#thanks for liking my letters quil it means the world to me.

[archived-and-moving]

have I ever told you how gender your name is? Like Tobi is literally so so cool and has a stellar mouth feel. Tobi. like great sounds great spelling great feeling. you popped off with that one literally Tobi is such a fun name. it’s so round. Tobi :)

Quil I'm sitting here smiling SO hard you're just so!!!! grah!!!!

I love the way Tobi sounds and feels and sits on my tongue! That's why I chose it! (actually it might have been more subconscious, because I visited my childhood home and there was a street near mine that had the name Tobi Street. So. hmm very interesting.)

and you're over here!!! Just!!!! Validating my entire existence like wow!!!!

Whispering my own name to myself like it's something shiny and new. It's something so magical and wonderous. Tobi. To-BEE. tObi. Tobi!!!!

My mouth hurts Quil you're actually so kind!!!!

[chubbyreaderchan]

Technically No | Jacob Black x witch!Reader | Twilight/Buffy the Vampire Slayer Crossover| 2

The weekend passed by quite quickly. Sunday was spent organizing what (Y/n) did buy on that Saturday. That Saturday was truly life changing. Jacob even called her that Sunday to see if she needed any help getting he house put together, which she took. He spent the entire afternoon chatting with her about cars then he went on to learning all about (Y/n). It was nice to have someone outside of Xander actually care about her interests. 

The Sunday night, she may have spent too long on a three way phone call with Buffy and Willow telling them all about Jacob. Then finally, Monday came. Bright and early (Y/n) woke up putting on her nicest clothes and make up to her preferred taste. She was finishing up breakfast when a knock came from the door. There stood Jacob as well as two just as tall and just as muscular young men. “Hey” Jacob spoke, looking her over almost speechless. She was just so beautiful but one of the young men playfully pushed Jacob out of his slight trance. 

“Oh, sorry. (Y/n)... These are my friends Embry and Quil...” he nodded to them each. They both shook the young witch’s hand. 

“Thank you so much for doing this... If it wasn’t my first day on the job I would have stay--” Jacob shook his head with a bright smile still on his face. “It’s fine.” “I know but young guys like you would probably prefer not hanging out at a stranger’s empty house.” She moved to allow them in. At least they weren’t vampires, she couldn’t help but thinking. “You’re welcome to anything that’s in the kitchen... It’s not much but theres like snacks and drinks...” She began walking towards the door once she took note of the time. Jacob followed her out and nodded. “It’s really not a problem... I swear.” He looked her over, eyes wondered for just a second to her neck. A cross and a pentagram nestled together on a chain. He wondered about the for a moment before looking at her face. “Seriously... Though... I was wondering... if you’d want to go to the movies. I mean as a sort of payment...” He closed the door when he heard his two idiot friends shouting at him. 

“That’s what you wanted in return?” She laughed slightly. “I mean you don’t have to.” Jacob said quickly. “I’d like that...” She said before he could retract the date. Jacob’s smile jumped right back to his lips, then she leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. “Thanks, again.” She trotted off to her little rental and Jacob went back into her house to wait on the delivery truck. 

--

The first day on the new job went great, only one or two hiccups but nothing to damaging. When she pulled into her drive way at 4:45 the three young men were still there now shirtless as they were helping the moving guys bring in the last few boxes into the house. What caused (Y/n) more concern is she recognized one of her boxes that Jacob was carrying. Not only was it heavier than all hell it was filled with one of her cauldrons. She rarely used because it was heavy. He held it as if it were made of paper. It reminded her of Buffy who was the one who ended up packing it in the first place.

She hopped out of the car and walked up to him with a frown on her face. He had to be magical or something not ‘normal’. 

“Isn’t that heavy?” She didn’t know what to say but she was going to have to see if any of her books would tell what he was. Jacob didn’t seem bad, however. His aura was practically made of heavenly light. There was no way he was evil.

 His dark eyes widened when she asked. “I uh... work out a lot.” His arm flexed slightly, her eyes wondered to look at how muscular he really was she felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment. “Fine. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to... but just know you can trust me with secrets.” She walked into the living room now filled with the few boxes and furniture she owned. The two boys were chatting away happily. (Y/n) pulled out her phone as Jacob placed the heavy box down on the floor. 

“I’m going to order something in... What do you guys like? My treat!” She smiled at them. 

“Awesome!” Quill held a small smile. They told her the best pizza place they knew of in Forks that delivered, despite more or less knowing La Push better. “You’re awesome!” Embry agreed once the food was ordered. Not a moment later, (Y/n) phone rang and she wondered to the kitchen for a bit of privacy when she heard Willow’s voice. 

In the other room with the three wolves, they began a conversation about Jacob’s imprint. “She said something weird.” He said in a hushed tone, sitting on the floor with his friends. “She said that she could be trusted with my secret...She caught me carrying something heavy... she’s already suspicious ” “Sam did say that you can tell your imprint.” Quill said relaxing a bit. “I know but I thought I would have more time to like... become her boyfriend first.” He sighed. “But there’s something different about her.” “So tell her sooner.” Embry offered. “Or see what Sam thinks.” Then she walked in again, still on the phone talking to Willow. “I should still have that book” She began looking at all the boxes, looking for a certain one that had three letters. MBK. Magic books for long. It was under another box. “One sec, Will.” 

‘Will?’ Jacob frowned for a second. Was she dating someone back home? No, why would she accept his date offer if that was the case. She placed her phone down on a different box to get the other box. With a key she broke the tape and began pulling out what Jacob could only consider some of the oldest looking books he had ever seen. in fact he had no clue what language any of them were in. He glanced at his pack mates who also looked very confused. She found it and continued the conversation almost forgetting the three practical strangers in her living room. She flipped through the pages. “What kind of demon again?” she said softly, looking through the book again. “Thorganath demon. Right. Sorry.” Then she sighed softly. “Yeah, no that’s one of the pages that was ripped when I bought it used.” Silence. “Oh, yeah. How’s Tara? That good, send her my love Willow. Tell Buffy I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help.” She hung up and looked over at the boys still looking quite bewildered. 

“Why are you talking about demons?” Jacob spoke. He felt a bit of anxiety radiating off of his imprint. She looked wide eyed at them. “It’s... hard to explain.” “You can trust me with your secrets, (Y/n).” Jacob repeating her words from earlier. “I’ll tell you mine first...” He hated the feeling radiating off of her. This caused them both of the young wolves to look up in surprise. He was just telling them how he didn’t know what to say. Perhaps it was an imprint thing. “We can talk in the kitchen. They can grab the pizza if it gets here before we are done talking.” She simply nods, telling them where the money for it was and following Jacob back to the kitchen.

(Y/n) hopped onto the counter and he leaned against the kitchen island, trying to decide how to explain. “In my tribe we have these stories... “ he began going into the quileute legend of shapeshifts and the cold ones. “They aren’t really stories...” “You’re one.” She finished with a nod, not even remotely shaken. “Yeah, I’m a werewolf basically.” Then she started to laugh. “Oh, not technically no. Real werewolves are much more complicated.” That caused Jacob to take a second look at her. “What?” “My friend Oz is a werewolf. Like an actual light of the full moon werewolf.” Jacob actually looked shocked. Jacob sighed. “There’s another thing about us. When we shift... sometimes... we have what are called imprints.” She was smiling. Like these legends weren’t strange... as if they were comforting. “Basically it’s like soul mates... no... it’s deeper than that... Like... your whole world revolves around that person...and... I... you’re my imprint.” Now it was her turn to look shocked. She supposed soul mates or imprints rather weren’t entirely the weirdest thing. Especially from someone who grew up on top of a literal Hellmouth. In fact, it was cute.

“Well, I suppose you are pretty cute” (Y/n) smiled at him teasingly. Jacob’s grin returned to his face. “Well... now it’s your turn.” “Oh, I’m a witch.” She said simply, going into a few stories about Sunnydale, not going to into detail about each occurrence nor explaining the whole Hellmouth thing. “So, wait... are cold ones...” She paused unsure if he’d call her crazy, especially since a treaty with a vampire nest didn’t sound right. “Are they supposed to be vampires?” His eyes widened. “You’ve dealt with them too?” “Uh, yeah my friend is the slayer.” “The what?” “You know... Vampire slayer. She jabs them in the heart with pointy wooden sticks.” “That’s not how you kill a vampire. They are as hard as diamonds, only my pack can-” “That’s not any vampire I’ve ever met... They are pretty soft and burst into dust in sunlight... Or cutting off their head. Honestly, I’ve staked a few myself.” 

‘She is so cute’ Jacob caught himself thinking. “Do you want to meet one of the vampires? They live here in town. In fact Bella dates one of them!” “Are they busy?” “We are in Forks. So probably not.” Jacob laughed a bit. “Invite them over.” she paused. “Wait, can he come into a house without being invited in?” 

Jacob was very confused now. “Uh... I think so.” His thick eyebrows furrowed together as she shrugged. “Technically not vampires. I’ll call them cold ones though.” Her smile was triumphant. What did she win exactly? Their first argument? Maybe. She moved to Jacob’s side again, pressing a soft kiss on his cheek. “Introduce me to them.” “Maybe later. They aren’t exactly friendly with any other wolves... in fact Edward probably still hates me.” He ran his fingers across his neck. Then he smelled pizza. He lead them back into the living room where they began to eat dinner. “Actually, I’d rather you meet Sam and the rest of pack before you meet vampires.” “They aren’t vampires.” 

“So you guys are shapeshifters hm?” 

-- 

The relationship with (Y/n) and Jacob got stronger even within just a week of living in Forks. Jacob would come over after she got off work and help her unpack, slowly learning about how much darker the monsters were. 

It was almost instant when she called scoobies to explain, though she had a feeling she would be in trouble later but how could she keep something so insane from them? The movie date that Saturday turned into going to meet the pack quite quickly, since that seemed to interest (Y/n) more than seeing anything that was playing. Plus Jacob was asked to patrol that night since he had missed the entire week of patrol. He was glad Sam allowed it, though. They currently sat in front of the small house in Jacob’s truck. (Y/n) was ready to go but Jacob stopped her. “Just... don’t stare at Emily. Sam hates that.” “Why would I?” Jacob sighed softly. “You’ll see.” 

“So... when am I going to see your wolf form?” She asked as they began walking towards the door. “Tonight. I’ll let you see... When do I get to see magic?” he half joked. Then she frowned a bit. “When there is something dangerous going on... Magic... is dangerous.” She said as she walked into the house with Jacob holding the door open. “Hey, Jacob!” A woman a bit older said with a bright smile and a large scar along her face. “Is this her?” “The witch?” A young man said with a joking voice. “(Y/n)...” He introduced. “This is Emily. That’s Seth.” He looked to still be in high school, doing homework on the table. “Wheres...?” “They are on the way back.” Almost on queue, five very large men and one young woman walk in talking excitedly about how they were hungry. How the patrol was fun and so on. The oldest looking one walked over to Emily and placed a kiss on her lips. “Is this the witchy girl?” one said jokingly. “Yeah, ‘witches’. Probably just a weird goth chick.” 

“That’s Jared... and Paul. Sam is over there. Then you know Quil and Embry. That’s Leah.” Jacob nodded to the girl, after introducing the pack. “Ignore Paul. He’s got an attitude problem.” “Can’t be any worse than Spike.” 

“Who?” “Oh, vampire. Completely harmless. Has a chip in his head. Can’t hurt people if he wanted” she said casually, with a wave of a hand. “Oh, great. Another vampire lover, Jacob.” Paul huffed out grabbing a muffin that Emily had just placed on the table. “Oh ick no.” She shook her head. “No, he’s just a necessary evil... Unfortunately.” Jacob moved and grabbed a muffin for him self and handed one to his imprint. Paul and Sam seemed to give her both a confused look. “A chip?” Sam asked suddenly. “Oh, it’s nice to meet you.” He corrected the slightly rude behavior. He wanted to make sure he was a good influence on his fairly young pack. 

“Yep. Government issued.” She shrugged. That made them all look at her in confusion. “You have to be making this up.” Seth said, seemingly by mistake. She sighed. “Fine. Can I borrow the pencil?” She sat next to him getting annoyed. Why wouldn’t a pack of literal wolves believe her? A little small time magic shouldn’t do too much to corrupt her, right? The spell was learned with Willow in high school. It was no big deal. 

Her eyes focused on the pencil she took and laid down. Slowly it floated up and began turning slowly in the air. “All about emotional control” She quoted something that Willow once said to her and Buffy forever ago. It was silent as they watched the simple trick, that was until Seth said “Woah, that’s insane.” This unfortunately caused (Y/n) to jump in surprise and the pencil flew into the wall across the way getting stuck. 

“Oh no! I am so sorry, Emily.” She hopped up and rushed to pull the pencil out of the wall. “I can fix that!” Her hand ran over the hole and then it was gone. “Can you do anything useful?” Paul said sarcastically. “I mean when hunting vampires, floating a wooden pointy thing is pretty useful.” “That’s not how you kill a vampire. That’s a book thing.” Paul seemed annoyed. “No, no it’s not. It’s just your cold ones are calling themselves vampires without knowing what a real vampire is.” Sam sat down with Emily both interested in whatever (Y/n) had to say. Everything she spoke of was completely off of what their legends and experiences have showed them. Witches seemed real, that’s entirely possible in Sam’s mind since it was a form of magic that turned the pack into wolves. 

“She’s told me some crazy sounding things.” Jacob sat next to his imprint, in a way that he was able to touch her thigh with his own. His hand move to gently touch her’s under the table. “I’ll introduce you guys to the slayer. If the monsters could chill out by the time fall break happens for her of course. The scoobies should be coming out. Then you can meet some real powerful witches.” Her smile was bright as if this was completely normal.

“Slayer?” Sam asked looking her over. “Oh, right. You guys don’t know about that. Okay, so there’s this thing called the slayer. She is born with the power to kill all kinds of dark things but mainly vampires. A new one is activated every time the last one dies.” She explained more on the legend a bit. They were still very skeptical of (Y/n)’s vampire experiences however. 

“Have you even met the Cullens yet?” Leah asked confused. “No, but I’d be interested in meeting them.” “It’s dangerous.” Sam said calmly as Emily began serving dinner to the large group. “I mean... I went to high school on top of a literal hellmouth. Can’t be that dangerous...” “What’s that?” Seth asked taking a bit of his food. “It’s like... evil shooting out of hell.” 

Then her phone rang. Buffy flashed on the screen. “Sorry, I gotta take this.” 

"Do you still have that rare book on ancient artifacts?” “Used in rituals... yeah?” “Can you mail it?”

“Of course I can. Just send it back in one piece. Don’t let Xander speak latin to it. I can send it Monday after work.” “Thanks... so uh... are you still hanging out with that Jacob guy?” “Yeah... kinda am.. right now.” 

“Oh, sorry. Thanks. I might have to call you again later.” 

-- 

Dinner went well, surprisingly. Perhaps it was an ‘imprinted to a wolf in their pack’ thing but it really felt like she belonged in the group of La Push boys. “Don’t worry, (Y/n) I won’t keep him out long. I’ll send him to take you home in a couple hours.” Sam said with a gentle smile as they walked out to see the boys off. “Yeah, it’s fine. I’d like to get to know Emily.” She smiled at Emily who was watching from the door. The boys wondered to the tree line, Jacob had explained it was easier to transform naked than to go through a million shorts a day. 

Sam smiled to her again before following the others in. Then a large brown wolf walks out from the tree line. His eyes were large and brown. “So that’s what you look like as a wolf, Jacob.” Jacob couldn’t help but think about how smart she was, getting him a bit of teasing from his pack mates. Jacob slowly walked forward and her hand reached out, gently ran her fingers through the long fur. Then she paused. “It’s kind of weird to pet your head isn’t it? I mean imagine if I walked up to you in your human form and just... patted your head.” A noise came from him. A laugh perhaps? She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his muzzle. “Stay safe. Let me know if you need any help.” She waved as he ran off to join his pack. 

This was going to be fun to explain to the Scoobies.

[bookwyrminspiration]

An anonymous ask from Heathen (I’ll explain why I’m posting it like this later in the post!!):

Time zones are incredibly weird! But just so I could get it semi right, you said it was 2 am in the scheduled post and it was 9 pm for me, and my phone has a thing where I can add on different time zones and stuff, so i scrolled down the lost until I found one at 2 am when it was 9 pm, and I have deduced that it is around 11 am for you to my 6 am!!

(Information I’m, as quil, redacting!) 

That was a lot of words for saying what I wanted to say but whatever, I just don't know how to explain things properly and then I end up over explaining everything

Also im very glad that you get back to sleep after waking up at 4:20, but that is similer to what I did for a while which was just waking up at 5. Sometimes I'd get back to sleep, other times not. Generally I wake up at 6 so I don't really see the point in going back to sleep. I do try though!!

Also yeah that makes a lot of sense, and I very much relate to it. Like if I make something then I wanna share it right away!! Let the world see it god damn it!! And yeah, I'd probably end up just posting the same thing twice without realising it. One was scheduled, the other was not

(And yes, I do know because you have done it countless times (/pos), it's always nice to have a good reason for things!! The whole point of the drafts is to get to it whenever you want or remember, but maybe it should have a reminding feature about posts/asks)

And good morning to you too!! I have awoken, finally, and I can't calculate timezones so I don't actually know what time it was when you posted this

And yeah, I definitly reccomend writing things down in obnoxiously big lettering and then taping them to a place that you are sure to see it, like your door handle. And thanks!!! I'm glad I could help you with that with my presence!! Have fun at the bookstore!!

Ahahahahahaha, I am The Heathen, taker upper of brain spaces. My master plan? To remind people of things they've forgotten

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

Time zones certainly are weird!! At the time of me answering this ask it’s like four in the afternoon for you...but the next day. It’s the 31st for you and it’s almost over! I’m not even there yet! 

Also, the reason I’m posting your ask like this is so I can edit out that one detail about where you changed your time zone to so you’d know mine. That thing you set it to is a city...my city, actually. But I mean, at the very least you’re time zone thing couldn’t be more accurate! (To clarify, I’m not worried about this or upset with you in any way, just baffled as to how that happened. I’m fine with individual people know that information about me, just don’t think it’s wise for it to be on the internet as a whole)  

and that whole overexplaining this is practically the crux of my blog. That is...that is the thing I do all the time. We can overexplain things to each other! I have whole rants about things stored up in my brain that I just repeat to myself because I don’t know who to share them with and my partner has already listened to so many of my Twilight thoughts. The amount of time I spend talking about the tiniest details like two of Bella’s outfits...(also the kotlc chaos server has encouraged me to draw a few kotlc characters in cursed/iconic twilight outfits so I might do that sometime) 

And I do generally get back to sleep when I wake up really early. Brain won’t register the day as starting until 6am, so even if I’m fully awake before them I’m usually just laying there and still resting. Also it seems we both wake up at six! Not really a choice for me as I’m physically incapable of sleeping in longer most days, but it’s convenient for school purposes!

For the impatience thing, a lot of the times answering an ask can take upwards of 20 minutes and there are several I’ve spent over an hour answering. So when I’m done I want it to be out there! I put in the effort and now I want other people to see it! Everything is a community here, and I like to share my part! (not that anyone is required to share/participate; this is a role I’ve personally taken on, I suppose). This is also part of why answering asks takes me a while and I have so many building up. There’s only so many hours in the day and I write a long response to almost every ask. 

(now I’m wondering what I’ve done and when I’ve done this because I have no memory of this oh no. did I post something twice? i can’t have scheduled things countless times because I don’t schedule things, but what did I do?? Also for me drafts usually end up as a place for me to forget things. if I start answering an ask and then realize I actually don’t have the energy or attention span to finish it it will go to the drafts. And I never check those. So it usually sits there a while...I could definitely use reminders about those but those would probably stress me out at the same time. 

Also good morning to you, too! It’s no longer morning though...good afternoon! Because I think it’s afternoon/going on evening for you! And don’t worry about doing the math about when I post things (it’s about 9:30pm for me rn) I’m just vibing. 

I’m currently trying to figure out how to make myself remember things, and sometimes notes work! Not always though. Honestly if I were to attach a note to my door my brain would just forget the door existed so I wouldn’t register the note. Or I would purposefully/subconsciously not leave the room so I wouldn’t have to encounter the note. Ah, the trials and tribulations of trying to outsmart your own brain while...also...being your brain. 

Seriously though, because we talk about memory so often seeing your name makes me do a mental scan to see if there’s anything I’ve forgotten/neglected recently. Like my masterposts....coming up on a month since I updated them. Oops! Guarantee I will forget by tomorrow. Oh! that reminds me that I have a few thoughts stored away in my notes app--one of them was wondering how/if I could recreate the elven world in Minecraft. 

I did have fun at the bookstore!! I bought several books! I think I got like 60 dollars worth of books and then another thing. But in my defense I didn’t realize The Shadow Wand had been released and I simply had to grab it. 

also you have taken up a considerable amount of space in my brain. Oh. I just realized. My English teacher studied religious theology and frequently incorporates that into lessons. I have a higher chance of hearing the word heathen casually that many other people...and a friend named Heathen...well that’ll be fun! And you’re achieving your mission! You very frequently remind me of things I’ve forgotten!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your day because you’ve still got some time left in it! ily /p

[youralternantpersonality]

End My Dear Friend

Warning: n/a

A/n: Here’s the end of it. I had fun writing this. It was in my brain for the longest, but I just didn’t want to make more than 5 chapters for my stories. Anyway, let me know what you think!

Sam (19), Paul (16), and Quil (15) gave up their ability to shift when they would have respectively been around 25-27 since Emily, Rachel, and Clair would age. They have kids—Emily: 3, Rachel: 2, and Clair: pregnant (Not really mentioned, but just clarification/to give an idea).

Comment if you’d like to be tagged

Tag:  @pillowjj​ @summeerrr​

***

A year later

“Well, well, well. Look who we have here.” I turn around and smile.

“Vanity!” I run up to her and hug her. I was worried that she wouldn’t come. Having her here makes everything complete. We hear a knock on the door, and it’s Felix just to congratulate me. I give my thanks, and Vanity helps me finish up the final touches and helps me put my dress on.

It’s an Augusta Jones dress named Terri. It was something I saw and wanted ever since I was in 10th grade. The second I saw it, my heart skipped a beat, and I wanted to cry (I didn’t, I just wanted to). Vanity fluffed out the bottom of my dress and made sure it flattered me for the pictures they were about to take.

“You look so beautiful Y/n/n. If I was human, I would cry, love.” She tells me, wiping an invisible tear from her eyes. I laugh, and Alice comes in to make sure I am ready. If it wasn’t obvious, Alice volunteered/decided to be the wedding coordinator for our wedding. She rushes us to go downstairs. Because of my situation, I decided against having bridesmaids/brides-man. Instead, Jared volunteered to walk me down the aisle as a surprise.

I walk up to him and link my arm with his. My nerves start getting to me as the music changes to a soft violin musical playing.

“You ready, Blue?” I smile up at my brother of over 10 years and nod.

“More than you know, Magenta.” He squeezed my arm and proceeded to walk me down. Up ahead, I see Embry, standing there in all his glory. I made him wear a white suit to match my dress. I remember Alice threatened him if he got a single drop of even sweat on it, she will have him by the throat and shake him like a chicken.

Walking up to the man I love, I could see a tear lightly stream down his face as he tried to keep his composure. I told him before, if he doesn’t cry, I’m going to re-walk down this damn isle. He knew I was serious too. Emmett, who became our ordained minister due to a loss bet he and Embry had, patted his shoulder in support. I was scared at first, but the nerves vanished as soon as Emmett opened his mouth.

“You may be seated.” He started, “Hello. And welcome, to this beautiful wedding. A Call wedding—bringing two different beings to one. Two different species, if you will, to one. Before we dive into these shenanigans, I would like to remind everyone what happens when two worlds collide,” I can see Charlie putting his head in his hand and shaking it. Emmett proceeded for 5 minutes, making sexual innuendos but also giving blessings. Two things that should not be in the same sentence.

The reception was beautiful. The pack demolished every last bit of food there was. Emmett brought out poker cards and had Charlie, him, Jared, Embry, Paul, and Billy playing poker at my wedding. If I didn’t think that Embry and I could have more weddings in our lifetime together, and if he didn’t look like the most handsome when he was laughing, I would be pissed right now.

But Alice was.

Twenty years later

It had been twenty years since I had seen the Cullen’s. For every birthday Renesmee had, Embry, Charlie, and I would take a trip to visit them. Ren desperately wanted to have him in her life, and so, Bella and Edward introduced them to each other, so long as there was a gag order on Charlie. Not to ask any questions and just enjoy the moment.

I will say that it was a stressful time when Ren was born. Bella did survive, and as soon as she was clear, hell broke loose. The Volturi tried to kill us, but luckily Alice and Jasper had their own trick up their sleeves. If I’m honest, it was hard seeing Vanity on the other side. But when it was decided that the Cullen’s broke no law, they left. Before leaving, like the spontaneous and child-like we are, we ran to each other and hugged before leaving. I knew we’d see each other again, but it just might be a while before we do.

A few days ago, Carlisle informed me that they will be heading back for a visit. Ren wanted to have her official seventeenth birthday where she was born. Something about wanting to feel the nostalgia of it all. Here we are, Jake, Embry, Emmett, Jared, and Paul moving furniture around. Emily, Leah, Clair, Kim, Rachel, and I are fixing a buffet in the kitchen. Sam, Seth, and Orion (Leah’s imprint—who’s also a shifter) went out to get some supplies for her party. Alice and Esme are drawing up plans to renovate the house afterward. Rosalie and Jasper decided they wanted to be friendly and cordial…so she worked on her car in the garage away from everyone, and Jasper went hunting. At least they’re trying.

“OK! Bella said they should be arriving soon! And they’re bringing Ren’s friend Nadya…who’s fully human and doesn’t know shit about our world. So, let's try to be normal…Emmett.” Alice says, looking at the big guy in the middle of the room with a cheeky smile.

“What!? I am completely professional.” We all looked at him and rolled our eyes. Rosalie came back from the garage and stood next to Emmett.

“Well, look who graced us with her presence,” Paul says, sarcastically. Rachel waddles out of the kitchen and scolds him. “What!?” There was crying coming from upstairs, and Emily runs up to her desperate child. Sam, Seth, and Orion pull up with the supplies that Alice specifically wanted and allowed the pixie to do as she pleased while everyone just watched. By the time she was done, Bella, Ren, Edward, and Nadya—with Sue, Billy, and Charlie behind them—pulled up. We all hid and waited until they enter the living room.

“SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY REN!!!” to say to her, and Nadya was shocked was an understatement. They screamed and held onto each other as if they were in a horror film…I mean, aren’t they, though? As Ren introduced and hugged/welcomed everyone here, two shapeshifters caught Nadya and Ren’s eyes.

“Oh, hell no,” Edward says, looking straight at Jake. Leah and Embry's bust out laughing at what just happened to not only Jake but also Seth.

“Edward, you know we can't control it,” Jake says. Jared in the background making bets with Quil and Embry on who’s going to win.

“I say Edward.” – Jared

“No shit, he’s a dad. Of course, he is.” – Quil

“My bets on Jake. He’ll attempt to reason with him.” – Embry

“Naw, Jake tried to take Bella. This might be anger he never knew he had.” Emmett joined in, betting $20. They had a pool of $60 at this point. Then I hear,

“Join…no fight…”

“I'm going to say no fight because Ren has power over both of them.” I join in, placing a $20 while smiling. Embry and Jared look at me, and before they can say anything, “NO TAKE BACKS!” Needless to say, I won the money, and the party continued. Edward chaperoned Jake and Ren the whole night. One wrong thought from Jake and his life was done. Treaty or no treaty. Seth, on the other hand, was flirting and having a ball with Nadya. I wonder how that’s going to end up.

After the party ended and everything was cleaned up, Nadya and Ren went to bed while Alice and Esme took over in renovating parts of the house that Nadya hasn’t seen, so she isn’t suspicious. Embry and I headed back to our house just on the outskirts of Forks and La Push. I didn’t get any special treatment just because I was Embry’s mate. But if I’m honest, I’m glad I wasn’t on the Reservation. At the time, my family was still there. The only time I was allowed was to visit my grandparent's grave.

Nana died of another heart attack, and Papa died soon afterward from the loss of Nana. That year I had gone missing. Aunt Lydia and dad had a falling out. Mom and dad split after two years, multiple counseling sessions, and marriage and therapy appointments. Nothing seemed to work between the two of them. I felt terrible. It felt as if that was my fault. Embry and Jared made sure that it wasn’t. It was hard to believe them, but eventually, I knew I had to move forward one way or another.

I tried to send anonymous letters to them; it helped some, but not enough. Although, a few years ago, dad and aunt Lydia finally rekindled their relationship, and Aunt Lydia reached out to mom. It was painful for all three of them, but they finally came to a neutral ground and grieved like they should’ve all those years ago. Aunt Lydia stayed in the area and got married to her second husband. Mom moved back to Texas and eventually started dating but not for a long while. And Dad moved to Seattle, where he met an old high school sweetheart of his.

I now lay in bed with my husband on Isle Esme, a gift from Carlisle and Esme for our 20th wedding anniversary. Do you know how hard it is to not explain to the natives on the island that all the food I got wasn’t for me, but for my husband? Do you also know how irritating, yet flattering, it was to see women attempt to flirt with Embry? He was awkward and continuously looked for my help. Other times, he would pass by them and blankly ignore them.

“You know, babe. Emmett gave us this gift that I think we should try out. Then go into town for a while.” I perk up at that and look at my husband.

“Oh yeah? What is it?” I said with excitement.

“A butterfly…” he shows and explains to me what it does. We test run it, and boy, does it make you want to grab the edge of a table and break it. Ironically, that’s precisely what I did. The bastard had it on high too, and I nearly lost my shit. Needless to say, we didn’t go into town until the next morning, and he still made me keep it on.

Later that night, while Embry was asleep, I glanced at him and just felt a rush of happiness submerge deep from within. This, this right here is the life I’ve been searching for. This is the life that I will be forever grateful for.

Part 1: Hello My Dear Friend

Part 2: Goodbye My Dear Friend

Part 3: Welcome My Dear Friend

Part 4: Why My Dear Friend

Part 5: End My Dear Friend

Request Open! (Go to the description bar on my page to put one in)

[samyazaz]

Oooh, how about 30 but also either mythology or soulmates?

(A Love Is Touching Souls au)

She goes into the portal after Cordelia, and she comes out with no memory of what happened in there but with her sister terrified in her arms and with a series of black marks across her wrist.

They both smell strongly of smoke and of brimstone, and so she thinks it's soot or char, and then doesn't think anymore of it as she brings Cordelia home. But later, when their mother is fussing over putting Cordelia to bed and she needs something to distract herself from how Cordelia didn't look quite right or sound quite right or act quite right, she grabs a cloth and a piece of soap and a bowl of water and scrubs and scrubs at her wrist. But the marks don't change at all.

*

Later, when her life feels like it's crumbling to ash around her and her mother's shop still carries the acrid smell of smoke and the two people she loves best in the world are watching her warily, worriedly, she storms out of the house and comes back with a leather cuff, purchased from a girl at a shop who had looked at her with sympathy while she'd considered the options but hadn't asked questions, except whether she could measure her wrist to help her find the right size.

She chose yellow, to sit bright and stark against her skin, a flag of defiance. That portal has brought her and her family nothing but pain and fear and horror, and she wants no part of any soulmate that it might bring to her as well. She's better off without one, she tells herself, tells her mother when she sees the new cuff cinched too-tight and asks her about it, her voice soft and her eyes sad.

She doesn't want any more gifts the portal might care to give her. The ones it's bestowed upon her have been horrible enough. And if by some miracle her soulmate isn't horrible, even though it was that wretched place that somehow destined her for them-- if they aren't horrible, then they don't deserve the burden of her in their life.

She's privately, fiercely glad that the name is written in a script she doesn't read, so she'll never know when she meets them, and they can just continue on their way and find a life to live that isn't one where they have to fear that their soulmate might set them on fire.

*

She leaves. She changes her name. She hides from the world, and then is called back to it. She makes friends, and they save the world, and somehow along the way she learns to control her magic, just a little bit.

Phi's easy to care for, with her ready smile and her kindness, with the occasional hint of a shadow behind her warmth that makes Quil feel as though she'd understand, if Quil could ever bring herself to explain. That makes Quil feel as though she does, even with no explanation at all.

It's easy to let herself care, with Phi's bracelet around her wrist and her steady, wry reminder to them all that she's married. And with her magic just a little settled within her, it's almost easy to let herself say yes, when Phi asks them all, after everything is done, if they'd like to come back to Fairpoint Hold with her for a while.

*

Fairpoint Hold is lovely, and Phi's family is lovelier still. The raucous camaraderie of her siblings makes Quil smile, gifts her with the miracle of remembering what it was like growing up with Cordelia without that memory hurting.  And Terry is as lovely and kind as Quil could have wished for Phi, adores her with abandon, and is obviously loved back just as fiercely. Quil watches them together sometimes and wants to weep with how glad she is that her friend has such love and such warmth in her life, when she knows a little better now how it hadn't always been there.

*

Quil's out tending to the garden, because she likes to, because sometimes a bee or two come humming by and it feels a little bit like she's back at her cottage, but better, when Phi comes walking up through it on her way to the hold, looking as though she's been pushed into the river. Quil smiles at her and straightens from the flower she's been trimming, and calls to her, "You look near to freezing. Should I cast Prestidigitation?"

Phi's face brightens with her smile, and she changes her course to bring her over to Quil. "You don't have to," she says. "I'll be inside by the fire soon enough."

It's not a no, so Quil just says, "You'll drip all over the floors," and then casts the spell.

Phi's smile grows even warmer as the water evaporates off of her. "Thank you. That was kind of you," she says, and rubs a hand around her wrist as though making sure it's dry before she pulls her wedding bracelet out of her pocket to fasten back in its place.

It's only because of the movement that Quil's attention is drawn to it, despite herself. She hates when people stare at her cuff, hates worse when they ask about it, and she never would. She doesn't mean to look, it's just the quick flash of movement that draws her gaze instinctively, and she's already wresting it away again when she realizes what she saw, and her breath stops in her throat.

She'd never noticed how Phi’s bracelet was wide enough and fit close enough to act as a cuff, had never considered that she and Terry would be anything but each other's soulmates, because anyone with eyes could see that they're perfect for each other. But there’s a black scrawl across the inside of Phi’s wrist That isn't Terry’s name, that isn't his hand. It can't be, because it's hers. It was hers.

“Quil? What's wrong?” Phi’s watching her curiously, uncertainly. Quil can't even move, much less make herself speak, she just stares at Phi, stricken, until Phi glances down at the half-covered name on her wrist, and then back up, and the uncertainty is deeper, is almost nervousness. "Quil..." Her voice is shaking, just a little. No one who hadn't spent a year working and sleeping and fighting at her side would have noticed it.

She hasn't covered the mark back up.

"Is that your hand?"

Quil wrenches herself back. Phi takes an aborted half-step towards her, but freezes when Quil staggers away, shaking her head desperately. "I'm sorry," she says, and her voice is shaking like a leaf in a gale. Her chest hurts. Her lungs burn. "I'm sorry," she says again, wrenched out of her, and then spins on her heel and flees.

She's crying before she makes it back to her room, but once she has the door shut fast behind her, the tears rip their way out of her, horrible, wracking sobs that pressing her hands to her mouth does little to muffle. She sinks to the ground, her back pressed to the door, and curls in on herself and cries until she feels like there's nothing left inside of her, and then she cries more.

She's managed to get herself back to her feet, is sniffling and still crying but dashing the tears from her cheeks as she gathers her belongings by the armful and stuffs them into a bag, when there's a knock at the door. She doesn't answer, and shoves the next armful of belongings in.

There's another knock, and she stills then, and shuts her eyes, and breathes carefully through her mouth. It's Phi, it must be Phi. Anyone else would have assumed she was somewhere else in the hold, and gone looking for her. And it's not as though she can avoid Phi forever. Quil knows her stubbornness, knows her determination. Maybe she'll leave, if Quil doesn't answer. But that won't be the end of it.

So Quil squares her shoulders and turns and opens the door, determined to make this the end of it.

She's expecting Phi. She isn't expecting Terry there with her, but of course she should have been. Fine, she thinks. We'll just do this all in one.

Phi looks at her face as Quil opens the door, and immediately looks miserable. "I'm sorry," she says, blurted out like she's been trying to hold it back, and Quil would laugh if she didn't fear she might not ever be able to stop again. "It is yours, isn't it? If I'd known... We'd have had this conversation a while ago, and done it better. May we come in?"

"It's your home," Quil says, flat, and turns away from them to go back to her haphazard packing.

Phi's quiet for a long moment. Quil can feel the weight of her gaze on her back, but she doesn't turn, doesn't do anything but keep shoving things into her bag. Phi will say what's on her mind, when she's ready to.

"You know we wouldn't ever force you, don't you?" Phi says at length, her voice soft and a little wounded. "We wouldn't ever want something from you that you didn't want to give."

Quil huffs a sharp sound, almost like laughter, though there's nothing funny about this at all. "You don't have to force me. I'm already going." She kneels to reach under the bed, searching for anything that might have gotten lost beneath it. "I'm not going to make you say it outright, don't worry."

"Please don't leave," Terry says, very quietly, and Quil looks up at him from where she's crouched on the floor, stares at him in bewilderment. How could he, of all people, ask her to stay? How could he, of all people, want her to?

"You don't understand."

He steps forward, not past Phi but even with her. "I'm trying to," he says, low and earnest and gentle. "Will you help me?"

She sits back on her haunches and looks down at the ribbon she'd unearthed from beneath the bed, twists it in between her hands until it's probably hopelessly ruined. "Everything that place ever gave me has been a curse."

She glances up, to see if Phi has shared enough in her letters for that to be enough for Terry to understand or if she'll have to explain more, and catches Phi's flinch, the hurt that flashes across her face but that she almost instantly masks. Quil hurries on, all at once desperate for them to understand, so they'll stop trying to convince her to stay. So they'll know why she can't. "I hurt everyone around me. I always have. It's the curse of those I love, to be hurt by me. It's my curse to hurt them. This isn't any different. And I won't-- I won't." Her hands ball into fists around the ribbon, crumpling it. Her voice breaks a little when she says, "You deserve every happiness."

Phi, who already knew more of this than any of them, who certainly knew more than Terry, looks more and more at sea with every word that Quil speaks. When she's finished, her mouth opens for a moment, then shuts again without making a sound, then does the same thing twice more. She glances over her shoulder at Terry as though he might hold the answer to her question, then back at Quil. "I don't understand," she says at last, entreating. "Why would you worry about-- I thought you wanted to leave because you were unhappy about this."

Quil releases her grip on the ribbon and smooths it out across her lap, folds it in half end-to-end, in half and then in half again and in half again, until it's too short and too thick to do so even one time more. "I'm not happy about this," she whispers down at her knees. "Why would I be happy about this? I never want to hurt you. And you-- You're married, and you're both wonderful, and clearly meant for each other. Whatever this is-- it's a joke, that's what it is. Anyone could see you two are soulmates. If there were any justice in this at all, it'd be his name on your wrist."

"That's not what I mean." Phi lowers herself, slowly, to kneel in front of Quil. Terry stays at her side, a hand on her shoulder, as Phi leans forward and catches Quil's hands in hers. "If I weren't married, if it weren't for Terry, would you still not want this?"

Quil shuts her eyes as tears well up in them again, but even that doesn't stop it as two fat drops spill over and roll down her cheeks. "I ruin everything I touch," she says hoarsely. "And I can't-- I can't ruin you."

"Quil." That's Terry, somehow Terry sounding like she's hurt him now, with this, in a way he didn't even about his wife bearing her signature on her wrist. "You saved the world."

Quil shakes her head miserably. "I helped," she says against her palms, the best she can manage. Even that feels like mostly a lie.

"I think," Phi says, and sounds more composed than she has since Quil opened the door, "that we had better be very clear with each other. About what we want, and what we don't." Her thumb sweeps across Quil's wrist, the one without the cuff, without the mark. "Because I thought you were upset that it was me. Not because of Terry, and not because you were afraid you'd hurt me, but because it was me. Because you didn't want me like that, and couldn't." She takes a deep, deep breath, and holds it, a moment of silence that stretches. Quil can't dare to look at her. "But I think I'm wrong. And I think you are, too."

Phi shifts up onto her knees and reaches to Quil. She cups her jaw in her hand, and Quil can't bear to pull away, so she's forced to lift her head, to look at Phi, who's smiling at her, improbably, impossibly. Who's smiling and wet-eyed and looking almost as shaky as Quil feels. "I think you think we couldn't like you back, the way you like us. And Quil, you are so wrong."

Quil's mouth trembles as another wave of tears threatens, and then falls. She's still holding Phi's hand, the one that isn't cupping her cheek, that has her wedding bracelet fastened about it, but loosely now, so it's easy to push it up her forearm, to bare the the familiar, looping lines of the signature there, spelling out, Adeline. Quil bends her head over it, and traces the path of it with a fingertip. Softly, she says, "The girl that signature belongs to... She doesn't exist. She hasn't in a long time. So you don't have to..." She shakes her head and looks up at Phi again, imploring her to understand. "It doesn’t mean anything."

And Phi just smiles back at her, sweet and gentle and sad, and says, "Doesn't it?"

"How can it?" Quil asks, and her voice breaks.

Phi turns her hand over, turns Quil's with it, and takes the hand from her cheek so that she can brush it across the ties on the inside of the cuff. "Can I see?" Phi asks her, so gently it makes Quil's heart ache.

"It doesn't say Philippa," Quil warns her. She'd have remembered, if it had. She'd have remembered, when Phi gave her her name.

"Can I see?"

Quil pulls a face, and then nods, and bites at her lip as Phi's fingers work gently at the laces, pulling them free. She wants to shut her eyes as Phi reveals it, but she squashes down that urge and makes herself watch, makes herself look at Phi as she sees that Quil was right after all, she can't even do this right, it isn't Phi's name that's written on her after all, even though it's somehow Quil's that's written on Phi's.

Phi looks at the black marks on Quil's skin for a long time, her fingers brushing gently across them. "You see?" Quil says at last, when she can bear it no longer. "It doesn't say Philippa."

"No," Phi agrees, and slowly, like dawn breaking, she smiles. She follows the strokes again with her fingertips, like she's writing the name there onto Quil's skin. "It's orcish. It says phi." She pronounces it, very subtly, different from how she says her name, an inflection that isn't natural to Common. "It means the rushes on the river. It's the name I chose for myself."

It's ridiculous that this, after everything, makes Quil want to cry again. "You're married," she whispers. "And you're perfect. How can you be glad for me to come between you?"

"What makes you think you would?" Terry asks, and moves a little ways from Phi, so he can sit cross-legged on the floor at their sides, an equal distance between them. "We don't think so."

We, he says, and Phi said it too, and she had ignored it because it was impossible. But they're sitting here in front of her offering her the impossible as though it's simple, as easy as they offered her their home, their warmth, their friendship. "We?" she echoes softly, because she has to be sure, because she couldn't bear it if they told her later that she'd been wrong about it all.

And Terry just smiles at her, helplessly, so like the way he smiles at Phi when she's done something to remind him of how much he loves her, and it makes Quil's breath catch and her chest hurt. "Oh, Quil," he says, soft and warm and fond, and he reaches to her and cups her cheek, just where Phi had. His hand fits differently there than Phi's had, but it fits all the same. "We, yes. Of course." His thumb grazes her cheekbone. "Did you think I could meet the woman my wife had written me so much about, and not be just as charmed as she is?"

Quil's breath hitches. None of that sounds like her, but it never does, when Phi talks about her. When Terry does either, she realizes, and her breath hitches again.

"I think," Terry's saying, with a sudden lilt to his voice that sounds like mirth, "there's a way to clear up much of this confusion." He glances sidelong at Phi. "If you don't mind that it's me first?"

Phi chuckles, quietly, easily, and brushes a hand across the back of his wrist. "I think perhaps it ought to be, all things considered."

And Quil would ask what that means, but Terry's focused on her again, is sliding in until his knees bump her thigh, is leaning up and in. But he hesitates and glances at her, catches her gaze and holds it as he says solemnly, "You can say no. You always can, to any of it."

He waits until she nods her understanding -- though she doesn't, really, none of this makes sense -- and then he keeps leaning towards her, and his gaze shutters, and he's so close to her and she should put distance between them but she can't make herself.

His mouth grazes hers, briefly, pulls back just long enough for her to suck in a sharp breath, and then he's kissing her again, slow and sweet and coaxing, and Quil's heart turns somersaults beneath her breast. It's warm and gentle and tender, everything they've both always been to her, and it sends heat unfurling through her, and calms her stuttering heart. She leans in against him, and he doesn't set her back. She curls her hand around his wrist, holding onto him, and kisses him in turn, and he doesn't turn away.

She breaks off and looks at Phi, whose husband just kissed her, whose husband is currently holding her hand cradled in his and leaning in towards her like he wants to do so again. And Phi looks nothing but glad, looks relieved. And she keeps her hand there on her lap, turned up so that Quil's name is there for all of them to see, and Quil reaches for her and feels daring as she draws her in, Phi moves like she's anticipating her, and leans in, and kisses her, and doesn't stop smiling the whole while.

[writtenfan]

Sketched in Blood

Severus x Reader Imagine

As Requested...although I accidentally lost the exact worded request...here it is!

Summary: You're called into a hideously pink office after causing “trouble” in a class that shouldn’t be even called a class taught by Dolores Umbridge. You're left with more than just a mark. And he is left with more than just a simple concern...

“You should have kept your mouth shut like I requested miss/mr l/n” she said lovingly “But I raised my hand! students are allowed to ask questions aren't they?!” She cocked her head and pursed her lips pursed gazing at you “sweetly”. Then she took a small breath in and let it out in a soft musical way as she centered a small cat figure on her desk.

“Of course! All students can voice their opinions…” she said charmingly.  “Buuut!” she sang as she rose gently from her table and placed a hand on your shoulder.

 “Within, reason…” she whispered

 “...and some opinions...are...better than others.” 

You let out a fake laugh. “Within reason, Whose’s reason, and what do you mean by ”better than others?”.

“Why within reason of the ministry of course!” she laughed sliding her hand off your shoulder and moving herself to the wall behind her desk to sort a few objects on her shelf. 

“ You kept on asking about using spells..” she sighed sweetly as she picked up a small cat with angel wings and tapped it into a new spot  “to defend yourself…” she picked up another and tapped it down, a bit harder this time. “After I told you so many times,” she picked up another. “There was no use.” she let it clink against the wood “for such a thing.” she swiped a finger across the shelf and looked at flicking away some dust. You stared at her with fuming eyes, who the hell did this woman think she was saying. “But that's wrong.” you spat, calmly yet aggressively. “Oh my my my….” she cooed looking at you with worrisome eyes holding her hands as if she was praying against her chin. “I guess. Living with muggles really has made you quite the aggressive oaf!” she said lovingly as she took slow steps towards you “It seems you may need the discipline, you oh so awfully missed out on as a child…” she cooed. “You need not raise your voice to your elder's young lad/lady…” she pulled out a small stack of papers from her desk daintily, and then an elegant feathered quill “ or deliberately disobey their instructions…” You were absolutely vexed clenching your hands against the side of the desk in front you. Aggressive? Oaf?! “What do my parents have to do with anything!?” you growled as she softly tapped the objects onto your tabletop. “Oh, everything dear..” she clicked her tongue  … “sadly for you..more than you know…” she sighed staring at you with her small smiley eyes. “Go on. Write me some lines…” she pointed a finger at the paper. You glared at her, “write...hmm...I will control my behavior…” she seemed to ponder a bit as she looked at you… “and since you obviously don't have the mind of a real polite wizard-” “WHAT?!” “..and be quiet when told...” she whispered grinning brightly. You rolled the quil against your fingers wanting to snap it in your hand.  You attacked the paper with the quill and wrote her stupid phrase down against the sheet. Your handwriting was messy and small. “How many times..” you muttered as you continued to write without concern..” she slid to her desk and sat down placing her elbows on the table and her hands under her chin. “Oh..As long as it takes for it to...sink in dear.” she gently spoke.

It only took a few minutes as a burning, tearing, sensation rose from your non-dominant hand. You hissed and threw the quill down on the table, it rolled onto the floor. “I will control my behavior and be quiet when told.” Every letter stung and tore and bled, You grasped your wrist and yelled out in pain. All the while Ms. Umbridge smiled softly at you, eyes pinned at your face. “Keep writing dear.” she cooed as she took out her wand and placed the quill magically back on your desk. The lines on your hand started to tear faster and faster until it caught up to what was on your paper. You breathed heavily out your mouth sweat dripped onto the paper, blotching up the words which made your hand sting even more as you saw the blood on your hand blend a bit.

“Keep the paper dry dear...my and I thought you had manners…you shouldn’t spit on your paper like a troll” she tisked turning her chair away from you, picking up a book of her shelf  “Go on...write.”

You had left the office, your whole forearm was covered in now drying blood lines..you held your robe against your arm and then that arm against your chest, in stinging agony.

You were headed over to the nurse's office, despite Dolores instructions to “keep her punishment practices under hat or else. You cursed at her name and stormed towards the infirmary. But...the pain. Ugh. It hurt so much….You looked up from your arm and saw the light coming from a cracked door coming from a familiar office. You would just ask for something to help cuts and scrapes. Nothing more. You didn’t want her, to hurt you any more than she did already. You knocked softly. “Ugh...if you must...Come in.” you heard, from inside project. You stepped inside. The room was dimly lit and smelled of wet stone. Yet there was no one inside, “Professor?” you called softly as walked into the middle of the room. Automatically a head popped out of the closet to your right. You jumped, “Miss./Mr. L/n..”... he wasn’t wearing the robe over his suit and kept on patting at his top as silver powder puffed off. He walked towards you, in huge swift steps, when he stopped he flipped his hair back and adjusted it with his hand. “What brings you here so late?” You gave him the best normal smile you could muster, in return he gave you a rare soft grin back. “Do you have anything for cuts and scrapes...I was headed to the infirmary but...Its, really hurting a gal/guy and I could use something for it..”  You weren't holding on to your arm anymore to not seem obvious. But he eyed up and down before letting out a low “hmph” in silent agreement. He turned with grace and moved back into the closet. You followed his steps and peered inside. It was filled to the brim with vials and glasses and tubes. You looked up, it never seemed to stop surprisingly. A long wooden ladder was the only thing that allowed you to go any higher, and he supported himself on it as he squatted down to gather a rather slim vial filled with blue liquid. He popped up and started heading towards the door, making you move out of his way. “Show me the wound. I need to make sure this is the right kind of mixture for your specific type,” he muttered holding the tube with his middle finger and thumb in front of him. You hesitated, he raised his eyebrow. “Come on. I don't have all day..”

“Uh...I’d rather not...I'd rather…” he rolled his eyes in response. “Fine then. I can't help you…” you nodded and before you turned away to leave. You absentmindedly reached for your arm as a pain shot through your nerves. He saw that motion and darted his hand for the cuff of your robe and yanked it back. “What in the world…” he muttered. The open damp air of his office made it sting harder. “AGgh” you shouted as he slammed the vial down on the table and placed his open palm under your arm as he pulled back your sleeve more and inspected the red words with disgust. “Who. Did. This?” he spoke calmly, although each word felt like a throat punch.

You began to laugh nervously, choking back some unwanted sobs. “Ms. Umbridge...b-but you can't tell anyone” your voice quivered. He let go of your sleeve and pushed against your back towards a nearby table. “Sit. Now,” he growled as he turned back around and swooped up the vial. He then sped over to a cabinet behind his desk and pulled out a long spool of a wool bandage. He rushed back to you poured some of the liquid on and watched it foam like soap. He held out the vial. “Hold,” he instructed. You grabbed the vial as he took both his hands and nimbly began wrapping the bandage around your arm. He was so careful it hardly stung as he mover your arm up and down so that he could get it around fully. He then took out his wand and muttered a word and you watched the bandage snap from its source and meld with its other end, snug and tight. A tear fell from your eye and onto your house pin. He looked down at your face with concern which then turned enraged. “That little....” he hissed looking down at your arm with a hand over his mouth as he thought on what he should do.

“Go back to your dorm and rest.” he pointed to the door. “Don't touch the bandage”.

You looked up at him and gave him a forced smile. “Thanks..”you softly choked as you moved towards the door, giving him one last pleading look “ and please...don't- don't get me into even more trouble with her now? Promise?” he nodded and you left. Feeling nervous.

SLAM

The china cats all jumped in their plates and hissed in fear.

“Oh Severus...please, don't startle them like that!” she hurried over to her walls and shushed and petted the china plates, fixing a few as Severus glared at her with fuming rage. “How dare you,” he growled. He took a step towards her. She snapped her head towards him keeping the look of absolute innocence on her face. “Do what? Severus...what is on your…” she sized him up quite noticeably “your...pretty little mind” he bared his teeth in a sneer. “You can't just go along causing students to harm themselves with your corrupt discipline practices.” She turned back towards the wall and gave a kitty plate one last pat before swooping in front of Severus, hands politely behind her back. “Oh and who says I have?” she asked curiously as she leaned forward and brushed some stray blue liquid from his chest. He lurched back and pointed at her. “Don't touch me,” he growled. He then swept his eyes around the room and saw a quill dripping red ink onto a bloodied cloth. She moved infront of his view “You really shouldn’t be listening to these students that hard Severus” she sang. Staring up at him without blinking. A cold chill ran up his spine, but that only fueled his rage. He had to think, he couldn’t just bluntly tell her off when she had the whole ministry at her fingertips, she would reword what he would say...probably even get them involved… “Just know that I will be watching you. To make sure you're really following the ministries, instructions. “ he pressed his thumb firmly against the back of his hand trying to control the words and actions he really wanted to commit. “I can't have my students with carved words into there flesh...it would be very unwise to continue this...Umbridge…for your sake. He took a step towards her, she didn’t even move. “Who knows what such a claim of disciplinary action could do to your reputation...especially if those assume you did so under prejudices against a specific sort of wizarding blood…” he cooed viciously. Her eyes furrowed a bit, and her nose scrunched in anger. But only for a second. She let out a huge sigh and fluttered her way back to her desk, slowly pushing the quill into an open drawer before shutting it softly..”why I don't know what your talking about Sevvy.., you don't have to worry...oh those awful students and their lies...oh woe is me..” she whimpered fakely. Smiling up at him. He couldn’t stand her anymore. He let out a low grunt before turning around and leaving the way he came. This time, one of those little kitties came tumbling down.

He kept on asking you how it was ever since that night. He checked your arm rather frequently and against your will, dabbing this and that on it. Trying to prevent major scarring...in the end, most of the words had healed fully, yet some words were left imprinted on your arm here and there and that made him curse at the crazy witch. You made a joke softly about how now you might look cool now at least. Although he didn’t laugh.

“If she ever bothers you again. Tell me. I don't care what she may threaten to do to me anymore. She can't hurt you under my watch. Understand?”

“Yes. of course...thank you...Severus.” You whispered as he hesitantly and gently rubbed his thumb across your bandage, before leaving the room.

[goffilolo]

Demise of Midoriya Izuku Part 8

God this was a long chapter. I hope you will enjoy it. you can read the full fanfic on ao3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/776826

I’m currently on a christmas break, however i have a very long essay to write so im not sure if ill be able to write/draw any more demise!au stuff.

Izuku was tired.

It was nothing new per se, as for the last month the teenager has become very well acquainted with the feeling of exhaustion as a side effect of his medication. “It’s normal” said Shin during their last appointment “Your brain is still going through an adjustment period, and insomnia is a rather common side effect of a lot of antidepressants”. So yeah, it was all good.

Except it wasn’t.

Given that no one was willing to rid the boy of his sleepless turmoil, Izuku decided to take the matters into his own hands. Because fuck Shin. In the hindsight, all of this was a very bad idea.

It all started during one of his usual conversations with Mrs. Todoroki, only this time they were joined by her daughter Fuyumi. The first observation Izuku made upon her entrance, was that this young woman was almost a splitting image of Mrs. Todoroki, save for the hot red streaks in her hair, undoubtedly inherited from her asshole father. After talking to her for a bit, Izuku was quite pleased to learn that she has not in fact inherited her father’s god tier assholism. Izuku has never met the man, he doesn’t need to, at least not yet.

After brief introductions they have resumed to their previous conversation.

“So how did meeting with piece of shit go?” asked Mrs. Todoroki, her question quickly followed by Fuyumi’s scandalised expression at hearing her mother use such foul language.

“Meh, it was your typical melodrama bullshit. Some shouting and insults were thrown around, well mostly by me, and crying” replied Izuku in a rather nonchalant fashion, completely disregarding Fuyumi’s shock and confusion.

The word got round quickly in this ward, meaning that most of the patients and staff were in on Izuku’s personal drama and so they all came to a silent agreement to refer to Bakugou as ‘piece of shit’ and never call him by his actual name. And so over time Bakugou became the psychiatric ward’s very own Voldemort. But Fuyumi doesn’t know that yet, bless her soul.

“You actually cried?”

“Oh no, not me, piece of shit did. Honestly you should’ve been there, Shin was there for emotional support and kept staring daggers at him, it was hilarious” sneered the boy upon remembering the Bakugou shitshow with some sort of twisted fondness. His enthusiasm was however quickly disrupted by a long, loud yawn coming the boy’s mouth.

“Didn’t get a good night’s sleep?” asked Fuyumi.

“More like a good month’s sleep” snapped Izuku, rubbing his temples as much as the bandage around his head allowed him to. “And that bitch Shin won’t prescribe me anything cause it would clash with my antidepressants” scoffed the boy.

“You know that Dr. Iyashi cares about your wellbeing and wouldn’t want to give you anything with nasty side-effects” said Mrs. Todoroki as she stroked Izuku’s shoulders in a gentle, matherly manner.

“Wait a minute” chimed in Fuyumi “Prescription won’t do, but what about over the counter stuff? There must be some sleep relief that you could take”.

“Oh, really?” said Izuku, with a hint of amusement and sarcasm “What are gonna do? Smuggle some Quil into the hospital for me?”

The determined  smile on Fuyumi’s face told Izuku that indeed, she would. ‘Well then’ thought Izuku ‘This is going to be fun’.

The next day Izuku has found two bottles being dropped onto his lap, while the boy was busy filling up his notebook with sketches of Endeavour being eaten alive by crocodiles. If you looked closely enough you’d also notice that some of them contained an already half eaten Bakugou.

He raised his brow at the bottles, then looked up to see Fuyumi looking very smug.

“I got the Quil” she said, very proud of herself.

“I can see that” replied Izuku, looking back and forth between the two bottles “Why two?” he asked, confusion and curiosity seeping into his voice.

“I forgot whether you needed DayQuil or NyQuil so I got you both!”

Looking at very pleased Fuyumi, Izuku didn’t have it in him to grace the statement with a proper reply that wouldn’t point out the stupidity and irresponsibility of casually getting two substances that are meant to do the exact opposite, which then lead to a train thought of ‘what if you mix them?’.

“Thank you Fuyumi-neesan!”

And thus Izuku was left alone in his hospital room, the notebook long forgotten, staring at the content of the two bottles, as the nerdy part of his brain deciding to wake up and cause drama. ‘If you mix DayQuil and NyQuil, you end up with what, ForeverQuil? Or given that the substances are meant to do the opposite would they cancel each other out and have no effect when consumed simultaneously? No, that doesn’t seem right, it’s more likely that they would disturb a sleeping pattern, but given that mine is already fucked, how would I be able to tell...’

“SHIT, I’m mumbling again!”

So many questions that demand to be answered, a hypothesis that needs a confirmation and a curiosity waiting around the corner, ready to kill the metaphorical cat.

“Ugh, fuck it” said Izuku as he gulped down both substances in one go.

That’s when everything went to shit.

At first he didn’t feel any different. He spent a good portion of time looking out of the window, admiring the weather - it’s almost May so the days were getting brighter, warmer - waiting for something, anything to happen.

Things got a bit blurry after a while. Izuku could feel his BRAIN getting blurry, which he didn’t even know was possible. But apparently losing contact with reality does things to you.

As Izuku slowly regained clarity, the first thing he noticed was the sluggish feeling and the pounding in his head, reminding him of the first time he woke up in this god forsaken loony bin.

The second thing he noticed was the darkness. At first, he thought that one of the nurses has closed the curtains while he was out of it, but no, the curtains were open, and upon closer inspection Izuku came to realisation that it was in fact, night time. Which was strange...to say the least, since it was still sunny just a few seconds ago. ‘Is this some sort of a quirk? Probably not.’ he thought, which meant there was only one option left.

“FUCKIN HELL I TRAVELLED THROUGH TIME!”

His shout was followed by a tired groan, which definitely did not belong to him.

“Dr. Iyashi, he’s at it again!” shouted Mrs. Todoroki.

Wait a minute, Mrs. Todoroki? When did she get here?

Izuku whipped his head to the side, where the woman was sitting in a chair by his bedside, with Shin standing in the doorway, looking down at a clipboard.

“What the-shit did you get in here?” asked Izuku, his brain still sluggish and disoriented about the whole situation.

Shin chooses that moment to walk into the room “Do you remember what happened?” he asked.

“No? I was sitting here and it was day and suddenly it’s night, so obviously it was Quil induced time travel” said Izuku, as his lagging brain allowed for all the ridiculous bullshit to spill out of his mouth.

Shin does not look impressed.

“You absolute, fucking idiot!” shouted the doctor “Why in the world would you mix DayQuil and NyQuil together? Are you completely insane? What did you think would happen?!”

“First of all, if I was sane I wouldn’t even be here. Second of all, who told you about my Quil?” asked the boy, his eyes suddenly focused, full of suspicion.

At that moment Fuyumi poked her head through the entrance and waved at Izuku as she made her way through the room and stood by her mother’s side.

“Sorry, I had to tell him since it’s all my fault you went delirious in the first place” she said, her face portraying nothing but guilt.

“It was very irresponsible of you!” said the doctor, his gaze switching between Izuku and Fuyumi “Not only did you take medication against a doctor’s recommendation, you even roped others into smuggling unauthorised substance into the hospital…”

And Shin went into the ‘ranting dad’ mode. It was a perfect time to zone out.

While the doctor was busy lecturing everyone about the dangers of overdosing and mixing medications, Izuku picked up the discarded notebook in hopes of finishing that sketch of Endeavour being devoured by crocodiles. His drawing skills were improving, that’s for sure. Maybe once he’s finished he’d show it to Mrs. Todoroki.

‘I think she would like that’ thought Izuku.

Except when he opened his notebook on the most recent page, instead of Endeavour massacre, Izuku was met with lines upon lines of text, written in what can only be described as very rushed and frenzied handwriting, which undeniably belonged to Izuku. The pages were also adorned with big bold letters at the top stating ‘ENDEAVOUR THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL’.

‘When did I write that?!’ Izuku was rather astonished as he started to skim through his writing and came to a conclusion that what he was reading was in fact a conspiracy theory. A very detailed one at that.

“Izuku, are you listening?” asked the doctor.

“No” he replied absentmindedly.

But the writing in his notebook and the overall situation left Izuku very confused. The moonlight illuminated parts of the room, a reminder of a mysterious time slip, which apparently was not quil induced time travel. Izuku needed the answers, and he needed them NOW.

“Can anyone tell me what happened?”

His question was met with a long, awkward silence, as the other individuals in the room looked at one another, not knowing what to say.

“Alright…” Mrs. Todoroki broke the silence “...where do we start?”

………………………………………………………………………………

Iyashi Shin was finally having his well deserved lunch break. After starting his shift at 6 am, he felt exhausted and he was barely halfway through. And so Shin planned to have a short nap during his break to recharge. ‘What am I, an old man?’ he thought to himself ‘Probably, at least I’m on a good way to becoming one. Not getting any younger either, I’m turning forty next year.’

‘Ugh, this calls for a mid-life crisis nap’ he thought while lying on the couch in his office, being slowly lulled to sleep by the ticking of the clock.

Suddenly Shin was awakened by an obnoxiously loud laugh coming from the corridor. He was annoyed at having his nap interrupted, but the annoyance was outweighed by sheer curiosity, as one does not get a lot of laughing in this part of the hospital.

The doctor soon  got up and opened the door he was once again met with the obnoxious laugh, only this time louder as it came from a man who was currently walking out of Izuku’s room.

“Haha...it was nice talking to you Midoriya. I’m glad you’re in a good mood” called out the man “I’ll be back tomorrow to check your homework!”

‘Homework? Ah, it must be Izuku’s teacher’ thought Shin with a bit of suspicion as he remembered his patient talking about his homeroom teacher in a … less than friendly manner.

‘So why would the laugh? I thought Izuku hated the guy.’

As the teacher walked away from Izuku’s room he bumped into Shin, who was standing in the middle of the corridor, lost in thought.

“Ah, Dr. Iyashi didn’t see you there!” exclaimed the teacher. He sure was in a good mood, a stark contrast to his usual visits.

“Good afternoon, how was your visit?” asked Shin, trying to squeeze out some details out of the man.

The teacher laughed again trying to get a hold of himself “Oh it was great, I haven’t laughed so much in ages. Whatever meds you put him on, they’re doing god’s work!”

“Really? What did Izuku say?”

“You know Bakugou-kun, right?”

“Of course, the one responsible for the shitstorm that is Izuku’s depression” stated the doctor as a matter of fact.

The teacher stilled his movement, unprepared for the blatant statement. Trying to dissolved the tension, he continued “Yeah, him. Anyways, Midoriya was asking about him and he seemed stuck on on his name so he said…” he stopped for a bit, trying to mimic his student’s voice and speaking manner “ ‘you know the angry, shouty one, what was his name...Fuckugou?’ and I just lost it right there! Buahaha!” sneered the teacher, waiting for Shin to have a similar reaction.

And boy was he not disappointed.

“Fuckugou!” exclaimed Shin “That’s a good one, gotta tell it to the nurses, it will spread like wildfire!”

………………………………………………………………………………

“Fuckugou?” asked Izuku.

“Fuckugou” confirmed Shin.

“That...is funny as hell, but it doesn’t really sound like me.”

“I know, which is why I was concerned. Mind you I still needed my nap, so I asked Mrs. Todoroki to keep an eye on you in the meanwhile” explained the doctor as both him and Izuku turned their heads in the direction of the white haired woman.

………………………………………………………………………………

Mrs. Todoroki was having a good day. And by good she meant boring. In all honesty there’s only so much a person can do in this place before being driven further into insanity. She was currently sitting in the common room in the company of her daughter who has dropped in earlier to give Izuku the sleeping medication they talked about yesterday.

Which is why she was more than a little surprised when Dr. Iyashi approached her, asking to keep an eye on Izuku, who right now should be sleeping like a baby from the medication.

Nevertheless she agreed, as the doctor seemed deeply concerned about the boy who has managed to settle himself nice and cosy in a particular place in her heart; reserved exclusively for her children. ‘Well then’ thought the woman as she came to a realisation ‘Looks like I now have five children.’

Just as Mrs. Todoroki considered brushing off Dr. Iyashi’s concerns, her train of thought was disrupted by a maniacal laugh that belonged to no other than Izuku himself.

The teenager in question wheeled himself into the common room at a speed that should not be achievable for a wheelchair, his hair wilder than usual, eyes wide open, pupils dilated. The boy’s face was devoid of any sanity.

“HOLY SHIT MRS. TODOROKI!” he screamed.

“Are you high?” she asked, full of disbelief at the state the boy was in.

“I got the answers” announced Izuku, completely disregarding the woman’s question.

“What answers?”

“All the answers! To everything! I CAN FEEL THE UNIVERSE EXPANDING IN MY BONES!” shouted Izuku, further disturbing and scaring other occupants of the room.

‘Oh, is this why Dr. Iyashi was concerned? What do I do with him?’

“Right…” said Mrs. Todoroki, hoping to distract the boy for a bit “...why don’t you sit with me and Fuyumi and tell us all the answers? Just remember to keep your voice down” she added in her motherly tone.

Although Izuku seemed quite out of contact with reality, he did as he was told. After wheeling himself next to Fuyumi he whipped out one of his notebooks seemingly out of nowhere and began to speak.

“From the evolutionary standpoint my existence is a liability to human advancement. Every year the number of people born quirkless decreases as our gener are to be replaced with the superior ones of those with quirks. I’m going extinct! Both my parents have quirks, yet I was born without one, I’m an anomaly I SHOULD CEASE TO EXIST!” screeched Izuku as he seemed to be having an existential crisis that was accompanied by what he thought were diagrams from his notebook, which to everyone besides him looked like a bunch of gibberish and nonsense.

“WHY DO I EXIST?” screamed the boy in agony as once again he began to wheel himself at an impossible speed out of the room.

The Todoroki women were left stunned, looking at one another and then back at the spot previously occupied by the insane teenager.

“What did you give him?” asked the mother.

“The Quil”

“What Quil?”

“All the Quil.”

“Go and get Dr. Iyashi. I’ll stay here in case Izuku comes back” she said while rubbing her temples out of frustration.

………………………………………………………………………………

“Oh, fuck, what happened after that?” asked Izuku, no longer in disbelief, but amusement. While he had no recollection of any of this happening he felt like he was listening to a rundown of an episode from ‘it’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’.

He seemed to be the only one enjoying himself though. The adults in the room on the other hand were very much tired of his shit after having to deal with Quil induced Izuku the whole day.

“You wheeled yourself around the ward while screaming ‘I challenged God to a knife fight’. What actually happened was you stole a scalpel from a surgeon, don’t know how, and started stabbing one of the All Might sketches in your notebook” relayed Mrs. Todoroki in the most flat and no-bullshit tone she could manage.

“Haha, yeah that sounds like me!”

“Now then…” announced Shin as he stood up addressing everyone at once“...it’s been a long day for everyone. Mrs. Todoroki please go back to your room for today. Ms. Fuyumi, thank you for everything. I will see you again. Izuku, you little shit, we’re going to have a talk.”

As the two women got up and left the room, Izuku was left alone with his psychiatrist. While he knew that Shin was only concerned about his well being he didn’t look forward to being nagged by the doctor again.

Instead of talking, Shin just ripped of a piece of paper from his clipboard and handed it to Izuku without any explanation.

“Any what is this?” asked Izuku, eyeing the piece of paper suspiciously.

“ A prescription for Ramelteon” says Shin “It’s most commonly used as antidepressant, but it also works as a sleeping drug. It’s also one of very few that does not lead to a dependence. Take this to the dispensary now, they will sort everything out and you will be getting your dose from tomorrow evening onwards.”

“I know I was very reluctant to give you anything besides antidepressants…” he continues “...but I’d rather do this than have you going batshit crazy with whatever alternatives you’re willing to try. Please be careful in the future Izuku, I mean it” he finishes with a warning tone.

“Can’t promise anything” said Izuku, his voice full of mischief.

“In that case I can’t promise that I won’t smack you on the head next time you pull of shit like this” replied the doctor, as he walked out of his patient’s room, hiding his smile behind the clipboard.

[kuno-chan]

Sea of Chains - Ch. 23, Searching for Fates

Rating: T

Summary: Years after the events of Anchor, Captain Kai and Jinora Gyatso remain famous names on the seas and their children are literally born pirates. Now, their daughter, Nima, is becoming a little too pirate for comfort. When trouble with Captain Quil of the Blood Moon Pirates turns tragic, Nima is viciously dragged into what can only be be described as every parent’s worst nightmare.

Please consider reviewing on fanfiction.net

–

Kai had never considered himself particularly… supernaturally gifted.

He was well within his belief of magic, witches, gods and all the like, having had his fair share of experience with that side of things over the years. In fact, he’d had a fling with a witch once -- long before meeting Jinora -- that turned his eyebrows yellow when he had to end things. The crew never let him forget it.

He himself had never actually been the source of anything spiritual or supernatural. He was usually just an ordinary piece of the puzzle. But arriving in Huiyanshan, Kai could feel the energy here that drew him.

He could almost feel that this was where he was supposed to be. Something about the place was setting off every vibe that Nima had been here.

First thing was first though. Lee Sono.

Lee had been the last person to see Nima if only for a moment. After receiving his letter, Jinora quickly wrote to him, asking if they could meet in Huiyanshan. They were pleased to see that the APA ship was still there. If Sono followed the instructions Jinora had left him in her letter then he would be looking out for them and they would be receiving some kind of signal soon. Otherwise, Kai was going to find him, subtleness be damned.

As it turned out, he and Sono felt the same way.

Lee came up the ramp to the ship, dressed in a plain manner of a coat so not to attract too much attention with his Anti-Piracy Association uniform. It would be unbecoming of an APA captain to be seen conversing with a bonafied pirate, after all. The years had aged him slightly, as it had them all, and they could see the faintest hint of salt in his dark hair, the barely there but most certainly there lines around his mouth from age and stress and, perhaps, even laughter. The man had found his calling in life.

“Thank you for coming, Lee.” Jinora hugged him and Lee returned it, lightly clapping her on the back. “We really appreciate it.”

“Whatever I can do to help. I’ll say that I was… surprised to see Nima on my ship. I don’t understand what she needed. Nothing was taken, as far as I know and I’ve checked.” Lee reached out and shook Kai’s hand as he talked. “I tried to find her, Captain. I really did.”

“I know,” said Kai, a lump in his throat. From the way Lee was talking, he had no clue where Nima was. “We should… tell you what happened.”

Lee’s face morphed from incredulous to horrified to a twist of both as Kai and Jinora told their story of the past couple weeks. Kai didn’t blame him. He sure as hell felt like he was living a horror story.

“That’s… yes, I-- Yes,” was all Lee could manage after they finished. He wet his lips. “A witch?”

Kai ran a hand through his hair. “Yup.”

“With no legs?”

“Smoke for legs, but yes,” said Jinora.

After a long moment, Lee said, “Uh... “ He cleared his throat. “First of all, I’m so sorry. That’s…” He shook his head. “No parent should have to go through that.”

Kai would cry in front of Lee Sono when hell froze over, but there was still a strain in his voice as he said, “It was a my fault.”

“Captain--” Jinora started.

“Gyatso, it was my fault. You know it. I know it. Everybody on this ship knows it.”

She stared at him for a while, then said to Lee gently, tiredly. “It was our fault.”

Kai didn’t want to push the issue. Frankly, he didn’t think he could handle an argument with her right now and he appreciated Lee’s lack of a comment on that part. Of course, what was the man supposed to say? It wasn’t like this was something your average person dealt with on any normal day. “You’re the last friend who’s seen her, Sono.”

Lee pursed his lips, thinking. “So, she;s supposed to find this... magic sword?”

Kai nodded.

“Then, she’s supposed to give it to this witch?”

“The witch is using her,” Jinora explained further. “If Nima doesn’t get the sword, then she dies. Once she does what the witch wants then the witch lets her live. She’s free.”

But Lee was already shaking his head, thinking, contemplating. It made Kai’s heart sink. “No…” He said, frowning. “No, something’s wrong there. Something about that doesn’t sound right.”

“...what do you mean?” Kai asked slowly.

“I mean, something there doesn’t make sense. Why, of all people in the world, does the witch choose Nima? Because she stole something? I mean, yes. Of course, she’s probably playing with Nima. It was an opportunity. She’s probably like a glorified slave master who enjoys playing with her food before she eats it, but that’s the thing. She’s still playing with Nima. She hasn’t eaten her yet.”

“You think that’s not all,” Kai said rather than asked.

“I’m just saying. I don’t know what it is and I don’t know why, but-- damn, it, it’s like those crooked businessmen you might make deals with sometimes. They say one thing and it’s technically true, but they really mean another. The witch has other plans for Nima. Yes, maybe I’m wrong. But don’t trust the witch because here’s the question of the day: Why would she create her own threat like that? Who’s to say Nima gets the sword and doesn’t use it to cut down the witch? Or for her own gain? She’s most likely hoping Nima makes some progress then just dies, but… surely she’s planned far enough ahead on the off chance Nima is successful. All I’m saying is there is probably a catch. She may let Nima live, but she probably never promised that she would be free. Nima’s a loose end. She probably won’t leave it loose.”

Kai cursed the air blue. He knew it. He knew it. That was why he hadn’t made that deal. Something in his gut-- Of course, none of them had asked about that or even really noticed it. They’d just gotten through finding out Nima was even alive. They’d gotten tunnel vision about that and hadn’t bothered to wonder if Nima’s own deal with the witch included freedom.

He looked at Jinora, who seemed to have lost all color. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand and pulled her close. The way she buried her head in his shoulder, he knew she was fighting the urge to cry. Gods, he was too.

“Thank you, Lee,” Kai said. It was all he could say.

Lee nodded, pursing his lips. He looked at them for a long moment. “I’ll put all my ships on lookout.”

“Lee, you can’t--” Jinora started to say.

“I can and I will,” said Lee. There was a steely flash in them. “They don’t need to know why. And… and I’ll keep it discreet. I’ll let the other captains know. They won’t question why if I make it clear that it’s not up for discussion.”

“If you’re sure,” Kai said carefully. If this would lead him back to his daughter then, APA or not, he would take it. “This is our family--”

“I’m not. I’m not sure, but I also don’t care. I took up this job to help people. If I can’t at least try to help one sixteen year old girl then I don’t even deserve my uniform,” Lee said with finality. “To hell with the consequences. Besides, if it’s related to Quil of the Blood Moon pirates then I’m sure there won’t be quite as big of a fuss. Legalities be damned, between the two of us we have enough resources and connections.”

Even after all these years, Kai didn’t know what to say to Sono. Sometimes, he didn’t like it. Right now, though, he was grateful beyond words. He hadn’t totally expected outright action from Sono, not to that degree. Not that it was out of character, exactly. But, in his life experience, Kai had had to learn that, sometimes, people wanted to help just to help. Maybe, even just because they cared.

He extended his hand out to Lee, firmly shaking the hand of the man who wanted to help his daughter just because it was who he was as a man. Kai had long since learned that Lee would help even when it seriously inconvenienced him.

“Thank you,” Kai told him quietly. “I mean that. I really do.”

“Don’t thank me. It’s the only viable option,” said Lee.

Kai snorted. Once a pragmatist, always a pragmatist, he supposed.

“I’ll admit though…” Lee began. Kai raised a brow at him. “I initially thought maybe she’d… run off... not to say anything bad, I just… she was with a boy, after all.”

“Oh. Him.” Kai fought to urge to let the disgust rise from his throat. He felt Jinora squeeze his hand.

“That’s someone we sent to find her. He’s good at finding people. He’s supposed to bring her back, but… I don’t know what happened.” Jinora said. “Nothing bad, I’m praying.”

Lee frowned slightly. “Perhaps she enlisted his help. I would have, in her situation. She has no friends where she’s at.”

“I just wish she’d come home.” Kai ran a hand through his hair. He’d never felt so old in his entire life. If Yung felt like this every day then good gods, Kai was going to have to make it up too him somehow. Maybe he never would.

There was a pause between them before Lee said, “Captain, would you say that your daughter is like you?”

Kai frowned. Yes. Yes and no. But, unfortunately, yes. She had that… that something. In her. Maybe it was dressed up nicer, but there was something a little wild and rebellious about Nima. Jinora and he had joked in the past that it was because she was born right around the Chushu solar term of the year: The Limit of Heat. That year, still, the summer had not died. In fact, Nima had been born on a bright, beautiful summer day right before Autumn began creeping in. He nodded.

“Well, then,” Lee said ruefully. “Why would she come home with hell like that on her heels?”

Not for the first time, Kai wished Nima thought more like her mother than like him.

-:-:-:-

“Jinora knows what she’s looking for, I’m sure, but remind us again what we’re looking for, again?”

Otaku looked up from his journal. It’d been empty a couple days ago. Now, it was half full with notes and randomly jotted down phrases. Yung had to admit he worried a little bit about him these days. The poor guy had bags under his eyes and seemed to have his nose glued to that journal or any book that might hold information on what Nima was tasked to search for for that matter.

Earlier, Lefty mentioned to him, “It’s his way of coping,” he said ruefully. “You know he’ll fall apart if he doesn’t keep his brain busy.”

Yung frowned. He just hoped they found something useful here. Then, maybe the man could get at least one night’s rest. Not that he’d been getting as much as he used to himself. And getting Kai to take anything to get some real sleep was about as effective as trying to make a cat play in the rain. The kid just wasn’t having it. Of course, he couldn’t blame Kai or Jinora anymore than he could blame himself.

At night, when he closed his eyes, he saw Nima’s body laying on the beach. He remembered how bloody she’d been, her skirts soaked to the point they’d gone from a dark gold color to that terrible drenching red. He’d lived long enough to know that look in her eyes… Quil had killed her as soon as he got his hands on her. Her eyes told him enough. She hadn’t seen it coming when he impaled her.

One night, one nightmare had ripped him from his bed. It didn’t entirely feel like a nightmare. As if some old enemy had cursed him and sent it to him. He saw her struggling after being stabbed by Quil, clutching her belly and throwing up blood all over the deck. The rage and violent sickness roiling in his belly had sent him climbing out of his bed and finding a bucket in a nearby supply closet. Thankfully, only Lefty had heard him get up. He didn’t dare tell anyone else. Especially not Kai.

His granddaughter hadn’t deserved to be slaughtered like cattle. Especially not alone with that miserable bastard maggot of a man. He had deigned from going through his trunk that sat at the foot of his bed. Nima had given him a set of books earlier this year that he’d been meaning to pick back up again. They were still in there and now he wasn’t sure he could manage it.

Still, if he could get his hands around Quil’s neck -- or a knife, even better -- gods, what he wouldn’t do…

The only thing that would stop him would be the notion that Kai -- and even Jinora -- deserved the right to end Quil’s life.

“Well,” Otaku began, pulling Yung out of his thoughts. “We need to know what exactly is this thing. Jinora remembers telling the kids stories about the gods and the sword was mentioned, but it wasn’t anything she actually really knew much about. There’s not a lot of information on it.”

“I’ve never heard of it either,” said Lefty, scratching his chin. That was the thing. Lefty was old and had sailed all over the world. Just like Yung. Of course, they hadn’t exactly spent their youth in libraries, but between the two of them, not an intelligible word could be said about this supposed treasure.

“That’s why the first place we’re checking is the library. Besides, that portal showed us that she was in a place with books and old cushioned seating. I’m willing to bet that it’s the storage area of some library. I’ve been in a fair few of them myself…”

“Of course you have, Taku.” Lefty clapped him on the shoulder as they came upon an eggshell colored wooden building with a bronze plate on the front that read Huiyanshan Library. “Here we are.”

They let Otaku in ahead of them. Since this really was his territory they would let him lead them in the direction they needed to go in. In front, a man with ill-fitting glasses and dark hair sat, flipping through a large tome that looked like some kind of record keeping tool. Knowing Otaku, he probably wouldn’t have needed the librarian, but the man looked up, squinted at them with distaste and muttered something to himself that probably had to do with pirates.

That wasn’t at all unusual and, normally, they might have left the man to his business, but Lefty nudged Yung, “We should ask him.”

Yung frowned. “Ask him what?”

“Questions,” Lefty shrugged. “Maybe he’s seen Nima in here. You never know, maybe she went into the library. Maybe he might know of another library.”

Yung likewise shrugged as Otaku wandered off into the rows of books, clearly lost in his own little world. They’d find him late. “Worth a shot, I guess.”

They walked up to the desk, Yung not at all surprised that the man looked up and didn’t seem pleased they were in front of him. He was used to these looks by now. The man raised his brows as if ready to ask why were a couple of pirates talking to him. “Yes?”

Lefty, as big as he was, hardly ever let that bother him. “Scuse’ me. I don’t know if you can help, but we’re looking for someone,” he said. “A girl.”

The librarian looked up too sharply for Yung to believe him when he said, “I haven’t seen her.”

“You haven’t even heard what she looks like.”

“Haven’t seen a girl here in weeks.”

Yung and Lefty shared looks. Okay, well, if that wasn’t the most obvious lie Yung had seen in a good while. He cleared his throat. “Well, Lefty, we tried. I mean,” Yung said loftily, turning as if to walk away. “He doesn’t exactly seem like a lady killer.”

Lefty snorted. “He’s a lady killer alright. They prolly look at him, get scared and die.”

Yung could almost hear the librarian look up. “I do just fine with women, thank you very much,” snapped the young man. He sputtered. “Hell, j-just last week--”

The man’s face fell.

Yung came back to the desk. “Go on,” he urged. “You were saying? I mean, clearly, I was in the wrong.”

The librarian scowled up at them. “I don’t have anything more to say to either of you. Good day,” he gritted. “Enjoy the library.”

Yung opened his mouth to say something, but it was Lefty who reached down and used one hand to close the librarians’ tome right under his nose. “Listen here,” he said gruffly, leaning on the desk now with both hands. “You would literally not believe the couple weeks we’ve had. I am tired, worried sick and have been ready to impale a man for a while now. So, I would really appreciate it if you could tell me if you’ve seen this girl or not. I have had a very long day and it just started.”

Whether it was the persuasion in Lefty’s words and face or simply the size of him, Yung didn’t know, but he knew they had the librarian beat when the young man began clearing his throat and pulling on his collar. “Well, if you… insist,” he said tightly. “I might have seen someone. May I ask why you might be looking for this person?”

Lefty shrugged. “Is it really any of your business.”

The librarian glared at him. “I suppose not…” he grumbled. “What does she look like?”

“About this tall,” Yung said, holding his hand up to a height not too much shorter than himself. “Brown skin, brown hair, green eyes. Her bangs do this thing where they curl up at her mouth.”

“Oh,” the young man said almost distastefully. “Her.”

“What do you mean by her?”

The librarian shrugged. “Well, she had the audacity to use the library backroom storage as an inn,” he said, opening his tome backup carefully. “She was willing to pay for it. It was a good time.”

Yung raised his brows, the blood under his skin ready to boil. He didn’t like the way the librarian’s shoulders seemed to casually square up at that, the way he seemed to ease into his confidence. “Pay for it?”

“You know how girls like that are,” the librarian said loftily. “But yeah. I saw her a little over a week ago? Something like that.”

Lefty’s hand shot out, yanking the librarian forward by his collar. “ Are you saying that you made my niece have sex with you?” he snarled. “Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”

Nima, who was probably lost and desperate at the time if she was taking refuge in a library storage room… Yung prayed that she hadn’t done anything she hadn’t wanedt to. It took all of his effort not to split the guy from his own manhood. “My granddaughter,” Yung said coldly, his hand on the hilt of his sword now. “Has been lost after an… unfortunate accident. We’ve been looking for her. I suggest that you answer my friend’s question.”

“N-no! I--”

“So, you were lying?” Yung asked slowly, his voice low.

“I-I, no, see--”

“For the sake of you and your miserable maggot between your legs you had better hope that you were lying there. My grandaughter has been through hell and for me to think that you only added to that…”

“And don’t you dare say she wanted it,” Lefty growled. Yung nodded. Nima never would have simply given herself up. He knew that. He knew that. What was she feeling though, at the time? Was she even in her right mind? Had this scumbag really coerced her into something she didn’t want to do? As far as Yung knew, Nima was a virgin and he was fairly confident in that knowledge. The concept of sex never seemed to interest her too much. Not overly so, at least. The idea that she might have been forced into… she would have been scared out of her mind. “I think we know her far better than you do. So, start tellin’ the truth. Or one of us is going to begin carving.”

The librarian paled. “I didn’t,” he whispered. “I-I swear. Please, you have to believe me…”

“So tell the truth and perhaps we’ll leave you in one piece,” said Yung, shifting the hold of his sword forward.

When the man hesitated, Lefty shook him up a little. “Alright, alright… I found her in the library storage room over a week ago. I told her she couldn’t be in there--”

“And you said you wouldn’t call the authorities if she’d have sex with you,” said Yung. “That right?”

The librarian hesitated, but slowly nodded.

Yung’s hand tightened on his sword. “What else happened?”

“Well, I… I kind of, you know… Look, I had to get the authorities involved! She was stealing books from me! And I needed them back!”

“You wanted her to have sex with you and you were still going to turn her in?” Lefty threw the man back into his seat. “Give me a reason why I shouldn’t kill you now.”

“Lefty--”

“Yung, he deserves it.”

“Akash.” As much as Yung would have loved to do that, they still needed more information. He turned back toward the librarian. “What happened next?”

“She threw a pillow in my face and ran. Didn’t see her again after that.”

“What books did she steal?” asked Lefty, crossing his arms. “Do you know?”

The librarian began sifting through papers in his desk, finally opening up a bottom drawer and pulling out a sheet of paper. “I went through our inventory and tried to see just that. Here’s all the books my inventory says I have, but I don’t. I marked the ones I knew for certain we’re supposed to be there.”

Yung took the paper from the man, scanning over the list. Books about witches, mythology, pirates… sounded like a list of books one might buy if they were on a quest. That was for sure.

“Let’s go give this to Otaku,” said Yung, nudging Lefty.

“You go ahead,” Lefty replied. “I’m going to stay here and keep our new friend company.”

Lefty reached out, grabbing the guy’s glasses off of his face and snapped them right in half, throwing them down on the desk. The librarian squawked. “Hey! Those are my glasses!”

“Yeah, well you’re lucky it isn’t your spine,” Lefty growled. “Still might be once her father gets a whiff of this. Captain Kai? Yeah, he has a temper alright.”

The librarian looked like all the brain had drained from his body. “C-Captain Kai?” he sputtered, his voice suddenly soft, his eyes wide. “As in… Captain of the Waterbender? Pirate Lord of the A-Amaterasu Sea?”

Yung glanced up from his paper really quickly. “Yeah, my kid.”

The librarian’s voice quivered. “I-I didn’t know--”

“Doesn’t really matter if you did or not,” said Yung as he began to walk away, his eyes transfixed on the list in his hand. “To be honest.”

-:-:-:-

“Mermaids? Are you sure we’re supposed to be looking for mermaids ?”

Otaku glanced up from his book at Kai, smiling a little. “I’m positive, Captain.” His trousers were rolled up to his knees, ankle deep in water. “Trust me.”

Kai had unbuttoned his shirt a little more -- basically, all the way -- with the sky an open blue, few clouds to block the earth from the sun’s presence. The sand beneath his feet was cool, sometimes, the only comforting thing to him these days. “I’m just not exactly sure how we’re going to get mermaids to talk to us.”

“Mermaids are kind of… sensitive,” said Lefty, leaning against a tree next to Kai. He dared not take a seat on the sand with that peg leg of his. “They just know.”

“You’ve met one?”

Lefty nodded, laughing a little. “That I have, kid. I told you that story, didn’t you? I was a just a young man. She thought I was cute. Gave me a kiss. It was probably the luckiest year I had.”

“Yeah?” Kai’s lips lifted into a small, tired grin. “Why’s that?”

“Met Yung that year. Went on a grand little adventure before landing on The Waterbender together.”

Kai snorted. “Sounds about as lucky as you can get to me.”

“I introduced her to Yung too, y’know,” Lefty said. “Some years later. She still lived in the same waters from when I first met her. She gave Yung the same treatment. A mermaid’s kiss has power in it when she wants it to.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, in fact, it was the same year we met you, funny enough.”

Kai rolled his eyes. “Nice try.”

“No, I’m serious.” Lefty was scratching his chin. “Yeah… yeah, it was the same year. Literally months before we met you, actually.”

“Not sure how you could consider that luck,” said Kai, looking on at the cerulean of the sea. It would be more beautiful to him if Nima were here and safe. “Look at where we’re at.”

Lefty was silent for a moment before he said, “You know, they say that mermaids can be the deliverer of fates.”

“I thought seers told those?” asked Kai, frowning.

“They only tell them. They don’t decide them.” Lefty found a stump to sit on, sighing at the shift of weight. “Neither do mermaids, mind you. Prophecies are decided by… well, by forces beyond mortal beings. My ma always used to tell me stories. Even sirens are kind of like that. Sirens, though, tend to bring omens rather than blessings. People think that’s why humans began hunting them, but my ma always said it was the other way around. Humans began hunting sirens for their hair and their blood, so the sirens began, er, adapting their diets.”

Kai raised his brows. “I never knew that.”

“History tends to be written by the conquerors, but you know, the truth tends to live out there whether you like it or not. Anyway, I’m getting off track. What I’m trying to say is that mermaids tend to guide people onto the paths that they're meant to be on.”

“Please don’t start telling me that destiny is predetermined,” Kai grimaced. The idea wasn’t entirely welcome to him. If fate was just fate and it was decided regardless of what someone did then he wasn’t sure if he would have another peaceful day in this life. “Everything up until now has always been my choice… even when they went bad. Especially when they went bad.”

The heat was stifling now, the shade from the trees not enough to keep him cool and still.

“That’s the thing. Fate is determined by the choices you make, who you are and all that. I’ve always felt, well, prophecies are just all that put together. They’re still your choices. Some people just know what choices you’re going to make. That’s all. It’s kind of like how I know you’ll always choose a mango over a papaya. Ain’t that scary, kid. Don’t worry.”

“Then what about Nima?” Kai asked, his throat constricting. “What about her choices? Are you saying this was meant to happen to her?”

Lefty sighed. “I’m saying that life’s complicated, kid. Nima’s not helpless. She has her own choices. Fate isn’t about the lack of choices. Fate literally happens because of your choices. And your choices make who you are. She’s out there and she’s surviving, obviously. I have faith in her.”

“Did I raise her the way I should have though?” Kai asked hoarsely. “Did I tell her enough? Did I prepare her enough? You remember that prophecy she had when she was a little girl? You remember, don’t you? We told her not to do it, but she did it of course. The seer told her--”

“Don’t.” Lefty had gotten up. He bent over to clap a hand on Kai’s shoulder. “You’re her father. That’s not your job to think about that.”

“Not my job?” Kai frowned. “My job is to worry about her.”

“But she’s a human being. An individual person of her own. If you try to pick that apart then you’re just going to drive yourself crazy. But if you want my honest opinion? I think you should have told her about your past.”

Kai grit his teeth. “You think I should have told her about thehell I had to live as a child? You wanted me to tell her that? Expose her to that? Nima shouldn’t have to know what hell I had to live through. Neither should the twins.”

“Your kids aren’t just your kids. They’re people. I’m here to tell you the truth, kid. You have to remember that Nima ain’t just your kid.”

Kai sighed. It was like ten years had just been dropped onto his shoulders. “What are you trying to say to me, Lefty? You’re talking in circles, now.”

“I’m tryin’ to tell you that, yeah, our choices brought us here. But.” Lefty straightened out. “Our choices will also get us out of this.”

“What if I told you I’m no longer confident in the choices I make?”

Lefty frowned. “Kid--”

“Hey, guys! Look, I’ve got one!” Otaku called, waving them over.

Kai was on his feet in an instant, striding over to Otaku, damn the soaking of his trousers. He stopped dead when he get near. In the water, lounging with the small basket of fruit that Otaku had brought, was a tan woman with green eyes and dark hair. Her tail was a deep, shimmering brown. She peered up at the three men curiously as if asking them what they need.

Lefty sidled up next to Kai, apparently he wasn’t very concerned about his peg leg in the water anymore either. He said something to the mermaid in a language Kai had never heard him speak. The mermaid looked surprised, yet delighted. She spoke with him happily.

“What is she saying?” Kai asked Otaku quietly.

“She’s saying that she’s seen Nima,” Otaku said, shooting Kai a grin. “Well, she doesn’t know her name, but the descriptions spot on.”

“I want to ask her something,” Kai said.

The mermaid looked at him from her conversation with Lefty. “I do speak your language,” she said, her voice like silk. “It is just rare to find humans who speak ours. What do you want to know?”

“You said you’ve seen Nima,” he said. “That’s her name. She’s my daughter. The girl with green eyes and brown hair? She looks like me. She was here?”

The mermaid nodded. “She was here. She brought a basket like this. A bigger one. We did not want to help her.”

Kai gulped. “Help her with what?”

“Your daughter seeks the sword. The Charter of Stars, she sought from us. It is a perilous journey. But when we told her this she still gave us such delicious treats. Humans have a tendency to treat those unlike themselves with disdain or exoticity, unless it is for gain. Or so we have learned. But she is a kind soul. Such kindness we could not leave unrewarded. The stars are with her.”

“Do you know how we can find her? Please. She’s my daughter…” Kai said, that old weight again resting on him. “I just want to find her.”

The mermaid looked up at him, as if searching his eyes. Kai did the same, desperate for any clue that might lead him to Nima. Even close to her.

Finally, the mermaid said, “I have already told you.”

“What? But you haven’t said anything!”

The mermaid shook her head, netting up the basket. “It is not my place. But I have already told you. Seek your answers in what is before you always.”

“But--”

“Thank you,’ said Otaku, he gave her a small bow. She smiled at him. “Thank you so much. You’ve been too kind.”

Kai wanted to protest, but clenched his jaw instead. How could that be it? She didn’t tell them anything. If they could just say where Nima might have gone. His patience was far beyond dealing with crypticness. With a final look, the mermaid left with her treats, making her way back to the deeper sea.

Kai frowned. “She didn’t tell us anything, Otaku.”

“She told us plenty.” Otaku walked over to the bag he’d set on shore. “The Charter of Stars. She said the stars are with Nima. It’s obvious.”

“The stars. Okay,” Kai said slowly. “So, we need a map?”

Lefty put a hand on Kai’s shoulder. Kai closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to calm down. Get his head on straight.

“The constellations,” Kai said when it finally came to him. Of course. He and Otaku used them every day to chart their courses. Gods, he needed to calm down. “But which ones?”

“I don’t exactly know for sure. But it’s a start,” Otaku said, more to himself than anyone as he started jotting things down furiously in a journal.

“See, kid?” Lefty shook up Kai a bit with a big hand. “We have a start.”

“Just give me a little time,” Otaku said absentmindedly. “I’ll have a list of places these sword pieces might be at by tomorrow.”

Kai let his shoulders slump. “Thanks,” he said, then looked up at Lefty. “To both of you.”

“Anytime, kid.”

--

I really liked this chapter actually! It Was fun to write and fun to reread. Yung, personally, was a favorite of mine here. But this entire chapter was really fun to write actually. From Lee to Yung to Lefty. Hope you enjoyed it too!

As always, guys I love it when you leave those reviews! They really keep me writing and keep me motivated to write! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!