#turns out they were like 3 inches long instead of 10 or so inches I expected
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The eternal struggle of DIYers in the age of online shopping...
listing said this lid was 7.5 inches in diameter but it's actually a bit under 7.25 inches. there should be a law forcing sellers to provide technical drawings on all product listings 😑
#bought a couple of vice grip pliers online once#the kind that locks and has an adjustable screw in one of the handles you can use for like welding and stuff#turns out they were like 3 inches long instead of 10 or so inches I expected#Similar thing also happened when I ordered a bolt cutter online#that thing was... a lot bigger than I expected
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He Chose You (Pt. 11)
Lucifer/Reader: Lucifer chooses you to be the mother of his child. Rated E for Explicit.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 13.5 | Part 14 | End
“Adam, for your transgression, you will be dealt with accordingly. For now, you are dismissed.”
Adam’s voice and demeanor had become so grating to you that you actively blocked out the bitching that followed. You weren’t sure if, when he’d finally stopped having a foul-mouthed tantrum, a lot of time had passed or not.
It didn’t matter when you were blessed with near silence at last. A slip of harsh gold out of the corner of your eye led you to believe that Adam’s lackey had followed him out.
“Emily, please follow.”
“But Sera…”
“No harm will come to her here. She just needs time.”
There was no need to look up, as the fluttering of Emily’s wings were now telltale in spite of how little you’d known her.
“Go on.”
You hadn’t seen her go, but it was like all the energy in the air had been sucked out as she left you behind. In her stead was a still, oppressive atmosphere where anxiety lingered to crawl up your spine the longer you sat in it.
Sera was staring down at you.
“Why…” Your voice was hoarse, even if you hadn’t been screaming or sobbing as you wanted to.
Swallowing back the thickness that had built in your throat physically hurt. An errant thought that it shouldn’t (nothing should hurt anymore) passed you by.
“Why am I here?” You looked up, staring back at Sera.
The Angel considered you for a long moment.
“Your place here has been ordained by the Father, a privilege bestowed upon you for your act of service.”
The words from her lovely mouth didn’t make sense for so long that you almost asked the Seraphim to repeat herself. Your eyes narrowed as your gaze turned roundabout, as if whatever could make sense of this was somewhere in your surroundings.
“I… Wait, I’d have thought that…” Head shaking, you implored Sera again with your eyes. “What service?”
“You delivered upon the world Christ’s opposing force through your union with —” Here, you saw Sera’s long throat flex with the effort of swallowing.
“Lucifer.” You finished, watching and confirming as Sera’s frame twitched that just the mention of the Devil made this powerful force uncomfortable.
It was odd, but didn’t take away the pain that just mentioning his name brought. You felt as if a great gaping hole had been punched through your chest, taking with it all your vital organs and the power of your lungs.
Impressions of his anguished face and the sound of Charlotte crying were permanently etched in your mind. You bit down on your tongue, lest you scream your grief.
It felt like they had died and not you.
“I’ll never see them again.” Your head fell into your hands as you were overcome. “I barely got to hold my own baby.”
Sera sighed deeply, inching toward the War Table adjacent to you both.
“I understand that leaving people behind can be painful.” Her great arms reached over the table, motioning until light rose from the board and took on fantastical shapes. “But time heals all.”
Instead of comfort, her wisdom made you sniffle. You rubbed your eyes like a child to prevent the steady rise of tears threatening to escape.
Through the blur, you saw Sera smile wanly. “You may feel grateful with time. Staying any longer could have led you further astray.”
That made you pause between shuddering sobs.
Fuck, you’d been sobbing on the floor of heaven.
Fucking Heaven.
“W-what?” You asked finally.
Sera’s idle hands continued to create new sources of light and shape. You rose from the floor of cumulus and nimbus on jelly legs and walked toward her, for lack of anything else to do.
A perfect sphere rose above the table, with little pinpricks of light surrounding it. It could’ve been anything but you had the sense to imagine it was a depiction of Earth.
“Had you stayed mortal and lived another 10, 20, perhaps 30 years, you could have become susceptible to the enemy’s mindset.” Sera said. “It’s not unthinkable when human beings are often led by their hearts, even if it goes against their best interest.”
Your heart was jabbed with indignation at that.
“Acts of Service can become Acts of Sacrifice if one veers off the path.” She gently swirled around the Earth with one hand, and it fell into a tilt naturally before rotating among the stars.
Sera eyed you from her peripheral as you stood beside her to watch. “You might’ve grown attached and… denied yourself.”
“Hold on, please — just…” You closed your eyes after several moments. “I’m here, in Heaven, because Lucifer asked that I be let up here when I died?”
“That is correct.” Sera guided the stars in a variety of paths.
“And you agreed because having his baby was actually a good thing?” You asked. “But how? Why would God want that to happen if the Devil is his enemy?”
“Life is all about balance.” The celestial took on the role of teacher naturally. “Light needs darkness to exist. This is how it has been and will always be, since He created the Heavens and the Earth.”
“Lucifer has gone on too long without an heir - Hell cannot be unmanned should anything happen to its King. To ensure that this would never come to pass, He agreed to certain terms, which have been abided by — despite Lucifer’s constant revisions.”
At that, the Seraphim looked borderline petulant. Her disapproval was clear in the way the many eyes that decorated her wingspan, hair and crown-like halo shrunk into slivered crescents.
“It’s been centuries since he was ordered to conceive a child. Out of Love, the Father bestowed an exorbitant amount of time on him to make it happen. Once you were found and the contract was signed, your place in Heaven was guaranteed as stipulated.” She halted her recital to spare a glance your way.
“His ways can be opaque, but they are always meant to take us in the right direction.” Sera offered after a lull, to dispel the dumbfounded look on your face. You could see the way her lips pursed, as if daring to question that explanation was an affront to her existence. As if what she’d just told you didn’t change your perception so thoroughly that your head was spinning.
Self-preservation no longer being a factor, you rolled your eyes.
“Oh, ‘God works in mysterious ways’.” You mocked. “People say that when they don’t know what to say. But you actually work under God, don’t you??”
“That is a crude way to describe my role here.” Sera responded with reproach.
“But essentially correct.” You crossed your arms over your chest. “You take orders from Him, clearly.”
The Seraphim’s manicured nails pierced through the infinitely shifting stars, fingers curling into a claw as the line of her mouth grew severe. Her brow downturned as she faced you, irritated.
“Just like Lucifer took orders from Him, I bet.” The pieces were slotting into place. “Until he… until he… did exactly what he was supposed to.”
You laughed with disbelief at the revelation, hands coming up to grab at your thankfully unchanged hair. The starlight before you began to dim, falling back into the passive marble of the war table. Sera pivoted rather abruptly, a touch of disquiet in her fractured facade as she took in your dysfunction.
Her gaze became shifty, and you caught it, but it was the least of your concerns. You were in the middle of a manic breakdown for the second time in less than an hour.
Lucifer didn’t like to talk about Heaven — that was evident from his stuttering when he first revealed himself to you. So, whether it was out of the goodness of your heart or built-in doormat passivity, you hadn’t discussed the place. Truthfully, you’d thought very little of it as a place and more as a concept, even when the Devil came knocking on your door in flesh and blood.
It was an uphill battle to calm yourself. You closed your mouth to stop the laughing and coughed at the tickle to your throat. You’d never been good at breathing through your nose. Arms slid down to clutch at your stomach and center yourself, frame slowly easing out of the hyperventilation.
“So… God damned his own son to Hell and made him into Heaven’s Big Bad for the sake of balance… And he wanted that Big Bad to have a child like He Himself did, also for the sake of balance…”
‘And Lucifer agreed as long as you got to go to eternal paradise…’
Your summation was stated lifelessly, a knife’s edge away from sarcastic. The big secret to Life was out: it was all a fun little show that God put on for himself to stave off boredom. Even those he held closest weren’t safe from it.
“An-nd you’ve never ever questioned this?” You asked faintly, a crooked smile of disbelief on your face. “Ever?”
A breeze blew back the hair that had fallen into your face.
Sera was suddenly so much closer in proximity, and you flinched back at the power exuding from her like an aura.
“We do not question the Father.” The Seraphim’s glower betrayed her true feelings toward you. Yet, instead of continuing to back away from the hostility, you forced yourself to stand in place as best you could.
It gave you whiplash when Sera’s pinched face relaxed. She straightened up with another deep, deep sigh. The danger that felt like static electricity dissipated from your skin, but you held onto the edge of the war table regardless.
The light show had gone off as quickly as it was turned on. You felt its loss of warmth as sharply as you’d felt Emily’s.
“Lucifer was unable to fully grasp the Great Purpose.” Sera was imposing as she straightened to her fully height and towered above you once again. “He questioned everything, and for it he Fell.”
“And I would suggest,” The Seraphim glared at you as if you were an insect she wanted to crush. “that you do not emulate his sin. For the sake of your immortal soul.”
***
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#hazbin hotel#lucifer morningstar#lucifer x reader#hazbin hotel lucifer#lucifer morningstar x you#hazbin hotel x reader#Thank y’all for being patient#good news is there will be more chapters bc I cut this one in half#bad news is Lucifer’s whereabouts are put on pause a chapter longer than anticipated
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Not My Monkey, Ch 1.
(Reverse Trope Isekai Reader)
I thought it would be funny to have a reverse trope -- instead of having one Isekai Reader who knows everything, too many isekai readers have already messed up the OP timeline beyond recognition.
I'm still writing all my other works, I just needed to get this out of my system. I don't think this will float most people's boats, but that OK.
on Ao3
Platonic Strawhats | Reader / Jinbei
This chapter's plot heavy, I had to get some of the world building out of the way. The rest will be more fun and silly / some romance / angst later. Also, this is my first time writing most (all?) of the Straw hats. It’s been challenging, so please be kind <3. There’s 10 of them but only one of me.
~~~
“Robin! Another one’s here!” Some kid in a straw hat was yelling right next to you, causing you to wince. You had a massive headache, you hadn’t felt this hungover since…wait. You didn’t drink anymore. You opened your eyes to a sunny day on…a wood boat? You were definitely sailing on open water. Maybe the ocean since you smelled salt… What kind of dream was this? Sure, you had anxiety dreams of drowning but nothing so pleasant .
A disembodied hand grabbed your ankle and held on tightly. It startled you but since this was a dream there was no need to worry. You were kind of enjoying the sun and the water, so what was a hand (with beautiful nail beds, but dry cuticles) going to do? You turned your head to find a black haired boy staring at you inches from your face.
“Gah! Don’t do that!” you said to the boy. He grinned at you and laughed.
“Shishishishi, it’s me! Luffy! You made it!”
“Made it where?” Were you supposed to know who he was?
“To the Going Merry! You’re our twentieth reader -”
“Twenty third,” said another guy you hadn’t seen. This one was napping against the mast, talking with eyes still closed. He had luscious green hair that you’d want to check out later. You didn’t see any roots showing so either he had dyed it recently or…oh wait you were in a conversation.
“Sounds good, Loogie. I’m not quite following what’s happening.” This was the most complex dream you’d ever had. You’d never been able to interact like this before in a dream. It all felt like real life. You started to wonder if maybe something else was going on.
“Shishishi it’s LUFFY! But you know that! So what was the last thing you read?” The boy was still sitting incredibly close to you and practically vibrating with energy.
“Um, I read a biography of Catherine the Great. Why?” Luffy tilted his head at your words.
“Is she in Egghead or Wano?”
“Um, in Russia? I don’t think she’d be called an egghead though.” The green haired guy huffed and got up.
“Gonna be a difficult one. Robin can figure it out. Nappin’ on the other side of the deck,” he said to Luffy, walking away. He looked like he was flexing his back as you watched him retreat. His three swords clacked against each other, making you wonder how practical it was to have so many.
“No, she’s gonna be a great reader!” Luffy smiled at you again. You smiled back, but were very confused. The hand gripping your ankle was still there holding on tight. A breathtakingly beautiful woman with black hair, looking to be growing out some bangs, was walking towards you with her arms crossed in front of her. Even though she exuded radiance, her intense blue eyes pinned you with a stare. She sat down in front of you, keeping her arms crossed.
“Hello,” you said. Might as well be polite in dreamland.
“Hi,” the woman said smiling. “I’m Robin. What’s your name?”
Long ago, you were tired of baristas messing up your name (even though it wasn’t hard!). So when someone asked for your name, you supplied their own back to them. It usually worked out ok, and gave room for some awkward chit chat while you waited for your coffee.
“Isn’t that funny? My name is also Robin.” The woman quirked an eyebrow but kept her smile and nodded.
“Shishishishi two Robins! But what can we call you then? It’s too confusing having two Robins on board.” Luffy rubbed his chin in thought.
“Interesting thought, Captain. For now, I have a prepared document I’d like you to read. It should answer the most common questions we get asked by Readers.” The woman handed you a scroll. What in the medieval ages was this?
“Robin TWO!” Luffy said, snapping his fingers. You untied the scroll. Might as well see what it said.
“I don’t think Robin 2 is a flattering name,” Robin told Luffy. “Let’s think of other ideas. In the meantime, let Robin read.” The hand patted your ankle. “It’s best if I keep a hold of you until the shock wears off. Saves a lot of time chasing people down.” She kept a hold of you? Whatever. Looking at the scroll, you saw an elegantly handwritten list.
~~~
Frequently Asked Questions - for Readers
Where am I?
You are on board the Going Merry . Franky has modified it so it does not bear complete resemblance to the original ship but it is also not the 1,000 Sunny .
Is this real?
Quite real. This world is as real to us as yours was to you. This is not a dream, hallucination, or simulation.
Am I dead?
We are not sure. It seems to be likely based on the anecdotes of previous Readers. However, there is no way to know conclusively.
Why was I brought here?
We do not know the criteria under which Readers are brought to our world. We believe it has to do with your intense love of “One Piece.”
What happened to my belongings?
It seems whatever you had last in your world is what came here, with a few exceptions. Cell phones, laptops, and other electronics never make it to our world. We have your belongings on the ship, if you would like to have them.
What will happen to me? Can I stay on the ship?
Readers have stayed in our world for 21 days, after which they disappear. We do not know what happens afterward. During your 21 days, you will remain with us on the ship. You may stay in the men’s quarters.
Is there a way to get back to my world?
Not that we know of. We are unsure if you are transported there once again when you disappear.
Are there other readers?
There is only ever one Reader in our world at a time. The Strawhat Pirates have had the most Readers, though the Heart Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates have had a few as well.
What arc are we on?
The “timeline” that you know has been completely abandoned. With so much additional information and insight into future events, the events of this world have been drastically changed. We are not in recognizable “arcs” any longer.
What about Ace? Thatch? Whitebeard? Corazon? Sabo?
Thanks to the information supplied by Readers, Ace, Thatch and Whitebeard are all alive. Yamato has joined the Whitebeard crew with Ace. We had a time traveling Reader who saved Cora-san. Sabo has been made aware of Ace and Luffy and they have already reunited.
Can I fight? In our experience, Readers are quite weak and unable to fight. If you wish to try, you must first defeat Usopp in an arm wrestling contest.
Note: Please do not bring up our individual histories. We experienced them as real people and do not appreciate discussing them. Thank you.
~~~
You finished reading the scroll and re-rolled it. It addressed some of your concerns, but also had a lot of information you didn’t know what to do with. You handed the scroll back to Robin.
“You should call this the ‘Handbook for the Recently Deceased,” you told the raven haired beauty. You still had your sense of humor even when dead, it turned out. Er, maybe dead.
“That is quite an excellent suggestion, I think I shall,” Robin nodded solemnly and took the scroll with another arm sprouting from her own. You’d ask her about that later.
“What questions do you still have?” Robin asked kindly.
“Why do I have to stay in the men’s quarters?”
“Oh, that is not applicable to you. Nearly all of our Readers have been men, usually Torao has the female Readers. You can join Nami and myself in the women’s quarters.”
“I’m dead then, huh?” You couldn’t wrap your head around the idea, especially when you felt so alive.
“Robin B!” Luffy shouted from a few feet away. He still hadn’t given up on a nickname for you.
“No, Luffy, I don’t care for that,” Robin said calmly. “That would make me Robin A, which I am not. And yes, you are likely dead.”
“That’s a bummer.” You’d think about that and deal with your feelings later, this was all too weird to believe right now. You fiddled with the necklace you were wearing. None of this felt real at all. Besides, one of your best traits as a person was your ability to roll with things. You had always been pretty open to change, though this change was…drastic.
“Interesting - few readers express that emotion upon arriving in our world. Readers are usually thrilled to be here with us.” Robin looked like she wanted to study you in a lab.
“Um, so what’s a Reader? Or a One Piece?” You might as well learn while you were here for the next few weeks.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” Robin said, the hand patting your ankle. “We aren’t going to harm you for your information. We’ve probably heard it all already. We know that we’re a comic and a show in your world. You’re not in danger.” You hadn’t considered that you might be in danger, but you were thinking about it now.
“TWO Robin!” Luffy yelled from across the deck. He’d been pacing and trying to think of a good nickname this whole time.
“Luffy, that is the worst suggestion yet.” Robin frowned.
“Aw, you don’t like any of ‘em! This is frustrating. Maybe we can just call her Mystery Reader !”
“Not every reader is a Mystery Reader, Luffy. You can’t say that for -” Robin was chastising Luffy.
“Myst is fine. Short for Mystery.” You didn’t really care what they called you since, you know, you’d be going to the afterlife in about three weeks.
“ Shishishishishi I knew you’d be a good reader, Misty!” Luffy stretched his arms from where he stood to wrap them around you. Misty, sure. That was similar to what you said. What the…was this kid rubber? Add one more weird thing to the pile, why not?
“What other questions do you have?”
You were gonna put your cards on the table. “Listen Robin, I’ll be honest, I didn’t get a lot out of your handbook. I don’t know any of those people, or any of you, or what this show is. I don’t know why I’m here, I have no information to give you. I watch documentaries and sometimes HGTV. This is like a new employee orientation for a job I didn’t apply to. ” Robin nodded sagely.
“I quite like that phrase - new employee orientation. Perhaps more of a ‘new reader orientation.’ In any event, you’re here with us now, whether you know any information or not. I am going to release you, and you can get settled in.” The hand holding on to you vanished as you watched.
“Cool party trick.”
“Yes, they are very useful, though not always appreciated at parties.” Robin stood up and you did the same. You stretched your legs and back as you’d been sitting for a while. Robin was a tall drink of water, you thought. You were average height, nothing crazy. But she was statuesque and slim, making you think of your own body. Sure, you had some self confidence, but as you approached closer to middle age, things didn’t look quite the same as they once did. And Robin looked like a supermodel, graceful and elegant.
“Do I hear the sweet voice of a lovely Mellorine?” said a handsome waiter, holding a glass of water on a tray. He was practically swooning and you’d never met before. A little strange, but maybe he was just enthusiastic. Robin looked at the waiter, who was wearing a three piece suit.
“This is Sanji, our chef. He is also one of the Wings to the Captain.”
“Oh, sweet Mellorine -”
“Wait, who is the Captain?” You cut off Sanji, you realized you didn’t know who was running this show.
Sanji’s expression showed surprise. He looked at Robin for clarification, pausing in moving the tray your way to your dismay. You really wanted that water.
“Misty, as Captain calls her, does not know anything about our world. We will all have to introduce ourselves.”
“Wait, does that mean Luffy is -”
“The Captain,” answered Robin and Sanji simultaneously. That kid?! The one who suggested they call you “Two Robin”? You didn’t say anything so as not to insult their captain or whatever but the kid didn’t look like he could be older than 18. Not your circus, not your monkey. As long as the ship didn’t sink in the next three weeks, it didn’t really matter to you.
“Right, right. That seems…good. Um, Sanji, is that water for me? I’d really appreciate it.” Sanji looked like you’d asked him to senior prom.
“Oh, dear, sweet, beautiful Misty, it would be an honor to serve you this water.” He bowed to you with a flourish. Alright, time to nip this in the bud.
“Look kid, I’m old enough to be your mother. Cut it out. But thank you for the water.” He deflated a little but not for long.
“Like wine, most women only get better with age,” he said with a charming smile. “As Robin mentioned, I am Sanji, the chef on our crew. Do you have any dietary restrictions?”
“Oh, I’ll eat anything you make.”
“Is that so? Truly, no restrictions? Preferences? Allergies?” For all his attempted flirting before, he seemed serious right now.
“Well, truthfully, I’m vegetarian. So, no meat.” Sanji nodded, smiling once again.
“Not a problem. Do you eat fish?”
“Ah, no. No animals.” You saw a rubber arm going past you as Luffy rocketed himself to your side. Rubber had its uses it seemed.
“You don’t eat meat?!” Luffy yelled into your face, completely incredulous.
“Nope, haven’t in over 20 years.” You moved your head back away from his. Kid didn’t have much need for personal space.
“What do you eat then!?” It was like the kid couldn’t wrap his head around the idea of not eating meat. You shrugged. You’d had this conversation in various forms many, many times before.
“Vegetables, fruit, grains, legumes, things like that.” Luffy furrowed his brow in thought for a moment before it cleared into a bright smile.
“SANJI - can I have Misty’s portion of meat??”
“No! If she doesn’t eat it, I’m not going to make more than usual.”
“But she’s our reader, you have to make her a portion! Then I can have it.”
“But if she won’t eat it, I won’t make an extra portion,” Sanji already looked exasperated.
“But I want it!” Luffy was on the verge of a tantrum, you thought.
“No! You already eat all the food! Besides, if she doesn’t eat meat… ” The two of them seemed to be entering into an argument about meat rations, so you’d bow out of this conversation. It was only getting louder as they argued in circles.
You drank your water and took a look around you for the first time. The ship seemed pleasant, though not very modern. There weren’t any electrical outlets or lights, and not much metal either. It was powered by wind, as you saw the giant sails. Maybe there wasn’t electricity here? You’d ask Robin later. Your eyes wandered up and you saw a giant jolly roger flag, the skeleton wearing a hat.
“So this is a pirate ship, huh?” The fighting made a little more sense now. Not that you wanted to. You’d let them handle that part of the afterlife. It made you a little nervous and you fidgeted with your necklace. A handsome young man wearing overalls and goggles locked eyes with you while holding your hair dryer. The next thing you noticed was that he had the most beautiful, long, luscious natural coils you’d ever seen in your life. It took everything in you not to ask him his wash day routine before you exchanged names. “Hey! That’s mine!” you yelled at him. You were protective of your tools, they were like your babies. The man looked scared for a moment, then apologetic.
“Sorry, I just got excited. I’ve never seen a machine like this before. What does it do?” He was turning it over in his hands, looking at the barrel. He was holding it like a precious treasure, touching it with care. At least he could appreciate machinery.
“It’s a hairdryer.” Your guess that they didn’t have electricity seemed to have more merit now. Which meant he air dried all that hair every time? Coily King.
“Interesting! How does it work? Obviously the electricity feeds through the cord, other readers have had corded things before -”
“Usopp! Where’s the new reader? I wanna see if they have pens!” An unbelievably sexy young woman wearing a tiny string bikini came up from below deck, her bright orange hair blowing in the breeze. Was every person on this ship attractive? How did her boobs defy gravity like that? You looked down at your own, hopeful that whatever force was keeping hers up might be helping yours. No dice.
“Hi, I’m the new reader?” You extended your hand, which she shook. The woman smiled back at you.
“I’m Nami, Robin told me you don’t know anything about our world. So, the way it works here is that everyone pays a daily fee to stay on the boat. It’s 100 Beri a day. That’s how we afford to maintain the ship in tip top condition.” You could smell bullshit a mile away - you’d been working customer service jobs on and off for decades. You decided to play along to see what happened.
“Oh, of course. But how will I get money? I guess I’ll have to sell some of my belongings…” You pursed your lips for dramatic effect. “I know! I have some pens, I could sell those for…what was it you said? 1,000 Beri each?” Nami smiled even wider, a classic mistake.
“Well, what’s money among friends? And besides, it’s not like you can take anything back with you. We have a lot of reader stuff left on the ship.” You paused, pretending to consider for a moment.
“Hmm. You’re right. Maybe I’ll just drop them all in the sea. Y’know, like a, funeral. Since, I guess mine’s already happening. Maybe.” You didn’t want to think about your funeral, it had been a nightmare to figure everything out when your dad died. You felt bad for whoever was arranging it, probably your sister. You were zoned out thinking for a moment, and snapped back when Nami said something. “I’m sorry, I missed that. What did you ask me?”
“What kind of pens do you have?” Nami had taken the bait, hook line and sinker. You doubled down.
“I’d be willing to show them to you, for a price.” She raised an eyebrow, then broke it with a sincere smile.
“Welcome aboard! I’m the navigator for the crew, it’s nice to meet you. You’ll be staying with me and Robin, I hope you’ll have a fun time with us. Now about those pens…” You smiled at her introduction.
“Thank you, and I’d be glad to show you what I have. I’ve always got at least a couple on me. Where’s my stuff? We can see what’s there.”
“Follow me, it’s probably in the crows nest. That’s where reader stuff usually appears.” She started walking toward a ladder that led up to a platform high in the sky. High, high in the sky.
“Hell no!” you exclaimed. “I’m not going up there!” Usopp and Nami looked askance at each other.
“Why not?” asked Usopp, still holding the hair dryer like it was a puppy he was cuddling.
“I’m afraid of heights.” Not that unusual of a fear, you didn’t even like diving off the 3 meter diving board at the pool. They looked at each other again. You felt like you were in middle school again, asking to sit at the cool kids table.
“That’s OK, I’ll go get it for you.” Usopp handed you the hairdryer and climbed the ladder. Nice, you got to sit with them. Score one for you.
~~~
The last thing you remembered from your regular life was walking home from work, rolling your train case with you. You always took everything home with you, even though you trusted the salon you were working for. Force of habit after so many years. You didn’t remember anything after that, though it would be ironic if you got hit by a car.
Usopp kindly carried your things down from the crows nest. It was weird seeing your train case and purse on a wooden pirate ship, like when you saw a Timex in a historical movie. You heard a distant crash and looked over. The green haired guy was fighting Sanji, both of them looked pretty angry. The green haired guy was using his three swords against Sanji’s kicking? Must have strong legs. Maybe all the fighting was with each other. Nami and Usopp didn’t even look up.
“Ooh, what’s in here? Treasure? I’ve never seen something like this before. Most readers have backpacks or purses.” Nami was eyeing your train case greedily.
“No, it’s for my haircutting tools, makeup, manicure supplies, things like that.” You’d been an esthetician for a long time, though you’d done other jobs here and there. Nami threaded her fingers together in delight.
“You’re a hairdresser?! And you do nails?! Big sister, you’re the best reader yet! Most of our readers are in eye-tea. Would you cut my hair?” Oh, she meant IT. Information technology. Made sense, lots of people worked in IT. You’d never really gotten all that good at computers, so that wasn’t something you’d ever pursued.
“I mean, yeah, we can talk about that.” Even in the afterlife, everyone wanted a haircut when they found out you were a hairdresser. “Speaking of, Usopp, you have the most beautiful hair I’ve ever seen.” Usopp looked flustered, like he wasn’t used to compliments. That surprised you, he was clearly smart, well muscled, helpful…if you were 20 years younger you’d have been all over him. Or maybe even 10. But he looked like he couldn’t be older than 20 and that really didn’t do it for you. You liked your men with their prefrontal cortex fully developed. Besides, you hadn’t dated for a long time. In fact, aside from Robin, everyone looked really young. You wondered if there were any other older people on board. Even Robin looked like she couldn’t have been older than 35 at the most.
“So, what do you do here?” It seemed like everyone had a specific job on board, might as well find out.
“Well, I’m the great Captain Usopp, and I am one of the bravest and most notorious pirates on the seas. I’ve defeated -”
“Wait, I thought Luffy was the Captain.” Usopp’s train of thought was paused.
“Oh, he’s the Captain of this crew because I felt bad for him after I single handedly defeated a pirate fleet of 5,000 men. It was easy too, let me tell you the story…” Usopp went off on a long tale about his (obviously fake) adventures on the seas. But he was funny and entertaining and a really good story teller. You touched his arm to pause his story as he was explaining how he defeated a giant with a flaming sword.
“Listen, Usopp, if you ever want, I’ll style your hair for you. Braid out, cornrows, twist out, whatever you want.” You wished you could take a before and after picture for your business Insta, but based on what Robin had told you, your phone hadn’t made it through the…portal? Er, however you got here. You didn’t offer a fade or anything that would have you cut it - it was too gorgeous to cut.
“Hmm, maybe I’ll take you up on that - I’ve been wanting a new look recently,” Usopp mused. Nami was pouting, you didn’t want to upset her. “Same for you, uh, little sister, I’d gladly style your beautiful orange hair. I’ve never seen a shade like it.” You hadn’t, it was like the shade of an actual orange. Nami was appeased.
“Thank you Big Sis, I’d love to do something with all this.” It looked like she was growing out a bob, and it was in that awkward transition stage. You could help style it a little better, whoever had been cutting it did a good job, just needed a few pointers.
~~~
A little while later and the sun was in its descent. You were still with Usopp, sitting on the deck. Nami had gone off to do some work, saying she’d see you later. He’d told you a few funny stories before he asked to see the electrical esthetician tools you had in your case. He was most interested in the nail drill, asking question after question. At some point, you didn’t have answers for him. You knew the basics of how it worked but your recollection of electron transfer was weak.
“Dinner’s ready!” Sanji called. Perfect timing, you were getting hungry. Usopp helped you up and you headed to the galley.
“How many people are on the ship?” you asked. You’d met five of them, not including the green haired man who didn’t introduce himself.
“There’s ten of us, eleven including you. We’re a small but strong crew.” Usopp flexed his arm.
“By the way, I’m not going to arm wrestle you. I know my strengths, and fighting isn’t one of them.” Usopp looked relieved. “Not that I’d win anyway,” you continued, “you look strong. But I’ll let you handle the fighting.” Usopp smiled at your last statement. You wanted to compliment Usopp when you could, he seemed like he needed it.
“Oh yeah, I’ve won every arm wrestling competition I’ve ever had. Let me tell you the time when I arm wrestled a giant octopus and won against every tentacle…” You smiled to yourself and walked to the galley together. Entering through the swinging door, you saw a large table filled with nine other people. Well, mostly people. There was also a skeleton, an android looking guy, and a gigantic blue man - merman? And speaking of the merman, holy shit.
You’d spent time babysitting your nieces and had seen every Disney princess movie that had ever been released in the last 60 years. Their favorites were “Frozen,” and “Moana,” which was the better of the two. You found the polynesian demi-god to be…appealing. At least more than the white bread Cristoff. And that merman looked like Maui had decided to grow a meter and get more muscled. And turn blue. He was huge - maybe 3 meters tall - and you wanted to climb him like a tree. Did that make you a pervert? Maybe, but it was a gut reaction. You weren’t going to act on it. Besides, you weren’t blind, you could appreciate a good looking person when you saw one. He looked like he was around your age, or at least older than the group of younguns you’d met. Maybe the afterlife had its perks after all.
#platonic relationships#platonic strawhats#one piece strawhats#op strawhats#isekai#reverse tropes#mugiwara no luffy#straw hat pirates#straw hat usopp#reader insert#straw hat crew#isekai reader
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TW: Child Abuse, Kaiser's Backstory Spoilers, Physical Abuse, might seem graphic.
Reader (10 years old) is the younger brother of Kaiser (12 years old).
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Your fingers plunged inside your ears tightly and you fear that if there were an inch more of pressure, you'd pierce your ear drums with your fingernails. Your eyelids were closed shut as if you were trying to stop your mind from visioning whatever was going outside the closet where you were hidden. Your heart thumped inside your chest so loudly that you literally felt your lungs straining against your ribcage—it ached, it ached, it ached a lot.
Punch.
Slap.
Cuss.
"Hush, hush," you shakily tried to console yourself. You wanted to completely forgot what was going on outside.
"Please, please, stop. Please," you pleaded, but to whom? You didn't know—was the man outside really your father? What father treats his child like this?
Punch.
Slap.
Choke.
"No, please," you continued to blabber to yourself. Your throat was completely parched and it hurt everytime you hiccuped. All you could taste one your tongue was a disgusting mixture of your own tears and saliva.
"Stop, stop."
Choke.
Choke.
Choke.
"Stop, please."
Choke.
Choke.
Choke.
You shook your head from side to side as if you were trying to deny what was going on outside.
Cuss.
Cuss.
Cuss.
"Please..."
Worthless.
Worthless.
Worthless.
You were trying so hard to shut down the voice of your father— no, the voice of that vile man, but you could still hear it echoing; so gross. You were grossed out. You felt nauseated. You wanted to rip apart your skin and drain out the blood you happened to share with that man. You wanted—
Thud. Thud.
You heard some heavy footsteps.
Thud.
You heard a door closing and your arms immediately fell to your sides—your muscles became limp as the adrenaline slowly seeped out of your body and you finally gathered enough courage to breathe in a breath through your nose.
Shakily, you supported yourself to peek through a gap on the closet's door and what you saw was an everyday scene which you never got used to—it hurt your heart the same everytime: lying on the floor was your big brother. Your selfish big brother who you loathed with every inch of your soul.
You quickly wiped your tears and fixed your tattered clothes before stretching and flexing your muscles to regain movement. You cleared your throat and took in a deep breath to clog open your nostrils.
"1... 2... 3...," you counted till hundred to make sure that that man wouldn't return again. Otherwise, your selfish big brother would dive in again to save you and be your hero.
"...100."
As soon as the last number escaped your lips, you escaped out from the closet too. Your legs stumbled a bit to stand straight but you managed to make your way towards him without tripping.
"Mihya," you called out as you sat down beside his beaten up self. "Come on, how long will you sleep?" You poked his cheek and he winced. "Lazy boy."
"Mrm," he grunted and weakly slapped away your hand.
"Woah, your face is so swollen," you teased. "Like a balloon."
His eyelids fluttered as an attempt to open up.
"If I poke enough will you burst?"
You chuckled at your own lame joke.
He groaned weakly, "Shut up." His hand reached out to pinch your nose making you indeed shut up and yelp instead, "Ow!"
One corner of his lip twitched upwards. "Little rascal."
"Whatever," you rolled your eyes seeing him smirk.
"Crybaby," he jabbed back.
You became defensive very quickly, "I'm-I'm not!"
It was his turn to roll his eyes—the swelling forming on his eyelids were giving him a hard time to do so. "Whatever," he mimicked your whining voice to mock you as he wiped your freshly forming tears with his sleeves. Your whole face was already red from crying in the closet anyway.
"I'm— I'm n— not," you hiccuped and pushed his arms away; you didn't want him near you.
"I'm not," you covered your face at the crook of your elbow as you brought your knees close to your chest. "Not a crybaby," your voice sounded muffled. "Not a—" you hiccupped, "Not a crybaby."
Your big brother sighed. "[Name]," he whispered softly and you hated it. You hated everytime he called you so softly. You just hated it.
"Come here," he tugged your arms before gently pulling you in his embrace.
You hated his hugs. You hated how warm they felt. You hated his warmth.
"Hush," he rubbed your back and the itch inside your skin to push him away became stronger. You didn't want him near you.
"I'm not a cry-crybaby," you sniffled as you held onto his shoulders. "I'm n-not, I'm not!" You seethed as your hands found their way around his neck.
"YOU ARE THE CRYBABY!"
The grip of your fingers tightened and his neck's vein pulsated against your palms.
"YOU ARE THE COWARD!"
Your fingernails dug into his skin.
"YOU ARE THE WORTHLESS ONE, MIHYA!"
You screeched against his chest and you heard your own heart's lub-dub inside your ears—you were tired.
"You are the worthless one.."
Your grip loosened.
"You are the worthless.."
Your body became heavier in his embrace.
"You are..."
Your voice died down and got replaced with your low cries. You were exhausted.
"You..."
Your body shivered in his embrace. You curled up in his arms as if you were trying to seek the same warmth you hated so much. You wanted to stay close by the same big brother you had came to hate so much.
"Shh, [Name]," his voice was soft as ever and unlike yours, his fingers were gentle as they stroked through the knots of your hair. "It's okay," he murmured while his lips pressed against your forehead. "It's okay," he slowly rocked you back-and-forth. "It's okay," he cradled you close to him as you became heavier in his arms.
"It's okay."
You were the only one because of whom he learnt what the meaning of family is. You were the only one whose voice murmured his name. You were the only one who was keeping him sane. You were the only one who was keeping him a human.
"It's okay."
He never wanted to let go of you. He wanted you to stay close by him.
"It's okay."
His own selfishness made you hate him—it wasn't your fault at all.
"It's okay."
He never gathered enough courage to walk away from that man.
"It's okay."
He wasn't brave like you.
"It's okay."
He was the reason why you couldn't walk away too.
"It's okay."
You would never leave the brother you loved so much, would you?
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I hope no one relates to this piece of writing.
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Sleeping Beauty | Chapter 16
Previous Chapters [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15] Read on AO3 [x]
Pairing: Thranduil/Fem. Reader Summary: A Sleeping Beauty inspired tale with Thranduil the Elvenking, and a female elf living in Mirkwood under the care of Radagast, who is actually the ‘lost’ daughter of the late High King Gil-Galad. Taglist: @jinlizz-dragondrama @firelightinferno @bubbleyukismile @coopsgirl @achromaticerebus @sleepyamygdala @smalltownbigheart @qmabailor @genderfluid-anime-goth @0chemicalwaste0 @deadunicorn159 @silvercobra @thesunschild777
It was dark as you stood beneath the trees. You couldn't really explain what had possessed you to sneak out like that. There had been something... some sort of sound... but as you tried to recall it now, it slipped right out of your memory and left you confused.
It had seemed to come from a large tapestry hanging in the corner of the room, not the door as you had originally assumed. Cautiously, you had inched closer to the tapestry and then peeled it back from the wall, shocked to find another door there. You had felt a little uneasy about opening it, instead wanting to go and find Radagast but the sound... kept your focus turning back so intently towards this door that you had inevitably opened it and stepped into what turned out to be a secret passageway. You'd followed this passageway down, down, down into the dark... and come out, not in a dungeon or outside of the palace as you had originally assumed... but back in your clearing.
It did not make any sense.
The clearing was hours away so how could you be here now when you had just been in the Elvenking's palace? When you turned, there was absolutely no indication of how you had got here. No mysterious door. Just trees and darkness.
Frowning, you walked further into the middle of the clearing. Two steps in you came to a half as a sudden wind picked up around you, whipping your hair up around your face. Something about it felt unnatural and as quickly as it started, it ceased, and you were left standing frozen with your heart pounding in your ears.
"Hello, Lothíriel." A woman's voice sounded from behind you, causing you to spin on your heel, eyes wide with panic.
"Oh!" You exclaimed as you slowly relaxed. You recognised her.
Luithien!
The woman you had met before in this same clearing not that long ago. She had seemed in danger, scared. She'd said someone had been chasing her and you had wondered what happened to her as she had vanished as quickly as she had come.
"You! Are you alright?" You asked, studying her as you took a step towards her. She looked okay. She did not look hurt and she had clearly not been captured.
"Oh, please, I am fine. Do not worry about me." She said sweetly, her expression melting into a look of concern. "What about you?"
You eyed her, not sure what she meant. "What about me?"
"I hear you are being forced to marry that awful king." She said, her face a perfect expression of concern.
You blinked at her. "How...?" How could she possibly know such a thing?
"Oh. The birds, dear. They talk to me, you see. I came back here looking for you and they told me all about it." The Enchantress lied with ease. The birds, in fact, would come nowhere near her but you did not need to know. She had watched and she had learned and she knew that if you thought that the birds trusted her, you were more likely to do so as well.
You relaxed a little and glanced down at the ground, looking unhappy. Yes, you did feel as if you were being forced to marry him even if nobody had really said outright that you would be other than Radagast saying both of your parents had wanted it to be so. "Is he really... so awful?" You asked then, looking back up at her with worry in your eyes.
Her face changed and she looked back at you very gravely indeed, nodding slowly. "I... am afraid so, my dear." She tsk'd softly. "He is a... very, very cruel man."
You could feel your panic rising with each word this woman spoke and you looked around the clearing as if expecting to be set upon. You thought of Thranduil and wished - oh, how you wished - that you had not come so late and that he was still here so you could run away with him. "I do not want to marry him!" You exclaimed, turning back to the woman with wide, fearful eyes. He was truly awful? Cruel? You were starting to get frightened.
"Oh, darling, do not worry!" She came towards you then and she slid an arm around your shoulder and she gave you what was supposed to be a reassuring squeeze. "I will help you."
"You... will?"
"Of course I will." She said firmly, giving you a smile. "I can tell you are a kind girl. You do not deserve to marry an evil man. I will help you, Lothíriel, I will take you somewhere safe. I promise."
Your eyes remained on Luithien's face, looking at her with some confusion but unable to fully form a proper thought in your head about most of this. There was something in you now that was urging you to simply just go along with whatever it was that she said, despite the fact that it still made no sense how you had ended up back in the clearing when moments ago you had been so far away, and that you really did not know this woman.
"Alright." You agreed, against your better judgement but this part of you was quiet now, as if it had been tied down and held at bay by some force far stronger than you.
The Enchantress smiled at you kindly but inside she felt victorious. She had you. She had you, finally, in her grasp. You were far from safety and you were under her thrall and you could not fight it. Neither the wizard nor the king would get here in time.
"Come." She said in her soft, melodic voice as she turned and led you from the clearing and through the forest.
"Come on!" Thranduil barked, sounding tense. He sat on the back of a large brown horse, opting not to take his elk straight back out into the forest. The animal needed a rest. He was desperate to find you as quickly as possible but he was not cruel.
Feren behind him was moving too slowly for Thranduil's liking and, after another few seconds of waiting around for him and the wizard, the Elvenking huffed and then spurred the horse on without another word, riding away from the palace grounds, past the settlement, and disappearing into the trees.
Feren and Radagast were left staring after him but Thranduil did not care. He didn't look back, keeping his gaze fixed firmly ahead as he rode determinedly through the forest. He did not know how long ago you left, how far you could have gotten, or if you would even know the way home from here and he was slightly worried you might end up lost. As he rode, his eyes flickered every which way, keen elven sight seeking you at every turn.
He could not believe you had been here the whole time! That you were her! It was insanity and yet it was happening. Gil-Galad's daughter had been here in this forest all these years, under his very nose, and he had been none the wiser! He was both angry and elated.
Thranduil's thoughts turned towards the Enchantress as he rode, his expression darkening as she came into his mind. That witch... he should have driven her out fully when he'd first found her here. Of course, he had tried, but he was hard on himself. He should have been stronger. The harm she could do if she found you... it did not bear thinking about.
The curse.
No. No, he could not think like that. He would not think like that. You would be fine, you would be okay. Thranduil would find you and then he would finally tell you the truth of his identity and take you back to the safety of his palace and everything would be fine again.
He had to believe that. He had to.
After a time, the dark tower came into view and your feet stilled, eyes wide as you stared up at it.
What was this place?
"You... live here?" You asked, turning to the woman at your side once more. Her arm was still firmly around your shoulder. It had been done to seem reassuring but it was actually to keep you in place. Not that she expected the slight spell upon your mind to waver but she did want to be safe rather than sorry.
She turned her face to look at you and she smirked slightly. "For now." She said, giving you a tug and leading you further along the path towards the fortress. She hid here, rather than lived here. The elves did not really come near it and it was currently abandoned and she used it as her base.
You had never been this far in your life. You had always stayed around the cottage and the clearing, and down to the river but no further, not really. This did not seem like a very nice place but you were quite helpless to do anything about it as you were ushered up to the heavy doors and then pulled inside.
The doors shut behind you with a loud, echoing thud that seemed almost to seal your doom. A chill went through you that you could not ignore, yet you almost felt as if you had no real free will to turn and try to push your way back outside. It was almost like you were in a dream.
Dream. Asleep. Forever. Run.
Your mind tried to fight it but it was no good, and the voices were drowned out, pushed away until they were no more than a slight tickle in the back of your head.
The Enchantress let her arm drop from around your shoulders, drawing your full attention once more. She stepped away from you and moved over to a table in the corner of the room. The outside of the fortress itself had been foreboding. Black and tall, dark and dreary, and the inside was no different.
Luithien had said she lived here but it did not look very lived in. The furniture was scarce, the place felt cold, and it just seemed as if this was not somewhere anyone would stay. At least... not anyone good.
You looked up at her again, finding her gaze on you. She looked a little bit different now. Her eyes were not as kind and she was staring at you so intently that it felt uncomfortable. "What is this place?" You asked quietly.
"Have you ever read a map of the area?" She asked in return.
You blinked, a bit thrown by the question but you nodded all the same. "I mean, yes... a while ago."
The Enchantress smiled. "The fortress you stand in now, is built on Amon Lanc."
There was a silence. Amon Lanc. The first thing that came to mind was that King Oropher had once resided here with his people until they had moved, as things began to grow dark. You were kept in seclusion, secrecy, and you had been sheltered beyond belief but that did not mean you knew nothing at all. You knew the history of the forest you lived in, just as you'd known the history of Gil-Galad without knowing who he was to you. Radagast's book collection had been cleverly curated.
As if reading your mind, the Enchantress' smile curved into a smirk. She knew that you'd know everything by now, that you'd have been told of your past and that the kings and even the queens would perhaps be in the forefront of your mind.
"Yes. Oropher." The name fell from her lips with a little bit of disdain, unable to help herself. "He and his folk used to stay here, in the dwellings that now lie abandoned." She hummed, some flicker in her eyes that had not been there before.
She took a step towards you and this time, as she did, you stepped back. She was beginning to unnerve you.
When you moved away from her, she looked surprised for a moment, as if she had not expected it. She stood still and stared at you in silence for a minute, studying you with one thin eyebrow lifted in curiosity, and then her expression turned into mild amusement.
Oh. There was something inside you that was not entirely fooled. That was interesting. So you were perhaps stronger than you looked, were you? No matter. It would just make it more fun, she decided. More amusing when you ultimately fell.
"Something the matter?" She asked innocently and the sweet sound of her voice rang false somewhere in the back of your head.
You stared back at her. "No." But it was a lie and, much to your own frustration, your voice shook just a little. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. What was it?
The Enchantress extended a hand and beckoned you closer. "Come here, Anarórë." The words left her lips as a firm command. "I have something for you."
#thranduil x reader#thranduil x you#thranduil fanfic#thranduil fanfiction#lotr fanfic#sleeping beauty#hobbit fanfic#hobbit fanfiction
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Describing some wigs
Many years ago there was as site called Amphigory.com, and while it's still up, the Amphigory that 16-year-old me spent days browsing is not the Amphigory that still remains. They're still cool, but they'd really scaled back the scope of what they sell. There used to be cosmetics, jewelry, hair dye, a few more things, and wigs.
One of the things that they did about their wig sales that really set them apart was the level of description that they gave every wig. This wasn't just a single stock picture and a name. They took their own pictures of each wig, inside and out, and described each one's strengths and flaws. They weren't like Arda, who designs their own wigs from scratch. They were more like a normal costume reseller, who had a collection of vendors that they'd order stock from. But, unlike most costume wig sellers, they had multiple pictures and a detailed analysis of each wig. You knew what you were getting, which was really important for cosplayers who might need to restyle a wig. If you've never restyled a wig before, you might not be aware, but the wig can make it very easy, or the wig can make it impossible.
Amphigory's wig section is long gone, but I do still buy wigs from a similar company, one that has a collection of wig vendors whose products they sell. This is a shop that I go to is in person, and I love that. I know that I can find some wigs cheaper elsewhere, but I absolutely love that I can go to a small business, roll up to a counter, and physically touch the wigs before I buy them. I can look at them, turn them inside-out, and touch them. I also get to take the wig home that day, instead of waiting for shipping.
But not everyone has this opportunity, and on the offchance that people are considering buying a wig online and google the wig to see worn photos or reviews, here's me making a compilation of wigs I've recently bought and what they actually look like in person. Even with wigs from the same seller, some might be garbage, but some might be hidden gems. So, in the interest of making more information about which wigs are like what, here we go:
California Costumes Pink/Gray Ombre with Star Clips:
First of all, California Costumes gets 0/10 for creativity with names. I love me a good little nickname for a wig. The Costume Mansion, where I bought this, called it "Harmony," and I think that's a better name.
Yes, my wig head is cosplaying its Naruto OC. Let it do its thing.
This is a textured, ombre wig. The actual fiber is ombre, so an individual strand will go from gray color to pink, and the gray is a little bit softer than the pink. Some wigs that are tipped with another color accomplish this by having the color on the ends be longer hair than the top color, but this is a true ombre. I have not tested this for colorfastness, but it's possible that the pink tips won't age super well. The skin top is about 3" wide and does not go all the way to the front of the wig. This means that you can change the part a little bit, but it will always have bangs.
The whole thing is sewn onto a continuous cap, which isn't as forgiving of larger head sizes than one that's just wefts and elastic. It has the built-in net that you sometimes see with cheaper wigs, which is where your hair would go if you want to wear this wig without a wig cap. You, however, don't want to wear this wig without a wig cap. You know better. There's hooks in the back for resizing.
Wefts in the back are about an inch apart, but when I was shaking it around and trying to make it show the mesh, I couldn't actually make it show the mesh without physically parting it. Depending on how you put your hair up under the wig, you might have problems with the mesh showing in the back (lumpy hair will show mesh, hair that's smoothly under a wig cap won't). This is probably a wig you want a matching or light colored wig cap for if you have a larger head.
Overall, cute wig, stock pictures don't do it justice. Available for $20 on Amazon, in case you don't have a local costume shop to support. This item tag reads "ITEM # 7022-068 FTY # 346 HK2203" and I don't know what that means but if someone's googling the tag to look up the wig then hopefully that'll lead them here.
Yuki by Characters:
At least this one has a wig name. And boy howdy is that some big hair. The place I bought this from called it "Cupcake."
I tried on this wig because I really wanted to see how it was constructed, and I bought it because, when I tried it on, it was way cuter than I thought it'd be. It's a rougher fiber, which makes the curls hold their shape really well, but you're going to be fighting to keep the bangs and long forelocks looking smooth. There's no skin top, and the hair radiates from a sort of u-shaped blob at the top. There's so much going on in this wig that it's not particularly obvious, and also you will convince absolutely no one that it's not a wig, so that's not as much a priority to me on this style.
As for how it's actually constructed, there's no teasing in the wig to keep it that big. Instead, the actual cap of the wig is sewn into the shape of the big faux twintails, and then the hair is attached to that structure. Wigs are not hair. Anyway, that means there's pretty much no major restyling that can be done. It's just curly hair about 5" long on a funky structure to make funky big hair. Anyway, because thew cap of this wig is so oversized, it's really comfortable to wear, and it's really accommodating of large head sizes or a lot of hair.
Also because of the cap size, if you don't pin the temples on, it can slide back and make your bangs shorter. You can see that in my picture there. Mine did not come with the little rose clips, but it is supposed to come with the rose clips. It's much curlier than the stock images imply it will be.
This wig would be great for embellishing, since you can sew things directly to the funky shaped cap and not worry about where to support it. It also can handle a full sized BTSSB headbow, if that's a concern.
Someone's selling it on Amazon for $60 and you absolutely should not spend that much for this wig. I see other wig shops selling it for about $30, which is the upper limit on its real fair price, unless you really need the specific shape for it. I'm not going to link any specific shop since I don't have experience buying from them. "Yuki wig" and "Characters Yuki wig" are good search terms.
Characters Peggy Sue wig:
Okay so please be forgiving that my detail pictures are going to be of this wig already styled, because I didn't know I was going to do this post when I started working with it. I'll make a point to spell out what's stock and what's been done. Top pictures here are the most un-styled that I have.
This wig's got a coin-shaped skin top that all the hair radiates from. It comes with long, blunt bangs. The fiber is really shiny and is very easily reshaped by low hair dryer heat. High heat on my hair dryer, too close to the scalp, was how I made the frizzy spot in the back. The cap is a closed mesh cap, but it's nice and stretchy.
The weird boogers on the top of my wig are the orange hilights that I put in (they were just chopped from another wig), but that picture's there to show the size of the skin top. You can also see where I sewed some orange wefts into the wig for all-over recoloring. I re-parted the skin coin so that the hair has a linear part instead of radiating from the center, and then painted it with liquid foundation to make the parted area larger. Mine also has a LOT of baby powder dispersed through it to combat the shine. I spent like four days to try to make this $20 wig look like it's maybe a $35 wig. (The process was: "oh hey I'll be taking my wheelchair to the comic convention. I should cosplay Barbara Gordon because that will be fun. This will be easy and I don't need to put a lot of money or time into it." and then four days passed and I'd spent hours manually highlighting a cheap wig).
And it really needs a bit of love to get it to be less frizzy. Right out of the bag, my wig did not have that outward flip. Unlike the other two, I don't see this being a really usable wig for lolita fashion in pretty much any context, but hey, I'm on a roll with this post.
This wig is listing online for like $30, and that's a bit much IMO. If you have a local shop selling it for $20, well, that's a different matter.
If you want a wig just to change your hair color so that your bright pink hair doesn't clash with your coord, I once bought this wig (according to Amazon in 2015 so it's been...almost a decade...nice to know they're tracking that) and was pretty impressed with the quality for a $17 wig. So, you know, buy that instead of this Peggy Sue wig.
I do own the Lacey Costume Little Women II Wig (Amphigory's "Innocent?" wig) but it's late and I want to go to bed, and all you really need to know about it is that the fiber texture of the ash blond color is really dicey, so that's probably a case where if you need a pigtail wig you need to just get an Arda Chibi. I can still do details if anyone wants. It's just 9:30 and I have to put all these damn wigs away, so good night, everyone.
#20dollarlolita#wigs#cosplay wigs#costume wigs#California Costumes#Characters wigs#Characters brand wigs#i hope y'all fucking regret naming your brand something ungoogleable#20% of this fucking post was me trying to google “characters wigs”#fuck your naming conventions#lolita wigs
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Better off - Jethro Gibbs
Pairing: Leroy Jethro Gibbs x Reader
genre: angst, purely angst
warning: none
word: approx 680
main mastetlist | request | prompts
20. 19. 18. 17.
You noticed him clenching his jaw. And then he unclenched.
The hands you once wished to hold - to kiss, to feel moving through your hair as you lay beside him watching daytime television, to sense the way they raked up your waist in a movement that was nothing short of pure sin in the dead of night - remained on the steering wheel, the tight grip on the worn out leather causing his knuckles to furiously spill out an assortment of pink and red hues.
Situations like this were usually resolved with intense, angry make-up sex. "Pleasure in its most sinful form," he once said.
The mere concept made you ill to your stomach.
16. 15. 14. 13.
You both made no move to depart. Or converse. Or do anything other than wilt in the godawful silence that filled every nook and cranny of Gibbs' little car. Your strained breaths, the erratic pants coming out in short gasps, barely audible from the tight scarf wrapped around your neck, were the only sounds that traveled through the environment.
There was never a single second of silence in all your years together. When things were good, every hour with him was filled with a variety of melodies - the bang of pots and pans as you both tried your hardest to cook a meal (without turning the kitchen into a messy food court or the center of foodplay), the sounds of his deep, brazen laughter as he teased you over and over. His heavy breathing in the early hours of the night, as his lips hovered above your small form, vowing to kiss every inch of your precious little flesh, was perhaps the most typical sound.
Even in the gloomy months that followed, stillness was never permanent. In fact, you craved it. Anything to silence the sound of plates crashing against the wall. The days of cooking had long passed.
12. 11. 10. 9.
You were afraid you'd bleed all over his automobile if your nails dug any deeper into your palms. Giving him yet another cause to despise you. Instead, you fiddled with your scarf.
Your choice of clothing was a technique of coping with the bitter cold that has gripped in town all week. Heavy storms combined with loud, irritating lightning strikes made you startle in fright as you lay lethargic and limp at night. The feel of his soft skin around your weak body was replaced with a steaming cup of coffee set on your shared bedside table and one too many blankets of his bourbon’s scented. You'd ultimately drift off.
Nothing, however, could wash away the fierce lashes of rain that gathered around both corners of your puffy eyes as you wailed into the darkness, a tsunami roaring within you as you wondered how, why and when it all went so damn wrong.
Pathetic fallacy, your ass.
8. 7. 6. 5.
Too long. You'd been in the car for much too long. You should have left the moment he pulled into the driveway. But nothing was ever easy with Gibbs by your side.
4. 3. 2.
You eventually proceeded to unfasten your seatbelt after what seemed like hours. The abrupt click of the buckle led him to look your way for a split second, fingers pressing deeper into the leather wheel before returning his sight to the window.
You noticed the single tear that flowed painfully across his face before he moved.
"This is me. The remaining items will be picked up by the delivery van the following day. Don't bother paying him; I already have."
And with that, you left.
1.
Almost. You almost left.
Even you were surprised by the rough hands that drew you back into the car the moment you opened the door.
“I’m sorry.” His face so red. “- God, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay Jethro. You said it yourself, remember?”
“W-What are you talk-”
Shaking your head. “Don’t you remember?” Letting his hand go.
“Remember of what?”
“You said it.” You laughed dryly. “I’m better off without you, right?”
#source: ncis#ncis gibbs#ncis headcanons#ncis x reader#ncis#leroy jethro gibbs headcanons#leroy jethro gibbs imagine#gibbs headcanons#leroy jethro gibbs#gibbs imagine#leroy jethro gibbs x reader#gibbs x reader#jethro gibbs#gibbs smut
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3| Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14
CW: Brief discussion of possible self harm. No actual self harm took place.
oOo
"So, the thirsty birds are holding a party, huh?"
Lucifer wasn't certain which part of that statement to untangle first, but he was fairly certain it wouldn't be too flattering for the Goetia. He picked up his woefully non-alcoholic drink, the direction of the conversation suddenly making him wish he didn't have a prior obligation later that day.
Vaggie gave Angel an unimpressed look, arms crossed. She had apparently caught on to the implications of Angel's statement as well. "There's no way you've been to one of their parties."
The spider demon made an affronted noise. "All the big boys and girls love a nasty sinner with a skill or two." Running a hand up one of his long, long legs, he purred, "And I have a skill or two."
It likely spoke to the level of exposure to the porn star she'd had that Charlie completely glossed over the not so hidden innuendo in that claim and instead focused on, "But the Goetia hate sinners. They complain about them every chance they get."
She turned to her father for confirmation, her brows furrowed. He nodded back in agreement. They did indeed complain about the violent and uncivilized manners of sinners whenever they thought Lucifer was listening, for all that they had long since given up on him doing anything about them.
Husk nodded in agreement. He'd likely seen all sorts of demons come through his casino in its heyday. Lucifer peered at the spider demon over the rim of his cup.
He wasn't about to contradict the Angel, though. Using sex to "tame a wild beast" was totally a thing that wasn't exclusive to the human imagination (and he hated that he knew that).
"Oh, sweetie, havent you heard?" Angel leaned forward, his grin downright fifty and his eyes knowing. "All cats are grey in the dark."
Vaggie's frown deepened. "That's not how that phrase is supposed to be used."
Charlie looked back and forth between them, missing something. "What is it supposed to mean?" Vaggie leaned over and whispered something in her ear, which caused Charlie to make a strangled noise. "That is a terrible thing to say about women!" She turned on Angel. "Who said such a terrible thing?"
Angel appeared to be pleased as punch. Without pause, he answered, "Benjamin Franklin."
Vaggie raised an eyebrow, surprised.
Angel took no offense to her response. "You thought I was just a pretty face, didn't you?" He ran the tip of his finger around the rim of his cup like he wished it was something else. "I read, sometimes, and everyone knows about this guy." He leaned his chin on the heel of his palm, shooting Lucifer a leer. "And how could I resist reading about this guy joining some Order into kinky devil worshipping orgies?"
Lucifer took a sip of his drink, a grimace visible in every inch of his body. Not many human groups made an impression on him, but The Order of the Knights of St Francis had. Worse, they hadn't actually been trying, from what he could tell, which made the whole thing worse.
To his understanding, the Order were a bunch of rich dudes who liked some role play and fancied themselves a place they could go a little wild, whether it be at cards or sex. Mockery of religion aside, none of them had ever performed a ritual with the expectation it would work (which was a horrible waste of a sacrifice, in Lucifer's opinion). That was, until one of the members had gotten thier hands on a real grimoire and decided to fuck around and find out by attempting to summon the Devil.
Oftentimes, when humans played these little games, nothing happened. They often got the name wrong and the whole thing turned out to be a dud. Sometimes they got it right, but who they thought they were summoning turned out to be very different from who they ended up getting and that turned into its own can of worms.
And then there were the ones that got it right. Had all the right materials and said all the right words and BAM! Instant Lucifer, King of Hell, at their disposal.
It was tedious and annoying, but it was his only chance at catching a glimpse at Earth throughout the years. And not everyone wanted some depraved, unholy wish, so there was that.
The thing about the attending members of the Order of the Knights of St. Francis was they hadn't expected it to work. They were drunk and having fun. They had thought it was just as real as everything else they'd done up until then. So, when they'd found they'd summoned the actual Devil himself, no one had a clue what to do with him.
What followed was three days of a sliding scale between furious bickering and outright panic amongst the group. The spell said one of them had to ask for something and Lucifer had to grant it (if it were possible). Their heart's desire in exchange for their soul. Only, none of them wanted anything enough to sell their soul for. This might have gone on indefinitely, had not one of them finally stepped up and shouted, "I'd sell my soul any day to make my nagging wife disappear!"
Beyond done with the pompous idjits, Lucifer had accepted the deal. Since the man had failed to specify how exactly he wanted the poor woman to "disappear," Lucifer had simply sent her away to another continent with a portion of her husband's money and the hope she found a better life for herself.
The only good thing about the experience had been the food and wine. The Order had at least not skimped on any of their luxuries, he would give them that.
Placing his cup down on the bar, Lucifer pointed at the spider demon. "For the record, they didn't worship me."
Angel was delighted, as if he'd just been told he was getting everything he wanted for his birthday. "That's the part that wasn't true?!"
"Ooooookay," Charlie interrupted, trying to redirect the conversation back to its original topic. "I can't believe Octavia is turning eighteen. It seems like just yesterday Stolas and Stella were announcing her birth."
If Charlie thought time was going fast after 200 plus years, wait until she hit the thousands.
Nudging his cup over to Husk, who had (mostly) been giving him the silent treatment since Alastor changed his contract, Lucifer pushed away from the bar. "Well, I'm going to go start getting ready." He made an unenthused double thumps up. "Never can start too soon."
Angel raised his glass. "I'd drink to that."
Charlie placed a hand on his father's shoulder. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" The offer to go with him was plain in her question, even if she didn't explicitly say it.
Lucifer covered her hand with his own, his expression softening into a real smile. "I'll be okay, Char-Char." He turned his face towards the ceiling, specifically the right most tower. "At the very least, this should be interesting."
Vaggie crossed her arms. "I still don't think Alastor going is a good idea." She had made no secret of this when he'd announced the ceremony and who his plus one would be.
Charlie's expression was a complicated mixture of thoughtfulness, concern, and guilt. Likely, she was worried about Alastor's motives and guilty she felt worried. It was times like these, where Lucifer could see her fighting with her instincts like this that he really wanted to strangle the sinner for how twisted up he'd already made Charlie with his manipulations. "I am surprised he wanted to go," she settled with. "It doesn't seem the kind of event he would want to go to."
Understatement. Nonetheless, at this stage, only the Radio Demon knew his true plans.
Charlie turned her full attention on her father and Lucifer was overtaken by a sense of foreboding. Sure enough, the next thing she asked of him - everything about her full of concern - was, "Dad, please look after him. None of them are as strong as Adam, but they are stronger than him."
This was what he'd been afraid of when he'd told her Alastor was coming. That Charlie would think for a moment that everyone in the room would be a threat to the sinner rather than the other way around. Lucifer sighed, ultimately unable to refuse his baby girl anything within his power. Sincerely, albeit grudgingly, he promised, "I'll make sure he gets home alive and in one piece."
Not that he had any plans of telling the redhead about such a promise. He'd milk the protection for all it was worth with gleeful sadism.
Charlie's brows smoothed out, her worries abated. It was touching that she still had that level of faith in him.
Holding tight to that warm feeling (he had the suspicion he was going to need it), he conjured a swirl of red smoke, which snaked around him as he transported himself up to the top most floor. Taking the stairs might have given his approach away and he was willing to admit he was in a bit of a mood. The moment he was fully corporeal, Lucifer threw open the door to Alastor's room without so much as a knock, shouting, "You better be decent, because I'm coming in!"
Alastor's bayou was dark, its ecosystem in its own time zone and independent of Hell's. It was only the fact that Lucifer didn't want to seem too interested in anything the sinner had created that stopped him from asking how closely it followed Earth's daily rotation. The sinner himself was seated within full view of the door, the rim of a small, white cup pressed to his lips. His spine and ears had gone ramrod straight at the intrusion. An equally white saucer and a pretty white and blue tea pot, that Lucifer pegged was likely picked out for the sinner by his friend Rosie, lay spread out on his little table for one. The scent of the drink was impossible to distinguish from the general scent of the bayou.
Alastor relaxed upon recognizing him, swallowing his mouthful. Once his mouth was free, he said in a dismissive tone, "Ah, it's just you."
Lucifer strolled in like he owned the place (which he did, actually, and wasn't that something to come back to). A wave of his hand sent the door swinging shut behind him. Ignoring the insult, he said, "Grab anything you need. We're heading out."
Alastor's eyes narrowed at him. "There's still quite a bit of time before the ceremony begins." Pointedly, he took another sip of his drink, loudly slurping as he did. "And I'm busy at the moment."
The blonde remained unfazed. "Thanks to your little stunt yesterday, I have to put some thought into my outfit for once." He gestured to where the wound was currently hidden by the high neckline of his roll down. A pair of red eyes followed the movement, far too pleased despite the clear rebuke in Lucifer's words. "Your reputation might get boosted by our deal being ousted, but I'd rather not advertise it."
Alastor made a considering noise as he took another sip, although if he was pondering the effects to his reputation or the taste of his tea, it was impossible to say. He glanced at Lucifer, pointedly staring at his top. "Why not conjure something up like you did that sweater?"
"It's easier when the thing already exists," Lucifer explained, not that he needed to defend himself to this sinner. To demonstrate, he conjured a simple, base yellow rubber duck. "From there I can modify it-" he gave it a little white top hat, reminiscent of his own, "-Copy it-" a second duck appeared, exactly like the first one, "-Or merge them together." For his last magic trick, he slammed the two ducks together. When he opened them, a duck twice as big as either of the originals lay in his palms.
Alastor took on an unimpressed look of his own, raising an eyebrow at him. "So modify that silly outfit you usually wear."
Lucifer tries to imaging changing his usual outfit and finds the thought distasteful. He worked long and hard on that thing and he's quite pleased with it. "Hm, no. Doesn't fit the style."
The red headed sinner's other eyebrow joined it's twin. "'Style'?" His expression turned shrewd. "You mean that abhorrent circus theme is on purpose?"
Sticking his tongue out at Alastor may have been childish, but he didn't care. For extra effect, he lobbed his latest rubber ducky at the asshole's head.
A shadow darted out from behind the sinner, catching the object mere inches from Alastor's face. He narrowed his eyes at it, turning it this way and that. An unholy grin spread across his face was the all warning Lucifer had before the redhead's head seemed to come unhinged at the jaw, mouth opening unnaturally wide.
Wide enough, in fact, to drop the duck into it. Lucifer's hands flew to his mouth in horror at the poor thing's fate.
With a resounding snap Alastor's jaw came back together, the unmistakable sound of teeth going through rubber slicing through the room. Looking Lucifer dead in the eye, malicious glee plain for all to see in his gaze, Alastor spit the offensive thing out.
No less than fifteen individual pieces of rubber landed on the ground, some rolling off and disappearing into the bayou. It's little head, now split in two and missing it's hat, came to a stop near Lucifer's feet.
Lucifer was in disbelief. He couldn't believe this mangy sinner had the audacity to destroy one of his ducks. Heartfelt, he whispered, "You're a monster."
Alastor cackled. "Perhaps this outing might be fun after all." Leaning over, he poured out the rest of his drink. "The tea was off, anyway."
(Hidden behind his hands, the corner of Lucifer's mouth twitched, uncertain if it wanted to become a smile or a frown. Was it really bad tea or had it already begun?)
Lucifer glared at him as he approached, stepping around the pieces of rubber duckie death like one steps around dog excrement. When he was within arm's reach, Alastor held out his arm in a gentlemanly manner that belied every previous interaction they'd ever had. "Shall we, your Majesty?"
Lucifer eyed the limb like he expected it to turn into a snake and bite him, which seemed to amuse the sinner even more. Grudgingly, he reached out and took it, mostly because physical contact made it easier to transport a second person.
Alastor placed a hand over his, holding it in place. "And where are we headed on this fine morning?"
That was it, Lucifer definitely knew he was hamming it up just to annoy him. Returning Alastor's false honey sweet attitude with one of his own, red smoke began to swirl up around them. Before it took them completely, he quipped, "Down to the Lust Ring."
Alastor's expression as they rematerialized was priceless. One would think the Devil had just dragged this woeful sinner down to the true depths of Hell with the way Alastor was not thrilled with turn of events. It likely didn't help that they arrived to the soundtrack of overly loud wet smacking noises and moans.
Oh no, Lucifer thought, more for Alastor's sake than his own. He really hoped he hadn't picked a bad time. That would be the cherry on top of the sinner's expectations. He spun around towards the noise, relieved when he discovered they'd only interrupted a make out fest.
Lucifer tilted his head to the side, trying to get a better understanding of what he was seeing. His brother was seated at his desk, very into what he was doing, which was apparently making out with an imp. An imp wearing a jester's hat. An imp with very, very stretchy arms? Were those arms? Did imps have stretchy arms? He was fairly certain imps didn't have stretchy arms the last time he checked.
He might have gone on accidentally being a voyeur in favor of trying to work out this odd puzzle, had Alastor not decided he'd reached his limit on everything going on in front of them and cleared his throat.
Asmodeus and the imp paused, both opening an eye to peer at them. The imp glared at them. "Do you mind? We're busy." He frowned, looking at the door and then back at them. "Wait, how did you get in here? We definitely locked the door."
Asmodeus' reaction was much more hospitable. His face broke out into a wide smile, the little faces in his mane both showing joy. "Lucy!" Although his jumping up from his chair was abrupt, the imp anticipated it, altering his grip so he didn't take a tumble to the floor. His arms withdrew and moved around until he was situated comfortably on Asmodeus' shoulder.
Lucifer wondered how long that affair had been going on. Judging from the rather large painting that looked new, but not that new, it must have been for at least the last several months. He didn't have too long to contemplate it, as arms almost as long as he was tall scooped him up with all the ease of picking up a child.
Lucifer might have felt self conscious of this, if Ozzie-hugs weren't 100% worth the indignity. The sin's affections were like a ray of sunshine after a thunderstorm, and he couldn't help but soak it up like a wilted flower. "Hey, Ozzie," Lucifer said around a nuzzle to the side of his face. His new vantage point gave him a much closer view of Asmodeus' partner, who was patiently waiting out the exchange. "Who is this?"
The imp grinned at him, hands curling up under his chin and his feet kicking up behind him. "Name's Fizzarolli, but you can call me Fizz." The rock of his head caused the little bells on the end of his hat to jingle. "And you're the big boss himself."
Lucifer thought he had heard the name somewhere, but couldn't place it. It wasn't unusual for people to know of him, when he didn't know them, so he didn't think anything of it. Asmodeus, however, filled in some of the blanks by saying, "Fizz used to work for Mammon." The smile fell away for a scowl of pure distain. "That awful robot version of him is still at his Loo Loo Land monstrosity."
A light bulb went off. Even several years deep into his self imposed isolation, news of the fire that had broken out due to a fight between something called 'Robo Fizzarolli' and a park visitor had reached him. For weeks, all the servants could speak of was the Loo Loo Land scandal. Lucifer had gotten the impression it was mostly because of the destruction of the robot. The fuss didn't die down until it had been repaired, albeit only barely enough to function.
He studied the imp hanging off of Asmodeus' shoulder. His arms and legs not following the physical laws of nature aside, Fizzarolli was definitely not a robot. Which meant that Mammon had a robot created in his likeness.
Creepy. Par for the course with Mammon, but still creepy.
Asmodeus shifted Lucifer until he was holding his brother with a single arm. The little king, used to the treatment, shifted himself until he was sitting on the sin's arm rather than reclining on it. "We've been trying to get Mammon to get rid of it," Asmodeus went on, his hand now free to curl into a claw, joints cracking a sign of his frustration, "But you know how he can be with legalities."
Which was a roundabout way of saying that Mammon and legal practices barely on speaking terms. Usually, if it was something involving the other sins and anything to do with their rings, the personification of Greed would yield (very, very grudgingly). When it came to anything within his own ring, it was damn near impossible to gain any sort of traction for an argument. At that point, the only beings in existence he'd yield to were Lucifer and God.
Since one of those options was indefinitely AWOL, while the other had been in isolation, it was understandable that Mammon had grown too big for his breeches.
Perhaps it was because Asmodeus' good mood was so infectious. Perhaps it was because Asmodeus was over the moon for his partner. What ever it was, Lucifer found himself offering, "If you want it gone, I could speak to Mammon?"
Fizz looked both happy and a bit flummoxed that Hell's king had just volunteered to get involved with his case, but not like he was about to complain. Asmodeus' eyes turned to crescent moons, his smile was so big. "Lucy! You don't have to do that!"
Lucifer wasn't too bothered by the headache that was dealing with the Sin of Greed on his own turf. He waved off with a roll of the eyes and a huff of only slightly overexaggerated annoyance.
The surprise of their arrival and the pleasantries of their reunion over with, Asmodeus finally turned his attention to the fourth party in the room. "I see you brought company." The fallen angel turned sin circled Alastor, easily pegging him as a sinner. "And who is this pretty cat?"
The redhead's expression was bland, but Lucifer had known him long enough to pick out the calculating gleam in his eye. As Asmodeus was studying Alastor, Alastor was studying Asmodeus. "Alastor, pleasure to be meeting you." He didn't offer his hand, not caring that he might be possibly offending someone easily twice his size. His eyes flicked to Fizz. "I see all the gossip about you two was true."
Lucifer tensed, something about the tone suggesting that Alastor was testing the waters already, although he had no idea how.
Asmodeus merely laughed. "Oh! This cat has claws." He turned that mirth on Lucifer. "You always did like the feisty ones."
Lucifer hissed, even as he blushed. "Oh, no!" He waved his hands for emphasis. "No! Absolutely not! We are not a couple!" He shuddered at the mere thought. They were more likely to kill each other than ever like each other.
One of the Sin of Lust's eyes got wider than the other, his version of raising an eyebrow. Lucifer could already tell he had picked up on there being more to the story. "Oh?"
"I... He's..." Lucifer swallowed, suddenly floundering. His pride was still intact enough he adamantly didn't want to explain that he had had a nervous breakdown and in his moment of weakness, he'd agreed to bring this particular sinner along for support, which was a hilarious concept if one thought about it long enough.
As if to prove his point, Alastor suggested in a faux helpful tone, "An emotional support sinner?"
Lucifer flipped him off with both hands, although he suspected any effect it might have had on the sinner was lost due to the fact that the blonde was still seated in his little brother's arm like a small child. Something he had no doubt the red head was going to bring up at some point in the future, if the sly grin on his face was anything to go by.
Asmodeus and Fizzarolli shared a look. Lucifer refused to think about what totally erroneous conclusions they were jumping to. Thankfully, neither decided to share those conclusions with the class.
"Froggy," Asmodeus asked, voice full of warmth and mirth. "Could you show Lucy's stray cat to the refreshments while he and I chat?"
Alastor's ears flattened as his lips pulled away from his teeth into a sneer at the notion he belonged to anyone, let alone Lucifer.
Fizzarolli pecked his lover's check with a kiss, something Asmodeus responded to with a pleased purr. "Leave it to me." As he withdrew, Lucifer heard the faintest of a mechanical whirl suggesting his arms weren't flesh and blood. Upon touching the ground, the imp tried to wrap an arm around Alastor's shoulder, only for the sinner to side step him. Fizz's lips twisted down into a frown. "What's the matter? Don't like imps?"
Alastor stared down his nose at him. Fizzarolli, like most imps, was closer to a living human's height making it easier to do so. "Make no mistake, I dislike imps as much as I dislike everyone." He lifted his staff like a barrier between them. "Touch me, though, and we'll both find out how much that changes."
Instead of being daunted by the threat, Fizzarolli just placed a hand on his hip and snorted. "You're a snippy one." He walked past the red head, just barely brushing up against the tailored coat in a way that had to be deliberate. "Come on, there's some drinks and candy over here."
Alastor followed after him, his expression suggesting he was more likely to attempt to eat the imp then he was to accept anything offered to him. Lucifer suddenly wondered if it was a good idea to leave them alone with each other. He really didn't want to explain to Charlie that Alastor had gotten himself killed because he eaten the Sin of Lust's lover.
Asmodeus watched them go with a chuckle. "Where did you find that alley cat?"
Lucifer guffawed at the description, unable to help himself. He covered his mouth with his hand as the noise caused Alastor's ears to swerve around to follow the noise. He waited until Fizzarolli had his attention back before saying, "Oh, heh, yeah no. Alastor may be a tease and all touchy feely-" Lucifer wagged his fingers and pulled a face at how territorial the sinner could be, "-But I don't think he's got a promiscuous bone in his body." He paused to think about it, looking at the redhead in question. "I really don't think he's one of yours."
No, Alastor's ego and pride made him all Lucifer's. Joy.
Fizzarolli held out a bowl of multicolored candies, all shaped like mouths and penises. Alastor's eyes went red on black, a shadow darting out, grabbing hold of the bowl, and then tossing it's contents into the nearby fire. Fizzarolli sputtered over the waste.
It was hard to tell where Asmodeus was focused sometimes, him lacking any pupils. "Asexual?"
Lucifer thought about what Rosie had said, about Alastor 'drawing aces.' "Maybe. His friend certainly seems to think so," he said thoughtfully. He turned back to Asmodeus. "Is that what they're calling it these days?"
Asmodeus laughed at him. "They've been calling it that for almost a hundred and thirty years, Lucy!" He moved them closer to the heart shaped wall to floor window behind his desk to give them more privacy. "But I have a feeling you're not here to gossip about a sinner's lack of a love life."
"Ew, no." The older fallen angel shuddered. "And who says I need anything?" Lucifer put on his best bullshitting smile. "Maybe I just wanted to hang out with my favorite little brother."
Asmodeus laughed at him like he thought that was cute, not buying it for a moment. "Flattery will get you everything, except out of answering my question." He jostled his brother. "Out with it."
Lucifer signed. "Fine, fine." He crossed his arms. "I've come to ask the great and powerful Asmodeus for some fashion advice." He picked at his sweater, a slight whine in his voice as he added, "My normal top won't cut it tonight."
There was a twinkle in Asmodeus' eyes. "Oh? You love that outfit! What's wrong with it?"
Lucifer felt wary, like he was walking into a trap. "I need something with a higher collar."
Asmodeus' expression was the kind only a little sibling scenting possibly embarrassing blackmail material they could use against their other older sibling could make. "Lucy! And here I thought you weren't the type to let a hickey linger."
Lucifer stared, uncomprehending. Wait what? Suddenly, he realized how all of this sounded. Horrified, he shoved at Asmodeus' face, even as the sin cackled. "Stop that! It's not like that!" He attempted to struggle out of his little brother's grasp, but Asmodeus was near enough his equal and several times his size to make that difficult. "Wait, don't--!"
He never stood a chance. Asmodeus had managed to get a single finger hooked under Lucifer's collar, pulling the fabric down.
Both of them froze, Lucifer's breathe catching in his lungs. The wound had completely closed up by the time morning had come around again, allowing Lucifer to remove the butterfly stitches and bandage. The skin was still tender and would remain so for another day or two, when it would finally move into the scarring stages. With Asmodeus' knowledge of how quickly injuries healed on seraphim, it was impossible he wouldn't have guessed it had happened recently.
Lucifer transformed into a snake, slithering out and dropping down from his brother's hold. He reappeared in normal form a meter from the window, arms wrapped around his arms. Asmodeus reached for him, stopping without touching him. Lucifer felt horrible for how grateful he was that he hadn't.
He could hear the concern plain as day in Asmodeus' tone, underneath it a promise of violence if needed, as he inquired, "What happened?"
Lucifer wanted to lie and say that it had happened during one of the attacks on the hotel. To broadly claim someone had gotten too close without saying when. It would have even been true, if one ignored which injury belonged to which incident. His hand couldn't give him away either, as the scar had long since disappeared.
The issue was that Lucifer could count the amount of times he been able to lie to Asmodeus on one hand. King of Lies or not, his brother had always been able to see right through him, the truth practically illuminated over his head in bright flashing lights. The lie would most certainly be caught out almost immediately. The thought of telling the truth, however, threatened to close up his windpipe. His pride refused to allow it.
Unable to tell a lie and just as unable to tell the truth, Lucifer stared back at him wordlessly.
Asmodeus studied him: his posture and body language all telling it's own story. "Lucy, I have to ask." Carefully, gently, almost regretful that he had to ask: "Did you do this to yourself?"
At first the contents of the question didn't register. All Lucifer picked up on was that fact that Asmodeus had spoken to him in Enochian. There were so few people in Hell that spoke their mother tongue it was rare to hear someone else speak it. There was likely only eight beings in Hell that even could, those being the sins, himself, and Vaggie. Lilith and Charlie understood it when he spoke to them in it, but only Charlie could speak it back to him. He didn't think he'd heard her use it since childhood, though. It was even possible that Vaggie had no idea her partner knew the language, if she had been trying so very hard not to let slip she was an angel.
And then the words themselves hit like a sucker punch. Anger, a defensive response, rose bitter and sour in his chest. "No," he vehemently denied. "No," he said again, calmer. "I know my... mood," the word tasted wrong on his lips, too light for the darkness of his depression, "Has been pretty low for a while now, but no." HIs hands tightened around his arms. "I don't want to hurt myself. I never did." This was true. He'd wanted to hide away. He'd wanted to disappear. But he'd never wanted to hurt himself.
Their Father had done that plenty enough for him.
Asmodeus reached for him again, hovering as he gauged if Lucifer would let him. "Okay. Okay, I believe you." When he was given a nod, the sin reached out and placed a hand on his older brother's shoulder, the hand nearly engulfing it. A little of that promise for violence trickled back into his voice as he asked, "Is the fucker who did it dead, at least?"
Lucifer found himself once again at a loss. To say yes would be a lie. To say no would invite an inquiry into who had done it and he wasn't entirely certain he would be able to keep everything from all spilling out. He really, really did not want to explain anything about this situation. "I..." He was beginning to wish he had never come here. He hadn't been ready for any of this. He felt too exposed, his throat threatening to close up as his heart kicked up a notch.
Without meaning to, he looked past Asmodeus, searching out the person who had made himself both the bane of his existence and a source of comfort. Being part deer, Alastor's hearing must have been extraordinary. He would have easily heard the hitch in Lucifer's breathing and the racing of his heart from so meager a distance. This was all Lucifer could think of when Alastor turned his head to face him.
He didn't know what his face was doing. Didn't know what Alastor could read off of it. Whatever it was elicited a sigh and a click of the tongue from the sinner. Without a by-your-leave to Fizzarolli, Alastor abandoned his company to cross the room over to where Lucifer and Asmodeus were standing.
Alastor ignored Asmodeus in favor of concentrating on the fallen angel himself. "Come now, sire, what's with that expression?" He held out a hand, offering his poisonous support, if Lucifer chose to take it.
Lucifer knew he shouldn't. Knew he was already beginning to associate Alastor with comfort rather than trouble. Knew he couldn't trust him. He still stepped out of Asmodeus' grasp and reached for him anyway.
He didn't miss the victory as it flashed across Alastor's expression when Lucifer took his hand.
Asmodeus didn't miss it either.
A flash of blue and pink flame. An alarmed cry of, "Oz?!" Asmodeus' voice echoed with his wrath as he asked in plain English, "It was this guy?"
Both Lucifer and Alastor turned, the latter's ears flattening to the side of his head. Too late, Alastor realized the danger he had walked right into. Most people would have cowered before the anger of a sin, and rightfully so. They were huge. They were powerful. They could do a lot of damage with very little effort.
But Alastor hadn't been prey since the day he took a kitchen knife to his father's throat.
The room around them grew darker as shadows coalesced around them, dancing just out of the flames' reach. Alastor's horns branched out as they grew. His form would be the next to follow.
Two paths spread out before Lucifer. Down one path, he did nothing. Allowed the two to fight and for Asmodeus to remove a thorn in his side that he hadn't been able to remove himself. Charlie would be upset, but Alastor would no longer be a danger to her. Down the other, he interfered. Swallowed his pride and explained the situation that he had landed himself in of his own free will. Deescalated the tension before someone got killed.
Indecision locked up his muscles, almost making the decision for him.
Like the beam of a lighthouse, ready to lead weary sailors back to the shore, Charlie's voice cut through the fog reminding him of his promise.
Dad, please look after him.
There really had only been one path, hadn't there?
His wings came into being, large enough to carry two people if he were to take to flight. He caught hold of Alastor's forearm, yanking the sinner off balance as he twisted them around. The sinner hissed at him, but Lucifer didn't spare the time to explain. The three wings, all from the same side, came up and around until Alastor was completely shielded beneath them, cutting both sin and sinner off from each other. His other hand came up to grip Alastor's other forearm, holding him in place behind the barrier.
For the second time in his life, Lucifer chose to stand between a sinner and his own kind.
Asmodeus might as well have been made from stone. Behind him, Fizzarolli looked like he wanted to interfere, but didn't dare get in the middle of a fight between two giants.
Lucifer was apologetic, but resolute. He swallowed his pride, the taste of it burning his throat as it went down. In a language everyone in the room could understand, he explained, "I made a deal. He gave me his terms and I agreed to them." He almost faltered when his little brother remained cold and distant, but carried on. "The knife was an experiment." His hands tightened to signal he meant business. "We will be discussing it later."
Switching to Enochian, smile sweet and tone as dark as the day would be when Alastor inevitably broke his daughter's heart, Lucifer promised, "If he ever proves to be too much of a threat, I will end him."
The two fallen angels assessed each other. If it came down to it, Lucifer would leave with Alastor. The sinner would be safe in Pentagram City. The Pride Ring was Lucifer's territory and Lucifer's alone. None of the other sins would dare impede upon it if he ordered them to stay out.
Perhaps Asmodeus could see his resolve. The choice he had made. With a sigh, the sin allowed his mane to resume it's normal temperature, bringing his anger under control. He didn't look happy about it, but he was letting this go. For now, at least. "Lucy, this was not what I meant when I said you should give sinners a second chance."
It wasn't a joke. Not really. Lucifer took it as the olive branch it was. That crisis adverted, he turned his attentions to his other issue. Only to pause when he got a good look at Alastor.
Alastor's gaze was like molten lava, his hunger a living thing. He looked like he wanted to tear open Lucifer's rib cage and crawl inside it. Like he wanted to devour Lucifer bit by bit, taking his time as he savored every bite. He knew what Lucifer had done, what it had cost him and he was reveling in it.
Some part of Lucifer craved proof he was wanted. That people wanted him around and enjoyed his company.
This wasn't that. This wasn't anything healthy or good, but some part of him wanted this as well, whatever the hell this was.
He was glad he hadn't lowered his wings, yet.
Alastor tucked it all away as easily as he tucked away a large meal. When he stepped back, Lucifer let him go, lowering his wings and tucking them away into his back. The redhead considered him. "Would like to take a break from this conversation, your Majesty?" He gestured to the set up back across the room where Fizzarolli still stood. "There's some rather fine wine, if you're interested."
Lucifer shook his head. "No, it's fine." The adrenaline was beginning to wear off and he really just wanted to pretend this whole conversation never happened. "Go."
Hearing the dismissal, Alastor 'hmmed' to himself. Lucifer was relieved when he turned on his heel and headed back to the receiving area.
Lucifer watched him go, trying not to think about the look Asmodeus was giving him. More to fill the awkward silence, he said, "I'd still like you're help with the outfit."
Asmodeus clearly wanted to say something more, but blessedly didn't. Tapping his finger to his chin, his hand under his elbow, he gave Lucifer his own once over. Seemingly reaching an idea, he said, "I think I know just the thing."
tbc
Part 15
#radioapple#alastor#lucifer morningstar#hazbin hotel#deer lucifer fic#i wanted the ceremony to be in this chapter#but it just kept fighting me#it will be the focus of the next chapter#the next chapter might be late#i only get one day off in the next eleven days
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Jessie's girl (chap.2)
(A/N) hey, I just wanted to let you guys know that there will only be one more chapter of you and JJ being kids, in case you were worried about how long the childhood stuff would go on for. I was originally going to put all of what is now chapter 3 into this, but i wanted to spend more time explaining you family situation the best i could. i hope that's all okay .
Chapter 1 here
https://www.tumblr.com/justherforfics/745609500450553856/jessies-girl-hopefully-a-series?source=share
trigger warnings: mentions of parents fighting and bad writing
Chapter 2: august
Turning 10 was a big milestone, not only did you start your period but now you could officially go bra shopping. It wasn't much but it made you feel like a “lady” or whatever that meant. It was also the year you started to notice things, things like how boys were both nicer and meaner to you. Or how much cramps sucked or just how pretty JJ was. Yeah, you kinda liked JJ but it wasn't a big deal or anything at least that's what you told John B when he basically cornered you asking why you were suddenly acting weird when you guys went swimming.
“Oh..my…you like…no,NO! “ He laughed
“Stop! Not so loud!” You whisper screamed, smacking his arms and chest repeatedly.
“Wait no this I great, because he use to-”
“What you guys talking about?” JJ interrupted with a smile holding a little surf board that he found earlier that day.
“Oh nothing just girl stuff “ JB turned to look at you again wiggling his brows.
JJ looked sceptical between the two of you, “Ok…then, well i'm gonna surf now if you guys wanna come” JJ Began walking backwards towards the shore.
“ Hey J, you don't even know how to surf”
“Yeah and?
“That hella stupid man,” John B laughed,”You gunna die”
“Stupid stuff has good outcomes all the time” JJ ran into the water after flashing his stupid smile.
“You like that?” John B turned back to you, raising eyebrow, pointing his thumb back at the blonde boy flailing around in the water
“Yeah…I think so”, You both laughed a little before turning to join JJ in the water. John B had tried to help JJ but neither of them knew what they were doing, so it ended up with slight bickering between them. Few other kids had come over to the beach, so JJ had at some point went to talk to a few of the kids from your school. While JJ was gone, John B had swam up closer to you, till you were only about 6 inches apart,
“Sooooo, “ he started, the smile he was trying to hold back creeping up, “when are you going to tell him?”
“Tell who what?”
“JJ, …and how you like hi-”
You slapped your hand around his mouth, “John B i swear, if you utter a single word to him”
“I wouldn’t…sooo?”
You sighed looking back where JJ stood amongst a group of kids showing off the almost ‘boogie board’,
”i was kinda hoping tonight”
“WAIT..REALLY?!” John B Straightened up, eyes as wide as his grin, “are you guys like gunna get married?”
“Not now, i don't know “
“If you do can i be like the ring guy”
“Wouldn't you be the best man?”
“Oh..yeah .. forget the ring thing that's better”
After trying to help JJ not drown while attempting to surf again, and swimming about, the three of you ended up walking to your house. It wasn't far from John B's so he would just walk you home most of the time instead of bugging any of the parents.
“Hey can I tell you guys something?” JJ started. Both you and John B turned your heads to his direction,” I asked maddie out”
Both you and John B stopped, him looking at you, and you at jj.
“Maddie as in a girl?”
“Yeah JB I'm pretty sure she's a girl”
Your eyes almost began to water, how could you have been so stupid! Of course he liked maddie, she was smart and pretty and fun. Nothing like you.
You blinked quickly before smiling, “that’s great JJ!” although it wasn't all that great for you, he was your best friend, and you had to put that friendship first.
“Yeah, ya think!” JJ smiled back nodding his head happily. Your eyes meet with John B’s nodding slightly to let him know that he should talk.
“Yeah J, that's good”
The rest of the walk was fairly silent, beside the light conversation that would occur between the boys. When they reached your driveway, you said your goodbyes. Walking to the porch yourself before John B ran up beside you just before the door.
“You okay?” he asked, concern laced in his eyes
“Yeah” you sighed
“Are you sure, cus i can beat him up for you?”
“Yeah I'm sure,” you chucked, grateful that he was willing to fight him for you, "It's not like we were together or anything”
John B nodded before hugging you goodbye and joining JJ on the walk back. And in that moment as cringing as it may be, wanting was enough. You could live life knowing that he wouldn’t be yours. Just maybe, one day, you’ll get one of those cheesy makeovers and find out he was really in love with you too. (Even at a young age, you knew delulu was the selulu)
Once entering the house you were met with your father crying, hunched in a kitchen table chair, hands in his hair, and your mother glaring down at him with misty eyes. When the door closed behind you, your father’s head snapped to face you, eyes wide.
“Sweetpea, what are you doing home so early” his voice raspy holding the sweetest tone he could muster
“I’m not early,” you muttered eyes wiping back in forth between your parents,”it’s 8”
“Oh look at that,” he chuckled, “my how time flies”
“Owen” your mother seethed through her teeth, “she wasn't hanging out with those boys again, was she?”
“Sweet pea, who about you head up stairs, wash off and get ready for bed” your dad continued ignoring his wife,”I'll be right up to tuck you in, okay sweetheart?”
You nodded, rushing up the stairs immediately. This quiet wouldn't last for long, so it is better to head to sleep before it gets too loud.
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hopefully ya'll like it, i should have chapter 3 coming out soon
<<<<TAGS>>>>
@yuh-potatoe-whore
#jj maybanks x reader#jj maybank#jj x reader#jj obx#obx fic#obx fanfiction#outer banks#outer banks x reader#Spotify
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Your Hearth Is My Home (BG3 Fanfic, Astarion x Female Reader, Part 17 of ?)
Summary, Notes, Tags, & Part 1 are here.
Act I - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12
Act II - Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16
AO3 Link is here, my dear.
Word Count: 3635
---------------------------------------
Act II, Chapter 5 - The Unexpected
You woke to a soft rocking motion, cradled in someone’s arms.
Then you realized it was someone walking, carrying you in a princess hold. The pale hands holding you were easy to identify. Looking up, you saw Astarion frowning, as if he was being quite put upon by the onerous task of having to carry you back to camp.
“I'm sorry,” you said contritely.
He looked down at you and glared. “I told you to not do anything stupid.”
You scowled.
He shifted his grasp to hold you tighter. “Allow me to make it clear,” he growled. He lowered his head, his face an inch away from yours. “You’re my sweet little treat, and I won’t have you getting hurt.”
“I’m fine,” you rasped.
“The hells you are,” he retorted. “You’re bleeding away all of that precious blood.”
You swallowed. “S-sorry,” you repeated.
The two of you returned to camp in silence, and though you expected a smirk or two about your current position in Astarion’s arms, no one said a word. You figured it was because they were all too busy healing their wounds and cleaning themselves and their equipment. You longed to help, but your voice was shot and you could barely speak, so you couldn’t have cast your cantrips anyway.
“Shadowheart!” Astarion roared, surprising you and everyone in camp.
She frowned and was about to snap at him, but then she saw you and immediately jogged over.
“She’s not healed,” Astarion snarled.
Shadowheart frowned, held her hands over you, and muttered, “Te Curo.”
Nothing happened.
After examining your wounds, she tried to heal you again, once again to no avail. The cuts on your legs and torso, along with the soreness in your throat, could not be healed by her.
“Strange, I’ve never seen anything like this before,” she said, staring at your wounds, concern furrowing her brow.
Gale came up and put his hand over your wounds as well, closing his eyes and clearly trying to sense something, but he eventually shrugged in confusion. “I have no idea. I can’t feel anything magical blocking your wounds from being healed.”
“The non-magical way it is, then,” Astarion said, turning away from them. “I’ll take care of her.”
You glanced back at Gale and Shadowheart, both looking surprised and bewildered by his behavior. You only shrugged as he carried you to his tent.
You didn’t say a word, letting him set you down on the ground. “Wait here, darling.” He left for a few minutes, returning with your bedroll, your pack, and a few potions from the travel chest. Unbottling a healing potion, he moved to help you drink it, but you took the bottle from him and chugged the whole thing.
It did nothing.
“Damn.” You nearly threw the bottle in frustration, but instead you stuck the cork back in and placed it down none too gently.
He looked at you in confusion. “Strange.”
After a moment, you sighed in resignation. “I need to go to the water’s edge.” Slowly standing, you held out your hand. “Pass me my pack, please.”
Instead, he slung it over his shoulder and gestured for you to go ahead. Following you to the shoreline, he watched as you knelt down by the water. He followed your lead, placing your pack by your side. You pulled out bandages, a bottle of high grade alcohol, and some salve for treating open wounds.
Before you could do anything else, however, he stopped you.
“I’ll go get some things,” he said as he suddenly left you alone again.
Wait. Wait wait wait. Is he…?
He returned with a few clean rags and a basin of hot water. Setting everything down in front of you, he began to leave, but then he paused and turned back to you. “Do you need help?”
You bit your lip. I hate asking for help.
Astarion leaned forward and stared at you. “I’m not hearing no, which means that’s a yes.”
You sighed and relented. “Fine. Yes. I need help.”
Expecting him to get someone else to help you, you were surprised when he knelt back down next to you.
“You’re going to help?”
He looked offended. “Am I not good enough for you?”
“You’re more than enough,” you quickly said. “I just… didn’t expect it.”
Astarion smirked. “More than enough, hm?”
You turned away from him. “Just shut up and help me,” you mumbled.
Together you managed to peel your bloody clothing off your body, leaving you in just your underwear.
Well, nothing new to see here, I suppose.
You looked down at all the cuts, oozing blood. Looking over at Astarion, his forehead wrinkled with worry, you wondered if he was holding back his hunger.
He caught your curious gaze and raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“I thought… you might be hungry, seeing all this blood.”
He huffed as if offended. “I can control my hunger, you know,” he said with a frown.
“Ah. Sorry.”
Holding out your arm, you took the bottle of alcohol and dripped its contents slowly onto your wounds, sanitizing them. It stung like crazy, and you were perpetually wincing against the pain as you attended to all of your wounds that you could reach. Then you handed Astarion the bottle. “Can you get my back, please?” you asked as you got onto your hands and knees.
He raised an eyebrow. “You know darling, in any other context, seeing you like this would be utterly delightful.”
“Just pour the damn alcohol.”
Sighing, he carefully drizzled the liquid onto your back, your wounds burning. You hissed in pain.
“Should I stop?”
“Keep going,” you gritted out. “You have to clean the wounds properly, or they’ll fester.”
He continued until all of your cuts had been properly doused. You let out a shaky breath as you sat back down on your ruined clothes. Reaching for the basin of hot water and a clean rag, you started to clean yourself off. Astarion shifted behind you, soaked one of the rags in the hot water, and cleaned the wounds on your back. The water was soon tinted red as the two of you quietly wiped down your tired and aching body.
You took the salve and started to smear it over your wounds, passing the jar to Astarion so he could attend to your back and sides. You bandaged up your legs with no issue, but as you began to wrap up your arms, Astarion took over and re-wrapped them.
Strange. I’m sensing anxiety from him again.
You watched as he quietly bandaged you up like an expert, tying off the ends with quick, deft movements. I have a hunch as to why he’s so good at this, and I don’t like it.
“Now lift your arms up, darling. I need to wrap you up.”
You let him bandage you up with no complaints. When he finally tied off the ends, he looked at his handiwork with a satisfied nod. “There, all done.”
Steadily you shifted your position, letting yourself stretch a bit. “Thank you. You… didn’t have to do this.”
“I know. I chose to,” he replied softly. He helped you pack up your supplies and accompanied you back to his tent.
You barely could stand for another moment once inside. You practically fell to your knees and tucked yourself into your bedroll.
“Good. I was about to tell you to go to sleep.”
“I’ll do as I please,” you snarked.
“As will I.” He knelt down and flicked your forehead.
“Ow! What was that for?”
He scowled. “For not listening to me. For getting hurt. For”—he turned his head and cleared his throat—“worrying me.”
You blinked. He looked stressed. Slowly, you reached out and held his hand. His grip tightened, and you could feel his concern for you, a soft humming in the back of your mind.
“I’m sorry,” you finally whispered. “But when I saw you laying there, hurt on the ground, I couldn’t help myself.”
He sighed. “Well, don’t do it again. You make me want to be nice to you.”
You let out a small laugh, but that was enough to make your body ache. “I promise nothing,” you said weakly as you closed your eyes.
“You fool.”
As you fell asleep, you belatedly realized that he had never let go of your hand.
***
You awoke to a burning feeling that seared the small of your back, as if someone was holding a hot iron brand to your skin. You kicked the top of your bedroll aside as you rolled onto your stomach, clenching your pillow with one hand, your other hand pressed against your seal. You gritted your teeth against the pain, holding back the cries that threatened to escape your throat.
A cool hand touching yours brought you to full wakefulness.
“Astarion?” Your voice was breathy and weak.
“Tell me what's wrong.”
“My seal feels like it's on fire.”
“Show me.”
You lifted your hand. You watched his face as he looked at your back.
“There are hairline cracks all over your mark,” he said. “They're glowing orange.”
You sighed, then gasped as another round of blistering agony tore through you. You grabbed your pillow with both hands, nearly tearing it in half as you bit into the material, muffling your keen of agony.
Astarion immediately placed his hand on your seal, and you felt his cool touch begin to calm your angry seal. “That… That feels better,” you mumbled.
He sat next to you, as if he was settling in for a while. You weren’t sure how much time passed as he kept one hand on you, soothing you as the night went on, your memory a haze of burning pain followed by a cool touch and a soft voice.
***
The following day, you awoke feeling exhausted. It wasn’t even dawn yet, but you got up anyway. Glancing over at Astarion, who was in a deep trance, you watched him for a few moments before sneaking away quietly to get ready for the day.
You made some herbal tea to help with your throat, and sipped it as you stared at the campfire. After a while, Gale sat next to you, an inquisitive look in his eyes.
“I’m assuming you’re curious, as per usual,” you said to the wizard.
“I am. But if you don’t wish to talk about it, I won’t push.” He paused, waiting for your response. When you shrugged, he continued. “Where did you learn Sylvan?”
“I don’t speak it. I only know how to sing it in some old songs.”
“Do you know what you sang?”
You shook your head. “My mother only taught me the sounds, so I can sing it phonetically, but I don’t understand what I’m saying. I was just told that this particular song shields against the darkness.”
“Interesting…” He seemed lost in thought for a few moments, then he suddenly snapped his fingers. “Ah! I remember now. There’s a branch in the School of Thaumaturgy called the School of Song, and the practitioners are called spellsingers. It’s something I’m not too familiar with,” he explained. “But I recall that they sing in Elvish. For you to have learned a song in Sylvan…”
You looked at him, wondering why he trailed off. Then you looked around and noticed that everyone had quietly gathered at the campfire while the two of you were conversing.
“That’s the language of the fey,” Gale finally said.
Everyone looked at you with varying levels of curiosity.
You sighed. Well, I can’t exactly keep it hidden now.
They had all seen you. Hells, it was the first time you had seen your autumn form. Your mother had told you it was in your blood, but only if you sang that song. But while you had practiced it, over and over again, you had never seen your other form.
But now you had, and you would never forget it.
“Once upon a time, a fey eladrin fell in love with a mortal,” you said quietly. "After their lover died, they disappeared from these lands and left behind offspring, who had more offspring, until generations later, only a song remains as a memory of their homeland.”
You tucked your hair behind your ears, and they all saw the pointed tips that you always kept hidden.
“A song, and slightly pointed ears.”
There was silence as everyone absorbed your words.
You opened your mouth, but you paused and wondered how much more you should say. Should you tell them that a masked lord of Waterdeep might be searching for you? Should you tell them you have the power of empathic touch and that’s why you try not to have direct skin contact with anyone?
No. They didn't need to know.
"I would appreciate it if you kept my background to yourselves," you finally said.
Everyone nodded solemnly. They all knew the importance of secrets.
“We won't mention it. It’s the least we can do,” Wyll said. “You helped us in our time of need, at great expense to yourself. We’re grateful to you.”
Everyone else nodded or voiced their thanks to you as well. “You’re welcome,” you said shyly. Honestly, you were just happy you could be of help.
The conversation moved to other topics, like what their next move should be. Once everyone had agreed that it was time to explore the abandoned town near the towers for any clues and information that would help them with a raid on the towers, they began to gather their weapons and head out.
The day passed much more slowly while you were stuck doing nothing. Well, perhaps a bit of tidying here and there. But you knew better than to use your magic at this time. You felt drained, as if the well of magic that you used to sing your spells was currently empty, but slowly filling back up over time.
You slept much more while you recovered, tiredness quickly overtaking you after only a few chores. Crawling into Astarion’s tent, you lay on your bedroll, tossing and turning to get comfortable. An unnatural chill ran down your spine, and you looked around his tent, wondering why you suddenly felt uncomfortable in his space. Your eyes landed on the spine of a strange book, bound in stitched leather, sitting amongst the other books.
You felt cold as you stared at it.
Nope. Not my problem.
You dragged your bedroll out of his tent and set it up near the campfire again. Laying down and staring up at the darkened sky, you lamented being so helpless. Scratch and Owly came up to you and lay on either side of you, silent guardians as you drifted off to sleep.
***
You weren’t sure how much time had passed since you laid down. Normally, you only slept for five to six hours at a time, with a short nap during the day. Looking around, you noticed with the pile of dishes by the campfire and dirty clothes in front of their tents that the party had come and gone.
Getting up, you washed the dishes by hand, noticing that a few empty bottles of wine were also left behind.
These people, my goodness.
Picking up one of the bottles, you decided to test your strength. You hummed a slow cantrip, coaxing the remaining wine out of the bottle to float in an orb above the opening.
Just as you tried to hit a higher note, your voice cracked and the wine splashed back down.
“Damn,” you muttered. You continued to wash by hand until all the dishes were clean and the bottles were rinsed out. Then you walked around the campsite, just to get a bit of exercise, since you couldn’t do much else. As you passed by Halsin’s tent, you checked in on the boy he had brought back from the portal.
He was sleeping, or perhaps unconscious. As you approached, he did not stir, laying as still as the dead. You gingerly sat down and observed him. HIs skin was pallid, his cheeks gaunt.
Poor kid.
You reached out to touch his arm, but as you nearly made contact, his eyes suddenly flickered open.
You pulled back.
He slowly turned his gaze to you. Blinking in confusion, he spoke softly. “Where did Halsin go?”
“He went with the others to investigate the abandoned town nearby.”
Thaniel nodded. He turned his head to the west and gazed out toward the distance. “He will return soon.”
Raising an eyebrow at the child’s prediction, you tipped your head. “You know for sure?”
He nodded. “Yes. This is my land, after all.” Then he looked at you. “You… seem familiar.”
You blinked. Another fey who thinks I look familiar? “I… I have a generic face.”
The boy shook his head. “It’s your presence.” He held out his hand. “It feels… warm.”
You took his hand, and suddenly you felt like a small child sitting before an ancient spirit, and yet with a childlike demeanor that filled you with cheer. There was also a heavy feeling, as if he had seen so much in all of his millennia that he could not contain. It made your breath catch with the weight of it all.
He squeezed your hand. “It’s… been a long time… since I’ve felt this.”
“Perhaps… Did you know my ancestor?”
He was quiet for a long moment. “Perhaps.” He let go of your hand. “Long ago, a fey eladrin came to play in my lands. It was only for a few hours, but I will never forget her. Eyes the color of the setting sun, hair the color of fallen maple leaves…” he trailed off, lost in a memory that sounded so eerily familiar that you thought he was confused.
“That’s… that’s what I looked like when you came out of the portal with Halsin. It was a temporary change, of course.”
Thaniel looked at you thoughtfully for a few moments. “Perhaps it was your ancestor that I’m remembering.”
You wanted to ask more, but you could tell the boy was getting tired just being awake and speaking for this long. You gently patted his arm. “Get some rest for now. I’ll wake you when Halsin returns.”
“I will know,” he said. After a moment, he added, “but thank you all the same.”
You watched as he leaned his head back and fell into a deep slumber almost instantly.
Working through the rest of your chores by hand, you nearly missed the alarm bell on your belt feebly chiming.
They’re back!
You went up to greet them, but you noticed they all had a heavy countenance.
“What happened?”
“We’ll need to pack up tomorrow,” Shadowheart said. “We’re going to the Gauntlet of Shar next, and…” she trailed off.
“It won’t be a simple day trip,” Gale finished for her.
“You could stay here, if you aren't up to traveling,” Wyll suggested.
You thought about it. Would I be a burden?
“You're not a burden,” Gale said.
“Are you using Detect Thoughts?”
“Maaaaybe.”
You huffed. “Well, stop wasting your magic. If you all don’t think I’m a burden, then I’d like to accompany you.” Waving your arms around the campsite, you smirked. “Who else would feed you and pick up all the wine bottles you lot keep finishing?”
With the light laughs and smiles all around, you felt that you had made the right decision.
“Still. Even though it’s your choice, I’m sorry to make you move while you’re recovering,” Wyll said.
“We can handle most of the packing,” Karlach added.
Lae’zel only nodded, but from that simple action, you knew you had her support.
And Astarion… he was watching you, oh so closely.
You put on a smile, even though you were a bit concerned about how Astarion was staring at you. They were all worried for you in their own way, and their care made your heart warm. “Thank you for your concern. I’m sure I’ll feel better tomorrow. For now, I do have a meal waiting for you, so let’s eat and rest for the night. I’m sorry I can’t prepare your tents like I normally do.”
“It’s alright,” Wyll said. “I’d rather you rest and get your strength back.”
Astarion grinned at him. “Besides, if you get cold, you could always stay with Karlach.”
Wyll only frowned, but didn’t deny his suggestion.
As everyone began to head towards the campfire, you fell into step beside Astarion.
“Need a bite?”
He shook his head. “I’m good for tonight.”
You blocked his path. “Are you lying?”
“Darling, I’m hurt. Would I ever lie?”
“All the time.”
He rolled his eyes. “You got me there. But I’m telling you the truth this time. Honestly.”
You got on your tiptoes to stare into his eyes, and you still had to look up a bit.
He stepped back and gave you his perfect smolder.
Gotcha, I know your tell, you sneaky cat.
Pulling up your sleeve, you shoved your wrist at him. “Don’t lie to me.”
He grabbed your wrist and shoved it back to you. “And don’t force me to do anything,” he snapped.
“I…” Ah shit, I can feel his anger. “I’m sorry,” you said, immediately cowed. You tried to move away, but his grip on your wrist tightened slightly. Through his touch, you felt a different emotion slip through the cracks.
…worry…
He let out an exasperated huff. “Look. I know you’re worried about me, but… you should worry about yourself first.”
You looked up at him, surprised that he’d express his concern out loud.
Astarion let go of your wrist. “The others are waiting,” he said in a rush as he walked past, not looking at you.
What was that?
----------------------------
Act II, Chapter 5 End notes: So a bit of D&D info here: there is a level 9 spell called Wish, which will basically grant the caster's wish, but then the caster is drained of power for some amount of time. That's the basis of what our witch cast, but it's not exactly the Wish spell, either. A bit of hurt/comfort, one of my favorite tropes, and you can bet that you’ll be seeing more of it in the future. Also! I have finally beat the game! So you better believe I'm gonna be heading towards the ending, knowing what is to come.
Tags List: @numblytemporary @xalphafox @avitute @stormyjane7 @kmoon21
#bg3 fanfic#astarion#astarion x f!reader#baldur's gate 3#bg3#female reader#writing#bg3 spoilers#your hearth is my home
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Voters Choice Sinful Sunday
Hey cuties! i hope you enjoyed this weeks update to HOT TO GO!
I was really motivated by how many people also wanted an update to my KJR fic so I'll be posting that next sunday! (10/6)
Catch up on the first few chapters of Triangles are the strongest shape here and... well, here's a lil sneak peak for next week cuz I love yall <3 (🔞😈🔥under the cut)
“I’m so fucking tired of feeling sad,” Jamie sniffles, “I feel like all I’ve done all week is cry.” “Alright, then, maybe we could shift into something a little more fun, eh?” Keeley suggests. Roy's own curiosity is peaked. “What were you thinking,” Jamie asks, his own interest dialed into Keeley. “I was kinda thinking this,” she leans forward before connecting her lips with Jamie’s. Jamie’s mood shifts instantly and visibly. His hands raise up to hold either side of her shoulders, almost hesitant to move any closer until she, and Roy, give the okay. It's the first time they've kissed each other since they broke up and in moments it's obvious Keeley wants to make up for lost time. Roy thought he’d be jealous, watching this happen right in front of him, but instead, he’s just really fucking turned on.
Keeley’s the first to break the kiss but it’s only to tell Jamie, “Show Roy how worked up you are, yeah?” Jamie whimpers pleasantly against her lips, nodding but still hiding his face behind his own hair. Shy Jamie was not a personality Roy thought the younger man possessed let alone would be willing to show in Roy’s presence. But he is not fucking complaining. He will keep his big mouth shut as long as this continues. Keeley smirks and pushes her hand into Jamie's track pants before returning to kiss him. When she pulls his cock out Jamie breaks the kiss to groan, pushing his face into Keeley's neck. “Fuuucck,” Roy says, And while Roy’s seen Jamie’s dick hundreds of times in the locker room, he’s never seen it quite like this. It looks even thicker in Keeley’s small, green polished hand. “Fuck, Keeley,” Jamie groans, bucking up once into her fist but otherwise keeping his hips down. “There’s a good boy, you can move if you need.” Keeley is much more lenient with Jamie than Roy would be. Roy would make Jamie sit still until Roy decided he could move. Make him beg for every inch he gets. Turns out, giving Jamie what he wants isn’t a bad choice either, because Jamie is thanking her in the form of a litany of delicious sounding moans, absolutely unashamed that Roy is there. Watching him. He’s performing for Roy, which is a fact Roy forgot about until just now. Because Keeley is speaking to him. “Don’t you think he’s good Roy?” “He’s fucking perfect,” Roy says, and he has the pleasure of watching the comment wash over Jamie. “Please, please,” Jamie pants, biting hard into his bottom lip. “I think you can take a bit more, can’t you babe,” Keeley hums. Jamie shakes his head with a pained whimper. He needs to cum. “P-Please, Keeley, please I can’t-” “Oh, but you can babe! I’ve seen it. Be a good boy for us and try," Keeley taunts, and the edging command comes out in such a bubble gum-sweet tone it's doing things for Roy. He can only imagine what it’s doing for Jamie-Obvious-Shame-Kink-Tartt. Jamie’s next breath comes out wheezed but he nods. and his head drops to his chest. “Okay. Y-Yeah…”
#sinful sunday post#ted lasso#roy jamie keeley#kjr#roy x jamie x keeley#keeley x jamie x roy#jamie x roy x keeley#roy x keeley x jamie#find me on ao3#sunwarmed ash#i post new stuff every sunday#sinful sunday#buy me a coffee?#links in pinned#reblogs are free ways to support me!
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Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Reader (female)
Genre: angst to fluff, slice of life, slow burn, domestic.
Summary: Your jobs took up most of your time, hence not bring able to spend it on each other. This led to a series of blaming things on one another, only to end up in the arms of the other. Reader also likes Indian food, Reader is very short compared to katsuki.
Warnings: Suggestive, swearing, mentions of not doing things properly, angst, blaming, closer to reality.
Arguments
It's already 7:30 pm.
You were supposed to leave the house at 6:45. He hadn't shown up yet, he was running late. Again. For the 5th time this month.
This had been happening since 3 months now, you and katsuki could barely make time for eachother anymore due to your jobs. Whenever you managed to get off of work early, a new villain would choose to shine to the crowd. Mostly it was just pesky burglars, or just Some adult minor going off with a weak quirk to cause trouble. But since your lovely beloved was in the top 3, being the 2nd, he was required to be present at most of the crimes.
His job demanded him and his time immensely and you respected that. But you having to de-prioritise yours everytime to make time for the both of you, for it to not even be used, made it worthless to even try to.
Here you were staring at the clock, waiting for katsuki to get home.
The agency held him back to fill out the paper work for all the crimes he handled this past month. The crimes because of which he could never make it to the planned dates.
As you waited, the clock didn't stop, time flowing like a bottle of wine, it was about to be 8pm in about another 16-15 minutes. 8pm was the time of the reservation you guys booked for the evening. It was to the new restraunt which opened last to last week, it was an Indian one, and you loved it. You wanted to go since the day it opened but like always, you both didn't have the time.
3 minutes later you heard keys jangle into your door, katsukis here.
You got up from the couch and tried your best to scurry in your wine coloured bodycon dress while wearing 4 inch heels to reach katsukis shoulders atleast.
Katsuki entered to see you there, looking so pretty in the dim light. He assumed you turned the rest off, thinking he'd reach sooner and you guys will leave the house
"Fuck, baby, I'm sorry"
"Work is just busting my ass right now. All these idiots are good for nothing. I don't even know why I pay them.They do fucking nothing, it's as if they give me all their fucking Work to complete."
He said as he speed walked towards your shared bedroom to change out of his hero suit to wear a white button up with jeans instead.
That's when you spoke up and said,
"It's fine."
"Not like I had to forget my work and come home early." You mumbled the last line to yourself. Were you pissed? No.
Disappointed? Yes.
You kept quiet and didn't say anything till you guys made it in the car.
"Could we go a bit faster?" You said, "I mean like maybe speed up a bit?"
Katsuki squinted his eyes at you,"I can't just run over the red light Y/N" "plus I'm a hero, I'm bound to follow the law."
The silence between you two was heavy, just the radio in the background and the slightest noise of the air conditioner spewing cold air into your faces.
Soon enough, which was an hour and a half, you guys reached the restraunt. It was 9:30 now, and to your surprise the retraunt closes at 10.
So to make your mood even worse. They couldn't allow you guys to dine. Even though katsuki fought a bit, in a little less civilized manner, they unfortunately could not serve costumers some time before closing.
Defeated and sad you walked back to the car with a fuming and tired katsuki.
Katsuki was tired and hungry from working all day and driving for so long, only to drive back with nothing.
On the way back he sped up a little on the road since it was empty,
That's when you said something "Oh so now you decide to go faster?."
See, now, you were pissed. Not having food made you cranky. Like all the time. And with all the pressure of trying to keep a work-life balance, being hungry was the cherry on top for you.
He turned to look at you on the passenger seat,
He had a look of anger and a little hurt, just a tiny bit. Mostly anger.
"The fuck Y/N?"
"Look I'm sorry about All this delay cause of Me but these comments are unnecessary".
You scoffed and looked ahead instead.
"You should be sorry."
He was still looking at you in utter astonishment and not the road,
That's when you saw a person crossing the road, you screamed " KATSUKI! WATCH THE ROAD!"
Thanks to Katsuki's good reflex he saw and hit the breaks in time.
" I swear to fucking god katsuki! Drive properly!"
" I do drive properly.., it's because of your cribbing this happened." He grumbled under his breath
You heard him, but kept quiet to soothe your own ego.
Katsuki sucked in air through his gritted teeth in annoyance and continued driving in egotistical silence from the both of you.
When you guys reached home, you opened your heels at the door and strutted towards the bedroom to change into your night wear (which consisted of one of katsukis old t-shirts and your little high waisted shorts)
-------------------------
Katsuki grunted as he saw you walking away from him giving him the cold shoulder.
He took off his shoes and went straight to the kitchen rather then changing his clothes. He groaned as he saw the clock while opening the fridge to take out ingredients to make a simple ramen bowl for the two of you.
He was done making the Ramen before you came back. He took two bowls out and served the Ramen in them, garnished it with coriander leaves and sesame seeds with cut up boiled eggs on top.
-------------------------
Soon you walked out of the bedroom towards the living room, you sat on the couch. You could smell delicious food in the kitchen.
But of course you didn't dare get up and have food, that would mean that your submitting to katsuki and that you were wrong.
And obviously you weren't wrong at all! You can never be wrong!.
-------------------------
Katsuki knew you were in the living room,
He heard those changing audios on your phone probably from tiktoks.
He picked up his bowl, leaving yours in the microwave so that it doesn't get cold.
He walked into the living room and sat on the other couch seat parallel to the couch itself, propped his feet up on the center table, turned the T.V on for some national documentary, and slurped on his Ramen. Trying his best to tease you by showing how much he enjoyed his food.
----
You saw katsuki eating his dinner as If you weren't even there. Where the fuck is my Ramen!?!?! You thought.
You saw him watching the TV, so you increased the volume of your phone so that it would overlap his hearing of the TV.
----
Katsuki realised what you were doing and increased the volume of the TV,
Now he knew you couldn't beat that with your silly phone in the background. He was in anger from your previous behaviour and actions.
-----
Oh now you were really really pissed
But you knew you couldn't do anything, so you kept quiet.
Glancing at katsuki eating from now and then.
That's when your tummy grumbled, indicating your hungry. And will die of starvation at one point.
----
See, now katsuki was mad and stubborn as fuck, but not Heartless, especially not to you.
He heard your stomach begging for food,
So he got up, put his bowl in the sink and got yours to the living room for you to eat.
He kept the bowl on the table without a word and just grunted before going back to his seat to watch whatever it was he was watching.
--
"I'm not hungry" You said, not looking up from your phone
"Hah?" "Eat." Katsuki replied turning around to look at you
"I'm. not. hungry." You repreated
"The fuck Y/N, your just cranky from not having any food, clearly you need to eat." Katsuki replied trying to keep his cool
"I don't want your food." You said,
"Oh so it's on me now? That it's food i made so you won't eat?"...." yknow what leave it." Katsuki replied.
You scoffed "what a joke." You mumbled to yourself, still enough for him to hear though.
"Alright. Enough of this shit, what's the fucking issue Y/N?." katsuki spoke
"The issue? The issue Is that no one cares about my occupation here!"
"I always make time for you but you can never seem to do the same for me!" You replied.
"Well I'm sorry my job requires me to give it my time, It's not like I'm out there SAVING LIVES!"
katsuki exclaimed. Now katsuki valued your work alot, it meant the whole world for you and he appreciated every bit of it. Just that today, both of you were on your toes. Up for fighting, there was rage surging through him and he doesn't know why, just that he needs to steam it off. And without a thought, that's what he's doing.
"SO MY JOB MEANS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!?" "IS THAT WHAT YOUR TRYING TO SAY!?"
you got up from your position on the couch and bit back at katsuki, raising your voice higher by each line.
"MAYBE I AM! WHO KNOWS!? I PAY THE BILLS HERE, I MAKE YOU FOOD, I DRIVE YOU AROUND! AND THIS IS WHAT I GET IN RETURN!? NOT A THANKS, BUT A BRATTY FUCKING GIRLFRIEND WHOS GOOD FOR NOTHING BUT MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED! "
Katsuki screamed back.
"RIGHT! WELL IM SO FUCKING SORRY TO HAVE EVER RELIED ON YOU KATSUKI, AND IM ALSO SORRY TO HAVE MADE YOUR LIFE SO FUCKING COMPLICATED. I CAN FEED MYSELF, OKAY?! YOU DONT NEED TO STRESS ABOUT WHATEVER THE FUCK I DO!"
you spoke, well screamed while turning around in anger and stomping to the kitchen to make instant noodles and grabbed a pack of chips with a soda can. You were banging the cabinets whenever you opened or closed them to take food. "YEAH GO HAVE THAT FUCKING TOXIC FOOD, YOU CANT EVEN FUCKING COOK FOR THE LIFE OF YOU Y/N. AND YOU HAVE BEEN PRANCING AROUND BLAMING ME?! YOU ARE SO FUCKING UNGRATEFUL! CAN YOU EVER DO ANYTHING PROPERLY!?"
Katsuki Came over to you and snatched the bag of chips and soda can from your hands.
You scoffed in offense and looked at katsuki in amusement, "Y'know what katsuki? You're sleeping on the fucking couch tonight. And don't you dare think about bothering me." You said in a cold tone as you threatened him and got close to him while pointing a finger at his chest.
you spinned on your heel and bee lined for the bedroom, you threw a pillow and a blanket from the bedroom door onto the couch and banged the door close.
----------------------
Katsuki just stared at the closed door of the bedroom, he sighed in defeat as he began to clean the house a bit. He put away the junk you took out and washed his dirty bowl in the sink.
When he returned to the living room, He saw that the bowl of Ramen was gone, a small smile displayed on his features as he figured you took the bowl with you. He turned off the TV and the kitchen lights, he took the blanket and pillow and layed on the couch trying to sleep.
He was still bummed about the fight. He replayed every single thing he said and realised he didn't even mean more than half of the shit he did say to you... The guilt was eating him alive... for all he knows you might be in a worse situation with yourself right now. He knew your deal with overthinking, you've always had it. The knack to always make things seem for the worse... but it also prepared you for it. Ugh this overthinking was actually killing him. He isn't used to feeling nervous. But then you make him feel everything he never thought he would. He covered his face with his pillow and groaned in agony, full of annoyance and anger on himself.
A few minutes passed and he got impatient, he took his blanket and pillow and sat infront the bedroom door. Waiting for morning to come early so that he could see you and apologise to you.
------------
You sat in the dark room, the only light helping you to see was the moon shining from in between the blinds. You opened the blinds. You sat on the floor, your back resting on the side of the bed as you faced the wall which was a window itself and ate your Ramen in silence. You were thinking of how you could sleep without katsuki by your side.. no matter how mad you are at him, you will always love him twice as much. As you finished your food You looked out the window, it was a crescent moon in the midnight sky it made you remember all those nights you and katsuki used to sneak out of your school's dormitories and meet at the roof of the building in front the local central park. A tear slid down your right cheek... you didn't mean to end the night on bad terms with katsuki... it made you feel so fucking awful.. you sat there as more tears started pouring out of your eyes and soon you were full on crying... trying to keep your sobs in. You figured you weren't gonna get any sleep without katsuki so you wrapped yourself in a blanket, got up while crying, went out of your bedroom just to see katsuki in the doorway with his eyes drooping. He was going in and out of consciousness. You saw him and slowly whispered trying not to cry while you spoke " katsuki? Are you asleep?.. I'm sorry.." your voice cracked " I can't sleep without you... sorry, " You said as more tears flowed from your now swollen eyes.
----
Katsuki heard you, he wasn't asleep, he couldn't sleep, not without you he can't. He grunted, and opened his arms for you to come to him, you immediately jumped into his arms and cuddled into his chest as you sobbed apologies into his now wet t-shirt. Katsuki palmed your head and rubbed your back to help you let it all out as he too whispered sweet nothings and Apologies into your hair. " I know sweets, I know you didn't meant it. And I'm sorry too I didn't mean any of that fucking shit I just said. I love you so fucking much princess you could never be a bother to me.." katsuki whispered into your ear and kissed you forehead tenderly. As he soothed you, you had fallen asleep in his arms, still sobbing a bit in your sleep. He carried you in his arms as he wrapped you in your blanket like a baby and took you to the bedroom. He layed you down on your side of the bed and went to his. He saw the empty bowl of Ramen which made him sigh in relief, now he knows you ate and didn't starve yourself. He got into the bed beside you as he got covers over the two of you. He cuddled you the rest of the night, giving you small kisses now and then whenever he woke up for a bit. You both finally slept peacefully, in each other's loving embrace.
© BAKUGOU-KATSUKIS-WIFE 2024, DO NOT COPY OR REPOST ANYWHERE
#bakugou x reader#mha#bakugou fluff#bnha#katsuki fluff#bakugou katsuki#katsuki x reader#bakugou katsuki x reader#katsuki bakugo x reader#boku no hero academia#mha imagines#katsuki bakugou imagines#katsuki bakugou angst#katsuki bakugou#bakugou#female reader#bnha x reader#self insert#istg im gonna scream#i’m crying rn#slice of life#closer to realty#bakugou katsuki's wife#ven writes#bakugou imagines#bakugou angst#bakugou x reader comfort
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Sunflower: Book 1, Chapter 9
Tom Hiddleston x OFC Series rated: M Chapter warnings: Tom sticks his foot in his mouth some? AN: Chicks have survived! We ordered 4, got 5 and they all hatched on V day and have Vday themed names. Chapter 8, Masterlist, Chapter 10 ~~~~~<3 “Let me be clear- I am committed for at least a year or until death. We’re married. I do not take that lightly.” It drove him mad that he had to keep saying it. When would she believe that it was more than just a whim?
“Tom-”
“Part of being married is the sharing of resources and caring for each other. I care for you and I care for her. You don’t have to care about me- it would be nice but that may come in time.”
“What if you change your mind? What then?”
Mia felt like screaming. She felt like running. She felt like crying. She felt like reaching out to him for comfort. Instead she sat stone still and board straight.
“What if I let you find us some magical Las Vegas apartment, get us moved and three months from now you get tired of your secret American family and stop paying the rent?”
“I-” It was her turn to cut him off.
“You’re right- I can’t afford anything better. I can’t afford food until Monday. If I let you in, let you change our lives and then you change your mind? We end up homeless. Hell, I can only afford this damn apartment because we’ve been there so long.”
“I wouldn’t-”
“How do I know that? How can I trust that?” Mia’s frustration grew when her vision waved as her eyes grew teary. “You think I don’t want to give you a chance because you’re ugly or cruel or something. Any woman would die for this chance but I can’t. I’ve got a little girl who relies on me.”
She harshly wiped away a tear that had the nerve to slip from her eye.
“If I take a gamble and it’s a bust, she gets hurt. She ends up homeless. She ends up in state custody. She gets her heart broken too.”
“I didn’t think of it that way.”
She scoffed at him and he bristled at that, opening his mouth to try and defend himself. She started again before he had a chance to say anything though.
“It’s my job to think of that. How can I trust a stranger, even a stranger I married on a whim, to not let some little girl who he’s known for even less time become homeless. How can I trust that you’re not going to suck her into your charm, make her see you as a father then walk away?”
“I don’t want to push her to see me as a father.” That was the easiest point to focus on first. “If that happens, it happens naturally. I’m not going to pretend that we don’t have a lot of things to decide on, to plan and work out but that will take time.”
Creeping fingers slid a few inches more. He wiggled his finger tips against hers, lacing them together. She didn’t pull away and he took that as a good sign.
“Tom,”
“If I find an apartment- something modest but without gaps in the doors or maintenance crews that help themselves to tenant’s groceries, if I were to pay the lease up front for the year, would you consider it?”
“This is my life-” People would say she was using him, she knew that as much as she knew her name.
“No, Mia- not any more.” His voice was soft, devoid of the harshness that had crept in. “It’s our life now. We get to decide what that looks like. We will go over what bills we’ll have, we’ll work together and come up with a plan that makes you feel safe and lets me feel assured that the two of you are safe.”
“I don’t want to use you.” She wanted to accept.
Glancing at Sally, she knew for her daughter this sort of chance at financial security may never come again. If she allowed Tom to take care of them, even if things didn’t work out she could save her checks.
“If I’m offering, insisting and fighting you to allow it, is that using me?”
“I’ll think about it, alright?” Mia ran her hand through her hair, scarping her nails along her scalp. “It’s just- It’s a lot, really fast.”
“I know.”
~~~~~<3
She stood in the kitchen crying. There were boxes scattered in the living room to be taken to the trash later. Tom was upstairs reading who knows how many bedtime stories to Sally.
It felt weird to not be the one putting her to sleep. It felt good to have someone to help with simple tasks like bedtime.
If she wasn’t careful, she could get used to this.
Realizing the refrigerator and freezer both had been standing open while she cried, for how long was anyone’s guess, she closed it. It was overwhelming, seeing the full shelves. Tom had kept his word, stocking the kitchen in a way she had never been able to do before.
There were drinks and snacks. Brand new pest proof bins held rice, flour, sugar and dried pastas. A electric kettle sat on her counter and a variety of teas were stacked next to her coffee pot.
Things for him. Things for her husband.
“Are you alright?” Tom asked softly from the foot of the stairs. “She’s asleep.”
Mia couldn’t do anything but nod at first.
“It’s just a lot.” She said weakly. Everything was hitting her now. Regardless of if she wanted to or not, she was going to have herself a good cry right now.
“Is it?” Tom wasn’t sure what to say as he approached.
“No one’s ever- I’ve never. We’ve never had this much before.”
Tom moved slow, giving her chance after chance to tell him to back up, to stop, to give her space or go away. Large hands rested on her shoulders as he looked down to her.
“Does he not provide for his daughter?” That was a question that had been rattling around in his brain since he saw the picture.
“He’s supposed to pay child support but he hasn’t in over a year. It’s just been me and when Ashley can, she’ll help.”
Slowly, Tom pulled her to his chest. “It’s okay.” He soothed.
It felt good to be held by him. The moment stretched on as she tried to keep her tears to a minimum. “I’m sorry.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked as she pulled herself away from him.
There were things to do and crying in his arms wasn’t something on her schedule.
~~~~~<3
They sat, cups of tea on the small table in front of them. Tom flipped through apartment listings only to have every single option turned down. Frustration built in him with each apartment, nice and basic, turned down. “Why? They’re all nicer than this place.”
She sat in silence as he took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It wasn’t her intention but she was being difficult.
“I’m sorry.” And she was, to a degree. “It’s just so much.’
“I’m just going to pick some and we’ll look.” Tom decided, locking his phone and setting it facedown on the table in front of them. “There’s still a lot to decide. We can put the utilities on auto pay so you don’t-”
“I don’t want you to pay for everything.” It would be better to just shut up and let him pay everything, she knew that. It would allow her to save more for when this inevitably falls apart but she just couldn’t make herself feel okay doing it. “Let me at least keep the electric and internet- the electric will vary during the year and the internet isn’t a necessity.”
“I can send money for groceries-”
“If I’m not paying rent, groceries shouldn’t be a problem.”
For the first time in their marriage, they sat and talked into the night. The topics were not fun ones. They talked of financial histories, debts, education and potential future earnings. They talked about the cost of managing their individual households.
Tom wasn’t rich in the realm of his career but compared to her, he was far more financially secure. And unlike her, his career was ramping up and reaching for the sky. Tom swore to her, regardless of what direction his career took, if their attempt at a marriage did not work he would not leave her financially hurt but she struggled still to put faith in him.
~~~~~<3
Midnight quickly approached and Mia’s yawns were coming more and more frequently. They were so different in backgrounds that simply learning about each other’s past ate up more of the night.
“You should go to bed.” Tom’s hand reached out for hers. “It’s been a long day.”
“You’ve been up just as long as me.” Mia countered though she still stood up, slipping her hand out from under his.
“I need to be up a bit longer yet.” He wanted nothing more than to go up to bed though. “I’ve got to make some calls back home. Face the music and take my licks.”
“Are you in trouble with someone?”
“No, not really.” Tom thought twice about his answer after he said it. “Probably but hopefully he’s cooled off by now. My publicist wasn’t so happy with me. I blocked him after breakfast yesterday.”
“He knows about-?” She waved her hand to try and encompass the whole situation.
“Yeah, at least some of it.”
“I didn’t know you told anyone yet.” It was weird. They had built their relationship, small as it was, in a bubble where in a lot of ways he was just a normal man who was caught up in a Las Vegas situation fit for a Lifetime movie.
“I didn’t.”
Tom knew he needed to face reality head on. Luke would tell him how important it was to get ahead of the story and now it’s been two days.
“There are pictures of us at a bar and of me with you in your gown. I don’t know how much the world knows but I did tell Luke about our marriage.”
“It would be better for you if we didn’t do this.” Mia felt the earth tilting under her feet as what he was inched in again.
“Maybe, but that’s not something I want to change.”
Mia had so many questions but she didn’t know how to voice any of them. “Marriage records here are public,” was all she could think to say.
“That’s not a problem- I was planning on telling the truth. Or at least a version of it.”
“What’s that mean?”
“I like to keep my private life private. We’ll probably present us as something recent but not same day recent.”
“Should I stay up too?” Mia didn’t know what her role in this would be.
Tom stood and walked over to where she lingered by the stairs. He was touched at how she had opened up to him, slight though it was. It was there, he could feel it- the little buds that could maybe grow into the roots of a real marriage.
Reaching out, he took her hand in his. These small acts of affection were easier to accept each time they happened but it was clear they still left her uncomfortable. It still very much felt like pretend to her. Mia struggled to believe he felt anything but duty in them.
“Go on up to bed. I’ll be up as soon as I get done.”
~~~~~<3
~~~~~<3
Stand still.
Stand straight.
Write slow and careful.
Be neat.
Breathe.
Mia checked and double checked her spelling on the form. She sucked on a breath mint, feeling like she was a teenager again trying not to get caught. If they didn’t pull this part off, the cards would come crashing down.
When she was sure, through the muddy sludge of her alcohol steeped mind, she handed the form to Tom. He filled his portion out just as methodically. Every time he would glance up at her, his concentration was broke by a wide grin.
He was an old hand at filling out forms. Muscle memory took care of what Mia had spent ages overthinking.
She followed his lead as they returned to the counter. Identification was handed over and then it was time to wait. They stood stoic and still. Every bone in their body wanted to dance, to move and to be in the moment.
Toms fingers wove through hers. He placed a chaste kiss on the back of her hand. Softly, he told her things that went in one ear and out the other, lost in the sound of blood rushing.
“Here’s your packet. Identification is inside it.” The woman behind the counter sounded like she was reading from the dictionary to Mia.
But not how Tom would sound reading from one. Tom would somehow sound breathtaking reading a dictionary.
“Congratulations on your upcoming wedding.”
“Thank you,” Tom said before leaning down and kissing Mia on her cheek.
They had pulled it off. The woman either didn’t notice or simply didn’t care that the two standing in front of her were not just intoxicated but very intoxicated. This was the one test they had to pass and they did.
“We’re going to get married.” Mia leaned into Tom’s arm as they walked out of the building and into the magical night lights.
“Let’s go make you Mrs. Hiddleston.” Tom whispered, grin wide was he wrapped his arm around her waist.
“Let’s go get married.” She smiled up at him, trusting him to guide her safely.
Tom couldn’t help but glance down at the woman tucked into his side. The flashing lights reflected off her warm brown hair and danced in her eyes.
He felt something he had never felt before when he looked at her, when she smiled up at him. It could just be the alcohol but he didn’t think so. In his heart, he knew what he felt was a love pure and simple. It was a love he had been chasing and seeking since he had become a man.
It was a love he needed logic and fear to step aside for him to see clearly.
Love was waiting for him, he had to just be willing to see it.
~~~~~<3
Tag List: @winterisakiller, @alexakeyloveloki, @jennyggggrrrr, @dangertoozmanykids101, @tilltheendwilliwrite @tinchentitri @wizardcherryblossom @buttercupcookies-blog @violethaze @kats72 @soulpiercing
Ps: Sorry not sorry for the blog getting flooded in the next few weeks with baby chicken pictures, occasional dog videos and personal nonsense. Simply put, my pets are fucking cute and need to be seen. But also spring is coming and planting season is quickly approaching.
#tom hiddleston x ofc#tom hiddleston x oc#tom hiddleston x original character#tom hiddleston x original female character#tom hiddleston x reader#tom hiddleston fanfiction#tom hiddleston fanfic#Tom hiddleston rpf#tom hiddleston x you#Single!mother
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Today was tough. It was not totally the soft day I was hoping for. My body just aches and I just had a really hard time. Some of the day was fine. But it was still tough.
I didn't sleep great. I was up a lot and every time I turned over it hurt. When I woke up for real around 930 James was laying on the floor but they would come and hold me for a while and that made me feel a little better.
Eventually I would get up for real. I got cleaned up and dressed. I wore the sweatshirt part of my new set. But the pants were to long. Like 10 inches to long. So I would bring those downstairs to hem and I would wear leggings.
James made me an omelette. I ate that on the couch and soon James was doing their podcast with their friends. And I tried to be quiet and went to find other things to occupy my morning.
I went upstairs and made some outfits from the week. Having the closet be so organized made me feel good. I would cut the pants to hem. And brought those downstairs to sew.
I was slightly worried that my sewing machine would bother James during their recording but they didn't say anything. It didn't take me long and I was much happier with the length.
I also finished fixing the one coloring book page for the baby shower. The letter N was contentious. I had drawn an acorn but James and Jess said it was confusing. So instead Jess suggested a nut like a nut and bolt. So I put that together. It didn't take long.
My back was already starting to hurt. I tried laying in my new chair but even that didn't help. I would end up just hanging out at my desk.
James was finishing up recording around 1230. They asked what order I wanted to do things. Our tasks were: get groceries, get lunch, get gas, put away the Christmas decor, clean up the basement, and hang my new shelf.
We decided on groceries first. We didn't need much. We picked up some snow melt to have for outside our house. We did not get a shovel. I really don't think we're going to get enough to need a shovel but I really don't know. The predictions have been pretty consistent but even then it'll be under 3 inches. I just hope it's pretty.
Walking around the store was fine but my pelvis hurts. It was progressively getting worse throughout the day. I have been struggling with transitions from sitting to standing. I tried my best to hold it together.
We paid and decided to go to Mathews for lunch. It was really quiet in there for how busy it was. Our food was good though and I enjoyed James's company. I was feeling really pretty honestly and it was just nice being with my husband and feeling nice. Even if my body hurt.
We got gas and soon we were heading home. James was singing and being really goofy on the drive home. We got home and brought things inside.
I had reached out to the hospital about our appointment tomorrow. Well I did that yesterday and they were like the snow shouldn't effect anything. But then when we got home today I got a message that they might cancel all of our appointments! And that we have to call an hour before to see if they will be there. Silly. It'll be fine but it was like. Guys this is why I asked. And like yeah want to go to my appointment but also if we miss it we'll just be there in Thursday, it's fine.
Once we were home we would work for a while taking down all the Christmas decor and packing it away safely. The very last thing we did was close our Christmas egg. James played Taps and it was very dramatic and silly. It made me happy. I love our silly little traditions.
I was happy that the playpen fits where I wanted it to go. The mat is a couple inches to buy so I'm going to have to figure out getting it under the couch legs. But I was losing steam and my hip hurt. And so I let James know I needed to go lay down.
I went to the guest room to lay in that bed. It didn't help as much as I hoped. James would be downstairs working on hanging my new shelf and I appreciated them greatly. And when they were done that they came and held me for a bit. Squeezed my arms and hands to help with my pains. Tried to make me feel better.
I would move from there to our bedroom. I put away some purses and cleaned out what I had in my bags. I also went through my planned hospital bag and added a robe and slippers. But I felt overwhelmed and James came up to go through the bag and that helped. We also picked out some clothes for possible baby coming home outfits. And found we don't have many newborn things. It's all good but it was like. Hm. I have new born onesies on our registry so hopefully we'll get s few of those.
I went downstairs with James and moved my my mugs to the new mug shelf and I love it. James had to take down a few smaller shelves to make space and so we are deciding where those will go. But in the mean time I found homes for things and we made it look nice.
After lounging for a bit James made me a sandwich. And we laid on the couch for a while. I was really hurting. My back and my hips and I was just feeling miserable.
I took an Epsom salt bath. Which helped but I am still hurting. I tried stretching. And now I'm having orange juice. And really I just want to go to sleep.
The snow is supposed to start overnight but go all throughout tomorrow. I hope to just be able to watch it and be cozy. But we will probably still go to this appointment. And James wants to take some walks in the snow. Which I am very for. I love being in the snow. I just hope I'm not hurting so bad.
I hope you all sleep well tonight. Be safe. I love you all. Good night!
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WIP Whenever! ♥
thank you for the tag, @changelingsandothernonsense !!!! <3
tagging @totally-not-deacon @skyrim-forever @orfeoarte @thana-topsy @thequeenofthewinter @mareenavee @saltymaplesyrup @v1ctory-or-sovngarde @viss-and-pinegar and anyone else who'd like to participate!!
this week i've been working on the revisions of chapters 1-10 of Cycle of the Serpent. i've posted revised 1-6 on ao3, but am still rewriting chapter 7. so, here's a bit of that!!
The Sleeping Giant rarely got any sort of messages by courier, but occasionally, the Jarl would send a letter asking for help with a particular matter in an isolated corner of the hold. This letter wasn't from him. Handwriting spiraled and jagged all at once, and when he handed it over to the trio, Wyndrelis inhaled sharply. This was the handwriting from the cellar, he thought, glancing rapidly between his two companions. "Here, some old woman came by and dropped this off a few days ago," Orgnar grunted, "since you helped Camilla and Lucan Valerius, figured you might be interested." He tapped the letter for emphasis, Athenath picking it up and scanning the writing carefully. In short, it was a request for help with a specific pest problem, a wolf that had been stalking a remote corner of wilderness just outside of Riverwood, a beast that had a habit of intimidating and stalking travelers, but specifically a relative of the letter's author, who implored whomever got this request be careful and take extra caution. Emeros sucked his inner cheek between his cheek as he thought it over. Really, the trio should be well on their way to Whiterun by now. Who knew how long that dragon was going to hold off on attacking the town of Riverwood? Would this make any difference? Wolves did as they pleased, but everything in this letter detailed a lone wolf, something uncommon, a thing that set his nerves on edge. He took the letter into his hands and inquired, "did the woman who dropped this off say anything about the wolf itself? Any distinctive markings, any signs of illness?" Orgnar rubbed his chin thoughtfully, staring off into the hearth. "Now that you mention it, she said to be on the look out for a wolf with one grey ear." "One grey ear?" Emeros repeated. Orgnar nodded. "Yeah, that's what she said."
"Oddly specific," Emeros noted as he pocketed the letter. He looked between the other Mer as he turned on his heel, making an easy stride back to the trio's room and gathering his arrows and donning the armor they'd pulled off a bandit corpse. The leather was fairly thick, and the gauntlets helped. Plus, the fur lining kept him warm, though that was a tad unnecessary, with it being late summer. "So you're going after it?" Athenath asked, leaning in the doorway as Emeros examined his arrows. "We," he corrected, "I think we should all see this thing up close." "Why?" The confusion sprawled even further along his features, Wyndrelis inching by Athenath and into the room, tugging his own armor on over his clothes. Emeros looked between the Altmer, then the Dunmer, then the windows high above them, lining part of the upper wall. "One grey ear is a very odd marking, and if it's a lone wolf, it could be injured or sick. It's best to take it down now, instead of risking it spreading something to the other wildlife. Don't worry," he nudged a small smile up his mouth, "as long as we keep our distance, we'll be alright." Athenath shrugged, snatching their own armor up and buckling it on atop their clothes. He wasn't keen to encounter sick animals in the backwoods of Whiterun Hold, but the trio burned with curiosity. An old woman dropping off a note about a strange animal sounded ideal for one more distraction from the reality of their situation, that in a day or two they'd be standing before a Jarl, explaining the things they'd seen in Helgen, and telling him just how much danger his Hold was in.
When they told Orgnar they were heading out after the old woman's wolf, he trudged to the porch and pointed them in the direction of the barrow, explaining that the woman - he'd not caught her name, didn't think to at the time - had told him she lived out that way, and the wolf stalked the trees near the river, to follow it carefully. Emeros furrowed his brow. "Isn't that where we camped last night?" Athenath asked. He nodded. "I believe so." The Bosmer moved from the porch of the inn to the road, leading the trio out to the bridge. He carried a few healing potions he'd bought off of Lucan, but hoped desperately he wouldn't need to cure ataxia or bone-break fever this journey. Awful conditions, he'd seen plenty of cases of them in his travels, and couldn't guarantee he'd have the ingredients on hand to brew up his own disease cure potion for them.
#tesblr#tes fic#skyrim fic#tes v fanfic#wip wednesday#ficblr#writeblr#oc ; emeros#oc ; wyndrelis#oc ; athenath#cycle of the serpent#my writing#bishop.txt#can't wait to finish this chapter and post it AHHHHHHHHH
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i received a message
I feel like an insane person saying this, sharing this here, but I don’t know where else to go. My mother laughed at me. My own mother. She said it was just a nightmare– sleep paralysis, she said. Perfectly normal. Perfectly common.
But what happened to me wasn’t normal or common. It’s something that’s never happened to me before in my life. My mind’s going a mile a minute and I can’t get my head straight because even now, 12 hours later at 3 in the afternoon, my heart’s pounding. I keep looking over my shoulder, expecting to see it there. To see him.
I need help.
I need help. I need help.
But who’s going to believe me?
Fuck. Let me explain things.
I live in an apartment. Nothing big. A single bedroom in an unremarkable part of town– not bad, not good. Just there. Last night I went to bed at the same time as I always do, 10 p.m. after brushing my teeth, turning on my sleep app, and reading my book. I fell asleep in about half an hour. Let’s call it 10:30.
I’m a side sleeper. Always have been. I’ll either sleep facing my bedroom, or toward the wall and the window. My cat, Opie, usually curls up next to me but leaves at some point during the night, either to get a drink, stretch his legs, or because I’ve moved and he’s uncomfortable. Either way, it’s rare he’ll stay with me throughout the whole night. I’m a fairly light sleeper, so usually when he wakes up and decides to leave, I’ll stir briefly before drifting back to sleep. Last night was no different. At least, that's what I'd thought.
I woke up facing the bedroom wall. It was dark out– maybe darker than it should have been given the curtain was open and my window is large enough to let in a decent amount of moonlight. But it was pitch. I remember feeling a weight behind me, a small point of pressure pressing into the mattress. Opie, I thought. He was sitting on the other side of me, probably having woken up in the middle of the night and getting ready to go about his way.
I closed my eyes. I didn’t think anything of it. But then the weight shifted, it pressed down harder, heavier than any cat could be and my eyes shot open. I couldn’t move. I lay there, staring at the wall, my skin prickling and a sensation deep inside of me telling me that something wasn’t right. That I wasn’t safe. I tried to roll, to confront the strangeness behind me if only to prove that it wasn’t there. My body merely rocked back and forth.
And then a shadow crept over me. A darkness within the darkness, something deeper than the black of my bedroom. It stretched across my mattress, my sheets, and my breath froze. Still unable to move, I could only gaze sideways as it inched across my wall like a phantom.
Something caught my eye. A glint in the window glass. A shape, leaning on my mattress with long arms, its torso bent over and examining me. It looked human, almost. Like a man dressed in a pale cloak, and yet what was underneath it couldn’t have been human. It was hard to make out. Difficult to see in the dim, but the man– the creature standing behind me, had no eyes. Where its eyes should have been sat a crown of thorns, and behind that were two deep gouges, rough and bleeding as though carved with a rock.
But worst of all was its nose. It didn’t have one-- not in a human sense. Instead, a long snout protruded from its face, hairless like a pig’s and mangled. Its weight shifted on the mattress. The creature moved toward my legs, my feet. I could no longer see it in the reflection of the windowpane, but I could feel it. Hear it. Its nostrils were flaring with gusts of warm air as it moved along my body. It was smelling me, I realized. Taking my scent. It worked its way up to my throat, taking short sniffs, and then it stopped.
My heart shuddered in my ribcage as I heard something unfurl. The next moment something heavy and rancid fell over me, and I knew it was that thing’s cloak. The pale one. Except now that I was beneath it, feeling its texture against my cheek, I knew that it wasn’t fabric. It was flesh. Once more it pressed its flaring snout against my neck, but this time I felt its jaws open. I felt its jaws wrap around my neck, and its teeth scrape across my skin.
I opened my mouth to speak, to scream, but the words wouldn’t come out. All I could manage was a slurred whimper. Its decrepit fingers crept into my hair, gripping it and pulling my head back. Its jaws moved from my neck and its snout touched the corner of my ears, and then it spoke. Or at least, I think it did. Its voice was a mess- like human vocal cords pulled apart piece by piece and rearranged into something twisted. Still, I recognized one word.
My name.
At that moment something overcame me. Panic. Fear. I don’t know what it was, but I rioted. I rocked my body back and forth with everything I had, knowing that if I didn’t break this spell then I was going to die in my bed. All the while the monster kept speaking to me in that unintelligible voice, scraping against my neck with its teeth, painfully gripping my skull with its long fingers.
Tears welled in my eyes as I threw everything I had into my shoulder, everything I had into rolling over and breaking this paralysis. And I succeeded. My body lurched and I flipped sideways, my voice cracking as I prepared to confront my own death.
But it wasn’t there.
The dark of my bedroom greeted me, quiet and still. In the corner of the room, my fan spun in lazy circles, blowing air across an empty hardwood floor. There was nobody. Nothing at all but me.
Heart pounding, I sat up. My eyes scanned the room ten times, then I scanned it ten times more. I looked out the bedroom window and saw my empty balcony, the moon drifting back from behind a series of clouds. Calm down, I told myself. Calm down. I did a breathing exercise, in through the nose, out through the mouth, all the while reminding myself that I was too old for these kinds of nightmares.
I lay back in my bed. So often at night we have moments like these, moments where we’re halfway between the dream world and our own reality, and it becomes difficult to discern where one world ends and the other begins. I felt like that then. Or at least, I thought I did. I thought it was just as my mother would later suggest– a bad case of sleep paralysis. A vivid night terror.
Then my door creaked open. I watched as my cat, Opie, crept into the room growling. His tail was straight up, his ears pulled back and he looked at me and made a sound he’d never made before in his life. A hiss. He was hissing and growling in turn, stalking back and forth in the center of the bedroom.
I slipped from my covers, my feet pressing against the cold hardwood floor. There wasn’t any such thing as monsters. Opie probably was reacting to my overreaction, and now I’d gotten him scared to death. Poor guy. I bent down to pick him up, but he squirmed away. Bolted from the room. Confused, exhausted, and emotionally drained, I gave up and turned back to my bed.
Something looked back at me from the window. Not from the other side of it– but from within the glass. A reflection. A face with a crown of thorns covering two gouged eyes. I stumbled backward, mouth dry before spinning around and confronting… nothing at all. The same empty bedroom I’d always been in.
I looked back to the window and saw only my own reflection. No monster. Just a grown man who’d seen one too many horror movies. Shaking my head, I resolved to sleep with the light on in a last-ditch effort to get over this child-like paranoia. As I crawled back into my covers though, I noticed a notification on my phone. My sleep app had registered a new recording.
That brings me to now. I’ve had nightmares before, I’ve had night terrors and even sleep paralysis. I know what that’s like. Last night, I thought I’d had just another case of that– but after I played that recording I couldn’t close my eyes. I stayed up all night, curled up with my cat in the living room, eyes peeled with every light on in the suit.
It’s how I know my mom is wrong. See, the sound that my sleep app picked up wasn’t me snoring, it was something else. A voice, I think. I’ve attached it here in case anybody can help me make heads or tails of it, but please use your discretion. Whatever this thing is, it isn’t human. If I'm being honest, I don’t even know if it’s safe to listen to.
But I feel like there's a message inside of the audio. I feel like that creature was trying to tell me something, and I'm afraid that none of this will end until I hear it.
Sleep_Rec 2022-04-05
#creepypasta#horror#scary#writers#writeblr#creative writing#original writing#writeblr community#ghost stories#short fiction#writing#am writing#fiction writing#tumblr writers#writblr#writerblr#writers on tumblr#writerscorner#jgmartin#the message
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