#void visitor: cherry

[abyssmal-skies]

🫕 — camping together seems fun, who cooks and who set up the tent? 🔪 — if they were a yandere, would you still love them? 🍿 — your perception of them and their perception of you? 🌹— if the roles were reversed, your f/o selfship themselves with you, would you two still be obsessed with each other as usual or stronger?

with ayaka again!! XD

🫕 — camping together seems fun, who cooks and who set up the tent?

me, well i am an adventurer so i would do most of the set up and teach her how to do it,

i also cook for us because i want her to taste all the recipes from the nations i've been to.

🔪 — if they were a yandere, would you still love them?

YES YES YES YES i would love her even is the concept of love wasn't even invented yet,

having her as a yandere wouldn't be a net positive ofc, but i would still love her and help her work towards not trying to lock me in the kamisato estate.

🍿 — your perception of them and their perception of you?

well pre relationship we really didn't know much of each other so, pretty neutral,

post relationship, i see her as responsible, a truly wonderful person who deserves to experience the joys of a normal life, who seems so lonely yet eager to see the world, and i'd gladly bring her anywhere she wished!

she sees me as someone outwardly confident, but she knows the issues i carry with me, and she appreciates how i've made an effort not to treat her any differently, and she wants to just hold me close and tell me it'll be alright.

🌹— if the roles were reversed, your f/o selfship themselves with you, would you two still be obsessed with each other as usual or stronger?

hmm, i think we would still be together,

if it's in Teyvat, with my s/i, yes, someone would've adopted her and ayato, giving her the means to be a wonderful adventurer and a capable woman,

while me and wrio would probably be a little more... cold... but still i would fall for her in every possible life hshsh she'd thaw my heart out and make me fall for her lively charm.

if it's her on the other side of the screen and me as the playable character and with her having the same history on the account that i do, then yes, she'd have gotten me as her first 5 star (neverminded that would require that fontaine is the third nation) and we would've explored the whole of teyvat together. So she definitely would've started selfshipping with me, much to ayato's amusement

the questions(i forgor tot link them in the last ask hshshs)

[silaslich]

Change in the currents and tide

John “Soap” Mactavish x f!reader

Summary - John takes you home for the holidays and it only solidifies your nagging feeling that you no longer love Johnny just as a friend.

Wc - 4k

Cw - 18+, smut, fluff, friends to lovers, basically a part 1 to this <<

AN - Christmas and it’s not even December yet? Yes. The answer is yes.

The train rocked steadily, rain pattering against the window as you kept your eyes fixed on the rapid passing by of the auburn countryside outside. It was late December, almost Christmas, the usual dusting of winter snow nowhere to be seen, replaced instead with slushy mud and torrential rain.

You’d slept for most of the journey, only stirring awake when Johnny shook you gently, pushing a hot chocolate and iced bun across the little table in front of you, letting you know you still had about an hour and a half left till you reached Edinburgh.

This was the second year you were going home with Soap, much to his families pleasure, and much to your own gratitude.

The holidays didn’t really feel like the holidays when you were home alone, sitting in your own little bubble of silence, trying to fill the void with Christmas movies and way too many biscuits.

Last year had been an amazing one, Johnny had so many family members; sisters, brothers, aunties, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, grandparents. He had it all. His mother and father’s home had barely been able to fit them all in, with the fire lit and the dogs jumping up at visitors, cheesy Christmas music was blasting from the telly and the mulled wine was already flowing.

It had you reeling, watching this big military man squat low with a gleaming smile, cooing at the kids and telling them how big they’d gotten since he’d last seen them. Then they’d run to you, wrapping their little fingers around yours and pulling you away, wanting to show you the rest of the house or show you the drawings they’d made at school.

It made you miss your family, made you miss the faded - distant memories of Christmas when you were little.

His grandparents were sinewy little things, worn with age and hunched at the spine, his grandfather wore glasses that sat at the end of his nose and his grandma had a burgundy embroidered shawl that was hung over her shoulders. You didn’t ask how old they were, thought Johnny wouldn’t tell you the truth anyway, finding it funny that his own grandparents were still standing, “old bats have got plenty of life left in em’ yet lass” he would no doubt say. You knew they’d ask you the same questions they asked last year, “when are you and our John plannin’ on tying the knot, pet?” And “you need to keep the family goin’, lots of little ones running around aye?” They made you chuckle, watching Soap’s face glow a shade of cherry red, scolding his grandparents for thinking such things.

The two of you were just friends, had been for years and would be for many more. It wasn’t that the thought hadn’t crossed your mind, you found yourself staring at him most days, noting the gentleness in his eyes and the sharp slopes of his face, he was a handsome man and a gentleman at that - it’s so lonely when you’re deployed, maybe that’s why your eyes linger and your thoughts wander.

That’s what you tell yourself, it’s just the lifestyle you lead, the loneliness and the desperation to have something to come back to when the time for leave arises.

Sadly, you’d thought too many times about the logistics, about what he’d say or what he’d think, the crushing weight of rejection and awkwardness after the fact keeps your mouth glued shut.

Soap had seen you through thick and thin, having your back when no one else does. You couldn’t jeopardise that for the sake of finding him attractive, he grated on your nerves enough as it was, as funny as the imagery was - you couldn’t stomach the thought of having a Johnny jr. running around at your feet.

-

Your hot chocolate sent a warm tingle to your tummy, making you feel all cosy and mushy as you watched the rain continue to pour outside. Soap was quieter then usual, clearly tired and ready to be home bound. He looked forward to Christmas and seeing everyone, he was even more excited to have you there, dreading you’d decline his offer and hold yourself up at home - all alone.

Much like someone else did; that great big hulking bastard of a man did the same thing year in, year out. Each holiday Ghost would tuck himself away in his safe house in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere, going completely off the radar until it was time to come back to work and get back on the grind again. Each time Soap would try his best to convince his friend to come over, or even offered if he wanted Johnny to keep him company at his place, each time he was shot down with the same thing; “I don’t want to take you away from your family” or “I’ll probably just sleep through the whole thing anyway”. You all knew it was bullshit, but he was a grown man, if he wanted to, he’d come.

The train was passing through Berwick-upon-Tweed, the coast looked rough and unsteady, the waves licking at the cliff edges and crashing in an upward turret of hazy brown and midnight blue. “What are you looking forward to the most about going home?” You asked Soap as you turned toward him, curling your knees towards yourself in your seat and cradling yourself into his side, paper cup of hot chocolate still clutched between your fingers. He shuffled his weight to get comfortable, forcing you to slide closer into him as he propped his arm over your shoulders. He pursed his lip in thought, gaze falling to the view outside, “probably my mam’s cooking” he said, meeting your eye as he looked down, “and maybe seeing the wee ones, if they’re behaving” he added, smiling at the thought of his nieces and nephews. Soap was the youngest of his siblings, the last one of three brothers and two sisters, forever the baby of the family is his mothers eyes.

You nodded, as if in agreement, as if you knew how it felt to miss home cooking and family, none of it was real for you, hadn’t been for years now, but you could try.

He took a swig of his own drink, it smelt like coffee, strong and bitter. “How about you?” He asked gently, squeezing your shoulder with his hand that was draped there. You hadn’t really expected him to ask you, but it didn’t take you long to answer, “I like your mam’s cooking too” you smiled, closing your eyes at just the thought of her cauliflower cheese bake and roast potatoes. “And, I’m excited to see Michael” you smiled wider, looking pointedly at Johnny and loving the way his face scrunched up in grimacing disgust.

Michael was Johnny’s older brother by two years, and probably his least favourite sibling, made even more so after last years debacle. Michael hadn’t left you alone for the entire week you were staying with Johnny, hounding you with weird questions and gluing himself to your side at any given opportunity. He wasn’t an unattractive man looks wise, but his personality let him down, you just loved seeing the way Johnny came to your defence, even after announcing to every single family member that you two were just friends. After the two of you had been deployed again it was the best and quickest way to get on his nerves, the mere mention of Michael’s name had Soap’s hackles up.

“I’ll punch his teeth down his throat if he starts with that shit again” Johnny grumbled, a frown stitching his brow as you laughed at his expense.

The next hour and a bit passed by quickly, leaving the two of you to dart to the nearest taxi rank with luggage in toe once you reached Edinburgh Waverley, trying to avoid the heavy battering of rain as it beat down against the pavement. You sighed as the taxi door slid close, feet wet through your shoes from attempting to dodge the puddles and back wet through from where the rain had slipped down the back of your shirt collar. Soap ruffled his hand through his hair, droplets of water raining down onto the floor of the car, some of them hitting you as you smacked him in the arm, ‘I’m already wet through you prick’ you’d scolded, but he simply laughed, jabbing an icy cold finger into your ribcage.

By the time you and Soap were rounding the steps up to his family home, the door was already flung open, pale amber light illuminated the two of you as it bled into the street from the doorway of the house. You looked up through the wet on your lashes, smiling wildly as you saw the trio of trouble makers, all of them belonging to Johnny’s oldest sister, Edith. She had two girls and a boy; Emma who was 7, Carla who was 5 and Charlie who was 4. They were squealing, little flailing arms waving like proud flags in the wind, Emma was trying her best to slip her shoes on to greet the two of you on the steps. “Woah there wee lady” Soap cooed, taking two steps at a time now to catch the little tyke before she journeyed to meet you in the rain, “you’ll catch yer death out here, get inside” he told her sternly, raising a brow at the young girl as she grinned at him sheepishly. Before long you were joining them, ushering them all inside and dumping your bags in the doorway before you slipped your shoes off.

It was almost as loud as it was Christmas Day itself; it was just yourself, Soap and his sister’s family here so far. His mother was in the kitchen, stirring some kind of stew in a pot as she gave you a kind smile, insisting for you to make yourself at home. Johnny’s father was sat in his armchair in the living room, nursing a tumbler of scotch, the amber liquid sloshing lazily at the sides as the older man jerked it in your direction, welcoming you to his home with a lopsided smile, kind eyes pinching at the sides as his grin widened. Soap’s sister was on you before you even saw her, caging you in as she hugged you tightly, “blimey lass, you’re looking well, something glowing about ye” she was a beautiful women with gleaming teeth and freckled cheeks. Johnny’s family had some damn good genes, you thought.

The night was filled with great food, great laughs and great scotch. After spending half of the night entertaining the kids with Soap by playing hide and seek and then helping them with their spelling as they played hangman, the other half of the night you’d spent with the grown ups. Sitting by the telly as old re-runs of Christmas movies played like white noise in the background while you and Johnny filled his family in on what life was like on the front line.

They didn’t pry into the grim stuff, more trying to make idle conversations to take interest in Johnny’s work life, he was good at getting off the subject, preferring to talk about what was going on round here these days. His sister told you guys all about Emma’s school life, how far ahead she was with her reading age and how clever she was, always doing her homework on time and most of the time all by herself. You cast your eye over to Soap, seeing him grin like a Cheshire Cat as his sister spoke about her kids made you all fuzzy inside, Johnny really loved those kids.

With a belly full of beef stew and good Scottish whiskey you fell asleep almost as soon as your head hit the pillow, but your head began to drift away, pulling you into pleasant dreams filled with your best friend. The same friend sleeping not even an arms length away from you in your shared double bed (he’d insisted to save room for when the rest of the family arrived), if you reached out you’d feel his skin under your palms, the hot flesh and skin and bone of him.

Something had shifted today, watching him play with his nieces and nephews, observing Johnny in his domestic state had dislodged something warm and fuzzy in your chest, something you had tried to swallow down for years now.

You valued your friendship with him, more than anything, but the undeniable and growing attraction was there, and it was only growing the more time you found yourself spending with him. It was suffocating you, everything good about him, even all the bad, you wanted it all.

Something foreign overtook you. Fuelled by the heat of his body so close and the warmth of the whiskey thrumming away in your bloodstream, you rolled onto your back, guiding your hand over your stomach before slipping it under your waistband. You sank your teeth into your bottom lip, stifling any noise that attempted to bubble its way from your chest. Your fingers skimmed between your folds, meeting the slick wetness already gathering there, you threw your head back against the pillow and fought the urge to let the sounds spill.

Your mind swam, imagining it was Johnny’s hand, his fingers teasing you open, ready to curl into you and press into that velvety plush spot deep inside of you. It took everything not to whine, cry his name as you increased the pressure on your clit and moved your wrist in rapid motions.

“Don’t stay quiet on my account, lass”

His voice washes over you like a vat of ice cold water, sloshing and drowning you in dread as your body stills, all movement ceasing as you stare up at the ceiling. The duvet rustles and the mattress dips, your breathing hurries, eyes frantic as you search the darkness for any answer to explain yourself away. Johnny presses two fingers under your jaw, angling your face toward him as he speaks again, “ya haven’t gone shy on me now, have ya love?” His voice dips, lowers to a husked whisper as he nears closer, his breath so close it twines with yours.

You want to evaporate. Embarrassment tries to swallow you whole, but the arousal overflows, only egged on by the tone and implication of his words.

“Johnny I-I” you whine, mouth gaping and closing as you try to find the words, “I’m sorry it’s just-“ you try again but the words are lost, they die on your tongue when he shifts even closer, and the movement only further reminds you that your fingers are still dipped beneath your waistband.

Johnny hauls himself up, shoulders cracking as he pulls himself closer, his chest pressing into yours as he cages you to the bed under himself, elbows pressing into the mattress either side of you as his fingers flatten over your hair. It’s dark, the only light provided is the dim haze from the street lamp outside the window, and even that is barely enough to allow you to see him clearly. But you can feel his gaze, the way his eyes burn, yet you can’t quite gather the emotion they hold.

“Do you know why I woke you up on the train?” His voice is low, it brushes across your nose and you can smell the whiskey on his breath, you wish he’d let you taste it. You frown, brows knit as you replay the day in your mind, showing up empty. He must notice, one hand holding the side of your head while the other hand smoothes over your hair again, his fingers mindlessly twirling a stray piece he finds.

You don’t answer. Your heart is hammering so hard and fast that you can’t register it, your blood is rushing past your ears and it feels as if your going to have a heart attack, the ache in your ribcage makes you wince.

Johnny’s fingers trace further down, leaving your hair, the pad of his index finger skates down your cheek, mapping the freckles and moles he knows lay there. He continues across your skin and you feel as if you’re on fire, his fingers make it to your lips, tracing the shape of them and pressing over your cupids bow.

“You were moaning my name in yer sleep, bonnie” he’s closer, words fanning your lips along with his breath, he sounds so wrong like this. Soap is brash and loud and annoying, now, Johnny is tame and quiet - gentle with this topic like it’s a precious glass trinket in his hands, so easily broken.

You gasp, cheeks flooding a deep cherry red, you’re mortified and again words escape you. He’d still let you come here, bought you into his childhood home despite what he had heard, none of it adds up until you feel his lips pressing under your jaw. He nudges you until you tilt your chin, allowing his mouth to mould to your throat as he peppers kisses to the flesh there. Your hand is still between your legs, abandoned but now receiving pressure as Johnny pushes his weight down onto you - entirely on purpose.

“Ah- Johnny” your free hand snatches up, lays into his throat, holding him against you as he smirks into your skin. “Had to wake you up before I got us thrown off the train for public indecency, lass” his voice is muffled against you, his tongue tasting your flesh as you pant beneath him. “Had to keep my jacket in my lap for the rest of the journey” his teeth press into you now, sucking a welt deep into your skin and there’s no escaping the moan that creeps from your throat. You try to catch it but Johnny is quicker, pressing a palm over your mouth before you manage to clamp your mouth shut. “Quiet now, bonnie, don’t wake the house up” he smirks again, tongue soothing over the indents of his teeth.

He shuffles up, brings himself closer to your face again, then he stops- pauses in his tracks. You’re desperate to see him, to turn on the lights and stare into those beautiful blue eyes of his. Johnny balances his weight on one elbow, his fingers tracing your cheek before he leans in, pressing his lips to yours in the most tender kiss you think you’ve ever been captured in.

It’s so sweet. Too sweet. It makes your teeth ache and you can’t help but smile into his mouth, only to find he mirrors you. Bites it off in a huffed laugh that proves to be contagious, you’re panting into each others mouth, the smell of whiskey and mint fanning the space. Your hand is still at his neck and you move it up, thumb brushing over his ear as you rake your fingers over the shaved portion of his head and through the longer tresses of his mohawk that is beginning to grow out. “What’s so funny?” You ask, breathy, drunk on Johnny. He smirks into your cheek, takes the flesh between his teeth in a tease that makes you whine, “I’ve thought about this for so fuckin’ long” he admits, openly, pleased with himself when he kisses your cheek softly.

You want to tell him that you’ve felt it too, you want to spill it all, from your tongue right onto his. Yet, it dies away in a smile, disbelief washing through you, the tug of the whiskey and the slow thrumming of sleep in your blood making your eyes droop. You lean up, pressing your lips to his again, feeling as he deepens the kiss, pressing his tongue against your lips until you allow him in, pressing your hips up into his making him hiss. “Fuck, bonnie” he scolds, grip on the sheets tightening, “I don’t fancy getting an earful from me ma’ about this” he laughs, “I’ll fuck you silly when they’re all out tomorrow” he solidifies the promise with a kiss, teeth and tongue as he groans into your mouth, “then you can be as loud as ya fuckin’ like” his mouth skates from your mouth to your throat again, wet trail of his lips making your skin prickle.

“For now” he starts, smoothing his hand over your mouth again, making your eyes squeeze shut, “you’re going to let me help you cum” he rasps. It’s as if your world explodes, tiny fragments scattered as you try and catch them, but it’s useless. It’s torturously slow when Johnny shifts his weight, freeing up his hand and balancing his weight on his knees and thighs to keep himself up, then he traces his fingers down between your breasts and over your tummy, reaching your navel and continuing down until he reaches your waistband.

He doesn’t move your hand, simply guides his over yours, the difference in size laughable when his palm engulfs your hand entirely. You’re too focused on his motions, startled when he presses his lips into your throat again, smirking when your whines and mewls die beneath his palm. His mouth gapes when the length of his fingers over yours forces them to be met with the wetness between your legs, coating his fingertips. “Jesus, lass” he groans, hushed into your neck like a secret. He wraps his fingers between yours, slotted between one another, locked together as he begins to move both of your hands in tandem.

Out of instinct, you part your legs further, Johnny growls, “minx” then a flash of teeth nip at your ear as he continues to rock both of your hands against your clit. Your palm rubs friction against the bundle of nerves, the pressure of Johnny’s hand only adding to the sensation, you’re overwhelmed - embarrassingly aware that you won’t last long. You whine, pressing your head back against the pillows, “you’re doin’ so well, bonnie” he whispers, “ya look so pretty like this” he kisses your temple, hips rutting into the mattress as he adds more pressure to your fingers. You’re panting against his palm, steadily ascending to your release, so close you can taste it. His name is muffled into his own skin, a warning as he dips his fingers between your folds, never letting up the motions of his wrist as he guides your hand to rub faster against you slit.

Your orgasm surprises both of you, more so him when your teeth sink his palm, almost making him hump your thigh from how turned on it serves him to get. Your moan is suppressed back down your throat, swallowed down when Johnny kisses from your neck to your jaw, removing his hand to seal his mouth over yours when he’s sure the last wave of orgasm has passed, not keen on having you moan so loud the roof shakes. He kisses you daft, makes you preen into his mouth with as many hushed sentiments you manage to gift before he’s swallowing them down.

Johnny allows you a second to catch your breath, leaning back to catch a glimpse of your come down, the way you pant and your chest heaves, pretty doe eyes wet and blown wide. He moves to take your hand in his, pulls it from your waistband and up to his mouth, it looks to be a cute gesture - until he’s sucking your fingers into his mouth and your juices along with them. “Johnny!” You squeak, face flushed with a wide smile when he brings himself close again, connecting his mouth to yours so you can taste yourself.

You settle for kissing him until the sun peaks over the buildings of the street, buttery winter sunshine seeping through the cracks in the blinds as the two of you fumble with grabbing hands and wet trails of lips and tongue. Johnny listens out for the movement of the house awakening, footsteps shuffling around the floorboards, the rushed scrubbing of teeth and jangle of keys, there’s a resounding handful of different voices shouting out their goodbyes and he returns the politeness with a groggy “see ya in a bit”. But as soon as the door slams, his eyes darken, hovering above you like a shadowed phantom, the promise of ruin present in his smirk.

“Merry Christmas, lass”

[rubyroboticalt]

Minecrafters grab your pickaxes, and catch up on the QBLR QUATERLY!

What's up guys, update just dropped! It sure is something to try and decipher, huh. We've got pages of new stuff to go over, so let me learn you a thing about all the events and mishaps that happened on the server this week!

This week, we missed last week, and I messed this part up in the video. oops.

A quick recap of last week: Ghost, Andor, and Katie completed a full 24 hours online playing! Ghost also got possessed and killed all her spouses except Clenex. Mozzarella got maimed at the school and is suing for an insurance payout.

Gummy's new body is looking pretty good! At the statue garden, the white baby's statue book reads like a twitter hate thread. Seren ate a deadly amanita muscaria mushroom and died. Snowball had a dance party with their carers!

The backpack organization ratings begin, and while the news must remain a neutral source of information, I personally am making some judgements.

Mozzarella throws a popular party that a ton of people totally came to. The school goes on a field trip to the Nether! Tonmy builds a very pretty glass gazebo and invites some friends over to hang at it!

Through the power of dark magic and ritual necromancy, Dollie's family is complete again. Teivel thinks of only the best names for pets. Popcorn and their family find Zephyrous in a beautiful Radiant Crypt! I mean, look at that palette! Ignore all that stuff about the Radiant Swarm I'm sure it's nothing.

Nightmare has some sort of awful Food Boy style incident with pies. That is a lot of pie. The Void Sanctum is once again safe for visitors though if you ask me, anywhere is safe for visitors when you have a clipboard and high-vis vest. Gummy invites Nightmare over to see the kids and through an unfortunate series of events, a hole is broken in the wall.

Berry finds a prism geode that isn't even buried underground. How can this happen? Is it true a geode can form in this way? More at 6.

And now, some autistic Minecraft behaviors.

Apple shares some lovely photographs of their beautiful base. Val and Kia finally find tables big enough for their 18 children to share a meal at. Splat uses stacks and stacks of glass to make a roof for a greenhouse even though this house looks pretty white to me.

And now, a reading from r/malelivingspaces. Cherry plank floors. Pine walls with dark oak baseboards. Cinder(?) brick wall on the left side of the room. Single doorway leading to identical room on the back wall. No door. No furniture. Ambiguous dim light source. Bug hiding in a cranny on the left side of the room. Swamp staring at the brick wall. This has been a reading from r/malelivingspaces.

And this week on the server ends with the bite of 87?

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

Over Mountains and Sea part 2

2003!Leonardo x reader

Part 1

—-----------------------------------------------

The reader misses her best friend, and decides to take a trip to Japan to surprise him and talk things out💙

Warnings: None, other than spelling of course.

—------------------------------------------------

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting hues of orange and pink across the serene landscape of the Japanese mountainside. Between the tranquil rocks and cliffs, nestled among cherry blossoms further down the valley, Leonardo practiced his katas under the watchful eye of the wise Ancient One.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, you couldn't shake the feeling of emptiness that consumed you in Leonardo's absence. Master Splinter’s decision to send his oldest son to Japan for advanced training and gaining emotional control under the Ancient One had left a void in your heart. You missed your best friend. You knew Leo had had a hard time over the last few months. You haven’t talked about it. The few times you had tried to open up a conversation on the topic, Leo had shut it down, hard and fast. Not even Usagi had been able to make him talk. It was heartbreaking to watch Leo struggle from afar. It only made it more unbearable with the feelings you had developed for your best friend. You watched the man you loved struggle and leave without a word, leaving you back with many questions.

But unable to endure the separation any longer, you made the bold decision to embark on a journey to reunite with him. When you asked Master Splinter for direction, you had expected him to tell you off - that this was Leonardo’s journey and not yours. But instead he smiled and told you where to go.

The journey was arduous, but fueled by determination and love. You meet giants that sensed the meaning of your journey, and sent you in the right direction. As you left the way they had told you, you heard them talk about how; “the little baby won’t stay angry for long”.

You meet traveling ghosts along the roadside, that all left you in peace. As you notice them pass, you couldn’t help but wonder, did Leo meet any of these on his way to the Ancient One?

You finally reached the mountains where Leonardo honed his skills for the past few weeks. The air was thick with the scent of cherry blossoms in the valley as you went up the mountain pass, approaching the place the Ancient One had been training Leo, your heart pounding with a mix of anxiety and anticipation.

Leonardo and the Ancient One was meditating in the mountains. Both of them balancing with their legs crossed on a bamboo stick that was placed over a deep drop. The wind blew, causing the tails of Leo’s bandana and the braid on the Ancient One to sway in the breeze.

The Ancient One noticed a new presence amongst the mountains, before you ever came into view. He already knew you were the girl Leonardo had told him about, and a small smile spread on his lips. He rose from his seated position on the bamboo, before jumping back onto safe ground, causing Leonardo to look at him in slight confusion.

"Sometimes, destiny brings those we care about back into our lives", he remarked cryptically, stroking his thin beard.

“Sensei, what are you talking about?”

“You have a visitor, Kumquat”.

“What?!” Leo jumped from the bamboo and next to his master. He had a slight suspicion of who this visitor might be, but he didn’t dare to hope. Because that could be exactly just that - a hope.

You turned the corner of the rocks and came into view. Leo eyes widened in disbelief, unable to comprehend that you stood before him in the very place he sought solace and growth. The Ancient One started chuckling low enough for only him to hear. It was like watching history repeat itself. Leonardo and his brothers may not have been related to Hamato Yoshi in any way, but the Ancient One saw much of his adopted son in the mutant turtle.

"(Y/N)?" Leonardo's voice, a mixture of surprise and joy.

A smile tugged at your lips as you met his gaze. "Hey, Leo", you greeted, your voice carrying the weight of the emotions you had bottled up for so long.

Leonardo approached you, his eyes scanning your face as if to confirm that you were real. The Ancient One took this as his sign to leave, and started walking down the path you had just followed, continuing to chuckle to himself. He couldn’t wait to tell Splinter about this.

"What are you doing here?" Leo asked, his tone a blend of curiosity and concern.

"I couldn't stand being so far away from you," you admitted, your gaze unwavering. "I missed you, Leo. I’ve hated not being able to talk to you".

Leo sighed, a mix of guilt and gratitude etched on his features. "I didn't think anyone would follow me all the way here."

"Some journeys are worth taking," you replied, a soft determination in your eyes. "I had to see you, Leo. I couldn't let you go without telling you how much you mean to me. You’re my best friend and I wish to talk to you and help you".

Leonardo's gaze softened. He remembered all those times you had tried to talk about his thoughts and his struggles, and all those times he had shut you out. He still remembered the hurt on your face clearly, and the fear in your eyes after he had hurt Master Splinter. And yet, you still followed him all the way to Japan to talk to him. You never gave up on him, and you never turned your back to him. With that realization, Leonardo couldn’t help but think of the words of wisdom the Ancient One had spoken to him.

Leo gestured for you to follow him, and so you did, down the path until you came to the valley of cherry trees. The two of you sat down underneath them, the petals of cherry blossoms danced around you like whispers of fate.

Leo started picking at the grass under him, unsure on how to explain himself towards you. He decided to start with what he thought to be the most pressing matter. How much he had missed you too.

"I thought about you every day", he confessed, his eyes staying the grass in his hands. "Training here has been intense, and I've grown in ways I never imagined. But there was always something missing".

You reached out, gently placing your hand on his, making him look you in the eyes. "You weren't missing, Leo. You were just in a different part of my world".

Leo swallowed hard, his vulnerability surfacing. "I didn't realize how much I needed you until now. Not even back home. I’ve always cared for you, I really have, but I thought I could bury these feelings and focus on my training, but seeing you here..."

A tender smile played on your lips as you finished his sentence, "Changed everything?"

He nodded, a mixture of relief and uncertainty in his eyes.

"I feel the same way, Leo", you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper. "Being without you made me realize that my world is brighter with you in it. But, I kind of knew that already. I got really sad when Splinter told me you were leaving, but seeing you again makes me feel so much better".

The ground underneath the trees became a sacred space, where unspoken feelings intertwined with the essence of cherry blossoms. In that moment, Leonardo took a deep breath, the weight of unspoken words lifting from his shoulders.

"I love you, (Y/N)", he confessed, his gaze unwavering. “I always have, and I always will”.

Your heart skipped a beat, and you whispered back, "I love you too, Leo".

The kiss that followed felt natural. It had been long awaited, not just by you and Leo, but all the people around you. It was slow and passionate, just like the two of you had always thought it would be. It was how Leo had always dreamed of it, and in that moment he felt more calm than he ever had.

And so, in the heart of Japan, beneath the blooming cherry blossoms, two souls found each other again - a love rekindled amidst the tranquility of the cherry trees and the whispers of destiny.

—---------------------------------------------

Bonus: The next morning, the Ancient One wasn’t surprised when he didn’t find his newest pupil meditating or training in the dojo or in the garden. As Leonardo’s current caregiver, he decided to check up on Master Splinter’s son. He went to his room, and pushed the shoji slightly open. There you and Leo were, sleeping soundly on his futon, holding each other tight, just like the Ancient One had expected.

The Ancient One closed the shoji and left for the kitchen. It was about time Leo and their newest guest got some breakfast.

[capobegone]

What I think Kny Character’s Spiritual Realms would look like

Alright, we all remember the spiritual realms of Kyojuro and the Kamaboko crew:

I was thinking about these the other day, and it got me wondering: if Enmu somehow had a way to get into the mind of the other main figures of the Demon Slayer Corps…what would their spiritual realms look like??

And this is what I came up with!

Kagaya: just a giant, epic library. His spiritual core would be a Regina music box, if you’ve ever seen one of those. Like the core would be the disc itself. I have no explanation for this other than it would be sick as hell. The guardian would be his childhood self before he became Oyakata-sama, like in the lil kimono and everything. I think he’s the type to have some level of awareness over his own consciousness, so it would make sense to have a manifestation of himself.

Gyoumei: Mountain clearing with bigass, thunderous waterfalls. Kind of like where they did his Hashira Training! His spiritual core would be inside of a humble little temple. Protected by big stone statues.

Muichiro: Essentially a bit of a void. Very foggy and nearly impossible to navigate. However, I believe that his spiritual core would actually be nice, probably in a little pocket of peaceful forest among the fog. I think it would be a nice autumn forest, like his childhood home. Because his true self is essentially lost in his subconscious, I think that would be reflected in his spiritual core. Maybe a manifestation of himself as a child—or maybe of Yuichiro instead? Who’s to say?

Giyuu: I think his spiritual realm would be unexpectedly pleasant. A nice lake like the ones on Mt Sagiri, maybe in early spring. His spiritual core would be protected by Sabito. Not necessarily Sabito’s actual spirit, but a manifestation of him that Giyuu holds dear to his heart and soul.

Shinobu: Shinobu’s spiritual realm would probably be quite a sad place. I would imagine some rubble and calamity due to all of the anger she represses in there. However, there would also be beauty in the wreckage. Little butterflies, medicinal plants, etc. I could see her spiritual core as being quite strong, seeing as she is one of the best at holding herself together and hiding her true emotions out of all the Hashira.

Obanai: I think his spiritual core would be very gentle. Under all the layers of awful self loathing and “cursed blood”, he’s really just a boy who wants to be loved. I do think it would be pretty well guarded, though—my first instinct is big dark forest, although I’m not totally sure why. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s got a giant serpent in there to protect it. (Bonus: Kaburamaru’s spiritual realm is probably a peaceful little tree, like the one that he and bestie Obanai hang out in for Pillar meetings. I think he would like to drape himself over the branches if he could.)

Mitsuri: Cherry trees. Absolutely 100% cherry trees. Like, you know that scene in season 2 where Kagaya is talking to Tengen and his wives by the cherry tree with that pretty bridge? Yeah, just like that. I think Mitsuri’s would be similar to Tanjiro’s in that it doesn’t have anything guarding it. She has so much love to give to everyone, and is so willing to trust other people, that I really think her spiritual realm would be very joyous and open to visitors!

Tengen: Big time fireworks. Super flashy. Would probably give any intruder a seizure from all of the unbridled flamboyance, which serves as protection on its own. I’m getting nighttime city summer festival from him, but bumped up about ten notches.

Sanemi: His outer realm would be TERRIFYING. I feel like his feral ass would be like Zenitsu and manifest in his own subconscious to torment any intruders. My gut says mountain setting, terrible weather, being hunted by an enraged Wind Pillar. Yikes. At his very core, though, I think there would be a little pocket of light. This is where he stores all of his love for his brother and lost family, which he never allows to see the light of day.

Nezuko: I wonder if hers would be different because she’s a demon? Based off all of her interpretations of the world in relation to her lost family, I think that her spiritual core would be similar to her childhood home in the mountains. Perhaps her human consciousness would reside there, hidden away in the subconscious realm like Muichiro.

Anyway, that’s what I’ve got for now!! Let me know if I forgot any of your favs or if y’all have any ideas because I wanna hear them✨

[keiiex]

Tao x Fem. Reader !

Gokurakugai [ Sanbandori No Ken ]

Summary : The Troubleshooters are given a clue to where a Maga resides, an abandoned temple on the outskirts of the city. Through their conversation, Tao learns more about not only Yomi but herself.

“Are you sure there's supposed to be a Maga here? Grumbler probably just wants wanted to see you in a Hanfu. Oh— I’m gonna kill him this time.” Alma furrowed his brows, scrunching up his face while crossing his arms. They were walking through an abandoned temple, their footsteps echoing through the enclosed space as they walked away further from the light, and into the vacant entrance.

“I've heard rumors about this temple before. Apparently, some girl was seen dancing with a demon.” Alma’s eyes roamed the dark hallways, jogging up to a shrine where a thin line of incense burned. An offering of one peach alongside a bloodied katana. It lay down right below the ledge– where the peach stood as the red dripped onto the bare wooden floor. “It's fresh, they're here.” Tao’s voice echoed, taking one last drag from her cigarette before dropping the butt of the stick, burning out the weak flame.

A small whisper entered the room, a light melody humming on the tips of your lip. You study as the Maga and his fellow friend wandered into your home. A smirk wiped your lips before you whistle. The entrance door latch shut as the red-haired boy swung his head back to the sudden slam. Unlike the Maga, the woman kept her eyes up front. Her eyes tracked the small pitter-patter, as a shadowy fox rubbed down the side of her ankles.

“I presume you may be the Troubleshooters? I wasn't expecting visitors at this hour.” To the sound of your voice, the figured fox runs to you, jumping into your arms while you take a step into the light. “My name is Y/n and this is Jiaohu.” You watch as the two stare blankly at you, Alma’s mouth slightly a gap.

Your hands trail the mist of your voided fox, your fingertips running through an invisible force. Feeling impatience coming from your pet, you let him run straight to your katana. Licking off the blood of the sword, enjoying his fresh meal.

“If you're not here to kill me, what business do you have here?” Your question comes out more like a demand, your eyes scanning between the two curiously. Alma stepped forward, “We want you to join the Anti Calamity Organization.” With that, you only stare amusingly at the duo. “Were serious!” With the rise of Alma’s voice, you hear a grow come from Jiahou as she barked back at the young boy. His eyes widen, putting his hands on his hips before shouting back at the poor canine.

“Do you know a person by the name of Yomi?” Her question was straight and direct, not wasting any little time she has left till sunrise.

With the mere mention of his name, a wicked grin leveled on your lips. “Follow along.” You step aside from the doorway, Tao walking through as you slide it behind you. The shouts and barking become a mumble behind closed doors as you're left with the tall woman, alone. The area held a large open doorway, one that let the moonlight shine through. A low table stood inside the middle of the room, a simple pack of cigarettes left at the center of the table.

You kneel properly as Tao takes a seat across from you. She sits up with one knee propped against her chest, her arm resting carelessly on top. You take out a stick, offering one to the woman as she accepts. You light her flame first before lighting yours. These weren’t just any regular packs. These were infused with cherry blossoms as well as peach skin, a customary pack, and guessing from the expression from Tao, she enjoyed it.

“I know about the two of you.” You take the cigarettes to your lips, breathing through the stick. Your eyes flutter closed before releasing your breathe. “He wants Alma.” Your eyes stared back at her unchanged blue ones but you knew the truth, she was conflicted. “Why would he want Alma so bad, he's got other Maga’s.” She questioned. You only shrug your head, letting the white smoke trail out your tongue. “Seize power and control, round up the ones that are born to last.”

The night sky was dark but the moonlight illuminated the area surrounding us, an eerie yet serene moment. You watch as she takes a drag, tilting her head back to let the smoke escape. “I can't ever catch a break with that little shit.” The manner in which she uttered came out dragged, her voice raspy and quiet. Despite her tough and rough demeanor, she was outspoken.

“Yomi finds his victims when they're at their lowest.” You pick up, Tao’s gaze never leaving her painted fingernails but her focus was directed towards you. “Whether that be mental or through insanity. An easily influenced mind. He feeds them with his own bare hands, becoming reliable, becoming their supply.” You continued, leaning towards the woman as her eyes finally land on you. “Yomi knows Alma’s weakness. He’ll know how to use it in his favor.”

You take a huff of your cigarette, blowing the smoke to her face as she takes a deep breath into the fog. She shakes her head slightly, a ghost of a grin lining up her face. “You're not fond of him, are you?” Tao questioned, eyes gazing back to yours as she waits for your response. You chuckle to the sound of her question, relaxing back into a straight posture. “We had some history.” You kept your response short, not finding a need to give this woman who you just met— all the answers to her questions.

Very few moments did Tao find herself intrigued with another being. Her blasé personality overwhelmed her need for lingering curiosity.

“I don't see why you'll refuse our offer then.” This time, she spoke smugly. Shamelessly gazing into your eyes, her attention concentrated on you. She takes out one last puff from her cigar, putting out the blunt by the tabletop. She was confident that she would get what she came here for. “Working for an organization that serves justice... I don't exactly have a pristine record.” You raise your eyebrows toward the woman, burning out your flame. “What do I gain?”

The two women stared defiantly at one another. Tao, taping the warm ash that was left behind from where she had put out her cigarette. “Your revenge.”

A chuckle past your lips, your back relaxing as you center your pack of cigars back to the center of the table. “You're quite the observant one, aren't you?” Trailing your voice to the sound of your stuffing, both Tao and you made your way back to the doorway.

“In honor of my sister, Kanata.”

Past the sliding doors, Jiaohu above Alma. The two continue to argue, the shadowy fox biting onto the boy's collar as he tries to fight the entity off. Then once quiet and empty temple filled with something more... welcoming.

You tilt your head toward the talker woman, her eyes growing playful as the two wrestled in front of her. “A picture might last longer.” Tao catches your gaze, her eyes never leaving the boy and the fox. Even if she didn't hold much enthusiasm in her tone, the comment came out as a tease.

“I'll suffice.”

[dunmanticarchivistsmain]

@liauditore Liau I blame you for this my hand slipped and I lost consciousness and when I woke up I have these hamfisted words to bludgeon you with (ilu and your galaxyduo brain)

"Go on get you all out of here!" Pearl exclaimed, politely but insistently shoving people towards the exit. With a lot of mumbling and bumbling, and plenty of stumbling, Mumbo, Bdubs and Pearl managed to usher out the entire mess of people who have gathered for a sleepover at Pearl's. There was to be no sleeping over, since the day had consumed all of them with the sillies and Pearl had a task to complete tomorrow. So much to unpack from the day's activities; she felt completely drained but her heart was full… of something.

The distant slam of Bdubs' awkward trapdoors seemed to provoke a soft bork from Mailbox, interrupting Pearl's relaxing chore of tidying up after the visitors. She had to give him his nightly cuddles, stuffing him full of nonsensical coos and affection to last the lonely night on watch outside.

But it seems someone else was giving Mailbox a fair bit of attention already.

"Hi Scott, still here?"

Scott did not look up from his giving of scritches to Mailbox, who was quite content to sit at attention, looking curiously at this last overstaying visitor.

“I like your new home” he said at last.

Pearl turned around, taking in her measly mound. It was a very well shaped, perfectly-spherical-thank-you-very-much, mound of dirt. Half sunk into the ground with a cherry door. Mumbo seems really proud of her for it.

It wasn't much of a house at all really, by Pearl's critical builder eye. Not safe, whispered the ghost of a girl who built a tower in the sky.

And yet in this mound, in this home dug from the ground, Pearl's ears still rang with the echos of laughter, her eyes had run rivers of mirth, and her heart was full of something.

"It's al'right, I'm working on it" The lilt of her voice seemed to catch, in a throat once hoarse from unuse.

"Lookin' forward to what you'd build here Pearl, I'm sure it'll be something."

"Quite something indeed."

The silence seemed to stretch, like the gulf between the moon and stars, where the void sparkled with an infinite something.

And then, with a quirk of her lips and a tilt of her head, Pearl said "Go on home Scott its getting dark and late", indicating the silhoulette of the cherry canopy in the distance where Gem and the Scotts have made their base; the cherry wood staircases and the homey cottages drenched in the light of the moon's face.

Scott brightened as the tension snapped, straightened and with a laugh off he set,

"It’ll be alright, the moon is full tonight."

[kayssweetdreams]

Maestro Hiccups 3: Chaos Incarnate Ch 13

You pushed the idea of making the cure out of your head. Even if you had Emma, you still had ZERO idea on how this world worked, especially under siege from crazy reality warping hiccups. Finding the others was your best chance of stopping this madness from spreading to much.

"Alright. Let's go and find the others." You say. Emma nods "OK! Yuri? Is there any way back to the theater?" She asks. The purple haired girl nods as she gestures for you to get back on the motorcycle "I'll do you one better, I'll get you back there myself!" She says. You get worried as you and Emma jump back on. "Wait, what about Wormsworth? She can't fit on here." You say. Wormsworth give you a cheeky smile before shrinking down to the size of a small spider, and hopping onto Yuri's shoulder.

"Hold on!" She yells over the revving of her bike, before racing through the city streets once more. The Wind races past you as you see the city and forest becoming smaller and smaller. "So...where is this exit?" You ask. Yuri only smiled as she kept going farther and farther away. "Uh...Yuri?" You ask. Your eyes widened as you saw an enormous gorge in front of you, with a endless void underneath. "YURI?!" You shout out.

"Here we go!" She yells as the three of you ride up a makeshift ramp, and shot across the gorge. You and Emma scream at the top of your lungs, before a blinding light flashed before the three of you crashed into...a giant banana split. Your head pops out of the strawberry ice cream section as you see where the others had landed. Yuri found herself sticking out of the chocolate, while Emma was wading through the Whipped cream. The motorcycle abover now had become a makeshift cherry while Wormsworth was enjoying herself in the vanilla ice cream.

You question where this could have POSSIBLY come from, when you feel another rumble, and hear the sound of "HIC!" And the answer makes itself known when a dump truck filled with teddy bears dumps itself onto the sundae like makeshift sprinkles. "OK...Are we back in the theater?" You ask. Yuri gave a muffled answer as Emma slid over to you "Yep. I would say so." She said. "BALAN!! WHERE ARE YOU?!" You shout.

"I'm over here. No need to yell, but I'm afraid things aren't going well." A deep voice replied. "Hey Balan. Is there any way for us to find the others? They vanished when you hiccuped." Yuri asked. "I am aware those missing from your aid, but some of the visitors aren't here I'm afraid. But there is a way to avoid their fate. But we'll have to act fast, or it'll be to late." Balan said. "OK! What do we need to do?" You ask.

Balan pulls out a odd looking contraption from his clothes. He presses a few odd buttons, and it makes a odd clicking sound before a large star field was shown "A dear friend once gave this to me, It is a map of the Multiverse you see. Each of those lights show a different dimension, but not even that is safe from the hiccups tension." He says, showing some world's that have already been caught in the crossfire of his hiccups. "Those glowing dots are the missing crew. But if you use the map, you'll know what to do." He said.

You see several different worlds, but notice 7 glowing dots. Each one a different color for a different human. You inwardly get nervous. Wonderworld under the hiccups effects was ONE thing. But other worlds that have been altered like crazy is another thing.

Mei belongs to @sundove88

Rebecca belongs to @thehypercutstudios/@thehyperrequiem

Trisha Jane belongs to @lovelyteng

Aria belongs to @shadowqueen402

Debbie belongs to @mayordebbie

[acupofqueercoffee]

“Touch me with a kiss, feel me on your lips”

Donna Beneviento x White Fox Reader

cw : fluff // donna’s protective as well as needy little fox // a hint of a smut // not explicit but explicitly suggestive // loving sisters donna x alcina

ao3 — https://archiveofourown.org/works/42211659/chapters/108292656

so, i was inspired

Despite the frosty coldness of the winter morning, Donna could feel nothing but heavenly warmth. Around her body in a tangled poetic mess were long lithe limbs, an exquisitely sweet body nestled against her side.

Like a moth to a flame, her fingers found themselves gravitating towards the crown of your head, swimming amongst your silky smooth strands. Charcoal black nails, a sharp contrast to a forest of snow white mane.

As she relished the feeling akin to sinking one’s fingers into soft satin, there bloomed a heart-heaving, butterfly-inducing sensation of moist, delicate lips teasing the tender skin of her under jaw. The hummingbird flutter of her pulse immediately escalated to full throttle throbs once you emitted a soft sleepy hum against her skin.

It had been some time since the woodland predicament in which she had found herself, and subsequently the lovely discovery that had come as a shockingly sweet surprise.

“Donna.”

Your utterance of her name had been nothing short of ambrosia to her ears.

“Neve?”

She had asked, and you had nuzzled your cheek against what little portion of skin that was peeking out from under her veil. If your uncanny resemblance to House Beneviento’s much anticipated visitor had not been proof enough, then your actions had. You were indeed her darling little Neve. Snow, it meant in Italian. A name befitting you who had fur the colour of pure unsullied white.

She did not mind that at that moment in time, you were sullied crimson, bathed in blood. In fact, she could pay no mind to it whatsoever, for no sooner had she swayed a wee bit on her feet than she was instantly swept off her feet, both literally and metaphorically, into steady arms. You did it so effortlessly, so unexpectedly that she could not contain the surprised little squeak that went flying past her lips, or the arms that wounded themselves around your delicate neck.

Underneath the dark veil hid cherry dusted cheeks as the doll-maker was held close to your bare frame. It was delightfully reminiscent of the way Donna had carried you in your fox form. But a tiny little thing then, had now transformed into a charming woman. One thing that had not changed was your majestic beauty.

It was now clear as day that despite your adorably dainty fox form, you were magnificently strong if the way you had carried her without so much as a struggle, or the apparent display of your breathtaking biceps were anything to go by. Donna would not have guessed otherwise that hidden beneath your fluffy coat were muscles that had come with years of foraging in the forest.

You were unequivocally pretty, but there, too, lay a hint of handsomeness in you that made you all the more otherworldly.

Donna’s bed had become your bed ever since your arrival at the Beneviento estate, and it remained so even when the new revelation came to light. The only difference was that replacing the wet little nose buried in the nook of her neck every night were heavenly warm lips nuzzling her pulse point.

Donna did not mind you always getting all cosy up against her. With you, displays of affection came easily, naturally to her. More often than not, she would find herself initiating bodily contacts as she had when you were a fox, a scratch on your sweet head, fingers combing through soft healthy hair, and fox or human, you revelled in her affections all the same.

You still said few even as a human, and Donna, not being one for words, appreciated it. Be that as it may, her usual anxiousness around people was void around you. You made Donna anything but perturbed. With you, she felt at home.

Friendly faced and sweet souled though you were, what had transpired in the woods had left you tremendously protective of Donna. If Donna disappeared from your line of sight, you would seek her instantly, head curiously tilting a touch as those miraculously mismatched eyes follow her every movement.

A sweet little puppy, that was how you behaved with Donna, but around people whom you assumed a threat to her, you became a frighteningly daunting fox.

One fine morning, the doll-maker had brought you along to Castle Dimitrescu, when she journeyed there to indulge in tea-time conversations with her sister. Her nieces had boisterously approached her to greet her as they usually did, but you had intervened, standing protectively in front of her as you bared your teeth in a menacing snarl. A low growl rumbled in your throat. However, with Donna’s gentle hand atop your head, the tension in your body instantly ebbed away.

Later that same day, a maid from Castle Dimitrescu whom, Donna noticed, had been looking at you with lovesick puppy eyes since their arrival, purposefully as if on accident had spilled hot tea onto her. In a wink of an eye, following a flurry of snowy hair whipping past Donna, the culprit was shoved to the floor as you pounced on the girl.

There subsequently reverberated an agonised scream in the room, and Donna supposed if it was not for her own pained little gasp reaching your ears, there would have been nothing stopping you from tearing the poor thing to shreds, except that, you were on her side as swiftly as you had disappeared, fretting over her. Eyes, emerald and sapphire pools, ridden with staggering concern.

She dropped a gentle pat atop your head, managed a convincing smile. “I’m okay, Neve.”

That seemed to placate you, albeit only marginally. Arms locking around the doll-maker’s waist, you had buried your face in her laps, extremely cautious in your actions as if you could cause her any harm. If anything, Donna could not help the belly butterflies that appeared to have gone downright feral at your lovely little gesture.

Needless to say, your unhinged reaction to the maid had not only predictably awed her sister, the matriarch of the castle, but also earned the respect of her three untamed daughters. Although Donna had not gained any serious injuries, the instigator of what little wound she had sustained on the other hand, had not been as lucky, being immediately dragged into the dark labyrinths of the castle by her nieces at her sister’s command.

At the same time, you garnering the favour and awe of the three girls translated into recurring visits to Castle Dimitrescu for the weekly rendezvouses of you, her nieces and Angie. It warmed the doll-maker’s heart that her beloved fox fitted perfectly into her little world of horrors and eccentricities.

It was then that her fond reminiscence was interrupted. Shifting in the doll-maker’s arms, cerulean blue and juniper green eyes hazy with the remnants of sleep had gazed lovingly into her own, a sunshine smile on your lovely lips injecting warmth into her body.

“Well, hello there, my sweet Neve.” She husked, her own voice deep, and you hummed happily, “Hmm…Donna.” , as soon as her thumb found the apple of your cheek, applying soft, delicate caresses.

For breakfast, Donna made her darling little fox’s favourite, piping hot peach tart fresh out of the oven, and using those sweet presents you had brought her coupled with a vintage gifted to her by her sister, a decadent pot of berries poached in red wine.

The intricacies of the preparation were nothing compared to the unadulterated childish glee on your angelic face, that she got to witness as you tucked into her baked goods with gusto.

However, you were behaving rather oddly today. It was so unlike you not to finish the whole pie, not to mention a mere slice of it, by yourself. You had had only a bite or two of the pie, and merely a spoonful of the berries before you left them altogether, in order to find yourself at Donna’s feet, head in her laps.

How strange.

“Is my cara Neve full already?”

“No.” Coming out of your hiding spot, you had sought the doll-maker’s face. “Hungry. Donna.”

“Don’t worry about me. It’s all for you.” Her fingers slipped into your lily white strands, gingerly tucking them behind your ear. “Angie can have pancakes when she wakes up.”

“Not food.” To her absolute bewilderment, following an adamant shake of your head, there appeared a frustrated little furrow between your eyebrows. “Hungry…for Donna.” If only for a fleeting moment, it had surprised her when you frantically climbed into her laps after divulging your desire, but she held you all too willingly once the meaning behind your words sank in, caging your delicate waist in her dexterous digits.

“Very hungry. It hurts.” When you repeated, there was desperation in your voice. Your eyes, oh those strangely peculiarly addictive eyes, were dewy with want, promise of oncoming tears shimmering in the first rays of sunlight streaming through the window.

“Donna…hurts.” Straddling her thighs, your forehead fell against hers, lips a whisker away, and Donna was compelled to capture them in her own, “Shhhh…it’s okay, Neve.” , cooing against kiss-swollen lips. “It’s okay. Donna’s got you.”

With the delicious distraction mounted on her thighs, it was a miracle that she could vaguely recall the informations concerning foxes that she had researched following your arrival into her life.

If your odd behaviour along with the searing moistness she could feel seeping through her garment were any indications, then, it was unmistakably that time of the year for foxes, with this wildly excited little fox in her lap being no exception.

Whining sweetly and gyrating your hips desperately, you sought her mouth once more, savouring her for all the doll-maker was worth.

You tasted as heavenly as you looked, Donna decided, and drunk on your taste, with her long frayed restraint snapped, she had greedily devoured her scrumptious little fox to her heart’s content.

Needless to say, it was no surprise that she could not take you to Castle Dimitrescu for your weekly rendezvous.

By the time next week arrived and they finally paid a visit to the Castle, seeing the miscellany of maroon and indigo blooms on your neck and chest, that had been left exposed by the sundress Donna had tailored for you, Alcina had remarked mischievously.

“My my little sister, I didn’t peg you for a ravenous lover.”

Smiling a meek yet proud smile, Donna’s fingers had surreptitiously sneaked onto the spot on her neck where beneath the dark fabric lay a beautiful blossom of dark crimson, indicating that she, too, was irrevocably yours as you were hers.

[jungwooisms]

heat lightning | l.taeyong

pairing: lee taeyong x female!reader | lee mark x female!reader genre: short story, angst, fluff warnings: n/a word count:  1.2k (teaser) summary: it’s been nearly a year since you’d left lee taeyong as a memory only belonging in your adolescence. only a year since you’d decided to move on. but now that he’s back you find yourself more conflicted than ever.

The once blue of the midday sky has slowly seeped into an ombré hue of orange, gold, and red. Your bed is warm as you lay under a multitude of blankets, your head forgoing resting on your pillow as your arm is already acting in its place as you look out of your window. You’re too far up in your apartment complex to see the street below, but you can hear every odd car pass as you stare into the windows of some business across the street. It’s Saturday, there probably isn’t a soul in the building unless it’s some janitorial staff meant to clean up the mess of the white-collared workers.

When your phone buzzes at 5:07 PM, an alarm sounding eerily familiar to the opening notes of Brittany Spear’s ‘Toxic’ begins to play through the stagnant air, you push yourself from your bed and click open your phone only to be met with a few notifications. Most of them are good luck messages, saying that they’d see you later on that night, others for a few emails you’d received while sulking and a text from your landlord saying that rent is due next week. Your sigh doesn’t leave your lips, just a heaving amount of air through your nose as you shake your head and switch your phone back to locked. With the reflection of your fingers on the now darkened screen, you can see now that you hadn’t scrubbed all of the paint from your fingertips, some of the blue even embedded under your nails.

The gallery is just downstairs, a handful of flights into the basement to the white-walled, pale wooden floors of the space that denotes itself as ‘The Distillery.’ When you’d first moved in you’d been confused, the building had described itself as a gallery/apartment combo. An old whiskey distillery left room abundant for both places of artistry and homemaking. Every other floor is set up as a studio, the others being the living spaces for apartment dwellers. It is a weird requirement for a building– there’s no question there– but making art for their gallery had cut the cost of rent exponentially. 

You’d only completed a few pieces of work for the collective exhibition, some are just paintings you hadn’t had the heart to sell for some time, others feel haphazardly done, but you’d just taken a hefty chunk out of your savings to send to a family member in need and now need any cash you can get your hands on. 

Mark sits at the front desk as you pass through the sliding barnyard style door and into the gallery, he waves you over and you saddle up to him after you brush a flyaway strand of hair away from your face. He’d offered himself as a volunteer to man the station while both patrons and artists roam the space.

“This might be some of your best yet,” he muses as he looks at the various paintings around the small space.

A short laugh escapes you as you lean against the desk and follow his gaze to one of your larger pieces, a blue void of color that stands out prominently from your other highly saturated works, “Maybe.”

“The doors open in five,” A shuffle and you turn to see him stacking a small pile of brochures that will introduce some of the visitors to the pieces, “why don’t you go grab a drink and I’ll man the helm for a little bit?” 

And you do, a small bar serving the most basics of cocktails and wines situates itself near the entrance. You grab a glass of an amber-colored liquid, the contents swimming around a swath of ice and decorated by a slice of orange and two maraschino cherries. It’s sweet to the taste, almost too sweet as you furrow your brow at it. 

“There she is,” a tap on your shoulder to stir you from your thoughts. Turning, you’re met with the smiling visage of Suh Johnny. 

“Johnny! I didn’t think you’d make it,” eyebrows raised in surprise, you offer him a one-armed hug so as to not get any condensation from your glass on him. 

“Well, I have an hour before I get to work, figured I should stop by to see my favorite almost sister-in-law.” Smiling still present, he takes a quick look around at the various paintings hanging on the white walls, “This is a little different from your other works, isn’t it?”

“I think I put a little more emotion into it, yeah.” You nod, taking a sip from your drink. 

“You’ll have to show me some of them in-depth later,” wrist held up to check the silver timepiece adorning it. “That is, assuming you don’t sell them all,” he offers a sly wink, knowing full well how much of a miracle that would be. 

“I’m sure I’ll still have the whole gallery to show you,” a roll of your eyes. Maybe it is self-depreciative, but it was a bit of a tough market. “How’s work?”

“Ah,” he huffs, a large plume of air escaping his lungs. “It’s work. I’m planning on scouting out a few locations on the east coast in a couple of weeks, I don’t suppose you or Mark would be able to join me?”

“Not with the deadlines the firm’s giving me. I had to work so much overtime this last month I think it’s practically a second job within the job at this point,” you shake your head and bring your glass to your lips. “Where are you headed?”

“Damn, guess it’ll just be Taeyong and me, then.” You’re surprised by the mention of his friend, but you don’t say anything as he continues. “Florida all the way back up to New York, I’ve got a few locations mapped out.”

You nod and then speak, “Are you about to head out?” Noticing the way he shifts on his feet, you poise the question. 

“Yeah, I think I should,” another nod, more solemn this time, “I’ve got a Zoom call with the director in an hour, I can’t imagine what he’d do if I were late.”

A faux shudder, you’re joking but Johnny had regaled you with the horror stories of his own work hell, so much so that you’d felt yourself in his shoes at times. As much as a goofball as he can be, the man’s one hell of a storyteller.  

“Lunch tomorrow?” He asks as he begins to make his way towards the exit, “You’re boyfriend’s invited too,” a snide smirk on his lips as he glances to Mark.

“He’s not my–” you sigh, shaking your head, not wanting to go down this road again. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you then,” he chuckles, “good luck with the gallery!”

 It’s when he leaves that a sour bitterness engulfs you, the same that had done so when you’d woken from your nap earlier that day. The taste of it all lingers behind the cocktail on your tongue, bile inching its way up to your throat as you try to calm yourself from the ache of a name.

So, you peruse the works, noting the faces who amble in, around the space, and then out. You stand in front of your largest piece, the blue that had captivated your eye when you’d first walked in, when your phone buzzes. 

‘Hey,

Long time, no talk, huh? I’m going to be in New York soon for work. I told you I’d message you if I were ever in town and thought maybe we could grab dinner or something? I’ll let you know the dates if you’re interested because I’m not even sure when I’ll be there exactly.

Anyway, I hope you’re doing well.

Taeyong’

[abyssmal-skies]

🐇 — what kind of pet do you think you could raise together with them? 💍— what is their view on marriage?

with ayaka!! XD

OOOHHH I AM ALWAYS DOWN TO TALK ABOUT THE WIFEY!

🐇 — what kind of pet do you think you could raise together with them?

Oooh well me and ayaka alr have a 'pet' it's my snake, Azael, and she was scared of her at first but she warmed up quite quickly, always setting out a pillow for her to lay in and bask in the sunlight.

💍— what is their view on marriage?

She's my fiance! (*^▽^)/★*☆♪

So yes, we are going to get married at some point, but we're waiting for the right time. Both Wrio and Ayato agree to our marriage, and we're still deciding things

[cheese-ception]

Icy Shell

Darlings,  kindly forgive the initial angst - I promise the fluff that follows in the second half makes up for it tenfold.

Beta-tested on my dear @masamune-archive​ Tagging @tsubaki3192​ and @spanish-aguacate​, because I can and because it’s Levi time, you two, woo! Please, enjoy ♡ pairing: Leviathan (Obey Me!) x reader warnings: angst (to fluff) word count: 2004

Nothing seemed to make sense anymore and it wasn't fair. Leviathan's trembling fingers ran through his hair, still damp from the the shower he took earlier, purple strands glistening with stray droplets of water. Hours have passed him by as he struggled to pull himself together, pacing through his room anxiously, an agonized scowl twisting his features.

His eyes were glossed over, dark circles underneath them matching the shadows in his mind. He cursed profusely, tripping over one of the countless boxes littering the floor. Tears streamed down his cheeks, their wet trails almost painful in their descent, stinging his skin with merciless salt. He did not even bother to wipe them away, the last fragments of his focus set on a completely different kind of torment.

He picked up one of the boxes, tracing its edges with his chilled fingers, only to put it away again, carefully but without any real care at the same time.

The world was utterly joyless, a mere replica of what it used to be before the two of them met.

Before she filled his heart with all these strange feelings, causing him to become apathetic to the very things that used to keep him going.

Now none of them really mattered, regardless of how hard he tried.

Each time he ordered new merch, he lost interest before it even arrived.

Whatever game he played failed to entertain him.

Any show would have been better if she was there to watch it with him, leaving him feeling even more lonely and miserable.

He used to look forward to escaping social gatherings, to being alone in his room, able to enjoy the peace and quiet, far from the noise and the judgemental stares of all the normies he was forced to keep in touch with.

But not anymore.

Nothing made sense and it was all her fault.

Or was it, really? How many times had she asked to hang out together? How many times had she smiled at him, eyes sparkling with excitement, lips shiny with her cherry chapstick, upturned in the most endearing of smiles?

A smile that made him feel like his heart would cease beating if he didn't stop looking, so dazzling and brilliant that it made my shy away almost instantly.

He struggled hard not to give that feeling a name, afraid that if he did, the spell would break and she would finally realise he didn't deserve any of it, that she was better off sharing it with someone else, someone more worthy. He slid to the floor, hugging his knees tight to his chest, the war within him so intense that it easily put the whole celestial debacle to shame. Or at least that's certainly how it felt while his nails pierced his skin, setting themselves deep into the flesh of his forearms, crimson staining his white sleeves.

Days turned into weeks and he refused to leave his room, opening the door only when Asmodeus brought him food.

Sometimes not even then, leaving it grow cold at the doorstep, letting hunger gnaw at his insides in a desperate attempt to distract him from the void food couldn't fill.

It was better this way.

If he stayed away long enough, these feelings would eventually disappear. Surely he wouldn't suffer forever and she probably didn't even notice.

He was a nobody after all.

Nobody to be missed. He curled into himself in his tub, cradling a pillow to his chest and closed his eyes, ready to let the world disappear behind his weary eyelids and drift away to another restless sleep.

But even that wasn't meant to be as a soft knock sounded against the door, disturbing his attempt at disconnecting from reality.

“Go away, Asmo, I am not hungry!” he snarled, tossing around in a fruitless attempt at getting comfortable again.

He was met with silence, interrupted only by the soft click of the lock as the door opened slowly. Light spilling inside in harsh rays, Leviathan groaned, diving underneath the blanket where he sat still, pulling it over his head like a make-shift hoodie.

The floor creaked and he blinked fast, desperately trying to adjust his sight to the unwelcome luminosity but then the door closed again, shrouding everything in blissful darkness.

He sighed, relief spreading through him until he realised that his visitor didn't actually leave. Either that, or his nightmares came true and he was finally going crazy.

After all, he couldn't very well distinguish dreams from reality at this point and maybe he was just dreaming.

Why else would she be in there after all? “Levi?” a voice rang and his throat tightened, emotions flooding into him, threatening to suffocate him on the very spot.

He peered from underneath his blanket, trying to establish if it was really happening, not trusting his own voice enough to reply just yet.

“Are you okay?” Another sentence cut through the air, straight into his heart as he finally realised she was really there.

Her tone was filled with worry and he forced out a quiet hum, unsure just how to verbalize a proper response. “You have been away for a while, so I came here to check on you. I hope you do not mind too much. I know you probably did not want to see me, but I had to make sure you were alright,” she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper, trailing off into an awkward silence. He didn't know what to say. There was so much he wished he had the courage to tell her but words failed to form and he opened his mouth to speak several times, only to close it again right after.

He felt something warm touch his arm and he shivered, torn between flinching away and remaining as he was, letting the warmth seep into his gelid body, devoid of any of his own heat within. It was like being kissed by the sun after a long winter and he decided to stay still, letting some of the frost that settled on him dissolve, even if only for a moment.

Daring to look up, he searched her face, pale in the dim light of Henry's fish tank, wearing an expression so sincere it made his grip on the blanket tighten, moved by the intensity of the moment as the realisation hit him.

She really cared. For him, out of all the beings in the three realms combined.

She chose to seek him when he wanted to make it easy on her.

When he wanted to make her life better by removing himself from it.

“You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, but would it be okay if I hugged you?” she inquired, leaving him stunned for a few moments before he nodded, apprehension pulling at the last string that held him together. He thought he would fall apart right there in front of her, the frantic beating of his heart causing his blood to race, further melting his icy shell as he leaned forward tentatively.

For a fleeting moment he saw her smile, the very smile that shattered his heart and now pieced it back together, the sight of it making it soar like a phoenix born anew.

He held his breath, terrified that he misheard or that she was only teasing, ever so difficult to be convinced that anything pleasant could actually ever take place with him as a part of the equation. Doubt tugged at his mind, dismay threatening to settle in while he steeled himself, arms unfolded and raised in front of him somewhat awkwardly, waiting for her next move.

Suddenly her slender frame collided with his and it was as if he ascended back to heaven. Her scent enveloped him in its fruity sweetness, her chest pressed against his, delicate arms winding around him, patting his back affectionately.

It was entirely too much, yet somehow not enough and he choked back a whimper, sinking his teeth into his lower lip to silence himself instead.

Levi whined at the loss of the sensation when she eventually drew away, much too soon for his liking, even though he wouldn't openly admit it.

She took both of his hands in hers, giving them a little squeeze and he realised they were no longer cold at all. He closed his eyes, happiness spreading through him like a wildfire, the sparks of his love burning so bright and vivid that he nearly couldn't take it.

“I really missed you,” she chimed, loosening her grip on his hands, giving him space to retreat if he chose to do so.

“I am not quite sure what happened, but suddenly you were gone and it was like a part of me was missing too. Sorry if it sounds weird, but it's just not the same without you around, you know?”

“You really mean that?” he rasped, voice strained and hoarse, a mix of hope and insecurity filling it with equal share.

“Of course, why would I say it if I didn't mean it, silly?” she retorted, flashing him yet another smile and his last icy wall melted away.

Pulling her back to him, he let go of the previous hesitation, eager to feel more of what he spend so long denying himself, flustered and overstimulated but more content than he has ever been.

His trust was not easy to earn, but he decided to believe her and silence the nagging voices in his head for once. For her. And perhaps for himself too.

Her fingers combed through his hair, untangling the unruly tresses while her nails drew intricate patterns over his scalp, soothing yet enticing at the same time. He let out a sigh, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck and she pulled him even closer, until he could feel her heartbeat mirroring his own in their silent race without a winner, invigorating beyond description. He felt more alive than ever before, her name dying on his lips while he carefully stroked her back in turn. He wished he could take back all the time he had wasted, thinking himself a fool for avoiding her when it was so strikingly obvious that what he really craved was the exact opposite of that.

Every second spent with her was sacred and he realised it now.

He didn't have to hide. Not anymore.

She brushed his fringe away, kissing his exposed forehead, gentle fingers attempting to tuck the silky strands away, failing tremendously. His hair cascaded back into its place, stubborn, just like himself. Levi chuckled and she kissed him again, this time on top of the messy purple layers, rewarded by a soft gasp.

“Do you still remember when you once asked me what my greatest fear was and I wasn't sure what to reply?” she inquired, snapping him out of the momentary daze.

He nodded, patiently waiting for her to continue.

Her hand slid to his cheek, gently stroking his flustered face as she took a deep breath before carrying on.

“I did not yet know then, but what really scares me is the thought of living in a world untouched by your presence, Levi. Please don't disappear on me like that again.” He met her gaze, reluctant and skittish at first, but soon grinning so hard the tips of his usually hidden fangs were on full display. He was grateful, for her but also for the fact that he somehow managed to retain his human form. He was certain that if his tail had manifested, there would be nothing he could do to prevent it from wagging. His cheeks burned even brighter than before, eyes flickering with newly found zeal. He continued smiling, extending a pinky to her with poorly concealed enthusiasm, focusing hard on pushing back the scales that begged to sprout across the sides of his hand while he held it out in her direction. “I won’t, I promise!” ________ Masterlist

[bindi-the-skunk]

Son Of Frankenstein chapter 4: Monster In Law

Cold... Why was he cold... Everything hurt...he wanted it to go away...it hurts...it hurts... voices...like he was underwater... "Get...octor...nyon!" "e's bleeding!" tay...ith...us...

He disappeared into the void once more

"You should have taken him to the hospital instead of calling me!" Robert Lanyon scolded, to get the news his lover had been run over like a stray dog by a carriage was bad enough! But to learn he was being called so that HE could try and sew the other doctor back together was the cherry on top of the cake!

"The hospital might not have accepted him if we told them the full story! Or put him in...the other hospital because of his...behavior" Miss Flowers mumbled as she looked at the bed where her boss lay.

Jekyll's head and some of his face were bandaged, thankfully his cranium had taken the least amount of damage, only getting some abrasions from where it had scraped across the stone street, but the scrapes were not pleasant to look at by any means and his bloody nose had fortunately not signaled it had been broken by the door.

Both his legs had been broken, the chemists left leg had been busted further up and his right ankle had been bent at an odd angle, being what gave Robert the most trouble with putting it to rights and his wrist had been in direct contact with the carriage wheel, thankfully no fingers had been crushed, but both hands had been badly bruised, his ribs did not seem to have taken any damage, but that did not leave out the possibility of hairline fractures, and Robert was not about to let the lodgers use him as a lab rat to try and see.

"Forget whatever behavior he displayed! He got RAN OVER by a bloody CARRIAGE!" Roberts's face had turned an unhealthy shade of reddish-purple in his rage, he was normally good at controlling his emotions, having been born and bred in the high class, but this time, this was the straw that broke the camels back! The lodgers were extremely lucky Henry did not die well they wasted time on dragging him back inside like a potato sack, which could have hurt him more, mind you! Then calling Lanyon instead of a medical carriage to take care of the wounds!

"Well, he did have a bit of a ..shock," Lavender said as she gently fixed the pillows, which had been haphazardly piled around the wounded doctor in an attempt to cushion his broken bones and no doubt sore body.

"A shock? What kind of shock?" Robert asked, he had gotten very little detail of what exactly caused his lover to run into the streets in a blind panic, perhaps now that would end.

"He found out he is my son and had an...overreaction" came Frankenstein's voice as she entered the room, walked over to be next to Lavender, and also started to fuss with the bedding.

"Y-your son!?" Robert exclaimed, having to bite back a flair of disgust, she looked nothing like him and behaved more like how he thought the mum of Edward Hyde would act! Henry had told him all about THIS woman! Sour, rude, and was perfectly willing to poison herself with unknown chemicals to prove the man trying to save her life wrong, and if her word was true, the biological mother of the man he loved, how LOVELY...not.

Then again, Victoria Frankenstein was his childhood idol, but after her rude behavior, after putting her on a pedestal for so long...of course, he would react badly to learning he was related to her, breaking apart whatever fantasy he conjured up over the years to comfort himself on why he was left behind.

Though Robert did have to admit, them being related explained a lot, neither seemed to handle emotions very well and were willing to die for their craft, and were stubborn as mules, though he was not about to go to a play with Victoria Frankenstein any time soon! He would rather drink something out of Henry's lab!

Robert put a very strained smile on his face and straightened his waistcoat, time to properly meet his future mother-in-law...and try not to strangle her with her own hair "Would the both of you kindly stop poking at him? He needs the rest desperately, and you will just end up disturbing him"

"Both Miss Lavender and I are not poking!" Frankenstein huffed but backed off to examine the conscious doctor, looking him up and down like one might a paticuarly filthy animal "I'm guessing you're the one who turned him into a society pleasing bunny rabbit?"

"Better than what she called him before..." someone mumbled in the crowd, sounded like Griffin.

"I am Robert Lanyon if that is what you are asking, Madam," Robert said, politely as he could muster in such a situation.

"It was not"

"Well, since it would not be wise to move him at this point and I'm the only conscious doctor here, what I say goes at the moment," Robert said in a tone that reminded him far too much of his father, that sort of tone that left no room for argument and made the Lanyon heir feel dirty beyond belief.

"Who made you the boss?" Frankenstein challenged, puffing up like a miffed owl, her travel clothes, messy hair, and rounded glasses only adding to the image of a disheveled bird, with all the talons and sharp beak that came with it.

"You did when your uncommiserating attempt at breaking news drove the founder into the streets to be hit by a carriage and as co-owner of this place, and his current doctor, that makes me the boss, and that means you need to leave the room because I have to monitor my patient till he wakes up and is willing to see visitors" Robert bit back a rise of sadistic glee at seeing the proud woman back off as if she had been spat at.

"Y-you can't just deny me the right to be in here! I am-" Frankenstein started only to be cut off by Robert raising his hand as a signal to be quiet.

"I know you are his biological mother, but, that is a fact you only found out this morning, and you seem to be taking full advantage of already, you have been little more than a pain in his neck the whole time you have been here up to this point, now perhaps you should go back to your room and think about how to word things a bit more delicately," Robert said pointing to the door.

"I am not treating my grown son like a baby! That is most likely why he ran out in the streets! Unable to handle his emotions because of such rearing!" Victoria argued, who did this little dummkopf think he was?!

"It's not treating someone like a baby to be nice to them and think about how they might feel in a situation, you most likely just blurted out 'I'm your mother' to his face without letting him properly process what he heard and acted entitled to his complete understanding of you dumping him like a drunkards bottle in the street"

"It was not like that!" Victoria almost screamed in a rage at being accused of something like that, a pained groan near her ear being the only thing that kept her from blowing the roof off.

"You can explain it properly better once he is ready, now go" Robert pushed the woman out of the room and locked the door, glad that everyone else was already outside.

At least that was taken care of for a little bit, the only good thing about this situation was that Henry was finally getting some sleep...he would need it for what was undoubtedly coming.

Well, the upside for Frankenstein is with both legs busted he can't run away from her NOW...

[lee-do-hwas]

dodanru university oneshot

@bookishserendipity03 requested a platonic dodanru university fic so here it is! i’m sorry for taking so long, but this went in a direction i wasn’t really expecting and it ended up longer than originally planned. it’s around 3k words and mostly fluff + a lot of lee do hwa (because i love him). thanks for reading!!

When Eun Dan Oh finally found Haru amongst the seemingly endless crowd of familiar faces at Seuli University, it felt like a miracle. She’d searched for him ever since she’d been reborn, even if she hadn’t quite known what (or who) she was looking for at first. They spent hours walking around campus in circles, recounting the events of their previous lives and catching each other up to speed on their current character setups. Eun Dan Oh was relatively the same in this story. She was the sole daughter of a wealthy businessman and engaged to a fiance who would never love her back— the author really hadn’t put much effort into that one. The main difference now was that instead of a heart disease, Dan Oh’s conflict revolved around taking over the family business. She was cutthroat, goal oriented, and constantly focused on how to get ahead in the world. In contrast, Haru was a psychology major and Oh Nam Joo’s stoic but sweet best friend. He was always in the library and spent most of his time tutoring other students. Compared to the eccentric and naive Oh Nam Joo, he was the “mature” friend who kept both their heads on straight. It wasn’t lost on Dan Oh how suspiciously close Haru’s setup was to his actual personality.

The author’s newest comic was an attempt at more mature storytelling, following the lives of various university students as they made their way through the trials and tribulations of adulthood. To put it simply, it was drama bait. But the dramatic tone of “These Fragile Hearts” gave the characters way more freedom than the predictably cheesy plot of “Secret”. Not only were there multiple protagonists this time, but a much larger cast of named supporting characters meaning…they were safe. Eun Dan Oh’s days were no longer numbered due to a heart condition and Haru wasn’t unnamed Student 13. Outside of Dan Oh’s ongoing family theatrics and Haru’s chemistry void romance with Yeo Joo Da (now a biology major and nothing more than an extra herself) they had all the time in the world to meet up in the shadows. Even on stage, they had a lot of scenes together— sometimes entire conversations. They were fine with playing their parts. In comparison to before, they practically had all the alone time in the world. 

Eun Dan Oh became a regular visitor of Oh Nam Joo and Haru’s cramped studio apartment. They only had one pullout couch, a coffee table, and a few foldable chairs, but that was more than enough furniture for three people. Oh Nam Joo was surprisingly chill with Dan Oh’s presence after she was introduced as Haru’s “friend from middle school” and eventually just gave her the extra key so she could let herself in. If she got off first, Dan Oh usually hung around and cleaned up to keep herself busy until Haru got home. After inevitably helping him lead his overly emotional (and sometimes drunk) roommate to bed, they would head out every night without fail. Some nights they went on roadtrips in an attempt to map out just how far their small, fictional world went. Others, they sat in front of their tree and stared up at the stars. Whether their time together was full of conversation or entirely silent, Eun Dan Oh appreciated all of it. Haru was the one to finally put into words how it felt to be in such a fortunate situation, how lucky the two of them were to have one another after going through so much: extraordinary.

It felt greedy to ask for more. But something was missing. Something that felt like it should have been obvious given the fact that Eun Dan Oh remembered almost everything about both “Secret” and “Trumpet Flower”. The small gaps in her memory mocked her, just specific enough to feel significant. After she found Haru, most of her memories came back in waves. There were only a few things that didn’t click and Dan Oh hated it. What could she still be missing? Sometimes she encountered a new, vaguely familiar face and wondered if they were the key to unlocking everything. She’d stomp over to the large library near her apartment and scour the shelves for an explanation. Maybe it was another lifetime she’d lost. Maybe it was something even scarier. Whatever it was, Eun Dan Oh didn’t want to be caught by surprise ever again. Even finding the hardcover copy of “These Fragile Hearts” hidden deep within the psychology department’s library didn’t help much. For days and then weeks, Dan Oh kept an eye out for something strange. She all but gave up…and then one day an extra ran past her, the angle of the sun’s rays just bright enough to shield his face. Someone who was probably not only nameless but also faceless. Without knowing who he was she knew. This was the person she’d been looking for.

After that day Eun Dan Oh kept her eyes out for any and every extra that walked by. She could recognize almost all of them after a week of people watching. There was one girl who had a very obvious (and unrequited) crush on Oh Nam Joo, another student who loved to feed the pigeons every morning, a man who held the door for the main characters during almost every scene without ever being acknowledged otherwise, and many more. None of them had names. Dan Oh went out of her way to speak to them but of course none of the extras she befriended were ever the extra she was looking for. When Eun Dan Oh did finally find him, it was entirely by chance.

“Watch out!” A student carrying a large pile of books and loose leaf paper flew down the library hallway and directly into Eun Dan Oh’s line of sight. 

The man scurried out of the way just in time to not knock her over, but his stack of books wobbled precariously. Dan Oh couldn’t even see his face behind the comically tall barrier of reading material. In a single moment, her curiosity got the better of her and she made the decision to try something dumb. Moving one finger closer, Eun Dan Oh poked the stack of books. It immediately toppled to the ground and into a pile beside them.

The man sighed and stared at his books dejectedly. “I can’t believe this…I’m gonna be late to my nine thirty.”

He ran his fingers through his fluffy blondish-brown hair and glared at the pile through huge, circular glasses. He was…pouting? His facial expression could only be described as similar to that of a kicked puppy. Eun Dan Oh almost felt bad. He quickly looked back up at her with panicked eyes.

“None of those hit you, right? Are you okay?” Both his hands were in his hair and he looked like the picture book definition of “stressed college student”.

Eun Dan Oh stopped staring and crouched down, handing him the book closest to her with a smile. “No, I’m fine. What’s your name?”

“I’m—uh, why do you ask?” he replied meekly. So he didn’t have a name. Eun Dan Oh looked him up and down once again.

This wasn’t one of the extras she often saw around campus. The pastel pink button up and grey jeans he wore both seemed to be in pristine condition, as if he hadn’t worn them for even a day. He wrung his hands together awkwardly and refused to look Eun Dan Oh in the eyes. Just based upon their first meeting, she could tell this character didn’t have many friends. He was probably a studious type, only around to ensure that the main characters were conveniently partnered with a genius during group projects. Nothing particularly interesting stood out about him until Dan Oh glanced at the papers scattered around them. Was that sheet music?

“Do you play the violin?” Eun Dan Oh asked suddenly.

“Yes…?”

“Do you have an older brother?” She picked up another book, some manhua with a smiling couple and cherry blossoms on the cover. “And do you read cheesy comics like this often?”

The boy scoffed. “Cheesy? I’ll have you know these ‘cheesy’ comics actually give really good pointers on how to navigate young love, and you sure weren’t complaining when I let Haru borrow one back in high sc— wait. Who’s Haru?”

Eun Dan Oh covered her mouth with both hands and gasped. Everything fell back into place.

“Lee Do Hwa?!”

Her shout rang throughout the halls and several students looked up in annoyance. She didn’t care. How could she have forgotten him? Lee Do Hwa, the second male lead of “Secret”, one third of A3, and most importantly, one of her best friends. She threw herself into the taller man and hugged tight.

“I finally found you! I can’t believe it took this long!” Her words were high pitched and brimming with joy.

“Wait,” Lee Do Hwa briefly pushed her away to get a better look and his eyes widened in recognition. “Eun Dan Oh?!”

She bobbed her head excitedly. “In the flesh!”

Lee Do Hwa looked around the room with heightened awareness, slowly putting the pieces of his past back together. “Shit. Does this mean I’m not the main character?”

- - -

Haru was just as excited to meet the freshly reborn Lee Do Hwa— almost enough to forgive him and Eun Dan Oh for getting banned from the library for excessive noise. Dan Oh could hear him fussing through the phone the moment she announced the good news, undoubtedly rushing to clean his flat and cook a meal big enough for four people. When they arrived the once unnavigable space was spotless and a military sized pot of spaghetti was cooking on the stove. Dan Oh didn’t even remember them owning any dishes that big. Haru wasn’t one to be underestimated on a regular day, but a worried, nagging Haru? The author themself probably feared him. 

Lee Do Hwa immediately made himself at home, plopping down next to Eun Dan Oh on the tiny couch and sighing dramatically.

“Haruuu!” He whined. “I haven’t seen you in ages and this is the greeting I get?”

A light turned off in the bathroom and Haru’s head of wavy black hair peeked through the doorway. He wore neon green rubber gloves and had probably just finished deep cleaning every corner of the room.

“Dan Oh, is that you?” Haru dusted off his baby blue hoodie and looked up, mouth gaping. “Lee Do Hwa?!”

“Are you that shocked? I know I’m not the adorable second male lead anymore but can’t a man wear glasses every once in a while?” He started pouting again. Eun Dan Oh rolled her eyes.

“No, it’s nothing bad,” Haru smiled reassuringly. “You just look…different.”

Do Hwa fell into Dan Oh as if he’d been shot in the chest. “That’s even worse! Just say I look like a nerd, it’ll hurt less!”

Haru sauntered into the living room and squoze his way into the middle of the couch, immediately putting distance between Eun Dan Oh and Lee Do Hwa. Do Hwa's pout only widened.

“You look like a nerd.” He stared at his friend’s face for a few seconds. “And your hair’s brighter now. It’s basically blonde.”

“It’s chestnut brown…” Do Hwa replied heavily as if the words pained him.

“No, it’s blonde.” Eun Dan Oh said, reaching over to pat his hand with a smile. “And you do look like a nerd—”

“First you tell me I’m an extra and now this? Is nothing sacred?”

“That being said, I think it looks cute! And we missed you! So who cares if you look like a labradoodle.” She reached her arms around Haru for a group hug. Do Hwa hummed annoyedly.

“I guess I missed you guys too. Even though you keep rubbing your happy relationship in my face.” Do Hwa said, completing the hug. Haru squirmed in place and patted his friend’s head awkwardly.

- - -

In the days following their reunion, Lee Do Hwa had somehow weaseled his way out of a two year lease to, in his words, “the shittiest apartment known to man” and made preparations to move in with Haru and Oh Nam Joo. Eun Dan Oh couldn’t begin to explain how he managed something like that. Oh Nam Joo shouldn’t have even remembered him in the first place? But they’d hit it off immediately and under a week later Do Hwa was sleeping on the pullout couch. He claimed it was his natural charm, but Dan Oh was pretty sure it had something to do with the fact that they were lifelong friends in a past life. No other character really remembered anything past Do Hwa’s name, but that didn’t stop him from giving a running commentary before and after every scene.

Eun Dan Oh’s fiance in “These Fragile Hearts” was, of course, Baek Gyeong. As always he didn’t like her back, but unlike before her character was almost entirely to blame for it. Where he was kind and vulnerable, Eun Dan Oh was cold and constantly toeing the line between oblivious and downright cruel. There were more scenes than Dan Oh could count where Baek Gyeong planned a lovely dinner or picnic for the two of them only for her to stand him up for work. It wasn’t surprising that his character arc revolved around a secret romance between him and the much more affectionate Shin Sae Mi (and yes, they were the main couple). Eun Dan Oh had absolutely no interest in dating Baek Gyeong, but every time the two leads exchanged knowing glances right in front of her she wanted to gag. They could at least flirt in private! Why was infidelity okay just because it was the main characters sneaking around?! When Lee Do Hwa found out her predicament, he laughed so hard he got a stitch in his side.

“Oh my god, stop talking. Please, I’m gonna fucking choke,” Do Hwa wheezed out in between his laughter.

“Is my life a game to you?! I have to watch Baek Gyeong and Sae Mi make googly eyes at each other everyday. Everyday!” Eun Dan Oh exclaimed, throwing a fluffy pillow at the taller man’s head. “My character’s too cool to get cheated on, I made my own uncle step down from Eun Enterprises with one threat and a glare. But somehow I’m too blind to see the extremely blatant PDA going on right in front of me? What kind of writing is that!”

“Maybe you just don’t mind it? Your character’s kind of in a metaphorical love affair with work so—“

“Please don’t ever call it that, I’ll actually gag.”

“And in their defense…” Do Hwa started, clearing his throat. “Aren’t you kind of in the same boat? You and Haru are like, fated soulmates. And you go on secret journeys every night. And basically live together.” He smiled knowingly and Dan Oh shoved him to the other side of the couch.

“Me and Haru have tried breaking up with our canon counterparts a billion times. We used to do it every other day in hopes they’d remember somehow. Baek Gyeong and Yeo Joo Da just aren’t self aware yet so until then we have to wait.”

Lee Do Hwa nodded and opened his mouth to reply before shutting it. He suddenly looked up to stare at Eun Dan Oh.

“Yeo Joo Da?” Do Hwa’s eyes were wide and Dan Oh was sure that if he were a puppy his ears would be raised in attention right about now.

“Yes, Yeo Joo Da. Her and Haru are the second most important couple in the entire comic.” Eun Dan said, frowning sympathetically. Do Hwa forced a laugh to relieve the tension.

“That sounds…boring.”

“You know I can hear you, right?” Haru’s muffled shout came through the bedroom door where he was studying. Lee Do Hwa shrugged.

“I mean you’re not wrong.” Dan Oh agreed. “They’re super vanilla, who wants to read about a couple with no conflict?”

“Do you think—“ Do Hwa looked down. “Do you think I should talk to her? Introduce myself?” Eun Dan Oh scooted closer and pat his shoulder. She honestly felt for him. At least in ”Secret” Yeo Joo Da was aware that Lee Do Hwa existed. There was no telling how much she knew of their past life or if she’d even be able to remember Lee Do Hwa between scenes. But if Do Hwa was anything, he was likeable. Dan Oh knew that if he put his mind to it he’d make himself known soon enough.

Lost in thought, Dan Oh didn’t hear the telltale sound of Haru opening his bedroom door and coming out to the living area. He gently moved Eun Dan Oh to the side and inserted himself firmly in the middle of the couch once again.

“I think you should do it.” Haru said, opening his notebook and getting right back to studying. “You have a name now. That’s a start, right?”

Haru was smiling brightly at Lee Do Hwa and Eun Dan Oh could tell he was trying to convey his approval and other unsaid emotions in just that look. How thankful he was to have Do Hwa around even if he didn’t say much, how well he personally understood such a tragic situation. And just like Haru had Do Hwa and Dan Oh back then, Do Hwa had them now. They were the Three Musketeers and even if Yeo Joo Da didn’t recognize him at first they’d help him through it. Just the three of them had done things way more difficult. They’d changed fate multiple times, in comparison this was nothing.

“Thank you, Haru. It’s not that I still like her but…She’s important to me, you know? I still feel kind of responsible to make sure she’s okay. I know that’s selfish of me.” Do Hwa sighed and stared at the ceiling. “Why are feelings so complicated. I wish I could just have an affair like everybody else.”

Eun Dan Oh grabbed the pillow and reached across Haru to whack Do Hwa again.

“Asshole.”

“But you guys love me!” He pouted.

Haru hummed but didn’t make a single move to stop Eun Dan Oh’s onslaught of pillow attacks. “I guess you’re right about that.”

Eun Dan Oh finally put her weapon down and glared. “If not for the fact that I love you and it would make Haru sad, I would smite you where you stand.”

Lee Do Hwa stuck out his tongue, only to hop off the couch and dash away when Dan Oh grabbed one of Haru’s three inch thck textbooks. They chased each other around the cramped apartment and Haru closed his notebook in defeat. His studying would have to wait until another time.

[leahxx129]

Feels Like Home: The Truth (pt.5/final part) (Hvitserk x Reader)

Alright, so this is the final part to the Feels Like Home series. I know this was promised like 2 months ago but as I explained in a previous post - a break from Tumblr was essential for me. I hope you like the finale. :) Also, I inserted a ‘Keep Reading’ line, hopefully it’ll be visible to all of you.

Summary for pt.5: The raid was a roaring success and finally it’s time for you to explain everything to Hvitserk. The question is - will he be able to forgive you?

Warnings: description of homicide, cursing

Word count: 2.030-ish

Read PART1, PART2, PART3 and PART4.

* Moodboard is mine, images used are not. *

In the end, the raid turned out to be a roaring success. You made it out alive and as far as Ivar was concerned, the treasury’s content lived up to the stories he had heard, and he drained the place to the last coin.

Now, on your way back to Kattegat, you have some newly acquired thralls heat up two kegs of drinking water and fill the wooden tub in your cabin with it. Usually you can wait with the post-battle bath until you get home but this time you wish to cleanse yourself as soon as possible. The hot water makes your muscles relax and you catch yourself falling asleep when a soft knock on your door brings you back to consciousness.

“Come on in!” you signal your visitor to enter after stepping out of the tub and wrapping a cloth around your body.

Hvitserk’s face lights up at your sight.

“You are the only person I know who can conquer a land and still look breathtaking afterwards.” he says, earning a shy smile from you.

“Haven’t your father taught you that it is not decent to lie?”

“He has and I am not lying! Are you questioning my honesty yet again?”

“I would never dare do such a thing!”

You both chuckle and he pulls you into a tight hug. A familiar scent fills his nostrils – could he be imagining it, or your hair does smell like the wildflowers from the meadow?

“Ready to tell me everything?” he whispers sometime later, and you lean away to look into his eyes.

“No. But I made a promise and I always keep my word. Are you ready?”

He nods, then sits down on a chair next to the table and draws you into his laps. Looking into his eyes and knowing what you are about to say makes your chest ache, but you clear your throat and begin anyway.

“Do you remember the feast you had thrown for Ubbe’s birthday, just one full moon’s time before I left?”

“I do.”

“And do you remember how sick I felt during the feast?”

“Yes, I do. You had too much cherry wine so consequently I escorted you home to rest.”

You place a hand on the side of his face and caress his cheek with your thumb affectionately.

“It was not the cherry wine that made me feel sick, my love.” Your voice is laced with emotion, barely above whisper.

He knits his eyebrows in confusion, but it is only a matter of seconds and the wrinkles start relenting as he realizes the meaning behind your words.

“Were you… were you with child?”

You nod and an excited, breathy laughter escapes his mouth. You try to memorize the sound of it as you are uncertain you will ever hear it again once you tell him the rest of the story.

Seeing you don’t share his joy, his happiness vanishes just as fast as it came.

“What is it, Y/N? What happened to my child?”

You get up from his lap, fill your cup and empty its content within seconds. Then repeat the whole procedure all over again, not minding the peculiar look you get from Hvitserk. There is no way you can get through this sober. Once you are done with your second round, you wipe your mouth and continue.

“My father found out I was carrying your child and I have never seen him more furious than that. He respected Ragnar, but he also believed that by making so many enemies, Ragnar created an environment not fit for a child, especially not fit for his grandchild. So he pulled some strings - granted a wish here, asked for a favor there – and ended up shipping me to England in order to marry an ambitious Saxon king.”

“King Willelmus?”

“Yes, him. At first, he was the perfect gentlemen a young girl in trouble such as myself could wish for. But then time passed and he began to reveal his true colors… Remember the strikes in the cell? I carved those with my nails after he’d imprisoned me there. He visited me every day and laughed in my face for believing he would welcome the bastard son of a pagan whore.”

Hvitserk’s face grows more somber with every word that leaves your lips and you can barely resist the urge to throw back another drink.

“Not very long after the imprisonment I delivered the baby, our son, and King Wil-“ your voice cracks and that’s when you realize you’ve been crying. After a few deep breaths you continue “… and King Willelmus strangled him in front of my eyes. A nun witnessed this and when I recovered, she gave me some gold and some silver, and she helped me escape. I travelled all around the world, came to know different cultures and different fighting styles – all in order to seek vengeance one day. And that’s what I did today.”

The silence that ensues screams louder than anyone you have ever heard dying in battle.

“Why?” Hvitserk finally speaks up, not looking at you.

“Why what?”

He elevates his gaze slowly and you can see he’s like a volcano, seconds away from erupting.

“Why did you not come back to Kattegat and tell me whAT HAPPENED?!” he roars the last word, making you flinch. “Was I unworthy of the truth, huh?! Did I do something to deserve being left out of avenging mY OWN SON?! We could have done it years ago and we could have brought many more sons into this world ever since!”

“Hvitserk, calm down and let me expl-“

Before you can finish, he jumps to his feet, knocking back the chair he’s been sitting on and grabs you by the throat.

“Hvitserk… I-I can’t… breathe…” you try to plead with him to no avail. His grip is firm and strong.

“You know, here I thought I was favored by the Gods since they gave me a second chance with you… but it turns out they are just taunting me…” he whispers, his mind still visibly clouded by rage. “Tell me, why did you come back to Kattegat now, really? Was it honestly your father’s death or did you know about the raid?”

Though you don’t say – you can’t say – anything, your eyes give away the answer.

“Just what I assumed.”

Suddenly he lets go of you and you fall to the ground. He is about to storm out the door when you call after him with a hoarse voice.

“Hvitserk! You promised you would take good care of my heart, but now you are breaking it…”

He takes a quick, pitiful glance at you.

“I don’t believe there is anything I am breaking right now. In fact, I doubt there ever was anything I could have taken good care of!”

He slams the door shut so hard it almost falls off.

You just lie there on the ground at the exact spot you fell on and stare into the void, trying to comprehend what just happened. Then a scream makes its way out of your lungs and you begin banging one of your palms against the wooden floor until you feel no pain, just see the blood.

A huge hand covers yours to stop you from doing any more harm.

Bjorn.

You just look at him for a while, not knowing what to say.

“Have you been eavesdropping, Bjorn?” you finally decide on something and a sad, lopsided smile forms on his face.

“No. You and Hvitserk were so loud I believe the whole crew heard it – except maybe for the warriors that were deafened in the fight.”

“I’m not in the mood for jesting, Bjorn.” You try to sound menacing but the tears streaming down your face undermine your plan.

“I know. I’m not here for the jokes, I’m here for the tears.”

He pulls you into his chest, muffling your cries and sobs.

Hvitserk is sitting in the Great Hall, looking at the plate in front of him with no appetite. What is wrong with him? The music is too loud, the cheerful people annoy him and not even the food or the mead interest him at the slightest.

“What is wrong, big brother? Why aren’t you enjoying the celebration? We came back richer than ever. You could at least drink to that!” Ivar’s words shake him back from his own thoughts.

He pulls a face at his little brother, raises his horn and starts drinking from it.

“See? That wasn’t so hard, now was it? The more you do that the less you’ll feel upset about Y/N leaving Kattegat.”

Hvitserk almost chokes on the ale.

“What did you just say?” he questions Ivar while wiping his mouth.

“I said Y/N is leaving. She said she had no business here anymore, so she intends to sail away.”

“It’s true.” Bjorn chips in. “But I think that if you hurry, you might be able to stop her from doing so.”

Hvitserk’s heart has never beaten faster than now, not even when he went on his first raid ever.

What should he do? Should he go after you? Or let you go? What do the Gods want?

Suddenly, Ubbe’s words start echoing in his ears ‘Let me tell you what I see! I see a miserable man drenching in his own self-pity and insecurities and only the Gods know how tired I am of it! Gods, Hvit, do you even understand what is going on here? She was taken away from you, but fate is offering a second chance! Do you know how rare that is?’.

He stands up abruptly and runs out of the Great Hall.

Hvitserk considers himself fit but by the time he gets to the docks there is almost no air in his lungs. And even that little what remained gets knocked out by an invisible force once he discovers that your ship is gone.

“No... no, no, no!” he whispers frantically to himself as his eyes start watering.

This must be a deception. You cannot be gone. Not again.

He feels like the rug has been pulled out from under his feet and he almost tumbles.

What is he to do now? He can’t go back to the feast.

His legs start working before his brain does. After a considerable amount of walking they stop and Hvitserk finds himself in the meadow of wildflowers. 

In the middle there’s you, illuminated by the moonlight, resembling a goddess now more than ever.

“Y/N? Is that you? I-I thought you sailed away.”

You turn around at the sound of your name and your eyes go wide.

“Hvitserk? I-I intended to but I just simply could not. I felt like I needed to be here. But what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the feast?”

He rushes to you wordlessly, cups your face and presses his lips to yours forcefully.

“I am so sorry for not hearing you out, min elskede!” he says, gasping for air once you break the kiss. “And for all the things I said! I did not mean any of it!”

“No, no, no! Do not apologize! I should be the one begging for your forgiveness because of all the things I have done and all the things I haven’t… I believed for the longest time that a feeble woman like me who couldn’t even protect her own son would never be a worthy wife to you in the eyes of the Gods, and-”

He places his index finger on your lips to prevent you from completing your sentence.

“You were always worthy of me and I was always worthy of you. We were fated to be together. Do you know why I’m certain?” he pulls you closer so that your figure melts into his. “Because this feels like home. It always has and always will.”

You stand there like that, embracing each other in the moonlight for only the Gods know how long.

But time does not really matter, now does it?

You have a lifetime ahead of you and even after that, you will spend an eternity together in Valhalla.

[flailingkittylover]

Voices

Summary: Annie had a spotlight in the dark, even if she couldn’t see her. Takes place between Ch. 125 -127.

Rating: T

Characters: Annie Leonhardt, Hitch Dreyse, Armin Arlert

A/N: Happy Birthday, Annie!!

To be back in this setting brings a strange comfort to Annie.

It’s not that she enjoys an ounce of the havoc around her or doesn’t feel pity for the people trapped under their toppled houses. The sight of the world being catapulted into hell is nostalgic, reminds Annie of when she was a child.

Blood is nectar to the soil and ripped muscle will feed the creatures who prowl the devastation. It’s a cyclical and mechanical process Annie understood at a young age and perhaps she is more messed up in the head than she thought if destruction and the wails of widows brings an odd sense of ease. She’s always been morbid but being outside beats being stuck in a sea where her limbs are stiff and all the space around her is bleached black.

Annie remembers it all too clearly as she rides on the back of Hitch’s horse out of Stohess. She hovered for so long and a sound which had a gurgling thickness rumbled everywhere—Annie is still unsure if the noise was her own imagination or her being pulled closer to the magma rivers of hell.

Faint voices in the distance were her only distraction.

“If you die in there, I’m going to make sure you’re even more dead when I join you.” Hitch seethed on a particularly bad day. “You haven’t explained yourself to me yet.”

“I admit, something about you being stuck in there and being forced to hear all my bitching is kind of satisfying.” Hitch had snorted at her on another day. “The fact that there’s nothing you can do about it is the cherry on top of it all too. Ha!” Hitch paused. “But still, sometimes I wonder if you’re even alive in there. What a downer thought, huh? I must be hanging around you too much.”

“Hitch…you’ve got something on your neck.” The new voice which Annie deciphered as Armin pointed out a few days later.

“It’s called a hickey, Armin.” Hitch huffed all too similarly to an irritated older sister. “Do you not know what that is?”

“…You do know which regiment I came from, right?” He combated.

“Is that you admitting that you’re a permanent third wheel? Or you trying to use some weirdo innuendo talk on me? Orrrr?”

“You’re very street savvy, Hitch. I trust that you’ll be able to figure it out.”

“Exactly and my super-smart diagnosis is that you’re the shy, quiet type who fakes innocence—a.k.a, you’re a pervert.”

“H-Hey!”

The pair’s antics are always either amusing, boring, or so frustratingly irritating, Annie resents how she can’t maim her ears to block out their noise. But she’s connected to things outside this nighttime void where the only chatter is the whispering of past horrors. They include her, pretend she can see what they see by saying “Look!” and she hears a thump, probably them shoving what they’re looking at against her crystal so she can “see”. It’s futile and stupid but funny, especially when Hitch uses her to act as a “two-against-one” tally when she and Armin fight to win an argument.

But their moods were never consistent.

“…. It’s the anniversary today.” Hitch said bleakly. “Marlowe would have been eighteen if he made it. He might have even stopped being such a brain-dead idiot and learned how to be a normal person. Might have learned how to not be an even bigger idiot around women too.” Hitch stopped. A sharp hiccup and sniffle left her and Annie had wished then that her crystal had broken sooner. “You know, it was a real dick move on both of you for leaving me all by myself…”

Annie hugs her knees tighter. Hitch sleeps now and Annie worries, stares at the stars glinting outside the window. What she aims to achieve is at the end of a perilous path and Hitch doesn’t belong in a battle. She’s proud that her nail-polish obsessed roommate flipped her, of all people, and Annie’s confident her frequent visitor can fend for herself. But Hitch has no place on the front lines.

So when Armin and Connie make their case on the urgency of stopping Eren, Annie is reluctant but agrees.

She leaves behind a note for Hitch, the human anchor who steadied Annie when the darkness and nightmares swam too close.

She joins a group which has her senses prickling her skin, tells her to keep an eye out for them—there might be ill will and lies lingering here.

But careful hope finds bravery to grow and the emptiness honeycombing Annie’s chest doesn’t feel so bottomless as it had before.

Annie doesn’t believe this plan will work but as the cart pulls all of them to the harbor, she accepts this group is the only shot she has. Her promise is not far away from being fulfilled and if she fails—if Father dies and she’s left all alone—…she’s not sure what to do with herself.

Annie stares into the wood boards of the cart’s floor.

Maybe—regardless of whether or not life will gift her with or strip her of Father—Annie can find Hitch again and she can say thank you to a person she didn’t mean to leave behind.

Inspired by Sweet Night - V

How could I know?

One day I’d wake up feeling more

But I had already reached the shore

Guess we were ships in the night, night, night