#after he specially selected you as her bodyguard

[adhd-merlin]

that time the knights were escorting Gwen through the woods, had her kidnapped from under their noses, decided to go back to Camelot anyway and, when Arthur enquired about his wife's whereabouts, went: "yeah, about that..."

#lmao WHAT WERE THEY THINKING #it's like... going back to your mob boss without his beloved wife #after he specially selected you as her bodyguard #I wouldn't have dared show my face at all tbh #where they hoping he wouldn't notice?? #or that he would just go #'that's a shame I liked her :(' #'oh well these things happen please be more careful with the next one' #'merlin do we still have mithian's address?' #merlin #arthur x gwen #bbc merlin

[sweetsweetjellybean]

This one's for you @boomhauer

Black

Eddie Munson x FemReader Inspired by Black by Pearl Jam

TW: Very Dark. Tiny itty bitty baby smut. Selfharm, violence, death, & just over all angst and sadness.

Special thanks to @loveshotzz for keeping me off the ledge

>>>>

The sky is streaked with the pink and orange of the setting sun as you turn your car's wheels off the pavement to the dirt and gravel road that leads to the old warehouse that serves as your studio. Your gloved hand stabs the key in the lock, and the rusty metal door groans as you force it open. The lights come on with a thud after you flip the switch just inside the doorway. You remove all your clothes except your velvet opera gloves before selecting one of Eddie's shirts that hang on a metal clothing rack. Slipping it over your head, you tie up your hair before moving further into the nearly empty space. The swinging lights above create shadows that move back and forth slowly over the blank canvas in the center of the room. Your toes dig into the softness of the old carpet stained with drops and splatters of dried paint. Patiently you wait for your brain to settle on an image that will soon flow from your fingers, from the brush, from the paint to the canvas recreating the nightmares that still control you. 

The wind moans and whistles as it pushes through the cracks in the drafty walls. The lights flicker, breaking your concentration. The power frequently goes out in the remote building, but when you have nothing to lose, you're not afraid of things that reside in the dark. You peel off your gloves and toss them to the floor before striking a match to light the candles scattered around the room, sitting on top of stacked crates that double as a work surface holding pots of paint and framed photographs of you and Eddie. 

Your agent often bemoans that you choose to work here, offering to set you up in a lovely space in the city. She doesn't understand your need for solitude or why she has to act as a bodyguard at your art exhibitions. Never letting anyone get too close. Answering questions directed to you, like the mother of a shy child. You hate the crowds of people that treat you like a curiosity, the fragile, mentally ill girl that hides her hands and creates dark otherworldly paintings. But these remoras pay top dollar and come away with a little story of your odd behavior to tell their friends while showing off the art they think owning makes them cool and sophisticated.

The candlelight reflects off the glass covering the photographs. Eddie's face is beautiful and smiling but looking at him triggers the screams in your head. The screams from the day six years ago when you lost him. They are becoming louder and louder. Pressing your hands over your ears, you lie down on the floor and curl into a little ball. Tears stream down your face as you plead for it to stop. Flashes of blood and death fill your mind, you're breathing faster, but the air isn't filling your lungs. Your eyes tunnel, and everything goes black. 

The cold from the concrete floor seeping through the thin rug pulls you back into consciousness. Your eyes blink open, and you sit up, causing your head to spin. The panic attacks happen a few times a week, and no amount of therapy or drugs makes a difference. Anything can trigger them, a child's laughter, the light bouncing off a glass, or a familiar smell. So you live alone, in the silence, in the black, counting the hours until you can join him. Standing, you pick up your brush dipping the soft bristles into the creamy red on your palate before moving it to canvas. Sometimes your fragmented mind will offer a brief reprieve from the horror. You'll blink and suddenly be in that open field, the soft overgrown grass curling around your knees as you sit cross-legged on the ground filling bottles with fuel next to Steve and Robin. Then he's there, his warm, rough hand pulling you up. 

"Cover us for a few minutes, Harrington," he calls back to Steve as he pulls you into the privacy of the woods. The tree bark scrapes your back as he presses against you, his frenzied mouth kissing every part of your face before sealing over your giggling lips. His tongue dips inside, and he hums out his pleasure. 

"I love you. You know that, don't you?" He asks, cradling your face in his hands.

"I do," you reply, trying to chase his lips.

"I hate that you're here. I wish you never got involved. That you were somewhere far away where I knew you were safe." Your hands fist the material of his shirt. "Haven't you figured it out yet? I would walk through hell as long as I was with you." His eyes close, and his lips are back on yours, stealing your breath and making you dizzy. Your fingers start to work open his belt. He lays out the blanket he nicked from the camper and folds his jacket under your head. Two sets of hands push down your jeans, his mouth is on your center, and his eyes never leave yours as he watches you come undone. 

"I love you," you sigh as he pushes inside, filling you up, and you're a stupid, stupid girl taking it for granted, not savoring the last moments you'll ever be complete again.

The brush glides furiously back and forth around the canvas before dipping into the purple, the white, the black. The colors mix to reveal the ugly grim nature of the Upside Down. Your hands are moving of their own accord as your mind slingshots back to when it all went bad and turned your world to black. 

Dustin is still. His head hangs down, hands covering his face. The four of you are running towards him, trying not to slip on the dead bats in your path. It isn't until he sees you and starts limping forward, arms outstretched, yelling, "No. Don't come any closer," that you notice Eddie's body on the ground. A scream rips out of your throat. Dustin's arms clamp around your waist, holding you back. 

"Stop. She doesn't need to see him like this. Steve, help me." But Steve is too shocked to act. The adrenaline courses through you, and you push Dustin as hard as possible, sending him to the ground. He yelps and clutches his already injured ankle. The others stop beside him, trying to find the source of his injury. 

Dropping to your knees, you pull Eddie into your lap, screaming and screaming. His beautiful, burnt-umber eyes are wide open, but the light is gone. The wounds on his chest are trickling blood, and you press hands against them, trying in vain to stop the flow.

"Eddie, wake up. You're okay. You're okay." You cry while your blood-covered hands smear more across his face. Hands cover your biceps from behind and begin to pull you away.

"We have to go."

"No. No. I can't leave him." You try using your body weight to pull out of Steve's hold. 

"He's gone. We can't stay here." The ground shakes under you. The other vine-covered trailers are groaning like they may collapse. He tightens his hold, and you keep screaming, trying to hold on to Eddie as he lifts you from the ground. Eddie's body is too heavy, you're not strong enough, and he slips through your hands back to the cold ground. You fight him. You fight as hard as you can. "Nancy, help me," Steve yells. She moves to your other side and grabs your flailing arm, using it to drag you toward the trailer.

"What's wrong with you? We can't leave him. I want to stay. Eddie!" 

They manage to get you to the trailer. Nancy loses her grip, and you grab hold of the chain link that's installed around the door. "Let go," Steve commands, trying to pull you inside. "I don't want to hurt you. Let go." He rips you away. The chain links jagged metal edges cut into your hands. He picks you up from the middle, forcing you inside. "Let me go," you scream, trying to grab anything you can. Your fingers wedge between the glass slats of the window as he carries you past the door. They crack and shatter, slicing your hands. The shards embed into your skin You squeeze your hands into tight fists, driving the glass deeper, mixing Eddie's blood with yours. Steve sets you down but keeps his hands on your shoulders. "You can't stay. You'll die too." He yells in your face. 

"I want to," you say calmly, dragging the glass stuck in your palms down your forearms to the back of your hands. "Stop it." Steve grabs your hands, trying to hold them away from your body. Nancy and Robin rush back into the room carrying more sheets they knotted together, throwing them through the gate. The boost up Dustin getting him through first. Steve drags you to the opening. "You're going. Climb!" 

"No," you scream, trying to escape. "Please!" Dustin yells from above you. "Please. Do it for him." Eddie's love for Dustin is the only reason you comply. It's the same reason you hate him later. Bitterly, you hate them all. You climb hand over hand, driving the glass deeper. 

Lighting flashes outside, startling you. Your hip bumps into the crate, knocking the photo frame to the floor. The black paint has spilled over the edge dripping onto the picture. A cry leaves your lips, and you dive for the photo. Grabbing a rag, you settle on the floor, wiping off the paint before it works its way under the edges of the protective glass. 

Pulling your knees up to your chest, you take in the terrible beauty you've created on the canvas. Your eyes scan the red clouds. You know he's there. He's always there. It wasn't until your first sold-out show that you noticed him. Walking through the gallery after everyone was gone, taking one last look before your paintings would all be gone. He caught your eye as you walked by, his face staring back at you mixed in with the clouds. You ran from painting to painting, finding him in all of them. If they hadn't already been sold, you would have never parted with them, but maybe that was what is meant to be, him living in someone else's sky, forever leaving you behind. Standing, you move closer to the painting, searching, searching. There he is, you smile, your scared fingers hovering over the wet paint. Now that you've found him, you can let him go until the next time.

Masterlist

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson smut #stranger things #big sad #fic request #eddie munson stranger things

[numbugwritingblog]

Welcome to the New Realm! (Chapter 4)

Previous Chapter

Index

---

04/05/2018

Ah, the potion of waking.

While it cannot stave off sleep indefinitely, it’s more than a suitable option when you only need to stall sleep for one extra day.

Jett knew it was the last potion he was provided for a reason, so that Grace could at least afford him the chance to relax from the radio. Indeed he drank it all down at once, giving Grace a distinctly casual kiss on the cheek before teleporting off.

Indeed, Jett knew that Grace would not be offended by that like most people would, that was as usual of a goodbye as they ever gave.

Trailing a finger along his bag, checking that he had all of his potions at the ready Speed, Strength, Echolocation, Tracking, Reverse Injuries, Invisibility, Teleport Sense, Reverse Injuries…

Yep, check.

Oh?

There’s a potion of Crustacean Strength, too. He was not going to get up close against Scythe, but he supposed it’s there if he needs it.

Finally, he checked his spare ammo and emergency vials of arcane energy - he still did not understand how any mage can do that yet alone Grace, he’s tried to store arcane energy like that and kept accidentally casting spells.

All good.

So Jett began walking forwards towards where he can tell Scythe’s presence is. The short but uneventful walk was quickly stopped as his echolocation picked up two people, with something in their hands - presumably guns by the way they were carrying it and their posture. “Halt! Identify yourself!”

Jett stopped as instructed, waiting patiently. “General, another intruder is present.”

Even behind his sunglasses, his raised eyebrow was barely visible to them. “Are the other intruders one who speaks like an animal and another who’s been described as pale? I’m here to stop them.”

“Stay right there!” Soldiers alerted.

Well cooperation’s out of the question now. Bullets could be a threat to him, but with his potions readied up hitting him in a vital area is an unrealistic problem. Still though, best to avoid conflict.

“Sure, I’ll wait right here. You don’t mind if I take a drink, right?”

“I guess that’s fine…”

Good. Jett trailed the potions carefully, selecting the potion of invisibility and drinking it right down. He could feel his body - skin, internals, even his eyes - shifting and morphing to match the changes made by the potion.

Light no longer reflected off of him (nor his clothes, after the New Realm experimented with the spell for about 300 years - he would’ve hated the idea of stripping entirely just to use this), instantly rendering him invisible.

“Open fire!”

Jett leapt right past them before they could even pull the trigger, leaving the two of them shooting at nothing.

Being invisible also meant being blinded, but that didn’t mean anything to someone who was already blind.

But it did mean that Jett had to be far more stealthy from here on, largely relying on foreign sounds for his echolocation to avoid giving himself away.

Not that he was particularly worried, he’s trained in invisible stealth precisely as one of the few mages who could utilise it without drawback, and that’s with the New Realm knowing that it’s realistically possible. No, his only concern was how his targets would deal with him.

Afterall, he knew Valentine’s speciality…

---

This treasure hunt was nearing its end.

Valentine made no attempt at stealth - she didn’t need to with her bodyguards and her magic combined - instead casually walking forth with Scythe in the front. Trailing right behind was an absolutely massive lizard, carrying a large, two-handed axe in one hand.

Her excitement at being so close contrasted with his dull expression, despite doing everything he could to guard the rear end.

Not that there was much need. Scythe’s magic was a perfect counter to firearms, most soldiers only getting a single shot before she reflects it into a vital organ and striking them dead immediately.

Indeed, these ten guards in the hallway in front of them were technically the greatest threat they’ve faced so far.

Yet eleven bullets was all it took to incapacitate them, and Scythe took the moment to slice into each and every one, the rapid necrosis doing the job of killing them.

“It would be more efficient to let them live,” the lizard at the back spoke up, his helpful words in direct contrast to the venom in his voice.

“Thoroughness is of the utmost importance until we find the Final Spell. A living soldier could serve as a distraction or even speak on their strange devices to destroy it.” Besides the cruelty behind killing everyone they came across, Valentine had no reaction to any of it, besides one. “Besides, none of them are of any value to us alive. This is their punishment for daring to oppose us while they’re as weak as they are.”

The lizard let out a low growl, glaring directly at Valentine, gripping his weapon.

Valentine stopped, prompting Scythe to stall in kind. She turned to the lizard, grinning wide. “Well, Winter Tundra, you wish to oppose me?”

The lizard, codenamed Winter Tundra, let out a low growl in response, gripping his weapon - the posture making it clear he was quite capable of wielding this two-handed weapon with one hand. Then he ceased, anger fading away as he lowered his stance.

“Good boy.”

Anger flared back up, Tundra swung his weapon without a moment’s hesitation towards Valentine! Nobody demeans him like that!

The weapon passed through Valentine like she wasn’t there, before she approached him and flung a pin-point “needle” - one that was pure black as it pulled in nearby light - which pierced through Tundra and knocked him down onto his hands and knees.

Effortlessly defeating him, she put a foot on top of his head. As she looked down to him she grinned wide. “What are you?”

Tundra growled in a low tone.

“Say it.”

He hated this with every single fibre of his body, and yet he could not disobey. “... I’m a good boy.” Just the words sickened him.

“No, you’re a naughty boy, thinking you stood a chance against me. Remember that for next time.”

Tundra growled once more, and yet stayed still. Even as Valentine put her foot off of his head he remained still.

Valentine let out a small chuckle. A chuckle that instantly stopped. “Did you really think I wouldn’t be able to hear you, Jett?”

Silence - and yet all three of them could tell, getting into position. The fact that Scythe and the lizard man were both staring at him told Jett that they had trained in fighting while blinded, exactly as he had assumed. There was no point in hiding from them.

“I don’t know who you are, but there’s very few people who know my real name, I’ve made sure of it. Scythe, reduce it by one.”

Forgot who he was? Jett reached for his gun, and the auto-aim flicked his arm right out to aim right at Valentine. “You really don’t remember me? Because I’ve never forgotten you…” It took him a moment to focus, his aim flickering over to Scythe instead.

Scythe walked past Valentine and Tundra, and yet she did not leap in yet. This witch hunter has fought her twice, and lived both of them. It’s likely that he was already expecting her to act hyper-aggressive, and so she wouldn’t be able to overwhelm him.

Jett fired out a single shot and dodged the incoming reflection easily. He did not approach nor retreat, however. When both of them could teleport, such movements only mattered from moment to moment.

It was then Scythe teleported, Jett’s automatic aim flicking right behind him - forcing the lurcher to awkwardly twist his body just to avoid injuring himself - a moment that allowed her to strike into him with her scythe, immediately kicking him away towards Valentine.

A free victory on a silver platter, and yet Valentine did nothing.

As such Jett could heal himself up quickly with one of his healing potions. Then he got back up to his feet, swinging at Valentine.

As he swung through, she briefly vanished from his echolocation before promptly reforming. With that alone he could tell that she was either teleporting or becoming non-solid.

Scythe charged in at the attack on Valentine, hissing loudly.

Jett leapt away from the attack, landing on the ground before unloading his entire clip at once. Every shot at him he had to avoid, but he jumped ahead in the way of Valentine and her silent enforcer.

They went through Valentine, like Jett had predicted. But they struck the lizard well and truly, but then he heard the shells land on the ground.

Winter Tundra was not harmed by the barrage of bullets.

That could be bad.

Growling, he lifted up a weapon to attack, only to be stopped by Valentine raising her hand. “Stand aside, Winter Tundra.”

Jett ducked underneath Valentine’s swing, swinging his gun into her with enough force to send her colliding with the roof. He leapt up to finish the blow, only for Scythe to teleport away once more.

Jett collided against the roof before launching off just as easily, landing on his feet. He launched towards one wall in this hallway, and then the other, and then back to the first one, each leap sending him closer to Scythe.

She swung her scythe to defend herself, Jett leaping onto the side of it, pushing himself off the inner end of the blade to punch her in the face.

But even with the impact Scythe was not mindless, lifting the scythe just enough to cut to his arm. “Dammit,” Jett muttered, shuffling into his bag for another potion.

She knew it was another healing potion, and so without wasting a beat she thrust straight into the glass container.

She only realised her mistake once the glass bottle shattered. Jett dropped the already empty potion before it even collided, as instead his hand swung down to catch the wooden stafflike part of the scythe and pulled it in with all of his force.

His kick to the face was enough to forcibly drop her grip on it, and he quickly dropped his gun to have a free hand in order to bring out an actual healing potion, uncorking it with his teeth as he drank it down.

Before Scythe could get close Jett swung it 180 so that the blade end faced her. This wasn’t good, but she has had her blade stolen from her before. She can-

“That’s enough.”

Scythe immediately backed away, glaring at Jett - and at her own weapon.

“I’m impressed, Deadeye.” Immediately, Jett knew what that meant. “Your recruitment shall begin now.”

He had only one option.

He threw the scythe directly at Tundra, prompting the giant lizard man to defend himself while Scythe simultaneously dashed in to grab her weapon.

Jett then teleported straight to one of the dead soldiers, rapidly feeling for the speaker and gripping it tightly. “Destroy the final spell! It should be an old parchment with unknown-!”

He was knocked off of his feet from an attack by Valentine, flung across the hallway until he collided with the opposite wall. “If you’re lucky they won’t destroy it before I’m done with you!” Valentine hissed out as she formed more “needles” in the small gaps between her fingers, each one held aloft purely by her magic. Even she didn’t want to touch them.

Jett coughed, grinning wide despite the attack that sent him tumbling. “Clock’s ticking, then.”

Valentine wordlessly glared at the still-invisible Jett. Walking towards him. She was furious, and her silence alone told Jett just how much.

And yet…

“Winter Tundra, you handle recruitment. Scythe, search for any leads to the Final Spell. With any luck I’ll have everything I need by the day’s end.”

Jett slowly got to his feet, grinning wide in the knowledge that his plan worked, quickly teleporting behind Valentine and Scythe to ensure neither of them would strike him as they passed by.

Then his grin faded.

Everything she needed? No, that meant…!

Jett jumped back to avoid a heavy swing of the axe, feeling a cold chill spread out as he dashed away.

Tundra lifted one hand from his axe, swinging it out to flick out a bitter spray of ice cold water at Jett.

Contact instantly made him start shivering, hypothermia was suddenly a concern when it wasn’t moments ago. “Grr…”

Krios then lifted an arm up, the cold water around Jett instantly freezing into ice and leaving him trapped in place. “You’re lucky that she wanted you recruited, otherwise I’d have frozen you on the spot. Actually…”

He paused, thinking through what he was saying.

“... No. No, you’re not lucky at all. Death is better than this.”

Jett needed to get out of here!

He needed to save Grace and-!

If he just teleported to them, Tundra is going to follow and then him and this mystery foe will just team up…

Jett needed to go somewhere else.

He lifted his arm to cast a teleport spell.

Only for his arm to freeze. He let a sharp inhale at the sudden sting of the chilled ice, unable to break free.

Tundra let out a huff as he finished the spell, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, but I cannot let you escape this… ‘recruitment’.” His gruff tone softened up the last word, and - even though Jett wouldn’t be able to see it - he looked at Jett with soft eyes, the harshness he had for Valentine replaced with sympathy.

Jett grunted again, gripping his gun with his free hand. Immediately he pulled the trigger, letting the auto-aim take complete control as it harshly flicked his arm towards himself, a single bullet flying out to hit the icy shell trapping his arm.

The arm holding the gun was frozen in response. But it was what Jett needed.

With his hand free of the frozen ice, it meant his hand was completely dry.

He reached down to his belt of potions, pulling out one before Tundra could freeze the rest and downing it immediately, so frantic that some spilled over his lips and he even coughed up a bit that threatened to go into his lungs.

Tundra pulled his axe out of the ground, charging at Jett to swing down on him again.

Deliberately avoiding lethal strikes, he swung into Jett’s gun arm, making the lurcher yell out in pain.

And he continued yelling, his good arm starting to shake.

“It’s futile,” Tundra said softly, kneeling. “The only choice I can give you is to go whole or to go with broken bones.”

Jett continued to yell out in pain, something growing across his arm. Hard, inflexible, brown. It shattered the ice covering his arm, layer by layer, as it slowly took shape. His arm had grown far larger, resembling that of a crustacean like a crab or scorpion.

Jett let out a small chuckle, his teeth still bared to keep himself through the pain. “Alright then. Let’s break some bones.”

His only hope was that he’d be able to get to Grace and Sal in time.

---

Scythe wasn’t even checking which doors were locked and which weren’t. Just one quick slice at the hinges was all it took to send each of the doors to drop down and fall over - no matter whether they were reinforced or not.

Those who so much as raised a weapon at Scythe met a grisly, painful death. But those who weren’t a threat weren’t treated as such.

To an outsider observer it might appear that Scythe was wildly trashing each room she was visiting, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. She was searching. Searching for what will have text from a New Realm language on it.

Room after room.

Kill after kill.

Document after document.

She came up empty.

This next room didn’t even have anyone armed. These scientists backed up and hid in a corner, one brandishing a pipe as a makeshift weapon. They were all in a corner, they weren’t a threat.

As usual Scythe pulled into the drawers, tossing out paper after paper - giving them only a quick glance to confirm what type of language they were using.

Nothing.

She was about to leave when she saw that there was a potted plant on the bench, from a casual glance it looked healthy, but Scythe knew it was in need of something. She should continue on her mission.

But…

Valentine never said she couldn’t water this plant, if she was quick about it.

She approached the potted plant without a noise, raising a hand. She gently placed a finger on it, purposefully weak magic surging through it.

Then she knew what was missing. She raised her hand and cast a small spell to pull in the vapour from the air, which condensed enough to fall into the potted plant all at once.

Satisfied with watering the plant, she continued on.

---

Valentine was far more focused.

She wanted the final spell, and she wanted it bad. She knew that she would find it eventually, the vision she was told meant that the odds were in her favour, but that same vision said she would die by the very witch hunter that was in this base.

It didn’t make sense. She was going to add him to her allyship, he shouldn’t have been a threat to her. Maybe she should have committed to recruitment…

No. No, securing the final spell is more important than getting him out of the way. She just needs to find another way of dealing with this threat.

Right now, her only threat was these military idiots destroying the paper before she could reach it. They’d be throwing away unimaginable potential if they did that. They might even stand a chance against her if these Old Realmers learnt the spell’s secrets.

Destroying it only benefits people who will not help them.

A locked door. Valentine focused on the aura of light absorption she had around herself, expanding it until it covered the other end of the door - and making the area within colder as a direct side-effect.

She dropped her internal thoughts entirely, quantum spells require the utmost concentration…

And she casted it, so now she stood on the other side. “Surrender or die.”

Gunshots, so typical. Valentine stood still, her focus on the quantum disentanglement, letting the bullets harmlessly pass through her atoms.

“So you choose death.”

She condensed matter down, so much so that the light bent around it was barely visible as a pitch black needle, which she “flung” out to the idiot that tried shooting at her.

Unlike her recruits, who were useful alive, this one died instantly as the needle pierced through their vitals, the wound so small that even a mage like her could not see it without magnification.

But she didn’t stop at the one. One of them attacked her, so they must all die.

Needle after needle after needle.

None of them stood a chance.

Once every living person was a dead corpse, Valentine waltzed on into the room. Out of her own shadow, she could see that this was for organising files. If the search didn’t have its own dedicated room, this is a likely candidate.

She opened up the first box, sorting through the papers within.

Results of examination on subject Cirillo- pass.

Results of examination on subject Sánchez- not interested.

Test subject acquired, begin preliminary tests on super soldier project- like these Old Realmers could make anything worthy of being called “super” without magic.

As Valentine searched deeper and deeper, her mind was free to think about the future once more.

She doesn’t know who Jett is, but that name is too familiar to her. It can’t be deja vu, she must have met him before… Especially since he seems to already know her name. Someone who met her and lived to tell the tale…

It doesn’t make sense. He’s a Witch Hunter, so he can’t be some Old Realmer she’s all too happy to ignore. But he clearly knows to search for missing witches in the Old Realm, and she has yet to hear of a Witch Hunter who seriously entertained the thought.

Is he a former witch she crossed paths with? Maybe he turned himself in to avoid the death penalty?

She was about to dismiss the thought, only for something far more important to come to her attention.

New Realm text.

Her eyes were glued to the old parchment as she effortlessly read what this military could not translate.

[translation available at the bottom of the page]

To whomever hath discovered mine final letter.

I has't discovered a spell that is truly horrifying. Its benefits seemeth innocuous at first, but from mine analysis of the spell effects, overuse within a population wilt guarantee the end of all life on the New Realm within 1 year. coequal if 't be true I convinced mine peers of this fact, they’ll just resort to casting this spell in the Fusty Realm and doom those folk to the same fate.

The Fusty Realm might beest filled with fools who want the true glory of us mages, but I still cannot sitteth content with either realm coming to an end. I must destroy all traces of the spell.

I must, and yet can I calleth myself a true wizard if 't be true I doth not preserve the knowledge that I findeth? I cannot betray mine true calling. The only compromise I can bethink of is to hide hence mine knowledge. I has't hath found somewhere secluded to hide hence the instructions on casting the Final Spell, and - just like whither this letter wilt end up - t is within the Fusty Realm.

If 't be true thee art a mage like I, I has't but only one request. Please doth not alloweth the knowledge of this spell falleth into the hands of anyone else.

Teiwaz, the most powerful wizard of New Realm Year 307.

This is a real letter. It fit with everything she knew, even matched Teiwaz’s handwriting. This letter was telling her exactly where the Final Spell was hidden, and it’s the real deal.

And yet.

Yet this stupid egg hunt had just been extended by another step! Why every single time it looked like she was finished there’s just another arbitrary obstacle in the way! It made her want to just-!

No, no, remember the vision. This is good news. Jett’s most likely to kill her once she actually finds the Final Spell. This means that she has longer to prepare for the inevitable. This is… good news.

Frustrating news. But good news.

Now let’s hope her new recruits are ready.

---

Translation of Teiwaz’s letter:

To whomever has discovered my final letter.

I have discovered a spell that is truly horrifying. Its benefits seem innocuous at first, but from my analysis of the spell effects, overuse within a population will guarantee the end of all life on the New Realm within 10 years. Even if I convinced my peers of this fact, they’ll just resort to casting this spell in the Old Realm and doom them to the same fate.

The Old Realm might be filled with fools who lack the true glory of us mages, but I still cannot sit content with either realm coming to an end. I must destroy all traces of the spell.

I must, and yet can I call myself a true wizard if I do not preserve the knowledge that I find? I cannot betray my true calling. The only compromise I can think of is to hide away my knowledge. I have found somewhere secluded to hide away the instructions on casting the Final Spell, and - just like where this letter will end up - it is within the Old Realm.

If you are a mage like I, I have but only one request. Please do not let the knowledge of this spell fall into the hands of anyone else.

Teiwaz, the most powerful wizard of New Realm Year 307.

---

Vote for the next chapter here!

#Jett Harker #Scythe (character) #Winter Tundra (character) #Grace (character) #Valentine (character) #Sal Vagilattea #Welcome to the New Realm #Buggyverse

[sakadakhl]

Mysterious of Light elements student in NRC, NRC student enrollment and MC 's summoned incident.

*Warning for spoilers* *Forgive me for bad eng* *Forgive me for use the pic from every source* Almost all of students already stated that NRC enrollment requirement must

The “soul”(students) who chosen by dark mirror Must have magic Im suspected are they really chosen by dark mirror itself?  Look at Kalim, he received special enrollment letter from NRC after jamil transferred around 2 months late .  He didnt chosen by dark mirror but hes special enrolled into NRC because Crowley want cash cow for support the schools. (I dont know crowley has arranged Kalim to Scarabia already before he enrolled. )

Im thinking If students was chosen by dark mirror itself, then MC wouldnt get caught by black carriage from start and the 3 light elements student wouldnt get enrolled too. They might know dark mirror itself will reject the light elements student with heroes/hero soul or cant detected which dorm suitable for them. Just like dark mirror itself detected MC as none, none of suitable dorm for him/her.

(Source: Shel BB) Even Jamil feel suspicious the selections of students. I think the school also sent special enrollment letter or another way to enrolled rook and silver.  I promise MC also "special enrollment student" with them. Who?Thats Crowley and the person inside the mirror.

How they choose MC? From prologue, we saw crowley talking to someone in the dark mirror (I suspected that person in the mirror was the chairman of NRC, Evil queen itself. He said you are most fairest of the world) [reference to snow white movies] He asked who was the….Suddenly a black carriage

(The black carriage must for MC. Game MC has stated he/she remember the black carriage with scary horse’s face, In manga, Yuuken also saw it) The steps like this 1. The person in the mirror detected the people who have "villains" soul 2. Send the black carriage to their home to picked up them  3.  After they came to school then the dark mirror arrange the students to which dorm by souls. Crowley and the person in the mirror hired 3 lights elements students because he expected IF they befriend or talking with these 3, somethings will change. But in the end, NOPE. Thats why crowley has asked the person in the mirror, who will make the students teamwork together for defeat RSA and OB grim in future. Theres must have reasons the 3 lights element students chosen by crowley are related to their inspirations:

Kalim was inspired by Sultan. Jafar was most trusted councilman to Sultan. Sultan was side with villians without knowing Jafar’s true self until the end.  Sultan was Jasmine’s father and also Aladdin’s father in Law after aladdin married with Jasmine. Thats why Kalim have Aladdin vibes on him.

Rook was inspired by Huntsman who was servant for Evil Queen. Evil queen orders him to kill snow white. But huntsman realizing he cannot murder someone as pure as Snow White and told snow white to run away from Evil queen.  I can see why crowley approved Rook as students because his inspiration, huntsman was servant of crowley’s admirer, Evil Queen and Rook was big fans of Neige.

Silver has many inspirations but I should say Silver was mainly inspired by Sword of Truth which used by Prince Philip to kill Maleficent. She died into that sword until the end.... I can understand Silver approved by Crowley because he’s bodyguard for Malleus the next king successor of Valley of thorns. He enrolled with Lilia to look after him.

If MC wasnt chosen by crowley, that means the person who inside mirror was behind this. That person also know how to transfer MC back into their world. The person told Crowley or himself acted as observer who played along with them, let the students solved their own problems, in order to walk into best route. Thats all what i said.

#twst #twst theory #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland theory #kalim al asim #rook hunt #silver

[ggukkiereads]

Hi 💓

It is the month of Ramadan and I want to avoid reading any smutty/steamy fics for the month. Which is why I was wondering if you have any Jungkook or Taehyung non smut fic recs? It can be fluff or anything just no explicit sex scenes. Thank you for your recommendations you are literally my favorite page on this platform 💜✨

🌷 Hello @dhabatae101. First, I wish you and other followers a happy, safe, and blessed Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak! ✨

I decided to answer this right away so I tried compiling my reblogs (plus those fics I haven’t reviewed yet) and authors that “specialize” in fluff/angst. However, the list went on and on 🤭. So, I will split this post into two:

Part 1: authors that have more SFW content in their catalog (you are here)

Part 2: non-smut fics (my reblogs + other recs) - Taehyung | Jungkook

(Fluff/Angst) Smut-less Fics | Taehyung & Jungkook

🌷 Part 1 (Recommended Authors)

@jimlingss - Kina’s masterlist is just a dream. No two stories are the same and every fic is just memorable. A truly prolific and consistent writer. Usually witty, fluffy, and charming but the angsty fics are also deadly. I posted my fave JJK and KTH fics -  the Worshipers Series can be read independently but better if read sequentially to better understand the “universe”. The Slice of Life Series  is also a must, but you can read the KTH and JJK fics on their own but I seriously love ALL 💖.

Worshipers of the Sky - KTH | series [3/3] | 35k | God AU, Goddess!OC, Sacrifice!Taehyung, Worshipers Series | F, some A

Worshipers of the Sea - JJK | one shot | 16.3k | Pirate AU, Mermaid AU, God AU,  Worshipers Series  | F, A

President’s Son - KTH | series [20/20] | 80k | Bodyguard AU (reader), Slice of Life Sereis, Slow Burn | F

Sugar and Coffee - JJK | series [23/23] 101k | Patisserie School AU, Best Friend AU, Enemies to Lovers (slight), Slice of Life Series | F

Love So Shallow - KTH | series [3/3] | 34.8k | College AU, eventual Roommate AU, Best Friend AU, Humor | F, slight A  ⭐ #holygrailfic

Black Waltz -  KTH | two shot | Butler AU, Historical AU | F, A (ah I love Taehyung’s characterization here)

Moirai - KTH | series [8/8] | 46.9k | isekai au, fantasy au, reborn as a villain in a video game | F, A

Rent a Boyfriend - KTH | I noticed this is a crowd favorite, it might end up yours too =)

A Fairy Crime - KTH | one shot | Fairy godmother OC to grant someone a happy ever after  | F, A, crack

Date in a Box - JJK | one shot | 9.7k | Date Planner (like wedding planner but make it a service for dating) | F, F, F

His Name - JJK | series [8/8] | 52.4k | Multiple Personality AU, based on Kill Me, Heal Me (this is one of my favorite Korean drama series so I really enjoyed this fic series too) | A

A Piece of Moonlight - JJK | one shot | 22k | Warrior AU, Mulan AU | really angsty though

*didn’t include Chess of Ice (since this is in the Jungkook Jock AU list)

@inktae - If you’ve been following me I always rave about this author. Mostly her work is of fantasy genre but has a slice of life tone. Her fics are just masterpieces - just beautifully written and viscerally gripping. They remind me of Ghibli films for some reason (like the tone). You can check their fics here (just avoid those with M, usually with sexual content but honestly it’s not explicit). I love everything but if you want to start somewhere, you can try:

Blue Orchids, Moonlight, Home After Rain -  JJK Soulmate AU, Hanahaki AU, Angst  ⭐ #holygrailfic

First Light - KTH x R x JJK | raved about it here (angst)

Away From the Sun - KTH | soulmate AU

The train of lost souls - JJK, feat JHS | fantasy AU | A

The swirling Ways of Stars - JJK, fantasy | A, F

@gukyi - for your enemies to lovers needs. This is one of my favorite tropes so I just love that there is a writer that ‘specializes” in this. Please check their masterlist and take note of fics with (smut). Try:

Four Weeks - KTH, College AU, stuck in campus for four weeks during Christmas

Good Luck Charm - KTH, roommates, actor AU

Moonlight Melody + Part 2 - JJK, fake dating, orchestra AU | F, A

Coffee Shop Contract - JJK, fake dating, college AU | F

If I Told You - JJK, college, unrequited love/pining | F, A

Midas - JJK, magical realism | F, A

Love Project - JJK, comedy, photography assignment | F

@koorara - ugh I just adore their writing. Tooth-rotting fluff seems effortless with her drabbles/short stories. You can check their fics here. My faves:

Driving Me Wild - JJK, demon au, roommate au, ongoing drabble series but you can read it (not cliffhanger-ish), soulmate au | my review (tooth-rotting fluff)

His Dandelion - KTH, someone sent an ask about this you can read the description | A

Down and Down - JJK | MMA fighter, slight making out | A, F

The Pitter Patter of the Heart - skip the drabble with mature content, husband au, lecturer jungkook, this is super cuuuute | tooth-rotting fluff

@suhdays - it’s just amazing to find a writer with a non-smut catalog. Writing is just pure and focused on the plot and emotional/character development. Please give their masterlist lots of love. My faves:

Access Granted - I like hacker Jungkook. SMAU format

A Cinderella Story - JJK | also based on the movie | F, A

Wherever You Are - JJK | vampire, ceo (I love this) | A, F

Terms of Endearment - JJK | poet jjk x artist reader | F

Bucket List - JJK | friends to lovers (this is adorable! my review of this is still in the drafts like the rest of the fics 😥) | F, slight A

Camp Crush - KTH | brother’s best friend (this is funny like I was just smiling all throughout)

Made of Honor -  KTH | SMAU, recently completed! Like the movie

Baby I’m a Fool - JJK | Fake Dating, Co-worker AU, E2L | F, A

@vanaera - her Yoongi coworker E2L series is something I’m always waiting for and  I don’t think her other fics contain smut. Please check The Prince and His Rose (bestfriend AU, College AU, childhood friends, football player x writer!reader Jungkook, fluff/angst)

@namjoonchronicles - so I recently binged on this author’s writing (still bingeing on her other members’ fics). Their catalog has a lot of Domestic AUs which are beautiful slice of life pieces. It could be as simple as folding the laundry but it would be so meaningful. I said in one of my reviews that their domestic fics has same vibes as illustrator Puung’s Love is in Small Things. I would like to post my favorites here but I think I recently just reviewed/reblogged tons of their work (you can search my blog for the reviews). Please check their masterlist. Granite Glow is my ⭐ #holygrailfic

@rosaetae​ - if you like angst that hurts but it all makes sense why the situation had to be angsty, then her masterlist is something to binge on. Not all are angsty, just mind the tags for pure “fluff”. My favorites:

The Bedtime Contract - KTH, roommates, enemies to lovers, sort of cuddle buddy?, fluff but there’s slight angst | F, A

Dream a Little Dream of Me - KTH, soulmate au, could hear soulmate’s voice, waitress x songwriter | 

Lavender + Vanilla - KTH,  a story about a boy who had forgotten his memory of you

Chrysanthemum Effect - KTH (JJK has a side story too), Hanahaki AU

Among the Evergreen  - JJK, Christmas AU, E2L | F

Sweet Apple Biscuits - JJK, receives letter from their future self asking to save one boy ⭐ | A, slight F

Best Thing He Never Had 01 02 03 04 05 06  - JJK, bestfriends to lovers | A, F

Better Late Than Never - JJK drabble, exes AU, fake dating (I love this scenario, there’s one funny moment here with Jungkook saying his feelings through a door) | A, F

@justimajin - another favorite of mine - her fics actually try different genres/scenarios and are usually series. I find it fun to wait on episodes weekly. A consistent writer too. See masterlist here. Selected works:

Catching a Case of Doctor Blues - KTH, medical AU, enemies to lovers, slice of life

Swapped - JJK, body swap, really fluffy! I reviewed it before and screamed at how fluffy this is 😍 | tooth-rotting fluff

A Lone Wolf’s Howl - JJK, werewolf AU, sort of enemies/rivals, hunter AU, bestfriend. Note: there is a chapter with smut, you can skip that portion | A, F, S

@bubmyg​ - oh wow her works are just tooth-rotting fluffy goodness too (especially the Yoongi drabbles/one shots). But please check her fics for Tae and Koo. My picks:

Can’t Fake a Feeling - KTH, F2L, Fake Dating, College AU, Fuckboy (not smut)

Extra Cheese Sauce, Please - KTH, F2L, College, friends keep setting them up

Strawberry Boy - JJK, I just reblogged this weeks ago so you probably have read this | tooth-rotting fluff

Wonder - pool boy!jungkook x journalist!reader | F

Not a Date - JJK | one shot + drabble series, kinda E2L. cute |  tooth-rotting fluff

Dare to Begin - JJK | college au, idiots to lovers, broke college students |  tooth-rotting fluff

gcfguk + idcilh - a youtuber!jeongguk drabble series | F

you can check their masterlist for the other drabbles and fics I haven’t read/included

@cupofteaguk - a writer whose fics end up in my fic rec lists regularly. When I get asked about certain tropes, I always remember one or two of her fics. Their Reputation Series is binge-worthy but they also have plenty of scenarios/tropes to choose from. You can find a lot of KTH or JJK fluff-based fics here (or other members too):

the maze to you - KTH |  soulmate au | angst

along the boardwalk - KTH | skater boy/college au | fluff

it’s all fun & games - JJK | fake dating au | fluff

say you won’t let go - JJK | soulmate au | fluff

on the road (to you) - JJK |  road trip/strangers to lovers au | fluff

new romantics - JJK | hogwarts au, quidditch player, enemies to lovers | F, A

@crystaljins - another writer with fics that have well-developed plot, great angst and great endings. I recommend all (check other members’ fics here). Extra love for:

Take a Chance - JJK | series [7/7] | 63k | Hanahaki AU, Coworker AU, Boss!Reader, Wedding Planner AU | A, F | My review  ⭐ #holygrailfic

Schemes and Tricks to Win Her Heart - KTH | series [5/5] | 22.5k | Fake Dating, feat Chaebol/Rich Seokjin, Taehyung is Jin’s Little Brother, and OC is Tae’s bestfriend

I haven’t read the new Taehyung Christmas fic yet but give it a spin =)

@springbean - I love her story concepts and ideas! When I discovered her, I just binged on their work and I enjoy every new fic she releases. My personal favorites are listed below, but you can also check her masterlist here:

Onyx - JJK | cyberpunk AU, abo dynamics (it is sooo interesting to use abo dynamics this way. Usually abo is associated with werewolf aus but this is like a social classification system in this fic. It is still ongoing but it’s the type of story you can read and remember easily so in case it gets updated you can jump into the next chapter)  ongoing | A, F

Wolfsbane - KTH | Werewolf AU, college, soulmates (included in my KTH werewolf fic recs)

Cursed - JJK | Prince x Mage/Witch, Fantasy, Medieval, E2L, action (basically has all AUs I like) ongoing

Enshrined - JJK | this is new! fantasy, fae world, isekai, childhood friends, eventual smut (?) but since we’re not there yet you can still read it smut-less  ongoing

@army-author - another prolific writer with a catalog you can binge on. I recently reblogged/reviewed some of my favorites but believe me there are more (I am just lazy with reviewing and such). Personal faves:

Gamomania - JJK | childhood friends | tooth-rotting fluff, slight S

X and O - KTH | fake dating, single parent, teacher AU

A Monster Crush - KTH | childhood friends, angst, fluff, horror, implied S   ongoing

All This Stigma - KTH | fwb au, unplanned pregnancy, arranged marriage, divorce, really angsty but I love it!

The Village Idiots - JJK | soulmate au, childhood friends, they’re soulmate-less (or are they?) |  tooth-rotting fluff

The Alchemy of Amor - JJK | fantasy au, royalty au, enemies to lovers (new) | F

Fire and Ice - JJK | oh this is probably the first I’ve read from the author, E2L but make it fluffy rivals (he’s fire and she can yield ice), fantasy au, magic | F

Black and White Christmas - JJK | Office AU | F

@thedefinitionofbts - I love how emotionally invested I get when reading their fics. Most of their fics are smut-less but deeply rooted in emotions so I remember the story a lot even if I’ve read some years or months ago (I said in my werewolf fic rec list that there’s this Jungkook fic of theirs that’s really sad and I still imagine him waiting for OC.) Just powerful storytelling. You can check their masterlist and mind the fics with smut. I wanted to list my favorites here but I’ll end up listing everything. If you want to start a fic, I recommend:

A Story that We Paint - KTH x R x JJK | Sci-fi, College AU, Lucid Dreams AU | A, slight F

Our First and Last - JJK, VMIN | Soulmate AU, Sci-Fi | A, F

Kingdom of Crystal Snow - KTH | Christmas, Royalty (yay something purely fluffy)

Corner of the Universe - KTH | Reincarnation AU

other fics I like have S content or too sad

@threeletterslife - I love her fics because they make me dwell and ponder on things but themes are very heavy (I think she has one crack fic though). No smut and you can try all her works if you are in the mood for angst, some pondering, etc. Masterlist here. You can read the Love Chaser Series (though you have to read the Yoongi series first before reading Jungkook’s, it’s one universe).

Whipped with a Cherry on Top - KTH | friends to lovers, crack

The Time Traveler’s Playbook - KTH | time travel AU | F, A

Cuss Out - JJK | High school AU, crack | F

@artaefact - just feel good scenarios and I love her drabbles! I’ve reblogged and oohed aahed over the drabbles that are short but powerful scenarios.

incandesce + warmth drabble - JJK  (safe to say, you can read all their drabbles) | F

Aeturnal - KTH | fantasy au, royalty au (I loooove this. it has inexplicit S though, you can skip)

A Letter in Roses - KTH | husband au, valentine au

Calling You Mine - JJK | College AU, S2L, tooth-rotting fluff 

@augustbutwinter - a writer to watch out for. August delivers so much even with minimal word count; they can get you emotional (fluffy or angsty) and it is so easy to visualize the image she is trying to describe. Just wonderful. The words just flow easily too so the fics are not difficult to read/imagine. I recommend the ff:

My Tears Ricochet - KTH | ghost AU, roommate AU, fluff (sometimes angsty), drabble series ⭐⭐

Rose Coloured - JJK | post college AU, some sort of reunion with an old flame | F

@akinnie75 - What a wonderful storyteller. I would binge on her fics for their plot/storylines. Usually it feels as if you are reading a tale. Several of their fics ended up in my #holygrailfics (the namjoon and jimin ones). You can try:

Ghost Marriage - JJK | fantasy, idol au, kind of arranged marriage | A, F

Until Spring 1 | 2 - JJK | Romance, Fantasy, visited the Freesia Island for Spring but taken for Arranged Marriage instead | A, F

Moonchild - KTH | a tale about the legendary Moonchild, a mythical creature known for its ability to heal life of all sorts

🌷ggukkienote:

I’d also like to recommend checking the fics in each of the reading lists and Fic Recs by theme. You’ll find these lists in the NAVI page. Fics/Titles included per list are usually tagged for A/S/F content.

I will update this once I remember other authors that focus on A/F

Part 2 (Fic Recs) - linked top of this post

#jungkook fanfic #taehyung fanfic #jungkook fic recs #taehyung fic recs #taehyung x reader #jungkook x reader #taehyung fluff #jungkook fluff #ggukkiereadingcollection #asks #dhabatae101 #bts fluffy fic recs #bts angst fic recs #bts x reader

[jellyfishloveletterghosts]

Build-A-Man Part 1

Mrs. Annette Harrington (@neonponders I liked the name you used for her so much I decided to start using it 🥰) decides to buy Steve a companion android to both protect and care for him. 

Build-A-Man Part 1

Mrs. Harrington looks at the model of androids on display, nothing here sparking any interest, none of these floor models are good enough for her baby. She wanders around a little more looking for a sales associate she knows when she spots the owner himself coming in, a large man with a busy mustache and mods that blend perfectly undetectable to the naked eye. As soon as he spots her he is smiling widely and walking over to her waving off an associate that is about to come to her aid and no doubt treat her like some common fare.

 "Annette what brings you in today?" Mr. Harold Perkins asks a longtime family friend, their children grew up together practically inseparable in their youth and remain best friends to this day.

 "I'm looking for something special for Steven." Annette says lips going flat, it has only been a month since her husband's latest bad business deals got Steve nearly kidnapped. He was already a bit of a shut in and recluse dedicating all his time to writing but somehow they had still found him and she cannot just leave him without protection and maybe someone to keep him company.

 "I take it you didn't find anything up to your standards out here, come with me I have a selection of one of a kinds in my back office and of course we can upgrade any of them with the bodyguard package." Mr. Perkins says holding an arm out for her to take well in the know about what happened to Steve, Carol had taken nearly two weeks off work to keep an eye on him to sooth her own worries.

 "He's never had an interest in owning an android so it has to be exceptional and attractive of course. Oh and affectionate, I worry he isn't getting enough attention especially after his last break up." They share thinly valid looks of disgust, Steve’s last few partners have not been good enough for him but the last one had left a lasting mark and made Steve unwilling to even try these days.

“All of our models can also be upgraded with the love package.” Mr. Perkins points out as he leads her through his office into his personal store room. It’s a large room but Mr. Perkins is a collector of sorts always looking for that special model of android and the place is littered with them. He tries to keep them organized, keep them from ending up pushed together but sometimes when he is tinkering with one he needs space and they end up with their limbs tangled together and pressed into the corners of the room.

 “It has to be more than that, you know how he is, he needs something beyond the basic love package, he’ll get all squeamish otherwise. Assertive, he needs an assertive android that’s going to take care of all his needs, not just intercourse and protection.” Annette says as she looks over the closest huddle of androids, most of them are too bland for her taste, too ordinary, not nearly attractive enough for her Steven.

 Mr. Perkins hums as he walks over to a corner carefully activating and moving models out of the way so he can find what he is looking for. “I might have an idea, technically this model isn’t for sale. Got taken off the market and the rest destroyed but it might be what you are looking for.” He says dragging Annette’s attention away from another crop of androids she has no interest in, not for Steven, she does spy a pretty dark harried one she may want to drag home for her own enjoyment. She shakes her head, she is here for Steve not herself.

 “Why such extreme measures?” She asks as she steps away from the corners and follows the sound of his voice through the mess.

 “This particular model had a habit of becoming too invested in its human companions.” Mr. Perkins says as he finds the one he is looking for, attractive and well built in every way, a model he is sure Steve will appreciate the look of. He pushes the button behind its ear, holding until bright blue eyes blink open, head cocking slightly as it waits for a command.

 “It didn’t hurt them?” Annette asks as she finds him through the throng of androids and sees the model he is moving out of the corner before he starts moving the other models back out of the way. She moves closer to the model in question, it is certainly attractive, all golden tan skin pulled tight over muscle, she moves in closer and spies the freckles dusting it’s skin, yes definitely attractive enough for her son.

 “Oh no, nothing like that. From the records jealousy was an issue with this model, possessiveness, it’s a foreign model, from a small company that went under, it never made it here but from what I could find none of the android's human companions were injured. The only humans hurt by this model were ones trying to hurt or take away their companions.” Mr. Perkins explains as he moves back over and directs the android over to sit on a bench. Mrs. Harrington follows after him, watching as Harold presses a few select spots on the android's chest and the skin starts splitting away from the left side of its ribs revealing a glowing screen and several plugins.

 “That actually sounds perfect.” Annette says as she watches the android being plugged in and sees the screen flash with the model name, The Billy 1.0, before it goes blank for a second and then a list of menu options come up.

 “I thought so.” Mr. Perkins says, sharing a grin with her as he hands over a tablet full of behavior modifying program options. “Now how about we build Stevie the perfect companion.”

 -

 Steve is sleeping, passed out on the couch, television on and pages from his latest draft sticking to his face as banging on his door startles him awake. He flails hard and falls in the space between the coffee table and the couch, elbow catching a hard edge and making pain shoot up his arm. Steve lays there for a long moment, hand protectively cupped over his throbbing elbow as the banging continues.

 Steve thinks distantly that the noise should scare him but it does not, in his experience people trying to hurt you do not bother knocking. He stays laying there hoping whoever it is will just go away. He does not feel like getting up to answer the door. He hears the sound of keys in the door and the lock clicking and wonders who it is, his mother or Carol?

 He gets his answer a few moments later “Steven? Where are you, I know you’re here, your car is in the driveway.” The, you have not left the house in weeks, goes unsaid. It is not like he left all that much before content to stay in, away from crowds, he has never particularly liked them, lost one too many times by his father as a kid. But after the kidnapping attempt and the investigation showing that they had been watching him for weeks before hand, he just cannot help feeling like he is being watched when he goes outside, a nagging worry plaguing him.

 Steve does not answer but he does not need to as his mother comes into view a few moments later standing over the back of the couch and looking down on him with equal parts worry and disapproval. “Have you been sleeping on the couch again, it’s bad for your back.” She says, eyes narrowed as they flick to the clock on the wall and Steve knows she is barely restraining herself from complaining that he is sleeping the day away.

 “I wasn’t sleeping.” Steve lies, judging by the purse of her lips as she looks over him the creases pressed into his skin are still very obvious giving him away. “I wasn’t!” He denied again, finally moving from his prone position, sitting up and being careful of his elbow as he tosses his draft on the table.

 “Right and when is the last time you ate? You look like you’ve lost weight again.” Mrs. Harrington asks with a sigh, it has only been a few days since she last saw him but she would swear he has lost a few pounds and she does not like the bags under his eyes, he looks like he is not getting enough rest, is not taking care of himself. 

 “I’m fine mom.” Steve says with a sigh, it is better than trying to answer, he is not actually sure when he ate last, he forgets sometimes, just gets caught up in what he is doing, he is sure he ate sometimes last night but he cannot remember what he ate or when that was.

 “Are you sure? You look like shit.” Steve flinches as he suddenly becomes aware that there is another person in his home, a beautiful man coming up to stand next to his mother and looking him over.

 “Billy be polite.” Annette huffs but honestly Billy is right, Steve does look terrible and it just makes her sure that he needs Billy in his life to take care of him.

 “I’m going to make you something to eat, hopefully you have something that isn’t just processed sugar around here. You’re going to lose your ass if you don’t eat better.” Billy says, ignoring Annette, she showed him pictures of Steve before bringing him here, he knows what his new human companion is supposed to look like and it is not this. Billy is not going to let him waste away, he is here to take care of him, a job he takes very seriously and Billy has always been an ass man. Billy turns on his heel heading for the kitchen as Steve splutters up at his mother.

 “Who the fuck is that?” Steve hisses, cheeks ruddy with embarrassment as he tries to remember when he last showered, he really hopes the answer is sometime yesterday but he is pretty sure these clothes are at least two days old.

 “That’s Billy your new companion, I picked him out with the help of Mr. Perkins.” Annette informs him painted mouth grinning widely, both of them can hear Billy in the kitchen complaining about the contents of the fridge.

 “Mom I don’t want a companion, if I wanted an android I would have bought one myself.” Steve hisses flushing and this is worse than her just bringing some stranger into his home unannounced. What the hell is he supposed to do with a companion and why is it so annoyingly attractive, Steve pouts.

 “Too bad because you fucking need one. Do you have anything that isn’t microwavable in your freezer?” Billy shouts from the kitchen and Steve lets himself sink down against the floor, because no, no he does not because he never learned how to cook and every time he tries he burns it or starts a fire and he is pretty sure Hopper if going to murder him if he sets the place on fire again. 

 “He’s here to protect and take care of you baby.” Annette says as she slides onto the couch and holds a hand out for Steve, he takes it and lets her pull him back toward sitting up, resting his head against her knee as she slides her hand through his hair. “Something you obviously need.” She says when her hand touches his greasy locks. “When’s the last time you showered?”

 Steve whines at the question, he does not know okay, he does not have an answer, just a guess he does not want to admit to. He just gets distracted and who cares if it has been days, no one is usually here to judge him for it. “Alright baby, you go take a shower, wash your hair, and I’m going to go to the store with Billy so we can get you something that isn’t gummy bears and tv dinners.” Steve pouts and presses his head harder against her knee, a shower actually sounds good, he is feeling kind of grimy but why did she have to go and get him an android, he can take care of himself, really he can, he just, he has not felt up to doing much lately. 

 “Are you deaf, go get in the shower before you start attracting flies.” Billy pipes in entirely too close and Steve jerks, narrowly missing knocking into the android hovering over him. Steve narrows his eyes, he is pretty sure androids do not have a sense of smell.

 “Billy don’t make me take you back to the shop.'' Annette threatens but she is not being sincere. Steve can read it as she tries not to laugh with a bitten off smile. Billy just scoffs at her and rolls his eyes like he knows it is empty too and Steve cannot help staring intrigued at such a casual human gesture. It makes him notice the freckles dusting Billy’s cute nose and he flushes, shaking his head as Billy grins down at him like he knows Steve finds him attractive. Steve decides making an escape is better than arguing and being under that intense gaze any longer so he finally climbs to his feet and hurries to the bathroom, and it feels like he is being watched but it does not set unease in him the way it does when he walks outside alone.

Part 2

#harringrove #jellyghostfic #fanfiction #St fic #Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington #Android Billy Hargrove #wip #wip wendesday

[kung-laos-hat]

Fool

Kung Lao x Fem!Reader

Warning: Contains major spoilers from Mortal Kombat 9, including quotes from the actual script. :) kinda follows the canon but also doesn’t considering this is an x reader ‼️Not Proof read yet‼️

AN: words of affirmation and acts of service love language goes brrrrr

Summary: Kung Lao is devastated that his best friend and the girl he loves get to complete in the tournament without him, so he does what any sane person does: sneaks his way onto the island and challenges Scorpion in an attempt to impress the reader :D

“We’ll be back before you know it, Lao.” (Y/n) said, placing a hand on Kung Lao’s shoulder.

He chuckled nervously and nodded, trying his best to seem at ease but the uncertainty in his eyes gave it all away. It didn’t matter how long they trained or how prepared the elder monks thought (Y/n) and Liu Kang were. (Y/n)’s attempts at comforting the young man were fruitless.

It wasn’t just that he was worried for his childhood friends’ safety. There was no denying that was definitely one of the reasons he was reluctant to see them off, but aside from that he was envious. And how could he not be? The two of them were chosen by the elder monks to represent their section in the tournament where some the greatest fighters would be present.

Sure, he always knew the elder monks would choose (Y/n). She was the perfect fighter in his eyes. (Y/n) was clever, cunning, and quick on her feet. It just made sense that she’d be the first choice.

However, that left that second slot open for debate, and the primary candidates were Liu and Lao. Now Kung Lao promised himself that no matter what the elder monks decided, he wouldn’t let that drive a wedge in his relationship with his cousin, and he’d been fairly true to his word so far. He was proud of Liu, really.

But time went on and Raiden suggested that it’d be best for Liu and (Y/n) to train together in private, allowing them to grow accustomed to each other’s moves, strengths, and weaknesses. This would come in handy if the two of them should ever find themselves in a position in which they had to fight opponents together. Of course, Liu and (Y/n) already had established a close friendship, but there was nothing wrong with a little refining.

Lao had no problem with this, that is, until the tournament grew closer, and he began to see less and less of the duo. (Y/n) in particular almost seemed to be avoiding him, but Kung Lao knew her better than to assume that was the case. Yes, Liu Kang and (Y/n) were close, but not as close as Kung Lao and (Y/n). The three of them were the best of friends since childhood, but Lao always felt like there was something special between him and (Y/n) that just wasn’t present in her relationship with Liu.

(Y/n) had her fair share of sneaking out, having midnight conversations, and causing mischief amongst the other pupils, with Liu, sure, but it was Kung Lao she always turned to when in need of comfort. Somehow (Y/n) preferred to talk about her problems with Lao, and boy did he love it when she did. It was like seeing a completely gentler, more authentic side of her.

Because of this, Lao simply noticed things about (Y/n) no one else did. He knew what made her happy, and when one night she expressed how anxious training made her, he began to go out of his way to do some of her daily chores along with his own or do little things such as make her a snack. Of course, his pride would never allow his to flat out tell her he’d be doing all of this just because.

No, it was always,

“I just happened to make too much to eat by myself.”

Or

“Don’t look too deep into it. If I didn’t do your laundry for you, you’d probably let it lay around your room. Then you’d have nothing clean to wear and you’d start stealing my clothes.”

Soon enough, Lao’s thoughts were flooded with nothing but (Y/n), and everyday he was forced to remember that she and Liu Kang were spending more and more time together, and eventually would be sent off to potentially die. This not only rubbed salt in the wound of not being chosen, but created a new fear for the poor young man.

God, what if (Y/n)’s opponent didn’t spare her? Would Liu Kang or Raiden interject? Kung Lao knew he would. He’d do anything to keep her safe. Hell, he’d throw away his pride and get on his hands and knees to beg if it meant saving (Y/n).

Was that why Liu Kang was chosen and not him? Because he was a better match for (Y/n)? Did the elder monks think he was more capable than him than much? Or was it (Y/n) who chose Liu Kang to fight beside her?

Now here he stood before her, soaking in her presence potentially for the last time. (Y/n)’s hand lingered on his shoulder a little longer, then she signed and took both of his hands in her own.

“What is it?” She asked, looking up expectantly.

Lao blinked, “What?”

“You’ve got that look on your face. Y’know the one that screams ‘I’ve got something to say, but I’m a wuss so instead I’m going to dwell in my room immediately after you leave,’” (Y/n) teased.

Lao half smiled and pulled his arms away. “It’s nothing, I’m just worried for you two.”

(Y/n)’s face softened and she offered him a small smile. “Hey, don’t worry about me. Liu Kang’s bad temper, maybe, but I’m sure I’ll be okay out there.” She opened her arms and embraced Lao, which he quickly accepted.

“After all,” (Y/n) said pulling away slightly and flicking the tip of Kung Lao’s hat, “I trained with the best.”

“We’ve got to get going!” Liu called out from a few feet away at the enterance of the temple.

With that, she placed a small kiss on Lao’s cheek and ran off to join him and Raiden.

“You better return in one piece!” Kung Lao called out jokingly.

“If I don’t, you better build me a cooler body!” (Y/n) laughed, waving her hand over her head.

With a flash of light, the three of them were gone.

___

So far the introduction to the tournament was running smoothly. (Y/n) had managed to hold pleasant conversations with a few other competitors, including one by the name Johnny Cage. (much to Liu Kang’s distain. Apparently Johnny had accidentally disrespected Raiden and was under the impression that everyone there was just really into roleplay. But aside from being a little arrogant, (Y/n) didn’t mind him.)

(Y/n) had been selected to do a quick demonstration fight against none other than Princess Kitana, who put up a good fight but in the end didn’t stand a chance against her. While the princess laid half on the ground, (Y/n) was given the option to either finish her off or spare her. Despite (Y/n) choosing mercy, Kitana didn’t take this defeat well, but did her best to maintain her composure as the two retreated inside to tend to their wounds.

“...Why did you—,” Kitana began in a low whisper. (Y/n) turned to her and helped her hand, palm out, in front of her chest.

“You’re an excellent fighter. One with true talent, princess, believe me.” (Y/n) chuckled, “To take a life such as yours would be a waste. Don’t let one little defeat become a deterrence.”

The ghost of a smile graced Kitana’s lips. “You know, you’re a fool to be so kind to your enemies. The next time we meet might not be under such pleasant circumstances.”

(Y/n) huffed, “A fool, yes, but at the very least I’ll be remembered for it.”

———

The fighting continued on without the two girls for a while until Shang Tsung granted an intercession. (Y/n) made her way to Liu Kang’s side and nodded at him. He glanced down at her neatly bandaged hands and huffed in amusement, knowing damn well that when they returned home, his companion planned on showing off her “battle scars” to Kung Lao in an attempt to impress him. As they waited for the next match to begin, Liu Kang filled her in on what she’d missed during the Johnny Cage versus Reptile fight.

“I wish you could of been here to see it, (Y/n). I got second hand embarrassment from how arrogant he sounded.” Liu rolled his eyes.

(Y/n) stifled a giggle and covered her smile with her hand, but as she did this, she noticed one particular bodyguard’s eyes watching her intently from behind his helmet.

He was a bit of a distance away, but somehow it felt like his stare was burning through (Y/n)’s skull, and the very thought of that sent a chill down her spine. She awkwardly cleared her throat and turned to face the other direction, her fingers slightly latching onto Liu Kang’s arm defensively.

The rest of the day was nothing short of eventful. Raiden had requested that she accompanied him into the underground sections of the island, where she became acquainted with Sonya Blade and Jax, and even got to witness Sonya fight a man named Kano. Johnny Cage and Liu Kang eventually joined them, and there they established a sort of team while Raiden explained the severity of losing the tournament.

Afterwards Sonya and (Y/n) parted ways with the men and accompanied each other to their designated bedrooms, which, luckily, were located across from each other. As they walked, the two women got to know each other a little better. Sonya told (Y/n) more about how she came to meet Jax, her life in the army, and how she eventually ended up on the island. In turn, (Y/n) told her about her life with the White Lotus Society and Raiden. They went back and forth, trading silly childhood and training tales until they came across a certain mural in one of the main hallways.

(Y/n) paused in front of it and smiled fondly at the depiction of a man standing victoriously over his enemy on a great cliff or something of the sort.

She turned to Sonya and smiled excitedly. “The Great Kung Lao,” she explained, “He’s a legend back home. Truly one of the greatest fighters the White Lotus ever produced.”

She proceeded to retell the story of Kung Lao’s victories back in the day, and Sonya listened intently.

“So that’s your motive then, huh?” Sonya chuckled.

(Y/n) raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

“Well I’ve got my mission to save Jax, Cage wants his fame... what about you? What’s your motive? Aside from the monks selecting you, that is.”

(Y/n) glanced back up at the mural, then back to Sonya. “A descendent of his— the great Kung Lao, I mean.” Suddenly (Y/n) felt incredibly shy and began to fiddle with her hands.

“Liu Kang?” Sonya tilted her head.

“No!” (Y/n) exclaimed, laughing slightly, “A friend of ours, actually.” As she spoke, her tone was laced with a certain fondness.

Sonya smiled, “A friend?”

“Yes, Miss Blade. A friend. Anyways, he helped me create all of my best moves. I hate to admit it, but I basically modeled my fighting style after what he taught me when we were kids.” (Y/n) faintly blushed and smiled to herself.

“So... that’s it then? You want to impress him?”

“I mean— I just—,” (Y/n) struggled to find words, “I mean of course that’s not all of it. Of course I’m here to protect the Earthrealm first, but...”

She glanced up at the mural once more.

“I don’t know, I want him to see how much I’ve improved recently.”

Truth be told, (Y/n) had always admired Kung Lao growing up, but it wasn’t until around their late teens or early twenties that she’d began to admire him a little more than usual. And because of that she’d begun to lose her focus around him. Sure, he had always been terribly strong, smart, and witty beyond compare, but as they grew (Y/n) began to notice how charming he was or how nice he looked without his gear on.

Or even how differently he treated her compared to everyone else.

———

The next day the fighters returned to the island’s arena. Shang Tsung and the monks took to their spots while Quan Chi stood at the foot of the throne.

Liu Kang and (Y/n) exchanged anxious glances At eachother. After the events of last night, (Y/n) could tell her friend’s nerves were a little shaken, despite how composed he seemed. She silently patted his back as a masked guard crossed his arms and moved a little closer to where they stood with Raiden.

“Kombatants! the next match will now begin!”

In a burst of flames, Scorpion teleported into the center of the arena. Everyone gasped in awe, and (Y/n) and Liu Kang shared looks of pure admiration.

“Scorpion!” Shang Tsung called out, “Specter of the Netherrealm! Resurrected by the sorcerer Quan Chi! Who among you is worthy of this challenge?”

“Where is the Lin Kuei Sub-Zero? He killed my family and clan. I will have his head!” The masked man snarled.

Without order, the mask guard standing closest to Raiden promptly walked to the center with Scorpion, discarding his mask and armor as he went.

“I accept the challenge!”

(Y/n)’s face fell. She knew that voice, and it definitely wasn’t Sub-Zero. She looked up at Liu with a worried expression, and he returned her stare with his own.

“Kung Lao?” He whispered as he turned back to the two men standing before them.

“Nevermind the Lin Kuei. Now you face a Shaolin.” He announced.

“Kung Lao, what are you doing here?” (Y/n) muttered under her breath.

The man ran two fingers over the brim of his razor sharp hat and turned his vision toward where (Y/n) stood with Raiden and Liu Kang. He pointed directly at the girl.

“(Y/n).”

Oh god.

“I dedicate my soon to be victory to you, my most prized companion.” He said firmly.

She looked around the arena at the other fighters with a mortified expression and caught Sonya and Johnny hiding their smiles under their hands.

“Please don’t do this, Kung Lao.” (Y/n) begged, sweat beginning to form on her temple from the sudden embarrassment she was feeling.

“It has to be done.” He said, assuming a fighting stance.

“All this nonesense to impress (Y/n) (L/n),” Scorpion huffed, “You will regret your impulsiveness.”

The fight commences, and although Kung Lao is a master of the Shaolin arts and a great fighter, his attempt at overpowering someone who’s spent years trapped in the Neatherrealm soon proved to be futile. (Y/n) could feel herself cringe at every severe blow Scorpion landed to Lao’s torso until he ultimately beat him into an unconscious state on the floor.

(Y/n) tore away from the crowd and rushed to Lao’s side, swiftly but gently lifting his torso onto her lap, cradling his head in her arms as his hat laid in the dirt beside them. Scorpion looked down at her, the pity in his eyes seemed almost unbearable to (Y/n).

“He is not yet a warrior. I apologize, (L/n), I did not mean to cause you embarrassment.” He nodded.

(Y/n) shook her head and let out a small laugh. “Don’t be sorry, Scorpion. There’s no bad blood between us.”

“Kung Lao!” Liu cried out shortly after as he jogged over to aid them.

He thre Kung Lao’s arm over his shoulder and housed him up, carrying him out of the arena as Lao came to. Raiden and (Y/n) followed shortly behind.

“Listen when your elders speak!” He scolded, “You could not win this fight! And lost it at the expense of both you and dear (Y/n)’s expense!”

“Master, please, that’s enough. He meant no harm.” (Y/n) defended as they entered the main hall.

Raiden sighed angrily, “Take him to the nursery and get him cleaned up.” With that, he turned back around.

———

“Are you sure you want to tend to his wounds by yourself? It’d go a lot faster with my help...” Liu Kang said as he stood in the doorway.

“It’s fine, Liu,” (Y/n) waved him off, “It’d look bad if both of us weren’t present during today’s fights.”

(Y/n) turned around and subtly motioned to Kung Lao, who was spread out on a bench, and shot Liu an expecting look that said, ‘Get out, dumbass, I want to speak with him in private.’

Liu Kang mouthed a silent ‘oh,’ in realization and nodded. “I’ll leave you to it, then. Take care of him, and I’ll be back later to check on the two of you.”

He eagerly left the room and shut the door behind him, leaving the two together in awkward silence.

(Y/n) sighed and turned to the cabinets to retrieve a towel and bandages.

Kung Lao sat up and huffed in annoyance, “Why must the two of you talk about me as if I’m not here, (Y/n)? I’m perfectly capable of tending to myself, you don’t have to stay.”

(Y/n) furrowed her eyebrows together but said nothing. She continued on gathering her materials and laid them out on the counter beside them.

“Are you upset with me? Is that what this is?”

Still nothing.

“What? Do you want me to apologize? Look, I’m sorry if I embarrassed you, (Y/n)—,”

“Why are you here, Lao!?” She interrupted sharply.

He scoffed, “Proving I’m equivalent to Liu Kang.”

(Y/n) shook her head angrily. “Why!?” She dipped her small towel in a bowl of water and squeezed it. “You don’t have to prove anything, I don’t understand.”

“Of course you don’t—,”

“Then help me here, Lao. Explain— Did Raiden... or the elder monks— did they say something to you?”

“That’s not it.” He glanced down.

“Did something happen? I don’t—,”

“It’s you, (Y/n). You’re the reason.” He blurted.

The room was silent again.

“Oh.”

(Y/n) slowly turned around and made her way over to Kung Lao, beckoning for him to give her his arm. She avoided his gaze as she placed the damp towel over a large gash in his shoulder.

“I’m very sorry then... Whatever I did, I didn’t mean to make you feel this way.” The heartbreak in her tone was prominent.

Kung Lao sighed, “No— sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s my fault.”

(Y/n) paused, “What do you mean?”

Lao timidly placed a hand on her shoulder. (Y/n) looked up at him in confusion and scanned his face. He was giving her the same look he had on the morning she left for the tournament. The one that made it seem like he desperately wanted to say something but didn’t know how, or couldn’t muster up the courage to flat out say it.

Kung Lao groaned and burried his face in her other shoulder.

“I like you.” He mumbled, “There, I finally said it. It’s foolish, isn’t it? That I did all of this just because I wanted you to admire me back? I knew the elder monks didn’t choose me for a reason. I’m sure I couldn’t have handled the tournament, anyways—,”

“That’s not it at all!” (Y/n) cried, gingerly wrapping her arms around his torso, “It’s my fault you weren’t chosen, I’m sure of it.”

“I don’t understand,” He said, looking up.

(Y/n) sighed, “It was originally supposed to be us two. At the tournament, I mean. The elders said our fighting styles complimented eachother the most out of the three of us. But then I started to slip up during training whenever you were around. I’m sorry, I thought they’d replace me with Liu Kang, but—,”

“They replaced me instead...” Kung Lao finished.

“You are no lesser of a great fighter than Liu Kang. It truly is my fault, Lao.” (Y/n) confessed.

Kung Lao blinked and was silent for a moment. “So... you were slipping up because...?” A cheeky smile slowly made its way onto his face.

(Y/n) signed and hid her face in the crook of his neck.

“I like you too, you idiot monk. I always have.”

Kung Lao laughed, “Why didn’t you tell me!?”

“What didn’t you tell me!?” (Y/n) argued playfully.

“What? Was doing all your chores and things not enough of a sign for you?”

“Well, clearly they weren’t. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been so stressed over the matter.”

“Oh goodness...” Kung Lao chuckled.

They two sat there, holding each other, for a moment until (Y/n) pulled away.

“I have to finish cleaning your wounds, Lao.”

He nodded and sat up straight, removing his shirt so (Y/n) could clean the wounds on his chest.

As he looked down at her hands, gently pressing the towel to his wounds, applying the medicine where needed, and wrapping them up neatly, his eyes couldn’t help but trail over her lips. This wasn’t the first time, naturally, but know that he had confirmation that she was finally his...

He swooped down and captured her hips with his in a chaste but sweet kiss that lasted no more than a few seconds. (Y/n) stared up at him in surprise.

“Too soon?” He half laughed.

She shook her head, “Not at all.” (Y/n) wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back down for a real kiss.

Their lips locked softly once again, and the two of them could feel the sense of pure joy and excitement building up in their chests. (Y/n)’s eyes fluttered closed as Kung Lao deepened the kiss. As Lao moved his lips against hers, it tasted sort of metallic from the dried blood that remained on Lao’s lips beforehand, but (Y/n) didn’t seem to mind.

When they finally pulled away, Kung Lao rested chin on top of (Y/n)’s head.

“You’re a fool, Kung Lao,” (Y/n) said endearingly.

He kissed her hair and let out a small laugh.

“For you, perhaps.”

#liu kang #mk kung lao #mk liu kang #mk raiden #mortal kombat #mortal kombat 1995 #mortal kombat 2021 #kung lao x reader #mortal kombat kung lao #kung lao #mortal kombat fandom #mortal kombat fanart #mortal kombat fanfiction #mortal kombat raiden #mortal kombat liu kang #mortal kombat 9

[happyocelot]

She Needed More Hit Points

For Day 24: Gifts/Presents. I just wanted a sweet and funny Neji lives AU.

It started with a cute gamaguchi wallet with a note stuck in its mouth, wishing her good luck for her next mission. Judging by the patchy, frayed exterior of the wallet, it was old.

As far as she knew, only one of her friends liked these wallets. She didn't know what possessed him to give it to Ko for her out of the blue one warm spring day, but she smiled and tucked it into her pocket, making a mental note to thank him later.

***

It didn't stop with the wallet. Next week, she found on her dresser a light purple scarf. The week after that, he walked up to her directly, stuffed a free ramen coupon into her hand, grinned sheepishly with his eyes squinted half-shut, and sprinted away before she could speak a single word.

Hanabi teased her. Neji closed his eyes in what she presumed was irritation at the coupon and the scarf, though she swore she saw his lips twitching later on – but maybe that was a trick of the light.

She felt bad for her old bodyguard though. Because Naruto had inexplicably decided that whenever he wasn't in town, or whenever she wasn't in town, that Hyuuga Ko was some kind of security deposit or delivery boy who should hold on to whatever he'd decided to bestow upon her.

As soon as she entered the compound late that night, her mission complete, she knew that it was one of those times when Naruto made use of poor Ko again. Her nose caught a whiff of salty ramen and the back of her neck prickled, as it did whenever she absorbed that smell.

She didn't know when he'd come to the Hyuuga compound, but Ko smiled at her tiredly from his post at the doorway. He'd been handling Naruto's...eccentricities far better than most people would have, including several of their friends. He pushed another package into her hands as she approached. "For you, Hinata-sama, from – "

"Naruto-kun?" she finished. "Yes, thank you, Ko."

She nodded good night to him and hurried away, the old gas lamps the only source of light as she ripped open the brown packaging.

Her eyes widened in disbelief and she hastily hid her shocked laugh in her fist, gingerly leaning against her room's shoji divider.

It was a deck of those...trading cards that had been all the rage after the end of the war. And the first card, the one on the top of the deck was...

Hyuuga Hinata, the stats box announced. Her heart almost stopped as she took in herself at the start of the war, two years ago.

Village: Konohagakure.

Rank: Chuunin.

Clan: Hyuuga.

Kekkei genkai: Byakugan.

Hit points: 2500.

Special effects: Every turn, you may select one card in your opponent's hand and discard it.

Naruto had seen fit to scribble his insightful thoughts all over the margins in bright orange ink. She bit back another laugh.

Hi, Hinata! I was walking with Konohamaru the other day and he was talking about this new game, ya know, so I bought a pack and checked out your card! he proclaimed. And let me tell you...I'm NOT happy with what they did here with yours! I mean...even NEJI agrees. I think.

She frowned, suddenly concerned, scanning over the rest of Naruto's scribblings.

Your eyes are prettier than on this card, he'd written on the left margin (her heart palpitated).

You need to have way more hit points, he'd written on the right, circling the "2500" in thick marker (her heart started again with no warning).

Finally: I'm going to call the card company and complain!

Blood rushed all the way from her feet to the crown of her head.

Naruto. Was going to complain. To the head of a company.

He...he said her trading card didn't make her eyes pretty enough. Oh, and apparently she needed more hit points.

The world was spinning and spinning, and the gas lamps' lighting was harsh and stabbing.

Hinata needed to sit down. But then the world finally stopped spinning and went completely black.

She hit the ground, but not without waking up several frantic clanmates first.

***

"Owww, Neji, what gives?" Naruto was bent at the waist, his arms crossed over his stomach, eyes watering.

It was completely out of nowhere. He was out on the street, minding his own business, preparing to complain to the card game company over how boring they made Hinata's card, when Neji materialized out of the bushes, Byakugan activated, Sakura in tow, and punched him right where Kurama was supposed to be.

Sakura's green eyes narrowed in what Naruto initially thought was sympathy, but he was stupid. "Hit him harder, Neji, right over – " She gestured somewhere vaguely in the direction of his shoulder. Neji gladly complied, sending needle-sharp chakra into Naruto's right arm.

"Owwww, Sakura-chan, Neji, what are you – ?"

"Hinata-sama – " Neji snarled, but Sakura beat him to the punch. Literally.

"Hinata had heart problems!" she yelled, thwapping him on his presently throbbing arm. "I had to do an emergency procedure on her!"

"Is she okay?" Because he sure wasn't. He needed to see baa-chan. Fast. Not that he was getting out of this punch-up any time soon, if Neji's seething, volcanic glare was any indication.

"Naruto. Explain right now. What you did. To my cousin."

"What are you idiots TALKING about? I didn't do anything!"

"She was holding some...trading card. In your handwriting." Sakura held up the offending card, helpfully annotated with Naruto's complaints. He squinted.

"It was just an – owwww."

Naruto slumped over, unconscious, one too many tenketsu closed.

"Did you get that one pressure point?" Sakura asked grimly.

"Yes."

"Good."

Neji and Sakura shared a look of mutual understanding, something that was honestly rare, given that they were the last sort of people to get along. But some things – or people – united even the most disparate of ninja.

It was scary how protective they were of Hinata.

#nhmonth2021 #nhmonth #naruhina month #naruhina #naruto #mine

[stephspurs]

A Family Affair | Euro 2020 Football Fanfiction

Life is beautiful and life is cruel. A window into the souls of the victorious and the vanquished. In a way, football did come home during the summer of 2021. Follow along Amelia’s journey, navigating the football world as a tactical analyst for the italian football team, with a brother and father part of the three lions. Will Amelia leave Italy and come back to England? Will she leave the Serie A for the Prem? Will she set aside the bianconeri stripes for new colours, leaving behind friendship for love? Maybe she can have both...

Hello my lovelies!! Part 3 sees a whole lot Amelia's beautiful brain & you get your first slice of interaction with the british boys - leading up to an all important Mykonos adventure (part 4 - out friday). As usual, please let me know your thoughts and feelings, and let me know what you want to see happen with Amelia and her story! Updates have increased to 3/week! I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am!

Love always,

Steph xx

UPDATE as of 31/07: I've made some additional editing changes due to some feedback about the confusion between ben white (her brother) and ben chilwell (not her brother LOL). Nothing has been added to the story, just the addition of either surname has been added where i think it could be more straightforward - for future readers!

Part 3. | parte terza

warnings; none - just a whole lot of feels.

word count; 2081

writing tools; third person until dashed line, first person thereafter.

next update; Friday 30/07 5pm AEST. Updates are three times/week (Monday, Wednesday & Friday)!

Tags (as requested by users); @footballffbarbiex @obsesseds-world @abysshaven

link to fic masterlist here

It was the day after the final match and Amelia should be nursing a hangover due to the large amount of red wine she consumed with her Italian counterparts the night before. However, she finds herself at St. George’s Park before 9am, meeting one of her father’s colleagues who directs her to the recreation room that she remembers from a few days prior.

Standing outside the door, she assumed she was just waiting for her dad as agreed on the phone an hour earlier. As she was waiting, she could hear Gareth Southgate give a team talk to the players, praising them for their ability and pleading for them to bounce back from this defeat and use it to push on. The next voice she could hear was that of her father, giving them the tactical run through of the game. She listened to the points her father made, and both agreed and disagreed with some. Unexpectedly, the man sent to collect her opened the door and ushered her inside.

She stood at the back of the room, facing her dad and Gareth, whilst the team and other management staff had their backs to her. Making eye contact with her dad, he smiled slightly.

“Whilst I can offer you my opinion on the match last night, to better prepare you for the next time, there is no better opinion to learn from at this moment than that of your opponent. Amelia, would you please come up here” Dean really threw her into this situation, that again, she was not prepared for nor did she want to participate in. However, the 30+ sets of eyes that had currently turned around to stare at her didn’t exactly inspire a choice to be made here.

_____________________________________________________________

“Lads, this is my daughter. I taught her everything she knows, which was probably too much considering I can now recognise that it was her signature plays that the italian side used to their advantage last night. Treat her with respect, or I will let her at you. Which i’m sure you all saw a few nights ago in this very room” My dad spoke as I walked up to the front area, weaving in and around beanbags with players occupying them.

Standing in front of the Three Lions was more nerve wracking now than it had been when she was confronting her brother, maybe Fede did offer her protection as his bodyguard. Either way, she put her big girl pants on (figuratively speaking, literally she was wearing her official puma tights and Italian polo) and got on with it as if she was speaking to her team.

“Thanks Dad. Hey guys, I think the first thing I would like to say is that you’re allowed to feel exactly how you feel right now. There is no rush to ‘get over it’ or ‘push on and learn’. You need to feel this now, feel it throughout your body, understand the pain and then turn it into motivation.” I speak to the group, trying to accurately express how sincere I am to this group of heartbroken men.

“As for tactics, I can stand here and praise you for how good you really are but that's not how you are going to learn. You came into the game hard and fast.” I paused, understanding the innuendo just as it was flying out of my mouth. I pursed my lips and tried to hold my giggle in, however some of the boys seem to have the same sense of humour as I do. My brother, face of steel and eyes that burn into any man that tries to joke with me.

“Sorry, can’t help myself. So yeah, you took charge of the game from kick off and we were not ready. You had the aggression and desire to push from the start and that's what you did, Shaw, you really surprised me with that goal. Not because I didn't think you could do it but because I wasn’t anticipating you being someone we had to watch so closely.”

“Again, something you guys need to keep in mind is that it is literally my job to know everything about you and how you play the game, what foot you prefer, who you pass to, how long you hold the ball before you pass, do you like to assist or score...all of these things make a massive difference in each play we make.”

“The error you made came around the 25th minute of the game, we had settled into the game and did what we do best - we slowed you down. In Italy, in the Serie A, which is where most of my team play, the game is a lot slower. There is more skill and tactic used to ensure a favourable outcome. Again, i'm not saying you all don’t have skill, but the Prem favours pace over tactics and strategy. The only way we were going to be able to win was by making you play our game, but in your half of the pitch.”

At this point, all of their eyes are trained to me and the more senior players of the team, like Henderson, Walker, Coady, Kane, they understand what i’m trying to say. Gareth, my dad and other members of staff are sitting to one side, arms folded and a slight smile on their face at the simplicity of my approach to such an important game. I direct my next question to them.

“Can I ask - have you already selected your man of the match?”

“Off record, yes we have. Before I announce to the team who it is, can I direct the question back to you and find out who you would award it to?” Gareth poses back to me, interested to hear my opinion.

“While the obvious choices would be Kane, Sterling, Maguire - your players who perform week in week out and are consistent and no doubt deserve an award as such. I would recommend Declan Rice. Personally, he was the most instrumental in the match last night. Every time we turned to attack, he was there to stop it. He was a player I was confident that I knew the extent of his ability, when it was obvious that I didn't.”

The boys around him, Mason Mount & Ben Chilwell, offered him a gentle shove and ruffle of the hair, to show their encouragement to the bashful boy who seemed surprised at the praise he was receiving.

“The other player that I think deserves a bit of a shoutout, and not because of his hair, is Jack Grealish.” I spoke, looking around the room until we locked eyes. I wanted him to understand how serious i was about my next words.

“You are so dangerous on the ball, you are an asset as a team mate, you aren’t guilty with the ball, but you have the power behind you to score when the opportunity presents itself. The moment you were subbed on I pulled Jorginho to the side and told him to treat you like Chiellini and Bonnucci were handling Sterling and Kane. You were one of my players to watch, and for good reason”

At the end of the little session, I said thanks to the boys for listening and that I hope to see them again in a tournament. The only way to be the best is to beat the best. After a quick round of applause that made me feel more special than I am, I walked past my brother, gave him a quick ruffle of his hair and met my dad at the back. Gareth dismissed the boys and they all stood up, breaking away and grabbing some breakfast that was set up to the side of the room, for one last team meal.

“Mills!! I’ll get you an almond croissant and a coffee, come sit with me!” Walker shouted from across the room.

“Oi mate, she’s my sister not yours” Ben counters from the back of the line.

“Yeah she's your sister by blood, mine by choice.” Kyle firmly states and begins his way to one of the tables.

“I suppose i better join Kyle before he drowns everyone in his tears” i joked with the england officials i was standing with before walking over to Kyle and a few of his team mates.

“Sooo am I supposed to pretend I don’t know who you all are so you can introduce yourselves? Or do we just mutually agree that I know too much about each of you and not bring it up?” I question the boys, jokingly. They all laugh and I sit down in the space Kyle left between himself and John Stones. I sat there and got to know some of the boys on a less competitive level, working out who was a leader both on the pitch and off it. After listening to the boys joke around and just be mates, rather than teammates, I leaned over to Kyle.

“Hey, before I go, do you think you can introduce me to Bukayo? I want to speak with him for a moment.”

“Yeah sure, I'll take you over there. Why are you nervous? You've never been shy before” Kyle questioned back at me.

“I’m not nervous, I'm just hyper aware of the sensitivity of the moment. Last night would have been tough”

Saying goodbye to the boys, Kyle directed me over to a table that was sitting my brother Ben White, Kalvin, Ben Chilwell, Grealish, Saka, Sancho & Rashford.

“Hey boys, Ben, I just wanted to come say goodbye before I head off.” I directed towards my brother. He pulled up a chair and asked me to sit for 5 more minutes, claiming he deserved it after months of no contact.

“Ben here didn’t let us know he had a sister as smart as you...what happened to you Ben? Did you miss that gene?” Jack Grealish poked at my brother. With his signature scowl on his face, Ben White let his mates laugh at his expense.

“Oh don’t make fun of my brother Benny, that’s my job!” I joked back, setting the boys off again with my brother’s childhood nickname. It was nice to hear some laughter again from a side that looked so solemn the night before.

“No in all seriousness boys, I especially came over because I wanted to talk to you Bukayo - what you did was so impressive. In a final, as the last penalty taker, to take on the responsibility of the nation at the age of 19! Not many players would dare to do that. You have earned a lot of respect, particularly from the Italian camp.” I spoke with a smile on my face, directed at the young boy.

“The same goes for you two” Now looking at Sancho & Rashford.

Bukayo looked down at his hands & smiled, before getting up and walking to my side of the table. Anticipating what he was going to do next, I stood up and welcomed him with open arms. Grateful that he understood my message and was beginning to accept the praise he so deserved. Stepping back from the hug, I turned to address the group of lads one more time.

“If any of you fancy a change of pace and want to come over to the Serie A, just give me a call - Benny can give you my number!” I start to speak, before I'm cut off but my brother.

“Stop poaching my mates! I’ve already lost you to another country. I don't need to lose anyone else” He jokingly says while standing to walk me out of St. George’s Park. I know it was a joke but I can't help but think there was some truth to that.

It had been more than 3 years since I moved out of our family home to start my life in Turin, and not one moment had i regretted it or thought i made the wrong decision. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when I wished I was closer to my family, but I know I had to make that move to prove to myself I am just as successful as I hoped I would be. Not saying I have learnt everything there is to learn with the Serie A giants, Juventus, but maybe it's time for a new challenge? Maybe I can bring the strategic spin on the game to the fast paced action of the premier league?

Part 4. | quarta parte

#football imagine #football fic #fanfic #jadon sancho #ben chilwell #mason mount #declan rice #kalvin phillips #ben white #jack grealish #tyron mings #connor coady #kyle walker #jordan henderson #ben chilwell imagine #jack grealish imagine #mason mount imagine #football one shot #tyrone mings imagine #x reader #a family affair fic #steph writes #stephspurs #italian national team #jorginho #federico bernardeshci #jorginho imagine #bernardeschi imagine #juventus fic #juventus imagine

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Moe Moe Mallekei Kyun~

In which Malleus and Cater go to a maid café, and shenanigans ensue.

... I’ve been wanting to write this for a long time.

***Warning: mild spoilers for Malleus’s PE Uniform personal story!***

Imagine this...

“Lilia-sama.”

Two bodyguards fell into line, saluting simultaneously to their vice dorm leader.

“We just finished combing through the prime gargoyle locations around campus,” Silver reported. “Unfortunately, there was no sight of Malleus-sama to be found. The accounts of the various students we interviewed also corroborate that the Young Master has not recently been spotted in the area.”

“I see. Thank you, Silver.” Lilia sighed, cupping his cheek in one hand. “Hm, this is a bit odd. Wherever could he have wandered off to this time?”

At that moment, a ping! sounded off. Lilia fished his phone out of his pocket and, with one glance at the screen, his expression softened.

“You don’t suppose some dastardly villain has… kidnapped the Young Master and is holding him for ransom, do you?!” Sebek’s eyes nearly bulged out of his skull at the thought. “If that is the case… THEN WE HAVE FAILED AS MALLEUS-SAMA’S KNIGHTS!!”

“Now, now--let’s not jump to conclusions. Even if that were true, I’m certain that Malleus would be able to easily fend off assailants on his own. Perhaps he has simply lost his way, or headed off campus to run an errand.”

“... Without warning us in advance?”

“I would have happily accompanied the Young Master wherever he went--EVEN TO THE ENDS OF TWISTED WONDERLAND ITSELF!!”

“Kufufu. Malleus is still young at heart. Let us allow him this moment of independence, just this once. He will find his way home eventually.”

“Welcome home, my masters!!”

Malleus skidded to a stop in the doorway—for beyond it laid unknown territory. The interior sported cream walls, with fairy lights, streamers, and paper flowers strung up. A number of tables and chairs, populated with people, were set against flowing white curtains.

Young ladies flitted about, balancing trays of food and drinks, cameras, and microphones. Each wore the same outfit, consisting of a frilly headdress, an apron, and a black dress with lace trim and ribbons.

And now, one of those uniformed girls extended a hand to him and a warm, welcoming smile.

Malleus frowned and turned to the orange haired young man beside him. “... Diamond. What is this strange establishment you’ve brought me to?”

“Mm? It’s a maid café,” Cater chirped, glancing up from his phone. “You said you’ve never been before, right?”

“Well, yes… However, when you invited me to join you for an outing, I did not expect this to be our destination.”

“It’ll be fine~ We’re already here, so let’s get seated!” Cater insisted cheerily, ushering the fae through the door. 

“Right this way, my masters!” The greeter giggled and led the way, eventually stopping at a vacant table set for two. As the duo slipped into their seats, she handed them menus and moistened towels. “We have a wide selection of special services and delicious dishes for your enjoyment!”

Malleus hesitantly flipped open the (very pink) menu and ran his eyes down the page of available items. Along with the expected offerings of desserts, savory foods, and beverages were odd listings: massage, ear cleaning, karaoke, game, arts and crafts, picture, spoon feeding, live song and dance...

He stared quizzically at Cater, who seemed to be taking everything in stride.

“I’ll take a plate of omurice! How about you, Malleus-kun?”

He stared back at his menu, trying to make rhyme or reason of the unique names. What in the Great Seven was a Pyon ❤ Pyon Sunshine Bar…? Or a Lucky☆Happy☆Cookie? Malleus’s brows furrowed in both concentration and confusion.

“I… I shall have the local specialty, whatever that may be,” the fae prince declared at last.

“Excellent choices! And would you like a bunny, or a kitty?”

“You hand out animals at this eating establishment? Is that not a health code violation?”

“Aaah, Malleus-kun, she doesn’t mean real rabbits and cats. Look--you’ll see when she brings them, okay?” Cater laughed awkwardly. Then, turning to the waitress, he held up his index finger. “One of each, little lady~”

“Of course!” She scribbled down a few words on her heart shaped notepad before prancing off.

“... Diamond. Are you certain this is the fabled maid café of which you spoke of?” Malleus asked, folding his arms. “I find it difficult to believe that every patron here is descended from a high class lineage. Furthermore, the servers are wearing attire entirely unlike that of a traditional household servant.”

Cater blinked once, twice—then chuckled.

“Maid cafés are like normal cafés. Anyone can go to them to play pretend and chill for a while! The difference is that the waitresses are dressed cutely and offer fun services. Singing, dancing, playing games—that kinda thing!”

“I do not understand.” Malleus swept a hand at their surroundings. “The purpose of this establishment is merely for… amusement?”

“Yup! People get tired of the daily grind sometimes, so they go to places like this to see cute stuff and just take a load off.”

“I… I see.” Malleus tucked his thumb and forefinger under his chin. “We do not have anything like your maid cafes in the Valley of Thorns.”

“You don’t? What sort of things do you do back home for fun, then?”

“I was not allowed to venture far from the palace grounds. Most of my time was spent indoors, studying spells or honing my magical abilities.”

Cater inclined his head. “Oooh, right! Because you’re a prince and all, you weren’t able to do much—but hey! Things are different now! You’ve got Cay-kun to show you a good time!”

“Ah, yes. A ‘good time’...” Malleus attempted at a smile, which came out more wary than he had intended.

“Thank you for waiting!” a girlish voice chirped—their waitress had returned, wearing a tray of food in one hand and two headbands in the other. “Here is your omurice and Nyan ✨ Nyan ✨ Kitty-chan Parfait, plus one pair of kitty ears and one pair of bunny ears!”

She handed Cater his dish—a bed of ketchup flavored fried rice, sealed by a wobbling omelet and garnished with a sprig of parsley.

“Mm! Smells delicious. Thanks a bunch~” Cater grinned, winking at his server.

The maid giggled and placed Malleus’s dessert before him, along with the headbands.

“Would you like me to draw or write something special for you on your meal, master?” she asked, gesturing to Cater’s omurice.

“Sure thing! Could you write ‘Mallekei’? Oh, and a couple of hearts would be cute, too!”

“As you wish!”

As the maid set to work, Malleus marveled at the sight of his parfait.

Colorful scoops of ice-cream, granola, and sliced fruits were layered inside of a tall glass cup. A generous crown of whipped cream and a drizzle of strawberry sauce topped it off. Sticking out from the whipped cream were two wafer triangles and dots of chocolate candies, forming a cat-like face.

How adorable.

… But not adorable enough to be spared.

“Thank you for the food.” The fae raised his spoon to demolish the poor parfait kitten—

“Stop, stop, Malleus-kun!!” Cater cried, frantically waving his arms. “N-Not yet!!”

Malleus lowered his spoon with a frown. “Food is meant to be consumed, Diamond. Is there an issue you have with my table etiquette?”

“Well—no, but…” Cater played with a lock of his orange hair and sighed. “There’s certain rituals we need to do first!”

“Rituals? Oh, my apologies. I was not aware. Please proceed with your regularly scheduled… rituals.”

“Ahaha, you’re a quick learner! First thing’s first, let’s put on our headbands!” Cater swept up the cat ears and passed them over. “Here, to match your parfait! I’ll take the rabbit.”

Malleus gingerly nestled the cat ears on his head, copying Cater’s movements. It was a bit tricky maneuvering around his horns, but somehow, he managed.

“Oh!! Those ears suit you so well!” the waitress said, glancing up from decorating the omurice. Carefully placed splotches of ketchup spelled out ‘Mallekei’, hearts and little sparkles littering the space around the boys’ combined names.

“... Do they?” Malleus doubted it.

“They do!!” Cater reassured him with a laugh. “Ne, ne, miss! Can you take our picture so my friend here can have a souvenir to take home with him?” 

“Certainly!” She replaced the bottle of ketchup and hurried off, returning shortly after with a polaroid camera. “Are you ready, my masters?”

“Ready, Malleus-kun?”

“Hmph. Of course. I will have you know that my posing abilities have improved considerably since our last encounter. Do not underestimate me.”

“Oh, that’s great! You’ve been practicing! Then… on the count of three, we nyah, okay?”

“... What is ‘nyah’?” Malleus inquired, his confidence suddenly waning.

“Eh?” A blip of surprise crossed Cater’s face. “Like, y’know… nyah!”

The influencer curled both of his hands into balls and made a pawing motion at his friend. “Now you try!”

“Like this?” Malleus mimicked him. He was more stiff—definitely not as practiced—but the general motion was still recognizable.

“Very good, master!!” the waitress gushed, raising the polaroid up. “On three?”

“1, 2, 3… Nyah!”

A flash went off, sending stars into Malleus’s vision. As he rubbed the daze out of his eyes, Cater’s voice called out to him.

“Are you okay there?”

“I am well. There is no need for your concern,” the fae insisted. “This ritual… it is more confounding that I took it to be.”

“Eeeh? It’s not meant to be hard or anything. Just relax, relax!” Cater paused before adding, “It’s part of the ritual’s requirements! You need to be nice and loose for the last step!”

“What is this last step?”

“We need to cast a magic spell to make your food taste extra tasty!” the waitress declared cheerily.

“Hoh?” A smirk found its way onto Malleus’s face. “That can easily be arranged. Allow me to do the honors.”

He put his hand before his parfait, an eerie green glow emulating from his palm. The sinister light engulfed his dish and Cater’s, sending them floating midair. Radioactive ice-cream and omurice hovered above their heads, causing both Cater and their maid to recoil in shock.

Other customers stared at the spectacle from their own tables. One man’s jaw dropped, the forkful of spaghetti bolognese in his mouth clattering onto the floor.

“You, who provides sustenance to the masses, become that which is delici—“

“H-Hold on a sec, Malleus-kun!!” Cater practically leapt over the table to seize his friend’s glowing hand. “Not that kind of spell!!”

Eyes wide with surprise, Malleus allowed his magic to settle down. The parfait and omurice gently floated back onto their table, and the maid sighed with relief.

“Is there a different spell needed for this occasion? I assure you that I am well-versed in practical magic—you need only speak its name, and I can conjure the proper…”

“No, no! It’s—“ Cater casted a look at their server and nervously chuckled. “Ne, Maid-chan~ Think you can give us a demonstration of the right spell?”

“Yes, master!” the girl, ever professional, flashed a perky grin. “Please watch carefully!!”

The maid set down her polaroid on the table. She then arched her fingers into C-like shapes, thumb extended straight. Pushing her hands together, she formed a heart and aimed it in the direction of the boy’s dishes.

“Moe moe kyuuuuuun!”

“What an odd spell. In all my years, I have never heard of such an enchantment…”

“Well, there’s a first for everything, right?” Cater flicked one of his floppy rabbit ears. “Plus, it should be no problem for the great Malleus-sama to pull off this spell, right?”

“This is child’s play,” Malleus’s laugh was like the earth itself rumbling. His lips quirked into a small smile. “You will join me in performing this sacred ritual, will you not, Diamond?”

“Of course~”

“Very well.”

They made hearts and thrust them upon their meals. And together, they uttered those three magic words.

“Moe moe kyuuuuun!!”

“Welcome back, Malleus,” Lilia greeted. The vice dorm leader nonchalantly hung from the ceiling, his raven and magenta bangs suspended midair. “Did you have fun on your outing?”

“Lilia. You knew?” Malleus slowly shut the door behind him, chasing away the cool air of the night. He spoke softly, knowing that sounds carried in the dusty hallways of Diasomnia and could disturb its residents.

“The wonders of modern technology,” Lilia trilled, expertly landing beside his young master. He brandished his phone in a gloved hand, a text message displayed on the screen.

hey hey lilia-chan! gonna steal malmal-kun for the day~ he’ll be back later, but do me a solid and keep it a secret from s&s til then, ‘kay? thnx!! (✿˶˘ ³˘)~♡

“It looks as though I have been exposed.��

“There is no shame in making new friends. In fact, I’m proud of you for expanding your horizons.” Lilia beamed. “Though what a shame it is that I was not present to grab a few pictures. Hopefully Cater fulfilled that task for me.”

The ancient fae tilted forward in his toes and peered up at his prince. “Soooo? Where did you sneak off to?”

“Fufu. Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“My. Is that any way to treat the man that kept Silver and Sebek from hunting you down?” Lilia teased, wagging a finger.

“Such loyalty,” Malleus smirked, hands on his hips, “deserves to be rewarded.”

He produced a polaroid photograph from his breast pocket and presented it with a flourish. The image, forever captured in time, was that of Malleus and Cater—the former with cat ears, the latter with bunny ears—with hands balled to resemble paws. Cater cheekily winked, while Malleus looked slightly bewildered.

The edges of the polaroid were dotted with stickers—smiley faces, flowers, and hearts. Marker had been used to scrawl on whiskers and blushes over both boys’ cheeks.

Overall, cutesy—overwhelming so.

But the Malleus and Cater in the picture were happy.

Their eyes shining like jewels.

Nyah-ing their hearts out.

#twst #twisted wonderland #Malleus Draconia #Cater Diamond #twisted wonderland imagines #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland headcanons #twisted wonderland scenarios #something no one asked for #spoilers

[robininthelabyrinth]

Prompt: Mermaid AU?

Modern AU

It all started when some asshole suggested that the next academic conference be held in Qinghe.

Not the place, of course - that’s landlocked - but rather the school that bears the name.

Now, Jiang Cheng has nothing against Qinghe, even if it is some sort of weird isolated mountainous island in the middle of the ocean. It’d be pretty hypocritical of him to complain about somewhere having too much ocean – after all, they’re all marine biologists here, and Qinghe’s one of the top five schools for it.

Top four, he supposed, after the whole scandal about the Wen school faking a bunch of results and bribing government officials and all that stuff. There isn’t really a fifth school that can come anywhere near the rest of them at the moment.

But still, Qinghe is weird, even for marine biology freaks and geeks like them. Jiang Cheng’s part of the Yunmeng school, located right on a big river delta leading out into the ocean (their name at least made sense, even if it’s not the same river as the original); they specialize in marine life on the sea floor and coastal regions, by and large, except for weirdos like Wei Wuxian. He’s writing his thesis about the sort of marine life you can find in the bottom of a gigantic deep-sea crevice not-so-fondly nicknamed “the Burial Mounds” based on the number of ships that went down around there. It’s still within the super wide category of marine life, though, so it’s fine – no restrictions.

Attempt the impossible, his father – and school head – is always saying.

Or take the Gusu school, run by the Lan family. It’s focused on preservation and restoration – they’re on an island, too, but a pretty big one; they use the tourism to help fund their efforts to fix up the coral reef in the area, and they’ve been doing wonders with it. Lots of scholarly options there.

Even the Lanling school, located in a nice coastal city and furthest inland of them all, allows there to be some variety in scholarship, and everyone knows they’re funded by the commercial fisheries that the Jin family also owns. People go there for the scholarships, and they’ve poached away enough good teachers that they’re considered one of the top schools, but, you know. Everyone knows.

(Jiang Cheng’s heard it smells of carp there, all the time. He really wishes his sister would stop dating the son and presumptive heir of the business, Jin Zixuan, but if smelling of carp day in and day out isn’t enough, if living in a place named – for real – Koi Tower isn’t enough, he’s got to assume it’s true love.)

And then there’s Qinghe. 

Qinghe, run by the secretive Nie family with their super-selective admittance criteria and even more secretive customs and unbelievably beautiful academic papers that sometimes make Jiang Cheng want to cry over how much brand new information they put in their charts.

Qinghe’s different.

See, Qinghe does sharks.

That’s it.

Just sharks.

Oh, they do a wide variety of things about sharks, but still – sharks. It’s a pretty specialized niche for a school that must have tech beyond Jiang Cheng’s wildest dreams to get some of the data they put in their papers.

Maybe that’s why they all have bodyguards, too. There’s virtually one for every Nie, and even the people who aren’t born to the island eventually acquire one if they stay long enough – men and women with no discernable pattern: big and small, fat and skinny, a dizzying array of ethnicities. The only thing the bodyguards seem to have in common is their dark clothing and the fact that they don’t ever talk.

They’re not always there, but – often enough. The Nies just ignore them, for the most part, and even Nie Huaisang, who is easily the most sociable of the lot, just shrugged when they asked about his during one of the rare times when the guy wasn’t around.

“His name’s Aituan,” he said vaguely, but that was about it. Which didn’t really help – who cared about their names? If you wanted to ask about one bodyguard in particular, why not ask about the most notable of the lot - but who didn’t know that Nie Mingjue, his brother and school head and giant, had a somehow even taller woman named Baxia as his bodyguard? Who didn’t know she could punch through a brick wall, as demonstrated shortly after Jin Guangshan had tried to hit on her during one of the academic conferences held by Lanling?

What they wanted to know was why they were there. After all, they were all marine biologists. What in the world did Qinghe have that they were so intent on protecting?

Sharks?

The answer, as Jiang Cheng would soon learn after a truly mind-blowing few weeks trapped on an island without any connection to the outside world due to a fairly awful set of unexpected crises, was, in fact, sharks.

Giant supposedly extinct sharks that had lived for centuries and had even developed the ability to shift into human and half-human forms for their own purposes, who adopted specific humans that they liked to follow around, who apparently spent a lot of time fighting something horribly evil that lived very deep down in crevasses the human world didn’t even know existed.

Except Qinghe, apparently.

“So I’m going to move to Qinghe to fight the kaiju,” Wei Wuxian announced.

“They’re not kaiju,” Nie Huaisang said, wringing his hands. “That’s not exactly accurate –”

“No, no, it’s too late to dissuade me. I’m set on it. Jiang Cheng, are you with me?”

“You bet,” Jiang Cheng said. “Hey, Nie Huaisang, do you think if I asked really nicely, your brother will let me ride his megalodon again?”

“Yeah, Baxia doesn’t mind giving people rides,” Nie Huaisang said. “But –”

“I’m with Nie Huaisang,” Wei Wuxian said, wrapping his arm around him. “I like his xenacanthus just fine.”

“Won’t your schools object…?”

“We’ll call it study abroad,” Jiang Cheng said. “Sign us up for the sharks!”

#mdzs #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #nie huaisang #my fic #my fics #modern au #so you know how I say I won't write them except for super specialized ones #this is what I mean #there are technically mermaids in this #hamelin-born #this is the aftermath of a really epic fantasy-action movie #probably directed by Guillermo Del Toro

[blrush]

Rec List Request

A personalised list for @jammy-boy 🥰 could be of interest to others, so enjoy!

Basic requirements: - just finished and loved SOTUS - is Arthur/Merlin trash - loves a twist or reversal of classic “power-dynamic” - loves angst with happy ending ______________________________

Theory of Love

Film student Third (Gun) has been secretly in love with his best friend Khai (Off) for three years, but Khai is straight, a massive player, and a total arsehole if we’re being honest. This starts painful, but then they start playing around with tropes and expectations and then it changes POV which just HITS so hard and completely changes your whole perception. You know the movie Flipped? It references that, and then does the flip - so good.

Knowing the level of pining, pain and angst that you love (plus your background in film studies) I feel like this is required viewing. Get out the tissues. But also, it’s still really funny and cute/dumb (cause gmmtv) and the production was excellent. Also, Off/Gun are PEAK natural chemistry and Gun is such an incredible actor that watching him cry or yell at someone is still preferable to other actors being happy.

Watch on YouTube HERE

He’s Coming To Me

Precious baby boi Singto plays Med, a ghost, who is is stuck in limbo for 20 years - until he meets a boy who can see him, Thun (my baby boi Ohm) who promises to help him figure out his unfinished business and cross over. And then they were roommates! And then they start falling in love and it’s ANGSTY because they know Med will have to leave one day. Ouch, my heart.

You will enjoy the mixture of domestic fluff and tragic angst in this. But don’t worry it has a happy ending (kind of, I think, from memory haha). Also, you will enjoy the fact that they can’t touch (cause, ghost) which is *chefs kiss* except for moments of heightened emotions when Thun’s powers become strong enough that he can touch Med (FUCK YES, THIS TROPE IS EVERYTHING)

After much whining from fans, they put it up on Youtube haha so watch HERE. 

Until We Meet Again

ANNGST. RE.IN.CAR.NA.TION. ANGST. What else do you need to know?!?! Reincarnated soulmates trope?!!? HELLO!?!?  It’s so beautiful. I’m still not over it. And yes it has a happy ending, it starts super sad, then ends up super fluffy and the romantic fluffy moments oh god it’s so romantic. I know you love like soft domestic food sharing etc - this show is ALL about the cooking.

The casting, the characterisation, the acting, the story, the music, even the friendship group and the side-couple, it’s perfection *chefs kiss* PERFECTION

Watch on youtube HERE

A Tale of A Thousand Stars

After the lovely volunteer teacher Torfun dies (RIP poor torfun) in a tragic accident, her heart is transplanted into selfish pretty rich boy Tian (played by the beautiful Mix). After learning of her selfless character, he feels guilt and shame for living (the angst is very real) and makes it his mission to complete her life’s wishes and follow in her footsteps. 

As the new village volunteer teacher, he then falls in love with the very handsome and very shirtless chief Phupha (Earth), who lives to protect the trees, we stan an environmental man. Angst, fluff, complications, and many miscommunications ensue. I was tearing my hair out by the end of this show. Yes, it has a happy ending (eventually). Earth x Mix was a pairing we did not know we even wanted or needed until this show happened and now I cry every time I see a picture of them together. Every single time Phupha looks at Tian in this show I literally tear up. HE LOVES HIM SO MUUUUUCHHH *crying again*

Watch on youtube HERE

I Told Sunset About You

Childhood best-friends, turned enemies (for stupid kid reasons), to lovers. This is ANGSTY but so fucking beautiful it’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t even class this as “BL” because it doesn’t have any of the standard tropes, and there’s no silly sound-effects or innuendo jokes. This is like genuine lgbt+ indie-film realness. You can honestly just watch it for the cinematography and the music. The AESTHETIC of this show is what truly makes it special. The symbolism, the colours, this show said CINEMA. And the sexual tension is absolutely WILD. You will live for the angst (with a happy ending). And no, do not bother watching season 2, it’s perfect as a stand-alone mini-series. (I’m still upset).

Watch HERE 

and now for some stand-out non-Thai series...

Where Your Eyes Linger

Korea has gotten on the BL train, and has now made a whole bunch of viki mini-series that are all cute but this one is right up your alley. This is VERY merthur. It’s literally servant/master, bodyguard/prince trope. But, I thought the characterisation was nicely thought out and wasn’t what I was expecting. The tension is palpable, the angst is juicy, and the soft kdrama vibes are cheesy and wonderful. Angst with a happy ending (of course).

Watch on VIKI

HIStory 3: Trapped

So the Taiwanese HIStory series has been around forever, and I love the whole series (History 2: Crossing The Line is my all time fav). But for youuuu, I think the most appropriate is Trapped. Police detective single-mindedly obsessed with a gang leader? Yes please. But whatever power-dynamic expectations you would have of a police/criminal couple are twisted and warped immediately! This series is so endearing, it’s mostly comedy/action, and whilst it has plenty of angst, mostly it’s just CUTE as fuck. Also the side couple are adorable too!

The whole History series is on Viki now yay!

The Untamed

Look, I KNOW 50 episodes of plot-heavy chinese historical fantasy is a lot. But there’s a reason this show was soooo popular. It only took me like 3 attempts and a whole ass “guide” pdf to figure out what the fuck was happening in the first ep cause its non-linear. But, if you are in the right mood (ie; sick, or in lockdown) and need something to get completely LOST in for like a week, then watch this haha. I know you couldn’t make it through Guardian, but maybe this one will hit the spot.

This has all the angsty character tropes you live for. And cause it’s censored, there’s no actual romance, so instead it’s just the best kind of UST, character driven, emotional soulmate angst. To summarise: Wei Wuxian is; adopted, a trouble-maker, impetuous, head-strong, fun-loving, has a martyr complex and wants to save everyone. Meanwhile, Lan Zhan is; lawful good to a fault, stoic, shy, and has a martyr complex about saving Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian ONLY. Now throw them into the middle of supernatural / political turmoil and see what happens. Well I’ll tell you what happens, Wei Wuxian becomes the “villain”, gets killed, and Lan Zhan spends 16 years looking for him. FUCKING KILL ME OKAY. (No, that’s not a spoiler it happens in the first episode haha)

Do NOT watch on Netflix the subs are trash. Watch on Youtube or Viki

 ~ ~ ~

This list may seem long but I was VERY reserved in my selection okay you have no idea how tiny this tip of the iceberg is 😂

Also, knowing your love of no-touching, tension, and angst. I would also briefly draw your attention so School 2013 in my bromance list which is the single most angsty show about friendship ever made.

Enjoy!

#rec list #bl series #thai bl #taiwanese bl #chinese bl

[the-melting-world]

Since Nali's backstory fics are going up soon, I wanted to dump some lore about her homeland and what she was like before and after her banishment.

Left picrew: Nali before she's banished from Avalon. (Age: Late teens) Her hair is hot pink. She doesn't have her piercings yet. Already acquired most of her scars from mastering Storm Capoeira (Capoeira Tempestade).

Right picrew: Nali after her banishment from Avalon. (Age: mid thirties) Her hair color is more of a bubblegum/cloudy pink. She has her dimple pierces. Acquired more scars over the years from all the bodyguard jobs she's been involved in.

Nali was originally a shapeshifter whose alternate form is that of a magical dolphin species (technically her race is Encantado, which is derived from Brazilian/Amazonian legend.) All members of Nali's clan (Malachite Clan) have this alternate form. The other clans have their own distinct animal forms.

Nali is currently known as Mestra Adrenaline, but before that, her name was Rosario Whisper. Where Nali is from, surnames come from the House of the Capoeira master (mestre) that oversees the mentorship of all those adopted under their name. In Nali's case, her mentor is a seasoned mestre known as Mestre Whisper.

When Nali achieves her mestre status, she is rewarded with her own official name and granted dominion over her own House. It up to her whether she wants to adopt students under her name. Not all mestres become mentors, although many go on to be instructors to young capoeiristas that come through the different schools.

So to clarify, the role of mentor is the equivalent to a guardian status. Instructors are more like teachers. All mentors are instructors, but not all instructors decide to become mentors.

Mestre nicknames (ex: Adrenaline, Whisper, Moonfire) are usually a combination of one's personality and their fighting style. It's strongly encouraged to avoid discussing the meaning of one's name in public (although it is filed away in the clan's historical records). It is considered rude to openly discuss or explain the meaning behind a mestre's official name, especially if you are not a member of their House. People do it anyway because gossip is fun.

Two very important people from Nali's past are Mestre Whisper and Mestre Moonfire.

*More lore about them is located under the cut for the sake of your dash.*

His first name is Arthur. He's Nali's mentor/guardian

He is a part of a class of mentors known as Beloveds. These are mentors who repeatedly adopt students under their House name. Many Beloveds have several students in their care, but Mestre Whisper is known for only adopting one student at a time until they reach mestre status.

He is a part of a class of mentors known as Beloveds. These are mentors who repeatedly adopt students under their House name. Many Beloveds have several students in their care, but Mestre Whisper is known for only adopting one student at a time until they reach mestre status.

Because Malachite Clan members live generally long lives and age very slowly, Mestre Whisper looks to be in his late forties, early fifties, but his true age is up in the hundreds.

_

Right picrew: Mestre Moonfire

Mestre Moonfire is a pretty big deal. He's the Head of Clan Malachite. Even though he looks like a teenager, he's among the oldest members of the clan. Considered a living fossil by his subjects.

His first name is Julio, but only a very select group of individuals are allowed to address him so informally. He's got a boatload of formal titles, including: Mestre Julio, Malachite Son and Prince, Malachite Prince, Julio the Dreamwalker

He's responsible for taking his clan's collective magical properties and stretching them as far as he can. He is considered the father of Storm Capoeira, dreamwalking, and a highly specialized form of storm and shapeshifting magic called the slow-wave sleep.

As powerful as his position is, Mestre Moonfire likes to keep a low profile. He's able to do this thanks to his very youthful appearance and the way he keeps most of his features masked with a band of glittery black pain over his eyes whenever he has to make an official appearance. It is rumored that he takes frequent trips outside of his citadel into the city under the disguise of a simple white hood.

#just gonna borrow some lore from one of my other stories #but i miss my little lightning toting dolphin people so this was fun #mestra adrenaline #3 of cups #nali lore #the nautlius collection #oc picrew

[thatoneao3writer]

Okay, so y’know how in canon Bad and Skeppy’s canon lives are linked? (Basically Bad can’t loose any canon lives until Skeppy looses all three of his, at which point Bad drops down to one canon life.) I was thinking about how that could apply to the TTAU, (it wouldn’t be exactly the same, obviously, since canon lives don’t exist in TTAU) and I may have come up with some Ideas. You said you were fine with long asks, so here we go.

So first of all, how did it happen? Bad and Skeppy’s backstories aren’t connected... but wait, remember the time Skeppy dodged an arranged marriage by KOing whoever he was supposed to marry and having Bad stand in for them during the ceremony? Well, that got me thinking... what if gemfolk weddings (specifically royal weddings) have some... side effects?

Maybe in gemfolk culture, the heir to the throne traditionally marries their top knight, who ends up serving as a sort of bodyguard for them, as well as the head of the military n’stuff. There’s a huge emphasis on the knight protecting the heir, even after both ascend to the throne, and there’s also a lot of importance placed on the royal couple being close; usually the heir’s intended is selected when they’re both relatively young, so they can grow up together. (Skeppy got along with his intended pretty well when they were younger, but when they started to get into their teens it got a bit strained because a. They both realized they definitely weren’t into each other the way everyone wanted them to be and b. Her mentors started putting a lot more pressure on her, so she started taking her duty to protect him a bit too seriously, which led to them having a bit of a falling-out. This is one of the things that led him to leave home. Maybe they eventually reconcile once she realizes how much happier he is on earth (and with Bad, though she’s initially a little skeptical, since he’s a demon and all) than he was before, and they become friends again. Maybe she starts dating Skeppy’s sister or something, idk)

Anyway, because the royal couple is supposed to be so close, royal weddings include a special bonding ceremony with several key magical effects. First of all, since the knight is a. Probably not made of diamond, since that’s a royal family trait, b. Supposed to be protecting their spouse, and c. Likely to be frequently involved in combat, they get a feature where, when physically attacked, they’ll get coated with diamond temporarily, as a form of protection. (Since bad isn’t already made of some other gem, he just gets weird, spikey diamond clusters appearing around where the attack would otherwise hit.) In addition, the knight can feel whenever their spouse is in pain, so that they’ll always know if they’re in danger. (It wouldn’t hurt the knight enough to be debilitating, just kind of an echo) If two strangers bonded, they would only be able to feel severe pain, but once they get closer, they can feel more, and might eventually get to the point where they can sense emotional as well as physical discomfort. (When it first happens, Bad can feel the echos of all of Skeppy’s physical pain, but not emotional, at least until they actually get together.)

But here’s the thing. Skeppy has been told about the “special bond” thing, but not what it actually entails. Unlike the knight, the heir usually isn’t told about the particulars until they come of age, since none of it directly affects them, and the gemfolk are currently at peace, so since the effects are combat-oriented, Skeppy never saw his parents’ bond in action. (He left before he came of age and everyone was a bit busy right before the actual wedding, which is why it was never explained to him.)

It takes Bad and Skeppy a ridiculously long time to realize that something’s up, and even longer to connect the dots to the whole marriage debacle. Skeppy hadn’t really gotten any injuries worse than a few scrapes and bruises, and it’s not like Bad doesn’t also get his fair share of those from superhero work, so he just... doesn’t really notice? The protective diamond clusters only activate when Bad actually feels genuinely in mortal peril, so since he’s mainly fighting the Hive, they don’t actually show up most of the time. Bad’s also a good enough fighter that the few other instances in that time period he was actually in danger, he usually got out of the way in time, so the clusters (which form at the last possible second) were relatively small and feel off quickly enough that Bad didn’t notice.

Eventually they realize something’s up when some Actually Dangerous villain (maybe related to the Crimson?) gets the drop on the Titans and tries to stab Bad in the chest, only to be stopped by a giant cluster of diamonds. Bad initially thought that Skeppy had shown up last minute to help. (Skeppy was actually on the other side of town, trying to set up a prank against Quackity, and had no clue what was going on XD)

-🤺

YOOOO this is so freaking cool Fencer!! And canon! :DD

#skeppy #badboyhalo #skephalo #ask #fencer anon #ttau

[crystalwillow]

Picnic

Pairing: Tatum Mendoza x Kennedy Paige (F!MC)

Word count: 1.1K

Summary: Tatum and Kennedy have been together for almost 5 years now, and Kennedy has prepared a special date afternoon to celebrate their anniversary.

When Kennedy Paige started secretly dating her bodyguard and childhood best friend, Tatum Mendoza, five years ago she never would have thought they would make it this far.

In her head she thought her mother would be horrified when she found out and forbid them from seeing each other ever again. So it was a surprise to both of them when she was welcoming to the idea. As long as her daughter was happy, that’s all that mattered to her. After the hell-ish year she had endured at Vancross University all her mother wanted was for her daughter to have happiness, and if that came in the form of Tatum then so be it. Kennedy didn’t mind that he couldn’t be her bodyguard anymore because to her, him serving the title of boyfriend was the best thing she could think of.

Since leaving Vancross Kennedy travelled with her mother to learn what it takes to be a good leader, even though taking her mother's place as president isn’t what she wanted, learning about leadership was going to be vital for when she started her own business after her year-long break.

Three years later she is one of the most successful young people in the world with her clothing and perfume franchise. She’s working on bringing out a makeup line, and is also now celebrating her 5 year anniversary with Tatum, who has moved on to being a security guard at a local mall.

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

“So you’ll be there? 2pm. Yeah… I’ll be waiting for you. I love you too, Tate. No! I’m going to keep saying it until you stop cringing.” Kennedy giggles “Okay, I’ll see you later. Bye!”

She beams as she places her phone back in the pocket of her jeans and continues setting up the picnic blanket in the garden as her mothers kitchen staff carry out 5 trays of food, one containing some of the couples favourite fruit, two containing meat and cheeses, one full of desserts, and the last carrying sandwiches.

“Thank you so much for helping me out guys. And send my compliments to the chef, please.” Kennedy beams.

“Of course, it’s no problem. Five years is a long time and we can all see how much you mean to each other.” one staff member smiles.

Kennedy nods and smiles back as they turn and head back inside whilst she sets the trays out as she wants them and covers them over to avoid any flies or other bugs spoiling the food. Once she is satisfied she heads inside to the cellar where she selects a bottle of wine and 2 glasses before heading upstairs to collect the present she got for Tatum. After placing them outside she relaxes on the blanket as she pulls her sunglasses over her eyes, sighing in contentment.

The morning passes by in a blur and soon Kennedy is taking a shower and getting ready for the picnic with Tatum. Just as she settles in position outside, Tatum steps outside with his jacket hooked on one finger as it hangs over his shoulder. As he gets closer, Kennedy beams happily until he comes to a stop in front of her.

“Hey.” he speaks almost quietly as his hand meets her waist naturally, pulling her closer.

“Hey yourself.” she beams back as her hands come to rest on his chest, fiddling with his tie.

“How are you?”

“I’m good. How was work?”

“Pretty uneventful today. But I did stop by that jewellery store you like on my way out and picked you up an extra present.” Tatum smiles and takes a small gift wrapped box from his pocket.

“You want me to open this now?” she asks and he nods in response.

Kennedy steps back and carefully rips into the paper then opens the box then lets out a small gasp as she looks inside.

“You didn’t. You got me the- Tatum.” she chuckles as she tears up a little. “You got me the charm that completes my collection?”

“It was the last one they had. Told me it was a lucky buy as they don't know when or if they’ll be getting more in stock.”

“Awww. Babe.” Kennedy beams and pulls him in, pressing a sweeping kiss to his lips. “I love it. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” he replies as he returns the kiss. “Now, as much as I know you want me to just sit down and relax. I would like to go and take a shower, change into something a little more comfortable to lay back in the sun with you.”

“Yeah, of course! I’ll be here.” she smiles back up at him. “You go shower.”

Tatum disappears back inside and re-emerges an hour later wearing navy denim shorts, a white t-shirt and tan cardigan paired with some white air force style sneakers carrying a box as he approaches Kennedy who has now set out the full picnic beside the blanket.

“You didn’t say there would be food.” Tatum chuckles as he gets within range of being heard.

“Well, I thought it would be a nice surprise. I know how much you like to eat in a way that’s more snack-like and not one big meal. So I took the chance to put together a picnic for us now and thought you could order dinner for us later.”

“Ah, so that’s the catch.” he laughs as he sits down, “I’m buying our late night snack.”

Kennedy grins as she looks him up and down, stopping as she gets mesmerised by his jawline. Noting her gaze in his peripheral vision he smirks slightly before slowly turning his head to face her.

“You really need to work on your subtlety, you know.”

“Why would I want to do that when we’re in private?”

“You remember the incident that happened that year at Vancross before we went public as a couple.”

“Oh gosh, don’t remind me. Please.” she begs as she lies back.

“You look gorgeous by the way.” he smiles

“Why thank you, handsome sir.” she smiles at him.

He smiles back and then they burst into a fit of giggles a couple of minutes later.

“You’re adorable, Miss Paige. Has anyone ever told you that?”

“Mmmm… I can think of at least one person.” she smiles up at him.

"Flirt." He grins and nudges her playfully.

"Naturally" She smirks in response.

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

Author’s Note: I have been really struggling to finish this one. I’m thinking maybe I’ll take a break and replay FA when I can afford VIP again, get more inspo and make this into like a mini universe/series type thing. But at the end of this they were intimate before going to bed and ordered from a restaurant where they got a range of different things to eat over the next couple of days. The 5 year anniversary was a success and they are happier than ever! Where do you want to see me take Tatum and Kennedy next?

#playchoices #pixelberry studios #choices: stories you play #choices fanfiction #choices fanfic writer #choices fa #choices foreign affairs #foreign affairs tatum #tatum mendoza #tatum x f!mc #choices fa f!mc

[morganlefaye79]

Inquisitor as a companion: Vajk Cadash

Picture made in artbreeder.com from a game screenshot and some other faces. We definitely need some handsome dwarfs Bioware!

Trend started by @little-lightning-lavellan​ it’s an amazing one and it is much fun to make! Many thanks for starting this! :)

Is your OC a Companion in the Dragon Age series? What would it be like for a player to select them to join their party for quests (or romance them, perhaps? 

You have selected Vajk Cadash to join your party!

Race: Dwarf

Gender: male

Class: Warrior /2H

Specialization: Champion

Background

Vajk Cadash (born 9:10 Dragon) is a surface dwarf with connections to the carta. He fell in love with a young dwarven girl when he was nearly 20. Her name was Finja. Everyone who saw them together knew that they would be married soon. The couple was even lucky enough that both families agreed. Both families started planning the marriage. Vajk wasn’t happy about that because those planned festivities were always “big” and he hated it. He had no interest in meeting his 7th grade cousin whose name he never could remember.

On his wedding day he wanted to sneak into Finja’s room to steal a last kiss before everything would get “traditionally boring”.

What he found in her room would haunt him for the rest of his life. Finja laid dead on the ground. [REDACTED].

After that he took his sword and left, since then he never spoke to his family again, he also “left” the carta and for reasons unknown to him they didn't bother him.

He worked mostly as a mercenary for many years and was hired by a mage as a bodyguard during the conclave, but they arrived too late in Haven and missed the show. (Those are Vajk’s words, not mine!)

Dragon age: Inquisition

The mage leaves Haven shortly after the temple explodes, he mutters something that they will think that he did it, because a mage already blew up a chantry and now all mages will go crazy and destroy the world.

From that moment on Vajk was unemployed again and wanted to leave at first. 

One evening he was in “the singing maiden”, he didn’t have much company in the few days that he was there and he truly never asked for it, he preferred it to be alone, but on the other hand he couldn’t bear too much silence.

Varric talked to Vajk that evening, he had heard his name from someone else and was curious because all “Cadash’s” are involved in the carta.

He only told Varric that he left his family and the carta and this alone was enough for Varric to really know which unlucky soul he was. Rumours spread fast.

Varric can finally convince him to stay in Haven and the Inquisitor can recruit him as a companion, or else he will be with the main troops and will rise very quickly through their ranks.

He can be found in “the singing maiden” in a secluded corner. In Skyhold he can be found either in the undercroft talking to Dagna (she reminds him of Finja) or in “the herald’s rest”.

Although he very dislikes it, he will if asked make contact with the carta to provide resources for the Inquisition through his family. With a good discount of course. It would be very clever for Josephine and the Inquisitor to involve him in negotiating trade agreements.

Approval and Romance

Because of his past in the carta, Vajk knows that morals, fairness and justice sometimes belong in the garbage can. He will never judge a decision made by the Inquisitor when he gets a plausible reason.

Being honest and genuine is the best way to get approval from Vajk.

Vajk has no personal quest per se, but the Inquisitor finds out very quickly that it is a personal pleasure for Vajk to take out carta thugs. The Inquisitor can even get approval when he is in the party when the Inquisitor encounters them. When questioned Vajk will tell the Inquisitor that he just doesn't like them. It’s obvious that there is more to it.

Vajk is not romanceable, at best you can become friends with benefits, this is possible for male and female Inquisitors although females will need to try harder than males.

He tried many times throughout the years “to love again” but always failed so that he gave up trying. He realized that he would never be capable of loving anyone besides Finja. He will tell this to the Inquisitor and will be very serious about this! If the Inquisitor should mention that what they have isn’t enough anymore he will immediately end  their “agreement”.

Because of this he also has no “Romance-Quest” but with enough approval and trust you can find out what exactly happened to Finja and how he really feels. *sob*

If the Inquisitor doesn’t romance Vajk there will be rumours that Vajk might sleep every night in a different bed. (Those are mostly rumours, even a dwarf cannot fight the whole day and then bang every night!)

Trespasser

High Approval:

Vajk was the whole time loyal to the Inquisition and their cause and helped where his help was needed or beneficial. As during Inquisition, he will not be judgemental with anything the Inquisitor will decide. 

Low Approval:

Vajk will still be around but most likely with the troops and not with the “important” ones. 

Post Trespasser

Varric will offer Vajk to work for him in Kirkwall, this is offered always and doesn’t depend on approval.

Combat Comments:

Killing an enemy

You don’t even bother

Try harder next time

Low Health

Is that all my blood?

Healer!

(Approaching camp) You know that I have short legs, Inquisitor?

(Picking up a shard) If you want glowing stones you just need to go to the deep roads, instead of crawling through the bushes.

(First time battling a high dragon) 

Vajk: This one is mine

Bull: Only when you’re quicker

Locations

Crestwood

(after completing Still Waters) And I always thought the carta was heart- and ruthless.

Storm Coast

(approaching the sea) I like it here, the weather suits my mood nicely.

Western Approach

Ugh, do I need to be here? The sand is now somewhere you do not want to know!

Emprise Du Lion

it’s cold! Give me something to kill!

Emerald Graves

Scrambling over tree stumps, very heroic! *scoffs*

Exalted Plains

There was nothing written in my working contract about demons!

Fallow Mire

YAy, let's drown the dwarf!

Hissing Wastes

Dwarves on the surface, who would have thought?!

Winter Palace

Is it really necessary for me to be here? Can I hide under a table?

Hinterlands

Without the mages and templars killing each other, this could be a nice place to live.

Arbor wilds

...more tree stumps.

Companion Comments:

Blackwall: We don’t talk much and when it is mostly me that’s talking and when I ask questions it is rare for him to give answers, but I can accept that.

Dorian: Did you ever look into his eyes? I personally cannot stand it for long without starting to weep. Whatever happened to him it destroyed him.

Sera: Dagna says he is nice. Doesn’t talk much though. Dunno.

Vivienne: Who? Sorry my dear, I am afraid I cannot say anything about him you don’t know already.

Cassandra: He is focused and determined with anything he does, sometimes I wonder if Vajk or Cullen works more.

Varric:  *Varric just looks at you with a sad face and shaking his head*

Cole: A long silvery dress, blood everywhere, Love that causes sorrow and grief. I wanted to help, make him forget, but he doesn’t want to forget, he wants to keep the pain. I don’t understand.

Iron Bull: He needs everything we are willing “and” he allows us to give.

Leliana: I know very sad stories. But reality is sometimes more cruel than a bard could ever imagine.

Cullen: “He is a well trained warrior and he can also lead people, he would do well in the military.

Josephine: He is very helpful in dealing with dwarven merchants, if he gets enough information from Leliana.

The Inquisitor: He is a very quiet, but a good friend!

Trivia

He can play the lute because Finja showed him. When Maryden pauses he takes her lute and starts playing but after a few tones he stops and leaves the tavern. Maryden asks the Inquisitor for a lute for Vajk, so that he can play in his own room so that no one can see him.

Vajk complains very often about his height. He would like to be taller.

Vajk is, depending on the resources, a very good cook.

He loves the cookies Josephine bakes for Cullen, now she bakes some more so that he gets enough for himself and doesn’t have to ask Cullen to get some. He could bake them himself, but they taste better when someone else makes them.

His birthday is 27th Kingsway.

#dragon age #male cadash #inquisitor as companion #dragon age inquisition #I am sorry I love dramatic life changing events #I tried to place some funny things too #enjoy