#so sorry its been marinating in my ask box for so long; I wanted to have a good chunk of time to *Really* try and draw lil apple

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Just popping in to say i LOVE UR ART SO MUCH WAUGH!!!! Its soooooooo exoressive and u get across emotion and movement SO WELL!! I love ...littlr apple ...so much.....u imbue this donkey with Such Chaos

I love this little chaos creature, we should all forfeit our mortal possessions to her.

[thisisarcanereverie]

#12 💔

Marc spector

(I don't know if this how you request, I'm sorry)

As Light as a Feather (Marc Spector x Reader)

Hey! Here is a fic from my 500 follower celebration prompt list (here is the link)

(here is my ask box) (For requests!)

You have no idea what you were thinking, loving Marc Spector.  

You’ve known Marc all of your lives, you fell in love with him in high school, pined after him since he was in the Marines and you were in university abroad, and accepted that he would never love you back when he came back from the Marines. 

So why did you stay?

It wasn’t like he was nice to you, he was a goddamn prick. It wasn’t like he went out of his way to talk to you or looked at you like you were the only girl in the world, he ignored most of your messages and when you asked him and almost never made eye contact. Even when he brought all this mystical, god, deity, avenger level shit into your life and turned it upside down, you still stayed. 

It wasn’t like this was the first time you asked yourself why you stayed, why you kept in contact with him when he clearly didn’t give a shit two ways. You even booked an airplane ticket going back to America one day, a one way trip. 

But then Marc would always do something. 

Maybe he would text you first, or ask you how your day was. Or perhaps he made you laugh so hard he made you cry, maybe he laughed too. Sometimes you would catch a glimpse of something in his eyes that gave you hope, however false it was. 

However, that was before Layla. 

 You respected her, she knew of his DID and loved every part of him, even the parts he never showed you. You were thankful that she did, and for some reason, her arrival into your life both broke your heart and cleared the fog in your mind surrounding him. 

He didn’t love you. You weren’t sure if he ever did. 

Maybe it was toxic codependency on both of your parts, you had never not been in each other's lives and with Layla around…maybe it was time to start. 

You had renewed the plane ticket until after the wedding in Cairo, Marc’s and Layla’s wedding. 

You were just one of the few witnesses invited to the vows, the rest came for the celebration. The weather was warm but cooled at night to a more comfortable degree. Layla had been beautiful, an overall simplistic look but with various glittering jewels adorning her. Making her look like she was plucked from the stars. Meanwhile Marc had been handsome as ever, his hair combed back and in a simple button up with slacks and a kippah on his head. 

Overall it was a very casual vow reciting, but the fun didn’t begin until the reception. Dancing and drinking underneath the moon and its glow. You didn’t stay long however, slipping away unnoticed back to your hotel room to get a night's sleep and prepare for your departure tomorrow, feeling bad that Marc had rented out your hotel room until the end of the week. You promised yourself you will pay him back once you’ve settled in your new life in Boston. 

At least that is what you had hoped. 

Marc hadn’t noticed you left until the third day after when he had gotten a call from the hotel saying that the room had been unoccupied for a while. Which he then texted you about and you told him you went home, you just didn’t say where home was. 

Then weeks passed by, then months, you had settled into your new life in Boston and paid Marc back for the hotel room. Made new friends, even had a few flings here and there, you traveled, you just did whatever you wanted to do when you wanted to. 

And yet somehow you still missed him. 

After a year, maybe two, you had a night out with friends, where you ended up meeting Johnathan Levy. He was a wallflower that stood out amongst the array of people, you could easily tell it wasn’t his scene. But you don’t know what came over you, but the next thing you know you're engaged in conversation with him at the bar. You learned he was a professor, and when you told him you were also thinking about getting your doctorate and following the academia lifestyle he gave you helpful tips and asked if you wanted a smoke. You said yes even though you didn’t partake in the habit, coughing as the toxic air filled your lungs. Your eyes water in the corners as you could hear him laugh beside you. 

Safe to say you put out the cigarette and just talked to him while he smoked. 

You talked about literary topics such as the French writer Emile Zola to Freud's findings in the Psychological field and how those findings would be taken today. The list went on, and before you knew it, it was three in the morning and you were the only one left of your group. Taking out your phone you saw messages saying that they all went home and called an uber, they would’ve offered but apparently didn’t want to ruin the mood between you and who they had deemed “the Hot Nerd”. 

Johnathan had walked you home that night, seeing as your apartment wasn’t too far and you both wanted to talk more. The more you talked the more engrossed you became and the faster time flew and the next thing you knew you both had circled the blocks a few times before actually stopping at your apartment building. You were tempted to kiss him, see what it would be like. But you stopped yourself, not wanting to scare him off. You both exchanged numbers and with an offer to attend a lecture he was giving, you parted ways for the night. Something about him was…different. He wasn’t like the typical men you went for, strong men with attachment issues. He wasn’t like Marc but at the same time he was? You both connected, but in a different way. For you it had always been one sided and you talked but you knew that if you had met Marc today, he would have nothing to do with you and you with him. Sure the attraction would be there, but the things you loved about him, the way he taps the eraser head against the desk if he was struggling with something, or the way his crooked smile looked underneath fairy lights, or how his favorite movie is a cheap knockoff of Indiana Jones. Things that made Marc….Marc. But with Johnathan, he was bookish, with a full beard and a head full of wild pepper hair. Glasses on the bridge of his nose, but in a way similar to Marc, you could tell he had a few secrets to him. 

But what would you know, you only met the professor tonight. However as you stared at his contact in your phone you couldn’t help but smile as you made a mental note to request the day he was giving a lecture off. 

You go to unlock your door when the knob turns easily opening to the entryway, a cold feeling quickly replaced the warm and fuzzy ones from earlier. You slowly reach for the small taser in your purse before cautiously opening the door wider and turning on the lights. You pull the taser out and crank it up to the max setting, letting the loud zapping sound resound through your place threateningly. 

“Try me,” you said with false confidence, “I’ve been waiting for a reason.” 

“You should get a better lock.” 

You whip yourself around and go to taser the person behind you only for it to get knocked out of your hands and kicked aside. You stop for a moment only to stiffen as you recognize the curly brown hair and hooked nose. 

“Marc?” You said before punching him harshly in the arm, “What the FUCK man, I could’ve killed you!” 

He gives you a look. 

“Fine,” you roll your eyes, “You could’ve killed me…with a goddamn heart attack, why in the hell did you sneak into my apartment?”

“You weren’t answering your phone.” Marc said simply, you gently pushed him aside to close your front door and make your way to the kitchen to brew some tea as Marc casually scanned your apartment. You could see his fingers dance over the spines of your books on the book shelf, most of those you haven’t read but keep around to one day get to. 

“How long have you been here?” Marc asked. 

“A year,” You said plainly trying to stay busy so as to not look at him, “maybe two.” 

“What are you doing here?” You asked him while you went to grab two mugs from your cabinet. 

“I told you,” Marc said, “you weren’t answering your phone.” 

“I changed my number about six months ago.” You said, “I sent you a text from the new number, so either you didn’t bother to read it, haven’t tried to contact me in six months, or you lied.” Once you place the mugs on the counter as you went to grab your array of teas from your tea basket, “either way it comes back to the same question as to why you are here?” 

Marc went silent. Out of your peripheral view you can see his jaw clench and fists tighten. 

“Do you know a man by the name of Arthur Harrow?”

“No,” You said as you grabbed the boiling kettle from the stove, “why?” 

“I’m looking for him.” 

You lost it, you forcefully set down the hot kettle back on the stovetop and let out a dark laugh. 

“You’re fucking kidding me,” You said still not looking at him, “So it wasn’t the fact that you felt fucking shitty for not noticing until a year and six months after I left to realize I didn’t live there anymore and that it took you six months to realize I wasn’t fucking talking to you either.” 

“I’ve been fucking busy!” Marc defended loudly, “so sorry if I hadn’t fucking noticed you weren’t hanging on me every minute of the day. If you haven’t gotten the memo, my mind has enough to deal with without adding you into the mix!” 

Tears you swore you never would shed fell on the apples of your cheeks again, leaving hot trails in their wake as shame and anger filled you. You always hated that you were an angry crier. 

“See this is the reason why I left,” You said before looking at him, “You cross my mind every day, but I only cross yours when I’m in front of you.” Your stomach felt heavy and your mouth filled with cotton. You sighed and rubbed a hand over your face, not caring about your smeared makeup, “Just leave. Just forget me, it should be easy enough.” 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” Marc asked loudly as you pushed past him to get your pajamas ready for after your shower. You ignore him as you set the clothes on the counter beside the sink and exit the bathroom. “Answer me! What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

You continue to ignore him as you make sure that your windows are locked, knowing that once you get your shower and pajamas on you won’t have the energy to make sure your home is secure. 

“Fucking nice,” Marc sighed fustratingly, “fucking silent treatment isn’t going to work on me (Y/n), it hasn’t since we were kids.” 

“A lot has changed since then.” 

“Yeah,” Marc said, “Like your taste in guys.” 

A newfound anger surged through you as you whip your head to meet his eyes, taunting and dark. 

“If I recall you liked those muscular dumbasses, meanwhile he looks like he belongs at the bottom of a book avalanche.” 

“Oh! You would know wouldn’t you!” You exclaim, “because you just know everything about me!” 

“Yeah I do,” He said arrogantly, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Fine dumbass,” You said crossing your arms, “Pop quiz. What’s my favorite color?”

“Red.” 

“Drink of choice?”

“An Old Fashioned”

“Favorite Book?”

“Don Quixote” 

“My first love?”

“Jensen Kidman from freshman year.” 

“Wow,” You said, astonished eyes wide and arms still crossed, “wrong.” You move past him, “every single one of those is wrong.” 

“Fine!” He said, throwing his hands in the air, “but don’t act like you know everything about me either!”

“Your favorite color is white, your drink of choice is whiskey straight from the bottle, you don’t have a favorite book because you had a lot of difficulty reading as a kid but your favorite movie was a knock off Indiana Jones film called Tomb Buster because that was one of the things you and Randall bonded over together about and your first love was and always will be Layla El- Faouley, your wife.” You open your front door, “Is that all or do you want me to recite Steven’s and Jake’s as well?” 

Marc stood there astonished until you saw guilt invade his eyes and shame weighed down his shoulders, as he made his way to the door slowly. You don’t look at him as he trudges past you, as you were about to close the door he stops it, his eyes looking as though they see right through you. 

“What were the answers?”

You sighed. 

“My favorite color is Green, my drink of choice is wine, and my favorite book is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.” You go to close the door again when he stops it. His eyes widen as he searches your face. 

“And your first love?”

A pause.

“I think you know.” And with that you close the door, making sure to lock it and put a note on your fridge to call your landlord tomorrow and have the locks replaced. You rub your hand over your face before going about your business and just as you had predicted, as soon as you took your shower and laid down in bed, you were out. 

Your heart was broken, but this wasn’t the first time, you would be fine. You knew that, but for a while you were going to be anything but. 

But you will live, and as you laid down in bed and sleep enveloped you in its sweet embrace, for the first time in what seems like ever. 

Your body feels as light as a feather.

Taglist:

@simonsbluee

@yuki235171

@dopeqff

@themapoftinyperfectthings

@later-gators12

@lovepeaceorelse

@ahookedheroespureheart

@8hgel

@onestopficshop

(Edit: I AM SO SORRY, I completely forgot the taglist on this one!)

[the-witch-of-one-piece]

hii val my love! may i have a family scenario with crocoboi? thank you so much! i love youuu! ❤

Lari Mi Reina! :D OMG YES Sir Croc would be a interesting dad. I enjoy doing these kind of scenarios. I love you too i hope you enjoy!

Father Crocodile : Quality time

warning: kids (don't read if you don't like kids)

"Mommy, daddy is going to come right? He promised me he would be back on this day." D/n pointing to the calendar. Looking at the circle day on the calendar the 30th of this month.

Crocodile kept is small family a secret. Knowing the Marines and shady business deals that would go south would try to use that against him. He didn't plan himself to be a father at all. But when he found out you were expecting something in him just wanted to make sure you and your unborn child would be safe. He did miss important days like the birth of your child even majority of your pregnancy he was absent due to his schedule. You grown a custom to this lifestyle but you knew even though you both were apart you still had that connection with him. Of course sending gifts and making sure even though he wasn't around paying for the top flight security for your guys safety.

Your daughter peaking through the window elbows propped on the window ceil her cheeks resting in the palm of her hands. She waited patiently. "baby he is coming.." combing your fingers through your daughters hair. Her eyes caught something seeing a tall figure walking towards the main gate. Seeing her small grin appear on her face.

"Mommy look he is here. It's Daddy!" the little girl exclaimed.

"Wait for him to come up." before you knew it you small child ran towards the door. "D/n wait!" you called out walked to catch up to her. You yourself were excited to see him its been 2 months. He would stay the weekend.

Walking to the the entrance of the home you hear d/n "Daddy!"

Seeing him crouch down a bit a as the small girl embraced him in a hug. "My princess how are you doing?" he asked. "good. I missed you a whole lot."

"I missed you too to... Have you been good for your mother?" his large hand patting his head.

"Yes.." giggling at his question.

"I brought you something." Pulling something out of his breast pocket a small box handing it to her. "only the best for my princess"

Opening the small box to see a amethyst pendant that looked expensive (very expensive) "Really Daddy?!?!" she exclaimed.

"Like I said only the best for my princess." Crocodile said.

After a few hours Crocodile had to work on a few things to work on before giving you both his undivided attention. D/n was sitting down on the couch in his office. She was holding her stuff bananawani as her feet dangled swinging them back and fourth as her eyes were looking down at her swinging feet. . She was been waiting patiently for him to finish so she can have his undivided attention. Daz offered to take her outside but she declined.You even tried she declined she waited for her father. Looking down at some paper working he would glance at her. Often Crocodile would hear her hum a little tune from her favorite song. Looking back down at the paper work once again he heard her speak. “Daddy.”

“Yes D/n.” looking from the paperwork.

“Almost done?” She asked.

“Almost.”

"How long is almost?" she asked softly

"D/n” letting a sigh out loosing his train of thought placing the paperwork down.

“I’m sorry.... I’ll go find mommy.” She got down from the couch she looked a bit bummed. He knew she wanted to spend time she didn't like him being away for so long yet she didn't really understand why he would leave.

“Wait....Come here little one.” calling out to her, as she followed the instructions of her father. Picking her up placing her on his lap his arm rested on the arm rest leaning slightly back. “I know I promised you we would spend sometime together today. If you let me finish this we can do whatever you want today.” Crocodile said.

“Anything.” Her head perked up.

“Anything.." kissing the side of her head.

Seeing his daughters eyes sparkle just a bit. The corner of his mouth raised. The expression his daughter made was the same as you're when you go excited. Realizing how time was flying by she was getting her own personality getting bigger each time he saw her. Brushing her bangs slightly back this was his little bananawani

tagging @undercoverweeeb @fireflykaizoku

[lindzaylove]

eighteen

A Kook's Perspective series

word count: 2.5k

trigger warnings: underage drinking, protective dad, controversial bandana color ???

taglist: @ashleyj27 @pogueslandia @maybankforlife @teelagurl558 @maybanktrash @psychosympathizer @slut4jj @cherrybarzy

gif by: @gemmusings

"are you sure you don't mind honey?" your mom asked, putting her earrings on. you nodded again, hoping your parents would actually leave a lot sooner. "we just feel so bad about leaving you on your birthday."

"mom, it is really okay. i'll probably just order some food and watch movies," you lied. your phone was vibrating in your pocket with the Pogues all wanting to know where you were.

"oh, have some people over! the Camerons would be welcome, that Thornton boy too," your mom stood from her vanity, turning to face you. "how do i look?"

"fabulous, as always," you smiled. she did look absolutely stunning. you were sure she would put all the other military girlfriends and wives to shame at.....whatever event this was in Charleston. at that moment, your dad came in.

"Sarah is outside," your dad said, checking his tie in the mirror before looking at you. "i think she has something for your birthday."

"Sarah Cameron?" you asked, turning to look out the window. there she stood, leaning against a black car with a relatively large and thin pink square in her hand. "what the fu-"

"Y/N," your mom scolded you, coming to look out the window as well. "i didn't know you and Sarah were getting to know one another."

"we aren't," you turned around. "i can walk out with you guys and talk to her then."

"go on down, i want to talk to Y/N for a moment," your dad said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. your mind ran over all the things you've done in the past week to warrant getting in trouble with your dad. you had purposefully stayed home since the boneyard party incident and avoided even speaking to the Pogues in case your parents had caught it.

"so, i saw Jake Allen at the club yesterday," your dad fixed his sleeves. your heart stopped; your whole body froze. he obviously knew everything, but no excuse could pour out of your mouth about why you had been with Rafe.

"he said he saw you and Rafe Cameron driving around the island," he finally looked at you. "at one in the morning."

"he did," you nodded. "i had been down at the beach that night. Rafe, Sarah, Topper Thornton, and Kelce Smith were there doing their own thing. I didn't drive, so instead of letting me walk home, Rafe gave me a ride." you were twirling a bracelet around your wrist behind your back, nerves coursing through you.

"that all that happened?"

"he dropped Kelce off, then Topper and Sarah, and then we got here around one. i wasn't ready to come in so we drove around and listened to music. i got home around three and went straight to bed."

"he ran a red light with you in the car," your dad put his hands in his pockets. "so why didn't i know until yesterday?"

"i dropped my phone and he was just making sure i was okay. we just happened to go through the light. he wasn't speeding or driving erratically at all," you were pleading, though you weren't sure why. he wasn't even angry at you, he was angry with Rafe for getting you in trouble and putting you in danger. you could easily put him under the bus and let your dad drive it over him, but you couldn't. you were getting defensive for him.

"he wasn't drinking or on anything?" your dad was still set in his stance, but you were done playing with your bracelet.

"if i was in danger, you know i would have told Mr. Allen," you crossed your arms. "can i go get my present now?"

"yeah, of course," your dad finally calmed down. "i'm just glad it wasn't one of those other kids you're always hanging out with. they must have been at that party that night."

"mhm," you rolled your eyes as you went down the stairs. outside, it was starting to get warm out as the sun went to reach its peak in the sky. your mom was talking to Sarah, who was standing up straight from the car and moving her hands around as she spoke.

"hey," you greeted them, pulling your cardigan up over your shoulder despite the heat. "what's up?"

"happy birthday," Sarah smiled, going to grab the once forgotten gift she had for you. "it's from Rafe, actually."

"he couldn't give it to her?" your dad asked, joining everyone in the front yard. you were staring at Sarah, hoping Rafe had a really good excuse for sending his sister - for his sake.

"he and my dad are going into Charleston today," Sarah told him. you closed your eyes, praying your dad doesn't make a smart comment.

"we're going into Charleston!" your mother smiled, you could hear it in her voice. "what are you they going for?"

"my dad has some business to do and dragged Rafe along. but you two look much nicer than some business meetings," Sarah complimented them.

you rolled your eyes. your dad was literally in his Marine Corp Dress Blue Uniform.

"open up your gift before we leave you two," your dad said. he was smiling, though it didn't reach his eyes. you pulled the pink tissue paper off the gift, your jaw dropping as you realized what it was. you pulled all the paper off, revealing to everyone the Chase Atlantic Vinyl.

"he got you a record?" Sarah asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"we had talked about it the other night briefly," you brushed hair behind your ear, a big smile on your face. "i also have a record player in my room."

"that's so sweet," your mom said. your dad cleared his throat in response.

"you two need to go before you miss your ferry," you told them, ushering them to your father's car. they both kissed you on the cheek and left. you let out a sigh, coming face to face with Sarah by yourself.

"thank you, for giving this to me," you held up the vinyl slightly. "you can go home now."

"that's not the only reason i'm here," Sarah admitted. you paused to look at her instead of going inside. she held up a bandana - a gray piece of fabric that was far too familiar.

"what are you doing with that?" you turned all the way back around. "is John B. okay?"

"he sent me to come pick you up. you're supposed to be coming over to the chateau for your birthday and i am your ride since i had to see you to give you that," Sarah put the bandana back in her pocket. "so go put that inside and let's go."

"whatever," you mumbled, going back into your house. as you went up the stairs to your room, a piece of paper came out of the vinyl. you stopped and picked it up.

happy birthday, y/n. sorry it doesn't have your favorite song, but i hope it'll do - R.C.

you smiled the rest of the way up to your room, adding the record to your box of others. you switched tops and lost the cardigan.

the note from Rafe was sweet, even if all it really said was happy birthday. you thought over whether or not to add it to your memo board, but you slid it on there despite your better judgement. by the time you got downstairs, Sarah was in her car and scrolling on her phone. you got in the front seat next to her, pulling your phone out. Sarah's music was playing quietly through the speakers, but you quickly went to send Rafe a message on Instagram.

thank you for the gift! it means a lot that you got me something :)

you checked your other messages, quickly heading to the group chat to question why Sarah was suddenly involved in your birthday plans. all you got in reply were the eye emojis, though John B. wasn't answering your messages which made you even more annoyed. you were out of Sarah's car before she was parked.

"John B.!" you yelled, storming into the chateau. he came out of his room, a wide smile on his face.

"hey Y/N! happy eighteenth!" he went to give you a hug, but you out your hands up and blocked him.

"why the hell does Sarah have your dad's bandana?" you pointed at her as she came in. "why is she even here at all?"

"well, you were there when we kissed," John B. swallowed. you crossed your arms, biting gently on your tongue. "and this past week she broke up with Topper and came-"

"she went home with him that night!" you exclaimed. "like held his hand and went into his house."

"you went with them, you can't be mad at her for that," John B. threw it back.

"i didn't kiss someone in front of my boyfriend, then let my boyfriend beat him up, and ultimately leave with my boyfriend," you turned to Sarah. "did you and Topper fuck while you were at his house? you were all over him in the truck."

"i didn't," she glared at you. "let me know when she calms down, i'm going outside."

"funny how she gets to talk to me like i'm a dog and you don't stick up for me at all," you looked at John B. "let alone on my birthday."

"i'll talk to her about it after you explain to me what went through your mind when you went with her," John B. leaned against the wall.

"i was thinking that my father would happily blame you all for what happened and get you all in trouble if i had been seen by the police with you. i was the farthest away from the twinkie and would have gotten as all pulled over and in trouble if you'd have to wait. so excuse me for caring about the well being of my friends," you raised your eyebrows. "gonna go get your girlfriend to apologize now?"

"you went ghost after that night. we all just eventually assumed that Rafe convinced you of something bad. Sarah had said he took you home alone and that after she broke up with Topper she went straight home. she got home around two and he didn't get home until after three. he wouldn't talk about what took him so long so we didn't know what happened," John B. explained. "that doesn't give me the right to be a jerk to you, so i'm sorry."

"my dad knew about the party and i didn't want him to connect it to you guys. but Rafe and i just listened to music, that's all," you said, though you were still hurt that they thought Rafe would have that much influence on you. yeah, being with Rafe was fun, but they were still your friends. you were not that fickle in your opinions.

your opinions on Rafe, however....

"i understand now," John B. gave you a half smile, holding his arms out. "can i give you your birthday hug now?"

"i suppose," you teased with a matching smile, giving him a hug. you two hugged and went outside together, the other four people at John B.'s all looking at you expectantly.

"i'm eighteen, not eighty. you guys can be happy for me," you told them, laughing slightly. Kie was the first to come hug you, Pope following with JJ trailing along. John B. went to Sarah and they seemed to talk. by the time you wrangled out of JJ's grip, Sarah came and apologized.

"hey Y/N," Sarah started, fingers rubbing the thin material tied around her neck. you recognized it as the bandana. however angry you were before, it was John B.. he was your friend and you trusted his judgement - despite how dumb he seemed some times.

"i'm sorry," you told her. "you didn't have to come over this morning and bring me here, but you did. you clearly like John B. and he likes you, and you won't be going anywhere. i just thought it was going to be us five, but six is a better number."

"i'm sorry for being rude too, especially since it's clear how much you care ab-"

"let's get this party started!" JJ yelled, interrupting you and Sarah by pulling a beer out of no where and handing it to you. you took a drink and smiled at Sarah.

it truly was the beginning of one of your favorite days ever.

there was glow sticks, alcohol, and a hot tub. you got more bracelets from Kie, a book you had been wanting to read from Pope, a serenade from John B. and JJ, and an IOU from Sarah. there was so much laughter and cheer, you couldn't believe that once upon a time these people weren't your friends. you were so grateful for them, for the adventures they've taken you on.

nonetheless, nagging in the back of your mind, was that feeling in your chest. were you having fun doing something you shouldn't be right now? yes. was it giving you that feeling? unfortunately, no. your brain kept thinking about Rafe despite the dancing and drinking with your friends. you kept thinking about that feeling in your chest you were missing. you were really trying to not let it bother you. you wanted to find your way back to Rafe's truck with the windows down and music blaring. you realized you would probably be chasing that feeling for the rest of your life. the revelation made you ready to go home and listen to your new vinyl - at least that would remind you of that feeling. it was the first time you had ever felt out of place while with your friends.

"hey, are you feeling okay?" Sarah asked, gently touching your elbow. you vaguely remembered that she wasn't drinking because John B. knew you had to be home by the time your parents got back.

"i should probably get home. it's getting late," you nodded, putting your drink down on the counter. "where are my-"

"in my car already. say your goodbyes and i'll see you out there," Sarah smiled, heading out the door to the porch. you splashed some water in your face, hoping to finally calm yourself down. it was dark out now, and you were probably supposed to be home. you checked your phone again, the only message being from Rafe.

"who's that?" Kie asked, popping in next to you. you locked your phone, shoving it in your pocket.

"just some birthday wishes," you waved it off, holding Rafe as your secret. it was just a birthday present anyway, no need to get everyone torn up about it.

"happy birthday, Y/N," Kie hugged you suddenly. "i can't wait to go on a road trip with you once we graduate."

"of course," you hugged her back. "thank you for an amazing night, as always. you're a great friend, Kiara."

"you're just going home for the night, Y/N. no one is disappearing forever," she laughed pushing you out the door while she went to the bathroom. you gave your hugs to the boys before getting into Sarah's car. you checked your phone again, finally being able to see his reply.

i'm glad you like it, you deserve it. happy birthday, y/n x

[mythicalgemwrites]

Selkie x F! Reader (Linn) Part 1

Sorry for not posting earlier guys! I've been very busy with online classes.

Warnings: mentions of drowning. Pics are not mine, all credits go to the owner!

M! Selkie X F! Reader

Living on an island your whole life has its perks. From the fresh scent of the salty ocean air to the calming sounds of the waves crashing lazily, it never failed to wake you up with a serenity that could be found nowhere else. You had lived alone with your Toller pup for the past couple years, in the house that your grandparents had left for you. You grew up with them, as your parents always had to move from town to town due to their profession. They were both marine biologists and had taken up a job at a top secret research facility when you were 12, so they decided to let you stay with your beloved grandparents. However, on a stormy day a couple years ago, when you were 19, both your grandparents got caught in a storm while they were out fishing, and they never came back. During the funeral, you had found out that in their will, they had stated that you should get the house, in the event of something tragically happening to them.

And that’s how you got the house three years ago. When it became too lonely, you decided to adopt a Toller puppy for company, and you had named him Sam, which was your grandpa’s nickname. He provided good company and unconditional love, which is important in every home. The house had its own dock leading to the beach, so every morning, after your walk, you’d put Sam’s retriever genes to good use and play fetch with him, fetching the ball from the ocean was one of his favorite past times. Whenever you brought him to the beach, you sometimes feared he was going to be the reason why someone almost drowned. To date, you were grateful nothing like that had ever happened, but you sometimes couldn’t brush off that fear. You were a writer, and sometimes, you couldn’t control how far your imagination went, and sometimes, the words you put on paper would be some of your worst fears, if they were to come alive.

As the days go by, and the weather gets chilly, you would often take Sam on a walk to the nearby cove, usually in the warmer months it would be filled with children playing by the beach and in the waters, but as the weather got cooler, it was mostly couples going on romantic walks, or some who preferred the solitude, just came to enjoy the sunset. On this particular day, there weren’t many people by the cove, just a couple strangers. It was around 6:15 when you threw the ball the last time, and waited for Sam to retrieve it. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, fully inhaling the chill autumn air, when you heard a whelp coming from the water. Opening your eyes, you saw Sam caught on a wave, and struggling to get back to you. In a panicked state, you took off into the water, not worrying about the growing current, but more worried about your faithful companion, struggling in grasps of strong waves, at least for a dog his size. As you grab him by his collar, attempting to pull him out, another wave comes crashing into the two of you, causing you to go under. Trying to call for help, and failing, as the water fills your lungs, you stop struggling, knowing it might make your situation worse, however, Sam starts barking, with his head barely above the water.

Suddenly, you could feel yourself being pulled out of the water, and being held against a broad chest by strong arms. Once you reached the water, you looked at your savior, beautiful greenish-blue grey eyes met yours, and you saw a cute familiar face looking back at you. It was Linn, the barista in the cute local café. You had to admit, you’ve always had a crush on him, but from afar. You didn’t know anything about him, except that people claimed that his family had lived on the island for years, centuries even.

He had shaggy brown hair, and small freckles were scattered along his face. With his help, you got up from the ground and called out to Sam. “Are you alright? I saw you getting pulled under and saw your dog barking. Do you want me to call someone?” he asked , in a boyishly deep smooth voice. Gaping like a goldfish out of the water, it took you a few seconds to process what was said. Coughing, you rasped out “ Yes… I’m fine, thank you! My dog , Sam, got caught in the waves, and I tried to get him out.” you started babbling like a lost child. “ Can I call someone to come get you?” He asked again, a hint of concern in his eyes. “ oh, no… no it’s okay, I live alone, well with Sam. There’s no one to call.” you said, trying not to act like a 15 year old who just couldn't help but be nervous around her crush. “I’ll be fine, really, I just need to walk home and dry out. Thanks again for helping!” you exclaimed. Calling Sam to you, the both of you started to walk home. “ Hey! Wait!” you heard Linn calling from behind, “ I’ll walk you home, if that’s okay. It’s getting dark anyway. I’ll see to it that you both get home safe,”. Before you could say anything, you felt him putting his jacket over you, helping with the chill. You didn’t realize you were freezing until he wrapped his jacket around you.

When the three of you reached your home, Sam was happy to be back in the warm embrace of his bed. Standing by the door “ Would you like to come in? Maybe a cup of coffee… or tea or anything else, if you prefer?” quickly giving him the option of whatever he preferred, to make sure you didn't seem ignorant. Sure, he worked as a barista in the local café, but that doesn't mean he loved coffee, right? “ Um, sure! Anything will do,” he said, as he followed you in. Looking around, you kicked yourself in your head, not keeping up to the schedule you set yourself for cleaning up around the cottage. Sure, it was decent, but paper everywhere? A heaping amount of mugs were strewn around your coffee table, as you sat there working on your next work.

Quickly picking them up and moving them to the sink, you filled up the kettle and turned it on to boil. “ There’s tea and coffee in the cabinet above the kettle, feel free to help yourself. I’ll go get dried up,” the words left you, as if you were telling them to an old friend, hoping to not make a fool of yourself anymore, you gave him a sheepish smile and made your way upstairs to your bedroom.

(Linn pov)

I made my way to the cabinet, looking through the various tea blends. Something which would help with the cold temperature would be nice. There in the right corner of the cabinet, was a box of peppermint tea. It would definitely help make her feel better, since she was soaked to the bone. I can’t help but feel a sense of concern for her. This beautiful strong woman that I always encounter in the café I worked in, and possibly have a crush on, I can’t believe I never spoke to her. I’ve always seen her writing in the corner of the café, in her spot, as my coworkers and I have labeled it. She always seems so sure of herself, and always seems ready for anything, but today, out in the water when I saw her struggling, something came over me. I had to save her, felt a sense of protectiveness for her, hence why I offered to walk her home. Taking two bigger than average mugs from the cabinet, I filled them up with the boiling water, after placing a tea bag in each and placing them on the coffee table before the couch. Her dog was in front of the heater, longing for some warmth and hoping to dry off. I heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs.

As I got to the bottom of the stairs, I saw Sam laying before the heater, trying to get warm. Making my way to the tiny laundry room, I picked up Sam’s towel. Making my way to him, from the corner of my eye I saw Linn, sitting on the couch, two steaming mugs of what seemed to be one of my teas in front of him.

“ I made some peppermint tea, it helps with colds, we don’t want you to catch one now do we?” grinned Linn.

Thanking him, and taking the mug he held one, I sat next to him on the couch. Keeping some distance between us, I asked him if he wanted to use the bathroom to clean up.

“ If you have any spare clothing that might fit, I’d like that! It’s okay if you don’t though!” he nervously exclaimed. “ I do have some spare clothing that belonged to my grandpa, they should fit. Gimme a sec! I’ll go grab ‘em, and a towel too!” I exclaimed, leaving the cozy embrace of the couch.

Making my way to my room, where I kept a spare drawer full of my grandparent’s clothes, I dug out a jumper and a pair of pajama pants which belonged to my grandpa.

When I went down, I saw Linn drying Sam with the towel that I had left by his dog bed, and Sam being the belly rub loving dog he is, happily accepted Linn drying him with the towel, belly rubs being a necessity. Letting out a chuckle at the scene before my eyes, I held out the spare clothes and a fresh towel to Linn.

“ There’s a bathroom two doors left from the stairs upstairs,” I exclaimed, reaching for the doggy towel he left by the couch and chucking it in the laundry room. “Thank you,” he exclaimed, leaving to go to the bathroom.

Once Sam was dry enough, I picked up my mug of tea, making myself comfortable on the couch. Looking out the living room window, rain droplets trickling down the class, I sip on my tea, waiting for my guest to arrive from the bathroom. A couple minutes passed, looking up when I heard soft footsteps heading towards me, I offered Linn a smile and patted down the space next to me on the couch. “ Here, you can leave once the storm stops,” I handed him the mug.

We both sat beside each other, talking about what we remember about my grandparents and how we never spoke to each other when we were younger. Sam sitting at our feet. The dying fire casted a warm allure on his face, illuminating the soft scattered freckles. Hours passed as we enjoyed each other's company over another mug of tea, laughing at all the brief mutual moments that were shared between us. He mentioned that he would always get excited to see me whenever I visited my grandparents by the docks. I didn’t want to admit it, but I always loved to catch a few glimpses of him, whenever he wasn't looking as well.

I laughed at his words, tired but somehow feeling rejuvenated. It had been a long time since I last laughed with someone. It felt good to let go.

His expression of awe paused me mid laughter. He was gazing into my eyes, as I his. For a brief moment, his gaze averted to my lips. Moving his gaze up to my eyes, as soft as a whisper “ May I kiss you?” he asked, a foreign emotion lingered behind his now soft eyes.

Giving him a gentle nod, I felt him place his hand at the nape of my neck. Inhaling a deep breath, his scent which reminded me of the sea with a hint of musky peppermint enveloped my senses.

Linn leaned in, gently bringing my face towards his. He closed his eyes, and for a brief few seconds I admired him until mine shut involuntarily as I felt his lips on mine. After a few seconds, he pulled away, still gazing into my eyes, “ I’ve been wanting to do that for quite a while now,” he said, with a sheepish grin, before kissing me again.

He deepened the kiss a little, giving my bottom lip a light lick before pulling away. “ I regretted not telling you how I felt about you earlier… I did ask permission from your grandpa before he passed. The last thing he said to me was, he’d be happy if you chose me,” he paused for a second, a hint of sadness and regret casting a shadow on his blue eyes. “ I… I need to tell you something. I might … might not be who you expect. And I understand if I’m not who you want,” he stammered. Grunting, “ The rain’s about to stop. I should probably get going,” he said as he started to get up.

Grabbing onto his hand, “ No...don’t! Please… It’s late, you should stay!” I stopped him. “And I’ve had a silly little crush on you too… I just never knew how to tell you” I whispered. He sat next to me, slowly, as if I were made of fine china. That, at any moment, I might crumble. “ You did?” he breathed, his breath close enough that I could feel it on my face.

“ I also know what you are. Grandpa made sure to educate me on myths, and he said some were not myths. I’ve seen you carry your pelt around sometimes,” I closed his hand between mine. “I know you’re a selkie, Linn. I don’t want you to hide that from me.” I breathed, gazing into his eyes. I could catch a glimpse of adoration in them. “Thank you… for not running away, even when you knew what I was,” he sighed. I gazed at his lips, before catching them with mine, a soft peck, to let him know I accepted him for who he is.

[imagineteamfreewill]

Here’s to Witches

Title: Here’s to Witches

Pairing: Reader x Sam

Word Count: 1,331

Warnings: None

Summary: Sam and the reader are each gifted something after saving a group of housewives on a hunt, and Sam’s gift is exponentially more... enthusiastic than the reader’s.

A/N: This is completely unedited, so please excuse any mistakes. If you see any glaring ones, please feel free to (politely) send me an ask or a message so I can go in and fix it. The gifs that inspired this fic can be found at the end because I thought they were too cute to not include. Also, feedback makes the world go round and makes my blog a lot more enjoyable for everyone! Please reblog this fic with your thoughts or send me an ask or a message to tell me what you think. Enjoy!

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“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this happy,” you said as you leaned against the dresser. The knobs dug into the small of your back and your shoulders but you ignored them as Sam looked up at you with a wide smile.

“I just can’t believe this is real,” he replied.

Bones jumped up on his hind legs, pushing himself slightly off the floor as he tried to regain Sam’s full attention. He succeeded and you couldn’t help but laugh at the way Sam raised the pitch of his voice to talk to his new—or rather, old—furry friend.

“You know, when the witch said she’d brought back someone dear to your heart, I figured we’d come back to the motel to find Bobby or something.”

Sam glanced up at you again, his smile undimmed. “I didn’t think it would be Bones either, but honestly…”

Smiling, you moved away from the dresser to see if your phone had regained some battery. It had died on the way back from the abandoned winery where the coven had been holding its meetings. Thankfully, you hadn’t needed it to call for help. The coven was more domestic than anything you’d ever encountered on a hunt; the witches mostly used their magic to bring dead houseplants back to life, get the smell out of laundry they’d forgotten in the washer, and thaw meat that they’d taken out of the freezer an hour or two too late. You’d been in the midst of trying to figure out how to ask them to stick with what they knew when the real troublemakers had shown up, figurative guns blazing, in an attempt to harm the housewives who were in almost too deep. 

You and Sam had eradicated the bad witches with relative ease and the handful of women had been so grateful to you that they’d put their collective energies together to give you each a gift. They’d given you something you’d thought long gone—a box of photos from your childhood—and they’d promised Sam something “dear to his heart”. 

After unlocking your phone, you quietly placed an order for a few pizzas, knowing that Sam was probably starving after the busy day you’d had. You were about to press the submit button when something bumped against your leg.

“I think he likes you,” Sam said, and you looked down to find Bones sitting at your feet. He was giving you a heart-warming doggy smile and his tail was going a mile a minute. It was almost comical how hard he was trying to sit despite the fact that his butt was wiggling right along with his tail.

You chuckled and crouched down to run your hand over Bones’ back. “Hey buddy! Are you hungry too? Is that why you came over here?” you cooed. Your voice jumped up an octave, just like Sam’s had, but Bones responded quickly and was up in your face as he tried to get as much of your attention and touch as possible.

Sam laughed too, standing up and stretching his arms above his head while he watched. He was clearly enjoying having Bones around and in the back of your mind, you sent up a silent prayer that this wasn’t a temporary thing. If Bones was ripped away from him, it would be a heartbreaking loss. Sam had already suffered so much and you wanted to ensure as much as you could that when he wasn’t on a hunt, he was happy and comfortable.

“You want some pepperoni, Bones? Huh?”

The dog yipped in response and you grinned, then stood. You quickly placed the order on your phone while Bones tried to get more attention from Sam. 

“Pizza should be here in about an hour,” you said, and Sam nodded. “So what do we do now? Think Dean’ll be okay with Bones being at the bunker? And in the Impala, for that matter?”

Sam shrugged. Bones was standing on the bed now so that Sam could pet him without having to sit down or bend over.

“Okay, well maybe we should pick up supplies before we get back,” you suggested. “That way, Dean can’t say it would be easy to get rid of him. And we should probably make an appointment with the vet in town, too…”

You pulled out your phone again, but as you were starting to research the veterinarian offices in Lebanon, you felt Sam’s eyes on you. Slowly, you glanced up from your phone and met his gaze.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Sam answered, shaking his head with a smile. “I’m just happy.”

“Okay… Weirdo.” You went back to the website. After another minute or two, you still felt Sam’s eyes on you and you sighed, dropping your hand down to your side so you could fully look at him. “What? Why are you staring at me, Sam?” The question came out with a laugh and Sam’s smile widened.

“I don’t know. I’m just… happy. I’m happy that you’re okay with this,” he said.

“Why wouldn’t I be? You love him and I think having a dog would be great.”

"Well I knew you liked dogs, but the last time we talked about getting one, you said that you didn’t think it would be a great idea. What changed?”

Shrugging, you tucked your phone in your pocket and went over to them, making sure to start petting Bones immediately so you wouldn’t get licked in the face again. You pointedly avoided making eye contact with Sam, instead focusing on the retriever who was practically vibrating with happiness at all the attention he was getting from the two of you.

“Honestly? I don’t know,” you answered. “I guess it’s because I don’t want you to have to give him up, you know? I like to see you happy, and Bones makes you happy. He makes me happy, too,” you added, knowing that Sam would call you out on it if you didn’t.

Sam hummed in response, and the two of you continued to pet Bones in silence, only occasionally laughing or talking to the dog when it felt right. 

An hour later, you were setting up the pizza while Sam took Bones outside for a break. The dog had come with his own collar—thank you, witches!—but he’d had to find a rope in the trunk of the Impala to use as a leash.

“It smells good!” Sam said as he opened the door and stepped inside. You glanced over at him with a smile, then laughed when you saw Bones pulling at the makeshift leash to get nearer to the table. When Sam dropped it, he made a beeline for the pizzas and you had to quickly shove him back down onto all four legs so that your dinner didn’t come with a side of dog hair.

“Whoa, buddy! Easy, calm down! You’ll get your dinner soon enough!”

Sam was grinning from ear to ear and you grinned back, feeling the contagious joy bubble up inside of you.

“Pepperoni?” he asked, and you nodded, grabbing the little container full of slices they’d included and holding it out for him. Bones tracked the movement intently and you laughed again as Sam grabbed it and pulled off the lid.

Instantly, Bones was sitting down, his tail wagging as he stared up at Sam.

“Well, at least he knows to sit,” you laughed. Sam laughed too, and soon the three of you were chowing down on your respective dinners.

We’re like a little family, you thought as you settled down beside Sam against the headboard. You’d both torn the top of the pizza boxes off so that the box was easier to hold in your lap, and he’d turned on a mindless movie while you’d made sure Bones had water. 

“Here’s to happy endings,” Sam said, holding out his beer.

You clinked yours against it with a smile, then a quiet chuckle. “And here’s to witches, which is something I’d never thought I’d say!”

(Gifs are by @frodo-sam​ can be found here. I couldn’t find them in the tumblr gif search or I would have included them that way, sorry!)

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[guiltgoreglory]

Heat Waves (Chapter 1: A Warm Welcome)

(Very) Brief Summary: Reader is a government contractor joining the team in Benghazi.  (Eventual Tanto x Reader) (2,684 words)

Chapter 2

Foreword: In this series, the reader will be loosely based off of Nikita from the TV show Nikita (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_(TV_series)). The reader has an extensive background in black-ops and is currently an independent contractor working with the department of defense in coordination with the executive branch. If you have any questions about the character, feel free to reach out to me and I can clarify. The story will generally follow the plot of the movie with the exception of a few scenes. Lastly, the POV will shift throughout the story, a change in POV will be signaled by a line.

Author’s Note: Hey guys! I have a full plot already set up but it has been a long time since I’ve written a fic. I’m so sorry if the writing is kinda shitty but I really wanted to get it down in writing. I hope you like it!

You closed your eyes and rested your head against the headrest, trying to find an ounce of comfort in the cramped seat. The dull hum of the plane was cut through by various murmurs amongst the travelers. After a minute or two, you deemed the effort fruitless, letting out a frustrated sigh. Instead, you opened your eyes and looked out the window, watching as the monotonous view trailed by. For the next several weeks, maybe even months, you’d once again become acclimated to discomfort. This shitty seat is probably as good as it gets, you thought. The department will likely have you shacked up in some storage closet on a grimy 20-year-old cot. You have had worse and at least you’d be occupied. 

Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Silva shift. You turned, watching him from a row back, across the aisle. He grimaced as he took off his wedding ring, putting it into a small metal container. He didn’t appear to notice your gaze as you turned your attention back to the window, the heat already radiating in. You felt sorry for him. Leaving people behind is never easy, especially kids. Luckily, you didn’t have that problem. 

As the plane began its descent you skimmed the team comp in your head. You’d been thoroughly briefed on the contractors, on top of all the research you had done on your own. You were joining alongside Jack Silva. A family man in real estate. Pushed to fly back overseas for the money to support his family. From all that you had seen, he’s a good guy. He seemed to be good company. It’ll be nice to not be the only strange face, you thought.

You readied yourself. Benghazi is far worse than most believed. Ever since the department even suggested you might be helpful here, you’d been keeping track of the chaos. It was only a matter of time before it erupted into a full-blown civil war. 

As the landing zone came into view you checked your hijab, making sure not a hair was out of place. You wore a casual white button-down shirt with a gray tank top underneath. You unfolded the sleeves, covering as much of your skin as possible. Given the heat, you’d love to run out in something a little more breathable, but the beige cargo pants would have to do. Next, you checked your “cello” case that sat in the seat next to you. Moving the strap towards you for a quick and effortless disembark. Being you had its perks, one of which was bringing some of your own firepower. 

You cracked your neck as a familiar ding came over the com. 

“Welcome to Benghazi.”

_

The two men settled into the car, watching over all the civilians walking past. Rone leaned forward, pulling a handgun out of the back of his pants. “It’s loaded.” Jack accepted the gun readily, cocking it within his lap. 

“How’s the team here?” 

“Good. Three ex-marines, one ex-army ranger. It’ll be nice to have some more team guys around.”

Jack briefly glanced back at Rone. “Guys?”

“Yeah. We’re waiting on one more before we head out.”

“You work with him before?”

“Nope. Defense department assigned her.”

Jack furrowed his brow slightly, pursing his lips in surprise. “Alrighty then, what’s she look like?” Jack looked more intently for another westerner standing out like a sore thumb. 

“No idea. I’ve been told that she will find us.”

“Oh how ominous.” A smile tugged at the corner of his lip. 

Rone hummed in agreement as he eyed the rearview mirror. Out of the crowd, a body began to beeline towards the car. “Think that’s her.”

Jack nonchalantly stretched, turning towards the back of the car to catch a look. 

_

You approached the dust-covered truck, already craving shade from the burning sun. Your sunglasses did little to protect your eyes from the glare off of the ground. As you got closer, you could see Tyrone eying you from the side mirrors. You adjusted the straps of both your cello case and your duffel, making sure not to make any sudden movements. You made your way to the driver’s side door, turning to face him. “You Tyrone?” you asked, knowing full well it was.

“Yes, Ma’am. And you are?”

“Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you, Y/N. Hop in.”

You nodded, moving back towards the rear of the car. Swinging the back door open, you threw your stuff onto the ground next to the seat. Leaving just enough room for you to climb in. As you sat down, you angled yourself towards Jack so that you could have a proper introduction. He noticed your movement, turning back to face you. He reached out his hand for a handshake. 

“Jack Silva”

You took his hand. “Y/N.” 

He settled back into his seat as Rone started the car. “Just Y/N?”

“Just Y/N.” You affirmed. 

As Rone made his way through the city they began to catch up, making friendly jabs at each other. You yanked your duffel towards you, rummaging through the various clothes. You could feel Jack’s eyes peeking at you ever so often through the mirror, making sure you weren’t doing anything unsavory. Trust is earned.  Finally, you found your shoulder holster. You unbuttoned your shirt, throwing it on the seat beside you. You put on the holster, adjusting the straps as needed so that it sat comfortably. After you were satisfied you again began to look through your luggage, pulling out two black pistols. You loaded a magazine into both of the guns. The sound quickly drew the attention of both men as the conversation briefly paused before they returned to their conversation. You paid them no mind, knowing that any response would probably make them more antsy. You then cocked them before placing them within your holster. Grabbing your shirt, you put it back on, leaving it unbuttoned. It was opaque enough to conceal your firearms as long as no one looked too close. 

“So, Y/N,” Rone directing the conversation towards you, “The Defense Department didn’t tell me much about you. What branch you from?” 

You turned from watching out the side of the car. “Covert operations.” 

That definitely piqued his interest. Jack let Rone do the questioning, but it was clear he was just as curious as him. 

“Alright. SEAL Team?”

“Uh, no. It’s a little more complicated.”

“Oh I get it, you’re on some James Bond shit huh.” He chuckled to himself as you smiled and rolled your eyes.

“Pretty much.”

Rone left the questioning there, knowing he’d probably not get much more of an answer, at least not until you’d come to know him a bit better. The two of them shared a look before the car came to a sudden stop. 

“Shit. No, no, no, no, no this isn’t good.” Rone’s body tensed as he assessed the situation. 

Civilians began to run around the car, whimpering in fear. You straightened up, readying for a shit show. You positioned yourself in the middle of the back, between the two men so you could see as much as possible through the windshield. 

“Fuck.” Rone’s discomfort quickly seeped through his cool resolve. “Who the fuck are these guys?” 

“What do we got?” Jack stayed still, his eyes scanning over the various armed men.

“Brigade we coordinate with, February Seventeenth Martyrs. This ain’t them.” He looked back past you and he switched into reverse. Moving back a few feet, the path was blocked and the car jolted forward. “Shit we’re boxed in.”

You settled on your knees, carefully unclipping the straps keeping your guns in place, just in case. Both men leaned out of the window. Jack looking up towards the man on the balcony readied to run.

“We bailing?” He asked, voice calm and collected.

Rone, giving no response, pulled out his radio. “Base this is Rone. Come in, over.”

“This is Base, go Rone.”

“I’m in a Jam off Fifth Ring Road. I’m lookin’ at about 8 armed tangos here.”

“Copy that, sit tight.”

“Sit tight, that’s great advice.” Everyone in the car became increasingly more agitated as the armed militia made its way in your direction. 

You took a deep breath. “If we’re bailing we gotta do it now.” You glanced at your bags. You could leave the duffel. There wasn’t anything particularly important in there. The case on the other hand couldn’t be lost to a rampant terrorist cell, if you did, the government would be up your ass about it for at least another 10 years. You fidgeted slightly, knowing that the opportunity to flee was about to pass.

Jack clenched his jaw. “They got a KPV.”

Fuck this is bad. 

“Base we ain’t got all day.”

“Hey, Rone. They’re trying to get Feb 17 to back you up, but we’re coming.”

Deeming that transmission utterly useless, Rone whipped out his cell. “Oz I’m in a jam of Fifth Ring.”

“Ty.” Jack interjected as the men became uncomfortably close.

“Rone, 17 Feb QRF is being alerted.”

“Fuck that, the only Quick Reaction force I want is my guys.” Without an immediate response, Rone continued on. “Send them. I want my guys.” He said more adamantly. 

“Negative, Rone. Just hang in there.”

“Maybe I’m not making myself clear. I’m looking at multiple radical insurgents with AKs and a 50-cal technical set to blow my rover all the way back to Zimbabwe. Over.”

You watched as a man dressed in a disheveled suit made his way around the vehicles and debris. He’s the big guy.

“It’s not my call, brother.”

Goddamnit. Looks like we’re either talking our way through this, or we go out quick. The thought gave you the slightest bit of comfort.

Rone looked towards Jack frustrated. You could sense he felt an inch of guilt for getting his friend stuck in this hellhole.

“Here we go.” Jack said nonchalantly as he could given the circumstances.

You crossed your arms, giving yourself easy access to your handguns without looking too conspicuous. A man stood at the front of the rover, yelling something you couldn’t understand. He pointed his AK right at you, maybe it wasn’t on purpose but you couldn’t help but mentally scoff. Well, that’s not very nice.

“Welcome to Benghazi.”

The man in front banged on the hood as the leader moved towards the driver’s side window. Jack raised his hands up innocently as Rone smiled at the man. 

“Salaam.” Rone raised his badge up to the man in the suit as he gazed at him incredulously. “Libyan visa. Official. Libyan government.” The leader looked him up and down. 

The guy with the AK was now in Jack’s face. His gaze shifted forward, doing his best to remain calm despite the barrel of a gun being inches from his forehead.

“Friendly? Hm? Friendly?” Rone again gestured with his badge.

Rone whatever game you’re playing it better fucking work because last time I checked a friend of Al-Qaeda is no friend of ours. You did your best to blend into the back of the car, feigning as the harmless woman. 

“Pull over for inspection.” The leader said sternly.

Rone shook his head. “No.” 

“Pull over for inspection!” He was now angry, his voice shaking with every word.

Alright, this is how it’s gonna go. You crept your hands slightly closer to your guns.

Rone’s voice remained steady. “I’m sorry, sir. I can’t do that.”

The man at Jack’s door yelled once more. Banging his palm against the dirty surface. Then the slightest movement came from Jack. 

It’s showtime. You thought. You gripped your pistols and whipped them forward, pointing them as the secondary soldier positioned at the front of the rover. Jack and Rone acted similarly with Jack’s gun pointed across at the leader, and Rone’s gun pointed at the soldier beside the door. The soldier at the front adjusted his AK, pointing it more fervently towards the car. 

“Look up.” Rone pointed towards the sky with his empty hand, never moving his gaze from the leader’s eyes. “Go ahead, look up.” Some of the aggression left the leader as he looked towards the sky, confused. “You see the drone?” The man looked back down. “No? That’s okay. The drone sees you.”

Nice play, Rone. You thought to yourself. A couple of Americans? No problem. We don’t pose that much of a threat. But good ol’ American air support? Now that carries a little weight. 

“Sees your face. We know who you are.”

Jack, facing the soldier at his door, swallows hard. Keeping with Rone’s power play, he maintains eye contact.

“If anything happens to us, your home, your family, boom, gone. Give us the order to let us go.”

Jack, looking past the AK in his face, doesn’t flinch as the soldier gestures with his gun.

 “I want the car!” 

Within a brief moment, Jack and Rone switched their aim, with Jack now pointing his handgun at the soldier and Rone at the leader. You flinched ever so slightly at the movement, but you remained steady, watching for any worrisome movement amongst the militia. Adrenaline pumped through your veins as you could feel your heart pounding in your chest. You ignored the harsh metal of the rover digging into your knees. This was your guys’ only shot to make it out of this cramped alley. They had to think your little caravan of three had the power of the entire U.S. military revolving overhead when in reality, you were just three Americans with a couple of guns in the middle of fuckin nowhere.

“No, I’m not gonna do that.” Jack shakes his head, leaning forward towards the man. The energy around the car was beginning to shift. Despite the KPV having enough firepower to destroy your car, and about 5 cars behind you, you three possessed the upper hand. They recoiled at the barrel of your guns, not the other way around.

The leader’s eyes began to soften, his harsh exterior falling at the thought of losing everything. For a moment, you actually pitied him. “I earn the right to decide the future of my country.” You understood the sentiment behind his words. Once again the U.S. had shoved itself into the center of a country, with no right to do so. But you, and the men sat beside you, just wanted to keep others safe. You had no agenda.

“You’re talking to the wrong guy. How willing are you to die for your country? I’m ready to go right here, right now.” Easy, Tyrone. Don’t push it too far. 

The leader’s frown deepened as he considered the weight of Rone’s words. He slowly backed away from the car. “Leave here. While you still can.”

You stopped yourself from relaxing your figure even though it felt like the weight of the world had just been lifted off your shoulders. Rone leaned back into his seat, beginning to maneuver the car between the debris. Jack slowly lowered his pistol to the door as the car inched forward. You followed suit and lowered your guns into your lap. You could hear the leader yelling to his men, and their posture relaxed enough to show they weren’t an immediate threat. Air filled your lungs for the first time in what felt like 5 minutes, before you looked behind through the dusty back window, making sure the leader was true to his word and you weren’t about to get shot in the back. You settled back onto your seat, leaning back against the warm metal. You debated holstering your weapons but decided it was best to have them at the ready until you were within the walls of the base.

“We got air support?” Jack’s voice was calm but demanding. You knew the answer to his question but left Rone to give him the bad news. Rone didn’t take his eyes off of the road as he did his best to make it back to base in one piece. 

“We don’t have any fucking support.”

[swaps55]

This Hole You Left (Anderson)

Pairing: mShenko | Tags: Canonical Character Death, Grief

Post-Alchera. 

This is a stand-alone scene from a larger work, but I’m very fond of it, so I’m posting it on its own. 

~

Captain David Anderson stares out at the repair crews moving around the Presidium. Here, from the safe retreat of his office, it doesn’t look so bad. Scaffolding covers the damaged bridge. Debris still floats in the lake, turning the serene blue water a murky brown. The air circulators have almost cycled out the smell of soot and burnt alloy, but a trace of it still lingers. If he leans out far enough, the tip of the relay Shepard had barreled through using nothing but an M-35 Mako just four weeks ago is barely visible on his right periphery.

He doesn’t lean. Just as he doesn’t look at the datapad in his hand. Hearing the words come out of Joker’s mouth was enough. Seeing the helmsman’s face was enough. Anderson had remarked once to Shepard that he’d like to be there the day someone wiped the smartass off Joker’s face.

Shepard had snorted. Not me, sir, he’d said. If he gives up the smartass that probably means I’m fucked. I’d prefer my pilot remain an asshole at all times.

Shepard had been right, of course.

Anderson wipes a thumb across the corner of his eye. It’s all right. No one here to see.

They came back around for another pass, Joker had said, in a voice that was dull, dead, about as far a cry as you could get from the insubordinate ass who’d gone off on the stand in Vancouver just two weeks ago. Shepard had to be to blame for that display. Politics had never been his game.

We lost gravity right as he shoved me in the pod. Momentum from the blast…kicked him the wrong way. I didn’t see what happened after the door closed, but I didn’t need to. Drive core implosion doesn’t leave much to the imagination.

Anderson’s fingers grip the datapad harder. No. It doesn’t. That doesn’t stop his mind from filling in the blanks anyway.

All Shepard’s training. All the hell he’d put himself through to earn that N7 designation. There couldn’t have been a person more prepared to live through the Normandy’s destruction. And in the end, the realities of space had still won.

At least it had probably been quick. Probably.

The door to his office hisses open. For a moment, Anderson expects it to be Shepard. It should be Shepard. That son of a bitch has been putting Anderson’s heart in his throat since he was fourteen years old, but he’s never had the audacity to actually die. Hell, the kid had taken a reaper to the face and shrugged it off.

Kid. Shepard hasn’t been a kid in a long time, maybe never really was to begin with. But to Anderson, some part of Shepard would always be that fourteen-year-old with the thousand-watt grin and a glimmer in his eye that usually meant Anderson’s heart was about to leap into his throat. The smile had faded over time, but not that damned glimmer. He’d last seen it right here on the Citadel, when he’d stood up from the table at Flux Casino with plans to steal the Normandy right out from under the Council’s nose. And Anderson had helped him do it.

This can’t be how it ends. It can’t.

A voice speaks up behind him, crisp, formal. “You wanted to see me, sir.”

His expression tightens, but he smooths it out before he turns around. Lieutenant Alenko stands just inside the door to his office, shoulders straight, hands clasped behind his back, chin in the air. Anderson can’t shake the feeling there’s an empty space next to him.

Probably because he’s never seen Alenko without Shepard.

Kaidan Alenko. Damndest thing.

Who do you want on your marine detail? Anderson had asked, after informing Shepard he was being transferred off the Myeongnyang and onto the Normandy.

You’re asking me?

I’m naming you XO. If there’s someone you want, just say the word.

Alenko.

Anderson hadn’t had a chance to blink before the name was out of Shepard’s mouth. Not another N. Not someone from the special ops teams Shepard had run when Anderson could pry him out of Captain Oseguera’s hands. He wanted the biotic from the ‘Yang.

Hackett was the one who’d argued for assigning Alenko to Shepard’s detail five years ago, when the dust from Torfan had finally settled. Anderson had thought it would be a mistake. Alenko’s file showed he could keep up with Shepard, sure. But Alenko embodied the kind of idealism Shepard would chew up and spit out.

If we’re going to put his mind right to get back on the front lines, he needs an anchor, Hackett had replied, with that calm, ice cold demeanor that has won him nearly every argument he’s ever been involved in. Alenko will do the job.

The old man had been right. Shepard didn’t get close to people, and that was before Torfan. But he’d gotten close to Alenko. Hell, Alenko probably deserves most of the credit for bringing Shepard back from the brink. Because after Torfan, Shepard had indeed been on the brink.

Alenko might be the one on the brink, now. There’s a look in his eye that Anderson recognizes, and it isn’t a good one.

“Sit down.”

Alenko shifts his weight. Not the sitting kind, then. Not today. Anderson’s going to take a wild guess that Alenko hasn’t stopped moving since the Marrakesh picked him up.

He sighs and remains standing, giving the lieutenant silent permission to do the same. “I thought you’d like to know we’re working with the elcor to get a salvage team to Alchera. We’re hoping they find the Normandy’s black box data. Be nice to get some clues on what the hell happened out there.”

“Yes, sir.”

Hm. Brick wall is not Alenko’s usual MO, but that’s sure as hell what he’s talking to right now.

“Joker finished his debrief an hour ago,” Anderson goes on. “I assume you’ve heard his version of what happened.”

More shifting. The uncomfortable kind. Shepard’s done it more than a few times in Anderson’s various offices over the years.

“I haven’t, sir.”

Anderson takes a good, long look at him. He’s spent fifteen years worrying about Shepard. It’s never occurred to him to worry about Alenko.

“I see.” He exhales through his nostrils. “The Normandy was attacked by an unknown vessel. Whoever they were, Joker says they came out of nowhere. Shepard got him into the escape pod, but the ship lost gravity. He…well.”

Alenko stares straight ahead, silent. Anderson looks for a tell, but he only knows Shepard’s.

Alenko isn’t Shepard.

If this conversation is going to be one sided, Anderson needs backup. He moves to his desk, fishes a bottle out of a drawer that’s already half empty after being new just yesterday, and pours two glasses. He pushes one of them across the desk. Doesn’t occur to him until after the fact he has no idea if Alenko drinks scotch. It’s just one of the things Anderson and Shepard always agreed on.

“Have it if you want it,” he says, not up for bullying the lieutenant into a drink. “This is off the record.” He swallows half of his in one go, then heads back for the balcony. A few moments later, Alenko joins him, hands empty, still avoiding his gaze. There’s a chip in the brickwork, though. Not much, but something in his eyes wavers.

Yeah. It might be time to worry about Alenko. Losing two ships in the span of four weeks would do a number on anyone.

Except he doesn’t think it’s about either the Myeongnyang or the Normandy.

Anderson leans on the railing, gazing out at the wreckage of the Presidium. He takes another sip from his glass. “I’m sorry. I know he meant a lot to you.”

It takes Alenko so long to answer Anderson thinks he isn’t going to. But then some of the starch fades from his shoulders.

“He did.”

Anderson side eyes him. Had it been Shepard standing next to him, he might press. He could get Shepard to open up if he was careful enough. Sometimes.

But this isn’t Anderson’s business. And his own grief certainly isn’t Alenko’s business. But while most of the galaxy is preparing to mourn Commander Shepard, the soldier standing next to him might be the only person he knows who’s grieving for Sam. He swirls the remaining liquid in his glass.

“He was the most reckless SOB I’ve ever met,” Anderson says, watching a hanar drift along one of the intact pathways below them. “I’m pretty sure half the shit he pulled over the years was just to piss me off.”

Alenko raises an eyebrow ever so slightly in surprise, but doesn’t turn his head. “He’s always at his best when the plan goes to hell.”

“Since he was a kid,” Anderson agrees, not missing the fact that Alenko had referred to him in the present tense. “First time I ever laid eyes on him he was four. He’d wandered away from Daniel on Arcturus and he called in the cavalry to look for him. You know where I found him?”

Alenko shakes his head.

“In a fountain, playing with a model ship. I asked him what the hell his spaceship was doing in the water. He said, ‘I’m about to find out.’”

Alenko’s mouth curves in a brittle smile. “I didn’t know you knew him that young.”

“I doubt he remembered,” Anderson says. “His father and I were good friends. I dropped in on occasion while he was growing up.” 

Before Shepard was a soldier. Before he was the Butcher of Torfan or the Savior of the Citadel. Back when he was still Sam, all knees and elbows, so desperate to please he couldn’t sit still.

Anderson still misses that kid.

“He said you kept an eye on him when they shipped him to Ares Station.”

Anderson huffs. “Told you about that, did he.”

Alenko nods, resting his hands on the balcony railing.

Then Shepard had indeed trusted Alenko. Only a handful of people knew about Ares Station and Guthra Tulak. Shepard had been one of five kids sent to biotically train with the krogan, and the only one to realize any potential.

Leave it to the Alliance to come up with a program even riskier than BAaT. Leave it to Hannah Shepard to volunteer her own kid to be part of it. Anderson always wondered if Sam knew about Hannah’s role in Ares, and how hard Daniel fought to keep it from happening.

To Hannah, Sam was a legacy. To the Alliance, he’d been a tool with astronomical potential. Someone had needed to look out for the actual kid. Daniel had tried, but.

Losing Daniel still stings. What would he have thought about his Spectre son?

Hell, Anderson knows exactly what he’d have thought. He would have feared this day, this ending, with every breath he took. He’d wanted anything else for Sam. Anything but this.

And Anderson had helped him become everything Daniel was afraid of. Hell, what choice did he have? You couldn’t dissuade Sam from anything. Once he was target locked on something there was nothing you could do but get as many obstacles out of his way as possible and hope for the best. So that’s what Anderson had done. Mentored him, advocated for him, taken a few hits behind the scenes on his behalf and cleared the path as best he could. Maybe you couldn’t take the target out of Sam’s sights, but you could guide his aim to make sure he hit it dead to rights.

“He’s come a long way since then,” Anderson says, wincing when he realizes now it’s him who can’t let go of the present tense. “I wish I’d been at the inquest. From the secure feed it looked like he put an entire roomful of admirals on their asses. Would love to have seen it in person.”

Alenko stills, expression frozen in place like a mask. Whatever nerve Anderson just touched is a big one, so he steers the conversation in a new direction.

“Though what I really wish I could have seen is what he found to gripe about being stuck in atmosphere. The entire time he was in Rio for ICT, he never once complained about the work. Wouldn’t shut up about how much he hated humidity.”

The fragile smile returns. “He hated going down a well without a hardsuit.”

“Know what almost kept him from qualifying for N1?”

Alenko shakes his head.

“Bugs,” Anderson tells him. “Not twenty-hour days, not hostile terrain, not crawling around in the mud without food or sleep. It was the bugs that damn near washed him out.”

A laugh escapes the lieutenant. It’s a rusty sound. “That…doesn’t surprise me.”

Anderson smiles at the memory. “He got over it. Made it through, like he always did. Wish I’d told him more how…proud I was.”

“You meant a lot to him,” Alenko says, so quietly Anderson almost doesn’t hear him.

The lump that forms in Anderson’s throat takes him off guard. “He had a way of affecting everyone he ever met. I forget sometimes it could go the other way. He made it so easy to think he was fine on his own.”

“He wasn’t.”

Alenko’s stare remains fixed on the view from the balcony. Not many people saw the side of Shepard that needed anyone. Even Anderson only saw it on occasion. Alenko was so far from the kind of person Shepard would let his guard down in front of, but clearly he had.

If we’re going to put his mind right to get back on the front lines, he needs an anchor, Hackett had said. Alenko had done the job, all right.

Problem was, it looks like that had gone both ways.

Anderson draws in a breath. Might as well get this over with. “I called you here to ask if you would speak at the memorial.”

It’s going to be a spectacle, the likes of which Sam would have hated, but the Alliance sure as hell isn’t going to be denied their PR opportunity.

Alenko shifts his weight. He’s so damn still. Shepard would be pacing the room until Anderson wanted to strangle him.

“Is that an order, sir?”

“A request.”

“Then I respectfully decline.”

Anderson finishes his drink. “Can I ask why?”

Alenko’s grip on the railing tightens. “The Alliance cares about the symbol. I cared about the person. I can’t give them what they want.”

Anderson can’t help but wonder what the lieutenant would have to say. Shepard was so many different things to so many different people. What, exactly, was he to Kaidan Alenko?

Why Alenko? Anderson had asked Shepard back on Arcturus, the Normandy’s hull gleaming and new out the shutters.

Shepard had thought a long time before answering, like there was too much to say and not enough words to say it.

Because he grounds me.

The older Shepard had gotten, the rarer it was to get glimpses of Sam. Sometimes Anderson wondered if Sam still existed, or if he’d been swallowed up by the mantle everyone demanded he carry. But that answer had come from Sam.

“Ok,” Anderson tells Alenko. “I’ll hand it off to Hackett.”

“Why not you?” Alenko asks, looking in his direction for the first time.

Anderson gazes down at his empty glass. Twenty years ago he might have thrown it against the wall just to watch it shatter. Nowadays he thinks too hard about the mess it would make, and being the one who has to clean it up. “Because I cared about the person.”

Heavy silence settles between them.

“You should take some leave,” Anderson says. “You’ve more than earned it.”

“I’m fine,” Alenko replies, but that haunted look is back.

Soon enough you’re going to have to stop moving, son, Anderson thinks. After Torfan, Shepard had hit the same wall Alenko is cruising right towards. But Alenko isn’t Shepard, and he isn’t under his command anymore. All he can do is give him a hand if he asks for it, and from the looks of it he isn’t going to ask.

Not that it would matter. Anderson’s got no anchor to give him that could replace the one he lost.

“Just think about it. And get some sleep.” He gestures towards the door, freeing the lieutenant from further torture. While Alenko makes for the exit, Anderson heads for his desk and the untouched glass. No sense in letting it go to waste.

Alenko pauses at the doorway and looks back over his shoulder. “Rain.”

“I’m sorry?” Anderson asks with a frown.

“You wanted to know what he found to gripe about on Earth. It was the rain.” He looks away without waiting for a response and walks away.

That empty space Anderson thought he’d been imagining when Alenko walked in feels even larger, now. Yeah. Shepard sure knows how to leave a hole in people.

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

HASO, “Dealing with Intruders.”

So sorry this came out so late today. I was at work and things got busy. I wanted it to be a bit longer, but decided this was a good enough stopping point. I hope you all enjoy

Yeb took a step back.

“I said run, and DIE!” The small, Fuzzy creature said, its ear twitching spastically over its brightly colored fur.

She froze in place, she didn’t know what this creature was, she had never seen it through all of her spying on the ship. It was small though, so there was more than a distinct possibility that she just hadn’t seen it. Either way that didn’t change the fact that she didn’t know anything about it. It could be poisonous, or venomous, or have some other strange ability that she didn’t know about.

“Who are you!” it demanded.

She held up her hands, “Yeb…. my name is Yeb, please don’t hurt me I’m sorry I snuck aboard your ship…. I… I panicked.”

“A stowaway then, from the ice planet.”

She nodded quickly, “Please, I mean you no harm, I just…. I just made a dumb mistake is all.”

“I feel that the Admiral will be very interested to learn about this.”

She felt her fur stand on end thinking of the genial alien captain and how he would react to the sudden appearance of her on his ship, a stowaway. What might he think about her betraying his trust like that, what would he seem like when driven to anger?

“Come with me.” The little fuzzball ordered, turned and began waddling away, “Try to escape and I break your kneecaps.”

Yeb followed behind silently. She didn’t see how the small creature would even reach her kneecaps, but she certainly didn’t want to challenge it. If it was THAT confident it could hurt her, then she had no desire to figure out why.

They stepped into the hallway, her following, keeping mostly to the maintenance tunnels, gone unused by most of the crew. At a certain point she started to hear low murmured voices rising up in some agitation over the thrumming sound of the ship’s distant engines. They came out of the maintenance corridor, and the sound around them rose higher.

It was still agitated, but hushed, and as she walked into the room she was greeted with a very odd…. And an almost disturbing scene.

There was a ring in the center of the floor, surrounded by seats. Inside the ring, little drops of red made a smattering over the floor. The humans sat around in agitated silence looking between each other and the occasional Drev.

Sitting just outside the circle was the human leader…. looking …. More the worse for wear.

He had a small crowd gathered around him,and that strange red liquid was leaking down the side of his face and onto his shirt. Just to the side, the small Blue Drev was standing looking concerned.

As Yeb got closer, she noticed to her horror that the human’s leg was missing! She froze in place and the entire group of whispering humans looked up as she stopped. Concern turned to confusion turned to shock.

The human leader lifted his head, which was discolored and leaking fluid but paused as well, “You!”

“She shrunk back.”

“I found this stowaway hiding in the maintenance tunnels.” The fluff ball announced to the whole room.

The human opened his mouth, closed it, tilted his head and then sighed.

“Will you give us just a moment.” His voice was calm and restrained, almost, tired.

He turned to look over at The blue Drev and a smaller group of humans clustered around just to the side.

“Any joy?”

“It doesn’t look too bad sir, most of the main components are intact as expected, it is just a faulty joining pin.”

“Can you fix it?”

“Unfortunately….not with what we have here. But it should be easy enough to order At Europa.”

He sighed, “Sit, well, it’ll have to do.” He turned to look at one of the other humans, she knew to be named Ramirez, “Head to my room, look in the closet, and in the back corner, you will find those crutches that go around your wrists.”

The man nodded, “Yeah, for sue.” He jogged off and the human leader, Adam, turned to face her.

Slow red was still oozing from the side of his face still as the little spidery alien creature attempted to stop it.

“Yeb, I can’t say I expected to see you here.”

“I...I am so sorry… I have no idea what I was thinking. I saw the box, and it was open, and i just sort of… jumped in, I have no idea why I did that, and then I was worried that you were going to be mad, so I…. So I hid and…. and .” 

It was getting very hot all of a sudden, and she was beginning to pant.

“Wow, slow your roll there for a moment.” He held up his hands.

She stared at him, teetering on the edge of concern and fear.

“That….. Sounds like exactly something I would have done.” He smiled at her with his pearly white teeth, “Welcome aboard the Omen. I wish you would have told me sooner as this is hardly a hospitable environment for you. Where have you been hiding.”

She looked down at her shuffling feet, “The…. walk-in freezer?”

He barked a laugh, “Ingenious.” 

He held a pad of white to the side of his head and went to stand but stopped suddenly apparently seeming surprised that he was missing a leg. He huffed, “Will someone help me up.” He turned to look at the small doctor frowning and arms crossed over its bug-like chest, “Yes, we will discuss my idiocy later, but right now, we need to figure out how to keep our friend comfortable.”

The little doctor gave her a good once-over, “Does your fur grow back?”

She paused, frowned and then nodded slowly, “Yes it does.”

“Even the under layer?”

“yes , it would.”

The humans glanced between each other, and Adam held up a hand, “Now, this is not out of offence to you, so Don’t take it that way, but….. It might be cooler and more bearable if…. Perhaps you had less fur…. As in shaving it.”

She paused in thought, “I….I have never thought about it….I suppose…. It can’t hurt, if it would make the heat more bearable.”

“Alright, than that is something we can do. Your other options to wear a cooling vest,but those are heavy and would require battery changes and charging. Granted the other way would not be permanent either, but it might last longer.”

She paused to think about it, then, “Will you let me stay here.”

“I was going to let you stay here no matter what you chose to do, so it's your call.”

Just then Ramirez came jogging into the room holding a pair of metal sticks with strange loops at the end, which he handed over to Adam.

The human threaded his wrists through the loops, and levered himself up onto his one remaining leg with his weight supported on the metal sticks. Yeb tried to keep from staring, but fascination outweighed her propriety.

“Krill, take Yeb to the infirmary, and see if you can’t figure out how to safely remove some of her fur. I mean sheep shears would probably be best, but it's not like I have any of those lying around the ship.”

“And you?”

“I will be right along.”

The little spidery alien moved to the side of her and guided her away from the room. She glanced back over her shoulder just in time to see the Blue Drev and the human duck their heads in fervent conversation, her keen hearing managed to pick up some of what was being said, “Adam, I am so sorry I…”

“I asked r it, its ok.”

“No its-”

“Yes it is, now please don’t worry about it, and if you really are, just fix my leg when we get back to Europa.”

She saw the human touch the Drev’s Arm for just a moment before he limped away on his crutches, following after them up the hall.

Again she tried not to stare.

He was fast on those things, and surprisingly mobile, but her eyes kept being drawn to his missing leg, amputated at center thigh. She had seen wounds like that before, mostly after someone got to close to an ice beast or a crevice lurker. They had never lasted long dying from cold and shock a few hours after the incident.

What kind of…. Ungodly power would keep someone alive after trauma like that….

Her thoughts were cut off as she was pulled into the bright hite room next to the freezer. She was sat down and examined by the small studious doctor, who still seemed too grouchy to be particularly talkative. After a while two of the marines came trotting into the room each holding a box.

“This is all we could find, a couple of razors from the crew quarters.”

The one named Maverick eyed her, “I doubt they will be very usable after this.”

Ramirez nodded, “I’d tend to agree.”

Adam limped up behind them, “Might as well try.” he looked down at Yeb with a smile, “Want to do it yourself, or have some help.”

“Er…. help?”

Ramirez clicked on the Razor, “Hey, do you want a mohawk?” 

She blinked, “A what.”

“We could do it all the way down your back, have the hair longer there, it would look badass.”

Yeb thought he was joking for a moment but seeing the look on Adam’s face she had a feeling he wasn’t. She wondered, they seemed excited and almost hopeful she’d say yes…. She didn’t see the harm in it,and  she didn’t know what badass meant but it sounded fun. So she hesitantly nodded.

“Fuck yeah.”

She wasn’t entirely sure she trusted “These two humans, but what else was she to do?

The going was very, very slow, and the strange machines were very, very loud, she watched as her hair fell to the floor in great chunks, and was surprised when a cool breeze rushed over her neck.

It took them over an hour, and by the time they were done the floor was covered in hair, and she was marginally more comfortable. It felt so weird, and when they turned a mirror towards her she was shocked.

She was so…

Small.

She turned her head looking down at the scruff of hair left on her back which she was delighted to find made her look more vicious, the effect would be even more prominent when her fur stood up on end.

“See, badass.”

The little doctor crossed his arms again, “Don’t you think, Admiral that this might cause some diplomatic issues with the Tricar if they were to know she is here?”

“Than I guess we better not let anyone know she is here, and look at her, a horrible accident caused her to lose her fur and now she wouldn’t last a day back home, we are simply being generous hosts.” he patted her back then paused, “I have another potentially inappropriate question, so please don’t be offended.”

She looked up at him her head tilted and her ears pulled back.

“What?”

“Can I please…. Touch your fur, you look very fluffy, and humans love to pet things. Its sort of a thing about us?”

She shrugged and didn’t see the harm in it.

He grinned at her rather happy and adjusted himself to balance on one crutch, hooking his hand out of the other as he reached over and ran a hand from the top of her head and w nto her shoulders.

“So fluffy!”

She laid her ears back, That was actually kind of nice, and when he stopped she was only mildly disappointed. She’d have to convince someone else to touch her fur, which she doubted would be hard.

“Anyway, I have to take care of a head wound, but Ramirez and Maverick, why don’t you take Yeb around the ship, and give her the full tour, you know without the sneaking around and being forced to hide in the walk in freezer.”

They nodded and laughed somewhat.

“Try to keep her out of trouble will you. Oh…. and if you see Sunny…. Can you send her up here?”

His voice had grown somewhat hesitant, a minute change in pitch which she detected with her large ears.

She wondered what was going on, but let it go as the humans took her by the shoulder and led her away.

They seemed excited to have heron the ship, and their excitement made her excited. She was more than ready to learn and spend time with this strange alien species. And to try more of their food, which was about ten times better than the bland over-salted fish on her planet.

Hopefully she would be able to repay them somehow.

[emilyelizabethfowl]

Fic Writer Interview

I have been tagged by @jajalala (...a loooong time ago. like july kind of long time ago. but i'm finally getting around to it!) Thank you for the tag! <3

Name(s): I'm fairly consistent, using Emily (Elizabeth) Fowl or variations for pretty much every account ever

Fandom(s): Boku No Hero Academia, Avatar the Last Airbender, Harry Potter (i know. but there is a few fanfics i love too much to give up)

Where you post: Strictly AO3. I have an old fanfiction.net account, but I don't have any works posted there.

Most popular one-shot (by kudoes): [my secret agenda for the delay: waiting until I posted this one xD] "The Right Thing to Do" - this is, technically, the second BNHA fanfiction I have started this year, iirc. I had it finished even before the Fic Fight ever happened, but I wanted to wait until July to post it, to have it be closer to Izuku's birthday.

Most popular multi-chap (also by kudoes): sighs to my eternal consternation, "Sorry Aunt Petunia". Hopefully one of the BNHA longfics I have planned will overtake it. I do not enjoy having it dominate my stats page

Favourite story you've written so far: Without a doubt, "the Right Thing to Do". Though, "Dozen Ways of Parenting Midoriya Izuku" and my Purge: the Stain Zine piece (free zine being released on halloween!) certainly come close. (Honorary mention for "Vaulting the Vaulter", which is a series I love in its entirety)

Fic you were nervous to post: I... Don't recall one. I'm sure there had to be one- OH I remember! "Hear the Bells Ring"! I was a little nervous about this one, because it's a "Shirakumo Oboro did not die but transition, becoming Fukukado Emi" fic. But the reception had been pretty positive, so.

How do you chose your titles? More often than not, it's just the first thing that pops into my head. With the volume of fics produced for the Fic Fight and Writer's Month, I did not have the luxury to sit around and ruminate on titles.

Do you outline? Depends on what fic I am writing! If it's a short one (like most of the challenge ones), I don't outline. If I start outlining, it's not gonna stay within 10k, lemme tell you that much.

Complete: Technically, all of my fics are currently complete. The thing is, with the format of Fic Fight, I have quite a number of open series. Most notably, "Overhauling the System" (14 works) and "Quirkless Hero? Hop to it!" (4 works). [OtS has a long fic in the planning stages 👀]

In progress: cries in WIP ,,, comes back the next day I have kind of went to take a look at what WIPs I had going before the Fics War and Writer's Month absolutely wrecked my g.docs landing page, and then I got distracted making a spreadsheet of them.... Let me just say: A LOT

Coming soon: There is that one work (Shimura Tenko-centric) which I have been writing for a long time now... And by that I mean April this year. BUT the thing is: the last BNHA work I have written before it were the Uravity Bang entries in 2018... It wasn't even meant to be BNHA at first, just a random Original Fiction to get my writing juices flowing, and then- not only did Tenko insert himself in place of the nameless protagonist, he also stretched the fic out to 27-bleeding-k.

Recently, I have finally managed to finish it, so now I'm just letting it marinate before throwing it at beta edit and unleashing it upon the world soonish. Or i'll wait until his birthday (4th April). I hadn't decided yet :3

Not started: so, so many. I'm very enthusiastically planning three longfics, however: "Prince of Aldera", as a follow-up of Overhauling the System series, the sequel to "Of Dragons and Quirks" (which I'm almost regretting dropping for the ficfight, considering it got immediately drowned out) and a "Hero Class Civil War"-style (linked to the RogueDruid's classic) fic with an unhealthy amount of hand-related puns.

Prompts?: Do I do prompts xD Approximately 80% of my current works count (i do not have the energy to do a proper math) (actually-) (it's 77%) is based on prompts. I'm usually using the NWA prompts, when it's not related to an event (reverse bang or a week etc) but my ask box is always open for prompts! I'm just reserving the right not to write it if it doesn't spark joy, but I doubt that would happen often.

Upcoming work you're most excited about: Well, definitely my Stain Zine piece (31st October), but do keep an eye out for the Hawks Big Bang!

No pressure tags: I had to rummage around my notes and following count for those xD @dreamofmysteries @aphrodaisyacs @gentrychild @a-witch-in-endor @pocketramblr @cyber-phobia @ombreoscura @pikachuketchup1207 @hami-is-chill @orkestrations @draphrawrites @blackholeca (yes i did go through the list naming every single tumblr i could remember belonging to a writer, why do you ask)

Feel free to ignore this ping at your leisure! <3

[bubmyg]

hoodies and mail - myg

pairing: yoongi x reader

genre/warnings: college!au, f2l, so much fluff, tiny alcohol mention, part of my “ps i love you” series linked on my masterlist (takes place roughly between the parts titled “that’d suck” and “thunder” but this can be read completely independent of the series), random svt members appear again

word count: 1,554

summary: based off a request i got months ago that said “getting ready for a date, the date cancels, so yoongi takes you instead”

There was a fingerprint sized space on the surface of your eye slowly drying the longer you stared at your open phone, the recent calls list mocking you until it dimmed and then shut off completely, leaving you to stare at the odd angle that was your expression in the reflection of the screen. That’s what you were going to blame the involuntary drop of liquid that suddenly dripped down the slope of your nose, anyway. 

Perhaps it was the faint imprint of Jeonghan’s contact name behind your eyelid every time you blinked that made the rustling outside your door startle you so badly. Either way, it gave you an excuse to stumble out of your trance when the grunts and banging didn’t cease after a few seconds, letting your phone clatter to your tiny kitchen table as the chair you pushed back narrowly avoided the same fate in it’s teetering. You barely thought to what it could be as you fiddled at the lock and peered into the hallway. 

The culprit wasn’t at eye level, instead crouched in front of your door with a cardboard box and a stack of two hoodies in hand. Slowly, rounded eyes peered up at you through messy fringe flattened beneath a black baseball cap while pink lips parted into a tiny circle. One hoodie fell to the floor, unfurling from it’s meticulously folded position when Yoongi stood, lips continuing to press into a pout and then round once more like a fish deprived of its habitat. 

“Sorry, I was just bringing some of your clothes that I found in my laundry and then Chan sent me with a package of yours when I checked in. I was just going to leave them out here…” Yoongi trailed off, squinting at your face and he nearly dropped the box and remaining hoodie as his hand reached for your cheek, stopping inches from your skin to frown, “...angel? Are you—”

You jerked away from him, crouching to collect the warmth of his hoodie against your chest, hugging it in folded arms as you straightened to say stiffly, “Come on. Come inside.”

“I didn’t know Chan had the authority to hand out my mail now,” You tried to punctuate the dry sentence with a laugh to show you were kidding, rounding your kitchen table to adjust where your chair had been left ajar. You draped the fabric in your embrace across the back of the chair, squeezing it as you squinted at Yoongi, “This is your hoodie, not mine.”

He’d frozen in the doorway, foot still half in his athletic slide. Softly, he chided, “I haven’t worn that hoodie since you got your grubby fingers on it. It might as well be yours.”

You continued to drag gentle fingers over the fabric, smoothing it over the back of the chair until Yoongi’s voice broke into your consciousness again. He’d stepped several paces closer, enough to set the box and remaining hoodie down on the table. 

“Are you leaving for your date soon?”

“He canceled.”

Yoongi let the reasoning marinate for a second, saying simply, “Oh.”

“Did he say why?”

Something about his lab files freezing in a university computer lab and leaving him with thirty pages to redo by midnight. You believed Jeonghan. There was no reason not to. You shared mutual friends. You’d studied with him in the singular STEM class you’d been forced to take as a humanities major. There was no obligation for him to tell you any sooner than thirty minutes before he was supposed to pick you up. There was no obligation for him to make it up to you either. It’d been a partial joke when you’d matched on a dating app anyway, something for Namjoon to tease that you’d taken back your swearing off of anyone in the pre-med department. 

Maybe it was more so the disappointment of it being the first date you’d been looking forward to in a while. One canceled date with a stranger and it was no big deal. A second date that happened yet you’d rather forget the disaster of was a slight question mark. The third after months of nothing with someone you could comfortably speak to without worrying about their driving ability or political affiliation was a welcome distraction to the miniscule yearning that slowly worked its way into a golf ball sized hole in your heart. 

You didn’t like Jeonghan, not enough for the hole to double in size at a valid date cancellation. It was the principle of the thing. 

“You didn’t come over here just to bring me hoodies, did you?” You spoke the inquiry quietly at the conclusion of your answer to his question. 

Yoongi smiled gently, touching the back of his neck. Pink had started to gather on the apples of his cheeks. “You hadn’t shared your location with me yet. Just wanted to make sure everything was okay. Best friend intuition...”

“I’m fine,” You said it with conviction to try to convince the rest of you that it was the case. Your fingers gripped a bit tighter to the Yoongi-hoodie covered furniture piece below you, adding, “Safe and sound at home.”

“Would you like to go somewhere? I bet I could still get a reservation for that Italian place you like,” Yoongi spoke carefully, giving you the chance to decline. 

You did, quietly, letting your chin drop as you shook your head, “No, that’s okay.” Your fingers picked at the hem of the skirt you’d picked out, considering the chill that now spread across your bare skin, “I think I’m going to go change and just hang out here—”

Yoongi didn’t hear the end of your sentence, turning on his heel to stalk into your kitchen. You stood, dumbfounded, while the grunt of Yoongi stretching and the clatter of pots and pans could be heard. He only reappeared again, eyes shadowed under the bill of his cap while a fluffy cheek pressed into the door frame, to ask, “Do you have any heavy cream?” 

You gave vague directions to the contents in your fridge before shuffling for him, “What are you doing?”

He held out a hand, stopping you a few paces from him. Lips pressed in on the dimples in his cheeks as he tilted his head, “Thought you were going to go change?”

“I…” You frowned, “I asked you a question first.”

The hovering hand jerked, a hesitation, before it touched you this time, settling on the side of your neck while his thumb stroked underneath your jaw. 

“I’m making you dinner,” Yoongi said like it was the simplest thing in the world, “Go get comfy, if you want. Shouldn’t take too long.”

“I...I’m okay,” You had to physically restrain yourself from leaning after him when he retracted his hand, “I’ll help you—”

“No. I’m making you dinner,” He beamed, gums and all, “Your order will be right out.”

You shook your head, a lingering smile exchanged between the two of you as he took backward steps into the depth of your kitchen. Only when you turned, fingers fist in the fabric of your skirt did Yoongi speak again. 

“Hey, angel?”

You turned, chin on your shoulder with a raised eyebrow. 

More pink curled into his skin, shadowed a hue darker from his cap that he shoved tighter to his head. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

Admittedly, there was a bit of wine in your system, but your thought process was wholly sober, just as the tight snuggle against Yoongi’s side was. You’d shrugged on one of his, your, hoodies after dinner and he’d shrugged a fuzzy throw blanket from your hall closet over your figures. Nothing, however, warmed you quite like the steady pattern of his breaths to his heartbeat at close proximity. 

You felt Yoongi shift next to you but his thumb didn’t stop skimming the sensitive skin underneath your knee. The program on the television was the least of your worries, volume two notches up and the subtitles forgotten but Yoongi murmured anyway, “For what?”

“For a wonderful date,” Part of you froze when the word came out of your mouth and you tried to play it off by freezing the latter half of your being. You didn’t move until he laughed breathily above you, shoulders shaking. 

“A date, huh?”

“Mmhm,” You hoarded his arm a bit closer to set your cheek against his chest, “You didn’t have to stay.”

“I wanted to,” He’d forgotten his cap on the opposite couch cushion, fluffy fringe tickling your skin when he bent to let his lips touch your forehead. In the ambiance, you heard him swallow, and his voice dropped a tender octave, “I’d take you on a million more dates, if you wanted.”

Your heart stuttered into your throat, jostled with the weight of that golf ball sized hole being filled in with the weight of a realization that wasn’t quite so new to you. You let yourself lift your gaze, dislodging his lips from your skin, and he instead settled the tip of his nose to the space between your eyebrows, wrinkling the skin around the bridge comically until you laughed. 

“Careful,” You hushed when Yoongi’s smile finally settled into something fond down at you, “I might take you up on that offer.”

[priyankaraa]

Daddy||T.H

Pairing: Dom!Tom Holland × Female!Reader

Warnings: Swearing, Smut(18+), Teasing, Thigh Riding, Orgasm Denial, Oral(Female receiving), Use of Sex Toy, Bondage, Unprotected sex.

Summary: After Tom sees the edit of him with the song Daddy by Blueface he wants Y/N to call him daddy. She says no so he tries to convince her with sex. He gets dominant.

A/N:This might get a little kinky and dominating. I've looked through my drafts and realised that I have a lot of smut. This is probably the dirtiest and most detailed smutt that I have ever written. It took me two days, so I hope you'll enjoy and thanks for the follows and likes.🖤

You and Tom had been dating for about two years now. So far everything has been good. You'll have had your ups and downs, there were even times when you thought it was over for good but you'll kept going back. You'll were at a point where you'll needed each other to love and not just for great sex, that was a bonus too. The both of you were still too young to get hitched but you'll were in a serious relationship.

The sex hadn't been coming recently. You both have been preoccupied, Tom had filming and you had finals. You were determined to get your degree in Marine Biology no matter what. You were a go getter. Nothing brought you down in life. The week ended quicker than expected and you found yourself lounging in Tom's flat scrolling through your Instagram. Tom was out shopping so you were alone with Tessa, being bored as fuck. You were never really a fan of Instagram although your are a pro at using it compared to Tom.

You heard the door open and close and Tom trodded inside carrying a few packets. You didn't go with him because you hated shopping, unless its clothes shopping and then too, you always ended up buying the whole shop. You had a little problem.

"Hey babe." He pressed a quick innocent kiss to your check before he started to unpack the groceries. One thing that you loved about Tom was that he was a gentleman. He never pressurised you into sex or anything of that sort. He understood your beliefs. You weren't a virgin. You have had sex before with Tom but that was when the two of you got really drunk and had no idea what you'll were doing. You still remembered how many times he apologised. Ever since that day you haven't drank alot. You do have a really low tolerance on alcohol.

You continued to scroll through your Instagram, following a few of Tom's fan accounts before exiting and walking over to the kitchen. You sat yourself down on one of the barstools and watched as Tom gracefully moved around the kitchen putting the groceries in their respectful places.

"I got of the phone with my mum earlier. She said that the family wants to come over for lunch tomorrow." You adored how much Tom got along with your family, all except your dad. Your father didn't like Tom. He always claimed that he had other intentions with his little girl. You loved Tom alot and he loved you too. Your father was just being over protective.

"I don't mind." You heard your phone vibrate and picked it up thinking it was your mum but instead it was a notification from Instagram. You opened the app and watched the video on your phone. It was an edit of Tom and the song, Daddy by Blueface created an even sexier effect. The video alone was enough to get your panties wet. You squeezed your thighs together hoping that your beloved boyfriend hadn't noticed your flustered state.

"What ya watching, love?"

"It's an edit of you." You passed him your phone and he watched it. You saw the way he tensed and gulped when he heard the song. You knew that something was going on in that head of his. He handed you back your phone and you placed it on the counter.

"Can you call me daddy?" Tom's question made you burst out laughing. "Wait, are you serious?" You asked him as he actually looked serious. He nodded in response. Of all the dumb things that Tom has done, this took the cake and you once saw him put a shirt on while doing a handstand.

"Sorry honey but that's not going to happen." You slid of the bar chair and planted your feet firmly on the floor. You turned and walked into your shared bedroom. You knew that Tom wouldn't give up so easily and he followed you into the room.

He pulled you towards him and your back hit the door. He boxed you in by placing his hands on either side of your head against the door. You scanned his body and noticed his hard on poking through his sweats. You pulled your bottom lip into the grasp of your teeth and looked thin straight in his eyes. They were dark and filled with lust.

"Call me daddy!" His voice was low, a growl emitted from the back of his throat. His deep voice laced with lust and want made your knees go weak.

"No." You said just as seductively, challenging him by looking him straight in the eyes. You watched as his pupils twinkled in the light, you thought that was humanely impossible yet here it is happening. Unbelievable, I know.

"Then, I'll give you a reason to." He smashed his lips on yours knocking the air out of your lungs. His hand gripped your hip pulling your body flush with his as your hands looped around his neck.

His tongue was already inside of your mouth, in swift motions exploring every inch. He pulled your bottom lip between his teeth biting down a little, making you moan out his name.

"By the time I'm done with you, you'll be calling me daddy." His hands roamed down the side of your body tracing over your curves. He squeezed the underside of your thighs making your wrap your legs around his waiste. He gave your firm butt a tight squeeze before walking over the bed and placing you on it.

He hovered over you, taking a moment to admire how pink and swollen your lips had become. Ever since he met you, all he wanted to do was see those plump lips of yours wrapped around his dick. He wanted you on your knees with your thighs spread a little, sucking his cock while playing with yourself. He was going to make you do all the things he has imagined and make sure that you call him daddy.

He pulled off his shirt, smashing his lips back on yours not giving you a chance to look at his toned body. Your hands roamed over his back tracing every muscle as it was becoming part of your memory. You ran your hands down his back and played with the edge of his sweats, eager for him to remove it.

"Eager, are we?" He said as he stood up. "I wanna see you strip yourself." You smirked as you stood up and Tom took a seat on the bed. You removed you leggings and gave Tom a great view of your long, sexy legs. You tugged on your shirt pulling it over your head. You reached behind you and unclasped your bra. Tom's eyes watched your full breast bounce as you released them from the bra. Last but not least, you turned around and shimmied your lace thong down your legs, giving Tom the perfect view of your ass.

You picked it up and tossed it to Tom who held it to his nose and took a big sniff of your arousal on it. He moaned as the sweet scent of your wetness filled his nose. You sat down on his thigh and slowly rocked your hips back and forth on his clothed thigh.

Tom took this as an opportunity to attack your neck, nipping and sucking on the skin, leaving love bites everywhere.

"I love watching you get yourself off on my thigh." He groaned against your neck. He sucked on the delicate skin where your neck and jaw meet. He knew that was your sweet spot and the affect that had on you.

"Fuck Tommy. Your lips feel so good there." You breathed out as you continued to ride his thigh. You felt your high approaching and so did Tom. Right before you could cum he flipped you over so that he was hovering over you.

"What the fuck---" He cut you off by smashing his lips to yours. His hands trailed down your body as his lips left yours trailing open mouth kisses down your body. He sucked a nipple into his mouth, pulling it between his teeth. You arched your back pushing your body into him, felling him smirk against your boob. The things he did to you. He had no idea how crazy he made you.

He left a trail of open mouth kisses down your stomach and licked a strip just below your belly button. He leaned back on the balls of his feet admiring your hot and flustered body sprawled out against the covers. He pulled of his sweats leaving him in his skin tight boxers.

"So sexy." He growled before he smashed his lips on yours. He placed a sweet kiss on your ankle and kissed up your thighs never breaking eye contact. He came face to face with your throbbing heat, he licked his lips before devouring you. He placed a hasty kiss on your core before attaching his lips on your clit.

He lapped up your juices and enjoyed the noise of your moans combined with the sloshing juices. He hummed against your core sending vibrations throughout your body. He pushed in two fingers and pumped you and he sucked your swollen bud.

"Tommy...ah fuck...m' gonna cum." You moaned as the familiar knot in your tummy was coming. Once again he pulled away before your orgasm could hit. Now you were pissed off. This was the second time he denied your orgasm.

"What are you doing?" He walked over to the drawer on the bedside and pulled out your dark blue toy. Your cheeks flushed a dark red. You had totally forgot about that. He seductively walked over to you and turned on the toy. The sound of it vibrating made you moan.

"M' gonna punish you, baby girl. Gonna make you call me daddy while I pound into you." You watched as he pulled out a belt from his drawer and he hovered over you, kissing you. He grabbed your wrists and tied them to the head board with the belt. "No touching, Y/L/N."

He spread your legs and pressed the vibrator to your swollen bud. Your eyes rolled back as you tried to move your legs, needing to feel it more. He pressed his knees to keep your legs spread. You whimpered under him, tears pricking your eyes from the immense pleasure. You were about to cum when he pulled the vibrator away. You were fed up with his teasing. You were about to protest when he plowed into you, causing your words to get stuck in the back of your throat.

His long thick cock was buried balls deep in your folds. He pulled his dick out watching your pussy clench around sweet nothing, before he plowed back into you. Your breathing fell into a steady pattern as with his thrusts. His lips attached themselves to your neck, leaving beautiful purple marks.

"So fucking wet for me, princess. M' loving how tight you are." He snapped his hips faster and faster as the pressure between your legs grew. His cock was compressed between your warm, velvet walls. "Please. Can I touch you?" You begged him, desperate to run your fingers through his hair.

He stopped his thrusts watching you scream underneath him. "Call me daddy!" He growled. "No!" You said and he started pounding into you again. The way your boobs bounced sent him into a trance.

His hands trailed down to your clit, rubbing gentle circles in your clit. "Feels so good, Tommy." Finally, your vision got blurry as you felt a familiar feeling wash over. You came all over his dick, the warm liquid leaking down his cock and some dribbled onto his thigh. The sight made Tom drool and soon he came after, filling you up with his hot strings of come. He collapsed on top of you, your sweaty bodies sticking together.

He slowly pulled out, the combined fluids flowing out, as he laid down beside you catching his breath. You turned over and brushed back the hair that stuck to his forehead, after you wrists struggled free from his belt. He shot you a boyish grin.

"So will you call me daddy now?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Mmm. No." You rain into the bathroom and locked the door. Tom just sat on the bed chuckling.

[parismemes]

SENTENCE STARTERS FROM RED VS. BLUE SEASON 15

“you touch my baked beans, i put dog shit in your pillowcase.” “every other person in this miserable place is literal garbage.” “books on tape? what's the appeal of that? don't the pages get stuck together?” “when in doubt use a confusing acronym. military types love acronyms.” “FML. that stands for fu--” “i’ll bend down and kiss your boots, how’s that?” “i wanna know every step you take and how much shit gets stuck on your shoes and in-between your teeth.” “you know, i think i'll probably move to LA, but that's like what everyone does. i mean, what do you think?” “i’m gonna skin your cat for this.” “i’m actually thinking of adopting a stage name.” “i’m gonna smash cut your empty skull against that rock if you don’t shut the fuck up!” “i wanted to call it desert titties, but that shit was taken.” “ah, there goes the bechdel test.” “you should interview the illuminati!” “real talk here: i'll be your genie in a bottle, i'll do whatever you want, but after i grant you your three wishes, you gotta do something for me, whaddaya say?” “my ceaseless existence is an eternal torment!” “next time he calls you please, just, let it go to voicemail. don't transfer to me. okay?” “i can’t even hear myself think in this blizzard of idiocy!” “did you attempt to witness any other particular individuals in the general vicinity of the area in which the crime scene was alleged?” “i just wanna be included!” “funny, the vultures usually show up after the slaughter.” “you’re a little bit crazy, aren’t you? i like that.” “consequences... don't always take the shape we expect them to, do they? they're funny like that.” “...are we still married?” “people are quick to jump to conclusions. they see something, or hear something, and fit it into a preconceived emotional box.” “please don’t make me regret what i’m about to tell you.” “whoa, hold up--i just realized how much i don’t care.” “SUCK IT, NEWTON!” “we said we wouldn’t talk about that!” “help me be the best at being lazy.” “it was a simple mishap with my vanilla-satin scented candles!” “why is he naked?” “HOW DO YOU BURN DOWN A WATER PARK, ___?!” “we’re definitely not just saying that because she could kill us.” “for far too long our people have been oppressed, crushed, under the weight of ourselves! if we don't start standing up to our mortal foe gravity, by god, who will?” “we’ve never needed intelligence before!” “why doesn’t anybody die and stay dead?” “oh, cool! foreshadowing.” “who wants a poisoned pumpkin frappuccino?” “i quit. i’m not going. i’m staying here.” “you’ve always been selfish, but this is bullshit!” “you know, i liked them better when they were funny.” “it’s a bop-it.” “sleep. means. death!” “i know ___ said we should split up, but i was thinking maybe we split up together, you know, because it's scary!” “you talk about ___ a lot.” “this is a big city. so many places for snakes to hide. they could be everywhere all around us. watching us... licking their snake lips...” “jesus, doesn’t anybody speak esperanto?” “err is not a word.” “why do you look alone?” “why don't you tell us what's going on, and we can decide whether to kill you or not?” “looks like we've got quite the sticky mess on our hands!” “oh, i know all about sausage parties! uh, wait, that came out wrong.” “when I least expect it: whambo! you pry open my mind prison and suck out my brain beans!” “i realize now that i’ve just spilled all my brain beans.” “we're just a bunch of dumb rejects hurling ourselves against impossible odds.” “i’m only saying something because i’ve been used enough times in my life already.” “nice! super awesome of you guys! that was sarcastic.” “don’t care. just help me with my dramatic exit.” “that's a great idea! i was just about to suggest it.” “i always say a marine without a code is like a car without a road.” “i always say the best defense is a really tall fence.” “i always say a good soldier is like a rollin’ boulder.” “i always say a mantra a day keeps death at bay.” “i've grown soft around these uncultured philistines.” “goddamn, i can’t believe i have to hear this shit in stereo now.” “you two look cozy.” “i didn’t realize you two were close.” “you’re being too hard on yourself. you’ve changed over the years, i’ve seen it myself.” “i've grown from being a dishonorable killing machine to an honorable killing machine. that's quite the journey.” “i changed my mind. you are evil.” “you don’t have to destroy the past to have a future.” “strategizing can wait until breakfast, at least.” “i killed them. i MURDERED them. i set my vengeance free upon them and it felt so good!” “are we gonna do some snooping around?” “have you ever considered a life in showbusiness?” “try harder, fuckface!” “can we please just bury the hatchet and focus on what's important?” “your mother’s lasagna is mediocre!” “if you guys had to get shot somewhere in your body, where would you do it?” “i can't hear you because some idiot shot my ear off!” “this whole situation is garbage enough to begin with, but... at least we're in it together.” “no plan survives first contact with the enemy.” “the only thing that would make this better is some music.” “we were pawns in their game. but the thing that I love about chess is that sometimes pawns kill kings.” “no, actually, i was raised by wolves. in the forest.” “sometimes i feel like people barely acknowledge my presence.” “something weird might be going on around here.” “anyone who's acting that squeaky clean must have some deep dark secrets.” “ha! gotcha! that's exactly the kind of things bad guys say!” “they used us, they destroyed our lives, and they haven't been made to pay for what they've done.” “you obviously love the sound of your own voice, so why don't you use it to tell its where the fuck our friends are?” “i’m going to kill you so hard, you’ll wish you were dead.” “we fought alongside each other for fucking years. how can you just turn your backs on us like this?” “you don't get to give orders if you're on the bad guys' side!” “now I have gonorrhea and a dead friend.” “stop. touching. my face.” “buckets! oodles! oodles of noodles and toaster strudels! tiempo de mucho. mucho de tiempo!" “yeah, well, i don't remember you being anything but a huge dick, but here you are being cool, so people change.” “yippee-ki-yay, motherfuckers!” “but.. i never got to say goodbye. or thank you for being my friend.” “i'm gonna need a week at the chiropractor when we get out of here.” “is it possible to hallucinate with your ears?” “i’m not here to kill you.” “uh-oh spaghetti-o’s.” “fuck me! fuck all of this!” “you should totally kill me if it strikes your fancy! no pressure!” “the world's best swordsman doesn't fear the second best. He fears the worst, because he can't predict what the idiot will do.” “i can't imagine us doing anything but making this all worse.” “shit, dude! you’re the best we’ve got!” “i like pushing small children down wells.” “can we please settle on a consistent denomination? are we using cardinal directions or are we using clock positions?” “i'm so sneaky. they don't even know what's happening. you can't even see me right now, ___. you're so confused.” “shut up and help me punch this fucking tank!” “as far as days to die go, it's a little overcast. so let's check our corners and make these bastards pay!” “let's light the fires and kick the tires!” “let’s dance with these monkeys and give ‘em what for!” “let's put the pedal to the metal and the rubber to the road!” “let’s get jiggy with it!” “let’s shoot this monkey full of heroin and put it on youtube! actually, let's not do that, it sounds completely horrible.” “let’s teach these midgets how to tango!” “honor, schmonor.” “scout's honor! except I was never a scout because I'm afraid of badges.” “why are we here?” “we don't know why we're here. it's still one of life's great mysteries, isn't it?” “i’m sorry i tried to kill you, it wasn’t personal!” “you'll be stuck between a rock and the frying pan.” “if i said that i would weep for them, would it make you feel any better?” “best friends should be able to say goodbye.” “i think you are cool. like, super awesome, amazing, cool and... i, i always felt like really awesome too, when we were hanging out together.” “i know with my other friends--who, even if you add them all up together aren't really cool as you--i know we're all gonna be okay.” “if you kill me, you'll just perpetuate this never-ending cycle of revenge and retaliation!” “he asked us to deliver an important message to you all. but then he just sang the ducktales theme song and fell back to sleep.” “you know i’ll never forget this, right? i mean, PTSD is forever, isn’t it?” “it’s not the sum of your parts that makes you who you are.” “these people have shown me that real heroes are not born, they're forged. a friend told me once that there's no fate but what you make. and i think he's right.” “alright, well, i'm just gonna try to forget that ever happened and never bring it up again.”

[breanime]

Can I request the " forgetting about an event " with Billy with him being the one forgetting pleaaseee

I decided to make this fluffy because I feel like every other time I’ve done this storyline, it’s been angsty. So I made this Dad!Billy. I hope you like it!

“Dad! Dad! Daaaaad!”

Billy sat up, eyes immediately landing on his son. Luca was standing at the side of the bed, his dark eyes glaring at Billy. “Jesus…” Billy grumbled, running a hand through his hair. “Hey, buddy, what’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?”

“No,” he answered, still glaring, “it’s morning time. The sun is up, Dad.”

“Oh,” Billy flopped back onto the bed. You were already up, probably in the kitchen with Emmy. “Well what’s up, son?”

“It’s already 10 o’clock!”

Billy sighed. Luca had how to tell time and all of the months in a year, and now he was like the family’s living calendar. “It’s Saturday,” he reminded him, eyes already closing again, “We sleep in on Saturdays.”

“Daaad,” Luca sighed out, “It’s not just Saturday! It’s Mommy’s birthday!”

Billy shot up again. “Shit!”

“That’s a bad word, Dad,” Luca deadpanned, a Russo in every way.

“Right, my bad,” Billy said as he got up, “Sorry.”

“Did you forget to get the cake?” Luca asked, crossing his arms.

“I just need to pick it up,” Billy said, pulling on a pair of jeans, “You wanna come with?”

Luca put his little chin in his little hand. “I probably should,” he reasoned, “to make sure you get Mommy the right cake.”

Billy rolled his eyes, a smile pulling at his lips as he pulled on a shirt. “Wanna see if your sister wants to come too?” He asked.

Luca grinned, turning and running to the kitchen to get Emmy. A few minutes later, Billy walked into the kitchen, dressed and ready to go. He smiled when he saw you, the birthday girl, his wife, the mother of his children. You were pregnant, and your only demand for your birthday had been a cake. Billy ordered it in advance, but to be honest, the pre-birthday sex the two of you had the night before kind of pushed every other item on the agenda list back, so… Thank goodness Luca reminded him that he still had to pick up the cake.

“Hey,” Billy greeted you with a kiss, “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you,” you said, smiling as he held you to him, “The kids say you guys are going on an errand?”

“Just real quick,” he answered, grinning as Luca and Emmy winked at him from behind you, “Won’t take long.”

“Okay,” you said, stretching the word out, “I wonder what you guys are up to…”

The kids giggled, running over to Billy and taking his hands. “We’ll be right back, Mommy,” Luca promised, “Stay right where you are!”

“Right here?” You asked, freezing in the kitchen.

“Yes!” They both answered.

Billy kissed your cheek as he grabbed his keys. “Don’t follow us,” he teased.

“Yeah, Mommy, no tracking us!” Emmy agreed.

“We’ll know if we’re being watched,” Luca added, “We’re Marine strong!”

Billy strapped the kids into their car seats and headed to the bakery. Luca and Emmy kept him entertained as they told him about all the art projects they’d made for you for your birthday before breaking out into a birthday song they “wrote” for you (it was just “Hakuna Matata” with the words “I love you, Mama” instead). When they got to the bakery, the chefs were so charmed by the little Russos, they threw in four cupcakes and a small bag of macaroons in for free.

“Our Mommy,” Emmy said, rocking back and forth on her tippy toes as Billy paid for the cake and left a hefty tip, “is the most beautifulest woman in the whole wide world—even more beautiful than Auntie Karen and Queen Elsa—and it’s her birthday, but Daddy forgot!”

“I didn’t forget,” Billy said, frowning, “I just almost forgot to pick up the cake. Almost.”

“But you didn’t,” Luca said, nodding, “Cause I woke you up!” He looked up at the cashier, a proud smile on his little round face. “I know how to tell time.”

The cashier giggled, and Billy sighed, watching as she threw in two cake pops as well. The kids were gonna leave with more presents that you were getting for your birthday.

When they got back to the house, Billy heard you rushing back to the kitchen. The kids ran to greet you, and he watched, arms full of cake boxes and bags, as they hugged your legs.

“You stayed in the same spot!” Emmy giggled, astonished.

“Close your eyes,” Luca ordered, “No peeking!”

Billy snuck behind you and placed the cake and other sweets on the table behind you. He had ordered a few things to be sent to the house for your birthday—because he always spent a lot of money on presents for you and the kids, but he knew this, the pastries, were what you would love the most. Plus he had plans for you tonight—plans that involved you and him and nothing between you but skin… But for now, he’d enjoy standing back and watching you devour your cake while his offspring tore threw the cupcakes like animals.

“Okay,” Luca said once the table was set, “Open your eyes!”

You turned to the table. “Oh my gosh! This looks delicious!” You reached down and hugged the kids. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome, Mommy,” they said in unison.

You reached over them and pressed a quick kiss to Billy’s lips. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” he said back. He pulled out your chair, kissing the top of your head once you were seated. “I think the ladies at the cake shop fell for the mini Russo’s charm.”

“Doesn’t everyone?” You asked back, smiling. “Okay, who wants a piece of cake?”

Billy picked Emmy up as Luca came to stand by your side, and as he stood with his daughter in his arms, his son beside him, and you (and the baby growing inside of you) sitting in front of him, once again, Billy could hardly believe how lucky he was.

*******************************************************************************************

Thanks for reading!

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Benny B Taglist (minus Sirius): @banditthewriter @something-tofightfor

[heywoodvirgin]

Borró Cassette ( Chapter 2)

Guys, writing is really not my thing, but I love Jackie so much not to try to ^^ 

Chapter 1 here ^^ 

Modern!Jackie Welles / Original Female Character 

Rated : Teens and up 

angst and fluff ahead ! 

*** 

- Medium plier.

It was the first thing he said in ten minutes or so.

Jack was under his cruiser’s wheels, hands focused on oiling some pieces of his machine’s brakes when she stepped into the garage.

For the first two weeks following their… argument, Mey avoided taking that route, instead opting for a detour that made her waste a solid thirty minutes every morning and evening. She thought avoiding places they used to share was a temporary solution, she was wrong. Every step she took in the opposite direction made her think about him longer, recalling all the hours he so generously spent teaching a slow learner like her how to ride a moto, how he’d always secured her helmet himself every time he took her for a ride, and those were many times, so many she couldn’t count anymore.

So when Mey finally decided to stop whatever childish game she was playing -not replying to his texts and calls, among others- and test her luck, she found herself standing gracelessly in the middle of his garage, blocking the last rays of sun he was using to work.

For long minutes, she stayed planted there, like a stupid scarecrow, marinating her anxiety, unable to say the word that mattered most. He noticed her, of course he did, and said nothing, just a flash of surprise in his eyes, and he was under his moto gain. It wasn’t like Jackie to act cold like that. Resentful wasn’t in the list of words to describe Jackie Welles, not even in the bottom line. He never ignored her. It felt so wrong to be in the receiving end of his spite or whatever this was. She missed the warmth of her friend; it was almost shocking now, as she realized it.  It was just one small “sorry”, but she still didn’t feel it in her, she still didn’t feel like she was the one that should say sorry. He fucked up, he should know, by now. But also, she knew that his apologies should go to the person his wrongs were directed to, not to her, if she would take her time and think.  But now, all she wanted, was a heart-to-heart talk, something she played in her mind over and over, every day during two weeks and five days and twelve hours, and here she was standing, mind blank, not even capable of uttering a simple hello.

When she finally found the guts to move and sit carefully on the sofa, and when he still didn’t react, she felt the panic, acid prickling at her skin. The sun had completely set down, last rays licking the far away mega buildings of the city, the garage lights flickered on. It was a quiet summer evening, one of few they had in the crazy city, but her neighborhood was one of the quietest, she had to admit. She liked it most of the time, but today wasn’t one of those days, it felt like the entire world went silent on her. That till he spoke.

- Medium plier.

She blinked a few times before she registered his request, moving to fetch the tool from its box, still memorizing perfectly the space around.

- Screwdriver, 4.

And it went like that for an hour or so, them moving about and working together. She was glad he offered her that physical occupation, even if it was mainly her handing him his tools and watching him sweat under his machine.  For a minute, her mind was just on the craft and she was relieved he still sounded pretty himself as soon as he opened his mouth, even if them occupying their hands didn’t prevent her mind to go racing about everything, and his too, she could tell in the way they couldn’t look each other in the eye, yet.

It was until he threw at her a wet rag to wipe her hands and she creased her nose because of the reeking petrol smell that they exchanged an amused look.

- Hey, never get used to the smell huh?

She shrugged, briefly smiling.

- So how have you been? He looked at the floor, discarding the wet rag near an old stool.

- Fine, she nodded to the floor, fighting a sudden rush of tears, trying to contain them in, in vain.

- Ven aqui.

He didn’t need to say more and she was in his arms. She didn’t remember him giving her hugs like that before, she shut her eyes, crushed against him, fisting his shirt, and he seemed to reciprocate, folding his bulk around her. He smelled like gas and sweat, but she only buried her head further in his chest. After some time like that she could feel the breath knocked off her chest and she started laughing

- Eres un idiota, you know that, she mumbled in a huff, a big idiot.

- I really shouldn’t teach you this one, but I know right, sorry hermana, I really mean it.

- Well, sorry too, she shrugged, as they let go of each other's embrace.

- Hey, no more tears, ok? Drink with me tonight?

- Sure, but just a lil', ok? She sniffed.

- Pft, aguafiestas, he grumbled, picked up two bottles of tequila and passed her one.

- So to what are we drinking tonight?

-  A la reunión! Amiga!

- A la reunión, then!

- Opening one of your expensive ones, just for me? she winced after one little gulp.

- Solo pa’ti, hermana, even if I know you’d rather go for one of your exotic stuff, tomatoes juice or something like that…

- Shut up, since when is tomatoes juice exotic, she internally face palmed.

- It is if I say so. Come on now, let’s sit, I’m beat, and starvin’.

- When aren’t you. She teased as he put his arm around her shoulder, leading her to the couch.

They sat comfortably in silence for some time.  When she finished her bottle, he was already at his third or fourth.

-You, Mimi, you won’t close the door on me anymore, huh, any door…

She could tell the alcohol started to work its way to his head. He was starting to tell her things that she could misunderstand, like only him could…

- Hey, hey, no more tequila tonight, please? She gently took the bottle from his hands. His usually warm palms were clammy and cold, shaking slightly.

- It’s a bad day, not a bad year, and even if it is, it certainly won’t be a bad life, remember, these are your own words you used to tell me.

- Si, recuerdo. He chuckled sadly.

- How can we regret something we don’t want, Huh.

- Do you, Jack? Mey’s throat was oppressed; she kept her voice low, as if afraid to hear her friend’s answers. She felt powerless, the weight of his grief falling on her chest. She knew that whatever she would say now, it wouldn’t be enough.

- What if I do Mimi, it’s done you know… it’s gone… I killed it.

- Shut, shut no, Jackie, no. If it’s someone’s fault, it should be mine, too. She softly scratched his scalp, a failed attempt to soothe him. His body was stiff with unshed tears, tension threatening to break at any moment, and she wished he would at last, cry. Let it seep out of his system. She wished he could do it with her, as tears pickled at the corners of her eyes, stinging, fat drops of salty water, falling free.

- How’s that your fault too, Mey? He turned with questioning eyes, and she found her courage failing her, as his eyes searched her face and her hand fell on his forehead. It was still hard to look him in the eyes.

- I should’ve been there for you, I should’ve been there when you were alone facing this decision I-

- You being there wouldn’t change my decision, hermana. It was already settled, and for some time now. Me and Lin, wasn’t working anyway.  

- Because you didn’t want it to work. She didn’t want to accuse him in any way, it was a statement that she and he both knew was true.

- Because I didn’t want it to work.

- Why? she asked in a little voice.

- Eh, the boxer and the super model, you believed it too?

- I- thought it was perfect, Jack, I really did.

At least for some time.

- You’re a romantic.

- Look who’s talking, she let out a teary laugh.

- But that’s not what I was talking about… I meant…

- I know what you meant, and there too, it wouldn’t have changed a thing.

The silence that followed was the heaviest Mey had ever felt between them.

- How… How did she take it?

- Surprisingly well. She’s a smart girl, Mimi. Bet that’s why she wanted us to be engaged, can’t blame her for not trying.

- She is a good woman, Jack.

- Lo sé, lo sé. Jackie said quiet, tears wetting the fabric of her dress. It was good, she thought. He still trusted her enough, enough to let her see his most vulnerable side, even after almost a month of absence, of total silence.

It was such a relief, if she let herself be honest. To find him again, broken, but still her friend who would call her hermana, offer to make dinner and end up dozing off, head in her lap.

It felt good to touch him again, too. Now in the quiet hours of the night, she could hear the cold neon lights purring, electricity running through the garage’s old wires, the tunes of whatever music he left on, that was almost muted, reached her from the furthest corner of his hideout. It smelt like motor oil and alcohol and old leather, a bit of him too, and before the knots in her stomach started to twist again, she talked herself to go and let him rest.

-Don’t you think it’s time to go and get some sleep in that fancy bed of yours? She prompted, trying to sound as light as she intended.

-Nah. Like it here more, reminds me of where I came from. ‘sides, it’s comfortable.

-Might be comfy for you, big head, but my legs are starting to get numb, so… She tried to shake his head off her lap, playfully pushing at his shoulders.

- Don’t even try, weak ass.

- That’s abuse of power!

- La niña learned to talk, too. Not bad.

- Fuck off.

- What about you going home now, huh, I’m just gonna crash here tonight. Couch’s enough comfort for my ass, for now.  He straightened up, rubbed his eyes, dusted his jeans, offered a hand for her to take.

- Or you can crash on mine. She shrugged, taking his offered hand and fighting a blush. Or not- she started when the response took a bit long to come.

- Let’s get the fuck outta here, then. And he gave her a real smile, this time.

[tidalsongprecure]

Tidal Song Precure! - Chapter 1

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Chapter One

A ripple in the waves! The heart of the sea, Cure Delphin!

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●╰╯╰╯╰╯╰╯╰╯╰╯╰╯●

 “The sea is emotion incarnate. It loves, hates, and weeps. It defies all attempts to capture it with words and rejects all shackles. No matter what you say about it, there is always that which you can’t.”

 Emotion is a complicated thing. There can be good, bad, and all sorts of in-between. Like the sea, there’s an ebb and flow to one’s feelings.

It’s what we do with those feelings that matter.

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Palm trees rippled in the wind, dancing in the briny breeze. The early rays of morn shone through the windows, welcoming her with its warmth. And blue...that endless blue. From the vivid hue of the skies to the constant ebb and flow of the sea, it was everywhere.  

 “You’re positive you didn’t forget anything Mom?”

The girl’s mother, Haya, eyed her through the rearview mirror. “You asked that back on the ferry Kyoko, yes we have everything . Now, relax! We’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves. After all, living on Yumeshima will mean more time together!”

 “I know, I know.” Sighing, Kyoko Koizumi leaned back into her seat. “I’m just checking! It’s not the first time you or Dad have forgotten something important…”

 “That’s a bit harsh Kyoko,” her father, Sora, chimed in. “Your mother and I are perfectly capable of keeping track of ourselves, thank you very much.”

“Right…” Kyoko directed her attention to the glittering depths just outside her window, the blue in her eyes shining just as bright. “To think we get to live here...it’s incredible.”

“Yes, it’ll definitely be a change, but I’ve heard great things about this island! Studying the marine life here will be amazing…” Haya turned to face Kyoko, a sheepish smile on her face. “I’m sorry this was so sudden, sweetheart, to pick up everything in Kirakono in a few months...”

 “It’s alright! Working here has a lot of great opportunities for you and Dad, so I don’t mind, honest!” Even with her reassurance, her mother still seemed worried, so she changed the subject. “H-have you heard anything else interesting about Yumeshima?”

“Well, your dad heard about some stories of miracles happening on Yumeshima I think?”

“Miracles? What do you mean?”

“Something about... strange creatures in the sea? He said he read about it in some article, but you know how he is. Believes everything he sees online.”

“It’s not like that!” Sora interrupted, Kyoko jolting in her seat. “There’ve been local stories and everything! You ask any of the locals and they’ll tell you!”

“I bet...Dad, watch the road!” 

“Oh!” The car swerved to the side, before skidding to a stop in front of a neighbourhood lined with cottages, the car swerved to the side. “Thanks, Kyoko. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Probably be in a hospital...”

━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━

 Kyoko watched her parents and the movers file into their new home. It was pretty, she’d decided, with its white wooden walls and verdant vines trailing up the sides. It was positioned in the middle of the neighbourhood, and the dirt path next to the canal was smooth and fairly tidy. She stumbled out of the way as another worker bustled past, hefting a box nearly her size. 

“Looks like this may take a while…”

“Kyoko!” Her mother called her over, carrying a small lunch box.

“What is it? Do you need help moving stuff in?” Kyoko asked, stepping up onto the patio. The task looked a bit tedious, sure, but she wanted to be as helpful as possible. The sudden move was definitely more exhausting on her parents rather than her.

“What? No, no! I noticed you seemed a little bored so…” Haya pointed to the pathway leading into town, giving Kyoko’s shoulder a light squeeze. “Why don’t you explore for a bit? We were on the ferry for a while, and the car ride was a bit long too, so you must be itching to stretch your legs!”

 “Oh…uhm…” On one hand, exploring the island did sound tempting, and she was a bit stiff from all the travelling...but, she couldn’t. Her parents could definitely use her help and she didn’t want to leave them with all these boxes. That’d be wrong...wouldn't it? While she pondered this, muttering to herself, Haya slipped the container into her backpack -- complete with a dolphin keychain -- and gave her a gentle nudge.  

 “Quit worrying, sweetheart, go have fun! Leave the boring stuff to us adults.”

 “B-but…”

 Seeing she needed more encouragement, Haya added, “Think of it like...when you were little, and you went searching for those dolphins! It’ll be an adventure!” Of course, she had to bring that up. Cheeks burning, Kyoko rushed down the steps of the patio.

 “Alright, alright I’ll go! Just, please don’t mention that story!”

 “Yeah, yeah. Make sure to stick to the path! And be back by noon!”

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 “Why would Mom send me out here? Where should I even go?” Kyoko squinted at the map she’d downloaded earlier. “If I follow the path here, I should reach the town eventually…” After scrutinizing the map a little longer, she nodded and shoved her phone back into her bag. “May as well figure out my way around here, Mom and Dad won't be able to drive me around, so…”

 That’s right, she was fifteen now. She couldn’t rely on her parents anymore  -- not that she did , really, but it'd be best to be able to take care of herself, right? Her parents had always been busy with their work (marine biology was no joke), and as much as she loved how passionate they were, it did make spending time together a little difficult.

But it’s okay! Now that she was fifteen, she could really be independent. She’d start her final year of junior high in a few days, clean up around the house more, maybe get a job…

“They don’t have time to worry about me anymore.”

As Kyoko reached the town, she was greeted with the clean scent of brine. It wafted around her, removing any lingering fatigue from her body. The ocean has always had that effect on her, ever since she was little. A brief moment by the sea could instantly lift her spirits. So, instead of touring the town, she headed straight for the beach, kicking off her sneakers. Cautiously, she dipped her toes near the shoreline and allowed the water to wash over her. It was a bit chilly, but compared to the fervour of the sun, it was a pleasant contrast. The momentary peace was interrupted when a sudden flash appeared behind her.

“What was that?!” Grabbing her shoes and bag, she followed the flashes down the beach. The source of light came from a stony cave near the edge of the coast. By the time she’d neared the entrance, the light had faded. “The light came from here...I wonder where it leads.” Kyoko ran her hand over the rocky opening, about to enter when-

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

 She jumped, nearly smacking her head against the stone entrance. The shout had come from a girl behind her, fluffy blonde hair framing her face. Her light tan only served to highlight her sharp golden eyes even more, which were staring Kyoko down. She was barely taller, but she seemed to tower above her. Could demeanour really do that alone? After taking in her appearance, Kyoko concluded.

“Oh, wow, she’s gorgeous! But,  she looks pretty annoyed…”

“You DO know you’re not supposed to be in there right? Are you trying to get yourself hurt?!” 

 Maybe it was the heat, or simply the blonde girl’s intensity, but all the commotion made Kyoko’s head swim. “I, uhm, I think there’s been a misunderstanding I just…” she babbled out. By the high arch of the blonde’s brow, it was clear her words weren’t getting through.

Before the situation could escalate any further, another girl approached the blonde from behind, lightly tapping her shoulder. Her lilac tresses seemed to float down her back, and when she removed her sunglasses, purple eyes surrounded by thick lashes blinked curiously at them. Kyoko squirmed under the captivating gaze, shying away from the pair. Even her complexion was flawless and fair, seeming to glow under the sunlight. They were like...the sun and moon, she thought, with their unique radiance.

“She’s beautiful as well! What I’d give to look like that...”

“Emi, I heard shouting, is everything alright?” The girl finally noticed Kyoko and scanned her over. Kyoko braced herself, preparing for the worst but rather than berating, the girl smiled. The gentle gesture allowed Kyoko to relax a bit. “You don’t look familiar, are you new here?”

 “I-I am! I just moved here today, with my parents…”

The calmer girl whispered in Emi’s ear, who continued to scowl at Kyoko. After she’d finished, she turned back to Kyoko, a sympathetic smile on her face. “I’m really sorry about my friend here. She’s not mad at you, she was just worried.”

“I was NOT worried.” 

 “Right...anyway, it’s best if you stay clear of Eudora Cove. There have been erosion issues, so it’s not safe. Wouldn’t want you getting hurt.” 

“Eudora Cove?” Kyoko echoed. She pointed to the cave’s entrance, “Named after one of the Nereids from Greek mythology? Strange name for a place like this…”

“Weird name or not,” Emi added, scuffing her sandals against the sand. “We’ve always been told it’s dangerous as kids,” She refused to look Kyoko in the eye, and she pursed her lips in a penitent pout. “I assumed you knew, that’s all.” Emi turned back to her friend, “Yuyu, we should get going.”

 “Ah yes, we should be heading back,” she waved to Kyoko, “It was nice meeting you. Maybe we’ll see you around?”

 Pink flooded Kyoko’s cheeks. “Yeah, see you…” Once the girls were out of earshot, she sighed. That certainly wasn’t the best first impression, but still, she definitely saw something . Why didn’t the other girls notice it? A part of her wanted to run away, to heed the girls’ advice but…

“I’ve got to know what that light was!”

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Thoroughly mortified but determined to see it through, Kyoko entered the cavern. Seashells and stones studded the stony walls, like stars on a clear night. Soft sand blanketed the floor of the cave, which was surprisingly clear of any tracks. “That’s strange...” 

“Your Highness, please! We don’t have time - zu!”

“I’m trying, but it’s hard!!”

Voices echoed from within the cave, and splashing could be heard further within. Following the noise, Kyoko was led to a clearing, in which a pool of cerulean shimmered. She hid behind a nearby rock, watching the commotion warily. Near the pool, she spotted a baby sea turtle facing the water. “That's weird, why would a sea turtle be here? It’s not with any other hatchlings, I hope it wasn’t abandoned...”

The pool’s waters began to gleam and bubble, green light filling the cavern. Kyoko shielded her eyes, and when the light faded, a girl came into view. Her long hair was the shade of sea glass, and pointed ears peaked out of her hair. She donned a gown of...seafoam? After brushing her hair out of her face, she attempted to stand up.

Attempted.

The girl wobbled, flailing like a fish out of water. When it appeared like she was about to gain her balance, she’d start to sway again. Kyoko’s stress swelled as she watched her. “Looks like she could use some help…” She stepped out from her hiding place, approaching the girl hesitantly. “Uh, excuse me? Do you need some help?”

The girl and the turtle turned to Kyoko, panic etched on their faces. Just as suddenly as she appeared, the girl dove back into the pool. As soon as she touched the water, the clearing was doused in light. As the light faded and bubbling died down, the turtle leapt onto Kyoko’s face.

It did what now?

Kyoko grasped onto the turtle’s shell, trying to pry her off. “I have the human Princess! Get away while you can - zu!” The sea turtle called. Even with her small flippers, her hold was surprisingly tight. 

“You can TALK ?!” Kyoko screeched -- to the best of her ability since the turtle was covering her mouth. She stumbled, scrambling to shake the creature off. Eventually, the turtle lost her grip and went spinning into the sand, finally landing on her shell. Kyoko scrambled to set her upright, then cupped her in her hands. “I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

“Put me down! Lemme go - zu! I will not be caught by a human, I refuse - zu!” The turtle protested, squirming wildly. To her ‘request’, Kyoko set the animal on the sand. While she did so, something else caught her eye. A ring of keys made from...coral sat next to the pool. There were an array of colours, from pearly white to ocean blue to sunshine yellow.

“These probably belong to that girl...speaking of, she hasn’t come up for air…” She knelt and leaned closer to the water. “Are you okay down there? You dropped your...keys?” Kyoko trailed off, stopping as a figure rose from the pool. It was the girl from before, only the dress she wore was gone. In its place was a light sea green top, and a slender, sea green tail in place of legs.

“A tail...instead...of legs….tail...no legs…does that mean?”

“You’re a...a mermaid!”

 The mermaid had her hands in front of her, outstretched in apprehension. Despite the attempt to sound commanding, her voice shook as she spoke. “P-put the keys down, Terra Dweller and step away from the water.” 

Kyoko did as she was told, following the directions in a haze. So much was happening, it was hard to process. All she could think about was the creature before her. She watched as the mermaid heaved herself onto the pool’s edge. “The Keys of Pontoporeia...I don’t think they’re damaged.” After taking the keys, the mermaid groaned before flopping onto the sand. “Azuuuure....don’t you have ANYTHING I can eat? I’m starving!”

“Not QUITE the reaction I was expecting.”

 The turtle, Azure, shuffled toward the mermaid with as much attitude as she could muster. “I’ve told you, Your Highness, I don’t have anything - zu. We left Azora in such a rush, food was the last thing on my mind - zu!”

“What?! But I’ve been swimming for days!” The mermaid whined, sinking into the sand again. In a huff,  she smacked her tail against the pool’s surface. “How am I supposed to shift if I have no strength?!”

“I think she’s uh, stomping her foot...or FIN I guess...”

“Uhm, if you’re hungry, I have some food I could share..?” Kyoko pulled out the container her mom had given her and popped the lid off. Inside were little sandwiches shaped like fish, with various fillings inside. “The taiyaki sandwiches we made, of course!”

 “Taiyaki?” They parrotted.

  Kyoko handed a sandwich to each of them. Warily, the mermaid sniffed it, gave it a lick, and then a tiny nibble. She stared the morsel down, before shoving the whole sandwich in her mouth. Kyoko could only gape as the mermaid scarfed it down, and turned to her with eyes filled with longing. She handed her another, settling down next to the pool. “I can’t believe mermaids are real… What are you doing here? Where did you come from? Are there more mermaids nearby? Ah- ” She caught herself mid-ramble. “I’m sorry for all the questions...it’s just so incredible!”

Polishing off her meal, the mermaid agreed, “I feel the same! I mean, I thought all Terra Dwellers - ah, HUMANS,  were just yucky pirates, but you’re really nice!”

“Oh! Uhm, thank you...?” 

 Giggling and splashing her fins happily, she raised her tail toward Kyoko in greeting, who shook it awkwardly. “My name is Odessa, it’s nice to meet you!” 

“I’m Kyoko, Kyoko Koizumi…”

 The sea turtle flew up and landed on Odessa’s shoulder. “Your Highness, if you’re going to introduce yourself, at least do so properly - zu!”

“Oh Azure, there’s no need to -”

 “Nonsense! No matter where you are, you’re still Azoran royalty - zu!” With Odessa rolling her eyes and Azure pointedly clearing her throat, she declared, “This is Her Highness, Princess Odessa Alagona of the First Pearl’s Boon, and you should address her as such - zu!”

“And Azure is being way too formal! Just Odessa is fine.”

“So not only are you a mermaid,” Kyoko began, “But a princess too?” Her dad had been right...for once. She’d felt that there was something weird about this island, and now she’d seen his ‘supposed miracle’ with her own eyes. She wanted to ask so much, but she didn’t want to frighten her again, so she started with one: “What are you doing here?”

“Princess, is it really wise to share so much with this Terra Dweller?” Azure asked. “You don’t know her very well - zu!”

“But...she seems really nice, maybe she can help us!” After positioning her tail comfortably, she began to explain, “My big sister, Meriella...she sent me here for my safety. You see, our home -- Azora Kingdom, it's in danger! A horrible wave of cursed ink spread throughout the sea, the palace was attacked, all to take the Cordis Shell…”

“The Cordis Shell? What’s that?”

“The purest source of sea magic. It’s, like, SUPER powerful. It was gifted to our kingdom eons ago but was taken away for safekeeping a few years back. Only the king and queen -- my parents -- know where it is, but they fled during the Shoal’s attack.” Odessa sighed, sadly swishing her tail in the water. “I just hope they’re okay. Meriella and the others too...I didn’t see all the damage, but I know that the Shoal is strong and won’t stop until they get their fins on the Shell!” 

 Cursed ink, magic shells, and mermaid royalty? That was….quite a bit to digest. Kyoko didn’t know where to start, but she could tell Odessa was sad at least. She patted the mermaid’s tail, her gaze filled with warmth. “That sounds terrifying...it must be hard to be so far from home, in an unfamiliar world like this.”

“It’s okay! Once I find the Precure, everything will be alright!” 

“Precure?”

Azure sighed, frowning deeply at the princess. “Your Highness, you’re not still going on about that, are you? They’re just a merfolk legend, a story for guppies! Those fictional heroes can’t help us - zu!”

“Yes, they CAN Azure!” She shouted with a smack of her tail. “They’re real, and once I find them, I can finally help the kingdom! Meriella, Syreni, even Kaliani won’t have to worry about me anymore! Gasping, Odessa turned to Kyoko, who had been quietly listening to her woes. “You! You could help me! If I’m going to find the Precure, I’ll need to go on land. Let’s look for them together!”

Looking for the Precure...it sounded important, something that couldn’t afford mistakes or errors. What if she made things worse for Odessa? She couldn’t take that risk, she’d been through so much already. “But, I don’t know the island very well. I just moved here, so...I’m DEFINITELY not the best for this.” 

“Oh...even so, just someone to help get my land legs! Please, Kyoko! You’re the only one who can! It’s gotta be you!”

“I’m really sorry, I wish I could help…but I can’t. You shouldn’t entrust me with something like this.” She gathered her things, trying to ignore Odessa’s pleas. Sliding her backpack on, she turned to the princess once more. “I have to go, I’m so sorry. But, I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

It’s better this way...right?

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 Deep below the surface, within the Azoran seas, trouble was brewing. But not for those who feared them, but the members of the Shoal of Lament themselves. 

“What do you MEAN she escaped?!”

“Miss, it’s not our fault. That rotten crown princess sent her away before we could ask her anything.” Nerida explained, inspecting her slim, eellike tail. The mermaid had deep blue hair, and skin with a peculiar purple tint. After adjusting the gold jewelry she modelled, she pointed her fins toward her subordinate. “If you must blame anyone, blame Calypso. He spent so much time flaunting his Sirens, we missed our chance!”

The accused merman feigned a gasp. “How could I not?” His blue complexion allowed his green tentacles to glow in the darkness. “My Sirens had so much fun tearing up the city! You wound me, my love.”

“I am NOT your love.”

“It doesn’t matter now, the princess should be far from Azora at this point,” another merman added. He sported a mop of dirty blond hair and a tawny seahorse tail. “We should locate her right away. She’s the last member of the royal family, she must know of the Cordis Shell’s whereabouts.”

“My thoughts precisely. We don’t have time for all this squabbling!” another mermaid exclaimed, smacking her fist against the craggy wall behind her. Her navy blue tail was rough, fins firm and as frightening as a shark. She handed a ring of coral keys to their mistress, bowing. “Miss, I stole these from Princess Syreni. I know the royals use them to pass into other seas in the realm, perhaps we can use these to pursue the princess.”

“Excellent.” She held her hands over the keys, and with a small spell, the once radiant keys were dyed an inky black. “Take these Nerida, and find that minnow. Make her regret ever leaving the sea.”

“Of course Miss.”

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After today, she could never look at the ocean the same. 

How could she? A whole new world was under the surface, a world in danger, and she’d refused to help it. “I wonder how Odessa is...I hope she’s okay.” Kyoko muttered, looking out to sea from her balcony. She shivered a bit, the ocean breeze nipping at her skin.   

Unbeknownst to her, Haya had slipped into her room to say goodnight, but when her mother saw her, looking to the water with longing, she could sense something was up. Her mother joined her on the balcony, draping a blanket over Kyoko's shoulders. “It’s still early spring y’know? Don’t want you catching a cold.”

“Oh, thanks.”

They took a moment to watch the sea, admiring its glistening surface, studded with moonlight. Kyoko’s gaze lingered, but she eventually turned to face her mother. “Mom? Could I ask you something?”

After getting a nod from her mother, she took a deep breath. “So...let’s say you have this friend right? And they really REALLY want your help with something. But this thing is SO important, that if you mess up a LOT of people could get hurt. So you say no, because this friend has gone through so much already, and the last thing they need is you making things worse! Uhm...that’s okay, right?”

Haya laughed, “That’s a big ‘something’ sweetie.” She returned her gaze to the water, deep in thought. “Does this friend trust you?”

Do they trust her? What kind of question is that? “I mean…I guess so. Why does that matter?”

“Well, I just think that if this friend trusts you, has confidence in you...then you should share in that trust, and have some confidence in yourself. I bet they believe in you for a reason, you just can’t see why...At least, that’s what my father used to tell me! You remember, don’t you Kyoko?”

Kyoko nodded, “Yes...Grandpa used to say that a lot…” Her grandfather, Ryūjin always made her feel like she could do anything…

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“Come on Kyoko! Just a little further!”

Kyoko looked over the boat, eyeing the dolphin warily. She reached out a hand, then retracted it, shaking. “I can’t do it! I’m too scared! What if I hurt it?” 

Ryujin smiled, taking Kyoko’s dainty hand in his calloused one. “You don’t know that for sure kiddo. I want you to try though, okay?”

“But…”

“Pretty please?”

“...Okay.” Trembling, she stretched out again and this time, the dolphin nuzzled against her palm, clicking happily. Kyoko gasped, staring at her hand in awe. “I...I did it! Grandpa, I did it!” 

Laughing, Ryujin scooped the little girl, hugging her tightly. “I knew you could kiddo! Just took a bit of courage, huh?”

“Mhmm!”

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 He’d always stressed the importance of helping others, he wouldn’t have wanted her to run away. He’d want her to face this. If not for herself, then for Odessa at least. 

“Mom I, uh...I need to go.”

“Now? But it’s dark and-”

“It’s important! I’ll be back soon, but...there’s something I need to do!”

“Something only I can do.”

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 As Kyoko ran back to the beach, she could see the sky darken and the waves thrash against the shore. It was like the sea was in distress, she thought, skidding to a stop in front of Eudora Cove. “Odessa? Are you there?” she called, but to no avail. “Where could she be?” Turning away from the coastal cavern, she noticed Azure squirming in the sand. She knelt next to the sprite, gently setting her upright. “Azure, I’m sorry I didn’t see you there! Is everything okay? Where’s Odessa?”

Azure pointed weakly to the water, “Over there-zu...but, it’s not safe.”

“Not safe? Why, what’s going on?”

Just then, Odessa burst out of the sea, scrambling to shore. Her tail and arms were littered with scrapes, and from her panicked expression, she seemed to be being...pursued? Soon after Odessa surfaced, another mermaid followed - one with peculiar purple pigmentation, and an aura so ominous it made Kyoko tremble.

“I told you Nerida, I don’t know where it is! Only my parents do, honestly!” Odessa spluttered, trembling as the mermaid drew near.  

“In that case,” Nerida snapped, holding her hand over the rough waters. “You’ll have to tell me where your parents are hiding, won’t you?” More creatures rose from the deep, each armed with an eel’s tail like their commander’s, along with webbed hands and fishy ears. Even with their snarling and hissing, their eyes appeared dismal and bleak. Two Sirens slithered onto land, each taking a hold of Odessa’s arms. Nerida joined them on the beach, pointing a bony finger at the young mermaid. “If you tell me now,” she sang, electric sparks dancing on her finger, “It’ll be less painful…”

Kyoko couldn’t bear to watch any longer. She had to do something ! Scanning the beach, she spotted a long, sturdy piece of driftwood. Snatching it up -- and without thought -- she charged the Sirens. Before they could react, she smacked each of them on the head. They roared in pain, releasing Odessa from their hold.

“Kyoko?! What are you doing here?”

“What I should’ve done before!”

“Well well, what’s this? A Terra Dweller?” Nerida drawled, smirking as Kyoko tried to drag Odessa away. She laughed harder as Kyoko stumbled, panting. “This doesn’t concern you, child. You’re even shaking! What do you think YOU can do?” 

 There really was no reason for Kyoko to do this. She knew that well enough. The whole situation was out of her control, and much bigger than her. But still…

But still…!

 “I...I don’t know what I can do to change this, but...I’d rather do something than nothing! I believe in myself that much, at least…”

With tears pricking her eyes, Kyoko braced herself, fearing for the fated blow…

Which never came.

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Kyoko didn’t notice when the world had melted away, all she saw now was an endless rosy hue. A few bubbles floated by her, and she reached out to touch one. It burst with the contact, dispersing into splashes of light. This world was so peaceful, she’d never felt more at ease. She floated along in this place, savouring the feeling. 

“Kyoko.” A voice called, one scarily similar to her own. 

“Who are you?” 

“I’m...you! Sort of. You’ve taken the first step, and I couldn't be more proud of you.”

“The first step? The first step to what? What is this place?”

 “Don’t worry about that now, but take this. It’ll help you protect those you love.”

Another bubble floated before Kyoko, and when it burst, a necklace shone in its place. Kyoko held it, turning over the shell-shaped pendant in her hands. “But... what am I supposed to do with this?”

“You got here by believing in yourself, I’m sure you understand what comes next. Trust yourself, Kyoko, those feelings will carry you far…”

Despite the coyness of...herself, Kyoko acknowledged that she got here by believing in herself.  And that was something she hadn’t done in a long time…

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Kyoko held the shell close to her heart, calling out the words that would change her.

“Precure! Marine Reflection!”

The Lapis Locket popped open, and a flurry of pink fish burst out. She was bathed in a sea of light. When the light faded, she was floating in the ocean! But she wasn’t afraid, this was too incredible! She relished the moment, beaming as she reached a hand outward. As she outstretched her hand, the pod of fish returned, as if she’d summoned them.

“Would you mind helping me please?” Kyoko asked with a smile. They swam around different parts of her, starting with her ankles. A pair of pearly pink heels appeared on her feet, which Kyoko admired.

Next was her body. The fish spiralled around her hips, and a pink and blue skirt materialized with a loud pop. The same happened with her chest, and she donned a matching tube top. 

The fish swam to Kyoko’s head, lightly pecking her there. She couldn’t help giggling as they kissed her, laughter bubbling as she spun. Her hair began to glow and then grow. It brightened in hue, save for the blue ombré she now had. Bubbles weaved through one part of her hair, braiding and sealing it with a large seashell. 

As the pod swam away, one little fish lingered behind, planting a kiss on her cheek before departing. Returning the favour, Kyoko blew bubbles and kisses to the fish. The bubbles shone, turning into a ring of pearls on her neck as well as corresponding earrings. 

“The locket! I almost forgot!” With a wave of her finger, the Lapis Locket appeared, its string dissolved into seafoam and the shell glittering on her chest.

 She floated within a large pink oyster shell, and as it eased open, she struck a pose, declaring her new title. 

“ The heart of the sea! Making waves, Cure Delphin!”

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 Kyoko, rather, Cure Delphin hovered over the sand, before landing daintily. “This is really...me?” She examined her body, admiring the rosy glow she emitted and the overwhelming power surging through her. 

“I...I really did it! I found one of the Precure!” Odessa cheered, slapping her tail down with enthusiasm. “Azure, did you see? I told you they were real!”

Azure could only nod, her eyes wide. “Yes I... guess they are real-zu.” 

Nerida was equally shocked. How could a simple Terra Dweller, let alone a CHILD, become one of the warriors of merfolk legend? She didn't have time to mull it over, all that mattered was dealing with the nuisance before she could handle her powers. “Sirens! After her!”

Charging their tails, sparks bursting from the tips, the Sirens surged forward. Rather than applying the miraculous, magical abilities, she’d been blessed with, Delphin squeaked, and took off running. Azure and Odessa watched the ‘heroine’ scamper off, the Sirens slithering after her.

“Oh yes, what a legendary warrior - zu…”

“Hey! She’ll get the hang of it! I hope…”

The Sirens continued to chase Delphin, and soon she was surrounded. They inched closer, growling and gnashing their teeth. Adrenaline and fear overtook her, and in a desperate attempt to evade harm, she leapt into the air, just as the Sirens lunged for her.

While she was in the sky, Delphin blathered on, pulling at her hair. “This is crazy, this is totally crazy! What am I DOING?! How can I fight those… those THINGS when I can’t even control my - AH!”

Delphin shrieked as she plummeted to the ground, but in some twisted manner, managed to land upright. A plume of sand billowed from her landing, the dust clouding the beach. Delphin stumbled out of the cloud, shaking her head.

“Delphin!” Odessa shouted, rubbing the sand from her eyes. “Precure aren’t just strong! They have special powers too! If you want to beat the Sirens, you’ve gotta use those powers!”

“Even if you tell me that...” After clearing the sand from their vision, a horde of Sirens dove at her. Panicked, she flailed her arms, water bubbling from her hands as she did so. Just before they could touch her, the water rippling near her palms turned into a rushing wave. “Oh. So, that’s what you mean by powers,” she added, watching the wave crash onto the Sirens.

Brimming with self-confidence, Delphin engaged the marine monsters. Jumping to elude their talons, she dug her shimmery heel into one's head. Using that as a platform, she leapt off and rammed her fist into the sand. The force of her punch created another tidal wave, protecting her and sending the Sirens back with the swell. Delphin beamed, this was amazing! She’d never felt so powerful, it was so different from her usually spineless self. She felt confident! She felt strong!

She felt one of the Sirens whip her with its tail, sending her tumbling into the sand. Stinging discomfort shook her body, and she nearly heaved from the pain. 

“Okay Delphin, don’t get cocky now…There are too many to keep up this fight. I need to get rid of them all at once. But how?” 

As she peeled herself off the ground, her eyes fell onto the water before her. Despite the battle, the waves had continued their ebb and flow.

“Ocean...move…that’s it!”

“I hope this works…” Clasping her hands to her heart, she envisioned her powers like water: powerful like a tsunami, yet gentle as a babbling brook. Her mind was clear, and in a bold voice she called out...

“Precure...!”

Her Lapis Locket began to glow, dousing the sea in a roseate light. As she stretched out her arms, a pod of dolphins -- composed entirely of water-- swam next to her. Frolicking in a pink wave, the dolphins rushed past. One dolphin swam underneath, bumping into her and she tumbled onto its back. Now leading the fray, she pointed towards her target.

“Delphin Migration!”

With that declaration, the pod and wave engulfed the Sirens. Delphin cheered as her target was drenched, an endearing smile on her face. The creatures collapsed, impotent yet blissful. 

Delphin joined them, crumbling into the sand. A wave of seafoam washed over her, and she was Kyoko Koizumi once more. She touched the pink shell hanging from her neck, tracing her finger over its glossy surface. “This locket...I should probably hold onto it.”

Nerida, however, gaped at her Sirens in shock, appalled by their weakened state. Whatever that... Precure (oh, how she loathed saying that) did had rendered her minions powerless! What was she supposed to tell her mistress? Nerida snarled at the human girl, smirking as the Terra Dweller flinched. “This isn’t over, little human. I’ll be back for you and the princess.” Brandishing a set of coral keys  -- similar to Odessa’s, save for their inky black colour -- she snapped her fingers. The weary Sirens followed their superior, dragging themselves back to the sea. As they sank below the surface, Kyoko knew their return was inevitable; The fact alone made her tremble. What if today was just a fluke? Would she be able to do this again? What if-

Something damp touched her back, and she let out an unearthly shriek. She scrambled away, frantic but relaxed upon realization. It was only Odessa, her tail must’ve brushed against her back. Limpid tears dotted Odessa’s eyes, and a warbled smile was etched on her face. “Odessa? Are you alright-OH!” The mermaid leapt onto her, squeezing her tightly. 

“Kyoko, that was AMAZING! You were incredible! You were like...BAM...and SPLASH...and then WHOOSH!”

Azure followed suit, “I’ve never seen anything like that before -zu! Now Azora has a chance!” 

“Yeah! Everything’s going to be okay, thanks to Kyoko!”

Kyoko watched as Odessa and Azure cheered, admiring their innocent delight. Maybe she was a bit innocent too, thinking that she could do something like this. But, they believed in her.

Maybe that’s all she needed.

“I think....things will be alright. I guess I’ll have to wait and see.”  

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Tidal Song Precure! Chapter Two Preview

As Odessa gets to know her saviour, her admiration for her grows, and she yearns to become a precure too. In order to prove herself, she decides to venture on land...alone. What adventures await her on the sandy streets of Yumeshima?

Next time on "Tidal Song Precure!": Azora's boon! The voice of the sea, Cure Lagoon!