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juuuuliee · 3 years

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Broken promises

A/N: so... this is my first story I'm posting, so please don't be so hard on me hahaha... Constructive criticism is of course welcome! I'm working on a masterlist and other stories, so stay tuned if you'd like. I'm sorry if there are some logic and/or grammar mistakes - as I said, this is my first story. I hope you like it, have fun reading! See you soon :)

Pairing:young!Sirius Black x Reader

Genre:a lot of angst, a bit of fluff

Warnings:angst, family problems, relationship problems, jealousy.

Y/N felt bad. Not the kind of bad that makes you want to throw up, more like your stomach was knotting up and that queasy, uncomfortable feeling was getting bigger.

The common room had long been pitch black and only the fire, which was slowly dying away, gave off a small pleasant glow, but it barely reached the sofa where she was curled up.

He had promised. He had promised to be there and yet she had not seen him since lunch in the Great Hall.

Anger and disappointment kept bubbling up inside her, but she tried to ignore those feelings as worry about him grew and slowly took over.

What if something really happened to him?

Before she could think any more about it, she heard a creak and pulled up. The portrait door swung open and the fat lady could be heard cursing behind Sirius, who came stumbling into the common room, but stopped abruptly when he saw his steady girlfriend on the sofa.

"Y/N?" he asked, startled, looking at her with his eyebrows drawn together.

"Damn it, Sirius, where have you been?" she started, realising that the worry was just giving way to the anger that was rising at the sight of him.

"I was at the lake...well...it was someone's birthday from Hufflepuff and I thought...I could go...what did I do wrong, Love?" he told her hesitantly.

"What did you do wrong, Mister? I don't know, everything I think!" Y/N scolded back, theatrically throwing her hands in the air to express her frustration more.

"You said you were coming, Sirius! Hell, YOU even suggested we meet and still said, you’d had a ,,plan’’…I don't know if that was part of your plan, but if it was, I'm sorry, it's a shitty plan! I thought you would have hurt yourself or made it back to Filch's office."

"Y/N, I'm sorry, okay? I forgot, yeah? What do you want me to do? Invent a time reverser just so our ONE date can still happen?!" sneered Sirius, raising his own voice

"The ONE time?! Sirius I don't know if you've been counting, but this is the fourth time in a row you've forgotten or missed it!" now Y/N shouted too, at which Sirius took a step towards her, but she dodged him right back.

,,I know I'm probably overreacting, but I feel like I'm fighting for our relationship all by myself, Sirius. I'm tired of waiting for you all the time, even though I know you won't come and you probably don't even care. It just hurts, okay?" She had started crying completely now and pulled her jumper closer to her.

"Maybe it has something to do with your family problems," he interrupted angrily and raised his hand, which Y/N only looked at defiantly.

"I am who I am and that is how you should accept me, Y/N! I have apologised, what more can I do?!"

Silence.

Grey, angry eyes met e/c, staring at him with anger and disappointment.

,, "Maybe you should change your priorities if some Hufflepuff chick's party is more important than your own girlfriend, Sirius!"

,, "And maybe you should lower your expectations. You're not the most important person to me damn it!"

Ouch. It felt like Sirius had stuck a knife in your back and was very, very slowly turning it around.

"I didn't mean it, Y/N," Sirius said with a roll of his eyes, avoiding Y/N's hurt gaze and focusing more on her shoes.

,, "Yes you did and you know it very well!"

Sirius groaned and you could literally feel the anger bubbling up inside him again and he had to pull himself together very hard not to yell at her again. In the end, however, his temper won out: "You know what? I'm leaving! I'm tired of this kindergarten and this... this kind of you, Y/N."

"Fine!"

"Great!"

,,Fantastic!" sobbed Y/N, but Sirius barely heard it as he stomped up the stairs to his dorm.

Y/N sat back on the couch, exactly in the place where she had been sitting twenty minutes ago and everything was still "fine".

Had he broken up with her?

She didn't know, but she knew it hurt..., it hurt like hell. There was a hole in her heart and it felt like she was losing her boyfriend, who was moving further and further away from her into the mist, so that all she could see was his outline, not even looking back at her. She wanted to reach out to him, to run after him, but something that must have been her own pride pulled her back and tried to convince her that it wasn't her fault.

But she didn't trust that voice. If only she had stayed calmer... Maybe she could have talked to Sirius calmly about her feelings and thoughts....

——————————————————

"Y/N, wake up!" a voice called at her ear and Y/N slowly opened her eyes. Lily.

,, Lily, please! Let me sleep..." she muttered and turned around to avoid the red-haired witch.

"Forget it! It's Saturday...Hogsmead day," Lily purred excitedly.

"No!"

„Oh come on, Y/NN. We're going to Honeyduks and stock up on chocolate! James, Sirius, Remus and Peter are coming too, it'll be fun!", Lily tried to convince her, but Y/N just shook her head.

"I don't want to see him." "Who?" "Sirius." Lily furrowed her eyebrows questioningly, but quickly understood, "Did you two have a fight?" Y/N merely nodded her head and buried her face in her pillow.

"What was it about?" asked Lily, stroking soothing circles on Y/N's back to get the young witch to speak.

"He missed another date and was at some Hufflepuff party. I was so mad at him...I said things I didn't mean and so did he...His temper won of course...I don't know, it all just escalated. I don't think he wants to see me either." Y/N reported as she sat up and Lily nodded understandingly.

"That's bullshit. He knows he messed up, Y/N. Sirius isn't that stupid... and of course he wants to see you! Besides, it's Saturday, so if you two don't get along, you'll need some frustration food, Y/NN... chocolate! It'll be alright." Lily tried to persuade Y/N and she had to grin.

"Maybe you're right..." said Y/N hesitantly, "Of course I am!" laughed Lily and started to push Y/N into the bathroom.

,"I'm sure he'll be pleased." Repeated Lily, giving her friend a cheery smile.

Once in the Great Hall, the two girls headed for the Gryffendor table where all the Marauders were already seated. Lily gave Y/N's hand an encouraging squeeze before greeting the boys: "Hey!" she called and sat down next to James, who greeted her with a kiss. Y/N stood next to them a little indecisively before squeezing in between Peter and Remus, who greeted her with a quiet,, Hi."

She could literally feel the looks of the others lingering between her and Sirius and lowered her gaze to her plate to avoid the looks from the others and especially Sirius... unsuccessfully. She couldn't help but squint over at the black-haired boy. He had bags under his eyes and was also keeping his eyes on his plate, which was full.

Instead of chatting to the others, she followed James and Lily's relationship banter, which made her wrinkle her nose more than once... Cheesy as hell!

Fortunately, breakfast was over quickly and the group set off for Hogsmead. Sirius and Y/N were mostly quiet and only said something when asked. They all went to Honeyduks together first, where Y/N stocked up on lots of chocolate, at which Sirius just raised his eyebrows, but she avoided his questioning gaze and slipped unobtrusively over to Lily, who was sneaking a caramel into her mouth.

Are you okay?" she asked with her mouth full, eyeing her friend who was standing in front of her a little indecisively.

"He's not even looking at me, Lils... What if he broke up with me yesterday and I haven't even noticed?" whispered Y/N in panic and Lily quickly shook her head.

"He didn't break up with you... Sirius, even though this sounds weird, loves you... Even Peter can see that! Just go up to him and talk to him. But stop blaming yourself: HE messed up and stood you up, not you." She said urgently, piercing Y/N with her green eyes.

„It's okay, Lily," Y/N said, and moved away from her friend, again walking to the biscuit shelf, which was very close to her boyfriend. She looked over at him cautiously and noticed that he was peering over at her too, whereupon she quickly averted her gaze from Sirius again and pretended to analyse the biscuits on the shelf with interest.

After the group had paid for their things, they went into the Three Broomsticks. By the time they entered the pub, it was busy and noisy, making it difficult to find a table to seat them all. After a few minutes, Sirius waved the friends over, who had apparently found room at a table where two Hufflepuff girls were still sitting, giggling as Sirius sat down next to them as he grinned charmingly at them.

A wave of jealousy and frustration erupted in Y/N and she had to pull herself together not to flee the pub immediately. Instead, she bit the inside of her cheek and sat down next to Remus and James, opposite Sirius and Hannah, who probably considered Sirius's forearm her own. She batted her eyelashes and obviously(!) flirted with Sirius, who happily joined in her game.

Y/N quickly looked away, unable to afford to put up with this fuss any longer. Remus unobtrusively squeezed her hand under the table and, Y/N smiled at him gratefully.

Y/N sat awkwardly at the table, not knowing what to do or say next at the sight of her steady boyfriend apparently having already found a new one. Sighing, Y/N stood up and muttered: "I'm going to get us butterbeers, okay?"

Without waiting for the others to reply, she hurried away from the table. She noticed tears forming in her eyes but immediately wiped them away and made her way to the bar where many teenagers were gathered. Desperately, she tried to make her way through the crowd and eventually managed to do so.

She didn't notice someone squeezing up behind her and pushing in next to her until that person snapped at her.

„Y/N?"

Startled, she pulled up to look into the friendly face of Amos Digorry, who was looking down at her.

Oh! Hey, Amos," she greeted her seatmate in Divination and smiled at him.

"Is everything okay with you?" he asked with his eyebrows drawn together and Y/N nodded quickly as she wiped a few remaining tears from her cheeks.

‚,Everything is great, yes," she replied and was glad when Rosmerta put the buttebeer on the counter. Y/N smiled at her in thanks before turning to Amos, "See you around, Amos." She said goodbye and hurried away.

Arriving back at the table, her eyes immediately fell on Sirius and Hannah, who were still talking to each other. Hannah giggled and Sirius seemed to be perfectly comfortable in the company of the beautiful brunette too.

Y/N knew her, she was her seatmate in Potions. As she took a closer look at her, a wave of insecurity gripped her. She had everything one imagines as 'perfect'. She was tall and thin, with a small waist and an elegant posture. She just fitted into the toxic beauty ideals that existed and Y/N hated so much. And the worst part was that there was actually nothing to not like about her. She was sweet and helpful and super nice.

Even though Y/N knew that your weight, your smile, your general appearance, how many friends you have and whether you get good grades doesn't change your worth as a person, she suddenly felt so small and superfluous that she couldn't take it anymore.

She noticed tears welling up in her eyes and stood up abruptly, causing her to bang her knee against the table.

Pained, she screwed up her face and looked at the questioning faces sitting at the table, staring at her. Great... Embarrassed, she brushed a strand of hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear and smiled consumingly, but it looked more like a 'I'm going to cry' smile.

"I- I think I forgot my... uh my- something in Honeyduks, I think... I have- so yeah... I'll go..." she stuttered awkwardly, though she realised all her friends knew she was lying.

She quickly hurried away from the table and Sirius, unable to suppress the tears in her eyes. Hastily she wiped them away, but more kept coming. She didn't notice how Lily called after her in vain and Remus got up from his seat and tried to run after her, but James pushed him back into the chair, looking hauntingly at Sirius who sat frozen. When she got to the crowded alleyway, Y/N just stumbled through the crowd and was glad when she got behind Honeydukes, where there was a path that led to the howling hut. The path was snowed in and would have been beautiful if Y/N had paid more attention. She trudged along the path until she finally arrived at the howling hut. She just stared at it and stopped in front of it. She focused on the small cracks in the wall that looked like small branches of trees moving in the wind.

She heard footsteps coming closer and closer and turned around. Sirius. His black hair was a mess and he hadn't even zipped up his jacket. He was panting and apparently out of breath when he started to speak: "I'm sorry. I'm so incredibly sorry, yeah? You have to believe me when I say I'm sorry... Please Y/N, you have to believe me."

She said nothing and just looked at him urgently until he began to speak again: "Please say something. You can yell at me too, you can yell at me all year and the years after, but please say something." He pleaded, looking at her pleadingly as he wiped his face.

"You don't know anything, Sirius." , she started and he nodded to get her to talk further.

"You don't know how much it hurts to wait for a person that you- that you seem to love. You do know what it's like to not feel loved and- and to feel insecure... you know exactly what that feels like. And I always get so mad at the person who makes you feel that way because they hurt you! And I think I can say that I'm there for you then!" she gulped and Sirius nodded to agree with her, "But you're never there..." she sobbed, letting her tears fall again.

"I know you love me and I can't compare your family to our relationship. I feel good in your presence and- and that's how it should be... - that's how it should be! But- but it always hurts so much when you stand me up or ignore me and I don't even know what I- what I did wrong...I wasn't the one who stood you up, Sirius. It was you...and so many times!" she continued in exasperation and Sirius wasn't sure whether to let her finish or give her a hug. But before he could make a decision for himself, Y/N continued: "And today was even worse! Lily told me all the time that it wasn't my fault and now I know that it wasn't or isn't mine either. But then when you were flirting with Hannah and you-you were having such a good time, I was so sad! Why can you talk to her and have fun but not with me?! Why are you happy to see her but not me?!" asked Y/N desperately and Sirius opened his mouth to stop her from having those thoughts but she continued with a sad look: "You once promised me you would never make me feel small or insecure. You once promised to always be there for me. You once promised me that I was the "only one" and that you loved me. You promised to be there for me so many times, Sirius. But somehow you broke them all and I don't know what to do with these broken promises. I love you and that's not going to change, but I- I just don't know what to do with it when you- you hurt me so much and make me feel so insecure... So actually, you do know what that feels like...just differently." She confessed to him and completely burst into tears.

Sirius, who had tears in his own eyes, looked at her with a pained smile, which made her cry even more. He broke the distance between them and took her in his arms. He pressed her tightly against him and had to bend down to put his face in the crook of her neck. She clung to his shoulders and pressed her face into his chest to breathe in his familiar scent.

They stood like that for a while. Both crying, holding each other as close as possible. After a few minutes, Sirius slowly detached himself so he could look into her eyes.

"You don't know how sorry I am, Y/N. I don't want to hurt you! Merlin, when I think about the fact that I did it, I want to hurt myself. You're- you're- Damn, I'm not good with words!" he laughed and even Y/N had to smile a little.

,,I love you. For everything you do and for everything you say. I love you for who you are and for those little things you do for others. And I will- will never stand you up or break the promises I made to you ever again. I swear I will do my best, Y/N....and I am so grateful that you love me because I never wanted anything else in my life! You don't have to forgive me now...I understand if you don't, honestly." He said softly so she could just hear.

She smiled slightly at him and said laughing: "So if you kiss me now, it'll make things a bit better."

Sirius grinned and closed the distance between them, placing his warm lips on hers. He kissed her softly and lovingly, as if afraid to scare her away, but she didn't go. She deepened their kiss a little and sighed into his mouth.

As they kissed there like that, in front of the howling hut with dried tears on their cheeks, Y/N knew that everything would be allright again....

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amiedala · 2 years

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DINCEMBER #4: UNDERNEATH

PROMPT: Blankets

SUMMARY: You gulp. “You scared the hell out of me.”

Din cocks his head to one side. You bite down on your bottom lip. “You need to be more aware of your surroundings.”

He moves forward, just a half step, and then he’s undeniable. It’s everywhere, the smell of him, the warmth of his skin underneath. It’s gunsmoke and metal, like you were expecting, and the soft cleanness of the soap in the shower, and for some reason, cinnamon. It’s intoxicating. You feel dizzy, like your knees could knock together and give out underneath you. You don’t move, because you can feel the smooth buffer of the dashboard right behind you. You feel like how you imagine the Mandalorian’s bounties do—like prey.

WARNINGS: mentions of blood and injury, allusions to feeling high, pining, slight (but relatively chaste) spice at the end (who knew kissing could be so intense?)

WORDCOUNT: 3,370

AUTHOR’S NOTE: day 4 of @dindjarindiaries’s Dincember!!! all throughout the month of December, i’ll be writing (relatively) short din djarin x reader oneshots (alongside all the other incredible participants!!!). today, what came out was warmth (and how hot it can truly be). enjoy!

— dedicated to Hannah @dinbrowneyesdjarinsposts, happy birthday angel!!! 💛

Space is cold. A frozen, expanding wasteland, eternal and unyielding. It cuts through the steel of the starship’s body, turning everything icy, a silver tundra. It’s always been cold, even here, even traveling with the Mandalorian—but when he leaves the ship, even the warmest of planets can rival the chill of space.

It’s been months, now, since you’ve been aboard. It happened so readily, so naturally, that you barely remember the circumstances. He was supposed to grant you safe passage out of the sketchier parts of the galaxy, but you were useful. Helpful.

Invaluable, maybe, by the way he studies you through the visor. His eyes on you, that focused, star-sharp gaze—it’s intoxicating. It sticks to your skin and refuses to be scrubbed off. He watches you—the way you control the Crest, how you cook with the limited supplies in the cupboard downstairs, the times you soothe the baby when nothing else can. He keeps his gaze on you the most intently after you patch him up after a particularly difficult bounty. It sears straight through the visor and burns red inside your body, and your hands always shake from restraint, from holding back from him.

The Mandalorian—Din, you have to keep reminding yourself, the name of the man under the armor, the name of the man you’ve already fallen hard for—he likes silence. He’s most comfortable in it. But you savor the words he whispers to you, the ones that sound like pure grit through the modulator, excavating the softness underneath all the stoic. Din is dangerous to his enemies, to the people who threaten you and the kid, certainly to the bounties he catches and drags back to the Razor Crest, but he’s never so much as raised his voice to you.

So, yeah, maybe space is cold, but it never feels that way when Din’s aboard. He gets too close to you, and you get the overwhelming urge to crack a window. It burns low in your belly, your attraction to him, the magnetism that keeps you as close as possible to his armored body, even though he’s reserved and driven and a love affair in the middle of the stars isn’t a priority. You dream about it, the way he’d hold you. Even more, even though it always makes you feel guilty—you imagine what he looks like under the helmet. You’ve seen glimpses of his skin—deep, tan, marred with years of scars—but that’s it. You think he probably has a mouth to match his voice—intentional, full, beautiful. You’ve never seen his hair exposed, but if it matches the dark trail of hair that glides down the center of his stomach, it’s probably dark. Wavy, maybe. Messy. You can’t imagine that it’s perfectly tamed under the helmet that he wears nearly every single second of his life.

But his eyes—Din’s eyes are what intrigue you the most. You’ve spent hours with your thumbnail in your mouth, studying the contours of his silhouette in the slightly offset copilot’s chair, trying to excavate what they look like. Long eyelashes, you’re certain of that. An intense look to them, to match the depth of his gaze. For a while, you imagined them hazel, spattered with flecks of the earth he only studies through the visor in his helmet, but now? Now, you’re pretty sure they’re brown.

For the most part, you sleep separately. Din closes himself off into the veiled cot in the hull of the Crest, the baby hovers in his cradle, and you’ve made a very nice nest of bedding on the floor of the cockpit. There have been times where the three of you shared the same open space in the hull—usually when Din came back beaten and bloodied with a bounty you needed to encase in carbonite because he was passed out on the metal floor—but you can count those on your fingers.

He’s private. Very private. But there are parts of you, and little glimpses that you’ve collected since you’ve climbed aboard the Razor Crest, that tell you that he’s not entirely committed to staying reserved. You’ve only seen slivers of his skin. Sometimes, he makes noises in the dark—with your hands on him, after a fight, the one time you heard a low groan right outside of the fresher—and your mind wanders. You can’t help it. You’re sharing a space with a man covered in metal, but he’s not unapproachable, and you’re not a saint. More than once, he’s drifted into your mind when you’re alone in the mouth of the Crest, when you bury yourself under your makeshift covers, when you’re under a stream of hot running water. Din’s a mystery, and you’re beyond curious, at this point, what’s underneath all of it.

Right now, he’s beyond the walls of the cot. You’re at the top of the ladder, nose frozen, teeth chattering, and staring down at that immovable door. It’s so dark in here—the Crest doesn’t have good lighting, period, but it’s rendered practically opaque in the blackness of space—and it’s cold. You’re pretty sure it’s getting colder. You’ve never been warm on this ship—aside when you’ve been thinking nonstop about Din underneath all the armor—but right now, it’s like the Crest is buried into the side of a snowbank. It has been before. It was decidedly not pleasant.

The baby is fast asleep in his cradle, snuggled right up against the outside of the wall separating the cot from the rest of the ship, swaddled in his fluffy robe and a pile of blankets. For a minute, you debate plucking him straight out of there and hold him fast against your chest all night to keep you warm, but he overexerted himself the last time the three of you were on land, and he needs his sleep more than you need warmth.

Barely, though. The line is very thin.

The ship makes an odd, defeated noise, and you look over your shoulder, dragging your barely-there gaze off of the door Din’s hidden behind. You’re not the best mechanic. You’re a pilot by default, because practically everybody over the age of ten in this galaxy needs to know how to operate a starship, but engineering isn’t your strong suit. But it’s either fiddle with all of the buttons on the heaving, impressive dashboard and try to remedy the issue, or freeze on the floor while you’re yearning for the Mandalorian downstairs to wrap you against his strong, broad body.

You groan while you do it, but you get up. The warmest blanket is swathed around your body as tight as it can be, and you pad over to where the noise is coming from. It’s hard to tell. Earlier, you thought maybe it was the engine, but after looking at everything illuminated on the dashboard, it could be...anything. There are so many things wrong with this ship. It’s impossible to tell where the issue is even coming from, let alone how to pinpoint it to fix. You squint down at all of it. Thrusters are almost drained. The outside artillery has maybe five rounds left in it. The fuel gauge is running on empty, and you’re flying in the middle of nowhere. There are aftermarket touches on almost every facet of the Crest—the originals either shot off or dilapidated on their own—but it’s held together with patches and brute force and plain, sheer luck.

“You are a disaster,” you mumble under your breath, affectionate, moving an icy hand out to test different levers and switches. The Crest beeps in acknowledgement, and you suppress a shiver, trying—and failing—valiantly to remedy the issue.

“What are you doing?”

Maker. The voice comes from right behind you. You gasp, hand flying over your heart, turning around to face the Mandalorian. You come face-to-face with his chest, and you have to tip your head back to see the helmet. Your first thought is tall. Nothing more, just the repeated utterance of that single word. And then, belatedly, through a haze, he’s not wearing any armor. The only silver that reflects in the glittering darkness is of the eternal helmet, fixated on you. You gulp. “You scared the hell out of me.”

Din cocks his head to one side. You bite down on your bottom lip. “You need to be more aware of your surroundings.”

But you’re not scared. You like it, the heat of the feeling, being pinned in place with his body, by his stature. “I,” you say, with as much dignity as you can conjure while your teeth rattle against each other and your body shivers involuntarily, “am perfectly aware of my surroundings. M—my surroundings are not the issue here. It’s the Mandalorian bounty hunter who can sneak up on anything.” You swallow, pointing a finger at his chest, and then, before you can stop yourself, you’re touching it to the bare black shirt. Then, a flush floods through you, at the realization that there’s no armor here to delay the heat of your finger, and you want to pull it back, but you don’t.

He considers it. “Maybe you’re right.” And in one fluid motion, he gently pushes you aside to inspect the dashboard. “It’s coming from the inside of the ship, which means it’s not an engine malfunction.”

You nod, even though Din can’t see you, bent over the dashboard, arms crossed over your body to trap nonexistent heat in. “We’re low on fuel,” you say. Slowly, his head turns, the T of his visor fixated on you. You swallow, but soldier through. “And the thrusters aren’t working at top capacity. And we better hope to the high heavens that no one tries to attack us in space again, or we won’t have the gunpowder to fend them off.”

He stares, not moving an inch. “Well,” Din says, a long sigh dragging through the modulator, “you are more perceptive than you were a minute ago.”

You feel like you should be offended. But there’s a slight lilt to his voice, like he’s complimenting you, so you bite down on your grin as he turns back to the dashboard. His huge, gloved hands are planted across the metal, and your eyes trace over the silhouette of them before you remind yourself they’re not yours to fantasize about.

“Found it,” Din says, roughly, pointing to a dial that looks like it controls temperature. “Heating’s broken.”

He turns back around, and you’re standing there, frigid and trembling, and he studies you like it’s the first he’s seeing you shaking. His visor dips down as he slowly takes stock of your whole body—from your eyes all the way down to your double-socked toes—and you have to forcibly remind yourself that he’s not sizing you up the way you devour him with your eyes, but there’s something warm underneath it.

“Really,” you deadpan, and then, through chattering teeth, “didn’t notice.”

Din crosses his own arms across his chest—broad, impressive, the dark shirt stretching in the middle. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Now it’s your turn to stare. “You—you were sleeping.”

Din tilts his head. Just a fraction of an inch, but it’s noticeable. “I’m aware.”

You swallow. “You never sleep,” you manage, lip pressing against frozen lip.

“I sleep plenty. And I expect you to let me know when you’re freezing to death in the middle of the night.”

You fix him with another deep gaze, and you feel your eyes jumping, involuntary, to where the outline of his mouth would be underneath the helmet. “I am freezing to death,” you repeat, trying to sound confident about it, but you feel winded. “I don’t know what time it is, considering we’re in the middle of nowhere, but I can imagine it’s somewhere around the middle of the night.”

“I can’t fix the heater until we’re grounded somewhere,” Din says, and for some reason, his voice comes out gravelly.

“Oh,” you answer, bringing the contours of the heavy blanket swaddled around your shoulders closer to your body, “okay.” You turn, heading back to the corner of the cockpit, but a metallic, deep voice behind you stops you in your tracks.

“Where are you going?”

You gesture towards the nest of bedding you’ve accumulated. “Bed.”

Din considers this for a second, like he’s truly pondering. “No you’re not,” he decides, moving towards you, gloved hands finding your wrist as he moves towards the hole in the floor. You have a million questions, but when he climbs down the ladder in one fluid motion, steel boots echoing off the metal of the hull, he holds a gloved hand up through the space.

“Climb down,” he says, but it doesn’t sound like an outright order. You nod, turning around to scale the ladder, but your foot slips and sends you tumbling down the drop, and then you’re caught by muscled, built arms. All the wind is knocked out of your lungs.

You stare up at the Mandalorian, the man holding your body in his hands, and you stutter through your words and the cold. “I—”

“Get in,” Din interrupts, softly. There’s a charged edge to his voice, and you look over at the open door leading to his bed.

You look back at him, dumbfounded. “I can’t sleep in there—that’s your bed, your space—”

“Relax,” Din says, and then guides you to your feet. You climb in, slowly, decidedly not thinking about the view he has—in the dark, the helmet likely has thermal vision—as you crawl in headfirst, the blanket you were swaddled in dropping to the floor, exposing the shape of your hips, every curve of your body. You can feel his gaze on you as you move, your heartbeat kicking up a nearly audible rhythm in your chest. You’re hyper aware of all of it. And when you situate yourself at the end, your head finding his pillow, Din leans over to inspect it. “I don’t want to kick you out of your own bed,” you whisper, but even as the guilt floods through your veins like tar, you realize all of your words come out fluidly, not broken up by shivers.

“Who said anything about kicking me out?” Din says, after a moment, his voice steeped in velvet and something else you can’t entirely identify, and then, as if it’s a dream, he’s folding himself in half and climbing beside you in his bed.

You don’t say anything. You can’t. There’s an orchestra in your chest right now. Your entire body is a livewire. The amount of times Din’s touched you are able to be counted on one hand, and here he is, every taut, expert muscle of his stripped-down body pressing up against yours in the dark. Your breath catches.

“Is this okay?” Din whispers, and now the room feels like it’s caught on fire. You gulp so loudly you know he can hear it. He’s face-to-face with you in the darkness right now, you can sense it so vividly it feels sinful, but most of his stinew is pressed up against the other wall, restraining himself from your touch.

“Yes,” you say, the word coming out like a confession or a moan, and then you can feel him. Every part of him, you can feel him. You tentatively move forward, into the warmth, until you’re pushed flush up against you. His free hand grabs a fistful of blanket, wraps it around you. The other one wraps around your waist, securing the warmth in place. He’s so close you can feel him breathing, the rise and fall in his chest. For a minute, an agonizingly long minute, neither of you say anything.

“‘S warmer in here,” you mumble, finally, against the heat of Din’s neck. One of his fingers strokes across your hip, and you burn.

“It is,” Din agrees, the rumble of his voice too low, too—bare. You can’t see a single thing, trapped inside the warm darkness of the cot, but your breath catches in your throat when you realize he doesn’t have his helmet on. He’s bare of every form of protection—no beskar, no buffer, no helmet—and his body, the one you’ve dreamed about since you stepped aboard the Razor Crest, is form-fitted against yours.

You can’t breathe. “Your helmet—”

“Can you see anything?”

Maker, the rumble of his voice is silky. Low, deep, husky, coated in velvet. It shoots into your blood like a drug, and you know you’re a fucking goner. “No,” you manage, wriggling closer. You can feel your leg slip between his, and Din makes a noise that catches in his mouth. You’re on fire, lit and left to burn. He’s addicting. He’s everywhere.

“Then I don’t need to have it on.”

You swallow, and then you’re aware that your lips are against his bare neck. You breathe out, shaky and warm, and then, without thinking, you press them, just the lightest touch, to the crook of where his neck meets his shoulder.

The noise Din suppressed earlier falls out of his open mouth. “You shouldn’t do that,” he whispers, something unhinged in the corners of his voice.

Immediately, you pull away. “I—I’m so sorry,” you breathe, and then the hand wrapped around your waist brings you in closer, closer, closer, until you’re trapped, the crush of his strong arms rendering you weak and immovable.

“No,” Din grits out, and Maker, it’s even hotter without the modulator filtering it, “I mean—you kiss me, then I’ll kiss you, and then I won’t be able to—to stop myself until I’ve covered every inch of your body.”

The world stills. You breathe, and it filters out into the silence like a declaration. “What if I don’t want you to stop?”

For a second, nothing. And then, without any preamble—his free hand tangles in your hair, the other one pressing your hip firmly against his impossible grip, and then Din’s mouth is on yours. It’s hot, and staggering, and it floods through your veins like he’s replacing whatever’s in your blood. You can’t breathe. You can’t do anything except try to move closer, to feel the heat of his hands, to push your tongue in and out of his mouth, to get as much as you can. You only break apart for air, and in those giant, amorphous seconds, all you think is, I can’t come back from this. If you thought you were a goner before—his lips devour you, suck out any venom the world left behind. You’re never going to be able to get your fill of Din, never going to be able to think about anything other than this. All he’s doing is kissing you, mustache running ragged against the swollen contours of your lips, imprinting across your jaw, and you’re obliterated.

“Oh,” is all you're able to manage, a winded, breathy sound, and then Din’s lips slip to your neck, cascading down your skin like heat. Your back arches, your stomach filled with an entire menagerie of butterflies. You feel like you’re floating.

Somewhere around your trachea, Din mumbles a question into your skin. “You warm yet?”

You’re burning. But you shake your head, and then you manage to put it into words. “No,” you lie, and then he’s traveling his mouth back up to meet yours, body weight shifting out from against you entirely, and then he’s on top of you, keeping you pinned in place. You don’t even remember what cold felt like. The only thing that matters is him.

“You will be,” Din manages, his voice husky and low, and then his lips press to yours, possessive and primal, and only one fleeting thought crosses your mind before he drags you under—you’ll never need a blanket again.

#i feel like a victorian with being this shaky over kisses and cuddling tbh #dincember #dincember 2021 #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #the mandalorian x you #the mandalorian x reader #mando x you #mando x reader #the mandalorian fanfic #the mandalorian fanfiction #star wars fanfiction #my writing

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bo-kryzze · 2 years

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I don’t really know the best way to voice this, so I’m just gonna say it. I feel it’s important.

It makes me sad whenever I see fellow shippers bash June. Certain set pics seem to have set some of this off, but it’s something I have observed more than once in the past.

June often gets accused of not doing enough for Nick or stringing him along.

Both statements I highkey disagree with and think goes against everything the show has established. We all have our faves, even in ships, I get that. I will admit I do lean more June centric. A lot of the draw to the show for me is THEM along with my investment in June’s story.

I say this with peace and love, please cut June a break. It’s really not fair given everything she’s been/and is going through to view her as somehow wronging Nick.

It’s really not. Cause this woman has been through hell and back and barely has time to breathe on a good day. Please take a sec to consider her feelings and what’s she’s going through. Instead of attacking her, being so quick to paint her in a bad light. June deserves that much at least.

Look at the world they are in. Having a normal relationship as long as Gilead exists isn’t in the cards. That’s part of why they fantasize about running away to Hawaii. The reality is they can’t leave everything behind when the real threat is still out there. That takes priority, quite frankly it should.

June’s primary motivation is always her daughters. Hannah and Holly’s future is at stake. Their roles as parents and creating a better future for those girls is what this is about and actually what unites June, Nick and Luke.

There absolutely does need to be resolution to the June, Nick and Luke dynamic. I think there will be. It’s fair to say, this is complicated and extremely delicate. I have zero doubts where June’s heart truly belongs- with Nick.

Nick has been a great support for June throughout her journey so far. She has also been there for him in moments. To be honest, Nick does need to figure out how to forgive himself for his past and believe he deserves more. June can and I believe will be there for him in this. Love is important here.

Nonetheless, it’s not HER job to save HIM. Likewise, It’s not HIS job to save HER. It never has been. This isn’t that kind of story.

Bottom line, things need to play out for these characters to achieve any resolution on this front and they haven’t had the chance to yet. There are bigger things at play. And you know what, that’s okay.

#osblaine #nick x june #june osborne #pegs.text #long post

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fatliberation · 3 years

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TW: violent fatphobia and torture

“Medical professionals” have created a weight-loss device that bolts fat people’s jaws shut, reducing them to a liquid diet. Subjects reported discomfort, speech issues, and feeling tense/embarrassed. The creators still claim “there are no adverse consequences.”

“This is a grim reminder that many ‘medical professionals’ do not view fat people as human, or deserving of ethical, humane healthcare,” says Ragen Chastain, danceswithfat.org

[ID: a 3D model of a mouth with teeth that has a small two-piece metal device connected to the molars. The device locks together to keep the jaw shut. End ID.]

Counselor and fat lib educator Hannah Fuhlendorf MA LPCC shared her thoughts this morning:

“I just want to say that I’ve seen the news about the device that doctors want to use to wire fat people’s mouths shut to keep us from eating.

I’m not avoiding talking about it because it’s unpleasant. I’m processing and caring for myself in the midst of a literal torture device getting medical approval to keep people from looking like me.

This kind of constant trauma is part of my experience as a fat person fighting against systems designed to punish and harm me.

I want to emphasize that this isn’t even the first “intervention” like this. Weight loss surgery is literally the amputation of a healthy organ for the purpose of forcing starvation by threat of excruciating physical pain and injury. We have weight loss pills that cause heart attacks, blood clots and more at significantly higher levels than would ever get approved for any other type of medication.

This, by the way, is the reason I have zero tolerance for the “but fat people’s health...” bullshit. Our health is not now and has never been a priority. Most people and organizations only care about fat people shrinking and manipulating our bodies by any means necessary. Yes, even if it means torture, sickness, or death.

If, god forbid, this device actually enters medical use (which I don’t expect) then I will have action opportunities available at that time.

For now though, it’s just another day of trying to survive in a world that would rather have me dead or in constant suffering than fat.

I’m sorry this is our world.”

(source) @hannahtalksbodies

Thank you, Hannah.

#fat activism #anti fatness #anti fat bias #fatphobia #medical fatphobia #tw: fatphobia #cw: fatphobia #tw: torture #cw: torture #hannahtalksbodies #quotes #trigger warning

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non-binaryzombie · 3 years

Note

29 with Jake please?

𝔄𝔭𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔦𝔢𝔰

Prompt: 29. “I'm getting sick from these apologies, from people with priorities. That their life matters so much more than mine”

Music: The Living Tombstone - I Got No Time

Characters: Jake x Reader (Lilly's appearance)

Warnings: Angst (Reader just turned 20 two days before being involved in Hannah's disappearance)

Word count: 1.3k

A/N: Okay, I risk to say that this is one of my favorites so far, I loved writing this and I loved how it turned out , hope y'all enjoys as much as me <3

(Most of my pics/gifs come from Pinterest, if I use a photo that belongs to you and you don't like it, please contact me and we'll take care of it)

This is not exactly how you imagined your adult life to start, not trying to find a missing girl with a group who you’ve never met, nor falling in love with someone who you barely know, but still, here you are, getting off a train that just dropped you off at the famous Duskwood, even if lately you’ve been thinking about giving up you can’t just do that, it's a luxury you can't afford. You’ve come to Duskwood because you have all the pieces together you just need to clear your mind and what better than being in the place where everything is happening? Even with Jake's reluctance, you went against everything he said for your certainty that you are able to solve this case. For your lucky Lilly offered to book a room at the hotel for you, she asked you to meet her at her apartment after you got settled, and so you did.

“You know that Jake will kill you when he finds out, right?” she asked putting a cup of tea for you

“Let's hope he doesn't find out anytime soon” you chuckled softly

“There’s something bothering you, isn’t it?” she asked sitting down next to you in the couch

“Can I be honest with you?” she nodded “I know it seem selfish, but I’m thinking about what will happen when all this end” you admitted “I mean, I don’t know if Jake will stop talking to me and just disappear like he always does, after we find Hannah I’m afraid of what may happen” you sighed

“Oh, Y/N, you have the total right to think that” she assured you “I’m afraid of that too, but I’m certain that Jake wouldn’t do that, he likes you too much to do that with you” she shook her head

“Well, he wouldn’t do that to you, after all you’re his sister, the only family he has left are you and Hannah, he told me that once, but he always says that is too dangerous for us to be together” you threw your head back on the back of the sofa closing your eyes “God, where did I put myself on?” the sound of the door opening made you open your eyes again

“Lilly, I’m home, I’ll be up there if you…” he stopped as he saw you, a strange feeling that you knew him hit you “Need me” he finished shifting his gaze from you to Lilly “Really?”

“Surprise?” she asked waving her hands slightly excitedly, you looked at her confused “Y/N this is, Jake” your eyes widened a little

“What?” you looked at the dark-haired boy standing by the door

“Oh, look, I totally forgot I had to go buy some milk” she said getting up and you looked at her again

“Don’t you dare-” you tried to said but before you could even realize she was already at the door

“Interact with each other” she said smiling before opening the door

“Wait, Lilly!” you said getting up, but she left you two alone, an awkward mood created in the room, you could feel his gaze on you, so you looked back at him, his hands shoved into his pocket

“What are you doing here?” he asked

“Well, that’s not exactly what I expected from our first meeting you know?” you laughed nervously “How about an “Hello?” he sighed looking away from you

“Why are you here?” his voice was firm, of course he would be upset

“I’m trying to solve a puzzle” you answered “Trying to put the pieces together”

“You could do it from your house, from a safe place” you rolled your eyes

“Like I said, it’s better to search for clues in place” he took a step in your direction

“It doesn't change the fact that it's not safe for you here.”

“Yes Jake, and it’s not safe for anyone around, what’s your point?” you approached, and your eyes meet

“You promised me you wouldn’t come here” so this was the main reason

“You promised me that my friends would be safe” you countered “And now Richy is missing”

“Of course, you would bring it up” he laughed incredulously “You’ll keep blaming me for that, won’t you?”

“It’s your fault too, Jake, mine and yours, don’t try to get rid of the guilt because you know I’m right” you said rudely looking deep into his eyes, as if your gazes were fighting a battle

“Look, I get it, Richy was your friend, and you miss him but that” he gestures point to you two “won't get us anywhere”

“He wasn’t my friend, he is, and I’ll find him”

“Our priority is to find Hannah”

“No, that’s your priority” you pushed your finger against his chest “And I’m sick of doing what you want”

“You're letting your emotions control you, and that's not a good thing for the investigation” he said calmly, and you laughed looking away from him

“All I did was lettings my emotions control me, because of you, I ignored threats because you told me to, when Cleo was followed in the forest, I didn’t warn them, when Jessy was attacked you told me not to worry about it, and I did as you said, because you seemed to be sure of what you were doing, but now I see that for you they’re all means to an end, you don’t care if something happened to them as long as you have your Hannah back” you shouted angrily, your eyes were wet, you wanted to cry, scream, you wanted to get it all out but you couldn’t, you had to be strong

“I’m just trying to find her like anyone else, I have to find her no matter how, why can’t you understand that?” you looked at him in disbelief, as if you expected him to take back what he just said

“You know what? I'm getting sick from these apologies, from people with priorities, that their life matters so much more than mine, I’m leaving my life aside, so I can look for someone who I don’t even know, and for what?” you shook your head “I’ll keep looking for her, but not because of you, I’ll do that for Lilly, and for Richy, I know that I can find one if I found the other, but after that” you paused, breathing heavy “I don't want anything to do with you anymore” you completed, your words hit him like a train, he couldn’t believe what you just said, he didn’t wanted to believe, you passed by him, but he held your arm

“You’re not serious” he looked into your eyes, searching for some sign that you were joking, some kind of regret, but all he could see was sadness and anger

“Yes, I am, we’ll solve this fucking case, and then I’ll go back home, to my calm and simple life, the one I should never have abandoned” you said sharply pulling your arm out of his hand

“Y/N, please don’t do that” he bagged as you reached for the doorknob, you stopped looking back at him

“Keep doing what you do better, Jake, running away and hiding, I’ll take care of the rest” you said before living, taking a deep breath trying to pull yourself together, before making your way back to the hotel, he just watched you leave, not knowing how to react, maybe doing like he always did and pretending not to care, but this time he couldn’t, after all, he fell in love with you, he expected to be with you after all that ended, and now it looks like It’ll not be possible, and he just can’t believe what just happened, hopefully when Lilly come back she’ll help him to process that, hopefully she’ll understand his side, hopefully she’ll talk to you and change your mind, hopefully…

#duskwood fanfiction #duskwood everbyte #duskwood #duskwood jake x mc #incorrect duskwood quotes #duskwood mc #duskwood jake x player #jake x reader #duskwood jake #jake x mc #jake duskwood #my prompts #my wirting #one shot #anon request

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simplysummers · 3 years

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Hannah and Bea watch Star Wars

A few weeks ago, my bestie @floatyteabag (Hannah) and I (Bea) watched Star Wars: Attack of the Clones together. I, being a lifelong Star Wars nerd and a lover of all things Obi-Wan, somehow managed to rope this awesome human into watching the second sequel with me, keeping in mind she had never seen them before.

This is some of our live commentary, lacking in any context, which I felt needed to be shared with you all. I’m also leaving absolutely no indication as to who said what, to make it even funnier.

“FUCKING HELL WTF THEY BLEW UP ALREADY”

“R2 rolling about, he don’t give a fuck.”

“The face of a man who was WRONG.”

“Imagine R2 but as a hoover/vacuum. Perfection”

“‘He wouldn’t assassinate anyone’ 0-0 bro anyone named Count Dooku ain’t a good bro, bro”

“I don’t trust this man.” “I won’t spoil anything but you really shouldn’t lmao.”

“Captain Tofu?”

“Ooo someone’s in trouble. It’s me, idk why I said that”

“It’s better than my croissant attempt.”

“‘She’s a politician and they’re not to be trusted’ THAT IS THE BEST QUOTE”

“Ew look at the centipedes”

“How is she asleep like that. I would’ve had cramp in my wrist after 5 minutes.”

“HE JUST YEETED HIMSELF OUT OF THE WINDOW.”

“Anakin is me driving.” “Obi-Wan is me in your passenger seat.”

“We’d be a menace to society but that’s their problem, not ours.”

“He fully skydived out of the car.”

“Obi-Wan is so chill. He’s just ‘>_> hate it when he does that’ like he’s done this before??? Aight”

“‘I want to go home and rethink my life’ same babes.”

“Omg Bea that is legit us, me being Anakin, the underage loser.”

“Bestie we ARE Anakin and Obi-Wan.”

“ITS BOBA FETT. No it’s not. YES IT IS. Hmmm.”

“Boba Fettacini.”

“Yoda floating around on the wii fit board.”

“Padme who let you lead a country.”

“WE ARE HANNAKIN AND OBEA-WAN.”

“Rocking up to space McDonalds” “I’d order a milkshake.”

“I stg if I become attached to this Cody dude.” “I’m VERY attached to the clones and it never ends well in Star Wars, so I’m dragging you down with me.”

“Look at the Pixar lamps!”

“He VIOLATED him for no reason!”

“PADME YOU DID NOT JUST SHOOT HIM DOWN WITH NO DEFENCE.”

“All I see are some cotton earbuds”

“So there’s like 50 clones of the same person running around?” “…..much more than 50.”

“Anakin, many things are smooth on that planet and you are NOT one of them.”

“Padme was over it before it had even begun.”

“Absolute kings. They deserve their own show….wait they have their own show….they deserve MORE Then.”

“🎵 the hiiiiiiilllss are aliiiiiiiive 🎵”

“Anakin’s a communist confirmed-“

“OH MY HOLY ITS THE MEME.”

“Yes. Step on Anakin”

“Calm down Harry Potter with your floating Pear.”

“Anakin thinks he’s Shakespeare.”

“An extract from The Prelude: by Anakin Skywalker 🌺”

“I want a jet pack.”

“Ohh kick him!”

“Love how Boba, who is like ten, is just *shooty mcshooty*”

“‘Oh not good’ BABES LET GO”

“Hmmm yes ship is flying away *activates glowstick*” “it’s for the aesthetic.”

“Hey Ani, uh I kinda sold your Mom to some rando but hey we’re still cool right??”

“Boba: hehehehehe 😄”

“‘Get him dad, get him, FIRE’ this isn’t CALL OF DUTY, BOBA.”

“Mothman wannabe.”

“Obi-Wan: I’m an international…superspy. SUPERSPYYYYYY.”

“Why is Tom Jones there?”

“she can’t die! I’m actually crying…..never mind I started laughing at Anakin’s face.”

“Lmao I love how Obi-Wan was talking for a straight minute and R2 was like ‘I’m busy sir, the audacity.’”

“‘It’s all Obi-Wan’s fault!’ Babes Obi-Wan isnt with you.” “Anakin take a chill pill!”

“‘R2 what are you doing here’ that’s fucking rude. Let him be.”

“Poor Jar Jar he just wants to make friends.”

“Don’t speak of Qui-Gon you HOE.”

“Count Dooku, turning on his voice chair: I want you on my team, Obi-Wan.”

“Parliament would be so much better if they floated in those pods.”

“Padme: maybe I can find a diplomatic solution to this.’ Anakin: *grabs glowstick*”

“‘Obtuse’ 3PO HOW DARE YOU.”

“Someone put Padme on total wipeout.”

“‘I want to go home’ ‘what did I do to deserve this’ 3PO is too relatable.”

“Padme chose the wrong day to wear white.”

“‘Obi-Wan’s gonna kill me’ priorities dude”

“‘Good job’ sass king.”

“Obi-Wan- the king of puns.”

“How is Padme not crying.” “Legit. I bang my hip on the bed frame and it’s like almost waterworks.”

“Ahhhhh my kings they are coming.”

“Oooo a purple wand.”

“Jango doing the spiny gun thing. Show off.”

“I know he did NOT just decapitate jango.” “And his son was just 0-0 off to the side.”

“‘I am beside myself.’ I WISH I WAS THIS QUICK.”

“I care too much about the clones I swear to god.”

“I WANT TO BE IN THE POD WITH THE GUN.” “YOU IN THE GUNNERS NEST WOULD BE FERAL.”

“Ooooo hamster wheels.”

“‘PAHDMAHY’”

“Anakin you pleb.”

“If he has a red glowstick you know he’s a bad guy.”

“That clone just wanted an excuse to go home”

“He just straight up lost an arm. Hope he’s not right handed.”

“Bet Yoda’s glowstick is green……BAM.”

“THE CLONE WARS HAS BEGUN BABBYYYYYY.”

“PALPATINE NEEDS TO DO A BETTER JOB AT HIDING HIS CHIN.”

“‘Without the clones it wouldn’t have been a victory’ too fucking right. My boys deserve recognition.”

“The clones carried this.” “The clones carry everything these losers do.”

“MARRIAGE?!????”

“It’s like a Vegas wedding. ✨ spontaneous ✨”

This was genuinely the most fun I’ve had watching a Star Wars movie with anyone. Han’ is hilarious and together we destroyed the movie while ironically loving it. We’ve watched ROTS, up next is Solo. And I actually cannot wait for that trainwreck.

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sophieoverett · 3 years

Text

Disruptions of Ritual and Inciting Incidents

I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of a creative development series lately which has come with a lot of great advice and guidance on storytelling, from the extremely specific to the really broad and sweeping. It’s covered everything from character motivations to specific genre structures to audience expectation to interpersonal conflict, but one of the things that has come up over and over again has been the idea of disruption of ritual as pivotal to the establishment of a story.

It’s been interesting to hear it articulated this way, because when I’ve taught creative writing in the past, and when I’ve thought about my own writing, I’ve always talked about this concept as the world we leave behind. It’s the pre-inciting incident stuff – the introductory grounding stuff – whether that be Harry’s life before Hogwarts, or the Bennet’s home before Mr. Bingley moves in next door.

You establish a world – or a ritual – and then you break it open.

It’s in the schism, in the disruption, where your story finds it’s legs and starts to move.

It’s had me thinking a lot about the relationship between the disruption of ritual and the inciting incident of a story, because in a lot of ways, that disruption of ritual directly sets up the latter. A story like Bridgerton has the disruption of ritual in Phoebe making her debut – a change for the whole family – but the inciting incident is really her collision with Simon Hastings and their mutual decision to fake a courtship. Similarly (but differently), Harry Potter has the disruption of ritual when the owls start descending on the Dursley home in the lead up to Harry’s birthday, but the true inciting incident is when Hagrid tells Harry he’s a wizard. Neither of these inciting incidents could’ve happened without the disruption to the character’s lives that got us there.

When we talk about inciting incidents, we’re ultimately talking about the point of no return for your protagonist. Where they either make a choice, or have a choice thrust upon them, it’s one they can never go back from.

How the disruption of ritual lays the groundwork for the inciting incident though is important. It’s not just creating the first bubbles of conflict to pop, but it’s a key part of establishing who your character is and what world they exist in.

But what does that look like? Generally speaking, I find it’s useful to think of this sort of pre-inciting incident (or disruption of ritual world) in three categories:

Change of Circumstance

Change of Environment

Change of Information

So let’s break that down a little!

Change of Circumstance

I think this one is probably the most common.

I’ve watched a lot of new movies lately and I think change of circumstance is at the heart of all of them – in Nomadland, Fern’s husband has passed away and she’s had to move into a caravan out of financial necessity; in The Father, Anthony’s daughter is moving to Italy and so she tells him he’s being moved into an aged care facility for his dementia; in Those Who Wish Me Dead, Hannah, a firefighter, has been benched after freezing during a fire which lead to the death of two teenage boys.

While all these changes are environmental too (which I’ll come back to in a second), they’re more punctuated by the impact these circumstances have on these characters – Fern is grieving, Anthony is losing his agency and independence, Hannah’s role in a job she loves has been diminished.

These changes to circumstance create the context for which the inciting incidents begin and ground the characters within their own emotional arcs. The inciting incident in Those Who Wish Me Dead is when Hannah finds another teenage boy in the woods who’s being chased by assassins; in The Father, the inciting incident comes when Anthony’s daughter hires a new nurse that reminds him of his other, dead daughter, in Nomadland, Fern connects with a seasonal worker at an Amazon factory who in turn connects her to the nomad lifestyle.

In this sense, the disruption of ritual starts a conversation that the inciting incident can either build off or interrupt or both. The examples above are all pretty big, but these sorts of circumstantial disruptions can be anything. They can be as simple as a promotion at work, a pregnancy, a new neighbour; or hell, you can go the other way, and get even bigger – start a war, go on the run, discover a new planet! What’s important though is that initial change of circumstance creates context for your protagonist and builds towards your inciting incident.

Change of Environment

This one is still pretty common, but I’d say it’s often used most efficiently and effectively in horror and fantasy.

Moving house or exploring new territory, whether that be campsites or cave dives or new planets or planes, is a natural way of putting your characters off-kilter and building environmental tension. This tension is really steeped in the unknown of the space your protagonist is interacting with, and in the promise of conflict within it. Movies like The Descent, Hush, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars are all fundamentally steeped in their opening acts involving drastic shifts to their environments that build conflict, whether that be because an environment becomes something to protect (Hobbiton in Lord of the Rings), or something that the protagonist needs to be protected from (The Descent), or that environment being invaded (Hush) are all factors that are essential to the story overall.

In these stories, these environments aren’t just a stage for the character to move across, they’re deeply interactive and often allegorical to the character’s circumstances.

My Neighbor Totoro is one of my favourite examples of this – Satsuki and Mei’s move to a new home whisks them into a magical world with soot spirits and forest creatures, but these spirits and creatures are an escape from the reality that they moved because their mother is sick in a hospital nearby. The environment they’ve moved to is them clinging to a child’s world as they live ever closer to their trauma.

The most important thing to think about with environmental change is to ask why? Environmental change isn’t about simply presenting a stage for your characters – all stories have that – but that that environment be a motivator in your character’s overall arc. After all, Nomadland might deeply love the American landscape, but Fern’s story is driven by circumstance, not environment, as I mentioned above.

Change of Information

Probably the least used of these three, an information disruption is often reserved for stories about whistleblowers or journalists. Spotlight, Bombshell, All the President’s Men, hell, even The Bourne Identity all rely on a transfer of knowledge as pivotal to creating the conflict that the story builds on.

Change of Information involves a character learning something that they didn’t know before, and the information could seem incidental in the first act (the journalist in Citizen Kane for instance learning that Kane’s final word was ‘rosebud’, or Adrian Toomes realizing there’s alien tech in what he’s been assigned to clean up in Spiderman: Homecoming), or it could be left as a landmine for our protagonists to discover (Spotlight did this by opening with the cops in the 1970s talking about the child molestation charge that our protagonists would start investigating in 2001), or be the overall driver for the film (Min-hyuk telling Ki-woo about the Park family in Parasite).

I think Change of Information set-ups though can also be broadened out to tie pretty closely with Change of Circumstances set-ups to the point that I actually almost considered condensing the two, but I do think they’re different enough to be untangled. Parasite of course straddles all three in its brilliance as the information Min-hyuk gives Ki-woo of the Park family creates both a change in circumstance and environment too, and Midsommar is a movie I’d consider to be all three too – knowledge changing hands is essential to that film overall, and the focus in the first act of Dani finding out that her sister’s commit suicide is pivotal to everything that follows. Her change of circumstances and environment hinges on her grieving her sister, yes, but the weight of the opening act is on the discovery of that more so than it is on Dani’s circumstances changing. Life goes on is, in many ways, pivotal to that first act.

Change of information, to me, is about a character’s awareness of something creating that initial disruption overall, and that new knowledge being the ultimate plot and character driver for the rest of the story. It’s the new knowledge or awareness that creates story mobility, environment and circumstance can just come along with it.

What are you talking about, Sophie?

Right, sorry, haha.

Disruption of ritual is ultimately the shift in the story that allows for the inciting incident to happen. It’s what creates the perfect storm of circumstance, environment and information which fuels your characters, but what you choose to prioritise and emphasise is going to impact the direction of your story and provide your readers or audience with the context that shapes their experience overall.

What drives your characters is what determines their path throughout the story you’re telling, and considering circumstances, environment, and the information they do or don’t possess is an important part of shaping that. You don’t have to pick one, of course – as I mentioned above, a lot of great stories embrace two or all three! – but thinking about each and asking yourself why and working out what’s the priority for your protagonist might just help you articulate the crux of your story and give you an opening act that resonates.

#Writeblr #writing #writing advice #sophie's writing posts

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citydreamgrls · 3 years

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they were roommates - part one

a weasley twins x fem!reader fic

summary: she had nowhere to go, fleeing home to pursue something along the lines of freedom, so being welcomed into the entrepreneurial twins life was a whole world of new experiences waiting to happen.

an: i would just like to point out that this isn’t a fic with a polyamorous relationship, sorry if that was what some people wanted, instead i wanted to keep which twin is the love interest a secret until the end. if u guys want to guess after reading this first part, feel free to do so, i would love to hear your guys’ reasons too !! secondly, i would like to say a huge huge thank you to everyone for getting me to 600 followers, that’s absolutely mad like i’m blown away beyond compare, i love u all millions and billions i really am so grateful so thank you . hope you enjoy this first part, as always, <33

words: 5,790

warnings: swearing?

None of the nights seemed to turn into excitement, but this particular Tuesday evening in the Leaky Cauldron was passing slower than the rest had done. The paintings on the walls cast their weary eyes over the few lonely drinkers scattered across the dim room as even they contemplated calling it an early night. Y/n flicked through an old magazine and wondered if this place had ever seen much action, or whether the inn had become somewhere that paintings came to rest alongside grumpy travellers.

The girl hadn’t worked behind the bar long, only a handful of months now. But since then not a single bar fight had broken out, no one ordered anything out of the ordinary, and she struggled to remember seeing a single nice man pass through the doors. Besides the Weasley twins of course, who were running late for their weekly drink.

“Slow night?” Hannah came up behind her, carrying a stack of clean glasses and placing them under the counter. The girl swiped away her magazine and nodded, doing her best to hide the guilty blush that grew on her cheeks whenever she lied. It had always been a curse.

“I can do that if you want,” She offered, taking over and letting her boss stand up straight again. There was a strange air of awkwardness between the pair, despite the fact that they had grown close since she had started working as a barmaid.

“It’s been like this a lot lately, just… empty.” Hannah huffed, pulling up two stools and letting the younger girl sit beside her for a while.

“Yeah, makes the time pass a lot slower.”

“Neville’s getting worried,” The woman chewed her lip, gazing around at the lack of people. “He thinks it won’t be long before we need to do something drastic.”

“Should I be worried?” Y/n asked, knowing everything rode on this flimsy job.

Just as the girl posed her question the two front doors burst open, revealing the Weasley twins along with two others that she recognised from their past visits.

“I’ll talk to you later darling,” The boss stood, squeezing her shoulder and going to greet the regulars who she knew so well.

As Neville appeared from the back office to do the same she was called over to the far table by a man who she’d already brought too many drinks to. With a sigh, she obeyed his whines, and went over to see what he wanted.

“About time sweet cheeksh,” He slurred, his head propped up by a weary arm while the other gestured wildly as he spoke. “Another round darling-” She nodded, taking his money from the table and turning to leave, but he reached out for her hand.

She shivered beneath his touch, the stench of bile and alcohol filling her nose as she tried not to vomit on the spot. It was best to just ride out whatever he wanted, knowing better than to anger any kind of customer.

“Why don’t you join me when you get those drinks sorted- I haven’t got another chair but I’m sure my lap would do nicely.” He grinned, showing off the layer of yellow on his teeth.

Y/n gulped back her grunt and pretended to smile, sighing with relief when he let go of her and slumped against the wall beside him. The feeling of his hand lingered on her until she managed to distract her mind a little, smiling wider when the twins came up to the bar to order.

“Evening boys,” She sniffed back the nerves and greeted them with a polite welcome. “Not giving you trouble was he?” One of them asked, nodding over to the drunken mess.

“Nothing I can’t handle,”

“Well you let us know if not,” The other chimed, their charms always making her feel comfortable around them. Which was much more than could be said for most of the creeps who roamed the inn each night.

“That’s very good of you both, thank you-” Her smile never faltered, they always had noticed that, “What can I get for you then?”

“Two hog’s heads, one rum and I’ll have…”

“Come on Fred,” The other nudged his brother, the girl finally able to differentiate them, that was until the next day when she wouldn’t be able to recognise the clothes they chose.

“Firewhiskey would be great thanks y/n,” He smiled sweetly, leaning up against the bar as she rang up their orders on the till. He delved into the pockets of his trousers as George left to speak to Neville a bit longer, placing the money in her hand. “Keep the change too,” “A-are you sure?” She stuttered, looking down at the remaining 3 galleons in her hand.

“George never tips, so consider it his debt too.” The boy scoffed, leaving to join the rest of his group. The girl pocketed the money before anyone else could see her doing so and went to fix the drunken man his seventh drink of the night.

He grumbled about how much work he did that no one appreciated, as his eyes raked over her body in a queasily slow trance. The man didn’t stop at that, further pressing her to sit on his knee and let him feel her up. Crude remarks fell from his lips as if he’d relayed them to every woman he’d come across, as if it was second nature. All the while, she stood and let him ramble on, doing her best to ignore what he was saying and just nod along mindlessly. This wasn’t even the worst one, the girl sighed to herself, grimacing at the way his fingers toyed with the hems of her skirt as if he was going to try and slither inside it.

With perfect timing, Neville called her back to the bar, faking some questions about the menu so that she had an excuse to dismiss herself from the dog’s company and scurry off. She heard him call after her, but couldn’t make out what exactly it was he was saying. The girl prayed that he was too drunk to actually get up and walk over to the bar, or else he would become truly relentless.

No matter what, y/n always smiled, regardless of who was talking to her or at her. And when she wasn’t dealing with the unruly men of diagon alley, she was happy, she was lucky that she had a job and somewhere to stay. She had no reason to be unhappy.

Fred and George liked that about her. That in such a dimly lit, run down little place like the cauldron, such light could shine through with her presence. Both of them had mentioned it once on their drunken walk back home one night, that they wished they could afford to hire someone else at the shop because she would be perfect for it.

Y/n always smiled because most of the time she was a happy person, until there was no reason to be happy. She discovered that dreadful sinking feeling later that night once the pub closed and the girl was finishing up with her cleaning.

Neville and Hannah were speaking in hushed voices nearby, words that she couldn’t make out over the sound of her brush swishing over the stone ground. But they continued to glance over at her when they believed she wasn’t watching, which made her heart tighten with nervous anticipation.

“Y/n… darling.” Hannah’s sweet voice sounded through the empty room, startling her slightly. The girl stood up straight and smiled, a sight which made her boss want to cry on the spot. None of this was going to be easy. “Could you come into the office with me, please.”

She followed, her hands shaky as she left the broom leant up against a lone table. The door shut behind them with a finalising jolt as the woman sat down before her, prompting her own body to do the same.

The air became thick, and constricting as her knees locked together politely. Hannah seemed just as nervous as she, delaying the inevitable by shuffling paperwork around and shoving into nearby drawers. Finally the movement ceased and she had no choice but to bite the bullet.

“I know we already spoke today, about how the business is going here, and I promise that Neville and I have tried to do everything we can to get around this. But I’m afraid we’ve been left with no other choice y/n.”

The sound of her name felt like a stab, one short sound that cut through her skin and deep into the bone. The girl dwelled on that feeling, hoping that whatever followed would hurt less in contrast. It didn’t.

“We have to let you go y/n,” The knife plunged deeper, somehow splitting open all her organs on its way through her body. She froze, knowing that in this moment her world was falling apart all around her like dominoes.

“A-and the room? I’m supposing you need it?” Her voice was wavering, constantly on the edge as she confirmed all the priorities.

“I’m so sorry,” The gesture was appreciated, but it did nothing to help in the moment as the now homeless girl’s mind raced.

“Thank you anyway, for the past few months.” It was a sudden bravery that brought her to her feet as she announced how she would pack her things right away.

In truth, she needed to be alone, just for a few minutes. So she could let it all go, cast a muffliato and sob away her worries for a small amount of precious time. Hannah didn’t dare follow her, knowing nothing could fix it for the younger girl, instead she brought the bottle of gin from the bar into the office and took long, thoughtful sips until it was no longer the only thing playing through her mind.

When the girl gathered her things and apparated down to the front door with them, Neville was there with a sad smile upon his face. Only giving her a brief goodbye, before swiftly leaving to busy himself with yet another maintenance job around the building. He never was one for complex emotions, so she didn’t think bad of him for escaping an awkward situation.

Y/n opened the front doors, seeing the pouring rain before her and almost bursting into yet another round of tears. Not that her red raw eyes could take it much longer. Maybe it was because she had been standing up for the good part of eight hours, or maybe just the pitiful sight of the gloomy street before her was enough to make her knees shake. As if they were going to buckle beneath her and send her crumpling to the ground.

But she shuffled forward, her trunk following behind her and she had quietly charmed it to do so. Admittedly she didn’t have a lot, when she had decided to try and live alone it had become a rushed affair to say the least. So she only owned a number of outfits within that case, along with some books and other little items she had deemed important enough to bring alone. That, and her guitar case, which loomed over her shoulder like a stalking figure in the night. The one thing she definitely didn’t have, was a coat to shelter her from the oncoming rain.

The girl walked a few steps, round the side of the building, and found a pile of crates to rest on beneath a small dripping canopy. It was dry, for now, and it gave her a chance to think properly. She needed to figure something out fast.

But y/n’s mind was full of white noise, watching puddles form between the cobbled pathway before her and thinking how she used to love the rain as a child. It had been relaxing and beautiful from the safety of her childhood bedroom, the window facing her parent’s courtyard as she watched them leave for work each morning.

Back then they would both turn and wave, with a generous smile on their faces, always reminding the young girl how they wished to see her when they returned. They were always happy when she was a child, the three of them a cacophony of laughs and giggles. Until it stopped. Her parents worked together, but never left the house together, and neither of them stopped to wave her goodbye, no matter how many times she waited for them to do so. They just stopped being happy, and as y/n shifted her weight upon the damp crates she realised that maybe her once beloved parents were never happy at all.

They became distant. To one another and to her, even more so as she grew older and became her own person. They tried to oppress it, probably seeing her joyful exterior and constant smiles and not recognising where it had come from. Not either of them. It angered them further, seeing her be such a resilient person, because they wished for her to feel the same neverending hurt they had caused one another. Regardless of the fact that it wasn’t her emotion to own.

Y/n remembered the night she was handed a file by her father, feeling stunned to have been called into his study while he was working. Often he would go inside and not appear for days at a time, so she knew whatever it was, it had to be important.

She read over the words he’d laid out for her, detailing their plans for her, what they wanted for her future. It was a plan of her life, given to her by two people who couldn’t be bigger strangers. But it wasn’t hers, it felt nothing like hers. She wanted to be someone, and she wanted to do it for herself, not because her parents feel it’s financially best.

The words, writer… and prophet echoed constantly around the page as she tried to make sense of it all. Her father barely looked up from his work as she struggled to remain calm, her lungs losing all motor function as she felt her stomach twist and turn. That was when she realised she had to leave, do something for herself.

Rain had been such a comforting thing for y/n, when she was a child. Now it covered her like a plague, and drenched her down to the bone as she did all she could to forget about that life. It had been her home, her playground, her school. It had been her whole life, without much chance to be free in the rest of the world.

Now it was nothing. She wanted it to be nothing. There had to be something she could do, there had to be somewhere she could go. Because that place was no longer an option.

“Y/n?” A voice made her head whip up, the tears on her cheeks easily disguised as the rain if it wasn’t for the way she snivelled to herself. She hadn’t even felt herself begin to cry, yet here she was, and it was a pitiful sight to see.

The light was bad in the alley, but when the two tall figures got nearer she recognised them instantly. Her heart broke a little more to see the worry in the twins’ eyes as they quickly took in the sight of her cramped body amongst her belongings.

“Are you leaving town then?” She thinks it was George, asked, he had been the one wearing a black shirt when she’d seen them earlier. The girl was in a daze, her head taking in their words a lot slower than it should have been as she begged herself not to cry in front of them.

To them, she looked like she was in a dream. Her eyes glazed over even as she glanced their way, making it look like she wasn’t really there with them. George’s question caught her off guard a bit, the girl looking as though she had forgotten where she was as she looked around her with bewilderment. Then the look of confusion fell to one of despair when it clicked once again, she was all alone.

“I suppose I am.” Even the two men could hear how her voice begged to break as she spoke with an airy tone. This was the first time they had seen her anything but bright and smiley.

It broke their hearts, in all honesty.

“Do you need somewhere to stay the night?” Fred, this time, asked. He knelt down to meet her eye level, their tall forms always towering above her at the best of times.

“We have a particularly comfy couch at our place,” George added, following suit with the kneeling.

“It’s got five star reviews,”

“And probably a few galleons hidden down the back if you’re lucky.”

Their smiles made her giggle, and it was all they could have asked for in the moment.

“That’s very kind of you,” Her sweet tone was back, like she’d taken control of her head again, “But I couldn’t ask that of you two.” It was her default to be polite, not wanting to be a burden to anyone. It was the one thing her nanny had taught her before being let go when she was twelve, not to ask anything of anyone but yourself.

“Nonsense,” Fred stood up, taking her guitar case that was leant up against the brick wall and swinging it over his shoulder.

“Really, I’ll figure something o-out - it’s fine!” She tried to protest, but the twins had already decided her fate. George lifted her trunk with ease, and Fred held out a hand for her, prompting the girl to clumsily lift herself off the jumble of crates with his assistance.

“Come on then,” They said, starting off towards the brighter part of diagon alley.

She didn’t move, Fred having let go of her as soon as she steddied herself again. They looked back at her, both frowning with the same face as she tried not to laugh at how they were so similar they even acted like one another.

“Well you better come with us-” “Or else it’ll look like we’ve robbed you!”

The girl just looked down at her feet, feeling as though they were only doing this because they couldn’t leave her out in the rain. Which was true. But the twins knew that she was someone worth helping out.

“Do you have anywhere else to go?” George asked, shifting the case into his other hand nonchalantly as they waited for her to come along with them. Silently she shook her head, embarrassed to meet their eyes as she admitted defeat.

“Then what are you waiting for?” Fred chimed in, still wearing their signature smile.

Y/n couldn’t help but return the sentiment, she didn’t have to be alone for at least one night. That was something to smile about, so she smiled. Her feet surged her body forward, a small skip noticeable as she reached the two patient men.

“We do look like we’ve just mugged you.” George laughed as they all walked through the alley and towards their shop, her little life packed away and in their hands. The girl slotted between them, having to catch up with their longer strides every now and then, as both twins chatted away as if nothing was amiss.

“Here’s the palace itself,” “Our pride and joy!” They announced, ushering her into the shop lined with all the products an excited teenage wizard could wish for. The shelves seemed to be full to the brim, some things piled up as a display. As haphazard and chaotic as it looked, y/n couldn’t deny that the bright colours shimmering off everything she could see instilled a happiness inside her that she rarely felt as a child. This would have been her dream when she was younger.

The twins’ shop was well known in the alley, by almost everyone who visited the leaky cauldron. Yet she had never dared step inside it herself. Most days she would have been busy with jobs around the inn, and on the off chance that she ventured around any other establishments, it was purely for essentials.

The two men watched as she scanned all that she could see from the doorway, her eyes wide and inviting with each new discovery. They would see kids come in every single day with the same reaction, yet with her it seemed new. It was if she had never seen a toy before.

“Have you eaten yet?” Fred asked, weaving through some unopened boxes to reach the stairs. Even on them there was an endless supply of treats to be found.

“I’m not hungry… thank you.” She followed behind him, slowly, with George closing up the front doors and setting up security wards.

“That wasn’t the question silly,” He laughed, catching up. “Have you eaten tonight?”

“No- but I’m really fine without.”

Once they reached the very top of the long set of stairs, past the ‘staff only’ sign, a door was kicked open in front of her. The apartment inside was a sight for sore eyes, and also the furthest thing from what y/n had envisioned on the walk there.

From how high they had gotten inside the shop, the girl presumed that the flat above had to be pokey and a lot smaller than what she was seeing. It was like a large loft, with brick walls and two levels and these huge windows that looked well over diagon alley. She could see all the lights of muggle London shining amongst the dark sheeted sky.

“My rooms up there, and George is through there.” Fred explained, nodding towards the opening to a small hallway and setting down her things in the excess of open space they had. It was comfortable.

“And here’s your bed!” The other twin exclaimed, throwing himself onto the huge sofa that stretched beneath one of the windows and came out into the room in an L shape. They weren’t lying when they said it was comfortable, because she could tell it was even by looking at it.

“Right! I, for one, am starving.” Fred announced, walking through to the open kitchen, his footsteps echoing on the floor as he went. “What about you y/n?”

The girl was too busy staring out the window to hear him. She’d never seen the city this way before. Her old house was well out in the country, and the alley didn’t give much of a chance for enchanting views. It seemed as though this was the exception.

“Just make her something, she’s busy.” George chuckled, watching her from the sofa. The girl turned and looked at him confused, but the man just shook his head with a smile. “Nothing important,” He whispered and let her go back to the hypnotising view.

As they sat down to eat together, George asked y/n many questions about her life, determined to learn all he could about her in one evening.

“Let her swallow first will you!” Fred huffed, passing her a glass of water so she didn’t choke in the process.

“I was homeschooled all my life, well- up until I moved really.” The girl smiled politely, trying not to go into too much detail with her answers. The two men were so kind, though, that it was hard not to tell them everything she’d been holding in. “So you didn’t finish it all?”

“I left before I got the chance to,”

They nodded in understanding, but she could see the cogs turning in their heads as they both took another bite of their food, all in unison. She snickered a little, enjoying the way they effortlessly put on a show with their mannerisms.

“Did you run away!” They both cried out, startling her as she sat across from them.

“W-well… I um- yes I d-did really.” A wry laugh sounded as she spoke, an out of place sound amongst the shock that displayed over Fred and George’s faces.

“Woah, did something bad happen?”

“George! You can’t just ask that- you don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to y/n.” Fred rolled his eyes at his brother, but the girl felt a sense of relief that they asked, it felt nice to have the chance to tell someone after keeping it to herself all this time. It felt more out of place to not tell them.

“It’s okay,” She chuckled at them both, “My parents weren’t very happy people, and they both kind of kept their lives centered around work. I had no problem with it, either than the lack of freedom I had at home, but it changed when they basically showed me a plan for my life.”

The twins listened intently, nodding along with her words and silently reacting accordingly. They both frowned with the last bit, never hearing of someone having their lives planned out for them before.

“They planned your life? Isn’t that a bit, you know-”

“Controlling,” Fred finished, a look of pity on his face.

“We had different ideas, they wanted me to be a writer at the prophet when I’d shown no interest in journalism or even writing before.”

“That’s mad,” George said in a hushed tone, not wanting to cut her off.

“It was then that I realised the only way I was going to do what I wanted, was if I left. So I just packed my things and came here, hoping to find somewhere to stay with what little money I had. Hannah was nice enough to take me in free of charge, so long as I worked behind the bar for it.”

“Both her and Neville really are saints.” “It’s so much better than I could have asked for, but now they can’t afford it. It’s all understandable, it’s just a pain that I can’t ask my parents for help.”

All the while that she recalled her story, the girl smiled, reminding the men that she was a lot stronger than people might assume. Given what she’d been through, it was amazing that she hadn’t broken down already.

“We’ll figure something out for you, all of us.” Fred smiled, glad to see colour in her cheeks now that she was in the warmth of their loft compared to the drizzly alleyway.

“It’s not the end of the world if your parents don’t support you either, there’s plenty more people in the world who will.” George reassured her, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“Oh godric yeah,” Fred joined in, “Our folks went bloody mental when they heard this was what we wanted to start up instead of finishing at hogwarts.”

“Do they like it now?” She asked cautiously, feeling a little better knowing that they too skipped out on their academic life.

“They have to, given how well we’ve done.” “It is hard to deny our success,” They chimed like songbirds, the passion they had for their self made business shining through their wide eyes.

It was no surprise that the three of them got on, but as the night progressed quicker than they thought, the new trio found themselves with no awkward silences. The clock above them looked as though it had been enchanted when George finally glanced up at it, amazed to see that they’d been chatting for four hours already.

Only when y/n yawned did the two twins decide it was maybe time to call it quits.

“It’s getting late,” Fred spoke up, not wanting to keep the girl from her much needed sleep. It must have been a long day for her. “I’ll grab you some blankets.”

As he disappeared up into his room to look for something to keep her cosy all night, the girl helped George clear away their mess from dinner.

“I feel awful,” She smiled politely, handing him more plates to place into the sink that was doing all the work for them.

“What for?” The man seemed genuinely surprised.

“We spent all that time talking, but we never decided on what to do with me.” She scoffed, feeling like a child needing their help. “I promise I won’t hang around much longer, I’ll sort something out.”

“Like what?” He didn’t mean to sound harsh, it was more to show her that they were her only option right then.

“I-I’m not sure… sorry.” “Don’t be sorry, we want to help you.”

The door to Fred’s bedroom opened again and they fell into silence, the girl slipping back into the mindset that she was growing into a burden for them. She couldn’t ask anymore of them, they’ve already done enough for her. Then and there, y/n decided she would leave in the morning.

“Bed’s ready!” The shout came from the living room, where blankets had been laid over the sofa beneath the window. “Thought you would enjoy the view here.” Fred added when she came out to see his masterpiece.

“That’s hardly a bed!” George scoffed, laughing at the copious amount of cushions he’d left for her head, all different colours and sizes.

“It’ll be perfect, thank you.” She smiled, her eyes sparkling under the city lights that spilled into the room. It didn’t even matter that they would reflect against the ceiling as she slept, it looked like stars.

“As long as you like it then,” George muttered, eyeing his brother who clung onto a smug grin.

“Goodnight y/n, sleep well.”

“Night y/n.” They both smiled, turning to head off to their respective rooms as she opened up her case to look for something to sleep in.

“Night Fred, night George… thank you again, for all of this.” They both nodded at her words and disappeared, leaving her to change in the dark loft, only a small lamp beside her lighting her way to the sofa.

She clicked it off, casting lumos and stumbling over the fluffy rug to curl beneath the many layers of covers that Fred had left her. The girl chuckled to herself, peeling one off and folding it in a neat pile on the floor. Two would be just fine for one night.

It didn’t take long for her to drift off to sleep, the whole day’s nonsense catching up on her and slipping her body into a mini-coma. Her mind ran and slowed all at once, memories of nights she would spend in her childhood bed, reading books for hours on end until she’d fall asleep with the pages sprawled open beside her.

Many nights she would hear her parents scream at one another, that harrowing wailing sound would echo for hours until both of them grew tired and they decided to sleep apart yet again. That’s when she knew she could relax, she could finally do all the things that she wouldn’t have time for in the day between her tutor’s classes and meaningless chores.

She had been a night owl, revelling in the time she got to be truly alone, when the house slept she would come alive. Now, she couldn’t stay awake even if she wanted to. She needed to sleep, and fast.

Y/n vaguely heard a door opening and closing, unsure whether it was real or her mind replaying memories all too vividly. Either way, her eyes were far too heavy to open themselves and check. It could wait.

Fred cursed himself for not catching his bedroom door behind him, the noise booming across the loft. He waited, frozen at the top of the steps, watching to see if the girl would rouse at the sound. But he was in luck, she didn’t move a muscle.

He padded down to the bottom, making sure each step was lighter than the last as he headed into the small corridor. George jolted awake the second his door was opened, reaching for his lamp to see who was intruding on his sleep.

“What the fuck!” He almost shouted.

“Shut up! She’s sleeping in there!” Fred hissed, walking over to the empty side of the bed and sitting down calmly.

“So was I you git- what the hell are you doing, since when did we start sleeping together?”

“Disgusting-”

“I didn’t mean that,” George rubbed his eyes with a grimace and reluctantly sat up, “What do you want then?” His voice finally hushed to match his brother’s.

“I have an idea,” Fred started.

“Yes,” “Well, I’ve been thinking about y/n-” “If this is you coming to tell me about another sex dream, I don’t wanna know, okay?”

“Will you just shut up and listen to me,”

“Fine, fine, go on.” He pulled the covers over his bare chest, feeling suddenly exposed to the cold night’s air.

“Well, we’ve been saying for ages that we need someone to work in the shop, except we can’t really afford it right now.” Fred explained, and George nodded along. “Look, y/n needs somewhere to stay, but she would never stay here without giving us some sort of payment, right?” The man’s head looked like it was on a spring as he took in the words. “So, why don’t we let y/n stay here with us and in return she can help out in the shop?”

“Do you think she’d agree to that?” “It was basically the same agreement she had with Neville and Hannah, except we have no reason to get rid of her.”

“I suppose so,” He didn't sound overly convinced.

“She needs somewhere to stay, we need someone to work, it’s a win-win situation!” Fred exclaimed, smiling like a mad man to try and convince his brother that their plan could work out.

“Okay, fine. We can ask her in the morning.”

“Great, I knew you’d say yes.” “Well it’s not like she’s the worst person to live with, it hardly took much to sway me.”

“Not the worst person? Come on George, she’s great!” Fred, admittedly, got a bit too excited at this. His voice ringing out louder than he’d wanted it to.

“You have had a sex dream haven’t you?” “Oh shut up!” “Was she in it,” George teased, prompting his brother to get up and head for the door. “So i’m taking that as a yes.” He turned the light off, hearing one last hiss from Fred before the door shut behind him.

“Aren’t you forgetting the time you had a sex dream about Mcgonnogall?” Fred quipped, leaving quickly as not to get a beating up from the other twin, who was mentalling cursing himself for ever revealing that fact when they were drunk one time.

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marvelmana · 3 years

Text

-Mumza goddess of death prompt

TW: suicide attempt

So after Wilbur's revival Dream with his God compex realizes that the power to bring people back to life isn't enough. So while Wilbur prepares to break Dream out of prison, Dream sits down to remember what more was in the revive book. His eyes shoot wide open as he remembers a short but powerful ritual to summon the goddess of death herself.

So after Wilbur breaks him out somehow. Wilbur and Dream are met by the rest of the SBI family. They didn't come together. Tommy came to stop Wilbur and maybe kill Dream. Techno and Phil just came to get Wilbur so Sam doesn't kill him. As always with this family they start arguing and Dream runs away. They follow him to the L'manhole where he manages to preform the full ritual to summon the goddess of death. Now all the others are terrified because they don't know what Dream did. All they know is that the nice and chill night suddenly became the worst storm they've ever experienced and a weird portal looking thing has started to form on the glass. Tommy starts yelling at Dream to stop. Philza aswell because Dream doesn't know what power he's messing with. Dream explains that he knows exactly what power he's messing with and tells them what or...rather who he has summoned. To Dream's surprise everyone but Tommy seems relived that he's summoning the goddess of death. Tommy's worried because he has no idea that he's the son of the goddess. Before any of them manages to say anything a dark figure emerges from the portal with dark wings as she flies up to the night sky. The wind that had made it hard to stay on your feet suddenly stops and the portal disapears. Dream does his evil laughter and then does his evil monologue but gets cut off by the goddess of death striking him down with one hand and pressuring her foot against his neck. Phil watches her and falls in love all over again. But before there can be a wholesome family reunion Tommy draws his sword out and points it at the goddess' neck.

"Who are you!? What do you want!?" He yells demanding answers.

The goddess melts at the sight of her youngest. He's so cute with that diamond sword, thinking he's so cool. When she doesn't answer Tommy gets frustrated and yells at the top of his lungs

"ANSWER ME!!!"

He was meant to intimidate the goddess but his yell only comes out as a broken cry. The goddess' heart breaks as she sees all the pain and frustration in her youngest son's eyes. There's something in his eyes that is not supposed to be there. There's something that's not meant to be seen in the eyes of a 16 year old. Before she can ask, Phil steps forward.

"It's been a long time, love" he says and takes off his hat.

The goddess smiles at her angel.

"About 16 years, but who's counting?" She jokes completely unbothered by the blade at her throat.

Then the twins comes in to have a small talk with their mother. None of them mentions that she's their mother. Tommy slowly takes away his sword and starts backing away. He takes one look at the unconscious green man by the goddess' feet and then at his brothers and father. This is their business. He should get going. He only gets a few steps away when one of his family members ask where he's going. He tells them that he's going home. The issue with Dream seems resolved and they're all busy with and old friend Tommy doesn't know. At first the goddess is confused as to why her youngest doesn't recognise her. But then again. When he left the end he was only a few months old. The twins had been just around 7. The goddess, who's name was Kristin smiles gently at Tommy and slowly walks up to him. She tells him that she's his mother. Tommy looks at his father and brothers who nods confirming. Normally you'd think Tommy would be excited to meet his mum. But when all his family has brought him is pain, he's not excited to see what a new family member who's also a goddess, can do. So he does the most rational thing he can think off. He runs. He runs with fear of his life. Tommy doesn't wanna die again. The mere thought terrifies him. So he runs, hoping to find someone to help him, anyone. Tubbo, Ranboo, Puffy hell he'd even take the help from Sam now. As he runs past his house he looks behind him to see 4 individuals chasing him. He starts screaming for help as he jumps out the edge by the bench with a water bucket in hand. Kristin who doesn't know Tommy's incredible skill with water MLGs panics and dives after him with her wings. She catches Tommy before he reaches the ground. Tommy starts squirming in her grip hoping to get away. Kristin tries to reassure him that she's got him. Tommy begs her not to hurt him. Telling her that he won't get in her way, that if she just lets him go she'll never have to see him again. Kristin feels as someone shot through her heart with an arrow. And she tells Tommy in what she thinks is a comforting voice, that she's never gonna let him go and that he's safe. Tommy's beyond terrified but lucky for him Tubbo and Ranboo is on a walk towards them. Tubbo and Ranboo immediately gets their armour on and orders Kristin to put Tommy down and that if she hurts him, she's gonna regret it. Kristin gets put off guard by the sudden company. Tommy uses that to his advantage and gets out of her grip and runs past Tubbo and Ranboo who's like protecting wall in front of him. Wilbur tells them to fuck off and that it's a family buisness. That just angers Tubbo even more.

"Family buisness!!!?" He yells almost in shock "You gotta be kidding me! Tommy just started healing after everything Dream did to him and after everything YOU did to him!! Why can't you just let him rest!?" Tubbo yells in anger

That's when Kristin's had enough. She demands an explanation and Tubbo just answers "I'm not gonna explain shit. Who do you think you are?" To which Krstin stretches out her wings and says in a lower tone

"I am the goddess of death. Protector of the end. And his mother" she says and looks at Tommy.

Tubbo and Ranboo looks back at Tommy who just shruggs. Because honestly he has no idea if it's true or not. But Tubbo and Ranboo decides to play along. They answer with a bit of attitude what has happened to Tommy since he came to this server. Everything from the disc war, to L'manbrug, to exile, to the egg trying to kill him and then celebrating his death, to what happened in the prison. After everything is explained the goddess of death is furious. She shoots up in the air and Phil has a very troubled face expression. When asked what's wrong he tells them.

"A father's rage is strong enough to conquer the world. But a mother's rage is stronger"

Kristin is mad at the server for driving her family apart and hurting her baby. So with the power within her she pulls up the egg and it's roots, along with the enire prison, Eret with his castle and Dream's unconscious body. The storm comes back, this time with thunder and rain. Tommy sees this and is terrified. But he's also worried about Eret. It's true he wronged him but Eret has changed.

"We gotta stop her!" Tommy yells.

"She's the goddess of death, you can't stop her!" Techno yells.

But it's no use. Tommy grabs Ranboo's trident. He launches himself in the air and jumps from bits of earth and structures in the air. His main focus is to help Eret out. Eret is ready for his doom. He knows he's not been the best person. But before that happens he hears someone call out his name. It's Tommy. Tommy gives Eret the trident and tells him to get out of here. He hears distant screams of the eggpire and the egg. Tommy doesn't care that much for the egg. But as annoying as Badboyhalo is with his no swearing rule, he's a good guy and Tommy do have good memories with the him. So with no trident Tommy jumps between the rising blocks to get to the people. He sees Dream's unconscious body and for a moment he thinks about it but then shakes his head. Dream is not his priority. Tommy doesn't see himself as a hero. But he's not one to simply watch someone die if he can do something about it. Tubbo knows this. He curses when Eret gets down on the ground and tells them what Tommy did for him. Tubbo looks to Ranboo who nods. He brings up a water splash potion and splashes himself. His eyes widen and a foreign language comes out of his mouth. Tubbo grabs ahold of his husband before he can teleport away without him. Ranboo has gone complete silent. If you can even call him Ranboo anymore. Tubbo has only seen Ranboo like this once. It was terrifying since the half enderman hybrid had been walking towards Tubbo's cabin in snowchester where Micheal was. Ranboo had been covered in water scars and yet he wasn't talking. Just calmly walking towards Micheal. Before he could get there though Ranboo collapsed and woke up with no memory of how he got to Tubbo's cabin. So now, on a floating piece of earth, in the eye of the storm Tubbo had to trust whatever this version of Ranboo was. He called for Tommy but got no response. Suddenly the foreign language comes out of Ranboo as he points with his free hand to some egg rootes. Tommy's jumping between the broken peices towards peoplenof the eggpire.

"Let's go and help that idiot out" Tubbo says and Ranboo teleports them behind Tommy.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Tubbo yells which scares Tommy. He turns around and smiles at the sight of maybe the two only people he trusts.

"I could ask you the same!" He yells back to be heard over the load weather.

"We came to help you. Ranboo can you get those guys back on the ground!?" Tubbo yells

Ranboo doesn't say anything but when he teleports closer and grabs badboyhalo and Hannah Tubbo knows he got through to him. Tommy's confused at how strange Ranboo was acting. Ranboo's not much of a fighter but still here he was, standing tall. And how the hell can he teleport without enderpearls? Tommy decides that there's a better time to ask. Instead him and Tubbo keeps the rest of the eggpire safe. During that the egg starts speaking to Tubbo and Tubbo is obviously trying to shut it out but it's hurting him. So once Ranboo gets back Tommy is quick to push his best friend onto his husband and yell at Ranboo to get him to safety. Tubbo doesn't get a chance to object before he's suddenly on the ground again. He struggles against Ranboo and begs his husband to take him back. Tommy knows what's keeping Ranboo from coming back. He can see it. So instead of wasting time, he makes a waterfall with his only waterbucket and puts the rest of the eggpire in it. In his head he repeats the same three words over and over again "Please don't drown". When the people is as safe as they can be in a situation like this Tommy turns to his mother who has definitely grown a couple of feet. Tommy gulps and watches as Dream's body literally explodes in front of his mum's dark eyes.

"Hey!!" He yells and draws his sword again.

Kristin turns to see where the voice comes from and her gace immediately goes soft. But it turns confused when she can't see the rest of the wronguns.

"I'm not gonna let you hurt anyone else!" Tommy says with his blade in front of him

"The mortals needs to be taught a lesson. You'll come to understand when you're older. You're just a mere child" she says calmly

Tommy smirks. He may be young, but he's not stupid. Tommy knows the blade would do nothing to his mother. So he takes a deep breath and holds the sword against his own throat. He doesn't want this. But he won't let his mother hurt people because of him.

"I may be young! But I have seen wars, I have witnessed my best friend's execution, I have been exiled, I have been tortured and somewhat manipulated. I'm not a child anymore!!" He yells

"You wouldn't. I can see the fear in your eyes son. I can feel it. You don't want this" Kristin says but her voice is everywhere as she gets closer to her son.

"I am not a child. I'm a soldier without a mission. Which makes me desperate. So if I have to die to protect them that's something I'll have to do" Tommy says and stares at the eyes of the beast

"I would never hurt your fatber or brothers" Kristin reassures

"I wasn't talking about those idiots. Listen this place is a hell hole! And sometimes it's hard to get out of bed. But you know what!? It's my home. You've just killed the guy who were the source of my problems. You've done enough!!" Tommy yells and pushes the sword closer to his throat. He can feel it slowly digging into his skin. The goddess of death panics and does a quick movement with her finger and before Tommy knows it he's flying in the air, unable to move an inch. His sword is still in his hand but he can feel an invisable force trying to take it from him.

"Tommy. Drop it!" Kristin hisses

Tommy won't drop it. He could see the fear in her eyes once the blade was pressed against his throat. If he could just move his arm he could put the sword back at his throat. But he can't the force pulling away his sword is strong. But Tommy's always been a fighter. He actually manages to withstand the force but doesn't notice the goddess shrinking in sice and flying up to him to grab the sword herself. After taking the sword she throws it down and stares at her youngest. One thing's for sure, her family is not safe here.

Good ending: Tommy and the others talks Kristin down and she goes back to the end but visits every now and then

Bad ending: Kristin sees how much this place is hurting her baby and the rest of her family. So she takes them to the end where they can't leave. Phil would've been able to, if it wasn't for one of his wings being broken.

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canyouhearthelight · 3 years

Text

The Miys, Ch. 127

Annnnd a-one, and a-two, and a queue-queue-queue!

This chapter has one of my favorite things in the world to write - Interpersonal relationships (if you are surprised, I’m going to assume you are new here....).

Specifically, one of my biggest pet-peeves is when friends or siblings are written in a way that shows that the author doesn’t actually have any friends or siblings they are close enough to that all rules of societal politeness go whizzing into some far-off dimension as soon as they are in proximity.

When I get to write a chapter with such close friends/ersatz-siblings and also have @baelpenrose cackling and egging me on, it literally makes my whole day.

P.S: If anyone has wondered about the ages of the characters, several are clearly lined out in this chapter......

EDIT: Fixed some insane formatting issues.

“The food festival, Sophia? Really?” an incredulous voice asked before the door to my office even opened all the way.

I resisted the urge to scream, but did surrender to pinching the bridge of my nose and breathing slowly. “Hello, Arthur. Do come in. Long time no see. Of course I’m not busy…” My one day each week to have a few hours to myself - no mentees, no assistant, even Tyche was off work….

“We saw each other last night when I came over for dinner after sparring with Conor, and you’re never busy on Saturdays, Alistair makes sure of it.” He dragged a chair in front of my desk for what I felt was the sole purpose of putting his boots on my desk instead of the conference table.

“I thought you two didn’t even like each other, how did you - “

He waved a hand dismissively. “Enemy of my best friend’s enemy is my friend, that sort of thing. Anyway - “

“Did you just call me my own worst - “

“You are, let’s not pretend otherwise. Anyway.” Arthur arched an eyebrow at me and waited for any further objections, but I couldn’t think of any. “The Food Festival. It’s my one favorite tradition on this ship until armed combat becomes a spectator sport, and you are putting Parvati and Hannah in charge of it?”

After a beat pause to make sure he was done, I glared at him. “Everyone has asked me that, and I don’t understand the issue. They’ve both helped in the past, even before they started training to replace me. I’ve handed more and more off to them each time, and they did great! Plus, they have three months, it will be fi - Wait, why do you even care, Arthur?”

He held up one finger with the authority of a deity who would have smited me if he could. “One, Parvati Fletcher does not like mapo tofu. You do. Specifically, you like it from that one vendor who grows her own Sichuan peppercorns and uses them like they are an infinite resource. Two, I spend entirely too much time working with Zach Khan, and he won’t shut up about how stressed Hannah is. Three - “ I was seriously starting to get concerned he actually could smite me at this point - “As much as I love you in the most platonic way possible, you are an obsessive, compulsive perfectionist who insists on doing everything herself and running herself into the ground so that everyone else has the time of their lives. So why are you trusting this, the largest and oldest event on the Ark, entirely to other people?” Dropping his boots from the desk, he leaned forward, palms down until we were nearly nose to nose.

“Sophia Reid, I swear on any god I can kill if you are dying…”

“WHAT!?” I squawked, jerking back and standing so fast I knocked my chair over. “For the love of little fish, I’m not dying! I haven’t had a near death experience in four years, thank you.”

“Three, not counting the fact that there is a reason Alistair makes you drink anything through a straw anymore.”

“How did - Nevermind.” I shook my head and tried to focus on the topic at hand. “No, I’m not dying. Nor am I injured, having a midlife crisis, rethinking my life choices any more than I ever do, or so much as in possession of a stuffy nose.” Taking a deep breath, I rolled my eyes and started counting off before I could stop myself. “Conor and Maverick and I are fine. No, I’m not arguing with Tyche again. Yes, I’m still going to therapy. Else is fine. No new sentient plagues or rogue cult leaders that I’m aware of. Nor have I become immortal, queen of the universe, savior of humanity, pregnant by Noah, or possessed.” Carefully, I picked my chair back up and sat down.

“Good...to… know?” He gave me a funny look. “Who asked the most disturbing one?”

“Immortal or Savior of Humanity?” I asked for clarification. “Those were Maverick and Derek, respectively.”

The look only got worse. “I meant ‘pregnant by Noah’, but fascinating to see where your priorities lie….?”

“Oh. That was Charly.”

“Dammit,” he swore softly. “I had her pegged for ‘possessed’.”

“I’m pretty sure she is, but the suggestion that I am came from Tyche, on no fewer than 3 occasions, by 4 different entities. She seemed pretty hopeful that Else was potentially mind-controlling me in an effort to make me take a nap,” I admitted.

“That tracks.” A nod of approval prefaced the question I had been avoiding - successfully, thus far, I might add. “Now that you’ve ruled out every possible plausible reason that you would entrust this to literally anyone other than a clone of yourself, why?”

“Why what?” My face was composed in an expression of innocence so convincing that I probably deserved an Oscar.

“I can and will convince Charly to turn all your coffee to decaf, so help me, Sophia.”

Realizing that he was, legitimately, worried about me and at the limits of his usually-impressive patience, I held up my hands in surrender. “Fine. You get the scoop. Please record this and send me the loop, so I can just flick it at people who ask, please?” When he nodded, I exhaled slowly. “It is no secret to anyone that I never wanted this job. I made the mistake of establishing the Food Festival, which as you point out is the largest event of the cycle on the Ark - the last three years, literally everyone attended in some capacity.” When he opened his mouth to argue, I held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t get me wrong. I love the Festival. What basically started out as a potluck because we were homesick and needed to meet - you know, the rest of humanity - is a huge, three day holiday. It’s amazing!” I spun in my chair, arms flung wide for emphasis, before stopping to face him.

“It also consumes my life, for months, to prepare for. And that’s just implementing changes to make it more accessible so people don’t miss out! That doesn’t include adding things to make it more interesting or keep it from getting boring, or whatever. I literally don’t have time to do any of that!”

“So, you’re inflicting this on them instead?”

“Inflicting?” I snorted. “Hardly. This is their final exam, their capstone project, their dissertation. If they pull this off, I will gladly hand the entire office over to whoever is elected, cheerfully and knowing the Ark is in good hands. But, they have to pull this off. It’s the only major part of being Councilor of Resources and Relations that they haven’t done yet by themselves.”

He rubbed his face, looking somewhat impressed. “That’s honestly not what I was expecting.”

“I don’t think it ever is, honestly.” I shrugged at the question he glanced towards me. “For Evan, it was coordinating the weapons exhibitions. Charly managed to pre-empt her own by designing more efficient aqueducts and filtration for when we reach Von - you know, the ones that also produce light?”

“Of course she would invent glow-in-the-dark plumbing. Who else?” Something caught up with him. “Evania Josue got away with planning an event? Seriously?”

“Oh, that’s right… you weren’t on Level One…” I murmured. When he only looked more confused, I clarified. “She was Maverick’s co-pilot when we needed people to pilot the Ark, which was not designed to pilot manually, via dead reckoning, using cameras pointed out the few viewports we have, for several weeks after the sensors were sabotaged.”

“She was whose co-pilot?”

“You really never heard this story? You practically live with seven people who were there…”

“Usually I get the bits about ‘Sophia nearly got her brains bashed out’ and ‘that traitorous bitch’, then start tuning out while I try to decide what it would take to get Charly to teach me necromancy… If Evan was the co-pilot, then why is Maverick….”

“Not in line to replace any Councilors? Arthur, we know that would be a disaster for him.”

He nodded reluctantly. “Your younger partner is a nice boy.”

“For fuck’s sake, he’s thirty seven!” I groaned.

“Nice man, whatever,” he waved off. “Which is exactly what I would like for you as a partner. You need nice partners, and blunt siblings. But I see what you mean about him being a Councilor… he’d be miserable.”

“What was yours?” I asked mischievously, dropping my chin onto my hands.

That earned me a flat stare, until he finally surrendered when I didn’t flinch. “The Twentieth/Early Twenty First History curriculum.”

“Seriously?” That had literally been the first thing he had done when Eino tapped him as a possible successor.

“I didn’t budge on points even he admitted he would have, out of fear of offending people.”

“Which is a fear you very much lack,” I pointed out.

“The truth is the truth. Coating it in sugar only makes it taste worse.” He shrugged nonchalantly before suddenly looking dangerously like he was thinking again. “There’s two of them.”

“Yes, Arthur. Hanna and Paravati are, in fact, two distinct and separate women-type-lady-people.”

“Thank you, Fee, I was well aware.” I suppressed a growl at the nickname - he knew I hated it. “I meant, only one can win the election, smartass.”

“Better to be a smartass than a dumbass,” I muttered.

“Sophia, you are forty five. Please grow up just a hair?”

“Tyche doesn’t want to be HR forever, you know.”

That brought his mind to a visibly screeching halt. “Wait, what?”

“What what?” I asked. “She does it because she is phenomenal at it, but it isn’t her passion. She only stuck around as long as she did to make sure I didn’t trip over a chair and brain myself while I was at work. When I’m gone, she’s gone, loser take the spoils.”

He whistled softly before shaking his head. “It’s bizarre to think of you two retiring around the same time I’m just starting the position.”

“I’ll have been a Councilor for a decade when I step down,” I pointed out. I almost included unless I die first, but that never seemed to be as funny as I thought it was.

“But you aren’t that much older than me,” he sighed dramatically. “Anti-aging technology is frustrating.”

“Annnnd this is a natural extension of your career, with a ten year break thereabouts the middle.” My grin was so bright it made him scowl before I finally got a begrudging smile. “Think of it as getting elected head of the school board.”

The groan he let out probably echoed for several levels throughout the ship. I had basically just pointed out that he was becoming that which he most hated.

Or not. He seemed to recover with a gleam in his eye. “Pfft. Dean of Students, at the very least.”

<< Prev Masterlist Next >>

#the miys #humans are weird #found family #siblings #humans will pack bond with anything #aliens #post apocalyse #post post apocalypse #science fiction #original science fiction #haw #hfy

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fred-george-fic · 4 years

Text

In the Middle Pt. 6

Cedric x Reader & George x Reader (Eventually)

A/N: I am so appreciative for all the positive responses and likes that I have been getting for this fic! So thank you, you all are the reason I keep writing!

Summary: It’s the Second Task plus a special moment with Cedric!

Pairing(s): Cedric x Reader & George x Reader (eventually)

Word Count: 1.9k

Masterlist: ~Part 1~Part 2~Part 3~Part 4~Part 5~

Warnings: None!

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The Second Task

On February 23rd, you are sitting with Cedric in the Courtyard, chatting with his friends from Hufflepuff about the task tomorrow. Cedric’s arm is lazily wrapped around your waist as you sit on a bench. Over the past few months, Cedric’s friends have grown quite fond of you. You can often be seen talking to them in classes or walking with them, even when Cedric isn’t around. As you’re sitting there, Hermione and Ron walk up to the group.

“Hey, Y/N?” Hermione says as they approach. “Mad-eye told us to find you because Professor McGonagall is looking for us.”

You nod your head and turn to Cedric. “I’ll see you tomorrow? I’ll be the one cheering so loud that even the creatures at the bottom of the lake can hear me.” You smile at him, kissing him quickly.

“I might need more of those before the task.” He grins, kissing you one last time before you walk away.

“See you all later!” You wave as you walk with Hermione and Ron to Professor McGonagall’s office.

“Ah, Welcome students.” She says as you walk in and motions to the three seats in front of her. “Please, take a seat.”

You all sit down and notice Professor Dumbledore is also standing in the room, watching you all. “Good evening. How would you three feel about participating in the second task?” He asks, scanning all three of your faces

“How would we help?” Hermione questions.

“I am assuming both Harry and Cedric have discussed with you what they heard from the Golden Egg.” You all nod your heads as Dumbledore continues to speak. “The final line is ‘To recover what we took’, which is where you three come in.”

“You want us to be the taken items?” You ask much quicker than you expected.

“Yes. Each of you means something to the champions. We have already gotten permission from Fleur’s parents to use her sister as well.” Dumbledore continues to stare at each of you, awaiting your answer.

“Okay, I’ll do it.” You look up meeting Dumbledore’s eyes, as Hermione and Ron also agree.

“You will not be returning to your common rooms today. Nor will you get a chance to speak with the champions before the second ask tomorrow. I promise you will be safe and will awake once you come out of the water.” The last thing you see before falling asleep is a wave of Dumbledore’s wand.

-------

The Morning of the Second Task

Fred and George are walking through the crowd of people, shouting to take anyone’s bets.

“Step up mates, don’t be shy!” Fred begins.

“Three lads…” George continues.

“…One lady.”

“Four go down…”

“But will four come up?”

“Don’t be so mean.” Ginny says as she walks past the boys.

“Wait, Ginny. Have you seen Y/N?” George asks.

“Not since yesterday!” Ginny shouts as she continues walking to the docks. Eventually, George and Fred set up their betting booth on the docks. Cedric walks up to them.

“Ah, Diggory. What can we do for you?” Fred looks at Cedric. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready to get in the lake?”

“Have either of you seen Y/N?” He barley acknowledges the boys as he asks his question.

“Wait. You haven’t seen her either?” George looks up puzzled, he thought you had already made your way to the docks with Cedric. “Harry hadn’t seen Hermione or Ron either.”

Suddenly, Cedric’s eyes get wide as he realizes what has been taken from him. He looks at the lake and sprints towards the end of the dock where Fleur and Victor are already waiting. Cedric eyes the lake, seeming like he could jump in at any moment. Meanwhile, George and Fred have also caught onto your location. George looks over at Fred with a knowing look, Cedric better pull this task off. Harry runs up, talking to Neville and lines up with the other champions.

“Welcome to the second task. Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure of sorts. These four treasures, one for each champion, now lie at the bottom of the Black lake…” Dumbledore continues on giving his announcer speech. Cedric continues to look at the lake with determination as his Hufflepuff friends continue cheering him on. The cannon goes off and the champions jump in the water.

-------

Your lungs immediately fill with air as you break the surface of the water. You can feel arms around you, and when you look back you see Cedric helping lead you to the bottom platform of the dock. On the platform you can see Fred and George, along with some Hufflepuff students waiting to pull you both up. George and Fred help you up onto the platform, while Cedric’s friends help him. You’re immediately wrapped in a towel and someone places a beanie on your head. When you look up, you notice Fred is wearing his, but George isn’t. “You alright, Y/N?” George asks.

“A little chilly.” You manage a smile while your teeth chatter and begin to head up to a higher platform.

“Only a little? Guess I can have my beanie back?” George laughs following behind you.

“Okay, you got me. I’m bloody freezing.” You reach the top of the ladder and hear a number of cheers around you as another person breaks the surface. You notice Hermione and Victor, followed by Ron and Fleur’s sister Gabrielle. Finally, Harry shoots out of the water and lands on the dock.

As the judges discuss, the placements of the champions you can feel someone putting another towel over your shoulders. When you look over, you notice Cedric offering you a wide smile. “Here, put this on too.” He says handing you his jersey. You slip it over your head and rewrap the towels around you, moving closer to Cedric, who wraps his arms around you and kisses the top of your head.

“Attention!” You hear Dumbledore shout. “The winner is… Mr. Diggory! Who showed innate command of the bubble-head charm.” Cheers immediately erupt throughout the various platforms. You cheer loudly, wrapping your arms around Cedric’s neck who immediately pulls you in for a kiss. All the cheering faded away for a moment, until Dumbledore continued talking.

“However, seeing as Mr. Potter would have finished first, and rescued not only Mr. Weasley but the others as well, we have agreed to award him with second place.” You could hear George and Fred let out a loud cheer behind you and the Durmstrang boys begin complaining.

“Congrats Harry!” You yell towards him. He smiles at you and gives you a thumbs up, before continuing his conversation with Ron and Hermione.

Everyone began to shuffle out of the stadium, you followed next to Cedric and the rest of his Hufflepuff friends as you moved towards the boats. “You did great out there today, Mr. Diggory.” You laugh and give him a wink.

“All because of you.” He puts his arm around you and pulls you closer to him. “The moment I realized that it was you in the lake, I knew I needed to get you out of there as quickly as possible.”

“Well, I am glad I can be of some service.” You smile at him and continue on your way back to Hogwarts.

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The Day Before the Final Task

On June 23rd, the day before the Final task, you were on your way to the Astronomy Tower to meet Cedric. Hannah had given you a note saying:

Y/N,

Please meet me at the Astronomy Tower tonight at 9 PM. I want to see you before the final task.

-Cedric

Since the Second Task, you two have practically been inseparable. Cedric managed to walk you to almost every class, you starting having lunches together, and more often than not, you two would stay out until you absolutely had to head back to the common room. This drove Fred and George mad, you made sure to reserve breakfast times for them but they would constantly bug you about it.

“We never spend any more time together, Y/N!” Fred would say as you went off to spend more time with Cedric.

“I’ll literally be staying at the Burrow with you all summer! I will barely get to see Cedric!” You would protest.

“Let her go, Freddie. She has other priorities now.” George would say coldly, usually walking away. He seemed to be taking it a bit harder than Fred, but you knew once summer hit, you would be spending all your time with the twins. Cedric lived close enough to the Weasley’s, but they were kind enough to let you stay there the last few summers. You weren’t going to impose by leaving the Burrow to spend time with Cedric all summer.

“I’m really sorry. But I promise we’ll spend time together once the school year is over!” You even offered to take them on a trip to Hogsmede last weekend with Cedric, but they declined saying they were busy.

As you reach the bottom of the Astronomy Tower and make your way up the steps, you see Cedric leaning over one of the railings. You walk up next to him. “Enjoying the stars?” You look around and notice how bright the sky is, filled with billions of stars.

“Yeah, but I’m going to enjoy them a lot more now that you’re here.” He says looking over at you. He doesn’t give you his usual smile, just looks at you.

“Are you okay?” You grab his hand, meeting his gaze. The light from the sky hit the side of Cedric’s face, causing his eye to glimmer slightly.

“Yes. I’m a little nervous about tomorrow.” He squeezes your hand in reassurance. This time he does give you one of his signature wide smiles. “Nothing to worry about. I’ll make it through.”

“So, what made you ask me to come up here so late?” You ask, not pulling your eyes away from his.

“I wanted to give you this actually. I usually try not to pay attention to Rita’s gossip, but I saw someone reading it and noticed this.” Cedric pulls out a photo of the two of you from the second task. It shows the moment the two of you kissed once he was announced the winner.

“Did you cut this out?” You stare at the photo with a wide smile. You really never considered how lovely you two look together.

He rubs the back of his neck and lets out a small grin. “Yeah. Once I saw it, I really wanted to give it to you.”

“I absolutely love it!” You plant a kiss on his lips and go back to looking at the photo.

“I love you.” The words come out of Cedric’s mouth before he actually realized what he was saying. His eyes go wide as you slowly break away from the photo and meet his eyes.

“Did you just-?” You look at him in shock for a moment, taking in his words. His eyes soften then and he pulls you close to him.

“Yeah. I love you, Y/N. I’ve known for a while now; I just didn’t know when to say it.” He laughs lightly.

“I love you too, Cedric.” You smile and kiss him again, this time more passionately. He holds you close to him and smiles.

“I’m glad that’s all sorted.” He kisses the top of your head and keeps his arms wrapped around you, as the two of you watch the stars before headed back to your common rooms.

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