#so if this wasn’t him or maybe even someone actually associated? wouldn’t they say some shit lol

[dogwittaablog]

he did block an acc that @ed his old burner and based on the followers i would say it’s prob him.. but i also think that’s bc i can’t rly imagine someone taking the time out of their day to impersonate him like this 😭

So for a background info if you're not up to date or need a refresher: the user in the first account saying they got blocked by @ gollpatt after tagging the account in a tik tok talking about pro athletes seeing things posted about them. That account also follows/interacts with the same mutual burner accounts on NP's potential one too. (I didn’t know how I missed seeing this when I first peeped the account lmao).

Now we have the deleted tweets, which each tweet that has @‘d him he removed it, but didn’t block the account doing so and allowed them to follow and hasn’t deleted anything else. (I posted 1/2 of these screenshots previously).

[ilguna]

hii could you please write a young coriolanus x reader arranged marriage trope thank you

☼ plinth legacy (Coriolanus Snow) ☼

warnings; swearing, death mention, blood mention, some grief.

wc; 7.7k

notes; made the reader sejanus's sister for angst reasons :)

--

Coriolanus Snow.

A name, much less a person, you had never thought would constantly be on your mind. He wasn’t before. In fact, most days you wouldn’t glance his way twice, unless you had to. He was just another face at the Academy, a friend of your brother, Sejanus. Which, by association, made him a friend of yours. Or, at the very least, acquaintances.

It wasn’t that you didn’t like him, or that he was unbearable to have a conversation with. Actually, his presence was nice, on the occasions that you were around him for longer than a few minutes at a time. He was polite, and always seemed genuinely interested in what you had to say, even if he’d heard it all before from Sejanus.

You started to see more of Coriolanus when they became mentors for the tributes in the districts. You weren’t eligible to participate, and it wasn’t due to grades, but because you’re a year younger than your brother. This didn’t stop him from pulling you to see the tributes in the zoo when the opportunity first struck.

Ma had warned you two to be careful, after what she had seen happen with Coriolanus getting stuck inside. Still, she happily made the sandwiches when Sejanus requested it, and even made extra after he told her what his plan was. He wanted to give them to the tributes inside of the cage, he had a feeling they were hungry, and he was right.

Sejanus couldn’t get them to approach the bars, no matter what he said, or how hard he tried. A few times, you’d tried yourself, attention focused on one person in particular, who was on the far side of the cage, refusing to look your guys’ way. 

Your fingers curled around the cold steel, leaning into it. “Marcus.” You breathed, a smile on your face. “Please, we want to help.” His eyes found you, standing above where Sejanus was crouched. “It’s just a sandwich.”

He didn’t budge, of course. Sejanus took a glance behind the two of you, getting to his feet. The sandwich lowering in one hand, as he waved someone over with the other. When you looked, you found Coriolanus coming through the crowd, blonde curls bouncing with each step. 

When he caught your eye, he gave you a smile. “Trouble?”

“None of them trust us. And why should they?” Sejanus asked.

“Us?” Coriolanus echoed.

“I’ve been trying, too. But not as broadly.” You shook your head.

A girl had marched up next to the three of you to point to a sign on a pillar next to the enclosure. “It says, ‘Please don’t feed the animals.’” 

“They’re not animals, though,” Sejanus told her. “They’re kids, like you and me.”

“They’re not like me! They’re district. That’s why they belong in a cage!” She shouted.

Sejanus sighed. “Once again, like me.” He then looked at Coriolanus. “Coriolanus, do you think you could get your tribute to come over? If she does, the others might. They have to be starving.”

He hesitated, looking through the bars to find his tribute. He took a moment to think, debate whether or not he should. All he needed was a little push to convince him, so you leaned forward, over Sejanus, to place a hand on his arm.

“Please?” The word was sweet, more than you had intended it to be. His eyes moved to you, instead. “Do you have any ideas?”

He took in a breath, “I can’t just treat her like it’s feeding time at the zoo,” He was shaking his head. “Not mine. But I could offer her dinner. Maybe they’ll join after that.”

Sejanus nodded, you removed your hand, giving him a smile. Your brother opened up the backpack for Coriolanus to see the amount of sandwiches and fresh plums that were inside, waiting. “Take whatever. Ma made extra. Please.”

Coriolanus took two sandwiches and two plums, and then moved away to a more private spot, where he sat down on a flat rock. His tribute went up to him to join, and they spoke briefly. She took a bite out of one of the sandwiches, a smile appearing on her face. 

The other tributes had moved forward, seemingly gauging her reaction to make sure that it was good. When she swallowed her bite, she turned her head to them. “You all should get one. They’re real good!” She waved her district friend forward. “Go on, Jessup!”

Jessup took his time approaching the fence, black hair sticking to his forehead from the heat. Sejanus wordlessly handed him a sandwich, and a healthy plum. As soon as Jessup had returned to where he’d been before, the other tributes rushed forward.

You stole a sandwich and a plum, holding them to your chest, eyes on Marcus, as he refused to come forward. A dozen hands stuck themselves through the bars, and your brother struggled to fill them quickly. Within the minute, the food was gone, everyone had gotten one. 

Except for Marcus. 

He had his arms crossed over his chest, face hard. Sejanus pulled a sandwich out of the very bottom of the bag, unaware that the food you were holding was for Marcus, and not for yourself.

“Marcus, this is for you. Take it. Please.” Sejanus said, leaning out as far as he could. “Please, Marcus.” He pleaded. “You must be starving.”

You watched with a sinking heart as Marcus looked Sejanus up and down, and then turned his back to the both of you. One of the other, smaller, boy tributes took the opportunity and ran forward to claim the sandwich, snatching it from Sejanus’s hand. 

The news crew showed up after that, pushing a camera into his face. Your brother wasn’t having it, slinging the empty backpack over his shoulder. He held his elbow out for you, so he could escort you through the crowd better.

“I’m going to talk to Marcus.” You told him. “I don’t want him to go hungry.”

“Ma will be upset that I left you here.” Sejanus said, “She told me to watch you.”

“You wouldn’t be leaving me. I have Coryo.” You motioned to Coriolanus, who was in his own world with his tribute. You cleared your throat, getting his attention. “Sejanus is going to leave, you wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on me, would you?”

Coriolanus nodded, smiling, “Of course not, why’d you even ask?”

Sejanus was satisfied, lowering his elbow. “I’ll see you at home.”

“Tell Ma I won’t be too late.” You said, watching him weave through the crowd to leave.

And then you turned back to the cage, eyes on Marcus in the corner. He was stiff, unmoving in the corner for another few long minutes. Which was probably done to ensure that you two had left. 

When he decided that enough time had passed, he took his time turning around. The first place he looked was in your direction to confirm the coast was clear.

You were certain he was going to shut you out at the sight of you, but he didn’t. He stayed where he was, and so did you. You waited for him to relax, even if it was a little bit, before you bothered to hold up the sandwich and the plum you’d been holding to your chest. The food that you’d been protecting for him.

His face twisted, you stared, drawing in a breath. “Ma made it. I don’t want you to go hungry, Marcus.”

Marcus deliberated, eyes wandering from yours, and then he’d pushed himself off of the wall. You crouched, so that he wouldn’t have to come up the dry moat if he didn’t want to. He took his time, drawing attention to himself. 

If he had any respect from the other tributes for abstaining, it had crumbled like his resolve. 

Marcus stopped at the bottom of the moat, you held out the sandwich and the plum for him. “We’re so sorry you’re here, Marcus. We never could’ve imagined it’d come to this.” He didn’t move, watching you. 

And then all of a sudden he did.

His hands closed around your wrists, yanking you forward. You barely turned your head in time to keep your nose from slamming into the bars, eyes wide, trying to pull back. He had a tight grip on you, squeezing hard enough for you to feel the blood beginning to build in your fingers.

“You aren’t.” He said, voice hard.

“Marcus…” You wiggled, “Marcus, you’re hurting me.”

He tried to pull you in closer, forcing you to press into the bars of the enclosure. “This is what you get, (Y/n). This is what happens when you treat people like animals.”

“But this isn’t my fault!” You shouted, panic settling in. “Let go of me!”

“You’re the one that moved to the Capitol. You didn’t stay in District Two. You’re just as bad as they are.”

“Let go!” You cried, tears in your eyes.

“Get off of her.” A hard voice demanded, a hand shot in front of you to make a grab at Marcus.

Coriolanus was angry, an emotion that you hadn’t seen him wear before. He was always so cool and collected, there wasn’t a lot that could get him riled up. If it did, he would excuse himself, to keep from tarnishing his perfect reputation.

A stern crease was between his eyebrows as he got his hand around one of Marcus’s forearms, bringing him forward with one solid pull. 

“I said, get off of her.” His voice was low.

“Or what?” Marcus asked.

“Or I’ll make you wish you never met her.” 

Marcus listened, never taking his eyes off of Coriolanus, as if he could jump through the narrow bars to strangle him. His hands released, and you let go of the sandwich and the plum in the process. You caught yourself on the bars before you could fall completely, standing up swiftly, brushing dust off your skirt.

Coriolanus reached for you, and you held onto the red sleeve of his Academy uniform, breathing heavily. You shook your head at Marcus, heart beating in your chest. “Just because we’re here now, doesn’t mean we’ve changed, unlike you.”

The evening was ruined, but the zoo was closing anyway. Coriolanus let you hang onto his elbow, as he began to lead you out while blocking the cameras from bombarding you. You didn’t make it very far before you saw Sejanus, sitting behind a boulder. And even though you could’ve let go of Coriolanus, you didn’t.

You were upset, for multiple reasons. Your intentions were completely different from what Marcus assumed. You weren’t there to save face with District Two, you were there to help him. And even worse, you were mad at Sejanus for dragging you along in the first place.

It was the last time you went to see Marcus with Sejanus, but it was the first time Coriolanus kept you up at night. It was the way he had stepped in, how he reached for you first, instead of waiting to see if you wanted his comfort. It stuck out in your mind, and then it didn’t.

When your mom saw the bruises on your wrists the following day, she told you that you were done. Sejanus would have to do the mentoring on his own. This doesn’t mean that you heard about it any less. You probably heard about it more, getting every detail without ever having to ask, because Sejanus offered it up.

You didn’t see Coriolanus for a few days after that, despite the fact that you wanted to thank him. You were too invested in schoolwork, while also trying to come up with ideas for Sejanus to use with Marcus, because he wanted to make things right between them.

When you did see him next, it was the day of Arachne Crane’s funeral. The whole school had gathered on the front steps of the Academy. The groups were divided neatly and alphabetically by class, but Coriolanus wasn’t. He was in the front row, sitting alongside important individuals, namely President Ravenstill.

You had no idea why, until the Academy clock struck nine, and the entire crowd fell silent. That’s when he rose from his seat and walked to the podium, where he sang the anthem. The president then gave a speech about Arachne, how her life didn’t deserve to be taken when all the Capitol is doing is striving for peace.

You bit your tongue, hard. If they wanted peace, they should treat those in the districts together. You’d heard about what happened to Arachne, what she did to her tribute. She was teasing a starving girl, and while you don’t agree that taking a life is the right form of payback, you can’t blame the tribute.

The funeral procession came around the corner, following the drumming. At first, it was all peacekeepers from the honor guard. The crane was next, attached to a flatbed. And dangling from the hook, with bullets in her dead body, was the district girl. Below, shackled to the truck bed, were the twenty-three other tributes, filthy with their heads down.

You were sick, struggling to breathe, as you imagined the amount of pain they had to be in. As you pictured yourself hanging from that hook, or chained to a truck that you couldn’t even stand on. The rest of the funeral was a blur, as the truck disappeared.

Still, you went to find Coriolanus, ignoring your own brother to do so. He was standing near the podium, talking to Dean Highbottom, but as soon as he left, you slid in.

“You sounded amazing.” You said, Coriolanus turned to you with raised eyebrows. When he saw your face, he gave you a smile. “I wish I sounded half as good.”

“I’m sure you do.” He said, hand on your shoulder. “I haven’t seen you in a couple of days, is everything okay?”

“Ma told me I’m not allowed to help anymore, she saw the bruises.” You said, “I’m fine, though.”

“He left bruises?” That crease between his eyebrows returned.

“He was mad. I would be too.” You muttered. “They got dumped into a zoo, literally. You were there. How did it feel?”

His face contorted, “Wrong, but that doesn’t excuse his behavior.”

“You’re right.” You sighed. “I never got to properly thank you for stepping in. I think he would’ve let go eventually, but—”

“You don’t need to thank me, (Y/n).” He interrupted, watching as you reached into your backpack.

“I do, actually.” You pulled out a neat plate of bread pudding that had been sitting flat on the bottom of your bag. When you looked up, you saw his parted lips. “You can’t ask how I know, but I heard that you really like bread pudding. I made enough for you and Tigris, or even if you wanted to share it with Lucy Gray.”

“You bake.” He said.

“On occasion. If you have any requests, I’ll be more than happy to make it for you.” You nodded.

He gave you a smile. “Thank you, (Y/n), but I don’t think I could ever ask that of you.”

“Please, don’t hesitate.” You told him. “I’ll see you around.”

You’d expected to see Coriolanus in the hallways next in passing, not the hospital later that evening. The mentors had gone to the arena with the tributes to do televised interviews, when rebels set off several bombs, killing multiple people. Both of the tributes from Six were killed, as well as the Ring twins—Diana and Apollo. While three mentors had been injured, that being Coriolanus, Androcles Anderson and Gauis Breen. The latter one lost both of his legs.

And of course, with the exit being wide open, four tributes went running for it. The tributes from One were dead before they stepped foot out the door, while the girl from Two had made it to the river. She made it over the wall, but died in the fall. While Marcus… he disappeared completely.

Sejanus was, thankfully, uninjured. The Academy canceled classes, so he came straight home. He didn’t really speak until the following day, when he suggested for the two of you to visit Coryo in the hospital. You’d agreed, because leaving your brother alone while he was that upset didn’t seem right.

Ma made more meat loaf sandwiches, because Coriolanus seemed to like them so much. When you visited him, he sat up in the hospital bed. Sejanus set Coryo’s book bag down on a table, while you took a seat. Together, the three of you enjoyed the sandwiches, while talking about anything but Marcus.

When you were done, you wished for him to get well soon. It would be the second time that he’d stay on your mind, this time lasting longer. You didn’t like that he was hurt, especially when he didn’t deserve to be. The war was between the districts and the government, not the people in-between that were being forced to help.

It didn’t seem to bother Coriolanus, though. He kept fighting for his tribute, and you tried to pry him from your mind. It was easier to do when the Games did finally come around, especially that first day. When the cameras started with a wide shot of the arena as a whole, and the fourteen tributes that stood in a circle around the center.

Then the camera changed, as it slowly zoomed in on twin steel poles, twenty feet high with a crossbeam. And at the center, Marcus hung from shackles at his wrists, beaten bloody, face swollen. When he moved his lips, it showed his broken teeth.

You raised to your feet the same time that Sejanus had. He was standing a few feet in front of you, next to Coriolanus, who was watching him carefully. The only reason why you were allowed to be in the hall was because you were there to support your brother, and you quickly understood why.

Sejanus rushed forward, grabbed an empty chair, and hurled it at the screen, where Marcus’s mangled face was. “Monsters!” He screamed. “You’re all monsters here!”

You watched in silence as he left the hall, leaving you there. No one had moved after him, and you were too stunned for a minute to chase after him. Coriolanus turned in his chair, where he saw you grabbing at your wrists, where the bruises were just healing.

“(Y/n)--” He was worried, shaking his head.

“He’s right.” You breathed, backing up toward the door. “What have we done?”

“Miss Plinth,” A hand had grabbed you.

You jerked away, eyes wild, lips parted. It was Dean Highbottom, and there was a warning on his face, telling you not to cause a scene. You didn’t want to be like your brother. Except, it was too late for him to step in, because the two of you were already too similar. Born from the same tree branch that split into two.

“Get away from me.” The words were harsh, “Don’t touch me.”

He let you go, as you followed after Sejanus. He wasn’t too far, just down the hall, where he was heaving heavy breaths, hands in fists at his sides. The look he gave you could’ve killed anyone, but his expression softened when he realized it was you.

You hugged him, standing there for what felt like forever. Marcus ended up dying later that afternoon by another tribute, presumably a mercy killing. Sejanus encouraged you to go home, telling you that he’d be right behind you in a few hours. You listened, told Ma that Sejanus was upset and that was it.

Well, that’s what you thought, at least. He didn’t come home that night, and as it got later, Ma was getting more worried. She asked you if you had any ideas where he could’ve gone, and you told her no. All you could do was suggest Coriolanus, because they were close, and Coryo seemed to care.

Ma took you to the Snow penthouse, where Tigris opened the door, dressed in a nice lavender dress. With Ma in hysterics, you explained the situation, and she invited you inside to sit in the living room. Tigris made tea, while her grandmother took a seat in a chair nearby. On the television was the arena, but it was too dark to see anything, even with the moonlight.

Tigris poured jasmine tea into cups on the table, while your mom tried to clean herself up with the handkerchief. “You’re such nice people. I’m so sorry to have dropped in on you like this.”

“Any friend of Coriolanus is a friend of us all.” His grandmother said. “Plinch, did you say?”

Your eyebrows twitched, Ma didn’t skip a beat. “Plinth. It’s Plinth.”

“You know, Grandm’am, she sent the lovely casserole when Coriolanus was injured.” Tigris said to remind her.

“I’m sorry. It’s too late.” Ma sniffed.

“Please don’t apologize. You did exactly the right thing.” Tigris patted her shoulder, looking up. Her eyebrows raised suddenly. “Oh, here’s my cousin now! Perhaps he knows something.”

You turned, finding Coriolanus gently shutting the door behind him. He gave you a gentle smile, but when you didn’t reciprocate, it dropped slightly. “Mrs. Plinth, (Y/n), what an unexpected pleasure. Is everything all right?” He asked, coming closer.

“Oh, Coriolanus. It isn’t. Not at all. Sejanus hasn’t come home. (Y/n) said he left the Academy this morning, and I haven’t seen him since. I’m so worried." She said. “Where can he be? I know Marcus being like that hit him—” She placed a hand on your knee, hand squeezing. “Them hard. Do you know? Do you know where he could be?”

“He was upset, ma’am. BUt I don’t know that it’s any cause for worry. He probably just needed to blow off some steam. Took a long walk or something. I’d do the same thing myself.” He tried to ease her.

“But it’s so late. It isn’t like him to up and disappear, not without letting his ma know.”

“Is there anywhere you can think of he might go? Or somebody he might visit?” Tigris asked.

Ma shook her head. “No. No. Your cousin’s his only friend.”

Coriolanus looked at you, where you hand your palms on your lap. “You know, if he’d wanted company, I think he’d have come to me first. You can see how he might have needed some time alone to… to make sense of all this. I’m sure he’s all right. Otherwise you’d have heard of it.”

“Did you check with the Peacekeepers?” Tigris asked.

Ma nodded. “No sign of him.”

“You see?” Coriolanus asked. “There’s been no trouble. Maybe he’s even home by now.”

“Perhaps you should go and check.” Their grandmother suggested.

Tigris gave her a look. “Or you could just call.”

Ma shook her head. “No. Your grandma’s right. Home is the place we should be. And I should let you all get to bed.”

“Coriolanus will walk you.” Tigris said.

“Of course.” Coriolanus nodded, you got to your feet.

“My car’s waiting down the block.” Ma told them, getting up as well. She smoothed down her hair. “Thank you. You’ve all been so kind. Thank you.” She reached back to grab her handbag, you looked away from Coriolanus to the television, where you stopped.

There, on the screen, a shadowy figure came out the barricade. The moonlight catering the side of his face, the features eerily familiar. He was carrying something in his hands, as he crossed the arena to Marcus’s corpse, where he stopped. Above laid a sleeping girl, the tribute that had killed your friend to keep him from suffering. 

“Shall I walk you to your car?” Coriolanus asked, Ma had begun toward him. “I bet you’ll find Sejanus in bed.”

“No.” The word was a whisper out of your mouth. “No, Coryo.” He’d turned his attention to you, mouth opening to speak, when you did it first. “Sejanus is in there.”

Coriolanus came closer, passing Ma. You reached out to grab him, hand on his shoulder. Sejanus knelt down, and tried his best to arrange Marcus in an appropriate manner. He rolled Marcus on his back, straightened his legs and tried to fold his arms over his chest. And then he stood up and held his hand out over Marcus’s body.

You couldn’t help the tears that sprung into your eyes.

“That’s your son in there? What’s he doing?” Asked their grandmother.

“He’s putting bread crumbs on the body.” You murmured, lips trembling. “So Marcus has food on his journey.”

“His journey where? He’s dead!”

“Back to wherever he came from.” Ma told them. “It’s what we do, back home. When someone dies.”

You swallowed thickly, a tear running down your face. A handkerchief materialized out of Coriolanus’s pocket, he passed it to you. “Thank you, Coryo.”

The phone rang a moment later. “Is the whole city up?” Their grandmother sighed.

“Excuse me.” Coriolanus said, holding your gaze for a moment, as he walked away. He turned his body away to speak.

You wiped your eyes with the handkerchief, and then folded it neatly to place back on the coffee table. You needed to leave, to go to Sejanus. Why hadn’t he mentioned this to you? Was it because he knew it was a stupid idea?

When Coriolanus came away from the phone, he sighed. “That was the Head Gamemaker. She’d like you to meet her at the arena to collect Sejanus, and I’m to accompany the both of you.”

“Is he in trouble?” Ma asked, eyes wide. “With the Capitol?”

“Oh, no. They’re just concerned with his well-being. Shouldn’t be long, but don’t wait up.” He told his family. 

The three of you shuffled out of the apartment after that, going down the elevator and through the lobby. Your parents’ car rolled up silently, and the three of you got inside, with Coriolanus requesting the arena. The Avox nodded, nad began to drive down the streets in a hurry.

“First time we saw the Capitol, it was night, like this.” Ma spoke quietly.

“Oh, yes?” Coriolanus asked, looking at you.

“Sejanus sat right where you are, saying, ‘It’ll be all right, Ma. It’ll be okay.’ Trying to calm me down. When we all knew it was a disaster,” Ma looked out the window. “But he was so brave. So good. Only thinking of his ma.”

“Hm. Must have been a big change.” Coriolanus said.

“Family and friends cut us off.” You told him, adjusting in your seat.

“No new ones to be made here. Strabo—their pa, that is—still thinks it was the right thing to do. No kind of future in Two. His way of protecting us. His way of keeping Sejanus and (Y/n) from the Games.”

“Ironic, really. Given the circumstances.” Coriolanus said. “Now, I don’t know what Dr. Gaul has in mind, but I imagine she wants your help getting him out of there.”

“I don’t know if I can. Him so upset and all. I can try, but he’ll have to think it’s the right thing to do.” She said, glancing at you. “I can’t let you go inside. You two have always been close, but I don’t want you in there.”

“I don’t want her to go inside, either.” Coriolanus chimed in. “Maybe there will be a different way.”

When you got to the arena, there were people already waiting outside of the doors. A dozen Peacekeepers, a good handful of Gamemakers, including Dr. Gaul. You approached tentatively, unsure about her presence. She didn’t always come off stable, that’s why you tried to keep your distance. 

Coriolanus noticed this, choosing to stand between you two.

“At least you’re punctual.” Dr. Gaul said. “Mrs. Plinth, I presume? And little (Y/n).”

You pressed your lips together. Ma nodded, “Yes, yes. I’m sorry if Sejanus has caused any inconvenience. He’s a good boy, really, It’s just he takes things so to heart.”

“No one could accuse him of being indifferent.” She agreed, looking at Coriolanus. “Any idea how we might rescue your best friend, Mr. Snow?”

“What’s he doing?” Coriolanus asked, ignoring the comment.

“Just kneeling there, looks like.” Dean Highbottom said, eyeing you. “Possibly in some kind of shock.”

“He appears calm. Perhaps you could send the Peacekeepers in now without startling him?” Coriolanus suggested.

“Too risky.” Dr. Gaul shot it down.

“What about putting his mother on a speaker, or a bullhorn?” He asked. “If you can darken the screen, surely you can manipulate the audio as well.”

“On the broadcast. But in the arena, we’d alert every tribute to the fact that there’s an unarmed Capitol boy in their midst.” Dean Highbottom said.

Coriolanus didn’t speak for a second. “What do you propose?”

“We think someone he knows needs to slip in as unobtrusively as possible and coax him out.” Dr. Gaul looked directly at you. “Namely, her.”

“No.” Coriolanus said immediately, shaking his head so hard that his blonde curls started to bounce. “She can’t go in there. I will.”

“Oh, no!” Ma cried. “It can’t be Coriolanus. The last thing we need is to put another child in danger. I’ll do it.”

“What we need is someone who can make a run for it, if necessary. If your daughter won’t, then Mr. Snow is the man for the job.” Dr. Gaul motioned to the Peacekeepers, who came over at her motion to dress him in body armor. “This vest should protect your vital organs. Here’s your pepper spray and a flash unit that will temporarily blind your enemies, should you make any.”

Coriolanus looked down at the bottle of pepper spray. “What about a gun? Or at least a knife?”

“Since you’re not trained, this seems safer. Remember, you’re not in there to do damage; you’re in there to bring your friend out as quickly and quietly as possible.” Dr. Gaul told him.

You started to shake your head, “Coryo, I can’t ask you to do this.”

“You aren’t asking.” He looked at you. “I’m volunteering.”

“He’s just a boy. Let me call my husband.” Ma begged.

Dean Highbottom gave Coriolanus a small smile. “He’ll be all right. It takes a lot to kill a Snow.”

You watched as Coriolanus’s face dropped, he sighed. And then he looked at you. “I’ll bring Sejanus out. Don’t worry.”

“Be careful.” You told him.

The Peacekeepers took him to the arena, where he disappeared inside. Your attention shifted to the news truck with the live feed of the tributes. It was dark though, too dark. You could barely make out anything, meaning you might as well had not been looking at all.

You were able to make out their figures, as Coriolanus slowly approached Sejanus to not scare him. They stood there, the minutes dragging on for what felt like forever, until they finally made the movement to leave, but not without Marcus’s body. They picked it up, made it a good deal across the arena before the other tributes came up to them. Less than a minute later, they came out.

And you were there in an instant, because you refused to leave without seeing either of the boys, while Ma went home. You had to push past the Peacekeepers to see Coriolanus and Sejanus, sitting on the tile. You crouched in front of them, hands on your knees.

“That was stupid of you, Sejanus.” You told your brother, looking at the blood pooling on the ground. “But you did what I couldn’t do.”

And then you looked at Coriolanus, who had his eyes on you already. You could see the scrapes on his face, his chin mostly, and the blood on his forehead. You reached out, he winced, but let you touch the area around the wounds.

“Thank you, Coryo.” You whispered.

His eyebrows furrowed. “Of course, (Y/n).”

From then on, seeing Coriolanus for longer than a few minutes at a time was rare. You looked forward to it each time. You saw him when Sejanus announced the Plinth prize, the sparkle in his eye at the mention of it.

He stopped by a couple days later, after Sejanus had gone to bed and Ma was cooking in the kitchen. You think he wanted to talk to Sejanus, possibly about the whole ordeal in the arena, but he had taken his sleeping medication. With the dosage he was on, there was no waking him.

You were sitting at the kitchen counter, swiveling side to side on the stool, talking to Ma as she baked her pies. You were about to go to bed, dressed in your pajamas, the only reason why you hadn’t was because you were waiting for her to put the peach pie in the oven first. At the sight of Coriolanus, the cuts on his face, and the smile on his lips, you’d clammed up.

“I was just heading off to bed.” You said to him, sliding from the chair.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for a piece of pie, (Y/n)?” Ma asked you, worry on her face.

“I’ll have a piece tomorrow.” You told her. “Besides, I think Coryo will have a piece big enough for the both of us, isn’t that right?” You smiled.

He nodded. “Sure.”

“Goodnight.” You murmured, pausing long enough to let Ma kiss your forehead. You waved to Coriolanus, and then disappeared around the corner, where curiosity stopped you. 

Except, what they talked about while he enjoyed the blackberry pie wasn’t important, just about Sejanus and how the university would be better when he graduated. The real talk came after, when Pa wanted to see him. And Coriolanus went inside, closing the door behind him, which you then pressed your ear to.

“You look just like your father.”

“I hear that a lot,” Coriolanus said. “Did you know him?”

“Our business overlapped at times.” Pa said. “It’s striking, the resemblance. But you’re nothing like him, really.” He paused for a moment. “Nothing at all. Or you’d never have gone into that arena after my son. Impossible to imagine Crassus Snow risking his life for me. I keep asking myself why you did it.”

“I couldn’t let (Y/n) go inside. And he’s my friend.”

“No matter how many times I hear that, it’s difficult to believe. But even from the beginning, Sejanus singled you out. Maybe you take after your mother, huh? She was always gracious to me when I came here on business before the war. Despite my background. The very definition of a lady. Never forget it.” Pa said, there was another pause. “Are you like your mother?”

Coriolanus didn’t speak right away. “I’d like to think I am, in some respects.”

“In what respects?”

“Well, we shared a fondness for music.”

“Music, huh?”

“And I do think we both believed that good fortune was… something to be repaid… on a daily basis. Not taken for granted.” Coriolanus said.

“I’d agree with that.”

“Oh, good. Yes, well, so… Sejanus.”

“Sejanus. Thank you, by the way, for saving his life.”

“No thanks necessary. As I said, he’s my friend.”

“And (Y/n), is she your friend too?” Pa asked.

“Yes, she is.”

“She tells me that you’ve done a lot for her lately.” Pa said slowly. “You helped her at the zoo?”

“That was nothing.”

“I wouldn’t consider it so. She could’ve gotten seriously hurt if you hadn’t stepped in. You saw the bruises.” He said. “You’ve checked up with her since. And volunteered to keep her safe when Dr. Gaul suggested that she should go inside of the arena.”

“Well—”

“Coriolanus, in District Two, there are traditions we have for families like ours.” Pa said, your eyebrows drew together. “Wealthy families, I mean. I’m not sure if the Capitol has the same beliefs.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not following.” Coriolanus said.

“Arranged marriage.” 

You felt your blood run cold, but at the same time, the heat flamed in your face, licking your cheeks. You pulled your ear away for a second, thinking that you shouldn’t be listening in on this conversation.

“I’ve heard of families coming together in the Capitol, but it’s not very common.”

“It’s for more than just wealth, it’s to combine names as well.” Pa told him. “Snow is a grand name, don’t you think?”

“As is Plinth.” Coriolanus agreed.

“So, you understand what I’m implying then? What would your grandmother think?”

“I think that she wouldn’t agree to doing it so soon.”

“Of course not, it would happen after graduation, before university.” Pa said, “Will you give me your home phone? I’d like to discuss this with your grandmother.”

After that point, seeing Coriolanus would be painful… except, you didn’t see him the following day. In fact, you didn’t see him again at all. The next time his name was brought up in your house was with Sejanus’s, which was tied in with the words District Twelve and Peacekeepers.

“What?” You asked, coming around the hallway corner. Ma’s eyes widened. “Sejanus is where?”

“Oh, darling, you weren’t supposed to hear that. We wanted to tell you tonight.”

You shook your head. “Sejanus and Coryo went to District Twelve? Why?”

“I believe Coriolanus Snow signed himself up.” Pa told you. “As for Sejanus, it was the best we could do. He won’t be there long.”

“And what about Coriolanus?”

Pa made a face, tilted his head, “Twenty years, is what I was hearing.”

Your mouth dropped open, a reaction that you couldn’t stop in time. “Is that the same for Sejanus?”

“Yes.”

The only option you were given to keep in touch was letters. You could write to either of them whenever you wanted. Ma even told you that she was going to pack them food to send, stuff that they’d never be able to get in the districts, let alone Twelve.

With it being summer, you had plenty of time on your hands to write, but every time you picked up the pencil, the words escaped you. Everything that you’d been bottling to save for Sejanus seemed meaningless. So, you mostly replied to what Sejanus said, which could be a lot. He carried the conversations mostly, and you told him that you missed him. And you’d continue to miss him until he finally came back.

Which would never happen, not that you knew that at the time. It was a quiet day when the news reached your parents about what happened. That your brother had got caught up in rebel activities, which was treason. He was hanged without a trial, without a single letter sent home. For once, your family’s money couldn’t buy his way out of this one.

A black hole appeared in your chest, sucking in everyone’s words, their emotions. Ma couldn’t help you, even though she tried. She spent more time with you, trying to get you to speak, but all you wanted was to forget. Or to go back in time and tell Sejanus he needed to stop, that his actions would cost him his life.

Sejanus.

The boy you grew up with, the one you trusted with every secret, the one that kept you safe. Who you’d play with as a child when no one else would, who would help you with your homework when you fell behind. His sweetness, his hopefulness, his personality. He’s gone. He’s gone and you never got to say goodbye. 

All you gave him was half-assed letters. If you’d known that it would be the last time you talked to him, you would’ve done more. You would’ve said so much more. 

It was like almost every piece of him was gone, until the next wave of news came. While Sejanus would never get to leave District Twelve, Coriolanus had been honorably discharged. He was coming home to the Capitol. And with it being weeks after Sejanus’s death, it opened up a conversation that you thought was done for good.

The Snow’s were falling. You’d heard the news about Tigris and their grandmother almost immediately after Coriolanus had left. They had to sell their apartment, the nice penthouse you went to visit once. They couldn’t afford to keep it, so they downgraded, but the apartment lay empty.

Pa had decided that it was time to revisit the topic of an arranged marriage when he heard that Coriolanus was coming back. Ma really liked Coryo, because he was such a good friend to Sejanus. With your brother being gone, their attention had shifted a little, split between you and Coryo. Why keep it that way when there was a solution?

His grandmother agreed to it. It took a little bit of convincing, but at the mention of Pa buying the penthouse back as a gift, it made her cave. A letter was promptly sent to Coriolanus, who wasn’t to leave Twelve for another few days while they settled his paperwork. 

And his reply? ‘It would be my pleasure.’

As you straighten out the dress again, you look at the time on the clock that the train station has on display. Coriolanus should be arriving at any minute. It was requested that he were to be picked up by a Peacekeeper truck to take him to the Citadel, but Pa pulled strings, as he always does. He wanted your face to be the first thing that Coriolanus saw when he stepped off. 

You didn’t agree to this. You wanted to put this off for as long as possible. Sejanus chose to go to District Twelve to follow Coriolanus. They were close. He was the last one to have a conversation with your brother when he was alive. Besides, you’re set to marry him in a few short weeks. His suit measurements take place in two days.

A horn sounds, you look up from your polished shoes, the one scuf you managed to get this morning on the walk here. It was too late to turn around and change the shoes. Besides, they’re the only pair that matches this dress. A whole new outfit bought for Coriolanus, and he won’t even realize it.

The train pulls in the station, blowing cool air into your face. You take in a deep breath, trying to correct your posture. This will be the first time you’ve seen Coriolanus in months. Does he even know that you’re here to greet him?

It doesn’t matter. Once the doors open, you take a few steps toward them, trying to be casual. It’s hard to, with the hammering in your chest. You press your lips together, regripping the handbag, coming to a stop in front of the doors. The first few people that file out look like regular Capitol workers.

You’re too busy looking for Coriolanus’s blonde curls, that you almost miss him stepping out of the doors. His eyes flicker up for a moment, likely to collect his bearings, glancing over you.

You must register in his mind the next second, because he looks directly at you again, stepping off the train. You swallow, eyes stuck on his hair. Or rather, the lack of it. His head’s been shaved.

“(Y/n).” He smiles, “I wish I would’ve known you’d be here, I would’ve had something for you.”

“Your curls…” You murmur, face beginning to contort. If they got rid of his hair when he was enlisted, was the same done to Sejanus?

Coriolanus closes the distance between the two of you, pulling you into a tight hug. You press your forehead to his chest, hands gripping the clothes he’s wearing as you fight off the tears that threaten you. You don’t want to cry, you’ve spent so much of your time doing exactly that. For once, you want to be in control.

“I’m so sorry, (Y/n).” He says, “I can’t imagine how difficult it’s been.”

“I miss him.” The words are strained, you pull your head back, looking at Coriolanus. “I wish he would’ve told me what he was planning.”

“He’d never put you in danger.” 

“I know.” You back away from the hug. Coriolanus holds out his elbow for you to take, you begin to lead him to the car. “I trust you’ve learned a lot these past few months. Did you get to see Lucy Gray, at least?”

His face smooths out, this was not the right question to ask. He lets out a sigh, shaking his head. “I did, but her lifestyle is much different from mine.”

You nod. “You’re not district.”

“I’m not covey.” He corrects, a smile hinting at the corners of his lips.

“Oh, so she had you singing?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” He looks away, at someone passing by.

It’s quiet between the two of you for a moment. There was so much you wanted to say to him, but much like the letters to your brother, the words have left you. You chew on the inside of your cheek.

“You have something on your mind.” Coriolanus says, it’s not a question.

You sniff. “It’s um… It’s about Sejanus, just one thing I have to know before I can stop thinking about him.”

“He wouldn’t want you to do that.”

“It’s to put my mind at ease.” You stop outside of the car. “I know it’s not your tradition, Coriolanus, but were you able to…”

He nods. “I was.”

You meet his eyes. “The bread crumbs? They let you see his body?”

“He has food on his journey.” He tells you.

You breathe out a sigh. “Oh, good. Ma will be happy to hear that.”

Neither of you move for the car door, standing there, staring at each other. He eventually starts to shake his head. “(Y/n), I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.”

“It’s too late for that.” You tell him. “We can talk about it more later on, in a few days.”

Coriolanus reaches for the car door, motioning for you to go inside first. “I’ll be here when you’re ready.”

You don’t move to get inside. “Thank you for being such a good friend to my brother.”

He tilts his head. “You don’t have to thank me.”

“You’re the only piece of him I have left.” You shift on your feet, “I have to thank you.”

--

this was part of my 3k celebration!!

[strawbeerossi]

A Secret Girlfriend. (Spencer’s Version)

Idk this was a cute thing I thought of while listening to Enchanted while getting ready for bed.

My writing is so rusty but I hope y’all enjoy it. Maybe this’ll inspire me to write more, we shall see.

Word count: 1.1K

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“Spencer. You need to listen to the whole discography to appreciate her in all her glory.” Y/N said, looking to her boyfriend as he was raising an eyebrow and looking over all the Taylor Swift songs in a playlist that his loving girlfriend put together. “Do I? I don’t want to make it seem like I don’t respect her talent because I do, it just doesn’t seem like my thing. Scratch that, it isn’t my thing.” The male crinkled his nose, a smile on his face. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t listen, mainly because he was always happy to do whatever made Y/N happy.

“Try before you deny, Reid.” Y/N huffed while letting her arms cross over her chest, a smile still gracing her features, knowing it wouldn’t take much convincing at all. “I really think you’ll like her music. It’s comforting in a way, plus she is truly one of the most sweetest people ever. She’s got a beautiful voice too.”

The thing was, Y/N was right. Spencer did like her music because of the comfort associated with it. However, the comfort wasn’t because of the melodies, the beautifully crafted bridges, or even the impeccable vocals. It was because this music reminded him of his girlfriend. The way that she’d be screaming ‘Enchanted’ while taking a shower or how she’d make him dance with her to ‘Lover’ in their shared kitchen.

That comfort was something Spencer took with him everywhere, even to the point where he’d have one earbud in while listening to one of the random albums he’d decided on. Which of course, Y/N made sure to make him have all of the ‘Taylor’s Version’ of the albums that were out already, the woman playfully threatening to beat him with her shoe if she seen anything different.

It was currently a Friday at the office, a quiet day where they were mostly getting caught up with desk work and written evaluations. Spencer had his earbud in, the album of choice today being ‘Speak Now’, mainly in anticipation for the long awaited ‘Taylor’s Version’ that Y/N was over the moon about, it being her favorite album out of all the others. He wasn’t even paying attention, being so used to being at home and having some awful duets with Taylor, unable to stop his mouth from singing along to ‘Mine’. The song had caught a few glances, however Penelope was the one who actually coined on what he was singing.

The rest of the day, there was a little bit of light gossip between the rest of the team, mostly because none of that were really expecting Spencer to be singing any of the songs that blondie had. Which there was already a theory; Spencer had a girlfriend who they hadn’t met yet. Penelope was fully convinced of it. Someone was introducing this music to Spencer because he wouldn’t just willingly listen to something he wouldn’t normally indulge in.

Little did they know, that theory would be proved right a couple weeks later.

The highly anticipated Eras tour was something that everyone had to fight in the trenches for, Y/N being one of the people who spent her whole day in a waiting room, getting the best tickets she could get her hands on. There was a reason why she needed Spencer to listen to this music in the first place, the two going together after Y/N surprised him with the tickets, her excitement being too high for Spencer to even think of denying going.

He’d ended up telling Emily that he was going to see his mom, giving him that night without interruption or fear of having to make his girlfriend leave early because he had a case. Now, these rumours reached the unit chief, the woman not saying anything about her suspicions as she allowed Spencer the time off. Although she had a good idea that he’d be spending that time with his little secret girlfriend that he thought he could hide.

What Spencer didn’t anticipate though, was who had the seats right beside himself and Y/N. They’d made it fairly early, mainly because Y/N had floor seats so the two had to get there without the crowding when it came to getting to their seats. Which they’d made it to their spots without a hitch, something she needed to brag about because Spencer had said some sort of statistic of how there was a chance they wouldn’t have had to fight through crowds to sit down anyway.

“Was I right or was I right?” Y/N asked, a cocky smile on her face while she was sitting down with her boyfriend, her hand reaching over to hold his as she was bouncing with excitement. “I’m so glad you came with me tonight. I mean it. I was so worried I’d have to come alone or sell the other ticket. You’re the best.” She sighed in content while leaning over to kiss her boyfriend’s cheek.

Spencer was opening his mouth to speak before he was frozen in place after hearing two very familiar voices. “Oh come on, Garcia. I agreed to come with you tonight and you’re gonna bully me the whole night?” Luke asked, a laugh leaving his lips as he was trailing after Penelope, the blonde scoffing. “Of course I am. You know that I have been looking forward to this for weeks and with JJ being busy and Spencer being god knows where, you were my very last choice.” She spoke while trying to humble the male, although Luke was rolling his eyes with a smile gracing his features soon after.

Don’t look over. Don’t look over. Don’t—

“I love your dress!” Y/N gushed, leaning over to look over at Penelope, unknowingly calling attention to Spencer even though he was mentally begging for Penelope to not pay much attention to him. It wasn’t that he wanted to hide his girlfriend, far from it.. He just knew how the team was when it came to significant others and their coworker’s relationships. They were too nosy, as good as they meant by it.

“Thank you! Oh my god, your bottoms!” Penelope grinned while looking over at Y/N, although through her peripherals, she seen a very familiar face. Instead of calling attention to him just yet, she was instead keeping light conversation with the woman who was on the other side of her coworker.

It was later in the concert though, Y/N being fully captivated by the show in front of her as she was happily screaming along with lyrics and dancing, one hand in Spencer’s while she was keeping her gaze on the stage. That was when Penelope decided to say something, her elbow nudging Spencer’s side to get his attention before she was smiling from ear to ear up at him. “I knew it. You didn’t just randomly start listening to her!” She yelled over the music, making Spencer blush while laughing. “You picked a good one!” Penelope called soon after, to which Spencer was looking over at his girlfriend who was having the time of her life.

Yeah, yeah he did.

[slimyalienfreak]

Hey imagine a Folly X Reader were It like this

Reader is like a dream entity like her Unlike Folly who is like a nightmare entity Reader is like a positive dreams entity and always give positive vibes tô Evreyone,Folly hated Reader......but does she Really hate him she Can't stop thinking about him

Folly With A Dream Entity!Reader

Hey there! Thanks for the ask!

Finally got a Regretevator ask and it’s with my favourite Folly. Really enjoyed writing this since I love Folly a lot. Anyways hope you enjoy it. ~Dawn

Pronouns: Not Mentioned

Warnings: ⚠️Slight Spoilers For Folly’s Background⚠️

Requested: Yes/No

Characters: Folly

Proofread: ❌

Credits: Art by Cubon_pins on Pinterest + Banner by Faelynn_x (Edited by me) on Pinterest

��——————————

- It isn’t really a secret that Folly hates you. Well she is known for being hateful to everything and everyone in general but I’m pretty sure it was obvious that she has a quote on quote hatred for you. Most people kind of assumed the hatred comes from with her being a nightmare entity and you being a dream entity. One being considered good and one considered bad.

- But in all honesty I think her ‘hatred’ she has for you isn’t really that much of actual anger or anything of the sort. The thing is I’d think she’d mostly see herself in you a bit at least her old self. She wasn’t always like this she was like you, innocent and caring then she got corrupted into what she is now destroying all trust she has for anyone so seeing you having all these positive interactions with everyone it’s like looking in a mirror of the past for her. She hates it. She hates how kind you were to everyone even her. She knows that there are bad people out there yet here you are still treating them with kindness.

- She honestly doesn’t understand why you’re so insistent on keeping her company, you treating her with kindness despite her being the complete opposite of you. The fact you always see the best in people to your own detriment. Despite the fact she keeps pushing you away, telling you that there’s no kindness in the world you dispute what she says with a chuckle and just treat her nicely. It’s something she hasn’t experienced in a while and she honestly doesn’t know if she likes it or hates it. Despite this she hasn’t pushed you away or at least fully because for some strange reason she still wants to be around you.

- The feelings she has for you are weird. To her at least. She claims to not only herself but everyone else that she hates you with every fibre and being possibly inside of her but yet when she sees you interact with anyone else she feels something in her that she wouldn’t even dare to admit. Was it jealousy? Maybe. Not towards you but towards the others surprisingly. But as I said she wouldn’t dare admit that she’s jealous.

- I’d like to think that somehow despite her ‘hatred’ always found herself unconsciously being around you or wanting to be around you. Even she doesn’t know why. If you just so happen to mention something you’d like that she heard from someone else she immediately associates that thing to you. If she ever needed to talk to someone regarding the content of conversation she immediately goes to you, whether it being in a taunting way or a genuine conversation. It’s definitely obvious to the other characters. There definitely will be teasing coming from them, joking that she’s having an enemies to lovers momen moment with you. Even with Folly protesting their comments threatening them to quit if they still do it. Though mostly through subtle comments since they don’t actually want to face her.

- I do think you may be able to at least have a somewhat civil friendship around you at some point like seen in her interactions with Wallter. Having common interests in things like music, books etc. But it will take a while for it to reach that point though. Even if you do don’t expect her to be all buddy with you she’ll still be like herself just being more calm and civil.

- Honestly I’d be surprised if you managed to get her to be civil with you. Even with the unknown link bounding you and her together especially with the two of you being similar beings, she’s very stubborn so please be patient with her. You’ll be able to get her to let her guard down. Thanks to your kind hearted and empathetic personality.

———————————

[kikyoupdates]

Indebted ⭑˚🥀⭑ 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛

yandere!ocs x f!reader

yandere, reverse harem, yandere reverse harem, original characters x fem!reader, slowburn, isekai

Following your mother’s recent passing, you are visited by a group of men claiming that your father abandoned all his debt and obligations, leaving you to take his place.

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A few days had passed since you’d started working in the office. The violence that had taken place on the first day had come as a shock to you, but after that, nothing too noteworthy happened. With Yuki’s help, you were able to complete all the tasks that were assigned to you and avoided incurring Ryu’s wrath.

One evening, however, he said something that caught you off guard.

“You’ve been off school for a while now. If you want to pass your courses, you should probably start attending again soon.”

“Uh… sorry?”

“Your university,” he frowned. “Weren’t you set to graduate this year? You may have to drop a course or two in order to accommodate your new schedule, but I can’t very well have you dropping out altogether.”

You were still confused. “So, you’re letting me keep attending school?”

“That’s what I just said.”

“But… why?”

Perhaps it was better not to ask, but you couldn’t help it. The night he’d taken you to be brought back here, you were convinced your old life was over. Based on how large your father's debt apparently was, you didn’t think he’d allow you to retain any sort of autonomy.

“Education means a career,” Ryu said. “A career means that eventually, you’ll be earning more money for me. Right now, you’re just working on menial tasks and freeing up some time for my other associates. You aren’t actually helping put a dent in the debt at all. Or what? Were you happy to just keep on being my little servant for the rest of your life?”

“Right. I understand now.” You nodded meekly, forcing a smile. “Thank you for this. School is very important to me.”

Every now and then, Ryu would look at you in a sort of bewilderment. In a way that implied your behavior was absolutely baffling to him.

“You’re always thanking me,” he mused. “Even though I just told you that the money you’ll be making will go to me.”

“I know that. Still, it feels nice knowing that I’ll get to see my education through till the end. My mother would have wanted that for me.”

His eyes narrowed. “Is that so? Good for you, staying positive. But I wouldn’t get too comfortable. You’re only working in the office for now because I still haven’t figured out what to do with you yet. One way or another, you will need to start bringing in some money. I’m not willing to wait another year or two to start seeing results. I need to know that you’re going to pay your dues.”

Ryu’s earlier threat still hung heavy in the air. No matter what, you wanted to do avoid doing that at all costs. Something, anything, just not that. You weren’t sure what yet, but you were going to have to find a way.

“I’ll pay you back,” you swallowed. “I swear that I will.”

“For your sake, you’d better hope so. Head to bed now. I’ll arrange for someone to drive you to campus tomorrow morning.”

He left the room and slid the door shut behind him.

It felt strange returning back to classes after everything that had happened. You knew that you couldn’t very well explain your circumstances to anyone. Ryu would be sure to punish you—most likely with death. Which is why you knew that this wasn’t really an escape, but it felt nice to detach yourself from your current reality and pretend like everything was okay, at least for a little while.

You couldn’t say that you had that many friends. Not that people didn’t like you, but you’d always been so busy juggling school and your other jobs, on top of visiting your mother while she was sick. You’d never really had much time to bond with others. You had a good few people that you felt comfortable around, but no one that you could really say you were all that close to.

Well, maybe there was one person.

“[Name]!” said person exclaimed. It was one of your classmates, Rintaro. He was a kind-hearted guy in the same program as you who you’d met last year. You’d started off as friendly acquaintances, but over time, you’d become a lot closer. You’d only ever thought of him as your friend, but your mother used to joke about how the two of you should start dating.

You smiled tiredly and sat down beside him. “Hi, Rintaro. How’ve you been?”

“I’m fine, but more importantly, where have you been?” he frowned. “You were gone all of last week. I messaged and called you a bunch of times, but you never picked up…”

You obviously couldn’t tell him that your previous phone had been confiscated and the only one you currently had access to was a work-related phone that Ryu had given to you—which was almost definitely bugged.

“My phone broke,” you lied, feeling a bit guilty about it. “Sorry. I just got a new one, though, so I can add you again if you’d like.”

Rintaro sighed audibly. “Well, that’s good. I was worried I’d done something to upset you.”

“No, of course not.”

“Why were you gone all week, though? Were you sick as well?”

“Oh. I guess I haven’t told you yet.”

“Told me what?”

You shifted in your seat, bringing your palms together. “My mom died just recently,” you admitted. “I was busy planning the funeral and getting everything settled. Well, you know how sick she was. It’s not like I wasn’t prepared for it at all, I just didn’t think it would happen so soon…”

“O-Oh, no,” Rintaro gasped. “[Name]… I’m so, so sorry.”

“It’s okay. There’s no reason for you to apologize. She liked you a lot from all the stories I told her,” you smiled. “I remember her saying she wanted to meet you someday.”

Tears were brimming in his eyes. He looked ready to break down right in the middle of class, but just barely managed to hold himself together. You looked down at your desk and let out a sigh. In a way, it was probably for the best that your mother had passed before Ryu and his men came looking for you. She would have been heartbroken to know that her daughter was being forced to make up for her husband’s mistakes.

I can’t tell anyone about my situation, but at least I still have people that care about me.

That alone was enough to keep you going. Ryu was even allowing you to continue attending school. You would work hard enough to pay off your debt, and one day, you would be free again.

Class was the same as always. It was a good distraction, actually. Having something to focus on helped you forget your sadness for a little while. You knew that by the end of the day you would have to head back to be under Ryu’s cold gaze, but for now, you wanted to enjoy it while you still could.

“I’ve got a lot to catch up on,” you sighed. “Seems like a ton of material was covered last week.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Rintaro reassured. “You should turn in a letter explaining your absences. They’ll exempt you because it was a family emergency. That stuff should always take precedence.”

“I appreciate the thought, but I think focusing on school is the best thing I can do for now. I don’t want to use my mom’s death as an excuse. Things have never been easy. I can handle this much.”

That’s right. You’d always been able to handle whatever life threw at you, no matter how demanding. Compared to being held captive by the yakuza, school was nothing.

Eventually, class was over, and Rintaro offered to go over his notes while you grabbed a bite to eat in the cafeteria.

He slid a notebook over to you and pressed his lips together. “This section was a little complicated. The prof didn’t really go into detail too much about it, but I’ve heard from previous students who took this course last year that it always ends up being covered extensively on the exam. Most of what I’ve added in here is stuff I found from browsing online or reading through the textbook.”

“That’s typical of him,” you snorted. “Prick.”

“Haha. Can’t argue with you there. Anyways, I found the best way to understand it is if you focus on these types of problems…”

He began going through a list of examples outlined in his notebook. At first, you were paying attention, and most of it was making sense, but your attention drifted away as someone passed by the table you were sitting at.

You weren’t exactly sure why, but the way the guy looked at you was a bit off-putting.

Rintaro peered over at you. “[Name]? Is everything okay, or am I going through it too fast?”

“Uh, no, it’s good. Sorry. Keep going, please.”

You had every intention of focusing, but each time your gaze wandered away from the table, you noticed the same guy staring at you. For a while, he was reclined against the wall. Then, he lined up to order himself a coffee, still stealing glances at you on occasion. After that, he sat down at one of the tables across from you and just kept on staring.

What’s his problem?

“Rintaro,” you frowned, “do I have something on my face?”

“Huh? No, why?”

“I was just wondering.”

“You look pretty like always,” he said, blushing slightly.

A chuckle left your lips. “Thanks. You’re sweet.”

Rintaro blushed again and went back to explaining, but not before stumbling over his words a few times. You clenched your jaw and made up your mind to not look away again. School was important. You needed to get a good job, to make sure that you had the means to pay back Ryu and get away from him as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, the more people told themselves not to do something, it just made them want to do it even more.

When you finally looked up again, the guy had disappeared, but that eerie feeling still lingered.

The store was quiet. Other than the soft buzz of the machine held in the man’s gloved fingers, nothing else could be heard. This late at night, the store was technically supposed to be closed, but exceptions had always been made for this particular type of clientele.

Eventually, a soft sigh filled the room.

“I’m done,” the man said, pulling the needle away. “Take a look in the mirror over there if you’d like.”

The client stood up and stretched his arms out, and proceeded to turn towards the mirror and examine the large tattoo now decorating the length of his arm. A scattering of cherry blossom petals, interwoven upon a winding branch. It had turned out rather nicely. The young artist couldn’t help but pat himself on the back.

“Thanks,” the client said, rolling his sleeve down and throwing his blazer on over top. “I was told the payment would be wired to you, so I didn’t bring the money with me.”

“Yeah, I know. The group always covers it.”

“Sounds good. Thanks again.”

The older man nodded towards the younger one and left, the chimes on the door clinking away in his stead.

“These assholes work me too hard,” the tattoo artist muttered, relieved that his long day was finally over.

His name was Tsukishima Kaito. Since he was an artist in the purest sense of the word, a gig like this had come naturally to him. His preferred medium was photography, but tattoos or piercings—those were all fine, too. He welcomed any sort of artistic expression.

And the reason why he was working past closing hours? It had a little something to do with his connection to the yakuza.

Sure, they brought in a lot of business, but they were all so gruff and intimidating. A bit of an eyesore, if he was being honest. He couldn’t exactly complain, though. After all, the fact that he was so closely acquainted to the yakuza was the only reason he'd gotten this job in the first place.

Speaking of…

Kaito discarded of his latex gloves and finally checked his phone. Immediately, he rolled his eyes. “God, what a needy son of a bitch. He’s called me five times already.”

He dialed the number back and waited for the other person to pick up.

“Kaito?” the man answered.

“Hi, Ryu. What do you want now?”

“Why did I have to wait so long for you to call me back?” His tone was clipped; clearly, he wasn’t in a good mood.

“I was in the middle of doing someone’s tattoo. What, am I just supposed to stop midway?”

“You should answer right away if I’m the one who’s calling.”

“I was working on one of your men. Cut me some slack here.”

“Forget it,” Ryu snapped. “Anyways. Did you do what I said? Were you able to find her?”

“Uh-huh,” Kaito droned, bored of the conversation already. “She was just sitting at a table with some guy and reviewing notes. She wasn’t trying to run away or anything interesting like that.”

“Good. Remember, it’s your responsibility to keep an eye on her while she’s on campus.”

“What’s the big deal, anyways? Let’s say she tries to run away. Then what?”

“It is a big deal,” the other man growled. “We have no leverage on her. If she chooses to run, we don’t have any relatives we can use to make sure she doesn’t abandon her duties. Other than her good-for-nothing father, the last of her family died with her mother.”

Kaito leaned back in his chair. “That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m asking why it matters even if by some chance she escapes. Let’s be honest here—it’ll take her ages to work off that debt, assuming she even makes it that far. I just don’t see what value a single woman has. It seems like a waste of both time and energy.”

“She’s going to have to work for it. Otherwise, I will kill her. And it isn’t your job to question me, Kaito. Just do as I say. That’s it.”

The line clicked off not a second after. Kaito scrunched up his nose and set his phone face-down. Family, huh? To say that he was disinterested in your situation would still have been an overstatement, but he couldn’t help but pity what had happened to you. All because of your shitty dad. Life really was cruel, usually to the people who deserved it the least.

Kaito knew full well that family could be a giant pain in the ass. After all, he’d been unlucky enough to have someone like Ryu as his cousin. Though, things could have been worse. He could have been forced to work under the yakuza directly.

Kaito threw his head back and let out a sigh. “She just had to attend the same university as me. Goddammit all.”

It seemed like things were going to become even more troublesome from now on.

More chapters are available on Quotev or Wattpad!

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[densi-mber]

Not the Best of Friends

“I cannot wait to get these heels off,” Kensi groaned, leaning on Deeks’ shoulder to take some of the weight off her ridiculously high stilettos.

“We just have to get through this meeting with Malachi and then you can get out of that extremely sexy but uncomfortable shoes,” Deeks said as they started walking again through the main lobby of a business center.

“Why Mr. Levine, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you had ulterior motives,” she teased.

“Miss Boyle, I have nothing but the purest intentions.” Deeks put one hand over his chest with feigned sincerity.

“That’s too bad. Because I was looking forward to—”

“Oh crap!” Deeks hissed, looking slightly beyond Kensi.

“What?” She started to scan the area for signs of potential danger, but Deeks took her arm, casually pulling her in the opposite direction.

“I just saw someone I know.”

“Again?” Kensi said and he glared at her briefly.

“I’ve been around a lot, it’s bound to happen sometimes,” he answered under his breath.

“So, is it a former girlfriend or convicted felon this time?” Kensi asked. They came to a small sitting area and Deeks led them to the farthest corner, letting out a breath of relief.

“No, it’s a former classmate. I haven’t seen him in twelve years, so maybe he wouldn’t recognize me,” he explained, then inclined his head. “Of course, we were up for the same scholarship two years in a row and he kind of hated me.”

“Fantastic.” Sighing, Kensi put her hand on his arm. “Let’s just hide out for as long as we can, and we might be able to salvage the meeting. I mean, how long can he stick around?”

“Oh, I wish you hadn’t said that.”

“Marty Deeks?”

Kensi turned around as a dark-haired man around their age in an immaculately tailored suit approached them. Deeks pasted on a smile, feigning surprise.

“Gary?”

“I thought I saw you running away earlier,” Gary said, eyeing Kensi with a lascivious grin. “Let me guess, this is your little side piece. She’s cute.” With a nasty little laugh, Gary patted Deeks on the shoulder.

Deeks’ arm tensed on Kensi’s back, and she gently squeezed his arm, holding back her own distaste.

“Actually, this is my associate, Miss Boyle,” Deeks replied, clearing his throat. “And I’m afraid we have a meeting.”

“Oh, and you can’t spare a few minutes for your old friend?” Winking at Kensi, Gary nodded to Deeks. “Is he still a tight ass?”

“He’s a wonderful colleague,” Kensi said tightly, her smile polite. Apparently that wasn’t the response Gary wanted because he made a disgruntled sound, tucking his hands in his pockets.

“Well, when we were in college, this guy acted like he was the morality police. Drove everyone crazy with his debates, but I guess that’s why he was the teacher’s pet,” Gary said, not fully concealing his lingering grudge. “Last I heard, you were working for a DA, which I have to say, surprised me a little for the Great Marty Deeks.”

Kensi winced at Gary’s volume, thankful no one else was around at the moment. They needed to end this quickly before he blew their cover.

“We really do need to go,” she interrupted.

“What’s your hurry? We’ve barely even caught up.” Holding up both hands, Gary moved in front of them, effectively blocking their path.

“How about we go out for drinks sometime?” Deeks offered, getting out his phone. “We can talk without any interruptions and I won’t miss my meeting. My treat,” he added, when Gary looked reluctant.

“Alright. What’s your number?”

Deeks rattled off a phone number that definitely wasn’t his, waiting for Gary to enter it into his cell. “I’m going to hold you to this, Marty,” Gary told him with an annoying little wave of his phone, almost like a scolding.

“And you can come too,” he added with a wink in Kensi’s direction.

Finally, he left, and Deeks expelled a long sigh. “Damn, I hate that. He did not improve with time.”

“Well, you got rid of him in the end. That was pretty quick thinking, but whose number did you give him?”

“The one to the Chinese restaurant by the gym,” Deeks said proudly.

“It’s things like this that make me love you,” she said, looping her arm through his.

[pinkiedevv]

Payback Ch. 2

Previous: Ch. 1

Next: Ch. 3

The adventures of a tiny Steve Harrington being met with a now giant-looking Eddie Munson continue~

--------

Alright. Eddie… may not be taking this as well as he should be. Or not how he should, period, maybe?

Eddie had long since come to terms that he was not exactly the most stable or reasonable of persons at the best of times, and now, faced with an impossible situation that he was still about 82.3% sure was some sort of fucked up hallucination, he couldn’t say that he was anywhere close to being at his ‘best.’

Coupled with the fact that he failed math last year, well. 

He let out a bleat of only slightly hysterical laughter at the thought, jerking the wheel to turn the corner and into the trailer park he called home.

Yeah. Definitely not at his best.

His eyes briefly skittered away from the road and to his lunchbox that was secured in the passenger seat, belt strapped across it in some haphazard attempt at not letting it get flung all around the van like it usually was with Eddie’s impeccable driving skills. 

Sure, he might’ve made up the entire tiny person that looked exactly like the bane of three, maybe three and a half years of his high school existence, but if he was gonna validate their existence by stuffing them in a weed-filled metal box, he might as well make sure they didn’t get tossed around like a damn salad.

So here he was, pulling up into his driveway and eyeing his lunchbox with more suspicion than any cop in town ever had.

“Here goes,” he muttered to himself, warily reaching out and hastily jabbing the button to undo the box’s seatbelt - as if he expected something to jump out at him. 

Yeah. Nothing did. Pretty anticlimactic and all that, sure, but Eddie let himself breathe out a little sigh of relief, double checking the clasps of his lunchbox were secured before lifting the thing up as steadily as he could and kicking his van door open to hop out.

Doll-Steve hadn’t made a peep since he’d seen Eddie, frozen nearly the whole time except when Eddie tried to put him in the lunchbox, a strangled sound coming out of the smaller as he’d attempted to resist in the moment before he was dropped down on a rather substantially sized bag of the good green.

Eddie shook his head, clearing away the recollection as he dug into his pocket for his keys, fishing them out and unlocking the door to his and Wayne’s trailer in a practiced movement. His uncle wasn’t home - wouldn’t be for a couple days, at least, since work had taken him out of town - so Eddie wouldn’t have to worry about someone spotting him acting like a complete schitzo once he was inside.

“Home sweet home,” Eddie sang, giving a wince disguised as a smile. What the hell was he gonna do now?

-

It reeked in here. 

Weed smelled like skunk on a good day, and, as Steve had very, very clearly prefaced, today was not a good day. Today was, in fact, wrapping up to be a pretty goddamned bad day, if Steve did say so himself, especially considering he was trapped in a metal box full of marijuana after being put there by none other than Eddie ‘the Freak’ Munson. 

Oh, Steve didn’t have anything particularly against Munson, despite the name; he’d like to say he’s a changed man from his high school days. Even then, he might’ve knocked shoulders or verbally shot down some people a few pegs, but he’d never really been one to really get into the whole nasty of the bullying shtick. Not that that meant all that much when he’d stood by and let it happen on more than just the occasional occurrence, but… well. At least he was mostly just guilty by association. 

All of this to say, he’d never particularly targeted Munson. The guy’d just been that one overly out-there misfit with his Dorks and Dweebs club. That was it. Yes, yes, Dustin, Steve knew that wasn’t what it was called, but it’d be a cold day in hell before Steve truly let the last dregs of his high school personality fall far enough down that he’d actually say the nerd game right.

Besides that, all he really knew about Munson was that he was pretty much the local drug dealer, not that Steve’d ever bought anything directly himself. There were more than a few rumors about Munson because of that on top of his Hell-something club, which led to him being less targeted than most of the misfits. 

But that was besides the point.

The point was, Steve didn’t have any strong feelings towards Munson, but that didn’t mean the same could be said back to him. And that was without the baseline reaction the guy might have at catching someone who was probably the size of their palm.

Steve swallowed heavily.

Yeah. He hoped this situation would turn out for the better, but that hope was pretty much smoke from a candle already.

Steve flinched as metal reverberated against metal, the clasps keeping his current prison flicking up, and he had barely a second to shove himself into a cold corner before searing light was filtering in from the newly opened lid.

--------

;3333 hehehehehehe and so it continues~~~

Highkey poor Steve tho XD

Next: Ch. 3

[jaesqueso]

Love me again

pairing: ex-boyfriend!lucas x female!reader

summary: when you encounter your ex-boyfriend after four years after your break up and he asks for another chance

for the Red collab by @jeonronwoo​

word count: 3,401

warnings: strong language, mentions of alcohol, domestic violence and mental illnesses, exes to lovers!au

a/n: I don’t how people are still feeling about Lucas but I already had this on the plans so I wanted to finish it and what a better time to post than when he makes a comeback to social media? hope SM gives us closure on the whole situation but in the mean time enjoy this poorly written story 😅 hope ya’ll enjoy it! ❤

☽ ・・・・・ ☾

“Thank you very much, you can wait at the end of the counter.” You smile at the costumer as you finish writing his name on the cup for his drink.

Getting ready on the system, you go ahead and great the next client.

“Welcome to ‘The Vision’, what can I get you today?”

“A venti iced coffee.” You stop recognising a voice you thought you’d never hear again. “And another chance?”

“L-Lucas?” Finally looking up, you freeze at a face you thought you’d never see again.

-

You met him in highschool. Typical bad boy, often spotted skipping class to go smoke behind the gym, his rudeness to colleagues and teachers constantly getting him detention but somehow managed to have good enough grades to get him through. Needless to say his popularity was not that great and he was definitely someone you wouldn’t like to be associated with. That was until you got pared with him for a school project.

You were the typical good girl. Not the best of your class but your grades were good. Never skipped or got detention, but you were classified as borderline nerdy so your popularity wasn’t through the roof. Honestly you didn’t care, you were just focused on finishing highschool and getting the hell out of this boring town. But for that you needed to keep your good grades and that was being threatened by getting pared with him.

At first you thought maybe you could do the whole project alone, that way you’d ensure you got a good grade and wouldn’t have to deal with him, but your conscience convinced you to give him a chance. That was error number one.

Almost an hour late, but Lucas eventually showed up at the library. It took some time to get him to do something but right before the deadline you two managed to get the project finished and delivered on time and you were actually surprised the under his careless atitude he actually did a good job that resulted in one of the best works on your class. After that you thought you could finally breathe and not have to hang out with him anymore but he had different plans. He sat next to you in class, even if it wasn’t in his typical seat in the back of the classroom, and you two started casually talking. As you got to know him better you realised that under that bad boy mask there was actually a nice guy so you let him in your life. That was error number two.

With time you grew closer and closer. The way he looked at you, talked with you, was different than with other people and you started feeling things. It all happened so naturally that when he leaned forward you gladly welcomed his lips on yours. That was error number three.

As the relationship grew, he opened up to you. You sat silently as he told you how his dad had problems with alcohol and used to hit his mom almost everyday, right in front of him, until he fled the scene. At the time Lucas was relieved but his mom just went into dark road into depression leaving him, an only child, to figure things out on his own. At that moment you understood the rebellion inside of him, it was not his fault. Foolishly in love you decided to help him, a typical case of ‘I can change him’ syndrome. That was error number four.

It took a while but you convinced him to let you help him study, so he can improve his grades and apply to college. It was hard work but your mission was successful and you even changed your plans to go to uni closer to him. That was error number five.

Moving into an apartment together, your relationship was better than ever and you couldn’t be happier. Lucas barely had any money so the house expenses pretty much fell over your parents pockets. Obviously they were not very happy with that but you defended him at all costs telling them how much he has changed. That was error number six.

A few months in something started to feel off. And then you found out he was failing most of his classes. You confronted him about it and, even though he seemed sorry about it, he told you he was quitting college. You argued about all the hard work you two had done to get him there but in the end you couldn’t force him to keep going. The following month he just either stayed in the house all day or just went out and spent money. Your parents money. Once they knew about this, they threatened to cut you off so you had a serious talk with Lucas that agreed to find himself a job and get some income. You trusted him and that was error number seven.

As you busted your ass with school and even getting a part-time job at a local cafe, you trusted he was doing what he promised, but it was a mess. He found a job at a bar but was fired about a week after, you don’t really understand why. He told you he was looking again but soon he started to come home drunk. The first time you pretended not to notice, after the second time you started to make up reasons in your head to excuse his behaviour, but then it started to get more frequent and it was starting to get on your nerves. A few weeks later, you were at home trying to relax after a dreadful day and there he came crumbling. But this time you had enough.

“Lucas?” You called out from the living room.

“Who else would it fucking be?” He mumbled, struggling to take off his jacket.

“Great…” Rolling your eyes, you leaned back on the couch.

“What now?” Finally he was able to take the jacket off and roughly throw it on the ground.

“It’s just great to see my boyfriend drunk in the middle of the day again.” You shook your head in disbelief of the words coming out of your mouth.

“Mind your fucking business.” His body tumbled to the other end of the couch.

“Well I am, when you’re out there spending my money on booze!” You got up, massaging your temples as you looked away from him.

“Oh, shut the fuck up.” He groaned, like he was doing nothing wrong.

“No, you shut the fuck up, Lucas! I’m tired of the same thing every day!” You turned back around almost screaming in rage.

“Whatever…” He huffed.

“Not whatever!” You finally let go.“I’m tired of busting my ass in school and work for you to just go ahead and have fun at my expense! You said you’re different but you’re just like your father-”

“What the fuck did you just say?” He suddenly got up preventing you for saying anything further.

“I-I’m sorry,” you quickly apologised as you shouldn’t have brought that up, “I didn’t mean to say that-”

“But you said it!” He rushed to you pushing you against the wall.”I’m not like that fucking coward you hear me?”

Your eyes widened as you noticed his hand pushed all the way back, tight in a fist and about to come down on you, before he stopped.

“Shit…” His flaming eyes came back to reality when he noticed what he was about to do.

“Were you going to hit me?” Your voice sounded stern but your whole body was shaking on the inside.

“Babe, I’m sorry-” Dropping his hands on his side, he gulped.

“Go ahead then. Hit me. Show me how different you are from your father by doing exactly what he did to your mom.” You challenged him.

“I…” He started to back away as he looked at his hands.

“I’m done Lucas.” You sighed. ”I tried to help you, but I can’t. I’m not strong enough for this. You need professional help.”

You went into your shared bedroom and grabbed a bag you had prepared because deep down you knew this day would come.

“I’m going to spend the night at Ahreum’s and when I come back I don’t want to see you or any of your shit here. It’s over.”

Lucas stood in the middle of the room, speechless as he watched you leave.

That was the last time you saw him. Until today.

The next day you came back and he was gone. Part of you felt sad he didn’t even try to fight for you, for what you two had built together. But another part of you was just knew that’s exactly what would happen and you felt relieved and free of the drama that came with Lucas.

-

“Hi.” His smile is soft and full of hope but leaves a mess inside your head.

“Kun, can you cover for me? I’m gonna take my break now.” You suddenly abandon your place behind the counter.

“S-sure.” Confused, your friend moves to the register as you disappear into the back. “You said venti iced coffee?”

“I’ll be right back.” Lucas flees out the front door leaving the other even more confused.

You open the backdoor that leads to an alley next to the coffee place you work in, panting as your heart is beating so fast you swear it will burst at anytime. You squat down, body shaking as a million thoughts go through your head. What is he doing here after all this time? How can he just walk up to you so casually after the way things went down? What does he expect to get out of this?

“Y/N…” You look up and there he is again, standing right in front of you.

Quickly you get back up and move towards the door to get back in, but he stops you.

“Wait! I just wanna talk!” He pleas and that makes your blood boil.

“What could you possibly have to say after all this time, Lucas?” The name that once gave you butterflies, rolls out of your tongue like razors cutting their way out. “You know what, I don’t even care, I don’t want to talk to you!”

“I know I have no right to do this but please just hear me out. You don’t have to say anything, just give me 2 minutes, please…” You can hear the desperation on his voice, even though he doesn’t raise his voice.

“Time’s counting.” Sighing you decide to let him speak.

“Ok ok, hm… I swear I had a speech prepared but it all vanished from my head now.” He scratches the back of his but then you give him a look that he knows he’d better not waste his time. “I know I screwed up. We had something great and I ruined it. You were so good to me and I just took you for granted so I ended up losing you.”

Taking a deep breath, you fight the tears that threaten to fall. He takes a step forward before continuing.

“Look, the day you sent me away finally opened my eyes. You’re the best thing that happened to me and I gave it all up. And for what? Nothing. So I left and I decided be a better person. For you. For us. I spent 2 years in a rehab center taking care of myself and 2 more getting myself together. I got a job, a small apartment and it really feels like I’m in the right path. I’m just missing one thing. You. Let me show I’ve changed. Please.”

“What makes you think there’s space in my life for you anymore?” You don’t know how you managed to get those words out of your mouth without cracking.

“I don’t know. I just…” He sighs. “I don’t want to believe our story is over. Just give me one more chance. If at any moment I even say the wrong thing just say it and I’ll disappear. For good this time. Please.”

“You don’t get to break my heart anymore, Lucas.” You gulp, trying to keep yourself together. “I promised myself I’d never let that happen again.”

“I won’t.” He looks straight into your eyes making you want to believe him so bad. “I promised myself I wouldn’t do that again.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this…” You mumble to yourself.

“What?”

“You have a week.” Turning around you reach for the door.

“Really?” Good thing you can’t see how his eyes sparkle with hope.

“Don’t make me regret this.” You turn around and glare at him. “I mean it.”

“I won’t, I promise!” You hear him cheer outside as you get back to work, pulling a silly giggle out of you.

All you did for the past 4 years was trying to forget him. And you thought you did, until he showed up in front of you and brought all those feelings back. Maybe a few years are not enough to get over the one you thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with and that makes you look forward to giving him another chance. But unfortunately you can’t just erase the bad times from your memory. You sent him away for a reason. He says he’s changed but you have your motives for doubting it.

The next day he takes you for a walk by the river. It starts off with awkward silence, none of you knowing how to talk to each other anymore. But as you take a seat in a bench facing the water you start to catch up. The way he talks is different but in a good way, like he’s not trying to put that bad boy facade anymore, he’s just the sweet guy you once knew. It really seems like he’s getting his life back together and you could almost see yourself fit in it.

The next date is a dinner downtown. Not a fancy restaurant, but he knows you’re not a fan of those anyways, just a cozy little place with great food. As you ordered you decided to test him and order yourself some wine. He didn’t seem affected by it, happily drinking his sparkling water as you eat and talk. Perhaps your tricky move triggered some instant karma because the wine glasses keep coming and in no time you’re seeing double. Lucas, takes you home, trying hard to follow your blurred instructions. He gets you inside, but just like a movie scene you trip and fall on your bed, pulling him on top of you. Your faces are inches apart and you can’t even think straight, but all you want is to feel those lips back on yours. However when you get closer he pulls away. The next moments fade from your memory as you pass out and when you wake up there’s a cute little note with water and a pill, just what you need for the pounding in your head.

Later that day he knocks on your door. Embarrassment takes over you but he doesn’t for one minute mention the previous night. He brings food, thinking you might not be in the mood to cook, and then he heads to the door but you ask him to stay. You two eat and then watch a movie, sneaking glances at each other not really caring about the plot.

The following date is a quick coffee at ‘The Vision’ as you have to work two shifts. You talk about college and how it’s been hard for you to get a job in your field after graduating, leading you to work here to pay the bills. Your heart skips a beat when he takes your hand over the table and tells you how he truly believes you’ll be able to achieve all your hopes and dreams. It seems like such a cliché thing to say but coming from him just hits differently. Luckily it’s time to get back to work because you don’t know how to deal with the desperate will to give it all up and get back with him.

With almost a week of dates with Lucas, you hate how easily you were brought right back into his spell. But at the same time it just felt so right. He really seems to have changed. During these days there were numerous occasions that, a few years ago, would’ve made him flip off just because. But now he seems more collected. Maybe things could really work out this time. Just maybe.

And there comes the end of the week. He picks you up late at night after your shift and takes you to a viewpoint facing the whole city. A beautiful scenario that looked quite familiar. Lucas pulls out some snacks and sodas before you sit and watch the lights below you.

“Cheeto sticks and Mango Monster?” You chuckle checking what he brought.

“It was a long shot but I hope you still like those.” He smiles.

“I can’t believe you remembered…” Shaking your head with a grin, you take a sip from your drink.

“How could I forget? Us driving around the empty streets late at night and ending up in places like this, talking about the future…” His voice trails off recalling all the broken promises made on those nights.

“Little did we know how things would turn out.” You sigh.

“There’s still time to turn things around.” Turning his gaze to you, Lucas examines your face trying to read it. “We can bring back those nights. And all the other moments we shared.”

“Even the ones you were out spending my money on booze and I had to carry you to bed because you were so wasted?” You scoff, closing your eyes.

“That’s not gonna happen again.” He promises.

“But how do I know, Lucas?” You finally turn to him. “You’ve made promises but that you didn’t keep! You said you’d get a job and instead you went out and got drunk everyday. You said you’d never hurt me but somehow I was still left heartbroken. You said you’d be by my side and then you left.”

“You were the one who told me to go!” He tries to fight back. “I didn’t want to but I knew it was the best for us! I needed to get better to keep all those promises. I don’t think you understand how hard it was for me to be away from you all this time.”

“If it was that hard to be apart what took you so long to reach out?” You get up and take some steps forward. “Didn’t you get out of rehab two years ago?”

“Because I needed to make sure I was good enough to come back!” Getting up too, he stands right behind you. “I needed to make sure I wouldn’t make the same mistakes again. I wanted to get a job and make sure I was done drowning my sorrow with alcohol. I’ve been doing therapy, going deep into my problems, and it has really been helping me. But something’s missing. You’re missing.”

With the ends of your sweater, you wipe the tears off your cheeks, thinking about how hard it was for you too and how you kept waiting for him to reach out, even if you wouldn’t admit it.

“And I was scared.” He takes a deep breath. “What if I came back and you had moved on with someone else? Someone who treats you better. Someone who gives you all their time and support. Someone who loves you like I do. And worst, someone who you’d love more than you ever did me.”

Slowly you turn around and watch the moonlight shine on his wet cheeks, shoulders shaking and chest heaving.

“I know I have no right barging back into your life like this, but I had to try, one last time.” He shrugs, smiling through the tears. “I know I hurt you but I just wanted you to love me again.”

“How could I love you again, if I never stopped?” You catch a glimpse of his eyes widening as you run into his arms, connecting your lips after what seemed like an eternity.

You’ve made a lot of errors when it comes to Lucas, but for the first time if feels like you’re doing the right thing.

☽ ・・・・・ ☾

a/n 2: not gonna tag anyone on this one as I don’t know how you feel about Lucas and also no networks, but I promise more works are coming!

[irl-northstar]

The Strange Case of Valentine Vuong

It went without saying that Valentine wasn’t normal. Wade already knew that. It was what he liked so much about them! That and the needles for fingers. And their hair. And the way they stole his gun that one time. Okay, so there were a lot of things to like about Valentine. But the important one for this fic is that Valentine wasn’t normal.

After his debrief with the Atelier, he'd immediately gone home and wasted a huge chunk of his 48-hours stalking (researching!) Valentine. Which wasn’t that weird. To be fair, a huge part of Wade’s job was stalking (researching) people, and they’d literally handed him a file full of weirdly personal information about Doc Ock, so they probably wouldn’t even be mad if they found out.

Anyways, all that to say that Wade used all of his scummy, mercenary secrets to find out everything he could about his future spouse. It usually took him about 2 hours to gather all the relevant information he needed about his targets. He spent 16 hours gathering information on Valentine. Which all amounted to fuck-all because he found nothing. 

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He’d found out quite a lot about a person named ‘Valentine Vuong.’ The issue is he found too much information. One source said Valentine had graduated from their local community college with an associate’s degree. Another said they hadn’t even finished high school. Another said Valentine had been born on Krakoa (despite Valentine being older than the modern nation of Krakoa by at least two decades). A different source said they’d never even been there (and by ‘source,’ Wade meant that he bothered Sage until she told him what she knew about Valentine). One of his most trusted sources (i.e., Weasel) had done some digging to try and figure out some basic information: Valentine’s age, height, interests, allergies, favorite member of the Golden Girls, and star sign. Y’know, all the essential stuff you’d need to know before entering a committed relationship with someone. Bafflingly, Weasel, the most effective slimeball Wade knew, hadn’t even been able to confirm that Valentine existed at all. 

All of that to say, Wade was now more attracted to them than ever before.

He’d always liked a challenge, and Valentine was nothing but. And sure, there was an 86.2% chance that they were gonna double-cross him and feed him to the proverbial wolves. But frankly, those were better odds than Wade usually got with his canon love interests. Man, the writers really hated seeing him happy, didn’t they? Hopefully Alyssa was different. Sigh. Besides, the editors had finally given him the green light for a non-female love interest, and he was not going to blow it.

As turned on as Wade was by his crush/possible addition to his rogue’s gallery, he figured he should sort this out before anything actually happened between him and Valentine.

Unfortunately, he then got kidnapped by the Harrower (or just ‘Harrower’?), and if you’re reading this, you know the rest. Anyways, by the time Val invited him on a zoo date, he was too over the moon to really give a fuck about whether or not they were secretly plotting against him. He was too busy trying not to act like an overexcited schoolgirl because Val called him ‘cute.’ And, honestly, he didn’t think someone who was just with him for information or whatever could stomach flirting with him or, G-d forbid, kissing him. But Valentine had seemed not just amicable but enthusiastic at the idea. So maybe they actually just liked him. That idea was almost scarier than them just being with him to act as a honey pot.

And then they’d poisoned (or threatened to poison, same diff) Yuriko for him, picked a fight with Marvel’s most hentai-y villain, and planted one on him right then and there! In front of other people, no less! And well, if that wasn’t enough to soak his panties, he didn’t know what was.

By the time they made it back to Wade’s apartment at the end of Issue #5, Wade figured the whole thing could wait. After all, what was he expecting? Did he really think dating a member of the Atelier would be normal? Did he think Val was gonna be completely transparent with him after knowing each other for less than a week? No, he wasn’t going to ruin things by opening his big stupid mouth.

Maybe if he’d known about the letter Valentine had sent to Doc Ock, he’d feel differently, but the writers only felt like letting him break the 4th wall when it was plot-convenient, so he didn’t know about the letter yet.

Either way, Valentine was leaning against his chest, his giant symbiote dog taking up ¼ of the living room, and he was happy. So he’d just let it go for now. He had a whole ‘nother month until the next issue came out, anyways.

/////

Originally posted on ao3 @ goth-iterations

:)

[empressofthesunwriter]

To Belong

She was the weird foreign girl, he was the most useless Viking in the history of Berk. Together they were just Leandra and Hiccup. Two best friends who searched for their place in the world. Would their search for it unite or separate them?

Chapter 2

The good thing about having a pregnant stepmother?

The baby makes her tired, so she doesn’t yell at you that much because you nearly lost your life.

The bad thing is that she still wants to forbid you to see your best friend.

Thank the Lord, that her papi understands how important her bond with Hiccup is.

Without him, she would be all alone on the island. The other Viking teens, even if they are a year younger than her, don’t associate with her either.

Oh, they let her heal them, but like with the adults, she was the weird foreigner.

Nothing more.

It had hurt, but one day Leandra decide that if people didn’t like her for her then they weren’t worth her time.

It was wasted energy and with it, she could do more.

Like spending her time with Hiccup who always has liked her.

Anyways, she could still be friends with Hiccup but her parents grounded her. She should stay for the next few days in her room, only getting out for food and when she needed to do her healer job with Gothi.

Nonetheless, to say the second her room door was closed, Leandra strapped her dagger, last year’s Snoggletog/Christmas gift from Hiccup, on her brown belt and made her way over to her window.

With years of practice breaking out, she opened it without a sound and reached for the tree that grow beside it. She gripped the tree branch and hosted herself up to it. Then she put a piece of wood on the window frame so it was closed and wouldn’t make sounds, but she could open it without a problem getting back to her room.

Mindful of her blue dress with her black kirtle she climbed down the tree.

When she was on the ground she made haste to Raven Point.

Knowing Hiccup so good as she did, he was surely already out there searching for the fallen Night Fury.

She wouldn’t leave him alone on his quest. That’s why she took her dagger with her.

If…If they needed to end things.

Leandra hoped not, she didn’t think she had the stomach for it to actually kill something, but if it was Hiccup and her life against the dragon…then she would choose them.

Still, it didn’t make her feel good about herself. Probably because she wasn’t a Viking and doesn’t have killing dragons in her blood.

Her father was actually a merchant before they landed themselves on Berk.

Leandra hears his nasal voice before she sees him: “Ugh, the gods hate me. Some people lose their knife or their mug. No, not me. I manage to lose an entire dragon.”

“Then maybe you could try my god?”, she calls for him.

He turns around and blinks surprised at her.

“Lee, they let you out? No wait for a second, you broke out, right.”, he corrects himself.

“Of course.”, she replies nodding. “I wouldn’t leave you alone with the dragon. Brought my dagger with me too.”

She points at it, while Hiccup grins.

“You are the best friend someone can ask for.”

“Aww shush, best friend till our death even beyond, right partner?”

A crooked smile forms on his lips. “Could be difficult since we have two very different versions of the afterlife.”

“We will find a way, we always do!”

“Yeah if we only could find this dragon.”

Frustrated Hiccup whacks a low-hanging branch. It snaps back at him, hitting him in the face.

“Damn Hic!”, shouts Leandra worried, and checks his eye. “All good?”

“I can still see if you were worried about that.”, he answers her drily.

“Well, you didn’t poke your eye out so I count this as a win.”

That’s when both teenagers see a snapped tree trunk. Their eyes, one pair green, one brown, follow it to a long trench of upturned earth.

“Do you think…”

“…That the Night Fury is this way, yes I do, Lee.”

Together the two teenagers follow it. Hiccup has to help Leandra since in her dress it is difficult to walk on the upturnend earth. This are the moments in life where the young girl thinks it must be nice to be a Viking girl and be allowed to wear Tunics with pants under it or skirts with pants.

She and Hiccup nearly faceplanted a few times.

They see at the same time the downed dragon and formally fall down on the forest ground to hide from it.

“Do you think it is death?”, Leandra whispers to Hiccup.

This would make things easier for them.

The brunette boy checks at the dragon again.

“Lee, I will go near it, you stay here.”, he suggests to her.

“The moment something is happening, I’m coming.”

“Thanks for always having my back.”

The black-haired girl nods and pats his back.

“I got you, bro!”

Careful Hiccup walks over the downed, black dragon, its body and tail tangled in a bola. It really appears dead.

Hiccup approaches, beaming.

“Oh wow. I did it. I did it. This fixes everything. Yes!”, he celebrates. He strikes a victory pose, planting his foot on the fallen Night Fury. “I have brought down this mighty beast!”

Suddenly it shifts!

The boy springs back, terrified.

“Hic!”, hisses Leandra from her hiding place, ready to jump out.

“I-It’s o-okay! Stay!”, he stutters taking out a tiny dagger. The girl deadpans at the thing, the one he made for her is bigger than this little something. “Stay where you are.”

“I hope you know what you do!”

Yeah, Hiccup hopes it too.

He creeps along the length of the weak, wounded dragon, dagger poised to strike. As he reaches the head, Hiccup finds the Night Fury staring coldly at him. He tries to look away, but he's drawn back to its unnerving, unflinching stare.

With the dragon safety tangled in the ropes, Hiccup jabs with his dagger, puffing himself up with false bravado.

“I'm going to kill you, Dragon. I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father. I'm a Viking. I am a VIKING!”, he yells the last part.

Meanwhile, Leandra got her own dagger out and is ready to jump on Hiccup’s side any moment.

This is so nerve-wracking!

The brunette raises the dagger, determined to prove his Viking-ness.

The dragon's labored breathing breaks Hiccup's clenched concentration.

He opens an eye, uncertainty leaking through.

The dragon holds the stare.

Something profound is exchanged.

Finally, the Night Fury closes its eye and lowers its head resigned to its fate.

Leandra swerves she is going to have a heart attack. What is going on? Why won’t Hiccup finish the dragon off?

She answers her own question, at the same time Hiccup lowers the dagger.

Her best friend is a lot of things.

Loyal.

Kind.

Brilliant.

Sarcastic.

But he is not a killer.

Even if it’s a dragon…in the end it’s a living creature and Hiccup hates to hurt other beings.

“Hiccup…”, she whispers quietly.

He stands up, ashamed of himself, and turns away from the dragon.

“I did this…”

His eyes find the eyes of his best friend. He only sees understanding in the warm brown orbs. Leandra will not think less of him, because he couldn’t do it.

Actually, she seems relieved that he didn’t do it. At least he will always have her on his side.

He turns to leave.

Pauses.

And glances back at the dragon, chest heaving.

“Lee.”, he calls out to her. “I’m about to do to something crazy, stay where you are, okay? I don’t want that you get hurt.”

“What are you about to do-HICCUP?!”, the last part she shrieks as she sees how Hiccup starts to cut the robes that hold the dragon.

Oh no, she will not leave him alone.

She leaves her hidey spot and joins him in cutting the robes with her own dagger.

“I told you to stay out of this!”, Hiccup reprimands her.

“Yeah, and I can’t let you do it alone. We both kinda did this to the dragon!”

As the last rope falls free, the Night Fury suddenly pounces!

In a blur, the dragon is upon them, pinning Hiccup and Leandra down, and grazing their necks.

It’s looking like it's about to kill them.

Hiccup is paralyzed. Leandra can’t even think.

The dragon's breath ruffles their hair.

The boy opens his eyes to find the Night Fury's wolf-like stare boring into him.

The exchange is intense and profound.

The dragon draws a deep breath, as though it's about to torch the two teenagers, then lets out an ear-piercing scream instead.

It turns and takes flight, flapping violently through the canopy of trees. It bashes against a nearby mountainside, recovers, and drops out of view some distance away.

“Dios mio!”, huffs Leandra shocked.

They are alive!

Both carefully stand-up and help each other. Holding each other hands tight the two teenagers want to leave, and that’s when Hiccup faints and nearly drags Leandra with him to the ground.

It is also when Leandra can’t hold her tears anymore and she cries beside her fainted friend.

“It’s loco….LOCO!”, the girl cries, still holding the hand of her best friend.

They should be dead, they aren’t dead.

What.

What.

WHAT?!

Leandra doesn’t know for sure how long Hiccup was out, but she checked him carefully after he finally woke up.

Not that he hit his head.

In silence, the two best friends return to their homes.

About what could they talk? How they freed a dragon and it showed mercy on them?

It was unheard of.

It was mindblowing!

Anybody for themselves needed time to work through it.

So they said goodbye to each other with a wave and enter their respective homes.

As she lies in her bed, her parents non then wiser about her little breakout, she can’t help herself putting her hand on her still beating heart.

It is the only proof that she really is alive.

She falls asleep, the green eyes of the Night Furry haunting her.

The next day Leandra is collecting herbs for Gothi, when she sees her best friend with an axe on his way to the Kill Ring.

That…is strange.

“Hiccup!”, she calls out to him. “Yo, Hic, you got a minute?”

He looks relieved to see her and stops by her side.

“Hey, Lee, getting herbs for Gothi like every morning.”

“Yeah, that’s normal for me. What isn’t normal on this morning is you with this axe.”, she remarks drily. “And on his way to the Kill Ring.”

Hiccup makes a face, while she crosses her arms.

“My dad put me into Dragon Training.”, he answers her.

Leandra’s chin meets the floor.

“He finally let you in? Didn’t you always say he was against it?”

“Change his mind, only the gods know why.”

Warily she looks around. None of their neighbors seem to give them any attention.

“Hic, you aren’t a dragon killer.”, she whispers to him. “We both actually prove this yesterday, how the heck do you want to survive Dragon Trainer?!”

The poor boy signs loudly.

“I tried to tell my dad that I didn’t want to join, but you know him. He never listens to me-“

“-And when he does, it's always with this disappointed scowl. Like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich.”, adds Leandra, having heard this often enough from him. She gives him a sympathetic look. “I know better than to ask, sorry. Just…yesterday was crazy.”

“Who are you telling this.”

Both best friends smile wobbly at each other.

“I better go.”

“I better get these herbs to Gothi.”

“See you, Lee, probably.”

“Till later, Hic, surely.”

The rest of the morning is normal for Leandra. She gets these herbs to Gothi and both make ointments. Then the old wise Viking woman teaches her some new healing techniques, till it’s time for the ointment deliveries.

Practically Leandra wastes her time till lunch by running around the village to go from door to door to give her neighbors some new ointment or even tea which are good for the health.

She is like Berk’s own Red Redding Hood, just without the hood, the wolf, and the grandma.

When it’s finally time can go to the Great Hall for lunch, she sees how Hiccup sneaks into the forest.

For a second she really had to battle with herself since food made her happy and she was hungry like a wolf, but she couldn’t leave Hiccup alone.

Only god knows what crazy thing he is doing again, so she better follow him.

Leandra reaches him as he studies the remnants of the discarded bola. You know the one who hold the Night Furry the other day and they both cut through.

“So...why didn't you?”, mutters her best friend to himself.

“Who, so why didn’t you?”, she repeats.

Not expecting another person Hiccup shrieks like a little girl and turns to her.

“Lee! You scared me!”

“I can see that. So what has your pantys all in a twist?”

He motions for her to follow him. They take the path the Night Furry took when it flew off.

While walking he tells her about what happened at Dragon Training and Gobber’s words who didn’t leave him alone.

A dragon always goes for the kill.

But the Night Furry didn’t kill either of them.

So what was up with that?

That’s why Hiccup is searching for it. Maybe if he sees it again, he can understand it.

“That’s crazy.”, deadpans Leandra. “And I’m also crazy because I actually agree with you and follow you.”

“Maybe it’s an outcast thing.”, Hiccup tries to joke.

“That we lost our marbles, sure, Hic, why not?”

They drop into a rocky crevice and follow it to a cove complete with a pristine spring pool. Both scan the high stone walls then Hiccup notices a single black scale on the ground. He crouches and picks it up, studying it.

“Lee, look.”

The girl puts her hands on her knees and leans forward to look at the scale.

“Well, it was definitely here.”

“I don’t see it.”, responds Hiccup shaking his head. “Well, this was stupid.”

They can’t even look that fast as suddenly, the Night Fury blasts past them. Both teenager recoil and grip the arms of the other.

“Woah!”, can’t Leandra helps it to shout.

The Night Furry struggles to climb the walls. It flaps violently, then peels away to a rough landing. The dragon is clearly trapped.

Leandra and Hiccup let go of each other and watch fascinated by how the dragon tries to leave the cove.

It fails miserably each time.

That’s when Hiccup pulls a leather-bound book from his fur vest and flips past drawings of weapons to a blank page. He sketches the dragon quickly, desperate to record the image.

“Why don't you just...fly away?”, wonders Hiccup.

Leandra pinches her eyes. She asks herself the same. It is then that she notes the problem.

“His tailfin, Hiccup.”, she reveals to her best friend, gripping his shoulder and shaking him a bit. “He misses a part of it!”

Hiccup corrects fast his drawing.

“Is…is this our fault?”, the girl asks feeling bad.

Not only feeling bad, she feels guilty. She has seen how much the dragon is struggling and can’t even catch himself some fish to eat.

They freed it, but it seems doomed anyway.

Before Hiccup can answer her he accidentally drops the charcoal stick. It rolls off of the rock outcropping that hides him from view and bounces into the cove.

The Night Fury raises his head, spotting Hiccup and Leandra.

The dragon and the boy such exchange a profound, unflinching stare that Leandra feels like intruder.

Like she wasn’t meant to be part of this.

It a strange feeling.

Leandra sits at her windowsill looking out the storm which is brewing on Berk.

Rather would she be in the Great Hall with Hiccup eating, but this goes against her grounding. She is only allowed to lunch there since after it she still helps Gothi out.

Oh yeah, Gothi.

Whining she rubs the bump on the back of her head courtesy of Gothi’s Stick. She earned this because she came back to the old Viking woman way past lunchtime.

Finding and watching the Night Furry and getting back to the village had taken some time.

The black-haired girl is just glad that Gothi scolded her for being late, gave her the bump, and wouldn’t say anything to her parents.

The village elder wasn’t someone who snitched. She rather resolved problems alone.

Whatever, she was back home and wished rather be on the side of her best friend.

They had talked a bit before they left to do their daily chores.

Sadly it was nothing really enlightenment.

They knew nothing about Night Furries.

So there was not much to discuss.

Only Hiccup promised he would find a way to search for some more information.

What they would do with it?

No idea…maybe just understand the dragon better?

Leandra signed and stand up.

Nervous she walked around her room.

It didn’t leave her mind that the dragon was hurt because of them.

She may only have become a healer to not die of boredom on Berk, but after a good four years with Gothi she had healer instincts.

And that instincts told her to help to heal the clear wound the dragon had on his missing tailfin.

“I hope I won’t regret it.”. she mumbles to herself.

The girl sits down on her desk and grips her first book with healing plants in it.

If she wanted to heal the dragon, then she needed the right ointment, so better check all her healing books to find the right plants.

It was going to be a long night.

Hello to all my readers. ^^

I hope you are enjoying till now Leandra’s story.

Now I have a question for you since I need your help.

I can’t decide what dragon Leandra should get.

I narrowed it down to two awesome ones, but I can’t decide.

So you guys are going to vote.

I’m putting on fanfiction net and Quotev a voting poll with options.

So please go to one of the sites and vote.

I will give you a week.

Also 11.02.2023 is the last day you can vote, alright?

Thanks already for your help!

Have a nice day/night!

Next

[lilislegacy]

aww, i’m getting war flashbacks 🥰

this is both my most successful post on tumblr and my least favorite post of all time. simply because of how much pure hatred i got for it. i received sooo many asks and messages insulting me and telling me to get off the app. someone literally sent me an ask and told me to shoot myself. (that was fun!) it was before i was an experienced poster, and therefore didn’t know how much i need to justify some statements

people were mad about two things:

1) that i implied that percy would drink. which i understand, because of gabe. and i can admit that yes, he probably does have an aversion to the smell of beer and might not drink it. but also i think it’s ignorant to think we can predict percy’s behavior—literally one of his defining traits is being unpredictable. and oftentimes, the assumption relies on him associating drinking with bad people, but sally drinks wine on a daily basis and he’s completely good with it, so that idea doesn’t really hold up. anyway, yeah, maybe percy wouldn’t drink. i can totally see that. but also percy deserves to be a normal college kid and not let his past trauma define his potential experiences. if he was with annabeth and his friends, i can totally see him having a drink or two and letting loose. i just want him to be allowed to be a normal irresponsible teenager/young adult for once. sue me 😭

2) i referred to him as a frat boy. and wow did that get taken out of context. which is definitely my fault, for not clarifying. i didn’t mean he’s actually a frat boy, because obviously new rome isn’t gonna have greek life lol. i also wasn’t implying that he’s stupid or superficial or an asshole. i just said that because in heroes of olympus, when percy is around jason, there’s a lot of sizing each other up, joking around, and heavy bromance going on. like i can’t even count how often percy says “bro” and “dude.” which is very frat boy. and i think if percy was in a college setting, not stressed or in near-death situations all the time, and around more people like jason, there’s a good chance he would be a more fun and easy going person than what we often see. when percy is actually comfortable in his environment (which isn’t often) he seems to be more extroverted. but idk maybe he would be shy? who knows. it was just a little thought

so anyway, definitely not my best-phrased post. i would do it differently, now. but its fun remembering how much pure anxiety this post filled me with as angry people rained down hell on me 😂

imagine being someone at new rome university and not knowing percy is the same guy as “percy jackson, son of poseidon, two-time hero of olympus, former praetor” because the thought doesn’t even cross your mind. like… he’s percy. he’s a total frat boy. on a normal night, he walks into a party, refers to everyone as bro or dude, socializes with every living (and not-living) person in the room, makes at least 50 sarcastic comments, plays 12 rounds of beer pong, drinks way too much, and then skates around campus on his skateboard yelling “I LOVE NEW YORK” (which makes no sense, because they’re in california) until someone calls his girlfriend to come get him.

and then one day there’s an attack, and frat boy percy is all of a sudden a fighting machine. he’s yelling battle cries alongside the praetors frank zhang and hazel levesque as they lead everyone into battle. (why is he with the praetors? and why…. why in the world do the praetors seem to be following his lead?) his sword slashes through armies of monsters faster than you’ve ever seen. he’s controlling the entire river surrounding the camp, creating huge waves as tall as skyscrapers that crash down all around him, wiping out monsters and causing mass destruction to his enemies’ ranks. the sky is suddenly dark above you, ice-cold water droplets are slashing through the air, and the wind is blowing so aggressively that it’s making it hard to stand up steadily. because he’s somehow created a hurricane.

and he looks terrifying. you can feel the power radiating off of him. he’s like a god. or maybe a monster. it’s hard to tell. you’re a little scared of him, to be honest. but also in total awe, because it’s extraordinary. he’s extraordinary.

frat boy percy is not who you thought he was.

[poemgirl22]

Dad?

Maybe the pain of losing you has turned me into an angry person

But at 13 you don’t know what else to do to show the world how much you’re hurting

And I wish I could say I’m better off in every way

But I think about the what ifs each and every day

Maybe I have some inner turmoil I have to work through

But let’s not pretend that the roots don’t stem from you

Leaving a child to question the meaning of their existence

Is no way for them to spend their childhood. I know you get it

Because your dad did the same thing to you.

This family tree is full of moldy rotten fruit

But the questions only lead to more questions, never answers

And I’m sure if I ever got them now it wouldn’t really matter.

I’ve spent a long time cursing your name

Even though yours and mine are the same

Am I the product of you? Will I leave my kid too?

I’ll be damned if I do

I love her too much to even think about it

It just won’t be a reality and there’s no doubt about it

So forgive me if at 31 I still can’t understand why

You as a father wouldn’t even think twice let alone try

But don’t worry my mom married an actual good man.

Might have been 24 years late but he’s more of a dad

Than you will ever be

He’s kind to me

Something you never were

all you ever did was call me a monster

Thinking that didn’t hurt

But I don’t know what’s worse

Being bullied by your father when you were a kid

Or him saying he loved you then walking away like he never did?

I am the one that has to live with it

While you’re out playing house with some evil bitch and her kid

The one that used to put her hands all over me

When you were in the next room eating

But you won’t believe me. You never did.

You told me she meant more to you as your pretend kid than I ever did

All that you are is a donar of seeds

And I’m the spawn of a demon, isn’t that something?

How embarrassing to have to even associate me to you these days.

How embarrassing to have to bring my uncle to my father daughter dances because you never would have came.

Despite invitations you were no where to be found, lost in the gray.

How embarrassing my uncle felt the need to make up for your lackings and mistakes.

But how kind of that man to do what he did.

For someone who wasn’t even his kid.

How selfless of an act it was

To watch him do what you should have done.

And you’re not even remorseful. Not even remotely sorry.

For hurting me so deeply, the damage you inflicted upon me.

You could care less about what I care about the most

A loss of innocence in my youth by the person I wanted to really know.

[slimyalienfreak]

Howdy Buckaroo 🤠

Can I request an MX x Demon S/O..

Like in the beginning before they started dating. MX wasn’t aware that Reader was a demon. Cause she looked like a normal human. [Little did he know that Reader was just in her human disguise.] And it isn’t until he’s about to kill them that Reader reveals that she’s a demon. It’s a really good relationship between the both of them. Plus one day Reader meets Lucas [The kid that MX trapped in the game.] Reader is really nice and kind to Lucas and Lucas is like “Your my mom now”..

Also Lucas will use Reader as a way to escape from MX. Like Lucas could be running for his life and he spots reader and he clings onto her and stick his tongue out at MX to like tease/mock him and he always gets away with it much to MX’s dismay.

All in All this a very funny relationship with the two of them..

Reader uses She/They Pronouns 💛

Have a good day/night 🤘

MX With A Demon!Reader

Howdy partner (sorry had to)! Thanks for the ask!

Loved writing this enemies to lovers fic. I did try to keep MX in character (when it comes to his association with Lucas at least) regardless enjoyed writing this. Hope you like it as well! ~Blaze/Dawn

Pronouns: She/They

Warning: ⚠️Mentions Of Attempted Murder + Torture⚠️

Requested: Yes/No

Characters: MX + Lucas Everett

Proofread: ❌

Credits: Art by elronnyx on DeviantArt + Banner by lovebeyourss (Edited By Me) on Pinterest

———————————

- Honestly he never expected to be trapped alongside a demon. When the two of you first met he wouldn’t have thought you were anything but human. Now that he thinks about it as time went on he should’ve seen at least some signs that you were a demon. But the last thing he would’ve thought about was what someone was or not. Plus surprisingly you were pretty convincing to even fool him to which he kind of gives you credit for it, begrudgingly. The only reason why he hadn’t noticed till then was that he was too focused on trying to kill you and when he actually did try to kill you he started to notice somethings about you that would be considered impossible for humans to have and then it just clicks for him ‘are they a demon?’ He questions himself as he stops his fist right in front of your face just leaving inches apart causing suspense for you.

- You couldn’t help but looking at him oddly, seeing confusion on his face was definitely a new thing for you. You saw him slowly lowering his fists before straightening his body looking at you with an unreadable face. Honestly you couldn’t tell if he was pissed or not he was seriously unreadable. Then after an awkward amount of silence between the two of you MX decided to speak up “how long have you been hiding this from me?” He said his voice was slightly demanding, wanting to know how long you had deceived him for. With a confused tone you asked in return “hiding what exactly?” “Are you actually a demon?” He told you what he meant. When he did ask you that you kind of froze on the spot. I mean you weren’t planning on telling him exactly but you had a feeling he would’ve figured out regardless. “Would my answer change your feelings?” You asked to which he just gave you a look as to say to just answer the question. Eventually you did answer his question and once you did you saw him relax a bit before letting you go, at least for now.

- Pretty much since he discovered you were a demon surprisingly he had mixed feelings about it. Obviously he was kind of pissed that you managed to fool him with your human disguise but at the same time he felt oddly excited that you were at the same time. He couldn’t explain why he felt that, he knows that you being a demon doesn’t change anything about you and your relationship with him. That’s when he actually questions himself about things between you and him. Maybe the two of you can be some sort of duo. Your power and his strength he considers those things a perfect duo. So despite yours and his history he decided to give you a chance.

- Initially it was awkward between the two of you when you two did at least try to get along with each other. Neither of you knew what to say to each other, there was one time he asked how your day has been before quickly realising the situation you were in which only made things more awkward. But eventually though the two of you did manage to get over it. He started asking more about yourself and actually kind of curious about you and your powers. As the two of you kept on chatting with each other the closer the two of you had got causing the two of you to develop some sort of friendship before turning into lovers.

- When you’ve managed to be more open about who you actually were I like to imagine him taking an interest in your demon form. He likes to tell you how pretty you look in it while he has you close towards him. Making you feel things as he continues enjoying your reactions. All that romantic shit.

- Ever since the two of you have developed your unique relationship he’s been a little more cautious about what he does around you as well as caring. He managed to separate his previous feelings for you and has now been replaced with love. You’ve pretty much earned his respect and he wants to earn yours in return. So he pretty much keeps what he usually does to himself. But sometimes he does let the facade slip sometimes but mostly towards other things or people, if the two of you have the chance to meet anyone or anything. Regardless if he tries his best to tone it down it doesn’t really change the fact that you know what he does but still you appreciate the effort from him. This is actually how you managed to meet one of his recent victims, a boy named Lucas.

- One day Lucas was going through the usual stuff which just so happens to be trying his best to avoid MX so nothing out of the ordinary considering what situation he got into. Then all of the sudden while he was on the run once again he managed into you. After composing himself he looked up at you wondering who or what he pumped into. At first he was a little scared of you. I mean he wasn’t even aware that someone besides him was here. He’ll probably be even more scared if he found you while you were in your demon form. However, despite that he had a feeling he could trust you. Being kind of desperate he kind of decided to use you as some sort of shield as both you and him saw MX coming. Upon noticing you he immediately stopped his chase with Lucas and chatted with you completely changing his demeanour surprising the little boy. Eventually though after him trying to convince you to let him get Lucas with you tell him that he promised to tone it down he eventually gave up and left the two of you alone.

- Upon noticing how you managed to deter his captor's attention away from him Lucas looked up at you with a slightly surprised face. “How did you do that?” Lucas quietly asked you, making you look down at him with a smile before explaining yours and MX’s relationship and history with each other. He couldn’t help but start to admire you in some sort of way. The way you're able to somewhat control MX despite who he was as a person. He started seeing you as some sort of mother figure admiring how strong you were. He wanted to be around you, he knew you wouldn’t harm him. He feels safe around which causes him to become more and more attached to you which you don’t mind. You're just glad he feels comfortable around you.

- Not going to lie when seeing you in your actual demon form Lucas is a little scared of you when you are in your demon form. Obviously he knows it’s still you when you're in that form; he knows it’s still the kind hearted you he knows this feeling or scared he’s experiencing is mostly just him being a child. A child being scared of normal things. Of course he does find you cool in a way and still admires you but he can’t help but feel uneasy when he sees you as a demon.

- When he can he tries his best to stay around you and cling onto you. He may be a kid but he’s pretty smart. Ever since you told him about your relationship with MX he likes to use it to his advantage for when he gets into some trouble with MX. It’s like when a child knows they're about to get into trouble so they run to their parents who will defend them. As soon as he spots you he immediately has a smile on his face and runs up to you before hugging you. Honestly MX doesn’t like it too much. Seeing the smug look on Lucas’s face as he gets told off by you while you're holding Lucas in your arms like he was a child of your own. Meanwhile Lucas is quietly laughing to himself at the fact that he had gotten away with this.

- Regardless, despite the things he goes through Lucas really does like you. Since he’s pretty much alone, he couldn’t help but get emotionally attached to you. He just wants to be around you, feeling safe in your arms like a mother comforting their child. He sometimes even refers to you as mum. He knows that you associate with MX but the fact that you're completely different from your partner gives him some hope. He likes it when he’s just laying in your arms calming him despite MX’s feelings about it. He couldn’t help but stick out his tongue at MX causing the buff plumber to scoff.

- Despite his overall feelings about Lucas, surprisingly he finds yours and Lucas' relationship somewhat cute. Of course this doesn’t change how he feels about Lucas or what he did to him but he guess he could let things like this slide for once. He knows that you and him don’t really have the same morals and knows he probably can’t convince you to stop seeing you forming an attachment to Lucas yourself. He just lets Lucas go and talk to you whenever he isn’t doing his usual stuff to him. You seemed happy with it as well so that’s also why he does it. Despite everyone’s history you all somewhat get along.

———————————

[thearchivistsjournal]

Day 375,

I actually made a point of avoiding you when you first washed up, especially after I heard you were going to be Archivist.  I still missed the old man and had a lot of tangled up feelings with all my good memories of the archive being tainted by sadness over his loss.  But I couldn’t avoid the place forever and I missed it as much as I did him, so I finally got my courage together and made myself go down there.

I was so nervous about how it was going to go, seeing someone else in his place, watching over our books, intruding in my place to hide from the world.  But then I got down the stairs and you looked ridiculous.  I know I should say I’m sorry for laughing like I did, but I’m still not.  I don’t mean that in a mean way though.  Seeing you there, looking nothing like him but drowning in his clothes like you were his kid that had gotten into his closet and surrounded by an utter mess was just the right kind of silly to get rid of those nerves and make me feel better about, well, a lot of things really.  I know you were embarrassed but please don’t be when you look back on that.  Under the exact context that you couldn’t have known, I don’t think you could have made a better first impression.

And I’ll admit, seeing all the books out of place and hearing they were going to be reorganized felt wrong at first.  The archive means a lot to me, and who were you to change something so important?  But then as you were talking you just got so into it.  Talking so fast you were stumbling over yourself and repeating things but smiling the whole time.  Here was someone else who really cared.  I was afraid you wouldn’t.  

As we got to talking and while I settled back into my old reading spot I started thinking maybe rearranging everything wasn’t so bad.  It was a fresh start.  A way for the archive to keep what it’s always meant to me without reminding me of what I’d lost.

From there, it wasn’t hard to start thinking of you as a fresh start.  Someone who didn’t have any prior history or associations with me to poison the present.  Someone I could do things right with.

You know I’ve drifted away from all my other old friends.  Some of the reasons I’ve told you, some I think you’ve figured out, and some you probably have an idea of now after all that other stuff I wrote.  I’ve had my problems in the past.  Still do.  But I’ve gotten better.  And I’m still getting better.

I know it was never your intention, but thank you for giving me the opportunity to try being a good friend again.  For being any kind of friend again.  I think we both know you can be alone without being lonely, just like you can be with others and still be lonely.  I was definitely the latter for a long time.  Longer than I realized, and you were my first step to getting out of that.  

Okay, yeah, I did have that weird friendly-messing-with-each-other-acquaintanceship with Cass even before you showed up, but that was really just another part of the masks until mutual friendship with you was able to catalyze it into something else.

I wrote something to this same effect before, back when you were sick, but maybe once you return we can start talking more about this stuff.  Help each other out of the holes we dig ourselves into.  We’re both bad at talking about it though.  Maybe we could try writing each other letters.  That was something in a story I read once.  Writing letters to say the things we can’t in person.  I think you’d like that one.

<==Previous          Next==>

[fangsandfeels]

Aaah, an invitation *rubs her palms together* Well, I can’t decline.

OP, I apologize for my word vomit in advance, I know I am hopeless when it comes to discussing the source of my brainrot.

I don’t think that Astarion was some cunning and deeply corrupt magistrate because, for some dangerous mastermind, this man’s attempts at planning and scheming end in self-sabotage. I don’t think poor planning is something he acquired during his 200 years of enslavement. He was like that before.

I wouldn’t say that he was a fair judge too because…look, nobody is fucking fair in Baldur’s Gate. This city is rotten and corrupt, and has been so for a long time.  

According to the lore, crimes are punished harshly in Baldur’s Gate. For instance, the penalty for theft involves removing one of a thief’s fingers, but at the same time, nobles from Parliament flock to the Nine-Fingers office in the Guild to talk business with her because she has her fingers stuck in all the pies in Baldur’s Gate. Heck, a member of the Thieves Guild, runs things in the Counting House.

Gortash owes his rise to power, not to tadpoles alone -- and we have Investigators like Valeria who would close the case as soon as she finds a suitable suspect and then run off to celebrate her another investigative victory with expensive booze. Heck, even Gauntlet Devella, someone who actually tries to do her job, states that in Baldur’s Gate, the lives of the Upper City citizens come first, and this is just how things were.

The more I see how Baldur’s Gate’s “justice” works, the more I think that Astarion was really a very mediocre representative of how bad things have always been. Neil mentions that he abused his power “a little”, so he would probably pull his rank whenever it was convenient, embezzle, and bend the laws to his benefit -- but he always saw it as something harmless compared to what others were doing. After all, if no one from his circle could be bothered with upholding the good judge image, why should he?

So, he certainly knew the laws and loopholes and could be a competent judge if he put his mind to it, but he wasn’t really interested in it. From that point, we can make all kind of assumptions because Larian aren’t going to shed light on them.

 Maybe because he never wanted this job because of nepotism, maybe because he grew distant and apathetic because he realized that nobody in his surroundings gave a crap about justice, so he compensated some of his hedonistic tendencies with going extra hard on some cases. Maybe, he was turned into a scapegoat by his associates because he was an easy target for the Gur mob to find and attack (how many influential and powerful nobles just walk around at night without bodyguards?).  

What is certain is that Astarion hadn’t made any friends or even connections (if we look at the state of his tombstone), and his relative might even not know where he is and what happened to him -- my personal headcanon is that he left his family house after a loud “don’t-tell-me-how-to-live-my-life” argument and decided to make a name for himself, which led him to Baldur’s Gate.

As for his connections with Cazador…I don’t think they met before. Or that Astarion had met him before he got turned. Given what we know from other spawns, Cazador has a knack for enslaving and breaking pretty or good-looking people (Petras is give or take because he is, well…he has a face, and he is probably pale, that’s it), but also he seemed to Turn people with power or influence. Leon is a sorcerer and a very capable one -- how gratifying it must have felt for Cazador to add someone like that to his collection, all his to break and toy with. Dalyria was a doctor and a member of Parliament, which is quite a title, the one she clung to. We don’t know about the rest, but we can assume that the pattern is the same: Cazador finds attractive people with power, he enslaves them, he breaks them and enjoys having them at his mercy, reminding them they’re his property and stripping them of their dignity to make himself feel big. a center of their miserable universe. Rinse, repeat.

At least, I think he Turned Astarion because he had him in his sights for a while and made plans to turn him purely out of spite (Cazador canonically considers himself to be the most beautiful being to ever walk the earth, so I can imagine that meeting Astarion made him the Evil Queen from Snow White levels of salty). So, either he saw a chance to destroy this annoyingly beautiful elf who enjoyed his comfortable life very much and made him feel like a wretch in any way possible, or…he arranged the entire Gur encounter. After all, it was very convenient for him to show up right when Astarion was at death’s door -- and Cazador seems to pick his individual victims meticulously, which means he wasn’t just strolling around and happened to find Astarion.  

Okay, so I know everyone loves the joke about pre vampire Astarion judging based on vibes, but I do feel like his more...Foppishly flippant persona is one he put on after being turned and enslaved by Cazador. You see peeks of his previous personality in dialogue, such as this one linked here

I don't think he was a corrupt magistrate in the way people tend to think. Silly, accepting bribes all the time (maybe every now and then, though, don't get me wrong) and just only getting the job due to nepotism.

We've seen Astarion already have prejudices against gnomes, Gur, and other minority groups. It's not far to say that he allowed these to sway his rulings or even have him push for a ruling, such as what he may have done with the ruling that the Gur killed him for. Hell, he might have even refused a bribe from Cazador and that's what put him on Cazador's radar to set him up to kill. (Or something. I do feel like Astarion did a thing that annoyed Cazador and he wanted to "put him in his place.")

I do have this question and this is going to bring some speculative thoughts.

Why is a guy who was probably a high moon elf so prejudice and cut throat? Moon elves aren't known for being prejudice and cruel, in fact they detest cruelty and unfairness. Sun elves were a bit more prejudice and believing in elf superiority, known to act first when dealing with drow and ask questions later, but I hesitate to consider Astarion a sun elf due to the fact we see the other spawn. Their colorations didn't change except their eyes.

The only reason I can think of is if his family wanted to leave behind the free spirited, traveling attitude of their moon elf brethren and wanted to reach for some higher status, and found a way to do that in Baldur's Gate. Astarion does mention a moon elf noble house in Evermeet, so he isn't so disassociated with his people as some might suggest.

"House Nightstar was a moon elf house led in 1367 DR by the twin sisters Halaema Nightstar and Saelihn Nightstar. (x)"

So taking in this guy's possible family ambitions to maybe be up in the high elf pecking order as some of the sun elf houses....

Astarion would have been a serious magistrate, albeit a highly biased one.

He would know the laws like the back of his hand, and yet would bend them to fit what he wanted them to be in his rulings. Yes, this is the law, but wouldn't it be better if we kept the vagrants out? Yes, I know this is the typical standard, but we should be more severe on these people so they know not to step out of line. He would do everything by the book, but some of the rulings would be viewed as severe due to who he was working with.

And would he enjoy the power and influence of the job? Yes. He would have indulged himself outside of the office. But inside the office, he'd be cut throat to gain the next level to build up the family power level.

I welcome other thoughts, because my ADHD just ran out of steam.

[sobsicles]

claire's not expecting them to be at the door. she blinks at the sight of four men all huddled on the stoop with flowers and what appears to be bags of food flowing from their arms. jack is peeking above a bouquet, beaming at her.

"who's at the door?!" jody calls from the kitchen, her voice muffled by the sound of grease popping and the clanking of pans and spatulas meeting over and over.

"god," claire calls back, because she likes to think she's funny.

there's a beat of silence, and then jody's sticking her head out the kitchen. the moment she sees them, she breaks out into a grin and saunters over, shoving the spatula in claire's hand as she chatters away.

"what's going on out there?" donna asks as claire escapes back to the kitchen to poke at food jody is apparently willing to burn just because the winchesters decided to show their faces today of all days.

"judgement day," claire says dryly.

donna shares a look with patience. "haven't we dealt with that already a few times?"

"only by association," claire admits, "but i wouldn't put it past them to bring it along with 'em now. the boys are here."

"oh, isn't that nice?" donna chirps, already popping up from her chair. "i didn't know they were stopping by today."

"wonder how sam's doing," patience agrees, wandering out the kitchen right along with donna. claire can hear everyone cracking up and talking in the living room.

trust the winchesters to shake things up just by showing up. can't have one goddamn day, can they? well, that's not true. in their case, as far as claire is concerned, they're shitty for showing up and shitty for not. someone has to knock 'em all down a peg or two, so she might as well be the one.

"what did that chicken ever do to you?" kaia asks teasingly as she sidles into the kitchen and stops by the stove, hip-checking claire out of the way to take over.

"the boys are here," claire informs her.

kaia raises her eyebrows. "like, the boys as in the winchesters, or is this a milkshake pun?"

"i can only be so gay, sweetheart," claire says, shooting her a flat look.

"raise the bar a little. could be gayer. you can always be gayer," kaia teases, reaching out to sneak her hand around claire's hip, her eyes bright with amusement.

"you know what? you're right," claire agrees and immediately tries to cop a feel while kaia laughs and dances out of range.

jack appears in the doorway. "hello," he says, whispering for some reason. "claire, i need your help."

"no," claire says, not even glancing at him. she continues to try and put her hand up kaia's shirt, just to see her laugh.

"can i borrow twenty dollars?" jack asks.

"no. aren't you god?"

"yes, but i don't get paid to be."

"well, sucks for you. borrow money from cas," claire mutters, settling in behind kaia as she focuses on the food on the stove, swatting lazily at claire's roaming hands.

"he'll just borrow money from dean."

"borrow from sam."

"he'll just borrow money from dean."

"borrow from—wait, why does it matter if it's from dean? just borrow from him."

jack huffs. "i can't. i need the money for dean. i have a card, and i read online it's customary to give money with a card. also, will you sign it?"

"you got dean a card?" claire asks, craning her head around to stare at jack skeptically.

"yes."

"don't tell me it's for what i think it is."

"mother's day," jack confirms unironically.

claire wheezes out a laugh. "oh my god."

"there's a pen in the catty on the fridge," kaia says, clearly amused.

"yeah. yeah, this is—yeah." claire chokes on more laughter and stumbles towards the group of pens in the magnet container on the fridge. she waggles her fingers at jack, clearing her throat, lips twitching. "hand it over, beanstalk. you're a fucking genius."

"oh! thank you," jack declares cheerfully, passing over the card. "so, can i borrow twenty dollars?"

"hell no," claire says. she braces the card against the fridge and swallows down a laugh. sam has already signed it. this just gets better and better. happy mother's day, old man, aka the secondary source of my mommy and daddy issues. you're going for gold with this double-whammy, she writes.

"but i need it," jack insists, staring at her with wide eyes.

claire shrugs. "tough break, kid. what, cas doesn't give you an allowance? is it just me, or are dads getting stricter these days?"

"i didn't think about it in advance," jack admits sadly. "i want to do it right for the holiday. it's mother's day, claire."

"i'm well aware. sorry to break it to you, kid, but last I checked, your mom's as dead as mine," claire tells him, her voice flat. he frowns and she forces herself not to feel bad. everything that sucks for him sucked for her first, so her sympathy levels are a little drained. "father's day will roll around eventually, and you've got a long line of those, so wait your turn."

"i've already done something for my mother today," jack says slowly, his eyebrows furrowed. "i visited her in heaven."

claire snorts derisively and passes the card back over. "must be nice."

"it was," jack agrees, completely missing the point. "i really can't borrow twenty dollars? i'll pay you back."

"nah," claire says. "who cares anyway? wait, why is dean the mom?"

"well, castiel is my father."

"ah, so it's about them having the hots for each other, then? really, kid, you coulda just made dean your step-dad."

jack blinks. "they have the...hots for each other? you mean sex. they have sex?"

"you know what?" claire points at him with her free hand. "i'm not gonna burst your bubble on that one. you've got enough issues on your own without wondering if mommy and daddy still have a spark, so I'm gonna leave that alone. i've got five dollars. take it or leave it."

"deal," jack says immediately.

money is exchanged, and jack looks like he's on cloud nine. claire's just stoked to see the expression on dean's face when he gets the card. it's a homemade card and everything, nothing like the two claire, kaia, patience, and alex got for jody and donna.

claire helps kaia finish up the chicken, which promptly gets set aside to wait on the rest of the food in the oven. sam wanders in at some point to drop off the food they brought. dessert, by the looks of it. pies and cakes that go in the fridge. it's kind of them, but claire would shoot herself in the foot before she ever admits it.

she lets kaia tug her into the living room where everyone is already at, rolling her eyes at how cheered everyone seems just because the winchesters happened to grace their doorstep. really, they all suck.

but also—and claire will never admit this, not even to save her own life—it's nice to see 'em again. it's nice that they've come to celebrate the day in jody and donna's name, giving them flowers and such. it's nice that they hang around for a bit and don't bring the world crashing down on everyone for the duration of their stay.

and, well, it's nice to see cas, too.

he perches up next to the couch that claire is squeezed on with alex, donna, kaia, and jack. kaia is practically in her lap, but claire is secretly glad for the excuse. while everyone talks and has conversations across one another, cas focuses entirely on her.

another thing claire will never admit is how reluctantly pleased by that she is. it warms her. stupidly, it turns soft and gooey in her chest that he automatically gives her his undivided attention over everyone else, even jack. but, then again, it's not cas' day, so she doesn't have to look too close to that feeling. it's mother's day, so it's not about him.

when the food is ready, they reconvene in the kitchen, and that's when they crack out the cards and gifts. claire is practically vibrating with laughter before jack has even brought his card out. before that, though, she smiles softly and strokes kaia's thigh under the table as jody and donna read their cards and chuckle at the messages, their gazes warm and their smiles sweet. they look happy. they deserve to be.

"okay, last one," claire announces, grinning at jack. she's starting to think she likes this kid if he's an agent of chaos like this.

and okay, maybe she hates him a little in abstract, but in detail, she finds that she does actually like him. you kinda just wanna put him in your pocket without meaning to, she's learned. there's too much to explore with the whole psuedo sibling thing and parents that aren't parents, as well as parents that are but didn't choose to be, only he did choose one of them, and it wasn't her. it's complicated, but underneath it all, there's a vibrant love there that she can't look directly at. sometimes, she despises that she's included in it; yet, just the same, she's thankful that she is.

"oh hell," dean mutters, swinging his gaze between alex and patience. "one of you...ya know? did we miss something?"

claire snorts.

"what? no," alex replies, grimacing. "i have no idea what claire's talking about. claire, what the hell are you talking about?"

"jack?" claire prompts in a wheeze.

"here you go," jack chirps, holding out the card to dean, beaming. "happy mother's day."

the expression on dean's face is somehow even better than claire imagined. she howls with laughter while sam buries his face in his hands, his shoulders jerking. cas squints at jack, and jody's eyebrows fly up at the same exact time that donna grins.

"is this a joke?" dean sputters.

"no, no, nope," claire chokes out, nearly fucking crying with laughter. "happy mother's day, dean."

"you gotta take it, man," sam agrees, clearing his throat and biting back a smile as he bobs his head dutifully towards the card.

dean fixes sam with a flat look and snatches the card. "you're all so fucking—sam, you signed it?!"

"happy mother's day," sam says, his mouth pinched, visibly trying not to laugh.

"do you like it?" jack asks earnestly. "i made the card, sam signed it first, and claire provided the money."

"i—" dean stares down at the card, then heaves a sigh and looks up at jack. it's clear to him that—out of everyone—jack is clearly taking this very seriously. he offers him a weak smile, then swallows. "yeah, s'great, kid. thank you. sam, you are dead to me. claire, i will be spending this on something you hate. cas, this is somehow your fault."

"yup, sounds like a mother to me," jody declares, holding up her beer with a smile.

"welcome to the club," donna agrees, holding hers up as well. "everyone else annoys the shit out of you, but you love 'em anyway."

dean sighs and clinks his beer to theirs.