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lokisprettygirl · 7 months

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Close Ties (Daemon Targaryen x Female Reader) (Modern AU) (Non canon) (18+)

Read Chapter 4 // Series Masterlist

Chapter 5

Summary : Daemon finds himself being pulled towards you like a moth to a flame, you're not any different, how long would you two resist the forbidden fruit?

Warning: 18+, smut, dad's best friend trope, canon (we don't know her..don't like don't read), familial uncle niece sort of relationship but he's not really her uncle, there will be more smut later, significant age gap but reader is in her mid twenties, mention of infidelity, divorce, smoking and alcohol drinking, physical violence implied

It's been a week since Daemon has been living with your parents, he was in the process of finding a place of his own but that wasn't in the top of his priorities at the moment, your dad insisted that he should get financially stable before he thinks about investing in housing.

The divorce settlement had really ruined him. Besides, your dad had this big house but not many people who could live in it, it was nice for him to have his friend around again. It felt like the old times when Daemon wasn't married and crashed into your parents' home whenever he wanted.

Since that conversation that day things had been a bit tense between you and Daemon, but in more of a sexual way or maybe you were just making things up because you were so besotted with him and his charm.

When he came back that night he broke things off with Cassandra for good, she threw a fit again and for a moment you felt awful that you had driven him to hurt her feelings but if he didn't have feelings for her it was for the best, she only would have gotten more attached to him with time and that would have hurt much worse, you still felt like a bad friend though.

She was devastated, even more than the last time and when you tried to console her she got upset with you as well and told you that you would never really understand how she was feeling at the moment which wasn't true at all. Next day she told you that she was going on a vacation to Italy with her other group of friends ..you knew those people, you were all in college together but you didn't stay in touch with everyone. You just hoped everything would go back to normal once she's over her dickfatuation.

Dylan had also stopped calling from the past few days which you couldn't have been more grateful for. When another Saturday rolled around you really wanted to just go down at the beach and sit in peace in order to clear your thoughts but you bumped into Daemon in the living room and he so politely asked if you'd mind if he joined you. Of Course you weren't going to deny him.

He drove you to Chelsea beach and you both made small talks with each other on the way but it didn't feel awkward, the more time you spent with him the more comfortable you got with him, though that was never an issue for you when he was in the picture, he always made you feel at home whenever he was around. You had an introverted personality so being around someone like him was calming for you.

As soon as you felt the wind in your hair, you felt so relaxed, and you were glad that he had joined you. It was a starry night with a full moon so even in the dark you were able to see each other's faces clearly.

"Is that arse still bothering you?" He asked you as he pulled a cigarette out to light it up but you grabbed it from between his fingers and buried it under the sand so he didn't even attempt to take out another one. The spark you felt when his skin touched yours for that brief second was electric.

"Thankfully no..he sent a two page long text though about how regretful he is and how miserable he feels"

"Of Course he does, they often learn that their own kind doesn't really have much to offer except sex"

"Do you miss her?" You asked him and he was silent for a few seconds before he chuckled, he always seemed lost whenever he was alone. You couldn't imagine how heartbroken he must have been to let go of the woman he so wanted the hold onto forever,

"I miss the woman I had married" he answered you honestly so you hummed before speaking, you wanted to say all kinds of things about her, even as a child you never really liked her because she just seemed like one of those people that were nice to everyone around them but it was just superficial and never genuine. And you were jealous obviously..

"The woman you thought you married" you said to him,

"Yeahh"

"If you could go back and rewrite it all..would you?" You asked him softly in order to make him open up to you, he had gone to see his family this week but you could tell things were strained there because he wasn't good at keeping in touch for all these years and you weren't sure if him and his best friend were able to have a heart to heart just yet.

"Are you asking me if I'd marry her again?"

"Mmmhm"

"I don't know darling..when we got married I envisioned this future where we grew old together..a year into our marriage I was shown why i won't get to have that future but I kept denying the truth, turned blind eye to that side of her i despised so deeply because i believed in her and her love, she loved me ..still does I think..so do i..but she just doesn't respect me..never did " he chuckled at the end of his sentence but it was more from sadness rather than amusement.

"And you deserve that, you deserve loyalty in return uncle..I'm sorry she didn't appreciate what she had in you"

He turned his head to look at you as you said that,

"Took me a decade to figure out that You could live without love in a relationship but not the faith .. once the trust is broken it never really stays the same..never go back to the the person that cheated on you darling..you'd always live in doubt, looking over your shoulder, wondering where your partner is at the moment or with whom"

Your eyes teared up as he said that, the sheer pain in his voice pierced your heart so in order to comfort him you scooted closer to him and wrapped your arms around his neck then you placed your chin down on his shoulders. Maybe he was a bit taken aback because it took him a few seconds to reciprocate the hug. He kissed your temple before he wrapped his arms around your waist. Why did this feel so natural and so perfect? For a moment you felt as if this was all you needed in life or would ever need in life, just being in his arms felt enough, in that moment you craved nothing else but then you remembered who he was to you so you pulled away and distanced yourself away from him ..

"You know some women would kill for that sort of commitment from a man of your calibre..you'd find someone to grow old with i promise" he smiled at the compliment and booped your nose playfully before he laid down on the sand underneath him,

"I already feel so old pixie" he groaned slightly and it made you smile. If only he knew how desirable he was. Men like him were rare, maybe that's why you wanted to keep him for yourself.

"But you're not..trust me you're not"

"You won't feel that way when you're almost forty three sweetheart "

"Maybe I won't ..I won't argue with you on that..you have more experience in life of course "

"Ohh you're such a good girl..are you not?"

You gulped as he said that, both because of his words and the way the praise rolled off his lips, everything about him turned you on.

"Well I try to be"

"You have got a good head on your shoulders..don't bother over that arse..do you want me to go set him straight?" you chuckled and then you laid down on your spot as well, maintaining an appropriate amount of distance between you two.

"And what will you do with him uncle? I'm not 14 anymore and neither is he..you can't just go all meanie on him like you did with Trevor" your tone was exaggerated and it made him smile, he found himself smiling often whenever he was around you. It was something he had forgotten in the past few years.

"Ahhhh that bully in your school..i remember him" he said to you and you couldn't help but giggle at a certain memory.

"You know he pissed his pants later because he was so afraid of you?" he let out a laugh as he was reminded of the day, you had a bully in your school and of course you didn't tell anyone until your sweet uncle Daemon found you crying one day and made you spill it all to him.

He perched himself on his elbow and turned towards you so you turned your head to look at his face and his unbuttoned untrimmed chest. You wanted to scoot closer and press your face against his broad chest and perhaps run your tongue over his skin. You felt grateful that he wasn't a mind reader or you'd be in hell a lot of trouble right now.

"That day you said he did more than just cheat on you..what did he do?" He asked you and that ultimately snapped you out of the state of arousal, his voice was firm and that was an indication that he was very serious in wanting to learn the truth

"It happened just once, soo ..I just.. don't want you to feel bad or just–"

"He put his hands on you?" He interjected, he had a sinking feeling that you were hurt in that way.

You gulped and immediately looked nervous as he said that because he wasn't wrong.

"We were arguing, I found that he was seeing this other girl for the past few months and I was so upset..i was yelling and screaming and he kept asking me to shut up but I didn't.. ofcourse..so he just grabbed me and slapped me once.. really hard"

Your eyes teared up as you recalled the memory and you didn't want him to see that so you closed your eyes but then you felt his fingers caressing your scalp in a comforting manner and all you wanted to do was to snuggle against him and cry some more.

"Keep going pixie…talk to me "

"That is all uncle..I just..i had never been hurt that way so that experience kind of stuck with me"

"Did you tell anyone? It's not healthy to keep such things to yourself" he asked you, his voice was still firm but now it held a tinge of tenderness

"I told Cassandra..she was so furious and she went to his house to go off on him..he hadn't bothered me for days after that but since Bali he has been calling me again"

Daemon nodded as you said that, there was a guy named Dylan that had been calling Cassandra as well plenty of times in Bali .. however everytime he called she always excused herself so he never really got to hear their conversation. Was it the same guy or someone else? With his experiences he didn't really trust the type of woman that Cassandra seemed to be.

He wasn't even thinking clearly, he just wanted to comfort you so he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on your forehead but he didn't pull away immediately, he couldn't, you looked so beautiful under the moonlight that he wanted to cross those boundaries and dive deeper into this fantasy. You didn't make it easy for him as you bit on your lips subconsciously while your eyes lingered over his lips. It took everything in him to pull himself away from you, as much as he wanted to. It was a line he couldn't have crossed because he wouldn't be able to go back if he did so.

Things would change forever after that, you'd no longer be his sweet little niece that he had promised to protect, that pure relationship he shared with you would get tarnished just because he wasn't able to control his desires or so he feared, a part of him wanted to explore the depth of this situation between you two but the cons always weighed over the pros, he would risk losing everything again.

"We should get back home pixie..it's late..your parents would worry" he stood up suddenly and put his hand out for you to get up as well..

"Argghhh I'm not a child uncle"

"But you whine like one"

"Heyyyy"

As he drove you back home, you felt restless, was he going to kiss you? Did he want to? That felt like a moment..a romantic one. You knew he'd never be the first one to take that sort of leap but you also knew now that he was attracted to you in a way a man is supposed to be attracted to a woman. You also understood that he must be as conflicted about this as you were, however none of you were going to say anything but for how long you thought. How long would you two be able to keep this charade going?

"I think i should go back to my place tomorrow" you said to him so he turned his head to look at you, you couldn't read the look on his face.

"Mmmm where do you live?"

"Just right outside of Chelsea ..in Kensington "

"You live there alone?"

"Yup…one bedroom apartment..humble abode.."

"Have you thought about joining the family business?" He asked you, making you sigh deeply in response.

"Yeah..dad has been asking me to do that since I graduated..I just..I'm not sure..it's not that i love my job or anything but I do like my independence"

"Darling..you'd still be independent..in fact you'd have even more security and freedom there"

"I know but then I'd be that girl.. daddy's girl ..that never had to work hard, everything was served to her on a diamond platter..blah blah" he chuckled as you said that but then he was serious again.

"What's wrong in being the daddy's girl? Your father worked all his life so you could live yours luxuriously" your brows furrowed as he said that,

"I feel like you're trying to coax me"

He chuckled again as you said that to him.

"No ..I'm just trying to make it clear that your privileges are not going to define you as a person but what you do with said privileges most definitely will. I'm just asking you to consider it once ..learn everything from him while he's here..life is short..you never know..you'd be the one to keep his legacy going if you choose to do so of course" you hummed in response as he said that..his words made sense. "Besides he really does need trustworthy people around him, his personal finances are a staggering mess"

"Mmmm I'd think about it. I must say you're a very persuasive bloke Mister Daemon" you mumbled softly so he smiled,

"Why thank you" you smiled as you looked at him, he was so pretty and he didn't even know that. You wondered often if Stella ever treated him like the man that he was.

"I'm glad you're back..he really needed you. And he had missed you..he never really said it out loud but on occasions after he was heavily drunk I'd often catch him staring at the picture of you two that he always keeps in his drawer"

His eyes moistened as you said that, he knew how unbearable the pain felt and how heartbroken he was at the time, but he had to leave, he couldn't have stayed here after what had gone down between them .

"It's good to be back home darling Pixie"

You had several questions regarding his sudden detachment from your family, they were best friends for years, been there for each other during ups and downs, your father was his best man at his wedding. He was there for your parents when they miscarried, what happened that was so bad that it couldn't have been fixed with time?

For days after he had left you felt as if things would get okay, that maybe he'd come back once he realizes what he was missing here but he didn't. Days turned into weeks into months and when a year went by you knew their friendship had ended for real.

But you never figured out what had actually happened, the last time you saw him was when you returned from school and he was storming out of your parents house with tears streaming down his face, he seemed angry and hurt, he seemed livid, and when you saw your father he seemed to have the same look on him.

Ever since then you had wondered who was at fault here, what had happened that was so irreversible that it drove them apart in such a way?

He never even said goodbye to you, he just left as if he couldn't wait to get away from this place.

As you both reached home, your dad was at the bar in the living room so he invited Daemon to have a drink with him, your dad wanted you to join them as well but you weren't in the mood to drink which felt refreshing for a change because you were always in the mood to drink as it helped you to forget things. However you still felt intoxicated, all your senses felt soused on his sweet cologne and the time you had just spent with him wasn't something you wanted to forget.

Later that night you felt a small knock on your door, so timid that it would have gotten unanswered if you weren't so wide awake, when you opened the door you found him on the other side, completely tipsy, suddenly a feeling of deja vu rose the anticipation in your heart. What was he going to do today?

"What can I do for you uncle? Are you okay?" You asked him and he walked a few steps closer, you could smell the scent of the most expensive whiskey and the branded cigarettes on his clothes, that combined with his own scent almost made him seem so godly to you that you just wanted to go down on your knees and worship him, you'd have done that without hesitation if he had asked you even once.

He held your cheeks between his hands and kissed your forehead, his lips lingered over your skin for a while, his mind screamed at him to just turn around and leave but his heart was in charge while he was hammered, that and his cock ofcourse.

You looked up at him and you felt his thumb grazing over your lips again before he leaned down and kissed the corner of your mouth, he was so close but not enough. He was still holding back, even in his messed up state he was trying to keep those boundaries intact.

"Uncle"

You whispered his name softly as you didn't want him to do anything he'd regret later even though you knew the little kiss at the corner of your mouth was already beyond the bounds of what was considered normal between a supposed uncle and niece. You were going to spend the night thinking about the way his lips felt against your skin. His fingers curled around your neck and he pressed your head up so you were looking him in the eye,

"Never ever pull a cigarette out of my hands ever again..alright?" He told you sternly and every inch of your skin felt on fire, suddenly your head was filled with images of him setting you straight for your insolent behaviour..

Could he just put you in your place like this more often?

"Mmmm yess..I'm so sorry mister daemon..i know i shouldn't have done that..that was out of line"

You mumbled softly and the corner of his mouth curved into a smile,

"That's my good girl..my sweet and polite pixie"

Just make the move and bloody kiss her.

That's what his heart told him to do and he knew you'd let him do that, and he also knew you'd not stop him from going further but even in his fucked up state he knew he couldn't do that you. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever.

However his resolve was going to break and shatter completely sooner than later, he just didn't know that yet.

😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏😏

Taglist

@serving-targaryen-realness @annoyingsweetsstranger @anukulee @mcufan72 @insertsomethingsillyhereple-blog @silentf @ajthefujoshi @stupidthoughtsinwriting @ammo23 @shuichiakainx @daddylokisqueen @ipostwhtifeel

#daemon targaryen #daemon targaryen x female reader #daemon targaryen x reader angst #daemon targaryen x reader fluff #daemon targaryen x reader smut #modern day au #non canon au #modern daemon targaryen #age gap relationship

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givemewallywestorgivemedeath · 1 year

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What is the camping trip thing? I think you’ve mentioned it once or twice and now I’m curious

I... Oof. Okay, yeah, I will talk about the camping trip but I do want to give a heads up that I really don't like spoiling the heavy hitting moments in Impulse. That series is really just something that has to be experienced and I really really encourage everyone to read it first hand.

However, I do also acknowledge that sometimes people read stories because they hear about them and get intrigued (which is kinda what I'm all about)! So, I will discuss this story but there will be a disclaimer! This will spoil issue #23 of Impulse so if you want to read that series, I highly encourage you to do so before reading this.

All right, so with that out of the way let's jump on into it.

What you have to understand first is that we start this issue at a very established place in Max and Bart's lives. They have been living together for months now and they've really started to bond. This is the most stable either of their lives has been since... well, ever.

Bart is going to school, he has friends, he has a team, he's really doing well in his training and as a hero, and he very much views Max as a father figure at this point. Max was really the first parent Bart ever knew and this was Bart's first everything. Bart never had a house or a room before this, he didn't have family or friends, he didn't have a life. For the first time Bart was finally able to have a childhood and be comfortable where he was and he was thriving.

Now Max was a different story. Max is a flight risk by nature. He doesn't like to stay in one area for too long and he tends to change lives at the drop of a hat. Max will change his name, appearance, location, even his era, just to escape an uncomfortable situation. If someone said "Happy Birthday" and Max said "Thanks, you too", Max wouldn't just skip town, he would time travel two decades into the future and then skip town.

So needless to say, staying put for so long was completely against Max's nature. He was out of his element. He didn't form ties with people, he didn't let them in ever, and now suddenly he has a kid with him that he is starting to view as a son and Max doesn't really know what to do with that.

On top of that Max had been spying on his estranged daughter and she was not thrilled that Max was there. Max missed quite a few birthdays while time traveling... like... all of them. Helen wanted nothing to do with Max and was furious with him.

Now, Max had really only been staying for Helen and Bart. When Helen made it clear that she didn't want Max in her life, Max started questioning why he was sticking around.

And the answer was Bart, right? He was sticking around to train Bart. But Max started wondering if he was even helping Bart. I mean, Helen was better off without him, maybe Bart would be as well? And could Bart even be trained? Or was it a lost cause?

So Max decided to test Bart's progress.

And Bart.... didn't perform well.

Not to say that Bart didn't save the day, he did, but Bart was still jumping into situations without thinking about them. No plans, no thoughts, just plain pure impulse.

Bart had the fighting skills, he had all the moves and the power to back them up. He was failing upwards by the sheer virtue of how fast he was.

Max wasn't happy with Bart's lack of thought. Especially when it came to civilians. Max wanted Bart to care about the hostages and make them a priority. Not putting people in unnecessary danger was a key element of being a hero to Max.

Bart didn't understand it because he had won. He always won. And no one got hurt, so what was the big deal?

The two of them fought and then Max ran off to try one last time with Helen. It didn't go well.

And here's where things start to get intense.

Bart sneaks into the kitchen for a midnight snack and suddenly Max walks in with a backpack. They're going camping. Right now.

So already the energy is extremely... unhinged. Max is at his breaking point and Bart doesn't know it, but this is his final exam.

Max is having an existential crisis, a mental breakdown and a midlife crisis all rolled into one and Bart, god bless him, is not helping the situation.

Max tries to talk to him about it but it was extremely clear that Bart didn't really get what Max was talking about.

Max gives Bart one final test. He starts an avalanche and 'gets stuck', hoping that Bart will get him out of harm's way first before dealing with the rocks.

Max screamed at Bart to save him.

But Bart didn't. He went for the rocks instead.

This is the last straw for Max. He grabs Bart and he screams at him.

"Why didn't you just pull me out of the way? Why did you go after the gunner and not the hostage at the ice rink? WHY?"

Bart had been living in the real world for months. Max had been training him for months. Bart's performance in school, on his team, in his training, his hero work, ect, all of it was beyond excellent. He was thriving.

But at his core Bart still didn't understand. He wasn't thriving, not to him. To Bart he was just winning the game. In Bart's mind Max's rules and training were just the rules of the game.

Can't tell people your identity? Yeah that's just one of the rules. Bart didn't get it but, hey, that's just how it is. Bart has to 'make friends' and 'be social'? Sure, whatever gets him points. Can't let anyone die? Alright, sure.

Bart fundamentally did not understand the difference between video games and reality. He had no concept of danger or death. If he messed up, he could just respawn or reset.

The hostages and civilians never mattered to him because he didn't get points for saving them.

Max had always known that Bart had a difficult time figuring out the real world but Bart had been doing so well that the true scope of Bart's issues had never really come to light. Max didn't understand how bad it was until this moment.

Bart had been living with Max for months and Max had thought that their training was almost done, when suddenly Max was faced with the fact that Bart hadn't progressed at all. Bart wasn't even back at square one, Bart was at square -100 and nothing Max had been doing was helping him.

And Max just gave up.

He stopped caring. He was done. He couldn't help Bart and he just shut down.

Bart... just didn't understand. He knew that something was wrong with Max but he had no idea what he'd done wrong. This was the only parent he had ever had, the only one to stick around and give him attention and love. And that parent just completely shut down and there was nothing Bart could do to fix it.

And you can see that Bart tried. Bart desperately tried to fix it. He did the dishes, put the things away, brushed his teeth, went to bed, ect. Bart was playing by Max's rules because playing by Max's rules made Max happy and Bart wanted Max to be happy.

To me this issue makes me extremely emotional because here's this little boy who has come to depend on the love and support of Max, and that's all suddenly ripped away from him for reasons beyond his control.

Bart, I feel, is such a perfect representation of a neurodivergent kid. He's following a bunch of societal rules that he just doesn't understand and he masks so well that he is able to fly under the radar for quite a while. But masking doesn't get him the help he needs. All masking does is make Bart confused and frustrated because he's not getting the help he really needs. He's being held back because he's too busy jumping through hoops to make people happy and he never gets the support he needs to actually thrive.

Then when it becomes clear that Bart isn't progressing. That it was all just masking, Bart gets punished for it.

Let's be clear here, Bart was the one who was let down. Bart had been doing everything to make Max happy, even though he understood none of it, and Bart did it well. He should have gotten more support and it should never have gone on as long as this did.

And Max realized that. Max realized that he hadn't been helping Bart be a better hero and Max decided that Bart deserved better.

Max left after this issue. He sent Bart to live with Meloni in the future.

That's a whole other thing and it eventually gets resolved and the two reunite and it gets better from there. But this storyline... it's... yeah.

It's such a realistic portrayal of neurodivergency to me. It really is. The way Bart thinks it's his fault, the way Bart took two steps forward and five steps back, the way Bart was let down, the way Max is just suddenly hit with the extent of Bart's masking, the way Bart just wasn't able to understand Max's complex emotions...

It just really hits hard.

#dc #dc comics #the flash #kid flash #impulse #bart allen #max mercury

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florencetypemaniacs · 3 months

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Say that Mc get pregnant how would the Ro's act, the Aunt, and maybe Dad (Devil Daddy)?

Thank you so much for the ask! Devil Daddy omg I LOVE THAT. To be clear, the fem MCs, or female ROs, are able to get pregnant. I have to say that it would depend on the relationship stage of all the characters. If the MC and the male RO's were in the deep relationship stage (and the pregnancy wasn't planned) , it would end up like this:

🏹 Zinnia

I honestly think that it would matter who MC's partner was—Zane and Owen—she would probably try to kill before the MC stopped it. Although, in the long run, she would be so excited to be a great auntie, she would be scared of the MC's health. Aster had a hard and tough pregnancy, so that worry would be there until the birth. MC would get handed small vials of weird things to help with the baby's development. She would buy the baby clothes and toys. Zinnia would plan a party and make sure that the MC relaxed.

🦁 Lazuli

If the MC had a good relationship with him (which you can decide in the IF), he would tear up with happiness. He was getting a second chance at being there for a child who had his blood. A second chance to make it up to the MC for not being there for Aster and them when they needed it. Laz would constantly ask if there was anything that the MC needed or wanted, and he would get it for them with a snap of their fingers. He would also have a talk with the RO's separately and give them a talk about being there for you, or he would rip their heads off their would be consequences.

💛 Marcel

Ecstatic! Marcel loves children; he has experience raising them, so he would make sure to tell the MC everything there was to expect and to not worry because he'll be there every step of the way. However, that doesn't mean he doesn't educate himself. Marcel would buy every parenting book on the planet since medicine has come a long way from when he was alive, even bothering Tai with questions.

❤️ Owen

He would think the MC was joking at first until he realized it wasn't a joke and was going to be a father, and he would get excited and spin the MC around in the air before sitting them down in a hurry because he thought he had hurt the baby. Although he does get more protective of the MC, I think he is better at hiding it than Tai. He would just always stay close to MC, just where he could see them, to make sure they were okay.

He would have a battle plan in place for probably every scenario. A lot of soft touches towards the MC and laying a hand on the curve of the belly on instinct. He would build his own crib and toys out of wood so that his child would have everything crafted just for them.

🩵 Tai

For the first time in his life, Tai wouldn't know what to say. Honestly, his brain would stop working for at least an hour after the MC told him until he snapped out of it. Tai would be worried all the time when the MC isn't by him that he probably gets a few gray hairs. He would be a total helicopter parent towards the MC, always by their side in case they needed anything or didn't. He would check the MC's vitals every day to make sure the baby was healthy. Make a list of the foods that the MC can't eat, and honestly, try to put the MC on a healthier diet for the baby's sake if the MC is prone to shove junk food in their mouth.

💚 Zane

God, I feel so bad for the MC because the first words out of Zane's mouth would be, "Can we still have sex?" He really doesn't have his priorities straight 😅, but he would be accepting of the pregnancy if this was something that MC wanted. I think that he would be smug throughout the whole pregnancy, especially as the MC's stomach grows, practically saying to everyone, "I did that." However, don't expect him to do anything on his own. Zane would get stuff done if the MC told him to do something like right away during the pregnancy, but if the MC doesn't speak up, he will continue to be out of the loop about what the MC is feeling.

I think that it finally sets in when he feels the baby kick or goes to see an ultrasound, and the doctor points out the baby. It would be right then that Zane realized that he was about to be a father. He was having a baby with the MC. Zane would have this feeling that he has never felt before that he freaks out and would have to leave for a day or two to get his mind around it, promising the MC he would be right back. And he is. It might seem like nothing has changed, but the MC would tell. Little things around the house start getting done (without asking him to do it). Maybe a pile of laundry or MC's pregnancy craving snack is on the table. Just little things to help MC.

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hydrasra · 1 year

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have we ever thought how much the traveler's friendship would be affected with those archons they befriended after they've hurt creator!reader in imposter sagau?

let's sit down and think about it.

for this, I'll use lumine as the traveler and aether as the abyss twin as I chose lumine and I believe in lumine supremacy. although aether is so fckn pretty it hurts.

let's make it a regular impostor sagau situation where they are so obsessed with the creator that celestia was like, "oh damn, new idea. we create an impostor and make it so that they take the place of the actual creator so that we have control over all nations," and everyone believes it

lumine's friendship with those archons are going to belong in the trash as soon as she catches wind of what they did to the actual creator!reader instead of trying to solve it all it peacefully and rightfully so

depending on when those archons have realised that, the one sitting on the throne currently is the impostor and that the one they were ordered to capture/execute is their actual creator/god AND if they've already hurt you or not before or AFTER having figuring things out, their friendship could be saved... probably

as much as barbatos and lumine are close friends, we should also put into consideration that she keeps him, heck evey archon but nahida and ei somehow at arms length.

lumine knows that she shouldn't take what barbatos says to face value and zhongli signed a fucking contract to keep his lips sealed about what happened in khaenri'ah but venti just brushed past her questions/changed the subject

ei wasn't even involved in it but her sister was so I understand why lumine would try and help ei to better herself for her nation and nahida gave her as much information as she could about lumine's bro

so really, those two should be in the clear right?

wrong.

well, maybe nahida is in the clear but not ei.

ei is stubborn and it's going to take a lot of convincing to prove to her that the one she's going after is the creator she should be protecting, not that fake ass sitting on YOUR throne

and that's going to put a strain to their relationship. as much as lumine understand the pain of being separated from your sibling, although she didn't lose hers, she's not backing down from fighting ei and, ever since the last time she confronted the electro archon, she has grown significantly stronger

besides, she also realised that dendro is the best element against and with electro.

and to be honest with you guys, I have this feeling that lumine would agree that knowledge is power, so having nahida on her team would be her first priority

having to convince a friend that helped her that the one they are blindly obeying isn't the real creator is going to be a challenge and that happens months before you actually show up

and when you do, nahida should be welcoming you with open arms as entrusted by traveler, before the impostor takes notice of your arrival, while lumine is in inazuma, trying to knock sense into the electro archon's mind

she knows that zhongli is a lost cause as she has an inkling that he signed a contract to protect the real impostor. and lumine's guessing that it was celestia's move to have the, at the time, strongest archon to protect their puppet so they can keep being in control

oh poor them, if only they knew that ei was stronger nowadays

let's imagine this, after fighting with Baal, she managed to convince the electro archon, will the archon in question be able to keep an act of still being the impostor's devoted acolyte?

let's go back to months before your arrival, before she goes to talk to ei, what about venti?

she could try to talk to him but, if it's usual (almost yandere) devoted barbatos, it should be easy to prove to him, almost immediately, that the traveler is not lying!

who's the vessel that you chose? lumine.

who knows what your divine gaze feels like when it's casted upon them? lumine.

who knows what you look and sound like? yes, lumine.

keep in mind that lumine has just been doing this to ... clear out the "misunderstanding" if you will. she doesn't want people to be worshipping some randos then later cry about it when it's too late, she did not anticipate your arrival when she asked nahida to be on the look out for you

she simply assumed that you would come back someday and, it looks like she was right

and I feel like, with foçalors being the archon of justice (or was it fair judgement? idk anyways) if she provides proof that the one sitting on the throne made for you was just a product of celestia to keep on having control over the whole of teyvat, all hell would break loose

zhongli would be devastated and lumine didn't even try to talk to him knowing that some contract must have been nullified after those proofs

venti and ei would be elated that they chose to believe their friend instead of blindly going after your head

and nahida would be by your side, smiling at you and reassuring you that everything's okay, you're safe

for now, I'll refrain from talking about scheznaya and natlan

but if the opposite happened and lumine's plan didn't work, she'd have to rely on herself and new allies after all

#sagau rambles #sagau idea #sagau impostor au

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magmagicstyle · 1 year

Text

JOLENE

(PART THREE OF THE OTHER WOMAN (“SO I CAN HAVE YOU BACK” SERIES))

A/N: THIS WILL PROBABLY HIT YOU IN THE FEELS... and I'm just sad. Also, yes, this is a huge flashback. (ESME POV)

PART 1 - PART 2 - PART 3 - PART 4

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene

I'm begging of you please don't take my man

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene

Please don't take him just because you can

She could remember, clear as the day, the moment her husband met his soulmate. It wasn’t because of her perfect memory or because she was this supernatural being that could do things that most humans couldn’t. Not at all. It was because the day they met, she saw her husband's expression changing in a way that she had never seen before.

Not even when her dear husband had told her that he loved her, his expression had been so honest, so eager.

It was with that, that some part of her knew that she should walk away. She knew that she should let them know each other and follow the path that destiny had created for them. But a stronger beast inside her, a horrible, jealous and petty monster moved her to call his name, to hug him and press her body against him. To mark him as hers and to show his soulmate that he already had someone by his side.

That's why she wasn't surprised when his soulmate growled at her. Red eyes like the blood that he probably drank quite often shining with anger and hatred. She pretended to be confused, to follow her husband's instructions without a clue of what was happening. She let him move her behind his body and enjoyed the feeling of being his priority over his own soulmate. Now, sitting in the empty room in her home, she only felt ashamed of her actions.

Her husband's soulmate was young. Of course, she knew not to believe in someone's appearance since becoming an ageless monster herself but… A part of her, a deep part in her heart knew that he was young, inexperienced and so full of life and hope. She would even dare to say that her husband's soulmate had some innocence in him that not a lot of vampires had. Especially not the ones that drank from humans. Still, with his new golden eyes (he had started to change his diet after understanding how important it was for her husband), he looked so innocent and hopeful.

And he was gorgeous. Even for a vampire. It made her think of her seudo-daughter, Rosalie. So beautiful that even vampires had to turn to look at her twice. He was like that, those gorgeous locks of hair framing a face that looked straight out of a fairy tale. He had a mouth perfect to be kissed, plump lips painted (un)naturally with a soft pink colour, and his now golden eyes made him look like a doe. He was so beautiful that she knew that his husband had a hard time pulling away from him when it was time to go to their marital bed. She felt how her husband wanted to stay deep inside the other vampire, enjoying the feeling of being blessed by his soulmate touch while he thrust deep inside him. Sometimes, she wished she could join them in bed, to look at his husband’s soulmate being ravished and fucked beyond making any sense. To look at the face of pure pleasure that her husband would make every time he came inside his mate, and then… to make her husband watch while she made his mate enjoy her body, to make the lovely vampire see her enjoy her husband’s touch. She wanted for them to see the other coming apart by her hand and watch how they came apart by touching themselves.

Still, she knew that, even if he spent time ravishing the other male vampire, Carlisle would always leave his bed and go back to hers. She knew how every time that Carlisle left his lover’s bed, hurt the poor vampire tied to his soul. Still, she never accepted the idea or even proposed for her husband to stay with his mate for a full night. It wasn’t like Carlisle would even consider it. Her adorable husband, her sweet but traditional and a bit dumb husband. To focus on the idea of a perfect and truthful marriage that even the idea of having his mate as a lover made him fall into depression for a few months before reluctantly accepting the other vampire advances. Her husband, who as soon as he slept with his soulmate for the first time, left the other vampire and looked for her, kneeling in front of her and sobbing in her skirt while asking for forgiveness. She remembered that exact moment like it was yesterday. She remembered how she ended up looking up and saw the most heartbreaking scene in her husband’s mate. She remembered how the poor vampire’s eyes filled with tears that would never fall and how he turned around hiding inside his bedroom. Maybe the young vampire hoped for her husband to understand that they were meant to be and to leave her for him. Maybe he hoped that she would feel disgusted and leave her husband as soon as they slept together. She didn’t know.

Still, nobody left. They continued that sick routine like it was normal. Her husband started to go more often to his lover’s bed. He ravished him for hours, moaning loudly and marking him in any way that he could in his own scent, before getting out of his bed and room and going to her bed. All of this, so he could bathe in her scent until he had forgotten all about his instincts that wanted to pull him back to his soulmate's arms. Out of spite, Esme, every night that his husband went to his lover and made love to him, she put on some music… Trying her best to ignore her own imagination, to ignore how much she wanted to see them together… And as soon as he came back to her bed, she turned off the music and made him whisper loving words in her ears, knowing deep down that the other vampire was hearing everything.

She hated being the one making him feel unwelcomed, but at the same time, she loved that her husband always made her a priority over his soulmate. It was horrible, to be honest. Enjoying the clear sadness and anger from a vampire that had no other option than to love a man that clearly loved him but had promised his heart to another. Still, she had never said that she wasn’t a monster. Even if her husband wanted to believe otherwise.

Your beauty is beyond compare

With flaming locks of auburn hair

With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green

Your smile is like a breath of spring

Your voice is soft like summer rain

And I cannot compete with you

Jolene

He talks about you in his sleep

And there's nothing I can do to keep

From crying when he calls your name

Jolene

She knew that her husband was starting to fall for his mate as soon as their conversations passed the simple carnal desires and started to be more simple. She understood that her husband was falling for the other vampire as soon as in the middle of the night, her husband would whisper about something his adorable soulmate had said or done the night before or about a funny joke his mate said during sex. Because, of course, his mate has helped him take some liberties and talk in ways that he wasn’t used to before. Because, his soulmate was able to help him in ways that she could never.

She knew that Carlisle was falling for his mate as soon as they came from their work at the hospital laughing and commenting about something that a doctor or a nurse said, while she stayed at their home and followed the role of the typical housewife. She knew that he was falling for him as soon as he commented about her children to his mate, as soon as he made the poor hopeful vampire think that he was going to meet them and as soon as his mate started to get a bit more possessive over Carlisle’s time.

It was almost as if he knew that her husband was falling for him, and saw it as a chance to push her out of the picture. She pretended that his rejection didn’t hurt. She pretended that being ignored by her husband’s mate and being treated as something to get rid off didn’t hurt. Not because she was bitter over it. After her actions, her petty revenges and rules, she didn’t deserve the opportunity of showing that she was hurt. She understood that in the young vampire’s mind, she wasn’t more than a meddling being that was in the middle of what could be an amazing relationship with his soulmate. But she was the wife, she was the one that shared her husband’s bed at night, even if they couldn’t sleep… And her husband’s soulmate, more than a real relationship, was the type of relationship you had with a dirty affair with a secretary or with someone from the office. In other words, the so-called soulmate was the other woman in this relationship.

Still, she could see how her husband kept falling deeper for his mate. She could see it so clearly, so obviously… and she knew, she knew that the little minx that came into the picture to take her husband away from her arms, also knew that he was starting to win his heart. She saw how he sat on his lap sometimes, pouring him a glass of warm blood. All taken from his favourite animal. She saw how her husband’s soulmate talked warmly about their kids, even if he hadn’t met them yet. She saw how her husband’s eyes gleamed with soft adoration every time his mate wasn’t looking.

A few months ago she would never think that her husband would come to really love his mate. Hell, a year ago she would never even entertain the idea of her husband leaving her. Now, looking at how her husband seemed to look at his mate like the vampire had put the stars in the sky, like he was the only religion left to believe, the only one who held the truth in his lips. Now, looking at the love this two shared for one another, even if they didn't notice that the other loved him, she wasn't sure that her husband wouldn't leave her if his mate really insisted on it.

Esme wound’t lie. She was fucking scared of being left by her husband because his mate asked it for it while they were making love. At this point, she didn’t have any authority to call it only sex, the soft touches, the kind whispers that they shared while their bodies collided against one another and their hands gripped their stone cold skin. It made her feel like what he had with her was only sex. She barely remembered the last time Carlisle had said her name with such devotion, with such care. She couldn't even remember how it felt to be made love slowly and passionately. She knew that her husband's mate didn't have that problem.

She also knew that her husband understood that he was starting to love his mate more than something instinctual and carnal, as soon as her husband started to pull away from his mate… and some rotten part of her, enjoyed watching the expression of pure disappointment and hurt that appeared on his mate’s face.

And I can easily understand

How you could easily take my man

But you don't know what he means to me

Jolene

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene

I'm begging of you please don't take my man

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene

Please don't take him just because you can

Still, the satisfaction didn't last for long. The burn of guilt took her heart almost completely when she saw how her husband started to make dumb mistakes in favour of showing her that he loved her. The sadness, that first had appeared for his mate and then moved to herself, went back to appearing only when she saw the poor vampire tied by fate to her husband. After all, there wasn't a more horrible view than the one made by a creature losing what innocence it had left.

She saw his efforts, his work for becoming better. She saw how much he tried. How he slowly became more and more quiet. The once charming and hopeful vampire had turned into something small, delicate and so pitiful, ike a small mouse trying to not drawn attention to itself, with fear of being thrown out…

And yes, she had to admit (now with shame) that at first she was happy to have her husband's attention back. She enjoyed the feeling of being made love to. She bathed in the soft words, the caresses and whispers. She felt like a winner the first night her husband's mate only received a quick fuck after a long day and then how her husband made sure to show her the love and care that he didn't show his mate. She enjoyed how the soft cuddling and blood drinking in the couch that her husband and his mate shared started to become less and less, until her husband stood up from the couch and went to her if she showed that she needed him. She was winning in the fight were the love of her husband was the major prize and she wasn't above making dirty moves or act more fair and weak than what was possible for her to keep winning.

That was, until she heard him.

Until she heard how her own actions were contributions to the suffering of a soul that even if wasn't kind to her, truly loved her husband. Until she heard sobs and whimpers that wouldn't produce tears. Until she heard the pleadings of a poor creature tied to someone that had made his chore to ignore him and hurt him in any way possible.

She knew that her husband wasn't cruel, not intentionally.

She knew that, but hearing how broken his mate sounded while asking him to stay at least one night in his bed, while asking him to at least hug him like before and hearing her husband say that hugs and cuddles weren't part of the deal that they made at the beginning, it left her feeling cold (even if it wasn't really possible). Hearing her beloved Carlisle act so coldly and stern with the gift that destiny had given him in their lonely existence, it made him almost unrecognisable in her eyes and ears.

She knew that she was to blame for her husband's reaction, not completely, but she couldn't shake the blame after having played the game and used dirty tricks to win it. She didn't control her husband, but she knew he was a man of honour and her acting like a poor housewife, acting a bit sad and heartbroken by his actions, was what pushed him to remember his vows and to pull away from his mate. Mate that was now suffering from being rejected without really being given a real existence of this sick relationship that they were trying to maintain.

After all, it wasn't like her husband's mate and her loved each other. They were barely together and when they were, they acted civil at best. Their relationship was more like the ones forming part of a harem and fighting for the king's attention, willing to stab the other in the back just to look like the prettiest one in front of their master. It was sick and actually depressing.

It was with that, with seeing herself in the mirror for the first time, that she understood how her actions and her husband’s stupidity and blindness at his own mate's feelings were breaking a bond that was supposed to be sacred. Carlisle's mate was pulling away from him, asking for less and less of his time, asking for less of everything. Almost like he was wasting away… and Esme…

Esme felt that she was the only one in this house noticing how much suffering this poor creature was going through. It was like her husband had turned into a blind man, seeing what he wanted to see, acting like a stern father and a disapproving figure every time his mate asked for his time, asking for a bit of attention, for anything that Carlisle would be willing to give him… and Carlisle…

Carlisle would give him crumbs of it. Carlisle would provide him with attention until he saw Esme passing by and he would drop everything to go to her. Yes, at first it made her happy but after seeing the hurt and suffering they were provoking, she wanted Carlisle to realise that he was making a huge mistake. Still, Carlisle wouldn't see. Carlisle would leave his mate to help Esme with some simple grocery bags that had cleaning products easy to carry around. He would leave his mate in the middle of a conversation just because Esme wanted to reach for something on a shelf. He would tell his mate that he was acting spoiled or entitled when he wasn't his real partner or the one he chose for himself… With those words, Esme questioned if her husband wasn't cruel. Maybe he was.

You could have your choice of men

But I could never love again

He's the only one for me

Jolene

I had to have this talk with you

My happiness depends on you

And whatever you decide to do

Jolene

Everything reached a point where she couldn't take it anymore when Carlisle rejected his mate's idea of a trip together. Only the two of them… and it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all. Carlisle and Esme always went on trips alone, they travelled the world together and left the man's mate alone in their house without a call or anything. They went around, saw their children, acted like a happy family and then went back to their little cottage far from the world, and the little mate was there. Waiting like a dog that was so trusting of his owner that he knew that he would come back. But even dogs can have resentments and even pets can run away if they feel that they aren't loved.

What's worse. Carlisle's words. His words were thrown so carelessly towards his mate, calling him childish, selfish and other things that Esme didn't want to even think of. How could he be so blind? Was it on purpose? He wanted to hurt his mate so he wouldn't love him? There was no way… after all, even when they were in bed together, Carlisle still commented about something that his mate had said or done… and he still looked so proud when talking about his mate's achievements… So, why? Why did he work so hard in making his mate feel unwanted?

Esme couldn't take it anymore. So as soon as they started their trip to see their children she decided to stop and talk with him. She yelled. She screamed in his face for his cruelty and the pain that they were putting his mate through. She even punched his chest and asked if he was the cruel and blind man that couldn't see when someone so precious was suffering. Then, she asked for a break. For a break of being together. A break from all the fighting for his attention. She confessed her actions like a sinner in front of a catholic father and told him of the things she heard and saw in his mate's eyes. She confessed how her actions, even if they came from a place of fear of being abandoned, were as cruel as his words and own actions… and Carlisle, her adored husband, broke down.

She never saw him so weak, so painfully distressed. It made her want to turn away and push him towards his mate, to pull him by the arm until he could hug his mate and beg for forgiveness. But they couldn't. They needed to see their children. They needed to compose themselves and pretend that everything was fine so they could have two days with them. Still, her husband looked so small. Carlisle was acting like a child having his heart broken for the first time and that was so painful to watch. Still, he promised to be better. He promised to accept what she was asking and to do right by his mate. He swore that he would start to make things right as soon as they were back in their cottage and that he would give his mate the love he had been hiding. He also promised to be better for her, but Esme didn't want that. Carlisle had been good to her, always… and that was the problem.

So, when the two days passed and they were back in their cottage, Esme took a deep breath to feel the smell of her husband's mate… and came with nothing. Carlisle had run to his mate's room as soon as they arrived, wanting to get on his knees and ask for forgiveness, to ask for a change to make things right and to prove that he loved him… but came down with nothing more than a picture of him and his mate together.

Esme, in the meantime, had turned to her side, a little shiny thing catching her attention and looked at the gorgeous ring that Carlisle had given his mate when he was falling for him and didn't even notice that he was. She hadn't seen it in a long time, always hidden under the young vampire clothes, like a little treasure. Under it, there was a letter. Surprisingly, it was addressed to her.

"Dear Esme,

I have to write this letter to you because I know you're the one who understands how much he means to me...

I would beg you to please don't take my man… but we both know that he was never mine, to begin with.

Please take care of him, because we know that even if I wished I could… I can't take him from your arms.

Goodbye, Carlisle, I really hope that you aren't the only one for me, but right now, I don't feel like I will ever be able to love again.

(Y/N)"

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene

I'm begging of you please don't take my man

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene

Please don't take him even though you can

Jolene, Jolene

PERMANENT TAG LIST: @rexburn12 @kettnerjanea @pandalover19

TAG LIST FOR THIS SERIES: (I can't believe I have one of these!) @idksleep-y @catspector @simpingfortoomanypeople @akiraackerman19 @y2k-whor3 @blackenedflowers @untitled74745 @cruxiohp @fanficaddictmwah @finchisloney @sen-nn-a @mrsxyz480 @deepblueseasworld @blackenedflowers @maiasvidan28 @linoriii @lucianideals @erensbbg @theanimalover22128 @its-ares @thewhitewolfmarvel @chrisevansxmalereader @sammy-stark @sad-eyes-6k4 @datenshousan @creezoldyck @1800cokewitch @l4l4j0p433 @carlislecullensgirl @qu3nt1nb00m @stevensimpp @chubbichubb @fariylixie0915 @rhyanna6012

#twilight x male reader #twilight x reader #twilight imagine #twilight #carlisle cullen x male reader #carlisle x reader #carlisle imagine #carlisle x esme #esme cullen #esme x male!reader #x male!reader #x male reader #twillight angst #my heart hurts from writing this #hurt/no comfort #volturi x male!reader

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seven4asecret · 3 months

Text

₊✩‧₊˚ Tipping The Scales Pt.3 ˚₊✩‧₊

Moonknight System x Layla x Gn! (Eventual Avatar) Reader

Content & Warnings: No pronouns, no Y/N, no Smut, descriptions of typical violence, eventual polyamory, & badly written fight scenes

Ao3 Wattpad Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Chapter 3: Feelings? (Rip Khonshu)

You closed the door to your apartment behind Layla, before scrambling towards your desk. You flipped a few stray papers aside and lifted a few books. Where did you have it last?

"Hey, uh, we should probably make sure you don't have a minor concussion and stop the bleeding before you-"

"I-I'm fine. Just give me one moment." You checked your nightstand, the counter, and the couch. You had it only a few hours earlier. What could you have done with it?

"What are you doing?" Layla asked brows furrowed as she watched you scramble around your small apartment.

"Looking for this!" You explained triumphantly as you untangled your blanket, the book from earlier landed on the floor with a thump. You winced at the surprisingly loud noise, the headache returning. Maybe she had a point.

"Okay. Can I ask why a book on Ancient Egypt takes priority over medical attention?" She crossed her arms and nodded at the book now in your hands.

You sighed, dropping your shoulders in defeat. Your head did hurt. And it probably wasn't the best choice to let it go unchecked.

"Do you have a first aid kit anywhere? Or-"

"Yeah. It's under the sink. I'll grab it." You blinked a few times, trying to clear the sudden dizziness. You must have stood a bit too quickly. Low iron and all that.

You took a step. Layla took your arm, stopping you.

"How about you just sit here," She pushed you gently back onto the couch," and I'll go grab it okay?" You nodded and leaned back. It was nice of her to do. Especially for someone who was practically still a stranger. You appreciated it, really, but with everything that happened, you wanted to figure out what was going on. You had a sneaking suspicion that this bird-man wasn't just a weird attachment.

Layla returned with the kit a second later, both of you maneuvering to sit on the couch facing each other. You suddenly noticed her eyes had flakes of gold as she leaned towards you, bringing a cloth to the side of your head.

"Thanks." You winced as she began to wipe the blood away.

"It's no problem." She hesitated a moment. "Can I... ask you a question?"

"Y-yeah. Go for it." You fiddled with your hands resting on your lap.

"How were you and Steven able to see it? The jackal?"

You swallowed.

She was going to think you were crazy.

You just met one of the coolest, most badass people you had ever encountered, and now she was going to think you were crazy. Great. You took a breath and glanced down.

"To be honest I've just... always been able to see things." You waved your hand, "Spirits, ghosts, and the like."

"Oh." She pulled back the rag.

"Yeah." You cringed. "It's crazy, I know. But the jackal...that wasn't anything like what I normally see. Usually, most things are fairly peaceful and have limited interaction with their environment. It sounds insane but I swear I didn't hit my head that hard."

She cracked a smile.

"Okay. I'll trust you, considering you haven't passed out on me yet." She brought the rag back up to your head.

"Really?" You released a breath.

"Yeah." She paused," I mean... we just got attacked by an invisible jackal. It's not too hard to think there are more things like...that out there."

You nodded.

She pulled the rag away. It was stained with a light crimson spot.

"I think the bleeding has stopped but you might want to watch out for any more dizziness. You'll also want to keep a cold cloth on for about 20 minutes at a time on it."

"Okay." She handed you a clean cloth, and you did as instructed.

You turned back to her.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"What's the situation with you and Steven or Marc, I guess? I mean you don't have to tell me of course I-"

She sighed, "No. It's fine. He...he disappeared. For months I heard nothing. I thought he had been kidnapped or...killed. Then out of nowhere, he sent divorce papers. Next thing I know the phone is turned on and I tracked it." She paused a moment. "How about you and Steven?"

"Oh, we just work together at a museum. I'm a guide for the Greco-Roman exhibit, he works in the gift shop. I'm sorry about the two of you. I'm sure that was awful."

"Just work together, huh?" She flashed you a grin. "But, yeah...I'm just glad to know he's okay for now."

"You wouldn't happen to know where he went with the jackal would you?"

She shook her head, "No. But I would guess that he will start making his way to Egypt."

"Why? Doesn't he still need the scarab?"

"Yes. But Ammit's tomb is Cairo. That's where the scarab will lead. We need to meet Marc and find the tomb before Harrow."

"W-we?" You looked at her surprised.

"Yeah." She shrugged. "If you want. Harrow has seen you with us so it would be safer to leave for now. It also would be pretty convenient to know when I've got another jackal after me." She nudged your shoulder and grinned. "Besides, Steven's fond of you. I'm sure he'd want you there." You felt your face begin to heat up. You weren't sure if it was because of her sudden closeness to you or that she had brought up your coworker.

"So what do you say? Are you up for trying to stop an ancient goddess from taking over the world?"

"Yeah. Let's do it."

"I'll book the tickets for tomorrow. Okay? I'll swing by here to pick you up after I make a stop."

You nodded, "Okay. Sounds like a plan."

She gave you a quick smile and closed the door behind her. The gravity of what you had gotten yourself involved with dawned on you. You sighed to yourself and pushed those thoughts to the side. Right now you needed to see if you were right about your hunch, you turned and reached for the book.

You couldn't help but pick up on the recent name-dropping of ancient Egyptian entities. The jackals and the recurring crescent moons only served to fuel your theory. It would make sense. Why the entity had felt so different, ancient. Why it had felt more powerful than most spirits? Maybe because it wasn't one. It would make sense why it shared so much resemblance to a mummy and presented itself as half humanoid half animal.

Steven had mentioned a name earlier...Khonshu, was it? The Egyptian god of the moon?

You flipped open the book, scouring the pages for the name.

Khenti-Amentiu... Khenti-kheti...Kepri...Kherty...

You stopped.

Khonshu

You looked at the illustration a skeletal bird-man staring at you from the page.

No way.

‘Khonshu is the Egyptian god of the moon and the guardian of the travelers of the night. His name itself means "traveler" or "wanderer" and may correlate to the journey of the moon across the sky. In addition, he was also known as a god of healing and fertility. When there was a full moon present he was believed to possess power over evil spirits. Khonshu's earliest depiction describes him as a cannibal god. He was terrifying and violent and feasted on the hearts of men and consumed other gods. His nature evolved over time and was more benevolent in the new kingdom. Here, he was worshipped more widely.’

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

You sat on your sofa, cloth to your head as the TV cast a blue glow around your flat.

You tensed. The hair on your arms stood on end.

The atmosphere had abruptly shifted. The earlier comfort of your flat had become noticeably uneasy. You felt a pair of eyes on you.

Khonshu.

You could sense him before you caught sight of his figure. He stood just on the edge of your periphery. You sucked in a nervous breath. In all the time you had felt his presence, you had never sensed him in a place that Steven wasn't.

Well… This was unsettling.

You didn't sense any negative intent from him, but that didn't stop your apprehension. Your hands trembled lightly.

Don't panic. You attempted to ease your worry. He's never bothered you before.

"K-Khonshu?" You whispered as you turned towards him.

He abruptly appeared before the couch. You jumped. Khonshu loomed over you, his skull nearly grazing the ceiling.

He tilted his head at your acknowledgment. The blue lighting from your TV cast him in a sinister shadow. You were still not used to seeing him so close. Your heart pounded as you noted just how intimidating he was. He stood unmoving for a moment, seemingly observing your shaking form.

"You need not fear me, little one." His voice was surprisingly gentle. "I wish you no harm... rather the opposite. I have come to offer to you my protection. "

This took a moment for you to process. This was certainly not expected from the bird-man.

"W-what? Why?"

"I must admit I'm..." He paused and turned his head, "Curious. It should be nearly impossible for mortals to sense us. Yet, you felt my presence long before I revealed myself. You possess quite a rare ability. I had believed it had perished among mortals a millennia ago."

You hesitated, fidgeting with your hands.

"When I... first felt your presence, I knew something was different about you." You furrowed your brow, "But at first, I believed you to be just another spirit or entity."

"We do not exist in the same way as mortal spirits or other entities but it is similar. Both do not exist on the same plane of reality as this one. But our's makes us more difficult to perceive."

You paused, the information slowly sinking in.

"W-wait. Hold on." You waved your hands, "You're saying I can perceive... interdimensional beings?

"To put it simply, yes." He nodded. This revelation was unnerving. Your ability was much more complicated than you thought.

"But... why does it interest you so much if all I can do is see you?" You began to get the creeping sense that he wanted something from you.

"Oh, but you can do much more than that, little star. Your ability allows you to channel a god's energy, focusing it and allowing them more power in this plane. This makes you quite valuable to the gods. I do not wish for you to fall into the wrong hands." He paused.

You glanced down, hesitant.

"I offer to you my protection, resistance from injuries, and illness. I can keep you safe from harm. In return, simple offerings and rituals would be all I demand. I only ask that you serve as my priest."

You hesitated. If you accepted, you wouldn't be entirely useless anymore. Part of your work for Khonshu would potentially help Marc and Steven. You'd imagine they would need as much power as they could to face off against Ammit. The offer of protection was helpful. But it paled compared to the opportunity to help the people you cared about. You wanted to do something to aid them.

"Okay." You nodded. A small part in the recess of you whispered that this might be a mistake. You pushed those thoughts away. You could do something now. You drew in a breath, "I-I want to help. I'll do it."

"Good. You've made the right choice..." Khonshu leaned forward towards you, hand outstretched. "Now, allow me to see your wound."

You furrowed your brow in confusion, resisting the urge to shrink away from his menacing figure. You did as he asked. It was only a minor concussion. What would it matter to him if you got hurt? You took off the cloth, letting out a sigh. Crusted blood surrounded the gash as your head throbbed.

You tried not to appear too apprehensive of his sudden closeness. Khonshu raised his hand to your head, fingers hovering over the injury. He stilled a moment. He seemed to hesitate before allowing his fingers to brush against your head. You flinched as they met with the tender wound. His fingers were surprisingly cold, even through the worn wrappings. You suppressed a shudder.

A feeling of numbness began to spread around the gash, soothing the painful throbbing of the headache. Khonshu caressed the healed skin once before pulling away.

"There. I cannot have my little priest hunting down the tomb injured." He gripped his staff and raised his head. "Now, I require an offering before your departure."

"Uh...sure." You blinked. "What do I need to do?"

"I will require an altar first."

It took you a bit to find a good spot, but you eventually decided on the top of a short bookshelf. You felt it was a perfect spot as the moonlight shone through the window and onto the wood. Khonshu meanwhile hovered as he guided your efforts. You added a black cloth, lit a few candles, and burnt some incense you kept around. You completed the altar with a small moon-shaped plate that held a few crystals.

You turned back to Khonshu, silently asking for his opinion. He offered you a soft hum of approval.

"Now what?"

"I require an offering of nourishment. Bread and wine will do."

You walked to your pantry, "Just out of curiosity, do you need some food to exist or..."

"How curious you are, little one. While our life force requires replenishment, which can be given to us through offerings, we are not dependent on sustenance the way mortals are."

"Huh. That's neat." Your eyes landed on a small bag of birdseed. You hadn't ended up feeding the birds at the park for a few weeks you didn't want it to go to waste. You fought a smile. Peeking back at the moon god, you watched him glance around your flat. His back was towards you. You took a tiny dish and scooped a bit into it. Grabbing a glass of wine and a slice of bread you made your way toward the altar. You added the bowl next to one of the candles in the back. You turned back to Khonshu, a plate of bread and a glass of wine in hand.

Khonshu joined you by the altar, taking one last look over it. He stopped suddenly, gaze fixed on the small dish.

"What is that."

"Oh, that. That's just some birdseed." You shrugged, attempting to keep from smiling. "The crows at the park seem to like it so I thought I'd add some here. 'Cause y'know..." You motioned to him.

Despite not being able to express emotion the typical way, you could feel Khonshu cast an annoyed glare your way. But there was no true bitterness behind it. It did absolutely nothing to deter the grin on your face.

"You believe yourself to be so clever, don't you? You are quite bold to mock a god." He shook his head at you, and let out a sigh.

You gave him a shy grin. "So what do I do with the food? I don't think you exactly... have a mouth... How exactly does this work.?"

"You offer it to me and eat."

"Okay. I...uh... offer this bread and wine to Khonshu." You ate and drank the offerings.

You paused, "Did it work?"

"Yes. It was acceptable. This is all I require of you for now." Khonshu lifted your chin, "I shall see you soon, my star."

With a gust of wind, he was gone, leaving you alone in your flat wondering what you had gotten yourself into.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

After quickly shoving some clothes and other necessities into a small suitcase you phoned your boss at the museum. You made a rushed call letting them know you would be out for an unknown amount of time due to sudden personal reasons. Thankfully it was well received and you were off the hook.

You began to throw a few items into a small carry-on. A sketchbook, and some pencils to keep you occupied.

Your eyes landed on the mythology book. You studied the intricate cover before grabbing it and adding it to the bag.

You jumped as you heard a knock at the door. Opening it you were met with Layla.

"Hey! Are you ready to go?"

"Ready when you are."

You both managed to make it through security and boarded the plane. The flight wouldn't last long but it was a decent amount of time. Layla sat next to you, earbuds in, staring at the fading ground. You pulled out your sketchbook. Your interactions with the bird-man, or Khonshu rather, were haunting you.

Metaphorically, of course.

All your interactions with him had been a bit odd. The gentle wind gusts, his curious watching from afar, had abruptly and drastically changed seemingly overnight. You had seen a fraction of Khonshu's anger. That had terrified you. The next time you saw him, he had been completely different. He was much more directly involved in what was going on. Then the last night he had been almost...kind? But he was gentle as he tended to your wounds and offered you his protection. You began to question his motives. You should probably be a bit careful in case this turned into some word Greek Mythology type shit. You knew what he wanted with you. But what did he want with Steven?

"What is that?" You turned to see Layla eyeing your drawing. You blinked. You didn't realize you had drawn Khonshu.

"Oh. That's Khonshu. He's... Steven's attachment."

"Well, that's horrifying. You've seen that?"

"Yeah." You shrugged, "I've seen him a few times. He chased us out of the building just as we met you."

She stared at you. "You say that like that's just a normal occurrence. How were you not scared of that?

"Oh, I was fucking terrified. But he wasn't usually like that. He's been pretty chill up until then. I get the feeling he can be a bit moody."

She just blinked in surprise and laughed. "I have no idea how you're calm about that. You had a god chase you out of a building!"

"Well, in retrospect it's a bit funny. He went all out with it. Rattling the doors, flickering the lights. He made sure we ran into him just to turn around and be dramatic. Dude could run a great haunted house if he wanted."

She laughed again and shook her head at you. " I think you'd be the only person to come out of that experience and be able to say that."

The landing was announced over the speakers.

Your stomach dropped as the plane jolted, causing you to clutch the armrest.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. The landing just always makes me nervous." You chuckle nervously as the plane rattles.

She takes your hand and squeezes it, surprising you, before leaning closer as she grins. "You know the odds of crashing are low. It's one in like 11 million."

You turn to her, matching her smile, "One, the odds are never zero, and thus still horrifying. And two so not helpful." You playfully shove her shoulder.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

The marketplace was packed. Stalls crowded the roadsides and colorful rugs, fruits, and other items were on display.

Oh, you were so getting a souvenir after this.

People swarmed the remaining space, some shouting in order to attract a customer. Various vehicles attempted to maneuver their way through the crowd, and the beeping of horns was almost constant. You assumed looking for Marc or Steven in this place was going to be difficult. Layla somehow spotted Marc within only twenty minutes of being there.

When you finally spotted him you wanted to rush over and hug him, ask if he was okay, what had happened, and how he escaped the jackal. Why had he left the two of you without a word?

But this wasn't Steven. This wasn't your friend.

So you stood beside Layla, attempting to ignore the immense relief you felt at seeing them okay.

"I hope you like attention." She walked up behind Marc. He turned away, frustrated but stayed put. "Right guy, right place. But you're not Egyptian. "

"Layla, what the hell are you doing here? And you," His dark eyes locked onto you, "You shouldn't be here. You've made a mistake getting involved."

You winced at the intensity of his glare but said nothing. You were busy noting the change in atmosphere as the hair on the back of your neck stood up.

"Oh, leave them alone Marc." She tilted her head, "Why shouldn't I be here? Because my name pisses off a few people in Cairo? Who cares?"

"It's not the locals I'm worried about." Almost simultaneously as he glanced behind Layla you felt a familiar presence. Sure enough, the bird-man, Khonshu, was perching on a rooftop. As looming as always.

You made the closest thing to eye contact you could with him. He barely moved, but you could distantly make out his head bow slightly in recognition. You gave a small wave. You could sense his amusement.

You heard Layla as you were pulled back into the conversation. "Come with me. I'll help you find what you need."

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

The view of the waters surrounding the boat would have been breathtaking, with the orange lights of the city reflecting in the dark water. Only if it wasn't for the conversation happening on it.

"So what exactly are we gonna do here? What's the plan?" Marc asked.

"Oh. It's not pleasant being left in the dark is it?"

This made you wonder why you were here. You really had no right to include yourself in their situation, despite the fact you already had. Continuously. It was nice of Layla to include you, despite this. She sympathized with your situation. You just wanted your friend back. You wanted him to be okay. You let your thoughts wander as you looked out over the water and attempted to block out their personal conversation.

"Okay. Let's get our story straight."

Eventually, the boat docked.

Layla stepped up onto it, handing a bag to Marc before helping you up.

"This guy's got a lot of friends."

"Yeah, and a lot with guns."

Suddenly Marc froze, looking out over the water. You could barely make out the silhouette of an unlit boat.

"What is it?" Layla asked. "Harrow's men keeping tabs?" Your stomach dropped.

"I don't know. It could be."

"Let's go." Layla led the way. "Remember, your name is Rufino Estrada."

"Right."

"We just got back from our honeymoon in the Maldives." You weren't sure how you would fit into this. A couple coming back from their honeymoon was believable. But adding a third person would have been a bit odd.

"That's an interesting little detail to give to them."

"I'd tell them you worked at a gift shop, but they'd never believe me, would they?" She turned to you. "You'll be Callaway Kingsley. Our partner." Marc raised his eyebrows at her, glancing from you to her.

"Oh, I'm not sure I have enough knowledge on these types of antiquities dealings to realistically-"

"No, not that type of partner." She stated.

"Oh." You blinked. It took a second for you to get what she meant. "Oh!"

That type of partner.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

"Bek." She greeted.

"Layla."

"It's been a while."

"Good to see you." Bek glanced at you. "Who's this?"

Layla grinned at you and wrapped an arm around you. "This is our partner, Cal."

You panicked. How would you sell the act? Lean closer? Still could be mistaken for close friends or colleagues. You didn't want to look uncomfortable or awkward. What if you blew your cover? What if you made her uncomfortable? You could feel your face heating up. You took her hand, laying a gentle kiss on the back of it. Marc's gaze caught your eye.

You could only briefly see the shock behind her eyes before she gave you a small smile.

"Alright. Right, this way." Bek gestured to the three of you.

"Thank you."

When Marc grabbed Layla's hand, you were surprised to feel her take yours. You followed.

"He's looking forward to seeing you. After Madripoor I'm sure you three will have a lot to talk about. Excuse me for one moment. Mr. Mogart will be with you shortly."

The three of you stood, observing the riders on horseback.

"So what? This joker just puts on El-Mermah games in his backyard, for fun?"

"No, he gets private lessons by the best in his backyard." She turned to Marc.

"Cool."

A man hopped down from a horse and was given a robe.

"I like the robe."

"Layla. Come in." He waved to her. Such a delight to see you."

"You too." She returned his greeting."

"How have you been?" He kissed her hand.

You narrowed your eyes at his action. The sudden jealousy you felt was new.

"Good. Thank you for having us over on such short notice."

"Oh, please. I hope you realize you need no excuse to drop by."

"This is my husband, Rufino." Layla introduced him.

"Pleasure." They shook hands.

"And this is our partner, Cal." You extended your hand for a shake. Mogart took it and kissed it instead. You had to keep from scowling.

"Nice to make your acquaintance." The four of you turned, and you took the opportunity to wipe your hand on the side of your pants.

"I hope you understand this is more than a collection to me. Preserving history is a responsibility I take very seriously." Layla and Mogart took the lead, leaving you to trail behind with Marc. You were nervous. You didn't know exactly where you stood with him. He already didn't want you here. And you had just made it worse by panicking and making a move on his wife. He probably hated you.

"A self-appointed responsibility that you alone were able to enjoy, no?" Layla responded.

"Well, I prefer to see it as a philanthropic effort at preservation. Now, if I may ask, why such interest in Senfu in particular?"

"Oh, actually, our purchases are..." He cut her off.

You swallowed.

"I'm sorry. I'd like to hear from your husband if you don't mind."

"I think that... I think I just would love to take a look." Marc replied. You were worried about yourself messing this up. Now you were growing concerned for Marc. Your mind began to wander. You suppressed a smile imagining how Steven would have been ecstatic about this opportunity.

"Funny man. Feel free."

"Great." Layla took Marc's arm as the three of you made your way into the glass pyramid. The sarcophagus opened to reveal remains. You had always felt it was a little weird when dead bodies were displayed. You couldn't help but find it a bit disrespectful. They were people, human beings, after all, taken from their desired resting place only to be put on display as mere objects. You knew your opinion on this was a bit ironic, considering you worked at a museum.

"Please, just let Steven out before you blow this." She whispered.

"Not a chance." He paused, "All right, what do you see?"

"Well, the burial practices are in line with the Studenwachen texts."

"The what?" You and Marc asked in unison.

"It's legit. But all I'm seeing is literature to guide the dead. There's no location indicated."

"Okay, um... Will you give me a minute? I gotta talk to Steven... Just keep him occupied." You followed Layla to give them some space.

Layla turned to the people behind her. "He just needs a couple of minutes in there alone, 'cause... Yeah. He is..." She looked at Marc, "He's praying."

You glanced back to see Marc messing with something in the coffin. Bek started to approach him from behind. Layla began to step forward, and you followed. You caught movement out of the corner of your eye. Your breathing quickened as you noted two men with guns trailing the two of you.

The situation was getting very dangerous very fast. You hoped Khonshu was planning on upholding his offer.

"What are you doing?" Bek asked as he grabbed Marc's arm. Less than a second later Marc had wrestled the gun away from Bek.

"Marc! Don't." Layla raised her hands. The man behind her dug the gun into her back.

"Shit." Marc hissed. He handed the gun back to Bek, who pointed it right back at him.

Mogart forced his way passed you towards Marc. "Do you really think I'm an idiot? Get on your knees."

"Anton, stop!" Layla shouted.

"Get on your knees."

"Okay." Marc lowered himself to his knees.

Mogart turned back to Layla, the men with the gun behind you pushing you both forward. "Layla, I was so ready to make peace with you."

"You don't understand. We're trying to save many lives."

"Hey, pal." Marc spoke up, hands raised, "Take a look inside the sarcophagus. There's somethin' really, really big."

Bek whispered something into Mogart's ear.

"Well, that's interesting. It appears we have a concerned third party here." Mogart walked out, "Get up."

The three of you were forced to follow, guns aimed at you. Your eyes widened as you were met with the sight of Harrow.

"Whatever they've told you, I'm sure I can offer you something much more tangible. Why settle for a clue when you can have the treasure?" Harrow raised his hand, and the scarab hovered above his palm.

"Anton. Anton, don't listen to this man. He's trying to stop us from reaching..." Layla pleaded, only to be cut off.

"Please, stop."

"He's gonna kill millions, trust me!"

"Are you seriously talking about trust?"

Harrow spoke up. "Please, there's no need to descend into violent accusations. Each one of you has so much more in common than you know." He turned, "Layla, you keep thinking that distance will prevent the wounds from your father's murder from reopening. But something stands in your way. Your husband doesn't tell you the truth."

Marc shook his head, and Harrow continued, "And Marc, you don't tell her because you know that if you do, she'll see you exactly as you see yourself, as unworthy of love."

"You piece of shit." Marc hissed at him.

"And you." Your eyes widened at his gaze. "You feel out of place here, don't you? If you can't keep up with them, you'll end up a burden. Ammit could have given you a place of belonging. She could have used someone with your abilities. It's quite unfortunate you decided to serve Khonshu."

You grit your teeth together at his words. How did he know?

Harrow turned back to Mogart, and lifted his staff. "Anton... The lore surrounding these relics, I offer proof that it's real. This sarcophagus doesn't belong to anyone."

The few lights around you suddenly flickered. Khonshu sat perched on the roof, haloed by the light of the moon.

"Do it. Summon the suit. Give them what they deserve."

"Anton... Would you like to see for yourself?" Harrow asked.

"Yes... I do."

The lights flickered again as Harrow began to chant, the wind picking up. You wanted to move, to do something, but your feet stayed firmly planted.

"What are you waiting for?"

Harrow continued chanting. Behind them, you saw a glimpse of a purple fire-like aura throw the sarcophagus lid and damage to the coffin. You let out a shaky breath. Whatever you had been after probably had just been destroyed.

"That's just a taste of the godly power I offer." Harrow began to walk away. Your eyes followed him.

"Hey, he's gone. Where is he?" Mogart shouted. It took a moment to register what he meant. You looked around. Marc had vanished. Had he left the two of you again? You caught sight of him standing at the top of the glass pyramid. The white cape danced in the wind.

Suddenly a glint of gold flew through the air, finding its mark in the man holding Layla. The people present began to panic. Layla grabbed the man's gun and began to shoot.

The man behind you grabbed you, pulling out his gun. You tried to wrestle your arms away to no avail. The man fired once before Marc jumped at him. You managed to use his distraction to escape his grasp.

"Thanks." You looked at Marc. His bright eyes only stared blankly at you. He turned and ran towards the gathering forces.

Alright then.

With the oncoming wave of people shooting you needed to find some cover. Layla had Marc's bulletproof cape, and you had... the very secure, entirely made of the glass pyramid.

You reached the pyramid and were met with the remains. A piece of cloth caught your eye. Wasn't that what they were looking at earlier? You grabbed it and shoved it into your pocket.

Layla ran into the pyramid. "Where's the map?"

"I got it."

She nodded at you.

You suddenly found something pressed into your side. One of the men had returned and had a gun pointed at you.

"Oh. Hey... Bek right?" You stomped on his foot hard. He let out a yelp. Using this moment you turned and pushed his arm away. He stumbled back before being showered with glass shards by Layla.

She only took a moment to grab another makeshift weapon. You noticed something in Bek's hand. He held a knife. She blocked his stab by redirecting his arm. His knife plunged into the mummy with a squelch. Ew.

You grabbed a piece of debris and attempted to hit him. He countered your attack and threw you against the wall. The impact was surprisingly painless and you muttered a quick ‘thank you’ to the moon god. You saw Layla get hurled to the ground. You briefly registered the gun that lay at your side. Bek pulled the knife from the mummy. His eyes trained on Layla.

You lined the gun up, waiting for a clear shot. You steadied your hand as Layla unclipped her collar. You fired.

Bek stumbled backward.

The bullet hit his collar. Layla jumped up and dug her weapons into his shoulders. You could see red begin to bleed through his clothing.

She looked to you, "You can shoot?"

"Yeah. A bit." You stood, shaking. The adrenaline rush was beginning to wear off.

You had just killed someone.

You swallowed, noting the queasy feeling that grew in your stomach. You felt his soul leave his body and you shut your eyes. You didn't want to see it. It vanished in a second, finding its way to whatever afterlife awaited it.

"Hey? You okay?" You blinked as registered Layla had moved in front of you. Your shaking hands are enveloped in her steady ones.

"Y-yeah. I'm g-good. Just...just fine. You?"

She glanced behind you, towards the arena, to Marc.

"Will you be okay here? Can you stay low and keep it safe?" You nodded.

"Layla... be careful."

She returned your nod, and gave a squeeze to your hand, before running towards Marc.

You positioned yourself low enough to be hidden by the structure's base. The glass above letting you get a clear view of the arena.

Your eyes landed on Marc.

He was kneeling, surrounded by men. Several spears protruded from his bandaged armor.

Your stomach sank.

A hand flew to your mouth.

No!

You couldn't tear your eyes away as Layla hopped over the fence. A man on a horse came racing towards her. She shot at him, and he fell. As he met the ground Layla was struck by Mogart.

Marc shouted.

You finally tore your eyes away. You didn't want to see what happened next. You curled up into the far wall of the pyramid, behind the broken tomb, keeping yourself concealed. Your breathing quickened as you registered the muffled yells and grunts from the arena behind you. You couldn't help the guilt that began to grow. You should be doing something instead of sitting and doing nothing. Your friends might be slaughtered, while you hid like a coward. But you had to keep the map safe. Without the scarab, this was essential to finding the tomb. You fiddled with the cloth as you spiraled.

Footsteps.

At least two people.

You panicked.

You couldn't tell who was approaching. The broken casket blocked your view from your angle. The gun from earlier sat just a few feet from you. You threw yourself towards it and clutched it tightly, finger on the trigger.

The moment footsteps sounded on the floor you shot up, gun aimed.

You were met with familiar faces.

"Oh thank the gods." You released a breath and lowered the gun. "I'm so glad you both are okay."

"You still have it?" Marc asked.

"Yeah. Right here." You handed him the map. Your fingers brushed.

"We need a car." He spoke.

"Let's go." Layla squeezed your hand. A silent reassurance.

"Tick-tock, Mark Spector. Tick-tock." Khonshu echoed from his perch.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

You sat in the back seat of the car. At this point, the third wheeling was inevitable.

"Ay. I really liked that jacket. Oh, well." Marc tossed it into the empty seat next to you.

"What was Harrow talking about?" Layla glanced at him. "He said I had a right to know."

"I have no idea."

"I never told anyone why I really moved. I mean, but he knew, he just saw right through me."

"He's just trying to mess with you. You know, he's trying to get in your mind. No, don't let him do that. You know, he's got this idea that he can see the true nature of people or some baloney like that. If that were true, I don't think he'd have a bunch of homicidal maniacs as his disciples, would he? "

"So, it's not true? What he said about you and..." She trailed off.

"No, it's not true. No, he's just trying to divide us. Don't let him get in your head."

"Every time I learn something new about you, I think, "That's it. There can't possibly be any secrets left between us." And then something else pops up, and it's like I've not known you at all." You could hear her begin to get upset.

"Yeah. You haven't. You don't." He stopped and looked out the window.

You caught a glimpse of his face in the mirror. He looked dejected. It was abundantly clear that they still harbored feelings for each other.

Layla caught your eye in the rearview mirror.

"What did Harrow mean you decided to help Khonshu?"

"Well... I-" Marc cut you off.

"He means that they got involved with something they shouldn't have." You didn't meet his eyes when he turned to you. "You should never get involved with serving gods."

Layla tilted her head, confused. You elaborated.

"Khonshu... He told me about my ability. I can... somehow channel a deity's energy and focus it. I allow them to have more power on our plane. I thought it would help Marc and Steven..." You took a breath. " I-I only wanted to help."

"Look, I appreciate the thought, I really do." Marc shook his head at you. "But you can't trust Khonshu. There's always a catch with him. And if anything were to happen to you... Steven would kill me."

You looked down, a bit ashamed of your previous actions. A tense silence settled in the car.

Eventually, you made it to wherever the three of you were headed. The dark sky looms over a vast expanse of sand.

The three of you stood around the car hood and began to assemble the map. The headlights cut through the murky blackness of the night.

"Try that."

"Maybe, actually." Layla slapped a piece of tape on the back.

"This one?" Marc handed her a piece.

"Okay. Uh... No. Anything else?"

"I'm not getting any whole constellations. It's just little pieces and fragments." He sighed. "This is gonna take forever." He slammed his hands on the car. You flinched.

"Marc, we need Steven. He understands all of this. I really think it's worth giving him a shot." Layla suggested.

"I summon the gods, you summon the worm." Khonshu appeared on the roof of the car. You jumped. "He won't return the body."

"Marc, we can't wait. It's okay, just let go."

In response, he tore the mirror off the car.

"We don't have time."

Marc scooped up the map pieces and began to walk away.

"What are you doing? She asked.

You looked to Layla. She just shrugged.

You watched as Marc's posture changed, and he flicked the edges of his coat back. You noted the familiar mannerism. You had seen Steven do it countless times. You glanced at Layla and crept forward, trying not to disturb him. You could faintly hear him muttering to himself, in a familiar British accent. You lowered yourself beside him.

"Steven?" You barely whispered.

He turned to you. It was impossible to miss the way his eyes lit up as he let out an exclamation of your name. You feel your heart nearly burst. You were so, so happy to see him again. Honestly, you weren't sure if you would again. While you've seen his face for hours, you haven't seen him since you were back in London. As he smiled, you let out a small laugh of pure relief. You wanted to hold him while he's here, make him promise never to disappear on you like that again. You almost start to cry.

In a rush of sudden courage, you hugged him. He stiffened in surprise before you felt his arms hesitantly wrap around you. You held him tighter, soaking in the feeling of the warmth of his body against yours, the unmistakable smell of him, the way you two just seemed to fit together. You let out a shaky breath before pulling away. You look at him as he stands in the glow of the headlights. You start to say something.

"I-"

"You-"

You both begin at the same time before letting out a small chuckle.

"You..." He took your hand, an undeniable fondness in his gaze, "You came all this way?" He nearly whispered.

"Yeah," You squeezed his hand. "Yeah, of course, I did. I can't let you have all the fun without me."

He's so close to you, but still too far. It feels like it's been forever since you've seen him. Your cheeks burn as your eyes flick to his lips.

Movement behind Steven catches your eye.

You could see Layla standing behind Steven. You lock eyes with her. You begin to feel a pang of guilt. You're standing there, holding hands with a man who shares a body with her husband. If the situation were different, you would never be doing this. She’s kind, clever, and doesn't deserve you complicating things. Layla is someone you would consider a friend and... maybe more. You blink in surprise as she offers you a genuine smile.

"So, uh..." You cleared your throat and gently removed your hand from Steven's. "What have you got?"

Layla joined you, sitting on his other side.

Steven takes a breath, "Egyptians invented modern navigation. There's not a lot of landmarks in the desert. So they came up with a way to get about using the sun and the stars. It's bloody genius, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Et voilà." Steven presents the completed map.

"Whoa." Layla reached out and held the star-shaped map.

"It's French." You smiled. Layla gave a quiet laugh.

"I know." You noticed the way she held her gaze on Steven.

Once this was all over, assuming she and Marc would work everything out, Layla and Steven would make a pretty cute couple. If circumstances were different you would have been teasing her about this.

"So, what do we do with it?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but if... Wait, hang on a minute. You see that? You see those little pinpricks there? That's a constellation."

"We should be able to triangulate the stars into coordinates, right? Let me just scan it." Layla took out a tablet and snapped a picture.

"Well, um, actually... Unfortunately, it's not that simple." Steven started.

"Not working. Why isn't it working?"

"Yeah, yeah, you see, Senfu... Senfu marked that tomb, like, 2,000 years ago. And stars drift over time. Not much as far as stars go, but it could mean the difference between us searching miles away from where we're supposed to be looking. So unless we know exactly what the sky looked like on that date, we're buggered."

You let out a sigh. It seemed every step forward meant two steps back.

"I remember that night. I remember every night." You spun around to find Khonshu standing on top of a dune.

"Khonshu?" Steven called.

"I can turn back the night sky."

"How?"

"It will come at a cost, and I cannot do it alone." Khonshu looked at you. The wind picked up, and clouds of sand stirred up. Khonshu appeared next to him. "Steven, when the gods imprison me, tell Marc to free me."

You shifted nervously. A sense of unease quickly overtook you as you stood next to Khonshu.

What kind of cost?

Steven stood, arms outstretched. He breathed deeply and summoned his suit.

"Do what I do." Khonshu raised his arms and swiped. Steven did the same.

"Yeah? Like this?" Steven asked. The sky seemed to glow for a moment. The dark dim of before being replaced with vivid blues and purples. The stars shone brighter.

And then it moved.

The sky began to move.

You let out a breath in awe as you stared into the sky.

"Whoa! Oh, man! This is mental."

It spun faster and faster until the lights streaked across the sky in blurs.

"This is the night." The spinning stopped suddenly. They held their hands still.

"This is surprisingly painful."

"It's working," Layla spoke.

“Holy shit…” You muttered.

"It's working. Yes. good." Steven groaned.

Khonshu fell to his knees and looked at you.

"I can feel my energy leaving me. Oh, God, I don't know how much longer I can do this." He dropped his hand, his mask fading. He doubled his effort, raising his hands again.

A silent moment of understanding passed between you and the moon god. You lay a trembling hand on his bandaged shoulder. You felt something like a spark run through you.

The sky stood still for a moment longer.

You were suddenly aware of how exhausted you were. Your arms felt like slabs of concrete weighing down your shoulders.

"Coordinates found, 29 degrees north, 25 east." The tablet announced.

"I got it. 29 degrees north, 25 east." Layla exclaimed.

Steven gasped and fell.

You panted and turned to Khonshu.

A pit formed in your stomach. Particles of dust began to rise from his figure.

He reached out an arm towards you.

"My star..."

Khonshu began to crumble.

"No. Nonononono!" You extended a hand to him just as he collapsed into dust. You collapsed to your knees. Fuck. There went every chance you had at actually being useful. Now that your newfound patron deity was gone you were once again useless. A burden. You cursed, rising to your feet.

You turned to see Layla attempting to help Steven stand, but he collapsed to the ground. You cast a troubled glance to where Khonshu had stood before running over to them.

"Steven!"

"Hey, Steven? Marc? Come on. Come on. Where are you? Marc? Come on."

Ao3 Wattpad Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

#steven grant x gender neutral reader #steven grant fic #steven grant x reader #marc spector #jake lockley #layla el faouly #moon knight fanfic #moon boys #marvel #khonshu x reader #moon knight x reader #moon knight fic #ao3 #fanfic #TippingTheScales #TTS

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faejilly · 11 months

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i absolutely love your sh meta so i was wondering what are your thoughts on Alec’d relationship with his sexuality bc i always sort of read it as him knowing that he was gay but absolutely not saying it out loud

absofuckinglutely nonny

There's an excellent post by amorverus that I cannot find the original of so have my reblog HERE that articulates it really well

I even wrote a fic about it! #shameless self promotion [tumblr / ao3] (That is, in fact, one of my favorite things I've ever written.)

I do strongly believe that Alec knew that he was gay, and felt no shame about that in and of itself. He is not offended by Magnus flirting with him, would not, I think, be offended by anyone else flirting with him, regardless of gender. (Tho prior to Magnus I also think he just... wasn't interested, but that's a separate conversation.) He knew, however, that it was not allowed in his culture and it would hurt his family and not just him if it came out.

(This is why Izzy makes me so uncomfortable in s1 regarding Alec, tbqh, because she lives there too, but refuses to see the danger to herself and, more egregiously in Alec's mind, because obviously she can chose to risk herself for him if she wants, for all he doesn't like it, but she's causing risk for their little brother if Alec is outed, and that's unacceptable. Even if I'm quite sure Max would agree with her priorities.)

I do, however, think Alec felt a lot of shame regarding his attraction to Jace. Jace was hurting and was supposed to be his brother and yet... Alec felt an attraction that he knew Jace wouldn't return. So he's got all the societal pressure on him not to be gay, and all this personal pressure not to manipulate or abuse someone in a vulnerable situation (because Jace was, even if he wouldn't admit it), PLUS all the normal human issues with feeling attraction for someone who is important enough to you that you can't lose them, and you can legitimately be terrified that if you can't get it under control you MIGHT... (Even more so for him than a mundane romantic vs platonic situation, obviously, because there's questions of command and exile and punishment, not just ruining an interpersonal dynamic in a way it never quite recovers from.)

Plus Alec's kind of also Jace's commanding officer which is yet ANOTHER unequal power dynamic, and he's supposed to be protecting an entire Institute, not just this one person, but he can't stop thinking about it because it's fucked up and he knows he should stop and he can't.

(Because, he realizes with the benefit of hindsight after he meets Magnus, by fixating on Jace he was safe, he was never going to fall in love for real with someone he might have a chance with, would never have to actually choose between his culture and his personal desires, while still telling himself that he already had, that he'd chosen his family and it was fine, he was FINE.

(He was so not fine.))

And so, even though he truly believes there's nothing wrong with being gay in general, he does believes there is something Very Wrong with him specifically being gay.

But he still never has any doubt about it. He never tries to project heterosexual interest in anyone, is very up front with Lydia about the terms of their engagement. (It seems clear, even if we never see that conversation, that they're both aware that their marriage would never be romantic or sexual unless they mutually decided to go the so-called traditional route for children.) And she agreed to it! She, unlike Jace & Izzy, had zero illusions about her relationship with Alec, and I ADORE HER FOR THAT.

And I've totally lost the thread of this rambling, I'm not sure I have a conclusion for you? 😅😅😅

Alec is, imo, refreshingly self-aware about most things, and many of his issues are legitimately external stupidity punishing him into a life of self-recrimination rather than him having internal bigotry or biases against his own sexuality in and of itself.

#jilly answers #Anonymous #the saga of #alec lightwood #honor vs duty vs shame #is really his life pre-canon #he throws away the shame tho #and I'm very proud of him for that #shadowhunters #my sh rambling #sh meta #queer as in #fuck you

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mirroredmemoriez · 7 months

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Amanda's misguidance.

I was doing bad- Then I saw a THIRSTY ass post and began giggling (if you can assume who you are, thanks I guess!) but I'll still speak my weewoo brain. (Ok! I never posted this back then, this has been sitting for maybe a week, but the thirsty post was someone's dream.) (WEEKS NOW) I think uh, one of the things that really gets to me about Amanda's character is truly how misguided she was. I know a lot of what I'm going to say has been talked about and all that jazz but I don't really care... This is my rambling not yours. Anyway, she didn't have any solid parental figures even before John. We know that her dad was abusive/neglectful and her mother is never mentioned, not to my knowledge. I've kinda headcannoned her parents as addicts as well, obviously addiction and things such as it can run through families. (Saw X has now highlighted how terrible her father is even more) The wiki page for Amanda Young

This is where her self destructive nature began developing, the lack of care and love but an abundance of neglect and abuse resulting in her not really knowing how to take care of herself or others. I'm not saying she can't love or care for things either, but she doesn't know the correct way of doing so. Amanda loved John, that is a very clear thing. I don't think she knows how to handle her love or where to pinpoint it however. In the sense that she's not experienced parental love, friendships or romantic relationships- Not ones at least that weren't with people who were as down under as her, so I don't count Cecil.

She sees John as a father figure, a leader and a teacher. John is her only guide to life, somebody who set her on a path, even if it wasn't the right one. Amanda is indebt to him for ''helping'' her, even if it's up for debate whether he truly did help, Amanda's drug addiction was by far not her only issue if you look at the bigger picture. She clung to him like a lifeline, even when he hurt her, made her do things she didn't truly believe she could. We know she feels guilt for killing Adam due to the deleted scene where she has a nightmare about him and we also have the fact it was a ''mercy'' killing in the first place. Amanda is tested repeatedly and we also have to acknowledge around the start of her becoming an apprentice, she was going cold turkey, which the symptoms for are horrible. However, she still kept loyal to John and his cause, other people going through such a thing are quick to tell their closest family members they hate them or even ''backstab'' them in pursuit of a fix. Amanda doesn't. Even later on, she never turns back to drugs, instead going back to using self harm as a coping mechanism. I don’t believe the ''love'' she has for John is one sided either, I think he does care for her in his own way, but his self righteous nature at times doesn't let him fully give the support and tenderness Amanda needs.

It makes you wonder what Amanda could of been had she found somebody else who could give her direction, a cause. Somebody prepared to have her as a first priority over their ideology. Where would she be? Could she function in society or would she crush under the pressure. She's never been ''evil'' to me or a cold hearted villain like other horror icons. Amanda is a severely traumatized mentally ill woman, one who kills and tortures due to the fact the only person she has in the world is telling her it's the right thing. Of course, some people will argue that she purposely makes her traps basically impossible, so she isn't even fully listening to John and his beliefs but that's because of how misguided she is.

She DID survive her trap and look at her. Obviously, it also comes from the fact she believes people can't change but you can't really blame her for that either. The amount of death and torment she's been subjected to lasted her a lifetime and was her death, no peace. And even in death? She was reaching for John. Because even with all the pain he put her through, mentally and physically, she loved him. Her saviour who caused so many of her wounds and left others to get infected.

Misguided to the very end.

#their relationship is my roman empire #father and daughter bonds like #stab me right in the chest #do i have daddy issues? now i dont want to be the cliche....#yes #amanda young #john kramer #saw #saw franchise #saw movies #sawposting #saw 2004 #saw 2 #saw 3 #saw character study #character study #headcanons

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cosmicmunsonwrites · 7 months

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always forever pt 2

pairing(s): anakin skywalker x oc!padawan

warnings: puking

summary: after getting hurt in battle, anakin and obi-wan are there to comfort serenity.

authors note: hi guys. this is another snippet of my anakin skywalker fic on wattpad! read here.

not edited

do not copy my works. i do not condone rewrites, translations, or edited versions. all my content is my content that i wrote.

not my gif

her head was spinning, her stomach cramping, and the acidic fluid was slowly crawling up her chest to her throat. she managed to swallow it back down and open her eyes, looking around at the basic room. she'd never been here before. she didn't recognize it at all.

she attempted to sit up, immediately hearing a protest from across the room. "i wouldn't do that if i were you," anakin said.

she groaned and laid back, rubbing her eyes and looking over at him. "what?"

"its not smart to try to get up right now," he said softly. "you're hurt."

she sighed and immediately felt the pain in her thigh return. "i'm fine," she lied.

the corners of his lips curled up slightly. "oh really? tell your mind that."

"you're reading my thoughts?" she asked curiously. qui-gon had taught her how to keep people out of her head. she'd been using that technique ever since. how was he doing that?

he let out a chuckle under his breath. "because you're hurt," he replied. "it makes you more vulnerable. when we first met, i couldn't read anything."

before she even had the opportunity to reply, the door was opening and her mentor was entering the room. she feared what he'd say. maybe he'd never send her on a mission again. it wasn't her first, but she felt as though it may be her last due to this. and his silence was only making it worse.

"i'm sorry master," she blurted out immediately in defeat. "i failed you."

he moved to sit on the side of the bed next to her, a comforting smile on his lips. "no need to apologize. you did not fail me, dear. things happen and thats alright. not everything goes as planned. you handled it better than i could've asked," he said softly, holding her hand in his own. "i should've never sent you out there with no protection. because of my reckless decision, you got hurt."

maybe if i were a better fighter and less scared of the possibilities, i would've never gotten hurt and i could've completed the mission, she thought, completely forgetting the two could read what she was thinking.

obi-wan let out a soft sigh and squeezed her hand tighter. "anakin, may i have a word with serenity? alone please?"

he nodded. "yes master," he complied, stepping out of the room and shutting the door behind him.

"you did not fail me, serenity," the jedi said. "you are one of the greatest i have ever known. at your age, i couldn't do half the things you can. if i were in your situation, that hunter would've killed me. you can even ask qui-gon. therefore you should be proud, dear. you held your own."

she shook her head slowly. "if i didn't waste so much energy, i could've taken him and got the job done. i wasn't thinking and it cost everything."

"it did not," he reassured. "my top priority isn't finding some planet or meeting the prime minister, its about keeping you and anakin safe. and you're still alive, aren't you?" she nodded in response. "then you have nothing to worry about. you did better than i could've ever asked of you."

she squeezed his hand tighter and took a much needed deep breath. "thank you master."

he gave her a crooked smile. "now keep those negative thoughts out, alright? i'm proud of you, dear," he said before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "anakin, you may come in."

the padawan quickly returned, once again closing the door behind him and returning to his spot by the corner.

"why did he come after me?" serenity asked suddenly. "the hunters. i thought they wanted senator amidala."

"it is clear that they've also taken a liking to you and your abilities as well," obi-wan said distastefully with a scowl. "that yellow mist was to weaken you. we're not sure how long it'll take to wear off, but the nurses gave you something to help bring it back up faster. and until we can confirm your safety from these hunters, anakin will be stationed with you to keep you protected while you heal."

she dug the heels of her hands into her eyes and groaned. "i'm fine master. i feel normal."

"i can read you, reni. you're not fine," he replied like a parent.

she huffed out a frustrated breath, immediately regretting that decision when she felt a burn slide along her throat. she immediately sat up despite the pain in her body and headed towards the bathroom. leaning over the toilet to vomit up the contents of her stomach. she felt a comforting hand on her upper back and another holding her hair away from her face.

she felt like she wanted to cry. she wasn't sure the last time she genuinely did cry, but her fear of throwing up was really hitting her like a bus right now.

once she felt somewhat okay, she used a paper towel that was laid out to wipe her mouth and lean back against the wall. she watched as obi-wan entered the bathroom while anakin continued rubbing soft circles with his palms.

"you feel fine, right?" their master teased softly.

she nodded, stomach turning again. "i do. i just have a fear of vomiting," she admitted embarrassingly.

"you're meant to fight in some of the most difficult situations and you swore yourself to the jedi code for a lifetime but you fear vomiting?" he said with a slight grin, trying to hold his laugh back.

she once again nodded with a straight face. just thinking about it was enough to cause her to hurl over the toilet and let out whatever was sitting uneasily in her stomach. anakin held her hair away again, lightly patting on her back this time to try to get everything out to spare her from this pain again.

she wiped her mouth once more and leaned back, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. she absolutely hated this disgusting feeling. "i don't think i have anything else left in me right now," she mumbled weakly under her breath.

"do you want to lay back down?" anakin asked softly, offering a hand for her to take, which she gratefully did with a soft 'yes.' he carefully pulled her up and escorted her into the bed with a hand on her lower back, making sure she didn't fall or anything on the way.

"i'm gonna go get you something to eat, alright? you need something in your stomach after that." obi-wan said. "watch over the room anakin, i will return shortly." and with that, he disappeared out of the room.

the padawan trailed over to the singular sofa and took a seat to give his legs a break. "you shouldn't beat yourself up over this too much you know," he said softly. "one time when i messed up so bad, he banned me from going on missions for three months until i finally got over myself and admitted that it wasn't my fault," he explained quickly. "the sooner you admit that it wasn't your fault, the faster this journey will continue for you."

"three months is harsh," she chuckled softly. "is that why he took me on missions so often for a while?"

anakin couldn't help but let out a laugh. "probably." the room fell into a comfortable silence now. he looked over at the bed she was laying in then towards the door their mentor would be walking through soon. "he seems to really care for you."

she was a bit caught off, trying to comprehend what he was talking about. "what?"

"master kenobi," he said clearly. "he seems like he has a soft spot for you." he shifted slightly in his seat and got a bit more comfortable. "how'd you two meet anyway?"

"i could ask you the same," she replied with a slight grin.

he smiled and breathily chuckled. "i'll tell you if you tell me," he offered.

#gracie writes anakin skywalker 🥀#anakin and padme #anakin and ahsoka #anakin x reader #anakin smut #sw anakin #anakin fanfiction #obi wan and anakin #star wars anakin #anakin skywalker #anakin x you #fanfiction #star wars #darth vader #obi wan kenobi #obi wan star wars

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haleigh-sloth · 1 year

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I've been thinking about what Ochako meant when she still has to talk about love with Toga and at first I thought it was just to get her attention but what if it's something along the lines of Ochako finally saying out loud that she's let go of Deku and is focusing on herself, her heroism and does a sort of speech on how Toga can be her own person and be loved the way she is. I would love something like that because I've always hated how Ochako and Toga's character plots have been sorta boxed into this love Deku thing

Hmmm, okay I hear what you're saying, like I get where you're coming from. But I can't say I agree.

Saying Ochacko has to ditch her crush so she can focus on herself and her goals is...idk, not a great take? People can still foster relationships while living their lives.

I think this is pretty reductive of what they actually have going on with each other. It's reductive of Toga most of all. But it's kind of a disservice to Ochacko too tbh.

I don't agree that Ochacko is like...cringe or bad for having a crush. I just don't agree that she should have to drop her feelings and "focus on herself" in order to be a valid character with a meaningful arc. Especially because the whole "drop your feelings" take is exactly what Toga struggles with literally her entire arc.

And I mean...their issues aren't literally about Izuku. Toga? She doesn't even know him. Her "crush" on him is very surface level, and the story doesn't try to sugar coat it into something deep. And there isn't anything in the narrative pitting them against each other over him. Like....there is in NO way a love triangle thing going on, and I think it's been made clear that their talk about "love" is more of a talk about values, because that's what Toga wanted to talk to her about during the first war:

If there is anything about Toga that has been consistently shown, it's that she is really envious of people's relationships. She sees Tsu and Ochacko during the camp raid and immediately gets excited over calling Tsu by a "friend only" nickname. She envies their friendship.

She sees Izuku and Ochacko during the licensing exam

—and we even get follow up on it later:

--she's envious of their trust they put in each other. That was also a time when she witnessed Izuku's heroism--which plays a part later since she seeks him out during the final arc for answers.

Toga wants relationships, friendships, connection with people. She's been robbed of those things, and the ones she did have during her school days she was suffocating the whole time, to the point that she eventually snapped, and obviously those relationships weren't strong enough to keep hold after she ran off.

The thing about the TogaChacko dynamic is that they view feelings toward other people opposite. Ochacko shuts them away because she can't let it interfere with her life, it's bad, gotta pretend they're not there. Toga on the other hand views those feelings as something to cherish and as a strength, as she's spent her whole life shutting them away and it just hurt her in the long run.

She is wanting Ochacko to basically admit that shutting feelings away is painful, and to acknowledge Toga's pain for having to do that for so long. She poked the bear during their scuffle during the first war by threatening to take the All Might keychain, and Ochacko obviously reacted, which Toga noticed.

It's the whole internalizing vs externalizing feelings debacle. Which one is gonna win (both sides need to be understood). Ochacko is valid for wanting to not make her crush a priority over school and her job as a hero in training, just as Toga is valid for wanting to have relationships in the first place.

And on the note of how Ochacko shouldn't have to drop her crush, Toga shouldn't have to drop her feelings. The whole point is for Toga to stop hating herself. She's been demonized because of how her quirk mixes with her emotions and how it has manifested in a harmful way toward others. She wasn't demonized for having a crush on someone. The quirk issue is what made it a problem.

The other reason I simply just don't agree that it's been boxed in to revolve around Izuku is because Toga reached out to him for a reason other than romance. Like, the boyfriend question was obviously to evoke a reaction. I mean she took it to the extreme right off the bat. But what did she do after?

What did she really want to ask in the first place?

She repeated her question that Ochacko didn't give her a satisfying answer to. So I mean, Toga and Ocha are not about to duke it out over him, nor is their entire fight about to be about him.

Toga wants to know if heroes consider her a person. A person worth saving, a person worthy of relationships, or would they just kill her the way they did Twice.

#hnnnggg #yeah idk the crush thing doesn't bother me #because it's rly not about that #and ocha is allowed to have a crush #anonymous #bnha asks #toga himiko #uraraka ochacko #bnha meta

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kpchrs · 8 months

Note

What's your favorite characterisation decision in LiS?

Do I even have one

Hello, Anon! ... Whoever you are 😏 I don't really have the energy to compose very detailed and organised writing right now but I hope you can still enjoy it. Btw, people might not know this but I actually... never played beyond S1 LOL I want to, but buying games is not my priority right now. So, Sean? Alex? Who? xD

Well, what I thought of first is Chloe, as a whole. The fact that she is so... flawed. She's hardly my favourite character, but I will always defend her characterisation. (But her biggest fans do it faster than me so I'm never needed. And, also they are better than me at that anyway lol)

It's okay that people don't like her, but I still want people to understand her and know where she comes from. That her attitude comes from the place of trauma. People want other people to process trauma perfectly, but that's not a realistic expectation of ALL individuals with trauma. People who love and hate Chloe are people who understand that and dismiss that respectively.

My favourite characterisation of Chloe - people may be surprised - is when she says this: "I gotta blame somebody. Otherwise it’s all my fault. Fuck that."

Yes, yes, it's an awful thing to say. Some people hate her for that and that's valid.

But I just nodded along when I first encountered that in my first gameplay. Well, it's partly because I was in a very head-empty state when I first played. I only realised it wasn't okay to say when I searched for people's opinions. But I also nodded along because I understand her somewhat (but I won't elaborate on why because I don't really understand the reason much either, but it's related to her immaturity and brattiness lol)

In her context though, it's more that she's so angry and hurt by life; she directs it outwards, not inwards, so it will suck less. Piling it up inside is heavy and stuffy and painful. Everyone needs catharsis. It's easier to let out your anger at something concrete, something you can see, something clear. Which is why she blames everyone. I think that's very realistic.

One of my two top favourite characters in LiS is Victoria. She's a total Queen Bitch archetype, you know the drill. The first thing I thought of was when Max found her anime figurine, it made me laugh so hard until now. I love Nerd Victoria. But that's the silly fav.

My ACTUAL favourite is in the alternate universe and she said this to Max:

"You're not pissed at me, right? Right?" and "Max, if you’re mad, just tell me, k?"

As we know, Victoria really "hates" Max. She is also very insecure. Makes you wonder, hm, what makes her scared + reverent of AU Max that way? It gives you the other side of Victoria that is really fun to think about. The root, I'm sure, is still her insecurity.

I have a belief that that's not how Victoria acts around Nathan, her closest best friend. With Nathan, Victoria gets to be her real self. That Victoria is Victoria who half kisses ass and half wants to be liked by this... AU Max. Kinda similar to her attitude towards Jefferson, I guess.

She seems like a lot less opportunistic and manipulative with Max though. I think this is because Jefferson is the road to her ambition and Victoria did everything she can to achieve that.

Max doesn't/can't give her that so why does she kiss ass? I think in this alternate universe, Victoria likes her genuinely, not just because Max is the new Queen Bee or something so she bows to her. AU Max is distant and seems to be a master of push and pull (unconsciously?), that's why Victoria looks like she's walking on eggshells lol

Honorary mention is Maxine. Max is the most realistic character in LiS, in my opinion. Other characters are such archetypes that some people thought Max was just a self-insert character. If you dig deep into her character you will realise that... Max is just a normal girl. Do you know how hard it is to write someone like her?

Max is not an extreme character, she's in the middle, but she still has a distinct voice. She's grey and realistic. I don't have the energy to elaborate more though lmao

Some people hate it, but I really LOVE that in the AU, Max is so different, but somewhat the same. She's only more blunt, doesn't take bullshit from anyone, and more bitchy too. And this should be because of her self-confidence or when it becomes negative, it becomes borderline arrogance. This is the Max who is not dampened by guilt and grief. How very interesting.

Now everyone knows that I'm obsessed with the alternate universe. I don't really make it a secret though.

And wait, what's up with me and bitchy characters? lol

(Nathan's characterisation is the shittiest decision the devs ever did.)

Thank you for the ask!

Kris

#life is strange #chloe price #max caulfield #victoria chase #kris got asks

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danwhobrowses · 1 year

Text

One Piece Chapter 1077 - Initial Thoughts

Well we are back, the breaks always feel longer every time we get through them

But we have more Among Us to get through, so let's see what twists Oda offers today

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release Also

Back in the present for the cover story with Judge and Caesar deciding that Vegapunk is to blame for their troubles

Sentomaru's trying to evacuate the island, telling the people that Ohara may happen to them

Funny flashback Aokiji face though

The shaky alliance are still fighting off the Seraphim, who keep getting up from the combo attacks

Zoro finally clicks on to the fact that the Seraphim look like King, prompting Shaka to confirm that the Seraphim have Lunarian properties

Did we know that it was Punk Hazard they were testing on them? I mean it makes sense given the DF but still

We get the gag of Zoro listing the clear telltale signs of a Lunarian though, but at least they know how to fight them now

Shaka meanwhile suddenly has a clue where the Stella body may be

And back to Nami, turns out she was being attacked by S-Shark

Unnecessary ass shot though

Seems like S-Shark has been busy, beheading Brook and beating down Edison, which only allows Nami to convince herself against her instincts to not hurt a child

The thunderbolt seems to hit hard, but S-Shark sank into the ground to flank Nami

Brook was about to make the save but then Sanji charged in, triggered of course by her scream last chapter

Although Sanji hit S-Shark hard it is worth reminding that the fire is still on its back when he hit them, but I can already tell that twitter's gonna zero in on it

WAIT! SANJI'S TWIRLY BROW CHANGED SIDES AGAIN!! I wonder if that means he's gonna tap into Vinsmoke powers again, maybe he has an anger shift?

With Team Lilith, Lilith manages to deter S-Snake with the Bubble gun

Turns out the Bubble Gun has the same effect as Sea Prism, and Sea Prism still works on Seraphim because of the Green Blood

Lilith's lil pose as Usopp and Pythagoras cheer for her XD

Franky uses the bubble to properly subdue S-Snake, but falls prey to the Seraphim's crocodile tears

Hit with a Perfume Femur, Franky is partially stoned, while Usopp and Lilith get fully stoned by being hit with her cutesy act and DF

Is this the thing I read Usopp would 'never do'? Honestly I thought it was something more dramatic than being caught in the DF powers

I wonder if Franky got fully stoned in transition, but since we know through Boa vs Blackbeard that only the user can undo the Stoning it's worrying for us right now

I do at least hope that Franky (and Usopp and Lilith but not as much of a priority) get unstoned given how an arc about Vegapunk always felt like it was gonna be Franky Season

The place the Stella is being kept is called a 'Devil Fruit Laboratory'

Shaka does arrive there to surprise, so I guess it wasn't him after all

Vegapunk Stella though asks who Shaka came with, leading to gunfire

Shot through the head, I doubt Shaka's getting up from that

'Ktok' is a unique sfx for walking isn't it? I feel like we've heard it before

Okay so RIP Shaka guys

All the Ohara information stored in his brain is now spilling on the floor, that's gonna sting for Robin, though the info should still be in Elbaf.

This was a good chapter to go back to, of course people will be upset that we didn't go back to Shanks but come on you had to have seen that coming? I do feel like while it makes sense for Sanji to jump in to rescue Nami that it still diminishes Brook being there, they split into groups for a reason after all. Also this means that Stussy and Jinbe were left out.

We have all the Seraphim accounted for though, only Pythagoras and maybe Franky are still active around S-Snake, but it was a shame to see Lilith and Usopp shafted even if it's temporarily. Key note though that Seraphim have the same DF weakness, could use those Sea Prism cuffs Lucci and Kaku had on some of them.

Sentomaru evacuating the island is important too, 100 Warships, an Admiral and a Gorosei are on the way, so it'll definitely be worse than Ohara, Egghead is gonna turn into a Warzone.

As for our ktok, it sounds metallic, but Vegapunk didn't recognize them from afar, so still hard to say, but we might get the reveal next week.

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blue-nardo · 1 year

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"Stitched Apology."

OOC: Welcome back to another episode of OP is writing a fanfic! I was supposed to do one of these before, of Leo and Miyamoto meeting peacefully, buuuuut work takes priority, so I'm sorry to make you guys wait so long for a second update!

Content warnings include implied sexual activities - though done so without the intention of sexualizing the characters - as well as descriptions of injuries and stitches. And heartfelt conversation. I guess. Enjoy!

Leo has a difficult relationship with silence. On the one hand, if he's in a room with other people, it's suffocating and stifling, and it puts him on edge. The same when he's on a mission, looking for something or someone, but having no sound to focus on? It just doesn't sit right with him, and it works his anxiety to levels unlike anything else.

Right now he's stuck between wanting to stay safe in the quiet, or engaging with the last person on earth he wants to talk to right now; Yuichi.

His arm stings. Like, it really stings - during the fight he hadn't thought much about the size of the cuts or the fact that they were too deep, too strung out on adrenaline and the focus that's started to settle in his mind when he and his brothers are in a fight. Coming back to wash the Kraang goop off of him had revealed how bad the gashes were - not closing on their own and flowing fresh blood.

They weren't spurting or gushing, so he was fine on the severed artery front. That being said, they still needed to be stitched, and he knew better than to let his brothers help. Casey or April would have been good options, if they weren't also busy helping Donnie with Sister Kraang. Dad wasn't even an option, because frankly he didn't know anything medically outside of CPR and basic first aid. And Cassandra? No way did he trust her with something like this.

Leo had been totally fine - eh, more or less - with stitching his arm up on his own, but then Miyamoto and Yuichi had walked in on him, and while the horror in their faces had been funny at first, Leo had quickly realized they were far too eager to help.

Miyamoto had left them both to get better bandages, to prevent an infection - oh god what would an infection mean with a wound like this? Would he lose his arm? Had they really not prevented the future at all?? - and to keep the wound closed. Yuichi had stayed behind to do the stitching, and loathe as Leo was to admit it, the rabbit knew what he was doing.

That was not the first time he'd thought that about Yuichi's hands.

So there he sat, suffering as he silently looked away from where Yuichi was sewing his rough skin back together. It hurt like a bitch, but it had to be done since Leo didn't exactly have a numbing agent in the medbay. Talking would normally be his go to here, to distract himself, but talking to Yuichi? After last night? He'd rather face the Kraang again.

"... Can I talk to you about last night?"

Guck.

Leo inhales slow and measured, trying not to flinch at the question. Yuichi is asking to talk to him about the thing he specifically hadn't wanted to talk about. Easy peasy. He could do that.

"What about it?" he tries to deflect. "The concert was loud. You and your bro didn't like it, so you left early."

He's not looking at Yuichi, but he can feel the expression on his face. It's a feeling he's not unfamiliar with when it comes to stuff like this, but he's really hoping that for once someone takes the bait.

His hopes are in vain. "I'm sorry, if I lead you on, okay? I… knew what you thought about me, and I used it against you… and that was wrong and cruel of me. And I'm sorry."

Leo doesn't think he could speak now even if he wanted to. His hands are clenched into fists and his jaw is set firm. The cuts on his arm hurt and Yuichi's hands are strong and steady and he is not ready -

Yuichi tugs on his arm again, pulling the needle through skin and Leo hisses in pain. "I know your brother and sister know. Donatello and Venus? She uh, made it pretty clear how mad they both were, by the way."

Leo had seen the black eye Venus had served when Yuichi came in. Donnie had already told Venus about him and Yuichi when he'd walked in on them, so Leo had figured telling her what happened at the end of the night was fine, since he didn't want her to ask him why he was avoiding the rabbit. He hadn't really been accounting for her to take it into her own hands to serve Yuichi justice but it had been a kind of pleasant surprise to see that she cared…

"Sorry about that," he flinches as the thread pulls against his tender skin. "I didn't think she was gonna punch you…"

Yuichi pulls the first gash closed, and starts on the next one. "Don't be. I kind of deserved it…"

Leo bites back a sound when the needle pierces his skin again. So much was just happening to him right now that he still wasn't really processing it. He'd been awake last night for sure, having fun and getting off of the thrill of whatever Yuichi wanted to do with him. The Samurai was very easy on the eyes, and definitely knew how to weaponize that.

Leo hadn't even liked him that much to begin with… So why did he feel so used?

"Maybe you did," he huffs. He's been holding the high road for too long, he decides. He deserves to be angry and petty. "You went too far…"

The needle falters, and Leo hisses as he realizes Yuichi missed his mark. He sees the rabbit's ears droop a little, but doesn't comment on it.

"I did. I'm sorry."

Okay, maybe Leo wasn't totally done traveling the high road. He moves his arm a bit to help Yuichi better stitch the skin together, closing his eyes.

"But… You could have gone farther," he says hesitantly. "And you didn't… Because I asked you to…"

"To deny you that would be dishonorable."

Leo gives him a look at that. The sewing falters. "And what you did wasn't?"

He watches Yuichi's eyes shift to look at him - the ruby red color landing somewhere on his neck, and Leo suddenly realizes his concealer washed off when he took his shower. Shoot.

"... It was." Yuichi goes back to sewing the wound shut, and Leo can't remember when he's seen the guy in a mood that wasn't ranting about Yokai, being murderous, or straight up goofy. It's weird, and unsettling, and Leo wants nothing more than to hide in his shell and never come back out.

"And I… Know I should make it up to you. Somehow."

The gash closes, and Yuichi knots it up carefully, before cutting the thread. Leo hesitates, before flexing his arm to test the stitches. Not perfect, he decides, but they'll do.

"Okay," he says, meeting Yuichi's eyes for the first time since last night. Those same torturous red eyes that had him completely at their mercy the night before. Yuichi looks confused, but hopeful.

"Okay?"

Leo nods, before shrugging. "I mean, apology not completely accepted right now. I'm still really upset but… if you want to try to make up for it, then I'll let you try."

Yuichi smiles at that, and Leo hates how there's butterflies in his chest when he does. Come on, stupid feelings, don't do this to him now…

"Then I will do whatever it takes to be worthy of your forgiveness, Hamato."

Yuichi bows his head at that, and Leo bites back a snort. It's a silly gesture to him, but he knows to Yuichi that it's a very serious interaction, so he plays along.

"Whatever you say. Just don't kiss me again when I tell you ninja are better than Samurai."

Those eyes turn angry again, and Leo relaxes as he sees Yuichi getting worked up. Familiar territory at last.

"I wouldn't have to find a way to shut you up if you would just stop telling lies," Yuichi hisses, and Leo can't help the laugh he lets out.

"Whatever you say, Bunny Butt."

"Oh you are so-"

"Yuichi, what are you doing?"

Miyamoto returns with the bandages, and Leo's smile becomes more genuine as he enters the room. There's a certain grace and gentleness to the way Miyamoto moves in a room, setting the bandages down and standing protectively near him. If Leo hadn't already been informed that the brothers were raised by a Lion, their stances alone would have given him the suspicion.

Yuichi stutters and stumbles over his words, before pointing an accusatory finger at Leo. "He started it! He's - "

"Stitched up and ready for bandages? Good. Your work is incredible as always, little brother. Why don't you go practice your meditation? Karasu-Tengu would be disappointed in your lack of progress."

It's hard for Leo to describe the way Miyamoto talks, but it immediately puts him at ease as he shoots Yuichi a shit eating grin. The hand that Miyamoto rests on his shoulder has the same effect as he leans into the touch, sticking his tongue out.

Yuichi looks pissed, and Leo briefly thinks back to a similar sight from the night before that gives him a slight shudder before the younger rabbit stomps out of the room, grumbling under his breath. Leo sees Miyamoto roll his eyes fondly, before giving his warm brown eyes and their attention back to Leo himself.

"He didn't hassle you too much, did he? I know you two don't exactly get along."

Truth be told if Miyamoto hadn't stepped in when he had, Leo's pretty sure he and Yuichi would have started getting along just fine…

"Nah, he's fine. I was just, uh, well kinda riling him up," Leo chuckles, scratching at the back of his neck. "Not a big deal, really. Thanks."

Miyamoto's smile is kind as he nods his head, before looking over the stitches on Leo's arm. Once he gives the approval, he begins to wrap them, gentle and unpracticed, and Leo has to remind him to tighten them just a bit. As it turns out, medicine is more of Gen's forte than anyone else, even if he tends to exaggerate it.

"And these are from the fight as well?" Leo isn't sure what Miyamoto is talking about until he feels gently fuzzy fingers pressing lightly into a bruise on his neck, and his face starts to go a light shade of red.

"Y-yeah, from the fight… got uh, pushed around real rough by a member of the Foot," Leo chuckles, nerves spiking as Miyamoto's hand lightly goes over his bruises. "They're fine, no big deal."

Miyamoto looks like he doesn't believe him, but nods his head, and steps back with perfect posture. "Well then it is my pleasure to announce that you're going to live, Leonardo," he hums. Plenty of hydration and medication, and I'm sure you'll be back in shape in no time."

"Why hydrate when I'm already a tall drink of water?" Leo clicks his tongue and shoots finger guns at Miyamoto, earning a raised brow in return. "But thanks man, I appreciate it."

They exchange a little more conversation before eventually Miyamoto gets the hint that Leo wants to be alone, and parts with him to search for Yuichi again. Leo watches him go with a smile, but the expression fades once he's left alone again, and he flops back against the cot.

Silence isn't so bad when it's just him, but today it is. This time, it isn't just him… It's him, his thoughts of Yuichi, but more importantly, the look on Casey's face when the Kraang had tried to latch onto his arm…

Had they really stopped the future?

#ttatc #ask rottmnt #rottmnt #rottmnt leo #ask leo #leo rottmnt #rise leo #plot #leoichi #leosagi #katanashipping #tw injury #tw injury mention #tw stitches #tw blood mention

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sassykattery · 2 years

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A Lover and a Friend, Pt. 5

Welcome to part 5 of this chapter.

CW: MC is afab, she/her pronouns used. Mentions of blood due to harm to the reader (not too gore-y).

Themes: Hurt, angst, scent, jealousy, DiavoloxMC

Characters: Diavolo, Lucifer, MC="You," Satan, Asmo, Mammon, mentions of Simeon, Solomon, Belphie

Minors, Ageless blogs DNI

18+ only

Masterlist

"Mammon, get Satan down here now!" Lucifer barked. Satan was the most knowledgeable about the human anatomy, a personal endeavor of his since you arrived in the Devildom. Solomon was back up in the human world on business so he couldn't help.

Lucifer had made a tourniquet for your arm, but you were still losing blood. He kneeled next to you putting pressure on it waiting for the fourth eldest to arrive. Diavolo was kneeling on the other side of you keeping your head held even though you were unconscious. Asmo was beside himself at the sight of you, unsure of what he could do. As soon as Lucifer barked his order, Mammon was calling Satan and flying toward the House in efforts one method would reach him first.

Even though it was only minutes, to everyone waiting it seemed like an eternity before Satan's arrival. He brought a kit with him he had purchased after the first time you slipped and gouged yourself on a rock. He immediately began to work on your arm, sewing up the torn flesh after cleaning it.

When Satan stepped in, Lucifer pulled away, and he looked down at his gloved hands covered in your blood. He felt sick to his stomach and to see how much more was on the floor, he wanted to breakdown. He watched your lifeless body just barely breathing. There wasn't much Lucifer could think about in those moments, other than just focusing on trying to keep you alive. Just as he finally has you back in his life, you were being torn away again.

Diavolo refused to move from your side. He kept a hand under your head so it wouldn't have to lay on the club floor, and his free hand holding yours. His own thoughts were scattering in a million different directions, but it kept circling back to how he let you down, that this was his fault, and he just wanted you to be okay. He watched as Satan worked diligently to put you back together and wrapping your arm.

Once Satan was finally content with his work he said,

"She'll be okay, but we need to get her into a bed to recover. I'll need to set up an IV as well to keep her hydrated. I'll have Belphie use a sleep cast to keep her comfortable, she's going to be in a lot of pain when she comes to." Diavolo and Lucifer nodded.

Diavolo scooped you up into his arms and they all went back to the House of Lamentation. Exhausted, distressed, covered in blood. It was a sight to behold as the demons made their way through the Devildom, and it enough for all the lower demons to make their presence scarce.

Once inside the house, Satan set up your room as a makeshift infirmary with all the things needed to take care of you. Asmo took up the job of undressing you, cleaning the rest of your body, and putting you into clean clothes. Both shooed off Diavolo, Lucifer, and Mammon as they were hovering unnecessarily.

Mammon went to his room to sulk, Diavolo and Lucifer went to Lucifer's office. They shared a bottle of Demonus in silence, not daring to speak about the day's events. They didn't need to; they were both already reevaluating everything that transpired, wondering where it all went wrong with you.

But it was the second eldest who had the greatest grievance: he blamed himself for not seeing the fifth demon walk into the club. He was in the same colors as his buddies, but walked in minutes after the first four, and Mammon didn't notice how he made his way to the other side of the club to watch the crowd as a lookout. Mammon didn't notice how he watched you from afar. He cried into his mattress at the thought that he let you down, and down so far that you were injured on his watch. He also thought he let Lucifer down. Lucifer made it clear that your safety was a priority in this situation, but he got caught up in everything else.

Hours after settling in, Satan approached Lucifer's study and stood in the doorway,

"She's stable. Belphie made her comfortable and she should wake up tomorrow," he said to the duo. They nodded in silence and Satan retreated to your room once more to monitor you.

"I shouldn't have said yes to this damned plan," Diavolo said aloud. To himself or Lucifer, it was uncertain. Lucifer stared at the unlit fireplace. They both regretted listening to you, even with the plan actually working. At the end of the day, they accomplished their mission, but it was at your life's expense.

When you rolled your head back, going limp in Diavolo's hands, he felt as if someone was squeezing his heart, and had they willed it to burst, it surely would have. Your fragility was in the back of his mind at all times, but this was a glaring reminder of it. Even if you were okay now, would you be the next time?

In Lucifer's mind, he replayed the moment when he watched your limp body as Diavolo lifted you up to take you home. He was instantly reminded of your mortality as well, and it was reminiscent of a morning glory whose flower only blooms once and dies the same day: beautiful but short-lived, fleeting and never lingering.

"I supposed now wouldn't be the best time to ask what happened this morning," Lucifer mused, breaking the silence and trying to distract himself.

Diavolo looked at him, keeping his gaze neutral; he knew what Lucifer was asking.

"It seemed you two were awfully close, but as you said, it was her calling the shots," he replied. "She has a rather... alluring scent that one can't miss," he said, alluding to what he knew.

"She needed comfort and I was there for her, like any good friend would be," Lucifer said, trying to fight a smirk at Diavolo's jealousy. It was so unlike him, that a little human would draw out such an unbecoming behavior for a prince. He also found himself thinking proudly of the fact that others were aware when you were in his arms.

"A good friend indeed," Diavolo mumbled. Truthfully, he was jealous. He was jealous he wasn't there for you when you needed comfort. He was also upset he wasn't there for you at the club, he wasn't there for you in your room right now.

Diavolo leaned forward in his chair, propping himself on his elbows that rested on his lap. He wondered how he and Lucifer could come to an understanding on the issue, the issue of sharing you. It irritated him to no end to do it, but as he's told you before, you need your freedom, and it would be highly unkind of him to withhold you from the brothers and your friends. However, it was mostly Lucifer he found himself in competition with. Diavolo was worried Lucifer would revert back to mistreating you or try to keep you all to himself, but he had to trust you in your judgement. He was also concerned if you wouldn't eventually choose Lucifer over himself. If that were the case, Diavolo wasn't sure if he could exist in a world where you weren't his.

"Diavolo, a hole could very well appear there in the wall that your gaze is boring into, and I'd be most appreciative if you didn't, otherwise my brothers may find themselves snooping into my office more than they already try to," Lucifer said, smirking. Diavolo looked over at him.

"Lucifer," he said. He chewed on his words for a moment. "I'm aware of yours and MC's previous relationship, and I'm also aware of its end," he continued.

Lucifer instantly stiffened but refused to show it. He kept his eyes on the fireplace.

"You'll have to understand my wariness of you, since I'm also aware of your behavior toward her. So long as her desires and needs are fulfilled, I will have no qualms with you, even if that means she chooses your company, your time, or you for intimacy." Lucifer finally raised his eyebrows, surprised. "But I will not hesitate to make you fall further if you hurt her again or take her away from me. She is mine for as long as she wants me."

Lucifer narrowed his eyes in thought. As much as Diavolo is a demon, Lucifer would have thought he'd keep you all to himself, so to turn a blind eye to whom you chose to be intimate with was suspicious. Choosing to leave Lucifer to his thoughts, Diavolo left the office to visit you.

Diavolo quietly opened the door to your bedroom to be met with Satan's glare as he sat in a chair pulled up to your bedside. Satan held a finger to his lips to indicate there would be absolute silence. Diavolo slipped in and walked over to where you laid in bed. You looked peaceful, just as you did the first night you stayed in Diavolo's bed. He just had to see you were okay and comfortable before returning home. Slowly, he bent over at the hip and placed a feather-light kiss on your forehead. Before turning to leave, he nodded at Satan, which was returned in kind. Diavolo left and proceeded to go back to the castle.

Meanwhile, Lucifer stewed heavily on Diavolo's words.

Would it work? Could MC love both of us at the same time? Would she be happy with such an arrangement, or would it be too much? Would I be happy in such an arrangement? I'm not in favor of it, certainly, but having her some is better than not at all. Would she eventually choose one of us, leaving the other desolate and heartbroken? Or would she be content with loving us both? he wondered, questions flying around in his head. He drank more Demonus thinking about it.

I've been hit by a bus, you thought to yourself as your stream of consciousness returned. You hadn't opened your eyes yet, but you could feel how every inch of your body screamed at you. Then you realized that burning sensation came from your arm and you hissed. Your eyes fluttered opened to a very watchful Mammon standing right above you, in your face.

"Ack!" he said, jumping back. He wasn't expecting you to wake just yet. "Oi! You're awake," he announced. You stared at the ceiling above your bed, trying to orient yourself. Moving did not seem like a favorable option, and then Satan appeared in your line of view.

"How do you feel?" he smiled down at you, speaking softly. You winced and that was indicative enough for Satan.

"How long... have I been out?" you asked slowly, your throat was incredibly dry and hoarse.

"Only since yesterday evening. Are you in pain?" Satan asked, concerned. You nodded.

"Okay, here are some painkillers and some water, but I need you to sit up," he stated. He helped you sit up in bed and fluffed your pillows behind you. You whimpered at the pain in your arm and greedily took the water and pills. The water alone was enough to help a little. "I apologize, we'll try and get Solomon or Simeon here eventually for better pain management," Satan stated, and you nodded in reply.

You looked around and it was just you, Satan, and Mammon. Satan smiled at your awareness.

"I believe Diavolo will be back by later today, I'll let him know you woke up." He looked over at his elder brother, "Mammon insisted on "helping to watch over you," even though I didn't need help," Satan snapped, glaring at the second eldest.

"What?! Sure, ya did! She needed to see the Great Mammon first when she woke up!" he said proudly. You and Satan both rolled your eyes in unison.

You looked down at your hands in your lap. "And... Lucifer?" you asked quietly. Satan returned his gaze to you.

"I don't believe he's left his office all night-" he replied when there was a knock at the door.

It opened to a perfectly in-tact Lucifer, the one that didn't look like he was awake all-night drinking when, in reality, he most certainly did. He didn't want to worry you, so he made sure to clean up before visiting. He held his hands behind his back, and glared at his two younger brothers, indicating they should leave.

Mammon grumbled on the way out, and Satan inclined his head toward you and said, "I'll be back to rewrap those bandages." Both exited your room, and Lucifer stepped in, gently kicking the door closed behind him. He proceeded toward your bed and stopped beside you, to reveal a bouquet of black roses, your favorite, for you.

"Oh! Lucifer you shouldn't have!" you whispered with excitement. He handed them to your hand with the good arm, and you smelled their sweet dark scent and smiled. "Thank you, that's very sweet," you said. You handed them back and he placed them on the table in your room. He sauntered back to the chair next to your bed and he pulled it as close as he could next to you and sat.

You smiled at him when you turned your head to properly look at him beside you, but the longer you studied his face, the more you could see what was really going on. Your face dropped. You saw the bags under his eyes, how puffy they were, how pale he was. "What happened to you?" you asked softly.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Lucifer said, smiling at you.

"You look like how I feel," you clarified.

"Hmm, that could go a number of ways, I imagine. A bit rude, no?" he replied. You knew you weren't going to get an answer from the prideful demon, so you dropped it, as he hoped you would.

"Anyway, I'm happy you're here," you said to change the subject. You tried to hold out your hand but when you moved your arm, you were reminded not to do so, and seethed from the pain. Lucifer put his hand on top of yours, so you didn't have to move.

"I see that still hurts," he observed, solemn looking.

"Well, us little humans take a while to heal, unfortunately," you quipped. Lucifer frowned and sighed. You started to say something about his sigh but felt best to leave it this time.

"So..." you started to say.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I don't know, it was just awkward. I feel bad for not talking since you came to visit me," you said.

"MC, you don't have to say anything, and I imagine Satan would recommend you didn't in favor of resting. I'm happy to simply sit here with you," Lucifer said.

"Thank you, then. I appreciate your company," you said back. He smiled at you and gave your hand just the slightest squeeze.

You settled back and faced forward, letting your head fall backward into the pillow behind your back to stare at the ceiling. The pain was throbbing, but you were indeed happy to at least have someone nearby that wouldn't hover too much.

The two of you stayed like that for some time. Lucifer got lost in his thoughts about you, about what Diavolo said last night. He could learn to be happy with such an arrangement if that's what you wanted. He was content with the current one of just being your friend, so the alternative wouldn't be hard, right? Then he thought about the pangs of jealousy he felt just when you were too close to one of his brothers, or when he started noticing Diavolo's scent all over you, and he wondered if he could handle knowing you were, in fact, with someone else.

He watched you as you let your eyes shut. The painkillers were kicking in so you could finally settle again. He watched your chest rise and fall, slowing as you became more relaxed. Then your bandage got his attention. He was instantly reminded of the previous night's events, and he grimaced to himself.

Lucifer eventually also let his eyes close, succumbing to how tired he actually felt from being awake all night. His head fell forward as he snoozed in his chair, his hand still on top of yours on the bed.

Thank you for reading~ <3

Post made by sassykattery. Do not repost. Reblogs and likes are appreciated.

Masterlist

#obey me shall we date #obey me #diavolo x mc #obey me fanfic #obey me diavolo #obey me luficer #obey me mc #obey me x reader

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