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quitealotofsodapop · 5 months

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I love all the ideas and your response has given me some more to chew on for this au ty. (I might have already sent this but I'm not sure it sent but if it did i am sorry for the double ask)

[Wukong spending the Journey getting hit by all the symptoms of pregnancy during those 9-14 years.] the morning sickness is def the worst for him.

[Many foes back off just by the tired firey glare in the King's eyes.] his presence alone is usually able to get most of them to back off, but for those who were still going to risk trying a tired "I am running on 2 hours of sleep, crippling isolation and lonliness, and I haven't been able to keep any food down for three days, I am not in the mood" glare is enough to sen them running for the hills.

[Wukong never managed to tell Macaque about the Egg in that lifetime.] this fact breaks Wukong's heart, and it breaks Macaque to when he later learns that was with child the whole time because having a peacful life and a family was all he really ever wanted.

[He's convinced that the Egg's presence at the Samadhi Fire was what caused the Rings to Split and hit Ao Lie.] I was thinking that during the Samadhi fire ritual the egg suddenly started "kicking" and despite his attempts to not let it affect his performance the pain is what causes him to slip, allowing the ring to split. he absolutely blames himself for this.

[By isolating himself, he accidentally causes his body to *turn down the heat* and extend the process even longer.] he's gonna be so mad when he finds out thats one of the reasons it took so long. but maybe it was for the better, with no support group it would have been difficult to raise the egg on his own. the egg was "no troop, these are not prime baby raising conditions, i stay here longer", like giving Wukong time to find a safe and loving situation to give birth in.

[he geniunely believed that keeping MK whilst the Stone Egg was still draining life force could kill the cub. So SWK is forced to give the little toddler up to save his life.] again, as unfortunate as it is, perhaps for the better. even if not being adressed for the right reasons at the time Wukong knew he wasn't in the position to be caring for someone so young at that point, and the fact he took measures to ensure that MK still got a stable and loving home to grow up in says a lot about how even if he couldn't provide for MK he already loved him. the lack of being in the right headspace to care for an infant is also probably another reason for the egg to "turn down the heat", not able to be mentally there for child, child says in womb till he can.

[When him and MK finally reunite, its a little awkward but MK immediately understands the reason for the Monkey King's retirement.] does MK remember Monkey King, or is it a "I just met an actual god/my fav hero of legend and their pregnant" kind of awkward?

[MK, thinking its a bad breakup situation: "oh ok. I guess you're owed some long-overdue paternity leave, huh?"] this is funny if you remember the fact that this likely wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Wukong and Macaque actually having a bad break up, causing Macaque to leave and Wukong to lose the one thing keeping his body from triggering the egg making process. in a way, it is a bad break-up situation, just not exactly in the way MK thinks.

[MK only asks about the schematics on the Egg after Wukong makes a comment about being "like this longer than even Lao Tzu's mother".] Wukong def brags that he's had the longest pregnancy out of any immortal now.

[He returns to Pigsy's that evening silent with a horrifed look on his face.] the rest of the gang notice, they ask, MK explains what Wukong told him, and now everyone is silently horrified for the rest of the night.

[The Spider Queen can sense that theres a new life within the King, but she decides its an issue for after the takeover.] Wukong is kinda surprised when she doesn't instantly try and use it against him, she just responds that she still has some honor. this does not stop her from draining his power though. Wukong's far more concerned about a certain other demoness present learning about his egg...

[DBK frees himself, not only from the fear of losing his wife and his son, but also out of fury that Wukong had been hiding his condition for so long!!] he is not happy to learn that Wukong put his egg at risk with Samadhi fire situation and by fighting him, or that Wukong had hidden it at all from him as his sworn brother. and also with the webs draining Wukong's power it was putting the little one at risk, can't let that happen either, not if he has something to say about. DBK def learns about it because he overhears the deeply concerning conversation between SWK and LBD while their tied up, him being tied up close to Wukong and all.

[PIF demands a proper baby shower when she hears about it from her excited husband later.] PIF sitting at the dinner table, reading a book and eating while she waits for her husband and son to come home: why do I hear loud footsteps getting rapidly closer? DBK busting open the dining room door with Red Son tucked under his arm: DARLING WE'RE GONNA BE GODPARENTS!!!! PIF & Red Son: WHAT? cue a very excited bull king explaining everything to them

[but becomes concerned when his Sun refuses to fight in any way that leaves his stomach exposed.] protecting a specific part of the body usually means there's a vulnerability there, but Wukong didn't fight like he was injured, Macaque knows what that looks like and that wasn't it so now he's confused. the only other kind of vulnrability he could think of invovling one's stomach that would make them seem bloated as well as make them want to get away from the fight as fast as possible is if he was pregnant, but that can't be the case here can it?

["The Shadow Play" becomes more a plan to trap the Monkie Kid gang for answers. MK spills the beans. Macaque stares blankly for a minute before yelling in frustration. It's too much emotional baggage to process right now!] he lays awake for nights on end trying to figure out if its really what he thinks it is with the little evidence he has, and then he just can't take it anymore and sets up the play. trapping the gang in his lantern and threatening MK until he spills, MK does and even though an answer is what he wanted it takes a moment to process that he had been right, then he lashes out when more questions came to mind. how? when? for how long? who's the other parent? MK frees his friends while Macaque is lashing out and they make a break for it, they escape before Macaque can threaten more answers out of them.

[now with the additional threat that she will harm the Stone Egg if Macaque fails her again...] Macaque might not have answers about the egg, but it's still Wukong's egg at the end of the day. sure just the other day he'd been totally fine with the idea of killing the guy but now... was there still hope he could have the life he wanted with his Sun? even if he couldn't he could never bring himself to knowingly harm his former lover's unborn infant. Wukong ofc doesn't know this at first, and gets really worried about Mac getting involved. he doesn't want to have to choose between him and his egg ever again, but he will if he has to. the problem is avoided entirely when (much to SWK's surprise/confusion) Macaque straight up acts like doesn't exist while hunting the gang in s3. for this subtle blessing SWK is relieved and grateful.

[Macaque breaks the King from his possession by casually placing a curious hand on his swollen stomach, smiling in a way Wukong hadn't seen in centuries. "I know," is all that is said as the two monkeys allow their foreheads to touch.] it's such a simple thing, but it's a certain type of soft kindness he hasn't felt in years, that he missed very deeply, the domesticity of it, makes him feel like his moon really is his again. he bursts out crying and almost sends them both to the ground when he collapses into Macaque for a hug.

[LBD is unexpectedly destroyed by the Stone Egg itself. She did not count upon the Egg recognising her as a yummy source of spirtual energy as she was possessing it's parent.] egg was hungry, and SWK was feeling drained after being possessed, LBD was right their and strong and had hurt the egg's parent. so LBD gets nommed on. naturally.

[MK is a little disturbed, but glad that the demoness is gone-gone.] the can't see it happen, but they all feel an absurdly powerful force emanating from SWK suddenly tearing apart and absorbing LBD's soul. everyone's a little shook up by that one. Macaque: did- did the egg just- SWK frozen on spot, with a nervous and tight expression: *exasperated inhale* yeah... everyone else: oh gods there was also a little concern that eating LBD whole soul would have consequences.

[Until the newly unpossessed Monkey King doubles over in pain and cries for the Bodhisattva to help him. Guanyin is on the scene in seconds, glaring at her little brother angrily. Half the gang stare jaws dropped at what is happening while the rest are panicking.] everyone was chilling, settling down and gtting some food after everything, SWK was feeling the most content and happy he had in ages as he refused to anywhere other then glued to Macaque's side, and the egg was like, "I just got a massive meal, and the whole troop is here now, guess it's time to come out now". Wukong surprisingly casually sits up and tells Ne Zha to go get Guanyin, NOW, being the patron god of infants, he quickly realizes whats going on and bolts for the south sea, the others clue in and start freaking out at this point too. Gaunyin is not happy at SWK for putting himself and the egg at risk with both the Samadhi fire (again, they also tried to warn him off it the first time) and with fighting LBD alone, but thats a conversation for after the egg is born, hatched, and healthy. Tang's fanboying over meeting the Guanyin is stifled only by the painc of egg on the way.

[After many hours of painful labor with Macaque clutching his hand for support, Wukong *finally* greets his baby for the first time.] Wukong is def squeezing so hard at one point that Macaque thinks his hand is either gonna break or pop off, it doesn't do either, but it is numb by the end of it. Macaque gladly would do it again if it meant getting to be there when the egg was born and hatched. Wukong def jokingly tells his newborn that she "sure kept them all waiting".

[Her dark fur is hard to ignore. As well as the ice-blue eyes that stare between the two monkeys with wonder. And the little excited chirps she makes that sing the tune of Wukong's favorite songs.] the ice blue eyes are from the last minute bone demon meal ofc, but what if the dark fur actually comes from Wukong's longing to be with macaque as a family again, and those feelings during early pregnancy were so strong it changed the infant's appearence in order to fit not just Wukong but his desires/emotional needs (that being having the family Macaque always wanted with him). Macaque def cries when she has dark fur like him, makes him feel more like he's possibly a bio parent. Wukong is def in love with everything about his little one, down to every little sound she makes. I like to think he would talk to the egg whenever he was alone while pregnant, and was also always humming to them, maybe the infant somehow knows some of those tunes he was humming and tries to mimic them fresh out of the egg.

[Yuebei Xing is celebrated across the many Realms as the first Stone Monkey to be born from a Stone Egg in milennia. Gold Star comes down from Heaven in person to bless her arrival.] they jokingly thank Gold Star for being too busy to oversee Wukong's punishment, because if he had Wukong likely wouldn't be holding the most precious ball of fur in his arms right now.

[singeing Azure Lion's fur as he goes to take the Jade Emperor's throne. All present, including members of the Brotherhood, laugh at the coincidence.] it's hard not to laugh, given the coincidence. the only one not laughing is Azure, who just saw his life flash before his eyes.

[Yuebei's whole family are willing to *destroy* the divine animals if even dare touch a single hair on her little head.] knowing Azure, he's either fantasizing about Yuebei being Wukong and his infant, or plotting how to use her for blackmail. or both. either way Wukong's none too happy to learn who's got their hands on his little one.

[The retrieve Yuebei after they enter the palace and see the three usurpers beaten to a pulp. The infant monkey rolling around on her butt as she giggles. Azure begs the crew to "please take her back".] Azure was perhaps a little too lost in his triumph and day-dreaming to notice the ultra powerful infant he was holding beginning to grow restless and playful, one of his many mistakes. especially seeing as she had little to no strength control at such a young age.

All in reference to the core "slow boiled stone egg au" post.

You did send a less detailed version of this ask a few days ago, I just hadn't gone through my inbox enough XD

I love the detailed responses though! It's nice to see so much interest in my silly aus!

[the morning sickness is def the worst for him.]

Based on my previous ironic pregnancy headcanons, Wukong occasionally gains a food adversion to his fave fruit ever; Peaches. Some days his brain/body just decides "Eww no. bleh. Spit it out right now" and the nausea hits him hard. Wukong is dismayed whenever it happens.

["I am running on 2 hours of sleep, crippling isolation and lonliness, and I haven't been able to keep any food down for three days, I am not in the mood" glare is enough to sen them running for the hills.]

[-this fact breaks Wukong's heart, and it breaks Macaque to when he later learns that was with child the whole time because having a peacful life and a family was all he really ever wanted.]

[the egg was "no troop, these are not prime baby raising conditions, i stay here longer"] + [the lack of being in the right headspace to care for an infant is also probably another reason for the egg to "turn down the heat", not able to be mentally there for child, child says in womb till he can.]

Pretty much yeah!

Stone Monkeys only have this backup for the absolute last resort when things are at their worst enviroment-wise. No mate, no troop, no support system, no mental health = Egg ain't moving. Think of it like the formation of a geode - it can do it either over a natural couple of centuries, or in a few months with intervention.

"Asleep" Stone Monkeys who are still buried know that they're unlikely to ever be recovered, but their egg can still be found by other troops and hatch in response to socialization even thousands of years on.

However, "Awake" Stone Monkeys with an Egg cooking need to have an active support system in place for the baby's development to progress faster/less riskily. By shuting out the outside world, all Wukong did was accidentally set the Egg to "sleep mode".

Sadly, even if Wukong was wrong and his body identified baby!MK harmlessly as a troop member - SWK simply wasn't in the mental headroom to raise a whole baby without someone to help him.

[does MK remember Monkey King, or is it a "I just met an actual god/my fav hero of legend and their pregnant" kind of awkward?]

The second one mostly. MK honestly can't remember his earliest memories beyond the sight of SWK's egg fragment + possibly Nuwa, and thats with supernatural help.

In a slightly sad note, it's possible MK *remembers* being held by someone soft with a round belly + gold eyes. He assumes throughout his life that this person was his birth mother before he was given up/orphaned.

[this likely wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Wukong and Macaque actually having a bad break up]

MK is right in his own way XD

[Wukong def brags that he's had the longest pregnancy out of any immortal now.]

Wukong's been carrying the egg since the Journey days, about the Tang Dynasty (690-907 AD)/irl Xuanzang's departure in 629. So that Stone Egg been slow boiling from anywhere between 1394 to 1116 years. 0_o

Either way SWK has beaten Lao Tzu/Zi's mom (pregnant for 62-80 years), and def brags about that fact to whatever immortal will hear.

[DBK def learns about it because he overhears the deeply concerning conversation between SWK and LBD while their tied up, him being tied up close to Wukong and all.]

DBK overhears LBD making threatening references to Wukong's conditon and immediately interrupts her villainy bs to yell at his sworn brother.

(inside the giant Spider Mech) LBD: "All will fall into place soon. Even with the unexpected additon of your... future heir." *guestures hand around SWK's stomach* DBK, furious ans still wrapped in web: "WHAT!?!? HEIR?! SUN WUKONG!! Are you so reckless that you'd fight even when your unborn child could have been harmed!?" Wukong, wrapped in less-tight web: "Not the best time DBK. I can handle it." LBD: "Quite. Then again it is all in char-" DBKm interrupting: "REALLY BROTHER?! YOU DIDN'T TRUST ME TO KNOW!? If I was aware of your condition - I would have never dared to invoke your anger! Even my beautifully ruthless wife would agree with me!" LBD: *glares at DBK in annoyance* "Ahem." Wukong, ignoring her: "I couldn't let you guys know! Look, I've been fine on own for centuries now!" LBD: "Exc-" DBK, super-concerned: "CENTURIES!?! WERE YOU WITH CHILD DURING THE RITUAL!?!" *DBK busts out of his bindings and gently grabs SWK* DBK: "LADY GUANYIN WILL TAN BOTH OUR HIDES WHEN SHE HEARS ABOUT THIS!" LBD: *gives up and leaves*

[DBK busting open the dining room door with Red Son tucked under his arm: DARLING WE'RE GONNA BE GODPARENTS!!!!]

After the initial shock wears off, PIF immediately summons a catalog to look for baby shower supplies. This is a monumentous occassion! She ofc assumes it's Macaque's fault (she's not wrong XD) and that this might be her future sworn niece/nephew! She simply must organise everything for her idiot sworn brother and his mate!

Red blinks in confusion before confronting the Monkie Kid gang about it later. Mei demands PIF's contact details right that second so that they can swap party ideas.

[even though an answer is what he wanted it takes a moment to process that he had been right, then he lashes out when more questions came to mind. how? when? for how long? who's the other parent?]

Even with knowing how Stone Eggs works, Macaque has such a mental 404 error at the news that he's reduced to yelling garbbled questions at the gang until they leave awkwardly.

[...was there still hope he could have the life he wanted with his Sun?]

Macaque spends most of S3 trying to bat away any thoughts/predictive sounds of a happy domestic life him and Wukong cna have together.

[it's such a simple thing, but it's a certain type of soft kindness he hasn't felt in years, that he missed very deeply, the domesticity of it, makes him feel like his moon really is his again. he bursts out crying and almost sends them both to the ground when he collapses into Macaque for a hug.]

I just love this image. The possession being broken by Macaque expressing softness, his vunerability, to Wukong. And the possessed King snapping out of it since he's so conflcitingly overwhelmed by the joy of having his Moon back again + the weakness he feels.

[egg was hungry, and SWK was feeling drained after being possessed, LBD was right their and strong and had hurt the egg's parent. so LBD gets nommed on. naturally.] + [the can't see it happen, but they all feel an absurdly powerful force emanating from SWK suddenly tearing apart and absorbing LBD's soul. everyone's a little shook up by that one.]

Yuebei's first immortal kill is in fact LBD, preformed before she was even born. Once the switch "flipped" on the possesed SWK, the Egg recognised LBD as both a threat to her parent and a tasty source of Dao, hence; nom-nom-nom.

All thats left behind of the ancient bone demon is a picked-clean skull. The Ten Kings and Yama feel this hungry act from beyond the Realms and wonder *what* creature could have created such a great power vacuum.

[the egg was like, "I just got a massive meal, and the whole troop is here now, guess it's time to come out now".]

Ah, a fellow party crasher, just like her baba. Wukong and Macaque can barely enjoy the bowl of noodles they've stolen (in good humor) from MK when Wukong's face just drops from a shift in his body.

[Tang's fanboying over meeting the Guanyin is stifled only by the painc of egg on the way.]

Tang: "Oh gracious Buddha! The bodhisattva Guanyi herse-- oh gosh this is a lot grosser than I was expecting..." *gets woozy and hides face in Pigsy's chest*

[but what if the dark fur actually comes from Wukong's longing to be with macaque as a family again] + [Macaque def cries when she has dark fur like him, makes him feel more like he's possibly a bio parent]

Oooo! Wukong's emotional need to be reunited with his mate was so great that it impressed upon the Stone Egg itself.

Imagine how much crying would be involved if little Yuebei just so happened to be born six-eared as well? Macaque and Wukong would never stop sobbing over how cute their baby is!!

Macaque is still very much assumed by the demonic/celestial/mortal public not in the know of Stone Eggs, to be Yuebei's other bio parent. Hard to refute their claims when the little Monkey Princess has such lovely midnight-dark fur and glowing ears.

[I like to think he would talk to the egg whenever he was alone while pregnant, and was also always humming to them, maybe the infant somehow knows some of those tunes he was humming and tries to mimic them fresh out of the egg.]

Thats so super adorable I love it! <3

Wukong loved talking to the Egg when he was on his own on the island. He'd talk to it about what his old Pilgrim brothers were like, what happened in Heaven, his early days on the mountain, and how much he wishes to be there to see all the little havoc's she'll cause in the future. He def recorded a tape + wrote letters to Yuebei before she was born ala "For Steven" in Steven Universe... just in case his immortality didn't work in the end.

Babies can hear things going on on the outside irl as early as 14 weeks along - it's how they become acclimated to the voices of their family. Little Yuebei spent so much time in the "final run" hearing show tunes, action movies, and the voices of Wukong's new found family/troop that she thinks theses are all "good noises"!

As Yuebei looks around at her "troop" she tries matching a "good sound" to them. Everyone is just aww-ing at her tiny chirping mimicry, and burst out laughing when she gets to Pigsy and makes a deep sound they swear sounds like "freeloader!".

Her pre-natal eavessdropping does however, lead her to fall asleep to the heavy metal soundtrack of the Monkey Cop series. XD

[Azure was perhaps a little too lost in his triumph and day-dreaming to notice the ultra powerful infant he was holding beginning to grow restless and playful, one of his many mistakes. especially seeing as she had little to no strength control at such a young age.]

Yuebei decided that "Kitty" wasn't playing with her, wasn't holding her right, and wasn't even singing to her! And she wanted to make her frustrations known.

I love these mass responses, even if it takes some time for me to reply. Ty so much for your interest!

#slow boiled stone egg au #stone egg talk #pregnancy au #lmk aus #sun wukong #six eared macaque #liu er mihou #shadowpeach #lmk #lego monkie kid #long post #gif warning #yuebei xing #lmk yuebei

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courtney-deserved-better · 18 days

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okay ive got fantasy high on the brain so here's a little fantasy high td au that i will never write. spoilers for like. all of it that's been released so far.

the bad kids:

right off the bat, sammy and amy as adaine and aelwyn. don't have much to say on this besides i think they fit pretty well. amy would have to be a bit smarter for aelwyn's place in the story but other than that i think they fit pretty well. sammy as a wizard with anxiety but who also desperately wants to fuck up the ppl who wrong her once she gets treatment for that anxiety. also i like to think in this au that amy would have a redemption arc and she and sammy could learn how to be somewhat functional sisters.

lightning as fabian. they are both egotistical athletes with a ridiculous amount of pressure from their shitty parents and i would love lightning to have an arc where he makes friends and learns to overcome toxic masculinity

dj as gorgug! he has the capacity to rage but he doesn't want to unless its necessary which disappoints people who expect someone as big as him to be a fighter. but he just wants to give tin flowers to his friends! maybe his love for cooking turns into a love for creating and that's how he becomes an artificer. he would definitely make little mechanical animal friends. also that makes his moms wilma and digby

hear me out. priya as kristen. big worshipper of helio thanks to her parents/being his chosen one but as she goes through the world without that strong of an influence she realizes how wrong they are and breaks away from that mentality. a bit of a chaotic being as she goes through life trying to find structure again but dedicated to her friends and whatever deity she's worshiping at the time

kitty as fig. she loves her friends so so much. she wants to try so many different things. she has issues with an authoritative female figure in her life (emma/sandra lynn). i think she could rock the punk/devil aesthetic while still being so friendly and silly.

i had such a hard time figuring out who would be riz but i'm gonna say shawn. they're both conspiracy theorists who probably drink way too much coffee and get way too little sleep. i can see shawn's obsession to surviving the zombie apocalypse be turned into an obsession with solving mysteries in this world. i think it'd be funny if that made sanders sklonda because she already sorta has tired single mom trying her best energy and is (unfortunately) a cop

others:

chris as aguefort. truly a facilitator, manifester, and being of chaos. alternatively i could see him being the jace to chef's porter

millie as ayda!! she would sooo be a librarian who doesn't understand friendship and the chaos that comes with it but wants to be loved so bad but doesn't understand how to get that love and is generally insecure while coming off as knowledgeable and somewhat aloof

if kitty is fig then i can see emma as sandra lynn in an "older sister who's been raising her younger sister and who knows who her real dad is but won't say" i think there's some delicious sister angst there especially with kitty pulling away once she realizes they're actually half sisters and emma knows who kitty's dad is because she's older but won't tell her. not sure how gilear factors into the situation

dave as biz. has his nice guy thing with sammy instead of sky.

zee as zaphriel/the hangvan. just chill vibes dude.

scary girl as baron!! she's already lowkey got the aesthetic in different colors all she needs is the puppet/mask/mirrors stuff. she would haunt the shit out of shawn

raj as ragh!! starts out as a bit of a bully jock but once he gets over his toxic crush, is rescued by the bad kids, and comes out he's so much happier and nicer while still being a total jock. not sure how wayne would fit into the equation but maybe he could just be raj's friend on the bloodrush team

duncan as jawbone is really funny to me because yeah he has this crazy past as a drug dealer but now he's a high school guidance counselor who's super dedicated to helping kids and has embraced the domestic life?? kinda have a hard time seeing it for duncan but i do think it would be really funny

alejandro as garthy. don't have much to say on this just the vibes if alejandro wasn't evil and wanted to chill on a pirate ship he would be garthy.

leonard as sprak they're both so silly

i think putting trent as gilear would be so funny. local normal guy is just cursed to have the worst day every day. make that man the lunch lad

ennui as zayn purely bc of the tall goth aesthetic

beth as cathilda. i like to think she's generally small and helpful but could kick so much ass if needed

the rat grinders:

courtney as kipperlilly there's truly no other choice.

scarlett as oisin bc she seems like the nicest, most reasonable rat grinder and then bam she's been scheming with their most evil plot

crimson as mary ann bc she is so expressionless 24/7 but can fuck you up without blinking

julia as ivy. mean girl time!!

mal as ruben. he thinks he's so edgy and cool when he's just a high schooler who sings in an emo band. kitty would enjoy psychologically tormenting his as wanda chillda

bridgette as lucy!! she and courtney were once best friends until she was the one rat grinder who chose to die rather than be overtaken by rage and courtney is left alive and grieving and betrayed by her best friend

emma (td) as buddy, actually a pretty nice person who is being influenced by a toxic mindset and suffers greatly at the hands of people using her as a pawn

gotta go be a functioning human being in society so that's all i got for now

#i dont know what this is but take it

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lmelodie · 6 months

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TSCS Season 2 Episode 5

This episode...threw A LOT at me hard and fast, and me specifically. If you are also a fellow Council stan, you probably won't like this episode.

First, not too impressed that Cal is taking after his father and needlessly lying to Sandra to go fight Mad Santa. I love Cal, he brain really is empty, but come on dude. At least try rubbing your two braincells together.

I also keep forgetting that the way the lore is set up, Scott is the first and only human Santa. So, when it's said that Magus was Santa for centuries, I had to do a double take lol. Keeps throwing me for a loop!

Can't believe they got rid of Bernard YET AGAIN. IN A FUCKING FLASHBACK. It's almost funny how they've just given up on giving good excuses as to why Bernard can't be there. They just give him a mention and be like, "Yeah he's not here right now/anymore, ANYWAY."

And I wanna know why Bernard is at the very top of the maim list? What did he do that's worse than leading an actual coop? Good for him though, slay.

SO UGH!! My main beef with this episode is the fucking council! Because its utter BULLSHIT and completely out of character that they wouldn't help! I'm actually with Scott on this one surprisingly, you're telling me they can send Cupid to spy on him in his own home but not help the elves to rebel against a very clearly evil Santa???

They don't even give a good reason for it either! It's just a non-answer of "Legends can't interfere" which they most DEFINITLY CAN! Its bullshit! And I refuse to believe that the council would do this.

Like, you're telling me that this is the same council that seemed so sincerely supportive of Scott and his issues for the last two movies? The same council that came down to the pole to personally help pick up the slack in the third movie??? No, simply put I refuse to acknowledge that bullshit their trying to feed us, the council is nice and cares about the other members okay!

Also, I don't know how to feel about Befana being an ex-council member. I kinda liked her better as a cool forest dwelling Christmas witch that does her own thing and doesn't listen to a higher authority.

And maybe this could've worked better if there were any hints AT ALL to this being a thing, but it was never once implied up until this point that there has been any other council member's period. But of course, there wasn't! So, this development falls a little flat for me, not very impactful and a little jarring if anything.

He's a lemon...they turned him into a lemon. I can feel the years being taken off my lifespan...

And stealing the legendries powerful artifacts? NOT NECCESARY IN THE SLIGHTEST. Especially stealing cupid's arrows when normal arrows would've worked just fine! Are these arrows benign?? Are these gnomes gonna start falling in love when they wake up? Does the council currently know about all the stolen shit and have forgiven the elves and Befana? Do they STILL not know that this happened??

Also, really didn't need to use the arrows and sleep dust if you had Mother Nature's WIND AND LIGHTNING. LIGHTNING!! You couldn't win a battle with the actual (ill gotten) forces of nature???

This might be what I need to start drafting that hate fic. The spite fueled one shot. Because god damn there is so much petty CRIME happening here committed BY THE GOOD GUYS.

I don't even know how they're gonna possibly wrap all of this up, I am so tired.

#nonart #text post #review2 #the santa clause #the santa clauses #tscs spoilers #i did actually enjoy the “Not Bernard” line #that was kinda amusing #the council should not have to be butchered like this #when they're not even present!

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the-possum-writes · 2 years

Note

Hi, could I ask for a 'there's only one bed' trope with finn the human? Thanks!

There's Only One Bed!

❥Ship: Finn Mertens/Reader

❥Tags: Oneshot, Fluff, humor, fanfic tropes, gender neutral!reader

❥Synopsis: A terrible storm has lead you and Finn to stay at an inn, confesiones are made and tropes are expected.

❥Taglist: @watchingfromthefloorboards

You wish you could call this an ordinary storm but after witnessing a metallic billboard get blown off its hinges and crash land on a car, it's understandable why you don't want to risk traveling in this weather. The safest idea was to cut this expedition short and seek refuge in a nearby town, preferably the cheapest inn you two could find.

"Yeah we're alright, just gonna wait out the storm at an inn," you hear Finn talking to Jake through the phone line. It isn't like you're actively eavesdropping on him, it's just that you happen to be within hearing distance. What a coincidence. "Chill man, we're gonna get separate rooms-" Finn gives you a side glance before placing a hand over the receiver end and purposely turn his back, but you can still manage to distinguish a few lines. "No, no, I don't need you to lecture me on tier 15 again... Cause I'm not a preteen anymore geez! I'll see you in the morning." he eventually hanged up in a furious whisper, looking rather agitated.

"Something wrong?" you ask him, going so far as to fan him with a pamphlet.

Finn scratches the back of his head with a brief laugh. "Nothing, just Jake being Jake." he changes the topic by pointing to the reservation desk. "Did you get our room keys?"

You lower your sight to the ground, scratching the back of your ear. "Yes and no. They told me all the rooms were taken except for one..." to demonstrate your point you raise the single key hanging from your index finger.

Finn exhales from his nose in a tiny laugh. "Really? Uh, that doesn't sound too bad. We've camped together before, you'll just take one bed and I'll take the other."

You nod with uncertainty, too embarrassed to explain the situation until he sees it for himself.

Finn didn't see an issue until you two reached said room in question, opening it to reveal the only thing you've been dreading after watching countless cheesy room coms with Pb and Marcy. A single king sized bed in an otherwise spacious room, not only that but it's decorated with hearts, shades of pink and typical lovely dovely imagery usually reserved for valentines day. "Reception said the honeymoon suite was the only one available," you shift awkwardly as you take a step inside the room, it reeks of lotion and flowery scented candles. "The decoration is awful, but look at the bright side! it had a 2x1 discount price." Finn can tell you're trying to make light of the inconvenience but it's pretty hard when everything in the room screams romance while the two of you are just friends. Right?

Okay that's a partial lie, there's been some growing tension between the two of you for a while now but for the sake of the friendship neither of you took the initiative.

"No biggie! You're probably more tired than I am. You can take the bed." Finn reassures you, funny enough he turns around to avoid meeting your gaze. You lower you back pack beside the bed and it's overly exaggerated amount of pillows. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll just sleep on this weird curved sofa."

"... Uh Finn, that's not a sofa." you pause momentarily, realizing you'd rather not explain what that piece of furniture is. Or even less, explain why you know what that piece of furniture is for. "You've done a lot of heavy lifting all the way here, maybe you should have it." you raise a hand to his shoulder but the boy flinched to your touch.

"No, no its alright. Honest!" his tone is slightly raised, proving the opposite.

His conversation with Jake started making sense now. You firmly press your hands on Finn's shoulders and force him to turn him around, that's when you're met with what he was trying to hide, the tomato red blush spread over his boyish face. "Finn, we're both equally tired after that trip, we both deserve a good night sleep. Besides, we've known each other for a long time and I trust you won't do anything inappropriate, so I don't see an issue with sharing a bed for today."

"But..."

"Do you trust me?" you interrupt him, keeping eye contact.

"I uh, I do." he nods.

"Good," you end the conversation with a stern nod. "Now I'll go take a hot shower and get out of these wet clothes."

Finn watches you grab a change of dry clothes and make your way to the bathroom, he admires how mature you handled the situation while he's standing here with his face hot enough to fry an egg. Normally he has no issues sharing beds, but the obvious embarrassment reveals his true feelings about you. Despite how you handled the situation in front of Finn, the second you hide behind the bathroom door you find yourself blushing madly as you squeal under your breath.

After the two of you warm up, tuck into bed and turn off the light, you feel your roommate turn his back to you on his side of the bed. If anyone walked in on the two of you they would think you and Finn are a couple who had an argument. You don't know why but you feel at peace, maybe it's the tranquility of sleeping in a bed after camping in the wilderness, the blankets warmth compared to walking in the rain, or the water droplets smacking against the windows in an almost rhythmic melody. Truthfully, you think it's because of Finn's presence next to you, something about it makes you feel safe and comfortable. Like when he watches over you when you sleep during stake outs.

"Hey Finn, are you asleep yet?" you fear he’s already long asleep, but he responds with a raspy voice, as if he was on the brink of sleeping.

"Not anymore," he chuckles. "What's up? Can't get some shut eye?" he asks.

"Kind of, sorry about your own sleep though. I'm probably a terrible roommate." you lament, hiding deeper in the covers.

"You're not that bad, at least you don't snore like Jake after a house party." you appreciate his comforting words with a brief laugh, but there's still something bothering you. "Then why were you so adamant about sharing with me?"

Finn didn't respond immediately but you feel the bed shift lightly. "Cause the thought of being so close to you made me feel funny." The response wasn't exactly what you were expecting. "A good funny or a bad funny?" you indulge yourself in his explanation. "Well, it makes me happy and warm inside so it's probably a good funny." he's no fool and neither are you, but Finn is being careful about this in case you don't feel the same, almost like he's treading on thin ice. Which is dumb, because you share the same feelings.

You lift the top portion of your body so you could turn around and face Finn, where he still has his back to you. "You also make me feel happy and warm." Finn finally turned around, his shocked face turning into a pleasing smile. "And here I thought I would make for a terrible roommate." you laugh one last time before breaking into a long yawn.

"Let's talk about this tomorrow."

If it wasn't for last night's confessions it would've made the next morning much more awkward, you woke up wrapped around in Finn’s arms with your legs tangled within his in a domestic display you've only seen in romance movies. Looks like overused tropes aren't so bad after all.

#adventure time x reader #finn the human x reader #finn the human #reader insert

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kheprriverse · 3 months

Note

You have to stop making such amazing art. Tumblr is so restricting I can’t possibly reblog it enough /lh But alas. Words also have meaning, right?

Be warned: I may not make any sense because I’m tired <3

Your art is literally so. Inspiring though. Your style is so beautiful and pretty and it’s just somehow— It makes me want to create? Honestly. I’d love to have a style like yours, but also I’m happy with mine! So instead, the inly valid thing to do is EAT YOUR ART AND REBLOG SO MANY TIMES!!! I’m keeping my own style, and building off it: While you and other artists do the same with what you do!

That being said. Your art just makes my day sometimes. Seeing you post gives me such joy and anytime I see the stupid silly (Cedar /Affec) it’s an instant giggling and kicking my feet like a feral child. So much stimming happens, and I literally love every design and thing you come up with. It’s just. Woah <3

My want to eat art is always at a 10/10: Let me consume the heckin heckles out of everything. Like. shredding the entire walls up. Such zoomies from art. Everything about your art most times just feels. Soft and cozy. Makes it feel like home sometimes and probably tastes like. Fluff. (That’s not a taste but whatever. It counts in my brain?) Maybe even like some sweet candy or dish, idek. Tastes aren’t tasting but damn art does arting?

Not only are you a cool and amazing talented artist, you’re also such a cool person beyond that and just so sweet I would just like to hug, yknow? Strangely I feel like I should be like. Somewhat intimidated because COOL PERSON ARTIST WOAH YOU INTERACT WITH ME??!? But also, I’m not… Really that intimidated? I don’t know, feel welcoming, just like the feeling yoir art brings and its just. Comforting?

You and your silly goody personality is so amazing and you’re so talented, I’m gonna flee now back into the ground: Hopefully this made somewhat sense— And that you have a lovely week/day/month— Just time in general!

*descends away*

~ Z

No I won't stop! Only pretty designs and silly guys ✨! (I am also very tired so its all okay. Also apologies if you wanted this answered privately.)

Also I'm gonna cry abkvjadbvjkkdvbad /pos This means so much! I'm very bad with explaining how I feel but I'm gonna try my bets lmao. It makes me so happy to hear that people really like my stuff, AND think I'm a cool person! I want my space to be kinda chill, friendly, etc and I'm very glad that so far I've been doing a pretty good job :'D

tysm again! I'm very glad u like my stuff (and think I'm cool). I woke up a few hours ago with a headache, dizziness, and was just generally feeling kinda bad and couldn't go back to sleep. But seeing this ask has so far made my day 100 times better! I hope the space I provide continues to bring joy (or just general silliness) to you and others <3

(also I'm glad you like my art too. Ive been having weird issues looking @ my own art since December, which I've never had before, so it makes me become a little silly whenever I get a comment on it. Really improves my motivation and lot and helps me continue what I love most: drawing funny guys and beasties :>)

#anon #z anon #kheprriask #tysm for like the millionth time #also maybe almost started crying this morning?? its good dw #just makes me rly happy to hear this <3

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hospitalterrorizer · 3 months

Text

diary160

2/21-22/2024

wednesday - thursday

sooo tired rn.

so i will keep it short. i guess. although today was exciting since the only game i'm particularly like, into, in recent memory/that's still being worked on, got the trailer for its expansion put out, w/ elden ring. that's fun for me, now i can be like, overly eager for something, i guess. i'm making myself sound less excited but it's really palpable, i really like that game and think a lot of people act like it's less weird than the other souls games or something, when it feels pretty bizarre, and the way you traverse the world lets things get pretty atmospheric, it feels unique in open world games.

anyway, it makes me feel funny to be excited about games, it reminds me of being younger but it's not like i'm old... really, i think, but i dunno. is 25 supposed to be old now?

anyways, today was busy in other ways, 4 songs done today, or done-ish, there's some problems with this last one and i've decided to mess around w/ the guitar tone, to try and get it right. i'm hopeful that this first pass will make sense when i listen back to it shortly.

i also wrote lyrics for this last song here, so maybe that's something i can record tomorrow? or idk, i think i should focus on the song that was giving me trouble the other day, and then try and get to something else tomorrow as well. i am gonna be hanging out w/ my friend tomorrow so maybe i should talk to him about going over to record screams and stuff at some point, as well. i might want to prep for that tomorrow if i can, or feel like it, or whatever. but it'd suck to spring that on him, suck of me, i think, it's like, idk, it'd be fun to just do whatever w/ him, it's been a while since it's just been him and i in a room together.

the song sounds almost there, i think i removed too many mids so i'm going to try bringing some back in, so the riff is more audible and not just a kind of like, noise wall.

and that's working so well i feel like i should do it again.

i also did more pixel art stuff today, which is fun.

okay, one last bit of messing w/ this song and i need to sleep, if i stay up doing this i risk messing up a sound i basically like but something feels off w/, my guess is that there's too much white noise and so i have to cut some out, which can actually sharpen the sound, when there's less noise over 10k, another thing might be split eq but i can figure that out tomorrow, maybe.

alright, the song definitely just needs some more minor messing around, but the big issues w/ tone have been alleviated i think, i just hope they don't come back when i bring the volume down on the big guitars. i also wonder if maybe the feedback setup i put in the fx chain is making it flubby or something, that could also be what's making the tone seem to not really sit in the high end at all. i'll mess w/ that tomorrow too.

anyways, i really do need to sleep now

byebye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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sisitrip · 2 years

Text

Snippet of a WIP for Wednesday (Thursday)

I was tagged by @annatrow to share a snippet of a WIP. Thank you! I chose this one because I am fighting for my life in the editing process (pacing issues CANNOT have me goddamnit lol). Thank you Anna for helping me unfreeze a little on this work.

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

Ian’s soft laughter finally reached him. “The fuck’s so funny?” Mickey murmured, boneless and smiling.

“Nothing, I just … it’s fucking stupid,” Ian chuckled out.

“Would you just spit it the fuck out,” he pressed, reaching for his abandoned towel and cleaning himself up.

“Before we even got started, I kept trying to find a way to get you to say something sexy so we could do that,” Ian confessed shyly. “Turns out, all I had to do was ask why you sounded so muffled and boom … phone sex.”

They both laughed, sated and a little sex drunk.

“Yeah, well don’t think that’s gonna work the next time.”

“Oh, so there’s a next time in our future?” Ian asked lecherously.

“Fall back ya thirsty bitch,” he giggled out. “And, yes, there will be a next time.”

Mickey stretched happily, flexing his toes. This may not be what he wanted, this distance between them that’s only connected by an open phone line, but he’d take it. What wouldn't he take from Ian?

“Hey, you wanna know something?” Ian hesitantly whispered after a beat of silence.

“Still the most talkative fucker after sex.” He got up and pulled on a pair of boxers and a tank top. "Most guys fall asleep and shit. But you? No, your ass turns into Cathy Chatty.”

“It’s Chatty Cathy you dope.”

“Whatever. You still run your mouth like fuck after sex.”

Grinning, Mickey dropped onto the bed, grabbing and lighting a cigarette.

“I do not, asshole,” Ian whined, sounding sleepy.

He inhaled and blew out smoke in affectionate exasperation.

“Just tell me, Cathy. You gotta be at work in a few hours. You need a nap before then.” Mickey turned off the lamp and the lights of Patsy’s Pies bathed the room in a soft yellow glow.

“It’s just, don’t wig out, but, I swore I saw you everywhere today. Fucking everywhere. If that’s the worst part of this bipolar shit, I ain’t complaining.”

Alarmed, Mickey spoke quietly. “Tell me you’re still taking them.”

“Please don’t start Mick. I’m taking them. There’s an adjustment period, remember?”

Mickey’s hammering heart slowed with relief. He would always be rattled whenever Ian confessed a symptom. He couldn’t help it.

“I can hear you thinking, Mickey. Sounds like rusty wheels grinding,” Ian murmured sleepily then laughed through his nose. Mickey couldn’t help his answering grin.

“You can choke on it Cathy.”

“Promise?”

Their tired laughter unwound the remaining tension Mickey held in his body and he relaxed with it.

“Want me to keep the line open again?” he asked softly, wanting to take care of Ian, even in this small way.

Ian hummed tiredly. “Yeah. Kind of need it.”

Mickey melted to his core. He kind of needed it too.

“Okay Cathy, you got it,” he whispered. Ian made a happy, snuffling sound.

“Thanks Mickey,” Ian murmured. He sounded so inviting, soft and safe. Mickey just wanted to drop everything, race to the Gallagher house and crawl in next to him.

He put the phone on speaker and settled down, waiting for Ian’s soft breathing to usher him into sleep.

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

I'm tagging @energievie @whaticameherefor @notherenewjersey @ianrightsonly @shameless-notashamed for this one too. If you've done it or would rather not, take this tag as a hello from me to you. :)

#Sink Where We Stand #WIP #gallavich fanfic #Eeep been frozen on this one for a while

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butwhatifidothis · 3 years

Text

Tumblr is starting to VERY MUCH dislike how long the other reblog chain is getting, so this will be Reblog Chain 2 of my jotting down notes of this fic. Here is the first reblog chain for Chapters 1-20

But it appears as though I was correct in sleeping off Chapter 20, because Chapter 21 is. Hm. bad. Very. Not good.

Chapter 21:

Transcript under the cut:

Chapter 21: It's Called Scars so it Gonna Be Ass

- To be blunt, the constant need to reaffirm that yes, Edelgard went through terrible experimentation and that yes, they were very horrific, is tiring. This is chapter 21. The experiments occurred in chapter 2. Every single chapter between now and then have, at some point, mentioned that INDEED, Edelgard DID in fact go through horrific trauma. It is tiring to the reader to constantly have to reread the same thing - we know it happened. We know it was terrible. There's no need to constantly say so; we already understand as readers.

- "Every time the spark of life broke through Byleth’s blank face, it brought a flickering hope to the Flame Emperor’s heart." ->

- Firstly: Awkward use of the Flame Emperor epithet (its usage is on and off with how appropriate its been - this is off).

- Secondly: Once again, Byleth's face was rarely if ever blank. She was never the Ashen Demon, as even the last chapter showcased. The author is mistaking reservation with emotionlessness, which is simply wrong

- "There had been so many empty days and nights, without friendship, love or joy. With nothing to hope for, except someday, the peace of the grave." -> Suicidal tendencies: another trait that Edelgard doesn't have... (strikes against canon: 89)

- ...but Dimitri does. Counter: 12

- "Dimitri, too, was troubled by the thought, grasping the side of his head and frowning. As the spasm passed, he turned to Edelgard and smiled warmly." -> It seems a little callous to so casually toss Dimitri's symptoms into his interactions with others when such things simply don't occur in the canon interactions. It's not impossible, or strictly against canon, but it does not feel natural; it's more as though the author is shining bright neon signs that say DIMITRI HAS MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES than a genuine attempt at writing Dimitri's mental health issues. This is not the first time this sort of seemingly thoughtless showcasing of symptoms has happened (Noted separately: Dimitri having drastic mood swings)

- "No, this world must be ruled by humans…not cruel gods who ignored the prayers of little girls." -> This statement follows Edelgard internally chastising the actions of not gods, but the Children of the Goddess. This is a weaselly attempt at dodging Edelgard's racist beliefs that Nabateans should not be allowed positions of power by shifting the belief to apply to miscellaneous gods instead. While not inaccurate per se - she does also canonically believe that gods should have no power in human affairs - it is not honest

- "Byleth nodded with childlike simplicity. “We should all try to get along.”" -> Again describing Byleth as childlike and/or innocent. Counter: 3

- For those curious: yes, the rat scene is implemented, yes it is sloppy, yes it is out of character for Claude - so much so that it is being noted separately - and yes it is forced to all hell

- What will be noted here, however, is that this is yet another instance of a man being demeaned/humiliated for the honor of a woman. See quote: "Byleth was on him in an instant, a tempest forming in the sea of her blue eyes. “That isn’t funny.” She crossed her arms sternly. “Jokes are about bringing people together...about making them smile. Right now, the only person laughing is you.”" with Claude reacting awkwardly. Once again, Man Bad Woman Good

- In a showcasing of a complete lack of self-awareness within the fic: "“Maybe if you’d have taught the Deer instead…but since you seem to have no ambitions outside of cleaning up Edelgard’s messes…”" -> This is Claude being portrayed as the bad guy, not the one being completely and utterly right

- " She slapped Edelgard on the back, and smiled heartily. “I agree, Dimitri!” Edelgard grimaced, trying to hide the fact her teacher had just struck the wound she had received during the mock battle." -> As well as where undoubtedly countless scars would be, yes? Scars that still cause Edelgard pain? In fact, Edelgard has been slapped on the back by Byleth and Jeralt numerous times before, and yet expresses no pain or discomfort.

- Another thing, that I had not noted though ought to have: Edelgard, a victim of sexual assault (in this fic), rarely seems to mind people touching her. She gets a little surprised if someone tries to get her attention with touch, yes, but Byleth's constant unprompted and random touching of Edelgard is never said to do anything but bring warmth and joy and comfort to Edelgard. It seems as though Edelgard suffering through sexual assault is just another source of trauma for the author to dump onto her for nothing more than pity points

- This is incredibly harsh to say, yes, and I would usually refrain from attributing such harshness onto a piece of text, but remember that Edelgard's scars only cause her pain when it's convenient, that she only experiences headaches when it's convenient, that she experiences PTSD episodes (when Claude mentions the rat) when it's convenient (note that in this fic he does it outside of battle, where her getting triggered wouldn't compromise her chances at victory). Edelgard not being touch averse and being a victim of sexual assault are not inherently something bad - survivors react to trauma differently, after all - but it is another in a steadily longer line of instances where Edelgard is simply given trauma for the sake of making her pitiable to the reader and the love interest, not something that Edelgard genuinely has to struggle with.

- "As Claude and Dimitri looked at their classmate expectantly, Edelgard was wracked with another bout of guilt. Deep in her soul, the princess knew these peaceful days would end soon. When that happened, no feast or vows of friendship could make up for the chaos and horror she would unleash. It would be better to pull away, close off her heart, rather than fuel the flames of her inevitable betrayal." -> Aka, "Feel bad for me, I feel guilty for planning to cause the death and ruination of countless innocents' lives all because I convinced myself that my way is the only way to get things done my way without ever actually trying to see if more peaceful ways could have worked. I'm going to orphan children, force families to fight each other, have the land be rampaged by banditry, and overall bring chaos onto these days that I ADMIT ARE PEACEFUL all because I feel that my way would be better. Wah wah pity me but I don't wanna be pitied I promise wah wah."

- "Byleth shrugged with a characteristic blend of innocence and spirit. “I guess I just like winning.” She began to blush and grabbed Edelgard’s hand. "It's so exciting! I’ve never had anyone other than Papa to celebrate with before!”" -> Byleth = innocent/childlike. Counter: 4

- The fic likes to reaffirm again and again that Byleth is "now" only acting like this due to Edelgard's presence in her life. Note also these statements written previously: "Every day, [Edelgard] was watching the person she loved grow and change. Become who she always was supposed to be." This, perhaps unintentionally, again enforces the "Lesbian Love is Pure and Innocent" trope; these wlw are only allowed to be their good girl, innocent selves - who they were always supposed to be - due to the pure lesbian love they have found with one another

- Count Bergliez didn't know of the experiments initially, but he eventually found out and did nothing to stop them, fleeing from a young and tortured El who was pleading for him to save her - Unnecessarily painting Count Bergliez as a spineless coward too afraid of Duke Aegir to save a child in pain

- Once again, a man fails to save a woman and further traumatizes her

- It should be noted that Bergliez is fearful not for his own life, but for that of his children, who were the ones Duke Aegir threatened. He, very similar to Ionius, cannot save Edelgard, except Bergliez (unlike Ionius) has a tangible, physical, explainable reason as to why he couldn't, and yet it is him who is painted as the bad guy, not Ionius. He is worthy of Edelgard's scorn and hatred, but Ionius only receives a begrudging feeling of betrayal from Edelgard that she feels guilty for harboring, even though he failed her far more than Bergliez failed her.

- "Daughters must always be loyal to their fathers" trope

- "No decent person thought the things Edelgard did. Just as her body had been twisted and shattered by the experiments, her mind bore terrible scars. Scars that the monster kept hidden, so she could walk in the world of men." -> Dehumanizing oneself as a monster as well as having violent thoughts (that specifically stem from trauma) one feels guilty for harboring are not traits Edelgard shows in canon... (strikes against canon, 90, 91)

- ...but Dimitri does. Counter: 13, 14

- "world of men?" Did the author perhaps mean "world of man," as in mankind? Keep note of

- The reason as to why Bergliez is said to have witnessed young El's tortured state and did nothing to help her is revealed: in canon, he dislikes her. It is blatantly and objectively said that he and Edelgard share a mutual displeasure in the other's company. What this fic had him do will be used as an excuse as to why he doesn't hate her, since no one is allowed to dislike Edelgard on the "good" side

- Edelgard, upon being asked if revenge is the reason she is doing what she's doing (reuniting Fodlan): "“No.” Edelgard put her hand to her chin thoughtfully. “I think for a long time, it was…but after a while, I realized that revenge wouldn’t satisfy me.” She looked at the blue sky above. “After you go through that much suffering…when you beg for help, day after day, and no one cares...you realize that nothing will ever truly make you feel safe again. The only thing I want is for this madness to end.”" -> This is internally inconsistent. See chapter 15 note: ""You know why they created me in the first place.” / “To reunite Fódlan,” spat Hubert. “It was all my father talked about.” / “And I will give it to them. "" This directly connects Edelgard's want to reunite Fodlan to the wants of her tormenters (as this states she is doing it out of spite). Note how Hubert spits at the idea of reuniting Fodlan, and how it was all his father - portrayed as a villain - talked about. This is not what this Edelgard wants, at least not of her own independent want. Earlier in this very chapter, Edelgard internally states a want to hurt Bergliez for leaving her behind. To say that she now no longer thinks vengeance would satisfy her, or that none of the reason that she is doing everything she does is out of a want for revenge, is ridiculous

- Edelgard to Bergliez, upon being asked what will happen to him and his family should Edelgard rise to power: "“All those who distinguish themselves will be rewarded. Given your history, I have little doubt you will be among them.” She nervously played with her white gloves. “All I ask is that when I seize back control of the throne, I can count on the military’s support.”" -> Yes, all who distinguish themselves to Edelgard, for Edelgard's cause, that Edelgard can see and/or know of. How likely is it that a poor farmer who is exceptional at fighting will actually be noticed by Edelgard and be given the credit he deserves, when others who may not be as meritable but do have some merit have the connections to show themselves directly in front of Edelgard? What means will Edelgard give the poor soldiers (that she or Byleth aren't already friends with, notably Dorothea and Leonie) that will allow them to be able to be seen by her and have their merits recognized? Edelgard is the one who says who gains power after all, so it is her they must prove themselves to, but how can they realistically do that?

- What about professions that are not immediately beneficial to Edelgard's cause, such as the arts? How will they fare in Edelgard's society, when their works and talents yield no tangible, objective results (such as, say, farming)?

- Something the fic will address?

- Edelgard does not nervously do anything in front of those she is trying to negotiate with in canon, not even Thales. Strikes against canon: 92

- "[Bergliez] could only laugh in response. “I think we’re going to get along rather well, my lady…and the other?”" -> Except Bergliez and Edelgard don't get along well, ever. Pre ts they are stated to dislike each other, which continues even onto post ts with Bergliez being the only noble Edelgard couldn't bring to heel. Strikes against canon: 93

- As predicted: No one is allowed to dislike Edelgard on the "good" side

- Literally forgot Hubert was with Edelgard and Bergliez lmao

- Ionius tried to consolidate power to be rid of the consort system due to his unending love for Anselma -> A ridiculous idea, plain and simple. Ionius was Emperor. If he wished to be rid of the consort system there was no need for him to try and take away all power from the other Imperial houses.

- If Ionius truly loved Anselma, why did he allow her to be exiled from the Empire? Why didn't he step in and use his influence as Emperor to help her?

- Edelgard, when she is Emperor - passed down a supposedly empty crown, at that - showcases the all-encompassing power the title of Emperor truly holds to one willing to use that power. That Ionius supposedly wanted to do all of these reforms and yet nothing at all was done, ever (save for ruining Houses Hrym and Ordelia, something even this fic has as canon), if Ionius did want to make these reforms, means that he was too spineless and cowardly to truly go through with trying to pass them. This again unintentionally showcases how awful a ruler and weak-willed a person Ionius was when he had power when trying to paint him in this righteous light.

- Lambert was stated to be trying to pass reforms before he died in canon, not Ionius. From parents to the children, the author is attributing traits from Lambert onto Ionius just as he (author's confirmed gender is male) attributes traits from Dimitri onto Edelgard

- " Her father and mother…she had thought their romance a fairy tale-a story from her father to make a motherless child feel valued. But…they truly had loved each other." -> Edelgard does believe Ionius when he told her of the story of when he and Anselma (supposedly) met each other. There is nothing to indicate that Edelgard thought it to be a lie: in fact, in canon: "But I choose to believe there was genuine love between them." Strikes against canon: 94

- It seems as though finally, after around 18 chapters, Edelgard's scars will finally cause her genuine inconvenience due to her complex about them as well as her trust issues. She has a gash on her back from the Battle of Eagle and Lion, but will not have it treated if Manuela isn't the healer, and yet the woman is occupied dealing with the rest of the students who were injured. How will this fic deal with this?

- Ingrid, referring to her and Sylvain: ""We just switched from Felix lecturing us all day to listening to Edelgard moralizing, didn’t we?"" -> The author is trying to compare a childhood friend whose friends have had years to get used to their barbed tongue to a stranger that directly insults the dreams of one of them. Something which Ingrid canonically hates having be done to her, even from Felix, a childhood friend. Once again, Ingrid being so casual about Edelgard being so disrespectful of her dreams is out of character. Strikes against canon: 95

- "Sylvain shook his head knowingly, ignoring Felix’s truly alarming scowl. “You should have seen his face, Edelgard. Dimitri would go on and on about this girl he met when he was a kid…and Felix would complain about her for hours!” He looked at Felix and smiled. “For all his whining about the “Boar,” nobody loves Dimitri more than him.”" -> Oh? A romantic gay male relationship presenting itself within the fic?

- Another vision of SS experienced by Edelgard. Word from a nameless guard: "The woman, Byleth, leading their forces... She’s not human! She killed half my battalion with one swing of that sword of hers. She didn’t speak, she didn’t shout, she didn’t even change her expression!” The panicked man was teetering on the edge of hysteria. “All those people rallying around her, and it’s like she doesn’t care at all. Like she's a walking corpse!"" -> Obviously saying that Byleth becomes the Ashen Demon if not allowed to be with Edelgard.

- Unintentional statement: Byleth can't be the pure innocent (lesbian) woman without Edelgard's (lesbian) love granting her purity, reverting her to a monstrous, corrupt demon incapable of humanity

- See chapter 20 note: "Implying that choosing SS - aka, choosing the Nabateans - makes Byleth less human. Intentional?" Confirmed to be intentional. Also false: in canon, even when accounting for CF's lesser chapter count, Byleth emotes far more on SS than on CF, which matches with CF having Edelgard call Byleth detached in their A support. Strikes against canon: 96

- The same nameless soldier, same context: "And those Faerghus kids…” / Edelgard leaned forward in her chair. “Ingrid…Sylvain…what of them?” / “They…they were animals. Screaming and ranting about revenge for the King.” -> Is the author really demonizing Sylvain and Ingrid for (potentially!) being mad at Edelgard for murdering one of their childhood friends? Is that really the depths the Edelgard worship will sink to, that friends becoming enraged at a friend's unjust murder from a warlord is being portrayed as something sad for the warlord? Just what else should Edelgard be pitied for?

- "The scared girl desperately tried to drown out the thoughts that reverberated incessantly. / They’re going to despise us…it’s destiny. And how could they not? If we were truly good, the Goddess would have saved us…protected us. But She didn’t. The Goddess took Mother. She took our family. And soon, She’ll take everything else we love. She hates us. / It’s what we deserve." - Now confirmed that Edelgard hears multiple voices in her head tormenting her. That trait that, once again, Edelgard does not have... (Strikes against canon: 97)

- ...but Dimitri does. This is the third time this chapter that this has happened, and far from the only chapter to display such baffling characterization of Edelgard via Dimitri's traits. It is nonsensical.

- " Why had [Edelgard] even been born at all? Nonexistence would have been preferable to watching every faint dream be dashed, to suffering alone over and over. She was just…so tired of being alive." -> Once. Again. Suicidal tendencies/thoughts is not a trait Edelgard shows in canon... (Strikes against canon: 98)

- ...but Dimitri does. The fourth! The fourth time in one chapter the author desperately wanted to just write Dimitri!

- If the fic wanted to take Edelgard in a different direction than canon does and has her display some of these traits, it would be more passable, but this fic is under the delusion that it is in any way following canon closely, especially in regards to Edelgard, and so this can only be seen as a desperate attempt from the author to have Edelgard be sympathetic by donning the skin of an actually sympathetic character such as Dimitri

- "Edelgard looked at herself in the mirror. The back of her academy uniform was stained red, the rhythmic, soft dripping of blood assaulting the princess’ ears." -> And no one commented on this? No one was worried? Not Ingrid, Sylvain, and Felix, who were sitting right by her? Not Lysithea, who saw her take the blow to her back and never get it healed? Not Dimitri, who delivered the blow? It just so happened that literally no one at all noticed this?

- Byleth literally slapped Edelgard on the back earlier? Wouldn't her hand come back red with blood if it were seeping through the uniform?

** The scene that follows the previous note is too long to quote, despite how truly terrible it is. Long quotes, even extremely long quotes, have been presented in these notes before, but the length this quotation would be if the full extent of it were written here would be a mess, and quite frankly, at that point it would do one better to simply go to the fanfiction itself and read the text from there. With the context received from these notes, if one wishes to see the words for themselves, go to chapter 21 of The Emperor and the Goddess, enter Ctrl + F (or Find in Page on mobile devices), and enter the phrase "Byleth crossed her arms, clearly frustrated" verbatim. The following note will not be quoting the entire scene from the fic (merely summarizing it), though context is needed to understand how truly bad the scene is. **

- To have hope in this fic performing anything correctly is proving to be a fool's dream, for it has yet to do anything right; that includes the aforementioned gash upon Edelgard's back. As stated, it did not draw the attention of those who were sitting around her nor did it draw the attention of the one who witnessed the injury itself, nor of the one who delivered the injury itself, so no one commented on the gaping, bleeding wound Edelgard was "hiding" from everyone as she turned her (bleeding) back to them and left for the baths to clean up (it must be heavily stressed: immediately after leaving it is revealed that the blood is seeping through her uniform). As she was washing - naked, of course - Byleth just so happened to step into the baths with only a towel wrapped around her "for modesty," much to the horror of Edelgard, for she does not want Byleth seeing her scarred body. A slight argument arises between the two over Edelgard getting her injuries checked, before Byleth warns Edelgard that she will go to Rhea and force her to go to the infirmary should Edelgard continue to refuse treatment, which drives Edelgard past the brink. She raises her arms from the bathwater and presents her scars (""Fine!... If you want to see so badly, here!""), to the horror of Byleth ("Byleth Eisner was not a woman given to strong emotional reactions, but she staggered back, hands over her mouth."). Edelgard cries in hysteria, fear of her beloved teacher running away in disgust over her ugly, mutilated body overwhelming her. But Byleth, childlike in her innocence, shared that she too is scarred in strange ways, and that she too is scared of failing those around her - that she has no ambitions save to help and protect those around her. Byleth reveals that it is Edelgard whom Byleth looks up to for always being so strong and always moving forward, and shows that without Edelgard Byleth wouldn't know how to handle the pressure everyone else puts on her. The exchange ends with Byleth reassuring Edelgard that she is beautiful and not the monster she thinks she is.

- There is no nice way of putting this: this is a classic example of how not to write someone opening up to another about something. Edelgard views herself as weak, ugly, repulsive, a monster, shameful, but it is Byleth's love and affection that gives her comfort and warmth, that gives her hope of something more. It forces Byleth to behave wildly out of character (the author can try to excuse this with "well she wouldn't normally behave like this!" all he wants, it doesn't matter when it goes against the base, canonical Byleth. Strikes against canon: 99) in order for Edelgard's scarred body to be seen as something that is repulsive, that is ugly, that is stained, so much so that the pure, childlike, innocent Byleth couldn't stand to see something so tainted. And yet it is that same pure, childlike, innocent Byleth's pure, innocent, childlike love that pushes away the pain of Edelgard's scars for just that moment. Other characters become suddenly blind and/or forgetful of Edelgard's obvious, bleeding wound so that it is Byleth who can be the one to save Edelgard with her pure, innocent, childlike presence and her pure, innocent, childlike uncertainty about her own insecurities (but only when it is convenient for Edelgard, as even Byleth didn't noticed the gaping, bleeding wound until she was alone with Edelgard where no one could interrupt their bonding moment). This scene is inorganic and forced, ham-fisting Edelgard and Byleth in the same room - the wash room, where both are either naked or nearly naked - so that Byleth is the one to find Edelgard, no one else. No one was worried enough about the sudden exit Edelgard took from the conversation she was having to follow her and make sure she was alright, and Byleth just so happened to enter the baths right after Edelgard. The scene is, to be frank, insulting.

- There have been a couple of joking references to a book titled Stones to Abigail in these notes, but in all seriousness, this scene plays unsettlingly similar to a scene in said book, where a scarred girl who is naked reveals her "ugly" and "revolting" scarred body to the love interest, who goes on to soothe and comfort the naked girl as best they can. The resemblance is uncanny

- Byleth described as childlike/innocent. Counter: 5

- Edelgard, in canon, never expresses feeling herself to be ugly, or repulsive, or a monster. Strikes against canon: 100

- Again, Edelgard's scars are only important when they are convenient - this time, in helping develop the romantic relationship between her and Byleth

- There are ways in which scars can be utilized without being problematic, but certainly not when this much focus is placed on them and yet they are only truly present when they cannot hinder Edelgard.

- Perhaps particularly insulting is this phrase from Edelgard: "Did she actually love Byleth at all, or just being saved by her?" Yes, Edelgard, you do simply want to be saved by Byleth, because that is precisely what the narrative has been drilling into the reader's heads ever since Byleth showed herself. Byleth is Edelgard's light, Byleth is Edelgard's hope, Byleth gives Edelgard back her humanity, Byleth is Edelgard's one source of joy, Byleth is Edelgard's entire life, and nothing, absolutely nothing in this fic has shown this to ever be a bad thing. This dependence on Byleth to bring Edelgard joy at the near complete expense of everyone else has been propped up as something romantic, and yet it's now, 21 chapters and over 85K+ words in, that we're supposed to believe that this was actually Edelgard being unhealthy? Even though the author himself said that this was what he enjoyed about their relationship, how much they found each other in each other? Even though we see what the author thinks would happen to the two of them should they separate - Edelgard, lonely and afraid without her beloved teach, and Byleth, the Ashen Demon who cares for nothing without her beloved student - in her visions of SS? This is a joke

- It cannot be overstated that Byleth came to the bathhouses completely independently of Edelgard. She did not come to specifically see her because she followed her out of worry for Edelgard due to her injury - she only knows that Edelgard's injured in the first place due to seeing bloody bandages that Edelgard removed in the bathhouse, before Byleth arrived.

- Author's notes: "On Bergliez, we find out very little in-game, but he 1) offers himself for execution so his men can go free in SS and 2) seems to be actually competent at his job. I thought a nuanced portrayal was more interesting, since I've been writing Aegir as the absolute worst person in the world." -> Note: this is what the author believes to be a nuanced take on someone. Someone who likes Edelgard entirely and does nearly whatever they can to help her, but they did one thing that's morally gray (leaving a child behind to save his own children from the same fate) that is portrayed as objectively bad, so now they are nuanced. While perhaps this sort of character would be truly nuanced in better hands, as it is with his actions being portrayed as something that is obviously so completely and utterly wrong and him someone who deserves complete and utter condemnation - and yet Ionius, who does far worse for far less understandable reasons, gets a comparative slap on the wrist - it causes confusion as to Edelgard's lines. Bergliez seeing her the one time and never helping her is enough for her to want to hurt him as she was hurt, but her father repeatedly coming to and "being forced" to watch her actively be tortured and doing nothing does little to invoke similar depths of resentment? Even granting the idea that "she gives more slack to her father," Ionius is objectively and far worse than Bergliez, down to doing hard things to protect their children, and yet it is only Bergliez who is shined in this unpleasant a light

- To be clear, Bergliez's decision was not a good one, but understandable. It is a gray decision to make. But notice how he is called "gray" and "nuanced" and yet Ionius is nearly completely innocent, as described by the author himself, despite their being no given explaination as to why "he was a figurehead" should be a good enough reason to wash him literally standing there and watching as his children - some of whom aren't even teens yet - get slowly tortured and killed.

- "There are many localization changes I understand (Byleth wanting to get drunk after the battle is one of them), but Treehouse's decision to remove Ionius' entire reason for power centralization (eliminating the consorts) was a big, big mistake." -> Given the history of this author's grasp on the Japanese language, this needs to be checked, as he cannot be trusted as a source as to whether this is true

******* Notes of Claude mischaracterization: Chapter 21, section 1, paragraphs 1, 21 & 23, 27 *******

#o captain my captain #is the Cap'n's name fuckin' Greg holy shit #this chapter was baaaaad #b-but hey maybe i'm just being overly critical?

67 notes · View notes

nashibirne · 3 years

Text

Gimme Shelter - 5

Here comes chapter 5. Expect a little romance and fluff! Our protagonists even start to flirt 😏 I hope you enjoy the next part of their story! If so, please let me know and leave a comment, like or reblog. Thanks 💜

You can find parts 1 - 4 and my other fics on my masterlist

Pairing: Henry Cavill x OFC (Kat Spencer)

Words: ~3.3k

Summary: Henry has to deal with a personal crisis and he finds shelter with his old rugby mate Sam and his sister Kat. She used to be Henry’s best friend a very long time ago. Will they be able to become friends again or maybe even more?

Chapter 5: A walk on the coast path, a flirt and a sweet encounter

Warnings: RPF, mention of mental health issues

Unbeta'ed. English isn't my first language. Mistakes ahead and they're all mine.

Disclaimer: I don’t know the real Henry Cavill or anyone who's related to him in any way, this is pure fiction and nothing more

Credits: Pics for the moodboard from Pinterest. Face claims: Kat = Jennifer Connelly

Tag list (let me know if you want to be added or removed):

@lunedelorient @inlovewithhisblueeyes @willkatfanfromasia @hell1129-blog @mis-lil-red @agniavateira @kebabgirl67 @omgkatinka @legendarywizarddetective @summersong69 @taebfada @xxxkatxo @artandotherdelights @notabronte @littlefreya @luclittlepond @eldarwen333 @meowpurrbooks @marantha @fadingkittenfun @liliumdream @enchantedbytomandhenry @greensleeves888 @witcherfan @margauxmargaux07 @radaofrivia @m07belzen

Ready? Let's go.

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Over the next few days Kat and Henry got closer and closer. They had long conversations almost every day that were so very helpful for both of them and they felt that the bond between them, this strong connection they had all these years ago and that had been cut off so abruptly, was rebuilding slowly. It was almost like back in the days. Kat and Henry against the rest of the world.

Kat helped Henry to sort out his thoughts, to make decisions and plans without taking responsibility away from him. She didn't make it easy for him by taking over control or telling him what to do. All she did was listen, sharing her view on things and giving him advice and she did it in a way that made it easy for Henry to see where he wanted to go with his life in the future. She didn't judge, she didn't criticize, she just gave him her opinion and support and that was all he was asking for.

On day 8 after the treehouse talk Henry was brooding over a text he wanted to publish. A statement for his fans, the media, the public in general but it wasn't so easy to get the tone right and to explain enough to make his latest actions relatable without giving up too much of his privacy. He closed his laptop with a sigh and rubbed his tired eyes when it knocked on the door.

"Come in." he said, hoping it was Kat and his wish came true.

"Hey." Kat greeted him with a bright smile and joined him at the kitchen table. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." He shook his head. "I'm not very productive today."

"So maybe you need a distraction? What about a walk on the coast path? The weather is lovely and I'm really in need of some fresh air. Wanna join me?"

Kat flinched when Mr. Darcy jumped onto her lap out of the blue. "Heavens, Darce...you're gonna give me a heart attack one day." The cat ignored her fond scolding and curled up into a ball on her thighs, clearly demanding a bit of tender loving care that she gave him with an amused smile. "I haven't seen him downstairs in days."

"Cat got your tongue?" Kat stood up with a smirk and Henry was sure she was swaying her hips more than usual when she went to the door. "Come on, Cavill. Let's go."

Henry chuckled. "Yeah, it seems he's moved in with us. He sleeps with Kal in my bed every night. I think he's in love." Kat grinned. "Well, I can't blame him. Who wouldn't fall in love with a smart, sexy hunk and his furry companion." She gave him a flirtatious wink and now Henry was the one feeling like having a heart attack.

This was new. She'd never flirted with him before. All their banter was of friendly nature, sarcastic and funny but not flirty. He wanted to give her a witty answer, make a sexy remark but his mind went blank. All he was able to think about was how badly he wanted to touch and kiss her and so he opened his mouth but not a single word came out.

Kat's heart was racing when they left the house and walked down the road that led to the coast path side by side. It was obvious that her cheeky remark had caught him off guard but she wasn't sure if he considered her move good or bad. It had taken all her courage to try and flirt with him and his reaction left her a little clueless. It was not like she didn't know how to flirt. She did and she loved a sexy flirtatious banter. She wasn't shy and she also was aware of the fact that she was attractive but when it came to Henry everything was different. She turned into an insecure teenager again, helplessly in love and completely confused.

Just don't make the same mistakes again. Her thoughts wandered back to the night she'd spend with Eli after the city festival. When she went home with him she wanted to have sex with him, she really did but it didn't work. Whenever she closed her eyes and kissed him she saw Henry and the way he had looked at her when they were dancing slowly. Elijah soon noticed that something was off and he connected the dots quickly. He was very sweet and instead of being pissed he made coffee and they sat down and talked. Kat told him about her and Henry, all about their past, about Poppy, the heartbreak, her feelings for him, just everything. When she was finished Eli gave her a grin. "Well, I've been dumped for worse guys than Henry Cavill. I mean, even I wouldn't say no to him and I'm straight as fuck."

Kat chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Thank you for your understanding. I just don't know how to deal with my feelings. I don't even understand the nature of these feelings."

"The nature? You're falling for him again. And judging by the way he looked at you and the death stares he was giving me all night, I'd say he feels the same way." Eli shrugged as if it was as clear as day. "And you should really grasp at that second chance."

Kat sighed. "I don't know. What if he hurts me again?"

"You're not sixteen anymore. I'm sure he's learned his lesson and so have you. Just don't fuck it up this time, Kat."

"Excuse me? I didn't fuck it up back then." She looked at him flabbergasted.

"Come on, you know what I mean. Just don't make the same mistakes again." Eli took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Yeah, he was a total ass and treated you badly. He lied to you. I get that. But you never gave him a hint that you have feelings for him. You took him for granted, Kat. You thought he'd always be there for you exclusively, that you are the only girl in his life and that you could afford to keep him in the dark about your feelings. You had this romantic idea in your head. You and him, the ball, the romance, a dance, a kiss, a confession but you never even considered that he liked you too but moved on because you'd friendzoned him. Truth is you didn't dare to tell him that you're in love with him and it backfired and hit you hard."

Kat started to chew on her lip. "Yeah. Maybe you're right."

"And if I may add one thing. You're 38. You're beautiful and smart but you're still single. You said it yourself, none of the men you meet can live up to your expectations. You've never met 'the one'. What if Henry's been the one for you all along?"

And that was the question that was running around in her mind ever since Elijah had posed it. Was it possible? Was Henry the one for her?

"This way?" Henry's voice interrupted her thoughts. He pointed at a path that turned off to the left. "Yes." Kat smiled at him sheepishly and Henry gave her a funny look. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure. I was just lost in thought. Sorry."

"Thinking about hot hunks, huh?" He smirked and it was ridiculously sexy. Kat's heart jumped with joy when she realized that he was flirting back.

"More about their cute companions." Kat laughed out loud with relief and joy. "Come on, Kal." She clapped her hands and started to run down the path, the American Akita following close behind, wagging his tale with excitement. She looked back over her shoulder with a grin. "What are you waiting for, Hen. Are you afraid you can't keep up with me?"

"Don't try me." Henry laughed and ran after her, chasing her down the path, playfully imitating a roaring bear. Kat was surprisingly fast and he indeed had problems keeping up with her. He wasn't a sprinter, his body wasn't really made for running though he did it for cardio regularly. So he had stamina but he wasn't very fast. Kat on the other hand was agile and quick and she took the rocky path effortlessly, it was a treat for the eyes. He knew she liked trail running and her smooth motions showed him that she did this often. When he finally caught up with her she flashed him a smile and slowed down. They came to a halt, both panting and laughing at the same time. "We better walk now. I'm too old for running away from a man as fit as you." Kat bent her upper body down and supported herself with her hands on her knees. Henry grinned. "You're way too fast for me. You ran like a bat out of hell."

They both burst out laughing again for no real reason and it felt so good to be childish and just a little silly. Henry was so comfortable, so much like himself, when he was with her it made him feel whole again. She was the antidepressant he really needed.

"What about some climbing instead of running?"

"Climbing? Jesus, Kat, are you trying to wear me out?"

"Well, it's not really climbing. The trail is just a little rockier and steeper than the regular one." Kat pointed at a path that was overgrown and led upwards to what seemed to be a cliff.

"What's up there? A make-out spot?" He asked, grinning cheekily.

"Dream on." Kat raised an eyebrow and her smile was sexy and amused at the same time. "Just an amazing view on the bay from the top of the cliff."

"It's closed off." Henry looked at the chain that blocked the trail with a frown.

"Yes...but we can take it anyway. That's not a problem."

"The sign says 'no trespassing', Kat."

She sighed. "I know but this is more for the tourists. There have been some minor accidents. Someone broke his leg or something. So they closed it off...insurance stuff and such...you know how it is. It's nothing, I've been there many times."

Henry still wasn't convinced. "It can still be dangerous and what if we get caught?"

"Sorry." She mumbled avoiding his gaze.

Kat laughed. "No risk, no fun. Come on now, Pop." She froze before she blushed furiously.

"Pop, huh?" Henry's lips turned up into a mocking grin. Pop had been her nickname for him at school. Whenever he'd tried to tell her what to do or to keep her from doing things he considered too dangerous or simply inappropriate she had teased him with this name to make clear that he sounded like her father. And so he became Pop just like she became Kitty.

"No worries, Kat. I like the sound of it. Actually I get called daddy a lot these days." Her eyes met his and he wiggled his eyebrows with a teasing smirk. Kat's confidence was back and she gave him a lopsided grin and a wink before she climbed over the chain. "Well, I guess I better behave then...daddy."

20 minutes later they were sitting side by side on top of the cliff, Kal lying at Henry's feet and Kat hadn't promised too much. The view was spectacular. "That's fantastic, Kat."

"Yeah. It never ceases to amaze me, every time I come here, again and again."

They sat there in comfortable silence for a while, staring at the ocean. Kat's legs touched his and the physical closeness awoke the butterflies inside of him. He turned to her, admiring her pretty face. "Thanks for taking me here." She looked at him with a smile. "I knew you'd love it. I've been here many times thinking of you, wishing you were with me, like you're with me now." Her voice got weaker with every word and she bit her lip, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

Henry's heart started to race when he realized what her words meant. She had never stopped thinking about him just like he had never been able to forget her. He took her hand and pressed a soft kiss on her knuckles. She let it happen, she even closed her eyes. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than by your side, Kitty." He knew it was a bold move to call her that after her reaction the other day but she didn't seem to mind. "That's good to know, Pop."

She opened her eyes again and they shared a shy smile. Henry didn't let go of her hand, he even started to stroke it with his thumb tenderly. Kat's gaze fell on his lips and they both leaned in slowly. Their lips were just about to meet in a tender kiss when they heard suppressed giggles from behind. They turned around and saw two girls who were standing behind a rock, watching them. They were nine maybe ten years old and really cute. "Hey, you nosy little rascals. Are you observing us?" Henry scolded them playfully, laughing out loud and Kat couldn't help but join in.

"What about your dog? Don't you go to work?" Nelly asked.

"We were observing your dog. It looks like a bear." The taller girl said with a confident smile. She had beautiful, thick, red hair and reminded Kat very much of Anne Shirley from 'Anne with an E'. "What's your name?" she asked. "I'm Nelly and this is my bestie Laura." The other girl giggled again and waved at them but she didn't say a word. "Would you want to pet my dog? His name is Kal." Henry gave them an encouraging smile and they nodded eagerly. "Come on, Kal. Meet Nelly and Laura." Kal got up and greeted the girls like the friendly dog he just was and they kneeled down to stroke his soft fur.

"I want a dog too, but my parents say no." Laura said and she pouted her lips. "I'm sure they have good reasons." Henry explained. "A dog requires a lot of time." "Yeah. That's what my parents say. They don't have time for a dog because they both have to work." She rolled her big brown eyes, never stopping to pet Kal who enjoyed the love he received.

"Your parents are very reasonable . You wouldn't want your dog to be sad, would you?" "No." She shook her head vehemently. "Of course not." "See, but dogs are sad when they have to be alone all day." She nodded and sighed. "Oh, okay."

"I'm lucky. I can take Kal with me when I work." Henry gave her a bright smile but she seemed sceptical. "Really? Must be a very strange job, when you can bring your dog."

"It is a strange job, you're right, Nelly, but I love it anyway." And for the first time in months, he felt it. He loved his job and he was a lucky man.

After the sweet encounter with Nelly and Laura the intimate moment was ruined and the sexual tension was gone but Kat and Henry were still in a good mood and they went back home chatting lightheartedly.

"You were great with the girls. Did you never think about having kids?"

Henry gave Kat a surprised look.

"Of course I did. I'd love to have a bunch of children but I guess I'd need a woman first."

"I don't think there's a lack of women in your life."

"No, of course not. There were many of them but never the one to start a family with."

Now it was Kat who was surprised. "You have never been in a serious relationship? Never made plans to settle down? I'm sorry if this a stupid question but I've always avoided reading about your private life in the media…"

"It's not stupid at all. What you can read about my private life is mostly bullshit anyway." Henry let out a snort. "But no, I've never been really serious with a woman. I was engaged once but that was a very stupid idea. I was young and foolish…"

"But why? I mean, you're perfect husband material."

"Yeah, for gold diggers and attention whores." He rolled his eyes. "I don't know, it's always the same. I meet a woman, I fall fast and hard and after a few weeks I wake up from this romantic vision I had of her and me and there's nothing left...I lose interest or she gets bored with me and that's it. It has always been like this. I'm just not able to find a woman that completes me." He shrugged. "What about you? Why are you still single?"

Kat took a deep breath. "Pretty much the same actually. There have been a few men, short relationships, but it never lasted. All of them tried to turn me into something I'm not. A trophy wife, a housewife, a mistress…but none of them could make me feel at home with them."

"They must have been idiots. Why would anybody try to change you. You're great the way you are." Henry said, shaking his head in disbelief. "What about Jim?"

Kat smiled. "Jim was indeed different. We had a great time but after four years we grew apart. I was so young, 23, I wanted to travel, to see the world, he was 30 and wanted to settle down and start a family. That's why we broke up and it was the right thing to do. We're still friends and he has a great family now."

"Seems we were right when we were moping teenagers and said we're never going to find true and everlasting love. Do you remember? Kitty and Pop..the lonely heart club?"

"Of course. All these sad poems we wrote and you were so great at reciting them." Kat laughed softly at the memory. "God, we were so pathetic with our self-pity."

"Yeah, we were. But eventually you fell for Aaron."

"Love is a big word for what Poppy and I had in those 6 months we were together." Henry looked at his hands, his fingers were fumbling with the ring on his pinky. Guilt washed over him whenever he talked about Poppy in Kat's presence. "I guess I didn't even know what love is when I was with her. Maybe I still don't."

Kat cocked her head looking at him. Yes, after you broke my heart, was what she was thinking. "I did. He was my byronic hero. He saved me..." was what she was saying. "And you loved Poppy."

"You must have loved your girlfriends."

Henry shrugged. "I have but...I don't know…"

"You loved them and at the same time you knew they weren't the one. Something was always missing…."

Kat spoke out what he was thinking but couldn't express.

He looked at her, nodding his head. "Exactly."

"Yeah. Same here. Aren't we the lucky ones?" Kat gave him a sarcastic grin. "We should resurrect the lonely hearts club."

The way she tried to shrug off the topic all of the sudden showed him that it had gotten under her skin. Deep. He smirked and gave her a wink. "Count me in."

Kat looked at him with a frown. "Really? I was actually joking."

"Why not. Could be fun to take a stroll down memory lane."

"You're right. Let's do it. First meeting on Saturday night? At the woodhouse?"

"Sounds like a plan. I better start searching the internet for some sad, dramatic poems."

"And I'm going to compile a playlist."

"Deal." Henry offered Kat his hand for a handshake and she took it grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Deal."

❇❇❇❇❇❇❇❇❇❇❇

tbc

#henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill #cavillry #henry cavill fandom #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill rpf #rpf #henry cavill slow burn #slow burn fic

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mintelepathy · 3 years

Text

"Now is when you kiss me"

neighbor!hoseok x reader/oc

word count: +1.5k

genre: fluff

warnings: none

summary: oc never imagined that her neighbor would confess his feelings for her after waking him up in the middle of the night to ask him for help to kill a spider.

mlist

Why did bugs and all that kind of small living beings had to scare you so much? It's been more than an hour since you spotted a huge spider on the ceiling of your bedroom, and now that you knew that the creature was there, you wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully in its presence. You tried to be brave and don't give it too much attention, it wasn't like it was going to suddenly appear on your bed or something like that, was it?

Still staring at it, you thought that maybe if you tried to think positive about spiders it would be easier to let the scariness go away, or maybe if you named it you could actually become close friends and have it as your roommate from now on.

Ok, that was ridiculous. You really needed to find a way to kill it, because otherwise you would spent the rest of the night with your eyes fully focused on your little new pet.

After debating with yourself, you decided to get up and make your way to your neighbor's front door, you'd ask him to kill it, he'd do it fastly, and then you'd be able to sleep at peace.

You met him the same day you moved to your apartment, coincidentally he was moving to his apartment the same day as you, so both of you ended up helping each other out. Since then you've been good friends, you didn't spend a lot time together because he was occupied most of the time when you were off work, but every so often you'd end up having dinner with him and talking for the rest of the night at his place and vice versa.

You knew quite lot of personal issues about him, and he knew almost everything about you, even though you didn't spend a lot of time together like you'd want to, you could definitely say that he was one of your closest friend, you just knew you could trust him everything no matter what.

"Hey there, is everything ok?" he really took his time to opened the door, and you noticed right away that it was because you just had woken him up.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't think you were sleeping, you can go back to sleep if I'm bothering you" you really felt bad for interrupting his sleep.

"Don't worry, do you want to come in?" he said as he make you space to let you in.

"Actually, would you mind helping me with something?" there it was when you realized how dumb you'd look once you tell him the specific reason why you were there.

"Anything you need" You gave him a smile and he followed you to your apartment, more specifically your bedroom.

"This may sound ridiculous but there is spider right there and I'm too coward to kill it myself, can you help me?" you said as you pointed at the place where the arachnid was, luckily it hasn't moved a bit all this time.

"Oh" that was all he said when he spotted it. "I've never told you this, but I really hate spiders"

Oh god.

"Then there is no way you can kill it right? I mean I completely understand if you can't, I should be the one dealing with this"

You felt so bad, first you woke him up and then you ask him to kill a spider for you when he hates them just as much as you. Maybe other person would cursed at you for doing all of that, but thanks god your neighbor was hoseok, there was no way he would get pissed at you for this.

"Look, what if we both try to kill it together? it could be less scary, don't you think?" he was no longer looking at the spider but you now.

"I think that's a great idea" you said as you nodded. "How do we do it then?"

He meditated for a moment and then said "Listen, I have a plan and I think it'll work, we need two mops, tape and a shoe. wait here, I'll bring a mop from my apartment" he made his way out of the bedroom and you stayed there just like he said.

You really wanted to know his plan because you couldn't really tell what he had in mind.

"I got it" he came back a minute later holding the mop with his right hand and a roll of tape in the other. "I brought tape too just in case you didn't have" he sat on your bed and took one of his shoes off.

"I'll go to the kitchen to find mine" you had used it to mop the floor today so you knew exactly where you left it.

Once you got it, you return to your bedroom and you found hoseok fully submerged in his creation, he was taping his shoe to the end of the mop stick.

"I'm really curious about this, would you mind telling me what are youdoing?" you chuckled at the sight, the scene was somehow funny to you.

"This is what we're gonna do, one of us will use the mop you have there to touch the spider, then it'll fall to the ground, once we have it on the ground the other will kill it with the shoe, thanks to my great invention we won't need to get close to it to kill it" it was actually such a good plan.

"Your mind amazes me, I think you can make great money with that invention of yours, I'd buy it" he smiled proudly.

"Who's going to do the dirty work then?" he asked but you didn't answer because something was wrong.

"Hobi, the spider is gone" you both were now staring at the ceiling with your mouths slightly opened. "I think the spider felt we were going to do something, you know?" he turned his attention back to you.

"It was a great idea though" he said disappointed.

You couldn't kill the spider but at least you got to spend some time with him. No one knew it, but you like him, and a lot.

You just can't believe how someone could be such a good person. For you, there wasn't anything bad about him, he is so kind to everyone, always offering help to other people, even if he didn't try it he just made everyone's day better, and you could keep on going with the list all day.

"Oh shit" he said as he touched the back of his pants as if he was looking for something.

"What happened?" you said getting a bit closer to him.

"I left my keys inside of the apartment when I went to look for the things" he had both of his hands grabbing the sides of his head.

"You can stay here tonight if you want" you said shyly. The thought of him staying at your place for the night made your cheeks turn red, even if you were going to sleep in separate room.

"Are you sure? Yoongi has a copy of my keys, I can ask him to come and bring them, you don't have to worry" you know he said that because he didn't want to make you uncomfortable or something like that, but something he didn't know was that you actually wanted him there.

"I insist, stay here" you said as you grabbed one of his hands without thinking twice, it was the first time you did something like that with him, and you could feel the butterflies in the stomach, you felt like you were fifteen again.

He didn't respond right away so you realized that maybe he was the one feeling uncomfortable right now. You let go of his hand and took a step back "If you don't want to stay here I can wait with you until Yoongi arrives with the keys" maybe it was too soon to ask him to stay for the rest of the night.

"I'll stay, I want to stay here with you tonight" you didn't expect him to grab your hand but he did, look how the tables had turned. "Can I tell you something?" he asked almost whispering and you nodded. "I like you" he said all of a sudden.

Ok, you were definitely not expecting that at all. You were perplexed, you didn't know how to react to his confession, it actually felt like you were dreaming.

"Am I dreaming right now? Are you real?" you gently touched his cheek with one finger.

"You are not dreaming at all, and the real me just told you that he likes you" he was looking at you so adorably.

"So if this is real, I'd love to tell you that I like you too" you could feel your cheeks turning red again.

"My hands feel cold, excuse me" he said that just as an excuse to hold your face with his hands and you couldn't help but smile.

"My lips feel cold" you seriously didn't know where was that confidence coming from.

"I think I can help you with that if you let me" he knew what you wanted but he just wanted to make sure that he had your permission.

"Now is when you kiss me" you slowly placed your arms around his neck and before you noticed he was already pressing his lips against yours.

You've always wanted to know how his kisses would feel, and now you can totally say that you won't ever get tired of them.

♡

I hope you liked this, I really want to make a part two of this and I'd like to know if you want it too.

A like or reblog is always appreciated :)

buy me a kofi?

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emeralddaydream · 3 years

Text

𝙸𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙻𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝙸𝚜 𝙼𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝙾𝚏?

Kit x GN!Reader

Rating: General

Word Count: 2848

Warnings: None, just lots of fluff✨

Requested by Anon: Mayhaps prompt 84 (“No, Mom, don’t tell him/her I said that about him/her!”) with Kit Walker, but instead he's talking to Jude, Thomas, and Julia. Kit had been dating you for a while and he accidentally had let it slip that he loves you to his family (they all tease him about it constantly). You were planning on visiting later (so everyone could go to the park together or do some other adorable activity) and Kit just knows that someone is going to tell you, and he is trying desperately to avoid that

A/N: Okay, firstly, anon, thank you so much for your lovely message. I haven't been too kind to myself lately (workin' on it), so I really appreciate you being so understanding💜

I kind of went off the rails with this one, and it doesn't actually include the prompt sentence, and the prompt itself is a lil different, but same basic idea, I think... I really hope you like it!!

Also, Jude is healthy bc I refuse to make this angsty.

The title comes from 'I Think I Love You' by The Partridge Family, and on that note, I'm also dedicating this to one of my favorite humans. She's not really into AHS, but David Cassidy is her mans, so Sierra, this one's for you!! Thank you for always being a wonderful friend💜💕

“Jude, I need your help.”

In general, Kit Walker considers himself to be a pretty easy-going guy; usually, there isn't much that gets to him. But today’s different. There’s something that he’s simultaneously ecstatic about and dreading.

Today's the day you’ll be meeting his family for the first time.

“With?” Jude’s smirking amusedly where she sits across from him at the kitchen table sorting dish ware and arranging it carefully in the picnic basket in front of her. Kit glances at the clock on the wall and sighs; he's got just over an hour before he, Jude and the kids are supposed to meet you at the park, and he couldn’t be much more anxious about it if he tried... Not for nothing, though.

“I just wanna make sure today goes well.” He finishes wrapping the sandwich in his hand, placing it in the basket to join the plates.

“And you don’t think it will?” Jude raises an eyebrow; she may be a particularly perceptive woman, but it isn't very difficult to see that there's something Kit isn't saying.

His mind drifts for a moment to the other night, when he and Jude sat in the living room, chatting quietly after the kids had gone to sleep. She’d asked about you, and before Kit knew it, he was spilling his guts to her, finally speaking the words he’s been unable to say to you. It’d felt amazing to finally get them out... until he noticed Julia peaking around the door frame, brown eyes trained on he and Jude She scurried off, giggling quietly down the hall, and when he asked her about it the next day, it was clear to Kit that his daughter had heard the entire conversation. And it didn’t need to be said that she had told Thomas; the two of them have never kept anything from each other in their lives…

“I hope it does.” Kit replies after several moments of silence. He’s not at all concerned about whether or not you’ll get along with his family. There’s no doubt in his mind that Jude will be taken, and the kids are going to adore you. “I just need help makin’ sure they don’t say anything.” He glances toward the two small figures in the next room where they lie on the floor, markers in hand as they draw colorful pictures and fill out puzzles from the day-old newspaper Jude had provided to keep them occupied.

“About?” Jude's smirk grows into a playful grin. She’s having fun with this; a little too much, in Kit’s opinion. He scowls and she laughs quietly.

“About... y’know?”

“About how you love them?” Jude’s voice carries into the next room a bit too loudly for Kit’s liking, and his eyes go wide. He places a finger to his lips, eyes darting to the children to make sure they’re still distracted; so far, so good.

“Yes.”

“Well, when are you going to tell her? You’re not getting any younger, y’know.” Kit's unable to stop the smile that breaks across his face.

“Soon. I just… need to find the right moment.”

“There’s no such thing as the right moment, Walker," she chortles, rolling a bundle of silverware into a napkin. “But…I’ll do my best.” Kit smiles gratefully, but she shakes her head continuing. “But they’re kids. Kids'll say whatever they want to.” Knowing she's right, Kit groans, running a hand through his hair before feeling around in the pocket of his jeans for his pack of cigarettes.

He's in for an interesting day.

——

The worn wood of the bench feels rough under your fingers as you tap against it anxiously. You take a quick peak to your right again, in search of the vehicle you’re waiting for. It’s a big day. In just- you glance down at your watch for the fifth time – two and a half minutes, your boyfriend is supposed to arrive with his family.

It terrifies you.

It’s not that you have any issues with kids. You love them. Becoming a parent has always been a part of the plan for you. However, you don’t have much experience with them and, this is the first time you’ve ever been with someone with children of their own. It’s... intimidating.

Kit, however, has been nothing but reassuring. A small smile crosses your face, thinking of the last thing he’d said to you when he'd called last night. Don’t worry, babe. They’re gonna love you.

God, you hope he’s right.

Kit’s told you so much about his kids over the last several months the two of you have been together, and you can tell by the warmth in his voice, by the way his eyes light up when he tells you something funny one of them did, that they are his world. As they should be. You wouldn’t want it any other way.

There's absolutely no doubt in your mind that you've fallen head over heels for this man... That’s what's so frightening; you don’t want to screw anything up. For anyone's sake.

You’re in the middle of reciting some of the things Kit had told you about the kids- ‘Julia’s really into football right now, a little chatterbox, and Thomas loves readin’, but he’s pretty shy’- when you hear tires making their way along the narrow dirt road. Turning your head again, your stomach flips when you see the familiar station wagon- much fuller with people than normal- pull into the small parking lot. You smile, raising your hand in a wave when Kit sees you, and swallow hard.

The driver’s door quickly opens, and Kit makes his way over, basket in hand. The passenger, Jude, stays behind to help the kids out of their seats.

“Hey, you.” Kit murmurs, a smile on his face as he leans down to press a tender kiss to your cheek.

“Hi.” With a shaky breath, you take your bottom lip between your teeth when he pulls back. With a sympathetic smile, Kit takes your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“They’re gonna love you,” he reminds, and you huff a laugh. Julia begins speaking excitedly as she hops out of the car; you can’t make out what she’s saying, but she sounds enthusiastic, so you’re taking that as a good sign.

“If you say so.” You grip his hand more tightly and he chuckles as the two of you make your way toward the sound of the animated voice.

Now or never.

“Y/N!” You jump at the sound, completely taken off guard- even more so when something barrels into you, wrapping around your waist. You look down to see the small girl- the one that you recognize from the many pictures Kit has shown you -beaming up at you. Kit laughs, scooping her up into his arms as Jude moves to stand in front of the three of you. Thomas hangs onto her hand, hiding behind her dress.

“Y/N, this is Jude, Thomas, and you’ve already met Julia.” He shakes his head, tickling his daughter’s ribs until she’s leaning into him, in a fit of giggles.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you all,” you say, hoping the smile on your face doesn’t come across as uneasy.

“We could say the same to you. This one,”- she gestures to Kit- “is talking about you constantly.” You smile widely at this, eyes moving to Kit to find his cheeks turning rosy.

“Oh, really?”

“Uh-huh!” Julia chimes in, Thomas slowly nodding his agreement.

“Oh, you.” You nudge Kit’s arm gently, and his eyes shift quickly back and forth between the children. Jude lets out a trill of laughter then, taking Julia’s hand in hers.

“Why don’t we find somewhere to sit? I’m sure we’re all getting hungry.” The kids agree enthusiastically, taking off in a sprint toward a nearby gazebo where several tables sit. “Hey, slow it down, you two!” Jude calls, following them.

You turn to Kit, who brings your hand to his lips, placing a kiss there; there’s something about his expression that you can’t quite place, but he seems happy, so you’re happy. “I’m glad you’re here,” he says, letting your hands fall and dangle together as the two of you slowly make your way to the table where the children sit, awaiting their lunch. Julia laughs beckoning the two of you over, and there’s a shy little smile on Thomas’ face. Your nerves are slowly fading, and you let out a breathy sigh, smiling up at him.

“I’m glad I’m here, too.”

The meal is fantastic, and by the time you’re wiping your mouth on your napkin and placing it down on the empty plate in front of you, you can hardly remember why you were so panicky about this meeting in the first place. The food is delicious, Jude accepting your compliments on her potato salad graciously. The two of to you discuss your job, her asking about the intricacies of what you do. Not in a prying way, though; she seems genuinely interested.

It’s not long before the kids take to you, either. Julia already has, it seems, as she insists on sitting across from you while you eat. She tells lots of stories; everything from the science project she and Kit have been working on for school, to the time that Jude took her and Thomas to the zoo.; you find out that hippos are her favorite animal. “Isn’t it so cute when they wiggle their ears??” she asks.

Thomas takes a bit more coaxing, but not much; not when you decide to ask him what his favorite book is. His eyes light up and he brings up several, speaking excitedly about a chapter from the one he's currently in the middle of.

“Daddy, can we play now?” Julia asks, setting her fork down; she bounces around like she’s ready to jump out of her seat, and you can’t help but giggle.

“Sure,” Kit chuckles, placing his empty glass of iced tea on the table. I’m just gonna use the bathroom real quick, but go onnahead.” He stands, patting your shoulder. Shooting what he hopes is a discreet glance Jude's way, he moves toward the small bathroom stalls a few yards away.

Jude laughs, a soft smile on her face, watching as Julia moves to cling to your arm. “Alright, Thomas, it. looks like it’s you and me. What do you wanna do first?” She takes the small boy’s hand, and he leads them in the direction of the sandbox.

Julia glances around, and when she sees that everyone’s out of earshot, she leans into you, bringing a hand to her mouth to ask, “Y/N, can I tell you a secret?”

Her over-exaggerated whisper and enthusiasm make you giggle, and you nod. “Sure.”

She climbs into the seat beside you, leaning in closer to speak into your ear. “My daddy loves you.”

You’re quiet for several seconds, having absolutely no idea how to respond. You look down at her, eventually stuttering out, “O-oh… really? How do you know that?” You're half expecting a nonsensical answer, but when she opens her mouth, the young girl is serious.

“I heard him and Nana talking about it the a couple'a nights ago when I got out of bed for a drink of water.” She grins up at you. “…But I can just tell.”

“H-how can you tell?”

She shrugs. "He smiles when he talks about you." Her answer is so simple, so pure, and it holds so much meaning; you're sure there's a dopey grin growing on your face right now.

“Well, your dad’s pretty great. And I think you’re pretty great, Julia.” Her smile grows impossibly wider as she wraps her arms around your neck, pulling you into a tight hug. You hold her tiny frame and are on cloud nine when you spot Kit closing the door to the restroom behind him; when he sees the two of you still sitting there, he makes his way over.

Kit chuckles to himself, overcome with joy when he walks out of the bathroom to see you holding Julia in an embrace, smiles on both of your faces. He walks slowly toward you, silently praying that his daughter hasn’t said anything she shouldn’t have. So much for Jude’s help… Should'a known better. He glances at his friend, sitting on the edge of the sandbox with his son. Jude looks up, smirking, and he rolls his eyes at her.

Nevertheless, he’s decided. It has to be now.

“What’re you two doin’ over here?” He places a warm hand on your arm as he stands behind you, appraising his daughter. “Jules, I thought you wanted to play? You’ve been sayin’ how excited you were for the jungle gym all week.” Julia’s small legs swing back and forth as she watches her father, with a shrug.

“I wanted to talk to Y/N first.”

“Well, we can keep talking while we play, then,” you decide, standing quickly, but Kit grabs your hand, stilling you.

“Actually, I wanna talk to you about somethin’ real quick.” His voice is low in your ear, and he watches his daughter tensely.

“Oh, o-okay.” Your eyes move to Julia and you smile. “Why don’t you go down the slide a few times, and I’ll be over there in a minute?”

“Okay!” The little girl jumps from her spot, sprinting toward concrete of the playground.

“Be careful!” Kit shouts after her. With a chuckle, he takes his previous seat and pats the one beside him. You smile happily, leaning your head on his shoulder when you move next to him.

“They’re really great, Kit. All of them.”

Kit smiles proudly, watching as Jude helps Thomas make some sort of sculpture in the sand. “They are,” he agrees with a nod. “Jude likes you. The kids really like you.”

“I’m so glad.” You sigh in relief, turning to meet his gaze. “I was so worried they’d all hate me.”

“How could they?” he asks, leaning in to place a sweet peck to your lips. You smile against his mouth, your own tingling as he pulls back. You can’t help but glimpse toward playground to see if the kids have noticed. They’re still preoccupied, but Jude’s noticed; she sends you a wink and your cheeks grow warm. Seeing the exchange, Kit scowls playfully, waving a hand at her. She laughs, turning back to the sandy masterpiece Thomas is working diligently on.

“So,” Kit begins... Deep breath. “There’s somethin’ I’ve been wantin’ to talk to you about.”

“Okay.” Your heartbeat pounds in your ears. “What’s up?” …Could it be?

“It’s something I’ve wanted to say for a while, actually. He’s looking at his hands as he says this, biting down on his bottom lip when his gaze finally meets yours. “I haven’t felt this way about anyone in… a long time. Not since...” He trails off, but you know he’s thinking of the kid’s mothers, so you nod in understanding. “Honestly it’s a little scary, but I think I- I mean, I know I-“ He cuts himself off, and takes a deep breath, shaking his head slowly. “Christ. I dunno why this is so hard, I just…” He sighs deeply.

“…Kit?”

“Yeah?”

“…I love you, too.”

“You… you love m- wait, what?” His eyes grow wide, and he groans after a moment, knowing exactly who the culprit is. “Julia told you?” You can't help but laugh quietly, nodding your confirmation. “I shoulda known. My little blabbermouth.” A wistful smile grows on his face, and the amount of adoration you feel for this man in this moment is staggering.

“So… it’s true, then?” you ask, taking one of his hands in both of yours.

He nods, smiling as he leans in to press his forehead to yours. “I love you, Y/N. I do.” His voice is hardly above a whisper, but it feels like a shout; a declaration. Your returning smile is bright, certainly one of the best Kit’s ever seen- one he’s sure he’ll remember for the rest of his life -and when you wrap your arms around his neck, his own widens further, the muscles in his face beginning to ache, but he couldn't care less.

“I love you, Kit Walker. So much.” You move in for a kiss of your own; it’s short, but full of more meaning than any you’ve ever had.

Pulling back, you pat his knee gently. You stand from your seat, offering a hand out to him. “C’mon. Earlier, I promised Julia I’d watch her on the monkey bars.” Kit laughs, taking your hand and slinging an arm around your waist once he’s standing. You make your way to where the girl is currently whizzing down the largest slide in the park, squealing with laughter. Glancing at the sandbox, you see Jude eyeing you, a knowing smirk on her face; you blush, but smile back.

Right here, right now, moving toward the laughter of Kit’s loving family, there isn’t a sliver of doubt in your mind that this is meant to be.

This is where you belong.

taglist: @therenlover, @tatestripedsweater, @kitwalker02, @ladyfogg, @mossybank, @undeadcortez, @sallyscigarettes, @xmaximoffic, @samsassinparvismagna, @liandav, @kitwalkerangel, @elaineygrace, @milly-louise @americxn (please feel free to fill out this form to be added/removed for future fics)

#julia is a lil matchmaker #also i discovered a tenacious d cover of 'i think i love you' and it's fucking iconic #i love jack black #and kit #kit walker #kit walker fanfiction #kit walker x reader #kit walker x gn!reader #evan peters fanfiction #evan peters x reader #evan peters x gn!reader #ahs #ahs fanfiction #american horror story #american horror story fanfiction

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miraculousares · 3 years

Text

Reflexes

A quick fic inspired by this gif set

Over the last three years of being Ladybug, Marinette had changed in several ways. The two most notable to those around her were both physical. One, she was buff. Like, she could beat Kim at wrestling kind of buff. When she wore bikinis to the beach with her friends, they'd all stare at her abs for a moment. Alya constantly asked her how she had gotten so ripped but never got a straight answer. It's not like Marinette could exactly say that she had gotten strong by fighting villains all day.

The other thing that had become most noticeable was her fighting skills. Few of her friends ever witnessed anything as fighting wasn't a super common civilian issue, but Alya saw her take down a mugger with one hand. Nobody really believed her when she told people about it - "Oh, sweet little Marinette couldn't hurt a fly," they often said - but she still made a note not to startle her or get on her bad side.

One of the most problematic changes that she'd made, though, was her fighting instincts. While it came in handy during fights with akumas, she often found herself judo-flipping her partner, Chat Noir, when he snuck up on her. The worst part was that he never learned to give her some warning, so it wasn't an uncommon occurrence to accidentally throw her best friend off of roofs. Of course, he was always okay. Not only did he have his staff and super-agility, but he'd learned to expect it. That only made her feel more guilty.

~ o n e d a y ~

Ladybug leaned against the chimney of one of the several rooftops of Paris. She was looking down at her yoyo's screen, catching up on some fan emails, while she waited for her partner. Suddenly, she felt the sudden presence of someone behind her, a hand reaching toward her. Instinctively, she grabbed the wrist and slammed the attacker down on the ground in front of her. She kept the arm in her grasp and put a foot on the person's chest to hold them down. The laughter that followed registered before the face did. She immediately let go and took her foot off of the blonde and held down a hand to help him up. Once he was standing again, he worked to control his laughter.

"Stupid cat, I've told you over and over again not to sneak up on me like that! You know that I react like that to being startled," she grumbled, closing up her yoyo and attaching it to her hip.

"I know, I know. But it's kinda funny," he wiped a tear from his eye.

"It won't be so funny when you dull my reflexes and I get my miraculous stolen by a villain," she retorted, pushing him playfully but sternly on the shoulder.

"My lady, you could never be dull, not even your reflexes." His eyes shone with adoration and she rolled her eyes. She had to admit that his flirtiness had gotten a lot sweeter in the past few months as they got to know each other deeper and deeper.

"Yeah, whatever, kitty. Are you ready to go on patrol?"

"With you? Always."

The two leaped from the rooftop and began scanning the streets of Paris for any akumas or citizens in need of help. They helped an elderly woman gather the groceries that had fallen through a hole in her bag and helped prevent a traffic collision. As always, they stopped by the bench where Mr. Ramier sat with his pigeons and chatted with him, bringing him comfort. The man had gone through a lot of trauma, having been akumatized over 50 times. Finally, the sun began to set and they decided to call it a night.

Marinette stretched and yawned, extremely tired. As soon as they'd gotten home from patrol, they got an akuma alert and had stayed up until nearly 5 am fighting.

"I don't know how I'm gonna make it through the day on only two hours of sleep," Marinette commented as she messily pulled her hair into her signature pigtails.

"You've got this, Marinette! I know you can do it!" Her kwami pressed against her cheek in a hug and the girl felt energized just from the affection from the small creature.

"Thanks, Tikki," she smiled. Then she opened her bag for her to fly into and headed for school.

"Hey, girl!" Alya called from across the courtyard. She was standing near the stairs talking to Nino. Marinette managed to jog over there and greeted her friends.

"Oh man, you look terrible," Nino commented. Alya jabbed him in the side. "I mean, you seem tired. You okay, dude?"

Marinette nodded. "Yeah, the noise from the akuma last night kept me up," she fibbed.

"Oh that's right, it was right over by the bakery, wasn't it? Did you see that villain though? Hawkmoth is really stepping up his game!" Alya continued to talk about the night's battle, giving Marinette a chance to zone out for a moment since she didn't need a rundown of the battle she'd fought. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She jumped and her instincts took over. She grabbed the wrist of the person behind her before they could even tighten their grip and threw them with a slam onto the ground a few feet in front of her. Then, she processed what had just happened and who she had just thrown. She rushed over to him and offered a hand to help him up.

"Oh my god! ARE YOU SORRY? I mean- I'm okay! I mean... uh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay, Adrien?" He stood up and stared at her in shock.

"I told you! I told you she was a damn ninja! Mylene owes me $10," Alya celebrated. But neither of the pair was paying any attention to her. Marinette was too lost trying to decipher Adrien's gaze and why he had yet to let go of her hand. The bell rang and students filtered out of the courtyard and into classrooms and eventually, the two were alone.

"I- ah, Adrien?" Marinette stammered, her face still a bright red but her thoughts more clouded by confusion than romance.

"I guess your reflexes haven't dulled yet," he whispered, his eyes never leaving hers. Marinette paused for a second, trying to figure out why the phrase sounded so familiar before it hit her.

"It won't be so funny when you dull my reflexes and I get my miraculous stolen by a villain."

"My lady, you could never be dull, not even your reflexes."

She felt her knees give out and she fell to the ground. Adrien quickly moved to kneel down beside her. She just stared at the blonde for a while, her eyes wide and brain moving at a thousand miles per minute.

"Chat... Chat Noir?" She finally pushed the words out of her lips, though they were a struggle. It felt impossible. Adrien was so different from Chat Noir. But, when she thought about it, it all made sense. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug.

"It's really you, buganette," he whispered into her hair, returning the embrace.

"My kitty."

#ml fanfic #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #mlb #fanfic #ladynoir #adrienette #ladynoir fic #adreinette fic

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gaycaffeinebee · 3 years

Text

Worship the French Fry (Part Two)

WRITER’S NOTE: Typically, I do not mind when people don’t tag me when they use my prompts. But for anything over 200 words and any of my series (especially if you copy word for word) please tag me! I’d love to see what OCs and characters y'all would put with these two (A and B).

This series can be read/written separately (individual chapters), but I picture the surroundings, characters, and references to be from the same story.

(Part one)

Warnings (for this chapter): Emotional half asleep "reason why I love you" speech, mention of hyperventilation, mushy fluff

History/Pre-knowledge (for this chapter):

B typically has short hair but they haven't gotten it cut in a while

C and D are family members or close friends of B

A has a thing with books and reading - stereotypically book nerd

*A’s no longer sitting "next to” B - A’s more like lounging on top of them now - A kind of senses B falling asleep under them - A looks up to see B resting their head on the back of the couch (this looks very uncomfortable from A’s angle) – B’s eyes lingering closed every few seconds - A moves off of them and B shoots up in panic with tired puppy eyes because A moved*

A- "I'm not going anywhere- come here sweetheart," *A sits up and gesture to their lap - B takes the hint and lays down on them - wrapping their arms around A’s waist - closing their eyes - their hair had gotten kind of shaggy so A can run their hands through it a bit - moving the bit that had gotten in B’s face- they look up at A and sleepily smiles- they’re just so pretty*

A- *A ponders for a moment* "Hey, can I ask you a question, Love?"

*B closes their eyes as A continues to run their fingers through their hair*

B- *sleepy voice* "Of course,"

A- "Why me?"

*They open their eyes concerned but still sleepy* "Why you?"

A- "You looked at me, a deranged human, and said 'I pick that one' - why?"

B- "Babe you're perfect why wouldn't I?" *B's still really really sleepy but genuinely concerned - they squeeze A’s waist tighter waiting for a response*

A- "No no no not perfect but this isn't a self-analyzing or self-esteem thing - I'm genuinely curious,"

*B looks satisfied with A’s answer and closes their eyes again*

B- "You're sweet, you're genuine, you're honest,” *B pauses deciding whether they want to elaborate or not* “I appreciate the work you put into living A- you aren't just living to die like a movie extra - you care and it shows – you’re not just one of the pretty faces that looks at life like a 9 to 5 job, you have fun and you get into it and get attached – your love for reading is incredible - I've watched you read through books before and seen you physically react to the smallest plot twist - you laugh, you've almost cried, you've rolled paper backs up and smacked me in the head," *B giggles sleepily* "You care about the people around you - you with me and C and D - you don't treat them like stranger’s – you treat them like family- the way you talk to D is almost like they’re your sibling - When I first met your best friend of 6 months and listened to you talk about them previously, I would've thought y’all grew up together- the way you focus on the things you love doing - your 'undying focus face' with your books, again – it’s like you’re memorizing every last line and it’s fucking adorable- you have a positive attitude about everything- even if you hate what you're doing, you don't bring others down with you because of it- your sarcasm and humor is absolute perfection- your jokes are actually funny and baby you don't light up a room - you're the power source of the entire building- Your smile is actually the goddamn sun *B yawns and A giggles* and you treat me like a human - I feel like I’m close to you and not just a passerby,” *B’s arms are kind of loosening as they’re relaxing into almost-sleep* “You know how to push buttons but you respect my boundaries- You make me genuinely happy and I feel like I'm home,"

*B's pretty much completely unconscious within a few seconds- A just holds them trying not to get too emotional or potentially hyperventilate- A eventually lets out a breath they didn't know they were holding- B knows - B cares - B feels loved- that's all A wants now*

*A sits there watching them sleep on their lap – B’s smiling in their sleep and it's adorable -A knows if they don't go to bed B's gonna wake up with a backache from the couch - A slowly flips B around and picks them up bridal style – B’s head resting on their shoulder - their height makes B look heavier than they are - A has no issues getting them to the bedroom- they set B on the side of the bed- B rolls onto their side facing away from the center of the bed - A can't get the covers out from under B so they grab a thick blanket - A covers them completely- B stirs a bit - this kid sleeps like a goddamn rock*

B- *with a groggy voice, not opening their eyes* "do- did you just-"

A- "Yes -hush - sleep" *A gets under the blanket on the other side of the bed and comes up behind B – grabbing B's middle and getting themself closer - B easily relaxes into them and A can tell immediately - A falls asleep with B in their arms and with a smile on their face*

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beautifulterriblequeen · 3 years

Note

Mmmm'kay, I'm loving this arranged marriage au, the possibilities are endless. But... imagine if once they got married and they went to their shared home for the first time and they found only one bed? The tension. And then they're both like, "I don't wear a shirt to bed..." 😂

Yeah anon, it really grew on me too. It was going to be angstier as I was writing, and then I realized, wait, this has so much potential, so I softened it up a bit.

So “there was only one bed” in the “arranged marriage au”, huh, got it.

Here’s the first part

cw and tags: angst, trust issues, double entendre noises, naked cuddling, pining, sleep deprived Runaan has his own opinions, light bdsm but for angst reasons, biting, falling asleep on someone

____________________________

Runaan stalked in through the tree house door ahead of Ethari, dropping his flower crown carelessly atop a side table. Ethari slowed to catch it from sliding to the floor, hanging them both on pretty silver hooks set into the wall. The hooks were meant to hold the flower crowns as they dried and became a nostalgic reminder of Moonshadows’ vowing night, a permanent decoration to be seen by all who entered the home. Every vowed household had one.

Ethari stilled as Runaan’s footsteps retreated up the curved staircase and faded from earshot. He ran a soft fingertip along the edge of a lunabloom petal and felt a heaviness settle on his shoulders.

“My vowing night,” he murmured, so softly that only the flowers could hear him. “I imagined it very differently when I was a wee lad. With more kissing, for sure. I barely got any--”

A soft cough outside the door perked his ears with alarm. He whipped the door back open and stared out at a sheepish Lain.

“Hey, bro.” The rangy assassin straightened up from a crouch near the door’s crack and slouched easily against the tree’s thick bark. “How’s things? Need anything before you two tuck in for the night?”

Tucking in doesn’t seem to be on Runaan’s to-do list, I’m afraid. But Lain’s smirk told Ethari that he might be missing something. “Lain, what are you doing?”

“Vowing vigil, bro. Assassin thing, you wouldn’t understand.”

Ethari’s feet hurt from hours of dancing beneath the full moon’s light, and he was starving and exhausted. But for the sake of his brand new husband, he pasted on a smile and asked curiously, “Maybe you could explain it to me? ...Bro?”

Lain blinked, and then a broad grin sidled across his face and decided that it liked it there. “Sure, bro. Assassins have each others’ backs, yeah? No matter what. When one of us falters from injury or falls ill, the others gather around to keep them safe. When one of us lets his guard down, we gather, too, and hold ours high.”

Ethari squinted in puzzlement, not following Lain’s secret assassin lingo.

Lain flicked his gaze up toward the various branches overhead, belonging to half a dozen different trees. “Runaan’s our leader now. But he’s gonna let his guard down tonight, for you. And we’ll hold vigil to defend him while he does it. No matter how many times he does it,” Lain added, with a giant, cheesy wink.

Despite Lain’s suggestive joke, Ethari’s cheeks flushed hot with embarrassment and his tummy miserably curled in on itself. He recalled Runaan’s clipped words on the day they’d finalized their betrothal: “Don’t you dare kiss me again. You’re lucky I didn’t stab you.” Runaan wouldn’t be letting his guard down, in any respect, today. Or possibly ever.

“Thank you for your courtesy,” the woeful craftsman managed, before turning away and closing the door in Lain’s face.

His feet found the stairs, and he trudged upward with a heavy heart, just wanting to find a place to crash and sleep. High narrow ceilings that slotted up through organic gaps in the tree gathered darkness overhead, winking with mushroom light and the odd moonfly. Delicately carved walls and living lattice windows showed him various rooms along the side of the stairwell that wound upward around the heart of the tree itself.

This place is beautiful... I’ll have to explore later, after I catch some sleep. Where is the bedroom in here, anyway? Ah, here-

He came to an abrupt stop outside a graceful wooden arch twined with soft glowing vines and nearly bumped right into Runaan, who was swiftly exiting the bedroom with an armful of blankets--as well as cheeks the color of moonberries. Their eyes met--Ethari’s seeking, Runaan’s vulnerable, darting away. Ethari glanced over Runaan’s shoulder, seeking the source of his seeming distress, but saw only a spacious, neat, empty room behind him.

“Where are you going?” he asked Runaan.

Runaan studied the blankets he held, then raised a wry gaze to Ethari’s face. “There is only one bed here. I will sleep elsewhere.” He moved to slip past Ethari into the hallway.

Ethari’s hands clutched at Runaan’s shoulders. “No, you can’t do that.”

Runaan’s gaze was cold. “Take your hands off me.”

Ethari jerked his hands back as if they’d been burned. “Sorry. I only meant that... the assassins are watching the tree house tonight, and they’d know that you... that we didn’t... uhh...”

Runaan’s eyes widened and his gaze sliced toward the nearest outer wall, looking vulnerable, hunted even. Ethari’s heart clenched at the sight. Had the assassins’ supposed vigil slipped his mind? Was it just a prank Lain was pulling?

“That’s... really a thing, then?” he asked.

The quirked frown that snapped into place on Runaan’s face seemed to indicate that it was.

“It seems we’re trapped in here until moonrise,” Runaan grated.

Wow, that makes me feel great. Thanks for that. Ethari let his shoulders slump as Runaan spun and retreated deeper into the bedroom.

The assassin plopped his blankets on the foot of the broad bed. Ethari approached and stood beside him at a safe distance, studying it analytically. Runaan shot him a side glance and opened his mouth sharply, but Ethari spoke first. “No one needs to sleep on the floor. Look at this bed. It’s enormous. Five elves could sleep here and not even touch.”

“You exaggerate. I only see room for three.”

“Oh, should I go invite Lain to sleep between us, then?” Ethari teased, before he really grasped the words he just said.

Runaan rounded on him. “Is this funny to you? Have you no respect for--?” The assassin managed to snap his mouth shut before he said anything further, and he huffed a furious snort.

Ethari backed away, his guts swirling with guilt. He’d fooled the village council into choosing him as Runaan’s marital ally, hiding his feelings from them, and from Runaan too. And then he’d tried to steal his first kiss, blurted the truth, and confessed what felt like an innocent, wholesome, clever chain of events. Except now Runaan didn’t trust him. Their union had meant to strengthen Moonshadow relations, but Ethari had brought the seed of deceit into its very heart.

He looked down at his boots, silent, waiting. This was no time to try to earn back Runaan’s trust. That would be a long and painful process as it was. Better to start when his husband wasn’t actively yelling at him.

Maybe tomorrow, after a good night’s rest. If we can manage to figure out how and where to find it.

When he peeked up at Runaan through his lashes, the assassin was staring at him with wide intense eyes. Ethari raised his brows. Runaan kept staring. Not fondly, either. Ethari’s shoulders slumped, and his gaze found the smooth wooden floor. The grain was beautiful, he noted, full of deep blue-silver swirls.

Runaan tucked his hands behind his back, cleared his throat, and took a deep breath. “I apologize. This is no way to begin our... arrangement. If we must share a bed, then I suggest we get to it. We’ve had a long day of... of getting married. You must be as tired as I am.”

Ethari offered him a tired half-smile. “Do your feet hurt too?” he asked softly.

Runaan’s brows evened out. “I’m on my feet all day. Hours of dancing are no hardship.”

Ethari let his eyes slide toward the outer wall of the tree house, beyond which he knew several assassins were pretending not to eavesdrop. “That’s a real shame, Runaan.”

Runaan’s eyes zeroed in on him with intense focus. “Explain.”

-*-*-

“Ah, right there, push harder,” Runaan moaned, writhing lightly on his stomach atop the soft bed. His long hair sprawled, tousled and tangled, across his bare back.

“You sure you can take it?” Ethari’s question breathed through closed teeth as he bent to his task, hands working over the assassin beneath him, lending his body weight to the sweet, insistent pressure he offered.

“I’m going to be sore when I wake, no matter what,” Runaan said breathlessly against the pillow he clutched. “Your hands are v-very skilled--aah-- Please, please, continue... hnngh... aahhh...”

Ethari chuckled softly at the sweet, desperate noises Runaan was making. The lanky assassin looked delicious all stretched out before him, all long legs and tousled hair and breathy gasps. He dared to hope that, one day, Runaan might make them for another reason besides getting an intense calf massage to work out the knots from too much dancing.

Runaan’s other foot kicked helplessly atop the blanket as Ethari pressed a knuckle into a new knot high on Runaan’s calf. “Hhhgh, moon and shadow,” he cursed.

Ethari’s hands paused, holding Runaan’s muscled calf protectively. “Too hard?”

“Mm’mm. Keep going. It’s good for me.”

“I’ll slow down,” Ethari offered. “I don’t want to break you on our first night.” He couldn’t help but say that last line with a sassy grin.

Runaan’s head popped up from his pillow, and he shot Ethari a hot glare over his shoulder. “You couldn’t possibly--”

Ethari drove his knuckle deep into the knotted muscle.

“AAH-ha-haagh, moondimmit, fuck!” Runaan swore. “Light and shade of the sacred cycle, have mercy on my s-soul...” he squeaked.

“Ooh,” Ethari cooed, “I like it when you plead.”

Runaan’s gaze could’ve stripped the bark off the entire house in a single slice.

A sudden sliding scuff on the branch outside the shuttered window drew their attention. It was swiftly followed by a quiet yelp as someone outside lost their footing.

Ethari paused his hard kneading and flicked his eyebrows with another sassy smirk. “Well, that’s three assassins we’ve overwhelmed so far. How many more do you think will want to listen in?”

Runaan let his forehead plop into the pillow as he caught his breath. “It’s been an hour. We’ve made our point. And I’m not sure I can walk at the moment.”

“You want me to carry you somewhere?” Ethari offered softly. He rested a light hand against the back of Runaan’s knee.

“No, I just want to sleep with you now.”

Ethari blinked, unsure he’d heard right. “S-Sorry?”

“We’ve established that I can’t sleep anywhere else, Ethari. So I have to sleep with you. All I meant.” Runaan groaned and rolled into a sitting position at the edge of the bed. One hand reached for Ethari’s scarf. “You don’t plan to sleep in that, do you?”

“Uhh. Nope.” Ethari tugged his scarf free. “I don’t sleep in much, actually... I get hot... uh...” Like right now. It’s really hot in here all of a sudden!

“Hm. That’s fine. I don’t sleep in anything at all.” Runaan stood up and shucked off his trousers with zero ado whatsoever.

“Hrkk!” Ethari choked against a fist. “Are-Are you s-sure you...” Moon help me, I’m just infinitely gay, infinitely, did he just, did he-- Help....

Runaan turned around and looked down at him, hands on his narrow hips. Ethari desperately locked his eyes onto his new husband’s turquoise ones, feeling his cheeks burn.

“I’ve got about five minutes of consciousness left before I crash,” Runaan said in a cool tone. “And I’m not falling asleep around someone I don’t trust, unless I can control the risks he poses.”

Ethari gulped. “Wh-What does that mean? Are you going to tie me up or something?”

Runaan raised a speculative eyebrow.

-*-*-

“Not too tight?” Runaan murmured, kneeling at Ethari’s side as the craftsman lay on his back, wearing nothing more than a soft pair of sleep shorts--which was more than Runaan was wearing. His fingers lightly adjusted the soft bindings around Ethari’s wrists.

“This really isn’t necessary, I promise,” Ethari began. “I’ve already agreed to--”

“I know what you’ve said. I also know the depth of your capability for deceitfulness. If you’d been truthful, we wouldn’t need restraints.”

We. How “we” does he mean that? Ethari wondered.

“Now roll onto your side,” Runaan ordered. “I’m not turning my back on you again, and I’m keeping you right where I can find you.”

With his eyes wide and dark, Ethari rolled over and felt Runaan tuck his bare body behind him, nestling close. Ethari’s breathing stuttered as Runaan hooked one leg atop the craftsman’s hip, pinning him in place. He clutched his softly tied hands to his chest to reassure himself that he was still breathing. This was torture of the worst kind! To be in love with such a beautiful elf, to be allowed to marry him, to share a bed, to watch him strip down and snuggle tightly--and to have it all mean something entirely different than what Ethari had begged the universe for--it was the sweetest dagger in his heart. He knew he’d never recover from its wound, and he wasn’t sure he even wanted to.

Runaan’s hand snaked between Ethari’s arm and his ribs and clasped his wrists lightly, tucking one seeking finger under the bindings. The touch was so intimate and gentle, as if Runaan were admitting that he too were bound the same way as Ethari was, that it brought a shaky tear to the corner of Ethari’s eye.

His struggles to smooth out his breathing did not go unnoticed, however, since the assassin was pressed skin to skin against his back. Runaan’s fingers gently rubbed along Ethari’s wrists, soothing the cord’s rub.

“Sometimes I don’t trust myself, either.” Runaan’s voice was slurred with sleep. His five minutes had come and gone, perhaps a couple of minutes ago.

“I swear to you, Runaan,” Ethari said, breathing his words like a prayer, “I never meant to hurt you. I never wanted this.” He wriggled his bound wrists against Runaan’s grip.

Runaan squeezed the bindings possessively. “Maybe I did.”

Ethari gasped slowly at Runaan’s sleepy confession. Then he gasped harder as Runaan’s mouth closed over the skin at the base of his neck. Runaan instinctively clasped him still with all his limbs, holding Ethari in his control with a soft hum that grew gentle teeth against his skin. Ethari froze, entirely breathless, trembling with a heady concoction of delight, fear, and arousal. “R-Runaan?”

Runaan’s mouth nibbled gently, sleepily. “Mmmm.”

“Runaan, are you... awake?”

The assassin’s teeth grazed his skin and claimed his ear, biting gently, sucking on its tip. “No. And don’t you dare tell me about this in the morning.”

A waterfall of helpless, confused, ecstatic noises tumbled from Ethari’s mouth. Runaan’s hands began roaming him, and his teeth dragged and nipped in their wake, drawing gasps and curses from Ethari’s lips, making him writhe against his husband. Runaan’s nibbling became insistent, and he crawled across Ethari, pushing him onto his back, pinning his bound hands over his head even as his mouth worked along the lower curve of Ethari’s left pec.

Ethari bucked helplessly and groaned until his voice shredded into a needy whine. “Runaan, please... aah...”

Runaan nipped his way across Ethari’s heart and along the side of his neck, drawing ever louder sounds of pleasure from Ethari’s lips. He eased down flush atop him, tucking his long slender legs outside Ethari’s sturdy ones. Rampant heat flared between them. But while Ethari was getting worked up, Runaan was relaxing bonelessly, his breathing slowing.

He pressed his mouth to Ethari’s ear, nipping gently at its lower edge. “Hold me, Ethari. I want to trust you so much.” And he let go of Ethari’s bound wrists and nestled his head against his husband’s muscled shoulder.

Ethari tensed, as desperately confused as he was aroused, but he lowered his arms to hold Runaan close, craving the smell of his hair, the weight of his body, the warmth of his breath. “I... I have you, Runaan...”

“Mmmm.” The assassin’s breathing slowed and evened out as he passed fully into slumber, sprawled without a stitch atop the elf he claimed not to trust.

Ethari felt his body throb hot against Runaan’s lax weight. With a tiny whimper, he let his head fall back against the pillow. No...This really is torture of the worst kind! He flexed his wrists against Runaan’s bindings as they rested against the small of the assassin’s back. How am I supposed to survive this kind of cruelty?

He bemoaned his indecently unfair fate for several minutes before exhaustion claimed him, too. His last waking act was to kiss Runaan’s temple and murmur, “Sleep well... husband.”

At Ethari’s soft words, Runaan let out a deeply contented sigh and snuggled closer.

Alone in the dark, and yet not quite as alone as he had been, Ethari thought he might cry, for every single reason at once.

#ruthari arranged marriage au #ruthari #ruthari fanfic #my writing #tdp angst #ruthari angst #spicy fluff #naked cuddling #enemies AND lovers

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