#I think parts of it might have melded with Till We Have Faces because she had these long monologuing arguments with the gods about it all

[softlyjiminie]

sempiternal | k.s.j

⇢ pairing(s): gryffindor!seokjin x hufflepuff!reader  ex-slytherin!yoongi.

⇢ word count: 8.4K

⇢ genre: angst, fluff, hogwarts!au.

⇢ summary: love has many obstacles, more often than not, it is eternal and unchanging; an everlasting love.

⇢ warning(s): please read! swearing, breakups, semi-violence.

⇢ author’s note(s): hey guys! here’s another Harry Potter inspired fic, i worked real hard on this one, it’s been a year in the making so i hope you enjoy! you may read slytherin!yoongi here to understand.

the summer of your fourth year had to be one of the worst summers you’d ever had. your heart broken and torn and ripped and hurt from the year’s endeavours. you had wasted hours with soggy cheeks and a hoarse throat, the other girls in your dorm smoothing down your hair and whispering ‘he didn’t deserve you’’s into your ear as you fell asleep. 

min yoongi. the boy you trusted with all your heart, and gone and ruined it just for a bit of fun. you could still feel the ringing in your ears as the howler spat his venomous words. the ringing didn’t stop after that. 

at least not until seokjin came along.

you were back in the muggle world, with your muggle things and muggle life, trudging through your local corner shop, just looking for something, anything that you could stuff your face with and have no regrets. you wanted to forget. with tired feet, dragging across the store’s floor, you had finally reached the till, plopping the almost melted tub of ben and jerrie’s ice cream onto the counter.

you looked up with a sour face, trying to ignore the fact that the flavour you’d picked had been one of yoongi’s favourites when you introduced him to muggle treats. with a pang in your heart you met a pair of whisky coloured eyes and plump pouty lips that belonged to none other than kim seokjin.

kim seokjin.

fuck, it was kim seokjin.

the gryffindor boy with the soft blonde hair and sweet grin, who was a favourite amongst all of the houses. jin had been popular from his very first year at hogwarts, winning over everyone with his kind heart. he’d soared through the ranks in his house’s quidditch team, now acting as gryffindor’s prized seaker. the girls loved him, and you could see why. gasping, you looked away from the older boy, in his sixth year moving onto his seventh. 

you missed how his lips twitched up into a soft smile as he scanned your tub. you shoved your fingers into the depth of your pocket, ready to pay with a bill or two before seokjins’s soft voice filtered through the air between you. “hey, YN. don’t worry about it, it’s on the house.” 

you felt yourself melting at his soft tone, his honey brown eyes causing warmth to drift over your skin. how did he have that effect on you? You barely knew him. “t-thank you seokjin-“ you blushed, scooping up your bag. the older gryffindor offered you a dreamy smile before shaking his head and running after you once he realised you were leaving.

“you know-“ he hummed, walking you to the sliding doors. “i’ve seen you around, you seem like a nice girl that i’d like to get to know better,” his words sent a pang of warmth to your heart. “if you don’t mind waiting for me, my shift ends in a few minutes and we could hang out for a bit.”

you were hesitant at first, but stayed nonetheless, jaw dropping when seokjin rolled out of the store in a fitted white t-shirt and black skinny jeans (after changing out of his uniform.). he really was effortlessly beautiful. some would have called you foolish for trusting a boy you’d just met, but he was sweet, walking you to the nearest park and devouring your ice cream with you. 

cookies and cream had never tasted so sweet, the memories that go with it becoming much fonder.

“i’m sorry about what happened with yoongi,” the blonde mumbled, as you spooned the last of the frozen desert into your mouth. you flinched, suddenly feeling the ringing from the howler again, and seeing the slytherin’s vacant expression as you ran past him. seokjin knew he had hit a nerve, his hand quickly engulfing yours. “you were really brave for handling it the way you did, i-it gave me the courage to talk to you today,” his thumb smoothed over the back of your hand, and you gulped, losing yourself in the coffee of his eyes. “you deserve better-“

‘i deserve someone like you.’ you had finished off in your head, leaning into him. your vision became clouded just at his touch, his hands coming up to cup your cheeks. the moment was rushed, you’d only just met him, but you’d never been treated with such gentleness, like you were the most expensive thing in the world. seokjin’s eyes flicked down to your lips and then back up to your eyes and you so desperately wanted to meet him in the middle. just a kiss. 

but he was gone as soon as he came. disappointment burying itself in your chest as your eyes fluttered open once again. seokjin was still holding your hands when your vision refocused, his grip on you not loosening. his whisky eyes noted how you posted and looked away from him. “Y-YN... i’m sorry,” he sighed, causing you to gently switch your gaze over to him again. “i know you’re hurting still and trust me, i really do want to kiss you but i don’t want you to feel like i’m taking advantage of you. i’ll wait until you’re ready, if you want me to. ” 

your heart fluttered at the blonde’s words, but you could still feel the disappointment in your veins at the thought of waiting, even if it was best for you. “come on now,” Seokjin grinned, trying to make eye contact with you as you looked away from him to cover your pout. “don’t  be upset YN, won’t you give me a smile?” 

he was crouching in front of you now, palms resting on his knees as he pulled funny faces to make you laugh. you couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled up in your throat when he sent a particularly weird one your way. 

the gryffindor boy beamed adorably, his dark eyes twinkling under the light of the rising moon. “there’s that smile, pretty girl.” 

a romance bloomed for you that summer, with seokjin being a muggle himself it was easier to meet up and organise dates. true to his word, the soon-to-be seventh year refused to kiss you or carry out any public displays of affection with you until you were ready so it took you almost two weeks to convince him to let you hold his hand. 

he treated you like a delicate and wilted flower, watering you with the affection that you craved and might not have gotten with yoongi. he tended to your bruised petals, and lifted them high once again, the colour returning to your life. 

seokjin was what you had needed all along. 

you hadn’t kissed, like he promised until one night where you had invited him to meet your family, they were comforted and surprised at the fact that seokjin was a muggle like yourself. your mother even more so when she pulled you aside to comment ‘that’s not how i expected yoongi to look’ in which you blushed, catching the blonde’s eye from across the room as he wrestled your little brother into the carpet (much to your father’s delight). 

“that’s because he’s not, mum,” you’d said in a hushed whisper, helping her to whip the cream for desert. “that’s seokjin...”

your mother hummed, staring between the two of you before giving you a small nod of approval. “well, i think he’s cute.” 

after a dessert of warm apple pie and cream (or ice cream for your brother.), yourself and seokjin had headed up to your room for some alone time together. You’d shut the door behind you, turning around to find the tall blonde laughing at an old photo of you, which you’d swatted away with a pout.  “your parents are really lovely,” jin whispered when you’d decided to curl up for some cuddles on your single bed, even if it was quite the squeeze. “your brother too.”

you smiled at him, twirling a golden strand of his around your finger, feeling his eyes drifting of your face.  “they really like you seokjin, if you’re not careful, mum might not let you leave, you’ll be on washing up duty for life!” you gasped between small pockets of laughter, causing the boy you’d been dating to laugh loudly.

“so they really like me?”

“Indefinitely.” 

“maybe more than your other boyfriends...?” 

you knew he’d been referencing yoongi, careful not to mention his name. you’d  never had a boyfriend before the slytherin boy anyways. 

“hmm, i’m not sure...” you pretended to tease, almost instantly regretting your decision when Seokjin rolled over your smaller frame, leaving your side. His palms fell flat either side of your head, sinking into the memory foam mattress as he caged you in. suddenly one hand was at your stomach, pinching your side until you were crying from laughter and gasping for air. you had no idea he knew you were ticklish.

your brother must have told him.

“s-seokjin!” you cried, burying your face into his hard chest as he tickled you mercilessly. “i can’t-“ 

he didn’t allow you to finish, tickling you further with a devilish smirk spreading across his lips. “say i’m the best!” 

“y-you’re the best! seokjin-“ 

his fingers paused, palms stretching out by your head again as you tried to regain your breath with a smile. you noticed then, how the pretty his eyes looked when the light hit them properly, how plush his lips were and soft his hair. it seemed as if seokjin was looking down at you with just as much awe, because suddenly he was swooping in, hands finding your cheeks as he sunk lower to brush his lips over yours. “c-can I kiss you?” he mumbled nervously. 

you nodded. “please...” 

his lips touched yours ever so slightly, and it’s only when you parted yours that he begun to kiss you fully. the plush pillows melding with each other perfectly, as your fingers threaded through tufts of his golden locks. jin’s hands slipped down from your cheeks to just under your shirt, soothing your heated skin as you worked your lips against his in a desperate attempt to taste more of him. 

one kiss turned to two, and two to three and soon enough you were full on making out on your silly childhood bedsheets. it was only when you could hear the little thump of your brother’s footsteps against the hard wood of the stairs that you jumped apart, straightening your clothes.

seokjin was the first to stand, knowing it was him that your younger sibling sought. with careful steps, he made his way over to the door, offering you the brightest of smiles before saying. “there’s more where that came from pretty girl.” 

you could have passed out on the spot.

confessions of love came not long after, with your impending return to Hogwarts coming up. seokjin had come to pick you up from your house in his parents’ car at around seven, promising your father you’d be back by eleven-thirty at the latest. he drove you both to the highest point in your home town to watch the sun go down and the city lights switch on, the sight taking your breath away. 

the blonde had treated you to an elaborate picnic of home cooked goodies that he’d made and a tub of your new favourite ice cream of vanilla cheesecake. you’d sat munching the treats on the hood of the car, before laying back and watching the stars, pointing out constellations whilst holding hands.

and whilst star gazing reminded you of yoongi, you couldn’t find it in you to miss him. 

seokjin looked down at you, your head resting on his chest with the stars pairing up in your eyes and he couldn’t help but blush when you met his gaze. “will it be the same?” you mumbled to him, thinking of your return to hogwarts. the older boy was to become a seventh year, and it would be his last year at the legendary school for practicing magic. He would be busy with his N.E.W.T.S and you with your O.W.L.S since you were moving into fifth year. would the feelings that sparked between you both change? for better or for worse? you heart couldn’t decide. 

as if he was reading your thoughts, jin silenced your raging mind with a soft peck to your lips, which deepened when your fingers met his hair, pulling him closer. “i’ll still love you all the same.” he whispered against the seams of your pink lips, not quite wanting to pull away.

“you love me?” you gasped, voice barely above a whisper. all you could see was jin , all you could taste was jin and all you could breathe was jin. all you needed was jin. you heart pounded viciously against your rib cage as he slotted his body against yours, looking down at you with so much love. 

“i do.” 

and then you smiled, with bleary eyes and a raging heartbeat because not once had anyone of romantic interest said those words to you, not even yoongi. so whispering back, you uttered the words. “i love you too,” 

your first few weeks back at hogwarts went smoothly, with you settling into a routine and managing to get top grades in the first-term assignments. your professors had suspected that you’d do exceedingly well in your upcoming O.W.L exams. 

you heard tales of jimin and jungkook’s adventures with taehyung in the muggle world and secretly wished that next time they’d invited you. although you’d run into Yoongi on the first day back, seokjin never complained about you not introducing him as your boyfriend, nor did he push for any explanations when he’d walked in on yoongi trying to make amends, resulting in you becoming a blubbering mess the second you’d left that room.

seokjin was an angel, a sweetheart and you’d never been so happy, memories of your ex becoming faint as you made new ones with the blonde gryffindor . people called it the honeymoon phase and maybe it was, but you wouldn’t let other people’s spite get in the way of you being happy. at least that’s what you hoped for.

a few weeks at hogwarts turned into a month or so, with the winter air fast approaching and first signs of snow fall around the corner. you’d  found yourself scurrying through the halls of the ageing castle, desperate to find your boyfriend; who had promised you an evening of hot chocolate and cuddles to make up for a date night you’d both had to miss. 

seokjin was busy, being the headboy of gryffindor had started to take up a lot of his time that he usually left for you, on those nights where you’d meet outside the kitchens for a quick kiss before bed. quidditch practice had also picked up a tonne, with an important gryffindor vs slytherin match coming up that even jimin was training for. 

it wasn’t just those things, that took up your time with him. the older boy had started hanging out with his teammates more, cutting into scheduled dates and even went on trips to hogsmead without you, only remembering when he found you half asleep outside his common room waiting for him. ‘darling...’ he’d say, lifting you bridle style, and humming in content as you nuzzled into his chest. ‘what’re  doing out out here?’ 

‘waiting for you’ you’d mumble back, still half asleep. ‘we have a date planned don’t we?’

‘maybe another time.’

sometimes it felt like you were giving more than you were getting. you didn’t want to fall into that trap again. 

your winter robes swished at your feet as you trotted down to the gryffindor common room, trying to meet jin before he had the chance to run off with one of his mates. you were walking so quickly, you hadn’t had the time to slow down before you collided with the gryffindor girl jimin had the hots for. “on YN! i didn’t see you there!” she exclaimed, grabbing your shoulders and giving you the once over to see if you were alright. 

you smiled at her softly. “sorry, i wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

“ah, it’s alright,” she blinked, looking at you as if there was something more to say. “did you need something? last time I checked you were a hufflepuff, no?” 

the pair of you shared a sweet laugh before you managed to calm down enough to tell her where you were headed. “i-i’m looking for seokjin,” you strung together the words through your final puffs of laughter. “we-we’re meant to be hanging out today...” 

you bite your lip, refraining from mentioning going on a date and watched with a patient stare as the gryffindor girl wracked her brain for memories of her headboy’s location. “he’s  in the library!” she nodded, furrowing her brows as if to confirm her guess. she took note of the way your eyes lit up, sure, the library was an odd place to host a date, but you didn’t mind. “with Namjoon, I think he’s studying.”

you tried to hide the drop of your smile as you thanked the girl, heading towards the library in an even bigger rush than you were in before. you were mad, borderline livid, storming through the rows and rows of books that decked the shelves of the dusty library, your nose twitched at the musty air, but you chose to ignore it, waltzing right over to our target. You couldn’t believe seokjin was willing to miss yet another date.

you found both boys tucked into a corner of the room, books of charms and defence against the dark arts spread across the sleek mahogany table. you allowed yourself a few seconds to calm down, knowing that your face was probably heated high with rage and you didn’t want to embarrass yourself in front of namjoon. 

you didn’t know the purple haired boy all too well, but knew enough to be aware that despite having a quiet and perhaps even shy exterior, he was one of the best and bravest wizards in hogwarts. he was also in the year above you. when you’d finally worked up the courage to approach the table, namjoon was the first to notice you, his quill pausing midair as he glanced between your - still raging - face and his older housemate. “uh- hyung,” he coughed awkwardly as you silently seethed above him. seokjin didn’t budge, too focused on his notes. “hyung-“ 

“what namjoon-ah? i swear to merlin if you’ve spilt your ink again i-“ the blonde looked up, exasperated expression falling away as his quill stopped dead on the page. jin could practically feel your anger, washing over him in boiling waves like heated lava. He was in trouble. “oh.”

Your nose scrunched up. “damn right, oh.” you watched as your boyfriend’s face contorted into a sheepish expression, his gaze flittering down to his stilled hands. 

“i’ve forgotten something haven’t i?” he whispered, the swell of his lips caught between a set of perfectly straight, pearl white teeth. 

“oh of course not, only another date.” 

both males seated at the table flinched at the sarcasm that dripped from your voice. namjoon raised his hand slightly, cowering under your sharp glare when you turned to face him. “t-to be fair, he does have N.E.W.Ts to study for-“ 

“shut up namjoon!” yourself and your boyfriend, very nearly, shouted earning yourself vicious hushes from students that were also in the library. the purple haired boy shrugged, trying to turn back to his work, leaving you and seokjin to deal with each other. 

you felt your heart sink when he looked up at you, this hadn’t been the first time Jin had skipped out on a date, and you doubted it would be the last unless you put a stop to things. you couldn’t help it when a sad pout pushed at your lips, your boyfriend’s large hand coming round to cup your smaller ones. “oh honey. please don’t give me that look,” You turned away, opting to look out of the window instead of into his eyes, you were more likely to give into him then. “YN... i know you’re upset with me, but i promise to get better at this, i hate seeing you sad and the fact that i caused it makes it worse. i’m such an idiot.” He brought your hands to his lips, pressing a kiss atop your knuckles with a downtrodden look.

you blushed, feeling the weight of his stare get under your skin. he was always able to do that, make you smile. 

“won’t you give me a smile pretty girl?” 

And with that you broke out into a large, unstoppable grin. 

the air was cold against your cheeks and nose, the bobble hat and scarf your mother had sent you, doing their best to shield you from the cool, crisp weather. hogsmead was littered with crystal snowflakes, blankets of the thick white layers stretching as far as the eye could see. you rubbed your gloved hands together in order to create some form of warmth, or perhaps it was to do with your nerves.

a few days after your confrontation in the library and some seriously overbearing affection from your boyfriend, he had decided to treat you out on the next trip to hogsmead. you had been bursting with excitement at the thought since then, every date with seokjin was just as nerve wracking as the last. 

from inside the three broomsticks, the boys you had known to become your friends observed you with care and curiosity, the stomachs filled with warm pie and sweet butterbeer. “someone should go and  get her,” jimin mused from over his plate of half eaten pie, he was starting to lose his appetite as he watched you through the window. “she’s bound to catch a cold out there.” 

jeongguk looked up from his plate, crumbs dusting the outer corners of his lips as he munched on his slice of cherry pie. “what’s she waiting for again?” the younger asked, spraying his slytherin and hufflepuff companions with an assortment of pastry crumbs. 

the pair cringed with disgust, wiping away their clothes as taehyung looked up. “she’s waiting for jin, they’re supposed to have a date today...” the Hufflepuff boy was already trailing off when his housemate hoseok let out a deep snore from his seat, slumped over the table. he’d  had a late night sneaking around with his newly found slytherin girlfriend. “i saw him earlier on though, with his quidditch team...” 

the boys fell silent, hoseok’s snores filling the air between them. jimin sighed; pushing his seat back to stand up and meet you outside. with a hat tugged over his luscious silver locks, he left his friends sitting solemnly at the table. the fifth year slytherin resisted the urge to retreat to the warm arms of the establishment once he was outside, his arm sliding around your shoulders for warmth. you jumped when you noticed.

“what’s been keeping you outside, away from the pie, YN?” the boy asked from beside you, you craned your neck to look up at him allowing your breath to catch at the sight of the snowflakes resting on his lips. jimin had always been charming and you would be a fool to say that you didn’t think he was attractive. so it came as no surprise when girls went after him, deeming him the catch of the century. the heartthrob of your year. and still, park jimin had always remained the humble boy you had met during first year, never letting the attention get to his head. park jimin may have seemed like a player, leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake, but what no one seemed to notice is that girls only wanted him for his pretty face and toned body. you only hoped that certain people saw past that, looking at the sweet boy who looked out for you so much. 

you could see the concern wavering in his dark eyes, so you grinned up at him ignoring the cold dry stretch of your lips. “i’m waiting for seokjin,” you hummed, watching a puff of air fade into the snow scene. jimin flinched from beside you, arm tightening ever so slightly before he relaxed. “we h-have a date...”

jimin would have never missed the little tremble in your voice. part of you already knew that your boyfriend wouldn’t show up, you’d seen him babbling away with his teammates already and yet, you trusted him. trusted him not to break another promise. to not let this be just another honeymoon phase. 

“at least i thought we had one.” 

the silver haired slytherin sighed down at you, squeezing your smaller frame into the warmth of his body. “how about we go get you that pie, yeah?” he offered in a whisper and you nodded, ignoring the swell of heart break in your chest. 

the halls were empty, as they should’ve been that night, with seokjin on hall monitor duty since we he was a prefect. he didn’t mind being up that late, seeing as it was a late start for him the next day. that didn’t stop him from feeling tired though, slips of exhaustion tingling in his brain as he walked mindlessly through empty halls.

the elder boy rounded a corner, only to be met with a shadowy figure at the other end of his path. as they stepped into the candle light, the blonde deemed the figure to be park jimin, his moonish hair was ruffled and a smirk lay delicately on his lips. some people called him a bit of a sleaze but seokjin knew better than to tell you that. 

“jimin!” the gryffindor called out, earning a look of surprise from the younger boy, before a deep scowl. “what are you doing out here all by yourself?” 

the silver haired boy rolled his eyes with a ‘tsk’ storming last jin, who held a look of shock before running to catch up with the slytherin. “it’s none of your business, is it?” 

“i mean it’s awfully late,” seokjin tried to reason, carefully matching his steps with the boy. after all, jimin was yoongi’s cousin and their families had quite the reputation. “i could always deduct house points you know...”

jimin froze, closing his eyes as if to calm himself before turning to face the older boy. “you have a thing for being late or on time don’t you?” he paused, allowing seokjin to think. “you’re  never late to class, to meals and most certainly quidditch practises, but you never seem to be on time for dates with your own girlfriend...or do you even show up at all?”

the gryffindor seventh year froze in his spot as jimin spun on his heel, walking backwards in the direction of his dorms. a cruel smile of a true slytherin crawling onto his lips. “deduct house points for that, why don’t you?” 

whispers trickled through the classroom as a ravenclaw prefect slipped into your class, handing a note to your transfigurations professor. your eyes barely peaked up from your scroll, where you furiously scribbled ahead in your notes, desperate to finish your work ahead of time. your professor had a thing for letting students leave early if they completed their work.

the professor cleared their throat from the head of the classroom, silencing the whispers from your classmates. a mixture of ravenclaw and hufflepuff. your heartbeat soared when you made eye contact with the prefect, gaze skittering to jeongguk who was sitting beside you with lips pursed in curiosity. 

the professor coughed again, causing your line of vision to shoot to them, and he offered you a gentle smile. “YN, you’re needed just outside the classroom.” 

“now?” you stuttered, anxiety sky rocketing. 

he nodded, opening the door for the prefect who was leaving. “now.” 

you swallowed nervously, packing up your belongings as jeongguk gave you a reassuring grin. the class talked in hushed mutters as you passed, your body twitching with anxiety as you left the room. with your eyes trailed on your feet in shame, you lifted your head onto to be met with a familiar stare. “s-seokjin?” you asked in surprise, truth be told, after the incident at hogsmead, you had been hesitant to see him. it turns out he felt the same. “wh-what are you doing here? did you pull me out of class?” 

he nodded, answering the questions swirling in your mind. “i needed to see you, it couldn’t wait,” the blonde paused, as if to seek your permission. he owed you an explanation and you bobbed your head slightly, an indication for him to proceed. “i-i know it looks bad, that i didn’t show up to hogsmead and that i’ve been ignoring you, but trust me YN, when i say that i’m going to make it up to you.” 

you swallowed thickly at his words, folding your arms so that one hand could desperately clutch an elbow as if to soothe your nerves. with a bite of your lower lip, you glanced up at seokjin once more, an earnest and sincere expression painting his heavenly features, an expression you had seen many times before. you could feel yourself melting into the warmth of his gaze, your mind screaming to forgive him just so you could be close to him once more. 

“i’m so sorry, pretty girl,” seokjin added, noting your hesitance to reply. the seventh year took a step forward, closing the distance between you as he reached out to brush a finger down the apples of your cheeks. you could feel yourself keening into his touch, giving into that guilty pleasure. To the risk of heartbreak again. “i promise i won’t miss out on another date again, i’ll treat you to a nice night out and we’ll spend the evening together and-“ you frowned at the familiarity of his words, each syllable recognisable to your ears. seokjin had said it all before, so why did you give in every time?

did he really care about you? were you really just a mindless fifth year, blindly following someone she loved? insecurities  crept up your throat at the thought, choking you from the inside and tearing apart every fibre of your being. it’d only be a matter of time before seokjin left hogwarts and found someone his age. someone he could make it out of the honeymoon stage with. the blonde noticed the frown on your lips and the creases at your forehead. “pretty girl, please give me a smile?”

not this time. 

“seokjin,“ you sliced through his words with a wavering voice, your boyfriend’s hand retreating from your face as he looked at you in shock. “you know i love you, you know i do but i-i think we should take a break. recently it feels like... i’m not getting what i give and i want to say but until you can prove me wrong... i just don’t want to end up like how yoongi and i did before. i don’t want to be your temporary fix.” 

you stood still with a clenched fist until you finished, eyes that were screwed shut opened to find that your boyfriend was completely silent. his eyes told you that he wanted to speak up and you wanted that. you wanted him to say something, something to convince you that you didn’t need space or time apart, and that he wouldn’t let you be just a passing phase. seokjin stood before you, mouth opening and closing as he fought an internal battle. 

with a shake of your head, you stepped away from him, a cloud of disappointment settling between you. his silence was enough. “i’ll see you around then, seokjin .” you breathed, gaze falling to the floor.

“YN..” 

“please don’t pull me out of another class unless you have something important to say,” you cut him off bitterly, turning away with a swish of your golden embossed robes. “my grades are important to me.” 

the halls were once again empty, a sort of coldness settling in them as seokjin patrolled them once more. paintings talked and whispered about his heartbreak, the frown on their golden boy’s face was far too much for them to handle. leaving them to turn away in despair.

he’d fucked up, he really had.

in his mind, seokjin had been doing right by you. he told you loved you, he made you laugh, he made you smile. but telling someone you love them and loving them are two different things. seokjin didn’t know that you felt abandoned, he didn’t take into account that he was creating a repeat of your last relationship. he wanted to do better for you, and he wasn’t. 

so here he was, the gryffindor boy finding comfort on the cobblestone floor of his favourite place away from home. his dark eyes following the magic sprouting from his wand, casting his patronous just to keep his bitter heart company. the scops owl danced around him, wings of blue flapping and shedding its diamond tears. the blonde could only watch with parted lips as his patronous burst into pieces, revealing a munching slytherin before him.

it was common for yoongi and seokjin to cross paths when the elder was on hall duty, more often than not the slytherin boy found himself talking to the house elves who gave him cookies and milk late at night when he couldn’t sleep. the two would bump into each other in the winding halls and magical staircases, share an awkward smile and wave (more like yoongi was grimacing) before heading in opposite directions. tonight was no different, except yoongi noticed something.

seokjin was sad.

the younger boy, with his hair dyed a simple black, knew the familiarity of sadness’ wake. he knew how much it would help someone to offer them a smile or a hand in times like this. yoongi chewed the dry skin at his bottom lip before taking a step towards the elder and holding out half of the cookie he had left. “it looks like you could need it.” the slytherin mumbled gruffly, looking away for a second.

seokjin’s lips parted once more, the words catching on the rim of his mouth as he stared up at the younger boy. not once had they had such a, for a lack of better word -civil- interaction. there had always been the space between them, the elephant between the two. you. but, now it seemed, they shared common ground. you had left both of them. 

“thank you.”

yoongi looked conflicted for a second, debating whether or not he should stay and comfort the elder. his bed seemed much further from his mind than he had hoped for, at this point. “are you...” he started, tongue peeking out to wet his lips. “are you okay, seokjin?”

the question startled the elder, perhaps just a bit, still not used to this level of attention from the boy who’s girlfriend he’s stolen. he couldn’t help when his lips begun to form the words. “no, not really.” 

“wanna talk about it?” 

“y-yeah, sure.” 

at this point the slyhterin had bunched himself up beside seokjin, looking at him with sleep ridden eyes but an expression that said he was ready to listen. and yet, the blonde felt himself hesitating. why did it have to be yoongi? of all people, to find him here in this vulnerable state, it had to be the boy who probably hated him most. 

“YN left me,”He muttered, throat closing in fear of judgement from the very boy who lead him to YN. “we, uh...she broke up with me.” 

a pause. 

yoongi gasped. “Oh wow.” 

seokjin looked up, a fire ready to set ablaze in his eyes as he stared the slytherin down with ease. “what’s that supposed to mean?” 

yoongi shuffled, looking up at the ceiling as his dark hair fell over his eyes, it was almost as if he hadn’t been sure what to say, then again he’d never expected to find himself in kim seokjin’s company. 

“it’s  just that...it’s clear as day to anyone...how much she loves you,i don’t think anyone thought it would end. i never thought it would end. you were her forever it seemed.” yoongi confessed with a slight frown and a crease to his brow, the storm of hurt rumbling behind his black magic eyes. “yoy were her forever and not me,” he turned to seokjin, angry at him, angry for him, angry at himself. “you were supposed to be her forever and not fuck up like me, for merlin’s sake you piece of shit.”  

the gryffindor blinked as he shuffled away from his younger, not quite expecting him to lash out in such a way. “yoongi...” 

“no, shut up!” the latter growled, his voice eerily hushed for the venom laced in his tone. yoongi stood, past emotions rushing through him as he tried his best not to combust. thoughts and feelings of that fateful day blasting a chill through his veins. “I bet you promised not to hurt her, I bet you promised not to be like me.” The words spilled before Yoongi could stop them, white hot anger flashing behind his eyes as his word slurred with fury, Seokjin flinched at every syllable of truth hitting home. “Didn’t you?”

“i did,  I promised…” the elder remembered, frowning at himself as yoongi sat down, the anger having rolled out of him by now. the two sat together in the dark halls, emotions swirling through their minds and hearts as they reflected. 

a moment passed.

“so, how do you intend to keep that promise?”

“wh-what?” the blonde babbled sheepishly, surprised by the slytherin’s sudden change in attitude. Yoongi smiled sadly at his elder, running a hand through his blackened locks, pushing it out of place as he eyed Seokjin. “What do you mean?”

yoongi hummed slightly, kicking his foot on the cobblestone floor as he chewed on his lip. He hadn’t meant to blow up at the gryffindor earlier, too many feelings from the last year still resonating within him at the time. however, now he felt a sense of guilt, wanting to help the poor headboy especially if it meant helping YN, who deserved all the best. “I just mean… you promised her that you’d be better than me, so you have to show her that.  I didn’t mean to blow up at you so bad, but I felt like we both had things to say.” 

“what i’m trying to say, is that if you’re going to make it up to her, you need to show her what she means to you.” the younger noted, distantly. 

seokjin’s brow creased. “how do I do that?” 

yoongi smiled softly this time as he stood, placing his hand on the older’s broad and firm shoulder. “that’s for you to figure out what I couldn’t.” he mumbled softly, bidding the gryffindor a good night as he stepped out into the darkness.

your shoulders sagged as you dumped your bag against the door, shrugging off robes and collapse on your bed. You’re exhausted, the hours of herbology notes you’d written up had finally taken its toll on your cramping hand. 

you desperately want to nap, just a few seconds before the girls get back from their classes and start to squeal over how your infamous best friend kim taehyung snuck his muggle pet into hogwarts. you swear their giggles and claps gave you more migraines than watching jimin endlessly flirt. 

you’re only two steps away from your bed, the smooth honey yellow sheets drawing you in when a warm hand slips over your mouth and another pulls you into a firm chest. 

a horrified scream escapes your lips, was this a prank? were you being attacked? did one of those horrible slytherin boys that picked on everyone sneak into the dorms? a million and one thoughts popped into your mind, and you only wished you still had your wand on you. you’d stupidly left it in your robes.

the stranger whispers short shhs into your ears, but you’re too busy rustling and kicking your legs to care. with heavy breaths you bite on the hand, gagging at its salty taste and jab your elbow into the ribs of your attacker, pulling yourself away from their rather large frame. 

“hey hey! YN, it’s me!” the stranger cries, holding a hand to their ribs as the suck the blood from their wounded hand. he pants, his robes disheveled as you eye him up and down. 

you’re mad, more than so. how dare he come into your private space uninvited, holding you in such a way and giving you such a fright that you screamed louder than the herbs you’d been studying earlier. “by merlin! seokjin what the hell? what do you think you’re doing?” you start, face heating up at all the fury you’ve kept hidden. you try to convince yourself that the anger you feel is because of him sneaking up at you, and not because of the yearn in your heart that comes after seeing him for the first time in a while.

the blonde wipes his hand on his robes, crimson blood blending in with the red of his house. the colour stings your eyes, a reminder of his place in hogwarts. above you. the doubts from times with yoongi creep into your mind, and it takes you a second to remind yourself that you’re better off without him. both of them. 

“i’m sorry, i know i shouldn’t be here, but i had to see you.” 

the words, as sweet as they sound, make you curl into yourself. they would have made you blush before, they would have made you smile. but your heart still hurts from where be betrayed your trust. your eyes meet his, they’re still as warm and as inviting as you remember, and maybe a little more dull. you wonder if he’s taking things well. you know that you aren’t, you miss him.

you want him to stay, but you don’t want to give in.

“you have three minutes to talk, starting with why and how you’re here.” you say pointedly, wrapping your arms around yourself as you cast your gaze aside. your ears detect the small gasp of joy that the gryffindor lets out and your body reacts to the steps, desperately needing his touch after all these weeks.

he blinks as he shuffled towards you, rubbing his thumb over his own knuckles. “i missed you,” seokjin breathes, he knows that he shouldn’t have said it. He can tell by way your face contorts in a slight pain and the way your hand comes to grip your chest from over your shirt. ‘don’t’ he hears you mumble and closes his eyes softly. “i used a disguising spell so i could follow some girls in, and hid behind your door. i’m here because...because i realised how foolish i’ve been, i know that ive hurt you and im here to desperately ask for your forgiveness,”

you blink, frowning at him as he speaks, you’re not used to apologies. but this isn’t yoongi, this is seokjin. “i don’t care how long it takes, i’ll wait for you because i realise how much i need you here.” the blonde finishes, grasping your hand with need. the simple touch sends you into a spiral, your cravings for his closeness raging on as he pulls away. 

“seokjin...” you whisper, so close to him that you can feel the warmth of his breath against your skin. 

“i don’t need an answer from you now, just for you to come to the quidditch match on friday.” the taller asks, his tone pleading slightly. he doesn’t know what he’ll do if you say no, fear wrapping around his heart and squeezing. 

you shook your head, not sure if you were agreeing or disagreeing. you watched with forlorn eyes a the elder wizard moved to kiss your knuckles, standing upright to exit through the door. “i can’t promise you that.” you mumble quietly, letting him walk toward it.

“then just seeing you is enough.” 

the cold air nips at your cheeks as you stand in line with your fellow hufflepuffs. the hands of frost pinch at your skin, and tickle your nose, wrapping their evil arms around your waist as you shiver with annoyance. taehyung looks down at you and smiles, wrapping an arm around your shoulders to pull you into him. his sweater is warm like the honey yellow that drips from its fabric, and you cling to him more in search of it. 

girls squeal around you, they chatter about their favourite quidditch players. jimin is all that they mutter, and while he’s your friend you can’t help but he chanting for someone else in your head. 

“seokjin’s playing today,” a ravenclaw giggles, casting you a side glance as yourself, taehyung, hobi and little jungkook advance in the line. “i wonder who she’ll be cheering for now that she’s had a taste of both houses.” 

the snide remark sets a blaze off in your chest, but you instead, squeeze your housemate’s hand tighter. the boys continue excitedly, going on and on about how jimin trained on end for this. yet your mind lingers on the gryffindor himself. you wonder if he’s thinking of you, of how you would calm him before every match. you feel your heart skip a beat at the thought as you pass through the gates, into the stalls.

students from all years, hufflepuffs from all ages sit with one another and chat excitedly, but you don’t miss the way their loud words become hushed as you and your friends walk by. “don’t worry about them,” jungkook reminds you when you sit down, his bright doe eyes giving you comfort. “they’re just jealous.” 

“of what?” you mumble; there’s nothing that you have. you’re no longer with the golden boy of hogwarts, what else is there to be jealous of? 

hoseok leans over taehyung’s lap to reach for you, his mouth covered in the chocolate frogs that he’d brought from hogsmead. “you’ll see!” 

the boys all share a look and a giggle, you swore they acted like gossiping girls sometimes. you shake your head and roll your eyes, settling into the seat. the hard wood makes your thighs uncomfortable and your teeth still chatter from the cold. a tap on your shoulder makes you turn around. 

“YN LN?” the boy asks, adorning the signature ruby robes. you nod, and he looks relieved, pulling something from his cloak and passing it to you. “this is for you.” 

he speaks, but doesn’t saw where the brown paper package is from. you allow your fingertips to touch at the material as the boys around you stare. you gasp in awe when you tear open the paper, revealing seokjin’s deep red sweater, his name printed on the back. 

‘i love you, please wear this.’ the note reads, and you clutch the clothing to your chest, catching the eye of seokjin as he whizzes out into the pitch.

screams echo in your ears as the final minutes before half time tik closer and closer. you had never understood sports, muggle or wizard like, you had always found them particularly boring. quidditch in a way reminded you of the football your father watched on a sunday down at the pub, either coming back extremely heartbroken or so excited that he’d press sloppy kisses all over your face. 

the students around you jeer at slytherin players as the zip past on their broom, chasing after the infamous golden snitch. you pay little attention, playing with the loose thread of the gryffindor’s sweater, having slipped it on. the fabric smells like him, like comforting nights spent by the fireplace in his common room. you close your eyes and can almost feel his arms wrap around you, and his plush lips press soft kisses to your hair. if you close your eyes you can imagine what it’s like to be with seokjin again. 

the excited chanting suddenly turns into worried gasps, and your eyes shoot open. you seem him, seokjin, spiralling down from the highest point. his broom appears busted and the other players of his team are chasing after him. your heart stops in your chest as you notice jimin heading down after him as well, the mop of silver hair fluttering with the rapid breeze as he zooms after your lover. 

you can feel fearful trembles start to wrack your body, your friends beside you holding you close as you all sit on the edge of our seats. waiting for impact. waiting for the scream of pain.

it doesn’t come.

instead, the blonde stops inches from the ground, his broomstick shooting up into the sky. the wands of his fellow housemates on the ground, follow him and suddenly the sky appears less grey and more...

orange. 

bursts of red and yellow spout from his broom, the petals coating the entire pitch and all the stalls as seokjin circles it, followed by his team mates. the students of hogwarts look up to the skies in awe, giggling and dancing in the petals. you catch two, holding them in your palm as you rub the silken petals. red and yellow, tangle together. 

jungkook shakes your shoulder, pointing up. “what?” you mumble, but replace the tone with a surprised gasp as seokjin comes to a halt on his broom in front of you. he holds out two whole flowers, one a deep rouge and the other a sunset yellow. he looks to you with shy brown eyes and parted pink lips, and you can feel a thousand and one pairs of eyes on the two of you.

“chrysanthemums,” you whisper, taking them lightly and tilting your head to meet his gaze. “they’re my-“ 

“your favourite... i know,” the gryffindor smiles, pointing to the plants in your grip. “yellow is for love and red for loyal love.” he explains, nearing you and you tune out the squeals of girls nearby. “YN i know, that these last few weeks have been hell without you, to which is a fault of my own. i let myself take you for granted, instead of showing you what love should be. you deserve every ounce of love and everything good from then on. i promise from this forward; to love you eternally...that is, if you shall have me?” 

“seokjin...i love you too.” you whisper, rushing forward through the stands to capture his lips in a soft, emotional kiss. you feel the truth in his words and the love that he once gave, relaxing into him as you fight the tears of longing in your eyes.

the klaxon sounds for the end of half time, but you ignore it, kissing him until the moment remains eternal in your mind. 

#bangtanhq #btswritingcafe #btsbookclub #btsguild #ficswithluv #bts #bts x reader #bts x you #bts imagine #bts imagines #bts fanfction #bts fanfic #bts fic #bts hogwarts au #bts gryffindor #bts seokjin #kim seokjin #seokjin #bts au #bts fantasy au #bts harry potter au #bts fluff #bts angst #bts smut #seokjin x reader #seokjin x you #seokjin fanfic #seokjin fluff #yoongi #jimin

[raywritesthings]

Renewed Faith

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Characters: Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance Summary: Oliver’s a little more honest about how he feels when picking Laurel up at the hospital. 3x06 AU For @kasumikai *Can be read on my AO3, link is in bio*

Dealing with Ted Grant’s former protege had given him a lot to think about tonight. About Roy and the truth he’d been hiding from him. About Laurel and the help he had been refusing her. Both of them were struggling on their own as a result, going to other people. For all he had preached to Grant about losing faith in Stanzler, he was failing to show faith in his own friends.

He knew what to do about the former. Roy needed closure about what he had done while under the influence of the mirakuru. The latter, however, was proving as elusive to solve as always.

He never knew how to do right by Laurel. Like his father’s mission, it was a promise he had made on the island and failed to make a reality. He knew what she needed to hear: that he supported her decision to seek out training, that he knew she was dedicated enough and capable enough to take that kind of training on. But how did he say that all while knowing the thought of Laurel training, of getting in fights, of taking on whoever had mercilessly killed her sister left him waking up in a cold sweat night after night? He wasn’t sure he knew.

Oliver knocked lightly on the open door of the hospital room Laurel had been taken to after falling unconscious in the crash. She was already up and shrugging into her jacket as if nothing had happened, like it was just her average Wednesday. It basically was. Why had he thought he could ever protect her the way he wanted to?

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“How you feeling?”

“Worst thing about sobriety is having to pass on the pain meds,” she answered bluntly, wincing a little as a sore muscle was likely pulled. Oliver himself passed on pain meds whenever he could, not liking feeling out of control, but he could admit that the knowledge they were available to him when he needed them was a comfort at times. To have to go without not as a choice but as a necessity was far different. She was stronger than he gave her credit for.

“Right. Thought maybe you could use a ride home,” he offered, taking a couple steps further into the room.

“And an ‘I told you so’?” She guessed.

He hung his head slightly. “I don’t think that I owe you one of those.” At her surprised look, he added, “When I said I wouldn’t train you, I was trying to protect you.” He nearly started to say something about Grant, something that would probably come out unfavorable, but he knew this wasn’t really about Grant. He’d be afraid no matter how clean-cut of a trainer Laurel found. “I just… I just need you to be safe.”

She looked at him, and there was something pitying in her gaze. “Ollie, you know I can’t promise you that. When’s the last time either of us have been safe for longer than a couple weeks at a time?”

He licked his lips. “I don’t know. And it scares me that I don’t know. But what scares me worse is knowing that you might be putting yourself in even more danger soon. I get it, I get why,” he continued just as she opened her mouth. “But I can’t change that it scares me. It’s how I feel about- about you. Because I care about you, Laurel. And I’m always going to.”

She stepped towards him, her hands clasping together. “Then help me to prepare. If you want me to be safer, the more I know, the better off I’ll be.” He shook his head on instinct, and she frowned. “You can’t have it both ways.”

“I know I can’t,” he said quickly, wanting to head off an argument. He hadn’t come here to argue, but like always he was screwing this up. “I just need you to understand—”

“I understand perfectly,” Laurel said, her tone of voice the courtroom kind where she was about to deliver an argument designed to completely knock out the defense. “You’re the one who is struggling to understand that I am not helpless—”

“I never said you were,” he said, his tone rising without his consent. Why did she always pull this out of him? He couldn’t control his emotions when it came to Laurel. “I don’t think you’re helpless. It’s just that losing you—”

“--and I can and will do what I—”

“You don’t know what it would do to me!”

Silence fell so suddenly he felt stunned by it himself, despite his own words being what caused it. Out in the hallway, some machinery faintly beeped, but Laurel never looked away from him, her eyes wide.

“I—” he swallowed, and his voice came out rough. “If you were gone. Laurel, I don’t want to even think about it, that’s how badly it scares me. I need you in my life.”

“I know. I’m here,” she said, her voice soft.

It wasn’t enough. He could feel the pull, the longing that was never quite sated in him for her as surely as he had when he’d first come home, or when he’d spent nights at a time staring at her picture. Oliver moved, hands rising to cup her face and push back her hair.

“Please,” was all he could manage. “Please.”

Her lips were so familiar to him that it didn’t require a testing brush to find the right fit. They melted, melded together in a way he had missed in every other kiss he had had, though he hadn’t known what he was looking for until now. He kissed her till he needed a deeper breath than just his nose allowed. Oliver took one gasp of breath and went in again, Laurel ready and meeting him with her own mouth.

Her hands clasped his arms, ran up his back and held his shoulders, trying to steady him as he swayed into her. Oliver didn’t know what happened when this ended, though, and a part of him didn’t want to be steady if that meant it did.

“You can’t,” Laurel said between one kiss and the next, and he nearly pulled away, worried he’d finally overstepped too far. But the next breath came and so did the rest of her sentence. “—keep doing this. You’re not even supposed to be in love with me any more.”

“I know,” he breathed, his eyes closed. He had tried to move on so many times. He had told himself he was in love with other women, and tried to make them believe it, too. That was wrong. “I can’t help that I do. I guess that makes me the helpless one.”

Laurel drew away enough that there was space between them to look at each other, and Oliver slowly opened his eyes. She was watching him, her look guarded. “Loving someone is having faith in them.”

His shoulders slumped. “Yeah.”

“So do you?”

“I have faith in you, Laurel,” he replied. “I just don’t have faith in me. Every time I try, I fail.”

A little of her neutral expression cracked, just a lift of one side of her lips in a wry smile. “There’s a city out there that would say otherwise. Including me.” Her arms were still around him, and they rubbed up and down his back as she continued. “Look, let’s table this for now. We’re tired, it’s late, and someone is going to check on us if we don’t leave soon.”

He sighed and slowly lowered his own arms from where they’d wrapped around her waist. “Okay.”

Laurel grabbed her purse, then leaned in to peck his cheek. “I will still take that ride home, though.”

“I can do that.” Oliver offered his arm, which Laurel took, and together they left the hospital. He barely noticed the tiled floors or the sterile white walls; to him, he was walking through a daydream. Him and Laurel, again. He would have never imagined it possible.

Maybe he had been right in what he’d said to Grant after all. It just took faith.

#lauriver #laurel x oliver #oliver queen #laurel lance #arrow #green arrow #black canary #my writing

[certifiedskywalker]

Before You - Rey

It had been a long time since you had felt this good about something. Now all you had to do was hold onto her.

All you had ever known were the walls of the Resistance base. Your parents met there, lived there, and had raised you there. It seemed natural that you would follow in their footsteps and join the Resistance when you were old enough to hold a blaster; and that is exactly what you did. Train, work, rest, repeat. Your days were eaten up by meetings, devoured by tactical training, and consumed with advancing the reach of the Resistance.

However, the montomy of your routine was broken when the arrival of new, strong souls joined the ranks. You had met Rey and Finn through Poe, when the pilot just had to introduce you to them both. It was plain to see that your pilot friend was completely taken by the new additions and part of you understood why. Finn, despite his frumpy confusion, wore his kind heart on his sleeve. The ex-trooper had been through quite a lot and had witnessed the capabilities of the enemy, first hand. He truly cares for the safety of others, willing to fight till the better end to ensure it. You could level with Poe’s affection for Finn quite well. Rey was a whole different beast. At first, the quiet girl intrigued you. Her bright brown eyes seemed to only observe, watching everything with a shining wonder. You expected her to be childish; but the moment she spoke, all preconceived notions melted away. Her voice washed over you in calming waves as she spoke of her life on Jakku. You found yourself longing to listen to her talk even when you were in the midst of work. That longing soon became consistent. It morphed into the untamable beast of love and there was no chance of stopping it’s rampage through your heart. You found yourself wishing to be by Rey’s side rather than filing through paperwork, or joking around in the mess hall with her instead of dining with admirals. Your every bone ached to be nearer to her, get to know her like nobody else. You grew to dislike the work you were brought up in then, for it stole precious time away from being in Rey’s presence. The feeling of content you once drained from your work with the Resistance faded, like a distant memory. Now, you only felt truly happy when Rey was at your side. It had been a long time since you had felt this good about something outside of your work; now you needed to hold on to her. You were already gripping the daydreams of adventure your mind conjured throughout the day. The hypothetical journeys you and Rey would embark on, work left behind. You were in the midst of one of those pleasant escapes when a voice broke through your thoughts and echoed in your ears.

“Y/N?” You could recognize the sweet voice of Rey anywhere, even with her out of sight. Turning, you saw the girl, donning a new tunic of grey material.

“Rey,” you said breathlessly as you jogged up to approach her, “what are you doing here?”

“General Organa is giving me information on her brother so that, if I find him, I’ll be able to convince him that she is the one who sent me. In case the Wookiee isn’t enough.”

“Not if,” you said with a smile, “when you find Skywalker. I know you will, Rey.” The girl before blushed slightly, a dusting of rosy pink blooming across her cheeks. “Thank you, Y/N. This is perfect, actually. I wanted to see you before I had to take off.”

“You’re leaving today?” You asked, your eyes widening in worry. Due to your workload, you had hardly had the time to spend with Rey. Now that she was leaving, who knew how much longer the two of you would go without seeing each other.

“As soon as the sun rises tomorrow. Chewie wants to give the Falcon’s navigation system time to fully track the coordinates before flight.” You nodded along as she spoke, but you were not truly listening. The only thing running through your brain was Rey, she was leaving, you couldn’t let her go, she was Rey. “Then we best make the most of the time we have now,” you said, grabbing her hand, which you knew she hated; but with you, she never pulled away. “What? Y/N, don’t you have to-”

“Make backup plans for backup plans? Yeah, but you’re leaving and you’re my top priority.” As you spoke, the words just flew out of your mouth like an X-Wing off a smooth landing pad. Glancing over your shoulder at Rey, you saw that her blush had only deepened. “Okay,” she murmured, “let’s make the most of it.”

You didn’t really know what you were doing. All you knew was that you wanted to be with Rey for as long as possible. In reality, you wanted her to stay; but you also knew, much like yourself, that Rey’s sense of duty would keep her focused on her mission. You admired that in her, despite it causing you bittersweet turmoil. 

“Y/N, where are we headed?” Rey asked as you lead her through the base. Busy officers marched past, droids following close at their heels. “You’ll see,” you lied calmly, “I have a plan.” Quickly, you rushed into the map room. Holograms of every sort littered counters and tables. Workers were filing routes to possible planets of safety if the First Order ever found the current base of operations. While they were busy doing their jobs, you nicked a hologram titled ‘I-32’ and a projector. Before anyone noticed the presence of you or Rey, the two of you swiftly backed out of the room. The girl bursted out in a fit of small giggles as her gaze fell upon your face. You stared at her in wonder, marveling at the sound of her laugh. The smile that spread across your features could not be stopped. “What’s so funny?” You asked, grinning at Rey as you walked. “Not funny, just fun,” she replied, her brown eyes sparkling like stars. You bit your lip and nodded before squeezing her hand gently before quickening your pace out of the base. “What is this room used for?” Rey asked as she took in the new surroundings. The room was slightly musty and smelled of old pilot suits mixed with cleaning supplies. “Storage,” you said simply. Your fingers traced the old suits, reading the names of brave souls that had fought in the first grand Rebellion. “Nothing but old ghosts in here.” “And us,” Rey added in a whisper. “And now us.” The two of you smiled at each other, before you laughed breathily and forced your eyes off of her. In the new found silence and tension, you unpacked the stolen tech. As you set up the projector, you felt Rey’s eyes watching you. Glancing over at her, the girl looked away quickly, as if she hadn’t been staring at you at all. You smiled to yourself and went back to setting up the projector.

“Okay, it should be set now,” you said, brushing off your knees as you stood back up. You felt the warmth of Rey’s body beside yours as she peered down at the machine you had erected. She adorably puzzled over it, trying to figure out its function. “It’s a projector.” “What does it do?” “It’s some old tech that people used to watch movies on. The Resistance likes this type of technology because it can’t be tracked,” you explained. “We repurpose the lenses and alter some wiring so it can show our data slides.” As you spoke, you slipped the ‘I-32’ slide into the projector and flipped the switch. Spread across the wall, glittering stars sparkled in light shades of blue. Reaching out, you shut off the rest of the lights so Rey could better see the galaxy presented on the wall. “I…” she trailed off, her eyes scanning the wall and her brows furrowed in realization. “I know this place.” “Do you see that sphere right there?” You pointed at a light blue, almost yellow orb that shone brightly, seemingly brighter than the rest. Rey leaned towards you a little to get a better view. In her eyes you could see micro-reflections of the lights in her dark irises.

“Jakku…” she whispered, her fingers ghosting over the projection.

“I thought you might what to see it again, before you trek all across the galaxy.” “Yeah,” she murmured, “I...I don’t miss it.” “What?” Rey turned at your question, her face a mere inches from your own. Her eyes scanned yours and you felt your cheeks grow hot. “At first I didn’t want to leave, but then I met people...I saw green...I saw beauty...I met you…” She whispered, licking her lips slightly when she finished. The light of the projector was cast across half of her face, making her appear more beautiful somehow. It was like she was illuminated by true starlight.

“I didn’t know,” you replied, your breath coming out in shakes. Rey nodded, turning away, her gaze now cast to her lap. You bit your lip, thinking over what to do. If this was work, you would push through it until you finished what you had started; and you wanted to start with Rey. Start something good, something you didn’t want to let go. “Rey…”

The girl looked up, meeting your gaze just as you leaned in to press your lips to hers. Your hands immediately lifted, cupping her cheeks as she moved against you. You could feel her cold fingers gripping your shirt tightly as the kiss deepened. It was everything you wanted and more. The months of longing and wishing finally gathered into the moment, released all at once in the perfect melding.

It stayed like that for a long while. You and Rey held each other in the cozy comfort of your hidden storage room. Until the sun rose, you stayed in the quiet, gazing up at fake stars and exchanging stories of your lives before each other; but it felt like that time didn’t matter now. Anything before Rey was nothing, and you didn’t dare imagine anything after her. There wasn’t anything after Rey. She was your work now; yours and all immersing.  

#rey imagine #rey x reader #rey imagines #rey fanfiction #star wars #star wars imagine #star wars imagines #finn the human #poe #poe dameron #leia #general leia #Princess Leia #jakku #the force awakens #the last jedi #luke skywalker #chewbacca

[screensirenfic]

Black Leather - Chapter 28

The junkyard was pretty much what the name implied; a big stretch of land heaped up with shit that was better left forgotten by time.

I came here with Charlie sometimes to find scrap parts for old cars; usually just found scrap instead.

Everyone knew that the decent scrapyards were out Wyoming way.

Still; the kid had done an alright job, all things considered.

It was pretty defensible as a base, and the school bus looked like it could hold out against nuclear war, and probably was designed that way if the history books were anything to go by.

I could already see some decent scrap we could use as a barricade, and with a little elbow grease; we might even be able to improvise some traps.

“Oh yeah; this will do. This will do just fine.” Steve spoke my thoughts out loud, clearly on the same wavelength when it came to finding a defensible home base.

“Good call; kid.” I praised Dustin, earning me one of those toothy smiles, and I hoped some of my dad’s hero worship wasn’t rubbing off on me.

——————————————————

The best of half an hour was spent spreading round the rest of the meat; only a minimal amount of it ending up being flung at each other, because as much as I liked horsing around with Steve; I valued my innards more, and didn’t want to come across as a tasty snack for a hungry demogorgon.

Our efforts ended with us heaping the dregs of our buckets in a pile in the middle of the junkyard, creating what we’d hope would look like an all you can eat buffet to any unsuspecting monster, and the perfect ambush spot to us.

“I said medium-well!” A voice yelled from across the junkyard, and Steve, Dustin and I all looked in its direction.

Two kids and a shiny new racer bike were heading our way with painfully eager expressions, and I wondered when me and Steve signed up to be counselors at Camp Shitstain?!

“Who’s that?” Steve asked, because he was still painfully dumb, and we were probably gonna have to fix that, but not till I sorted out that look on Dustin’s face.

Steve may have been an idiot, but to me it was glaringly obvious that the redheaded girl on the back of that bike was the object of his affections.

And if the way his face sunk harder than the Titanic was a signifier of his feelings; it looks like Red was already smitten with her speed racer.

“Hey kid; you wanna talk with your friend for a bit? Cos if you want I can keep Red busy?” I asked, giving Dustin an out if he wanted, because there was clearly a discussion that needed to be had here, and it was probably best if the lady in question was out of the picture for that.

“Yeah; that would be good, actually.” Dustin replied, probably sounding the most grown up he had since I’d joined this this party.

“Alright. You just leave this to me.” I reassured him, giving him a hard pat on the shoulder, before approaching the young redhead girl.

“Hey Red; can you give me a hand?”

——————————————————-

So Little Miss Lovetriangle was actually a big help, but maybe it was because at least someone around here wasn’t worried about getting her hands messy.

It did also help that I knew all about unwillingly being the rope in a testosterone filled game of tug of war.

The kid didn’t even seem to have an interest in the boys; and I was really gonna have to start learning names, because Dipshits One and Two and Red were really not suitable names in a crisis.

Right now; me and Red were busy melding corrugated metal sheets to the bus in a last ditch attempt at armour playing against demogorgons, whilst the two boys were still playing therapist, and Steve was off god knows where doing god knows what.

It was almost poetic; really. The two females of the group doing all the heavy lifting whilst the men were too busy bickering and being emotional.

Still; someone had to do it, and me and Red were down to our last sheet.

“On the count of three. One. Two. Three.” I instructed, before we managed to bend sheet metal around the front corner of the bus by hand.

It took some elbow grease, but we still managed to do it, and fuck; if I wasn’t proud of our work, creating our own Firt Knox outta scrap metal and chicken wire.

“Great work; kid!” I praised her; reaching out for a fist bump, which she eagerly returned.

I wiped the beading of sweat on my forehead, taking in what would hopefully hold us safely until Steve and I could figure out a way to kill a mutant lizard.

“You know; I never actually got your name?” I asked the girl; because it was probably rude of me to just call her Red this entire time.

“Max. Max Mayfield.” The girl replied, holding out a sweaty palm to shake.

“Lola. Lola Hopper.” I offered the same in return, taking her hand and shaking it firmly.

“You know; it’s funny...” Max smiled with withheld laughter, still shaking my hand.

“What’s funny?” I asked, letting go of her hand with a smile.

“My older brother goes on and on about this girl he knows called Lola...” She continued; that smile turning into a full on smirk, that sparked my curiosity.

“Well; what’s his name? Maybe I know him?” I asked, my interest officially peaked, and my mind now scanning for any fiery redheads I knew of.

“Billy.” She stated; and I felt the bottom suddenly drop out of my stomach.

She couldn’t be talking about him; could she?

“Billy? Billy Hargrove?” I asked; the question a near mimic of his own introduction to me, though with far more apprehension.

“Yeah. Know him?” Max nodded; clearly not picking up on my uneasiness with the topic, because did Billy really talk about me at home?

“Yeah. I know him.” I replied, not giving anything away with my answer, as there was no real way of knowing what bullshit Billy spurted about me behind closed doors.

“But you can’t possibly be that Lola...” Max scoffed; a small smile of incredulity crossing her face. “You’re not—“

“A dumb blonde with tits bigger than my head?” I asked; having already perfectly painted a mental picture of Billy’s usual type, and knowing that I didn’t fit the bill in the slightest.

“You are that Lola! Jesus; Wow!” She exclaimed; and for once I was hopeful that the gossip Billy was saying about me might at least hold a slither of truth.

“You are so not what I expected.” Max stated, leaning down to help me pick up another piece of metal, and I began to wonder what exactly she’d expected me to be like?

Probably a stuck up, slutty bitch who’d look more in place on a poster in Billy’s room then digging through trash in a junk yard.

Hope I wasn’t a disappointment.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” I shrugged, deciding that if she’d expected what I think she expected; I was glad I was a big fucking surprise.

“Oh; yeah, totally!” Max nodded in agreement; clearly getting exactly what train of thought I was riding on, and deciding I was the polar opposite of it.

“I mean; I just can’t quite believe it...” She continued; her face a mixture of awe and disbelief as we continued to work on our barricade. “You seem so cool, and Billy’s a—“

“Total dick.” I finished off the sentence for her, not at all surprised that find Billy’s own sibling thought he was a douchebag.

Maybe I really was the first to see a different side to him.

“Hey; you said it, not me.” She held up her arms in surrender, as if she was worried the shadow of Billy would fall over her at any given minute.

But still; it wasn’t denial.

Then we both started laughing, because sometimes it was so damn refreshing to spend some time around another woman; budding as she may be, and I began to think maybe I should introduce her to El.

Of course; that would open a whole new can of worms with dad’s trust issues and secrecy laws.

“Hey; but aren’t you and Billy supposed to be...” She halted our laughing, creasing her red eyebrows in confusion.

So Billy did talk about me.

That, or maybe we were louder than I thought; in which case, I probably owed this kid an apology.

And some ear plugs.

I shook my head in refusal, trying my best to keep from smiling, because dick or not; thinking of Billy made me a little giddy.

“No. Nothing serious; we’re just...”

“Oh my god! You are!” She exclaimed; and I was becoming very aware that Steve could be back at any minute.

“We’re not even dating...” I continued to explain, but kids heard what they wanted to hear, and this one wanted some sort of decent payoff for putting up with a shitstain of a brother.

“You are far too cool for my brother; Lola Hopper.” Max praised, and somehow, her brand of hero worship was one I didn’t really mind.

“Hey; are those shitbirds helping you?” An uncharacteristically severe voice of one Steve Harrington interrupted our female bonding; the man in question coming into view with two folding chairs in hand.

“Steve; really, we’re fine...” I began to excuse, really not finding the idea of playing troop leader for a misfit troop of Boy Scouts appealing, but Steve was already well on his way marching over to the car the boys were not so subtly hiding behind.

“Jesus; is he always like this?” Max asked, chuckling at a rather fatherly Steve Harrington, busy lecturing two rather somber looking surrogate sons; completed with a complimentary hand on hip and finger waggle, as if he couldn’t take the metaphor far enough.

“You know; believe it or not, he’s actually pretty chilled normally.” I commented, smiling at how the boys suddenly started working double time under their “dad’s” direct supervision.

Daddy Steve.

Jesus; what a joke!

#stranger things #stranger things 2 #stranger things2 #stranger things fandom #stranger things oc #strangerthings oc #original character #fanfiction #fanfic #strangerthingsfanfiction #strangerthingsfanfic #jim hopper daughter #hopper daughter #Billy Hargrove #billy hargove x reader #billy hargrove fanfiction #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #dustin henderson #Lucas Sinclair #Max Mayfield

[rmg91]

The Woes and Antics of Living Together-3

THIS CHAPTER! Gaaaahhh!!! It felt like it goes on forever even though it doesn't because I just couldn't get the right words to come out! So, sorry if it seems rough in places I was trying to work through my slight writers block. More slice-of-life like stuff will start next chapter as I attempt to drag this out a little bit rather than just skipping all the way to the Broppy goodness like I want to. (Also we need some of that mutual pining I promised all of you heehee~)

Enjoy.

Previous Chapter/Next Chapter; AO3/FF.net

                                                    ~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day after morning classes found Poppy skipping her way up to Branch's soon to be old building to help him collect his things. The day was bright and sunny, a sure fire sign that it was going to be great and she couldn't wait to have her new roommate all settled in. Humming a cheerful tune, she glanced around the hallway as she found her way to Branch's door and thought the place could really need a new coat of paint and maybe some pictures of puppies and kittens, everyone loved seeing puppies and kittens! Glancing at the slip of paper Branch had hastily wrote his apartment number on, she found the correct door and knocked in tune to her song.

She heard a muffled 'In a minute' and figuring he had all however many extra locks locked up -he could be so paranoid the dork- leaned against the wall with her phone to wait for him. Making a quick post on all her accounts to tell all her wonderful followers about the excitement happening, Poppy started to scroll though her feed to pass the time, swaying in time to her humming. After a few moments a shadow was suddenly looming over her and she glanced up to see a large man standing next to her.

"Well hey there, Girly~ Never seen ya here before." He said, leaning a hand on the wall.

"Hi! I'm Poppy!" She beamed, "I'm just here waiting for my friend."

"Heh, well how 'bout I...entertain ya till this friend shows up, eh?" He leered closer, musty breath fanning into her face, "The backroom of the lobby is nice and cozy."

"Back off, Griff." Branch's familiar growl echoed as he suddenly appeared between Poppy and the man.

"Oh-ho! Why should I? She ya girlfriend?"

Branch sputtered, "What?! No!"

Poppy smiled and placed her hands on Branch's shoulders, "But I am his friend! And his new roommate! I'm here to help him move!"

Griff snorted, "Shackin' up with a girl, huh? Heh, sure she ain't ya girlfriend?"

Branch growled and tried to fight down the blush he felt rushing to his cheeks, "Just leave us alone, alright? I'm moving just like you wanted."

"Che, whatever. Good riddance." Griff then lumbered off down the hall leaving the new roommates alone.

"Bye! Have a good day!" Poppy cried after him.

Huffing, Branch grabbed her arm and dragged her into his apartment, "You do realize he was trying to come onto you, right?"

"Psh, oh please, Branch." Poppy said, flapping her hand in the air, "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself and would've been fine. And can't you just be nice for once?"

"No."

Heaving a fond sigh and rolling her eyes, Poppy glanced around the fairly barren apartment, seeing nothing but a few boxes and an old mattress, "Oh...wow. This, uh....this all you have?"

"Pretty much." He had to sell whatever secondhand furniture he had to make rent sometime ago.

"Well...At least it'll only take us like one or two trips to get in loaded in my car!" She proclaimed, finding the bright side of things, like always. "Say, what's in here?" She asked suddenly, going to open a lid of a box.

Branch slammed his hand down on the lid, "Nothing important."

"Aww, come on, Branch. Let me see! I promise not to tell if it's embarrassing~"

It was embarrassing but like hell was he going to let her see it was his collection of all the invitations she had given him, "It's just personal stuff, alright?"

"Fiiine." Poppy pouted before glancing at the some of the other boxes, "What's all these?" She grabbed an unopened can of beans and grimaced at the date, "Dude, these are all expired, you know that right?"

"They are not." He tapped the top, "Those are just the purchase by dates, they haven't been open so they're still good. As for what this is all for, is provisions of course. Food, water, medical supplies all in case of an emergency."

Poppy snorted, "What kind of emergency? Zombie Apocalypse?"

"Maybe. You just never know."

Giggling, she placed the can back in the box, "Okay, fine. You can bring your 'Emergency Supplies' but you're going to have to freshen some of the stuff up."

Branch rolled his eyes and grabbed a couple boxes, "You'll be grateful for them when there's a zombie outbreak, just wait."

Poppy merely laughed in response as she lifted some boxes and started taking them out the door.

                                              ~*~*~*~*~*~

It had been easy enough to fit Branch's minimal possessions in Poppy's hot pink Volkswagon Beetle before leaving the decrepit apartment building behind and Branch couldn't help heaving a silent sigh at finally being out of that place. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all? Minus having to keep his feelings in check and to try to not watch every little thing she did with that adorable passion she had and to keep from spouting all the poetic words that wanted to spill out right this very moment for giving him this opportunity and-Nope! Branch growled to himself to stop thinking like that and stared out the window, trying to ignore the way Poppy bopped her head to the music playing on the radio and sang along.

He watched the old, grey and crumbling buildings of his old neighborhood meld into the better part of the city as they drove to Poppy's apartment complex. Bright shops and businesses flew by and Branch made a mental note to work out a new bus system for himself now that he'd be living somewhere new. Soon they turned into a parking lot and parked in front of a cheery, tall white building with sparkling windows and vibrant foliage surrounding it. Branch quietly appreciated it's curb appeal as he got out of the car, this was defiantly a place fitting for the pinkette dancing around the front of the car.

"Ok, so! Do you want to see the place first and then come back for stuff? Or start taking stuff up now?"

"Might as well start taking things. Get this over with."

Poppy gave him an exasperated look as she gently smacked his arm, "Oh, stop acting like this is the end of the world. This is gonna be great!" She weaved around him to go unlock the trunk before grinning wildly and jumping up and down, "Creek! Over here!"

Branch's almost relaxed state vanished as he turned with a scowl to watch the person he disliked most casually walk over. Creek Ophir, who wore bright, eye burning yellow pants, sandals, had the worse combination of teal and green ombre hair and was always spouting something about 'spiritual enlightenment' had been a thorn in Branch's side since middle school. He hadn't even done anything to him, they just never got along and it never did Branch's poor heart any good to see just how happy Poppy became in the presence of the 'guru'.

"Why the hell is he here?"

Unlucky for Branch, Creek had heard that, "Why, I simply came over to help Poppy move in her new roommate of course. No need to be so hostile, Mate." He then smiled at Poppy, "And hello, Poppy."

"Hi~!" She chirped, "And, Branch, chill. This will go faster with three people verses two."

Branch scoffed and reached inside the tiny car to grab the few boxes they fit into the backseat, it wouldn't have taken them that long, he barely had anything! Grumbling to himself and wishing Creek would just disappear, Branch followed Poppy as she skipped up to the building, leading the way into the lobby and to the elevator. A short ride later found them on the sixth floor and Poppy led the way to her apartment.

Dropping the boxes in her hands by the door, the pinkette danced in placed as she rummaged around in her sparkly teal purse for her keys. Laughing in success, she pulled out a keyring full of mostly silly keychains and jiggled them as she unlocked the door. Dropping them back into her purse, Poppy picked the boxes back up and bumped open the door with her hip as she declared brightly, "Ta-dah! Welcome to your new home, Branch!"

Rolling his eyes at her dramatics, Branch followed in after her and took in where he'd be living for an indefinite amount of time. The front door opened into a small foyer overflowing with Poppy's shoes and a cluttered end-table before leading out into the open concept living room and kitchen. The kitchenette was small but not cramped and looked like it had pretty good counter space between the oven and fridge, with a little more on the other side where the sink sat in the island/bar. Branch set his boxes on the table that was butted up against the island and covered in various magazines and colorful binders as he looked at the living room portion.

Cozy and warm were the best way to describe it with it's pale blue couch (overflowing with multi-colored cushions), bright pink armchair (was that a giant stuffed animal peeking over the top?) and beanbags sitting around a scrapbook and glitter covered coffee table. A decently sized wide-screen TV sat across the wall, surrounded by game consoles and racks full of movies and games. Shelves and pictures covered the walls, each overflowing with bits of Poppy's personality and her love for her friends. Branch couldn't help but feel a little out of place in this brightly colored apartment as he looked around at Poppy's life.

"Soooooo," Said young woman drawled as she watched her new roommate look around, "What'cha think?"

"It's...bright." He grimaced, "And do you ever clean up around here? There's clutter everywhere."

Poppy placed her hands on her hips, "Excuse you, it has a healthy lived in feel, thank you very much!"

"Now, now, let's not let any negativity ruin such a...fun occasion, shall we?" Creek said as he sat a large box on the counter, "Branch, mate, there's no need to be so judgmental. And, Poppy, Love, you have a very unique way of letting yourself be captured in everything you do. Don't let anyone ever tell you to do different."

Poppy giggled as she grinned at Creek, "Oh, I know~ But thank you for saying that."

Branch gagged before gesturing to the small hallway he could see, "I'm going to go put this in my room."

"Oh! Right!" Poppy grabbed her boxes again and flounced down the hall, "This way~!"

"I think I could've found it on my own, Poppy."

"Says the one that couldn't find me when we played hide n' seek when we were kids ever."

Branch blinked at the sudden callback to their childhood but didn't let that stop him from replying, "For your information I let you win." She never had to know he actually had the worse time finding her and she was as good as she thought she was.

"Ha! Sure~ Anyway!" She hip checked the door at the end of the hallway open, "Here you go!"

The room was decent size, able to fit the full-sized bed in the corner plus the dresser and desk already in there nicely. The bed was made with soft looking periwinkle sheets and the window had some gentle blue curtains framing it. There was also what looked to be some overflow of Poppy's craft supplies in there but all in all it was a nice looking room, it was just missing a bookcase. Although it was shockingly bare compared to the rest of the apartment.

"I'll get the rest of my stuff out, don't worry." Poppy said as Branch sat his stuff down on the bed.

"That would be good." He snarked instead of saying thank you like a normal person would.

Poppy stuck her tongue out at him before turning around, "Let's go get the rest of your stuff, yeah? Then you can 'Branch' up the room to your liking."

"Haha." He replied as he followed her out and back down the picture filled hallway glancing into both the bathroom and her room as they went by. A lot of pink was all he managed to see.

They came back to the living room to find Creek plucking cans out of Branch's ration box and placing them on the counter. He looked up with that stupid condescending smirk of his when he noticed them, "You do know most of these are expired, yes?"

"That's what I told him."

Branch rolled his eyes, "And I told you they're rations and as long as they aren't opened or the cans dented they're fine. Those dates are just when they should be sold by. Now let's go get the rest of my stuff."

As Branch stormed out the door, Poppy couldn't help shaking her head, "He can be so touchy about things."

"Well some people are just like that. The thing to remember is to not let their life choices effect yours." Creek smiled at her, "And do be sure not to eat anything is these cans, I don't want to hear you've gotten sick."

"Don't worry, I'm gonna make sure they get replaced." Poppy giggled. She then bounced up and kissed him on the cheek, "And thanks so much for helping today~"

"Not a problem, Sweet~"

Giggling some more, Poppy skipped out the door with Creek following to go catch up with Branch at the elevator. He frowned at them before pressing the down button and waiting for the doors to open. Once inside, Poppy bounced and sang softly between Creek and Branch before suddenly exclaiming, "Oh!"

"What?" Branch asked, without thinking.

"I almost forgot!" She pulled her phone out of her pocket before suddenly wrapping her arm around Branch's neck and smooshing their faces together, "Selfie~!"

She snapped a picture just before Branch could pull away, "What was that for?!"

"Duh, to commemorate the occasion." She said as she typed away on the small screen, "Gotta post an update on the moving day for the followers."

"Huh?"

"Don't you follow social media, Branch?"

"No. I use the computers at school for homework and real news." And maybe some conspiracy video's now and again, just to know what to look out for.

Rolling her eyes, Poppy pocketed her phone, "Social media is news. Oh! We should make you an account on Instagram or Twitter! Wouldn't that be fun? You could follow me and the rest of the Snack Pack!"

"No."

"Aw, come on. You'd love it."

"No, I wouldn't."

"Yes, you would."

"No."

"Yes."

Creek chuckled at their childish banter, "You know, Branch, Poppy's right. I'm sure you could find something pertaining to your...unique tastes."

Glowering at Creek as they exited the elevator, Branch growled, "No."

"You don't have to be such a stick in the mud, Branch. Posting is fun! And so is vlogging!"

"Ah, yes. Poppy is quiet the known vlogger. She's fairly popular on Youtube, then again it is very hard not to love her."

"Creek~" Poppy giggled.

Branch gagged again as he went toward her brightly colored car, "You do know that there could be anyone behind those so called 'followers' right? Serial killers, rapists, sicko's with a weird fetish! And you're just giving away your personal information like it's nothing!"

"Oh please, you worry too much. And I know not to trust everything on the internet, I'm not stupid, Branch. Also I'm surprised you know what a vlogger is."

"I've heard Bridget and Gristle gush about it before." And he wasn't a complete idiot, just because he wasn't into keeping up with social media didn't mean he hadn't seen a vlog or two. He just didn't get them. "Let's just finish this up."

Another trip up to the apartment was all it took to finish getting his things in and Branch was ready to unpack and to try and ignore the personified sunshine he now lived with. However, Poppy had other plans as she stopped him before he could retreat into his new room.

"Before I forget again..." She started before pulling something out of her pocket with a flourish, "Dah! Dah! Da-dah! Your key! You are officially my roommate now."

She dropped the key into his hand and he couldn't help tilting his head as he looked at the wink face emoji key cap she had added, "...Thanks."

"No problem~" She giggled.

"Well, as fun as this has been, I'm afraid I must be going." Creek spoke up, "I have a yoga class to get to."

"Oh! Of course!" Poppy skipped over to him, "I'll walk you out. Be right back, Branch. No disappearing into your room yet! We're gonna do some roommate bonding when I get back!"

"What?" He asked but they weren't listening as they walked out the door.

Rolling his eyes and deciding to ignore whatever 'roommate bonding' Poppy had in mind, Branch turned to head down the hallway but something on one of the shelves lining the wall caught his eyes. Wandering over, Branch stared in disbelief at the old, dingy and dinged up cowbell that Poppy had kept with her all throughout elementary and middle school. He couldn't believe she had the stupid thing, he had thought she had finally grown out of it in high school but apparently he was wrong.

Now sort of curious, Branch looked though her collection of pictures, seeing snapshots of her life. Most of them had her main group of friends in some variation, while others held her and people she clearly had charmed with her sunny personality. There were shots of people partying, playing games, her dad of course, Branch was even surprised to see one of him and her. Her seven year-old self was smiling widely, freckles gleaming in the sun with arms wrapped tightly around his ten year-old self, who was smiling just as brightly as he held onto her with one arm, the other holding a first place trophy from the science fair he had entered. Branch let himself remember that moment for a second, back when things were happy and uncomplicated but snapped out of it as he heard Poppy come back inside.

"Hey~ What'cha lookin' at?"

Unwilling to admit what he been thinking about, Branch picked the most random thing he saw sitting innocently before him, "This. Why the hell do you have a dressed up troll on your shelf?"

"Hey!" She came over and picked up said troll, cradling it gently in her hands, "Don't diss Princess Poppy. As princess of the trolls she has to look her best."

Branch snorted, "You named it after you?"

Pink hair flew around her as Poppy shock her head, "No, you did. Don't you remember that you gave her to me?"

Now that she mentioned it, he did vaguely recall presenting a younger Poppy with the toy, "Not really, no."

Rolling her eyes, Poppy placed the treasured item back in her spot, fluffing the hair a little, "Well I do. And she's still one of my favorite gifts from you. Along with these~" She gave the rainbow bangles a little shake to call attention to them, "Anyway~" She sang, "I was thinking since it's still pretty early in the day why don't we go to the store as our first roommate bonding experience?!"

Branch gave her a deadpan look, "I'd rather unpack."

"Aw, come on!" She whined, twirling around him and tugging on an arm, "You can unpack later, we need groceries! Cause let me tell you, mister, I am not sharing my Lucky Charms with you." She playfully wagged a finger at him.

"Like I would touch that sugary junk."

"Exactly! We gotta get you some boring cereal. And some bread...chocolate chips...eggs...maybe some mayo, I gotta check."

Branch stared at her as she fell into thought, finger poised by her chin, "When was the last time you went grocery shopping?"

"Eh, it's been a little while yet. Hence why it's a good time to go!"

"So you're using 'roommate bonding', as you call it, as an excuse."

"No!" She crossed her arms and pouted at him, "I think this'll be a fun first experience for us, I've always had fun going with my previous roommates. Plus come on, when was the last time you ate real food?"

"I eat real food!"

"That didn't come from a can!"

"Uggg!!" Branch groaned before throwing his hands into the air, "Fine, we'll go!"

"Yes! This'll be great! Trust me."

                                              ~*~*~*~*~*~

A little while later, they returned burdened with more groceries than Branch thought they'd get from a very...eventful trip to the store. After Poppy had managed to force him on camera to introduce him to all her 'wonderful subscribers', they had gone from practically corner to corner of the store as Poppy kept remembering things she either wanted or they actually needed. Branch had tried to stick to just a few things but after a brief argument over wither getting just canned soup counted as grocery shopping or not, he had relented and actually picked a few things he hadn't allowed himself to have in a few months.

He'd be lying to himself if he said he wasn't just a little happy to have fresh pears and peaches again, plus the small chocolate bar he snuck past his new roommate.

Getting everything put away now was an even bigger event as Poppy, who just couldn't seem to slow down for a second, put on some bubbly pop song and was dancing around the kitchen as Branch tried to figure out where she liked to put things. Her cabinets were a seemingly random host of things that had no rhyme or reason to being stored together. Branch made a mental note to reorganize everything soon so it would be easier to find certain things, for both of them.

"Show the room what you can do, Prove to them you've got the moves, I don't know about you, But I feel better when I'm dancin, yeah, yeah~" The pinkette sang before hip checking Branch, "Come on, Branch! Sing with me!"

"No. I don't sing."

"Oh please, you use to sing all the time when we were kids." She responded as she tossed a boxed of cereal into the cabinet.

"Well I don't anymore."

"Gah! Such a spoil sport." Poppy groaned before suddenly jumping in place as her phone rang, interrupting the music, "Hello? Oh, hi Satin! Really?! A party?!"

Branch rolled his eyes, wondering if there was ever a time where Poppy wasn't excited about a party, and continued shuffling groceries into their places. At least he'd get a few hours to center himself in this new place since she was sure to go.

"Of course I'll be there! When am I not?!" She nodded along with whatever Satin was telling her before replying, "Okay~! Meet ya at your place in twenty!" Then as she hung up, she grinned at Branch, "Branch. My man. How would you like to go to a party tonight? Eh? Eh?"

"No." He was not going to let her drag him to any parties anymore now than before their living arrangement.

"Pleeeease?!" Oh god, she was trying to puppy dog eyed look again.

"No, Poppy." He growled, glaring at her, "No parties means no parties!"

"Oh fine." She pouted before glaring back at him, "Gesh, I was just trying to get you to lighten up a little. As your friend and now roommate it is my duty to make sure you're living life to it's fullest!"

"No, it's not." He waved her off toward the door, "Now go. I'm looking forward to unpacking in peace."

"Fine, fine." She sighed, rolling her eyes before rushing into her room to grab her make-up bag before flying to the door, "Bye~! Happy to have you as my new roommate even though you're still a grumpy troll~!"

"Don't come back drunk!" He shouted but the door had already slammed shut behind her.

Sighing, Branch finished putting away their food before wandering to his room and sliding down to the floor, back against the bed frame. Tilting his head back, he groaned and wondered how he was ever going to survive living with the tornado that was Poppy Meadows. Reaching for his backpack after a moment, he grabbed a notebook and opened it to a blank page and begun to pen down the words that had been swimming in his head since seeing that old picture of the two of them. That woman just had no idea what she did to him and now he'd have to be extra careful not to let any of his unrequited feelings show. She believed them to be friends and he wasn't about to ruin that with his stupid, messy feelings.

Groaning once more, Branch really hoped he wouldn't regret living with her.

                                               ~*~*~*~*~*~

I swear I either focus too much on certain details and then not enough on others but then again maybe it's just me as the beta has given this chapter a pass *shrugs* I don't really wanna write Creek I be honest but he's necessary for what little plot I have so.... Also the Snack Pack will be coming in next chapter! I have not forgotten them! I'll also make sure to try and add more snark between Branch and Poppy, like I said still getting the hang of them. c:

Read and Review!

Song Credit: Better When I’m Dancin’-Meghan Trainor

#Dreamworks Trolls #Broppy #Branch #Poppy #Fanfiction #Human AU #Modern AU #Roommate AU #Creek #Ew Creep

[buckyhoneyno]

A Dumbasses Guide To Saving The World (Chapter 6)

Just two girls with stupid dumb luck

Read along as two girls are thrown into the supernatural world when they are mistaken for hunters and decided that they fake it till they make it.

Updating every Saturday because Saturdays are for the boys

Updating early because I just got to 1K followers and I love you all!!

Sam x reader

Dean x reader

masterlist

Chapter 6 \\ You’ve Got Mail \\

Finally, after a week of checking their PO box every afternoon, a beat-up box wrapped messily wrapped in duct tape arrived. Maddie grabbed it excitedly and speed home to show Charlotte once she got off work. Normally the girls had their boss keep them on identical schedules but every once and while they got put on different shifts. Today being one of those days where Maddie had the morning shift and Charlotte with the afternoon. There wasn’t much need for a bartender at 8 in the morning.

Maddie didn’t spare a glance over her shoulder when walking to their apartment, her excitement to read the journals distracted her. If she had she would have noticed the man walking towards her.

“I love seeing you smile like that,” The girl to her credit didn’t jump when she heard the voice. Turning slowly, she saw Daren walking towards her. His hands were in his pockets as he tried to seem innocent. The smile that was on her face before melted off into a glare. Her arm still had a hand shaped bruise on it from their encounter last week, though it was now a faded yellow.

“Awe don’t tell me your still mad about what happened at Smokey’s,” He said with what she was sure he thought was a cute smile. “I apologized for that, even said sorry to Charlotte for calling her a bitch.” The way he said the last part made it seem like he definitely still thought Charlotte was a bitch. 

“Surprisingly enough yes, I’m still mad,” She stated coldly before turning away, thoroughly done with talking to the man. She had never given him an inkling of hope that she wanted to even be friends with the man, she was only nice in the beginning because they were neighbors but apparently her kindness was coming back to bite her in the ass.

“Hey, come on,” Daren leaned forward as if he was going to reach a hand towards her. Snapping around her steely gaze stopped him.

“Don’t touch me.” She practically hissed out. “What do you not get about no meaning no,” with that out she stomped away quickly and walked into the apartment. Twisting the lock quickly she leaned against the door.

“fuckin creep,” she mumbled to herself before remembering what she had in her large bag.

Walking to the kitchen she took out the package and debated whether to wait for Charlotte to get home or open it now. Her impulse won out though as she ripped into the cardboard. Flipping open the sides she reached in and pulled out 3 worn journals and a piece of paper that had messy scrawl on it. Putting the journals down she picked up the paper, squinting at the messy writing.

Girls,

These three journals are everything you need to know about the basics. Read them, memorize them and live by them. You got my number if you come across something that’s not in the books. Don’t die out there.

-      Bobby

P.S.

Id suggest investing in a couple of guns before your next big hunt maybe a bag of salt too.

If she thought about it long enough she might say that Bobby actually liked the girls.

Putting down the letter she walked to her room to take out her contacts, she had an easier time reading with her glasses. Grabbing her laptop and blanket on her way out and snagging one of the journals on the way to the couch, she settled in for a long night of reading. 

It was closer to 6 when Charlotte pulled in hours later. She was tired and covered in beer after teaching one of the new girls to tap a keg. She didn’t take directions well and ended up soaking them both before Charlotte could stop the beer from spewing out. Walking inside she threw her keys in the bowl by the door, heading straight for her room without giving the other girl in the living room much attention. She had a one-track mind at the moment and was intent on showering before she had to talk to another human being. 

Maddie barely glanced up when the other girl came in, after seeing her stormy expression she chose to wait till she resurfaced from her room to tell her the good news. The sound of the shower meets her ears as she went back to reading. Her laptop was in her lap while the book sat open next to her. She made detailed notes on her computer so that if Bobby ever asked for the journals back they wouldn’t have to worry.

Another hour passed before Charlotte came into the living room. Her eyes zeroed in on the box on the table. Stopping in her tracks she turned back to Maddie who was sitting on the couch, her glasses sat perched on her nose as she stared at a book closely.

“Are those what I think they are,” She questioned excitedly.

“Yep,” Maddie said with a large smile. “And they’re awesome,”

Charlotte let out a little squeal as she grabbed one off the table. Opening it she flipped through the pages for a moment excitedly.

“How much have you read so far?” She asked after a few more pages were turned.

“So far I’ve gotten half way through the first one. I would be done by now but I’m taking notes on them so that if Bobby ever asks for them back we can have backups,” Maddie said proud of her self.

“Nice,” Charlotte said impressed. Turning to the coffee machine she started a pot, knowing she would not be going to bed early like she had planned on her drive home.   

The next few hours were spent reading and randomly getting the others attention when they read something interesting which happened to be every five minutes for them. Finally, around 1 in the morning the girls called it quits when Charlotte happened to fall asleep on her laptop almost deleting all her work.

The next two days followed the same routine till they had each read all three books cover to cover. Day three the girls finally decided it was time to get kitted out with gear. So that next time they decided to be hunters they wouldn’t be so low on resources.

Coming back from the shopping they now had an outrageously large bag of salt, a slightly less outrageous bag of rock salt, a two pack of machetes that were on sale at home depot and a set of pretty silver throwing knives that Charlotte had decided to splurge on even though she knew it was an unnecessary purchase. If they needed more stuff then they would buy it along the way. They didn’t have to worry about extra lighters or candles being that they had a surplus of both already. Hopefully they could survive with their basic kit.

There last stop had been at a gun shop where they filed paper work to have a concealed hand gun license. They weren’t sure if Hunters followed the law but they sure as hell wouldn’t be caught with out them. It was worryingly easy to get though and they were able to purchase the guns and ammo on the spot.

Maddie’s gun had a sleek black barrel with a dark wooden handle to give it a nice accent. It looked like old and new styles were melded together to make it.

Charlottes was a bit more out there though. It was a silver with gold accents. The handle was shelled by mother of pearl styles designs that swirled prettily. It was classy while still not being to in your face. 

“I can’t say I ever thought I would be a gun owner,” Charlotte stated as she placed it in her purse with the safety on. “Oh, if my mother could see me now,” she joked with a grin. Her family were as liberal as they came. Her mother who lived back home with the rest of her family was always adamant on the need for stricter gun control. The mind set was practically drilled into the blonde her whole life. 

“Your mom, ha. My dad would probably throw a party,” On the other end of the spectrum was Maddie’s family who enjoyed their hunting and right to bear arms. Though that little fact never stopped the two family’s from getting along. It was just something they didn’t completely agree on.

“I still don’t think I will use this though,” She said with a shrug before excitedly unrolling the soft material that held her knives. “Now these I can get down with,” her smile was creepily large as Maddie gave her a look.

“Careful Char, your crazies showing,”

“Oh, fuck off,” her words held no heat as she flipped the knives around in each hand.

“One day you’ll cut your finger off with one of those,” her reply was a middle finger in the air before she turned back to her new toys.

“I think we should go to the shooting range soon, get some practice in. Maybe get you to actually learn how to take care of a gun,”

“Ill go to the range with you if you come to a boxing lesson with me,” the blond bargained with a raised brow. They stared each other down before Maddie sighed.

“Deal,”

“Ooh we also need to make a first aid kit to put in the car, you know in case we get hurt,” Charlotte said as she started putting her knives away.

“Already a step ahead of you there,” Maddie said while going to retrieve the box she had been working on. Placing it on the table in front of the other girl with a proud look on her face.

Charlotte gave it a once over and nodded. “I like that you added pretty band aids and not those generic tan ones,”

“I think I’ll just leave it in my car, since I drive us everywhere anyways,” She stated earning her a thumbs up before Charlotte grabbed Jackie’s leash off the counter.

“I’m going to take Jax’s for a walk,”

“Have fun,” Maddie called as she settled into the couch to watch some TV, content to spend the rest of their day off vegging out on the couch. She didn’t realize then but this was one of the last days she would have for a while where she didn’t have anything to worry about.

Down the street Charlotte smiled at a passing couple, for once not checking over her shoulder every 5 feet. A luxury she would soon miss after the coming weeks.

Two wanna be hunters were about to be put to the test as something evil creeped into town, right under their noses.

to be continued

Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list!

taglist

@deanismygodwiththatwhistle @real-demon-huntress @beckywiththatgooddean @periodottea91 @this-glitter-pussay @takenbymyfandoms @oneshoeshort @supernatural-teamfreewillpage @getnaildbyme @fourtyninekirbygamzeegirl @musiclovinchic93 @lolabean1998 @kramabitchy @myinconnelly1 @bunnybaby121115 @of-sebstan-and-chrisevans @dammitsammy @wingedcatninja @darkswanordie @ellen-reincarnated1967 @salt-n-burn-em-all @supernxturxl @drkeyed-dreamer @were-not-the-losechesters @ashrey95 @alwaysthefangirl @arbitranox @shotgunshutstheircakehole1967 @fellowmaya @jmb959 @capsiclesbeard @hoesforshows @healojane @lolimeverywherebitch @cross-roads-blues @yllwtaxi @happy-sunny-flowers @gabriels-trix @hennessy0274-blog @supernotmyproblem

#a dumbasses guide to saving the world #sam winchester one shot #sam winchester imagine #sam winchester #sam winchester x reader #dean winchester series #dean winchester one shot #dean winchester imagine #dean winchester x reader #supernatural series #supernatural one shot #supernatural imagine #bobby singer #castiel x reader #castiel

[phantomphangphucker]

One Lonely Star

Chapter 1 - Star Fall Down

Chapter 2 - Just A Little Lost

Chapter 3 - An Apple For The Fairest 

Chapter 4 - The Day The Stars Ate My Heart

Summary: Melting Down Hope 

Mother brought me something today. It’s a core connector prod. I can tell it was meant to hurt ghosts, everything with her is like that. But I see the potential immediately. It can convert internal core energy into a massive explosion of external energy. This, connected to what I’ve already built might do something. My core is strong, very strong, the energy burst I could make would be unrivalled. I do not know if my ice could combat the lighting and explosions of the stars but, maybe just maybe, this could work. Even if it only worked on one, or could only damage it a little; it would be progress. 

With that I tinker away, giving her a curt nod in thanks. She shakes her head at the thanks and puts her head down, body stiff and fists clenched. It’s the pose of a child pleading for forgiveness. But it’s unneeded, I forgave her before she ever did anything that needed forgiveness. I simply pat her arm to let her know that, a soft smile playing across my face. She just stares at me in shock and walks away, shaking tears from her eyes. I know my pat was not enough, she wants me to be angry, to yell. I know that’s what she would do if the roles were reversed and she knows it too. That doesn’t matter though, I’m not mad, I’m not even disappointed; I expected it. I knew it would happen someday, I accepted that fact a long time ago. So I’d rather she not worry about it, all is forgiven. But even with her new view of this half of me, things can’t change; it’s too late. I, no we, ran out of time for a heart-to-heart, for complete openness, ages ago. At one time I could have told her, maybe I should have, but I didn’t. I kept my secret to keep her and many others safe, that’s my job. So I’m still not going to tell her, it would break her and honestly; her son has been gone for a long time. Lost to the role of a hero. A role chosen, given, created, needed. Did he ever really have a choice?

That’s the thing with life, with this kind of life. It just happens, it’s random. Some random kid in some random town living some random life. A call comes and things change. Everything changes, it always does. Imagine if it didn’t? Where would we all be now? Because my call, it both damned me and saved me; in so many ways. It’s done the same for so many others as well.

My existence didn’t cause the fall, I know that. I’d take the blame if asked though, and I have. But if I wasn’t exactly as I am now, I would be dead. Maybe there’d be someone else to do the tinkering, to bare burdens, to be the hero. But I’d rather not take that chance. Especially considering I haven’t seen nor heard of anyone else doing what I am. Sure the only other ever like me tried, but it was rooted in selfishness not heroism; and he failed in a very permanent way. So it’s just me, which is why I can’t stop, can’t wait, can’t change. I must keep working, always. Even if there’s no one left to save. I hope that never comes to pass. But if it does, if I’m all that’s left, I’ll just keep going. I have to, it’s all I know, and maybe someday new life would come. I’d make sure to be there to protect that new life, even if every second I existed caused me nothing but pain. I’d watch over every single damn one. I’d scream and shout for them to grow strong, for them to fight for survival, for them to just live. No matter what I had to give to do it.

With so much in mind I tinker away, pulling things here, putting things there. I know I look like something crazed, the way I feverishly tinker. In some way I think my parents would be proud, me being a little inventor. Sometimes I used to bother with names, but names get you attached to things. I can’t afford that, if it doesn’t work I have to disassemble and try something new. Attachment makes doing that hard, while I’m willing to bare any hardship; I’d prefer to not place completely avoidable ones on myself. I sure there’s only so much weight I can carry before everything just gives out. I worry, as I come to a finish with my tinkering, that I’m already starting to give out. I always overestimate my own power. Which I shouldn’t do but I have to truly believe I can take it all. Otherwise, I might avoid taking some; and I can’t do that. Plus I hear belief is a powerful thing, it can change everything. If I believe strongly enough that I can bare it all, that I can save it all, that I can be the hero; then eventually, I will. I have to. And if every part of me breaks in the process then that’s ok.

Staring down at the trinket, which I’ve done all I know I can to. I choose to rise. It looks dangerous and cruel attached to my chest, but to me it looks like hope. Like an apple. The others notice my stand but they also notice my damaged body. They move to help me walk to where we all know I’m going. But I don’t need the help, I don’t need the protection, I don’t need to be saved; not yet. So I stand as firm as I can and make sure I look even firmer. I wave them off and shake my head. A couple look at me with awe, some with pity, and others with reverence. But through all the looks I can see the underlining mixture of sadness and determination. Here I am faced with a group who won’t lie down, they’ll keep going and I know that even if I fail; they’ll try to survive on. They’ll drag me back and push me to try again, and if I can’t they’ll wait for me till I can. I refuse the idea that my possible inability to continue my work will ever be permanent. I will violate and destroy every natural law if I have to, why not? I’ve already violated at least one. And being in an ongoing state of being both dead and alive has to be the biggest break to natural laws out there. So the rest can’t be too hard.

And now with the new updated trinket, I look out to the surface land; filled with stars of death. These people all know what I’m trying to do now. They’re every look screams “Be the hero”. They show it with body language too, as they each in turn place a hand on my shoulder piece; right on the words. They wish me silent luck and wish the world silent luck through these permanently inked words. I turn my back on the on looking humans, those I must protect, as I walk with defiance towards this, the biggest star. With every step I scream inside my mind, I will keep trying! I won’t stop working! Can or can’t be damned! Possible or impossible be damned! I may love the stars but these stars need to be destroyed.

Activating the trinket I know it’s doing something. What? I don’t know, not yet, but it’s something. All I can do is hope it’s good. The temperature plummets and I can tell the natural moisture in the air near me has turned to ice. I always found it beautiful, the ice, all the forms it can take and how the light passes through it. My core has always been dear to me because of this, with it I can create beauty. Beauty makes people feel happy and safe, no matter where or who they are. So I don’t mind when my core makes itself known, I didn’t mind back then and I don’t mind now. As the blue glow of my core grows stronger than ever and pulses out over my skin, it’s power reverberates in the air when suddenly I see a grand collision of pure energy.

Barriers swirl and clash, two worlds melding into each other in grand fashion. I feel terrified for the years of work that will have to be put into achieving unity between the two sides. I can see the hate writhing on both ends, while I exist in the middle. I bring a light hand to my chest and close my eyes, if only for a second. With myself tapped so truly into my core I can feel it all, all of both sides. The hurt and the pain the fall has caused, is still causing. All the loss. It’s so very much. But I’ll take it, I’ll take all of it, give it to me.

I open my eyes to the sight before me, for the first time I truly see, fully see. The waves, maps, sparks and flames that tie my two worlds to each other. Though I am raked by pain, grief and weakness; I feel overwhelming love and protection. These feelings aren’t for myself but rather every creature, everyone gone, everyone still here, and everyone yet to come. Humans. Ghosts. And everything in between.

I look to these “stars”, these poisons I once loved; the idea of them I still do love, but not in this form. These stars are tainting everything, destroying it with their vaporizing lightning and poisoned fire.

And so for the first time in a long time I just stand and I truly look around, sense and feel. Every spark, wave and flame of both my worlds. The interconnectedness of it all and how it’s still so separate. I sense my core within me, every part of my damaged body, and finally, my very being. I understand now. I get how this will go, how it will work. And it will work. It has to and I have to do it. I promised I’d always be the hero. I promised I belonged to them, to everyone else. I promised I’d grin and bare it. I promised I would keep working till it was done. I promised I’d find a way. I promised my everything. And here, now, that’s what I’ll damn well give. I never break a promise. Not then, not now, not ever. I would say not in the future, but that’s not applicable anymore.

I know now and with that knowledge I look to the faces, all the faces that exist on each side. A man of clocks watches through a portal crying as he looks to the soon coming future. A crowned Yeti bows his head, leading his people to follow suit. A mother’s eyes wide with shock and horror, underneath it lies regret. A bearded man squeezes his robotic arm tight. A sister, glowing brightly, looks on with pride.

And finally, I look to my own self. My core glowing so bright it envelops all of me in soft blue. My green eyes fierce and unwilling to bend. My smile is a mixture of happiness, sadness and pride. And with that last look to any sentient being I loft my head high and blast my cores energy across everything. Bathing the world in a wash of glowing blues and greens, as a mixture of crimson red and acid green bleeds through every pore and hole of my mortal body. Forming a grand pool beneath my floating form. Core energy, cold fire, consuming everything. Pieces of flesh fall away, turned to smoke and mist in the air. Eyes bubble and drip down my face, sliding over liquefying bone and fading away flesh. Bones and organs drip down, thickening the messy pool. But that too is billowing mist and being consumed into my energy. Chunks of hair fall off, turning black as they do before they too are consumed. All the while I smile, through it all I smile. Every kind of pain is mixed together in one brutal mass. Shocking, burning, crushing, breaking, drowning, choking, cutting, boiling; I smile. As a hero I will go, maybe a saviour too. I look back with unseeing eyes, with that soft smile playing across melting discarded bones and teeth. I’m numb to my senses know, so I know not how any onlookers feel. I hope I am not causing them pain and that is why I smile back. Because it’s ok, this is ok, it’s always been ok. My smile serves to let them know that. And with that, I feel myself go.

Slowly, as the great all-encompassing blue energy fades, a small ball of green light forms where there had once been a star of cruel white and a boy who was always the hero. A massive beam of green light shoots from the ground, through the sky and into empty space. Leaving behind only silence and darkness, as every single star burns out.

#Danny Phantom #fanfic #phanphicc #angst #danny fenton #Maddie Fenton #clockwork #frostbite #jazz fenton #body horror #death #violence #chap. 4 #also on ao3 #phantomphangphucker #one lonely star #analysis of the human condition #melting #drowning #burning #electrocution #liquification #main character death #have a fic suck my dick #depression #self sacrifice #suicide #torture #heroism #phandom

[localbicryptid]

Dread - Second Chance sequel

“I thought I’d find you here.” The voice was soft and Liam hadn’t even realized someone had been sneaking up on him, so much for supernatural hearing.

He jumps, turning around nearly dropping the vat of chemicals in his hands. The figure in front of him just smiled and stepped forward.

“Hayden…” Liam breathes her name like its the answer to everything and he puts the chemicals down and rushes forward to pull her into his arms.

He really had missed Hayden, with Theo around it was easy to forget just how much. She fit into his hold easily, melding against his body. Hayden’s the first to pull away and then she’s hitting him.

“Your parents are worried sick and I’m pretty sure you’re making Scott prematurely grey.” She glares and Liam realizes he even missed this part of their relationship.

“I’m busy.” He murmurs, turning back to the table in front of him and just stares at the dread doctor's tools.

“What are you doing here, Liam? They said you stole Theo’s body, what are you planning?” She asked, careful as she approached him and looked at the tools distastefully.

“I’m gonna bring him back like he brought you and Corey back.” He replied, not looking over at her.

“You can’t.” Her response causes Liam to tense and sigh, finally looking at her.

“I know you didn’t like him, you won’t understand I…” He clenches his fist, looking away again. How do you tell your first love that you’re in love with the dead guy who nearly ruined her life? “He…” Liam’s eyes fall shut and he takes a deep breath.

“That’s not what I meant, Liam. You can’t bring him back because Theo used the last of whatever brought us back to bring us back in the first place.” She murmured, putting a hand on Liam’s arm.

“Did he tell you what was in it?” He asked, opening his eyes and staring down at the table.

“I mean..yeah, he gave us the gist of what had been in it.”

“So we recreate it, we bring him back,” Liam said, hitting his fist against the table and turning to look at her. Eyes burning with tears. “We bring him back.”

“Okay, Liam…..okay.” It was that, the whisper of a promise they got to work.

Days had passed, Liam working tirelessly on the chemical concoction that he thought could bring Theo back. Hayden slipped away from the lab and met up with Mason and Corey above the surface.

“Okay, so he’s just….mixing chemicals together? How do we get him to stop and come home? I don’t know how much longer Scott can keep his mother from stomping her ass down here and dragging him home and taking care of his ‘werewolf butt’...” Corey murmured.

Hayden shook her head, “There’s no way he’ll give up, not if we don’t at least try.” She whispered, looking back towards the tunnels as if Liam might walk out any second.

Mason nodded, he knew his best friend. Knew he’d work himself to the bone to bring Theo back. “Alright, so let's do this.” He agreed, letting Hayden lead the way into the tunnels.

The four of them worked for days, barely getting enough shut-eye to be considered normal human beings. It was on the eleventh day that Liam was overwhelmed by a panic attack, sinking to the floor and gripping his chest as short gasps left his mouth.

“Liam!?” There was a figure kneeling beside him. “Come on, Liam. I need you to breathe. Use your mantra. You know the one?” Mason, the figure was Mason.

What was his mantra? God, he couldn’t remember anything, he couldn’t even remember how to breathe.

“Liam, focus! The sun, The moon, The truth. Right?” Mason said, pressing fingers into his shoulder to try and ground him.

Liam’s lips trembled as he tried to form words, struggling to breathe. A hoodie was thrust into his arms and he buried his face in it. Inhaling deeply, allowing Theo’s scent to fill his nose. Suddenly he could breathe again, eyes going wide as he looked up at an extremely concerned looking Corey who was staring down at him, he looked towards Mason who had tears in his eyes.

“You were turning purple, we thought you were gonna pass out….” Corey whispered, moving to comfort his boyfriend.

“Thank you...for getting this.” He held up the hoodie but Corey shook his head and looked to his left.

Liam looked up and saw Hayden staring at the wall, arms crossed over her chest. “Come on….we have to finish this.” She whispered, moving back towards the table where they’d been working.

Pushing himself up, Liam followed pulling the hoodie over his head. “I don’t know what else to do.” He admitted, staring down at the concoction they currently had. It was the wrong color and consistency. Much too thin and much too pale.

Suddenly Mason spoke up, “There’s gotta be something we’re missing, otherwise it’d be what we need right?”

“I wish Tracy and Josh were here, they’d know what we were missing. They always helped Theo with stuff like this.” Corey mumbled, causing Hayden to look at him sadly.

“Wait, why would Tracy and Josh help?” Liam asked, furrowing his brow.

Mason snapped his fingers, “Tracy was part kanima and Josh had that electricity! What if that’s what we’re missing?” He asked.

Liam pulled his phone out, dialing a number and waiting as it rang. “Jackson, can you meet me in the tunnels? We need your venom and uh...if you could bring something we could use for electricity that’d uh..be great.” He sighed after a few minutes, “Please, Jackson? I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t...really...really important.”

It was another minute or so till Liam hung up the phone, another twenty before Jackson and Kira entered the lab. Liam turned to thank Jackson when he froze at the sight of Kira, Kira who had put Theo in the ground, had condemned him to hell. The one who had lost her control and had to leave to get it back.

“What is she doing here?!?” He snarled, eyes glowing dangerously.

“Liam, calm down.” Mason warned, placing a hand on Liam’s arm. But he shrugged it off angrily.

Kira frowned at her old friend, wondering why so much had changed. She’d only gotten back a few days ago and had been bombarded with so much new information. Now she learned that Liam intended to bring Theo back after he’d already raised him from hell.

“I’m here to help, Liam. I want to help.” She whispered, sad and nervous.

Jackson for the most part just rolled his eyes and flicked out his claws, “I brought the venom and she brought the juice, now what do you need and why?”

Liam was silent as he leads them to the table where a vat of gloomy looking liquid sat. “We need you to add your kanima venom to this and then Kira just needs to electrify it.” He mumbled, looking away and thinking of Theo again, tears sprung to his eyes. “Just...please.”

Jackson scoffed, stepping forward and holding his claws over the vat. Watching his venom drip down into it, turning the liquid a sickly green. Next Kira held out her hand towards the large jar. Electricity flying from her fingertips as it surrounded the vat, lighting it up and congealing the liquid ever so slightly so that it was much more syrupy looking than before. Hayden and Corey’s faces lit up when they saw it and Liam knew they’d done it. He stared at the liquid in awe, stunned before he was jolted out of his reverie by Mason gently nudging a large syringe into his hands.

He stuck it into the liquid, pulling the plunger back and filling it. Once they had it Liam thanked all of them before leaving them to climb into Theo’s truck. He wanted to be alone when he brought Theo back.

He traveled alone, heart racing and too keyed up to focus on the roads. Luckily he gets there without any issues. He’s sure Theo would kill him if anything happened to the truck. When he finds the nemeton he’s scared to approach it, unsure of whether or not the magic actually preserved Theo’s body. It’d been weeks since he’d brought him out here, exposed. To animals and bugs. But when he gets there he finds that nothing touched Theo’s body, he looks exactly like he did when he left him there. Cold as ice.

He sits on the nemeton and pulls Theo’s body into his arms, repressing the urge to shudder as he gingerly lifts the syringe and presses it gently to his neck before hesitating.

“I’m sorry, Theo…” He whispers, shoving the needle into his skin and pressing the plunger down.

Nothing happens. Ten seconds pass, then twenty, and Theo's still as cold as ice in Liam's arms. This was his only chance, he doesn't have any other options. Forty seconds."I'm so sorry," Liam croaks, tears falling from his eyes and onto Theo's face. He places Theo's body back on the nemeton, takes one last look at him and walks away. Sixty seconds. Theo bolts upright, gasping and clutching at his heart. "Liam," he tries to say, but his throat is so dry that it turns into a racking cough. Liam turns around, shocked, and runs over to Theo, bringing him into an embrace. "Hey, hey, you're okay. You're alive, Theo. You're alive."

Theo’s gasping still, tears streaming down his face. He’s in shock and he’s so fucking cold. His teeth are chattering and Liam realizes he’s still in just the t-shirt and jeans he wore in the hospital that night. He tugs the hoodie over his head, pulling it over Theo’s and just wrapping him up in it as he holds him close.

“I’ve got you, The. I’ve got you.” He coos, rubbing his arms up and down to create friction in order to warm the chimera up.

Theo’s looking around frantically, eyes wide and glossy. “W-Where is she? Where’s Tara?”

Liam’s heart breaks all over again when he hears Theo ask where his sister is, “She’s dead Theo, has been for a long time.” He whispered, cupping Theo’s face.

Theo stares up at him, looking lost and scared. There’s confusion on his face as he searches Liam’s soft gaze.

“We were in the hospital.” He finally says.

Liam can only nod as Theo grips at his chest where the bullet holes were, Liam touches his hand and stares down at him. He lifts the hoodie and can see that Theo has begun to heal.

“I got shot….trying to save you.” He whispered, shock covering his features.

“But you’re alive, you’re okay now Theo.” Liam says, bringing his head down to press his forehead against his.

“So much for ‘I’m not dying for you,’” Theo laughs weakly.

“Don’t, Liam says sternly. “Just... don’t. Don’t joke about it.” He wraps his arms even tighter around Theo. He’s still not over losing him, even holding him in his arms right now feels fleeting. Almost like a dream.

Theo stares up at him, frowning. “Liam..."

“I don’t want you in another lifetime….I want you in this one.” Liam whispered, tears of his own pouring down his face again.

“How long…..how long was I gone?” He asked, unable to say the words dead. It felt...surreal.

“Almost two months.” He whispered, suddenly he realized just how tired he was.

He’d been gone from home for a long time, he hadn’t properly rested in god knows how long and its taking its toll on him. Theo reaches up to gently touch one of the dark circles beneath Liam’s eyes.

“Baby wolf...you’ve been neglecting to take care of yourself.” He whispered, confused once more.

“I needed you, Theo. You’re….fuck you’re my anchor and I didn’t even realize it until the moment you were gone. As soon as you were dead I just...I had no control, I wanted to fight everything and everyone...it was awful, The.” He sobbed, pulling Theo into him and inhaling his scent. It still smelled so wrong, the scent of death was slowly staving off but he still smelled like blood, gunpowder, and fear. “You stink.” He complained softly.

Theo’s body shakes with laughter as he buries his face in Liam’s neck, pressing a soft kiss to Liam’s neck. So soft that it's barely there. “Yeah, well so do you.” He smirked.

“Asshole...can we go home? We have...a lot to talk about and a lot to explain to my parents and the pack. But for now, I just want to shower, eat, and sleep.” He murmured, too tired to argue.

Theo heaves a soft sigh but it turns into a snort, “Okay but I’m showering first. I feel disgusting.”

“You can fight me for the shower.” Liam growled, helping Theo up as they walked to the car.

They get to it and Liam’s about to open the driver's door when he feels a pair of lips press against the shell of his ear. “We can always shower together, baby wolf.”

#thiam #theo raeken #liam dunbar #teen wolf #mayday sequel #second chance sequel #dread #howl to the moon;

[hungrywhovianjedi]

It Hurts To See You and Him book two: I’ll Fight It for You: chapter 6

New Dark One, Killian Jones, finds himself in a frighteningly familiar situation, as he struggles against the aftermath of protecting his love. Emma Swan and the hero gang is left in shock after the sudden disappearance of the Pirate, and now must figure out how to get wherever the Dagger has taken Killian, before the darkness can swallow him whole.

Read where it all began: : Prologue, chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5, chapter 6chapter 7 Epilogue

IHTSYH Also on: FFN

read the rest of I’ll Fight it for You: Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

I’ll Fight It for You also on: FFN

read If I Never Leave: The prologue, Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6

If I Never Leave also on: FFN

tagging a few who showed interest: @andiirivera (you are one of my best readers, and I love you) @the-corsair-and-her-quill (i might not talk to you but I see you (i am just an anti social author) and love you) @sherifffjones (I see you and love you) @its-about-bloody-time-cs (I see you and love you)

now onto the chapter

“A tree?” Killian scoffed. “I thought you were taking us to Merlin?” He raised a brow at Arthur, his question clear in his eyes.

Emma nudged him, a silent reminder, that they hadn’t done anything wrong. “Killian.” She warned softly. “Let them tell us”

Arthur turned to them, and despite Killian’s rough language the moment before, smiled. “Of course, I did promise I was taking you to Merlin. So that’s what I’ve done.”

Regina looked around them, as though waiting for Merlin to materialize out of one of the grand stone walls. “Well? Where is Merlin.”

Arthur stepped forward. “Surely those of you in tune with magic, can feel it.” He said. “He’s right in front of you.”

“Where?” David questioned. “All I see is a tree.”

“Well then, you are seeing what we all see, because that is where Merlin resides. Where he has resided for as long as any can remember.”

Killian rubbed his hand over his eyes. “Bloody hell, a tree? Merlin is stuck in a tree? So the most powerful sorcerer of all time, is stuck in a bloody tree.” He couldn’t believe this. Here he thought Merlin would be held up in a cabin in the woods, not turned into bloody wood.

“That’s exactly what I said, the first time I stood there.” Arthur confirmed. “But, he won’t be there for long, not from what he’s prophesized.”

Emma cleared his throat. “This prophesy, you said it involved us… so, you think, that we can get him out?” She asked.

Arthur’s smile grew. “I don’t think. I know, Merlin prophesized it ages ago. Merlin’s prophesies are never wrong.” His expression grew troubled. “Why are you so eager to free him.”

Killian gritted his teeth, what business of this king’s, was it? He felt Emma’s hand rub up his arm, and squeeze gently, sensing his tension. He closed his eyes and willed his anger down. He couldn’t let that anger in. What was it that Henry’s movies said? Anger leads to hate, hate leads to darkness, or something? He shoved the anger lower. He had to stay strong. They had to free Merlin, even if it meant dealing with Arthur.

He missed something, because David looked somber, and Arthur’s demeanor turned grave. “The Dark One. Yes, we’re well aware of that demon.” He responded.

“Demon? Well, that is just offensive. You should kill him for that.” Emma’s voice said, from the opposite shoulder, from where he felt her hand soothingly rubbing. He didn’t have to look, to know the demon was back.

“Well, that is bad. Let us hope, Merlin can help” Arthur continued, and Killian had to remind himself, that he was the only one that could hear the demon. “But first, we must free him from his prison” His eyes flicked over the entire group gathered, lingering again on Emma. “It is said, that one of you is the savior? Which one of you is it?”

Emma smiled, and stepped forward. “Well, your majesty. I think I’m the one you’re looking for. I’m the savior.” She looked back at Killian. “And to save my home?” her eyes held something that made his heart swell. “I’ll free Merlin from his prison, and then, all of this will be over, and we can all go home.” The surety in her tone, gave Killian hope, enough hope, to chase away the presence of the demon behind him.

~~I’ll Fight It for You~~

Arthur told them, that there was nothing they could do that day, and Killian grudgingly agreed. They had all been shown to guest chambers within the palace. Chambers, that Arthur insisted on escorting them to. An escort he spent, asking Emma questions about being the savior. It seemed the king was quite taken with his Swan. He hated the jealousy that boiled in his blood. He knew Emma loved him, and that Arthur was clearly happily married, but the darkness was making his emotions run wild. One moment he was so angry, that he could kill anyone that tried to come near him, the next his own self-hatred made him shrink into his own shadowed thoughts. Only once since this curse struck had he felt true joy. The moment Emma stepped from the woods, and she was her.

Now that the euphoria had worn off, he still couldn’t stop touching her, assuring himself she was there. The ends of her hair, the skin of the back of her hand, the warm leather that covered her back, every part of her that was appropriate for him to touch with the audience they held. He wanted more, but first he needed to get Arthur to leave them, and felt a wave of relief when the door closed behind the King.

Once they were alone, Emma turned to face him, and buried her nose into the crook of neck. “I was so worried, that I would never find you.” She whispered, arms tightening around his shoulders.

Killian was in shock for a moment, but then clutched her closely. “You did. You found me Emma. You found me, gods know how, but you found me.” He assured her.

Emma pulled back just enough to bring her lips up to his. He sighed against her lips, relishing in her taste, like sunshine on his tongue. He deepened the kiss, loving the small sounds that slipped out of her. The barely parted long enough to breathe, before they were back together, frantic in their passion. It seemed that their chaste reunion had been leading to this.

He spun them around, till he could press Emma back against the wall of their chamber. Emma pulled back with a soft giggle. “Easy tiger” She said nipping on his lip. “Don’t start something, you can’t finish, pirate.”

He growled, surging forward, “Oh, I intend to finish it, Princess.” He promised, kissing his way along her jaw, along the smooth column of her neck, nudging the material of her jacket aside, nibbling on her collar.

“Good” Emma gasped, pulling his head back up to hers, their lips colliding, as she took control. “Because I don’t intend to stop” she promised, as she pushed him towards the bed in the middle of the room. In the next instance she was back on him, his thick robes bunching in her hands, as she tried to push it off of his body. He helped her get it open, until she could tangle her fingers into his chest hair. He growled and then quickly helped her shed her oh so familiar red leather jacket. Next her shirt, tugging it over her head, before melding his lips with hers. He wrapped his arms around her waist as they passionately made out, he lifted her, a small noise slipping out of her mouth, as she brought her legs up around his hips. The move pulled a growl out of his throat, as he backed up until he was close to the bed, and they were falling onto it, in a heap of passion, their remaining clothing quickly being shed, until there was nothing between them, but unbridled passion. Killian rolled them, so that he straddled her hips, and looked down on her.

“I love you, Emma.”

Emma smiled, and reached up, and cupped the back of his neck and pulled him down to capture his lips once more. “I love you too, Killian.” She whispered against his lips, before all words were lost to their passion.

~~I’ll Fight It for You~~

Killian sighed, tracing lazy circles on Emma’s back, wrapped in the warm afterglow of their lovemaking. She hummed contentedly under his ministrations. As far as he cared, he could stay here forever wrapped in her warm embrace. For these fleeting moments the darkness was nowhere to be seen, or felt.

Unfortunately all things must come to an end, and there was a knock on the door. Emma groaned, and pushed herself up. “I highly doubt they would appreciate us answering the door like this.”

Killian smirked. “Aye, but I certainly can’t say I’ll get sick of this view” He joked, and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips.

Emma giggled. “Yes, but it could be my parents” she told him. “Don’t worry, I’ll fix this.” She waved her hand over them, and their clothing appeared on their bodies. “There, now they’ll be none the wiser.” She murmured, before getting out of the bed, even as Killian tried to pull her back.

There was another knock on the door, and Emma slipped away. She opened the door, and found a knight on the other side of the door. He held a small gilded box.

“Milady” He said formally, bowing down on one knee in the doorway, opening the box to reveal an ocean blue pendant. “A gift from the king”

Emma was speechless, she heard Killian come up beside her, hand warm on her back. “For me? Are you sure?”

The knight chuckled. “You are the Savior, are you not?” He looked up and nodded. “Indeed, I am certain Lady Emma. His majesty would be honored if you wore it to the ball tonight” The young man blushed suddenly. “I cannot lie, I would wish for the chance to have a dance with the savior myself, this eve. That is if she’s agreeable”

Emma glanced back at Killian, and despite how he had felt earlier, having just had their love affirmed, he was secure in his heart.

“I don’t see why not. I think I could spare a dance.” She assented.

The young knight beamed at her, and bowed again. “Thank you, milady.”

She chuckled. “Tell Arthur, the pendant is lovely” Emma said, lifting it out of its nesting place in the box, and brushing her hair off her neck, and let the young man help her fasten it in place.

“I will, milady.” He confirmed, before he hastily made an exit, leaving Emma and Killian standing in the door of their chambers.

“He’s not the only one, looking forward to dancing with the savior, luv.” He whispered in her ear.

Emma spun in his arms, and the glint of the pendant caught in the sunlight coming from the open balcony. “Well that’s good, because this savior, intends to dance almost the entire night, with a certain pirate.”

He smirked. “Is he devilishly handsome?”

She nodded. “I’ve heard that description used on him before”

“Emma!” She almost groaned at the sound of her mother’s voice, she turned.

“Hey, mom” She responded, untangling herself from Killian. “What’s up?”

Mary Margaret grinned. “I’ve come, to help you get ready for the ball.”

Before they could properly react, Snow had already begun pulling her daughter away. “We’ll see you at the ball, Hook!” Mary Margaret called, leaving him standing staring after them, not wanting to be alone with his thoughts at all.

“Finally!” Came an annoyed voice from behind him, and he sighed, closing his eyes, as the onslaught began again. “I was wondering if she was ever going to leave. I hope you had fun, because now there’s work to be done.” The darkness informed him in the voice of Emma. “Now let’s put on your dark one pants”

“Begone!” He snapped, whirling on her. “I’ll not be doing anything for you.” He informed the darkness firmly. “Now, if you would be so kind, get lost.”

The dark visage seemed to pout with Emma’s full red lips, as she perched on the bed, that was still rumpled from their tryst earlier. Emma thought for a moment, then she stuck her tongue out at him, and in a puff of smoke, she was gone. Killian released a sigh.

~~I’ll Fight It for You~~

As much as it might have annoyed Emma, to be pulled away from her pirate, she had to admit there was something about her mother helping her get ready for her first official ball, that had her on the verge of tears.

Her mother had helped her dress in a pure white gown, and corset, and brushed out her hair, topping it with a crown of white flowers. If it weren’t for the fact that her mother was also dressed in white, Emma would almost think it a wedding gown, instead of a ball gown.

“I remember my first ball,” her mother was saying. “I was eight years old, and my mother told me I was finally old enough to go. It was magical, all of the lights, the music, and I remember thinking… I can’t wait to share all of this with a daughter of my own” She finished, and Emma couldn’t fight the urge to take her mother’s hand in her own, meeting her eyes, that were so like Emma’s own, in the mirror.

“I’m glad I get to share it with you too, mom.” She said softly, leaning her cheek against her mother’s hand, and seeing the beaming joy on Snow’s face. It was hard to believe that barely three years ago, Emma had almost been a stranger to her mother, hadn’t trusted either of her parent’s enough to let them this close, but now? Now she couldn’t imagine life without either of them.

Mary Margaret was quiet for a moment longer, both women basking in the enormity of the moment, before Snow sighed. “I guess, it’s time. We both have dashing men, awaiting us downstairs.” She told her daughter, offering her help from the stool.

Upon standing, Emma once again felt the effect of the corset on her ability to breathe “god, how did you live in these things? They’re pure torture!”

Snow laughed softly. “It’s something you don’t notice, when you’re cinched almost from birth.” She informed her daughter. “It gets easier. I promise.”

Emma fruitlessly adjusted the corset. “God, I hope so.” She complained.

Her mother laughed, pulling her into her arms. “You’ll forget all about the discomfort, when your pirate sweeps you into his arms and leads you to the dance floor. I promise.”

Emma gave her a wary look, and Mary Margaret just smiled, well aware that her daughter didn’t believe a word she said.

~~I’ll Fight It for You~~

Killian stood at the bottom of the steps, the demon blissfully absent, since the moment after Emma left him upstairs. David stood to his right, and the men shared a look. David was adorned in clothing supplied by the king, while Killian had made a few alterations to the clothing he chose. Instead of the princely garb the king had supplied, he wore something akin to his pirate clothes that he had worn before he modernized his look back in Storybrooke. Donning the vest, and the long heavy coat, had been like shrugging back into his own skin after so long.

At the top of the stairs, Mary Margaret and Regina appeared, and David and Robin stepped forward, as the steward announced them.

“I present, Lady Mary Margaret, and Lady Regina!” Killian briefly looked at his love’s mother, her transformation from school teacher to princess was almost instant, and it seemed that Regina could play the part as well. As the pair descended the steps, Killian caught the glint of a purple gem twinkling at the base of Regina’s throat. The pendant almost looked like the blue one that Emma had been given that afternoon, except it seemed to glow from inside, instead of reflecting light.

He shook off the sense he got off of the gem, and looked back to the top of the steps, as she appeared, and he lost all cognitive thought.

This was what Emma was supposed to look like. Her golden waves cascaded over her shoulders, which were encased in white fabric, that draped over her. The gown was long sleeved, cinched at the waist, and Killian couldn’t wipe the smile from his lips, at the way she seemed to glow. This was who Emma was meant to be, a princess, a savior, and she wore it so well.

“Allow me to present, the Savior!” the steward declared, as she began her descent. Each step seemed agonizingly slow, as she approached him. It took all of his engrained etiquette, not to mount the steps and take her into his arms. He sufficed with stepping away from David and Mary Margaret, to take the forefront.

Emma’s face lit up when she saw him, and then she was there.

“Swan, you look…” he began, unsure how to word it, as he bowed, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand.

Emma dropped into a small curtsy blushing a little, but then he saw that twinkle that told him, she knew exactly what he meant. “I know.”  

They rose at the same time, and he caught some of the men looking their way, and he smiled. Let them know that this woman chose him, darkness and all.

The dancing began soon after, and Killian couldn’t believe how lucky he was to get this. Emma in his arms. They glided across the floor. At one point they came up beside Regina and Robin, and Robin gave him a look, that said, ‘you call that dancing?’ Emma and Killian shared a look, and they shot them a challenge, they wanted dancing? They would show them dancing.

The ball became a challenge between the two couples. They started a game of one upping the others, and people began to take notice. It wasn’t long before both couples were laughing at one another, as the song came to an end.

“Might I cut in?” Asked the young knight from that afternoon, as another knight propositioned Regina and Robin.

Killian met Emma’s eyes, and nodded. “I think that would be fine, don’t you think?”

Killian was reluctant to let her go, but released her hand. “I’ll eagerly await your return, luv.”

Emma smiled, as she took the young knight’s hand. “I count on it, pirate.” She informed him, as she was led off into a dance with the young man. He met with Robin at the edge of the floor.

“It appears that both of our ladies, are popular this evening.” Robin noted, as they watched Emma and Regina dance with their new partners.

“Aye, it does appear so. It also seems the king is quite fond of the ladies as well, judging by the gifts.”

Robin nodded. “I was curious about that, Emma I could understand, seeing as she’s the savior. Regina though, he has no idea of whom she is.”

Killian nodded, and something caught his eye across the dance floor. Henry. Henry was talking to a young girl. “Robin, look at that.” He mentioned. “It looks like we are not the only ones with a beautiful lady to keep our company this evening.”

“Cheeky lad, looks like he’s learned something from the pair of us.”

Their attention was drawn back to the floor as they heard the drawing of a blade. They zeroed in on Regina’s new dance partner, who had drawn his sword on her.

“Regina!” Robin cried.

Killian saw a flash of gold sweeping in from the left, and Emma dashed between the sword-wielding knight and the ex-queen.

“Get out of my way Savior.” The knight warned. “The Evil Queen must pay for what she’s done”

Emma shook her head. “I won’t let you hurt her,” Emma warned. “It’s not what a savior does.”

The knight shrugged and advanced on her, his sword swinging out in an arc towards Emma. Killian found his hand raising before he could stop it, the magic tingling at his fingertips, until he felt a firm hand on his wrist.

“Don’t, you can’t use dark magic.” Mary Margaret warned, as David and Robin stopped and disarmed the knight. “Emma wouldn’t want you to give into darkness like that.”

Speaking of Emma, she clutched at her side, and he feared the worse, even as the scuffle with the knight continued between Robin, David and the knight. The knight kicked David away, and he got his sword back, and Robin shouted, eliciting a cry from Regina.

Killian couldn’t focus on any of that, as Emma continued to hold her side, seeming to sway on her feet. He ran to her, and pulled her hand away, feeling a burning rage go through him, when he saw the blood. He spun towards the knight, but Emma held him back, and he watched as David ran the bastard through. “Don’t.” she gasped, her voice pained.

“Robin!” Regina cried, falling to her knees beside Robin.

“Swan…” his voice was pained, he didn’t know how this happened. Or why nobody would let him go after the bastard that hurt his Swan.

Emma shook her head. “No, I’m fine, it’s Robin. We need to help Robin.” She told him gently. “I’ve had worse.” She told him, but something didn’t ring true, with the way she swayed on her feet.

It didn’t seem that anyone else had noticed Emma had been hurt in the scuffle, as knights helped them get Robin from the floor. He put his arm around her, “come luv, let’s get that looked at.”

Emma gently pushed his arm off, “No, Robin first.”

“Emma?” It was David’s voice. “Emma, you’re hurt.”

She shook her head. “I’m fine, dad, take care of Robin.” She urged.

“I’ve got her, David. See to Robin.”

David shook his head. “Arthur’s men are moving Robin, I can take care of my daughter.”

“Dad, really! I’m fine.” Emma said, even as she winced, and swayed on her feet. David didn’t listen, as he swept Emma off of her feet, and charged after the knights that carried Robin.

#whovian writes #IHTSYH: IFIFY #cs ff #captain swan ff #I'll Fight It for You

[worryinglyinnocent]

@white-throated-packrat prompted: “SGU or SGU xover -- the escort!fic where Rush is the escort, character of your choice his client (or where Gloria and Rush are enacting a fantasy because they're married dorks who indulge each other)”

Given the huge angst potential of escort!verses, this one is just two married dorks roleplaying.

I have had an idea for actual!escort!RushxGloria though, so never say never to seeing that in the future.

Thanks to @woodelf68 for Gloria’s maiden name.

Rated: NC-17

=====

It’s not the fanciest hotel in the town, but it’s clean and comfortable and it serves its purpose. Gloria turns down the bedcovers, wonders if that looks too presumptuous, and pulls them back up again. He should be arriving any minute now, and there’s a definite thrum of excitement running through her veins.

There’s a soft knock on the door and Gloria rushes across to answer it, and she takes him in from top to toe. Hair on the long-ish side, delicate spectacles, scruffy stubble over his chin, just the way she likes to feel it scrape against the inside of her thighs. Crisp white shirt and dark jeans, prominent belt buckle drawing her attention to the promise below it. Gloria licks her lips.

“Miss Miller, I presume?” he says, accent already thick and slushy with arousal, and Gloria nods, letting him into the room. She remembers the first time Nicholas called her Miss Miller, all those years ago. It’s been a long time. She prefers Mrs Rush now, but hearing her maiden name from his lips is always a bit of a thrill, especially in the bedroom.

“You must be Nicholas,” she says, locking the door behind him. “Thank you for coming.”

Part of her still can’t believe her husband agreed to enact this silly little fantasy of hers, but they’ve been sleeping together for over twenty years and sometimes a change of scene and a change of role is a good thing to keep that spark alive and burning steadily.

“It’s my pleasure,” Nicholas replies. “Now, Miss Miller, would you like to take the lead tonight? Just tell me what you’d like me to do; your wish is my command.”

Gloria has to give a giggle and Nicholas snorts.

“All right, all right,” he grumbles, breaking character. “Suave isn’t exactly my middle name and I don’t have any first hand experience of how this kind of thing works.”

“Maybe you should have tried it out to pay your way through college,” Gloria suggests.

“I’d never have met you then,” Nicholas points out. “You were just as broke as I was. About three quarters of our dates consisted of eating pot noodles in your flat and giving running commentary on your roommates’ sex lives. You’d hardly be hiring an escort for the evening.”

“True.” Gloria hooks her arms around his neck and leans in close, bringing them back to the present. “I want you to kiss me,” she says decisively, once more Miss Miller with her paid-for pleasure. “Kiss me and undress me and lick me till I scream,” she breathes in his ear.

Nicholas is more than happy to oblige, slanting his mouth over his wife’s and cupping her face as his tongue slips over hers. Gloria’s never been particularly vocal about her wants and needs in the bedroom, and to hear her taking control and commanding like this sends a rush of heat straight to his groin where he’s already starting to stir. He trails his mouth down over her chin and neck, then back up to her lips, running his hands up and down her sides before pushing her cardigan off her shoulders and down her arms to land in a silky pool at her feet. She shivers as he brushes his fingertips over the newly exposed skin of her shoulders and decolletage, tracing a line down where her top meets her skin and dipping into her cleavage. Finally he pulls the top over her head and gently squeezes her full breasts, the lace of her bra rough against his palms and her nipples already hard and puckered.

“This is new,” he comments, looking at the pale pink rose-patterned lace. Gloria nods.

“Specially bought for the occasion,” she says. “It’s a matching set,” she adds, words heavy with meaning, and she steps out of her shoes. Nicholas doesn’t need any further prompting to unfasten her trousers and push them down over her hips to get a glimpse of the matching thong.

Gloria suits pale colours; brights wash her out. Pinks, dove greys, delicate floral motifs and creams. Those are her colours, his true English Rose.

“We’re not very good at this roleplaying thing, are we?” Gloria comments as his hands on her hips pull her in closer again and she leans in to capture his mouth.

“Well, you will wear gorgeous undies that I am a devoted enough husband to notice,” Nicholas points out once he finally pulls away. “And I don’t notice a lot of things.”

“You didn’t notice I’d started wearing reading glasses.”

“Yes, there’s no need to rub it in, Miss Miller,” Nicholas says pointedly. “Now, you said something about being undressed and licked until you scream and I plan to carry out your instructions to the letter.”

He nibbles his way down her neck, swiping his tongue over her skin as he goes, and then over her shoulder, grabbing her bra strap with his teeth and pulling it down, lapping his way across the tops of her breasts to the other side and down her arm.

“I think we might be more comfortable on the bed,” he says from the crook of her elbow. “Or else I’ll get a crick in my neck.”

Gloria grins and goes to turn down the covers, getting comfortable against the pillows and letting her thighs fall apart, watching him between her legs as toes off his shoes, discards his socks and tosses his glasses onto the nightstand befores he settles himself on the mattress, just gazing at her.

“God, you’re so beautiful,” he whispers, barely more than a breath, and even though they’ve been married for so long, Gloria still feels heat suffuse her face at the compliment. “There’s just one thing missing.”

He reaches round behind her head and carefully undoes the clip holding her hair up, letting it tumble down to her shoulders.

“There,” he says, cupping her cheek and running his thumb over her lips. “Now you’re Miss Miller.”

Gloria just grabs him and pulls him in for another kiss, cradling him snugly between her thighs.

“You know, if you want me to, in your words, undress you and lick you till you scream,” Nicholas points out, punctuating his words with little butterfly kisses over her cheeks and nose, “you’re probably going to have to let go at some point.”

With a sigh of mock regret, Gloria sprawls her arms out over the pillows.

“Please me, Nicholas,” she purrs, and the grin that he gives her in return is positively devilish.

“As you wish, Miss Miller.”

He sits back on his haunches, running his hands up and down her sides and over her breasts, squeezing them through her bra, his touch featherlight and teasing and leaving her wriggling against the sheets, moaning as he bends to lick a stripe down her cleavage.

“Nicholas!” she gasps.

“Oh darling, I’m just getting started.”

He reaches around under her as she arches off the bed under his touch and he finds her bra fastening, pinging it open and pulling the garment down her arms slowly and reverently, feasting his eyes on the soft, pale mounds of her breasts as they’re revealed. Nicholas really does love Gloria’s breasts. He loves all of her, but he’s always been a breast man and hers are so very lovely. He buries his face against her chest, teasing her with little licks and nibbles, swirling his tongue around her nipple and sucking on the pert bud, drawing another squeaky gasp from her throat. She moans as he moves over to the other side, and he smiles against her skin before repeating his ministrations, fingers coming up to cup her neglected breast and rub his thumb around her areola.

“Nicholas!”

He looks up at her and winks and his name becomes a groan in her throat as he kisses his way lower, down over her soft belly to the waistband of her underwear, grabbing the lace between his teeth and pulling it down, nosing at her soft, dark golden curls as he goes past. There’s a bit of not-very-sexy wriggling to get the thing off and thrown over Nicholas’s shoulder into the pile of already discarded clothing, but Gloria’s too turned on to care about the lack of finesse. Soon Nicholas’s mouth is back on her, licking up the inside of her thighs and kissing along the crease where hip melds to torso, but never touching her where she wants it. She cards her fingers in his hair, trying to direct him back between her legs where she can already feel herself hot and wet and desperate to be touched.

“The customer’s always right,” she breathes.

“But of course.”

He drops a kiss onto her mons and finally slips his tongue into her folds, lapping up her ready honey and probing gently with the very tip of his tongue, finding her clit and drawing a circle around it, just the way she likes. Nicholas has a silver tongue, she’s always been convinced of that from the way he can talk and mesmerise a class with the way his brogue rolls over the words, to the way he can sweet-talk the dean when his paperwork’s late because he got carried away with an equation, to the way he can make her fall apart so thoroughly with his mouth.

One long finger finds its way inside her and curls, stroking gently as he keeps licking and kissing, pressure now hard, now light, now with the flat of his tongue, now with the tip. Gloria closes her eyes, thighs tight around his head, never wanting him to move. Even after over a decade and a half of marriage, he can still leave her breathless, still make her scream as if they’re back on their wedding night.

“Nicholas!”

He feels the moment she comes before she shouts, her inner walls clenching around him and a rush of wet heat over his fingers. He carefully pulls them out and licks them clean, watching Gloria come down from her climax. She really is so gorgeous when she comes undone like this. She’s quiet and self-contained like he is, and to know that he’s the one to make her fall apart like this gives him a little sense of pride.

She watches him through pleasure-narrowed eyes for a moment before beckoning him up and wiping her juices off his lips and chin.

“I do hope I carried out your instructions to your satisfaction, madam,” he says solemnly, before being unable to contain a snort of laughter, which then sets Gloria off.

“We’re really not very good at this,” she says. “But yes, that was just what I wanted. Thank you.”

“Glad to be of service.” He tips an imaginary hat. “What would you like to do now, Miss Miller? I’m sure you’d like to get your money’s worth…”

Gloria has to stifle her giggles in the pillows, but then she composes herself with a cough and runs a hand down Nicholas’s body to where his erection is tenting the front of his jeans.

“Now I think I’d like to see what’s underneath,” she says, propping herself up on one elbow, still a little bit dazed from her orgasm, and watching the way Nicholas’s lithe body moves as he gets off the bed, fishes a couple of condoms out of his back pocket, and begins to undress. He’s always looked good in white shirts and jeans, but he looks even better not in white shirts and jeans. His cock bobs eagerly as he shoves his boxers down his legs, and Gloria gives a little smirk.

“And the verdict?” he asks, running his hands through his hair with just the tiniest show of embarrassment as he lets her look her fill.

“Oh, I like what I see.” She reaches out and grips his cock, giving him a lazy stroke up and down and revelling in his little moan of arousal. “And I think I’d like to feel it inside me.”

Nicholas doesn’t need inviting twice, getting back onto the bed with her and kissing her deeply, and for a moment it’s a frantic, clumsy fumble of hands and limbs and foil wrapper and fingers everywhere, until Nicholas has his arms around her back and pulls her over on top of him.

“This is your time,” he says softly. “You’re on top. You take the lead.”

She reaches down to line them up and gradually sinks down onto his cock as far as is comfortable, rocking her hips to try and find that perfect spot inside.

“God, Glo…” Nicholas is breathing hard, canting his own pelvis in response to her, perfectly matched, and she still feels a fingertip slip into her folds above where they’re joined and give her just the touch she needs to fall over that edge again, taking him with her a few moments later, feeling him thrust up and then still whilst she’s too spaced out to move. Gloria flops down and pillows her head against Nicholas’s shoulder, and after a while, he turns them so that he can slip out of her and get rid of the condom.

“Thank you,” she murmurs as he returns from the bathroom and pulls her into his arms once more.

“My pleasure.” He pauses. “Literally, in fact.”

Gloria gives a soft huff of laughter against his skin.

“We’re really bad at this.”

“I think we gave the people in the next room a fright with the noises we were making,” Nicholas says sleepily. “I’d say we were quite good at this.”

“I mean the whole roleplaying thing.”

“Well, you know what they say. Practice makes perfect.”

Gloria gives him a look, and he raises a nonchalant eyebrow, and they both burst out laughing again.

“I love you, Nicholas.”

“I love you too, Gloria.”

They fall into a happy, sated slumber together, and as she drifts off, Gloria wonders about Nicholas’s words. Maybe they can do this again some time. Maybe they can reverse the roles.

She smiles at the thought before sleep overtakes her, little knowing that Nicholas is thinking very much along similar lines…

#SGU #GloriaxNick #white-throated-packrat #woodelf68 #Super Fluffy Smutty Sunday #SFSS 2017

[ruffsficstuffplace]

The Keeper of the Grove (Part 15)

Warning: mentions of suicidal behaviour in this chapter, and Jacques being a selfish, manipulative bastard.

Winter was curled up in a ball on her easy chair, her head resting on one of the arms and her Eluna plushie pressed right up to her face as she sobbed and shook from fear.

Du Pont didn't know what was more disturbing: the fact that she was alone with an incredibly dangerous human weapon in an extremely vulnerable, unpredictable state, or that something or someone could be so traumatic as to reduce one of the infamously unflappable Queensguard into a weeping wreck.

She offered Winter a box of tissues, before she gingerly, carefully left it on the opposite arm of her easy chair, taking great pains not to do any sudden movements. She spent a good long time trying to review her notes, do some refresher research on possible diagnoses, or think and reflect on everything that had just happened, but the sound of Winter's muffled cries of absolute despair made it exceptionally difficult.

Eventually, Winter sat back up properly, and wiped her eyes and nose off on her Eluna plushie. “It was one of the worst nights of my life,” she blubbered, before she blew her nose on her toy. “Mom picked me up and didn't let go, Tony hacked his speed limiters to drive us to the Plushie Palace, then Granny Scar let me and her sleep in one of the beds in the employee's lounge with every single plushie they could spare.

“Mom bought all of them afterward; father was pissed, but she didn't care.”

Du Pont hummed. “What was the time after the incident like, if you would mind telling me?”

“Flinching and screaming at every last sound or creepy noise,” Winter muttered. “Didn't go back to school for a while. Only fell asleep because I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open, and I had all of my plushies and mom with me in bed.

“So, you know, most everything I've been doing these past two days, except substitute mom with Weiss, I only got most of my plushies back, and now I have Eluna!”

She held up the now soggy, gross, and astoundingly absorbent plushie.

Du Pont nodded slowly. “So, these plushies, they are very important to you?”

Winter nodded. “Super. Mom bought me my first one when I was three; she was leaving on one of her personal trips, and I didn't want her to leave. So she took me to the Palace, bought me Idun—she's an arctic fox, mom's favourite animal—and told me I could hug her and hold her and pretend it was her, then and whenever she wasn't around...”

Du Pont's eyebrows rose as she made a note of that. “I noticed that you began to slowly rid yourself of your original collection sometime after your mother passed away...”

Winter sighed. “Yeah. I was in denial for a few weeks, kept telling myself she's going to come home one of these days, and when she did, we'd go to the Plushie Palace together, like we always had...”

“And this is why you have only recently returned?”

Winter nodded. “The plushies, the Palace, the people there—they reminded me too much of her, everything we had together, everything we couldn't do anymore, I couldn't take it. And at the time, father convinced me that the best way to cope was to rid myself of everything that did that.”

Du Pont frowned; Jacques hadn't seen her for therapy or even spoken to her about his wife's passing, but those who had been working before and after the Mses. Schnee and her unborn son's passing had definitely noticed the sudden lack of portraits of her, and the resignation or the firing of her favourite employees like her favourite butler, Mr. Sieben.

“But here's the Keeper coming back to haunt me, and showing me how wrong I was!” Winter chirped. “Funny how we often don't try to solve massive problems until something catastrophic happens and we can't ignore it any longer.”

“Change is inherently terrifying, even if it is positive,” du Pont said. “But back on topic: I hope you don't mind, but I had a program calculate the estimated cost of all of the purchases you recently made at the Plushie Palace, based on the transport logs.

“It came to… an extremely large sum of Uroch, Winter.”

Winter nodded. “It was almost all of my life savings, actually. Good thing I won't be needing it anytime soon!”

“And why is that?” du Pont asked uneasily.

Winter balked. “Didn't I already tell you? The Keeper's coming for me and my sister!” Her voice suddenly dropped to a low, ominous tone. “No one survives the Keeper. She reaps you with her scythe, she terrorizes you until you go insane and do the deed yourself, or on very rare occasions she steals you away and forces you into slavery, usually till the end of your life, sometimes for forever.”

“Such as the characters in the story?” du Pont asked. “Winter, these are fictional--”

“They're real,” Winter muttered. “All of them. I did the research, verified and made sure there were historical records backing up the legends. The names may have been changed to make them catchier, they were actually hundreds of years apart from each other, events were changed and melded with other stories, but they were all real.

“Guillermo Aguirre: 200 or so years ago, went off on a quest to hunt down the Keeper of the Grove, prove she did exist, or that she was just one exceptionally lethal mutant reindeer and her descendants.

“From what they could piece together of the two survivors' stories, he found a weapon of some sort and began slaughtering everything in sight—beast or his fellow man. They couldn't give many more details, presumably from trauma-induced memory loss, dehydration, and starvation from when they fled the Valley.

“Abner Jordan Ignatius: 547 years ago, on hastily borrowed loans, stolen goods, and money from confidence scams, hired an expedition into the Viridian Valley with the intent to either hide out from his debtors where they wouldn't want to chase him, or to find something to bring back and wipe away his massive debts.

“The man was in fact a genius, potentially one of the greatest minds Lumania had ever had, if not for his weakness for alcohol, leisure, and both women or men as the mood struck him. No one quite knows how he became associated with a cursed fountain of youth, because unlike Guillermo, none of his party made it back.

“And finally, 'Comtessa,' the earliest known record of the Keeper of the Grove, about 100 years after the Shepherd brought the First Settlers here to Avalon—the Info-Grid still hadn't stretched that far, and the records they did have were bad, corrupted, or lost entirely. Actually the daughter of a rich land baron who made his fortune going out into the dangerous wilds, attempting to find natural resources to exploit them to hell before anyone else could, turned into a farmer's daughter from a small town to make her more sympathetic to audiences...”

She suddenly fell silent, staring off into the distance with an expression of sudden realization, followed by ever growing terror.

“Winter…?” du Pont asked. “Are you okay…?”

Her breathing suddenly got shallow. Her whole body began to shake violently.

“I-I'm fine…” she squeaked as her world began to spin, her fingers tightened on Eluna. “Just… just...”

“… It was one of the most vicious panic attacks I had ever seen,” du Pont mumbled as she sat across Jacques' desk. “Thank goodness I made sure to keep sedatives in my office, I don't even want to think of how she would have fared if she had to ride it out for its full duration.”

Jacques frowned and put his hands to his temples, trying to stave off yet another headache. “So this phobia of hers is even worse than I feared...”

Du Pont nodded. “It's very clear to me that almost losing Weiss in that expedition has brought back decades worth of unsolved issues from the traumatic loss of their mother and their unborn brother—my apologies for bringing it up, Mr. Schnee, but it's really the best explanation for her recent episodes. With the connection between the Valley and this 'Keeper of the Grove,' a childhood phobia from a traumatic experience strongly associated her mother, and her experiences in the Queensguard…

“… Well, it's all just been too much, all at once.”

“How bad is this situation, exactly?” Jacques asked carefully.

Du Pont paused. “Mr. Schnee… I fear she might be suicidal. She's exhibiting so many of the warning signs: suddenly abandoning her responsibilities in the Queensguard; a blatant disregard for the future with her spending nearly all of her money on those plushies; regressing to behaviours from an earlier, happier stage in her life just before the tragedy—not to mention how sure she is that this 'Keeper' is going to slay her and her sister in the near future...”

Jacques looked up at her, alarmed, before he lowered his head and thumped his fist on his desk. “Oh no...”

“'Oh no' doesn't begin to describe the half of it!” du Pont cried. “Mr. Schnee, Winter requires an intervention of the highest caliber, as soon as possible—right this moment, in fact!”

Jacques nodded his head gravely. “Rest assured, Dr. du Pont, I will have the best in psychiatric care flown in as soon as possible, and pour every resource I have at my disposal in guarding Winter and making sure she does not do anything drastic.”

Du Pont blinked. “Mr. Schnee, forgive me, but I don't think you grasp the full gravity of this situation: Winter requires far, far, far more than anything you can provide. She needs an urgent stay at Candela General, where they will have both the manpower, the expertise, and the equipment to deal with her properly, not to mention a change of scenery certainly wouldn't hurt--”

“Is it because of the recent rash of absences because of these invasions and security breaches, this terrorizing of my house?” Jacques interrupted.

“Exactly!” du Pont said. “Whether or not you believe this 'Keeper of the Grove' is real, you can't deny that this place isn't exactly the safest in all of Avalon as of the moment, let alone for someone with such rapidly decaying mental health as your daughter!”

“And I agree, Dr. du Pont!” Jacques shot back, his voice growing louder. “But I can assure you, I can provide my daughters everything they could want or need right here in their home!”

Du Pont was about to fire a heated reply, before realization hit her. Her lip curled in disgust. “This is about the media, isn't it?” she spat.

“Yes,” Jacques said gravely. “I fear that those opportunistic 'journalists' and those lunatics spreading the rumours of this 'Keeper' will haunt her night and day, if she is anywhere less secure than this manor.”

“Don't you lie to me, Jacques!” du Pont cried, putting her hands on the desk as she shot out of her seat. “You're just trying to save face! I happen to live here and read the news, you know—your staff running away terrified out of their wits en masse, the footage of these mysterious invaders that are foiling every security measure you've put up, investors pulling out for fear of the 'Keeper' or whichever group is targeting you and everything associated with you, like your own daughters--”

Jacques shot out of his seat. “Dr. du Pont--”

“No. You listen to me, Jacques Schnee: I have spent decades, helping you grow this empire of yours, convincing hesitant prospective employees that you are not nearly as bad as your detractors make you seem, even defending some of the most reprehensible decisions you have made, like that damned drilling operation in Sekhmet!

“But this? This is the last straw, Jacques!”

Jacques gritted his teeth. “Du Pont, may I remind you of the terms of your contract, the things I have done for you?”

Du Pont threw her hand out. “Go ahead! Ruin me! I'd rather die broke with a clean conscience, than be an accomplice to a devil like you any longer! And don't even try to have me detained, Jacques—I'm sure that'll make for an even better headline:

“'Power Baron Holds Suicidal Daughter, Psychologist Hostage In His Mansion!

“Goodbye, Mr. Schnee,” du Pont spat. “In its own twisted way, I'm delighted we part company in circumstances as poor as this.”

“What will it take, du Pont?” Jacques growled. “Name your price.”

“Check Winter in Candela General, and she better be on Suicide Watch the moment she's admitted. And go see if you and Weiss can't live somewhere safer and more secure than this madhouse.”

“Done,” Jacques said.

Du Pont nodded. “Good. I'll be watching the news, Mr. Schnee,” she said as she turned around and left.

Jacques' eyes burst into flame. “Where are you going?!”

“Out of here!” she replied as she went out. “You know, Jacques? I was always under the impression that your wife was scared of me, paranoid that I was going to take her place in the heirarchy of this house.

“Now I realize she was trying to warn me.”

The antique wooden door of Jacques' private office shut with a thunderous SLAM!

He winced, before he pressed the button on his intercom.

“Yes, Mr. Schnee?” hummed the voice of the garage's automated systems.

“Prepare a rover for du Pont, take her wherever she wants to go; and tell she can keep the damned thing, so long as she never returns here.”

“Yes, Mr. Schnee.”

The rumours did not lie: the wrath of Jacques Schnee was swift and all-encompassing.

Thank the Shepherd she had the foresight to put some money away in a private account, one that wasn't legally under Jacques control or that of the banks he may as well have owned. It wasn't much, granted, but she doubted she could justify ever using his money ever again—who knows what had been done to earn it.

The room she had rented was really just one sleeping pod of many set in a wall, the most basic of quarters for visitors who had already blown most of their budget on the fare flying into the city, or residents who hadn't gotten a share of Candela's famed “prosperity for all.”

All she needed was a reasonably private communications line, though.

“Queensguard Anonymous Tip Line,” a curt, professional female voice said, no doubt an AI.

“H-Hello? My name is Dr. Aurelia du Pont, I used to work for Jacques--”

“One moment, please.”

Du Pont sighed. She waited for a few moments, before she saw the holo display before her change, the hotel's logo change into the distinctive red and gold of the Queensguard.

“Dr. du Pont, General Ironwood,” said a distinctive, unmistakable voice on the other line. “We've been hoping to speak with you for a quite a while...”

#white rose #rwby #the keeper of the grove #fanfic

[daniel-murrieta]

A Talk I Gave on Forgiveness

Talk – The Struggles of Forgiveness

Brothers and sisters, good afternoon.  It’s been about three years since I’ve given a talk; so, forgive me if I break.  I should let you know that we are moving soon.  We found a beautiful home in Sandy.  On the 18th, we’ll be leaving here; so, this will be my first and last talk in this ward.  Thank you for every bit of your kindness, your friendship, your diligence.  

I seem to have a bad habit for missing talent shows that I sign up for.  So, I’m going to share a little talent that I have here.  And I like to write poetry.  I plan on publishing a book and this one specifically, it’s called hatred.  It’s a little bit strong; so, forgive me there as well.  You see, it goes like this:  

___________________

Poem - Hatred  

Before I was born     There was peace     The earth remained pure Everything was still

September 11, 2001, terror brought me life     December 7, 1941, the world saw my genocide     33ad, I wrought the crucifixion of Christ     Before Cain, I raged when angels fell from heaven    

In my wake, worlds will collapse     Mankind has already begun the process     For all who meld me to their hearts     Are chained to my relentless torment

Behold, your sentiments I will shackle in misery As rancor consumes your soul The mindless vengeance that you seek Is the animosity that keeps me burning

No mortal has lived without me living in them       Few have overcome my power For I live where love has died In many, I will live eternally        

Until there is love         There will be no rest         When I am gone         There will be peace        

___________________

I’m really afraid of that hatred.  We all know that Satan fell from heaven and is miserable because of that hate.  But there was a time in my life where I feel to share where I felt consumed by that hatred.  

I have a really bad weakness.  I don’t know about you guys, but I have the weakness of regret.  If I miss something, if I don’t do something, and regret it, it just eats me up a lot of times.  And there was a time in my life where I seemed to recollect every single possible regret that I could think of.  And it kept eating me up.  It would be things from embarrassments, to things that I wished would have happened and didn’t happen; things I missed in life.  It would be times when people offended me, or it would even be times when I offended other people and I just felt like ‘what did I do?’  And I would battle it out with my own mind.  I would just try and try to say “no, it’s in the past.  It’s fine.  It’s ok.”  But I couldn’t get away.  I didn’t know what to do.  And it always felt like this dark presence was following me everywhere I went.  And one day, I had a Joseph Smith moment.  I prayed and I said “Heavenly Father, please, free me from this torment.”  And I went the entire day without a response, and by nighttime, I was just exhausted.  I was just drained.  And my wife, Geysi, she came out of nowhere and said, “let’s do FHE”.  And we’re pretty infrequent about our FHE; so, it came kind of unexpected.  And she said “let’s just do it real quick”.  And we went over there, and as she’s speaking, she speaks about forgiveness.  And I don’t remember what scripture she said, but it woke me up as if a man from his sickbed just jumping out.  And she went onto other things, but I knew that that was what God wanted me to hear.  And so, as we went on, I prayed in my mind and said, “Heavenly Father, I want a baptism of the mind.  I want to forgive everything and everyone in my life, of all wrong, of everything.”  After I prayed, I felt a clarity in the mind.  I felt this whirlwind just stop.  It felt like the enemy himself was silent: didn’t have any power over me.  And it felt that I could finally be happy again.  

I’m very thankful to Father in heaven for His mercy, for His kindness, for His love to provide answers to us in our deepest and darkest times.  

There’s a few things that I feel to share, to clarify a little bit further upon forgiveness.  The primary motivator for forgiveness shouldn’t be, “K, this guy is pretty good here, but not, he’s just OK here.”  Or “you know what, I don’t like this guy very much, but whatever, it’s fine.”  The primary motivator of forgiveness should be charity.  And charity is the pure love of Christ.  And purity in it’s word means to be free from impurities.  Free from the impurity of pride, from selfishness.  Free from the impurity of dislike.  It’s supposed to be coupled with humility, with meekness, with longsuffering, with patience, understanding, and the belief that every person in this world has a possibility of returning to Heavenly Father to live forever in His presence.  And that’s why God sent His son.  He knew that as soon as Jesus Christ came to this earth; He knew that people would be spitting on Him.  He knew that He (Jesus) would preach to crowds that would just leave Him by the masses.  And that He would be rejected and nailed in six different places.  But He sent Him still because “He so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son, that” knowing that we imperfectly could still be saved by His grace, “that all who believe in Him might not perish, but have everlasting life.”  What reason did Heavenly Father have beyond love, beyond hope in our potential, that we could return?  I mean, yes He gets glory from this, but His glory is the love.  And surely, there are times, when I was a kid, I mean sometimes you see these kids with there iPads and their games.  I was that guy.  I was on my Gameboy all the time.  I would, in Primary, I would drive the teachers nuts.  I would hide in the car for an hour and a half before going to Primary.  I would hide the closets, in the cultural hall.  I would go anywhere, but Primary.  And now they let me teach it!

That entire time, I felt Heavenly Father’s hand with me.  Did I deserve it?  Did I seek it?  No, but it was there.  And I knew that small things in my life were gradually bringing me back to His fold, until I read the Book of Mormon and finally returned.  Is it not possible that those who hurt us, who offend us in our life, that God also has a plan for them in place, and that if we are willing we can be a part of that plan?  

Another motivator is that we should be obedient to our Heavenly Father.  I’m not going to take too much time on this, but read two scriptures here.  

It says, “I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.  I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men” (D&C 64:9-10).   

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you;  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). 

There’s one last topic that really confuses me sometimes.  To what point do you forgive?  Jesus Christ said that you forgive ‘till seven times seventy.  Now, if you could think about yourself toward God, how many times do you sin daily?  I don’t know about you, but at least it’s more than one for me.  And so that number runs out pretty quick for some of us.  And the closer you are to somebody, the more annoying they can be sometimes.  The more you run into their problems.  The more you see their sins that Heavenly Father sees all the time already.  But you’re facing it sometimes more than seven times seventy.  What do you do?  

I’d like to remember this one thing that Christ said: “resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (quote).  “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 

“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5: 44-45). 

Now those words don’t mean that we let evil live or go on forever.  It has to stop.  But by that same principle, Gandhi freed an entire nation from slavery, from oppression.  Martin Luther King Jr. was able to claim many of the rights for his people that they had been denied.  And I love this quote from Martin Luther King Jr.  The more you read into this man, the more you see how patient, how forgiving he was.  It’s incredible.  And he says, “darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

Now, there does come an exception eventually.  Nephi and his family are perfect examples.  Nephi was a righteous young man who just wanted to follow God and keep His commandments.  And throughout his entire life, his brothers were the opposite.  They loved the world and they just wanted to do whatever they could.  And so in this process of going back for plates and going back and forth, you know Laman and Lemuel, they laid the rod.  They smacked him with a stick.  And there appeared an angel, and they stopped.  And later on as they go back to get wives and they come back, they’re like “you know, we still want to go back to the city.”  And Nephi says, “No, no way dude.  We got to stay here.  We got to go where the Lord guides us.”  And they again tied him to a tree to be left to die to the beasts.  And Nephi prays.  The strength of the Lord comes to him that the bands are loosed, and he speaks to them again.  As they’re about to lay their hands on him to kill him, the wives, or the ladies plead, and the brothers stop.  And they begged for his forgiveness.  And Nephi said, “I did frankly forgive them all that they did.”  And Nephi had a very quick spirit to forgive, but they continued.  Later on, as he was commanded to build a boat, they mocked him again.  As he preached to them another time, they tried to lay hands on him to throw him into the sea.  And as they were on that same boat, that same boat that he built by the instruction of God, they again tied him to the ship, as if to kill him.  And they only let him loose as soon as the power of God came.  And when finally, Lehi died, the father who had spoken with such tender love to his children, they again tried to kill him, and for what?  Because they wanted to be the teachers, the rulers of the people.  They didn’t want anyone above them.  They did it for pride.  And Nephi, at this time, after turning his cheek time after time, after being forgiving, after loving them more and more, as much as he could, was finally commanded to flee.  And the commandment wasn’t any longer to turn the cheek.  The commandment was now to defend your children, your families, even to bloodshed.  Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t have somebody chasing me to death yet; so, I’m still in the commandment to forgive and love as much as I can.  And I feel to say I love you guys.  I feel to say thank you again for everything you guys do, for everything you’ve done for me.  And I know as we follow the example of Nephi and forgiving others and doing everything we can to reconcile ourselves with our brothers and sisters, we will turn alright.  Maybe, maybe it’s possible that we won’t have the miracle that Gandhi, or that we won’t have the miracle that Martin Luther King had, but we will have the miracle of changing ourselves, of being ready to see our Heavenly Father for forgiving our brothers and sisters.  And I pray that charity can live with each of us.  

Do I have more time?  OK!  I’ve got another poem.  This one I’ve shared previously, but not in this ward; so, I’m going to share another time.  I’m actually going to share this one here [instead].  So, I’d like to remind everyone that Jesus Christ is the ultimate source of all forgiveness.  We don’t necessarily deserve to be forgiven.  We’re forgiven because of love.  And this one is called “At the Auction House”.  

_________________

Poem - At the Auction House      

At the auction house,       men and women, youthful         and full of age,         gather to buy treasures,           pleasures, and delicacies,         all at the cost           of their souls.        

Pounding the gavel,   the auctioneer           grins with black teeth         and eyes burning red.           Lucifer has commenced   the bidding.        

All at once, they scramble   for their lusts   and extend their hands   anxiously to receive           as he chains their feet.           Most don't even last long   before he drags them           mercilessly into the dark.        

I, too, looked to his gifts   with envy       and sold my soul for a craving.       Only when I opened my eyes           did I realize I was so blind.        

Then, my cries had pierced the dark,         "God, have mercy on me!"           And I wept all alone   in the bitter night           until I was called back   to the auction room.          

Slamming the pulpit, Satan     roared and wailed aloud, crying   "What price will be paid           for the wretch that           sold himself     to me!"        

A Man, shining in white,         stood up amidst the sinners.           Showing nothing save scars in His hands,           He said, "The price           has already been paid."          

At His word, the chains were loosed           and Satan's roars grew deaf.           Tears of remorse       dried from my cheeks       as the Man reached down           and I heard His voice.          

“Oh, child of heaven,         does thou not recall           that even if a man   should gain the whole world,       what would it profit him       if he lost his soul?       Learn ye this day,   thy soul is of greater worth       than all the world         combined.      

"And because nothing   in this world         can equal the   worth of thy soul,       the cost of thy redemption   could not come   by worldly things;       rather, it has come         by the precious blood           that I've given for thee.          

“Rise up           and follow me.”          

Taken by His hand           to rise from the     gulf of misery,           within my broken heart,       I find these words to say:      

No longer will I labor           as a slave in darkness;   rather, I will be   a child of the Light.        

Eternally indebted to   His grace, the payment I now give is to preach   the miracle of life,   of redemption,   of everlasting joy,   that are renewed   by Him who ransomed me.   And I shall ever pay it joyfully.  

____________________

Brothers and sisters, thank you for this time.  I’m really happy to be a part of this Church.  I’m really happy to learn from souls that are not taught channel CW or anywhere else.  I love God, and I love you all.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.