#this is the blessing I didn't even know I needed

[crossbackpoke-check]

"Bees" [remixed, abridged], Claudia Emerson // "Letter to Someone Living Fifty Years from Now" [remixed. abridged], Matthew Olzmann // "Letter to my Great, Great Grandchild" [remixed, abridged], J.P. Grasser | Len Redkole, Nina Weiss, Brian Babineau, Christian Peterson, Mitchell Leff, Dave Isaac, Megan DeRuchie

[bunny-jpeg]

boy-toy

nico rosberg

request: 11,72,83 with a sub!Nico rosberg maybe 11. “i didn’t know you were so sensitive.” + 72. “ah, he’s playing hard-to-get. that's cute.” + “how quickly can you cum?”

tags: smut/pwp, sub!nico (this is my first time writing nico), dom!reader, overstimulation, teasing, cowgirl position, established relationship/marriage, dirty talk & praise, body worship, sex toys, edging

eros (the valentine's day collection)

saturday night meant many things. to most it meant fun at the club, or kicking back with drinks with friends. but saturday night, after the kids were in bed. it meant a nice bottle of wine and to sate one request from your loving husband.

it was agreement started in your early days of a relationship. you could sense the tension of the shoulders of your then boyfriend. racing were like pounds of cement on his shoulders. so on saturday nights, you'd explore one sexual desire of him before he was all smiles and victories the following day.

you quickly learned one thing, nico rosberg was a total sub.

the kids were away for the weekend, they were visiting your parents. and you could tell that nico was becoming more on edge the later in the evening it got.

"do you want more wine, nico?" you asked as you sat on the couch with him after dinner. you reached out and pushed back some of his blond hair, "maybe not a good idea, you already seem quite flustered."

he swallowed, his face bright pink. it was cute. you rubbed his warm cheek and leaned in to kiss him on the forehead softly. it was delicate like butterfly wings. but you could already see him struggling to compose himself.

"nico." you said as you leaned up into his ear, "you didn't break the rules now did you?"

he swallowed, "no, ma'am. not at all." weekends alone meant that mrs. rosberg got to play with her favourite submissive per his request. that was his sexual need for the weekend, to have the love of his life sexually pick him apart until his head was left spinning.

you placed a hand on his inner thigh and smiled close to his ear, “ah, he’s playing hard-to-get. that's cute. you haven't even begged once this whole evening." you looked to the clock in the kitchen to check the time, "and we've been going at this for a few hours now."

"it feels good." he said then swallowed, "thank you."

you placed a hand over the front of his jeans and chuckled lightly. you pulled away and looked at where your palm was. you could the pain of his erection. you could also feel the buzz of the toy that was carefully taped to the side of his cock. if you listened closely you could hear the vibrations too.

"please, honey."

you shushed him and then said, "i didn’t know you were so sensitive. you look like you're about to lose it. do you want it, nico? are you my good boy?"

he cursed under his breath before he waited for you to kiss him. the toy vibrated against his hard cock. he had to sit through all of dinner like that. he watched you from across the dinner table and could feel his resolve slipping. you giggled as you kissed him. he eagerly kissed you back, but kept his hands to himself.

rules of the game; if he touched you, he'd be tied up.

"someone likes that. fuck, you're so cute when you're whiny." you remarked with lust in your tone, "you sound so pretty when you whimper." you chuckled lowly, "imagine if sky news saw this, if anyone else saw this. how eager you are."

he swallowed, "fuck, honey." he shifted on his spot on the couch. and then like a blessing, he was able to relax as you took his achy cock out of his jeans and placed a delicate hand on it.

the mixture of the painful buzz of the toy and the softness of your grasp made his thoughts feel muddled, swamped with heated pleasure that he couldn't put a start or an end to. it was like tangled up wires that all made his cock feel heavy between his legs.

bead of pre-cum dripped down the side of his cock, opposite to the bullet vibrator. it was held to his cock with medical tape. you saw him tense up and hold your knees tighter. it was very cute.

he looked adorable flustered and needy for sex. and well, maybe you were a bleeding heart, but you couldn't deny your husband forever. you traced loose patterns across his cock and watched him tense up.

as you did so, you whispered sweetness into his ear, "oh such a good boy." your voice struck to his core and made him whimper. "you sound so beautiful, nico. only the sweetest noises for me, right?"

"only for you, ma'am." he groaned as the pleasure coursed through him. it was intense notion through his body made him only made him more needy for you.

you kissed him once more before you stopped the vibrations of the toy. it allowed nico to relax but his cock was still painfully hard. you took off the tape and tossed the toy to the side.

your husband watched you, not moving an inch as you got your skirt off and tossed your panties over the couch before you got into his lap. you spread your hands across his chest and admired his figure before you licked lips. his lust filled gazed looked to you, "ma'am."

"shh." you said, "let's see, how quickly can you cum?”

you soon sat yourself on his cock and he tilted his head back. he let out a sweet moan and you placed his hands on your hips. there was no need for him to rip holes in your expensive leather couch from his tight his grip would be. you admired him, eyed his features as you moved against him.

"you look beautiful." you said softly, "i get why you had so many fans while racing." you giggled softly as you slowly moved your hips, "even had a few drivers falling over themselves for you." you kissed his cheek, both hands on his face, "but yet, you only whimper for me. aren't i lucky?" you moved up and down on his cock. you held onto his shoulders for support as you moved against him.

"fuck, honey."

you chuckled, he was near speechless. but then again you had been edging and teasing him for hours now. he'd be a little sensitive. but you made it up to him in kisses as your hips moved against him.

he held onto you and let you control the pace. his breathing was heavy. he looked at you once more and said, "i love you."

"and i love you, nico. more than words could ever describe. you're always a good boy for me. you're an amazing husband and father to our kids. perfect from the moment i met you." you continued to move up and down his cock. the shudder raced through him as pleasure built between you two.

you had been together for a good while now. built each other up and loved one another. you knew his deepest desires and he knew yours. it was how it had been able to work this long, knowing everything about the other.that also included how nico liked the be toyed with in the bedroom.

how he loved your body, he loved everything about you. even after all this time and two children later. you were totally his and he was totally yours. he deeply exhaled, "you're beautiful. all of you is so beautiful. even after all the time, you look perfect to me."

you smiled and kissed him on the lips once more. your back quickened and the sparks of pleasure made you heart flutter. it was painfully arousing, needy in away that made your toes curl.

"and you're perfect too, nico." you praised. your words made his heart sing as he let you give him all the pleasure you could give. he held onto your hips and you bounced yourself on his cock.

his eyes were half-lidded and his breathing was heavy. it was steamy, after a nice evening in, you were getting the pleasure the both of you both desired. it was hard to be intimate with two young children, but you both made the best of it.

it was why nights like tonight were so special.

"touch me, nico. be a good for me, i want to feel your hands on me." and then you moaned a little louder when his hands explores your semi-clothed body. you could have both gotten naked and gone to the bedroom. but the need to be sexually close overtook everything.

he moaned and you silenced him with another searing kiss. you both felt close, he held onto you tightly at your middle and let you kiss him deeply. with a few more strokes of your hips, he finally hit his climax and finished inside of you.

you moaned and continued to move. eager for your own climax. you broke the kiss as he came and you looked into his eyes with absolute affection. you smiled lazily at him and said, "good boy. cum for me." and watched him slump against the couch. an evening affair had come to a head.

you didn't last much longer. you came around his cock with a hearty moan. you tensed up before you relaxed against his chest. you held onto him tightly as you came. you said sweet praises and eventually kissed him on the lips once more.

it was hot and you felt the rush all over. the two of you lazily kissed for a moment. when you pulled away you looked into his eyes and smiled. you said, "my good boy... now, let's get you to the bedroom and get you comfortable for the evening."

he held onto you a little tighter and asked in a lust ridden voice, "actually, ma'am... can i have you again?" and you knew you weren't going to deny you good boy, nico <3

[ellouchi]

One-shot: "Forget me not"- Jimmy (gn/nsfw?)

Disclaimer: unreliable narrator, Jimmy being Jimmy, implied SA in the ending.

Side notes: I knooow I've said I'd post it yesterday, but I was on four hours of sleep and completely exhausted from work so sowwy guys. I've tried my best to fix as many mistakes as I could so sorry again if you see any, I'll probably edit this fic again later but for now... enjoy!

Today, Jimmy would make sure you would never forgot him again.

First he just had to wait until it was the night time on the ship, when it was darker and quieter, without any extra pairs of eyes and ears putting a wrench in his plans. Standing in the doorframe, the man observed you like a beast it's pray — you were writing a report about your performance in the common rooms. You often got out of your own room to sit there, same old walls giving you an eye sore, you once said. You used to turn around, wave at him when he passed by, but now you didn't even acknowledge him when he finally entered the room — Jimmy had to tamper the sudden pang of annoyance that shot through his body and instead appear to be as nonchalant as he could master.

Turned out there really was just a single step between love and hate, Jimmy though to himself. It was a shame things couldn't be the way they were at the beginning.

Before all that, when you first boared Tulpar, you were just a temporary crew member assigned to be babied with until the management decided to throw you on another ship. Something instantly clicked for Jimmy when captain Curly introduced you to the crew, and no wonder: you were smart enough to stick to Jim — not too close to the sun, but not crawling in the dirt.

Jimmy didn't show it, but he quickly noticed how you sought after him more often than the others, turned up to him for advices about work related matters and laughed at his quips and jokes that he made. Hard work really does pay off, Jimmy would think to himself, while laying on the bed with his brand new piloting license gleaming like a precious gem in his hand. Unlike with other people, everything about you felt so genuine, so seamless and easy, Jimmy didn't need to try hard for you to look up to him. He could be himself.

Best thing was, the signs told Jim that the feeling was mutual. You were the first one to greet him with a good morning, last one to part with a good night. Looked at him with shining eyes, smiles lingering longer than they should. If you sitting almost thigh to thigh next to him on the couch wasn't the obvious signal from you, then Jimmy didn't know what was.

Even ship's underwhelming conditions turned out to be a blessing in disguise when the AC system broke down, forcing you to work with your blue jumpsuit peeled off from your shoulders. The man never missed the way you tugged at your yellow t-shirt, suddenly his own coveralls feeling a bit stuffy and uncomfortable to be in. At his playful suggestion for both of you to strip you merely laughed, but never disregarded the idea...That evening Jimmy, however, let his hand and imagination run wild with the thought of your hands exploring everything covered by the pesky blue suit and a plain white shirt he wore.

Problems started to arise when Swansea took a note of your budding chemistry. He usually would run his trap hours on end, complaining about this and that, patronising as ever with his "age and experience" seemingly giving him permission to preach and lecture others.

"If I were a green fool like ya I would stay a mile a way from our "watchful" co-pilot. He's more bark than bite, but all the pain in the ass." Jimmy overheard Swansea call out to you when you two stood together to get the melted sweet treats from the vending machine. Said co-pilot clicked his tongue in annoyance, throwing back a jab at the uninvited mechanic, fortunately prompting a laugh from the old man. Ignorant of both men's concerns you simply chuckled at the sight, not digging any deeper. Despite this, you begun dressing a bit more modesty, robbing Jimmy of the opportunity of gawking at you. That damn Swansea.

Days, turning into weeks passed uneventfully. You concluded your training, which meant now you were officially just another cog in the corporate machine. Same all routine settled on the same old freighter ship, except for a few things. The captain seemed to finally acknowledge his esteemed co-pilot by dropping onto him his own "important captain assignments". Which was false, Jimmy knew Curly was just growing too exhausted to fulfil his daily quota, though the reason eluded him. Another odd thing was regarding you. Jimmy had a feeling he saw you less and less with each passing day, without counting the times you spent actually performing your work. You were the first one to finish the meals, the quickest one to get out from the shower and the space ship manual practically never left your hands. Jim hated it to admit this, but he missed you.

The pieces fell right into their places when Jimmy entered cockpit one ordinary shift to hand in the paperwork he did in captain's stead.

To be frank, Curly was slowly getting on Jimmy's nerves for some time already, this whole "all capable and reliable" act seemingly never ending. However, no feeling of irritation could compare to only what could Jimmy describe as betrayal running through his veins when he saw you bowing and shaking captain's hand with "thank you". His "friend" was standing way too close to you and you — to him, no, straight up leaning in.

Suddenly snippets of you two hanging out in the common room flooded Jimmy's mind, you skipping out of the cockpit with a smile on your face a few days ago, you asking Jimmy out of blue what Curly was like when he was younger and Curly praising you for your efforts during the piloting--

"Am I interrupting something?" escaped Jimmy's mouth faster than he could register. His nails left marks on cheap rough papers he clutched, sweat blurring away the ink, all the boring tedious work done for nought.

"Oh hey Jim. No, not at all. Just helping out our new college with excess workload." Jimmy gaze hardened over the fact that it was Curly who stepped up first to clear things up. "You know how it is with Pony Express: setting high standards with small deadlines and...." Jimmy stopped listening to anything else that left Curly's mouth, his focus shifting entirely to you. You refused to meet his gaze by staring dumbly at the metal floor.

Why were you silent now?

Why did you avoid looking in his direction?

Why did you turn up to Curly for help and not him?

You, who followed Jimmy like a puppy prior, buttering him up with empty talks, asking him a favour after favour. In the end only to abandon him when you raised high enough on the ledder to turn up with your issues to the captain himself. And Curly, whom he considered his closest friend, instead of helping Jim tried to snatch you away. Being well respected captain wasn't enough, he had to lure away you too....

Jimmy should've figured it was all too nice to be true.

The man didn't wait for Curly to finish or you to start, instead he just threw the papers onto the fax machine and waved his hand in dismissal as he left, lessons learnt and mood completely spoiled for the rest of the week.

It hurt. But Jimmy had to keep going forward. Curly crawled back to him eventually like he always did — reminiscent of a dog with its tail hidden between the legs. At least Curly seemed to take the hint and grew distant from you, pushing the professional approach all the way. The captain managed to make amends, he had to, if it meant keeping the peace on the ship.

No, Jimmy didn't care about his friend's betrayal. What drove him up on the wall was your reaction, or the lack of it. Because you pretended like nothing happened, resuming your busy day to day life, but this time avoiding Jimmy almost entirely. Ignoring you in return wasn't an option as the relationship between you two didn't reach the point where you'd feel anxious without his attention. Jimmy felt sick — he grew too comfortable around you and it bit him back in the ass.

Here he was, struggling to keep his composure without hearing a familiar lazy "good morning" coming from you at the dinning table every day. Any attempts at catching your gazes never resulted in anything other than a pit heaving in his stomach. Jimmy begun skipping game nights altogether when you found yourself a new spot at the armchair near the massive screen. The man grew desperate enough to eavesdrop on your unimportant daily chit chats in distant hope to get anything out of them to use. Rummaging through your stuff also proved to be fruitless. Everything to no avail.

Jimmy grew sick and tired of waiting for you to come to him. It was time for him to come to you.

"We've got a fax message from the corporate. You might wanna check this one out."

Luring you out was too easy, the man almost felt bad for abusing your innocence. But it was your fault for being an ignorant fool and trusting a person you slighted. Jimmy never said it was an update about your placement, just a message from the management — everything else was your wishful thinking. You proded co-pilot for any information on your way to the cockpit, but the later remained tight lipped and instead chatting you up about the most mundane things happening on Tulpar. If you hadn't lowered your guard down, you would hear the click of the lock sealing your fate.

"Alright, let's have a look at what those higher ups prepared for me" you said with a sigh, landing on the free seat with a paper in hands.

Jimmy humoured you a little further, standing right in front of you with his arms folded in the waiting stance, observing impatiently how your eyes skimmed through the text.

"Uhh...Jim this is just a general reminder that our haul is reaching it's destination in 30 days."

"I know" he flatly replied.

"Sooo why did you invite me here then?"

"Man, I can't believe some people can be this dense. Goes to show we can't trust others with anything. Even reading the room." Jimmy grumbled, yanking the document from your hands and letting it settle down onto the floor. Suddenly the man buckled over the pilot seat you were sitting on, both strong hands forcing your wrists down on the leather armrests. "Do you still not understand why I've dragged you here?"

This got your full undivided attention — you shrunk in the armchair, trying to slip your arms away from the bruising hold. You were akin to the fish thrown out of water with how your mouth opened and closed, before you gathered back your thoughts to respond.

"W-wait what are you talking about. I don't understand...." Jimmy searched for anything that could resemble a lie in your frighted eyes, but came up with nothing. You really were painfully oblivious to all his suffering this whole time.

"Is it that easy for you to discard people from your life? Hm? Must be nice to go about your day without a care in the world while I'm left to wonder what I have done wrong to be treated this way."

You remained silent, simply staring at the man in front of you in disbelief. God, just why he had to deal with someone as slow as you.

At last it clicked in your mind, your brows knitting together.

"...you don't mean us spending less time together right? Or is it about that one time with Curly? I just have my own work to take care of, and the captain has already told you that we were j--"

A heavy slap landed on you cheek before you had any time to finish. The sting wasn't going to hurt as much as other things Jimmy had in store for you — you didn't know it just yet.

"Don't try to bullshit me now. I know exactly what was your plan from the very beginning" uttered Jimmy, bringing his face right in front of yours. He wanted to see you cry so badly, beg for his forgiveness — Jimmy was almost willing to beat you up with his bare fists if it meant getting what he desired. "If you really think you can screw me up and not suffer any consequences you are dead wrong. I was being nothing but kind and patient, even taught you things no-one else would, and that's how you repay me? By going behind my back to fuck your way up by using Curly? Sorry to disappoint you, but you're not even in his taste."

Once again the man could read complete bewilderment from your facial features alone. Burning pain on your cheek all but forgotten, you raised you face to meet Jimmy's. Tiny drops of glistening tears gathered at the corners of your eyes, you lower lip instinctively bitten and chewed on from the tension. It had to be one of the most beautiful faces you've ever made: full of confusion, fear and submission.

"Jimmy... you got it all wrong, please just listen to me." You've tried, earnestly tried to calm the man down, to find a way out of the situation you were forced into. But there was no reasoning, no bargaining, nothing left.

Jimmy leaned in to where your ear was, letting out hot puffs of air as he spoke. "You had a chance to explain yourself, but you've missed it. Don't forget that you brought this upon yourself. You"

Jimmy saw you gasp in horror before he smashed his mouth against yours with such force your head hit the back on the chair. Your lips have already been parted so he wasted no time tracing your lower lip with his tongue, hot and slick from all the waiting. That wasn't what Jimmy initially planned, but it felt right at that moment. All pent up emotions suppressed for god knows how long suddenly taking a hold of his better judgement. Actually, this would work too — it would make you never forget about him ever again.

You squirmed against Jimmy's hold once again, trying to turn your head away to the sides. Jimmy had to crawl on top of you to secure your head against the leather pad of the seat, fully inserting his tongue to violate your mouth. He lapped at you like a starved man, not caring about his stubble scratching at your skin or about the saliva seeping down your chin.

Jimmy caught a sights of your eyes squeezed shut which he didn't like at all. It seemed like his words didn't get through your thick skull after all, so he dug his knee right into you groin, making you jolt, stilling your struggles momentarily.

"Don't. Ignore me." Jimmy growled staring straight into your eyes. "If you want this to be over then just do what I say. Understand?" he finished, waiting for your response.

If it wasn't for the twisting ache in your throat, you would say something to Jimmy, but instead you gave a jittety nod.

This prompted Jimmy to finally smirk: a dark variation of a smile you were used to seeing whenever the man was about to say something witty. You instantly regretted your choice, cruel hand zipping down the fly of your blue uniform in a swift motion — from your chest to your abdomen, only setting the regret deeper and deeper...

"Then do me a favour and stay still, will you?"

[ladysharmaa]

Wild Hearts

Jasper Hale x original character

Summary: When a new girl arrives at Forks, she seems to catch Jasper Hale's attention. However, he and his family are hiding a secret. What they don't know is that Evelyn has a secret of her own

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

The early morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a soft golden glow over the room. The air was still, quiet, save for the rhythmic sound of Evelyn’s breathing. She was just beginning to wake, her mind still caught between the remnants of a dream and the gentle touch threading through her hair.

Cool, feather-light fingers were running through her hair, tracing absentminded patterns against her scalp. She stirred slightly, sighing as she leaned into the touch, reluctant to leave the comfort of sleep just yet.

“Morning, darlin’.” a familiar, velvety voice drawled above her.

Evelyn’s lips curled into a sleepy smile before she even opened her eyes. “Mmm… Jasper?”

She finally blinked up at him, his golden eyes watching her with an unreadable expression, though his lips held the faintest ghost of a smile. His hand never stopped moving, fingertips brushing against her cheek before returning to her hair.

“You were mumblin’ in your sleep again,” he murmured. “Something about… peach pie?”

The demigod let out a soft laugh, reaching up to place her hand over his. “You’re making that up.”

Jasper chuckled, a deep, soothing sound that made her heart flutter. “Maybe, but I could listen to you talk in your sleep all day. It's cute. I like watchin’ you sleep.”

Evelyn playfully swatted at his arm, though her strength was nothing compared to his. “That’s creepy.” Eve teased, but the warmth in her gaze betrayed her words. "You're turning in Edweirdo. At least I know you are watching me sleep, poor Bella."

However, she knew what he meant. Unlike her, Jasper didn’t need rest, didn’t need to close his eyes and surrender to dreams. Instead, he spent the quiet hours of the night simply being there — watching over her, lost in his own thoughts while she lay curled against him, sometimes reading a book. Emmett tried many times to get him to play videogames with him, but he preferred being next to Evelyn. Hearing her heartbeat, soothing her when she started to have a nightmare.

“You’re too good to me,” she whispered, fingers tracing the sharp line of his jaw. “It’s unfair, really.”

His smile softened, and something tender flickered in his gaze. “I don’t think you realize just how much you do for me, Lyn.”

She tilted her head, waiting for him to continue, and he exhaled, though it wasn’t necessary. His hand cupped her cheek now, his thumb brushing over her lower lip with infinite care, as if she were something delicate, something precious.

“You make me feel human,” he confessed, voice barely above a whisper. “You make all of this—” his other hand gestured vaguely to himself, “—seem less like a curse and more like a blessing.”

Evelyn’s throat tightened, her heart aching at the sincerity in his words. Without thinking, she lifted herself slightly and pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips. “You’re not a curse, Jasper,” she murmured against his skin. “You never were. We have eternity together.”

Jasper let out a shaky breath, his eyes closing for a brief moment as if to absorb the warmth of her touch. When he opened them again, the love in his gaze was unmistakable.

“Darlin’,” he drawled, brushing his nose against hers, “you sure do know how to make a man weak.”

Evelyn only smiled, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him closer. “Good thing you’re the strongest man I know.”

He laughed softly, tucking her into his chest, and for a moment, the world was quiet again. Just the two of them tangled in soft sheets, whispering promises that stretched beyond lifetimes.

"Have you talked to Edward about yesterday?" Evelyn broke the silence. She didn't want to get up, but knew that there were urgent matters that needed their attention.

"Let's not talk about him." Jasper said tensely.

Evelyn stretched before slipping out of bed, Jasper’s hand lingering at her waist as if reluctant to let her go. “Come on, grumpy. Let’s see what chaos awaits downstairs.”

They made their way to the living room, where the rest of the Cullens were already gathered. The atmosphere was tense, though Emmett was the first to break the silence with a playful grin. “Well, if it isn’t the lovebirds. You two finally decided to grace us with your presence?”

Evelyn rolled her eyes as she flopped onto the couch beside Alice. “You’re just jealous Jasper likes me more.”

Emmett gasped in mock offense, clutching his chest. “You wound me, Eve! I thought we had something special.”

Jasper smirked, wrapping an arm around Evelyn’s shoulders. “Can’t compete with me, brother.”

Edward, leaning against the fireplace, cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him. His gaze met Evelyn’s, and he shifted uncomfortably. “Evelyn… I wanted to apologize for what happened with Bella. I know it was reckless. The last thing I wanted was for you to also get hurt.”

Evelyn tilted her head, studying him before finally nodding. “You did what you thought was right. And this cut is nothing. It's already healing. I'm a demigod, remember?”

Emmett snorted. “Yeah, he's just saying that because Jasper is scary as fuck when it comes to Evie here."

"Language." Rosalie scolded.

Emmett's eyes widened, immediately turning to the woman with an apology on the tip of his tongue. The rest of the family laughed, lightening the mood a little. Jasper squeezed Evelyn’s hand, and she leaned into him, knowing that no matter what happened, they would always have each other.

Alice got up to sit on Lucas' lap, who had just arrived with Carlisle from hunting. Along the way, her eyes glazed over and the rest of the family waited patiently for her vision to end. "We can't go to school today. It's going to be too sunny."

"No!" Evelyn groaned dramatically, pretending to faint at Rosalie, who playfully pushed her off of her. Evelyn rolled her eyes in his direction. "Rude. What am I going to do without you guys to entertain me?"

Jasper watched his mate's theatrics with a smirk on his lips and complete adoration in his eyes.

"You're gonna have fun, Eve, I've seen it!" Alice informed, giggling as Eve made a pout. Jasper hoped she would never hold that against him, or she would have whatever she asked for in a matter of seconds without him being able to refuse her anything.

"Fine, I'll go to school. I'll take the opportunity to talk to Bella, try to understand what's going on in her head."

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗

Jasper ended up taking her to school, having to wear a cap and dark sunglasses. Still, to be careful, he left Eve a little earlier, making sure no one could see him.

Before she got out of the car, she turned to him shyly, "You look really good."

"Thank you, darlin'." he whispered, slowly approaching her, their faces getting closer and closer. The blonde's breath caught in her throat and her heart began to beat faster, "You also look beautiful."

Jasper turned his cap back so as not to hit the demigod's forehead, and at that moment, she felt like she was about to faint. Unable to hold it in any longer, she placed her hands on the vampire's cheeks and pulled him into a burning kiss.

When they pulled away, she placed a small kiss on the corner of Jasper's mouth, and opened the car door to get out with a small wave. The blond was completely in a trance, and if he were human he would be sure his heart would be beating so fast it could come out of his chest.

Evelyn didn't find Bella the whole morning. However, during lunch, as she walked to the tables outside, she saw Bella’s intense gaze locked on her. As soon as the blonde sat down, Bella walked to the table and sat down. The brunette leaned forward, as if she was telling a secret. “I need to talk to you.”

“Let me guess. About Edward?”

Bella nodded vigorously. “I saw him, Eve. He was across the parking lot, and then — he was there. He stopped the car with his bare hands! That’s not normal.”

Evelyn took a slow sip of her drink, buying herself time. “Maybe you hit your head harder than you thought.”

Bella frowned. “Evelyn, I know what I saw.”

Evelyn shrugged. “Maybe you saw what you think you saw.”

Bella groaned, frustration clear in her expression. “You know something. Don’t you?”

Evelyn gave a small, knowing smile. “Bella, sometimes things aren’t as simple as they seem.”

The human narrowed her eyes. “That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one you’re getting.”

Bella huffed, but Evelyn could see the curiosity burning behind her eyes. This wasn’t over. Thankfully, they were joined by their friends, interrupting their conversation. Jessica sat on the table, enjoying the sun's rays while Angela sat next to Evelyn.

"The Cullens aren't coming?" Jessica asked.

"No." Evelyn said, even if she knew that her friend already knew the answer to that question.

"Why aren't they coming?" Bella asked curiously.

"Whenever the weather's nice, the Cullens disappear. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen yank them out for, like, hiking and camping and stuff. I tried that with my parents. Not even close. Eve sometimes goes with them."

"Why didn't you go today?"

"I don't like to go all the time, Bella, they deserve to spend time alone as a family. Sometimes I join them, other times I don't. It's not that deep." Evelyn made up an excuse.

"That's really interesting, but hear this!" Angela interrupted, clearly extremely happy with something. "I'm going to prom with Eric. I just asked him. I took control."

She hugged Bella happily while Evelyn said, "That's amazing, Angela. You two are so cute together!"

"Are you sure you have to fo out of town, Bella?" Angela asked with a pout.

"Oh yeah, it's a little family thing."

“We have to go shopping in Port Angeles after school,” Jessica said, her hand blocking the sun so she could look at her friends. “I need something new before all the good dresses are cleaned out.”

Evelyn laughed. “Alright, alright. I’m in. Are you also coming, Bella?"

"Sure." she mumbled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she remained silent and let the others continue sharing their ideas of what dress they were thinking of wearing.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗

Later, as they wandered through racks of shimmering fabrics and elegant silhouettes in a Port Angeles store, the conversation turned a predictable turn. Angela nudged Evelyn with a knowing smirk. “So… Jasper is kind of insanely in love with you, huh?”

Jessica twirled a dress hanger between her fingers, sighing dramatically. “It’s honestly unfair how cute you two are together. Like, does he even look at anyone else when you’re around?”

Evelyn grinned, her fingers ghosting over a velvet gown. “He’s just… Jasper. He makes everything feel special.”

From outside the store, a group of boys was passing through when they saw them trying the dresses. They knocked on the window to cath the attention of the girls. One of them whistled. “Hey, ladies, need some help picking something out?”

Jessica rolled her eyes. “Ugh. Ignore them.”

"That's disgusting." Bella, suddenly looking thoughtful, turned to Evelyn. “I think I’m gonna head to the bookstore.”

Evelyn grabbed her bag. “Wait, I’ll go with you. Meet you later at the restaurant.”

They ended up finding the library where Bella wanted to go, Evelyn looking at the books there while the brunette looked for the specific book that was supposedly very important. Eve was already getting tired of finding answers to the Swan girl's questions, and it didn't go unnoticed that the book she wanted to buy was about ancient legends.

When they finally left, the two wandered through unfamiliar streets, the restaurant nowhere in sight. The sky had darkened slightly, casting long shadows over the pavement. Bella frowned. “I think we’re lost.”

Before they could figure out where to go, the same boys from earlier appeared, smirking. “Didn’t expect to see you here,” one said. “Need a ride?”

Evelyn stepped protectively in front of Bella, her jaw tightening. “We’re fine, thanks.”

Another chuckled, stepping closer. “Come on, don’t be shy.”

Bella gripped Evelyn’s arm, whispering, “We need to go. Now.”

The tallest boy took another step forward, eyes gleaming with amusement. “You sure? Seems like you’re a little lost.”

Evelyn exhaled sharply, keeping her voice steady. “I said we’re fine.”

As they turned to walk away, the boys exchanged glances before following. The sound of footsteps behind them sent a chill down Evelyn’s spine. Her grip on Bella tightened. “Just keep walking,” she muttered.

But deep down, she knew they wouldn’t be left alone so easily.

As they turned to walk away, one of the boys reached out and grabbed Evelyn’s wrist. Instinct kicked in. With a sharp twist, she yanked her arm free and shoved him back with enough force to make him stumble.

The air shifted. The playful sneers turned to something darker.

“Feisty one, huh?” another boy muttered before lunging at her.

Evelyn barely had time to shove Bella aside before the fight erupted. One swung at her, but she ducked, delivering a swift kick to his knee. He collapsed with a curse, and she turned just in time to block another attack. Her demigod strength sent the second boy tumbling backward, but there were too many of them.

“Bella, run!” Evelyn shouted, stopping one of the man from grabbing Bella's arm. The demigod pushed her towards the alleyway. “Go!”

Bella hesitated, eyes wide with panic. “I can’t—”

“Now!” Evelyn barked, dodging another punch. Bella turned and sprinted into the night. "Get help!"

A rough hand tangled in Evelyn’s shirt, yanking her back. She spun, throwing an elbow into the attacker’s gut. The fabric of her shirt ripped as another boy grabbed at her, and she growled, slamming her fist into his jaw.

Breathing hard, she backed up, readying herself for another wave—when the roar of an engine split the night.

Two cars screeched to a stop, their headlights illuminating the scene. The doors flew open. Edward and Jasper.

A low growl rumbled from Jasper’s chest, his golden eyes dark with fury as he took in the sight of Evelyn standing amidst the gang of men, her shirt torn, her fists clenched.

Her hair was messy, but other than that she was brimming with confidence and anger at the behavior of men who couldn't take no for an answer. But seeing his mate with her bra visible and knuckles bruised from the force of her punches made the vampire see red. His protective side yearned to kill those humans slowly and watch them suffer.

"Edward, Bella is somewhere over there. Go get her." Evelyn warned him, watching as he immediately ran to the girl. Eve couldn't hear them, but she could see Edward leading the brunette to his car and driving off, knowing the couple could handle the situation.

Jasper locked eyes with the closest man still standing. His posture was tense, all his muscles contracting in anger. He placed himself protectively in front of Evelyn, not allowing any more danger to come to her. First, they would have to go through him. “You’ve made a grave mistake.”

The air seemed to vibrate as Jasper took a single step forward, predatory, lethal. Fear rippled through the group, their earlier bravado crumbling as they took an unconscious step back.

"Wathever, this isn't worth it for this crazy bitch."

Evelyn closed her eyes with a sigh, knowing that this was now the tip of the iceberg for Jasper. Evelyn grabbed his arm to stop him from moving forward, feeling his muscles relax ever so slightly at her touch.

The vampire looked over his shoulder at her, his gaze softening at her apprehensive look. "Wait for me in the car. I promise I won't lose control."

Obviously, Evelyn didn't do that but stayed behind him in case she needed to intervene. With controlled but precise force, Jasper drove his fist into the nearest man’s stomach. The man gasped, crumpling to the pavement, groaning in pain. His friends scrambled to pick him up, their fear thick in the air.

“That’s mercy,” Jasper said darkly, his Southern drawl dripping with menace. “You don’t deserve it. Do this again, and I will know. I will kill you.”

Evelyn watched hesitantly as Jasper turned back to her, his expression unreadable. Without a word, he shrugged off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

“Are you alright?” His voice was softer now, but his eyes still burned with barely restrained rage.

“I’m fine, Jasper,” Evelyn murmured, placing a hand on his chest. “It’s over.”

He took a slow breath, trying to steady himself. “They touched you.” His fists were still clenched. “They hurt you.”

“I handled it, I trained my all life to fight monsters. I can handle drunk men.” she reassured him gently. “And then you showed up.”

Jasper’s jaw tightened, his gaze scanning her for any injuries. “You shouldn’t have had to handle it alone.”

Evelyn sighed, stepping closer and resting her forehead against his. He was shaking, Evelyn didn't even know If that was possible. Maybe she was the one shaking. “I’m okay. Bella’s okay. That’s what matters.”

Jasper exhaled, finally allowing some of the tension to leave his body. “Bella is a magnet for danger. Please, stop hanging out with her alone.”

She smiled softly. “Sure.”

Jasper pressed a kiss to her forehead, lingering for a moment before leading her back to the car. “Let’s go home. If I wasn't immortal I would have died by heart attack by now.”

[ranwan-love]

Channeled Messages from Ma Saraswati

Hi everyone!! On occasion of Vasant Panchami i decided to do this reading. Usually this auspicious day dedicated to Goddess Saraswati,marking the arrival of spring and honoring the Goddess of wisdom, knowledge, music, and arts.✨🌻🍀

Even if you don't worship her i truly wish you all would be able to connect with concious of creativity, knowledge,art, music, and passion. I also set an intention by end of this reading all of stuck energy from you people goes away and is replaced by spring and blessings. 💚🍀🌱✨

If you are going to buy me coffee so thank you in advance! (Opps! It's potatoes)

Close your eyes, take a deep breath and pick the pile you feel most attracted too.

Pile one

Cards: Chariot, Hanged man, Page of wands, Two of swords/cups

Okay so this pile might be of my creators especially musician because I keep hearing "there are people who wait for your music". This thought/affirmation can be used for just starting or being yourself to manifest even greater audience. But first you need to start,like take action and then let it be. Don't think like it didn't go instantly viral or something rather just let it be there. Your music will find it's Lover at right time. It's like the feeling of actually just being in love with process of making your art instead of being in anxious state waiting for some outcome. Your music is important for someone so just do it. Like on Chariot card I see the figure looking satisfied with a sense of calmness and yet proud of himself. So make music for your satisfaction instead of standards you have been subjecting yourself too. Go for something new too. Maybe you don't have to try finding completely new topic or something. Rather see the existing thing from a new perspective. I know so many artists worry over the fact that ow it's already done by someone else but maybe it's not done by you, from your perspective? Maybe the audience love that specific genre so they need more perspective in that genre only. Like if I have to summarise I would say try something which is already popular but add new perspective to it. If you have any idea in mind try working on it because it might feel like small anxious beginning but there is definitely involvement of some higher source, could be your ancestor or your own past life efforts. This idea will take you on long journey in future.

Okay, so it was supposed to be two of swords but I end up reading it as two of cups. It can be a cautionary remark. It's like if you get compliment with a sense of critic. Take it with good heart because at end how you view those comments will definately affect you. You can take it as mutual exchange where they are helping you to improve or other way around. So double check yourself how you will be looking at things or these interactions.

Pile Two

Cards: Eight of swords (j with 6 of wands),Two of cups, The Lovers, Seven of swords

Lol somehow this pile always get an extra card it's like they have so much to hear but than i go into deep silence. I want to ask do you watch too many readings, it's as if there's something going on in your head like always but you need to drop it because you have beautiful potential to connect yourself with pure silence and bliss. There could be some evident phone addiction. It's like stop feeding yourself anything you see. Take a break, create space for new wisdom to flow. There are very high chances you might be feeling stuck, overwhelmed and no where to go. So come back to yourself sit with yourself sit with your peace. There's so much potential of union. Union! You might ask what union? Union of you and your higher self who will guide you throughout this road less taken. There's so much success and collaboration on this road aka journey. You might meet people alike you. Just know that, like always remember your soul tribe and your true work will only bring peace to you. The Chances of deceit could be early eliminated by just trusting your inner knowing. If you think according to what your intuition says then all those finger critics will eventually manifest into sweet fruit for you! Because your guides and your higher self are looking after you.

This pile have really strong psychic abilities or atleast intuition themselves so trust it!!

Pile Three

Cards: Knight of Pentacles, Nine of wands, Magician, Fool

Hi my dear pile of powerful people full of potential but serial procastinators. How have you been doing while pretending that you are awfully stuck while knowing exactly what to do ? See i get your fear of slow results but maybe, maybe you should consider that things which take time are more stable, like castles are not built in a day RIGHT???? Like on serious note stop acting confused there are no shortcuts just start it. Get used to process because the potential, rewards, fame, money it hold is insane. Like stop staying in your comfort zone because your goal seems way too big. Like trust me no one is going to save you there not even your guides because you are being stuck by your own will. Start a new journey with belief that yes it's huge it's overwhelming but you are guided along your way. I don't know it reminds me of footprints in sand. Check it out.

Like my pile three you people are walking magicians. You have everything you need to bring this vision dream into fruition. Stop tricking yourself because you know it, i know it, we all know it that you got what's needed so simply start okay. Like i won't lie but there's so much resistance here while moving forward. But at same time my bro it's not external but you, it's fucking internal. You need to trust yourself and take steps ahead! Best of luck for that if not?? You are free to complaint for longer period in same position . Just keep in mind blame will be only yours not God.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

If you feel like giving suggestions for collective future readings, dm me. I would love to do it.

For paid personal readings:

[weepingalaxy]

i would like to hear your mossman essay... always looking to appreciate more women (especially the half life women. god bless alyx but i think she's the only one not relegated to an expansion or trapped by Misogynistic Writing)

TAKES A DEEP BREATH. anon youve opened the flood gates with this one i have so so so many thoughts about her. these may not make sense because english is my second language and i have probably some form of dyslexia But. i hope. itll make enough sense to offer something interesting to the table

so. judith mossman. aka the perfect example of learned helplessness and how it makes you look to the past

..i have no idea how to start this in a way that isnt kinda forced so youll have to bare with me okay.

i think the core of judith as a character can be summarized by those guys who look at something in history and say "if i was there i wouldn't have done that, rip to you but im different". there's been a misunderstanding about judith in that she "glorifies" the black mesa incident, when thats never what she does or what i understood alyx's comment about her as? see, judith doesn't say it to gordon in person, only talking about the science of teleportation with him (which i'll get into), it's alyx saying how judith has gone on and on about how it should've been her in the chamber that day.

that's not a "i wish i couldve been the one to cause the incident" or glorifying what the incident did or anything, that's a "if i was there it wouldn't have happened" as frivilous and ridiculous that is to imagine for us, the players, as people who saw what happened. but she didn't see it, all she knows is something happened in the test she applied for, and gordon's at the center of it

i believe judith resents gordon. not only because he took the position she wanted/applied to, but because she blames him for the incident happening in the first place. why else would she believe things would've been different if she was there? the way she talks to him is with this surprise and focus on what eli is going to feel about gordon's arrival, then talking about her own knowledge on the teleportation technology, it feels almost like... what would i call it. showing off? but not by saying "i" or "me", but by saying we. yes it's kleiner's technology, but imagine what they'd do if they knew what we've been doing with entanglement. she's the only one who talks to him about the technology like that, and it's like she's trying to prove she's as capable as him? i guess? especially when she still props up gordon's intelligence and says she's happy they get to work together. she wants to prove even more she could've been the one at the chamber but never saying it outright to his face.

and of course, this resentment is why it's easier for her to work with wallace breen to bring gordon to him. if you had a way to ensure the safety of the people you care about, and it'd require the capture of a man you believe was the catalyst for the end of the world, wouldn't you at least like... consider it?? not to mention the way she acts with breen is very... submissive, like maybe she's been with the combine for a specific reason that he can dangle over her head that makes her unable to go against him. the safety of eli, a way to live somewhat comfortably if her wearing a pristine off-white turtleneck is anything to go by, god knows what else.

augh. sorry my brain's losing steam but like. i need to at least mention: her going after the borealis after she breaks free from combine (and, most of all, breen) control is something i took as not just her trying to find something useful for the resistance, but also like... a way to apologize/make up for what she did? but without asking for forgiveness? she went to the fucking arctic to find one of the most valuable pieces of... tech? ... most valuable artifact? Important Ship, specifically so she can fix everything. and how will it fix things?

the borealis has weird temporal elements that lets you go back in time.

of course the woman who's focused so much on the past and the "what-if"s would go looking for something that would let her fix things in the past

[nthspecialll]

Red Dead Quiz #1

Hello every and all and welcome to my new little series, that being red dead quizzes. Every sonday I am going to upload a little quiz of three questions that will be within a certian theme and this week's theme is Easter Eggs, next week's theme will be actors! I will upload them all under the hashtag "nthspecialll quiz".

Answers to the questions can be found below the cut and links to explainations or proof can be found by clicking underlined words.

The 23th May, 2010 Youtuber WhereDaBootz uploaded a video of a glitch he had encountered in rdr1, said video became so popular that it became an easter egg in rdr2. What was that easter egg?

Harold MacDougal is an important character from red dead one who cannot be encountered in red dead two but is mentioned twice either way, when are those two times?

In rdr2's version of Blackwater you can find strange writing on the walls, what is that writing? Bonus point if you can tell me what it means.

Answers.

The easter egg is the woman known as the Donkey Lady who can be found a little outside Armadillo.

In the newspaper artical: "Prominent Yale Scientist Speaks Out" and in the side mission "Help a Brother Out" where it is his book you have to pull from the shelf to reach the slaves in the basement of the Saint Denis fence. You don't need to be able to name the exact artical or mission to gain the points as long as you knew he made an appearence in the news and knew which mission, even if you didn't know the name.

The writing is made in Aztec symbols, which are used in Undead Nightmare by Ayauhtéotl, the godess who put the caused the appocolypse. The writing translates to "Blessed are the peacemakers" which is what is written on John's grave.

[wanderingwolfwitcher]

"Learned my own lessons too late as well, for what it's worth. Acted much later than I should have. Could have prevented a great deal of death and suffering, long ago, but my dithering over a destiny I never expected to receive ended up setting it all off in the first place. With plenty of help from Stregobor and his magical cronies of the Council of Mages, of course. All believing in the Curse of the Black Sun... or making it a reality. Many innocents paid the price for what we both did and didn't do."

Eskel's deep, calm voice returned to the black haired noblewoman between bites and sips of his meal, looking back to the blazing fireplace and considering it all deeply. Memories and images returning to him, of Deidre and all the others. Of Sabrina. The thought of the crimson haired Sorceress troubling him, even now. However many years she had been dead for. He was certain it would always be that way, where Sabrina Glevissig was concerned. He had been unable to take revenge upon her... had avoided her for years... now he had to settle for Stregobor and perhaps Eltibald. Two mages he had never met... despite knowing their culpability. Maybe it was a blessing the Witcher wouldn't have to face her again, after Kaer Morhen and their other encounters over the years. Memory of Deidre's flashing blade, impacting in his gut and making several slashing passes over his face. Sabrina hovering over his bed afterwards in the keep, tending to his wounds. Deidre's face in the streets of Ban Gleán, when his silver sword had impaled her... the look of shock and betrayal writ large, the blood and rain running down her freely. His jaw tightened, and he pushed aside the bitter, evil memories and the conflicting emotions they drew. At last, with a grim chuckle and shrug of his silver spike covered shoulders, his viper gaze moved from the fire and back to Syanna's sapphire pair, where she resided on the bed. Low tone speaking up again, moving them on.

"Well... reckon it does little good for anyone to dwell on the path not taken. Not that it stops everyone from doing so anyways. Can't change what has been. Just try to clean up the mess afterwards... as I have done before. You should get some rest soon, need your energy, and so we can be on our way again. Not expecting your sister's bumbling knights to find us here, but I'd sooner keep as much distance from Toussaint as possible. It's more word spreading of a reward we will have to be concerned about, locals finding out and being eager to collect. Rather not have to kill any of the local bounty hunters, just men trying to earn a living, like me. Best not to stay anywhere longer than we need to, until we reach Kovir."

@starwrittenfates

Eskel took his time by the fire, savoring the meal and drink, even if it wasn't up to his usual preferences. Food was food, wherever one found it, a Witcher wasn't picky. When she spoke on the matter of her ex, he knew at once to whom she was referring, contemplating the matter silently. Something he knew would have to be acknowledged at some point. The Higher Vampire Dettlaff, who had razed Beauclair with a horde of Vampires, before being brought down by Geralt and Regis. The latter having to live the rest of his life despised and ostracized by his fellows, no less than how a Witcher had to live on the Path... all on account of the noblewoman's ambitions and manipulations. Her only punishment being a golden prison. Not having the courage to seek her own revenge by her own hand, instead trying to use another for the deed. Countless dead as a result of her actions. He was of the mind that if one wanted something done, they were supposed to do it themselves. He had made his own mistakes with Deidre, which ended up in many folk dead... but at least he could say he did it out of inaction, instead of active manipulations or ambitions. He had not intended anyone to suffer or die over it, had thought he was making the right decision to protect the Princess... Sylvia Anna on the other hand must have known she was gambling with other lives, actively doing what she had. Of course, the matter of Stregobor and Eltibald was liable to end up similarly, if hopefully less destructively. At last, finding his grim words and thoughts on the matter, the Witcher's deep, calm voice spoke up again, glowing viper eyes turning from the fire and looking back at her sapphire pair, speaking to her again gradually.

"Reckon so. Known my share of Bruxa over the years, hunting them and otherwise. Plenty of their bites on my neck to show for it. Heard tell you had an eye for Nosferatu yourself. Didn't go over so well, last time. Who would have thought attempting to manipulate a true Higher Vampire could end in anything other than disaster? Well... besides a Witcher, of course. Pity you didn't meet me first. Could have taught you plenty of useful lessons, without anyone having to learn them the hard way. Revenge tends to involve gambling with more lives than your own and the target of your revenge. Quite possible innocents will die when we come for Stregobor's head. Likely, knowing him. What he would do to survive in his comfortable tower. That's why we'll be doing our damnedest to prevent it. Limit deaths. Enough suffering in the world as it is, and it's always the innocent who pay the highest price, get caught up in the matters that don't involve them."

@starwrittenfates

[respectthepetty]

I'm so glad y'all voted for me to watch Love in the Air, so I can become a hypocrite and fully root for Nagumo Shoma to fuck up a car and lie about it all so he can meet a boy.

That's what this BL boy deserves.

And that's what *I*deserve!

[tryingahandinholdingapen]

I'm flattered /gen

glad you like my silly little au fjbsjfh

okay. I mean I said I'd write more of this anyway, so...

let's add even more tropes into the mix actually

- The Senju clan's healing ability is ridiculously superior to the Uchiha clan's, which is actually pretty shit really. They're doing their best but they don't have nearly as much knowledge or inventions or justu relevent to healing and prevention as the Senju, meanwhile the Senju clan's ability to heal horrendous injuries+illnesses is absolutely unbelievable. Neither party is quite aware of the extent of this discrepancy tho,,,,the Uchiha are slightly more aware of it than the Senju are but. Yeah big knowledge gap

- Hashirama et al has lowkey been planning to Get Rid Of Butsuma and take over for like, ages. He's not old enough or experienced enough to take over the clan yet but he + Tobirama + others have quietly been working towards the eventuality in which Hashirama IS old enough to do so for. years

- Tobirama has leopard summons which okay yeah does make him act a teeny tiny bit like a cat sometimes. The instincts are there

okay now I need to backtrack to my original post because now that I've added these tropes in I wish to expand on the ending paragraph. the bit about the Uchiha clan at large attempting to befriend the young Blessed like he's a stray/feral cat, meanwhile Tobirama starts dropping metaphorical dead mice on their doorstep as he gradually warms up to them? that bit

okay so after that encounter that broke the stalemate, in which Tobirama was wounded and the Uchiha gave the young Blessed medical supplies to try and help, there's a few realisations. The Uchiha realise this Blessed is almost certainly a recognisable (and therefore probably important?) member of a neutral or, more likely, enemy shinobi clan. Tobirama realises, after a few similar encounters (Butsuma has a few months of beyond usual paranoia and keeps sending Tobirama on missions that are too difficult/dangerous for him really), that based on how bad the Uchiha seem to think his injuries are vs what supplies they give him....the state of the Uchiha's healing supplies is possibly a bit shit. hm

(Tobirama's also warming up to the concept of peace with the Uchiha due to these encounters. He already wanted the war to stop, because it was killing so many of their people and didn't make sense to continue when they didn't know why it STARTED and it almost got Itama killed (he survived, but now stays in the compound learning to be a healer and that's Tobirama's baby brother that nearly died!) buuuuttt now Tobirama's not only like "we should stop the war" but "we should start an era of peace", you know? Subtle but very important difference. He's willing to be more proactive now and maybe if he does nice things for the Uchiha then if/when he reveals his identity as Senju Tobirama it could help cement peace? He considers talking to Hashirama about the possibility but uhhhh then he'd have to admit he's been sneaking onto Uchiha lands sans disguise and he doesn't want to do that. Not because he doesn't love and trust his Anija, of course he does! But this is HIS thing he wants to keep it to himself,,,plus Hashirama would get so emotional about it he just KNOWS he would and he doesn't want to get sobbed all over again, thanks)

Anyway. After the Uchiha found him injured that first time and determined the Blessed was almost certainly from an enemy clan, they decided plausible deniability was the way to go, on the theory that if they pretended he wasn't an enemy or even that they hadn't noticed him, he would also pretend he wasn't from an enemy clan and therefore 'why would I spy/hurt/disadvantage the people who let me hide on their lands and give me free medical supplies? enemies? who? the Uchiha aren't my enemy don't be stupid'

This tactic is incredibly successful actually. Tobirama hadn't wanted them to know that he was from an enemy clan at all, if possible, but the moment he picked up on the fact that a) the Uchiha clan likely knew he wasn't exactly from a neutral/allied clan and b) they were pretending they didn't know in order to avoid conflict, Tobirama was very happy to play along. Thanks for solving the problem he had no idea what to do about! Plausible deniability is absolutely something he can do, he's great at that actually (fuck you Butsuma)

(Sighs of relief on the Uchiha side of things, when they realise the Blessed is happy to play along despite being discovered)

One of the ways this plausible deniability manifests is that the young Blessed is gradually demonstrating a number of preferred places to hang out/hide on their lands. The Uchiha steadfastly pretend not to be aware of this, sometimes walking by and COINCIDENTALLY not seeing the kid scrambling up the tree to his favourite perch for example, but by some happenstance a few of their patrol routes have altered ever so slightly so that the kid's preferred places are more strongly protected than they had been previously. Wow what a weird coincidence am I right

Anyway after that first encounter that broke the stalemate, subsequent encounters with the Blessed now routinely include giving the kid (11-14?? idk man I'm still undecided on ages) a shirt. Because for some reason whenever he's injured he's also absent proper clothing. They really aren't sure why this is the case? He wears proper clothing when he's not injured! Injuries and lost clothing do not normallt have such a strong corrlation as they seemingly do for this kid so like, what the hell is hapoening there?? But they're not gonna leave the kid to freeze when a shirt is one thing they have plenty of sooo shirt and medical supplies it is

The Uchiha have no way of knowing this, but the reason Tobirama keeps ending up needing a shirt whenever he's injured is because when Tobirama plans in advance to go hang out on Uchiha lands, he can ensure he's dressed appropriately with outer layers etc that don't have the Senju mon on. But if he hasn't planned it in advance, and is just trying to hide because he's injured and doesn't want to go home (partly conscious planning to avoid Butsuma and partially unconscious cat instincts to go hide somewhere nobody (that he really knows personally) can find him) then that usually means that his armour and outer layers etc all had the Senju mon on, since that's somewhat required for missions, and therefore he has to discard them before he can safely go on Uchiha lands. Thus any time he's injured on Uchiha lands he's also usually more or less just in his underclothing which...okay, honestly? He rarely cares at the time because yk injuries but looking back on it thinking about the sheer number of random Uchiha who have seen him in his under things is pretty embarrassing. Mm. Let's not dwell on that

Tobirama isn't so proud as to refuse the clothing they offer, because that would be stupid. It's fucking cold without his outer layers and yeah yeah he could stay warm using chakra circulation but that would use energy and chakra that he really ought to be dedicating to healing those injuries. So a shirt is better

However! He can't really keep the shirts? The younger and cockier/stupider Uchiha keep giving him shirts with the uchiwa fan on, which obviously Tobirama can't risk being spotted with back home because it would be impossible to explain, and depending on who found him with it he probably wouldn't even get a chance to try and explain himself. If it's one of the older/more experienced Uchiha who offer a shirt then he usually doesn't have to worry about them giving him something with the uchiwa emblazoned on it, but then it's also usually big enough on him that it's not reeeeally worth keeping since he can't exactly wear it regularly

So instead, he starts using the gifted shirts to wrap up medical supplies from the Senju healing halls (stuff that's better than what the Uchiha have been able to gift to Tobirama, but he's careful to ensure it's neither so good as to be obviously Senju nor marked in any identifying way) and occasionally also food, during times he has reason to believe the Uchiha clan (who do not have mokuton on their side) may be struggling a bit with that e.g. in the middle of a particularly harsh winter. So yeah he uses the gifted shirts to make little parcels of food + supplies

And then he starts sometimes leaving these little return parcels near any of the hangout/hiding places that he knows the Uchiha know of ('plausible deniability' does not mean 'so subtle Tobirama can't pick up on it' and it was never intended to be, and all parties know it). Only on times he's sure he hasn't been spotted though. Kami forbid he doesn't want to risk being spotted leaving them gifts or, even worse, having to explain himself. Let him have his own plausible deniability here, please, he's just returning the favour of the shirt+medical supplies gifts

Welcome to the 'Tobirama leaving the Uchiha clan gifts like a cat depositing dead mice on their doorstep' era

The Uchiha clan did NOT expect their gifts to be reciprocated but they're very excited about it! I mean the Uchiha patrol that were (un)lucky enough to find the gift were also somewhat embarrassed because now they have to admit the full goings-on with the Blessed to their higher-ups and the clan at large (the various shinobi routinely on patrol may not have yet confessed to smuggling the kid shirts and medical supplies. maybe. they also maybe weren't supposed to have some of those supplies and got in a fair amount of trouble for stealing from the limited healing halls surplus. oops) which was almost physically painful tbh,,,the disappointed stares for stealing from the healing halls,,,,but the return gifts the Blessed left pretty much redeemed them so like. It's fine it's all good. And hey, they even got the shirts back?

(Seriously what is going ON with that kid and his clothing. He clearly has clothes, so why isn't he always wearing them? Or if he doesn't have ENOUGH clothes to always wear them, or something [admittedly Tobirama does have a fairly limited number of outdoor clothing absent his clan mon so if any Uchiha was paying enough attention they may notice he was cycling through like, three shirts and two pairs of pants or something ridiculous like that], then why doesn't he keep the clothing they offer him?? What??)

Anyway they're very grateful for the medical supplies, and the food in mid-winter is a fucking BOON let them tell you that. Woo some actual fruit+veg instead of just fucking rice for the last stretch of winter! Some of their healers are sparing as much time as they can to try and reverse engineer the medication the kid left them, but it's really difficult and so far they haven't really had any success. The young Blessed helpfully used the same (knots? colour?) code as the medical supplies they left him used, for painkillers vs sedatives vs antibiotics and stuff, which is excellent

They try leaving him a thank you note near one of his hiding places once, but decide NOT to do that again because it fucking spooked the kid. He had been routinely hanging around about a third of the way between their outermost patrols and their compound, but after the Uchiha found disturbed ground by the note (which he notably did not take with him) the young Blessed a) vanished off the face of the fucking planet for like, two months and b) returned to lurking around the very very edges of their lands instead of coming further in

So outright straightforward communication is a bust, they guess.

Damn.

Somewhere in the distance Tobirama is quietly panicking because he can rationalise leaving them gifts as simply returning a favour/debt but writing to a clan his own are still enemies with? That's a bit too close to treason for him to deal with calmly

(Yes this is irrational when he is involved in actively planning much worse treason against their current shitstain of a clan head, but emotions are rarely rational, to Tobirama's eternal frustration)

So the Uchiha clan abandon direct communication as an avenue to winning this Blessed over, but they refuse to fall into ANOTHER stalemate with the quiet exchange of gifts and plausible deniability, they want to keep making some sort of progress towards winning the kid over

There's a lot of discussions back in the compound about this, throwing around various ideas. I think it should be someone from the main family (your choice who) who eventually suggests that making some of the young Blessed's hangout spots more hospitable may be a good move. After all, he's spent a fairly large amount of time on Uchiha lands, but considering he never comes inside the compound or outposts...he can't exactly be all that comfortable

(this is true he isn't, he just deems the discomfort worth it)

This is deemed a high risk, high reward idea. It might work really well! It may also just spook the kid again, probably badly enough to scare him off for good. They'll try it, but they'll only target one (1) of the kid's chosen places, in the hopes that even if he elects to forever abandon it once they actually acknowledge they know where it is and have even meddled with it, he might still use the other places. Also, whoever suggested the idea REALLY wants to help with making a cozy place for the Blessed, or tag along to see his reaction to it, or SOMETHING, but alas is strongly outvoted on the basis that altering one of the Blessed' safe spaces AND introducing a new Uchiha shinobi who doesn't routinely patrol and from the kid's perspective would have no reason to be there,,,could only end badly

There's a lot of whining about this, but they stand firm. No tagalongs. Yes even if it was your brilliant idea in the first place. Can't risk scaring him off. Eventually Tajima backs them up on this and the whining stops. Good

Time to go go spruce up a ridiculous hiding place for a young enemy Blessed shinobi

(how have their lives come to this)

let's combine some tropes

- red eyes are blessed (and therefore Tobirama has been hiding his face (and possibly generally his appearance via seal) bc they're not sure what Uchiha do with red-eyed people)

- Tobirama is a v strong sensor

- He finds Uchiha chakra in general and Madara's chakra in particular to be v pleasant

- He sometimes hides at the edge of Uchiha land borders when he's having a bad day, or just when he feels like it, in order to better immerse himself in chakra he finds comforting

- (and also Butsuma Sucks. he's abusive to his kids, esp Tobirama bc woe red eyes akin to sharingan and Butsuma's never been the most rational about his hatred. on a related note he's a passable clan head but he'd be a lot better if he didn't let said hatred guide his actions more than his reason)

...I don't think this post will get too long but I say that every time and then it does so maybe I should just preemptively stick a read more here??

basically au in which, from a p young age, Tobirama sneaks off to chakra bathe when he's sad or stressed. the Uchiha clan haven't actually found any red-eyed people in a while so the Senju aren't sure what they do with them but rumours still abound and all the rumours Tobirama have heard have generally been... well they've been bad. very bad. but they've also all had a common theme of 'the red-eyed person is not immediately killed on the spot', which is better than Tobirama could hope for from Uchiha as the Senju surety heir. so anytime he's hiding/skulking around the edges of Uchiha land, he makes sure that, unlike usual, his true appearance+eyes are on display as well as ensuring he doesn't have the Senju mon on him anywhere

he absolutely does not want to get caught by the Uchiha but also it's only sensible to take precautions so that if the worst case scenario happens and he IS caught trespassing, he should at least have a bit more time to try and escape, bare minimum, right?

so that's Tobirama's side of things

the Uchiha side of things is more like

okay they haven't found a Blessed in some time now and it's not like there's a strict manual what you should do if you find one. it's more like "these people are important, don't hurt them if at all possible, help and protect them if at all possible, bringing them into the clan and teaching them abt all things Uchiha including our religion would be a very good thing". so there's like some guidelines but it's fairly vague

this means the patrol predominantly made up of fairly new shinobi has absolutely no idea what to do when a while after sun-down they come across a Blessed child fast asleep, but slowly blinking awake, in the branches of a tree near the edge of their lands. like. hello?? small child?? why are you here how are you here do you want some soup

they're only standing around in confused and slightly awed shock for like, 3 minutes MAX but unfortunately that's long enough for the child to wake up properly, take one look at the patrol and then fucking bolt off Uchiha lands

cue surprised and self-recriminating cursing from the Uchiha shinobi. they can't just abandon their patrol route and they're somewhat wary of a potential trap for (relatively) newbie shinobi, so they don't all go after the child. but they do send their fastest after the kid because cmon that's a tiny Blessed!!

no luck, they return empty handed

apparently the Blessed child is unreasonably fast and tricky

damn

what now?

baby Tobirama returns home absolutely furious with himself. he can't believe he fell asleep!!! of all things! yeah he was exhausted and yeah he was snuggled up in warm comforting chakra but to fall asleep in enemy territory! he's so mad at himself. it was stupid and it was reckless and it was incredibly selfish of him to risk such a thing when his family, his clan, need him and- (continues telling himself off for like, 3 hours, until his brothers eventually manage to distract him from his horrible mood)

he doesn't return to Uchiha lands for ages after that. but he does, eventually, return

he isn't spotted every time he sneaks onto Uchiha lands, far from it, maybe one time in twenty or less, but it definitely happens enough times that they must know there's a little red-eyed child who keeps skulking around their territory and then bolting whenever he's spotted. oops. regardless he's very stressed and very sad because one of his little brothers is now gone (I kind of want this to be an au where his brother lives but is now stuck in an arranged marriage/learning to be a diplomat in the capital or smth, but regardless of how Kawamara is gone now and baby Tobirama is very sad abt it) and despite how many times they've spotted him, none of the Uchiha have actually managed to catch him yet, so he deems it worth the risk. (he maybe is not thinking incredibly rationally rn and just willfully disregarding anything against what he wants to do. give him a break his life sucks rn let him have this one thing)

meanwhile the Uchiha are like. where is this tiny Blessed child coming from/going to and why does he keep running away from us? like okay we know there's some horrendous rumours abt what we do with Blessed and we can't correct those rumours bc doing so risks others using Blessed against us but like....if that was the reason this kid was running from us then surely either he'd be trying to hide his features or he'd stop sneaking onto our land?

.....maybe he's not worried abt us noticing there's a Blessed child on our lands. he doesn't seem TOO bothered by us getting glimpses of him in the relative distance after all. so...he doesn't want us to see him close up? why?

..maybe he's like, really obviously from a neutral/enemy clan or something when you get a better look at him? hmmm

maybe he'll let us talk to him/catch him eventually if we keep trying. I mean it doesn't seem like he plans to stop sneaking onto our lands and WE'RE certainly not going to stop so surely its only a matter of time before he realises that if we wanted to actually hurt him we absolutely could have been throwing jutsu or weapons at him from this distance or senbons laced with sedatives or-

(should we do that instead actually? hit the kid with a sedative, deal with the rest later?

no, then we might permanently fuck over any chance of him ever trusting us and that would make helping/protecting/integrating him SO much harder

urgh. you're right I guess. okay)

anyway. maybe the little Blessed kid will relax eventually

(Tobirama does not relax eventually)

they've fallen into a frustrating stalemate in which Tobirama will fairly frequently lurk around Uchiha lands and occasionally an Uchiha will spot him and halfheartedly attempt to catch him, only to fail because Tobirama is unreasonably fast (....part of me wants to start spouting my mokuton secondary agenda again here to explain his Speed) and also they're trying not to hurt him in any way which makes it a lot harder

Tobirama has technically relaxed somewhat in that he's now significantly less worried about the prospect of the Uchiha hurting or catching him (as long as he's obviously red-eyed and absent any Senju mon, at least, all bets are off on missions/battlefields) and has as a result started to a) gradually creep further into Uchiha lands each time bc hey if the Uchiha aren't too much of a threat then it's better to be within the patrols who would stop any bandits or rogue shinobi right? and b) has started wandering off to Uchiha lands whenever he feels like it instead of just when he's near his breaking point. like now whenever he has a free moment he's like 'hmmmm do I want to spend time fucking about with research or with Touka/brothers or do I want to go chakra bathe' and they're all weighed up near equally in his mind

(assuming that said free moment would also give him the time/cover/distraction needed for him to reach Uchiha lands and back without Butsuma noticing, ofc. he isn't stupid nor does he have a death wish. That Man assuming he'd gone traitor would be.............bad.)

so I mean the Uchiha were sort of right in assuming he'd relax once he realised they weren't incredibly intent on hurting/catching him. they were just wrong in hoping he'd relax ENOUGH to let them catch/talk to him

they're very disappointed. however they're also cautiously pleased that the Blessed child has not stopped coming back over and over again, and also that he is gradually coming further into their lands and two months ago when some (significantly less welcome) trespasser turned up and tried to attack the kid he even ran to an Uchiha patrol for help! Admittedly he didn't say anything, or stick around after, but hey he at least trusts them a tiny bit to go to them for help against an enemy, right? Progress! It might take a billion years at this rate but they WILL win over the Blessed kid eventually!

at this point it's been like, at least two years since Tobirama was first spotted. probably significantly more. the stalemate truly is getting a bit ridiculous but neither party is willing to break it for fear it would end badly (and probably specifically end badly for Tobirama/little Blessed child, realistically. given he's a small child and they're an entire clan whose land he is trespassing on, there's v few ways they could break the stalemate which wouldn't risk - at best - the kid simply never returning again or at worst the the kid/Tobirama dying or living but hating+distrusting the Uchiha forever or Tobirama getting kidnapped and suffering [unspecified bad fate bc Tobirama doesnt know which rumours may be accurate but he hates them all])

eventually, fucking years later (I'm imagining Tobirama somewhere between 11 and 16 but truly can't pin it down further it depends if/what plot I include later in this theoretical fic) the stalemate does get broken, but not exactly by choice

Tobirama was on a mission and fairly badly injured. not enough that he's at risk of dying, unless he does something truly incredibly stupid + fucks up his own condition further, but he's in a lot of pain, his adrenaline is sky high, and he generally had a shitty time on the mission. he completed it successfully- barely - but it sucked and he's pretty miserable at the moment. he knows what he SHOULD do is go home and report to the healing hall to be fixed up and then go recount the mission (and his many failures/perceived failures on said mission) to Butsuma but.

but.

he doesn't want to do that

to put it mildly

anyway, the Uchiha is significantly closer than his own clan due to the direction the mission led him in, and he's exhausted and hurt, and his disguise is compromised..

(if it's something physical like a mask/contacts/dyed hair/etc then he lost it on mission or it got washed out due to how So Many Things Happened. if it's something chakra based like a jutsu or seal then he's too low on chakra and too hurt/distracted to maintain it)

...so trying to get all the way past the Uchiha, in his Senju armour but clearly a red-eyed child, when he's too exhausted and injured to guarantee he could succeed in doing so, would be a really bad idea, right? right. like they'd probably see him at best and then they'd know there was a red-eyed Senju kid and far more realistically they'd successfully catch or kill him in this state

so obviously it makes more sense for him to discard everything that marks him as a Senju, whilst he's still conscious+has the chakra to seal it away surreptitiously, and then go nap on Uchiha lands until he's recovered enough to make it home safely

yeah, that's a good idea. he'll do that

(tbf this is a fairly decent tactic but he's also trying to convince himself because when the options are 'soak up the most wonderful chakra he's ever felt and have a nap safely on territory he knows he probably won't be hurt on' or 'go home and get horribly mistreated by Butsuma for doing so badly on a mission before he even gets a chance to rest' he knows which one he wants to pick)

so Tobirama discards his armour and most of his equipment (urgh why is the Senju mon on EVERYTHING he complains to himself) and seals it away, making sure said seal also isn't at all obvious. all the moving he has to do to get this done really sucks because ow. injuries. most of them aren't that bad, a lot of surface wounds, and none of them are fatal, but OW moving so much aggravates almost all of them

this more or less just leaves him in pants, an undershirt, shoes and a kunai pouch. it's....Not A Lot and the paranoia and vulnerability is prickling at him even once he's within Uchiha patrols on their lands and he keeps trying to assure himself he's safe there but it's not working. he's hurt and exhausted and he barely has any chakra left and now he's not even wearing his armour or most of his weapons and he doesn't USUALLY wear his armour on Uchiha lands but he's also usually wearing more and NOT INJURED and more heavily armed and-

to appease his panic so he can actually rest like he'd intended to, instead of just kind of hanging around or scaling some branches/outcropping, he instead finds a tree that has a small burrow at the roots, just big enough for him to fit and evidently not currently in use by whatever animal made it, and curls up in there. he's careful of course not to let any open wounds meet the dirt, that's just asking for infection - thankfully his pants are long and his undershirt has long sleeves, so he just has to curl his hands up in his sleeves and ensure his head is cushioned on the lightweight cloak that thankfully had no clan mon on it - but he feels a lot safer when he's hidden away in an enclosed space

he reaches out to the warm-spice-passion chakra signatures within the Uchiha compound, shifts a bit for the comfiest position he can find in his little hiding place, and finally feels able to relax for the first time since that horrible mission started

there. safe

he falls asleep

meanwhile a Uchiha patrol has found spots of blood and a lot of scuffed up footsteps along their border, plus one spot that's just, a mess of leaf litter and kicked up moss (Tobirama tripped over a tree root when trying to take his chest plate off, immediately felt irrationally angry about it, and kicked at the stupid root to get it back. he then felt stupid himself and pretended it didn't happen. the rest of the mess is bc he was p carelessly dumping his shit on the floor before sealing it away) and they're concerned about it

is this from a fight?? no signs of jutsu tho, or discarded weaponry....hm. at the very least, someone was injured and (given that as far as this patrol knows, all their clan members are accounted for or shouldn't have returned from their missions yet) probably also trespassing

better go investigate

so they do and they find....that's a Blessed. that's the same Blessed that keeps wandering onto their lands, and he's asleep in a fucking hole and bleeding everywhere. oh shit. also where the hell is his shirt?? that is not a proper over-shirt that is underclothing what-

ah fuck what do they do

ah fuck

they know they're supposed to help this Blessed but they also know that a) he's scared of them for some reason. possibly bc he may technically be an enemy to their clan? they have no proof but its a persistent theory over the years and b) he's definitely a shinobi there's no way he could have outran that trespasser without training nor ended up in some of the ridiculous places he's been (hello?? tiny Blessed?? why are you 30 feet up a tree) without the ability to tree-walk

so like. they want to just take him back to their healing halls or something, but if they try that they'll probably just scare the shit out of him and he'd likely hurt them - and more crucially - himself in trying to get away

so they probably shouldn't do that. but they also can't just leave him injured in a hole. he's a Blessed! they can't leave him like this!

so

what do they do??

they have a quiet argument/discussion and ultimately determine that some of them will stay guarding the injured Blessed and some(one) will run back to the compound to firstly explain what's happened + that someone else needs to take over their patrol route and secondly gather what medical supplies they can spare and bring those back here

when the assigned shinobi returns with the supplies they end up accidentally waking the Blessed, which unfortunately immediately confirms their worries because he freaks the fuck out. he seems to want to run but swiftly determines he couldn't get out of the fucking hole + past them without them letting him, and instead twists with a pained hiss, bringing his hands up to hide his face and build as much as possible

which is interesting. he doesn't go to hide his hair, nor specifically to hide the red eyes that mark him as Blessed, no he goes to hide other potential identifiers....which kind of suggests he is indeed from an enemy clan. hm. damn. doesn't make him any less a Blessed but oh boy that may complicate things later on

(hc for the purposes of this fic that as a kid/early teen Tobirama looked fairly generically (mainline) Senju, apart from his colouring, and it wasn't until mid teens when he got a massive growth spurt and his face started changing more that he began to look more like his (outclan) mother and taller+slimmer+narrower than the average Senju, with pointer facial features, and just generally look a lot less like Butsuma+less obviously Senju)

the Uchiha silently and unanimously agree that this would go better if he DIDN'T feel like the wounded cornered animal he currently is, so they get the fuck out of the way. they don't go too far away, still within view, but they make sure the Blessed has a clear run out of the hole and off/away, if he wants. they also ensure that the medical supplies are very visible within that cleared space

a minute or so later they're rewarded when the Blessed stops cowering, and shoots past them faster than they would have believed possible. he takes the medical supplies on his dash past though - victory! woo!

they have a little discussion whilst they wait for him to get whatever he feels is a safe distance away, and decide that yeah that behaviour definitely indicates he thinks some sort of familial resemblance or something is a) noticable and b) gives him reason to fear the Uchiha's discovery of such. so. probably from an enemy clan

but...he's Blessed, and he hasn't tried to hurt any of them or actually get far enough into their territory to spy, or anything like that at all as far as they've noticed, so...?

plausible deniability, they decide. plausible deniability is going to be the name of the game, here

they'll just pretend not to notice he's present/a potential threat and hopefully he'll pretend right back

(also, interestingly, when they send someone to try and follow after the Blessed from a distance, they find that he hasn't bolted away from Uchiha lands as he has every time previously he was spotted. as they expected him to do now, when he's probably feeling cornered and threatened as well as being injured. no, instead he's stayed well within the area the Uchiha patrol (if anything he's actually gone further within Uchiha territory which, what?) and has found another substandard hiding place in which he's using the offered medical supplies to clean and tend to what injuries he can, and then he actually goes to sleep right there. he leaves when he wakes up a few hours later, and they don't try to stop him - REALLY not the time - but. hm. interesting)

anyway that whole encounter pretty thoroughly breaks the stalemate

after that, the Uchiha clan (specifically their patrols) and Tobirama somehow develop a whole new dynamic which honestly is almost identical to the Uchiha attempting to gradually befriend and lure a feral cat into their home, meanwhile Tobirama gradually starts leaving metaphorical dead mice on their doorstep

it's...yeah, it's really weird, actually, but. it's working?? so??

[welcometogrouchland]

Noticing that TV and film will often have a character either have had an abortion in the past that isn't showcased on screen (and just used as part of the character's ~fucked up and twisted backstory~) OR contemplate getting an abortion in the present day but not to through with it. Just once I want to see someone delete that fetus within the events of the plot and not be like. Extremely majorly punished for it and/or be in the wrong

[douwatahima]

y'all ever read a book and spend the whole time so engrossed in solving the main mystery that when a second mystery (seemingly so inconsequential you didn't think to question all the clues leading up to it) reveals itself to you it bowls you over so intensely you start yelling and pacing around the room like an insane person?

anyway read voyage of the damned by frances white

[keeps-ache]

i have my glasses now!! here are some things:

saw my mother clearly and almost cried

saw the parking lot and the sky and a tree and forgot to breath for a second

was so enamored with the Sky i tripped over a curb

the stars. oh my god the stars

[mckinleyxryan]

Hero was a blessing, showing up right when he did. He always seemed to know when she needed him most, even after all these years. Sometimes she still finds herself moving to her window sill, remembering what it was like to look out it and see a marble to two sitting there. Some days she opened it up and felt around but they were never there. It was a hidden communication they used back in the day, that and little messages smudged on the window, only visible in the fog of the glass when her breath hit it.

It was the small things back then that told her his love was real, and even as his grip turned desperate like he was holding her to her as if she would disappear, she knew deep down he may be the only person who could ever love her like this. Because he loved her when she was so much less.

His words made her release a breath she didn't realize she was holding as if she was preparing for her longs to stop working if he said something differently. "I've never stopped loving you Hero" She confessed, words she thought of earlier but didn't want to scare him away with. "And I know I will love this version of you." He said as she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, "And I'm desperate to feel your love again, for you to make me whole."

Kinny slipped her hand into his, "You always made sense to me. You were always part of me." She whispered as she took a step back and then led him down the hall into her room. Most of it was packed up already, boxes lining the wall and what was left was her bed and the tv. She kicked off her shoes and let her sweater fall from her body, revealing the small crop top she was in that only accentuated her swollen breasts and luscious curves. She backed herself up to the bed and then sat down. "It feels weird having you in my room, you've never been in my room before." Because back then she could never bring him home, not with her father around. He had seen into it through the window and this may not have been the same room as back then, but the feelings were the same.

Hero felt the breath in his chest stagger, like somethin’ just knocked the wind outta him—but in the best damn way. He’d never thought he’d hear words like that from her again, never thought he’d get the chance to stand in her light after all these years. He’d spent so long thinkin’ he was meant to love her from afar, like she was somethin’ too good to touch, too good to keep. But now? Now, she was right here, tellin’ him she wasn’t gonna run. Telling him she wanted him, all of him.

His fingers curled a little tighter against her waist, like he was makin’ damn sure she was real, that this wasn’t just another dream he’d wake up from. She smelled like home, like every memory he ever clung to on the nights he thought he lost her forever. And her voice, that little crack in it, just about split him in two.

“Darlin’,” he murmured, his forehead still pressed to hers, his thumb brushin’ slow, reverent circles against her hip. “Ain’t a damn thing in this world that could make me stop lovin’ you. Not then, not now.” His voice was low, rough, thick with somethin’ deep that had settled in his chest, warmin’ him from the inside out. “You could be different a thousand times over, and I’d still find you. Still love you for every single piece of what you are.”

He pulled back just enough to look at her, his gaze tracing every inch of her face like he was tryin’ to memorize her all over again. “You say you know me, even when I don’t know myself. But you gotta know this, McKinley—without you, I don’t think I ever really did. You were always the piece that made sense.”

His fingers found hers, lacing through them like they belonged there. And maybe they always had. “Lead the way, sweetheart,” he whispered, his lips ghostin’ over hers one last time. he followed behind her , his hand holding her gently , " I got you sweetheart."

[hothotpot]

ah yes, pointing out that words have meaning and things aren't just what you say they are bc you say so is "manipulative." I am BEGGING people to get some basic critical thinking skills.

[dracimexidae]

What better workout for my arms than working this beast of a thread right here 🥵