many attending the service that day. Unlike them, she was praying that everyone in all the territories would be saved from this ruthless tyranny that made a mockery of the real church she knew.

And that Those Who Slither in the Dark would find defeat at their hands.

Once she finished, she saw Annette take a seat next to her.

(Annette) “Mercie, we’ve got to go now.”

Mercedes nodded and the two of them stood up. As they were leaving, they were stopped by guards.

They were Knights of Seiros.

(Knight 1) “The service hasn’t ended yet, and you just got here.”

(Annette) “S-Sorry! We have an important meeting to get to is all and-”

(Knight 2) “-And you would forsake the teachings of Seiros? You might as well be a heretic with what you’re doing little girl!”

(Mercedes) “We are supposed to be learning the words of the Goddess, not Seiros herself!”

The knights stepped closer to them, but Mercedes did not back down.

(Knight 1) “Speak your next words very carefully...”

Mercedes smiled.

(Mercedes) “Can you get these two out of our way, please?”

(Knight 1) “What?”

It was then that knight noticed that everyone’s shadow was completely enveloped by something far larger than them.

The knights slowly turned around to see what was behind them.

They dropped their weapons upon realizing who it was.

(Knight 2) “G-GODDESS HELP US...”

Doomguy motioned to Annette and Mercedes towards the door. 

They nodded and made a run for it as he grabbed both of the knights by the head, and tossed the first one towards the front of the pews. 

Several people screamed once they saw Doomguy walking up, still holding the second knight in his hand.

(Woman) “W-Who is that?!”

(Man) “H-He bears the mark of the beast!”

(Priest) “BACK DEMON! THE POWERS OF SEIROS WILL STRIKE YOU DOWN IF-”

The second knight grabbed a knife that was on his belt and attempted to stab Doomguy’s arm.

Using his free arm, Doomguy grabbed his hand and with a loud crack, snapped his wrist to face the opposite side of his arm.

Doomguy dropped the knight as he screamed in pain, slowly walking up to the priest.

(Priest) “IF...I-IF...!”

Doomguy looked at the statue he was standing in front of, one that looked similar to Rhea.

Doomguy wanted it gone.

He picked up the priest by the collar and tossed him behind him, making everyone get up in fear.

(Man) “GODDESS! A MAN OF UNTOLD STRENGTH, A MAN WHO HAS THE MARK OF THE BEAST?!”

Doomguy pulled out a rocket launcher and aimed it at the statue-

(Man) “IT’S THE DOOMSLAYER!”

-And pulled the trigger.

KABOOOOOOOOOM!

Mercedes and Annette saw several knights rushing into the temple as people left it screaming.

(Mercedes) “Phase 1′s going off just as planned! Now we need to find a way out of here.”

(Annette) “Right! Ashe said he knows a way, so let’s get to him fast!”

...

Rean looked at the entrance to Fhirdiad and saw several Knights of Seiros alongside Faerghus soldiers.

(Fie) “No way we’re getting in. Too much security.”

(Angelica) “Doubt anyone from House Isekai’s in there.”

(Jusis) “Then we’re better off asking where our classmates are in another location.”

They all nodded and prepared to move before-

KABOOOOOOOOOM!

[Atrocious Raid - The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel OST]

Everyone in Class VII turned around and saw the smoke rising in the distance.

(Machias) “The hell was that?!”

(Elliot) “An explosion?!”

Several of the soldiers looked back in confusion, turning to each other and giving out orders.

All of the security force began to scramble as more explosions occurred throughout the city.

Several soldiers were blown back by another explosion. From the smoke, students with a red armband ran out the gates and away from the city.

(Towa) “Look, it’s the Arisato’s group!”

(Sara) “Hmph. Looks like that bastard wasn’t lying after all!”

Several knights chased after S.E.E.S, making Class VII unsheathe their weapons.

(Rean) “Class VII, with me!”

(Everyone) ‘Right!”

...

“PERSONA!”

Both of them spun around and pulled the trigger on their evokers, summoning the Persona, Thanatos.

Some of the knights following them faltered in their steps seeing such a ghastly figure being summoned, but the veterans charged without hesitation.

The first knight was completely knocked into the air as if he were a ragdoll by Thanatos swinging his sword.

The second knight tried going for the legs, and ended up getting kicked by the Persona.

The veterans stopped in their tracks seeing what happened, trying to figure out what to do.

Before any of them could form a plan, Thanatos disappeared, leaving Ken and Junpei standing in front of them, evokers to their heads.

(Junpei) “HERMES!”

(Ken) “NEMESIS!”

A wall of fire erupted in front of the knights, making all of them back away and they continued to make their escape.

As S.E.E.S moved closer to the nearby forest, they were cut off by several pegasus knights.

(Akihiko) “Damn it!”

(Pegasus Knight) “YOU ARE NOT GETTING AWAY, HERETICS!”

Another group of knights rushed behind their flank, beginning to surround them.

(Shinjiro) “Tch, we got a plan B?”

(Yukari) “Yeah, fight our way out!”

(Junpei) “Oh, that’s a greaaat, idea! You got enough arrows in that quiver for all these bastards thats after us?!”

Fuuka’s Persona formed around her and she scanned the area.

(Fuuka) “Everyone, we have energy signatures incoming!”

(Ken) “Crap, are they inquisitors?!”

(Fuuka) “N-No! Wait, that can’t be right...I think Lucia is detecting-”

(Boy’s Voice) “SECOND FORM, GALE!”

A red blur sped across the pegasus knights, with that blur ending up in front of S.E.E.S.

(Akihiko) “What was that?!”

Rean turned around and saw the weapons of the pegasus knights fall apart, all of them looking in confusion as to what happened.

(Minako) “Rean!”

(Minato) “Heh, saves us the trouble of finding you guys at least!”

Emma and Elliot casted a spell in the middle of the pegasus squad, the explosion knocking everyone away.

Machias blasted the heavier knights with his shotgun, catching them all by surprise.

Before they could get back up, Jusis jumped in with Machias.

(Jusis & Machias) “ARCUS, ACTIVATE!”

Jusis’s rapier sliced the weapons away from any knights attempting to counterattack, with Machias aiming his gun at the knights coming from their sides.

A wire shot out from the trees at their legs, making the teams fall, unable to get back up.

Sharon giggled as she hopped down the trees and brandished her knife.

(Sharon) “It is good to see you again, everyone!”

The rest of Class VII joined S.E.E.S and had their weapons ready to fight.

(Sara) “Don’t you worry your little heads, your teacher is here!”

(Minato) “Hah, not yet they aren’t!”

A lone pegasus came riding down from the skies, with everyone pointing their weapons at him, until realizing who was on it.

Numerous small black objects dropped from the rider, with incoming knights looking at their feet.

An explosion of ice froze them all on the spot completely solid.

Jumping off the pegasus, with it wildly flying off into the air, Doomguy took out a shotgun.

(Minako) “NOW they’re here!”

(Angelica) “Ouch, how’s that feel Instructor?”

(Sara) “S-Shut up you guys!”

Towa giggled as she reloaded her pistol.

(Towa) “Welcome back, sir!”

Doomguy gave them a thumbs up, with more soldiers starting to surround them.

This time, it was Kingdom soldiers instead of knights.

The soldiers made way for Dimitri as he stepped forward.

Dimitri was wearing a bright white and blue battle armor, wielding his relic weapon.

(Dimitri) “House Isekai! You trespass on holy grounds! Surrender yourself to the Church, or we will kill you!”

Class VII intensified their battle stances.

Doomguy slowly inched his way towards Fie as Dimitri continued talking.

He poked her in the arm without trying to draw too much attention.

(Fie) “What is it?”

He pointed at her belt, which had several grenades on it.

(Fie) “Here, take the frag-”

Doomguy shook his head and pointed more aggressively.

(Fie) “...My flashbang?”

Doomguy nodded.

She shrugged and gave it to him.

(Fie) “Whatever you’re doing, make it-”

Doomguy fired his weapon wildly into the air, and put the flashbang into his shoulder cannon.

(Fie) “...Subtle.”

The soldiers stepped back in confusion, and the flashbang was fired into the air.

(Fuuka) “EVERYONE, GET DOWN!”

With the flashbang going off, everyone became blinded, except for House Isekai, and Dimitri.

Knights and soldiers struggled to see what was going on as Dimitri was dragged into the bushes by an unknown hand.

(Rean) “What the?!-”

(Familliar Voice) “Psst, guys!”

Looking to his right, Ashe revealed himself behind a tree.

(Ashe) “Get in before they see you all!”

S.E.E.S moved in without hesitation. After seeing them do so, Class VII joined in soon after.

The soldiers recovered and saw that their king and House Isekai was nowhere to be seen.

(Knight) “They captured King Dimitri?!”

(Soldier) “Not for long! MEN, SPREAD OUT!

The soldier looked at the knight.

(Soldier) “We’ll look for his highness, we’ll-”

(Knight) “AND WHO ARE YOU TO GIVE ME ORDERS?! Fine, look for the king, we will restore order to Fhirdiad!”

The Knights of Seiros quickly moved back to the city as the soldiers of Faerghus scrambled.

(Soldier) “...Prick.”

(Soldier 2) “Their escape route is secure, now let’s get ‘looking’ shall we sir?”

(Soldier) “Right. I sure hope those kids know what they’re doing...”

...

(Dimitri) “Agh, Felix, you didn’t have to drag me that hard...”

(Felix) “Shut up. It had to be believable.”

(Ingrid) “Felix, you should be a bit more respectful!”

(Felix) “Alright. Shut up, your highness.”

Ingrid sighed as the rest of House Isekai was catching their breath.

(Ashe) “I’m not sure where you guys came from, but we’re happy to have you!”

(Rean) “Hah, thanks Ashe.”

Rean looked around and saw the rest of the Blue Lions together, some conversing with members of S.E.E.S.

(Sara) “So, assumed we interrupted something?”

(Dimitri) “Yes, our escape. We would have let you known if...well, we knew you were coming. We had to improvise at the end there.”

(Sharon) “I’m sure it will be a riveting tale, but I think we should get moving, your soldiers are looking for us as we speak.”

(Dedue) “I would not worry about them. The soldiers are aware of our plan, and are helping to lead us out of Faerghus.”

(Rean) “Outside the country?”

(Minato) “We’ll let you know what exactly we’re doing soon. For now, I’d say we take Sharon’s advice and get out of here.”

Everyone nodded and began to move through the forest.

Accidentally bumping into Faerghus soldiers “looking” for them, they were guided to a path that was to be secured for their escape out of Faerghus.

(Dedue) “We are now approaching the city’s border, and will be out of Fhirdiad territory soon.”

(Junpei) “Ugh, my legs! You think we could’ve taken a carriage out of here or something?”

(Crow) “I’m with Iori here, if we’re seriously walking out of here on foot, I think I’ll die.”

(Woman’s Voice) “No, you’ll die regardless.”

(Everyone) !?

[Those Who Sow Darkness - Fire Emblem: Three Houses OST]

Gaia teleported in front of the group, making everyone draw their weapons.

(Sharon) “Ah, these are the ones I confronted in the forest. Though there is quite a few of them now.”

(Dimitri) “What is the meaning of this?!”

(Gaia) “House Isekai cannot be allowed to live and interfere with the grand plan!”

(Dedue) “What?! We had a deal with Lahabrea!”

(Class VII) ?!

(Gaia) “Lahabrea is a traitor, and I will deal with him too, after I have seen your corpses!”

(Rean) “You made a deal with them, knowing what they did?!”

(Dimitri) “We will talk of that later, Rean!”

Dimitri pulled out his lance.

[The 13th Dilemma - Kingdom Hearts 2.5 OST]

Gaia’s hand went over her mask, a red crest symbol forming and glowing in front of the mask.

(Gaia) “Lahabrea seemed so afraid of you all, but I will show him that he was wrong to fear you children! WITNESS THE POWER OF THE AGARTHANS!”

Crow, Machias, Fie, Towa, and Doomguy raised their guns and opened fire, the bullets being absorbed by a dark circle protecting her.

Gaia teleported farther into the air and summoned multiple fireballs to rain to them.

Emma and Elliot summoned a protective sphere to shield them from the blast, but after the first one collided, the shield broke. 

The second one was about to hit them before they dodged out the way, igniting the ground into flames.

Sara reached for her pistol, only to be met with nothing in her holster.

(Sara) “Byleth...!”

Shaking her head, Sara forced herself to ignore that. This was not the time to remember something like that.

Ashe got behind Gaia’s line of sight and let loose an arrow. It slipped by the magical shield and grazed her arm, leaving her robe cut and a small bleeding wound.

Teleporting back down and directly behind Ashe, she raised her hand to his head ready to blow it off.

Thanatos’s sword slammed down in front of her, her head instead almost getting cut off.

It roared into the air as her hand quickly formed another spell, firing it into Thanatos, sending the Persona into a tree.

Minato and Minako felt the blow in their backs which made them kneel over in pain.

Laura swung her sword downwards at Gaia’s position.

The force of the sword’s impact obliterated the ground beneath them, making it fly upwards with chunks of debris flying into the air.

Gaia tumbled over into the trees, surrounded by Blue Lions and members of S.E.E.S.

(Sylvain) “Come on, a pretty lady like you should know when to surrender!”

(Ken) “...Really, Sylvain?”

(Gaia) “HAH, IT IS YOU ALL WHO SHOULD KNOW WHEN TO LIE DOWN AND DIE!”

With a swipe of her hand, they were all blown back.

Everyone with a firearm aimed at Gaia again until her crest glowed even brighter and an ear piercing screech came from below the ground.

A massive horn erupted from the ground, sending them into the air and falling harshly onto the floor.

A skeletal beast that resembled some sort of horned wolf screamed into the air, looking at everyone.

(Annette) “Crap, demonic beasts?!”

Doomguy was slightly disappointed it didn't have guts he could tear open, but he made do with it.

Jumping directly into the fight with it, he activated his wrist blade and slashed at its body, bones from its stomach area flying off, but having almost no effect.

Sharon used her wires to surround the legs, but it was too strong for her and snapped them off with ease.

Felix, Sylvain, and Ingrid had their weapons strike the beast’s head at the same time, but they failed to even make a scratch on the bone.

(Millium) “LAMMY!”

A contraption spawned behind Millium and flew towards the front of the beast alongside Laura, Dimitri, and Dedue.

They all used their brute strength to meet its swipe, but they were flung to the side, all landing on each other.

Jusis and Gaius’s weapons deflected off the beast when they tried to attack from behind, the monster roaring in response.

(Gaia) “AHAHAHAHA! THIS IS WHAT LAHABREA WAS AFRAID OF? CHILDREN WHO CAN’T EVEN FIGHT AGAINST ONE OF THE WEAKEST SUMMONS?!”

(Rean) “Alright then, we’re up next!”

Gaia turned to Rean, raising an eyebrow underneath her mask.

[Awakening - The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II OST]

(Rean)

“Heed my call...

Despite being miles apart, Valimar’s eyes glowed in response.

Valimar stood up, scaring the multiple knight and Faerghus soldiers investigating him.

Bending its legs, Valimar jumped and flew off into the distance towards Rean.

Gaia sensed a magical energy that was beyond her comprehension and spun around, seeing Valimar overhead.

(Sara) “Hah, you’ve done it now!”

(Minako) “WOOO! GIANT ROBOT FIIIGHT!”

(Minato) “KICK HER ASS, REAN!”

Doomguy raised a hand into the air, forming the “rock on!” sign.

Valimar behind Rean, kneeling down.

(Rean) “Valimar, let’s take ‘em down!”

(Valimar) Acknowledged, Awakener!

Rean teleported into the cockpit and the camera turned on, seeing the skeletal beast in front of him.

The skeletal beast made the first move, its jaws grabbing onto Valimar’s arm.

Valimar spun around, the momentum sending the beast into the trees, making several fall over from the impact.

It got back up an ran back to Valimar, Valimar sheathing the greatsword in response.

Right as the beast was about to bite Valimar again, the sword struck upwards.

The strike cut off half the body and part of its leg, the bones flying off into the distance.

The beast landed into the floor, scrambling to get up.

(Gaia) “I-IMPOSSIBLE!”

Gaia prepared to fire several spells before Valimar’s head turned to her.

The spells fired off from her hands and made its mark, but the spell had no effect on Valimar’s body.

Valimar leapt forward, swinging the massive sword into the ground, shaking all the trees in their area from the impact.

Gaia was too slow, and got an arm severed from Valimar, making her scream in pain.

Parts of her mask was blown off from the strike, and she fell onto the floor unable to get up.

The beast rushed towards Valimar, only for Valimar to step to the side, dodging the attack. Valimar planted the sword downwards into the monster’s skull.

It pierced through from the top of the skull to the jaw, the sword being planted deep into the ground.

In an instant, the beast stopped moving, but Valimar left the sword in the head and moved to the body.

Valimar grabbed the tail of the beast and moved backwards, severing the skeletal head from the rest of its body.

Throwing its body into the trees, dark energy left the head as it crumpled into dust.

Seeing Gaia bleeding profusely on the ground nearby, Valimar sheathed its sword and knelt down, letting Rean teleport out.

(Gaia) “Hah...S-So this is the power of House Isekai...!”

She slowly stood up, with everyone’s weapons still drawn. Her mask was still barely intact, but they could now see an eye and her mouth.

(Gaia) “R-Rest assured...this is NOT the last you have seen of me!”

She attempted to teleport, but nothing happened.

Gaia noticed that everyone was now looking behind her, something suddenly making her entire body jolt.

(Man’s voice) “Didn’t I tell you to have patience, my uncivil companion?” 

[Those Who Sow Darkness - Fire Emblem: Three Houses OST]

They could see her eye go wide, her mouth slowly opening, blood slowly coming out of her mouth.

(Lahabrea) “And would you look at that? Your overconfidence caused your downfall by the Ashen Knight.”

He walked to her side with an arm still behind her.

(Lahabrea) “And you have caused my guests unnecessary trouble. I don’t think I will forgive that.”

Gaia fell to her knees and into the ground, a knife sticking out of her back.

She was reaching her hand out, trying to say something, but all that came out was blood.

(Lahabrea) “You could have lived long enough to see the new era unfold, but alas you are too rooted to our worthless traditions. A pity.”

Raising his hand, he fired a spell that covered her entire body, making it slowly disappear into a dark cloud.

Lahabrea pulled out a vial, and her essence was transferred inside of it.

He turned to the others and took a bow.

(Lahabrea) “I do hope none of you came under harm due to her treachery.”

Class VII kept their weapons out, but S.E.E.S and the Blue Lions stepped forward.

(Dimitri) “I trust this will be the only time an interference like this occurs?”

(Lahabrea) “Of course. I always work alone, but was forced to bring her along. I will say she...hm...Died to an inquisitor, that will work.”

(Rean) “Dimitri, what’s going on, why are you guys working with them?!”

(Dimitri) “...When did you wake up, Rean?”

(Lahabrea) “Not too long ago, Class VII awoke this morning in the outskirts of Fhirdiad.”

(Minato) “Hm. Fortunate.”

(Minako) “We’ve only been here for a month, but trust us, we need his help.”

(Lahabrea) “You will be here for quite some time if you talked, so I recommend pickiing up the pace.”

Lahabrea bowed again and raised his hand to teleport.

(Lahabrea) “I must be off on an errand, but we will see each other soon, King Dimitri.”

Dimitri nodded and gestured goodbye, Lahabrea nodding in response and teleporting away.

(Dimitri) “We will explain everything on the way to Enbarr. It has been a long four years...”

(Crow) “Enbarr? Why Enabrr? I thought you hated Edelgard.”

(Dimitri) “I did...Before I knew the truth. Before Byleth told me.”

(Sara) “Byleth, he’s alive?!”

(Dimitri) “He is, but he left as suddenly as he appeared. That was about three years ago now. I have no idea as to what he’s doing now.”

(Sara) “I...I see.”

(Dedue) “We will divulge the full story another time. We must make our way to Enbarr now.”

(Rean) “Why, what’s happening at Enbarr?”

(Minato) “They’re under siege by the Church, but we have no idea if they’ll still be alive by the time we arrive.”

(Rean) “Then we need something a bit faster than carriages!”

The members of House Isekai turned to face Valimar.

(Valimar) Acknowledged. Opening Spirit Portal to Enbarr..

-----

Garreg Mach Monastery, Present Day...

[Mezame no Waltz - School-Live! OST]

Sitri sat alone in Jeralt’s old room, reading his journal of what had happened during those twenty years she had been dead for.

Yuri was kind enough to give it to her while they waited for any signs of other classmates approaching the monastery.

She had finished it yesterday, but couldn’t help herself to reread it again.

Jeralt had truly loved her...It must’ve been tough to raise Byleth alone, but from what everyone’s told her, he grew up to be a good man.

While she was reading, she heard a loud crash from outside the room.

She yelped in response and slowly went to the door, seeing Kazuma and Yuki at the end of the hallway.

(Kazuma) “Ah shi-...I mean dam-Agh!”

(Yuki) “Um...y-you can swear if you want to, Satou.”

(Kazuma) “Ugh, no I can’t! Your classmates and Megunee would kill me for letting you hear all that stuff.”

(Yuki) “I don’t think swearing is as severe as...well...all of this.”

Yuki looked to the floor sadly with Kazuma struggling to say the right thing.

(Sitri) “Um...-”

Both Yuki and Kazuma jumped.

(Yuki & Kazuma) “AGH!”

Sitri couldn’t help laugh, quickly covering her mouth, but still smiling.

(Sitri) “O-Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you! Is everything okay?”

(Yuki) “Ye-...N-No. We dropped the food we were going to give you while you were here...”

(Kazuma) “Yeah, sorry ‘bout the mess.”

(Sitri) “Do you need some help cleaning up?”

(Kazuma) “Huh? N-No, we couldn’t make you clean up OUR mess. I’d hate that if it were given to me.”

(Yuki) “But you don’t like doing any work Satou-”

(Kazuma) “Shush, Yuki.”

(Sitri) “It’s no problem, now let me see...”

After a few moments, they cleaned up the broken plate shards, and threw them away.

(Yuki) “Thank you, Miss Eisner!”

(Sitri) “Oh, you don’t have to call me that. Please just call me by my first name.”

(Kazuma) “Uh...T-Thanks, Sitri.”

(Sitri) “Of course.”

Kazuma couldn’t look her in the eye.

Sitri reminded him too much of Wiz. And just like Wiz, Sitri seemed to have the kindest personality massive boo-

(Kazuma) No. Kazuma, head out of the gutters and into the right place. Right betwe-NO. THIS IS THE PROFESSOR’S MOTHER.

(Yuki) “You know, you remind me a lot of Megunee, Sitri!”

(Sitri) “Megunee...? Oh, you mean Megumi Sakura! Why’s that?”

(Yuki) “You’re super pretty and nice! Even though you really don’t know us that well, you’re looking out for everyone!”

Sitri blushed a little and laughed.

(Sitri) “T-Thank you, Yuki. That’s high praise from what you’ve told me about her.”

(Kazuma) “Anyways, sorry for bothering you. Do you want us to bring you some new food or?”

(Sitri) “No no, I’ll come down to eat with everyone.”

(Kazuma) “Alright let’s-”

(Ainz’s Voice) “Kazuma, do you hear me? Kazuma?!”

(Kazuma) “Eh? Yes, I’m Kazuma-”

(Ainz’s Voice) “We have people approaching with Class VII, S.E.E.S, Doomguy! We think they’re the Blue Lions!”

(Yuki) “D-Dimitri’s here?”

(Kazuma) “On our way to the gates, see you there!”

Everyone nodded and moved towards the entrance.

-----

[Rain (Deference for Darkness) - Halo 3: ODST OST]

Year 1, Faerghus territory, nearing the border of the Adrestian Empire...

Byleth woke up with a violent jolt in his body, eyes wide and breathing heavily.

After a few moments of silence, he slumped back and sighed.

Another nightmare...

A distant explosion brightened the dark skies as he got out of a ruined building, stretching.

He stared with indifference to the battle happening far below him.

Imperial and Faerghus soldiers clashed into each other, trying to gain this territory for the war effort.

Byleth would be long gone by the time this battle would end. 

He passed by a man dressed in black who was leaning against the door.

(Lahabrea) “Finally awake, I see. And where are we going?”

Byleth walked silently past Lahabrea, holding tightly onto Sara’s pistol as he did.

Byleth did his best to try and forget about that nightmare, but it would always come back to him. The battle of Garreg Mach had only been a month ago, so it’d make sense that it was still fresh in his head.

That fact didn’t make it any more comforting to him.

As he felt rain start to drop onto him, he thought about his plan on how to kill Edelgard and Rhea.

He was one man with a sword against 2 armies that controlled entire parts of Fodlan.

When the rain intensified, he put his jacket over his head and continued.

He heard footsteps behind him splashing in the rain but he refused to let his thoughts break off.

Even with his divine pulse, he would be severely out manned. Without help, he would die before he reached his goal.

(Lahabrea) “You’re headed the wrong way, you know-”

(Byleth) “Why are you following me?”

(Lahabrea) “I’d be lying to you, and you’d be an idiot for believing me if I said I was helping you for completely altruistic reasons. We both want to take Seiros down, but you need to focus hatred to the right people. We need Edelgard alive.”

That made Byleth stop in his tracks completely.

(Byleth) “...What?”

(Lahabrea) “Stop to think about it. Does Edelgard seem like the type to like what us Agarthans did, ESPECIALLY regarding Kronya, Remire village, and your fath-”

Byleth spun around and pointed Sara’s pistol at Lahabrea’s head.

(Lahabrea) “...Forgive my careless words. But my point stands.”

(Byleth) “...”

(Lahabrea) “Edelgard, like myself, actively voiced against attacking those innocents, and anyone of House Isekai. Why do you think she offered her hand to you so many times in the tomb?”

(Byleth) “So she could use us. We would have been tools for the Empire, just like we were tools for the church. Just like you Agarthans are tools for her.”

He stopped aiming the pistol at Lahabrea and continued to walk on his way.

(Lahabrea) “And so you think the Agarthans are completely loyal to her cause? We are to her, as I am to my own organization. We have the same goals, but different ways of achieving it. The demonic beasts that attacked the Monastery, Remire Village, and all those you encountered throughout that year was ours. Your hatred should be focused on the Agarthans, NOT the Empire.”

(Byleth) “Speak plainly of why you’re telling me this, Agarthan.”

(Lahabrea) “Because both Agarthans and Seiros must be put down before we end up blowing up this world all the way to the seven hells with the Javelin of Liberation.”

(Byleth) “...Explain.”

(Lahabrea) “Meet me at House Arundel’s territory, and I will reveal all I know.”

He began to teleport away, but looked at Byleth once more.

(Lahabrea) “Not only will you avenge your friends and family, but you can put an end to this vicious cycle of war that WE started, forever.”

With that, he disappeared.

Byleth stared at Sara’s pistol for a moment before finally holstering it, making his way to House Arundel.

PART 2: END

[Escape - Darling in the FranXX OST]

The forecasted rain wets us

What should I say to you, as you tremble? My soaked blazer is cold and heavy

I feel as helpless as a chick who's left its cage. I felt that my dreams were on the other side of the heavy clouds

I digested only the sweet pain that spread in my chest

I wonder if it'd be better if I'd never met you

Hey, I can't even see the stars

Hey, my tears won't fall either

To Be Continued in:

[plus-size-reader]

Too Much

Daryl Dixon x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 1202 words

Warnings: none 

Summary: Daryl being even more protective over the reader when they get some pretty crazy news

——————————————————————————————————

Daryl had always been protective over you.

It would have been stupid to assume that he wouldn't be in the world you were all living in, but you had never experienced anything like what you were dealing with now. No matter what you did or where you went, he was constantly following you or checking in.

When you first found out that you were pregnant, it was endearing but after all this time, you were sure that you would knock him silly if he didn't calm down with the whole thing.

You did have to be a lot more careful now that you had a baby growing inside you but you weren't going to do something stupid like he acted like you would. He was driving you insane, and if you had to hear that it was 'his job' one more time, you were going to scream.

Just because he wanted you to be safe, and it was his baby too didn't give him complete jurisdiction to drive you out of your mind.

"I can't even do my laundry now?" you laughed, turning around the corner with your laundry basket to take down to the communal space but before you even got out of the house, Daryl had intercepted it and snatched the basket from you.

The entire conversation was too much, really, but that didn't matter. It wasn't going to make Daryl any more relaxed about the fate of your unborn child and wasn't going to get you your laundry basket back.

All you could really do was follow his lead and hope that something you said would stick. Though, you knew better than to believe that was really the case.

"Not when I'm right here to do it for you" he replied, not even giving any of this a second thought. It didn't matter to him that you were clearly not in the mood for any of this or that you just wanted to have something normal to do.

He told you when you found out you were pregnant that he wasn't going to leave your side, and evidently, he meant that literally.

"Come on, I think I can handle some dirty clothes" you scoffed, swatting the man with one of the shirt sleeves from the basket. What he was trying to do was noble, and you understood that he was just trying to do everything for you that his daddy hadn't done for his mom but there was such a thing as too much.

You were pregnant, not made of glass.

"I'm sure you can, darling" he winked, making it even more clear that he knew just how much he was frustrating you. This was fun for him, just as much as it was important. Daryl wanted to be a good father, and if proving that to just also happened to get under your skin, that was a bonus.

Really that was all this was, an attempt for Daryl to be a better dad that his pops ever was, which frankly wouldn't have taken much to begin with.

His dad was a deadbeat drunk with nothing going for him except beating on his boys and smoking three packs a day. In every way, Daryl was going to surpass him as a father, even in this new world.

You didn't worry about that in the slightest.

What you did worry about though was that you were going to end up raising your baby by yourself, after killing Daryl for being so overbearing. It was bad enough that no one else would let you help out with the tasks that needed to be done around the prison.

Maggie was worried about inducing early labor or putting too much stress on the baby, and after she expressed that to the rest of the group, the discussion was basically over. There was no way they were going to risk something like that.

It was driving you out of your mind.

You wanted nothing more than to just be able to contribute something, to do your part, and so far, laundry was the only thing that they had deemed simple enough for you to take care of. It was the only thing you could do, and now Daryl was trying to take that too.

It was hard not to struggle with that.

"Daryl, give me the basket. This is all I can do now" you pleaded, it was sort of stupid, arguing over who got to take over carrying a laundry basket but you just wanted to earn your keep. Everyone else was doing something to contribute to the future of this place, and it was bad enough that you couldn't do what you used to.

You couldn't go on runs, you couldn't help with the gardening. You couldn't do anything, and maybe there were some things that you couldn't do but not everything.

"You're growing a baby inside you, darling. That's all you need to do right now" he replied, still keeping a tight grasp on the basket. In some ways, you acknowledged that he had a point but that wasn't much of an excuse.

Nothing seemed like a good enough reason to just stop doing everything you were used to doing.

Now you could tell that he was really just laying it on thick.

"Okay Mr.Dixon, here's how this is going to go" you decided, stopping him with a single hand on his exposed bicep. He stopped, of course, but not without a little bit of hesitation. After all, he had a pretty good idea of how this was going to go.

This wasn't his first day talking with you, and he knew all your tricks. Whatever it was you had to say, it was going to be a pretty weak argument but it would also be the sort of thing he couldn't argue with.

It was just how you communicated, especially now.

Ever since you found out you were pregnant a few months ago, it had been extra difficult to argue with you. Every time he tried, all you had to do was give him that look and he shut up right quick.

His mama didn't raise a complete fool.

"You are going to let me carry the basket, then you can help me do the rest of the laundry. How does that sound?" you suggested, knowing that there was much more of a chance that he would give in that way.

Daryl liked to feel like he was getting the upperhand in order to take a deal, but from you, it could have been anything and he would accept. He loved you so damn much he'd probably give you a kidney if you asked.

"Is that really what you want? Would that make you feel better?" he asked, a smirk playing on his lips at just how stubborn you were. It was one of the things he loved the most about you, even when it did come at the expense of his ego.

You just wouldn't give it up.

Luckily, he could keep on protecting you as much as you could keep on arguing with him about it. That was just the way that it was always going to be.

[abdicatedarchive]

Party Bust || Stevie, Juliette, Chase, and Gabrielle

tw: violence, drinking

Chase: Chase got into Stevie's car. "Thank you for getting me, I'm a mess. I can't drive. I've been tracking her location for hours and it says she's at home and I went up there and she left her phone" said the boy as he buckled up.

Stevie: "Dude don't mention it." Stevie pulled out of the Hale's driveway and looked over at him. "Do you know where this party is at? Maybe someone on twitter was talking about it."

Chase: "I have two possible addresses" said Chase sending them both to her over airdrop. "We're just going to have to try both" he replied. He was so stressed out, he ran his hands through his hair and looked out the window, "I mentioned how she should ease into what we used to do. Like I told her that I didn't want to just jump back into things. Do you think she's talking to someone at this party? Or do you think Juliette's getting more attention from guys? And Gabrielle is blowing them off? Because she loves me?" said the boy nervously.

Stevie: Stevie put in the first address into her phone and tried that one. She tried to keep her cool in front of Chase, but seeing him so stress was making her even more stressed. "No way, man. She loves you. There's no way-" she stopped herself as Chase brought up the possibility of Juliette getting attention from guys. It only freaked her out more. "She loves you. It'll be fine." she pulled up to the house. "Alright, let's go."

Chase: Chase hopped out of the car quickly, "Let's stick together. None of that Fred bullshit from the Mystery Gang" said the boy as they entered the party. It was loud, and the girls were no where to be found. Then he saw that blonde head of hair, and she had some guy flirting with her. "Um, you just go get both of them" said Chase, feeling like absolute shit. He should probably go over there and straighten that guy out.

Stevie: Stevie couldn't help but smile at his Fred comment. She stuck with Chase as they looked for the girls and looked over at her friend after seeing some dude flirting with Gabrielle. "Me? No way, man. You got this. That's your girl." she placed her hand on Chase's shoulder. "Make sure he knows that."

Chase: Chase was ready to rumble, she was fucking right. That was his girl. "Hey dipshit, piss off" said Chase walking up to the guy, he was only like half an inch shorter than him. He could take him for sure. "Nah, little man. This girl is wild, I'm convincing her to go out with me. Go simp somewhere else" said the other guy. Chase had had enough, between Griffin and all of this bullshit about other guys trying to date his girlfriend, he was done. Chase decked him in the face. "Fuck that hurt" he said holding his hand in his other hand. The guy came back to tackle him, and they fought on the ground -Chase getting the upperhand- before other guys at the party broke it up.

Gabrielle: GAbrielle was pretty white girl wasted. She was having a conversation with the guy but she really wasn't understanding his flirting efforts as she was on the boarder line of blacking out. Though the fight moved so fast in front of her so she didn't have tome to react much. Once the fight was broke up, she kicked the other guy in the shin. "Don't touch my boyfriend!" She shouted before slipping her hair over her shoulder

Stevie: Stevie smiled proudly at Chase but quickly panicked the moment the other guy tackled him. She tried to help as much as she could, but once Gabrielle came in to kick the guy in the shin, Stevie held out her hands to make sure the girl wouldn't lose balance. "Damn, you okay?" she asked as she helped Chase get up. "You were doing good." she said, referring to the fight, in hopes that it would boosts his confidence a bit. He deserved that.(edited)

Chase: Chase brushed himself off. "I think I kinda kicked his ass" he said, his hand hurting so bad. "Don't tell me otherwise, I don't need to know" Chase added with a laugh to Stevie. "Now Gabrielle, what the hell? Who was that?" said Chase, giving her a crazed look.

Juliette: "STEEEEEVIEEEEE" said Juliette running over to her, "Did you see that fight? That was crazy! I know that guy!" said the girl in a drunken stupor.

Gabrielle: GAbrielle shrugged. "I really wish I knew." She said with a laugh. "He kept just going on an on and on about his football trophies. Like yawn." She said as she threw her arms around Chase. "Thanks for making him shut up." She said with a smile. "Jules!"

Stevie: Stevie nodded her head, "Totally kicked ass." she said to Chase before her attention was drawn to Juliette. "Hey, yeah that shit was pretty wild." she asked with a small smile. She wasn't even sure if the girl wanted to see her at this point, but she was just glad she found Juliette. "You doing okay?"

Juliette: "Brielle! Stevie's here! And Chase!" she said with big excited eyes and a huge smile. She was so happy, and so very very drunk.

Chase: "Let's get the two of you home" said Chase, giving Gabrielle a kiss on the cheek. "And you are getting a lesson about how you're not letting other boys flirt with you when you help me ice my hand" said the boy to his girlfriend. There was no way that was happening tonight though, she was gonezo.

Gabrielle: "Right!" Gabi said looking at Juliette. "They came for us." She said excited to see them both. "Maybe later." Gabrielle said with a laugh as she held onto him. "Will you carry me." She added in, giving a puppy face.

Chase: Chase turned around so she could jump on his back, "Cmon" he said reluctantly, he was happy to have her safe and sound.

Stevie: Stevie noticed Chase carry Gabrielle, and what kind of person would Stevie be if she made Juliette walk? "Would you like to get carried too?" she asked, hoping the girl would say yes. No reason. Just trying to be nice.

Juliette: Juliette's eyes lit up, "ooooOooooh yes please" she said hopping on the girls back and giving her a big ole smooch on the cheek. "You're the best! I can't believe you've been at the party the whole time!" she said, stupidly.

Gabrielle: Gabrielle hopped onto Chases back, wrapping her legs around his waist and she rested her head on his shoulder. "What are we going to do now babe?"

Stevie: Stevie couldn't hold back her smile as Juliette kissed her cheek. "Crazy right? The universe just keeps putting us together." she teased her before walking out of the house. "Want me to drop you guys off first?" she asked Chase.

Chase: "Yeah, just the guest house parking area" said Chase, "Where you picked me up". He was ready to get this girl into bed and some pjs. Parenting never stops.

Juliette: "You guys came together?" said Juliette, trying to put it together, "Are you two friends?" she asked, "wait are you just here for us?"

Gabrielle: "Am I sleeping over?" Gabi questioned. She hoped he would say yes. "I didn't know you guys were friends." Gabrielle said as she held on tight to him, though, she didn't always listen about all of his friends

Stevie: "Yeah, we're pretty cool with each other." Stevie nodded, not realizing that either one of the girls knew her and Chase were friends. "We just wanted to make sure you both were okay." she answered Juliette as she got to Gabrielle and Chase's place.

Chase: "Yeah we've been friends pretty much all year, it's a group chat thing don't worry about it" said Chase, realizing he'd never mentioned it. "Alright babe, let's get you inside" said the boy opening up the car door for her.

[superfem-imagines]

Fearful Admissions

A oneshot where bby!danvers casually admits during truth or dare at game night that she's terrified of one of her sisters dying on the job. The next day Kara and Alex decide to try and get their sister to talk about it and she ends up breaking down in Kara's arms and they comfort her as best they can. You can decide how to end it. 

A/n: I actually like how this one turned out, so I hope you guys like it! 

Words: 1114

Warnings: Some swearing, brief mention of alcohol, slight mention of violence/death

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

“Truth or Dare!” Winn yelled, spilling some of his beer. He pumped his fist when everyone agreed, “Ok ok I’ll go first. Alex truth or dare?”

Raising an eyebrow, Alex chose dare. “Arm wrestle James.” At the brunette’s confused look, Winn shrugged. “James doesn’t think you can.” Wincing, he grinned sheepishly at his friend. 

“Is that so? Be prepared to weep, Olsen.” The pair got down on either side of the coffee table, hands clasped. At Winn’s call, they started. Everyone cheered as James started to win, but Alex quickly got the upperhand and won. 

“Holy Shit! I didn’t think you’d beat him. I- I mean he has a lot of muscles so..” Winn trailed off at the look on Alex’s face. Hearing Kara’s muffled laughter, he stuck his tongue out. 

“Lena!” Kara exclaimed, catching her off guard. “Truth or dare?” 

“Truth.” Lena smiled, face slightly red. “When was the last time you got some sleep?” Kara asked, a smug smile on her face. Lena frowned before changing her answer to dare. “I dare you to get some sleep.”

“I don’t think I like this game.” Lena grumbled, playfully glaring at Kara. Everyone laughed, but looked at you as Lena called your name. “Truth or dare Y/n?”

“Truth,” you grinned as you drank some of your pop, too young for alcohol. 

Lena hummed, playfully scratching her chin. “What are you most scared of?” Lena leaned forward, a curious glint in her eye.

You quickly glance at your sisters before clearing your throat, nervous to admit your secret. “Well, Alex and Kara are always out fighting aliens and saving the city. I’m worried that one day I’m gonna get a call saying that they had died fighting. Scared that I’ll come home and not have my sisters, that I’m going to lose them.” You glanced at the stunned, sympathetic faces of all your family. Clapping your hands, you turn to James. “Alright Jimmy boy, truth or dare?”

While you had James bench pressing Winn, you didn’t notice the looks Alex and Kara shared and didn’t catch on to their silent conversation.

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

Sun streaming through the curtains, you sat up and stretched. Realizing it was pretty late, you got up to get some food. You were rummaging through the fridge when the apartment door opened, revealing your sisters with Noonin bags in hand. “Ah yeah!” you slid across the floor, nearly crashing into Kara as she held out a bag.

You jumped onto your counter, tearing into the bag before turning to your sisters. “Hey guys, I thought you were busy?”

Alex shrugs as she moves to one of the bar seats. “We wanted to take the morning and spend it with you, if anyone needs us they will call.”

Kara bounces over, the nervous smile on her face making you squint at her. “Did you just wake up?” Alex ruffling your hair distracts you, your (h/c) locks already a mess. You smack her hand away and glare, nodding while taking a bite of your sandwich. “Why did you guys take the day off?” You question, looking at Kara.

With your piercing look, so similar to Alex’s, Kara quickly breaks. “We were worried about what you said last night.” Kara bit her lip and looked sheepishly towards the oldest Danvers. 

Alex sighs and shakes her head, resting her hand on your knee to get your attention. “We just wanted to talk about it, I know our job is dangerous and important but so are you. Do you want to talk about it?”

“I guess.” You sighed, sliding off the counter and heading to the couch, food forgotten and sisters following you. Once seated, sister on either side, you focus on your hands. “I know how important your jobs are, and I’m proud of what you guys do. You’re out there, protecting the city, keeping people safe and kicking ass.” You ignore the look Alex gives you as you swear, focusing on the skyline through the window. “I’m just,” a deep shuddering breath interrupts you as you push away tears, you sisters taking your hands encouraging you to keep talking. “I’m terrified, Kara is bulletproof but she can still get hurt, we’ve seen that before even without Kryptonite. Alex, you- you’re human. You can die from a cold, it doesn’t even have to be on the job. But if you got hurt, killed? It’d kill me, if it happened to either of you.

“I mean, what would I do if that happens? Eliza doesn’t need to worry about raising me, she’s getting old.” You chuckle and shake your head, remembering your mother’s face whenever you called her old. “I’d have no family, without you guys.”

“That’s not true,” Kara interrupted softly, gripping your hand. “You have Lena, Maggie, Lucy, the guys- their all family. If something happened- and I can’t promise it won’t- you would have all of them to support and be there for you.”

“It wouldn’t be the same, though. I need you guys,” your voice breaks, throat closing and tears finally falling. Alex pulls you into her lap, fingers carding into your hair as Kara rubs your back.

“How about,” Alex began, making eye contact with Kara as the Kryptonian nodded. “I’ll still work for the DEO but in the lab, and I’ll go in the field when it’s really important or they really need me. And I’ll work with Lena and Winn to upgrade Kara’s suit so it can repel Kryptonite and protect her if she blows her powers? That way we are still doing our jobs but staying safer?”

“Really?” You ask, voice quiet. When they nod you pull them back into a tight hug, pushing back tears. “Maybe, once Kara’s suit is done, you can make one’s for the agents? Like the tack suits but stronger so you and the other’s are safe? A lot of them get badly hurt or die when up against aliens, and the suits could help them?”

Alex tilts her head, running the numbers. “I think we could do that.”

“And!” Kara adds, beaming at you. “I think I’m due for a new design. Maybe you could help Winn and make the suit better?”

“Yes!” You exclaim, bouncing on the couch. “I’ve wanted you to have pants forever! The skirt is cute but it’s impractical.”

As you guys sat on the couch making designs and running numbers, you knew it’d be okay. There was still a chance you could lose your sister’s in the field, but with the new suits and protection for them and the other agents, there was a smaller chance that you or any other families would lose your loved ones. 

[eddie-delacruz]

I Don’t Want to Fight You Forever | Eddsidy

Pairing - Eddie De La Cruz & Cassidy Stabbington ( @cassidystabbington )

Time - End of School/Early Summer

Setting - Cassidy’s dorm room

Summary - After months of not speaking, Eddie shows up at Cassidy’s to confess his feelings. 

Eddie:

Eddie clearly didn’t have a clue what his next step would be. He was standing at Cassidy’s dorm room door, like a fucking idiot. Obviously, he should’ve planned something to say but he didn’t. He was too nervous to think about it anytime he tried. There were several crumpled up papers with sorry ass words written on them. He knew that whatever he would put into paper wouldn’t help with the absolute mess of a way he left things.

Why he didn’t immediately go to Cassidy as soon as he broke up with Dizzy was as much a mystery to him as anyone who knew the situation. Which was currently just Maya. She’d tried telling him to go small, be genuine and meaningful but what the hell does that mean? Anything he did was meaningful because he meant to do it. Whatever it actually means, all he knew was that he couldn’t go big.

He’d already written a song, that didn’t go over well. He thought about doing something public— because where else besides Crownflicks is he supposed to get his “romantic” ideas from? That one is as good as anything to blow up spectacularly in his face. On the off chance she doesn’t believe him, he’d get rejected in front of the entire school. Not exactly the backlash he’d need after a not so greatly planned breakup.

So what impossible thing do you do when you want to tell the girl you have feelings for that you like her? Eddie finally knocked on the door to her room, clearing his throat as he tried to push back every single thought that was telling him this was stupid and that she probably hates him and doesn’t want to talk to him ever again. His hands burrowed themselves in the pockets of his jeans. If he can’t escape this maybe at least his hands can hide away for a while.

Cassidy:

If Cassidy thought long months of watching Eddie date a simpering child had been hard for her, they had proved to be nothing compared to the time after he and Dizzy had broken up. She’d been so stupid on Valentine’s Day, almost believing that he really cared for her the same way that she cared for him, letting their kiss haunt her until she’d hoped that maybe this was really it. Maybe the thing she’d wanted for so long was within her grasp, and Eddie would leave Dizzy behind and things could be different between them.

Hope was for suckers, though, and what a fool she’d been for letting it creep in, slipping past her hard exterior and into the softer pieces of her heart. It had taken months for Eddie to break up with Dizzy, and when he had, she hadn’t heard a single thing from him. She’d learned of their relationship ending through the rumor mill, right as she’d been working on her own song, one she’d recorded without even Diego knowing. It had been too raw, too real, and had revealed entirely too much about how she felt, watching Eddie with the wrong girl… only he wasn’t with the wrong girl anymore. She’d thought to give him the recording on his birthday, but he and Dizzy were already broken up then, and he hadn’t said a single word.

She was through hoping, now. Eddie’s silence had been deafening, and she’d gotten the message loud and clear. She wasn’t the one for him; he’d probably just temporarily lost his mind the last time they’d talked about stupid feelings, just like he’d lost his mind when he’d decided to date that stupid freshman at all. He’d probably gone running back to Maya like he always did, and somehow that hurt worse. Dizzy, she at least knew, couldn’t possibly matter that much to him. But even Cassidy cared about Maya; it was stupid to think anyone would want to stick around and wade through all her issues when someone like that was the alternative.

Cass had tried for years to get these stupid feelings out of her system, and though it hadn’t worked yet, summer was starting. She had three whole months to hide and throw herself into music with Diego, and maybe, just maybe, she could finally put her feelings to rest. Only she flung the door open at the sound of a knock, expecting to see her dumb cousin, or her musical partner, or even a friend like Maya.. only to find Eddie standing there instead. “I think you got lost somewhere,” she said immediately, her defenses automatically up. She’d spent so much time being mad at him, she didn’t really know how to act now that he was here, in the flesh, and not just a figment of her imagination, a figure haunting her daydreams.

Why was he here? Now, after so much time had passed? It hurt too much, and she had a feeling this was only going to hurt her more… She didn’t immediately retreat from the sight of him though; instead, Cassidy crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself too tightly.. She shouldn’t want to see him, after all her mental anguish, but the pull was still there, and she’d never been very good at ignoring it. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t slam the door in your face right now.”

Eddie:

It was stupid to think that just because of that Valentine’s day, her birthday, that things could change. But that’s why he did everything he did… right? When they kissed, finally he was able to put every single bit of feeling he had into action. The feeling he would get when she would just be in a room. When she would yell at him. When she’d challenged him. When they made music together. It was the best feeling he never could’ve described. Cassidy made everything go away that afternoon.

He didn’t care about what he was supposed to be doing, who was supposed to be with because it didn’t matter. She did. The whole relationship thing was a dud from the beginning, and Cass knew it before he even told her what was going on.

That was the whole reason he even had the incentive to break up with Dizzy. Other than, of course, trying to avoid having sex. It was already hard trying to hide what he’d been feeling and once he and Cassidy kissed he knew he wouldn’t be able to hide it much longer and before it got out he had to end it with Dizzy. How was he supposed to keep from saying that he didn’t want to spend whatever free time he had making music with her, “the enemy”.  

Cassidy deserved better. She didn’t deserve his silence yet he put her through it anyway. Because no matter what he told her, she never believed him. He wrote the song for her and she wouldn’t believe it. He’d tried telling her so many times how he felt, but it was all meaningless over text. If there was one thing he learned from their many many arguments and countless text threads, is that she hated him. Eddie had caused so much grief for her, and yet he still showed up at her door. Without any preparation on how he could possibly convince her that everything he’d ever said to her was true.

Eddie was speechless when he saw her standing in front of him. What could he say? There was no excuse he had for completely ghosting her. How could he have texted her or talked to her right after he broke up with Dizzy? He didn’t know what to say then and he sure as hell didn’t know what to say now. He’d felt a rush up his spine. His face running cold while his hands gradually heated. Finally, his hands pulled from his pockets and he began to rub them together to try and ease the discomfort. For the first time he couldn’t speak, he cleared his throat to recover it from it’s drying state. “Cassidy, we have to talk.” Was all he could muster up. Really? No shit. You disappear for weeks and now you want to talk? He repeated to himself before shaking his head. It has to be better than that. He can’t screw this up again. “I should’ve called.” Godmother, why was admitting this so hard? “It was stupid, but I need to talk to you. Just give me 5 minutes.”

Cassidy:

We need to talk? Cassidy had wanted desperately to hear from him for months now and all he could muster up were the most generic and lame ‘relationship’ discussion words in the English language? Cassidy’s fingers itched with the desire to slam the door in his face and keep him out, to stop him from having another chance to disappoint and underwhelm her… but instead, she rolled her eyes and stepped back from the door, leaving it open for him to come inside.

“You know, usually people say that when they’re breaking up with someone,” she pointed out once her back was turned to him, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “But since I’d…” Cassidy began, wanting to toss something biting and hurtful his way so that he could feel a fraction of the pain she’d been in during the stretch of silence. He’d asked why she still talked to him if she hated him so much, but it was impossible not to talk to him. It was so much worse than the fighting, a gaping absence in her life where he was supposed to be, and she only hated him so much because of how much she really didn’t hate him at all.

What if he really was here because he felt the same way? Was she really going to take whatever small step he was trying to make and throw it back in his face? That was her usual way, her usual method, and God knew it hadn’t gotten her anywhere so far. So instead of being defensive, Cassidy’s voice was small as she corrected her statement. “But since you’d never want to date me, obviously it’s not that kind of conversation, so what do you want?”

She didn’t like this feeling, the weak and uncertain one. She didn’t like giving him the upperhand when she usually tried so hard to fight and claw for it, but she had to know. Cassidy wanted so desperately to close this chapter in her life, to get over these feelings that never seemed to be on the same page as Eddie’s… but he was here now, and she was still just taking whatever little pieces he would give her. She hated herself for wanting all of him, and more for settling for just parts of him, but she hadn’t been able to change that yet, and it wasn’t suddenly going to change now.

Cassidy tapped a timer onto her phone as she waited for him to close the door and join her, settling on her desk chair instead of the bed so that he couldn’t sit next to her and make her brain all fuzzy with his closeness. She clicked start and set the phone down face-up on the desk, looking at him pointedly, trying to hide whatever flicker of hope she was sure was showing in her eyes. “Five minutes, go.”

Eddie:

Eddie never was that great with words. It was why he’d worked so well with Cassidy before. She always knew exactly what to say, the exact right words to fit whatever he wanted to sing about. Sure he could handle writing on his own, but if he was being honest with himself, he’d say his music never sounded more real when they came from her. He wondered if he ever gave her enough credit for that. Instead, he’s here giving her the most basic lines because no other words could come to mind.

She didn’t think he wanted her, and that was pointedly on him. He felt her words ring very loudly in his ear. Of course, he wanted to be with her. So why was this so hard? To say those words and tell her how he felt. Just hoping he doesn’t go back and repeat that pattern of breaking her heart.

Eddie walked into the room, turning to close the door behind him. This would have to be private. He’d spent the longest time talking to Maya about everything he should’ve been telling Cassidy and he was going to fix that now. Since she’d sat at her desk, he stood in front of her. Rubbing his hands on his pants, they’d suddenly gotten very hot and sweaty. “It is,” he simply stated before clearing his throat. ‘It is that kind of conversation.”

This was getting a little easier. Piece by piece he was letting the truth out with here. And this time it wasn’t over a text message. He was saying it to her face. His eyes darted to the timer. Okay, a little bit of added pressure. There was no way he could tell whether she would actually kick him out after 5 minutes, but there was a large chance she would. It’s not like he didn’t deserve it.

His throat was dry and he needed another second to gather his words. Everything Eddie wanted to say was becoming a jumbled mess in his head and he was just hoping he wouldn’t screw it up again. Where does he even begin? “Cass, I never should’ve dated her.” Admitting he was wrong, one of the things he was told to do. But it wasn’t like Cassidy didn’t know that already. He needed more, to tell her directly. “I wanted to be with you- I mean..” He shook his head, his eyes on hers. “I want to be with you.”

Cassidy:

Cassidy shifted in her chair as Eddie spoke, putting her hands underneath her so he couldn’t reach out to touch them. It took all her willpower not to have them go to her pockets, where she typically had some kind of pocket knife on her, but listening to him had her even more on the defensive than she’d already been. What the hell did that mean, that it was that kind of conversation? She’d heard his silence loud and clear; she didn’t need him to come here and stomp on her heart a final time.

Or… did she? Maybe all she needed was a straightforward no, an unequivocal rejection. Maybe then her heart could stop belonging to him, no matter how much she wanted to have it for herself, to give away to someone better instead. Only no matter how many people she met, none of them ever seemed better. God knew Eddie drove her crazy, but she also never felt more alive than when she was with him either. Even when they were fighting. Sometimes especially when they were fighting.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek to keep from instantly fighting him now, though. She’d heard him out without interrupting his five minutes, or at least she’d try. Her eyes darted towards the timer again, a distraction so that they couldn’t well with tears as she waited to hear what came next… only what came next wasn’t him telling her that she needed to leave him alone, or that he wanted nothing to do with her once and for all. Instead, her head snapped back towards him, her eyes wide as she stared at his face for some kind of indication that he was fucking with her.

He looked sincere, though, and Cassidy really wasn’t sure what the hell to say to that. Of course he shouldn’t have dated Dizzy. Not just because of how much it broke her heart to see him with someone else, but for so many reasons. He deserved so much better than someone so simple-minded and immature, and Cassidy could only nod slowly in agreement, not trusting herself to say anything else. And thank God for her ability to shut up for once; if she were as combative as she usually was, if she were fighting him every chance she got, he might never have gotten the chance to say his next words.

I want to be with you. It was so simple, and it was what she’d wanted to hear for so long. Now that she was hearing it, she should have been elated, but instead a knot formed in her stomach, and what she was actually feeling was much more akin to dread. “You can’t mean that,” she said, taking one hand out from under her to hit pause on the timer. It wasn’t fair to take away from his five minutes just because she couldn’t stay silent and listen. She had to ask, though. She had to know if he really meant it, or if he’d just temporarily lost his mind now, without Dizzy in the picture. Still, even without Dizzy, there was Maya, and it just didn’t compute to her.

“I’ve wanted to hear you say that for so long,” she finally admitted, taking her other hand out from under her and wringing them together in her lap. “Probably since even before I broke up with Emmett. But now, I just…” was terrified, she finished mentally. She was terrified that he’d take the words back right away, or worse, that she’d finally get to have him only to lose him all over again. She was always scared of everything, of things that didn’t even mean anything; Cassidy should have known she’d be even more frightened when it came to something that mattered so much. “I’ve always been here, you idiot. I’ve always wanted you, so… why now? What the hell changed?” She unclasped her hands just long enough to hit ‘unpause,’ and then wrung them together again, unsure what else to do with them to combat her nerves.

Eddie:

Eddie was more than shocked himself at how long he'd been lying to himself. But as soon as the words had left his mouth he'd known it was something he'd wished he said so much sooner. Instead of being the stupid idiot he'd been before and letting his fame dictate his every move. "I mean every word of it, Cassidy. I should've known-" He stopped for a moment just to gather his thoughts. If he was going to give her an answer, he needed to make sure he said the right thing. 

It nearly broke his heart to hear how long she'd been waiting on him to get his shit together. To hear that she'd felt this way about him for so long and he had no clue. Or maybe he just wouldn't let himself believe it. She was always too good for him. "I didn't think I deserved-" No that's stupid. They were just excuses. He cleared his throat trying to think of something better to say. "That's the thing...I don't think anything's ever changed how I feel about you. I was just too fucking stupid to ever realize it."

Cassidy:

Cassidy snorted softly and agreed, "You are pretty fucking stupid. But I don't exactly make it easy for you, I guess, so uh... maybe that makes us even?" She shifted slightly, wringing her hands together once before letting them rest gently in her lap. She itched to reach out and touch him, to make sure that this wasn't all some crazy fantasy, but if it was make believe, she wasn't ready for it to end yet. She turned it over in her head, trying to figure out why now? She'd bottled things up for so long that she'd hit a breaking point, and he said nothing had changed, but... "Maybe we both just finally grew up a little," Cassidy posited, licking her lips to wet them. They'd gone dry hearing Eddie's words and trying to get herself to believe them, to understand that what she'd wanted for so long was actually within her reach.

"Or maybe how we felt about each other didn't change, maybe it was how we felt about ourselves. I don't know, maybe I'm just thinking too much." She'd seen enough cheesy Auradonian movies to know that this was usually the part where the girl threw herself into the guy's arms and kissed away all the problems they'd had along the way to finding each other. She normally wasn't that girl, always tempering her emotions and fighting her feelings, but she'd fought them for so long, and she was so tired. There were so many things she was feeling that she didn't know how to put into words yet, and for once, she was going to let herself act instead of just think. "Come here, you idiot," she conceded, reaching for his hands and trying to tug him down to her level. "Words aren't your thing, why don't you show me how you feel instead?"

Eddie:

Eddie wasn't entirely sure if he could convince that he was dfferent, that something about him had changed. He'd spent so much time trying to hide his true self from everyone. Cassidy had been one of the few people to ever fully see through it. To see who he actually was and despite everything she still was always there. She was right, maybe they both did just grow up and were finally able to let go of the things that were holding them back. And thank god he didn't have to.  "I think you're right....with all of it." His head shook slightly.

"All I know is that I can't keep the feelings in anymore." He felt a rush of relief wash over his face with everything out in the air. His hands meet with hers, letting himself be pulled down to meet her. Who knew his heart could be racing this much. All he wanted to do was sweep her off her feet and embrace her in his arms and to kiss her like he'd never get another chance to. A smile finally was placed on his lips as he closed the space between them, pressing his lips against hers. His hands moving so they were on either side of her face, holding the kiss.

Cassidy:

Cassidy's eyes widened. He thought she was right. How far they'd come, that either one of them was willing to say such a thing. There had certainly been times in the past when she'd thought Eddie might have a point about something or another, but she never would have conceded it to him. She was so tired, though. Tired of hiding from her feelings, tired of pushing him away, tired of seeing him with other people when all she wanted was for him to be with her... It felt good to let her guard down. To finally give in.

"I don't want to fight you forever," Cassidy agreed softly in the moment before their lips meant. Their kiss from her birthday was still burned in her brain, but no matter how much that had made her feel, that angry, tension-filled kiss had nothing on this. It wasn't a battle for dominance or a grudging chance to act on dammed up feelings; this was her finally letting herself have what she'd wanted for so long. It felt like coming home, and Cassidy's lips against his were soft, yet insistent, as she let the bitterness wash off of her under Eddie's touch. A part of her didn't want to stop; the old worries that if this moment ended, there wouldn't be another one creeping in.

They had to try to be different now, though. Otherwise, it would all amount to nothing, so with a reluctant sigh, Cassidy broke the kiss to take a breath, keeping her forehead resting against Eddie's. "I lo..." she began unthinkingly, the true depth of her feelings for him bubbled up to the surface. It was too soon, though; too much, too fast, so instead she whispered, "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that. Can we not wait like five years before we do it again?" she asked with a nervous laugh.

[synth-dahl]

H2O: Just Add Water, Season 2, Episode 22, Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble

Things my girlfriend and I said during this episode

- Me, as the beginning credits roll: Anything to say before it gets started?

GF: I hope she goes Carrie on them. Write that down

- You know, there really needed more underwater scenes

- It really sounds like Rikki is trying to get Lewis to straight up kill Charlotte, because what else could she mean here? How is he supposed to “take care of this”

- How is Charlotte not relatable here? She’s so excited about being a mermaid, and finally able to be in what she hopes is more open

- GF: The only stakes right now is that they might have to be friends with Charlotte

- She just wants to be in a relationship with no secrets, and now that there aren’t any secrets, why is he acting like he still has secrets? Oh wait, he does: being with Charlotte for the attention

- Rikki: We weren’t friends before, this shouldn’t change anything.

GF: What an odd thing to say. If you kept up that attitude, you’d never make friends

Me: I think she just meant with Charlotte in general

GF: But still, that’s such a psychotic thing to say

- Neither of us can remember a single instance of Rikki and Charlotte interacting, but the red velvet cupcake Bailey’s we’re drinking isn’t helping that. Also, y’all were the only ones in the way of not being friends with her. Literally, she has never bothered you except being in your vicinity by being with Lewis

- Lewis is right, you’ve never given her a chance, and while Rikki doesn’t have to like her or anything, she could stop with the weird accusatory blanket statements that she doesn’t follow up on, like, “We know who’s to blame here, don’t make me state the obvious, etc.”

- Interesting that as soon as she doesn’t have a magical upperhand to Charlotte she gets all nervous and crap

- The conversation they have at the cafe is the first real interaction they all have with Charlotte, and she is being genuinely kind and excited at the idea of them being close friends without a hint of sarcasm or irony, but Rikki is a total a-hole, yet Charlotte never gets mad at her

- “You’re probably a slow learner”? “That would be devastating”? Shut up, Rikki. Shut up shut up shut up. Charlotte is the terrible mean one we all hate? What about Rikki, who is throwing out passive aggressive insults to the girl who did nothing to her?!

- If the writers weren’t cowards, Cleo would be the one being a b*tch to Charlotte instead, considering their, I guess, history, but Rikki’s already been established as the more rude one, so I guess that goes to her while Cleo just sits there wibbling

- Yeah, Charlotte is such a jerk. Volunteering to help them not to fail a class completely of her own volition with no prompting from anyone 

- Did the coach even bother teaching them or actually coaching them, or did she just throw four unprepared girls against the undefeated team and tell them not to lose or she’d fail them?

- Lewis: I like you

Me: Shut up

- Again, she’s understanding when Lewis tells her that they might need time to adjust and doesn’t take it personally

- Again, shut up Rikki. She has done nothing to make this hard on you. And what does it matter in the grand scheme of things that Charlotte is dating Cleo’s ex? Are you that desperate for straws to grasp. And really? You think you three are the only ones who get to be mermaids? What if she fell in with two other people, making it a second threesome? I know I said this in another post, but do you only get to be a mermaid if you fall ass first into the moon pool without knowing what it does? And if Charlotte had fallen in ass first that first time she had found the moon pool without knowing, would you guys have been this rude?

- Also, very big of Cleo to suddenly be okay with her ex dating someone months into the relationship like her approval in the matter is actually needed. Of course, it’s only given when she can no longer magically bully the other girl

- Rikki: ...Which only reinforces the notion there’s only supposed to be three mermaids!”

GF: What a stupid thing to say

- Why does no ask Rikki why she’s so against there being another mermaid? Like, there’s underlying issues here, and I’d like to know what they are, considering they meet another mermaid in the third season and she practically gives her a welcome basket. But I bet if Emma was still there, she would’ve lit her on fire or something while screaming, “It’s not possible!”

- Rikki: You probably just imagined it.

Me: And maybe this is why you only have three friends

- Rikki, after getting doused: Nice (falls over)

GF, sarcastically: Oh no, it’s that thing we did to [Charlotte]

Me: Yeah, and at least Charlotte had the decency not to do it in a crowded cafe

- Cleo: That’s my power!”

GF: Oh, f*ck you!

- I’ll be honest, “What confidence?” is such a mood

- Seriously, Charlotte is trying so hard to be a good friend to them, and Rikki’s just in the background reciting the YouTube comment section

- Emma *hits the ball up* Ball: *goes in a straight horizontal line at chest level*

- I love whoever shouted, “She can’t do that!” when Charlotte dove in the water, like there was already a rule written that you can’t dive into the ocean in the middle of a game

- God, look at her, so excited at discovering she had heat powers.

GF: Look at Charlotte taking care of business

Me: Honestly, she’s everything I wanted out of a character who becomes a mermaid

- Charlotte: Never been better. Play ball.

GF: I love how Mermaid!Charlotte actually has a backbone, that appears to be what they’re afraid of

- Kate Alexa still slaps

- 22:20 I am so pissed. We could have had this the rest of the season, or at least an episode. But no. Conflict arising from unnecessary girl hate is much more fun

- Oh no, she has more power than we do, that automatically makes her more untrustworthy

- GF: At this point, it becomes more like they’re afraid of Charlotte because she has more power than them

Me: Yeah, and she could give it as good as she got it

- Me: Any last thoughts?

GF: I’m glad to see Charlotte’s power growing, she’s kinda like Dr. Manhattan, but a mermaid