#who’s believed all his life that slow and steady wins the race !! that if he persists and hangs on tight enuf that it’ll work out

[seiwas]

was choosing songs for an atsumu fic but now i can’t get mint’s ldr iwaizumi post out of my head

[absolutely-not-my-main-blog]

Aye I actually got to watch the episode tonight

Random 16x07 Notes I took while watching before scrolling my dash:

-Mac playing pool just like he plays hockey and bowls I see <3 something something putting too much power/pressure on things/being too forceful when you gotta guide the hockey puck like a little bowl of cream, or throw the bowling ball with gentle precision and finesse... something something previous years him putting too much pressure/force on Dennis but now...

-On a less conspiracy take note, I rewatched Mac’s Big Break recently and I find it fun how Charlie is just like better and knows more about sports and stuff like that and tells Mac what he has to do to play better. Also plays into this season’s theme of Charlie recurringly being the straight man, able to point out and notice things others don’t, but still being a bit of a helpless observer for the most part.

-Great Sharp title cut today, I should make a list of all the best ones/ones with best timing, I know one of the most iconic will always be Frank Sets Sweet Dee on Fire.

-The cackles and Charlie trying to mirror them <3 love that

-The horror sound effects when the McPoyles turn around and in the next few scenes are on point.

-Following that “Too many ideas, just stick with one” theme again just like in Celebrity Booze... interesting, very interesting. And what’s the main uniting idea that they want to stick it out with huh 👀 (or is it about the blend of ideas, the chili the cheese the fries.)

-Mac touches Den’s arm so much in this ep, they’re both very touchy, it’s nice to see them comfortable with that again.

-First time I’ve been able to watch the rip with commercials, Danny Devito Jersey Mike’s jump scare, how can I connect this to sunny he’s hiding behind the painting with the eyes cut out just like Dennis was in s15 and—*Jersey Mike himself drags me away*

-Dennis saying “it’s too sexually charged” while side eyeing Mac right next to him in frame like that, I don’t even need to comment

-Let’s go, Frank, slow and steady wins the race... slow like the structure, like 16 years wait.

-Artemis saying “hoor” like Frank does, okay, work it.

-Really interesting to me Charlie gets a strike without even needing to focus, something I wanted to say there but I don’t remember. We saw everyone else with their initial strategy and then psychologically affected to fail though and I wish we got to see Dennis in that context as well?

-Mac’s finesse ramble 🤝 Anya in Buffy “I have finesse coming out of my bottom!”

-“Just play the game and we’re gonna win, don’t spin, don’t do it.” This line I like because it feels very much in line with I’ve always been Dennis and you’re you you’ve always been you, and big mo again and just play the game and we’re gonna win, don’t spin, don’t do it, just be yourself, just be, just play.

-I can’t believe they cut off my man on his scream, the injustice! Anyway, gonna need more angst and pain from him, stat.

-Lick

-omg the McPoyle bowling scene was so much better than I expected, that was so funny. Also, Liam wants Dennis so bad.

-They should have trash twin telepathy stuff in this show more, let’s goo, they’re in each other’s heads, they’ve never been apart almost their whole life, we need Dee to figure out how to mess with Dennis’ head next.

-The cgi pin faces will haunt me, they also crashed my computer multiple times like the ep simply would not play beyond that scene.

———

Bonus: DTAMHD trailer thoughts

-Dennis having a new car when the old one is so inherently tied to his identity/the past, iCarly interesting.jpeg, trying to reconcile the new with the old and him not having control of it, a theme of control this season, who is in control? Charlie or Frank in the world of business? Dennis as Johnny? Aaron or Bryan... is it all an act? Is Mac...?

-Putting things under pressure so they become diamonds subplot to putting Dennis under pressure, I see you, I see you.

[wackus-bonkus-maximus]

Hi! I have a question! We already have enneagrams and mbti types for the odnlb characters, what about zodiac signs? 👀

miraculous zodiac sign sort!!

some people believe in star signs the way i believe in the enneagram, and though i am a zodiac skeptic (i feel like i'm not a typical aquarius AT ALL...is that an aquarius thing?) i welcome any feedback on the way i sorted the miraculous kids :D

side note: i also tried looking up when their official birthdays are and they don't seem to have any so this is all based on vibes!

♒ aquarius🏺- marinette. aquariuses are creative and quirky and humanitarians to the fullest. not to mention the brains they whip out at the moment of need! (also going to add mylene here too because <3) ♓ pisces 🐟 - zoe. sweet, caring, kind and supportive, always there for you to feel all the things you feel, and a liiiittle bit dramatic. i'll put sabrina here too because she also seems to feed into the follow your heart pisces law. ♈ aries 🐏 - kagami. practical, tactical, competitive and blunt. runs the show with 1-2 sentence answers and a killer poker face. here to win. ♉ taurus 🐂- ivan. serene earth child, knows how to chill. also he has the bull miraculous ♊ gemini 👨🏼‍🤝‍👨🏼- adrien. he's playful, energetic, and wants to experience life to the fullest by trying all the things! full of life and ready for the next adventure at any moment. ♋ cancer 🦀 - gabriel. cancers don't cry it's ok. i put him here because he's ruled by his emotions and yet pretends he's not. he's also super adaptable and perservering and litearlly never gives up so ♌ leo 🦁 - chloe. center of attention, vivacious, and dramatic. she belongs in the spotlight like the queen of the jungle she is ♍ virgo 👧🏽 - alya. logical, down to earth, truth-seeking, easygoing. she grounds everyone around her and is invaluably chill. ♎ libra ⚖️- luka. an air sign who's all about vibing. peace, balance, and harmony all around except on the inside but it's ok because no one can see. ♏ scorpio 🦂- lila. if you're a scorpio and you're mad at me for this it's bc you're a scorpio. lila has powerful energy like all scorpios have, is highly intuitive, and sets hard boundaries while navigating relationships with fluidity. ♐ sagittarius 🏹 - felix. i definitely feel like sagitarrius is gemini's dark twin and i mean that in the most complimentary way possible. ♑ capricorn 🐐 - nino. he's patient, caring, dedicated. will take the race slow and steady but that's how he will WIN. also i'll throw marc in here too because he and nino are the goat.

[wellingtonwellsdaily]

Nighty Night!

Good evening, my dear Wellingtons! It’s your old friend Uncle Jack, back again to tuck you into bed with a delightful tale to send you off to dreamland. Have you taken your Joy today? I do hope so, because it’s time for Nighty Night, where we close the day with a story full of wisdom and wonder.

Tonight, I have a classic fable for you – one that teaches us about the virtues of patience, perseverance, and humility. It’s the tale of The Tortoise and the Hare. So, snuggle down under your blankets, close your eyes, and let Uncle Jack take you on a little journey into this timeless story.

Once upon a time, in a peaceful meadow, there lived a hare who was very proud of his speed. He could run faster than any other animal in the forest, and he never missed a chance to boast about it. ‘I’m the fastest creature around,’ he would say to anyone who would listen. ‘No one can beat me in a race!’

One day, the hare was showing off as usual when he came across a slow-moving tortoise. The hare laughed at the tortoise, saying, ‘Why, you’re so slow, it’s a wonder you ever get anywhere!’

The tortoise, tired of the hare’s boasting, calmly replied, ‘You may be fast, but I believe I could beat you in a race.’

The hare burst out laughing at the thought. ‘You? Beat me? That’s impossible! But if you’re so sure, I’ll accept your challenge. Let’s race tomorrow morning.’

The next day, all the animals in the forest gathered to watch the race. The fox, who was the wisest of the animals, agreed to be the judge. The tortoise and the hare lined up at the starting line, and with a signal from the fox, they were off!

The hare took off like a shot, racing down the path with incredible speed. He quickly left the tortoise far behind and, feeling confident that victory was assured, decided to take a little break. ‘I’m so far ahead,’ the hare thought, ‘I might as well take a nap and still win the race!’

So, the hare lay down under a shady tree and fell fast asleep. Meanwhile, the tortoise kept moving steadily forward, step by slow and steady step. He didn’t stop or rush, but kept his eyes on the path and his mind on the goal.

Time passed, and the tortoise quietly passed the sleeping hare, inching closer and closer to the finish line. Just as the tortoise was about to cross the line, the hare woke up with a start! Seeing the tortoise near the finish line, the hare dashed off as fast as he could, but it was too late. The tortoise had already crossed the finish line and won the race.

All the animals cheered for the tortoise, who smiled humbly and said, ‘Slow and steady wins the race.’

The hare, feeling ashamed of his arrogance, learned a valuable lesson that day. It wasn’t always about being the fastest or the best; sometimes, it was about being consistent, determined, and patient.

And so, the tortoise became a symbol of perseverance, showing us that with the right attitude and steady effort, we can achieve great things, even if it takes a little time.

The moral of the story, my dear friends, is that patience and perseverance often lead to success, while arrogance and overconfidence can be our downfall. So, as you drift off to sleep tonight, remember to be like the tortoise – take life one step at a time, keep moving forward, and don’t worry about how fast others are going. Your journey is your own, and with patience and persistence, you’ll reach your destination in due time.

Well, I'm afraid we've come to the end of our time. It’s time to close your eyes, relax, and let this gentle story carry you into a peaceful sleep. Sweet dreams, my dear Wellingtons, and always remember: happiness is a choice. Choose Joy!

[teacherintransition]

I Took a Punch and I Liked it…*

The unplanned, the unexpected and the disappointment CAN be your friend

*With props to the lovely Katy Perry

The further misadventures of the retiring “teacher in transition” continues into new territory with our zany hijinks. In this chapter, we get the rug pulled out from under us…ZOIKERS!

The Location: Conroe, Texas.

The Setting: the transitioning teacher and his plucky sidekick, Travel Nurse, are with their son and his wife enjoying the birth of their first child.

The Plot: Teacher and Travel Nurse will be leaving soon to gather their herd of dogs to return to their cabin on the frontier and the gainful employment of the local hospital.

The Plot Twist: there ain’t no job there anymore!

Yeah, we didn’t see that coming. To summarize, we had been in our current location since July 15th with a surprise offer to extend our stay until January 20, 2023. We were ecstatic! Travel Nurse had done a fantastic job at the hospital and made several really good friends! Teacher had done a tremendous amount of writing, hiking, cigar smoking, tending to the herd and had brought his painting materials to the cabin!

Then …POW! SMACK! BOOM! The actions of one individual turned the lives of several folks… upside… down. All of that is for another story, but the villains: Unplanned and Unexpected, had us in their clutches. There is the typical mindset that the retired among us settle into a stable, solid lifestyles ….the rollercoaster of life slows down and levels out. But, of course, we decided to fight against the tide of conformity…why didn’t we think it would punch back? “You wanted the nomadic lifestyle of changing jobs and locations every three months to be smooth sailing? “DON’T YOU BELIEVE IT!

We found ourselves in a bind … right at the start of the holiday season. This is not uncommon to the lives of mankind, but what I observed was our reaction to this harrowing caper. “Well, huh? Cool, we’ll find a new way.” Brent and Kim fifteen years ago found themselves in previous situation out of our control and responded as if we were regulars on Hee-Haw!

Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me*

But that ain’t us now! I suppose we learned a little over the years… that, for the most part, things work out ok. We also learned that we control nothing …and movement is life. Safe and steady wins the race, but it ain’t very exciting. We will deal with the brakes going out, doing a 360° on the track, pulling ahead in the final stretch or spinning out…as long as it’s fun, scary, challenging, fantastic and an adventure. Which it is. Yes the secret origins of Teacher and Travel Nurse began in humble environs. We lived in the same home for thirty years, lived in the same area for thirty four years and Travel Nurse worked at the same place for the aforementioned thirty four years.

Those guys were solid, stable, parent like, clock punchers. I like what we’ve turned into… it’s scary at times. Somewhat akin to being a little kid who sneaks up to the highest diving board. He walks our to the end and looks all the way down. He panics and turns to see all the bigger kids in line growing impatient. So, we grab hands and jump off into the deep end! A huge splash follows with us bobbing to the top smiling at each other. I deferred referencing the ending to “Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid” or “Thelma and Louise,” those don’t end well. The decision made in August of 2020 has been fraught with, “I didn’t see that coming.” Some awesome…some horrifying, but you adapt. It took a lifetime of growing to develop this mindset… and I like it.

*Brillstein, Bernie, Peppiatt, Frank; “Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me;” Barnyard Recordings; 1969

[milkbaer]

heyyy there!! could you maybe do a fic with nikolai where the reader is a heartrender and they’ve been happily married and filling Ravka together for a while now, and she finds out that she’s pregnant and tells him, please?

Summary: Y/N feels a little different and Nikolai is over dramatic.

Pairing: Nikolai Lantsov x heartened fem!Reader

Warning: not edited

Wordcount: 1.4k

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. If you’re still around anon, I hope you enjoy it. 😊

Becoming queen had never been a dream of you. As a little girl you deemed of the fairytale prince to sweep you off your feet, and ride with you on his white steed into dawn. But if someone would’ve told you that you’d marry a blonde fairytale prince and become queen, you wouldn’t have believed them.

And yet it was true.

Ruling Ravka side by side with Nikolai wasn’t easy. You had experience in making hearts race but not ruling. Ravka wasn’t easy, enemies flanked you left and right. And a Grisha tsarina, sitting on the throne, wasn’t necessarily what Ravkans wished to see. However, over the years you managed to win their hearts. Not of everyone, but people knew and loved you for your charity. They loved that their new rulers didn’t shy away of responsibilities and problems. Simply they loved that they could see their tsar and tsarina, not like the previous ones who liked to hide behind walls of gold and parties, not caring what their people had to endure.

When your popularity grew Nikolai simply murmured into your ear: “See? I told you you’d win their hearts the way you won mine.”

The days in Ravka couldn’t be better. You woke up with the love of your life by your side, golden locks tousled, and his cheeky grin exchanged with sleepy loving murmurs. For once you hadn’t to fear enemies attacking your home and so far, there was no drought or famine either. Life in Ravka wasn’t perfect but it was great. Your life couldn’t be better. Sometimes you couldn’t believe that it was all real and not something your mind has spun out of a fairytale.

However, the past few days you felt something off. It was as if you could feel an echo of your heart, ringing through your body. Deep inside there was a second heart, you felt it. But you weren’t sure. It all could be something different. Your heart playing tricks on you. Or maybe it wasn’t even yours?

Maybe you felt something from the outside.

But no, you were sure that this fast, shallow beat came from you.

Your first thought was a baby. After all the first years of your marriage the only thing missing was an heir to the throne to round it all up. Your period missing would be one indicator, but you knew that you couldn’t simply rely on that. The queen’s cycle wasn’t known for its reliability.

How perfect would a little Nikolai be?

In the mornings when you woke up beside him, combing his hair with your fingers and watching him doze you imagined his reaction. How happy he’d be to hear that a new sobachka would’be coming. For days you dreamed of his reaction. Yet you weren’t really sure if your assumptions were true.

As discrete as it was possible for a queen you went to see the best healer in the Little Palace. If you a heartrender could feel it, she as a healer would know for sure, right?

“I’ve been feeling this second heartbeat,” you told her, eyeing her reaction. For some reason sitting in front of a trained and much experienced healer made you insecure. Not insecure of your body or position. But maybe it wasn’t a second heartbeat, maybe it wasn’t your and it was all just your imagination. The strong wish of bearing a child.

She nodded listening to your words, examining your body with her eyes. “I’m not sure what it is but I was thinking … maybe it’s pregnancy?”

The healer nodded again. Brows furrowed she stared intensely at your belly, as if she could see right through it with her eyes. “May I?” She asked and when you nodded, she laid her cold hands on your abdomen.

“Any sign of blood?”

“No,�� you said, hesitating. “But it’s seldom steady.”

She nodded yet again, hands roaming over your skin. There wasn’t much to see or feel yet, your stomach looked pretty much the same. Her face scared you, filling your head with doubts. She looked so concentrated and harsh, with no hint of a smile or any other sign of positivity. It made you think there was something wrong.

She looked up at you. “Moi tsarina, you were right. I can feel something too,” she said and then she merely hinted a smile for the first time. “There’s a tiny heartbeat. But we should do some further examinations, only to be sure.”

Now it was your time to nod. You simply led her do whatever she believed was needed to be done. After a while she returned with a smile on her face. A real smile, the first you’ve seen on her this hour. Smiling she simply said: “Congratulations, Your Highness.”

. . .

Sitting on your bed you watched sun and moon slowly change places. The only thought occupying your mind was how you were going to tell Nikolai and imagine his reaction. You were thrilled to tell him but hadn’t seen him since breakfast. Today had been more packed and eventful for him than you thought. You just hoped that he’d get some sleep and work through the night.

As the sun finally said its goodbyes your love busted through the door. Concern was painted all over his face as rushed over you, letting the door hit the wall. You jumped at his bursting energy, but it also confused you. With wide, quick strides Nikolai was by your side, kneeling before of you, taking your hands in his. “Are you alright darling? They said you were at the healer, for almost an hour.”

His hands were quick, faster than his tongue. You couldn’t return anything before his hands rushed to your face to feel your temperature. His movements were hectic, almost slapping your face. “I’m sorry. I was so busy, I didn’t even notice – I couldn’t take care of you.” But Nikolai slumped down when he found no sign of fewer. “You’re sick and I’m fighting with Dukes over potatoes and kvas.”

“Nikolai,” you said, hoping to stop him but when he found no fewer his hand roamed further, looking for any other sign of sickness.

“I’m sorry for not being there enough for you,” he apologized, pressing different spots on your arms, hands and your neck. But he couldn’t find anything. Nikolai was desperate to find anything. However, he was so worried that he didn’t even let you speak. The young kind was too occupied to play physician and finding nothing.

At one point you had enough and used your hands to slow his heartbeat down. You rarely used your heartender abilities on him, only if he asked you to do so. It didn’t seem fair otherwise. But right now, he didn’t leave you any choice. “Love, please calm down.”

Influenced by your powers he let out a deep, rather relaxed breath and looked into your eyes. You cupped his cheeks and were tempted to kiss the tip of his nose, his brows, lips or any other part of his face. But you doubted he would listen to you when you kissed him first.

“Nikolai, I’ve to tell you something,” you said and contemplated about the way you’d do it. Simply proclaiming that you were pregnant seemed a bit boring to you. “You’re no longer my sobachka.”

Confused the blonde king furrowed his brows. Were you breaking off with him? Did you want a divorce? “Are you saying?” He didn’t know what you were saying. “I am not sure if our bond can be broken.”

“What? No!” You said in protest. Breaking off with Nikolai was the least thing you wanted. “I said that because there will be another sobachka.”

“Another?” Why did he look offended now? You really had hoped that he would get it, especially with the visit at the healer. Maybe you had slowed down his heart too much.

“Nikolai,” you sighed, defeated. Gently you caressed his cheeks and pecked his lips, you couldn’t resist anymore. He was so clueless; a kiss couldn’t do any more harm. “I’m pregnant.”

You could see how joy lit up his face. “Do you mean we will be?” He asked, overly excited, more than you had expected. Soon it was him who cupped yourface and kissed you senseless, covering your face in sweet kisses. “Are you serious?”

His joy was contagious, and you couldn’t help but laugh with joy. You nodded. Nikolai kissed you again. But this time he captured your lips in a long, giddy kiss, where you could feel his grin against your lips. And after that he kissed you again, and again.

[maddiwrites]

Precious Life

Pairing: JJ x reader

REQUEST (From anon): could you write a jj maybank imagine where he and the reader are together, but she pushes him away due to her mental health. she has insecurity issues after her last boyfriend and her bestfriend passed a few months ago leaving her horribly depressed. finally, she opens up to him and its just super fluffy and he showers her in love and support.

Note: Thank you so much for the request and I’m so sorry it took me a while to write, but hopefully you like it. I kinda suck at fluff, so I’m sorry if it’s not enough fluff. Let me know what you think! 

Word Count: 5k

Warnings: mentions of death of a friend, mental trauma from a past relationship, depression

You don’t know when it happened - whether it was overnight or throughout the past few weeks. Unlike everyone else who was excited about the summer finally beginning after what felt like the longest school year of your life, your days felt darker as you dreaded the upcoming season. You use to love summer - hell, you thrived during the hottest months of the year. You loved outdoor dining, surfing, beach parties, going out on the boat in the marsh with your friends. But now the thought of doing those activities made you want to vomit.

After your best friend passed away only a few months ago, you lost interest in all those activities. Because they all reminded you of her. She was the one who brought you out of you shell and pulled you out of your dark place when the world felt too unbearable to live in anymore. And now she was gone. Just like that. Life is so precious, you remember people telling you that at her funeral. They weren’t wrong. But you never thought your life could compare to the one of your beautifully made best friend.

Her birthday is next month in the early weeks of July. Her mother wants to hold a small party as if she was still there to celebrate. Of course she wants you there, but you don’t know if you’d be able to handle it. A birthday party for a dead girl? What an obvious reminder that she’s not there. It’s going to be the first birthday you spend without her. The tradition of getting smoothie bowls and going to the local zoo and finishing the night off with a bonfire and beer cans you stole out of your parents fridge is completely destroyed. Gone just like she is.

The only person making your miserable life a little more bearable is your wonderful boyfriend, JJ Maybank. Despite only being together for about two months, he became your closest friend. Your best friend would have loved him and would even be impressed that you went for such a bad boy. Your type usually consisted of stuck up boys with egos bigger than their daddy’s bank account. Sometimes you picture a life where your best friend and JJ knew each other. They’d probably be best of friends. Your friend would be weary of him at first, but JJ would work his usual charm and win her over in seconds. It’s what he did with you.

You met him after getting really close with Kiara when her dad hired you as another waitress at the Wreck. You remembered the day he first walked into the restaurant with his friends. You felt his eyes on you the entire time. Feeling bold, you walked over to his table and asked to borrow his phone. You opened his snap chat app and took a selfie with the two of you and said, “Here’s a picture if you want it to last longer.” And that was how the love story of JJ Maybank and Y/N Y/L/N started. JJ still has the picture saved as his Lock Screen. It makes you smile every time you see it.

Your life with JJ was nearly perfect. What started as a flirty banter became something serious. Kie knew JJ was in deep because he never complained about how slow you wanted to take the relationship. Aka sex. Usually JJ is the kind of guy who will go get what he wants. And if that’s a quick lay, that’s what he’ll go searching for. Someone that won’t make him work too hard for it. But with you? It was different. Sure he wanted to explore that part of the relationship with you, but only when you were ready. It was hard for him some days, especially when you wore his hoodies or kissed him so deeply that he swore his skin was on fire.

Although JJ has been nothing but a respectful KING about your decision to wait, you can’t help but feel guilty about keeping him waiting. It’s not that you didn’t want to - because god did you want to. But it was hard for you to give someone all of you like that. Part of you blames that on your own insecurities and the other part knows it’s trauma due to your past relationship. You never told anyone the kind of vile and disgusting things your ex boyfriend would say to your face. Well, you confessed to your best friend on the night he broke up with you. You physically had to hold her back by her hair to keep her from setting his house on fire. She tried to make you see that everything he said about you was wrong. Dumb, fat, whore, useless, poor, ugly. You wanted to believe her, but it was like your ex had physically tattooed the words onto your skin and it was hard to see anything else. When things were getting heated between you and JJ and you felt his hand dip under the thin material of your t shirt, you would pull away, afraid that he would feel the rolls on your stomach. You never let him see you without makeup on. And even wore baggy clothing so you wouldn’t have to worry about showing too much skin. You didn’t want him getting the wrong impression.

JJ tried asking Kie about it. JJ is smarter than people give him credit for. He had a feeling that your choosing to not have sex ran deeper than just not being ready. Which is totally fine but he wanted to be there for you if you needed help. Of course Kie had no idea. But just like JJ, she noticed you pulling away from the group slowly. She thought maybe it was the stress of finals as the end of the school year wrapped up, but then summer came around and the less you did.

“She’s been off, right?” JJ asks Kie. His legs bounces up and down anxiously and he chews on the nub of his thumb nail. “Do you notice it too?”

Kie doesn’t know how to answer. Of course she wants to be honest with her best friend, but she also doesn’t want to hurt him. “I mean, she’s been kind of distant with us. Maybe she’s been busy. I mean she’s gotten a few of her shifts covered in the last two weeks.”

JJ shakes his head. “I don’t know. I can’t shake off this feeling that it’s something more than that. Something I’m missing. I mean...” he sighs and takes his fingers through his hair. “Do you think it’s me? Did I do something? Maybe she feels pressured by this whole sex thing-“

“No. Of course not.” Kie says. She knows JJ would never make you do anything you don’t want to do, and he would never make you feel guilty about it. “You should talk to her about it next time you see her. I mean, I could bring it up too but I think it would be best coming from you.”

JJ nods and accepts this answer from Kie. It doesn’t make him feel any less anxious about the state of your relationship but at least he’s not crazy for thinking you’re pulling away.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He doesn’t see you for another week. You claimed that you’ve been busy with work and college prep. JJ didn’t buy it but he also didn’t push it. He saw you when you showed up at his window at the Chateau. 

You’d come after having one of your episodes - one where you can’t sleep or eat or even focus on one thought. You don’t know why you came to the Chateau. You knew JJ would be here but you didn’t think he’d be able to help you. No one ever can.

“Hey,” JJ flicks on the lamp from the bedside table as he watches your figure squeeze through the window. “What are you doing here?”

You shrug. “I - uh. I don’t know, exactly. Just wanted to see you, I guess.”

JJ tilts his head and narrows his eyes at you. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” You lie. 

JJ nods, but he doesn’t believe you. “Then come here.” He opens up his arms for you to fall into. When you do, he pulls you in close with your head laying on his bare chest. You focus on his steady heartbeat and his warm arms around your body. You miss this. Being with JJ whole heartedly - mind and body. Recently it’s only been your body - your mind off somewhere else. 

“Did I wake you?” You ask softy. 

JJ kisses the top of your head. “No.” 

When you close your eyes, you picture your friend again. Her smile and laugh. Things that should have made you happy. But they don’t. Not anymore.

You don’t remember when or how it happened - how you ended up being below a hovering JJ as his lips peppered your skin. You remember starting the heavy make out session, hoping to distract yourself from the depressing thoughts of your dead best friend.

However, the deeper you got into it, the deeper you got in your own thoughts. First about your friend and then about your ex. What he would say if he were the one above you - “I thought you were going to the gym?” “You didn’t shave?” “You could use some sun.” - His voice rang in your head like a screeching record and you couldn’t do it anymore.

“Stop,” you mumble softly enough that JJ doesn’t hear it until you physically push him off of you and say more loudly. “J, stop!”

As his back hits the mattress again, he holds his hands up in surrender. He didn’t realize he was doing anything wrong and his heart races with the thought that maybe he hurt you or had gone too far.

You quickly pick up your tossed shirt and bag while avoiding all kinds of eye contact with him. You felt embarrassed. It’s not his fault that you can physically feel every skin roll on your body or think you can smell every bad odor radiating off your skin. JJ has never been anything but a prince to you since you started dating. You felt bad that you couldn’t give him what he wanted. Sex should be a normal part of your relationship yet you couldn’t seem to give him your all just yet.

“I’m sorry. Did I-“ JJ starts to apologize but you cut him off.

“No. I’m sorry. I should go. I should have never come -“

“Hey,” JJ sits up and tries to reach for you, but you yank your hand closer to your body when his fingers graze your skin. JJ frowns. “You don’t have to go. We can just go to sleep. Or I can sleep on the couch.”

You pause at the bedroom door with your back to him. You squeeze your eyes tight to stop the tears from cascading down your cheeks. You hate this. Feeling like another burden to someone else. Not being able to give the one you love everything they want. It’s not fair. It feels like everyday your days just keeping getting darker and darker as if the sun never rises. And you don’t know how long you’ll be able to take it.

“Y/N...” JJ softly calls out for you. He can see the tension in your shoulders and your knuckles turning white as you clench around the door knob. He knows something isn’t right. That there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to what you’re going through. He’d never force you to tell him anything. But he wants you to feel comfortable enough that you know you have the option to talk if you wanted to.

“I’m sorry, J...” your voice cracks which makes JJ’s heart break a little more. Still with your back to him, you shake your head. “I can’t be what you want me to be.”

“Y/N -“

You finally turn to look at him. “You deserve someone who will give you everything you want. Someone who makes you happy - someone who is happy.” You sniffle back the tears. “I’m sorry. That’s just not me.”

Tears prick at JJ’s eyes. He wishes he can say he is surprised, but he honestly saw this coming. You’ve been distant and hard to read. He thought you were falling out of love with him for weeks. But that doesn’t make this any less hard to hear.

“Don’t do this,” JJ shakes his head. “We can work this out -“

“I can’t do it anymore,” you shake your head as one lone tear falls down your cheek. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

You rip the door open and stumble through John B’s house before JJ could say anything else. You throat feels on fire as you bite back a heart wrenching scream from what you’ve just done. You probably ruined the best thing that’s ever happened to you. No surprise there, you think. Nothing in your life seems to ever go as planned.

You run home until your legs feel like they’re literally on fire. By the time your back hits the mattress of your own bed, your muscles feel like jello, and you wonder if you’ll ever be able to walk again.

You cry into your pillow until the world around you fades to darkness.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Its been about two weeks since you last saw JJ and the Pogues. You didn’t think it was possible, but without them, your life somehow felt even emptier. Days feel like years. Your body feels so heavy, it’s hard to get out of bed most days. You can’t remember the last time you showered. Your skin on your face feels dry from all tears that have been shed. Some days you want to pick up the phone and call JJ or Kie, just to hear their voice. But you don’t. Because you don’t want to feel like a burden to either one of them. You broke up with JJ. You’re not their problem anymore.

With your head tucked deep into your pillow, you feel the corner of your bed dip as if someone had just sat down. You figured it was just your mom checking in on you again for the hundredth time. She doesn’t say anything and you don’t acknowledge her either. 

Your phone beeps with another text message from JJ. You peek your eye open at your phone and slowly reach for it. You hesitate opening the message, afraid that whatever he has to say will only break your heart and make you feel like an even worse human being.

“You’re seriously not going to answer that?” The person sitting on your bed says, making you snap around to face the girl who is for sure not your mother, but your best friend. The same best friend who’s buried in a cemetery fifteen minutes away from your house. 

She looks exactly how you remember her. Long beautiful hair that frames her perfect jawline. Tan almost glistening skin that radiates off the sunlight that shines through your window. Eyes sparkling with life and mischief.

You look at her with wide eyes and an open mouth. You were truly at a loss for words. Confused was an understatement. It didn’t make sense.

She laughs at your reaction and shakes her head. “Do you need a minute?”

“I don’t - how - am I - am I dreaming?” You stutter. 

“No I’m just the prettiest zombie you’ve ever seen,” She says sarcastically and holds her grin. You blink at her. “Yes, you’re dreaming. Well, kinda.” She stands up and faces you. “You’re definitely dreaming but I’m in control of visiting you in your sleep. Kinda cool, right? It’s a ghost trick I recently learned.”

“I’m officially going crazy,” You say.

“You’re right. You are going crazy,” Your friend rounds to the other side of the bed to come face to face with you as you sit up and rub your eyes. “But not because you’re seeing me. Because you’re not seeing JJ.”

You drop your hands at your side and glare at her. “You don’t even know him.”

“I know of him,” She says. “He’s a Pogue. A hot one too. And he’s head over heels in love with you. What else do I need to know?”

You shake your head. “It’s complicated.”

“Why? He loves you and you love him.”

You flip your comforter off you body and walk past the girl who loves sticking her nose in other people’s business. You always told her it would get her in trouble one day. But you secretly loved that she was so nosy. Because she cared and always gave the best advice. 

You walk towards your dresser and stare at yourself in the mirror above it. The bags under your eyes are dark and your skin pale. Your hair is greasy from your lack of washing it and you’re starting to realize you’re beginning to smell.

Your friend sighs and sits back on your bed. “He’s in your head,” She says glumly.

You scoff, “I think if anyone’s in my head, it’s you.”

She glares back at you. “You know what I mean. Y/Ex’s/N. He’s still tormenting you after almost a year of not seeing him.”

You shake your head. “No I’m -”

“Come on, Y/N. You can’t lie to me. You’re still hiding your laugh behind your hand because he called it obnoxious. You hide yourself under baggy clothing and you won’t have sex with JJ because Y/Ex’s/N said you were bad at it -”

“Stop.”

“Clearly you weren’t bad at it since he got to come every single time. If anyone was bad at it, it was him.”

“Y/BFF’s/N.”

“What? It’s true,” She shrugs. That’s what you always loved about her. She was unapologetic. She meant what she said every time no matter what. You wished you had her confidence. She sighs and moves over on the bed so she’s closer to you. “Y/N, you deserve to be happy,” she says more softly. “And JJ makes you happy. Why are you pushing him away? Why can’t you let yourself be happy?”

“Because you’re not here!” You finally kick down the wall that’s been building in your head since your friend’s death. You never talked about her with anyone. Not even with her own family. She was your person - the girl who was going to stand by your side at your wedding, be the god mother to your children, your shoulder to cry on, and your therapist when you needed to rant. And now she’s not here and it feels wrong living the life you were supposed to live together. “How can I be happy when you’re not here?”

“Y/N...”

“No,” You cry. “It’s not fair. You’re supposed to be here. I can’t pretend like everything’s normal when it’s not. This was supposed to be the best summer of our lives and then you just left.” You snap your fingers. “Just like that. Out of nowhere. And if that can happen to you then it can happen to -”

You cut yourself off, afraid to say what you really were thinking. You didn’t want to put that kind of energy into the atmosphere because the thought haunted you every night when you were alone with your thoughts. You never thought you could lose someone like you lost your best friend. You didn’t think that would ever happen to you. But it did. And it put life in perspective for you. You don’t think you’d be able to live through another loss like that so falling for JJ was scary to you. Because if something ever happened to him, you wouldn’t know what to do. 

“Hey,” She stands up to embrace you in a hug. You sob into her shoulder and squeeze her tightly against you. You don’t want to let her go. She feels so real. You’re actually touching her. “Look at me.” She eventually pulls away to look at you. She offers a sad grin and pushes your hair out of your eyes. “I’m sorry I died. But you get to live! You know how jealous I am that you have the ability to eat smoothie bowls every day and go surfing and date cute boys and go on road trips with your friends and family? You don’t even know how good you have it. And on top of that, you have the hottest guy on the island fawning over you and you’re too sad about me to even realize it. I don’t want you to live this way -” she motions to your messy room. “I want you to take advantage of the life you have. If I can’t live it, then you have to live it for me.”

“I don’t want to do it without you,” You cry.

She shakes her head. “You’ll never be without me, chick. I’m always going to be with you. Besides, I like JJ. You’d be stupid to let him go.”

You bite your bottom lip and feel a rush of heat climb up your neck to your cheeks. “He is really good to me.” You knew your friend was right. She was always right. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” She says. You both turn when you hear someone knock on your door. She looks back at you and smirks. “That’s my cue.”

“Wait -”

“Don’t worry, chick. Remember what I said. I’m not far away.”

You gasp awake wrapped in your sheets with dried drool stuck to your chin. You sit up and look around frantically for any sign of your best friend. But she’s gone. So is any sign that she might have been here. You rub the dried saliva off your chin with your fingers and sigh up at the ceiling. It felt so real.

Your mom lets herself into your room and smiles at you. “Oh, good. You’re awake.”

“Yeah...” You say slowly. You think back to everything your best friend said to you in your dream. How lucky you are to live a life that she can’t. For the first time ever, she was jealous of you. For a life you’re taking for granted. Although it was hard to be happy without her by your side, you knew she didn’t want you sulking around for her. Some days are going to be hard. That’s just the inevitable. But you have the ability to make it easier. It all starts with you. “I think I’m going to take a shower.”

“Really?” Your mom says, surprised by the effort you’re making so early in the morning. 

“Yeah,” You grin and walk past her to get to your bathroom. Today is going to be a new day, you say to yourself as you let the warm water rain over you. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two days later was your best friend’s birthday. A day you’ve been dreading for weeks. Your heart felt heavy and your mind clouded as you moved around your room getting ready for the day. As much as you wanted to stay in bed, you knew it wouldn’t be what she wanted. You haven’t spoken to her since that night, but you knew she was quietly watching over you. 

You throw on a pair of sports shorts and a long sleeve t shirt. The day is cold and foggy so you knew the cemetery would be cold. Your parents offer you a small smile as you walk out the door with a bouquet of flowers and a blanket.

You slowly come to a stop as you’re walking to your car parked on the street in front of your house when you recognize a familiar truck parked behind it. JJ steps out of the driver’s seat and approaches you with his hands tucked in his short pockets. He smiles sheepishly at you and glances down at the flowers. 

“Hey,” He says. 

“Hey,” You shuffle awkwardly on your feet. Why did he have to look so good? He’s dressed in a Coors Light tank and cargo shorts. His golden hair is perfectly quaffed and his skin perfectly sun kissed. “How are you?”

“Good, good,” He nods. He hates that your relationship has resulted to this. Awkward small talk. “I’m sorry. Am I catching you at a bad time?” He motions to the flowers. 

“Um,” You glance between the flowers and him and shrug. “No. I was actually just going to see a friend. Would you like to come?” You remember all the things your friend had to say about JJ. How he loves you, you love him, and he makes you happy. You messed up by breaking up with him, but maybe you can make it right by explaining everything to him. 

“Oh,” JJ looks surprised that you’re offering time to hang out. He was afraid you were going to push him away and shut your front door in his face. He didn’t know what was going to happen. He just wanted to see you. “Yeah. Definitely.”

You smile. “Great. But we have to stop for smoothie bowls on the way.”

JJ laughs. “No problem.”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t awkward being alone with JJ after all this time. The two of you spent the car ride talking about the other Pogues and what they’ve been up to in the past couple of weeks. It was bittersweet talking about them because of how much you missed them, but you hoped that they would accept you back into their friend group after you explained to JJ why you’ve been so distant. 

“Uh, Y/N.” JJ says when he parks the car.

“Yeah?” 

“This is a cemetery.”

You can’t help but giggle at his apprehension. “I know. Come on.”

JJ carries the flowers and you carry the brown paper bag that holds your three smoothie bowls and a blanket. You lead him through the wet grass, past dozens of tomb stones until you find where your best friend peacefully lays. 

JJ stays silent as he looks between you and the tombstone. The years etched onto the tombstone indicate that someone your age is buried here. He quickly puts the puzzle pieces together and tries to read your facial expression. Your sadly grinning at the tomb stone when you feel JJ’s eyes on the side of your face. 

You lay the blanket down and offer half of it for him to sit next to you. He does but stays quiet, waiting for you to explain whenever you’re ready.

“This is Y/BFF’s/N,” You introduce her. “She was my best friend.” JJ nods and lets you continue as you stare at the tombstone. “She died a few weeks before we met.” You pull out the smoothie bowls and pass one to JJ and place the other one in front of the flowers placed by the grave. “Today’s her birthday and  we had this tradition that we would get smoothie bowls every morning of our birthday.” You pop open the lid of your bowl and push around the berries laying on top with your spoon. “I know I owe you an explanation.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to...”

“Trust me,” You smile at him, “I do. She would kill me if I didn’t.” 

You told JJ about the mental toll her death had on your life. Even with JJ by your side, you felt her missing presence heavily all day every day. It wasn’t that you weren’t happy in your relationship with JJ, it was just that something was missing and it was something you couldn’t bring back to your life. Because of her loss, you fell back into a depression you once experienced towards the end of your last relationship. You told JJ about the mental anguish your ex left you with and why you don’t feel comfortable opening yourself up to him, both physically and mentally. You promised it wasn’t because of JJ but because of your ex and the things he said to you. With your friend’s birthday coming up, everything was weighing you down mentally and you didn’t want to hinder JJ’s life any longer. You told him you thought breaking up with him was best for him so he didn’t have to deal with your problems and he can find a girl that makes him happy. You regret ever walking away from him that night. Your friend was your person, but now so is JJ. You want him to know everything about you. Good and bad. He deserves to know the truth.

“She would’ve liked you,” You brush your fallen tears away with the back of your hand. “You guys are alike in a lot of ways.”

“Yeah?” JJ smiles at you. “How?”

“She made me laugh and always pushed me past my comfort zone. She challenged me to do more with my life. And she never gave up on me,” You grin up at him. “I’m sorry for pushing you away.”

“You don’t have to be,” JJ says. “I get it. No one deserve to lose a friend like this. I don’t know what I would do if this happened to John B or Pope or even Kie.”

“I still love you, J. And I want to give you every part of me. I just...need some help opening up.”

JJ sets down his smoothie bowl and turns to face you. His hand caresses the side of your face and pushes your hair back behind your ear. “Hey....we can take it as slow as you want. I’m not going anywhere.”

You smile at him. “So, you wanna try this again?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely.”

JJ leans in to kiss you on your lips. Butterflies erupt from your stomach and fireworks shoot across every nerve in your body. When you eventually pull away, you’re smiling because even when your best friend isn’t here to physically push you, she has her own way of getting into your head and making sure you don’t take the life you have in front of you for granted. And you couldn’t be more grateful for that.

Unbeknownst to you, your friend watches from a far with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. Slightly shaking her head, she says to you, “You’re gonna be just fine, chick.”

[primalsouls]

white rabbit pt 3

langa hasegawa x gn! reader (pt 1 - pt 2)

anon: omg is there going to be a part three of the white rabbit ?? i liked it a lot but its ok if you dont want to write a 3rd part :D

⚠️ : mentions of blood (like from small cuts??)

theme: general

note: sorry if the part where they skated is badly written lol. ive not good with "action" scenes. 💀 anyway, here is part 3! i hope you like it, enjoy it, and thank you for reading! no proofread, sorry for any mistake. let me know what you think. :)

≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

Skateboards were lined up beside each other. Their owner stood on them with ease, readying themselves once the horns go off. The crowd watched with anticipating gazes. Whispers were thrown among themselves on who would beat who. Bets were placed. All eyes set on the young pair. Excitement and anxiety swim around the atmosphere.

Langa took a deep breath. His baby blue eyes looked over to his group of friends. Reki sent him a wink, mouthing "good luck" toward him. Miya and Shadow talked among themselves what the White Rabbit would do to Langa. Said boy was nervous, for the time during a beef. He was nervous. Going up against his crush. Was probably not the best way for first impressions. Maybe, just maybe a beef wasn't a good way to talk to his crush. At all.

Before the race start off, Langa turned to the other skater.

"[Y/N], good luck." Langa said, surprising them with a kind smile. [Y/N] blinked, repeating his words through their head before a click of the tongue was heard and their eyes narrowed.

"I don't need your well wishes." They started quietly, voice low and steady. "I'm gonna win and you'll be the one leaving S. Not me." Langa was taken back by their words. He picked up the broken tone on their last two words. "And it's White Rabbit to you and everyone else. We're not friends and we'll never be." As they spoke, the traffic lights above them, went on one by one. When it reached the third light and the horn went off at the same time [Y/N] said those last three words, they dashed away from the crowd and Langa, already starting to get ahead of him. Langa froze a bit, watching them skated away. His head repeated their words over and over. It made his heart stirred uncomfortably inside, a heavy feeling settled inside his chest.

"Langa! What are you doing!?" Miya called out, bringing the boy out of his thoughts. He glanced over to them. Miya's face scrunched in a pissed manner as Shadow and Reki stared at him confused.

"Ah... Sorry..." Langa mumbled before he prepared himself shortly and took off with ease speed. Reki watched with a frown on his face.

"What's up with him?" Shadow asked as they all watched the bluenette disappeared from their sights. Reki shrugged, turning to the other two.

"I don't know... He look upset for a moment there." Reki said, scratching the back of his head. "Langa," he started off, catching their attention. "He has a crush on [Y/N]." His voice was low, wanting to keep it between the three of them but Shadow was shock at the confess he repeatedly the sentence loud enough for the small crowd surrounding them to hear but Reki and Miya shut him off, whispers being thrown at him to quiet down. "You guys heard me right." Reki continued, pulling them away from the crowd and headed to the large screen displaying Langa and [Y/N] racing down the old mine. Langa was still a bit far from them it made the watchers believed he won't be able to catch up.

"A crush? On [Y/N]?" Miya started slowly.

"aka the White Rabbit of S?" Shadow chimed in.

"Adam's sibling!?" Reki jumped when they both yelled at him in unison, causing him to take a step back and held his arms up to defend himself. He nodded rapidly to answer their three-part questions.

Miya shook his head, disbelief written all over their face. Shadow crossed his arms, head shaking as he disapproved of Langa's crush on the other skater.

"That's absurd. Of all people, this slime likes [Y/N]!? Did he hit his head or something!? Not only that, what makes him think beefing them would get them to like him back?" Miya paced back and forth, hands moving everywhere as he rambled on.

"Heh. He probably wants to see if they were compatible. I mean, it's such a uncool way to talk to your crush. If it were me, I would have just show them my awesome tricks!" Shadow exclaimed but when he turned to the boys, he received nothing but deadpan looks. "Why are you looking at me like that!?" Shadow glared, gritting his teeth.

"Oh, please, you wouldn't have the guts to do that in front of the pretty florist manager. Much less talk without looking like a fool." Miya taunted, smirking. Shadow splurted out insults at the youngest. Reki chuckled awkwardly. The redhead turned to the screen, the camera set on Langa. His brows knitted down. Reki could see he focused on something else than on winning.

"Langa..." Reki muttered, fists clenched by his sides.

Langa turned a corner, catching up to [Y/N] and the skaters that watched by the sidelines down the narrowed racetrack cheered for him and the White Rabbit. Most of them demanding the skater in front of him to guide him through their thorned pit. Langa didn't want this. He realized that now. This won't get him anywhere aside skating against them. And from the way they spoke to him in that little time between them, it sounded like anger flowed through their voice. He wondered why. Has he said something wrong to them? Has he spoke to them in the past and pissed them off in any sort of way? Langa couldn't recall any moment approaching them. So, why did they acted cold towards him? Why did he felt hatred from them? It bothered him. It upset him.

[Y/N] clicked their tongue. They glanced over their shoulder and noticed the boy catch up to them with great speed. They won't lose. They won't leave S. They won't be strip off their title. Off their everything they built. [Y/N] won't allow Langa to win. They had to win. Their life was on the line. Just the thoughts of it eagered them to speed up. They lowered their stance, picking up speed. As another corner came to view, the rabbit swirled side by side a bit, bend slightly and turned the sharp corner. Their breathing quickened. They were anxious for the race to come to an end. They know they be should careful but they wanted to end the beef already and prove to Adam what they were capable of being S's White Rabbit.

Langa. It was all they heard from their older brother. It disgusted them. Made their skin crawled. When their eyes first landed on the bluenette and the way he skate, it left them stunned. [Y/N] never saw anyone skate like him before. And when they saw Langa go up against their brother that one night. The way he avoided his signature move, Love Hug had left them astonished. [Y/N] only got hurt terribly when his brother practiced Love Hug on them and when their aunts questioned the bandages and injuries on them, they lied by saying they fell down somewhere. Bruises were always left on their body from that move. And it envies them that Langa found a way to avoid it.

[Y/N]'s handa clutched into fists. They reached into their single pocket on the front of their hoodie. They pulled out a long rope. Small, yet thick enough to hurl it at someone. It was littered with small sharp pointers that resembled thorns. The rabbit turned half their body a little towards Langa. As he came up behind them, a few feet away, they threw the rope with great force at him.

"Argh!" Langa covered his face when the object was thrown at him. He felt small thugs on his sleeves. He ended up taking a step back, making him lose his footing on the board but Langa forced his body to calm down and steady itself. When he tried to shoved the object away from him, it scrapped small cuts on his cheeks. He pulled down his arms down, looking around. Due to his small step back, he slowed his speed down, creating distance between them. The boy looked down at his arms and noticed small tears on his sleeves. No cuts created on his skin, though. But he did felt a hint of liquid streamed down his cheeks. Langa figured he got some cuts on his face and blood trickled down but he was scared to see it. He didn't have time to faint at the sight of blood.

A smirk was visibled on their face. With Langa's fall back, there would be no way for him to catch up. They were nearing the factory after all. Where the tracks narrowed down with no room to move or do tricks. The thought of reaching the winning line clouded their mind, [Y/N] forgotten what Langa was capable of doing.

And speaking of the young man, Langa made a couple of shortcuts to reach the rabbit.

It was beginning to look more of a chase now.

A bluenette skater chasing a white rabbit with crimson eyes. The factory being their thorns of pit.

[Y/N] looked around. Their eyes widen when they spotted Langa once again catching up to them. "What the hell!? How!?" They exclaimed. Cheers were heard from around them in the factory. It pained them. They were supposed to cheer for the White Rabbit. Not a pathetic boy who followed the rabbit down the hole. With teeth gritted, [Y/N] faced the boy completely, a deep frown on their face. "I won't lose." They whispered, coming to a halt by the stairs the narrowed catwalk led to.

Langa frowned slightly, looking around and trying to come up with a way to avoid the rabbit. Yet the same moment, he wanted to see what they would do.

"Oh no..." Miya said. Reki watched with mouth gaped.

"They're gonna hurt him. Real bad." Shadow added in.

"Langa... Langa, careful!" Reki shouted out with both hands around his mouth.

[Y/N] reached behind their back pocket and pulled out two black containers the sized of their palm and shaped like the spade. A single outlined white rabbit drawn in the middle of the spade container. As Langa neared them, [Y/N] raised their hands and like the stopwatch the white rabbit carries, time seemed to slow down around the both of them. Langa's eyes widen as the arms were pulled down, fingers releasing the containers, watching them aimed down at the space between them both. Shouts were heard from around them. Langa looked down at the ground once the containers hit the floor. Right before his eyes and [Y/N]'s, who still stood by the stairs, off the board, glaring directly at Langa with hatred, the containers exploded. Langa squinted when he noticed black like-vines popped out of the containers. They were thick like the rope from earlier, covered in thorns-like pointers as well. But this time, they were a little bigger that it looked like a tangled mess around the catwalk.

The thorned vines decorated the rails. From a far, it looked like an arch entrance was created. Langa closed his eyes and covered himself as he skated through the vines. His clothes getting caught on the thorns that looked like were getting closer. They were shrinking. When Langa glanced up, [Y/N] was already skating down the track, more arched vines coming life around the rails. They were spreading like they had a mind of their own. Langa bit his lower lip back. If he keeps going through the narrowed path, he would be cover in cuts, badly. And once wrong move would leave him blind.

He was determined. He would catch the rabbit.

Langa picked up his speed, deciding to go through the vines until he could figure out what to do. Blood spilled around his clothes from the cuts that covered his exposed skin but he didn't care at the moment. His eyes spotted an opening through the vines. Langa took a deep breath and jumped with his skateboard on that opening, a part of the rails that wasn't cover by the vines and swiftly rotated on the rail. A breeze going through his hair. [Y/N] glanced at their side and watched in shock as Langa clicked the front of his board on the rail that hasn't been decorated with their vines and moved once again with the other side of his board and jumped to land in front of the rabbit, a few feet away from them. The vines behind them both now, still spreading but with no one caught in their webs.

The White Rabbit was in rage. Langa escaped their hole. Despite the damage he received, he managed to crawled his way out and get ahead of them. They couldn't do anything else. The finishline was up ahead. Langa and [Y/N] tried to gather as much speed as they can.

"No. No, no, no, no...." [Y/N] whispered, pushing forward.

Reki, Miya, and Shadow were at the finishline, cheered for Langa to keep going.

Friends. It must be nice to have them. The support one gets. Having fun with them. They didn't had many friends growing up. Always isolated to their bedroom. They weren't allow to attend school like their brother had. No even oversea school. [Y/N] was stuck doing homeschool. No one ever knew about the child who came from another mother. Their father made sure no information about them were leaked out. Their father only paid attention to Ainosuke, after all. Neglecting only [Y/N]. Their aunts' so-called love hurts them. They didn't like the way they disciplined them. It traumatized them. A "love" like theirs was no love. Images was all they care about.

It sucks. And it wasn't fair.

Life wasn't fair.

"No..." [Y/N] stopped right on the finishline. Hands limped by their sides. Cheers grew louder around them.

But they didn't cheer for them, the White Rabbit.

"You did it! Langa!" Reki yelled excited, running up to his friend and threw himself at him. Langa huffed as he catched him but winced in pain.

"Careful, Reki! He's hurt." Miya pointed out, running up to them with Shadow. Langa waved a hand dismissively.

"I'm fine..." He said, resisting the urge to look at the cuts. His friends sighed at his response, shaking their head in disagreement.

Langa only smile before he looked around, looking for the other skater. He glanced back at the finishline and spotted them standing them, skateboard still on the ground, one foot to keep it from slipping away. Their head hanged low. Langa picked up his brother and walked up to them, believing he could possibly talk to them properly.

"[Y/N]-"

"It's not fair..." Langa heard them, yet their voice was barely above a whisper.

"[Y/N]... Wha-"

"Congratulations, my SNOW!" a familiar voice announced, cutting Langa off. Said boy looked at the source of the voice. From the entrance behind the crowd, Adam waltzed in on his board. Like the first time they met. "You did it! You defeated the White Rabbit! How wonderful." Adam applauded, stopping in front of the two young skaters. "You finally caught the rabbit and dragged it out of its hole." Langa frowned. "And I'm sure that rabbit knows what happens when its loses." Adam glanced at his sibling. Their fists clenched together.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Reki called out, taking one step forward.

"The white rabbit leaves Wonderland. Forever."

[nocturna-starr]

Intentional Creation

Prompter: @phantomphangphucker

Prompt: Danny created Phantom intentionally and knew full well what he was doing, the first time.

Words: 1508

In Danny’s totally unbiased opinion, his parents were naive. They were creating a portal to another world! Did they not expect said inhabitants from said world to make an appearance in the living realm? Or did they believe that somehow the very creatures they wanted to study wouldn’t be curious themselves?

“Don’t worry Danno! No ghost would dare cross through Jack Fenton’s portal!”

Sure.

“Danny, your parents are the experts, right? Just leave it to them! Everything will be okay!”

Yep… Nothing to worry about…

“Ghosts aren’t even real!”

Was everyone around him actually this stupid?

He should be playing the newest update for DOOM or studying for Mr. Lancer’s test on the Merchant of Venice. He should not be studying his parents research to make sure they didn’t blow up the house or contaminate him and Jazz again like they did the last time Jack and Maddie Fenton tried to invent a green energy source.

Suddenly Danny heard a knock on the door.

“Danny, it’s Jazz. Aren’t you going to get some sleep? We have school tomorrow!”

“Just looking over some papers.” Danny called. He heard his sister huff, but fortunately she didn’t push the issue forward. No doubt she herself would be up all night studying some new psychology book she had found in the library.

And she said that she was nothing like their parents.

He found himself glancing at the numbers. Math may not be his best subject, but to his untrained eye the calculations his mother made had no mistakes. The machine they were going to finish would certainly rip a hole into another dimension.

Then his dad would tell anyone and everyone who would listen that he would protect them from the threat he himself had created. His dad would go up against the wrong supernatural creature and…

Despite how much his father annoyed him, Danny loved the man. He couldn’t imagine a world without Jack Fenton. His mother, a former cop, might be able to handle the situation slightly better, but even she would become overwhelmed by the ghosts eventually. They needed someone who was on the same power level as the ghosts and who would protect humanity rather than harm it.

Didn’t his parents say that someone had gotten ectoradiation due to their naivety the first time they had built s portal? What was his name again… Paul… Chad? It didn’t matter. Maybe it was possible to replicate something like that! But instead of being contaminated, maybe one could fuse with the ectoplasm.  But who could he convince to give up their humanity for the world?

Danny put down the papers. Didn’t Sam say she wanted to make a difference?

xXx

“Whoa! I can’t believe it dude! Your parents actually made a real portal.” Danny’s best friend Tucker Foley gawked at the expensive machinery in the wall.

“Yeah, if only it worked.” Danny eyed the knobs at the side of the portal. Everything was still in position fortunately. His dad for once in his life had decided not to fiddle with something he had not done.

“It’s actually pretty cool, even not working. Imagine the worlds that are barely out of reach.” Sam sighed.

Danny smiled. Sam was still innocent. He hoped that her optimism, despite being a ghost, would remain. It would suck if he had to repeat the experiment all over again. Tucker wouldn’t be as powerful a ghost. Anyone after that would be a malicious ghost that Jack Fenton would have the honour of destroying.

The goth gently touched the portal, as if it were something sacred. It was like she knew her place of death was here. Tucker snapped a couple of pictures. Danny watched them, noting each soft smile or excited look sent his way. Would they feel this way when the portal took everything they knew in a couple of minutes?

“Wanna look inside?” Danny asked. He felt his heart begin to race. This was the moment that would forever change humanity. In the future, kids would be talking about the origin story of Sammy Geist or Tucker Ghouly. Would they see him as a good person, or a mad scientist? Would they understand why he did this and not judge him only on his actions? Or would they allow his name to fade to time because no one would ever know that the accident wasn’t an accident?

“Sure Danny!” Sam grinned. Without a second thought she walked inside.

“I’m good dude. I’d rather not be inside, and the thing click on.” Tucker didn’t look up from his PDA.

Maybe he should have tried to get Sam to dress in a Hazmat suit. The extra protection could have led her into a false sense of security which would allow for mistakes to occur. The Hazmat suit also could have acted as a disguise. Sam Manson, Amity Park’s most famous goth, would never have been caught dead in one of those.

“What are all of these wires for? What about all these buttons? Tuck you’re the tech guru, you should really come inside.” Sam called.

“Actually Sam, I think you should get out.” Tucker warned. Did Tucker suspect something? Danny had never even written his thoughts down in a journal let alone share them with anyone else! How could his best friend even know?

Why did he suddenly feel so guilty?

“Just a sec Tucker!” Sam called. Her hand grazed a large red button. Danny wanted to tell her to push it or to startle her and cause her to “accidentally” press it. Yet the words refused to come from out of him. Why did he feel so terrible for wanting to save the world? What was one life to billions? It wasn’t like she was actually going to die!

Why was his life more important than Sam’s?

“Hey Sam, I want a turn to see!” Danny found himself calling. He watched as she safely exited the portal. He grabbed the suit his father had made especially for him and put it on.

Sam grinned, ripping off the picture of his dad’s face that he insisted on putting on everything. “You aren’t going in with that on, are you?”

“I guess not.” Danny tried to smile.

“Nervous? Just think of all the cool worlds that this portal can connect to.” Sam grinned.

He nodded, hoping to disguise his dread as minor fear. He took a step in the portal and began walking towards the button that Jack and Maddie Fenton in their infinite wisdom had chosen to keep. Time seemed to slow the closer he got to it. He could hear his own heart beat and feel every breath he took. Once he was transformed, would he miss feeling of breathing?  There was no going back. If he chickened out now, Danny knew he would never build the courage to do this again. Then the world would be doomed.

Once he was close enough, Danny “tripped” and pressed the button. His walk of death couldn’t compare to the absolute freeze in time that occurred just after he pressed the button. The youngest Fenton swore he heard the phrase “All is as it should be…” before the light engulfed him into a world of agony.

He was glad that he didn’t force his best friends to experience it. His essence was ripped apart then sewn back together again. His heart raced before falling into a slow and steady rhythm. He was Danny Fenton, then he was nothing. He was human, until he wasn’t. Everything became dark.

He saw flashes of his life slip by and flashes of the future. He heard the screams of the dying and cries of those who were living for the first time. He felt sudden felt a weight that he had never known fall off of his shoulders. The freedom was only felt for a couple of seconds (or was it years?) before a much heavier weight was flung onto him.

He felt himself begin to walk. A light and a voice beckoned him forward. He felt something grabbing his leg, trying to keep him away. He knew he had to fight against it. If he stayed, then there would be no one to fight against his parents’ mistakes.

As he moved forward, the thing clutching his leg felt heavier and heavier. His steps became smaller and smaller. Maybe it was best if he stayed behind? Just as the it seemed that the thing would win, he broke free. He raced to the light, determined to not be trapped again.

“DANNY! DANNY!” Her heard a woman cry.

As he came closer, the light became a doorway. He smiled and stumbled across.

“Danny is that you?” Sam cried.

It worked?! Danny grinned. Everything would be fine now. Tomorrow there would be problems, but now there could be solutions. Ghosts would attack and he would be right there to stop them. The lack of sleep the previous night and the exhaustion of the portal claimed him. Danny fell into his last peaceful rest.

[angelamajiki]

[ character profile - dabi AKA todoroki touya ]

- Dabi, himself, is not much of a stalker. Tailing civilians in broad daylight in busy parts of the city was just too big of a risk to take. A criminal like him is simply to recognizable and he’s far too busy with League business He’ll likely send Toga or Twice after his babydoll in order to ensure their safety and collect any useful information. He does like to watch them from time to time, however.

- Falling for a hero or even a villain is out of the question. Considering how strong his convictions are, Dabi would want someone untouched by either side of society. Someone pure and clean he can put easily take with him when he and the League bring society to earth-shattering crash.

- He is not one to have an obsession with his object of affections. He is a possessive bastard. Life has been so hard on him, having everything he’s held dear snatched from his clutches. Is it so wrong to want to keep one thing (or person) to himself?

- Dabi’s not one for labeling the relationship you have with each other. “You’re mine and that’s all you need to know, sweet thing.”

- With his own motives in mind, he’s come to appreciate a person who is passionate and driven, someone with ambition and goals. Dabi can feel a certain kinship with someone as intensely motived as he is. However, motives and perspectives can change. He’s sure he can bring you to his world of thinking with a sprinkle of manipulation and work. Doesn’t that sound fun?

- Kidnapping is out of the question. Our favorite villain simply doesn’t have the resources to keep you at secondary location. As usual, he seems to find ways to serve his own interests even in the most dire of situations.

- Keeping them locked inside their own home suits him just fine. He’ll swing by one day and reveal himself, his interest, and his intentions with you.Stop contact with anyone that’s not him, he’ll be all that you need. Don’t leave the house, he’ll come visit when you’re feeling lonely (or when he needs to couch serf until the league can find another place to commandeer). Quit your job, he’ll take care of the bills. He insists that “little things like you don’t need to worry about that”. What kind of man would he be if he couldn’t take care of his babydoll? Certainly not anything like his father, that’s for damn sure.

- That being said, Endeavor’s influence on his development has made Dabi slightly misogynistic. He believes in gender roles, somewhat. If he’s paying your bills, he expects to be taken care of when he comes knocking for a visit or to crash for a while.

- He tries his best to be everything his father isn’t, so he’s not one to force you into anything you’re not willing to do. Except for staying locked up that is. He saw what taking too much did to poor Rei, so he’s not willing to let the same happen to you.

- His favorite pet names include: princess/prince, pretty girl/boy, sweet thing, babydoll, doll face, little girl/boy

- As much as he wants your affections to be returned, he knows it won’t happen in a day, if at all. But slow and steady wins the race, and he’s not prepared to lose your heart.

[aotxfan]

Stranger in Familiar Skin (Floch)

Summary: Female unnamed character realizes that the man she once loved, Floch, is gone to her forever.

Warnings: Mentions of violence and blood.

Her heart was stuttering in her chest as she stared down at the barrel of the gun. She could feel her pulse roaring in her ears as her hands shook in front of her. It seemed like time slowed down as the man before her pointed it directly at her head.

“Floch?”

His name left her lips in a quiet whisper. Desperately, she prayed that she was wrong. Surely this cold hearted man before her wasn’t the same boy she had grown up with.

She hoped he would react with confusion, hoped his name out of her mouth would snap him out of whatever trance he had fallen into, but it didn’t work. At her voice, the finger on the side of the gun simply moved to the trigger. He didn’t press down yet, but the threat was there all the same.

“I told you not to resist,” the man, Floch, responded. He sounded bored as he said it, voice lacking any emotion, and he nodded at the empty cell behind her.

Her eyes were trained directly at the barrel pointing at her forehead. Never in a million years had she imagined they’d be in this situation. Nothing about any of this made sense.

The man before her was someone she knew yet didn’t recognize. A loved one and a stranger all at once.

She and Floch had grown up together as kids and enlisted at the same time in the military. He was her childhood friend and later lover. She had once thought he was her other half, a piece of her soul.

They had known each other since they could toddle and had trusted each other more than they trusted themselves. She had thought she knew him like the back of her hand. He had never given her any indication of being someone dangerous.

“Please,” she forced herself to speak out, “Put it down.”

Her hands were shaking like leafs and her eyes were burning with unshed tears. However, it wasn’t fear that made her freeze. It was heartbreak.

She could feel her heart shattering inside her chest. All around her, her world was spiraling. She felt light headed and sick. It was a miracle she hadn’t passed out yet.

He called her name in a monotone voice. It sounded so wrong coming out of his mouth. She had heard him say it hundreds of times. He had shrieked it in laughter as a child, whispered it reverently as an teen, and used it as a form of a prayer as an adult. Now, however, it sounded hollow and meaningless. There was no affection behind the enunciation of each syllable nor any indication that this encounter pained him as much as her.

“I won’t ask again. Get back in your cell,” he nudged his head towards the empty prison behind her.

She had managed to escape somehow, yet she couldn’t exactly remember how. Ever since he had arrived at the restaurant where the Marley POWs worked, her mind had blanked. After Floch and the other Yeagerists had entered pointing their weapons, she had stopped processing things. So startled by her former lover pointing a gun at her, she hadn’t realized that she been imprisoned nor could she remember how she had gotten out.

“Floch,” she tried again. Her voice sounded like a whimper, but it had no effect on him. Where once his name from her lips would have sent him running to her, he now seemed like an unmovable statue.

Hange had warned her, she recalled. They had told her that Floch had escaped from his cell and joined the Yeagerists. She hadn’t wanted to believe it then, her mind couldn’t have made sense of it, but it was evident now that they had been telling the truth.

The Floch before her was not the one she remembered. Gone was the man she loved. Left in his wake was a terrorist who had killed and would kill again. His hands were stained red, yet his sins seemed not to weigh heavy on his shoulders. His eyes were cold and dark like the bitter sea that churned past the walls, and his hand on the gun was steady despite the fact that he was pointing it at the girl he had once swore to love forever.

“What happened to you?” She exhaled the question out and her first tear rolled down her cheek.

“Happened to me?” He cocked his head to the side and his lips rose in a mocking sneer, “Have you forgotten everything already?”

He advanced on her, and she took a step back. Her heart was beating against her chest like a hummingbird stuck in a cage. Desperately, she wanted some sign that her Floch was still in there. He had to be, she refused to believe that the man she had once loved was gone forever.

“Did you forget how I almost died? How a demon led me to a suicide charge where I was the lone survivor? How the one person in this world that could save humanity was killed in favor of some nobody little boy just because he had friends that staged a mutiny? Did you forget about the way the military you served betrayed humanity’s hope of winning against the Titans? The one who could beat Marley and restore the Eldian Empire to glory? Have you forgotten how I was arrested for telling the public what they had a right to know? Treated as a criminal when all I have ever wanted was to protect my people and serve my nation?”

Another step forward from him. Two more steps back from her.

“I know that-”

She cut herself off knowing not how to continue. She knew everything that had happened. Of course she did.

She had wept at the Battle of Shinganshina when she had imagined him dead, had held him as he woke up from nightmares screaming and covering his head from imaginary rocks, had comforted him as he seethed about Marley, and had visited him every day after Hange had ordered his arrest. She had been there every step of the way, yet nothing had prepared her for this. Somewhere along the way, he had lost himself. Burning like the morning star, he had fallen from grace.

The demon before her now was not the same boy she had once loved.

“Don’t you recognize me? Don’t you know me?” His tone seemed mocking.

“No,” she breathed out.

She really didn’t. She knew Floch, but this wasn’t her Floch.

Her Floch was a little boy introduced to her by her parents as a toddler. He was a little boy who had loved to play with her as a child and would race her down the hills in summer.

Her Floch was a cocky little brat with a dumb haircut who had decided to join the military and enticed her to follow. He was a little brat who liked to tease her and gave her smirky smiles that made her want to hit him.

Her Floch was the teenager that had returned from Shinganshina with a haunted look in his eye. He was a teen that had wept as she held him and had been woken up by his own screams from nightmares that made his throat raw.

Her Floch was the man that had swore to love her and marry her once the war was over. The man that had pledged himself to her and kissed her like she was the only thing that mattered in their cruel world.

This demon before her was not someone she recognized. He was a stranger in familiar skin, a traitor in her country’s uniform, and she could feel her heart crack painfully in her chest.

“I wanted you to join me, you know,” Floch broke the silence, “I told you to help me leak the information when the time came. Had you helped me then, you could have stood at my side rather than being locked up in a cell.”

She closed her eyes and more tears fell. He had asked her for help back when Eren had been arrested. She had refused because she felt it was the wrong thing to do. She had trusted Hange and the military and thought that their orders for secrecy were for a good reason.

Now she couldn’t help but wonder if she had been wrong. If she had gone with Floch, could she have stopped all of this from happening? Could she have led him back to the light and kept him from losing himself in the darkness?

She had a feeling the question would haunt her for the rest of her life.

“Please,” she tried again, “Please come back to me. It’s not too late-”

A cold laugh broke through his throat. He lowered the gun just slightly and pressed a hand to his forehead as if the very thought made him want to double over. His eyes made her shiver.

“But it is too late, doll. Pretty soon Eldia will be restored and all of you, the military that betrayed Eren, will be known as traitors. The people will want you hung. Anyone who stood in the way of the Eldian Empire from rising will water its prosperous fields with their blood.”

“Is that what you want? Do you want me dead-?”

Her breath hitched. She felt lightheaded and had to lean against the cell door in order to keep herself from falling.

What was happening? The room seemed to be spinning.

This wasn’t the man she loved. The man she loved was kind if cocky.

He had been her childhood friend and had seemed an extension of her own soul. She had known his name before she had even known her own, had spent hours at his home playing with him, and had embraced him with sticky fingers from the candy they would share as a symbol of their friendship. He had been the cocky little teen that had stars in his eyes when he told her he had enlisted, had spun her around in excitement when she had joined the military to follow him, and had kissed her when she had chosen the Scouts just like him. He had also been the man that had promised to love her forever, the one that had held her through all those years, and the one that had teased her about marrying her once the war was over.

This man before her was none of those things. He was a cold hearted terrorist that had killed and would gladly kill again. Nothing of the old Floch was left in this new stranger.

“I don’t want you to die. It’s actually a shame to let someone so valuable die. You were a great soldier, no one could beat you in training, you would have made a great fighter for Eren. It’s a tragedy to let someone’s potential die with them.”

She swallowed painfully. She could feel her pulse roaring in her ears, and her hands shook from keeping them up for so long.

“For Eren,” she whispered, “You only want me to live for Eren. Nothing else matters then?”

“Can anything ever matter when the Eldian Empire is facing a dangerous enemy?” He shrugged.

She shook her head and desperately wished she could get through to him. There had to be some part of him that had survived. He couldn’t have lost himself completely, surely?

“Floch,” his name tasted bitter on her tongue, “Please. You know me, you grew up with me-”

You loved me.

She couldn’t bring herself to say the last part, but the phrase could be read in her heart. She bared her soul to him and waited for his response. There had to be some part of him that still cared. He couldn’t have been completely lost.

“Once upon a time,” he finally answered, “Once upon a time I did. Now, all I see is a traitor. You sided with the losing side, doll. I told you Eren was our future, but you just stood there as Hange ordered my arrest. I really, really thought you would-”

His breath hitched and a part of his mask cracked. She felt a flicker of hope rise in her, but it faded as fast as it came. He gathered his composure again before she had even had time to blink.

Soon, the gun was pressed directly to her forehead. Her breath caught in her throat.

“But you’ll pay for it. All of you will pay. When Eldia rises, it’ll rise on the sacrifice of those who doubted it. Your mountain of corpses will serve as a throne for Eren and Zeke to sit on. They will lead this island to greatness, and you all will regret betraying your blood.”

He moved away and shoved her roughly inside the cell. She landed on her back and stared up at him stunned.

He was gone completely. The man before her was a stranger on the opposite end of a battlefield. Whatever he had been before, the man she had once loved, was lost. In his wake stood a demon who would love to see her dead.

Her hands shook as she pressed them to her face. She could feel the last of her strength seep out. Despair churned inside her.

“I love you, Floch,” she meant it as she said it and hated herself for it, “Even now. Even though I can’t recognize you, my heart is still yours. Is it not the same for you? Were all those promises of marriage a lie?”

“Shut up.”

He hissed the words out as he slammed the cell door shut. Locking it, he leaned forward until his face was pressed between the bars. His eyes were cold like a tundra.

“You know what’s really funny? I didn’t do this for Eren, not at first. I did this all for you.”

At that, she froze. Staring aghast, she could only blink up at him. “What?”

He continued and leaned forward further until their faces were only inches away. The bars dug into his skin, but he seemed not to notice. His eyes were trained on hers.

“I did this for you. All I’ve ever done has been for you. I joined the military to fight the Titans so that you could live in a world without them. I joined the suicide charge so that you could escape once the battle was over. I even joined the Yeagerists so that Eldia could rise to power and take its place as a powerful empire. I wanted you to live in a country where you didn’t have to worry about foreign enemies across the sea. I wanted our kids to live in a world where their blood wouldn’t be a death sentence across the world-“

“Our kids?” She repeated it numbly and felt her eyes burn, “I never asked for any of this! All I ever wanted was you!”

He slammed his hands against the bar startling her. She jerked back in shock and hit her head against the cot. Stars burst across her vision and a piercing pain reverberated against her skull. When her hand went to the back of her head, she felt blood.

“Shut up! You were the one who betrayed me! Don’t you remember?!” He was all but frothing as he clenched his fingers against the bars. His knuckles were bleeding from where he had punched the metal, but he seemed not to care. “You just watched as Eren was taken in chains. You just watched as Hange ordered me arrested. I wanted you at my side! I wanted you to join me and fight for our home! In my head, you were always at my side! You stood next to me and we watched our Empire proudly flourish with our family! Yet you chose the wrong side! You sided with the military. You chose them over Eldia! You chose them over me-”

He let go of the bars and moved away. His rage boiled under his skin and simmered in his eyes, yet he shoved it aside. Returning to his mask of neutrality, he pressed a hand to his nose and pinched the bridge.

“You chose this,” he repeated to himself almost as if he wanted to believe it. Needed to believe it. “You chose the wrong side, doll. Now you pay the price. Eldia will rise and all of you traitors will regret ever standing in the way of your motherland.”

She scrambled to her feet as he turned around. Her head was bleeding and she pressed one of her palms against where it throbbed. Her other hand reached for him through the bars, but he was out of reach.

“Floch, please!” Her tears were running down her face now and her vision was doubled. The blow to her head made her feel dizzy and nauseous. “Please! Come back to me! Please! I love you!”

Numbly she repeated it. Her vision was growing dark, and she wondered if she had a concussion. She swayed in place but kept reaching for him.

If only he would turn around. Then he would see that she meant it. Then he would see the love that blazed in her eyes despite the hatred that burned in his heart-

But he didn’t. Instead, he gave her his back and swung the weapon over his shoulder. Snapping into the facade of a terrorists, he banged on the door to signal the Yeagerists outside to let him out.

Ignoring her pleas, he nudged his rifle as he walked away.

“Don’t escape again, doll. Next time, I will put a bullet in your brain.”

With that, the door clanged shut behind him.

Left alone, darkness creeping into the edges of her vision, she sank to the floor. Her eyes struggled to remain open and her head felt like it was splitting into halves.

She called his name softly and was met with silence. Heart obliterated in her chest, she sank to the ground and let darkness take over. The fight had left her just like him.

He was gone, she realized, the man she had once loved had been replaced with a stranger. The boy from all of those years together had been killed by the terrorist inhabiting his body. Whoever the demon in his skin was now, he was not someone she could ever hope to save.

The thought made her close her eyes and fall limply to the ground. She curled up into a ball and let the concussion win out. Her will to fight had been broken just like the remnants of her heart.

And, as her consciousness faded into the darkness, so did all her hope of ever bringing him back into the light.

[forcefully-awoken]

Summary: What she feels, so does he. It has its drawbacks, but mostly benefits.

Pairing: Loki x Sylvie

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: slightly dubious consent, unprotected sex, cunnilingus, angst, pining, idiots in love ™

It has to be wrong, the way he looks at her.

Morals stopped mattering to him a long time ago, after all what boundaries can be crossed that you can’t come back from in a few decades, one mistake is nothing in the scope of a life that never seems to end. Hell, he and Thor do the seemingly same song and dance every fifty years like clockwork but at the end of the day the only person allowed to kill Thor is him. Their brotherhood goes beyond petty grievances like pretending to be dead, or trying to take over Midgard.

But, he muses, if that’s how he is with Thor, what the hell is he meant to do with her?

Sylvie is… lovely, in her own way, he thinks. Sometimes it feels like looking into a mirror for the first time, being able to truly see what’s being reflected back at him. In her he sees his vulnerability, the desperation to belong, the harsh way she spits her words as if they can shield her from the world. He sees the softness, too, how fiercely she believes in what she’s doing, how her eyes widen seeing new parts of the universe for the first time, the wonder and joy at being a part of it. An extension of himself, a mirror that can touch back.

And therein lies Loki’s problem.

What is she, if not his? Certainly there’s something wrong, something not quite right about the way he looks at her- like he wants to eat her, wants to know if the same points on her body make her moan the way he does? Will she shudder when there’s a hand trailing up her back as he does? He wants nothing more to find some tiny corner of time and space and spend a week cataloging the differences in their bodies. No warning klaxons go off when he looks into her eyes, even when she’s yelling at him, because deep down they both know- it’s inevitable.

Sylvie feels it too, even if she won’t admit it, even if she stops looking in his eyes, turning her back to him when she finally takes a moment to rest. She’s more resistant to him than he is to her, a byproduct of their respective upbringings, he’s sure. She resists, and resists, and starts petty arguments that go nowhere and don’t mean anything in the end, because while Loki jerks himself off with quiet desperation every night, Sylvie only has this to release the tension.

“For being me, how could you be so stupid?!” Her voice is harsh, vitriol trying it’s hardest to seep into every word of it, but all he does is smile at her and think about the way those pretty pink lips would taste against his own. “Are you even listening to me?” Her hair is sparking, the magic too much to be contained, and he wonders if his ever did that without him noticing. There’s a quip on the edge of his tongue, something he knows will start another fight but instead he turns over on his side- for once putting his back to her.

Loki can hear her huff of frustration, something that oddly sends a shiver of pleasure down his spine, makes heat pool low in his gut. He hasn’t felt this way in years, the rush that comes with lusting after someone. He’s made his way through the realms just like a Prince of Asgard should, but after a certain point the names and faces blend together- and yet there is Sylvie, bright and shining like a supernova, a head above the rest with no comparison.

It’s quiet between them, for a little while, at least. Neither of them have been able to get in a decent amount of sleep in what feels like weeks, but time works differently here at the end of it all. He knows the others are somewhere close- Mobius never lets them out of direct sight it feels like, but if he closes his eyes it feels like it’s just the two of them by their little campfire. Everything seems to fade away, until all he can focus on is his incredibly hard cock between his legs.

“D’you know how twins sometimes have a connection?” Sylvie’s voice cuts through the night, a little bit too loud, drawing a little bit too much attention and she must realize because her voice soften when she continues on, “How they can feel each other’s pain? Well, I can feel that.” She spits the last word, before getting up to stalk off to who knows where.

It’s wrong then, how he sneaks his hand down the front of his pants, gripping his cock tightly, thrusting his hips ever so slightly into his fist. Now that he’s looking for it, he can feel the way his pleasure doubles, how it intensifies if he thinks about it too hard. How his hand doesn’t feel so large, how it feels so much softer than normal. How his breath sounds a little whinier, how the head of his cock feels so much more sensitive. He knows she’s feeling his pleasure as acutely as he is, knows it’s probably driving her crazy, but he can’t stop, he only wants more- more of this sensation, more of her, more of everything. It’s almost too much but he doesn’t stop, chasing his high with a practiced ease, biting his lip so his moans don’t escape him.

A thought occurs as he pulls his hand from his pants, trying hard not to get his release on his clothes. Usually he waves it away, off into nothingness without a second thought but now- if she can feel what he does then how far does that extend?

With a furtive glance around to make sure that truly nobody is watching, Loki’s tongue darts out, taking some of his cum into his mouth.

The taste of him explodes across her tongue.

It’s saltier than she remembers cum tasting, but fuck if it doesn’t just rile her up more. Fucking rat bastard- she knew she shouldn’t have confessed that she could feel the dirty things he did at night when he thought he was alone. What is wrong with him, demanding so much of her mental energy with such… mundane things when everything she’d ever worked for was at stake?

She has half a mind to go back over there and kick him, right at the base of his spine, right where she knows it’ll hurt the most (because that’s where it hurt the most for her) but then he flicks his tongue out again, and it’s all she can do to not shove her own hand down her own pants. She’s beyond such pedestrian things, hasn’t had to service herself like that in a while, not since she set herself off on this path.

Sylvie knows that he thinks that this is half her problem, why she’s so prickly, why she’s so downright mean sometimes. But there’s no time in her life for that, there’s only the drive forward, veering off track and into Loki has thrown things completely out of whack, and she doesn’t need to take anything else on. She doesn’t need to complicate things even more.

At least, that’s what she tells herself on nights like tonight, when there’s an electric current running through her veins, a hook behind her collarbone that pulls her in one specific direction. It won’t be worth it- he’ll look at her differently, he’ll expect too much, she won’t like him anymore after that. Her self loathing is too large and encompassing to let her mind rest even for a moment, and she thinks if she looks hard enough into his eyes that she’ll see that same loathing.

They’re the same person, the very thing that pulls them together drives her away, and that’s all there is to it, for her.

But, fuck, if she doesn’t want to give into it. He’s going at it again, somehow, and it’s so hard for her to resist the urge to just relax back into the sensation and let him carry her to completion without even trying. She can feel the way he’s taking his time now, stroking over his nipples, making hers pebble up in response. She bites her lip so hard it bleeds when he trails a delicate finger down his own throat. He’s not playing fair at all, she thinks, but that’s all she thinks before she finally caves.

She’ll show him who the true God of Mischief is.

One hand slides under her tunic, twisting at her nipple so hard it’s almost painful, and she thinks she can hear his tiny yelp of surprise off in the distance. It’s been so long that she almost has to learn her body all over again, but Loki has shown her so much of what he likes there’s a certain path that’s easier to follow. She pays close attention to one nipple, then the other, until she’s panting and she knows they’ll be sore in the morning- every brush of her clothes against them is going to send a thrill of pleasure through them both.

Carefully, quietly, she pulls her pants down just enough to be able to get a hand in between her thighs with no issues. She’s soaked through her underwear, she realizes when she presses her hand against her core. She slips a finger under them, trailing through her folds and collecting enough of her juices to lift her finger to her own lips, tracing them before sucking her finger clean. Her taste is better, she decides, much sweeter than Loki.

Once her finger is wet enough she slips her underwear down as well, rolling her fingers over her clit with an almost leisurely pace. She’s halfway there already, no need to rush anything at this point. This orgasm should be good enough to carry her on for another few decades if she plays her cards right. Pleasure shoots through her at the first brush of her fingers, an undercurrent she hasn’t indulged in years awakening like it was only yesterday. One circle becomes two, becomes three, becomes an easy rhythm that drives her slowly mad.

Her other hand has the more important job, opening her folds, one finger dipping into her cunt, testing the waters as it were. She’s tight, but so wet and needy that her finger slips in easily, teasingly until she needs to add another. Why doesn’t she do this more often? Her two fingers stroke in and out of her lazily, crooking upwards in search of a spot she knows will have her seeing stars, and Loki spilling all over his pants in shock. The thought of that- making him cum from nothing like a teenage boy drives her forward now.

It’s easy now, her fingers slip out as the others circle her clit. Slow and steady wins the race, as the saying goes, and it’s certainly holding true. Every little movement she makes pushes her closer and closer to the edge, and she’s so focused on her own pleasure she ignores the world around her. She ignores the strange connection she feels to Loki, the way it seems to be vibrating, pulsing with life. She ignores everything but the heat that builds in her, under her skin, the addicting way she needs to feel hersel cum.

She’s so close now, so close to giving in, biting back a sob as her hips rock forward, fucking herself down onto her fingers one last time as she finally, blissfully snaps. It’s overwhelming, nearly, her head just above water. Just enough to come down, just enough to feel it-

She feels, as easily as her own orgasm, the moment Loki’s self control finally snaps.

It’s so easy, almost absurdly so, to track her down. She hasn’t gone far, hidden in a bus (which gives him a second of pause- what the hell?), and for fuck’s sake her pants aren’t even back up.

“What the fuck,” It’s a statement, not a question as Sylvie scrambles to correct her clothing. She could do it with magic- hell, he could use his own to make it all disappear but that wouldn’t satisfy the pounding of his heart, the need to tear at her, to claim her.

“Minx,” Loki growls out, hands coming up to stop her own. He doesn’t feel so much larger than her when they’re standing face to face but now that he’s on top of her, it’s completely different. His hands cover hers entirely, muscles flexing as he grips the front of her shirt and just pulls. She know he doesn’t do it entirely on his own but the result is the same, the material gives way and her chest is bare before him. He doesn’t bother to kiss her, dipping his head down to wrap his lips around one nipple, pulling it between his teeth.

Sylvie hisses in response, hands coming up to tangle in his hair, and she means to push him away, she really does, but all that happens is she pulls him closer, a moan spilling from her lips, loud and wanton. His teeth come into play as he growls, switching to pay attention to the other pert bud, one hand holding him above her, the other gripping the waistband of her pants to shove them down even more, pulling back just enough to look up at her and demand, “Take them off.”

She’s got half a mind to deny him, but it feels so good that she obeys without question. Her pants don’t even come all the way off, just one leg comes free but Loki takes the moment to fit himself between them anyways. He moves lower, one leg thrown over his shoulder to hold her open for him. It would feel embarrassing if it was anybody else staring at her so intensely. Now, though?

“Get on with it, or get out!” That’s all it takes from her for him to cover her cunt with his mouth, tongue swirling over her sensitive bud, going further down to tease at her opening, like he’s trying to drink her down. She lets her eyes close, head drooping back as he takes the lead. His clever tongue returns to her clit, two of his fingers pressing into her, scissoring her open, preparing her. His fingers find that sweet spot inside of her so much easier, and she feels it when he finds it, her groan matching his. He works at her for what feels like forever, keeping her on the edge until she can decide if she wants to cry in frustration or take matters into her own hands.

Loki finally gives into what he wants, making his way up her, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, the other pushing his pants and underwear down just enough to free his cock. It’s long, thick enough she knows it’ll feel good, with a flushed red tip and pre-cum dripping from it. He doesn’t bother to ask, just lines himself up with her and starts the slow push in.

Both of them exhale a breath neither realized they had been holding when his hips were flush with hers. If the way she feels, and the way tremors run through his body are any indication, this encounter won’t last long. And so, Loki doesn’t hesitate, pulling back until just the tip of him is still inside of her and slamming back in, so hard she’ll feel it for days, and he’ll feel it for longer. It’s a brutal pace, him trying to carve out a piece of her for himself, to write his name in as many ways and shapes and forms on her until she finally gives into what he knows.

He fucks her like it’s a fight, and sucks a bruise on her neck where everyone will see just for the hell of it.

She, in turn, clenches around him just to watch his hips stutter and drags her nails down his back just to watch his pupils dilate.

It’s give and take, push and pull, two halves that are one.

There’s only their moans, the quiet slap of flesh upon flesh in the small space. The others might know what they’re doing, but Loki can’t find it in himself to care, not when Sylvie is making that face, not when her body feels so good. He has to keep fucking her, has to feel her cum on his cock because he’ll go crazy if he doesn’t.

“Please,” One of them gasps out, but neither can tell who. One of Sylvie’s hands snakes between their bodies, rubbing quick, harsh circles around her clit and that’s it for her- she’s cumming again, almost weeping from how good it feels, how complete she is, shuddering and shaking in his arms.

Loki doesn’t last much longer, after her, and the feeling does overwhelm him. He can’t tell where his pleasure ends and hers begin, but maybe it’s the same thing, in the end. He cums deep in her, unable to move back for even a moment. It’s too much, like a punch to the gut, and when it’s finally over he’s panting, breathing heavily like he’s been through battle. He feels like he’s been claimed, all while he thought he was doing the conquering.

Their eyes finally meet, but whatever Sylvie sees in his, she doesn’t like, flinching back away from him like she’s been struck. Something cold claws its way into his chest, making a home there despite how badly he tries to ignore it. He pulls his softening cock out of her with a soft hiss, oversensitive as hell from being with her.

They right their clothes in silence, neither of them looking at the other, though he can feel the way tension rolls off her shoulder in waves.

He doesn’t bother to look back as he leaves.

There’s only their way forward, into glorious purpose.

[twilightofthejedi]

fic: lost in your current like a priceless wine

written for @ahenix !!

thank you sm @trynatalktou for the beta work!

read on ao3: here

summary:

“Or we could just share the bed,” she ventures. his gaze snaps to hers, incredulous. She barrels on hurriedly. “It’s big enough for the both of us, anyways.”

in ep 17, what if chayenzo decided to spend the night in the hotel room after they plotted? and then there was only one bed??

set during episode 17

Cha-young closes the laptop with finality, heading to the table where the tray of food had been set out. She pours a drink into two glasses, and hands one over to Vincenzo where he stands by the large glass window. He smiles, taking the drink from her hand. She leans against the wall, and lifts her brows at him.

“What now?”

“Now we try to get some rest.” He pushes off the wall, and she follows suit. “It’s already late, and we need to be up early tomorrow to see the fruits of our labors.” He grins at her at this, boyish with his enthusiasm.

“All right. If you hand me my room key, I’ll leave first, Mr. Cassano.”

He blinks at her. She frowns at him.

“You didn’t get another room?”

“No. Should I go and get it? I’ll be right back.” He makes to move for the door.

She thinks fast.

“No it’s fine. There are so many couches here anyways. I’ll just make myself comfortable on one of them.”

He looks pained. “No, no it’s fine. I’ll go down and book another room.”

She tries to play it off nonchalantly. “Yah, does money grow on trees for you? I said it’s fine, right? Typical mafia, flaunting how rich you are…”

“All right, all right. Just don’t put your feet up on the coffee table with your shoes on,” he says hurriedly.

Just to be contrary, she sashays over to the couch, not missing how his breath hitches. She flounces on the couch ungracefully, and kicks up her heels-clad feet on the low coffee table, groaning at the relief it brings to be off her feet. Smirking, she looks over at Vincenzo, who looks like he isn’t breathing.

Good.

“What was it that you said?” she asks loudly. He tears his hand through his elegantly styled hair, and she is suddenly seized by the desire to do it herself. To know exactly how the strands of his hair would feel through her fingers.

Focus, Cha-young. You’re supposed to be making him lose his mind, not yours.

He doesn’t seem to notice her racing heartbeat, however. Marching over to her, he takes a hold of her feet and removes her heels, his hands impossibly gentle. Then, he stands abruptly.

“I’m going to wash up. I’ll be done soon,” he says, and she thinks that if all it took to unsettle Vincenzo Cassano was to put her feet up on a coffee table, she would have done it a long time ago.

When he finally emerges, his hair is wet and plastered to his forehead, and all she can think is oh shit.

“You can go ahead, Ms. Hong. I’ll get some blankets for you out of the closet,” he says, and oh, his voice should not be that smooth. She nods, and hopes it doesn’t look like she’s fleeing when she hightails it to the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, she steps out, clouds of steam at her feet. He is running a towel through his hair, and she has to look away, because the simple act of him drying his own hair should not be this attractive to her. She finds a water bottle and takes a long drink from it, her throat suddenly dry.

He seems to realize that she has come out of the bathroom.

“Ms. Hong, I can take the couch, don’t worry - you can have the bed.” She looks towards the couch, and sure enough, his shoes are neatly arranged in front of it. This is patently unfair, of course. He’s paying for the extravagant hotel room; he should be allowed to at least sleep on the bed.

From middle school, to law school, to her internship and partnership at a firm, Cha-young has been known for her ability to think fast on her feet. It is, after all, what allowed her to win trial after trial, to the point in which she had secured a position at Wusang, a prestigious firm, at such a young age. She prides herself on this ability.

It comes especially in handy now.

“Or we could just share the bed,” she ventures. his gaze snaps to hers, incredulous. She barrels on hurriedly. “It’s big enough for the both of us, anyways.”

He nods slowly.

“Yes, you’re right. I’ll take this side.” He moves to the side closer to him, and she stares at him, unable to believe her own luck. She unwinds her hair from the twist on the top of her head, and catches him watching her. He quickly looks away, cheeks reddening.

She smiles to herself. Still got it, Hong.

He climbs gingerly underneath the covers, and she follows suit, but with considerably less grace.

They lay there in silence for a few minutes, the only light originating from the Seoul night outside. She is acutely aware of every particle of her body, and every centimeter of distance between them.

Much to her relief, Vincenzo speaks first.

“I never thanked you.”

“For what?” For once, her customary brashness has abandoned her. Maybe it’s something about the unfamiliar environment, or the lambent light gilding his face in soft light. Or maybe it’s the quiet vulnerability in his voice, as he stares up at the smooth plaster of the ceiling, determinedly not looking at her. She props herself up on one elbow, and turns towards him.

“For staying with my mother that day. And then staying with me afterwards. I never thanked you.”

She is taken back momentarily.

“Why would you need to thank me?”

“You didn’t need to do that. That went beyond the professional limits of our partnership.” She suppresses the urge to roll her eyes, but suspects that if she did that, he would take it as some sort of rejection, which she has no desire to do. She decides to be delicate, for once in her life. Her father is probably gaping in heaven. Cha-young being considerate of someone’s feelings? I never thought I would see the day!

“I think, Mr. Cassano, that we’ve gone well beyond the limits of a professional partnership,” she begins carefully. He goes rigid, and turns to face her, mirroring her position.

“Either way, I greatly appreciated your support. I don’t think I could have gotten through it without you.” Despite his words, his tone is stiff, formal.

Cha-young has known Vincenzo long enough to know when he is holding something back. Still, she won’t push him.

“Of course. I wouldn’t have dreamed of leaving you to face it alone.” Light, unweighted words. Cha-young still remembers the hushed hours of the funeral, how he had stood, head bowed, in his suit with the three stripes on the arm. She hadn’t known what to say, what to do, so she had simply stood there with him, a silent vigil to the maelstrom of his grief.

He inhales a shuddering breath, his eyes fluttering closed. “How did you do it, Cha-young-ah?” She is so (pleasantly) shocked at him dropping the honorific that she is rendered completely speechless.

“Do what?”

“How did you go on? I’ve tried to shut out my mind and keep moving, and I’ve tried to keep busy, but then my mind gets quiet and I don’t know what to do. So how did you do it?”

Outside, rain gently hits the glass of the window, and she looks at him, really looks at him for the first time since she had settled under the covers. He always looks handsome, but now he looks almost liquid in the moonlight slanting in through the hastily drawn curtains. His eyes look like storms, shadows whirling around themselves in the dark expanses of his irises, his pupils blown out.

She thinks, rather foolishly, that she wants to kiss him.

“I gave myself a purpose, remember? I vowed revenge, and I didn’t allow myself to stop.” She flops back on her back. “So as far as dealing with grief, I don’t think I can give you good advice. I’m barely dealing with it as it is.” The rain outside picks up, and she huffs a laugh. They’re really two broken people aren’t they? She can’t even offer him any advice, because she is exactly the same as him in that regard.

“So I guess don’t let yourself stop. We’ll figure out what comes next after we’re done doing everything that needs to be done.” She feels bold, all of a sudden. “And we’ll figure it out together. Because I don’t know, either.”

His hand suddenly reaches out, and takes hers. Her entire body feels like it's running through hot water, and she squeezes his hand back.

“That sounds like a good idea. Excellent plan, Ms. Hong. You truly do belong in the mafia,” he says, but his voice is thick.

She laughs, and he smiles, pleased, looking down at their entwined hands. And suddenly, just like that, Cha-young can not wait anymore. The world that they both live in is far too dangerous for her to deny her own feelings any longer. She has enough regrets in her life that she doesn’t want to add to them. She will never be able to live with herself if she doesn’t act now, so she does.

As simple as that.

She leans down, moving her free hand to curl around his neck, and kisses him. He doesn’t hesitate like he did in the gallery, and pulls her into him, and she sinks into the warmth of his chest. He kisses her back and it’s everything that she has ever wanted. If she thought that the kiss in the gallery was amazing, this is simply heady. She thinks that she could get drunk on the feeling, the feeling of his mouth moving against hers, and the sure, steady warmth of him underneath her body.

When she pulls away, his face is soft, and he reaches up to run his thumb over her lips. She runs her fingers through the outrageously soft strands of his hair, and smooths it away from his face.

The rain has slowed down to a gentle backdrop at this moment - this moment that seems to be frozen in time. She leans down to press a kiss to his jaw.

“Go to sleep, jagiya,” she says, daring to call him the word that she has wanted to call him since he lost the bet about the bungeoppang. He smiles at her, slow and luminous, and turns around, his back to her.

She settles behind him, and reaches forward to wrap her arms around him, and press her lips to the nape of his neck. He sighs contentedly, and she can feel it in his chest.

The rain patters on, and Cha-young can not think of a better way to go to sleep.

[seawater-aurelia-writing]

My Choice

This was inspired by @tri3tri​‘s Happy Ending AU of her Draconia Family Series! Truly an amazing writer that can tug on your heartstrings with her amazing work! Basically I have a marshmallow heart and wanted a kind of happy ending buuuuut I got too into it and it’s ...a thing!    ╮(￣ω￣;)╭

Thank you, @tri3tri​, for letting me write this!! I hope I did your characters justice!!  ヽ(o＾▽＾o)ノ

Warning(s): Angst with a happy ending?, manipulation

The elegant placement of the finery upon the table did nothing to relieve the tension that was within that frigid room. Even as you tried to keep your face respectfully passive, you felt it cracking as your heart raced and boomed in your chest.

“I am certainly honored you chose to accept my invitation.” Maleficent began, her penetrating voice easily cutting through the silence and causing you to flinch in your seat. “Your stubbornness is quite infamous; I did not expect you to attend.”

You remained silent, keeping your head down respectfully. You didn’t want to accept the invitation in the first place; Lilia hadn’t told you that you were going to be having tea with the Witch of Thorns herself. Then again, why would he? He seemed to gleefully revel in your fear and suffering.

“Years and years of the lifestyle you now possess, why, it would be enough to make any woman, mortal or Fae, overjoyed and…witty with glee.” Maleficent’s voice shifted, causing you to look up and glance at her glowing eyes. The powerful Fae stared at you with a look that could melt the flesh off a dragon and yet, there was something almost softer than usual in her gaze. “Why, praytell, are you not happy? You are Queen of the Valley of Thorns with one of the strongest magical users this world has ever seen as your beloved husband.”

“Because, your excellency, happiness…it was never something I could have.” You hesitated as memories of your past punishments flooded your mind: Lilia’s sadistic gaze and grin, the chilling sensation of Malleus laying his hands upon you. You never wanted any of this, you never wished for any of it. How could you be happy? “They wouldn’t allow me to have it.”

“Meaning you still long for your freedom, do you not?” Maleficent scoffed, her tone matter-of-fact as she seemed to scold you. “Happiness is subjective, child. If you only believe happiness is found outside of these walls, then you will never find happiness.”

Anything was better than living here with Malleus, of that you were sure! “But, with all due respect, there could still be-“

“Hope? A way out? A chance for my grandson to change his mind after all of this time and set you free to ride off into the sunset to a happily ever after?” Maleficent chuckled condescendingly as she cut you off; She easily hid the glimmer of amusement within her eyes as she noticed the gloss over your eyes. “Do not be naïve. Perhaps at a time, before my grandson was so taken with you, there was…a glimmer of hope.”

“So…what you’re saying is…all I can do now is...give in?” You felt only the faintest tremble of terror within you as you registered how freely you were speaking to Maleficent. The words, though hesitant and trailing, flowed from you before you could even stop them. “There’s no way for me to…”

“One can never have all that which they desire; it would be naïve to think so. That is why none are happy in this castle now.”Maleficient lectured calmly before she took a sip from her teacup, her fingers poised gracefully.

“…what do you mean?” None in the castle? You weren’t so selfish to think you were the only one suffering, thoughts of S/N coming to your mind in a flash; But you were the one who has suffered the most, had been forced to endure the most. Malleus had all that he ever wanted; he was happy…wasn’t he?

“You wish to be human again, to have your old memories restored, to return to the life and world that you once had outside of these walls and to live happily ever after when in your heart you know there is no escape.” Maleficent looked squarely into your eyes, her tone firm as tears began to fall from your eyes. “And the result? You are destroying yourself from the inside and seek to take my family with you. And you do not see the folly in such thinking?”

“…I just wanted to be me again.” You covered your face with your hands, no longer able to hold back from sobbing. By denying Malleus, by neglecting S/N as if he never existed to begin with, you believe you could hold onto the thin shred of what you felt was still You. It let you pretend that some semblance of yourself still belongs to yourself- that Malleus never won. “Malleus has taken everything from me – That’s not love, that’s…that’s not a way to live.”

“Yet you do so constantly.” Maleficent stood from her chair, her glowing eyes never leaving the sobbing woman in front of her. Her face slipped into a slight scowl as she kept her voice calm and regal.  “Before me, I see a human in a Fae’s glamour – selfish and stubborn as all your kind are. Defying one such as my grandson for the sake of nothing but stubborn pride even at the sake of your own mental stability and yet, you claim to no longer be yourself? Such foolishness.”

“……” Pride…that’s all it is, isn’t it? That’s all that’s driven you this far and what keeps you from just giving in; To listen to Lilia, to Malleus, to all the others, and just accept that this is your life now. But you didn’t want Malleus to win…but he won the moment he turned you into a Fae, taking what memories you had of your life before him.

‘All of the pain… all of my suffering…what has it been for? I’m hurting everyone and yet I suffer the most… I want to go home…but what is home? I want to be me…but aren’t I ‘me’ now?’  You thought to yourself, you tears falling heavier as Maleficent’s words sunk into you.  “I don’t…want to h-hurt anymore!”

Maleficent laid a hand on your shoulder as she leaned over your pathetically sobbing form.  Her eyes narrowed in glee as Diablo landed on her shoulder, sharing in her amusement.

“When a door is closed, a bridge is burned, it is folly to hope to one day return through it as you are ignoring the new path ahead of you,” Maleficent advised, keeping her voice motherly as you sniffled and spluttered trying to slow your tears.  “You did not have a choice in choosing Malleus, nor the life that you now live, I will concede to that fact. However, delusions of obtaining that which is out of your reach only heightens your misery, does it not?”

‘It does, doesn’t it? The more I fight and the more I fail, the worse this feeling becomes inside of me…’ You roughly wiped your face with your hands; Maleficent’s hand on you no longer felt as ominous as you once believed it to be but was comforting – as comforting as she could be, which was more than you remembered feeling in a long time.

“But…how can I be any other way? I didn’t – I don’t….I won’t choose him…”

  “…….Listen well to my words, for you seem to be deaf.” Maleficent rolled her eyes as she leaned down, whispering to you as she once did to Malleus when he was but a small hatchling. “You will not be happy unless you move on from that which you cannot have; Even our kind must learn this harsh truth. By allowing yourself to give in, you are not submitting to him, but to yourself. Cease these foolish actions of yours – if not for my grandson – then for your sake…and the innocent child whom you are tormenting.”  

When the gentle grip disappeared from you, you looked up through tired eyes and only caught the ending of Maleficent’s magical fire. ‘She teleported….’

Weeks passed since Maleficent and you last spoke privately to one another, giving you time to mull over the words they exchanged.

‘Submitting to…myself.’ You thought, idling toying with the green ribbon in your hands. The small box that sat upon your lap felt heavier than it truly was, but it was oddly comforting especially now. ‘I control my mind…my decisions are my own.’

“Your Majesty…” The lady-in-waiting called hesitantly, bringing you out of your thoughts. You didn’t bother to turn around as she finished speaking. “The party is u-underway…”

You took a deep breath, resolving yourself as you stood from your bed; The gift held delicately in your hands. S/N’s birthday.

“…Let us go.” You spoke calmly, slowly allowing you to escort you to the living room from your room. You tried to ignore the sigh of relief she released as you both neared the living room.

‘Do this…’

The tension in the room spiked when you appeared in the doorway, barely concealed looks of happiness and shock on the faces around the room. You glanced at Maleficent, who sat regally beside Malleus with Diablo perched on the arm of your chair; When she gave you the faintest of nods, you looked at S/N who shakily stood up from his chair.

‘Because you want too.’

“M-Mother?” S/N couldn’t keep his voice steady as he stared at you without blinking a single time, unsure if you were truly before him. That his mother – who neglected him all this time, had come to his birthday celebration.

You looked at him, fighting the urge to turn and merely leave as you would normally do. As you took a deep breath, steadying yourself, you gave him a weak but gentle smile; The sensation feeling foreign on your face after such a long time.

“…Happy…birthday, S/N.” You spoke softly, your words slow but flowing easier as you allowed yourself the luxury of saying them.

S/N rushed to you, his arms tightly wrapping around your waist as he ignored everyone else in favor of you; The one gift he had been waiting his entire life to receive, given to him on his birthday. The thought of it brought tears to his eyes as he cried softly into your stomach.

Maleficent smirks to herself as she pets Diablo, watching as Malleus approached his family with barely concealed happiness. When he laid his hand on you, pulling you and S/N into his arms, her smirk only grew as you flinched but steeled yourself, allowing yourself to give in to the family embrace and allowing happiness to practically flowing out of those in attendance.

[dranza]

Race you

Draco x Reader

Getting a little closer to Draco. Its a slow burn!

Word count: 1804

Warnings: I dont think so, please let me know if you notice any.

“Hey y/n. Y/N?” A deep whisper calls at me from the desk behind.

I had come to the library in my study break to get away from all the noise and actually be able to concentrate on my charms essay. I had a whole week to do this but low and behold I was having to rush it in my final break before its due. Trust me to try and cram 3 pieces of homework into an hour and a half. I had already been distracted when I saw Draco walk into the library a little while ago. As he slowly walked through each aisle, browsing the books, a soft knot in his brows as he read through a few pages. He had me stuck in a daze. I was glad when he passed to sit behind me, out of sight, making me finally able to focus on trying to get this bloody essay finished. 

“Y/L/N!” his whisper was more direct now, one sharp order for me to turn to him. 

“What?” I shoot back at him, I can get rather irritable when I'm studying, but as my eyes catch him all my frustration leaves me. 

Draco sits with three books open in front of him, one hand twirling a quill between his fingers and his head resting in the palm of the other. His grey eyes look up at me and he pouts. “What were the three water-related constellations Professor Sinistra pointed out in the last lesson?”

“Errr…” I give him a sorry look, I haven't even started to think of the astronomy homework yet.

“I’ve got Pisces and Eridanus but I can’t, for the life of me, remember the third.” He flips through the book closest to him in frustration. 

“One minute…” I pull out the notes I had borrowed from Hermione and scan through to the constellation names. “Only Hermione is actually able to read her rushed scribbles. Errr, Cetuh? Cetus? ” 

Draco sits up with this information and grabs at one of his books. “I swear I read through that. C-E-T-U-S?”

I nod in response. 

With his fingers gripped tightly around the quill he hurriedly copies out a sentence from the book and dramatically bounces his hand off the parchment as he adds his final full stop. “Perfect. That's me done then.” He sets his quill into the ink and leans back in his chair. His long arms stretching up over his head for a few seconds and then releasing them with a loud sigh. “How much have you got left?”

“I just need to proofread my charms paper. Then I’ve got arithmancy and then astronomy, so not much!” I reply sarcastically and then throw my hands to my face letting out a frustrated, but quiet, squeal. 

“I can help... if you want.” 

I slowly let down my hands, eyeing the white haired boy, shocked that he would be willing to waste his break to help me. “Really?”

Draco chews at the inside of his mouth, “I mean, only if you want, it's just that I’ve already done it so.” A smirk begins to form on his lips. “Of course not suggesting that you wouldn’t be able to get it all done in the next 45 minutes. Look at you, you've clearly got it all organised and planned out.” With a nod of his chin he signals towards the messy piles of notes, parchment and books I have on my desk. 

“Hey!” I giggle, “It's an organised mess ok.” 

“That's exactly what I'm saying.” he stacks the books on his table into a neat pile and drags his chair to seat himself opposite me. Taking the parchment from my hand he slides a pot of ink towards me. “Here, I’ll finish reading this for you and you get started on the Arithmancy Worksheet.” 

I smile at him as I accept the ink and flip open my Arithmancy book, scanning over the contents table.

Without taking his eyes away from the piece he is reading, Draco mumbles a quiet “46.” 

I drag my finger to number 46 and there it is, the exact topic I need. “I knew that.” I whisper with a cheeky grin.

He lets out a deep, breathy chuckle, tilting his head to the side, “Ofcourse.”

I speed through the question sheet, looking up at the handsome boy in front of me now and again as he tries his best to be discreetly correcting some mistakes on the sheet he is reading.

I sit my parchment to dry and move onto the Astronomy worksheet. This is also something I should be able to speed through. Although the names can tend to escape me, constellations have always been so interesting to me, also I have Hermione’s notes so I can’t really go wrong. 

Draco places the finished paper onto the desk and rests his elbows on top of it. “You know, for someone who stays up all night and leaves their work till the last minute, you sure as hell have managed to write a brilliant essay.” Sliding his chin over his fingers until he finds a comfortable spot to rest it, he smiles at me. 

I lift a single brow at him. “Oh please… I saw you crossing out and adding stuff to it.”

“I didn’t say you were a good speller. Bloody hell, you were adding and taking away the wrong letters left, right and centre.”

I let out a hearty laugh and exaggerate on his point. “Yeah, I rarely manage to spell anything but my name right.”

“But what you’re actually saying is quite an interesting perspective. Contrary to what I’d heard, I believe you're not just a pretty face are you?” 

I try and fail to stop the blood rushing to my face. “Thankyou Dray.”

“Dray?” he tilts his head, frowning but amused. “What, two syllables just too much work for you?”

I click my fingers and point at him jokingly. “Yes… also I think it suits you, it’s cute.” I shrug.

Draco shakes his head taking in a sharp breath, now it was his turn to try and hide a blush. Leaning over me, he reaches a book from his desk. From it he pulls out the book mark (a pressed stem of eucalyptus) and begins to read.

We sit in an easy silence while I finish the last few questions. 

The both of us look up as Madam Pince walks up to our desks signaling to the clock. “Do you two not have a class to get to?” 

“Shit.” I mutter under my breath as we begin clearing our things. We only had 5 minutes to get to the highest tower on the other side of the castle for astronomy class.

After promptly sliding all his stuff into his bag, Draco waits patiently for me to messily stuff my bag with the scraps of parchment, books and quills I had spread all over the desk. I look up at him as I finish and he holds his arm out, gesturing towards the door. “After you.”

We exit the library and I notice just how long Dracos legs are, his strides are probably double mine. “Ok, I know we're in a rush but my tiny, little legs cannot keep up with you.” 

He looks back at me with a cool smirk and begins taking longer strides. “Not my problem y/l/n.”

“Hey!” I jog a few steps to catch up to him and playfully elbow his side.

He stops abruptly, looks me dead in the eyes and then caught in a laugh he shouts “RACE YOU!” He speeds away, catching his bag as it slips from his arm and throwing it over his shoulder.

“WHAT? NO!” It takes me a second to get over my initial shock and I race after him. 

I keep my eyes fixed on his snowy hair and as we weave through the other students and I start catching up to him. 

We run through the courtyard, me just a few steps behind him. “Come on slow coach!” he calls out to me as he spins to see how far behind I am. “Oh shut up Malfoy!” I retort, laughing as I skip over the legs of some 1st year girl laying on the grass.

As we turn into a hallway Harry and Ron are walking towards us. “What are…?” Harry begins to question but Draco cuts him off.

“Excuse me gents.” he blurts out as he shoots between the two Gryfindors. 

“Eee. Sorry boys, see you in potions!” I follow his lead, leaving both of them confused.

We get to the end of the hallway and Draco turns to the left. “Uh-OH! You sure that's the way Dray?” I shout in his direction as I turn right. 

He u-turns in the middle of the corridor and sprints after me. “You just got so lucky!” 

“You've been in this school for how many years now?” I tease him, approaching the Astronomy Tower stairs. 

“You cheeky git.” he cackles as I turn around to stick my tongue out. 

Our breathless laughter echoes through the circled staircase, wrapping me in a blanket of joy. This is a moment that’ll get stored, not in my mind, but deep in my heart. I try my best to run through the pain forming in my thighs but Draco soon catches up to me. We get to the top of the stairs and I let my back fall into the wall. “Oh my goodness, I’m never running again in my life.” 

Draco places one hand on the wall to steady himself and the other on his face, squeezing at his cheeks. “AAA HA HA!” he shouts, his voice husky from the rush “Stop laughing, my face hurts.” In that moment, he is a vision to behold. His broad chest rising and falling heavily as he catches his breath. His robe hanging off his shoulders, pulling back his shirt and the gaps between the buttons revealing flashes of his bare skin. The afternoon sun, golden over his face.

I snap back into reality as Hermione calls our names sternly from the classroom door. 

“Coming.” I answer her and turn back to Draco who gives her a nod. “All that and we’re still late!” 

“Still, not bad for your tiny, little legs.” he smiles down at me and shifts a strand of hair from my face. 

“Pretty bad for your long legs though.” I let out a silly giggle. “I can’t believe I actually won.”

He frowns. “Pfft, you got lucky and it’s a draw.”

“Nope, I win!” I wink. He tries to protest but I press my finger to his lips, “Shhh.” as I step backwards into the classroom.

Hope you liked this, I loved writing it.

If you want more here is the masterlist!

[sleepymccoy]

Aziraphale’s demon aspect

As voted by 246 people!

The winner is

Owl

with nearly 26% of the primary vote

many people added in their free form answers that they were imagining a barn owl specifically

Owl was the front runner the whole way through this survey, but most of the time by a very beatable margin. The 40 or so people who voted in the last night really tipped it over, it was a tight race! And the results are crazy split imo, a quarter of votes constitutes a win! I love the different opinions and ideas we all have so so much

Ram/sheep came in a hearty second with 16.5% of the vote

A very regal demon there.

After that it gets a little murky, so I’m going to share the second graph I made when is every animal that got more than 1% of the vote. So it’s the top six animals

Magpie and Lion holding strong! Then Moth and Goat looking very good

The second question let you vote for as many options as you thought were appropriate for Aziraphale! So, there were a lot more write-ins! It’s crazy!

I’m using google sheets so I can’t get it to show you every name, but the raw data will be in a read more so you can scroll through everyone’s beautiful imagination there

Again, Owl winds with a solid 20% of the vote. Ram/Sheep coming in with about 15%, followed by Moth, Magpie, Goat, Lion, then Tortoise.

Tortoise was 11th in the first round, tied with Snake (but pale), and managed to surprise me by coming through so strong in the second. Slow and steady, baby.

Nearly everyone who wrote in about Magpies told me that Magpies hoard stuff, so it’s nice to see the hive mind at work there!

Five people told me they were voting goat because of that one piece of art by @hollow-head​ that shows Aziraphale scaling a bookshelf like goats do cliffs. As an artist myself I found it legitimately moving that this one image had stayed with people so strongly. That’s just beautiful. Here’s an example of just one person’s comment

idk dude i just remember one person posted art of him scaling the bookstore shelves like those goats scale mountains and just eating his clothes while he reads it was so fuckin funny but anyway goat eyes are great or he could have lil stubby horns that r covered by his hair

One moth enthusiast took the time to give me a short essay on their choice of moth. I have included a portion of it, cos it was so great

So if I had to choose an insect, it would be a moth, preferably a Megalopygidae, also known as the Flannel Moth. They are fluffy, white-beige and look innocent and fluffy, but their larvae can cause painful inflammations. A poodle moth would also fit because it's almost pure white.

Here’s a flannel moth for everyone

and a poodle moth, which i honestly thought was a hoax but i looked into it just now and it seems legit? There’s not a tonne of proof, but the og pictures are from a scientists who stands by them, so like, wow

And then a DIFFERENT PERSON put this in;

the moth i had in mind is Acherontia atropos, in polish called Zmierzchnica trupia główka (meaning more or less "dusk death's head"). i have a whole symbolism planned out and stuff 

Fucking, moth fandom come through!!

I’m vaguely scared of moths, fun fact. I don’t like the thick thunking sound they make when they hit stuff.

Here is the second round but with all the animals that got four or less votes removed for ease of viewing

the one segment there at 12 o’clock that google hasn’t labeled for me is Swan at 0.9%

I cannot believe I didn’t put swan in as an option, that’s all write-ins

So, to summarise, I suggest you take a lot of this with a grain of salt. It is not meant as an instruction to fandom or to railroad creativity. I have a narrow corner of the Good Omens fandom that I interact with, and while this quiz was up for a week I’m not sure it reached a great variety of people. About 250 folks filled it out, which was tonnes more than I expected and I love each and every one of you for filling it out!! But I have noticed that Owl was first on my list and in the free form answers the example prompt I gave included, “such as a breed of owl that specifically speaks to you,“ so I think it’s possible I did that unknowing bias thing that practiced survey folk know now to do. So, grain of salt.

I also think that if animals like Swan and Cat were in the list of options they’d’ve gotten more votes because the people who voted for those were coming up with it fresh themselves. I suspect people would’ve voted for them, but it just didn’t occur to them in the moment. In much the same way it didn’t occur to me in the moment I was writing this survey.

So people know, I got the ten or so animals that I put in the survey from searching the demon!aziraphale tag on tumblr, so it was all stuff that other people had come up with. I was trying to avoid my own bias, but i think in hindsight i could’ve done better!

Having said all that, this was all so much fun and the results are clear!!! Love a good owl!aziraphale

Imma continue to draw my boy as a ram, though. Cos this was all just for a laugh <3

numbers and a few more things under the cut

So some of these have half a vote ascribed to them. That’s for people who in their freeform answer said things like this;

ngl, that one post about him being a swan still makes me laugh

Mourning Dove. Though that Scallop answer was fucking brilliant

And I kinda made a judgement call that that wasn’t a vote, but it was kind of a vote. So I gave them half a point.

There were a few situations where people would write in a specific species. If I got more than one vote for the root animal I just grouped them together, but if it stayed the only vote then it kept the species. Cat got the most specific species mentioned, and in the second vote Bat had a few species mentioned (albino bat being my fave), but I ended up grouping them all just under Cat and Bat to give them a better chance of getting on the graph. There were probably a few other examples but I can’t think of them. The one exception to this is the person who wrote-in Duolingo Owl specifically. For that one I figured Owl is already pretty solid, and that’s just fucking funny, man

I was also pretty generous about some stuff. So, this person didn’t vote for Moose but they clearly regretted it so I added a vote for Moose in the second one where you could vote for multiples. They kept their Ram and Goat votes, of course, but I added Moose for them

I get very bastard energy from my demon az headcanons. Like f-ing shit up for a laugh more than anything, but otherwise indifferent. That's kinda why I like the ram/sheep/goat thing so much because it reminds me of indifference and random chaos. Or a moose. Shit, I should have written in moose

So yeah, it’s hardly a double blind study that’d stand up to any real criticism, but it was fun and I think the essence of it is fun!! Scroll through and have a read. Imma pull a few more of my fave write-ins and put them down the bottom cos it’s great. Esp the ones that only got one vote, the reasonings were stellar on some of those

Here is the first vote results, where everyone could only vote for one animal each

Owl 63 Ram/Sheep 40 Magpie 28 Lion 26 Moth 21 Goat 17 Swan 4 Eagle 4 Dove 4 Cat 4 Tortoise 3 Snake 3 Scallop 2 Rat 2 Rabbit 2 Mongoose 2 Badger 2 Shima Enaga 1 Shark 1 Porcupine 1 Orangutan 1 Mouse 1 Long Furby 1 Hippopotomaus 1 Goose 1 Duck 1 Dragon 1 Cow 1 Cereberus 1 Boar 1 Bee 1 Bat 1 Alpaca 1

Second Vote results, where everyone could vote for as many as they wanted

Owl1 82 Ram/Sheep 136 Moth 108.5 Magpie 98 Goat 96 Lion 72 Tortoise 61 Snake 37 Eagle 33 Cat 9.5 Swan 7.5 Lizard 4 Rabbit 4 Badger 3 Mongoose 2 Dove 2 Mouse 2 Squirrel 2 Bear 2 Raccoon 2 Capybara 2 Dragon 2 Bat 1 Long Furby 1 Rat 1 Boar 1 Goose 1 Peacock 1 Pangolin 1 Lindworm 1 Moose 1 Chinchilla 1 Duolingo Owl 1 Cackatoo 1 Crow 1 Cow 1 Alpaca 1  Dodo 1 Shark 1 Big Dog 1 Snow Leopard 1 Scallop 0.5

All voting was optional. To help explain how scallop lost 1.5 votes from first to second, I believe the people who voted for it in the first question just skipped the second cos they’d said their bit.

In terms of how many people engaged with the questions, Q1 had 245 answers and one skip. Q2 had 241 answers and 5 skips, and Q3 where I just let people talk at me if they wanted to had 84 answers and 162 skips.

So please enjoy my selection of free form answers. They all made me smile but putting all 84 in seems excessive to me, so I’ve chosen the ones that are either full blown mini essays or that make me laugh. It’s still a lot, this project brought me so much joy

-

Shima enaga - It's the hair man

Cow (aka golden calf)

Scallop. He is a snack.

Swan. Elegant but very capable of fscking you up. Mates for life.

basically anything that is both gentle in nature and fiercely loyal, territorial and protective (but prone to anxiety). Also hedonistic esp. with food. For all of these reasons, I think a dog would be the best choice.

Dragon with his hoard of books

it’s about the teeth. just too sharp and too many to be human. (comment from op here, this person voted for shark, just for context)

Turkish Angora cat. Magnificently fluffy, incredibly intelligent, love heights and will jump off crazy high things and land on your head, gloriously dignified until they see a string and run into a wall, love one or maybe two persons to distraction and want everyone else to fuck off, will drape themselves over their person’s shoulders and go to sleep, range from “will jump in the sea to hunt fish and has a murder pit full of seagulls they’ve massacred” to “will fall over at the sight of a baby bird”, very particular about food and will yell at you if you get it wrong. Also the breed that some asshole took three cats from and bred parent to child to make Persians. The cautionary tale has been acknowledged and we love our crazy smart, single braincelled children.

I usually imagine him as an owl because they are nocturnal (and we know that Aziraphale can easily stay awake the whole night reading). Also the image of an owl puffed up is kind of ridiculous and reminds me of him, of how an annoyed Aziraphale would look. However the options above have made me think that a lion would suit him very well, too. A lion or just a very BIG cat. I mean, he makes pleading eyes to get what he wants, likes to be confortable, is a bit of a bastard and often puts himself in awkward situations from which he needs to be rescued. He just... acts very cat-like in my opinion. Also owls and cats are both predators, but are usually imagined (or, at least cats are) as cute little creatures, just like Aziraphale is an Angel of the Lord (a Warrior, actually) but looks all soft and cute and huggable. I dunno. Maybe I just want to pet an Aziracat.

I love all the other people's thoughts about demon!Aziraphale, but what about the honey badger? I try to explain why I have it in mind for demon!azi: its name (I think it's funny, expecially in English because 'honey' can make you imagine it's something sweet (it is for me), while the 'bad' in badger can be an alarm bell (like 'be careful! It is not like it seems!')); its face (ok, who can say its face isn't cute? I think, and hope, nobody can, and like the name, it is a misunderstanding: as always, be careful, it's not like it seems!, I think demons can say something about demon!azi as like "you don't seem like a 'good' demon, you can't be, your face (animal and human) is too f-ing disgusting sweet to be a demon!", I think maybe even angel!crowley, at the beginning, can think something like this ("how in the world somebody so cute like you can be a demon?"), then he discovered how demon!azi can be a very talented demon sometimes, but in Crowley's mind azi is still his little cutie angry furry); its furry's colour (black=demon, white/grey/silver/idkitsname= color of demon!azi's wings, because even if he fell, I can't say no to his white wings 😭); it is a snake's predator (and in my mind angel!crowley is still a snake); its solitary life (demon!aziraphale is alone and he doesn't mind it, unless it's angel!crowley we're talking about, then our cute demon minds it); its behaviour (demon!azi, even if he's cute, can be a really very talented demon: honey badger is fearless and dangerous, it can fight bigger animals if there aren't other chances and it can't escape); its skin is very tough (except for a soft/safe spot, behind its neck if I remember well, that only angel!Crowley knows and sometimes he uses it to calm demon!azi down or make azi do some good deeds); its diet (it has a sweet-thooth, for honey in primis, but it can eat everything it wants... Doesn't it resemble demon!azi?); it's smart (search for Stoffle on your browser if you don't know)... Ok,I think I finish, sorry for the novel 😅

I tend to think of animals that meet three criteria: (1) they exemplify “faults” in his character exaggerated to “sins”—gluttony, greed/hoarding, sloth, (2) they are species that favor fawning or flight as a defense mechanism but can also be bold on occasion, and (3) blend very well or have a keen affinity with human society, specifically thriving in urban (i.e., city) environments. This is mostly because I can’t see “Aziraphale” in a reverse AU that doesn’t preserve some of his core traits as an angel (a little hedonistic, hoarding, anxious, etc.). So I like city-dwelling bastard animals with bonus points for relation to scripture, like a rock dove or a fox or an owl.

Owls aren't  smart, and the pedant in me says not an owl. But, thinking on it, demon aspect, owls are perceived as smart, but designed as deadly silent predators, patient and solitary. So actually demon Aziraphale could take on more owlish aspects. I just like cockatoo better, since they are smart, and showy. Or a crow, although that does amusing things with Crowleys name.

god imagining him as a chimera is !!! (comment from op, there was this odd flurry of mythical animals being voted for one night. i think the survey hit a corner of fandom that leans that way. there was also dragon, another chimera, a griffon, and a lindworm all at the same rough time)

Magpies are great because they’re cute and fluff themselves up (go look at Sophie the magpie) and like hoarding their favorite things but also I’ve watched one just straight up kill another bird before because corvids are sneaky little bastards with no lack of a mean streak if they’re crossed

It’s the duolingo owl, I’m so sorry op but it just is. I genuinely don’t mean to clown on your post, but this take was delivered to me in a sleep induced haze and I believe it’s the god given truth. Demon Aziraphale WOULD try to make you learn a dead language and he’d go about it in a vaguely threatening way (comment from op, you’re so fucking right dude. also, shit like this is made for clowning, i’m with you 100%)

When choosing a demon aspect for a Aziraphale, I usually tried to keep in mind the artistic tradition of which animals are linked with demons. The Good Omens team seems to have drawn inspiration from that source because all the animals we do see are either reptilian or insectoid. Those species were often shown inhabiting hellish landscapes in Renaissance and Baroque paintings. However, Aziraphale never struck me as cold or slimy or hard like an exoskeleton. So if I had to choose an insect, it would be a moth, preferably a Megalopygidae, also known as the Flannel Moth. They are fluffy, white-beige and look innocent and fluffy, but their larvae can cause painful inflammations. A poodle moth would also fit because it's almost pure white.

Ok so the only reason I pick magpie is because those bastards are smart as hell but also know how and when to inconvenience the shit out of you, and if you gain their trust then they're absolute darlings but if they decide "nah, dont like ya" then you're basically done and you'll wake up every morning with shit on your car window. I also chose sheep/ram cuz I mean... idk it suits him. I don't remember my other choice but I'm sure I had a good reason.

I feel like a barn owl would suit him well but I'm not really sure why, I also think that a moth would suit him really well because of the whole "moth to a flame" thing and as a demon he would have gotten burned because of that attitude.

I write a reverse AU fic called Lambs to the Slaughter where Aziraphale's demonic aspect is an albino sheep! I imagine him as a mix between a wild Argali ram and the first woolly domestics. I chose an Argali because they're the largest species of wild sheep, but I wanted him to have traits of a domestic breed because he obtains his animal aspect from a sheep in Abel's flock which would be several generations down from the original wild species in Eden. I really think a sheep suits Aziraphale! They're an incredibly common animal and have been since they were first domesticated. Likewise, since the start of human history, Aziraphale has been living side-by-side with humans, providing for them, and protecting them. Due to how common they are, sheep are often unnoticed, which Aziraphale leans into. Crowley wants to stand out. He has a dedicated aesthetic and an obsession with human invention, where Aziraphale leans more towards simpler, known things and creature comforts. He fades into the background, and that suits him fine. He doesn't have to be outstanding to Heaven or to humans or even to Crowley -- it's enough to do his part, to trust in a bigger plan. People associate sheep (especially lambs) with innocence or ignorance which foils nicely to Crowley as the serpent tempting with knowledge, as well as with Aziraphale's own sharp mind and ongoing embers of faith in a system that is failing him, Crowley, and all of humanity. Sheep are, like Aziraphale, soft, cute, and hiding a hard-headed stubbornness and a surprising strength that makes them absolutely fearsome. Aziraphale is very much the sort to put his head down and push relentlessly forward regardless of the pressure and strain. Rams in particular have thick skulls to withstand the brutal force of headbutting one another in displays of dominance. While Aziraphale is clever, he's not above rolling up his sleeves and getting the job done, as messy and unpleasant as it might be (see: pulling a gun on the Antichrist). Also sheep are associated with Pan, a god associated with food, music, theatre, and the criticism thereof, which hit many of Aziraphale's personal interests and hobbies! I like the idea that in a reverse AU, the demon formerly named Aziraphale might be the original basis for Pan!

I wrote in Orangutan for the first question because if I remember correctly they are some of the most violent apes. Although I'd accept bonobo for him too. They fuck alll the time.

mothman aziraphale,,,,, thats it

Snowy owl, speremint's tortoise, and I just adore the goat.

moth - dusty and eats books

Long Furby the way Loni-Capri draws it.

I keep thinking about that Black Philip quote "doest thou wish to live deliciously" because... it fits so much with the general epicurean/hedonism vibe the Fandom has for him ... but in a demonic way and also I think a lot abt that art piece (already referenced many times probably but what the hell) of him climbing his own bookshelves, it's just so good!!

Albino Lion/white lion (matches his hair).  I feel like maybe I should explain why I think Lion would fit him best, lol. Lions actually are rather sedate, inactive for 20 hours of the day (see: Aziraphale reading and unmoving- yes I pulled wiki for this to make sure I didn't spout anything terribly wrong, shhh)  but also there's nomad lions. Lions that range widely and move around sporadically either alone or in pairs (*looks at Crowley after apoconope*) (pairs are more frequent among males who have been excluded from their birth pride)  but also I think of lions as protectors, defenders, and what is Aziraphale if not that? If not an angel who fiercely protects humans, crowley, earth? (When he finally overcomes heaven and it's abuse) lions don't hunt unless they're hungry, don't attack unless they're defending. They've been known to sit directly next to jeeps full of people and just watch them, not attacking or being aggresive.

I saw art once (I have no idea who the artist is) of Demon!Aziraphale climbing his bookcases like a goat and absentmindedly chewing on his sweater while he reads. I felt like the goat aspect suited him perfectly.

Honestly I wrote Az with a rat aspect because, well, it fits who I see demon Az as. He's not super powerful but he is very consequential, like rats carrying plague fleas (this also describes how I see Az tempting). He tries to blend into a crowd, which is arguably one way rats survive, and can get himself into places/situations that should be impossible or super difficult. Like snakes, rats have been unfairly maligned by our culture for a long time, even though they are very social with their colonies, smart, affectionate, and generally good beans. Finally, male pet rats are known far and wide as the lazier of the sexes while the girls are super curious and adventurous.

Somehow his tartan pattern becomes either his colour scheme or his coat/feather pattern.

Eurasian eagle owl. A big, unapologetic grump of an owl that is soft as soft can be underneath. Possessor of the glare to end all glares to be used in such dire situations as being interrupted when reading or being told one has "had enough cake".