#we'd stall here forever

[marvel-ouss]

You're Not Sorry

Dad!Charles Leclerc x Mom!Reader

pov: Charles goes to support his cousin in Naples and sees someone he hasn't seen in a long time along with a younger version of himself.

warning: miscommunication, pregnancy, the italics are Charles pov, some swear words, mentions of cheating, mentions of eating

type: angst with happy ending

note: this picture did something to me, I swear I saw Charles talking to his younger self! I almost cried...

It's Jules' 6th birthday today and I promised him that we'd go to the Karting race that is gonna happen in the Naples circuit.

We arrived around 11am so he could greet everyone.

"Hello birthday boy, how are you doing?" Martin asked Jules, he was the first person I met when I first came to Naples. When Martin noticed I was pregnant and I told him it was a boy he said that the first thing he'd do when the child was big enough was take him karting on the circuit he worked. 5 years later Martin kept his promise and now Jules karts regularly.

"I'm good, uncle Matt. I'm really exited to watch the race." Jules said jumping from excitement.

"One day we'll take you to a f1 race, now go join your friends, I need to talk with your mommy" Jules gets out happy with the silent promise. "Have you seen him?"

"Good morning to you too Martin, I'm great and you?"

"Sorry, I'm good. Now answer me" I could tell he was nervous I just didn't know the reason.

"Seen who? Martin are you sure you are okay?"

"Charles." I haven't heard that name in so long. "Giuseppe told us earlier that a f1 drivers was gonna be here I didn't really care but then I remembered Jules so I asked if anyone knew who it was and they told me we had a section booked for the Leclerc family"

"So you are telling me that you were told Charles was gonna be here and told my child to go outside where he his most likely to be seen?" I asked already leaving the stall we were at.

Arriving outside I couldn't find Jules. Martin and I looked at each other and we started looking for Jules.

"Jules where are you?" I screamed hoping for him to hear me “Jules!” I kept screaming, I was scared, what if someone took him? Jules’ the only thing I have left.

"That's her, that's my mommy!" I hear Jules' voice and see him along with the only person I hopped not to see today.

I was in Naples to support my cousin during the karting Championship. When I arrived I greeted as many people as I could and took as much pictures and gave as many autographs as possible. I was walking around when I saw a little boy that reminded me of myself during my early karting days. I looked around to see if there was any adult, maybe a mother or a father, looking for the child, but didn��t see any.

“Hello young man, what are you doing here alone?” I ask the little boy. As I approached I could tell he was crying.

“Can you help me find my mother? I don’t want to be alone forever. My mum can’t be alone, she’ll miss me.” He said with a broken voice.

“Of course, come on let’s look around to see if we can find her. My name is Charles, do you want to tell me your name?” I held his hand and walked around.

“My name is Jules Leclerc but my mommy calls me gioia mia” I couldn’t say a word. Leclerc? How is it possible? A Leclerc that we don’t know about? Maybe it’s just a coincidence, there must be other Leclerc’s out there.

“Jules, where are you? Jules!” I heard a woman’s voice screaming, we went in the direction of the voice.

A woman came into view, I knew her from somewhere. When she turned around I could tell it was y/n. We started dating 8 years ago. But eventually broke up 3 years after. I had just started my F1 career and I'll admit that I started ignoring her and focusing more in my future. So I wasn't surprised when one day I woke up and she wasn't there.

I tried contacting her but it was already too late, I had fucked it up really bad.

“That’s her, that’s my mommy!” Jules said letting go of my hand and running in her direction.

I saw Jules running in my direction and opened my arms. “Gioia mia, don’t ever do that to mommy again, I thought I lost you forever baby”

“I’m sorry mommy, I was with the older boys but they had to go, I looked for you in the stall but you weren’t there anymore.”

“I’m so sorry baby, I was already looking for you. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay mommy. Look I made a new friend. His name is Charles.” Jules turned do Charles who was a bit far from us “And Charles, meet my mommy.”

I couldn’t face Charles. I knew we had to talk but I wasn’t ready for it all. At this point Jules must have introduced himself and I know my child well enough so I bet he said his name was Jules Leclerc, he’s always super proud to say his first and last name. I think Jules is too young to connect the dots, he knows my last name is not Leclerc.

I remember the fist time we watched f1 together he noticed and told me that there was Ferrari driver had the same last name as him. Little does he know.

He probably didn’t realise that he was in the presence of THE Charles Leclerc who also happened to be his father.

“Hi Charles, thanks for helping him find me.” A said dryly without making eye contact.

“Hello y/n, haven’t seen you in a long time. How have you been?” Really? How have I been? He's joking right? First ignores my existence, now is talking to me like nothing has ever happened?

“I’m going. How is f1 being to you?” No, you don't care y/n! What are you doing?

Charles widened his eyes. “It’s going, Ferrari’s not at it’s best but we’ll get there”

“Mommy? He’s Charles Leclerc?” Jules asked confused.

“Yes gioia mia, he’s the f1 driver you talked about the other day”

“Cha, we share the same last name!” He said very enthusiastic.

“Oui mon petit, it seems so” I lift my head to look at Charles but he’s already looking me dead in the soul. I’m fucked.

“Let’s go Jules, let’s look for your uncle Martin he’s very worried as well. Say bye to Charles.”

“Bye Cha.” Jules goes in his direction to give him a hug. Charles gets down so he can hug Jules properly and whispers something in his ear.

“Goodbye Charles.” I say already turning around.

“At least this time she said a proper goodbye." Hypocrite! I can't believe my ears, that bastard... Never mind y/n, he's not worth a scene in front of Jules.

-

The day went by really fast and I didn’t see any of the Leclerc’s throughout the day. Jules had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the day with the other boys. Some of them even took him for a lap around the circuit.

It was 7:30pm when we decided it was time to go.

“Mom do you think I’ll meet other f1 drivers when we go watch one of the races?”

“I don’t know baby, probably. I know some of them, if we find them I’ll introduce them to you, deal?”

“Deal” he said closing the subject and starting to ramble about his day.

I was putting Jules in his car chair when I heard someone calling my name do I closed the door and turned around.

“Y/n, I was looking for you.” Charles was in front of me breathless so I assume he ran on his way here. “We need to talk. I didn’t wanna do it earlier because Jules was there and I didn’t wanna make a scene. But you can’t deny that he’s my child, he looks just like me.” He said all in one breath.

“I won’t deny it, I knew it when I left. Well, that was one of the reasons I left. I wasn't gonna bring I child into your life for you to ignore the both of us, so I figured that leaving was more fitting.” Charles started laughing.

“ Are you kidding me y/n? I would have died for the two of you if you had tol-“ “Really Charles? Are you kidding me? You treated me like shit the last months we were together! You wouldn't even acknowledge my existence!

“Y/n, you could have told me, we would find a way! Instead you left me in the middle of the night!”

“Don't say you were alone when you had another girl!” “I had what? Well that’s news! I didn’t know that.” Charles interrupted me shocked.

“You weren’t?” “No I wasn’t!”

“Charles you were never home, I didn’t know were you were, I needed you when I discovered!”

“I was focused in my job! I didn't even had time for you how was I supposed to be with another woman?”

“You put your job in front of everything else. I waited for you every single night! The night I discovered I was pregnant I had everything planned to tell you, but when you arrived home you just brushed me off! I needed you for fuck sake” I started crying and he hugged me.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry baby" He kept repeating those words like a mantra.

I heard the car door and soon after felt Jules’ arms wrapped around my leg. “Mommy are you okay?”

“Yes baby, everything’s alright. Sorry for keeping you waiting.” I held Jules and put him back in the car and turned to Charles. “Give me your phone please” he said, so I gave him my phone. He dialed his current phone number and gave me back my phone. “Send me a massage se we can talk better and figure things out okay?”

“Yeah, ciao Cha.” I said going to the drivers seat and making my way home.

-

I put Jules to bed then headed to the kitchen to get my phone and called Charles.

“Hello?” I said when noticed he had answered the phone.

“Y/n? Are you okay?" No, I'm not. For 5 years I thought he stopped caring because he was with someone else. At this point I have no idea what's worse. being cheated on or being left behind because of work

“Hi Cha. I don’t know. At the moment I have a lot on my mind and I don’t know how to process everything.” I said still a little overwhelmed.

“How's Jules?”

“Just put him to bed, he was worried, he never saw me crying.”

“I wanted him to meet my family. You should be there too, my mom and brothers miss you.”

“How? I left you and they miss me?” I said on the verge of tears.

“They know it was my fault. I said you left because I got too occupied with work to pay attention to you and you were done with it. My mom almost killed me that day.”

“Poor Pascale you always gave them the worse time.” Now I was crying.

“I've said it a hundred times and I'll say one thousand more times, I'm so sorry mon amour. I didn't know how to deal with everythin. I'm so so sorry”

“Do you think Pascale still likes me?”

“Of course she does she never stopped loving you, but she likes you ever more now that you gave her her so desired first grandchild” The line went silent after what he said. He accepted Jules so easily. "Why Jules? And why did you keep the Leclerc?"

"His name is Jules Pierre Hervé Leclerc. I gave him the names of important people to you. I didn't know if you were gonna meet him someday so I wanted do keep a part of you in him. It was a shock when I figured out but it was a result of our love. You are the love of my life. Even after all this years I still feel that love for you. I couldn't think of another name that would suit him as good as that one."

After that Charles hung up the phone. I knew he had a lot on his mind so I didn't insist on calling him. We both fucked up in this situation, I shouldn't have left, and he should have known that his profissional self stays in the headquarter.

When he's ready to talk he'll call me. The next morning I woke up and made breakfast for me and Jules. I was on my way to wake up Jules when my phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"Y/n, what's your address?"

"Hi Charles, good morning for you too" what's with the going straight to the point and not even asking how the person's doing? First Martin, now Charles, who's next? Jules?

"Sorry, got too exited. I bought gifts for Jules. Where can I meet you?"

"You can come to my house I'll send you the address. Did you have breakfast?"

"No, not yet"

"Good you'll have it with us and we'll tell Jules" I said hanging up the phone and continuing with Jules' routine.

-

A few minutes later Charles was knocking on my door. Jules was in the living room playing with his toy cars.

"Good morning mon amour." Charles said kissing my cheek and giving me a hug.

"Good morning Cha, you can come in" I said giving him space to come inside.

"Bonjour mon petit. What're you doing?" Charles asked Jules while sitting on the couch.

"Chaaa" Jules screamed getting up and hugging Charles.

"I'm gonna set the table. I'll call you when everything's ready" I said going to the kitchen.

They stayed in the living room until I called for the two of them.

We starting eating our breakfast.

"Jules we have something to tell you." I said when I finished my breakfast

Jules moved all his attention to me.

"You know, when I was younger I met your dad. And I think it's time for you to meet him as well."

Jules look at me and Charles, back and forth.

"Mommy, is Cha my dad? Is that what you were trying to tell me?" Jules said with his eyebrows frowned, due do confusion.

Me and Charles stayed silent for a little bit and I just nodded for Jules to know that was exactly what I was trying to tell him. Both of us fearing his reaction. We where still in silence when Jules got up from his chair and made is way towards Charles.

"I forgive you for not being here. I love you daddy. Now we can be a family." He said hugging Charles.

Jules was such an intelligent child. I didn't want to tell him the whole thing so we just said that Cha was busy but what mattered was his presence now.

We started doing, as Jules called them, "Fam Time" once a week. Charles would sleep the night to spend more time with Jules, we would go to races. Jules met all the drivers as he wished. We were happy once again.

-

I'M BACK GUYS! Probably not for long hihi

I hope you like this new story. Feedback is always welcome.

xx

[intimacyequalsdeath]

Bubz's Slasher Fictober Day 7: The Lost Boys x Reader (Poly) (Apple Cider)

And with that the first week of Fictober is over with! I hope you've all enjoyed the first 7 fics of this wonderful month and I hope you all stick around to enjoy the rest <3

Notes: Minors DNI, This one still isn't smut but do stay tuned for later in Fictober (wink wink). No pronouns or descriptions of reader used. This is a poly relationship fic so if you aren't into it this isn't the fic for you. (Not my gif but i loved it too much not to use) I used a lot of creative liberties in this so if it doesn't seem 100 percent canon that's why.

Fic specific notes: Star doesn't exist in this neither does Laddie.

Rays of the light from the moon were peaking through the clouds as the coolness of the nighttime descended on Santa Clara. You had been awake for a couple hours and knew once the night came the boys would be ready to proceed with what you had promised them a year ago on the dot.

A year ago to the day was when David first brought it up.

"Become one of us" He rasped at you one night after a night out at the boardwalk.

At first you hadn't thought you heard him correctly, One of them? There was no way he meant a vampire? could he? Marko butted in before you could ask him.

"Yeah c'mon babe, You've been with us almost two years now we want you to be with us forever" You glanced at Paul and Dwayne and they both smirked and nodded.

You told the four that night that you wanted nothing more then to be one of them and be with them forever, but you needed time to process what that would mean for you. You promised them if they waited a full year you would drink the blood and become theirs forever. The past year had flown by and in reality felt like you had only had a week to process.

One by one you could hear the boys wake deeper into the cave and one by one in that order they emerged into the main room where you rested behind the sheer curtains that surrounded the bed.

Marko, Dwayne and Paul as usual entered first but as on any other day they stalled back waiting for David. David entered the main room a few minutes later fully dressed in his normal gloves and trench coat and approached your bed slowly and casually. He used a gloved hand to pull one of the curtains away from the bed and leaned over you with his other hand at the side of your face on the bed.

"Darling, I think you know what time it is" You opened your eyes to look up at one of the men you had promised yourself too a year ago but had been with for 3.

"Doesn't max have to be here?" you asked, you knew the answer was no but you still wanted to stall for as long as possible. David fixed you with an unamused look.

"Of course not doll, But you knew the answer to that, C'mon let's get you up and ready we have all night but we'd like to go to the boardwalk at some point" David said grabbing your hand and helping you sit up.

You noticed the other 3 had disappeared off somewhere probably to get a few things in order for you after you drink the blood. You placed your feet on the side of the bed and stood up pulling the shawl you were sleeping in tighter around you as the chill of Santa Clara night hit you like a truck.

"You're nervous" David stated, You turned to look at him and he chuckled a bit.

"The nerves are rolling off you like waves" He continued "Though I'm not sure why, You aren't second guessing this are you?" He asked you incredulously, You swiftly shook your head.

"Of course not David, that isn't it at all" He still stood next to the bed staring at you, you sighed.

"It's just, I don't know. What if the blood doesn't take or something, what if it goes wrong and makes me sick or something. I want to be with you guys forever but I'm so scared David" His face soften and he brought a gloved hand to your chin to bring your eyes to his.

"My love Max explained to you the worst things that can happen, Even if the blood doesn't take at first me and the boys are prepared for any situation. Even if something goes wrong we aren't going to let you get hurt, you just have to trust us darling" You sniffled with unshed tears in your eyes. David had a soft side but it was rare that he showed it.

Dwayne entered the room and fixed you with a worried look before turning to David.

"Everything is ready if you are David, Is everything ok?" Dwayne asked. You nodded and smiled at him.

"I'm fine hun. Just got a little nervous" You said wrapping your arms around Dwayne's middle, he pressed a quick kiss to your forehead.

"Well I guess that settles it then Dwayne, tell Marko and Paul that we're ready" Paul turned to leave and you grabbed his hand into yours and followed, David coming behind the two of you into the section of the cave where David's makeshift throne sat.

Marko and Paul had matching grins upon seeing you and you knew they were just as excited and anxious as Dwayne and David were even if Dwayne and David were better at their poker faces then the younger two vampires.

David stepped away from the group to walk up to the throne and grab the bottle that held the blood. Marko and Paul came up and wrapped their arms around you seemingly keeping you in place in case. Marko leaned over to your ear while David got the blood ready.

"Once you start drinking don't stop until David tells you, you might faint or pass out but me and Paul got you. If you do you'll wake up in an hour or two and we'll all take care of you till your fully turned" You nodded at him and gave him a small smile to try and show you weren't nervous.

David stepped forward and held out the encrusted wine bottle to you.

"Here Darling, Let's get this show on the road" He uncorked the bottle and handed it to you.

"Like Marko said, Don't stop drinking until I tell you too ok?" You nodded bringing the bottle up to your lips and with a final nod from David you took mouth full of the blood.

The metallic taste was sharp as the cold liquid made it's way over your tongue and down your throat as you swallowed the first mouth full of blood. Without any indication from David you took another drink followed by another. After the fourth mouth full you were feeling lightheaded.

"That's good enough" David said gripping the bottle and gently taking it from your hand. You let him take the bottle as you stumbled lightly. Your head was swimming in a way you had never experienced before, your vision was blurry.

Marko and Paul tried their best to steady you as you stumbled back and forth between the two of them like a ping pong ball.

"Get to the bed Marko" You heard David command before your world went black.

================================================

Two hours and some change later you awoke again. You were having the most weirdest vivid dreams before you woke up in a cold sweat sitting straight up in bed.

You immediately noticed all four of your boys sitting in chairs placed in different areas around your bed. You gather the blankets around yourself to try and fight off both the cold night and the shivers in your own body as your boys start to gather around you.

Paul reached you first and moved the hair from your eyes to place a hand on your forehead before looking to David.

"No fever" He said, David nodded.

"Good, I want us to check every hour or so to make sure" He said to all the boys. Dwayne leaned down and put his hands on your cheeks.

"How are you feeling?" He asked

"I'm ok, Just really cold and my stomach feels gross" You said, Dwayne nodded.

"That's normal angel, You're gonna have to deal with it till it breaks unfortunately" You nodded but inwardly groaned.

"By tomorrow night your probably going to feel some pain in your jaw area accompanied by more cold sweats and possible stomach aches, that's how you know it's time for you to feed" David stated, you looked up at him.

"We don't want you out there hunting yet till your better and we can teach you, so you'll stay here tomorrow night while we bring you food" Marko said from beside him.

"A fledgling" Dwayne said.

"A what?" He laughed at your confusion.

"That's what you are dear, A baby bat"

"Our little baby bat!' Paul exclaimed laughing out loud, you joined him.

Once you were able to conquer the mountain of fear and nerves the other side was much easier to deal with. Sure it didn't feel the greatest but if it meant spending eternity with your boys then it was a sacrifice you were willing to take ever since they had found you all those years ago they had shown you nothing but a level of love and protection you had never experienced before and you wouldn't know what to do if you didn't have that anymore.

You stretched your arms above your head and craned your back into a stretch while yawning.

"When do I get to learn how to fly?" You asked them at once, they all laughed before David answered.

"All in due time my love, All in due time"

[my-little-delusions]

To the Ends of the Universe Pt. 1 - Dick Grayson x Reader

Pairings: Dick Grayson x Reader (Romantic), Bruce Wayne x Assistant!Pennyworth!Reader, Donna x Reader (Platonic)

Warnings: Death, cursing, violence, talk of self harm, talk of domestic abuse, talk of terminal illness and hospitals, experiments, smut (skippable)

(It's a long summary I know I'm sorry. Read it or don't.)

Summary: When you were 6 years old, you were diagnosed with a terminal illness. The doctors said there was nothing they could do, and your health would rapidly decline. You wouldn't live past 8 years old. Your parents refused to take that answer and decided to make their own cure for you. However, they couldn't stop there, they didn't just want to make you healthy, they wanted to make you super. Make sure nothing could put you in harms way ever again. After a faulty experiment when you were 10 years old, the lab they worked out of, killed your parents and left you a sole survivor.

When reports of a "super kid" loose on the streets reached Wayne Manor, Bruce picked you up. Alfred ended up adopting you legally, but when Bruce realized you had no control of your powers, he decided to train you. Teach you how to use your powers and keep them under control.

A year later Bruce adopted Dick. Growing up and Training side by side you and Dick were inseparable. Your crush on Dick, the cute guy you would with a year older than you, only got worse. As well as his protectiveness over you. Your relationship flourished and you two seemed unstoppable. But what happens when Dick convinces you to leave Gotham? Make a new life for yourselves all on your own.

Disclaimer: I am fully aware my timeline/numbers are screwy, don't think about it. This is based solely on the Titans show, it is definitely not comic accurate lol.

--------------------

"I wish we could stay like this forever" Dick says, his hand brushing my hair gently behind my ears. The night breeze blowing wisps of it back into my face. He leans in ever so slightly, his eyes locked in with mine. Looking at me full of love and admiration. Causing my heart to swell.

He's never failed to make me feel the way he did when we were kids.

I smile at him softly, tilting my head to lean my face into his gloved hand. Slowly, my hand reaches up to grasp around his wrist, pulling his hand away from my face.

I can tell through his mask that his face falls slightly. I cup his hand between both of mine in my lap. His gaze falls down.

"Dick," I sigh, squeezing his hand, watching as he casts his eyes away to look at the city lights below us, "Look at me... please" His eyes dart up to look at mine, flickering away slightly, "Stop stalling. You have to tell me eventually,"

He takes a deep breath. Eyes hardening.

"I am going to quit Robin, quit Batman. The whole thing."

My grip on his hand loosens a bit, the shock settling in, "W-what?"

"I can't do it anymore Y/n, I-I mean you've seen what it's done to me," His voice wavers a bit but his tone is harsh.

"Are you sure?"

"I can't be here anymore. This... place. It's making me a person I never wanna be. I'm becoming just like Bruce. A violent, paranoid, detached person."

"But-"

"No buts! I need to do this." He says, sounding completely serious.

My breath hitches a bit before I go to speak, letting go of his hand and shifting to sit an inch further from him, "Dick. I love you. I will always love you. Bruce saved us. Both of us. We'd be dead without him. But he's also done us some damage. I will miss you, with every part of my being but I think it's a good idea for you to go. Y-you should get out of here. You're right, G-gotham is eating you alive and I-I can see it. I am so sorry I let it happen without saying anything. B-but you are going to do great things out in the world."

My lips wobble as tears prick my eyes but I try to contain myself. Not wanting to make Dick feel guilty.

"Woahwoahwoah. Y/n. Baby. No. I want you to come with me. I need you with me." He says, almost launching himself, this time grabbing both my hands in his, forcing me to look up at him and his hopeful eyes.

"What? Dick... I.. I don't know. I mean, I don't want to lose you but Bruce needs me. I can't just abandon him. After everything he has done for me. Now that Alfred is gone... Batman can be Batman without a Robin. Bruce can't be Bruce without a Pennyworth. I owe it to him. I'm sorry Dick."

It is silent for a moment. The wheels in Dick's head churning away.

"Then I won't go."

"But-"

"No."

"Dick-"

"Y/n I can't leave you! I won't!"

"Dick that's crazy!" I yell, standing up on the ledge we were sitting on, throwing my hands up,

"What do you mean it's crazy?!"

"We have known each other all our lives. It's always been just the two of us. When is the last time you got close with anyone remotely close to our age since Bruce took us in? I mean seriously Dick!" Exasperated, I pause to catch my breath, "... I love you. You mean everything to me, but I refuse to hold you back! You've only ever known me, what if your true soulmate, the person you're really supposed to be with is out there! I mean, hell, Donna? Dawn? Someone new? If you go out there I know you will find someone. I mean, you're a catch Dick," I say, trying to pass it off as a joke with a forced laugh, however the softness of my tone does little to hide quiver in my voice, "I can't let you ruin yourself. I can't let you stay in Gotham and fall apart right in front of my eyes just for me." I say solemnly, looking down at my feet.

Dick gets up as well, chasing after me to the spot I stormed over to in my rant, "Are you kidding me Y/n? I love you! I don't want anyone else! Donna was a crush I had for a month and you know damn well Dawn and I didn't work out because I couldn't forget about you! I've always wanted you! I will always want you! No one out there is meant for me but you! You are my end game. Don't you understand that?" He shouted, his voice growing hoarse and cracking, the veins in his neck protruding slightly as he strained, "I will just work harder. Get stronger. If that's what it takes to stay with you it's what I'm gonna do."

There Dick stood, right in front of me, his chest heaving as he caught his breath. The air in front of his face fogging up.

My eyes filled with water as I fiddled with my fingers, "I'm sorry Dick," I barely whisper.

Without missing a beat Dick wraps his arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug and burying my face in his chest.

"Don't be sorry, just let me do this," His says, kissing the top of my head, "I'm not leaving you, okay?"

"Okay."

-------------------

"Thank you, Y/n." Bruce said, walking into the batcave.

"Always," I sigh, a smile on my face, spinning around in the chair at my console.

"I don't know what I would do without you," He says.

I pause, shocked that Bruce would say something so kind casually.

"I don't know either," I snicker. Standing up from my chair and pulling together all of my stuff, "Is there anything else you would like me to do before I tuck in for the night?"

"No thank you, you have done plenty tonight,"

"Okay," I sigh, "Please, Bruce... Get some sleep."

"No promises... but I'll try,"

With a smile I make my way out of the batcave and up the steps. My steps speeding up as I excitedly head up to Dick's room.

"Dick?" I call softly, poking my head around the doorframe.

Then I pause.

I hear something.

It sounds like... sniffling?

That can't be Dick.

Dick has cried in Wayne Manor since we were kids.

I hear a rushed shuffling followed by a hoarse, "Come in,"

Walking in wearily I see Dick, seated at the end of the bed, his cheeks stained with tears and his eyes painfully red.

"Oh.. babe," I say dropping, my stuff on the floor and finding myself at his side. Wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders the best I can. Rubbing his back and his shoulder gently.

He tries to shrug my arms off ever so slightly, "It's nothing, don't worry about it,"

Without saying anything I just continue to hold him, pulling him in a little tighter. Waiting patiently in silence.

After a little while, the sound of sniffling returns, his shoulders shaking. Dick leans over, resting his head on my chest, letting me wrap my arms around him fully. Only then does he release his tears fully. Allowing himself to sob in my arms.

"I-I almost b-beat somebody to d-death. Y/n I-I almost k-killed him," He struggles put in between his shaky breathes, "I-I don't like who I'm becoming," He says quietly to himself.

After that, I let him cry in my arms for hours. Until finally he had exhausted himself of all his tears and passed out. Tucking him into our shared bed, I admire him, looking more peaceful than I realize he has in a long time.

Shedding a few silent tears of my own, I climb into bed next to him. Finding myself exhausted but unable to let myself sleep. Not after this.

--------------------

"Hey" A voice whispers to me, disturbing me from my sleep, "Y/n"

Sitting up a bit, I rub my eyes, letting them adjust to the light. Turning my head, I see dick, already dressed and ready for the day.

Weird.

He usually wakes me up right away.

"Good morning baby," He says smiling and kissing my cheek, pretending like nothing happened the night before.

I just sit there, shocked, stunned, eyes wide.

"Did you sleep okay? I was thinking for breakfast I could-"

"Let's leave Gotham."

"-maybe make some..thing... wait, what did you say?"

"Let's quit. I'll go with you Dick,"

"But you said-"

"I changed my mind."

"But Bruce-"

"I care about you more."

He pauses for a minute, just starting at me, "Are you sure about this?"

"Dick...I want this, for you, and for me. I want to go with you."

My heart feels a bit heavy at just how much his face lights up when I say that. The guilt of ever making him stay here eating away at me.

"I love you," He says breathly and quickly before connecting our lips.

*Gets a little steamy here, skip if needed to the next red*

Gently, Dick pushes me down onto the bed, climbing on top of me.

He pulls away for a second, eyes filled with lust and love as he looks me over, "god I can't wait to start a new life with you,"

Without hesitating, he attaches his lips to my neck and slides his hand down the front of my pants, his fingers immediately find my clit.

"Fuck, Dick," I moan, throwing my head back.

"Your so fucking beautiful,"

His other free hand slips under the bottom of my shirt. Chills run down my spine at the feeling of his calloused hands grazing the skin of my waist.

Lifting his head from the crook of my neck, he begins to pepper kisses all over my face.

All of a sudden, the loud alarms of our phones go off. It's Bruce. Calling us down.

"Fuck." We both say.

I whine as Dick removes his hand from my pants.

Both of us panting slightly, looking each other before I finally say, "we have to actually go see what he needs, you know."

"I know," He says smirking, "I just need a minute to get rid of this hard-on you gave me,"

I roll my eyes, pushing him off me slightly, "You know... we have to tell him as well," I say, a little solemnly.

"Leave that me, don't worry," He says, reassuring me.

----------

*Time Skip*

"Here we go," I say, a wide smile plastered on my face that I can't contain.

Dick turns his head smiling back at me, one hand on the wheel of our truck and the other one rested on my thigh, "I'm so glad you came with me,"

"I'd follow you to the ends of the universe," I say to him, "I know you would too."

Pt. 2

[scarletttries]

Two Weeks Notice (Kendall Roy Request)

Pairing: Kendall Roy (Succession) x F! Reader

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 1.7k

Author's Note: I'm so excited that we'll have new Kendall Succession content soon! Thank you so much for this request, I think being Kendall's trophy wife would be a whole ass job but so worth it 😅 Also writing about leaving a shitty job felt very cathartic as I am going through something similar at the moment, so I am very grateful for this request, obsessed with your description of throwing your feminist card away for this, and apologies for all the projecting!💓

Two Weeks Notice (Kendall Roy Smut)

You were good at your job. Great in fact. No matter what your 1,000-year old boss said when he forgot his password and blamed it on you. No matter how many times you were ahead of schedule on a project and then the deadline got moved. No matter how many times you had to lock yourself in a bathroom stall just to take a few deep breaths alone so you weren't crying at your desk. You were good at your job. But was it worth it?

You'd worked hard to rise through your industry until you started to really see the benefits of being close to the top, but the heavy responsibilities and long nights and constant demands had started taking a toll right around the time you met Kendall. Kendall whose job was somehow even more demanding than yours, and who needed all the support you could offer him every waking moment, clinging to your kindness like it was the first he was ever shown. It was easy to see Kendall was smitten from the first day, never hiding his efforts to spend time with you, showering you with gifts and invitations to be on his arm at what seemed like every major event in the world. It was exhausting balancing late night galas with your job, and trying to be there for Kendall when his family got too much and he needed to retreat to the safe harbour of your arms. You could feel yourself getting more and more worn out as your relationship developed, with Kendall always offering to sit out events for a quiet night in, despite how much you both loved the excuse to don a designer dress and spend the night laughing together, hand locked in his no matter what.

You didn't wake up until a least your third alarm that Monday, the bright light trickling through a gap in the long velvet curtains making you wish you could hide under the duvet forever.

"Is that your alarm babe? You can't seriously have to be up for work already?" Groaned Kendall beside you, reaching out to wrap his arm over your stomach, covered only by a t-shirt he'd loaned you on your first sleepover and never got back, as he silenced the beeping beside you.

"I can lie here for five more minutes and then I've got to get ready." You sighed wearily, setting the deadline for yourself, ignoring the cloud of dread hanging over you at the thought of another day in that awful office.

"Just don't go, you hate it there, and you always come home bummed out afterwards. Just stay in bed with me forever." Kendall argued, rising up on his elbows and shifting until his face hovered an inch from yours, soft smile breaking down your defenses with lightning speed.

"I can't just not go Kendall, it's my job." You sighed, gracing him with a soft kiss before gathering all your strength to drag yourself out from under his slim build.

"You don't need a job gorgeous, especially not a job you don't like. You should quit and then we'd get to spend more time together." You couldn't help but laugh at his suggestion, until you focused on his face again, completely serious about his proposal.

"Kendall I can't just quit and hang out with you all day." You could feel your heart sink at your own words, the option presented to you so much more enticing than the day you had ahead of you. As you moved to sit up Kendall let his weight keep you in place, shaking his head at your attempted escape.

"Hey I still have four minutes left to make my case!" His voice was hoarse first thing in the morning and as his lips fell to yours again you could feel your resolve softening,

"Okay, you can try and convince me." You let your head fall back against the pillow as Kendall shifted his body completely over yours, lips gently marking a journey over your throat as he spoke,

"First, most people have a job to make money, and you don't ever need to worry about money again because we have more than enough together." His kisses trailed down towards your shoulder, feeling the subtle shift of your hips under him as your eyes fluttered shut at the sensation. "Also, I miss you when you're at work, and that's no fun for me." You missed the playful glint in his eye as he spoke, softly landing one hand on your thigh and rubbing small circles across the sensitive skin with his fingertips as they climbed.

"Kendall, I - " You thought about protesting, but his lips cut you off as you spoke, continuing his thoughtful plea,

"Number three, the idiots you work with don't respect you. But I respect every part of you, and every one of your needs." His warm palm pressed into your thigh, shifting your legs apart slightly, smiling with devilish glee as you let him do it. "Working there makes you unhappy, and you should never have to do anything that makes you feel bad. I only ever want you to feel good." You could feel your excitement building with anticipation as his hand slowly climbed towards your centre, body twitching against his as his fingers brushed over the soft fabric of your underwear. Dipping his head to your stomach, his hands tugged at the worn shirt until it was bunched up at your shoulders, your chest exposed for his trailing lips to explore as he spoke,

"We have a lot more fun here than you do at work right?" He asked teasingly as his fingers toyed with the hem of your panties, drinking in your breathy sigh as you nodded and hummed in agreement, lifting your hips to help him remove the barrier stopping him from accessing all of you.

"Good girl," he cooed as his fingers traced over your slit, moving teasingly slowly as his lips peppered your chest with kisses, tongue darting over your nipples until they hardened at his touch.

"You're also way too sexy to have an office job, you should let someone who couldn't just lie in bed naked all day have your job, as like, a public service." You could feel him grin against your skin as he spoke, easing his fingers between your folds and feeling your warm slick welcome him.

"Mmm, see, it's not fair for you to ever leave me here alone when you're clearly made for me to touch." You watched through hooded eyes as he withdrew his fingers slowly and brought them to his lips, "and taste," he added before dropping his hand back to your entrance, pumping his hand between your thighs and feeling your chest rise and fall against his hungry lips.

"Kendall, please." You sighed out at his gentle touch, needing more as frustration began to build in your aching core.

"Final reason, number I lost fucking count because there are so many reasons - I need you too much. I need you every morning, and every night, and every bullshit event, and every good day and every bad day okay? I need you all the time." The burning intensity in his gaze as he spoke had you squirming at his touch, the pounding of your heart echoing in your swimming head as he kissed a path down over your stomach, face hovering just above where you craved him most. His hand stilled against your dripping slit, breath teasingly close to your tingling clit. "So should I stop and let you go to work? Or do you want to stay here with me?" A smug smile spread across his face as you replied, almost begging,

"I'll stay Kendall, please!" Satisfied with your answer his fingers dipped inside you again, faster this time, brushing against your walls as his tongue lapped at your neglected clit, quickly building the pressure inside again.

"You're going to quit your job?" He almost commanded the question, rewarding each nod of your head with a wet kiss on your sensitive bud.

"You're going to let me take care of you?" You could feel the brush of his cheek on your inner thigh as he smiled at the question, your 'yes' coming out as a moan as you felt yourself grow closer and closer to release, the excitement in your core bubbling up to its boiling point.

"You're going to be my gorgeous, loving, trophy wife?" His eyes seemed to sparkle at the word wife, full of warmth and hope with the thought of having you by his side for the rest of his life.

"Yes Kendall!" Your voice caught on his name as your thighs began to shake, his tongue frantically lapping at your clit at the pressure inside you finally snapped, clenching down on his fingers and trembling under him.

"Good girl." He purred as he coaxed every drop of pleasure out of you, fingers working until your soft form finally stilled, hands finding his face and pulling him into a hungry kiss. Wrapping your arms over his neck you pulled him tight against your lips, letting your tongue drink in your own taste, body on fire with sensitivity after your start to the day. Finally you let your brain catch up with the agreement you'd made in exchange for pleasure, interrupting Kendall's eager kisses with a reminder of reality,

"I still have to give two weeks notice." You sighed, laughing as Kendall shook his head vigorously at the suggestion,

"No way, I'll just hire a model to pretend to be you at the office for the next two weeks. Done, problem solved," looking very proud of himself at the suggestion.

"Why a model?" You laughed, realising you weren't getting out of this bed for any reason today if Kendall was getting his way.

"Fuck off, have you seen you?!" He grinned at your flattered smile as you pulled his lips back against yours, only to feel his hands start wandering again, "Actually, I could do with seeing even more of you."

It's safe to say anytime you thought about getting a job outside of supportingt Kendall, he would remind you exactly why you agreed to be his, full-time.

[fre4kshqw]

CREEPYPASTA X SQUID GAME

Ships included; Ninakate and Liujack

DAY: 5

Numbers were low. It was nothing like how they started out with. The air was heavy, and nobody knew what was next after tug-of-war. Nina still had rope burn and the image of Judge Angels slipping and falling across from her, desperately trying to use her wings to fly back up, but the weight was too much.

Nina looked over at the small group she was brought into. She didn't care about them. All she wanted was pay off her debt to the bank, not make friends. Her head snapped to the door as a line of guards walked in with guns. The air grew tense as she bit her nails a little. The guard with a square mask spoke, "Players, line up as we guide you to the next game."Everyone quickly lined up. Nina tied up her hair and followed the others to a white room.

"Players, for the next game, you will need to partner into pairs. You have ten minutes," the intercom instructed. Liu looked around and mumbled to himself "pairs huh? Some sorta tag team. " He walked around until he saw E.j in a corner alone. He's been buddies with E.j the whole time. He was also a reliable asset in tug-of-war. He smoothly walked over and gave him a hand. "wanna partner up?" He smiled calmly. E.j grabbed his hand and stood up, giving it a firm shake. "I thought you'd never ask," he smirked. Liu rolled his eyes, "you're hanging out with my brother too much."

Nina looked around until she saw a lone girl with long black hair sitting alone, she's seen her before,they were teamed up on tug-of war. Nina sat beside her and smiled brightly. She gave her her hand. "What do say?"The other girl shook her hand and spoke quietly."You seem bright and cheerful." Nina smiled again."Why be down in the dumps in credit card debt when you can be cheerful in credit card debt."

What felt like forever, they finally entered a massive fake outside of houses in an alley. "Welcome to Marbles, in this game, you will challenge your teammate to Marbles. Losers will be eliminated." The intercom said as everyone went quiet. Liu stood there and stared at E.j, who was already staring at Liu. He finally worked up the mind to speak, "Jack, you promised we'd make it out together." He held his bag of Marbles tightly and looked down at them. E.j kept staring at him. "we'll figure something out, eh. Maybe someone will switch with us. " he gently guided Liu to walk around and find a good spot.

Nina looked at the girl. "30 minutes to play, huh. Why don't we just wait until the last minute. We can have any game with the Marbles." The girl looked at Nina."What are we going to talk about for an hour." Nina smiled. She was stalling. She didn't wanna die in this horrible place with nothing to remind anyone of her except her dept. Nina hummed. "Let's begin with names. My name is Nina, I'm here for credit card debt. You?". The other girl seemed hesitant "Kate...my name is Kate. Im in here for medical and hospital debt."

The game felt like it went on for hours, Liu and E.j kept stalling the game, eventually getting so engrossed that Liu didn't even realise it won. He slowly looked at Jack. "You did that on purpose." He grabbed Jack "fuck you! Why would you do that! I could've figured something out!" He was angry. He teared up and took a deep breath. Jack held his hand. "You have a life that you can live. I'm just a demon that society shouldn't have to bear to look at." Liu just stared at him."I wanted my life with you." He wiped his eyes. Jack helped him, "You knew that was never going to happen. Make me a promise and win for me." Next thing Liu knew, Jack was shot in the head from behind. Liu stared at his corpse and sniffled, " Player 011 has been eliminated." Liu slowly stood up and walked out the room.

Kate looked at the clock. "Hmm, 5 minutes left. Let's do this." Nina smiled and walked to a wall, "we'll play this. The person who gets their marble closest to the wall wins. You first, " Kate nodded and rolled her marble first. Nina looked at her and just dropped hers, not moving it. Kate stared at her. "whyd you do that." Nina shrugged, avoiding eye contact."It's not like I meant to." Kate huffed."No! Why did you do that." She panicked a little. Nina smiled. "You've yet to live your life, I've lived mine, and now I'm here facing the consequences, trying to find the money for it. You were in hospital, get out of here and live your life....it's a real shame, you're hot I would've totally dated you." Kate teared up a little."I owe you one I really do." Nina smiled "just, don't fuck up out there." Kate backed up and started walking out. "Oh and Kate!" Nina shouted,"Finish college for me!" She smiled. The next thing was a gunshot, and all Kate could do was stand there and not look back. "Player 222 has been eliminated."

[spectrechosts]

Untitled Centaur Story

I want to be done reuploading and all I have left is shorter stories I haven't touched in forever which means shit is getting CONDENSED into single posts so I can have all this done by Halloween.

This one is about a centaur who likes puzzles and dislikes everything else about adventuring. I've been unable to come up with a title for it basically forever. Three chapters in this post.

"Now, far be it from me to tell you your business-"

"Hm?"

"And I'm happy to rest my legs."

"Oh, well it's no problem-"

"But you don't really seem cut out for the dungeon-crawling life."

"Oh. Sorry."

Elora carefully lowered herself down the passage in a harness of magical vines, the rope ladder the others had descended entirely ill-suited for a centaur to use.

"Nah, it's fine, you're doing fine. I mean, you get a little scared- It's not important. You just don't seem like you're having a great time, is all. With the fighting, and the tight spaces, and the ladders."

"Oh! Yeah, no, I'm not."

"Okay. Do you wanna stop? Because I have a portal scroll, for emergencies."

The assassin on her back, Devaedra, was really nice even though she murdered people.

"No, I can keep going. Thank you though!"

"Okay, just tell me if you change your mind."

She trotted down the ancient hall until the two of them rejoined the rest of the party, stalled at a massive door carved out of the stone.

"You know, we'd be making better progress if our door opener didn't want to bring up the rear."

"Not my fault that you're as comforting as a battleaxe. Elora needed me, didn't she."

"Y-Yeah, sorry."

"And besides," Devaedra continued, "if I went ahead and it wasn't a locked door you'd be mad at me for killing everything before you could join the fun."

The stout barbarian grunted. "But there ain't fun. There's a locked door."

"Yes, yes, I'll open it, calm yourself." Devaedra hopped off her back, giving her a gentle pat. "Ugh, that's a long combination lock." She held her long ear to the door, spinning one of the reels. "And I don't hear anything. This could take a while-"

"Feldspar." Elora said.

"Huh?"

"It's a riddle lock, the riddle is inscribed around the door. It's an old dwarven dialect, but I think- Well, it doesn't really translate. But the answer is Feldspar. Just, um, let me-"

She carefully rotated the reels into position, and the door scraped open.

"…Huh. Guess you were waiting for the door opener either way." Devaedra said, shrugging and hopping back onto Elora's back.

~

"For fucks sake just carry the chest and I'll open it later-"

"Um, can I..?"

Elora sat in front of the chest, sliding panels around swiftly until they formed a complete insignia. The lock popped open.

"Oh. Always been bad at those." Devaedra said.

~

"This one, uh, it's like a pun kinda. You have to- Here, let me."

~

"This one is actually just feldspar again."

~

Devaedra picked at a regular, iron lock.

"I'm sorry." Elora said.

"Why?"

"I'm doing your thing. You're carrying me through this dungeon and-"

"Elora you've literally been carrying me through the dungeon."

"You know what I mean!"

"Elora." She said, popping the lock open. "Heh, still got it. Elora, you're good at puzzles! It's not a bad thing, you're helping a lot."

"Oh! Okay, I'm glad you think so. It's really the only part I'm good at, so a lot of people don't like bringing me along."

"I like having you around. Tell you what, we can be a package deal, people want me to open regular locks, they gotta bring you to do the puzzles. Partners?" She said, offering Elora her hand.

"Partners."

~~~

"Eloooraaaaaaaaaa!"

Elora perked her head up, interrupted in her gardening by the intrusion.

"Yeah?" She called out, unsure where Devaedra was.

The assassin dropped onto her back, and she let out a tiny shriek of surprise.

"We have a job!" The elf said, patting her on the side to calm her down.

"Oh, I'll get my gear ready and-"

"We're going to a ball!"

The centaur blinked.

"…A ball?"

"Yeah, I have to go kill a lady and my invitation comes with a plus one."

"Wh- I can't-" Elora stammered.

"Relax, only I have a job. You don't have to help kill her." Devaedra said. "You just get to enjoy the ball!"

"What am I going to do at a ball?"

The elf shrugged.

"Dance? Mingle? Ball things. It's fun, it's like the second-best kind of assassin gig."

"I can't dance, Devaedra!" Elora whined, pulling the sides over her sun hat down over her ears in embarrassment.

"Sure you can! I'll dance with you."

"I am a horse, Devaedra!"

"Centaurs don't dance?"

"Not really!"

"Well then who am I supposed to dance with?" Devaedra moped, hugging the centaur and making her heart race.

Elora wasn't really sure where she stood with Devaedra. She was nice to her, but she was nice to everyone, and a lot of the time that was just to get you to let your guard down so she could kill you.

She… didn't think Devaedra planned to kill her. That would be silly, and also she could have done it already.

She just didn't know what she did think Devaedra had planned for her. She was a middling druid who didn't particularly enjoy adventure, she wasn't half as interesting as any of the assassin's other friends.

Devaedra yawned.

"Whatever, we can just raid the buffet. Maybe get drunk on fancy wine." She said lazily. "You mind if I conk out for a while here? I was busy all night, and your garden is always so relaxing."

"Oh, no problem!"

She had expected the elf to… move? Rest in the shade of a tree, or something.

Instead she started gently snoring, arms still wrapped around Elora's torso.

The centaur fidgeted nervously, not wanting to risk Devaedra falling off if she moved. Slowly, carefully, she lowered herself to the ground and decided to just wait for her to wake up from her nap.

Maybe by the time she did she'd think of something to wear.

~~~

Elora loitered by the banquet table, thoroughly stressed out by the ball.

Partially because it just, it really wasn't her type of event. Bunch of aristocrats flaunting their wealth as loudly and obnoxiously as possible, not at all her idea of a good time.

Mostly because Devaedra had noticed someone a little while ago and beelined for her, dancing and drinking and whispering sweet nothings into her ear until she whisked the girl away, giggling, to her presumed demise.

That had been about 15 minutes ago, and if Elora wasn't having fun before she certainly wasn't now, worried sick that their night's trajectory was about to take a stark turn to the gallows.

Why did she agree to this? She didn't have the stomach for it. Being friends with an assassin was one thing, when the job was just an abstraction, when she could pretend that assassin was just a descriptor of her role in an adventuring party, when she didn't have to keep calm under pressure.

"Are you not going to dance?" Slurred some noblewoman in a gaudy dress.

"Centaurs don't dance. Not like this." Elora responded, still fidgeting and scanning the room. "More prancing in meadows than all this twirling and precise movement."

The woman nodded in understanding. "You know, I do dressage, you know." She said, letting the statement sit in the air for a moment before continuing in a lowered voice. "I bet I could get you to dance."

"Wouldn't that be something." Devaedra said icily, appearing out of nowhere.

"Oh! Devaedra!" Elora squeaked, looking around to try and figure out where she could possibly have come from.

"Unfortunately, we really must be going." The elf continued, gently stroking Elora's side. "Had just about too much fun for one night, haven't we sweetness?"

Ah. Right.

"Yyyyyyes, yes, we're going now." Elora said as the assassin hopped on her back, the two quickly leaving the noblewoman and her bizarre assertions behind.

They left the ball in silence, and were far away by the time Elora worked up the nerve to speak.

"So um, that girl..?"

"Dead." Devaedra stated plainly.

"Ah."

Elora knew this of course, but it was still…

"The two of you seemed to be having fun, before you… y'know."

Devaedra shrugged. "Oh, sure. Need to get her alone somehow."

Elora knew she shouldn't ask more questions, it wouldn't make her feel better about it, but-

"Was she nice?"

"I didn't really get a read on her, Elora."

"Did she… deserve it, do you think?"

"Elora."

"I mean, was she like a crooked baroness, or-"

"I don't ask."

Elora frowned. "You don't get curious?"

"Nope. Believe me, knowing doesn't help."

She didn't really know what to say to that. She supposed that was why she was a gardener and not an assassin.

"Do you do that a lot?"

"Assassinate people?" Devaedra said, crooking an eyebrow.

"No! The dancing, and whispering, and such."

"Depends, I suppose. It doesn't work in every situation, but it's a pretty decent low-risk move at parties."

"Oh…" Elora mumbled.

"Oh?"

"Well, doesn't that seem so sad? They're probably really happy, and then you kill them."

Devaedra leaned into her back.

"The people I use it on probably aren't thinking of living a happy life with me, Elora." She hummed.

"Still-"

"And I think it's a rather kind way to do it, make their last thoughts happy ones, hm? No big thing."

"I guess."

"Elora."

"Mm?"

"Elora."

Elora turned her head.

"Wha-"

And it was then that Devaedra kissed her, and she stopped in her tracks. The elf was forceful, but soft, and Elora let her eyes flutter shut as Devaedra cupped her cheek and-

Jabbed a finger into the side of her neck!

"Wh-"

"That's where I would kill you. Well, not you you, but- usually."

Elora was mortified.

"Wh- But- You-"

Devaedra released her and leaned back, a blush creeping across her grey skin.

"Heh, I actually feel kinda weird now, I don't think I've ever kissed somebody without killing them before."

"What." Elora squeaked.

"It's not a bad weird. Just weird." The assassin elaborated, shrugging. "I'm glad it was you, I think."

"What."

"Oh, am I a bad kisser? I don't really get feedback ever, so-"

"It was fine Devaedra why did you kiss me?"

"I don't know! You were asking questions, and I figured I wouldn't mind kissing you and having you live, and I thought you probably wouldn't mind?" She explained, her voice heightening. "It's- It's not a bad way to kill people, is what I'm demonstrating! You would have felt pretty happy before dying, right?"

Elora pondered, putting her fingers to her lips and feeling her face turn red.

"Y-Yeah, I think so."

"See?"

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Every week I will post various reviews I've written so far in 2024. You can check out my Goodreads for more up-to-date reviews HERE. You can friend me on Goodreads here.

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts?

___

377. Friendly Fire by Saxon James--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

As sad as it is to see this series end, I was really looking forward to FRIENDLY FIRE--especially after the events of book one and the hints throughout the rest of the series. I wanted to see what would be revealed and how one of the main characters would grow as a person.

And of course, I ended up loving the character growth. When we got more info on how the one MC grew up and all of the pressure and expectations put on him, his actions made more sense. But I also liked how he overcame that anxiety and owned up to his past actions. I also loved how his identity was presented and honoured throughout the book--especially when certain situations happened and it would have been so easy for Saxon James to make new rules along the way. He was honoured as a character and not as a plot device. I'm saying this in hopes that the representation was presented correctly because it was incredibly powerful.

I loved the explanation of his thought processes during the spicier scenes and how both MCs respected his process and what he wanted. It was such a privilege to see his experiences as a non-ace person.

The exploration of friendship and how complicated it can be when two friends are forced apart by life circumstances also hit close to home. One of my fears was always how a friendship is affected by change, like one of us moving away, so seeing these two lose each other before finding each other again was like seeing one of my fears come to life. But having those flashback chapters really helped in seeing the depth of this friendship before they became more.

The pining in this and the pure love shared between the two MCs was so sweet, it made for a great and bittersweet ending to this series.

___

378. Forever Odd by Dean Koontz--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I liked this one a lot more than book one, but I think it's because the exposition wasn't as long. The main points of the story had already been established in book one and this was like a continuation of book one, give or take a few weeks or months. FOREVER ODD definitely felt more fast-paced and like the story immediately started early on.

I do wish we'd seen more of his grief and how it manifests, but I did like reading the moments where he acknowledges that his life as changed. We do get brief moments where his grief is mentioned, but I almost wanted more. But I also understand that Odd could be in that stage of grief where everything feels in limbo between moving forward and stalling. I'm curious to see how this topic is handled in the later books.

I liked this mystery and how eerie it was. I was immediately intrigued by how the MC stumbles upon the crime scene and goes forward from there. This felt like a wholly different story than the first book because of how quickly paced it was. And I have to mention that the villain is truly a horrible human being. She was creepy, but also made me smirk with all of her presumptuous talk. Every time she said "but you already know about that" made me laugh because I pictured the MC with a bunch of question marks floating around his head.

While I thought the last few chapters were a bit rushed, I liked the ending for what it was and how it touched on something that might happen more of in the future books.

Again, this book gave me that same vibe of thrillery-paranormal-introspection vibes of early 2000s that always seems to scratch my brain in just the right way. I'm a sucker for books like this one!

___

379. The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani , Sam Bett (Translator)--⭐️.5

THE NIGHT OF BABA YAGA was confusing. I think I lost full sense of the plot from the beginning because it felt like time skipped around a lot. There was a time, for example, where a character took out a phone to take a video of a situation happening, but I was so confused because the synopsis said it was set in the 1970s and it took me a bit to realize we had jumped ahead. It just threw me off.

There were some interesting parts, like when she beats the crap out of the men--I always like seeing female characters doing this, especially when no one takes them seriously. But the storyline was messy. I love KILL BILL and while this had moments that gave me that vibe, the rest was so random and tough to swallow. I'm okay if I never see this book again.

I don't have much to say, it was just violent, rape-y, and confusing. I just finished it because it was so short.

___

380. Just Deserts by Eric Walters--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I FINALLY FINISHED THIS. It has been sitting on my currently reading shelf for years. I picked it up because the concept was really interesting (and I love survival books), but I wasn't in the right mood when I first picked it up. I think because of how insufferable the MC is at the beginning of the book, this can be a bit heavy for those not in the mood to read about a spoiled teenager getting his just deserts.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and finally gave it the attention it deserves and this was incredibly obvious in how I finished over half of the book in a few hours.

I loved the survival aspect and the teamwork. I also liked how much we learned a lot the way with the MC when faced with new and scary situations. I liked that each character had enough personality so they felt like rounded characters.

I really liked that this was a story that centred the MC's personal journey and what he discovered about himself in the end. There are so many messages hidden in this book that could help other young (or older) readers. Through the hardship of surviving such a dangerous land with people the MC doesn't know, we learn the importance of being self-aware, empathetic, and determined to be a better human being. JUST DESERTS also shows how powerful that internal battle can be when you're set in your ways, that relatability alone would make this a powerful book recommendation for teens and even adults.

I also love that the author actually walked this. There is a section at the end of the book where Walters talks about his own experiences walking the very same path and that was eye-opening. It put into better perspective the hardships of the MC because we now know that dangerous path through the desert does actually exist and tours do happen.

I do wish the ending had been a little clearer and a little more satisfying in a certain way, but I'm definitely glad that I finally finished this and got to go on a wild survival story!

___

381. Raised by Wolves by James Patterson & Emily Raymond--⭐️⭐️⭐️

RAISED BY WOLVES was a book that immediately caught my eye, simply because I've been in a really weird thriller vibe. And even though this had some questionable moments, I definitely devoured it.

First thing I will say is that this felt entirely like a young adult novel. The characters are younger and face certain situations that scream YA Contemporary to me. I enjoyed it for what it was and had a good time, but I know some people might jump into this one and be surprised--especially since this is categorized as adult at my bookstore.

The mystery behind the story helped propel the plot forward, making it a quick read since I just really wanted to know why and how these kids had survived in the woods with wolves, but also how they were about to be so educated, but have very little human interaction.

The book itself was admittedly a bit simple, but I sometimes like these mindless reads because they're my background noise to doing chores or commuting to work.

The winning part of this book was definitely the sibling relationship between the two younger MCs. Their connection, how much they trust each other and help each other succeed was sweet and a great balm against the judgment and bullying that they received every day in their new life.

I don't know how I feel about the ending. A part of me thinks it was incredibly rushed and the people who should have faced consequences for their actions didn't even get a reprimand. I was actively angry for a chunk of the book because of how awful some of these characters were to the siblings. This was like a world with no consequences, where being bullied was seen as a brushed off offence, all because these kids are seen as "wild". It was gross and I wish we got to see some justice being paid, even though I know that's not always the case in real like.

But we even see with some of the perspectives in this book how easy it is to put your hopes and expectations on kids, even when you know they're not your children. And just this general idea that because these two are kids, they don't have the mental strength to make their own decisions.

And that being said, I DID actually think the FMC was pretty cool in how she was able to defend herself.

Anyway, I'd recommend this if you want a book with mystery, wolves, familial situations, and two characters who will go through hoops to find their freedom from the expectations put on them. But be prepared for the horrible comments and bullying they face within these pages.

___

382. My Dearest Patrolman Vol. 2 by Niyama--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is quickly becoming a new favourite series, I'm very sad that there's only three volumes. I think I could read volume after volume of these two falling more and more in love.

I love the dynamic of these two and how well they work together and can read each other. I think it's extra sweet that they started as friends, so they know each other more than if they were strangers to start with and that alone makes their romance feel all that more special. Their romance is so sweet (especially how they care for each other and how they consider the other's feelings). This series is also incredibly spicy. There's definitely a lot of sexual chemistry there.

I also like that there is a bit of a short thriller storyline thrown into the volumes because one of the characters is a patrolman. It makes the stories feel a bit more exciting and gives the patrolman a chance to be his boyfriend's hero.

Finally, something else I liked about this volume is their friends and how prominent they were in this one! Especially that one specific scene that had me laughing my ass off.

Read this series!

___

383. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell , Steven T. Murray (Translator)--⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was recommended FACELESS KILLERS by an ex-coworker a couple of years ago and always wanting to try something new, I bought a copy. It sat on my shelf for a bit until I found the audiobook at the library. While it wasn't a mind-blowing favourite, I enjoyed this for what it was, to the point where i've borrowed the audiobook for book 2 from the library.

This book had a lot of the mentalities of the early 90s when it came to women--i wasn't a huge fan of how the author wrote them, specifically the love interest, who was a married woman. I think that played a lot into the male ego of "me want girl, me get girl no matter the consequences", which was especially shown during a specific scene that was gross. I'm sadly not surprised by how women were portrayed in this book, especially because it was a book written in the 90s--where women were either sexual objects or "bitches". Anyway, LOL writing this review makes me realize exactly how icked out I was by the whole situation.

I did like the mystery and how it led into some pretty important topics that are still timely today. The biggest one being immigration and how countries and their citizens view it, but also what it looks like when there are instances of no control when it comes to those going into a new country in search of a new home. I'm an immigrant myself, so I always find this topic interesting. The racism surrounding that very topic will always be off-putting to me and incredibly hypocritical. Seeing the actions of racist characters in this book was heartbreaking because it is a bit too timely still. It always throws me off and makes me so weary when I read older books that explore topics that should have been solved by today but are still very relevant.

Another thing I liked about this one was how this was a team effort and the MC wasn't a magical detective genius who solves all on his own. He didn't suddenly have mind-bending moments where the answers came to him, he worked to solve the murder with help from the rest of the officers and it was all through trial and error.

I'm interested to see what his next crime to solve will be, what other socially timely topics will be explored, and how the MC might grow as a character and overcome his depression after his divorce.

___

384. Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips--⭐️⭐️

Years ago I had a manager who couldn't finish this one because she had sons of her own. I wonder if I would be the same if I had a kid and honestly, maybe I would react the same way. But while FIERCE KINGDOM had some moments that definitely made me a bit nervous for the MC and her son, I thought the book was a bit underwhelming.

First, I want to comment that I don't know how parents have patience with the little ones in thrillers. The MCs are actively trying to survive and keep their kids safe, but those little ones (through no fault of their own) are always a mixed bag when it comes to their reactions. Yes, they are tiny humans who have little to no control over their emotions and reactions, but it doesn't stop it from spiking my anxiety every time.

If there was a drinking game invented for this book, it would to take a shot every time this poor little guy says "mommy" when there are shooters around. Again, I know he's just a little one, but my gosh.

The story itself wasn't bad, just very straight forward and didn't really have that something that had me super gripped by the storyline. I wish we had more perspectives outside or inside of the zoo (other than the ones we got) to give the story a more rounded feel. It felt very limiting, even though I was somewhat happy with the other POVs we did get, since it helped break the monotony of just seeing the story from the perspective of the mom.

The ending felt rushed and a bit random. I had to go back and re-listen to the audiobook a few times to see if I was fully getting what was going on. It's a very open-ended ending and I don't know how I feel about that. I think FIERCE KINGDOM definitely needed more time to cook and more POVs. There was so much potential here!

___

Happy reading!

[babybluebanshee]

Things I've Had To Deal With As A City Librarian: I'm Just So Tired

Haven't done one of these in a while, and things have just been...they've been a time, let me tell you.

*We caught a guy hiding in one of the bathroom stalls after closing. We check the bathrooms to clean up any messes for the next day, and Julie knocked on the men's room door. No one answered, so she went in and checked the stalls. Didn't see any feet so she starts opening the doors. She gets to the handicap stall, and she tries to open it. It's locked. She mutters something about having to unlock it, and suddenly a voice from inside calls out, "Hey, I'm still in here." Julie nearly shrieks. The guy claims that his fly was stuck, but given the fact he didn't say anything when Julie came in and we couldn't see his feet under the stall door means he was probably crouched on the toilet, hoping we'd think the bathroom was empty and he could spend the night in the library.

*My coworker Allie did a cute little display in the kids area where you can write a letter to Curious George. She even made cardboard mailbox for it and put out a bunch of books and movies for people to check out. The amount of vandalism this thing has seen is unreal. One night a kid poked holes in the mailbox with a colored pencil. I was doing a walkthrough after a particularly rowdy family was in the kids area, only to discover that they have thrown everything on the display into the mailbox - the books, the movies, the postcards, the coloring materials, even one of the book stands. We spent about ten minutes fishing everything out.

*Speaking of displays, I did the Black History Month one this year. I worked on it for three months, and to be honest, I was very proud of it. It took up two tables, full of historical events and famous figures of black history. Needless to say, since black history is so damn expansive and my space was limited, a lot of people ended up getting left off (especially local people I'd never learned about). The amount of times people told me I left out a person they personally believed should be on it drove me to distraction. Two separate people told me I missed Kamala Harris (which I'll be kicking myself forever about). One woman asked me why I didn't redo the whole display to add one local figure she thought needed to be included. One woman asked me why she herself was not included one the poet's wall, because she was a published author. No, she was not kidding. I guess I should be thrilled that people were actually interacting with it, but at least a few people telling me I did a good job would have been fucking nice.

*To branch off from the black history month display - the city has an anti-discrimination policy when it comes to people reserving rooms for events. The only thing we explicitly do not allow is social events like parties and anyone attempting to sell something; everything else is fair game. This means we get a lot of obnoxious groups whose views we really, really do not agree with - homeschoolers, churches, conservative clubs, and, my personal favorite, the Sons of the Confederacy. Or as Rachel and I like to call them, The Sons of a Bunch of Loser Piss Babies. They had a meeting there during February, and Rachel was working that day. One of them, in his stupid little gray hat, was standing talking to someone...right next to my black history month display. Rachel told me she wanted to take a picture because the juxtaposition was...stark, to say the least. We're really not that surprised Failfuck McStank didn't notice the irony.

*We've had a guy coming in with his guitar and just...hanging out in the study rooms to play. We can't really do anything about it unless he's too loud or someone actively complains, but we're all kind of puzzled about the library being his first choice of places for a jam session.

*There's a pair of teenage girls that have been coming in for about four months now and their punk vibe is immaculate. The first time I ever saw them, one of them had a giant bleach blond mohawk, a leather jacket with studs, hot pink and black striped stockings, and the most badass combat boots I've ever seen. Her friend had a bleach blond buzzcut, a black jean jacket covered in patches, teal leggings, and red converse that were falling apart. Sherri stumbled on them chilling in the kids area, and noticed the buzzcut one was bent over something. She got closer and realized the kid was knitting a scarf. Mohawk comes in more often, and always has a thick book with her, just lounging in the chairs and quietly reading for a few hours. They're my second favorite patrons and hope they never change.

*A woman was interested in attended my classic book club meeting back in June. We were reading Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, so I gave her a copy. She didn't attend the meeting. She returned the book a few days later and said it was "gross". While she was there, she also picked up her inter library loan of a "romance" novel about a woman falling in love with her abusive stepbrother. I'm all for people reading whatever the fuck they want, but I also feel like if you're gonna read stepsibling porn, you don't get to call lesbian comics gross.

*Two women came in with a little boy who was absolutely bouncing off the walls. They did absolutely nothing to control him - one of them was busy talking to someone on her phone (on speaker till someone complained), the other was perusing the shelves - and the kid was just kind of running around being a nuisance. I was walking back from helping someone in the computer lab and saw the kid taking off his shirt. I told him he had to keep his shirt on, and that's when one of the women finally turned to me and said, "He wants to put his Spider-Man costume on." And I'm like, "Lady, that's great, but you're in a public space, not your living room. Have him change in the bathroom." Luckily they didn't hang around long after that, but fucking hell, the entitlement.

*A woman came in to fax a police report to her lawyer, and Sherri and I ended up being privy to the sordid tale of having her car stolen. She was out with a guy she met on Tinder, and they went to a bar in the next town over. They were getting ready to leave, but she wanted to have a cigarette, so they were standing by her car in the parking lot. Suddenly, three police cars come shooting up, right next to them. Turns out the dude she's with has a warrant out for his arrest. He panics, grabs her keys out of her hand, jumps in the car, and fucking peels away. He ended up crashing it into a ditch less than ten miles away, totaling it. She doesn't even know what warrant was for.

*It's very funny whenever I call anyone for reserve reminders or things like that, because people are so used to getting calls from robots and scammers that they're immensely suspicious any time they answer their phone. And it makes the absolute 180 they do into delighted toddlers, excited to get their books, that much funnier. The scenario usually goes like this:

Me: Hi, is this [insert name]?

Patron: *clearly doing the suspicious Fry face* Yeeeees...

Me: This is Blue, at the library! I was just calling to let you know you have a book on reserve ready for pick up!

Patron: *brightening instantly* OMG thank you! Oh, I'm so glad you called! You've made my day, you guys are wonderful!

Never fails to make me chuckle.

*The assistant librarian is in charge of a lot of the teen programs we do, and by far the most popular are her teen book boxes - the kids fill out a form of stuff they enjoy, and she puts together a box of three books, plus crafts and snacks, for them. On average, she does about twenty of them a month. However - because we are located in the heart of Conservative Brainrot Land, where a not insignificant portion of the population thinks if they're a good little conservative who hates what Fox News tells them to, Tucker Carlson will come give them the hug their dad never did - this has also given us great insight into the minds of ultra controlling parents who would encase their kids in wax if that could keep them from learning things they don't want them to. One particularly baffling example started with a mom asking that no "social justice" be included in the box. The next one asked for "no gender identity". This time? No inclusion. Like...I get why she put that. Because inclusivity = woke = liberal = the devil. But like...do these people hear themselves? Do they know what words mean? Also, I told the AL that she should just give the kid an empty box. She did not follow my advice.

*On the flip side of the crazy, controlling parent thing, y'all remember this family from a while ago? The one where the aunt came in and said Pretty Little Liars had opened a satanic portal that drove her niece to a mental hospital? Well, I'm happy to report that I think the mother of that girl might have had a face turn. The same kid just recently returned several books from the Anita Blake series (which are pretty mature as far as sexuality goes), and she's been in talks with the AL to volunteer for us, informing her that she doesn't know her schedule just yet because her mother is letting her start public school. I like to think the mom looked at that whole situation, took a long, hard look at herself in the mirror, and thought, "Ya know what? I don't think I want to be like this anymore. I think this is a problem." And ya know what? Good for her, and good for that girl. I hope it does them both a world of good.

[hesperidia]

so thoughts over all on the chapter:

first, the art is so clean and beautiful. These last chapters were straight up gorgeous ily harukawa <3<3<3 good art adds a lot to the story for me in particular i am 🥰🥰🥰

second, i didn't think we'd get another death so soon in the story. I'm talking about Bram's. I am SO glad asagiri included an scene where Aya could get some kind of closure even if it was bittersweet. She still got to say goodbye, it might look like she's throwing a tantrum because she is. having bra-chan back and then immediately knowing he's going to disappear is unfair. She's a child after all.

And looping back into the art i think Bram on this page is beautiful no notes:

He looks at her without an ounce of pity. "My valiant daughter, you yourself must become the knight" Nono i love this line. so much. Aya deserves her efforts and her bravery to be recognized this is so important to her udksndisn i love this line. Because it's hopeful but IT ACTS AS A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD this is such a burden to place in a child omg. Knowing Aya she Will take these words at heart.

Bram then leaving Aya under Akutagawa's care. The title of the chapter is "understood" what he says after Bram disappears. PROTECTOR AKU XNFOWJDIBISN HELL YEAH EVERYONE CHEERED Also it shows the peak of his character growth? for me at least????

Lastly on this topic, i would not be mad if Bram would stay dead. All he loved was already dead and taken from him, personally i think he projected a lot of his own daughter onto Aya and to keep being by her side, a constant reminder of the daughter he lost, It's not like they couldn't have found comfort in e/o and keep being a family, but it'd always be like an open wound i think. Also Bram must've been tired, or having to face the burden of being the catalyst of the creation of the tripolar singularity on the first place. I think if he stayed alive there would be so many obstacles he'd have to face and that would take a toll.

(besides!! i personally think that if he survived he would've been hunted down by mori. why? too long to explain here that deserves it's own post. just like Bram i suddenly have a lot of feelings about Bram as a character lmao).

INTERMISSION TO TALK ABOUT THE SKRUNKLY:

🥰🔥💥💣🔥🥰🖤🥰💥🔥🥰🖤🔥💥💣💣💣✨💥🥰🖤🥰🖤💣✨✨✨💥🥰🔥🥰🖤✨💥💣

you may now proceed

About Kunikida's "death": Personally it did not impact me as much because it was SO sudden after Teruko's, their deaths only served as shock factor and to instill Fukuchi as a very dangerous menace. His only presence was enough to paralyze Kunikida, who previously would gladly throw himself off a helicopter and ignite a grenade to stall his enemies.

Absolutely criminal that we are reminded Kunikida is the funniest character in the series moments before disaster like:

KUNI IM WONDERING THE SAME SINCE FOREVER YOU ARE SO REAL

and still even when he knows he's going to die he stands tall and finds strength to give a final order to atsushi and tanizaki

i don't exactly think his death served no purpose. at least they handled it better than Teruko's i'm still salty about hers.

INTERMISSION TO SEE SKRUNKLY #2

look at that expression. pure despair. can someone give him a break. gorgeous art i wish i could convey emotions like this on my own

Back to kuni:

"thou and this world are all equally hollow. by such logic both this blade and death itself has no power to harm thee" Why did the fukuchisingularitybeyblade say this. what does he mean.

I'm taking the obvious interpretation and say that the ppl consumed as bubbles will come back with the power of friendship mostly unscathed at some point. I admit i still don't know how amenogozen works in the singularity. (Or how the singularity as a whole works)

Also!!!! if the world and it's people is hollow. What about Dazai, who always felt like he was hollow inside and the whole "no longer human" does this mean Dazai is just as human as the others but now instead of analysis in his character it's explicitly stated in text. yada yada idk guys i am not a Dazai connoisseur i'm stepping into the unknown here. But i feel this connection could be made.

Could it be, that the complete opposite of hollow is the thing needed to defeat the singularity. Reaching here but bbtm+rashomon making an appearance 👀👀👀 ok i'll stop now.

Also. why is Kunikida dying drawn so beautifully omg. art SO beautiful it made me tear up counter: 4

Lastly i missed Tanizaki losing it he should lose it more often. I don't think he'll die in the next chapter not so soon. (if he does i'm going to be pissed off bc it would be cheap. cmon)

I wonder how the sleeping club (Tecchou, Kenji and Ranpo) is going to react when they wake up. Where are my girls (Yosano and Kyouka). Bonus points for this chapter because it didn't show me fukuzawa in turmoil.

and i think that's all!

[yourfifitherealone]

Jealous

(this is a college AU NOT HS‼️‼️)

Non-binary friendly

Content warnings consist of:

cursing

Mentions of argument

Angst

Jealousy and jealous friendships

BTW THIS IS NOT FINISHED CONTINUE IT IF YOU'D LIKE 🤷🏾‍♀️

Ever since that costume party, Bakugou became more distant towards you. Not answering your calls, never wanting to hang out, one text answers were a daily occurrence for you two.

You tried to go to Bakugou's dorm and asked why he's been ghosting you but all of a sudden when you knocked and announced it was you, it went quiet and no one's home.

You started getting more aggravated not seeing Bakugou anymore with no explanation. You had really enjoyed being around him and when you think maybe he also shared the same feelings for you he acts like he doesn't know you. So today was the day you were gonna ask him no matter what happens.

You walked determined trough the halls to find Katsuki and ask him why you haven't seen him in a solid 3 weeks. "Hey what's up Y/N?" Sero asks with a wave. "Going to find Katsuki." "Why? Where's he?What happened? What did he do? Are you mad?" Denki appears. "He's been avoiding me, I don't really know but probably in his dorm, he ghosting me, same answer, no" You answered while Denki followed close behind. You knocked heavily on Katsuki's door.

"Whaddya want?" Katsuki said opening the door. He looks down at you and his eyes said it all.

"Why have you been avoid-" "We can talk about this later especially when Dunce-Face and shitty hair are gone at least, 'Kay?" He cuts you off backing into his dorm.

Bakugou's not a shy person but always has been nervous to admit he's wrong and when you want to resolve something he usually doesn't prefer to do it around others but when it's bad he just wants to make it up you didn't understand what was different now..."Hey guys, can you... you know?" They nodded and walked off in the same direction.

You threw up your hands and landed them on your hips, "well, what's up? Why are you avoiding me?"

"Later. I'm busy okay that's it, that's all. SPEAKING of busy... I gotta get ready for class." Then he closed the door on your faces leaving you more disappointed then before. "Uh not to be...y'know...we should probably get ready for class anyway" Denki whispered. "Where did you even -?" you sighed mid sentence and started walking, leaving Sero and Denki behind.

You slammed the door and fell onto your bed. You were upset but then the more you heard the echo of the door slamming you felt the tears well up in your eyes.

*Knock* *Knock*

You lifted up your head and then he started, "Hey. It's me Ejiro this might be embarrassing but I heard what happened and some others to...." You let your head face-first hit the pillow in embarrassment. "...but I am here to comfort you! Very manly of me, right?"

You stomped over to your door and yanked the himbo inside your room, "You gonna tell the whole world?! Jeez" "Heh sorry I wanted to make sure you were at least okay since Bakugou is.. not himself right now." You quickly turned your head, "What do you mean? Is he okay?" "Uh he's.. physically fine but shut downs every single interaction and he's not a very big talker but he's hasn't been like this before." You stayed quiet. What could've you said he didn't want to talk to you and that's that he's stalling on all of your conversations it's like you guys weren't friends at all.

"It's whatever anyways he doesn't even like me anymore i thought we'd be friends forever maybe that was just wishful thinking but we've been friends since highschool even went to the same college! I don't know what I did wrong. Ever since that stupid drunk filled costume party-" you realized, that was the last day he was himself. You two had both got into an argument over you "getting into the wrong crowd" and you felt like you're a grown woman and can hang out with whoever you pleased and Katsuki isn't your father so he can't voss you around and tell you what's good for you. He left the party by himself.

"Shit. I think he's mad about that argument. I had thought we'd gotten over it because the day after we talked just fine. We hung out, I left with a friend and now he's doing this shit!" "...I know you're mad but we have class in a few. Think about why he's so pissed while we're on break or something, alright?" "Sure, thanks Kiri. Very manly of you." You joked, still Kiri flashed a big, bright smile and took the compliment to heart.

Though Kiri SPECIFICALLY said on break to think about the issue, you couldn't help yourself in class while taking notes to do the math and add up why he's so upset with you.

'Bakugou really wasn't a fan of the friend I left with...but like be never acted out like y'know this. He just complained about it after they had left and went on rants about how my friend was a jerk and a whole bunch of other stuff. I am GOING to ask him. Katsuki has been my best friend for the longest'

'I need him in my life."

"Class dismissed!" The professor announced as the bell rung.

You rushed out and stood off to the side of the door while people walked to their next class/lecture.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up" you pleased holding your phone up to your ear. You paced until you heard

'Its Katsuki don't leave a voicemail, just call me later, idiot'

*BEEP*

You rolled your eyes, such a stupid voicemail. You ran to your dorm and grabbed a loose leaf paper, star stickers, and a pen and ran to your next class.

You slipped the handmade note under his door and went on with your day hoping, he'd answer.

At the end of the day you sat with Denki, Sero, Mina , Bakugou and a few others. You invite them to come over for something super personal and important and practically pleaded Bakugou to attend even if that'd be the last time you saw each other. When he arrived he showed affection he hadn't shown since that party, he put his scarred up hand from the nitroglycerin in his sweat and the battles he fought on your shoulder and said "I am... busy but it's not or at least I hope so, the last time we see each other, understand?" You smiled and hugged him. He pulled you in his embrace and you went back to sit in the circle with the rest of the group

[1ts-izzy]

can you please, PLEASE do a part 2 of “I wish you still liked me” (if not it’s ok lol)

Of course! Sorry this took so long to do! Part one here!

A good few months had passed since Finney and Donna had started dating. Robin was feeling worse than ever, his heart still crushed into a thousand tiny pieces.

Robin was jealous, and he had been the second Finney started to look at Donna with the same affection Finney used to look at him with. Back before Robin made that one fatal mistake that ruined his relationship with Finney forever.

Finney and Donna seem perfect for each other. It just isn't fair. Robin thought, staring at the two from across the classroom.

One day during the third period Robin walked into the boys' bathroom, his knuckles bleeding from the previous beating he just given Moose that morning. Robin had gone over to the sink, washing off the dried blood.

He turned around when he heard the door open, seeing Finney run in and hide in one of the bathroom stalls. Robin didn't say anything, instead focusing on washing the blood off of his knuckles.

Seconds later Matty, Matt, and Buzz came in.

"Hey Robin, have you seen Finney anywhere? Swear he came in here..." Matt asked Robin, standing confidently.

"Stay the fuck away from Finn, otherwise you'll have me to deal with. Got it, dipshit?" Robin said, walking back over to the sink to finish washing off the blood.

The three boys nodded, leaving as fast as they could. Finney then came out of the stall, still slightly shaking.

"Thank you..." Finney whispered, standing there awkwardly whilst staring at Robin with... affection? The same look he used to give Robin before Robin messed up everything.

"I'm sorry, Finn. I shouldn't have run that day." Robin said softly, staring into Finney's eyes, "I was scared... and I'm so sorry."

Finney smiled at Robin, whilst Robin felt happier for the first time in months.

"Me and Donna broke up. We thought we'd be better off as friends..." Finney trailed off, "Want me to help with your knuckles?"

Robin nodded, grinning at his friend.

[elibabayblog]

Break-in

'Tonight the music seems so loud I wish that we could lose this crowd Maybe, it's better this way We'd hurt each other with the things we'd want to say

We could been so good together We could have lived this dance forever But now, who's gonna dance with me? Please stay

And I'm never gonna dance again Guilty feet have got no rhythm Though it's easy to pretend  I know your not a fool

I should've known better  than to cheat a friend And the wasted chance I've been given So I'm never gonna dance again The way I danced with you, oh

Now that you're gone (Now that you're gone) was what I did so wrong, so wrong That you had to leave me all alone?'

You sang out loud. Your Alexa was shuffling your spotify playlist. You heard the front door, but didn't think much of it. You thought it was your husband.

"I'm in the kitchen handsome!" You called out over the music.

You heard footsteps but he never cam into the kitchen.

'Oh, well maybe he had a long day filming.'

After you finish up dinner, you head upstairs to wash up.

"I can't wait for tonight, I'm so excitedd!"

Today just so happens to be yours and Ryan's 2nd wedding anniversary and you were excited to see him later. He couldn't spend the whole day with you so you would settle for the night with him.

You felt arms wrap around you, and you smiled.

"Hi handsome, I was wondering when you'd some see me."

No reply was said. You were then thrown on the bed.

"Oh excited?" You look up and realize this whole time this wasn't your husband. 

"Get off of me! Who are you and how did you get in here?" You yell.

You were trying to stall or get someone's attention. Whatever you could to delay him. As for the question asked earlier he never responded. He just stared at you breathing hard. He moved closer to you.

You heard the front door again.

"Princess, I'm home!"

"UPSTAIRS! HURRY UP!"

The man jumped at you and forced you on the bed. Ryan ran in the room looking for you.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

"Ryan please!" You cried out.

When he heard you cry out, he jumped over the bed and slung the man off of you. After you were free, you quickly rolled off the bed.

"GO!" He yelled.

You didn't want to leave him to fend off the man, so you reached for the drawer. You pulled out his firearm.

"Move away from him!" You yelled. 

The man started to get the best of Ryan, so the second you had a clean shot, you took it. The sound of the shot echoed in your ear. Ryan hurried over to you, grabbing the gun from you.

"Are you okay?"

You looked up at him and started to cry. You held him as your bodyguard, Marcus ran in the room, gun in hand.

"Are you okay sir, madam?"

"I'm fine, she's still in shock."

"Who fired?"

"She did, but it was to protect me."

"Where is the body?"

"Over there on the floor. He isn't dead, she shot him in his side."

Marcus walked over to the other side of the bed and found  the man laying unconscious on the floor.

"Come on, lets leave here."

Shortly after your statements had been taken and the guy had been arrested. Marcus slept on the chair next to the sofa. He was angry at himself for not being there when you needed him. But now you were okay. Well as okay as you could be.

"Thank you for earlier."

"Anything for my princess."

"I've never seen you fight like that before."

"I've never seen you in harms way before, I guess after you cried out for me, I couldn't take it and I just wanted to kill him. I wanted him to be as hurt and scared as you were."

"Well the training for your new movie has paid off."

"You think?"

"Definitely."

He smiles and wraps his arm around you. He pulls you closer to him, then kisses your forehead. 

"I'll be here to protect you whenever you call for me."

[traditional-with-a-twist]

xxxi. Beauty and Her Beast

@the-pompous-potato this was so encouraging with how difficult this arc is turning out to be :’) thank you so much! I would say to relax and not worry - everything will be fine from here on out -- but... XD

@bubblesthemonsterartist hahahah yes, exactly! Haruka is willing to make sacrifices for propriety! and I agree, let’s hope there is some fatherly feeling there... deep down...

<<Previous || first arc || second arc || AO3 || Next>>

Fate had granted them a second chance; they were determined not to waste it.

Shirayuki had assembled a list of everything required to effect a legal marriage ceremony in Clarines, and she doggedly pursued its completion with all her customary tenacity.

Obi was ready to jump through whichever and however many hoops as he was bid.

...

After the gift shopping expedition, Shirayuki acquainted him with their next task: finding a companion to attend each of them during the ceremony.

“Traditionally, it’s a role given to his brother and her sister,” Shirayuki quoted to him solemnly, “or to next of kin.”

Obi rubbed his chin. That didn’t seem practical in their case, and there was no one to offend by not asking.

So perhaps they could skip it altogether?

...

No, no, Shirayuki assured him, the companions performed important roles for the ceremony, even if they weren’t blood relatives.

Flattening his face in forbearance of this unlucky verdict, Obi asked what those roles might be?

Perhaps they could choose based on skill set. According to her research, the man’s companion stood on guard in case of disturbances. He carried the only weapon permitted at the--

...

“Whoa, whoa!” Obi broke in, waving his hands palm out. “This man has a weapon? Where does he stand?”

“He - next to… you,” Shirayuki faltered, eyes round with surprise at his vehemence.

Obi suppressed a growl. “What does your companion do?” he asked grimly.

“Oh, well, she stands by me, and, um…” Shirayuki was blushing, “I suppose she helps beforehand with...dresses...and linens...and...things. 

“That’s why it’s better if she’s a sister,” Shirayuki added with a sigh, “because it could end up being quite an expensive gift--”

...

Obi snapped his fingers. He had been thinking furiously, and now he had it: the one man he could trust at his back with a sword.

...

It wasn’t easy to approach Ryuu about the wedding, because Ryuu was doing his utmost to avoid all talk of the wedding whatsoever.

When Obi cornered him in the dispensary, Ryuu was an arm’s length away from the royal apprentices and a pharmacist visiting from Port Town. They were all buzzing with questions and rumours, but Ryuu was deaf to it.

He carried on grinding pastes and salves without any change of expression while the whispers rose and fell like waves around him.

...

It was not that Ryuu disapproved of Shirayuki’s marrying Obi, or Obi’s marrying Shirayuki.

It was simply too much.

Wistal hadn’t felt the same since the war - perhaps would never feel the same again, since they had lost Prince Zen.

Away in Port Town, overloaded with work, Ryuu had successfully avoided thinking of all these things. Now it was staring him in the face, and he still wasn’t ready.

...

The only thought that comforted him was the half-hidden wish that if he ignored everything to do with the wedding thoroughly enough, it would all fade away.

...

When Obi clapped him on the shoulder, Ryuu jumped, upsetting his jars.

“Ah, sorry, little Ryuu…” Obi worked a vanishing trick with a rag. He seemed as oblivious to the silence greeting his appearance as Ryuu had been to the hubbub preceding it.

Exuding unconcern, even as his fingers crept up to his shoulder, Obi leaned towards Ryuu. “It sure is stuffy in here. Fancy a walk?”

...

The friendship of Obi and Ryuu was like that of a hound and a fox, in that neither understood the nature of the other.

Obi passed in and out of Ryuu’s life like acts of nature: impossible to ignore or explain, often cataclysmic.

Meanwhile Obi regarded him with the wondering curiosity one might direct at a woodland animal that lived in the garden: inscrutable, evidently brilliant at the mysterious work with which it busied itself, and yet often helpless in the face of obstacles that Obi would have found trivial.

In moments like those, Obi would approach with cautious affection, not wishing to spook the little fellow, yet drawn irrepressibly to mend his troubles.

...

In this they were alike: Neither spoke freely of his inner life.

Even if Obi had not vanished without a word then returned to find Ryuu absent, they would not have found the occasion to unburden their hearts to each other.

Neither did they now, sheltered by the relative privacy of the open castle grounds, consider that the moment of confidence might have arrived.

...

They strolled side by side, passing between the shimmering mounds of garden beds that receded from them like the gentle roll of an ocean swell.

Each preferred to think of anything but the present moment.

Ryuu’s thoughts tended backwards, returning to the project he had left behind him, while Obi’s bounded ahead to that fateful day that hovered so tantalizingly close.

...

Being declared fit to marry a princess didn’t make Obi feel any more in his element than he had while trailing her around her royal duties. He had little experience to guide him in an affair of this magnitude. Nor could he trust his usual instincts in such a delicate matter.

He had only this: a bone-deep desire to serve her.

Knowing what would please her, or at least lay her anxieties to rest, emboldened him to leap where even a most inferior sort of angel, such as his former self, would never have dared to tread.

...

She had asked him, so he would ask Ryuu; there was no other way forward.

To cover his uncertainty, Obi blustered.

He spoke volubly of nothing at all, remarking on what-not and entreating Ryuu’s opinion on hows-it.

...

His words washed over Ryuu, unintelligible as the wind in the branches. The young pharmacist was just beginning to feel himself safe, just starting to hope that he might have escaped the looming danger of confronting the future face-to-face.

Then Obi asked, “How about it, little Ryuu? Will you stand up for us at the wedding?”

The words, the gardens, and above all, the sense of calm receded from Ryuu rapidly.

Everything began to blur as, trapped by the very thing he had tried his hardest to avoid, he frantically sought to escape from his own senses.

...

Oblivious, Obi carried on, “It shouldn’t be too much trouble for you, if it’s here at the castle. Think the chief will let you get away for a bit?”

Ryuu’s eyes had widened until they reflected the clouds.

He said nothing.

...

“It’s all for the miss, you know.” Obi leaned over Ryuu conspiratorially.

He remembered mostly to address Shirayuki by name to her face but slipped into his old habits when referring to her. 

For Obi, names were precious; he didn’t bandy them around lightly, not even among friends.

...

Ryuu looked thin and pale. 

His eyes seemed to swallow his face as he wished himself away, far from here, into nothingness if necessary.

He wet his lips, but no words came to him.

...

“There’s only...ah, right! You could wear that pharmacist uniform,” Obi went on, as if in agreement with Ryuu’s silence. “It’s a royal thing, isn’t it… 

“Then there’s just one extra - a little thing - you wouldn’t mind carrying a sword, would you, Ryuu?” Here Obi paused to smile winningly at his companion.

Ryuu’s eyes, pupils dilated, hung somewhere over Obi’s left ear. 

He had stopped dead.

...

“Perfect!” Obi slung an arm around his shoulders. “That’s exactly why I chose you. Just...remember that we don’t want anyone cut with it, hmmm?”

[gracefulsunflower]

CONTRARY - FINN SHELBY X READER; PART 33

PUBLISHED: 05/07/2022

Part 1

MASTERLIST

TAGLIST

READER'S POV

Saoirse trotted downstairs, and came to a stop in front of the roaring fireplace, between Finn and I in our armchairs. She shifted restlessly from foot to foot. Finn Junior came up and rubbed against her legs.

"What's up?" Finn asked her tenderly, setting down his newspaper and watching as she fiddled with the hem of her dress.

"Well — I've been to sleepovers at all of my friends houses, but none of them have been to a sleepover here. Can I have one here, for my birthday next week?" Saoirse asked, swaying from side to side.

Birthday. She was turning eight. My little sister, the one who's nappies I used to change, was turning eight. Part of me refused to believe it.

"Sure." I replied unsurely, side-eyeing Finn, hoping he would catch the hesitation in my tone.

"I can't see why not." He added, which made Saoirse grin and run back upstairs.

"Finn you bastard, you should've said no!" I hissed quietly as I went and sat on the arm of his chair so I could speak softly, without fear of Saoirse hearing me.

"Why? Surely kids'll be able to come." He reasoned, placing his free hand on the small of my back, making me sigh.

"Finn, you're the brother of the most feared men in Birmingham. And I'm your wife." I said matter-of-factly, "Surely you see why people would be hesitant to let their kids come here, especially overnight."

"I know they'd be hesitant. We'd be able to get some of her friends to come here somehow." Finn replied, taking a sip of his whiskey.

"How? Rocking up at their houses and saying 'Your child is coming to Saoirse's sleepover by order of the Peaky fucking Blinders!'" I snapped, and Finn made a face that told me he agreed entirely with my stupid suggestion.

"No, Finn, we're not going to order kids to come have a sleepover! Use your common sense!" I barked then pinched his ear, making him yelp.

Serves him right for being an idiot.

"Well what about Lynn and the rest of the girls? They can put in good words for us, can't they?" He pointed out, and I suddenly felt bad for thinking of him as an idiot.

"Let's have a piss up with them and their blokes, at the Garrison or somewhere else, and everyone can see it. They'll ask about us, and they'll tell them good things. Hopefully." Finn said, and I nodded.

"Hilda can probably put in good word too, she has influence. I'll ask if I can help her with a bake sale, sell some of my stuff at her stall." I added, knowing the power her baking skills held over the women of Small Heath.

Along with having bake sales every Thursday afternoon, she also ran a book club which met every Tuesday afternoon, and went to Church every Sunday, as well as playing netball every Saturday and attending netball practice on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. How she found the time to do all that with her job at the factory and with her rambunctious daughter, I'd never know.

•••

I put the finishing touches on the icing on top of Saoirse's cake as Finn finished organising the last lolly platter. Today was the day. My baby sister turned eight.

We woke her up with breakfast in bed, and a decorated house. We put streamers damn near everywhere, balloons everywhere, and a banner along the wall of the living room that said 'Happy Birthday Saoirse'. She loved it all, nearly too excited to open her presents.

Saoirse's big present from us was in the back yard, meaning that we had to keep her towards the front of the house so she didn't see it.

Her little presents we allowed her to open. I had gotten her netball shoes (she played in the junior games, alongside Daisy, who she had become fast friends with), new clothes and hair ribbons, and new books. Finn had also gotten her new clothes (we went shopping together so we weren't doubling up on anything), a new bracelet, a pair of (faux) pearl earrings because she was forever asking to wear mine, and some new toys. Together, along with her big gift, we got her a new silver heart locket with a picture of our Shelby-Gold-Jesus family on one side, and her mother on the other.

Other people had been dropping off their presents for her all throughout the day.

We weren't going to have a party, decided by Saoirse, only a dinner with family and friends, then a sleepover. Rose made a tradition that started with Ezzie and kept it going with the rest of us that we never entertained other people on our birthday, only having parties and sleepovers and other things if we wanted to. Our birthdays were our days, no one else's. We could do whatever we wanted, on our birthdays.

I loved that rule, because Marian had always forced me to have a party every year that I lived with her. I hated every single one of them.

I was slightly happy that Saoirse didn't want a party, because there would be a lot of people there. My family always had a lot of people at the birthday parties, and that amount would only grow with the gaggle of friends Saoirse had made.

If Saoirse was going to be like the rest of us, she would only have an eighteenth. I was yet to have mine. Ezzie had an eighteenth, but she was asleep by midnight, everyone else still partying on. Bonnie's eighteenth carried on for a week, and it was only at the end of that week long bender that we were all sober enough to realise that Bonnie was MIA. It turns out that he ended up halfway across the country with a few mates.

I snorted at the memory, making Finn look at me in confusion, momentarily stopping his walk over to the table with the lollies.

I waved for him to keep going, then placed the cake in the fridge.

The dogs started barking, making me look out of the kitchen window. Ada and Karl had just arrived in Ada's car. The first of Saoirse's guests for the sleepover. She only had Daisy left to come, but her and Hilda lived only a five minute drive up the road, it wasn't like they were going to be late.

"It's Ada," I announced, heading out of the kitchen, through the living room and mudroom, opening the front door.

"Aunt (Y/N)!" Karl said happily, racing up the path to meet me, hugging me.

I returned the hug, then he wiggled out of my grip and ran to Finn, then inside to Saoirse, who was doing a puzzle on the floor in front of the bay window.

Ada came up the walkway, a present under each arm.

"The boy's bag is in the backseat of the car, I'll grab it after Saoirse opens our presents," Ada said, making me nod.

"I'll grab it," Finn offered, passing her on the stairs and jogging down to the car.

"One present from each of us," She told me, adjusting them under her arms as we headed inside, Daisy, Duke, and Tuck following us.

I heard Finn come back inside, the door shutting behind him. He went and placed Karl's bag on the couch, then came back over to me, standing behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist, laying his cheek on top of my head. My hands came up and rested on top of his.

"Happy birthday, little miss!" Ada greeted Saoirse, and Karl hopped up, coming over to grab his present from under his mum's right arm, then turned and faced Saoirse.

"From me," He declared as she came over and grabbed the present, which was a long, rectangular shaped box.

I could hear something rattle softly when she took the present from Karl. She looked at me, and I nodded, then she gently undid the white bow, then carefully stripped the box of the blue wrapping paper. She was one of those people who hated ripping wrapping paper, because people took so long and put so much care into wrapping stuff, a trait she got from Dad. Under the wrapping paper was a cardboard box. She took the lid off to reveal a sky blue soprano ukulele with a black outline of a butterfly on the front, under the bridge and to the right.

"Oh, thank you!" She squealed, putting the box on the floor then pulling Karl into a tight hug.

The boy hugged her back, laughing. My heart melted at the pair.

"Look on the back of it," Ada advised, and Saoirse quickly stepped away from Karl and grabbed her ukulele by the neck, gently lifting it out of the box.

She flipped it so the back was facing up, and ran her finger along it. I could see some gold wording glint under the light.

"To my best friend Saoirse, from Karl, with love," She read, and looked at Karl.

"Thank you. Truly," She said softly, and you could tell she meant it.

Karl just replied with 'S'Alright'.

"Aren't they the cutest," I mused, and Ada nodded, Finn humming in agreement.

"They make me want to have another one," Ada admitted, watching as Saoirse tuned her ukulele.

"One couldn't hurt us, aye (Y/N)?" Finn asked, making Ada look at us in surprise.

I knew he was joking. We didn't feel ready for a baby yet, although I doubt we ever would. No one truly feels ready for a baby.

"You have one before you turn eighteen and I'll strangle you and my brother with the umbilical cord," Ada threatened, but there was no malice behind her words, just worry.

"I don't plan on having one anytime soon," I reassured her, and she relaxed her posture, nodding.

"Here, Sersh, come look at what Ada's got for you," I called out, and Saoirse bounded over, handing her ukulele Karl to hold.

She took the very medium sized box from Ada, and her eyebrows scrunched together.

"It's — heavy," Saoirse said, sounding surprised.

Karl bounced on his heels, waiting for her to open it.

Saoirse painstakingly unwrapped this present, and gasped. It was a light blue jewellery box, painted to look like a cloudy blue sky, a butterfly on the top of the lid. She opens it, and it immediately started chiming, playing a tinkly tune.

"Oh, it has a butterfly and it spins!" Saoirse gasped, flipping the box around to show us.

"Finn told me that he was going to get you jewellery, so I decided to get you something to put it in," Ada explained, and Karl tapped the back of it.

Saoirse tilted the box so she could see what he was tapping it for.

"To darling Saoirse. The sky is the limit. From Ada dearest," Saoirse recited the words on the back, and grinned at Ada.

"Thanks, A," Saoirse said, then started fiddling around with the key on the back as the song stopped.

"Why don't you go put your jewellery box upstairs, then we can go and look at your new present in the backyard?" Finn suggested as he stepped away from me, and Saoirse nodded, running upstairs.

"Don't run on those stairs!" I hollered after them, even though it would have fallen on deaf ears.

"Have you made dinner yet?" Ada asked as I lead her and Finn outside.

"No, starting it as soon as Saoirse sees her present," Finn replied, then turned back down the hallway, "Karl, you cover her eyes, this is going to be a great fucking surprise!"

"Stop swearing at the kids," I chastised Finn, swatting him on the arm.

He just chuckled in response as the kids came down the hallway, Karl obeying Finn's orders, his hands securely over Saoirse's eyes, the pair giggling as they walked.

Karl's jaw dropped as he saw Saoirse's present.

"She can look now," Finn told his nephew, and he quickly let his arms hang by his side, uncovering Saoirse's eyes.

Her brown eyes went wide with shock as she laid her gaze on her new, baby blue playhouse, and play equipment. The playhouse itself was two story, with a cute little picket fence front yard, with a toy kitchen and dining room down the bottom, and a bedroom up the top. The bedroom itself held a daybed with a metal frame that made it look like a couch, a privacy screen, a full body mirror, and a trunk full of dress up clothes.

The play equipment was brown, the wood unpainted, but the accessories were dark blue. On the left side of the sky loft was monkey bars, which connected up with the sky loft, so you could land on the floor of the loft. The sky fort had a bench underneath, and a patch of grass next to it. The sky loft itself was empty. A set of steep stairs was connected to the back of it, with blue railings to help climb up it. At the front of the sky loft, connected to it, was a climbing wall and a slide. Then, to the right of the sky loft was a lookout (which was accessible from the inside of the loft). The bottom of the lookout was attached to the beam that held the swings. We had two slings swings, one horse gilder swing, and one nest swing. The beam holding up the swings was metal, painted to look like wood, so I didn't have to worry about the beam collapsing.

We decided to get her play equipment because she only had 'inside ' stuff, no outside stuff. The house was big enough for her to have play dates inside but it got stale eventually.

"That's the best present a big brother and a big sister could ever give!" Saoirse screeched, coming over and hugging Finn and I quickly.

"I love it! Karl, come down the slide with me!" Saoirse demanded, grabbing the boys hand and leading him to the play equipment, making us laugh.

I heard a sniffle to my left, and looked over at Finn, who was rubbing his eyes.

"You okay, darling?" I asked, feeling concerned for my husband.

"She called me her brother," Finn mumbled, cheeks going red, and I gave him a soft smile, reaching up and brushing away a stray tear on his cheek.

"She loves you, you know," I replied softly, turning back to the kids and placing my head on his shoulder.

"We both do," I added, moving my head to look up at him, just in time to catch the ends of his lips quirk up.

•••

THIRD PERSON'S POV

The Golds (bar you and Saoirse), the Shelbys (bar Finn and Karl), The Jesuses, Johnny Doggs and his brood, Charlie Strong, Curly, and Hilda had not long ago finished dinner, then the rest of the guests went back to their houses, having spent the afternoon with Saoirse.

You sat in Finn's rocking chair, watching as Daisy, Karl, and Saoirse played with Saoirse's new toys, now dressed up with outfits from the dress up chest. They had dressed up the cat and the dogs too. You had also been roped into dressing up, putting your wedding dress on, as well as a pair of wings from Saoirse's dress up chest, borrowing a stick from the garden outside and wrapping some streamers around it. You made a damn good faerie if you did say so yourself.

Finn was currently in the office, doing something for Tommy, which annoyed you slightly. Tommy couldn't even respect the fact that it was Saoirse's birthday.

"Faerie godmother (Y/N)! Make Finn come out here and play dress up with us," Saoirse demanded, making you snort.

"Oh, my dearest goddaughter, princess Saoirse, I don't believe I'll be able to pull the noble Mr Shelby from his work," You sighed theatrically, throwing the back of your palm onto your forehead to add a dramatic effect.

The children giggled at your antics.

"Well, if you can't pull him away from work, maybe we should," Daisy suggested, fiddling with the tail on the dinosaur one piece she was wearing, making the rest of the kids cheer.

"Chivalrous knight Karl, lead us on this journey!" Saoirse commanded, and Karl hopped up from his spot on the floor, then helped the girls up, leading them to the office.

You followed them, intrigued about what was going to happen.

Karl knocked on the door, and Finn called out 'come in'. Karl swung the door open, and the trio entered the office. You came to stand in the doorway, leaning against the door jamb with your arms crossed.

"Finn, you've got to come play dress up with us." Saoirse ordered, looking at the man sat at the table.

Finn sighed, rubbing his temples. You frowned at the sight of your obviously stressed husband.

"Sersh, he's busy, come on," You said, getting ready to usher the kids from the room.

"No, no. I'll come out and play, just give me a few seconds to pack up," Finn reassured your sister, finally looking up from the papers that littered his desk.

He walked around his desk, and rubbed his knuckles against her cheek affectionately.

The children cheered and ran past you, back down the hall to the living room. Your husband came over to you, leaning down and planting a kiss on your lips.

"You sure you're okay to play dress ups? There's cupcakes in the oven, I'll remind them of those, they'll forget all about it," You told your husband, who shook his head, walking back over to his desk.

"I'll be fine," He replied, gathering all of the papers and putting them into the file they belonged in, then placing that file into the bottom drawer and locking the drawer.

He looked back over at you, taking in the sight of you in your wedding dress, hair loose and over your shoulder. You looked gorgeous. An absolute vision.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," You teased your husband, gave a boyish grin in reply.

"A picture wouldn't be able to hold a candle to the real deal," Finn said cheekily, making your cheeks flush.

"Finn! Hurry up!" Saoirse commanded from the living room, and you and your husband headed down the hallway to them.

"I'm here," Finn announced as he stepped through the doorway, and immediately got a clown costume thrown his way.

"Go put that on, then we're going to paint nails," Saoirse informed him.

"Yes boss," Finn replied with a grin, then headed back down the hallway to the bathroom.

"(Y/N), come sit. Karl's got to do your nails, then you do Daisy's, then she does Finn's, and Finn does mine. I've already done Karl's nails," Saoirse explained, and Karl showed you his orange nails.

"They look very nice," You complimented as you went and sat in front of Karl, who was already opening a yellow bottle of nail polish.

Smart boy.

Finn entered the living room, his curly hair ruffled by the clothes he had taken off and the costume he had put on. You bit back a laugh as you looked at your husband.

Saoirse explained the nail polish order to him, and he sat in front of Daisy, who gave him a set of immaculately painted hot pink nails.

As Finn blew on his nails to dry them quicker, you couldn't resist a laugh at your husband. Daisy then scolded you for not paying attention to her nails, and you hurriedly went back to painting her nails red. Once you had finished her nails, you got up to check on the cupcakes.

As soon as you walked through the doorway to the kitchen you heard the timer you set go off with a 'ding!'

You got the cupcakes out of the oven, and placed them onto a cooling rack. You placed three cupcakes onto a tea towel, then hid the bundle in the pantry, and headed back to the living room, cooling rack in your hands.

"Alright, you lot, let's head up to Saoirse's room and settle down. We can eat the cupcakes once they've cooled down." You announced, and the kids started to move upstairs.

You noticed how sluggish they seemed, but you knew they'd get second wind once they ate the cupcakes.

"I'll start popping balloons," Finn told you, and you nodded, then headed upstairs, being careful not to drop any cupcakes.

"Hey, (Y/N), can you braid our hair?" Saoirse asked as you sat the cupcakes on the foot end of her bed.

You heard Finn popping a balloon already.

"Yeah, I can," You answered, kicking a balloon out of your way.

Daisy and Duke didn't seem bothered by the balloons, to your surprise.

"Want Finn to pop these balloons or leave them?" You questioned, gathering all of the balloons on her floor near the door.

"Pop those ones," Saoirse decided, and you kicked them out into the hallway and shut the door.

Karl handed you the brush, comb, and hair ribbons. You thanked the boy, and started with Saoirse's hair first, doing twin French braids.

"Want the same ones as her?" You asked Daisy, and she shrugged.

You decided to go the same as Saoirse's. Once she was done, you told the kids they could have their cupcakes. They all got three each. They ate their cupcakes in silence as they struggled to stay sitting upright. You chuckled at the trio. Once they were done, you tucked them into Saoirse's bed, then turned on her nightlight, and left the room, cooling rack in hand.

You shuffled along the hall, kicking all of the balloons in the upstairs hall down the stairs, where your husband was having a spot of fun stabbing them to pop them. You grabbed all of the streamers that were in the upstairs hallway, and ambled downstairs and into the kitchen, washing everything up, then sitting them on the drying rack. By the time you were done, Finn had started pulling the streamers down. You pulled down the ones in the kitchen and the downstairs hallway, then placed them on your armchair, Finn doing the same. Once you were done the streamers, you pulled down the banner, carefully folding it up.

Finn felt slightly disappointed that there were no more cupcakes left, but no matter. Saoirse had a good day and that was all that mattered.

"We've three cupcakes to share," You informed your husband, making him grin as you lead him into the kitchen and into the pantry.

You grabbed the tea towel and unfolded it, giving your husband a cupcake and devouring your own. Finn wasted no time eating his. When you reached for the last one, you heard the kitchen door swung open, making you freeze.

"I'm not sharing a cupcake with a child half my size," Your husband whispered as you stood up, handing him the tea towel and cupcake.

"Shut up," You hissed, but he words held no malice.

You exited the pantry, and found Daisy there, looking very tired.

"Thirsty," She mumbled, and you got her a bottle of milk from the fridge, telling her to take it up to Saoirse's room so none of them had to come back downstairs.

She did what you asked, and you headed back into the pantry, where Finn was in the process of splitting the cupcake in half.

"You can have the big half if you give me a kiss," Finn offered with a smirked.

You rolled your eyes, smiling softly, and placed a chaste kiss on your husband's lips.

"I would have kissed you anyway," You told your husband, who grinned.

"I would have given you the big half anyway," He replied, making you smile at him.

"To a successful sleepover!" You declared quietly, holding your cupcake half in the air.

Finn did the same, and you started giggling again.

As you sat in the pantry in your wedding dress, your husband in a clown outfit, the pair of you giggling into the night you decided that life, as this very moment, was good.

§§§

Not proofread because I am tired Oof

Also you guys aren't ready for chapter 43; I've got the biggest surprise AHHH

Also sometimes the published date can be earlier than the date I published it here because I use the date that I published the chapter on Wattpad :))

Love y'all ❤️

- Sunflower x

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NEXT PART

Part 34

[itachi-uchiha-deserved-better]

“OBSERVE”

Itachi always enjoyed watching Shisui. Not staring, because that was rude, but just watching as Shisui went about his day. Its something that Itachi didn't think that he'd ever be able to explain to anyone.

They were at the market. Itachi was picking up some things for his mother while Shisui just browsed, keeping Itachi company. As Itachi filled his basket, he kept glancing up to watch Shisui as the curly haired Uchiha fingered through a basket of apples, his brow furrowed as he focused on the firm red skin as if he was trying to see down into the core to figure out which apple would be the sweetest out of the barrel. The expression deepened the laugh lines around Shisui's eyes which Itachi loved.

"Hey 'Tachi, if we bring some apples home, do you think Mikoto would bake us a pie?" Shisui held out the apple he had in his hand for Itachi to inspect. Itachi's eyes shifted to meet Shisui's. He didn't take the offered apple, just shaking his head.

"Those aren't the right kind for baking. We'd want something more tart for that. "

Shisui pulled the fruit back up and frowned at it, an hint of disappointment behind his eyes. He turned back towards the open market stall, his unruly curls fluttering with the movement.

"There's at least a dozen kinds of apples here? Surely, one of them has to be good for baking." Without a second thought, Shisui put back the offending sweet apple and darted off to another barrel, staring down at it just as intently as he had the first. Itachi felt the corners of his mouth twitch up.

Many people didn't understand what it was that brought Itachi and Shisui together. To the casual observer, the pair were polar opposites. Itachi, calm and serious while Shisui was a bundle of nerves and chaotic energy that seemed ready to explode out of him at a seconds notice. No one else realized that Shisui's boisterous personality was exactly the reason why Itachi found him so enjoyable to be around. Wherever Shisui went, there was movement and laughter and warmth. Staring at Shisui was like staring into the sun. His jovial nature, his kind heart that was so at odds with his skill as a shinobi, they shone light into the darkest parts of Itachi, chasing off the shadows that clung to Itachi's soul. Whenever Itachi was with Shisui, he felt a little lighter. And when Shisui came back to Itachi with one of each kind of apple, offering out the basket full for Itachi's approval, Itachi couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Here. These yellow ones should do it. Let me go find some cinnamon and if Mother is busy then we can make the pie ourselves."

Shisui beamed, and Itachi couldn't help but let his sharingan flicker to life for an instant, so that he could burn the beauty of that smile into his mind forever.

[holdurown]

🐺RULES OF WOLVES REVIEW🐺

hey so i uh. finished the book last night and here are my thoughts

disclaimer(s): this will be long and also probably incoherent. if you have different opinions that’s great, and i will be glad to hear them, just please do not be mad at me. some more important things to know might be: a) i read this in a very short period of time so my brain is a bit overloaded and that might affect my perception of the plot. b) i don’t care abt the darkling, i basically never have

also spoilers obviously

alright, let’s start with stuff i didn’t like so we can get that over with:

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

i really hate the trope of big bad gets defeated and it’s really narratively and emotionally satisfying and then they just...get brought back. it cheapens the end of ruin and rising for me. that was the one time i felt anything for the darkling, when he just wants to be remembered right before his death. but then he gets brought back. and i’m like 😒 ok. so i didn’t really enjoy his chapters, i don’t enjoy him as a character, and i thought his chapters stalled the plot.

the plot pacing...maybe it’s just because i did a speed run through it, but there was maybe too much going on? like the characters were doing totally different things away from each other, so some parts felt rushed. it felt like some important scenes were cut for time. one example is when david dies. we leave off with genya saying she can’t find him, and then we go to zoya’s pov at his funeral. but zoya was somewhere totally else right before? anyway, some parts felt like they were just there to wrap up loose ends, and i was kind of skimming

i could’ve done with a little more on zoya’s feelings for nikolai. like her internal monologue. we got a little bit of it, but between her realization that it’s ok to love people and let them in and the scene with their kiss, i could’ve used a bit where she was like, “oh, i need to tell him now.” a scene where she’s kind of realized that she deserves him?

this is minor, but i really thought we would get a scene between jesper and leoni where they talked about his mom’s sacrifice, idk i thought it would’ve been a nice full circle moment

WHY DIDN’T WE GET THE NINEJ REUNION IN NINA’S POV?! IM GOING TO ******* *** yeah i really wanted that

at the end, i felt like we were missing some kind of emotional climax. i don’t know exactly why i feel this way. i think it’s because the battle with zoyadragon happens and then we go straight into nikolai making a bid for queen zoya. maybe the emotional climax was supposed to be the darkling? idrk

aaaaand that’s all i can think of for that

THINGS I LIKED (OR LOVED)

the emotional beats felt very similar to fire (by kristen cashore) in some places and that’s my favorite book. the idea of pushing people away because you’re scared of the grief of their death? go read fire!

that zoya ended up on the throne. i liked it a lot, it just feels right

hannina, because i’ve been gunning for them since king of scars came out and i couldn’t find fan art or fics or anything, they are so underrated. i could talk abt them forever. the idea of nina being able to heal from the pain of matthias’ death and move on with someone else? i loved it. i think sometimes fandoms have a hard time coming to grips with the idea that people can love more than one person in their lifetime

hanne trans rep! i think this storyline was developed well, even though i kind of wanted them to be able to run wild and free in the countryside. ruling a kingdom seems stifling, but that’s just me

nina bi rep, and you know what? we get such shitty bi rep in ya fantasy, i’m still recovering from whatever the fuck sjm did. thank god for nina. the best bi rep in any ya fantasy i’ve read so far💖💜💙

that brief interlude in ketterdam. was it necessary? maybe not, but it was one of my favorite parts. i just breathe a sigh of relief when i’m around the crows again

genya and zoya and alina and nina’s friendship. i already said it in a post, but well-written female friendships are surprisingly hard to find in ya. friendship is inherently romantic! zoya holding up genya after david. zoya’s feelings for nina in contrast with how nina thinks zoya feels about her is just (👩‍🍳💋)

SO WHAT NEXT?

i don’t think we’ve gotten any news abt a sequel, so this is probably the end of the grishaverse for now. what i want most of all is a collection of short stories from different povs all around the grishaverse. just one chapter little slices of their lives. here’s some possibilities i was dreaming up

inej taking down a slaver’s ship, being a pirate, in her element

hanne and nina on vacation from ruling, maybe riding horses, just some fluff

jesper and leoni meet, it would be emotionally charged, they would talk abt his mom and she might start teaching him more fabrikator things

nikolai and linnea opjer? just linnea opjer? i’m so curious about this character

kaz waiting for inej to sail into the harbor. he’s by the docks, he has some kind of present for her. them bickering? sitting on a roof together? idk i just want to live in kaz’s pov when he’s thinking about inej

what are the khergud soldiers up to?

nikolai’s off doing diplomacy things, being charming, in his element, but then he comes back for zoya’s surprise birthday party. this would just be so good

reunion of the crows?

i’ll probably think up more. they could essentially be like one-shot fics, but i want leigh to write themmmmm

to finish, here are some parts i highlighted

hmmm i wonder what this reminds me of... “I would have come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we'd fight our way out together-knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting.” oh yeah that’s it

this whole rant was such a mess i’m truly sorry if you made it this far