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sachiko1309 · 11 months

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The good old Doc - Part 5

Missed the start? No problem, here is the first part, the following ones are always linked at the end, so you dont have to search endlessly. 😉

Summary: Lieutenant Lilith Adams enlisted back in the military, only to be met with a certain cocky pilot. Overcoming certain past traumas, she tries to fit in with the team of pilots as their personal medic. Soon finding her stuck between a certain good looking aviator and her work morals.

This is a series which is currently in the making, so I don’t exactly know how long it is going to be. 😊

Word count: 2896

Warnings: none, just pure fluff

When we reached my house, he walked around the car, opening my door. I was too caught up in my thoughts to register his movements. Only snapping back to reality, when he put me down in front of my door. “Key?”

I shuffled through my pockets, sticking the key inside the hole with shaky fingers. Letting us in, I set directly to the stairs. Feeling the need to shower the sticky grasp of my memories off. “Where are you going?” Jake asked, behind me, closing the door.

“Shower.” I mumbled, starting to climb the stairs.

“Okay. Can I leave you for a little?” He seemed unsure. I stopped walking and turned around. “Why?”

He shrugged. “I need to get some things to stay the night. I bet you don’t have clothes that fit me.” Letting out a small laugh he rubbed his neck. Raising my eyebrows, I asked: “What you mean, stay?”

“I am not leaving you alone tonight, sweet cheeks.” His tone was strong. Determent. I knew it wasn’t worth fighting and to be honest I wanted him around. His presence making me feel safe and protected. “Okay. Make it quick.” I whispered, averting my eyes. Not trusting me to cover up the pain of letting him go. “I will, darlin. I will. Can I shower here? It would be faster that way.” He added, once I snapped my head at him. Letting his question sink in, I tilted my head. What could happen if he did. Nothing, right? “Okey.” Striking me with a million dollar smile, he made his way out of the door.

Carrying myself up the stairs, I walked into my bedroom. Taking comfortable clothes from my worn-but-not-dirty-enough-for-laundry-chair, I headed for the bathroom.

After I showered, I walked down, finding Jake sitting on my couch, studying my books. “I am finished. Do you need something?” I asked, walking towards the fridge. Jake got up. “No. I got everything, darlin. Why don’t you get yourself some food and something to drink, while I shower and then we can watch a movie, talk, sit in silence. Whatever you want.”

“And what about you?” I wondered, receiving a smile from him: “Surprise me, darlin.”

I searched through my fridge, putting together a mixture of left over pizza from the day prior, a salad consisting of tomatoes, cucumber, and cheese as well as some beer. Nothing special, but it will have to do for today. I wasn’t feeling like cooking or calling a restaurant for some take out. Bringing the food towards the living room, I zapped through the TV. Changing to Disney once I didn’t find anything. Going through my watchlist I, once again, put on Mulan. A film I have watched countless times. I could hear the shower running and paused the film, waiting for Jake to be back.

It didn’t take him long. He probably did the quick army shower, all enlisted people were able to take. He came down the stairs. A simple white shirt and grey shorts hanging from his body. Wet hair sticking to his forehead. “A Disney film? Really?” He snickered plopping down next to me. I knew he was making fun of me, but instantly I felt bad. “I… You… We don’t have to watch it.” I mumbled looking down on my hands, fiddling in my lap. He sighted softly, pulling me into his arms. “No, sweet cheeks. Its alright. I would even watch titanic with you, if it makes you happy.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Maybe you are not so bad, Bagman.” I chuckled, still cuddled in his embrace. I felt him shake underneath me, when he laughed. “I sure hope you stop seeing me through that tinted glass of yours. Makes me look like a bad guy.”

“Well, what can I say. You are the bad guy.” I smiled up at him. “But I don’t mind. As long as you are Niceman around me.”

“Sure thing, sugar. And lets start that film, before I give in to my desire to bolt.” He leaned himself in the corner of the couch, placing me between his legs. I didn’t dare to move, hoping he wouldn’t notice in what kind of position we were. It felt nice, being so close to him. Feeling his heart drum underneath my ear, the warmth of his body fighting the air conditioner.

“Would you pass me some food? Training today kinda left me hungry.” He asked, placing a hand on my arm, to get my attention. I leaned forward, pulling the whole table right next to us. Handing him an empty plate and some cutlery I sat up. But he held me back. “Stay. If you like. It doesn’t bother me.”

“And how are you planning on eating?” I asked, tilting my head upwards to look at him upside down. He smiled, placing the plate on top of my head. “You are a literal dwarf, sweet cheeks. Your head has just the perfect height to be my table.”

“Back to Bagman, I guess…” I grumbled, serving me some salad and a slice of pizza. “I am not that tiny, otherwise I wouldn’t be allowed in the Navy.”

“Oh, come on, really? You look like you are barely reaching the required 57 inch.” Jake was smiling cockily, taking a bite from his pizza. Now I sat up, turning around to face him. “First of all, I am topping the minimal height by three inches, second of all just because you have another 12 inches wasting resources doesn’t mean anything. If not, it makes you actually worse than me. I mean, you require more upkeep, are a bigger target and people tend to get intimidated by you. Then there is me. A smaller woman, nobody really sees as a threat. I am the perfect killer, with an enormous knowledge of the human body, combat experience and training sessions from real marines. You are on sale, while I am the future.” Trying to mimic his smug half smile, I tilted my head in the best mocking way. And indeed, he laughed. So hard he had to put down his plate. “Darlin, you are going places with that sass.”

A bubbly pleasant feeling spread in my stomach at his words. His smile turned soft, when he reached out for me, tapping the place between his legs. “Come back, you little devil. Being alone without your protection makes me feel cold.”

“Are you flirting with me?” I asked, taking my old seat anyway. Picking up his plate again, he coed: “I don’t know. Am I?” “Yes, you totally are.” I retorted, starting to eat again.

“And is it working?”

“To make you look like an idiot? Absolutely.”

After we finished the food and got through some beers, I noticed the sleepiness creeping into my bones. I tried to fight the welcoming warmth of his body, luring me in. Desperately trying to stay awake. But him putting his arms around me, cradling me didn’t help. Slowly but surely I was drifting to sleep. I only woke again, when I was gently shaken. “Hey sleepyhead. You need to wake up. The film is over and I cant carry you up this spiral deathtrap you call your stairs.”

“M not sleeping.” I mumbled, stumbling over several letters. Jake chuckled slightly. “Yeah sure. Come on, we need to get you into your bed. I will clean up. You can rest.” Helping me to my feet he guided me to the stairs. Stopping in my tracks when my brain, processed the current situation. “Wait. And where are you going to sleep?”

“I will take the sofa. Its long enough and I have slept in worse conditions in base camp.” He shrugged, pushing me further to the stairs. But I didn’t budge. “You need pillows and a blanket.” “Darlin, don’t worry I am fine. Your couch has enough pillows and the decorative blanket on the chair seems to be big enough for me.” I gave in to his determent pressure on my back. “Look at that. Big boy Bagman, knowing the term of decorative blankets.” I snickered, earning a huff. “I have stayed with enough woman to kind of get the hang of it.”

Ouch. That sentence hurt. And what made it worse, I wasn’t allowed to react out loud, since technically I told him off, denying my crush on him. “Looks like sleeping around taught you at least something.” My voice was harsher than intended, but if he picked up on my sudden mood change, he certainly did not react to it.

After I brushed my teeth, went to the toilet, and put my hair into a loose braid, I crawled into the bed. Jake was still leaning on the railing of the stairs. They ended directly into my bedroom, so tonight no door would separate me from him. “If you need something, just call out for me, okay?” He asked, staring at me, with softness in his eyes. I nodded. “You can take anything from the kitchen if you like. There is cold water and other things in the fridge. Disney and Prime are logged into my TV, just don’t buy a movie, okay?” I said, not looking at him.

“Noted, sugar. No go to sleep.” He answered, descending down the stairs, before he was fully gone, I said: “Thank you, Jake. Really.” Tilting his head, he smiled. “Anytime, darlin.” And with that he was gone.

Listening to his movements I felt safe. A soft yellow light was shining up the staircase, only to be turned off moments later. The quiet noises of the TV and the flickering lights of whatever Jake was watching lulled me to sleep. The first night I slept through without any bad dreams.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt great. Stretching and opening up the windows I walked into the bathroom. Changing my comfortable clothes to more suitable for the day. After brushing my teeth and washing my face I walked down the stairs to find an empty sofa. A note was sitting on my kitchen counters: If you are awake, before I am back, don’t worry. I am just out picking up breakfast and some coffee, since you seem to have none. Jake.

I smiled at the note, starting some water in a kettle. Yes, I was using a kettle. An older comrade, who was stationed in Germany for some time, introduced my old team to this device and when I came back home, I bought myself one. It had a thermometer that could be set up to a specific heat and I loved that feature. Now being able to make the perfect green tea with 176° F. A knock on my door interrupted my morning routine. Walking over to it, a slight jump to my steps, I expected Jake to be back. Weird. I though if he would run out not expecting me to be awake, why would he leave without a key.

After opening the door, I had my answer. Cyclone was standing on my porch. “What are you doing here?” I asked, stepping aside to let him in.

“Good morning to you too.” He greeted, walking over to the bar chairs in my kitchen. “I decided to check in on you. So, how are you holding up?”

“I am referring to my current mood as eggshell fine.” I answered going back to brewing my tea. “You want a cup, or something else? Its not much, but if you wait a while, Jake might be back. He said he is out getting breakfast.”

“Excuse me?” Cyclone looked at me with horror in his eyes. “Lieutenant Seresin stayed the night? That’s… that’s unacceptable!” Ignoring the underlaying indication, I poured the hot water into my cup, stirring it before answering: “Yes, he did. We watched a movie, he slept on the couch. Nothing happened, DAD.”

“I am not your dad.” He grumbled.

“You sure as hell are behaving like one.” I answered, looking him straight in the eye. We had a stare of for a few seconds before he gave in: “You know what the rules are.”

“The rules don’t apply to us. We are equal ranks, not directly working together, at least on paper.” I shot back, voice cold as ice. He wiped his face with his hand, sighting: “I know. Just be careful.”

“I am careful. There is nothing going on between us and wont ever. You know how they talked, after finding out you were practically my dad. It did take me hard work, gaining my stance back. I will not risk it over a stupid hook up.” I sat down next to him, leaning my head on his shoulder. Cyclone put an arm around me. We sat there in silence staring out the kitchen window.

“He has the look, you know?”

“The what?”

“The look.” Cyclone repeated. “The same look I have seen on Maverick with Penny. And knowing you, I guess he has already made his way into your heart.”

“He has not. Jake is a friend. Nothing more. Stop seeing things.” I huffed, sitting up straight. Cyclone chuckled. “I am not seeing things. I am observing. You have taken a liking to him and the only thing stopping you from giving in is his reputation and your fear of loosing yours.”

He was right. And I knew it. “I just don’t want to get hurt. He is nice and makes me laugh. Its… I don’t want to be known as an easy girl. And when I would give in, chances are things go public. You know how things like this go down. He will be congratulated, while I will be shunned.” Cyclone didn’t answer, but I knew he was thinking the same. But what he said next surprised me: “Well, whats life without a little risk and challenge?” Wearing a smirk, he turned to me. “And you have six aviators and an admiral backing you up. What happened to the little girl going through walls to get to where she wanted?”

His statement made me laugh. “I have never thought you would be the one cheering me on to shoot my shot.”

“Its what dads do.” He simply answered. “Just don’t get distracted to much with him. And I swear if you ever do it on base, I am going to kick you out.”

“Oh god…” I went bright red at his words. Luckily the rustling key in my door saved me from any further embarrassment. I turned around, smiling at Jake entering my house. “Ah, you’re awake, sweet cheeks.” His smile faded, when he saw Cyclone sitting next to me. “Admiral. I am sorry. I didn’t know you were here.”

“Its alright, Lieutenant. I am off work, no need to be formal.” Cyclone answered, getting up from his chair. “I think I will get going and leave you to whatever you were up to.” He winked at me.

“For gods sake, stop it!” I squealed, but my protest got ignored. Cyclone just turned around to face Jake, straightening up as much as possible. “Treat her like a princess, because if she will ever call me crying over your ass, I will make you run miles to the point you throw up. And you will run everyday till she moved on from whatever mistake you made, am I clear?”

“Clear as day, Admiral.” Jake answered, swallowing hard. I got up and stepped between the two men. “Okey now. I believe this is your turn to get to work and I really need my breakfast. See you on Monday, DAD.” I eyed Cyclone with a deadly stare until he moved towards the door. Not without pushing Jake with his shoulder.

When I closed the door, I leaned against it, covering my face. “Oh my god… This man is dramatic over nothing. I am sorry for his behavior.”

“Its alright, sweet cheeks. He is just a worrying dad. That’s normal.” Jake answered, putting down the bags from the bakery on the kitchen counter.

“No its not. He is making a big deal out of nothing. You should not take this as normal.” I retorted, walking up to him. Jake shrugged it off. “I am, because I know he has every right to.”

His words made me stop in my tracks. “What?” Looking up at me, Jake asked: “He is worried we might get entangled with each other, right?”

“Yes, but…” He interrupted me: “Then he is correct. I like you. Like a lot. More than our work relationship might state as appropriate.” His eyes were honest. No usual flirtatious Hangman. This was the soft, honest Jake. I didn’t know what to say, so I just stared at him. Eyes wide, mouth slightly hanging open. “I mean it.” He went on. “I like you. And I want to take you on a date. Give it a shot.”

“A date…” I whispered.

“A date.” Rounding the counter, he came up to me, slowly putting his hands on my hip. “I wanna do the whole old school get to know each other thingy. Take you out for coffee, then dinner, maybe a movie, a walk on the beach. Meet your mother, your friends, all of it.” I kept on staring, still not able to react to his words. He pulled me closer, leaning down. “Will you let me do that? Take you on a date?”

#hangman x reader #jake hangman seresin #fem reader #fluff #top gun

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that-ari-blogger · 28 days

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The Boss Music Starts Playing, Part 2/2 (Mulan)

This is a continuation of my previous post (link), because the original was too long for a single thing. So, I cut it down.

This relates to the theme of self-image really nicely. Because self-image, by definition, is how a person sees themselves. But it would be foolish to assume that how a person is seen by others doesn’t fit into this.

Shang’s self-image is centred around leading people, for example. That’s why he and Chi-Fu foil off each other, because Chi-Fu’s idea of himself is built on being in power over people. They are similar, but it is the nuances that set them apart, and that are at the root of Chi-Fu’s unmeritedly complex characterisation.

Chi-Fu is misogynistic doofus, but he’s also more nuanced than that, and honestly, he is one of the more interesting side characters in this film. He is a hypocrite, staunchly defending what he sees as masculinity while exhibiting exactly zero of the traits he places value in. He places value in rank above all else, willing to criticise those above him when he views their actions as unwise, but still following orders even when in doubt.

A lot of his characterisation is exemplified in this single line:

“Be careful Captain. The general may be your father, but I am the emperor’s counsel.

And oh, by the way, I got that job on my own.”

Here, he’s an eejit who throws his weight around. He respects the rank of Shang but takes care to position himself higher than him out of sheer spite.

But he’s also kind of correct. Like, I hate the fact that I am agreeing with this guy, but he makes a good point about the general’s nepotism here.

However, Shi-Fu is an antagonist in this film, and I don’t want to understate why he fills that role. Shi-Fu is misogynistic, unwilling to be swayed by Mulan’s displays of heroism because… well because she has boobs, and that disqualifies every point she can make. Again, he’s a misogynist.

Which brings me back to the thing about self-image and external perception, and I am going to bring back the non-binary reading. You can take the hormones, you can dress differently, you can do all kinds of things to make yourself feel more at home in your body. But all of those elements of self-image can be subverted by a single person misgendering you, or deadnaming you.

To those reading this who are not trans or non-binary, that is why we ask y’all to respect our pronouns. It’s not because we enjoy being contrarians (most of the time), it’s because referring to us in the way we see ourselves actually makes us feel better about ourselves. We’re asking you to help us in a way that objectively doesn’t cost you anything other than the effort to try.

Mulan’s feeling of self-worth comes from her sense of belonging in the army, the place where she can be one of the guys, and people respect her for that and accept her as that.

When that image is shattered, and she is left out in the snow to die or go home, it is a gut punch because that belonging lets her go.

This post was inspired by Cinema Therapy’s video on Mulan, and while I joked around in the introduction about accepting their challenge, I think their video was really good, and I wish no I’ll will towards them. But…

I think it was a missed opportunity to not talk about the scene in the valley, because it is an incredible demonstration of what honour and self-worth actually are. They are both influenced by others, yes, but in the end, they are both something you find for yourself.

Mulan could go home, she has saved her father, she has proven herself, she has achieved what she came for. But she chooses to go back to the army and be a part of that, she chooses to go back to the life that Ping let her lead. Like the trial of the arrow, this is for her.

Which leads me into the two “fight scenes”.

This is such well composed shot. Despite the utter lack of landmarks or even detail on most of the characters, you can see the scale and geography so clearly, and your eye is drawn to the stooges, then to the avalanche, then to Mulan and Shang sprinting away from it.

The three stooges carry this film, specifically in the matter of its tone. They set up the humorous, upbeat nature of the first half of the story with their antics and act as a benchmark for Mulan’s success in finding acceptance. Then they stop laughing to show the seriousness of the aftermath.

But here, the little spin that Lee’s helmet makes in the air serves to soften what would otherwise be a jarringly terrifying and gritty moment. They remind the audience what film they are watching and balance out the tone to distract from the visage of death behind them.

Anyway, Mulan’s actions in this battle and the final confrontation lean into a few readings.

First, the feminist reading. I haven’t mentioned this as much as I probably should have up to this point, but the reading is by no means any less valid or prominent as any other.

This is a feminist piece, with Mulan defeating the Hun army twice by going against the masculine stereotypes. She reclaims her agency through being a badass alongside the men, but not in the same way as them. In the finale, she uses her fan, symbolically the thing associated with womanhood in the early stage of the film, to defeat the villain. She demonstrates that she has equal ability and right to be anywhere as the dudes, and in the end, the whole of China bows to her.

I’m obviously not a woman, so I’m not exactly the expert on this, but I can point out the obvious story beats, and I can step aside for people with a more nuanced understanding of this reading to let their presence be known.

Second, the trans reading, specifically a trans masculine reading. Once again, I am not trans, I am non-binary, so I’m going to give my understanding of this read from my limited perspective, and step aside again.

So, Mulan defeats Shan-Yu twice using the things she has learned as a soldier, sword fighting and cannons. These are parts of the identity that she has built for herself as a man, and her proficiency with them shows her expertise in the field of masculinity that she lacked in area of femininity, as demonstrated by the opening number.

When I ran a draft of this post by a trans friend of mine to make sure I wasn’t being inaccurate, he asked me to point out the fact that Mulan ends up with a scar in a similar place to those left by top surgery. So, there’s that.

Finally, there is the non-binary reading of these scenes, which is where I get to go crazy with my own theories.

Mulan defeats Shan-Yu by thinking tactically, a trait not associated with either masculinity or femininity in this setting. Then, she uses both the fan and the sword, walking in both fields to accomplishing her goal, as if the concept of gender is irrelevant to her. She is neither man or woman, and both. Her gender identity cannot be defined so easily.

When Mulan is cast out from the army, that choice of whether to go back to being Mulan or try again at being Ping comes up, and her choice is a mix of the two.

“You said you’d trust Ping, why is Mulan any different?”

Mulan is Mulan, she isn’t trying to be Ping anymore, she’s trying to be herself. Now, she’s attempting to call on the clout and experience that that persona gave her, while distancing herself slightly from it.

Essentially, she isn’t entirely a guy, but she has some of the traits that are socially attributed to guys, and she is at home in the place that she carved out for herself. She is who she is, she cannot be classified. She is Mulan.

I love that the three stooges get to dress in drag for this moment, and I too lament the fact that Shang didn’t. But I also want to point out that, for all of modern media’s advances, this is the closest I have seen to a real fight sequence with characters dressed in drag. Come on Hollywood, you have the chance for the most epic sword fight ever shown, and you don't take it. Do it, you cowards.

That moment actually symbolises the breaking down of gender roles completely. Mulan walks between genders, and now these guys are free to exhibit their own masculimity in whatever way they see fit.

The moment is then played for comedy in a really cool way. It isn’t played as absurd at all. The comedy comes partly from the line “ugly concubines”, but also through the reverse of Mulan’s first scene as a dude.

The three stooges are comically really capable at pretending to be women and take to it ridiculously quickly. That is then contrasted with the fact that they don’t drop the disguises when they return to the actions they associate with masculinity, beating up people with excessive force, and even greet the emperor without changing. The stooges are confident enough in themselves and their gender that they can present this way without getting confused, and without stepping into Mulan’s theming as non-binary or trans or whatever your reading of her is.

Unconditionally, the best part of this sequence is the music, bringing back Make A Man Out of You, specifically the final chorus (also the reveal of the drag is timed to the beat of the song, which is such a cool little detail). Everything I said about the unity of people working together with different strengths and weaknesses comes back. And the lyrics pair with the different forms of gender expression going on onscreen.

“Be a man.

We must be swift as a coursing river.

Be a man.

With all the force of a great typhoon.

Be a man.

With all the strength of a raging fire.

Mysterious as the dark side of the moon"

Shang’s hypermasculine soldier, the three stooges and their varying levels of manliness through their drag, and Mulan, all working together to succeed. Dressing in drag, being a general, being trans or non-binary, are all displaying the qualities of the song. Swift of mind, force of hope, strength of competence, mystery of individuality and interiority.

The actions reference the scene with the arrow in more ways than just the one, because this isn’t exactly the final chorus, it’s the chorus in which Mulan gets the arrow. The backing music was still there in that one, and it’s still there now. The main difference is that when we heard this first, Shang’s voice was leading the chant, but now he is either not there, or has joined the herd.

Catharsis.

Speaking of which, the scene where the emperor honours Mulan is nice and all, but it is secondary to the film’s final moments, and Mulan’s reconciliation with her father.

The gifts sit in the foreground here, but also in the shadows that Zhou has to move out of to get to his daughter. They are a reminder of what Zhou is stepping away from to hug Mulan.

This is acceptance on a familial level. Mulan is happy with herself, and she has found belonging in the army. Now she returns to her father, and offers him the gifts from the emperor, but Zhou discards them like they are nothing, because to him, that’s what they are.

This scene takes place in the same location as their conversation at the start of the film.

“What beautiful blossoms we have this year, but look, this one’s late. But I’ll bet that when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of all.”

Zhou isn’t perfect, but I’ll challenge you to find a human being who isn’t, besides Oscar Isaac of course. However, he goes through substantial character development in the film behind the scenes in a way that is directly related to the events of the story.

At the start of the film, Zhou values his family, but instinctively his need for honour takes precedent. He will offer advice, and demonstrate his desire for his daughter to find herself in time, but he will undercut himself by his willingness to die for honour and for the hierarchy.

Then he loses his daughter, and he is told to make a choi

ce. He can get his honour back and expose his daughter, or he can stay behind. One will guarantee a reward, the other is a gamble, and without hesitation, he choses the risky option, because there is a chance his daughter will live.

He then has time to reflect over the course of the movie, that’s the development behind the scenes that I mentioned. So, when Mulan returns, and he sees the adult she has grown into, honour doesn’t enter the picture for him, and he accepts her for everything that she is.

Zhou isn’t perfect, but in the end, he is a good dad, and he improves as a person because of that. That’s what matters.

So, Mulan is a story about gender. Either from a feminine lens, a masculine lens, a trans reading, or a non-binary one, this film discusses gender, and how it relates to self-image and self-acceptance. The film talks about honour, and what that truly means, and it deconstructs the form of the musical itself to achieve it's points.

In other words, the writers during the Disney Renaissance were bloody good at their jobs, who knew?

I love that the cricket is doing a Batman impression too. That's just golden.

Final Thoughts

Mulan is my movie. Not the sequel or the reboot, the 1998 original. Mulan is my movie.

It is a story about identity, and as a non-binary individual, this film shaped how I saw myself, and how I related to the world around me. It is also the direct cause of my obsession with cinematography. Mulan is my movie.

To the folks at Cinema Therapy, if by some miracle you read this, thanks. Your video was great, but it also inspired me to write this, something I am very proud of and something that helped me to articulate a few things that I have been struggling with. So, thanks for that.

Y’all stepped on my turf, walked into the labyrinth, and now the minotaur bows its head to you.

To everyone else, hello. I’m Ari, I make media analysis, so stick around if that interests you. Usually I don’t post things on Sundays, but I have a few things lined up, maybe keep an eye out for those.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading this (checks wordcount) 5000 WORD ESSAY. Dear Lord, this got long, and I haven't even mentioned the old married couple that is Mushu and the cricket, or their relationships with identity and gender. That might have to be a different post.

Thank you for sticking around.

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emospritelet · 1 year

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Closing the Circle - chapter 15/16

Okay, I know it's taken ages, but I swear we're almost done. One chapter to go after this. Last time, Gold helped to rescue Belle, Emma and Philip from Zelena, and was freaked out by Belle hugging him, so of course he was an ass about it.

AO3 link

Belle climbed into the back of Mulan’s car, feeling almost unbearably weary, and listening to the excited chatter of the others with half an ear. Lily slid onto the seat next to her, shifting close as Emma got in beside her and closed the door. There was a flurry of movement as everyone reached for seat belts, Mulan and Aurora getting in front and buckling up. Belle let her head roll back against the seat with a sigh of relief as the car started up and moved off down the driveway. The moon was high above the trees, flickering through pine branches as they followed the road back to Storybrooke, and Belle wondered how Ruby was doing out in the woods. Whether she was running with the wolves that had helped to save them.

“So,” said Emma, making her glance around. “Gold. I take it he’s not just a pawnbroker.”

Belle shook her head.

“Is he like - a witch? A - a warlock? Or is it wizard?” Emma rolled her eyes. “God, I can’t believe I’m saying this! Two days ago I would have checked myself into therapy for just thinking all this could be real!”

“He’s none of those things,” said Belle. “He’s a vampire. And I suppose he kind of runs this town. In a way.”

“A vampire, huh?” Emma sounded resigned. “I guess I should have known from the outfits. Are you telling me I don’t have to worry about him trying to drink my blood like I’m a bottle of Cabernet?”

“Oh, he wouldn’t touch you,” Lily assured her. “Townsfolk are off limits. You’re as safe as the rest of us.”

“Not sure how safe anyone is in this place with that psycho bitch around,” remarked Emma. “Honestly? I was Team Gold back there. If he’d killed her I would have been cheering him on. Sucks for Regina, I guess, but he was right about Zelena being a threat to the town.”

“Seems like the town’s safety was the only reason he was there,” said Belle, unable to keep an edge of bitterness out of her voice, and Mulan caught her eye in the rear view mirror.

“Hey,” she said gently. “He may be an emotionally-constipated ass, but I don’t think he took on Zelena for shits and giggles. You should have seen his face when we told him you were missing.”

“I thought he was going to break something,” added Aurora. “And when he knew it was Zelena… He was furious, Belle. And - and scared too, I thought. He took us to Ruby and got her to track you, and asked the other vampires to put the word out that he was looking for you. He tried to hide it, but it was obvious he was pretty desperate to find you.”

“Oh!” said Lily, wide-eyed. “So that’s why Zelena’s jealous of you. You and Gold? I didn’t realise you two were a thing.”

“We’re not,” said Belle shortly.

“But he obviously cares about you…”

“He cares about his own bloody authority,” sighed Belle. “You heard him! He could barely look at me; I even hugged him and - nothing! It’s like he was a - a rock, or something. A really bloody annoying, way too good in bed, stupid rock!”

“Breaking news: local man can’t admit his feelings!” announced Emma. “More headlines! Water is wet, and it turns out that bears really do shit in the woods! More at six!”

They all burst out laughing, Belle included, and Emma grinned at her.

“Seriously, he’s a guy,” she said. “Just because he’s immortal and powerful doesn’t mean he’s not a total dumbass.”

“Oh, he’s definitely that,” said Belle, in a dry tone, and Emma grinned again, shifting in her seat a little.

“I hope Philip’s okay,” she said. “Poor guy - he was so desperate not to hurt anyone.”

Lily shuddered.

“I’m so glad that’s over,” she said. “He seems nice. Ruby will look after him, and if he goes to the bar with Gold and his friends, he’ll have no problem being accepted by everyone else.”

“I hope he has a strong constitution if he’s drinking with Gold’s friends,” remarked Mulan. “They seem to spend most of their time either drunk or hungover.”

“After being chained naked in a cellar for a week and then told he has to fight a witch, he might welcome some sweet oblivion,” said Aurora, and they all chuckled.

Mulan tapped at the indicator, turning off the road onto Storybrooke’s Main Street, and Belle watched the streetlights flick past.

“If it’s okay with you guys, I think I’ll pass on the drinks,” she said. “I’d rather take a long shower and wash the cellar out of my hair. And get some sleep. I feel as though I could sleep for days, and I have a library to run.”

“We’ll drop you off,” said Mulan. “Make sure you set up a magical barrier; I don’t want Zelena getting it in her head to finish the job.”

“I don’t think she’d dare,” said Lily. “Besides, I’m sure Regina will keep her in the mansion until they’ve worked out how to pacify Gold.”

“You think it’s likely they can?” asked Emma. “He looked pretty murderous, last time we saw him.”

“Oh, he always keeps his word,” said Lily uncomfortably. “If he sees her again, she’s dead. I don’t know how Cora and Regina will handle it, but they’ll either have to get her out of town or - well, or make some other deal with him.”

“But they’re witches,” said Emma. “Couldn’t they just - I don’t know - turn him into a frog, or something?”

“Magic doesn’t seem to work on him like it works on other vampires,” said Aurora. “I can’t imagine what he might do if they tried something and failed.”

Emma winced, and Lily wrinkled her nose.

“It was a long time ago,” she said slowly, “but I heard that the Coven went up against him before. Back in the sixties, or something. Most of them were killed, and Regina’s grandmother was the only one left alive. Whatever the reason was that she was spared, she was way too scared to try anything again. As kids, we were always told not to get on the wrong side of him.”

“I guess Zelena didn’t pay attention in class, then,” said Belle, and Lily sniffed.

“Zelena always thinks the rules don’t apply to her.”

Mulan caught Belle’s eye in the mirror again.

“Don’t feel sorry for Zelena,” she said. “She would have killed you and not lost a wink of sleep over it.”

“I’m not feeling sorry for her,” said Belle immediately, and hesitated. “I’m not sure what I’m feeling. Confusion, mostly. And exhaustion. Mustn’t forget that.”

The others laughed.

“Get some sleep,” suggested Aurora. “You don’t need to think about Gold right now. Or what he has planned for Zelena.”

“Whatever it is, she deserves it,” said Mulan fiercely, and Aurora murmured agreement.

“I guarantee it’s nothing good,” said Lily, with a bleak expression. “I guess I should feel something about that; I’ve known her for years, but we’ve never been close. And after what she did to you two…” She shook her head. “Honestly? I kind of think she deserves it too.”

“Hold on, I thought you said he wouldn’t hurt anyone in Storybrooke,” said Emma. “Doesn’t that include Zelena?”

“Well, technically she waived her rights to protection when she attacked you and Belle,” said Lily. “Gold’s the one that created the Covenant in the first place. He’s a stickler for keeping to the letter of it.”

“What is this Covenant?” asked Emma. “Gold and Regina were arguing about it in the cellar.”

“It’s - it’s kind of a peace treaty between the magic users and supernatural creatures,” said Lily. “We don’t harm each other, and we don’t hurt the townsfolk. Storybrooke’s a safe haven for all that live there. Or at least that was the idea.”

Her voice trailed off into a whisper, and Emma squeezed her hand comfortingly.

“Sorry your family sucks,” she said, and Lily let out a tearful, liquid sort of laugh.

“Regina’s not so bad.”

“What will you do now?” asked Aurora, glancing back at them, and Lily shrugged.

“I think it may be time for me to leave home for good,” she said, glancing at Emma.

“Maybe we could be roomies,” suggested Emma, blushing a little. “I should really think about putting down some roots and - and it might be nice if we got a place together. You know, if you wanted.”

Lily gave her a tremulous smile.

“You really want to?” she asked nervously. “You don’t think I’m a - a freak?”

“Hey, we’re both freaks,” said Emma immediately, and Lily giggled, her eyes gleaming.

“Okay then,” she said. “I - I guess we’ll be roommates.”

She leaned into Emma, reaching out to squeeze her hand, and Belle smiled to herself.

“Maybe Gold has an apartment you could rent,” suggested Aurora, and Emma snorted.

“My landlord is a vampire,” she said flatly. “Sounds like a bad nineties sitcom.”

“Maybe we could leave Storybrooke altogether,” said Lily, glancing at Emma. “Make a new start somewhere else.”

“Sounds like the sort of decision we shouldn’t make before some serious celebrating,” said Emma, with a grin.

“Rabbit Hole, here we come,” said Mulan, chuckling.

Gold was pacing. After dropping the others at the bar, he had returned to the shop, knowing full well that he would get no rest if he went home. Belle’s face kept swimming into his thoughts, her radiant joy turning to crushing disappointment as he pretended indifference. He had wanted to tell her how glad he was that she was alive, that she was unhurt, that he had been frantic with worry for her. That he loved her.

He froze, shoulders hunched as he ground the cane between his feet, his muscles taut. His instinct was to shove the feeling away, push it low down where he could ignore it, but something told him that it would slowly burn its way upwards to consume him. The strength of his feeling, the certainty of it, had been growing since he had first touched her. He had thought he could control it, but then she had hugged him. It had been lifetimes, centuries, since anyone had clung to him for comfort. Since he had known true affection. She cared for him, even knowing what he was, and he had come within minutes of losing her forever.

The ringing of his cellphone sounded harsh in his ears, and he was tempted to hurl the thing across the room. A glance at the number made his teeth clench, but he nodded slowly, and swiped a thumb against the screen to answer. May as well make my position clear.

“Madam Mayor,” he said evenly.

“Mr Gold.” Cora Mills was trying for a sultry tone that made his lip curl. “I understand there was some - unpleasantness - at my house this evening.”

“That’s a glaring fucking understatement,” he said tersely. “I presume Regina told you what happened?”

“I presume you are aware that I had no prior knowledge of Zelena’s activities,” she went on, her tone airy. “I assure you she will be punished. You can leave it to me. She won’t bother you again.”

Gold felt a flare of rage, but let it out in a hollow chuckle.

“Oh, that’s not how this works,” he said softly. “She didn’t just break the Covenant, she almost obliterated it.”

“Oh, really!” She sounded exasperated. “It’s not as though anyone was hurt!”

“No thanks to your first-born.”

“She’s ambitious, that’s all.”

“She’s fucking unhinged,” he said coldly. “Miss Swan and Miss French could have been murdered, and the werewolf too. I will not let that stand!”

“If you just trust me—”

“Trust can be forfeited more quickly than it can be earned!” he snapped. “Do you have any idea how hard I’m gonna have to work to convince the other creatures in this town that they won’t end up in your cellar? You think I’ll stand in their way if they decide to strike first?”

There was a moment of silence.

“That would be unfortunate,” she said. “I can see your dilemma.”

“Oh, I don’t have a fucking dilemma, I assure you,” he rasped. “I have absolute clarity on what needs to happen here. You remember what I did to that shape-shifter a while back for a far less serious transgression, I’m sure.”

“Yes, but that was a demon…”

“As opposed to what?” His tone was flat. “Do you think humans deserve special treatment, or are you forgetting what I am?”

“Always so melodramatic!” she sighed. “I’m sure there must be some way to resolve this little misunderstanding!”

Gold clenched his jaw.

“I never break a deal, Madam Mayor,” he said evenly. “Regina asked me for time to tell you what had happened. I agreed to that. I also told her that the next time I see Zelena, I’ll kill her. Believe that I meant every word.”

“And I suppose there’s nothing I can say that will persuade you that leaving her alive is in everyone’s interests?”

“Your powers of deduction are truly remarkable,” he said dryly. “Try considering the interests of the daughter you actually care about. Think about how you’ll protect Regina from the consequences of Zelena’s recklessness. I wasn’t joking about how the other creatures will react to this.”

The Mayor clicked her tongue in exasperation.

“This is very disappointing, Mr Gold,” she said. “I thought you were a more reasonable man. Able to see the bigger picture, not blinded by - well, whatever it is you’re feeling towards some Little Miss Nobody.”

Gold tamped down his anger, letting it burn low in his belly.

“As I recall,” he said evenly. “The last time your family crossed me, I listened to your mother’s pathetic pleas for mercy, and let her live. I did so against my better judgement, and I informed her that any future transgression would arouse my - extreme displeasure. You’re lucky I haven’t killed every last one of you.”

There was silence at the other end of the line.

“Perhaps we strike a new deal,” she said then. “We’ll leave town. Take Zelena far away, you would never have to see any of us ever again.”

Gold let out a low, humourless chuckle.

“And spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder?” he said. “I don’t think so. Leave town if you wish, but she stays to face the consequences of her actions. If she’s lucky, I’ll make it quick. Which is more than she would have done for Miss French.”

“And if she decides to stay in the mansion?” The Mayor’s tone was wry. “I hope you don’t intend to attack us in our own home. That would end badly. For all concerned.”

“Oh, I’ve no intention of attacking you,” he said. “On the contrary. I believe you’ll see the sense in letting her come to me.”

“You think I’d sacrifice my own daughter?”

“If it meant saving your own skin?” he remarked. “I don’t imagine you’d think twice.”

More silence. He could sense her cold fury.

“Are you expecting her to simply walk into your shop when the whole town is aware of your - disproportionate - reaction to this whole affair?”

Gold smiled.

“Well, you’re a resourceful woman, Madam Mayor,” he said lightly. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

The following day there was a strange, tense atmosphere in the town, a heavy pressure in the air and the residents speaking in hushed tones, as though they could sense that something had altered in the delicate balance of power. Most of the townsfolk, human or otherwise, appeared to be giving Gold a wide berth, and he wasn’t sure if they could sense his anger, or if Jefferson and Cruella had spread the word that he was in no mood to suffer fools. He had asked them to reassure all creatures that he was dealing with Zelena’s breach of the Covenant, but knew that he would have to make an announcement himself when it was done. Uncertainty made people jittery, and fear could lead to unintended consequences. Not for the first time, he cursed Zelena’s very existence.

The shop was conspicuously empty of customers, and he spent the morning dusting the stock and catching up on the accounts. Once that was done, he began carefully tending to some of the more valuable antiques. He had recently acquired some new pieces that needed preparing for sale. A cardboard box sat by the cash register, filled with pieces of delicate white porcelain nestled in tissue paper and bubble wrap, awaiting his attention. A long wooden case, dark with age and scuffed at the edges, was open on the shop counter beside it, its red silk lining holding an ornately-carved sheath. The sword that went with it, a Japanese katana , was lying on a pad on the workbench in the back room, and Gold had spent the best part of an hour cleaning it. It had been a useful distraction; he knew that he needed to speak to Belle, and he told himself that completing his chores was just as important, and in no way an excuse to put off their meeting. Antiques needed care and attention, after all, and the process of cleaning and fixing the treasures in his collection helped him to think.

Gold eyed the sword critically, holding out the blade and staring down it to check that no scratches or debris marred its gleaming length. He set aside the silk ball filled with powdered stone that he had used to polish the blade to a mirror-like shine. Long fingers cloaked in gossamer-thin black silk plucked a sheet of fine tissue paper and wiped off the residue, and soft cloth daubed with mineral oil was stroked carefully over the blade. The tinkle of the shop’s bell made his lip curl, and he gave the blade a final wipe as he listened to the rapid tapping of footsteps on the wooden floor.

“Gold, are you in here?” came an unwelcome, familiar voice, and he scowled.

“Well, it is my shop,” he said under his breath.

He glanced over his shoulder as Zelena entered the back room. Her red hair was pinned up beneath a hat with a feather at the side, and a dark green wrap dress gave a generous view of her cleavage. She still had that tiny smirk twisting her mouth, as though she knew a joke no one else understood, but as she felt his eyes on her, it became a pout. Gold tried not to grimace, and kept his expression carefully neutral.

“Ms Mills,” he said calmly. “A moment.”

He picked up the sword, holding it carefully balanced in the palms of his hands and easing past her into the shop.

“Mother said that you wanted to speak to me,” she said carelessly.

“Did she?” His voice was barely a whisper.

“Oh, she told me not to come,” she added. “Said that you were in a terrible mood. I must say you don’t seem any different than usual to me. I told her you’d get over that silly little spat we had. I know you understand the risks that have to be taken when you aim high.”

Gold carefully placed the sword in its case next to the scabbard, feeling Zelena’s eyes on his back as he set it down on the red silk.

“I can’t imagine why you continue to run this place,” she said airily. “I don’t see many customers coming in here, so it must be losing you money. Why bother with the facade of being an antique dealer when the whole town knows what you are?”

Gold smiled to himself.

“The shop is actually very successful,” he said. “But I do most of my business online. The internet is one of humanity’s most incredible inventions, don’t you think? I provide rare objects for collectors all over the world.”

He gestured to the sword, still with his back to her.

“This is the most recent item due to be shipped to one of my more discerning customers,” he said. “Did you know that blades by a certain swordsmith in the fourteenth century were thought to be cursed?”

“Really?” Her tone was flat. “I can’t sense anything.”

His cold smile grew a little, the corner of his mouth drawing upward.

“A legend, perhaps,” he acknowledged. “It’s said that they couldn’t be sheathed without having drawn blood; that they - thirsted - for it. When cleaning his sword, a samurai would often cut himself in order to satisfy the cursed blade’s taste for violence, by which he hoped to stop the sword from choosing him as its next victim. Blood-drinkers, I suppose you could call them.”

His voice trailed off to a whisper, and he rested black-gloved hands on the counter, fingers poised on their tips.

“Fascinating.” Zelena sounded bored. “Speaking of a thirst for blood, that’s why I’m here. About our deal. I’m ready.”

Gold carefully peeled off the silk gloves, dropping them into the open sword case and slowly turning on his toes to face her.

“Our deal?”

“You agreed to make me a vampire,” she said.

He eyed her for a moment, and his lips twitched in a tiny smile.

“Ah yes,” he said softly. “If I recall correctly, you requested that I do so in return for you releasing Miss French and Miss Swan.”

“That’s right.”

“Which you failed to do.”

She rolled her eyes.

“They’re free, aren’t they?”

“No thanks to you.” He shifted his stance a little, shaking his hair back. “I also recall that you were rather unconscious when I took them out of the cellar you had trapped them in. You know, after you kidnapped them and almost got them killed.”

Zelena sniffed, looking unconcerned.

“Well, I wanted to help Lily get control of her powers, and I did,” she said. “For all the thanks I get, she hasn’t spoken to me since. Or apologised for knocking me unconscious. The rest of the Coven are furious with me too.”

“You astonish me.”

“Well, I can’t see what they’re so mad about,” she went on. “I fixed Lily’s problem. She gets to canoodle with her girlfriend, the werewolf is roaming free, and the librarian is back with her books, no doubt being her usual interfering self. Everybody wins.”

Gold’s smile widened.

“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it.”

“So are you going to keep your word, or not?”

Gold stepped forward, until they were almost touching, and Zelena sucked in a breath, lips parting in arousal. He could hear her pulse thumping hard, blood surging through her as her excitement rose.

“Oh, I always keep my word,” he said lightly. “And I remember exactly what I said to you. If you want me to proceed as promised, I can do that.”

Zelena’s brow furrowed, as though something in her sensed his anger, the molten core of rage at the heart of him. She batted her eyelashes, smiling widely as if dismissing any thought of danger.

“This isn’t an idea I just came up with on a whim, you know,” she said. “I’ve been considering it for years. I really think I ought to do it while I’m still young and beautiful, don’t you? Youth, beauty and power for eternity! Can you think of anything better?”

Gold didn’t bother to answer.

“The town will be ours!” she went on. “Or, better yet, we could go somewhere else, away from small-town Maine. Let Regina have her pathetic little fiefdom. We could go to New York, or - well, or anywhere! We could rule a country if we wanted!”

“You have lofty ambitions,” he remarked.

“What’s wrong with that?” she demanded. “The power of magic and the life of an immortal - imagine what I could do! What we could do! There’s so much you could teach me!”

His mouth twitched at that.

“And you’re ready, are you?” he asked softly.

Zelena’s eyes widened in excitement.

“Yes!” she breathed.

Gold gave a slight smile, looking her up and down.

“You’re sure that’s what you want?” he whispered. “To face the unknown?”

She put her hands on his chest, pale eyes gazing up at him.

“I want immortality!” she breathed, and his smile grew.

“I promise you, Ms Mills,” he said. “That a hundred years from now, the residents of Storybrooke will still speak your name.”

“Good!” she urged. “I want them on their knees !”

“I’m sure you do.”

She was almost panting with excitement, her eyes sparkling. Gold resisted a shudder and sucked his teeth, inclining his head as he took a step back and turned away.

“Immortality is not what you’d expect,” he said quietly. “It’s a strange thing to stand outside time. To watch everyone you love die and turn to dust. To watch civilisations rise and fall.”

“You seem to be doing well enough on it.”

“That’s because I’m careful,” he said. “And very much the exception rather than the rule.”

“So teach me!” she said urgently, and he eyed her for a moment before nodding slowly.

“It’s really not that complicated,” he said. “The secret to a long life comes down to instinct. Who to trust. Or not.”

“Oh?”

He took a step forwards, walking in a slow circle around her.

“Knowing which battle to pick,” he added. “When to retreat. When to start a fight.”

Her eyes were following him, hungry and eager, and he pivoted on his toes, whipping back around and snatching the sword from its case.

“And when to finish it!” he snarled, and lashed out.

Steel hummed as it sliced through the air, and he barely felt the impact. A spray of blood fanned out, spattering the counter and the polished floor in a gleaming, crimson arc. There was a wet, heavy thump as her head hit the floor, her body crumpling in a heap at his feet. Blood dripped from the tip of the blade, and Gold calmly reached for the silk handkerchief in his jacket pocket to wipe it clean. Zelena’s head had rolled when it fell, and was staring up at him with glassy, sightless eyes. Gold’s mouth twisted.

“Consider this a lesson learned,” he said quietly.

After Mulan and the others had dropped her off at the library, Belle had spent a long time in the shower, scrubbing away the dirt and the scent of dust and fear. She had not expected to get much rest, but the following day she woke from a long and—thankfully—dreamless sleep to see that the sun had risen. Her phone showed messages from Mulan and Aurora, checking up on her, and she hurriedly sent a text back. They had sent pictures from the Rabbit Hole; squashed together with Emma and Lily and Philip, grinning widely. Philip looked better already, the silver cuff around his wrist peeking out from beneath a paisley-patterned silk shirt and black brocade waistcoat. The owner of the clothes was in another of the pictures, hat pulled down at a rakish angle and a tall drink in his hand, his arm around Cruella’s shoulders and both of them looking wasted. There was no sign of Gold.

She opened the library as usual, but there were few visitors. The atmosphere in Storybrooke felt strained, as though everyone was keeping their voices to a whisper and tiptoeing about the town. It gave Belle an itch between her shoulder blades, an anxiety that made her start at the slightest noise, eyes scanning for any sign of reddish hair or green dresses. She was unsure whether the rest of the town knew what had happened, or whether it was only the supernatural creatures, and the humans were picking up on their unease.

The strange, heavy feeling continued until after the sun had set, when it seemed to ease a little. Belle let out her breath in a rush, allowing her shoulders to slump. She carried on cleaning up the library, sweeping the floor and tidying the circulation desk. It was past closing time, and she gathered up the few books that had been left on tables and set them on the trolley for sorting. A squeak from the library door made her jump, and she turned with a gasp, a heavy book held in both hands. The knot of fear in her chest softened as she saw that it was Gold, leather-gloved hands folded over the handle of his cane, his gaze steady.

Gold could feel a blaze of warmth inside him at the sight of her. Her eyes were wide, her lips parted, as though she was afraid, but he noted with some amusement that she was holding a book like she was about to bludgeon him to death.

“Forgive me,” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s - it’s fine, really.” She set the book down, turning to face him. “I’ve just been kind of jumpy since - well, since I got kidnapped. And there’s been this weird feeling in the town all day - at least, it felt that way to me. Maybe I’m just nervous.”

“No, you’re quite correct,” he said. “I’ve felt it too, and I suspect you can guess the cause.”

“Was it - because of what happened?” she asked, her voice uncertain. “Because of Zelena?”

He took a step forward, cane tapping on the floor.

“It’s been many years since a magic user has attacked any of the residents,” he said. “The creatures that make their home here were extremely concerned by what happened to you and Miss Swan. When they heard about Zelena’s plans for the werewolf… well, let’s just say Jefferson and Cruella spent most of last night and today trying to reassure them that I would deal with the problem.”

He let the last few words out in a whisper, and Belle opened her mouth and closed it again, looking uneasy.

“The prospect of immediate and violent retaliation was very real,” he added. “Luckily that crisis has been averted. For now. Nonetheless, I’ll have to spend some time this evening assuring everyone that there’s no danger of any repetition. There’s a meeting at City Hall at eight for all supernatural creatures and magic users. You’re welcome to attend.”

“Oh.” Her face fell a little, teeth catching at the plump softness of her lower lip. “No danger. Does that mean—”

“I killed Zelena,” he said calmly, noting the way her eyes squeezed shut before opening again. “I made it quick. Painless. Which is more than she deserved, frankly, but I don’t suppose it matters.”

Belle looked stricken. She swallowed hard, shifting from one foot to the other.

“Did you - uh - bite her?” she asked, and winced. “Actually, I’m not sure I want to know.”

Gold had curled his lip, but then he gave her a wry smile.

“I did not. Oh, that’s what she came to me for, but no. I’d like to think I have more taste.”

She was silent, and it was making him feel awkward. He stepped forward, beginning to pace, cane tapping against the floor.

“I understand that you’re disappointed in me, but I’m not sorry I killed her,” he went on. “She needed to die. She needed to die before this town fell apart and turned on itself. Before the fragile peace I’ve kept for sixty years imploded.”

He stopped, grounding the cane and swivelling on his toes to face her as he flicked back his hair. Belle looked to be struggling with something, her mouth working.

“I know she was - dangerous,” she said. “If this was anywhere but Storybrooke, I’d say she needed to face proper justice, but—”

“She did,” he said softly. “She faced our justice. Such as it is.”

She looked at her hands, fingers twisting around each other, and he waited for her to tell him to leave.

“I - I understand,” she said, surprising him. “I’m not saying I like it, but I understand why you did what you did. Lily explained how the Covenant works, that it protects the whole town, that - that the peace depends on everyone keeping to it. I can see how she threatened that.”

He had expected to have to argue with her, and her response rendered him temporarily mute. Belle looked hesitant, eyes flicking up to meet his.

“Regardless of the need to protect the town,” she said carefully. “You did everything you could to save us. Aurora and Mulan told me how you - you took charge, you brought in Ruby and the others to help. If you hadn’t done that, if you hadn’t cared—”

“If I hadn’t taken an interest in you in the first place, you would never have been in danger,” he said tersely. “It was my fault you were in there. You and Miss Swan.”

“You’re not responsible for Zelena’s choices!” she said sharply.

“She would never have dared to hurt you if I hadn’t—” He cut off, looking away.

Belle watched him, his mouth pressed in a thin line, his jaw tight. He swallowed, his face softening a little as he glanced back at her.

“I didn’t come to tell you about Zelena,” he said. “Well, not just that. I came because - because you were right. About me.”

“Right about what?” she asked.

“What you said,” he explained. “The night I - the night I ended things between us. The night I - I pushed you away.”

She sucked in a breath, an ache in her heart as she remembered what he had said to her, and he pressed a hand to his chest, looking hesitant.

“I am a coward,” he said softly. “I have been for my entire, sorry existence. Becoming a vampire, gaining strength and power didn’t make me braver. It just made me dangerous.”

Belle licked her lips, taking a step closer.

“Tell me about it,” she asked gently. “About who you were when you - changed.”

Gold’s mouth twisted in a wry smile.

“My life before,” he said, “was very different.”

Belle gave him a tiny, wry smile.

“Let me guess,” she said. “Castle, soldiers, used to getting your own way? What were you, like a - a clan leader or something?”

Gold’s smile was something she hadn’t seen before. There was something in his eyes. A weary sort of sadness.

“I - uh - raised sheep,” he said simply. “Spun wool. Wove cloth. I lived in a one-room wooden house with a turf roof and traded wool for flour so I could make bread.”

Belle felt her mouth fall open, and snapped it shut.

“Oh,” she said.

“I was poor,” he added. “And lame. Injured my leg in a stupid war I had no interest in fighting.”

“Oh.” She felt a rush of understanding. “The cane! You said it was a reminder of - of human frailty. I didn’t realise you were talking about your own.”

Gold wrinkled his nose, glancing away for a moment.

“Sometimes I like to remind myself that I was once human,” he said. “I could always get around well enough with a staff, despite my limp. I just wasn’t any good at fighting. Or protecting anyone.”

He dropped his eyes, appearing to study the space between his feet.

“It must be awkward, having to remember to limp when you don’t have to,” ventured Belle, and he smiled wearily.

“Muscle memory lasts a long time, it seems,” he said quietly. “Longer than other memories. Muscle memory and - regret.”

“You regret becoming a vampire?” she asked, and his mouth twitched.

“I regret why it was necessary,” he whispered.

Belle could feel her curiosity growing, and she moved closer.

“What happened?” she asked softly, and Gold pulled a face, looking away briefly before glancing back.

“We were poor, like I said.” His fingers opened and closed on the cane handle. “But we had enough, most days, and we were happy. It was just the two of us. Me, and - and my son.”

Belle felt her mouth fall open.

“Your son?”

“Baelfire was his name,” said Gold. “He was the most important thing in the world to me. I loved him with every breath in my body, so when he was amongst those chosen to fight in yet another bloody pointless battle, I would have done everything in my power to keep him safe.”

“Of course you would,” she whispered, and his mouth flattened.

“Yes, well, unfortunately I didn’t have any power,” he said dryly. “As the men who took him made me well aware. I had no money to give them, I couldn’t even take his place. They laughed when I offered. Kicked my staff away and left me begging and weeping in the dirt as they dragged my boy away.”

He dropped his eyes again, a tiny shake of his head, his mouth working and his hands gripping the cane handle, knuckles white. Grief and shame seemed to radiate from him, and Belle bit her lip, one hand reaching out to him before dropping uselessly at her side.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “What - what happened?”

Gold inhaled sharply, straightening up, and the familiar, dark glint was back in his eyes.

“It was dusk, and a man helped me get to my feet,” he said. “Put the staff back in my hands and took me home. He told me I could get my boy back, if I let him help me.” He pulled his lower lip up over his teeth, shaking his head. “I didn’t ask what the price would be.”

“He was a vampire?” whispered Belle, and he nodded.

“Everything changed for me that night,” he said. “The process itself was - agonising - but when it was over, I felt as though I’d been reborn. I suppose I had. In a way.”

“He gave you a choice,” said Belle. “Why?”

Gold’s mouth twisted upwards in a wry, slanting grin.

“He said he saw something in me,” he said. “Something that reminded him of his human life. He said he was once a desperate soul, like me.”

“And that made him want to help you?”

“I suppose so,” said Gold. “And he did. Or he tried, at least. I think he’d been a vampire for a long time. Perhaps as long as I have now. He didn’t seem to have the - blood lust - that raged through me when I woke. He told me of the limits to my immortality, and what could hurt me. He told me the longer I stayed alive, the harder it would be to kill me. At the time it felt as though I was barely listening. For the first time in my life I felt strong, and utterly fearless. I had Baelfire’s scent, and the scent of those that had taken him. I was eager to hunt. Eager to - to feed.”

“Did you find him?” asked Belle nervously. “Baelfire?”

He nodded.

“I found him,” he said quietly. “Him and all the other children that had been stolen from their families. I slaughtered their kidnappers, drained them dry and left them where they fell.”

His eyes were somewhere far off, his expression grim.

“Baelfire looked at me as though I was a stranger,” he said. “He saw me rip the throat out of one of his captors. My limp had gone, and I was covered in blood. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the terror in his eyes. He must have thought he was next.”

“Perhaps he didn’t recognise you,” offered Belle, and he smiled sadly.

“No he didn’t,” he agreed. “Not at first. And when he did—” He glanced away, his mouth flattening. “When he did, I could still see the fear in him. I could smell it, changed as I was. I would never have hurt him, I would have thrown myself off a cliff before I’d ever have done so, but I had changed forever, and he knew it. He knew that there was - evil - inside me.”

Belle was silent, waiting for him to speak, and Gold swallowed hard.

“I left,” he said. “The hunger in those first few days was extreme, and I didn’t want him to see, so I left. Found the ones that started that whole stupid bloody clan feud in the first place and killed them. I wanted to try and - and get it all out of my system before I went back to him.” He let out a low, dark chuckle. “So naive. As if I could. As if he’d forget what he’d seen.”

“How did he react?” asked Belle, and Gold pulled a face.

“He was wary, at first,” he said. “He didn’t understand what I was any more than I did, but I told him I had only wanted to free him and the other children. I promised him that I wouldn’t kill anyone else.”

He was silent for a moment, eyes on the floor.

“Of course, it was a promise I couldn’t keep,” he said softly. “I had to feed, but I kept it from him. We moved around a lot in those first few years. We had to. I had to. It couldn’t last, of course. What I was - what I did - it drew attention. He realised just how much I’d broken my word when we faced an angry mob wanting to burn me alive.”

“God!” Belle clapped her hands to her mouth, and he gave her a twisted smile.

“Oh, it wouldn’t have killed me,” he said. “Would have hurt like fuck, though. And they would have thrown him on the pyre for good measure. I’d become a vampire to save him, and every day I was putting him in danger. I had to leave.”

“And Baelfire?” asked Belle softly, and Gold sniffed.

“I wanted to give him a chance at a normal life,” he said bleakly. “He was almost a man by then, and I told him that I’d come back when I’d found a way to lift this - this curse. I told him it wouldn’t be long.”

Belle felt a surge of sympathy for him. She wondered how long he had searched. How many dead ends and disappointments he had faced.

“Did you see him again?” she asked, and he gave a brief, sad smile.

“Once.”

“What happened to him?” asked Belle, and he pulled a face.

“What happens to all humans,” he said bleakly, “He died.”

She stepped closer, wanting to reach out to him, but her arms seemed to be frozen at her sides.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I can’t imagine how it feels to lose a child.”

“I once told you that I didn’t need to be saved,” he said. “Perhaps I was wrong about that. Either way, it’s too late. With all the things I’ve done, I don’t deserve to be.”

Belle shook her head.

“I don’t believe that,” she whispered. “I don’t. It’s never too late.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Gold looked up at her, and his face was calm again. “I know what I am. I’ve had centuries to come to terms with it. Creating the Covenant and keeping the peace between the human and the supernatural doesn’t give me absolution, but I suppose it’s something.”

He looked weary, his shoulders slumping a little as he took a step back from her.

“Speaking of, I should really get over to the town hall and explain my latest murder.”

His tone was self-deprecating, and he gave her a nod as he turned away. Belle stepped forward as he headed for the door.

“Why did you tell me about your life?” she asked, making him pause. “About Baelfire?”

Gold turned slowly on his toes to face her.

“I wanted you to know,” he said simply. “I - suppose I wanted you to know me.”

He looked surprised as he said it, as though the words were unexpected, and she smiled.

“I’m glad,” she said quietly.

He held her gaze for a moment, as though he wanted to say something more, but seemed to think better of it.

“As I said, you’re welcome to come to the meeting,” he said. “Now that you’ve decided to stay in town, perhaps you’ll want to meet some of the other creatures that live here. No doubt there are many intrusive and deeply personal questions you’re simply desperate to ask them.”

His tone was dry, but there was a gleam in his eyes, and Belle bit back a grin.

“I haven’t finished with you yet.”

“No doubt.” His mouth twitched a little, and he bowed his head. “Good evening, Miss French.”

#fic: closing the circle #rumbelle fic #rumbelle #my fic

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attack-on-my-emotions · 1 year

Text

Every time I read "Great Sky Island," it's said in the ghost ancestor's voice from Mulan in the same way he says, "Great Stone Dragon"

Screaming like a tea kettle over the subtle care between Link and Zelda

Researcher Zelda getting excited over her discovery is so adorable I love her so much

I love that bass sound in the cutscene right before the castle starts crumbling as it's being lifted skyward

First death was in combat. To be fair, it was 3 vs 1, and my shield turned to ash from the construct that had his stick on fire, and then the other one landed a hit. Head caved in by THICC Stick!

Minor detail, but I noticed in the dark cave when I swung my weapon. It also disturbed the fog around me!

The second death is by grabby hands! My borrowed wild horse spotted something, turned and ran as I was grabbing a new plant item. I climbed a boulder to get a better view of what I saw slithering just out of sight, and I see why they ran, but it saw me too! I was not quick enough on foot...

In one of the shrines, you have to bat a ball to the targets. I was creating the bat and went to test it out to see if it even swung and not get stuck on the floor due to the angle and without timing it, the ball was hit and landed the target immediately lol

Me runs over and stands on a rock. Said rock begins to rumble, "Ah of course....". It was a Talos

Riding across a bridge, I see something sparkling in the distance. It's the head of an electric Gleeok that's in the coliseum...

I veered off and ran through a bokoblin camp. Trying to ride through to the stables, I realized the cliff drops off into the river. So I leave my borrowed wild horse. Who then ends up running the same way I did lol

The korok trying to get to its friend near the Outskirt Stable was a pain! Having to go up the cliffside to get there. At one point the korok fell (misjudged the landing) and dropped all the way down. I went to fetch him, and the little guy kept rolling down the path in somersaults as Link was sprinting to catch him XD

Sneakily sniping a Bokoblin on watch duty. The others were asleep (beddy bye time). I took a photo for the compendium and then silent strike the remaining sleeping beauties. Turns out that helping Kilton build an exhibition of monsters leads to Hudson recreating a photo in whatever pose it was captured with. Which was it sleeping peacefully before being murdered

I was dragging a Korok to its friend via horse powered harness, and as we're riding through, he starts screaming, "Help! Heeeelp!". An enemy must've popped up, but I didn't see any, so it just looks like he was calling for him from ME 😈

I like the attack roomba and roadkill shrines

Shamelessly sending a korok down a cliff because it was the shortest and quickest way to get him to his friend 👀

Witnessed a hinox get a wakeup call via lightning. Then it saw me, but the lightning helped out by striking it again

#The Legend of Zelda #Tears of the Kingdom #totk #Aome's Gaming Adventures

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solarishashernoseinabook · 8 days

Note

For the nosy asks: 15, 38 and 44 please :3

thank youuu :DD

15: Favourite movie aaaaah...probably How to Train Your Dragon or Coco or Mulan or The Sting wow lotta variation there solaris

38: My childhood career choice My first goal was to be a palaeontologist. After that, i decided to be...everything! The first day I'd be a doctor, the second day I'd be a scientist, the third day I'd be a teacher, etc, etc, going through all the different careers until getting through all of them and starting the cycle all over again life is so much simpler when you're too young to know about student debt and studying and job interviews lol

44: A random fact about anything For centuries, starting from the time of Pliny the Elder, Europeans believed there existed a species of large cat called a pard. This pard, it was thought, was spotted, and was also thought to be insatiably attracted to lionesses. The pard was thought to ambush lionesses and impregnate them. The resulting cubs would have spots, like their pard, and would grow up into cats that were half lion, half pard. And because they were half lion, half pard, they were called..leo pards. Leopards.

Link to the ask game if you want to play!

#asks #ask games #nosy ask game

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whattheabcxyz · 5 months

Text

2023-12-27

Singapore

Jail for man who threatened doctors & nurses with Swiss Army knife & hurled vulgarities at them - drugs most likely to blame for his behaviour

Serangoon North shop owners frustrated over MRT construction barriers affecting sales

MOH says HIV disclosure law being reviewed - under current law, those with HIV/AIDS or who suspect themselves of having it must disclose their condition to their partner; advocacy groups argue that this is counterproductive to health goals

Singapore port hits all-time high of 3b gross tons in vessel arrivals this year

$15m plan by industry body to drive up chartered accountant numbers here

Indian family gets scammed trying to buy organic eggs off Facebook - they were sent a phishing link as usual, which they stupidly clicked on & used to enter their bank details, & now they are insisting that the banks take partial responsibility for their actions 😣

Money mule hiring spree goes digital as crime syndicates turn to Telegram

Bookshops, art dealers & theatre companies worry consumers will cut non-essential spending next year when GST is raised yet again - maybe then don't go into businesses like these if you're worried about making a decent living?! 🙄

30 people under probe after multi-agency anti-crime blitz in Geylang

2 women arrested for evading roadblock

Condo rents decreased for 4th consecutive month in Nov, but HDB rents rebounded

Science

Scientists destroy 99% of cancer cells in the lab using vibrating molecules - well, it's not 100%, & it wasn't done in humans

Nature

Reindeer can not only sleep with their eyes open, but also do other stuff (like chewing their food) while sleeping!

Art

^ This isn't a real human, but a sculpture!!! 😳

Home

Ceiling fan blade breaks off while in use - the family whose home the fan was installed in was luckily unharmed as they were not in the room; the fan had only been in use for 4 years

People

Parasite actor Lee Sun-Kyun found dead of apparent suicide - he'd been under investigation for drug use

Food

Stall owner in China beats customer up for adding "too much" vinegar to his meal - well, this just about sums up the Chinese mentality of everything revolving around $$$ & $$$ alone!!!

Gossip

K-pop star Park Bom's latest plastic surgery fail - those heavily plastic-surgeried pop stars & actresses all look like carbon copies of one another now

Entertainment

BBC's adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Murder Is Easy" sees protagonist changed from white colonial police officer to black Nigerian - when're they going to a do a black adaptation of Mulan or Pocahontas then? lol

#singapore #science #nature #art #home #people #food #gossip #entertainment

0 notes

empressofthesunwriter · 1 year

Text

The Stick of Truth

Codename: Dovahkiin Part 1!

N.K. is angry at her parents. Not only did they move again, no, but they moved into a snowy hicktown named South Park! She was sure she would hate it there, yet surprisingly she gets to participate in the epic RPG the kids play and falls for the human princess and the elf king. Who is friend, who is foe and which side should she choose?

Main Pairing: New Kid/Kenny McCormick/Kyle Broflovski

Chapter 3: First Summon, Gas-Mask, and Drug Dealers, oh my!

You guys 'member when in the last chapter I said how this game would be a full Final Fantasy rip-off if I can summon in the future something?

Well, guess what happened?

At first, me and Leo just enter City Wok, because I got the munchies and wanted to check out the noodle soups of this place.

Somehow we got robbed into beating up a lot of little Mongolian kids in the Tower of Peace since the parents of them have conquered Mr. Kim, the owner of City Wok, the week before.

Then we had to beat up the parents.

I admit I felt kind of like Mulan doing this.

Also, I got a new kickass bow.

Yet, how in the name of Isis, is the whole city involved in the whole LARPing these kids here do?

Anyway, for beating up all the Mongolians, Mr. Kim not only became my Facebook friend, but he also gave me a little Gong so I can call him to beat up my enemies.

Besides bosses.

Since they are too tough.

Again, I ask how this works?

I think I have just to try it, then I will see.

South Park is the weirdest town I ever lived and I have a feeling I haven’t even seen the weirdest shit yet!

After this little adventure, we finally reach Jimbo’s Gun. Behind the counter is a tall chubby man in hunter gear and a shorter guy with sunglasses, who only has one arm.

These two make just only for the looks an interesting duo.

“Well hello there Jimbo and Ned!”, greets Leo cheerfully.

I give them a nod.

“Afternoon gentlemen.”

“Well! What brings you here today? Business or pleasure? Or vengeance?”, ask the chubby guy, which Leo whispers is Jimbo.

“Sweet, sweet vengeance!”, I answer with a maniac chuckle, which only seems to disturb Leo.

Jimbo and Ned just grin.

“You've come to the right place.”, tells me Ned, speaking into a voice box.

He sounds like a robot!

If he had the voice of the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future I would have been sooooo happy. Then again I’m not currently playing a children’s card game and trying to attack someone with Obelisk the Tormenter.

Torment.

“Howdy there!”, Jimbo’s voice shakes me of my thought. “Haven't seen you before. You must be the new kid that moved to town - and you're into huntin', huh?! Well, my boy, you've come to the right place!”

Again, I’m currently Link, but again someone doesn’t see I’m not a boy. Or my cosplay is more than amazing, or there is something in the water that makes the people here stupid.

Well nearly everyone.

I try to correct Jimbo, but against his talking like a raging river, I can’t get a word out.

I only get that he has something against Democrats, wants to sell me a book about hunting here in South Park and oh, he can sell some weapons to me.

At this, my eyes check the counter before us and I see it.

A beautiful katana.

Oh hell yeah, time to get my Demon Slayer game on!

“I want a gas mask, this beautiful Katana, and sure give me this hunting book.”, I tell Jimbo.

“Oh, sure New Kid, but your level is too low for the Katana.”

…What?

“It’s so unfair!”, I cry at Leo, waving the gas mask around.

“We will get the Katana later for you N.K., you just have to level up a bit.”, he reassures me.

We are on our way back to the Security Guard and I can’t even enjoy that I will be ready for this motherfucker because Jimbo and Ned are part of the whole shikt with levels for weapons like us kids.

I want the Katana now!

Not when this whole game is nearly over!

I need to come up with a plan to get it!

Mmh, maybe I can buy it normally if I go to the shop with my normal clothes on…?

Sadly I can’t try it right now, since it’s time to kick someone in the Kuribohs.

I pull the gas mask on my face and command practically: “Leo, you let me handle this. This asshole will feel all of my burning rage!”

“O-Okay.”

So I stalk over to the Security Guard and call: “Hey, pigheaded, dickless, lurd of tard, I’m back!”

He doesn’t waste time to pepper spray again, but this time nothing happens.

I see the fear in his eyes and it is delicious like chocolate.

“What the fuck? Oh NO!”

“OH YES!”

I don’t wait that we get transported to the battleground ala Final Fantasy. I make my promise come true and kick him with all my might in the Kuribos!

Aka. his balls.

He falls down, clutching his jewels, whimpering pathetically.

“Move... along.”

“Never test me again bitch!”

Satisfied at his cowering, I take off the gas mask and smile brightly at Leo.

“Let’s go, little bro.”

Leo looks sympathetic at the Security Guard before he rejoins my side.

“Y-You are really scary big sis.”, mumbles Leo at me, while I ring the doorbell of Token’s home.

“It’s part of my charm.”, I jest.

Well, a bit.

Security Guard had it coming.

The door opens and a black kid opens the door.

…Don’t tell me his name is a goddamn pun-!

“Yeah?”

“Oh yes, hello I’m N.K., you must be Token.”, I say and hand him Cartman’s letter. “I’m the new mage of Kupa Keep and Lord Fatass wants me to fetch all his warriors since the elven took the Stick of Truth.”

“Nice to meet you N.K. I’m surprised that Cartman lets a girl play with us.”

At this Leo and I wince. It’s nice to see there is another person who has eyes in his head, but…

“His chubbiness thinks I’m a dude, so can you…”

“Of course. Hang on a second.”

Token closes for a second the door and after opening it again he is in his Kupa Keep get-up. Wow, he dresses fast!

“Thank you for thy message, traveler! Your secret is safe with me. I shall make haste to Kupa Keep!”, he announces, then turns to his right and calls: ”Mom! Can you drive me to Eric's house?”

And closes again the door.

I shrug my shoulders and mentally strike him from my list.

One warrior recruited, two more to go.

The next warrior recruit (who gets the reference gets a cookie) is a boy named Tweek Tweak, since we can’t simply just go and grab Craig from school and I ask Leo if he is messing with me about his name.

Who names their kid like that?

And why?

Were they on drugs? (No pun indeed)

With any hour passing South Park gets weirder.

Leo assures me that it’s really his name and with a sign I follow him to Tweak Bro. Cafe. A cafe owned by Tweeks family if you didn’t get it. But I’m sure we all here are smarter than Cartman by a mile.

We pass the cinema and I stop Leo by grasping his arm.

“Oh look! They play Asses on Fire 2!”, I squeal happy. “Did you watch the first one?”

“Yeah, I did. You like Terrance and Phillip, big sis?”

As an answer, I start to sing the well known song from the first movie: “Shut your fucking face, uncle fucka! You're a cock-sucking, ass-licking uncle fucka! You're an uncle fucka, yes it's true! Nobody fucks uncles quite like you!”

Leo laughs happily and joins me.

“Shut your fucking face, uncle fucka! You're the one that fucked your uncle, uncle fucka! You don't eat or sleep or mow the lawn, You just fuck your uncle all day long!”

“Suck my balls!”, I end the song happy giggling.

“Oh I wish we could watch it now.”, confesses Leo. “I bet it’s better than the first.”

“Well, I was planning to watch it with my parents. I’m sure you can tag along when we go!”

My little brother lights up like a Christmas Tree.

“Really?”

“I promise!”

I wrap my arm around his shoulder giving him so side-way hug. We continue our way to Tweek Bros Cafe.

“Psst. Pssst, hey. Over here.”

I ignore this weird older dude hiding behind a tree between the cinema and the cafe, I got no time for this shit and enter with Leo the cafe.

The cafe is cute, but the smell of the coffee is a bit strange.

I can’t put my finger on it.

My parents and I are avid coffee drinkers, so I’m familiar with its smell, so this strange smell, makes me frown.

And yes I know I’m 11 I shouldn’t already drink coffee, leave me alone! I need my coffee or I don’t function.

I wanted to get a cup, but this smell turned me away. That doesn’t stop me from going up to the counter to ask for Tweek.

The older gentleman greets me in a calming soothing voice which throws me off a bit.

“Welcome to Tweek Coffee. Coffee made with ingredients supplied by local organic suppliers. It's local coffee. Brewed locally.”

I swore I hear soft background music.

Are we in a commercial?

I blink rapidly to get my bearings back.

“Erm, hello sir, is Tweek here? We want to ask him to play with us.”

“Hello there.”, Mr. Tweak greets me. “If you're looking for Tweek, he's in the back room, unattended. Unattended, like a pristine meadow known only to the wild horses that graze there. Would you like to try some coffee? It's fresh, like a sun-dappled cornfield ready for harvest.”

“Eh no thanks, another time…”

I nearly drag Leo to the backroom to get away from this coffee dealer. It’s just soooooo weird.

In the backroom we find who must be Tweek, wearing a little apron and with a broom cleaning the room.

“AHGHGHGH! How am I supposed to do all this?! There's no way, man! Starbucks has like eight employees! Here it's just me!! GAHGHGH!!”, he talks frantically to himself, twitching here and there.

Oh dear, what is his problem?

I get my answer when I see him chuck down a whole cup of coffee like some Tequilla shot.

He didn’t even blink.

I don’t know if I should give him kudos or be scarred for life.

“Hello, Tweek?”, I call out to him.

The poor boy lets out a shrill shriek.

Ups.

“AHGHGHGH! Who are you?!”

“Sorry didn’t mean to startle you.”, I talk to him in my most calm and reassuring voice. “I’m N.K., new in town and also the new Mage of Kupa Keep. Lord Tub of Lard calls all his warriors to the castle to reclaim the Stick of Truth from the elves.”

He doesn’t stop twitching, even after I had him Cartman’s letter.

“NOW?!?! The guys need me now?! Oh, there's no way man! I have WAY too much to do! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO ALL THIS?!”, he screams in my face, shaking me by my shoulders.

“Wowowow, calm down, Tweek. Can Leo and I help you somehow? Maybe we could help you clean.”, I suggested, taking his hands from my shoulders and caressing them gently to help calm him down.

It seems to work since Tweek takes a deep breath to get his thoughts under control.

Well mostly.

He is still twitching and shaking.

“You could go get the four o'clock delivery for me?!”, he asks.” If you do I can finish here and then - and then I'll still have time to play! PLEASE!”

Me and Leo look at each other and he nods.

“Sure thing Tweek. Where is the delivery?”

“It's at Kenny's house - like always! Y-you give them THIS - They'll give you the delivery!”

He gives me a piece of paper.

“PLEASE! Would you?!”

“Consider it done.”

With that Leo and I leave the backroom.

I can’t even describe what I’m feeling when I see where sweet, sweet Princess Kenny lives.

I feel sad and angry on her behalf.

No one should live in a dump like that.

“The princess family doesn’t have much money, huh?”, I mumble, kicking an empty beer bottle away.

Leo hears me anyway.

“Kenny and his family were always poor. He is actually the poorest kid in school.”, he explains to me.

“This sucks.”

“Agree, but don’t pity him, Kenny hates that.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

Still…it hurts me to see this sad excuse of a house and think how cold and dirty it has to be in there.

I wish I could help somehow…

Since we came here on a mission, I ignore my desire to help Kenny and his family somehow and knock on the front door, which probably saw better days. It feels like the door is going to crack under my knocks.

The door opens and a red-haired woman with a green I’m with stupid T-Shirt stands before us.

That’s for sure Kenny’s mom.

She has the same pretty blue eyes as her child, just they seem tired and lifeless. Looking at her, I bet she was once a beautiful young girl, but whatever happened to her made her now look older and defeated.

“What?”, she croaks at us.

“Hello, ma’am.”, I addressed her and hand her the letter Tweek gave me. “We are here to pick up the delivery for Tweek Bro.”

“Oh, this isn't for me. This is for the nice people who are renting the guest house out in the back.”, she explains to me, handing me back the letter and a key to this guest house.

“Thanks for your help ma’am.”

“You are a nice girl, goodbye.”

I admit it makes me feel giddy that Kenny’s mom seems to like me and even can tell I’m a girl. These are some brownie points for her.

Me and Leo make our way to the guesthouse, which is actually a garage, and…yep we are in a junkie hideout.

Awesome, just awesome.

I’m not touching anything in here.

I don’t want to get tetanus or hepatitis or some shit.

“Yeah, yeah. We got the package for Tweek Coffee. You got the envelope?”, say’s one of the three junkies to us.

They are two males and a female.

I swore, I formally feel the drugs and sickness coming from them.

“Uh, these witch doctors must be cooking up a secret potion. I wonder if it's a healing potion...”, voice Leo his thought and I can just stare at him.

Didn’t he get what this person actually are?

How innocent is he?

“Stay close and don’t touch anything.”, I whisper to him before I turn to one of the junkies and hand him the letter. “Here.”

No time for pleasantries, I want to get out of here, before I catch something nasty.

“Hey... that's not the usual kid that picks up the package.”

“Huh? Oh shit. It's a COP!!”

Uh-oh!

Our little adventure in the garage ends with beating up the three junkies and then getting the Tweek Bro delivery ourselves.

Once we are out of the garage, I search in my little backpack for the hand sanitizer I know I have and wash myself and Leo with it as well as I can.

“Nasty, nasty, nasty!”, I shudder. “I don’t want to get any sickness that will eat my brain!”

“Big sis you are rubbing the hand sanitizer in my face! It hurts.”

“It’s for your own good, little bro!”

After what feels like an eternity I’m satisfied and stop cleaning us.

Leo’s face may be red as a lobster now, but he will be thankful later for it.

With that, I drag him back to Tweek Bro Cafe. We hand over the delivery to Tweek, who gives it to his father and Mr. Tweak dumbs it into the coffee.

Yep, I’m never gonna drink that. Now I know why it’s smells so funny, it has drugs in it.

At least Tweek gets permission to play with us.

That makes now two warriors recruited.

We could hand it back now to Kupa Keep but I ask Leo if we can explore the town for a bit.

I mean, the Stick is not going anywhere.

Also, our third warrior recruit is still in detention.

We have some time.

My little brother is okay with that and we start our exploring.

Time to get familiar with my new hometown.

#southparkfanfiction #southpark #new kid sp #dovahkiin #stick of truth #SP FanFic: Codename: Dovahkiin Part 1 #douchbag #kenny mccormick #kyle broflovski #k2 #polyamarous

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wespersdaughter · 2 years

Note

Lol it’s okay lovely! Okay so can I request a 📚 the movie Mulan and the “would you like to stay for dinner?” “Would you like to stay forever?” exchange with benedict bridgerton? With reader’s family?

Of course! It's one of my favourite movies and Grandma is so funny!

You were not from a remarkably big family like the Bridgertons but you had more siblings than most in the ton.

As the oldest of five you were often tasked with looking after the younger ones when your parents were busy. Then when your parents passed and you moved in with your grandmother, the task grew monumentally harder.

Especially with your youngest brother George. George was a very mischievous boy even before you lost your parents but now at the tender age of 6, he was steadily getting out of control.

One fine day, the Bridgertons came for a visit to your estate, bar Francesca who had a cold.

Your three youngest siblings immediately ran off with Gregory and Hyacinth. Eloise immediately found the books and the other "adults", Violet, Daphne and Anthony stayed with your grandmother.

Your sister, Ophelia, gestured to Benedict and hinted that you could all walk together through the gardens. At 16 Ophelia apparently knew everything there was to know about romance.

Much to your grandmama's delight, you, Ophelia and Benedict left swiftly for a 'grand tour' of the gardens. Though it was just an excuse for you to be close to Benedict.

"Lovely weather isn't it?" The man smiled, gaze pointed to the grey clouds overhead.

"Yes most certainly Mr Bridgerton. A perfect day for a promenade." Your sister giggled, as she linked arms with him.

"Ah wonderful! Now off we go, my dear."

Despite the number of times you'd walked through your family's gardens, it still felt... magical. You made note to compliment the gardeners for their excellent work.

When you arrived back at the house, Ophelia walked off to give you extra time with Benedict. You walked past the children playing, doing a mental head count as you often did. You only counted four.

"Uh, Benny you can go ahead, I just need to check something." You released his arm, walking over to them.

Sure enough, there was Gregory, Hyacinth, James and Harold. But no George.

"James, James!" You called sharply.

He turned around with a slight attitude but you were not in the mood.

"Where's George?" Something clicked in James' brain and he began to frantically look around.

"I don't know! He was just here!"

"James you were supposed to look out for him!"

Benedict must have heard your arguing, "What's wrong?"

"We've lost George!" You cried frantically, whirling around, trying to find him.

Benedict went into crisis mode, sending the other kids inside to tell the others.

He put a hand on your shoulder to soothe you, "Is there a place your brother often likes to hide or play in on days like this?"

Your eyes lit up with realisation. "The tree house."

You grabbed Bennie's hand and pulled him to a spot near the little creek in your gardens.

"George! George where are you?"

"HELP!" You both heard the cry but only Benedict could see where it came from.

"Hang on George!" He took off his overcoat and stepped into the creek.

The current wasn't very fast but the creek was deceptively deep and the closer Benedict got to your brother, the quicker you realised what danger George was in.

Benedict was in waist high water. George reached your chest when he stood at his full height.

Wading slowly, Benny reached out to George who was clinging onto a root for dear life.

"George, you know how I used to carry you on my shoulders when we played Pall Mall."

The little boy gave a loud sob of panic and nodded.

"Well, we're going to do it again, would you like that?"

George cried loudly, "But your clothes will get wet."

Poor sweet boy.

Benedict laughed softly, "No fret, Georgie boy. I'll wash them myself if it means you're safe. Now trust me."

The man grabbed the root and dipped under the water. Your brother sat directly on his shoulders and when he came back up for breath, your heart started beating again.

The walk back was much easier and when Benedict put George down, he wrapped the little boy up in his overcoat.

You hugged George to your chest, "Please be careful around this creek, little one! I was so worried."

The boy dropped his head on your shoulder and wrapped his arms around you tightly. "I'm so sorry."

He was certainly getting too big for this but you picked him up, holding him on your hip.

You looked to Benedict who was watching the scene with a fond half-smile, "I don't know how to thank you!"

"I could never just have left him."

You began to walk back to where your families were waiting, by the edge of the garden. You sniffed softly, wiping a tear away. You placed George down so he could run to his siblings.

"Perhaps you would like to stay for dinner?" You turned to Benedict.

"Perhaps you should stay forever!" Your grandmother laughed.

my 500 follower celebration

#benedict bridgerton x reader #benedict bridgerton imagine #bridgerton x reader #bridgerton imagine #baby's 500 follower celebration

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waitingfortherightpartner · 3 years

Text

Welcome Home

A/N: I feel like that scene from Mulan where Mushu rises up from the smoke and shouts “I LIVEEEEEE.” Anyway, just a little fluffy thing I wrote inspired by adopting my own dog. Hope you enjoy :)

“Explain to me again why we need to cross state lines to go get this dog?”

“Because,” you half-whine. “She’s been at the shelter for five months and she needs a good home and I want her. And she just happens to be a four and a half hour drive away.”

Bucky sighs dramatically from the driver’s seat of the car, but a smile tugs at the edge of his lips as he keeps his eyes on the road. You take it as a good sign to keep going.

“I have scoured the internet, Bucky,” you say. “I have looked at so many dogs. And until Tony lifts his one-dog-per-Avenger rule, I can’t adopt them all so I had to choose wisely.”

“And what makes this dog so special?” he asks.

You pause for a second as you mentally run through the shelter’s bio for the 12 year-old dog you’ve set your heart on. You wrack your brains for the perfect tidbit that will make Bucky feel the instant love you felt for her, but you come up empty.

“I don’t know,” you eventually say. “I just like her.”

You glance over and see Bucky’s eyes soften.

“Good enough for me,” he says simply. “Let’s go get your dog.”

You smile and resist the urge to reach out and squeeze Bucky’s hand as it rests lazily on the gear shift.

Instead, you grab your phone and scroll until you find the perfect playlist. You can’t help the shit-eating grin that spreads across your face as “Who Let the Dogs Out” begins to play.

Bucky lets out an incredulous laugh.

“Tell me you didn’t create a playlist with only songs about dogs for our four hour drive,” he says, only half joking.

“Fine,” you smirk. “I won’t tell you.”

It’s love at first sight as the shelter staff introduces you to the dog, who you instantly decide is named Leia. She looks up at you and Bucky with her big, beautiful eyes, her tail thumping against the chain link kennel with a ferocity like she knows that she’s coming home with you.

Bucky plays with her as you fill out all the paperwork, and just like that, she’s yours.

The car ride home feels much shorter, Leia napping in the back seat, seemingly tuckered out from her eventful day, her being an old lady and all. You and Bucky are silent the whole drive home, an unspoken agreement not to wake Leia. But you keep glancing over to give Bucky an ecstatic smile, unable to contain your joy. For Bucky’s part, the smile never leaves his lips.

It’s only once you get home that you realize bringing Bucky with you might have been a mistake. As soon as you get out of the car, Leia is glued to Bucky’s side, following him around the Tower like –– well, like a lost puppy. She follows him to the kitchen, nearly tripping him as he tries to grab himself a snack in the hopes of getting a treat herself.

When he sits down on the couch with you to watch a movie, she hops up beside him, plopping her head into his lap.

When he tries to go to the bathroom, she gets up expectantly and follows him, only to sit right outside the door until he comes back.

It’d be pretty damn cute if she wasn’t supposed to be your dog.

You try desperately not to take it personally. You just want her to be happy and feel safe, and you’re just glad to have her here. But after the third failed attempt to coax her over to you with a handful of treats, your smile is faltering and you can feel your heart fall in your chest.

“It’s okay,” Bucky says softly as you settle on the other side of the couch, Leia half-asleep in his lap. “I was reading an article earlier that said it takes dogs some time to get adjusted.”

“I know,” you say quietly.

Halfway through the movie, Leia gets up and wanders off on her own to explore. You want to get up and rush after her, but you take a deep breath and give her her space. You feel Bucky’s arm reach around you slowly as he rubs soft circles into your shoulder. You find yourself leaning into him and nestling against his chest.

When the movie ends, the two of you head off to look for Leia and find her curled up on Bucky’s bed. She looks so comfortable and content that you don’t even have the heart to try and bring her to your room.

“Bucky, do you mind if Leia sleeps here tonight?” you ask.

“Happy to have her,” he says. “You know - ”

He cuts himself off and you turn to look at him curiously.

“What do I know?”

“I was going to say you can sleep in my bed with Leia and I can sleep in yours?”

“She’ll just end up leaving in the middle of the night to go looking for you,” you say.

Bucky nods, but his brow is furrowed, still clearly thinking.

“What?” you ask.

“You’re welcome to sleep here too,” he says, his voice quiet.

The air feels a touch heavier than it did a moment ago and you feel your heart speed up.

“Are you sure?” you ask, your need to be close to Leia outweighing your nerves.

“Of course,” he says, a small lopsided smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“You’re the best,” you say. “I’ll go change into my pajamas and be right back.”

You dart out of the room before either of you have a chance to change your minds. Once in the safety of your room, you throw on your pajamas, brush your teeth and scurry back to Bucky’s.

Just as you’re about to head into the room, you hear Bucky’s voice and stop short. You quickly realize he’s talking to Leia.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m incredibly flattered,” he says. “I really like you too. I think we’re going to be really good friends.”

You sneak a peak into the room and are rewarded with the sight of Bucky, lying on his stomach petting Leia. Even from the doorway, you can see that his pajama pants are covered in Leia’s short hairs, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

“But here’s the thing, Leia,” Bucky continues. “(Y/N)’s your person. I wouldn’t even know about you if it weren’t for her. She’s the one who found you and decided to spend a whole day driving across the state to come get you, and I’m just the guy who came along for the ride.”

You can’t help but smile at the tenderness in Bucky’s voice and the way that he’s talking to Leia like she might actually answer him. He scootches closer to Leia and you find yourself leaning forward to catch his next words.

“(Y/N) is easily the best person I’ve ever met,” Bucky says, and you feel your heart melt. “She is absolutely incredible and you are the luckiest dog to get to spend your life with her. If you just give her a chance, I promise you’ll love her as much as I do. So do that for me, would you?”

Leia sits up, as if considering his words. Bucky smiles and leans down to plant a kiss on Leia’s head before heading off to the bathroom. You tiptoe into the room and perch on the edge of the bed, absentmindedly stroking Leia’s fur as you mull over Bucky’s words.

“All set?” Bucky startles you from your thoughts and you beam up at him.

“Yep,” you say, sliding under the covers, conscious of trying to make sure to maintain an appropriate amount of space for Bucky. “Thank you again for this.”

“Of course,” he says, sliding in beside you. You’re not sure if you’re relieved or disappointed by the distance between you two. “Kind of the least I can do.”

“After stealing my dog’s heart?” you tease.

“She’ll come around, I swear,” Bucky insists. As if on cue, Leia stands up and walks over to you. Your eyes widen as she lies down and burrows into your side, head resting on your chest.

Gingerly, you turn your head to face Bucky, careful not to move a muscle as your lips are overtaken by the widest smile possible.

Bucky’s eyes light up and he chuckles softly.

“See?” he grins. “What did I say?”

“This is literally the best moment of my life,” you whisper, and you realize you’re not just referring to Leia. Bucky seems to realize that too, and you see a faint pink dusting spread across his cheeks. If it weren’t for the dog precariously balanced on top of you, you just might kiss him.

Bucky pushes himself up on his forearms, carefully maneuvering toward you without shaking the bed. He places a tender kiss on your forehead, and you feel your face heat up. He pulls back and lays down on the other side of Leia, and you feel her tail thwomp your leg enthusiastically.

You wiggle your arm out from under her and reach for Bucky’s hand, brushing his fingertips before threading your fingers through his.

“Good night,” he whispers.

“Good night, Bucky,” you reply, before angling your head down toward your slumbering dog as best you can. “Good night, Leia. Welcome home.”

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes imagine #bucky x reader #marvel fanfiction #marvel imagine #marvel fic

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rein4r1 · 2 years

Text

All Over Again: Chapter Four

Reincarnation AU

Pairing(s): Eren x Female!Reader, Jean x Reader

Content and Warnings: AOT Manga Spoilers, Angst, Mentions of Depression, Mentions of Past Deaths, Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, Attachment Issues, Commitment Issues, Family Issues, Use of Alcohol, Mentions of Drugs. Reader has issues.

Wc: 4k

Previous Chapter Series Masterlist Next Chapter

You never took yourself as someone who believed in second chances and second lives, but it only took one encounter with a man whom you swore you never knew but felt familiar to shake the gravity of your existence.

“If there’s a next life, I will find you and love you correctly.”

He looks at you with eyes that burn full of hope and longing that you almost believe that he was in love.

“I finally found you.”

Chapter Summary

You started spending more time with Eren, making you more conscious to your self-destructive behavior.

There’s always a first for everything: your first walk, your first speech, and your first birthday.

As much as you want to change everything on your boorish and hellish routine of simply existing, you were reluctant to try new things.

Which is why you can’t help but wonder what kind of demon possessed you to be here inside Eren’s dorm room.

After all, the only time you were in someone’s dorm room (other than Connie’s) was to engage in sexual activities, then dip when it’s done.

“Armin has this CD case full of Disney movies,” Eren says enthusiastically.

You sighed, “Eren, why are you watching movies with me? How about Armin? Where is he anyway?”

“Well, Armin’s at the café downtown doing research with his groupmates.”

You were becoming warier of Eren. Wanting to hang out with you when there’s plenty of people to-

“I don’t wanna sound like a bitch.” I do sound like a bitch “but don’t you have other friends?”

Eren was taken aback. Of course, he wants to hang out with you. He even wants to do it every day.

“Well I do but-“

“Then why me?” You inquired.

“I mean- other than Armin, you’re one of the few people I know,” Eren answered.

“I thought you had friends?”

“Yeah but- I want to hang out with you.”

“Why?”

“Because-“ I want to spend every moment with you he wants to say out loud. “-Because you’re one of the few people I could stand.”

He chuckled, “and you accepted my invite, didn’t you? Says a lot about you, no?”

Because a demon possessed me to be here. “No reason, just bored. Plus, classes were canceled. I didn’t know what else to do.”

Eren takes out the cd for Mulan from the cd case. Kneeling in front of the player to put the cd in.

You know you don’t usually hang out with guys other than Connie (and Jean). There’s just something about Eren that you can’t quite explain. God, you were even disappointed that day when you had brunch because Eren and Armin had to go.

Eren really is a fucking enigma.

Besides, after meeting him, your dreams became clearer. If you hang out more with him, maybe you could find answers regarding your dreams.

Speaking of dreams, you had one last night. It was with a guy, although his face was a bit blurry, you could see that he had blond hair.

You were sitting down on a bench, looking at the sky where big walls can’t reach. The boy beside you was clutching a book on his chest.

A book that’s something about the sea.

“If your grandfather didn’t pick me up the day when they held my parents’ funeral. I probably would be living my whole life jumping from one relative’s house to another.” You smiled fondly at the boy.

“If my grandfather didn’t pick you up, I probably wouldn’t gain an annoying but loving sister.” He said with the biggest grin.

“You promise that we’d go to that ‘sea.’” You stuck your pinky out.

“Yes, it’s a promise.” He links his pinky to yours, bonding the promise.

“-You know people would argue that it’s better to watch on Netflix because it’s convenient” Eren stands up to face you. “-but cds are just really nostalgic, no?”

Eren sat down beside you. He noticed the small smile on your face. He calls out your name, but your mind seems to be absent as if you’re thinking something else.

“Something on your mind?” He asks.

“A-ah, I apologize I was just-“

Eren chuckles, “don’t worry, there’s nothing you should be sorry about.”

He handed you the popcorn and leaned back down on the couch, placing his arms behind his head.

“Shall we start the movie?”

You couldn’t believe this. Minutes into the movie, you were singing Li Shang’s I’ll Make a Man Out of You.

“I swear to god, this song reeks of misogyny, but it’s just so fucking catchy.” You said while laughing.

“Between the two of us, you were belting the loudest.” Eren teased.

“I did not belt the loudest!” You rolled your eyes then playfully punched his shoulder.

As the movie continues, you unconsciously place your head on his shoulder while munching on the half bowl of popcorn (It’s not even half anymore because of how much Eren keeps on taking from the bowl every second.)

Eren can’t help but find you cute whenever you gasp during the scene where the Hans had invaded the Forbidden Palace. He also can't help but stare at how your lips open and close at every bite of the popcorn. He knows he shouldn’t have thoughts like this, but he just wants to take that fucking bowl away and kiss you like the world’s going to end tomorrow.

“By the way Eren, after this movie, what are we gonna watch next?” You looked up from him while putting the popcorn to your mouth.

“U-uh well, what do you want to watch?” He turns away, trying to distract himself from the dirty thoughts of you.

“You were the one who invited me. Anything as long as it isn’t fucking Ariel.”

You watched a couple more movies after, from Disney to Studio Ghibli. The both of you laughing at funny scenes and crying at sad scenes.

“Look at you; you’re crying.” He coos.

“No I’m not.” You fake in surprise, “It’s you who’s crying.”

Eren only laughed when he saw you humphing while your lips turn to a pout.

How cute.

The both of you didn’t notice the sun setting, completely focused on your movie marathon, while the both of you are cuddled together in a blanket Eren found in his drawers.

The two continued to watch together, discussing their analysis after, then watching another film. It wasn’t until they heard the door opening that they soon realized that it was getting dark.

“Eren, I brought some-“ Armin looks at the two of you from the back of the couch. He noticed how Eren’s left arm was positioned at the back of the couch as if he were wrapping his arm around your shoulder. He also saw how your head rests on top of Eren’s shoulder, your whole body attached to his side.

“Ehem,” Armin faked cough as you and Eren turned to see Armin with a bag of take out dinner.

“Hey Armin, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Yeah I don’t but-“ Armin looks at his watch, “-it’s already 9 in the evening.”

“What?!” You panicked, standing up from the couch, making the blanket fall to the floor.

“Shit!” You cursed, worried about walking along the dim area to your dorm.

Eren, who noticed your panicking state, grabbed your hand.

“If you’re worried, I can walk you home.” He says, hoping that you’ll accept his proposition. He’s worried that you’ll go home with no one to accompany you.

“Well Eren, if you may.” You murmured.

The both of you took your time while walking to your dorm. Asking him questions like how he met Armin, and why he transferred unis.

Because you’re here, he wants to answer. “I don’t know. I think my old uni wasn’t a match for me.” I want to be where you are.

Eren notices you shivering as the cold breeze of the night hits your skin.

“Are you cold?” He asks.

“I mean, yeah- but my dorm’s not that far anyway I can manage.” You answer him with a forced smile. But Eren wasted no time in removing his black hoodie, offering it for you to wear.

You stared at him for a bit, contemplating whether to accept the article of clothing, but you felt the blow of wind getting colder.

“How about you? Won’t you get cold?” You asked, but Eren only smiled.

“As long as you feel war, then I don’t mind.” You reluctantly took his hoodie, muttering a thank you to his generosity.

You can’t help but feel disappointed having to cut the conversation short when you reach the entrance to your dorm.

“I guess this is where we part.” You said with a hint of disappointment. As you were walking towards your dorm building, you turned around to see Eren standing on the pavement.

“Eren!” You called out. “I had fun today!”

“I did too!” He answers back with a huge grin on his face. But he can’t feel sad that the day’s ending, going back to his dorm without you by his side.

They say there’s always a first for everything, so when you were lying on your bed with your phone in hand texting a certain brunette. You can’t help but think that trying new things isn’t a bad idea.

You: I had so much fun today :>

You: I don’t mind if we hang out again Eren.

Eren: Well what do you want to do next sweetheart? :)

You and Eren slowly started to hang out more, frequent walks to campus, getting coffee together, scheduling movie marathons during Saturdays, and sharing lunch at the campus cafeteria (with the inclusion of your friends).

Needless to say, spending time with Eren has been incorporated to your routine.

Of course, a part of you always tells you that you're only doing this to learn more about the secrets of your dreams. Because the more time you spend with Eren, the more your dreams make sense. And the more your dreams make sense, the more you feel the "realness" of the emotions you have in them.

It's like a story long forgotten by time and space.

The latest dream had given you a clue about the guy who frequents your dream.

You were near a harbor, in a busy street full of vendors and the people were lively. You were talking to the brunette guy you always see in your dreams with an ice cream in hand.

"This tastes really good! I wish we had these in Paradis."

"Marleyans get to eat everything they can put their hands on." He said with a straight face. "While the Eldians in the Interment Zone rarely get to eat what the Marleyans normally have."

You sense there's something wrong.

"Are you okay E-"

"E, his name starts with the letter E." You mumbled to yourself.

"Are you saying something?" Connie asks, passing the blunt to you. You took the blunt and smoked from it.

You were currently in Connie's dorm, together with Sasha and Ymir, with whom you share smoking sessions.

"Guess she's thinking about Eren." Sasha teased.

"Does this mean Miss I'm-scared-of-commitment is finally settling down?" Ymir asks with a fake gasp.

You rolled your eyes, "can't we just say that I finally have a new friend?"

"Please, you hate people." Sasha giggles, the high evident on her demeanor.

"Just say he's having an effect on you and go," Connie says as he leans back on the couch.

"Fuck off." You retorted, feeling the weed kicking in.

"God, this weed's making me horny. Maybe I should call her," Ymir said. "And maybe you should call him."

"Who?" You ask, smoking the blunt once more before passing it to Sasha.

"You know one of your boy toys, or maybe Er-“

"Who asked?" You poked your tongue out while Ymir gave you the finger.

"Nah, don't wanna think about sex right now. Too high." You leaned your head on Sasha's shoulders as her arms wrap around you. You heard a notification on your phone, but before you could check it, Connie snatched it away from you.

"Wanna come with me tomorrow?" Connie reads, "it's from your boyfriend."

You quickly snatched your phone away from Connie's hands, "motherfucker, Eren's not my boyfriend."

"You sound so incredibly in denial that it's kinda sus at this point." Connie teased. "He even calls you sweetheart."

"Shut the fuck up Baldie. You call me and Sasha that all the time!"

"But it's purely platonic." He says in defense.

"Wonder where he's taking you though." Ymir smirked

"So are you gonna go tomorrow?" Sasha asked.

"I'll answer him tomorrow when I'm sober." You answered.

The four of you continued to smoke together until Ymir got a text from her girlfriend, prompting her to leave. You and Sasha already planned to stay the night in Connie's dorm since it was a busy week and you couldn't find time to hang out.

It was already 12 in the morning, with Connie passed out on the Couch. You and Sasha were feeling drowsy. However, both of you find it hard to sleep.

You rummaged through Connie's fridge and found beer, tossing a can to Sasha. You sat down next to Sasha on the floor.

You felt like something was changing in your life. Probably it's because of Eren; maybe it's because of your dreams. But you knew there was more than that. And you think about Jean, and you feel guilty. Lately, you've been spending less time with him, seeing him only once in two weeks rather than twice in one week.

"Is there something wrong?" Sasha asked.

"Am I a bad person?" You ask, not looking at Sasha while you sip the contents from the can. Putting your head on her shoulder.

Sasha is not a stupid person, at least that's what most people don't know. In fact, she's an emotionally intelligent person that she immediately catches on when something is wrong, either with you, Connie, or any other person.

"What made you thin that?" She strokes your head, comforting you with her touch.

"I just- I feel like I'm a bad person. The more I spend more time with Eren, the more I think about – 'Oh, I wonder what this person would think when he realizes how mentally fucked I am in the head'" You smile bitterly.

"He's- he's nice you know, at least to me. I've been judgmental my whole life that whenever I meet someone new, my defense mechanism acts up. Because my head doesn't process things normally, so I immediately assume people have bad intentions." You continued.

Sasha kept quiet, giving you her full attention. Letting you speak what's on your mind. She knows how much emotions you're bottling up, and she's happy that you're opening up to her rather than keeping everything to yourself.

"And I'm supposed to know better. What if Eren's only like this in the beginning. What if one day, he doesn't want to be friends with me anymore. I don't want to be alone anymore Sash." Sasha's eyes meet yours. She placed her palm on you cheeks, you feel her thumb wipe the stray tear away.

You think about Jean, and the feeling of guilt floods in. You knew, you knew Jean thinks you as more than someone who warms his bed. His lingering touches that attempts to give you comfort, his affectionate gaze, and his pleading eyes whenever you leave.

You knew, and yet you continue to use him. You knew, and yet you continue to show him mixed signals, giving him this false sense of hope. Hope that you'd be his someday.

But you know, that's never going to happen. Because whatever you do, and no matter how much you try, you can't seem to like him like he wants you to.

And yet, you're scared. That if you tell him what you feel, and how much you want to run to his embrace and apologize for everything you've done, he'd leave. You're scared that if he leaves, you'd lose the closest thing to intimacy.

Sure, you can have sex with other people. But, sex with Jean gives you consolation of having someone to embrace you despite knowing your flaws.

And you feel guilty, making you sick to your stomach. It makes you so sick that you can't even look him in the eye after sex, that you resort to leaving him after having your fill.

It's messed up, and he deserves better.

I hope he gets to have what he deserves soon. Someone that doesn't self-destruct and affects those who's around her.

"Sasha I just- don't like anything about me."

You woke up the next day on Connie's bed with Sasha hugging you by your side. Feeling fucked from the weed you took the last night.

You grabbed your phone from the nightstand and saw a text from Connie saying, "Saw my girls on the floor. As a Chad, I'm obligated to put my favorite girls on the bed." You playfully rolled your eyes at his message.

You looked at the time and saw that it was already past noon.

Shit

You quickly texted Eren.

You: Sorry we've been at Connie's since last night.

You: is ur offer still up? L

Seen

Oh no, is he made that you left him on read yesterday?

God if only I weren't smoking weed.

Eren: don't worry sweetheart :)

Eren: Connie told me yesterday. See u in an hour.

You carefully shook Sasha to wake her up, but to no avail, she only snored. So you slowly took her arm around your waist and rested it on a pillow. You left a note for Sasha before going back to your dorm to get ready.

You and Eren decided to meet at the parking lot near campus. An hour later, you see him leaning on his car, mindlessly scrolling on his phone.

"Hey!" You called out. Eren looks up from his phone and smiles. "I'm sorry, did you wait too long?"

"No, don't worry, I just got here." The truth is, he's been here for over an hour, obviously too excited.

He opened the door to the passenger seat. "My lady." He says in a British accent, making you laugh at his act.

"Why, thank you sir." You joke back before getting into his car, him following after.

"So, where are you taking me?" You ask.

"You'll see." He says, not willing to spoil his surprise. You put your seatbelt on while Eren was starting the engine.

"Just know, the scenery's nice when the sun's setting."

He offers you the aux, giving you full custody on choosing the music for the whole ride. You chose a song from Cigarettes After Sex.

One of the biggest irony in your life is liking a band that sings songs about romance and sappy shit you claim to not like. While you express your disgust at the idea of settling down, you know you listen to love songs in the middle of the night where nobody sees.

Because as much as you feel like love is the most diabolical thing known to man, deep down, you know you want to experience a love that doesn't need to be painful. Love that doesn't require you to go greatest lengths and trials for love to prevail.

You someday want to experience a healthy kind of love that is quiet but gentle and full of assurance.

But of course, your trauma and issues have taken a lot of place in your heart for you to realize that love is something you crave.

For now, you relish on the sound of the music and the comforting silence that Eren is willing to give you. You lean your head on the window, quietly observing the view of the moving buildings.

Eren feels like you had a rough night. When he sees you at the parking lot, he notices the faint-looking puffs on your eyes. He wanted to ask what made you cry. Because for you, he's willing to carry everything. Because for you, he's willing to fight the demons that terrorize you.

He's willing to die for you. Just say the word, and he'll sacrifice himself for your peace and happiness.

But he keeps quiet. He doesn't pry. Eren would like to believe that he knows you the best. So he'll wait for you to open up to him, just like you did before.

So he gives you the peace that you need for the whole ride.

He hopes that his surprise will earn him a smile on your face.

Three hours later you finally arrive at the destination, not expecting that Eren would bring you here.

"The beach." You gasp. Clearly a beach you've never been to before.

"Do you like it?" Eren asks, looking at you expectantly.8

You look at him with a beautiful smile on your face. "Like it? Eren, I love it."

"Well, I have this whole picnic set I borrowed from Armin. Thought the beach would be the best place to have a picnic while we watch the sunset." Eren gets out of the driver's seat, once again opening your door before moving to the trunk to get the picnic set.

"You should've told me that you prepared for a picnic so I could have at least helped with the food.

"Don't worry sweetheart. I like doing things for you." He said, making you confused.

"Why?" You asked. Why is Eren willing to do so much for you?

"Because it's you." He muttered, making you even more confused. Then you remember what he said when the both of you first met.

"I finally found you." You never knew what he meant by this, but you never asked.

After setting up your picnic on the sand, the two of you spent time together eating, talking, and laughing.

And your hand unconsciously placed above his.

"-and Baldie had to run around the Frat House naked." You told Eren. Recalling the story of one Connie's shenanigans.

"And he was drunk?" He asks while laughing.

"And he was drunk!" You repeated, your laughter getting louder.

As the laughter died down, the two of you looked at each other. Staring and admiring each other's eyes in silence.

"Thank you for bringing me here." You whispered.

"Anything for you." He says.

The both of you felt it, the need to place your lips to each other's. But as your face gets closer to his, your lips just inches apart, you accidentally hit the basket with your knee, startling the both of you.

You pull your face away from his, feeling the rise of heat on your cheeks.

"W-well I think the sun's setting" You stuttered.

"Y-yeah" He stammers.

You look at the sunset, admiring the sun's orange hues as it slowly introduces the night.

"It's beautiful." You said, your eyes fixed the horizon.

"It is. It is really beautiful." Eren mutters.

You turn to him, seeing that his eyes are fixed on you.

An hour after the sunset, Eren took you back to your dorm. You slept the whole ride home with Eren glancing at you constantly, checking to see if you're comfortable.

And when the stop light's red, he softly kisses your temple, making sure that you don't wake up.

When you reach your dorm, Eren gently shaking your shoulder to wake you up. But seeing that you only shifted from one side to another, there's only one thing he can think of.

Eren wasted no time in opening the door, hooking his arms on your back and under your legs. Making sure your head doesn't hit the headboard.

Standing in front of your dorm, he (somehow) manages to knock on the door. He hears Sasha from the other side of the door, grumbling on something.

"I told you to bring yo-"Sasha is greeted at the sight of you in Eren's arms.

"Do you know where her room is?"

"Uhh eh- follow me." Sasha promptly leads Eren to your room. He gently and carefully placed you on your bed. He can't fight the blush forming on his face as he studies your sleeping face, completely in the arms of Morpheus.

Eren contemplates for a bit before deciding to place a kiss on your forehead, followed by a whisper of goodnight.

As he went out, he thanks Sasha before heading back to his dorm.

Eren is definitely going to have a good sleep tonight. His dreams filled with you.

Taglist: @heizenka

#eren x reader #eren yeager x reader #eren x you #jean x reader #aot #snk #aot x reader #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #eren yeager

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luimagines · 3 years

Text

Anon Submission Master List

Mulan! Link (the tag will reveal all that went on here, it was a lot)

Reader and Legend con a merchant, with Lucky

Chain Courtship

Reader, Farore’s Chosen hero

Four/Minish Courtship

Great Fairy Reader Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Domestic Life with Four

Twilight has too buy a bed

Reader dies in a dream

Future Kids Visit

Bunny Legend

Prince Legend

Four says it’s Reader Loving Hours

Reader Meets Fas, Spirit of Their Fang of Courage

Read gets tired of Vio and his standoffish self

Ravio handholding headcanon

Colors Handholding headcanon

Growling Twilight

Link x Reader Coffee Shop AU Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Twilight As Wolfie Is not a pervert Anon 1 Anon 2 My Two Cents

God! Reader

Hated Triforce! Reader runs away with Fortune and Lucky

Disowned Royalty! HoF! Reader gets found out- Twilight panics

Mulan! Link, Little Link and Evil! Reader All Walk into a Bar Part 2

Evil! Reader is Actually Ganon in Reader’s body

Twilight x Maid! Reader

Evil! Reader fight’s pregnant Mulan! Link

LU meets SCP Wild’s File Mulan! Link’s File Wind’s File

Colors! Mulan! Link are separated from the group

Royal! Prince! Sky

Royal! Prince! Wild

Prince/King - Royal! Warrior

Deaged! Link and Reader!

Autumn Vibes With Twilight

The princess.. err the prize is in another castle... dungeon

Reader can Hear the Game Music

Domestic Four Life

Reader goes off about the Chain’s Clothes

Reader is getting little notes in their bag

Reader meets First Part 2

Twilight is Time’s Grandson (The Rewrite)

Royal! Prince! Four

BackseatDriver! Reader checks up on the gang again (there’s a tag to check out for full backstory)

Royal! Fairy! Prince! Hyrule

Blue Wants to Give Reader Flowers

BackseatDriver! Reader thanks First for the Ride

Royal! Prince! First

Wild Has a Bad Memory

Royal! King! Time

Enter Tiny Time

Merchant! Reader Knows Wild and Freaks Out Over Time

Pokemon Trainer! Reader Can’t See the Minish but Their Pokemon Can

Dame- and her prince and FD

(Pokemon Trainer! Reader) Legend Get’s His Snacks Stolen

Do They Think They Can Dance?

Zelda and Reader were Childhood Friends

Everybody Hates Sky

Quick Talk

(Crack! Fic) Sky Gets Angry At Twilight

Dame- First Meeting with FD

Wind Steals a Bride on Their Wedding Day

Android! Reader Comes Alive

Hero! Reader meets Modern au! Link

Streamer AU

The Chain meets Rebellion Leader! Reader (and Mask’s s/o)

Dame and FD have a chat (based off an ai bot)

Twilight Sings To his Lover (But They Didn’t Know of His Feelings)

Twilight Proposes

Soulmates from the Start Anon Submission

Legend and Reader, a story

We Love a Short King

Warrior Adopts Xenia (But never says it out loud)

Painter! Reader x Time

Warrior is hounded by some lady’s husband

Siren! Reader Protects Wind Part 2

Legend Tries to Run Away From his Feelings (Literally)

Four Dreams of a Reality (angst)

You Realize You Love Him Extended (Ft. Time)

Historian! Reader Gets Caught Knowing Something They Shouldn’t

Reader Finds Majora’s Mask

Reader Misses Link (Pre-TotK)

Fairy Whisperer! Reader Ft. Wizard (anon)

Time Writes Me a Love Letter

Reader Sees the Ghosts of the Pasts

Reader and Legend (Marin speaks so Legend can live on)

(Short fic) Wild Eats to Heal

Reader cheats on Wild with Wild

Mama! Reader Meets the Chain

Wolfie Only Gets Kisses From Pretty People

#linked universe #linked universe x reader #linkeduniverse

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jessiarts · 2 years

Text

Art Masterlist

[Last updated: 24 February 2024]

Hey, there! I'm Jessi :)

This is my Art Masterlist with links to my art, with posts that you may or may not have seen, such as my Infinity War Rewrite Comic, Morticia Addams as a mermaid, as well as other various fanart and personal art pieces. Also, I used to participate in Drawlloween a lot, so you're bound to find plenty spooky art as well. Oh, there's also this comic, that apparently resonated with way too many people.

My personal art tends to have a more surreal/magical quality to it, as it's usually a way for me to illustrate my thoughts or feelings.

Currently accepting: Requests for These! Commissions: Open on Ko-Fi

Upcoming Projects: 'Hey Alice' animation, Yondu comic

You can find me other places here. Prints | Patreon | Ko-Fi You can also check out my FAQ.

List got long so everything is under the cut until I can decide how I want to make it neater lol

Bare with me as the list is bound to change while I figure out how to best organize all my sections lol

Fanart is listed first, followed by my original art. My older art can be found via a link at the very bottom of the page.

FANART

Comics: All the comics I’ve drawn, organized by various fandoms. Some original as well.

Sketch Practices: Compilation of sketches I did after opening requests over on my tumblr to practice drawing figures/expressions.

Marvel

Loki

Avengers 1 Loki - Very first experiment with photorealistic digital painting! (2015)

Ragnarok Loki - more photorealism experiment (2018)

Noobmaster69 Comic - Noobmaster69 strikes again and Thor lets him have it for being mean to Korg! But who is Noobmaster, really? And why does he keep coming back when he knows he’ll get yelled at by the God of Thunder? (2020)

Infinity War Rewrite Comic - Sorta a “Loki fix-it” comic. What happens when Thanos demands the tesseract from Loki, but gets much more than he bargains for? How will this work out for not only Thanos, but Thor and Loki as well? (2019)

Kid Loki and Classic Loki's Helmet - Kid Loki mourning the loss of Classic Loki (2021)

Loki borrows Tony's 3D printer - Funny comic where Loki messes with Thor (2022)

Infinity War Loki - Loki in magenta and blue lighting. (2020)

Red hair edit - Idk, I just was curious what MCU Loki would look like with Mythology Loki’s red hair (2023)

Guardians of the Galaxy

Learn the Alphabet with Groot - Meme video. I promise it’s more than just “I am Groot” and is actually funny. (2019)

Gamora - Digital watercolor style portrait (2020)

"You Were Always my Boy" - Yondu & Peter feels. Spirit Yondu watching over Peter. (2020)

Touching Foreheads - Peter x Gamora feels. Listening to music together. (2022)

Shielding - Yondu protecting little Peter Quill (2022)

"They didn't feel a thing" Comic - What was Mantis’s role in Ego’s quest for his children? Was she but a bystander- or more likely, did she play an active role, too innocent and brainwashed by her master to understand it was wrong? Does it keep her up at night? (2018)

Nebula - Digital watercolor style portrait (2020)

Mantis & Drax Holiday Fun - Mantis sitting on Drax's shoulders to hang colored lights. (Inspired by GOTG Holiday Special) (2022)

Misc:

More Marvel character portraits.

Disney

Stitch - colored pencil (2016)

Halle Bailey as The Little Mermaid- Full underwater scene photorealism experiment | Face Painting Process (2019)

Untooned Mulan

Untooned Megara

Doctor Who

Are you my Mummy?- pencil drawing (2015)

Impossible Astronaut (2016) | Colored Version (2018)

Will I ever see you again? - Ten and Rose. All the feels plus Circular Gallifreyan (2014)

Well? - Portrait of the Tenth Doctor done like one of those old red/blue 3D comics.

Do you love the color of the scarf? - Color of the sky, but with Tom Baker's scarf and tons of easter eggs. (2023)

Supernatural

Demon Dean - pencil drawing (2015)

Bean Dean - silly vector drawing of Dean Winchester as a bean with a giant piece of pie (2016) | Process video

Rowena - digital photorealism portrait experiment (2019)

Charlie Fix-It - Comic where Charlie lives at the end of S10 E21: Dark Dynasty

Misc

ET - colored pencil portrait (2016)

Captain Jack Sparrow's Compass - colored pencil (2016)

Yoda - colored pencil portrait (2016)

Graveyard Girl - digital photorealism portrait experiment (2018)

Skyrim Character - my character in Skyrim. Low-poly portrait (2018)

Simpsons Werewolf - silly comic, Marge is a werewolf (2018)

Winnie the Pooh Xenomorph Comic - Pooh has a rumbly in his tummy, and it seems like honey won’t quite solve this problem! (2019)

Tim Burton AHS Coven - Portrait of the coven drawn digitally in an ink style. (2019)

Unus Annus Tribute Comic - Chibi Mark and Ethan vs giant Spider. This was inspired by Eef in the Paper Plane video, when he called a spider that came out of the fireplace “Santa,” and once I started drawing this I decided to go ahead and add a bunch of other references in it too. See if you can find them all! (2020)

Unus Annus Tribute Video - Unus Annus meets Hamilton (2020)

Baby Smaug - ink sketch (2015) | Timelapse

Shrek in Space - Pretty much as stated (2022)

Morticia Addams Mermay - Morticia Addams as a mermaid, sharing a tender moment with Gomez on a lake. (2022)

ORIGINAL ART

Animations:

Selkie - An animatic of a selkie’s escape to the song, Underground by Cody Fry. (Duet version with CowboyTinkerbell's storyline) (2023)

Personal Pieces:

These are more surreal in nature.

Creation - Magical creativity and inspiration exploding out of a woman in fantastical light (2020)

Black Butterfly - Thyroid piece. A woman with black veins radiating from a black butterfly on her throat. (2020)

Hold Me Close So I Don't Shatter - Woman with light shining through cracks in her body while her partner holds her close. (2020)

Scream - Portrait of a woman screaming as golden tears run down her face. Her eyes glow, her hair whips as though blown by wind. (2020)

Drowning - Woman drowning in a golden sea made up of her own tears. (2020)

Blue - Music can help sometimes… (2021)

Floating - Surreal. Woman floating in space. Whales, starfish, trees. (2021)

Hurt - Also known as “Idk sometimes I just doodle to help me deal with stuff” (2022)

Random Stuff

Scarecrow - Creepy scarecrow in rainy cornfield with some lightning. More realism experimentation (2018)

Our Mother is Burning - Climate piece about rising temperatures using actual climate data (2020)

Blocked - Mermaid trapped under ice (2020)

DTIYS Naga Angler Mermaid (2020)

Brain

Creating things - Comic based on actual events [Also known as ‘Sad Blorb Repost Comic’] (2022)

Galaxy Girl - Girl made of the galaxy with golden linework. Digital watercolor style (2020)

Make me - Silly comic based on Tumblr post (2020)

You are my sunshine - Comic based on Tumblr post (2018) | Animatic version

Noodle Kraken - A kraken made of pasta taking down a tomato ship (2018)

"The wine-dark sea and rosy-fingered dawn should kiss" - Surrealist painting of the sky kissing the ocean. (2022)

Cozy Witch Sleepy Kitty - Cute witch reading by magical floating candlelight while her kitty sleeps next to her. (2022)

Dragon - Redraw in the style of stained glass of a piece I drew in 2007. Depicts a fairytale scene of a knight trying to save a princess in tower from a fire breathing dragon. (2017)

Newbie Icons - Just some cute little free icons (and headers) for tumblr newbies so they don't get mistaken for bots. (2023)

Tumblr Poast - Just random photoshop bullshit. Not sure why I'm bothering to link it honestly lol

Pride Norse runes- A bunch of designs I made to to say 'fuck you' to nazis appropriating norse symbols for their hate. Designs are available for free download to personal use, and also available on Threadless for anyone who don’t want to or can’t print them on stuff themselves but still want something with the designs on it. (Both linked on respective posts)

Pride Loki Rune designs - Loki written in runes over a few different flags that remind me of him and that I felt others would resonate with. Post also includes some pride rune sets. (2023) (Intersex version request)

Be Gay do Crime - Actually says "Be gay do pride," but the word "pride" in runes (ᛈᚱᛁᛞᛖ) hilariously resembles the word “crime.” (2023)

Pride Valknuts - Two designs depicting the Valknut made of Pride flags/Pride colors. Valknut literally means “knot of the slain warrior,” so I’ve designed these Pride versions- because think of how many have already died for this cause? Either fighting for it, or murdered because of it. Think about Stonewall. The AIDS crisis. Think about how many people had already risked their safety just being open about who they were, or protecting those in the lgbt+ communities. And how many still do. Let's take back the symbol from those who use it for less noble/hateful causes. (2023)

Pride Yggdrasil - Yggdrasil (Norse tree of life) with the colors of the original pride flag in the tree/branches surrounded by rings in the colors of the triangle of the progress flag (representing BIPOC, Trans, and Intersex) (2023)

Pride Mjolnir - A series of Mjolnir designs colored as different Pride flags. There are two versions of each design, one saying “You are Worthy” and another saying “I am Worthy,” with the exception of a progress flag version that says “We are Worthy” (2023)

Fav Drawlloween Pieces

2019: Vampire | Witchy Toad | Haunted Forest

2020: Witch | Skull Bottle

Writing:

Goals Reached - From prompt by writing-prompt-s on tumblr: "In your world, people receive xp for defeating other creatures and can level up. Swatting a fly gets you 2xp. Beating your friend at chess gets you 65xp. One morning, you wake up to the notification “7,125,000 xp obtained. Maximum level reached.” Only, you don’t remember defeating anyone."

OLD ART

Older work I’ve done. Mostly pre-2018 work or work that I just don’t personally really like anymore, but I keep around because it shows the progress I’ve made over time. Also nostalgia.

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jungshookz · 3 years

Text

cream a little dream of me; knj

➺ pairing; kim namjoon x reader

➺ genre; lveb!universe, you’ve been asking for this and i’m finally here to tell you that this is smut! nsfw! 18+! oral sex (receiving)! dirty talk! namjoon has a dirty mouth and y/n is into that!! y/n’s a great listener and namjoon is very into that!! also frosting is involved somewhere

➺ wordcount: 8.9k

➺ summary; y/n has a wet dream about namjoon and yoongi just wants to help his best friend get laid.

➺ what to expect; “it’s not a big deal or anything, but, uh... when were you planning on telling me about that nice little dream you had two weeks ago?”

➺ optional reading: here’s the link to la vie en bonsai if you haven’t read it yet or if you just want to experience the story all over again!

»»————-　☁️　————-««

to say the least, yoongi is… confused.

in the three years that he’s been friends with you, he likes to think that he’s seen every single one of your emotions

but this?

this is different somehow… yet he can’t quite put his finger on what’s so different about it...

he’s seen elated y/n

he’s seen devastated y/n

he’s seen infuriated y/n

he’s seen stressed out y/n

but this y/n?

the starry-eyed and constantly looking like you’re day dreaming y/n?

he can safely say he’s never seen this version of you before and it’s a little concerning because now he has no idea what the protocol is

even back when you guys were in university you practically never daydreamed during lectures

you were always focused on the professor and whatever powerpoint was playing on the screen with a concerning amount of intensity

one time, yoongi put his hand over your eyes just to be funny and you nearly snapped his wrist off

“okay, seriously?” yoongi waves his hand in front of your face for the fifth time in half an hour before shaking his head gently, “what’s gotten into you?”

you blink quickly when you snap out of your little daze, looking at him and setting the bowl of batter down on the counter before checking out the damage you’ve done

you’re supposed to fold this batter

not whIP it

now it’s ruined and you’re going to have to start all over!

“i don’t know what that batter ever did to you, but you might need to take it down a notch before you sprain your wrist…” yoongi trails off, leaning over a little and wondering if he can get away with dipping his finger in for a teeny tiny taste

sure, he might get salmonella or whatever from ingesting raw eggs, but it’ll be worth it

“also, what are you even making?” he frowns, gesturing to all the items splayed on the counter, “because there are like ten different things going on here-”

you look around the kitchen before reaching up to scratch the back of your neck

you... don’t really have an answer for him

there’s bread dough over here

three bowls of frosting (chocolate, cream cheese, buttercream) over there

some chopped up peaches on the cutting board

the puff pastry is de-frosting in the fridge

there’s a pie baking in the oven at the moment

you just finished greasing up a mini cupcake tin

and don’t forget about the bowl of batter you’re currently whipping the life out of

(let the record show that you have no idea what you’re making. you have no clue what this batter is for. and why’d you take out your set of food-colouring dye??)

you just needed to let off some steam and this is the only way you know hoW

“isn’t this great? working out in the comfort of my own personal gym…”

both you and yoongi look over towards the kitchen door when you hear jin’s voice ring through namjoon’s laptop from the living room

yoongi perks up in interest when you suddenly scurry over to spy at namjoon through the crack of the door before he gets up to follow you

“yeah, easy for you to say-” namjoon grunts as he pushes himself up off the ground so he can clap his hands together quickly before his palms land back on the ground in a solid thump

he thought push-ups were already awful as is so he wasn’t very pleased when jin told him to start doing them with claps in between each set

also, jin has access to a full-blown gym in his house, but namjoon doesn’t have any access to actual weights so he’s had to resort to using jugs of water instead

it’s actually working out pretty well!

he took the sweeper part of the broom off and then used a lot of duct tape (and patience) to tape the jugs to both sides of the pole

he felt like he was mulan from that one part of the movie except mulan is probably physically stronger than him

“you know, i’m surprised he hasn’t smashed his face against the floor yet...” yoongi snorts as he continues to peer at namjoon over your shoulder

he waits a couple seconds for you to respond but frowns when you let out a short little sigh while keeping your eyes glued on your sweaty boyfriend

...

see?!

you’re doing it again!!!!

you have your bottom lip tucked in between your teeth and your eyes have gone all lidded and hazy

your grip around the edge of the door is really tight and your knuckles are going kind of white

good god

yoongi narrows his eyes suspiciously before jabbing your shoulder roughly, “hey. what are you thinking about?”

you shake your head a little too quickly for his liking before turning back around and brushing past him to get back to the counter

huh

okay

something’s up for sure

he doesn’t know if it’s good or bad or whatever but he’s going to find out

your cheeks and the tips of your ears are a little flushed now which is even more interesting

what could possibly be going on in that little noggin of yours?

“tell me what you were thinking about.” yoongi sits back down on the stool as he stares you down across the counter, “y/n- look at me.”

“i’m not-” you glance up at yoongi for a quick second before looking back down, “nothing!” you mutter, your arm starting to move faster as you continue whipping the mystery batter

yoongi immediately points to the ball of dough sitting a couple feet away from him, “tell me what you were thinking about or i’ll eat that ball of raw dough right noW-”

“-!” you set the bowl down before scrambling to move the dough out of yoongi’s reach

he’s eaten raw dough before (it was raw cookie dough and he took bites of it every time you turned to face away from him) which resulted in him suffering for like 48 hours and you’re not taking any chances

“you can’t keep secrets from me.” yoongi deadpans, “aren’t we best friends? don’t you trust me?” he bats his lashes at you before pushing his bottom lip out in a pout, “because i certainly trust you… and you, out of all people, should know how hard it is for me to trust someone…”

your eye twitches

you know he’s only saying all of this to butter you up so that you’ll inevitably give in and tell him what’s going on... and you hate that it’s actually working...

look at that face!

those cheeks!!!

those eyes!!!!

“i…” you trail off, biting the inside of your cheek as you contemplate whether it’s a good idea or not to tell yoongi what exactly’s been going on with you lately

if you tell him, he’ll stop bugging you about it

then again, if you tell him, he might keep bugging you about it

but he’s already suspicious of you so it seems like you don’t really have a choice...

this is really a lose-lose situation, if you think about it

...damn.

“hey, do you remember that time you were crying really hard and i made you feel better by telling you that i kind of sort of loved you...?” yoongi mentions casually while inspecting his nail beds, his eyes flickering up towards your face for a quick second to see your reaction

he bites back a smirk of success when he hears you let out a sigh

ha HA

hook, line, and sinker bABY

“okay, fine, but-” you slam the bowl down on the counter before placing your hands on your hips, ”it’s a secret. between us!” you gesture for him to come over to you

“god, finally-!” yoongi nods enthusiastically and hops off the stool before scurrying over to join you at the other side of the counter

you lift your hand up so the side of your mouth is covered and yoongi reaches up to wrap his fingers around your wrist, grinning excitedly as you whisper something into his ear

…

yoongi’s jaw drops

holy shit

no wonder he hasn’t seen you act like this before!

this isn’t elated y/n or disappointed y/n or excited y/n

a new player has entered the ring

this is HORNY Y/N

“you… little… horndog!” yoongi cackles with glee as he claps his hands together wildly, “you, y/n y/l/n- you had a wet dream?!”

you feel your anxiety spike at how loud yoongi’s being and you make a gesture to try to get him to use his inside voice but he doesn’t seem to be paying any attention to you at all right now

“wow...” yoongi laughs lightly, crossing his arms as he looks up towards the ceiling, “i mean, welcome to puberty, i guess. a bit of a late start if you ask me, but either way i’m actually pretty proud of you for basically creaming your-”

“shh!” you quickly shove a spoon into yoongi’s mouth and he spits it out immediately

it falls onto the counter with a clang

to be honest, you actually don’t remember too much of the dream

flashes of namjoon’s head in between your legs and his strong arms wrapped around your thighs pinning you down pop into your mind every now and again to taunt you

but other than that

nothing!

it’s just that joon’s been working out a lot lately (jin’s trying to get in better shape because of one photo where the shadow made it look like he had a double chin and it traumatised him) so it makes sense that he’s turning into an actual beefcake now

the other day you accidentally busted a bag of icing in your hands after squeezing it too hard because you were watching namjoon doing bicep curls with the milk jugs

his arms just….,,.

you want to bite into them

or dig your nails into them

or just look at them!

you would be perfectly content with just staring at them 24/7!

now, the issue here is that you...

you don’t really know…

you don’t know how to initiate things with namjoon

it’s awkward!

…on your end, that is

since getting together, you and namjoon have had plenty of heated make-out (and slight groping) sessions but you always end up chickening out as soon as you feel things starting to escalate

you just get nervous that you’re going to do something wrong and it’ll pop the love-bubble you guys are in right now!!

and you really don’t want to pop anything!!

and namjoon, being the sweet, kind, caring, considerate, wonderful, absolutely flawless boy he is, never has an issue with it because his number one priority is making sure that you’re comfortable

he’s totally okay with moving at your pace!

but after the last couple of times where you’ve left him high and dry, you notice that he either a) puts a pillow over his lap almost immediately and tries to change the subject or b) waddles off to the bathroom for a ‘pee break’

you feel awful knowing that you’re blue-balling him but you don’t want to take things further if there’s even a slight possibility of you ruining things

so... yeah!

your only stress reliever has been baking which isn’t new

you’ve stress baked before but this is a nEW type of stress baking

this is the most chaotic level of stress baking there is because everything’s just a disorganised MESS

“you know what, it actually makes sense now,” yoongi reaches up to stroke his chin in thought before nodding to himself, “you’ve been acting so weird lately that i thought i did something wrong- and it turns out you’ve just been excruciatingly horny this entire time-”

“lower your voice!” you hiss, hurrying over to the door to make sure namjoon’s not listening in to what should be a private conversation if yoongi wasn’t so damn loud

he may be in the living room but who knows how far your voices can travel??

you peek out to look at poor namjoon who looks like he’s just about ready to pass ouT from exhaustion

he lets out an almost animalistic growl as he pushes himself up off the ground one last time and you feel a tingle in your southern region

if you were a cartoon character there would be gigantic hearts pumping out of your eyes, your tongue would roll out of your mouth like a red carpet, and a horn would be blasting aooga in the background

“okay, well - you can’t not tell me about what happened in it.” you turn back around to face yoongi, “give me all the details!!!!” he wiggles his brows as he leans down and folds him arms atop the counter, “and get real nasty with it because i haven’t had sex in months-”

“no way!” you scoff before crossing one arm over the other to make an ‘x’ sign at yoongi, “no! i don’t remember anything.”

“you’re lying to me.” the smile on yoongi’s face drops and he scowls at you, “you totally are!”

“am not! it’s true.” you chirp, nodding satisfactorily when yoongi doesn’t respond

good

the topic has been dropped and now you can focus your attention back on this weird, runny batter you’re still beating the life out of

“...what about if i guess?”

you pause

oh no

you don’t like that idea at all

you don’t get a chance to shake your head nO before yoongi starts listing out all your possible wet-dream scenarios

“he was finger-fucking you.”

“you were sucking him off?”

“he was eating you out!”

“69? you on top? or was it him on top? …no, it was probably you on to-”

“a classy combination of tongue and fingers? ooh, quick question- how quickly did dreamjoon find your g-spo-”

“missionary! can’t go wrong with good ol’ fashioned missio-”

“doggystyle? cowgirl! reverse cowgirl? or was he kind of, like, spooning you from behi-”

“ooh! plot twist! you gave him the strap-”

“butt-stuff! butt-stuff?? butt-stuff but the plug had a tail on- oh-ho, it was butt-stuff, wasn’t it-”

“something with a belt? something with cuffs? something with leather?”

“roleplaying! he was a sexy gardener with a big ol’ hose and you were just an innocent wittle twree-”

“was he rawdogging you?”

your eyes immediately widen and you look up at yoongi for the first time since he started rambling, “wha- WHAT is that?!”

rawdogging??

that sounds like it’d give you carpet burn for some reason

“sex without a condom.” yoongi states as if it’s the most obvious fact in the entire world, “duh.”

god

boys are so

boyish!!!!

“why not just say that instead??” you ask incredulously, tilting your head

yoongi snorts, “well, because rawdogging sounds way hotter-”

your face screws up immediately, “does it really, though…?”

yoongi pauses before his face lights up, “aha! so dreamjoon WAS rawdogging y-”

“crude!” your entire face is bright red at this point and you hurry over to the fridge to grab a bag of frozen blueberries out of the freezer (for what purposes? you have no idea.)

“you think i’m being crude?” yoongi scoffs, “i think you’re being a prude. okay, lemme see what else i can think of-”

“yoongi, literally no one asked you to list-”

“were you grinding on his-” yoongi pauses again, “you know, like dry humping?” he hums before pushing himself up off the counter and placing both his palms flat on the surface of it, “i mean, i guess i can see why that’d be hot, you know, with clothes being restrictive and all- oh! were you getting off on his thigh? because a couple of girls have done that to me before and it was actually pretty hot AND since namjoon’s dna consists of 80% plant he basically has tree trunk thighs-”

“okay, i don’t remember too much-” you grab yoongi by the arm to yank him back in so you can whisper in his ear again

yoongi listens attentively

…

you clear your throat before shoving yoongi away to make it seem less suspicious if namjoon just so happens to come into the kitchen at this very moment

“surprisingly simple, but it does the trick, that’s for sure…” yoongi hums as he strokes his chin thoughtfully, “damn. i hyped it up way too much. that’s actually a pretty boring dream compared to what i’ve dreamt about, now that i think about it-”

you can’t help but roll your eyes as you open up the bag of blueberries

…what did you pull these out for again?

“well, what’s the problem?” yoongi frowns, “you guys are already dating. just go up to him and ask him if he wants to do stuff. if a girl told me that she creamed her panties because of me, i’d be ecstatic!”

“stop saying it like that-”

you feel a little weird talking about this with yoongi

he’s always been comfortable telling you about his sex life but you prefer to keep your intimate details private

it’s not that you don’t trust him or anything, because obviously you do, but… you’d feel more comfortable if you talked about this with a girl-friend, you know?

guys just don’t understand!

“i don’t know how to…” you shift in your spot, “ask.”

yoongi scoffs in response and crosses his arms, “y/n- namjoon is a man. men are simple. do you remember the other week when you invited me over for a breakfast and you dropped the spatula on the floor?”

you nod before tilting your head curiously, “…why?”

yoongi clears his throat

now he’S the one who looks slightly uncomfortable

“well...” he clears his throat, “namjoon was wearing sweats and i swear i wasn’t purposely looking- my eyes just happened to be looking downwards in that general direction naturally-”

“yoongi-”

“the man’s dick twitched in his sweats when you bent over, alright?” yoongi blurts out and your eyes immediately widen, “my point is: men are simple- painfully simple creatures. so... just ask him!”

you frown

just ask him??

was he even listening to you??

you just told yoongi you didn’t know how to ask namjoon and his advice was for you to ask namjoon

that’s like taking someone who doesn’t know how to swim and immediately tossing them into the OCEAN with a punctured life-ring

“god,” you roll your eyes before flicking your wrist at him, “just forget i told you!”

“hey!” yoongi gawks and shakes his head, “i can’t forget! now my only purpose in life is to get you some head-”

“jesus christ-!”

you jump ten feet into the air like a cat that’s just been sprayed by water when the kitchen door suddenly swings open and a sweaty namjoon stumbles in

“i think there’s sweat dripping into my contacts-”

“namjoon!” yoongi spins around in his stool and props his elbows up on the counter, “what a coincidence! we were just talking about you, my man…”

yoongi looks over at you with a cheeky grin and you shake your head stiffly before turning to get the jug of water from the fridge for namjoon

“oh yeah?” namjoon huffs as he places his hands on your hips from behind, sliding past you to grab a clean glass from the dish rack, “what about?”

“just about how…” yoongi looks back at you quickly and you shoot him a glare

he wouldn’t…

would he??

(he absolutely would.)

any word of your conversation and you’ll skin him alive

“-hard you’ve been working out lately!” yoongi chirps, “i mean, it looks like you were trapped in a washing machine-”

“oh, god. trust me, it’s so not worth it, i’m in so much pain-” namjoon winces and shakes his head, “you’re welcome to go and take my place if you want-”

“absolutely not-” yoongi snorts, “first of all, it’s the holidays, and everyone knows you don’t work out during december. also, you couldn’t pay me a million dollars to do a push-up. i’m perfectly happy with my somewhat doughy centre.” he pats his tummy with a happy hum and you can’t help but giggle

silly boy

namjoon laughs lightly before pausing to chug down some water, “i wish i could say the same. unfortunately, jin’s not giving me a choice-”

“sweaty!” you whine when namjoon suddenly wraps an arm around you from behind before kissing your cheek and he frowns playfully when you swat at his forearm, “and sticky…”

“relax, i’m about to hit the shower-” he nudges his nose against your cheek before pulling away, “and then i won’t be sticky and i’ll smell like peaches-”

“i should probably go, too.” yoongi gets up from his seat, “i just ordered my dinner and it’s going to arrive at my apartment in like half an hour.”

“wait!” you hold a finger out before turning to open up the cupboards for a tupperware box, “take some pie with you…”

»»————-　☁️　————-««

“still coming friday?” you ask as you watch yoongi put his shoes on

you asked yoongi if he would be interested in helping you decorate the apartment on friday (aka you told him he didn’t have a choice and that he had to come and help you whether he wanted to or not)

“mhm.” he glances up at you, “still ordering pizza?”

“mhm.”

you reach down to pat the top of yoongi’s head gently just because you want to and pauses in the middle of tying his laces to reach over and jab your stomach

“i know the main focus is decorating the place for christmas but i think you guys are going to love the nature documentary i picked for us to watch while-” namjoon chimes in but shuts up quickly when you and yoongi exchange knowing glances, “what?”

yoongi looks back up at you with a raised brow, “…does he really have to join us?”

“no choice.” you shrug casually and namjoon’s jaw drops

wha-

“oh, hold on-” yoongi gets up off the ground before patting his pockets down with a frown, “i think i left my keys in the kitchen… can you go and get them for me?”

you nod before turning to hurry to the kitchen

you don’t want him to get another parking ticket

it’s only after you disappear into the kitchen that yoongi swiftly pulls his keys out of his back pocket with a jingle

namjoon opens his mouth to say something but yoongi quickly holds his hand out to shut him up

“야 남준아- 어제 니 여친이 니 꿈 꿨데~ (y/n had a sex dream about you).” he chirps and gives namjoon two firm pats on his surprisingly firm chest before his eyes widen in surprise, “어우 딴딴해 운동 열심히 했나보네! (woah, you really have been working out! good man.)”

“yeah, i-” namjoon chokes, “wait, wha-”

“y/n, i found my keys! my bad!” yoongi calls out and gives you a thumbs up when you come out of the kitchen, “see you losers on friday!”

he gives namjoon a grin and a light punch to the arm before swiftly turning on his heel

namjoon’s eyes are as wide as saucers as yoongi shuts the front door behind him and he blinks rapidly before turning to look at you

you tilt your head at him curiously and namjoon swallows before offering you a sheepish smile

oh, boy.

»»————-　☁️　————-««

namjoon hasn’t been able to think straight since it was revealed to him that you had a sex dream about him.

it’s been an entire week that he’s learned this new piece of information and it’s been weighing verY heavily on his mind!!

when he wakes up his first thought is gee i wonder what y/n dreamt about

when seokjin’s rambling about god knows what the only thing in his mind is gee i wonder what y/n dreamt about

the last thing he thinks about before he goes to bed is gee i wonder what y/n dreamt about

and then his imagination conjures up what could’ve happened in your sex dream which is very dangerous because he has an overly-active imagination

it sucks that he doesn’t even know the details of the dream because stinky yoongi ziPPed off before he got a chance to squeeze the truth out of him!!!

and he hasn’t mustered up the courage to ask you about it because… how is he even supposed to ask you about it in a casual, non-confrontational way?!

he doesn’t want to embarrass you or anything like that!!

the only reason why he’s only slightly nervous about the whole situation because he doesn’t think he… oozes sex appeal?

so it was more than surprising to find out that you had a naughty dream about him

he’s like 90% leg and 10% dimple for crying out loud

and it’s not like he hasn’t done anything before, because he has, but it’s just different because it’s… you.

you’re his girlfriend and if he flubs this up the first time around then it’d be even more embarrassing than if you were just some random girl!

“말해줘여어 (you have to tell me).” namjoon whips around from where he’s standing by the tree, cradling the box of baubles to his chest, “you have to!”

“싫어 (nah).” yoongi shakes his head, tossing a kernel of popcorn into his mouth only for it to bounce off his cheek and onto the couch

he purses his lips before kicking it under the coffee table

it’s fine

the dust bunnies will get rid of it

“말해줘여어! (you have to tell me!)”

“야 안돼 (no way).”

namjoon clenches his jaw and sets the box down onto the floor promptly before balling his hands into fists and setting them on his hips, puffing his chest out

...

“아 왜여어어어~ (why not??)” he whines, deflating and resisting the urge to stamp his foot and throw an actual tantrum

“아니 비밀이라고 했으니까 그렇지! (it’s not my thing to tell! and i can’t betray y/n like that-)” yoongi shrugs as he keeps his eyes glued on the screen, “by the way, you didn’t even choose a cool nature documentary. what are we even watching?? the guy’s been talking about seaweed for the past ten minutes-”

“what do you mean it’s not your thing to tell??” namjoon scoffs, not even paying attention to the fact that yoongi just insulted his favourite nature documentary about plants in the ocean, “형이 먼저 말 꺼냈잖아! (you were the one who told me that she dreamt about me in the first place-!)” he snaps

“잠깐만 (wait, wait-)” yoongi sits up quickly, a couple kernels of popcorn rolling off his chest and falling onto his lap, “일주일이 지났는데 아무것도 안 했단 말이야?? (are you telling me that you… it’s been a whole week and you haven’t done anything about it??)”

namjoon shrinks down before reaching up to scratch the back of his neck, “노 코멘트 (…no comment.)”

“킄 정말로? (really? wow.)” yoongi snorts before shaking his head and leaning back against the couch, “both of you- i mean, both of you deserve each other, seriously-”

namjoon resists the urge to flop down on the couch dramatically, “아니 뭐라고 말하는 거예요 (well, i’m sorry, what am i even supposed to say-)”

“아우 그러지좀마 걍- (you don’t have to say anything, all you have to do is-)”

“yoongi!” namjoon and yoongi look over when you stick your head out around the kitchen door, “cream cheese or vanilla?”

“vanilla, duh.” yoongi raises a brow

you should know by this point that he prefers vanilla frosting over cream cheese!

halfway through the documentary you decided that you were going to make a carrot cake

(and yes, part of the reason why you made that decision was because you were bored of the documentary and wanted to do literally anything else, but you’ll never admit that to namjoon in case it breaks his heart)

namjoon stays quiet until after you disappear into the kitchen again and then he turns to face yoongi with both of his hands clasped together, “말해줘요오! (you have to tell me, c’mon!)”

“말해주면 제발 다른 거 보면 안 될까? (if i tell you, can we watch something else?)”

namjoon scowls

“아 됐어요 도와줄 거라도 있는지 확인 해볼게요- (fine, forget it. i’m gonna go see if y/n needs any help.)” he steps over the boxes of decorations on the ground before turning to look back at yoongi, “부엌에서 필요한 거 있어요? (you need anything?)”

“아니 (nah.)” yoongi responds before shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth, “oh! actually, see if y/n would be willing to make little carrot cupcakes instead of a whole carrot cake. holding a tiny little cupcake in my hand makes me feel like a giant.”

»»————-　☁️　————-««

“knock, knock…” namjoon knocks on the kitchen door quietly before pushing it open, “everything going okay in here?”

he smiles when you look up from the bowl and beam at him, “hi!”

“hi-” he comes in and shuts the door behind him, “you need any help?”

“help? from you?” you giggle lightly and shake your head, “i’m good.”

ever since he accidentally poured salt into your batter that one time he hasn’t been allowed to help you

:-//

“yoongi changed his mind, by the way.” namjoon gestures back to the direction of the living room, “king min would like cupcakes now.”

your shoulders immediately droop and you gesture to the already greased cake-pans sitting on the side

what a waste!

“hey, don’t shoot the messenger!” namjoon raises both his hands in defence before shrugging, “the man wants what he wants.”

you resist the urge to go out there just to throw the cake pans at yoongi

you’re definitely going to force him to wash everything for you later

“also... you’re just doing this to get out of watching the nature doc, aren’t you?” namjoon wraps both his arms around you from behind and leans down to prop his chin up on your shoulder

you could’ve helped with the decorating, but somehow everything looks better when namjoon does it

he hung a big red bow on your front door and it looks great!

you pause in the middle of shredding carrots before letting out a nervous chuckle, “whaaat? no...”

“it’s about the types of plants in the ocean!” namjoon points out, “is that not cool?? plants are cool.”

you shake your head no almost immediately

not cool

two and a half hours of someone talking about grass that lives in salty water?

not cool at aLL

“how’s the decorating going?” you ask, giggling lightly when namjoon nudges his nose under your jaw before planting a kiss against your neck

“it’s going fine… yoongi isn’t helping, obviously. i handed him one bauble to hang and he hooked it on the collar of his hoodie and told me he’d do it later.”

“mm.”

a brief moment passes where the only sound that can be heard is the carrot you’re shredding against the grater

namjoon purses his lips as he thinks about what yoongi just said to him

...

fuck it

“hey, can i ask you something?” namjoon sighs, smiling in delight when you suddenly turn your head to press a sweet little kiss into his cheek

“mhm!” you turn back, continuing to grate away

“it’s not a big deal or anything, but, uh... when were you planning on telling me about that nice little dream you had two weeks ago?” namjoon asks cockily, biting back a grin when he feels you freeze in his arms

it’s at this moment that the fact that you had a wet dream about him has finally sunk into the depths of his brain and now he’s actually feeling... really good about it

you had a sex dream about him

what’s not to love?

he can almost hear the alarms wailing in your head

and now that he’s got the ball rolling- he’s not as nervous as he thought he’d be!

as a matter of fact... this could be fun.

“w-” you clear your throat quietly and the half-shredded carrot drops into the metal bowl with a muted plunk, “i- what dream? i didn’t have a dream about you.”

he knows you’re trying to play it cool but he can see how tightly you’re gripping the grater and he can feel your ears getting hotter against his cheek

“i never said the dream was about me.”

oh, shit

you messed up

“so...?” namjoon moves your hair to the other side before leaning in to plant a warm kiss under your jaw, “this dream that you had… about me. tell me what happened in it.”

you swallow thickly, the gears working overtime in your brain as you try to come up with some kind of an excuse to get yourself out of this situation

you know that now isn’t the most appropriate moment to be thinking about this but you’re 100% going to slaughter yoongi the moment you get a chance to

the secret ingredient to make these cupcakes taste good will not be love

it will be BLEACH

you can’t believe he ratted you out like that!!

how embarrassing!!

“you were-” you cough, “um, you were… you… we…”

oh boy

this is already a train wreck

this is exactly why you didn’t want to tell namjoon about it!

because you know yourself and you knEW you were going to get all flustered and twitchy bringing it up

“well, i was-” you pause, “i was sitting on- sitting on the counter-”

“this one right here?” namjoon’s hand leaves your waist to pat the surface of the counter lightly and you nod gingerly, staring down at his obscenely pretty fingers, “what else?”

“that was it.” you blurt out, “the end!”

namjoon steps back a little and spins you around quickly before pressing you up against the counter, “what else, y/n?”

he traps you in between his arms and you fight the urge to explode into a million bits

oh god

okay

just tell him!

just SAY it

it’s time to get it over with!!

“you were…” your eyes flicker downwards and your nose scrunches slightly

you really don’t want to say it but you don’t think you can back out at this point because you’ve already said too much

“…eating me out.” you force out before averting your gaze and looking off to the side

you really wish there was a better way to say that because the phrase eating me out just sounds so… in your face, you know?

namjoon swallows thickly

so you had a dream about him eating you out?

“y/n, there’s really nothing to be embarrassed about, i promise-” namjoon laughs lightly when he notices your entire face starting to go red

you let out a particularly pathetic whine before leaning your forehead against his chest and gently shoving at his (firm) abdomen

“what’s the problem?” he asks, rubbing comforting circles into your back, “i think about you, you know.”

“you’re just saying that…” you mumble, reaching up to pinch the bridge of your nose, “you’re lying...”

“no, i’m serious!” namjoon pulls away to look at you, “i… i think about you. i think about things.”

you blink twice

he thinks about you

he thinks about things

he thinks about you?

he thinks about things??

…what kind of things does he think about?

“y-you do?”

“of course i do.”

“oh.”

a moment of silence ticks by

“i think about a lot of things, y/n.”

“like what?” you look up at him, the corner of namjoon’s pretty mouth curling upwards

“you really wanna know?”

“yes.” you respond a little too quickly before clearing your throat quietly, “…please.”

“hm.” he smiles, “as polite as always-”

you gasp in surprise when namjoon suddenly lifts you up and plops you down on the countertop in one swift movement and your stomach flutters at how effortlessly he just did that

wowie

he places both hands flat on the surface on either side of you before looking up at you with his head tilted slightly

you keep your hands folded in your lap, nervously picking at the worn edges of the sweatshirt you’re wearing (it’s namjoon’s coffee-coloured sweatshirt that you ‘borrowed’ from him)

“mostly about fucking you into the headboard.” namjoon confesses, a smirk twitching at the corner of his mouth when he notices the way your eyes flicker

you definitely seemed to like that idea

“i think about your fingers pulling at my hair when i have my face in between your legs...” he hums, trailing a finger up from your kneecap to your thigh, “i think about how pretty you’d look bent over the counter for me. i think about the sounds you’d make, how soft your moans and gasps would be… i especially like thinking about you moaning my name. i think about you riding me wearing nothing but that cute little apron of yours - you know, the one with the little honeybees on them?”

“apron’s in the.. in the washing machine.” your breathing’s become a bit more shallow and you haven’t blinked in nearly a minute so it’s safe to say that he has your attention

“you know… i think you know what you do to me when you walk around wearing nothing but one of my sweatshirts and a pair of panties, or when you come out of the shower wrapped in a little towel because you ‘forgot’ your clothes in the bedroom…” namjoon murmurs lowly, “and don’t think i don’t notice the way you look at me whenever you suck frosting off your fingers.”

“frosting?” you whisper, namjoon nodding as his eyes flicker down to your lips briefly

your tongue pokes out to swipe over your bottom lip for a split second

“that’s right.” the metal bowl scrapes against the counter as namjoon drags it over and you jump in surprise at the feeling of the chilled metal bumping up against your bare thigh

“you think you’re so innocent, don’t you?” namjoon chuckles lowly, lifting the spatula up before swiping some frosting off of it with the side of his thumb, “you think i don’t know what you’re up to?”

“i don’t…” you trail off, going cross-eyed when namjoon’s hand comes closer only for his pointer finger to tap at your bottom lip

“you do. open.”

you’re just a little thrown off because namjoon’s never... you’ve never seen him like this before

he’s never spoken to you like this before

he’s never looked at you like this before

you’re certainly not complaining, of course

“you taunt me because you like to-” you can’t seem to break away from namjoon’s gaze, the side of his pointer finger hooking underneath your chin as he pushes his thumb into your mouth, “i know you do it on purpose.”

almost immediately, the taste of sweet vanilla frosting washes over your palette

“you want me to think about you, don’t you?” namjoon swallows a groan when you start sucking, your cheeks hollowing slightly as your tongue swirls around his thumb to make sure no frosting gets left behind, “you like the thought of that? like leaving me high and dry because it forces me to use my own imagination?”

(admittedly, yes. a little part of you likes the thought of you completely consuming every corner of namjoon’s mind... just a little part, though.)

you nod slowly in response with glazed over eyes and namjoon clenches his jaw

fuck

he flattens his thumb down on your tongue to get you to open your mouth a little more for him and hums contently when you do so obediently

a thin line of spit stretches from your tongue to namjoon’s slick thumb as he pulls his hand away and you don’t even get a chance to register whatever that moment was before he’s leaning forward to slant his mouth over yours

namjoon kisses you purposefully, pulling you closer to him as you fist at his shirt tightly

he savours the faint sweetness of the frosting left behind on your tongue and can’t help but smile when he hears you whimper

“can i tell you something?” namjoon pulls away only to start sponging kisses to your neck and you tilt your head to the side for him

“uh-huh, y-yeah-” you nod quickly, slinging an arm around his neck to keep him close while the other hand grips at his shoulder

your eyes roll to the back of your head for a split second and you can’t help but quietly mouth an ‘oh my god’ to yourself because you never knew it could feel this good to have your neck kissed

“i think it’s hot as fuck that you had a wet dream about me,” namjoon groans lowly and you immediately feel a zing! of electricity travel straight down south from the sound of him speaking to you in such a deep, gravelly voice, “and you definitely don’t have to be shy about asking me to touch you… because i’m very willing to do so.”

“i want you to- w-want you to touch me-” you stutter, feeling your cheeks warm from hearing those words come out of your mouth, “want it so bad-”

your eyes pop open when namjoon suddenly pulls away and you frown, instantly missing the feeling of him being pressed up so tightly against you

“lift your hips-” namjoon pushes the bowl of frosting to the side before tapping two fingers on your upper thigh, “-up off the counter.”

your brows knit together in confusion

why would you-

your eyes widen in realisation when it dawns on you what exactly is happening here

“w-what-” you glance at the (for the most part, closed) kitchen door frantically before looking down at joon, “but yoongi’s in the-” you turn back and jump in surprise when you see that namjoon’s face is right in front of yours

you’re practically nose to nose with him

“i know.” namjoon leans in to give you a quick peck before pulling away with a particularly smug grin, “so you’re just going to have to stay quiet for me then, aren’t you?”

you WHAT

“why don’t we get these off, hm?” namjoon hooks a finger into the waistband of your shorts and gives it a gentle tug

you look at the door once again and then back at namjoon, who offers you an innocent little smile as if he didn’t just suggest going down on you on the kitchen counter with your friend in the room next door

okay

think about this!

think about this with your logical brain and not your bonk horny brain

would you rather see your very hot boyfriend’s face in between your legs or would you rather send him away so you can continue making a cake for your very picky friend?

…

you plant both palms on the counter before raising your hips a little, namjoon grinning in victory before yanking your shorts down in one go

if you would’ve known this was going to happen today you definitely would’ve worn a sexier pair of panties

white cotton is boring!!!

also you know this is the wrong time to be thinking this but you’re wondering if it would be possible to rope yoongi into a shopping spree at victoria’s secret next week because you’re going to need better looking panties if namjoon’s going to keep springing these spontaneous sessions on you

“cute.” namjoon hums, poking at the little blue bow that sits at the centre of the waistband

your breathing stills as he slowly lowers himself to his knees in front of you and you feel like your heart is about to beat out of your chest at the sight alone

“soaked right through…” namjoon observes quietly, turning his head to press a kiss to the pillowy flesh of your inner thigh, “i’ve barely touched you, baby.”

you jolt in surprise when he runs his thumb slowly up your slit through the thinned fabric of your panties, though he stops right as he’s about to reach your clit

so close yet so, so painfully far

you nudge him with your foot, “you’re teasing.” you swallow thickly, namjoon offering you a boyish grin as he tilts his head, pushing his bottom lip out in a mocking pout

“aw… am i?” he coos, and you shiver when he leans in to press a kiss over your clothed clit, “i’m sorry, darling… that must be so hard for you…”

“and you’re being mean.” you murmur, namjoon chuckling to himself as he pulls your panties down your legs

“am not.”

“are too.”

“am not.” namjoon perks a brow, pushing your thighs apart gently, “take it back.”

“no wa-!” your back immediately straightens as if a jolt of electricity just shot straight up your spine at the first feeling of namjoon licking one long stripe up your centre, and you fight back the urge to snap your legs shut

that’s.,., new!

very new

very new feeling

you’re certainly not against it and it’s not a bad feeling

it’s just…

new

“good?” your breath wavers when namjoon hums against you, your eyelids fluttering shut at the feeling of his tongue slowly pressing in deep, “hm?”

namjoon slips his tongue in between your folds before sliding it flat and straight up to your swollen clit, grinning to himself when you finally give in to pleasure and lie back on the counter

you whimper, rolling your hips down towards his mouth as he drags his tongue over your slit in repetitive strokes before flicking his tongue over the top of your clit

it’s too much and not enough at the same time, your legs instinctively starting to squeeze shut around him

“nuh-uh, baby…” you find that you can barely move, namjoon’s fingers digging into your thigh as a warning as he keeps your legs open, “keep them spread for me.”

namjoon watches your reaction intensely, finding pleasure in the way that your chest rises and falls quickly and in the way you twitch every now and again

from here, he can see the way your brows furrow and the way you bite and tug at your bottom lip in a poor effort to keep yourself quiet

“you can use your words like a good girl, can’t you?” namjoon teases, two fingers rolling tight little circles into your clit as he watches you, barely blinking, “tell me how good it feels…”

“good- ungh, feels good-” you whimper, hips bucking up against his fingers desperately

namjoon looks down to see you practically dripping onto the counter

jesus

he would’ve done this a lot sooner had he known you’d be acting like this from his touch

“fuck me,” namjoon groans suddenly, and all of a sudden it seems like everything’s moving ten times faster than before, “you look so fucking hot right now-”, he wraps his strong arms underneath both your thighs before yanking you closer to him, practically burying his entire face in between your legs

your right leg gets hitched up over his shoulder and you quickly sit back up, digging your fingers into the soft strands of namjoon’s hair as his tongue laves back and forth against your folds

your back arches and you tilt your head up towards the ceiling, namjoon instinctively pushing his clothed crotch against the bottom part of the counter for some kind of relief

he’s so painfully hard from just hearing you hold back moans and watching you squirm and twitch

you remind yourself to loosen your grip on namjoon’s hair because you’re worried that you might accidentally rip some strands out and leave him with a bald patch, but namjoon obviously doesn’t seem to mind as he doubles his efforts and starts to lick and and suck with tremendous fervour

“fuck, you taste good-” he curses, his right hand sliding underneath your sweatshirt to cup your bare breast before he pinches and rolls your nipple in between his fingers

he drags his tongue down to circle around your tight hole and you jerk immediately, “oh my god-” you pant, overwhelmed by all the different feelings your body is experiencing at this moment, “that feels so-”

your bum is teetering on the edge of the counter at this point because namjoon’s basically pulled you off of it and you reach down to grip at the edges so you don’t fall off

“gonna cum?” namjoon murmurs, eyes locking on your face almost immediately as he feels you starting to squirm underneath him

he really wants to watch you cum

“j-joonie, god, don’t stop-” the arm wrapped around your waist tightens around you and your eyes roll to the back of your head as he continues his torturous onslaught of pleasure, “i-i- nngh- namjoon-!”

“i’ve got you, baby… you can cum…” namjoon feels himself twitch in his sweats upon hearing you moan his name like that

the thought of gagging you with your own panties to mute your moans briefly flits through his mind but... he wants to hear you moaning his name over and over and over again

he wants to make you scream for him

when it happens, you practically bite your bottom lip off trying not to cry out in ecstasy

namjoon has to hold your trembling thighs open to keep them from snapping his head right off

your hips buck lazily as you quiver around namjoon’s hot tongue, your body glistening in a sheen layer of sweat as you bask in the slow, rolling waves of ecstasy

you lie back down against the counter, chest heaving beneath your sweater as you stare dazedly up at the ceiling

oh, wow

you watch as the ceiling fan whirrs around and around and around

you feel like you’re not physically here right now

like your soul left your body and you’re just floating in the air like a bunch of particles

“-!” you twitch when namjoon carefully wipes you off with your panties before setting them onto the counter next to you

you slowly prop yourself up onto your elbows so you can look at him, feeling your cheeks flush when you see that he’s looking right at you

you’re not sure why you’ve gone all shy again as if his tongue wasn’t licking you out ten seconds ago

“hi, pretty girl...” he smiles, his dimple popping up in his right cheek, “welcome back.” he jokes, rising to his feet while keeping your right leg propped up onto his shoulder

he turns to give your ankle a kiss before gently bringing your leg down and helping you sit up

“that was really something...” you wrap your arms loosely around his neck as he grasps your hips before leaning down to give you a sweet little kiss

“oh yeah? did i live up to dreamjoon?” namjoon teases, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear before pinching the apple of your cheek

“you did a much better job than dreamjoon.” you hum, and it’s only then that you’re aware of the very prominent bulge pressing into your centre, “but i... i wanna make you feel good, too…” you murmur, namjoon biting back a groan when you nudge your bare centre against him, a darkened splotch now staining the front of his sweatpants “and…” you lean upwards to whisper something into namjoon’s ear

...

holy shit

yes please

“yeah, shit, we can definitely do that-” namjoon hates to admit to how horny he is but he can’t help it when you go around saying stuff like that to him, “we-” he pauses suddenly, eyes going wide in panic, “oh, shit!”

“wh- what??” you look around the kitchen frantically before grabbing the closest thing to you as a form of defence (a silicone whisk)

“friggin’ yoongi-!” namjoon hisses in pain as he adjusts himself in his sweatpants, “i forgot about yoongi-”

okay

a little weird of him to be thinking about yoongi while he’s touching his-

“oh my god, yoongi!” you hiss quietly, hopping off the counter with wobbly legs

namjoon hands you your shorts and you quickly wiggle into them before pulling your sweatshirt down

you completely forgot that yoongi was in the room right next to you guys and that last moan of yours wasn’t exactly quiet

and you know that yoongi might not have a lot of knowledge when it comes to baking, but you’re sure that he knows enough to know that practically screaming namjoon’s name out loud isn’t a key step in achieving a fluffy cake batter

“we weren’t doing anything!”

the two of you stumble out into the living room and you file through your brain to come up with some kind of a logical excuse as to why you’re hot and sweaty and why namjoon’s hiding his lower half behind a kitchen towel and how in the world those two facts are related to his precious carrot cake cupcakes

you pause when you notice that yoongi’s nowhere to be found

the documentary’s still playing on the TV, the boxes of tinsel and baubles have been completely abandoned, and there’s nothing but a blue sticky note sitting on the couch

taking a nap in my car. text me when you guys are done being horny. also - you’re welcome.

christmas with cee 2020 masterlist

🎁what would you like from ceenta this year? 🎁

961 notes · View notes

emospritelet · 2 years

Text

Closing the Circle - chapter 9/?

Last time, Gold caught feelings, and Did Not Like It At All

[AO3 link]

After a restless night, Belle was woken by a buzz from her phone, a message from Mulan suggesting an early breakfast meet-up at the diner. Aurora had finished her night shift at the hospital and wanted to eat before heading home. Grainy-eyed and heavy-limbed, Belle dressed in a daze, leaving her apartment just as the clock turned seven. The weather had turned colder than ever, but the morning was bright and crisp, the sky a clear blue. It made her squint, and she ducked her head, pushing her chin into her scarf to escape the worst of the cold.

The diner was relatively quiet; a few men were clustered around tables with plates of eggs, bacon and pancakes, wearing the heavy boots and thick flannel shirts of those that worked in the open air. Mulan waved from a booth in the corner, Aurora by her side, and Belle slid into a seat opposite. Aurora was yawning, but she gave Belle a warm smile.

“Well, I know why I look tired,” she said. “What’s the matter with you?”

Belle wrinkled her nose.

“Didn’t sleep well,” she said. “I’m stressing out about the library. There’s so much to do before I open!”

“If you need help, I can give you a hand this afternoon,” offered Mulan. “Make use of me while you can, I’ve taken a job at the Rabbit Hole. Start tomorrow.”

“Oh, that’s good,” said Belle. “Seems there’s an interesting cross section of the town that goes in there, you should find out some useful info.”

“The bar manager already warned me about some of the patrons,” said Mulan. “Only in a ‘don’t accept drinks from them’ way, not a ‘they’re actually the undead’ way. Pretty sure I got the job because he thinks some of them need their asses kicking and he doesn’t want to do it himself.”

Belle and Aurora chuckled as Emma bounced up, dressed in the white shirt and red skirt that the other waitresses wore, blonde hair tied back and a pad and pen in hand.

“Hey Emma,” said Mulan. “You work here now?”

“Oh - yeah, I thought since I was in town, I should probably pick up a few shifts,” said Emma. “I figured I’d hang around for a while longer, and I’m running a little low on cash.”

“How’s Lily?” asked Belle, and Emma wrinkled her nose.

“Okay, I think,” she said. “We’re gonna hang out later when I get off. What can I get you guys?”

“I’ll take eggs, bacon and hash browns,” said Mulan. “Are we all having coffee?”

“God, yes,” said Belle fervently, making Emma grin. “And I’ll have the French toast, please.”

“Yeah, that looks really good. It has berries on the side.”

“Ooh, that sounds great. Make it two,” said Aurora.

“Sure thing.” Emma scribbled on the pad. “I’ll get those started for you right away.”

She trotted off, blonde ponytail swinging, and Mulan eyed Belle, putting her head to the side.

“So,” she said. “You’re tired because you’re worrying about the library? Not because you went to visit a certain person last night for hot sex?”

“I was home alone,” said Belle flatly, but then hesitated. “I did go over Saturday, though.”

Mulan snorted, holding out her hand to Aurora.

“Did we say five bucks or ten?”

“Five,” said Aurora with a sigh, reaching for her purse, and Belle glared at them.

“Okay, you have to stop placing bets on me!”

“Yeah, we really should, you’re way too predictable.”

“Mulan!”

“I’m kidding.”

Mulan was grinning, but sat back as Emma arrived with the coffee pot. There was silence as she filled the cups and wandered off again, and Mulan flicked a dark eyebrow at Belle.

“So,” she said. “How did it go?”

“It was…” Belle chewed her lip, trying to find the right words. “It was amazing, actually. I don’t just mean the obvious - that’s always amazing. It was - I don’t know. He was different. Softer. If that’s the right word to use with him. He asked me to stay the night.”

“You’ve stayed over before,” said Mulan, and Belle shook her head.

“I know, but this time it was - different,” she said. “I’m not sure I’m explaining it well.”

Aurora had rested her elbows on the table as she sat forward, mirroring Mulan’s posture. The first two fingers of one hand were gently stroking Mulan’s arm in a seemingly unconscious gesture of affection, and she was watching Belle with a curious look in her eyes.

“Do you think you might love him?” she asked quietly, and Belle hesitated.

“I didn’t say that,” she said. “I - I mean I couldn’t, right? That would be - that would be a bad idea.”

“Right,” said Aurora flatly. “Because people always make sound logical choices when it comes to love, hmm?”

“I didn’t say I loved him.”

“You didn’t deny it, either.”

Belle sighed, slumping forward on the table.

“Okay, okay, I have feelings for him!” she said. “Don’t ask me what they are, I don’t think I’ve worked it out in my own head.”

“Belle…” sighed Mulan.

“I know!” Belle sank further into her folded arms. “It’s stupid, I know that, it’s just - he’s interesting. And clever. And there’s a different side to him. A side you guys haven’t seen.”

“If you mean his ass, yeah we did,” remarked Mulan. “Everything else, too. It’s kind of seared into my brain.”

“I don’t mean that,” said Belle, pushing up again. “I mean - I think he’s starting to open up to me. He tells me little snippets of his past, and - and I kind of get an idea of the man he used to be before.”

“Really?” Aurora looked interested. “What did he tell you?”

“Not much,” she admitted. “It was more a sense of how his life was. He talked about the rituals they followed, the feast days, that kind of thing. It was - evocative. Like he was back there again for a moment. Almost like I was there with him.”

Mulan glanced around the diner for a moment, then leaned in closer.

“Did he say anything about how he became a vampire?” she asked quietly, and Belle shook her head.

“No,” she said. “But he kind of hinted that he didn’t have much say in it. I wonder who it was. Who turned him?”

“I doubt they’re in Storybrooke, whoever they were,” said Aurora, and Belle nodded, leaning forward a little with her elbows on the table and her fingers threaded together.

“I really feel as though I’m getting somewhere with him,” she said softly. “And the knowledge he has - not just of dark creatures, but history. He’s - he’s an invaluable resource.”

Mulan sighed.

“Just be careful,” she said. “He may dress like a businessman and read classic literature and pull your chair out when you sit down, but he’s still a vampire.”

“I know that…”

“He’s not human,” she went on. “He’s immortal. And he lives by feeding on people. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“He wouldn’t hurt me!” insisted Belle, and Mulan sighed again.

“Just don’t let your heart rule your head,” she said, and Belle sat back, folding her arms in irritation.

“Okay, you’re right about that last part,” she said. “I’ll be careful.”

“That’s all we’re asking.”

“But I’m right about him, too,” she added. “He could be a good man. I know it.”

Mulan made a noncommittal noise, and Belle decided to change the subject.

“How are you getting on at the hospital, Aurora?”

“Oh, it’s good,” said Aurora, her eyes lighting up. “The other nurses are nice, it seems well run.” She looked thoughtful. “There’s something weird about one of the doctors, though. I’m pretty sure he’s not fully human.”

“Well, as long as he knows what he’s doing and isn’t eating the patients,” said Mulan, sipping coffee. Aurora giggled.

“I don’t think so. He seems like a good doctor. I’m on shift again tonight and tomorrow, but I have Thursday and Friday off.”

She yawned, covering her mouth with a hand, and Mulan shook her head, reaching up to brush a thin strand of hair from her cheek.

“You look exhausted,” she said gently. “You sure you don’t want to get this breakfast to go? I don’t mind feeding you French toast in bed, you know.”

“Sounds like I wouldn’t get much rest,” said Aurora, with a sly grin. “Besides - crumbs.”

“True.”

Aurora shivered then, rubbing her arms briskly, and Belle frowned.

“You okay?”

“I don’t know.” She wrinkled her nose, looking around the diner. “There’s a weird kind of energy in the air. You guys can’t feel it?”

“Babe, I’m about as sensitive as a sledgehammer when it comes to this kind of stuff,” said Mulan bluntly. “Belle?”

Belle shook her head, and Aurora shuddered again.

“I felt something yesterday when I was trying to meditate,” she said. “It’s something new. A kind of - jagged - feeling. You really can’t sense it?”

“I don’t know.” Belle looked out of the window, eyeing the passing townsfolk enjoying the crisp, bright day. “It feels kind of heavy, I suppose. Like there’s a storm coming.”

“Yes!” said Aurora eagerly. “Almost like there’s lightning forming.”

“So maybe a storm is coming,” said Mulan, gesturing at the cloudless sky. “Give it a day or two and there could be a deluge.”

“Yeah,” said Aurora. “Maybe.”

She looked unconvinced, and Mulan put an arm around her.

“You could always try that spell you were working on,” she suggested, and Aurora perked up.

“The one that identifies magical energy sources?” she said. “Yeah, I think it’s about ready for a test run.”

“You think we can isolate the magical source for whatever this is, given we’re in Storybrooke?” asked Belle. “There have to be a lot of potential sources, right?”

“Yeah, we probably need to finetune it.”

“I was reading something on using crystals to focus energy,” added Belle. “Maybe that’ll help.”

“Sounds like you and I have some experiments to run later this week,” said Aurora, winking at her, and Mulan chuckled.

“I guess that means I’m supplying tea and snacks and dodging the explosions, then.”

“Hey, we haven’t exploded anything in - well, days!” Aurora objected.

“Not turning down the tea and snacks, though,” said Belle.

Once breakfast was over, Mulan and Aurora walked Belle to the library on their way home. Belle was feeling a little better after two cups of coffee, but made herself another cup to drink while she sorted through the contents of the circulation desk. She discarded old files and out of date women’s magazines, sipping at her coffee. There was a pile of old copies of The Storybrooke Mirror, and after a moment’s hesitation she set those aside. Perhaps they might provide some useful information on the town’s inhabitants.

A pounding on the library door dragged Belle out of her stupor, and she slopped coffee over her wrist in her hurry to answer it. A large pile of boxes was outside, a van on the side of the road with its engine running and a harassed looking man carrying over another box. He dropped it on the ground with a thud, making Belle jump.

“French?” he asked, tugging an electronic device from his pocket. “I got six boxes here. You need to sign for ‘em.”

“Oh good, my books!” she said eagerly.

She scrawled her signature on the device with its stylus, and the man grunted and trotted back to his truck. Belle shoved the library door open with her hip as she hefted one of the boxes in her arms to carry inside. She dropped it to the floor almost immediately; the box was heavy, and she bent to push it across the polished floor rather than carry it. She was panting by the time she reached the circulation desk, but she couldn’t stop grinning. The new stock had arrived, and the library could open that week as planned.

She spent the morning going through the boxes, sorting the books by genre and stacking them on the circulation desk ready for entering into the computer system. New software had been provided by the town, along with an electronic scanner to check out and return books. A stack of plastic library cards sat in the desk drawer, ready to be issued to the townsfolk, and Belle began the laborious process of marking up the spines of the books with reference numbers.

Engrossed in her work, she barely noticed the squeak of the door opening, and it was only when she heard the rhythmic click of heels on the parquet floor that she glanced up. A woman had entered, and was looking around with interest. She was taller than Belle, with reddish-blonde curls and a pale face beneath a wide-brimmed green hat. Her dress was green too, the skirt long and flowing above black ankle boots, and her lips were pursed as she scanned the half-empty stacks.

“Hello?” called Belle, and the woman’s mouth flowed into a wide smile as she turned on the pointed toes of her boots.

“Oh, I didn’t see you there,” she said carelessly. “I presume you’re the new librarian? You have been busy, haven’t you?”

Belle gave her best customer service smile.

“The library isn’t open yet,” she said. “I’m still sorting out the stock. But if you’re interested in joining, please come by on Friday after ten a.m. We’re having an opening event. Games and snacks for the children in the morning, or there’s an evening event for adults only if you’d prefer. There’ll be wine and nibbles of some sort, if that tempts you.”

“I’ll consider it,” said the woman.

Despite her wide smile, or perhaps because of it, Belle thought there was something off about her.

“I’m Belle,” she said. “Belle French. I only recently moved to Storybrooke.”

“Oh, I know,” said the woman airily. “You and the two lesbians. Or are you a threesome? That’s been a matter of some discussion amongst the locals, and no one can decide.”

Belle decided their sexualities were none of the woman’s business.

“Lovely to meet you,” she lied, to change the subject. “And you are?”

“Zelena Mills,” said the woman, still smiling.

“Mills? Oh, you’re the Mayor’s daughter.”

“Her eldest, yes.” Zelena raised her chin a little.

“I met your sister when I picked up the keys to this place,” said Belle. “Regina, isn’t it?”

“She’s my half sister, actually,” said Zelena, curling her lip a little.

Belle sensed there was some sort of rivalry between the two, though whether Regina knew about it was another matter.

“Well, it’s good of you to stop by,” she said. “If you let me know the kind of books you like, I can look for something in that genre.”

Zelena showed her teeth a little more.

“Actually, I’m interested in any books you have on magic.”

It was said in a light tone, but Belle sensed a change in the atmosphere, a tense weight in the air around them. A low voice seemed to whisper in her ear, urging caution.

“I have a few books on the history of witchcraft and some others on ancient mythologies,” she said. “I’m afraid it’s not a large selection, but I do have others on order.”

Zelena leaned on the desk on her folded arms, still with that wide grin.

“I meant real magic,” she said softly.

Belle met her gaze, wishing that Mulan and Aurora were there. Of course their arrival would have caused discussion amongst the townsfolk, wondering if they were friend or foe. No doubt Zelena would report back to the Mayor with whatever she was told. Belle decided on the truth. Part of it, anyway.

“I’m afraid the only books like that are in our private collections,” she said. “Not for lending out. If there’s anything specific you’re looking for, I can certainly try to order it.”

Pushing back from the circulation desk, Zelena nodded, looking satisfied.

“So,” she said. “Three more witches.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” said Belle hurriedly. “None of us are practising witches. We’ve studied a little, that’s all.”

Zelena studied her, eyes raking over her. Whatever she saw, her expression didn’t change.

“So what brings you to Storybrooke?” she asked. “No one here is looking to take on an apprentice.”

“The librarian post brought me here,” said Belle. “Beyond that, it seems like a nice, quaint town.”

“Really?” Zelena’s voice was flat. “Out of all the librarian posts you could have taken, you just happen to choose one in a town with as many witches and magical creatures as regular humans.”

Belle let out a soft chuckle.

“I think you overestimate the number of librarian positions,” she said, and pretended to be curious. “Wait - did you say magical creatures?”

Zelena clicked her tongue in annoyance, glancing away.

“Never mind all that,” she said. “Why are you really here?”

“I told you,” said Belle evenly. “I’m a librarian, there was a librarian post available. My friend is a nurse, and she now works at the hospital. My other friend works at The Rabbit Hole. We’re here to make the most of small town life. I’m sorry I can’t tell you anything more exciting.”

“Hmm.” Zelena looked unconvinced. “I presume you’re renting? Have you met the landlord?”

“Mr Gold?” Belle let her brow crinkle in apparent puzzlement. “Yes.”

Zelena leaned on the desk again, eyebrows twitching. That insincere smile was back.

“And what did you make of him?” she asked.

Belle licked her lips, hoping that she wouldn’t blush.

“Polite, well-dressed, very keen on people sticking to the terms of their deals with him,” she said. “I don’t think I’d like to get on his wrong side.”

Zelena pushed back, looking satisfied.

“Well,” she said. “I suppose I should say welcome to Storybrooke. I’m sure you’ll like it here. For however long you stay.”

“Thank you,” said Belle, aware that she sounded equally insincere. “Do stop by when the library opens, won’t you?”

Zelena sniffed, turning on her heel, and Belle watched as she stalked out. The door closed with a thump, and Belle let herself frown after the woman. It wasn’t often that she took an instant dislike to someone, but whenever she did, there was always a good reason.

Gold was in a foul mood. There was an odd, aching feeling in his chest, the first true pain he had felt in years, but he was trying to ignore it. Perhaps it was the after-effects of his late night meal with Cruella and Jefferson. He had never had a bad reaction to feeding on a human in the past, but there was a first time for everything. He was tempted to stay at home and leave the shop closed for a day or two, but breaking his routine would excite comment, and that was the last thing he wanted.

He dressed carefully, his shirt and tie black silk beneath a black suit, the sombre colour suiting his dark thoughts. It felt as though a storm was coming, a heaviness in the air making his skin tingle. It was cold enough to snow, despite the clear sky, and he drew on his heavy woollen coat, dark glasses protecting his eyes from the sun’s glare as he walked to town. The shop, in contrast, was dark and inviting, and he closed the door and went through to the back room. It had been tempting to flip the sign on the door to Closed and free himself from the usual irritations of visiting tenants, but he resisted the urge. Rent day was some way off, after all. Perhaps he would be left in peace.

It was some hours later that he felt her presence, a tingle in his skin as she entered the shop with a light tinkle of the bell above the door. He could smell her scent in the air, and it made his loins stir at the memory of her in his bed. Mouth flattening, he stood back from the workbench, dusting off his hands and listening to the click of her heels on the wooden floor.

“Hello?”

She knew what he was. Enough that she trusted him a little. Perhaps he could use that. He closed his eyes for a moment, calming himself and freeing that dangerous part of him that could whisper into a person’s soul. To drive them away, or to bring them closer. Licking his lips, he eyed the cane leaning against the bench for a moment before ignoring it and heading for the shop.

Belle chewed her lip, glimpsing a flicker of light beyond the curtain that led to the back room. It was almost as though she could feel him coming, the sense of him in the air around her, a warm weight pressing against her body. Sure enough, Gold pushed the curtain aside and stepped into the shop. He didn’t have his cane, and she wondered if he had known it was her. His eyes caught and held hers, dark pits framed by soft hair, and she felt a shiver go through her at the intensity of his gaze. A soft voice murmured at the back of her mind, a soothing caress, telling her to move closer.

“Miss French,” he said quietly. “I wasn’t expecting you today.”

She opened her mouth to tell him about Zelena’s visit, and the voice whispered in her mind again, a low, lilting murmur, urging her forward. Belle blinked, taking a step back from him and folding her arms.

“Stop that,” she said flatly.

“Stop what?”

“Whatever it is you’re doing.”

The corner of his mouth pulled upwards.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Yes you do.”

He watched her steadily, and she met his gaze. Something gleamed in the depths of his eyes, a muscle twitching in one cheek, and then he licked his lips, glancing away. The soft voice in her head winked out as though it had never been, and Belle let her arms fall back to her sides.

“What the hell was that?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do!” she insisted, glaring at him. “Don’t play your games with me, I thought we were past all that!”

“Did you?”

His voice was quiet, and somehow lifeless. She frowned, shaking her head.

“What’s wrong?”

“Why should anything be wrong?” he asked mildly.

Belle stared at him for a moment. His face gave nothing away, and she decided to change the subject.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said. “I had a visit from Ms Mills today. Zelena, is it?”

One eyebrow twitched, but his expression didn’t change.

“How pleasant for you,” he said.

“Not really, she seems - well, she seems not to like me too much,” she said. “Very suspicious of my reasons for being here.”

“Imagine that.”

“Interested to know what I thought about you, too,” added Belle.

“And what did you tell her?”

“Nothing,” she said. “That you were polite and well-dressed and that I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of you.”

He looked amused at that, his eyes glinting, and took a step forward.

“Which side might that be?” he asked softly, and Belle licked her lips.

“Now, stop that!” she said severely. “I didn’t come over here to flirt.”

“I suppose there’s a first time for everything.”

“I came to ask you something,” she went on, as though he hadn’t spoken. “The library is due to open on Friday. We’re having an adults-only event in the evening. Will you come?”

There was a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

“For what purpose?” he asked. “To drink mediocre wine and listen to the residents of Storybrooke tell you about their favourite bedtime reading?”

“To be honest the wine probably won’t even be mediocre,” she said, with a tiny laugh. “I can’t afford much better than rough as hell.”

“Hardly a ringing endorsement.”

“Fine, suit yourself,” she sighed, unsurprised by his lack of enthusiasm but still a little disappointed. “In that case maybe you’ll answer a few questions instead.”

He was silent for a moment, then gave a tiny shrug.

“Ask away.”

“I was reading something in one of my books last night, and it made me think of a few theories we have about the townsfolk.”

“I told you I wouldn’t reveal their identities.”

“I know, but I thought maybe you’d have some more general answers,” she said. “It’s just that some of the terminology in my books is contradictory, and I want to be sure I’m using it right.”

“Such as?”

“Okay,” she said. “Do you consider yourself one of the undead?”

Gold’s mouth twitched a little.

“Oh no,” he said softly. “I’m very much alive. Though perhaps not as you would see it. Perhaps it’s all about perception.”

“You look pretty alive to me,” she said. “So - how would you describe yourself?”

“As a vampire.”

“Anything else?”

His mouth flattened a little, as though he was wearied by her questions.

“An immortal, I suppose,” he said.

“What about other vampires?”

“You’d have to ask them.”

“I would, if I knew who they were.”

A tiny, secretive smile.

“I’m sure your thirst for solving mysteries will come in useful there.”

Belle huffed in irritation.

“At least tell me if there are some in Storybrooke,” she said. “That’s not giving anyone away, is it?”

Gold sucked his teeth, glancing away as though considering the matter before looking back.

“There are vampires other than myself in Storybrooke,” he acknowledged.

“Oh good! So, we have vampires, witches, and werewolves, as far as I can work out,” she said, ticking them off on a hand. “Also I’m pretty sure there are a couple of selkies.”

“It appears you and your friends have been busy.”

Belle bounced on her toes excitedly. ““So - do you guys all know each other? Are there secret handshakes and - oh, I don’t know - like some supernatural creature version of Tindr, or something?”

There was a momentary flicker of amusement in his eyes, but his face remained impassive.

“It’s a small town,” he said non-committedly. “Doesn’t everyone know everyone’s business?”

“Are there demons?”

“Many.”

“What about zombies?” she asked, and Gold shuddered.

“Gods I would hope not. Terrible conversationalists. Absolutely ruin a dinner party.”

Belle gave him a level look.

“Do they actually exist, though?”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t call reanimated corpses a species,” he said. “They have no mind, no sentience. No desire other than to feed.”

“Right.”

Belle filed away the information he had given her, thinking over what he had told her. She glanced up, and he was watching her closely, golden light glinting in his eyes. It made a shiver go through her.

“What is it about Storybrooke?” she asked softly, and he blinked.

“What?”

“Something Zelena said just made me think,” she said. “Storybrooke is - well, it’s supposed to be safe, isn’t it? A kind of sanctuary for supernatural creatures.”

“So far,” he said.

“But there are just as many humans here,” she went on. “Given that some of you like to eat humans, how does that work?”

“It’s bad form to eat the townsfolk,” he said, and she shot him a look.

“Yeah, but you could have driven them out altogether if you wanted,” she said. “Given the amount of nervousness I’ve seen over me, Aurora and Mulan moving in, I would have thought some of the townsfolk might have preferred we hadn’t.”

“Some, perhaps,” he acknowledged. “Most accept that it’s far easier to blend in when there are as many humans as the rest of us.”

“You said it had been a haven for centuries,” she said.

“So I’m told.”

“So what makes it that way?”

“Because it’s in the interest of both sides to be tolerant of the other,” he said. “And because any attempt to change that has been swiftly and severely dealt with.”

“Really?” Belle could feel a surge of curiosity. “So people have been attacked in the past? When was that?”

Gold clicked his tongue, sounding irritated.

“Power struggles aren’t confined to the outside world,” he said. “Some see an opportunity and try to push their luck. I take a dim view of these things.”

“Surprised you didn’t run for Mayor yourself, in that case.”

He smiled at that, the glint back in his eyes.

“The appearance of power doesn’t always match the reality.”

“So you’re content to be a landlord and shopkeeper?” she said.

He took a step forward, then another, and she felt her breath catch in her throat as the scent of him wrapped around her and seemed to pull her closer to him. Her heart thumped as he shifted even closer, his nose almost brushing against hers.

“Would you say that’s all I am?” he asked, his voice a low, rasping growl.

He reached up to touch her cheek, fingers sliding into her hair and making her shiver, and Belle swallowed hard.

“There’s - there’s also lurking in the shadows and being dramatic,” she said.

He let out a rumbling chuckle, fingers stroking back along her jaw, and Belle closed her eyes, waiting for the feel of his lips against her throat. The sound of the shop doorbell was loud and harsh, and her eyes flew open as Gold let out a hiss of vexation and pulled back.

“May I help you, Ms Mills?” he demanded.

Belle sucked in a breath, turning to face the door. Zelena Mills was watching them with narrowed eyes, her mouth working as though she was trying not to shout. After going through some sort of internal struggle, she managed to wrangle her lips into something approaching a smile.

“Well!” she said brightly. “Forgive me for interrupting - whatever was going on between you two!”

“May I help you?” Gold repeated evenly, and Belle stepped back from him, heart still thumping.

“Uh - I should be going,” she said. “I’ll - um - I’ll just - uh…”

She let the sentence tail off, heading blindly for the door. Zelena stepped aside, pulling her skirts around her legs with a twist of distaste to her mouth, as though Belle was pulling a torrent of sewage in her wake. Belle let the door close behind her with a sigh of relief. Well. That was awkward.

She headed back to the library, intending to add to the notes she had been making on Storybrooke and its inhabitants. The town was getting more interesting by the day.

Zelena had watched Belle leave before turning back to Gold with a sniff and a toss of her hair. He headed for the counter, stepping behind it to put some distance between them, and she sauntered over, glancing over her shoulder at the door before turning back to face him with a twisted smile.

“So,” she said. “You and the librarian, hmm? And here I thought you had more refined taste. She’s pretty, I suppose. If you like the obvious.”

“My private affairs are none of your business,” he said.

“It’s my business when she and her friends upset the balance in this town,” she said. “Storybrooke doesn’t need more witches. Especially witches that are outside of the Coven.”

“So ask them to join you,” he said, and she snorted.

“Why would we? The Coven has always been family.”

“Mal and Lily are hardly blood relatives.”

“They’re certainly more family than these - these strangers!” she snapped. “Besides, we don’t need a couple of amateurs getting in the way. Lily’s causing quite enough problems as it is.”

“What problems?” he asked, and she waved a hand.

“No need for you to concern yourself with us,” she said coldly. “I suggest you pay more attention to threats from outsiders rather than worrying over nothing.”

“I find it amusing that you think you can tell me what to do,” he said, his tone flat, and she bared her teeth.

“I’m merely expressing some friendly concern, of course.”

“Of course.”

“The librarian is trouble,” she went on. “Poking her nose in where it isn’t wanted.”

“She’s curious,” he said. “It’s hardly a crime.”

“She doesn’t belong here,” she said insistently. “And it’s making everyone’s tail twitch. For some, quite literally. Either kill her, turn her, or send her away. Choose, before we choose for you.”

Gold tamped down the flare of rage he felt at her words, but managed to keep his face impassive.

“Are you threatening to break the Covenant?” he asked, his voice low, soft with menace. “Think very, very carefully before you do.”

Despite his quiet tone, something must have shown in his eyes, because Zelena swallowed hard, a shadow of fear flitting across her face as she took a step back.

“I hold to the Covenant,” she said, a little breathlessly. “I assure you.”

“Wonderful.” He kept that soft, threatening tone. “Then you won’t be touching Miss French or any other resident of Storybrooke, are we clear?”

“Of course,” she said, still sounding a little flustered. “None of us will harm her.”

“I’ll have your word on that, will I?”

Zelena’s mouth twisted, as though she was amused and trying not to show it.

“My,” she said. “You’re quite taken with her, aren’t you?”

Gold spread his hands on the counter top, fingers splaying out as he eyed her calmly.

“I have lived in this town for over sixty years,” he said quietly. “The reason it’s still seen as a haven for my kind, for all dark creatures, is the Covenant. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that it’s also the reason you and the rest of the humans can live here without fear of becoming a meal for the next demon that wants a taste of you.”

Zelena’s smirk had turned into something sour.

“You may want to remind some of your kin,” she said. “I’m well aware that there are vampires at the Rabbit Hole that push the boundaries at times.”

Gold grimaced.

“They’re young, foolish, and lustful, but they won’t bite anyone who doesn’t offer themselves,” he said. “I hear some people are into that.”

“Like your Miss French?” she said snidely. “Quite the vampire groupie, it seems.”

Gold gave a languid shrug.

“I can’t be responsible for what turns some mortals on,” he said, in a bored voice. “As long as everyone holds to their side of the bargain that was made, there’s no reason we can’t all get along, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I just think that she—”

Gold smacked his hand down on the counter with a resounding crack, making Zelena jump, her pale blue eyes wide with shock.

“You will hold to the Covenant, Ms Mills,” he said, his tone still menacing. “Unless you want me to demonstrate why your forebears were so eager to agree in the first place. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Mr Gold.”

She was breathing heavily, partly fear and partly, he was aware, arousal. It was repellent, and almost made him want to reach across the counter and tear her throat out. He pushed the urge back down, deep into the pit of his belly, smothering it.

“Excellent,” he said softly. “Now get out of my shop. You have nothing further that I want.”

She opened her mouth as though she was about to say something, then swallowed hard, nodding, and walked swiftly to the door. He watched her go, his mouth set in a grim line. The Covenant had held for decades. Zelena was just unstable enough not to care if it was broken. The arrival of Belle and her friends had changed something within the town, for good or ill, and threatened to shatter the relative peace he had managed to find. Pushing back from the counter, he headed for the back room, his mouth twisted in a grimace. He had made his decision and was determined to stick with it, but it didn’t make him feel any better.

#fic: closing the circle #rumbelle fic #rumbelle #my fic

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