#I’m sorry if you just follow me for art you gotta be subjected to my full moon hoe pics | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cicimunson · 2 years

Text

Dollhouse Part 2

Chapter Summary: You go to Eddie’s house to get Billy’s drugs and realize he’s different than how he seems.

(Series Summary, Pairings and Characters listed on Part 1.)

Chapter Warnings: Drugs use, physical abuse

Word Count: 2.5k+

Part 1 3 4 5 6 7

“Welcome to my humble abode. Make yourself at home, or whatever.” Eddie opens the trailer door for you and smirks. “Sorry if it’s not up to your standards, the cleaning lady has the week off.”

“Haha.” You stick out your tongue at him.

He chuckles and walks past you. “You can just chill in the living room, I gotta take a leak.”

“Thanks for sharing.” You roll your eyes.

He disappears down the hall as you glance around the room. Sure, it’s no palace, but it’s not a hovel either. The furniture is old but not worn out. There’s a homemade throw tossed on the back of the couch, and you briefly wonder if Eddie’s mom made it. You run your fingers over the yarn, looking at pictures on the wall. There’s Eddie at various ages, standing by a lake with a scowl, holding an acoustic guitar with a goofy grin, beaming over a chocolate birthday cake.

You venture down the hall, stopping at a door when you smell weed and stale beer. It’s half open so you peek inside. The first thing that catches your eye is a beautiful electric guitar hanging on the wall.

Oh, pretty.

You can’t resist getting a closer look. You move into the room, noting the various tapes stacked on the floor and the band art on the wall. There’s drawings of dragons and swords sprawled on the dresser.

I didn’t know Eddie was an artist.

You eye his guitar once more and reach up to strum the strings.

“Ahem.”

You whirl and see Eddie standing in the doorway, his arms crossed.

“No one touches my guitar but me. Also, I said to chill in the living room.”

“Shit, sorry. It’s really nice.” You gesture to the artwork on the dresser. “You draw?”

“Yeah, only dragons and shit. I’m not a real artist or anything. No sunsets, no flowery landscapes.”

“Art is subjective.” You murmur, still glancing around the room. “It doesn’t have to be pretty or flowery.”

He looks surprised. “Right.”

You swallow hard when you notice a pair of handcuffs hanging on the wall.

Of course he’s into some weird shit. And I’m alone with him at his house. I did not think this one through.

“Those work, you know, if you wanna try them on.” He teases.

You feel your cheeks turning red. “Um, no thanks.”

Eddie chuckles. “Are you finished exploring?”

You nod, hurrying to the door. You accidentally kick over a stack of tapes and Eddie groans.

“Shit, shit, sorry.” You mumble. You drop to your knees and start picking them up. “Did you have these in a certain order, or?”

“Jesus. Just put them on the nightstand, I’ll organize them later.”

“Sorry.” You repeat, stacking them as quickly as you can. You put them where he said, your gaze falling to an open pack of condoms sitting by an ashtray.

You blush again.

Eddie’s eyes land on the condoms. He grins. “You wanna try those out, too?”

“No, no, no.” You practically sprint back to the living room.

You hear him rustling around, then he follows you up the hall. He sees your nervous expression and frowns.

“Hey, I was just kidding. Giving you a hard time for being nosy is all. I’m sorry.”

You don't respond and he lays a hand on your shoulder, making you jump.

"Seriously, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"I'm not. I'm fine. Just in a hurry."

He doesn't look convinced but drops it. "Here." He shoves a bag in your hand. "An ounce is forty bucks."

"Shit. I don't know if I have forty." You pull your money out of your jacket pocket. "I have twenty-five. I don't suppose you do IOUs?"

"Not for new customers, no."

"I swear I'm good for it, Eddie. I can bring it to you tomorrow."

He shakes his head. "Despite appearances, this is a business, Y/N. If I let everyone that buys from me short me, my business goes under, you understand?"

Billy is going to kill me. He's literally going to kill me.

You blink back tears.

Fuck, do not cry.

Eddie notices, and his expression softens.

"Who told you about my weakness?"

You give him a confused look. "Huh?"

"Pretty girl tears. My weakness."

He thinks I'm pretty?

He sighs. "Look, if you tell anyone, and I mean anyone, that I let you buy from me with an IOU, I'll never sell to you or your friends again, okay? No matter how much you cry."

"Are you serious? Eddie, thank you!" You throw your arms around him.

He flinches at first, but his hands slowly come up to rest on your back.

"You're welcome. But like I said, not a word." He pulls away and frowns. "I really am a bleeding heart, aren't I?"

You giggle. "For sure. You're a saint, Munson. An absolute godsend."

"That's nicer than the names I'm usually called."

"I don't call you names…do I?" You frown.

He shrugs his shoulders. "You tell me. You didn't call me an animal at lunch today?"

Shit.

"I, uh, I did. But I wasn't intending to be mean, I swear. I was just trying to distract Jason before he did something stupid. I really didn't mean anything by it."

He shakes his head. "Excuses, but no apology."

"What? Of course I'm sorry, Eddie. I didn't know you heard me. I didn't know I upset you."

His eyes darken. "You give yourself too much credit. It didn't upset me. I don't let the shit you and your friends say get to me."

"They're not bad people, Eddie. They just do and say bad things, sometimes. It's not personal."

"Yeah, maybe not to you."

"Eddie-"

"Do you need a ride?" He interrupts. "How are you getting home?"

I didn't think that far ahead. I've got to take this to Billy before I meet up with Jason.

"Would you mind? It's a long walk to my house."

"I don't mind."

"Thank you. For the ride, and for the, uh, drugs."

He nods and the two of you walk out to the van.

He opens the door for you and then climbs into the driver's seat.

You both ride in silence for a few minutes.

"You know, you were flirting with me today. In the cafeteria, I mean."

Your mouth drops open. "I was not!"

He grins. "You winked at me, and you waved. How is a guy supposed to take that?"

"I was being polite! You winked at me first." You protest.

"Uh-huh. Does your boyfriend know that you go around winking at other guys?" He teases.

"Eddie Munson. I was not flirting." You insist.

Liar.

He reaches over and takes your hand. "Whatever you need to tell yourself, dearest."

You snatch it away and he laughs.

"It's okay, Y/N, it's just us. You can admit it."

I may kill him.

"I liked your little speech, that's it."

"My speech?"

"Yeah. It made sense. My little sister's friends are really into that game. I think some of them even play with you. It's harmless. You're not doing anything wrong."

He looks away from the road to study your face, convinced you're messing with him.

When he doesn't see a trace of sarcasm or cruelty, he smiles at you. Beams at you.

"You have such a pretty smile." You say out loud without thinking.

He looks surprised. "You think so?"

You blush. "I mean, yeah. It's a nice smile."

"You said pretty."

"I meant pretty nice."

"That's not what you said."

"It's what I meant, though."

"You have a pretty smile, too."

"Eddie, that's not what I meant." You insist. "Why is it so hot in this van?" You tug your jacket off.

"Sorry, the air's busted. I'd say you can roll down the window, but it's messed up, too." He replies sheepishly.

"Hey, no complaints. I don't even have a car. I have to use my mom's."

"She still out of town?"

Huh?

"How did you know that?"

"Your brother-"

"Step-brother." You correct.

That fucker is no blood relation of mine.

"He buys me from me sometimes. We talk."

"I didn't know the two of you were friends."

"I didn't say that. I said we talk."

"Why aren't you friends?"

He pulls into your driveway and puts the van in park. "Honestly? He's kind of a dick. We just light one up every now and then. He invited me to a party at your house this weekend."

What?!

"A party, at my house? Are you serious?"

"I'm not coming, if that's what you're worried about."

He's throwing a party? How can he be so stupid? The girls will be home. They can't be around him and his stupid friends.

"You okay?"

You turn and give him a tight smile. "I'm fine. Thank you for the ride."

He shoves the weed bag into your hands.

"Where do you want me to meet you tomorrow?" You ask. "To pay you back, I mean."

"You can just swing by my place, if that works for you."

You nod. "It does. Thanks again, Eddie." You start to get out of the van.

"You know what?"

"Hmm?"

"You can forget about paying me back."

"What?"

"Yeah, I'm willing to forgive your debt. If you do one thing for me."

Oh Lord.

"What's that?" You ask, wincing when you sound nervous.

He leans in close to you, his face inches from yours. You can't help but stare into his eyes.

He really is good-looking. The hair threw me off, but he's cute as hell under all that frizz.

"Admit you were flirting with me today."

Is he serious?

"Eddie-"

"It's no biggie either way. I just want to hear you admit that I didn't imagine it."

What's the harm in telling the truth? It's not like anyone would believe him if he talked.

"Fine, Munson." You sigh. "You're right. I flirted with you today."

He grins. Despite yourself, you grin back at him.

"I knew it. And you do think I have a pretty smile, don't you?"

"Don't push it." You warn with a laugh, hopping out of the van.

"You know, you could still come by tomorrow, if you want. I could show you some more of my drawings." He shrugs his shoulders. "Or whatever."

Do I want to see him again? I think I do. Wow. I wanna spend time with Eddie Munson. Is the universe collapsing?

He looks nervous, waiting for your response.

You wink at him. "See you then, Munson."

__________

You slip inside the front door, not surprised to find Billy sitting in a recliner, arms crossed and scowling.

"Where the fuck have you been? Your boyfriend dropped the girls off almost an hour ago. He wanted to wait on you but I told him to get lost."

Fantastic.

"I was getting your drugs, remember?"

You toss the bag in his lap.

He glances down at it, then glares at you. "An ounce isn't cheap. How did you pay for it?"

"With my babysitting money."

He doesn't look convinced. "Uh-huh. You bought Max a new Walkman last week, but still had enough money for this?"

"The Wheelers gave me extra for staying over a few hours the other night." You lie.

He nods, seeming to accept your explanation. You breathe a sigh of relief. Suddenly, he's on his feet. You take a step back but he grips your shoulder, pushing down. Your knees buckle.

"Billy, let go of me. I got what you wanted."

"You think I'm stupid? You think I don't know exactly how much money you had on you?"

"Stop, you're hurting me." You hiss. You don't dare yell for fear of waking Max and Sarah.

"So tell me, how did you pay for this? Did you fuck someone for weed, Y/N? Are you that big of a slut?"

"No, Billy, I didn't do anything. " You whimper, tears landing on your cheeks. "Please, let me go."

Please, before one of the girls gets up and sees this.

There's a knock at the door. Billy fists your hair, forcing you to look up at him.

"Keep your fucking mouth shut, you hear me?"

You nod. He lets you go, shoving you to the side as he stalks to the door and opens it.

"What's up, Munson?"

Eddie. Shit. What is he doing?

You look up and meet his eyes, forcing a smile. Eddie takes in your messy hair and wet face, looking shocked.

"Munson? You need something?" Billy snaps.

"Uh, Y/N, you left your jacket in my car."

He holds it out to you.

You force a smile and take it from his hands. "Thanks, Eddie. I would have been looking for it in the morning."

Billy glances back and forth between the two of you. "You two hang out?"

"Sure, we're old friends." Eddie quips.

"Uh-huh. Well tell me something, friend, did my sister buy weed from you tonight?"

Eddie looks at you and you give a quick nod.

Fuck, just tell him.

"Uh, yeah, she did. I assume it was for you?"

"Yeah, it was. How did she pay?"

You plead with Eddie with your eyes.

"Um, she gave me forty bucks? What's with the third degree, Hargrove?"

"Just wondering where she got that kind of cash."

Eddie shrugs. "I assumed she borrowed it from her hotshot boyfriend."

He's brilliant.

"Hmm, maybe so. You coming by this weekend? Party's gonna be fucking sick, man."

"Yeah, I might. I gotta get going. Y/N, do you need a ride? To Jason's party?"

You blink at him. He jerks his head subtly toward Billy and you realize what he's actually asking.

Do I need to get you away from this asshole?

"I'm fine, thanks. I want to check on the girls before I leave."

He looks worried. You give him a pointed look, slightly shaking your head.

"Thanks again, for the ride. And giving me back my jacket."

"Anytime. Catch you later, Hargrove." He and Billy bump fists.

Before Billy can say anything else, you sprint down the hall to look in on your sisters. Sarah is in Max's bed with her, both of them snoozing away.

"How long are you going to be at that party? If Sarah pisses the bed I'm not cleaning it up. Or her." Billy mutters from behind you.

"Only an hour or so."

You don't want to go. You want to crawl into bed with your sisters and sleep all night. So far, Billy's temper had only been directed at you, but you worried every day that he might take his anger out on Max or Sarah if you weren't there to take the brunt of it.

You turn to leave but he stops you.

"Uh-uh." He taps his cheek.

Your stomach churns. You rise up on tiptoe and kiss his cheek.

"Say thank you for watching the girls, Billy."

You nod. "Thank you for watching the girls, Billy."

"One hour. Don't be late." He warns before heading to his room.

You grab the keys off the counter and sprint out the door, hopping into your mom's car. You aren't even out of the driveway before you burst into tears.

#stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fanfic #stranger things ff #eddie munson #eddie munson stranger things #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x you #eddie munson slow burn #max mayfield #billy hargrove #eddie x reader

69 notes · View notes

msm-tsotmw · 11 months

Text

(Sprigg blinks their eyes open. They are in what appears to be a Castle room, surrounded by… they don’t know who’s surrounding them, but they can hear them talking.)

Ugh… huh?

( But they look like a Furcorn ! This is Mythical Island , Naturals like them don’t usually end up here . )

(yeah… huh?)

oh look, they’re awake! hi!

(Sprigg notices a white Strombonin and a light pink Yawstrich standing around their bed. Well, those two CLEARLY aren’t Urceus or Theo. also tagging @paidexp bcs I miiiiiight mention those 2 lol)

Huh… what? Who are you??

oh, us? ah! i’m cameo, and this is tundra. welcome to mythical island! we found you lying on the ground unconscious, so we decided to drop you off here.

Mythical Island??

well, us mythicals have gotta go SOMEWHERE sometimes, you know what i mean?

the same doesn’t really go for me and a few others, we can’t really leave this island unlike my friend theo, his girlf-

Theo said to keep his admiration for Urceus a SECRET .

ah, um, its GOOD FRIEND urceus, for some reason. theo lives on air, and so did i!

well, until i fell into some kind of “kow-muh” and-

Cam , I don’t mean to be rude , but I think you’re talking too much .

oh okay, sorry ‘bout that!

anyways, what’s your name?

…Me??

yeah, you! i mean, you’ve gotta be called SOMETHING, right?

Erm, my name’s Sprigg.

I was just sleeping in a cave while waiting for my friends to come and get me, and I… somehow ended up here and I don’t know how to get out.

oh, that’s because of deep-dream teleportation!

…What.

Er , nevermind . That seems like a complicated subject to explain to you .

speaking of dreams, maybe we should go talk to pringle.

Pringle??

Only a pioneer and master practitioner of the art of Dreamcraft .

They can probably help you return to your friends .

wait, DO you wanna return to your friends?

Yeah. You see, my friends and I are a group of adventurers, and we’re supposed to travel the Monster World to try and save it from impending doom, apparently.

Impending doom …?

ah, right! the plague of silence that pringle was talking about a few days ago.

…So that’s what it is?

yeah! we’ll give you a little more context when we reach them. anyways, follow me!

(Cameo begins to fly away. Tundra bends down to speak to Sprigg.)

Please don’t mind him talking about introducing you to Pringle all of a sudden . Cam can be a bit too quickly-paced at times …

Alright. Let’s go see whoever Pringle is, then.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

yes, the leader of Mythical Island in this AU is named fucking PRINGLE. I just thought it would be funny

also I miiiiiiight draw Cam and Tundra sooner or later idk

-Mod Jimmy 🗣️

#my singing monsters #msm #msm au #my singing monsters au #furcorn #furcorn msm #yawstrich #yawstrich msm #strombonin #strombonin msm

11 notes · View notes

sleepy-achilles · 2 months

Note

Hi! I have a request. I have would love to get more of Leon’s rebellious teen phase in the family of destruction. I know he and taker didn’t get along too well then, but I’m a sucker for angst 😭!

I adore Teen Leon and I'm kinda mad I don't write them as kids more. I like teen Leon more than adult Leon. Fuck adult Leon.

Also your reminder, because ik some don't read the notes, asks are now reopen and I will be answering them the same day or as soon as possible (incase I suffer writer's block)

Sweet 16

Bro went from the sweetest child in the whole world to a literal spawn of Satan when he hit 16. No? What do you mean he was traumatised and his 16th birthday incident pushed him over the edge? I would never do that to a character 👀

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

"Have kids they said. Kids will be the apple of your eye" Taker growls as he slams the report down onto the table. Leon tilts his freshly scarred face as he rocks his feet which are sat on said table. "Why couldn't you be like your brother?" Taker sighs. "What a complete and utter loser?" Leon asks. John glares at him. "None of that now" Shawn scolds. Leon rolls his eyes as shawn taps his feet. He lowers his feet. He's asshole to everyone but Shawn at the moment.

Taker knows why but he doesn't want to speak it, mostly for shawns mental health than anything. But a little someone has followed too much in their papas footsteps.

"I get your having a tough time at the moment, but you said you were ready for school, so what's up with the grades?" Taker asks. "Im sorry, I said I was ready to go out and about again, not do well in school. I never did. Besides I think having my grandfather slashing my face open should give me some leeway as you know it only happened four months ago" Leon snaps as he stands up. He stares taker down. "Now if you excuse me old man, me, mattie and val have plans" Leon huffs grabbing his jacket and walking to the door. "No! Because your grounded!" Taker yells. "Ha! Grounded? Fuck off!" Leon yells before the door opens and slams shut.

"I liked him better when he didn't speak" Taker mutters. Shawn slaps his arm. "You don't mean that" "If he doesn't, I do" John whispers. Both men look at him. "What, he's nicer when he can't speak. In fact he was a lot nicer before Paul turned psycho on him" John admits. "Yeah I know bud. Go get ready for bed" Shawn sighs. Taker watches as John leaves. "Hes gonna do a lot of damage." Taker warns. "I know. But we gotta be careful. It's not just trauma is natural teenage rebellion too. I know damn well you were like it and well I didn't get mine until my 30s" Shawn shrugs picking up Leon's report. "And too be honest he's not wrong. He was doing horrible in school before his 16th. He's just dropping in art and history now which I will talk to him about as I know he likes those subjects" Shawn adds. "I just want him to do well." "I know that and he will too one day. Now are you waiting up or going to bed?" "Bed" Taker mutters.

------

"Your parents are gonna kill ya" Mattie chuckles as he blows smoke towards the sky. "They are cute tho" val smiles poking her fresh tattoo. The trio got group tattoos just below their ribs. Mattie got a wolf skull with a small butterfly wearing a crown. Val got a butterfly that's pattern makes a skull, she got a small pawprint with a crown just above the butterfly's head. Leon got a skull with a massive crown on its head, the skull has a small claw mark up the side and a butterfly clinging to the other side. "Yeah but you two took it too far" Matt states. "What makes you say that?" Leon asks sitting up. "Well you both got your nipples pierced" Matt states. "Oh yeah, and when my face fully heals I'll get my nose done, some sick snakebites and then work on my ears, My ears are gonna be covered" Leon smirks.

Val chuckles and leans forward between Leon's legs. "Get your cock pierced" she smirks. "How much?" Leon tilts his head. "I know whoever wins the next match for their team picks the losers next piercing location" Matt smirks. "Deal" they all shake on it. "You know damn well Leon woulda been tatted up and pierced up if the shop didn't refuse to do more work to cover their own ass" val states. "Or the fact they are scared his father" Matt hums watches as a car races past them. "Ain't that brads car?" Leon asks sliding off the hood of Matts car. They watch as Brad and his friends climb out. "Thinkin what I'm thinking?" Mattie smirks. "Damn right, get the bats" Leon smirks as the other group walk into the mall.

Taker groans as the phone rings. He rolls over and lifts the phone off its holder. "Mm hello?" He mutters. "Im sorry to call you up so late taker but your son is smashing up Mr Daniels sons car up and refusing to get off the car." Officer Bode sighs. "That fucker" Taker growls sitting up, causing Shawn to wake. "Where is he?" "The mall carpark." "Ill be there now" Taker hangs up, throwing the phone back into the hold. "Whats wrong?" Shawn yawns. "Your son is destroying property. That mall was the worse thing I ever built." Taker growls standing up, grabbing a tshirt. "Want me to go?" Shawn asks. "No. I promise not to kill him" Taker mutters grabbing the trucks keys. Shawn frowns as Taker storms out. He glances down at Charlie. "Lets hope it's the last time" Shawn sighs as the dog steals takers spot. Shawn looks at him as Charlie just huffs at him.

Taker is going to loose his head as he pulls up and sees Leon stood on the roof of the car. He watches as Leon hits the mirror off when the cops move closer.

He slams his door. "LEON!" He yells as he walks over. Mr Daniels pulls Brad back as the man walks over. "Im so sorry Mr Daniels. I promise to pay to get this repaired" "don't be sorry dad! His son is a piece of shit!" Leon laughs. Taker looks at val and matt who are leant against the cop car. "You two involved in this?" Taker snaps. "Yessir." They both mutter looking down. Taker looks back at Leon. "Get down now" he orders. "Or what?" Leon snarls leaning against the bat. "LEON! Enough! Down now!" Taker yells. Leon huffs and walks forward until he drops down to the floor. Taker snatches the bat off Leon and throws it to the floor.

"Are you fucking crazy? Bode has every right to throw your scrawny ass in a cell" taker growls grabbing his jacket. Leon just glares at him. "What if I want him in a cell! Look at the damage!" Daniels yells. "Then we'd have to look into that file against Brad last summer." Bode states. "Dad it's fine, Mr Michaels has said they'll pay for the damage. Me and my mates are fine." Brad pleads. "What will it be?" Bode asks. "No charges. But I don't want him anywhere near my property anymore" Daniels snaps. "Of course. I'll make sure of it" Taker promises. "Thank you Mr michaels. I'll drop these two home and speak to their parents." Bode states. "Good. I'll be speaking to them tomorrow too. Now excuse us" Taker nods, pulling Leon towards the truck.

Leon jerks out of his hold. "Let me go" Leon snarls as he storms towards the truck. "Are you fucking crazy!" Taker yells as they get into the truck. Leon sucks in his cheeks as he stares out the window. "Lets go home." "What the hell are you playing at? Hmm? Be angry at me, push me, do not start terrorising the people of my valley" Taker tells him. This causes Leon to snap. "Oh but they can terrorise me?! He's been bullying me and my mates since we where kids! He harasses Valentina and he assaults me!" Leon barks. "You goto an adult! Not do this shit!" "We went to an adult! And as you heard, daddy's got money so this shit gets swept" Leon scoffs. Taker sighs and rubs his cheek as he starts the engine up. Leon turns fully towards the window.

This can't get worse.

----Posted this part before-----but yeah-----lets mix it up--

Taker had to open his big mouth.

Shawn had to leave the arena to go home. When taker found out he was going to the police station he teleported straight there.

"Why Lee. Look at you" he hears Shawn sigh. Taker steps up to the front desk where Bode is waiting. It's late after all. "Go home, ill lock up" Taker tells him. "Sure thing" Bode throws him the keys before walking out. Shawns quiet as Taker walks towards the cell. "What the fuck have you done?" Taker growls as he opens the cell and walks in. Leon stumbles back as the door slams shut. "Do I need to repeat myself?" Taker asks. "It was a fight party. Its not the first one it won't be the last." Leon admits quietly.

Taker would hate for his kids to be scared of him. But his anger towards his son is too high to care right now. "Look at me! What did you do!" Taker growls getting closer. "I took it too far. Hurt the kid" Leon mutters looking down at his bloodied knuckles. "Look at me." Taker sighs. Leon doesn't move. "Look at me!" Taker orders. Leon glances up, his lip tucked in so he can fiddle with his snakebites.

"I have been nothing but patient with you.-" "like fuck. You go in guns blazing. Yelling, slamming things. You've never been patient." Leon snaps. Taker stares at him. "Ok. Lets do it that way" Taker states walking away from him. "What? What way?" Leon asks as Taker shuts the cell and locks it. "Ill see you tomorrow when your bail is Posted. If your bail is Posted." Taker states. Both Leon and shawns eyes widen. "What? You can't leave me here!" Leon barks. "Damn right I can. Breaking cars, breaking into buildings, shoplifting and now putting kids in hospital? It's about time you sit in here and think. Sweet dreams leon" Taker snaps before he leads Shawn away

Shawn closes his eyes as his son yells and pleads for them. He knows takers right, but that's his baby boy behind those bars. Shawn opens his eyes. No. No, right now? Right now that's not his baby boy. That's a empty shell of his baby boy.

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

Leon fiddles with his lip piercing as the family eat dinner. "So how was the first day of school?" Taker asks. "I got accepted into a club!" Cassie smiles. "A nerd friendship group is not a club" Leon mutters. Cassie frowns at him. "Dont be a jerk." John mutters. "How about you Leon? Did you meet the therapist?" Shawn asks. They all agreed Leon should try speaking to the school therapist when he goes back. And boy did Leon fool them. "Yeah, slept with him and then hung out under the bleachers for an hour before I had to go back to class" Leon smirks. Taker chokes on his beer and shawns eyebrows raise as he turns from sipping his wine to downing it.

"And that's our cue to go and do your homework" John hums lowering his fork. "Yeah..." cassie nods picking up her plate.

Taker stares at Leon as the other two kids escape. "Im sorry what? Leon did he-" "God no, if anything he's more scared of me. He's hot, I'm hot, he's probably done it before tho as he didn't hesitate at all. So yeah might wanna get him checked out there Daddyo but I am not a victim" Leon huffs. "Leon you cannot sleep with an adult who's supposed to be a teacher or someone who we trust to look after you." Taker states. Leon looks at shawn. Taker copies. "Oh no, he's got me on this one. All you or I look like a hypocrite" Shawn admits. "Oh my god" Taker groans. "Yeah sorry dad, your losing this one but hey, found your mysterious predator. Again" he mutters the last part. "Did you just say again?" Taker asks. "Nope, gotta go" Leon hums standing up.

"No Leon you are g-" "grounded? Yeah we know that isn't happening, me and mattie are gonna go joy riding before grabbing Valentina to eat and watch a film" Leon chuckles before leaving.

Taker looks at shawn. "Im sorry baby but he knows too much about me. Ministry era was a weird time for us" Shawn sighs. "You slept with the school therapist?" "My history teacher. Needed a grade." Shawn admits. "What are we going to do Shawn? How far do we let this go before someone dies?" Taker asks quietly. Shawn leans back. "We get Kevin involved. We do what we did with me." Shawn admits. "Hes in the ring every week Shawn." "No, he's a sports entertainer. He needs control and patience" Shawn states. "Could work."

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

Leon is 17 when he starts training with his uncle. His violence crimes start going down, but he's not completely out yet. No, he still has some rebellion stuck in him.

------

"How's Lee doing?" Scott asks. "Hes doing good, no more fights, no more crimes. Just got that damnd attitude still" Kevin answers as he accepts a beer off taker. "Tell me about it." Taker sighs watching cassie and John play fight. "Hes definitely pushing those two away still" Taker adds. "Where is he now?" Scott asks. "Got in a fight at school, cassie saw it so shawns sorting it with the school." Taker mutters. "Thought he wasn't fighting anymore?" Goldust asks as he passes a beer to hunter. "Thats the issue. Cassie states it was scary, Leon just stood there and took it. Never fighting back once. I'm worried we might have put the wrong ideas in his head" Taker sighs. "But he fights back in the ring" goldust states. "Hes performing for the crowd then, it's different." Hunter points out.

"So now we are worried because he's no longer fighting?" Scott asks, clapping as cassie knocks John down. "Atta girl!" He calls. "No I'm worried about how his brain is working at the moment. Pushing his siblings away, allowing himself to be pushed around, obviously he's still arguing with me. I'm just waiting for him to be caught with drugs or alcohol" Taker sighs. "You don't think he's going completely down that path?" Hunter asks. "I hope not. He probably won't gain anything from it. But he's definitely spiraling" Taker admits.

"It'll be okay, I think I'm getting through to him" Kevin promises.

"I hope"

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

Leon huffs and groans as he's shoved against the old matt, his face pressed into it. "Wanna tell me why your so angry at your old man? Heard you ignored his birthday" Kevin asks as he lowers himself. Leon growls and bares his teeth at him. "Ah ah, none of that bullshit with me, you know better than that. I know you better" Kevin tuts. Leon closes his eyes. "Gonna speak to me kid or you gonna keep hitting me a bit too hard?" Kevin asks. "Uncle." Leon taps the matt. Kevin sits back and watches as Leon pulls himself up to sit.

He keeps his eyes down. Kevin takes in the scar on the boys face. It's no longer red and raw. It's healed as best as it probably will, still bothers him if it's too cold. "Whats going on up there?" Kevin asks quietly. "It was his knife." Leon whispers. Kevin raises an eyebrow. "What?" "My dad's knife. That's what Paul used to do this. It belongs to him, it sits in his office in a case." Leon explains looking at Kevin. Kevin spots the watery look in his eyes. "Ah kid, I get what that looks like but your father would never want to hurt you" Kevin sighs. "You don't understand. You didn't experience Ministry like we did. Like I did. I'm the chosen one. No one experienced it like I did" Leon whispers hugging his knees.

"Ministry and your dad are two different people" "I know that! I get that! But looking at the face of the man who terrorises you is never easy" Leon snaps standing up. "Your dad terrorises you?" Kevin asks noting the lack of past tense. "No. Not now." Leon lies. Ministry is stood around him as he speaks. Taker? Taker would never harm Leon. But Ministry? Ministry haunts him like a ghost.

"Are we done? I'd like to go home." Leon asks. "Yeah, same time Thursday?" Kevin asks. "Ill be there" he nods before climbing out. Kevin hums to himself. Well now this is something. Leon is still a scared little boy, and Kevin doesn't blame him.

---

Taker watches Leon as he searches for something. "Looking for something?" Taker asks. Leon sighs and closes the draw. "Can you just back off?" Leon snaps looking at him. "I wanna talk about what happened." "So Kevin told you what I told him? Cool. I don't want to talk" Leon states. "Leon...I'm worried." "I don't care! I really don't fucking care! I've stopped my crimes! I've stopped fighting! I've got my grades leveled and you still breathe down my fucking neck!" Leon yells. "Because I care! You are on a spiraling road and I want to help!" Taker snaps back. Leon taps his fingers against the cabinet.

"You don't want this Leon. I know that." "You don't know what I want." Leon mutters, keeping his eyes on the floor. "Youll never know." Leon sighs pushing away from the unit. Taker watches him as he walks out. "One day we will be fixed. I promise." Taker sighs.

Leon tilts his head down as he blows smoke out.

Shawn sits next to him. "Gonna have ago at me?" Leon mutters. "No. Glad your smoking outside instead of in the house" Shawn shrugs. "Smoke reminds dad of the house fire." Leon points out. Shawn looks at him shocked. Maybe they all had it wrong.

"Yeah, it does. That's nice of you Lee." Shawn nods. "Im an asshole, not a monster. He doesn't deserve that...he doesn't deserve any of this" Leon mutters rubbing his cheek. "But your angry at the world and need someone strong enough to handle it, because you cannot and no one deserve to suffer" Shawn hums. Leon looks at him. "Yeah...how.." "I did the samething. I was suffering and didn't want anyone to know. So I turned it into anger and your father and uncle hunter suffered the brute of it." Shawn admits. "Guess we are alike" Leon huffs looking at the sky. "Yeah and I'll always be sorry for that." Shawn mutters.

"No one's telling you not to be a rebellious teen, it's part of growing up. We just want you to be happy again." Shawn tells him. "I know. And I'm trying. We've all cut the violence and petty crimes out. Payed for stuff stolen. Repaired things we broke. Replaced broken things. I'm just...lost still." Leon explains. "And that's okay. Your young, one day you'll find yourself and this will all make sense." Shawn promises. "Yeah? You promise?" "I promise. Now your dad will be home soon, what shall we have for dinner?" Shawn asks. "Let me buy you all a pizza, to say sorry" Leon offers. "Sure. A pizza will easily win cassie and John back but also show dad your trying" "Oh I've already won cassie back, brought her that bike she wanted" Leon smiles. "Well thanks, don't know what to get her for Christmas now" Shawn huffs. "Oh please she could give you a list a mile long" Leon laughs.

Shawn smiles. A sound he hasn't heard in ages. "I love you Lee." "Love you too".

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

Leon didn't find himself until he was 24. He still had slip ups with violence and his anger but it wasn't bad. He wasn't teenage rebellion anymore once he hit 18, he was just a rebel.

He came to accept the truth of what happened. He became a brat but a brat people actually liked being around. He's still an asshole. But he knows when to quit.

Him and taker still fight, of course they do, they have strong opinions and are similar enough in the sense they'd clash over a spoon and a spork. But they love each other and they'll always have each others back.

----------------------------------------------------------------------Notes

I'm so sorry 😞 Its 12am. So I'm pretty tired whilst writing this but I know you wanted angst which led me off Leon's rebellious activities so I hope that's okay. I also wanted to make sure I didn't repeat myself fic wise, which I obviously started to so but changed the scene up a bit.

I really like teen Leon's character. But old Leon and child Leon have a soft spot in my heart. Especially with both out there fighting bad guys and child Leon killing one whilst teen Leon was just out here being a literal criminal.

I do want to write more of the kids being, well kids, Leon was such a ball of sunshine. He went from sunshine to moon to now being eclipse. And well John and cassie have always been sunshine.

I will gladly do a fic focusing on Leon's actual rebellious activities if that's what people want.

Maybe one day we will find out who got the gential piercing 😅🤣

#wwe #shawn michaels #the undertaker #wwf #hbtaker #undertaker x shawn michaels #shawn x undertaker #leon michaels #the family of destruction

6 notes · View notes

inkedmyths · 1 year

Text

S1: E19 "Provenance"

Brought to you by Splatoon, and also I have school again so I forgot to post this last night

This ep featuring: Rich people, art history, dolls are creepy, and Sam lacking any kind of smoothness

Is the painting haunted

Yep called it

Uh oh lady is going to die

SQUISH

OOH they dead

Dean No

"I can get my own dates"

"You can but you don't"

DEAN. PRODUCER? DUMBASS

Whsgsgsgsgs honk honk wakey wakey

Yeah its the stuff

Is. Is it being auctioned

Dean. You're an idiot

Sam you're also an idiot

HAUNTED PAINTINGGG

DHSHS DEAN LOOKS SO OFFENDED THAT SHES MORE INTO SAM THEN HIM

Lmao they aren't on the guest liiist

Wh. What the fuck is this room. What is this music

Unison "Huh"

Oh thats what a provenance is huh

Sam sounding offended at using a "pickup" for info and Dean's just like yeaaaa all in a day's work now go get flirty

Ah yes dead mom. Classic

Climbing the gate we go! Going to try and steal and burn a painting! We're not even halfway done, are they going to get arrested or something before they get it

Or is it going to jump to a new host painting or something

Breaking and entering!

Im so nervous. Half expecting the police to jump in at any moment

Oh? oh OH IT JUST REFORMED

DEAN YOU IDIOT YOU DROPPED YOUR WALLET? HOW

Sam you are so bad at this. Sam. Sam no

Ooh ok so this Isiah? Isaiah? Killed his family. Ok

Uh Oh Someone Is Buying It

Dean REALLY does just think Sam needs to get laid to cool off

[ Melon says knowing Dean, it might be based on personal experience. ]

Sam having sad about his fridged girlfriend moments

Love the 2005 phones

GOD. SAM HES SOOO NOT SMOOTH

Oh no this poor old lady

HES MOVING

Uh oh Sarah followed theeeem

Jesus Christ

Yeah here's the part where they sound crazy

IM SORRY HELP IM GOING TO LOSE IT

THE WAY THAT HE SAYS "We think that painting is haunted". Like the way a parent tells their kid we think Sadie ran away because someone left the door unlocked. Like the "I'm so sorry sweetheart, do you nedd a hug" voice.

"Sam. Marry that girl" SCREAMING

Crypt? Mausoleum? Is this where the family's remains are?

Go go gadget bolt cutters!

Oh yeah the toys are creepy

Urns!

Ohhh he wasn't cremated

Sam pulling the "People I care about get hurt around me" card

"That's very sweet... and very archaic." Oh I like her shes got spice

I love how shes holding the light while they go grave robbing

SAM IS TRYING TO SCARE HER OFF BY BEING CHEERFULLY CHILL WITH THIS. thats so funny

HOWLING. DEAN. Dean you're so so terrible

HUH?

WAIT? WHY THE CHILD?

IM SO CONFUSED

Wait. Wait wait WAS IT A MURDEROUS CHILD ALL ALONG

Hello evil baby

Hhhrrr that feels too easy still

Aha!! The doll!!!

LMAO DEAN. DRIVES RIGHT THROUGH THE GATE

Shoot the glass shoot the doll

Whats up with the kid like what was the story there

Were both father and child trapped in the painting. Did she kill everyone and he killed her and then himself or something

SCREAMS Dean is sooo salty she doesn't even give him a second glance

Girl I know but you gotta find someone not getting hunted all the time

Dean let your brother do his thing in PEACE

Sam gets a girl, Dean's not as great a wingman as he thinks he is. Altogether a trainwreck, but a funny one, even if it did subject me to a PAINFUL amount of secondhand embarassment.

#on the highway to superhell #their dynamic is rlly funny tbh #dean 'i'll hold all my feelings right here and one day i'll die' winchester #sam 'i am so sad all the time' winchester #and together. they are assholes with a singular braincell

8 notes · View notes

ellana-ravenwood · 3 years

Text

The art of taking care of the woman you love - Bruce Wayne x Fem!Reader

Synopsis : You’ve always had really bad period pains. You learned to live with it, and to take care of yourself during those times...Up until a certain Bruce Wayne came into your life, and made it his mission to be there for you.

For @meghan-maria, who gotta be the sweetest out there :), and for anyone who ever had really bad period pains. I hope you will like it :

TW : periods. It’s obvious given the theme, but I guess we never know and better safe than sorry.

My master list : @ella-ravenwood-archives

_________________________________________________

The First time it happened

It’s the fact you cancelled your planned date with him without an explanation that makes him worry.

“Sorry, can’t make it tonight. Will see you tomorrow !”

You never did that before, and you two were so busy neither of you would miss a date really. Not unless something bad or important happened. But then in that case, you would’ve told him, no ?

It made him so anxious. And he was starting to clearly overthink things.

Were you maybe...having second thoughts ?

You and Bruce made your relationship official not long ago, was the media’s pressure becoming too much ? You told him you’d be fine, but after a few months experiencing the plague that were paparazzi and invasive questions, did you change your mind ?

Or maybe it was because of the whole Batman thing ? You discovered that a while ago, even before making your relationship official so...why would you change your mind about it now ?

Maybe he came home with too many cuts and bruises. Maybe you were freaking out ? He would understand if you did.

Or...There was a last option that came to his mind : he upset you somehow.

It was entirely possible, sometimes he could get stuck in his own mind, and be a jerk without even truly realizing it. He knew that fact very well about himself. It was often the reason of how he ruined multiple relationships, friends or more.

The way he sometimes just got too focused on his vigilante work. Too obsessed. And could be stuck in a “dark mode” like you’d say...

But, he also knew that you never took any of his shit. You would’ve told him if something was really the matter, right ?

Right ?!

Should he ask Alfred if he noticed anything ? His butler, and surrogate father, always saw things that escaped him. Especially when it came to feelings.

This was a less known trait about Bruce, but ever since he was a child, he’s always been anxious. He was usually really good at hiding it, and his “Brucie Wayne” persona made everyone think it wasn’t possible for him to be anything else but confident and cocky but...it wasn’t true.

Especially when it came to those he cared about. Especially when it came to you.

You loved him despite his flaws, accepted him fully, without any conditions. It was the first time it ever happened, that he LET it happen...So, with this simple plan cancellation that was quite unlike you, he freaked out a bit.

In the middle of the day, he finally decided to call you. One. Two. Three tones before you picked up, and oh. Oh he felt so relieved to hear your little “hello ?”

At the same time, his worry peaked. Was it just him, or did you sound really weak ?

“Hey honey, just wanted to check if you were alright ? Your text was a little short, and I know you don’t owe me any explanations of course, but I just wanted to check on you. You know. I-um...”

Clumsy Brooshy.

It made you smile, the way he could be a little flustered and lose his words, when with you. And it made you smile even wider that he chose to call you to make sure everything was ok.

Sweet Broosh.

If you really didn’t want to talk to him, you wouldn’t have answered. And he wasn’t the kind of man to “insist”. He would’ve left a voice message, and leave you alone until you felt like calling him back. Bruce was most definitely not invasive...but at the same time, you’d never leave him worrying for no reasons, knowing how anxious he could be.

The truth was, your text was short because...You didn’t know how to tell him the reasons you needed to cancel your date. You didn’t want to embarrass him. Men didn’t really like to talk about what you currently were suffering from.

You also were a little embarrassed yourself, because the entire society surrounding you made you feel wrong for having periods.

Periods.

One week a month. Every single months. That was a lot.

Especially for you because...you always had complicated and difficult periods. Painful. Making you feel like you couldn’t move. The pain making it impossible for you to even get out of bed for long.

You and Bruce had been dating for a while but...weren’t periods sort of a taboo subject ? You didn’t really know how to tell him. Especially since most men really seemed uncomfortable with the all thing.

Of course, you should’ve know Bruce wasn’t “most men”.

“Baby, are you there ?”

“Um yes yes, sorry I was lost in thoughts.”

“Are you ok ? You don’t sound right.”

The most observant man in the World was obviously going to realize your voice sounded weaker than usually. The truth was, you were trying really hard to keep it steady as pain filled your being.

“Yes yes, I’m ok, just feeling a bit...under the weather ?”

“Is there anything I can do ? Is it a cold or something ? If so, I can bring you buy some chicken noodle soup, and pick up any meds you might need.”

You almost cried at his words.

Super busy bee Bruce Wayne was telling you he’d go out of his way to bring you what you needed...It made you crack a little.

He was too damn nice. And your hormones were in shambles. It was very easy right now for you to cry.

This. How willing he was to help you, how he immediately asked if he could...Was what made you say the truth without thinking twice :

“I’m-I’m on my periods. They’re usually- They’re usually bad.”

“Oh.”

His response scared you a little bit. Were you right, was this maybe too much, too soon ? You were about to add something when he said :

“I’ll be there in about an hour, if it’s ok with you ? If you prefer to be alone I can send-”

“No ! No, I would love for you to come. I just-I wasn’t sure-I-”

“It’s ok. I understand. See you in a bit, love you.”

“Love you, too.”

On that note, Bruce hung up and leaves you with a wild beating heart.

************

Exactly an hour later, your doorbell rings.

With difficulties, you stand up, and go open the door. Surely enough, it’s your boyfriend.

“Hi.”

He has a bag in his hand, and you melt a little at the soft look and smile he gives you (even if there’s clear concerns behind it). You let him in, and go sit on the couch, even if just sitting up is already too much.

“Do you want to lie down ?”

“No. No I’m fine. You came all the way here, I can’t just stay in bed haha.”

“Of course you can.”

There’s a small silence for a little bit. Not awkward, you’re just not quite sure what to do. Should you go back to bed ? You really want to. And clearly, he understands. He always does.

“Ok.”

You stand, and wince because moving really makes everything worst. He approaches you, worried, but doesn’t dare to touch you and just follows you into your room. You get back in your comfy bed, under your comfy comforter.

Another silence. Until he breaks it, taking something out of the bag he was carrying and saying :

“So. I wasn’t sure you had a hot water bottle, I don’t ever recall seeing one in your apartment. So I bought one on the way just in case. Sorry if you don’t like the color, I can pick another one up later. It’s just, the woman on YouTube said that heat pads and hot water bottles were great.”

“The...woman on YouTube ?”

“Yes, I watched a video on menstruations on the way here.”

For a few seconds, you just stare at him, stunned. Never EVER in your entire life did you think you would hear THE Bruce Wayne say those words one day.

“A video on menstruations ?”

“Well, yes. Obviously, I don’t have periods. So I have no idea what it feels like. So I watched a video, to understand the process. And also so that you wouldn’t have to explain anything to me. You know what periods are, you don’t have to educate me on it. It’s not your job. And I definitely don’t want to sound patronizing about it. So I watched a video, and read a few articles. I won’t say I know how it feels, but I understand it more. Tell me if I ever step my bounds at any moment..”

You can’t help but smile, even as your lower belly is on fire. Ah. Of course he would search things about it. Bruce was the kind of man to be thorough in his researches before tackling a problem. As Batman, he always tried to know everything there is to know about a situation before finding any solutions. But he was like that in real life too.

And it particularly touched you that he did it so you wouldn’t have to explain...You had an ex, once, who sat down with you to talk about menstruations and it sort of drove you crazy. He thought it was nice, but your hormones were wreaking HAVOC and he was trying to explain to you how periods work and what it felt like ??? Give you advice about it and that it would be fine if you did what he said ?? Excuse me ??? As if you didn’t try everything already to feel less pain. And as if, as a woman, you didn’t know what it felt like or what it was exactly...

And there came Bruce. Reading up on it. And knowing he would never quite know how it feels. But educating himself so he won’t say something that could trigger you in any way.

Sweet sweet man...If only people knew.

He caressed your cheek softly, before whispering :

“Then I-I watched something on endometriosis, because I read in a previous article it felt horrible. And you said your periods were bad, when we were on the phone. It sounds awful. Do you-...Have endometriosis ?”

You shake your head weakly. Endometriosis was one of the reason why your periods were so painful and dreaded. And the worst ? It was a sickness many people said didn’t even exist.

A woman being in pain during her periods ? Drama queen. Right ? It didn’t hurt that baaaaad. See, some women didn’t feel anything, just bled for a bit and moved on with their months. So obviously every women felt the same. Some were just being too sensitive...

Endometriosis was still, even to this day, a rather unknown illness and one that was rarely taken seriously. Some people just couldn’t even fathom you being in pain because of your periods, so much so that you couldn’t move.

That you occasionally fainted, that you couldn’t eat much because it made you vomit, that you had awful migraines, stomach ache and back pain. That you couldn’t focus or sleep because of it. No.

No those were just “made up symptoms” because you were “weak”...What awful things to say, right ? It was even worst to hear. Someone telling you this, as you felt like you were dying because of the pain, made you feel GUILTY to have painful periods.

But it wasn’t your fault ? IT WASN’T YOUR FAULT ?! Nor were the moodswings, the cravings, the fatigue...

You hated going to the doctors when you were younger, because you knew he wouldn’t believe you when you said your periods hurt...

Anyway. Even without endometriosis, women who had bad periods pain were rarely taken seriously. Unless they met another woman who felt the same. Then they’d feel like they weren’t alone, or crazy. Like there were others who felt bad too.

Every woman was different. And you unfortunately never met someone else with the same problems than you...

You felt very alone, for so long, and it was enhanced by your hormones going crazy and the pain being unbearable at times.

And then, in come Bruce.

Your Broosh.

“Ok. Well. I brought you some of your favorite food. And um, I picked up some snacks if you want to do a movie marathon ? I brought all The Lord of the Rings extended editions. I got heat pads and a hot water bottle like I said. We can also just cuddle and relax if you prefer, I read that physical comfort was good ? Or, I can leave everything here, settle you in properly, and leave you alone. Just, tell me what you need my love ?”

What did...you need ?

Nobody ever asked you that. Nobody. Not even your parents.

What did you need ?

The answer came quickly.

Him. You need him. His warmth. His large and soothing hands. His comforting presence. His calming voice.

You knew you were in love with him since a while now. You exchanged “I love yous” already. But never did you feel as much love for him as right now, seeing him sitting in front of you, asking you what you needed...

A simple action. Simple words. And yet, it meant everything.

“What do you need, honey ?”

The concern in his eyes, and how he was very obviously ready to do whatever you wanted him to.

It already made you feel better. The physical pain didn’t go down, that’s not how it worked unfortunately. But the emotional anguish ? Gone.

Because he was there.

Without even realizing it, you started crying. This was too much for your heart, too overwhelming. It meant the World, in that moment.

It meant the world, to you and your overworked hormones. And so you cried. You cried hard.

Without thinking twice, Bruce moved towards you. Taking his coat off and leaving it on the floor (Alfred would scold him about this for sure), he climbs in your bed and engulfs you in his arms. And it’s so warm and comforting, comfortable, too.

“Just tell me what you need..”

He whispered to you, in his deep calming voice, his fingers running soothingly through your hair.

“Could you just...keep holding me ?”

He smiles softly, and says :

“Of course.”

He never, and never would, shy away from comforting you in any way. If you needed to have a good cry in his arms, so be it. And if you just needed him to be there, he would be there.

You cuddled for a bit, the soothing circles he rubbed on your back doing wonders to make you feel relax. He brought some essential oils, that he massaged on your belly before filling the hot water bottle and laying it there...It relieved the pain a little bit, as you started a marathon of your favorite movies.

He took great care of you all day long, answering your every need even as you didn’t dare to ask...as if he could read your mind. You almost suspected he really could. You never felt so in phase with anyone before like you did with him.

You had been together for less than a year. Although your anniversary was right around the corner. But him coming over as soon as he knew you weren’t feeling well. Him educating himself on what was it that hurt you...

If you weren’t sure yet that he was the one...You knew now.

It sucks to be a woman, sometimes

Bruce never knew periods could be that bad. Well, of course, he was a guy. And “periods” was never really a subject he talked about with anyone. He never really paid attention to it, like many men really.

Until he saw you while on it.

He knew you. He knew you were a tough lady. Once, you broke your leg while on a date with him. A silly accident really. Involving an ice rink, and an overzealous you chasing a hockey puck...Long story short, you ended up with a bad break. And you barely said a word about it.

Bruce had his bones broken many times, he knew the pain of it. It was one of the pain he hated the most, along with burns. One he dreaded the most. And you took it like a champ.

The break was bad enough you even needed surgery, yet you kept smiling at him (he might’ve feel bad that he let his over-competitive mind take over, “pushing” you to really want that puck...but of course, it was not his fault, after all, you too were very competitive, it was a pure accident). Saying you were fine, and that it’d be ok.

He always hated seeing you hurt, it hurt him too. Inside. And scared the Hell out of him, to even think about you being harmed. So that day, he was rather frantic. You staying calm helped him, which made him feel a little guilty that even as you were the hurt one, you reassured him.

But then you reminded him the roles were often reversed when he came back hurt from a rough vigilante night...You always had the right words to ease his mind.

Anyway. That one time, after badly breaking your leg, you stayed rather calm and collected. But when you had your periods ?

He never knew it could hurt so much. You couldn’t hide your pain, or pretend everything was alright.

It was clearly a really bad moment to go through.

He knew about the terrible migraines, being unable to sleep which made everything worst, feeling like your lower belly was being twisted from the inside, being sore all over for no reasons, not being able to move...

Seeing you, was enough for him to know that periods sucked.

“Being a woman is the worst, sometimes!”

You’d often say during those moments, and he’d just soothe you, wishing he was in your place...

He hated when you were hurting. It hurt him too. Inside.

And never. NEVER would he doubt that you were in real pain. Because unlike the doctors who kept telling you it was in your head, he knew you. He saw you get injured before. He knew you were tough. So for you to not be able to pretend everything was fine...

You were hurting. Badly. And it was awful. But he believed you. He believed you and that’s all that mattered to you.

Space

He also knew how to give you space when you needed it, though.

He would be here if you needed him, bring you any food you craved, giving you relaxing massages, rubbing essential oils on your belly, filling up your hot water bottle etc etc.

To be honest, his reaction to you being on your period is what made you sure he would be a great father one day...And you were right.

Not a perfect father.

But oh. Oh he cared. And wanted so much to do good...

And he knew.

He knew exactly when he had to be there, and when he had to give you space.

His hoodie

Bruce couldn’t always be with you when you had your periods, of course.

He often took time off to be. But it was unrealistic to think he could be 24/7 with you the entire week.

And sometimes, when he was away, you really suddenly craved his presence...So you came up with a trick.

You stole his clothes.

Particularly, hoodies he often wore when hanging out casually in the Manor.

First of, they were very comfortable. And second, and most importantly : they smelled like him.

They were warm, had his scent, and you could fall asleep feeling like he was almost there.

Bruce couldn’t count the number of hoodies he lost to you....Then again, after a while, you’d ruthlessly abandon one because it stopped smelling like him, and would steal another one.

Of course, he never minded. In fact, beyond the fact hoodies were nice and comfortable, he started to wear them a lot while in the house or during times he didn’t need to wear a suit (in every sense of the term), specifically because he knew you’d steal them when you felt lonely.

It was cute. And it made his heart beat faster just thinking about it.

Nobody.

Nobody ever needed him that much before. Nobody ever loved him so much that sometimes him not being around was distressing.

Of course, he felt the same. And the knowledge that you too, would sometimes feel lovesick when you were separated for too long...Filled his heart to the brim with the best feelings.

For so long, he thought someone being dependable of him, and him being dependable of someone was bad...Oh, how he was wrong.

It’s not because you open your heart to someone that you’ll get hurt, or that they’ll use it against you. You just have to find the right person...

So. Yes. He will always cancel plans just to be with you.

To bring you hot water bottles whenever you need. To cook your favorite food and snacks. To be there during all your mood swings, and endure even if you’re not the nicest to him (it’s not your fault). To watch your favorite movies. To let you sleep in and run your errands...

Periods sucked.

He didn’t need to be a woman to know that.

So he was there. Right there. For you. Taking care of you. And he would forever be there for that.

But when he wasn’t ?

Then he’d strategically leave one of his hoodie near the bed, so you could steal it, and comfort yourself with his smell...

Mood Swings

“Brooooooooooosssssh...”

You’re crying. You’re crying !

And it makes Bruce panic. You cry very rarely, so when you do it means something really bad must’ve happened or..or...

Bruce makes a quick calculation in his head and...Yup.

It’s that time of the month again.

Already ? Poor you..

This means that tomorrow, you’ll be a mess as everything will hurt too much, and today, the eve right before, you’re overly emotional.

Hence you clinging to him right now, sobbing while repeating “I love you so much Bruce, I love you soooo much”.

Hormones could really turn your head around. Right at the start of your period, before the pain, you had a rush of many emotions.

You could either get very irritated for no reason (like “WHY IS THIS FLOOR ON THE FLOOR ?!”) or cry at everything. Right now, you were crying because you realized you loved your Broosh to death and you just had to tell him and you didn’t want him to go that night and...ah...

“It’s alright, it’s alright my love. You’re ok. We’re ok.”

He lets you cry in his arms, of course. And already made the decision to not go out tonight, and stay with you. Kate could take over. He couldn’t leave knowing your emotions were doing quite a trick on you...

************

Your mood swings during your periods were particularly bad.

You guessed it went in pairs with all the pain. Of course, not just one thing had to be exacerbated. Oh no. EVERYTHING bad about periods had to be turned to the max for you. Otherwise, were was the fun, right ? Sarcasm.

You’d get irritated for no reasons. Then feel bad and cry for hours. To then feel ridiculously giddy once again for seemingly no reason...and then suddenly a burst of anxiety would attack you.

It was a circus in your mind, and in your body.

You couldn’t focus on anything. You couldn’t sleep properly. You felt awful all the time. Everything hurt. God...

And there he was. Bruce. Taking the brunt of your bad moods without saying a word. He knew it wasn’t your fault. That you didn’t mean it. That your hormones dictated your behavior against your own will.

He knew.

And he was there.

He was there.

“Every little moment is important, Son” - Thomas Wayne, to Bruce during the Flashpoint events.

“Bruce ? What are you doing here ? Thought you had important meetings ?”

“They weren’t that important.”

“Really ? Lucious said-”

“Lucious is overdramatic. Anyway, Tim is taking care of it.”

“...You’re letting our sixteen years old son taking care of the future of your company ?”

“To be honest, he’s probably more competent about it than me.”

“...That’s actually pretty accurate. But, why did you cancel things ?”

“Because it’s this unpleasant time of the month, right ?”

“Oh. You don’t have to-”

“I absolutely do.”

Disappearing for a few seconds, your husbands comes back, wearing one of his favorite silk pajamas (and by “his” favorite, he really means : he knows you love them and think they look good on him, but won’t ever admit it because they’re “damn pajamas, it’s silly”...but he likes to please you). He then climbs in bed with you, and settles comfortable against you.

“So, what’s the program today ?”

This wasn’t unusual, for him to do this when you were on your periods.

In fact, it was almost a ritual. Delegating his works to others, so he could take care of you.

Ever since that first time, all those years ago, things didn’t change much. He would ask you what you need, you’d tell him, and he would do it happily.

He knew it was a tough moment for you, physically, hormonally, mentally...Having your periods sucked. So he was there. Right there.

The words his father...Well, not really his father. The “Thomas Wayne” of another dimension. What his father would’ve become if he died that fateful night, instead of his parents. Regardless, to him, it was his father.

The father that never saw him grow up and became the man he was now...Yet who had important words for him.

“Take advantage of every little moments, you never know when it’ll end.”

Those words stuck with him. Because it was true. It only took a few seconds in an alleyway for his whole world to turn upside down...Why would it take any less for it to completely change now too ?

What if something happened to you ? And he didn’t spend enough time by your side ? Or to his kids ?

There was a time, being Batman was everything to Bruce. Because he was angry, lost, and devastated.

But over the years...Over the years this role stayed important. But he expended his vision. He included others in it.

So. Yes. He would treasure those small moments with you. And if it meant taking a day and night off to take care of you during a rough time, then he’d do it. If it meant missing work (both his works) because one of his children was sick, so be it.

He was Batman. But he was also a husband. A father.

And now...Now he knew his priorities.

He’d never stop being Batman. Never.

But he knew now. He knew there was more to life than this dark world he thought he’d get stuck in till the end of his life.

“I was about to watch a movie.”

“A movie it is. If you want me here, of course.”

“Do you even have to ask ?”

“To make sure you’re ok ? Always.”

“-sigh- Yes. Yes Bruce, I want you here. I want nothing else, in fact.”

“Ah, not even pop-corn ?”

“...Once we’ll have pop-corn, I’ll want nothing else.”

“Um, why is there tampons in your drawer ??”

One day, one of Bruce’s associate, Carlton, needed some paperworks to finish a deal, and came into his office. Bruce was on the phone, and gestured to him to just pick the papers up in one of his desk’s drawer.

Only the man misunderstood and opened the wrong drawer and...

“What the-Why is there tampons and pads in your drawers ?”

He asked, half-bewildered half-amused. Bruce finished his phone call, and answered :

“Why wouldn’t there be ?”

“Um, are you a woman ?”

“No, but my wife, who often come to this office, is.”

“Jeez Louise Bruce, never pegged you to be such a simp haha ! Oh man, they’re even “organic”, how far can you go for one woman right ? Haha joking of course, or maybe..haha !”

There was something in the tone Carlton took that brushed Bruce the wrong way. Something disrespectful and irritating. Not disrespectful to him, as if he cared to be called a “simp” (by a grown ass man by the way, which made it even more ridiculous). No. He didn’t care. But..This was his wife, they were talking about, in the end.

“A...”simp” ? Because I have items who can be useful to my wife in my desk drawer ? A place in which she often comes, as I already said ?”

His voice was cold, and Carlton definitely noticed. He always thought Bruce was an affable man, but sometimes...Sometimes he had something almost scary in his eyes.

Ah, but Carlton wasn’t the kind of man to really take this things seriously. And he added :

“Come on Bruce, don’t you think it’s a little ridiculous ?”

“No.”

“I just think it’s funny you have a drawer full of those things.”

“As I said, my wife comes by often, and might need it sometimes. I keep them here for her. It often came in handy you know.”

“Don’t say that, that’s so gross.”

“Why ?”

“Just thinking about it.”

“Just thinking about something my wife, but also yours by the way, have no control over ?”

“My wife doesn’t- We just don’t talk about it.”

“Well I guess yes. Or you wouldn’t react that way. Do you not take care of her when she has her periods ?”

At the word “periods”, the man opened his eyes wide, which made your husband roll his. It truly TRULY baffled him that this dude was being grossed by OBJECTS and most likely didn’t take care of his wife ? How could you love someone and not want to comfort them ?!

“Well, I don’t think she- I- She doesn’t - I ...It’s embarrassing, no ?”

“No.”

“Well, maybe it’s not with your wife but with mine it has been. She asked me a few times to buy pads for her.”

“Why would it be embarrassing ? I can assure you, nobody is going to think it’s for you.”

Carlton’s face was steadily going red. He said :

“It’s just something we don’t talk about.”

“Why not ?”

“It’s just...gross and...”

“Why is it gross though ? Why do you think that way ?”

“I mean, you know what periods are right ?”

“Of course I do. It’s something happening to a very large chunk of our population, and that is a natural phase in their life. Do you think your wife wants to have periods ? Most likely not. Mine definitely doesn’t. But she does. So I do keep pads and tampons here in case of an emergency, in case she has nothing else on her.”

“Nothing else ?”

“Do you think only pads and tampons exist for women’s periods ?”

“I-”

“It’s not hard to read up on it a bit. Especially when someone as close as your own wife is a “victim” of it."

Awkard silence. Clearly, the man was uncomfortable. Bruce sighed, and said :

“Just go take care of those papers.”

Evidently relieved, his associate almost ran out of the room.

Bruce kept thinking about how funny Carlton thought it was to have pads in his drawers. How he was about to mock him further before he got called out. “Simp”. If taking care of the woman he loved meant being a simp, then whatever.

Bruce couldn’t stop thinking about his associate’s words. And it gave him an idea...

The next day, every newspapers and local news channel talked about how the (Y/N) Wayne Foundation gave millions of dollars to every school and public places in the country to provide free tampons and pads to women. And how Bruce Wayne became a huge advocate of the “period positivity” movement his wife started.

“Periods shouldn’t be taboo.”, he said in his speech for the grand-opening of thousands and thousands of free pads distributors.

When the kids are around.

Dick

Dick was little when he first witnessed what your periods did to you, and he downright panicked when you fainted in front of him while you two were shopping for Bruce’s birthday present !

That morning when you woke up, you knew you were going to have your periods. You always felt it in your bones, a little bit before it truly started...But you also promised little Dickie you’d help him chose a gift for your husband.

You hated breaking your promises. Especially the one you made to your kid. He was just nine, and already experienced so many heartache...You couldn’t just break a promise you made to him, no matter what.

So you went anyway, knowing there was a high chance you’d feel ill during the day. You were hoping, in fact, your periods wouldn’t truly start up until the evening, and so you could spend the day with your son.

Alas...

“Mom ? Mom !? Someone help !!”

Your fainting during your period never lasted long. Just a sudden drop of energy, feeling dizzy, and falling...you woke up fast. Opening your eyes to see your baby boy with tears in his eyes. You knew what happened, and reassured him immediately.

You refused to call an ambulance, and instead called Alfred to ask if he could come pick you two up (you would NOT risk driving while in this state).

And there you were, sitting on a bench with your son while waiting for Alfred who would be there as soon as it takes to get from Wayne Manor to Gotham’s City Center.

“Are you sure you’re ok ?”

“Yes, don’t worry, this is normal.”

“Fainting is not normal !”

Dick looked so distressed...Should you tell him what was going on ? But he was such a young child.

Ah. But you were amongst the people who thought that kids weren’t as stupid as many people thought. And that they could handle the truth, especially this kind of things.

Understand what was happening to you would surely easy his mind. And make him understand, and act accordingly in the future. Wether with you, or a possible girlfriend ?

So you do just that.

You explain to him what is going on. You don’t give too many scientific details, but you explain as best you can so he understands.

“And every women has it ?”

“Every women have periods yes. But not everyone’s hurt.”

“Why do yours hurt ?”

“We don’t really know. I guess I wasn’t lucky ?”

“Scientists don’t know ?”

“Well, research on it are rather recents to be honest.”

“Why ? Women had it long ago too no ?”

“Yes, but it was a little taboo.”

“Why ?”

“Patriarchy.”

“Oh, damn patriarchy.”

You laugh. You knows he didn’t understand your answer, said as a joke to yourself. But it’s absolutely adorable how he immediately sides with you anyway.

“When I grow up, I’ll be a scientist. So I can help.”

“Ah, I thought you wanted to be an adventurer like Indiana Jones ? Or “whatever dad is doing I want to do it too” ?”

“Well. I can do more than once things at the same time, right ?”

“Sure you can. You can do anything.”

He smiles at you, and get closer for a little cuddle. And that’s how Alfred finds you two, your son hugging you, and you hugging him back, on a bench in the streets...

************

After the initial panic, Dick made it his mission to take care of you. He got really scared when he saw you faint, and would actually be a little...overbearing.

When he knew you were on your periods, he’d literally forbid you to walk around, and would make sure you had everything you needed.

His attentions, plus Bruce’s, made you feel like periods weren’t so bad in the end ?

Even as a grown up, Dick would often come by the manor with your favorite cake, for example, when he knew you didn’t feel well. And he would still get strict with you if he saw you roaming around and getting too busy while he knew you were in pain.

He’d do whatever you had to, for you. Wether it was cleaning things up, picking groceries...Running any errands for you, so you could rest.

You were definitely grateful. Even if sometimes, you wish you could just tell him to ease up a bit...Ah. But how could you really ?

The trauma Dick felt when loosing his parents made him overprotective and rather intransigeant. This was just how he was. And you always loved all your children unconditionally. You could take him being a bit too overprotective sometimes, because oh, oh he brought so much in your life...

Jason

You having really bad periods is the reason why when Jason, as a child or an adult, heard anyone say to a girl : “Jeez, why you so moody are you on your periods ?!”, would get mad.

It was cute to see his little ten years old self lecture grown adults about it : “Periods are really tough on a girl ! It’s not their fault is they don’t feel well or have mood swings, be more empathetic !”.

And it was still cute to see him as an adult glare at those who’d say this and give them a sermon about why it was wrong, and they better not say it again “or else” (and when a man like your son said the words “or else”, literally no one wanted to find out what he meant by it).

Once, someone told him, sarcastically :

“Wow, you drunk a lot of “respect women juice” huh ?”

“What is that even suppose to mean ? I’m being a decent human being. You should try it sometimes. If respecting women is so foreign to you, that hearing me say what I said is funny and ridiculous, reassess your life mate.”

It’s really not like anyone really wanted to argue with your son. Besides the fact he was very tall, and as a vigilante definitely worked out a lot...he had a “dangerous” air about him. It was his eyes maybe, daring anyone to argue and making them understand he wouldn’t back down without a fight ?

Ah. But if only people tried to look beyond that. If they only tried to know your son.

They’d realize he’s the sweetest little buddy around.

It surprised people that you still called him “little buddy” even as he was fast approaching his mid-twenties. But for you...

For you he was still that little, sweet Jay he was before he died. The one that you could still see sometimes, behind all his anger, trauma and hurt.

Ever since he was a child, Jason always felt everything more than anyone around him. He was an “hypersensitive” child. When he was angry, he was enraged. When he was happy, he was the happiest boy on Earth. When he was sad, it was hard to console him.

When he grew up, and all those bad things happened to him...This trait of his got even more enhanced. It was sometimes hard to reach him under all those negative emotions...Yet. Yet you managed to do it.

Bruce too...But that was another story.

For now, you just always felt extremely proud that your son was actually not as harsh as some people thought (the same mistakes they all kept making about your husband...you hated this kind of assumptions).

He always stood up for the underdogs. And was always respectful, and would voice his opinions.

Like how he hated when people told women : “ugh are you on your periods ?!” if they were being just a tiny bit difficult (sometimes, not even).

As a kid, Jason would worry a lot about you when you were on your periods. He hounded Bruce to know if you were ok, which your husband didn’t mind, of course. But he never quite dared to “bother you”.

Of course, he would never bother you. But Jason was a complicated kid who always worried too much. He didn’t want to get in your way, or annoy you.

So he had little quiet actions for you.

Like getting your slippers warm when you’d wake up, by placing them near the radiators all night and putting them right beside your bed before you’d wake up. Or bringing you hot beverages. Baking your favorite treats, and leaving them in strategic places so you’d see it. Or scolding his dad when he thought he wasn’t taking care of you enough haha.

Jason was a good kid. Nobody would ever change your mind on that. He was a good kid, to whom bad things happened. Yet he never strayed from his principles...No matter how people could see his recent actions.

Jason was a good kid.

He was your kid.

As a child, he hated this week during which you had your periods. He dreaded them as much as you did. Just like Bruce, he had a hard time standing you being hurt...

As an adult. It was the same. And he still had little silent actions to make you feel better. To make your day easier.

That was Jason for you.

Such, such a good kid...

Tim

Tim, very much like his father, was a boy who needed to always have a plan, and to know everything before finding solutions.

When you were on your periods, he’d always know. Because he kept a calendar about it.

Some people might find it weird, but...Why ? He kept count of the days to know when you’d have your periods, so he could act accordingly. So he wouldn’t be caught off guard by one of your mood swings. And so he could take care of you ??

It was an act of care, to keep track of your periods. Sometimes, he even knew before you when you were going to have it.

People who thought it was weird to kept such a calendar, were the same people who thought periods were gross and a taboo subject.

Sure, it was definitely not very glamorous. But it was part of half of the World’s population life ?? Why keep it taboo and refusing to talk about it ?

Tim immediately, just like his dad, did a lot of research on women’s menstruations...Which got you to be called in his principal’s office once.

The man was worried, and unhappy that your son was reading a magazine “for woman” about “menstruations”, he thought the topic was vulgar and inappropriate.

Your son was 13. Which was also the age many of his girl friends were experiencing their first periods. And that principal was out there, scolding him because he talked about it, making an entire generation of little girls thinking they were wrong for having periods ?

Needless to say, you got rather mad. And the principle never called you ever again (if he had to call, he was always making sure to get your husband on the line, and not you).

And so Tim kept learning everything possible about it, in the hope also to find the perfect remedies to ease your pain. He tried a lot, to help you out. Gave tricks to Bruce, too.

And so, kept a calendar.

This allowed him to know if something was wrong, as well.

He was the first one to guess you were pregnant with Thomas, because of his calendar. And one time, you had hormonal problems and he’s the one that told you you should check an endocrinologist because you’d been too irregular with your periods time !

Yes. Just like his dad, Tim needed to know a situation fully before acting. And seeing him trying to know as much as he could in order to help you was...why, it was the most adorable thing in the world.

Cass

Cass’ periods were not painful, and you were so glad for her.

To her, it was a mild annoyance, there was no pain, it was just irritating. And yes, she had mood swings and could easily get mad, but it was nothing major.

She never even knew other women could have it so bad...The education about periods was really lacking ! They never talked about it anywhere !

Cass was a woman of few words...but she knew how to pass her emotions through her body language. Oh, how she knew.

“Momma.”

Just like your other kids, she’d come check on you when Bruce couldn’t take care of you. You wanted space sometimes, which they all understood. But honestly, during your periods, when you were so sensitive about everything ? You also wanted them around almost all the time.

A paradox. Very fitting of those damn periods time.

Cass would just sit with you, and make sure you were comfortable. She wouldn’t say a word. Lay her head on your shoulder, and hold your hand. Watch movies with you. Hold you close.

She was delicate with you, as if afraid to break you.

Just like your husband, her presence had a soothing effect ? As if nothing bad could ever happen to you as long as she was there (and that probably was right, Cassandra would never let anyone touch her “momma”).

She didn’t need to talk. She didn’t need to do anything more than stay with you when you didn’t want to be alone.

She never experienced the pain you had, but if even to her, who had painless periods, it was annoying and a damn plague ? Then to you...

She didn’t need to do much.

Just her being there already meant a lot.

Her holding onto you, even as she stayed afraid of anyone’s touch for so long.

“Momma.”

Cassandra was your only daughter. And oh you were glad her periods weren’t as bad as yours. That’s all that really mattered to you.

“Momma.”

You often fell asleep with the warmth of your kiddo right there. Next to you. Knowing she wasn’t going to leave unless you wanted to. Knowing she wish she could take your pain on.

Ah. But no. No even if it was possible you’d never allow that. You were the mom. YOU were supposed to take their pains on.

And knowing that Cass never suffered on her periods as bad as you did, was enough. After all, your baby suffered enough in the past...She could get a little lucky, right ?

“Momma.”

That word was music to your hear. Cass’ first word to you.

She didn’t need to talk anyway. Being here was enough...

It was more than enough.

Damian

Everyone who saw Damian around you would notice that he wasn’t quite the same boy than "normally”.

He was calmer, nicer, and sweeter.

You’d argue that it was his real self. That this was his “normal”. That he was just never allowed to show his true heart before, and wasn’t used to trust others and open up. And you were definitely more than happy that he finally managed to do that after arriving into your home.

That none of you ever gave up on him.

You especially had a calming effect on him. After all, he never had a “conventional” mom, who could take care of him when he was sick, kiss him good night and make sure he always had everything he needed.

Some would say you coddled him too much...And you didn’t care. Because that boy lived 10 years being the opposite of coddled. So what, if you’d cut the crust off of his sandwiches, or read him bed time stories every single night ?

Damian loved it. As he often said, being a momma’s boy was “hardly something he was ashamed of”. He never felt loved and safe before, you bet he’d take every chance he got to be cared for.

He never got to act like an actual kid. You allowed him to do just that, AND you made him feel like he belonged. Finally. Like he had an actual family.

So...The day he heard about your absolutely awful periods, what did he do ?

Every single day of your life with him, you had at least one nice intention to him. Wether it was baking his favorite cookies, or telling him how proud you were of him, you always had nothing but kindness for him, often going out of your way for your son.

It was normal for you. Of course. And you did it with all your children...but you had to admit maybe Damian had just a little more of it, because he really never had anything like that to him.

And to him, it only felt normal then, when you felt at your worst, that he’d be there for you exactly like you were there for him.

During any mood swings, he’d have comforting words for you. He had little attentions for you that just made life easier.

Again, it would greatly surprise anyone but his family, but when you had your periods, he did a lot of overly sappy little things.

Like for example : every month, he wrote seven things he found extraordinary about you and would put them in a jar. Seven. The number of day in a week. And usually the number of day, give or take, your periods would last.

The jar would be sitting right on your bedside table on the first day, with the indications you had to read one paper every morning, or every time you felt down (it was supposed to be one paper a day). Sometimes, you’d go through his seven messages in less than a day...and magically, the next day, the jar would be filled again.

Damian made sure of it.

This was just a small example. But it showed exactly what kind of boy your son really was.

If he was heartless, a killer, someone destined to destroy the World...would he really put that much effort into making you feel love ? Into making you feel better any way he could ?

You didn’t think so. The only way your son could ever “turn bad”, was if you (and Bruce) stopped caring for him. Left him alone (A/N : this is a CLEAR jab at current comics canon, if you know what I mean :I ). Only if he felt abandoned, unloved, and rejected.

You knew your boy had, just like you, “rejection dysphoria”. It was hard for him to accept any kind of rejection, and it made him act out and hurt. But that was another story...

Right now, all that mattered to you, is that you knew your son was always going to be there for you, just like you’d always be there for him.

That he finally learned how to love, and care. That he would never unlearn it, as long as you lived.

Your periods sucked.

So bad.

But Damian was a ray of light in the darkness of those seven dreaded days...

Duke

Duke’s mom also had endometriosis.

Over the years, he perfected a “special remedy” he always made her when she had her periods.

He hesitated to make it for you. After all, it was something that made him bond greatly with his own mom...was making it for you, now, acceptable ? Did it mean he forgot about his mother ?

No. No of course not.

Duke scolded himself for even thinking that. You too, became his mom. He learned over the years that it was ok, to have two mom. That when they’ll find a cure for his parents, it wouldn’t take away the years you filled in for the mother role, and took care of Duke as if he was your own.

So here we go.

Some ginger. Some lemon. A dash of his little secret ingredients. Your favorite blend of tea. And it was done.

He brought it to you, saying it always soothed his mom...

And just that.

Just those words. It meant so much.

“It always used to soothe my mom. Used to do it all the time, ever since I was five !”

He said with a smile.

It was something he used to do for his mom, and now he did it for you. Just this. Just that fact, it was enough to make you feel better.

It didn’t take away the pain, but mentally ? It felt amazing.

You drunk his concoction and...Oh god.

Oh god it was disgusting. And...Ah. Yes. His mom probably pretended she liked it. “Ever since I was five !”. Ha. So cute. But also, it really was gross.

At the same time, you felt a pleasant warmth spread through your body as the terrible aftertaste slowly faded. Duke smiled to you, and with a little mischief in his voice said :

“It’s really gross, isn’t it ? But it does the trick haha”

There was a few seconds of silence. During which you blinked at him, not quite registering what he just said. Until...

You burst out laughing. The little mischievous smile, and the way he said “it’s really gross, isn’t it ?” was just too funny.

Your communicative laugh spread to Duke, and as he laughs it makes you laugh even louder too and...You forget.

For a moment you forget about your periods. The pain. The anguish. The emotional labor. This damn week of hell.

You forget.

And you just laugh.

You laugh alongside your son.

Thomas (if you wonder who the H is Thomas, you can check my “Batmom” masterlists, he appears from the story “the great mall adventure” ^^)

Thomas must’ve been about four, when he first saw you having your periods.

Your littlest baby was also one of the most sensitive out of them all (right along with Jason, the two of them cried their eyes out when they watched “Inside Out” and Bing Bong disappeared). Bruce always said he took that after you. And honestly, you couldn’t disagree. It’s true you could be very sensitive.

So one morning, when he woke up and went to breakfast and heard you weren’t feeling right, he immediately went to you and...

Bruce found him an hour later, crying in his room.

“Oh wow hey hey, what is it buddy ?”

He asked, trying to hide the panic in his voice. Thomas might’ve been sensitive, but he rarely cried. He was just a very empathetic boy. But also a cheerful one, and he had a knack to see the good even in the worst situations.

So seeing him sob like that, made Bruce’s heart drop.

“Is mommy going to die ?!”

It took Bruce a few seconds to get a hold of his racing heart. His son crying. And asking if you were going to die. It shortcircuited his brain for a few seconds. Until he realized what Thomas was talking about...

“Oh, oh no champ, no, mommy isn’t going to die.”

Your kids were used to see you strong and fierce. Of course the first time your little one would see you on your period, he’d think something big was wrong.

He had just recently learned what death really mean (you can read about this here : The day he understand what Death means), and since then was so scared it’d happen to his parents. Or his siblings. Or anyone he knew, really...

Picking up his son and slowly and softly tapping his back in soothing circles, he walked around the room and rocked him until the boy calmed down a bit, before trying to explain as best he could why mommy felt bad, without going in in too many details.

Once Thomas understood this was just like when he got a fever that time, that it would pass, he felt much better. But also worst. Because his mommy wasn’t feeling well ! And it happened often !

Bruce reassured him that there were ways they could help you...And soooo :

Thomas brought you hot water bottles, with the help of his dad (the bottles were almost as big as him), and ended up falling asleep on one as it laid on your belly (he heard that humans’ body heat was very strong and wanted to “help the hot water bottle”).

The water in the bottle became cold, and you removed it..Your son didn’t woke up, so you laid him back down on your belly. And he was warm and so tiny, and you loved him so much...It made you feel like the luckiest woman in the world, to be surrounded by people like this little one.

And all your kids. Alfred. Your friends. Broosh...You fell asleep with sweet dreams made of warmth and cuddles.

Not long after, Bruce came by to check on you, finding both you and Tommy deeply asleep and...An overwhelming feeling of happiness took him over.

You weren’t the only one feeling lucky. Except for Bruce...For Bruce it was even stronger, because after his parents died, he never thought he would be happy ever again.

This was why he’d always be there for you. You gave him another family...

His schedule was freed, and he had a busy day. A nap sounded perfect. Especially while nestled against you, with his little one right there.

Dick came by in the afternoon, and found all of you like this. Bruce holding both you and his son, Thomas taking way more space than such a small body would make you thing he’d take.

Dick snapped a picture, and send it to the group chat he had with his siblings and some other close friends and such (like Clark, Wally, Conner, Diana etc etc they used the group chat to gossip about Bruce, mainly). With the caption : “Big bad bat tamed by a four year old”.

Cass send multiple hearteyes emojis. Jason said it was adorable and send a crying emoji, and didn’t care one bit what anyone would think of him saying such things. Damian yelled at Dick that he should’ve put the comforter back up on his baby brother and mom because it wasn’t properly put on !! Duke send a : “I’m downloading that picture for the next time he gets mad at us and we need to soften him up”. Tim replied with a gif of Maes Hughes from Full Metal Alchemist saying : “dis dad”. Clark said “they look so peaceful, you wouldn’t believe he threatened me just yesterday to punch me because I made a joke” to which Diana answered : “that joke was so bad I wanted to punch you to. Cute pic btw, give kisses to Tommy for me, you should come see me more, I just stocked my freezer with nothing but ice creams”..Everyone send a little comment about it.

Because even superheroes, could have normal conversations about those they love.

Suffering alone is a thing of the past

It’s funny. You couldn’t even remember, now, what it felt like “before”.

Before.

Before you met Bruce.

Before that first time he showed up to your apartment to take care of you.

How were your periods before that ? The worst.

Definitely.

Actual Hell.

Not that they were feeling better now. Oh no. There were time your overdramatic self exclaimed : “uuuugh just kill me alreadyyyy” when the pain was too grand...But you weren’t alone anymore.

That’s what made it a bearable moment of the month.

It still felt as bad as it used to when you were younger.

But it wasn’t just you agonizing in your bedroom all alone anymore.

It wasn’t you wishing you’d have someone to take care of you, and to try and ease the pain. Not anymore.

It wasn’t you crying with nobody to dry your tears anymore...

No. You had an entire army of people right there just for you.

Alfred, your children, and most of all...Bruce.

Your Broosh.

Ah. If only some people could see this side of him you and your family knew. The caring and loving one. In a way though, it was rather comforting and made you feel special, that only you and your kiddos knew the real Bruce ?

Of course nowadays, some of his closest friends like Clark and Diana weren’t fooled anymore either. But they’d never see him the way you did, when you were in unbearable pain, and he was right there, drawing soothing circle on your back, keeping you warm and safe...

This was only privy to you.

Your Broosh.

Yes.

Your periods were still as painful as they used to. But now...

Now you weren’t alone anymore.

The end.

________________________________________________

Hey guys ! I hope you liked this :). As usual, feedbacks and reblogs are always welcomed ! (Especially lately, the reblog ratio seems at its worst haha). And again, I really hope you liked this. I was finally able to sit down and write after weeks of being stuck in a depressed mood, so I’m quite excited about sharing this. But as usual, always a bit nervous that you’ll be disappointed blahblahblah low self-esteem and all that haha... :). I just hope this is to your liking. Thank you.

3K notes · View notes

favoniuscodex · 3 years

Text

slate. [albedo x reader]

prompt: slate, for without which chalk has no use. (alternatively: albedo finally begins to understand why humans succumb themselves to the everchanging tides of love.) pairing: albedo x gn!reader warnings: albedo worrying ;;; mentions of death, albedo being angsty about destroying mondstadt, but also soft albedo :DD word count: ~2.8k words

[ part two ] (coming soon)

a/n: getting back to my usual writing style of too much purple prose <333 gotta love it. part two will be the second and final part. send in an ask if u wanna be pinged when its posted!

albedo believes himself to be well-acquainted with the intricacies of human nature. sure, albedo is an outsider looking in, but he finally has perfected his study of the human psyche. behind all actions and thoughts of humanity lies one rationale: irrationality. humans are motivated by the most fickle of things, albedo determines.

some may go to the ends of the earth for someone who wouldn’t even go a single step for them, yet the one who gives far too much of themselves smiles nonetheless. irrationality lies within a mother’s love for her child, in which they unite themselves based upon naught but the dna that coils itself deep within their veins. it also houses itself within hatred, in which competing souls are divided, but not over basic evolutionary demands such as competition of food or housing.

rather, their relationship fractures due to the irrationality of human emotion. what can be a unifying force is what drives them to move in different directions and spit scathing words in the presence of the other, despite having no issue with each other that would affect their daily survival. such analyses of mankind lies not within scrupulous examination, but rather everyday observations albedo has amassed over time.

despite what his research notes would likely tell you, albedo isn’t immune to the throes of human emotion either. for an outsider looking in, albedo isn’t quite good at remaining stealthy in his observations. rather, he has fallen through the sunroof of human emotion and fallen into the living room, but irrationality welcomes him as an esteemed guest nonetheless, despite the chalk that crafts albedo’s bones and the alchemic creation of albedo’s soul.

irrationality shows in albedo’s desire for companionship with both sucrose and timaeus alike, his esteemed colleagues. it shows in his care for klee, whom has imprinted upon him in all the ways a younger sister should. albedo knows, archons, he knows, he agonizes over how his own presence is one that reeks of danger, yet he indulges in human companionship anyways. albedo is a threat to those he cares about, yet he stays nonetheless and prides himself on having evaded the jaws of irrationality, not knowing his mind is but a gilded cage for irrationality to hang as yet another one of its prize victims.

but even achilles knew that he was not entirely invincible. if he must answer the question, albedo can name one singular chink in his armor of rationality: you.

the two of you met while albedo was on duty within the walls of mondstadt’s inner city. the alchemist, cooped up in his laboratory, had been interrupted by your superior, cavalry captain kaeya. kaeya had explained to albedo that one of his subordinates had been injured in an encounter with an electro hypostasis, yet nobody was quite sure how to fix it. albedo had simply nodded and offered his assistance.

when albedo finally met that injured subordinate, he had been immediately enraptured by them. the subordinate, you, had taken the brunt of an electro hypostasis hit in order to spare another one of your peers from a crippling injury. the anemo vision at your waist glimmered in contrast with your outfit, a shining beacon that revealed the source of your survival. however, albedo was not impressed with your beauty, nor the charming yet nervous smile you had sent his way, nor the vision that dangled from your hip.

rather, albedo found you fascinating, his newest and most intriguing subject for a single reason: in the aftermath of the electro hypostasis attack, your skin had become tinted with a deep purple tone and, upon albedo’s cautious touch, had sent a jolt of electro energy up his arm in response. in his recent years of alchemy, albedo had never seen anything like it and he longed to know far more than the information a single interaction with you could provide.

three days was all it took for albedo to find a solution to your ailment. within those mere seventy-two hours, you had propped yourself up on the countertops of his lab tables, allowing yourself to be poked and prodded by various instruments and consuming copious amounts of different potions. you had stared at albedo blankly as he had explained the expected outcomes of each experiment, but whenever the alchemist finished speaking, your eyes would light up as you began to ask a plethora of questions.

albedo always appreciated those who wished to understand more, even if alchemical research was a foreign subject to you.

upon your departure from his lab for the final time, after multiple follow up meetings to ensure there were no negative side effects and that the solution was effective, albedo realized he would miss the rigorous challenge that your temporary condition had provided him. a part of him, however, longed for your presence instead, desiring to hear another enthused question fall from your lips once more as you lazily swung your legs back and forth, perched on the edge of the lab countertop.

albedo sidelined such thoughts. relationships required far too much effort than what he currently had to provide, so he resigned himself to play the part of your acquaintance. should your paths ever cross once more, albedo would greet you with a nod of acknowledgment and provide small talk should you so desire it. of course, in this equation, albedo had forgotten to account for the unknown variable: you.

when you had strolled into his laboratory once more a week later, albedo’s heart rate had skyrocketed in concern, but he had kept his expression aloof. his worries that you were experiencing unknown side effects quickly subsided as you bashfully presented him a small gift. it was a simple brown box, but on its lid lay a golden hued sketch of his typical geo blossom.

“thank you,” albedo had said, setting the box aside, but your soft giggles sent his heartbeat into a frenzy once more for entirely different reasons.

“you have to open it, silly. the present isn’t just a box. that would be lame!” you teased playfully and albedo felt a light dusting of rosiness sprinkle across his cheeks at his ignorance of your intent.

“ah. i suppose you are correct. my apologies,” he mused, gently lifting the lid off the box and setting it aside. within the box sat a small collection of various vibrant vials of powder. one emit a soft cerulean light, yet the powder inside was colored with a deep indigo. another was a vivid gold, the color of pure opulence, while another was a luscious light pink, akin to the color that currently resided on albedo’s cheeks.

“they’re powdered watercolors,” you explained, voice filled with anxiety about the silence of the man in front of you. “sucrose told me you liked to paint and i knew someone in liyue who specializes in art supplies, especially rare ones such as these! i was hoping they had mondstadt-related ones, but all my friend had left was the rare liyue pigment set. you enjoy learning about new things though, so i figured you wouldn’t mind it!”

albedo let out a huff of air before looking up at him. he could see the worry on your expression, so he plasters a soft smirk on himself, even if such platitudes are unfamiliar territory for him.

“thank you,” he murmured, sincerity dripping from his words. “this is... quite a thoughtful gift.” albedo relished in the way your expression lights up once more. the craving he had to see such delight cross your face once more emerged from the depths of his subconscious as its conditions are satisfied. all at once, albedo had been confronted with a contradictory answer to a hypothesis he had long since rejected. for once, his physical form that he had resented had realized the answer before his mind had.

albedo was experiencing symptoms of romantic attraction. increased heart rate, the warming of the face, and the adrenaline rush that lit up his veins whenever he spoke to you were all clear side effects of such an ailment, but the only one who could provide a cure to such misery was you. upon this startling realization, he had gripped the sides of the box a bit tighter and his smile drooped a bit, but you looked undeterred by such changes, beaming carelessly at him with the smile he was beginning to adore.

“i’m glad you like it! the colors represent different specialties of liyue. silk flowers, cor lapis, noctilucous jade, and a bunch of other things!” you elaborated excitedly, pleased by his reaction.

“which of them is your favorite?” albedo had blurted out, but such abruptness from him only made your smile grow, which in turn made his heart beat just a bit faster.

“hm,” you pondered, leaning in closer to the alchemist as you looked at the box once more. “jueyun chili. it’s a bit darker than the actual thing, but from the sample it creates quite a beautiful color.”

albedo hummed in approval of your choice, lifting up the vial to inspect the deep vermillion pigment. above the two of you, the clock within albedo’s laboratory, one sucrose had insisted upon installing after albedo missed one too many meetings, chimed, causing your eyes to widen and you to take a step back. for a brief moment, albedo had never hated such a mundane object in the way he loathed the clock’s interruption, especially as the following words escaped your lips, tinged with sorrow.

“ah, i’m sorry! i have to get going, i have a meeting with kaeya in a few minutes!” you apologized as you turned to head out the door. “i hope you enjoy your present! it’s a sign of my thanks for helping me out with the whole ‘electro hypostasis’ thing!”

“wait,” albedo had commanded, before he could stop himself. the alchemist regretted his words as soon as you looked over your shoulder at him inquisitively. he spoke the following words faster than his brain could prevent him. “would you care to go to lunch with me?”

but before the throes of anguish and regret consumed him whole, he was once again greeted with the brilliant smile of yours and a friendly tilt of your head.

“i would love to.”

after a few lunch rendezvous at a variety of local mondstadt restaurants, albedo finds himself performing yet another uncharacteristic act: seeking out human contact. even more uncharacteristically, the interaction was not with you nor any of his immediate circle of friends and adopted family. rather, albedo finds himself standing outside the office of the cavalry captain himself, knocking on the thick wooden door. kaeya was known amongst the knights of favonius for being a flirt. such rumors were so potent amongst albedo’s peers that even the alchemist himself had heard of them, but the blonde had simply shrugged them aside.

objectively speaking, kaeya is an attractive man with a honeyed voice. of course kaeya would allure unwanted suitors. albedo approaches the man not to flirt with him nor to seek his affections, but rather to obtain guidance towards wooing the one who had captured albedo’s own heart: you. after the cavalry captain swings open the door, the two stare at each other in silence. kaeya breaks the ice by flashing a charming smirk at albedo, stifling his shock of seeing the alchemist needing his assistance.

“ah, albedo. what can i help you with?” kaeya asks and albedo swallows his pride before darting his eyes down the hallway to ensure no unwanted ears overhear albedo’s following words.

“kaeya,” albedo begins, causing kaeya to fold his arms and raise his eyebrows in intrigue due to the nervousness. “i was wondering how one should go about... courting another individual.”

much to albedo’s own mortification, kaeya breaks out into a fit of surprised laughter, before quickly ushering albedo into his office. kaeya closes the door after the two of them enter and catches his breath, before sitting down at his desk and sending an apologetic look albedo’s way.

“sorry, i just...” kaeya begins, trying to find the words. “you’re quite the hot topic when people ask me for advice as how to... charm someone else. however, i had never thought that you would come to me for advice. not that such a thing is bad, it’s just...”

albedo awkwardly shifts in place before taking a seat in front of kaeya’s desk. “yes, it’s quite the... interesting position i have put us both in, wouldn’t you say?”

kaeya nods, before placing his elbows on the desk in front of him and propping his chin up on his hands, grinning at his fellow knight. “so... who is the lucky person? who has finally captured the heart of the oh-so-elusive kriedeprinz?”

albedo briefly considers leaving, but resigns himself to his fate instead with a sigh. in the next few moments, albedo’s favorite word falls from his lips: your name.

for all of kaeya’s lighthearted teasing, his advice is sound. granted, albedo isn’t too familiar with the ideas of sweeping another individual off their feet. romance novels that he has secretly consumed provide him with a similar situations nearly every time and albedo realizes that, much like alchemy, getting someone to fall for you is no more than a simple formulaic process.

why, albedo wonders, am i so nervous then?

when you approach albedo for your typical lunch dates, his hands grow shaky and his knees feel weak. you make albedo feel powerless, but when you giggle at a subtle quip of his, albedo feels like he could conquer the world if he so desires. as the two of you walk together, kaeya’s words echo in his mind. be bold was the cavalry captain’s first instruction and albedo decides to take the plunge by taking your hand in his. he fumbles slightly as he does so and you glance over at him in concern, but as albedo’s hand closes around yours, a bashful smile crosses your face.

your hand gently squeezes his as a reassurance and albedo nearly feels overwhelmed due to the adrenaline that surges through his veins. as fast as it arrived, it begins to ebb away as your fingers intertwine themselves with his. such experiments in your budding relationship are ones that albedo longs for. however, the methodology is different in the laboratory. in the comfort of his laboratory, albedo has a controlled environment with controlled substances and the ability to take a step back and perform countless calculations before seeing what works in a situation and what doesn’t.

with you, albedo has naught but you and the irrationality of humanity that plagues him both. it seeps into him like a contagion, a vile perpetrator of bringing out his worst fears and insecurities, including ones he didn’t even know he had. for once, albedo wonders if he is enough. these thoughts extend past wondering if he is enough to control the inner turmoil that rages inside of him like a ticking time bomb. for once, albedo is concerned not with the danger inside of him that wants nothing more than the destruction of mondstadt, but rather the utterly human worry of being enough for the one he loves.

such negative thoughts that cloud his mind vanish as you smile encouragingly at him, swinging your conjoined hands lightly back and forth. a giggle erupts from your lips and albedo has the fleeting thought of how he wants to consume it, how he wants to silence such beautiful noises with his lips upon yours, how he wants to feel more of your body heat than what he receives from your hand in his, how albedo wants to make you his one and only lover, how albe-

“you know, i was waiting for you to do that,” you tease. you give his hand yet another playful squeeze and his frenzied thoughts grind to a standstill. a vortex of emotions swirls within albedo, yet he thrives.

“ah, really?” albedo responds, swiping at a lock of blonde hair that falls loose from his braid and into his face. he pauses, before smirking in return. “good.”

you laugh once more and albedo’s chest constricts and his stomach erupts into butterflies. with you, albedo no longer feels like the alchemist desperately seeking ways to not destroy mondstadt. instead, he simply feels like the albedo everyone believes him to be: human.

#this isnt the birthday fic i promised but its the birthday fic y'all get ;;; i hope u like it !!! i really like it personally ;;;;#genshin impact x reader #albedo x reader #genshin impact #albedo

523 notes · View notes

withcolebrock · 3 years

Text

I Drew That

Corpse Husband x fem!reader

Summary: Corpse finds out that Y/N has a drawing of him as her background

Warnings: swearing :)

Word Count: 1,818

Author’s Note: I’ve spent weeks trying to write this piece :/ I just couldn’t find a way to make it how I wanted it if that makes sense but I tried my best. This idea was very cute because I can totally see this happening lol. Especially with like the whole flirty voice thing Corpse has been doing with like Brentman and like James and stuff haha. I hope you guys enjoy it!!

~~~

Tonight was one of the many nights that she was playing Among Us. It had taken over her life, a flood of success followed her once she had played with Sean and Felix. She had gained over two hundred thousand subscribers on her YouTube channel. It had changed her life for the better, in many ways.

For the last three rounds, it had been strict imposter wins. Felix won two of those. Everyone was shocked when it was him the second time, Felix was getting great at the game. The group then decided to switch lobbies because Felix was throwing a fit about getting imposter too much. It was the usual group of Felix, Sean, Poki, Rae, Sykkuno, Leslie, Toast, Dave, Corpse, and Y/N.

Over the last few months everyone in the group had gotten a lot closer. Especially Corpse and Y/N. After the first time they played together, a lobby Sean had created, they had talked for hours after the first game they played. This had continued almost every time they had played Most of the time, Corpse would be editing his videos while talking with her. It calmed him as he worked. She would be working on her art or scrolling through Pinterest or Tumblr.

They had even FaceTimed several times, where Corpse revealed his face to her. He made a big deal out of it, saying a whole monologue before he turned the camera to his face. She followed in pursuit being very dramatic as well. Whenever they would talk he would play her his music, waiting to see if she liked it. She loved any song he put out, despite it not being her usual music taste.

One night she was scrolling through Tumblr and found an artist who was drawing Among Us players with their little characters. One particular character made her smile and her heart flutter slightly. It was an amazing drawing of Corpse and his little character sitting on his shoulder. It was an art style she was familiar with, she loved supporting smaller artists. It was the cutest thing she has ever seen. Weirdly, it perfectly described him. She loved it so much, she decided to keep it as her phone Wallpaper.

The round started on Mira, where Y/N was a crewmate again. Throughout the whole night, she still hasn’t gotten imposter. “Dammit,” she groaned at the screen. She stood still at the start of the map, waiting to see if anyone would fake tasks at the start. Everyone ran off, not doing them. She quickly followed.

After a long thirty seconds lights get shut off. She ignores the emergency and continues doing her tasks, she stood by the vending machine when Felix killed her. “It’s fucking Felix again!” she leaned back in her chair groaning. She covered her face with her hands. “He’s gotta stop killing me first,” she shook her head. She tried to hide how annoyed she was.

Her body was called by Poki, she was the only dead one. “Oh my god,” Poki said once the screen popped up.

“Y/N no!” Rae yelled, “You guys, she’s died first the last three rounds,”

“Wait really? Oh Jesus, sorry Y/N,” Sykkuo said, a breathy laugh leaving his lips.

“I’ll protect you next round, Y/N, I promise,” Corpse said. Y/N tried to hide her smile and the heat rushing to her cheeks.

“We’ll avenge you, Y/N!” Sean yelled. Soon after everyone grieved her death they began asking each other where they were. Everyone had a solid alibi making it impossible for them to figure out who did it.

“Guys, guys, Y/N died first the last three rounds right?” Toast started, everyone hummed, “Who was imposter these past few rounds?” he explained. Everyone gasped.

“You really think I would kill her first three rounds in a row?” Felix tried to defend himself as the voting time clock turned red.

“You’ve done it twice already!” Sean yelled, voting Felix. Felix was saved since half of the group skipped. She floated around the map trying to get her tasks done quickly so she could talk to her chat without holding back the rest of the group.

She glanced towards her chat, reading a few questions, she shifted her gaze to the game and thought about the questions. “I’ve been working on a cute little animation for you guys, I might do another art stream with you guys. Only if you guys want it, of course.” she read through a few more questions while answering them, while she waited for the meetings to end.

Once all of her tasks were done, she began to talk about her art and fanart. “Yeah, there’s an artist on Tumblr, they are amazing, they deserve so much more recognition,” she explained as she showed them her lock screen with the drawing of Corpse; without thinking about her chat being curious as to why it was him. Turning her phone back towards her, her eyes widened as realization dawned on her.

The chat began to flood in with questions, begging Y/N to tell them why she had Corpse’s drawing as her background. She chose to ignore the question and continue talking about her own art and showing fan art. Despite trying to change the subject, she sighed dramatically. “Chat, there’s no reason why Corpse’s character is my background, the artist is just good, stop talking about it,” she giggled as the victory screen popped up on her screen.

“Felix what the fuck!” she unmuted in discord. He began laughing as he began to defend his actions. “No, no it doesn’t matter if I know your liar voice, Felix-” After about five minutes of everyone talking the next round started. She was a crewmate again, “I feel like I’m bugged,” she groaned as she started running around doing her tasks. Corpse’s little black character was following her.

“Looks like I got myself a little body guard,” she smiled as she spoke. They walked passed the medbay room, as Corpse moved his character dramatically. She rolled her eyes as they both walked into the medbay room. She didn’t have medbay, but she sat waiting for Corpse to finish. They continued doing tasks together until a body was called. It was Sean’s.

“Y/N’s cleared I was with her the entire time,” Corpse said confidently into his mic. She said the same about him. Poki was acting a little weird during the call, which made Y/N a little suspicious of her.

~~~

When the lights were shut off Corpse was killed by Poki, and he groaned as his body was killed immediately. Poki called out Y/N right away, saying that she was with Corpse the whole time. Corpse glanced towards his chat, finally able to try and read everything everyone was saying. His eyes lit up as he saw her name flash the screen several times.

One person kept spamming the chat saying, Y/N’s has your Among Us character as her background, he smiled as he read it. He knew exactly what the picture was, “Oh really?” he hummed as he continued reading. Everyone was saying how nervous she got when they kept asking her about it. He pressed his lips together nervously. He decided to drop it for now, but he was curious. He looked back up to the screen and began to listen to what was happening during the meeting.

“...You really think I would spend this whole game marinating Corpse for me to kill him in front of Poki? What about that double kill that happened, there was no way I would’ve done that if I was with him.” Y/N explained, over Poki trying to defend herself.

“I think she’s got it guys,” It was down to Toast, Y/N, Sykkuno, and Poki. Everyone quickly voted for Poki. The Victory screen popped up. “I knew you had it, Y/N,” Corpse said as everyone started shouting into the discord.

After a few minutes of them discussing the round, they decided to switch over to Polius. “Hey, Y/N, can I ask you something?” Corpse asked, the group quickly went quiet.

“Sure,” she giggled.

“My chat keeps saying you have my character as your phone background, is that true?” he asked, teasingly. He smiled widely. The entire group started cheering while teasing Y/N and Corpse.

Her mouth dropped open as she tried to find a way to explain it, “Well, uh,” she cleared her throat, “I do actually, it was great art, what was I supposed to do?” she laughed.

“Oooo, someone has a little crush,” Sean teased, Felix quickly joined. The rest of the group was simply laughing along. Corpse stayed silent while the group was teasing Y/N, and Corpse for that matter.

He pulled up Y/N’s Twitter and began to scroll through her feed to find the perfect drawing. He took the drawing that Y/N did of her own Among Us character. It was a drawing of Y/N holding her little character in her hand. It was his favorite piece of art she has done. Mainly because she drew it while on FaceTime with him. He quickly changed it to his iphone background, he glanced back towards the screen, seeing if the game started. He took a screenshot of it and immediately texted it to Y/N.

“Y/N, look at our messages,” he said simply into his mic. The group slowly stopped talking as they waited for Y/N to open the message.

“Corpse, I’m scared,” she whispered, everyone started laughing.

“Just open the message,” he giggled.

She sighed dramatically while she pulled up the messages with Corpse, seeing the screenshot. Her lips fell into a pout as she saw it. “I drew that,” she mumbled into the mic.

“You did,” he whispered, as he felt heat rise in his cheeks. He loved hearing her voice. “It’s my favorite,” he continued.

“Corpse,” she whined as her eyes began to tear up. She didn’t know why, but her heart felt so full. “You didn’t have to do that,” she mumbled, readjusting herself in her chair. She shifted her gaze towards the contact name, Corpseyyy.

“Of course I did, It was beautiful art,” he muttered while he looked back towards his phone, admiring his new phone background.

“Is this..a possible.. New relationship starting?” Sean whispered dramatically into his mic.

“It sounds like it,” Rae interjected. Corpse rolled his eyes dramatically, but he didn’t oppose the idea; neither did Y/N. Rae quickly started the game, letting the tension ease between everyone. Corpse and Y/N got imposter together.

“Oh my god finally,” Y/N said into the mic as she started faking tasks, “Chat, please stop saying I’m blushing, you aren’t helping,” she giggled as she continued the game. She raised her hand to her cheek, feeling the warmth.

#corpse husband #corpse #corpse husband imagines #corpse husband x reader #corpse husband fanfic #corpse imagines #corpse x reader #corpse fanfic #e girls are ruining my life #cat girls are ruining my life #miss you!#agoraphobia

927 notes · View notes

felix21im · 3 years

Text

"Ice Cold", a Leon Kennedy x reader fanfiction

As an Art and Design student all you want to do is just knuckle down and finish that one goddamn piece you've been working on for months. Too bad your time is constantly stolen by your Waiter job with minimal pay, but hey, at least the tips are good if you unbutton your shirt that one more time.

Masterlist

Chapter 1: Bourbon

“That’s gotta be moved over like two inches to the left.” You muttered to yourself. Your eraser ran across the sketches and removed the pencil lines that you had created earlier. Studying interior design was one of the best ways to secure you that internship you’ve been working so hard for.

“Yoo hoo!” A whistle was heard from beside you, your fellow colleague and best friend tapped you on the shoulder, pulling you out of your study-induced trance. “You’ve got another table to serve. They literally just sat down so make sure that you greet them.” You let out a sigh, laying your latest drawing to the side. On the way to the table you check your hair in a mirror before putting on a smile. You can see two middle aged men talking while looking at multiple files placed on the table. You walk toward them. "Good evening, is there anything I can get for the two of you?"

The larger man with the shorter hair began to speak for the both of them. “Two bourbons please.” He said simply.

“Will they be with ice?” You ask, beginning to write down their drinks order on your small notepad.

“Yeah I’ll have ice in mine please.” The one with longer hair requested with a polite point and a smirk. The other man simply shook his head at the question of ice. You smiled at the two of them as you turned around. A few minutes later you return with both of their drinks and put them in front of them, being careful not to spill anything over their work-stuff. They both thank you with a small nod before you go around to your other tables. A few hours pass and people come and go but these two men still sit at their table, talking, drinking and taking some notes. You went over to their table a few times that evening to refill their drinks or bring some small things to nibble on, but you couldn't find out what they were talking about. It seems that as soon as you went over to them they changed the subject. “A super secret mission.” You chuckled to yourself as you stood at the bar, packing your study materials away. You can’t clean a bar with books and paper all over it.

While cleaning you heard someone clear their throat and you looked up. In front of you stood one of the men, the one with longer hair. “Oh my, excuse me. Can I help you with anything?” The man chuckled lightly and looked at the mess in front of you. “My friend over there and I wanted to get another drink before paying. But it seems you are quite busy here.” You looked at the mess and then at him and you couldn’t stop yourself from checking him out. It seems he noticed it, but didn't say anything. “I’m sorry for that, it won’t happen again. I’ll deliver your drinks to your table right away!” The man nodded and went back to his friend, sitting directly opposite them but also facing the direction of the bar. You let out a small sigh before putting the books away and preparing the drinks for the men. The man never said what drinks he wanted but considering the two of them have only been drinking bourbon, bourbon was a good choice. Before starting you tightened your apron, greatly exaggerating your waist, although you could barely breathe you knew that it made you more attractive to patreons. The patreons liking you equals more tips. While making the drinks you made sure to add enough ice in the second drink, so they just might forgive you for your behaviour. As you placed the two glasses on your serving tray you noticed the long haired man give you a small smirk. You went to their table once more and put the beverages in front of them while smiling at both of them. You also left a bill on the table before heading back to the bar, the echo of your shoes making you feel anxious as you walked, causing you to begin holding your tray in both of your hands in front of your stomach. On your way back you heard one of the men say something, which made the short haired one shake his head. You were wondering if they talked about something you did but didn’t want to be rude and ask them about it. It was pretty late already so only a few other people were still at the restaurant. You wanted to get home at some point that night so you hoped that the last guests would be leaving soon. Just as you thought that, you saw the two men you were serving get up and leave the restaurant. Before going through the exit door the man with longer hair looked back at you and gave you a wink. You let out a small laugh and shook your head. You went to the table they left from to clean up and collect the money. You noticed a small note with something written on it. A phone number, you realised. “Call me ;)” was written beside it. You looked around and put the piece of paper in your pocket with a light smile on your face. That smile quickly turned into a shocked face though as you noticed a massive tip laying next to the bill. You didn't even know what to do, so you just stood there looking at the money. As you looked at the flurry of green bills you could hear footsteps behind you and soon your coworker stood next to you, also looking at the money.

“Well, someone seems to like you”, they laughed “Maybe those apron and shirt tricks you do work too well.” You shook your head and left your coworker standing there as they chuckled at their joke.

A little while later the restaurant was empty thanks to the closing hours, and you cleaned the last tables. But before you had the chance to leave as well, you saw the door opening once again. “I’m sorry, we’re closed!” You looked up and saw the long haired man standing in the doorway. Other than just his hair you could instantly tell it was him, the fancy suit helped a lot. “Did you forget anything? I actually think you left too much money when you left with your friend.” You picked up the cash that was placed in an envelope under the bar and began to get the money out of it. “I can give it right back to you, if that's why you came back.”

The man shook his head and slightly chuckled. “No, the tip was meant to be like that. I was actually wondering..”, he stepped closer toward the bar you were standing at. “..Why didn't you text me yet.”

You had to laugh. “Oh, I’m sorry. Maybe I didn’t have the time yet because I had some work to do and you left that note like ten minutes ago!” You chuckled yet again. “Trust me I was going to call you!”

Now it was his time to let out a dry laugh. “Yeah, I'm sure you would have. Anyways, now that I’m here again and it seems your work is done, how about we get your favorite drink together?”

“I mean we are closed…” You raised your eyebrows and crossed your arms over your puffed out chest. “But I’ll let you get a drink this one time.” He seemed satisfied with that answer so he sat down on one of the bar chairs, followed by him tapping the empty space next to him. “At least let me make your drink before I sit down!” You playfully rolled your eyes and began pouring liquor into a shaker. You noticed him looking at his phone after receiving a message from someone. “Someone at home is missing you already?” You asked jokingly as you placed your fruity, yet strong, favourite drink on the bar.

He shook his head. “Not at all. Just my.. Colleague asking what I'm up to.” He put his phone on the counter. You went around the bar and pushed a glass towards the man and sat down on the empty stool beside him. “I never got your name. I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” He smirked as he took a sip from the drink. “Not bad.”

You chuckled as you pointed at the name tag that was attached to your shirt. The man looked at you dumbfounded. “Well, this is awkward now. Doesn't seem like a fair trade anymore.”

“I’ll just hope that you were being respectful and you didn’t want to look at my chest.” You winked and couldn’t contain your laughter as you did up the buttons on your shirt, hiding the “money makers” as your best friend would call them. The man looked at your chest for a moment as you did up your buttons before quickly looking away. You could see his face get a little red, although you weren't sure if it was a reaction to what you just said or the alcohol finally showing effect. He cleared his throat and seemed to want to change the subject. “Ehem..the name’s Leon S. Kennedy, by the way.”

“Ooo S. Kennedy huh? Am I going to have to guess what the S stands for?” You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear as you talked.

“Go for it.” He laughed and took another sip of the drink.

“Uhhh… Steven?” A head shake. “Sam?” A no again. ”Sexy?” A chuckle but still a no. “Ugh I give up!”

“It’s Scott.”

“Scott, huh? Sounds kinda cute.” You laughed as you looked at Leon and then the clock behind him. “Even though we haven’t spent much of an evening together we’re going to have to call it quits, I have to lock up now.”

Leon turned around to look at the clock. “That’s a shame.” He turned back to face you. “Y’know I’ve got some drinks back at my place if you’re interested.” He raised his eyebrows as he asked for the date to continue.

You thought about the offer for a moment, you didn’t have any classes in the morning so maybe it would be fun. “Wine?” You asked and he replied with a nod. As the two of you stood up from your stools you quickly paced around the restaurant making sure everything was perfect. The lights were off. All of the switches were off. And finally the security alarm was turned on. You shuffled Leon along as you left the restaurant, making sure that he wasn’t trapped in there when you locked the door. “Alright, that’s everything!” You placed your keys into your work bag and slung it over your shoulder. As the two of you walked to the parking lot you looked down at your phone and secretly texted your roommate saying you were going to be out much longer than anticipated and that your location was being shared with them. Just in case.

Leon fished his keys out of his pocket and tapped a button on the car keys, causing a nearby car to light up. With the size of that tip that Leon left an expensive black sports car belonging to him shouldn’t have been a surprise. “Woah! What car is this?” You asked, not knowing anything about cars apart from the fact that most of them have four wheels.

“It’s a Porsche Nine-Eleven.” He replied. “It’s my favourite.”

“Your favourite? Meaning you have multiple cars?” You questioned. “Can I borrow one? I don’t even have a car.” You chuckled as you opened the door to the luxury car. Leon chuckled too as he got into his seat and tapped a few buttons on the dashboard. The entire car began to roar as it’s engine was turned on, making your entire body shake. Making your entire body heat up. “Is it hot in here or is it just me?” You asked.

He chuckled. “It’s because your heated seat is on. I can turn it off if you would like.”

As the car traveled you looked out of the window and when turning to your left you noticed that the lights in the car softly lit up Leon’s face as he drove the car. Showing off his sharp jaw and slight stubble.

After a twenty minute drive you step out of the car onto the gravel driveway and you hear the stones crunching underneath your feet. Leon walks up beside you and leads you up the stairs to the front door. Reaching into his front right pocket he pulls out his keys and unlocks the double doors, allowing you to walk through before he did so too and then close the door behind him. “Woah! You have such a cool house!” The large modern chandelier reflected onto the marble flooring in the entryway. Leon kicked off his shoes and pushed them over to the side of the wall, prompting you to do the exact same. “You have no idea how much I hate these shoes, they are so uncomfortable, especially when you wear them for twelve hour shifts without sitting down.”

“Why on earth do you wear them if they hurt you?” He asks as he takes off his jacket, hanging it up on a coat rack beside the door. He reaches out his hand to take off yours as well, to which you respond with a smile. You turn around and he carefully takes it off of you, followed by him then placing it on the coat rack next to his own.

"I don't have much to choose from when it comes to clothing. Just in general our work uniforms aren't really the best of the best."

Together the two of you went into the kitchen and you sat at a bar stool, leaning on the counter. As you waited for Leon to fix you up a drink you noticed just how empty the house has been so far. “Wow it’s quite empty, going for the minimalistic vibe huh?”

Leon shook his head as he placed two wine glasses down on the counter, both with ice. “I just haven’t gotten around to decorating this place yet.” He poured both glasses full and sat then leant on the counter in front of you, placing your drink next to your hand. “I mean I’ve only been here for like 3 years but I’m a busy man.”

You picked up your drink and almost dropped it after hearing that response. "Three years? You must be reaaally busy if you didn't have time for at least some decoration. What are you doing all the time anyway?" You took the drink and a small sip before standing up with it still in your hand. Leon looked at you kind of confused, but following you nevertheless. You walked around the kitchen, then the other rooms. You were talking nonstop about the stuff Leon could put on the walls, the floor or just anywhere really. He couldn't even say anything because it seems you were in your own world already planning the entire interior design of his house. Leon was following you through all the rooms as if he was actually visiting you and not the other way around. While planning the designs for Leon’s home you realised just how excited you were to do this officially as a job in the future. Creating your own interior design company and being your own boss was something you had in mind ever since you were a child. After who knows how long you both finished your drinks and also the house tour. You ended back at the kitchen where you started and both sat down on what seems to be the only chairs in this humongous house. Leon went away for a few seconds before returning with yet another bottle of what appeared to be some expensive wine. “You’re not just trying to get me super drunk so you can kidnap me, right?” You asked him jokingly, but also slightly worried. After all, what were you doing here in a complete strangers house?

“If I was going to kidnap you I would have done it already, buttercup.” You gulped but shrugged it off after looking at Leon, who smiled at you. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad being kidnapped by him. He's got quite the nice home after all. Leon stopped you in your thoughts as he handed you a glass of wine. "It's really good, trust me. Nothing against your favourite drink, but still very tasty." You took a little sip from the wine and looked at him with big eyes.

"Wow. This is actually really good. I've tasted many different brands of wine but never one like this. You do know your stuff, huh?"

He let out a small laugh which also made you smile. You didn't know if it was the alcohol but you suddenly felt really hot sitting so close to this handsome man. "Anyway, what are you doing besides working at that restaurant? I saw some school books at the bar earlier, were they yours?"

You nodded lightly. "I'm currently studying Art and Design but I needed some money to even afford all that stuff. So that's why I ended up at that restaurant." He looked at you, maybe even a little sad. But maybe you just started imagining things.

"You don't have any family that supports you or anything?"

You shook your head. "That's kind of a difficult topic. My parents aren't really what they used to be after.. well, let's just say some inconveniences." You took another big sip, showing Leon that you didn't wanna talk about it anymore. Even though he wanted to ask, he stopped himself before ruining the whole evening, or well, night. You sighed and looked at him. "On our tour I think we missed the bathroom. Mind showing me the way?" He nodded and led you through the house. As you were in the bathroom Leon went up to his workroom and picked up an envelope. He went downstairs again and hid the filled envelope in one of your jackets' pockets. After a while you rejoined him in the kitchen looking really tired. "Leon, I don't wanna sound rude but I’ve had a long day and I think I really need some sleep. Do you mind calling me a taxi?" He saw just how tired you were so he didn't try to make you stay any longer. He grabbed his phone, called you a taxi and gave you some money for it.

You wanted to decline, but Leon didn't want to argue so you had no chance but to pay with his money. "I brought you here in the first place so the least I can do is pay for your ride home", he said. You both then went to the entrance where Leon helped you put on your jacket. After that you both sat down outside on the stairs waiting for the taxi to arrive. Neither of you said a word, but it wasn't a weird silence, you both really enjoyed each other's company and after a few moments of sitting on the cold stairs a car arrived. Leon brought you to the door and you told the driver your address. You gave Leon a small wave as the taxi began to drive off...

#resident evil #re2 #re4 #re6 #resident evil vendetta #leon Kennedy #leon s Kennedy #leon x reader #leon Kennedy x reader #leon s Kennedy x reader #x reader #resident evil x reader

154 notes · View notes

beclynn-herondale · 3 years

Text

“Am I a chaotic mom?” Rosemary said. “If you call protecting your kids, cheering them on at the playground, and threatening other parents for them, being a 'Chaotic mom.'? Then, yes. I am a chaotic Mom.”

“She's been asked to not attend Jace's piano lessons, anymore. Due to taking it as a challenge of whose child is better,” Céline added. “She's also been asked not to attend Kit's art classes, anymore. Due to, once again, taking it as a challenge.”

“Look, you didn't hear what Timmy called Kit's art,” Rosemary defended. “And Jon insulted Jace's piano music. And we both know our kids are the best.”

“Mon amour, you can't threaten other parents,” Céline rubbed Rosemary's back. “You go to the principal, so he can do it.”

“Next question,” Rosemary gestured with her hand.

The interviewer asked. “Do you two have plans to get married?”

“Ask the goddamn person who 'runs' this place that question,” Rosemary got a little heated. “‘What about the children? What will they think when they see two women getting married?’ Probably that same sex relationships are fine, and that it's okay to be gay. Dear, god how terrible that would be,” she said that part sarcastically. “Oh, and don't get me started on the ‘If you're in a relationship with a guy and are a bisexual or pansexual, etc, woman, you're in a straight relationship.’ Like no. Why is everything like this?”

Céline put a hand on her shoulder to soothe her. “That's a sensitive subject. We want to get married, but laws and refusals for our requests keep it from happening.”

“I moved into the territory of Nephilim to be treated like this,” Rosemary grumbled. “I do have plans to start a new life if we have to.”

“Well, not that I'm defending them but. . .” Céline said, “the mundane world hasn't approved it yet, either,” Céline added. "Don't ask why I know that.”

Rosemary sighed. “It doesn't matter. I know I love her and she loves me. That's what really matters.”

Céline smiled at Rosemary and kissed her cheek.

It was these moments that reminded Céline this was what it was like to be loved entirely by someone.

“Next question,” Rosemary rushed. “The boys are with Michael and Robert, and I want alone time with my love.”

“Who is Jace's biological father?”

“Well, Jace's father is Stephen Herondale,” Céline answered. “We were married for about four years but got a divorce. For reasons. He remarried recently. But he's still in Jace's life, and does his best to be a good father.”

“And Kit's?”

“His father died when I was pregnant with him,” Rosemary replied.

“Oh,” the interviewer said. “Sorry to hear that.”

“We done?” Rosemary was examining her nails. “I don't know why you're so interested in us, honestly. We live in the country side of Idris. Nothing exciting.”

Their neighbors were werewolves, but they kept quiet about it. For their neighbors safety.

At that moment Michael and Robert brought the boys back. The other kids with them.

“Welp,” Rosemary said. “Now, you really gotta go. Too bad.”

“Take care,” Céline waved.

The interviewer left.

“This weekly Idris stuff is really interesting,” Michael said.

“That's one way to put it.” Rosemary went to pour the kids each something to drink.

Jace and Alec were talking about something; Isabelle was helping Max read his book; Clary was showing Kit her artwork; And Jonathan Wayland and Jona Fairchild were laughing about something.

They were good kids, Céline thought.

Rosemary had never been a fan of television interviewd or anything like this. But they wouldn't stop bugging them until they agreed.

It was funny to watch her talk with the interviewers. Rosemary wouldn't admit it, but she loved messing with the interviewers.

“So,” Michael clapped his hands together. “Game night this weekend. We're playing scrabble.”

“You sure Robert can handle that,” Rosemary said taking a drink From her wine glass.

Robert shot her look. ”Should you be drinking?”

“Last I checked,” Rosemary shot back. “You're the irresponsible drunk. That's you.”

Rosemary and Robert would go on like that if no one stopped them.

“Will Luke and Jocelyn be bringing the kids again?” Céline asked, trying to divert the conversation.

“Yup,” Michael gave a thumbs up. “Though, Maryse and Kadir have some business to attend to. So they won't be there.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Céline smiled.

Kadir ran the New York Institute, Maryse helped him run it. They made a good team.

They talked for a few more minutes.

“Well, we'll get out of your hair.” Michael went to pick up Max.

The kids all followed Michael out the door like ducklings, except not in a fine line.

After they left Céline started to prepare dinner.

“So,” Rosemary said to Jace, “what's the status?”

“They're dating,” he grinned.

“Yes,” she high-fived Jace. “I knew you'd get the information, kid.”

“What about me?” Kit asked.

“I knew you'd keep everyone busy,” Rosemary winked. “In time I will assign you tasks, my love.”

“Rosemary, did you have our son investigate for you?” Céline asked.

“Yeah,” she shrugged.

“I didn't mind. I snuck around like a detective,” Jace said. “Alec followed me around to make sure I didn't get hurt or in trouble.”

Céline smiled at that. Jace and Alec were best friends. They did everything together, and Céline would often find them laughing together uncontrollable. Not just any could get that kind of laughter out of Alec.

Rosemary practiced french with the boys while Céline made dinner; that had been her birthday present to Céline. She and the boys were going to become fluent in french, and they were taking a trip to France this fall.

Jace was already almost fluent. Céline had been teaching him little words since he was old enough. He called her “Maman.”often.

Rosemary knew Céline missed it, and she was doing all this for her.

Jace came up to Céline and hugged her. He had always been a mama's boy. Céline had never minded.

“You okay?” She added. “Not that I mind the hugs.”

He nodded. “Can I help you make dinner?”

“Yeah.” She got a stool for him to stand on and they made dinner together while Rosemary and Kit practiced.

This was all she'd ever wanted, Céline thought. This was what it felt like to be safe and loved and happy. And she'd cherish it every day.

It took time to heal. It wasn't easy to heal. But she was better now.

They had dinner and put the boys to bed.

Then Céline climbed into bed with Rosemary, snuggling close to her. Once again thinking this was safe, this was home.

She kissed Rosemary and was rewarded with a smile, then she kissed her back.

The next morning they were woken up by the boys crawling into bed with them. They loved to snuggle as a family.

After breakfast they went for a walk as a family.

When I get stuck I've decided to write short things 😎

Tag list: @khaleesiofalicante @chibi-tsukiko @spotsandclawsthings @megs-readstoomuch @magnus-the-maqnificent @replayfootsteps @my-archerboy @jazzkaurtheglorious @simply-ellas-stuff @bookfast-at-tiffanys @amchara (let me know if you want to be added)

#celine montclaire #celine herondale #rosemary herondale #roseline #jace herondale #jace lightwood herondale #kit herondale #tsc #the shadowhuter chronicles #the mortal instruments #tst #the secret treasons #the secret treasons au

78 notes · View notes

clanwarrior-tumbly · 3 years

Note

5045 anon here, I meant like the male s/o is an eco that’s able to get into games, and Scott 5045 (the farmer) takes an interest in him.

Okay! Ty for the clarity! Also idk if Scott was a typo but I like that name for Farmer

.........

"Goat VR?"

"Yes. We weren't going to send any more test subjects but...we figured your anomalous abilities could allow you to make direct contact with 5045-1 without any adverse effects."

You nodded in understanding as you glanced at the computer screen with the GOAT VR title. From the file you've read about this game--which you requested in exchange for compliance--this "Farmer" seemed to enjoy torturing players and turning them into characters, more specifically goats.

Fortunately your anomaly involves being able to travel into video games and freely explore them as a "spectator" of sorts, so you're unaffected by the gameplay or plotlines. The only change is your appearance, as you adopt the animation or art style. But you say it's purely cosmetic and doesn't limit your freedom whatsoever.

"Okay, SCP-"

"I requested that you use my actual name in return for compliance." You reminded.

"...of course, [y/n]. We'll begin the test now and I'll be here observing what happens on the screen. Try to distract the entity if it questions you as an SCP or the Foundation itself."

"Oh so he's self-aware, too. Interesting. Alright, let's do this."

The researcher hit play on the screen, and once it showed the black and neon environment of the farmland, you touched the screen and immediately disappeared inside the game.

You landed in soft grass and looked around, hearing the goats bleating in the distance. "Wow.." Then you glanced at your hands, seeing you were drawn in the same crude art style, outlined in your favorite color. "Well, this is-"

"Howdy there!"

Jumping a bit, you turned to see the Farmer standing behind you. "Name's Farm....hm..now you're an interesting fella." He hummed, scratching his poorly-drawn beard.

"Yeah, I'm not one of your usual players. Sorry."

"You're just like me ain't cha?" He snickered in reply. "An SCP followed by some silly string of numbers, contained out there and used as a guinea pig for 'em researchers. Tell me..how do ya like it?"

"I don't mind it. But anyways, may I meet your goats?" You asked politely, remembering the researcher's instructions.

Farmer's eyes lit up with joy. "But of course! Follow me, good sir!"

...........

For the next in-game hour or so, Farmer has shown you all the goats in their pens. He was surprised that you actually asked to pet some of them too, but he allowed it.

You two talked about other stuff--surprisingly things besides goats and the Foundation. Although he wouldn't say much about his motives for kidnapping and tormenting players, he did admit his name was actually Scott Farmer.

It wasn't important in making his containment easier, but at least you got to know him on a more personal basis.

The conversation was interrupted as a goat screamed loudly, and you turned to see it ram into the fence over and over. Its horns were cracked and its eyes were practically bloodshot.

"Again? Excuse me, partner...HEY! Stop that nonsense at once!!" Farmer stormed over to the goat and shouted at it, dragging it away from the fence and throwing it back into the pen.

You approached him, frowning slightly. "Don't you think you're being a little harsh?"

"Harsh? Oh no. Not at all." He sighed as he turned back to you. "Just gotta whip 'em into shape every once in a while. I don't want ya leavin' here with a bad impression-"

"I think your farm is very impressive."

He blinked several times. "Ya do?"

"Yeah." You looked around with a small smile. "I mean..aside from the goofy-looking goats it's neat here."

"Awh shucks..that's mighty kind of you....?"

"[Y/n]."

"Hm, ya seem like a strong and capable farmer." He glanced at you up at down. "Say, whatdya think about coming back and helping me out a little? I won't cause anymore problems and won't take over anymore sites."

"It'll depend on what the doc says but...I'll try my best." You chuckled, before shaking his hand. "Thanks for your time, Scotty."

"And thank you for playing Goat VR!"

In the blink of an eye, the world went dark and you were forcefully teleported out of the game, landing on your rear.

"Oof..ouch...haven't been forced out of a game in a while." You stood up and dusted yourself off, noticing the researcher was still there, taking notes. "So..am I done for the day? Catch everything we discussed?"

"Yes." They picked up their clipboard. "If 5045-1's offer is something you're interested in, we can make arrangements for you to visit it, granted you both are on good behavior."

"I don't mind. Maybe I can help you guys downgrade him to Safe class."

"It's certainly doable with the way it talked with you. It seems cooperative. Though we will need you for other interactions with video game-based SCPs."

"That I can do, doc." You sighed as you glanced at the blank computer screen, already missing that purple farmer. "That I can do."

#5045 is one of my fav scps now thank you #clanask #anonymous #scp x reader #scp 5045 #scp 5045 x reader #male reader

82 notes · View notes

ginger-canary · 2 years

Text

Let’s Talk About the Orb

852 words

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: Dimension 20 (Web Series), Fantasy High

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Ayda Aguefort & Kristen Applebees, Adaine Abernant & Ayda Aguefort, Kristen Applebees/Tracker O'Shaughnessey (minor)

Characters: Ayda Aguefort, Kristen Applebees, Adaine Abernant, Fig Faeth (minor), Gorgug Thistlespring (minor), Tracker O'Shaughnessey

Additional Tags: famous au, where the twist is we're not doing it the easy way, u think research can't get u anywhere think again everyone knows darwin, D20bingo

Summary:

Ayda's a famous researcher. Kristen's the prophet of Cassandra. Adaine's the oracle. You'd think that means they get to decide what they do because they have a lot of power, right? Sike. Please enjoy this little story about them escaping an elitist event to go hang in a cafe.

AO3 link here or use the read more down below. For the @dimension20bingo slot: famous AU.

There were many things Ayda Aguefort found fascinating. The effect of caffeine on different species. Why some spell components are more powerful than others. What the effect of heat is on specific plants. The list went on and on. But she didn’t care for small talk.

Now, she fully understood that in order to keep getting funding she had to keep presenting her findings to those who had gold coins to burn. That part was fine, she enjoyed standing in front of her holograms, confident in her full understanding of the subject. But the parties afterwards? Not so much.

After a few of those ridiculous parties full of small foods, elitist humanoids, and objectively ugly priceless art- Ayda made a friend. Or more, Kristen decided she was her friend.

Kristen Applebees, the first prophet of Cassandra, spoke regularly at these events. With her goddex at her beck and call, the elite could not deny the existence of this forgotten god. So instead they made sure she stuck with them. Kristen knew, though. She went to the events, ate all the tiny food she wanted, and spoke to everyone who seemed a little miserable.

Ayda had never seen anyone look as miserable as Adaine Abernant, the Oracle.

Kristen and Ayda had just been heading toward a plate filled with miniature tacos when they spotted some blonde hair peeking out from the top of a fern.

“Oh I gotta know what that’s about.” Kristen made a sharp turn towards the fern as Ayda Mage-handed some tacos. Might as well achieve both goals.

“Hi.” Kristen said to the fern. “Are you okay?”

The fern wiggled and an elf around Kristen’s age stepped out from behind it. Her hair had a few leaves sticking out and she grimaced. “Hello. Some of my parents’ friends are here. I despise them and they will endanger me if they spot me.”

“Endanger you?” Ayda repeated.

The blonde girl sighed and looked around, then snuck into one of the hallways. After exchanging a questioning look, Kristen and Ayda followed her.

“So, what’s up? I’m Kristen by the way.” She extended her hand.

“Adaine Abernant.” Adaine shook it.

“The Elven Oracle?” Ayda cocked her head.

Crossing her arms, she replied, “the Oracle. Elves cannot claim me for themselves, especially considering the fact that they tried to lock me up in an orb.”

“I’m sorry. The Oracle. I am Ayda Aguefort.” She held out her hand like Kristen had done, hoping it was still the correct move.

Wordlessly, Adaine shook it.

“So, you wanna get out of here? I know a cafe we can go to, you could explain the whole giant orb thing?” Kristen drew a circle in the air.

Ayda glanced back at her fellow researchers. Most of them were standing around in a little circle, coats in hand. If they were leaving, she’d be allowed to leave too.

“Can we just leave?” Adaine raised her eyebrows.

“There’s no specific end time on the invitation, so we can technically leave whenever we want.” She squared her shoulders and added, “what are they going to do, stop us?”

Adaine looked back once more. “Okay, let’s go. Don’t let the elves see me.”

After successfully smuggling Adaine out of the building, Kristen led them through a long series of narrow streets covered in colourful shops and posters. The pebbled walkway felt unfamiliar underneath Ayda’s feet but she didn’t want to risk being seen flying away from the event. She tried to keep a map of the area in her mind but the environment was too new to her and she stuck to trying to look at everything they passed.

Finally Kristen led them into a cafe with large windows, a few long pillows covering the windowsills where cats snoozed in the sunlight. In the corner there was a coffee bar with all sorts of treats. Behind the bar stood a girl with the sides of her head shaved and a whole set of piercings covered the length of her ears. When she looked up from her work, the girl winked at Kristen.

“Uhh,” Adaine started, seeming lost in the space.

“That’s my girlfriend, Tracker. She makes good coffee, I promise. Over there’s more quiet spaces if you want to borrow one of the books from the bookshelves.” Kristen pointed to a corner mostly taken up by cats, then to a towering library-grade bookshelf filled to the brim with colourful spines. “And if you want to see a fun performance- there we got Fig and Gorgug, they’re a band.” She waved to another corner.

Ayda followed all of Kristen’s pointing until she lay sight on who she presumed was Fig. A relatively short tiefling girl wearing ripped fishnets, a plaid skirt, and a crop top grinned wildly as she watched her friend do tricks with his drumsticks. “Fascinating,” she whispered to herself.

“What?”

“Nothing of importance.” Ayda turned her head back to her new friends.

Three minutes later, they sat in the music corner each with a large coffee and some cookies.

Kirsten picked up her mug. “So, let’s talk about the orb.”

#Adaine abernant #kristen applebees #ayda aguefort #fantasy high #fhsy #fig faeth #gorgug thistlespring #tracker o'shaughnessey #trackerbees #my writing #boom under 1k i've destroyed my demon

19 notes · View notes

petri808 · 3 years

Text

Nalu Yakuza Au *cover art by @jmoart214 💜

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |

The tit for tat game was well known to both of their top confidants and lieutenants because it had been going on ever since Natsu and Lucy broke up. Plus, it was hard to get around such knowledge considering most of them came from the same neighborhoods. These intrigues ebbed and flowed like waves. Months could pass by without any interactions between the two, at other times they’d go back and forth continuously until one of them finally gave up, and on the odd occasion ended in a huge fight that led to another round of ignoring each other. Up until now, it had been kind of amusing to watch them torture each other because it was better than a drama shows on television. But that didn’t mean Natsu, and Lucy’s friends didn’t worry about one or both being truly hurt one day because of it.

“It’s fine,” Natsu rolled his eyes as Gray chastised him after the soapland incident. The two men were at Natsu’s home after work hours and supposed to be relaxing. But clearly his friend didn’t want to drop the subject. “What’s the big deal?”

“Dude, you let yourself be blindfolded in a public space! Have you forgotten what kind of business we’re in? What if it had been an assassin instead?”

“Oh, that’s just ridiculous. We’re talking about Lucy’s company, and I trust their security measures because she has just as much to lose if a hit took place there.”

“Still, you should be more careful, at least take a bodyguard with you…”

Natsu’s eyebrow twitched in irritation. “And what, so they can watch the show? We got any voyeurs on the payroll? Cause I can’t think of anyone here who’d wanna see another guy getting his balls fondled!”

Gray ran a hand down his face. “So not the mental image I wanted. You’re missing the point.” He sighed. “Natsu you are the head of this clan, and your safety is my top priority.”

“I get it, I get it,” Natsu drawled.

“And frankly,” Gray continued, “you’ve become distracted by her lately.”

“Tch! No, I haven’t!”

“Yeah, you are. You think I haven’t noticed? I know you drive by her place sometimes. I know you’ve followed her to that coffee shop she likes to frequent. But ever since her employee was robbed, things have escalated again.”

“You’re imagining things and apparently spying on me. I’m just keeping an eye on the competition.”

“Watching over you is my job! That’s not spying.” Gray crossed his arms. “And oh, it’s no doubt that you’re keeping an eye on her. That’s why you went to Katsunuma’s party and to soapland too. The problem is you’re getting sloppy and sloppy gets people killed.”

Natsu groaned. “Are you done yet? We’re supposed to be enjoying the baseball game, not psychoanalyzing my life.”

“Almost.” Gray placed a hand on his friends’ knee and leaned in. “Natsu, you’ve been chasing that tail since high school, just lock her down and convince her to work together already.”

Natsu snorted a laugh. “Gray we all grew up together, so what in all these years makes you think that’s a possibility? You know damn well Lucy’s not a woman you can control without her consent.” Natsu knew that, and frankly he loved that part of her. In fact, it made him even more fired up whenever he thought about it, just like a treasure you don’t just find but must win at the end of a game. “I’ll find a way, some day.”

“Well until that day arrives, could you promise me you’ll be more cautious?”

“Fine, fine,” Natsu waved his hand. “I’ll back off of Lucy for now.”

“Good.” Gray relaxed back onto his recliner thinking the drama was over.

“However, there is a new guy I want surveillance placed on.”

“Who?”

“The bartender from the party.”

Gray groaned. “Seriously? Why? He’s just a bartender!”

“I don’t trust him.”

“Was he spiking the drinks or something? Dealing drugs at the party?”

“Maybe.”

Gray huffed. “You really gonna try that? Do I look like an idiot? This is just straight jealousy talking.”

“I don’t care! I want someone to dig up what they can on the guy!”

“No, what you wanna know is if he fucked Lucy that night!”

Natsu jumped up with his fists clenched. “Fuck you!”

“Fuck you too!” Gray stood up and matched his boss’s energy. “Unless you give me a damn good reason to check into him, I’m not wasting my guy’s time! You might be the boss, but don’t you fucking forget who you’re talking to! I’m not some punk off the streets!”

Realizing he was taking things too far, Natsu sat back down. “Sorry.”

Gray sighed and plopped back down too. “I only joined because you asked me to and you’re my best friend, then I helped you build this new empire, so I’m just as invested in protecting it as you are. But Natsu, personal emotions have led to the downfall of many in this business, and as a friend, I’ll check you any time I think you’re going to far.”

“You’re right…” Natsu sighed too. “She just gets me so worked up.”

“Don’t I know it,” Gray laughed, but stopped when Natsu glared at him. “Sorry, it slipped out.”

“But I swear, there’s something suspicious about him. When he saw me, I thought he just reacted because he thought I was Lucy’s boyfriend or something, but the more I think about it, he might have recognized me.”

“Well, that wouldn’t necessarily be suspicious either.”

“True. But the look in his eyes just made me wonder.”

“Alright…” Gray groaned, “if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll have someone do some digging. So, you said he has orange hair and glasses, and the name on his tag was Loke?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s an unusual name, shouldn’t be too hard to check on.”

Over the course of a couple of weeks, Gray sent out feelers for any information on this Loke guy. Katsunuma junior gave them their first small lead that the bartender had worked the party through a local food catering company. That catering company was a legitimate business who had both full-time staff as well as independent contractors brought in per event as needed. Loke had been one of the latter. From there Gray obtained a last name, de Lioncourt.

According to his sources at the local precinct, Loke de Lioncourt had no rap sheet, no prior dealings with police, and for all they knew was an average citizen. The man’s Line blog profile listed him as a 28-year-old, Japanese/French American, model and bartender, and it was filled with pictures from events, parties, as well as many gorgeous women— none of which contained Lucy. But as Gray trolled through the man’s feed, he did come across one person he recognized and passed the information along to Natsu.

“Wow, she’s in a bunch of photos,” Natsu mumbled as he scrolled through the blog.

“Well, considering Cana’s reputation are you surprised. Parties and alcohol are the two things that woman lives for.” Gray laughed. “Now see, this makes sense to me. Lucy and him, not so much.”

“Tch… still pisses me off he even tried.”

“Lucy’s a free woman, she can go out with whoever she wants to.”

“We’ll see about that,” Natsu mumbled low.

“What was that?” Gray asked with a raised brow.

“Nothing.”

“Better be nothing, cause this is a dead end. He’s just a flirty bartender. It’s how they make tips.”

“Yeah, yeah, fine.” Natsu sat back in his chair. “So, back to business. What this I heard about some missing stock?”

“Oh, right. One of the warehouse clerks noticed a shortage, but when I checked with Yura, he said the books were fine. I had him show it to me, and it appears the numbers were just inverted by accident. So, instead of 185 kilos, it’s supposed to be 158 kilos.”

“Did you talk to the clerk again? Does he have any history of messing up like this?”

“Nah, he’s one of our better clerks.”

“Just keep an eye on it.”

“Sure thing, boss. By the way, have you seen Gajeel today?” Gray questioned. “I haven’t seen him.”

“He called me this morning said he wasn’t feeling well, thinks he ate something bad for dinner last night.”

“Tch, seriously? Thought he had an iron stomach?”

Natsu shrugged. “Must’a been some bad sushi or something. We ain’t got much happening today, so it’s fine. Anything else? I got some stuff I need to finish.”

Gray tapped his chin. “Just a reminder you have an appointment with our tech guy dropping by later this week to go over some upgrades on the system.”

“Like I’m supposed to know anything about that stuff, it’s what I pay him for.”

“You still gotta approve it,” Gray shrugged and took his leave.

Once the man was completely out of the office, Natsu opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a nondescript box he’d hidden inside. He grinned to himself. It was time to make another special delivery. Even though he’d told Gray he was backing off the whole Lucy and Loke subject, there was no way he was gonna let it slide. Natsu didn’t care if the man seemed legit, and he wasn’t the first nor would probably be the last that he’d eventually scared away. And besides, being a Yakuza boss had a lot of down times too, easily filled with having a little fun.

Today’s little care package was being sent to Lucy by a courier service and Natsu just had to drop it off to the delivery company. Just a normal company like Kuroneko Yamato so it wouldn’t rouse too many suspicions. It was turning into a fun game for him just coming up with ideas of what he could do to rile Lucy up or irritate this Loke guy. Natsu chuckled to himself. So far, his favorite prank was a box of small sized condoms and a bottle of enhancement pills that he’d had delivered to Loke while on the job at another party. He’d even snuck in to watch it delivered, gaining a good laugh when the man took a peek in the box and frowned at its contents.

It was childish, but Natsu didn’t care. Every day for two weeks now, something new was sent to Loke. Random gifts like children’s candy to a toy gun, a big bottle of lubricant wrapped in a bow, a week’s worth of meals sent for lunch one day, even an empty box with rocks inside it just to drive the man crazy wondering who in the world was sending them. Lucy too wasn’t immune to his pranks, though hers had a different feel to them. Flowers with no note attached. Tickets to a canceled show he made up. A supposed dinner invite from Loke that wasn’t real— okay that was to test her, but she didn’t fall for it. And today’s little care package fit right into his prank scheme.

Natsu dropped off the package at a Kuroneko Yamato office with the address instructions already filled out and paid the company’s employee extra to keep their mouths shut. ‘She’s gonna kill me one day,’ he laughed to himself as he rode back to his office. ‘If it’s suffocation by her boobs it wouldn’t be a bad way to go!’

“Anymore stops sir?” The driver asked Natsu.

“Nope. Back to the office.”

He looked at his watch. The package should be arriving at Lucy’s office within the hour. Give or take another to open it, and by 4pm he would be receiving another phone call. Maybe he won’t answer it. Oh, that would piss her off even more! ‘Well, if she’d just take the hint...’

The afternoon was supposed to be mellow at headquarters that day. No shipments, and no appointments. But when Natsu got back, another general in the organization named Jellal Fernandez came to his office to inform him of a problem. One of the new local restaurants in their territory was refusing to cooperate and he wanted to know how Natsu wanted it handled. They were right in the middle of discussing it, when Natsu’s office door flew open with a loud bang!

In stomped Lucy who immediately threw a box at his head, causing Natsu to duck and Jellal to pull his gun.

“Don’t!” Natsu screamed at his general and motioned for him to stand down, to which the man complied. “Do you have a death wish Lucy!”

“Get. Out.” She snapped at the general. “Get out! This is between me and your boss!”

Jellal looked to Natsu, who nodded his head to scram. “I got this, don’t worry.” The man holstered his gun and left, but Natsu could see he’d stayed right outside of the now closed door.

“I take it you didn’t like the gift,” Natsu pretended to stay calm.

“Gee, me throwing it at you give you that impression? I know it’s you sending all these damn deliveries to me and Loke. That needs to stop now!”

He crossed his arms and scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Play dumb all you want. Just stop! Why are you even doing this?!”

“Take a guess,” he sneered back.

“I could’ve sworn we were adults now, but apparently I’m the only one who grew up. Stay out of my love life Natsu!”

“So, you admit you’re sleeping with the guy!”

“That’s none of your damn business! I can fuck whoever I want!”

“Not as long as I’m alive,” Natsu growled back.

Lucy crossed her arms. “That could be arranged.”

“Is that a threat?!”

“Yes! If you don’t stay out of my love life!”

“A woman shouldn’t be sleepi—”

“Don’t you finish that sentence!” Lucy grabbed a stapler that was within reach and chucked it at Natsu’s head. “Stop trying to control me!”

“Are you crazy?!”

At that moment, Gray barged into the room. He’d heard the screaming from the other side of the office, and when he got close enough to see Jellal standing outside the door, he became alarmed. Why would a general leave Natsu vulnerable! The man told him their boss told him to leave, but as the sounds inside escalated, Gray couldn’t wait anymore.

“Stop it!!” Gray got between them. “What are you two doing! Lucy you shouldn’t be here!”

“Then tell your damn boss to leave me the fuck alone!” Lucy spat back. “Ask him how he’s been harassing Loke and me!”

Gray turned to his boss with a groan. “Natsu, we talked about this!”

“Tell Gray what you been doing!” Lucy pressed. “Show him the stupid packages you send!”

“What packages?” Gray looked to Lucy, then repeated the question as he stared at his boss. “What packages?”

“Tch,” Natsu crossed his arms, “it’s not even that bad.”

Lucy stomped over to where the box fell and picked it up, pulling the contents out. “Bullshit!” She snapped as she held up a very racy, red nightie with flame prints, a pair of fluffy handcuffs, and a large dildo. “See this shit?!” Lucy shook the floppy latex toy at Gray before chucking it to the ground again. “He includes messages too,” then handed the man a folded piece of paper.

Gray read it aloud, “to make up for what playboy lacks. Had it custom made to my size wink wink. Ugh, seriously man,” he tossed the letter.

Natsu shrugged. “I was just having fun.”

“This is the yakuza, not a daycare!” Gray snaps. “I’m not here to babysit the boss so he stops harassing the competition! There’s more important business to worry about!”

“That’s right listen to Gray,” Lucy sneered.

Gray turned to her. “Oh, you ain’t innocent either, so don’t even try it. You both do things to purposely rile the other up and get mad when there’s consequences. Stop it!” He looked back and forth between the two. “Just stop it already!”

Natsu and Lucy looked away from the man with scowls on their faces. Neither wanted to admit he was right.

“Jellal,” Gray called out. When the man entered, he instructed him to escort Lucy out of there. “Next time, just call me instead. It’s best you two just stay away from each other. Got it?!”

“Yeah,” Lucy grumped.

“Got it?!” Gray questioned his boss.

“Yeah,” Natsu mumbled.

“Fucking like high school,” Gray ran a hand down his face in irritation. “You two need therapy.”

#nalu #nalu au #nalu fan fic #nalu fan fiction #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #ch 6 #we'll take back heaven #petri808

78 notes · View notes

harpidiem · 3 years

Note

Hi, you and I seem to have very similar tastes in art and in other things and as a begging artist I would like to know your art journey and any resources you used such as books and things or where you get inspiration from, thanks in advance

Hello! I'd be happy to!

I've been drawing since I was a kid, but I only started drawing seriously when I was about 12 (I wanted to become an animator, I didnt know that jobs like illustration on concept art were a thing). I never took a formal art class, expect for one that was on acrylic painting, and I didnt really learn that much there, and it was only for 4 weeks. (Maybe I'll learn to love acrylic someday, but not today).

For inspiration, I write down favorite memories of mine, and sometimes unimportant ones (memories of sitting at a gas station on a hot summer day, waiting on my dad to buy some sodas so we can get going on our trip; walking under football bleachers at night), and most times I'm a little too scared to post these because they're personal, but im working myself up to it.

I collect moodboards on interest, just whatever catches my eye, even if the aesthetics don't match. When I'm out, I take pictures of places I would like to draw later (abandoned farmhouses, old mill houses, a lighthouse far off in the water alone, a stretch of road completely covered in graffiti).

Books! Ok so I have a lot of art books but few that have actually been beneficial, so I'll post those here.

Color And Light by James Gurney: A Guide For The Realist Painter; I cannot reccomend this book more!! This book is excellent, it talks about how to paint different light conditions, and how it effects light scientifically. Very easy to understand, and Gurney is a master painter.

Adorning The Dark by Andrew Peterson. Another excellent book, and one I don't think I'll ever be over. While this is a book from a Christian standpoint, and I don't know your opinions on religion, this book for me was unputdownable. I read it cover to cover in a day, and did the same thing the next day. Reflections on self and the creative process that takes place in the mind and spiritually, and how we effect others. A simply wonderful book. Id go as far as to say life-changing.

Any Ghibli art book (I own Howl's Moving Castle, and Spirited Away.) These are excellent if youre wanting to look into illustration or character design. It doesnt give much advice, but I find myself inspired every time I open the ghibli books I have.

Sketching From The Imagination: Characters by 3d Total Publishing; this book has many MANY artists of various art styles, and they give their process and advice! Little nuggets of "Oh! Yea that makes sense." are scattered throughout the book, at least for me.

As for fiction books, I read a wide range of genres, so I can't really make a HUGE list of books I reccomend, but I can give a few that I feel have been important to me personally the last few years.

Jeff Vandermeer's Southern Reach Trilogy, and Borne Trilogy. Rick Bragg's All Over But The Shout'n, and Ava's Man, Flannery O' Connor's A Good Man Is Hard To Find, C. S Lewis's A Space Trilogy, and Madeline D'Engle's A Wrinkle In Time. Comics like Batman: The Long Halloween, Calvin and Hobbes, and Minna Sundberg's Stand Still Stay Silent have been great to read as well!

Movies and TV shows are HUGE inspirations for me, but as a general guide, I adore movies like Alien, Fury Road, Pan's Labyrinth, Lord of The Rings, Oh Brother Where Art Thou?, and TV shows like Stranger Things, Over The Garden Wall, and The Twilight Zone. Video games are important as well, like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Kentucky Route Zero, and Death Stranding.

Anyway, heres what I have to say: Use everything. Dont be afraid to deviate from your "aesthetics". Yes, you'll feel a bit lost at times, like you have no identity, but thats a good thing for growth. When I was 12, I was dead set that my thing was extremely cartoon art styles, pokemon, and drawing dragons. While these are still great and huge inpirations, if I didn't branch out, I would be stuck in a rut.

It is not important to have a set aesthetic. Youre not an aesthetic Instagram page at heart! Find what you are drawn to, what imagery catches your eye, what symbols have meaning to you. I will change throughout my life, but my core values are still there. And I think its important to understand that, to loosely quote Andrew Peterson, that self expression is an endless, and often fruitless chase. You gotta shift your direction outward, and you'll discover things about you, good and bad.

Wow, this post is getting very very long. Apologies. Anyway, one more note. Just explore. Collect things, look for details! Note that swirl in the sand, a wrinkle next to an eye, get a feel for a place or thing. I have dozens of books that make no sense together (2 books on sharks, 1 on specifically waterplants, 5 on animal species, 2 on surgery, 1 on the history of medicine, 1 on car mechanics, 1 on martial arts, 3 cookbooks, and a book on the history of wood working.) Yes, I tend to hoard books. Get a book from the library on a subject you know nothing about once a week. Glance through it, take at least 20 minutes hopping page to page, even randomly. You'll find something! Just keep your eyes open, dont stop learning! I encourage wiki rabbit holes 100%.

And please, please dont be afraid to post new things. In the end it doesn't matter if your followers are unused to the new thing you like! As long as you are conveying meaning behind what you create, you'll find your way. Im uh, still learning this. People latch onto concepts more than skill, I've found.

So yea, thats just what I have to say. Sorry for the long, LONG post. I hope this helped!!

#asks #blindsighted581 #art help #art tips

56 notes · View notes

anubislover · 3 years

Text

Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Nami-ya chapter 19: Lying Hearts

“How can anyone stand to live in a city like this?” Nami grumbled as the light glinted off of yet another painfully white building. True, the setting sun had lessened the glare slightly, but after an entire afternoon of it, she was developing quite the headache, even with the sunglasses.

Law shrugged and continued walking at a leisurely pace, still unaffected. “I’m sure if you’re born somewhere like this it’s easier, but people can learn to tolerate almost anything given enough time, I suppose.”

“Do you think you’d be able to learn to tolerate bread?”

“I said almost. I’d sooner die of starvation.”

She shook her head with a chuckle but kept pace, following his lead. Instead of heading straight back to the submarine, Law had insisted on a few detours through Atifakuto—partially in case anyone had grown suspicious and decided to follow them, but also to scope out potential escape routes under the guise of sightseeing. Nami, for her part, had been exceedingly helpful in this, mapping out in her head which stairways lead where and pointing out various places to hide. If Law found her compliance suspicious, he didn’t say anything; it was in their best interest to work together, especially with some potentially valuable goods on the line, so her behavior was easily rationalized.

For her, however, there was more than artifacts or even belli at stake. This heist had to go well. She needed Law to trust her enough to open up about why he was so obsessed with Amber Lead. Perhaps if he could do that, she wouldn’t even have to sneak into his quarters to take a look at the ledgers. She could just ask and he’d let her in like a rational human being.

Of course, in order for either of their plans to succeed they needed to know where the vase was. Luckily, the rest of the Hearts hadn’t been sitting idle on the submarine. They’d been investigating every possible gallery, art collector, museum, and auction house their prize could possibly be at. The second they had a lead, they’d call on the mini Den Den Mushi.

Until then, though, Law and Nami were forced to meander about the city, planning and killing time.

“So, while we wait for some intel, what else are you going to buy me?” she asked as they wandered the fourth level. They’d passed quite a few shops, and while most had stocked dull business suits similar to the last store, Nami felt her bags were tragically light. They were in a beautiful-if-blinding city, and she was walking away with only one outfit? What a travesty.

Snorting dismissively, Law glanced down at her with a clear look of are you kidding me? on his face. “Nothing. I told you I was only getting you one outfit. I’m your captain, not your sugar daddy.”

“You know, for a man who wants this little job to go well, you’re not putting in nearly the effort you should,” she quipped, a sly smile on her lips, eyelashes fluttering prettily. “I’m supposed to look professional and put together if I’m gonna pull off being your lovely assistant. That means I need matching shoes and accessories. Maybe a cute leather purse or briefcase to really sell it.”

“If you want those so badly then buy them yourself. Or,” he smirked, halting his pace to turn around and catch her chin between his fingers, tilting her head up towards him as he stepped in close enough so she could feel his body heat, “you earn them by doing certain favors for daddy.”

Her cheeks only pinkened a little at his innuendos while she stuck out her tongue and shoved him away. Last night’s dream wasn’t quite as close to the forefront of her mind anymore, but that didn’t mean his smirk didn’t do things to her she’d rather ignore. “Pass. You should know by now that it takes more than clothes for me to play nice.”

“Mmm, I do. That’s what makes it so much fun,” he purred, gold eyes glinting in wicked amusement. One gloved hand was shoved into his pocket while his free arm slung itself casually over her shoulder as he continued stalking along the fastidiously clean road. “But since you’re currently insisting on being a strong, independent woman who doesn’t need a man to provide for her, you can instead borrow some shoes from Ikkaku, and she might still have a pair of glasses or something from the time she pretended to be a receptionist at a Naval base.”

Brown eyes widened at his statement. Not because he was suggesting that she borrow clothes or anything, but the bombshell he’d just casually dropped in light of her recent discovery.

“Was this for one of your plans?” she asked, shoulders stiffening.

He shrugged like it was no big deal, though he did give her a curious glance at the way she tensed beneath him. “Yeah. We needed someone on the inside, and they’d put out an advertisement for an attractive female in her early twenties. It’s not like Uni or Penguin could do it.”

“But…holy shit, Law, are you serious?” she hissed, dragging him over to an unoccupied part of the street behind a solitary gated tree so she could scold him in private. There weren’t too many people about, but the last thing they need was to get unwanted attention because they’d caused a scene, even if Law totally deserved to get chewed out at the top of her lungs for being such an asshole. “Ikkaku has Marine brothers who want her dead and you sent her into the lion’s den? What the fuck?!”

Caught off-guard by her anger, Law’s eyebrows shot up briefly before furrowing. “She told you about them?”

Damn. In her shock and anger on her friend’s behalf, she’d forgotten that this was a subject she wasn’t technically supposed to know. But instead of admitting guilt, she doubled down and threw on her best poker face.

“Yeah. She told me,” she lied easily. Too easily. It came as naturally as it had back in the days she’d been working under Arlong, getting close to pirates by lying through her teeth and then robbing them blind. How many crews and captains had she deceived before Luffy? Nami had honestly lost count, but once she’d joined up with the Straw Hats, lying to a supposed ally hadn’t been quite as instinctual.

But this isn’t Luffy, and Law’s keeping way more secrets than I am, she rationalized. It’s just a little white lie anyway. He’d be way more pissed at Shachi and Penguin for telling me. I’m looking after those guys.

Law’s expression hardened, and for a moment she wondered if he’d seen through her bluff. She didn’t think she’d gotten too rusty in the lying department, but Law was smart and distrusting in general, so she couldn’t quite tell. Trepidation hung heavy in the air as she waited for him to speak, mind going a mile a minute coming up with new lies and explanations to appease him. Worse came to worst, she could throw the guys under the bus, even if she didn’t really want to, but they were his best friends, so Law would doubtlessly be more forgiving towards them, right?

Thankfully, it seemed his anger came from a completely different place, as he snarled quietly through clenched teeth, “Nami-ya, I am, as you have pointed out rather frequently in the past, a control freak. Do you really think I would devise a plan that required sending my top mechanic into a Marine base if there was even a chance she could be recognized? Especially by her utter shit of a brother?”

She flinched at the vitriol in his voice. It seemed she’d touched a nerve, and unless she wanted to lose all the progress she’d worked for, she knew it was best to back down. “Sorry. You’re right.”

“I’ll accept your apology if you tell me what prompted her to tell you,” he stated, crossing his arms. “It’s not information she makes widely known, even to those who are permanent members of my crew.”

Well. At least this was easy enough to justify, and she’d be doing both Law and Ikkaku a favor, right? Sure, the guys would obviously tell him later, but being the first to warn him might earn her a few more crumbs of trust. “There was an article in the paper about Marine reinforcements coming to the Grand Line. Ushi was interviewed. He seemed pretty intent on taking down the Heart Pirates.”

Law froze, his frown deepening into a dark sneer. The tic in his jaw and the way his fists clenched reminded her of his reaction to Ikkaku having been attacked on Grimm. “That fucker will stay away from Ikkaku if he’s got any brains in him.”

“You’re pretty protective of her,” she said. Sure, he’d perhaps phrased his defense in a way that implied his priority was the plan, it was clear from the hiss in his voice that Ikkaku’s safety had been genuinely considered.

The brim of his hat hid his eyes as he stated, “I’m protective of all my crew. She’s just…it’s hard to find submarine engineers, let alone ones as skilled as her. Ikkaku’s hard to replace.”

Well that stinks to high heaven of bullshit, she thought. Sure, the Surgeon of Death had a rightly-earned cruel reputation, but he’d shown time and again his crew meant a lot to him. Stepping in close, she used her finger to lift his hat enough to see his expression unobstructed. “Is that why you let her sass you? Because if she walked you’d be dead in the water?”

The gold orbs glared down at her, though the held no heat. “Everyone on the crew is a vital component. Like gears in a well-oiled machine. You’ve gotta take care of them to make sure they don’t break.”

When Nami merely raised a disbelieving eyebrow, he sighed, body deflating slightly. “Look, Nami-ya, everyone on my crew, we’ve all got shit in our pasts. Some have overcome it. Some still carry the scars. Ikkaku…hers is one of the few that’s actively still trying to get her. So yeah, maybe I’m a bit more protective, but it’s for a damn good reason.”

Ok, now that was a fair point. “I’m surprised you haven’t just killed him.”

“Oh, I want to,” he snarled. “No brother should try to hurt their siblings. They’re supposed to look after them. The only reason Ushi-ya still draws breath is because Ikkaku begged me to spare his pathetic life.”

It suddenly dawned on Nami that, despite his criticizing Luffy for not being more bloodthirsty, Law was…surprisingly merciful in his own ways, too. He didn’t murder Ikkaku’s brother, despite having clear reason to, just because she asked. He rescued Jean Bart from a life of slavery despite not knowing him. And while she didn’t fully understand the Ope Ope no Mi’s powers, she wondered if his cuts didn’t draw blood because he didn’t want them to?

She wasn’t sure if he had a complexity addiction or if he genuinely wanted to minimize bloodshed, but once again another side of the incredibly fascinating man had been revealed.

Taking a deep breath to calm his anger, he gave Nami a sadistic smile. “Doesn’t mean I let him off the hook with a sternly-worded warning, though. Wanna know what I did to him the last time we met?”

Nami turned a bit green as she remembered Jinzo’s still-beating heart in his hands. Complex and caring towards his crew or not, he was still a twisted bastard. “Fuck no!”

Briefly he pouted at not getting to regale her with the gory details before shrugging. “Pity. It was quite the eventful evening. In fact, it was also the night of mine and Drake-ya’s first kiss.”

“How the hell are those two things connected?!”

“Well, I had to distract him somehow. He was guarding my poor mechanic like a dragon would a virtuous princess.”

Before she could demand more details, or even snort at the idea of Ikkaku being virtuous, the sound of the mini Den Den Mushi reached their ears, interrupting the conversation.

Looking around to make sure there weren’t any eavesdroppers, Law pulled out the little snail phone and clicked down on the top. “Guessing you’ve got something for me?”

“I do,” the snail answered, and Nami recognized the faint accent that indicated they were speaking to Cousteau. “Only one place that specializes in North Blue history. Jubilee & Atlas Antiques. It’s an auction house and gallery on the fifth level, a block away from the Elevate Deliverer Restoration Church.”

“Well that’s a needlessly long name,” he quipped, rolling his eyes. Mentally, Nami had to agree, though it also sounded vaguely familiar. “At least that makes it easier to find. Anything else I should know? Other landmarks, nearby guard stations, that sort of thing?”

There was a moment of hesitation before Cousteau replied, “No station, though there would probably be at least a few guards wandering around at night. It’s, uh, right by a fountain. Blessings from the White City.”

Nami’s eyes widened a little. Oh. Now she remembered. That had been the church with the huge stained-glass windows. The one in her book, by the tribute to Flevance.

“…I see.”

The little snail chewed its lip, clearly concerned. “Captain, if you want, I can do all the surveillance—”

“It’s fine,” he cut in, tone sharp before smoothing out, “I saw it earlier. In fact, I’m glad it’s so close. Nami-ya and I will check out the gallery. We’re nearby and I’d rather see it with my own eyes to get the lay of the land. Unless anyone else has a better lead, you and the others can head back to the ship.”

“Understood, sir. Anything else you need?” he asked, sounding relieved.

“Just tell Clione I might have a job for him later on, so don’t make any evening plans.”

“Aye-aye, Captain.”

The call ended, and Nami peered up at Law, expecting signs of the same darkness that had crossed his face when they’d visited the fountain earlier. Instead, his face was totally blank, staring down at the tiny snail, expressionless.

Somehow, that was far, far more unnerving.

“Law?” she asked, touching his arm hesitantly.

As if awoken from a trance he shook his head before smirking down at her. “Well, hope you don’t mind one last detour before heading back to the ship? I know it’s more stairs but look on the bright side; at this rate, the definition of your calf muscles will be a thing of beauty.”

He didn’t wait for her to respond, turning on his heels and heading towards the direction of the stairs to the next level. Frowning, she began to doubt whether or not this was all a good idea. She didn’t know exactly what his deal was, but she really felt like he was too close to this. But she had the feeling trying to talk him out of it would be an exercise in futility, and would set her back far more than any lie she might spin.

Oh well, she sighed internally, jogging to catch up, so long as he doesn’t do anything stupid. He’s sensible enough to keep a cool head, no matter what his problem is. It’ll be fine.

While it wasn’t far, it took longer than either of them would have expected to actually find Jubilee & Atlas Antiques. Mainly because it was a surprisingly nondescript building compared to the opulent churches and museums nearby. Honestly, based on the exterior, one could easily have passed it by. Like everything else the building was pristinely white, the windows boasting small arches over them and flower boxes containing white impatiens. Really, the most impressive thing about it was the marble plaque out front boasting the company’s name in gold leaf.

But the two pirates didn’t really care about the appearance; it was what was inside that counted. That, and the information board out front, which stated in bold, black letters that there would be a showing and auction of North Blue artworks at 8pm that evening.

“Why don’t you just Scan the place, grab the vase, and walk away? Seems like that would be easy compared to putting on this charade?” Nami asked, eyeing the building. It was hardly Harpin’s mansion; it would take almost no effort for Law to use his powers to steal every item of value inside it, replacing artifacts, paintings, and money with pebbles and potted plants with a mere flick of his fingers, then teleporting them away to safety.

Really, if he weren’t such an ass, Trafalgar Law would be a thief’s dream partner.

Of course, he was an ass, so he gave her a look that implied he considered her question to be phenomenally stupid. “Because there’s no guarantee that the vase is even in there—for all I know it’s being kept in a secondary location until the actual event for security or health reasons. It is a relic from a city that suffered a notorious death toll both before and after the World Government had quarantined it,” he explained lowly. “On top of that, my Room would draw too much attention, so if it’s not in there, we’ll have blown our whole cover and probably the operation.”

Though disappointed that they couldn’t just whisk it away with his powers, she conceded that he had a point. Versatile and useful as they were, the Ope Ope no Mi’s abilities did have their drawbacks. Actually infiltrating the auction house was a safer move.

Yet for a moment, she saw Law glare at the building, as if he were equally frustrated that they couldn’t just grab their prize and go. Perhaps even a great mastermind like him sometimes wished to take the direct path. “At least we can be sure it’ll be presented at this auction,” he reassured, almost as much to himself as her as his hand rested on Nami’s lower back while he escorted her away. “Makes it easier to come up with a plan and contingencies when I actually know the target. My crew did good.”

She twirled a strand of hair around her finger in thought. She supposed he was right, and the pride in his voice when he mentioned the Hearts’ contribution…well, she knew better than to argue with that. Seemed the lesson he learned on the last island was sticking. “Still too bad we don’t have blueprints like Harpin’s house, though.”

“It can’t be helped. That was a job I’d been planning for months. This is more…spontaneous. Why? Scared and looking to back out?” he asked, glancing down at her with a challenging grin.

Nami scoffed. She was a thief that specialized in robbing pirates. Sure, she was a scaredy-cat, but when treasure of some kind was at stake, there were few risks she wouldn’t take. “Not a chance. Just pointing out that we’re going in more blind than last time.”

“Maybe, but at least our prize will be out in the open and not in the home of a former Marine with tentacles. Hell, we might even get it legally.”

“Law,” she started, brow furrowing. She wasn’t scared, but she did have a reasonable concern, especially with how intent he seemed on this one item. “What are we going to do if we don’t win the vase?”

The pair stopped by the Flevance fountain, Law taking a long moment to stare solemnly at the beautiful white angels. Without a word he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small coin, pressing it to his lips before flipping it into the water.

When he turned back to her, his gold eyes were as hard as the statues’ and twice as cold.

“Simple; we take it from whoever did.”

XXX

Hidden in a small cove on an unpopulated section of Atifakuto’s coast, the sight of the Polar Tang’s sunny yellow hull was a welcome relief after a whole day of the city’s stark white walls. Law seemed to agree as his tense posture relaxed into a comfortable slouch, even giving a few of the guys a small grin when they called out to them. To Nami, of course, the submarine was still far from the Sunny and thus would never be home, but she couldn’t help but smile at Law’s reaction. The Dark Doctor really did have some softness deep down.

Of course, that didn’t last long, as the moment they were within the safety of the cargo bay he was once more all business. “Dinner is in an hour. Rest up, brush up on your notes, do whatever you need to prepare for the auction tonight; I’ve got a few more dominoes to put in place,” Law stated. He’d been silent for most of the walk back, though Nami attributed that to him mentally filing through all the information they now had and formulating his plan. Much as she missed and loved Luffy, having a captain who didn’t just go rushing in like an idiot was a nice change of pace.

That didn’t mean she appreciated his tone, though. “Say please,” she quipped, hip jutting out. She might have decided to be more compliant for the sake of gaining his trust, but that didn’t mean she was going to let him boss her around.

Besides, if she were too accommodating, he’d probably grow suspicious and then she’d be right back at square one.

He scowled but apparently decided it would be a waste of time to argue. They were on a tight schedule, after all, so her attitude would have to be tolerated. For now. “Please,” he grumbled before marching off, beckoning Clione to follow him. The biologist glanced between the two, bewildered, but smartly said nothing before chasing after his captain.

Flashing a self-satisfied grin at Law’s retreating back, Nami practically skipped to her quarters. Even though they weren’t as prepared as she’d like, so far, things were going well. Perhaps they couldn’t just use Law’s powers to swipe the vase, but by obtaining it through legal means, they wouldn’t have the authorities after them, which would be nice. Besides, it wasn’t her money that would be spent at the auction.

Her research of the North Blue had taught her a few things, including just how valuable things from Flevance were. After all, things made from the white ore had been in high-demand during the city’s heyday; now that it was in ruins, any remaining artifacts would surely triple in price. And, admittedly, if that fountain had been anything to go by, the vase could very well be extremely beautiful. Something any art collector or historian might want for themselves.

Once more, she wondered why the hell Law wanted it. He collected coins, not art, so she doubted it would be something he wanted just for the heck of it. What was his obsession with Flevance—

That train of thought was derailed when Nami walked into her room. She blinked then rubbed her eyes, certain her vision was still messed up from the sun, because Ikkaku was still sitting at her desk, working on some little device, practically in the same position as that morning. Really, the only difference was the lack of towel around her head, though her curly hair was a tangled bird’s nest.

“Have you even moved today?” Nami exclaimed loudly, flabbergasted.

The mechanic jumped a few inches out of her chair, a pen cartwheeling through the air before falling back onto the surface of the desk with a clatter. Apparently since she’d had the room to herself, she hadn’t felt the need to put the earplugs back in, leaving her vulnerable to Nami’s loud voice. “Damn, girl, you scared me,” Ikkaku said with a breathy laugh. She glanced around, noticing the time on the clock and the fact that her hair had dried completely. “Guess I was in the zone.”

“You haven’t been working all day, have you?” Nami asked, plopping her shopping bag on her bed. “At least tell me you had lunch.”

“Sounding an awful lot like Law there,” she teased, pushing away from her desk to stretch. There was an audible pop from her back, and her dark eyes closed in relief. “Like me, too. The boys and I are always bugging a certain workaholic captain to eat something and not subsist solely on coffee and aspirin. But to answer your question, yes, I did have lunch.” She pointed at an empty plate that had been shoved into the far corner of the desk, a few grains of rice stuck to the surface. “Bepo brought me some onigiri.”

“Good. If you didn’t, I’d be dragging you into the galley and force-feeding you a sandwich, then charging you a cooking and inconvenience fee.”

Snorting, Ikkaku cracked her knuckles and rolled her shoulders, further releasing the tension sitting hunched over in one spot for hours had built up. “Dinner’s soon enough; even if I hadn’t eaten, I could have waited. And good luck making a sandwich with no bread on board.” Despite her dismissal tone, though, she gave a wry grin. “But thanks for caring, I guess, even if it does come with a price tag.”

“What are friends for?” Nami shrugged with a smile that was a little forced. It was such an alien feeling, this sudden awkwardness. Since first arriving on the Tang, she and Ikkaku had gotten on like a house on fire. It was almost inevitable, being the two women on the ship surrounded by men dealing with that insanity together. Hell, even if that hadn’t been the case, Ikkaku had practically sacrificed herself for her back at the club on Grimm. A companion like that was more than she’d even dared to dream of before she’d met Luffy.

Was it really right for Nami to act like she didn’t know about her brother? Should she just tell her that the guys told her about Ushi? Really, what was the point of keeping it a secret? It wasn’t that Nami thought she’d slip up and spill the beans—lying was her specialty, after all—but Ikkaku wasn’t some mark or stranger. She was her friend.

Hell, even if they were on opposite crews, she’d even dare to call her nakama.

The issue resolved itself, however, when the other woman’s expression turned a little melancholy. Ikkaku sighed as she rested her cheek on her fist, her other hand idly playing with the pen. “Heh. Funny, I used to ask myself that question a lot when I was younger. I didn’t really have friends back on my home island. I lived with my Gramps in a lighthouse, so besides the occasional trip to town, it was a pretty isolated life.”

“What about your brothers?” Nami asked, masking her interest by taking her purchases out of the bag so they wouldn’t wrinkle before the auction. A swell of relief surged through her. If Ikkaku talked about Ushi herself, the whole charade of pretending not to know about him wouldn’t even be necessary! She just had to carefully press for the right crumbs of information, maybe even offer up a couple tidbits about her own life in exchange. No big deal. Tit for tat, right? “Nojiko was my best friend growing up. Hell, probably my only friend until Luffy came along.”

A dark look crossed Ikkaku’s face. “Yeah, well, Nojiko on her worst day was probably a way better sibling than all of them combined.”

“I don’t think you’ve talked about them much. I basically just know that they exist and said you wouldn’t really make it as an engineer because you’re a girl.”

A long sigh escaped her lips. “That’s…the nice version. Didn’t want to unload my shitty childhood on you, especially since yours sounded worse. I mean, my island was never taken over by pirates, and I didn’t work for the guy who murdered my mom.”

Well, that was certainly true, but then again, people with healthy, normal childhoods seldom became pirates. Or at least, those that did rarely lasted long on such cutthroat seas. Nami should have realized there was more to the mechanic’s past than some run-of-the-mill misogyny. “Maybe, but I don’t mind. We’ve all gone through some rough shit, right? We wouldn’t be in this line of work otherwise.”

“True. I just…I guess I just like to pretend he doesn’t exist most of the time.”

“He?” she asked as if she didn’t already know.

Ikkaku’s calloused hand dropped the pen to instead clench into a tight fist, and there was a haunted look in her dark eyes as she stared off into space. “Ushi. He’s the oldest. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t afraid of him. Spent our childhood making our other brothers use me as a punching bag. When he wasn’t doing that, he gave me almost hourly reminders that I was a burden on the family, that no one really loved me, that I’d never amount to anything.” There was a hitch in her breath and a pause, and Nami noticed her close her eyes tightly for a moment. As if she were fighting back tears. It was a look she’d never expected to see on the tough, vibrant woman’s face. “Then, when I was seven, he tried to kill me.”

“What?!” Nami exclaimed, dropping her blazer to the floor in shock.

“Yeah. Joras had a huge fucking forest, and he led me into it to look for mushrooms or some shit. Can’t remember. Next thing I know, he’s shoved me into a pit, and by the time I’d climbed out, he was long gone and it was night. I think…I think it was supposed to be my grave, ‘cause it was really fucking deep. Or at least it seemed that way. Maybe I’m misremembering.”

Somehow, Nami doubted that. Sure, memories could get warped with age and fear, but some details remained solid for the rest of a person’s life. “But, you got out, right? And I’m sure your parents must have been worried sick!” She could almost picture it. A young Ikkaku, sticks and leaves caught in her messy curls, knees and elbows scraped, face covered in dirt and tears, frightened but once more able to smile when she was finally found, her mother and father scooping her into their arms, scolding her for worrying them but just so relieved she was safe…

At least, that’s what Bellemere or Mister Genzo would have done if Nami had gone missing.

From the bitter laugh that escaped her throat, Ikkaku hadn’t been so fortunate. “I spent three days wandering around those fucking woods, scared and cold and wondering if I was gonna die out there. My parents didn’t even notice I was gone.” After a long moment of silence, her fist unclenched and some of the tension eased out of her shoulders. “Gramps found me, though. When I didn’t come home after two days and a storm rolled in, my brothers Nausagi and Fukuro ran two miles to the lighthouse to tell him what Ushi had done. Maybe they realized he’d gone too far. Or they were scared I’d come back as a vengeful zombie. Either way, Gramps rescued me and demanded custody. Mama and Pops were glad to hand me over. One less mouth to feed, and I wouldn’t be causing their Future Marine Hero any more trouble.”

“That’s…that’s horrible.” And yet Nami could tell she was getting the abridged version of the story. “Tell me your grandfather was a better guardian.”

Despite the childhood trauma she’d just confessed to, Ikkaku merely shrugged, a small grin tugging at the corner of her lips. “Yeah. He was. Gramps was crazy, but he loved me and taught me how to fight. Told me to never lose my smile, ‘cause that’s my best protection against a world that’ll try to break me.”

“Bellemere said something similar to me and Nojiko. ‘Whatever happens, never lose your ability to laugh. If you can survive, happy times, lots of ‘em, will come your way’.”

“Smart lady.” She tried to casually run her fingers through her hair, only to find them caught in the tangled knots. She let out a light chuckle at her predicament and added, “I think she and Gramps would have gotten along pretty well. Well, assuming she liked salty former smugglers who had the gumption to threaten Law with a shot gun. Not that he didn’t deserve it a little.”

Nami had to smile at that, and she could only imagine what he’d said that had nearly gotten him shot. It was definitely something snarky, a shit-eating grin on his face while he provoked a protective grandfather just because he could.

Noticing Ikkaku’s hair situation, she abandoned her suit to instead pick up a wide-toothed comb. “Well, I’m not sure about Bellmere, but I’d certainly love to meet him.”

“Of course you would.” Leaning back in the chair, she allowed Nami to carefully put her thick curls to rights. “How was shopping? Boss show you the blinding sights of the city?”

“It was…enlightening,” she said cautiously. There was still so much to sort out, and every time she thought she had an answer to one of her questions, four more popped up in its place.

Grabbing the pen she’d been playing with earlier, Ikkaku handed it to her over her shoulder. “Here; I made you something, since I doubt you’ll be able to bring your Clima-Tact with you. Kinda why I was so focused—I wanted it to be ready by tonight.”

Curious, Nami inspected the item. It was a plain black ballpoint pen maybe a bit longer than her hand. There was an almost unnoticeable jolly roger engraved into the middle, and she ran her thumb over it idly. “You spent the whole afternoon making me a pen? I could have just as easily brought my stylus.”

“Oh, but a stylus is only good for writing. This is so much more useful. ‘The pen is mightier than the sword’, right? Click the top.”

She did so, and instead of an ink-filled nub, a small syringe, similar to an epi-pen, popped out. Her eyes widened in realization as Ikkaku explained, “Inside’s a powerful tranquilizer. Should knock any fool out in minutes if injected into the bloodstream. Takes longer if it’s ingested. It’s non-lethal to humans, so it should be safe to use on anyone you’re looking to knock out. Assuming they aren’t really Fishmen in disguise.”

“Why? Does it react differently for them?”

She grimaced. “Yeah. Severe allergic reaction. Anaphylactic shock typically. So, unless you want that on your conscience, humans only.”

Tucking the pen away for later, Nami nodded in understanding and went back to combing her hair. “Gotcha. Doubt it’ll be a problem, though. Jean Bart said this place is pretty humans-only.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s impossible for someone to have that kind of bloodline. If it’s diluted through a few generations, a lot of the time you can hide it and pass for human.”

“Hmmm, hadn’t thought of that.”

There was a moment where Nami could tell she was mulling something over. Even faced away from her, Ikkaku wasn’t hard to read, and it was only a matter of time before she voiced whatever question was on her mind.

While she waited, the ginger took the time to appreciate the texture of Ikkaku’s hair, combing out each curl individually so it wouldn’t frizz. The thick, black locks were coarser than her own, yet surprisingly soft despite her hard life at sea. Hair maintenance was extremely difficult living on the ocean, the salt and fluctuating weather of the Grand Line wreaking havoc on Nami’s much finer strands. And while Ikkaku was far more feminine than one would expect upon first meeting her, in the time they’d roomed together, she didn’t seem to put much more extensive care into her shiny locks than some leave-in conditioner.

Guess she’s just got some good genetics, Nami thought appreciatively. Either that or she’s hiding some amazing shampoo formula, and damn if she is I’ll never forgive her!

When Ikkaku at last broke her silence, the hesitation in her voice was palpable. “Hey, it was a Fishman who held you prisoner all those years, right? You ever…blame all Fishmen for what he did?”

It was an unexpected question, but a fair one, Nami supposed. Arlong had committed a crime so heinous she knew she’d never forgive him, and she knew there were plenty of people, especially ones who spent years abused by such a monster, who would project that hatred onto an entire race. But why even ask?

“I…not really. I mean, I can’t say I never lumped them all together in my head, since Arlong and his crew were my only baseline for Fishmen for a long time.” She bit her lip, thinking. “But that was when I was a kid. My view of things was a lot more black-and-white, mostly because I was bitter at my situation. As I got older, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was stupid to think all Fishmen were like him. He was the one who hurt me, so he’s the only one who should get my hate.”

“So, you don’t hate them all?”

She shook her head. “Nah. Hell, I was even able to forgive a member of his crew. I’m sure you heard about how Luffy punched a Celestial Dragon?”

Ikkaku craned her neck up to look at her, dark eyes widening in shocked understanding. “Yeah? You saying the Fishman he defended—”

“One of Arlong’s crew. Hatchi. Like all of them, he hurt me too, but it was on his captain’s orders, and he clearly regretted it.” Well, it had been a bit more complex than that. Hell, when they’d first encountered him again, she’d nearly gone back on her promise to Camie to rescue him. Even if he hadn’t abused her like the others, he’d still been complacent in it. Still destroyed villagers homes, held her hostage, attacked the Navy ships that tried to come to the rescue. He hadn’t been blameless in the least. She would have had every right to demand that he be left to be killed or enslaved. That it was karma come to bite him in the ass.

Yet what had swayed her, apart from Camie’s determination to save him, was her own friends’ reactions to seeing him again. Those who knew her past had immediately been ready to turn the ship around and leave Hatchi to his fate. Of course she’d expected Sanji to be her knight in shining armor and want nothing to do with someone who had abused a lady, even by proxy. Zoro and Usopp had been a bit more surprising, though perhaps it shouldn’t have been. They knew what she’d been put through. Had fought and bled for her. Despite their sometimes heated disagreements, Nami knew she could count on them to always have her back.

The one who shocked her the most was Luffy. He might have flip-flopped between reason and his stomach, but the fact was, her loving, forgiving captain had actually held a grudge on her behalf. Hatchi and Arlong hadn’t done anything to him personally, but his nakama had suffered, and that wasn’t something he’d easily set aside. That genuine show of solidarity and loyalty to her had melted what ice had still been around her heart, which allowed her to truly forgive the octopus Fishman.

Yes, Hatchi had hurt her, but her hatred was solely reserved for Arlong, not his underlings who genuinely felt remorse.

“I’m not a saint or anything but hating Hatchi…it seemed pointless. He wasn’t the one who killed my mother. And blaming all Fishmen for the actions of one seemed pretty shitty. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t kill Arlong if I had the chance, though.”

Nami could practically feel the tension drain from Ikkaku’s shoulders, and she couldn’t hide her smile before she looked away. “That’s good to know. That asshole deserves it, from what you’ve told me. He and my brother should meet, then get sacrificed to some kind of horrible sea monster. Plenty of hungry Sea Kings out there to feed.”

“Couldn’t happen to a nicer pair of guys,” Nami giggled as she ran the comb through the last strand of hair. “Though, that might be cruel to the Sea King. Poor thing deserves a better meal than shit like them.”

“True. We’ll just have to think of something else then. We can ask Law; he’s always got great suggestions.”

A shudder ran down her spine, though she had to admit, it wasn’t as horrified as she’d like. She justified it with the fact that Arlong was scum who deserved whatever painful death the likes of Law might propose. So did Ushi, from the sounds of things. Though, Law had said Ikkaku had begged him not to kill her brother. Why? Did she still care about Ushi due to their familial ties? Or was there something else?

Maybe she just doesn’t want her brother’s death on her conscience, Nami thought, putting the comb away and proceeding to raid the closet for shoes. I just hope that doesn’t come back to bite her someday.

XXX

Dinner on the Tang was certainly livelier and noisier than breakfast. Mainly because the crew didn’t have to walk on eggshells while waiting for Law to get his caffeine hit. Most of the time about a dozen different conversations could be heard, utensils clattered against plates, insults were tossed about, and laughter filled the air. But at the moment, the whole galley was silent save for Nami, who was telling the Heart Pirates—save for a few who’d been sent out on last-minute errands—all about her crew’s wild adventure on Skypiea.

“…so, after Luffy beat the crap out of him, Enel flew off to the moon in his gold airship, and we escaped the island with the help of an octopus balloon, our ship loaded with treasure!”

There was a pregnant pause as the Hearts stared at her in a mix of awe and disbelief. She’d had their undivided attention ever since Law announced that the Straw Hats had found Noland’s lost city of gold, all but demanding she tell the tale and not skimp on the details.

Naturally, those details made the story even more bizarre, practically unbelievable, but she gave them what they asked for, so they couldn’t complain. Even Law’s jaw had dropped once or twice in incredulity. Mostly at the part where Luffy’d been eaten by a giant snake and thus been hidden from Enel’s senses.

Finally, a few of the crew managed to find their voices.

“An orangutan nearly wrecked your ship with singing?” Shachi asked, face utterly baffled.

Penguin grabbed his hat and smacked him over the head with it. “That’s what you’re stuck on? That’s from way back in the beginning of the story!”

The ginger punched him in the shoulder in retaliation, which quickly devolved into a childish slap fight. “Well it’s weird, ok?”

“Weirder than Straw Hat punching Kami or the knock-up stream business or the ship that flew to the moon?”

“Yeah! You ever met an orangutan that could sing?!”

“No, but that’s not the point!”

“You met Monte Blac Cricket?” Ermine interrupted, eyes so wide the whites could be seen even under the rim of their hat, though their mouth quickly split into a smile. “Holy shit, I’d wondered what had happened to him!”

“Wasn’t he your friend or something?” Seiuchi asked through a mouth full of rice.

They shook their head, looking a little wistful, a faint blush rising to their cheeks. “Just a neighbor. The people of Lvneel were dicks to his family and anyone who associated with them didn’t get treated much better. But I always thought there had to be some truth to Noland’s story.”

“Because a city of gold is so fantastical it’s gotta be real?” Nami asked, amused. She’d half-expected everyone to laugh at her like the people on Jaya when she’d asked about Sky Island—she’d even glossed over that part, finding no reason to recap such a blow to her pride. Yet instead, they’d been respectful, even entranced by her tale. It seemed to help that she’d been able to fill in a few blanks with what she remembered from Noland’s ledger, thus adding credibility to the man himself instead of just imagining the lying fool the king’s slander had reduced him to.

Usopp would probably love these guys, she thought fondly. Not that they’d likely believe his fantastical lies, but they’d probably at least let him spin his yarns to his heart’s content.

“Because you don’t tell a king about a city of gold unless you’ve got something to show for it,” Uni interjected wisely, ladling some more curry onto her plate. He paused to smile at her with his eyes, the bottom half of his face still distinctly covered by his bandana despite it being dinnertime. This close, Nami couldn’t help but try to subtly look for signs of scarring, and in fact could spot a line of slightly-paler skin peeking out just over the edge. “That, and history’s rarely all that accurate. Full of lies and twisted to suit a certain narrative.”

“That’s the World Government way. I’m sure we’ll see plenty of it tonight,” Law stated, leaning back in his chair as he munched on some onigiri. The bulge in his cheek might have been comical, but the glint in his eye was humorless. “Can’t wait to hear the dumbass assumptions people make about us Northerners.”

Murmurs of agreement echoed throughout the room, though an angry tic formed on Nami’s forehead.

“Are you saying the stuff you had me study is going to be a load of crap?” she demanded, pointing her finger accusingly. Of course she knew history was skewed at best, but she’d spent days cramming! Had weird sexual dreams about him because of it!

Yes she was blaming the book for that and no one could stop her.

He shrugged and took another bite of rice, unbothered by her irritation. “It’s the information you’ll need to be able to regurgitate if anyone asks you about the North.”

“Yeah,” Penguin chimed in, nodding sagely. He and Shachi had finally been pulled apart by Jean Bart and had resumed eating like nothing had happened. “These people aren’t interested in the truth. They just want to feel superior to the ‘uneducated masses’.”

“Buncha pretentious pricks,” Shachi sniggered, balancing a spoon on his upper lip. “Bet they’d have a fucking fit if they found out El Dorodo’s not only real, but in the fucking sky!”

“I mean, can’t say I’d blame them,” Jude grumbled, playing a bit with his food like a grumpy child. “I figured we’d be the ones to find it, but this whole time we’ve been sailing around in a submarine for nothing!”

“You got something to say about my ship?” Ikkaku snapped, glaring at her crewmate. Behind her, Crozier, Cousteau, and Ermine made slashing motions across their throats, silently reminding him that disparaging the Polar Tang in any way in front of its chief engineer was a sure death sentence.

Before he could say anything, Uni thwapped him on the forehead with the spoon, apparently taking just as much offense. “How can you say it’s been for nothing—we’ve found tons of cool shit down here! May not have been El Dorado, but there have been some amazing sunken cities. And fish! We’ve discovered more aquatic animals than any other ocean explorer,” he pointed out excitedly, Cousteau nodding in agreement. “I mean, we’ve seen deep-sea fish not recorded in any book! Extracted hallucinogenic venom from puffer fish! Taken samples of bioluminescent plankton! We’ve seen octopi punch fish!”

“You ever figure out why they do that?” Shachi asked, cocking his head.

“Best I can figure? Spite.”

As weird as this little tangent was, Nami found herself giggling a bit at how excited Uni was. She didn’t know him too well, given how he was one of the quieter, more reserved members of the crew, but it was endearing to see him so animated and giddy as he discussed marine life.

“Plus, it’s cool to study navigational currents and everything, and underwater topography. The maps I can make from that kind of intel are really good,” Bepo added, twiddling his claws a bit beside her.

“Right! And if that’s still not enough to convince you, who needs a city of gold when you can get your hands on more sunken treasure than most pirates see in their lifetimes?” Uni asked, puffing out his chest.

She couldn’t help it—Nami’s eyes lit up with belli signs at the thought of how many sunken ships the submarine probably came across, all that gold theirs for the taking. Most treasure was basically lost once it hit the bottom of the ocean, but the Hearts’ ship and diving equipment turned the ocean floor into their personal piggy bank.

It seemed Jude had the same thought. “You’re right, you’re right,” he conceded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, it’s a great ship, and we’ve definitely found more than a city’s worth of loot—and yes the fish are cool Uni put the spoon away—but it’s still annoying to find out that we’ve been searching the wrong place this whole time.”

“Eh, happens to every pirate crew,” Jean Bart said, sipping his drink. “You find a treasure map only to discover the gold’s already dug up. Same with legends of lost cities. The fact that the Straw Hats actually found El Dorado and came away with a profit just means they’ve got the Devil’s luck on their side.”

“Or the favor of some god. Probably not that Enel guy, though,” Shachi said with a smirk. “And hopefully nothing from Joras, either.”

There was a murmur of agreement among the crew at that, though Ikkaku looked more uncomfortable than amused. Nami wasn’t the only one to catch that, though, as Uni reproachfully smacked the side of his head with the spoon.

“Dude. Don’t joke about the eldritch horror gods, yeah?”

“Sorry,” the ginger said, blushing slightly as he wiped away the curry splattered across his face.

“Eldritch horror gods?” Nami asked, recoiling at the thought. What the fuck?! Joras sounded vaguely familiar and given the context she guessed it had to be someplace in the North Blue, but she sure as hell didn’t recall reading anything about that! Was this something related to Northern culture, or were the guys just fucking with her?

“Nothing to worry your pretty little head over, Nami-ya,” Law stated with a smirk, though she didn’t miss the glare he sent Shachi’s way. “We’ve been sailing under the ocean for over five years and I’ve yet to see a sleeping god who can turn you mad with terror.”

“No, just an underwater ruin or two that talks about him,” Ikkaku muttered, picking at her food.

Underwater ruins with tales of sleeping gods? Sounds like something Robin would be interested in, Nami thought, nervous sweat running down her neck. Not that she’d be able to blame her. Sure, the archeologist was macabre as hell, but Nami could appreciate her thirst for knowledge, creepy or not. Who knew what history and cultures had been lost to the seas? Maybe there were even Poneglyphs down at the bottom of the ocean!

Damn. Robin and Law would probably get along great. She wasn’t sure if she was frightened or comforted by this thought.

Uni seemed to notice her unease and patted her shoulder. “We’ve seen some strange stuff down there, but nothing more dangerous than Sea Kings. Which, I mean, aren’t exactly friendly guppies, but they’ll leave us be. The Tang’s Seastone coating and electrical defenses ensure that.”

Though she still found the whole concept horrifying, she was appreciated how hard Uni was trying to keep the peace and not make things needlessly frightening for her. The whole crew had a morbid sense of humor, but while she’d mostly adapted, she still found this whole conversation creepy. It made her feel a little guilty for wanting to pry into his business. Yeah, it was annoying to know the crew was hiding stuff from her, but Uni deserved a little privacy, right?

“Yeah, and if there were anything more, Uni’s fish buddies would warn us ahead of time!” Malamute added.

“Fish buddies?” Nami asked, eyebrows lifting to her hairline in surprise. So much for respecting his privacy. “Wait, can you talk to fish?”

The man in question stiffened beside her. “I, uh, I can understand fish a little,” he said, looking nervous. His large hands twisted the napkin in his lap, and he refused to look at her. “It’s a Haki thing.”

“Haki can do that?” she asked, surprised.

“Observation Haki can do a lot of things, and Uni’s the best at it on the ship,” Law cut in harshly, glare brokering no argument. “It’s a skill that’s saved our asses plenty of times.”

Nami blanched at his defensive tone. “Hey, I’ll take your word for it, but you don’t have to act like I insulted his mother or something.”

“It’s ok, Law,” Uni said, shrugging a bit, though his face seemed to sink a little further into his bandana. “I know she didn’t mean anything by it. It’s a fair question, and it is a weird talent.”

“It’s not weird. It’s fucking useful as hell and I won’t hear anyone belittling my crew.”

“I’d never belittle him—” Nami snapped, starting to stand up to give Law a piece of her mind before Bepo’s heavy paws fell on her shoulders, gently but firmly keeping her seated.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized softly. “Law doesn’t mean you. It’s just…the last person outside the crew that found out, he was extremely cruel about it. Beat Uni to a pulp and even threatened to sell him as a freak show attraction before Captain found them.”

“Oh my god,” she replied, anger cooling quickly as she covered her mouth in horror, imagining Uni bruised and bloody on the ground at the hands of some bastard. Well, that would sure as hell explain why Law had taken such offense. If such a thing had happened to Chopper because he could speak to animals, she’d likely be just as pissed. From the scowls on the rest of the Hearts’ faces, the whole crew felt similar. Her gaze flicked to the fuming captain. “I’m guessing he ended up on your operating table?”

“I wish,” he growled, gold eyes glinting in fury as he crossed his arms. “Marines showed up before I could cut out his heart. Must have been his lucky day, but luck won’t be enough to save him if I ever run into Hyena-ya again.”

“Hyena?” she asked, the name not ringing any bells.

“Bellamy the Hyena,” Bepo explained, snout wrinkling in distaste. “He’s also from the North.”

Oh. My. God, Nami thought, wondering if the world was really so small. “You said Bellamy, right? Blonde hair? Spring powers? Asshole with a stupid grin?”

Law cocked an eyebrow in mild surprise. “Seems you’ve encountered him before.”

She ground her teeth as she remembered the way he’d mocked Luffy’s dreams in the bar. “Yeah. On Jaya. His crew laughed at me for asking about Sky Island and his first mate tried to buy me. Later he stole Cricket’s gold, so Luffy went after him. I didn’t see the fight but given what an ass that guy was…yeah, Luffy wiped that stupid smile off his face.”

Once more the room fell silent, but quickly broke out into thunderous applause.

“Hah! I would have paid good money to see that!” Ikkaku laughed, spirits lifted.

“If he hurt Cricket, I’m glad he got the beating he deserved,” Ermine said with a grin.

Uni smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling happily. “When you see Straw Hat again, shake his hand for me! That guy’s a dick.”

Even Law was put in a better mood, though there was still a malicious edge to his smirk. “Good on Mugiwara-ya. Still wouldn’t mind doing some permanent damage to the fucker myself, though. Bad enough he insulted my crew, but that bastard should pick his idols more carefully.”

Nami’s brow furrowed at that. His idols? The hell did that mean?

She didn’t have time to vocalizing that question, though. Sweat ran down her neck when said smirk then took a more lecherous edge as he rested his chin on his fist, eyes glinting with mischief. “But Sarquiss-ya tried to buy you? I might have prioritize kicking his ass, then. I’m the only one who gets to be your sugar daddy.”

“Oh shut up! You didn’t even buy me new shoes!”

“You got her a suit but no shoes? For shame, Boss,” Ikkaku giggled, getting up to help Seiuchi and Jude clear the tables. “I thought you were supposed to be a ladies’ man.”

“I’m a cruel bastard who doesn’t do something for nothing. She can borrow yours.”

Sauntering over, she playfully poked him in the forehead. “Says who?”

Law snorted and childishly poked her right back. “Me. Your captain. The guy who pays your salary.”

“You pay me to keep the submarine running and sass you when you’re being an idiot.”

“I don’t pay you for that.”

“Mmmm, you’re right; that’s a service I provide for free.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say those two were siblings,” Nami chuckled under her breath.

“Right? When I was first recruited I was convinced they were secretly related,” Uni agreed.

Bepo gave them both a smile and said quietly, “I think it’s good for them. Especially Law. I think he secretly likes having a little sister again.”

Brown eyes widened at that little tidbit. Law had a sister? What happened to her? Bepo had stated the past tense, so there was either some kind of falling out or…

…oh no, she thought, turning to watch Law continue to bicker good-naturedly with Ikkaku, his expression annoyed but the glimmer in his eyes belying that he was enjoying himself. Another piece of the puzzle that was the Surgeon of Death had fallen into her lap, but it wasn’t a particularly happy one. Sure, people died or were killed all the time, but Nami couldn’t imagine what she’d be like if she’d lost Nojiko. And depending on how young they’d been or how she’d died, that could really fuck with a guy.

“Nami-ya.”

Her attention was yanked from her musing as Law called her name. He was on his feet, plate clean and smirk dangerous as he regarded her. Nami wondered whether this would be the last time she’d see him in a genuinely good mood for the rest of the evening. “It’s seven o’clock. Time to get ready to watch history be defiled by pretentious morons. And for your obnoxious thunder god’s sake, make sure you’re wearing shoes you can actually run in.”

( @ninhaoma-ya, @awesomi, @vannahfanfics)

#Fic: Welcome to the Heart Pirates #lawna #trafalgar law x nami #Trafalgar D. Water Law #lawnami #op fanfiction #op fanfic #heart pirates #heart pirate nami #ikkaku one piece #one piece ikkaku #uni one piece #law x nami #cat burglar nami #one piece nami #nami

42 notes · View notes

legoshi-plz · 4 years

Text

Late Night Visitor Part 2

Summary: Late Night Visitor Part 2. Things continue to escalate with Riz and you feel as if there’s no way out. Help comes in the form of an unexpected ally.

Part One

Warnings: Smut (NSFW 18+), Rape/Non-Con, Threat of Violence, Language, etc...

///////////////

“Deeper, don’t make me have to say it again,” Riz growled, his grip on the fur on the back of your head tightening. You opened your jaws wider to allow more of him down your throat while fighting your own gag reflex.

“Mhm, that’s it. Looks like old dogs can learn new tricks,” he chuckled at his own demeaning words. You closed your eyes to try and remove yourself as much as you could from the situation but it was hard with him stuffing nearly every orfice you had.

He currently had three thick digits stuffed inside your dripping entrance while he fucked your throat raw with his monstrous cock. He was completely filling you and the worst part was that you could feel your orgasm coming at any moment. That would be the final blow of shame for this evening, him berating you for ‘enjoying’ it when you literally had no choice. You had long ago lost control over the pleasure functions of your body. No matter how much you hated him with every fiber of your being, there were certain stimulation your body couldn’t ignore.

“You’re fucking soaking my fingers, Y/N. It’s getting late but fuck it, I gotta have you,” He groaned, slapping your face with his free hand to get you to let him go. You didn’t see what difference it would make what time it was, the two of you were already late to Drama club. Most evenings when he made you give your body to him, you were usually too fucked out to even show up at all.

You started to get up off your knees but apparently you were moving too slow for Riz, so he picked you up by your waist and slammed you into the abandoned classroom wall forcefully. Without a word of warning, he pushed the entirety of his length into you. You winced at the burn this stretch always caused but were relieved it wasn’t as overall unbearable as it usually is. You hated that you were grateful for him forcing his fingers into you earlier.

“C’mon baby, you know the drill,” his voice was husky and you knew if you played along this could be over quickly.

“Oh my god, Riz, your dick feels amazing,” you moaned. You could feel him quickening his pace already at your words.

“Tell me how much you love it, FUCK!” He growled, his thrusts pounding your cervix to punctuate each word. You knew he was desperate now and that you could end this in a few mere words.

“I love it when you use me like this. I love being your whore. And I really love it when you cum inside me.” His face was buried into your neck and he had his entire weight pinning you to the wall, nearly crushing you.

“Say you need it, say you fucking need it, slut!” His voice was high pitched and beginning to crack. It was all over now.

“I need your cum, Riz. I need you to cum inside me,” you moaned and your body suddenly jolted at your own orgasm washed over you unexpectedly. Riz was right behind you, shooting thick white ropes into you until it reached capacity and began spilling down the sides. You turned your head in disgust while he watched the sight as if he’d just discovered gold.

“It’s like you get tighter and tighter every time. Keep this up and I’ll have to carve you open just to fuck you,” he chuckled, pulling out of you. You didn’t laugh.

Once he set you down, you adjusted your uniform as best you could, trying to hightail it out of there as quickly as your wobbly legs would carry you. You made it to the hallway before he gripped your arm and jerked you back towards him, nearly ripping your arm out the socket.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” He said almost pleasantly as if he didn’t just force himself on you yet again.

You silently reached up on your tippy toes offering your lips to him. He had to bend down to complete the kiss, his lips burning against your own. The kiss was hungry and all-consuming, much like everything else about Riz.

“There you two are!” A chipper voice rang down the hall and you felt your insides turn to ice. You could tell by the way Riz’s grip on your arm tightened that he had been caught off guard too.

Juno bounced down the hallway, her usual bubbly self. She had a knowing smirk on her face indicating she’d caught you two kissing. You prayed that was the only thing she noticed.

“Louis sent me to come find you, Y/N. He was gonna announce the parts for the Winter showcase but held off since everyone wasn’t there. He’s pretty angry,” Juno said as Riz loosened his grip on your arm and slid it down so it looked like he was holding your hand, not previously yanking you about in a death grip.

“We were just about to head there now,” Riz smiled as the two of you followed behind Juno. You wanted to make an excuse so you could head back to your dorm and scrub every trace of Riz off of you but his hand in yours told you that wasn’t an option.

“So how long have you two lovebirds been dating?” Juno chirped, smiling back at the two of you.

“We’re just really good friends,” Riz said pleasantly before you even had a chance to process her question.

“I see, keeping it under wraps for now. Oh how romantic! I wish a certain someone would notice me like that but he barely even notices I’m alive,” She sighed in her own world.

“Well that can always change, sometimes even overnight,” Riz said throwing you a shit-eating grin. You blanched at the memory of that first night.

The rest of the walk there was uneventful and Riz let your hand go the second the two of you neared the auditorium. The moment you two stepped inside it was as if he didn’t know you at all, barely even looked at you. You felt a minuscule amount of weight lift from your shoulders.

“Y/N! My office!” Louis barked the second he laid eyes on you. And just like that the stress was back on again.

You followed him in, barely making it inside before he slammed the door crudely.

“You want to explain yourself?” He said in a condescending tone as he plopped down at his desk.

“E-explain myself?”

“I was under the impression you actually wanted the solo slot for the Winter showcase yet your actions have done nothing but prove otherwise.” Louis admonished and you hug your head in shame. Ever since Riz took it upon himself to make you his own personal fucktoy at his every beck and call, the Winter Showcase was the last thing on your mind.

“I’m sorry, Louis,” You uttered lamely. You didn’t even have an excuse you could admit to him.

“That much is obvious. And the most disappointing aspect of this whole situation is that the part was already yours but you couldn’t even be bothered to show up....” Louis voice trailed off and he suddenly stood from his desk, approaching you rapidly. You tried to inch away but your back quickly made contact with the wall.

“There are bruises all over your neck... and your arms...” Louis examined you and seemed to finally take in your disheveled appearance.

“Did someone.... do this to you?”

“N-No!” You answered too quickly. That was all the clarification he needed.

“There’s been another member from the art department that happens to usually be missing the same times as you. It’s awfully convenient...,” Louis carefully lifted up your skirt, the view of Riz’s cum seeping out of you on full display.

“How long?”

“Louis...”

“How long has this been going on, YN?”

“A... a few weeks now,” you could have died right there from the shame you felt. It was one thing to be regularly abused by Riz but for someone to find out? It was a new level of mortification.

“Y/N, I need you to listen to me very carefully. You need to leave and scrape the very trace of him off of you okay. Does anyone else know about this?” Louis’s eyes were filled with concern and you felt the tears start to well in your eyes.

“J-Juno saw him kiss me but that’s it.”

“Okay, good. She’s very forgetful, especially about.... sensitive subjects. You’re dismissed, go straight to your dorm and stay there for the rest of the night. Do not be alone with him again. Do you understand?” Louis said sternly and you nodded.

“Alright well you better get going then. I’m going to take care of this for you, Y/N.” The tears started to spill at Louis’ promise and you couldn’t help yourself from wrapping your arms around him in a hug of gratitude. He hesitated then slowly returned the gesture.

“Okay, that’s enough. You reek of mating pheromones,” Louis smiled gently, pulling you off of him.

You followed his orders and went straight to your dorm and scrubbed every trace of Riz off of you. You went to bed that night with your mind racing with different scenarios of how Louis intended to ‘handle’ this. What if he just made things worse for you? What if he tried to talk to Riz about it and Riz killed him?

What if Riz killed you?

You didn’t get hardly any sleep that night.

///////////

The next day you drug yourself to class as usual to find it abuzz with gossip.

“Didn’t you hear-”

“They drug him out in handcuffs-”

“It took like three of them to even muzzle him-”

“Wasn’t taking his government issued suppressants-”

You tuned into the chatter only to discover that apparently early this morning, the police came and carted Riz off for the murder of Tem. You were shocked and horrified that you’d been getting raped by a literal murderer for weeks now but you also felt an enormous amount of relief and strangely enough, a tad bit of guilt as well.

What if you had been putting other students in danger by allowing him to do that to you for as long as he did and not speaking up about it?

That’s when Louis suddenly flashed to your mind. Had he been the one to orchestrate this? Had he been the reason Riz was being hauled off to juvenile detention. Did Louis really have this type of power?

You rushed straight to his office as soon as Drama club began to find out some answers.

“Louis, did you hear? About what happened to Riz?” You asked. Louis glanced up at you, a knowing look in his eyes.

“Yes, it is regrettable we had to lose such a dedicated member of our club in such a manner. Close the door behind you, will you?” He nodded, and you came fully into his office and closed the door.

“Lock it.” He ordered and you complied.

“Come here Y/N,” he said calmly and you walked to the front of his desk.

“Here,” he said curling a finger in his direction. You approached the side of his desk next to where he was sitting and he pulled you down into his lap suddenly.

“L-Louis! What are-”

“Did I tell you to speak?” He said sharply and you quickly shut up.

“Now, Riz is no longer an issue. I took care of that for you, just like I said I would. Isn’t that right?” He uttered, allowing his hand to creep up your thigh and under your skirt.

“Answer me!” He snapped and you nodded quickly.

“Y-Yes sir,” you could feel how hard he was beneath you even through the fabric of his uniform.

“Good girl. Now we just need to figure out how you’re going to pay me back for that. That’s one hell of a favor, so naturally it comes at a steep price.” Louis groaned as he moved your panties to the side and slide a long finger into your entrance.

“Do you know how you’re going to pay me back?” Louis slid another finger into you and began to pump slowly.

“N-no,” you said, squirming in his lap, the friction only serving to get him harder.

“I didn’t think so. Hop on the desk so I can taste you. That’ll be a start,” Louis’ eyes was full of lust as he watched you sit on the desk in front of him, spreading your legs for him. He quickly pulled your panties down and pocketed them.

He pulled you closer to the edge by your thighs and inhaled the scent of your core, his eyes fluttering slightly in satisfaction. He dove in, pressing his hot tongue against your slit and lapping at your arousal.

“Your scent has haunted me ever since yesterday. It’s so intoxicating, I had to restrain myself from taking you right then and there,” he moaned inbetween eating you out, “I knew your scent was divine but god you taste even better.”

Your hips bucked lightly at his words, giving away just how much he was turning you on.

“I see someone’s eager,” Louis placed the two fingers from earlier back into your aching cavern. “Be patient, my dear, we have all the time in the world.”

Despite how aroused and shocked you were at Louis’ actions, you couldn’t help the little voice in the back of your mind that rang in alarm.

You were getting the feeling you had only traded in one monster for another.

#beastars #beastars riz #beastars riz x you #beastars riz x reader #riz x reader #riz x you #riz #beastars louis #beastars louis x reader #louis x reader #louis x you

474 notes · View notes