#they r having a moment of peace and discussing the one thing they can agree on (death)

[sco07ut]

happy friday the thirteenth valgora nation !!

september, 2023

[randoimago]

Day 25 - Stuck in the Rain

Fandom: Critical Role

Character(s): Dorian Storm

Type of Request: 31 Days of Oc-Trope-R

Note(s): Remember how when Dorian was first introduced there was a lot of people asking, "Oh is he a water genasi cause he's blue?" I had to incorporate that into this for funsies.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Came the whining exclamation from one Dorian Storm as, per his chosen namesake, it started to rain. The Crown Keepers are in between cities, and it's been cloudy for a while. He had hoped you'd all make it to the next place before it did start raining, but of course as soon as he had hope it would be dashed.

"Aren't you a genasi? I thought you liked rain?" Dorian can't help a scoff from Dariax's question. It is an innocent one so he's not mad, but that doesn't mean he wants to hear it.

"I'm an air genasi not water."

"But you're blue?"

"And what color would I be if I was air? Translucent?!"

Before the boys could get into another discussion with jabs at each other, Fy'ra let out a sigh which immediately shut the boys up and caused some giggling among the others. Hearing the sound of your amusement made Dorian feel better about the situation, until he realized that the rain wouldn't let up anytime soon.

"Well, we should probably find somewhere to hide out for the night if it's going to keep raining like this," you say, and the others agree. "I'll go look."

"I'll go too!" Dorian was quick to pipe up, and he ignored the knowing looks he got form Fy'ra and Opal as well as the thumbs up Dariax tried to give him secretly, but you obviously saw. "It'd uh, just be safer with two people," he said as an excuse, but you easily gave him a smile and agreed to let him come.

And now the both of you are walking around, using your cloaks as badly made umbrellas while you attempt to find a place for everyone to stay for the night.

There's some talking between you two, some more of Dorian complaining about his hair or the makeup he had put on. But besides that, it was peaceful. Maybe a bit awkward on Dorian's part because he had a thousand things he wanted to say to you but didn't know what words to use.

"Think the rain will last long?" He asks and makes a bit of a face because is that really the best conversation starter he had? You don't seem to be bothered by his question though as you both keep walking.

"Hopefully not. Too bad none of us have a 'rain rain go away' spell," you comment, giving a bit of a joke to lighten the mood. He did chuckle at your words, appreciating the light commentary.

"I don't know, maybe we can convince Dariax that if he dances then the rain will vanish." You both laughed at that idea, knowing that you might be able to manage that, but also knowing you wouldn't want to deal with the pouting Dariax would give when it doesn't work.

Eventually, you both stumble upon a cave. It's a good place for everyone to lay low and rest until the rain stops. Dorian sends out a quick Sending spell while you do your best to make a fire to dry off. Dorian notices that you seem a bit cold, so he takes a deep breath and shuffles to sit a tad closer to you.

"Cold?" He asks and he knows the answer is obvious, but he's read enough cheesy romance books. He thinks he knows the right moves to do.

"A bit," you respond and give him a small smile. Dorian takes another deep breath. This is his moment to shine.

"We could cuddle? For body warmth," he suggests, and you stare at him a bit, probably processing his suggestion. And the longer you look at him, the more nervous he gets because that was such a stupid pick-up line, why would he say it? But then you shrug and move close enough to have your shoulder next to his and your thighs touching as you sit. And Dorian has no idea what to do next because he didn't think he'd get this far.

"Thanks for coming with me," you tell him, and his brain has to think a bit to realize what you're saying before he remembers how he volunteered to look for shelter with you.

"Well, I couldn't have you go alone. If you're going to split the party, might as well make it even," he says even though it really wasn't an even split up. But math doesn't matter when you have a massive crush on someone.

"I still appreciate it." You lean your head on his shoulder, and he tenses a bit before relaxing and resting his head on yours.

The rain continues to pour outside while the cave is lit by the warm fire that's in front of the two of you. It's a peaceful moment and makes his heart feel light.

[frostycatblr-fandom-files]

Poets and Painters (Late Afternoon) - Wolffe x Reader [Mature Fic]

Warnings and Information: In desperate need of just one day to take his and his men's mind off the war, Plo Koon orders that everyone make a stop on a relatively uninhabited planet in a peaceful sector of the galaxy to… have a picnic? Just what does he have in mind? A certain flint-gray Commander is finding it hard to believe that they're just on the planet for a day of R&R in the middle of a war, so he isn't letting his guard down. Perhaps someone will help Commander Wolffe find some way to help him relax before the day is over… 2nd person POV. Reader is undescribed save for minor details like personal touches to a uniform, and has a gender-neutral alias. Allusions to canon-typical violence, mention of injury and loss [and in this segment, more explicit conversation about death and what comes after], Plo just being a dad to the 104th Battalion in the background. Swearing. Discussion of more adult themes and some lewd jokes the more the fic progresses (this is not an Explicit fic but it is Mature; Minors please DNI). Takes place on a fictional planet. 

Word-count: 5,342

Late Afternoon

Everyone will look a little sun-kissed by nightfall after spending all day basking in the light of Little Archossi's nearest star. It'll be easier to notice on some members of the crew with skin different than the deeper browns commonly found among the Clones. Hopefully people found and remembered to use sun protection this morning. (Or, the medics aboard the Triumphant have a lot of bacta gel in case people come back to the cruiser looking redder than the skies over Dathomir.) 

You’ve been doing your best to prevent getting sunburned, others don’t give a single kark in the galaxy. Much like this particular Clone who’s lazing in the grass, fingers interlocked and tucked around the back of his head, one leg propped up in the air on the opposite knee as he sways and bobs his foot in time with some song stuck in his head that’s popular on the Holonet these days. Maker alive, you can only hope he won’t get sunburn, given that he's a spacer. (You're pretty sure he is, anyhow, given the uniform of a naval officer.)

 "I wish we had more days like this… Don't you, Arcadia?"

Those who spend much of their time in space and under artificial lighting are loving this. Sun lamps can only do so much for keeping their overall mental well-being buoyed. For all the technological advancements in the galaxy, there are some few things there are still no shortcuts for. 

You certainly don't disagree, but you need to finish passing out the rest of this crate you volunteered to distribute to people on this side of the clearing. This trooper lazing about in the grass is slowing you down, so you playfully roll your eyes, and fix him with your best look to show him you're not afraid to mean business if he doesn't sit up soon. "Maybe when the war's over, soldier. C'mon, take your ration so I don't lose my momentum. Commander Wolffe wouldn't be happy to hear if anyone goes hungry today." 

No, he probably won't be, the trooper agrees with a kind chuckle. He sits up and takes the ration gratefully. "First thing I'll do is have a picnic, I think. When the war is over." The troopers and crew are - technically speaking - having a picnic right now, you point out with a bemused grin, handing off another individually wrapped ration bar to his neighbor. "I mean a proper one. With food, instead of rations! Something with flavor. Not colorless and loaded with bland preservatives." 

"Beige is a color." you retort. 

"Karkin' ugly one, sure." 

You fix him with a teasing grin this time. "Are you pulling a prank on me by pretending to be Orchid? I can actually tell the men apart from one another, you know." A careful balancing act of patience and practice, to be sure, but the time spent observing everyone pays off for moments like these grateful smiles. 

"You can? Then who's that over there, slinking out of the forest just a little off to the left?" 

Yes, you definitely can, you promise the Clone trooper who's decided to be cheeky with you. And- perfect! You've got just one ration pack left in the box, and he doesn't have one in his hands, as far as you can tell. "Everything okay, Comet? Have you gotten a lunch ration yet?" 

"Oh good, I would've hated to miss chow. Thank you, Arcadia. And yeah, everything's good; just well-hydrated." 

You toss him the last ration pack from right where you are and tuck the box against your side now that it's empty. "Better that than being dehydrated. Enjoy your lunch, Comet." 

"Where's your's?" He's sweet enough to worry and ask why you don't have any food for yourself, but it's unnecessary. 

"I'll get one from another crate, don't worry, Comet." you assure him with a warm smile. You'll probably see him soon enough when he joins the small assembly on the hill under the red and yellow leafed tree with Sinker, Boost and the Commander. You imagine you'll be joined by Plo Koon as well. 

But will you still get to address Wolffe like an equal in front of his sergeants when it’s no longer just the two of you? Or should you play it safe and return to addressing him as commander and sir rather than risk looking, acting, overly familiar?

"All finished, Arcadia?" 

"Passed off the last in the box to Comet." you explain, sitting across from Commander Wolffe rather than next to him. His brothers have taken up their places beside him, leaving you no room to join. And that's fine; you already sat side by side with Wolffe for hours. 

“Then that should be everyone. Here.” Rather than ask one of his brothers, Wolffe gives you one of the rations in the box settled behind him in the shade, sheltered from the sunlight. You take it gratefully from his hand. “Thank you, sir. Hopefully these aren’t too bad.” Always a bit of a gamble, ration bars… Some are pretty soft and crumbly while others are tough and chewy. The flavor is oftentimes fairly plain at best, or rather unpleasant if you’re unlucky in your choices of supplier. But a meal’s a meal. 

As you’re chewing your first bite of the ration bar thoughtfully, trying to imagine who in their right mind would willingly scarf these down were it not for a war, the Commander politely clears his throat to get your attention. 

“You’re still welcome to call me Wolffe, Arcadia.”

The slight warmth in your face has nothing to do with the sun above you; it's the six eyes trained on you and your every little move as you further shuck the wrapper encasing the foodstuffs. "Sorry, I… didn't want to assume it was still okay now that it's not just the two of us." you explain, nodding hello to Sinker and Boost in kind. (They return the gesture just as politely.) But if you're still invited to address him without his rank, or a respectful term, then you certainly will. It had just been better to play it safe. 

"I see…" His eyes narrow here, and for a heartbeat, you think he's almost sort of glaring you down, but you realize he's squinting and looking behind you. "What is the General doing…?" 

You turn and look.

Master Plo Koon is standing at the edge of the clearing, speaking with Comet, who's pointing deep into the trees. He's making animated hand gestures, and demonstrating the size and shape of something to the Jedi. Tall, and coming to a peak. And he's not having a lot of luck with properly conveying a few other things, as evident by the long, growing pauses and the Kel Dor softly shaking his head. Finally Comet gets a better idea, and is gesturing for the General to follow him. 

"Arcadia, could I use one of the pages in your sketchbook? There's something I'm trying to figure out how to explain to the General. There's something in the forest, I think."

That gets Wolffe's attention. 

You carefully tear one of the pages out by the perforated edge, and pluck one of the graphite pencils from your bag for him to borrow. The words something in the forest sounded a little urgent to you, and like the Jedi, you want to understand what's going on now. Like Wolffe, you want to determine if this thing is a threat. 

Comet thanks you, and begins to send the pencil shwoop!-ing against the page without a moment of hesitation. He's gotten a good look, some of the shapes looked pretty organic to him, from what he could make out. Boost chuckles, trying to lighten the growing tension when Wolffe gets to his feet, and stands beside his brother, observing. 

"Yeah, they're called trees, Comet; those are pretty damn organic." 

Comet shakes his head firmly, his full lips pursed together in concentration as he quickly tries to sketch down what he saw. "No, it looked different. Like a sort of… hut built around a tree. But it was really far away, so I couldn't see it clearly." When he came back from doing his business out in the woods, he meant to inform the Commander and General what he saw; but you had stopped by with food, a momentary distraction. 

What Comet thinks he saw was some kind of structure from the inhabitants of Little Archossi. "Perhaps I should investigate the structure and the surrounding area, to determine what it is that Comet saw... Commander Wolffe, remain here with the battalion, and be prepared for anything." Plo Koon offers, beginning to walk where he's been directed. 

Wolffe bristles at the idea of General Plo volunteering to investigate the structure alone. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea, General." 

He is invited to stand down, asked to watch over his brothers and the crew once again. "Don't worry, Commander," the Kel Dor adds soothingly, laying a steady hand on the shoulder bell that bears the face of the wolf on the flint-gray armor, "I do not sense any threats or hear any warnings from the Force, for the time being."

"... very well, General." the man with the mark of a survivor agrees reluctantly. 

Survivors get scars for their efforts, Arcadia. Skin-deep, scrawled in the deepest recesses of their minds… it doesn't matter. A scar is a scar. But the victims… the dead… they are lucky if they get a crude headstone in this war. 

"I'll keep an eye on the men. Wait for your orders." Wolffe promises a little more firmly. And you, interrupting Boost and Sinker without intention, offer to help the Commander keep an eye on everyone this time. The look the three of you direct his way says, in a way impossible to mistake for anything else says you think you're doing this again, alone? 

Somehow, we'll pass the time together. 

According to the display in the upper right-hand corner of the datapad in your hand, the time is 14:30. You have another half-hour to go before it is 15:00, and have agreed with Sargeants Sinker and Boost that is when you should start to become concerned for the male Kel Dor's absence. 

Jedi Master Plo Koon left to investigate the structure out in the forests of Little Archossi at 12:30 sharp, and he has not yet returned. But he has touched the comlink at least once, to inform his commander of his findings. 

"The structure is a crude hut… One in desperate need of repair; time has not been kind to it in its occupant's absence. I sense it has been empty for a long, long time. I saw other, similar structures further still into the forest - I intend to investigate these as well. No trouble in the clearing still, I hope, Commander Wolffe?" 

"No sir. Everything is fine." Wolffe had promised him, likely grateful that the Jedi could not see the tightness of his jaw, and the disapproving shake of his head. He still didn't (and still doesn't) like the idea of his general being so far from the safety of the clearing without company. 'Someone should have gone with him' has been uttered more than once to the three who have volunteered to split the load of monitoring the company and the edge of the surrounding forest. 

"General, I-"

"Yes, Commander?"

Wolffe had shaken his head again, and changed his mind. "...I thought you would like to know Tack confirmed the blue flowers are in fact Dinocaeruleus anthos and has checked the credibility of the original findings. He and Arcadia believe it will still be best not to draw excessive attention to them." 

You and Tack both had been praised and thanked for your diligent assessment and skills as a researcher respectively before the Force-wielder said he expected to return to the clearing by 15:00 at the earliest. If anything delayed him, he would be making contact once more. 

The nearest star is no longer directly overhead, and the shadows are just beginning to lengthen and throw themselves further eastward. You distract yourself from your worries about the General's absence with something to read for a moment, something chosen at random. (You were "instructed" to take a break as part of some protocol (one you are partly suspect of being made up).) 

You're not paying much attention to the Aurebesh on the screen, quite honestly. 

You're more distracted by the Commander and his acts of quiet anxiety. Patrolling the circumference of the clearing once again, routinely stopping and watching in the direction of the dilapidated hut for any signs of the Jedi. Discreetly conferring with Sinker and Boost. And when they can convince him, he returns to either of the tallest grassy hills for a moment to stop and observe all of his men at once. 

The time is now 14:35. 

And your reading material is about as interesting as an instruction manual on how to polish and clean up a blaster without corroding the material or compromising its firepower. So you decide it's time to try something else from the reading material you have loaded up on the device. 

It's labeled as one of the free holo-novels of the month, courtesy of the five-credits-a-standard-month subscription service that was recommended to you, a best-seller. But there's no synopsis or pitch of any kind that advertises what you'll find inside and why you should read it. It boasts a generic title (The Rush of Hyperspace) and pretty innocent cover artwork of an astro-map. 

Curious, you select the best seller just as Orchid passes by behind you. The whispered words from over your shoulder chill the very blood in your veins.

"Psst, hey, Arcadia! You realize you're reading that in public, right?" 

"What do you-?" your eyes flit to the very first sentence now that the screen has loaded in, and oh galaxy and all her stars. The very first sentence talks about how much this protagonist - a soldier - misses his girl, and the steering column is not the only thing he's throttling at the mere thought of her… the words 'a loud, sinful groan filling the cockpit' are practically seared into your retina. 

Oh fuck, fuck, FUCK! 

You've never backed out of a story so fast, nor anxiously prayed that Orchid would keep his fucking trap shut. "I had no idea, I swear." 

"One of those stealthy ones?"

"I don't know, Orchid. And keep your karking voice down." you warn him, removing the free story from your suggestions so you can't make the same mistake twice or be recommended more of the same thing in the future. 

"Sorry. Was only trying to warn you that your screen was visible to everyone. What you do and don't read isn't my business, just like what I read isn't yours." Orchid replies with a casual, little shrug. "I ain't gonna tell anyone, Arcadia." he promises.

Your voice comes out in a low, threatening purr as you tell him you're going to keep him to his word. "They'll find you fertilizing the rest of the flowerbed if I find out you have, Orchid." 

While the threat doesn't have quite the intended effect, you're grateful that Orchid is taking you seriously, in his own way… "Hah, I suppose that'd make for a fitting end. Name myself after a flower, get turned into flower-food when I die..." He smiles, finding humor in the threat while promising again that he really won't tell anyone. 

"I hope I'll make really beautiful flowers when I die." 

It's a little strange, almost unnerving to you, that the possibility of dying doesn't seem to phase him. That he's making jokes about it, almost. You suddenly feel worried about him. "Orchid-"

You're stopped with a single, apologetic smile. "Sorry, sorry. I know that all sounds pretty morbid, Arcadia. But I've made my peace with it and I don't bar myself from joking about it either, really. Now, I don't want to die, of course, but I'm not really afraid to, either." 

You suppose that's fair, with some internal reasoning. "I guess that makes sense. Everyone has different thoughts about the inevitable end of a lifeform's conscious existence. What it means for them, to them. What happens to us after. Or, what we hope for, like…" you add with a nod to Orchid, "making beautiful flowers from��� whatever's left." 

There's a partial, amused chuckle from Commander Wolffe, who's recently returned to the hill following another perimeter sweep, and has been listening to you and Orchid for the last few moments. The time is now 14:50, according to a fleeting glance at the top of your datapad. "More of your philosophical ponderings, Arcadia?" And care to explain why you threatened to bury one of his men in a flowerbed, while you're at it? 

(Thank the Maker he didn't hear what sort of novel Orchid had seen you open, at least. Something so raunchy it opened right into the act of self-pleasure and cultivation within the very first paragraphs.)

"Ah, y'know me, Commander," Orchid says dismissively, taking the heat off of you to explain away the situation, "just saying the usual banthashit that makes Soapsuds threaten to wash my mouth out. Arcadia got a little more creative than that, though!" 

Commander Wolffe sighs, looking both surprised and unsurprised. Yes he certainly does 'say the usual banthashit', but to turn it into a discussion about death and what comes after, that's an unusual thing to follow up with. (Usually it's more lectures about discipline and reading the room.)

"Well, Arcadia has a knack for that." 

Strange how only this morning, you and the commander were little more than perfect strangers, and by midday, you were calling the other by name in private. And now, here in the early afternoon, you had briefly shared lunch together, and still called each other by name, only now permitted - promised, even - to do so in the presence of others. 

"Oh yeah, I saw the art," Orchid replies with a strangely wolfish grin, "good stuff. Looked like worship."

The words "The fuck do you mean by that?" find themselves clawing out of your throat before you stop and consider the tone, the snappy weight of them. Trying to cover your self-perceived blunder, you're now laughing nervously, tugging a hand through your hair in a harsh movement. "Maker alive there's something really weird about this planet, everyone's saying all this sage shit and acting so damn… strangely today!" 

You've fooled Orchid. But you haven't fooled his commanding officer. Not entirely. 

"Oh I just meant-"

"I would agree, Arcadia…" Wolffe begins with a thoughtful look as he regards a chrono for the time - now squarely 14:55 - and chews over something on his mind before speaking with brevity, "Today has been anything but normal. Strange planet. Strange plants and animals…" Strange lack of communication from his General, you figure he must want to say. This is a little out of character for the Force-wielder to behave in some of the ways he has today; by and large delaying the 104th battalion for most of a full day that could otherwise be spent traveling just for a day in the sun. 

All for what? has been asked, secretly, over and over. By yourself. By the flint-gray Commander, of course. By Sinker and Boost, too. 

Why are we here on Little Archossi? Where is Plo Koon? 

And how will you keep a newly forged friendship of sorts from fizzling out after today? … Are you even friends? Have you misread your interactions of the day so far, believing there's something special? With you, for you? 

You're not special. 

You're just Arcadia.

Taking note of your silence, or perhaps a troubled expression, Orchid asks you what's wrong. "You look deep in thought. Something on your mind?"

"Just hoping General Plo returns or contacts us at 15:00 when he said we should likely hear from him." you offer after a shrug. It's true enough at least. Unless he's run into trouble, or has been delayed, there should be little reason that you would not see the Jedi as he concludes his search of the area beyond the decaying structure. 

"Same here," Orchid replies, nodding to his Commander in a more respectful manner than he would when talking to Suds, "you too, I reckon, sir?" The singular, short exhale is Orchid's answer. "Oh, right, stupid question; of course you are, Commander." he offers almost apologetically, face darkening with embarrassment. 

"I had to watch, helpless, inside that damaged escape pod, as my General and my brothers fought off those battle droids who were killing the survivors… Desperately trying to keep that distress beacon active, all because he had the hope someone would come for us." 

You had finished adding some of the deep blue to the fluffy black curls of his hair that served as the highlights while Wolffe recounted for you, in more detail than what had been supplied by Tack, the Battle of Abregado. 

And the way he was telling you, it seemed to suggest something to you. Something you could only guess at. 

"Well… given that you're sitting here next to me, telling me this story, obviously General Plo was right. Did you…?" The words "not fully believe that at the time?" hang in the air between you, unspoken. He'll know. Smart and capable man that he is, the seasoned leader of the 104th battalion will figure you out. 

"I wasn't sure." Wolffe admits with a grim expression, ripping up blades of grass by the fistful the longer he talks. "We were promised, pledged to, that we were not expendable to General Plo. Now perhaps General Skywalker and Commander Tano still would have come to scout the wreckage even if it wasn't for General Plo, because they seem to truly care for their men from the look of things… But we had no way of knowing at the time, for sure." 

A tender hand is laid on his crossed leg, just for a moment, a silent offer of comfort for him. 

He takes a deep breath before speaking in a hushed voice. "Given that I am sitting here, next to you as you said, Arcadia… ultimately, the General was right." 

"I'm glad he was." you whisper back, just louder than the slow, smooth sweep of the coloring pencils in your hand against the page.

Stirring up such emotions to the surface will take a toll on him the longer you draw out the conversation, so you were sure to move on to something else. Something innocuous, something ordinary. 

Does he ever play games to pass the time?

The chrono has barely ticked over to 15:00 when the Commander's comlink trills. A sound famous for being rather startling at times is for once one of the most wonderful sounds in all the galaxy: it promises that the Kel Dor is safe.

"There are more dwellings further from the decaying structure that Comet saw from the clearing. I believe I found one of the settlements, but I will be returning to the battalion instead of making contact."

"Why is that, General?" Commander Wolffe wonders, brow furrowed with confusion. 

"I believe the inhabitants of Little Archossi are nocturnal… and should I wake them simply trying to make contact, I'm afraid I would appear to them as a threat instead." the Jedi explains haltingly, voice sort of rumbling down the mic and audio sensors. You wonder, with how cautious his tone is, if he is near the settlement right now as he speaks. "I will be back shortly… and will explain in more detail."

"Understood, sir." Commander Wolffe dismisses himself from the communication, just short of breathing a sigh of relief. The General is safe and will return in a timely manner, then. He can allow himself to loosen his guard. 

Orchid is a little more crude in his relief as he thanks the Maker before excusing himself. Being soldiers, you rationalize that their language is going to be more colorful than most peoples', but Orchid… he's something else. 

"How the fuck do you even spell that?" you wonder to yourself with a shake of your head, "And where does he find all these words?" 

"It's best you don't ask." Wolffe cautions you. "Only inspires him to find more." The look he supplies you with suggests more than just speaking from experience. Don't encourage him. I don't need more headaches on the day we're meant to be relaxing, apparently.

"I'll be sure not to." you promise with a soft laugh and a teasing smile. "Best not to invite trouble in the General's absence." 

Best not to invite trouble, or give the impression of it, at every available opportunity. 

Wolffe, still as a sentinel beside you, greets the Kel Dor as he extracts himself from the forest and reenters the clearing. "Welcome back General." 

You imagine you're being regarded with a great deal of confusion, an unexpected sight beside the Clone Commander. "...Arcadia, is something the matter?" To be greeted by his men is one thing, a normal and familiar occurrence, but this time one of the crew is present. Has something happened in his absence? Given your talents in risk assessment, have you found anything that would be a cause for concern? 

"Just keeping him company," you explain, indicating Commander Wolffe beside you with a little gesture of your free hand, "while I sketch one of the Dinocaeruleus anthos flowers. For Tack." You felt you'd rested your wrist long enough when you made the offer to the researcher Clone, concerned for the device when he complained it was growing hot after hours without end in direct sunlight. 

Offering to draw this strange little flower with blue silky petals, as accurately as you could to the best of your abilities, once again made for a pleasant distraction for the one-oh-fourth's battle-hardened leader. (He'll actually stay put so long as you're working on something, it appears.)

"That's very kind of you, Arcadia." Plo compliments you deservedly. "Making Tack a botanical illustration to reference at a future opportunity… Most helpful." 

"Feeling rather spoiled." Tack chuckles agreeably. "An Arcadia artwork of my very own." 

Stifling a sigh for the time being, you instead laugh softly and opt for teasing him in return. "Consider yourself lucky that I was bored and wanted to kill some time while waiting for General Plo to return. Can't expect these every time, Tack." 

"Oh, I would never," Tack promises, "that'd be pretty karkin' entitled of me…" Swallowing his sudden nervousness, Tack recomposed himself after a beat. "It's good to see you've returned safely, General Plo." 

The Kel Dor before the three of you dips his head in a gesture of polite agreement, mirroring the relief felt by the collective trio with gratitude of his own from the way his shoulders slacken ever so gently, and the time he takes to answer. "Thank you, Commander Wolffe and young Tack, both. I am relieved that no trouble found you all while I was away, and that I was able to return safely as well."

You don't need the use of the Force to sense the budding concern within the men to your left and right. "Oh? Did you run into trouble, General?" you ask, verbalizing the wonder shared by all. 

With a simple shake, whatever fears swelling within you are abated, for the moment. "Not the sort you assume, no. There was something nearly troubling about the settlement when I came upon it; the stillness was unexpected. I presumed the inhabitants would be going about their lives up to my approach, expecting them to flee or fight if I made myself known, should I have made contact… But there was nothing. The entire place was still, deep in slumber."

And waking them up would have been unwise, Wolffe paraphrases the relayed message sent in earlier, connecting all pieces of the explanation. "Came back to avoid giving the impression of a threat in the event they found you." 

General Plo nods before further adding he also sensed a strange presence in the Force in the settlement; he wants to wait closer to nightfall to potentially return, rather than leave. "I understand you must have your concerns, all of you… Especially yours, young Tack. But there was something strange… a flutter in the Force in that settlement that I cannot ignore." 

His mere acknowledgement of the concern is a slight comfort for the moment. But why had Tack in particular been singled out? He had reacted the least between Commander Wolffe and yourself to the addressal of strange presences and the notion to remain on Little Archossi as night fell, rather than leave before the full setting of the sun as was originally planned. 

The tight squeeze of the Commander's jaw had you concerned for the eventual ache to come following such an action; not to mention the sort of subconscious, nonverbal signals commonly associated with it were not entirely positive. Subtle insights to Wolffe's way of thinking. 

The General wants to stay here past dark, now? A flutter in the Force could be anything, mean anything, or worse yet, nothing. Is the Force known for playing tricks on those it bestows its blessings, could this be a test? (But why would the General be tested here, now, on this likely uncharted planet untouched by war?)

Tack had given no such signs on the other hand, apart from now with the stammer in his voice. "G-General, I'm not certain what you mean…?" 

Later, Plo Koon promises, he'll likely take the time to explain how he sensed the worries Tack has about this situation; for now, it appears he's getting a feel for the opinions of his commanding officer, Wolffe, and a member of the crew with training in risk analysis, you, first. "Are there any reasons you believe we need to consider that sway in favor of leaving before nightfall?" 

Someone, between the two of you, gives a long-suffering sigh first. 

"The safety of the Clones, and crew, sir." Short, to-the-point, and continual in his concern for his brothers, Commander Wolffe makes a rather obvious and deliberate point to communicate his reasoning. 

And you did not miss the way his eyes, the brilliant silver and the rich vandyke, had raked you from head to toe as 'and crew' parted his lips. It wasn't a simple glance, or meeting your eye, but he eyed you up and down. (Why? Why had he done that?)

Since Wolffe has expressed concern for Master Plo's forces so succinctly, you opt to voice your concerns stirred up by the Kel Dor's observations he's reported back with. 

"I'm not wild about the idea of looking like a threat to the people living on Little Archossi… There are so many of us. We had no real way of making contact before taking the gunships here this morning, and… I hate to make assumptions, but I have concerns we could vastly outnumber the inhabitants of the settlement and not know it. If I were them… I think I would be concerned about so many people suddenly showing up on my planet by the time I've woken up." 

Two sides of the same credit, you and Commander Wolffe. In the end, the concern of overall safety, and the concern of appearing safe have been taken into account. 

If he explains his findings to everyone else in the clearing, Plo Koon thinks inviting everyone to decide for themselves is the best option. It is officially the start of the late afternoon here on Little Archossi, and there is still time to plan for an encounter.

Those who wish to return to the Triumphant will leave before the sun begins to set. 

With the will of the Force, and a healthy dosage of luck, any potential large-scale interaction between the soldiers of the Republic and the people on this forested planet will go off without a hitch.

Don't have a fic taglist form for the time being. For now, though, if you'd like to join a taglist for specific types of fics (for example: just TBB-centric or just TCW-centric (or both)) don't hesitate to ask. 🩷

[FFF Masterlist] [Series Masterlist] [TCW Masterlist]

[Early Morning] [Midday] [Here] [Evening] [Deep Night] [Golden Dawn part 1]

[Golden Dawn part 2]

[forever-rogue]

A Bucky request for you queen: Reader takes Bucky to meet her family for the first time, and he’s already nervous, but he’s even more nervous when you ask if he wants to hold your sisters new baby bc he doesn’t wanna hurt the baby and he thinks he’s still damaged.

But eventually you convince him to hold the baby and then he sees how good you are and he thinks about having a family for the first time and things can either get fluffy or smutty, whatever u r feelin

Have a great day love!🤍

A/N: enjoy some soft fluff! 🥺

Pairing: Bucky x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: none

PART 2

MASTERLIST

»»————-　♡　————-««

“Bucky?” you stared at your reflection, putting your earrings in to complete the final outfit touch. You were getting ready to head over to your sister’s house in order to see her, her husband, and their newborn baby for the first time. You were excited to go, beyond ready to see her again and meet the newest addition to your family. Meanwhile Bucky was going through a series of emotions as he tried to ground himself and settle his nerves. He’d been reluctant to agree to go, not because he wasn’t happy to come, but more so because of the bundle of nerves that had welled up at the prospect of meeting a tiny, brand new life. As soon as he’d seen how your face light up in excitement at the prospect of going over, he couldn’t say no when you invited him to come with you. Then again, Bucky could never say no to you, “are you ready to go, my love?”

“I’m ready,” he agreed quickly as he stepped out of your shared bedroom, clearing his throat as he pulled on his leather jacket. You turned, flashing him a dazzling smile that still made him weak in the knees, when you noticed a worried expression on his face. You flounced over, hands going to his shoulders as you offered him a reassuring squeeze. You gazed into his eyes, trying to gauge what was going on in his mind when he let out a small huff. He knew you could read him like a book, “alright. I-I’m nervous about meeting...the baby.”

“James,” you reached up and rested your hand on his cheek, relaxing as he lightly keened into your touch. His hands found purchase on your waist as you leaned into him, brushing your lips against his, “you have nothing to be worried about. She’s just a baby, she’s got no right to judge and she won’t. She’ll see Uncle Bucky and fall right in love. Talk to me, love, tell me what’s going on.”

“You’re going to laugh,” he turned his gaze away, but you reached up and put your hand under his chin and shifted his gaze back to you, “it’s stupid.”

“I’m not going to laugh,” you insisted quietly, “you could tell me anything and it wouldn’t be stupid.”

“I just worry,” he sighed after a few beats of silence passed between the two of you, “what if...what if he’s still in there? Some small part of him and he...snaps. Or something. She’s going to be so small and all it would take it one little-”

“Bucky,” you reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly in your own before lacing your fingers together, “you are not him anymore - he is not you. He never was. You are James Buchanan Barnes and no one else. He is not a part of you anymore at all. You are free of all of that. You are good, you are. I know sometimes it’s harder to believe than others, but it is true.”

“I know,” he closed his eyes for a few moments, lashes fluttering against soft skin as a small sigh passed his lips. He squeezed your hand back before resting his head on your shoulder as you wrapped your arms around his waist, “it’s just...I don’t want to have a moment of...weakness.”

“You won’t,” you insisted softly, “maybe right now you don’t need to believe in yourself, but can you believe in me?”

“Always,” you could feel him smiling lightly against your warm skin as he nodded.

“Good,” you pressed a kiss to the side of his head, “now, trust me because I trust you in you. Now, let’s go, otherwise we’ll be late and then then everyone will be mad.”

“Everyone’s going to be there?”

“Just my parents, my brother, my sister and her husband and the baby of course,” you stepped back and looked him over before leaning in and kissing him quickly, “they know you, Bucky. The real you and they love you. There’s nothing to fear. Might I also add that you look very handsome today. You’ll knock ‘em dead.”

“You look beautiful,” you just happened to be wearing one of the dresses he loved most on you. He’d never commented on it, but you’d seen the way his blue eyes had lit up when you’d first worn it. You figured it would be something to help ease his nerves, almost to ground him as you had a suspicion that he might be nervous. He’d gotten much more comfortable around your family over the last year, but you knew that his general anxiety and fears sometimes bubbled up, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you promised as you held your hand out towards him. He strode over slowly before taking your hand in his and inhaling and exhaling deeply. He could do this - you knew he could and he knew he could too. Your support had meant everything to him and have him that little push he needed to get over the lingering bit of insecurity he had.

»»————-　♡　————-««

“She’s so small,” you said softly as you held the small baby in your arms. She was sleeping soundly, her little lips forming a perfect pout as you rocked her gently, “she’s beautiful.”

“She better be,” your sister joked, “nine months and then 30 hours of labor - she better be beautiful!”

“You’re the worst,” your eyes widened in surprise before you giggled quietly, “how’s she been?”

“Aurora’s been so good,” she said and you traced over her chubby little cheeks, “lots of long days and nights and more dirty diapers than I care to admit, but she’s worth it. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“I can see why,” she was so small and tiny, a new life that had so much ahead of her. The idea made your heart melt, “it must all be terribly scary and exciting.”

“It is,” she agreed as she nudged your knee with hers, “what about you and Bucky? Ever think about starting a family of your own? You guys have been together for a while and it’s something to think about…”

“We’ve...vaguely discussed it,” you confessed, looking up just in time to spy Bucky casting a quick look at you. He was mid-conversation with your father and brother but shot you a soft smile before turning back to the conversation. Your breath caught in your throat as a warmth settled in your belly, setting off a course of butterflies. What you hadn’t seen was all of the other gentle, tender glances he’d been throwing your way since you’d gotten there. You sister cleared her throat before drawing your attention back in, “but umm...it’s never really gotten that far. I dunno what’s going to happen, but I like to think maybe one day we’ll get married. I don’t see a future with anyone else.”

“You really love him, don’t you?” she asked softly as you nodded, feeling a warmth creep up into your cheeks as you avoided looking at her face.

“I do,” you bit your lip as you stared at the small baby that had started cooing softly. Her eyes slowly opened as she nodded before looking around and smiling. She waved her chubby little arm around before reaching for your finger and curling her fist around it. You beamed at her before pressing a kiss to her forehead, “just like you already.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

“Bucky?” your voice was soft as you walked outside to the backyard where he was standing and watching the sun slowly setting and painting the sky in brilliant pinks and purples. He hesitated for the slightest of moments before turning to you with a half smile on his features.You were holding Aurora in your arms, and she was already back to being half asleep. His nerves shot up but he quickly calmed down when he realized how tranquil the portrait painted in front of him was. You made it all seem so easy and effortless - it was new and foreign to you too, but you were handling it so well. Maybe he could as well, “would you like to meet your niece? To hold her?”

“I don’t...I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” he said softly as you both took a few steps towards each other. You offered him a hopeful little smile as the baby opened her eyes and turned to look at Bucky. He met her eyes and she babbled excitedly at him. Suddenly, something within snapped as his whole demeanor shifted and his expression softened as he took in a shuddering breath. He could do this, he realized, he could do this.

“Bucky?” this was more hopeful and optimistic as he came towards you and cautiously held his arms open to you. He only nodded as you looked at him to make sure it was okay. Shifting the tiny human from your arms to his, you watched as Bucky took to water like a duck to water as he made sure she was secure in his grip. It was a sight to behold and you felt your heart beat wildly.

“She’s so...new,” was all he could get out as you laughed at him. He almost couldn’t take his eyes off her as you gave his shoulder a squeeze, “so tiny.”

“That’s kind of what a baby is,” you joked as you stuck your tongue out at him and he jokingly scoffed, “see, it’s all easy squeezy lemon peasy.”

“It’s not as hard as I thought,” he confessed after a few moments, “it feels…”

“Yeah,” you pressed a kiss to the side of his head as you finished for him after a few beats of peaceful silence, “I know.”

“Do you think I could have a few moments alone?” he asked as you nodded, standing back and admiring the sight of your boyfriend holding your niece. It struck up something within you and while you weren’t quite sure what it was, you couldn’t help but revel in it.

“I’ll be inside,” you promised, “dinner will be ready soon.If you need anything, just say the word and I’ll be right there.”

“I know,” he grinned, “I know.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

Bucky watched you walk back inside and close the screen door, holding a hand up as he lightly waved back at you. A wary sigh escaped his lips as the baby watched him with nothing but curiosity in her eyes. He’d held babies before, in another life, one which was stolen from him but had led him here. But he wasn’t angry about that anymore; he’d spent many years in anger about it and he was past that. He knew, one of the things that had helped him out of that anger and hatred was you. If his cards had been played any differently, you wouldn’t have been a part of his, and you had slowly but definitely become one of the best parts of his life.

It felt so foreign but so right in that moment as he stared at the small life in his arms. He’d never really pictured himself with a family of his own, once in his old life he might have, but he hadn’t in a long time. With you, something had trickled in, slowly blooming over time to become stronger and stronger. And after seeing you with the baby, there was something in him that had come full circle. And as he looked at her little face, he couldn’t help but wonder what your own child would like. Would they have his eyes? His dark shock of hair? Or would they take after you? Either way, he knew whatever child the two of you might have would be beautiful.

“Hi Aurora,” he whispered to her as he allowed him to touch her cheek, finding the faith and trust deep within himself, “you’re still so new to this world. You don’t know about all the horrors and scary parts yet. But there are so many good things too, lots of beautiful things. I will do my best to protect you from all the bad parts, I promise. Whatever you need, I will be there.”

She smiled at him, a toothless, gummy thing as he beamed at her. Maybe...maybe one day this could be a reality for the two of you as well. Bucky let himself relax as it felt like a weight lifted off of his shoulders at the realization that he was okay. That nothing had happened and nothing would happen. He was okay...he was okay. He closed his eyes for a moment as he remembered how you looked holding her earlier. The sight had sparked something within him too; it was a sight he had thoroughly enjoyed seeing. For the first time in a long time, he had allowed himself to think that maybe he could have this too, that he could have a family and happiness of his own.

A sigh, this one contented and happy, escaped his lips as he cradled Aurora against his chest and watched the sun disappear behind the horizon, “I think maybe one day I could be a dad. I think..I think I’d like that. Especially after today...I feel like it could be an actual possibility. I was nervous about today - meeting you. I know it sounds silly, especially since you’re just...a baby. I wasn’t sure if I could...trust myself - it’s still hard sometimes. Not often but there are times. You helped me to see that maybe it’s not so hard after all. Whatever it is, I-I’m willing to try. Especially with your Aunt. You’re going to love her, you know. I do.I really, really do. I think she’s everything.”

“Bucky?” you poked your head out the door and beamed, “dinner’s ready!”

“Coming,” he slowly made his way back over to you. Opening the door wider, you ushered him inside, a hand going to the small of his back as he handed Aurora back over to your sister. He returned to your side, an arm snaking around your waist as he kissed the top of your head, “hi.”

“Hello my love,” you grinned back at him, “how’d it go? She seemed to like you...you seemed to like her…”

“I did,” he agreed, “we had a good talk. Well, I did most of the talking, but she’s a good listener.”

“Hmm,” you snorted in laughter, “you’re something else, Barnes.You’re lucky I love you so much.”

“I love you, sweetheart,” he leaned in so he could whisper in your ear, “maybe later we could talk. There’s some...things that have been on my mind for some time.”

“Bucky?” you gave him a confused look but he cut you off with a soft kiss to your lips, “everything alright?”

“Yes,” he promised gently, “everything is perfect.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

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[hopemakesstuff]

Protecting Assets

Hey y’all so uhhh I don’t normally do this kind of thing but a couple of my friends and I have been on a major Danganronpa kick these past few months since one friend in particular just recently got in the series, and part of that major kick has been discussing various AUs (mostly of the G/t variety).

One AU in particular that we’ve all latched onto involves sizeshifter!Makoto, wherein one Makoto Naegi has the ability to alter his size somewhat at will, and the various shenanigans that ensue as a result of him trying to keep that ability a secret from his peers. 

So anyway here’s a little fic I wrote based on some various brainstorming we’ve come up with. 

A bit of helpful background info before I jump in: 

Makoto can shrink or grow mostly at will. His abilities are sometimes influenced by his emotional state or physical well-being. (i.e.: he shrinks if he doesn’t get enough sleep or eat enough.) It’s basically a way for his body to conserve energy. 

Makoto’s clothes shrink or grow with him accordingly. Because this is fiction and I do what I want. (Let’s just say his clothes are made from a special kind of material or something idk)

I don’t really have a specific time in mind for when this particular fic takes place, but definitely after the first murder. 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 

Makoto’s return to consciousness was a slow one. His senses came back to him gradually, starting with the feeling of soft fabric cocooning him on all sides. It honestly took him a moment to even realize that his eyes were open, given how dark his surroundings were—almost pitch black, save for a thin line of light peeking in overhead. 

His first guess was that he’d probably gotten tangled up in his bedsheets, but… the longer he sat there, the more that didn’t seem quite right. Instead of a mattress beneath him, the only firm surface he could really feel was a wall on his left side. At least, he was pretty sure it was a wall.

Maybe he was laying on some kind of hammock? Of course, that only begged the question of where he was, and how he’d gotten there in the first place. Surely he wasn’t in his dorm room…

Well, wherever he was, it was quiet. Peaceful, even. The faint hum of the air conditioning was the most prominent noise, but he was pretty sure he could hear someone breathing as well. Aside from that, the only other sound Makoto could make out was the occasional turning of a page, as if someone was looking through a book.

He wasn’t alone. 

The desire for answers only grew more urgent as that realization came to him. He obviously wasn’t going to get those answers if he just kept laying around, though. 

Trying to find any decent sort of foothold was a challenge, but Makoto was eventually able to pull himself up to a standing position as he clung to a small portion of the fabric. Then came the process of actually trying to climb his way up toward the opening above him. It took a considerable amount of effort, but after a few moments, he managed to pull it off. 

Poking his head out, the first thing that caught his eye was the array of bookshelves lining the wall just ahead of him, all crammed to maximum capacity.

The library. 

What was he doing in the library?

“Oh, you’re finally awake.” 

Makoto let out a rather undignified yelp in response, nearly losing his grip on the fabric in the process, but it wasn’t necessarily the suddenness of the voice that had startled him. Part of it had to do with the familiarity—he knew that voice, and hearing that person speak was plenty surprising all on its own. But it also had to do with the proximity and volume. Each word practically reverberated through his entire body, shaking him down to the core. Not loud, per se, but… big.

Turning his gaze upward, Makoto immediately locked eyes with the voice’s owner. Those icy blue irises practically pierced through him like a pair of daggers.

“B-Byakuya? Wh—” 

Before he could form a proper question, the sight of a massive hand descending upon him caused Makoto to choke on his words. He didn’t have any time to react as equally massive fingers coiled around him, hoisting him up with all the care of someone retrieving a handkerchief from their pocket. 

That was where he’d been. Byakuya’s pocket. 

That realization alone was more than enough to send his mind reeling—nevermind the lack of concern Byakuya showed when handling him.  

The Togami heir all but dumped him onto the desk, nearly causing him to fall over. Thankfully, Makoto somehow managed to keep his footing. Now he just had to contend with the fact that he was trapped in the library with Byakuya looming over him.

God, it was bad enough that Byakuya already knew his secret. Actually being caught in his most vulnerable state was a nightmare come to life. 

For the longest moment, there was only silence between the two boys. Makoto was almost too nervous to even breathe, let alone speak. 

Eventually, though, Byakuya seemed to grow bored with their little staring contest. 

“How much longer are you going to be stuck like this?” he questioned, setting his book aside and crossing his arms. 

“I… What?” 

“You heard me.” 

Sure, Makoto heard him, but that didn’t make it any less confusing. 

“I don’t… I’m not sure? What happened? Why was I—” 

“You don’t remember? Hmph, figures,” Byakuya huffed. “You fainted right outside your door, and then your little… quirk kicked in. You’re lucky I was the one who found you.” 

Makoto didn’t know if he necessarily agreed, but he wasn’t about to say so. 

His memory started coming back after that, though.

In the aftermath of the last class trial, it would’ve been a huge understatement to say that Makoto was feeling stressed out. He could hardly remember the last time he’d eaten a proper meal. Or gotten a full night of sleep. Normally he was a lot better about taking care of himself, given the consequences that came about with his shifting if he didn’t, but… 

Could anyone really blame him for slacking a bit? 

“So, you… brought me with you to the library?” 

“I can’t keep you in check if your secret gets out prematurely, now can I?”

Ugh. Right. Now things were starting to make more sense. Byakuya just wanted to make sure he still had blackmail material.

“So? How much longer?” The affluent progeny didn't even bother trying to hide his annoyance at having to ask the question a second time.

“Well, um. I mean… it depends,” Makoto tried his best to explain. “How long was I… er, how long has it been since you found me?”

Byakuya looked over at the clock above the door. 

“Just over two hours.” 

Two hours?!

To think he’d been alone with Byakuya for that much time, unconscious and barely more than three inches tall… Makoto didn’t want to let himself dwell on that for too long. 

At least he was still in one piece. 

…For now. 

“Um, I guess I could try shifting back up now?” he offered. 

Byakuya didn’t give any sort of verbal response. He just sat there, watching and waiting. 

Taking that as his cue, Makoto tentatively made his way over to the edge of the desk and sat down. He briefly thought about asking Byakuya to set him on the floor, but quickly pushed that idea aside. Better to avoid any more rough handling if he could. 

Makoto then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on the task at hand. Even without looking, he could practically feel Byakuya staring at him the entire time. 

But more importantly, after a few moments, he could also feel himself beginning to grow. Namely he could feel the surface of the desk gradually getting smaller and smaller beneath him. 

When he opened his eyes, he was now looking down at Byakuya, if only just slightly. Back to his normal height, thank god.

“Hm. Fascinating.”

All it took was that one word to send a shiver crawling up Makoto’s spine. Just the way Byakuya said it left him more than a little uncomfortable. Like he was some kind of science experiment or something.

“R-Right, well. I should go,” he stammered out rather quickly before hopping off the desk and heading for the door. 

Just as he was about to reach for the handle, he paused to look back over his shoulder. Byakuya had already gone back to reading whatever book he'd been looking through earlier. 

“I, um… Thanks? For making sure no one else saw me like that.” 

Even if Byakuya’s motivations for doing so had been purely selfish, thanking him still felt like the right thing to do. 

A noncommittal grunt was the only reply Makoto got, though. Byakuya didn’t even look up from his book.

Well, there was no point sticking around any longer than he already had. After leaving the library, his next intended destination was the dining hall. Nothing really sounded good if he was being honest, but… for the sake of making sure he didn’t pass out again, he figured it would be best to find something he could stomach.

[reidyoulikeabook]

M is for Maybe One Day

Ship: Fem! Reader x Spencer Reid

Warnings: Discussion of marriage and children.

Word count: 1.7k

Summary: Spencer and reader have a conversation about their future.

A/N: This is the angst free version of part M! If you’re looking for the version that contains angst, that’s here. This is the main scene from the story and is designed so that people who don’t feel comfortable with the potentially upsetting content from the angst-version are still able to enjoy this version. Let me know what you think! :)

Part of The A-Z of Spencer Reid but works as a stand-alone.

You’re awake before Spencer is. You don’t want to risk waking him up by disentangling yourself, so you stay right where you are, unsure of what time it is. You’re infinitely happier curled up in his arms than you would be by being bestowed with that knowledge.

It can only be early, anyhow. There’s only a trickle of light pooling under the curtains. The big living room light got left on last night, you knew Spencer needed it to keep the darkness at bay. It pokes into the room through the gap in the not-quite-closed door, allowing you to get a relatively good look at him.

His hair is a wreck. Even in sleep, you can see the bags firmly indented under his eyes. His mouth is open. No snores come out, only tiny breaths escape the lips formed into an ‘o’ shape.

He looks peaceful.

Unencumbered by any of the worries from yesterday. You close your eyes, deciding that getting a few more hours sleep can’t hurt.

It’s then that he moves. He wiggles his fingers, more than likely trying to wake up the arm that’s gone dead with you lying on it. You open your eyes, and his face floods with guilt. The exact face he makes when you find him hobbling around the apartment without his crutches.

“Sorry,” He squeaks, “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“I was awake already,” You reassure him, adjusting your position so that he can move his arm, “Did you sleep well?”

He visibly relaxes, his voice raspy with sleep, “I slept okay. Better because you were here.”

You hum. Opening your arms, you nod for him to move. He does, coming to settle himself with his head resting on your chest. There’s a peaceful lull. The residents of Virginia aren’t awake yet, so you’re enveloped in the kind of quiet that only comes with the early hours of the morning. No cars racing past or mothers upstairs on a mission to suck every piece of dust out of their apartment, and potentially yours too.

You feel the low rumble of his throat before you hear it, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

You’re not quite sure how long you lie like that. In this liminal space between asleep and wakefulness, night and morning. Your brain starts to wander, trying to settle on anything to use as a rope to escape the reality of last night that bites at your ankles.

For some reason, it settles on Derek. The image of him at his desk.

Planning to raise the next generation of Einsteins?

“I was thinking,” You murmur, playing with a piece of his hair, “I was talking to Derek last week. He was talking about Garcia, and how they’ve spoken about having kids. I mean, I know they’ve been together a lot longer but, it got me thinking.”

He pulls back. For a moment, you’re afraid you’ve gone too far. Then he swallows, his lips curling upwards into a small smile.

“Would you want to-” He cuts himself off, clearing his throat, “Would that be something you could see yourself wanting someday? To marry me?”

“I’d love to marry you,” You tell him, lifting your fingers to his face to trace over the familiar lines of his cheekbones, the points of his face a dot-to-dot you could connect in your sleep.

He smiles, “Would you be Mrs Reid?”

“Of course I’d be Mrs Reid. I’d hate to disappoint the aquarium.”

“Well in that case-” He pretends to move, as if to shift towards the bedside table.

“You don’t have a ring in there.”

“Not yet.”

“It’d be a bad place to keep it.”

“Or it might work as a double bluff.”

“I know your bluffs. Double or triple or quadruple.”

He scrunches his nose, “I don’t think I’ve ever quadruple bluffed.”

“You might one day.”

“I suppose if you’re going to be Mrs Reid you’ll get the chance to find out.”

"I’d like to be Mrs Reid,” You tell him, sincere once more, “I can’t imagine myself ever being with anybody else.”

“I can’t imagine what my life would look like without you in it now,” He says, his voice painfully earnest, cracking a bit at the end.

“Neither can I.”

There’s a shift in atmosphere. Small but significant, one that has you staring at him. Trying to piece together how this ended up being your life. How you went from co-workers at desks next to one another exchanging pleasantries, a man you called Dr Reid for the first week of knowing him until he cracked and insisted you called him Spencer. How you transformed from that to this, caterpillars entering a caramel chrysillis and making it out the other side, soaring through near death experiences and aquarium trips and job offers at Caltech.

There’s been a lot, really.

He interrupts your thoughts, so softly it barely jolts you, “I-I’ve known it for a while now. I’m not sure when I realised but I think that, that we just make it work.”

“We do,” You agree, “That’s what I said to Derek. I think we just understand each other.”

“I never really felt like anybody ever understood me,” He mumbles, his voice dropping as it becomes more sincere, shifting his face more into the pillow, “My whole life I um, I sort of felt out of place. I didn’t always understand peoples jokes or know how to talk to them. I didn’t think I’d ever find somewhere I felt like I belonged.”

His voice wavers. You kiss the top of his forehead, not interrupting, just reassuring.

He continues, “Joining the BAU changed things. Meeting Morgan and Garcia especially. They made me feel like, for the first time in my life, I had friends. Who weren’t annoyed by everything that I said.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit,” You tell him, your hand coming to rest at the nape of his neck to play with the stray hairs there, “You never do and I understand why. But you’re more than smart. I love your brain, and your memory, and I admire all of that. But you’re also thoughtful,” You punctuate each assertion with a kiss to his knuckles, “And kind. And funny. And you make me feel so loved.”

He sniffles a bit, lifting his head. You can see the tears sparkling in his eyes, and you bring your interlocked hand to his chin, your thumb resting there. He swallows, and you pause for a moment before speaking again.

“And if I was ever going to have a family, there’s nobody I’d rather do it with than you.”

“Really?” He’s winded by the assertion, his breath catching in his throat, “You’d want a family with me?”

“Of course I do. love you. You’d make the most amazing dad in the world Spence.”

“Do you really think so?”

“I know so. Look at how you are with Henry and Jack. You’re the best Uncle ever,” You murmur, “Raising kids with you is the best decision I could make.”

He‘s quiet. Soaking it in. He holds you tighter against his body, essentially putting you back into your place against his neck. The comforting scent of him, and the feeling of his big hands rubbing steady circles on your back, is grounding in the extreme.

Though you’re soothed, you can tell when he’s thinking. His jaw tightens, just a little bit. As if he’s chewing the words. Trying to decide whether to swallow them or let them slip out.

“I think I’d um, I’d retire.”

Slip out.

“You’d what?” You try to keep the surprise out of your voice but it filters through.

“I’d probably um, I’d probably look into teaching. I don’t think I could ever leave our children. Not,” He sniffles, and you know without looking that there’s a tear making its way down his cheek, “Not when there’s a chance I might not come home. I couldn’t do that to them.”

“Okay,” You say, “I’d support you whatever you wanted to do. I was only surprised because I know how much you love the job.”

“You love yours too. I’d never expect you to give it up so we could have children. Not unless you wanted to.”

Of course that’s part of it.

“I know,” You reply, “I know. I guess I wasn’t thinking about the practicality of it. But I know what you mean.”

He swallows, “It’s more than that. I just um. I’d want to be around. All the time.”

There’s a beat of silence, and you can tell there’s more he’s not saying. You adorn his Adam’s apple with a soft kiss, and he lets out a puffy exhale.

“I um, I never thought that this is something I’d get to want. Kids and a wife and a family. Now that it is, now that I get the chance,” He trails off, swallowing, “Now that I have that chance I would never do anything to risk losing it. Or missing a single moment of it. I want to give them a happy childhood. I want to teach them to play chess and watch cartoons on a Sunday and just give them...give them a lifetime of good memories. Not a lifetime of them staring at the door wondering if I’m going to make it home.”

He wants to give them what he never had.

Shifting, you adjust, looking him in the eyes. A tear is making its way down his cheekbone, one you thumb away. Cradling his face in your hands, you can’t help but smile. They aren’t sad tears like you’d expected, his eyes gleam with pure adoration. He’s not sad about the past. He’s happy about the future.

The realisation brings a tear to your eyes, and you can barely get the words out past the lump in your throat, “Maybe one day we’ll be waking up on Saturdays to take our kids to the park.”

The love in his eyes is mirrored and magnified in your own. You can’t be certain whether it’s that or your words that coax another tear out of his eye, but it’s barely passed the bridge of his nose before he’s giving you the biggest wateriest smile, “I’m looking forward to that day.”

So am I.

-

Next part: N is for New Place (i promise it’s onwards and upwards from here!!)

[krillin-fanfic]

Identity In Ink

Welp, I did a thing! Probably one of only two I’ll be able to do this month, but I DID IT! This one’s for the “Tattoo” prompt, and mostly 18-focused and a shortie, but it’s a concept I’ve discussed with people in the past: Basically, did Gero ever do anything to mark his creations, and if so, how would they deal with that. And this one just kinda flowed out. Feel free to show some love or leave feedback in the links too! FF.net link AO3 link Without further ado, here we go.

Sometimes, she couldn't help but let it bother her.

It was a small thing. Something hidden away, beneath clothing, able to be put out of sight, and thus out of mind. But since she'd moved here... since she'd spent more time with her husband on the beach... it was becoming harder to ignore.

"Hmm.." 18 stood in front of the bedroom mirror, her pajama shorts pulled down a bit as she gazed at her hip, fingers idly tracing the object of her discomfort. There, on her left hip, was a small tattoo of the Red Ribbon logo.

It really shouldn't have bothered her, she knew; she'd made her peace with that part of her life a couple of years ago, around the same time she'd finally allowed herself to accept she'd had feelings for her best friend. But still, it reminded her of a time when she hadn't been so free. Reminded her that everything she used to be had been stolen away from her. Reminded her of that twisted old man and his "experiments"...

"Hey babe, you ok?"

18 inhaled sharply and let go of the shorts, the elastic snapping back against her as she spun to face her questioner, her expression cool as ice. "Do I look like I'm in trouble, dear?"

Krillin frowned, tugging at the loose shirt that served as his pajama top. "Well... yes, honestly. You can fool a lot of other folks, 18, but I know when something's bothering you." He pointed at the mirror behind her. "Plus I kinda caught you staring at that for a while."

18 closed her icy blue eyes and exhaled sharply through her nose. "Picking up habits from the old man again, are we?"

"Hey now, come on," he protested. "You're my wife and the mother of my child, who is finally asleep, might I add. But I'm allowed to look in our bedroom."

18 crossed her arms and huffed. "Peeping tom."

Krillin laughed as he noticed the faintest hint of a smile on his wife's lips. "Okay, okay, my bad." He threw his hands up in mock despair. "Spare me, oh mighty goddess of Kame Island."

She opened one eye and peered at him. "Hmm... offer me tribute and I'll consider it."

Krillin took a step forward and stood on his tiptoes, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. "Is that better, mistress?"

18 felt her face flush. "N-no... not good enough." Her blush deepened as she felt his hand cup her cheek and bring her face to meet his, her heart skipping a beat as he began to place feather-soft kisses on her lips. She loved this feeling. It was almost enough to make her forget-

She broke off the kisses and sighed deeply again. "Okay... okay yeah, there is something that's been bothering me."

"Ahhh, I figured." He took her hand in his. "What's bugging you, hon? Is it that... mark again?"

She nodded. "Mhm. Just seems so dumb. I know that's not who I am, I know I'm more than that, but sometimes when I see it, it just reminds me of before. Back when I really thought I'd lost my humanity. When I thought it was too late."

Krillin frowned. "Babe, if it bothers you that much, we can try to do something about it." He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. "We can always see about getting it removed."

18 snorted. "Like we can afford that? Those procedures aren't cheap, you know. Besides, I doubt there are any places that do that who have a laser remotely strong enough to work on my skin."

Krillin shrugged. "Fair enough, I suppose." He rubbed his chin for a moment. "Have you considered covering it up with something else, then?"

18 rubbed her forehead. "Maybe... I dunno. I'm not sure what I'd put there even if I could, really." She sat silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. "I think... I think I'm gonna go check on Marron real quick." She gave her husband a pat on the head as she headed out the door. "Back in a sec."

She tiptoed across the hall to her daughter's room, the door now adorned with letters spelling out the little one's name, turning the knob as quietly as she could. She only opened it wide enough to slip in, and shut the door behind her; no sense risking her baby girl waking up when she could see just fine in the dark, after all. She took the final two steps to the crib nestled in the middle of the room and smiled.

There lay her baby girl, sound asleep. Her blonde curls splayed out on her pillow, her tiny fist balled up on her chubby little cheek, little noseless face the picture of angelic calm as her tiny chest rose and fell with each breath. 18 reached out and brushed her other cheek softly, and sighed with content.

Little Marron had only recently reached an age where they'd felt comfortable letting her have her own room, and even then it was reluctantly. But between needing a larger crib, and frankly no small amount of frustration, they'd decided it was time. Little Marron hadn't initially been a fan, being quite fussy the first few nights; her father had been as well, and 18 rather appreciated the irony of her husband wanting a return to their intimacy yet also being grumpy about not having Marron with them. She understood though. Marron was one of the only two people whose mere presence seemed to have a calming effect on her. She could be in the worst of moods, but the moment that baby girl cooed at her, it all seemed to drift away as she got lost in those big dark eyes.

18 rested her cheek on her arm as she watched her baby sleep. Her baby. The idea had felt so impossible not so long ago. She'd been sure, positive, that all the alterations to her body would have made her unable to conceive. Gero hadn't seemed the type to leave behind anything that didn't fit his uses, after all. And it's not as if she and Krillin had bothered with precautions for well over a year without consequence. 18 allowed herself an admittedly lecherous smirk at the memories.

But then, one day, it'd happened. The news had shocked both of them, and been a source of both happiness and fear for them as well. But the moment their little bundle of love had come into the world, all that fear seemed to vanish in an instant. She's been so very small, with her mother's soft blonde hair and her father's eyes and features. There was no doubt she was theirs, and Krillin opined that she was the physical manifestation of their love. She'd initially snorted derisively and called him sappy, but as she held their little bundle, she couldn't help but quietly agree.

The tiny form in front of her stretched and yawned, and her heart melted. She was so sweet and innocent... so much so that 18 could find it hard to believe she came from her. She'd been meant to be an assassin, a killer, but now all she wanted was to protect this little angel. 18 smiled and leaned down, placing a feather-soft kiss on her baby's head before quietly opening the door backing out into the hall, gently shutting it behind her.

"She really is amazing, huh?" 18 stiffened and turned to see Krillin leaning against their doorway, grinning.

"Amazing is an understatement. Sometimes I still can't believe that we... that I-"

Krillin straightened and stepped toward her, shushing her. "You best start believing it, 18. She's ours." He took her hand and kissed it softly and smiled as she sighed, contentedly. "You feeling better now?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "Feels kinda silly now, letting something like that get to me as much as it did."

He rubbed her back softly. "Nah, it's understandable hon, believe me. So... any ideas on what you might wanna cover that up with?"

18 glanced over at her daughter's door once more. She was her second chance, the ultimate proof of her humanity. The center of her world. Her eyes fell to the plaque on the door, taking in the letters of her daughter's name. 'M-A-R-R...'.

She smiled. "Yeah... I actually do."      ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once 18 had decided on her new design, Krillin had called up Bulma to see is she's had any ideas on how they could get this done; 18's skin was near-unbreakable, after all, and no normal needle was up to the task. Bulma had eagerly agreed to be of assistance and told them to come over the next day.

It had taken a moment for 18 to brace herself, going back into a sterile lab, laying down on a table, but the procedure had been shockingly swift, a matter of minutes, and it was over before she's realized. She handled it well, all things considered, though Krillin's hand was a bit sore by the time it was over. He smiled at her. "See? That wasn't too bad." He leaned over and gently pecked her nose. "I'm proud of you, babe."

18 nodded and hopped off the slab, walking over to the mirror to examine the new ink, as Krillin turned to speak to Bulma.

"Thanks for the assist, Bulma," Krillin said. "This really means a lot."

The blue-haired Capsule Corp heiress brushed her gloves off on her overalls and lifted her face shield. "Oh, no worries. I had a free day today, and I'd been meaning to test this puppy out." She patted the side of the machine. "I got a custom order from a dinosaur rancher asking for something capable of inking numbers into his livestock, but he never showed up with a test subject so I never got to see if it worked. Just a matter of coding in the design and letting the computer do its thing!"

Krillin blinked. "Wait, did you just use my wife as a guinea pig?"

The heiress chuckled and waved him off. "Don't think of it like that. I never would have offered to do this if I wasn't 100% sure it was safe."

"I gotta admit, I never knew there were dinosaur ranchers out there..."

"Oh... yeah." Bulma scratched her cheek. "I mean, there aren't anymore, but..."

He raised his eyebrows. Oh. I...oh."

"Yeeeeah." She laughed nervously. "Turns out there's probably a reason that profession isn't very common, huh?" She glanced over at 18. "So, whaddya think?"

18 gazed at the small tattoo in the mirror. The red ribbon had been altered to resemble a small red butterfly, and letters added in the same font to now read "MARRON". It was a minor change, but it suited her perfectly. Red Ribbon's mark had been a symbol of the humanity stolen from her; this would be a reminder of what had proven to her that they never had.

She felt Krillin's hand slip into hers and smiled, warmly.

"It's perfect."

[iworshipkeanureeves]

NSFW Alphabet - Neo

A/N: Soooo, I have been struggling with my writing recently and I thought I could try something where I didn’t need to write a continuous text. I love reading NSFW alphabets and I figured I could do one with Neo, because he is my favorite one. This is obviously just my opinion and we can discuss if you disagree.

Words: 2.5 K

Warnings: nsfw

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

After helping you clean up, Neo likes to stay in bed for some cuddles; he becomes quite clingy after sex. He loves feeling your warm, slightly sweaty body held tight in his embrace, as he whispers sweet nothings into your ear. He usually won’t talk too much, but he makes sure that you are feeling good and that you know how important you are to him. It all comes natural to Neo because he loves you so much.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Neo adores your lips. He loves kissing them, and even a simple kiss means a lot to him. Sometimes he runs his thumb along your lower lip, and it drives him crazy the way you circle your lips surrounding his finger as you suck it in, twirling your tongue around his fingertip. Watching your mouth wrapping around his girth must be one of Neo’s favorite things; how the moist inside of your sultry lips glide along his full length, stalling to place a wet kiss at the seeping tip.

Neo likes his hands, the way they perfectly cup your breasts (another favorite part of yours), the way they can work magic between your legs. He loves how much he can do with his hands, the range he has to give you the pleasure you deserve; how he can gently stroke your hair or caress your cheek, but at the same time it excites him to get a tight grip on your hips or pinch your nipple while he is thrusting ardently, trying to send you over the edge.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Neo loves watching his cum on your skin, his pearly seed dripping down your chest, droplets curving around your breasts. Sometimes, he likes to drag his thick fingers through the pool of his release, spreading it around your nipples, rubbing the smooth fluid into your skin. Seeing your gleaming eyes following his fingertips, Neo can’t resist sticking them into your mouth, waiting for you to suck his fingers clean.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Sometimes Neo waits for missions where you go into the matrix, and he can stay at the Nebuchadnezzar, monitoring you and observing the screen. Ever since Neo learned how to read the matrix in code, he has been always watching you fight in there. He has never admitted that to you, but it drives him crazy seeing how you battle the agents with perfected moves in your latex uniform. There are even times when it all becomes too much for Neo and he has to rush straight to his room to relieve the tension all by himself.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

He isn’t very experienced but he has learned a lot since you two met. Neo is all about pleasuring you; he might not ask directly about what you enjoy, but he takes note whenever you whimper or squirm, as he touches particular spots that work wonders for you. That is how he has acquired the knowledge on how to satisfy specifically you and just you.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Neo craves intimacy, he loves kissing your lips, your chest and your neck while making love with you. Missionary is his go to; Neo loves the way his weight presses you down, and how it allows him to feel you trembling underneath him. He savors the accessibility of your breasts too.

Neo enjoys spooning as well; your back pressed to his abdomen and chest, this genuine skin to skin contact, reminding Neo how real this world is. It is the sense of peace and clarity, something Neo has been searching for so long. He adores having you in his arms, making you feel safe, and in addition to that, Neo uses the opportunity to conveniently reach for your clit, rubbing heavenly circles between your thighs, kissing your spine and the back of your neck.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Neo can get pretty goofy at times, however, during sex he gets a little more serious. You will still get a good laugh once in a while with him, but he tends to leave it for later, when you cuddle in bed after sex.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Neo doesn’t care too much, he keeps himself in his natural state most of the time; however, he would be willing to alter it if you asked. For you, he’s okay with anything. It really turns him on when you have at least a little bit of hair, but he also enjoys when you change it up once in a while.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Neo is all about you, he is a passionate lover and he makes sure that you feel incredible the entire time. Occasionally, Neo whispers sweet words to your ear; how beautiful you are, how good you make him feel. His hands roam your body, showing love to all parts of your skin, and sometimes, he takes your hand entwining your fingers together, making sure you feel safe with him.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

He used to jack off quite a lot before being cut off from the matrix. Relationships used to be difficult for him, since he was always feeling as if something was off, it never felt real. Now, being a part of the real world, he doesn’t need to masturbate that much anymore, especially when he has you. Sometimes, however, when Neo leaves for a longer mission without you, he has no choice but to release the tension; and yet, you are the one he thinks about.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

He loves watching how you touch yourself. The way your fingers trace to your sensitive bud, getting lost between your succulent folds; it drives Neo crazy seeing you writhing, your chest pulsating with heavy breaths. The way your pleasure-filled eyes find his, and you invite him to join in, replacing your hand with a much sturdier one, whimpering feeling his thick fingers going in.

Neo also takes pleasure in you blindfolding him, depriving him of one of his senses. Every touch feels electric then, and the unknown excites him. The way your lips unexpectedly sheath his cock, your tongue tracing his veins; the sensation becomes heightened and he twitches under the slightest touch.

He was surprised to learn that in addition to the blindfold, he loved the ropes too. Neo was quite reluctant the first time you brought them up, wrapping the string around his wrists and securing them to the bed. However, the lack of sight paired with having no control only made Neo come harder from the way you rode his cock, grinding his pelvic bone.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Neo prefers having sex back in Zion, in your shared bed; he likes the comfort and security of it compared to the cramped and thin-walled rooms of Nebuchadnezzar. He loves when he has the time to properly satisfy you, bring your over the edge more than once the same night, hence he prefers to do it somewhere private where you can both relax.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

You. Basically Neo doesn’t need too much to get him going. A little bit of kissing, a little bit of touching, and he is turned on.

In particular, it’s very hard for Neo to keep his hands to himself when there is a party in Zion and the whole city is overpowered by sweltering heat; when you walk in nothing but a light piece of almost sheer fabric covering your bare skin. Then, Neo approaches you from behind, pressing himself to your ass, and his fingertips slip under your attire, travelling up the sides your quivering thighs. It is a sign for you to ditch the dance floor and go look for a private room.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Neo is fairly soft, he is reluctant to do anything that might possibly hurt you. Even a gentle slap to your face is a little too much for him, and Neo couldn’t force himself to this. The degradation is something he is not a fan of, and probably no crude words escape his mouth during sex. Even if you asked him, Neo couldn’t call you something like ‘his slut’, but still, he is more or less okay rewarding your ass with a stingy slap while fucking you from behind.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Neo adores oral sex, he enjoys it both ways. Sixty-nine is a common part of your foreplay, and he loves giving and receiving at the same time. Neo also loves when you give attention to his balls while eagerly sucking his length, and whenever you don’t want to make a mess, Neo loves coming inside your mouth, watch your fiery eyes as you swallow his load.

Going down on you, Neo enjoys when you take control, tangling your fingers into his hair, directing his tongue to a perfect spot. He loves when you tie his hands to the bed and ride his face as well, cumming all over him, lustfully moaning his name.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Neo likes to start slow, he makes sure that all parts of your body get their share of his love. He takes his time with kisses and loving strokes, until he sees the desperation for more in your eyes. He won’t go at a cervix-crushing force, but he can definitely speed it up if he feels like that is what you want.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Neo prefers the long thing. However, spending weeks on the Neb, sometimes there’s no choice but to do it quick before anyone from the crew starts looking for you. That is when he chooses to have you sitting on his lap with just your bottoms down, or a quick fuck from behind, panting and whispering his expressions of love.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Neo isn’t the one to suggest something riskier that a quickie with a possibility of getting caught. He is usually up for trying a new pose or location, but he could never agree to something that might possibly hurt you.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

Neo is pretty good at controlling himself and he prefers to go for one (sometimes two) fairly long round instead of a series of quickies, provided that the time is not pressing you. If you haven’t seen each other for quite a while, Neo cums pretty quickly the first time. On the other hand, it is possible to have three or even four rounds then spread throughout the same day, each being longer than the previous one, to make up for the time you lost.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Neo isn’t too much into toys. Sometimes, he loves switching his fingers for a handmade dildo (which Zion women have gifted to you) when he goes down on you. Other than that, he’s fine with his blindfold and maybe light ropes once in a while.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Whenever Neo tries teasing you, he ends up succumbing to it himself, so it never lasts for too long. On the other hand, he enjoys to be teased by you, and he doesn’t mind a little show that you can put up to drive him a little bit insane.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Neo isn’t too vocal, especially when things are happening at the Neb. At first, while warming up, Neo whispers his words of love straight to your ear. As he feels himself coming closer to the edge, he begins panting, heavy breaths turning into grunts, and then finally, Neo spills with a low growl; its volume depends on where he’s at.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Have I mentioned how good Neo is with his fingers? Whenever his thumb grazes you nipple, shivers run down your body and all you begin to crave is for Neo to rub them harder, pinching them slightly in the end. Knowing you so well, he delivers it just the way you wanted, and even adds a squeeze to your breasts, forcing you to arch closer into his grip. He then travels lower past your belly button, his fingers gently fighting their way by spreading your legs. His middle finger slowly slides between your petals, getting coated in your juicy sap, and starts circling around your swelling clit. Seeing the pleasure in your face, neo craves to give you more, and two of his fingers find your entrance, gathering some wetness to easily glide in. Neo has perfected the angle, and he reaches straight to your g-spot, bringing his other hand to begin working on your sensitive clit. He knows he can make you orgasm fairly quickly this way, but sometimes he slows down to savor the moment when you are whining and writhing, begging desperately to come undone. He can’t resist for long though, surrendering to your pleas, and with a few powerful moves, he makes you clench around his fingers, continuing to finger your pulsating walls.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

The length is impressive; it’s more than enough to reach your most sensitive spot, and it’s definitely a challenge to your trained throat. He’s not too thick though, but the girth still gives you a fairly good stretch once he enters you after a longer time. It is also kind of adorable that Neo doesn’t understand how big he actually is, and he flushes whenever you compliment him.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Neo wants you daily. He doesn’t pressure you though. He would rather wait than make you have sex when you really don’t want to. However, the wait is usually not necessary, and you get something done almost every day, even if that’s just oral or a simple hand play.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Neo usually falls asleep rather quickly, especially when you have sex after a long day. The warmth of your naked body in his embrace soothes him, and it is sometimes only a matter of minutes before he dozes off.

Tag-list: @keandrews​​​ @rdjloverxxx​​​​ @greenmanalishi​​​​ @lilywoood​​​​ (message me to be added or removed)

Masterlist

[negandarylsatisfaction]

[SUMMARY: Negan deals with Lucilles r*pe.]

TW: mention of r*pe, aggressive assault

Fluffy smut

Negan and Lucille.

Negan walked in after being gone most of the night, his shirt bloody, his face and hands filled with blood.

“You’ve been out for a long time.” You spoke softly as he turned to you, his bat in his hand. You could see the pieces of flesh hanging off it, it always disgusted you.

“I had to take care of something.” He responded coldly making you sigh.

“I hate when you do this stuff, was it really necessary?”

Negan looked down at the bat before taking a deep breath and throwing it to the side.

“Lucille, baby..I have to do what I have to do to protect us from what’s out there. I’d rather be safe than sorry.” You looked away from not agreeing with what he had been doing lately.

“I’m just afraid you might come across someone...with more defense than we can handle. I-“

“We are not handling anything. I am and I told you not to worry about it. End of discussion.” Negan left to the bedroom to clean up and change. He seemed to think he was invincible when he was out there and you were always worried about something happening to him.

The two of you sat together to eat dinner after he cleaned up. There were no words exchanged and he knew why, he knew how you felt about the bat. You hated the day he ever made the damn thing. After you both finished you stood up to clean the table when he stood up beside you and pulled you in against him.

“Come here.” He whispered holding you close.

“You know I don’t like it when you stay mad at me.” You looked up at him and sighed before you got distracted with something on his face.

“What is it?” He frowned noticing the changed look in your eyes.

“You...you still have blood on your face.” You turned away from him picking up the plates and taking it to the sink.

“Lucille you know why I have to do this.”

“No actually. I don’t. So many groups you come across, you’re not afraid of it backfiring one day? Someone following you back here?”

“If someone breaks the damn rules, I need to do what has to be done. If not, these as shoes will take advantage.” He began to raise his voice only angering you.

“No it doesn’t have to be done-“

“So do you expect me to let other assholes kill our men one by one, you want to give them that chance?”

“There’s other ways this can be handled, Negan.”

“Listen baby, just leave this to me.”

Constantly you were afraid of who Negan could come across. He never give you much information on what happened when he left the sanctuary as he knew you didn’t like hearing it and he didn’t want to worry you.

A couple days later you over heard a few of the men speaking about Negan making something even. The sound of it made you nervous, the men hadn’t seen you at the top steps over hearing their conversation.

A little while later Negan came back into the bedroom as you brushed your hair. He kissed you gently on the cheek as he took off his leather jacket before you caught him off guard with a question.

“Where are you going tomorrow?”

He slowed down looking over at you confused.

“Did someone say I was going somewhere?” You knew he wasn’t being honest and you didn’t have the patience for it.

“What do you have to make even, Negan?” You asked as you stood up turning to him.

“Woah woah woah, who said I was getting even with anyone?”

“Negan.” You placed your hands on your hips as he frowned staring down at you.

“Who told you something, Simon?”

“No one told me anything, Negan. I’m not deaf I hear things around me.” He sighed looking away, he didn’t want you to know of this, he didn’t want you to worry.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing for you to worry about.”

“Damn it, Negan I’m tired of this already. I just want to be at peace with you here with me. I’m constantly worried about something happening to you.” Negan looked down at you gently taking your face in his hands.

“Baby don’t you know you’re with a man that knows how to handle shit. I’m here every night with you but in order to keep it that way I have to keep others away. You trust me, don’t you?”

You nodded knowing he was only trying to protect his life with you. You hated how he went about it but what more could you say?

The next day you watched as your husband and his men packed their belongings. He promised he would be back tonight but gave you no other information about the situation.

He leaned in for a kiss before hopping in the truck and being driven off with Simon.

Negan had faced many different people, they all feared him and he drove off their fear, until he met this last group. This last group was giving him more trouble than the others, they had actually killed two of his men from another campsite. Negan had never told you this as he didn’t want to upset you, but attempting to get even he was only able to kill one man from their side. He made a promise he would return to kill another.

An hour had now passed since Negan left, he left one guard at the entrance named Benny to be on watch. He knew he wouldn’t be gone long. But Benny didn’t realize they were already being watched by two men apart of the very group Negan was going after. For the past couple of weeks the sanctuary had been under close observation. They studied the sanctuary figuring out a way inside without going through the entrance. They saw Negan and they would see you. At first you weren’t of importance to these men but as they watched they realized you were someone important to Negan.

You were now their target.

The sun was going down now as you looked out the window, you sat on the corner of the bed in your favorite pink silk robe Negan had found for you. You thought to yourself how things were and how long they were going to be this way. Taking a deep breath feeling relaxed you had no idea the men had made their ways in. They knew exactly where to find you. As one of the men waited by the entrance of where you stayed to keep watch, the other man slowly snuck his way inside. You heard the floor of the hall creek making you quickly look up before brushing it off turning towards your dresser. Your door was half open making it easy for the man to sneak inside your room without making a sound. Humming to yourself, your back was to the door as the man pulled out a knife slowly getting closer to you. Again you heard the sound of the floor creek behind you making you frown in confusion.

“Negan?” You turned and before you could scream a man charged towards you covering your mouth and pointing a knife to your face.

“I’ve been waiting for this.” The man had a black ski mask on and all you could see was his piercing dark eyes. You whimpered as he slid the knife down to your neck and looked down at what you were wearing. A sadistic smile forming on his face.

“This is nice.” He pealed one side of your robe aside with the knife as you began to cry making him look back up at you.

“Shut up.”

“Please-“ you cried with his hand still over your mouth making him laugh before he slowly let go just to hear you beg.

“Why are you doing this?” You whispered in tears.

“Why? Well your husband...see..he did something that pissed me off. He killed someone that was...important to me.”

The man explained that Negan had killed his cousin. Yet, this man was not honest on why Negan had ever killed one of them in the first place. You had no idea these people had butchered two of your very own from the other campsite. You closed your eyes as the tears fell from them, you knew this day would come. You knew eventually someone would make their way back to get even with your husband.

“Just...don’t let me turn...kill me in a way that my husband won’t have to find me..like that.” You whispered when he tilted his head in a confused manner.

“Who said I was gonna kill you?”

You opened your eyes confused looking up at him.

“I’m gonna hurt your husband in the worst way I can.” He began to laugh before suddenly turning you around and slamming your face against the wall, you felt him pushing your robe up and you began to panic.

“No please! Please don’t this this!” You fought as hard as you could turning back to him before he smacked you in the face. You screamed as he pulled you by the hair and threw you face first on the bed. You cried trying to get up when he suddenly put his arm around your throat and you felt the tip of the knife against your skin.

“You’re gonna do what I say unless you want me to wait patiently here for that husband of yours to return so I can kill him myself. Do you want him dead? It’s your choice.” You shook your head in tears knowing what this meant. He threw you back down on the bed as you heard him begin to unzip his pants, you cried in silence praying that it would be over soon and everything would be fine as long as Negan stayed alive.

After some time Benny caught the sight of something strange at the entrance of your door. The man on watch hid in the corner waiting for him to get closer. Benny frowned as he walked towards it slowly, his gun in hand ready for fire.

“Lucille?” Benny called out when the man came rushing out towards him making him drop the gun. The two of them fought when the man yelled out for the other.

“Jose!” After making sure Benny was down the two men ran out and quickly left the sanctuary.

It felt like the man had been in there with you forever. Still shaking you pushed yourself off the bed in a state of shock. Looking down at your robe you found it ripped apart, you cried trying to cover yourself as glimpses of what this man had just done to you replayed in your head.

“Oh shit....Lucille-“ Benny ran in out of breath as you quickly tried to cover every part of yourself.

“Get out!” You screamed as he stayed staring at your disheveled clothes. He froze for a moment before you ran to the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

“Shit..” he whispered, he knew how protective Negan was of you and he knew there was going to be a massive problem when he returned.

Negan arrived to the group with his bat over his shoulder. One of the men had a slick look on his face knowing the two guys were at his sanctuary at that very moment.

“Wipe that damn smirk off your face.” Negan spoke heading his way before Simon ran up to him.

“Hey, Negan is it? I have a question for you.” The man responded as Negan ignored Simon and stepped closer to him intrigued by the nerve this man had to continue speaking.

“How’s that wife of yours?” Negans whole demeanor changed at the mention of you. How the hell did they know about you at all?

“Negan, I double counted. There’s two missing.” Simon whispered close to Negan who began to put two and two together realizing this was all a set up.

“Son of a bitch.” Negan ran to the truck ordering Simon and his men to watch the rest of the group.

Negan drove speeding through the road, he was eager to get back to you. His body was tense, his hands clenching the steering wheel, the thought of anything happening to you drove him insane.

Holding yourself in the bath tub you hadn’t come out, you didn’t want to. Benny went to get your friend Abigail to talk to you, you could hear her knocking on the door but you didn’t want to deal with anyone. You knew Negan would be returning soon, the damage that man would do once he’d find out what happened was something you didn’t want to be around for.

Negan arrived at the sanctuary, running to where you were and found Benny right outside. The look of fear in his eyes at the sight of Negan charging towards his direction.

“Where is she?” He yelled as Benny ran beside him.

“Sir, I didn’t see those men come in I swear. I was in the front the whole time-“ Negan suddenly stopped and turned to Benny and grabbed him by the collar.

“What the hell happened to my wife?”

“I...I don’t know....she’s in the bathroom...I couldn’t get them. They ran out.” Negan pushed him aside before continuing to make his way to you. He stopped and looked at the bedroom, rage building in him at the sight of things broken and thrown around...anger taking over knowing it was you who was in that very room.

“Lucille please open, I just want to see if you’re ok.” Negan turned hearing Abigail call out to you in the bathroom.

“I got it from here.” He muttered low to your friend who quickly got up and left the room.

“Lucille-“ your heart stopped at the sound of Negans voice, you didn’t expect him back so soon.

“Lucille, baby..it’s me. Please open the door.”

The sound of his voice made you cry, you couldn’t see him, not like this. You could hear him turning the knob trying to open the door but it wouldn’t budge. Slowly pushing yourself up and covering yourself the best you could you walked towards the door and slowly opened it. Looking away from Negans eyes you didn’t see the way his eyes darkened at the sight of you. With deeply furrowed brows he looked down at your body and noticed your robe had been ripped apart. A twitch of anger above his lip as he noticed the marks on your body. His hands forming into tight fists, his knuckles turning white from how hard he squeezed. A death stare forming in his eyes, he did his best not to act on impulse, he knew you needed him in that moment. How could anyone hurt a woman like this, he thought to himself, let alone his woman. You quickly wiped away a tear and crossed your arms. All he wanted to do in that moment was destroy the house, yet for your sake he held his anger in. Without saying a word Negan began taking off his jacket and slowly placed it over you. You struggled to hold your tears and you couldn’t any longer, once he got close to you, you suddenly grabbed onto him tightly and began to cry. Negan closed his arms around you, he felt a knot in his throat develop at the sound of your cries. In all the years he had been with you never had he heard you this way.

“I promise you, I’m gonna fucking get him.” He whispered. Slowly you looked up at Negan, meeting with his eyes for the first time.

“I...I tried to stop him. I thought he was going to kill me..-“ you cried as you explained what happened.

“Did you see his face?” Negan asked looking down at you, you quickly shook your head in response.

“Jose. He came with another guy and the guy called him Jose. He told me this was a message to you.” You could see the the fury in his eyes, you knew they would feel his wrath. He took a deep breath and looked away not wanting to show you his aggression.

“Come on, let’s get you changed.”

You held onto his jacket around you looking at the floor as Negan walked you past the bedroom making you panic.

“No!” You screamed pushing past Negan as he caught your arm turning to you.

“I’m not going back in there, I’m not going in there-no.” You cried in a panic making him reach behind him and close the bedroom door.

“Ok, we’ll set up another room.” Negan bought you down the hall to another spare bedroom and had got you new clothes to put on. You felt exhausted all you wanted to do was lay down and sleep, but not alone. Negan stood awkwardly in the room as you stood silently staring at him with the clothes in your hand.

“Can I change alone..please?” Never had you felt uncomfortable to undress in front of your husband but he understood.

“Of course, baby.” Negan walked out closing the door behind him. His hands brushing through his hair as anger slowly took over him. Abigail knocked on the main entrance door making Negan look up.

“Is she ok?”

Negan shook his head in silence.

“I need you to stay with her while I take care of something.”

“Of course.” She responded walking towards your door before Negan quickly walked out. Negan didn’t want to waste any time in finding the man who did this. After making sure you were safely secured he got back in his truck and drove back to where Simon was.

Negan walked right in charging straight for the man who spoke to him before he left. He grabbed the man by the collar dragging him as Simon watched on. In all the men he had witnessed Negan kill, never had he seen him so angry.

“Where’s your friend Jose?” Negan held him against the wall looking down at him with a menacing look.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The man responded making Negan slam him against the wall harder.

“Listen you little fuck, I’m not in the mood for any games-“

“Negan there’s someone coming in back here!” Simon yelled out to him before running towards the two men making their way in. Negan pulled out his knife and without warning slit the mans throat before walking off. The rest of the group being held captive by the Saviors, Simon made the two men drop to their knees. Negan slowly approached them with his bat over his shoulder. Taking a deep breath he stopped before them as Simon stood behind them with guns to their heads.

“Which one of you pricks is Jose?”

One of the men smiled giving Negan his response.

“See....I have a rule I make clear to every man I come across. We do not rape. One of you pricks decided to go against that rule, you decided to hurt a woman. A woman very fucking important to me.” His nostrils flared as he gripped his bat tightly, he wanted to rip this man to shreds. He slowly walked up to him then looked down at his bat before throwing it to the side.

“Get up.” Negan spoke in a low voice. Jose chuckled making Negan pull him by his shirt roughly.

“You think this is fucking funny?” Negan looked at him in rage as the other man looked down in fear.

“Not as funny as your wife calling for you.” Negans expression turned dark, the thought of you calling for him and him not being around felt like a plunge to his heart.

“What the hell did you just say to me?” Just as Jose went to speak Negan punched him in the face knocking him to the ground. Simon watched on in silence. Usually Negan would end it with a bat but a bat wasn’t enough for him today, he wanted to destroy Jose with his bare hands. Thinking of the way he found you and the sound of your cries gave him adrenaline to keep going after him. Punch after punch, kick after kick Negan grunted hitting with full force. A pool of blood forming around him as he moaned in pain, Negan stared down at him out of breath with a grin.

“What’s a matter asshole? Not as tough as you thought you were?” Negan got down and looked at him in disgust before wrapping his hands around his throat and strangling him. Jose shook struggling to breath as Negan pressed down harder waiting until he no longer move.

“You should’ve never fucking touched my wife.” He spoke under his breath feeling the man die in his hands. He stood up out of breath not taking his eyes off him.

“What do you wanna do with this one?” Simon asked making Negan look up.

“Shoot him.” The man began to yell when Simon shot him in the eye.

Negan returned to the sanctuary stopping at your bedroom door. Abigail and you were talking when you became distracted by the sight of him.

“I’ll leave you guys alone.” Abigail whispered before quickly getting up and leaving the room.

“Where were you?” You whispered as Negan stared down at you in silence. The look of guilt in his eyes before he looked away. He couldn’t help but think over how many times you begged him to just stay home. How many times you asked him to not do certain things and for him not listening, it came back and hurt you...at least that’s how he thought of it. He blamed himself.

“Lucille....I’m sorry.” His words making you tear up as he sat beside you on the bed.

“I should’ve never left-“

“It’s not your fault, Negan.”

“It is.” He spoke low looking at the ground, his hands together when you looked over and noticed his bruised knuckles. You gasped making him look back at you.

“What did you do?” Negan hesitated for a moment looking at his hands.

“I did what had to be done. I promise I’ll never let anything happen to you again. Ever.” And Negan meant exactly what he said.

Seven long months had gone by, Negan remained by your side as you struggled to heal through the trauma. Seven months without you being intimate with him. It was hard, some days you’d cry, you couldn’t stop replaying certain things in your head. You could see the pain in Negans eyes every time you woke up from a nightmare. Some nights you’d wake up screaming, he hated seeing you this way. A part of you felt guilty for not being able to be intimate with Negan but you were thankful with how understanding he was.

Standing in the kitchen you thought to yourself how you did miss your husbands touch. Taking a sip of your water you heard Negan step inside the room.

“Baby.” His voice made you smile, he learned you didn’t like anyone coming to you from behind. He always made sure that you heard his voice whenever he enterted a room so you wouldn’t jump. You appreciated his considerate ways.

“Ready for bed?” You turned to him with a smile, he took your hand and led you to the room.

Negan took off his shirt and lay beside you, his arm over you he held you close. Nervously, you looked over at him with his eyes closed, hesitant to say anything.

“Negan?”

“Mm?” He raised his brows taking a deep breath.

“Make love to me.” His eyes shot open meeting yours he was speechless at first.

“Please.” You whispered, you felt your body ready, most importantly you felt your mind ready. Negan lifted his head up, looking down at you silently before leaning in for a soft kiss. The feel of your soft lips against his sent shivers down his spine. As he kissed you his hand moved under the covers, slowly going under the his shirt you wore, his hand was in between your thighs. You gasped loudly pushing him back making him quickly move his hand away.

“It’s me.” He whispered before gently taking your hand and kissing it.

“It’s me, Lucille.”

“I need to see you.” You whispered looking up at him, feeling his face. You smiled as he slowly got on top of you and between your legs. The only thing separating his skin against yours was your panties and his boxers. He instantly became aroused being so close to you, closer than he had been in months. You felt him grow hard against you, he wanted more but your comfort was his main concern.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked softly, you nodded in response. He kissed your jaw line and your neck as you felt him begin to thrust against you. Slowly he began to arouse you, his touch easing you so much that you closed your eyes. Without you noticing at first, Negan pushed down his boxers.

“Negan..” you whispered in between kisses making him stop and look down at you out of breath.

“Lucille, you just say the god damn word and I’ll stop. You hear me?” You nodded quickly in response.

“I don’t want you to stop, Negan.” He looked down at you and smiled before kissing you some more. As he did he reached in between the two of you and slowly pushed your underwear to the side. He felt you begin to shake beneath him as you felt the tip of him begin to enter. He looked you straight in your eyes holding you close.

“It’s me, baby. Look at me.” Negan thrust forward groaning deeply. You held your breath until you fully felt him in you and breathed slowly. You could see the strain in his expression as he felt you, all of him just wanted to dive into you hard. His desire for you was strong. He continued to move, his arms shaking as he did his best to control himself from moving in full force. You held onto him as he began to move a little faster, a soft moan escaping your lips making him look down at you.

“Talk to me-“ you moaned closing your eyes as he moved faster. He was making you feel something you never pictured yourself feeling again. The view of you enjoying yourself sexually was something he had been wanting to see for so long.

“Fuck-“ Negan could barely form words, his grunts turning you on more than you already were. You looked up at him and ran your hands up his chest and over his shoulders bringing him closer to you.

“Lucille..” every touch from you sent him to the edge. It had been so long since he felt you this way, everything in him built up intensely, and with one last thrust he cried out roughly against you. His body collapsed against yours, you didn’t want to let him go.

“Negan...” you could hear him out of breath against your ear before he lifted up his head and kissed your shoulder.

“I’m sorry for-“

“What are you sorry about? You were perfect.”

His words made you smile, you could always count on Negan to make you smile.

[tylluan-blodeuwedd]

Aisha! For the alphabet! She doesnt get enough love.

Hard agree, Aisha barely gets any love at all and she's such an interesting, fun character. I love doing these alphabets, they're a lot of fun, hope you like it.

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

You like to go on long walks, binge watch series together, she likes to take you to practice with her to watch, you also go to the beach club together, go to the mall to hang out, hang out in each others houses.

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

Aisha loves a lot of physical things about you, but mostly she loves your consideration for other people, their circumstances, their lives. She loves that you just don't judge anyone, that you treat everyone equally while also being accommodating to them, and that you don't get angry with people for not doing something your way, at your pace.

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

Aisha is familiar with panic attacks and feeling quite down in the dumps, she gets it, she doesn't try the "go outside maybe you'll feel better", "try exercising" rubbish that a lot of people spout. She's just a comfort, she'll just wait it out with you and try to calm you down, try to cheer you up and make you feel better, but if you can't, then she won't push it. 

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

You're both really young, ideally you just want to get through high school together, intact, college is a whole other concept right now, beyond that isn't even something you're considering. Living in the moment is much better to Aisha.

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

Fairly passive, her parents taught her communication and honesty is the best way and she wholeheartedly believes it, everything is discussed between you two. You make a lot of decisions as a couple and Aisha isn't really into pushing to take the lead on anything.

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

Forgiveness isn't something that comes easily to Aisha I don't think, it really depends on circumstances of the problem

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

Aisha is grateful for things people have done for her, she's grateful to her Sensei and Miguel for helping her find her confidence, grateful to her parents, her teachers, everyone who's helped her in some way. When you do something for Aisha, you best bet she's aware of it, if you give something up to spend time with her, or you get her something, she's grateful.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Aisha is really open and honest, she doesn't believe in secrets between partners, and her parents taught her that open honesty is best in the long run, so she tells you everything. Literally.

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

You don't really change Aisha except to bring her a little more peace, Aisha is a fairly well balanced person. You do however push her a little to try some new things she may not have because of a low confidence. Aisha helps you a lot with personal problems.

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

Not really, she only gets jealous if someone is flirting with you, but even then it's a passive aggressive jealous, not full out brawling jealous. No fights just a "Hey babe" and an arm around you.

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

She takes super good care of her lips, they're always soft and moisturized, no dry cracked kisses for you. Considering her first kiss was you, she's pretty good, they can be a little clumsy, but you can work on that.

Your first kiss was pretty simple, closed mouths, just a press of lips before pulling back to look at each other.

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

The gap between the realisation of feelings and the confession was pretty big, a couple of months. She told Miguel about it, not knowing what to do, and the advice was to just go for it. So she took a while to build up the courage, then asked you to go out to a cafe after practice to talk, so over a cup of tea (I'm a tea drinker, soz guys) she told you. It was quite simple, there was really no misunderstanding when she said that she had feelings for you.

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

I guess in future, you're teenagers rn so it isn't something she's thinking super hard about. If she were to propose though it would be really cute and private. Being married to Aisha would be so easy, she's so level headed and sensible, plus she takes no shit, though sometimes you'll have to de escalate a situation if someone really offends her.

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

Mostly it's just a shortening of the name, she uses Babe a lot though.

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

She's pretty much the same, outwardly she doesn't change that much, it's obvious you two are dating, but it isn't an in your face "look at me, here I am" ordeal. It's a cute, sweet, easy relationship. Aisha is very forward with her feelings, because bottling it up does nothing, and her parents taught her that honestly really is best.

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Aisha is super proud of you, when you started dating you kept it just to close friends knowing, then a few weeks later everyone knew. Low-key brags about you at the dojo and to her parents. Has zero fear of showing any kind of affection in public.

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

Aisha just KNOWS stuff, she just knows, she can deduce things from a glance, and you get to nonverbal communication very quickly in your relationship.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

Aisha is super romantic at heart, Valentine's day is always going to be a treat, she does the cliche stuff, but is also very creative with romancing you. Aisha would do anything, barring a few extremes, to make you happy, and it really shows.

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Aisha will go above and beyond to support you in anything and everything, she will always want you to succeed and be happy.

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice up your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Your relationship is spicy enough with Karate war 2 going on, you're happy just as you are, you don't need to go cliff diving together or jump out of a plane to feel closer.

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

Aisha knows you better than you know yourself, when something is wrong she knows what it is and how to fix it before you do 70% of the time. She's insanely empathetic towards you, she just gets you, and because of past bullying, she understands a lot of negative feelings and what they could lead to. She's a great source of stress release.

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

To Aisha, your relationship is really important, not only are you partners, you're also best friends, confidants. Your relationship definitely places in the tied top 3. Comparability to material things, possibly water, your friendship, your love is a necessity to survival.

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

Aisha loves it when you play with her hair, she almost never lets anyone touch it, pretty much just you and her mother, but she loves it when you play with it and help her care for it. It's a pretty big sign of trust and love from Aisha.

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

Somewhat, Aisha just really loves being in your presence, there's a lot of heads on shoulders, sitting close, walking with fingers linked. But you're not the kind that spoons watching tv, or makes out 24/7.

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

You're both very chill in the relationship, even though you spend pretty much every day together you can still go a while without seeing each other and just text. If you're really really missing each other though, you both have a stuffy from the other, and you facetime/skype a lot.

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

Aisha would run into a burning building for you, she would go to the ends of the earth and back again just to see you smile because she knows you'd do the same for her. She defends you against every besmirching of your name.

[onthecrosslook]

Three Acts

Note: @call-me-moo Here goes nothing…

Epilogue

(From this point onward, the chapters will not be illustrated. I attempted to illustrate them, but it diverges from canon so much that I couldn’t find a single scene that worked. I’m really sorry about it. But still, I hope you enjoy the epilogue…and whatever that entails.)

I’m in a wheelchair at Mary’s funeral. The doctors told John I was too weak to leave the hospital, but I insisted on going. Their concerns were warranted, after all- the last time I left, I nearly bled out in an abandoned building. But having my best friend…

Perhaps maybe more…?

I shake the thought away.

I can’t ruin this.

Being with John is the least I can do, and the most I could ever ask for.

I don’t deserve him.

Everyone that was there to pay their respects have already left- not that many people came to begin with. Most washed their hands of the whole situation when they found out who Mary truly was, and what she had done to us. Only John and I stayed afterwards.

Together. Once again, together.

We remain at the grave, respectively sitting and standing in companionable silence. Neither of us are sure what to say- to each other, or to Mary, I’m not sure. It’s fairly overcast, and I can see the beginnings of storm clouds rolling in above us.

How appropriate.

I exhale and tentatively steal a glance at John. He looks calm, but I can see a range of emotions flashing in his blue eyes as he stares at Mary’s gravestone. One of his hands is balled into a shaking fist, and the other loosely holds a bouquet of white lilies.

“Sherlock,” he murmurs, his voice cracking with emotion and painful, unsaid words. “Sherlock, what…what am I supposed to say…?”

He killed his wife.

I swallow hard. I’m not sure what to say, either, but anything I could do…“Do…would you like me to speak first?”

He killed his wife for me.

John nods stiffly and stands back, before hesitating and pushing my chair a bit closer. He looks as though he wants to say something to me, but he bites back the words and keeps them to himself.

I take a deep, shaky breath. “…Mary. I…I…want you to know that…Even if- if you shot me. Even if you…with Rosie…Even after all that, I- I think…I forgive you. You were selfish. And you- you lied, and you hurt everyone. But…you were also kind. And you were selfless, sometimes. And I saw some of the love you had f-for everyone, even if you don’t want to admit it.”

Where is this coming from? I hated Mary, I hated her, I really did, I hated her smile and her words and her subtle manipulation throughout the entirety of our fabricated friendship-

“Sherlock…” John says softly, urging me to stop getting lost in my mind. It’s funny how he can do that with a single look…

I can’t stop. Not now.

“-And…and I know I should be…the last person who tells you about love, because…because I’ve only truly…truly known what it meant after meeting John.” I don’t look at John. I’m too afraid of how he’ll react. “And…and you. I don’t…believe in the afterlife, you’re aware. But…I- I hope…” I feel hot tears burning my eyes. “I hope you’re at peace, Mary.”

John rests a hand on my shoulder as I choke back tears. I flinch at the sudden contact. He doesn’t say anything further as I take deep breaths to regain my composure.

I shouldn’t be this emotional. I shouldn’t care.

“Sherlock,” he repeats again, the barest trace of a smile on his face. “How- how do I compete with that?”

I laugh and lean into his touch. It feels warm, comforting, loving.

It feels right.

I smile weakly back at him. “Just say what's on your mind. You’ll be all right.” And I mean it. He will be all right.

He sighs and walks forward. A moment passes before he finally builds up the courage to begin speaking- and once he starts, it all rushes out of him like an unblockaded river. “Mary. You were my wife. Once. And…and yes, I shot you. But you shot Sherlock, so I think we’re even. You were a liar. And a killer. But I suppose that’s my type, yeah? I can’t help going for the crazy ones. It’s…it’s my addiction.” He glances towards me, pain in his eyes, before looking back. “I just…I don’t think I could forgive you, normally. But…if…if Sherlock could- if my favourite bloody sociopath could find it in his heart to…I…I think I can, too. Goodbye, Mary. I think I’ll be happier now.”

He deserves it. John Watson has been through far too much heartache, he deserves to have a bit of happiness.

“John, are you all right?”

His expression lightens a bit, as though he’s gotten a lot off of his chest.

I suppose, in a way, he has. Catharsis can be a wonderful thing.

“Yeah, Sherlock. I’m all right. For the first time…in…in a while. Come on. I’ve got to finish moving my stuff back to Baker Street, and I’ll be damned if you use being shot as an excuse not to help.”

I smile softly. “No excuses?”

“None,” he agrees, before leaning down and pressing a chaste kiss against my lips. “I think we’ve been making excuses for far too long.”

I know we have. Things will be different, at first. It’ll take a bit of getting used to. But I think we can do it.

Sherlock Holmes…and John Watson.

¿?MThIeSS?MEnd¿???

“R, sweetheart, do you have eyes on Sherlock Holmes?” A smooth voice- just like honey- creeps into R’s ear like a particularly cunning virus.

R swallows bitterly as her lips curl into a snarl. “Yes, sir. He’s at the grave,” she growls, her American accent feeling much more natural than the British one she had been faking for so many years.

“Excellent,” the voice says, which isn’t the most original comment, considering how many criminal masterminds have said ‘excellent’ in regards to evil plans before. “Ugh, isn’t he boring?”

“Who?” R asks reluctantly.

“John. So plain, so obviously in love- oh, I think he finally kissed his little boytoy! Bravo, John, it only took you five years!” The voice is taunting, emanating energy as though it would never again have a chance to play. “I’m sorry, that’s a bit of a sore spot, isn’t it?”

“Of course not, sir,” R says curtly, ignoring the previous musings. “Would you like me to eliminate them?”

“No, no, no!” the voice shouts viciously, making R flinch. “Don’t you dare touch a single curl on that pretty thing’s head! I want Sherlock to recover and be healthy for our next round.” He says ‘round’ as though it’s such an intimate thing- it’s altogether rather surreal.

As much as R would like to put a bullet in each of their heads, she controls her impulses. God knows what he would do to her if she did. “Yes, sir.”

The voice groans. “Stop with the formalities, Mary. It’s so dull, and you of all people should know how much I despise dull people.” He lowers his tone to something dark and deathly soft. “Refer to me as ‘sir’ one more time, and I will string your bloody corpse up in Regent’s Park for the birds to have at you.”

Mary swallows, her gun shaking violently from her sniper’s post. “With all due respect, Mr. Moriarty, Mary is no longer my name,” she whispers.

“Ah, well, it suits you!” Moriarty exclaims over the comms, his voice back to its regular gusto. “Head back to the car, Mary. We need to discuss your punishment.”

Mary pales. “Punishment, Mr. Moriarty? But- I haven’t-“

He laughs. It sends shivers up her spine. “Mary, Mary, quite the contrary,” he quips. “You nearly killed my favourite pet. Shooting him near the heart- tsk, tsk, I expected better of you. The little joke about saying ‘hi’ to me was clever, too, but I can’t have this go unnoticed. We’re both professionals, I’m sure you understand!”

“But-“

Moriarty interrupts her with a shout. “BUT I suppose I’ll be lenient, just this once.” He seems to be barely holding back deranged giggles. “Instead of taking your hand, I’ll settle for a finger. Off you pop!”

The line cuts off abruptly as Mary feels a needle plunge into her neck, and she suddenly wishes she hadn’t worn a bulletproof vest when confronting Sherlock…

~

(To Be Continued!)

Act One linked below:

https://benaddicted-linfanuel.tumblr.com/post/656892650818011136/three-acts

Act Two linked below:

https://benaddicted-linfanuel.tumblr.com/post/656968775195934720/three-acts

Act Three linked below:

https://benaddicted-linfanuel.tumblr.com/post/656990419321864192/three-acts

Act Four linked below:

https://benaddicted-linfanuel.tumblr.com/post/657145687996301312/three-acts

[staticscreenwriting]

The loneliest time of the year || Part two

Part 2 of 4

Summary: With a broken heart and the fear of having failed as a father, Frankie returns to his parents house for Christmas. What is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year feels quite lonely. Though when an old friend shows up unexpectedly with her young son in tow, Frankie’s Christmas seems to gain a little more happiness. Can they help each other fight the ghosts of their pasts and overcome their fears ?

A/N: This is part of my 12 days of Christmas / Advent special. Likes, reblogs, comments are all much appreciated.

[additional note: I am German. Sometimes I get the tense wrong or make mistakes. I am useless when it comes to punctuation. Go easy on me, please.]

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me: Four messed up pies

By the morning of December 9th a heavy blanket of snow rests upon the world like a tick coat of marshmallow fluff. 

A restlessness surges through Frankie as he turns from his left to his right to his back then repeats the process all over again. He kicks away the blankets then pulls them back. Sleep doesn’t come easy these days. In fact sleep hasn’t come easy in a while. It’s a price you have to pay for leading the life he leads, has led. For doing the job he did. You see things, bad things, and they stay with you. Not always but in the quiet moments they creep back into your mind and all you can do is stare and hope they fade again soon. Fill your brain with other things. Occupy your mind.

It’s moments like these that his fingers are twitching and his body is aching for release. For something to numb his mind. Help him forget. 

There aren’t a lot of things that Frankie is proud of. In fact he can count them on one hand. One of them is his ability to fly. He's a damn good pilot … most of the time. (He is when someone doesn’t force him to navigate an overloaded plane across the Andes). He’s proud of Rosie. Despite his flaws and shortcomings he managed to create something so utterly perfect, that’s something to be proud of. And the. There’s the little coin in the pocket of his jacket. The one he fumbles with whenever he’s anxious or stressed. It’s gold and smooth and it proudly displays a big number 10 in the middle of a triangle on the front of the coin.

10 months. That’s a proud achievement. 

It could be more. It should be more! He really tried but after coming home from Colombia, one man less than they went in, after his girlfriend broke up with him and took Rosie with her. After everything. He needed the psi to stop. Just for one goddamn minute. He felt immediate regret wash over him when he woke up the next morning. Called Pope. Entered a 12 step program.

10 months and he feels better. He likes himself more now. But in those 10 months the voices have gotten louder, the images clearer, his heart feels heavier. 

With sleep being so far out of reach, he kicks off the blanket and drags his body out of bed. The smell of coffee hits his nose as soon as he steps out of his room, it drifts from the kitchen all the way up the stairs. 

His parents are sitting by the kitchen counter, mom holding onto a big steaming mug of coffee while his dad is deeply invested in the morning. Paper, glasses perched low on his nose. This is home, it sends him straight back to his childhood. If only, he thinks, if only he could provide this sense of warmth and domesticity for his own child. 

A knock on the front door shakes him from his thoughts. As he swings it open, a sharp sting of cold winter air whips at him, nips at his nose, his ears and his bare feet.

“Frankie hey, oh sorry did I wake you?”

(Y/N) is once again bundled up in layers of cozy clothes, keeping her warm and sheltered from the harsh weather. She looks cute. Absolutely fucking adorable. But in that moment, he doesn’t really notice that. Doesn’t notice Leo standing behind her either. His entire attention rests on the steaming pie she holds in her hands. 

“You made a pie?”

“She made 4.” Leo speaks up, his voice dripping with irritation and annoyance. 

“Thanks for throwing me under the bus, dude!”

Frankie regards the exchange with a fond smile pulling at the corners of his lips. There’s something so distinctly familiar in the way she interacts with her son, so unapologetically her. The way she’s always been. But now grown up entirely. A mother. 

“Why did you make 4 pies?” He asks, eyebrows raised in amusement.

“Well I didn’t plan on making 4. The first one I mistook salt for sugar so you can imagine how it tasted. The second one I put way too much sugar in, might’ve been trying to compensate for my mistake with the first one but yeah that one did end up in the trash as well. The third … well I got pretty invested in an episode of unsolved mysteries and forgot it was in the oven so it turned out um — “

“Black. It was burned to a crisp.” Leo chimes up again, this time more amused than annoyed by his mother’s baking escapades.

“Yeah. It burned. But number 4 is looking pretty good.”

She looks up at Frankie with a smile so radiant it rivals the sun reflecting on the snowy ground. Pride shines in her eyes as she holds the pie towards him.

“Did you make me a pie?”

“Not exactly. It’s mostly for your folks. They agreed to watch this one while I got shopping for his Christmas presents.” (Y/N) explains, her tumb motioning towards the little boy over her shoulder. “This is a thank you to them for being literal angels. “

“Oh man you wouldn’t be saying that if you had to live with them growing up. I can’t tell you how many times dad unplugged my console while I was in the middle of a game.”

It’s a joke, of course it is. He really lucked out in the parents department and he’s not too proud or too shy to admit it. Maybe, he thinks, the good parent gene might’ve skipped a generation with him. His ex will surely agree with that statement. 

“Hey uh — you mind having some company while shopping ?”

“You wanna go shopping for toys?”

“I need to get some presents for my daughter.”

“Oh that’s right, you have a kid too. “

He doesn’t blame her for not remembering. He doesn’t strike people as the father type. And really, he hasn’t seen his little one in quite some time.doesn’t see her during the entire Christmas time. Is he really much of a father anyway?

“Sure yeah! I’d love some company.”

Maybe, Frankie thinks, this will help him drown out the voice. Those that tell him bad thoughts, whisper mean things. Maybe it will help him filter out the images. The blood. The suffering.

Frankie was never overly fond of the extreme commercialization of what should be a peaceful family holiday. But maybe this year he is,a little bit at least. Because those bright colors, the loud noises, the crowds, the ads assaulting you from every corner, that all will help drown out the dark. At least for a moment. 

“Alright lemme just get changed real quick.”

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me: Five days a week

“What the fuck is this?”

“It’s uh … it’s a … a game?”

“A game where you have to catch a piece of … poop.”

A wave of laughter tumbles from (Y/N)’s lips as Frankie holds up the brightly colored box, proudly displaying a drawing of a smiling turd. 

“It’s so dumb. And that says a lot coming from me, I can appreciate a good fart joke. But this is …. this is just dumb. “

“ It's what the kids these days want. I guess …”

“Would you buy this for Leo?”

“Absolutely not,” (Y/N) replies before taking the box from his hand and placing it back on the shelf between several more games of a similar kind. “But he wouldn’t like it anyway. Leo likes books and animals and fantasy movies. He’s so smart sometimes I wonder where he got it from.”

“You kidding me?” Frankie exclaims, “you’re so smart and if I remember correctly, you always carried around books when you were younger.”

(Y/N) just shrugs at his words though Frankie can’t make out a faint blush of red dusting her cheeks. “Leo is such an easy kid, always has been. Sometimes I wonder if that’s really the way he is or if he just tries to be that way because of me. Because he knows that I have to do all the parenting by myself and he feels he’s responsible for helping me along.”

“Don’t be silly. You’re doing good with him. Least you know what to get him for Christmas, what he cares about, what he’s interested in.”

His heart feels so heavy. His words seem to weigh down on his tongue like a stack of bricks. To admit your own failures to yourself is one thing, to admit them to someone else is quite another story.

“What do you mean ?”

“I — I have no idea what to get for Rosie. I don’t even know when I’ll see her next. She stays with her mom 5 days a week. I only get her on the weekends and even then her mom often finds a reason not to let her stay. Special occasions? I don’t get to spend those with her. Bet she doesn’t even recognize me anymore next time. She’s just a baby …”

This can’t be happening. He’s not going to start crying in the middle of a Toys R Us like a hyperactive toddler on a temper tantrum. Not in front of a beautiful girl who has been nothing but kind to him. This can’t be happening.

(Y/N)’s hand settles on his arm with a gentle touch. Almost as if she’s afraid he’ll break any minute now. And honestly, he might.

“Tell me about Rosie. I know she means the world to you and that’s all that matters Frankie. You’re trying. You’re trying so hard and I’m sure there’s lots about her that you know that no one else does. She’s your baby too. So tell me about her and we’ll figure out what to get her.”

And so they sit down on a swing set, one that’s definitely not meant for adults to sit on and have deep discussions, and Frankie starts talking. Once he starts it’s like a cork has been popped. It pours out of him, all of his pride and admiration and love for Rosie. All that has been brewing for so long now bubbles over. 

“... and she, she loves cuddling onto my chest and just listens to me. She doesn’t understand a word but she looks at me with her big beautiful eyes and it feels like I’m telling her all the biggest secrets of the universe the way she looks at me. Sometimes I sing and she — she falls asleep immediately.”

“That’s adorable.”

“Nah I think it's because my rendition of Eric Clapton is just real bad and boring.”

Their laughter is quiet, almost as if they are afraid of breaking the spell of this moment. Sometimes you find yourself at your most vulnerable during the big moments of your life and sometimes you do in the middle of a Toys R Us, sitting on a swingest that just barely holds your weight while a plastic giraffe looks over your shoulder and Kacey Musgrave’s rendition of “I’ll be home for Christmas” plays over the same overhead speakers that have been installed there in 1983.

“I just don’t want to disappoint her.”

 He’s already disappointing himself and that hurts bad enough.

“Frankie, let me be honest with you. She’s a baby, she’s not gonna care what you get for her. This is more about you than her. Whatever you get she’s gonna like it. Babies are easy to please, gets harder the older they get. We’ll find something cute for her but um … I think you should call her.”

“She’s a baby, she doesn’t have a phone yet.”

“ Really? I had Leo on a newborn data plan the second he popped out.”

Frankie raises his eyebrow in confusion.

“I was joking you dingus. Of course you’re gonna call her mom. There’s this thing, I don’t know if you’ve heard about it, it’s called FaceTime. You can actually see ther person on the other side. “ 

“ Very funny. I know what facetime is … “ 

“ Then call them. You said it yourself, the little one doesn’t understand a word of what you’re saying but that doesn’t matter. You’re there. You’re showing interest and taking initiative. It shows you care. And I think seeing her might be good for you too, even if it’s not in person.” 

“ You know, that sounds like a pretty good plan. “ 

“ Yeah? “ she asks him, a hopeful glimmer in her eyes, in her voice, in her entire being.

“ Yeah. “ 

“ Alright! Now let’s go find some presents for the little princess. May I suggest a cellphone? “ 

This time her laughter isn’t quite. It’s loud and radiant and the way her own joke amuses herself, is so goddamn endearing to Frankie. 

“ Ah shut up. “ he replies though his voice too is dipped in amusement as he throws his arm around her shoulders and they walk down the shiny linoleum floor, past dolls and teddy bears and Star Wars action figures.

And it feels right. Like the fit together perfectly. Like puzzle pieces slotting into place. 

And that feeling is damn scary.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me: Six-hour flights.

The floor of (Y/N)’s living room is covered in wrapping paper. Reds and greens and silvers and golds hide what once was a nice dark cherry wood floor. There are bows and ribbons and gift tags in all shapes and sizes and colors. 

“ Looks like Santa’s workshop in here, “ Frankie exclaims as he drops down on the floor next to her. All the presents they’ve purchased, neatly lined up in front of them, ready to be wrapped. Though to be fair, Frankie is quite sure he’s not gonna do a lot of wrapping himself. Sometimes you gotta admit defeat. And he ain’t too proud to admit that he is a horrible, horrible wrapper. 

“ Yeah, I know I’m making a big fuss over things like this. Wrapping and the tree and stuff like that. I just — I don’t know it just makes me happy when I see that my actions put a smile on the faces of the people I love. “ 

“ Oh I wasn't judging. It’s sweet. “ 

For a while they stay in comfortable silence. Just them and the radio playing old Christmas songs. (Y/N)’s hands do quick work on the presents, Santa’s elves would be jealous. 

It’s the first time in a long time, that silence doesn’t make him feel uncomfortable. That it doesn’t open up the gates for the voices to grow louder and the bad images to consume his head. No, this silence feels comfortable. It’s soft and warm. It’s tinted in golds and reds. 

Maybe, he thinks, maybe seeking the company of someone who exudes joy and warmth does him good. Someone who knows him but not the bad. Never the bad. The faults, yes, the fears even, but not the blood that stains his hands or the vices he so desperately tries to fight.

“ What was the best Christmas present you ever got? “ (Y/N) speaks up as she glides a pair of scissors along the ribbon turning it into shiny curls. 

“ Millennium Falcon playset.” 

“ You and a million other little boys. “ 

“True. What can I say, I was easily pleased. What was yours ?”

(Y/N) thinks for a moment before a wistful smile settles on her face. 

“My bubblegum pink roller skates.”

“Oh, I remember those!”

And he did. Squeaky pink roller skates with 4 pastel blue wheels and glittery silver laces.

“I remember the following summer all you did was skate up and down the street.  “

“Yeeeah but that wasn’t entirely because of the skates.”

Frankie combs his hair from his face, he really needs to get it cut, and looks at her in confusion. “Huh?”

Another chuckle falls from (Y/N) ‘s lips. “I can’t believe you didn’t notice.”

“ Notice what?”

“That I had the biggest crush on you.”

Frankie is grateful for the fact that he’s not taking a sip of his drink right then, it surely would’ve ended in a spit-take. He was a nerdy kid, a nerdy teenager too. Kinda shy, a little lost. He wasn’t usually the boy that girls fancied.

“Me? You had a crush on me? “

It doesn’t make sense, not really. She was the one that was fascinating and exciting. Though he didn’t think of her that way when they were kids, he knew she was beautiful even back then. He hadn’t been interested in her romantically because she was a few years younger but that didn’t meanie didn’t realize the magic she held.

“Yes, you. You were cool, Frankie. You were older and you knew stuff about cars and planes and you could name every Star Wars spaceship and you had a skateboard. “

“I was a horrible skater.”

“Sure but it wasn’t so much about the skating as it was about the aesthetic. You were cool and you still are cool”

Frankie shrugs his shoulder nonchalantly. She thought he was cool, still does. No one ever thought he was cool. He isn’t a smooth talker like Pope and even he himself can admit that look wise he isn’t even playing in the same league as Will and Benny. But if (Y/N) thinks he’s cool that must mean something. Right ?

“You were the one traveling all over the world with your dad and you thought I was cool?”

She sets down the scissors, let’s her hands rest on her lap. There’s a sense of nervousness exuding from her now. Like the words she wants to speak are resting on the tip of her tongue and yet they are so difficult to speak.

“Maybe that was part of it too. I never had a real home. Nothing stable at least. Except for my grandparents’ house. This was home and you were, you are, forever entwined with my idea of home. Sometimes I missed this place so much that I’d sit in my room and my little brain would think of all the fun adventures we could go on if only I was old enough to hop on a 6 hour flight by myself. I’d ask grandma about you every time I called and she always told me what trouble you got into.”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yeah and that only made you more exciting in my eyes. Then she’d offer to let me speak to you but I was too chicken shit to do it. Thought you might look right through my facade and realize how into you I was.”

“I was so oblivious, I can assure you I wouldn’t have noticed.”

“Well … it’s too late now.”

“I guess so. Just — next time you fall in love with me let me know, alright.”

Her laugh rings through the room like bells, like songs, like whispers of a childhood magic long forgotten.

“That only sounds fair. It’s a deal.”

“Good, now …. would you mind wrapping my gifts for Rosie?”

“Nope, but in return would you come see Leo’s play with me next week? My dad can’t come and I think Leo would like to have some more people there that support him. And he seems to think you’re cool so …”

“Huh guess if you both think so it must be true.”

“Don’t let it get to your head.”

“Of course I’ll come. “

She smiles and it sends a weird flicker through him. Like fire, like electricity. 

“ Now let me teach you how to curl the ribbon properly.”

[what-the--curtains]

Alliance

Chapter 3 - The Revelation

(Mando x f!reader)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Summary: After agreeing to help the Mandalorian, you land on Tatooine. Joined by an old friend the three of you locate a potential informant and a secret is revealed.

Notes: everytime I get a lil notification sayong someone has liked this post my heart gets so full so thank you all❤️❤️ I hope you continue to enjoy the story as much as I enjoy writing it!

Tw: Mentions of Alcohol/blood, Swearing

Tagged: @crazycookiecrumbles

Word count: 3.2k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

R-16, Geonosis, Outer Rim Territories

Your POV

“Pretty swanky” you say, taking note of the Mandalorians newly acquired ship “who’d you steal this off of.”

He boards it stopping at the top when he realizes you hadn’t followed him up. “Are you coming? They’ll notice you’re missing soon. Your client didn’t look like the kind of guy to last a whole night.”

“How do I know you’re not going to sell me off again?” you ask, currently rethinking this whole situation.

“ If that’s what I was here to do that, you’d be handcuffed already”

“Really? Because if I remember correctly had it not been for your counterpart hitting me in the head last time, you’d have been on your way back empty handed.” He shakes his helmet evidently getting aggravated.

“Where is she by the way?” you ask.

“We don’t have time for this.” he interjects, walking back down and grabbing you by the arm. You shake free “I’m not going anywhere with you if you’re going to treat me like a prisoner.” A clatter from up above draws you attention away from the conversation at hand. “You sure the kid’s not just roaming around upstairs.”

“Wait here” he exhales, disappearing briefly before returning with an unmistakable bundle.

“Anya!” you exclaim under your breath, eyes lighting up. “Impossible” you whisper as the small creature wriggles out of Mandos' arms and rushes towards you. “How?” you ask looking up. “Answer me Mandalorian” .

“The child” he responds “he brought it back to life. What?” he asks, noticing your forehead wrinkle in confusion.

“Nothing, I just thought the only people that could do that were long gone.” Perhaps you owed this child more than just a thank you for saving Anya. If he was able to give life he too was able to wield the force, your grandmother would not be happy if you left a Jedi in the arms of the empire. Knowing this you climb onto the ship with Anya.

“They’ll be a bounty on me now.” You state, sitting down in the co-pilot seat.

“Welcome to the club,” he says, jumping the ship into hyperspace.

“Let’s get a few things straight. I now understand why you traded me, and why this child must be returned safely, but do not get me wrong, we are not friends, I do not forgive you and I definitely do not trust you. I am here to repay a debt. Once I have we go our separate ways, and I never have to see beskar ever again. Got it?” He nods shifting into auto-pilot. “Good. There a shower on this thing?” you ask, your smell becoming increasingly offensive.

“Downstairs to the right.” You drop down scoping out the ship, not too shabby. You hear a clang, turning around to face the Mandalorian.

“What?” you say, concerned he’d caught you snooping.

“Here” he says, handing you a set of clothes, “should fit.” You take them, but he doesn’t move, and he’s blocking the door to the shower.

“What are you waiting for? A kiss?” You ask as you push by him into the bathroom having flustered him enough to knock him off balance. Closing the door you breathe a sigh of relief, as you lock it behind you. You get into the shower letting the water hit your face and run slowly down your body. It’s not warm, but it’s better water pressure than you’ve had in months. Looking down you see a puddle of burgundy pooling at your feet, caused by the admixture of blood, makeup and various other fluids currently coating your body. You rinse the blood and guts out of your hair scrubbing at that which had been there long enough to crust over. You wince in pain when you brush up against an old scar that must have reopened in the fight earlier today, oh well, you think, it will heal. The various wounds on your body were proof of that. After about a month of being in the rings you stopped bruising, but scarring was still a part of day to day life. They covered the markings and tattoos scattered across what was once smooth skin. Turning off the water, you step out of the shower and dry off before pulling on the black pants and long sleeve provided to you. Walking back up to the cockpit and placing Anya onto the seat you lean over the dashboard.

“Where are we going.” you ask. No reply. “Hey beskar head I asked you a question.” You say not realizing he had been staring at you. He points at the tracker sitting on the dash. “On another hunt?”

“ This was on the guy who sold me and the kid out, started beeping again while you were showering.”

“You gonna give me my weapons back?” you inquire, unsure of what the plan was.

“Still downstairs, I couldn't sell them. No one wanted them” he says locking in the coordinates and beginning his landing.

“Well I guess I was wrong Mandalorians can’t tell jokes after all. Where are we by the way”

“Tatooine home of the moisture farmers, and not the nice part”

“Think they’d choose a wetter planet to farm moisture” you say, looking out at the planet's arid landscape through the windshield. The two of you exit the cockpit and head towards the armoury.

“Careful” he says, as you reach your hand in.

“I just spent several months in combat I think I’ll be fine” you say sarcastically. You reach into the armoury, quickly pulling your hand back when the security system zaps you. “Fuck” you say bringing your hand to your mouth, as he turns off the protection. “Shut up”

“I didn’t say anything”

“But you were thinking it. So same goes.” You remove a bow and arrow, quickly realizing they weren't your originals.

“Real ones were lost in the incident, picked these up on the way to get you” he says leaning forward and removing the Anbam sniper rifle and standard issue blaster.

Anya follows the two of you out of the ship burying her nose into the sand pulling out a large bone. The Mandalorian was a man of few words so you have no idea where you were going, or what the plan was, but you were happy for the peace. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d been in complete silence.

“Well, well, well.” A voice echoes. You draw your bow and the Mandalorian unholsters his blaster.

“Didn’t think you’d be back so soon and with someone so pretty.” the voice says as a figure of a tall man appears from behind a large sandstone.

“Cobb” the Mandalorian says, lowering his blaster

“Mando!” The older gentleman exclaims locking arms with the somewhat reluctant Mandalorian. You keep your bow aimed, as Anya approaches him sniffing his boots.

“And who might this be?” he asks looking at you while bending down to pet the critter.

“Ask her yourself.” Mando says, almost annoyed. Cobb was handsome, more so than most which makes you almost immediately untrusting of him. Anya seems to have taken a liking to him though so you drop the hostility for now. You lower your weapon and take his extended hand. “Cobb Vanth, i'm the marshal round these parts, Nice to meet you” he says

“y/n, and likewise” you respond, pulling your hand back.

“Where’s the kid?” Vanth asks and you see the Mandalorians' demeanor change guilt radiating off him.

“He’s gone, we're trying to find him. She’s a tracker” he says, pointing to you.

You look over at the Mandalorian, how did he know that? The two men walk in front of you, discussing the events that had unfolded a few days prior. As you make your way into the town you find yourself relaxing slightly. None of the locals looked like the kind to recognize you.

“Glad to see things have picked up since I was last here.”

“Well Mando, turns out less giant snakes makes for happier people.” Cobb says

“Funny how that works”

“C’mon, you look hungry and like you need a few drinks,” the Marshal says with a smile. “Might just run into your bounty if we’re lucky.” He throws two fingers up at the bartender, as you enter, leads you to a nearby empty booth. You thank the bartender as he brings out the food and drink.

“So who are we looking for.” The Marshal asks

“Ugly guy” Mando starts

“Well that narrows it down” you mutter earning a chuckle from the Marshal. Before he can continue describing the guy, the tracker starts to beep more consistently.

“Must be your lucky day” the marshal says coolly as an Aqualish enters into the establishment, tusks and all.

“Put your hood up” you say to the Mandalorian “he’ll recognize the armour, switch seats with me.” He obliges, pulling up the hood of his cloak as you shift over top of him so his back is now facing the door and you're sat between him and the Marshal.

“Alright looks like we’re in need of a plan” Cobb says.

“Give me 20 minutes with it, I’ll get the information” you say standing up.

“No way. Not happening. If this falls through you’re our only shot at finding the kid.” The Mandalorian says tugging you down by the back of your shirt, much to your dismay.

“Well there's always option B.” you say, pausing for a moment “you get up and he runs a mile then we're really gonna be screwed.” Seemingly having convinced the Mandalorian you were capable of getting the information needed, he agrees.

“Fine. 20 minutes, then we're coming after you.” He says. You stand up passing by the marshal and make your way over to the bar.

Mandos POV

He watches you head over, scanning the crowd for any potential threats. Even cloaked you stood out, and the odds of someone recognizing an ex-gladiator was high, especially one as successful as you. He tenses up when a Nikto approaches you. His hand subtly moves to the blaster, but not so subtly that it didn’t catch the marshals attention.

“You should relax Mando, it seems like she’s got it under control.” he says, nodding his head in your direction . He turns seeing you utter a few words to the Nikto causing it to continue on seemingly in a trance. His hand eases off the blaster and he relaxes back into his seat.

“Awfully protective” Cobb says, the Mandalorian ignores this comment, of course he was being protective, he needed you to find the child. He’s pulled out of his thoughts by a glass being dropped off at the table. Cobb throws his hand up nodding to you in thanks, the target had been acquired.

“So, where’d ya find her?” he asks, taking a sip of the drink.

“Long story.”

“Well we have twenty minutes.”

“Traded her for the child a while back she was fighting in a gladiatorial ring until about 25 hours ago.” He says as Anya settles down on the Marshal lap.

“This is quite the creature.”

“The kid saved it.”

“So that’s why she’s hanging around with your homely helmeted ass. Seriously, she looks like a fallen star.” Cobb pauses looking to his friend “Ahhh, but you’ve already noticed.” With no response the Marshal continues “Well if there’s nothing there then I’m in luck.” The helmet turns ,“A joke Mando, a joke.” The Marshal says lifting his hands up. Before he can respond the Mandalorian feels something bump against his shoulder causing him to look up just in time to see you pass by with the target in pursuit. As he watches him exit the bar he catches a glint of a small sphere, a bomb.

“dank farrik” he says, standing up and moving through the bar in pursuit.

“What happened to twenty minutes?” the Marshal shouts after him.

Your POV.

“Thanks for the drink sweetheart” the Aqualish says as you turn around, this was not your first time dealing with one, but you did hope it would be your last.

“If you’re looking to repay the favour you may be able to help me find something, I believe you’ve come across. A child. Small, green, big ears.”

The Aqualish laughs reaching its hand back for the bomb. Using the force you stay his hand a few inches away from the weapon.

“Answer me, before my patience wears thin.” You say. Patience, already wearing thin.

“Look lady I was hoping for some fun, let me go and no one has to get hurt.”

“You’re not in much of a potion to be negotiating.” You say. The unmistakable sound of a blaster going off suddenly echoes and you feel something cold and wet hit your face. You look up as the Aqualish drops to the floor standing behind him you see the Mandalorian.

“Seriously!” You say angrily, wiping the residue out of your face.

“It had a bomb.”

“I know I had it under control. Clean this up you say” pushing past him.

“Why do I…” he starts,

“Because…” you say turning on your heel to face him, “if we had done things my way there wouldn’t have been a mess to clean up at all.” you exclaim, throwing your hands up in the air, before returning to the bar.

You slump down in the booth next to the Marshal.

“How long did you put up with him for before you lost it?”

“Went well I take it.” He says offering you the remainder of his drink.

“Could have, if someone had just showed a modicum of trust.” You say taking a swig of the blue liquid.

“Seems like he trusts easy. He trusts you enough to ask for your help.”

“He doesn't trust me he needs my help, there's a distinct difference.” You say downing the rest of the drink causing Cobb to raise his eyebrows slightly opting to change the course of the conversation.

“Well I have to say you are just about the prettiest thing to show up here.” You roll your eyes, it wasn’t the first time you’d heard that. Despite this you find yourself smiling Cobb was quite charming after all.

“Thanks for keeping an eye on her, she doesn’t usually take to strangers.” You say moving in to scratch behind Anya’s ears.

“Got a way with all living things, though I find humans easier than animals.” He laughs.

“Well I’m sure that has something to do with your charm and face” you say. He’s about to respond when you both see a flash of armour leave the bar.

“Guess we’re leaving” He says offering you a hand, you take it and exit in pursuit of the Mandalorian.

“Mando!” the Marshal calls after him.

“Don’t leave on my account. I’ll be on the ship. If you’re not back by morning I'll find the child on my own.” he says continuing on his way.

“Oh don’t be jealous Mando we were just talking.” Cobb, says not making the situation any better.

Assuming you couldn’t piss him off anymore than he already was you pick up a stray rock and throw it at him. It hits the back of the helmet causing him to stop and turn around.

“Nice shot” the Cobb whispers to you looking impressed.

“Thanks” you say walking over to the Mandalorian.

“You okay Mandalorian?” you ask

“We should be looking for the kid not relaxing in a bar.”

“You’re not the only one who owes this child something, and don’t act like this wasn’t the first moment of freedom I’ve enjoyed in months.” with no reply you continue “What now? You killed our last lead.”

“I don’t know that’s why you’re here to figure it out.” He says sharply, the two of you now staring each other down.

“Well that’s my cue, Mando, always a pleasure, (y/n) lovely to meet you, if you’re ever looking for work I’m always in need of a deputy.” Cobb says, patting Anya on the head and heading off back towards town. You interrupt your glaring contest and wave goodbye to the Marshal. Having calmed down slightly, you turn back to the Mandalorian.

“Do you have something of his?”

“What?” the voice asks, even with the modulator you could tell he was frustrated.

“Of the child’s anything belonging to him?” you say suddenly feeling equally as irritated.

“It all went up…wait.” he says reaching into his pocket pulling something small and silver out.

“A toy of his” He says. You stick your hand out and he drops the small silver ball into your hand. As it makes contact with your skin you feel the emotion enveloping it. He cares greatly for this child, perhaps you had misjudged the Mandalorian. With this in mind you begin to gather stray stones placing them in a pattern on the ground using a nearby stick to trace lines in the sand.

“Are you going to summon him or something?” He asks.

“Not a witch.” you reply unsure if he’s joking or not.

You close your eyes, breathing deeply. The Mandalorian watches in awe as the rocks and sand begin to rise recreating a map of the galaxy. You open your eyes and walk over to Anya, bending down, you offer her the small metal ball which she sniffs. She begins circling the base of the galaxy stopping on the outer rim. Pulling more rocks forward you create a series of steps which Anya begins to ascend, sniffing the planets in front of her. She stops, sitting down so as to indicate she had located the scent.

“You know where that is?” you ask, looking up at the T visor which was still fixed on the map you had created. He hadn’t said anything in a while not that he ever really did, but you’d asked a question and needed an answer.

“Anyone home” you say, lifting your hand to knock on the helmet. He grabs your wrist before you can.

“No, I don’t, but I can get us there.” He says, gently releasing you. You drop the map to the floor leaving a small cloud of dust in its wake as you re-enter the ship.

“I hope you appreciate the delicacy of what I just did and the possible danger I’ve put us in.” You say, taking your seat, hoping you had made the correct choice in trusting him.

“How long have you known? That you have powers?” He asks, you smile at his choice of words.

“Since I was a child. My grandmother trained me in the way of the Jedi until she passed.”

“I’m sorry.” He says as he takes off.

“For what? you didn’t kill her.” After a prolonged period of silence you speak again. “I trust you’ll keep this between us, man of few words and all if it was to get out I'd take it very personally.” Taking his silence as understanding you breath a sign of relief. Leaning back you settle in for the upcoming journey.

[stellamore-after-dark]

Headcanons on how the LIs would react to the Oracle suggesting they could start a family once their situation becomes more peaceful.

This request is, as the kids say, “BUSSIN’” (Admin Yara help!!! My older millennial is showing 😫)

Cipactli:

Surprise will be the first thing that crosses his features. Sure, as a royal its was always expected of him to produce an heir to the thrown, however he never expected to find someone he truly loved and that would love him back in order to do so. And then you entered his life and basically turned it upside down and now you have the AUDACITY to come in and tell him that you want to start a family with all misty eyed and looking the way you do.....sign him the fuck up.

He will be so thrilled and just might get slightly misty eyed with you. After all that has happened in Huatzintepec and now finally living in a world surrounded by true peace; he couldn’t imagine a more perfect world and partner to raise and grow a family in and with.

Regardless of wether you both decide to adopt or have your child the fact remains that Cipactli will absolutely R E A D  E V E R Y  B O O K  A V A I L A B L E that might help/ease him into parenthood an DESPITE his preparations he still was not ready (cause who really is am I right). As soon as the child is here he will panic; is he good enough, is he prepared enough, will his child love him, etc., etc. You will most definitely need to help him get out of his own head and reassure him that he will be a wonderful father.

Mukondi:

Mukondi would be ecstatic at the idea of starting a family with you. Although she will be slightly apprehensive at first due to her duties as the human representative of Saiph; most of her insecurities and fears would lie on whether or not she would spend enough time with your child when, as it is, she barely has enough time for herself. Of course, this would be something discussed between you both before any definite decision is made and you both mutually agree that this would be easily solvable by hiring or staff/representatives to take her place in her absence (make👏🏻her👏🏻 realize👏🏻she’s👏🏻not👏🏻an👏🏻island👏🏻and👏🏻it’s👏🏻OK👏🏻TO👏🏻ASK👏🏻FOR👏🏻HELP👏🏻AND👏🏻NOT👏🏻BEAR👏🏻EVERYTHING👏🏻ON👏🏻HER👏🏻OWN👏🏻).

She would be the first one to bring you ideas for baby names whether you like it or not. Lists, upon lists of baby names and meanings, Mukondi does not want to give her child a basic name that everyone has. To her there is allot in a name and it’s important to her that this child knows the thought and care that was meticulous placed in choosing a name that they would be proud to bear.

Mama Mukondi is simply the best mother, hands down, no 🧢. She will spoil them rotten but she isn’t above disciplining when she has to. When it comes to her family pride is the only word that comes to minds, so many things were lost during that time in Huatzintepec but so much more was gained, and for that she couldn’t be more grateful.

Ariki:

At first, he’s super excited, 10/10 yes lets have a child together (very excite,  much wow). However, after his initial reaction, there may be some doubts that will settles in. Not because he doesn’t want to, but because he needs to make sure that this child will be supported and loved by both of you. By this, his intentions are not doubt IN you or your capabilities to love anyone but it’s more security that he seeks in your relationship.

It is commonly known for merfolk to be very particular about their life partners, some spend years assessing and building a relationship until finally they feel secure enough to start dating, get married, etc. and this is no exception when it comes to building a family together. There is no doubt in Ariki’s mind that the depth of is love for you is endless, so even though he has his initial hesitations, it’s not something you can both talk about. Set up a game plan, share your insecurities, assure him about your intentions, be completely transparent. Once everything is discussed you can expect Ariki to go right back to the happy baby boi that he was when you first mentioned starting a family together.

Expect Ariki to be super excited about decorating his future child’s room. He would come up with motifs  and colors, and of course you would put everything into a cohesive idea which you can both execute without the child’s room being overwhelmed with Ariki’s excitement. HAND MADE DECORATIONS FROM PAPA ARIKI!!!!

Dior:

“....so like...you wanna get a puppy or something...?” (let me also express that if you have a puppo/catto that you call family you are very valid cause same...anyways) Don’t hold your breath on getting an excitable reaction from Dior...you won’t. They might even, lowkey, seem repulsed by the idea of family mainly cause most of the time it involves children.

Look me in the eyes and tell me that Dior would find the idea of a small humanoid being that needs constant attention, screams when displeased, and might have the nerve to grow up and defy any rule set in place by Dior appealing in the slightest. Dior already fills out all those position why in the world would they want a second them. But being serious for a moment; Dior, much like Ariki or any species of merfolk, most definitely consider this a very prominent step in their future. So it is a very real thing that Dior may suggest getting a pet before a child. Much like Ariki, sit down with them, talk with them, discuss any insecurities (cause believe me they’re there). And in reality, it might take a long time for Dior to come around to the idea of a family with you. The one thing that Dior most certainly wants to make sure is that you know that they love you and they consider you their family/whole world regardless of children status.

EVENTUALLY, and with lots of physical, emotional, and mental preparations, Dior will come around, they might lean more towards adopting a child that may be slightly older but still young enough that they can help raise. Trust and believe that Dior will have matching outfits with their mini me. “You may be only 3′ tall  and know a total of 4 syllables but thats not an excuse to not look your best, especially not when you’re with me”.

Waauru:

You and Waauru must’ve been together for a long time for you to bring up the possibility of raising a family together, and even more surprising still that she agreed so plainly to you.

Waauru is not one to beat around the bush specially not when it comes to you, she has always prided herself of being completely open to you. You will always know how she’s feeling  even when she tries to shut you out, so when the time came in which you began to plan, envision, and execute a future with her with the possibility of children she was roarin’ and ready to go. Topics like these are oddly comforting to Waauru due to the love she has with her own family and with you as her partner the conversation most definitely came up even before you were to meet her family.

The idea of starting/continuing her family’s legacy with you fills Waauru’s heart with so much joy. She loves you so much and the fact that you’re in her life simply astounds her. Waauru never thought she could reach this level of serendipity and sereneness in her life after everything she’s been through. Most of her amazement comes from the fact that she is inspired by you and all that you were capable of doing despite being thrown in the thick of a political discourse and was the tipping point in bringing it all of it to a climax. Now she gets to do life with you as you both prepare for the latest addition.

Halle:

*ERROR 404 HALLE’S FUNCTIONING BRAINCELLS COULD NOT BE FOUND*

Oh boy, you did it, you broke the man. Only the heavens know how much was taken out of him to even talk to you in a full sentence, he still doesn’t know how he’s in a relationship with you, and now you want a F a M i L y!!! He’s gonna need a minute...no really. The request will catch him so off guard that he might need a moment alone to himself and his thoughts and in all honesty it might bother him slightly that you asked this of him. This will, of course, lead you to ask why to which he responds : “Well aren’t ‘we’ enough, why do you want to bring another being into our dynamic?!?!” With that he’ll storm off leaving you confused and a little hurt, but for know you drop the topic and just let him reconvene with himself. In his moments alone he sighs and thinks to himself: “...why did I say that?...you know thats not true Halle...?” Deep down, yes, yes he does want a family to call his and he couldn’t imagine doing so than with you; now he’s left rattling his brain trying to figure out what could’ve caused such a reaction...fear

After several hours of processing and coming to terms with himself, Halle comes back to you. Bright red face with so much embarrassment over his behavior with you, apologizing profusely for walking out on you. In these cases just hold his face, look him in the eyes, center him, ground him, and sit him down. When his able to breath at a steady pace again, expect the flood gates of emotion to open. He very rarely opens up but when he does it’s to you and only you. The main thing he focusses on though is this feeling of fear in the back of his mind much like Cipactli, only difference is that his is rooted in his own self conscious view of himself. Remind him how great of a friend, partner, lover, and man he is; remind him that what you asked doesn’t have to be done now, it is a very big step and something you can both talk and prepare for. This eases him, you both want this, just not right now and that is perfectly fine with both of you. Whenever you’re both ready he will be the proudest man in all of Saiph with you and your family by his side.

Taqtu:

*Queue the water works 🥺*

This man will be  ✨E M O T I O N A L ✨Let him get it out, crying will ensue, but don’t worry these are happy tears. Taqtu has always been a family man, whether its been with his own family or his people in general; he considers the people he grew up with, raised him, played with him, babysat him, the children in his clan that came after him, all of them he considers family so it’s safe to say that when you brought this desire to his attention he was so excited.” WAIT?!?! REALLY?!?! Your not yanking my chain are ya...wait...really, you meant it? Oh Sweetpea, you’ve made me the happiest man”. He didn’t think it was possible to fall more in love with you, but here he is, head over heels (SIMP)

The other thing that has him all giddy is that he also gets to tell his tribe about this newfound journey you both are to take. The Ijiraat as a whole have suffered so much loss that whenever there is a new addition its a full on celebration. When you and Taqtu decided to begin your relationship, the whole tribe threw you both a party celebrating you as one of their own. The news of starting a family won’t be  any less of a celebration, if anything it will be even more so. It’s a new chapter in both of your lives that might spring forth a new life. It has been one of his unspoken dreams to start a family of his own one day and finally being able to do so with the love of his life by his side elates him. Taqtu does not know what he did to deserve you, but he thanks every star in the sky  for that fateful day he ran into you in the streets of Huatzintepec.

Seneca:

Seneca, like Halle, will be freaking out about it as soon as the suggestion leaves your lips; most of his reasoning being out of insecurities as well. However, unlike Halle, the main reason for his objection is because in reality he never knew what family was. How can a man who grew up without family be able to take care of a family of his own. Seneca does not expect you to do all the work in creating and raising this family by yourself, he wouldn’t allow it. Even so, he couldn’t see himself playing any significant part in the family dynamic that you so desire to have with him.

The idea of a family seems really nice to Seneca, poetic even, something he has probably talked about and studied as a disciple of the Sun god. It is a concept that is hard to grasp when the closest thing he has had to family is you. He, like Dior also, will take allot of: time love, and most definitely patience in order to even begin processing what you’ve asked. It is advisable in these instances to let him know that you understand where he comes from and that there is absolutely no rush for him to decide on this. In reality, family is more of a wound to him than something to look forward to, which is something that he is able to comfortably disclose to you after giving some thought to your request. Seneca follows by later stating: “...wounds are meant to heal, not fester. And if you will continue to have me and love me, the wound will heal...when that day comes I will be more than willing to create the most beautiful life that you deserve my sunshine...” (I’m NOT crying, you are).

Whether you both decide to have or adopt your new member of your family, on that day Seneca will learn what it means when people say love at first sight is real. One look at your child and his heart soars. He is grateful for the time that you gave him; it allowed him to heal so that way he could stop bleeding on the people that never hurt him, and with his new future with you he is certain that your family will only grow in love.

[watchinglikeafangirl]

The way they handled Type’s trauma

I thought I would never come to the taste of thinking about TharnType ever again but here we are. Whose fault is that? The peaceful nature’s. How dare it let my thoughts wander and why bring up TharnType all of a sudden, brain?

I think I don’t have to tell anyone here what a f***ed up show TharnType was and why I mainly wanted to forget about it, but we’re going to dig a little bit deeper into one of the aspects that made this show so unlogical and showed its inconcistency: the way Type’s childhood trauma was handled. The inconsistency concerning that aspect mostly shows during the second season because that’s when it all went down to sh*t. I still think - though I’m not proud to say this - TharnType season one was a guilty pleasure. Yes, they are toxic and the end fight was really something else, but I somehow found it enjoyable enough to keep at it. I was at least a bit invested and I have to give Tee (the director) all the credits for that because I believe it’s totally on him that the show was watchable. The story was garbage from the very beginning but at least he made it work. It didn’t look that bad any more - not until you sat down and reminisced about the plot, but that’s not his fault. Tee totally nailed it with “Lovely Writer”, so yes, directors have a lot to say and when they changed directors for season two, the endproduct made me wanna run away from my phone. I don’t even know why I kept watching. I guess because it was an internet joke to do so. Just like the people still watching Riverdale: because it’s so bad, it’s nearly not funny any more but somehow compelling.

season one

This season starts off with a very important piece of information of Type: he is homophobic. We don’t get a real reason for a long time because he didn’t really bring up arguments against homosexuality. He was just against queer people, period. It takes a while before Type opens up to Tharn about why he is so afraid of homosexual men explicitly. Until then, there’s a lot of weird, uncomfortable sexual tension between them with Tharn basically dragging Type against a wall or something, so he can’t escape him. Yeah, this toxicness of their relationship is a different topic...

To be honest, I didn’t expect Type’s reason to be that shocking. I had tears in my eyes when he talked about being molested as a child because this is just something one doesn’t expect. It’s such an aweful action and experience, I can’t imagine. So, yeah, the reason for his fear of gay men comes from this childhood trauma and it literally explains everything.

He had nightmares of that day. He was obviously scared of his feelings because in his head that would mean being like his molester. And he didn’t want to be the center of someone’s attention again since his family pressed charges after he was molested. Actually, the reason why Type was  so violent the whole time was to make others stay away from him, so he won’t ever be the talk of town again. If you’re untouchable nobody dares to try, so you live isolated from the world. It’s some sort of self-protection. It goes that far that he rejects gay men to have anything to do with him. He only met one homosexual up until this point at that meeting was traumatizing, so it makes sense for his character to be scared, to be hauted by that fear. But since Tharn is pretty needy, Type can’t escape him. His self-protection still kicks in because later, he refuses to define himself as gay. Being gay would mean being like his molester or at least, share something with him which is a terrifying thought.

The scene when Type tells Tharn about his horrible life experience, it was probably the most touching scene of the whole show and no other scene follows on this list. No, their break-up doesn’t count for me because I giggled the whole time because of the acting lmao. Sorry but no. Anyway, that scene indeed was touching and I was really shocked. The way Tharn then stops Type from telling any more felt realistic and this whole situation was very private. Just two people getting to know each other deeper. And all the ugly things included.

But - there’s always a but with TharnType - after the confession, nobody seems to care any more. It’s like letting the audience know was the missio here and it’s accomplished now, so let’s move on. Let’s not discuss how much it still affects Type. In fact, let him look like a total a**hole and a bully. Tharn is not more gentle with Type, pushes him even more into telling others though Type needs to sort his struggles out alone first. But then, Type doesn’t give a damn as well and they don’t talk about this topic again. Then, their relationship is more important.

Later this season, Type’s dad even nealy makes a joke about the whole trauma and I find that a bit disturbing. But again, Type is not touched by it. It seems like he doesn’t remember it, like this information was never given to us. It’s very odd but okay. The fight with Llong took more time though it was played out in a very boring way.

season two

Okay, season one was fine compared to this aweful masterpiece called “TharnType: 7 years of love”. It’s been seven years and the relationship didn’t make ANY progress. Type still hasn’t outed himself to the world and they are still jealous of women. So much inconsistency, it hurts. But let me just continue talking only about Type’s trauma because season two just walked over it.

In the beginning, Type’s behavior still mirrors that trauma. It is still visible because he doesn’t tell anyone about his boss keeping an eye on him. Why is that? Because he is again the victim of harassment and is too afraid to admit it, even to himself, because that would mean casting attention onto him. He can’t let this fear of events repeating go, he can’t shake it off. It’s again his self-protection to not let bad memories get ahead of him and mess with his thoughts. Labeling something as harassment might cause his nightmares to return because a trauma doesn’t leave your mind entirely. The bad night and days turn into bad moments but it still returns to you over and over again, but Tharn seems to have forgotten that. He seems to have forgotten his partner he shares a bed with gets heavy nightmares whenever he feels pressured. Tharn continues pushing Type to marriage and talking more about the stress at work. He doesn’t care because Tharn is selfish just like Type. The trust issues surrounding their relationship are ridicolous. Seven years for god’s sake!

Well that is that. I just wanted to point out Type’s trauma is still visibly sticking to him. But this season turns around completely with the whole Fiat kidnapping. That’s the moment when things stop to make sense entirely because Type seems to have forgotten everything about his trauma. He comes up with the plan to kidnap Fiat, forcing someone with a boyfriend to flirt with him, lets Leo watch all of this whilst feeling like the smartest person in the room. But man, did you forget you’re making Fiat the victim of abusement, just like you are one?! Why the hell did he do that? To punish Fiat? It freaking looks like he’s about to r*pe him! Shouldn’t Type know from personal experience how much such events affect a person? Fiat must’ve felt weak, scared - more like terrified - and helpless. It leaves a scar Type can tell a story about but he forgot. He forgot that with doing this, he’s not much better than his molester which would’ve originally been a no-go for him but I guess, he reached his lowest point here and there's no turning back. He doesn't seem to regret it anytime later because he doesn't even tell Tharn...

conclusion

It's is obvious the card of the trauma is only played when they have no other idea of explaining situations. The characters constantly forget about it until it's important again which shows exactly, the writers didn't care enough. Or MAME didn't care enough which she would set me on fire for but teh inconsistency is undenieable. It seems like it wasn't the original plan to give Type a tragic background but the story was too boring without it but some scenes wouldn't've worked normally because of the trauma. Type would never have kidnapped Fiat! But who am I telling this? You already know...

Yeah well, I guess we can agree season one at least knew what it was and tried to work with that and season two just totally lost its purpose.

[atomic-taco-muffin]

I need another Noctis x female reader. Can you please make one? When his kingdom is at war with the another one and she finds out that the prince from that kingdom loves her. She doesn’t love him back. (She has no idea that Noctis loves her.) So she made a deal with him. She’ll marry him if his kingdom stops attacking. She keeps all of this a secret. Until Noctis noticed the engagement ring on her finger. Then he begins asking questions. They get into an argument. But, in the end he sees her in that wedding dress and he felt like he lost her. (He stopped the wedding and confessed.)

Noctis x Fem!Reader: Don’t Do This

Warnings: angst/fluff, swearing, mentions of murder and torture

You and Noctis were planning on how to attack the kingdom who was at war with you guys. This kingdom was smart and almost knew your every attack. You soon came up with a plan and headed out to the battlefield. Once there, you saw the prince from the other kingdom with his army. You and Noctis charged at the prince and the battle had begun. You fought the best you could against the prince but he was a lot stronger. He pinned your down with his foot and stuck his sword right next to your face. 

“If you’re gonna kill me, kill me.” you growled. 

“Oh, now why would I do that, my love?” he smirked. 

“What the hell did you call me?” 

“My love. Why, do you not like it?” 

“Fuck no. And why the hell would you call me that?” 

“Huh? I thought it was obvious. I’m in love with you.” 

“And you think that I love you back.” 

“Precisely.” 

“Well, news flash. I don’t.” The prince growled and grabbed your cheeks roughly. 

“Listen here, sweetie. There was a reason I started this war and it was because of my love for you.” he said. 

“You’re insane.” you said. 

“Insane as I’ll ever be. Now, you have choice. Be killed or admit your love for me.” You thought about it and came up with an idea. 

“If I marry you, will you end this war?” you asked. He smiled and agreed. 

“Alright then.” The prince let go of you and helped you stand up. 

“Bring Noctis to my castle to discuss the treaty. Or else.” he said. 

“Or else what?” you asked. 

“Or else you’ll be in a world of pain.” 

“Okay. I will. As long as you keep your end of the bargain.” 

“Oh don’t worry, my dear. I will.” he said as he traced your cheek with his hand. You flinched away from his touch. It angered the prince but he was able to hide his anger. He grabbed your hand and slipped an engagement ring on.

“So that it’s official that you’re mine.” he whispered. You pulled your hand away and walked over to Noctis’s tent and told him that the prince is willing to surrender. 

“Really? Are you sure it’s not a trick?” he asked. 

“He seemed serious. He wants us to meet at his castle to discuss the treaty.” you said. 

“No way. I’m not meeting him at his castle. He comes to mine.” 

“NO! Please go to his.” 

“(Y/N), you’re acting strange. Is everything alright?” You didn’t say anything and looked away. Noctis spotted the engagement ring and grabbed your hand so that he could get a better look.

“(Y/N), what did you do?” he asked. You said nothing and started to cry. 

“(Y/N), what did you do?” he asked again. 

“I’m so sorry. I had to make a deal with him. Otherwise, he was gonna kill you and I couldn’t let that happen.” you sobbed.  

“So you just decide to go with a crazy man without thinking about it?!” he yelled.

“I did think about it! It was the only way to save you and your kingdom!” The two of you said nothing for a moment and Noctis took a deep breath. 

“Are you planning to actually marry him?” he asked. 

“I’m hoping that I can change his mind. Or have you as support.” you said. 

“Alright. Let’s head to his castle and discuss this ‘treaty’ that he has and hopefully not have him marry you.” 

“Thank you, Noctis.” 

“Gotta protect my best friend somehow.” The two of you gathered your things and headed to the prince’s castle. 

“Ahh, there’s my blushing bride.” the prince said as he walked over to you two. He wrapped his arm around your waist and forced you into a kiss. You tried to pull away but he had a strong grip on you. Noctis saw how you tried to fight and it broke his heart seeing you like this. The prince pulled away and summoned his maid. 

“Maid, show our new princess her dress.” he said. 

“Y-yes, y-your h-highness.” she said. She took with hand with her shaky one and took you down the halls of the castle and into your new bedroom. There, the maid pulled the dress out of the closet and showed you it. 

“D-Do you l-like it? T-the prince h-had it s-s-specially made.” she said. You nodded and the maid proceeded to help you into the dress. 

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but why do you work for him? Do you realize how insane he is?” you asked. 

“I-I do k-know. H-he murdered my f-family a-and forced me t-to work f-for him.” the maid said. 

“Have you tried escaping?” 

“I-I have. M-multiple t-times. B-but he always f-finds m-me. A-and e-e-everytime t-that h-he does, h-he gives a-a p-painful punishment. I-it’s what h-he’s d-done w-with h-his past b-brides w-who’ve t-tried to e-escape. H-he always e-ends u-up killing them. (i just thought kanato sakamaki!)” You looked in the mirror in fear. You need to find a way out of there. And fast. 

“What does he do with the corpses?” you asked nervously. 

“H-he cuts t-their heads off a-and hangs t-them up i-in h-h-his room l-like they’re t-trophies.” the maid said. You thought of the endless possibilities of this insane prince murdering you. You heard a knock on the door and Noctis walked in. 

“Um, could you give us a moment, please?” you asked the maid. 

“O-of course.” The maid stopped working on the dress and walked out of the room. Noctis looked at you in the dress and felt his whole world shatter. He wanted to be the one who was marrying you. 

“How’re you holding up?” he asked. 

“To be honest, I’m terrified. I just found out that this prince has murdered all of his wives for trying to escape. And the worst part is, he hangs them up like they’re fucking trophies.” you said with tears in your eyes. Noct looked at you in shock and in fear for your life. 

“I don’t wanna do this, Noct.” you sobbed. Noct pulled you into a tight hug and you cried into his shoulder. 

“Shh. We’ll figure something out. I’m sure of it.” he whispered. 

“But what if we don’t? What if I become one of his trophies? What’s gonna happen then?” you asked. 

“I don’t know. But I’ll figure something out.” You pulled away from the hug and wiped your tears away. 

“Did you discuss the treaty?” you asked, wanting to change the subject. 

“I did. He’s agreed to leave my kingdom alone and to never come near it again.” he said. 

“Well, that’a relief.” 

“Yeah. Let’s just hope he can keep his end of the bargain.” You smiled and looked in the mirror. Noct was about to confess his love for you but got interrupted by the maid. 

“S-sorry to i-intrude. B-but the p-p-prince i-is r-ready for y-you, m-miss.” she said. 

“Okay. I’ll be right there.” you said. The maid nodded and walked out of the room. 

“I should go. I’ll find a way to save you. I promise.” Noct said. 

“Okay. Please hurry.” you said, looking at him. 

“I’ll try.” he said as he walked out of the room. You took a deep breath and walked with the maid to the chapel. Once there, you saw the prince with an evil smirk on his face. You gulped and walked down the aisle. Once you reached the end of the aisle, the prince grabbed your hands roughly. You gasped at the sudden action. 

“If you don’t mind, father. I’d like this to be a quick ceremony.” The prince said. 

“O-of course, your highness.” the priest said. The priest went on with the ceremony and when he got to the end, you and the prince said you “I do’s”. 

“Now then, if anyone objects, say them now or forever hold your peace.” the priest said (did i get that right?).

“Yeah I object.” You and the prince looked towards the voice and saw Noct with the chocobros. 

“Noct.” you said while smiling. You got out of the princes grip and hugged Noctis tight. 

“You came.” you said. 

“Hey, I did say that I was going to get you out of this.” he said and you giggled. 

“Boys.” Noct said. The chocobros smirked and took down the prince. 

“Thanks you guys. I couldn’t have asked for better friends.” you said. 

“Well actually, I was hoping that we would be more than that.” Noct said. 

“Huh? What do you mean?” 

“I’m probably gonna regret this but I love you. I loved you since the first day I met you.” You smiled brightly and kissed with passionately. 

“Alright, love birds. Break it up.” Gladiolus said. You broke the kiss and rested your forehead against his. 

“I-is the wedding still on?” the priest asked. 

“Yeah. It’s still on. Just with the man I truly love this time.” you said. Noctis smiled too and took you to the altar (is that what you call it?). 

“Okay then. I’m just gonna skip through everything. Do you (Y/N), take this man as your husband for as you shall live?” the priest said. 

“I do.” you said. 

“And do you Noctis, take this woman to be your wife for as you shall live?” 

“I do.�� Noctis said. 

“Alright. Any objections?” The prince tried to object but the chocobros stopped him. 

“None over here.” Prompto said. 

“Nothin’ from me.” Gladdy said. 

“I support this 100%.” Ingis said. 

“Alright then. I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” the priest said. Noctis wasted no time in kissing you. The chocobros cheered as you two kissed. After you broke the kiss, Noctis held you hand as you walked back down the aisle. True love really did exist. It just had to be the right person. And you found him. He was yours forever and your were his.