#Crying laughing Survival is kind of the funniest thing ever
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Tried doing something different while coloring
#ALSO I WATCHED SOME SEVEN TOO BTW#IF THAT WAS NOT APPARENT BY THE ART#51nn0n art#doctor who#classic who#seventh doctor#Crying laughing Survival is kind of the funniest thing ever
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"I love you more than anything you can ever do wrong."
Let’s start this year off with the Jasio snippet I promised you. Wishing you and everyone else a happy new year! 💖🥳
TW: 18+ only for explicit content
Freaks of Preston - Worth An Angel’s Love
Rio watched from his desk as Jason finished filing some papers. Even in the long, dull process of closing up for the weekend, Jason had a glow to his cheeks and a sweet little smile. The way his dark red hair brushed his shoulders, the way his sweater hid his soft, beautiful neck… all Rio wanted was to make him cry out his name.
Normally, Rio wouldn’t be so distracted, but he was overcome with desire for his partner— his secret partner, who he had to be apart from every day. He couldn’t stand too close to Jason, couldn't laugh at his jokes for too long, or Vesely would start to suspect him. He didn’t know what his boss wanted with Jason, but he knew damn well that his angel deserved better than the man who ruined his life.
Darkness clouded Rio’s mind as he grumbled into his hand, cursing his own hypocrisy. He was no saint, by any standards. There was so much in Ves Corp that he had to watch: the experiments Vesely conducted on his friends, the broken families of the patients that didn’t survive, the accident in the crosswalk… Rio had seen it all and stayed silent, all for the daughter he was too weak to protect on his own. He was no better for Jason than Vesely was.
He finally felt Jason’s hand stroking his cheek, drying tears that he had been too distracted to hide. Jason’s kind, pale eyes were full of warmth.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
Rio couldn’t stop the words that leapt from his tongue. “I don’t deserve you.”
The warmth quickly turned to concern. “Rio— Why would you say that?”
“The things I’ve done for Gabe— If you knew, you’d never look at me again. You deserve better than this, better than—”
Jason held his face, stopping his growing rant in seconds. Tears rolled down his cheeks.
“Rio, I love you more than anything you could ever do wrong.”
His words held the peace and forgiveness of heaven. He may not have believed he was an angel, but Rio still worshiped him with every breath. His gruff voice was quiet and smooth as he caressed Jason’s face.
“And I love you.”
Jason smiled and wiped both of their tears away. “Do you still love me when I’m a crying mess?”
“Of course,” Rio said, “though I like it more when you’re crying for other reasons.”
Jason bit his lip, but it failed to stop him from laughing. The sound never quite matched his soft, timid exterior. His laugh was loud and frantic, like each joke was the funniest one he had ever heard. It was the first part of Jason that Rio had fallen for.
He kissed his nose, followed by his cheek, and finally ended at his lips. Jason grasped at Rio’s hair, pulling him closer. Rio chuckled and whispered into their kiss.
“What’s on your mind?”
Jason smiled. “I think we’re done for the night.”
“Oh, yes we are.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rio’s fists hit the wall with a soft THUD as he got lost in Jason’s kiss, sweet and fresh like cocoa and mint. The stress of the work day was already melting away with the coats and shirts that fell to the bedroom floor. Rio picked Jason up by his hips, feeling his legs wrap around his waist.
“Where have you been hiding this energy, huh?” Rio asked.
“I can’t help it around you,” Jason said, pulling Rio’s lips to his neck.
Hungry for more, Rio carried him to the bed and laid him down, massaging his jaw with his thumb before trailing down his neck and chest. His angel made the most beautiful, soft, delectable noises against his lips.
“I love you,” Rio said.
“Rio, I—”
Jason gasped as Rio bit his neck. He managed to fluster the soldier in return by undoing his belt and pants, stroking Rio through his boxers. Rio was already restless as he rolled against Jason’s hand.
“So eager, angel,” Rio purred into his ear.
“Speak for yourself.”
He laughed and took off the rest of their clothes. Extra care was taken removing Jason’s prosthetic leg, with soft squeezes and kisses along his skin. The scruff of Rio’s beard scratched the inner side of Jason’s thigh as he pulled him closer, pressing his head into his chest.
“Sit tight, okay?” Rio bit him playfully. “And be as loud as you want.”
Jason wrapped his arms around his neck. “Thank you, Rio.”
He chuckled. “Not yet, hon. I’m not even started.”
Jason shivered as Rio worked his tongue around every sensitive area. He leaned back on the bed, gripping Rio’s shoulder with growing ecstasy. Rio knew how to coax each gasp, moan, and grunt from his sweet angel’s lips.
“Rio—” He jolted in place. “God, that’s good.”
His soft and desperate voice made Rio more excited. He pulled Jason closer, propping his hips up in a way that got the most adorably-flustered moan from him.
“Yes, love— Oh my god, please.”
It didn’t matter if Rio deserved him or not anymore. He was just so grateful for the honor of making him yell in such a way. Jason’s hands ran through Rio’s hair as his breathing quickened.
“I love you,” he mumbled. “Damn it, I love you.”
Rio reached up and played with his chest, teasingly tracing his fingers along the nipple.
“Rio!”
He wished he had been recording, if only to preserve the way he said his name for the rest of time. He worked his tongue and fingers like a master, until Jason was left seeing stars.
“Rio, that’s— Oh god, I can’t—”
His words were caught in his throat as a warm shudder ran through his body. Rio held him close until he rode out his high, sinking into the bed with tears of bliss rolling down his face. Rio climbed up beside him and held him to his chest, rubbing his back gently.
“That was beautiful, Jay. You did such a good job.”
“I should be telling you that,” Jason said as he hugged him.
He traced a finger along the scars on Rio’s chest, and the soldier kissed his forehead.
“I still don’t think I deserve someone as amazing as you.”
Jason laughed. “Again, I could say the same to you.”
Rio smiled and stroked his cheek. “Maybe we’re just what we need, then.”
“Yes—” Jason kissed his shoulder. “I know we are.”
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Not a science fan
It’s a monday evening, you and Kara are eating peacefully.
‘So, your school called me this morning’ she said while eating.
You immediately stopped eating and raised your head to look at her.
‘whatever they said I did it wasn’t me’
‘What? Kid, no! You didn't do anything wrong’ she stopped for a second ‘Did you?’
‘No! of course not’ you said while choking a bit.
‘Anyways, they called me to know if you were attending “the ceremony” this Saturday. It seems that you didn't confirm your attendance?’
‘oh, OOH’ Of course, the ceremony, you completely forgot about it.
The thing is that when this school year began, you were supposed to take physics. However, you hated it. Ok, you didn't hate it, but you definitely weren’t a fan (which is hilarious since your mom is literally one of the best scientists on the planet). But the funniest part was that even your teacher knew, actually it was him who recommended you to quit his class. At first you were shocked because science is something you’ve always done, what could you do instead of that? That’s when he suggested the newspaper along with a class specialised on writing. It is true that you’ve always been good at writing stories, but you never considered taking it seriously.
Anyways, literally the next day instead of learning about physics you’re learning the basic elements of a storyline. The surprising part was that after that class, you completely fell in love with it and, since then, you started working on a simple storyline that ended up being much more complex and longer than you expected. You wanted to talk to your moms about it, but when all happened you weren’t seeing them that much, and once you were, you just didn't have the courage to do it. A thing that stopped you was that both Kara and Lena were geniuses when it comes to science. But the main problem was with Lena, you’ve spent so much time with her in her lab in L-Corp, and even if you didn't enjoy it as much as her, every time you spent with her there was such a bonding experience that you couldnt tell the truth. So you just avoid the topic, even if you knew that one day they would find out.
Going back to the ceremony, that story you first started writing ended up becoming a book. A novel that you had to present in order to pass the class. What you weren’t aware of at the time was that the best ones would compete in a contest that involved schools from all National city. And, last week, you were given the news that your story was one of the finalists.
While you were scolding yourself mentally for not declining the invitation Kara had put all the food away and was now cleaning.
‘What’s that ceremony?’ she questioned while turning around to look at you
‘It’s nothing’
‘Y/N’
You sighed
‘I wasn’t planning on going anyways’
She did the famous crickle and that’s when Lena entered the kitchen
‘Hi loves’ she kissed Kara and then kissed you cheek.
‘What are you two talking about?’
‘Your daughter was invited to a ceremony’
‘Really? what is it about?’ she questioned
‘It's nothing, just an award ceremony’ you got up and started walking towards your room.
‘Wait, so you are nominated for something?’
‘It seems like it’ you sighed ‘but it's nothing and I wasn't planning on going’
`Why?’ Kara asked
‘What for? I’m not gonna win and I don't really care if I do’ you walked towards the door
‘Well I do,’ Lena said. ‘Can we go?’
‘The principal told me that we could’ Kara said
‘Guys it's really not necessary’
‘Of course it is!’ Kara said
‘Wait, is it that science competition?’ Lena asked
Oh no
‘Emm no’
‘Then what is it?’
They both looked at you. You took a deep breath
‘Its, its justforasillybookIwroteforaclass’ you said as fast as you could
‘Wait wait , wait, what?’ Lena said
‘Did you say you wrote a book?’ Kara said walking towards you
‘Umm yeah’
‘Why didn’t you tell us?!’
‘When did you say the ceremony was?’ Lena asked
‘Saturday. Y/N why didn’t you say anything?’
You were about to answer when Alex called her sister. Soon enough she had to leave for a Supergirl emergency. Thank Rao
‘We’ll talk about this later’ she said before leaving
You were already going to you room when Lena called you to sit with her
‘So, Y/N, for what class did you have to write the book for?’ she said, raising her brow. Oh no, she knows, she totally knows
‘Please don't get mad’ you said
‘Why would I?’
‘Ok, so, its for a writing class that I’m taking’
‘Really?’
You nodded
‘Why would that make me mad?’
‘Because I’m taking it instead of physics. Sorry I didn’t tell you, I swear I’ll join physics again if you want me too’ You looked away from her expecting an angry response. Surprisingly, she grabbed your hand and squished it gently
‘Y/N, I know’
‘What?’
‘Did you really think you could just change your classes without me finding out?’
‘Yes?’
She chuckled
‘Of course not. in fact your physics teacher told me about the newspaper and the writing class before telling you’
‘So, YOU’VE KNOWN ALL THIS TIME?’
She was now laughing hard, but she soon hugged you. After some minutes she let go of you and placed a lock of you hair behind you ear
‘and you’re not mad?’
‘No! I mean, it did hurt that you didn’t tell us but, it's your life and if you prefer to attend that class I support your decision’
‘I’m sorry. I just didn’t wanna make you feel disappointed and-’
‘What? Honey, you know you could never disappoint me’
‘I know, it's just that science in general is something that you really enjoy and that I’m supposed to be good at. But it also made us spend a lot of time together at L-Corp. And, I love spending time with you, I guess I didn't want that to end’
‘Oh Y/N. Look, just because I enjoy science doesn't mean you have to like it too. Besides, spending time together doesn’t have to involve science. When I take you to L-Corp it's nothing more than an excuse to spend time with you. But we could do other things, all I care about is spending time with you’
It was now your turn to hug her.
You cuddled for a while and when you were about to fall asleep in her arms she asked ‘Why didn’t you tell mom? I mean writing is kind of her thing’
‘I was planning on doing so, but I’m not very good at it, and I wanted to improve before I show her’
‘What did we tell you about being perfect Y/N?’
‘I know, but ieu is a Pulitzer winner. I doubt I’ll ever be at her level but I wanted it to be at least presentable before showing it to her. I want her to be proud’
She caressed your cheek
‘She’ll always be proud of you. Well except if you murder someone or do something very terrible like that’
You laughed at her comment
‘But I’m sure she’s dying to read it’
‘Thanks mom’
She kissed your forehead and at that moment through the window Kara entered
‘Hi guys’
‘Hi’ you both said turning your heads to look at her
You looked at Lena, who somehow guessed what you were thinking (like always) and nodded
‘I wanna show you something’ you said to Kara before sprinting towards your room. Before anyone could say anything you were already back with a your book in your hands
‘Here’ you said giving it to Kara ‘The binding is pretty simple but the full final story is in there’
She was looking at the novel in her hands
‘You wrote this?’ her eyes were starting to water
‘Yeah. Please have mercy while reading it, its not -’
‘It's perfect’ she then hugged you harder than she had done in a long time 'I'm sure it is'
‘Does this mean you’ll go to the award ceremony?’ Lena ask
‘I mean I have nothing better to do this Saturday’
That same night Kara started reading your book. It was actually 3 am when you woke up to go to the bathroom when you saw a light coming from their bedroom. You walked towards the light and saw Kara still reading your book out loud with Lena on her lap listening. They were so invested in the story that they didn’t even notice you. You decided to give them some privacy and went back to your room.
The next day you were so nervous, you knew that they had been reading your book but were too scared to ask for their opinion. Luckily between school and practice you didn't have time to think much about it. After a long day you finally got home and as soon as you entered the door both of your moms ran to you.
‘Y/N! when Rory is at the cave under the fire palace and gives Camila the silver stone and tells her that is her turn to take care of it, does it mean he has accepted that he won’t see her again?’ Kara asked very seriously
But before you could answer her question Lena asks ‘But if that is true why does he continue to deny the fact that he won’t be able to see her again during the next four chapters?’
You chuckled ‘Wait you’ve already read it all?’
‘Yeah and we have questions so please tell us’ Kara asked
You spent around an hour answering all their questions about your book. This made you incredibly happy since they were both so into it
‘You’re gonna write a sequel right?’
‘I wasn’t planning on doing so’
‘WHAT?!
‘But Y/N it's not only an incredible story but the way you portray society and all the critiques you make are perfectly made. I mean this is more than a fantasy story’ Kara exclaimed and at that moment you couldn’t hold it anymore and started crying. She panicked and hugged you immediately
‘Did I say something wrong?’ she asked very worried
‘Do you really like it that much?’ you asked
‘Of course I do! Not only because you wrote it but because it is really good’
‘Then I’ll have to write another one’
‘Please do’ Lena said ‘And no pressures but don't take long because I need to know if Rowan survives’
You all laughed
‘I knew you'd like him’
It was three days later, Saturday evening, you were all getting ready to go to the award ceremony. A week ago you didn’t care about this event, but now, after your moms read your work, you were really nervous. You walked to the kitchen with the outfit you had chosen earlier (a dress or a suit,... something elegant of your choice).
‘Wow, you look great’ Lena said
‘Like mother like daughter I guess’
She winked at you. Soon enough you were all in the car and suddenly you were already sat in the auditory surrounded by other nominees and even a couple press members.
‘Nervous?’ Kara asked who was on your right
‘Kind of’
‘Don’t be’ Lena who was on your left held your hand
A few categories were announced and yours was the next
‘Hey, whatever happens we’re very proud of you’ Kara said
The following things happened very quickly. Suddenly your name was called and you were walking towards the stage after Lena literally crushed you with a hug. And five seconds later you were with the second prize in your hands. Once many pictures were taken you were walking down towards your moms when a man in what looked like a very expensive suit approached you
‘Congratulations’ he said
‘Thank you’
‘I’m Anthony Lee’
‘Ar-are you serious? you’re the owner of one of the most important publishing houses of the city’
He chuckled
‘I see you know who I am’
You were about to reply when you heard Kara calling you.
‘I don’t want to take much of your time, just wanted to ask you to continue writing, you’ve clearly inherited your mothers ability with words’
You blushed
‘Well thank you’
He gave you a card with a phone number and an email
‘Please, if write something else send it to this email and one day we may work together’
With that he kindly said goodbye and left. You then walked towards your moms and Kara immediately hugged you.
‘Y/N you did it! I’m so proud of you!’
‘Congratulations darling’ Lena said squeezing your arms
‘Thank you guys’
‘Who was that man that approached you?’ Kara said
‘That was Anthony Lee’ you said
‘No way!’ Kara replied
‘Emm a bit of context please?’ Lena said
‘He’s the owner of one of the biggest publishing houses of the city!’ Kara said almost jumping
‘He told me to send some of my future work so that one day we can work together’ you said blushing once more
‘Are you serious?!’ Lena said
You nodded. Immediately they both hugged you and somehow Alex was soon hugging you and then Kelly (it turns out your moms couldn’t hold it and told almost everyone about the ceremony). You then went to a restaurant to celebrate and had an amazing time with everyone.
Once in your car on your way home you said ‘Hey guys?’
‘Yes baby?’
‘Thanks for making me go, it was really fun’
‘Well, we didn't do you much. You were the one who won’ Lena said
‘I got second place’
‘Same thing to me’ she replied to which you all laughed.
It had really been a very unexpected week.
************************************************************************
Hi !! Just wanted to let you all know that you can send me request anytime and that the ones that I already have received will be done as soon as possible :)
(thanks for all the support btw I really appreciate it)
#supergirl#supercorp x daughter!reader#supercorp wifes#supercorp parents#supergirl imagine#kara danvers#lena luthor#supercorp x reader#lena luthor x reader#kara danvers x reader#fluff#kara danvers x daughter!reader#lena luthor x daughter! reader
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You’re going to wish you were dead, instead.
Part 4 of T is for Trauma - The Series
Supercorp, Kara Danvers x Daughter!Reader, Lena Luthor x Daughter!Reader
Word count: 2370.
Warnings: kidnapping. Injuries. Next level angst.
Previously on the series – part 1, part 2, part 3
You open your eyes when someone kicks your stomach twice. You can’t control the vomit that comes right after, when your body finally understands that you’re up.
“Gross! Boss! The child threw up on my feet.” He walks away from you.
You want to appreciate that fact that you just did something to one of them, but everything hurts so much, like your skin is being peeled off of your body, that right now your only wish is that you could just die already so you don’t have to feel this unbearable pain anymore. Never in your worst nightmares, you’ve imagined you could feel so much pain you would wish you were dead instead.
“Stupid shit doesn’t die of over-exposure. It’s been hours! Maybe we should just shoot her, so she can bleed out to death.” One of them says and you pray they’re being serious.
“Please.” You plead. “End this.”
The boss kneels in front of you, with a creepy satisfied smile on his face. He looks behind him, to the other guys, and starts laughing like you just told the funniest joke in the world. His goons start laughing with him.
“I’m not going to end this. I wouldn’t want to stop all this fun you’re having!” He stands up, the same creepy smile still on his lips. “You know, you Kryptonians are funny. You act like Gods deciding everyone’s fate with some kind of morality no one even knows if you actually have. So, you’re ok with putting us through pain, but you can’t take any?”
“They are some weak Gods.” One of his henchmen says, and he looks back like he is telling him to shut up.
“Your world exploded for a reason. No kryptonian was supposed to survive. But then Supergirl and Superman came to Earth. Now, they are here dictating rules, expecting everyone to follow them. Who do they think they are? Those cockroaches.” He spits on the floor next to you, and you feel saliva hitting your face. “They’re not even supposed to exist, let alone procreate.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” You whimper, and he gives his maniac laughter again.
“I’ll do you a solid though, just because you’re just a little kid.” He raises a hand and quickly one of his goons puts a gun in his hand. He points at your leg. “I’ll make a little hole, to accelerate your dying process, ‘kay?” And he shoots your leg.
You scream as loud as you can, with all the strength still left in you. You thought you were already in so much pain because of the kryptonite, that this wouldn’t add up and you wouldn’t feel any more. You were wrong. The pain piled up on top of each other. So right now, the inside of your body is agonizing, your leg is burning and you’re bleeding out. Is this pain going to go on forever? It sure feels like it, because no matter how much you pray for it, you’re still not dead.
No, you’re not dead. You’re just lying there in your own vomit and blood, thinking about how much you want this nightmare to end, one way or another, when you hear gunshots. You close your eyes, thinking they’ve changed their minds and decided to shoot you multiple times to end your pain, but you don’t feel anything.
“Supergirl, I’ve been expecting you.” What? You open your eyes when you hear that. You can’t see her, the boss is in front of you with his body, but you get a glimpse of red and your heart beats faster. “As you can see, I have kryptonite and your daughter. Now, would you-”
“FUCK YOU!” She flies towards him with her closed fist, throwing him to the other side of the room. You can’t see him, but you know there’s no way he can recover fast from that. Kara kneels before you, and rips the chains with her hands, tossing the kryptonite to the other side of the room, like it doesn’t even affect her anymore. And if it does, it’s not as painful as seeing your situation.
You thought that once you were free of kryptonite, the pain would go away. It didn’t. Your body still feels like it is up in flames. Kara touches your face, you whimper. You can’t barely make up her face with your one functioning eye, but you see your pain reflected on her face.
She is still kneeling next to you, when she hears a noise coming from where she threw the guy. She blows her freeze breath, holding him back a little. Kara looks around, like she’s looking for something.
“I’ll be right back, my love. Ok? Momma is here.” She disappears right after, but comes back a few seconds later, hair blowing, and even though you didn’t see a thing, you know she just used her super speed.
“Mommy. I’m dying.” You whisper and Kara holds you up, carrying you in the most protective way she can.
“Shhh. You’re ok. Mommy is here. You’re ok.” Kara looks around again and you see aunt Alex going inside the room with the biggest gun you’ve ever seen. “He’s tied up in the corner.”
“J’onn and I got this. Take her to the DEO and put her under the sun light lamp, I’ll be there in a few.” Alex goes to the other side of the room, but you still can hear her. “Oh, you thought it was funny shooting my niece? I’ll show you funny!”
You don’t hear anything else. Kara is flying with you back to National City, and you look up to her. Hair flying in the wind, tears dropping from her eyes, she can’t take her eyes off you.
“I’m here. I’ve got you. You’re safe, baby.” She gives you the saddest smile you’ve ever seen.
“Mommy, I’m dying.” You repeat very slowly, because you don’t have any strength left to speak, and you know Kara can hear you either way. And you need her to know. She needs to know you’re probably not going to make it.
“No, you’re not. You’re ok. We’re going home, ok? We’re almost there. Mommy is here with you and your mom is waiting for you. You’re ok, baby.” Kara is crying so hard you barely make out what she’s saying.
“I’m sorry for what I said. I love you.”
“I love you, little one. I’m sorry. I love you. I love you. I’m sorry.” She keeps repeating that until you close your eyes. You can finally let go, you said everything. She knows you’re sorry, she knows you love her. So, you stop fighting the inevitable.
You thought you would die. You wished you had died. But you’re still here. You hear voices and you feel hands on your body. Someone’s touching your leg, it hurts like a bitch. Someone is squeezing your hand, it’s reassuring. Someone’s kissing your forehead over and over again, it’s calming.
You keep waking up and blacking out. But you don’t think they know this, because you can’t talk, can’t open your eyes, can’t move your body. All you can do is feel pain.
“Baby, my baby. I know you can do this. You can come back to us, please, please. I love you so much, babygirl. You’re my everything.”
“Mom, why isn’t she up yet? It’s been days! You said she would be awake by now.”
“Jamie, I-I don’t… She will wake up, honey. Just give her time, she needs to rest.”
“No. No, mom. She’s supposed to be up by now! Bring her back! Do something!”
“I’ve done everything I can, Jam. Come on, honey. Let’s go. Come.”
“Alex, there must be something else we can do.”
“Kara, you know how much I want her back too, I just- I’m sorry, it’s out of my hands now.”
“I wish I could switch places with her.”
“I know, Kar. I know. Go home, you’ve been in here for days. Go see Lena. Go be with your wife.”
You keep wishing you were dead. But you don’t die, and you also don’t come back to life. You’re half alive, and that’s not enough for anyone.
“Hey, little one.” You hear softly, and your heart beats fast. For the first time you feel you have enough strength to do something. You need to let her know you’re still alive. “I brought donuts, and your homework again.”
You try to ask for food, because you’re starving, but you can’t talk.
“I’ve been doing your homework for the past two weeks, and I have to say, I don’t know how you do this. It’s so much stuff, and you still find time to work on your inventions, and go to trainings…”
Yep, your life’s not as easy as it seems.
“Oooh, want to have a laugh? Your teacher sent me your physics homework yesterday and I obviously didn’t know anything, so I asked your mom for help and guess what? Apparently, Lena doesn’t know everything. It took her ten minutes to solve a problem. It was freaking hilarious.”
It sounds hilarious. You wish you were there.
“Hey. Was that a little laugh?” Kara asks and you try to smile again so she can see it. “I’ll tell Lena you laughed at her. Wait, no. I can’t do that, she’ll have hope.” She breathes heavily and your heart shrinks. “Shoot, I’m crying on your homework again. Your teacher will start wondering.”
You want to wake up so badly. You don’t know why your body doesn’t obey you. You’ve been in this bed under the sun for two weeks apparently. Is your body ever going to respond?
“Hold me.” You beg, trying to make your voice come out. It feels like you’re stuck in those nightmares where you feel like you’re screaming, but no one around hears anything. “Please.”
“Alex said we can take you home, with the lights and all. I’m scared, because I know that here, you’re being watched by doctors, but-” You feel her hand stroking your face gently. “I want you to be comfortable, and I want to lay in bed with you all day. So, should I? Should I take you home?”
YES. Please. Do it. Please. All you want is to go home.
“Yeah. I know. We shouldn’t move you too much. We don’t know what’s going on inside you, right? Besides-” You feel Kara’s warmth next to you. “I can lay in here with you, even though Alex tells me not to. We don’t have to tell her, right?” You feel Kara’s arms around and your eyes water immediately. “Baby, are you crying? Did I- Did I hurt you?” She moves away. “ALEX! ALEX! SHE’S CRYING. DO SOMETHING.”
There’s a weird taste on your mouth. Metallic and bitter. You need to get out of this bed, you need to go back to your life. And you feel it has to be now, or it will be never.
You open your eyes, slowly. It’s hard, it’s like they were glued together. It’s all blurry and undefined. You just see bright yellow, but it’s the first time you’re seeing some color in a while so you can’t complain about it.
“Baby! Kara, Alex! She’s awake!” You hear Lena’s voice and you see black and white mixed with the yellow. It’s probably her hair and face, but you can’t know for sure. There are no shapes, just colors. “Baby, baby, it’s ok. Mom is here.” Lena kisses your face and you feel hands on your body. There’s a very strong hand holding yours, and you know it’s Kara, because she is holding so hard it hurts. And you feel Alex’s hands touching your pulsing points.
“Hey, little one. Can you say something?” Kara asks and you open your mouth.
“My bones.” You whisper so slowly it’s pretty much inaudible; you’re sure only Kara can hear you, and only because of her super hearing.
“Oh, oh, sorry.” She stops squeezing your hand and kisses it, gently. “I forgot about the loss of powers.”
Wait, what?
“Ok, you two move away, please.” Now you see red, mixed with the yellow. “Hey kiddo, this is aunt Alex. Listen I have to do a few tests with you, ok? If you can hear me perfectly, blink once.” You blink once. “Perfect. You’re doing really well. Now, if you can see me perfectly, blink once.” You don’t blink. “Oh, ok. Is it blurry?” You blink once. “Ok, don’t worry, it will go back to normal with time. Now, I want you to move your left leg, just a little. Can you do that for me?” You do it.
She then makes you move every part of your body, and slowly but surely you do all that she asks. You hear Kara and Lena’s celebrations next to you and you smile proud of yourself.
“Hey kiddo, that was perfect! Next time you wake up, you will feel a lot better. I promise you.” You feel a squeeze in your hand, and you give her a little smile. “I don’t want you to get tired, so you can go back to sleep now, and we’ll work more later ok?”
“Wait.” You whisper and she puts her ear close to your mouth so she can hear you. “Lena.”
“She wants you.”
Lena takes Alex’ spot, holding your hand and putting her ear close to your face so she can hear you better.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, no baby, you don’t have anything to feel sorry for. Everything is alright. Listen.” You feel Lena wiping the tears from your cheeks. “You were right. I’m sorry I made you feel like you’re not the most important thing in the world for me, because you are. You are. Stop-stop worrying about it. Just use everything you have to recover, ok?” You nod weakly. “I love you.”
“We love you.” You hear Kara’s voice and you breathe deep.
“Mommy.” Your voice comes out a little stronger, but it is still just a whisper.
“Mommy is here, little one. I’ve got you. We’ve got you.” Kara says and you close your eyes again. Your body might still ache, but your heart doesn’t ache anymore.
#supergirl#kara danvers#lena luthor#supercorp#kara x lena#supercorp fanfic#supercorpfamily#kara x reader#lena x reader#supercorp daughter#reader insert
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Paint My Spirit Gold
Dukeceit Week Day 2: Green/Yellow
Fans of the YouTubers "Deceit" and Remus "The Duke" Sanders start to suspect that maybe, just maybe, the two of them are more than simple internet pals.
AO3 Link: [here]
Word Count: 2187
Warnings: n/a
@dukeceitweek <3
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[ID: A screenshot of a Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It features a watercolor-style painting of a snake. The snake appears to be made of melting chocolate, and there is a large bite taken out of its tail. Cherries and jam are leaking out of the snake at the bite wound. The snake's expression of horror is overly-exaggerated to the point of comedy. The caption reads: "liked your snake boi, @SerpenThyme. thanks for the inspo." /end ID]
-
A notification ding cut Janus off mid-sentence.
“Wow, someone left their cell phone on, so professional,” he said, giving the camera a dramatic eye roll. That someone was him, of course, because he was the only one in the apartment- just him and the running livestream- but that was no excuse not to be a drama queen about it. He finished wiping flour off his hands and grabbed his phone to silence it; but the notification made him pause. He flicked his eyes up toward the camera and gave a slight smirk.
“My goodness, I’m famous,” he drawled. “The Duke himself has graced little old me with some fan art.”
Most of the comments in the chat wanted him to show it, so Janus opened up Twitter to see the full post he’d been tagged in. It was a watercolor painting of the coiled-snake chocolate sculpture- lovingly named Jake by his viewers- he’d made for his YouTube video last week; it was wearing an expression of such comedic horror that Janus had to stifle a laugh. He flicked his phone screen toward the close-up camera on his counter so his viewers could see.
“How kind of you, Remus,” he said. “All of you should go scold him for what he’s done to poor Jake here.”
Most of his viewers would know he was joking- after all, they were the ones to nickname him Deceit when he provided neither a real or fake name for his online persona. They knew full well what he was like by now.
The oven timer dinged. Janus silenced his phone and set it aside.
“And our first batch of cookies is done. You know, why don’t we show the Duke some appreciation?”
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[ID: An Instagram post by user @SerpenThyme. The photo is an artistically-framed shot of a stack of sugar cookies with green, yellow, and pink icing. Propped up against the stack is another cookie, with an intricate icing-drawing of an octopus. The photo appears to have been color corrected to have high contrast, low saturation, and a dark vignette at the edges. The Instagram user @OctoDukie is tagged. No caption. /end ID]
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“You know, I have often been accused of actually being a little old lady, what with my fondness for knitted jumpers, rocking chairs, and incredibly fucked up murder mystery books. Today I am doing nothing to dispel this accusation, by making soup.”
The studio was dark and empty aside from Remus' workspace. Everyone else had left long ago, even his own brother, which meant that it was officially ass-o'clock in the morning (or, as most people called it, somewhere between 1 and 2 a.m.) But Remus was stuck in hyperfocus, honed in on putting the last touches on a commission that he'd been putting off for weeks. It's not that it was a tough painting- once he'd gotten started, it was actually a very creatively satisfying piece- but man, executive dysfunction could go suck a dick
“French onion soup, specifically. Because while I do like to pretend I am a classy bitch, I am also, regrettably, a lazy bitch with a distaste for anything that takes longer than one bottle of wine to make.”
Remus hated working in silence. It was stifling, almost suffocating. His brain needed noise like his lungs needed air. So when the studio had grown still and silent, Remus had flipped open his laptop and queued up some YouTube videos.
“So we have here three pounds of onions that we need to slice up, pole to pole. You’re going to cry no matter what, so if you have any memories you’ve been repressing since middle school, now is an excellent time to dredge those up.”
And if it happened to be 90% SerpenThyme videos, well. Sue him.
“Now the first rule of caramelizing onions: fast and sloppy is always better than slow and thorough… at least, that’s what every man I’ve ever slept with tells me.”
Remus choked and glanced over to his laptop screen just in time to catch Deceit's trademark smirk directed at the audience just for a moment. It was the deadpan delivery that always got him. Remus could barely hold onto a joke long enough to get through it without cackling mid-punchline, but this fucker could say the funniest shit like an off-hand comment.
He wiped his hands off on his jeans (what use were clothes if you couldn't use them as paint rags?) and pulled his laptop across the table. He typed out a quick comment, citing the timestamp of the joke, and after it was posted, he shut his laptop.
'Cause ass-o'clock was short for "get-your-ass-home-or-I’ll-kick-it" o'clock.
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[ID: A screenshot of a YouTube comments section. The first comment is by user TheDuke, and reads: "10:42 wow, rude." The second comment is a reply by user SerpenThyme, and simply reads ";)" /end ID]
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Janus plopped down on the couch with a slight groan. He didn’t need to stream today, but he really hated missing days. Besides… he was fine. Really.
He adjusted the camera until he was happy with the framing, and then checked the settings on his streaming software. Satisfied, he started the stream, and watched as his usual viewers rolled in.
“What do you mean I’m not in my kitchen?” Janus drawled, addressing the chat. He glanced around with an expression of faux-shock on his face. “My goodness, when did that happen?”
He chuckled, and then gestured to his surroundings. “Yes, we are in my living room today. If you must know, my closest and most trusted friend tried to murder me today- yes, Virgil, it was attempted murder and nothing less- and I survived with nary a scratch… and a broken foot, but that is beside the point. Anyway, I’m not allowed to stand for long periods of time, and I may or may not be somewhat inebriated by pain pills and couldn’t stand even if I wanted to. So we are cooking from my couch today.”
Janus paused for a few moments to read the chat messages as they popped up. A few get well soon’s, a few theories about the “attempted murder,” Virgil- who moderated his chat for him- vehemently denying the “attempted murder” but otherwise refusing to clarify the event, and a large volume of wtf why are you streaming today, take care of yourself comments, which made him smile. But one particular comment caught his eye, almost lost amid the torrent of an active chat: wait this kinda looks like the Duke’s living room?
“Oh, VampSuga,” he said, addressing that commenter in particular with a slight smirk. “I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about. Anyway, since I can’t reach my oven from here, I thought some no-bake cookies were in order. For these you will need-”
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[ID: A screenshot of a Discord conversation. The text reads:
“VampSuga: Ok ok hear me out. Dukeceit.
Starstruck96: who?
IneffableSnek: lmao
FeralBeauYasha: lol
VampSuga: Deceit and Remus Sanders! They’re totally dating. I will die on this hill.
FeralBeauYasha: Isn’t the duke w/ PatPat?
IneffableSnek: no thats his brothers bf
FeralBeauYasha: ohh
VampSuga: Did anyone see Deceit’s stream today? I swear that’s the Duke’s livingroom.
StarStruck96: idk that seems like a stretch
IneffableSnek: no wait i kno what u mean
IneffableSnek: im watching the duke’s old videos and that one where he shows off all his old weapons he’s in a living room kinda like deceit’s
FeralBeauYasha: They were acting all cute on twitter too
VampSuga: DUKECEIT” /end ID]
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"Hey guys, been a while since you've seen my face and not just whatever my hands are busy with, when it's within YouTube's terms and conditions I mean. They used to be way more lenient…" Remus trailed off for a moment, then shook his head sharply and plastered on a grin.
"Anyway! In June me and a few other creators did a fundraiser for the Trevor Project, and y'all smashed the goal, so I let you decide what video I'd make this month." He paused, and gestured to the mountain of clothes piled behind him on the bed. "And you had so many juicy ideas to choose from, but you decided to dress me up like a Barbie instead."
Remus paused to scroll through his phone for a few moments. "Ah, ok, here we go. Twitter user YoonIsMyCat- oh, BTS, nice- sent in this first outfit. Uh… future Remus, put up the post here somewhere." He gestured vaguely to his right. "Y'all went with either a fuckton more clothes or a fuckton less clothes, which I respect. Apparently this outfit is called…” He squinted at his phone. “Amish chic? I take it back, no respect at all.”
Remus cycled through the outfits his viewers sent in, which ranged from the aforementioned “Amish chic” to “2008 rave attire” to “ok now you guys are just fucking with me” (which consisted of one of those big puffy snow coats, lime green in color; booty shorts with the shrug text emoji across the ass; fuzzy pink boots; and a yellow cowboy hat to top off the whole thing. It was awful. Remus loved it.) The mountain of clothes on the bed gradually became a mess of clothes spread across the floor instead, until there was just one outfit left.
“Ok so Twitter user VampSuga sent me this outfit that I’m gonna call ‘sexy librarian.’ I couldn’t find this exact sweater online, but-” he paused for dramatic effect, before brandishing a sweater toward the camera like a bullfighter. “My boyfriend had something that was close enough.”
Remus hopped up from the bed and switched off the camera so he could change.
“They’re going to lose their minds,” a voice drawled from the doorway. Remus threw his shirt at him.
“Shoo, I’m getting naked.”
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[ID: A Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It features a selfie of YouTuber Remus “The Duke” Sanders, a Hispanic man with his hair dyed green and styled into a spiked mohawk. He is wearing a yellow knitted cardigan over a black button-up shirt. He is grinning widely at the camera. The caption reads: “my viewers pick my outfits! now live on youtube. go see what i look like as a sexy librarian!” /end ID]
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DukeceitStan
first and only dukeceit shipper ig
DukeceitStan
wow there’s so many of you now! Hi!!
DukeceitStan
i want this to be canon so bad omg
DukeceitStan
i mean just look
[image]
how
[image]
cute
[image]
[ID: A series of three gifs featuring Youtubers SerpenThyme, aka Deceit, and TheDuke, aka Remus Sanders. Deceit is a black man with long, dreadlocked hair, and vitiligo patches along the left side of his face. Remus is a Hispanic man with green-dyed hair styled into a mohawk, many ear and facial piercings, and tattoos covering both arms. Each gif is edited so that the highlights are tinged yellow when Deceit is seen, and tinged green when Remus is seen.
The first gif depicts a close-up shot of Deceit’s hands as he carefully decorates a cookie with green and yellow icing. The cookie art he is working on appears to be a half-finished octopus. The gif then fades into a mid-shot of Remus, with his back to the camera, facing a canvas. The canvas is blank, and Remus appears to be laying out paints on a table to his left.
The second gif depicts Deceit seated at his couch, facing the camera. He has many ingredients spread across his coffee table (including oats, cocoa powder, and butter) and appears to be in the process of laying out several more. The gif fades to show Remus seated at a similar couch with a similar coffee table in front of him. The camera is angled slightly downward to better show the myriad of knives spread out across the table. Remus is gesturing wildly with a morning star held in his hand.
The third gif depicts Deceit in his kitchen. He is pulling on a bright, yellow knitted cardigan, and smirking toward the camera. The gif fades to show Remus in his bedroom, seated on his bed. He is holding up a similar-looking cardigan toward the camera and grinning. /end ID]
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“Remus, it’s almost two in the morning. Come to bed.”
“I’m coming, sorry. Twitter distracted me.”
“Mm. I can’t believe the bird app is more distracting than I am.”
“You should try harder.”
“Come to bed and maybe I will.”
“Ok, ok, I’m coming. Hang on though, is it cool if I post this?”
“Sure. They figured it out anyway.”
“Sweet. Ok, Jannie, I’m coming.”
-
[ID: A screenshot of a Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It reads: “Dukeceit is canon.” /end ID]
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Hey! I absolutely loved your Zuko x reader one host you wrote, and I was wondering if you could do one where Zuko and the reader barely talk, but she’s part of Azula’s friend group. At the beach some stuff happens, and Zuko finds out she’s not as crazy as he thought she was. Kind of angst. I totally understand if you can’t, or don’t feel like it! I hope you’re safe and healthy, and everything is going well. Thank you!
From Eden (Zuko x Reader)
Word Count: 1,776 (FUHREEDOM MOTHERFUCKERS 🎆🦅🦅🦅 🎆 )
Author’s Note: Ok this request is P E R F E C T. I don’t think I need to tell anyone I love the psychology of this show, but I love the psychology of this show - especially with Zuko and his relationship with himself and others. And this episode??? Ohhhhhh I have some THINGS. TO. SAY. about this episode. I have been in this boy’s place and I feel 👏🏻 for 👏🏻 him 👏🏻 he 👏🏻 deserves 👏🏻 better 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. I went in a sliiiiiiightly different direction, but I didn’t drastically change it (it turned out cute I think). Also, I named this “From Eden” because as I was writing it reminded me of the Hozier song. I’m such a sucker for a Broken Babe™, especially when the babe in question has a lot of personal growth and learns to love because of it. Thank you so much for this, anon, you’re absolutely gorgeous and I hope you’re keeping safe and healthy as well ❤
~ Muerta
(Also, if you’d like to request something, I have a list of prompts tagged! Feel free to ask for anything from fics to headcanons to imagines - I’m also open to new character suggestions!)
“Hey.”
Zuko sat on the porch of his family’s old vacation home, his mind miles away. Your greeting made him snap his head towards you, glowering down at where you stood at the base of the front steps. You crossed your arms, responding to his gaze with a defiant glare.
“What do you want?” he growled.
“To have normal friends,” you spat in reply. “Seems I’m stuck with you instead.”
A few hours ago, Zuko almost made a crater in the beach from the campfire you, his sister Azula, and your friends Mai and Ty Lee had started a screaming match around. Insults were flung, tears were shed, and skeletons were evicted from closets, all resulting in your realization that maybe political survival wasn’t worth the dysfunction of constantly being surrounded by a sociopath and her cronies. Pretending to have a super fun sleepover with them back at the guest house was proving to be too much for your fragile sense of self-containment, and you weren’t quite friendly enough with your newfound death wish to tell Azula how you really felt about her, so you went where you knew it would be quiet. You didn’t expect to find Zuko and his anger issues there a second time, but he honestly didn’t scare you - you’d take his obvious rage over Azula’s subtle calculations any day.
“I don’t know why you’re complaining,” Zuko jeered. “You’re just as emotionally fucked as the rest of them.”
“Ty Lee’s got herself pretty much under control, despite her gullibility,” you answered cooly. “Also, if you really wanna talk about emotionally fucked, I’m not the one who almost roasted my ex-girlfriend alive earlier.”
Zuko furrowed his brow at you, leaning forward as if to challenge you. You stayed exactly as you were, regarding him with a hard, unimpressed expression that revealed just how little he intimidated you. You couldn’t bend and weren’t a trained fighter - you knew he knew this, and that he wouldn’t actually attack you, despite how convincing he tried to make his empty threat appear. After a long, intense moment of wrinkled foreheads and competitive frowning, he backed off with a sigh, leaning back against the pillar behind him.
“So, what, you want to come and make peace? Talk it out or something?”
You shook your head, climbing the steps and lowering yourself onto the second highest; just below him, with a few feet between you as a courtesy.
“The last thing I want to do is talk about that dumpster fire on the beach,” you told him. “I just needed some time alone. But, since I found you, I guess it’s a good time to ask if you’re okay.”
Zuko looked you up and down, a confused and partially concerned look on his face. You half expected him to raise the back of his hand to your forehead to check for fever.
“What do you care if I’m okay or not?” he asked bitterly. “We’re not friends.”
“Zuko, I’ve known you since I was a toddler,” you said. “I’d say we’re friends. It’s not like anyone else really is.”
“Mai is my girlfriend,” Zuko snapped at you. “She’s the best friend I have!”
“Mai dumped you for being a possessive asshole,” you deadpanned, “then she let her best friend convince you to commit arson. Friends don’t let their friends’ sisters manipulate them into felonies.”
Zuko huffed, slumping back defeatedly.
“You can’t act like Azula’s never made you do anything you didn’t want to,” he grumbled.
“I don’t,” you replied shortly. “I’ve just stopped caring about making her like me, since she really doesn’t like anyone. She doesn't get under my skin like she used to when we were kids.”
You noticed Zuko’s lips curl upwards into the ghost of a smile. You mirrored him, leaning your arms atop your upright knees.
“What?” you asked.
Zuko chuckled faintly, shaking his head.
“Nothing,” he responded. “You just… Do you remember when you were eight, and Azula teased Ty Lee about being too slow climbing the trees in our courtyard?”
Your eyes widened in realization, your mouth parting into a wide smile as you let out a gasp of hysterical laughter.
“Oh, that was awful!” you cried, though the memory only brought more fits of giggles to your gut. “I was such a little brat!”
Zuko was laughing with you too now, arms wrapped over his stomach as he tried to speak between breaths.
“It was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen!” he exclaimed. “Watching her fall out of the tree like that, the shock on her face, and then I caught you with the knife and saw where you cut the branch... She deserved it. You should give her a taste of her own medicine like that more often.”
You blushed, looking away from him as your laughter died down.
“Now she could kill me if she wanted,” you said. “I try not to say or do anything around her if I can help it.”
“... Is that why you’ve been so quiet since then?”
You nodded.
“She beat me up when she found out what I did,” you explained.
You stood, pulling down the waist of your sarong to reveal the burn scar on your right hip. Zuko’s eyes burst with shock at first, wondering exactly why you’d be disrobing in front of him, his expression softening when he saw the mark Azula left.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Most brothers feel like they should protect their little sisters. I always felt like I should’ve protected all of you from her.”
“You did,” you assured him. You sat back down beside him, closer this time, so that your hips almost touched. “I remember you jumped in front of her once when she threatened us. And that time…”
Your voice faded, the memory almost bringing tears to your eyes. You couldn’t figure out why.
“You hid from her,” Zuko finished your thought.
You nodded.
“You let me hide in your room,” you recalled. “Remember? Azula punched me. I ran to the first quiet place I could find and accidentally went to your room.”
Zuko hummed.
“You were crying,” he added, “and your eye was all red and swollen.”
“You held me.”
Zuko’s eyes fixed on you. He didn’t say anything, though he remembered; you burst through his half open door, sniffling, tears and spittle running down your cheeks and chin. It was the first time Azula had actually, physically hurt you, and you were terrified and confused. He asked if you were okay, and you shook your head. Being so young, the only thing he could think to do was hug you, since that’s what his mother did to make him feel better, and you clung to him, sobbing into his shirt and using his much bigger body for protection. After that day, he let you use his bedroom as a hiding place whenever Azula got to be too much - until she found out about it and started teasing you about wedding dresses and baby names.
“We were friends,” you breathed. “I wish we still were.”
There was a long silence in which the two of you stared out at the horizon, down the steep hill leading to the vacation house and into the ocean. The moon hung in a small sliver, barely flickering across the calm waters that rocked below; you could hear the gentle rush of waves as they crawled over the sand and shrunk back into themselves, creating a calming din that echoed up to where you sat.
“... I still remember your favorite game to play with me,” Zuko said into the warm air between you. “Those times you hid in my room. You used to pretend to be a Kyoshi warrior. My mom gave you one of her old fans and we’d jump on and off my bed, trying to catch each other.”
You grinned.
“I would wrap myself around your legs to keep you from walking,” you recalled.
Zuko laughed.
“I loved that,” he admitted. “It used to make me laugh so hard when we were kids.”
He looked over to you, and you turned to face him as well. The anger in his eyes was gone completely, in its place a warm, steady sadness that made you ache.
“I miss you,” he whispered.
You reached cautiously for his hand, relieved when he slid his fingers between yours and gripped your palm tightly.
“I miss you, too,” you replied. “I’m sorry I let Azula drive me away from you.”
Zuko wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into a tender embrace. Your hands latched together on either side of his back, gripping into his shirt a little bit as you buried your face in his shoulder. He felt and smelled the same as he did when you were little; hard like the walls of a sturdy house and sweet like the last embers in a fireplace.
You didn’t know how long you held each other, but when you broke apart, you sat together for ages, existing in silence on the steps of his childhood house and beside one another. You felt small again, but in the best way - you felt like the girl who was brave enough to cut through the branches of a maple tree so your tormenter would fall out of them.
“I want to run away,” you blurted. “I could be someone totally different if I weren’t stuck here.”
“If you do, I’ll go with you,” Zuko said. “We can be different people together.”
You grinned, leaning your shoulder against his.
“We could move to Kyoshi Island,” you suggested. “I’m too old to start warrior training now, but we could start a business. Open an inn or something.”
Zuko chuckled at the thought.
“I’ll call myself Lee,” he mused, “and you can go by Izumi.”
“Maybe we could be married. And we could adopt orphan children and cats.”
“Just cats. You can’t emotionally destroy a cat like you can with a kid.”
You glanced over at him, noticing the hard gleam in his eye. You wrapped your arms around his bicep, holding him close to you.
“You’re not your father, Zuko,” you whispered. “You don’t want to be.”
Zuko nodded. He reached for one of your hands, curling his own around it.
“... I feel like I am going to leave,” he said, “at some point. When I do… will you stay? So that I have at least one friendly face to come home to someday?”
You nodded, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
“I will,” you promised. “And when you do, I’ll give you Azula’s severed head as a homecoming present.”
Zuko laughed at that.
{ epilogue }
#requests#muerta's works#zuko#prince zuko#zuko fluff#prince zuko fluff#zuko angst#zuko x reader#zuko x you#prince zuko x reader#prince zuko x you#zuko fanfic#prince zuko fanfic#zuko x reader fluff#zuko x reader angst#atla fanfic#avatar fanfiction
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Elias Bouchard vs. Destiny
Febuwhump, Day 4 (alternate): Identity Reveal
***
Working at the Magnus Institute is… surprisingly normal.
At best, Elias expects to see his own terror reflected in his coworkers’ eyes. At worst, he fears they will all be like Wright, their eyes cold and monstrous and hungry. He expects to be brought into a world of darkness, to face true monsters that ordinary people never imagined existed.
Were you drawn here? Against your will?—
Instead, his job is just… paperwork. Spooky paperwork, sure, but still paperwork. He talks to a lot of people on the phone, most of whom admit that the statement they gave was just a prank or a dare or whatever. Even the people who genuinely believe their experiences were real seem… more than a little unhinged.
“It saw me through the pages, it’s coming”—
He avoids James Wright, of course. It isn’t difficult. Wright spends most of his time in his office on the third floor, only occasionally coming down to visit Research. When that happens, it’s easy enough for Elias to excuse himself for a smoke break, avoiding Wright’s eyes the entire way. Elias doesn’t understand why his coworkers don’t do the same, although he imagines it would get very crowded in the alley behind the Institute if all of Research tried to take a smoke break at once.
The first time he sees his line manager return from a meeting with Wright, Elias watches her very closely, looking for… unease. Fear. Anything to reflect the way he feels whenever he so much as catches a glimpse of Wright in the halls.
She notices him looking, and smiles at him. No sign of distress in her whatsoever.
Elias returns to his work, but the moment sticks with him. She’d just spent thirty minutes having a meeting with a monster, and she isn’t the slightest bit disturbed.
Have you ever had an experience that you would consider supernatural?—
They don’t know.
All of these people who work here, who interact with Wright every day, and none of them know. Elias is the only one who sees it. Elias is… different.
Elias doesn’t get much work done, that day.
***
Two months later, Elias’s line manager informs him that he has a performance review scheduled with Mr. Wright.
His mouth is dry. “But—I thought you did my performance reviews.” He tries for a smile, but it’s weak.
“Mr. Wright likes to do an in-person review with everyone at the end of every quarter,” she says. She notices the look on his face, and softens slightly. “It’s no big deal. They usually only take five minutes or so. He just goes over the reviews I submitted, and asks if there’s anything he can do to improve your experience here.” She rolls her eyes. “Standard management stuff.”
“Okay,” Elias says, his voice faint. He has to go into that office again? Sit across from the thing that looks out from behind James Wright’s eyes, and just—what? Pretend he isn’t terrified?
Allan’s lifeless body—
What did they do with his eyes?—
“He won’t fire you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” his line manager says. Her voice is gentle, very different from the thinly-veiled annoyance she usually addresses him with. “Wright hasn’t fired anyone the whole time I’ve been here, and your reviews are fine. You’ll be okay.”
“Right,” Elias manages.
The day of the review, Elias seriously considers going to work high.
He decides against it. Wright would know, and then he’d smile and ask Elias some question that he isn’t prepared for, that no one would be prepared for.
What are you afraid of? A very sensible fear—
Elias wonders what would happen if he just—skipped the review. It would be rescheduled, probably. He could skip it again, obviously, but he isn’t sure Wright would tolerate a farce like that for very long.
So, at 2:00pm, he climbs the stairs to Wright’s office. By now, his terror has faded to a blank numbness, an acceptance that he can’t stop whatever is about to happen. He almost feels like laughing.
“Do you enjoy your work here?” Wright asks, after he’s seated and the little introductions are complete.
“Yes,” Elias says, and it isn’t even a lie. He does enjoy the work. He enjoys the variety involved in followup, enjoys chatting with total strangers on the phone. He gets along with his coworkers, and even his line manager is more tolerable than other bosses he’s had. He’d be planning his career here, if not for James Wright’s unfortunate presence. As it is, he’s just trying to survive each day.
“Is there anything about working here that you… hate?”
Elias is not going to tell James Wright that he hates him. He’s not. That’s clearly what Wright wants, leering at him as he is, but Elias refuses to engage with these games.
“Uh—The commute,” Elias says. “It’s a bit far from my flat, and taking the tube every day isn’t exactly the height of luxury.”
“Yes, I’d imagine it would be difficult for you, dealing with the unwashed masses every day.” Wright is still smiling in that cold, slightly-bored way of his. Like what he’s just said is a normal sentence, and not—
“So many gifts, and you’ve squandered them all”—
“What?” Elias’s voice is soft now.
“Do you miss the luxury?” Wright asks, his smile curling up into something more vicious, and Elias—
“Enough! Your friend died in a tragic murder, and it’s well past time you accepted that!”—
No, no, Allan knew what was going to happen, he told me—
“You had a bad drug trip. That’s all.”—
It wasn’t—I didn’t imagine this, there was a book and—
Elias gasps, suddenly back in the present. Wright’s expression is exactly the same. Elias is trembling. This shouldn’t—Wright shouldn’t be able to—What do these questions have to do with his performance?
“Are we done here?” Elias manages, his voice soft to hide its shaking.
“Not quite,” Wright says brightly. “There’s still the matter of your past reviews.” Elias’ review forms are stacked on Wright’s desk, and Wright picks them up, flicking through them. “In general, Lydia’s feedback is very positive, but there are a few concerning things here. You chronically miss deadlines, and on a few of your cases you’ve neglected to follow very promising leads.”
“I’ll try to do better.” Elias’ voice is flat, toneless. The numbness is returning.
“See that you do,” Wright says. “I hope to see improvement by next quarter.”
Elias nods.
What are they doing to his eyes?—
Wright dismisses him, and he makes his way back downstairs. He should return to his desk, return to his caseload that he’s been largely ignoring in favor of panicking about his review.
But he—can’t.
He goes to the alley instead, lights a cigarette with trembling hands. His shaky legs won’t hold him, even when he leans against the wall, so he ends up sitting on the ground.
The first sob forces its way up his throat, and then—he’s crying.
Sobbing on the filthy ground in the alley behind his less-than-respectable workplace. Pathetic. What would Father say?
Probably, “Elias, I’ll be happy to talk to you once you get help for your drug addiction.” Christ.
While he cries, Elias tries to think of what to do. He could quit, he supposes. But he really does need this job. His bank account had been full when his parents first cut him off, and there were provisions in the trust to provide for his needs when he was still in school. Now, though, his money really is running concerningly low. He needs the paycheck.
His tears are just starting to slow when the door opens. Elias starts, turns his face away, trying to hide the fact that he’s crying while hiding from his job.
“Oh—sorry,” she says. Elias recognizes the voice, they work together in Research. He can’t quite remember her name—Megan, maybe? “I can go, if you want some privacy.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” he says, and his voice wobbles. If she didn’t already know he’d been crying, she definitely does now.
She sits down on the step just outside the door. “Um—are you okay?” she asks.
“I’m fine.”
“Right. Yeah, I also like to come out here and cry when I’m feeling fine,” she says, her voice light with humor.
Elias smiles slightly, and wipes some of the wetness from his face. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”
“I’m all ears,” she says. “Unless you really don’t want to talk about it, in which case, keep your secrets.”
Elias doesn’t respond to that. Doesn’t know how to reply, really. It would be nice, to talk to someone about it, but—It seems cruel, to force someone else into this mess. If she even believed him.
“I just—” She takes a deep breath. “Okay, this is going to sound really weird, but… We look after each other, in Research. A lot of the people who work here don’t really have support networks in our personal lives—ghost stories attract lonely people, I guess—so we try to support each other. So… if you need someone to talk to about this, you can talk to me.
Elias takes a breath. Might as well try. “Have you—noticed anything… off, about Wright?”
“Oh, you mean his whole mind-reading thing? Sure,” she says. She doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t take a moment to consider.
“I—yes,” Elias says, a little unbalanced. She knew? “The way he—drags up all your worst memories.”
“Oh yeah, he’s like that,” she says, wincing. “Did you just have your first performance review? Those can be kind of intense.”
He nods, uncertainly. She’s talking about this as if it’s completely normal.
“You’ll get used to it eventually,” she says. “In research, we like to make jokes about it. She wiggles her fingers at him. “'Ooh, I know everything about you,’” she says mockingly, pitching her voice down.
Elias doesn’t laugh. Just stares. “Aren’t you afraid of him?”
She laughs, really laughs, like it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard. “What’s he gonna do, fire me? No. Why would I be afraid of him?” Then she sobers. “Are you afraid of him?”
Something sinks in Elias’s chest. He’d assumed that they didn’t know, that Elias was unique in being able to see Wright’s monstrous nature.
Turns out he’s just unique in being frightened by it.
He shakes his head. “No,” he says. “Just—had a bad performance review.”
She nods in commiseration, and he excuses himself not long after. Returns to his desk, his heart loud in his ears. He looks around at his co-workers, all of them so happy, so careless. Why aren’t they afraid?
Why did you heed the call?—
He doesn’t know.
He can’t trust them.
***
He asks to be transferred to Artifact Storage, and his request is accepted, albeit with some strange looks. No one requests to go to Artifact Storage.
For him, it’s infinitely preferable to Research. The monsters in Artifact Storage are acknowledged, for one. Feared, treated with caution. Not allowed to run a so-called research institute. Not joked about. For two, the turnover rate is so high that he won’t have to deal with pretend camaraderie. He knows, now, that he can’t trust any of these people. He’s on his own.
For four years, he does his work, cataloging dangerous artifacts, sending the more junior assistants to do the more dangerous tasks. He doesn’t try to be good at his job, he doesn’t want to be good at his job, but after years of working in Artifact Storage, he is by far the most senior member of the staff. He starts to pick up a few tricks. He becomes knowledgeable. People respect him.
His line manager says he’s looking to transfer to the Library, and asks if Elias would like to be recommended for the promotion. Does he want to be Head of Artifact Storage?
He should say no, but some part of him that never quite managed to kill its ambition answers for him. “I’d be honored,” he says.
***
Meetings with Wright never get easier. In four years, he manages to drag up everything Elias would rather keep hidden, everything he doesn’t want to think about. Allan is a popular subject, as are his parents. And there’s always—
He cannot move. He cannot scream. What are they doing to his eyes?—
Elias doesn’t get used to it, and when Wright schedules a meeting with him to discuss his forthcoming promotion, Elias dreads it just as much as that very first performance review.
“I am very impressed with your progress,” Wright says, steepling his fingers over his desk.
“Thank you,” Elias says.
“Nearly five years in Artifact Storage,” Wright says. “I wouldn’t have guessed it, but perhaps I should have. You’re not a brave man by any means, but what does that matter, when you’re running from the most frightening thing you can imagine?”
What are they doing to his eyes?—
Elias swallows. There’s something heavy in the air. He always feels watched, in the Institute, in Wright’s office, but this is—different, somehow. Closer.
“If you were more curious, you actually might have guessed it. If you’d looked into the history of the Institute, investigated the men who preceded me in this position. You might have noticed certain similarities. You’re smart enough to have put the pieces together, but alas.”
—squandered—
“You never were the curious sort, were you? You were more interested in self-preservation than answers. Keeping your distance from anyone who might drag you away from your… destiny.”
Wright stands, and Elias flinches. “I-I don’t—” This is wrong. Something is wrong.
This is the place I know I should be—
But—
“What did you imagine was calling you here?” Wright says, and now he’s close, too close, towering over him. Elias wants to stand, want to retreat, but he doesn’t—He can’t move—
Wright places his hands on the two arms of Jonah’s chair, trapping him. Elias shrinks back, as far as he can get. “Did you think it was something noble, that you were destined to be a hero of light, to put an end to the sickness of this place? You would drive a knife into my eyes, killing the monster and setting everyone free?”
He doesn’t know what he thought. He thought he was destined for something better, to be something more than other people.
“You will be,” Wright says, leaning over him, too close. “Have you figured it out yet?”
He shakes his head wordlessly, a sob gasping from his throat.
Wright smiles. “James Wright didn’t either.”
***
When the thing that now controls his body takes over the Magnus Institute, they all think, nepotism at its finest.
Elias understands why he’s here, now. Understands the thing that called him here. Understands the many paths he could have taken, to reach a different end. Too late.
Elias’ eyes are carved out of his still-breathing body, and the Eye feasts on latent terror, cultivated so perfectly, for so long.
Elias is replaced, and no one misses him. He himself ensured that no one who worked with him knew anything about him. And everyone else is dead already.
James Wright is discarded. Elias Bouchard is taken.
Jonah Magnus lives on.
#tma#tma fic#tma spoilers#mag 193#hey i wrote an episode fic! exciting!#febuwhump#febuwhumpday4#scopophobia cw#manipulation cw#parents cw#my fic#fun fact! i had to write the first ~1500 words of this TWICE because my computer crashed and lost everything
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Woman’s game (Ivar the Boneless/Hvitserk)
No time to die
Synopsis: Skuld finally leaves the hut and reunites with Ivar. She deals with the aftermath.
Warnings: PTSD, murder, revenge, suicide attempt, trauma, toxic relationship
Tags: @youbloodymadgenius
Skuld sat in the hut, watching the light stream in from the small crack in the wall. The wall was sturdy enough to hold her in, but at least it gave her some sort of light—the only ray of sunlight since the start of her confinement.
She felt empty, emptier than she did before. She must look like a madwoman - dirty and crazy. Yet she still laughed. At least some things are very still funny to her, like the occasional shadow that passed by the crack in the wall or the hopelessness of it all. That was the funniest thing for her—the fact she will probably starve here before getting to leave.
All these visions of her future, all crushed in this endless darkness, all because she fucked a cripple. Who knows if what Astrid said is true? Did Lagertha truly only notice her cause she slept with Ivar? If Skuld slept with Margrethe like she thought she would, no one would have paid her any mind... Nonsense. Lagertha was intimidated by Skuld's mind, not her bedfellows.
The new Queen had to make sure no one would challenge, so breaking the most ambitious woman in court was a good example. Better a madwoman than a corpse. Oh, but she will pay for that miscalculation. Skuld would wait and kill her slowly. Dragging it out till there will be nothing left of the bitch than legends and whispers.
Meanwhile, Ivar sat before Lagertha, annoyed by her denial of their fight to the death. "Where is Skuld?" He asked the smug Queen; seeing the uncertainty in her eyes made him perk up. She knew where the now blonde was.
"Skuld is locked away for her own safety. If you want to care for her, I can give her to you." Lagertha said diplomatically as the sons of Ragnar frowned. Sigurd and Ubbe completely forgot about their mother's guest.
"And since when is the daughter of an Earl property?" Ubbe asked, watching the blonde Queen frown.
"A guest in need of supervision. Not property." Shieldmaidens brought the girl in. Dirty, dressed in a slave garb with greasy hair and bloody scratch marks on her arms.
The people gasped as they saw her, so strange compared to her usual style. Skuld shielded her eyes from the sunlight, squinting at the harshness of it and the whispers of the people around her. "Skuld," Ivar called out, making her look at him with shocked eyes. He was alive.
She slowly walked over to him, the armed shieldmaidens behind her. Ubbe draped his fur around her as she clenched Ivar's hand in hers. She was shaking and looking around like a wounded animal.
"I am sorry for your treatment, Skuld. But your behavior against me is unforgivable." The Ylvasdottir looked up at Lagertha and tilted her head to the side.
Her blue eyes trailed over to the proud female warrior still standing there, her guard down as she watched her mentor talk. Skuld blinked and stabbed the woman in the neck. Blood sprayed over her face as the gasping warrior fell backward, the other shieldmaidens catching her bleeding body. Out of her neck stuck a chicken bone, bitten into sharpness.
Everyone gasped as they watched the woman die, Ivar watching the emotionless look on Skuld's face. The female looked at Lagertha, empty eyes meeting shocked ones. "I will rip you apart, limb by limb. All of you will die for what you die. Maybe not today or in a year. But your days are numbered. And when my mother returns, I will have enough skulls collected to serve them all mead in them."
She turned towards the crowds of people and pushed back her shoulders. "Your Queen, the usurper, took me captive and imprisoned me! She starved me and made me live in my own filth like an animal. All because she thought me a threat. I would have never raised a hand against anyone if she left me be! If she can do these horrible things to an innocent bystander..."
Skuld turned back to Lagertha and softened her look, looking like she might cry, but her eyes spoke vengeance. "What would she do to her people? Are the men and women too poor to pay the fines, too weak or old to fight? What will she do to those who don't please her? A prison cell or an execution?"
"You are not as innocent as you like to make people think. You just murdered the third shieldmaiden since my reign."
Skuld frowned and looked at the corpse. "Your shieldmaidens kidnapped me and locked me away like an animal. If you do that, you should expect the beast to bite back once it is free. The safest option... is to put it down and save yourself the impending doom. But I am human, not an animal."
Lagertha clenched her jaw as if she wanted to protest, but she held her tongue. Ivar and Skuld left the hall, the other two brothers following behind them. Skuld walked with her head held low, her shoulders hunched, and steps timidly. The more beat up she looks, the more sympathy she gains. And the easier Lagertha's downfall will be.
"Are you alright, Skuld?" Ubbe asked her watching the dirty girl walk.
"I will be. I could use a bath, food, and clothes."
The dress they put her in was a nice change against the itchy one she had before. But still, she felt unclean. She scrubbed her skin till it was red, blood trailing from some of her old wounds. Margrethe entered the room with a timid smile. The thrall was a free woman now and set to marry a Ragnarsson. Maybe she isn't as stupid as Skuld would like her to believe.
"Food will be ready soon. I just wanted to tell you... I am also sorry for what happened." Skuld smirked and looked at Margrethe's false look of pity.
"You are angry. I get that. After all, you very nearly beat for spreading rumors."
"You made me spread them. You said it would save me from Ivar's rage, and instead, Aslaug got angry at me." The blonde ex-thrall glared at Skuld. Angry at the obvious betrayal. She felt like a puppet and couldn't believe she trusted Skuld at all. Someone of Skuld's social status would never be kind to a slave.
Skuld sighed and looked up at the wooden ceiling. "I did what I had to do. You were in no danger, Margrethe. You were a puppet, true, but not a target. Aslaug would have scolded you, not beat you. That's more Lagertha's way, isn't it? She used you more than I did. Worse things."
"Sex slave." Margrethe spat out, annoyed, making Skuld wince.
"Ah, yes. That bitch is long overdue, don't you think? When the time is ripe, she will fall. For you and for me."
"You want me to believe you are killing her for me?"
The older blonde chuckled and watched Margrethe's doubtful look. She didn't believe one word Skuld said. Good. She had potential, after all. "Oh, not at all. You just benefit from my revenge. That doesn't mean you shouldn't support me, nonetheless. Free woman or not, take what you are given, Margrethe. Those who strive too high and have nothing to back it up with end up dead - forgotten, with an unmarked grave and no legacy left behind."
"Why all the advice?"
"I told you... We, strong women, should work together. That's the only way we might survive. Always one step ahead."
Margrethe frowned and shook her head. "Is that truly how you live? Always scheming and plotting, expecting betrayal from everyone? Then I truly pity you."
Skuld scoffed and pushed back her shoulders; she looked more terrifying like this. Like a queen about to execute her enemy. And if Margrethe continued to talk, she would become her enemy. "I don't need your pity. This is the world we live in. Where men can do what they want, and only the strong survive. Love, emotion, trust all means weakness in the end. Always expect a dagger in your back; that way, it won't surprise you when it comes. Call me crazy, but I survived. And when all of this is done. All those legendary men will be dead, and the only thing left behind is me. Queen Skuld. Wouldn't it be a nice fate?"
"For a slave to become a Queen? Yes, it would." Skuld smirked at Margrethe's ambition. The fool would die before she ever touched the crown.
"Then I wish you all the luck in the world, Queen Margrethe. After all, you are going to need it." She hunched forward and leveled the ex-slave with a glare. "Not leave. I am still not finished."
Margrethe slammed the door behind her, and the moment they closed, Skuld threw herself on the bed and burrowed herself on in the furs. The walls around her felt small, and the light kept irritating her eyes. Even the voices outside the room were getting on her nerves.
"Never took you for a killing type." Ivar'd voice commented from behind her as he crawled over to her from the door.
"There are many things you don't know. For instance, right now, I don't want to be around people." The Ragnarsson chuckled and moved up on the bed to lie next to her. But instead of touching her like she thought he would, Ivar just laid there, watching her.
"Sorry about your parents." She whispered, watching the anger and sadness on his face.
"It wasn't your fault. We have something in common now, other than than the sex."
Skuld scoffed at his words and rolled away from him to avoid his offended look. "A common enemy is not relationship material, Ivar. You romanticize it too much."
Ivar rolled his eyes and watched her breathing even out. The scratches on her arms looked terrible—some with newly dried blood on them. "How long were you in there?"
Skuld swallowed and turned on her back. If she looked at the wall for too long, it seemed as if it was inching towards her faster. Ivar's need to talk was driving her up the wall as well; she felt trapped all over again. "I don't know, since Lagertha attacked the village. I was walking, and some shieldmaiden kidnapped me. I killed two but was overpowered. I have no idea how long I spend in that hut."
She felt too vulnerable, admitting it to Ivar. Maybe if she showed some emotion, Ivar would get spooked and leave. Instead, he hummed and took her thin hand in his. "That was two months ago."
The blonde sucked in a breath and froze. Two months in that hell hole, no wonder she went crazy. She was crazy,... Wasn't she? Only insane people can see walls moving and imagine enemies in every shadow. "Are you alright?"
Ivar's words went to deaf ears as her breathing picked up, her chest falling and rising in panic. Her blood rushing and heart-pounding drowned out his voice in her ears. Skuld clawed at her forearms again; a knock sounded from the door, Ubbe's worried voice asking if they are okay.
It snapped her from her trance; she sprung from the bed and marched away, shouldering past the oldest Ragnarsson, his wife, and Sigurd. The door banged against the wall as she runs down the hill, needing to be as far away from people as possible. She stopped near a cliff and took in deep breaths to steel herself.
The voices in her head got louder, the pounding of her heart following every sentence like a war drum.
"You would have never been a hostage if you just didn't sleep with Ivar. Lagertha would have never noticed you if you didn't strive so high."
"I am calling you a dangerous woman with love for violence and death..."
"Deranged whore."
"Glorified drunkard."
"What in Odin's name is wrong with you?! Why are you so weird?"
"What do you mean you don't know what empathy is? Have you never felt sorry for someone?"
"You are manipulating them. They are your puppets, not friends."
Skuld held her head in her hands, her hair tightly clenched between her fingers as her breathing grew harsher by the second. It felt like her heart would explode out of her chest any moment now and jump off the cliff...
She dropped her hands back to her side and closed her eyes. Pushing her shoulders back and holding her head higher did wonder to her look. The blonde now seemed more in control despite the ruffled hair and scratched arms. Her face was still a little bit red from her panic attack. She turned on her heel and marched away from the cliff. Not even ten steps away from the edge and Skuld turned around again.
"Why did you do that?"
"Mercy. It would die anyway. Why let it suffer?"
Why let me suffer? And so she spread her arms and let herself fall off the cliff. The freezing water surrounded her and made the world go dark.
#vikings#history vikings#ivar the boneless#ivar ragnarsson#ivar lothbrok#ivar#hvitserk lothbrok#Hvitserk Ragnarsson#hvitserk x oc#Hvitserk#ivar x oc#original character#original female character
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J.I & Stray Kids (2020)
Since the two trained the longest together out of Stray Kids, there was a pretty strong bond between the two of them that’s continued to this day. Besides Jihyo, Chan is the closest friend Junghwa has at JYP. He encouraged Junghwa to branch out of his comfort zone in terms of music genre and ability.
The relationship between the two is very close. Junghwa didn’t really speak to many others besides Chan at the start due having a common language. It was through Chan that Junghwa gained the confidence to speak to others.
Junghwa will joke with Chan every time the “leader” voice comes out, calling him “hyung” alongside the kids. The kids respect Junghwa as much as they respect Chan as the eldest members of the group.
Ever since their elimination together, the two have been pretty close. Junghwa took Minho under his wing and continued training with him until they were brought back. Due to his caring nature, Junghwa postponed his return home to care for the members who would get eliminated until the show’s finale.
Junghwa didn’t excel in dance at first due to his long limbs, but Minho became his teacher/mentor while they were in elimination limbo. It was thanks to him that Junghwa became confident in his dance once he realized he could insert his gymnast abilities into choreography.
Though Junghwa is known for being a robot or monotonous, his 4D personality really comes out when he’s with Minho. He really comes out of his shell when partnered with Minho, surprising the others every time.
Though they didn’t start having constant conversations until the survival show, these two had met prior at a 3racha show. They were pretty awkward around each other until they officially met for the show. When Junghwa hesitated to talk to the others, Changbin was the one who approached him and eased him into the first conversation they had has a group.
Junghwa credits Changbin for being the “kick-in-the-butt” he needed to get to know the other members. Even to this day, he still goes to Changbin if he needs a bit of confidence on stage or off.
When JYP decided that most of the group should be able to rap, Changbin mentored those who were assigned to it. Junghwa goes to him when it comes to learning the proper enunciation on certain syllables. His rap style is very influenced by Changbin’s own style, but his is a bit more relaxed when compared.
The first meeting between these two didn’t go as planned. Much like the ever famed pre-debut fights Hyunjin had with Jisung, they butted heads quite often due to said fights because Junghwa would aid in breaking them up. It wasn’t until Hyunjin caught Junghwa on the phone, crying, that he understood the gravity of the survival show for him. The two became close once Hyunjin took their teamwork seriously.
Junghwa is a “fake-it-til-you-make-it” kind of dancer due to how the choreographer never accounts for his long limbs. Thankfully, Hyunjin is there to help break down the steps and alter them.
Hyunjin once said that Junghwa is the group’s older brother, that he takes care of each of the members no matter what. When eliminations happened and Junghwa was the first to go, Hyunjin didn’t cry on camera but did once they were off. He said it was because Junghwa was a rock for all of them, and with it gone, everything got a lot harder.
Besides Chan, Jisung was one of the easiest to get to know. The boy’s cheerful attitude had him laughing from the moment they met. It was thanks to Jisung that Junghwa was given more high notes to show off his potential since he believed that JYP was holding him back. Jisung was possibly the most upset person at Junghwa’s elimination, and held on to the eldest until it was time to let go.
Much like Hyunjin, Jisung looks to Junghwa like an older brother. He’ll go to him if he has any worries he wants to talk through. When his anxiety got worse, Junghwa was the one constantly at his side to ease him back into the public eye. Junghwa usually carries are large set of noise-canceling headphones in his bag if Jisung ever needs them and he can’t find a quiet place.
Junghwa has always chosen Jisung as the funniest member of the group. It doesn’t matter on if the joke is bad or oddly delivered, Junghwa will laugh like it is funniest joke ever told.
Everyone had a hand in helping Felix learn Korean, but Junghwa really acted like his teacher during the trainee days.This is due to Junghwa knowingwhat it was like to move countries and not know the language. They had a lot of time to work and bond over this due to Felix’s elimination.
Since their pre-debut days, the two have played a game called “Translation” - a game Junghwa and his sister created when they first moved to Korea. No matter the place or time, Junghwa will yell “Translate!” at Felix followed by an English word for him to say in Korean. The rest of the group picked up on this game and have altered it to broaden their English skills.
The two of them unwind by playing video games together at the dorm. The two usually play co-op games, but if one doesn’t want to play, they’ll just sit in the same room and call out things if there’s an open mic. Junghwa helped Felix build his set up along side his when they weren’t as busy.
At the start, these two weren’t as close. They didn’t really talk during their first meeting and through the show. It wasn’t until their vocal evaluations that they had a real conversation. Junghwa had recommended various songs he thought suited Seungmin’s voice, and Seungmin did the same. Though Junghwa has become more of a sub-vocal/harmonizer, Seungmin will push for some of his lines to go to him.
Seungmin is known for his signature “noise(?),” but Junghwa has one as well. Whenever Seungmin does his, Junghwa can somehow be heard somewhere in the background. This back and forth is usually the loudest the eldest will ever get. It can be surprising on many occasions.
When they first met, Seungmin thought he was DAy6′s Jae. It was a common mistake as the two had very similar hairstyles at one point in time. Not knowing if he was, Seungmin remained quiet until Junghwa introduced himself. The two laugh about it whenever they meet up with the band or go to their concert.
Jeongin is Junghwa’s baby, in his eyes the youngest can do no wrong. When they first met, Jeongin didn’t know how to approach him due to the unfamiliarity, Junghwa was quick to introduce himself and took him under his wing. Jeongin took Junghwa’s elimination the hardest.
Junghwa becomes a bit immature when around Jeongin. Even though the youngest was in his late teens when they met, Junghwa still believes that he should have a normal childhood. So he does his best to keep his life normal and not worry to much about idol life.
Like the rest of Stray Kids, Jeongin is looked at with so much pride and love. When it comes to singing, Junghwa encourages his trot singing during recordings. This small action brings smiles to the groups faces as they usually record for hours on end.
The boys love the eldest member their whole hearts. Many of them look up to him due to his passion and spirit because of the nine years he spent training. Junghwa couldn’t imagine debuting any other group, and is glad to call Stray Kids his family.
Though Chan may be the leader, he has said the Junghwa is a good example of leadership for him and considers him the group’s true leader due to the eldest’s caring nature. Junghwa disagrees but happily co-leads the group with him.
Due to being such a large group, they have to split among two cars. If Junghwa is settled in with the younger members, they usually fight over who gets to sit with him since his calming nature helps them fall asleep. If he’s with the older members, no one fights since at least two of them don’t sleep on a normal schedule.
#stray kids addition#stray kids au#stray kids 9th member#skz 9th member#9th member of stray kids#9th skz member au#kpop addition#kpop aus#idol oc#kpop oc#kpop ocs#oc kpop
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Top 20 BEST Animated Series of the 2010s-13th place
What happens when you mix Looney Tunes' quality of animation with Spongebob Squarepants' weirdness and the creativity of a Dr. Suess book?
You get yet another underrated cartoon in the last decade. That’s what.
#13-Wander Over Yonder (2013-2016)
The Plot: A wandering weirdo named Wander and his best friend/protector/noble steed Sylvia travels the galaxy, sharing kindness and spreading the message that it never hurts to help everywhere they go. But in their quest, they must face dangerous villains such as Lord Hater and his army of watchdogs (The watchdogs aren’t what you think they are). Will the villainous Lord Hater destroy Wander and his attempts to spread happiness, or will Wonder make Hater his new pal? I don’t know. The show got canceled after a second season. Still, I think it’s the best bet on it being a yes.
The one thing about a show like Wander Over Yonder is that it is nothing like most shows you will find on this list. And I can sum up those reasons into four categories: story, comedy, characters, and animation.
Let’s start with the story because, until season two, there really isn’t one. It remains as a somewhat episodic show where the continuity is nearly non-existent. Occasionally a character will bring up an old event, or an old villain will reappear. But a viewer doesn’t need a full understanding of every episode to watch a single episode. Even when the show begins to have a story arc in season two, knowledge of previous events isn’t entirely essential to enjoy the episode you’re currently watching. Because while the prior information may add to the enjoyment, it never takes it away. In fact, Wander Over Yonder may just be the first show to change its technique of storytelling while still remaining true to its roots. Mainly since its roots focused more on comedy than anything else.
Let me make one thing clear: Wander Over Yonder, above anything else, is a comedy. It’s not a comedy that slowly becomes a drama. It’s a show that balances comedy and drama, and it is certainly not a show that will take itself too seriously. Even in the more “serious” episodes, Wander Over Yonder makes a point to have people laugh first and make them cry later. In fact, the drama has more of an impact because viewers can build a connection through laughing with the characters, thus caring when they meet a moment that’s tragic and heartbreaking. And laugh they will because this show can be pretty funny at times. Keep in mind that it has a very random sense of humor, so maybe don’t get too excited if that isn’t your cup of tea. And even if it is, there is a small problem you need to be aware of about the show’s comedy. When a joke isn’t funny, there will be another joke not far behind to make up for the lack. However, there are times when the show lingers on a specific gag or even repeats the same exact one throughout the entire episode. And it is always painful to watch. This doesn’t happen often, and it isn’t that bad when done well, but even then, it can get a little annoying to fans of the show.
Speaking of a little annoying, let’s talk about our main character Wander. Wander is a character who strives to do the right thing no matter what the cost. When done well, a personality like that is admirable but can come across as annoying when done wrong. Wander is no exception. On the one hand, I honestly find his determination to do the right thing makes him a good role model for kids. And it’s not like he doesn’t have a reason for why he goes out of his way to help others. He genuinely does the right thing because it actually makes him feel good to help. However, that doesn’t change when Wander’s kind attitude can get a little out of hand. There are moments when he actually puts friends and civilizations in danger to do a good deed. Everything all works out in the end, but that doesn’t change how close things can get. Even worse, Wander rarely changes his approach to doing good deeds because the writers goes out of their way to prove him right. Whenever Wander has his good nature challenged or even taken advantage of, he still does the exact same thing a couple episodes later. Thankfully, he at least has a couple of good characters to bounce off of in his antics.
There are two characters in the show that Wander interacts with the most: Sylvia and Hater. Sylvia is Wander’s best friend and acts as the muscle/voice of reason to his Wanderness. Their overall interactions are either hilarious or downright heartwarming to watch. I especially love how Sylvia goes out of her way to keep Wander safe, as it shows a friendship that goes beyond farther than other best buddies in most shows on this list. In fact, they're more like a family that’s a mix between mother and son/brother and sister dynamic. However, while I love seeing Wander and Sylvia interact, that is nothing compared to seeing Wander and Hater together. These two have a rivalry that seems to be Spongebob and Squidward’s dynamic, treated as Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd's. It is funny to watch these two whenever they share a screen together, and it’s this interaction that brings out the best of Wander. He doesn’t ever want to hurt Hater, but it’s just Hater who mostly hurts himself. Wander also fully understands that Lord Hater is a villain but is driven by the belief that there’s some good inside those bones. But what surprises me is the fact that Lord Hater works well as a character even without Wander.
Wander Over Yonder does something I rarely see in which it has episodes that star both the heroes and the villains. Lord Hater is up there as one of the funniest incompetent villains within animated shows. His attempts to become the greatest in the galaxy never fails to make me laugh, as it pretty much lines up with Wile E Coyote's attempts to get the Road Runner. He will lose, and you know he’s going to no matter what, but it’s still hilarious to watch how. Hater gets even funnier when you compare him to Commander Peepers, who acts as Hater’s second in comand. Peepers is the logic to Hater’s fury and childishness, which presents a dynamic similar yet different to Wander and Sylvia’s. Which is another reason why I like how the show focuses on both the heroes and villains, as it makes the villains seem more like dynamic characters than most foes in other shows.
But none of this praise holds a candle to the show’s animation. Not only is it fluid and expressive, but the show has the underrated rubber hose style of animation that needs more love. Characters can pull random objects out of nowhere, survive the craziest of things, and seem to have their own form of gravity around them. In fact, it is Wander Over Yonder that showed me how rare this type of animation is. Most animated shows in the last decade seem to focus on looking realistic rather than looking like a cartoon. This is weird because one would think that more cartoons would aim to actually be more, well, cartoony. This is why Wander Over Yonder has some of the best animations out of most shows in the last decade, all because of it being unique. Even when the show goes through a noticeable downgrade in its second season, it is nowhere near as bad as Star V.S. the Forces of Evil. It’s still expressive and cartoony, but not just as fluid as it once was in season one.
However, despite all the praise I can give this show, you should remember it still got canceled. Was it because of bad writing? No. Was it because the animation was too expensive? Understandably so if it was, but no. Was it because of bad ratings? Well, it did get bad ratings, but apparently, that wasn’t the reason. Apparently, the reason was that Disney thought that only two seasons were enough. This is a shame because not only did it seem like the show was gaining ground by season two, but season three even promised to reveal some long-awaited backstories for the characters. Regardless, Disney still owns the show, and the decision to bring it back (that is, to say, if they’ll ever bring it back) is entirely up to them.
Wander Over Yonder is not a perfect show. Compared to everything else in the last decade, I can see how most people won’t be as invested as others. But if you love episodic storytelling, random comedy, great dynamic characters, and some fantastic animation, then trust me when I say that it wouldn’t hurt to help to give this show a chance.
(Also, is it weird to anybody else that this isn’t on Disney+, yet? It’s on Hulu, but not Disney+ for some reason. It’s starting to get to the point where I think Disney’s ashamed of this show, which I don’t understand.)
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Autumn Outside the Post Office
Pairing: Seokjin x Female Reader
Word Count: 863
Rating: PG
Genres: SFW, Established Relationship
Summary: Seokjin wants to meet to talk about the future.
Warnings: Reader is overthinking and anxious.
A/N: This is part of my new drabble series that I’m doing for ficswithluv’s Bulletproof Bingo! 24 drabbles in 12 days so I can get that blackout before the deadline. See my challenge post here and the master list here! Message or send an ask to be on the taglist!
This has not been beta read, please be kind! 💜
~~~~~~~
It’s a beautiful fall day and you should be enjoying yourself. The cool crisp air, the crunch of the leaves beneath your feet, a warm pumpkin spice latte in your hands. But instead you are walking to the post office.
A little over two years ago, you met your boyfriend, Seokjin, at this very post office. You were in a hurry to mail off an application to law school and he was there picking up packages from his PO box. Seokjin had boxes piled high in his arms and in your haste, you ran directly into him. His packages went everywhere and you scrambled to help him gather them up.
“Law school? That’s impressive!” Seokjin said, handing you your envelope. When you made eye contact with him, you knew he was something special. He waited for you to mail your application, then you helped him carry his boxes to his car. You’ve been together ever since.
Dating Seokjin has way more ups than downs. He’s beautiful, knows how to cook, has the funniest jokes, and he has the cutest laugh. Just thinking about how perfect he is makes you emotional. Especially after the fight the two of you had last week.
It was a dumb fight, just arguing about who’s family you would visit during the holidays. It didn’t seem like that big of a deal at the time. It ended with laughing and kisses. You wouldn’t even be worried, except Jin has been acting weird since that day.
He texted you earlier today asking you to meet at “our post office.” The one where you met. Now you’re worried. You’ve managed to convince yourself that he’s asked you to meet there for some elaborate break up scene. How romantic. A break up in the spot where you first met.
Your thoughts begin to spiral as you approach the post office. Just a few feet further down the sidewalk. The idea of losing Seokjin stops you in your tracks. The past two years have been amazing. He’s been your rock through the pain and turmoil of law school. But you can’t make him stay if he wants to leave. Maybe you can still talk things through.
“Excuse me!” Someone says loudly behind you. You step to the side to let them pass you, still not ready for whatever is waiting inside the post office. You lean your back against a wall and take a few deep breaths.
Your phone starts vibrating. Seokjin is calling. Probably wondering where you are. It’s not like you to be late. As you pick up your phone, you see Seokjin stepping out of the post office. He’s wearing his cute glasses and a turtleneck sweater. He doesn’t see you standing a few feet away, back against the front of the building.
“Y/N? Where are you?” He asks hurriedly. You take a deep breath, the knot in your stomach tightening.
“I’m here.” You whisper into the phone, still frozen.
“Where?” He asks, turning. He spots you and hangs up the phone. He begins walking toward you. Your legs are shaking, fingers twitching. The nerves are written so plainly across your face.
“Are you okay? You look upset.” Seokjin asks as he approaches you. “Oh... did you figure out why I asked you to come here?” He frowns.
“Maybe.” You shrug. He reaches out for your hand and begins leading you to the post office doors.
“Well, remember that fight we had not too long ago?” He pauses in front of the doors. Here it comes. Your stomach is sinking into the ground. You squeeze his hand, asking for comfort from the person who is about to hurt you.
“It made me realize... I think that we are... well we are trees.” He’s stammering. Trees? “We have deep roots and we’ve survived the storms because our roots are tangled. We are better together.” He smiles and reaches for the door handle. What is happening?
As you enter the lobby of the post office, you see a large banner that says Will You Marry Me? Confused, you turn back to face Seokjin and he is down on one knee, a ring box in his hand. He opens it and a sparkling ring is shining up at you.
“So? Will you spend the rest of your life with me?” His voice cracks and you can tell he’s really holding back tears. You can’t hold yours back though.
“Yes! Of Course I will!” You fall down to your knees to wrap your arms around Seokjin’s broad shoulders. He kisses you and there’s clapping and cheering from the postal workers. Seokjin pulls away just enough to place the ring on your shaky hand.
“Is this why you’ve been acting so weird?” You ask, still crying. So happy and so relieved.
“I haven’t been acting weird!” Seokjin gasps.
“I thought you were going to break up with me!” Another wave of tears come as you finally admit what you’ve been thinking all along. His eyebrows raise up.
“I will never leave you baby.” Seokjin pulls you back into a hug, holding you tightly so that you know he is never going to let go.
~~~~~~~
A/N: Thank you so much for reading. Check out my masterlist here and the series masterlist here. I’m always looking for betas and friends so send me a message! :)
#ficswithluv#fwlbingo#magicshopnet#bangtanhq#kim seokjin#seokjin x reader#jin#bts fan fiction#bts fan fic#seokjin engagement au#seokjin fan fic#seokjin fluff
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if i had to do ur ungodly will u should also have to do 1-69 for polly and aggy
ok here it is for polly.
1. why did they choose their class(es)? their subclass(es)?
Well polly sought out Vaermina because she hoped that she would be able to make her nightmares stop.
2.before they met their party, what was their main goal?
make enough money to survive, sleep through the night.
3. what is their goal right now?
save the world lol. she doesn’t actually care about that part as much, she’s mostly in on it because her friends seem to really care. she’s trying to have fun while she’s awake though, which she didn’t really think about much until she met her friends.
4. if they could learn one spell that isn’t available to them at present, which spell would it be?
create or destroy water. she just thinks it would be really useful for the group’s travelling. dredge can get stinky.
5. do they follow a higher power? what are their thoughts on divinity?
lol she’s forced to follow Vaermina. she thinks the gods suck, not because they aren’t real or powerful but because she felt neglected by them when she needed them.
6. which party member do they relate to the most?
sundrop
7. which party member do they understand the least?
liz
8. what are three songs that suit them?
still finding songs for her bit… tighten up by the front bottoms, be still by the killers, and wisdom by mother mother.
9. do they care about their appearance? how much effort do they put into presentation?
She does care about how she looks but doesn’t have the energy to really put that much effort into it. That’s why her entire wardrobe is black and dark colors because you don’t have to worry about matching shit. she brushes her hair and braids it when she isn’t sleeping to keep busy, but that’s it.
10. how often do they lie? what situations cause them to be dishonest?
she lies mostly when she thinks it’ll be funny or it’ll suit her. she has no real qualms about lying to any random person, but she would think twice on lying to her friends.
11. what skills are they proficient in? Why?
she’s very good at staying awake because she’s too afraid to fall asleep.
12. have they ever been in love?
no
13. what do they dislike about themself? Why?
she doesn’t like how cynical she is
14. what is something they love about themself?
she knows that she’s always going to get back up.
15. do they trust their party? why or why not?
100% trust. she’s been with them for so long she knows that if they wanted her dead or were going to betray her they would’ve done it.
16. what are their feelings on the people who raised them?
she loves her parents a lot, she just wishes she were the daughter they wanted.
17. what do they dream about, when their dreams are their own?
She’s had very few dreams that are her own in her lifetime. the first one was her sitting in a meadow outside her home in skingrad and feeling the sun on her skin. the second was sitting with her friends outside a cave making fun of dredge by the campfire.
18. do they see themself as a leader or a follower?
leader.
19. what haunts them? what doesn’t?
she’s haunted by the life she could have had if she ever got a good night’s sleep. she isn’t haunted by what she has done to make her life more bearable.
20. which of the five senses do they rely the most on?
sight
21. do they follow their head, their heart, or their body?
their heart-- she does what she wants to.
22. what is a promise they’ve broken?
“i promise i’m not going to do anything rash.”
23. how do they feel about nicknames, titles, or labels that have been given to them? how do they feel about their name?
her name is pretentious and very imperial and so she feels like she sticks out in skyrim, but she likes being called polly.
24. which of the four elements speaks to them the most?
Fire. it's a light in the dark and warmth in the cold. an act of creation and destruction, which i think is sort of at war in her mind-- she feels like she is destroying her life while also trying to create something from the ashes.
25. what stories do they like to tell? what stories do they like to hear?
she likes to tell funny stories and likes to hear stories with happy endings.
26. who do they miss?
polly misses her parents, her sister, her niece and nephew.
27. how do they mourn?
angrily, loudly. she is not the best at dealing with emotions.
28. who would they kill? who would they kill for?
she’d kill quite a few people for money, but would kill anyone dredge, liz, sundrop, or her other family needed her to without question.
29. who would they save? who would they be saved by?
she would save her friends and family, she can’t speak for anyone else but she’s done waiting for some deus ex machina.
30. what do they seek out from others?
anything interesting. sometimes just their annoyance will do.
31. they’re given a blank piece of paper–what do they do with it?
she takes the paper, folds it like a paper plane (fantasy plane?), and throws it at someone.
32. do they seek control, or do they want less of it?
she seeks control desperately.
33. what makes them cry?
any emotion in a high enough dose. thinking about loneliness.
34. which party member do they go to in a crisis?
oh god. depends on the crisis. probably mostly sundrop.
35. which party member do they worry for?
dredge, he’s really getting old.
36. what’s a secret they’ve kept?
it’s a secret!!!
37. what is their favorite thing to hold?
a bottle or a glass.
38. what do they smell like?
i think she would smell earthy and deep from all the outside travelling and dark magic. maybe vetiver and something floral, like gardenia.
39. are their hands calloused, soft, or something else entirely?
she has callouses on her fingers from constant tool working. Her palms are soft.
40. do they enjoy poetry?
No, doesn’t much care for it.
41. what are they attracted to in other people?
optimism, perseverance, kindness.
42. what are three words they would use to describe themself?
funny, charismatic, annoying.
43. why do they fight?
she needs to make a living somehow
44. what do they need to learn?
To give people a chance first,
45. how do they hug people?
she’s one of those: taps you immediately to let you know we’re done, side-hug, types.
46. what do they deprive themself of?
home, sleep.
47. when they meet someone, what is the first thing they notice?
she tries to make an immediate character impression so she’ll go oh they seem boring, or childish, or invested.
48. what do they see in their future?
Dredge, Liz, Sundrop
49. what makes them smile?
antics. pranks, doing silly things for no reason and succeeding.
50. can they sing? can they dance?
she hasn’t done much of either.
51. what is the most beautiful thing in the world, for them?
human (and not human lol) connection. she really loves flowers, they remind her of being back in skingrad.
52. from whom do they seek validation?
her parents (and the gods but that one set sail)
53. which is more frightening to them: day or night?
night. she has to fall asleep eventually.
54. what was their education like?
she’s gotten a good basic education and a merchant’s education.
55. whose hand do they reach out for?
sundrop’s
56. what animal do they most relate to?
giant rat, just chilling going absolutely wild until someone shows up and just starts wacking.
57. what makes them angry?
people giving up.
58. what do they think their role in the party is? what is their role in actuality?
she thinks she’s there to deal with people in a business sense. her real role is to just be real good at noticing.
59. what is a quiet passion of theirs?
she loves daydreaming and little figurines.
60. do they whisper or yell more often?
yell.
61. what kind of flower would they choose to pick from a meadow?
violets
62. outside of otherworldly forces, what do they believe in?
herself. that people are always going to do what’s best for themselves.
63. what fight has scared them the most?
fighting a dragon
64. do they value mercy or justice more?
justice.
65. what is holding them back?
currently, saving the world.
66. who makes them feel warm?
her family.
67. what makes them laugh?
liz eating anything
68. what was the best moment of their life?
the first night she had a real dream.
69. how would they describe their party members?
as her best friends. Liz is perhaps too sweet for this wofrld and she has no idea why she sticks around but is very grateful she does. Dredge is a grumpy old man with the funniest quips. Sundrop is confused but he’s got the spirit, but even still is loyal, which not many can say.
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Mount Everest Ain't Got Shit On Us (Fezco x fem!reader, Part 1.)
Description: You were always told that your life will be as you wish it to be if you'll study enough. That it will pay off if you work hard. And some people were given you like the scary example of what will happen when you don't obey. But sometimes it feels good to disobey.
A/N: Man, Fez is just my main bitch from Euphoria. I just adore him the most. His breakfast is consistent with Respecting Women Juice™️ and Keeping His Shit Together Juice™️. He might not be the brightest man around, but I think he's gentle and caring. Like hell.
A/N: The reader is around 17 to 18 years old, not further explained, attending high school. Rue and the gang are around the same age and since Fezco's age was never actually clarified, let's go with 23.
A/N: This takes place in a universe where Jules was away for a while, but after a few months she came back to Rue.
Warnings: Talking about drugs, drug addiction, smoking, drinking alcohol. You know. Basically the normal lives of today's kids.
Word count: 3 K +/-
Masterlist and declaration: H E R E
Ever since you were a kid, the adults always told you that you can be whatever you would like to be. When you were five, they lied to you - they told you that you can be a pirate or a princess, or an astronaut or a zoo animal keeper for that matter.
When you were ten, they usually started to be critical to you just as you started as well. You slowly realized that being a plumber or a social worker is maybe the place you were supposed to be, you started to base your imaginations off the reality.
When you were fifteen, it all came together - you knew what should you do, what is off your limits and what stays in your boundaries. You could still be something even if you weren't the smartest or the funniest in your class, or the best of bureaucracy.
And when you go to college you most likely know what you'll do with your life - that you would be a nurse, a teacher, a biologist or you know that you will not go to college at all. Sometimes the young people didn't even continue to college. Sometimes it just doesn't work out. It simply happens.
But they were the other ones - the people who weren't destined to have a normal life. Those who dropped out of high school and just started to live by their own rules and who tried their best to go through life without some bigger problems.
Your mums usually told you not to be dumb, not to hang out around these people, stay out of their presence and ignoring them as well as you could. But some of them weren't that bad, they weren't the garbage of the society as your mums told you.
Every one of them had a reason to be as they were - usually it was a reality-based reason, something that made a perfect sense when explained, a serious social issue. You just had to ask them - some of them became gang members to help their family financially, others had committed prostitution, some of them were part of the black market with guns. Most of their fates circled around money. Money, the thing you need to survive in this cruel, cruel world.
Love meant a lot to those who wanted it. But money mattered way more. You needed money to survive - it was to survive or to be killed. No other options were remaining.
You lived in a small town since you were born. Everyone knew everything about everyone. It was just as simple as that. It took you by surprise when your parents told you that you'll be moving out of your birth town in the next few weeks to some strange suburb on the other side of America.
You heard that it actually snows there during winter which was a pleasant change from the hotness of Arizona. Also, it was nearer to the bigger cities of the United States - and you were pumped to visit them with your mum and siblings or cousins. To shop, to see something new, to actually get some experience.
“It isn't that bad. I like this place.” - Your little brother Cal called out as he stepped out of the truck. You carefully took the box out, almost tripped because of you untied old Converse shoes you still wore even after they tore apart near the base. You had an old, rainbow t-shirt on, it basically hung on your body because of how oversized it was, it covered your Adidas shorts completely.
“New boys. New girls. Fresh start. No history. I love it,” - Francis, your older sister, said out loud. She came out of the closet four years ago and since then, she has dated numerous girls and boys. She was going to attend local college but you were sure that sooner or later, she will introduce you to another love of her life. - “And what about you, my little bean? You feel comfortable out here?” - She hung an arm around your shoulder and you gave her a nod.
You weren't exactly the happiest about moving out of the town you have known your whole life so well, but both of your siblings were right. The neighborhood seemed to be quiet, safe, clean and nice, just an ideal place to base a family life in. Bikes were thrown around, the kid's screams of amusement could be heard just as the birds sang and the wind around you felt wet and yet warm in a nice way.
“Come on, you golden trio. You are unpacking your things for what seems like a whole eternity! We brought some pizza and Thai if you want some!” - Your mom shouted out of the front door with a huge smile, holding the plastic bag as proof for you.
“Go.” - Your sis patted your shoulder and got into the truck to shut the back door completely, preventing stealing. You did not wait for her, you looked at your legs, how the fresh green grass breaks under your feet and the soles of your shoes, being careful about not fall down.
Your mum always told you to tie your shoelaces but you never really listened since you were a small kid. It resulted in a lot of falling down, bruises, abrasion and you crying loud. But you learned how to walk with your shoelaces undone. It was your own choice, after all, you chose not to tie them - and they told you all along that your life depends on what you want and what you don't want.
Your parent always told you how easy it actually is to live in your generation - that you can use cellphones, that you can use the internet, that they are taking care of everything you could probably need.
You thought about it a lot - and you came to an opinion. It was not easy at all. To live in your age. It felt more like surviving than living for real. The drugs were easily accessible for the younglings - even your big sis was a serious stoner back in your hometown and you knew that it will not take long her to find the local dealer and become friends with him. The cyberbullying was a serious issue that made a lot of people's life worse, the bullies could easily find your personal information, your old photos, they could make fun or a living nightmare of you and your life. And when your nudes leaked out? Holy shit, you were fucked like hell.
Yeah. You were a high-schooler. But let's face it - almost everyone who tried to make a move with someone or who was in a relationship had sent a nude at some point in their life. It was some kind of a norm for the children your age.
You were constantly in danger thanks to the great internet and that was a fact. The adults tried to teach you how to behave on the internet... But truly, did any of you actually give a crap? Every one of us took it as bullshit, not taking them too seriously. Who was actually safe around you? Drugs, alcohol, sex, porn, cigarettes, money everywhere around you.
It was so easy to become corrupted. Just like everyone around you.
You were not that innocent at all as well - your big sis was really popular back in your hometown - she was truly smart, she was funny, she used drugs and smoked, drank regularly. She was invited basically to every party in the town. Some of them were wild, some of them were pretty muted thanks to weed and ecstasy which was always distributed there.
You smoked at the parties and did some shots - that wasn't so bad. Kids your age did a way worse thing at those parties.
Your mum and dad knew that you and your sis attended some parties but they didn't know that there were drugs and alcohol present. You were the Sunday church raised children after all (which didn't mean that your parents discriminated or turn their backs to their oldest child when she said she's into girls a lot), they trusted you.
They often laughed that they have done it too. Sure, you smiled usually, but did you see a girl who is dozed off after Lexauryne, have you felt the actual fear about her life? Have you ever seen what shit Valium or heroin does to someone? Have your friend almost jumped off the roof when they took too much LSD? But you never said anything out loud.
You have seen things. But everyone did. It wasn't easy to be a teenager in your age.
Every one of your friends slowly became one of those types your parents always warned you about - at least a part of them was just like the people they talked about to scare you off. Maybe you were one of those people as well. What could you know?
You had your dinner with the typical witty sense of humor of your parents and the usual bickering between you, your little bro and older sis. You felt safe at those moments, away from reality, just chilling with your fam.
The next morning was your first actual day of school after a weekend of moving in. Your dad went to his new workplace for the first time and your sis and your mum stayed home to continue with unpacking.
"You should get up or you seriously will not go to school on time." - Your mum peeked into your room and you just mumbled something in response when Fran took your bed with her monster attack as you called, tickling you, kissing you into your hair and laughing along with you.
"Get your lazy ass off the bed, ma's right. I'll ride you to school." - She laughed and laid next to you, looking you in the face. You smiled at her, smoothed your hair and yawned. - "Ah shit, you thought about that again, didn't you? You'll be just fine. This is a good neighborhood, ma and pa told us yesterday. Nobody will shove a knife on your neck and threaten you to do drugs or take your money. Nobody will take your pics while you pee. I swear. You'll be alright, baby girl." - She kissed your forehead tenderly.
Fran always said that you worry about too many things. And she often said that you're way more adult than she'll ever be. But she didn't forget to mention that it's harming you a lot in a way.
"So that's how you make girls fall for you. I see it now." - You teased her. She took a pillow and smacked your head with it. But she laughed. Then Fran stood up and stopped at your door to take a last good look at her baby sister. - "Get your lazy ass up and have some good breakfast. We have something about forty-five minutes before you, I and the last shithead would have to go. Go get 'em, tiger!" - She yelled and clapped her hands, letting you alone.
You got the smallest room - Fran demanded the one on the second floor, saying it was for her study purposes. She lied. It was the only room with a balcony and she needed to smoke weed somewhere. Your brother had the second room because he could be a little brat and a pain in the ass sometimes. So you and your parents had the room on the first floor.
But you liked it. It was easier to make it comfortable and you could open a big window to look out on the street. And you had a big bed nonetheless so you were just fine about your new room.
You better did what Fran said - took some of your other shorts from your wardrobe, then you took out your favorite Lion King oversized t-shirt with Rafiki printed on it and you completed with a big ass hoodie which reaches up to the middle of your thighs. You put on some high socks on because you loved the look of them rolled down to your Converse shoes.
You cleaned your face and brushed your teeth and hair, putting it into a bun which was all over the place as always, then you tried to make your face more appealing with some eyeliner and mascara but in your eyes, you looked like a mess. You put your old, torn apart but trustworthy backpack over your shoulder and took off to the kitchen. Everyone was already eating, dad reading the news on his phone as he always used to.
"I don't want bacon!" - Cal yelled almost frantically and that almost freaked the living hell out of you. He loved bacon. What was his deal?
"What is it, young man?" - Mum asked and looked at him. Thanks to Fran's shit-eating grin you knew that she's the one responsible.
“I must declare that I am a proud vegetarian from now on.” - Cal said with a serious face and you just burst out of laughing. Cal was always like that. Smart pants. But he never was socially awkward. He just used some words that were too complicated for a boy his age.
“Oh really?” - You mum asked with a surprised face, watching all of you with her witty jokes prepared face. - “And why is that? Y/N will love to have some more bacon.” - And so it was. Another three slices to your empty, hungry stomach. Maybe Cal's sudden vegetarianism had some plusses to it.
“Fran told me that it will make me more appealing in front of the girls. And I am a ladies man.” - Cal told with a serious face and that was the moment Fran’s grinning face bursted out of laughter as well.
“You're also only thirteen years old, pal. No girls until you're at least sixteen. But you do you.” - Your dad said all of a sudden. You loved them so much it sometimes took you by a surprise.
Then, when the breakfast was over, you went out to your sister’s car. Your dad had one and Fran was given your mum’s car. Your ma said shell take the bus to work so it's ok for Fran to have her own car to do her business with.
“Okay, shithead one and shithead two. Are you ready for your first venture to the big, scary world?” - Fran joked and waves to ma when you were doing your seatbelt on the co-driver’s side.
“Bring it.” - You said, turning the radio on. It was a station you didn't know, some new hip hop songs. But it was enjoyable, so you just let it play, rolling the window down, leaning your crossed elbows into it. You were aware that your hair will be even messier after that, but you wanted to feel the actual atmosphere and energy of your new hometown.
You felt free from your burdens once again - the hip hop was almost screaming out of your car, the air felt cold between your hair and the sun shined on your skin gently. You were watching the new, strange people who lived there, walking in schools direction, groups of friends, some alone kids, some kids were riding bikes.
It seemed to be like your old home yet it didn't feel like it. Something was just out of its place and weren’t sure if you can put that thing back.
The car slowly drove next to some gas station or a small shop, you couldn't tell. But something caught your eye - a boy standing with his back turned to the car, in a long sky blue shirt with some clouds painted on it, jeans and a seriously short hair which color you couldn't figure out. You stuck your head out of the window, inhaling that view until you could.
Something drawn your eyes in his direction, something told you that you should watch him. He was smoking, that was for sure, and moving his hands, probably talking with someone.
The boy slowly disappeared because of some other building but you would swear that he turned in your direction as well. The air you were holding in slowly came out of your lungs as you slowly leaned to your seat. Francis was watching you but remained silent, just smoked her cigarette with her right wrist out of her window.
When the car stopped, Cal was almost immediately out of it, saying goodbye to you and Fran, but you remained there, leaning more and more down, trying to be invisible for the others.
“Chop chop, out of the car. You will have a great first day at your new school and you will find some friends.” - Fran told with a smile, smoothing your naked knee with her palm.
“How can you know?” - Your gaze fell on the big hall leading to the main entrance, to all of those strange people there. That didn't feel right. You were scared for your life - new surroundings, new people, new feelings. How many of them tried some drugs? Will you even find someone to be friends with? The feeling inside you felt like exploding, the unsureness, the unknown, the fear.
“Because I know your little bratty ass since the fucking day youve been born, dumbass.” - She laughed and undid your seatbelt, opening the door for you. - “Show those bastards who you are and that you are not afraid.”
And with that, you got up and watched as Fran waved you and took off in her car. And you felt lost.
#fezco#fezco x reader#euphoria#imagine#series#drug addiction#drug dealing#dont do it#it will not do you any good#rue bennett#rue#jules
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this is the safest place i’ve ever known
(read on ao3)
my mind is still reeling thinking about mel being pregnant and i needed some pregnancy fluff in my life so i wrote this hope you enjoy xox
~
Throughout their relationship, Jake has always cherished his and Amy's last moments of the day. The relaxed half an hour where she's solving crossword puzzles and he's playing games on his phone, followed by the moment she’ll decide she's tired and they'll turn out the lights and snuggle for a bit before each drifting off to sleep, is one of his favorite parts of living together. He never thought he'd see a day where these nights became even better, but the day their baby started kicking, he’d found out he’d been dead wrong.
He'd known Amy would feel it first. In a logical sense, it had felt more than fair when he considered their respective workloads for the whole pregnancy project, but on an emotional level, it wasn't as black-and-white. Jealousy was an ugly emotion, and he hadn’t experienced it for a second witnessing the first trimester’s crying feasts and vomiting episodes, but it hadn’t been without its sting when she'd texted him during the midst of a busy workday.
I think I just felt Peanut move.
Like, 90% sure.
Oh my god, he’d written back, almost immediately. I’m so proud of them.
He’d stopped for a moment before adding, I hope I can feel it soon.
I’m sure you will, babe. ❤️
It had taken two long weeks before he did.
Jake was embarrassed to admit it, but there had been times during those weeks where he’d felt left out, so clearly separate from the bond between Amy and the tiny life they’d created. She would put her hand on the ever-growing bump whenever it happened, a delighted smile on her lips, and he’d touch his hand to the exact same place without any reaction. Either their baby was shy for some reason, or they were straight-up trying to make him look like a fool. He didn’t exactly appreciate either, but any movement from them would leave Amy beaming with happiness and pride for several minutes, so he’d swallowed the self-centric jealousy, kissed her forehead and let it be.
They’d celebrated twenty-one weeks of pregnancy - more than halfway to the finish line - the night he’d first felt it. It was more of an early night in and snuggling under the comforter kind of celebration than anything else, but it had felt perfect all the same. Jake had been seconds away from closing his eyes, lazily tracing patterns with his fingers on his wife’s baby bump and pressing kisses while her shoulder, when he’d first felt something move beneath his palm. The smallest of nudges, subtle and almost inconspicuous; but he’d felt it.
“Ames,” he’d practically gawked. “They moved!”
“Yeah, I know. Wait,” she blinked, realizing what he’d said. “You felt that?”
“Yeah! About time!”
She’d laughed at his excitement, ruffling his curls as he dove under the comforter.
“I’m going to see if I can get them to do it again,” he mumbled with his lips right below her belly button, running his hands along her sides.
“Why do I feel like this is going to be a long night?”
Their evenings had gained a brand-new tradition since that night. If they’d been perfect before, Jake couldn’t help but think this was better still. Each night as they settled on their preferred sides of the bed, Amy with an increasing collection of pillows, Jake would give her about five minutes of solo crossword puzzle solving until he set to work on trying to communicate with their baby. Evenings were when they were most awake, he’d learned. To a beginning, he’d only get faint, bubbling movements that were gone in a second, but as the weeks passed, they grew more distinct until he could see them happening. It all felt very alien if he thought too hard about it, but then again, that was true for most pregnancy facts. At least he could have fun with this part.
~
“Jake, are you trying to annoy them into kicking?”
“Mm-hmm?” He feigns an innocent expression, pouting his lip as he looks up at his six-months-pregnant wife. “Just preparing them for the outside world, babe.”
“So they’re ready for you to annoy the crap out of them when they're born?”
“Pssch, me? I’ve never been annoying in my life.” He ignores the glare Amy shoots him. “I'm preparing them for actual annoying things, like taxes, and following rules.”
“Following rules isn't annoying,” she protests, twitching as Jake tries to tickle her. “Babe, I swear they’re asleep.”
“I swear you’re wrong.”
“Hey! I’m the one who’s carrying this child!”
“And you’re doing an awesome job of it.” He comes up for a second to give her a quick peck on the lips. He means what he’s saying - she’s totally acing the whole pregnancy thing, which he tries to remind her often - but he has his limits. “Doesn't make you any less wrong, sadly.”
“Mm, you’re infuriating.” Her hands cup his face, drawing him back for a longer kiss that makes up for in heart what it lacks in flair. “You’re adorable, though.”
“The Peralta special,” he smirks. He’s still moving his palm back and forth on her stomach, hoping for the warm touch to garner a reaction. “Did you want to go to sleep, or -”
“You can talk to them for a bit, if you want.”
Jake barely waits for her to finish her permission before he’s crawling underneath the duvet again, pressing his lips against the football-sized bump.
“So I know you’re very in love with your mom,” he starts off, earning himself another laugh from Amy. “Which, I totally get you. She’s the smartest, funniest, most beautiful and allover amazing woman I’ve ever met. Plus she’s literally growing you and all that, so you’re probably pretty loyal to her, right? That’s fair.”
He traces a heart around her belly button. “I know I’m not much in comparison to her. Right now, I’m just the weirdo guy who keeps trying to make you kick and sings Taylor Swift songs to you because you’re never too young to be introduced to the greatest songwriter of all. But do you think you could side with me, just for once? Come on. It’d be so fun to see your mom’s face.”
Nothing. He pushes his nose into Amy’s skin a bit further.
“She makes this amazing expression when I’m right and she’s wrong about something, you know. She does this eye roll and purses her lips, like she’s trying to pretend she’s mad but she’s not. Trust me, it’s incredible.”
Amy huffs. “I don’t do that.”
“Anyway, I know you’re not going to come out of there for a few months. You could actually survive now if you did, which is crazy to think about, but you shouldn’t because it would stress us all out very much and we haven’t even built your crib yet. Sorry about that. I just wanted to tell you that we’re going to have so much fun when you do,” he whispers, his voice softening. “We'll finally get to hang out just the two of us. We’re going to play games and share secrets, and when you’re a little older, we’ll watch all the movies for kids your mom never wants to see with me. It's going to be the best.”
He has to pause for a moment. He takes a couple of deep breaths, in and out, pushing away the nervous
feeling in his chest.
“I used to be scared of this, you know. I still am. But… the weird thing is, it’s like the more you grow, the more excited I get, too. Because I'm scared of a billion different things, like maybe you’ll hate me or I won't know how to take care of you or maybe you won't even like Die Hard when you get older, but…” He lowers his voice and mumbles the next words. “You're kinda already the coolest person that ever existed.”
It's so weak, barely there at all, but underneath his palm, Jake feels a faint flutter.
“It’s an impressive achievement, considering you're not even born yet,” he continues, encouraged by the miniscule movement. “But it's true. You are. And I know it's like fifteen weeks left until then, but… I really can't wait to meet you, whenever you're ready.”
There's another flutter. He presses his palm into the spot, waits a few seconds, and there's a proper kick right against his hand.
“Told you so.” He looks up at Amy with a grin plastered on his face. “Awake.”
“You woke them up,” she says, shaking her head but smiling. “Waking up when you give them praise - that’s a Peralta if I ever knew one.”
He wants to retort something, but a series of repeated kicks against his palm makes him forget what he was planning to say.
“I love you,” he whispers to their unborn child instead, his words muffled against Amy’s skin as he traces kisses up and down the curve of her stomach. “So much. You better get used to hearing me telling you that before you get out of there -”
Jake doesn’t finish his sentence before there’s another kick - only this time, it’s right at his nose and packed with enough strength to make him flinch. “Ouch!”
Amy’s giggling so much she’s shaking, clasping her hand over her mouth as she keeps on laughing.
“They kicked my nose, Ames! I’m pretty sure that’s a hate crime!”
“Maybe they’re learning how to establish boundaries.”
“That or my discomfort with emotions is genetic,” he grumbles while massaging the bridge of his nose.
“It isn’t,” Amy promises him. She gestures at him to come closer and he goes willingly, meeting her lips with his and feeling her smile against them. “They just have to practice. If it’s any consolation, they’re kicking me in the bladder on a daily basis.”
Jake grimaces. “Ow.”
“Mm-hmm.” She beams, tracing her fingers through the curls near his forehead. “You’re going to be a great dad, you know.”
“You really think so?”
“I really do. And I can’t wait for us to meet our baby.”
“Our baby,” he repeats not for the first time in the last five months. Still holding one hand on the bump, he feels two more tiny kicks, growing stronger as Amy’s hand covers his.
He had a feeling their peaceful evenings together would come to change drastically in fifteen or so weeks’ time, but for now, they were well and truly perfect.
#this is just a brief thing heh i feel like it's not that great but it's FLUFFY#my writing#b99#brooklyn 99#brooklyn nine-nine#peraltiago#jake x amy#b99 fic#brooklyn 99 fic#brooklyn nine-nine fic#b99 fanfiction#brooklyn nine-nine fanfiction#jake x amy fic#jake x amy fanfiction#peraltiago fic#peraltiago fanfiction
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“Barclay? What are you doing all the way out here? It’s late.” Barclay sighed softly, looking up to his partner as Joseph approached. The agent was dressed in what he’d worn to bed, a light blanket wrapped around him and his sneakers hastily pulled on without socks. He looked worried, but Barclay supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. Waking up in the middle of the night to find your lover missing from your bed was no doubt kind of jarring.
“I... woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I decided to go for a walk rather than bother you with my tossing and turning. Sorry.” He was seated at the edge of the clearing overlooking the archway, on a wooden bench that had been put there after the events of the Quell. The moon was full, shining brightly overhead and casting a pale glow on the forest below.
Joseph nodded quietly. “May I join you, or would you prefer to be alone?”
“...Go ahead.”
Stern sat, adjusting his blanket around his shoulders before carefully offering his hand to Barclay. They sylph considered it a moment before gently entwining their fingers between them, not saying anything else. They shared the silence together, the cool mountain breeze rustling their clothes and hair as shadows crept from the woods as the moon rose higher.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Joseph asked after a time, rubbing his thumb against his partner’s.
“What is there to talk about?”
“I don’t know. Any of it. The new connection back to Sylvain. They sylphs leaving the lodge. Why you’re out here of all places.”
“Ah. Those things. Right.” Barclay sighed again, looking down at their hands. His chest was tight and all the feelings he’d been having lately threatened to bubble up in his throat. The sylph swallowed thickly, considering his words.
He and Joseph had been together going on almost half a year now, settling into their new reality as best they could. Much of it had been wonderful. Joseph was an amazing partner and it felt so good to finally reciprocate their feelings after almost an entire year of pining, and make up for lost time together. Whether it was dinner dates, or curling up by the fire, or falling into bed together, it had been bliss.
But, as all things tended to be, not everything was perfect. Life went on and the people of Kepler rebuilt, but the scars had been left on the town and its people. Perhaps those in the Pine Guard most of all.
Dani and Aubrey were still on their travels in Sylvain, healing in their own way together. They’d promised to return for a big reunion in the fall that Amnesty and the townfolk were planning, but the lodge was quiet without them in the meantime. Thacker too was missed, away on his own travels into the wilds of the planet Barclay had once called home. Barclay hoped they were all doing alright, he missed them a lot and while they were able to get in touch, their conversations were few and far between.
Duck had left too. He and Minerva and Juno had all left for Brazil in the noble effort of replanting the forests there. Barclay suspected though that Duck needed to get away from it all as well and do some healing of his own.
Which meant only Barclay and Mama remained of the Pine Guard. Not that it really mattered anymore. The abominations were long gone, no longer being grown by the DOM and sent to Earth to incite conflict between their worlds. For the first time in so long, they could rest easy knowing that the full moon would come and go time and time again and no beasts would slink from the shadows to threaten their way of life.
Barclay always thought he’d be relieved for it all to come to an end, and for the most part he was, but he’d found he didn’t quite know what to do with himself anymore. Now that they’d managed to reconnect Earth and Sylvain with the help of Dr. Sarah Drake and Minerva’s strange magicks, many of the sylphs at the lodge had made the choice to go home, their exile having ended in the wake of the prevented apocalypse.
For the first time in years, Amnesty Lodge was.. just another inn.
They’d gotten more business as tourists flocked to the town to see the mountain that had moved. The FBI had covered up most of it and the official statement was that it had been a massive collapse of underground caverns that had caused the mountain to crumble into the river, but there were rumors of what really happened. There would always be rumors.
But Barclay found that, even in his happiness of a new relationship, he missed the home that they’d all once made for themselves. It felt... empty. Jake and a few others had stayed and he was grateful for that, but he still found himself wistful for what they’d once had.
He finally let out a long breath, leaning over and resting his head on Joseph’s shoulder. “I miss them, Jo. I understand why they left, they needed to do what was right for them, but I just.. miss them so much it kinda hurts. The Lodge took me in and gave me a purpose all those years ago. We were all scared and tired and recovering from what was taken from us, but we were a family, y’know? We had each other. And now everyone’s... somewhere else.”
“Not everyone, but I know that’s a small consolation,” Joseph replied, gently squeezing Barclay’s fingers. “I’m sure Dani and Aubrey will return eventually, as will Thacker. But I know that’s not now and it’s okay to miss them.”
“Yeah.. And it’s not like.. I’m not moving on either, just in kind of a different way.” He raised Joseph’s hand to his lips, pressing a careful kiss to the back of it. “I never would have thought I’d find someone like you, Jo. Not like this. I don’t regret for a second that everything changed, because if we’d just kept on fighting the abominations for the rest of our lives and never stopped the Quell or the DOM, you and I.. probably wouldn’t have ever been able to get together. I just wish so many people hadn’t left me behind in the process.”
“I’d like to think you might have told me one day regardless, but I suppose that’s rather wishful thinking, isn’t it.”
“I dunno, I might’ve. I’d been considering it before the shapeshifter came and messed everything up. We had that moment and I know I chickened out, but if I’d had just a little more time, I think I might’ve come clean anyway.”
“Yes, that was all quite the mess, wasn’t it? Still, regardless of if you had told me your identity or not, if you’d continued to fight the abominations, well.. Tell me, how many of the Pine Guard actually survived the ordeal? You would have always been at risk.”
“I mean... hm.. Guess you have a point. I don’t think there’s really any answer to this though. I’m just... sad. My heart hurts with missing them.”
“No, I know. I’m not trying to rationalize away your pain, Barclay. I just wish there was more I could do,” Joseph sighed, Barclay nodding quietly.
“I appreciate it, Jo. And honestly, you’re doing plenty by just being here with me. How lucky am I that my boyfriend is willing to hike out into the middle of the woods in the dead of night just to make sure I’m okay?”
“I would hope anyone in a loving relationship would do the same. You came looking for me last winter when I got stuck out in that snowstorm, and that was even before we were together.”
“Well, yeah I wasn’t just gonna let you freeze out here.”
“Still. We look out for each other. I want to be here for you just as much as you’ve been here for me.”
Barclay smiled a little, but he still felt like he had a knot in his chest. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes.
“...It’s all the little things I miss about them the most. Like making everyone’s favorite order. I had everyone’s preferences and tastes down to a science. There was familiarity in that; a sense that I was a part of a bigger picture. And stuff like Dani, Aubrey and Jake all piling on the sofa and giggling together over some dumb meme or joke or what they were planning for a new prank. And how Duck always had the funniest ranger stories, that he could just deliver so completely deadpan that you couldn’t help but laugh. And when Ned-” Barclay stopped himself, throat too tight to continue without choking up anyway. His eyes were wet and itchy, the sylph rubbing them with the heel of his hand. “Fuck, Jo I just..”
Before he could try to say anything else, Joseph pulled him into a strong hug. It was firm and loving and surprised Barclay for a moment, but after he relaxed in the other man’s hold it reminded him that he wasn’t so alone.
With an anchor to ground him, Barclay found he couldn’t hold back the swell of emotions that had been building within him. Pressing his face into Joseph’s shoulder, he hugged his partner back and let himself cry.
He missed his friends, he missed his community. Change was a part of life, but rarely was it an easy one. He just wanted them all to come back and be a big happy family again. He wanted the lodge to feel like home again. Everyone had gone on their way and left him to pick up the pieces and it hurt. It hurt to be left behind.
His partner rocked him gently as he finally released all the exhaustion and sorrow he’d been carrying the last few months. Barclay might be the bigger of the two of them, but Joseph held him with a strength that made him feel safe to be vulnerable like this. The agent stroked his long hair, wrapping the blanket he had around both of them as Barclay clenched his fingers in the man’s shirt while he cried.
Eventually, his grief slipped into exhaustion, leaving him shaky and spent. He was grateful to have the man he loved there to steady him through it, resting heavily in Joseph’s arms.
“Sorry...” The sylph mumbled hoarsely, his eyes raw. Joseph shook his head, threading his fingers in his boyfriend’s hair.
“Don’t be. It’s okay.”
“I got snot on your shirt.”
“That’s also okay.”
Barclay managed a chuckle at that, pulling away and wiping his nose on his sleeve. Joseph smiled at him softly, reaching up and wiping the tears from his cheeks. Barclay’s eyes were puffy and he was kind of starting to get a headache, but he felt a little better than he had before.
“Thanks, Jo.”
“Of course, love.”
They both sat quietly once more under Joseph’s blanket, this time wrapped in each other’s embrace as the night grew longer. The agent was calmly observing the archway, fingers idly stroking the hairs on Barclay’s arm. He bit his lip as he often did when there was something he wasn’t sure he should say, the sylph nudging him when he noticed.
“What’s up?”
“Well, I...” Joseph let out a soft breath, his fingers stopping their ministrations. “You could always go back, you know. I was always a little surprised you never brought it up or suggested it, actually. I thought maybe you’d want to return with everyone else and you clearly miss your friends.”
“Ah.” Barclay’s shoulders sagged, the man scuffing his shoe in the dirt as he mulled on his words. “I’m not gonna say I haven’t considered it. I’ve actually thought about it a lot, but I just.. don’t think there’s room for me to heal and grow in Sylvain. It’s not home to me anymore. I was born here on earth and while Sylvain gave me my mind and my form, my love for this planet has always been stronger. I was exiled when I was young and stupid, so all my growth and experience come from learning from humans. As much as I miss my friends, I think at the end of the day, my place is still here.”
“It’s been a long time though, hasn’t it? Out of all the other sylphs, you’re the only one who hasn’t even gone back to visit. Even I’ve been back to Sylvain at this point.”
“Yeah, well... Hm. It’s kinda complicated. I guess I just.. never really fit in Sylvain to begin with. Something about earth always called me in a way that being there didn’t. These mountains feel more like I belong here than I ever felt there. There’s something about Earth, about Kepler especially that just.. makes me feel at peace. It’s this swell that I feel right in my chest whenever the sun sets and spreads a warm glow through the trees or how the earth smells after a fresh rain. Things like that that just feel right that I never felt on Sylvain.
“Those are good reasons.” Joseph nodded, looking back up at the arch. “I was worried it might just be me keeping you here, which if that was the case, well...”
“You do play a part in it too, Joseph, but don’t take that the wrong way.” Barclay leaned over and kissed Joseph’s forehead, enjoying the warmth of his skin against his lips. “That warmth I feel when I think about how much I love earth, I feel the most when I’m with you. You remind me of everything I love about humanity, Jo and I don’t ever want you to think that you’re holding me back.”
“Alright. I don’t know if I exactly embody everything great about the human race, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
“Naw, I don’t mean it like that. I just mean.. I love you for you. Your kindness and warmth and habits and flaws, they make me happy. You make me happy, Jo.”
“You make me very happy too, Barclay.”
Joseph gently cupped Barclay’s face, leaning in to kiss him. It was soft and careful, Barclay wishing he was a little less rough from crying, but grateful for the comfort. He leaned his cheek against his Joseph’s palm, closing his eyes. It was a mild night and he found he wanted to linger in the gentleness of his partner’s affection. The man had been so good to him in their time together and had given him so much. The sylph opened his eyes, meeting Stern’s fond and understanding expression. One last sorrow bubbled up in his chest, one he found he was finally ready to share.
“I’ve.. never told you how I was exiled, have I.”
“You haven’t, no. It didn’t seem like my place to ask.”
“You can always ask me stuff, babe. That said, I dunno how great of an answer I would have given if you had.” Barclay smiled sadly, settling back beside his boyfriend and gazing up at the full moon.
“Well.. I was exiled because I loved humanity a bit too much. I came to Sylvain as all animal sylphs do, stumbling through a gate without a mind of my own yet, scared and confused. I don’t remember that part, but no one ever does. Slowly, I grew though. I started forming memories I still have, was taken in by a loving family, grew up in a society that’s both progressive and stunted compared to a human one. The usual story.”
Barclay took a deep breath, taking in the soft scent of pine on the breeze, his knee pressed to Joseph. “I had a best friend growing up. We got into all sorts of trouble together. Nothing ever malicious, but we certainly weren’t perfect angels by any means. We’d get into places we shouldn’t, played pranks, that sort of stuff. We were best friends to the end back in those days.”
“Anyone I would know?”
“He’s not one of the sylphs who came over here if that’s what you’re asking. But you might actually.. well, lemme just continue before I start dropping names.”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“It’s fine, Jo. Anyway, we were still friends into our young adulthood, and still kinda mischief makers. He was being groomed for a really important position in the sylvan government, however, while I was kinda.. I dunno, doing my own thing. But we still had fun and he could get us access to places no one else in the kingdom could enter, which.. included the gate.”
Barclay gazed up at the archway with a soft sigh. “It was in New York back then and at first we’d just do really stupid shit like put a hand through it or quickly jump in and out of it when we got bold enough. Eventually though, we got ourselves disguises and would sneak through to earth in the middle of the night. It was peak risk-taking, but in the process we both kinda fell in love with humans. Not like.. literally, not yet anyway.”
He nudged Joseph with a small chuckle, who returned it with a smile, a faint blush to his cheeks, but this time he stayed quiet as Barclay continued.
“Human society was so different from ours, yet still so familiar. I think a lot of animal sylphs experience that if they go to earth. There’s this connection we have that, even though we can’t remember our lives as animals, we can feel it, y’know? It’s kinda like deja vu. But it wasn’t just that. Humans are creative in a way that sylphs really aren’t. Humans don’t have magic, so they have to come up with new and interesting ways to do things and bring new and creative ideas to their media and books and films and my friend and I, we loved every minute of it.”
There was a wistfulness in Barclay’s eyes, the sylph rubbing his nose again. “He always had a love for films and tv shows. I always loved the books and music. We’d make a challenge for ourselves whenever we would sneak over to try to bring something new back with us each time. It was fun and earth was so bright and interesting, and not just because it was forbidden. I loved it. It felt.. I dunno.. Right.”
“But I’m guessing your adventures to earth didn’t go unnoticed?”
“Yeah... eventually we were caught and going to earth is like... a huge taboo in our society. There’s a reason we get exiled here. They found all our human stuff and brought us before the council and... Both of us were going to be exiled, but I... Vince had a life ahead of him in a way that I didn’t, so I... took all of the blame. He was let off and I left Sylvain.”
Joseph rubbed his shoulder comfortably, his brows furrowed. “Do you know what happened to him?”
“I dunno. I assume life just went on and he got that position he was being prepped for. I adjusted to earth and decided to travel for a while. I made a lot of stupid mistakes, got seen a couple of times. I’m sure a couple of photos of me have crossed your desk at one point or another. But... I grew. I learned love and creativity and kindness not from sylphs, but from humans. I learned to play the guitar and cook. I saw the world. And at some point, the planet I’d left behind, with its harsh laws and broken friendships just.. wasn’t where I belonged anymore. I belong here, on earth, and then in Kepler at the lodge, and now here with you, Joseph.”
He turned to face his partner, taking the man’s hands carefully in his own. Joseph’s fingers were long and slender, an interesting contrast to his rough and calloused palms. He rubbed his thumb against the top of the man’s hand.
“I miss my friends, I do. But.. I’m right where I need to be. For the first time in a while, I finally get to choose my own path without worrying about abominations or someone ruining everything for us by discovering the truth. I get to be with someone who’s made me happier than I’ve been in a very long time and I don’t regret that.”
“Barclay, I...” Joseph pressed his forehead to the sylph’s, squeezing his fingers. “That was beautifully put. I’m glad you’re with me too. I’m glad you love earth. I’m glad I can make all this a little easier and be here to support you. I want us to be able to talk like this and for you to feel comfortable being open with me. You deserve what you need to grow and be okay and I know I’m not perfect, but I want to give you everything I can. Now and in the future.”
“Oh, Jo. You already do.” Barclay wrapped his boyfriend in a warm hug, his heart feeling lighter than it had. “Just being here and listening and caring, that’s enough. It means more to me than you can even know.”
“I suppose no one ever said moving forward was going to be easy but... at the very least, we can do it together.”
#sternclay#taz barclay#joseph stern#agent stern#taz amnesty#what is this?#I dunno#kinda sad and wistful mostly#it's completely unbeta'd#but if I still like it in the morning I'll actually beta it and post it to ao3
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Vernal
❅ Ieyasu meets a little boy. ❅
Hello! It's almost time for our sly tanuki/poison smiler/surly archer’s birthday! To celebrate this special occasion, I will be posting (short) oneshots centered on Ieyasu from January 25 – January 31.
Here is the first one... Enjoy! (❁´◡`❁)*✲ﾟ*
Word Count: ~2k | AO3 Link
It was springtime when Ieyasu met him.
The little boy sat under a cherry tree in full bloom. His face was buried in his knees as he clutched a bow in one hand and a stem of an arrow in another. The quiver rested beside him, discarded on the grass. In the distance, ten standard target circles stood in a row, each one still new though a few scratches marred the surface from a round or two of shooting.
Curious, Ieyasu walked towards the little boy. There was no one around but the two of them. The sky was clear, and the little boy’s blond curls shone in the sunlight; a few strands stuck on his forehead and neck due to slight sweat from the physical activity. As Ieyasu moved closer, the faint sound of the little boy’s sobs became more audible, the tremble of his narrow shoulders more visible. The silver bells tied around the trunk of the cherry tree tinkled a familiar melody with the gentle breeze. A few steps away from his hunched form, Ieyasu stopped. The little boy, who felt his presence, stilled, lifting his head in confusion and meeting Ieyasu’s gaze. Although red-rimmed, the little boy had the brightest eyes, glazed with tears, and Ieyasu took a step away, taken aback.
The little boy stood, his legs shaking at the sudden movement. The tears he shed stained his hakama in connected circles that were a few shades darker than the fabric. His pale yellow kimono was tucked in neatly, but the tie of his haori was uneven and loose, almost undone. Wide-eyed and puffy-cheeked, the little boy was still very young; perhaps, too young to be left alone in a place like this, Ieyasu couldn’t help but think. He was probably a few centimeters taller compared to a few months ago. No one noticed that progress except the little boy himself, but Ieyasu knew. After all, he had also been a little boy once upon a time.
“Why are you here? No one is supposed to be here.” The little boy wiped his tears with the sleeve of his haori, unconcerned that he has an actual weapon in his hand. His gaze once again landed on Ieyasu, and he proceeded to eye him with caution.
“And you?” Ieyasu, who regained his composure, asked, his voice quiet but firm, “Why are you here if no one is supposed to be here?”
“I’m… I’m no one.”
“What’s with all the crying, then?”
“I am visiting here and—no, I… I have to… I have to shoot all these arrows straight to the bull’s-eye.” The little boy sniffed in an attempt to stifle his tears but failed. He looked away and wiped his cheeks again as though doing so would prevent Ieyasu from witnessing him crying. “Like I did the other day.”
“Hmm… Did you now.”
The underlying meaning behind those words stirred vexation from the little boy, and he turned to Ieyasu with an angry pout. “It’s true, okay? I really did it last time, but today, I am having a bad day.”
Ieyasu smiled with his eyes, and to a stranger, it looked like he just heard the funniest joke in history and was about to laugh at any given moment. “Having a bad day… What kind of reason is that?”
The little boy ignored him, proceeded to position the arrow he held on the bowstring, and within a few seconds, released it. Although it was able to hit the rightmost target, the arrow struck the wood far from the red center. He clenched his fist at the sight of another failure.
“Ugh… I just can’t seem to…” the little boy complained to himself in a whisper. On impulse and out of frustration, he pulled another arrow from the quiver and took another shot. He missed the center again.
“You just keep going at it, huh,” Ieyasu mocked as the little boy sent another arrow towards the target.
Without paying him as much of a glance, the little boy continued to load his fourth arrow. “I told you. I have to do it perfectly like I did the other day…” he paused, his voice dropping into a whisper, “or else someone will get angry.”
Ieyasu fell silent.
The little boy was more than willing to continue his archery practice without Ieyasu’s comments. There was a sense of urgency in the little boy’s every movement, and Ieyasu recognized it all too well: fear and panic. At the rate the little boy went, it didn’t take long for his quiver to grow empty. Some of the arrows hit quite close, but none of them had hit the center. Upset, the little boy stomped towards the targets and retrieved each arrow—carefully, Ieyasu noted, impressed. It seemed he knew how to do that, at least. It was only proper for anyone who desired to make the bow and arrow their allies.
“Your form is unstable, and you are too distracted by your emotions. That’s why you keep messing up,” Ieyasu stated. “You have to be calm and patient.”
With the targets cleared of the wayward arrows, the quiver in the little boy’s arm was full once again. Frustration flared inside him and made him clench his fist. He spun around with a glare, huffed towards Ieyasu’s direction, and moved to hand over the sheath of bow and arrows to him. “You do it, then, if you’re so good.”
“What? Why should I?” Ieyasu crossed his arms and considered whether the child was tricking him into shooting the arrows in his place.
“I’ll remove them after you show me your skill,” the little boy promised like he was able to read Ieyasu’s mind.
It took Ieyasu by surprise, but at the same time, it didn’t; the little boy was smart.
At the silence that spread between the two of them, the little boy prodded, “Well, well, well… So, you are backing down from the challenge and accepting defeat?”
The nerve of this brat, Ieyasu thought. The little boy was far too clever for his age. In truth, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, and for that, he decided he would indulge the child’s request. He outstretched his hand and gestured towards the bow. "Give me that.”
The little boy grinned in triumph and obliged which earned him an icy glare from Ieyasu.
“Stand here and hold this thing.” Ieyasu pointed to his side, referring to the quiver too small to be slung on his shoulders. At the questioning gaze the little boy gave him, Ieyasu clicked his tongue. “Just do it.”
The little boy did as he was told, making the arrows accessible for Ieyasu. He nodded in realization. “Oh, I see...”
Even though they were smaller than what his arms and body were now used to, a bow was still a bow, and an arrow was still an arrow; they would always be Ieyasu’s first choice of weapons. He assessed the shooting range and concluded that their distance and size were meant for someone the little boy’s stature. Ieyasu lowered himself on one knee and positioned the bow. The perfect posture came as second nature to him as he nocked his first arrow. The bowstring was tighter than his preference, and the arrow was too short and stiff, but he knew what he needed to do in this situation. He glanced at the little boy and said, “Watch.”
The wind was in its ideal condition, and Ieyasu wasted no time in sending the arrow flying across the field. In a matter of seconds, it hit the target with a firm thud right at the center. The little boy gasped. It was a clean, perfect shot. But before the little boy could even catch up to what happened, another arrow had gone straight to the bull’s-eye of the second target. And another one...
Ieyasu fired the rest of the arrows one by one and hit the center every single time.
“Wow!” His initial animosity gone, the little boy’s mouth fell agape, his eyes shining with complete admiration for the man whose name he didn’t even know. It wasn’t the first time he had seen someone else equipped with a bow and an arrow, but this man… he possessed the mastery of it. The little boy continued to stare at him in awe.
Pink blooms drifted in the air, and silver bells tinkled once again as a strong gust of wind blew across the area. Ieyasu was pleased with the weather’s best possible timing; it didn’t interfere with his archery. He stood, not even a single drop of sweat on his brow, and dusted off his hakama, facing the little boy. “Done.”
“You’re… good,” the little boy admitted. His shoulders slumped in sadness for he knew he couldn’t accomplish the same thing the man did today, and because of that, he would get into trouble. The extent of it, he didn’t know, but he was sure he would get into trouble. With the empty quiver in his hands, he turned around to retrieve the arrows, the memory of the effortless talent and skill he witnessed a few moments ago replaying in his mind, and he wondered if he would ever be as good one day if he practiced hard enough.
Ieyasu placed his palm on the little boy’s shoulder to stop him from walking away. His hand; calloused from surviving many battles, emerging victorious in them, and achieving what was considered to be the divine; felt strangely large as he touched this child’s shoulder—so strange and familiar that he was overcome with nostalgia. The little boy turned around and looked up to him expectantly with the thought Ieyasu was going to hand him the bow. However, Ieyasu knelt once again instead, his deep brown eyes meeting another set of the same color; one he would always recognize. “Don’t remove them... You are having a bad day, right?”
The little boy, at a loss for words, could only nod.
“Let him see it. You shot every single arrow, and you hit the bull’s-eye ten times. Like you did the other day.”
The fear and panic the little boy felt slowly dissipated as the words sunk in, and he was driven on the verge of tears for the second time that day. His voice trembled as he asked, “But why…? Why are you doing this? Do you want something from me?”
“No.” Ieyasu shook his head. He placed the bow on the grass and proceeded to tie the ribbon of the little boy’s haori, making sure the knot was not too loose it would come undone easily but not too tight the little boy would have a difficult time undoing it later. Once he was finished, he picked up the bow again, his thumb brushing along the crest embedded on the wood. The weapon was light in his grasp, but he was sure it must be heavy for the little boy. This child has a long way to go, but he would go far; Ieyasu believed so. “But you have to eat well and be healthy… so… you won’t have a bad day again. Understood?”
“Yes, Milord.” The little boy grinned, warm tears of joy streaming down those puffy cheeks of his for a change. He didn’t mind. He was so relieved, so happy, and it was all thanks to the man in front of him. Hope bloomed in his heart, and he was glad he met this stranger on what he thought would be the unluckiest day of his life. At that moment, he found that it was quite the opposite. “When I grow up, I want to be like you.”
A genuine smile graced upon Ieyasu’s lips, and with his free hand, he ruffled the little boy’s hair. “You will be.”
I really enjoy "dreamlike" stories, so this one is my favorite concept out of the seven I have planned out.
6 days until Ieyasu's birthday! ♡◝(⑅•ᴗ•⑅)◜♡
Golden Days | Ieyasu's Birthday Countdown — Masterlist
Ichigo Daifuku's Full Masterlist
#samurai love ballad party#slbp ieyasu#tokugawa ieyasu#slbp fanfic#slbp#slbp fic#slbp fanfiction#golden days#ieyasu's birthday countdown#ichigo bakufu
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