#we will have to see each other again fairly soon so i can give her another part to her christmas gift that i didn't know i'd need to make

[patrickztump]

stray ii [insert] – 2024

for my birthday my friend gifted me the official stray soundtrack, but in the form of a 2007 burnt cd (x2), because it's only available digitally or partially on vinyl. she worked hard to make the cover and wrote a note including (most) of the track list, as well as a personal message.

i found an old cd jewel case that could hold the two discs a little better than the original small one she had (per her request, as the note + disc one would prevent it from closing and would fall out), and came up with the idea to create a back art with full track list. i love everything about the world in stray, and chose clementine's apartment for this idea as i love the abundance of plant life and the cool colors tied well with the album's original cover.

i am very happy with how it turned out, especially since i’m in the “how do even do things in this program” phase of procreate haha

original version without text:

stray i – 2024

[the-fiction-witch]

What Happened At Driftmark

Media - House Of The Dragon Character - (Teen) Aegon Targaryen Couple - Aegon X Reader Reader - (Teen) Y/n Targaryen (Rhaenyra's daughter) Rating - Smut Word Count - 3444

Warning - Teen Smut / Neice x Uncle

The winner of the Coming Soon poll!

Aegon looked bored at the sobbing crowd in Driftmark, a relative had died, he really didn't care, he was only there for the Alcohol, Aegon glanced around the crowd, trying to put names to faces given how long it had been since he had seen most of the family, he could pick out some names and faces but stopped short at one in particular,

Y/n, technically his niece even if they were only perhaps two or three years apart in age, his half-sister’s eldest child and daughter. Aegon had known her and been fairly close to her when they were children Y/n, was a short girl in a black dress with red accents, she had long dark curls as all those children did,

She meets eyes with Aegon and gives him a faint smile,

Aegon almost choked on his mouth full of wine when he noticed Y/n, Aegon was speechless, shocked to say the least and was paralyzed by her eyes, The prince finally snapped out of his amazement when he saw Y/n give him a shy smile, quickly drank all the remaining contents of the wine and returned her smile with a cheeky "flirty" smile.

she giggled a little hiding her giggle behind her hand,

Aegon laughed he found it adorable, so cute, his eyes continued to look at her, as if he were a hungry wolf staring at his prey. But his smile faded when he noticed his mother giving a cold and serious look him her own mother giving her a glare too.

Aegon's playful smile disappeared, he knew what that look meant "Don't." Aegon decided to ignore his mother, he waited until her mother left her alone for a moment so he quickly went over, "Hello Y/n... Long time no see, you have grown much more beautiful."

Said Aegon with a friendly smile, trying to impress her, he didn't want to look like a jerk right now.

she smiled and curtsied "Good afternoon Prince Aegon," she smiled "it has been a time indeed, you have only grown more wise and handsome During this time my prince"

“Don't say that, you will inflate my ego.” Aegon said with a friendly laugh, his eyes looking at her from top to bottom once again, Aegon just found her so adorable. The prince wanted her, he wanted her now, now if he was honest, but he was holding back for now, he doesn't want to look rude. “Can I walk with you a bit? I want to talk with you, it's been a while since I see your cute face.”

"yes my prince" she nodded

Aegon smiled when he heard Y/n's answer, Aegon extended his arm towards her, a friendly and playful smile on his lips, he honestly wanted Y/n, even if it was just for one night... He would be happy with that,

she nodded and took his arm in one hand and the other on the skirt of her black dress holding it a little so she could walk without treading on it

As the two of them walked, Aegon's eyes continued to look at Y/n, Aegon just couldn't get over how much he had missed his "pretty niece" he wanted her so much.

“May I ask you a question? Why don't you and I talk to each other more often? You're my niece, the daughter of my half-sister, it's a shame we don't talk often.”

"it is a shame my prince we used to talk every day in the red keep but since Mother took us away to Dragonstone I so rarely get a chance to see you, I wish I could send ravens to you but Mother doesn't like our sides of the family to chat"

Aegon's friendly smile slowly turned into a slightly angry face, he just couldn't help but be furious, the damn girl's mother was ruining his fun with her daughter. “Why? Why on earth does your mother not like us talking to her? It is not our fault that she loves the Velaryons more than her own blood!”

Said Aegon with his voice slightly raised, his fists clenched, He just wanted to talk to Y/n and that woman just couldn’t let him.

"I suppose the greens and blacks are two sides building walls"

“The feud is stupid,” Aegon said as he slowly started to calm down, Aegon sighed as he looked at Y/n with sadness and a little annoyance. “I just wanted to catch up with my niece…. It's a shame my half-sister doesn't let me…”

"It is a shame... If I may be so bold my prince, I do miss you"

Aegon smiled lightly as he heard this, he gently placed his other hand on top of Y/n's, and Aegon's face started to turn into a cheeky and slightly naughty smile, he just couldn't help it. “I miss you too…. More than you could imagine, I think about you every day, even more now that I see you again.”

"as so I, my prince"

“Then, could you do me a favour?” Asked Aegon with his friendly and slightly seductive little smile on his face, Aegon just wanted to spend time with his niece and to have some fun with her, what could go wrong?

"what is it, my prince?" She asked sweetly

The more she was nice, the more Aegon's smile grew, his hand that was intertwined with hers gave Y/n's a little squeeze. “Can you come with me to my room?… I just want to talk a little, catch up on how you’ve been doing and so on.”

she nodded and allowed him to lead her to the chamber he was staying in for the stay at Driftmark

When they both were inside, locked and alone, Aegon wasted no time in pinning Y/n against the wall, his body pushed against hers, his hands firmly against the wall on both sides of Y/n.

“Finally… Alone with you... It’s just you and me…” He said with a cheeky smile and in a seductive voice as he stared into her eyes.

she yelped in shock as him suddenly pinned her to the wall of the chamber her chest rising and falling fast "Aegon-" she gasped in surprise

The prince chuckled and gently grabbed Y/n's chin with one of his hands and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Shhhhh…. This is my moment to finally get what I want…” Aegon said while caressing her cheek, his hand gently going down from her face down to her neck, and then to the top of her dress.

she turned bright red at his kiss to her lips, her body trembling in her gown "are uhh are you sure my prince?" She stuttered

“My pretty niece… I've never been so sure of anything before...” He whispered in a seductive and lustful voice as his hand slightly pulled her dress down, his face getting closer and closer to her neck, he gave her a long, very slow and gentle kiss. “I want you and you know it...” Aegon added in a whisper against her skin, his body pressed against hers so she could feel his hardened erection against her.

she gasped at the touch of his hands and his lips, her eyes go wide when she feels his erection against her through their clothes "Aegon... My prince...we... We are not the children we once were, as we could lie our way out of our time together,"

Aegon let his hand go to her behind now, giving it a little grab in a teasing manner, he was getting lost in the moment, he was so horny he couldn't think straight. “It's only you and me here, no one else…. we are safe, no one will know...” Aegon whispered as he began kissing her neck, his hands grabbed her even more, his grip on her becoming possessive.

"but we can't... If someone found out ... Our family they'd be furious"

Aegon gave a frustrated groan as he heard that, he knew she was right, but also so wrong at the same time. His body continued to lean onto hers, his erection still hard on her abdomen, he couldn't just stop now. “There's no one here… Come on niece… you want it too…. I want you and you know it…”

she blushed bright red but she couldn't speak instead she turned her head to the side allowing him more space to kiss her neck

Aegon smiled victoriously when he felt her turn her head, he knew she wanted, but just needed a little push and there it was, she was giving him more access to her neck already. “That’s it… give in…” Aegon whispered as he began to gently bite her neck, his hand on her butt gave it another grab, and his breathing became slightly more heavy and faster.

Y/n squealed a little as Aegons hand grabbed her behind forcing her as close to him as possible, she could feel the cold gold elements of his clothes as well as his hard erection though his green trousers "Please... please... Be gentle" she whispered and begged for the sake of her Maidenhead

Aegon chuckled against her neck as he heard her begging, he just couldn't help but give a cocky smile, he liked her begging too much. “Don’t worry my sweet pretty niece… I’ll be gentle…”

He replied in a lustful voice, his hands going under her dress and grabbing her bare skin, his own breath became even more heavy and needy as he felt her skin in his hands.

she nodded and her body trembled in excitement as his hands pull up her black and red gown her skin below pale and warm

Aegon let out an almost beast-like growl as he saw her skin being exposed to him, he was so needy right now, he needed her now and now, “You’re so perfect…” He muttered between heavy breaths and kisses, his hands were all over her skin, roaming and touching everywhere he could reach.

she giggled as his kisses tickled her but she pushed his hands away and blushed hard as she plaid with the laces of his doublet asking sweetly for permission

Aegon raised an eyebrow when she pushed his hands away, confused for a moment, but his expression quickly turned into a smile. “Go on… you have my permission…” He whispered while pulling her even closer, his hard erection pressing tightly against her stomach now, he just couldn’t keep is excitement and eagerness inside him anymore.

"your sure Aegon?" Y/n asked her wide eyes looking up at him

“Don't ask me twice…” He mumbled his response as he gave her a very quick and demanding kiss on her lips, Aegon just wanted her now, his kisses went back to her neck as he waited for her to open his doublet and undress him.

she giggled nervously but she unlaced his doublet and pushed it off his shoulders leaving him in his shirt, her hands nervously pull his shirt up and over his head revealing his bare chest which she Giggled at and stroked over his warm skin

Once she removed his shirt, his hard chest was revealed and she gave a cute little giggle when she touched and caressed it, Aegon took the chance and began to kiss her neck and shoulder now. “You’re so cute… let’s see if you’re just as cute everywhere else…. Lift your dress so I can see what you have been hiding from me…”

she blushed hard her face and even her chest turning a little red, she nodded and gently moved him to sit on the bed inside the driftmark chamber, she stood Infront of him nervously her eyes met his and then moved down watching his erection still pressing though his trousers, she slowly unlaced her dress tugging it off her shoulders, then Unlacing her corset and pushing that away leaving her in her white underdress

Aegon watched with excitement and lust as she removed the dress and corset, and when she was left in her white underdress, he let a hungry grunt escape from his lips. “Come here…” He said as his hand gave a little pull to her arm, the prince made her sit on his lap, his hard erection pressed against her now even more than before,

she let out a small squeal when he pulls her Into his lap her arms wrap around his neck and her body is against him completely with only a thin layer of cotton to conceal her

He groaned when he felt her body against his, it just felt so good to have her right here, but he wanted more, he wanted her. “You feel so good….” His hands were all over her again, her skin, her body, her legs, he just couldn’t stop feeling her every part of her. “Are you ready for me…” He whispered against her skin while his mouth still kissed and bite her neck.

"yes my prince" she nodded excitedly

He smiled victoriously as he heard her yes, he was so eager that he didn’t even think this through, he wasn’t even aware of what he was doing, he just knew he wanted her so badly and that’s what matters for him. “Good…” He whispered as he began to kiss her again, his mouth hungrily claimed her lips in an eager kiss, his hands now grabbing the bottom of her dress and pulling it up to reveal her legs.

he pulled her underdress all the way to the small of her back revealing her legs, thighs, ass and cunt to his eyes, he let out another grunt, He let his hands run up her thighs all the way to her behind, touching her sensitive skin and giving her another grab, it just felt so good to have her like this, right up against him, but he needed more.

she blushed hard and giggled at the sight of her being so close to him their bodies touching with now just his trousers between them even as his erection threatened to break the fabric and escape just to finally have her

“I want you so bad….” He mumbled between heavy breaths, His hands moved to the back of her thighs, gently lifting her up and closer so that only a thin layer of fabric separated them, his whole body was hot, but he could not wait anymore. “Please…” He begged in a pleading voice that sounded so desperate it was even surprising to him.

"please what my prince?" She giggled

She was so adorable, but she was just teasing him too much, his breathing was so heavy, and his whole body was so hot, he just couldn’t control himself, he growled again, his desperate need for her was stronger than anything by this point. “Stop teasing… I need you…” He practically whispered in between heavy breaths, his voice was so pleading, he would beg for her if need be.

she nodded and happily watched as he unlaced his trousers

His breathing was still heavy, and so was his eager heart, his eyes focused on her, and his body on autopilot, the only thing keeping him from just going on with it was the fact that she was a maiden, but once she gave him permission, he was going to take her maidenhead right there and He was quick to pull his erection free from his trousers her eye widened and her cheeks reddened at the sight of him in his hand she did her best to hide her giggles, He felt her gaze on his erection, and then her giggle, he just couldn’t help but tease a little, he was in such a playful mood.

“You like what you see?”

"I've never seen one before" she admitted "Could... Could I touch? Or will it get scared?"

He chuckled at her words, this girl was simply too adorable, there was no way he couldn’t just love her. He gently nodded at her question. "Go ahead… you can touch…”

she giggled and moved her hand to gentle stroke and touch causing his erection to jump in reaction which spooked her making her take her hand away "did I hurt you?"

He gasped slightly at her touch, her gentle and soft and touch felt good, and he chuckled at her question. “No, you didn’t hurt me… quite the contrary… I got a little excited…”

"oh ... So I can again?"

Aegon nodded with a little chuckle as he tried to regain his breath. “You can do it again…”

she smiled and moved her hand back to stroke and play giggling as she did almost like he was her toy

He let out another groan as feeling of her touch came back, even better than before, her giggle making this whole thing more fun and enjoyable. “You’re so cute…” He groaned as he took her hand. “Here… I’ll show you how to do it…” he took her hand in his and guided her showing her what he usually does which didn't take her long to understand so he could leave her to work on him happily, He let his hand slowly pull away, leaving her on her own to do whatever she liked and enjoyed to do, he was enjoying his time with her so much it was insane.

“You’re doing such a good job…”

"I am? Does he like me?"

He chuckled at her question, she kept giving him such cute and innocent responses. “He absolutely loves you…”

"does he? I am doing a good job for him? Making him happy?"

“He’s absolutely in love with you and you’re making him very happy, you’re doing such a good job…” He assured her, his hand going gently to caress her face.

she giggled and happily continued until he started to get close he began to tremble and she got worried "I'm not hurting him am I?"

“No! don’t worry, you’re doing great…” He said, breathing hard as he felt his orgasm quickly approaching, but he tried his best to hold on. “Don’t stop…” He whispered, so close now, he just needed a little bit more and he will be there. His heart was running fast and his breathing was heavy, his hands grasping the sheets.

she nodded giving his lips a small kiss as she keeps going her other hand tugs her underdress a little so the top moved down to her waist revealing her breasts to him which she kisses his forehead and tugs his head to allow him to do as he desired

His eyes widened slightly when she revealed her breasts to him, another groan escaped from his lips, but he quickly gave her a teasing little bite on the neck as he claimed her lips in a hungry kiss. “You still like teasing me, don’t you?” He muttered as his mouth moved to her breasts, the hand on her hair grabbed her locks to pull her head back and expose more of her sensitive skin to him as he kissed and bit her almost aggressively,

she giggled and nodded making her hand faster

“You know that’s dangerous…” He whispered in a breath, almost at his limit. “You’re gonna make me-” He mumbled, feeling himself reaching his orgasm, he tried to hold on even longer just because he didn’t want this to end just yet. “Please…”

she only giggled and peppered him with kisses clearly enjoying how much power she had over him as she kept going getting faster and faster

“Gods…. You’re gonna make me…” He mumbled once more, this time with an even more desperate, whimpering tone to his voice, her kisses on his face and neck only increasing the burning pleasure on his body. He could feel it coming he just couldn’t hold it any longer. “Y/n… I’m gonna…” He mumbled before his body tensed up, his lips letting out a soft groan as he orgasmed, his seed dripping out all over her hand, his body relaxing a moment later, he gasped for a deep breath, the orgasm had drained his energy, He gently took her hand to his lips to give a kiss, and just kept it there, his eyes closing as he tried to control his heartbeat. “That was... Amazing…” He whispered, his thumb gently caressing the top of her hand.

she giggled "I'm happy I did okay Aegon... Did you want me to keep going?" She asked trying to move her hand back

Aegon let out another chuckle as he opened his eyes again, he quickly caught her hand before she could move it. “No, let me catch my breath…” He mumbled with a little smile, he then raised her hand to his lips again, giving the top of it another kiss. “Besides, now it’s your turn…”

"my turn?" She asked Innocently

Aegon couldn’t help but to let out a soft chuckle at her innocence. “Mm-hmm…” He mumbled as he slowly pushed her on her back, gently laying her on the bed and then moving to hover on top of her, looking down at her from above. “I want to make you feel as good as you made me feel…”

Commission Page

[papriikau]

I miss us sometimes

JAMES WILSON x FEM!READER

SUMMARY You and James Wilson hadn't spoken since your divorce. You still care for him after all this time, but choose to avoid him to avoid getting hurt. But when a family emergency forces you to reconnect with your ex-husband, you struggle with your feelings for each other.

WARNINGS sex mentioned, nothing too bad.

NOTES I started this and half way realized I didn't know where I wanted to go with it so the last half is kinda rushed, but its still cute.

It had been 5 years since you had spoken to James Wilson. Once the divorce had been finalized, that was the end of it. For James, he had already gone through two divorces before you, but it had only been your first. You truly were enamored by him; he was 6 years older and he seemed like he had it all together when the two of you met, but that facade slowly faded away after only 3 years of marriage.

You avoided the hospital he worked at whenever a hospital visit was required, that was until last night. You received a phone call that your mom had a stroke and was taken to Princeton-Plainsboro hospital. Obviously your need to avoid James was a lot less important than your mom, so you drove over to the hospital.

“Dad what's happening?” you ask your father and the doctor he was talking with informs you that she's in the ER and all you can do is wait. And that’s what you do, you wait around until you hear a familiar voice call out your name.

“Good evening House,” you say tiredly.

“Here for a conjugal visit? I can call Wilson down,” 

“Please don’t, I'd rather not know I’m here,”

“Too late. Wilson! I didn’t know you ordered a stripper,” House yells out as your ex-husband walks into the room. You curl up in the chair you’re in, hiding your face in your hands. He walks over and House promptly takes his leave.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” he says awkwardly, as if he isn’t sure what to say to his ex-wife he hasn’t seen in 5 years. You sit up and take a big breath in. You're not in the best state at the moment, bags under your eyes, messy bed head and pajama pants and a sweater.

“My mom had a stroke, what about you, what are you doing here?” You ask.

“Oh, how's she uh- how's she doing?” James asks, ignoring the stupid question you asked.

“I don’t know, I just got here and no ones told me anything yet,” 

“Give me a moment,” he walks off, and you watch as he talks to some of the other doctors for a couple of minutes before returning to you.

“Did they say anything?”

“She's stable, they have been moving her to her own room soon, but they'd like to keep her overnight to monitor her,” he informs. You're glad he is keeping this interaction fairly professional, you don’t know how you’d act if he started trying to talk about your personal life. The two of you stay silent for a while. You intend to keep it that way, but knowing James, he's bound to start a conversation about something.

“Do you still work at the University?” he asks.

“Yeah, I was promoted to department head four years ago,” you play with your nails awkwardly.

“I have to get back to work but maybe we could catch up over lunch some time?” he offers. You look up and he has a kind but nervous smile on his face, looking down at you.

“I don’t know if this is the best time to be asking me out to lunch,” you say slowly. He winces and runs a hand down his face.

“Right, I'll see you around then,” he says, an embarrassed haze over his expression. You nod, letting him get back to whatever he was doing. Not long after your mom was moved into her own room where you could be with her. Considering it had been the middle of the night when you received the call, you were tired and ended up falling asleep. 

It wasn’t until afternoon that you saw James again. You had called in and canceled your classes for the day so you could be next to your mom. Your dad had gone home to grab a few things and your mom was asleep in the hospital bed, when you hear small knocks on the door. You turn and see James in the doorway. You wipe the sleep from your eyes and stand up.

“How's she doing?” he asks.

“Doctors said she’s gonna be fine, she should be discharged tomorrow morning,” you nod, keeping your eyes on the floor, not wanting to look at him.

“That's good, how are you doing?”

“I think I’m doing alright, just worried about mom,” James got close to your parents when you were together. They had grown fond of him and when you cut contact, they were devastated but decided to do so as well to support you.

“Have you eaten today?”

“Not since last night,”

“Why don't I buy you lunch,” he offers.

"You don’t have to do that, I’ll probably get something when dad gets back, I don't want to leave mom, so,” you ramble a little bit. You blink a ew times, trying to clear your head. Talking to him again brings you back to being 24, flirting with the cute doctor at the Oncology seminar. 

“We can just go to the cafeteria and bring it back here, how about that?” He offers a kind smile. God he still had it. 

You think for a moment before hesitantly nodding, “okay.”

He takes you out to the cafeteria, suddenly self-conscious of your state, “House is working on a case right now so he won't be bothering us,” James calms your nerves a little.

“Thank god, don't get me wrong he's great, but not really,” you let out a quiet laugh.

“Tell me about it,” he rolls his eyes playfully. You walk through the cafeteria and grab some food, your appetite hasn’t quite come back yet so you only grab enough to hold you over. James, being the gentleman he is, pays for your lunch and walks you back to your moms room. She’s still sleeping, but your dad is back so you go sit next to him. James gives him a polite nod and exchanges brief pleasantries before leaving, squeezing your shoulder reassuringly before stepping out. 

James checks in again before he leaves his shift, and the next morning, your mom is discharged. Your dad helps her into the car, telling him to take her home and that you’d be over soon after. They drive away and then you go back inside of the hospital, working up some nerves, deciding at the door that maybe you don't actually want to do it, but you push through the nerves and turn back around.

Three knocks on the office door and James peeks his head out, opening it all the way when he sees it’s you. “Hey, how's your mom?”

“She just got discharged, dads are taking her home now,” You nod nervously.

“That's good, is there anything I can do?” he asks, curious as to why you're knocking on his office, very clearly searching him out.

“Are you free Saturday? Around noon?” you say, nervously playing with the hem of your sweater. “You asked me to lunch and I thought I’d take you up on that offer,” He stares for a moment, not sure what to do, but nods his head unconsciously.

“Yes, absolutely,” he clears his throat and invites you into his office. “Where uh- where do you want to go?” he asks.

“How about that lunch place we always went to, the one down the street from our old house?” you suggested, not sure if you should have suggested such a staple in your relationship.

“Okay, Saturday at noon, I'll meet you there,” he agrees and you offer him a smile before leaving the hospital.

—

James taps his foot nervously, looking at his watch. You're running 20 minutes late, and James was about to leave when the bell on the door jingles and he looks up to see you.

“I’m so sorry, I had to come into work today to mark papers,” you apologize, internally cringing at your own lateness.

“You're okay,” he says, remembering the days he came home late or missed date night because of work, he is fine excusing 20 minutes. For two hours the both of you hang out in the restaurant, just talking and catching up on the last 5 years.

For the longest time when you thought of James you thought about the reasons he pissed you off, or what got on your nerves, the reasons you got divorced, but talking to him after all this time makes you remember a lot of the reasons that you married him in the first place. It feels natural talking to him, it feels good talking to him and you hate it.

You hate that you feel good around him.

The lunch date ends and you both go your separate ways, promising to do it again sometimes. You exchange numbers and the next week try to make plans, but busy schedules get in the way and the two of you aren't able to pick a day and then it dies out quickly, and you go back to not speaking.

—

You're sitting on your couch, watching a movie when the phone rings, it's late at night so you're not sure who could be calling.

“Hello?” you say into the phone.

“Hey, can I ask a really big favor?” James says from the other end. You look at the clock to see it’s 11pm.

“What is it?”

“I don’t have my car right now, or my wallet and I missed the bus and I don’t know who else to call so-” you cut him off.

“You're at the hospital?” 

“Yes,”

“Can you wait 40 minutes?” you sigh.

“If your busy then I can ask someone for money for a cab,”

“Okay, I’ll leave now,” you hang up the phone before he can argue and get in the car, throwing on a jacket and some shoes before leaving. It starts to rain and when you pull up in front of the hospital, you flash your headlights and James runs out, covering his head with his jacket.

“I didn’t know you lived so far away, I could have-” you cut him off again.

“It’s no problem,” you yawn, not looking forward to the drive home. He thanks you and directs you to his apartment, which is 20 minutes in the opposite direction.

“Thank you,” he says and offers you a warm smile.

“No problem,” you wipe your eyes and yawn. “Maybe call me earlier than 11 next time,” you laugh tiredly.

“I’ll make sure to,” he gets out of the car, thanking you again and heading inside. You sit in the car, trying to wake yourself up before driving an hour home. You turn the car back on and as you put the car in drive, James knocks on the window, his jacket over his head, you put down the window a little, not wanting to get your car seat too wet.

“What’d you forget?” you start looking around the passenger's seat.

“I forgot you,” he laughs.

“What?” you narrow your eyes.

“You shouldn’t drive while you're that tired, stay the night,” he offers and a red haze covers your cheeks.

“I don’t know if that's the best idea,”

“Sleep on my couch, please,” You think for a minute before shutting the car off again, quickly getting out and running with him to the front door. You walk over to his apartment and he opens the door, letting you in. He shakes off his jacket and hangs it up. You stand there awkwardly, your eyes watching him roll up the sleeves of his shirt, unable to take your eyes off him.

God this was a mistake.

I'll grab you some blankets, get comfortable and make yourself at home.” That simple, and commonly used phrasing comes off very different to you, and he felt it too. He swiftly exited into his bedroom while you sat on the couch, your hands in your lap, looking around at the books littered around, coffee stains on the table, and of course a few pieces you remember as being in your shared home. You remember picking out the couch cushions with him the night he proposed.

“Here,” he says, another memory in his arms. He handed you the blanket and you couldn’t help but just look up at him. “Everything alright?” he tilts his head.

“I think so, thanks for letting me stay,” you recover quickly.

“Your welcome,” he says and sits in the arm chair, leaning back in it. “Sorry if this is weird,” he says after a moment of silence.

“It is a little,” you say, looking down at the blanket.

“Well it's not like we're strangers,” 

“We kind of are,”

“We know each other,” he says.

“We used to know each other,” you correct. He runs a hand down his face, letting it fall into his lap.

“It has been a while hasn’t it,” he sighs, looking over at you, wanting you to look up at him too. You could have him if you wanted. He invited you back into his place, he had to know there was even the smallest possibility that could happen, but you knew it would be too hard to leave if you did sleep with him. You have to remind yourself how shitty he had been close to the end of your marriage; he was negligent and never home, and when you were in a state of vulnerability and needed someone, he wasn’t there to help you.

But God the sex was good.

“I’ll let you rest,” he nods and heads to his own room. You let your head fall into your hands. How could you be so stupid, you didn’t fight for him back then, and you're still too much of a coward to do it now.

Eventually, sleep overtook you and you woke up to James sitting in his kitchen, sipping a coffee. “Morning,” you rub your head tiredly, wiping the sleep from your eyes.

“Sleep well?” he asks

“Good enough,” you get up and stretch, “mind if I have some?” You point to the coffee pot.

“I can’t drink a pot on my own,” he laughs and you laugh with him, search through a few cabinets until you find a mug pouring yourself some.

“Not sure how I’m going to explain to my boyfriend I spent the night at my ex-husband's place,”

“You have a boyfriend?” he says, the slightest bit of outrage in his voice,

“No,” you smile coyly into your mug. He rolls his eyes.

“Any luck in that department?”

“Not really, I’ve been focused on work,” you shrug. He says the same thing.” You were my first like, real relationship,” he can't say the same.

The two of you sit in silence for a little while before you break it once again.

“Being divorced sucks,” you admit, sipping on your coffee.

“Tell me about it,” he sighs. The both of you finish drinking your coffee in silence. It's not that you don't know what to say, you just have nothing else to say.

“I should be heading out, I got some things to do today,” you put the mug in his sink. 

“Thanks again for last night, if I had known you lived so far away I would have found another way,” 

“I’m glad you called me,” 

“Really?” he tilts his head.

“I miss us sometimes,” you look up at him, a bit of a shocked, awkward expression on his face.

“Only sometimes?” He takes a minute to respond.

“Only sometimes,” you repeat, silence filling the air once again. “Maybe we could get dinner tomorrow?”

“Uh- yea, I'd love that,” he stutters, his cheeks dusted with a bit of pink. You love when he gets flustered.

You smile, heading for the front door, “I’ll pick you up at 7.” “It's a date,” he takes a step forward, deciding to not get any closer.

“It’s a date,” you repeat before slipping out and into your car. It takes you a moment to recover; the butterflies in your stomach impeding your ability to think straight. Eventually you make the drive home, thinking about your date with your ex-husband.

—

“So who’s the unlucky girl,” House bursts into Wilsons office.

“I don’t know what you're talking about,” Wilson deflects.

“So there is a girl?” House concludes.

“There’s no girl,”

“Then who was this from?” House shows him a little sticky note you wrote him. Wilson furrows his brow.

“You ate my lunch?” he accuses.

“Who is it,”

“No one! I’m not seeing anyone!”

“Liar!” House accuses. That's when there's a knock on Wilson's office. House, being the one standing, opens to the door, only to find you standing there with two coffee cups.

“Am I interrupting something?” You ask and watch as House looks between you and Wilson.

“You’re dating your ex-wife?!” House says overly loudly. You wince, walk into the office and shut the door.

“Good to see you too Greg,” you say, forcing yourself to be polite before making your way over to James and sit on his desk, ignoring House.“ Thought you could use some coffee,”

“You didn’t happen to bring lunch did you?” James rolls his eyes.

“No, we could go out real quick, on me,” you offer.

“Anything to get out of here.” he stands up and gives you a kiss before leading you out of his office, his hand on your back.

“Am I invited?” House calls out after, to which you both just roll your eyes.

“Where do you want to go?” you ask, leaving the hospital.

“How about our usual lunch spot?” James suggests.

“Aren’t you tired of that spot?”

“Not one bit,” he looks over at you with loving eyes and grabs your free hand with his. You both lean in for a quick kiss, then go to lunch.

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

Why Didn't Peter Mentor Gwen?

Back at it again with my biweekly anti-Peter B hate post :) 💗 I'm full of rage - MEDIUM length post

If Peter wanted to be a mentor so badly I don't understand why he didn't just mentor Gwen.

Like... Logically speaking there had to be a time where Gwen DIDN'T know Hobie yet and was staying on Campus.

And we already know he was in the Society when she got there - cause he was there to see Gabbie die.

Like he's always talking about wanting to be a mentor.

And then Gwen pulls up to HQ homeless, emotionally wrecked, and in need of a mentor and suddenly he's like 'You got this one Jess 😃'

'I know I literally know Gwen almost as much as I know Miles and I know you're 8 1/2 months pregnant but you got this one Jess'

Like I don't understand 😭😭 the WHOLE movie that's all he talks about wanting to be a mentor so so badly and how sad it makes him that he can't be a Good Mentor

meanwhile Gwen is literally standing there homeless in need of a mentor ten thousand times more than Miles

Why not just mentor her????? She's literally right there

Like.... Do you only wanna mentor Miles or..

And I've heard people say he couldn't have mentored or housed her because he just had MayDay and like-

Bullshit.

Cause there are hundreds of millions of families that somehow can raise a baby and a teenager at the same time.

That's not even a difficult feat. That's not even uncommon???? 😭 Chances are a lot of our parents did the exact same thing - looking after a baby and a fairly independent teenager isn't that bizarre

And also - Peter can go home and put down MayDay.

Jessica can't go home and take off her pregnant stomach. If anything, Jessica would be the one MORE busy and more in needing of rest.

Yet Peter still left it to her.

But sure let Peter walk around in a robe while Jessica gotta play backup for Miguel - must black women do everything in this house.

And even if we say that Jessica is there because she wants to be, which she probably is, EVENTUALLY she's gonna have to take off to have her baby. That's inevitable.

So... What were they gonna do with Gwen then???? Wouldn't it make sense to give it to Peter, knowing Jess is probably gonna be on a short or extended leave soon....

And then there's the excuse that Gwen might not have wanted Peter as a mentor, which ????? Cause what makes you think she'd want a random stranger to be her mentor or a random stranger to try to befriend her or house her.

Gwen won't even talk to her own friends. Chances are Hobie had to do MONUMENTAL work to get Gwen to open up.

So it's not like Gwen just chose to run to people who weren't Peter. Jessica and Hobie most likely would have had to approach Gwen purposefully to build those relationships with her.

Which Peter could have done as well. But he didn't.

Jessica wasn't even running and eager to mentor Gwen, but she still did her best and gave it her all.

Meanwhile Peter B is crying and whining the whole movie about how much he missed Miles and he wants to be a good mentor and father

Meanwhile there is a homeless teenager he personally knows in need of a mentor and he pretends he does not see it

Okay dude. Sure. You totally wanna be a mentor for the purpose of helping kids. Yeah sure, you totally aren't doing this for your own self validation bro.

I even heard someone say 'Yeah well Peter only knew Gwen one day at this point-'

umm umm umm

THE SAME IS TRUE FOR MILES??!!! Which makes this WEIRDER!!!

He's known Gwen and Miles for about the same time, and have shared a lot of the same experiences together but Peter only seems to be interested in mentoring or helping out Miles.

Is that not bizarre?????

Like realistically speaking - Hobie did not meet Gwen day one. Or maybe even week one.

There had to be period in time where - at first - only Miguel, Jess, and Lyla know about Gwen.

And we see that Peter and Miguel are together a lot -or comfortable around each other. So it's not like Peter wouldn't know that Gwen is there now.

So like ??????

Peter were the fuck were you between the dates of Gwen arriving and Hobie meeting her?

That shit not adding up.

Peter wants to be father of the year with his daughter but he be having his daughter in the face of Miguel, who lost his own daughter, and be ignoring Gwen who lost her own father.

Like, dude read the mfing room!!!!

If Peter really wanted to be a mentor he would've begged Miguel to help Gwen.

Instead he wanna monologue about his goddamn baby. Don't nobody wanna hear about your baby.

Matter of fact Hobie should adopt your baby too. Give him MayDay. You don't deserve no children. Actually Hobie runs a foster home now sorry. Rename her to MayDay Brown. It sounds better anyway.

Buti will never understand it

Like how the whole movie he's crying about being a good mentor and letting down Miles meanwhile I'm here like .. gwen,.. gwens crying peter. turn around shes literally about to cry maybe you should Do Something

ESPECIALLY since Gwen needs EMOTIONAL mentoring, not TECHNICAL mentoring.

She's been Spiderwoman years. She does not need Jessica's mentoring style. She needs someone who is going to make an effort to connect with her emotionally despite her difficulties opening up.

But I guess that someone wasn't Peter!!!!!

'I wanna be a good mentor'

Well you're not trying hard enough. You might not even be trying at all. What is Miguel paying you for. He better not be paying you 😭😭

Idk what the hell they're gonna do with Peter in BTSV cause idc what he says or does every time he comes on screen im gonna be looking at him like

'die. sacrifice yourself. dive under the rubble. save gwens life. your only value to me is the relief i will feel seeing you die.'

You don't know how much it bothers me knowing that I have to rewatch this series with him as a character in it. It's like having a shit stain on your wedding dress.

Mentor. Mentor my ass. Hobie is a better mentor to Gwen AND Miles. The dude who speaks in rhymes and riddles can somehow open Gwens Pandora's box of emotional trauma meanwhile Peter b Parker 'forgets' he's wearing a tracking watch.

I am on a war path against this man. I will not be silenced

[bumblesimagines]

Daisy Jones

by the time i woke up, you were gone.

i cannot mix my professional life and my personal life.

Pronouns: He/Him/His, M!Reader

CW/TW: No real warnings

"I'm tellin' you, (Y/N)." The quiet sound of the lighter flickering on and lighting a cigarette filled his ears. "This collab will be fuckin' historical." 

"I'm sure that's what everyone thinks, Ted." (Y/N) sighed as he leaned back into the plushness of the couch's cushion, his chin coming to rest on his palm in thought.

His manager had already given him the go-ahead to accept a collab with Teddy's newest rock band but he hardly found the idea of collaborating with a band so early in their newbie years enticing. Sure, they'd been a fairly popular band when they were just 'The Six' but Teddy had recently added a new singer into the mix. Too fresh, too new, too much possibility for drama. "I've heard them and they're good but.. you know bands can be difficult to work with. They all have something to say."

"You should give them a try, (Y/N). Brainstorm with Daisy and Billy, listen to the others mess around with their instruments, and then, decide if they're worth it or not." A cloud of smoke escaped Teddy while he spoke, his lips tugging up into a confident smile. As much as (Y/N) trusted Teddy and his ideas, he still remained unconvinced but he'd never been one to not experiment. 

A door in the distance opened and closed, echoing through the hall and followed by the noise of loud chatter. The band entered the room and their different conversations promptly died the moment they noticed him on the couch. (Y/N) inhaled deeply and stood up, bracing himself for the awestruck liners his fans always gave him; it soon followed with the youthful curly-haired guitarist's hand shooting out to shake his with a big smile and the typical 'big fan' tumbling out of his mouth. (Y/N) politely smiled and thanked them, shaking each of their hands as he properly learned their names. 

"Daisy should be right-"

"Here!" The newest singer of the band shuffled past her bandmates until she reached him, her eyes bright and twinkling with energy. He stared at her, his lips almost pursing as he finally realized why the name 'Daisy Jones' rang a bell the first time he'd heard Teddy mention her. Daisy stuck out her hand toward him with a soft giggle. "Hey," She greeted softly. 

Before he could say anything back, Billy slunk up to stand beside her. "We've got a song we've been tweaking for the past few days that I think you'd like. We could play it in the studio for you and see what you think about it." (Y/N) caught the way Daisy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. Still a fresh band and already with tension, just as he expected. 

"Yeah, sure, sounds good." He nodded, returning Billy's smile with one of his own and watching the band hurry into the nearest recording room to set up their instruments and prepare themselves. Daisy lingered behind, motioning for the keyboardist, Karen Sirko, to go on without her before she turned to him, her brow lifting and lips curling into an amused smile. "Listen-"

"I thought I'd never see you again if I'm honest. By the time I woke up, you were gone and I didn't see you again at any of the bars or clubs. For a second, I thought you'd left for tour again and then, Teddy Price gives me a call to tell me we might be getting a collab with everyone's favorite rockstar. Crazy how the world works, huh?" Her head tilted to the side, her wild auburn hair swishing with the movements. 

"Look, Daisy, I enjoyed talking with you and all that but I cannot mix my professional life and my personal life. Everyone loves the sex, drugs, and chaos of being a rockstar but I don't like drama. It makes for a good article or song, sure, but it gives me a headache and I hate having to do damage control." (Y/N) explained softly, reaching out to touch her arm gently. "It's better to... be friends or at the very least amicable colleagues." 

"We can be friends." Daisy agreed with a nod. "But I don't think that'll last."

[lynnimini]

₊⊹ 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘵2₊⊹

description: angst with a happy (?) ending ⋆ fluff ⋆ oneshot

in which y/n and taesan receive closure about life, death, and a little bit of love.

pairings: reincarnated!leehan x gn!reader

words: 938

warnings: heavily based off of the manga "when sato-kun died" ⋆ mentions of scars

it’s been about 10 years since leehan disappeared for good. you still see him in your dreams quite often. after all, you grew to love and care for him so so much.

you were going back to your hometown for a work trip, and your mom was urging you to come visit while you were there, to which you reassured her that you will.

you got off the bus and saw an elementary school boy sitting on the bus stop all by himself, which was odd because 1. he was really young to be without his family, and 2. there were no more buses for the day.

“hey, you know there isn’t gonna be another bus today right?”

the kid looked obviously startled so you quickly apologized and asked “where are your parents? it’s gonna get dark pretty soon”.

“i think we got separated”

the kid said calmly, as if it was no big deal at all.

“that’s not good! there’s a police station right here. i’ll take you so they can help you find your parents, okay?”

you extended your hand out to the boy, who took it gently. you couldn’t see the expression on his face because of his hat, but you took him taking your hand as a fairly good sign.

“hello? is anyone here?”

you called out as you pushed open the doors to the police station.

“yeah? oh it’s you”

taesan’s voice called out as he turned the corner. taesan had become the town’s cop after high school. you weren’t surprised, he fit the role really well.

“this kid got separated from his parents”

you said as you gently nudged the kid in front of you. he timidly stepped forward underneath the intense stare taesan was giving him.

“stop staring at him, he’s getting scared”

you scolded taesan, to which he looked taken aback.

“i didn’t mean to. he just looks really familiar”

he said. a gust of wind blew into the station just as someone walked in, blowing the kid’s hat off his head. the moment you saw his face, you knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

the kid suddenly took off outside the police station, to which you immediately followed. if you didn’t, you might have never seen him again.

taesan got caught up with some coworkers asking him for favors, to which he declined and started chasing after the two of you.

you thought you were dreaming. it just wasn’t possible. leehan disappeared years ago, so why is it that you’re chasing so hard after the impossible?

you tripped and fell. by that point, you were so tired you didn’t know if you’d ever catch up. that was until the boy stood in front of you, who was kneeling on the floor. he knelt down next to you and gave you a perfect view of his face for the first time.

“leehan?”

you asked, voice barely above a whisper. the boy had flushed cheeks and gentle eyes, extending his hand out to you.

“yeah”

he said as you took his hand, pulling him into a hug rather than standing up.

it felt like a dream. had it not been from the contrasting warmth radiating from the previously cold boy and the pain in your ankle, you would have truly believed it was a dream.

taesan, who was behind you, got a clear view of the boy’s face which was resting on your shoulder while you hugged him tight.

“taesan”

the boy called out, mouthing ‘help me!’. taesan just smirked and let you have this moment. you’d been in so much pain for so long after leehan disappeared, he knew you needed this. and leehan, no matter what he said, looked like he was enjoying your hug.

when you let go, the boy told you and taesan the truth.

“honestly, i’m not leehan from back then, but i do have lots of memories from when i was leehan. it’s hard to believe, but do you believe me?”

leehan confessed and looked up at you two nervously. you and taesan looked at each other. he was the spitting image of leehan and he knew who leehan was back then without you two mentioning him. it was definitely leehan reincarnated.

“we believe you”

you finally said, and he smiled.

“thank you. i’m happy i get to talk to you two again, even if i am little and not the leehan you knew before”

leehan said sheepishly. as if he had been holding it back for years, taesan let out streams of tears and knelt down to the boy’s level.

“you can’t say things like this. don’t die”

taesan wailed while you and leehan looked on in shock. you let them have their moment this time before it was time to head back to the police station. he was still a missing boy after all.

“it’s my first time being a lost kid”

leehan said cheerfully. he seemed a lot brighter now, being full of smiles like he was when he was alive. taesan gave him a light smack on the head and just told him to fill out the forms.

you looked at his arm and saw a scar on it.

“leehan, that scar on your arm..”

you trailed off as you remembered the way leehan had faintly smiled at you 10 years ago, sewing his arm back on. leehan turned to you with a sweet smile and mysterious look in his eyes before filling out the forms again.

you wondered if the boy had all his memories from when he was leehan, and even the memories from after his death. either way, seeing him again made you happy, and you were just grateful to see him happy again.

← prev

[thediktatortot]

I love the Steve Harrington is Autistic HC but let me be even more nuanced with it. I think Steve also has ADHD.

Often times people who have both ADHD & Autism can look very different from those who only have one or the other and for me, who falls into both categories myself, completely see Steve as an AuDHD haver.

Lots of times people will think that just because you have Autism or ADHD, you are less likely to have friends or be popular but that's like...legit not the case. It's often found that there are TONS of well known, popular and well liked people who have both or either of these diagnoses.

For me, when I was still in highschool, I was fairly popular in a sense (not necessarily the 'cool' person but I had a lot of friends in a lot of different friend groups (Jocks, Nerds, Preps, Etc.) and I was able to get along with people pretty well because I was able to adapt easily and on top of that I personally was socialized as a girl and learned to mask very early in my life.

Steve comes from an affluent background, which I can easily say having family who have the same theme as Steve's parents do, you learn to mask early in those environments. You learn to be like everyone else or be shunned, you learn how to appease your family to stay out of trouble and you learn how to act different around different people.

So I have no doubt in my mind that if Steve was AuDHD, he'd have social masking down pact.

Also, we don't see his mask slip until he comes under extreme pressure. Not only does schooling get harder for many of us as highschool moves on, falling behind slowly because we thought we were smart or told we were smart and then began to fall behind. You can see that Steve's grades aren't perfect & he doesn't have the best time in his last years of schooling, but, he's still doing well on the basketball team and still has his popularity regardless, giving him friends and other pass times to focus on.

He's good at socializing, learning to socialize and learning people around him. He watches them, he follows conversation when others around him are talking and he will try to put his own input along side it how he knows or thinks is right.

Once the Upside Down happened? It added a complete and utterly unliftable overload of stress on top of him that made his mask crack, forced him into a mindset he'd never been in and the carefully crafted mask and pillars of his own social community he had built crumbled. This forced him to have to change course and change how to does things, once again falling back into the learning pattern of his surroundings while also setting him back hard and isolating him to a point.

We see he loves hard, loves openly and assumes people understand that. Nancy didn't want the same things that Steve did, and her actions and emotions towards Steve weren't really understood by him until she told him exactly how she felt.

Steve doesn't have any issues with personal space, but he also does. He gets in people's space, but people getting into his space is not always wanted.

Steve will take extra long to understand social ques, but he also learns quick and utilizes them as soon as he understands them.

Steve gets along with younger children easily because they aren't in the same social standing as him, he doesn't have to mask as hard with them or meet some social checkmark he didn't know existed. Plus some of the Party are probably also ADHD or Autistic and he quickly finds like minded friends there who aren't as dangerous to be himself around.

Robin is most likely ADHD and we can see how sometimes Steve and Robin will get overstimulated with each other on screen, both of them having things that grate on each other from conflicting issues with their own neurodivergencies.

Steve is both energetic but also reserved, he seems to find himself at a loss of how to control or move his life forward but yet we also see that he's good at following directions and taking action when the dime drops.

I know that the duffers nor Joe probably portrayed him as AuDHD but to me, looking at him and watching him from someone who is, I completely see how it ended up being that way with how he was played.

There's like, a million other things I could add to this but I have lost steam writing this xD

[00sniff]

Fairly Ghost Parents #2

The three fairies raise their wands and with a tinging sound and a poof of magic Timmys bags are all packed and ready, he hears his dad calling for him down stairs so he grabs his suit case in one hand as Cosmo, Wanda, and Poof turn back into goldfish and jump into there fish bowl that Timmy grabs with his other hand, as he hurrys down the stairs.

he hands his suitcase to his dad for him to find room for in the already stuffed car while he hops in the back seat holding the fish bowl in his lap.

With the car now packed, his dad gets in the drivers seat, and his mom sits in the passenger seat. For the most part, the ride is uneventful.

Timmys parents are engrossed it chating with each other, so as long as he keeps his voice down, he can talk to Cosmo and Wanda, which just looks like a kid chating with his pet goldfishs and poof keeps trying to peep over the fish bowl to see out the window to watch the sites zoom by.

After a few hrs of this, Timmy and poof wound up falling asleep on the car ride up.

As Wanda and Cosmo make goo goo eyes at each other while their boys nap enjoying the alone time.

A few hrs later, Timmy starts to wake up. He yawns and asks his parents how much longer. Both his parents scream in surprise, and his dad swerves the car almost hiting another car in the process, before they clam down, then his mom gives a nervous laugh and mentions that they forgot he was back there but his dad trys to cover it up by saying that it's becaues hes being so quiet and well behaved back there, Timmy gives a weak smile before repeating his question about how much longer.

Both Cosmo and Wanda shoot Timmy's parents' dirty looks at the forgot he was back there comment. "Honestly," Wanda mutters.

"How can two parents be so oblivious to their kid." But she couldn't brood on it for long, as Cosmo swam up in front of her face happily announcing that,"Timmys dad said only an hr left untill they get to their destination, and not a moment to soon" he sighs dramatically I been sitting in this bowl for so long that I can't feel my legs anymore.

Wanda looks over at him, um, Cosmo sweetie, we're goldfish right now. we dont have legs. "Huh," he says, confused, then he looks down and sees only his fish fins. "My legs," he gasped. "There, gone, who took my legs," he sobs Wanda rolled her eyes, but she could not help the smile that creped up on her lips from the attics of her silly but loveing husband's.

she swam over to him and put a fin on his head. "dont worry about it hun" she says. claimly, "your legs will be back as soon as we transform again." Cosmo perked back up at hereing this oh thats a relief.

you're so smart he gushed as he kissed her.

As their smooch ends, Wanda tells Cosmo that she is going to go ahead and wake poof up from his nap, or eles. He's going to be up all night tonight, so she swims into their castel to wake the baby.

Now alone, Cosmo looked up at his godson Timmy and noticed he was wearing a worried expression on his face.

[yaekiss]

#Mailroom Open! — HI QI! *falls to my knees* a letter for traveler!aether, any petnames are fine and i would love to have a nsfw + yandere reply <3

—

“To the love of my life, my dearest adventurer,

I’m hoping this letter actually reaches you. Really, how hard is it to stay in one place at a time? Somehow, having Paimon as a destination landmark seems to work. Ah, but don’t let her read this one…or open the gift that I’ve included… Just tell her I’ll give her some cookies when we see each other again!

Anyhow, enough about my complaints when sending a letter. I don’t know if I can go much longer without you. Oh, mighty traveler, how can you leave your partner in such a state? I fear that my imaginations have now run too wild now due to this. I’m this close to sending a commission to the Adventurer’s Guild where I’m able to ravish you on our bed for a day straight.

I wish you well on your journey in Sumeru, but please, come back soon. Diluc has threatened to ban me from his tavern because of my constant babbling of you, and not all of them are appropriate for the public.

—Your needy one.”

(The box that the letter is attached to contains some dried Windwheel Asters, but most importantly, a dog collar.)

꩜ Letter Content: GN! Dom! Top! Reader x Yan! Sub! Bottom! Aether, no gendered terms used for reader, Aether calls you "my star", unhealthy obsessive and possessive relationship from Aether, collar (used on Aether), small mention of edging and marking, lmk if I missed anything ! ꩜ Delivery Notes: It was ridiculously hard tracking the ever-elusive traveller down, but I did it! Looked like he was sporting some new accessory too, cool! ꩜ Wanna write a love letter yourself? Check out it out here!

Aether’s reply consists of two items: A small cloth drawstring sack made of a fabric that seems to faintly glitter in the sunlight and a separate wooden box. The box is slim, made of flawless Karmaphala wood with a hinged lid. The area for storing items is shallow so the gift he sent can't be all too big and it has you speculating as to what it could be.

Putting your curiosity aside for now, you first open the sack, only to see a void somehow contained inside. It looks like the night sky, the dark space adorned with the stars that Aether conjures up in his palm every once in a while to impress you. Trusting your dear traveller, you reach an arm in and pull out the first thing you come into contact with, a miniature little wood carving of him as an aranara (he’s written so much to you about the aranaras so to see him as one makes your heart melt a little). Afterwards, you continue retrieving the other included gifts like a bouquet of various Sumeru flowers preserved with his dendro elemental resonance. There’s also a tied stack of recipes along with an attached note saying: “So you can also have a taste of my journey so far!”

Finally, you dig around the empty space and pull out the last remaining item, his letter. The envelope he used is nothing out of the ordinary but what makes it endearing are all the silly doodles he scribbled on it. There’s one of the both of you on the back of a Sumpter Beast and another one of him popping out from a precious chest. In the top right corner, there’s a regional stamp exclusive to Sumeru, one specifically showcasing the scenery of Port Osmos. Now, the mailing system this time through the love hotel doesn’t really require a stamp. Still, he’s had this habit of writing back to you from his journey across Teyvat and through that, gifting you these little collectable stamps from the different nations. Quite sweet really!

Taking his note out, it’s written on a fairly normal parchment, the kind you could find at any general goods store. His response reads:

“Hello, my cherished starlight!

I’ve received your letter safely, thank you, my star! Sorry if it was hard for you to track me down, the recent developments in Sumeru just had me travelling around the region a lot :( There’s too much to unpack in this letter alone so I’ll just talk your ear off when I return to your side! :D 

Ah, I also apologise for being away for so long, my star. I know this trip to Sumeru has been one of the longest I’ve taken so far but please believe me when I say that I miss you just as much, if not tenfold more. The company here is nice but they could never compare to you, the warmth of your body next to mine, the way your hands roam allll over me. There’s no one quite like you, my star! I miss you so so so much, and I quite love how much you seem to miss me too… 

Did you like the bottomless sack I gave you? It’s like the one I use on my journeys, really useful for when you have too many things you want to bring with you on a trip! Maybe I could even get you in my bag… haha kidding! I know you wouldn’t want to be cramped up next to my Sweet Madames and Paimon’s snacks so I’ll just stick to inviting you along for my adventures, my star.

Speaking of adventures, maybe you should put out that commission to the Adventurers’ Guild. After all, it wouldn’t be right for the Honorary Knight to leave someone so direly in need of help. And if I happened to get my brains fucked out by a very familiar employer, it’ll certainly be a welcome surprise. What would your reaction be if I showed up at your doorstep with the collar you gifted me around my neck? Would you loop your finger through it and pull me in for a heated kiss for everyone to see? Drag me into your bed and pound me senseless? Until the both of us can’t come anymore? Gods, I’m getting giddy with desire, I need you right now, my star. :((( To appease your appetite and imagination, I managed to leave a message for you using a stone mirror I obtained during my trip that serves as some sort of recording device. Watch it while you’re alone, I don’t want any prying eyes around, it’s just for you, my star. Hopefully, after this, you won’t have to resort to rambling to Diluc while drunk.

I think that’s enough rambling from me, go watch my message and tell me what you think! I look forward to your reply, my favourite star~

My love for you spans across worlds,

- Aether -”

Impatiently, you reach over to the box and hurriedly unlatch it, quickly flipping the lid open. A polished smooth stone slab gleams back at you. Underneath the glossy surface, there’s some sort of dense fog, coiling and drifting like smoke. Running your hand over it seems to do the trick, the fog ripples like a droplet on a serene lake and morphs into the image of a scene. It shifts into the rough shape of Aether seated on a bed, the smoky edges in the picture are soft and look like they blur into each other, and the colours are slightly muted. But you still manage to make out the collar he’s holding in his hands. The exact one you gave him in your previous letter.

“Is the mirror working well for you, my star? I hope it is, I wouldn’t want you to miss this.” His voice is sultry and his gaze through the tablet even more so. He strips slowly for you, sensually peeling each article of clothing off, all while running his hands across his body. Occasionally, he tweaks his nipples to let you hear his cute yelps or strokes his already drooling cock, edging himself as he whines for you to touch him, to fill him up. 

“Ah, before I forget,” he eagerly fumbles with the dog collar and secures it snugly around his neck, “There we go, perfect!” Shifting closer to the stone mirror, he tilts his head for you to see the new accessory.

“Maybe you could even attach a tag with your name on it to the front,” Aether says, and you think you can see hearts in his eyes as a light blush overtakes his features.

“Aww, I think I’m running out of recording time for this, I’ll see you soon, my favourite star!” The scene freezes and you’re left with Aether beaming back at you and a burning lust to see your dear traveller again.

However, the still image of the final frame ripples once again. For a split second, you think his message will replay but what appears on the surface of the stone is vastly different. The visage changes to Aether’s back view while he’s still on the bed, knees tucked under him. The collar is already on him in this one so it must have been recorded after the previous message. Now that you have a good view of his bare back, you can tell that the marks you left on his back are fading, no longer the angry bright red from the night the two of you spent together before he departed for Sumeru.

“Ugh, they’re so faded now.” You pick up on the disappointed note in Aether’s voice. He looks over his shoulder, brushing his long hair aside. He’s probably using the stone as an actual mirror to examine his back. Did he know it was recording?

“I’ve been away for too long…” He murmurs as his face turns back before he continues, “But when did they even get close with Diluc anyway, spending so much time with him?” The simmering rage (jealousy?) in his voice startles you slightly. You’ve witnessed Aether’s anger and frustration in the past but you’ve never heard him use such a harsh inflection before. 

“Looks like I’ll have to cut this trip short.” 

The darkening tone in his voice is unnerving, and you don’t know if you’re lucky or not that you’re unable to see the expression on his face.

Thanks for reading! Consider supporting me on kofi if you enjoyed this or check out my other works hehe ♡

[box-of-roses]

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:Casual :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

Pairing: Saeko x Fem! Reader

Words: 699

Synopsis: You ended your fwb relationship and go to a bar to mourn the loss of the friendship. You meet a pretty bartender who listens to your woes and offers you solace. After the bar closes she takes you to her house and you watch movies as she comforts you.

Going to a bar might not have been the best decision. What else were you to do though? You had just ended your relationship, if you could even call it that. It wasn’t so much a relationship as a way to break your own heart. 

You sit down at the bar and put your head in your hands. The bartender comes up to you fairly quickly. It is only 1 in the afternoon, the bar is pretty empty. “What brings you here? Anything I can help you with?” She asks and that’s when you finally get to look at her. She’s beautiful- not what you should be thinking about right now. 

“I don’t know, I’ll take anything really.” You sigh dejectedly.

“Seems like you don’t need to find answers in a shot glass. You need someone to talk to.” She smiles kindly at you. “Who better than a stranger you’ll probably never see again.” She instead gives you a glass of water with some ice in it and some fries. 

“I ended one of my friendships. It needed to be done, it was really tiring.” She nods at you to keep going. “I decided it would be smart to get into a friends with benefits relationship with someone I had a crush on. Spoiler alert; not a good idea.” You take a sip of your water and play with the straw. “It was inevitable it was going to end badly. When has that situation ever ended well?”

“It’s hard to say how things will go. I’ve definitely had my fair share of awkward and tiring experiences.” She laughs and steals a fry off your plate. 

You scrunch your nose at her. “Hey! Those are mine!” 

“Technically, my employee discount paid for those.” She smiled and leans her head on her fist. Were her eyes always this pretty? You shake your head. You needed to get yourself together. Now was not the time to be ogling a bartender you didn’t even know the name of. 

Probably for the best. Strangers made it so much easier to tell your problems to. 

“Fair enough,” you say with a laugh. 

“So, tell me more about what’s got you so upset.” 

“It’s mostly the attachment of it all. Their mom invited me to her house on multiple occasions cause she thought we were dating. I didn’t have the heart to tell her. I literally had clothes at his house because he wanted me to stay the night so often.” You sigh again and eat more fries. 

Eventually though, the topic shifts from your ex? If you could call him that- to your life. The things that make you happy. You let her talk about herself too of course. You learned she had a brother in high school who she was incredibly proud of. She went on about him for a while.

The two of you never used names. Her shift was close to ending soon but neither of you wanted to stop talking. “Do you want to go back to my house? Completely PG promise!” She says a little nervously. You smile and nod. As she closed up you gather your purse and pull out a twenty. You hand it to her as you leave.

 “Now you’re making me feel like an escort.” That causes both of you to howl out with laughter. 

“I literally spent your entire shift talking to you! It’s your tip for being such a good bartender!” You say between laughs. Once the two of you reach her apartment she leads you inside and takes your coat to put away. 

“Movie and ice cream?” 

“Sounds great.” You put on the house slippers and head over to the couch. You pull the blanket on top of you. She comes back and hands you a tub of ice cream and sets her own down on the table as she crawls under the blanket too. 

By the end of the night your numbers are in each other’s phones. Names simply ‘Bartender Cutie’ and ‘Bar Babe’ one day you would share names but for now you both find comfort in the anonymity.

Maybe going to that bar was the best decision you could’ve made.

This is unfortunately the last fic in my pride series. I have finished my Y/N Woman Kisser Agenda and can now rest. No but seriously I hope you guys liked this little series thing I did. My requests are open though I should warn you again I go through them like really slowly!!

taglist: @nnnyxie @sanaexus

masterlist

rules

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: A Fire in the Sky by Sophie Jordan

4/5. Releases 9/24/24.

Vibes: arranged marriage, bride swap, warrior hero, Secret Identities

Heat Index: 6.5/10

The Basics:

Tamsyn is the royal whipping girl, which means that though she has been raised like a princess—even calling the princesses her sisters and the king and queen her parents—her ultimate duty is to take the punishment meant for her adoptive siblings. She takes it again when Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands, demands a princess to marry in exchange for his continued protection of the kingdom. Veiled for the wedding night, Tamsyn is given to Fell in place of a real princess... something that, despite their immediate connection, he isn't happy about upon realizing it. He has no choice but to keep her—but as the two make their way to Tamsyn's new home, they have to decide whether they can even trust each other. Because not doing so could cost them their lives.

The Review:

I'll be honest—the past few historical romances I've read by Sophie Jordan have been a bit light on the romance for me. And fantasy romance in particular can be a mixed bag on that level as it is. So I'm happy to say that this series is off to a SOLIDLY "fantasy Romance" (emphasis on the romance) start. Really, a lot of this first book was laying the groundwork for the general world and big plot, while giving us a clearer idea of our characters and teeing up the direction in which their love story is going. Which I'm not mad at!

From the beginning, you get the sense that Tamsyn has a personality, has desires and needs... but her role as the whipping girl has essentially forced her to push her individuality away. That's compelling to me, especially when she's paired with Fell, someone who is all about self-determination and responsibility and carving out his own destiny. While the two do have an instant physical attraction—and why shouldn't they? They sound hot—the trust is immediately gone as soon as Tamsyn's real identity is revealed.

And... I like that! I like that they have this amazing moment together—Tamsyn's first time, by the way—only for it to be thrown off instantly. It creates a good amount of angst on both sides. However, it's well-balanced because, despite that angst, they also have to focus on immediate dangers, rough travel, and so on.

The Big Fantasy Plot isn't like, a shocker. You'll probably be able to predict the twist fairly on (which isn't a bad thing, to me). Again, we're definitely more laying the groundwork here. If anything, I feel like we needed a bit more time with Fell and Tamsyn getting to know each other. But again, that does seem to be somewhat symptomatic of the plot of this book—how much can they really trust each other at this point? The book is bringing them together, and it's far from a standalone, so I feel like the true emotional intimacy will come later.

For the most part, this is really more of a fun time, an adventure. I will say—something I found so insightful was the handling of Stig, Tamsyn's childhood friend-turned-Friend Guy who only acts on his feelings when he realizes she's going to marry Fell, who tells her she's "more than a whipping girl".

Tamsyn's response is somewhat conflicted, but she's mostly like "Yeah... So why are you only offering me the chance to escape NOW?"

So refreshing. The Friend Guy is a type I hate more than anything. It's a Mal from Shadow and Bone thing. He's always been the heroine's friend, he doesn't make a move, and suddenly I'm supposed to see him as the best option because... friends? Because Other Man Scary?

And to be fair, Fell isn't a bad guy at all. He's big, he's gruff, he's a warrior, he's definitely dangerous. But he clearly has a good heart, and even when he's pissed at Tamsyn, he's never abusive. Stig, however, presents him as this threatening violent guy—and Stig clearly sees HIMSELF as this softer, safer option.

That's really deconstructed here, and I so appreciated it.

The Sex:

I wouldn't call this overly steamy—you have two full-length sex scenes and one scene that is EXTREMELY hot, but not... mutually satisfactory...?—but it's definitely heated. That first scene? So good. You really get the physical chemistry between Fell and Tamsyn.

And there's a whole... thing... that I can't spoil.... But it involves examinations... and it's SO. GOOD. I was clutching my pearls.

I'm a sucker for a "fuck first feelings later" romance. And this does that quite well.

I'm excited for more from this series, and honestly? That's great. While it does feel like a lot of setup, it was entertaining setup. I'm ready to get into what happens next—in the big plot, yeah, but mostly within Fell and Tamsyn's romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[drpeppertummy]

For the prompt: "you should've told me you were full!"

Thank Youuuuuuu i had something else going for this but scrapped it & started anew bc it wasnt workin out

[post-stuffing stuffing, brief tummyache & belly rubs]

Val had barely made it through the door before he found himself tightly wrapped in Connie's soft arms. He fell into the embrace with relief, overjoyed to see her again after being away for a few days.

"I missed you," he said, nuzzling his face against her neck as he hugged her tight.

"Y'know, I was looking forward to having the bed to myself for a few days, but it sure is dull without you in it," said Connie. Val laughed and planted a casual kiss on her neck, then leaned back to look up at her.

"Well, we can make up for lost time, hm?" He gave her a sly smile, and she kissed him. As they kissed, the oven beeped.

"Oh! That's dinner," said Connie. "You better be hungry, because I've been in the kitchen all damn afternoon."

"Hey, since when do you spend afternoons in the kitchen?" teased Val.

"I wanted you to come home to something nice," she said, giving him a gentle squeeze.

"Aw, Connie, you're such an angel." He leaned up and kissed her again. "You didn't have to do all that."

Val was, as a matter of fact, not hungry in the slightest. Connie couldn't tell by looking at him--he was thoroughly bundled up to protect himself from the shock of returning from the cozy warmth of Hell to the chilly fall air of New Jersey--but he was absolutely stuffed, courtesy of his family. Val passed easily as a human, and a fairly small human at that, but he was an outlier among his relatives. His family was made up of creatures considerably larger than himself, many of them around ten feet tall and sporting thrilling features such as wings and scales and horns and hooves and other such things.

Being much bigger than him, Val's family had a tendency to overestimate how much he could eat. This, combined with their belief that he was much too thin, often led to a very overstuffed tummy any time he came to visit. This trip had been no different, and Val's belly was still beyond full. Had he been dressed lighter, Connie would have easily noticed it bulging uncomfortably from his slender frame, but under his layers of warm clothing, it was difficult even to feel, let alone see. Still, he couldn't say no to Connie's kind gesture, especially when she'd worked so hard to make it, and, not letting his reluctance show, he followed her into the kitchen.

"I don't know if it'll hold up to your cooking, but I tried," she said, putting together a plate of salmon, potatoes, and asparagus for each of them.

"Well, it smells pretty damn good," he remarked. "Looks pretty damn good, too." And he meant it. Even without a shred of hunger to speak of, he couldn't deny that the plate was immensely enticing.

"It better be," she chuckled, and they sat down together at the table. Val felt the button of his pants creak as his already-stuffed belly pressed against it, but he ignored it, and together, they dug in.

The food was wonderful. Even on an achingly full stomach, Val didn't have to pretend to enjoy it, nor did he have to force himself to eat it. As a matter of fact, the first few bites went down fairly easily. Still, it wasn't long before it caught up with him and the overbearing tightness of his stomach became too much. He only managed to get through half the plate before he was too stuffed to fit another bite. He leaned back in his chair with a soft groan, resting a hand on his belly. Connie looked up, surprised to see him quitting so soon.

"Hey, you feeling alright? It's not that bad, is it?"

"It's fantastic," he assured her, and a small burp escaped him. He covered his mouth, embarrassed, and a sudden look of understanding came over Connie's face.

"You already ate! Oh, you knucklehead! You should've said something," she exclaimed. He smiled and shrugged sheepishly at her, and she rolled her eyes. His belly let out an uneasy groan.

Connie finished up her dinner--she was already almost done; Val had been eating very slowly--and got up to clear the table. Val stood to help her and was momentarily taken aback by how stuffed he felt. His stomach felt almost unbearably strained, pushing out so hard he wouldn't have been able to suck it in if he tried. He held a hand against his distended tummy for a moment, then joined Connie in cleaning up.

Val was so full he found himself having to arch his back a little to accommodate his overstuffed belly, and Connie couldn't help but chuckle at him. He smiled up at her, and she slipped an arm around his waist, resting her hand on his bulging upper belly. Even under the layers of clothing that had concealed it before, there was now no hiding just how taut and bloated it was.

"Oh, jeez, Val, you feel like you're about to bust," she said, wincing. "You should've told me you were full!" Reaching around him, she burrowed her hands under his oversized sweaters to find the waist of his pants and undid the button. It was no easy task; it was pulled tight against the hole, and she had to tug at it to get it undone. Val couldn't hold back a tiny whine at the momentary pressure on his sore tummy. Feeling sorry for him, Connie brought both hands to his tummy and rubbed gently. It was tight as a drum, with absolutely no give to it.

"Jeez, your poor belly," she said, massaging as gently as she could. His stomach gurgled uncomfortably, and she could feel the vibration against her hand through the taut skin.

"It was worth it," he said, tilting his head back to smile up at her, his dark eyes twinkling red and his just-too-sharp teeth glinting under the kitchen light.

"You are such a knucklehead," she giggled, kissing his cheek.

[fanfictions-loveavatar]

Why always her? Alternative ending.

Pairings: Lo’ak x reader (reader is 17 and Lo’ak is 18)

Warnings: fluff and cute.

Summary: Following the first part, you are still upset with Neteyam but Lo’ak is there for you and you start to realise that maybe the right person was in front of you all this time. (This is an alternative ending, there is a Neteyam ending which is the original one.)

Word count: 1371

Y/N POV:

It has been 3 days since I confessed my feelings for Neteyam. He hasn’t given up on trying to talk to me but I haven’t given him the chance not wanting to be alone with him. I wasn’t hurt that he didn’t love me, I was hurt that it was my sister he loved when he knew what kind of person she was.

Luckily, Lo’ak was with me through it all. He stayed by my side, him, Kiri and Tuk. They weren’t mad at their brother, but they didn’t exactly agree with him either.

I was sitting in our tent alone everyone else were either hunting or doing something else. I was making a new top for myself. It helped me relax.

After a while I was all done and I tried it on, it looked beautiful on my figure.

Soon I heard Lo’ak and Kiri calling me from outside. I went out and Lo’ak’ s jaw fell to the floor when he saw me. While Kiri just said wow.

Tuk came running from behind Kiri, she came to a stop once she saw me.

“Omg Y/N you look so beautiful!” Tuk started jumping around me. I laughed and picked her up in my arms.

“Do you guys want to go into the forest, we still have time before eclipse?” I asked.

“Yes, let’s go!” Tuk happily exclaimed in my arms, Kiri nodded, Lo’ak still stayed in the same position, his mouth opened.

Me, Kiri and Tuk moved past him.

“Close your mouth Lo’ak or a fly might go in.” Kiri laughed when her brother quickly closed his mouth and followed behind us.

We walked into the forest, Lo’ak first, then me and Kiri with Tuk on my back. We were going toward our favourite spot, the waterfall.

I let Tuk down when we arrived, and she immediately sat down playing with the flowers around her. Kiri sat next to her sister talking with her about the different kinds of flowers.

I suddenly felt Lo’ak’ s hand holds mine. I turned around, he was already looking at me, smiling. I smiled back. We both looked towards the water then at each other, our smiles growing wide. We both started running towards the water, still holding hands we jumped in. When I emerged i immediately got splashed.

“Lo’ak!” I screamed at him before also splashing him. He went underwater and a second later I felt his arm grabbing my waist and lifting me up, turning me around and dropping me into the water. Omg he was so dead. We kept messing around.

“Kiri, Tuk join in!” It was as if Tuk was just waiting for an invite, because she immediately stood up and ran towards the water. Kiri rolled her eyes before also joining in.

The moment Kiri got in Lo’ak went underwater. A second later I see Kiri going underwater as well.

“Lo’ak you bastard!” Kiri shouted once she emerged. They started fighting with Kiri trying to catch Lo’ak so she could drown him. Me and Tuk just stood at the side laughing at them.

It felt nice, to have them by my side, but I missed Neteyam. But not the way I have missed him the past few days. I didn’t miss his smile like before, I wanted him to be here not because it would give me butterflies but because it would be so nice to see him play with his siblings, to be a kid again. I missed him as a friend.

Later

It was now close to eclipse. We were getting ready to set back to the village. As I was about to pick up Tuk again Lo’ak stopped me by grabbing my shoulder.

“Can you stay behind with me I want to talk to you?” he asked and I nodded.

Kiri took Tuk instead and told us not to be too late unless we want a scolding.

We both rolled our eyes. As the girls went back to the village. I turned towards Lo’ak. He grabbed my hand and told me to follow him.

We started climbing a tree. We climbed until we stopped at a fairly big and stable branch. We sat down on it.

“Y/N… I have seen how my brother has affected you in the past few days.” Lo’ak started “And I know this might not be the right time but I fear you might forgive Neteyam soon and I will miss my chance so.” Lo’ak took a deep breath. “I see you Y/N. I have seen you since the day I saw you beaten up and bruised. I see the way your smile lights my whole day; I see the way your eyes sparkle when they see stars. You have always been a great friend to me, but I wish we could be more.” When he finished, he looked at me ready for me to reject him.

But did I want to reject him? He has always been there for me, looking back at it there was always one person there for me through everything.

Flashback

I saw my sister and her friends coming, it has been a week since I started living with the Sully’s and this is the first time they have approached me since then.

“So, you think you are better then me?” Eyra spat out.

I was going to defend myself I wasn’t going to let myself be pushed around anymore.

I tried ignoring her and walking away from them, but I suddenly fell a sharp pain when Eyra pulled me back by my hair.

“You little brat, you are going to ignore me?” She put her fist up. I closed my eyes waiting for the impact. 1…2…3…. nothing.

I opened my eyes to see Lo’ak standing next to Eyra holding her fist in the air.

“Let her go. Now” Lo’ak’ s tone was dark. Eyra wasn’t stupid she knew she shouldn’t mess with Toruk Makto’s son.

She let my hair go. Lo’ak quickly coming in front of me.

“Now scram before I break my rule and start hitting girls.” They all ran away.

Lo’ak turned to me.

“Are you okay Y/N?” he sounded concern and his expression immediately changed. I nodded.

“Thank you.” I smiled at him. He smiled back pulling me into a hug.

End of flashback

There were many more instants where Lo’ak was there for me.

I looked at him, just now realising how handsome he looked. I took his hand in mine. Our 5 fingers intertwining together.

“I see you too Lo’ak.” I pressed my forehead against his.

I suddenly felt his lips on mine, they were soft, very soft. I returned the kiss cupping his face.

We ended the kiss and smiled at each other. We started setting back to the village hand in hand.

When we arrived at our tent, I saw Neteyam outside waiting for us. I knew what I had to do.

“You go ahead Lo’ak I have to speak to Neteyam.” I smiled at Lo’ak, he nodded and went in the tent.

“Neteyam, can we talk?” I asked him and he nodded. We went and sat on a rock close to the tent.

“Y/N I am so sorr-“ before he could continue I interrupted him.

“It’s okay Neteyam I forgive you; I understand how my sister can be, but I also don’t see you that way anymore, over the past few days I realised I missed your company as friend rather then anything else.” He looked at me with a sad smile on his face.

“I understand, so friends?” He extended his hand.

“Friends” I hugged him.

We went inside and I sat down next to Lo’ak leaning my head against his shoulder. His hand moved to rub circles on my back.

Ma Lo’ak

Tag list:

@erensbbg

[kaihuntrr]

part nineteen: a new friend.

Skizz makes an 'uneasy alliance'.

Their two horses trotted along the forest path, the busy city now behind them as Skizz and Tango slowly rode back to their base. Skizz had gone back to get a new basket of baked goods, even paying for it despite Zed’s protests, and neither commander wanted their new set of snacks to fall on the ground. Skizz glanced to his right, seeing Tango in a huff as Skizz shook his head and smiled.

“Ah, don’t be so annoyed, Tango!” Skizz tilted his head. Tango huffed again, glaring off at some point in the trees. Skizz tapped the basket tied to his horse’s saddle. It’d been bundled up and attached there so Skizz could still control his horse properly. He just couldn’t have it move at a gallop, otherwise that would be food wasted. “We got our goods, and now we’re going home.”

“We would have been gone a lot sooner if it weren’t for those two jerks.”

Skizz grit his teeth. It was inconvenient, but Skizz tried to rationalize with himself. He didn’t know the situation for those two, maybe they needed it more than he did. That girl looked a bit confused, maybe she was new to the concept of the navy. It sounded… strange, but Skizz didn’t know her long enough to deduce her situation. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Skizz shrugged nonchalantly, pushing his own thoughts aside. “We have other things to think about–”

The communicator in Tango’s pocket began to blink rapidly, the blonde going wide-eyed before grabbing the device.

“Tango! Skizz! You there?” Impulse’s voice sounded a bit like static, crackling in almost all of his pauses.

“Impulse!” Tango put the device near his mouth. “What’s going on?”

“El, Sniff, and Olive got the drones to work!” Impulse’s voice rang with excitement. “We caught something on audio!”

Tango and Skizz looked at each other. The drones weren’t busted– at least, if they were somewhat functional? Tango would likely have to give it a look-over later with Impulse, but that was an issue for later. The fact that they got something recorded was fascinating enough.

Just audio? Skizz thought. No visuals? Was there something the drones couldn’t catch?

“We’ll be there soon,” Tango grinned. “Give us some time to get back!”

“Got it!” The crackling noise immediately shut off as Impulse clicked the device shut on his end. Tango placed the communicator in his pocket, turning his gaze towards Skizz. His eyes burned bright with giddy excitement and interest, “Can’t we go any faster?!”

Skizz shot a glance at Tango. “If you’d want all this to get dirty, be my guest,” he laid a protective hand over the bundled pastries and shook his head. He could see the eagerness on Tango’s face, so Skizz reassured him with a nod and a small smile. “We’ll head there as fast as we can.”

Skizz gently tapped his horse’s sides with his legs, causing it to trot a little faster. They couldn’t run, but it wasn’t like the recordings would run anywhere. 

Besides, Skizz’s mind burned in thought. What caused him to forget?

—————

The familiar, salty air of the sea wafted through Skizz’s lungs as he breathed it in. He and Tango rode through the tall walls of the naval base, saluting other soldiers as they entered. Everything looked the same, despite the place looking less populated than usual. Skizz sighed as Tango looked at him in worry. How many people were still bedridden, still shocked by this morning? They likely were just as clueless as he was. What would’ve happened if no one snapped themselves back to consciousness and they’d all drowned in the sea? Skizz shivered at the thought.

I could have died today.

Skizz and Tango got off their horses, walking them to the stables. It was a fairly large building and it was one of many. Skizz pushed the door open slowly, the light of the sun gently filtering in from the door as some passed through the upper windows. There were multiple horses inside, as expected, resting as they laid against the comfortable hay beds. Some stalls were empty, their occupants likely with other soldiers going in and out of the base. Skizz led his horse to its stall, removing the saddle and placing it on the gate of its pen. He took out a brush and combed its fur. The horse whinnied in enjoyment, bobbing its head and pawing at the ground.

Skizz stroked the horse’s head, “You did great, bud.” The horse nickered, almost in reply to the words of affirmation. Skizz smiled, getting the towel next to the saddle and wiped off any sweat before closing the pen’s door and grabbing the pastry basket from the saddle.

“Let’s get a move on!” Tango raised his fist in the air, already done with his horse. He was still buzzing with excitement as he looked at Skizz eagerly. Skizz nodded and the two left the stables, closing the doors behind them.

Tango ran ahead, his head buzzing with ideas as he followed the path to the tower. Skizz followed behind, trying to keep up with his friend’s pace as he carried the basket full of goodies with him. 

Tango lifted the communicator from his pocket. “We’re here!” He stopped and waited for Skizz, then began to briskly walk. “What exactly did you hear?”

There was a moment of static silence before Impulse answered. “It sounds like… humming.” Confusion rang in his voice as he continued to speak, “I think it’d be better if Skizz gave a listen.” 

“Maybe you should be the one carrying this,” Skizz leaned over to Tango and held the basket out. He spoke clearly so the communicator could catch his voice. “I’ll be right there.” Tango clicked the communicator shut to end the conversation, then fumbled it as Skizz unceremoniously dropped the basket in the blonde’s hands. The communicator landed on a soft patch of dirt.

“Aw, come on!” Tango leaned down to pick up the device. He dusted it off on his clothes and shoved it in his pocket.

Skizz rolled his eyes. “It’s not that heavy!” He gave Tango a friendly nudge. “Just don’t let anything fall out!”

With a loud, boisterous laugh, Skizz ran ahead, Tango mumbled and complained incoherently as he ran after him, being careful enough to not drop any of the baked goods. It smelled good, but both of their focus was on the information. But he was glad Skizz was acting like himself again. Without having seen it, no one would’ve known that Skizz had almost drowned today.

The two arrived at the tower, hearing the waves push against the shore in a rhythmic, almost hypnotic pattern. Trees nearby rustled their leaves against the strong noon gusts. Skizz shielded his eyes for a couple of moments to prevent any stray sand from entering his vision. 

Skizz looked back to see Tango catching his breath, shooting a glance of annoyance at his friend. They shared a nod before entering inside, trying to get back into a more professional mindset as they walked up the steps to start climbing the ladder to the top.

Skizz pushed the trapdoor open. “We’re here!” He stretched his arms above his head as he reached the top, watching Tango ascend the ladder and walk up to the table. “We got you guys some food, too!”

Skizz could see the hunger in his team’s eyes as they gazed upon the baked goods. Impulse and Etho walked up first, taking a cinnamon roll and a muffin respectively, and beckoned for the Herons to join in. Owen walked up first, taking a neatly made sandwich held together by a piece of paper and rope, then Water picked up a muffin. Soon, the rest of the Herons followed suit, taking something to bite down on and enjoy.

“Dig in,” Tango chuckled. He glanced at Skizz and gave him a small smirk. “Skizz spent a lot of money on this.”

“Anything for the team!” Skizz rolled his eyes and smiled, nudging Tango forward. “You go on and eat, too!” Tango shook his head with an amused sigh, picking a cinnamon roll taking big bites out of it.

El took a bite at a muffin, closing their eyes and savoring the taste. “Aw, thank you both!” she nodded at the two commanders, “These are really good.”

“A good friend of ours runs a bakeshop nearby,” Skizz motioned behind him with his head, tilting it towards the city. “It was a nice visit.”

Except for the part our first basket got stolen, Skizz bit his tongue. It didn’t really matter, so there was no point in bringing it up. The good parts were being out of the base, seeing the city life, and meeting Zedaph again. It lifted his spirits knowing he was protecting the people he cared about, even if they don’t see him as often. He hoped they would picture him protecting others all the time! 

“You should eat too, Skizz,” Impulse looked up at his friend, motioning to the basket. “We’ve got something to analyze, after all.”

Right. The audio from this morning. 

Would listening to the recording trigger some kind of memory? Skizz hoped it did. He couldn’t just forget something as crucial as almost dying in the blink of an eye. What if it was magic? Skizz chuckled to himself. 

Yeah right, as if magic exists.

Skizz blinked, snapping himself out of his thoughts. “Of course,” he spoke slowly, nodding to Impulse’s words. He walked up to the table and leaned close to Etho and Impulse, picking up a muffin and biting into it. The taste was good. The pastry melted in his mouth before he chewed and swallowed. “So… humming?”

“Sounds like it,” Etho nodded. He took a bite out of his muffin, “We’ll let you two listen to it and see what you think.”

Etho walked over to one of the monitors. He pressed a few buttons on the controller and on the monitor, the screen lighting up to respond to every motion. It was quiet for a moment, then the room rumbled to life, filling with a powerful sound that almost shook the walls.

That voice.

Hazy details slowly came into Skizz’s mind as he closed his eyes. He was on a sandy beach, following the sound of that voice. The floors rumbled in the sounds, a slight tremor in the earth that Skizz couldn’t remember. Each image that flowed into his mind was of the blurry sea and the feeling of cold saltwater against his skin. He could feel himself slip away at the sound, as if wanting to drift away to an endless sleep.

“Haunting….” Skizz was breathless, opening his eyes as Etho switched the sound off.

Water walked up to Skizz. “Isn’t it?” she stared into the distance, a wistful sigh escaped her. “At first we thought it was some kind of mating call, but I don’t think it was.”

Etho turned his head to Skizz and Tango. He beckoned the two closer, “Most of the video got corrupted, but we salvaged this from the near shore drone.”

With another set of clicks and button presses, the screen changed into a blurry recording. It wasn’t perfect, nothing close to replacing human vision, but the glimpses were enough. The audio of someone– something singing played again, but this time, the rushing water of the beach overlaid the sound. Skizz expected to see someone standing far off the shores, but to his surprise, it was just more ocean. More water. It was an average early morning.

Until Skizz heard the sound of footsteps.

One. Then two. Then three. Multiple sets of footsteps approached and passed by the drone, soldiers walking slowly and sluggishly into the water. Nothing was forcing them, at least nothing physically, and none of them would budge as they began to tread into waist-deep waters. 

Then the screen went blank and the audio stopped.

Skizz felt a shiver up his spine.

“We think it’s some sort of lure.” Olive placed a hand on their chin, their words soon became mumbles as they crossed their eyes in thought. “I mean- clearly.”

“For humans?” Tango popped the last of his cinnamon roll into his mouth, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms. Olive nodded eagerly at him and he looked at the ground, thinking as he chewed and swallowed. “That’s… strange.”

Owen nodded. “It is. We have reason to believe it could lure sea monsters too but…,” she sighed, her eyes narrowing as she spoke, “The singer was too far out of sight for us to get any visuals.”

How could a voice stretch that far…? Why was it singing? They had never seen anything about a singing monster in all their times at sea. The Herons had never mentioned anything about one either. There was nothing like that. Nothing that was… magical? Skizz attempted to wrap his head around in his thoughts. How was that possible? What was possible? What kind of monster would…?

A single thought crossed his mind.

Could a sea prince sing?

Skizz paused. His eyes slowly gazed over his friends. “You don’t think….”

Impulse’s eyes widened, understanding it as he stared blankly at the black screen. Etho leaned closer to the screen, as if the darkness might be hiding something.

Tango spoke, but his voice was quiet. “That should be impossible, shouldn’t it?” he mumbled. He shook his head, looking at Skizz with curiosity and worry. “Then again, we were advised the monsters here acted strangely. Do you think this could be why?”

It had to be, hadn’t it?

Skizz looked over at the Herons, trying to see if one of them was going to object, to say something to disagree with their commanders’ dawning conclusion. Nothing. No one said a word.

Did they find a new kind of monster, or did they just find themselves a sea prince?

“We should leave the island soon.” Skizz’s voice was stern. They had to act quickly. The thing was around a few hours ago, there was no way it could leave that quickly, right? Maybe this was its territory. It could be why the monsters were acting so strangely around here. “If that thing– that beast is still nearby, we could trace the voice to its source.”

“We still have time, I think.” Impulse broke his silent stare at the screen to look at Skizz. “Maybe a quick patrol out in the waters would–”

“Commanders!” All four of TIES’ communicators lit up in surprise.

Etho was quick to answer. “What do you need, soldier?”

“A ship is requesting to dock in the base. Its captain wishes to speak with you four immediately.”

“What kind of ship is it?”

The soldier paused, taking in a deep breath. “...A Watcher’s ship, sir.”

A Watcher? Skizz narrowed his eyes. What are they doing here? Why would they want to dock at a naval base?

“Just a moment,” Etho said into the communicator. Then he turned to the rest of the room.

“Those guys?” Sniff raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. “What are they doing here?”

Skizz wondered the same thing. They could ask for a myriad of things, and Skizz wasn’t sure he’d like any answer he got.

“You can all come with us, if you’d like,” Skizz motioned to the trapdoor behind them. Maybe if they were really friendly and approachable, maybe this meeting with the Watchers would work out well for everyone… maybe. “You could share your research with them.”

Water narrowed her eyes. “Not in a million years,” she shook her head adamantly. She leaned against the table next to the monitor. “I’ll stay here, the rest can choose whether or not to go.”

“I’m not a big fan of those weirdos,” Owen smiled awkwardly, deciding to sit on the table. “I’ll stay here too.” 

“I think it’ll be good to go, we might be able to get something from them, so I’ll go.” Sniff shrugged, but he looked uncertain as he glanced between Owen and Water, then looked at Skizz and walked to stand by the commanders.

“I’ll go too, just- hang around in the back,” Olive walked forward, standing next to Sniff as they gave him a friendly nudge. The two shared a friendly glance. “Though I’m not sure if they’ll start asking any of us for anything.”

El waved their hand dismissively. “I’ll stick around Owen and Water, we’ll check over our notes and see if anything aligns with this… anomaly,” they glanced at the monitor, their eyes squinted at the screen. They looked back at their commanders, “I must recommend that none of you mention this to them, sirs….”

Skizz, Tango, and Impulse looked at Etho expectantly. “Alright,” he said into the communicator. He glanced at his friends then back at the device. “Let the ship through, we’ll join them at the docks shortly.”

“Of course, commander.” The soldier clicked the communicator shut on his end, and the tower went quiet.

“Watchers,” Olive muttered to themselves, shaking their head in thought. “Just as creepy as their namesake.”

Skizz sighed. “Well, get ready to see them soon,” he gave Olive a reassuring smile, “We’re leaving.” Skizz waved at the remaining Herons and opened the trapdoor, exiting first.

The group was silent as each descended down the tower. Skizz assumed they were all in their own heads, trying to assess the situation. He was thinking too. The Watchers never showed themselves too often. Always busy. Always doing something. They had highly advanced technology, as far as he’s heard. But the fact that they were so secretive about everything felt strange. If they had things that might benefit all of humanity, why wouldn’t they want to spread that knowledge to everyone?

Skizz led the group down into base, eyeing up the Watcher’s ship as they passed by saluting soldiers and the sounds of training. More soldiers were moving around, on horseback, marching, training their weapon and melee skills, the works. Some soldiers pushed around carts of weapons while others periodically went to check in on the wounded. Surely, most of the people who nearly drowned should be alright by now. An uneasy breeze blew through him, and Skizz took a deep breath as he continued to walk forward.

Impulse walked next to Skizz, looking at the Watcher’s ship as a chill ran up his spine. “What do you think they want from us?”

“I’m not sure,” Skizz looked at Impulse and shrugged. “But let’s hear them out.”

Another round of heavy silence, and the group had arrived by the docks. Docked next to the pristinely white, elegant, and sea-green navy ships was a black and purple ship. Its darkened colors likely used to hide the ship as it sailed across the night but it was clearly visible in the daylight. It was blatantly obvious to tell that this was a Watcher’s ship, what with their symbol marked on their mainsail. 

“Greetings, naval officers, Herons.” Skizz looked up to see the cloaked figure speaking to them. “I hope my arrival hasn’t disturbed anything.”

A gangplank dropped from the ship, and the cloaked figure walked down, pulling back his purple hood to reveal a warm gaze staring back at the commanders. He didn’t look like anything Skizz expected- usually, Watchers were these cold, masked figures that hid their identities from the world. The man had warm brown eyes and dark skin with his hair short and neat and a five o’ clock shadow. 

This one casually revealed himself as he smiled softly. Though… it felt more hollow than it was soft. Despite not wearing a mask, his smile felt like one.

Skizz raised an eyebrow and looked at his friends to check their reactions. Olive and Sniff looked wary while his friends glared. Don’t mention the weird singing. “Nothing you need to worry about,” he shook his head. “Are you the captain?”

The Watcher motioned to the boat behind him with his hand, “For this ship? Yes.” His face barely showed any emotion. It was unnerving. “I would like to inquire about one of the Canary’s captains, Grian. You know him, don’t you?”

Grian? Why would they–

“We do,” Tango spoke quickly. He put a hand on his hip, cocking his head to the side as his eyebrows furrowed, “But why are you contacting us and not the Canaries?”

The Watcher shrugged helplessly. “Grian’s signal was lost, and the rest of the Canaries' crew along with him. The last known location was near the south, close to the world border,” he glanced away and waved his hand, “We haven’t been able to track him since.”

That was a first. Since when were the Watchers tracking Grian? He’d never mentioned anything about the Watchers. Then again, Skizz didn’t know much about the guy. And that wasn’t exactly something you mentioned to your… acquaintance?

“What do you need him for?”

“All you need to know is that the Watchers wish to speak to him,” the Watcher tilted his head. “I’ll remain in contact, so you can update me when he’s done with his little… royal assignment.”

That didn’t sound creepy at all. Skizz looked warily at the watcher as he continued to give him and his friends a blank stare. 

His thoughts ran free. ‘Royal assignment’. How did– did the Watchers know about the king’s commission? How? Why? Since when were they involved in a mission that was only meant for the navy and the Canaries? Maybe they were meant to be extra backup when it came time to actually hunt a sea prince, but…

The Watchers? Skizz shook his head. Too many questions, too little time. 

A name, Skizz thought. A name would be a good start for now.

“...What’s your name, Watcher?”

The man’s expressionless face finally cracked as he smiled, a dark expression slowly spreading over his face as he looked down at the commanders with piercing eyes.

“You may call me Big B. It’s nice to meet you.”

[hymn-of-muse]

You can stay

A Master Joris + Adopted Child!Sadida!Reader. requested by anon!

using they/them for reader by default, Y/N = your name

Dust begins to settle as the commotion comes to an end. Much of the land, a huge part of the Sadida forrest, was damaged during Nox's attack on the tree.

Many of the people of the kingdom were injured, some even lost in the damage. Some of whom were parents even.

Joris let out a solom sigh as he looked about, checking around places in the forest that were damaged to see if anyone needed help, when he heard a noise that made him pause and listen.

Joris strained his ears to listen for it again. in the quiet of the once lively part of the forest there was a distant voice, a cry. weeping. sad calling and wailing that made his heart drop as his feet quickly took him closer to the source of the sound.

There, at the edge of the ruined forest, sitting by a group of dead tree stumps, a small Sadida child weeping and calling out for their parents between sobs.

He stepped a bit closer, slowly as to not startle them, and called out. "Hey there, little one" Once they lifted their head from their hands and stared at him through watery eyes he extended his hand out to them. "You'll be alright. Do you want to come with me? Maybe we can find your folks, okay?" He spoke softly, offering a small, sweet smile in attepmt to comfort.

The child whimpered, rubbing some more tears away before nodding and taking his hand, letting him pull them to their feet and lead them further into the lush part of the forest and to the heart of the Sadida kingdom where more people were staying after the attack.

"I promise you'll be okay, little one. Do you have a name?" he asked, their hand still firmly in his own.

The child was quiet, giving the softest verbal response despite their voice cracking as they tried to keep from crying more, still in the process of calming down. "Y/N..."

"Y/N...I like it, sounds just as special as you." He offered another smile, earning a small thankful one from the child in return.

Soon they arrived at a small station where people who've lost their homes in the attack where staying until things got sorted out. he had y/n stay seated while he went to talk to someone about finding their parents, but he'd soon find out how difficult that would be.

"what do you mean you dont know? there's plenty of people here, surely someone knows something. they have to be here, or somewhere in the forest, we cant just leave the kid here without their parents!" Joris huffed as he discussed the situation with an older Sadida woman.

"I'm sorry, Master Joris, thats just it. Theres so many here and so many unaccounted for that we cant keep track like that. we'll see what we can do but it might take a while, at least a day or so before we can find anything out about their parents." The woman explained with a sympathetic expression.

"What do we do with them in the meantime?" Joris sighed, crossing his arms and glancing back at y/n.

"well...they could stay with you." The woman offered.

"me? what, why?"

"er-it would just be until we find their parents, i mean, you do seem fairly good with kids and have already taking a liking to each other, they'd probably feel safe with you too." She offered, a kind smile spreading across her face.

"hmm...i guess you have a point, but just until this is all figured out." Joris stated, a bit hesitant but willing to give it a shot.

"We'll have someone alert you as soon as we have some news." The woman said before turning to tend to someone else's issues.

Joris walked back to the kid, running through his mind how he'd bring this up and explain without worrying the kid anymore than they already are.

"Hey kid, how are you holding up." He asked, taking a seat next to them.

"okay...did the lady say where my mommy and daddy are? are they here?" y/n asked, looking at Joris with hope in their eyes. it just about was enough to wrench his heart out.

"we still dont know yet, but she did say you could stay with me till we find them, would that be okay with you?" he asked, hoping this didnt make things hurt worse for them.

y/n's face fell at the first half but listed back up a tad bit at the later. The idea of staying with him seemed to be a good idea and bring a sense of safety, just like the woman had said.

y/n nodded in agreement. "thats okay!" they stated, sounding almost eager towards the idea before suddenly leaning into joris and giving him a big hug.

"alright then, guess you'll be with me for a bit" Joris nodded, lightly patting their back.

a few days passed by, Joris hadn't yet gotten any news or updates of the situation about the kid's family and he was beginning to adjust to having them around like a second shadow.

He was sitting with them at the table when a knock came at the door. "one minute, little one, i'll be back after answering that" Joris excused himself and got up to answer the door.

"Yes?" He opened the door to see someone from the shelter giving a nervous smile on the other side of the door.

"um..Master Joris, I bring some news...*unfortunate* news, I'm afraid." They said hesitantly.

Joris stepped outside, closing the door behind him and looking up to them when he crossed his arms. "I'm guessing you haven't found their parents yet?"

"well...we did, sort of...but thats just it, what i came to tell you. they were found but, theyre..not among us anymore." They continued to speak nervously, pausing between some words as they attempted to explain.

Joris very quickly understood the implications of this news and it felt like his heart was being held my sharp claws and in his throat. "i...i see...so then what about Y/N? what happens to them?"

"they dont have any family left, theres no one else they could stay with..." they stated sadly.

"yes but-...no one else? are you suggesting they stay with me longer?" Joris rose an eyebrow

"Yes, permanently in fact. things between you seemed to have been going well for the past few days, theyre safe with you and they do seem to really like you." they pointed out "we all agreed it was the best idea"

"i...youre saying i should take them in...?" Joris rose an eyebrow, doing his best to process this.

"Adopt them, yes. youre the best choice, clearly, theres not much else that can be done either." they admitted.

"...adopt? me? ....i..." he sighed "i'll have to have quite the talk with them." Joris mumbled.

"It'll be worth it for you both" they smiled thankfully before walking off.

Joris went back inside and back to the table where he'd previously been sitting with y/n.

"who was that?" y/n asked, tilting their head slightly in curiousity.

"that was...someone from the shelter bringing news." he answered, trying hard to think up a quick few lines to better phrase the news for the kid.

"did they find mommy and daddy?" they asked, once again the hopeful look in their eyes returning.

Joris hesitated some more when they asked, eyes shifting about before landing back on y/n as he came up with what to say.

[author lost motivation to complete the story, many apologies.]

[winterinhimring]

Three Musketeers fans, please consider:

Athos with a baby.

I don't recall the exact circumstances under which he obtained Raoul, and I don't want to read Twenty Years After right now to remember them, because it makes me sad, so let's go with the fairly standard baby-in-a-basket-on-doorstep route. Here's how I think it would go.

Part I:

You are a tenant of the Comte de la Fère, who recently returned from five years of Mysterious and Probably Violent Activities to take up his ancestral position again. Nobody really knows what he's like anymore, so all his tenants/vassals are treading fairly lightly around him. So far, nobody's sure if he's going to drink himself into an early grave, or pick a quarrel with the wrong eight guys and get himself killed, but those are pretty much the only two options anyone is considering.

It is the middle of the night. You are woken by hammering on the door.

You go downstairs and the person who is hammering on the door like a madman is the Comte. He is wearing a nightshirt and a sword.

He is holding a baby.

His eyes are approximately the size of saucers. "Someone left him on the doorstep," is all he says, and he appears to think that this is an adequate explanation for why your liege-lord is standing on your doorstep in the middle of the night with a baby and a sword.

You decide to get your wife, because you are in no way equipped to handle your (definitely not panicking) lord and a baby on your own at this hour of the night.

Your wife immediately corrects how the Comte is holding the baby (his baby??) and you want to sink into the floor because you have no idea how he's going to take that kind of unsolicited advice, but the Comte is watching her like she's a divine revelation, and as soon as he's holding the baby to her satisfaction, he starts staring down at the kid with a ridiculously smitten expression on his face.

You decide to ask no questions.

Part II:

Now that Athos knows how to hold the baby, he is never going to put the baby down. Ever. Doing paperwork? Holding the baby. Riding into town? Holding the baby. Meeting with his tenants? Holding the baby.

He also talks to him exactly like an adult, because Athos has no framework for how to talk to someone who is not an adult. Baby Raoul has a very precocious vocabulary (no, I don't mean swearing; Athos NEVER swears in front of the child: I mean that he's the kind of five-year-old who uses words with more syllables than he is old).

The wife of our frazzled tenant above decides, at some point, to give the Comte a baby sling, because look, you can't do everything one-handed even if you are ambidextrous.

Athos now wears the baby everywhere. Somehow, he manages to look dashing while doing so. Half the unmarried ladies in the locality and a few of the married ones lose their hearts to him irrevocably, because it's a rare man who can look dashing while wearing a baby in a sling. Athos is completely ignorant of this because he's busy looking at Raoul.

Part III:

Because we live in a world where the Inseparables did NOT go without seeing each other for twenty years, Aramis, Porthos, and D'Artagnan find out about the baby. (Reader's choice: this can be because Athos wrote a panicking letter to them shortly after finding the kid to see if any of them knew what to do with a child, or because the four of them got together for a visit and Athos just. Was holding a baby.)

Of course, Raoul now has three devoted uncles, although everyone likes to tease D'Artagnan that the real reason Athos obtained a child was because he thought D'Artagnan needed a little brother. Uncle Porthos throws him in the air and Athos almost faints on the spot. Uncle Aramis teaches him to use his (unfairly cute) face to the BEST advantage possible.

Uncle D'Artagnan accidentally teaches him to swear. Athos does not find out about this until there is some accident and Raoul spits out a series of rather vehement oaths in front of him. D'Artagnan hears Athos yell and promptly flees. Aramis and Porthos watch with popcorn as Athos chases him over hill and dale until he catches him and threatens him with dismemberment if he EVER says ANYTHING like that around Raoul again.

D'Artagnan tries to blame Porthos.

It does not work.

Part IV (beware of spoilers for the end of the series):

In this AU, needless to say, Raoul does not go get himself killed in battle and Athos does not die of grief. The Inseparables plus Raoul all live to a very happy old age.