#we had a LONG day of construction in the house but i'll jump on these tomorrow :)

[redhead-reporter]

º ✧ 。 ok y'all i'm rusty AF. but i have emptied my threadtracker so i can dip my toes back into the writing waters with clarity and excitement. can't promise they'll be all that long, but this is officially a STARTER CALL !

[thescarletnargacuga]

LADIES NIGHT

A HUMAN AU ONESHOT

Thanks to: @allisonraeyt for the prompt

WARNING: alcohol (light use), multiple ships, domestic shenanigans

~~~

Pomni set the last of the snacks on the coffee table. "There. Cheese, meats, bread, chips, dip, salsa, popcorn, cookies, soda, wine. Perfect." She double checked the living room for clutter. It was only her closest friends coming over, but she still preferred to have any mess out of the way.

"The place is spotless, dear. Stop worrying." Caine sipped a drink from the kitchen. Bubble sat at his feet, thinking he had something worth sharing.

"I know, but Queenie is coming this time! I haven't seen her in person in ages. This will be the first time she's seen the house." Pomni straightened a few throw pillows for the fifth time.

"You plan on giving her a full house tour?" Caine asked, amused.

"Well, no, but-"

DING DONG

The doorbell announced the guests arrival. Pomni checked her phone. She had been so busy getting ready, she missed all of the update texts. She rushed to the door, opening it to find Kinger and Queenie outside.

Pomni squealed and hugged Queenie right there on the door step. "Ohmygoditssogoodtoseeyou!"

Queenie giggled lightly. "It's wonderful to see you too, darling."

"Come inside! I just got everything set up." Pomni let them in.

"There she is! The global wanderer returns!" Caine gives Queenie a hug. "How was England?"

"Oh, England is lovely this time of year, so long as you don't mind a bit of rain." Queenie looked around the spacious, yet humble abode. "You two got such a nice place for yourselves. Oh! And you must be Bubble!" She knelt down to greet Bubble excitedly dancing at her feet with a toy.

"That's our boy." Pomni said proudly before turning to Kinger. "Hey! Don't think we forgot about you!" She hugged him.

Kinger smiled. "Don't worry. My wife coming home is always a big deal to me too. Hey Caine, you said you finished the rec room?"

"Yep! The basement is finally done. I'll show ya." Caine and Kinger went downstairs, leaving Pomni and Queenie to catch up.

~

Gangle and Zooble were the next to arrive. "I brought sweets!" Gangle raised two plastic bags full of various chocolates and candies. Some wrappers had other languages on them. She puts them on the floor by the coffee table and attacks Queenie with a hug. "AAAH! You made it! Girl's night isn't the same without you."

"Aw..." Queenie hugged back.

Zooble gives Queenie a quick hug too and joins the girls in the couch. "What are the boys doing?"

"Caine is showing off his rec room. Basement finally got finished a few days ago. You can join them if you want." Pomni offered.

Zooble shrugged. "Eh, you weirdos are more fun to hang around."

"That's high praise coming from you." Queenie said as she checked her phone. "Have any of you heard from Ragatha?"

DING DONG

"Speak of the devil." Pomni leapt up to get the door. Ragatha and Jax entered seeming a bit frazzled.

"Sorry we're late!" Ragatha apologized. "We got lost-"

"We didn't get lost." Jax rolled his eyes. "We took a detour because of construction."

"...and THEN we got lost." Ragatha added. "Anyway, I hope you don't mind, but I've brought champagne."

"Really?" Pomni asked. "What are we celebrating?"

Ragatha curled her lips and showed Pomni her left hand. A beautiful engagement ring adorned her finger.

Pomni gasped. "WHAT!?"

"YEAH!!"

"WHAT!?"

"I KNOW!!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAA!!" The two women jumped up and down and screamed.

Jax covered his ears and looked around. Zooble motioned to the basement stairs. Jax nodded appreciatively. "Glad you're excited, babe, but I'm going down before I go deaf from you two."

Ragatha was too busy showing off her ring. Gangle joined the scream huddle. Queenie admired quietly with a laugh at the others. Zooble gave a thumbs up when Ragatha shoved her hand in their face.

~

Jax meandered downstairs to find Caine and Kinger in the middle of a game of billiards. "So this is what married men do for fun?" Jax asked as he grabbed a drink from a mini fridge.

"Hey Jax." Kinger greeted. "I should have figured you were the one at the door. Who else would all the ladies be screaming at?" He chuckled.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny. No, they're losing their minds over the ring I gave Ragatha." He casually sipped his drink.

Caine missed his shot, the white ball bounced wildly around the pool table. "You asked her?? Congratulations!"

"Yeah, that's a big step for you two. Congrats!"

"Thanks." Noticing that Bubble had followed him downstairs, Jax entertained the dog as Caine and Kinger continued their game.

~

The women toasted to Ragatha's engagement, all relaxing in the living room. "How'd he propose?? I NEED to know!" Gangle pleaded with wide eyes.

Ragatha smiled to herself. "Funny story. It was an accident."

"Huh??" Gangle said while the others gave looks of confusion.

"He took me out to dinner and he was going to do it there, but eeeeeverything went wrong. You know how some places will put the engagement ring in a drink or on a dessert? Well, this place put it IN the dessert, and then SERVED IT TO THE WRONG TABLE!"

"Oh no!" Pomni covered her mouth, not sure if she should be laughing yet.

Ragatha started laughing through her story. "So Jax starts this lovely speech, and then freaks out that my dessert was wrong. I thought he was just being belligerent. Then the lady at the table next to me screams that a cook dropped a piece of jewelry in her food. Jax nearly takes her out diving over the table to grab the ring!"

Everyone laughed and Ragatha needed minute to breathe before continuing. "I got upset because I was embarrassed by his behavior. He took me to my favorite restaurant and I felt like I couldn't show my face there again because of the way he was acting. Part of me thought it was a cruel joke...so I left."

Gangle gasped. "Then what???"

"It was raining and, I was so mad at him, I didn't care. Ruined my hair and makeup to try and catch a cab. He came out after me. I admit, I said some things I'm not proud of...but then he shows me the ring. Said it was meant for me. And I could still have it...if I wanted."

"Oh my god..." Gangle was on the edge of her seat.

"Everything and nothing made sense at the same time, and I was cold from the rain. I kissed him."

Gangle squealed, her feet tap the ground giddily. "Yay! I'm so happy for you two!"

"A first engagement kiss in the rain. Novella worthy." Queenie said.

Pomni finished her drink. "Seriously! That is a story to remember! You should write it down."

Ragatha blushed at the memory. "I'll do that. Not that it compares to yours, Queenie. Didn't Kinger propose to you in a literal castle?"

"Oh, let's not compare, dear. Each and every engagement is special, regardless of location....but yes, he did." Queenie swirled her drink, sitting sophistically. "We were on a tour in eastern Europe when he popped the question, right in front of a grand Romanian castle. It was very romantic, but not as fun as fireworks misspelling the question. Isn't that how it happened for you, Pomni?" She smirked.

Pomni coughed, almost choking on a piece of popcorn. "That wasn't his fault! The pyrotechnicians got the timing wrong!"

"Wasn't it also a situation of ring fumbling? It ended up in a lake, if I recall correctly." Queenie continued to tease.

Pomni pouted. "Yeah, but he found it!"

"So both of you..." Queenie looked at Ragatha and Pomni. "Said yes to sopping wet bafoonery. You're the best of friends on every level."

"We did, and they're OUR baboons!" Ragatha defended.

"That's not what she-" Gangle tried to correct.

A heartier laugh came from Queenie. "Indeed they are. My sincerest congratulations."

Gangle and Zooble listened happily to each engagement story. They didn't have one of their own yet, and they weren't in a hurry. They had each other. They didn't need all the paperwork.

~

Jax threw Bubble's toy from end of the basement to the other. A loud round of laughter from upstairs made him realize how bored he was. "I'm gonna go see what they're doing up their." Jax got up to leave.

"Woah! Hold on!" Caine zipped out in front of Jax. "It's ladies night. That means no disturbing them."

"Yeah, well, I'm being disturbed down here not doing much while it sounds like they're having a great time." Jax easily side stepped Caine.

With both Jax and Kinger being well over six feet tall, they made Caine's average height of five foot nine seem short. "Jax! Don't! They won't want you there!" Caine looked to Kinger for help. Kinger shrugged in a "What do you want ME to do about it?" gesture.

"Just a peak." Jax said as she snuck up the stairs.

Caine followed to make sure Jax didn't leave the stairwell. Kinger followed out of curiosity. Bubble chewed his toy, no caring what the humans were up to.

The three men peered over the short wall that separated the stairs from the main floor. They were unnoticed by the chatty group, half way through their wine.

"...and Caine said he wanted to try the cleanse too. Nothing but kale, juice, and magnets for a whole week. Pretty sure everything but the kitchen sink came out of him." The whole group broke out into fits of laughter.

Caine went beet red. "She wasn't supposed to tell anyone about that!" He whispered under his breath.

Jax was struggling to keep it in. "You did what? Oh man, you didn't eat the magnets did you?"

"No!" Caine hissed quietly.

Kinger silently giggled.

"Oh, I have one for you." Queenie spoke. "Kinger once fell for an internet scam as well. He clicked a link that said Do you have permanent orgasm face disorder? He thought it was a real thing. Bought into the treatment plan and everything. God, he spent so much money."

Kinger sank down as the women laughed their asses off. He could feel Caine and Jax staring at him, judging him. "This can't go on."

"I agree." Caine said.

"You two are a couple of pansies. Can't handle a little embarrassment?" Jax taunted.

"Oh! Oh! I just remembered one for Jax!" Ragatha wiggled excitedly in her seat. "He once bought stamina enhancement supplements, but all they did was make his pee turn blue."

Jax rushed downstairs as quietly as he could, trying to pretend that the laughter around him was not at his expense. "Tell my secrets will you..."

Caine and Kinger came down too. "What was that about being a pansy?" Caine taunted.

Jax grumbled. "Take these. We're putting an end to their secret sharing circle."

Caine caught a few throw pillows from the couches. "Uh...are we-"

Kinger took some on his own. "Let's do this." He and Jax marched upstairs with purpose. Caine didn't see the point in denying involvement and followed. Bubble came too.

Ragatha was the first to take a pillow to the face. The ladies were caught completely off guard and were pelted by pillows. Because of the mild level of shared intoxication, instead of getting angry about it, pillows were thrown back. The living room became a travesty of fluff and food all over the floor.

Bubble helped himself to the meat and cheese as the humans played. He liked his humans. They were fun.

[badsansandstarsansticklestuff]

Surprise it's me

Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiickle fic

Characters: Empireverse!Nightmare x Empireverse!Error

Context: Nightmare is very anxious and overthinks a lot because of problems in his Empire even when it's time to sleep, so Error decides to shut him up and distract him from his worries for a while

□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□

The king laid on his bed after changing clothes and putting on something more comfortable, a thin shirt and some pants. His right-hand man, also known as his partner, was already laying face flat next to him. He looked up at the exhausted king.

- Big day ?

- Yes... the peasants want more land to cultivate because the current production isn't enough and the demand grows everyday, but I don't have more land to give, everything is already in use either for training, for future constructions of houses, fields for the farm animals, private lands I already gave the retired knights and I can't take back, infertile lands, et cetera et cetera...

Nightmare sighed, he was so tired these days, and the peasants' demands weren't the only thing he had to take care of, he actually had quite a long list... Error was very admirative of his patience.

- We'll find a solution tomorrow, okay ?

But Nightmare wasn't listening.

- Dream doesn't have such problems, I never hear about complaints in his empire.

Aaaand here we go, the comparison to his brother's empire... Error didn't like it when Nightmare compared himself to his brother because he always ended up needing to comfort him and reassure him that he was doing an excellent job too...

- I'm sure he has other broblems to take care of.

- Then why do i never hear about it ? It's not like rumors weren't traveling from an empire to the other with all the merchants.

It was true, rumors WERE traveling very easly between the empires.

- I mean, why is it that eveytime there is a problem it's in MY empire, last time it was a plague and Dream didn't even have a flu ! What is he doing that I'm not ? Or is it me who's doing something wr-EEEK !

He was cut in his sentence by the sensation of squeezes on his side. He rapidly turned his head to look at Error with blushy cheeks.

- Do not interrupt me like that.

- Why don't you just rest for tonight ? You need to sleep too, you can't just worry all day long and never take a break.

Error tried to argue, but of course Nightmare didn't want to take his advice in consideration.

- But I can't ! I need to find what's wrong, it's litteraly my duty as the k-AAH ! Can you stop ?!

He jumped this time, sitting straight to avoid more squeezes, he looked at Error, flustered.

- Okay okay, I'll stop, now come to sleep please, I can see you're tired.

Nightmare looked at him for a bit before finally lying down on his side, turning his back to his boyfriend, arms crossed and knees lift in front of him. How dares he not take him seriously ?!

- Are you seriously pouting ?

Error asked but received no answer. He sighed and pulled his boyfriend against his chest. It was late, he just wanted to sleep, he didn't want to deal with his partner's anxious thoughts tonight. However, he couldn't leave him like that without cheering him up a bit...

- Come on Nighty, don't be mad..

He said, gently scratching his partner's side with two fingers. He saw him tense and tremble slightly, clearly trying not to react. But Error wasn't going to give up so soon, he wrapped his arms around him to prevent him from escaping, spidering ever so slowly along his side in a very teasing and cruel manner. It was hard for the king not to giggle or push his hand away, but he didn't want to give him the reaction he wanted.

- I know you want to laugh, don't try to fight it...

He teased him, making him blush and press a hand on his mouth to prevent any sound from coming out. But he couldn't fight it for too long and soon the giggles came out when Error started scribbling on his tummy with his other hand. God it was so embarrassing.

- I'm your kihihing ! Yohou cahahan't !

Nightmare begged, finally starting to squirm in a vain attempt to free himself, but Error was far stronger than him, he was a guard after all, a trained soldier, and Nightmare wasn't.

- Yeah, the Ticklish King of the Tickle Empire.

Damn, he was really making his poor boyfriend blush. He dug his fingers in his tummy, shaking rapidly to imitate vibrations, earning a shriek and high pitched laughter. The king was breaking, trying to push his arms away but he was shaking too much to really do anything. He gently squeezed his side, knowing it was one of his worst spots.

- S-STOHOHOHOP !!

He yelled. Good things the walls were sound proof or else all of the castle would hear him. But Error didn't stop, keeping him well in place with his back against his chest, preventing him from both escaping or summoning his tentacles. Error knew what he was doing, he was very skilled at that. In fact, since they began dating each other, Error has made it his mission to tickle torture Nightmare every now and then, and even if the king complained a lot, he never really did anything to stop him, so Error took it as a sign that his partner might secretly like it.

- PLEHEHEHAHASE !!

Reduced to begging, what a shame for the all mighty king.

- Will you stop pouting ?

Tears were forming in Nightmare's eyes as the assault against his tummy and side was beginning to be too much to handle, even for him. He quickly nodded yes, laughing too much to speak. A happy tear rolled down his blushing cheek.

Error decided it was enough for tonight and finally let him go, letting him roll over to catch his breath, even more exhausted now. The guard chuckled a bit and gently pat the king's head.

- Everything's okay ?

- I'm gonna hang you...

Error chuckled again at the false threat.

- Come here, hug.

He stretched his arms, his boyfriend crawling towards him and rolling him on his back to lay completly on him. Error smiled, wrapping his arms around him, he gently kissed his forehead.

- You should sleep now, it's late...

Nightmare nodded as he yawned, slowly falling asleep to the rythme of gentle rubs on his back.

- I love you...

He managed to say before finally passing out.

- I love you too...

~end~

[newtabfics]

I'm hooked on redeemed ganondorf and the researcher. when do they confess? How did they confess really? What happened!

okay so...i'll admit, this is absolutely my own headcanon for their "confession". I say it like that cuz it's not exactly a confession. Read on to understand but before you do:

Trigger warnings for hostage situation and combat violence.

Ganondorf frowned when he knocked on her door. It was nearly the end of the day and no one had seen Y/N. Given her adept ability to get in trouble at any moment if left unsupervised, he began to worry.

When no answer came, he called out her name, listening carefully before opening the door.

"If I ever don't answer, just come on in. I might just be too engrossed in my study," She'd told him once ages ago.

His eyes scanned over the room before widening as he caught sight of her desk. The chair was thrown aside and papers were scattered everywhere, a knife embedded in the book. The knife pinned a single parchment to her book.

Ripping it out, he read over the note and felt his blood boil before storming out, letter in one hand, knife in the other.

This seemed to grab the attention of a lot of Sheikah, however, as everyone was immediately on guard. Even the dragons that loomed over Kakariko growled softly at his fury.

"Stop right there!" An aged voice barked, making him freeze. He looked over to see Impa walking to him with Link and Zelda in tow. "What happened?" She asked simply.

"Lady Impa," A Sheikah said. "He came out of Y/N's house with the knife. No one has seen her all day and–"

"Was I talking to you?" She asked him before looking at him. "Something's happened. What was it?"

Ganondorf said nothing before giving her the letter. His body language told of unchecked anger that had burned hotter than Death Mountain.

She took it and read it over, paling. "The Yiga," She hissed. "So they managed to sneak past our guards." Looking up at him, she said, "It seems they've found you again. What will you do?"

"I'm bringing her home," He said simply as Link and Zelda hurried up. "Link, the Yiga have kidnapped Y/N. They believe they can use her as a bargaining chip to free me from the Sheikah."

Link clenched his jaw as he nodded. "We should move quickly then."

Y/N kept still as she watched the Yiga around her. She was being held in a small room within their Depths Base. It was one of the many Link had confessed to infiltrating. The only thing is, this one in particular sat atop a series of huge stalagmites.

She peeked through the opening to see gliders fixed with fans patrolling the hut. Outside, a Zonai device she recognized as a Construct Head was fixated to the door, a Beam Emitter practically glued onto the top.

No chance of escaping by herself, she realized, sighing softly as she looked to the ropes on her wrist and feet.

Taking a slow breath, she bit into the rope at her wrists, testing and tugging at the knot to find some give for it as she listened carefully to the emptiness of the Depths.

With the Gloom gone, it was somewhat peaceful. Though there were the Frox and the Stal monsters, it was still quiet.

She gulped as she finally undid her wrists, rubbing them before working at her feet.

"Just keep quiet and we won't have to kill you," One of the yiga said as he tightened the ropes on her when she was brought to the others.

She'd been ripped from her home, her face aching from the beating as she focused on what she could do. But what could she do when she'd been surrounded by Yiga as they took the balloon from their base in the Gerudo Highlands and into the Depths? She wasn't sure how long had passed since she'd been taken late at night, just that she was exhausted and needed to escape.

Y/N adjusted in the room, peeking again. She blinked as she noticed the seal on the doors and sighed. There was absolutely no way of getting out unless she took out the Yiga that'd sealed the door.

A sudden alarm sounding, a horn, made her jump and duck down as she heard an explosion down below. A shadow loomed over the window as the Beam Emitter had gone off before it was ultimately destroyed and the doors ripped open.

Ganondorf came in and locked onto her quickly, his usual stoic expression replaced with unfiltered joy as he hurried to her, taking her in her arms and holding her tight. "You're alright," He whispered.

Y/n clung to him, shaking. "You know how to make an entrance," She giggled softly. "Please. I want to leave."

"Hold onto me," he commanded. She did so, blushing as he lifted her and walked to the edge of the cliff, jumping down. He dropped to one knee as the impact of their combined weight echoed around them.

"Master Ganondorf!" one of the Yiga members gasped before being knocked out by Link.

"She alright?!" He called over the sounds of the battle.

"Yes. Let's go!" Ganondorf barked as he hurried her to a strange Zonai Vehicle. "Hold on."

"Oh goddess, did Link  build this monster?" She whispered as he set her down, taking hold of the cannon attached. She ducked, covering her ears as it charged and fired into the clump of Yiga that aimed for Link.

He hurried to the vehicle and took hold of the steering stick as Ganondorf manned the canon, hurrying across the rugged terrain.

Y/N gulped as she saw the Yiga pursuing quickly and scanned the skies, paling as she locked onto the glider.

"Incoming!" She yelled, pointing to the glider with a canon of its own attached.

They didn't have enough time as the Yiga attacked, blasting the vehicle apart and knocking them in different directions.

Y/N groaned as she tried to sit up before being ripped to her feet. The knife against her throat made her whimper as Ganondorf stood, glaring furiously at the Yiga.

"Let her go," Link snarled, on his feet as he pulled out his sword.

"Not a chance! Return our master to us and we might spare her!" The Yiga member snapped. "We have you surrounded, Link. It's over."

Link clenched his jaw as he eyed his surroundings, noting the multiple Yiga members all twirling the blades menacingly.

"You will spare her," Ganondorf said simply. "She is mine. You won't hurt her." 

Y/N's heart skipped as the Yiga shifted, looking at Ganondorf as his eyes locked onto hers. "Y/N, I swear to you, I'll get you home."

"Ganny," She whispered, surprising her with the determined look he gave her before nodding, the blade nipping at her skin. "I know you will. I trust you."

"Wait what?" The Yiga asked, staring at Ganondorf in almost horror as his arms loosened.

Ganondorf moved too fast for even Link to react as he suddenly ripped away the Yiga's blade from Y/N and snapped his arm. The man yelled in agony as Y/N grimaced at the sickening crunch before being pulled against the massive figure that hurried back to Link's side.

Link moved in front of them, guarding them as Ganondorf quickly checked her for injury, examining her throat.

"I-I'm okay," She assured him as his eyes locked onto her cheek. The bruise, she realized. "You know how I am. I wouldn't let them take me without a fight," She joked softly. She gulped as his eyes darkened and his breath picked up. "Ganny?" She whispered.

"They hurt you," He rumbled before straightening and glaring down at the remaining Yiga members that staggered. "Which one of you was it?" He asked simply, even making Link shiver in fear.

Link glanced back to see Ganondorf glaring squarely at the shifting Yiga members before reaffirming his grip on his weapon. "Better answer him," He said simply. "He doesn't fuck around when it comes to her."

Ganondorf stepped forward, looming over the Yiga members. "I will reduce you to ash and resurrect you in the flames of Death Mountain until I have decided you've had enough. For three days, she was missing. For three days, I will destroy your body and rebuild it and repeat this until you are just as broken as the clan you claim loyalty to. Now, which one of you was it?"

Rather than answering, the Yiga fled, leaving the three in the underworld only lit by the nearby Lightroot.

Escaping the Depths was much easier, given the balloons now stationed at every Chasm. Ganondorf lit the flame as Link rubbed a soothing balm into her raw wrists. Slowly, the balloon began to climb up into the air.

"I'm okay. Really," She offered, smiling. "Thank you."

Link sighed, shaking his head. "You're learning how to fight. No questions about it. You'll have to put away your books to learn it though."

"What? No!" She whined, making him smirk as he elbowed her before nodding to Ganondorf. The man was still glaring into the darkness as if challenging anyone to come near them again.

Link's elbow bumped against her side as he smiled at her. Y/N blinked when he winked and stood, dramatically crying out in false fear. "Oh no! I'm going to fall! Ah!"

Y/N blinked as Link jumped from the hot air balloon, leaving both her and Ganondorf to peer over the edge to see his paraglider open up as he glided down into the Depths.

"How has he lived into adulthood?" Ganondorf muttered.

"No clue. Zelda says he's too wild for his own good," She responded before glancing at him. His amber eyes kept fixated on Link even after he'd vanished into the darkness. "Ganondorf…are you alright?"

"I should ask you that," he sighed as he finally looked at her as they sat. He reached forward, fingers grazing over her cheek. "Does it hurt?"

"Aches, but it's nothing that a bit of rest won't help." She gulped when his thumb rubbed over where the blade had gently nicked her, smearing the small drop of blood that seeped out. Her heart began to hammer as he moved closer.

He pulled her close, resting his chin on her head as he cradled her to him. Slowly, she relaxed into his hold and hugged him. "I'm glad to have you back alive," he sighed finally.

She smiled. "Wouldn't have done it without you." She adjusted and kissed his cheek. "Stop saving me so much. I'm starting to feel like a damsel," She joked.

Ganondorf only smiled, ignoring the way his heart hammered as he hugged her to him again as the balloon sailed over the Chasm edge and into the orange Hyrule sky.

[periwinckles]

The Train back to Twelve - chapter 21

Week 12 - Delly

Thom is still asleep.

Saul is up and running, but I snuggle closer to Thom. I love to watch him. He's always embarrassed when he notices me staring during the day, even when I point out that he does the same thing. So I take my time to run my fingers through his hair as I try to memorize every freckle on his face.

He's been wearing himself out again. They were doing a bit of overtime to try and finish the first houses, which they succeeded a couple of days ago. Instead of taking a couple of days off, they jumped right into two new houses, one for the McDonalds and another one for the Thompsons. Add that to the stress of doubling our population and you get a very tired crew chief.

Rest doesn't come easy for him. When we arrived here, we decided we would work five days and rest two days a week. He would always find something to do on the weekend, even when I urged him to rest. Only when we got together, was he persuaded to take the days off. A while ago, he told me how he never had days off before. When he was in the community home, all the kids had to work during the weekend, doing laundry, chopping wood, and several other chores. When he started at the mines, he worked six days and on the seventh he always went back to the community house to help them out.

It's a tough habit to break, but we're getting there. We've been spending our Sundays together now, sometimes venturing into the woods by ourselves, to escape a bit from everyone else.

I let him sleep in as long as I can. Not much, because it 's Thursday. Today the train is due to arrive, with the week's provisions and also sixty three new residents. I can't delay it anymore so I gently nudge him with my nose and soft pecks on the corner of his mouth.

"Good morning…" I tell him once he opens one eye to look at me.

In a second he rolls on top of me, and it's impressive how he can do that without his sleeping bag getting in the way.

"Good morning…" he answers back as he gives me a slow and lingering kiss. "What time is it?"

I take a look at his watch, placed just behind our heads. Each crew chief carries one now, courtesy of Peeta Mellark, or should I say his Capitol sponsors.

"Six twenty."

"Ugh." He grunts burying his head into my neck. "Ten minutes is too short of a time to spend with you in the morning."

"I'm sorry for not waking you sooner, but I thought you could use some rest. You looked so peaceful in your sleep." I tell him.

"This is the only time I have you all to myself." He adds mumbling against my skin as he leans into the crook of my neck. I can't ignore the fluttering feeling that arises and I'm not sure if its because of his breath on my neck or him admiting he wants me. Probably both.

"I'll rest tomorrow once everyone is settled in." He adds with a sigh. If I don’t move, he’ll probably doze off again.

"What happens if you skip your meeting with Jack and Cyrus?" I ask him. He told me last night they have a quick meeting at 6:45 to plan out the day. This brings him to alertness and he lifts his head to look at me.

"They'll realize how stupid it is to have a twenty year old in charge of the construction crew and in the district council?"

He still thinks he shouldn't be the one in charge. He claims he has no idea what he's doing, but then I remind him no one really has more expertise than him. At this point, what we really need is for someone that others listen too. And Thom does it better than everyone else.

I run my hand through his hair again as I lift my head up to him. "You should make good use of your last few minutes then."

I don't need to tell him twice. He kisses me and it progresses faster than usual. His mouth is hot and demanding as I open his sleeping bag. I suppress a moan when he finally presses his body against mine and we freeze for a few seconds, his eyes searching my face for signs of discomfort. This is new. I move slightly, allowing him to settle better and this time it's him who gasps.

"Is this ok?" He asks as he tentatively rocks his hips against me.

"Yes…" Is all I manage to say.

He does it again as his lips clash against mine, his hand going beneath my shirt. I'm about to make a move to take it off when his six thirty alarm goes off.

"You should have woken me as soon as Saul got out." He says, leaning his forehead against mine.

"Don't go."

"I have to, Delly."

"I’m not wearing a bra."

Read the rest on AO3

[noahsbookhoard]

📚February 2024 Book Review (Part 3/3)📚

The final three books of February! Not much to say as an introduction except a quick disclaimer: I read Coraline (as well as American Gods later this year) before the accusation against Neil Gaiman had been made public. I do not condone sexual assault and have since taken my distance with his work. Coraline is included here since I had already read it, but if it make anyone uncomfortable feel free to contact me and I'll remove the review altogether.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline has just moved into a new, wierd, old house. With her parents busy with work she is left on her own to explore it until one passage led her to another brighter, happier version of her home with a caring, loving mother which looks just like her own, only with buttons for eyes. But as nice as it seems, this Other Mother might not have the best mind for Coraline

It took years between the first time I started watching the film adaptation and the time I watch the end of it. Much like Spirited Away it was too scary for sensitive 9 year old me.

Therefore it took years before I learned that it was based on a book and since I heard everywhere that the book was scarier than the film I postponed the reading for a really really long time. It might be that I am far less sensitive to horror in written form or that I was a little too old but it didn't find it that scary.

The anticlimax made the read experience... not disappointing but less thrilling than it might have been: It wasn't nightmare inducing but there is tension and suspense and a strange atmosphere which pulls you in. I love a good twist on a fairy tale classic and the Passage To A Magic World But Wrong works really well here. The Other Mother grows more off putting the longer the story goes, I have to admit she creeps me out!

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Algernon is a mice which has undergone a new type of surgery to increased his intelligence. After this succes, Charlie Gordon, a mentally disabled man, is the first human subject to undergo the same treatment. His story is told through the diary that marks his progress and Algernon's, until one day Algernon starts declining: what does it means for Charlie?

As much as possible I try to read book by English speaking author in English but this one intrigued me at the public library so french translation it is!

This is a really emotional story: the title is the saddest part but you don't know it until the very end of the book. It has a really clean symmetrical construction and once I reached the peak and realised where it was going I couldn't help but think I should have expected it. This is a tragedy of the "It was always going to end this way" kind.

I had to excuse the not very ethical jump from one (1) successful test on a mice in the last few weeks to human subject, but it asks some really interesting questions on the treatment of disabilities, especially mental ones and n what intelligence can or can't bring to someone. Charlie's description of his inner "less intelligent" self and it's struggle to fight him and later accept him touched me deeply.

Paradoxically the thing that made the book so interesting: The story is directly from Charlie's point of view and use diary entries to show his progress (he describes it, but the improvement of his spelling, grammar, and vocabulary really makes it feel real). But as time passes and Charlie becomes a genius he grows apart from people around him (some he needed to cut out of his life, some he drove away) and he becomes condescending, cold, altogether not a very likable. As a reader I felt pity for him but he doesn't want it from other characters so like them I felt kinda uneasy. I softened as the end grew nearer but the middle part wasn't all that fun to read.

I don't want to end on a bad notr because it wasn't a bad read! It's a rather short one too so go ahead, it deserves your time!

Et à la fin ils meurent by Lou Lubie

The version of popular fairy tales we know today are often really softened versions of the original. Lou Lubie trace them back for us with a bit of blood and a lot of humour.

I hadn't realised I read that many comic book in February! This last one is in french and more educational: it is a research on the history of fairy tales and how much more violent and dark they were in earlier versions, long before Disney.

The author also asks the interesting of the "original" version of fairy tales? How do you pinpoint the first form of an oral story? If a similar story exist earlier in another culture should it be considered more original than the occidental Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault? (I actually discovered that some version of Cinderella existed as a Chinese tale). Like any academic worth the title she has found lots of sources and cites them, so I trust

However it is also really funny : I still remember the panel with Bluebeard holding a traveller pigeon to his ear like a cellphone! This makes it the most entertaining essay I've read ever.

Unfortunately I don't think it had been translated in English but I'd you speak even a little french (it is not a hard read) check it out to learn some funny/bloody anecdotes on fairy tales!

[casspurrjoybell-29]

Forgotten Ties - Chapter 9 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Nim spent the entire day at school distracted by thoughts of Skye, which was both weird and annoying.

Skye was just so hard to figure out, every time Nim thought he had a handle on him, Skye would throw something new at him, leaving Nim puzzled all over again.

After school, he walked through the front door, planning to sit down and have a long chat with Skye but Joanne stopped him before he could get to their room.

The worried look on her face told him something was wrong.

"Skye's missing," she said.

"Missing?" Nim repeated. "What does that mean?"

"It means we went to check on him when he didn't come for lunch and we couldn't find him. We're not sure how long he's been gone. I looked around the neighbourhood and asked some people but no one's seen him."

"Shit," Nim murmured.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he's okay," Joanne said quickly.

"Maybe school was just too much for him. Could you help look for him? I know you can't go around the neighbourhood as a wolf but your sense of smell should still be useful in this form, right?"

"Yeah, maybe," Nim answered. "I've never tried tracking someone before but I'll give it a go."

The whole house carried Skye's scent but as soon as Nim stepped outside, the smell became more difficult to trace.

Even if his sense of smell was decent in this form, he couldn't exactly put his nose to the ground and sniff around without drawing unwanted attention.

He went to the park not because he could track Skye there but because it was the only nearby place they'd ever been together.

It took a few loops around, attempting to discreetly sniff trees in case Skye had climbed them, before Nim discovered a picnic table that definitely held Skye's scent.

He'd eaten tuna there.

At least that chased away any fears of unlikely scenarios in which Skye had been kidnapped from their home but Nim didn't really know where to go from there.

He wandered the neighbourhood, searching and sniffing the air, hoping to find something.

Had Skye decided he'd had enough of them?

Had he just... left?

Surely he'd at least say goodbye.

Surely Nim deserved that much.

But it was Skye, after all and he didn't always do what might be expected of him.

For hours, Nim's search proved fruitless and then, when it got dark, he looped back to the park.

He sat at the picnic table that smelled of Skye while he waited for the last straggling dog walker to leave, then he stripped, hid his clothes under the table and shifted.

In this form, with his nose to the ground, it was much easier to catch traces of Skye's scent.

He soon found the direction Skye had headed in when leaving the park.

For a while, it seemed like Skye had meandered up and down streets just like Nim had been doing for the last few hours but then Nim traced his path down a long road and he finally lifted his head as he caught a hint of Skye's scent in the air.

In front of him stood a construction site for an apartment block.

Nim shifted and jumped the fence.

Once he was on the other side, he sniffed the air and lifted his head to follow the scent.

It was too dark to see much but Skye was definitely here.

Skye's scent was all over the scaffolding but Nim wasn't about to climb that unless he absolutely had to.

He couldn't survive a fall like Skye could.

He headed inside the barebones building and found that the interior stairs had already been built.

He headed up.

A few floors up, scrunched up on the stairs, he found a pair of workers' pants covered in dried paint and put them on.

They weren't long enough for his legs but whoever their original owner had been must have been large in other ways because they fit around his waist.

He continued up the stairs.

Nim had no trouble smelling Skye now.

He was definitely on this floor.

He still smelled of tuna a little bit.

Nim followed the scent until he spotted Skye sitting on an open edge of the building, silhouetted by moonlight, his legs dangling into empty air.

"Skye," Nim said again.

When there was no response, he reached out and gave Skye's shoulder a gentle shake.

"Skye."

Skye startled and his head snapped towards Nim, his eyes locking on Nim's face.

There was an emptiness to them, like that first day they'd met.

Nim squeezed his hand down on Skye's shoulder.

"You still in there? Come on. It's Nim, remember?"

Skye blinked a few times, his brow tensed, and then intelligence rushed back into his eyes.

There was recognition in them when he looked at Nim now.

Skye lifted a hand and pressed it against the side of his head.

"Shit."

Nim's hand was still on Skye's shoulder.

"You okay?"

Skye nodded.

"I'd started to drift away."

"That thing you do where you sleepwalk through life?"

"Hmm," Skye said. "I didn't mean to."

"It happens that fast? Just a few hours alone, and you're gone?"

"Not normally. I've been on my own for days before and I've been fine. But if I'm stressed... yeah, sometimes. I just wanted to be alone and I thought it would be okay. I don't want to leave."

Nim dropped his hand from Skye's shoulder.

"Well, I found you. You're back now. Are you ready to go home?"

"Can we just sit for a little while? Together?"

"Sure."

Skye leant in against Nim and then turned his head to press a soft kiss against Nim's shoulder.

"Thank you for coming to find me."

"Yeah, of course," Nim said as warmth flooded his belly.

Skye had said things that were a little questionable in the past but Nim had never really read any meaning into them.

This, though, this moment, this atmosphere.

This felt like something.

Nim leant down and pressed a kiss against Skye's cheek.

Skye turned and looked at him with his big, green eyes and for a moment Nim thought Skye was about to ask him what he was doing, about to call him weird but then Skye gave a single nod.

"Good."

Skye nodded again as he settled back in against Nim's side.

"As it should be."

"Yeah, well, maybe. The more I have, the more they can take away from me. They already took my mum. I was trying not to get attached to anyone but here we are."

"If you don't let yourself have things in case the humans take them away, haven't you already let them take them from you?"

Nim found himself smiling.

"When did you get so wise?"

"I can be wise. I've been around a long time, you know."

"So you keep saying."

"Because it's true."

"I believe you. And... yeah. Maybe you're right."

"I am sometimes," Skye said, kicking his legs in the empty air.

"I've lost a lot too, you know. My whole life is just losing things. I don't want to lose you but I might. It might not even be anyone's fault. It's just the way that I am. It could have happened tonight."

"Well, if that happens, I'll just have to come and find you again."

"Yeah. You're a wolf. You can find people, so I can't go missing."

"Yeah."

Nim wrapped his arm around Skye and pulled him in closer against his side.

"We'll be all right."

[tortiefrancis]

Carmen didn't really think the day would ever come.

She spent most of her time just watching the house from afar, seeing the new guys come in, the old ones wave goodbye, helping the newbies get sorted in and find their place, all of it just painfully mundane for her. Still, Tommy insisted she never leave her spot, to never let her guard down, under any circumstances.

And she didn't really get it, not until...

"Tommy, I've got something." She muttered to herself, hoping he'd be close enough that he'd 'listen'.

"What's up?" She heard a faint voice in her head, as if he was right next to her.

"There's a new guy, but he's different." She said, leaning back in her chair a bit. "Came from the back, appearance, like, fully fleshed out, looks an awful lot like Whirlwind-"

"No fucking way!" A second voice chimed in. "That guy's wild."

"Bay, stop it!" Tommy growled. "Okay, you sure this isn't just a another new recruit or..."

"If they're a newbie, this is a huge coincidence, for sure!"

For a moment, silence. Carmen felt her feet tap on the ground repeatedly. "Fine, okay, here's the deal..." He paused again. "We stay here, I'll try to tell the rest to stay calm and get the security procedure going, alright?"

"What security procedure, dude?"

"The kids had an idea after the fight with that weird British dude and I thought it could work..."

"What idea?"

Silence.

"Tommy?"

Silence again.

"Tommy, I'm going to your cabin-"

"You know when we let them go watch 'Home Alone' with our work friends one night?"

Inside the house, a group of kids were cuddled up in a corner of a bedroom, as an older person sat in front of them, holding a baseball bat. The entire place was quiet, no noise made and no noise heard. They gripped the bat tighter, trying to get it out of the view of the kids at the same time. A second person stepped in the room, with a cat on their shoulder, swinging their tail.

"Bay, you sure this will work?" They whispered loudly.

"No, but it's our only chance, if what Carmen and Tommy said is true." He shrugged, feeling his chest become tighter suddenly.

"'Kay, but what do we tell Max? Haven't we been zoning out for a while at this point? We need-"

A doorknob turned downstairs.

"We'll worry about that later, now move!" Bay whispered back to them, frowning slightly. "Go!"

They dashed out of the room and hid behind the doorframe of a nearby room, letting the cat jump out and rest on the floor, though it helped them keep watch of the door. Back in Bay's room, the kids were anxious, while he tried to not let them know that he was too.

It didn't take long for the first trap to go off. A few steps inside the living room and - SNAP! A crocodile style toy now stuck to his hand, aching, this is just what the ones upstairs wanted to hear. Whirlwind, however, tried to swallow the pain, only whincing a few times as they attempted to rid themselves of the toy, which took a while, admittedly.

Before being able to even make it out of the room, they felt their leg knock on something, and before they could crouch down and check, a large, toy hammer fell from the ceiling, hitting Whirlwind straight in the face with great force, for a plastic children's toy. As they fell back, tripping on a wire they had managed to pass by, a second one emerged from the side of a nearby closet, hitting them in the face once again, and on the same side, as they fell. This was starting to get ridiculous, but they still got up and kept going.

The children giggled as they heard the sounds of their successful traps going off, one after the other, almost in a rhythm. A pie launched after opening the office door, a slime gun in the kitchen, a closed full of basketballs falling down at once, a secret passage with mouse traps, a maze of lego blocks and constructions on each step of the staircase going upstairs- they thought the villain would have had enough at this point, even though Bay insisted they could have been much, much more cruel to them than they were.

Before the whispers continued, they heard a sound near the bedroom of feet dragging across the tiled floor, as well as tired muttering in an unfamiliar voice. The kids hugged each other as Bay got up, making their way to the door, getting ready to strike.

"Alright, alright." The voice exclaimed, looking for air. "You guys are clever, I'll give you that.

The two headmates eyed each other from opposite sides of the hallway.

"However-" a cough. "However, I, Whirlwind, will not surrender due to such childish and-"

Bay didn't give them the time of day. Before Whirldwind could go on, they'd hit them with the baseball bat, knocking them unconscious immediately in the upstairs hallway. They crouched down and tried to take a good look at them, but soon, they'd blinked out of the house, no trace left behind. The kids were hesitant, but soon began to cheer.

Opening a window, Bay waved to a small cabin in front of the house. "Carmen, Tommy, they're gone, we got them!"

Prompt #737

A villain tries to "break into" a hero's mind to take it over and control them. Unfortunately for them, the hero is also a system, and they've decided to booby-trap their innerworld, Home Alone style!

[radiant-reid]

Hi!! It’s my birthday and I was wondering if I could get a blurb where Spence surprises reader for her birthday with like her favorite snacks in her favorite movies?!! If you want to add smut you can you don’t have to!!

have an amazing day !!! i didn't add smut, i hope that's okay

It did suck that you had to go to work on your birthday, and you would have been tempted to call off if Spencer was in the city. After a long morning phone call from him, he promised he would be back before the end of the day, threatening to fly the jet himself.

When you get back home, he's there, never one to break his promise, and you practically jump into his arms. He holds you tight to his chest, kissing your head. "Happy birthday." He says.

You pull back to grin at him. "Thanks." He kisses you then like he's been waiting to do all week.

"Okay, come on." He insists, pulling you into the lounge once you drop your stuff.

There's a massive blanket fort that he's clearly put a lot of work into constructing with a mattress on the ground under it and lots of blankets.

"You're so sweet." You comment, kissing him again to show your appreciation. Upon further inspection, he's also got all your favorite snacks, favorite takeout, and favorite movies. Actual DVDs since he refuses to use Netflix. They can't have been easy to find, which makes it more special.

Once you get settled, he pulls out an envelope that he's been keeping hidden and hands it to you. "Happy birthday." He says again.

You can tell he's nervous watching you, and you squeeze his hand in gratitude before opening it. You stare at the piece of paper with an unreadable expression as you read it before looking back up at him.

"This is a house deed." You tell him like he doesn't know. He continues letting you figure it out as you read it again. "This is the address of the house Morgan was fixing."

"It is." He confirms.

Your eyes widen when you put it all together. "You brought me a house?"

"If you want it." He says, watching as you look even more shocked.

You don't even have the words to reply. You just fling yourself onto him for him to hug you. It's easily the most gorgeous house you've been in, better than Rossi's, in your opinion.

"I hope these are good tears." He laughs when you move apart, cupping your cheeks and wiping up the mascara stains with his thumbs.

"Of course." You assure him. "You built me a house."

He shakes his head at that. "I can assure you, I didn't. That would have taken decades. The best I can do is build a blanket fort."

"It is a beautiful blanket fort." You tell him with a giggle.

"I'll make a new one in our new place, too, and we can have lots of movie nights with snacks." He promises you, and you know it's going to look perfect in the big opened-planned kitchen and living space.

[puffpasstea]

Matilda 

A/N: Thank you to all of you who've read/shared so far!! Lmk what you think

Warnings: Kissing (kinda)

Read chapters 1 and 2

Chapter 3

Walking into set was both exhilarating and overwhelming. I've always wondered how much it takes to shoot a film, from scratch, scene by scene like this. The answer, as it turns out, is, " a fuckton." The atmosphere was bustling with production assistants running around everywhere, cameras on wheels whirring, a bunch of people responsible solely for "lighting" the scene, other people quite literally building and disassembling parts of the set as needed, people with copies of the script in hand gesturing and discussing intensely. As I took in my surroundings, the thrill was slowly but surely turning into anxiety in the pit of my stomach. My palms felt suddenly sweaty and my throat dry.

I scanned the open space for signs of Harry. He was standing off to the side of the main stage area, hovering over someone in a chair -- presumably a cast mate?-- green juice in hand. As I watched him, he responded to whatever his cast mate had said to him with laughter, squeezing his eyes shut, head pulled back, a high pitched laugh just barely audible from the distance. I caught myself thinking about how dreamy he is.

I wanted to go say hello to him, but simply walking up to him and his friend seemed weird and presumptuous. Like I'd imply that I was a part of their group, or something. So I stood there, paralyzed with indecision, occasionally glancing at him, hoping he'd glance back and notice me.

"Where do you belong sweetie?" a tall woman approached me with an air of kindness and authority, like a mother, or teacher. She looked off into the distance as we spoke, keeping a watchful eye on something, or someone, else behind us.

I looked up at her, her shirt read 'House Manager.' Explains the authority. "I-- umm..." feeling unsure how to identify, I stuttered for what felt like an eternity. "Well, Harry Styles. I shouldn't call him that. Is it Mr. Styles? That makes him sound old and douche-y. I-"

"You're the library lady?" her eyes softened.

'Library Lady,' didn't have the same ring to it as 'House Manager.' I nodded, blushing.

"Come with me."

She walked me over (away from Harry) to the area where they'd built an artificial office, informing me that the books and props might have already been prepared, and that they'd need a definite list before they move to shoot 'later scenes on location.' I wondered if, by 'on location,' she meant the college, and I wondered, too, if that meant they'd utilize the library.

I was introduced to the director who requested I share my materials and ideas with her before I make any recommendations to the set design team so that she stays aware of what we land on and constructs her scenes meaningfully. This took all day. But, to my surprise, I enjoyed it. Everyone around me was kind and made me feel at ease. Besides, I liked talking about which books would most accurately represent or symbolize particular moments in the film. By the end of the day, I found myself offering to bring out some of our rare books collection.

***

"There she is! Our very own Matilda..." I heard a voice behind me and almost jumped out of my clothes. It was Harry. Finally.

"How long have you been here? How come our paths never crossed?" He asked.

"I- uh. I'm just about done for the day." That wasn't what he'd asked.

He frowned. "Well, I'll wait for you then."

"Oh," I realized I hadn't given him the research materials that he'd asked for. So I pulled a file out of my bag and handed it to him. "No need to wait. Here's your stuff. There's also some book synopses in there, as well as some background on a couple of the things that your character just casually references. I figured it might be helpful to know more about the words that are coming out of your mouth as you're expected to say them so...."

He took the file that I handed him and flipped through it. "This is perfect, thanks...but that's not all I wanted to wait for. A few of us are going for a drink in a bit, you should come!"

I attempted to mumble my way out of the invite but Harry wouldn't let me squirm away. "Nonsense. You go out of your way to do all this work for me, for us, and I don't even spend a second with you all day? unacceptable my friend! You're coming."

***

We ended up all going to the house that Harry's living out of for the duration of filming. They all decided that they would attract less public attention that way. Five of us squeezed into Harry's car as he drove us. He handed his phone over to one of his co-stars with the food delivery app open. "Let's get some dinner so it's on the way by the time that we get home."

A passionate debate regarding what they should get ensued. chicken curry was too similar to the sweet and sour chicken that they'd had a couple of days ago, "it's chicken and rice....again!" Pizza is universally appealing but sushi is healthier.

"Wait, wait, for fuck's sakes!" Harry screamed playfully raising his hand and looking at everyone through the mirror, his intervention cut through the noise and everyone fell silent. "We have a new group member. She should get to choose." He reasoned.

They all chuckled and agreed, eventually passing the phone over to me.

"Well? What do you say?" Harry smiled when I caught his eyes.

I went with burgers and milkshakes.

***

The night went by quickly. After dinner, we all gathered in Harry's living room. His female co-star invited me to sit next to her and whispered the context for all their inside jokes and funny stories. They took turns asking about me, my background, my job, sometimes even asking me to explain some book-related parts of the film.

"Alright quit quizzing her. She's not here to give you a crash course in literary history in one night." Harry shook his head at his friends.

"Oh, so you're the only one she's allowed to help?" one of them retorted.

"I don't mind at all!" I laughed. "But, speaking of work, it's getting late. I do have to work in the morning. And not all of it is movie-related, so...I should get an uber."

Putting his drink down, Harry stood up and fished his car keys from his back pocket. "I'll take you."

"No, no. you've done enough. I can just-"

He rolled his eyes and put his hand on my back leading me to the door. "I'm okay to drive. Didn't drink much, I promise. Let's go."

In car, he asked for my address. I thought about the empty apartment waiting for me and felt uncomfortable.

I Typed my address into his phone as he pulled out of the driveway "Here. even though, truth be told, I don't really feel like going home right now."

"Well, then, let's not go there. Do you want ice cream? I want ice cream. Know any good places around here?"

"Harry, it's late. Pretty much the only thing that's open right now is the 24 hour diner."

"Do they have ice cream?"

"Yeah...."

"What's their address?"

We got our ice cream to go and went for a long drive. We listened to music from Harry's extremely specific Beatles cover songs mixed with Hall and Oates albums and obscure Steely Dan songs. He pulled the roof down and turned up the speed until that, combined with the ice cream, made me nearly freeze to death. I laughed at what the wind had done to his hair and he insisted I looked just as ridiculous. He told me what he thought of the Oscar Wilde book so far and asked if there were any good film adaptations of it.

When we eventually pulled up to my place, Harry put the car in park. "There you go, Matilda." He turned and smiled at me.

" You know, I've actually never read Matilda." I said giggling.

"WHAT?!" he clutched his pearls. Literally clutched at his pearl necklace in shock make me giggle harder.

"You realize the levels of irony in that, don't you?"

I nodded.

"Well, I had a really nice time, Harry. Thank you." I said unbuckling my seatbelt. "Seriously, I haven't had a night out with people since I moved here, so...thanks for inviting me."

"My pleasure." he tapped his knee. "And thank <em>you</em> for all the help."

I placed my hand on the door handle to unlock it, but instead, I leaned over to Harry's side and kissed him.

He froze up in surprise momentarily, but his eyes quickly fluttered shut and he leaned into the kiss, reciprocating.

My cold fingers wrapped on either side of his face seeking control, but he flinched and moved away, breaking the kiss.

Panting and out of breath, I asked if he'd like to come upstairs.

"I-" He paused.

I had my answer.

"Oh god. Well, this is mortifying. I- Look, I didn't realize you- you know what? forget it. forget this ever happened. I have to go."

He reached for my hand but I pulled out of his grasp running out of the car and slamming the door shut. I could hear the echoes of my footsteps in the stairway as I ran up to my apartment.

[the-broken-truth]

The Strings That Bind Us ~ The Reunion

Summary: A Male Foreigner is found and captured on the outskirts of the village & brought before Mother Miranda & The Four House Lords. Upon waking - the male comes face to face with Angie - Donna's Living Puppet - and instantly recognizes her before calling out for Donna herself. Just who is this male and who does he know Donna?

Pairing: Donna Beneviento x Male OC (Vulcan)

[Unknown Place - Unknown Time]

He didn't remember where he was. He doesn't remember how he got here. All he does remember was that he traveled to Romania to search for something precious that he lost years ago. He happened to stumble upon a rather destroyed-looking village that basked in the shadow of an enormous castle; the village itself looked as if its residents all rose at once and abandoned it and all their possessions.

The man walked through the frozen dirt streets of the village with a black, hooded cloak upon his shoulders & the hood upon his head; revealing only his chin and his mouth to the elements - occasionally, his breath with leave his lips and freeze in the cold winter air. He continued to walk around until he stood in the middle of a multi-crossroads, unsure of which way to go. He stood still until he lifted his right hand - revealing a ring on his finger but this ring was different.

The ring was not made of gold or silver - nor was it made of titanium or brass - this ring was more fragile than that for the ring was made of porcelain. Its smooth white surface shined even in the low sunlight. He brought the ring to his lips and kissed the cold surface of it as he tried to keep himself from crying as the memories came back.

'I'll find you and I promise I'm going to protect you - both of you.'

His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of twigs breaking and snarling - he looked around and saw a creature unlike anything he ever saw before - it was humanoid but its skin was grey, it has a mouth full of sharp teeth, and it the noises it made - it was almost wolf-like. He wanted it to say it was a Lycan but it looked nothing like what a Lycan would look like. There were more and more snarls - he looked to see he was now surrounded by these Lycan Rejects. That's when his 'Fight or Flight' instincts kicked in but he's never been one to flee - he never ran from a fight when he sensed something he cared about was in danger. His ring was in danger of being shattered if those things got a hold of him and he would be damned if he let anything shatter his ring. He reached behind his back - under his cloak - with both hands and withdrew two daggers with black blades and silver handles.

"Bring it." He snarled as he dashed into the line of creatures and began to slaughter them left and right until they all laid dead at his feet and his blades were soaked in blood - still dripping from the curve.

"Well - that was an interesting show to watch. I didn't think you could slaughter my lycans with knives like that and still be standing. You're strong as hell, my friend." A voice called out from behind him. He turned to see a tall man wearing a hat with a green coat - he had grey hair that was complete with a beard and circle glasses. He held a massive hammer constructed out of gears and other metals - speaking of metals, the metal that surrounded him on the ground began to levitate around him with each step he took. The stranger took a puff of the cigar he was smoking.

"You call those 'Lycans'? Please, don't make me laugh. Also - who the hell are you?" The cloaked man asked.

"Oh - you're not a local! That's even better." The hammer-wielder smiled as he pointed at the cloaked man - sending a pole flying at him at high speeds until it stabbed through his cloak and into his shoulder, making him grunt and drop one of his daggers; which then got pulled into the strange man's magnetic field.

"Mother Miranda's gonna love you." The man smirked as more metal began to encompassing the cloaked man, trapping him in a metal cocoon of some kind. Before the metal fully took him, his armed hand covered the ring to prevent it from facing the impact of the metal. Soon - began to slip into unconsciousness.

[Unknown Amount Of Time Later]

"I'm telling you - this bastard slaughter my entire squad with these daggers." A familiar voice called out.

"Well - it's obvious your little 'game' would be more of a 'hunting game' to him. I think I can find a better use for him." An elegant feminine voice called out as a response.

"Oh, and what use is that? Using him to make the next brood for your bloodline? Please - he's a hunter so he goes with other hunters and if it takes to him better then he can be the alpha I was looking for." The familiar voice said again.

The unconscious man began to stir awake & opened his eyes to see...wait...It couldn't be her. The familiar large head and thin body with thin limbs, downed in a wedding dress-like attire complete with a veil. He looked at the doll - not in familiar - but astonishment and...was that hope that she saw in his eyes.

"He's awake!" The doll called out as she looked at the other people in the room.

To the left, seated in a chair - a rather tall woman dressed in the look of a royal lady. If he was to guess, she was the owner of the large castle he saw when he first come here.

Across from her was the man who trapped him - his hammer resting by his legs as he saw on a pue of some kind.

To the left of him, more tucked away in the shadows was a small figure, cloaked in fabrics as if to hide his appearance.

Across from him, seating in a chair was a figure downed in black attire, wearing a dark veil over their head, the only part of their body was their hands - by the look of those hands, that person was female.

'I've seen those hands before.' More hope filled his heart.

In the center of it all was a woman - she must have been the leader of it all.

They were talking about something - but the man couldn't care less, when he saw the doll walk away he hurried to his knees but couldn't get all the way up because of the binds but he could use his voice.

"W...Wait...Angie...Angie, is that you?" The man asked.

This caused everyone to stop talking and looked in his direction - including the doll, who was completely confused.

"How do you know my name? Have we met before?" Angie asked as she slowly moved closer to the bound male, who shook the hood off his head to reveal his looks.

His skin was tan but it was a bit paler due to being in the snow for so long. He had short black hair that was wild and free, his eyes...they were amber - burning bright with an unknown emotion.

"Yes, we have; decades ago but you were...alive like this..." His eyes widened as he began looking around. "If you're here then...Donna? Is Donna here too?! Donna?!" He began calling out - almost like a worried spouse looking for their other half.

Everyone looked at the man before looking at the veiled figure sitting to the left of the leader.

"Do you know him, Donna Dear?" the raven-masked woman spoke.

The man's breath caught as he heard her words and looked at the veiled figure who rose from her seat; Angie ran back to her and stood by her side, clenching her dress in her hands like a child holding their mother.

"Donna..." The man spoke softly - tears began to build in his eyes as he tried to rise to his feet - only to be stopped by the binds and cuffs that kept him down. He glared at the restraints and began pulling on them.

"Good luck with that. You're cuffed up ti-"

*CLANK!*

Everyone's eyes widened as the binds holding the captive were shattered, allowing him to stand at his full height.

The Hammer-Wielder jumped to his feet and summoned his hammer to his left hand as if he was getting ready to strike him but the man didn't care - he kept his eyes on Donna, who looked in his direction.

"Donna...I...I found you. After all this time, I finally found you." The man's voice cracked as he spoke with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face.

"Just who are you? How do you know us?" Angie spoke from her place. The man smiled at the doll.

"It's been decades, Angie. It's only natural you don't remember me...after all - you weren't as alive as you are now when we met. My name is Vulcan and I've been searching for you and Donna since the day you guys disappeared." The man - Vulcan - smiled at Donna, who still said nothing, and slowly raised his hand - revealing the porcelain ring on his finger; Donna and Angie gasped at the sight of it.

"I kept it, Donna. I kept this ring just as I kept my promise." Vulcan slowly staggered towards Donna and Angie - completely ignoring the looks the Noble Lady and the Hammer-Wielder were giving him. He took the single step in his way and was now standing before them. He blinked - letting the tears fall from his eyes as he reached out and took Donna in his arms; hugging her as he rested the tip of his nose on her head.

"I'm here, Donna...I won't leave you, I promise." Vulcan sobbed.

Donna - who was silent for the most part - slowly reached her hands up and returned to hug as she clenched his cloak as if he would disappear - as if this was all a dream.

"Vulcan." She spoke as she nuzzled her head into his broad chest with a weak sob of her own.

[End]

[i-desire-jake]

First meet (part 1)

Characters: Jake and female Mc

Genre: Fluff and romance

Summary: Everything's over except Jake and mc love which is growing more and more day by day. So fate decides them to meet each other.

-Oh man... I don't feel like cooking today, and I'm so God damn bored.

You huffed while lying on your couch on the weekend day.

-what should I do you think, and then an idea pops on your mind.

-Yeah, I should disturb him a bit. You grin cheekily at your idea and then grab your phone to text your love.

Yeah you will text Jake. It's been around two and a half month since Hannah was found and MWAF was caught.

You thought that Jake would immediately cut contacts with you after the case was over, but that didn't happen. Instead you both still text till today.

You both have confessed your feelings towards each other and he has even promised you that one day you both would be together. Jake is not the shy person which you thought he would be. Instead he is confident enough and his boldness is enough for you to give you butterflies and to make your knees tremble.

            _____________________

YOU

Hey Jake:)

How is my baby?

Jake is now online

JAKE

Hey beautiful <3

I'm good what about you?

YOU

I'm bored Jake -_-

JAKE

Wanna have some fun? ;)

YOU

Ugh! You and your dirty mind

JAKE

Only for you beautiful ;)

YOU

Baby, I miss you so much.

I so desperately want to meet you.

I want to hug you. Kiss you like there's no tomorrow. I want to be with you forever.

When will you come....?

JAKE

Hey love, don't cry.

Jake hacked your camera and saw you through it.

I have a good news.

YOU

You are free😲😲?

When? Where ? Time?

JAKE

Uh.....

I'm not free.

My pursuers are still after me.

But now this will only last for a few more weeks. I have figured a way to get rid of them and I'll soon be with you love.

YOU

Oh! That's wonderful😁

Can you meet me, somewhere please??

You can come at my house today. After all you'll get free soon, so you can roam around a bit right?

JAKE

I'm sorry love, today I'm busy a bit. So I can't come.

YOU

Oh

JAKE

Hey, hey. Don't worry. I will plan something soon and I promise you I'll do my best.

YOU

Thank you so much Jake.

JAKE

:)

YOU Elephants are jumping inside my stomach. I gotta go and eat something.

JAKE

Hehe

Bye beautiful  <3

YOU

Talk to you later love.❤

Jake is offline

________________________

Uh...

I don't want to spend my day on the couch.

You think for a bit to what to do next.

-I'll go to the restaurant, and get a take out. Then I'll enjoy my time in the park.

I should even visit the new botique by the restaurant.

You take a shower, then rummage through your closet searching for something nice to wear.

You wear a knee length yellow floral dress paired with white sneakers and a small hair clip on your beautiful beach waves.

You take a mirror selfie and immediately send it your man.

The picture effortlessly highlights your curves and your beauty.

One would be lying if they said that you don't look pretty.

Jake is online

JAKE

If I would have been there, then you  wouldn't be able to get off from your bed for the whole day.

Your cheeks blushed reading his flirty text.

YOU

Oh, really! I'd like to see😉

JAKE

Don't mess with me babygirl or you'll regret.

YOU

Bye babe 😆

JAKE

You really leaving after turning me on. That's not fair.

Jake is offline

YOU

Everything is fair in war and love babe☺

________________

JAKE POV

-God, that girl is really making me nervous. He mumbled before deciding to order food for himself.

Tring Tring. Tring Tring.

-Great now. Their home delivery service is closed today.

-Ugh! I'm really craving Chinese today.

 I should get a take out and come back quickly.

He mumbled to himself then went to his laptop to check the condition of his pursuers.

-Wow, I'm really progressing quickly. I'll be free soon. I can't wait to meet Mc.

-I should surprise her today with an unexpected home visit.

But wait.

Ugh.

She was going somewhere today. Ufff. Then tomorrow. And that's final.

He dressed in his usual black hoodie and a plain denim jeans then went to Chinese to fulfill his hunger for food.

MC POV

Hmm... this dress looks sexy. I should buy this.

You giggle at yourself then buy all the dresses you like and head to your favourite restaurant.

-I'm so glad they have elevators here, or else I would have died walking up to the sixth floor to the restaurant.

You sigh, then go to the counter to order your food. You notice a strange man dressed in all black ordering food for almost four people.

- Looks like that man really like Chinese.

You mumble to yourself then go back to the counter to pay for your food.

JAKE POV

- $120

-Sure, here.

He pays for his food in cash then start going back to the exit.

" Stairs under construction. Please use the elevator. Sorry for inconvenience. ⛑⛑"

- what the fuck!

Ugh..... Now I have to use the lifts.

Jake covers his head with his hoodie then enters the elevator with his head down.

He presses the the button for ground floor then wait for the elevator door to close. But before it could close completely, a woman sticks her shoes in between the doors the prevent it from closing.

Jake looks to up to see the person and gets shocked as hell when she enters the elevator and stands beside him.

MC POV

After paying for the food you rushes to the exit when you saw that the doors of lift were about to close.

Yiu stick your shoes there, then enters the little room.

"Thank God I entered on time or else I would have to wait for more ten minutes "

You glance on your side and saw the same hoodie man staring at you with wide eyes.

What's up with him. You think in your mind.

" I know I'm beautiful, mister. But if you would stare at me with that wide eyes then it may pop out"

You joke at the man who now seems embarrassed at his actions.

He clears his throat then look away. But his gaze is still on you. He observes your every movement like he adores you the most.

After a few minutes you notice that the elevator is going down really slowly. You must have reached down till now but you were still moving from 5th to the 4th floor.

- "isn't this lift to- aaahhhhhhh!"

You screamed loudly when the elevator started shaking rapidly and the lights were flickering on and off.

There was a loud thud on the roof of the elevator and you fell directly on the man beside you. If he wouldn't have hold you, you would have crashed your head roughly against the wall.

The lights went off and the room became dark. You started shivering with fear while still clinging to the man. He embraced you and patted your head a few times to calm you down. Minutes passed and then the  light came back.

You came back to your senses when you saw that you were hugging the stranger.

You immediately pulled back blushing and mumbling apologise

- "I....I'm so-....sorry"

- "It's okay beautiful" the man said with a smirk after seeing you blushing and stuttering

JAKE POV

Mc fell on me when the elevator crashed and started shivering. She really is a cute tiny little thing. Jake thought in his mind

When Mc let go off him, he saw that she was blushing like a tomato.

Wow, she looks so cute. I should tease her and see her reaction to a stranger flirting with her.

- "It's okay beautiful" I said after her stuttering apologies.

She blushed even more but then pulled herself together and said

- "Yeah, don't call me that"

- "Why not? You're beautiful so I can call you" I said smirking.

- "Uh....I should press the alarm button because we are stuck"

She pressed the alarm button a few times but it didn't work.

- "look what's written over there. It says the alarm is out of use. You should call that number which is given below it" I said pointing at the number.

I had no intention of staying in the lift forever, but if it's with my love then I can have second thoughts.

I took the phone out from my pocket then started disabling the cameras in the lift. I have already disabled the restaurant's camera before coming but not of the elevators. It's because, I never use lifts to change floors as they are too risky. But I was forced to use it today because the stairs were damaged.

I was in my own thoughts when I heard Mc yelling at someone on the phone

- "Yeah, what do you mean by 3-4 hours? You want us to die inside? I'll report you then you'll lose your fucking license. What kind of service do-"

Before she could shout more and make the situation worse, I snatched her phone away from her then spoke in a different voice "take your time but don't take too long or else we'll might suffocate here. Yeah thank you and please hurry"

I said to the manager then hung up the call returning her phone back.

- "Great. Now we are stuck here for an eternity"

She said in an irritating voice.

I should annoy and tease her more, I thought to myself then proceeded to my actions.

- "why are you worrying babe? You are here with a handsome man like me. Trust me I won't let you feel bored." I said in a flirty tone.

- "Stop calling me with those names. And handsome? Haha I've never heard a better joke. You look like an alien" She said 

*Mc in her mind- btw, he is really very handsome. Uh don't think like that for him*

- "What? alien? Me? I'm offended babe. But you can't do anything cause you are stuck here with me now"

I said, then took off my hoodie revealing me only in my navy blue tshirt.

MC POV

After his heavy flirting, he took off his hoodie showing him only in his thin tshirt.

You couldn't take your eyes off him. He was muscular and well built.

*Wow he's really something. Ugh stop drooling over her Mc. You have your Jake so no other men. But God he really depicts as I imagined Jake. Ocean blue eyes, shiny black hair and so nice-*" you were interrupted out of your thoughts when he again started flirting with you.

- " Stop staring at me, I know I'm handsome and hot but if you will open your eyes that wide then it will pop out" He said mimicking your previous words.

You cleared your throat and looked away saying " why did you removed your hoodie?"

- " Because it's too hot in here."

He said taking a step towards you.

- "yeah, wh-what do you think you're do-doing ?"

You stutterd at him backing off a bit.

Seeing you going back, he smirked and again took a few steps towards you until your back was pressed against the wall.

He put both of his hands beside your head and leaned a bit towards your face saying.

- "Are you scared babe? I won't do anything............without your permission "

You didn't utter a single word because you were completely shocked. Not by his actions but by yourself. You thought only Jake could make you blush and give you butterflies in your stomach with his flirty texts. But here this complete stranger is making you feel nervous as hell and you were blushing like a tomato.

- "Do you want to be my girlfriend? I promise I won't disappoint" He said leaning a bit more forward. Your faces were now only a few inches apart. He tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear seeing your reaction. Your whole body got an electric shock just with a simple touch of his.

"*No, this is wrong. I only want Jake and no one else.*" You thought to yourself and then pushed him away from you.

- "Stay away from me, you pervert. And don't touch me. And for the record, I already have a boyfriend."

He knew well that you were talking about him but how little did you know that your love was this close to you.

- "Oh really?"

- "Yes really" you said.

- "Don't worry babe. I'm sure he won't mind if you'd flirt with me. In fact he would be happy" He said making you confused.

- "Oh yeah? You don't know who he is. And if I'd tell him that there was an alien harassing me in the elevator, he won't spare you."

- "Why? is he a police or a psycho who would kill me?" He asked amused.

- "Trust me he's not a police but he's much more powerful than them. And he's not psycho. So mind your own business and fuck off."

You said to him visibly angry. You can't control yourself when someone bad mouthed him.

- "Hmm.. looks like you really like him"

- "No. I love him"

He let out a happy chuckle then said "Now your boyfriend will say you to kiss me"

He turned around from your side then started doing something.

You ignored him, then took out your phone for time pass.

You saw Jake was online so you immediately went to his chat.

YOU

Hey babe :)

JAKE

Hi beautiful. <3

I'm offended.

YOU

Why? Did I do something wrong?

JAKE

You didn't kiss him.

YOU

Huh, what??

You glance at the man who was still busy with his phone.

JAKE

I love you too.

Then your phone started ringing. It was Jake. He never called you before, not after the case was over.

You quickly received the call.

- "Hello. Jake?"

Silence.....

The man beside you turned around with the phone pressed against his ear.

- "I love you too, beautiful"

The man said and the same voice you heard in your phone.

You were dumbfounded and shocked.

- "You know you look so pretty in real life. And you're so cute. Especially with that angry expression of yours."

Jake or the man in front of you whom you considerd stranger till now said to you in a sweet voice making you completely shocked.

A/N : okay, so I don't know how I feel about this. I think something's missing but I can't figure out what it is. So if you find any mistakes please tell me. I'll try to improve it next time. There will be one or two more part after this.

[mimisempai]

Wait for me on the other side 1/8

Summary:

Mobius, a watchmaker, and Loki, a teacher, realize that they are separated by two years of time when they exchange letters from different years in the mailbox of the house on the cliff where Mobius lives. As the two lonely hearts feel they have found their soulmate, will they ever meet?

or the Lakehouse AU that nobody asked for.

Notes:

This is my very first multi-chapter AU. I hope you'll enjoy it. Chapters will be released on a weekly basis.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32948254/chapters/81773392

3772 words - rating G

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 (End)

When two people "connect" the bond between them can be so pure and simple as to stir hearts in heaven.

When they connect in all the right places at all the wrong times, heaven weeps for broken hearts. To heal these broken hearts, heaven breaks time.

—Blithe Spiritus

Loki took one last look through the rearview mirror at the cottage on the edge of the cliff, which was getting smaller and smaller as he drove away.

Shifting his gaze forward, his face slid to the crate on the passenger seat, where Croki, his pet alligator, was sitting.

"I hope you will like your new home..." Loki sighed.

Then suddenly, he braked abruptly, holding back the cage with one hand as it slid forward. Then he backed the car up.

"Shit. I'm sorry Croc'"

He walked over to the mailbox. He put his hand through the window, opened the mailbox and put an envelope inside. Then his long fingers pulled the red flag in a vertical position, to indicate that there was mail. All this under the eyes of Croki who followed with attention all his gestures.

He tapped the top of the cage, "Come on, this time we're off for good."

He rolled, speeding up, refusing to look at the sign for the tiny village his home was in, New Asgard.  Loki rolled east, the cliff behind him, then passed a sign: New York, 35 miles.

The traffic became heavier as he approached the city.

After maneuvering through the various streets and making his way through the New York traffic, he stopped in front of an apartment building on a busy street. It was a very recent building, cold and sterile. The contrast with the tranquility of New-Asgard was striking.

He parked, got out of the car and took a moment to absorb the change in his surroundings. Then with a sigh, he began to unload his things.

**********

Loki stopped at the steps in front of the entrance to the imposing establishment - September High-School. He inhaled deeply to give himself courage before moving forward, climbing the few steps and pushing open the heavy door. He entered and walked to what appeared to be the front desk where a busy looking secretary was standing.

Loki asked softly, "Excuse me?"

"Just a minute, okay?"

Loki waited a minute, politely, then tried to get the secretary's attention again.

"Ahem... Excuse me, I need to..."

She handed him a stack of paper, while saying, without looking at him, "Just fill this out and wait for me there, okay?"

Loki handed it back to her.

"No, I'm Loki Laufeyson. I'm a new teacher. I was told to report here."

The secretary looked sheepish, "Oh, I'm sorry, Professor. You need to find Principal Romanov. She should be around here. A woman with red hair, dressed in black, you can't miss her."

He did indeed find the Principal in the hallway that the secretary had pointed out.

Natasha Romanov may have looked young to be a high school principal, but everything about her demeanor, her head carriage, her attitude exuded confidence and authority. She walked quickly down the hallway and Loki, though tall, had a hard time keeping up with her.

The principal handed him a large stack of files as soon as they arrived in her office.

"You will be in charge of the sophomores, this morning you will have three classes to teach and three this afternoon."

Loki repeated to be sure, "Three?"

"That's a quiet day, for a first day."

Loki looked a little dazed, he didn't think he was going to jump into the deep end and thought he would have some time to adjust.

The principal turned around, as if she sensed his hesitation, "The teacher you replaced let us down without notice, and it took us a while to find the right replacement, the students lost a lot of time for their final exams. We have to do our best to make sure they pass."

They walked past a student who was sitting alone on a bench, looking sulky. Romanov motioned to a supervisor.

"What's he doing here?"

The supervisor replied, "He was grounded because he took apart a computer to prove Professor Banner wrong and has to do an hour of gym under Professor Odinson's supervision. However, I can't leave the place unattended, and I was waiting for my backup to take him there.

"Peter get up," said principal Romanov in a sharp tone.

The young man stood up, a sulky look on his face.

"Professor Laufeyson, take him to Professor Odinson in the gym and then you can begin your lessons in this class."

The principal pointed to the door of the classroom in question, then turned and walked back to her office, not waiting for an answer.

"Well come with me, Mister...?"

The young boy followed his lead and replied with a pouty tone, "Parker, Peter Parker. »

"Then let's go Mr. Parker, the computer dismantler." replied Loki with a wink.  He knew he couldn't condone what the young man had done, but he couldn't help but find it amusing.

Seeing that the professor didn't look reproachful as he said these words, Peter lost his pout and got a small smile.

"Although I'm curious as to what could have caused you to disassemble a computer."

Peter seemed to come back to life, explained to an amused Loki, that Professor Banner, who taught biology, had said that nothing could compare to the complex construction that was a living being and Peter had wanted to show him the opposite by dismantling the Professor's laptop.

"But I was about to put it back together though, I don't understand why he got so upset."

Loki couldn't help but laugh.

Peter's face frowned because they had arrived at the gym.

They walked through the door and there a giant blonde man came striding in, "Peter Parker, it's been so long! Tell me what you've been up to again." he ruffled Peter's hair who tried to shy away from it, then he held out his hand to Loki who had to hold back a wince at the strength of the professor's grip.

"Professor Odinson, but call me Thor. Nice to meet you. New professor?"

"Yes, I am the new literature professor, Loki Laufeyson, but call me Loki. I'll leave this promising young man to you," He winked at Peter before continuing, "as for me I'll be teaching my first class."

"Welcome here, and good luck!" threw Thor at him before turning back to Peter, "Go change, we'll start with 10 laps running around the basketball court."

Hearing Peter's grumbles, Loki smiled as he walked away.

A few minutes later, he stopped outside his classroom door and took a deep breath.

"It takes a little time to adjust, but most of the students here are exceptional and the teaching staff is really, really nice."

Loki turned to see who had just spoken.

He found himself facing a black man, taller than him, and very impressive. But despite his imposing nature, his smile and eyes were very warm as he held out his hand. "Heimdall, art professor, welcome."

Loki grasped it and replied, "Loki, literature professor."

Heimdall gave a small nod in the direction of the door, "Good luck." then walked away.

Loki, surprisingly relaxed following this little interlude, walked through the classroom door with a confident air, placed his belongings on the desk and with an engaging smile on his lips addressed his first students, "Hello, I am your new literature teacher and I hope we will work well together."

He paused, letting his gaze roam over the entire class before continuing,"O Captain! My Captain! Who knows where that came from? No one? No idea? It's-"

A young boy raised his hand at the back of the classroom.

"Yes Mister...?"

"Keener, Harley Keener."

"All right Mister Keener, I'm listening."

"It's a Walt Whitman poem about Abraham Lincoln. And it's plagiarism of Professor Keating's introduction played by Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society."

Loki didn't lose his confidence at all and replied, "Thank you Mr. Keener. I'm not going to apologize for the plagiarism. I didn't expect anyone to contradict me since this film was released long before you were all born. Thank you, Mr. Keener, for setting me straight. I won't ask you to call me Captain, Sir, or Professor, but simply Loki. Yes, Mr. Keener, Loki, as in the Norse god of mischief... "

The whole class, including Harley, laughed and Loki thought that it wasn't such a bad start.

But he still felt exhausted at the end of the day, and he slumped into the chair at his assigned desk in the teacher's lounge. He leaned in and put his head back, closing his eyes.

"So they've worn you out already?" it was the deep voice, which he recognized as Heimdall's. He opened his eyes to see that the art professor had sat just at the desk next to him.

"Yet the Famous Five keep talking about Loki, the new professor who is super cool. It's been a long time since I've heard a literature professor on such good terms." It was Thor who came to join them and pulled a chair to sit in the space between Heimdall and Loki.

"The Famous Five?"

Thor chuckled before answering, "They're called that because they're always stuffed together, probably five of the smartest minds in this elite school, and as a result always going out on the town to..."

"…the benefit of science." finished Heimdall.

"That's their argument every time they get busted," Thor clarified.

"Who are they?" asked Loki, curious.

"There's Peter who you met this morning, he's in the same class as his two childhood friends Ned and MJ. There's Harley who talked about how you put him in his place, when he thought he had fooled you. Captain my Captain huh?"

Thor chuckled before continuing, "and finally Kamala Khan, the newest one, a little brunette, a ball of energy who always wears a big red scarf, summer and winter and who the other four have taken under their wing."

"Interesting..." replied Loki, thoughtfully.

"Wait until you're the target of their prank and we'll see if you find these kids interesting." said an unknown voice behind him.

"Bruce my friend! Were you able to fix your laptop?" exclaimed Thor with a laugh.

Loki turned around, only to find himself standing in front of a man who was a little older than him. He stood up and held out his hand, "Professor Banner, I presume."

"Am I that famous?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow as he shook the outstretched hand in a firm grip.

"It's mostly that I had the pleasure of taking Peter Parker for his grounding to Thor." replied Loki

"That brat..." harrumphed Bruce. "He's smart... but his habit of proving he's always right..."

The other men laughed in unison.

"So boys? Are we having fun?" a young woman with short blond hair stepped forward and held out her hand, "Carol Danvers, homeroom teacher at this crazy school."

"Nice to meet you," Loki replied, shaking the outstretched hand.

Unaccustomed to being around so many people and especially such friendly people, Loki felt a little overwhelmed and suddenly the fatigue of this first day seemed to fall on his shoulders to the point that he had to stifle a yawn.

Thor patted him on the back and said, "I have an excellent remedy for that."

"What is it?"

Heimdall and Thor high-fived each other and said in unison, "The Bifrost."

At Loki's look of complete incomprehension, Carol explained, "It's a bar two blocks away, good burgers, good beer and for good company, that's us." she finished with a wink.

Loki realized they were inviting him to come with them but he hesitated and finally replied, "Thanks. I better not drink tonight. I'm dead."

Bruce retorted, "We're all dead."

"Yes, but I still have a lot to unpack."

They nodded, and did not seem disappointed by his refusal, even rather understanding. Loki really wasn't used to this kind of company.

Heimdall put his hand on his arm and then said softly, "Next time, then."

Loki, not understanding why his throat was tight, simply nodded.

A little later, they separated in front of the school gates. Loki on one side and the group on the other.

" Bye Loki!"

"See you tomorrow Captain!"

Loki lived only three blocks from the school and soon arrived home. When he entered he realized how sterile and cold his large apartment seemed.

He had not yet had time to unpack all his things and the boxes were scattered everywhere. The first thing he had unpacked was Croki's terrarium, which took up a whole room.

As he closed the door, he heard Croki's typical little paws coming and rubbing against him as usual. He patted his head and headed for the kitchen. Croki was a Cuvier's Dwarf caiman. Loki had once wanted to get a dog, but in the animal shelter he had immediately felt a connection with the animal, perhaps because he was different, like himself.

Loki opened the refrigerator which was desperately empty except for Croki's fish ration. He put it on a plate and put it on the floor while commenting, "Need alligator food. And human too."

He was going to have to do some shopping tomorrow.

After snacking on a bag of chips, exhausted, he took a quick shower before going to his room.

"Good night Croki."

His room was as functional and depressing as the rest of the place. He went to stand in front of the window. Outside it was all stone buildings. It was very difficult to even see the sky. He sighed, "What a view..."

He pulled the blinds and went to bed. Once his head was on the pillow, he fell asleep very quickly, which prevented him from thinking too much about everything he missed.

**********

A red pickup truck passed the New Asgard sign before parking at the side of the path that leads to the house. Its back end was filled with furniture and moving boxes. A mustachioed man with gray hair got out. He walked toward the cottage on the edge of the cliff and stopped, hands on hips, contemplating the view.

He opened the door, looked for the electric power meter. He turned it on and went to turn on the light in the entrance and then in what seemed to be the living room.

Mobius examined the place, satisfied. There wasn't much. A stereo, some books, an armchair. But the bare and cosy furniture matched perfectly with the austere beauty of the small cottage. He looked out the window at the cliff. He was going to like it here.

It took him a good four hours to unload his pickup truck by himself and install just about everything he had brought. Once finished, he grabbed a cold beer that he had put in the cooler and while drinking it quietly walked around the house before getting in the car to go shopping at the local grocery store that he had spotted on his way in.

Once he had gone around the store, with his groceries in his arms, he went to put them on the counter.

The young owner and his wife were behind.

"Hi, are you new around here?" the owner asked him.

Mobius smiled and replied, "More or less. My name is Mobius."

The owner replied, "My name is Clint and this is my wife, Laura."

Laura smiled and added, "You're going to like it. Especially now that the weather is getting warmer." Then pointing to the groceries, she added, "We'll get you some boxes for all that."

"Oh thanks." replied Mobius.

Laura fetched an empty box from a high shelf. Now that she was no longer hidden by the counter, it was obvious that she was pregnant. Clint rushed to her. "No, honey, let me."

Mobius looked at them, feeling moved and at the same time fully aware of his own loneliness. He paid, took his box and left, but not without promising the young couple to return.

He parked in front of the small road with his groceries in the back of the truck and noticed the mailbox with its flag up. He stopped and opened it. There was an envelope.

For the new tenant.

He took in the groceries, put them away, made himself a sandwich tray and taking the letter, he went to sit on the armchair in front of the bay window. He put his tray on a small table next to it, opened the letter and started to read.

Dear new tenant.

Hello and welcome to your new home and congratulations, blah blah blah. You have made an excellent choice, New Asgard is a wonderful place and this house is a gem, as you may have already noticed.

I'm sure you'll love living here as much as I do.

By the way, I'm the former tenant, Loki.

Mobius looked perplexed but also pleasantly surprised.

The post office forwards my mail normally, but if something should happen here, because the post service is what it is and we are never safe, my new address is below. Thank you.

Mobius turned over the letter.

P.S.: Sorry for the pawprints leading to the front door. They were already there when I moved in, as well as the box in the attic. I think it belongs to the owner.

Mobius stared at the letter in amusement and could not help but check the end of the letter.

He went to the front door. The floor was clean. Inside and out.

"What did he talk about?" he scratched the back of his head before heading for the ladder that led to the attic. He opened the hatch, poked his head through and looked around. It was empty. No box.

Mobius went back down, shrugged, crumpled the letter and threw it away.

He finished his meal and went to bed.

The next day, in his clock store, while repairing an antique watch with an extremely complicated mechanism, he couldn't help thinking about the letter and its more or less strange ending when he was interrupted by the doorbell indicating that someone had entered the store.

He put down his tools, wiped his hands, and headed for the store.

"Hey Mobius! I made lunch, shall we share?"

It was the bubbly and somewhat invasive, Sylvie. The owner of the antique gun store right across from him.

He replied, annoyed, because she had interrupted his work that he loved, "I can't, I have urgent work to finish."

"Oh come on Mobius, there's nothing urgent about an old watch."

"It is to its owner."

She made a disappointed pout, "Well, okay..." she sighed and headed for the door, then turned abruptly. "Is it true you bought a house? Where is it? How is it?"

Mobius rolled his eyes, used to Sylvie's chatter.

"It's an isolated cottage, in a small village called New Asgard."

"You're sick to isolate yourself like that!"

"It's what I want and I already feel at home there. And now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get back to my work, which is not urgent." He walked briskly toward his studio, annoyed by the criticism of his choice, and didn't even hear the door close.

In the late afternoon, after his day's work, he decided to repaint the faded fences that lined the small path. The manual work, like his work on watches, helped him to clear his head.

A few hours later, as the day was getting darker, Mobius was kneeling on the steps and applying a new layer of paint to the weathered planks. He finished, satisfied with the result, and began to put his equipment away.

Behind him, a small dwarf alligator trotted along the path. Mobius didn't notice it at first. The alligator sped up and before Mobius could react, he stepped into the paint and left footprints behind him. "Hey!"

Mobius tried to catch the alligator but it ran back inside the house whose door Mobius had left ajar. Mobius was about to follow him, wondering what an alligator was doing here and if he was dangerous, when he suddenly stopped.

On the ground in front of the house, there was a trail of paw prints.

Mobius rushed to the garbage can and searched with determination through his trash when he finally found what he was looking for: Loki's letter.

He stared at it.

Sorry about the footprints leading to the front door. They were already there when I moved in, as was the box in the attic. I think it belongs to the owner.

He remained for a long moment staring at the crumpled note.

*********

Loki went out to have lunch at a place he had spotted not far from the school.

Finding the weather warm, he opened his coat and continued walking.

When he arrived at the place, he sat down on a bench and started to unwrap his sandwich, a book in his hand. He enjoyed this moment of calm, even if the place was crowded on this beautiful day.

Once finished eating, Loki closed his eyes for a moment, letting the sunlight warm him up. Just aware of the surrounding sounds, the water of the fountain, the splashes and laughter of the children playing there, an old man grumbling about global warming, the pigeons landing not far away, hoping to get some crumbs from those who like Loki had decided to have lunch here.

Suddenly, a horrible noise, a high-pitched squeal and a horn made Loki sit up. He suddenly opened his eyes and looked around.

A few meters away, in front of Loki, a double-decker city bus was trying to stop. It was going pretty fast, although you could tell the driver was trying to brake.

Loki registered it all, the noise, the bus, before noticing the gray-haired man standing directly in the path of the bus. There was nothing to be done, it was inevitable and almost immediate, the man was hit by the bus, and Loki, horrified, saw his distant figure fly ten or fifteen feet into the air before crashing to the sidewalk. The faint sound of the impact reached Loki half a second later, due to the distance.

Loki automatically took out his cell phone and dialed 911. As he walked towards the impact point, he gave all the information to the rescue workers, trying to remain calm.

Once he hung up the phone, he started to run towards the lifeless body.

_______

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 (End)

As always, bear with me as it is not beta'd and english is not my native language I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless🥰

[barcaavengers]

Complete Safe Haven||Newt Imagine

Note: I'm not that proud of this since I edited it about 6 times. I feel like it lacks something I can't really tell what it is, but here it is! Will definitely write a part two so we will see how everyone responds to it. I was listening to "That Would Be Enough" from Hamilton cause I think it tells a bit how Newt could be somewhat hesitant of the idea of having a baby after everything he has gone through and how unsure he can be of himself, you know? I don't know, that song inspired me a bit. Also, struggled a lot to think how the Safe Haven would be like after two years of them moving there so yep. Feedback and ideas are encouraged! <3

Tag: Tagging those who liked my posts that I was writing it since I said a few weeks ago it was going to be up and totally didn’t. @late-to-the-fandom-party @loverofmazeandthrones @gaymistakeboi @enixgucci @the-panwitch @expectroyalpurple @thepotatoes-havefallen @queenkitten695 @lovefelps @kurtzyoufunkylittledruggyprimary​ @smallsleepywriter​ @haiykuuia​ @sskeletonsoffun @thiccheerioss​ @demiwitchavenger7​ @infinite-piper​ @sungjungelf​ @hanniejji​ @solovehasblindedyou​ @sleepysnapesnake​ @little-odd-dude​ @washing-machine-headcannons​

The soft waves going against your body so early in the morning was your favorite feeling ever since you have gotten to the Safe Haven. The waves would just make you forget what had happened, cleared your head from any memory that was too painful, and those were mostly of that night. You still had nightmares, watching him turn into a Crank, his attacks, him hurting you unconsciously...You were lucky that things ended the way they did, but even then, you knew that those memories would always get to you. Arms rest on your shoulders making you jump, but relax under the knowing touch, rubbing your shoulder blades soothingly and you smile. "Hey."

"Morning, love" Newt's voice was still groggy, you guessed it hasn't been long since he woke up. "Why aren't you in bed?" He presses a kiss on your shoulder before his hands land on your waist, the soft waves rocking you both slightly.

"You kicked me out" you say playfully as you turn to him. 

"What a terrible boyfriend I am," he says with a chuckle. "When was the last time you slept properly?" 

It has been about two years since you have moved to the Safe Haven. The island was now covered in construction, buildings, and houses. Yesterday it was your four year anniversary, and Newt had planned a beautiful evening in what you were proud to call your new house, "First night home" he called it. After living in a small hut that reminded you of the Glade, now you had a bigger house, all for the two of you. You have been looking into The Last City, or what used to be, after Jorge took you and others back a few months ago, and you had the chance to gather a few technology items in a somewhat black market set in the city. The immunes that survived had built a city within the city, but no sign of what Wicked once was. You had seen people losing themselves to the Flare, so you started to play around with the idea of a cure again, using Thomas' blood and trying to figure out what made his blood different, without human trials and finding a way to help without draining him from his blood. You managed to do it with Newt. Vitals were missed when he attacked Thomas' back at the Last City and the serum was administered when he woke up on your way to this place. You took the serum and mixed it with some of Thomas' blood and applied a second dose, that one seemed to have done it. Unfortunately there wasn't enough serum for everyone back there and you had to find a way. 

"I can't say" you admit with a smirk. "I need to keep working…" you say as he removes a strand of hair from your face. 

"You look pale every morning, love" he points out.

"Maybe the late nights I'm working" but you knew better than that. Newt hasn't noticed, but you have been having morning sickness more often and feeling dizzy. 

"Take a break" he kisses your forehead. "We have our new home, we have to enjoy it" he says and you smile. You had a slight idea of what could be going, but instead of raising hopes, you rather wait to get things confirmed. 

Vince had brought a doctor who was the one to help you around the idea of a cure, as well as helped you learn a few things about medicine. She agreed to run a few tests while Newt was out with Thomas, Gally and Minho as they went to check an area for tonight to set a bonfire like back at the Glade, just a close group of friends, you have refused when they asked you to go and went to get the results at the medical hut instead. 

"Hey" you greet the doctor after walking into the tent. 

"Y/N," she greets as she turns around. "Couldn't wait I see?" She teases. 

"I have barely slept" you admit with a nervous smirk. "Between this and thinking of ways to make the cure…"

"You shouldn't lose sleep over this" Elena, the doctor, says as she lifts a piece of paper causing your heartbeat to increase. 

"Oh God…" you mutter. 

"You ready?" She asks as she walks towards you and you nod. "You might not know much about medicine and all this, but you were right" she hands you the piece of paper, your eyes widening. "Congratulations."

For a moment every sound goes silent, it felt like everything around you stopped and so many feelings rushed in. How were you supposed to feel? How would Newt react? "I-"

Elena reaches you and places a hand on your shoulder, "Everything alright?"

"I don't know…" you say. "I never really thought about it...I mean, I did but now that it happened…"

"You are scared" she says and you nod your head slowly. "Don't be" she assures you. "If what you are scared of is Newt's reaction, I think he will be shocked at first, but he will grow to the idea of it. He loves you."

"I can't even think of a way to tell him…" you admit. "What about this place? I don't think it's completely baby proof."

"No place is baby proof. Certainly not during these times" she points out. "Doesn't mean everyone will stop having babies. You will have everyone's support I'm that sure. We will look into ways to get what you need as everything goes" somehow her words made your whole body relax. 

You were away from Wicked, away from the Flare it seemed, but you never trusted that. The Flare could travel through air according to Ava, and Wicked could easily find you if they get as determined as they were, if there was anyone left that would go with such crazy trials. It didn't appear so, the times you have been into the Standing City you have not heard a word from Wicked or possible takers in the tasks. Everyone who survived the attack was just trying to get their lives before the Flare decided their faith, and any immune would just mind their business. Would there be anyone crazy enough to bring back what Wicked once was? Or something worse? Your mind was spinning around the idea. You didn't want your kid to be taken away and used for crazy experiments and trials, you knew that much. Not that you wouldn't do anything in your power to keep them safe from anything that happened. 

You have gone back to your new house and went to lay back on the hammock to try to keep all your feelings in check and find a way to tell Newt the news. Will he be happy? Will he have the same thoughts of bringing a baby to the Safe Haven was a bad timing right now? It wasn't planned, but it wasn't not planned either. It was going to happen eventually. You two were careful, but after some time you two stopped, knowing the consequences but did it anyway. Was it maybe that you both have wanted this but never talked about it with the other? You knew you wanted a life with Newt, wanted everything with him, but what about him? Kids were not something you two have talked about before, because you two were now growing into the relationship and taking bigger steps, like the new house he had built up along with the guys for the two of you. 

"Hey, love" Newt calls as he walks in and you turn around from your hammock.

"Hey" he leans in and you peck his lips once you sit up. "How was it?"

"Well, it's not the Glade," Newt says as he stares off blankly. "but it's big enough for a group of us. I don't think many people would get going in the middle of nowhere and set a bonfire and get drunk...or fight Gally" he chuckles and you join him. 

"The latter is the one people won't get" you say and lean against him, your heart beating wildly as you thought of telling him. 

"Probably" he says and wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you close. "I mean, getting wasted is kind of a thing to go for that one. I don't think that anyone right upstairs would fight Gally, except you when you kicked his ass" he adds. "I'm betting on you to do it again in front of everyone," he smirks. 

"That was a good day" you agree and smirk. "Don't think I'll have the same luck now" he takes your hand and kisses your knuckles. 

"Let's go get ready for tonight" he says and kisses your forehead before pulling you by your hand. 

When you arrive at the bonfire, you see that even if not many have come, it was enough to make you remember your times at the Glade and you feel a knot growing on your throat, eyes watering. You remembered Chuck, Winston and Alby. Newt side eyes you and pulls you close, "I'm okay" you assure him.

"You don't have to be" he throws an arm around your shoulder and kisses the side of your temple. "I know what it feels like," he knew that this was giving you major flashbacks. "They wouldn't want us moping around though, so let's go have some fun" he takes your hand and makes you spin after he pulls away and you giggle, he pulls you close to him again and join the others.

Newt was with the boys while you sat with Harriet, Sonya and Brenda. They knew about your tests, so that was the topic. 

"So? What did they say?" Sonya asks as she leans in. 

"I bet it is what I said. Come on, I can't be the only one who thought about it as soon as she said how she was feeling" Brenda says with her hand extended to you. 

"I don't know if I should tell you" you tease as you grin. "Or just say it at the bonfire...at some point" you say and look back at Newt who gives you a wink, making your cheeks flush. 

"Oh come on, you are gonna make us wait?" Harriet says with a pout. "Please?" Her hand extends and you sigh, pulling out the piece of paper that read the results. You were carrying them around hoping to know when the time would be right. 

The girls gather around Harriet, all of them smiling which only makes you grin wider when their eyes widen and the three look at you in cue. "Oh my God!" Sonya squeals before moving to you and hugging you. 

"Just keep it a secret for a few, I haven't told him yet," you say and she pulls away. 

"Right. Of course. Newt should be the first to know anyway" Sonya says as she pushes her hair back and tries to act normal. "I'm so happy for you guys! It's like everything starts getting normal around here."

"Life wise anyway" Brenda says as she looks at you. "How do you plan on telling him?"

"I'm not sure…" you admit. "but I have to do it soon. Gally is going to bring his moonshine any minute now and I can't find an excuse to neglect it" you point out and just in cue Gally walks to the clearing. 

"Leave that up to me" Brenda says as she stands up and pats your shoulder before walking towards the boy. You eye her curiously and you smile at how nice Gally was around Brenda, not like he wasn't nice with the others, but he smiled and laughed quite often. Brenda puts her hand on his shoulder and you look at Sonya and Harriet. 

"We are as clueless as you are" Harriet says and you laugh. 

Time goes by and you are all eating and laughing. The groups have gotten together and now you were all closer to the bonfire. Gally was around handing over his moonshine and Brenda helped. After everyone had their drink, Brenda spoke, "I know we have done our own bonfires before," she begins, "but this one is different for some of us. To some this is a reminder of how we bonded" she looks at you and you look at Newt who smiles. "For others, it's a reminder that no matter what, we have fun with the people closest to us, our new family" she raises her glass. "For our family" she says and her eyes widen at you and you shake your head before you feel Sonya's hand shoving you slightly, so you stand, holding your own moonshine.

"For our family," your knees feel like giving up on you from how nervous you felt. "For the one that we found..." you trail off. Your heart was beating wildly against your chest, hearing the thuds in your ear. "And for the ones on the way" you say and place a hand on your stomach, your eyes glued to Newt whose eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Then, there was silence for a few seconds.  

"No way!" Frypan is the first to get it, a huge smile on his lips, Minho eyes him like if he was crazy. 

"Am I missing something here? Secret conversation?" You eye the girls and they are laughing at how clueless the boys were after Minho's words.

"Dude, come on! Y/N is going to have a baby!" Frypan pushes Minho before his smile fades for a moment and looks at you. "At least that's what I took as a hint…?" 

You laugh nervously and you eye Newt whose mind seems to be lost in the maze, everyone is looking at you waiting for the confirmation. "Newt, we…" your words feel jumbled up, "You are going to be a dad" you say and everyone starts cheering around. Newt's eyes go wide open as he processes the information, everyone is patting his back and congratulating him but he was motionless. They come to you as well, and even if you are smiling and saying thanks, your eyes were glued to your boyfriend. 

Everyone started to drink and cheer, except Newt who was looking down at his drink, your mood was slowly dropping, but you found some courage to walk to him after a few minutes. "You alright?" You ask as you sit next to him against a log. 

Your voice breaks him out of his trance and he looks at you before nodding his head, "Yeah, just... wrapping my head around what you just said…"

"I know it's a lot to get around with...I still don't believe it…" you say. 

"I should be more excited...and I am, trust me...but I can't help but think…"

"Newt, I know we never-"

"It's not that" he shakes his head and looks at you. "Not the slightest. I might not have said it, but after everything started to settle down, I started to think about us...our future" he says and takes your hand in his. "I thought so many things and you were always there, but…"

"But?" You were expecting the worst. 

"Y/N, I don't have anything to offer to you, or the baby," you frown as you watch him play with your fingers. "Not now, anyway. This place is being built from scraps.."

"Newt, I don't know what you mean by that…" your free hand goes up to his hair, running your fingers through it. 

 "We have a home now, but... We are still getting used to this place, we don't have all the supplies, the equipment…"

"We do this as it goes, like Thomas does" you say to make him smile, which he chuckles at.

"I know" he continues to play with your fingers avoiding your gaze. You could tell he wasn’t at all convinced, so you tighten your fingers around his. 

"Hey," you call. "Talk to me…" You try to meet his gaze, but it was dropped to your fingers. 

"I-" he pauses. "I am happy, I don't want you to think I am not" he finally meets your eyes. "Having everything with you...Just makes this place way better" he smiles. "And having a little girl just like you" he cups your face with one hand and kisses your lips. "Who else can say they survived what we have and have a family" he says playfully and you grin. "But bringing our baby to this...place, this world…" he confesses, his fingers running nervously on his lips. 

"Newt, I know…" you assure him. 

"I don't want them to go through what we did, Y/N…" he admits. "I don't want them to live in a world where they could be chased for being healthy, or feel cursed because they are not immune to the Flare like I was."

"I'm just as scared and I will work on a cure now more than ever...but we can't start worrying like this…" you take his hand and place it on your stomach. "We will figure it out like we always do, together" he is looking at your stomach, his concerned features softening. 

You can see his body relaxing, his thumb moving soothingly on its place on your stomach. "There is a little boy or girl growing right there and it's ours…" 

"I know you'll do anything for them…" you assure him. You felt like Newt had to be reassured, and you could understand where he came from. He has overcome so much to get where he is now, from the dark places of his mind to what was now his new life. He was doubting himself, to not being able to provide your baby with the best, but what was that here in the Safe Haven? The simplest thing you had them already. You were all healthy, you had a home, food, friends...You still had time to get used to the idea and get adjusted at the thought that soon it was going to be more than just the two of you. 

The Safe Haven has provided you with everything you needed for a basic life, and every now and then as you went to the remains of the city you tried to bring something that would help. Jorge and Brenda were working with technology along with some of the other Gladers from other groups. It was true, this place was being brought up by remains of what once was the Last City, but it was getting close to what you once imagined it would turn to. 

"I love you, princess…" he pulls you in and gives you a kiss, the type he holds his breath and let's go of it softly through his nostrils, making it last. "I'm sorry for not acting like you probably wanted me to…"

"I get it. It's a lot to take in. I feel the same way" you admit. "I was so scared of what you would say" you pause. "But we have gone through so many things together that I don't think a baby will be the exception" you voice. 

"It scares me to death to be quite honest" he says with a smirk. "I'm trying my best to be optimistic here, I am" he paused. "I'm happy to start a family with you, but just the thought of what could happen… This place is not ready for a baby…"

"I know...but we have time. We will know…" he is staring at you lovingly, smiling. 

"Congratulations!" Thomas joins you with Frypan, sitting right besides you. 

"Took you long enough" Minho says as he steps in. 

In the deepest part of your head, you were somewhat disappointed that the boys seemed to be more excited about it then Newt. Yes, the blonde was scared of the what ifs and the possibilities and so were you, yet something told you that he wasn't very wrapped around the idea of it and his mind was only repeating the bad scenarios. 

"Shut up, Minho" Newt says, but the boy only grins. 

"I am going to have a little helping hand in the kitchen in a few months" Fry says. 

"I could use the help patrolling" Thomas and Vince have established a guard in the island. Not like much happened, you knew everyone and they all went by the rules set, but it gave you the sense of feeling that if anything were to happen, you'd be ready. 

"You are all doing bloody plans without the baby even being born" Newt says. 

"Don't look at me I haven't said anything," Minho says. "It'd be nice if it has Y/N's genes though. No offense."

"Well that baby wasn't done just by me, Minho, so be ready" you say playfully. 

"I don't need to know the whole thing so if you can skip the lesson" Minho says. 

"Newt, you alright?" Thomas calls out and you look behind you at your boyfriend. 

"Yeah, just, thinking…" you frown. "Just give me some time, that's all" he admits and smiles, placing his hand on your belly and looms up at you, something told you he will grow to the idea of it soon. 

"So Y/N, can't drink with us now, so let's drink for her" Minho raises his cup and Fry cheers, shoving Newt playfully. 

"To our baby, I guess" he says with a shrug. 

"Our?" Minho questions. 

"Not ours you slinthead" Newt reaches to try to smack the back of Minho's head playfully. "Ours" he looks down at you and you smile softly. 

"It's the baby from our Glade anyway" Thomas says. "I'm happy for the two of you" he gives your arm a soft squeeze and you nod your head. 

"So, when is it too soon to start thinking of names?" Fry asks and the boys look at you. 

"How the hell should I bloody know?" Newt asks after sipping on his cup making the boys chuckle. 

Thomas eyes you as the guys talk to each other, and his eyebrows furrow in question. You shake your head and do a small wave with your hand to tell him that you will talk to him later. If someone could help you understand what was going through Newt's mind was Thomas, or Minho, but mostly Thomas. Newt seems to trust him more for a few things. 

Now it was a matter to wait and see how things went. At least it was out there that you were expecting, and Newt knew. Thing now was, how everything was going to start working after these news… 

[xanderwithanx]

Chloe does night-time diary posts on HER tumblr, so I'm going to start doing them here, sometimes. It would be nice if you read it, but, please, don't feel obligated! This is more for me to write.

(I got tired of my normal journal, I guess. It's full of bad poetry anyway. Besides, where's the thrill of losing anonymity in a physical notebook?)

I've basically been asleep and depressed for several days, because I had withdrawal after not being able to get my adhd meds. But, I got it today, and DID THINGS. (This is SO much better than before!)

Today, I went to a small café or restaurant (focused on tea) called Alice's Teacup that was Alice in Wonderland themed! My long-standing obsession with Alice in Wonderland knows no bounds. It was a really cute place. I got pumpkin pancakes, and some really good iced tea. Like... REALLY good iced tea.

Still, it seemed like the entire place was geared towards having a pot of tea and snacks with your friends, which left me a bit lonely. The person I asked couldn't come, and by the time I heard back, I was more than halfway there. Still, I read Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and watched Monty Python on my phone, so I still had a good time!

I dressed pretty eccentricly and effeminately all day, but, with my facial hair, I was ALWAYS coded as a man, even by people on the street! Pastels, a stupid hat, a crop top, and facial hair was a winning combination.

On my way, I was stopped by some guys soliciting for charity. I don't make a habit of stopping for strangers on the streets of Manhattan. What if it's a scam? What if I'm being pressured to buy something? What if it's a strange political rant? But, I had already taken my earbuds off, I wasn't in a hurry, and I'm terminally polite. The first guy said he liked my energy, which seemed to come from a genuine place, because I liked his too!

They were asking for donations for a breast cancer charity, the United Breast Cancer Foundation. After a discussion, it seems like the charity helps pay medical debt, medical bills, and other practical needs, which is much better than *some* others I could name. I regretted not being able to give their minimum there, as it was pretty high, but told them I'd give what I could when I got on the website.

I... did not. Money is tight, because I'm bad and irresponsible with money, even though this is more than a worthy cause. I didn't NEED to go to that tea place, and I don't NEED to spend so much money on food. Sure, I can justify it: I wanted to go to that place for so long, and it was near the college anyway! But, if I was responsible with money, you KNOW my friends direct fundraising drives would go first, worthy charities second. Still, I feel bad about it.

Then, I went to the college library, to get books to start my thesis research. I have literally been unable to go to the college itself, aside from getting my ID, so this was great! There just wasn't a reason. It was... very empty. I went to the library stacks, which was deathly quiet and deeply haunted by the old books. I half expected something to pop out at me, as I turned the stacks, but I wasn't even paranoid or anxious. It was like I was in something else's house. I was welcome, but on thin ice.

I picked up an irrelevant psychology book on the "schizophrenia problem" from the 1930s, out of morbid fascination, and quickly put it down when it threatened to shatter in my hands.

Some students walked past (which was a suprise in those monastic basement library stacks), and I added something to their conversation, in a totally natural and casual way. But, omg the poor girls, I made them jump! Luckily, I'm the least threatening person on earth, and we laughed it off.

After a lot of hunting, I got 5 out of my 10 books (for the most part)! (The rest are, sadly, online. I like to read physical copies.) Strangely, I only came in with a list to get 3 books out of 6.

Most of the books I got are about art in the AIDS crisis, which is the core of my thesis, I think, all with different value. One about exhibitions, one about the larger narrative of those gay artists, and another contradicting the larger narrative.

I also got a book about "Art and Homosexuality". Just, the parallel construction of both "art" and "homosexuality" across cultures and times, from earliest history to the modern age. It wasn't on my initial list, but I'm really excited to read it.

Finally, I got a book called "The Thief, the Cross and the Wheel", about the pain and spectacle of punishment in Medieval and Renaissance European art. I'm mainly interested in Italian Renaissance art of the crucifixion--and its masochism--for the second quarter of my thesis.

The rest are online, and Should mostly focus on Bacchus in the Italian Renaissance (especially through art) and what I call the art of "gay liberation", concurrent with the AIDS crisis (i.e. The Cockettes). These two topics make up the last half of my thesis.

I'm SO excited to get started!!

I even got to cross the college's sky-bridges! (The college is a few skyscrapers.) Still, the loneliness and novelty were kind of the same thought. Imagine if I had been here before COVID, or, if COVID hadn't happened. Who would I have been able to meet? What would the college buildings mean to me? Because, for now, they're just buildings. But, I got to see the street from above, and that was amazing!

Just walking through New York--the Upper East Side--on a cool, sunny day was beautiful. It takes 20-30 minutes to get from my place to the college (and the tea place), but it was great being able to listen to my music (a lot of They Might Be Giants on the playlist today) and see the city. You know, people, super cool old architecture being pushed out by terrible new architecture, and pigeons.

Oh my god, the pigeons. I took pictures, but none of them are good. I kept thinking about how pigeons and doves are functionally the same. We domesticated pigeons, which is why they're here, and no one is stopping to notice them? Even the ones that were splotched with pure white, like doves? There's only so many pigeons you can take until they're just white noise and a nuisance, I know, so don't think I'm blaming anyone! But it's so hard to look away from these quirky little birds.

Also, at one point my walk, I was vaping very strategicly. The mental task of searching through library stacks will do that to you, when you already have an addiction to nicotine. I made sure no one was around, and no one would be affected. I stopped on a corner next to an old, ornate Catholic church while the traffic light changed, and I almost juuled right next to a priest! I'm glad I stopped. I don't believe in Hell, but, I would have walked down there myself had I vaped at a priest. Still, the church advertised itself as LGBT+ friendly, so maybe they aren't so trigger happy on the damnation. Either way, I DIDN'T vape at a priest today, which is good.

Once I got back, I spent a few hours watching things with my amazing girlfriend Chloe, who you may know here as @cisphobiccommunistopinions. She is so beautiful, and I love her more every day, every time I see her. God, it's almost been 5 years!

I just wish I could spend more time with her. She's in Virginia, and I'm in New York. Like she said to me earlier, I'm flighty at the best of times, and, with my lack of object permanence for the digital world, I find myself not giving her the attention I deserve, or, the full connection I long to have with her. We used to live together. Luckily, someday we will live together again! All these problems won't be forever, and we can live together again.

We watched a lot of things, but we're pretty deep into Serial Experiments Lain right now. It's a postmodern anime from the 90s, and, wow, do I have no idea what's going on in it. It's about the internet, and potentially schizophrenia as well. However, I'm obsessed! One day I'll be able to crack this artistic code, and it's unreality, thematic knots, and double-meanings. I will probably understand it better on the second watch. I don't see myself in Lain, but I see my 14 year old self in her, when I had just developed schizophrenia. Her cyberpunk fate seems like it's railroaded towards tragedy, but I want to save her, even if it's silly and irrational.

I told Chloe that I was scared about spilling apple cider on my library books, and she referred to it as "The Great Apple Juice Disaster of September 11, 2021." To which I said that it was the second worst thing to happen in New York on that date. It was funnier if you were there, and also were in my brain at the time.

Anyway, tomorrow I'm meeting some online acquaintances from the college's "Queer Srudent Union" at a Japanese Culture Fair in a park. (I do not know which park.) It emphasizes "fun"! I don't know them very well, but they're friends with the one person I know irl, so it should be good.

Tomorrow night, I should Probably head downtown to check out a gallery show by MFA (masters of fine arts) students at Hunter! After all, I was in a group project with one of them, and they're absolutely brilliant. I missed the Thursday gallery opening by a landslide, because of the aforementioned lack of adhd meds and Being Asleep, which I infinitely regret. I could have listened to all the artists and curators talk about their art and exhibition! Maybe I could have even talked with the artists and curators. But, it's best for me to go sooner, rather than later, so I don't forget. And, I REALLY want to go.

It's "This dialogue which happened to be present in all other dialogues" at the Alyssa Davis Gallery. From the email I got, "Each of these works observes a threshold of transition. [...] [These] intimations [are] of a frame of mind shared by the artists. These works perform, record, access, engage, document, and entrap, embalming the viewer within the gallery space."

sgp is a really good artist, by the way. Their work is just next-level. Be sure to check out their art, if you have a chance. Let me link their portfolio: https://saragracepowell.com/

(I highly suspect spg and the other member of my group project ghosted me afterwards, but I understand. I was really in over my head. Still, they're both really sweet and kind people, don't get it twisted!)

I ALSO really want to see The Cake Boys. They're performing at the 3 Dollar Bill in Brooklyn on September 26th. (It's only $15!) They're the only all drag king collective in NYC! (Are... there any Other all drag king collectives out there?) Other than the fact that a lot of them are trans or nonbinary, which I love, this show is a totally non-judgmental competition for over 40 drag kings! I've heard their shows are hilarious and unique.

I just have to wait until I have $15 to spare. I... didn't eat dinner tonight, because I'm irresponsible with my money and don't want to ask my parents for money... again. Don't worry, it's literally fine, and I don't make a habit of doing this!

Which reminds me! For my birthday, my parents gave me a gift card to Lush! I'm definitely going to Lush tomorrow, which will be great. I would describe my personality as "Lush store employee acosting you about a bath bomb demonstration", so I'll fit right in.

I also made a transition timeline, to show how much I've changed on testosterone. For the better, I hope! I really believe I'm becoming, if not Have Become, the man I was always meant to be. It's so strange to look back at who I was not too long ago, and to know the absolute pain I was in. It's also strange, in a good way, to see the man looking back at me in the selfies. I'm so much happier now! Much more candid in my pictures, at least. But, I know that I'm so much more comfortable as myself than I was even 6 months ago. It's strange. Sometimes I think to myself, "I don't pass yet; I'm not who I Need To Be yet." Then, I look at my selfie from today, and... I'm THERE. My mind just hasn't caught up with my amazing, natural, normal reality.

The end. I have to get ready for bed, (even though I could be partying on a Saturday night in the city. I'm lame.) If you actually read this, I am kissing you on the mouth right now. I hope it made you calm down tonight, like a terrible bedtime story. If you didn't read it and just skipped to the end, don't worry: you did the rational thing.

[shsl-chaotics]

Mod Izuru here, here's the thing I promised to post even tho its days late. But yeah, I'll try and be as active as possible, but school, missing assignments, and election anxiety is kicking my ass

Rantaro x Male! Reader

This is pure fluff, it's just Rantaro coming back from a trip and cuddling you, that's it.

Rantaro sighed as he opened the door to your shared house, Although he had long since found his sisters he had continued to travel as he had grown to like it.

"S/O? You there?" He called out as he put his bags down by the door. He laughed and shook his head softly when you didn't respond, he could hear the music coming from your room and he knew you probably couldn't hear him. He made his way deeper into the house and headed straight to your room. He stopped outside your door, he knocked hoping you'd hear it.

"Come in!" You called out, you were sitting on your bed with your laptop on your lap. You looked up to see who it was, you froze when you registered Rantaro.

“Taro! You’re back!” you exclaimed happily as you quickly put your laptop off to the side before jumping up off the bed and running up to hug him. Rantaro laughed as he hugged you,

“You really missed me huh my prince” He said with a smile as he looked down at you. 

“Of course I did, I always miss you when you leave” You said with a small huff as you buried your face into his chest, a small smile overtook his face as he looked at you.

“I missed you too doll” He said, squeezing you a bit before letting you go and pulling away.

“How was your trip?” You asked as Rantaro walked over to your bed and flopped down, he sighed deeply before sitting up and reaching for your hand. Once he had it he tugged you towards him wrapping his arms around you and bringing you with him onto the bed.

“Taro what-” You began, confused. He just kept his arms wrapped around you while you both lay down on the bed, pulling you close to his chest and spooning you. 

“The trip was great but it wasn’t as good as it could have been,” He said with a sigh as he nuzzled his nose and face into your neck, kissing it softly. 

“W-Why’s that?” You asked, stumbling over your words a bit as you blushed. Rantaro smiled as he took a deep breath. 

“Because my wonderful boyfriend couldn’t join me for it, obviously. I missed you S/O, and I promise I’ll tell you all about my trip later. Right now I just want to relax with you and make up for lost time, alright baby?” He asked as he let out a breath and let his body relax.

“Y-yeah, it’s fine, we can just stay like this for a bit. I’m glad you’re back” You said with a soft smile, you let yourself relax into Rantaro’s arms.

“I’m glad I’m back too my love, I missed you so much”

There you go, I kinda like how this one turned out. Remember, this -like everything I write- is open to constructive criticism. Have a great day/night/evening and stay safe

-mod Izuru