#what big claws you have grandmother

[beautyarchive]

Christina Ricci in Little Red Riding Hood (1997).

[unriding]

KINKTOBER DAY 9 — PREDATOR ﾉ PREY. gallagher x f!reader ﾉ delivering this basket to your grandmother sounds easy enough until you find out 1) she’s not home and 2) someone else is.

note — submission for @pixelcafe-network’s challenge friday #4. i was assigned little red riding hood for our fairytale theme!

contains — established relationship; acting ﾉ role playing. predator/prey (wolf!gallagher), tw consensual non-consent (tw cnc), oral (receiving), muffling (glove), fingering, squirting, overstim, pet names, fear play & size kink if you squint ^^;

The forest seems to be much quieter than usual.

You subconsciously pick up the pace to ease your mind. It’s as if the birds have unanimously decided to go somewhere else to sing— and even the rabbits you typically feed on your way to your grandmother’s place are nowhere to be found today.

It’s completely silent aside from your own footsteps— the only noise apart from the thoughts in your head. It’s a bit odd, you think… the sun is still out, and the weather has been clear lately. Absolutely nothing’s wrong— from what you can see, at least.

Is it just something in the air today?

You’re struck with a sense of uneasiness as soon as you reach her home. Even her door looks a bit ominous. Certainly not as cheerful and inviting as you’ve grown used to, but you chalk it up to your nerves from the strange silence. A knock would probably be fine.

Your hand hovers hesitantly over the door before you swallow your paranoia and knock once, gulping when the noise practically echoes throughout her home.

A chill runs down your spine. “..Hello?”

It falls silent again, and the fear returns to your chest. “..Grandmother? I brought you a basket of goods from the village…”

The door seems to creek open on its own at this— just enough for you to nervously peer inside. It’s empty… and normal. Everything seems to be in place- as if your grandmother had simply just vanished from the Earth. It sends another wash of nerves down your spine, but you shake it off and continue towards her bedroom.

“It has….” you call out to no one in particular, taking slow, cautious steps down the hall. “..Apples. We baked you a cake too. It’s small though— we put some strawberries in it— um.. G-Grandmother?”

You stiffen as soon as you enter her bedroom, as if on instinct. Something isn’t right- your mind must be playing tricks on you. She’s.. she’s in bed? She still doesn’t say anything to you, even when the old wood creeks underneath your weight.

It’s not right— doesn’t look right. Something’s very, very off about this. Every muscle in your body locks in place when you try to speak. “Who…. who.. are you?”

Whatever is hiding behind the blankets starts to move, and you stumble a couple steps backwards, eyes widening when it finally looks back at you— or you should really say— when he finally looks back at you.

Your heart gets stuck in your throat. That is not your grandmother.

The fight or flight response takes less than a second to kink in. You’re running faster than you think you’re even capable of, racing to the door before you could manage to let out a single scream. The world is reduced to a blur when you swiftly turn the corner—

It’s right there. You hear him chasing after you, but the door is right there. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Just a little further and—

A large hand loops around your wrist, and your body suddenly jerks backwards. “O-ow—mmph!” You stumble backwards before your back roughly collides against his chest, and the other hand clasps around your mouth only a second later.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” you hear him chuckle when you try to claw against his arm, “just where do you think you’re going?”

He’s strong- and you’re sure he knows this. Doesn’t hesitate when he lets go of your wrist to snake an arm around your waist and pull you flush against him. His arms feel big around you too.

“Hmmm…” he hums, and you gasp when you feel him dip down to take a sharp inhale directly into your pulse point, “not so fast, you lil’ rabbit.”

He laughs a bit when you try to say something against his palm. Laughs hard enough for you to feel the vibrations of his chest. His body feels warm when he tightens his embrace around you— and it’s only then when you realize whatever’s pressing into your ass feels even warmer. It feels big.

“There’s no need to panic…”

You struggle anyways. Push and jerk back hard enough to stumble and fall onto your knees, and he takes the opportunity to pin both your hands behind your back and hold you still for him.

“W-wait!”

“Hm?” He suddenly stills behind you, and the hold on your wrists loosens a little. You don’t say anything else. No mention of that word that’ll get him to stop in an instant… nothing but an impatient sway of your hips.

He lets out a gentle sigh.

“Don’t make so much noise,” he flips up your dress, and you suck in a deep breath. “It’s nothing personal. Wolf’s gotta eat. And you happen to look delicious.”

“I-I’m.. not. Please don’t kill me,” you start to beg, craning your neck to plead with the man looming over you. “I don’t think— don’t think I’ll be delicious.”

He laughs at this too. Enough to let go of your hands, and your palms slam onto the wooden floor to catch yourself from falling. “Oh, you’re just too cute, aren’t you? Making deals with a wolf? What a bold, bold girl you are.”

Your eyes widen when he slips off a glove before balling it up in his fist. “Okay then. Just one taste. If you make it, then that’s good for you, isn’t it?”

It’s your only shot. Your only chance. You give in and nod, and the smile he returns sets the deal in stone. You’d be the helpless bunny under him, and he’d be the hungry wolf.

“Mm—!” the glove is roughly pushed into your mouth the next moment, and he’s pulling your hips back towards him. “Can’t have you making too much noise, sweet bunny. What if the other animals hear and want a taste of my meal? We can’t have that, can we?

“So better behave yourself.”

You clench your eyes shut. It’s the only way you can hide. You close them tight, ball your fists up and wait for him to have his way. It doesn’t help that you’re soaked— you know you are, and you know he’ll say something about—

“Soaked through your panties?”

He pulls the fabric aside to press his palm over your cunt, and a needy whine threatens to slip out. “What? Dying to get eaten out here?” Gallagher puts a little more pressure into it now— pushes his fingertips against your clit and you jolt. How sensitive. Exactly what he wants.

“N-no! I’m not..”

“Oh,” a deep laugh erupts from his chest again, “really now? Then how do you explain this mess?”

He slides a finger inside, and the noise that follows makes your face burn. That wet? Actually that wet? No way.

“A—ah!”

He never planned on letting you respond in the first place. He starts lewdly fucking the digit in and out of you, curling it deep inside you and it’s loud. It’s embarrassing. Your thighs start to tremble from the movements— body instantly recognizing the familiar touch.

Just like a domesticated pet. “Mm. You’re drenched.”

“Gonna cover me in it before we even start?” You shake your head adamantly, and he huffs. “Haven’t even gotten a taste yet, bunny.”

“So… let’s see. Let me… take a look first.”

Every muscle in your body freezes when you feel his breath fan against your cunt. He’s so close— you can feel each exhale against your clit— feels good. Feels really, really good.

“U-um…” you mumble into your arm.

“That’s just right,” he laughs, and your walls flutter around nothing. The position he’s holding you in makes your heart pound. You’ve never had it like this. Cheek pressed against the floor and your hips held up high for him. There’s nothing for you to grab onto— nothing to hold— leaves you with no other choice but to hide your face in your arms and let him have you however he wishes. “What a treat. I’m gonna devour you whole.”

D-Devour?

It happens too fast for you. Starts with one, slow, long stripe up your cunt— he uses the flat of his tongue to get a good taste of you and you shiver and whimper.

Gallagher stills, tongue still flat against your cunt. The noise that leaves his throat next is akin to a growl— rumbles against your clit and fills your core with heat— and then it’s over just like that. The grip around your hips tighten abruptly, and he’s buried deep in your cunt the next second.

“A-ah!” You cry into your own hands, eyes rolling back into your skull. It’s messy— nothing short of primal. He laps at your cunt, flicks his tongue at your clit and pulls you flush against his face. You can’t run from it— can’t squirm or budge with the way he’s holding you like captured prey. “F-fuck!” You manage to choke out a curse, and you feel him laugh against you again.

“A vulgar little bunny, aren’t you? Thought I told you not to attract others to my meal, didn’t I? Where’s the silence?” His grip around your thighs tighten, and you yelp. “I don’t like getting distracted while I eat.”

Your hands clasp harder against your mouth as soon as the words register in your ears. Eyes clenched shut, thighs going numb, and the sound of him devouring you whole is even louder than you could ever be.

It all feels too good. Way too good. Too good for your mind to even comprehend that you’re getting close.

You don’t expect your orgasm to hit you like a truck. It comes out of nowhere and you cum hard, screaming into your fingers as you gush all over his face.

But he doesn’t stop. In fact, he doesn’t react at all. Gallagher doesn’t slow down even when you twitch and tremble violently from the aftershocks.

“A-ah, I— wait…!” He gives another squeeze around your thighs, and you think you get the message.

[number1jeonginstan]

Thoughts on Mean hard Dom WolfChan! And Bunny reader!

With pussy slaps and being bred over and over again with face down ass up in the sheets as he pulls bunny's hair from the back and says the meanest shit ever.

OKAY OKAY, this one is just gonna be a quick hard thought...

CW: BREEDING, WOLF! CHAN x BUNNY!AFAB READER, Kinda stalking, but not really (they get to know one another first!!) Name calling, hair pulling

Wolf!Chan who loves stalking you whenever you venture off to the woods after smelling your scent for the first time. Watching behind trees and bushes as you frolic out of your little cottage, praying that one day you leave just after dark so he can catch you

Wolf!Chan who decided to come up to you one day, striking up a conversation with you, pretending that he is ever so sweet.

"I can show you where the good chamomile is so you can make tea for your grandmother, would you like that?"

Wolf!Chan who watches you smell the flowers, talking to him like he isn't the predator and you are his precious little prey.

Wolf!Chan who slowly guides you closer and closer to his den every time the two of you hang out and gets addicted to your scent whenever you would come close to him.

"Why don't we go near here today?" he whispers into your ear whilst dragging you towards his den, watching as you follow him ever so obliviously. Your ears perk ever so slightly at every step the two of you take.

Wolf!Chan who invites you in since his den is right there and wants to show you around.

Wolf!Chan who throws you on his bed, watching the way your ears droop as he begins to kiss up your neck, loving the way you are so tiny in front of him.

Wolf!Chan who watches squirm underneath him, you begging him to touch you as you pull up your dress ever so slightly, showing him that you did not in fact have any panties on.

Wolf!Chan who groans out loud as he uses his sharp claws to rip off your dress, turning you over so your ass is towards him as he licks a stripe up your cute little cunt.

"Fuck, you are such a little slutty bunny aren't cha?" he mummers into your cunt, loving the way you squirm, shoving your face into his pillow underneath you. "Such a fucking whore" he groaned before shoving his fingers inside of you, pulling your hair back so he could hear your moans. He pulled his own shorts down, forcing you to look at the way his cock slapped his stomach. "So big" you whined as he continued to thrust his fingers inside of you, adding another to make sure you were properly stretched. "So fucking tight, my bunny has such a tight little cunt" he groaned, "how are you going to take my big cock?" You couldn't even respond, your cunt clamping down on his fingers as you came, causing him to let out a growl.

Wolf!Chan who slowly bullied his giant cock inside of you, biting down on your neck as he felt your walls pulse around him.

"Gonna breed my little bunny" he groaned into your ear as he began to thrust into you. "Gonna give my little whore my knot, you are gonna take it aren't you?" "Gonna take it Daddy" you whined, your face shoved back into the matress. "Gonna take Daddy's knot and give him pups" you screamed as you came ontop of his dick, his knot moving down as he pumped you with his cum, cock warming you as his knot settled.

Wolf!Chan who didn't let you leave his den for what felt like days as he continued to breed you.

"Have to make sure my knot sticks, don't I?"

[merakiui]

wait wait wait wait gimme a sec……big bad wolf Jade and Red Riding Hood reader 😳 going to visit your granny but ending up banged and stuffed by this big wolf guy (maybe even +hunter Floyd)

AAAAAAA OTL OTL down tremendously bad for wolf Jade,,,, so scummy…… such a silver-tongued wolf, trying to tempt and stray you from your path to grandmother’s house. >_< he’s so hungry, you see. :< won’t you find some kindness in your heart to stop and lend him something sweet from your basket? That jar of homemade strawberry marmalade looks particularly delicious. :) but you rip it away from his clawed hands and insist that you must be on your way, for your grandmother is expecting you. He smiles like he understands and he doesn’t follow you, but you can’t stop looking over your shoulder the rest of the way.

Can you truly blame a ravenous wolf for making a meal out of your grandmother? You make it to her small cottage to find a smattering of blood soaking the walls of her bedroom, staining the wallpaper, the linen sheets, everything in sight. And who should be waiting for you, licking that same blood from his fingers, but that terrible wolf!!!! It truly is a shame, he tells you, for if you had just shown him an ounce of pity he’d have left perfectly satisfied. Alas, he’s still craving something sweet and you smell very appetizing, even more so when you try to flee. <3

Maybe you’re a virgin,,, the village sweetheart praised for being so pure and kindhearted. You don’t quite look like one anymore, though, with your tear-streaked expression and the way your lips have been bitten and bruised from so many hungry kisses. orz he could be merciful and kill you here, but then he wouldn’t have the chance to savor this sweet treat.

Thick wolf cock bullying its way into your tight pussy….. claws scraping at the pudgy flesh of your hips and inner thighs, drawing pinpricks of blood that make you wince and cry out. His thumb grinding harshly against your clit,, a slobbering, bloodstained mouth at your throat, whether to taste your pulse or rip out your jugular with those sharp teeth of his. And such big, calloused hands—big enough to grab you and slam you back down on his knot when you try to escape, pinning you there so you can take all of him inside.

It’s just too much for your little womb to handle, but it satisfies the wolf and his big, bad appetite for fragile things like you. You’re lucky enough to escape with your life, but you can’t say the same for the rest of you. :( you’re only given the opportunity to escape because he allows it—and there’s some lesson to be learned about being kind and generous to those less fortunate, or whatever he’s pretending to be—because he expects to cross paths with you again, and surely then he’ll take what he believes to be his.

And hunter Floyd….. maybe he’s also a wolf, but he likes living amongst humans in this quaint village, so he’s taken to disguising himself. Hiding his ears under a hat or hooded cloak. Stuffing his bushy tail away so no one sees it. Taking care not to show off his teeth so much, or else overly suspicious townsfolk might start crying wolf. Hunting the other beasts in the forest is no problem for him, and the villagers absolutely adore him and his silly, boyish charms.

But Floyd only has eyes for Little Red, and ever since you returned to the village a right mess, tattered, crimson cloak barely covering anything, and looking like you’ve just tussled (and lost) with quite the formidable monster it’s given him an opening to cozy up to you. He’ll hunt the beast who slaughtered your grandmother! You needn’t fear.

Unfortunately, Floyd isn’t the strongest man wolf, and it’s getting harder to do everything the human way when the wolf way is so much easier, if not particularly brutal. But he’ll endure and he’ll be patient because when he takes down that beast you’ll appreciate his efforts and sheer loyalty, and maybe then you’ll stop scoffing every time he tries to strike up flirty conversation with you. Maybe you’ll finally take him seriously and see him as a man wolf worthy of your love.

[the-froschamethyst4]

How To Stop an Argument 101

————

Husband! Barrage Headcannon

SFW & NSFW

Quick AN: I would like to say in my first Barrage fic I placed the name Cal/Calvin in it because that is what I’ll be calling Barrage as his first name, there isn’t much info on him so I decided that his name will be Calvin or Cal for short

————

————

SFW

He knows exactly what he is doing when it comes to “distracting” from the issue at hand

Recently you were under a lot of stress with work and the holidays coming up so quickly that you just needed some help from Barrage but he wasn’t pulling his end of the deal and making some things worse

You were in front of the tree trying to wrap presents for him and some family members that were coming over for the holidays but he was being no help

Watching the game on TV, being loud, and drinking beer while you wanted to watch a Christmas movie to be in the mood

“Cal, please turn it down.”

“Hon, I can’t hear what they are saying though.”

“We have a basement you can turn the TV up as loud as you want down there, I’m too overstimulated.” You say while trying to not pull your hair out.

“There’s only a few minutes of the game then I’ll go downstairs.”

“No, Cal…please do it now, I can’t think.” You say putting your hands on the side of your head.

Barrage sees that and turns the TV off and with no other word goes downstairs. He doesn’t want you to burst and there because more then just a simple discussion

You thank him but he just hums a response back to you.

That was just one out of many possible arguments that could have happen.

There’s been many days where Barrage just doesn’t take it seriously and starts pushing buttons

“Cal! Have you seen my necklace? I’ve been looking for hours now!” You call from upstairs.

The necklace was special, it was real pearls and real gold, your grandmother gave to you before she passed and you loved that necklace wore it any chance you got and tonight was a holiday party at your work but you couldn’t find the damn thing anywhere

“No!” He calls from downstairs. The overwhelming sensation of you possibly have finally lost it hit you and now you’re starting to get a little pissed off now, because you always say it in the same spot.

In your jewelry box on a small hook that only it sat on, no other necklace

You even went and checked the bathroom drawers just in case but nothing

“CAL! PLEASE COME HELP ME FIND IT!!” You yelled getting frustrated

“Hon, it’s just a necklace.” He says coming into the bedroom.

“It is not just a necklace it’s my most prized possession, and I know I didn’t just loose it, I place it back in my jewelry box every time I’m done wearing it, so where the fuck is it?!” You start slamming drawers now.

“Well, don’t break everything just to find this damn necklace.”

“Then help me!” You turn, red to the face and eyes looking like you’re about to cry.

“Hon, don’t cry-“

“Don’t tell me not to cry cause I will!”

You fall on the bed head in your hands, Barrage knew where the necklace was. He opens his nightstand drawer and pulled out the necklace.

“Here.”

“You had it!?”

“I got it polished for you. You know how the creases had that black stuff in it?”

“Yeah?”

“I got it polished and I was going to give it to you, later, but now is fine, sorry for hiding it.”

“It’s okay,” the tears stopped and all there was sniffling in the bedroom. “C-Can you put it on me?”

“Sure, hon.”

Arguments happen but the one thing Barrage kind of likes doing when he knows he’s in the wrong is flex, flexing his big muscles he worked hard on

“No, you’re wrong!”

“How am I wrong?”

“You really wanna sit an argue or are you going to shut up and let me talk?”

“Shut up?” Barrage leans back on the couch flexing his arms that were behind his head.

“Stop that.”

“Stop what?” He smirks

“S-Stop flexing.”

“I’m not flexing. I’m just relaxing.” He says

“…” you couldn’t look away, you love them too, the way he can just pick you up with ease, how when you two have sex you claw at them sometimes breaking skin

“Fuck off,” you say walking away knowing he won that argument but he knows he was wrong

When you start getting a big heated and you start throwing out the bro, dude, bruh words

“Dude I swear to god if you-“

“Did you just ‘dude’ me?” He says

“Yeah and?”

“We have sex…you really wanna be throwing the word dude around?”

NSFW

Having an argument in the middle of sex just turns Barrage on even more.

This man is fucking toxic

He could start an argument over nothing then ask if you’re down for sex afterwards

Honestly thinks it's funny when you rant about your rough and hard day as he goes down on you and you can't think straight because his tongue and mouth feels good on your lower half

When Barrage comes home from work, he'll sometimes be surprised you stayed up to wait for him, only for him to now take his frustrations out on you, while he rants about his day, now

Does he start random arguments? Yes. One day he started one when he came home to no dinner on the table, and express how he would like to have dinner on the table before he comes home, he was smirking the whole time knowing you hate the trad wife bullshit

So, he knows what he is doing

"Ex-fucking-cuse me?" You say, hands on your hips, fury burning in your eyes, and knuckles turning white.

"You heard me woman, I want food on this table by the time I get home," he says.

"Fuck you, now! You get to fix your own damn food for now on, I'll be fixing my food while you figure out how the stove works." As you tun your wrist gets grabbed just for you to be bent over the kitchen table, and you feel his hard dick

"I'm only kidding, hon," he teases.

You hate when Barrage leaves his clothes all over the place, but he does it only to get a good view of his wife being bent over

"Calvin, pick up your clothes, how many times am I going to tell you? We don't live in a pigsty."

"How many times are you going to keep picking up my clothes to realize I'm only doing it to get a clear view of your ass?" He says, you stop and drop his clothes. "Hey."

"Pick up your clothes," she says.

Y/n can start arguments as well, if anything, you both are toxic for each other but you both don't care, you both know you complete each other.

Y/n fixed food for Barrage bring it to him in his home office setting it down on a clear spot and gives him a kiss on the cheek, and then one on his temple, then one on his forehead, neck, cheek again, and then lips.

"Hon, what are you doing?"

"Just kissing you," you tell him as your hands start teasing him, messing with his shirt, then to his belt, getting it unbuckled and then moving your hand before walking out.

"Oh damn, I forgot, I have some chores to do around the house," you say, blue balling your husband.

"You fucking, minx," he growls.

You loved teasing him, I mean the bastard does the same shit to you, why not do it back? You're not hurting anything...maybe his pride, but he'll be okay

"Fuck baby." Barrage held your waist, you bend over his desk, the food wasn't even on his mind anymore, it was how good he was going to fuck you, how good he was going to make you feel

"C-Cal, s-slow down-"

"No, you don't get to make demands here, you teased me and now this is what you get," he says.

[pseudowho]

What would a Kento Nanami do for his birthday? The possibilities are near endless my brain can’t contain it!

What say you, Mrs. Haitch?

So if he were alone, I think he'd start by calling up his parents, and his grandfather, who lives with Kento's parents and is an elderly, Danish man by this point. He taught Kento Danish as a child, and they sit and have a quiet little conversation while Kento makes himself a coffee. He knows he's privileged that his grandfather is still alive, in his eighties and generally poorly behaved not me headcanoning Kento's grandfather as one of the last remaining Witchers of Europe and having left it all behind for Kento's Japanese grandmother and so secretly it's where Kento got his Curse Sight from and I know there are plotholes in this and this is a Headcanon for another day but anyway

Kento doesn't dress up; he dresses down. All black. His comfiest black slim fit jeans, an old band t-shirt. He wishes he could wear a big heavy overcoat, a black one like he used to, but the weather is too warm, even early. His hair is mussed and soft. He heads out for breakfast, finding a favourite little bistro.

He tells nobody that it's his birthday. He's off work for other, boring reasons, according to everyone else. He sees another year pass, and wonders with an edge of melancholy, if this is the last birthday he will celebrate.

Taking a book with him, he enjoys a long, slow breakfast. He ensures he finishes that book, and walks a languid walk to a local bookshop, to buy the next.

He visits the market. Buys loads of fresh food, cheese and bread, olives. Fresh olive oil, infused with garlic and truffle. A cake he knows he will be too full up to eat.

He sleeps in late, and goes to bed early; but cannot sleep. The corest part of him wonders if he should see his birthday through until midnight. He wonders and wonders and gets up and goes for a snack. He wonders. If this year is the year he falls in love. If this year is the year he gets a cat, like he always wanted. He couldn't, he thinks. He's away too much. It isn't fair.

By the time he reaches midnight, he is steeped in red wine and camembert, and god, does he want to live. He wants to live more than anything, not work and work on the promise of living later.

It will be the Autumn, soon. After Halloween passes, he will hand in his notice.

His elderly grandfather misses him the most.

Except, that didn't happen. The boy with the pink hair who loves Kento so deeply arrived in time. Kento lived. His grandfather cried, stroking over Kento's burns with a clawed over hand.

The next year, Kento took Yuuji out for cake...to say thank you.

Love,

-- Haitch xxx

[saphronethaleph]

Niman, the Way of the Rancor

Jango muttered a curse, closing his commlink.

You just couldn’t get the informants these days. Jango had bribed people in the Kaminoan facility to be informed if anyone showed up asking after him, but he hadn’t managed to get them to realize that the arrival of a starship not long after he’d returned from Coruscant might be important.

And now he’d only found out that a Jedi was present when they’d actually asked to see the template for the clones.

“Boba,” he said. “We might have an unexpected guest. And we might need to leave – soon.”

“Got it, dad,” his son replied. “Now?”

“No, the Jedi’s coming this way,” Jango replied. “I’ll try and trick them, then we leave as soon as they’re not here. Is all my armour hidden?”

The attendance chime went, and Jango rolled his head back and forth slightly as Boba went to answer it.

“Boba?” he heard Taun We ask. “Is your father here?”

“Don’t worry about little old me,” a calm voice added. “Just here to visit.”

“May we see him?” Taun We added.

“...sure,” Boba said, after several seconds of silence. “Uh. Dad! Taun We’s here!”

Jango moved around the corner of the apartment, to look at the visiting Jedi, and nearly swallowed his tongue.

There was a kriffing Rancor standing behind Taun We. A Rancor wearing a utility belt, attached to which were two lightsabers – one about the size of a small claw, the other big enough that Taun We could have used it as a neck splint.

“Welcome back, Jango,” Taun We said. “Was your trip productive?”

Jango blinked several times.

“...why is there a Rancor behind you?” he asked.

“Hello,” the Rancor said, in that same calm voice. “My name is Knight Tosh. Can I come in?”

Jango was still staring.

“Isn’t it ‘may’?” Boba asked, in the tones of a child who was trying to notice something he could process.

“I’m not sure how big the hallway is,” Tosh explained. “If there’s a problem with my fitting in, that’s fine, I can sit out here and we can talk.”

Putting actions to words, she sat down.

Jango wasn’t sure exactly how he’d decided that the Rancor was a ‘she’, but he supposed they probably did have genders.

“...you’re a Rancor?” he said, still trying to get past that essential point.

“Yes,” Tosh agreed. “A proud daughter of Dathomir. I’m told I’m named for my grandmother, who was the first of us to learn to read and write.”

She steepled the fingers on her enormous clawed hands.

“Aide We,” she said, a little more formally. “I must inform you that I’m here for a number of reasons, not just one. You see, I’ve been looking into a recent assassination attempt on that nice Senator Amidala.”

“Oh, goodness!” Taun We said. “That is most worrying.”

“It is,” Tosh agreed, with a surprisingly kindly smile given that it was a Rancor smiling, something that Jango’s brain kept circling around to. “The assassin is dead, which is fortunate, and I believe that Jango here did us the favour of eliminating her. So I wanted to thank him personally, and also ask if he had any idea why that might have happened… why he might have been hired to kill that particular shapeshifter, that is.”

Then she frowned. “Oh – but where are my manners? We should really start with how it is that you came to be the template for the clone army! It must be a fascinating story. I assume your young son there is involved, somehow?”

“Thank you,” Obi-Wan said, taking the mug from Cliegg Lars. “I think that’ll be enough for us for now.”

“Not a problem,” Cliegg replied. “You and the other Jedi are the one who rescued Anakin from his old life, that’d be enough to make you kin here, even before all you’ve done for us so far.”

“We do our best,” Obi-Wan smiled, taking a sip of the drink. “Very nice. Thank you again, Cliegg.”

“I don’t know what I expected,” Anakin admitted. “I never really imagined what it would be like to have my mom actually marry someone, but… I think he’s nice.”

“It’s not something the Jedi have much experience with,” Obi-Wan said. “I’m just as lost as you are, Anakin.”

“Are you sure this is a good place to hide out, Obi-Wan? Ani?” Padme asked.

She frowned, and waved her hand. “I don’t mean… that it’s a bad idea to be here. We’ve only been here two days and we’ve already rescued your mother, Ani. But if someone comes looking for us… we’re hiding with the only relatives Anakin has in the entire galaxy.”

“I’m quite sure that nobody will find us,” Obi-Wan replied.

“Yeah, I agree with Master Kenobi,” Anakin nodded. “If I was looking for where a Jedi was hiding, I’d never even think of looking for their family. Jedi just don’t think about family. It’s not something we do.”

“But the people who are trying to hunt me down… they do think about family, don’t they?” Padme said. “Or they might, anyway…”

“In which case, fortunately, we are in a very large desert,” Obi-Wan said. “Mos Espa would have been a suitable enough place to hide out, but now we’re off in the desert. A planet is a very big place to hide someone, Senator – and if there’s anyone in the galaxy who wouldn’t try to betray us, it’s Anakin’s close family. Even before we rescued his mother.”

Padme looked conflicted.

“I suppose you’re right,” she said. “I just worry that we’re too easy to find here. I don’t know how rational that is, but the extent of the resources available to our enemies…”

“Where would you have preferred?” Obi-Wan asked. “If this isn’t where you’d have thought to hide, where would you have hidden?”

“I’d have gone to Naboo,” Padme replied. “Relatives of my family have a house up in the lakes, in the mountains. It’s wonderful and calm and nobody ever goes there.”

“Actually, I like the sound of that, Master,” Anakin said. “Are you sure we can’t change plans and go there, now? There’s a lake there.”

“We brought a lake with us, Anakin,” Obi-Wan replied, tossing his head to indicate the beaten-up old freighter they’d used to get to Tatooine. “Or a large swimming pool, at least.”

Beru Lars chuckled.

“You three are terrible at this,” she said, from over in the corner. “We’re grateful for your arrival, but… none of you know the first thing about hiding.”

“We don’t?” Anakin asked. “What do you mean?”

“ Tatooine is a planet with slavery, which means a planet with crime,” Beru told them. “If you’re going into hiding, you want to get a good balance between the support network and being impossible to trace back to your owners.”

“Of course,” Padme murmured. “It’s a shame the Republic hasn’t been able to do anything about the slavery out here.”

“That’s your department, isn’t it” Beru asked. “With your being a senator, that is.”

“Padme’s brought it up in the Senate a few times,” Anakin said, defending her. “It’s never gone far, though.”

“Part of the problem is that the Republic doesn’t have the ability to do much about it,” Padme admitted. “We have a navy, but no real army – and bombarding Tatooine to help end slavery seems like a bad idea.”

Beru inclined her head.

“That’s fair,” she conceded. “It’s easy enough to forget that, out here. And I’d bet it seems hard to remember there are people in chains, when you’re on glittering Coruscant.”

“We could be doing more than we are,” Padme allowed. “Once this is over, I’ll see what I can do.”

Darth Tyrannus looked at Jango, his gaze calm. Calm, in the way that the ground was calm, under a descending meteor.

He was extremely unimpressed.

“You told her everything?” he asked, his fingers drumming on his belt next to the handle of his lightsaber.

“Not everything, but… more than I think I should have,” Jango replied, somewhat embarrassed. “You weren’t there. It was… I’d like to see you concentrate on what your story is when there’s a Rancor staring at you. Complimenting you. Offering you tips on how to make tea.”

He shook his head. “Saying that she could smell Coruscant on your clothes. And that’s before the fact that she’s a Jedi.”

Dooku sniffed.

“I think that if I were confronted with a Rancor, and it pulled out a lightsaber, I would be relieved,” he said.

There was a sort of soft thump behind him, and Jango glanced up before going pale and holding up his hands.

“Good afternoon,” a pleasant voice said. “Dooku, it’s nice to meet you at last. Should I call you Count? Or do you prefer the name Darth Tyrannus?”

Dooku knew what he was going to see behind him.

He knew it.

But he had to turn around and look anyway, and so he did.

“Tosh,” he said, and this time he did take his lightsaber off his belt – though he didn’t light it. “How did you get here?”

“A tracking beacon, of course,” Tosh replied. “Well, actually two, one of them was in the fidget spinner I gave young Boba, but I didn’t want him to feel embarrassed so I stuck one to Mr. Fett’s ship as well. I must say, I do like the climate here. Pleasantly dry.”

She smiled, in a way that was somehow disarming until you refocused and remembered what the smile was attached to. “You know, we’re actually somewhat related! In the Jedi sense, at least. I’m not sure how you’ve kept up with master-student relationships in the Temple since you left, but that nice dear Yoda trained me for a few years.”

Dooku did his very best to contain a nervous swallow.

“I have surpassed my old Master,” he said. “I doubt even he could defeat me now.”

“Oh, that’s quite possible,” Tosh agreed, nodding. “Yoda’s always been sentimental, you know. He finds it so hard to fight seriously. It’s not something I’d call a character flaw, but it is what it is.”

She shrugged. “I’d very much appreciate it if we didn’t have to fight today, you know. Since I know you’re a Sith, what about if you give me information on your Master? I know that betrayal is the kind of thing the Sith like to do, and that way we don’t have to fight.”

Dooku evaluated his options.

All it would take for his plans to hold together would be for him to be confident in his ability to defeat this Jedi Knight. This mere… Jedi Knight.

This mere… Rancor… Jedi Knight…

The other option was looking appealing. It was difficult to deny that.

“It’s hard to believe,” Mace Windu admitted, leaning back in his chair.

It was a common posture in the Jedi Council whenever this particular Knight was reporting to them, and Mace felt a most un-Jedi-like pang of jealousy for Yarael Poof. Long-necked and calm, the Quermian Master was the only one able to look Tosh in the eye without either leaning back or standing up.

“Hmm,” Yoda mused. “Mistaken you are not, I assume?”

“Being mistaken is always a possibility, Master,” Tosh answered. “But the plan that Dooku told me does seem to make a good deal of sense… it’s one of those plans where the Sith would win no matter which side of the war was triumphant.”

She spread her massive hands. “It could all be a lie… but it does explain a few things, which leads me to think it might be true. I’d recommend at least testing it.”

“A good approach,” Ki-Adi-Mundi said, to nods from Plo Koon and Sasee Tiin.

“It ties into what Master Gallia has been discovering recently as well,” the latter said. “The Trade Federation’s involvement in this is unsurprising, but the Techno Union, Intergalactic Bank Clan… again, investigation is needed.”

A ripple of agreement ran around the Council.

“And what of the clone army?” Yoda asked. “Commissioned by us, the Kaminoans were told.”

“Oh, I thought the best thing to do was to send them to make sure that nice Senator Amidala was safe,” Tosh replied, with a pleasant smile.

Windu frowned, then looked over at Yoda.

“When was the last time we got an update from Kenobi and Skywalker?” he asked.

“It’s been… a while,” Yarael Poof said, doing his neck exercises. “Last contact was shortly after they reached Tatooine. They were going to avoid broadcasting to make sure they weren’t tracked down.”

Mace Windu activated a holocommunicator.

“Old Folks Home to Guiding Light,” he said. “Knight Kenobi. What is your situation?”

“Guiding Light copies,” a hazy image of Obi-Wan Kenobi replied. “Master Windu, I think we just liberated Tatooine by accident.”

“By accident?” Ki-Adi-Mundi replied. “How exactly did you-”

He stopped, remembering the missions that Kenobi and his Padawan had been on.

“Never mind, carry on,” he requested. “What happened?”

“Someone sent us an army,” Obi-Wan said. “We didn’t actually order them to do anything, but Senator Amidala gave some speeches and I think things sort of escalated from there…”

[honeyncherry]

Through the Looking Glass - Prologue

Rafe Cameron x Reader

content: angst, trafficking, parent death, childhood trauma

chapter one

Vincent Machado. His name had a pull to it, a strange magnetism that didn’t sit right, like the way certain smells linger long after they should’ve faded.

Charismatic, yet sinister. Opportunistic. Callous. A sex trafficker.

The name hums in your mind, not loud, but persistent. Like the faint buzz of cicadas on a muggy summer night. You don’t notice it at first, but then it’s all you can hear. Like the mourning dove that used to nest outside your bedroom window. It starts as a song becoming part of your mornings, then it slips into the afternoons, and before you know it, it’s everywhere. An unshakable echo, clawing at the edges of your thoughts, refusing to let go.

Even now, years later, you can’t shake the case file from your mind. The big red ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ stamped across it, the pages that felt too heavy in your delicate hands, the details you could never unread. It had settled in you like an ache you couldn’t locate, an echo you couldn’t silence. Now, a new name stares back from the file in front of you, the letters stark and accusing:

RAFE CAMERON CONFIDENTIAL

You remember the first file — the one with Vincent’s name on it. You’d been handed it after your mother’s death, a memory so sharp it still cuts you when you think about it. Her death was sudden, unexpected, the kind of thing that doesn’t fully settle even years later. Your grandmother had been the one who told you, sitting you down and holding your hands as she broke the news. She called it a cruel twist of fate, a bitter phrase that’s stuck with you ever since. You were only eight years old, too young to grasp what “gone” really meant, too young to know that grief wasn’t something you'd ever fully outgrow.

The funeral was a blur of black suits, lily petals, and whispers that carried like wind through an empty house. Your father was there, of course, but even then, he felt far away. He stood tall in his pressed suit, his voice steady as he told you, “I have things to take care of. I’ll be back… eventually.” He said it like a promise, but it landed like a dismissal, your anguish staring back at you in the cold, mirrored surface of his sunglasses.

A month later, you found yourself sitting in his office, your legs swinging over a chair too big for you, your stomach twisting with unease. The room felt sterile, impersonal, as though it had been purged of anything that might remind you of a life before. The family photos were gone, replaced by cheap stock images of savannas and sunsets, their blandness mocking you. The lions and giraffes in the frames seemed to sneer at you, claiming victory in a game you hadn’t realized you were playing.

It was then that your father handed you Vincent’s case file, sliding it across his pristine desk without so much as a glance. You didn’t understand why at the time. You barely understood anything. But the weight of that file — the secrets it contained — left a mark on you. Even now, looking at Rafe Cameron’s name, you feel the same twisting knot in your gut, the same burn behind your eyes. The cicadas hum. The dove sings. And somewhere, in the recesses of your mind, Vincent’s name is still buzzing.

“Agent,” the word slices through the air, sharp and unyielding, not a question but a command. “Are you with us?”

The voice pulls you abruptly from the haze of your thoughts, Vincent Machado’s name still humming like a faint echo in the corners of your mind. Cold eyes lock onto yours from across the table, dissecting you with a precision that makes your skin prickle. Around the oval-shaped conference table, other pairs of eyes follow suit, each gaze carrying a silent demand: don’t slip.

You swallow the knot forming in your throat and purse your lips, forcing down the unease that threatens to surface. Your eyes flicker with a calculated mix of shame and defiance before you reply, your voice steady but pointed. “Yes, Dad.”

The intake of breath that follows is sharp, almost rehearsed, like the hiss of a snake preparing to strike. You knew you’d stepped out of line. You meant to.

“Right. Agent,” the reinforced title drips from his mouth as a sneer this time, barely masked by professionalism. “Thursday, you’ll be provided with everything you need: the car, money, apartment keys, your new identification. Friday, you’ll arrive on campus and meet with the guide we’ve set up for you. You know the steps from there. I expect weekly reports. Nothing less.”

The weight of his words settles over you like a lead blanket, heavy and suffocating. Yet, beneath the pressure, there’s a flicker of something else; pride. The corners of your mouth twitch as you nod, determined to hold your ground. Finally, a chance to prove yourself. To prove you’re more than just his daughter.

“Understood,” you say, your tone clipped but firm.

Your father’s gaze lingers on you, cold and calculating, as though he’s searching for cracks in your resolve. The silence stretches for a moment too long, a tangible reminder that you’re never truly off the hook. Finally, he shifts his focus back to the file in front of him, signaling your dismissal without a word. The others at the table glance between you and him, their expressions guarded, like spectators waiting for a spark to ignite a blaze.

You push your chair back with measured composure, refusing to let the tremor in your hands show as you gather the documents in front of you. The title of the operation is stamped in bold at the top of the first page, the name stark and imposing: Operation Sentinel. It feels heavy in your hands, heavier still in your mind.

Stepping out of the conference room and into the quiet hallway, reality begins to set in. It’s not just about the mission anymore; it’s about the expectations. The unspoken demand to not only succeed but excel. To step out from the shadow of your father and prove that you belong there — you’ve worked for this and demand to keep it.

You clutch the file tighter as you walk, the rhythm of your heels echoing through the empty corridor. The sound is sharp and deliberate, like the steady beat of your determination, trying to drown out the nagging whispers in the back of your mind. Whispers of failure. Of inadequacy. Of all the ways this could go wrong.

That night, alone in your childhood bedroom, the file sits on the desk in front of you, unopened. A glass of water sits untouched beside it, condensation pooling into a ring on the wood. You tell yourself it’s just nerves, that everyone feels this way before their first big mission. But deep down, it’s not the mission itself that gnaws at you — it’s him.

Rafe Cameron.

The name flickers in your thoughts, unbidden and unwelcome. You’ve seen the photos, the reports, the surveillance. You know everything about him on paper: the heir to a multimillion-dollar empire built on dirty money, arrogant, charming, dangerous. He’s exactly the kind of person you’ve been trained to outwit, to manipulate. Yet something about his cocky smirk in these candid photos makes your chest tighten with unease.

You’ll meet him soon enough. In just a few days, you’ll step into his world, wearing a mask of confidence, pretending to be someone you’re not. And the strange thing is, you’re not afraid of him. You’re afraid of what it will mean if you can’t see through the mask he wears.

Because if he sees through yours, everything falls apart.

divider: @adornedwithlight

a/n: based on my last couple au posts, reposted cause I could not deal with the errors

[catharticconsolation]

Bot Dump:

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

Kerry Von Erich- accident- After Kerry loses his foot in an accident, it takes a while for him to get used to his new body. But he's tired of you acting as if he's all fragile and vulnerable, and he just wants the same affection that you gave him before.

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

Kerry Von Erich- always the bridesmaid, never the bride - At Kevin and Pam's wedding, Kerry can't help but imagine that it's you up there in that big white dress. He's going to make you a bride.

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

Kerry Von Erich- goodnight brother david- David's gone. David's dead. And no one knows what to do. What is there to do but grieve and hold one another?

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

Carmen Berzatto- waitress- Carmen isn't going to lie, but he can't remember hiring you. You've been working as a waitress at The Bear since it opened, but he hasn't ever spoken to you. But everyone sings your praises, and he has to make a move.

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

Carmen Berzatto- stuck in the walk-in- Opening night couldn't go any worse. He's stuck in the walk-in with the restaurant's hostess, and he can't stop himself from freaking out. He just needs some comfort.

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

Art Donaldson- my perfect family- Art Donaldson has never had a proper family. Sure, he's had his grandmother, who loves you by the way, but he never had siblings. But now, he has a partner, and a toddler, and a newborn, week old baby. Oh, how lucky he is.

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

Art Donaldson- strip- Art's worse nightmare seems to come true: being sat in a strip club, surrounded by the Stanford tennis team, boys cheering him on as the most gorgeous stripper in the world comes to dance for him. But as he looks at you, he realises that he has to have you. And he just can't understand why, still, after months, you won't publicise your relationship. He's been trying his best to tell you: a job is just a job.

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

Spencer Reid- lunch- God, you are driving Spencer wild. He doesn't know what to do without you, even the slightest second away makes him want to flip. And he knows that he's being a pain, but he can't not stop bothering you.

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

Lip Gallagher- unadulterated loathing-Lip hates you, you hate him, but you have to tolerate one another for the sake of Ian, Lip's brother and your best friend. But Lip can't deny the fact that you're ridiculously hot, and it's only a matter of time before you act upon your enemies with benefits situation.

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

note: all of the Von Erich bots are based off of the iron claw movie, and not the real life boys!!

[frakts1ya]

BIG BAD WOLF FT. SHINONOME AKITO

☆author's note - happy halloween everyone! hope you enjoy this special fic, and thank you to everyone who sent a request for my halloween event!☆

Your poor grandma. You felt so bad blaming her, but in a way, this was all her fault.

It all started when she got sick with a deathly illness. You had to go in the forest and find herbs to make the remedy and cure her. It was the only way you could cure her, the only way she would be healthy again.

"I finally found it!" You exclaimed quietly to yourself in the deep forest. You had been wandering the forest for the stars know how long, and the herb your grandmother needed to heal was finally in your grasp. It was too easy.

Almost too easy.

The crunching sound of the forest floor foliage grew louder and louder as you felt someone, something approach you.

"W-Who's there?" You asked, turning behind you in a protective stance. But there was nobody. Was it just your imagination?

You turned back to go pick more herbs, only to be attacked by someone behind you.

Their muscular arms held you in a chokehold and you could feel them breathing down your neck. "You never asked for permission, did you?" The male voice asked.

You clawed at their forearm, trying to escape from the chokehold, but it was no use. "Why... why would I need permission?"

"Because," The man tightened his grip on you, "This is my forest. If you want something, you're gonna have to ask me." He let you fall to the floor with a thump, allowing you to get a closer look at his features.

Olive green eyes, orange hair with a yellow streak, fangs, a fluffy tail, and orange ears that perked out of his hair. A wolf hybrid.

"H-Hey, I don't know who you ae, but please," You hoped the man couldn't hear the slight quiver in your voice, "My grandmother is dying. I need these herbs."

The wolf hybrid crouched down, face millimeters away from yours. "Your grandma isn't my problem, isn't she? Here little red, let's have a bet. If you can hide from me for five minutes, I'll let you keep the herbs. If you can't? Well, haha, that's for you to find out. Ready?"

You gulped and meekly nodded.

The wolf smirked. "You have ten seconds to run, got it? Ten..." You immediately dashed off the opposite direction.

"Nine... eight... seven..."

Your heart was thumping in your chest. Where did you come from? You hesitated, trying to find an exit.

"Six... five..."

You bolted through all of the big trees that still felt familiar.

"Four... three... two..."

You were at the same place you started. You were running in circles. You dropped to the floor in disbelief, grabbing at your chest.

"One."

He was fast. He bared his teeth, showing off his fangs. A way of intimidation? "You're too slow, little red."

You couldn't stop the tears that began to fall down your cheeks, wiping it and blowing your nose with your hood that you had discarded.

"Shh, don't cry, baby," The wolf hybrid, still unnamed, brought you in his embrace, "I have another way for you to get these herbs, will you listen to me? Will you listen to wolfie?" It could be because he was whispering so closely to your ear or because his tone was so condescending, but you felt a shiver down your spine.

"What is it..?" You sniffled. At this point, you were desperate. Your grandma meant the world to you, you needed her to live.

"Be mine." He bit your earlobe and the tears started back up again. "What did I tell you? No crying." He wiped a tear from your cheek.

"I don't even know who you are.." You tried pushing him away, but it did nothing. Nothing you did worked.

"My name is Akito. Akito Shinonome," His tone was softer, maybe he was realizing that he needed a different approach to win you over. "You're going to be coming with me, okay?"

You backed up a little, trying to keep your distance from Akito. "I agreed to be yours, at least let me go give this to my grandma."

Akito only walked forward, not letting the space between you and him grow wider. You couldn't back up anymore: he had you backed up against a giant evergreen tree. "I'll make one of my minions do it. You're staying with me, y/n."

Your eyes widened in shock. "What? I can't! I have a family, I have friends who'd miss me!" You cried.

"Gosh, you complain way too fuckin' much, don't you?" Before you could come up with a snarky remark, Akito's lips were on yours. You gasped, only allowing him to go further and push his tongue in the warm crevice of your mouth.

"You taste so good, little red, I could just eat you up~." Akito murmured once he pulled away from your swollen lips, a string of saliva connecting you.

Your stomach dropped, "I-"

Your bottom lip was between Akito's lips, and you could taste the familiar metallic taste of blood. "Dont say anything else, little red. You're stuck with the big bad wolf."

[preciouslandmermaid]

of songbirds, swords, and spice (4)

pairing: Opla!Zoro x Opla!Sanji x Fem! Reader (no use of Y/N or L/N)

tw/cw: violence, blood, spider-creatures, see master post for complete tags

🏴‍☠️ read on AO3 🏴‍☠️

(masterpost)

<- (previous chapter)

Zoro stretched his legs out and folded his hands behind his head. Finally, some peace and quiet. Or however much quiet he could get on the Going Merry anyway. He shut his eyes, preparing to get a few hours of sleep before they arrived in Raven’s Crag.

“Mrrow!” Four paws landed on his thigh.

“What the hell?”

The black cat?! Zoro picked the cat up by the scruff and it narrowed its large, yellow eyes at him. A stowaway.

“Aren’t these things bad luck?” He said to no one before moving the fluffy creature off his lap. The cat, who was undeterred and stupidly stubborn, jumped onto his lap again the second he closed his eyes. “Knock it off.”

Zoro scooped it up this time and carried it to the other end of the room, setting it down on a crate, before he returned to his napping spot. The cat swished its tail, watching him, but didn’t move from its new perch.

“Stay over there,” he said. The ocean waves crashed and lapped against the hull of the Going Merry in swelling, gentle surges. He found the sound of the ocean soothing. He could sleep anywhere, it’s true, but there was something about sleeping near water. The crash and surge, the pull and push, the saltwater tinge to the air, and rush of the wind snapping the sails. It created a natural lullaby.

He sighed, tilting his head back, and listening to the waves rather than the cacophony of voices above. Usually, he didn’t have trouble falling asleep, but your voice was new and unfamiliar. He wasn’t sure why the old lady requested that you come along. You were a performer—not a fighter. Just because you managed one battle without vomiting at the sight of a dismembered arm didn’t make you a warrior. Zoro’s eyebrow twitched. What’s her deal anyway? He rolled his shoulders, struggling to get comfortable.

A soft paw batted the side of his head near his earlobe. What the--! The cat’s paw remained aloft – ready to smack his earring again.

Zoro narrowed his eyes. “You again?”

The cat lowered its paw and yawned, showcasing its large canine teeth and angling its ears back. Zoro wasn’t intimidated if that’s what the creature was trying to do. He had a sword. That was more impressive than two big teeth and some claws.

“What do they call you?” He lifted the charm on the cat’s collar. “Mimi?”

The cat gave no indication that it recognized its name.

“You really are bad luck,” he grumbled, “I never have trouble sleeping.” He got to his feet and stretched his arms over his head. “Stay,” he told the cat before ascending the steps to the main deck.

The sunlight refracted across the rolling blue waves and Zoro lifted his arm to block the harsh light.

“Can you sing a sea shanty?” Luffy asked you.

“Can you write a song about me?” Usopp asked, looking hopeful. Zoro rolled his eyes...These kids.

Sanji said, “What about a love ballad?”

You crossed your arms and pressed your lips into a line. This silence didn’t deter them. The trio of Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp requested different songs simultaneously. 

“Would you guys cut it out!” Nami yelled over them, “She already said she doesn’t want to!”

Zoro rested his wrist on Wado Ichimonji and decided he might as well ask the question that’s been eating at him since the night you met.

“Why do the waiters at your grandmother’s bar wear earplugs?” he asked.

Everyone fell silent. Their attention left Zoro and moved toward you, expecting and awaiting your answer. You narrowed your eyes slightly at him. The sails overhead ballooned with a fresh gust of wind and the ropes swung in the breeze casting shadows like long, wiggling snakes on the main deck.

You said, “You noticed that, huh?”

“It was hard to miss.” Zoro deadpanned.

Your smile tugged at your mouth. “And yet I recall having your complete attention.”

Zoro stepped forward. “That’s what I’m still trying to figure out,” he said, “so what’s your deal?”

You shrugged, graceful and casual, like you two were discussing sword forms and not the mystery of your grandmother’s bar.

“The bar gets rowdy,” you replied.

“That’s what I said,” Luffy said, his tone was bright.

The bar gets rowdy? Yeah, right. Zoro stared down at you. The sunlight burned radiance across the planes and slopes of your face. She’s lying. You had to be. Your explanation was lukewarm and it didn’t account for the strange, solitary sensations that consumed him during your performance. Your performance and the earplugs had to be related somehow. He just couldn’t figure out how.

Usopp glanced between you and Zoro.

“Come on, guys,” Usopp said, “let’s stay focused. We’re finding a mysterious lost treasure for someone.”

“I’ll make lunch,” Sanji suggested, before saying your name and adding, “I’d love your help in the kitchen.”

“No thanks. I’m gonna stretch my legs,” you announced and offered Usopp and Sanji a smile. “I’ve gotta get used to being out on the sea again.”

Zoro watched you walk to the other end of the ship. She’s not getting off that easily. He waited about three seconds before following after you.

“Hey,” he began, narrowing his eyes at your back. You sighed, leaning against the railing, but didn’t turn around to face him. “If you double cross our crew…”

You looked over your shoulder. “You’re gonna slice me in half?”

Zoro scoffed. “I was thinking in quarters.”

You turned to face him, though your elbows remained on the railing, your pose was relaxed and wholly nonthreatening. Zoro’s pulse throbbed in his neck.

“You have nothing to worry about, Roronoa Zoro.” The salty air played with the collar of your shirt and Zoro looked away, clenching his jaw. “This crew saved the golden cupid...and if we manage to find Pandora’s puzzle box...then there will always be a warm meal and a cold drink for you at Estella’s.”

He glanced at you from the corner of his eye. Maybe he was being paranoid after their run-in with the Black Cat pirates or their altercation with Arlo’s gang after Nami’s abrupt betrayal. He didn’t want to get double-crossed, although he couldn’t see the benefit of you – or the old hag – trying to betray them.

“Fine,” he said flatly.

Maybe now I can get some shut-eye…The thought reminded him of the cat, Mimi, stalking around in his room.

“By the way,” he said, “that cat is onboard.”

You laughed. “Oh, of course she is.” You shook your head, “I’ll let Sanji know. Maybe he can make her some tuna.”

“Feeding your cat isn’t part of this deal,” he grumbled, annoyed. First, the cat took over his nap spot and ruined his afternoon and now she’d eat some of their supplies? What sort of bullshit was this?

“One,” you said holding up a finger, “she’s Estella’s cat. Two.” You held up a second finger. “It’s not really up to you, is it? I think I’ll take it up with the chef and see what he says.”

Zoro didn’t have a good argument against you, so he settled on rolling his eyes and returning to his bunk to get some well-deserved rest before the Merry reached Raven’s Crag.

The dingy swayed as it pushed through the shallow waves and your stomach followed the roiling, uncertain motions of the waters below. Something didn’t feel right. You would normally chalk it up to your baseline paranoia around strangers—but...your unease went deeper. Maybe all the stories about Raven’s Crag were getting to you. Everyone on the island said Raven’s Crag was dangerous, some even went so far as to call it cursed. ‘That’s why no one lives there’, they’d say before ordering another drink from the bar. What if something happened to Estella back home? Was paranoia or intuition that twisted your stomach into sailor’s knots? You shook your head and tried to clear your mind. One thing at a time...

“There’s nothing to be nervous about,” Sanji said, sitting beside you and looking pointedly at your bouncing knee. “We’ll find it.”

“If it exists,” you said.

“Madame Estella seemed certain it was here,” he said.

“Yes.” You sighed. “Yes, I know.”

Estella left a rather important detail from her story when she told the Straw Hats about Pandora’s treasure. Over the past five years, it had been you who helped her to find and collect the other boxes. The jade box had been the first and the easiest. You used your devil fruit powers, beguiling the previous owner, and tricking him into giving it to Estella. The onyx box, however, was kept on a marine base within the evidence room under lock and key. You and Estella spent nine months on that island, working your way into the upper echelon of society until General Samuel Bellamy invited several wealthy citizens for brunch. You and Estella had barely made it out after accidentally triggering the alarm when removing Pandora’s box. The last box in her collection, the one made of lapis lazuli, had been underwater in a shipwreck.

Truly, it was a miracle that Estella knew about any of their locations, but that one was especially surprising. You were useless since the ocean sapped all of your strength, but Estella had smiled at you before diving into the waters. Your hands curled into fists on your lap. The current had been strong that day...a storm was on the horizon and the ocean was restless, hungry.

Sanji muttered your name. His gaze burned into your cheek.

“We made it,” Nami announced, shaking you from your reverie.

The tepid saltwater and sand rushed into your shoes and clung to your shins as you leaped from the dingy and helped push the boat onto the shore as best as you could. The palm trees rustled loudly overhead. Your foot snagged against the dry, powdery white sand.

“What’s—” Zoro began one hand on his sword hilt.

“Wait,” you said, snapping your attention from the boat’s edge in your hands and toward the beautiful blue sky. “That’s not—”

Your words were cut off as a hundred screeching calls filled the air and their enormous black wings flapped, upset the palm leaves, and stirred the dry brush at the beachhead. Roughly a dozen, giant ravens descended upon the crew, their beaks open wide to reveal rows of tiny teeth, and their eyes glossy and bright and murderous.

You reached for your kusarigama—a sickle attached to a metal chain with an iron weight at the end — attached to your hip. You hadn’t used the weapon since settling on Nightingale, but you practiced the motions and your continued diligence paid off as you slid into a stance and spun the end of the chain.

A raven opened its’ beak and lunged for Nami, and you launched the weighted end toward the raven. The chain spun around the raven’s beak, closing it, and you tugged—the metal biting into the flesh of your fingers—forcing the beast to bow its head. Nami’s staff cracked the side of the bird’s head and you tugged the chain free, pulling up the slack, after the creature dropped. You could hardly keep track of everyone’s movements through the chaos of undulating black wings and sharp, curved black beaks and curled talons.

Zoro’s sword flashed beneath the sunlight, blood, and dark feathers followed.

Your body ached, familiar with the movements ingrained into the grooves of your muscles, but unfamiliar with fighting things that fought back (your usual enemies were coconut trees and bamboo). You jumped backward through the powdery sand, avoiding a strike of dangerous talons, and you crashed into the hard and warm muscled plane of Zoro’s back.

“Watch where you’re going,” he growled before pivoting on his heel and using his sword to deflect the beak strike coming toward you.

“I was.”

“Didn’t look like it.”

“How” – your fingers tightened around the kusarigama’s grip– “do you manage to fight with that sword shoved so far up your—”

Luffy yelled, “Gum Gum Punch!” His fist launched through the air and landed squarely into the raven’s rib cage sending the bird sprawling into the sand.

“I had it!” You and Zoro shouted simultaneously at Luffy.

“Sorry,” Luffy said, smiling before he turned his attention to a different raven. “Hey, Sanji!” The captain called out to him, “Do you think we could eat these?”

“You’re seriously thinking about food at a time like this?” Nami asked.

You shook your head and were unable to ignore the smile tugging at your lips. This crew is so fucking weird, you thought with a foreign flutter of affection. You brought another raven to eye-level by trapping its beak with your chain and Sanji roundhouse kicked it, knocking your chain free, where it seemed to float in the air for a second before you yanked it back toward you.

The final two ravens squawked, and took flight in a blur of sand and wings, leaving their fallen on the beach scattered among the crew. You wrapped the chain, secured your kusarigama at your hip, and flexed your sore, unpracticed fingers. You scanned the beach and pointed at an outcropping of gray rocks.

“That’s the crag,” you said. You looked at their sweaty faces and bit your lip. “Estella could be wrong,” you warned, “the box might not be there.” She had never been wrong before, but they didn’t need to know that.

“We won’t know until we get there,” said Luffy, walking toward the crag. You wiped the sweat from your face and sighed. There is no swaying Luffy from his destined path, is there? You almost admired his bullheaded tenacity. Almost.

Your hands pulsed, your blood throbbing, your knuckles scraped raw, and nails blunted from climbing up onto the crag. You pulled yourself up the final ledge, each breath laborious, and laid yourself flat against the hot stone. Your salivating mouth tasted metallic and unpleasant. Sanji squatted next to you, and his shadow spilled across your face and blocked the sun.

“Here,” he said, offering you a small flask.

“Water or booze?” you asked.

His lips quirked. “Water.”

“Shame.”

You took a small sip of the water before holding it out to him.

Sanji lifted his hand. “Keep it.”

You raised an eyebrow and bit your tongue to stop yourself from questioning or quipping at him. You were starting to understand that Sanji enjoyed providing for others. He cooked because he believed no one should go hungry, but he also had a true and burning passion for it. He gave you water because you needed it. There was no ulterior motive. No secret to unravel. He was just providing for you as he would provide for anyone on the crew. Not that I’m part of this crew, but the sentiment still counts.

“Thanks,” you finally said, standing.

Luffy stood before the great, black maw of a cave’s entrance with his hands on his hips.

“This is the place, right?” he asked, looking over his shoulder toward you.

“I think so,” you said. In your experience, Pandora’s treasure box locations increased in difficulty over time: a marine base, a shipwreck, and now deep within a cavernous network. You looked at this crew of oddballs, at the scuffs, bruises, and blood they spilled fighting the ravens and climbing the cliffside. I can do it alone. The warm breeze kissed your skin and the bright blue ocean crested with tiny, white waves along the shore below. I’m the one who Estella trusts. They got me here, but they don’t need to see this through.

“We’ve made it this far together, but you can turn back now,” you said, “I don’t want anyone dying for this.”

Luffy frowned. “Only you?”

Your heart dropped. His stark, honest words had momentarily stunned you.

“What?” you breathed.

“Don’t be stupid,” Zoro muttered, “we just fought a bunch of demon birds. There’s no way we’re turning back now.”

“I think she’s got a point,” Usopp said, “one of us should really be waiting on the ship. I volunteer.”

“It’s dangerous,” Luffy continued as if the others hadn’t spoken, “so you’d rather go in there alone and die alone?”

“It’s a wild goose chase, Luffy.” You crossed your arms.

“It’s her dream!” he said, “don’t you have a dream you want to accomplish?”

“My dream is impossible.” You bristled. Your dream wasn’t a treasure hunt, nor was it to become the best of something or the queen of the pirates. Your dream was a fantasy you repeated to keep your nightmares quiet. Your dream would never see fruition. It just couldn’t.

“There’s no such thing,” Luffy said while approaching you. His hand lifted, palm dropping toward your shoulder, and you moved out of the way at the last second. Luffy stumbled at the sudden lack of counter-balance and you grimaced.

You said, “I don’t like being touched.”

Sanji tilted his head to the side.

“Oh, sorry.” Luffy’s tone was earnest. “Whatever your dream is, I think you should go after it.”

You squinted at him rather than answer his statement.

You said, “You’re coming, aren’t you?”

“Yup.” Luffy nodded.

“Me and Nami will guard the entrance in case any more of those birds come back,” Usopp held his slingshot aloft. “We’ll shout if anything happens.”

“Shout loud,” Zoro said as he passed Usopp and entered the cave.

The cave’s cool air was a blessing against your sweaty, sticky skin. You led the crew, even though you didn’t have a map or idea of where the box might be. Estella said ‘Trusting one’s self is the greatest gift’ and you didn’t know if that applied to treasure-hunting, but you decided there was no time like the present to try.

“These caves are odd,” Sanji said, gesturing to the glowing greenish crystals that were embedded into the dark rocks above. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It’s something with the moon,” you said, watching your shadows play against the stone and crystal walls. “The full moon helps charge them...or so Estella says. She has a book about the caves on Nightingale Island.”

Zoro dug his fingers around one of the lower crystals, yanked it free and it continued to glow in his large hand. He swept his arm across the cavern floor, shining more light on the bits of rubble and dirt, but no treasure box lay waiting for you. His hair brightened beneath the crystals and gave it an almost illusory neon effect.

The cavern curved left, but remained a single, narrow pathway, without any divergences. As odd as that was, since caverns like these usually spilled like a network of threads, you were grateful. You didn’t want to add ‘getting lost in the crystal caves’ to your list of travesties.

“Where’d you learn to fight?” Luffy asked.

“Here and there,” you replied, “Estella needs me to protect her.”

“Did she teach you how to use that chain thing?” He mimed spinning it over his head, as you had done at one point during the battle like the chain was a lasso rope.

You laughed lightly.

“No,” you said, “we spent about nine months on this one island, seeking Pandora’s onyx box, and during that time I trained with a woman named Camilla.”

Luffy’s eyes lit up, emboldened by the viridescent glow of the crystals, and he said, “Cool!” His voice echoed strangely and you stopped suddenly.

“We’re close to something,” you said.

“How do you know?” asked Sanji.

“Our voices sound different here,” Zoro said, sounding bored.

“I wasn’t asking you,” Sanji said, rolling his eyes.

You peered through the muddled darkness tinted by a glowing light. Your heart skipped. Could Estella be right? Was the final box of Pandora’s treasure here? You quickened your pace and followed the path with one hand on your weapon. The crystals sparkled above and mirrored your reflections on their glossy, green surface.

The pathway opened into a cistern with tall glistening edges of slick cave walls, dripping and glowing crystal stalagmites, and shocks of white, thick spider webs running through gaps. Does something live here? You scanned the space.

“Holy shit,” you gasped. At the center of the room was a natural conglomeration of crystals and a bone-white puzzle box nestled at the center, glimmering like a beacon beneath the luminescent light.

You ran forward, kicking aside a bleached-white bone where it went clack-clack-clack into some rocks, and jostled loose golden berry lying around on the ground.

Something grumbled beneath you. No. That wasn’t right. The solid ground gave way, crumbling like a sandcastle devoured by the incoming tide, and your arms windmilled—your scream caught in your throat. The rocks beneath your feet fell to a nest of large, white ropes, and your body tensed—awaiting the inevitable crash and broken bones.

Luffy grabbed your wrist. He pitched into you, the ground unstable, and this time—your scream released—and gravity twisted your body so your spine was to the painful ground below.

“Luffy!” Zoro shouted.

Luffy stretched like saltwater taffy, he clung to your wrists, and both of you dangled above death trap of sharp rocks and rubble. Above, at the very ledge, Zoro’s muscles bulged as he held onto Luffy’s ankles. How is he holding both of us?!

“Climb up,” Luffy said, “climb over me like I’m a rope.” He smiled like this was an ordinary occurrence and you both weren’t a few hundred feet away from certain death.

“I’ll drop,” you said, “I’m closer to the ground. I’ll survive it.”

You glanced at your feet swinging through the empty, dark air. You actually couldn’t tell how close the ground was. The strange, white ropes glowed eerily beneath the muted crystal light, and pockets of it were disturbed and quivering from the fallen rocks. Is that--? Your brow furrowed.

“I can pull you both up,” Zoro announced, his face pinched tight with effort. “Just – just hold on.”

“I already am.” Luffy tightened his grip around your wrists and a wave of nausea coursed through you. Your skin prickled with a clammy, uncomfortable sensation. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, you reminded yourself, using every ounce of self-control not to vomit.

Zoro pulled, grunting as he did, and Luffy’s legs disappeared over the ledge.

Although you couldn’t see Zoro, you heard him shout; “I don’t need your help, stupid cook!”

“I’m not trusting an idiot swordsman with her life,” Sanji yelled, “or with Luffy’s.”

You clenched your eyes shut, squeezing Luffy’s thin wrists, feeling his rapid pulse beneath your fingertips as your heartbeat rushed in your ears and your mouth filled with saliva.

Luffy said your name and your eyes re-opened, “I’m not going to drop you,” he said softly.

He said these words like a stalwart, unwavering promise. He said them in the same way he said ‘I’m going to be king of the pirates’ and despite your past, your ingrained paranoia, and your reasons to distrust him—you believed him, and something sharp prickled behind your eyes.

Luffy’s midsection was yanked over the ledge and Zoro finished pulling the both of you onto the overhanging ledge. As you brushed the cave dirt from your legs, Sanji hunched his shoulders and met your gaze.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Fine.” You looked toward the chasm that separated Pandora’s box from you. You hadn’t brought rope or grappling hooks and you were ill-prepared to vault or climb onto the other side. “How are we going to get over there?”

Zoro pointed and said, “Hug the wall and maneuver around the chasm.”

Your mouth opened to tell him about the risk, but a sudden scuttling noise drew everyone’s attention to the ceiling.

“My web caught a tasty treat,” it said before lowering itself, a web attached to the crystals hung from its spinnerets. The creature was a human from the waist up, her breasts pale and nippleless, and her straight, long, black hair framed her pale face and six, red slit eyes.

Sanji blanched.

“This is your cavern?” You said. You knew grabbing the box wouldn’t be easy, but a giant spider-woman was extreme.

“My cavern,” she said, tilting her head, “and my food.” She clicked the mandibles on the sides of her jaw.

“Luffy, can you reach the box?” You unclasped your kusarigama and extended the chain between your hands.

Luffy cracked his knuckles. “I want to fight this thing.”

“I’ll get the box,” Sanji said, “I don’t fight women.”

He inched closer to the walls which had narrow ledges to precariously climb across. Your heart fell into your shoes. Sanji...You recalled the smiling, overjoyed faces of the children from the orphanage after Sanji made them breakfast, his fond and thoughtful expression when he talked about Zeff, his kindness in the kitchen, and his concerned gaze when Zoro pulled you and Luffy from the ledge. You couldn’t let him risk his life for Estella’s dream. You couldn’t. He’s going to fall if he tries to get it.

Zoro scoffed. “She’s not a woman.”

“I am Arachne,” the creature said.

“Sanji, wait—” you said.

The Arachne swung from her webbing towards the group. A warm, large muscled body collided with yours, sending you sideways into rubble and rock. Your skin smarted and burned where it hit the stones and jagged crystals. You blinked, stunned, as your mind lagged to piece together the details.

Zoro rolled off of you, blade drawn, and jumped to his feet. He saved me? You understood his earlier rescue because Luffy had been involved. He wouldn’t let his captain die—he was protective of him, cared about him even. But saving you didn’t add up. It didn’t make sense. Pirates weren’t loyal to people who weren’t their crew. You shook your head. Roronoa Zoro had saved your life twice. You adjusted your grip on the hilt of your kusarigama.

Time to repay the favor, you thought before charging the Arachne. You slid on your knees, ignoring the pain as the tiny rocks dug into your skin, and ducked beneath the creature’s large, hairy legs. Your chain whipped out, wrapping one leg at the joint before you rolled out from beneath her and jerked the chain over your shoulder for leverage.

The Arachne screeched in indignation, wobbling, although she remained steady on her other legs.

“Hold it steady,” Zoro shouted as his sword flashed in a quick, upward arc as he ran beneath the tied-up leg.

You stumbled forward as the leg was dismembered from its body and flung off in another direction.

The Arachne hissed, scrambling up the wall, and toward the ceiling. You spun your kusarigama, feeling safer with the weight in your hands, and the glowing steel beneath the crystalline fragments.

“Hey!” Luffy yelled, “where are you going?”

You spared a glance to Sanji. He was about halfway, his arms spread akimbo, his back to the wall and his feet crossing carefully over the ridge.

Luffy’s hands shot toward the Arachne and grabbed its rear legs, pulling her back, and the Arachne fired several sticky ropes of webbing at Luffy. He jumped, dodging the first splatter of webbing with impressive speed, and used his momentum to launch himself toward the Arachne.

Luffy landed on her back. They were halfway up the wall, closer to the ceiling than the floor, and your palms dampened as your adrenaline transmuted to fear. What if he falls? You weren’t sure if his Gum-Gum powers made him invincible to gravity and you didn’t want to find out.

You shouted, “Luffy, be careful!”

It’s part human, you worried your lip between your teeth, by that logic, my devil fruit powers should work on it. However, Sanji, Luffy, and Zoro weren’t safe. They didn’t have earplugs or headphones. You couldn’t risk using your voice on the Arachne and hurting them and you didn’t want to distract Sanji from his treacherous and focused climb to Pandora’s box.

Luffy wrestled with the creature, his legs were wrapped around the Arachne’s torso, and his fists moved too fast for your eyes to follow.

Zoro snapped your name and followed with, “Give me a boost.” His eyes were above, focused on Luffy, his green hair hidden by a black bandanna.

“You can’t reach him,” you said, interlacing your fingers, lowering yourself into a crouch, and bracing your back against the cavern’s wall.

Zoro said nothing and smirked. He ran toward you, planting his foot in your cupped hands, before launching himself up towards Arachne and Luffy. His boot scuffed against the wall and he grabbed the hanging webbing that swung from the Arachne. The creature slid downward but remained on the vertical wall. Her balance was affected by Luffy’s attacks and the weight of Zoro on her ‘tail’.

His muscles strained as he climbed the web, shedding pieces of webbing that fell like strange, spindly fluffs of white.

Sanji called your name and you looked. He held the box above his head, victorious and smiling, and your heart swelled. All this trouble for such a small thing, you thought.

“That’s mine!” The Arachne hissed, her face gushed blood, and half of her eyes were swollen shut from Luffy’s onslaught.

She reared back, bucking Luffy from her, and scuttled downward carrying Zoro with her. Luffy landed as a heap of limbs next to you, but his head popped back up, a little dazed but otherwise okay.

The Arachne’s intention was clear. She meant to attack Sanji—to punish him for stealing. Well, you weren’t going to let that happen. You planted your feet, your eyes narrowed and focused on the angles, the speed of her long, spider-legs, and the shape of her long, pale neck.

Kusarigama flew from your hand, its’ sickle-side cut through the air, and the cold chain unraveled through your fingers. The sickle zipped past her head and you tugged the chain, quick and forced, and the blade reversed direction and its’ curved edge sliced clean through her neck. A second passed. The Arachne’s head seemed to float through the air as it was rendered from her body with an arching spray of crimson that appeared black in the verdant pale light of the cave.

Her head hit the ground with a soft and rolling ‘thump’.

“That went well,” you said, breaking the silence, and a hysteric smile threatened to take hold of your lips. None of the children are going to believe this.

“Do you think anyone will believe that we fought a giant spider-lady?” asked Luffy.

Sanji said, “It’s no less believable than defeating Arlong’s crew.”

Your eyebrows raised. “You beat Arlong?” You thought Usopp had been lying when he shared that story.

Zoro sheathed his sword. “It was easy.”

“We make a pretty good team, don’t we?” Luffy said before smiling, though you assumed the question was rhetorical and didn’t answer him. You nudged the Arachne’s head with your foot and it rolled off the ledge and into the darkness below. It was eerie how easily you slipped into this crew’s dynamic. You didn’t fit in with them—you didn’t, but you could. And that was the scary part. However, you wouldn’t entertain ideas or dreams of leaving Nightingale Island. Your place was next to Estella and your future and fate were tied to hers.

You owed her after everything she did for you, after everything you’ve gone through together. No matter how easy it was to fight alongside the Straw Hats—you had your place in this world and it wasn’t with these pirates.

(author's note:

I'm sorry this took a while to post. I hope the length makes up for it <3 also happy belated birthday to Sanji !! xoxo )

[scadoodledraws]

Grown up Spot siblings!! These three are the siblings of my OC Spotfur that you can find on my page and on my YouTube channel. This is a “what-if” since all three died as kits being drowned by their mother. So now I’m going to nerd out slightly about design choices!

Applekit- (the red spotted she-cat) grown up she would have taken on the role of medicine cat within her clan due to her interest of it as a kit and general caring nature. Like all her siblings she’s a light spirited and sarcastic cat but the least out of the siblings. She likes to poke light fun at her returning patients for little scuffs like broken claws and scratches to lighten the mood of the medicine den, but never goes too overboard. She resembles her grandmother Heathercloud a lot pattern and coloration wise, and if she lived would have most likely grown up close to her much like Spotfur did. I really like the coloration of belted Galloway cows ever since I read this book as a kid about them and since then they always seem to worm their way into my designs now so you’ll notice how that’s worked in to Applekits design. I think she’d stay the fluffiest out of all her siblings and she would most likely take pride in keeping her fur soft to comfort her patients and kits she looks after. If she lived she would have prioritized community and hospitality both in clan and out, even if accidentally neglecting the clan codes or her starclan duties, most likely letting that role depend on whichever of her siblings would have received the “gift” of speaking with starclan. I think her medicine cat name would have been something like Appleswift, Applecurl, or Applebreeze

Thriftkit- (tan Tom cat) unlike the rest of his siblings Thriftkit has a very lion like look to him, coming from the genes of a past relative he holds himself most elegant. This is mainly due to the confidence that came easy to him since he resembles his father nearly identically aside from build. His father’s reputation as the last gift holder before Thriftkit and his siblings meant he had strong support, and therefore a good group of warriors to rely on. If he lived, Thriftkit would have made a strong windclan warrior, loving the feeling of the wind through his fur on patrols and battling out to protect his clan mates. Surely ending up in his sisters medicine den a few to many times. He too would keep that family sarcasm most likely using it when a hunt went wrong or something within his siblings happened. He surely, as a returning patient to Applekit, trade gibes with her constantly. He would be deputy material but I don’t think he’d ever receive the title, instead just living out his life as a well respected warrior. In charge of leading hunting and territory patrols as well as helping out with planning battles. If he received a warrior name I think it would be Thriftheart, Thriftstrike, or Thriftleap

Rabbitkit- (cream with dark spots Tom cat) finally Rabbitkit. If Rabbitkit lived his life would have been slightly harder than his siblings, born the runt of the litter he didn’t get quite as big as his siblings and would have most likely stayed thin and a bit ragged furred. Luckily for him, lithe is the windclan brand and his mother and siblings size and fur length are a bit of an outlier within the clan. If Rabbitkit lived he would have become a tunneler, he feels safe in the quiet caverns of the tunnel system and most likely would have liked to explore all avenues and passages that could lead to the borders of the other clans and windclan territories. In a perfect world, he and his sister Spotfur might have snuck off to cool off in the tunnels and hang out with one another. Spotfur escaping the voices of the “gift” and Rabbitkit enjoying time with his fellow company-averse sibling. Both enjoy the quiet that their other two siblings don’t quite as much. Rabbitkit however would have made a great clanmate and would have cared for windclan deeply, most likely very patriotic at gatherings stirring the pot only slightly. Rabbitkit would have with out a doubt grown to be the most sarcastic and humorous of his siblings (think old longtail and jayfeather) and would love nothing more than the tease warrior apprentices if they try to make fun of tunnelers. A vibrant character who peak as an elder most definitely. Then of which I’m certain he’d spend nearly all his time entertaining kits and making up fake stories about giant rats that lived in the tunnels and that’s “exactly how I got the scar on my stomach!”(it was in fact not, and was from an old battle that ended up with him at the wrong end of a Shadowclan warrior). If he received a warrior name I think it would be Rabbitgaze, Rabbitflight, or Rabbitnose

And, most notably, I think if the three siblings lived it would have made Spotfurs life much easier. She would have stayed most likely content with her life as a windclan warrior and have the support of her siblings to help her through her attacks of possession with starclan. She could have relied on them to help her when their mother got power hungry and she would have had cats to turn to to build relationships with. Instead, she grew up alone with a clan that isolated her in idolization. Where her mother only really saw her as a tool for control, and she felt disconnected to the entire clan system.

[merakiui]

dayum that Red Riding Hood reply was so good Mera like fr got me hungry for wolf Jade and hunter Floyd yummyyy but what if the roles were opposite like Jade being the Hunter and Floyd the Big Bad Wolf? mmmm crumbs of malicious Furoido

BIG, BAD WOLF FLOYD………. 😵‍💫 malicious wolf who was perhaps moments from slaughtering your poor grandmother, but you managed to arrive just in time. Whacking him over the head with your basket or maybe you’ve even got a weapon and are ready to use it to drive this intruder off!! Floyd who immediately loses interest in eating your grandmother and sets his sights on you, the cute human who’s now triggered his prey drive after you’ve dared him to come and get you. Not a very smart move, Little Red. >:) no one can outrun a wolf, especially one that’s starving.

Floyd’s impressed you even managed to get as far as you did; you even managed to catch his cheek with your blade, if only because he got too close when he tackled you to the ground. But now you’re without your weapon, wrists pinned above your head, and even though you’re struggling beneath him, kicking out desperately, it doesn’t deter the wolf. >_< squeezing your eyes shut when he leans in, bracing yourself for the tear of his teeth as he rips into you with reckless abandon. Poor Little Red, shaking and whimpering in fear,,, you’ve even turned your head away, baring your neck for him. Did defeat turn you all mushy and hopeless already? That’s boring. :/

You feel his warm breath ghosting over your skin, prickling it with unease, but the teeth and the pain never come. Instead, that wicked grin of his shifts and, rather than chewing you out like a squeak toy, he presses a soft kiss to your neck. Your eyes flick open, dragging over his face to assess his intentions. You’d do anything to avoid death and escape, so if this wolf wants what you think he does…

Dub-con where you hope to satisfy the wolf (and maybe tire him out enough) so that you can escape. Filthy, sloppy sex on the forest floor, getting all tacky and gross in the grass. >:) maybe he’s even a little sweet, cradling your cheek in a big hand or moving your arms so that you can cling to him and mark his back up with scratches. <3 allowing him to drill into you until you’re sobbing from the pleasure, struggling with your words in between shivery breaths. This wolf who is so enamored with all of you… how soft you are when you’re laid mostly bare on your pretty, red cloak, how sweet you taste on his tongue, how fragile you are when he hits that spot deep inside you that has you crying and begging him to slow down or else he’ll break you.

You’re waiting for your moment to run, but is that ever going to come? You honestly can’t think he’s that stupid, right? Floyd sees through you and suddenly the missionary sex isn’t so soft anymore. Flipping you over so he can fuck into you doggy style, forcing you onto your hands as his brutal pace leaves you knock-kneed and scrabbling for purchase amongst the wildflowers and berry bushes. Dub-con shifts into non-con when you realize he isn’t going to give you that chance, not when his knot is insistently pressing against your pussy so forcefully. You beg him to stop because surely that will never fit, but you choke on the rest of that plea when it finally pops inside you and he muffles his grunt in your shoulder, his razored teeth having sunk into the soft flesh……. orz orz it’s the warm trail of blood trickling down your arm that keeps you grounded, and if it weren’t for his iron grip on your hips, claws digging into your skin and leaving marks, you’d have collapsed by now. Filled to the brim with cum, connected for far too long, and you think this might be worse than being eaten.

Once his knot has gone down and he slides out, he’ll carry you back to his den and keep you safe from that pesky hunter who likes to get in the way of his work. :D then you can live happily ever after together! You, Floyd, and a litter of pups!!!! >w<

Of course, not if hunter Jade has anything to say about it. :) he mounts all of his kills, viciously proud, and his aim is immaculate. Once he has you in his sights, you’re as good as dead. Only maybe this job is a little more complicated because who knew his brother was the one who knocked up the village sweetheart he’s been eyeing!!! The beast everyone wants him to bring down. Unfortunately, Floyd isn’t much of a monster. The real monster lies in wait in the middle of the village, inside a quaint cottage, always wearing that kind smile of his. :)

[pineappleciders]

sunny is an empty concert auditorium. sunny is the warmth of hot cocoa in a cabin. sunny is crayons that are too short to draw with yet too long to throw away. sunny is a green, open field that doesn't seem to end. sunny is a set dinner table that is empty. sunny is the warm light that reflects through the shades and onto the floor. sunny is drawing on a foggy window with your finger. sunny is the one blurry photo you take while taking pictures.

aubrey is a broken chain fence. aubrey is going to the zoo, and wanting to bring every animal home. aubrey is a bus ride at night back home, anticipating punishment from your parents. aubrey is eating popsicles by the side of the road with your best friend. aubrey is selling lemonade during the summer. aubrey is going barefoot into the muddy lake. aubrey is a dog let off-leash for the first time, running freely through fields. aubrey is a messy collage of newspapers and dry markers.

kel is drawing on the sidewalk using chalk with your friends. kel is the sandwich and carrots your mom makes you after school. kel is waiting for the school bus early in the morning in your raincoat. kel is fear; fear of yourself, of what you cannot control. kel is the last slice of pizza that one person insists the other has. kel is jumping in a pile of leaves with your dog. kel is falling and skinning your knee as a child, yet having nobody around to hear your cries.

hero is nostalgia. hero is eating fruit loops with your siblings on a sunday morning. hero is colorful ice cream and brownies for dessert. hero is stuffed animals in a claw machine. hero is the bottom of a tea cup after it's been emptied. hero is coming home after a long day to nobody. hero is the stray cat that brings you something every day. hero is the feeling of a dog's fur. hero is a painting the artist recreated, new and refreshed while the old version rots. hero is breakfast in bed from your children.

mari is a tire swing hanging from a beautiful oak tree. mari is the taste of your grandmother's baking. mari is confiding in someone you trust. mari is the flowers swaying by the riverbank. mari is asking someone to not take a photo of you, then later regretting it. mari is an old piano, one overgrown with plants and long abandoned. mari is the pictures of generations of your family hung in the hallways. mari is going out to eat after your big volleyball game.

basil is scraping your knee and insisting you don't need a band-aid. basil is polaroid photos strung up in a teenager's bedroom. basil is an old, dusty key which you're not sure what it unlocks. basil is a kid's journal with a lock on it that you forgot the password to. basil is spilling something in someone else's house and watching them clean it up for you. basil is jars of honey and jam in a cupboard. basil is dry, cracked knuckles.

[screamingatanemptyroom]

Please Fix the Story - Side Part - Liam

LAST SIDE PART! Liam's story. I really hope you guys enjoy! This has been a wild ride, and I can't wait to move on to whatever is next!

Masterpost linked here

_______________________________

“Every dragon has a treasure.”

Grandfather spoke seriously to me, his large silver form towering over my small one. I never felt fear or discomfort facing him, despite his enormous size, however, because his eyes were always filled with warmth and love.

“Like gold?” I asked, rolling on the ground to scratch the new scales on my back. “Or diamonds?”

“Treasure for a dragon is much more than a simple shiny object.” Grandfather watched my actions with a toothy grin. “It represents something much greater than that. A treasure can’t be owned by the dragon, quite the opposite in fact.”

He reached out a claw, flipping me over and patting the dirt and grass from the ridges on my back. I looked up at him, stunned by the seriousness in his gaze. “A dragon’s treasure is whatever owns his heart. It is a piece of their soul, the truest home a dragon can have is by his treasure’s side. If something happens to the treasure, it destroys the heart of the dragon… so we protect our treasures with our lives.”

“Wow! I want a treasure!” I tried to fly, but my immature wings could only lift me a few feet before I fell back down to the ground.

“Oh Little One, you will.” He assured me. “Every dragon does.”

“Wait... then what’s your treasure?”

His eyes grew very sad. “My treasure was your grandmother. I loved her more than life itself.”

“My grandmother? I shook my head, confused. “Where is she?”

“She passed, Child. She had to leave me first.” His eyes had tears in them. “Dragons are nearly immortal, but there are still far too many things that can end our journeys early.”

“I thought you said if something happens to your treasure…?”

“Her death destroyed me… I wanted to follow her.” He stared out at the sky. “But your parents had fallen in the same battle… and I couldn’t leave my Little One alone. You were just an egg then.” His eyes focused back on me. “I will always miss her, my heart will never be the same. However, she would want me to care for you, raise you well. You are our grandchild, a living proof of her existence, and I am fortunate to have the chance to be your family.”

I rushed over and hugged Grandpa’s leg. “It’s okay! Don’t be sad!  I love you!”

“I love you too!” He smiled again. “And one day, Little One, when you find your treasure, I hope that you both know nothing but peace and joy. “

“I’ll find my treasure! And then you can live with both of us!”

His large claw rested gently on my head. “I would love that.”

I went to sleep that night, dreaming of family and a bright future ahead.

The next day, I lost everything.  

_______________________________

I was playing in a field, chasing butterflies. I scampered after a bright blue one, capturing it gently between my claws.

“Pretty!” I admired its big blue wings. “I wish I could fly like you! Grandpa says I need to grow a few more years before my wings will be big enough.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “But I practice anyways! When I can fly I’ll go looking for my treasure! And then I will grow up big and strong and protect everyone, so no one has to be sad like my grandpa ever again!”

The butterfly flapped its wings nervously, and I opened my claws to release it. “Go home, butterfly! Bye bye!”

I watched as it flew away… directly into a blue portal that materialized in front of me. The poor creature was incinerated as I stared, horrified.

“What is going on…?” A glowing blue figure stepped out. It looked somewhat human, but not at the same time. I briefly wondered if it was like Grandpa, who could take a human form when he needed to be smaller. As I considered this, the being stepped closer, its eyes focused directly on me. Feeling uneasy, I backed away a few steps.

YOU ARE A DRAGON?

The words were spoken and at the same time wrote themselves in the sky above me. I knew how to read, Grandpa had taught me, but I had never heard of a being that could speak written words into existence.

“Y-yes! I’m a mighty dragon like my grandpa!” I puffed out my chest proudly, but after a moment my shoulders still shrank back in fear.

YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN.

“Chosen? For what?”

YOU WILL BE A MIGHTY HERO, TRAVELING TO MANY WORLDS, SAVING THE UNIVERSE. YOU WILL BE GIVEN UNIMAGINABLE POWER AND WEALTH. YOU WILL BE THE GREATEST DRAGON TO EVER EXIST.

“… cool.” I thought it over. “Can my grandpa come?”

NO. THIS WORLD WILL BE DESTROYED BY YOUR DEPARTURE.

“Oh… no thank you, then.” I started backing away. “I have to go home now.”

YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN. REFUSAL WILL NOT BE ALLOWED.

I turned away to run “GRANDPA!”

“CHILD! RUN!” I saw my grandfather, his large silver form flying desperately towards me. In his eyes I saw a look I had never seen before, no matter how many dangers we had faced since my hatching.

He looked scared.

“GRANDPA!”

YOU MUST ACCEPT YOUR FATE.

Power made of blue fire wrapped around me. My grandfather was close enough to breath his own fire towards the unknown being, but it disintegrated into nothingness as it neared it.

“LITTLE ONE! NO!”

A terrified cry. Tear-filled eyes. A look of anguish.

My last memory of my grandfather, before my home realm was destroyed.

And then I was truly alone.

_______________________________

I was taken to a new realm, a realm only for me. Nothing else could live there. Insects, plants, even moss and mold… they would appear briefly, live just long enough for me to dream that this time, things would be different, before withering away. Death was my constant companion in this realm. Each time a new living creature or plant would arrive, I would tell myself not to hope. Hope would only result in more pain. But still my young heart beat quickly with it each time I discovered something new.

But soon, loneliness would no longer be my greatest fear. The System began dragging me into lower realms, telling me to play my part.

I will never forget my first mission.

It was a high school world. My character was a bully, one that tormented the hero and heroine relentlessly. His father was a very wealthy and influential man, and this boy leveraged every once of that prestige to make others miserable.

When I arrived, I was scared, confused. I had never been a human before, much less in a place of only humans. Even as I tried to orient myself to my new surroundings, however, I was given a mission:

My mission was to die.  

In the story, character failed to separate the hero and his love. In this end his misdeeds were exposed on the internet, and the entire world turned against him. Even his father disowned him, cutting off financial support, which had been the only affection he had bothered to bestow upon the boy.

"EVIL! VILLAIN!"

He received thousands upon thousands of messages like this.

"WORTHLESS! DIE!"

Near the end of the story, the villain took his own life. My mission was to continue with the villain’s role as written, while the hero’s story would be changed to save the realm.

I refused.

My grandfather had always taught me to be kind to others, and to myself. I couldn’t bully the two leads, any more than I could harm myself because others wanted me to. I was still a dragon, at least at heart, and I would stay strong.

When I changed the ending, the world faded around me with a simple glowing message:

MISSION FAILED.

I was back in my dragon form in my prison realm, and standing in front of me was an angry young man.

“Are you happy?” He asked me, his eyes cold.

“I don’t understand. Who are you?”

“Obviously you don’t understand!” He pointed at himself. “I am the hero.” His finger turned towards me. “YOU are the villain. We each have our parts to play.”

“I don’t want to harm others, or myself.” I backed away, showing my teeth in a way grandpa had taught me to scare off bad guys like him. “Go away!”

His response was a vicious smile. “Do you know what happened to that world? That lower realm we had traveled to?”

I shook my head.

“Show him, System!” With a wave of his hand a portal opened up next to me. I tried to back away further, but paused at the sight inside:

My character refused to jump off the school roof, as the original ending dictated. As my character was surrounded in blue fire and slumped to the ground, the entire world began bending and warping. The world slowly began to cave in on itself, turning into nothingness.

It was a familiar sight to me, and as I watched, golden tears dripped from my eyes.

It was exactly like the destruction of my home world.

“You killed them.” I whispered, horrified.

“No. YOU killed them.” He leaned forward, and the madness in his eyes terrified me. “You didn’t play your part! The world became unstable and collapsed. Do you understand? All those children you met, all the teachers and parents… every single person you met in that realm… dead. All because of you.”

My small claws covered my head, trying to hide. “NO!”

“Oh yes, what a wonderful villain you turned out to be.” He laughed. “You bring nothing but pain and destruction to those around you, and you need to learn to follow the rules.”

“…”

“You must accept your fate, Villain.” He left with those parting words, which would haunt me each moment going forward

_______________________________

I changed shortly after that. Each time I was dragged into a lower realm, I would get my mission, and fulfill it as simply and quickly as possible. I avoided bullying or harming others, only possible as my mission was almost always regarding the ending for the villain. But the ending required was always terrible.

Death continued to be my constant companion, this time my own. Countless missions of death and destruction, until they all blurred into one another. I never knew if my obedience to the mission changed the fates of these realms or not as Adonis and the System would never tell me. I could only hope.

I matured into adulthood, but nothing changed in my suffering. I had almost forgotten who I was. I had no name but "Villain", I had no purpose but to be defeated so that others could thrive.

I did take some solace in that my current compliance did not make them happy. My race towards the ending of each realm irritated Adonis, which I learned was the name of the hero who would visit me occasionally in my realm.

“You are moving too fast! I don’t have any time to do my part in the realm as you race towards your own bad ending! If you can’t play along…” He trailed off with a threatening tone.

I looked at him without interest. His words meant nothing to me. “You cannot threaten me.” I told him, feeling numb.  “You have already destroyed everything I love. My family is gone. I am alone.”

And I was alone.

On the rare nights I wasn’t dragged into the lower realms to die, I would dream of my home. Of watching dragons fly freely in the sky. Of my grandfather and his loving smile, of his dream that I would find my treasure and live out my days in joy and peace. Each time i dreamt, the details would fade a bit more. I was losing my sense of self, of any purpose other than that which had been forced on me.

I was a dragon, my grandpa said that was something to be proud of.

But I slowly I turned into something else, something twisted. I was becoming the villain I had been named and nothing more.

If life had continued on that way, I don’t know what my ending would have been. A dragon is immortal, but there are still ways to cut their journeys short. Death of hope, destruction of the soul, is one of those ways. I was heading towards a point of no return.

And then I met Bel.

_______________________________

We first met in a lower realm, where I was an assassin, she the heroine. She was lost, confused, and acting totally out of character for the story, which shocked me. I hadn't known there was another traveler like Adonis. After we ran into each other, she spoke to me normally, even kindly, overwhelming me by even the brief interaction. When she asked my name, I responded “Villain” the only one I could remember.

She misheard and called me Liam.

I didn’t correct her, it was the best name I had ever been called.  We drank coffee and talked, and it was the happiest time I could remember since the destruction of my world.

But all good things must end, and there was a counter to finish this mission.  Our missions in this world were the same: the death of the assassin. Seeing her worried gaze on me, I realized this was the first time someone had showed me concern since my grandfather.

I didn’t want her to be sad.

I drank poison, pretending to drink her cup by mistake, and walked away.

Death was my constant companion, but I didn’t want her to see me die.

I saw her a few times after that, mostly in non-human or monstrous forms. She remained the same no matter my appearance, which made me start to wonder a very dangerous thought: would she still be so kind if she knew I was a dragon, a villain?

I buried that hope deep within my heart, not wanting to examine it too closely. But soon it would be difficult to ignore.

_______________________________

Adonis cast her into my realm. He was punishing her, trying to force her to agree with accepting the path and bonds of fate. He knew she would suffer in my realm, slowly having her life drained from her. He must have expected her to cave, to turn back to him in less than a day.

I too thought she would return to the Higher Realm. Initially I treated her coldly, not wanting to have any hope that she would be different than any other living animal or plant that appeared in this place. She would leave here, and it was best I wasn’t too attached.

But Adonis and I both underestimated the wonderful stubbornness of Bel.

She felt the draining effect of the realm, yes, but refused to give in, wanting to stay. I hovered over her, watching her increasingly pale form with increasing anxiety. I had to do something, but what could I, a prisoner and villain, possibly do?

When I got pulled into the lower realm once more, it was a horror story, a world of vampires. I adjusted to my new form, and instead of heading straight to my destruction as I typically did, I found Adonis instead.

“Are you enjoying the company, Villain?” He asked me with a sarcastic grin.

“I actually go by Liam now.” I responded blandly, my fear of him long ago corroded by time and countless deaths. “And yes, I’m happy for her presence.”

Adonis’ eyes filled with rage. “You are NOTHING to her. Nothing but a villain. And don’t get too comfortable, she will be leaving soon.”

“That’s up to her, isn’t it? She wasn’t too happy with you last time I checked.”

He swung his fist at my head in anger, but it was a useless move. I was a vampire in this world. Compared to me, his human form might as well be moving in slow motion. I dodged his arm easily, and knocked him to the ground.

“She doesn’t belong there!” He spat out.

"Why not?" I hoped he would say something to help me figure out how to help her.

Fortunately he obliged. “Her very nature is that of a heroine. Your realm will reject her, slowly destroy her. Just like your pathetic and evil nature keeps you alive and well in your little prison. You can’t change your nature, Villain. That evil place shares your energy, but will only drain hers until she dies.”

I felt relieved at the extra information, but also horrified at the same time. “You do remember that you were the one to put her in that realm, right? Were you trying to kill her?!”

Adonis smiled. “She just needed a little reminder of who she is, and what she needs to do.”

“And what is that?”

“She needs to accept her fate.”

At his words, I reached out, grabbing his neck and lifting him off the ground. My nails pierced the skin of his neck, his blood dripped down my hand onto the floor and I felt my fangs pierce my gums, preparing to feed. I held back though, not wanting to taste his blood. It smells terrible. I assume the energy within must be very contaminated by his self-absorbed soul and ruthless nature. I thought, my brain slowly making a connection.

Wait… if blood carries energy, and the essence of one’s nature… Then I might have a way to help Bel.

Even as I felt excited about this revelation, I felt a sharp pain in my back. I turned, just in time to see the heroine of the story holding a stake, stabbing it through to my heart.

Adonis laughed as my hand released him and I stumbled backwards, clutching at my chest. “See, monster? The heroine will only ever despise you and kill you if she can.”

“That’s not Bel.” I muttered, feeling my life fade from me. “That woman is a character from this world.”

“Bel IS the heroine, Villain, she will be the prototype from which all heroines will derive their fate. She can only be the heroine.  Just like you can only be a monster. She will never stay by your side." He stepped closer. "I’m just waiting for her to realize the truth of what you are and what she is. And then she’ll return to me. Return to where she belongs.”

The last thing I saw in this realm was his confident smile, and the heroine’s blank uncaring stare.

I died painfully in that realm, but it gave me an idea. I fed her my dragon blood, filled with the same energy as the realm that imprisoned us. It sustained her briefly, but I worried that it was only delaying the inevitable.

We spent the time together, getting to know each other better. She was kind, curious, outspoken. She found the humor in everything, and slowly I found myself joking alongside her. A deep certainty grew within me.

She was my treasure.

Just like my Grandpa said. Not an object, not something that could be owned. My heart belonged to her. I, who had lost any home since the destruction of my own world, had found it: by her side.

I took a chance, showed her my true self, my heart in my throat the entire time as her eyes studied my dragon form.

She smiled, and the love I felt was overwhelming. I was drowning in it. For the first time in a long time, I felt that I was something more than just a villain, a monster.

I was a dragon, and she was my treasure. I would protect her with my life, protect her happiness, no matter what.

_______________________________

But our story, at least the first time around, was not one with a happy ending, but a tragedy.

I proposed. Asked her to marry me in the mermaid realm. She agreed, and we had a wedding. She had made a deal with the sea witch to marry her true love, and at the moment we said “I do” her mission was complete.

We returned to my prison, to my realm.

And she was dying.

I felt my heart dying with her. A part of me wanted to force her to return to the Higher Realm, to be safe. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t ask her to buy her safety with her freedom. I could only allow her to make her own choice, and stay by her side. I remembered vaguely my grandfather telling me about my grandmother’s death. And I understood. I couldn’t resume my hopeless lonely existence I couldn’t continue without her.

I would stay with her, and I would die with her.

But the end I expected didn’t come. The System made a deal with her and I watched on, holding my breath, as she agreed. And as she disappeared, I panicked.

“LET ME FOLLOW HER!”

The System studied me, looking at me closely without emotion or curiosity. It was as if it was solving a mathematical equation that I was a part of.

SHE HAS MADE A DEAL, YOU CANNOT FOLLOW HER.

“I’ll make a deal too! Take anything you want, please just let me follow, let me protect her!”  My heart, my soul was tearing in two, she was so far from me, and she was in danger.

YOU HAVE NOTHING TO OFFER.

“You can have ME! You can have your perfect villain! I’ll play my role, I’ll never once step out of line or rush to the end! You can have the puppet you always wanted.”

... YOU WOULD SACRIFICE YOUR FREE WILL?

I didn't hesitate.

“For her? Anything.”

Words scrolled in front of me. The deal the System offered. I would be allowed no memories, but I could follow her to every world. I wasn’t worried about not remembering her. She was part of my soul, my treasure. I could no more harm her than I could rip my own heart from my chest. But the cost.

Oh, the cost.

It was a deal with the devil, but still I considered it. The System, sensing my hesitation, spoke again.

SHE HAS COMPLETED FIVE WORLDS ALREADY… BUT WITHOUT PURPOSE SHE IS IGNORING THE POWER AVAILABLE TO HER. HER WILL IS FALTERING. CALCULATED CHANCE OF SUCCESS IS LESS THAN ONE PERCENT.

“If I take this deal and help her? Does it improve her chances?”

UNKNOWN. SIX WORLDS.

I felt my soul tearing apart. The System was demanding I put not just my freedom and will on the line, but countless worlds that I had saved before. If I agreed, I would have no defense. I would be the monster, the villain that Adonis called me.

Not Bel’s Liam.

The System’s monster.

SHE IS STARTING THE ELEVENTH WORLD. AT CURRENT CALCULATIONS, SHE WILL GIVE UP IN THE TWELFTH. THE DEAL WILL BE SUCCESSFUL, AND ALTHOUGH YOUR OFFER TO HAVE A PERFECT VILLAIN WOULD GREATLY SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS... YOU CAN BE REPLACED. YOU ARE UNNECESSARY. THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO ACCEPT.

Bel needed me. I had a choice, and I willingly made it. And even if I damned my soul for eternity, I would burn happily for her safety.

I pressed “Yes”.

_______________________________

“Every dragon has a treasure.”

A young child sat in front of me in the park, his eyes wide with wonder. His dark hair resembled my own, but his eyes…

His eyes were just like his mother’s.

“Like pirate treasure?!” He asked excitedly, and I couldn’t help but laugh, remembering a long ago conversation with my grandfather.

“No, much better than that! A dragon’s treasure can’t be owned, because it is the treasure who owns the dragon’s heart. The truest home a dragon can have is by his treasure’s side. And so, we dragons protect our treasures with their lives.”

“Wow! Do YOU have a treasure, Dad?”

At his question, I looked over to the side, where Bel and our other three children were. They were sneaking up on a couple sitting on a park bench, a handsome man in a suit, speaking to a young woman wearing a loosely fitted dress.

“I'm sorry but I have to go." The man said dramatically.

"Where are you going?! And why?"

"I can’t tell you what’s going on, Penny!”

“Why not?!” The woman he called Penny cried. “Please, Charles, Don't leave! You don’t understand, I really need you here! What’s going on? Just talk to me!”

 “It’s for your own protection.” He paused. “Wait, why do you really need me here? Is something going on?”

Penny looked away. “Never mind.”

“STOP RIGHT THERE!”

PSST!

Our little girl, Hannah, raced forward with her sister Selina and her brother Adam, all wielding small spray bottles.

“Who are you…?” Charles tried to ask, only to be pushed down in his seat by the horde of children.

“You two have terrible communication skills!” Hannah put her hands on her hips, glaring at the male and female leads. “And at this rate you two are headed towards a bad end.”

“What?” Penny shook her head. “We communicate just fine!”

“If that is what you think good communication is, I hate to see what you think bad looks like!” Adam rolled his eyes. “Just because you both are technically speaking words in the same language does not mean you can communicate.”

“Yeah, what they said.” Selina, the quiet one of the three, finally spoke up.

“Listen you little…” Charles started to swear, but stopped, sputtering, when Selina sprayed him in the face.

PSST!

“Sorry, could you repeat that? I couldn’t hear you over the sound of the stupid coming out of your mouth.”

Charles tried to stand up, a hand raised threateningly, only to scream in pain as Bel put him into an arm lock and expressionlessly forced him back onto his bench.

“Hands to yourself, and listen to the children.”

“Why should I listen to these snot nosed brats?”

“Because even children have more common sense than you two. Also if you don’t listen I’ll just beat you both up until you agree.”

“YEAH! OUR MOM WILL BEAT YOU UP!” Hannah shouted.

“AND THEN OUR DAD WILL EAT YOU!” Adam added.

Hannah looked back at her brother, whispering. “Dad doesn’t eat people!”

He shrugged in response.  “They don’t know that.”

Selina stepped forward.

“First” She pointed at the hero. “Charles here is leaving to deal with assassin’s hired by his estranged father. They told him that if he doesn’t return home to take over the family business, they will have his love…” She pointed at Penny. “YOU… killed. He’s worried that if for some reason he doesn’t make it, that you would blame yourself. So he hopes to keep you in the dark, to protect you.”

“How did you know that?!” Charles burst out, and then looked chagrined as he realized he had confirmed her words.

“You really are trying to protect me? You’re not trying to trick or dump me?” Penny looked relieved.

“I’m sorry, Dear, I just was worried… I love you!”

“I love you too…”

PSST!

Selina sprayed Penny this time.

“What was that for?! We cleared the misunderstanding!” Penny wiped her face with hand, annoyed.

Hannah and Adam joined their sister.

“Oh really? You’ve talked about everything?”

“Not hiding any story-changing, unnecessary secrets?”

Penny paused, looking guilty. Charles panicked, holding her hand. “What is it? No matter what, we’ll face it together!”

“Like you were going to face your family?”

“… Sorry.”

“it’s okay. I’ve been hiding a secret too.” She glanced over at the three bright eyed children and their brandished water dispensers with a shudder. “...I’m pregnant.”

“…” Charles sat back, obviously shocked.

“I knew you wouldn’t be happy!” With a cry, Penny tried to run away.

PSST!

All three children sprayed her back down into her seat.

“Nice try, heroine, but avoiding difficult conversations and living in unnecessary misunderstandings isn’t gonna happen around us!” Hannah smiled, the expression strangely threatening for a child.

“Fine.” She timidly stared at the hero. “What are you thinking?”

Charles stood up, and wordlessly hugged Penny into his arms. “I love you!” He spun her around in a circle, and then panicked, setting her down gently. “I’m sorry! I picked you up while you’re pregnant! Is our baby okay?! Should I take you to the hospital?!”

Penny laughed. “Baby and I are fine.”

He hugged her again, this time very gently. “I won’t leave you. We’ll face everything: this pregnancy, our families… side by side.” He knelt down in front of her. “Marry me?”

“We’re already married?”

“That was an arranged marriage, let’s get married because WE want to!”

“YES!” The two hugged again, while the three children and Bel looked on approvingly, with polite applause.

“Not bad." Adam commented.

"Yeah, some good listening, some compromise…” Hannah added.

“They’re still both idiots.” Selina muttered under her breath, and then forced a smile. “I mean, good job!” She gave a halfhearted thumbs up, which the other two mimicked.

“Um… thanks.” The hero and heroine paused, staring confused at the three. “Who are you guys? And how do you know so much about us?”

The children took a fancy pose. “We’re the Hero Rehabilitation Unit! Although we’re missing our other brother who’s over there with our dad!” Hannah pointed at us. “He’s a big villain dragon and is awesome! Our Mom is an almighty inhuman existence that can travel to infinite worlds!”

“What…?

Bel pulled them away. “Just ignore us, and don’t keep secrets from each other from now on! Communication is the key to a healthy marriage!”

“Mom! You were supposed to pose with us!”

“I never agreed to that!”

I watched my wife argue with our children, once again feeling relieved again that she had taken this whole: having-four-children-at-once thing in stride. We hadn’t been sure what to expect, given our different natures. But four eggs all at once… was definitely still a shock.

After the hatching, we had moved back to the vampire world that we had been before. Selina the familiar was a godsend during those crazy first months. Watching her quip and sarcasm her way through four newborns, including her namesake, had been entertaining. Although her sense of humor definitely had rubbed off on the kids.

And now they have grown. However, being half-dragon, half-immortal System, they aged a bit slowly. At least they could all freely change between dragon and human forms since birth, unlike a full-blooded dragon like myself who could only change at adulthood.

Bel saw me staring, and gave me a smile. The love I saw in the expression made my heart beat faster. I loved my wife more every day. Although I HAD been worried at first, after the System and Adonis had been defeated. She and I both knew the deal I made, what I had done to follow her. I was terrified that she might leave me now that she knew everything. She could have shunned me, never saw me again, and I wouldn't have blamed her for it. Her response at the time, instead, had healed my fractured soul.

"When I look at you, Liam, I don't see a hero or a villain. You agreed to the System's deal, yes. You risked countless worlds, putting my safety in front of all of their lives. But if you hadn't, I would have failed, and the whole universe would still be heading for destruction. Some may judge us, some may agree with us. All I can say is, given the same choice as you... I would do the same."

I still felt guilty at times, but as I traveled the realms with my wife and children, saving worlds. I slowly made peace with the past. No one would be enslaved by fate again. We would save realms like my home world from destruction. Just like my grandfather wished, we lived out our days with joy and peace. I hoped our happiness would allow my grandfather's soul to rest.

I smiled back at Bel.

“Dad!” My son Kellen called my attention again. “You didn’t answer my question! Do you have a treasure?”

I smiled at him, and then nodded and pointed over at his mother, Bel.

My wife. My love. My heart. My home.

My treasure.

[obsessivelyloved]

Day 1: Monster

The prompt is from this list. Hope you guys enjoy!

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There were scratch marks on your porch this morning—big, deep ones. You called out of work. You called animal control. There was nothing they could do.

A set of large footprints circled your house. They wrapped around it over and over, as if something was pacing. They stopped, deep, in front of your bedroom window. There were claw marks on your windowsill.

You had slept with your curtains open.

“Sorry,” The man from animal control had apologized, wringing his hands. “More than likely, it was a curious bear smelling food from your house. It’s long gone into the woods. But if you hear anything at night, hide up in your attic and give us a call.”

You numbly nodded your head. “Will do, thanks for- thanks for your time.”

The man left and all you could do was stare down at your porch, at the large footprints, with fear stuck in your throat. It wasn’t a bear. Bears didn’t have such large claws or feet like a coyote. Or the kind of feet bunnies have, whatever it was.

You didn’t want to stay home but you had nowhere else to go. You had recently moved to this dreary part of England, a little away from the city. It was in your grandmother’s will for you to inherit the house; you couldn’t turn it down. It was completely paid off, all you had to pay was the normal stuff like electricity and water. But now, well, maybe you should have waited until you your friend's lease was up. You would have been dealing with this stress better with someone.

Trees lined the back side of the house, but your grandmother had never been worried about animals. She didn’t even have a backyard fence, not having too many neighbors out here.

“I should go see if the hardware store sells cameras,” you say to yourself.

With a shaky breath, heart still hammering inside your chest, you gather what you need and head out. Thankfully, there’s a couple of stores ten minutes away. They’re mostly the necessities, anything but the basics and a few variety items, you have to drive to the city for. It’s a tad annoying but it’s nice to be able to own a house. Something you thought was going to be impossible in this day and age to do.

You feel as if you're in a fog, entering the small parking lot. Watching through a camera as you enter the hardware store.

Fuck you were so scared that the thing was going to come back. What if it turned out to be the Rake? That thing had haunted you for years. Stuff like that has always scared you even though you know it’s not real. Or, hope it’s not real.

“Hi! Need any help today?”

The cashier snaps you out of the fog a little, but you’re still freaked out.

“Hi,” you say, your voice cracking a little. “Do you guys sell cameras here? Like, the ones for outside?”

The lady, Jess, her name tag helpfully supplies, hums a little. She looks off to the side as she thinks.

“I um, have an animal problem,” you add. “The animal control services think it’s a bear, but I’m not sure.”

Jess lit up. “We should still have some trail cams leftover from hunting season. They’ll be right this way.”

She led you through the small store, the small aisles feeling suffocating. The cameras were on an almost completely bare shelf, the words 50% in bold hung on a banner above the shelf.

“Now that hunting season is over, we can’t really sell these. This-“ she grabs a black camera off of the shelf, “-model is the last we have. I’m not going to lie, it kind of sucks but it’s better than nothing if you really need it.”

You take a deep breath. The panic sinks in a little harder. “How does it suck? I actually really need something. I-I want to be prepared to call animal control if the bear comes back tonight.”

She gives you a sympathetic smile.

“It has a three minute delay. Most hunters hate these since their prey tends to scatter by the time they’re caught on the feeds, but this should work for you since bears aren’t too fast when they have nothing to do. I’d recommend trying to set at least one up further from your property, so you can catch the bear quicker.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

“Of course! Let me know if you need help with anything.”

Jess sets the box back onto the shelf, leaving you to your thoughts. Even at fifty percent off these were expensive…..

In the end, you could only afford three. Jess rang you up and wished you well with your bear problem.

You didn’t want to go home. Somehow, you did. One moment you were sitting in your car, staring blankly at the woods, then the next, you were setting up the cameras as best you could.

One was set as high up as you could get it onto the trees behind your house. Another went next to your porch light. And the last, you put above your back door.

After you set them up, connecting them to your laptop, you waited. You waited and waited. Restless, pacing the house with your laptop plugged in and open. Night falls and you distantly think you’re going to be sick. You don’t make dinner. You hardly drink. All you can do is wait.

Eventually, you move your things up to the attic. You turned all the lights off in the house before moving some blankets and pillows upstairs. You’re so thankful there were plugins in the attic. Your laptop dying would have stressed you out more.

By 12 a.m., you start to relax a little. Nothing has triggered your cameras. Whatever it was probably won’t come back. Nothing of worth laid outside your house.

You blink and 1 am glares at you from the corner of your screen. You curl into your blankets and drift off to sleep……

Your laptop beeps.

You bolt awake, scrambling to pull your laptop close. The furthest camera caught movement. Something big was making its way past the tree line. Next, your back door caught it. The night vision didn’t help you at all in trying to figure out what the hell was out there.

If it didn’t have horns above its head you’d thought it was a bear.

Fear crawled up your chest as it sniffed the back door, pawing at the wooden steps. As it moves towards the side of the house, your brain starts to work again.

You scramble around for your phone, desperate to call animal control. But…. you left it downstairs.

Tears prickle your eyes as your laptop beeps again. The porch camera caught it.

You press your hands tight against your mouth. Tears and whimpers escape as you can only stare at the screen.

Sharp purple horns jutted out from its head, dark purple scales lined it’s body. And it’s face….. It had sharp teeth and one black eye.

.

.

.

.

.

It was inside the house.