#sorry this got so long winded and all over the place idk what I’m doing 😅

[moraent-keys]

So how do you draw hair? It’s literally so freaking pretty and smooth how you draw it and personally I wanna draw hair like that because I draw boring hair🫶

Before we start- Friendly Reminder: Pretty much all of my art/style, including hair, is inspired by Buxbo!

Other kinds of hair I’ve done

Things I forgot to mention:

Use references!! I use both real life and cartoons

I personally draw hair having a lot of volume and being very thick so it appears more fluffy, I just use really big shapes and draw the hair a little detached from the circle base sketch

I use a mix of stiff and loose lines (as seen w/ macaque) but usually I lean more towards loose

Coloring hair is a whole separate conversation that I’m still trying to figure out myself

My style is constantly changing, especially lately, and I just recently got the hang of doing hair like this! (It took me a year) I’m literally just doing whatever lol

[fadingdaggerr]

Hi!! I was wondering if you could write a fluff Melissa x reader, where R is a new teacher and shes got this sick motorcycle and everybody thinks she's super cool and badass, and Mel's absolutely head over heels and gets all nervous when R is around, and when R eventually realizes it she starts doing things on purpose to get Mel all flustered.

With like A LOT of fluff.

You can maybe make it little spicy too, or not.

Idk you do whatever you prefer.

know i’m alive (18+, minors dni)

pairing: melissa schemmenti x gn!reader

summary: request above! | 5.8k

includes: the dating but not really sort of trope, but of ooc!melissa i’m sorry, partially unedited again im sorry

warnings: sexual innuendo, alcohol consumption (brief), making out/kissing, smut (fingering, oral, mel receiving), body worship?, aftercare

note: the bike referenced is a harley-davidson 1992 daytona, one of my personal fav models. i grew up in a biker family so this was cathartic. also the temperatures referenced in fahrenheit are roughly the 10-20°c range, hope that’s helpful :)

It’s become a sort of routine: get to work, drop your things off, get coffee, make Melissa blush, teach, do prep, watch Melissa try to hide a smile, go home, repeat. You can’t help yourself, getting the woman, who will always be the toughest in any room she’s in, riled up with fluttering lashes. Shocked faces from across the room didn’t help with the ego you were steadily growing with each interaction.

The first day you were at Abbott, she pointedly ignored you, despite constantly having an eye on you. What you once thought was suspicion over a new person near the kids, though sort of true, was more of a curiosity. A new third grade teacher walked into her school, wearing an oversized denim jacket and old Chucks, how was she supposed to feel? Her harsh glares and eagle eyes softened, and you started to see a more bashful side of the woman. It was only until Ava had the balls to say that Melissa’s behavior was very not Melissa, that you noticed that only you could evoke this side of her.

Since day one, the redhead has had an interest in you, not that she would ever verbalize it. Breathlessness has become a common feeling every time you come in with the sleeves of your sweater rolled up and rings adorning your fingers, making her focus shift and half the time she doesn’t hear a word you say, just following the gold bands that catch the light as you speak animatedly. Melissa longs for the day you got close enough and she could pull you in by the necklace you wear, the same that dangles in a taunt when you lean into her space. In the brief moments you’re alone, there’s a sense of calm that comes over both of you. The need to keep up a bravado drops, and you can indulge yourself in her presence. She’s lost count of how many times you casually dropped a gorgeous or beautiful instead of using her name, and how she has to fight turning when you say either in casual conversation, not just to her. All you know is that her wide, surprised eyes are all the motivation you need to keep it up.

—☽—

It’s bitter cold as you walk into Abbott, finding yourself nearly running to the main entrance before your eyes begin to water from the nipping winds. Reprieve comes in the form of the front lobby, leaning against it to catch your breath and shrug off your jacket to let the warmer air rid you of goosebumps. With your belongings dropped off in your classroom, it’s easy to start moving towards the lounge, knowing you saw a silver car that belonged to a certain redhead.

The voice of Jim Gardener is all there is when you enter, Barbara having, no doubt, told them to shut their mouths while her ‘second favorite man’ was speaking, Gerald also ranking number one in his wife’s heart. Grabbing your personal mug from the shelf, you pour a cup of unfortunate coffee as you watch Melissa through your periphery. She used to sit in one of the chairs, no room for someone to place themselves next to her. However, once you started, you noticed she moved to the couch, where no one but you was brave enough to sit.

Walking slowly to your spot, you gently sip the coffee that threatens to spill over the sides before setting it on the table. Lowering yourself, you sit purposefully closer to Melissa than a typical coworker would. Not one shuffle away or look of discomfort comes of it, it almost makes you grin. As the weather comes on, and Jim is no longer on screen, voices start to fill the room. You throw your arm back to the back of the couch as leverage to push yourself forward, leaning into Melissa’s space as the two-week broadcast appears on screen.

Her attention on you is not missed, neither is Barbara’s, who you already know is giving Melissa a look of bewilderment. The dusty pink that paints her cheeks with every interaction between you has quickly become your favorite color. It’s a struggle and a half to keep your eyes on the screen, but the temperatures being in the fifties and sixties starting tomorrow made you so excited that it didn’t even matter. Instantly, your mind is whirling with plans for the second the final bell rings and you can run out the door.

When the news goes to commercial, you sit back, keeping your arm behind Melissa’s shoulders. The warmth radiating off of her has your mind begging for you to shift your arm just a touch closer, to wrap your arm around her, but so far playing it safe has been working in gaining her trust. She can’t help it, green eyes falling onto you as she tries to decipher your move, hoping to catch something in your eyes that tells her what this was between you. All she gets is a little smirk that is half-hidden by a sip of coffee from an orange mug.

Melissa catches on quickly to your happier mood, finding the joy you exuded, that seemingly came from nowhere, to be adorable. She can’t even believe that word dared to enter her vocabulary. Your typical flirty remarks don’t make an appearance, just a serene smile on your face and a wink to Melissa when you catch her eyes scanning over your face. 

As the last kids get into their dad’s truck, you find yourself practically skipping back to your room to quickly gather your things. With the speed in which you move and the utter state of focus you are in, you don’t notice Melissa’s little smile as she sees you move with obvious excitement as you leave the building. She decidedly ignores the little thought that you may be all giddy to see someone else, and maybe she will continue to ignore it with a glass of Merlot.

Marty at the front desk of M&J’s Storage Company gives you a tightlipped smile and a curt nod as you drive past, having gotten used to you stopping by periodically over the winter. Pulling up in front of unit seventy makes your heart race, the second most beautiful thing in the world sat behind that navy metal door. The old lock takes a few tugs to loosen its hold, finally allowing you to release the latch and lift the door.

“Well, hello again,” you mumble as you pull back the cover, eyes scanning over metal. It hadn’t been long since your last little maintenance visit, meaning all you had to do was drive home and get her shined up.

After stopping at the gas station on the way home to fill the tank, you finally park and nearly eat pavement as you jump out of the car. It takes extra effort without the help you usually get from your brother to lower the bike off the trailer, but you manage, though it leaves your arms shaking while you remove the cover again.

Polish turns the piping from grey to silver, the dust off the body goes back to its original tan, and the blue on the design is restored to its proper glory. Despite checking once a month or so, you cross your fingers as you start the engine, hoping that all your hardwork will pay off and nothing will go wrong. The engine does a chg-chg-chg before it turns over and the motorcycle comes to life.

“Yes!” you exclaim, jumping in the air slightly with sheer amount of excitement running through your veins. You let the bike run for a little bit as you take photos to send to your brothers as proof you could, in fact, get it off the trailer without them. 

All you can think about for the next couple hours before bed is the feeling of your riding jacket and the wind blowing against it.

—☽—

The sky is still dark when you open your eyes the next morning, impatience waking before you before your alarm. Once you’ve gained your bearings, you get up and are getting ready as fast as you possibly can. It’s impossible to sit still, you’re almost dancing in place as you brush your teeth and can’t stop yourself from skipping to the closet by the front door. Shoved in the back, next to your sandals, was a pair of black, leather, steel toe boots. After saving every penny your senior year of college, you bought them as a graduation gift for yourself, and you’ll wear them until you can feel the ground through the soles.

Once you had to turn around due to forgetting it from sheer enthusiasm, you borderline ran down the stairs to your garage space. With the garage door open, the warm air creeping in from the outside is invigorating, and the lack of wind for the first time in two weeks gives you hope that your face won’t freeze off on the ride to Abbott. The biggest pain is getting your backpack to sit comfortably over your slightly bulky riding jacket, covered in patches from states and towns you’d visited over the years.

The second the bike begins to move, it feels like all of your problems have disappeared behind you. The low rumbling and revving drives others crazy, but it feels like the calming presence around you. If only the cops around weren’t such sticklers, or you’d have left your helmet off for the fifteen minutes drive. The wind on your face is better than caffeine, but your eyes water so badly, you can’t have anyone thinking you were sobbing on your way to work. That’s a Monday activity, not Thursday.

From the speed in which you got ready to get on your bike, you’re the second person in, Janine always being first. You refrain from sitting by the TV once you’re in the lounge, just leaning against the counter and sipping your coffee until the object of your affection arrives. Gregory and Jacob come in together, talking about the next round of plants for the garden. When Barbara comes in, you can see that she’s holding in laughter, a fast-talking Melissa behind her.

“How are you not freaking out, Barb? That bike is beautiful, and it’s at Abbott, Abbott, of all places,” she almost yells, her hands waving around with disbelief in her friend’s relative disinterest.

“It’s a bicycle, Melissa.”

“Motorcycle, it’s a motorcycle. It doesn’t have a basket and ribbons, unlike yours,” Melissa mumbles that last part, but Barbara stills catches it and gives a gentle smack to her friend’s arm, despite laughing herself. You can’t lie, knowing that Melissa is fascinated by the bike, you want to speak up about it now, but instead, you stay quiet.

The spot next to her by the TV stays vacant, practically having an RSVP with your name on it. When you plop next to her, she peeks at you from the corner of her eye, and she does it a few times again during the commute report. You catch her the fifth time, raising your brows in question to not gain the others’ attention, but she just gives you a shake of the head. She turns back to the TV, but you’re persistent, propping your arm behind you like you’d done yesterday, and poking her shoulder.

Her head whips away from you, and seeing that it was your hand over her shoulder, she turns back to you with a playful scowl.

“What?” she asks with a softer tone than you had expected.

You lean in just a touch to keep your words between the two of you, “you were staring. Was just making sure you’re okay.”

God, you could survive solely off the way her eyes shine, how wide they open at your earnest. Neither of you realize the time between your words and the answer that has yet to come, just looking at each other as a tiny smile plays on your lips. It takes the internal will of ten thousand men to not jump at her emerald eyes dropping briefly to your lips.

“Right… Sure you’re not just flirting? Like a little kid annoying their crush?” she jokes, partially to save her from embarrassment, partially to hide the racing of her heart from your attention.

“Could be. But at least I’m not the one avoiding the question,” you joke back, and when she doesn’t answer again, you push, “nothing to say about that, beautiful?” Her eyes go to her lap as she shakes her head, another poor attempt to hide the clear effect you have on her. For now, you’ll just ignore the feeling of her leaning slightly closer to you and try to still your rapid heartbeat.

—☽—

In a desperate attempt to see who owns this magnificent bike, Melissa stays in the parking lot, loitering by fiddling with her purse to not raise suspicion. She immediately ignores Gregory and Mr. Morton, knowing they’re too stiff to ever consider getting on a motorcycle, let alone this one. As she sits there on her phone, after fifteen minutes of waiting, a familiar hum starts up and the bike is moving out of the lot.

That jacket. Patches cover nearly all visible space, even a little Eagles one next to a custom Abbott patch. Even with the helmet obscuring your face, without the jacket, she’d know you anywhere. Immediately, she starts to move, putting her car in drive as she pulls out of the lot the same way you did, conveniently the same direction she needed to go.

With a stroke of luck, she pulls into a lane next to you at a busy red light, rolling down her passenger side window, “aye! Why did you say shit about you having the bike?”

You push up your visor, yelling over the motor and traffic, “air of mystery!”

“Bullshit!”

“Guessing you want a ride, huh, gorgeous?” You can’t even contain your grin as you watch her eyes widen, flicking to the red light that has still yet to turn. Little do you know her mind is screaming and your cocky little smile isn’t helping one bit.

She swallows the lump in her throat, “follow me to my place.”

“Yes, ma’am,” you say as you flip your visor back down, glad to be able to cover your face as you smile so hard you narrowly avoid missing the light turning green. It doesn’t take long to fall into line behind Melissa, cutting into a tiny space that earns you a deserved honk from the old man behind you.

It’s less than twenty minutes before Melissa’s blinker directs you into her driveway. You walk it slowly next to her car, keeping the engine running as you take off your helmet. Melissa gets out of her car, abandoning her purse in the seat next to her, and stands nervously by the hood as she plays with her sleeves. Suddenly the thought of being one the motorcycle, pressed against your back, sounds so good she’s afraid she’ll ruin it somehow.

Your voice cuts off her brain’s nervous rambling, “I’ve only got the one helmet with me. So, you’ll wear that, and we’ll stick to the side streets.”

“No highway,” she grumbles as she steps closer.

Your nose scrunches as you laugh at her pout, “no highway and nothing over forty, cross my heart.” Holding out your pinky, she begrudgingly takes it while ignoring the butterflies in her stomach. “You’re gonna wanna tie your hair back, low bun, braid, something like that.”

“Ponytail?” she asks, pretending she doesn’t care that your pinkies are still wrapped around one another.

“Nope, it’ll just tangle. And we can’t have anything happening to that beautiful hair,” you subconsciously pull her hand closer and draw her in. Her finger tightens around yours in return. When her neighbor pulls into their driveway, their car door shutting loudly disrupts the quiet between you two, making you both pull away.

Instead of speaking of it, you both fiddle to get ready for a ride around the block or down to the corner store. Melissa faces away from you to tie her hair into a tight low bun, she takes deep breaths to calm herself from the sheer proximity to you. Behind her, you fiddle with the clasps of the helmet to fit her better.

When she turns to face you again, you motion for her to get closer and her eyes almost bulge out her head. Melissa slowly approaches you as her fingers tangle around themselves. You lift the helmet in silent question, and she nods. Carefully, trying to touch her as little as possible, you help get the helmet on without pulling her hair.

You open the visor before you adjust the chin strap, “feel good? Secure?”

“It’s comfier than I thought,” her voice comes out slightly muffled by the guard in front of her lips. Melissa prays you can’t hear her fast breaths, completely overwhelmed by your scent surrounding her.

“Good,” you smile, “I’ll back her up onto the street, then you can hop on.”

Once you’ve got the kickstand down so it’s as stable as possible for her to get on, you offer a hand as support. Melissa slowly places her hand in yours, the squeeze she receives tells her trust me, I won’t let you get hurt. Using the footrest, she gets herself over the seat to straddle it behind you. Manicured hands flex open and close behind your back as she becomes unsure of where to put them.

“There’s handles, slightly behind you, that you can hold onto,” speaking loudly over the motor. You turn over your shoulder to meet your eyes with hers, “or, if you wanna, you can hold onto me. Whatever’s your preference.”

To save face, she rolls her eyes, “just want my hands on you, don’t you now?”

“Can’t call you a liar for that one,” you say with a smug grin, turning back to lean the bike upright and put up the kickstand. The second you start to move, Melissa’s arms go tightly around your waist, white knuckling your jacket.

Feeling her holding you was only so pleasant until you realized it was mostly from fear. Before taking off slowly, you pat her hand where it rests on your abdomen. It only grips tighter in return. Taking your foot off the ground and beginning to move, feeling more careful in every move you make as to not make Melissa more nervous than she was. It was surprising really, that Melissa Schemmenti of all people was nervous on a motorcycle.

Her grip starts to loosen after the third or fourth turn, but her arms don’t move. Melissa almost rests her head against your back, but decides against it in a sudden judgment. When the moment comes where she feels comfortable, she releases one arm from her hold on you to push the visor back up to have an unobstructed view of the Philly streets and your reflection in the mirrors.

When you finally slow down, it’s six blocks over at her favorite corner store, they’ve got the best hoagie options. She uses your shoulders and the hand you placed out for her to get down from the bike, legs numb from the vibrations of the bike and motor against her thighs. You’re quick to get off, helping her get the helmet off and fixing the little strands of hair that stick up from static. Neither of you mention Melissa’s rosy cheeks or your lingering caress along her bangs.

The small shop leaves little room to roam about, and you stay closely pressed to Melissa’s back as you maneuver to the counter to order food to bring back to her house. With the warmth radiating off of you, she now understands how you felt the whole ride. She knows how you feel about her, it’s a mirror of the ache in her chest for you, and feeling you against her has her heart pounding in time with yours.

From around her waist, comes your arm, offering the cashier a twenty dollar bill. Your other hand rests against Melissa’s hip, holding your wallet open for the change. This has to be some sort of revenge for holding you, she thinks to herself.

As you slowly pull into her driveway, there’s an air of unsureness around the two of you. Stepping off the bike again, you fiddle with your fingers, not wanting to invite yourself into her home. Melissa tugs at the ends of her sleeves as she plans her next words.

“Do you wanna come in, have a beer with those hoagies?” Melissa offers with a hopeful tone.

You smile as you grab the helmet from you, clipping over the little strap on the seat. She takes the hint and walks towards the door with you closely behind her. Inside, without the jacket and boots on, Melissa thinks you look soft. Everything about you is so careful with her, even when you wear worn leather with chains, this dressed down version matches the treatment she always receives.

Sitting across from her at the island, you answer all her questions about how you got the bike, how you maintain it, how you learned all the tricks to keep it running.

“Seriously, that thing’s how old and still going that strong?” she asks through a mouthful of capicola.

“It’s thirty now, it’s a 1992. Harleys are just built to last longer than the actual biker at this point, especially the older models,” you take a swig of beer, “the Daytona was too good to pass up. I got it so cheap and the guy barely had miles on it.”

Melissa perks up, “how much?”

“Thirty-five hundred. Stupid cheap, he could’ve easily gotten ten.”

She smirks, “and you just let him trick himself out of the money?”

“Duh,” you say. There’s a beat of silence before you both start to laugh, leaning into one another over the table.

—☽—

The sun set some time between finishing the hoagies and the third episode of The Real Housewives she roped you into watching. She claimed it was only fair considering she willingly got on the motorcycle. What had started with you two on different cushions quickly became you being pressed against each other, your arm taking residence behind her, but never touching her as you always kept it.

In a strange moment of bravado, Melissa leans against the back cushion and your arm dips into the slope, falling gently around your shoulders. You purse your lips in an attempt to keep a straight face, adjusting your arm to have your hand rest on her shoulder. It doesn’t take long before your fingers begin to draw nonsensical patterns over her shirt. Time passes, episodes go on, and Melissa’s weight starts to fall more into you. Every passing second you become more aware that you don’t want to leave this position as long as you live.

The screen turns black, Are you still watching? appears across it, behind the words, a reflection of the two of you. Your gaze dips down, immediately meeting Melissa’s looking up at you. Green eyes flick to your lips, and for the first time, you know for a fact that you are not imagining it. Her tongue pokes out to wet her lips, capturing your attention. Eyes meet and it’s so quick, neither of you can tell who starts it.

Melissa’s lips taste like light beer and strawberry chapstick, and her tongue is dominating and soft. Her hands grip tightly at the base of your neck, keeping you close to her like you would disappear if your lips left hers. Your hands take residence on her waist, like they had hours ago, and the warmth of her skin under her shirt is screaming your name, begging to be touched.

Tongues clash against one another, sticky lips clumsy as air becomes a necessity. Barely taking your lips off her skin, you trail downwards to her jaw, placing wet kisses along it. The hands on her waist push up and make their way beneath her shirt, gently squeezing her warm, supple body. The feeling of your soft hands holding her makes Melissa groan, tugging you back to her wanting lips.

All she’s wanted since the moment she met you, to hold you, kiss you, touch you, it’s all happening and she can barely find it in her to stop. She never wants it to. With your teeth tugging at her bottom lip, a borderline moan escapes her, and she feels you smile against her mouth and it’s all she can think about. Melissa is completely putty in your hands.

Without breaking the distance between you, you pull away from her lips slowly. Heaving breaths escape both of you, lips swollen and pupils dilated from lust. Melissa’s hand traces from the back of your neck to the chain of your necklace dangling in front of her, looping it around her finger to pull you in closer. Your lips graze over hers, but her words fill the space before they can touch.

“What if I asked you to take me upstairs?”

Your thumb brushes over her ribs, “then I would.”

The door handle almost puts a hole in the wall with the way Melissa shoves it open behind her as you walk her backwards towards her room. Her hands drop from your face to the hem of her shirt, beginning to pull it up before your hands take over. As you step away to throw her shirt off to the side, your eyes drop and a soft look comes over your features.

Stepping into her space again, your fingers trace over her skin, “you’re so beautiful.” It’s barely above a whisper, she barely hears it, barely even sure you’re aware you’ve said it.

Melissa’s only response is to kiss you again, pulling you towards her bed until she topples onto it, taking you with her. Your thighs straddle her as you tug off your own shirt, bending down to continue ravishing her. You kiss down from her lips, to her jaw, to the dip at the base of her neck, then trace your tongue back up. Cold hands grab yours, pulling them down to the button of her jeans.

“Are you sure?” you ask from above her, free hand pushing baby hairs from her blushing face. She only nods, not trusting her words. You shake your head lightly, a little smile on your lips, “I’m gonna need a real answer, lovely.”

Lovely, that’s a new one. She feels her face warm under your gaze, arousal pooling. With the strength she can muster, she utters, “please.”

Without a moment to spare, your lips are on hers again, hand at her waist moving to unbutton her pants. As you help push them down, your hand passes her panties, the dark patch of wetness calling to you. It only invigorates you as you let go of her lips, kissing down to her chest. Arching forward, she makes space for your wandering hands to slip behind and unclasp her bra.

A breathless mumble of God leaves your lips, before soft kisses are pressed to her sternum, skim over to her breast. You kiss her skin with a reverence she’s never felt, teeth graze over her hardened nipple before your lips wrap around it, tongue swirling. The unattended breast begs for attention that is quickly given by your hand, rolling the bud between your fingers.

The warm hand at her waist grips down to her thigh, pushing her legs open to make space for you to lie. Your mouth and hand switch, equal, worship-like attention given to each breast. Melissa’s quiet, hidden moans become louder, hips shifting for pressure against yours. Taking the hint, your lips travel lower, licking over her abdomen and gently biting when she tugs at your hair.

One hand wraps around her thigh, the other keeps her in place as a weight against her stomach. Pressing wet kisses to her thigh, you look at her for permission to continue. The image of you between her legs, lips on her wet thighs, eyes shining with want, all she can manage is bucking her hips towards you, a whine escaping her lips.

One last kiss is placed against plush skin, Melissa’s hand tangles with yours, interlocking fingers feeling like they belong there. Your warm, wet tongue glides over her slit, up and down in slow figure-eights, her little gasps only egging you on. Flattening your tongue, you press harder against her, tasting her more fully, groaning against her in satifaction. It makes sense why Eve would so easily give everything for a mere taste of the forbidden fruit. Sweet and warm, divine heaven on your lips.

Melissa hips buck into your face, begging for more and you are more than willing to give. You lick up to her clit, the pearl demanding attention from you. Small, circular motions with your tongue make Melissa groan, slapping a hand over her mouth as she gets closer and closer to her peak.

You lift away from clit, much to her dismay, “don’t do that.” The hand on her stomach moves to pull her hand away from her mouth, “I want to hear you… please.”

Her hand drops to the sheets beside her, and your mouth is back on her. Sucking harder against her, your hand slides down her abdomen and positions in front of her blooming lips. Your middle finger presses into her slick walls, forcing a moan from both of you. With a few gentle pushes and pulls, you slowly ease in your ring finger, making her clench tightly.

Red nails dig into your hair, tugging as Melissa writhes above you. Husky moans and whines fill the room, pleas of faster and yes, yes are burned into your mind, a melody you won’t dare forget.

You pull off of her clit to take a breath and speak, “can you take more, baby?”

“Please,” she says through pants. The hand in your hair tug you up to her lips, “please.” Her desperate grasp is not willing to let you go, claw-like nails digging into your back.

Lips dancing as you shift your hand to put your thumb to her clit, lining your forefinger to her pussy. Melissa’s jaw drops as the third finger stretches her more, the moan that rips through her is felt by your lips on her neck. You keep a steady rhythm of circling her clit and pumping your fingers into her. Her moans turn to pitched whines, walls hugging your fingers, she was so close. You kiss down her neck, sucking little marks that will fade by morning, taking your time on her breasts and lower stomach. Reaching her clit again, suck it into your mouth as you speed your fingers’ pace.

Frantic hips begin to still, a whine leaving her plump lips as she cums around your fingers. Your attention leaves her clit to travel down her lips as you slowly pump your fingers, removing one by one as she comes down. Shaking thighs relax against the bed as you clean her with your tongue, nectar of the goddess being all the reward you need. She pulls lightly at your hand on her thigh, begging for your lips on hers.

Pressing a final kiss to her pearl, then thigh, you capture her lips in a slow kiss, soft and full of the love that had been hiding under every interaction since you’d first met. When you pull away, you bring your fingers to her lips to give her a proper taste of herself. Accepting the offer, her tongue swirls around the digits. You internally scold yourself for being jealous of your own hand, even the string of saliva that connects her heavenly mouth to your fingers.

You shift to cup her cheek, admiring her droopy eyes and blushing cheeks, the sheen of sweat over her forehead. Her own hand mirrors your movement, pulling you down to press a kiss to the corner of your lips.

“You are so- too good at that,” she mumbles against your cheek, feeling the vibration of your laugh.

You press a kiss to her cheek before flopping next to her, “you, you taste too good.”

Her hand comes to cover her face, but you’re quick to catch it, bringing it closer to kiss the back. Melissa chuckles as you nibble on the knuckle of her pinkie, but she frowns as you roll off the bed. Emerald eyes follow you to the ensuite bathroom, and back as you go back between her legs with a warm washcloth. The featherlike touch and soft kisses to her skin only further the blush on her cheeks.

After discarding the rag and tugging off your jeans, you lay down next to her on your side, eyes scanning over her face. Her head turns to you, enjoying the quiet between you, even more so when your pointer finger traces her features and takes special attention to her lips. Lipstick smudged around her chin, surely on your face as well, and messy eyeliner, she’s never been quite so beautiful.

The gentle ministrations and loving attention make Melissa’s eyes grow heavy, sleep grasping at her despite the fight to stay in your presence. Feeling her relaxing into you, you shift to lay on your back, arm out inviting her into your embrace. Lazily rolling into you, her face tucks into your neck, hand searching for yours.

You tangle your fingers together and whisper into the air, “I think it goes without saying, but I’m stupid in love with you. Everything about you. Just thought you should know.”

“Good thing,” she says through a yawn as she shifts more into you, “because I’m stupid in love with you, too.” 

You press a kiss into her hair, “go to sleep, pretty girl. I’ll be here in the morning, if you want.”

“Of course I want,” it’s barely audible, but you can tell she means it.

The scent of sex, sweat, and eucalyptus body wash radiates from her, underneath it all is a smell that’s so uniquely Melissa that you can feel yourself sinking into the mattress. It feels easy, being with her, it makes sense. You find yourself staring at the ceiling, you recount every time you should have spoken up about your feelings. Surely there could have been a time, but none seem to come to mind. It only makes sense that this is how it was supposed to happen. In her bed, on this day, with the taste of lager on her tongue, you were meant to find your way together.

title from beauty school by deftones

one day i’ll write a shorter fic like i planned in my head

feedback appreciated as always <3

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober day 15 - Moment of clarity, (childhood trauma)

I know I know, I’m late 😔 I had a tiring day yesterday and this fic wasn’t behaving and I was just staring at it and making ZERO progress, so I threw in the towel for the night. But it’s here now, in all its messy glory. sorry again.

Anyway, another prompt that only sorta fits, and having fun with an AU-ish thing. It’s not even that whumpy. Idk. also twilight princess freezards are awful and I hate them

Warnings: brief violence, hypothermia

Ao3 link

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“I’m not a child.”

Wind had heard those words from Four several times on their journey, often said with an eye roll, a casual snort, genuine annoyance on occasion. Some of them were skeptical about the truth of that statement when they’d first met Four, but after hearing he’d been through three journeys and seeing just how responsible he could be, they eased off the incredulity. The short jokes kept up of course, but Four always ignored them, and never seemed terribly bothered at the fact that he was the smallest of them all.

And because of his repeated insistence that he wasn’t a child, nobody ever thought to ask what age Four considered children to be.

Wind certainly never thought to ask. There was something... about Four though, something that sometimes gave him pause and made him look a little harder at the little smithy. Something that ignited the big brother part of him, and reminded him of Aryll, for some reason.

But that was silly, since Four was several years older than Wind.

And at the moment, talking about ages or children or really much of anything was currently far from Wind’s mind as he and Four plodded through the icy cave they’d been dropped in, icicles on every available surface.

Sudden portal switches were no fun. Especially when they involved being separated from the others and dumped in a cold cave. Wind was lucky he’d happened to have stolen Warriors’ scarf right before they were all separated, but it was still awfully cold in here; he was shivering a little, and could see Four doing the same.

This cave was confusing too, twisting tunnels, long icy stretches, big blocks that they had to push. Wind had figured it was some kind of mini dungeon, but they hadn’t seen a single bad guy yet.

Which made him especially suspicious.

The open area they were walking through began to narrow, another twisting passageway up ahead. Wind and Four exchanged looks, then decided to take a quick break before heading that way, leaning against the wall and catching their breath from the icy slope they’d just walked up.

Wind looked up at the pale blue crystals on the ceiling, admiring the shapes while they paused, and glanced over at Four. The smithy had pulled his hood up, and looked much cozier than Wind felt. And small.

That feeling in the back of Wind’s mind itched again, but Wind ignored it as Four straightened, sufficiently rested.

“You ready?” Wind said, and Four hummed.

“Yeah, I think so. We’ve got to be near the end of this thing,” he said, and Wind agreed with a nod.

“I wonder if there’ll be a boss or anything,” Wind said as they plunged into the tunnel, following the bluish walls and shape of the stone. He thought the cave seemed a little colder this way, but maybe it only seemed like it because the tunnel was smaller. “It’s weird that this place has just had puzzles and nothing else.”

“Yeah, I know,” Four frowned, stepping over a rock. “But maybe somebody else cleared it out and the puzzles just reset.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Wind kept his sword in his hand just in case, though.

Four did the same, and they walked carefully through the tunnel, avoiding some loose icicles and small pits. Still no enemies came though, and Wind wasn’t sure if he should be concerned or relieved.

He and Four turned a corner and the tunnel opened up, leading to the top of a steep slope shining with ice. Daylight shone below them, and Wind grinned, nudging Four’s arm.

“There’s the exit! Looks like there’s no boss,” Wind observed, peering over the edge.

"Well that's nice, a break is always good," Four smiled, and Wind's grin changed to a smirk as he looked down at the slope again.

“...Race you down.”

“Hey!” Four protested as Wind jumped, and Wind cackled as he slid, crouching to increase his speed.

Four jumped down behind him, and the two whooped as they rushed down the icy slope, wind rushing past their faces. There were some small rocks and things to avoid, but it was mostly smooth sailing, and Wind laughed as he hit a small bump and caught some air.

Four edged ahead as they neared the bottom, Wind could only guess because of his pegasus boots, and he shouted as Four stuck his tongue out at him. That little miniblin!

Wind knew he had no chance of catching up, but he crouched down even more anyways, barreling towards the light at the bottom. Four was just too far ahead of him though, and reached the bottom first with a victorious cheer.

Which was why when the blast of icy air shot out, only Four was frozen solid.

“Smithy!” Wind yelped in alarm, and just barely managed to swerve away from the last bits of icy air. He careened towards the exit as he hit the bottom of the slope, but managed to stab his sword into the ground, halting his slide.

He yanked it back out as he whirled around, and came face to face with a huge icy beast, at least six red eyes scattered across its face, more ice blasting out of its jaws.

Four lay frozen right next to it, and alarm clutched at Wind's heart as he scrambled away from the cloud of ice. He quickly thumbed through his pouch for the item he needed, but it took him twice as long since he had to keep rolling out of the way of the icy monster.

It looked like it couldn’t really move, only swivel around, but because of that Wind couldn’t dart in and grab Four without getting frozen himself. The monster only paused to occasionally gather its breath for more ice, and Wind’s fingers finally closed around his bow.

Four still hadn't moved, too close to the frigid monster to unfreeze, and Wind bit his lip as the monster’s red eyes glared at him. It revealed a gaping maw full of icicle-like teeth and blasted more ice towards Wind, but he was just out of range.

Hold on Four!

Wind drew on his magic and pulled back a fire arrow, loosing it through a cloud of ice into the monster’s face. It roared, and Wind hurriedly loosed another, and then yet another when the monster kept roaring.

It took another three arrows for the beast to finally disappear, and Wind gasped in relief, scrambling forward and sliding beside Four. The smithy’s eyes were frozen wide open, his body encased in a solid sheen of ice, but right as Wind joined his side, the ice around him shattered.

Four collapsed, Wind’s heart skipping a beat when the smithy didn’t move.

“Oh geez— Four? Can you hear me?” Wind asked frantically, pulling Four up into his arms. The smithy was blisteringly cold in his lap, lips blue and skin frostbitten. He didn’t move when Wind gave him a cautious shake, and Wind’s stomach sank. Four hadn’t been frozen all that long.

Though... he had been right next to that monster’s ice breath for while.

Wind pressed his fingers over Four’s wrist like Warriors had shown him to do, and felt desperately for any sort of pulse. Right when he was about to despair, he felt a soft beat against the pad of his fingers, and gasped in relief.

“Oh Four, okay, okay,” Wind breathed, his breath coming fast. His eyes began to sting as he wrapped Warriors’ scarf around Four, and he hurriedly blinked back the tears trying to form. Oh come on, not now tears! I need to focus.

He quickly tugged Four up onto his back and stood up, surprised at how light he was. Four was small, but he was still a teenager, and Wind had expected more muscle. He was mostly a bit gangly, and Wind had to adjust him so he was actually secure on his back.

Wind then tugged Four out into the sunshine, pleasantly surprised at how warm it was outside of the cave. That monster must have been lowering the temperature. Wind had emerged into a forest that was just starting to turn into fall, the edges of the trees dipped in orange, lit brightly by the sun. It didn’t take Wind long to quickly find a safe enough looking spot beside a large tree, and he set Four down, hugging him close.

The smithy seemed so small like this, tight in Wind's arms.

Wind swallowed, and held Four tight, his stomach rolling. He didn’t really have any other way to warm Four up, aside from pulling out his and Four’s blankets, so he just kept hugging him, making sure the blankets and Warriors’ scarf were wrapped warmly across his shoulders.

Worry still clutched at his heart as he held Four, the smithy's head freezing where it was tucked in Wind's neck, and Wind held him even tighter. So tight in fact, that he almost missed it when Four abruptly stirred.

"Smithy?" Wind asked when Four groaned, and he sighed in relief as Four's eyes twitched open. "Whew, I didn't know when you were gonna wake up."

"...Wake..? What happen..." Four murmured, his brows scrunching.

Wind squeezed him a bit. "A big ice monster ambushed us, basically. You got frozen for a little longer then you probably should have."

Four slowly blinked, then shivered a little, his face suddenly paling.

"Oh. Right... I remember now," he whispered, his voice small. "Ice."

Four swallowed, and Wind frowned, unused to seeing the smithy so visibly shaken. "...Don't like ice, huh?"

"Don't like being e-encased in it, no," Four said, voice a little choked. "I was... my third quest..."

His voice began to shake too much for him to speak, and Wind felt a pang run through his chest, hugging Four tighter again. Four shrank into his hold, and Wind began gently petting Four's head, just like he always did for Aryll after she had a nightmare.

...Why was that my first response?

Wind shook aside the thought as Four leaned into it, and neither of them spoke for several minutes.

"Sorry," Four whispered after a while, taking in a shaky breath. Then he let out a wavering laugh. "I'm... ugh. It was months ago, but I’m still... sometimes it's hard to... y'know."

Wind smiled at that. "Yeah, I know. Sometimes it just... stinks."

Four snorted thickly, and curled a little tighter into Wind's arms. "Well, it's b-been better then my l-last birthday at least."

Wind froze, and stared down at Four in disbelief.

"What?"

Four stilled, and Wind could almost hear him thinking oops.

"Four, it's your birthday? Why didn't you tell me?!" Wind said indignantly, and Four shrugged, barely noticeable with how bundled up he was.

"I don't know. Not a big deal. It's not like eleven is an important age."

If the previous sentences had hit Wind like a brick, that next one hit him like an entire wall.

He stared at Four, the smithy lying very still all of a sudden, and repeated the words he'd just heard in his head a few times just to be sure he hadn't been mistaken.

"What?" he finally whispered, and Four swallowed, curling into a tighter ball.

"Never mind," Four said, muffled by the blanket he turned his head into.

"No, no not 'never mind', Four you... are you... I’m older than you?” Wind choked out.

Four gave him a tiny nod.

“Are you really eleven?” Wind asked, and Four didn’t say anything for a few long moments.

“Yeah,” he finally whispered.

Wind stared, flabbergasted, and Four stayed quietly huddled in his blanket, still faintly shivering.

He quickly reevaluated every single piece of information he had about Four, thinking back to conversations, random moments where Four had acted oddly childish that he'd brushed off, discussions of age that Four had always avoided. The way Wind’s big brother instincts always seemed to sharpen around Four more so then any of the other Links.

"Eleven?" Wind repeated in disbelief, and Four looked mildly annoyed.

“Yes. But I’m not a kid,” Four insisted, huddling tighter in his blanket. “Once you’re past ten you’re an adult in my Hyrule. Or at least, not a kid anymore. Young adult.”

“At ten?” Wind said in disbelief, and Four glared at him.

"You've said you become an adult at twelve on your island!"

"Not like a real adult!" Wind spluttered, beyond shocked. "Four how are you— you've been on three quests!" he gasped. "How old were you when you started?!"

"I was almost ten, stop yelling," Four grumbled, and Wind couldn't help noticing how childish he sounded. "Weren't you and Time just talking about being underestimated because of your ages?"

“Well yeah, but—”

“It’s not any different!” Four said fiercely, then was wracked by a violent shiver.

Wind watched him shake, then breathed out, holding Four closer again. Four didn’t snuggle up quite as tightly as he had been, but he didn’t pull away either, and the two sat in silence for a bit, sunshine warming their faces.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Wind asked after a bit. “Everyone thinks I’m the youngest, why...”

Four looked away. “I... I didn’t want to. When I saw how everyone treated you, even after you told them off, how they kept underestimating you and treating you more like someone to protect rather than a teammate, I... I didn’t want all that to shift to me... I’m sorry,” he whispered. “It was cowardly of me.”

“No, it wasn’t, I... get it,” Wind sighed. “I probably would do the same. I can only image how they’d all react with the news that you were ten all this time.” Twilight would probably explode or something.

Four grimaced. “Yeah. They’d be insufferable.” He hesitated then, and looked up at Wind, grey eyes looking silvery in the sunshine. “Could you... not tell them?”

“What?” Wind startled, staring at him. “But...”

“Please?” Four pleaded, eyes wide, and he looked so much like Aryll in that moment that Wind found himself physically incapable of saying no.

“Okay, okay,” he grumbled, visions of finally not being treated like the youngest abruptly silenced. “I won’t say anything. But you can’t keep this a secret forever, Four.”

“I know,” Four said quietly, and set his head against Wind’s shoulder again. “It’s just... nice being treated like I’m capable for once.”

Wind sighed, and leaned back against the tree. “Yeah. I get it.”

Silence fell over them again, and Wind watched a few orangey leaves drift by, catching the sunlight and glowing like embers from a fire. Four’s shivering was easing more and more, and Wind had to resist the urge to begin petting his head again.

“Can we at least tell Wild it’s your birthday? Even if we don’t tell him what age,” Wind said after a bit, still watching the leaves. “Maybe he’d make you a cake.”

Four perked up at that, and Wind laughed at the expression on his face.

“I take it that’s a yes.”

“Absolutely,” Four nodded, smiling brightly. “I’ll risk dozens of age questions for some of Wild’s cake.”

Wind and Four both laughed, Four’s a little weak still, but hearty enough that Wind wasn’t too worried. But as Four curled up again with a yawn, Wind looked down at him, and made a promise.

Wind would look out for him. Subtly, and he wouldn’t be overbearing like Twilight or anything, but... he would keep an eye on him. Stick a little closer. Watch out for the smithy.

After all, he had a feeling Four would do the same for him if their roles were reversed.

[lyranova]

Hii! I love your fics!! May I please request a oneshot where yami's squad member (y/n) turns into a baby / child (whichever is better), and brings her to the captains ' meeting as he has no other choice? (y/n) calls everyone dad / mom and it makes them all super soft for her? like yami is first annoyed then softens up, nozel is straight up rude as usual but everyone glares at him for that (cause they're so protective of her already uwu) and he ends up being soft for her too. idk, this was a 2 am thought im sorry!! thank you for taking requests 😭💞

Hiya anon! No worries 2am thoughts are always fine and fun, tbh I tend to get them a lot myself 😆! Aw thank you so much I’m so glad you like my fics, and you’re welcome, I enjoy taking requests! It gives me something fun and different to do 🥰! Of course you may and I hope you all enjoy~!

Word Count: 1,325

Warnings: None

———

Yami didn’t know how this happened, she was fine when she left on a mission with Asta and Noelle, but when they all came back she was a baby! When he asked them what the hell happened Asta and Noelle explained that it was the bad guys magic; he could make people really old, or really young!

Yami had ordered them to take her back to the mage and force him to change her back but Noelle explained that they tried, but the mage said his spell would only wear off in 24 hours. So for now…they were stuck with her being a toddler!

She was still able to walk at least, talking on the other hand…well she was only able to say a handful of words, mainly ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’. Which kind of bothered Yami since he didn’t want to be called ‘daddy’ by a member of his squad, but she wasn't really eager to learn ‘Yami’ at the moment he would have to deal with it for now.

Yami fully intended to leave her at the squad as he went to a Captain’s meeting, but when Yami began to ask who wanted to be in charge of their toddler squadmate every single Black Bull scattered like leaves in a gust of wind.

Which was how he ended up in his current situation; in the Captain’s meeting room, with his toddler squadmate sitting in his lap, as the other Captain’s ‘oohed’ and ‘awwed’ over her.

“ Aw look how adorable she is! I didn’t know you had a baby Yami!” Dorothy said as she began to use her Glamour World magic to create small toys to keep her entertained. Charlotte crossed her arms as she looked at the child.

‘Yami had a child?! Why didn’t he say anything? Does that mean he’s married or has a committed partner? Or is the child a product of a one night stand? Yami doesn’t seem to be the type to do that though, so he must have someone! Why didn’t he say anything, I’m so jealous of her, why didn’t I confess to him sooner?!’ Charlotte’s mind raced as she stared at the little girl, she didn’t look like Yami, but that could easily be explained away. The girl looked at Charlotte with wide eyes before she smiled brightly and reached her arms out towards the Briar mage.

“ Mommy?” She asked cutely before her smile widened. “ Mommy!”

Charlotte and Dorothy’s hearts quickly melted and they both couldn’t help but say ‘How Cute~!’. Yami sighed and shook his head.

“ The Prickly Princess ain’t your mom, and I’m not her dad. She’s a member of my squad who got turned into a toddler on a mission earlier. The other brats took off running when I asked them to baby sit her.” Yami explained as he held the small girl still. She looked up at him with a pout but did stop moving.

“ I see, so how long will she be like this?” Fuegoleon asked as he placed a thoughtful hand under his chin, the girl looked at him for a moment before her bright smile returned.

“ Daddy!” She shouted brightly and with a giggle, Fuegoleon’s brows raised in surprise and a small smile appeared on his face.

“ I’m sorry to say that I’m not your father little one.” Fuegoloen told her gently as he patted her on the head, the little girl pouted.

“ She seems to only be able to say ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’, which makes sense since she’s only like 1 or 2.” Yami said in an unsure tone, Rill tilted his head.

“ I think she’s closer to a year and a half! Babies are generally able to walk by the time they’re one, and can talk in short sentences by the age of two, so logically she should be somewhere in between since she can walk but not really talk!” Rill said thoughtfully as he stared at the young girl.

“ How the hell do you know that kid?” Jack asked with a frown and Rill suddenly laughed sheepishly.

“ Me and my squad sometimes volunteer at the orphanages in the city and the sisters explained it to me when I tried to have a group of kids tell me about their paintings.” Rill explained and the others nodded.

The little girls eyes moved to Nozel, who was sitting in his seat with his eyes closed and arms crossed, ignoring her effectively.

“ Daddy…?” She asked hesitantly and Nozel’s eyes shot open and he glared coldly at her.

“ I’m not your father, and I wish you would refrain from calling me that.” He told the girl, his tone as cold as ice, the little girl jumped for a moment before her eyes welled up with tears.

The girl began to cry and wail at the top of her lungs, everyone glared openly at Nozel.

“ What the hell did you do that for braid boy?!” Yami asked as he and the others tried to console the toddler and Nozel’s eyes widened a bit.

“ Geez Nozel she’s just a baby, can’t you be just a little nicer with her?” Dorothy asked as she put her hands on her hips and had a angry look on her face. Nozel’s cheeks turned a shade of pink and he looked away.

“ Don’t listen to him brat,” Yami said to the toddler as he gently patted her head. “ You can call of us ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ as much as you like. And ignore him.” Yami instructed them as his hand moved away from her head and began to wipe away her tears.

“ Yeah! Nozel’s just jealous because he doesn’t have a cool baby of his own!” Rill said as he crossed his arms, and Jack looked over at the Silver Eagles Captain.

“ Even I’m not that big of a jerk to kids bird boy.” He muttered with a shake of his head, Nozel sighed loudly before turning to look at them all.

“ I’m not jealous and I’m not angry at the child!” Nozel shouted accidentally, causing everyones eyes to widen. “ It’s just…” He glanced over at Dorothy, and she suddenly realized why he was acting the way he was.

Seeing that little girl was bringing up a lot of painful memories for him, so all he knew to do was lash out in order to hide his true emotions.

“ It’s just that a Captain’s meeting is no place for a child as young as her. Here, we talk about and see so many terrible things that it could easily traumatize someone as young as her for life. Don’t you think it would be better for her to remain innocent to the horrors of the world just a little longer?” Nozel asked with a sigh.

“ Uh, she’s already seen the horrors of the world remember? She’s actually a Magic Knight?” Yami pointed out in confusion, causing Nozel’s face to turn a brighter red.

“ Nozel does have a point. A Captain’s meeting is no place for a young child,” Fuegoloen agreed before he reached out to take her from Yami. “ So I suggest that she stay with Marx for the time being, and once the meetings over Yami can take her back. Alright?” He watched as all the others nodded and he carefully carried the child through the doors and to Marx.

The meeting ended fairly quickly and now Yami was heading back to the Black Bulls Hideout. After being full of energy all day she had finally wore herself out and was sound asleep in Yami’s arms. He chuckled a bit as he looked down at her, as much as he didn’t want to babysit her at first, he had to admit it was a nice change of pace and he was actually going to miss her being this small.

At least until she woke up and began to torment everyone again, then he wouldn’t be able to wait until she transformed back into her normal self again.

———

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all have a good day~!

[warmblanketwhump]

a change of heart

sicktember 2023 - alt prompt “I’m so sorry.”

note: i wrote this AGES ago for something else and just...never actually finished it. the writing's a tad rusty and idk if the plot actually goes where i wanted it to, but I couldn't be bothered to rework the thing beyond changing the names to A & B, SO HERE YOU GO

A hunches their shoulders against the rain, huddling under the large umbrella that protects them from the downpour. It was a long day at work, and they were ready to dry off, warm up, and curl up on the couch with a bowl of soup, a blanket, and a good book.

A sudden gust catches them by surprise, and A struggles to keep their grip. As they wrestle with the umbrella, they trip over something on the ground, tucked beneath the alcove.

A bites back a curse, popping their umbrella closed and kneeling to see what they’d tripped over—and it stops them dead in their tracks.

There, huddled beneath a thin blanket and wearing a filthy sweatshirt with the hood drawn up, was B.

It was impossible. Wasn’t B supposed to be in jail now? A racked their brain, trying to remember when they’d put this particular criminal away (lately, the days and the trials and the crimes and the criminals blurred together in their mind).

B's dark eyes meet A’s, flooding with recognition, and A freezes. Those haunted eyes contain multitudes, and it all comes back to A.

The murder trial. A prominent local politician, killed. The video footage that placed B at the crime scene just minutes before the killing. A’s testimony against B that was the final nail in the coffin. The banging gavel, the satisfied feeling that rose up in their gut when B was finally put away. The strangled cry from B when the guilty verdict was announced.

(They’d done their best to forget that part.)

But A sees something else in B's eyes. Anger? No, not that. Loathing? Maybe.

Despair?

A snaps out of it and stands back up. They don't care. B got what they deserved. So instead, they clear their throat. “You’re out, B.”

B huffs a mirthless laugh. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

“How’d you get out, anyhow? You should’ve been in there for ages.” For life.

An incredulous look spreads over B's thin, pale face. “You really don’t know, do you? I got out two weeks ago. Apparently, someone came forward with new evidence that cleared me.”

A’s blood runs cold. They remember B’s agitated pleas, their cracking voice on the stand, begging for mercy, that they didn't do it, they couldn't have done it. The performance that A was so convinced was an act.

You were wrong. The unprompted thought comes like a punch to A's gut, a crack in their infalliable shield.

“Why...why didn’t anyone tell me there was new evidence?”

B shrugs and winces, tightening the blanket around their hunched shoulders. “Beats me. Guys who let me out, they said they were told to keep it quiet. After all, it looks bad for you. For all of you.”

A frowns. “But...why wouldn’t you come after me? Or anyone else? After all, we’re the ones who put you there.”

B’s face hardens. “I’m a criminal. I’ve done a lot of things, A. But I didn’t kill that guy, and I’m not going to kill you. That’s not who I am.”

The wind picks up again, and A feels their heartbeat quicken. You were wrong.

B shrinks further into their blanket and shudders, coughing weakly. They had to be freezing in this weather, thought A. And their face looked so thin, gaunt, with dark bruises under their eyes.  When was the last time they’d eaten?

A should have asked that. They should have apologized. But the guilt and shame were too much. A knew they’d put a lot of criminals behind bars. And sure, some of them had done some pretty terrible things.

But B? Petty crimes at best—a few robberies, forgeries, a scam or two—nothing where anyone ever got hurt. And somewhere, deep down, A had always envied their carefree charisma, their ability to breeze through life while bending life their way, and they hated B for living life outside the lines in a way they never could.

Meanwhile, A had been so caught up in making a name for themselves and being right that they’d forgotten that some of their enemies were people.

So they do the least brave thing of all – they turn on their heel and run home.

                           ——————

Hours later, A should have forgotten B. They should have been enjoying their homemade potato soup in front of the roaring fireplace, as the rain turned to icy tapping on their windowpane.

But A can't think straight, B’s words still rattling in their brain. 

That’s not who I am.

Could it be possible? A takes great pride in their own sense of right and wrong. They’d seen the evidence. They’d known it—that’s why they’d testified so confidently on the witness stand.

Did I really get it that wrong?

They rub their temples, head aching. I was wrong.

But I could make it right.

Before they lose their nerve, A whips their still-soaked raincoat from the hallway coat rack and heads back out into the icy, frigid night.

The walk takes 20 minutes at a casual pace, but A makes it there in 15. B is in the same spot, the same shadowy lump that A had tripped over that afternoon. Even in the dark, A can see their form huddled in the doorway. As they got closer, their stomach drops for the second time that day.

B is convulsively shivering beneath their thin blanket, shaking so hard that A can hear their teeth rattle. A drops to their knees and gently pulls back their soaked hood to feel their icy, damp forehead. The pale streetlight casts a sickly glow across B’s pallid face and blue lips. A frantically shakes their shoulders, pulling them into a seated position.

“Hey. B. It’s me. Come on now. It’s too cold. You gotta wake up.” B’s eyes are glassy and unfocused, and they reflexively curl in on themselves, coughs wracking their body. A turns to try and block most of the wind and rain, rubbing B's arms to try and get some warmth into them.

This is all my fault.

“Alright, B,” they whisper, pulling their once-nemesis to their feet. “You’re coming with me.” B shivers again and tucks themselves into A's warmth, leaning their own cold body into A’s side and resting their head on A’s chest.

A stiffens for a moment—they can feel the cold radiating off B’s body—but finally relents wrapping their arms around B.  A winces at the feeling. They could feel B’s every rib, even through their sweatshirt. The blanket had fallen from B's shoulders, so A unthreads themselves from B’s weak grasp, sheds their coat, and wraps it around B's shaking frame, securing it in place with their arms.

They stumble like that, an intertwined pair of opposites on a rainy winter night, until they get back to their loft where, blessedly, the fire was still burning bright. A stumbles through the threshold, quickly locking the door behind them, and deposits the soaking, coat-wrapped figure on their couch. They dart back to their bedroom, shucking their wet layers to the ground and replacing them with a warm sweatshirt and flannel pajama pants.  

After a moment’s hesitation, they grab a second pair of their own clothes—they might be too big, but B can't stay in their wet clothes all night.

When they come back, B is still huddled on the couch, shivering, barely turning their head when A comes around to their side. A gently lays a hand on their shoulder, and B blinks slowly, registering the presence beside them.

“You’ve gotta get these clothes off if you want to get warm,” A says, voice matter of fact, straightforward. B still says nothing, but holds out their arms to A. Guess I'm doing this, then. They peel the dirty sweatshirt from B’s body, which conceals an equally filthy and soaked T-shirt.

A works quickly, trying to make the awkward situation last as briefly as possible. But when they see the welts and bruises lashed across B’s back, they suck in breath. B shrinks back at the sound, shuddering as the air hits their wet skin.

“B, what did they do to you?” A whispered softly.

“P-prison wanted answers,” B chatters. “D-didn’t have them.”

Anger rose in A’s gut. All this time, they’d believed in the system. Trusted it. Then, they feel a tinge of guilt. You’re a part of the system, A.

They push their feelings down and help B shrug into the warm, dry clothes, draping a blanket over their shoulders. B accepts it gratefully, grasping it tightly and inching closer to the fire, deep, painful coughs convulsing their frame.

A leaves the room, returning a few minutes later with a reheated bowl of the homemade soup. B accepts it with a brief murmur of thanks, wrapping their cold fingers around the warm ceramic and hugging the soup close to their chest, then attacking it with the fervor of someone who hasn't had a proper meal in a long while.

The silence hangs heavy in the room, B trying (and failing) to eat the soup in a dignified manner, and A aching with a level of guilt they didn't think possible.

Finally, A speaks. “B. I’m so sorry.”

B stops slurping their soup, their body freezing in motion. They slowly lower the bowl, eyes uncertain. “Come again?”

“I said I’m sorry. I…when I testified against you, I was convinced you did it. I thought you were…a criminal.”

B smirks. “Well, you’re not entirely wrong.” They're still pale and wan, but a spark of mischief glints in their eyes. “You do know criminal and guilty aren’t always mutually exclusive.”

A rakes their hands through their hair, frustration rising in their chest. “Stop. I’m trying to get this off my chest.”

The smile fell from B’s face like a mask dropping to the ground. “Fine. Ease your conscience, then. But I know why you’re doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“This. Helping me.” B sets down the bowl and pulls the blanket tight as a shiver shakes their frame. “You feel bad, so you figure you’ll take me home, warm me up, and just fix everything.” Their voice catches on the last phrase, and A sees them swallow hard before taking another breath.

“You’re helping me to make yourself feel better. But you won’t really help me. No one ever has.”

The words sting, but A knows they're right. They're using B now, like they always had. First to advance their career, now to ease their conscience. And what were they really planning on doing, anyways? Adopting the very criminal they'd wrongly put away, then continuing to be a part of the same corrupt system that had harmed B in the first place?

A small whisper within asks them a question they hadn’t dared to think of: What if you tried to make it right?

Do you know what that would cost you? 

What will cost you if you don’t? 

A digs their fingers into the arm of the chair, then stands, crossing the room to sit next to B on the couch. B was still hunched over, the occasional shudder still rippling through their frame, staring bleakly into the crackling fire.

“What if we found out who really did it?” A blurts out. B casts a sidelong glance, as if they didn’t believe their ears.

“Look…something’s not right. With your case. With this...situation. And I can’t…I can’t undo what I did to you. But I can find out who did it. We can find out who did it. Because, B, I am sorry.”

The look in B’s eyes is a look A hadn’t seen in a while, and they nod, as if hardly believing what they were hearing.

And A recognizes what they see in their eyes.

It looks something like hope.

And then a violent cough wracks B's frame, and A realizes that there's a long way to go until B's in any shape to help.

"Alright, B. I hope you like cherry cough syrup and menthol rub, because you're getting both."

[gibblegabber]

i wrote most of this a month ago but might as well spill my personal nonsense regarding kick on his 14TH ANNIVERSARY WHHHHHHHH

nothing interesting it’s truly like a diary entry

i’ve been keeping to myself while i wind down from another hyperfixation with KB:SD, because it has to come to an end, because there’s very few people left in my life who were there in the fandom while it aired, because i get so fucking depressed when i think about it.

how do i describe this. Kick reminds me that i’m alive. he ALSO reminds me that i’m a failure. he’s the reason i finished art school and also (part of) the reason i stopped pursuing art as a career. the show’s run was the best time of my life and at the same time i was dealing with an overwhelming amount of trauma.

and i packed ALL of that into this silly 6.5/10 rated cartoon. why??? because it just happened to be THERE when I was going thru some shit?? sometimes i think “this could have been any cartoon, the timing is what mattered” and other times i’m like no…the adventures we had in mellowbrook were genuinely incredible and if it were any other fandom, i wouldn’t have met the same amazing people!!! do you know how thankful i am to have Kachiimi and Misha in my life still??? REALLY FUCKING THANKFUL. i don’t deserve them in the least!! they’ve known me at my worst and happened to also SEE me at my worst in person and they’re still my friends and i love them very much, i hope they know that.

and if anyone’s still following me that knew me during the KB years, or was friends with me during that time… 1.) i’m sorry. i was crazy LMAO and 2.) just know you made the whole experience so so awesome :) i appreciated so much that the fandom was a tight knit group of people, no drama, just a great place to be when my life was falling apart around me.

yea if i psychoanalyzed this whole thing i wouldn’t like the answer. but. it doesn’t change how much Kick means to me, and how much he’ll always mean to me!!

it had always been a bucket list thing of mine to be the number 1 fan of something at some point. ever since i was like nine years old i was like “man that’d be cool if it happened”. never in a million years would i have guessed that it would be this. but in a weird way Kick was exactly who i needed at that time. someone whose failures were just his fuel for success. someone who didn’t let his shortcomings stop him from achieving his goals. someone who kept going even if the world was against him. looking back it’s really no surprise that i got so attached.

obviously i’m far from the number 1 fan position now. who knows if i ever really was; i only knew a fraction of the fandom that called me the “queen of the KB fandom”, and Sandro had called me the number 1 fan at one point so i just took it all to heart. i would argue that Aisha took that position when school and jobs and life started consuming my life more than fandom did. or well, all of this is a moot point when you consider Jackie who is definitely 100% his number 1 fan LOL. but wow, what a time. we were so lucky to interact with the crew as much as we did.

it doesn’t seem like much but it really made me feel like i could do anything. if Kick had gotten a third season you KNOW i would’ve stopped at NOTHING to be on the team in some way shape or form. i would’ve flown out to LA in an instant and not looked back. despite everything. i would’ve done it.

kinda sucks considering uhhhh THINGS that got revealed about the director years later, so in the same vein i’m very happy that Kick did not get a season 3. but when the show ended something in me died, or i came to terms with something, idk what it was. something like: i knew i’d never feel the same way about a cartoon again so i didn’t bother trying. i stopped drawing almost entirely for 10 years.

aaaand it’s true. over a decade and i never came close to the level of obsession i had with Kick, and never really wanted to either. THEN i got slapped in the face with IZ and well…let that be a long and cheesy post for march 30th or something. :P and as much fun as it’s been and continues to be, it’s a DIFFERENT sort of experience from KB. it can’t compare. maybe in 10 years i’ll look back on IZ friends and fandom times and reminisce fondly on them too.

KB:SD is stuck where it was. if that makes any sense. there’s a lot in the show that i don’t think modern day fandom would take kindly to. there’s a lot of crack shipping and shenanigans we got up to back then that isn’t okay now. (god… okay i don’t miss that part LOL. i cringe painfully at a lot of it, but i DO miss when people understood the fucking difference between fiction and reality. it was a different time for sure.) it just is what it is.

and that’s okay. i’m gonna let it go, again, and i’ll be back on and off. it hurts. it hurts every time this happens but that’s okay because Kick taught us to live till it hurts. :) 🤘🏼✨

[summerwritesfics]

🎧Song Inspired Shorts - Alpenglow

Pairing: Hanzo Hasashi/Kuai Liang Length: 3229 Words Rating: Mature Warnings: Fantasy AU, Magic, Air Ships, Fights, Minor Violence, Elemental Magic, Falling, Action/Adventure, Prophetic Dreams, Hanzo Hasashi: King of good intentions but terrible execution Song: Alpenglow - Nightwish

Song Inspired Shorts Masterlist

We were here, Roaming on the endless prairie, Writing an endless story, Building a Walden of our own, We were here, Grieving the saddened faces, Conquering the darkest places, Time to rest now and to finish the show, And become the music, one with alpenglow

Notes: Heyyyy, a fic that wasn’t written 2 years ago XD Actually I wrote this just a couple of weeks ago lol. I was really focusing on the action on this one, I still feel like that’s a bit of a weak spot on my writing so I’ve been trying to do a lot more lately to really focus on writing it to improve. Idk, hopefully it’s not too bad to read lol. Upon editing I’m ngl I’m vibing more and more with this one, so I might continue it :) We’ll see.

Kuai Liang stood on the bow of the ship, looking down below him. Under the clouds, he could see the ground, the hills and paths, small villages and settlements. It was beautiful, you really got a completely different view of the world from up here. The Order of The Lin Kuei would have never permitted him to travel like this. They didn’t even like their members leaving the isolated temple which they called home.

Leaving it all behind had not been easy, but to stand here, on a quest to save the realms? It was worth it.

“You might wanna be careful standing there,” a voice called out to him, and he looked over his shoulder to see Sonya standing with her hands on her hips. “If you fall, we have no way to catch you.”

“Sorry.” Kuai jumped back down and onto the wooden floor of the ship’s deck. “I’m just excited.”

“I get it, you’ve been stuck in a single place for your entire life. You’re bound to want to experience the world.” She walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Just be a bit more careful. I don’t want to be the one to explain to Lord Raiden we lost you because you fell off the ship.”

“I will try to be more careful,” Kuai assured her.

Before either of them could continue the conversation however, they found a shadow being cast over them. That was… strange. They were above the clouds, so nothing should have been able to block the light. They both slowly looked up, and Kuai gasped softly at what was above them.

Another ship. Clearly of Netherrealm origin, if the way the ship was styled and the bat-like wings carrying it were anything to go by.

He looked at Sonya, her eyes wide as she whispered “we’re under attack.” She blinked and shook her head, turning to look at the rest of the ship and screaming “we’re under attack!”

As the ship's crew ran out into action, Kuai saw ropes falling from the ship above them. He reached behind his back, grabbing his staff and getting into a defensive stance. As oni descended upon them, Kuai charged up his magic, freezing all that he could, giving his companions chance to gather their equipment and begin to fight off the invasion.

He was doing a good job, and it appeared someone else on the Netherrealm ship thought so too as he found a fireball being launched in his direction. He just about managed to avoid the first, only to very quickly duck under a second, and then jump back for a third. Looking up to try and work out where they were coming from, he saw nothing.

Then he heard the whoosh of flames behind him. He spun around, watching as a fire raged, a figure standing amongst it. The figure was tall, imposing, long hair flowing in the wind as milky white pupils stared Kuai down. Kuai believed this being was a spectre, a vengeful spirit brought back from death. He’d never seen one in the flesh before, only having read about them in books. If this weren’t such a life and death situation, he would have loved to ask this spectre a whole lot of questions about his physiology.

As it stood though? The spectre looked like he meant business.

Suddenly launching forward, the spectre raised a katana, swinging it in Kuai’s direction. Kuai slammed his staff down into the floor, causing a wall of ice to form in front of him. The spectre hit the ice, breaking it and forcing Kuai to jump backwards and avoid another attack. He had to keep going backwards, the spectre swinging his katana wildly in Kuai’s direction. Every so often Kuai attempted to freeze him, but the fire was far too hot, melting the ice instantly when it hit him.

Kuai hissed. He really wished he’d managed to master at least another element right now. Somehow, only ice had ever come easily to him. What he wouldn’t give to just douse this Spectre in water right now.

In one last bid to make some space, Kuai summoned all his might before slamming his staff down. Ice spiked out all around him, and a large jagged shard aimed at the spectre. To his relief, this did stop the spectre in his tracks, trying to avoid being speared through the head. He paused, staring Kuai down and narrowing his eyes. Kuai stood tall as he could, refusing to back down or show weakness.

The ship jerked, knocking Kuai off balance for a couple of seconds. Those seconds were all the Spectre needed, as he leapt forward, shoving his entire weight into Kuai. The action left him breathless, and his grip on his staff weakened as it clattered to the floor. Next thing he knew something hit him with so much force he was flying backwards.

He felt himself hit the railing, and as he attempted to scramble to his feet, he was hit again. This time, he was thrown over the railings.

And then he was falling.

As he heard the wind rush around him, he panicked, arms flailing wildly, hoping to catch something to break his fall. There was no use. All he could think as he fell was I don’t want to die!

Sharp pain hit his thigh, and he screeched with it. Before he could work out what was happening, he stopped falling. He swung uselessly, slamming into the side of the ship. Now dangling upside down, he tried to regain his bearings. He looked to his thigh, spotting a kunai buried into his flesh. It was attached to a chain, the only thing now stopping his freefall.

The chain was yanked upwards, and as such he went with it. He tried to look at who had saved him. The spectre peered over the edge, hands on the chain and he pulled him upwards.

So, probably not a rescue.

That’s rather perplexing actually.

Kuai didn’t have time to ponder what exactly the spectre’s intent was. He just knew he did not want to be pulled up by him. Glancing around, he tried to find something he could use to escape. There was a canon on the side of the ship, and while it wasn’t perfect, it would do.

He began to swing himself, grabbing onto the chain so it wasn’t just the kunai keeping him attached. He almost got to the canon, but it slipped between his fingers. The second attempt he managed to get his arm around it. Pulling his legs up, he wrapped them around the canon, holding on as tightly as he could. He could still feel the spectre pulling on the chain, and he just kept still, holding and waiting.

He couldn’t help the loud groan as he felt the kunai get pulled out of his flesh.

Free of the chain, now he needed to get back onto the ship. While his powers were significantly weaker without his staff, if he tried hard enough, he could still use them. His plan did include breaking the canon though, and he knew he’d probably get yelled at by Johnny for breaking part of his ‘baby’. It was the only idea he really had though, short of just holding on and hoping the attack would end in their favour.

He slowly shimmied himself along the canon, reaching a hand out for the little porthole it poked through. As he grabbed it, he unhooked his legs, trying to drop as gently as he could against the ship's side. With one hand free, he held it against the canon, channelling his magic through to his palm. It was hard, but ice began to form across the canon. He kept going, hoping to the Gods he could keep holding on until he finished.

There was the sound of cracking, and eventually the cannon couldn’t take the pressure any longer. With a loud crash, it split into pieces, the shards falling off towards the ground. More importantly though, it opened up the porthole. Using both his arms he hauled himself upwards, squeezing himself through the small gap.

Finally, he fit through it, letting himself roll across the floor. He lay on his back, panting heavily, adrenaline still coursing through him as he realised how close to death he’d just been. No wonder Sonya told me to be careful around the edge.

His peace was short lived, as he heard the familiar sound of flames rising.

“Son of a-”

Kuai pushed himself up on his elbows, just enough to see the spectre standing there, staring at him.

He grit his teeth and hissed “don’t you have anything better to be doing?”

The spectre narrowed his eyes and growled “you are coming with me.”

“What?” He reached for the wall, using it to haul himself to his feet, even as his leg protested the action. He looked down. Thankfully his healing abilities had kicked in, the wound iced over to prevent anymore bleeding. It still fucking hurt though. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“You have no choice, Kuai Liang.” That made him pause. How did the spectre know his name? “Either you come with me willingly, or I will take you by force.”

This didn’t make sense. Why was this spectre interested in him? He was just a runaway Lin Kuei, essentially hitching a ride with a group of adventurers. Liu Kang was the chosen one, the one destined to save the realms from decimation. Surely he’d be the one the Spectre wanted, not lowly Kuai Liang.

“No,” he hissed, clenching his fist, once more channelling his magic. It didn’t take too long for a sword to form in his hand.

The spectre stared at it, shaking his head and grumbling “do not say I didn’t give you a chance.”

Once more, the spectre started forward, his katana in hand. Kuai pulled his own sword up to take the hit. The spectre was relentless, barely giving Kuai a chance to defend, let alone get in his own attack. Internally, he struggled to come up with a plan. He could just keep trying to hold the spectre off until his companions came, but there was no saying they would. The spectre wasn’t exactly giving him any other opportunities for another way out though.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a blur of silver and his eyes widened. Razor hat! He ducked low as the hat sped past them, and if the spectre's howl was anything to go by, it actually hit him. Kuai took a chance, freezing the spectre's feet to the floor while he was down low, before slipping past him. At the door of the hold, Liu Kang and Kung Lao stood, ready to keep fighting should they need to.

“Are you okay?” Liu asked Kuai as he made it to them.

“I’m fine,” he lied when the throbbing in his thigh was at an all time high. Maybe it was cowardly of him to slip behind Liu and Lao, but by the Elder Gods he didn’t think he could fight any longer.

The spectre was cursing, managing to break free of the ice and twisting around towards them. He scowled at the three of them, clenching his fists and baring his teeth.

“You want to fight?” Lao suddenly taunted, and Kuai couldn’t help give him a look as if to say what the fuck. Why would Lao try to provoke someone like that? “Then pick on someone your own size!”

The spectre laughed darkly, “the so-called chosen one and his pathetic guard dog. You aren’t even good enough to lick my boots.”

“Who are you calling pathetic?” Lao snarled, his hat materialising in his hand. Kuai had to get him to teach him how he did that at some point. It’d come in useful if he lost his staff again.

“Give the Lin Kuei to me,” the spectre demanded, taking a threatening step forward. Liu held his hand back towards Kuai Liang, as if to shield him.

“What do you want with him?” Liu asked, shooting Kuai a questioning look. All Kuai could do was shrug, he genuinely had no idea. “If you have been sent by The Lin Kuei then-”

“I would never work for Lin Kuei scum,” the spectre howled, spitting on the floor in disgust. Okay, clearly The Lin Kuei had hurt him in some way. That might explain his fixation on Kuai, but surely killing him would be the goal if he despised them that much.

“Then what?” Liu questioned incredulously. “What could you possibly want from him?”

The spectre observed them silently, and Kuai felt his breathing hitch as the spectre’s eyes landed on him. He bit his lip, unsure what exactly it was about the gaze that bothered him so.

“You may be the chosen one,” the spectre directed at Liu Kang, “but Kuai Liang is the true key to the realms salvation.”

“Uh. What?” Lao whispered flatly. Honestly, Kuai was with him. What did that even mean?

“Every night, in your dreams, you hear a song,” the spectre continued, and Kuai felt a chill run down his spine. He did hear a song in his dreams. How the fuck did this spectre know that? “It calls out to you. It is what made you long for more than that temple. It is what led you to this ship. What led you to the chosen one.”

“How can you know that?” Kuai hated how shaky his voice sounded. “I’ve never told anyone.”

“Because you have haunted my dreams.” The spectre began to walk forward, even as Liu and Lao closed the gap between themselves to shield Kuai Liang. “Every night, I watch you die. I can do nothing as your life is torn from you again and again.” Kuai took a step backward, the way his stomach twisted. “That song you hear is your destiny, and mine is to ensure you survive long enough to sing it.”

“You almost killed me,” Kuai blurted out. Maybe not the best move he could have made, but it was true. “I fell off the side of the ship.”

“That would not have happened had you not tried to fight me,” the spectre snarled, but oh no, Kuai was not having whatever the fuck this even was turned back onto him.

“You attacked me,” he claimed in a high pitched voice. “I was defending myself because you attacked me!”

“I am going to agree with Kuai Liang on this one, attacking someone you claim you want to keep alive is a bit of a dumb decision,” Lao claimed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“The plan was not to hurt him. It was to knock him out long enough to bring aboard my ship.” Kuai Liang was starting to think planning was not this spectre’s strong suit.

“You are completely delusional,” Kuai hissed, stepping backwards again. “The only thing that's a threat to my safety is you.”

The spectre made a loud snarl, but was cut off from saying any more as voices began to make their way down the stairs.

“All the Oni have been dealt with,” Sonya informed them as she made her way down the steps. Her eyes zoned in on the spectre, tilting her head slightly. “All that’s left to deal with is their leader.”

“I will leave your ship, so long as The Lin Kuei returns with me,” the spectre growled again.

“I already said I am not going anywhere with you,” Kuai shot back, clenching his fists and baring his teeth. “You can take your dreams and shove them up your-”

“Maybe, we can work out a compromise,” Liu Kang interrupted. Kuai had no idea what compromise there could possibly be. “You can’t fly that ship on your own. And quite frankly given the terrible first impression you have made, even if you manage to drag Kuai Liang with you, he won’t exactly stick around long.”

“Where are you going with this?” Kuai asked, getting a bit of a sinking feeling Liu was about to invite the spectre to come with them.

“If your intent really is to protect Kuai Liang and make sure he lives, then come with us.” Oh for the love of the Elder Gods. Kuai hated being right. “If his life is really that important to the safety of the realms, then surely having more people who can protect him on your side would be better.”

“Liu Kang, did you miss the part where he tried to kill me?” Kuai stressed the last part very strongly. Because he could not believe what the man was suggesting.

Liu Kang looked back at him with a sympathetic look. “I understand your reluctance, Kuai Liang. But as badly as he went about it, I do believe him when he says he didn’t want to kill you. He could have easily done that already and hasn’t.” Kuai wanted to argue but Liu Kang quickly pulled him close and lowered his voice. “I get it, you have zero reason to trust this guy. But please, trust me. I don’t know what is going on, but if you are as important in our story as he says, we need to heed his words. At least let us keep him around long enough to figure out what’s going on.”

Kuai hesitated, wanting so desperately to say no. But this spectre. He knew about Kuai’s dreams. About the song that called to him when he wandered his dreamscape. How could he possibly know about that? Not even Bi-Han or Tomas had known.

“Fine,” Kuai reluctantly bit out. “But if he does anything else, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Liu gave him a reassuring smile, before turning back to the spectre. “So, what will it be?”

The spectre stood in silence, milky eyes contemplating the offer. His eyes landed on Kuai again, a strange puzzlement reflected in them. Eventually however, he seemed to stand down.

“Very well,” the spectre agreed, bowing slightly. “But if anything happens that indicates to me you do not have the skills to protect him, I will leave and he will be coming with me.”

“As if,” Kuai muttered under his breath, grunting slightly when Sonya elbowed him.

“So, uh, do you actually have a name, or are we supposed to just refer to you as spectre?” Lao asked, strangely sounding as annoyed as Kuai felt. At least he had someone who understood he guessed.

“I am Scorpion,” he answered, but his eyes didn’t leave Kuai. It was like he was looking into Kuai’s very soul.

He absolutely hated it.

“Alright, well, glad that’s all sorted and we can continue on with the adventure,” Johnny suddenly chimed up and honestly, Kuai hadn’t even noticed he was there. “Glad to have you aboard Scorp- Oh my god!” Johnny ran over to where his canon used to be. “What happened to my canon?!?”

Kuai grimaced, knowing he had a lot to explain, and probably had a lot to pay Johnny for the repairs. Even through Johnny’s distress and Kuai’s guilt, the others began to chuckle at how overly dramatic Johnny was about it. All except Scorpion.

Even as Kuai went to go and try and make amends with Johnny, Scorpions gaze never left him.

[cinamun]

Hello!! I hope it’s okay if I ask you a story telling question! I’m working on starting my own story but I’m wondering how you choose what story to stick with? I have so many ideas floating around in my head that I just want to use but I don’t want my story to be all over the place. Idk I guess I’m just looking for some advice on how you choose a direction or if you use all the ideas you come up with but just in unison with the main story if it fits in. Does any of that make sense? Sorry for the long winded question, I just admire your story telling and figured you’d have some good advice :] <3 I hope you have a lovely day!!

"if you use all the ideas you come up with but just in unison with the main story if it fits in"

THAT!! That's what I do! And please don't be sorry, I appreciate the question and your kind words. Let's inspire each other!

I say it a lot that this story started with gameplay that just took on a life of its own. As time went on though I had so many ideas for these characters that I fell in love with. I followed one sim's simulated life and all of the ideas I had for her I made fit. Some got tossed though, I can't lie. You won't use everything. Trust me, I can be all over the place sometimes. I try to always find a way to bring it all together in some wild climactic moment.

Use all of your ideas, I bet they are GOOD ONES! Jot em down so you don't forget!

[p3nope]

please!! write a smutty oneshot for robin🤤 maybe like a dom!robin x bimbo!reader / fem!reader, or really anything as long as it’s abt robin!

“How about you show me a little more gratitude?”

Pairing: Robin Buckley x Fem!Bimbo! Reader

WC: 2.3k words

Warnings: SMUT/PWP/smoking/established relationship/Soft dom! Robin/Sub!reader/language/Nicknames (sweetheart, pretty girl, little thing, darling, princess)/light choking/pinning/fingering/oral/ Idk its just smutty smut

Summary: Robin finally got a day off of work, but she was planning on spending the whole day with her friends until those plans abruptly changed.

A/N: thank you for the request and I’m so sorry this took so long lovey!! I am in love w/ the Bimbo!reader concept going around😩 but I hope you enjoy <3

Masterlist

****

The warm summer wind whistled loudly through the pink curtains that fell over your window that was ajar to let out the smoke smell that was quickly becoming stronger. Your girlfriend, Robin, had gotten the day off from Family Video and when you initially found out about her upcoming freedom you had made up so many plans in your head on what you could do with her. You thought about taking her shopping, doing her nails or forcing her to let you do her makeup..But none of that ended up happening;

“I’m sorry (Y/N), I already made plans with Eddie and Steve..you’re welcome to come along if you want!” Robin had told you with an apologetic tone over the phone.

“Well what are you gonna do?”

“Uh..well we uh, we rented The Shinning and we were just gonna-“ you cut her off before she could finish

“Robin you know I don’t like scary movies!” you yelled into the telephone as you fidgeted with the cord out of frustration. As Robin started spewing apologies and excuses you zoned out into thinking about what you wished she’d be doing if she were on your bed next to you. And that’s when a mischievous idea popped into your head. You waited for Robin to stop rambling, “Would you ditch your friends if I told you Im super horny?” Sensuality dripped from your glossy lips and you smiled to yourself when all you heard was Robin letting out a surprised scoff and her breath becoming uneven.

“I- what?” You rolled your eyes and let out a frustrated sigh and just like that it was like something switched in Robin, “Don’t get an attitude with me pretty girl. I asked you question.” You contemplated on just giving into the submission that was clouding your fuzzy mind, but you fought against it by scoffing and you answered, “I said, will you finally spend time with me if I’d let you fuck me.” even though you answered like she had asked, it was dripping with sarcasm.

“Hm, that’s cute. Even during a normal conversation, all you can think of is my fingers inside you. But I dunno, with all this attitude you’re giving me it doesn’t really seem like you want me over, sweetheart.” She trailed off and the change in her voice sent shivers down your spine as you smiled knowing you had her right where you wanted her. “Well I don’t think there was any attitude.” You heard a sharp inhale on the other end of the phone.

“Give me five minutes.” And without another word she hung up. You set the telephone down onto its base as you smiled widely and giggled to yourself. You quickly went into your messy vanity to apply mascara and more lip gross- if Robin was coming over then you wanted to make sure there was makeup she could ruin. Once you were finished you checked your hair in the mirror making sure everything on your body was in proper place. You made your way over to your bed and sprawled yourself out wanting to look pretty and perfect for her.

****

The minutes felt like hours as you waited in need from anticipation on your bed. Starring up at the ceiling you groaned in frustration, she’s doing this on purpose. Enraptured in lust you found your hands slowly and lightly dragging down your body, manicured fingernails grazing down your neck, to your chest, teasing your perked nipples…to your stomach and onto your thighs. As your hands got closer to where you ached for them the most you felt something- or someone’s hand pin both you arms down.

“What do you think you’re doing pretty girl?” Your eyes opened quickly and you were immediately looking into Robin’s darkened eyes. She looked down on you with amusement as you struggled against her grasp. “You took too long. So I figured I’d take my pleasure into my own hands.”

Robin just laughed in your face, “Well I’m here now aren’t I? You’d think a desperate little thing like you would show a little more gratitude. You’re already on thin ice darling, so tread carefully because I’m waiting on my apology for all this sass.” She spoke quietly as her head inched closer to yours, lips just about to graze yours. But with no sign of her moving any closer you decided to try and move your head up to reach her lips only for her free hand to grab ahold of your neck and pin your head down, applying slight pressure to make you ache for her even more. You whimpered in need, “Please..”

“I already told you what you need to do princess” she spoke softly as she started to leave light kisses all over your face but always missing your lips. She made her way to your ear and whispered “Apologize darling.” She bit the shell of your ear which earned a whimper from you.

“I..I’m sorry for being..for being mean to you” Robin smiled as she released her grasp on your neck and hands as she moved to grab your chin and pull you in for a heated kiss. Placing her knee in between your legs and pushing against your cunt was to much and to little at the same time as you whimpered into the kiss. You felt her smirk into the kiss before she bit your bottom lip and started to trail her actions down your neck searching for that sweet spot. Once she found it she heard the hitch in your breath and she attacked that spot, sucking, biting and licking it until satisfied with her work. You were writhing against her as you started grinding down on her thigh chasing after any friction. “Robin..” she looked at you as you interwound your fingers in her brown hair, fingernails scratching at her scalp. Robin continued to trail kisses down and over your chest as her hands rested on your bucking hips. She stopped what she was doing to look down at you asking you to tell her what you wanted as she gently rubbed patterns on your skin with her thumbs.

“What is it baby? Use your words.”

“Please..please I need you” you practically cried out in frustration

“I’m right here pretty girl. C’mon I know you can use your words like a big girl.” She spoke with a sickeningly sweet tone to condescend you but you didn’t care. All you cared about was her finally fucking you.

“Please, Robin, please! I’ll be good, I promise I’ll be good- just please touch me. Please.” Your voice broke. Robin just held a faux sympathetic pout before smiling down at you “Good girl, was that so hard?”

In a matter of seconds she tore her knee away from your wet pussy so she could reposition herself to be sitting back on the heels of her feet. She quite literally ripped your pink lace panties off of you and you freaked when you heard the tear, “Robin! Those weren’t cheap ya’know.” Even though you were dead serious she just laughed and rolled her eyes, “Shut up I’ll buy you a new pair.” She spread your legs wide so she could see everything that was hers. “Fuck baby..so pretty and wet for me. All for me, isn’t that right princess? Your dumb little body belongs to me?” You nodded your head frantically and let out a gasp when you felt one of her lanky fingers collect your juices and then press onto your throbbing clit. Your hips bucked to which robin retracted her hand and looked down at you. “I thought you said you were gonna be good for me?”

“I am! I will! I’m sorry I couldn’t help it..” tears started to well up in your eyes from embarrassment and want. Robin watched you with amusement as she sucked on two of her fingers before quickly thrusting them into your throbbing cunt. You let out a moan in surprise at the sudden penetration and relief as your arms wrapped behind her neck as you pulled he into another heated kiss. You felt her fingers reaching deep inside you, curling and hitting that special spot mercilessly. Soon you felt her thumb on your clit rubbing it in light circles and you couldn’t stop the moans coming out of your mouth and onto your girlfriends tongue. You departed from the kiss as your back arched and your head leant back into the mattress. You’re close and robin knew it. The thumb that was rubbing soft circles onto your clit started to pick up speed and pressure and she watched you intently as your eyes screwed shut, your moans becoming more frantic and your body started to shake around her. And just when your orgasm was right there- Robins movements ceased as she brought her fingers out of you and forced them into your mouth and you sucked them clean, tasting yourself off of Robin’s fingers. She then pulled her hand out of your mouth and you panted heavily from the desire and denial. She rid herself of her shirt and bra before taking yours off as well. So you lay under her completely bare and spread open for her while she still has jeans and underwear on.

Robin hooked her hand under your knee and raised it slightly so she could leave kisses and hickeys down your inner thigh. Soon all of that pleasure you had just left you quickly came back as you felt her lips on your trembling cunt. She lapped your juices up as if she was dehydrated before wrapping her lips around your clit so she could suck and gently nip at your clit. When you let out a yelp from the overwhelming pain you felt her let go of your leg as her hand trailed up to play with you tits. Pinching your nipple to add to the pain. So that the amount of pain and pleasure would be even she took her left hand and inserted two of her lanky fingers back into you and you felt as if you were on cloud 9.

You felt your orgasm quickly approaching from all the stimulation. “Ah- Robin, please, please I’m gonna cum can I come please?” Robin said nothing but looked up at you and nodded her head. As soon as you got the go ahead you came hard. She helped you ride it through but her movements didn’t stop and soon it was too much. Your legs closed around her hand as you tried to push her away “S’to much, to much, baby-“ you were cut off by a broken moan as her fingers ceased their actions and her tongue drank up all of your juices.

****

“Delicious baby.” Her raspy voice whispered as she planted a wet kiss onto your cheek to which you smiled at. “Are you gonna continue being a good girl for me and return the favor? Can you do that for me?” You looked up at her and saw that she was genuinely asking if you were still alright. You had mascara running down your face, your lipgloss glistening on robin’s lips as she held a small smile on her face. You quickly nodded and flipped you both over. You leant you face down to her breasts, knowing how sensitive she can be you quickly drew her right nipple into your mouth as you swirled your tongue around it while your hand played with her other boob. “Fuuck princess that’s it, you always know how to make me feel so good don’t you?” You smiled around her nipple at the praise. You soon trailed down and you started biting and leaving hickeys all over her torso. When your face was in front of her pussy you looked up at her asking for permission and she smiled her beautiful smile, “take care of me princess.”

Your face lit up as you dragged her jeans and panties off in one pull. You flattened your tongues against her and licked al of her up in one strip. Immediately her hands were tugging and pulling on your once styled hair. You attacked her clit showing no mercy as you ate her out only getting more encouraged listening to the praises that left her mouth. “S-shit princess, that’s a good girl..just like that” incoherent sentences of pleasure were all that came out. You looked up at her, taking in the pleasured look on her face and you smiled. “Fuck! Right there! Fuck, Im close sweetheart- I’m so so close..” her words became more frantic as she came on your face and you lapped up every last drop.

****

Robin’s arms were wrapped around your body as you two cuddled after the cleanup. You both were exhausted and so close to falling asleep when the phone rang. You groaned and answered it

“What?”

“Damn, someone’s in a pissy mood.” It was Steve. “Do you know were Robin is? We were supposed to meet at Eddie’s and-“

“She’s with me now go away”

“Hey but that’s not-“ you hung up on him and you heard robin chuckling next to you, “you couldn’t have been a little nicer?” She her voice raspy as she nuzzled her head into your neck “I don’t care. You’re mine for the night.”

[bollur]

Hey Bollur! I hope you're doing well!

I was reading some Percy fanfiction and got this idea.

So Vox Machina find this child, (perhaps theyre defeating an evil family is some fancy house, and after the battle when everyone is being healed someone finds this child) shes very quiet, and traumatised in some way, she don't trust any of Vox Machina but theyre quite protective of her.

They're very surprised when she starts to attach herself to Percy of all people, (trauma buddies I guess 😂), following him around and copying the lightly posh way he acts.

When Vox Machina rest for the evening in front of the fire, percy's sat reading a book and the child settles in next to Percy and eventually asks him to read to her.

Percy is surprised and reluctant at first but she keeps nagging him, (perhaps over a few days) and Vox Machina all doubt she's ever gonna whittle him down enough. But then one evening they find Percy and the child sitting in front of the fire, under a blanket, and Percy's finally reading to her. They're really surprised but Vex all drags them back to their rooms so they're left be.

Sorry this is so long! I felt inspired and I couldn't find any fics like this! :)

I love your writing and hope you'll enjoy writing this :D

Thank you so much!

a/n: SO, THIS REAAAAAAAAALY GOT AWAY FROM, OKAY? like holy fuck did i enjoy this, it's so long, and i feel like it turned out to be like shit but it's cute shit. also, i wasn't sure if you wanted it as an insert, so i didn't do it? idk, maybe you did. if you did, i am incredibly sorry. it might have flowed better if i had, but oh well.

also, it's a little angsty in the beginning, but it gets cute i promise.

BUT YEAH. HERES THIS CUTE SHIT

“We failed,” a small voice spoke to the wind, looking over the ruins of a now desolate town once vibrant and filled with life. No longer were peddlers at their stalls to offer their goods to the chatting passerby, children laughing along in the streets, nor were even animals present - the atmosphere was dead, just like the settlement.

A gloved hand landed on the small gnome's shoulder, gripping as firmly as it could through her shoulder blades. “We didn’t fail, Pickle,” the half-elf spoke kindly, trying to keep her spirits up. “We killed that bastard, and now he can’t hurt anyone else.”

Pike didn’t spare Vax a glance, staring out into the ruins that had once been a battlefield, that had once been alive. “It just doesn’t feel like we won.”

A large hand fell on top of her head, ruffling her white hair. “Just because we destroyed the whole town and everyone died in the process doesn’t mean we lost Pikey!”

There was a soul-leaving sigh from Percy as he pinched his nose. “Thank you, for that, Grog,” he expressed sarcastic gratitude, ignoring the very pleased ‘You’re welcome!’ he received in return.

“At least we’re still alive!” Scanlan offered, opening his arms in a wide gesture to their small group.

Vex quirked a brow, looking down at the finely dressed gnome. “And that’s supposed to make us feel better?” She shared the same brain cell with Keyleth for a second, both of them asking at the same time.

“Pike,” Percival spoke, standing up beside the woman who was clutching her Everlight amulet in despair. “We did what we came here to do.” Whether he was trying to console her or get her off her good people bullshit, no one knew. “Yes, people died, but - “

“Uh, Percy, the whole town died.” The Goliath reminded him.

“ - what I’m saying is,” He stressed, the palm of his hand resting over his eyes. “Sometimes it just cannot be helped.”

Vex felt her ear twitch, and a faint noise reached her over the sound of bickering. Turning her head in that direction, her eyes narrowed instinctively taking a few steps closer as if that would help. “What is it, sister?” Vax asked softly, now at her side, analyzing their surroundings.

Her brows furrowed, hands placed loosely on her hips. “I just thought I heard - “ And there it was again, what she could now discern as the sound of crying.

“Vex?” He glanced at her, a look of recognition befalling her features before she suddenly took off in a run towards the direction she had been staring and he called after her, concerned, “Vex’ahlia!”

Vax ignored Scanlan’s complaint of, “Oh, what now?” as he took off to trail behind his sister, leaving the rest of the group behind.

She only stopped once, at a crossroad, turning head every which way and that’s when he heard it as well. “This way,” Grabbing her hand, he began to pull her in the right direction when she looked lost. Vax couldn’t deny the guilt that ripped through him as he was making his way through the town once again, ash and ruins that were once beautiful homes, but a hope bloomed in his chest that perhaps at least someone was still alive. Judging by the look on Vex’s face, she must have felt the same.

They arrived at a house, half-destroyed and the other looking like it was hanging by a threat. If they were to imagine it before this incident, it seems like it would have been rather nice. Standing in front of it now, the twins spared a glance before Vex began walking towards the front door. “You don’t know what you’ll find in there,” his words halted her for a second.

“You’re right, I don’t,” she agreed before crossing the threshold and into the foyer, ducking under a fallen beam, making her way closer to the sound as quiet as she could. A part from her wanted to turn away, heart aching as so many scenarios ran through her head as she stood right around the corner from the pained wailing.

Even as a possibility that ran through her head, nothing could have prepared her for actually seeing it; a small figure clutched to a disfigured one on the floor, cracked sobs escaping from them, sounding like they had been at it for a while now. Vex’s hand covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes as her own memories came flooding back to her now and she couldn’t even find the strength within her to look away.

Seeing his sister shell-shocked, he wasted no time coming right up next to her, grabbing her shoulder and pushing her behind him, getting between her and whatever she was looking at. Vex felt all the air in his lungs leave as there was a small scream of surprise from the room, the commotion he caused caught the attention and he watched the child try to hide on the floor as though the dead body would shield her. “Do you still feel like we didn’t fail, brother?”

“You know,” the sound of a worn-out Scanlan met their ears before Vax could reply to his sister. “In any other situation I wouldn’t mind following a woman into an abandoned building, but this is - “ he cut off at the sight in the room. “Oh, fuck.”

Pike wasted no time carefully making her way into the room, hands out in front of her to show she was no threat like she was approaching a frightened animal. The child whimpered and she flinched. “It’s okay,” the cleric said softly, getting a couple yards from her before squatting down, trying to appear smaller to seem less intimidating. But with all that armor, she doubted it would do much. “Are you hurt? I can help you.”

There was a moment of silence as the little girl looked at them all, still cowering by the body. She was always told not to talk to strangers, not to trust adults she didn’t know, but that was when she had her family to watch over her and protect her, and now ….

Tears welled up in her eyes again, looking back down at her mother and she began crying once again, her head throbbing from the strain it was putting on her body. “Help her,” she begged, leaning over to hug her mother once more, even if there wasn’t going to be one in return.

The lack of response made the little girl tremble, the guilt was written on the faces of the people around her told her all she needed to know. She may have been young, but she was very smart being raised up in a wealthy family, and it seemed she was going to have to be independent now. Sitting up, her small hands began to loosen their grip until they fell into her lap, but she couldn’t stop the tears no matter how much she tried to wipe them away.

… she was alone.

Anger for the being that did this, regret for the fact they weren’t able to do a better job at it, and grief for the young girl in front of them. Unrelenting feelings that couldn’t be let out stewed, as the monsters who caused all of this were dead and gone. “She’s coming with us,” Vex spoke first, words firm to leave no room for argument, despite her voice wavering.

“Well, no shit,” Vax commented, looking at his sister who looked at him a little offended at his rudeness, but he couldn’t but be a little put-off by the fact she felt she needed to say it. Well, maybe she did.

“We can’t take care of a child,” Scanlan argued, looking at the two of them like they were a little insane. “We can barely take care of Grog, and he’s a grown-ass man!”

Said man looked over from playing with the rotting hand that he kept in his bag at all times with a, “What?” only proving the bards' point.

“You can’t be thinking we’re going to leave her here!” Keyleth argued to offer, finally able to find the courage to speak for the first time in this situation. She didn’t trust herself before, but this was ridiculous.

“Of course not!” The gnome looked at all the disappointed faces around him and he groaned in frustration. “I’m just saying - I don’t know, maybe she has other family or something.”

Percy frowned, looking from the child who sat quietly and politely, eyes watching intently as each person spoke as though they were trying to decide how to deal with a stray dog. “Please, tell me,” he began, frustration in his voice, “You’re not really standing here trying to decide what to do with her when she is right here.” and as he flashed the little girl an apologetic look, he saw her eyes brighten with wonder at him just a fraction.

Then it was settled - they would leave this town, never look back, and take the child with them back to Greyskull Keep until they could find any living relatives for her to go to. If that didn’t happen, well, they would cross that bridge when they got to it.

Leaving the town took a bit longer than they wanted, having a child following in tow. She seemed to want nothing to do with them, despite them saving her.

When they reached the outskirts of the settlement, they all stood back as she stopped, and turned to look back at her home. Reaching up to her neck, she unclasped her chain, glancing at her pendant for a second before tossing it on the ground and trudging her way through the group as they stared at the spot. She was angry, it was obvious, passing through the stages of grief. But it appeared someone wasn’t to let her regret the decisions she made, as a gloved hand picked up her necklace, clasping it back together and tucking it in his pocket.

It had been a few hours walking, and it was painful watching this kid go on her little legs. So, the gentle giant spoke up. “You want a ride?” he offered, jabbing a thumb at his shoulder to show where she’d be.

As sweet as the offer, our poor fellow didn’t think about the fact he was over eight-foot tall, blocking out the sun as he literally towered over her, and her eyes widened, fear striking over her face as she took several steps back before turning around and running away. There was no place to hide in this open field of a path, so she did the only sensible thing available to her. She ran to Percy, behind him and under his coat, cowering with her arms wrapped around one of his legs. “Congratulations,” the white-haired male began, adjusting his glasses and sighing. “You’ve further traumatized her.”

Vex gave her the best smile she could offer as she peeked out. “You don’t have to be afraid of him, darling, he’s very nice, just very big.”

“And dumb,” Vax added, arms crossed, looking at the Goliath.

“Very dumb,” Keyleth emphasized with a nervous chuckle.

Percy nodded in agreement. “And ugly.”

Scanlan groaned, throwing his head back dramatically. “Oh, Gods, so ugly.”

Grog laughed, “Yeah he is,” causing everyone to laugh with him. “Wait,” he looked around at all of them confused. “Who are we talking about?” They simply laughed harder at the poor guy's expense.

This enticed the little girl to let out the tiniest of murmurs; “Extremely dumb and ugly.” looking from them up to Percy who gave her half a smile.

That night had to, unfortunately, be spent on the road, which brought out a small argument between a few members of the group who were 100% not down to sleep out in the wilderness with a child in tow, but they had to admit they were all too tired to walk any further to find an inn if there even was one - they needed some rest. So, they fell into the usual routine of setting up camp, starting a fire, and preparing a quick meal.

“Are you hungry, dear?” Vex asked softly, squatting down next to the child who was wrapped in a blanket, leaning against a log, and staring into the fire. She simply shook her head at the ranger and the woman sighed. “Please, try and eat something, darling, you need - “ the blanket wrapped around the little girl suddenly came up over her head, covering her face in an attempt to block everything out.

Frowning, the half-elf stood up, loosely crossing her arms and tossing a pitiful glance at the little girl before turning away. Walking over to her brother, Vax placed his hands on her shoulders, giving them a firm squeeze. “She’ll come around,” he tried to assure her.

Looking down at the ground, she frowned. “What if she doesn’t?” She would admit, she was scared for her. The twins knew what it was like - what they went through, at least. Vex couldn’t stand to see this child suffer and not take care of herself.

“Yeah, Vax,” Scanlan decided to throw in his two senses, itching at his ear. “What if she just hates us?”

Keyleth huffed, looking up from rolling out her bedroll. “Totally not helping, Scanlan.”

Soft footsteps drew Percival’s attention to look up, seeing the little girl awkwardly making her to him, sitting down with a large gap between them, but small enough to make it obvious she was trying to sit with him. “Are they always loud?” she asked flatly, looking over at the gunslinger as they continued to bicker over her.

“Unfortunately,” he replied in the same exact tone, causing Pike to snigger into her supper as he turned back to his book.

The little girl looked at Percy from under her blanket, scooting a little bit closer, trying to peer at the book he was reading. She made a slight hum, inviting herself in a little closer, and he found he wasn’t focusing on the book anymore. Instead, he spared her a glance from his peripheral. He may or may not have adjusted a bit so she was able to see it without straining too much, but he would never admit it. “Uhm,” she started small, pulling the blanket closer to her nervously. “Can - you should read it to me.”

He looked at her a little perplexed - shocked because one, a child was asking him to read to them, and two, it wasn’t even a question it was more like a strained and awkward demand. “No, ah - “ how did he even respond to that? “I don’t think so,” he mumbled, watching as her face almost looked a tiny bit determined.

Later began the great debate of who she would sleep with and where, but that ended quickly as she timidly made her way to where Percy’s bedroom rested, simply wrapping the blanket around her tighter and curling up next to it. Everyone grinned, looking at the man who just grimaced at this new situation, it now obvious who the child was beginning to get attached to.

Over the source of the next few days of traveling, things pretty much happened the same, other than the fact Vex finally got the little girl to eat (which the half-elf gave herself a large pat on the back for accomplishing); she didn’t fail to ask Percival that he read to her whatever his book was and he would continue to shoot the idea down, but the rest of the part could see his resolve was getting thinner, and his denies becoming softer. Though, on the fourth day, Scanlan suggested that maybe they should give the kid a name.

She looked at him, pursing her lips and surprising everyone by saying; “I happen to have a name - you just never cared to ask.” in a bit of a posh way that reminded them of a certain someone, who couldn’t help but smirk, especially when she told everyone, except the bard, what it was.

Finally, they arrived at Greyskull Keep and the girls wasted no time in getting her set up in a spare bedroom - Keyleth decorating it with flowers and vines, Vex boasting about how she was going to find the best things to decorate it, and Pike putting some of her clothes into drawers for the kid to wear. It was a busy day, one that she didn’t seem to enjoy at all, taking each meal in her room.

Night fell and the company did the only thing they know what to do after returning home - get wasted. Hours passed by far too quickly for their liking, and when they returned to the keep it was quiet and dark, except for the glow coming from the sitting room. Not quite was wasted as they hoped to be, Vex and Vax couldn’t help but creep over to check out what was going on, but as they got closer they heard the sound of hushed words - some of them were said with mock voices and different accents, followed by the sound of small giggles and the twins shared a look.

Coming up on the threshold, they peeked inside and were met with the sight of Percy and the little girl clad in her pajamas and pendant, blankets draped around both of them and a book spread on his lap. His hands moved as he spoke, face changing with each character's dialogue, vividly reading to her. The siblings gave each other small fist bumps and slowly, quietly backed away, not wanting to disturb this beautiful moment … but they knew money was going to be flying between the party the next day when this was brought up at breakfast.

[dailytatsu]

Hello! I saw request were open so i was wondering if i could request some headcanons of the Archons and/or the Adepti meeting a God reader who is the God of Chaos and destruction. The reader is not a Archon tho and travels all over Teyvat cuz small bits of destruction were ever they go. They're pretty mischievous and somewhat smug but despite how they act they're actually a good person. They dont mean to cause problems(most of the time anyways) chaos follows them were ever they go. Idk if you have a character limit but if you do please tell me so i wont make a mistake again. And if there is you can just do Zhongli and Xiao. Optionally could you make them a dendro user, there not a lot of dendro content and if not thats fine. I understand. Could you make the reader Gn or Non-binary they/them pronouns please? If not male reader is totally fine. Im so sorry for the long post and I hope you have a good day/night!

Ohmy, it’s my first time just writing headcanons! I’m use to write a lot, so let’s hope I did it right (^ ^' )7

Thanks for the request! ✨

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[HC] God of Chaos! Reader and the Archons + Xiao

Characters: Zhongli, Xiao, Venti, Shogun Raiden (Ei).

Gn! Reader

I tried doing it with everyone but I’m no still that confident to try writing with some characters ＿|￣|○

Sorry for any mistakes!

Request are open!

Genshin Masterlist

Second part ->

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VENTI

To be honest, he didn't notice your presence at first. He had other concerns on his mind that day to perceive the chaotic (and slightly threatening) aura that Mondstadt was infected with that day.

Barbatos is a person of habit, so he couldn't help but be curious when the crowd in front of him began to look a little agitated instead of seeming to enjoy his lyre and his songs.

But then a series of domino events appeared in front of his very eyes.

The purity of the chaos was such that he felt overwhelmed, even without the white-haired boy around, if it wasn’t Bennett fault, then how was it possible for everything to be ruined in such a short time?

His patience ended when, out of nowhere, the strings of his lyre jumped close to his face as they snapped. Making that awful noise that couldn’t mean nothing good.

Okay, enough, who is messing around in here? No more joking in his nation!

He concentrated a little, a faint but unique presence kept his nerves on edge, as if he was being watched from afar. He moved away from the busy areas and then chased that ephemeral energy to the highest point of the church, where the bells were ringing in an irregular and stressful way.

Then he found you. Snoozing against one of the columns, somewhat tired because the trip you made to reach Mondstadt.

Surprisingly, Barbatos understood you since the first exchange of words. A god of chaos who was also a free spirit, you followed no rules ever written in Teyvat, and you had no plans to apologize for the mess you made.

Both of you were Zhongli’s worst nightmare, but that’s another story.

He managed to through your arrogance and your teasing nature that you, in fact, were a lonely spirit that liked to witness the life from above of everyone.

The difference between teasing someone accidentally and committing a crime was really visible, but he still couldn't help but feel like he should scold you after your mere presence messed up with the guild's baskets full of fish.

But hey! He also enjoy the company! Venti tried to teach you how to enjoy the calm and the whisper of wind, music can also contain chaos, feelings, old stories waiting to be told again, expressions and desire united, in a wonderful piece of-

As you yawned his lyre broke up again. Making clear the message.

Okay, not even God of Freedom and Wind can control chaos. Anyways, what a tragedy, but there’s nothing a simple bard can do, smh.

“Do you like kids, don’t you?” He said once, after a nice day of hearing him sing before your chaos reached his little concert. Again watching everyone from above on the hands of the statue, with your attention caught by some kids playing tag.

“… I don’t know what do you mean.” Once discovered you had no choice but to remain defensive, pretending to be disinterested.

“Heh, you aren’t a good liar.” It may not be the wisest thing to make fun of someone who could destroy the place where you were resting, but Venti was confident that he knew you well enough to know that you were not so explosive. “You know!, I just have some pieces, but I think it’s because they are little walking concentrations of pure and innocent chaos, am I wrong?”

He wasn’t, no at all. But you would never confess something that embarrassing.

This guy wrote a ballad about the days when Mondstadt got immerse with that strike of bad luck. Kind of an apology of not being able to handle the situation.

Now there’s the rumor that says that, every time somebody sings that song, something unlucky will happen in front of you.

The song is cursed.

One night when the moon was shining on the Cider Lake his well tuned ears distinguished a melody that was broken from time to time by the accidents of his performer, distracting him of his way to look for you.

It could be painful to listen to, but Venti could certainly feel the dedication of the one who was playing the imperfect song.

The ballad of the god of chaos, hummed like a lullaby that instead of making you sleep makes you question the events of the day. Wishing for the slightest thing to be different after an exhaustive week of peace and tranquility.

A lonely spirits cursing their existence, sitting in the highest point of a stranger’s palace, where you can reach the sky by only rising your hand.

The next day, Barbatos invited you to drink some wine, this time near Windrise to avoid accidents in the city.

As he almost dropped the bottle when a lot of slimes were attracted by your presence, he confirmed the theory about that the way to spend time with you would not be his personal definition of hanging out.

➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹ ➷

ZHONGLI

Okay, there’s only two scenarios that could happened when you set a foot in Liyue.

Old man has a soft spot for you for being a relative young deity.

Or he’s always lecturing you for not having control of your aura and powers.

How u dare bringing chaos to the nation of order? It’s that a death wish?

Jokes aside, you’re not really a threat. And he could sense that after he saw how you tried to avoid having direct contact with the city. Rex Lapis found your silhouette jumping and crossing through the mountains until reaching the fairest point that allowed you to enjoy the view of the streets that were filled with life and light as the sunsets.

He even noticed how you sighed in frustration when a storm started out of nowhere. A rain dedicated just for the arriving of the God of Chaos. Not even bothering of getting shield, you stayed in your place to look at all the people who were getting back to their places.

The rain seemed to stop over your head, for a second was enough to stop you from being cruelly swamped by the very weather you had created. An elegant umbrella covered you, the long awaited surprise you expected from someone as outdated as Morax.

You looked up, and found his expression calm and attentive, watching you. As if he had made a great discovery that he could not believe

“May I have a moment of your time to keep you company? Letting out your sorrows in the middle of a torrential storm is not what I would recommend as way to spend a good day.”

“… What are you talking about? Get in your own business, old man.”

“Well, you should know that a sorrow shared is a sorrow halved.”

Next time you knew was that he was helping you to dry your hair with a towel once you let him guide you to his place.

Zhongli picked you up like a abandoned cat that day. Even if having you near meant to deal with new the roof leaks.

Also kept you away from Hu Tao, if you two ever get along for being partners in crime he would seal himself underground-

For all the time you spend exploring Liyue, there he was. Like a little kid showing his treasures. But also like a worried father looking after his child for them not to stumble making their first steps.

Look at you! Almost crushing those Treasure Hoarders when a bunch of rocks fell down after you jumped at the edge of the cliff.

Wait, no- come back here! You should verify the surroundings and be aware of the weight of your power if you’re going to explore in that bold way. You, chaotic brat.

Another one who believed fervently that your mood was to blame for the constant chaos you caused. He also tried to show you the wonders of peace and calm, teaching you how to prepare tea while listening to the storyteller (also both being a little far away from the rest of them, just in case).

He couldn’t help but sigh when the teapot arm broke as soon as you tried to serve the tea. What a waste, he thought.

You apologized to him, kind of stressed with yourself after you took all the pieces with your bare hands to run away with them. Leaving a confused Zhongli behind.

Next day you were back, with the teapot repaired and just like new.

He let out a lot of thankful words, some flattering and a lot more cheesy things that you never had received before.

With that unexpected affection you couldn’t help but react flustered; then a cat that was chasing a bird jumped through a lot of decorations and merchandise, almost starting a fire as the chained events kept going.

Yeah,, uh, Zhongli got some useful mental notes about you and your chaos that day.

Hey, before you go, want to make a contract? You won’t regret it!

But as the wandering spirit you were you had no problems in reject his offer, but also promising that you would visit Liyue if he wanted you to.

Of course he wanted! But.. maybe next time you should stay in Huaguang Stone Forest instead of roaming near the city,,

➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹ ➷

XIAO

Tried to kill you.

I mean, your aura is threatening and full of a destructive energy, how is possible that you weren’t a demon to eradicate??

Sorry, but he had a point.

Your first met was on your way to reach Huaguang Stone Forest along with Zhongli for introduce you with the Adeptus.

Xiao, in the other side, thought that you were about to attack Morax from behind, so he just struck against you. With his polearm near to go through your chest, just stopped because you felt him before.

Lifting your hand at his direction, summoning chaos, this time, on purpose. The wind gained a wrathful nature and the biggest roots that were hiding under his feet rose to caught him.

And when you were about to hit each other Zhongli’s shield appeared just in time to separate both of you. Preventing a real catastrophic event.

Now stop fighting and introduce to each other.

Nice(n’t) to meet u.

What if you tried to awake Azhdaha to bring chaos and destruction to Liyue? What if you wanted to summoned Osial? What if… ?

Zhongli had to confirm and promise to him that those cruel possibilities won’t be a near future for respecting the real reason of your travel.

No matter if he wasn’t comfortable with your presence, it wasn’t his decision to allow you to roam freely, so he had to get use to it.

He immediately knew after hearing about your nature that was your fault that lately there were a lot more demons and monsters. Even his karma was getting more painful than usual.

(If you ever meet Hu Tao, please think twice before doing Xiao a prank)

You both didn’t interact a lot, and being honest, it was better that way.

He hadn’t a single intention of talking with you again until the day you were practicing the song that your Anemo friend taught you. By the other hand, Xiao noticed that the melody had the same nature as the one he once heard before being consumed by the karma.

It wasn’t a flute, but a worn lyre that was still in one piece after weeks of being repaired again and again.

“That song… ”

“Do you know it?” Xiao just nodded, staying in silence, being your very first audience even if you still have a lot to learn about playing a lyre.

It wasn’t as effective as the original, but was still… nice, kind of nostalgic.

Next morning, the Yaksha called for you. Made you stay still in the middle of a plain and then he disappeared of your sight.

He abandoned y- wait, what’s that? Why those monsters has that weird dark aura?

You were about to defend yourself until Xiao appeared back just in time to defeat them.

That day you became his personal bait for demons and monsters. Naturally you attracted chaos, so anyway you were, there will be also something to fight.

I guess this is your way to pay for all the troubles you made for him and his duty, so no complaining about it.

If you ask for a unexpected experience to Ganyu she would said that once she found both of you fighting along against the catastrophe, looking after each other’s back and almost having a perfect synchrony.

➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹➷➹ ➷➹ ➷

SHOGUN RAIDEN; EI

Also tried to kill you.

Well, the puppet tried to.

And then Ei tried when you had the opportunity of facing her.

But since killing a god just mean the releasing of a lot, pure, energy she couldn’t afford that risk, much less considering your “speciality”.

Who knows what would happen to Inazuma if your vital energy burst across the nation. Just like that old story about Sal Terrae and their goddess.

She just defeated you. Letting you rest and recovering in the midst of the plane of her reality within her mind. Your inert body in the middle of the battlefield as she kept meditating.

When you woke up she ignored your presence, but also denying your complaints about letting you go out back.

In her words, you were a burden, another enemy of eternity. Something as unpredictable as you and your “accidents” couldn’t get along with her utopia.

Ei could banish you from Inazuma, but she knows your type. Stubborn and not accepting the most simple orders to obey.

She knew that you would found a way to be back.

It’s better like this.

And in the hypothetical case of you being freed when she trapped the traveler (kicking you out) and then having a chance to see her again after the end of the war, then things would be somewhat different.

There’s not that much of civilization on some islands, so she allowed you to explore as much as your heart wanted. But if something serious happen, she promised that would end her work in the middle of the sea so your remains never be found.

Okay, message clear. Just do chaos near monsters and bandits, got it,,

Even if she wanted to spend some time with you and telling you some stories about Inazuma and other gods she couldn’t found the right time to call you at her presence.

As the current ruler of Inazuma she was busier than the rest of Archons you have meet. Maybe just some letters now and then like a way to keep a logbook, but not really a face to face talk.

Until she got the opportunity of a day off, just to found you messing around near some ruins. Trying to solve a puzzle before your speciality strikes in. The structure fell down after your fingertips reached the stone.

When the dust dissipated, you discovered her figure judging you from the other side of the remain ruins.

Give her a good reason for not errase you from the map, I dare u.

You felt the worst was about to come when Ei ordered you to follow her after a long sigh. Crossing her arms and starting to walk away from the bunch of old and worn rock.

Plot Twist, she actually invited you to rest under a tree, asking in her serene voice the reason for your journey and your origin. In such a direct way that it seemed more like a sentence than a talk to get to know each other better.

You answered what you could remember and then the silence stayed like the only way of interaction between you two.

Ohno, you know this pattern. Something’s about to happen-

“There is some strange beauty in the chaos, it may be the calm after the storm, but the catastrophe itself is seen as a necessary evil to appreciate the stillness. How much it would last until the lighting hit the valley?”

“So I arrived to keep order between the humans?”

Well yes, but actually no.

“… You see, if there is nothing but order and a lack of problems, mortals are likely to create them on their own. Their minds feels the need to be tested, to prove their worth, so I guess some of your chaos may be part of the history.”

“… then shall we take a walk in Inazuma?” You did not know if you were right, but you thought you saw a faint smile through his lips in the same way that lightning can be seen in the sky.

“I’ll allow it.” She said.

Her only condition was for you not to approach the huge boxes of fireworks down the street.

[nastybuckybarnes]

Hoist The Colours  -  3/3

Pairing: Pirate!Bucky X SeaGoddess!Reader 

Summary: An encounter with the man you used to love lands you and your new crew in peril, stuck on a ship with the people responsible for binding you. And what they have planned for you is far worse than what you’d first imagined.

Warnings: Language, Angst, Fluff, Violence, Injuries, Death,

Word Count: 2.2K

A/n: Oof another thing is finished. I’m gonna start actually finishing stuff but Idk what to write I’m sad that my stuff is ending :( But I hope you enjoy this!

~*~

The door to your cell gets wrenched open, pulling you from your light sleep.

“You!” Rumlow snarls, grabbing you by the throat and lifting you to your feet.

“Where have they taken my prisoners?” You furrow your brows, yanking out of his grip.

“How am I supposed to know? I was left behind.” He grinds his teeth together and grabs your bicep, dragging you out of your cell and onto the main deck.

The clouds are dark and gloomy, the waters wild and violent, but not by your doing.

“You must’ve helped them, that other witch too! So tell me, how did you do it?” He shoves you and you gasp, tumbling onto the wet wood of the deck.

“How could I have helped them? You have me chained up like a dog!” You spit, glaring up at him. He stoops down to your level, grabbing your face harshly.

“You will watch your tongue or you will lose it. You do not need your voice to do my bidding.” He shoves you back down and you bite back a yelp of pain.

The sky darkens further, thunder booming and clouds rolling in.

“I will never do your bidding!” You snarl, a flash of lightning punctuating your words.

Rumlow’s eyes widen for a moment, and then he’s got his sword pointed at you, the tip just brushing your throat.

“On your feet, witch!” You obey, standing up with your chin held high.

“You will do my bidding, or you will join all those who you have sent to the depths. It is your choice.” You follow his gaze over your shoulder to where the plank is being extended over the raging ocean.

You look back at him, jaw set, and he knows you’ve made your decision.

The wind whips around your hair as he walks you to the plank, his sword digging into your back just hard enough to cause discomfort, but not pain, not yet.

You carefully step onto the plank, taking deep breaths of the salty air as the water rages beneath you.

“I will give you one last chance, wench. I will spare your life, all you need do is swear your powers to me. You’ll have the sea back in your grasp, the power to do what you please. You need only do so at my side.”

Raindrops splatter against your face, just gently at first, until you’re consumed in an intense storm, the water pelting down against you.

“You’ve forgotten, Captain, that you are not sending me to the depths,” you look over your shoulder at him with a small smile, “you are sending me home.”

You look down at the water, preparing yourself for the cool embrace, when a particularly harsh wave rocks against the ship, sending you stumbling back a step.

A wave rises up over the ship, a spiral of green swirling inside of it and for a moment you think that you’ve already died.

The wave crashes against the ship, sending the men falling and scrambling, submerging the deck for a moment.

But you stay rooted in place, the familiar green hue just touching your fingertips, the ends of your hair, then slowly becoming part of you once more.

You hear the men shouting and coughing, feel Rumlow’s sword pressed against your back once again, but you only turn around to face him.

The storm continues, the waves fighting the ship, and you cock your head to the side, sending a gust of wind towards the man threatening you. He stumbles back, eyes wide with fear.

“H-how do you...” You take slow steps towards him, waving your hand behind you as his crew-mates try to run at you. The wind pushes them back, keeping them a safe distance from you and the captain.

“You will give me answers and you will give them to me now!” You hiss, glaring daggers at him.

“Whatever it is that you wish to know, I will tell you. Just please, spare my life.”

You watch him for a long moment, fighting tears as the question bubbles out of you.

“Why? Why did he do it?”

Rumlow only shakes his head, on his knees and ready to beg for mercy.

“’twas me... I caused him to do it. With the help of a siren for the price of his left arm, I got the binding spell from him. He knew not what he was doing, though he gave the information.” You let out a shaky breath, a weight lifted off of your shoulders.

“All this time I had thought it was he who betrayed me... but it wasn’t.” You turn your gaze to him, eyes glowing green with the influx of power.

“It was you. You and your greed.” He shakes his head and scrambles back desperately.

You step aside as a sword comes down right where you were standing, and Rumlow uses your momentary distraction to sprint away.

“Kill her! Kill the Witch!” He shouts, grabbing his own sword.

You shake your head, the wind whipping strong enough to keep them away.

A nagging in your mind stops you for a moment, and a smile tugs at the corner of your lips.

“The King and his men stole the queen from her bed... and bound her in her bones.” Your voice travels on the wind.

“The seas be ours, and by the powers, where we will, we’ll roam.”

“Captain! We’ve got a ship coming up starboard!” A man shouts, pointing his sword at the familiar ship.

“They’re upon us! Battle stations!” The men scramble to their stations, trying to get prepared as the ship approaches.

“Yo ho, all hands, hoist the colours high. Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die.” The voices ring out to you clear as day, responding to the call.

It’s only a matter of moments before canons start firing and men start boarding the ship, swords clashing and guns firing.

Your eyes scan the crowd, freezing on a man approaching you. You simply look at him and he crumples to the ground, grabbing at his throat.

“Rumlow!” You shout, following your instincts up to the foredeck and finding the captain cowering, exactly how you thought he would.

“You want to throw me overboard, captain?” You sneer his title, taking another step towards him. He stumbles back, slipping on the wet wood and scrambling away from you and towards the main deck.

“You forget that I am the sea and all things in it.”

The rain pelts down on you and the wind whips your hair around your face wildly, your eyes glowing green with the force of your power.

At that moment, you look every bit the sea goddess that the stories described. And today, you’re planning on being just as cruel.

“You stripped me of my purpose, my power. Bound me to my form and took away my reason for existence! You sacrificed the man I love for your own greedy gain. What do you have to say for yourself?” Your powers protect you from the fighting around you, the man before you protected as well.

No one will take your vengeance from you.

“I’m sorry!” He cries, slipping back further.

You shake your head and grab him by the front of his tunic, tossing his sword aside and glaring into his eyes.

“No, you’re not. Not yet. But you will be, that I promise you.”

You cock your head to the side, your free hand coming up, fingers flexed.

The water on the deck swirls around your ankles, clawing up the man before you.

“You’ve never had your purpose taken from you because a man like you has no purpose.” You twist your wrist, controlling the water around you and watch in satisfaction as his eyes widen, the water rising up over his face.

“So what else can I take, but your life?” You ask rhetorically, watching as the water trickles into his mouth and nose, slowly at first, then picking up speed.

He tries to claw at you, but his hands can’t reach you. His struggles are futile, though that doesn’t stop him.

You steal the life away from him, exactly the way he did to you.

He collapses on the ground, his body convulsing for a moment before falling still, death embracing him.

You take a deep breath, embracing your freedom, then slowly turn around.

You’re instantly meet with piercing blue eyes staring at you from across the ship. His chest is heaving and he’s squinting through the downpour, but his eyes are on you.

You walk over to him, the rain lessening with each step you take until you’re right in front of him.

The wind dies down and the ocean becomes calm. The fighting around you draws to a sombre end, victory on the tip of your tongue.

His sword clatters to the ground, his hands finding yours ever so gently, his eyes filled with so many emotions.

“Gentlemen, the ship is ours!” Steve shouts, a smile on his face. You turn around, pulling Bucky’s arms around your waist as you watch the crew celebrate their success.

Your eyes find Wanda’s and Tony’s through the crowd, both of them smiling brightly up at you.

The two crews celebrate, Pirates and Kingsmen, and you can’t help but smile at them.

“Back to the ship! We’ve gotten what we came for. The King can enjoy plundering Rumlow’s ship. I trust that will keep him off of our back for a while, yes?” Steve looks at Tony pointedly and the brunet nods.

You step out of your lover’s arms and walk down to the two men, one hand gently finding Tony’s forearm.

“I owe you a debt, Tony. One I fear I may never be able to repay.” He shakes his head, taking your hands gently in his and smiling at you.

“You’ve no debt to be paid. But if you feel so inclined, could you maybe hold back any storms for the next day or so? I’d like a chance to dry my clothes.” You giggle and nod, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you, for all that you’ve done for myself and Wanda.” He gives you a tender smile and nods.

“It’s what I wish had been done for my mother.” He sniffles then straightens up.

“Now come on, men. It’s time we return to the King!” His crew-mates start busying themselves quickly.

“Alright lads, back to the ship!” Steve calls, leading his own crew members to their ship.

You watch as everyone eagerly crosses, smiling encouragingly at Wanda. She crosses swiftly, her eyes drawing to the helmsman for a moment.

“Are you ready?” A soft voice asks from behind you. You take a breath then nod, looking over at him.

“Yes.”

The two of you cross back to his ship, the ship almost cooing at you as soon as your feet hit the deck. You can’t fight the smile the spreads on your face at being back, and you don’t try to.

“It’s good to have you back,” Steve says, giving you a nod. You do the same, sighing happily.

“It’s good to be back, Steve.” Bucky takes your hand then and tugs you gently towards his quarters.

The door closes softly behind you and you take a moment to reacquaint yourself with the room.

You can feel his eyes on you, the tension palpable but not unpleasant.

Without looking at him, you speak.

“Could you help me out of my gown? It’s far too heavy.” He walks towards you, untying the back and watching as the fabric slides down your body, leaving you only in your white slip.

His hands hesitantly trail over your skin, one cold and one hot and the contrast is so delicious.

You close your eyes and lean into his touch, head falling to the side as he presses soft kisses to your neck.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you, my love,” he whispers against your skin, spinning you around to face him.

You gaze up at him lovingly, one hand coming up to cup his jaw.

“Show me,” you whisper, leaning up to gently brush your lips over his.

“Show me how much you missed me. Give me a reason to clear the skies and calm the seas. Make me give us good wind and easy sail. Prove to me that you’re still worthy of my mercy.”

He brings your hand to his mouth, kissing each one of your fingers then smiling.

“I’ll never truly be worthy of your mercy. But I am more than willing to both swear and prove my loyalty to you. I will give myself over to you; body, heart, mind, and soul.”

You look up at him tenderly, cupping his cheek gently.

“I will sail to the ends of the Earth for you, fight the gods if I need to. Anything to keep you in my arms.”

“My heart belongs to you, James. And never will it belong to anyone else.”

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 306: the beginning of the WHAT

Previously on BnHA: Nana and the Gang were all, “hey Deku, we can read your thoughts and feelings so we should already know the answer to this, but for some reason we want to quiz you on whether or not you’d be down to kill Shigaraki Tomura.” Deku was all, “um okay, well tbh, probably not seeing as Saving People has been my entire thing since literally the start of the series.” The Vestiges were all, “yes that makes perfect sense and again we already knew that, but well, good for you buddy and I’m glad we had this talk. Anyway I guess we should ask these two cryptic fuckers in the corner to finally turn around now before we run out of -- ” and then the chapter ended. Because OF COURSE IT DID.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “YOU DON’T NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, WOULDN’T IT BE SO MUCH BETTER IF I GAVE YOU A CONFUSING CHAPTER WHERE EVERYONE FINALLY LEARNS ABOUT OFA, AND GOES BACK TO THE DORMS, AND THEN THE CHAPTER ENDS WITH DEPRESSED NOMAD DEKU STANDING ON A PRECIPICE WITH GRAN TORINO’S TATTERED CAPE FLOWING IN THE WIND.” Everyone is all, “???????????” Horikoshi is all, “also the parents are moving to the U.A. campus, and Jeanist’s neck is two and a half feet long, for everyone that was wondering.” Everyone is all, “WHERE ARE KACCHAN AND TODOROKI AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WHO ARE THE SECOND AND THIRD USERS”, and Horikoshi is all, “:)” and fades away into nothingness like the fucking fae he is. Like a fucking imp who’s kept his end of the cursed bargain. What, the, fuck.

okay guys, so after the longest Thursday of my fucking life, during which I was secretly hoping that my spoiler containment net would be somehow be breached, inadvertently exposing me to theta spoiler radiation, so that I could be all “oh no... spoilers... there’s nothing I can do... I have no choice but to look” (which sadly did not happen), it is finally Friday and the chapter is finally out. so I’ve got my clown kit at the ready and other self-deprecating memes on standby, and I’m ready to go. and I should note that I’m also ready for Horikoshi to pull some absolute bullshit and be like, “oh you know what, we haven’t checked in with Rat Principal in a while have we” and spend the entire chapter on nonsense like that. I’M READY FOR FUCKING ANYTHING so bring it

(ETA: it would be nice if this man wouldn’t call my bluff every now and again.)

oh, right, we were due a color page! wow look at this

isn’t this supposed to be the future?? what’s with all of these staticky CRT TVs

anyway, so! is this the first time we’ve seen Tomura’s stylish finger prosthetic glove thingy in color?? because I didn’t expect it to be red. also, at some point you just have to give in and change your pants into cutoffs or something, Tomura. start a new trend of stylish villain capris

meanwhile Deku is dressed like he’s going on a journey into the desert to find a mystical oasis. actually this cape looks a lot like Gran Torino’s. I have to go back and see if Gran’s is all raggedy like this

(ETA: it wasn’t before but APPARENTLY IT IS NOW. I also forgot that Horikoshi had showed it sitting on a side table in the hospital a few chapters ago.)

lastly, AFO looks like someone’s thumb after they’ve been washing dishes for twenty minutes. you are just the ugliest dude in history, and as always, fuck you

HAHAHA SOB I KNEW IT

oh, Twowy McTwoface is finally starting to turn around? better CUT BACK TO DEKU’S HOSPITAL ROOM THEN. wouldn’t want to accidentally ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS or SOLVE ANY MYSTERIES, god forbid

well, whatever. whatever!! anyway so now someone’s knocking at the door. I say “someone” but we all know it’s Hawks

yep

they were actually standing outside the door for a while hoping they’d overhear another juicy plot conversation, but no such luck this time

lmaooo Jeanist wtf

acting all embarrassed, but you’re really just as curious as Hawks is. making him do all the dirty work for you huh

ARE YOU SERIOUS THIS IS AN INJUSTICE

so like two seconds after Katsuki gets dragged away you open the door for the rest of them!! well, fine!! I really want it to be a more private/personal moment between the two of them anyway so let the other kids check in on Deku first then

and in the meantime, time to see Hawks put the thumbscrews to All Might’s resolve lol

I wonder how much of it Hawks has already put together in the last five minutes. One for All is something connected to All for One that Tomura seems to want. Tomura was apparently targeting Deku. that’s more than enough to make a few deductions right there. I wonder how much Hawks knows about Deku’s quirk. he did watch the sports festival, and he ran into the kids interning under Endeavor that one time

okay well maybe he hasn’t put the rest of it together just yet, but Hawks is making a pretty reasonable pitch here to All Might

also this is a pretty spectacular view. is this a hospital or a hotel??

AHLKJLKJLKJ ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GOING TO TELL THEM

OH MY GOD HE IS?!?!

JUST LIKE WE ALL EXPECTED, THE NEXT TWO PEOPLE TO LEARN THE TRUTH ABOUT OFA ARE GOING TO BE HAWKS, AND BEST FUCKING JEANIST

-- LFKLKKLDK ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS. ARE YOU --

( •̀_•́ )

[sitting cross-legged on the ground pulling up little clumps of grass and letting them fall from my fingers one by one] yeah. sure. okay. fine. sure

-- OKAY, NO. NUH-UH. NO

everybody better hold tight cuz I’m about to pick up this whole chapter and yeet it into the ocean like a fucking frisbee lol

HORIKOSHI I DON’T CARE ABOUT THESE PEOPLE SITTING HERE WATCHING TV WTF

-- OH

well okay then. proceed. though lord help me if they’re about to reveal the secret of OFA to the whole fucking world skdkj

oh snap

well, there it is. pretty much what I expected, but it’s good to actually get to see this moment with him taking responsibility

though at the same time, thank you Horikoshi for not forcing us to sit through the rest of that

their fucking faces omg. okay but seriously, what nation doesn’t secretly love a good scandal

the Endeavor Pamphlets, part two. thank you for giving the country something to opine about on twitter in these trying times, Enji

so now they’re asking about Hawks and Jeanist but I cannot even focus on anything all of a sudden because what?!

is Jeanist even a real actual human being you guys?! are we sure he’s not three kids sitting on each other’s shoulders?? are you related to that one guy with the really long neck from the Jedi Council?? are you Orochimaru, bro??

so now Hawks is apologizing for the murder of Twice, and for hiding the connection with his dad

the fact that he has to give this serious formal apology and beg forgiveness for the shameful crime of Having An Abusive Father is really something else, though. just. it’s realistic, but I still hate it

moving on now to the one thing he actually does owe the public an explanation for

not to go all “Hawks did nothing wrong” on you guys yet again, but seriously. 100% facts. fandom can (and no doubt will) debate this until the end of time, but if Twice had gotten away they wouldn’t be having this press conference right now because there wouldn’t be any heroes left to give one. anyways though, I’ve already said more than enough about that in previous posts

so now some severe-looking lady with the weirdest fingers I’ve ever seen is saying that her mother was injured during Machia’s rampage

and she’s basically all “a fuck lot of good ‘I’m sorry’ does us all about now.” true true

wow she’s really getting fired up

and now Enji is basically saying that he understands that an apology isn’t enough, and what they really need now are solutions. okay, well! SO THEN WHAT IS THE PLAN THEN

hmmfsdgh

this eloquent PEZ dispenser makes a good point you guys

wait, hold up

CERTAIN citizens?? um excuse me, what??

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shit

holy shit. well, this will go over well

okay! so this tells me a number of things, though

basically the minute that Hawks learned about One for All, he realized that anyone connected to Deku (e.g. Inko) would be a target for AFO. AFO wants OFA, meaning AFO wants Deku, and one of the easiest ways to get to Deku would be to target his family

Hawks therefore realized that Inko needed to be placed into protective custody

but the fact that ALL of the hero course students’ families (and is it only the U.A. hero course, or all of the hero course students across the country?) are being given protection tells me that Hawks and co. don’t want to single Deku out as being important. so then it looks like they’re not going to tell everyone about OFA (or at least not the public. which, good). so rather than drawing suspicion by saying “we’ve got to protect everyone connected with this one kid”, they’re making it seem like all the U.A. kids’ families are getting this treatment

but since the heroes are now spread so thin, they can’t just send a protective detail to each and every family, so they’re bringing all of the families to the same place instead to better keep an eye on them

so that’s all well and good, and a very smart move. except that idk how all of this is going to go over with the general public, all of whom are probably feeling unsafe at the moment, and who will probably see this as preferential treatment -- basically just the heroes looking after their own and leaving everyone else to fend for themselves

(ETA: okay so @hanashimas​’ translation clarifies that U.A. is offering their services as an evacuation shelter for everyone who wants it, not just the families of the U.A. students. that’s much more appropriate so I withdraw my previous “wtf” reaction lol.)

anyway though here’s Mitsuki and Inko

can we take this as confirmation that the two of them really are friends? that’s one piece of fanon that I’ve always hoped was true, so I’m gonna go ahead and say it’s confirmed

(ETA: also this means that Hagakure’s parents (or maybe “parents” in quotation marks) will supposedly be moving in as well. sure am curious as to how that’s going to go.)

now someone in the press crowd is asking whether U.A. can provide adequate security, which is honestly the LAST thing I expected these people would be outraged about lol. shows what I know I guess

(ETA: again though, this makes sense if the “certain civilians” thing was just a translation error.)

LMAO DAMMIT ENJI

YOU CAN’T JUST ALWAYS PULL THE “JUST WATCH ME” TRICK AND EXPECT IT TO SHUT DOWN THE CONVERSATION EVERY DAMN TIME YOU ASSHOLE

-- OH MY GOD RED ALERT

TIME TO ANALYZE THIS BECAUSE OMG

WASH CAN’T BELIEVE HIS FAMILY GROUP CHAT IS STILL SENDING HIM FUCKING MEMES AT A TIME LIKE THIS. HE DOESN’T GIVE A FUCK IF THE DABI DANCE IS TRENDING ON TIKTOK, MOM!!

FOR A MINUTE I THOUGHT MT. LADY WAS HOLDING MIDNIGHT’S TORN-UP MASK, AND BY THE TIME I REALIZED THAT’S ACTUALLY HER MASK AND NOT MIDNIGHT’S, I HAD ALREADY CONSTRUCTED AN ELABORATE HEADCANON IN WHICH MT. LADY AND MIDNIGHT WERE SECRETLY DATING BUT HADN’T COME OUT TO ANYONE YET, AND THEN TRAGEDY STRUCK, AND NOW MT. LADY IS GETTING READY TO SET OUT TO SEEK VENGEANCE. AND WELL, NOW THAT THIS HEADCANON EXISTS IN THE WORLD, I’M NOT SURE IF I’M READY TO GET RID OF IT

MIRKO HAS GOTTEN HERSELF A PROSTHETIC (ROBOT??!) ARM, NOTHING ELSE THAT’S HAPPENING IN THIS CHAPTER IS EVEN SLIGHTLY IMPORTANT!!! HELLO!!!!!

AIZAWA WITH THE EYEPATCH GOOD LORD. THE WORLD ISN’T READY. HE LOOKS LIKE HE HASN’T SLEPT IN NINETY-EIGHT YEARS, BUT SOMEHOW HE MAKES IT INTO THE HOTTEST THING EVER AS PER USUAL

WHO THE FUCK IS THIS FUCKING GUY. ARE WE SUPPOSED TO KNOW HIM? IS THIS KAMUI?? WAS THAT THING WHICH I ALWAYS ASSUMED WAS HIS HAIR ACTUALLY A HELMET OR SOMETHING WHAT

LOL AND MEANWHILE

you tell me, Dabi! weren’t you the one who said that wouldn’t be enough to kill him? what even is your endgame here. I’m starting to worry about the villain brain cell supply you guys. I feel like Compress took most of them with him when he left

OH??

“when asked about One for All, Endeavor fucking lied through his teeth.” well, well, well

SLKDFJLSKGDJLKLKGJL THE DORMS

( ⁰ ⌂ ⁰ )

SLDKJFLKJWLKJLK

WLKDJSLKJFWKELKSDJLKHGLK

HDSMFLKGKL:GDSELK

OCHAKO’S HAND IS SHAKING OH MY GOD

THERE’S YOUR KAMINARI, EVERYONE!!

RHA’S SCANLATION TEAM REALLY THREW DEKU’S HANDWRITING UNDER THE BUS HERE HUH

HE TOLD EVERYONE!?

WHY THE FUCK IS HE WRITING IT AS A LETTER

(ETA: 9. also if he really wrote every kid in his class then that means the U.A. traitor -- or Hagakure as we like to call her around these parts -- also knows about OFA, and knows that Deku has run the fuck off and isn’t at U.A. anymore. so that’s just great!)

OH HELL NO

the hell does that mean, you must leave. leave to go where. son you are not up and leaving to go power up and lead us all into a timeskip. and I swear to GOD, if you left Kacchan too...!!

MY GOD I CAN’T PROPERLY ABSORB ALL OF THESE OCHAKO FEELS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I’M TOO TERRIFIED TO SCROLL TO THE LAST FUCKING PAGE, FUCK

I JUST GOTTA DO IT. I JUST GOTTA SUCK IT UP AND DO IT. FUCK

FUCK

WHAT. THE. FUCK

y’all I’m not even gonna waste your time with more keysmashing, JUST ASSUME THAT I AM DOING IT NONSTOP, FOREVER. and let’s just jump RIGHT IN HERE

okay so here I thought that All Might and co. had taken him away somewhere to train, but that is CLEARLY not what’s going on here. this kid is standing here in his Apocalypse Aesthetic hero costume which has CLEARLY seen better days, with Gran Torino’s cloak (GUESS THAT EXPLAINS THAT, THEN?? SO DID GRAN FUCKING DIE EXCUSE ME WTF), and a fucking backpack. this little green idiot has RUN AWAY FROM HOME. this is the absolute LAST THING ON EARTH I ever expected to happen so PARDON ME WHILE I SCREAM CONFUSEDLY INTO THE VOID

he does not look okay. you guys he doesn’t look okay at ALL. he has NEVER looked like this. this isn’t just a “I’m sad because I’m leaving all my friends behind” kind of look on his face, or even just a “Gran Torino died maybe and I’m still having emotions over it” look. this is an EXHAUSTED, dead look in his eyes. something terrible has happened

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARMS DEKU. THE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING DOWN WITH YOUR ARMS GODDAMMIT

love how this random building is just straight up collapsing, like that’s just a normal thing that happens every day now. lovely

APRIL MEANS IT’S NOW FULL ON SCHEDULED ALL-MIGHT-DYING-HOURS, BUT LET’S COMPLETELY IGNORE THAT THOUGH BECAUSE FUCK THAT NOISE

“THE SECOND USER? WHO KNOWS? CERTAINLY NOT ME” HORIKOSHI I SWEAR TO GOD

“BAKUGOU? NEVER HEARD OF HIM!” HORIKOSHI PLEASE

WHERE. IS. KACCHAN

did he go with Deku?? did he get a chance to talk to him before he left?? did he get his own private letter which he read and then promptly blew up in a fit of panicked rage?? is he going to go after him?? DOES HORIKOSHI KNOW WHAT HE’S DOING TO ME RIGHT NOW?? OF COURSE HE DOES, DON’T BOTHER ANSWERING THAT

omg. though actually the fact that we’ve already jumped a few weeks forward makes me hopeful that there won’t actually be another timeskip, or at least not much of one. I’m sure that’ll be the big debate of the week, but I don’t think we can jump too far forward here. for starters because of that All Might prophecy I mentioned. and also because TomurAFO isn’t just going to wait around for months. and also because I’m 100% sure that Deku’s running-away backpack is just filled ENTIRELY WITH NOTEBOOKS and this asshole cannot possibly survive more than 3 days on his own. UNLESS SOMEONE COMES TO HELP HIM THAT IS. OR SOMEONES, EVEN. OMG. omg omg omg. fuck this chapter lmao

[aphroditedahlias]

Dabi x yandere reader

Tittle : hush

Tw// non con, drugging

Soo in this, dabi is being non coned by reader, hope u enjoy. I’m sorry but I randomly thought of virgin dabi? Like imagine😭. This isn’t super detailed idk I started writing them I got lazy but someone will like it so I’m still posting it.

Fem reader, Short smut

Join my taglist

Reblogs and constructive criticism is always welcome 🎁

You met him through mutual friends but because he’s such a misogynistic prick, you don’t talk to him much.

It’s Friday night and after a long day bumping into smelly students and dealing with moody professors, you decided to a have a chill night hanging out with some friends and people around campus at your place.

More people than you expected showed up but as long as they’re not too hype it isn’t a problem.

“ yep and I left right after. That bitch was all over me I’m like it’s time to go.” You here touya say, laughing and drinking with some people you recognize as cluster of your mutual friends.

You roll your eyes but walk closer to greet them, while ignoring his existence.

“ jeez not even a hi?” He says with a smirk

“ maybe when you stop talking about women like objects that you use for your pleasure.” You snap

“ awww someone jealous? Don’t be, I can fuck you too if you want.” He says, lightly tugging you to him by your waist.

You only glare at him before scoffing and walking a away.

—————————————————————————-

You watch him for the next hour, looking at the drink he keeps refilling his cup with before getting an idea.

You ask one of the scumbags you’re friends with for some pills before filling the jug with the crushed up drug.

The hang out is winding down and you start to walk people out. Touya is The last to leave but before he can waddle out in his drunken stage you tell him he forgot his phone and watch as he goes back to where he was to look for it and shut the door.

You text your friends knowing that they’ll ask what happened to him saying that he was knocked out so youre letting him crash on your couch for the night.

Of course they believed it.

“Where’s m’phone” he mumbles, stumbling across the room with hazy eyes.

You let out a low laugh and don’t respond. Instead, you grab him and lead him to your room before pushing him down on your bed.

“ don’t worry about your phone, you won’t need that right now.” You say, straddling him.

“ what are you doing? Get off of me.” He says, scrunching his eye brows and bucking his hips to remove you.

He unintentionally grinds against you and all you do is let out a moan.

Guess the pills worked.

“Mmm you sure you want that?” You ask, leaning down to sloppily kiss his lips.

He’s barley awake so your efforts to make out with him just end with you sucking on his lips and sliding the tip of your tongue between the small part of them.

Moments after getting him over more worked up, You reach down to pull him out, giving a few experimental strokes.

He’s already throbbing in your hand moving his hips to meet your pace and before you know it, he cums with a loud groan.

“ that’s Fûcking disgusting. You blew rope in less then a minute? There’s no way you fûcked 2 girls at the same time. Have you even done this before?” You ask,teasingly lifting your shirt to rub his cum on your tits.

The sight of it has him drooling and he’s unable to hide the way his ears heat up.

He’s too embarrassed to answer but the way his face flushes and he tries to bury his face in the pillow next to him tells you everything you need to know.

“ ohh I see.” You say, taking off the rest of his and yours clothes.

You line yourself up with him, and gently sink yourself onto his Engorged cock, rubbing your palms up and down chest trying to relax him.

He whines from the first time feeling of having something so warm and wet wrapped around him as you guide his hands to your waist.

“ nghh p-please off me.” He groans.

All you do it force his finger to rub at your clit as you start a slow pace of bouncing yourself on his thighs.!

“ mm fuck you feel so good, you see how good you’re making me feel?”

You gently cup the back of his head and push down so he can see the white ring of cream, gushing out of you and spilling onto the base of his cock.

You feel him twitch inside you and you collapse against his chest, continuing to slowly rock yourself against him.

“ d-don’t w’na, just stop it.” He whines

You slam your hips against his harder and faster, chasing your high as you suck on his neck leaving him littered in purple.

“ don’t wanna cum? Hmm that sound pretty fucking stupid coming from you. Arent you a little player? Don’t you like pussy? “ you say, while forcing him to grip your tits making you moan again.

“ m’sorry please…” he says.

He’s still humping into you, unconsciously chasing his high as his eyes start to gloss.

You change his position so that he’s sitting up, with you in his lap as you wrap your hands around his neck and get comfortable and smash your lips against his.

His body stiffens

“ ngh fuck fuck fuck please ah- shit.” He says Against your lips.

You feel hot cum flood your insides, pairing your walls with his thick cum. The feeling of it sends into a orgasm and you crash against him but still lazily fuck his swollen cock into your creamy walls.

He whines and writhes in a another desperate attempt to get away from you. You look up to see tears in his eyes but all you do is kiss them away and Slump against his limp body.

He has no choice but to sit there and let you warm his cock as his lids start to droop, and he passes out.

〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰

© 2021 Aphroditemushroom

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[searidings]

....🥺 can you please tell us more about that season 5 alternate ending where andrea ends up using the dagger pretty please, just like who does she end up hurting and the others reaction? if only you want to of course !

hooookay this ask got me to open that wip for the first time in a year and actually it's not that far from being complete! but idk how to finish it and i feel like i've done the s5 conflict resolution thing in multiple fics now like how many is too many? i fear i may have hit that limit. BUT since you asked, here is the beginning of it. please note:

1) this thing is angsty and also it's unfinished, so read at your own peril

2) because i wasn't ever expecting to finish/publish it, i've recycled bits of description from it into other fics. so if you see stuff i've repeated elsewhere no you don't <3

-

The last thing Lena sees is a flash like dark shadow pass over Andrea’s eyes, before a kryptonite dagger slides between her ribs.

The sound she emits is less of a scream and more of a surprised squeak as she sinks to the ground.

If you want to get to Supergirl, you’re gonna have to go through me.

It’s not that she hadn’t believed Andrea would do it. Lena was under no illusion of safety when she placed herself between Supergirl and the glowing green rock in Andrea’s hand. She’d come to terms with the possibility of dying for Kara long ago.

What she hadn’t been able to prepare for was the pain. The abstract of sacrifice was all well and good, but. Reality, this searing epicentre, a point of white hot agony turned molten, seeping through her body. No amount of her mother’s decorum training had prepared her for this.

Something is filling her mouth, thick and dark and oozing. She can’t scream. Kara sits, eyes silver, a world away. Kara. Lena has to move. She can’t. Andrea steps over her, and is that the pounding of receding footsteps or the dogged beat of Lena’s heart? Either way, it’s slowing. Every inhale cracks her body down the centre, each exhale buries shards of glass inside the gaping wound.

Her eyes are beginning to mist at the edges but she strains, listens. The sound that cuts through the haze is not the scream she dreads, Kara’s agony as her veins sear emerald. It’s not a scream, but a shout, and then a blur passes over her like light and shadow.

Concrete cracks, or perhaps it’s Lena’s ribs. Sounds are muffled now, the world dulled down like the inside of a snow globe. Underwater, time passes sluggishly to where she lies, drifting, encased in glass. But someone is fighting the current, resisting the pull. Hands grasp her shoulders, burning where they touch. Through the rolling fog comes Kara’s face, blurring out in red and blue and gold and sickly green. Lena wants to push her away, keep her separate from the venomous substance protruding from her chest, keep her untainted. But Kara’s hands are dancing there-away along her cheeks, her jaw, Lena’s own name sounding from her lips over and over, a siren song, calling her home. It’s raining now, wet spots peppering her brow, or maybe the sun is crying.

“Lena, Lena,” Kara is saying. It sounds like her heartbeat and she cannot bear for it to stop.

“Kara,” she manages, a whisper, a prayer.

Her face flashes within Lena’s line of sight for one perfect moment, and is she green-tinged or is it Lena’s failing vision? A shiver passes through the air between them, I’m sorry fluttering like a bloodstained white flag but whether it falls from her own lips or another’s, Lena cannot say. Then a sudden pressure at her ribs, a heavy push and release that feels like salvation and damnation all at once.

Lena hears a scream, two screams, billions. She is left gaping, open and exposed. Invaded by the air and exalted by the sticky-sweet blush of her own blood, her body purging itself. Through the slick of gathering crimson her head rolls to the side, darkness pressing in around her, eyes blazing with the final image of a limp hand on the ground beside her, veins shot through with glowing green.

-

For a long time, there is only darkness. The deepest blackness she has ever known, all-encompassing. Devouring light, thought, feeling. Lena floats, tethered to her own existence only by the pressing weight of the dark, closing in until the end of the world.

Slowly, sensations begin to blur in and out. Cold, a deadening flow, hooking into her very marrow and stripping her from the inside out. She drifts, and then there’s heat, scorching, radiating out from her ribs in scalding waves, and she wishes for numbness.

For a moment, Lena thinks she sees the star-burst of veins behind her eyelids, but then they are gone and all is black again. Sound fragments filter through her peripheral awareness. A great noise, banging and shouting and exploding. She slips back under.

Vibrations reach her, but they must be sounds because Lena no longer has a body with which to feel them. She floats, untethered, sinking beneath the surface of a dark ocean so vast it surely cannot know she’s there. In the deep, voices flicker.

“Haven’t you heard that you’re supposed to leave the knife in? She’s minutes from bleeding out.”

The blackness turns to blood around her, not vibrant red but sticky dark, the kind so loaded with the very force of someone’s life that it moves slowly, crawls under the weight of it, sucking light from all it touches.

“Her veins were green, Alex.”

An eternity passes.

She dreams of her mother, dark hair fanning behind her as she cuts through the still waters of the lake. The scene is calm, but the growing dread means Lena knows what’s coming and suddenly it’s not her mother but Kara before her, and the lake isn’t clear but radioactive, glowing green, and still Lena stands at the shore and watches her slip away, helpless.

Words float through the haze and Lena wishes she could reach out, grasp them, weigh them in her hands to know the truth behind them. Radiation and poisoned and flared and gone, the sounds making physical shapes in the darkness. She thinks of a child, two dark-haired children, of hours spent pouring over a dictionary. A cruel laugh when she got a definition wrong, grudging silence when she got it right. How she wishes now to be wrong, to mishear, a stay of judgment on the world these words conjure into being. But the focus is gone, and she slips away again.

“—whatever you have to do! Or so help me, I’ll—”

Though Lena is nothing now, just an exhale in the wind, she smiles. Warmth blooms, the blackness not crushing but caressing for a moment, and she drifts into memories of happier times.

A million years pass, a billion. Lena is upside down, and right way up, and no way up at all. If she still had a face, she might feel the pressure of a warm forehead against her own. If she still had hair, the imprint of lips pressed gently against it might still ache. If she hadn’t burned every meaningful bridge in her life in the year before her death, she might believe the trick of a whisper wrapping on the breeze, words of comfort, of promise.

But she had, so she doesn’t, and time collapses in on itself as Lena watches, motionless and alone.

-

Though she has always been nowhere, she can feel herself drifting further and further from the last thing that might just resemble a somewhere. The eons slow. If she were a doctor, Lena thinks, then this would be the time to make herself comfortable. To say her goodbyes.

She cannot look at blackness any longer, cannot bear the glowing green after-image that seems to stick to every corner and edge. She thinks of blue, of rain-washed skies and Kara’s eyes, conjures it into being with every fibre she has left. Wraps herself up in it, plunges headfirst, drowns.

“Like it matters!” Kara says, no, shouts, from somewhere far above and below her. Lena would flinch, if only she still had a body. The voice rings out through the void. “Like any of it matters now.”

Lena is privately inclined to agree. She tries to breathe, but the full weight of the universe, of every universe, presses in. As everything, even the blackness, dulls, there emerges a crushing, cracking suffocation, and Lena wonders why she can’t even die in peace. A high-pitched scream, maybe hers, maybe Kara’s, maybe her mother’s, maybe the world’s, stretching out before her like a pathway. Though there’s no doubt where it ends, Lena almost wants to follow it, if only to escape this sensation of being crumbled, submerged, denied life as its very essence is wrung from her being.

And then a hundred trillion bolts of lightning shoot through her at once, and Lena is gone.

-

When she wakes, she wakes secure in the knowledge that she must be alive. Sure that the pain that had burst through her, blighted every nerve with an agony so intense she feels its phantom grip even now, could only lead back to life. Sure that no departure could hurt that much.

When she wakes, it is through cracked, dry eyes to the sight of pipes and ceiling vents, the bland, industrial grey that can only denote underfunded government property.

When she wakes, Kara is standing at the foot of her bed, hands behind her back and looking every inch the righteous hero, and Lena’s unsteady heart sinks. She’s been on the receiving end of this authoritative pose more than enough for one lifetime. At least her hands aren’t on her hips.

But Kara’s eyes brighten as they meet Lena’s fluttering gaze. “Lena.” Quiet, reverential. “How are you feeling?”

Lena takes stock. Alive, to begin with. Every limb still intact. Aside from an unnerving constriction in her chest and the fact that her blood feels a little like it’s burning her cells as it courses through her veins, it could certainly be worse.

When she speaks her voice is hoarse, cracking. “What happened?”

The same darkness creeps into the edges of her vision as she listens to Kara list the extent of the damage. She presses her lips together, willing away the blackness, registering only snippets.

Stab wound. Kryptonite poisoning. Collapsed lung. Cardiac arrest. Resuscitation.

Leviathan, gone. Andrea, captured. Lex, escaped.

The words wash over her like a freezing tide, and Lena wonders if maybe the darkness had been easier after all.

It takes far longer than it should for her to realise that the room has fallen silent. Kara is watching her, concern etched into her features like tears carving through stone.

Lena swallows as best she can. “And you?”

A corner of Kara’s mouth quirks up. “I’m fine. Thanks to you.”

But she doesn’t look fine. She looks exhausted, her face drawn, blue eyes lacking their characteristic shine. Even her hero’s stance can’t mask the fatigue weighing heavy on her shoulders.

But Lena doesn’t have the strength to argue the point. She rolls her head to the side, joints popping and releasing, noticing for the first time the tangle of IV lines threading into her skin. She lifts her other hand to touch them, feels the warning tug of more needles even as Kara steps forward, arms raised as if to stop her.

Her hands reach toward Lena, or at least, the spaces where her hands should be. Huge white dressings swaddle Kara from the wrists down, so bulky they do not resemble hands at all. Lena’s breath catches in her lungs as she takes in the unwieldy bandages, third degree burns and possible nerve damage echoing through her mind and she understands now why Kara had hidden them behind her back.

The inhale she aims for seems to stick in her ribs and she can feel again the crushing, the cracking, the dizzying lack of oxygen as her head spins. Kara is by her side in an instant, radiating warmth and just breathe, Lena, it’s okay, a comforting weight settling against her hip. Lena thanks the thick blanket for blurring the press of rough bandages where there should be warm skin, softening it into something just nondescript enough to be calming.

When her pounding pulse has slowed, the heart monitor downgrading to a less frenetic beat, she sucks in a breath despite her lungs’ protestation, waits for her vision to clear. Kara is still there, and dread opens up in Lena’s chest.

“You— you touched it. The kryptonite. You pulled it out.”

Kara doesn’t move, doesn’t speak. Just nods, her gaze locked on Lena’s own. Lena lies catatonic, paralysed with the knowledge, unable to move even as Alex enters the room. Dimly aware of low words exchanged between the two sisters and then Alex at her bedside, gentler than Lena’s been worthy of seeing her in years. Just rest, Lena, the press of a button on the IV monitor, and she sinks back into oblivion.

[bloodycassian]

darkness defined - 

az or cass x reader idk if this makes sense or not but here we go, either az or cas POV where reader (their mate) was stuck under the mountain with rhys and doesn’t come back bc she is still locked in the dungeons (rhys just assumed she died, he doesn’t know she is still alive)  Switch to readers POV, a few months later where they think their mate and their family (the night court) has abandoned them bc nobody ever came looking for her. Reader is like on the verge of death and uses her last energy to send a pulse down the bond. Switch back to az or cas POV  who are basically freaking out with guilt and anger and worried-ness. Im sorry it’s super long don’t feel pressured to write this anytime soon idk if it even makes sense  

DONT APOLOGIZE FOR BEING SPECIFIC! I LOVE WORKING WITH THIS KIND OF STUFF PLEASE DO MORE LOL

Cassian was a wreck. From the moment Rhys came home alone, and until the end of time it seemed to be. Azriel sighed, watching his brother down his second bottle of alcohol. His eyes were red, face gaunt and pale. The circles under those tortured eyes looked more like bruises. 

He hadn't talked to Rhys much since the news came that you were gone. Cassian had practically blown the roof off the house of wind, then disappeared for two weeks. The only reason Rhys had let him was because Az followed, far behind just to make sure he wasn't going to do anything drastic. 

Azriel watched his brother circle the mountain, only to have to turn away. Wards made by Helion himself refused entry to anyone while the mountain was still being evacuated of Fae. He glared daggers at the people streaming outside the shield. His heart was a painful stab in his chest constantly. His mate.. gone. He refused to believe it. And Azriel saw the denial there, plain as day. 

Azriel had only stopped him once. When he packed a bag and started his flight to Hybern. He earned a black eye and a verbal lashing for that, but it had saved Cassian from going on a suicide mission.

After a month of being out, he went to his brother. Rhys refused to ask Helion to lower the shields around the Mountain, and finally Cassian seemed to give up. He would have gone to Helion himself, but the wards around his court prevented him from doing so. Rhys was torn up over the entire experience of under the mountain, but losing you was one of the worst parts. He would never forgive himself for losing his brother's mate. 

Azriel watch his brother's eyes get more and more dull. Watched the bottles stack up. Rhys wasn't around much, busy regaining control over his city, getting updated. And keeping an eye on Spring Court.  Cassian sighed when the bitter liquid hit his tongue. He drank like it was salvation. Like it would lead him back to you. Plus, it helped him sleep. It was the only time he could sleep without seeing you, without feeling that pull - the command his instincts gave. "Find me, find me. I'm here. I love you. Please."  He often escaped to the cabin. To not have to talk to anyone, and to keep Rhys from stealing his bottles from him. Cassian was convinced Rhys was saving them to drink for himself. That's where he found himself flying, bottle of booze in hand. The guilt a lead weight in his stomach. 

The door shut, and he finished the first bottle in an hour. 

Mor appeared beside him, took the second bottle from his hand and had a long drink herself. He smiled drunkenly, showing too many teeth at her. He wasn't sure if she was actually glowing or if it was his eyes squinting too much. "Cheers." He slurred, taking the bottle back and downing more.

+ The walls were getting drier and drier with each passing day. The once cool winds that would cut through the stone dungeons were turning softer, warmer. It was a welcome relief, but without the muddy water from the walls...you knew you didn't have much left. Your spirit was crushed, on top of it. Death seemed like not a terrible option anymore.  Especially knowing that your court - your friends - your family had left you. They had just... forgotten. Thrown you aside like nothing. Didn't even try to find you. Like the Winter court skeleton in the cell beside you, just left to die.

  You pushed the thoughts back, knowing that logically that wasn't true. But you couldnt come up with a reason why they would leave you down here. You prayed, you tried sending thoughts down the bond. Nothing worked. Sometimes your mind got the better of you, and you would rush to the bars of your prison cell when you thought you heard faint footsteps. 

Then you would hear your own voice echo back, and no one else.  Eventually you stopped getting up. You let the fantasies keep you entertained while you lay on the floor. Not caring about the bugs that crawled on you. You were glad there wasn't a mirror to see yourself in. A wave of dizziness crashed over you, and you fell into darkness. 

When the water ran dry, you stopped bothering calling out for Cassian. The bond was there, but saturated. Trying to grasp it was like trying to hold wind. You were too exhausted. So you propped yourself up in a corner and let the dizziness pull you under again for a moment. Taking rattling breaths, you let your mind wander to that mind bridge. That once sturdy marble that would always remind you of Cassian. 

You sent out a final tug down that bond. Using the last of your energy, you put all your effort into it. "I'm here, I always will be. I love you. I'm sorry." The platform you imagined your bond being seemed to go dark, and lifeless. Empty.

+ Cassian shot upright, head spinning. Mor was asleep beside him, her feet on the table. He shook her, trying to shake the stupor. "Wake up. Wake up!" She groaned, weakly batting him away. He took a breath, trying to steady himself. He wobbled to the kitchen, dunked his head in the cold sink water and slapped himself a few times. The haziness from his stupor crawled away, slowly. 

Mor appeared in the archway, rubbing her eyes.

"Get Rhys. I need you to winnow us." He demanded, patting her face softly. Her eyebrows knit together but she stretched, and sleepily obliged.  + You assumed the crackling was just your starved imagination. Again. But the wind changed as well, and you tried not to let your hopes up. You weakly opened your eyes, to the same familiar cell. A silent tear slid down your cheek.  Then there were the shuffling of footsteps again, and you hid your face in your hands. It seemed like all the imagination tricks were attacking at once. You wanted it to stop. You wanted nothing more than to just fall asleep until you could see and hold Cassian again. Voices, now.

The sweet deep voice of a man who spoke another language. An ancient language. Your ears rang. You cracked your eyes again, to a blinding white light. You held a hand in front of your face, trying to see behind it. 

A thud, and scrape of metal. Then the scent hit you. It was similar to what you had imagined but somehow a million times better. Then, his arms were around you. "Mother above." He breathed. You would have thought the mother took you at last if it wasnt for the pain in your gut.

"We got you honey, I'm so sorry. Im-" He tried to hold back a sob. You smiled weakly at the familiar, yet different eyes that you loved. The marble platform you shared seemed to be lighting up with happiness. At the same time, crumbling and falling with shame. Anguish. 

Rhys began winnowing the group immediately, nodding to Helion. The high lord gave him a melancholy smile back, and winnowed himself in a flash of light. He would check the rest of the mountain with his forces and repair the wards before he returned to his home. 

Everyone surrounded the healer, watching her work. Mor was trying to stay calm, but her hands shook when she held Amrens. Rhys and Azriel both had jaws clenched, shoulders tense. Watching the way Cassian's tears fell on to your shoulder as he cradled you. The healer squeezed  his arm softly, silently requesting him to move. He didn't.

Azriel went to his brother, wrapping an arm around him. "Your mate needs you to be strong, Cas." He consoled, pulling him away gently. Cassian held you tighter, just for a second then nodded and let go. He held your hand firmly. His warmth missing from your body was a shock. You began shivering. Amren tugged a blanket off the guest couch nearby and placed it over your legs. 

"T-thanks." you muttered. Her eyes widened, but she nodded. Her and Rhys glanced to each other. A silent conversation. You didnt care. 

"Cas?" You squeezed his hand, and there he was. His pale face looked ragged. He seemed like he was struggling in every sort of way. You didnt want to imagine what he was looking at when he looked at your features. You could practically feel your cheeks sinking in, your bones losing their density. "I missed you." You smiled, trying to lift his mood. 

His lips quivered, and he nodded. He kissed the back of your hand. "You wouldnt believe how much I missed you. All of us did." he glanced to Rhys. His face was blank, but that steady stream of power seemed to be crackling outside. 

You let your eyes drift to each of your friends. Each of their tear stained faces were such a welcome relief. Over a month alone, their presence alone was enough to soothe that part of you that doubted their love. 

Cassian kissed your forehead, before the healer's light knocked you into a peaceful sleep.