#*cough cough* EMILE

[puzzlegames]

want a cig, kiddo?

#limbus company #ryoshu lcb #sinclair lcb #emil Sinclair lcb #project moon #lcb #i think the joke is better without the last panels maybe. but i rlly needed her to use one of her silly acronyms. i rlly needed to. #sinclair accepts the cigar and he coughs and hacks and tears up but he smokes it till the end while they just stand there in silence #then they go back to their normal 👍 #mine

[fallenlightsif]

Florian & Emil & Julian - Aftermath

A shared commission I posted over on Patreon. Here’s a snippet of it, and you can read the full thing over on Patreon with the Archmage tier and up!

Your fingers glow with a golden light as you kneel at his side, taking his hand in yours. The burn disappears before your eyes, and you see some of the tension on Julian’s face ease. He reaches forward, brushing a strand of damp hair from your eyes.

“Thanks,” He gives you a small grin, crooked and mischievous, but still more genuine than most people have seen from him.

When you stand again, you see Florian watching you with warm eyes, “Ari would be proud.”

“Ari was about to bludgeon me to death earlier when I almost stepped on the damn relic we were looking for,” You roll your eyes.

The king just shrugs, “She has her moments.”

“I’d remember you aren’t her favorite right now either,” Julian points out, “You and Emil were supposed to stay in Kesdon. Who’s even running the kingdom right now? You both burst in to save the day, when it didn’t even need saving mind you, and Ebia’s throne is vacant as a result.”

“Not vacant,” Florian shifts, glancing away, “Ezrah has things under control.”

Your eyes damn near fall out out of your head they get so wide, “Ezrah? My brother? That Ezrah?”

“He’s…capable.” Florian coughs into his fist, “And Orion is there!”

Julian sags a little, looking entirely hopeless, “Please do not let the Queen of Leydon know we’re letting her runaway general sit the throne in your absense. She might join the battle to have your head personally for the insult.”

“I would have let Rowan, if we’re being entirely honest, but Emil tossed that idea.” Florian pouts slightly.

“I don’t trust them around the council,” Emil says blithely, “I fear we might return to them all slaughtered if we leave Rowan anywhere near a seat of power in our absence.”

“That was my hope,” The king quips in response.

Julian snorts, shoulders shaking from the force of his laughter. Emil gives them both a disapproving look.

#fallenlightsif #julian fortier #e renaud #florian vasil

[turbulentscrawl]

Survivor's Health HCs

This a just something I made just musing over hcs about some of the survivor’s poor physical wellness. Also, this is just survivors, as most of the hunters are technically undead.

Norton

He’s physically fit and has put on a lot of weight since coming to the manor, but he’s still recovering from various vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Years of a poor-man’s diet will do that. The worst of his condition, however, is the black lung from his time in the mines. He frequently has trouble breathing, wheezes and coughs a lot, and is prone to bouts of dizziness. The manor’s healing rules prevents his black lung from progressing, but it’s also not getting any better. Additionally, his sleep patterns are erratic due to nightmares and mood swings.

Luca

He’s malnourished, both from his miserable time in prison and an unfortunate habit of forgetting to eat. Additionally, the electrical accident caused extensive damage to his nervous system, which has caused a myriad of issues, including memory problems, frequent migraines, a poor immune system, and an overall weak constitution.

Emil

He also has extensive nervous system damage from the shock therapy he received in the asylum, as well as several other issues resulting from the drugs he was constantly given. He suffers from memory loss, brittle bones, low blood pressure, and (despite Ada’s best efforts) a lot of chronic pain. He also suffers from night terrors and occasionally will be up for days on end.

Vera

She’s picked up several bad habits after learning the truth about her sister, which come-and-go sporadically. She suffers from nightmares and sometimes doesn’t sleep for days, occasionally feels nauseous and refuses food, and will even drink herself into a stupor when her mood is bad enough. She suffers from digestive issues because of these, along with her stress levels, and sometimes can’t keep food down when she does eat. Her throat bothers her a lot from frequent exposure to stomach acid, and her teeth have been in better shape.

Joker

He’s a grazer, as far as eating goes, and doesn’t tend to get all his vitamins and minerals as a result. His leg deformity was partially amputated to allow for his prosthetic, but he didn’t receive all the proper care after the surgery. He suffers from a lot of phantom pains in that leg now.

Anne

She isolates herself a lot, and tends to miss meals as a result. Because of this, she’s underweight. She also suffers from scoliosis and frequent back pain as a result of hunching over her toys for long hours.

Healthiest Survivors: William, Ganji, Alice, Martha, Eli

#idv x reader #identity v #multiple idv characters #turbulentscrawl

[dark-and-kinky-hetalia-scenarios]

1p Denmark/Mathias Køhler

Dress up (him as a Viking)

His partner wearing lingerie

Bathtub sex

Mild Bondage

Getting his back scratched up by your nails

1p Finland/Tino Väinämöinen

Being praised

Receiving pegging

Cute dress up on partner

Cute bondage

Being submissive/bottoming

Threesomes with a few select countries as the third participant

1p Iceland/Emil Steilsson

Omorashi

Grinding

Dress up sex (with you as a snow white fox human, aka ears and tails that are white)

Also bathtub sex, but bubble bath mostly

Innocent partner

White lingerie, yeah there's a thing for stuff that's white like snow, probably because of the insane amount of snow in his country at times

Biting/marking

1p Norway/Lukas Thomassen

Giving praise

Sensation

Wearing tradional clothing during sex

Has a thing for magical humanoid beings (cough cough like an elven princess)

He has a thing for a mischievous partner, he won't admit that of course, but he's mischievous in secret so having someone who matches that energy is fun. Fun random fact, when in poly relationship he'd prefer a mischievous partner and an intelligent partner who is somewhat innocent, so he gets a good mix of fun

1p Sweden/Berwald Oxenstierna

Topping

Willing to share but only with Finland

Giving double penetration

Having a partner small than him

#hetalia #hetalia headcanons #lemon #aph hetalia #1p Denmark #1p Finland #1p iceland #1p Norway #1p Sweden #aph Denmark #aph finland #aph iceland #aph norway #aph Sweden #aph nordics #1p Nordics #hetalia nordics #Nordics headcanons #Hetalia lemon #hetalia smut

[sukipershipper]

I love these three ding dongs so much. 

I imagine that before the Green Flu Virus (spoopy) they were all pretty good mates. Not in the best circumstances lifestyle wise (Hunter especially) but they found solace in each other both before and after the infection. 

DESC BELOW THE CUT

Hunter is the youngest of the three. He was a college drop-out around the time the flu started. He was looking after his little sister when he got sick, and, of course, he couldn't hold back on his instincts once they kicked in. Despite his vicious and sometimes almost maniac state, this man does struggle on the inside. He was a loner, and could not maintain strong relationships to save his life, except for Smoker and Boomer (Emile and Murphy)

Emile is an odd case. He was never struggling for money or living, he was pretty comfortable with his life. He was hella sleazy though, and no one really knew where he stood in terms of moral high ground. He was also, as you can imagine, a heavy smoker, and this came back to bite him in the ass pretty hard come the flu. Constant coughing and letting up nauseous green smoke, and yet somehow, this asshole still wants to smoke. At least his friends keep him in check when he needs to be. 

Murphy is arguably the nicer of the three, with some brains but unfortunately, super fragile. He used to be a librarian and had an impressive amount of linguistic skill and vast amounts of knowledge. He was also a single dad looking after his two kids, a son and a daughter. But of course, once the flu hit he became bed-ridden and his form had bloated up significantly due to the unique form of his virus, which led to his kids untimely demise at his hands. He is quite a reserved man now, quiet but can be extremely effective in ambushes when used correctly. 

#left 4 dead #l4d #l4d hunter #l4d smoker #l4d boomer

[narrans]

A Tall and Small Collection | S2.44 | & Everyone Needs A Little Hero :: Crossover :: True Colors Revealed pt. 3

It was such a strange sensation. Usually, a human’s room felt immense. The furniture towered above and the wall on the opposite end of the room felt like an impossible distance to cross without being seen. Rooms were usually quiet and rarely were two or three Borrowers in a room at once.

Not now.

Everyone was here. Everyone was out in the open because there wasn’t enough furniture to hide under. The vastness of the room felt lost to how many Borrowers were there. The silence that would usually mask their movements was filled with their worried whispers.

So much had happened all at once, and every mind was reeling with possibilities.

When would the mist dissipate?

Should they leave? Migrate to somewhere new?

Should they all stay together? Or was it time to say good-bye to long term friends and family?

What were they going to do next?

The Rafters family went from family to family to make sure everyone was recovering well. Though some were still coughing and wheezing, the whole community was relieved to hear that everyone had managed to make it out of the walls.

Still, it was Hero who led the charge in reassuring everyone – especially when it came to their questions about the human of the house. Hero made sure that everyone knew that Ashlynn was not going to bother them and that she was honest and kind. He said if they asked, she wouldn’t come into the room.

Knowing a human was just on the other side of the door was a terror everyone was uncomfortable with, but there was no alternative. Many of them had no previsions or supplies, not even a weapon on their hip.

Truly, this was their worst nightmare.

Every few minutes, they would hear Ashlynn walking around or a creak of the floorboards in the apartment above, which would instantly silence the community. They would stay quiet before resuming their hushed whispers, discussing what they should do next.

Then, after a few tense hours, Rey, Soren, Dorian, and even little Mayzie slipped under the door with blankets and a few limited supplies. Mostly, they came to take stock to see what everyone needed.

At first, some of the Borrowers shied away from the family of four who had made their home with Ashlynn. They knew about Hero Rafters interaction with Ashlynn, but the concept of these Borrowers living peacefully with a human seemed unthinkable.

It wasn’t until Soren and his brothers had told their story about meeting Ashlynn and how long they had known her that it began to sink into the Borrower community.

Ashlynn was a friend, and she had been a friend for many years.

The young girl about Rey’s age who was trapped in Austin’s fan stared at Rey, eyes wide, as he told the story to them. The children were thankfully asleep, but Emile, his wife, Kit, Lian, and the teenage Borrower were all fixated on Rey’s story. None of them were able to tear their eyes away from the young teen as he finished explaining his past for the umpteenth time.

“So,” said Kit. “She pulled you out of the trash and brought you back? All without hurting you?” Rey nodded and tugged a grin onto his face. He didn’t mind explaining his past, but holy smokes it was taking a long time. He wanted a way to do it all at once, but that would involve Ashlynn’s assistance, and these Borrowers were obviously not ready for it.

“That’s right,” Rey stated. “Ashlynn has always been very careful around us. It’s one of the reasons Soren trusted her to save me and why he felt comfortable letting us stay there with her while we all recovered. Remember, we could have left at any point. Ashlynn made sure we knew that. She even kept our beds on the ground under her bedframe, that one right over there, so we could be hidden.

“Ashlynn is our friend, and I swear she won’t do anything to hurt us. She’s doing everything she can right now to make sure we’re okay and that you’ll all have what you need before the end of the night,” said Rey.

“H-h-how c-can you t-trust her? Af-after w-w-what you’ve seen h-hu-mans are capable of?” asked Emile, which earned a nod from Lian. “H-how do you know she… she w-won’t turn on you?”

“It’s because I’ve known her for so long. If she was going to keep us as pets or try to hurt us in any capacity, she wouldn’t have waited eight years to do so. She would’ve done it when we were all helpless,” said Rey firmly. “Look, I get where you’re coming from and I’m not asking for you to blindly trust her. I’m asking for you to take a second and give Ashlynn a chance. I know it feels like an impossible ask, especially after what you all went through, but I promise she’ll protect you.”

The group, and the nearby groups who were nearby pretending to not listen, all quieted and looked to one another before looking back to Rey.

“It’s a big ask, Rey,” said Lian, his eyes shadowed with memories and torment. “If we all pull out of this okay and Austin pays for what he’s done to us, she’ll be okay to me.”

Rey nodded, features hardening.

“Oh, he’ll pay. I don’t know how yet, but he will,” stated the teenage Borrower. “Until then, is there anything I can get you to make you comfortable?”

Rey finished taking notes on what the others needed and wanted before standing and promising he would be back with everything they asked for. Just before he turned to leave, the young teenage girl reached up and caught Rey’s hand, clasping it tightly and looking up into his pale blue eyes.

“Larkspur,” she said softly. Rey felt his head tilt to the side in confusion.

“What now? Is that something you need?” he asked. The girl glanced away as she held onto Rey’s hand while her other hand reached up and clasped the neckline of her frayed shirt.

“My… name. You said that you wanted it if we made it out,” stated the girl. That was right! Rey did want to know her name after hearing her say something about leaving her behind because she would be a burden. Rey felt a pang in his heart as he crouched, still clutching Larkspur’s hand, and reached over and tenderly coaxed her to look at him again.

“I did want to know it, and it’s very pretty. Thank you, Larkspur,” smiled Rey. The girl’s eyes widened, and her cheeks were suddenly flushed as she locked eyes with Rey. Something made the young teens insides flip, but he couldn’t think about that now.

He smiled again, stood, and headed back toward the main door, promising he would be back soon.

~~~^*^*^~~~

This was insane. This whole thing was crazy. Ashlynn tried to work in the kitchen as quickly and as quietly as she could, but the slightest sound made her wince. The clatter of a spoon against the counter. The floor squeaking right where the tile met the wood. The fridge door sealing shut.

Every minute sound felt amplified beyond the norm, all because of Ashlynn’s house guests.

She wasn’t sure what it looked like in the other room, but her imagination filled her bedroom with Borrowers lined from wall to wall, huddled under furniture and trying to keep quiet.

The fear, even from here, was tangible. It was a terrible set of circumstances, and Ashlynn had taken the plunge right in the middle of it. From what Rey had described, Austin had spread some kind of knock out gas in the main elevator shaft and the walls. She was immensely grateful she had closed the vents to her room before everything started happening.

Now, everyone was exposed – out in the open – in her room, obviously hanging onto a single threat of trust that they gave her.

Ashlynn needed to make the most of it.

She needed to find some way to help calm them all down, and she knew just the Borrowers to talk to.

When Rey, Dorian, and Soren came back with their list of various supplies, she sprung into action. A lot of these things were simple enough to obtain, and most were meant to provide protection. Thumb tacks. Safety pins. Thread. Paper clips. Cloth fragments. Cotton balls.

Most importantly – food and water.

So, that’s what Ashlynn worked on.

With the supplies she had, she started making some very simple vegetable and noodle soup with little fragments of chicken. She took the time to make sure everything was mulched up into bite-sized pieces. She also broke up cracker fragments and put them into a bowl to accompany the nutrient rich broth.

While she worked, the boys brought back fragments of aluminum foil for everyone to make their own bowls and utensils. There were no complaints from the families as they accepted generous portions of the foil from Soren and his brothers.

When it came time to distribute the food, Ashlynn placed portions into a few larger bowls and cups and, with permission and plenty of warning, opened the door with the tiniest of cracks and retreated back to the kitchen so Soren, his brothers, and the Rafters could distribute the supplies.

Like an assembly line, everyone tiptoed toward the door and accepted the food and supplies without issue.

As everyone went through the line, the Rafters took note of who was and was not there.

By some miracle, everyone had managed to make it out of the walls. From old to young and those living near and far in the building, everyone had managed to make it out safely. Still, it didn’t stop the fact that evidence of their entire community was still in the walls.

“What matters is that we all managed to make it out alive,” said Soren as he walked back with Casper after dragging some soft washcloths under the bed to serve as bedrolls for a few of the younger families. Casper nodded heavily, but it was apparent to Soren that the middle-aged father did not quite believe him.

Soren understood the feeling. He knew the other families’ terror of having their whole world exposed because he had gone through it once before when he met Ashlynn. He remembered clear as day how terrifying it was to surrender his security and the safety of his family to someone he barely knew or trusted. That feeling of helplessness in the room now was tangible, and he wished he could do something to help.

What was different now was that he knew Ashlynn was on his side.

Soren’s thoughts came to a screeching halt when Casper laid a hand on his shoulder, clasping it firmly. Soren felt the weight of the world in Casper’s hand as he tightened his grip ever so slightly. The middle-aged Borrower’s tired eyes latched onto Soren’s gaze before he spoke.

“Soren, do… you think Ashlynn would do us one last favor?” asked Casper. Soren, taken a back, simply nodded.

“I’m sure she would. What is it?” Soren asked, trying to smile reassuringly to help the father of five.

“No, I… I’ll…” Casper swallowed dryly as he obviously attempted to summon the words. Thankfully, they weren’t needed. Soren knew that Casper wanted to do this, and so he merely nodded and gestured for Casper to follow him out of the room.

Soren could feel everyone’s eyes on him and Casper as they walked out of the room and into the living area toward the kitchen where Soren immediately noticed Ashlynn, who was sitting on the ground with her head resting against the lower cabinets.

Casper’s step faltered momentarily as he spotted her. Though this wasn’t the first time he would have been seen by her, it was still an unnerving experience. Soren waited for Casper to compose himself before both of them walked up toward her.

Ashlynn, deciding that sitting on the floor in the kitchen would possibly be the best at keeping the Borrower community at ease, was resting her eyes for a few minutes and trying to anticipate what the room full of five-inch-tall refugees would need when she heard Soren calling her name.

She opened her eyes slowly and glanced down, expecting only him, and held stock still when she saw Casper Rafters. He looked just as nervous as she felt, but she still decided to break the ice first to help make things easier for him.

“Mr. Rafters,” she said quietly. “Everything okay?” The Borrower cleared his throat before nodding.

“Yes and no,” he stated stiffly. “The good news is that everyone is present and accounted for, and I cannot begin to think you enough.” Casper shuffled his feet as he puffed out his chest a little in hopes to portray confidence. “Unfortunately, there is the other issue of what we left behind. If anyone goes into that elevator shaft, they’ll see the hub and all of our supply tables. They’ll see some of our homes, doors and furniture, which is enough evidence for some.”

Ashlynn nodded as she took in the information. Soren, as he listened, folded his arms and glanced from Casper to Ashlynn, eyes widening as he realized what Casper wanted Ashlynn to do.

“You want her to go into the elevator shaft and hide the evidence?” asked Soren. Casper winced, Soren having guessed his favor, and looked up into Ashlynn’s blue-gray eyes. Soren’s insides squirmed as he listened to Casper clear his throat nervously once again and began speaking.

“Ashlynn, would… no – could I ask this favor of you? I may not have earned it, but this isn’t just me asking. I’m asking on behalf of everyone here. All of Borrower kind is risking exposure, and the only thing that stands in between the safety of our community and the destruction of our kind is what is left,” said Casper. “Whatever you want from me, you may have it. Just… please….”

Soren had heard enough. If that gas was as dangerous as they thought, Ashlynn had no business going in there.

“Casper, Ashlynn isn’t allowed in the elevator shaft, and that gas is st-”

“I’ll do it,” said Ashlynn, interrupting Soren. Soren whipped around to look up at Ashlynn, catching her blue-gray eyes as she looked determinedly at Casper. “I’ll do it. I’ll grab what I can and make sure there’s nothing too obvious.”

“Ashlynn,” said Soren firmly. Was he hearing her correctly? His arms slackened at his sides in disbelief. “It’s dangerous.”

“I know, but I’ll be careful,” said Ashlynn as she looked down into Soren’s hazel eyes. “We don’t have time to debate it either. If Austin is waiting for the gas to dissipate or is getting ready to go into the walls, we need to beat him to the punch. Casper is right. We have to act now if we want to protect everyone from him.”

Soren placed his hands on his hips and took a few steps away, turning his back to her. He didn’t know exactly what the gas did, and there was no time to get anyone else to spot Ashlynn in case she ran into trouble.

His mind was made up.

“Then I’m coming with you,” stated Soren as he turned and faced both Ashlynn and Casper. Ashlynn opened her mouth to protest, but Soren beat her to the punch. “If you run into danger, you need someone watching your back. Plus, I can get further into the walls to get rid of any signs we were there.”

Ashlynn looked at Soren, smiling as she realized there would be no talking him out of his decision.

“Alright. Let’s get some rags to wrap over our faces and get in there,” stated Ashlynn.

“Thank you, Ashlynn,” said Casper. “Truly. I… I can’t say it enough.”

“Just make sure everyone is alright, and don’t let them do anything rash. Leaving now is dangerous, and it will be playing into Austin’s hands,” reminded Ashlynn.

“I can do this much. Do you… I mean… what is the plan for taking care of him?” asked Casper. Ashlynn sighed heavily, biting her lower lip as she thought.

“I have a few ideas but let me worry about him later. Now, we have bigger issues. May I stand?” stated Ashlynn. With a nod from Casper, she pulled her legs in and carefully stood at her full height. Her full height was vertigo inducing, and Casper staggered back out of pure instinct before stepping to the side of the wall and letting Ashlynn pick up Soren.

Together, they slipped into the bathroom and began constructing makeshift facial covers to help filter out whatever the gas was.

Would it be enough?

They were about to find out.

~~~^*^*^~~~

With a backpack affixed to her shoulders and Soren secure in her pocket, Ashlynn left the apartment and made a bee line to the elevator shaft. Her hand instinctually rested on her pocket as she stepped inside the elevator and click the bottom floor button. She knew there was an access shaft on the top floor, and that was her ticket in.

She stepped out of the elevator and walked across the roof and up to the maintenance door. She knew it would be locked, but she had just the trick for that. She glanced around quickly and saw no one on the roof by the green house either.

Perfect.

“Soren, need a lock undone. Ready?” she asked under her breath as she crouched and pretended to tie her shoe. Her pocket shifted and, with a quick slide of hand, Soren was on the ground sliding under the door.

The room was completely dark, but that didn’t deter Soren. He spun his hook and let it fly into the air toward the spot where he knew the handle was. It was precarious work, but after he climbed the line, Soren strained against the lock and finally managed to get it undone, nearly falling off of the edge of the handle as he balanced.

He slid down the line and back under the door, giving Ashlynn access to the maintenance room.

Just like that, Ashlynn and Soren were inside the maintenance room repeating the same process to get into the elevator maintenance shaft.

It took some finagling, but the two of them made it into the shaft and loosened one of the panels so Soren could slip down on his line and press the button to take them up. The gears roared as they rode the elevator down.

Ashlynn as trembling hard, and Soren knew it. Being so close to all of these gears without the appropriate gear was dangerous, even deadly. Still, there she was.

How did he get so lucky to have someone like her?

“Get your mask ready,” said Ashlynn as the elevator came to a halt. She thankfully braced herself and was ready for the full stop. As Ashlynn pulled the mask over her nose and mouth, she took one last clean breath before holding it as long as she could.

Soren did the same.

Sure enough, as they glanced around, there was a faint bit of what looked like dust or powder on the interior of the shaft. The two of them waisted no time in reaching over into one of the small gaps and pulling out what looked like a few matchbook ladders and storage containers.

Ashlynn was careful to not leave fingerprints as she reached into the narrow passage and pulled out a string of Christmas lights. Once done, she lowered Soren once again into the elevator and had him press the next button.

As they descended level to level, Ashlynn felt her hands starting to shake. Was this because of nerves? Or was it from what still lingered in the air?

They needed to finish – quickly.

The next few levels were clear, but it was when they made it to the central hub that the two of them kicked their efforts into high gear. Soren stepped off of Ashlynn’s hand and darted down the different hallways, tearing doors off of their fragile rubber band hinges and dragging out what he could as Ashlynn shoveled everything into her backpack.

The tremor in Ashlynn’s hands remained, but did not increase, which was a good sign for her. Despite her heart pounding and her nervous breaths, she was feeling alright for the most part. Her nerves were trying, and failing, to get the better of her.

Taking a breath and pulling the last of the Christmas lights into her bag, Ashlynn glanced around and felt pleased enough with her work that no one would question some of the random odds and ends that were further back in the walls. She glanced down and saw the faint glow of Soren’s hip lamp just out of reach.

He’s probably finishing up getting some odds and ends thought Ashlynn.

“Soren?” called Ashlynn through her muffling face cover. “Soren? We need to get out of here.”

No response.

Ashlynn glanced down and saw the vast darkness beneath her. It was a miracle no one was using the elevators at the moment. They were all probably at work.

“Soren?” Ashlynn called again.

Still no response.

Ashlynn’s stomach dropped as her heart flipped in place.

Why wasn’t he responding?

What Ashlynn didn’t know, what she couldn’t have known, was that Soren’s heart was pounding faster and faster in his chest. It had become increasingly hard to breathe even though he was being careful with his facial covering.

It started as a small tremor, which Soren attributed to nerves. What they were doing was extremely dangerous, especially for Ashlynn considering that she didn’t have any security lines like he did, and it made him nervous. Then, his chest started to feel tight. He thought it might have been the anxiety inducing situation, but he was wrong.

Now, with his body shaking violently, he realized with horror that the effects of the gas were influencing him. It was a compounding effect; and now that he realized it, his muscles were stiffening and moving was becoming incredibly painful. He tried jogging back quickly, but his muscles seized suddenly and brought him to his knees.

How?

Why?

Was Ashlynn experiencing the same thing?

He needed to get back to her.

“Soren?” Ashlynn called again. Soren, crawling on all fours, forced himself closer to the entrance. The pain was increasing. Like a rising tide, it was dragging him under with every second that passed. His vision swirled while his heart palpitated.

The edge of the wall was right there.

He needed to make it.

“A-ash…” Soren choked out as the edges of his vision grew dark. He collapsed, body curling in on itself involuntarily. He couldn’t even will himself to move.

Then, he heard it.

Ashlynn.

“Soren!” Soren suddenly felt weightless as he felt a pressure all around his body. It had to be Ashlynn saying his name. Trembling violently, Soren forced his eyes open as he looked into her panicking blue-gray eyes.

Confusion washed over him.

She seemed fine. Shaken, but fine.

“Soren, I’m getting us out of here. Hang on,” said Ashlynn as she held him close to her chest, slipped through one of the panels on top of the elevator, and landed harshly in the main car.

Ashlynn pressed the elevator button repeatedly, her whole body shaking.

Surely the gas was gone, right? She didn’t feel any different.

Ashlynn pulled her mask off of her face and carefully pulled down Soren’s facial covering.

Maybe it’s trapping the stuff in? Maybe he touched something and got a higher dose?

When she reached her floor, Ashlynn hurriedly cupped Soren to her chest, not daring to let him go, and rushed into her apartment and headed straight for the bathroom after locking the door behind her.

She spotted the clock nearby and saw she had been gone for an hour.

Crazy how much time had passed.

Ashlynn hurriedly pealed off Soren’s facial cover completely off of him and clasped him in her hands. He was shaking from head to toe and his color was pale.

“Soren? Can you hear me? What happened? Did you see something or touch something else in there?” asked Ashlynn. She saw her hands had a faint coating of that dust like powder on them. It was probably a bad idea, but she had to know. Setting Soren down on the sink counter, she kneeled, pressed her hand to her face, and breathed as deeply as she could.

Nothing.

There was a bit of a sweet smell to the powder, but nothing changed.

She did it again and again, but nothing happened.

Then, a thought occurred.

Was this stuff specifically created to target Borrowers?

Would Ashlynn need to huff a massive amount of this stuff for it to have an affect on her?

She didn’t want to know. What she did want to know was if Soren was going to be okay.

Doing the only thing she knew to do, she turned on the hot water and gingerly held Soren under the current, hopefully washing away the powder from his clothes and keeping him warm.

“Ashlynn? What happened?” Ashlynn heard Rey by the bathroom door.

“Casper said you and Soren went into the walls. Is everything okay?” Dorian’s voice was not far behind. Ashlynn glanced around to see Dorian and Rey jogging toward her.

“Be careful,” she warned, which halted the boys in their tracks. “There’s something wrong. I think the powder from the gas is toxic; at least, it’s affecting Soren.” Ashlynn felt her throat constrict as she brushed her finger gently over Soren’s body.

He was still trembling, but his breathing was slowly becoming more regularly.

“What? Is he okay?” demanded Dorian as he and Rey sprinted forward. Carefully, Ashlynn transferred Soren to one hand as she reached down and offered a wet hand to Dorian and Rey, who waisted no time in clambering on so they could see their brother.

“I think he’s going to be okay. He might’ve inhaled a lot of this stuff, which is weird since I don’t feel anything. It either affects humans and Borrowers differently or he ran into a chamber of that gas and got a big dose of it that I didn’t get.”

They spotted Soren under the water, taking in his pale features and trembling limbs.

“That sicko,” growled Rey. “Ashlynn, do you still have any of that powder?”

“What on earth are you thinking?” Dorian demanded.

“Only one way to test it,” stated Rey. The teen spotted the edge of Ashlynn’s clothing and the remanence of powder on her sleeves. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and pressed his face to the cloth, taking in a big whiff.

“Rey!”

Ashlynn couldn’t move away fast enough. She barely had enough time to move her hand under Rey before he collapsed to his knees and began hacking and gagging, clutching his hand to his chest. Thankfully, his hacking fit only lasted ten or so seconds, but it was enough to confirm Ashlynn’s theory.

“I’m okay. I’m okay,” wheezed Rey. “Yeah, that was rough. Do you not smell that?”

“No, not really. It almost smells sweet. But, for Heaven’s sake! Rey! What were you thinking?” demanded Ashlynn as she held onto the reckless teen. Rey wheezed again and cleared his throat.

“Fastest way to test the theory,” muttered Rey. “And it seems like you were right. You said you’re not feeling this stuff? I felt it immediately. It’s got to be Borrower specific. I’ll bet that psycho made this stuff.” Dorian folded his arms across his chest and nodded solemnly.

“Makes sense. Austin had Borrowers in captivity, so he would have had the perfect test subjects. Also, with this whole gas thing, no one in the apartments would feel the effects. It would only get the Borrowers. That’s twisted stuff,” mumbled Dorian as he stared at his brother. “Ashlynn, I need a lift down. I’m going to get Soren a change of clothes. You should do the same. Rey, get him out of that wet outfit when Ashlynn’s done.”

Ashlynn lowered Dorian to the ground as Rey helped get Soren out of his wet clothes. Ashlynn peeled off some of her clothes, leaving her in her sports bra and her spandex, while Rey worked. When Dorian returned, Casper came with him.

“Ashlynn? I just heard. Is Soren alright?” Casper called, a fatherly concern audible in his voice.

“I think so,” she muttered, instinctually lowering her hand and letting Dorian on to bring him up onto the counter. She was about to move when she felt a second set of feet press against the pads of her fingers. Ashlynn glanced down and, to her surprise, saw Casper standing firmly beside Dorian.

Electing not to question him, Ashlynn raised her hand back to the sink counter, but before the boys could begin redressing Soren, he stirred.

“Soren!” breathed Ashlynn in pure relief. She pressed her hand against his back as Soren tried to sit upright. “How do you feel?”

“Rough, but getting better,” Soren groaned. He looked up into Ashlynn’s face, mustering a concerned smile. “Are you alright?” Tears in her eyes, Ashlynn nodded and, losing control, leaned forward and pressed her lips to his bare chest. Casper and Soren’s brothers all looked away bashfully as Ashlynn pulled away, tears glistening in her eyes.

“I’m fine,” she muttered. “Sorry. I just got so scared when you collapsed like that.”

“Yeah,” Soren breathed, pulling a half of a grin onto his face. “Me too. Casper, we did what we could. We can only hope it’s enough.”

“Thank goodness,” stated Casper as he knelt down and held out his hand to Soren. “You have my eternal thanks, Soren. You’ve saved us – both of you have saved us.”

Ashlynn was about to respond when she heard something that made a shiver run through all of their spines.

A knock at the door.

All eyes turned to the front door where the knock came from. It was a bone chilling sound, especially given recent events. Ashlynn was about to dismiss the noise when she and the Borrowers on the bathroom counter heard someone call out.

“Hello? Pest Control and Extermination. I’m here to ask a couple questions. Is the occupant Ashlynn Maeson home?”

Ashlynn looked around wildly to the Borrowers, who had all subtly shifted themselves to hide slightly behind her. Ashlynn wanted to just ignore the door, but Rey suddenly spoke up.

“Ashlynn, you need to answer the door,” instructed the inventive Borrower teen. All eyes were on him suddenly.

“What? Rey, what are you…”

“Ashlynn, maybe you can get some information. Maybe you can tell him to leave us alone. He also knows your name,” said Rey. There was another knock at the door.

“Hello? Pest Control and Extermination. Is anyone home? We might have a serious infestation here. I just need to ask a few questions.”

“Rey, he could’ve just gotten that from the main office. He might not remember me,” Ashlynn hissed.

“Please, Ashlynn. Just… try? He might just wait out there. You can get him to go away! At the very least, you can get some information out of him. Hit record on your phone and we can edit out anything proving what a psycho he is!” pleaded Rey. Ashlynn glanced to Soren and Dorian before looing back into Rey’s pale blue eyes.

She couldn’t say no – not to him.

“Okay. Get into the bedroom and tell everyone to be quiet,” instructed Ashlynn as she held out her hands. Everyone, including Casper, stepped on and let Ashlynn carry them to the entrance of the bedroom door. Once they were safely inside, Ashlynn braced herself and waited another few seconds before pulling out her phone, hitting record, and slipping it into her pocket as she pulled a jacket over her body.

The moment she opened the door, she recognized the boy immediately. Sure, years had passed, but he had that same devious look in his eyes and that gleam in his smile that was undeniable.

Austin.

He was wearing some kind of gray and white uniform with a ball cap and everything. It was some kind of jumpsuit that, oddly enough, made him look like some kind of escapee from an old-fashioned prison. Austin couldn’t have been more than eighteen or nineteen years old, which made this whole thing so much worse. He was old enough when he was a child to know not to hurt another living being, and he was certainly old enough now to know that what he was doing was wrong.

His eyes gleamed as he looked into Ashlynn’s blue-gray eyes, which sent a shiver down her spine. Though the rest of the world might not have known it, Ashlynn suspected she was looking into the eyes of a true psychopath.

“Hello Miss Maeson. My name is Austin, with Pest Control and Extermination. I got a call about a potential infestation and was wondering if I could ask you some questions about whether or not you’ve seen anything out of the ord… Huh… Do I…” Austin’s glossy eyes narrowed as he looked into Ashlynn’s face. “Do I know you?”

Ashlynn, taking a breath in hopes to calm herself down, forced a smile and played into her part. She could only hope she could be convincing.

“Actually, I think so. You used to live in Region’s Park, right?” asked Ashlynn. Suddenly, Austin’s eyes lit up with recognition and a knowing smile curled his lips upwards. The look was chilling.

“That’s right. Ashlynn. You… you watched me a few times when I was much younger, right?” asked Austin. Ashlynn forced a nod and smiled.

“Yes, that’s right, and I see you’ve taken up a profession and everything. The time certainly has flown by,” said Ashlynn.

“It really has. Um… well… I don’t want to take up too much of your time. Do you think I could come in for a few minutes and ask you some questions. I got a call about a potential infestation, and I just need to have a quick look around,” stated Austin.

Ashlynn was afraid of this. She didn’t want to let Austin in. She knew he would see the closed bedroom door and fling it wide open to reveal the whole Borrower community she worked so hard to save.

Instead, she raised her voice a little louder than normal and hoped with every fiber of her being the others would hear.

“Come in? Why? Why do you want to come into my apartment? And did you say infestation? And infestation of what?” said Ashlynn. There was just a moment when Austin’s eyes flared, making Ashlynn’s insides churn uneasily. Did Austin already guess what she was doing?

“Oh, just a mixture of things,” said Austin quietly. “People have noticed different things and signs. Really, it is just a precaution. So? May I enter?”

“That… didn’t really answer the question,” Ashlynn stated, trying to laugh it off. “What? Is it mice? Termites? Cockroaches?”

Then, she saw it. A devious smile curled onto Austin’s face and an undeniable, greedy glow filled his dead, shark-like eyes.

“I think you and I both know the answer to that question,” grinned Austin. Ashlynn’s heart flipped and she was sure her nerves were visible. She hoped to play it off; but she suspected it was already too late.

“I… really don’t know what you’re talking about, and if you can’t give me any more information, I’m afraid I’ll have to decline without a formal request from the apartment and sufficient time to secure my personal belongings and vacate the premises. It’s part of the rules here in the Starlight Apartments that residents must be notified and given 24-hours to prepare,” stated Ashlynn.

Thank goodness she had to get all of that Home Owners Association reading training for work. It gave her all of the skills she needed to comb through her own contract.

Sadly, it seemed to be the nail in the coffin for her keeping a low profile.

“So… you did have something to do with it,” muttered Austin. “What? Are you in cahoots with them?”

Ashlynn swallowed dryly.

“Them? The supposed mice infestation?” she asked, trying to sound joking and lighten the tone of her voice.

“No… them.” The word was a haunting one, and not something she was eager to expand on. Sadly, Austin continued. “You know what I’m talking about. The little people. You took one of them from me when I was a child. The first one I encountered actually. You shuffled it away before I really realized what it was.”

It was now a staring contest, an ultimate game of chicken where neither party could swerve or reveal their hand to the other. Ashlynn clenched her fist from behind the door, her features hardening involuntarily.

The fact that he could be so cavalier about injuring someone the way he did and ultimately killing him made her sick to her stomach. She prayed Rey and Dorian were not here to listen to any of this.

How could she play this now? He addressed it. He talked about Borrowers, but not by name. This was the evidence she needed to get that Rey was talking about.

It was now or never.

“Austin, think about what you’re doing,” said Ashlynn softly.

“No, think about what you’re doing, Ashlynn. No offence, but this is a golden opportunity. I have investors who are interested in samples and subjects. Photos and videos alone aren’t going to be enough to convince them… no… the world about them,” stated Austin.

So… he only had photos and videos?

Good…

She could work with this.

Ashlynn needed to discredit him. She needed it on audio. She needed to make it sound like Austin was out of his mind.

“Austin, you’re better than this. Little people? Come on. There’s no such thing,” said Ashlynn.

“No!” growled Austin, daring to take a step forward toward the slightly ajar apartment door. “There is – and you know it. Work with me here, Ashlynn. This is the investment opportunity of a lifetime. Think about the money you could get from selling one of these miniature twerps as toys and pets. They’re parasites. They live and feed off of us. Why not make a buck in the process? It’s a better life than scrounging for scraps. They’re better off as pets.”

Ashlynn could have punched him straight in the nose, slapping him silly until her hands fell off, but she instead took a breath and kept her features hardened.

“And how do you plan on catching these imaginary ‘little people’?” asked Ashlynn, making sure to set him up for the next line of questioning.

“They’re not imaginary! And you know it,” growled Austin. “And I have my ways. My investors let me experiment with some… chemicals. I am confident my concoction will do the trick. Totally painless. It just… immobilizes them. It’s so they don’t hurt themselves.”

“And it works on these… things? Anything else? Like mice or other pests?” asked Ashlynn.

“Yeah, but they’re not the target,” stated Austin.

“And you have pictures and videos?” asked Ashlynn. Austin nodded.

“Cloud storage and hard copies. Those little critters are crafty,” said Austin, his voice low and persuasive.

Thankfully, it would never be enough for her to betray her friends. She had heard enough. Ashlynn was done. She needed to get him away and go back to the others to regroup.

“Austin, what you’re doing isn’t right,” said Ashlynn. “Please, reconsider.” Austin’s face hardened as his fist clenched.

“Well then… sorry I can’t bring you in as an investor. Too bad. You could’ve been famous for outing these little freaks,” sneered Austin. “Consider this your 24-hour notice. I’ll need to evaluate your apartment for potential contamination.”

Austin grinned and, just like that, he plastered a smile back onto his face, hiding the sinister flare Ashlynn witnessed moments earlier, and moved onto the next apartment.

Ashlynn hurriedly closed the door and locked it, leaning against the wood and sliding to the ground to take a fresh breath of air.

How much did the community hear? Had they fled into the walls? They were quiet, but was it because they were trying to leave or because they were hunkered down in place?

Ashlynn didn’t know, but she needed to figure it out.

Not feeling strong enough to stand, she scooted across the floor and tapped on her bedroom door ever so softly in hopes to get Soren’s attention.

It was mere seconds later when Casper, Dorian, Rey, and Soren all hurried outside, and Hero wasn’t far behind.

“Ashlynn,” breathed Soren as he stumbled over to Ashlynn’s now extended hand and leaned against it.

“You heard?” asked Ashlynn. They all nodded solemnly.

“Everyone did,” stated Hero. Ashlynn’s stomach flipped nervously, but Dorian continued. “And… they heard what you said. They know what you did. You… could’ve turned us all over to him – but you didn’t.” Hero’s smile was spread from ear to ear.

“So, what do we do now is the real question,” stated Dorian. “He’s going to be back tomorrow, and we can’t get into the walls because that stuff is still in there.”

“No, we need to do more than that,” stated Rey, his voice measured and calm. “We need to get rid of that evidence. We need to report him. Ashlynn, you have your recorder on? Give it to Dorian. You need to edit out a little bit here and there so we can turn it over to someone – anyone – who can take Austin away.”

“You’re saying call the police on him?” asked Ashlynn.

“Yes, if that’s who can get him away from us,” retorted Rey. “We need to tell them about those dangerous chemicals and say something – anything – to get him in trouble.”

Ashlynn thought hard about the situation, biting her lip and nodding as a plan started to formulate in her mind.

“Okay. Let’s go over what we know,” she stated, reaching her thumb over to brush against Soren’s shoulder. “Austin doesn’t know about everyone being safe here. He suspects it, but he also thinks he has Borrowers back in his van and that his gas probably got a few Borrowers. If I call the authorities to investigate the van, we can separate him from that at the very least.”

“Then let’s do it!” said Rey eagerly.

“There’s something else to all of this too,” said Ashlynn, now looking over to Casper and making sure to catch his gaze before continuing. “Even if we manage to stop Austin here, it doesn’t stop him from targeting this building. I… know this is your home, but you all are not going to be safe here anymore.”

Casper took a deep breath and nodded regretfully.

“I suspected as much. This is going to be a blow to the community. I don’t even know how to tell them,” stated the middle-aged father.

There was a long pause, and the silence was one Soren was familiar with. Ashlynn usually fell silent like this when she knew what she wanted to say but wasn’t sure how to go about it.

And he suspected he knew what she wanted to say.

“Ashlynn?” prompted Soren. His tone of voice was enough to gain a nervous smile from his chosen partner.

“Casper, there… is another solution. Instead of having everyone migrate and everything. I know it’s dangerous, and this is something all of you would have to choose to do,” stated Ashlynn. Casper looked up into Ashlynn’s eyes with a hopeful gleam.

“Oh? And what is that?”

“I bought a house. I’ve taken them to see it, and we think Borrowers used to live there. Instead of migrating on your own, pulling apart the community that’s grown so close, why not… well… why not come with us?” asked Ashlynn. “You don’t have to answer now, and you have to talk it over with everyone, but I want you all to think it over. I’ll get you out of here safe and sound. You can live freely and in a neighborhood where you all could technically move to once you’re out of here.”

“C-come with you?” stammered Casper, obviously short-circuiting at the suggestion. “Have you pack us up in boxes and take us somewhere we’ve never been? Put every one of our lives in your hands?”

“Dad, think about it,” pleaded Hero. “Ashlynn has a point. We’ll be safe. We know her, and the others just heard her get rid of Austin. She can protect us if we need it, and we won’t have to stay with her forever if we don’t want to. It’s the best way to get everyone out of here safely.”

“Just, think it over… Quickly, but think it over,” stated Ashlynn. “In the meantime, we have some work to do. Right?”

Soren and his brothers nodded as they took Ashlynn’s phone and began trimming the audio.

They were fighting the clock, and they didn’t even know if their plan was going to work.

But it had to. For all of their sakes… it had to.

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

::_____::

A Tall and Small Collection

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A Tall and Small Collection | Soren

ASK ME ANYTHING

::_____::

Everyone Needs a Little Hero

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Beginning

Prompt

ASK ME ANYTHING

#borrower #g/t #g/t community #borrowers #giant/tiny #handheld #giant tiny #tiny #giant #gianttiny #gt #gt community #gt fluff #gt writing #size difference #handheld tiny #handheldtiny #some angst #angst angst angst #gt angst #g/t writing #g/t related #sfw g/t #g/t angst #rescuers #rescue #captivity #injured #narrans #A Tall and Small Collection

[miscelanea-007]

Sick boy

Anyone would have thought a sick hero meant a weak hero, and to have both heroes of Paris: Scarlet Lady and Chat Noir, sick at the same time? All logic would have pointed to disaster - and oh, what a disaster it was. For Monarch, that was.

He had managed to akumatized a couple, an athletic one, at that. And yet he did not recall another time his minion was defeated in such a short time. Just about what kind of monster was he dealing with?!

“Unbelievable,” Monarch huffs, shaking his head. Enraged, he commands to be de-transformed and barely spares a look at Nooro. The kwami remains silent, head low until Gabriel says the words and back to the brooch they go. “Simply unbelievable,” Gabriel repeats, making his way to the elevator, not capable of even looking in Emile’s direction.

Once back in his studio, Gabriel passes the room, back and forth with his hands behind his back, trying to make logic of an illness making anyone stronger.

“No,” he comes to a halt and shakes his head. “That simply doesn’t make sense.”

A soft knock on the door allows him to rest from a moment of such a nonsensical scenario.

“Come in,” he says and soon enough Nathalie opens the door.

“Mister Agreste, the bourgeois girl is waiting outside. She’s asking to see Adrien.”

Gabriel feels a headache incoming. He takes a deep breath.

“I’ll attend her myself this time,” he declares and Nathalie nods, following behind him as Gabriel makes his way out of his studio and towards the entrance of his mansion.

“I’ve come to see Adrikins,” Chloé Bourgeois stands with a basket in her hands and a fiery look in her eyes. “Good afternoon, Mister Agreste,” she adds. She lifts the basket. “I brought treats. Please allow me to see him.”

Gabriel levels her for a few seconds. As Chloé doesn’t budge, Gabriel declares: “You’re sick yourself.”

“Maybe so,” Chloé says, clearing her throat. “That only means there’s no risk of me getting sick because of him.”

Gabriel has to admit, the child of Audrey and André is certainly a stubborn one. How many times has she tried to see Adrien since he got sick? Five? Six?

“Please,” Chloé repeats, urgency in her voice. “I’ll be quick. Thirty minutes is all I’m asking.”

Gabriel turns to look at Nathalie, who checks the provisional camera placed in Adrien’s room to check on him faster. After a few seconds, she nods at her boss and Gabriel looks back at Chloé.

“You’ve got twenty minutes.” Chloé opens her mouth. “The clock is running, I suggest you go on your way.”

Chloé presses her lips together in a thin line, yet doesn’t utter a single word of protest. Nodding, she hurries inside the mansion and towards the staircase. Gabriel is pretty sure the only reason she doesn’t run is because of the basket she’s carrying.

“Allow her five extra minutes,” Gabriel commands Nathalie, who nods again. “Initiate the timer the moment Adrien speaks to her and not a second early.”

“Understood.”

Gabriel closes the door, moving to go back to his studio, before thinking better of it.

“Nathalie,” he calls and Nathalie is surprised to see him reach a hand in her direction. “Give me the tablet. I’ll monitor their interaction myself.”

Tablet in hand, Gabriel resumes his walk to his studio and closes the door carefully behind him.

Sitting on his desk, he props the tablet against a lamp and reaches for his notebook and pencil inside one of the drawers before turning on the volume to hear the conversation going on between his son and Audrey’s daughter.

“-ent flying in a-a… ugh, what do you call those…” Chloé makes a curve-up motion with her index and Adrien, sitting against the headboard of his bed, cheeks flushed, laughs softly. “Those things!”

“A parabola, Chlo.” Adrien offers and Chloé claps, delighted.

“Yes, yes! That, a prabola.”

“Parabola,” Adrien says just a bit slower, offering a reassuring smile.

“Mh,” Chloé nods, cheeks flushing slightly. She coughs. Gabriel isn’t sure it’s a fake one. “Point is, Scarlet Lady sent the ridiculous villain flying like that!” Taking two of the treats inside the basket, she gives one to Adrien before munching on the other one. “Take that, Monarch!”

“What about Chat Noir?” Adrien asks and Gabriel is surprised to see the girl scrunching her nose instead of signing praises to the other hero like he’s aware most other Parisians would do. He takes quick note of that reaction and keeps listening. “Still not a big fan of him?”

“I’ve told you,” Chloé puts. “He’s alright. But everyone knows Scarlet is the leader!”

“And I’ve told you,” Adrien uses the exact same tone as Chloé’s, just a tad bit condescending yet not mean. “They are partners. Equals. They depend on one another!”

Chloé sighs, taking a big bite of the treat and shrugging.

“Don’t give me that,” Adrien laughs. “Just because you’re Scarlet Lady’s biggest fan, doesn’t mean Chat’s any less awesome!”

“If that were so true,” Chloé says, “why didn’t you choose him to marry last week, hm?” She smiles wickedly. Gabriel is absolutely lost. “You chose Scarlet Lady!”

“Because I also happen to prefer Scarlet Lady. That doesn’t prove anything!”

“Of course it does!” Chloé stands up, turning to face her childhood friend and inadvertently blocking Gabriel’s view of his son in the process. “It proves we both have flawless taste, Adrikins. As expected!”

Adrien laughs, it’s such a spontaneous and contagious sound. Gabriel realizes he doesn’t recall the last time he’d heard Adrien laugh like that. Or laugh at all. Not since- He shakes his head. Not the time.

“Chat Noir and Scarlet Lady are a duo,” Adrien says, “I stand by it.”

“Well, no one is denying that,” Chloé crosses her arms. Gabriel notices her shoulders going up, tensing. She coughs and clears her throat. “Point is, Scarlet Lady for the win.”

“Chat Noir for the rescue!” Adrien chants happily. “Win and save, save and wiiin!”

Chloé sighs, shaking her head. Gabriel drums his fingers against the table. When is the child going to move so he can look at Adrien’s expression again?

“Have it your way,” as if on cue, she plops on the edge of Adrien’s beg again and takes another treat that she offers to Adrien. However, when Adrien reaches for it, she pulls away at the last second. “But I’m the one who’s right,” and she gives it to him.

“No, you’re not,” Adrien sings, taking a bite and closing his eyes, a pleased expression blooming on his face. Gabriel remembers that same expression all too well in- No, no. Focus, Gabriel. Focus.

“Yes, I am,” Chloé puffs her cheeks and takes a second treat for herself, playing with it between her fingers before speaking again. “I’m glad you look better.”

Adrien opens his eyes. He reaches for Chloé’s hand with her free one and smiles brightly at her when sky-blue stares at emerald green.

“I feel a lot better. Thank you for coming to pay me a visit,” he squeezes Chloé’s hand. “Especially when you’re sick as well.”

“Ah, pft!” Chloé laughs, face two shades redder than before. “This is nothing! I’ve taken medicine, I’ll be as good as new before you know it!”

Adrien hums, expression softening. “Did Mr. Cuddly help you out with taking your meds?”

“He did,” Chloé grins. “Is just like Jean Franc used to say back when we were kids, remember?”

“Of course!”

Both teenagers open their mouths, yet Gabriel doesn’t get to hear whatever phrase it might be, since the alarm goes off, muting the conversation automatically. Fumbling due to the surprise, Gabriel hurries to turn it off, standing up.

Before he can move, however, he sees his son and Aufrey’s daughter turn towards the door. Gabriel activates the sound again.

“-in,” he hears Adrien allow and Nathalie opens the door. He almost looks apologetic.

“Aw,” Chloé pouts and Gabriel sees her hand squeeze Adrien’s. “It’s been twenty minutes already?”

“I’m afraid so,” Nathalie declares. “Please follow me, Miss Bourgeois.”

Chloé launches herself into Adrien’s arms, startling him for a moment. She squeezes him in a tight hug, and Adrien pats Chloé’s back, burying his face in the space between her neck and shoulder for as long as the hug lasts.

When Nathalie clears her throat, Chloé slowly retreats.

“See you at school on Monday, Adrikins,” Chloé tells him. “Don’t miss me too much.”

Adrien smirks at her.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Chloé sticks her tongue out at him and snickers.

“I’ll tell Scarlet Lady what a clown you can be if you keep this up.”

Adrien puffs his chest.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me, Adrikins.” Chloé winks at him and waves at where the camera is positioned, startling Gabriel for a moment. “Bye, Mr. Agreste!” with that, she marches with a high head to where Nathalie stands and follows her out of the bedroom.

“Bye, Chlo!” Adrien shouts, hands at either side of his mouth before the door closes. “I’ll miss you,” he says in a soft voice before side-eyeing in the camera’s and therefore Gabriel’s direction. “If you can hear me… Thank you, father.” He smiles brightly. “Thank you so much.”

Gabriel stares for two heartbeats, eyes lowering to where his notebook is. He traces the lines he wrote before closing it and turning off the sound on the tablet, picking it up.

He counts to seventy before opening the door of his studio again and calling for Nathalie. He returns the tablet to his assistant and says: “Postpone the rest of my meeting from today. I’ll be spending the rest of the day with Adrien.”

If Nathalie is at a loss for words, she dissimulates it quite well by simply nodding and centring her whole attention on the tablet.

Hands behind his back, Gabriel ever so ceremoniously makes his way to Adrien’s bedroom, and he takes a deep breath before knocking on the door.

After three heartbeats, he hears Adrien’s voice. “Chlo?”

“No,” Gabriel says. “It’s me. May I come in?”

A single heartbeat of silence.

“Of course, father.”

Gabriel opens the door slowly, finding his son standing up.

“Go back to bed,” Gabriel says, a small frown on his brow. “You’re not well yet.”

Adrien does as he’s told. Gabriel approaches him and takes the spot where Audrey’s daughter had been minutes ago.

“Tell me,” Gabriel begins, uncertain. “How are you feeling?”

Adrien hesitates, yet Gabriel notices a sparkle in his eyes.

“I’m much better than yesterday…”

“That’s good,” Gabriel nods once. Then, he says. “Do you want to talk to me about what you and Miss Bourgeois talked about?”

Adrien beams, and something inside Gabriel’s chest tightens.

“Well, you’ve heard of Scarlet Lady and Chat Noir, right?” Gabriel nods again. “So, they fought this one villain…”

#scarlet lady au #chloe bourgeois #adrien agreste #chlodrien #platonic Chlodrien #scarlet lady

[gamergirlbonestaskforce141riot]

Paulatim sed Firmiter (Slowly but surely) - Thursday

Warning: first part is a flashback and mentions someone's death

Tag (because they asked): @glitterypirateduck

I want to finish this damned week, geez...

Previous / Masterlist / Next

‘‘Situation has changed, Phoenix. A rocket was deployed forty seconds ago. Impending impact’’

‘‘YOU FUCKING…’’

No no no no no nonononoNO

‘‘OUT’’ She didn’t care if the separatists heard her. Her only concern was getting her team out of there. Deep down she knew it was too late. ‘‘Out of the fucking building!’’

She saw the light before she heard it. Standing on the stair landing to have privacy to contact their Overwatch, she had been looking up, and saw the sudden flash and the subsequent shock wave some floors above her.

Realistically speaking, she saw nothing. One second she was standing on the landing, the next she woke up beneath the debris.

But in her dreams, she always watched in horror how the upper floors started to crumble and collapse, hearing her team’s screaming in her ears.

She usually woke up at that point. Panting, sometimes screaming.

When she opened her eyes she could see nothing, but felt the dust in the air, filling her lungs as she tried to breathe in. Coughing, she tried to move, and could only use one of her hands to switch on the torch on her shoulder. The dim, white light illuminated large concrete blocks above and around her, and between them, a faint breeze and smoky smell.

‘‘Joder (Fuck)’’ She covered her nose and mouth the best she could with the collar of her combat shirt, trying to get air in her lungs more than dust. Her fingers reached her comm. ‘‘Phoenix Squad, status report’’

If she was alive, someone else must have survived too, right?

Only static answered, and she tried to move from below the blocks, but there was nowhere to crawl to. She was able to wiggle her toes in her boots, to move her legs and make her knee pads scrap against the concrete, her pinned arm hurt, but she could move her fingers. She wasn’t crushed, just trapped.

‘‘Phoenix Squad, status report’’ She repeated into the comm, a bit more desperate. Please, PLEASE. ‘‘Someone say something, please. Norry, Emil, Delvin, Miguel. Please, guys’’

Please don’t leave me alone in here

It seemed like ages, but finally, someone answered.

‘‘… Vega’’

Mosquito. God, he sounded very weak.

‘‘¿Cómo estás, pendejo? (How are you, motherfucker?)’’  She asked, pathetically relieved, still trying to move. Miguel Ramírez always giggled like a little kid when she used his own insults on him, her Castilian accent way different from his Mexican one. He barked a laugh.

‘‘Bien jodido (Quite fucked)’’ More static before he continued, his voice even more strained. ‘‘I can’t move. I don’t feel half of my body, güera (blondie)’’

Well, shit.

‘‘I’ll think of something, just you wait’’

‘‘I don’t think we have time for that’’ He coughed, and his cough sounded horrid. Wet. ‘‘Do me a favor, Vega’’

‘‘Ask me when we’re out of here, Ramírez’’ She grunted, still trying to do something, feeling pain everywhere, in every limb, but too stubborn to just accept it and lay there waiting for the end.

‘‘We are not getting out, jefa (boss)’’ Ramírez kept coughing, for a longer time, and her heart skipped a couple of beats meanwhile, listening to him and not being able to do anything.

‘‘What do you want, cabrón? (asshole)’’

‘‘Pray with me’’ He coughed again, gasping for air. ‘‘Ave María (Hail Mary prayer)’’

She wasn’t religious. She was baptized Roman Catholic, she’d gone to mass with her grandmother while growing up, she’d done her First Communion with her tiny, silly white dress and flower crown. If she ever had any serious faith, she had lost it years ago.

‘‘Dios te salve, María, llena eres de gracia, el Señor es contigo…’’ She started, listening to him following her words weakly. ‘‘Bendita tú eres entre todas las mujeres, y bendito sea el fruto de tu vientre, Jesús’’

He started coughing again, and she stopped for a second, feeling a lump in her throat and the tingle of tears in her eyes, or maybe it was just the dust.

‘‘Santa María, Madre de Dios, ruega por nosotros, pecadores…’’ She sobbed. She couldn’t help it, hearing him gasp for air and coughing. And she couldn’t even hold his hand. ‘‘… ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerte… Amén’’

Silence. He had stopped coughing. There wasn’t even static.

‘‘Miguel?’’

Still silence.

-

Thursday lunchtime

‘‘You look like shite’’ Soap poked Riot’s side with his elbow, worried. He hadn’t seen her at breakfast, as she had gone directly to the training drill, and now at lunch was the first moment they could speak. She had started the day by wearing her mask, but after a couple of hours she had stuffed it in her pocket.

‘‘I love you too’’ She answered dryly. Big, dark circles under her eyes betrayed her lack of sleep, or the quality of it. She was even eating the horrid mashed potatoes with gravy without complaints, but had gifted the sausages to Soap and Gaz. ‘‘Someone told me during the drill that Robinson is losing his mind’’

‘‘What did you hear? ’’Gaz smiled beatifically, apparently innocent.

‘‘That he yelled at IT because his laptop has a virus or something and is receiving a lot of spam he didn’t sign up to, or something like that’’ She shrugged, with a tired smile when he winked at her. ‘‘Porn sites, religious sites, conspiracy sites… all sorts. Even flat-earther ones’’

‘‘My, my, how could that have happened?’’ Soap laughed, already devouring his dessert. Gaz’s smiled turned mischievous, trying to steal a bite from Soap’s pudding.

‘‘I’m sure he did something he shouldn’t have…’’ Laughing, he swatted Soap’s hand away when the Scot tried to steal his spoon back. ‘‘I also heard that he’s been rising hell every day because when he arrives at his office there’s glue in his lock’’

‘‘He must have pissed someone’’ Soap cackled, while Riot shook her head.

‘‘You’re going to get in trouble, big trouble, if you get caught’’

‘‘Nah, as long as we don’t touch him we’re fine’’ Gaz looked around, leaning forward on the table and lowering his voice, still smiling. ‘‘Bullies must be dealt with’’

‘‘I agree, but…’’ She started, but seeing a known face, a known frown, stopped her in her tracks. ‘‘Price’s coming, behave’’

The Captain approached the table with his three disasters, carrying a tray with his food, and set it down next to Gaz, sighing when he saw they had already finished eating or were about to.

‘‘The bloody meeting took more time than I expected. Sorry for being late’’ Price sat down, nodding gratefully when Soap pushed an unopened beer bottle in his direction. ‘‘Thank you. I was hoping to catch you here’’

‘‘We were waiting for you’’ Gaz patted his shoulder, and Price nodded again before starting to eat. ‘‘Any news that we should know?’’

‘‘Not yet, but shit’s brewing. We might deploy in the near future… God, this gravy tastes like shite’’ He grumbled, and then pointed with his fork at Riot. ‘‘Laswell has called me. Again. Will you just answer her calls, please?’’

She rolled her eyes, huffing and leaning back in her chair, crossing her arms. Price stared at her, frowning, even waving his fork at her.

‘‘Do not pout and fucking answer her calls, will you?’’

‘‘I’m not pouting’’ Riot grumbled, kicking Soap’s shin when he started to laugh. Price shook his head, continuing to eat.

‘‘Another thing. I have on my desk another petition from the privates, asking for permission for you lot to go with them to the town pub tomorrow’s evening’’ He eyed them up and down suspiciously. ‘‘Whose idea was it to take the babies to the pub, hmm?’’

The three Sergeants looked at each other, reluctant to be the first to speak. Soap started to twiddle his thumbs, grinning, while Riot was still sulking.

‘‘They asked us this morning, Cap’’ Gaz smiled brightly, completely innocent. ‘‘We told them we could only do that with your written permission’’

Price narrowed his eyes while looking at the wide, genuine smile on Garrick’s face. He smelled bullshit. His blue eyes slowly turned to look at Soap, who was still grinning, and then to Riot, whose blue-grey eyes were fixed on him.

‘‘Could be a good bonding experience’’ She shrugged, her expression neutral.

Captain Johnathan Price prided himself on being an observant and insightful individual, qualities that had helped him in his career. He could smell bullshit from a mile.

There, somewhere, was a trap. He could smell it.

‘‘Granted’’ Price shrugged, finishing the last of his mashed potatoes and starting with the pudding. He’d know about it, eventually. ‘‘Are you aware there’s a private in the infirmary? I’ve been told next week he’ll be able to rejoin, at a lesser pace’’

‘‘Davies, yes’’ Riot nodded, still calm, but her right knee was jumping under the table, bumping into Soap’s thigh.

‘‘Do you have any idea of what happened? The report mentions a beating’’

‘‘We do’’

‘‘Are you… going to do anything about it?’’

‘‘Yes’’

Price sighed, deeply, and looked at her directly.

‘‘Am I going to like it?’’

She kept staring at him, still neutral.

‘‘Probably not’’

The Captain nodded, absently noticing how Gaz and Soap exchanged looks. These three muppets would be the death of him. But if they truly had something planned to put a stop to whatever shit was happening at base… well. He’d allow it. Within reasonable limits.

‘‘Don’t get caught’’

The three sly, wolvish grins he got back did nothing to reassure him.

#cod oc #cod original character #cod mw2 #call of duty original character #call of duty #call of duty modern warfare #cod fanfic #call of duty fanfic #kyle gaz garrick #cod gaz #gaz #soap mw2 #johnny soap mactavish #cod soap #soap mctavish #john soap mactavish #soap call of duty #soap cod #gaz cod #gaz mw2 #gaz call of duty #tf 141 #gaz garrick #mw2 #tf141 #captain price #captain john price #cod price #john price #price mw2

[saltcove]

pairing: denmark/norway theme: fishermen & drowning sailors 

dawn scrapes the horizon, floods it with cold sun. lukas drags the net over the side of the rowboat, grunts and breaks his nails on the wooden edge. emil sits across from him, knotting rope and pressing fish down into the barrel. svaneke is colder than most port cities, births raw winter in his throat. 

“fokus, emil,” he snaps. lukas is swept with impatience. “the fish will not catch itself.”

“i am focused,” emil counters, muttering. lukas isn’t fond of his brother when he’s petulant and bored, disinterested. emil is on the cusp of sixteen, face sharper than most boys his age. lukas knows he would rather read than trawl, but there is no life for them but this. 

“more, then,” lukas stands, throws the net further. “i cannot be doing this on my own. this is not why i bring you.”

“why bring me at all?” emil knots with more fury. “you have it all figured out, storebror.”

lukas bites back a remark. it is always like this, but today is worse. today is worse because it is emil’s birthday. lukas sighs, drops down with a gust from his chest. “sorry. i know you’re tired.”

“i am,” emil looks up, icy. he directs his eyes elsewhere when lukas glares. “i suppose you are too.”

“i will survive this,” lukas sets a hand on emil’s knee, squeezes. “you will be more than a fisherman someday.” but not today, little brother.

emil makes to say something. it is caught in his throat, much like the thick knot his fingers loosen around. his eyes hinge over lukas’ shoulder at the shoreline, and lukas sighs. “we will get off the boat in an hour. be patient.”

emil’s mouth gapes. snaps closed. “brother.”

lukas wets his mouth, gets up again to tend the net. “what is it, emil?”

“i—” emil stops himself. 

lukas rolls his eyes. “has the seawitch stolen your voice?”

“brother,” emil’s paling face has lukas’ focus. dials him in. “look.”

lukas frowns, turns to glance over his own shoulder. he isn’t sure where he’s being directed, scans the shoreline with vacancy. they’re not too far from land, hardly at all. lukas’ eyes pull apart the dark sand and the short pier and then he sees it. 

a man.

a body, pressed into the sand, sea casting over it. 

his words lose power. “row, emil.”

emil scrambles for the oars, composure lost. lukas hisses and heaves and brings the net into the boat before helping him. cold water hits his abdomen, but lukas’ pulse is hot, furious; that is a deadman. he is dead. he must have been. 

he must have been—

without a word, lukas drops the net and flies over the edge of the rowboat in a dive. emil’s voice is replaced by water—arctic and stinging, lung-cramping. lukas swims under, pushes with his feet, pulled back by his own clothes. he swims like he can save something. he’s dead. 

breaking for air, his boots hit the seafloor and lukas treads with clumsy, rushed indignance. closer, the body is lulling in the shallow water. bigger than his, stronger. lukas grabs the man by his lapel and drags, forces them both out onto the beach. 

dropping to his knees, he crosses palms over the man’s chest. pushes, pushes. his hair has come loose from its clip, dripping down onto a pale cheek. the man is drained of colour, his nose too white and his mouth parched with salt. lukas pushes down on his chest, frustration coiling his expression. he’s desperate. faen. 

pinching the man’s nose closed, he brings their cold, open mouths together and breathes. full breaths that hurt his freezing lungs. again. again. 

he’s met with salt water against the chin and a furious fit of coughing.  

lukas’ relief drops him back onto the sand. the adrenaline has singed his nerves to the point of numbness. lukas closes his eyes, prays. 

the man makes no move to get up, groans and turns on his side against the sand. he’s facing lukas, eyes pinched, starting to open. he’s a sailor—maybe. something more, by his rings and his wool. lukas stares, terrified, until the man finally opens his eyes. 

he is staring right at lukas. lukas is staring back. 

“where,” he croaks. it’s danish. 

“here,” lukas answers dumbly. “i—svaneke.”

the man hisses and tries to sit up, falling back on his elbows. “sød guder.”

“stay still, dane,” lukas urges. emil has somehow made it to the coast as well, and lukas hisses at him to seek help. the boy scrambles off. 

“you saved me,” the man rasps, failing once more to sit up, words broken over with fits of coughing. he lays back and stares at the sky. “your name, siren?”

“lukas,” he supplies. “i am a man.”

“you are no man,” it’s scoffed, like he cannot believe it. “you are divine to have found me.”

lukas swallows. he is a fisherman. “i am not.”

the man turns his head, cheek pressed into the wet sand. “you are more than man—to have countered the sea.”

#dennor #aph norway #aph denmark #aph denor #hws norway #hws denmark #lukas bondevik #mathias kohler #hetalia #writing #denmark x norway

[heres-to-all-that-is-mine]

A piece of writing about the ol’ Doc.

Warnings: Contains accidental self harm, a description of choking, references to past injury, and a brief reference to drugs at the end :)

Emile jolts back to consciousness with the memory of hands around their throat fresh like an open wound in their mind, the feeling of body-warmed rubber wrapped tight around vulnerable, pliant flesh, their own face staring down at them with a wild sneer.

As if carried over from the dream, the back of their head throbs where it hit the pavement and he feels the phantom sensation of his windpipe grinding under the palm of his own hands - or perhaps not a phantom sensation, they think, a raspy wheeze pulling from their constricted throat and black spots dancing in their vision before they manage to slacken their hand’s grip.

With their airway free, they choke and cough as their body instinctively scrambles to pull in as much oxygen as possible even as their chest burns and convulses, hunching over in a way that pulls on the scars decorating their chest painfully.

When it finally passes he’s left panting and shivering with his hands clutching the front of his shirt, tears blurring their vision and dripping onto the bedsheets.

It was just a dream, they reassure themself. Just a dream, like all the others. They’ll forget all about it in no time. He breathes as slow as he can until their heartbeat slows, finally. Still frantic, but no longer so violently it thrums through his fingertips and chest, and rushes in their ears.

As the adrenaline wears off they allow themself to fall backwards, the twisted up sheets left haphazardly draped over parts of their body while leaving the rest open to the chilly air, limbs still trembling and occasionally twitching with remnants of panic.

Exhaustion tugs at their body, mingling with the throbbing ache of their head and the too-hot burn of their throat and their chest, where they’d accidentally clawed at it.

They’re sure that if they looked in a mirror right now, they’d find raised lines and crescent nail shapes embedded in their skin paired with the slowly reddening patches surrounding it. It won’t be a pretty sight once the bruises become more obvious, and they grimace at the thought.

At least it’s cold out this time of year. He’ll have a good excuse for wearing a scarf, though it’s debatable how well that would work indoors.

The more pressing issue, they think, listening to the uncomfortable rasp as they breathe in and out, is the state of their voice.

It feels shot, a crackling half-whispered thing on their tongue as they test it out cautiously, and it leaves them with a brief coughing fit as a consequence. In summary; it’s awful.

Maybe they could pass it off as a bad cold?

They’re too tired to figure it all out, now. Flashes of memory and dream alike splinter through their head as their eyes drift closed unbidden, the sensation of their sternum cracking open and flesh squishing filling their mind’s eye momentarily. Still he can’t resist the siren call of sleep, not even bothering to readjust the blanket and pillow before the darkness has mostly swallowed them again. For a second they consider rolling over to grab the widget from the bedside table and getting high before they sleep, but coherent thought is already slipping from their grasp, and they fall back down into the deep.

#my writing! #mine! #dr Emile west #Emile west

[lovingdeath]

🌹 DEARIL - CHAPTER 2 🩸

🤍 grim reaper!yandere x immortal!reader 🖤 nobody expects to watch their parents die, but those days always come. those meetings weren't fun. 🤍 warnings: death, dying of an illness, technically parentification, dying from drowning, implied suicide, yandere tendencies (still rather tame in this part) 🖤 rating: sfw

🕯️ masterlist 🕯️

it was a year and two months before you saw the figure again. things had been going well. your sister got married. your youngest brother was born. your twin had started his apprenticeship. it had all been going so well.

now, your mother is bound to her bed, coughing out blood every few hours. it reminds you too much of how you were on death's door. the scar aches every time you hear her coughs.

your dear mother isn't the only one sick in the village. but she is on the worse end of it. your father, the only doctor for miles and miles, has been running around trying to help and looking after your mother fell mostly on you. your littler siblings are kept far away from the bedroom, only seeing your mother for brief glimpses during dinner.

"how's ma?" emil, your younger brother, asks as you're feeding your youngest sibling. your mother has become too weak to do it herself.

"she's feeling rather well." you answer, knowing full well you're lying. you'd seen a hooded figure, shrouded in swirling shadows, walking through the village. you don't yet know who it is that's died, but at least it didn't come to your door yet.

emil looks sceptical, but leaves to play with his sister ella. you're left with your tiny little brother, silently staring at the wall as he eats. at this point you're just waiting. and you hate nothing more than waiting.

especially when it's on the grim reaper.

you're changing your mother's wet towel when she wakes up for the first time in the whole day. you almost don't notice it, until she reaches for your hands.

"[mc]." she rasps. you turn to her, taking her frail hand in between your own. yours are steady, strong. hers are shaking.

"yes, mama?" you ask softly.

"when i die..." she coughs. "look after your father will you? he's... he's so fragile. he'll try and be stupid once i'm gone."

"of course, mama." you mutter, not trying to argue with her. you both know she's dying. you both know your father loves her far too much. there'd be no point in denying it.

"good child." she relaxes back into her sheets. "you've always been such a good child."

you don't think so. good children don't kill people.

but you don't refute her then either. it's better to let her die thinking that her children are all good sweet angels. it's better for everyone. as she falls back asleep, you re-wet the towel and place it on her head. your poor angel of a mother. this isn't a fate she deserves.

you wait by her bedside that night too.

the dead eyes arrive in the dead of night. you notice the moment your mother stops breathing, knowing that the wait is over. you feel sort of horrible for how relieved you are over it.

"hello, soul." the figure greets, talking to you over your mother's corpse. it feels disrespectful.

"hello, strange figure." you say back, relaxing in your seat. your eyes start to droop, finally feeling like you can rest.

the figure silently extends his hand to your mother's corpse, from where a pallid hand rises. you watch with interest as your mother sits up, her corpse left behind to eternally sleep. she looks around with confusion before finally casting eyes on to the figure.

"i hope you know that your child was meant to die, not you." the figure reveals, much to your astonishment. your mother's eyes widen, but contrary to what the figure believed would happen, they soon soften and melt.

"wonderful." she sighs, a happy smile on her lips. your own eyes soften. she's probably pain free for the first time in months, finally without any worries. some part of you is glad that she finally died.

"you mortals confuse me yet again." the figure frowns.

"parents are meant to die for their children, i'd rather it me than any of them." your mother explains, smiling at you with such affection. you don't think she knows you can see her. "i'd rather not see them follow me to the afterlife any time soon."

"don't worry. this one you'll never see again." the figure mutters. your mother turns to him with confusion, but before she can question his words he squeezes her hand and she turns into a glowing ball.

"quite the thing to say." you finally talk as the figure deposits the glowing soul into his robes.

"it is the truth."

"i thought all souls were meant to die when they're told to?" you repeat the words he'd once said. the figure looks at you with surprise, the wilted rose of a blush appearing on his cheeks once again.

"..." you get no answer, only two dead eyes set on your tired body, very much still breathing and well. the silence stretches, and you really want to go sleep now.

"so... what'd you mean that i was supposed to die instead of ma-?"

the figure disappears into the shadows before you're even finished with your sentence. you scoff, leaning down onto the bed to sleep. you're bound to have a busy day tomorrow, especially once your father comes home. at least you no longer have to wait.

the funeral is two days later. you could barely call it a funeral though. too many people were dying in the village, there isn't time or space for proper funerals.

you spent the whole event comforting your poor father, and comforting your siblings. you know a few days later when your sister arrives you'll have to comfort her too. you don't think you need comforting much, but you've been wrong before. death mostly just makes you... numb.

everything becomes a lot after that, watching after your siblings, watching after your father, watching after the house and home... your father isn't in any condition to work anymore either, which leaves that all on you too. you're not nearly as good a doctor as he is, but at least you have no fear of catching the illness yourself.

your eyes never did get to rest.

you're walking home from another house visit, the poor kid would probably be dying tonight, when you catch sight of the figure again. he's walking towards you, hiding another one of those glowing souls inside his cloak.

"your father's at the bottom of the river."

you shiver hearing his callous words. you open your mouth to question him, but decide against it. you don't think a reaper would lie to you about something like that... but that does bring up a different question.

"why are you here to tell me?" you ask, your fingers tightening around your bag's strap. the news that your father is dead is slowly sinking in.

"..." the figure tilts his head, taking his hood down to look you in the eyes with his dead ones. "someday, these news will be too much for you and you will throw yourself into that knife of yours. i will be here the day that happens. only i can have that stubborn soul of yours."

"i don't think i have much say in such matters." you swiftly answer, almost automatically. the figure smirks, and chuckles. the sound is grating, like a knife in your throat. you would know.

"we'll see, my soul." the figure disappears.

you stand there for a moment, thinking. you'd promised your mother you'd look after your father. you'd failed. what a good child you are.

you start walking home again. there's dinner to be made.

#yandere x reader #yandere oc #yandere #🌹 dearil #🌹 grim reaper x immortal

[betty-bourgeoisie]

I really want to know more about your headcanons about magic and the supernatural aspects of hws if I can bother you for them! (draw-a-circle-thats-the-compass)

I tend to treat the nations as a sort of go-between for humans and mythical creatures.

Nations, as a concept, are made up by humans. At the end of the day the land is just land. Linguistic and cultural communities are fluid and move around and exchange information naturally without a need for borders and nationality. A country has no more tangibility in the real world than a mermaid or a dragon. The difference is that unlike mermaids, who are usually relegated to children's books, humans have a habit of trying to enforce nationality through structure - they write laws that they enforce with police and militaries, they draw lines on maps, and distribute resources and violence based on who they've arbitrarily decided is or isn't a citizen.

So in Hetalia, in a world where fairies are real, and every country has its own representation, the nations have been forced into a sort of liminal space between the tangible and the mystical. And where each individual nation falls in that space differs.

While all nations are somewhat supernatural, some nations, the ones we see use magic and interact with mythical creatures in canon, have leaned into that mysticism to the point that they take on aspects of their culture's mythology. Vlad has little vampire fangs because he is a vampire. Arthur's love for the sea and sailing is a result of the fact that he and his brother are all part selkie. Of course, Emil would never acknowledge publicly that he can see magical creatures, he's a huldufólk, it only makes sense to hide his more mythic qualities.

Other nations have adjusted over the years to be a little more human in nature. Even Jack's more supernatural abilities are mostly just a case study in why immortals shouldn't be left alone on an island full of poisonous animals, and if the good neighbors show up on occasion that's really none of his business. Feliciano loves Roman mythology because it reminds him of his grandpa, but at the end of the day, he's a good catholic boy who happens to run at inhuman speeds.

Some nations *cough* Alfred *cough* are in some pretty serious denial about just how supernatural they really are, and if they're just a little too strong even by nation standards, or if the corn in a field parts for them to walk by it, then thats just gods gift to them and there's no reason to question that at all is there?

I also think mythical creatures existing canonically in Hetalia is really interesting because presumably, they all live longer than humans. Even the nations that fall on the more human side of things probably have some sort of relationship with their culture's mythological creatures (except for Alfred who is far too rational to acknowledge the things he can see with his own damn eyes) because those creatures will have a life span much more similar to their own. Building relationships with the supernatural hurts less, there is less of a deadline involved, and a friendship with a supernatural being is something a nation might actually be able to rely on long-term even when they don't have other countries around to support them.

#thanks for the ask! #hws romania #hws england #hws iceland #hws veneziano #hws australia #hws america #hetalia #aph #thanks for sitting through my Anarchist Theory Meets Hetalia nonsense #I'm aware that I have brain worms

[sister-cna-reader]

At a restaurant Damian: I’ll pay

Becky: No, I’ll pay 

Bill: No honey, I’ll pay

Anya: Got dammit, just everybody pay!

Emilie: Bitch, you don’t pay shit!

Silence descended at the table as tears started to well up in Anya’s eyes. Maybe it was the tone of Emilie’s comment, or perhaps it was just that time of month where everything was a bit sharper then intended.

Nevertheless, Anya Forger sniffled as her head hung low. Her usual crocodile tears were a noisy showy affair, but this fading into the chair was a sign of more serious upset.

They knew why she didn’t pay as often. It wasn’t like her allowance was anywhere near theirs to justify the expensive restaurant.

But they had dragged her there anyway, insisting on an early birthday lunch for Anya.

Emile: Ah… I’m sorry Anya. That was a bit aggressive of me.

Ewen *elbowing Emile under the table*: And?

Emile: I shouldn’t have called you a bitch.

The waiter coughed lightly, earning him a cacophony of black credit cards stacking on the receipt book.

In the end the check was split 5 ways.

#Eden: License to Drive #I didn't anticipate this one turning into a bummer #spy x family #fanfiction #ask #becky blackbell #bill watkins #anya forger #damian desmond #ewen egeburg #emile elman

[purposefully-lost]

In sickness and in health

It started with a stumble.

The cold wasn't quite as sharp here as it was back home. Even in the late days of autumn, when the air stayed cool through the full day and turned properly cold at night, he thought maybe his lungs could tolerate the winter better than they had in years. He wasn't yet waking with the familiar ache or tightness in his chest and it had almost slipped his mind completely by the time he woke one morning when Emile had already left.

Will had gotten up slowly, reluctant to leave the warmth of their bed and his head still a little hazy with the night before. There was a fresh bandage wrapped around his wrist, and he touched it fondly before he slipped out of bed. The wooden floor was freezing against his feet and his head spun when he stood- he blamed the cold, lazy morning for the way he seemed to lose his footing and stumbled forwards, catching himself on the wall. He laughed at himself, running a hand through his hair, and took a steadying breath before he left the room. He didn't think of it again.

It was two mornings later, another day in which Emile had slipped off for the morning chores before the sun was up, that Will woke with a start. He coughed hard, his breath catching in his throat and his hands tightening around the bed sheets in a panic before his head cleared enough to remind him what it was, that he knew how to handle it. His chest and throat felt tight, his breaths coming short and shallow between bouts of coughing as he pushed himself up and sat with his back against the bedframe. Will forced himself to struggle for deep breaths and squeezed his eyes shut, and slowly the coughing began to subside.

His head still spun, and still seemed to wheeze quietly with each breath. Frowning to himself, he glanced towards the door and wondered when Emile would be back.

@delicatelydark

#😔💔💔💔

[goofygoldengirl]

How I Would Reorganize The Agreste Plotline To Fit With The Show

CONTAINS SEASON 5 SPOILERS AND LEAKS

I’m referring to everything here as reorganize instead of rewrite since I am keeping all the content that has been presented in the show with some slight embellishing.

If you’re wondering how I’d envision the Agreste poltline if it were meant for an older audience check out this post

Season 1

Show in universe that everyone is aware of Emilie’s disappearance. In Origins, passing news blurb that it has been X amount of days and there are no leads into the Agreste case. This in turn, affects how his peers at school treat him, with some fawning over him like we see in the show, and the more sensitive ones reluctant to approach him due to his situation.

Ladybug is Adrien’s first ever crush. Show instead of implying on twitter that he takes romance hints from anime.

Plagg is aware of Adrien’s situation with wanting more independence and about mom’s disappearance. While he displays a lazy, go lucky attitude, he worries over Adrien. He encourages him to find himself as Chat Noir.

Display tension between Gabriel and Nathalie. Show that both are stressed and are stewing on the what-ifs. During a heated moment, Nathalie snaps.

“What else could we have done? Emilie is gone! There’s no way we can bring her back! And if there was a possibly that we could, she’d hate us for it! Especially if she found out---I’m sorry I should have never brought that up. I’ll be on my way sir.”

Show that both Nathalie and The Gorilla care about Adrien despite their cold exteriors. With the next couple of seasons, he begins to open up to them, and they in turn.

Have Hawkmoth’s reveal that he is Gabriel take place at end of season 1 instead of beginning of season 2 in ML proper 

Flashback 1: Adrien is a young child. He asks his mother why he can’t go out and play with other kids and go to school like his cousin Felix and Chloe. Emile smiles, cradles his face, and tells him that he can’t because he is a very special boy.

Season 2

Introduce Kagami and Adrien’s crush on her. Tease Ms. Tusguri and Gabriel Agreste’s connection earlier than presented in ML Proper with a business call.

The in universe news about Emilie’s disappearance dies down due to a lack of leads.

Show how Adrien is still naive when it comes to interacting with the world, and why he may not pick up on the fact that Marinette has a crush on him due to the fact that everyone fawns over him.

Show one of Master Fu’s tutoring sessions with Adrien post Syren. Master Fu plants a seed of doubt in Adrien’s head that all is well with his family.

Highlight early on that while Gabriel does love his son, he loves the idea of Adrien the perfect, obedient child more than Adrien the trying adolescent. Make it clear that Adrien is Emilie’s child and that Gabriel found it difficult to connect to Adrien even before Emilie’s disappearance.

Start of Gabriel’s slippery slope into madness due to the constant losses.

Nathalie’s infatuation with Gabriel is teased early on in season 2, then confirmed with the events of Style Queen.

The events of Heroes Day play out like in ML proper . However, have Gabriel explicitly mention that it was the peacock miraculous that made Emilie ill. 

Flashback 2: Post Emilie’s disappearance but before season 1. Amelie and Felix visit. Amelie asks Gabriel for the Graham de Vanilly ring. Adrien and Felix interact. Felix has a mean streak. He asks how Adrien can deal “with such insufferable people.”

Season 3

Adrien and Kagami get together earlier. As a result their break up plays out a season earlier.

Nathalie takes up her role as Mayura. Her health worsens. She and Gabriel have many romantically charged moments. At one point, they almost kiss but Gabriel hesitates.

Introduce sentimonsters like in ML proper.

Adrien mentions to Plagg that his mother used to have dizzy spells/ coughing fits like Nathalie. Plagg asks what disease she had. Adrien doesn’t know. He then asks Gabriel what type of illness Emilie had. Gabriel tells Adrien to mind his own business.

People drop hints that Marinette likes Adrien. Show that Adrien is in denial of his own feelings for her because of his feelings for Ladybug.

Show how Adrien gets stressed because of his modeling job. He asks to stop modeling but is denied.

Introduce Felix like in ML proper. Show that Felix is knowledgeable about the miraculouses. Have him eye Gabriel’s brooch before leaving.

Have Chat Blanc and Ephemeral take place in this season. Keep plot and outcomes the same.

Gabriel starts to act more like Hawkmoth in real life and less like himself.

Flashback 3: Gabriel, Nathalie, and Emilie as young adults. They travel the world in search of adventures and the miraculouses. Both Nathalie and Emilie have feelings for Gabriel. He shows interest in both girls, but ultimately chooses Emilie.

Season 4

Love Square reversal. Adrien falls for Marinette. Slowly, they become closer and start dating. Gabriel finds out about Adrien’s feelings for Marinette. He forbids them to date, but they defy him. Gabriel tries to push Kagami onto Adrien.

Keep Felix’s discovery of Emlie’s body in Gabriel Agreste and trade with Gabriel at end of season 4 the same as ML proper.

Have Gabriel’s moral horizon event take place here along with Evolution in ML season 5 proper.

Nathalie and Gabriel’s relationship begins to crumble as several events occur: Gabriel rejects her romantically, he dives headfirst into madness, and then he does not leave the USB drive in the past like in ML Evolution. Nathalie declares that she will no longer help him, and states that she did everything for him because she loved him.

Adrien starts to look into his mother’s disappearance with Plagg and Ladybug’s encouragement. He discovers that his mother knew about the miraculouses.

At the end of the season the alias rings are introduced.

Gabriel allows Adrien to stop modeling.

Flashback 4: Flashback of Gabriel and Emilie falling in love. Amelie and Colton’s rocky marriage. Same as the leaks.

Season 5 

The catacylsm happens. Gabriel’s subsequent illness is explicitly shown. 

Nathalie actively goes against Gabriel and helps Adrien in any way she can.

Felix is Argos. Events of Emotion take place. It is made clear that he is a sentimonster. It is only hinted that Kagami is one too.

Adrien find out his father is Hawkmoth, and then that his mother is dead. He wrestles with the guilt of catacylsming his father. However, he does not fall into despair as predicted in Chat Blanc and Ephemeral.

Adrien makes his stand against Gabriel. Gabriel is forced to confront the fact that Adrien is no longer his perfect child.

The final battle and the reveal happens. During the final battle, Adrien pleads with his father to see reason. Gabriel is too far gone and tries to kill Adrien. Gabriel uses the miraculouses to make his wish. As mentioned in the leaks, Nathalie is sacrificed. Gabriel is stunned. This forces him to come to terms that due to his selfishness, he has lost the two most important women in his life. He makes one final wish: to sacrifice himself to bring back balance. He dies. Emilie is still dead, but Nathalie lives.

Flashback 5: Emilie uses the peacock miraculous and she descends into a coma.

#miraculous ladybug #ml spoilers #ml leaks #agreste family #adrien agreste #gabriel agreste #emilie agreste #nathalie sancoeur

[cannonfullofcanons]

@indomitus-ferox inquired: “Hey, look at me, okay? Stay with me; it’s gonna be okay, just stay with me... ” ( from Noble Six to Noble One, because I had to )

send in " hey, look at me, okay? stay with me, it's gonna be okay, just stay with me... " ( OR if your muse wouldn't say this: 💧 + [WHATEVER YOUR MUSE WOULD SAY] ) for the sender to find the receiver badly wounded or dying from unexpected yet serious injuries. | Accepting!

         How had he gotten here? He remembered flying; the pelican was shot to hell. Fuel was leaking, it wouldn't stay airborne for long. Words echoed in the back of his mind, faded, vague, but he could just make it out.

         Hit 'em hard, boss.

         Emile's voice. Even swimming in darkness, an inch from death, he felt a surge of emotion. Had they made it? Had they survived? And more importantly, did they accomplish the mission? After all they'd endured, he had a longing to know. To be sure his sacrifice wasn't in vain. It was stupid, selfish; emotions he'd cast aside long ago, before he even underwent augmentations as a SPARTAN. Yet there they were, lurking in the depths of his dying mind.

         Another voice came, from beyond the darkness. It's gonna be okay. This voice, he recognized as well. Noble Six. He strained against the newly-returning pain. The shackles of death, shaken off, if only briefly. Though his eyes were open, he could scarcely see; yet, his eyes felt fine. The possibility of brain damage occurred to him. It had been one hell of a crash.

         Why was she here? They had a mission. He should be dead, and they should be getting off-world on the Pillar of Autumn. Jun was already off-world with Halsey, God willing. So why had she come back for him? And for that matter, how exactly had he survived? His last memory was of flames engulfing him, and the world fading to black in an instant. Even the armor he wore shouldn't have saved him from that.

         Had he just...gotten lucky?

         Carter forced his eyes open wider with a heavy cough, throwing blood from his mouth with each spasm of his chest. "Hell, Lieutenant...don't sugar coat this." As his vision started to come into focus, he noted the jagged metal piecing through his chest on the right side. How he'd survived the crash, he'd never know, but with this, he doubted he'd live long enough for it to matter. He'd used up the last of his biofoam to keep flying that pelican, after he'd been shot.

         "You shouldn't have come back, Six. Waste of time. Where's the package - Emile? Did you get it to the Autumn? If you tell me you let that ship leave you here, just so you could come back for--" He's interrupted by further, spasming coughs. "Goddamn it. ... Finding me was like finding a needle in a haystack. But we're just as dead either way. Find a pelican, steal a dropship, something - but whatever you do, get the hell off this rock. That's...an order, Lieutenant."

         Carter's eyes begin to grow unfocused; vision fading in and out, but he's holding on. He's slipping back into that inky darkness, only this time, it's not foreboding. It's welcoming. As if calling him home. He didn't want to die, especially if there was chance he could still help. But given his current predicament, the odds seemed to be tipped rather heavily against him. His breathing slows, and he cracks a fleeting smile. "I'll...give Kat and Jorge your regards, Six. Give those Covvies hell. Show 'em...Noble isn't gone yet."

#indomitus ferox #{ ask } #HI I GOT A LITTLE CARRIED AWAY #Figured this counts since injuries wouldn't be expected; a corpse would be #{ Noble Leader | Carter-A259 }