#and he was trying to get my uncle to force either me or my sister to email first because he has made it a point that he wants us to | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ereardon · 3 months

Text

Before I Knew [Jake Seresin x Reader] Chapter Seven

A Jake Seresin unexpected pregnancy fic

Overview: On your first night after moving to San Diego to spend more time with your brother Bob, you unknowingly have a one night stand with his teammate Jake Seresin. For the first time in his whole life, Bob has a closely knit friend group and you’re desperate not to rock the boat. But an unexpected and unplanned pregnancy upends your world, forcing you and Jake closer together, against Bob’s wishes. What will happen when you find yourself actually falling for the father of your unborn child?

Pairing: Jake Seresin x Reader; Bob Floyd x Sister!Reader

Warnings: Pregnancy, cursing, eventual smut, angst, vomit

Chapter summary: Bob and Jake have a confrontation after a bad flight; Ducky reflects on the night she slept with Jake; the Daggers go on a mission with a not-so-happy ending

WC: 2K

Masterlist here; previous chapter here

Jake signed the lease for the new apartment immediately, and he and Bradley offered to get your things from Bob’s house while you were at work. You didn’t have much, and the first night you arrived at the new apartment, it felt like walking into an AirBnB.

“Haven’t had time to go to the store,” he said as you set your purse down. “So I ordered takeout.”

Jake lifted the lid on a container of pad thai and you took one sniff before covering your mouth with your hand, sprinting down the hallway, emptying your stomach into the porcelain toilet. After a moment you flushed, washing your hands and emerged back into the kitchen. Jake had closed all of the containers and stood with his eyes wide.

“Fuck,” he muttered quietly. “Are you OK?”

You nodded, sitting down on one of the stools. “Yeah, fine. It’s just some smells really get to me.”

“Take the room in the back,” he said. “It’s further from the kitchen and it has a bathroom attached.”

You grimaced. “So you’re saying I just puked in your bathroom?”

“Yup.”

“Lovely.” You folded your hands on top of each other on the granite countertop. “Was he there?” you whispered.

Jake nodded. “Yeah.”

“Was he mad?”

Jake paused. Then, “He, uh, he was upset.”

You frowned. You knew it was a bad idea to move out and not tell him, but you were too scared to have that confrontation, either. “I fucked everything up.”

“This is Bob’s thing,” Jake said and you raised your gaze. “He’s angry at me,” Jake added. “He’s angry at you. He’s angry in general. It’s not all your fault.”

“All,” you replied. “So it is my fault.”

“Well, yeah,” Jake said and to your surprise you laughed. He did, too. “That’s what little sisters are for. To cause trouble.”

“So you have sisters?” You realized you knew nothing about Jake besides what he looked like without clothes on.

He nodded. “Two. One older, one younger. My older sister has a son, Will. He’s three.”

“Uncle Jake,” you said. “Nope, sounds weird.”

“Not as weird as dad.”

A silence enveloped the two of you as you let the monumental impact of those words surround you. You looked up. “This is weird, right? It’s not just me?”

“It’s weird.” Jake stretched his arms wide across the edges of the kitchen island. “I’ve never lived with a woman before.”

“I’ve never lived with someone who wasn’t my family or a college roommate.”

He smiled gently. “Guess we both have a lot to learn.”

“I have to ask you something.”

“Go ahead.”

“This arrangement. It’s just convenient, right?”

“As opposed to?”

You shrugged. “Sex.”

Jake blushed. Literally blushed. You cracked a small smirk. “No,” he rushed and you nodded. “I mean, if you want.”

You rolled your eyes and he chuckled.

“Seriously, Y/N, this wasn’t about hooking up or shacking up together. I’m trying to do the right thing here.”

“You really are, aren’t you?” Your eyes rolled over Jake. His broad shoulders, the way he looked at you like you were the only item in an otherwise empty room. There was a magnitude associated with his gaze. It made you feel small, and so very large, at the same time.

“I’m going to be out of town for a few days,” Jake said. “Leaving on Thursday.”

“Bachelor party?”

“Mission.”

You sucked in a breath. “Is Bob going?”

Jake nodded. “We’re all going.”

“Should I be worried?”

Jake’s face softened. “We’re good at this, Y/N,” he said. “Very good.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“You don’t have to be worried.”

“I’m always worried,” you replied instantly and Jake’s eyebrows shot up. “I’ve been worried about Bob the second he said he wanted to join the Navy.”

“Floyd will be fine.” There was a grit to his words.

“Promise me,” you said. “Promise me you’ll protect him.”

Jake nodded. “I’ll do my best to make sure he makes it back.”

***

The night you first met Jake, you had lied to Bob. You had said you were going out to meet a friend from college. The reality was, you went to the first dive bar you passed as you drove away from his house. You wanted a drink. But really, what you had wanted was knowing that you weren’t in Tennessee anymore.

And that meant getting drunk in a bar where you knew no one and where no one knew you. It meant you could be whoever you wanted to be. The first guy you spoke to thought you were a ballerina from the New York City Ballet. The second guy asked for your number so he could get piano lessons for his brother. The third wanted to see your Willy Nelson impression because you had lied and said you were a country singer.

By the time you were drunk, you ended up outside, watching the waves lap against the shore. The door to the bar swung open, light spilling out onto the deck, and a figure appeared at your side.

“Hey.” That was it. One word and he captivated you. It was the vodka. But also the way he looked when you turned. Golden hair and perfect teeth. That ideal amount of charisma and confidence and happiness that made you realize he wasn’t going to hurt you. He wasn’t a threat.

He was an opportunity.

“I’m—”

You stepped in closer, pressing your lips against his, letting your body melt into him. You broke away after a moment, his arms wrapped around your waist, eyes wide. “Don’t,” you whispered. “I don’t care who you are.”

He smirked. “Is that so?”

“Do you want to take me home or what?”

He nodded and you leaned in for a second kiss. This one was sweeter, passionate. His taste exploded on your tongue and his fingertips gripping your ass felt like little electrical sparks.

And to think you would never see him again.

***

The doorbell wouldn’t stop ringing.

You stepped out of your bedroom as Jake emerged in the hallway, yanking a shirt down over his bare chest. He held out a hand behind him. “Wait there,” he said gruffly. You peeked one head around the corner of the door frame, watching Jake approach the door carefully before yanking it open. “What?” he bellowed.

Bob stood in the doorway. “I want to see my sister.”

You stepped out into the hall. “Bobby? For fucks sake, it’s almost midnight.”

His eyes were rimmed with red as he stepped inside and he smelled sharp, like alcohol.

You frowned. “Have you been drinking?”

Bob shrugged. “Bradshaw and I had some beers.”

“What’s going on with you?” you whispered, moving closer.

Jake shifted to the side. “I'm going to go to my room.” He tossed a look at you. “Are you OK?”

You nodded. “Yeah, we’re fine.”

Bob narrowed his gaze. “She’s my sister, Hangman,” he snapped. “I can take care of her better than you ever could. You don’t have to ask her if she’s OK when she’s with me.”

Jake retreated to his room and you crossed your arms over your chest. ”Well, Bobby, what do you want?”

“To see you.”

“You’re seeing me,” you snapped. “So now you can go.”

“Ducky,” he said and you felt your heart melt a little. “I—”

“I don’t know what’s going on with you,” you interrupted, “but I don’t like it.”

“What’s going on with me?” Bob demanded. “What about what’s going on with you? You just leave, don’t say a word? Move in with Hangman of all people. And I have to hear it from Bradshaw.”

“I’m sorry about that,” you whispered. “But I think it’s for the best.”

“Nothing about this is good, Duck,” Bob said and you frowned.

“I know you’re not happy about the situation, but it is the situation. So either learn how to live with it, Bobby, or walk away.”

“What are you saying?” he asked, swaying side to side, the alcohol coursing through his veins.

You crossed your arms over your chest and sighed. “I’m saying, maybe you’re doing this because you’re afraid of losing me. And maybe you’re afraid of that because it’s a possibility. You’ve spent your entire life taking care of me. So maybe you feel like you don’t know who you are if I’m able to take care of myself.”

Bob’s eyes went wide behind his wire glasses.

“I love you,” you whispered and your voice choked a little at the last word, “but I need you to leave. Because until you figure out how you fit into my life, not how I fit into yours, I don’t think we should talk.”

“Ducky, I—”

“Leave,” you repeated, firmer this time. “Please.”

“No.”

“She’s asking you to leave, Floyd.” Jake appeared from the darkness, his voice firm and solid. “Do the right thing and go home and sleep this off.”

Bob’s eyes flitted between you and jake. You watched him swallow his words. He turned around and yanked the door open, slamming it shut behind him. You winced at the noise.

Jake put one hand on your shoulder. “Are you OK?”

You shook your head, tears filling your eyes. “No. Not at all.”

***

Jake left a few days later. The two of you had yet to find a routine. He stood awkwardly in the doorway, duffle bag at his feet. Finally, he raised his eyes to yours. “We should be back next week.”

You nodded. “Alright.”

“I left the emergency number on the fridge for our team,” he added. “Just in case.”

“I’ll be fine,” you replied. “I’ve done this before, remember?”

“I haven’t.” There was something small about the way he said it. Jake shook his head. “Well, I should go.”

A part of you wanted to hug him. Do something so he stopped looking like a dog that had gotten kicked. But it felt like a boundary you didn’t want to cross. So instead, you said, “Good luck.”

“I’ll see you in five days.” Jake picked up his bag and opened the door.

“Jake?” you called out as he opened the door to his truck. He turned. “You’ll make sure he’s safe, right?”

“I’ll do my best.”

***

The days were long. Even though it had only been a week of living with Jake, there was still comfort in having someone else around. Without him, the apartment felt emptier than you could have ever imagined.

You and Bob had a routine before he went on missions. He would call you the morning he left and he would always say the same thing. I’ll see you at home.

It was what he said to you when you were little and he would drop you off at your classroom in the morning. It was what he said when you were slightly older and he’d wave at you from a different bus. Even when you were a teenager and he came home from the academy, he would kiss your forehead before he left and whisper that he’d see you at home.

Home was wherever Bob was. Or at least, that’s where it used to be.

You no longer knew where home was. Or who home was.

You were at the library when you got the call. It rang in your pocket before you were able to dig it out, the number on the front unfamiliar. Quietly, you answered. “Hello?”

“Y/N? It’s Jake.”

You let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God. You’re back.”

“Landed twenty minutes ago,” he responded. He coughed. Then, “Listen, something happened up there.”

Your heart froze. You felt all of the blood from your face drain and you scrambled for a chair, sitting down with a hard plop. “Tell me.”

“Bob and Phoenix went down,” he whispered. “They’re alive, but, I’m not going to lie, it’s not good.”

“Oh my God.”

“You should come to the base,” Jake said. “They’re at the hospital here. Do you want me to pick you up?”

“I’m on my way.” You were halfway out the door and to Bob’s truck before you realized you had left your purse at the desk. But you didn’t care. You were losing your home. Nothing else mattered.

Please follow my library page @ereardonlibrary as that will largely serve as my tag list. Anyone I previous promised to tag is here:

@blue-aconite @withahappyrefrain @wkndwlff @mamachasesmayhem @djs8891 @clancycucumber230 @gigisimsonmars @xomrsalliej4787xo @myfaveficrecs @mycobrakai1972 @sio-ina-bottle @joaquinwhorres @justanothermagicalsara @je-suis-prest-rachel @shanimallina87

@rosiahills22 @buckysteveloki-me @kmc1989 @eloquentdreamer @mjisbby @seresinslady @seresinhangmanjake @blackwidownat2814 @bbyvanessaa @mrsjobarnes @midnightmagpiemama @ingoaliesitrust @rockbottomphilosophies-blog @iangiemae @boiolay @sometimesanalice @spinning-away @na-ta-sh-aa @bobfloydsbabe @kmc1989 @rosiahills22 @palepeanutponyshoe @onceupona-happilyeverafter-love @mel119g @daggerspare-standingby @grxcisxhy-wp @mrsjobarnes @csmt-m @rockbottompunk-blog @joaquinwhorres

201 notes · View notes

itsgameofthronesimagines · 1 year

Text

Strong Dragons (Part One)

(Gif not mine)

Fandom: House of the Dragon

Masterlist Here

Pairing: Daemon x Fem!Reader x Rhaenyra

Warnings: NSFW! 18+ only! Smut, mature themes and language, P in V, arranged marriages, unprotected rough/raw sex (wrap it before you tap it), virginity loss, incest, daemon growls (enough said), angst, mentions of period blood, infertility struggles, threesomes, etc. (I’m so sorry if I miss anything I’m just writing the warnings down as I remember them)

Word Count: 4,032

Summary: Lady Y/n is chosen by Princess Rhaenyra for some would say a dangerous, maybe even an impossible task... and it requires marrying her uncle.

Request by: @ivy-targaryen

Author’s Note: I just so happened to be writing a Daemon x Reader x Rhaenyra fic when this request came in so thank you so much for the added inspiration! For context, Fem!Reader will be a Strong for later obvious reasons, Rhaenyra is still married to Laenor, Daemon stays in King’s Landing and never marries Laena, so their daughters are never born (I’m sorry). This is a VERY long one (that is most definitely getting a second and third part cause this originally had over 10,000 words) so strap in and I hope you enjoy it!

(I do not consent my works to be reposted/copied)

"What troubles you?"

Lady Y/n, daughter of House Strong, looks up from her embroidery to locate the source of her brother's voice. Looking around the gardens, she found him walking towards her, stepping into the gazebo she had hidden in. She tilts his head up at him, "Do I look troubled?"

Ser Harwin Breakbones lets out a snort full of snark, "I hardly see a sour look like that on your face, sweet sister."

Upon mention, Y/n feels the furrow of her brow lighten, straightening her posture when she realized she had been slouching. Blinking rapidly to try and veil her brooding expression, she clears her throat and nods towards the nearest seat for her brother. When he takes up the invitation to join her, only then did she voice her worries, "... If you were given an impossible task, would you do it?"

Harwin's eyebrows furrow, an expression fairly similar to Y/n's. By all accounts, apart from their genders, they were twins, and Y/n is reminded of this as she watched her brother similarly shift in his seat before replying, "Awfully vague question. If you truly want advice from your brother, wouldn't you want to be a bit more specific?"

"If I wanted advice, I'd go to Larys," the quick remark forces out a snort from Harwin. Y/n faintly smiles before urging him on with a stiff nod, "Just answer the question."

Silence lingers as he ponders on said question. Harwin listens to the wind brushing through the vines that have climbed the pillars of the gazebo. He answers boldly, like the strong soldier he was, "Nothing is impossible. Not for me. Not for us. House Strong knows no task that is too impossible to accomplish."

Y/n looked back down at her embroidery to hide her disappointment. She was afraid he would say that, furiously pulling the needle and threading through the fabric. Despite hiding her emotions, Harwin took her silent response as a recoil, worrying him further as he leans closer to her, talking quietly in case the question was for a more personal matter, "Can I ask who gave you this burden?"

The needle paused in Y/n's hand, her eyes still examining her threaded pattern as she mumbled, "The princess."

Harwin's worry eases some, shoulders visibly relaxing under his armor. He smiles warmly with encouragement, "Princess Rhaenyra would not have asked... whatever-it-is from you if she did not believe you could do it. She's also smart. I don't believe anything's impossible for her either," when his sister remained unconvinced, Harwin reaches out to still her hand from stabbing her embroidery with the needle, "She is to be our queen someday, Y/n... Whatever she wants from you, as long as you are not to be harmed, I believe you should do it."

Y/n's shoulders rise and fall as she sighs through her nose, watching Harwin's hand before finally looking up at him, "She wants me to go with her if and when she leaves for Dragonstone."

Not a complete lie, but one nonetheless, and it only added to the weight already heavy on her burdened shoulders. Harwin's eyebrows furrow again, but more so in confusion, "And why is that such an impossible task?"

"... Convincing Father of it is one, and being unwed is another. I doubt Father would let me go if he intends on finding me a husband."

Ser Breakbones scoffs, "Father cannot deny the princess, Y/n. He'll have to agree if she asks you to go with her."

"But the King--"

"Princess Rhaenyra has the King wrapped around her finger. She will get her father to agree to this arrangement, and then our father will really have no choice."

He stands suddenly, remembering that he had the City Watch to attend to and he had only meant to bid his sister a good day. Before he leaves, however, he smiles down and pats Y/n's shoulder, "It's an honor to have the heir to the throne request your service. Politically, the relationship between our houses would strengthen if you choose to accept the princess' proposal. Give it some thought, sister. I know in the end, whatever you choose, I'll believe it to be the right choice."

~~~~~~~~~

Her brother wasn't at all helpful in her struggles, but Y/n had appreciated his words, nevertheless. She knew she wouldn't get his full support if he had known the full truth, but he had answered as she knew he would with what she had given him. That night, as instructed, she slipped into the secret passageways of the Red Keep. Following the drawings that were quickly scrawled onto a piece of parchment, Y/n wandered cautiously down the tunnels, avoiding any source of light she caught sight of. Eventually, she makes it to a small stairwell and climbs up, finding the outline of a door on the top of the stairs. Ignoring the dust and cobwebs, Y/n places her hands on the door and gives it an experimental push. When it didn't budge, she pushed harder, quickly catching herself when the door gave in.

She nearly stumbled into the chambers revealed on the other side. Looking around, her eyes widen in amazement to find herself in Princess Rhaenyra's chambers, the very same Targaryen who was watching Y/n expectedly from her seat next to the hearth on the far side of the room. When Y/n's gaze caught hers, the Strong woman straightened her posture, quickly brushing the dust off her skirt and bowing respectively, parchment paper still clutched in hand.

Rhaenyra smiled, amusement shining in her eyes unless Y/n had mistaken it for the fireplace reflecting off her violet orbs. The princess rose from her chair and slowly crossed the room to the other woman, hands clasped in front of her, "Find your way here well enough?"

"Yes, Princess," Y/n curtly answered. She was nearly startled out of her manners, however, when a large hand reached around her and snatched the parchment from her hands. Dark hair falling over her shoulder as she spun her head, Y/n nearly lost her bravery when Daemon Targaryen stood beside her, seamlessly emerging from the shadows of the room. The prince barely acknowledged her presence, staring down at the small map he had drawn for Y/n as it crinkled in his hands.

Finally, he looked up once Rhaenyra had joined his side, the two Targaryens both staring at Y/n with their matching eyes, looming over her with a fierceness so similar to a dragon. Daemon allows a small smirk to grace his lips, "Incredible architecture, wouldn't you agree?"

Y/n quickly nodded when she guessed that he was referring to the secret tunnels, now slightly shaking, "Yes, my prince."

"Maegor the Cruel had the secret tunnels and passageways built throughout the Red Keep back when he was King. They say after construction was finished, he threw a grand feast for the hands and minds behind the building process," Daemon took the parchment and held it over a lit candlestick stationed on a pillar beside him, watching the remnants of his maps slowly disappear into flames before freeing his hand off it and fixing his gaze back on Y/n. The young woman tried her best not to cower in fear as he took one step closer to her again, "And after three days, he had them all killed so no one but him would know how to navigate the tunnels and trapdoors."

A hidden threat, veiled by his intention. Y/n forced her hands to stay still by folding them in front of her body, unable to meet the prince's eyes when he stepped far too close to her, close enough to feel his breath on her face as she whispered, "I will not breathe of word of this to anyone."

Daemon tilts his head, smirking as though he was playing with his food, "And what made you think I would suggest such a thing?"

"Daemon," both his and Y/n's eyes remember Rhaenyra and look to face her. The princess appeared patient, encouraging her uncle with a brief nod, "I trust her."

Once her uncle had stepped away and dutifully stood at her side, Rhaenyra turned back to Y/n, thinly smiling, "Have you made a decision?"

"I have, Princess..." Y/n nods again, trying to catch her breath after Daemon has stolen hers. She basked in her personal space, able to think straight without the two dragons lingering ever so close to her. Taking a deep breath and regaining her courage, Y/n lifts her chin and turns to Daemon, "I will marry you. I will wed you and bed you. I will give you the children you and Princess Rhaenyra so desire and pass them off as hers with Ser Laenor."

Rhaenyra's eyes were the only thing to give away her relief and veiled excitement. Daemon, however, remained impassive, unwilling to share whatever emotions he was feeling with the stranger in the room he did not yet trust. He keeps his gaze hard, staring deeply into Y/n's as if trying to fish out a lie, "You understand that while you will be the one to bear them, you will not be the one to raise them. When they are born, you promise to not hold motherhood over them and entrust this to the Princess Rhaenyra."

It was not a question or a request, more so a demand. Despite Daemon's bluntness, Y/n nods obediently, "If that is the princess' wish, yes."

Rhaenyra glides over to the woman, gingerly taking her hands in her own. Y/n couldn't find herself able to stare directly into the princess' gaze and so glanced down at their conjoined hands. Rhaenyra's skin was fair and much paler than hers in comparison. Y/n had a few small scars littered over her hands from various stories of her childhood, while Rhaenyra's was visibly flawless, apart from the feel of her palms. They were rough, as Y/n observed, most likely from the use of dragon-riding.

Y/n forces herself to look up, only to be rewarded with a grateful nod from Rhaenyra and a kind smile, "Thank you, my lady. You have no idea how much this means to me."

~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Daemon approached the King and asked for Lady Y/n's hand in marriage. Viserys was delighted that his brother had found a new wife so soon after Lady Royce's death and after the scandal with Rhaenyra and immediately confided in Lyonel Strong for his approval. His Hand, of course, agreed to this proposal between his daughter and Prince Daemon and so a ceremony was quickly planned to take place within a fortnight.

Preparations were made and everyone appeared to be excited about the event, bustling about and whispering with joy amongst themselves. Many of the ladies of the court giggled and gossiped with each other, fawning over Prince Daemon and commenting on how Lady Y/n was incredibly lucky.

If Harwin had a suspicion, he never showed it. Instead, he congratulated his sister on her proposal and promised to be her ally against her future husband should she ever need it. On the day the ceremony was set to take place, Y/n found herself surrounded by maids and other ladies of the court as they helped her prepare for her wedding. Just as they had fully dressed her in a white dress filled with embroidered dragons in red thread, the doors of Y/n's chambers opened to reveal the princess and Ser Harwin. The ladies and servants all bow and made a quick escape when Rhaenyra asked them to leave. Once they were alone, Rhaenyra nodded to Harwin and fondly watched as Ser Breakbones crossed the room to gather his sister up in a tight embrace.

"You look beautiful," he compliments, petting down her hair while looking her in the eyes, "The princess wishes to do your hair, but I will be just outside if you need anything."

Y/n nods and briefly smiles in answer. Before she could even say a word, Harwin had left the room and closed the doors behind him. Rhaenyra waits a moment before joining Y/n at her vanity mirror, instructing the bride-to-be to sit down while she took a brush to her dark hair. The two women were silent for the moment as Rhaenyra ran the brush through Y/n's hair, time and time again until it felt like silk running through her fingers. Then, the princess moved on to braiding certain locks and forming a halo on top of the bride's head, similar to something a Targaryen would wear.

"I understand what we are asking of you is a heavy burden," the princess spoke gently, "And I understand it will be difficult, but I want you to know that I owe you my life for this. You have my gratitude and I will never forget this. You're a true friend to the crown. Daemon may say whatever he likes, but as for me, I still want you to be a part of the children's lives. To them, you will be a distant cousin and an aunt, but to me, you will be every bit of a mother to them as I."

Y/n doesn't nod in an attempt not to ruin Rhaenyra's work on her hair. The curiosity got the best of her as she opened her mouth, "How will we hide any pregnancy? Will we have a maester we can trust?"

"We have a plan," Rhaenyra doesn't elaborate beyond that, "And we will act on it once we are sure you are with child."

"Will Ser Laenor be in the know of it?"

She nods, "He knows."

"And he approves?"

"He does," Rhaenyra finishes the braids, her hands finding rest on Y/n's shoulders. The two women stare into each other's reflection in the mirror, a small shadow taking over the princess' eyes as she spoke, "We did try, you know. Many times, in fact. But nothing came of it. When I turned to Daemon for help... still, nothing happened. As the future queen, it is vital that I have heirs of my own someday. If I am truly barren, well..." she squeezes Y/n's shoulders, "At least this way, the children will still have Targaryen blood running through their veins."

Y/n bites her lip, not voicing what she truly thought to the princess. Daemon never hid his disgust for his first wife, Rhea Royce. Everyone heard him spit terrible things about her, darkly stating his wife to be 'his bronze bitch' among other profanities. With one look at her own reflection, Y/n wanted to flinch away at her Strong features. It didn't take a fool to know that Prince Daemon had a taste for women with silver hair, but not just any woman. Some speculated that Daemon had only ever loved one woman, and could never have her. All the lords and ladies in court looked no further than Rhaenyra herself, knowing that she could ask Daemon to take over the world for her, and her uncle would do so without question. Y/n had once speculated these rumors, and now her arrangement with the uncle and niece only confirmed it.

Finally, Y/n turned away from the mirror to look up at the princess with as much honesty as she could muster, "I cannot guarantee the children will have silver hair."

Rhaenyra faintly smiles, her hand hovering over Y/n's hair as if wanting to run her fingers through it, but wisely decided against it, "We will cross that bridge when we come to it."

~~~~~~~~~

The wedding went by quickly, Y/n could scarcely remember it whenever she looked back. The ceremony played out like a rehearsal, vows full of monotone and kisses exchanged in practice. The celebration afterward was one so grand that Y/n had a moment to forget her sorrows. The feast was large and not only was wine being served but also ale and mead as well. Y/n had her father to thank for providing her favorite drink, her cups mostly filled with a honey mead sent from Dorne. She danced her troubles away with anyone and everyone, but not her new husband. Daemon barely paid a mind to her, instead seating himself beside the King as they joked and laughed as if they were boys again. Y/n wasn't too bothered by this as practically everyone danced with her. Her father and Harwin were the first to do so, her younger brother, Larys, was unable to take part in the dancing. Members of the King's small council danced with her, and their sons. The Sea Snake himself, Lord Vaemond, and Ser Laenor all danced with her. With knowing eyes, Laenor passed the bride off to his wife once a new song began, and Y/n was too stunned to remember her manners as Princess Rhaenyra took her hands and led her into a lovely, slow dance.

"I suppose this makes me your aunt now, Princess," Y/n finds herself speaking her mind more than usual, her mead finally dulling her restless mind.

Rhaenyra huffed out a laugh, linking her arm through Y/n's opposite as they spun around each other in a circle, "It does, my lady. Although from this moment forward, I would like to call you a friend as well."

"Whatever you wish for, Princess."

The bedding ceremony was not as enjoyable as the feast, but suppose that is why Y/n drank many cups of mead before that. She was horrified at the idea of everyone in court watching her, including her brothers and father, but was relieved to learn that Daemon had forbidden the court to watch. Y/n will later hear that Daemon himself spoke to the King about this, stating that he had every intention of consummating his marriage with his second bride, seeing as she was the one he chose, unlike Lady Royce, and that there was no need for his brother to watch and make sure. The lords still brought the bride to bed and the ladies brought the groom, but there was no undressing or an audience during the consummation.

Well, all but one audience.

Later, after the lords and ladies had gone, Rhaenyra slipped into Y/n's chambers, undetected by anyone outside. She sat near the bed, watching with interest as Daemon stripped himself and his new bride down to their night clothes. Her face red with embarrassment, Y/n doesn't comment and instead turns her head away to observe the far wall of her room, nearly jumping out of her skin when Daemon pulled her nightgown up, exposing her naked form to the cool air.

Y/n's eyes screw shut and her entire body stiffens when she felt the tip of Daemon's erection run over her folds, barely giving enough time to prep her before he completely sheaths himself inside of her. It's tight and it burns, causing Y/n to throw her hand over her mouth to stifle the cry of pain forced out of her. Daemon lets out a small growl and doesn't give her time to adjust, moving back out of her only to slide back in. His hips meet hers once she's able to take him fully without much resistance, and yet all Y/n can do was either shut her eyes or watch the wall, wanting to hide her body and shame into the very mattress Daemon began to fuck her into.

"Relax, Lady Y/n," Rhaenyra softly soothed the woman, her voice closer than what Y/n remembered. Turning her head, Y/n found her now sitting on the edge of the bed, hovering over the newlyweds' writhing forms. Rhaenyra's eyes appeared curious, intrigued by whatever she finds when Y/n's gaze meets her. The princess leans forward and finds Y/n's hand, sliding her own fingers in between Lady Strong's, "If you relax your body, it will hurt less."

Y/n tries to listen and obey, taking a few shaking breaths to calm herself, despite Daemon's hips snapping harshly into hers, forcing her breasts to bounce. The slight friction of Y/n's skewed nightgown brushing over her nipples sends a chill down her spine, and for a moment she forgets the pain, shivering as her hand tightly holds Rhaenyra's, briefly forgetting her embarrassment. Daemon grunts at the feel of her walls tightening around him, ever so slightly, slick sounds now filling the air instead of raw, dry claps. For the most part, he had been focused more on thrusting instead of acknowledging his wife, keeping his eyes lowered as he watches his cock disappear into her wet cunt with each snap of his hips. He refused to watch Y/n as he beds her, more focused on his goal than on pleasure.

However, after a long stretch of time, the prince found it harder and harder to peak, desperate for release as he starts thrusting harder and faster. Y/n bites the inside of her cheek so as not to scream, forcing her eyes closed again to stop the unshed tears from falling. Daemon's grunts were less pleasurable and were more out of frustration, still avoiding his wife's face and body out of a stubborn will.

Rhaenyra can see the exhaustion on her uncle's face and so she takes matters into her own hands. Still hanging onto Y/n, the princess uses her free hand to cup Daemon's face, forcing him to look up at her. Daemon's eyes meet hers and she could see the lust for her pooling in his hard gaze. She could see his desire but also his frustration. Rhaenyra leans in and kisses Daemon, moaning straight into his mouth.

He had spilled inside of Y/n soon after that, the Lady Strong relieved for it to finally be over.

~~~~~~~~~

However, she quickly realized that it would be far from over. She had promised to bring forth a child for Rhaenyra and Daemon Laenor, and until she did so, she would have to let Daemon back into her bed. It's not as though Rhaenyra wanted Laenor to share Y/n's bed, although Y/n was sure that she was far from Laenor's fancy anyway, but Daemon was now her lawful husband, and a child from him would be perfect for Rhaenyra. Besides, Y/n was positive that Rhaenyra would prefer to have a child from Daemon over her own husband.

For several nights after her wedding, Y/n would be accompanied by her husband and her newly appointed niece. And for several nights, after Daemon was finished, both he and Rhaenyra would leave her chambers, alone and sore in her bed. The nights weren't so bad after a fashion, and perhaps that was because Rhaenyra made it bearable for Y/n. Every morning after, Y/n was visited by the princess, and a tray of food and drink would come with her. Y/n was surprised but also inwardly delighted by Rhaenyra's kindness. Both of the women broke their fasts together so much that it became a tradition every single day. It even came to a point where even if Daemon didn't bed Y/n, Rhaenyra would still visit with her aunt the morning after.

A month had gone by and Rhaenyra sat in her normal seat at Y/n's table, sipping on her morning tea while staring out the balcony. The peaceful silence that usually followed this routine visit was oddly charged and heavy. The princess sensed this, glancing over to Y/n only to find the other woman staring down at her lap as if in shame.

"What is it?" She found herself asking, although her stomach turned with the suspicion that she already knew.

Y/n looked up, sighing in exhaustion, "My flower came this morning."

Disappointed, Rhaenyra only blinks, nodding while setting her cup down, "I can't say I'm surprised. It was foolish to get my hopes up that everything would happen right away."

Y/n nods as well, although the lines on her forehead didn't go away. Rhaenyra wanted to reach out with her thumb and soothe it over but had to pinch herself in order to refrain from doing so. She watched Y/n's face continue to fall into despair, the Strong woman gulping down the soreness in her throat when she felt her eyes begin to water, "Am I doing something wrong, Princess?"

The weakness in her voice nearly shattered Rhaenyra's heart, for once unable to reply with all the things she was supposed to say. Instead, a fire raged within her belly, and with it revealed the dragon within her. Y/n didn't notice, but Rhaenyra felt a cloud in her mind as she reached over to take Y/n's hand.

"No, it's not you, Lady Y/n. It's not you."

She had an idea of who was really to blame for her aunt's distress.

~~~~~~~~~

A/N: So, uh... I'm DEFINITELY making a Part 2, whether ya'll like it or not. Hope you enjoyed!

Go to the Masterlist to see what chapters are posted!

2K notes · View notes

enchantedbarnes · 1 year

Text

Uncle Buck • Part 3

Lord of the Pins

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Single Aunt!Reader

Summary: A mysterious text leads Bucky to a local bowling alley.

Word Count: 2,213

Masterlist: One | Two | Three | Four | Five

A/N: since you've all been so nice 😭 here's some more wholesome content for you. Thank you @sjsmith56 for the bowling suggestion. If anyone else has ideas they'd like to see you can send them to my asks and maaaaybe you'll get lucky with some more parts to this. Wishing you all happy holidays! Thanks again for being so awesome 🫶💖

Bucky Barnes wonders what he has gotten himself into this time.

He had received a text that read:

"Bucky. super inportant meet up. please be there @ 3. Thx!!!! 👋 "

Followed by an address pinned to a local bowling alley called Balls to the Wall.

The number was unknown.

He tried to reply asking "who is this?" but it never marked itself as delivered.

It was now 2:45pm and Bucky has been waiting for any sign of why he was here. He kept to the outskirts of the entrance where he found a small bench that gave him a view to see everyone entering the building.

He probably could have called Sam or Torres to ask if they could help track the phone number but the thought of dealing with either of them today sounded more exhausting than dealing with whatever mystery awaited him.

"Bucky..?" A soft voice called out.

He turned to identify the voice and then stood up quickly. "Y/N?" His face lights up slightly but he's still confused, "Um, Hey..."

"What are you-"

"Were you the one-?"

They both start at the same time.

Bucky holds his arm out, signaling for her to continue first.

"What are you doing here? Are you here to bowl..?"

He scratches the back of his neck slightly, "Um, no, not exactly... I was about to ask if you were the one that told me to come here. I got a text earlier saying to meet here at 3pm but I couldn't reply to it and they didn't leave a name or really much info to go with it..."

"Do you... usually show up to places random strangers send you..? Do I have to explain stranger danger to you, Buck?" You squinted at him with a smile, "Do you still have the text, can I see?"

He grins, "Well, I can't say I've received a text like this before. I did, however, get an email once from a bank director in Canada that was looking to send me inheritance from a long lost uncle that passed away and I'm the only next of kin they could track down. I gave them my banking information so I'm sure I should be getting that 9.2 million dollars any day now." Pulling his phone out he opens the mystery text and hands it to you.

"Wow! How fortunate for you!" You joke back while taking the phone from him. "The bank must have tracked back pretty far to find you.. How old was the uncle?? 130?" You smirk.

"Ha-ha. Funny. And to think I was going to give you a million out of the kindness of my very generous heart," he tsks.

"Oh? That's fine, I have an evil genius in the family that is going to make us millions someday anyways. That or he'll marry me into it, don't let him know about all your pending riches unless you want another proposal inquiry," you laugh and then look down at his phone.

"I don't recognize the number either.. it's a strange area code. Did you try googling it?"

"...No? I didn't know that was an option.."

"Sometimes it'll tell you a name but not always, usually it will just say where the area code is from," she hands the phone back to him.

"So why are you here? Are you here to go bowling by yourself..?" Bucky asks, his head tilted slightly.

"No, I'm meeting my sister and the gang here. We usually try to meet up at least once a month to do something together o--."

"FUTURE UNCLE BUCKY!"

A small laugh escapes from Bucky. He knows exactly who the text was from now. Of course the small one would be involved.

Benji runs full force, stopping short in front of Bucky and his Aunt.

"YOU MADE IT!" He jumps up in excitement.

Realization hits Y/N next, "Benjamin, did you text Bucky to meet us here??"

"Well, you guys said Monty couldn't make it and that means we would be short a team member...sooo," he gestures towards Bucky with wide Vanna White enthusiastic movements.

"How did you even-?" You start to ask but Nora beats you to it.

"Excuse me, you don't have a phone. How exactly did you contact Bucky and HOW did you know his phone number??"

"Please, Mom. I'm a kid, not an idiot. I found his number in Aunt Y/N's phone and I texted him from my tablet."

"We will be discussing this later," she sighs.

"You'll join our team, won't you, Bucky?" Benji looks up at him with an exaggerated pout and big puss in boot eyes. A low-blow to any adult that receives the look.

"I don't want to intrude on family time.."

"Nonsense!" Nora exclaims, "he already dragged you out here- I'm really sorry about that by the way. Please feel free to join us, we'd love to have you!" She grabs Benji by the shoulders and steers him towards the entrance, "When Dad gets here you have a lot of explaining to do, Mister."

Bucky looks over at Y/N.

"Like Nora said, please feel free to join us. Or feel free to run for the hills. I'm so sorry if you had plans already today."

"I had already finished everything I needed to do today when the message showed up," he shrugs.

"Well, do you have any bowling experience?"

"A few times back in the day. Haven't been since though."

"Fair warning, I'm very competitive. If you're going to be on my team, I don't like to lose," you grin.

"Isn't Benji on your team?"

"Yeah, and I got lucky. We had to draw straws for him. Kid is unstoppable. Watched a bunch of YouTube videos and suddenly he was a bowling prodigy."

"Well, now I need to join, gotta see these skills. Do you think the text was his only shenanigan today or do you think a ring will be inside one of the bowling balls?" He smirks.

You blush slightly but laugh with him, "I can make absolutely no promises. Thank you for being such a good sport about it and not filing a restraining order on us."

He laughs, "The only restraining order I'd consider at the moment is on a raccoon hell bent to get my arm," he lifts his left arm slightly.

"Oh, I'm definitely going to need more details on this please."

He laughs holding his right hand out for you to take and both of you start to walk towards the entrance.

"Is anyone else joining in?" Bucky asks you.

"My brother-in-law, Theo, is on his way here now and my best friend is also joining. Prudence is essentially a 2nd sister. Her boyfriend Monty is usually with us too, but he had to drop out to cover a shift at his job."

You both grab some bowling shoes on your way in and make your way over to the lanes.

Benji skips over, "So Bucky, with your super soldier strength and all, are you able to bowl without throwing the ball through the wall?"

"One way to find out," he smirks down at him and takes a seat to switch his boots for the bowling shoes.

"The place is called Balls to the Walls, not Balls through the Wall, got it?" you point at them while taking your jacket off revealing a shirt that says "Rollin' with my homies" that matched Benji's shirt that simply said "Homie" on the front.

Bucky reads both of them and chuckles. You look down and shrug looking back up at him, "It was a gift from Benj. We also wear them when we do other activities like roller skating and mini golfing."

Bucky smiled at that, enjoying how close they all seemed to be as a family.

Eventually Theo and Prudence joined, Benji introducing Bucky to both of them with his usual enthusiasm. Ecstatic to have the super soldier on his team.

Theo shakes his hand, "Nice to meet you, heard many things. I'm apologizing now before I find out how you ended up here today," he smiles and walks over to hug the rest of the crew.

Prudence walks by shortly after mouthing "Oh. My. God!" at you as she greets Bucky as well, bringing him into a huge hug.

You all start entering your names into the scoreboard.

Y/N, Benji, and Bucky declared their team Lord of the Pins while Nora, Theo, and Prudence were The Britney Spares.

Prudence prepares to go up first, only knocking 2 pins down.

"What I lack in skill, I make up for in heart, ok?" She reasons while sitting down.

A few turns go by, Benji scoring a spare on his first turn, Nora trying a throw from under her legs.

Benji excitedly follows Bucky up on his first turn, giving him a quick pep talk while coaching him on the essentials of his favorite throwing techniques.

They both hold incredibly still while they watch the ball fly down the lane. The pins all fall over and STRIKE appears on the screens. Everyone cheers, Benji jumps up and down and they both high-five in victory.

Benji runs back to the benches while shouting to his dad, "Did you see that?! We're sooo going to kick your butts!" He starts doing his own little victory dance.

Bucky walks over to you with a smile. You grin and shrug, "I guess you can stay on the team."

Benji sits down next to Prudence as she looks over and smiles at the scene in front of her. Y/N and Bucky were standing near the ball return, a ball in her hand while waiting for her turn after Theo. She was laughing at something Bucky said and they were both making animated gestures as they talked.

"Look at them in their own little bubble over there. They look so happy and adorable. Good one, Benj." She stretches her hand over to him to exchange a low high-five out of sight.

"I know," he moves his shoulders up and down while wiggling his eyebrows.

"You still lost your tablet privileges for the weekend," Nora sings as she walks by.

"Aw, come on Mommm!"

Benji is on his last turn following Prudence. He already has 2 strikes before this turn, making this turn his chance to score a Turkey (3 strikes in a row) AND get an extra turn if he does get a strike.

Concentrating on the lane ahead of him, the ball lined up in front of his face. After a moment he takes a few steps forward winding up his shot, letting go in his perfect bowling pose, one arm up in the air and one leg sticking out behind him.

Three perfectly spaced out pins survive in a triple split.

His little shoulders slump.

"You've got this Benji!" Prudence cheers.

The rest of you start cheering and clapping as well.

"Aunt Y/N?" Benji asks.

"Yeah, Bud?"

"If I get a spare on this throw, will you and Bucky take me to get ice cream tomorrow?" The puss in boots eyes have engaged again.

You look over at Bucky, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, ice cream sounds less expensive than a wedding to me," Bucky answers quietly to you.

You laugh, "Ok, deal."

Benji grins, turning back around.

He goes through his usual steps but takes an extra few seconds of concentration this time.

He throws the ball watching it curve slightly, it hits the middle pin and left pin knocking them down while the middle pin then bounds over and takes out the right pin.

Your group erupts in loud cheers. Benji jumps up and down while shouting and doing his victory dance. Theo runs over lifting him up to his shoulders.

"Told you," you say looking over to Bucky, "bowling prodigy," you point over at Benji.

Theo lowers him back to the ground. Benji is already listing the flavors of ice cream he wants and how many scoops and toppings.

Nora, Theo, and Bucky finish their last turns with decent scores.

You go up for your last round earning a spare, but it's not nearly as exciting as Benji's.

Joining in high-fives you all start switching shoes.

"Alright, Lord of the Pins, you earned yourselves some pizza," Theo announces to Benji while handing him his sneakers.

"Can we get the one that has everything on it??"

"Sure, why not. When you say everything, we're talking about the one with sardines, liver, and mushrooms, right?"

"No! That's not the one!-"

"Too late, I already ordered it," he joked but hasn't touched his phone yet.

Your usual pizza spot was a block away from the bowling alley. With your shoes and coat already back on you turn to Bucky who is also ready and waiting, "If we haven't taken up enough of your time today, would you like to stay and join us for dinner?"

"Would you like to stay forever?!" You hear Benji's voice shout from behind both of you.

You cover your face and both of you laugh, "Sure, I'd love some sardines, liver, and mushroom pizza," he jokes.

"Yuck!" Benji answers back.

Bucky offers his hand again, you smile and lace your fingers together and follow the rest out.

@pono-pura-vida @bitchy-bi-trash @random-writer-23 @jvanilly @clintsupremacy @eatingtheworldsoffanfiction @firstcashheroathlete @stany0url0calwh0res111 @sjsmith56 @charlottka9339 @eliwinchester99 @tbhidkbutok @babymady @shaking-a-jar-of-bees @its-daydreamer23 @capswife @thecubanator2 @wintermunsonreads @buckybarnessimpp @moon-light1928 @emily-roberts @jeanbarton @lottiehernandez @tellenically @trixxietat @imdoingbetternow @maximoffrogersslut @samsgirl93 @lovebittenbyevans @inwhichiramble

#bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes x fem!reader #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky fanfiction #marvel fic #uncle buck fic

1K notes · View notes

the-badger-mole · 6 months

Note

How about a prompt with Zutara meeting doing some kind of volunteer work?

"There must be something Dad can do to get us out of this." Zuko rolled his eyes as his sister complained for what had to be the tenth time in as many minutes. He wasn't thrilled, either, but he'd chosen to have a more philosophical attitude towards their court mandated community service. After all, as his uncle always told him, it was good for the soul to give to those in need. That, and he hated talking to his sister and her friends.

"It won't be so bad," Ty Lee, ever the optimist, comforted her friends. "I bet there'll be some interesting people there."

"Doubt it," Mai mumbled. She had said it low enough so Zuko was pretty sure he was the only one who heard her. She met his eye and rolled hers, inviting him to join her in her quiet derision of one of her oldest friends. Zuko managed a half-hearted smirk, but kept his thoughts to himself. At least Ty Lee was trying to make the best of things.

"As if I have nothing better to do with my Saturday then spend it passing out food to people who are too lazy or stupid to feed themselves," Azula snorted. She put her foot up on the back of Zuko's seat.

"Get your foot out of my back!" Zuko snapped. Azula huffed and gave his seat one solid kick before she put her foot back on the floor.

"I don't know why you're complaining so much," Mai said, looking at Azula in the rearview. "It's mostly your fault we're in this mess in the first place." Azula scowled at her.

"I didn't twist your arm to break into that warehouse," Azula reminded her. "I didn't force any of you to come with me. It wasn't my idea to bring booze, either, Mai." Mai just shrugged, keeping her eyes on the road. It was true enough that Mai had been the one to bring the vodka and whiskey she'd stolen from her parents' collection, but the four teens would probably not have been caught if Azula hadn't decided it would be fun to set a fire and burn several boxes of very expensive imported teas. Had the owner of the company not been Zuko and Azula's uncle, they would probably have all been tried for arson, instead of given probation and community service. Zuko shut his eyes and tried to think of anything but the disappointment on Iroh's face when the cops had led Zuko and Azula out of the still smoking building in handcuffs. It had been three weeks since the incident, and aside from a brief appearance to speak at their hearing the week before, Zuko hadn't seen his uncle since.

"We're here," Mai announced. She turned into a parking lot and found a space near the exit. The four piled out of the car and headed reluctantly towards the entrance.

Hama's Haven for Families was a slightly run down brick building that used to be a school. It had been shut down almost two decades earlier and used as surplus storage for the school district for a while. Then eight years earlier, someone had bought the building from the city and converted it into temporary housing for women and families with children. They provided meals, counseling, and for the youngest residents, daycare until the adults could find work and permanent housing. Why this was chosen as their service project, Zuko wasn't sure. It wouldn't have been his first choice of project, and he was certain his companions wouldn't have even put this place on their list. But the judge had given Iroh the right to decide what punishment he thought would fit the crime his family and their friends had committed against him. Zuko figured the least he could do was not whine about it.

"Ugh!" Azula's face contorted in disgust. "I can smell them from here. Don't they get showers?" Zuko gave the air a subtle, experimental sniff. Immediately, he identified the pungent scent his sister was complaining about as manure, probably from the community garden behind the building. It wasn't his favorite smell, but Azula was way overreacting.

Inside the building was bustling with activity. There was a cheerful energy in the air, which shocked Zuko, considering why they were there. A few people wore light blue t-shirts with Hama's Haven across the front in graffiti block. On the backs, the shirts read either Volunteer or Staff. A man stood at the front desk, expectantly. He was tall and muscled in a way that suggested a lot of physical labor, rather than spending hours in the gym. He wore his chin length brown hair half up. He didn't seem to be much older than Zuko and Azula's father, though his dark blue eyes had a weathered look. As if he'd seen a lot and had learned stoicism in the face of it. He looked familiar to Zuko, but he couldn't place the man's face for the life of him.

"I'm Hakoda," he greeted them politely, but not with much warmth. "Are you here for the mandated service?"

"What was your first clue?" Azula snorted. Zuko felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"We are," he said quickly, trying to mask his sister's rudeness. He stepped forward and held his hand out to Hakoda. The older man eyed Zuko's hand hesitantly for a moment, before grasping it in his. Hakoda had a strong, firm hand shake. Zuko could tell he was holding back, but when Hakoda let him go, Zuko felt the blood rush back to his hand with a throb.

"Nice to meet you," he said, turning his attention to the clipboard in his hands. "I see we have you for one hundred and fifty hours. You have to be here once a week for four hours a shift, so that'll take you about nine months. But if you'd like to get through your mandatory hours quicker, you're welcome to contact me for opportunities during the week. We have tutoring and after school activities, along with an upcoming food and clothing drive. We could always use a few more hands.

"Sure," Mai scoffed. If Hakoda heard her, he ignored her. He turned to the desk and reached down on the other side, coming back up with four t-shirts, light blue with the shelter's name on the front. Azula and Mai regarded them distastefully. Despite the instructions to come to their shift in comfortable clothes they didn't mind getting dirty, the two girls had come in the same chic, dark clothing they would wear any other weekend.

"No thanks," Azula said with a sneer. "I'm fine with what I've got on." Hakoda raised an eyebrow at her and Mai.

"I'm afraid it's not optional," he told them. "This is the uniform that staff and volunteers wear. You're expected to be in them for every shift you have with us."

"I'm not wearing this cheap, tacky thing!" Azula insisted.

"Ditto," Mai said, folding her arms across her chest.

"That's fine," Hakoda said with a shrug. "But you won't be permitted to stay and work. You're welcome to take that up with Judge Jeong-Jeong."

"Guys, we won't get the hours we need," Ty Lee whispered nervously to her friends. "The judge said we could still be sent to juvie." Azula and Mai shot Ty Lee the most scathing looks, and Ty Lee shrank back a bit. Zuko turned his head to roll his eyes. He wondered, not for the first time, how someone like Ty Lee had ended up in his sister's inner circle. He took his t-shirt and slipped it on over his clothes. Then he looked at the three girls expectantly. Ty Lee hurried to get hers on over her long-sleeved pink shirt. Hakoda favored them with a smile and approving nod before turning back to Azula and Mai.

"I'm not putting that on." Azula's jaw was set mulishly. Mai didn't say anything, but she fixed Hakoda with a cutting scowl.

"Your choice," Hakoda shrugged. "Either put the shirts on, or get out. I'm sure if you ask really nicely, Judge Jeong-Jeong will get you on highway clean up. Maybe orange jumpers will suit you two better."

"I'll tell my father about this," Azula hissed at him. "He can buy and sell you. He can have this dump turned into a parking lot."

"Do what you've got to do," Hakoda scoffed at her. "In the meantime, you have your two choices. So what's it going to be? I don't have all day." Azula and Mai glowered at Hakoda. But in the end, they didn't have much of a choice. Mai snatched a shirt from Hakoda, and after a moment, Azula took the last one. Hakoda's eyes gleamed smugly as the girls yanked the shirts on over their dark, designer blouses.

"Now that that's over with-"

"Dad!" Hakoda was interrupted by a girl running up to the desk with an exasperated look. Zuko suddenly realized why Hakoda looked so familiar. His daughter bore a striking resemblance. Katara Imiq was in Azula's class, the year below his, but she was in a few of his advanced placement classes. She was also on the track team with Azula, and in drama with Ty Lee. He and Azula both seemed to be in constant competition with the over achieving Katara in some form or another, though Azula was far more antagonistic about it than Zuko was. Beside him, Azula went rigid and shook with quiet rage at the sight of her chief rival for grades, athletics and popularity. Katara, though hadn't even seemed to notice them yet.

"What's up?" Hakoda asked.

"Sokka can't get the dryer to work," Katara explained with an annoyed huff. "It turns on, but it won't heat up. He put the last load in an hour ago and it's still soaking wet!"

"Can you get Bato to handle it?" Hakoda asked.

"He's not here today, remember? His niece's dance recital."

"Right." Hakoda sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'm on it. Can you take over for me? These are the new volunteers. They need their assignments." For the first time Katara seemed to realize that there were new people there. She froze when she saw Zuko and Azula, but before she could say anything, Hakoda had passed her his clipboard and jogged off to the laundry room. Katara's jaw clenched, but she took a deep breath and greeted the four with a cordial, if clipped tone.

"Did you get to look at the list of jobs that need to be done?" Katara asked them. She was met with stony silence, but it didn't seem to bother her. "Did you have a preference for where you wanted to work?"

"As far away from these disgusting beggars as possible," Azula said snidely. Katara's mouth pressed into a thin line and she glowered at Azula.

"Fine," she said. "You can sort the recycling."

"What?" Azula gasped.

"The residents also volunteer here," Katara explained with a saccharine smile. "Recycling sorting is the only job where there are no disgusting beggars currently signed up to work."

"I'm not touching garbage," Azula snarled. Katara met her with a feral looking grin of her own.

"You can leave if you want," Katara said. "I'm sure the judge will be happy to give you the poshest cell on the block." The four balked in surprise. Katara smirked smugly, assuring them that she knew exactly why they were there.

"Whatever," Mai snorted.

"Is there anything left in the kitchen?" Ty Lee asked shyly. "I-I'm pretty good at cooking." Katara's face softened a bit and she even smiled a little at Ty Lee.

"We actually have chefs who do the actual cooking, but they could use someone to help prep and wash."

"Perfect!" Ty Lee agreed with alacrity. Then Katara turned to Zuko. Her lip curled as if she smelled the manure from the garden.

"I don't have any preference," he told her. "I'll go wherever." Katara blinked in surprise. She had been expecting the same attitude from him as from Azula. Zuko was glad to have proven her wrong. He bit back a smirk as she went down the line of duties to be done.

"The maintenance crew is painting the stairwells," she told him. "They need another set of hands."

"Fine," Zuko nodded. Katara looked at him appraisingly for a moment. Zuko stood straight under her scrutiny. Azula was determined to make this as unpleasant for the people running the shelter as possible. Zuko was just as determined to prove that not every member of the Kaji family was as obnoxiously snobbish.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

#atla #zutara #ask box prompt #volunteer work au #THE YEAR OF CONTENT!!!!#this isn't strictly where katara and zuko met #but they don't really know each other so...#count it!

107 notes · View notes

princeescaluswords · 3 months

Text

Well, Then ... They Had a Reason

I read an interesting post about how fandom racism never really goes away. It has burrowed into heart of fandom like a canker in a rose. I can't disagree.

Almost thirteen years ago, near the end of the fourth episode of the first season of Teen Wolf, an antagonist in the first season, Derek Hale, led the lead protagonist, Scott McCall into a hospital room in order to show him his comatose uncle as a reason why Scott should not trust his girlfriend or his girlfriend's family. Here is the conversation.

Scott: So - What makes you so sure that they set the fire? Derek: 'Cause they're the only ones that knew about us. Scott: Well, then - They had a reason. Derek: Like what? You tell me what justifies this. They say they'll only kill an adult, and only with absolute proof, but there were people in my family that were perfectly ordinary in that fire. This is what they do. And it's what Allison will do.

Now, of course, anyone with a shred of empathy for the lead protagonist will realize that what he's trying to do there is look for a reason that his girlfriend's family won't murder him for just being a werewolf. However, even as recently as this month -- March of 2024 -- fandom has used that line as a reason to despise the lead protagonist. They reinterpret it as Scott giving approval for what the Argents did and use that to justify their dislike. The line is insensitive, but if a viewer was paying attention at all to the remainder of the first four episodes, they would understand that Scott's line doesn't come out of the blue.

In the first sixteen days (according to @adrianfridge 's excellent reconstruction of the first season's chronology) portrayed in the series, Scott has directly experienced these events.

A werewolf has killed Laura Hale, Derek's sister, in order to gain the power to make more werewolves. (Ironically, the perpetrator is Uncle Peter, pretending to be comatose in this very scene.)

Peter used the power to turn Scott into a werewolf against his will. While Scott's asthma is gone, he must experience drastically-increased aggression and outright body horror, including an attempt to kill his best friend.

Derek has stalked Scott rather than talking to him like a normal human being.

Derek pretended to be Scott's friend to Allison in order to get Allison's jacket and lure Scott out into the woods.

Peter used the alpha-beta bond to cause Scott to sleepwalk into the woods and then chased him.

Derek broke into Scott's house, attacked him, and threatened to kill him if Scott didn't do as he says.

Scott discovered that Derek had buried half the body of a murder victim (not yet revealed to Scott as Derek's sister) in the side yard of his burned-down family home.

Peter once again used the alpha-beta bond to cause Scott to sleepwalk in an attempt to force Scott to help him murder Scott's old bus driver.

Derek never denied being the person who lured Scott into the woods because Derek was using Scott as bait for Peter.

When Scott confronted Derek about the death of Garrison Myers, Derek threw him down the stairs and then proceeded to beat the shit out of him. Only afterwards did Derek tell Scott about the presence of the alpha who really murdered Laura Hale.

The same episode in which Scott uttered the above line which is the title of this post, Derek explained the rationale behind the alpha's actions. "Then think about this. The Alpha called you out against your will. He's gonna do it again. Next time you either kill with him or you get killed." The. Same. Episode.

That list above is the entirety of Scott McCall's experience with werewolves up to this point: brutality, violence, violation, and murder. In the span of sixteen days, Scott had been assaulted three times, mentally violated three times, and physically transformed into a creature he hadn't even know was real seventeen days before. All of this was done by werewolves to him without provocation.

Yes, "Then they had a reason" was insensitive, but it was clearly motivated by the actions of werewolves themselves not out of any wickedness that is part of Scott's nature. And yet, this fandom never seems to tire of using that phrase to justify Scott's further physical and mental violation by Derek and Peter. In fact, according to many posters, this sentence alone is enough to make them dislike Scott. And yet ...

In the same episode, Stiles Stilinksi, fandom's beloved white-boy bicycle, tells Derek Hale, poisoned and close to death, that he "could probably drag your little werewolf ass out into the middle of the road and leave you for dead." But that's not enough for them to dislike Stiles. Oh, no!

In the same episode, Scott McCall risks both his relationship with Allison Argent and his own life stealing the bullet Derek needs to survive, but the fandom could care less. It earns Scott no credit with them. It's expected.

Derek can stalk, manipulate, beat, and lie to Scott, and the fandom will fall all over themselves to explain it away as trauma caused by Laura's death and the Hale Fire. Derek sold Scott out to his uncle, and they love him.

Peter can violate, mutilate, threaten Scott's mother, threaten his girlfriend, and try to force him to murder his friends, and the fandom explains it away by saying he was out of his mind.

Stiles can accuse Derek of killing his sister out of jealousy, have to be threatened into helping Derek survive, can firebomb Peter, and can plot to leave Derek in the hands of the Argent, but he's loved to the point of distraction.

Yet, Scott McCall is a terrible person because in the face of unrelenting violence visited upon him directly by werewolves, he thinks that maybe the werewolf hunters had a reason to hunt werewolves.

The worst part of this is that the show went on for 96 episodes after Magic Bullet (1x04) and managed to develop Scott and Derek's relationship into a real brotherly bond. It managed to charter the development of Scott from a teenage boy who didn't even think monsters were real to a leader who was willing to give up his future to save werewolves and other supernatural creatures. But you see, they have their reasons for disliking Scott, such as him saying a cruel and insensitive thing to Derek "Maybe You Will Survive" Hale in front of Peter "I Got Better" Hale, and they like Stiles "Won't you think of letting him die, for me?" Stilinski at the same exact time. They must have had a reason.

BUT IT'S NOT RACISM.

#scott mccall #stiles stilinski #peter hale #derek hale #magic bullet #tw 1x04 #fandom racism #teen wolf fandom racism #fandom problems #scott mccall defense squad

42 notes · View notes

king-bumis-armpit · 4 days

Note

Hey! I’m just reaching out to say that I would be really interested in reading the continuation for the “how Zuko finds out Mai and Kei Lo broke up” fic.

I love your fics! Thank you for giving us Maiko content!

Put a Ring on It, Part 2

Find part 1 here

Summary: Mai goes out on a date, and comes back to find her ex-boyfriend loitering in her Aunt’s shop.

Author’s note: Thank you so much to everyone who showed interest in a part 2!! It makes me so happy you all enjoy my silly little stories ^^ And big thank you to @ninolovers. I love your page so much!!

This one got… a little less silly and a little more angsty. And my hand slipped, so I added more sappiness than intended. It’s perhaps a tad ooc, but I hope you all enjoy!!

Also, I’m still taking fic ideas, but I will probably be slow in writing them. Thank you to everyone who’s given me ideas so far <3

Cross posted on AO3 and Tumblr

TW: Canonical violence and more kissing than I normally write.

WC: 3349

“Um… so… what do you like to do for fun?” Kage asked.

Mai held back a sigh. The awkwardness was palpable, but the young man in front of her was trying his hardest to make conversation. Mai knew she should make an effort as well. “I like throwing knives, sharpening my knives, and collecting rare knives.”

Kage ran a hand through his hair. “That’s cool.”

Silence descended once more as the pair focused on their lunch. Ty Lee owed Mai so many cups of tea for this.

She had recently started dating Kaori, one of her fellow Kyoshi Warriors. Of course Mai was happy for her, she liked Kaori well enough and it was nice to see her friend even more bubbly than usual. However, when Kaori’s brother came to the Fire Nation for a visit, Ty Lee not-so-subtly began pushing for a double date. Mai, wanting to be a good friend, agreed. Big mistake. When she arrived at the garden restaurant, it was just Kage. The girls had “urgent warrior business to attend to,” which Mai assumed involved making out in the sparring rooms of the palace.

Nonetheless, Ty Lee had chosen a great spot for a date. The restaurant was outside of the Caldera proper and built on one of the smaller hills overlooking the harbor. The owner of the establishment had turned the surrounding grounds into a large outdoor garden, and installed large picture windows on every wall. Even in the rain, the view was striking.

Mai was trying very hard to keep her irritation at bay. It wasn’t this guy’s fault that Ty Lee had ditched her. And Ty Lee herself was probably trying to help. After Mai’s break up with Kei Lo, Ty Lee had encouraged her to either talk to Zuko or start making a serious effort to move on. This was clearly a ploy to get her out in the dating game again after so many months of refusing. Unless… unless there really was urgent warrior business that involved Zuko’s security.

A bolt of anxiety coursed through Mai’s chest, and she forced herself to tamp it down. That was not a possibility. Zuko was safe. She needed to think about anything else. “I met your sister in prison!” It was a rather inelegant attempt at human interaction. Mai was normally much better at this, and Zuko was the one who floundered.

“Oh, yes. She told me. You and her girlfriend were part of the resistance to Ozai’s rule, right?”

Mai feared that Kage had been told a nicer version of events, but she did not have the mental energy to figure out what was safe to say. If there were rules, then Ty Lee should have come to enforce them. “We were eventually, but first we actually helped Fire Nation conquer Ba Sing Se by pretending to be the Kyoshi Warriors. It was really ironic when Ty Lee became one for real.”

Kage frowned. “So when did you join our side and get arrested?”

Mai stiffened. “That’s a long story. We actually broke my ex-boyfriend out of a different Fire Nation prison.”

“Are you all known for your prisons or something?”

He had no idea. “Umm… some of them. The one my ex-boyfriend was being held in is called the Boiling Rock. My uncle is actually the Warden there.”

Kage smiled, “That’s good! He must have helped you.”

“Uh…” Mai did not know how the conversation had blown up so quickly. “He kind of hated my ex. He threatened to end him for breaking up with me in a letter. But my ex’s friend took him hostage…” Kage was staring blankly at his plate. “Um… anyway, what did Kaori tell you about Ty Lee?” That would have been a much safer place to start.

Kage looked up. “She told me about the aura-reading thing. Ty Lee said my aura was vibrant orange. What about you?”

“She says it's gray.”

He looked sympathetic. “That’s not very nice of her. I’m sorry.”

Mai raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think it’s so bad.” Personally she thought orange was hideous, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. “I like gray. It goes with the steel of my knives.”

Kage pursed his lips. “Right. Your knives.” Mai would’ve thought he’d be used to female knife wielders, being related to a Kyoshi Warrior and all. But she acknowledged that her life story made for a rather unsettling lunch topic.

She searched her mind for a mundane question to ask: “So… how has your visit to the Fire Nation been so far, Kage?”

“It’s been really nice. The scenery is so beautiful here,” he gestured around them meaningfully, to the stormy gardens.

“Are you staying in the capital for the week?” Mai asked.

“Yes. And then my sister and I are taking a trip to Ember Island for a few days. Have you ever been?”

“Many times. I used to go there as a child.” Mai thought back to those sunny days playing with Zuko and Azula in the sand. Then her mind turned to her most recent visit.

— —

After wrecking Chan’s house, Azula declared a tactical retreat before the authorities showed up. The four friends made their way back to the sea-shell cottage, but Mai was too wired to sleep. Azula marched confidently inside with Ty Lee hanging off her arm. Zuko followed, but paused at the threshold, noticing that Mai had stopped.

“I think I need to decompress. I’m going to go for a walk.”

Zuko let the door close. “I’ll come with you.”

Mai pursed her lips. He had said a lot around that campfire earlier, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it all. She had forgiven him, but it still stung.

Sensing her hesitation, he walked over and took and took her hand. “I'm sorry for earlier. I promise I’ll be quiet if you want me to. Just don't go alone.”

She leaned into his side. “It's fine. I have an idea.”

She led him across the beach in the opposite direction of Chan’s house. They reached a rockier stretch of shore and Mai knew they were in the right place. She guided him through the rocks until she found what she was looking for. A large tide pool lay at their feet.

Zuko gasped, “This is just like when we were kids. Do you remember? We would search for urchin-crabs!”

Mai smiled, “I remember. Why do you think I brought us here? Can you give us some light?”

Zuko created a small flame in his palm and the pair crouched down to peer in the water.

“There!” Sure enough a deep purple spiny shell scuttled across the bottom. Zuko laughed, “I loved coming here because Azula was afraid of the crabs. It was the only time we could play together without her.”

Mai smiled at the memory. “Yeah. But come to think of it, that was probably good for her. It gave her a chance to be alone with your mom.”

“Hmm. I guess that’s true. I hadn’t thought about it before. It’s… hard to think about those times. I know I keep saying this, but everything feels different.”

Zuko stood, and Mai followed with a frown. Ever since Zuko returned, he kept talking about how everything felt off. She knew that he was referring to deeper issues, his relationships with his family and feelings about affairs of state, but it was hard not to take it personally. When he left, she was a shy little girl and now she was a moody teenager.

Mai sighed. “It’s been a long time since you’ve been home, and even longer since you’ve been here. It’s natural that things have changed.” She put a hand on his back. “If you need time to figure out why you’re so upset and so angry, then you can have it.”

Zuko had the nerve to pout. “You normally tell me that not everything’s changed and that I don’t have to worry.”

Mai rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well it doesn’t seem to be helping.” She dropped her arm. “I’m saying that if you need… if you need to be on your own, and reassess what we thought the future would be, you can do that. Just let me know sooner rather than later.”

Zuko furrowed his brow. He was about to speak, and then it clicked. “Are you breaking up with me? Again?! Mai–” her name sounded like a strangled prayer.

“Calm down! I’m not breaking up with you. I just– I don’t know how to help! I thought maybe I was part of the problem.” Mai abruptly sat back down at the edge of the tidepool and brought her knees to her chest. She felt tears prick her eyes and so she hid her face.

Zuko sat slowly behind her. “Mai, you are the only person I have never doubted. When you kissed me in Ba Sing Se, it was literally a dream come true. The only reason I didn’t jump for joy was… uncle. But I really like how you are now.” Zuko wrapped an arm around her.

“I thought I was a big blah.”

Zuko winced, but he didn’t retract his arm. “No. You’re not. I was just frustrated because I can never tell what you’re thinking. I really thought you liked Ruon Jian for a second there.”

Mai unburied her face to glare at her boyfriend. “But why? I hardly spoke to him! He came up and talked to me for like two seconds before you tossed him across the room.”

Zuko chuckled. “That felt good.” Mai narrowed her eyes, and Zuko pulled her in closer. “Seriously though, I think the fact that I’m relying on you so much is part of the problem. I mean it when I say you’re the only thing that hasn’t changed for me. If you found someone else, I would be all alone. And I know that isn’t an excuse to be awful, but I want you to know it’s not like I don’t trust you or anything. I was just scared.”

Mai could relate. Even in his banishment, when Mai pictured her future, Zuko was by her side. For him to return so unsettled in his own vision of the future… it was affecting her more than she’d realized.

Mai tucked her legs under her and put her arms around Zuko’s neck. “Honestly, I’d already forgiven you. Now, tell me more about the feelings that haven’t changed.”

Zuko was smiling broadly now in the moonlight. “First of all, I love you. I trust you. I want to be the person who makes you smile the most.”

Mai blushed fiercely, glad for the cover of darkness, “Okay–”

But Zuko continued, “I’ve always wanted to undo your hair and run my fingers through it.” He moved his hand from her shoulder to the back of her head and took out one of her buns, and her hair cascaded down her back.

Mai laughed, but protested, “Hey!”

“And I want to kiss you.” Zuko buried her fingers in her hair. Mai closed her eyes. They both leaned in. She could almost feel the touch of his lips when–

Sploosh! Something in the tide pool made a noise and Zuko let out a rather unmanly squeal, as they sprang apart. He called the fire back to his palm. Another urchin-crab had joined the first, ostensibly by utilizing the belly-flop method.

Mai cackled, “Looks like Azula isn’t the only one who’s afraid. Don’t worry, my sweet prince, I’ll protect you.”

Zuko smirked. “Please do.” At long last, they shared their kiss. Zuko pulled back to look into her eyes. “For real, Mai, keep protecting me. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Mai held him close. “I promise. I’ll always be by your side, as long as you want me.” And she was, until she wasn’t.

— —

“Umm… Mai, I asked what you did? On the island?”

Oh, right. She was on a date. With Kage. It appeared she had frozen with her chopsticks halfway to her mouth. Her mother would have some choice words about the propriety of such an incident.

“I always enjoyed searching the tide pools for urchin-crabs. You can also collect shells on the beach if you’re…” She really shouldn’t say stupid, “into that kinda thing. Or you could play beach volleyball.” He seemed unimpressed. Maybe she should try for a joke? “Oh! I had one friend who was really into arson and destroying private property, but I wouldn’t recommend it for your first visit.”

“Right. Well… this has been really great but I just remembered that I wanted to take a walk around the gardens. Alone. So, I’ll just…” Kage stood. “Thank you for your time.” He sprinted into the rain as thunder cracked in the sky above.

Mai had officially been ditched for the second time in one day. Third, if you counted Kaori’s ditching separately from Ty Lee’s. And now Mai was left to foot the bill of both meals, after which she would have the pleasure of walking home alone in the rain. Yippee.

— —

For some reason, Auntie had hung the closed sign on the door. Not that Mai minded, she was most certainly not in the mood for small talk and, in this weather, they probably weren’t getting any customers anyway.

She stomped in and began shaking off her coat. “How was your outing, dear?” her aunt asked. Her tone was weirdly formal, but Mai was too preoccupied to think too deeply about it.

“It was awful!” She whipped her coat in the air, and it made a satisfying crack. “I never–” crack– “want to see–” crack– “another man again!” crack!

Satisfied with the state of her coat, she hung it on one of the hooks by the door and turned to face her aunt. And, standing beside her, was the Fire Lord, ruler of the nation and her ex-boyfriend. Mai said a silent prayer to Agni, letting him know that now would be a good time to engulf the world in a sea of flames.

Auntie Mura broke the uncomfortable silence. “Well, I’ll leave you two to it, then.” With that, she disappeared into one of the many back rooms.

“H-hi.” Zuko looked terrified. He was white as a ghost, and he was holding his hands behind his back in a poor attempt to conceal something. She remembered Ty Lee’s urgent business, and she knew her aunt’s shop was registered as a secure escape location when they were dating. What if there was an attack and his hands were injured?

Mai made her way through the plants in the shop to stand before him. “Are you okay? Did something happen?”

“What?” Zuko asked. “I’m fine. Why?”

“You look shaken. And Ty Lee said… Ugh, never mind. She was probably lying to make out with her girlfriend.”

Zuko chuckled. “You mean Kaori? Yeah, I’ve had to talk to them about PDA on duty. Suki tried but she couldn’t get through.”

Mai allowed herself a small smile. “Good luck.”

Zuko bit his lip. “Mai… the truth is, I am nervous. I ran into Kei Lo earlier while he was engagement ring shopping.”

“What?!” Mai was astonished. They’d only broken a few months ago, right? She didn’t like him romantically anymore, but it hurt to realize he’d outpaced her. Especially with how her date earlier had gone.

“Yeah, I’m sorry.” Zuko seemed very uncomfortable now. “I didn’t think you would care.” She could hear his temper sneaking into his voice.

“I don’t!” It didn’t sound convincing even to her. “I mean, I don’t care that he’s moved on, but now I feel… like I lost a race.’

Zuko snorted, “That’s not how it works–”

“Yeah, I know. Get on with your story.”

“Right,” Zuko continued. “I thought he was going to propose to you and I might… have gotten just a bit jealous.”

Mai’s head was spinning. “If you’re proposing now, I can’t.”

Zuko shook his head. “Not yet.” Her heart fluttered. “But I did get you something.” He brought his hands in between them and offered her a long jewelry case. She opened the lid. Inside rested a beautiful silver necklace. The charm was a plum blossom, her namesake flower, and in the center sat a garnet, her favorite gem.

“I don’t know what to say. It’s gorgeous, and it’s exactly my taste, but why?”

Zuko delicately took the necklace back and moved behind her to clasp it around her neck. “When I was in that shop, I realized that I would never be happy if I didn’t try to fix things again and remind you of how I feel. I know it’s been a long time since our breakup, but consider this an apology and a vow to do better.” His fingers grazed her nape as moved her hair back in place over the necklace.

Mai crossed her arms. “And do you know why you have to apologize? You can’t just throw jewelry at me.”

Zuko walked back around and grasped her upper arms. “I never should have stopped talking to you. I never should have hidden things from you. Mai, I was afraid you would realize how bad of a screw-up I was and leave. But, in the end, I drove you away on my own. I am so sorry. Please–” his voice broke, and a tear rolled down his cheek. “Please come back.”

“Okay,” Mai’s own voice was quivering and her vision was blurry. She embraced him tightly. They stood like that for a few minutes listening to the rain fall.

Mai realized that she still had that same old fear of heartbreak and future rejection. It was temporarily sated, but she could sense it beneath the surface. Perhaps it was part of her, and nothing to do with Zuko at all. She held onto him with all of her strength. She had always known the reason he brought out that emotion was because she loved him in a way that she hadn't loved anyone else before or since. It was so worth it, there was no one else for her. Now, it was her turn to trust him to protect her in the future. And she found that she did.

“This is the best day of my life,” Zuko whispered into her hair.

“And it's all because of Kei Lo?” she asked teasingly.

“Honestly yes. I wouldn't have had the courage to talk to you without him.” He pulled away slightly to frown at her. “Especially since your Aunt told me you were on a date.”

Mai laughed. “Don't worry, you heard how that went.”

Zuko remained unmoved. “Was that guy rude or creepy to you?” He moved his hands to her waist and brought her close again. “I can and will have him exiled if he–”

“No, no, no.” Mai assured him. “I think I was the weirdo. Besides, he’s Kaori’s brother so he's returning to Earth Kingdom soon anyway.”

“Good riddance.”

“Zuko, you don’t even know him.”

“I don’t need to!” he insisted. “At least you were happy with Kei Lo.”

Mai rolled her eyes. “Kei Lo was my boyfriend, and Kage was a blind date. There’s a difference there.”

“Well I don’t like him! I wish I knew the second you and Kei Lo broke up. I would have been here in a heartbeat.”

Mai caressed his cheeks. “You could have visited sooner, as my friend.”

“I’m not proud of this, but I don’t know if I could have handled that.” Zuko was right. They both had a lot of progress to make.

“I understand… I probably would have turned you away. I’ve still been figuring things out too.”

Zuko smiled, “Can we figure them out together?”

Mai smiled back at him. “Honestly, I would love that.”

They leaned in, and, as their lips met, the sun appeared from behind the clouds. Even through the windows of the shop, it reflected the gold of his crown and the silver of her necklace in a brilliant array.

#atla maiko #avatar the last airbender #atla #zuko #mai #atla mai #atla zuko #maiko #mai x zuko #zumai #atla fanfic

18 notes · View notes

quitealotofsodapop · 9 months

Note

Where did the idea that Macaque and PIF are swirn siblings come from? I've seen it in a few other fics and while I'm not in any way against it I am curious. Is it just fannon or is there evidence for it in either the show or the original text? And how did the two of them meet in your au?

I believe it's a popular fanon idea. I think it spawned from the fact that Wukong and DBK are canonically sworn brothers, and thus Macaque and PIF would have interacted back in the day through the Brotherhood - both were/are not looked upon the best by the leaders of the Brotherhood, so they may have found friendship in one another. They are also both cool af characters that sadly never interacted in the show proper.

Macaque ( -_-)/\(-_- ) PIF: Being bad b*tches with wind powers and impulsive spouses who got trapped under a mountain for 400+ years.

In "The Monkey King and the Infant" au they're sworn/adoptive siblings due to mutual past history, even before The Brotherhood. They met as young children (an incident where little Princess Tieshan stole her big sister's bag of wind and got stranded on the moon), and later became eachother's confidants when they reunited as teens (Macaque becoming PIF's attendant). When the Brotherhood started up, Macaque accidentally introduced PIF and DBK while sneaking out for a meeting. When PIF was disowned by her family for falling in love with a demon; Macaque was one of very few from her old life that stayed by her side. They supported eachother emotionally through thick and thin - SWK being imprisioned + his and Macaque's breakup, PIF's banishment and troubles having a child etc...

Then Macaque "died".

And so PIF lost the closest to a little brother she ever had.

DBK finding out about Macaque's death (or whatever version someone spun about it), combined with Red Son being taken away by Guanyin after the Samadhi Fire ritual, is partially what drove him into a rage + his own imprisonment under a mountain. And so Princess Iron Fan was left (almost) completely alone for roughly 400+ years. It's no wonder why she fcking hates SWK's guts.

By the time of the fic start, she straight up decides "fck this I'm taking my kid back and finding a way to remove the staff. I ain't waiting around on earth alone anymore."

Then a month or so later she recieves a knock on her door;

Macaque: "Hey, jiejie [big sis]. I uh... kinda got revived???" PIF: "...how and why?!" Macaque: "No idea [lie]. Ok, long story short; Wukong knocked me up-" PIF: "THAT SON OF A BIT-" Macaque: "Yeah I was mad too. We're kinda *still* on a break right now so can I crash here until... I dunno either he apologizes, I stop being mad at him, or you know... forever?" PIF, (trying to hide tears of joy): "Forever sounds like just long enough."

The emotional reunion is interuppted by toddler Red Son charging head-first (bull calf style) into Macaque out of excitement.

After realising that his sworn uncle is very upset with the Monkey King; Red Son declares war on Sun Wukong and later secretly begins devising a plan to kidnap him and force him to lift the staff. PIF thinks its adorable how protective Red Son is over them, while Macaque is reading the kid's revenge corkboard like "Oh dang, he's really going for it. I'm so proud of him. Wait... is this what having a kid feels like??"

When SWK shows up looking for Macaque, PIF pretty much wind-fan kicks his ass straight out of the mountain. Cue Wukong thinking he has to do something; Big, Dumb, Dangerous, and Extremely Hearfelt in order to get back into both Macaque's and PIF's good graces...

Small spoilers:

Macaque, extremely touched but confused af: "Peaches, I would have accepted an apology and some flowers!" PIF, non-stop cuddling DBK since he got back: "Not me. This barely gets Wukong off my hit list."

Its a huge thing. The citizens of Diyu are shooken. By the end of it, the fam is extremely confused but happy to be reunited. Red Son declares it his first ever evil victory.

#the monkey king and the infant au #the monkey king and the infant #lmk shadowpeach au #lmk princess iron fan #liu er mihou #six eared macaque #lmk demon bull king #lmk red son #lmk ironbull #shadowpeach #Macaque and Princess Iron Fan are Sworn Siblings #lmk s4 spoilers #lmk backstory hcs #lmk character hcs #lmk tmkati au story events #lmk demon bull family #lmk dbk #lmk pif

86 notes · View notes

mikaelsonstanaccount · 5 months

Text

Klonnie Week Day 3: Lovers In Denial

Bonnie watched Klaus like a hawk as he talked to a crowd of gawking women. She shouldn't be bitter but she is. Hell she doesn't even know why she's bitter. He's her friend and that's how it should stay. "You should go talk to him." Rebekah leaned over and whispered. "And tell him what? We're just friends, Bex, nothing more." The witch added before her friend shook her head. "Friends don't behave the way you two love" Bex giggled before Klaus made his way over. "Hello ma douce." Klaus smiled as he kissed Bonnie's knuckles. "Hello beloved" Bonnie smiled. They had pet names for each other. To her it was just something casual, something that just worked within their friendship.

Many thought they were deep in denial but they weren't. It was just how they worked. "We should go out tomorrow" Klaus smiled as he ordered a drink for the two of them. "I would love to but I don't think it's best for you." Bonnie smiled. "And why not?" He asked before she giggled. "The last time you almost killed someone because of the dirty looks they gave us." She smiled. Moments like that should bother her but they don't anymore. He made them all better. "I promise this time I will be on my best behavior. Please?" He asked, using those pretty blue eyes to his advantage. Bonnie sighed before she smiled and nodded. "Okay okay, I will. What time shall I be ready? Also what are we doing?" She asked as she leaned against the bar and sipped her drink.

“Hmm, maybe we can go shopping, actually pack a bag. I will take you shopping in Paris.” Klaus smiled as he sipped his drink. “I want to go shopping too.” Bex pouted as Klaus rolled his eyes. Bonnie giggled before shaking her head. “She can come with us Nik, be nice” Bonnie smiled before Klaus pouted. “Fine, we can all go shopping.” He sighed before crossing his arms.

“Don’t be a sour puss Nik, I’ll let you spend all the time you want with your girlfriend. I’ll go on my own excursions.” Bex said while Bonnie blushed. “I’m not his girlfriend. Just his friend.” Bonnie added as Bex waved the comment off. “Either way we planned to go on without you. You aren’t invited to go shopping.” Klaus added before Bex rolled her eyes again. “How much money should I take?” Bonnie asked before Klaus looked at her. “You don’t need any. I will cover the costs. How could I possibly offer to take you shopping and you have to pay? What kind of friend would I be?” Klaus smiled before Bonnie let out a laugh. “You would be a typical friend.” She smiled before he shook his head. “I’m not a typical friend.” He smiled proudly while his little sister just watched him. “Please just get married already. It’s killing me.” Bex said before they both brushed her off.

“Oh this is my favorite song, let's go dance Nik!” Bonnie squealed as she grabbed his arm and started to tug him to the center of the room. He rolled his eyes playfully before following behind her and then pulling her close. Bonnie couldn’t help but to smile as they danced. As much as she would love to be his she knew that it was only a mutual friendship between them. Klaus was her best friend and that’s where it would stay. She couldn’t force a relationship with the man who has had women practically throw themselves at him. Between that and him accepting their advances she didn’t want to put her heart out there. She was ready to settle down, have kids, and spend the rest of her life in domestic bliss.

As much as she wanted it to be with Klaus she knew that would never happen. Klaus was meant to be “Uncle Nik” to her kids and she was meant to always have that heaviness in her chest. That constant feeling of “what if” anytime she watched him. The same feeling she gets before she falls asleep and as soon as she wakes. She constantly wondered how her life would look if she made the first move. “Love, are you okay? You’re staring.” Klaus spoke, pulling Bonnie from the recesses of her mind. “Oh, I’m fine. Just mentally packing. Trying to figure out what to wear.” She smiled before looking up at him. He nodded before spinning her around and pulling her close. “Then how about I drive you home? It’s getting late anyways and a lady like you should never be out this late. There could be a monster lurking around the corner looking for his prey.” Klaus smirked as he pulled her close. “Well this supposed monster would never expect that a witch could easily take him down with one look.” She challenged before bidding farewell to Bex and walking out to his car. While on the way home her mind began to wonder back to those what ifs.

What if he was to confess how much he loved her right now? What if she were to do it instead? No matter how she felt she knew that her role in his life was his best friend and confidant. For right now, she was okay with that.

#klaus mikaelson #bonnie bennett #bonnie x klaus #klonnie

31 notes · View notes

busterkeel · 1 year

Text

https://archiveofourown.org/works/44390266

After reading this thoughts of a part two had my mind running from this prompt

Just a heads up this is going to be all over the place, but won't be too difficult to follow just bear with me, I don't usually write down my maladaptive daydream plots ideas

Either Jason ask

"... so what kind of powers am I going to have?"

Or one of the other bat-fam asks

" So, what kind of powers is he going to develop?"

[Got me thinking Danny would respond like]

"Oh that's easy I finally remembered them all, flight, invisibility, (Danny proceeds to list a crazy long list of powers)"

"....Well there's flight, invisibility, ecto energy like ghost ray and force fields(he could even shoot a small one out for example), intangibility, telekinesis, uh.....increased strength and senses like hearing, smell, sight, then there’s ghost sense, overshadowing, hmm.... oh right duplication, I always forget about that one, there's creating portals but Dani and I had a hard time learning that might take you a while, uh.... did I mention ghost wail yet?.....what? (mouth gaping shock)

[Probably depends if Dani is his sister or daughter]

[And depends if she got her own core type or same ice core]

[the response depends on which bat-fam member responds]

"(shocked and asks what's overshadowing but then stops themselves) we'll go back to that one, who's Danny?

"Dani with an 'i', your sister, oh teleportation forgot that one too

"Tele-I have a sister?!?"

"Yeah older sister and aunts(I'm counting Val as an aunt) and [depends on the ship ex: everlasting trio, just Sam or just Val, I’m leaning towards everlasting trio], I have to introduce you to the rest of the family, actually I have to tell the rest of the family first....”

“You didn't tell them about me”

“No, didn't have time to, I came straight here when I sensed you"

[random bat-fam] "Wait, you said Older sister?! When did you have her?!?"

"Huh? Oh no no no she's a clone”

"Who's Danny?..."

"Oh my sister, one of your aunts”

“You guys are both named Danny/Dani? Doesn't that get confusing”

“Its Dani with an “i” or Elle, short for Danielle and she’s my clone so we make a joke out of it”

"You've been cloned?!?

"Yeah, by my ex evil Godfather... well that's another story, actually he might be able to help you with your duplication better than me when we get there

Oh and Dani has a different core so she doesn't have my full kit, you might develop a different core too, but the base powers won't be different"

[This could either be bad parents or good parents]

But if its good I imagine Maddie and Jack spoiling him with weapons aka ecoto guns

...... writing this I just remembered how Jason even came to be because they kicked Danny out......

Well damn, well Danny could make him guns

Honestly I just see the family trying to spoil him rotten

I would like for him to stick with calling Bruce Dad though he can call Danny GD like in “ The curious case of D. Grayson” for Ghost Dad

And if it's Pharoah tuck and undergrowth Sam

Val could be a ghost zone hunter or a ghost zone bounty hunter/infinite realm bounty hunter

They could be uncle tuck/uncle pharaoh tuck.... aunt Sam and aunt Val/aunt V

don't know what he would call them if its everlasting trio

[Since Danny was 14 when Dani was made, 18 when Jason was born, he how old would he now if Jason became red hood when he was 18-19]

I'll make him 19y for a red hood vigilante foundation, kinda want to make him older but I'll just figure out the math and add on in my mind if I want him older in my daydreams

So Danny would be 37 along with Sam/Tuck/Val

Jazz is 2y+ than Danny so she'll be 39

Danny stop aging at 25

Id say both Sam and Tucker stopped aging like 2-3 years after 25 when they fully took in their liminality powers? Now they're just waiting to die or something, got no clue i just need them to either die and revert or stop aging

What if Danny faked his death and is just waiting for them to die

Or he's just shapeshifting to appear like he's growing older but still waiting for them so he can dip from the mortal realm

I disagree with my previous thoughts now, I still want him and everyone else to have a human identity as long as possible, he could have a bunch of degrees with a job at Nasa or something

Wait…. How old would Bruce be?

So Bruce was 34y when he met Jason at 12y

22y years older than him would make him 41y, not that much older than Jazz and Danny at all especially Jazz, maybe they could be friends [Just friends.] she can help with his family connection problems or something

I high key want Jason to be small boy robin in his ghost form, but i want Danny and Dani to look older, so that would put on the possibility of him being able to change his form to look older

No wait I like it, they all still look the same age they died/were created

No wait….then he’ll appear older than both of them..., I'm just not going to think about this right now

Well at least they're tall as freaks in their human forms, which explains why Jason is the tallest bat sibling, but still shorter than all three Jazz, Danny and Dani

OP daddy Danny

... I got carried away again

#Danny Phantom #danny fenton #dp x dc #dc x dp #jason todd #batfam #jason todd is actually jason fenton #jason is a fenton #danny fenton you are the father!#sheila haywood is a liar #dp x dc crossover #dp x dc writing prompt

287 notes · View notes

andreafmn · 4 months

Text

I'm Not Afraid | Chapter 16

Word Count: 4.3K

Story Description: (Y/N) Argent arrived at Beacon Hills to put to rest her father’s sister, Kate Argent. For the first time, her family has decided to settle down and sustain a life in this interesting small town. After 17 years, (Y/N) has the opportunity to establish interpersonal relationships but will she be ready to face the complications that come with relating to her cousin’s, Allison, friends; especially, the infamous Derek Hale. She will face the adventure of being associated with the Derek and McCall pack, as well as being faced with the discovery of certain aspects of her life she never imagined.

A/N: my brain broke trying to figure out the Sheriff Station's layout, and I'm still not sure how it works. I swear, continuity and timelines are Jeff Davis' downfall 🫠🫠

<- Previous | Next ->

The drive hadn’t been long, and it had been just what (Y/N) needed. After feeling like she was suffocating in the hospital, telling her uncle and cousin how sorry she was for their loss and if they needed anything just to ask her, she told her father she’d meet him back at the house and all but sprinted out of the building. The fluorescent lights had birthed a pounding headache into her head, the cries only working to see it further into her brain. She needed to get out before her lungs were soon to follow in the malfunction.

She killed the engine and the light of her motorcycle when she saw him waiting for her outside of the building, his arms already outstretched for the hug she desperately needed. “You okay?” he asked as she crashed into his body. “You don’t look so good.”

“I fucked up, Isaac,” she sighed into his chest. “And you don’t look good either.”

“Yeah, well, I just went through a gruesome transformation under the full moon,” he chuckled softly. “What’s your excuse?”

“My aunt just killed herself, and it was, in part, because of me.”

“Well, okay. You win.” He released her from his hold to find sorry strewn across the girl’s face. Dry tears cling to her skin in lines of grey and fresh ones threatened to spill from her reddened eyes. “Tell me what happened. Why do you think it’s your fault, (Y/N)?”

“The night of the rave, when Derek and I left to get Scott, we found my aunt Victoria slowly killing him with a vaporized version of wolfsbane,” she started. “I thought about fighting her for a second. I’ve been trained well enough that I could have possibly come out alive from that fight, but Derek told me to get Scott —make sure he was okay and, most importantly, not dead. They fought for a bit as I got Scott off the floor, and then, all of a sudden, she was gone. After that, when we were in the vet's office, he told me he bit her deep enough that she would turn on the next full moon.”

“Tonight,” Isaac affirmed. “I haven’t heard either of you do anything wrong yet, (Y/N).”

“A hunter being bitten or scratched deep enough to trigger the transformation is essentially receiving a death sentence,” (Y/N) explained, her voice trembling under the force of her worries. “Argent hunters don’t turn into werewolves, Isaac. They kill themselves before it can happen—that’s part of our code. And that’s what my aunt did tonight. My cousin lost her mother because I wasn’t strong enough to fight her.”

“Hey, that’s not your fault, (Y/N).”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” she exclaimed. “I had the chance to make things different, and I didn’t. How is that not my fault?”

“Let me ask you this, did you bite here?”

“Isaac…”

“Did you?”

“No,” she grumbled.

“Did you force her to go and kill Scott?”

“Of course not.”

“And did you kill her tonight?”

“No, but…”

“There are no buts,” Isaac affirmed, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her out of her head. “You didn’t do anything wrong, (Y/N). You were in the middle of a difficult situation and made a decision. That’s it. Just like Victoria decided to kill Scott, you decided to save him. And have you ever thought what would have happened if you had been the one to fight her? What if your training isn’t as good as you thought, and hers was better? Maybe there would have been two bodies in the morgue rather than one.”

“It’s just… seeing Allison and my uncle break down in front of me broke me, Isaac.” The breath she took stammered as the weight of the night fell on her shoulders. Guilt and sadness gripped her body, sinking their claws into her skin and digging themselves a home in her body. “And for some reason, Victoria protected me. She didn’t tell anyone that I had been in the room that night.”

“How did you know she didn’t?”

“Well, firstly, I doubt they would have allowed me to still be here,” she sighed. “And, somehow, I just know. Like I can feel it.”

“Then why are you still feeling guilty? You did absolutely nothing wrong.”

“And yet, Ali now doesn’t have a mother.”

“Because your family goes by really fucked up rules. I mean, sure, being a wolf isn’t all it’s chucked up to be, but it’s not enough to Jill yourself over,” Isaac retorted. “Whatever happened tonight was your aunt’s decision and hers alone. You saved someone she was killing. No one’s punishing you for that.”

(Y/N) dropped to the ground and crossed her legs under her, leaning her back against the concrete wall of the abandoned building. “Sometimes I just feel like every decision I make sets off a domino effect that I can’t control,” she said as Isaac sat beside her. “I’ve made some bad choices in my past that rippled into some pretty awful consequences, and it seems that things aren’t much different here. I just don’t want something worse to happen. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of me.”

“No one’s gotten hurt because of you, (Y/N). People make decisions. They make their own choices, and consequences follow. Whether good or bad, something will happen. And just because you are somehow involved in their lives doesn’t mean it’s your fault.” Isaac took her hand in his, running his thumb across her knuckles in a soothing manner. “You know, I found an anchor tonight. Something to tether me to my humanity during the full moon. I told Derek I used the thought of my father as my I don’t know anchor—the father he was before he became the thing of nightmares.”

“Why did you lie?”

He chuckled softly as she rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m pretty sure if I told him the truth, he’d probably kill me,” he said. “It was you, (Y/N).”

“Me? Why me?”

“You’re the first person that ever saw me, (Y/N),” he smiled. “I mean, before you, I went through life just existing. I had no friends, I barely played in the team, and well, nothing at home was good. Without knowing me, you offered to help me with Chemistry and Math, and you even gave me some of your lunch—which you kept doing without giving it another thought. And the more time we spent together, the closer we got. I mean, you let me stay at your place, no questions asked, after my dad died. Even after I shifted and started acting like an ass, you still cared about me. I haven’t had that in a while.”

“If it’s any consolation, I haven’t had a friend in a very long time,” she chuckled. “But, honestly, I’m very glad that it’s you. Not that I have anything against anyone else, but there’s something about you, kid.”

“I’m only a year younger than you,” he laughed, bumping her with his shoulder. “But I am glad I met you, (Y/N). Beacon Hills would have never been the same without you.”

“Well, I’m glad my parents chose this to be our forever home,” the girl smiled as she hugged Isaac’s arm. “I don’t know what I would do without an Isaac Lahey in my life.”

“Thankfully, we don’t have to know,” he chuckled. “And not that I’m ungrateful or anything, but why are you here? I thought you’d be with Derek.”

“Well, not to make you feel bad, but he wasn’t picking up his phone,” (Y/N) shrugged. “I honestly thought he’d be here with you.”

“No, he left a little after tying me up. I thought he left to go see you.”

“He hasn’t even returned my calls,” the girl worried. She lifted her legs slightly and pulled out her phone from her pocket, confirming that Derek had not even texted back. With Isaac not knowing where he was either, worry built inside (Y/N). She chewed on her nails as she let the phone ring and ring, screaming out of frustration when he did not answer. “Something’s wrong. It has to be.”

“Don’t go there. Just keep trying his phone.”

She kept calling his number, getting missed call after missed call, until finally, the call went through. “Derek?” she exclaimed. “Are you okay?’

“Oh, this isn’t Derek,” a voice she sort of recognized answered. “He’s sort of unable to get to the phone right now. But the constant ringing was making me very irritated.”

“Matt? Why do you have Derek’s phone?”

“Well, he’s sort of my hostage.”

(Y/N) wanted to gasp, let fear take over her actions as she received information. But she couldn’t. Not if what she believed was true. “You’re the one controlling the Kanima,” she said. “You’re the one that’s been killing people. Why?”

“Ugh, I would hate to have to repeat the story,” he groaned. “Why don’t you come here, to the sheriff's station? We could all have a little chat.”

“Leave her out of this,” she heard Scott grumble through the phone. And if he was there, (Y/N) didn’t want to know who else he had taken hostage. “Don’t come, (Y/N).”

“Come on, Scott. The more the merrier,” Matt taunted. “Maybe you could bring your cousin here. I really need to talk to her. She broke my heart, you know.”

“What game are you playing, Matt? What do you get out of all of this?”

“Come here and find out.” She could see the devilish smile spreading across his face, his eyes roaming over everyone who was in the station. Scott was there, which could only mean that Stiles also was. With Matt came Jackson. And Derek. But she couldn’t help but feel there were more people there. “Say bye, everyone.”

“(Y/N), don…”

Derek’s strained voice was the last thing she heard before the phone went dead, the hang-up tone filling her ear. She scrambled to her feet as she pulled the keys of her bike from her pocket, hurrying toward her motorcycle as she spoke to Isaac. “Okay, you need to stay with Boyd and Erica, make sure you guys are safe and have a way to communicate,” she instructed, her mind running a million miles a minute. “You need to stay far away from the police station, but you need to make sure your phone is still on.”

“You’re not going there by yourself, (Y/N),” Isaac argued. “Erica and Boyd can hide. I’m going with you.”

“Absolutely not, Isaac. I’m the only one that can go. I’m immune.”

“But you’re not invincible. You still bleed and hurt like everyone else. You can get hurt.”

“And you can get paralyzed.” The rest of her words died in her throat as her phone vibrated with a text from her father. The hunters knew who was inside the station and they were going in for the attack with Allison leading the way. “Look,” she said, showing him her screen. “You need to stay hidden, Isaac. If you get in the way, Allison is sure to kill you. She’s on a rampage.”

“And what do you think will happen to you?”

“She doesn’t know I was there.”

“But she will know when you protect Derek. Even your dad told you to stay away.”

“Allison wouldn’t kill me.”

“How do you know?”

His words swam through her head, and, truthfully, she had no way of knowing if Allison would turn on her. She had seen firsthand how her cousin was fine with being passive-aggressive toward her, and she knew the sting of her words. But could she ever go as far as to hurt her? She had just lost her mother, and (Y/N) couldn’t have a single clue what was running through her head.

She could bide the words of Derek, Scott, and her father. They were worried, she knew that. But people’s lives were at stake, and she didn’t think she could just sit idly by. Especially not with Allison having an open season for Derek. If she could at least help him, she had to try.

“Think about it, (Y/N),” Isaac tried to reason one last time. “You have no idea what you’re walking into here. And you shouldn’t be going alone.”

“I have to help, Isaac. And you need to hide,” she restated. “If you guys need a place to lay low where no one will think you would be, lock yourselves in my room. The window is open, and no one would expect you to be there. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“(Y/N)…”

“I promise I’ll be careful, okay? I just need to know that you’ll be safe.”

“Do you at least have a weapon on you? You’re sort of facing a lizard person and a killer, so I don’t think your fists are gonna be enough.”

With a grin on her face, she lifted the back of her shirt, exposing the gun that had been tucked away in the waist of her jeans. Then, she lifted the leg of her pants to show the knife holster on her ankle. “I never leave the house unprepared, Isaac,” she said. “And well, my dad gave me the gun before I left the hospital. Just in case. You do know there’s a lizard man running rampant around town.”

“Just be safe, (Y/N),” Isaac sighed as he wrapped her in a hug. “And let me know as soon as you’re out of the police station.”

“I will,” she assured. “Get to my house. Lock the door to my room. If Brody gets angsty just get him a treat from my bookcase. I’ll knock three times so you know it’s me, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Stay safe, Lahey.”

“You too, Argent.”

(Y/N) sped as fast as she could toward the station, thankful that she had beaten the hunters there. Just not for too long.

As she killed the engine of her bike and hid it from view, black SUVs rolled into the parking lot. Hunters jumped out of the cars, guns strapped to their chests. Two of them rounded the building, probably to kill the power, while two more stood with Gerard, aiming at the station’s windows.

There were only two things (Y/N) could do. She could remain hidden and somehow sneak past the hunters and into the building, or she could pretend that she was meant to meet there with them. For some reason, she chose the latter.

“Ah, (Y/N),” Gerard was the first one to see her as she neared the group. “I’m glad to see you here. I assume Henry has brought you up to date.”

“Yeah. That’s why I’m here.”

“And where were you? I assumed you would meet us at Chris’ home.”

“I was almost back home when dad texted. Figured I’d come here where I was needed.”

“A true Argent at heart,” he smiles. The way the corners of his mouth extended sent shivers down her spine, and she thought that maybe he knew everything that had happened. But there was no chance… right? Victoria wouldn’t have confided in him… right? Those were things she could not know. “Well then, you’re with us. I assume you have something other than yourself to protect you.”

“Of course,” she replied, pulling out her gun. “A hunter is always prepared.”

“Very good,” he chuckled proudly. “Now, we are going for Derek Hale. If anyone stands in our way… well, so be it. That’s Allison’s plan.”

“So be it,” (Y/N) chorused, swallowing the fear that threatened to strangle her. “I’m ready.”

“That’s good to hear.” Suddenly, the sound of electricity being killed filled the air. Gerard turned toward the pair of hunters and instructed them to start shooting the second the power inside turned off. They let their weapons run without caring who or what they were hitting, their one goal was intimidation and fear. "Shakespeare wrote that love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs. Let’s show them some love.”

At his instruction, the same hunters released gas bombs through the shattered windows, making it easier to conceal them as they walked inside. If innocent bystanders got hurt, then so be it. It was war, nothing else mattered.

“(Y/N) and I will walk in through the front first,” Henry said. “You three follow through the back. We have no idea who else is in there right now/”

“Okay,” Allison nodded. “Be careful.”

“Of course.”

“And Derek? He’s mine.”

The words made (Y/N)’s veins burn. Allison wasn’t there to defend anyone, or even coming in to save her own boyfriend and her friend. She was there for blood. (Y/N) could see it in her eyes.

She walked alongside her father as they snuck in through the dark back door, trying their best to keep silent, her hands extended before them as they cleared the area they walked through. Her chest heaved in anticipation, and nerves ran inside her like a rampage. There was no way to know what they were walking into, but she did know who she had to walk out with.

“You go get your friend,” her father whispered. “I’ll keep moving to the back exit to join them.”

“What if they figure you out, dad?”

“I’ve been doing this for far longer than you have,” he chuckled quietly. “You don’t have to worry about me, kid.”

With a soft smile and a nod, they walked into the fog. As soon as they were out of view, (Y/N) took the front position, blinking away the sting from the smoke. “Derek?” she called out as quietly as she could. “Derek, where are you?”

Doors slammed shut and broke right after, glass and wood bursting through the ground, and all (Y/N) could hope was that none of it was masking the sound of anyone getting hurt. Well… at least not anyone she cared about.

“Derek,” she continued to call as she cleared the reception area and the front offices, trying her hardest to see through the darkness and the cloudiness. “Please, where are you?”

“Over here,” she finally heard him croak out. “I’m here.”

She followed the sound of his voice until she found him trying to lift his body with a chair. He struggled under his own weight as his limbs came back alive slowly, too slowly. “Oh god, Derek,” she said as she ran to help him up. “Your leg is bleeding.”

“I’m fine,” he groaned slightly. “Do you have a knife?”

“Excuse me?”

“I need you to stab me.”

“Are you crazy?!”

“I already triggered the healing process in my body,” he said. “I just need something to make it work faster.”

Without giving it much thought, (Y/N) slid to her ankle and pulled out her knife. “Where?” she asked before Derek pointed to his leg. “Please don’t hate me.”

She drew her arm back and punched the blade onto his thigh, her cut joining the five smaller ones he had created. A growl left his body as she pulled out the knife, his face transforming and his eyes glowing red. He breathed heavily as he steadied himself, swallowing the pain from the stab as feeling returned to the rest of his body.

“We need to get you out of here,” she said. “My family is here to kill you tonight.”

“I can’t,” he said. “I’ve gotta get to the holding cells. “There’s people that need help.”

“If Allison finds you, she’ll shoot to kill, Derek,” (Y/N) stated. “Her mom killed herself tonight, and she knows it’s because you bit her. Allison blames you for Victoria’s death.”

“I’m not leaving until they’re safe,” he retorted. “And your cousin is the least of my worries.”

“Fine,” the girl relented. She knew there was no fight to be won. The faster they rescued whoever else was in there, the faster they could go. “Lead the way.”

He took off in a fast walk down hallways and doors, keeping an arm behind him to shield (Y/N). “I’ll go for Jackson. You go for Matt,” he whispered. “Maybe we have a chance that way.”

“Jackson can’t paralyze me.”

“But he sure as hell can hurt you. Or…”

“Okay,” she stopped him. “I’ll try and get Matt.”

As they neared the cells, she could hear Scott’s mother begging for her son’s life, and all Matt could do was chastise her for not knowing what her son was. But his words soon died in his throat as Derek growled menacingly.

For a second, she believed she had him. With her gun outstretched in front of her, she walked tentatively toward Matt. His eyes flickered from side to side until, finally, they stopped beside him. Out of the darkness, the Kanima appeared and sank his claws into her arm, sending her flying against the wall. The air got knocked out of her lungs, and pain shot through her entire back.

Derek grabbed Jackson and slammed him on the desk, the distraction allowing Matt to escape. But not without (Y/N) shooting his right shoulder. Or maybe his arm. Her vision had been blurry, but she knew she had at least grazed him. The groan that had left his mouth told her so. But (Y/N) couldn’t dwell on him any longer, by the time she’d be able to work up the strength to run, he’d be long gone. What she could do was help the people in the room she was in.

Wolf and Kanima battled as they each fought for dominance, but Jackson was just too strong and too fast. His body was too close to the cell, and the girl knew she couldn’t risk shooting him. One wrong move, and she’d hit Melissa or the sheriff. All she could do was fight him head-on and hope for the best.

She slipped the knife out of her ankle once more and rushed Jackson from the back, digging the knife just below his ribs and pulling up. But all that did was anger him more. With extended claws, he slapped her across the face, sending her barreling to the ground once more. The sting from her arm didn’t even compare to the sting on her face and the bounce her head did off the ground. It was stupid to fight him hand-to-hand, but she had to at least try.

An angry growl escaped Derek as he got off the floor and saw (Y/N) holding her head. Without thinking, he ran toward Jackson, with all the intent of knocking him like he had done to her. But he used the bars of the cell to lift his body and kick Derek straight to the chest and across the room.

Suddenly, as the Kanima hissed in Melissa’s face, Scott appeared and stuck his claws into the creature's ribs and pulled him off the bars. After being unhanded, Jackson slithered out the door, possibly in search of his fleeing master.

Derek jumped over the desk that kept her from (Y/N) and helped her up before signaling to follow him. They ran through the halls, but if there was any sign of Jackson before, it was gone. “Fuck!” the man grumbled. “He’s gone.”

“I’m sorry,” she croaked. “I shouldn’t have gotten in the way. I…”

“Shh,” he interrupted.

“Derek, I…”

“There’s someone there.”

He pressed them flush against the wall, his arm draping protectively in front of her. They didn’t know who it was, but it wouldn’t take long to find out.

“What are you doing here?” Scott’s voice echoed down the hall. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“Trust me, I’m aware of that.”

Gerard. A gasp threatened to escape her mouth, and (Y/N) clamped her hands on top of her mouth to muffle any sound. The last thing she would have ever guessed was that Scott was working with her grandfather.

“I’ve done everything you asked for,” Scott continued. “I joined Derek’s pack, I’ve given you all the information that you wanted, I told you Matt was controlling Jackson…”

“And leave him to us,” Gerard interjected. He told Scott everything he wanted to hear but gave away just one crucial thing. He would be the one to handle Matt and Jackson. Not the hunters. Gerard. “Go!”

Scott ran past the pair, unaware they had heard everything. Derek’s face had fallen in shame, his entire demeanor dropping as he realized he’d been betrayed. But the defeat only lasted a second as his attention turned to (Y/N).

“Are you okay?” he asked as he looked her over. Blood dripped down her cheek and her arm, and some stained the hair on the back of her head. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’m fine,” she sighed. “I’m sorry. About all of this. I…”

“Not now, okay,” he said softly. “You need to get home. Clean those wounds up. Do you feel dizzy? Nauseous?”

“No, I feel fine,” (Y/N) grumbled. “Listen, Derek.”

“I need to get you home,” he continued, still interrupting everything she had to say. “You need to go.”

“What’s going on, Derek? Is it about what Scott said? I mean…”

“No. I just…,” he sighed, but the words seemed to die in his throat as he tried to get them out. “Let’s just get you home. Did you come here on your bike?”

“Yeah.”

“Give me the keys,” Derek said, extending his hand. “I’ll drive you home and come get my car after. Are your parents there?”

“My dad’s here, and my mom’s waiting at my uncle's house.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

(Y/N) followed without much fight. Her body was filled with exhaustion, and she barely had the energy to walk to her bike. But she couldn’t help the dread that slipped into her as she clung to Derek’s waist. He wasn’t just saddened by Scott’s actions. There was a fear inside him that ran deeper than betrayal, and it scared her to think that it had anything to do with her.

Next ->

My content will always be free, but if you’re feeling particularly generous, you can leave a tip on any of my posts or buy me a coffee to support me and my love of writing If you’d like to be tagged in this or any other story: click here Make sure you have my notifications on so you know every time I post!

Tag List: @hellowinterlane @lokisgoddesofpower @mersuperwholocked-lowlife@malar-region@sunshine-flower@lilstanxd@sunsetcurvej @malar-region@heyitsaloy @blackbluerose666 @bellabadacadabra@winter-soldier-101@zheezs14 @sunsetcurvej @mushroomelephant @she–walks–in–moonlight @Gracelynn318 @skyesthebomb@esposadomd@blueshoelaces@then-worship-at-my-altar@six-call@yuki254@honeylovemoon @Beckiej0073-blog @baebeepeach @cecehensonn @catgirlpwr@magimtz23@perle-noir@adaydreamaway08@hufflepuffobsessedwithmarvel@thatgirljayy@sugasthreedollarkookie @laylaskywalker @fandomonetwo@fruitylilfuck@haroldpotterson @gangstalicious06 @elijahssuit@ellabellabus07@scarletdfox@halleest@sunflowerleii@shara-ne@nngkay @mar @saltedcoffeescotch @thecollectorofwords @gabi-princesada1d @zealouscookierebeltrash@sleepilysworld@laylasbunbunny@treatiseofselena @american-staness @cevans-winchester@brittany-appleyard24@avada-kedavra-bitch-187@ivory-raptor@euphoria1992@mrknightsgirl @hopexargent @druigsluver29 @Fresita1218 @sunsetmaverick@rebelbagel@mrknightsgirl@missfunsize

@the-house-of-rose-and-ember @elizabeth916@heccatee@cerejinha @caosfanblr@heartfilia01 @shadowwolfqueen-blog@jinxxangel13 @arcaurix @cheshirecat484@alyeskathewave

37 notes · View notes

coffeexafterxmidnight · 3 months

Text

I have no idea what I'm doing but uh

Hi people in the Overwatch fandom! Let me introduce you to my omnic doctor OC!

Jillian "Jill" Herrera-Cortez - Caretaker

"Don't you worry, I'm the best mechanic in Mexico City."

A young woman with bright gray eyes, long black hair held up in a high ponytail, and freckled medium brown skin. She’s on the chubby side, but agile, with legs built for sprinting and calloused hands. She’s also short - 5’2, not counting the ponytail or boots. She prefers casual clothes - hoodies, t-shirts, overalls and jumpsuits left with the tops tied around her waist and the legs cut off at various lengths. Jill always keeps her safety goggles and collapsible toolkit on her - never know when an emergency will happen.

(forgive the somewhat outdated and inaccurate picrew, I can't draw.)

Jill is a talented mechanic who runs a dubiously legal Omnic clinic in Mexico City. Compassionate to a fault, she works hard to take care of those who come through her doors. She's not afraid to take risks, and her reckless behavior has gotten her hurt many times, but she keeps getting back up again because she believes she's needed. All she wants, in her heart, is to be like her childhood hero Mercy. She'd be a perfect fit for Overwatch... Which is probably why I tend to play her being kidnapped by Talon or Null Sector and forced to work for them instead, haha

Full backstory, written first person POV, under the cut:

Truth is, I try not to think about it. It’s easier to keep a secret, if it’s not always on the tip of your tongue. Maybe I’m the only person who thinks it’s a secret - I mean, who didn’t lose loved ones during the Omnic Crisis? But if I keep it to myself - tell my patients that my parents died in a car accident, if I really have to - then, maybe they’ll be more inclined to trust me. It wasn’t their fault what happened. I don’t hate them. Nobody should hate them.

When I was eight, I got in trouble at the orphanage for it, but by the time I was thirteen, I’d gotten good at it. How could I not? Didn’t matter how the nuns punished me, I wasn’t going to stand by and watch people hurt other people. And standing up for the Omnics never worked, so… I did other things. Misdirection, hiding the victims wherever I could, even the occasional dirty trick. But it wasn’t enough. I don’t see how no one understands - the Omnics are people. I feel more in tune with them than any human. When I was a child, I saw it so clearly. I was looked at the same way they were.

Nobody wanted me either.

I broke the law a lot, to get what I needed. They don’t just leave Omnic blueprints lying around online. At first I felt guilty, and scared. I wondered what would happen to the people around me if I got caught. Seems a bit silly now, doesn’t it? But I wanted to do more. I wanted to help. So I moved away when I was 16, set up a home in a rundown building, and put it back together. I fixed things for humans - still do! - and I bartered, and I negotiated, and I begged for what I needed. I stole. I survived. And nobody seemed to notice, when the Omnics slipped in through the door in the back, or when they came back out. Well, maybe one of my neighbors did, but she never said anything.

And the word got out. That I was kind. That I was safe. That I was good. That I was the best damn mechanic in Mexico City. That’s what I tell my patients, whenever I see them. I haven’t lost any of them, not a single one. Call that a miracle.

It was never just one powerful, traumatic moment. It was a thousand little cuts that led me here. And don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate humans. I can’t imagine hating such a vast, amazing quantity of life. There’s nothing wrong with being human. There’s nothing wrong with being Omnic.

Even now I just don’t understand why my remaining family never took me home. I had two older sisters, three uncles, an aunt, all of them I found after I grew up. I reached out to my siblings… never heard from them. I reached out to one of my uncles. He blocked me. I’m starting to think there’s a reason I’ve been thrown out of the family, and it’s not because of my clinic. What were my parents doing before the Crisis? I have no idea. All their records were destroyed, just like so many others…

I tell myself it’s okay to be alone, that I don’t need them. I wish I could lie to myself as easily as I do everyone else.

#overwatch #overwatch oc #overwatch original character #this is low-key terrifying to do i hope i don't regret this 😅

11 notes · View notes

canyouhearthelight · 8 days

Text

Nihilous Rex 20: Demands

Lash is trying to moderate her reaction to her parents being injured.

This is a woman who is deeply attached to her parents.... so yeah, @baelpenrose did have to rein me in a bit.

Life ain't always beautiful

You think you're on your way

And it's just a dead end road at the end of the day

But the struggles makes you stronger

And the changes make you wise

And happiness has its own way of takin' its sweet time

Gary Allan, “Life Ain’t Always Beautiful”

Lash

Mama was rasping, and the doctors weren’t happy about her oxygen levels, but they took her off the ventilator and gave her a mask instead. Baby steps that may as well have been tremendous milestones when my only hope was that she survived this. I squeezed her right hand - when had it become so fragile? - while Mori rubbed the left. Weaponized love to keep her from taking the hateful mask off.

“Baba,” she managed to get out, just loud enough for us to understand.

“They are doing circulation tests on this leg,” Mori explained, avoiding the reason behind the tests in an attempt to save Mama from worrying.

Regardless, Mama’s eyes went wide, wild. Her head thrashed side to side between us. “The boy.”

Mori’s eyes flicked to me, and I nodded firmly. “Nils is fine, Mama. He was wearing protection for his motorbike. Scrapes and a couple burns at worst.” I looked back to Mori and explained, “Nils. You met him earlier. He was caught in the same blast as Baba. But his clothing protected him.”

My sister nodded vigorously in understanding. “Yes. He is fine, Mama. Walking, talking. He made sure that everyone’s medical costs are covered.”

I could see Mama trying to force out more words, and just bit the proverbial bullet. “The baby is fine, as is his mother. Only three people didn’t make it, and we have already spoken to Auntie Yildiz… Uncle Ahmet did not make it.” I refused to tell her about Imran. I still could not believe he was gone, even with his wife Fatima haunting the hospital with the face of someone who was holding themself together by sheer force of will. But Ahmet’s widow would be by soon to see Mama, and I didn’t want her to be shocked.

My phone abruptly buzzed and I glanced at it. Nils was texting. “They have news about your dad’s leg.”

“Mama, Mori, I need to step out. I’ll be right back.” I kissed the hand I was holding and nodded at my sister before slipping out of the room. I almost ran smack into my shadow, who was clearly waiting for me to step out.

Never a good sign.

“They wouldn’t tell me what it was, because I’m not ‘next of kin’ and they’re gonna be sticklers about policy, especially since they can’t be happy with us. I can take you to the people who can tell you, but…Lash, I’d…prepare for some bad news, about whether he keeps it. I know the doc working on him and he looked pretty grim.” Nils’ voice was tense. “I’m sorry, Lash.”

I waved him away absently. “Doctors don’t want to share scary or bad news. They will violate HIPPA for good news. As soon as you said they wouldn’t tell you, I knew the leg was toast. Let’s go find out how far up.” I marched with purpose towards Baba’s room, uncaring of how angry I looked.

Nils trailed behind me, looking apprehensive. A doctor and a nurse were talking to Baba, who seemed to be somewhat more lucid. Nils winced when he heard the conversation. “They’re going over informed consent for the amputation, now that saving the leg failed.”

I gathered myself and spoke as clearly and loudly as I dared. “I am Elashki Botelho, his youngest daughter. I know you do not need my permission for this surgery, but his wife and my mother is down the hall and I need to be prepared to tell her what is going on. Please tell me.”

The doctors glanced at Baba and, once he nodded, they explained. His leg needed to be amputated right above the knee, minimum, due to prolonged lack of oxygen. All the tissue in his calf and foot were either dead or dying. I blinked back tears, despite the feeling that I was trying to force whole bees into my eyes. “Thank you.” I turned to Baba. “This will save your life. We want you more than we want any money or pride. Please consent.” With that, I spun on my heel and left the room as fast I could while retaining any shred of dignity.

I whipped out my phone and started stabbing at it frantically. Nils made a gesture to take it from me, and I growled with a feral tone I hadn’t realized I possessed. “I am telling Mori that she needs to pee and to meet me here. Giving my mother a panic attack while she is barely off a ventilator is idiotic. No woman ever questions the need to urinate. Reach for my phone again, and I will bite you.”

Nils blinked. “Ah.” He stood silently for a moment. “I’ll wait here, and…Yeah. Go talk to your sister.”

Mori arrived a few minutes later, and I explained that Baba would need his leg amputated. As I expected, she immediately sat in a nearby chair and started crying. Once she caught her breath, I gripped her shoulder hard enough to grab her attention. “Mori. If they don’t do this, he’ll die. And we both know Mama may not survive that.”

Immediately, she sat bolt upright and shook her head. “Oh, hell no. Take it at the hip, I don’t care so long as that means he makes it.”

If nothing else, my family was practical. “They are going for above the knee with a prosthetic. We’ll see after that.”

“But does his insurance cover - “

I almost started to tell her that his insurance covered whatever the fuck I said it covered, but Nils beat me to it.

“Watch evening news reruns. We got hospital admins to agree that every victim of this horrible tragedy will ‘of course’ be helped free of charge.” His voice took on a cold note. “By telling the news that’s what was happening and daring the hospital to disagree with the free PR. He’s covered.”

I rushed to clarify. “That doesn’t mean he is completely secure. But, he is their best radiology tech, the only one who can keep peds patients from squirming. That has to hold some value. We just have to support him adapting to any prosthetics.”

Mori groaned, loudly. “Baba hates assistance. He’s doomed.”

I chutted at her and corrected. “Baba hates not being independent. We have to maintain that prosthetics are independence, not help. I need you on my side on this, more than anything.”

Nils made a point that was simultaneously deeply morbid and exactly what I needed to get my sister’s help. “Lack of independence - or more accurately, men being stubborn about it and just giving up on surviving if it requires accepting help - kills more men recovering from wounds than basically anything else. There’s a reason so many older men buy it within a month or two of going incontinent. Women tend to be a lot less teeth-shatteringly obnoxious about the whole thing, and tend to outlive their husbands by a large margin. Helping him maintain independence matters.”

I hugged Mori and stood. “I am going in there and asking him if he wants osteointegration or sockets. No option for not amputating. If he argues, I will scream this hospital down until they let Mama scream at him directly. She’s dedicated over thirty years of her life to keeping Baba alive, she has earned the privilege.”

Nils broke in with a bit of characteristic irritation. “We are absolutely not getting your mother involved, right to or no. Woman just got off a ventilator and they JUST got her lungs and airways working properly again. She’s not doing any screaming for a while.”

I whipped around and stared him dead in his soul - or what substituted for one. “You are more than welcome to try to stop her. We will stand back and laugh as you fail.”

Mori nodded and blessed his attempt at stopping her. “Mama does what she knows is the will of her god. If she dies scolding Baba, he will never live down the shame.”

Nils gave me a long, slow look. “I can help with this. I grew up catholic, I know everything about guilt trips. Let’s go see if we can’t convince him to NOT waste all the effort we already put into saving him and his wife. Let’s start with that BEFORE we bring in the big guns of your mom coming in to literally scream herself to death.”

I glanced at Mori and swatted my hand in an ‘I’ll explain later’ sort of way. Then we went into the room.

“Baba. Are you going to have the sockets or the osteointegration for the prosthetic?” I asked matter-of-factly.

“They cannot take my leg,” he grumbled. “They will save it.”

I grabbed the leg in question as tightly as I could, devastated when he didn’t even flinch. “Baba. They cannot save it. You should hurt, but you don’t even notice. Let them take the leg, and discuss the best prosthetic for you.”

Baba threw the closest thing to him - an empty cup- as hard as he could across the room, only to yield a dull thud and some clattering.

“Children throw things,” Mori chided. “You are grown and a man. You are better than this.”

“Grown men have two legs!” he shouted, waving to dismiss us.

I move my grip up to pinch his hip painfully. “Grown men do not need help, yes. But if you do not agree to this, you are choosing to leave Mama - “

“I WOULD NEVER LEAVE HER!” he roared.

I nodded. “Then you will have this surgery. So you do not leave Mama. I am glad we agree.” He went to open his mouth again, so I started speaking. “I have looked in many support groups, and they agree that a socket is the best way to start. Can you imagine? Talking to children in short legs, looking at them eye to eye? They will be thrilled.”

“I am only losing one leg,” he argued.

“And some of them are losing one, maybe two,” Mori added. “Won’t they feel better to see you with only one foot?”

I watched his heart break - for my mother, for his patients. This man, not just my father, but the reassurance of so many children in the last twenty years. “I cannot leave your mother to fight alone, and I cannot leave these children thinking this is the end of the world. Cara - she has leukemia. If I cannot survive losing a leg, how do I expect her to?”

As I sat back, I let a huge breath leave my body. “Thank fuck - sorry - but my next option was bringing in Mama.”

He sat bolt upright. “Your mother is in a respirator, don’t you DARE risk her life to yell at me!”

Nils waved a hand. “That’s what I said. They told me that I couldn’t stop her, so I could be an intermediate step. With all the knowledge of guilt that a catholic upbringing provides.”

“Mama is willing to die to yell at you if it’s the last thing you’ll ever hear,” Mori stated flatly. “Both or neither, you don’t get the luxury of an afterlife without her.”

We all started cackling as Baba dove for the call button. “SOCKETS!” he screamed. “SOCKETS OR MY WIFE WILL KILL US BOTH!”

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #science fiction #original science fiction #afterverse #the miys #arcadian inquisition #original fiction #my writing

5 notes · View notes

bananafire11 · 4 months

Text

vent

please dont read if youre not in the right space rn. heavy on anger and feels. just wanna type it out somewhere and this blog is my safe space so

i am so fucking angry right now. like the kind of anger thats pent up and bubbles beneath the skin and is ready to implode out at any fucking second and i hate it so much. i dont feel like i have very good reasons for feeling this way either. or maybe im downplaying those reasons, i dunno

i dont want to bother any of my friends with this shit. i feel guilty because ik they have their OWN struggles. ik feeling this way is silly because i help them through so much, and am so glad to do so. but theres always this doubt.

anyway. on discord, i put my status on DNIUC sometimes because i just need space and ik that most of my close friends will see this and know to be careful that day. or if they text and im slow to respond, ik they understand. but theres these friends who KEEP spamming. and its driving me FUCKING MAD. one, who is very close and gosh i love them so much, sends me so much every day. youd think after the first few times i didnt respond, he'd get the fucking jist and think "ill stop there" but instead he KEEPS ON. ITS OVERWHELMING. and the subject of these texts isnt bad or anything, but its always about him and his bf. i dont have the energy to talk about them 24/7. im beyond happy for him, that hes happy. but FUCK. im asexual and never have been in a relationship, and sometimes it feels like a fuckyou to me?? ik he doesnt mean it that way at all!! but!!! idk, sometimes its like theres a longing for a bf of my own. but i dont want to settle. ill wait for the right boy. right now, hes not here. and im not actively looking for a relationship, i have so much shit going on. so, i usually ignore this guys dms as long as i can. i feel guilty, but at the same time fucking furious that i even have to do it in the first place, if that makes sense. i love him dearly, but it's forced me to just put my status on 'invisible' so it looks like im offline. better to avoid people, ig.

theres another guy, who isnt as close, but ive made great friends with thus far in the time ive met him over a game i enjoy. but again, doesnt know when to stop. why are you texting me when it says dniuc!!! YOU ARENT CLOSE. ive explained 'close' is friends ive known for a year or so, which isnt exactly true actually... but i needed to tell him something that wouldnt hurt his feelings. after i clarified for the second time, he let up. but still. people are fucking annoying and its so FRUSTRATING that i love them because that makes shit so complicated.

then, family. ive been snowed in with my mom and sister for over a fucking week and I NEED OUT. i never thought id say this but I WANT TO BE AT SCHOOL. AWAY FROM HOME. my neighbors, who are more so aunt and uncle to me and my sister, let me go over and stay hours with them when i need it. but i dont feel like trecking thru the fking snow to get there. last night i stayed over and watched a favorite movie of mine with them and it was great, but having the energy to do that feels exhausting tonight.

im trying to distract myself with art, but its not working like it normally does. and its goddamn hard. tried videogames, youtube, but nothing is bringing me true relief. but i dont want to sleep either. ugh.

vent art, anger.

#banana brain blurbs #vent post

12 notes · View notes

peonierose · 1 year

Text

Wip Wednesday

Thank you so much for the tag @txemrn 💚 I’ve got a couple of wip I’ve been working on. Though I’ve been struggling with writers block so I am not sure when these stories will be out.

Once (4/5)

Book: Open Heart & The Nanny Affair Crossover

Characters involved: Sam Dalton, Ethan Ramsey and Robin Flores

“The hell, Rob?“ I glare at him. My voice is dangerously low. But he either ignores that or doesn’t care. I’d say it’s a bit of both.

“What is wrong with you? Addi died and all you seem to care about is getting shit faced?“ He almost shouts at me. His fists clenched at his sides, anger rolling off of him in waves.

“Do I look drunk to you? No? Then kindly fuck off.“

I’m holding out my hand for him to pass me my glass.

He just scoffs.

“You know what? No. I’m not just going to leave you here. So that you can wallow in misery,“ he pauses for a second, before continuing.

I raise my eyebrows at him. Not really caring why he’s here. I love him, but right now? I want to get drunk. Not having a heart-to-heart.

Robin continues unperturbed.

“As for why I’m here. Mom called me. Since you don’t know what a phone is these days and how it works. She asked me to check in on you. You literally ghosted everyone. Our parents are worried. So are Mickey and Mason. Remember? Your kids? Whose mom died?“ He punches the bridge of his nose and breathes out a long sigh.

Wildflower

Pairing: Keiki Lahela x Koa Haulani (OC)

Where the hell did this guy come from? I haven’t seen him around. I have to look up, since he’s at least 6‘2 feet tall.

I swear he looks like a real version of Ken. Blond hair, bright sea green eyes, chiselled jaw.

He wears ripped jeans and a white shirt.

While I still stand there like an idiot. Mouth wide open and staring at him, like I’ve never seen a guy before, I try to mentally slap myself and to get out of my funk.

”Hi.“ He says.

His eyes look like the colorful green Severum fish. Severum fish are freshwater fish. We’ve had a whole chapter on fish close to the end of semester, so that’s why it’s so fresh in my mind.

The rich green hue reminds me of this guys eyes.

”Hey.“ I wave.

Can you say first awkward conversation?

”Did you try to escape the crowd too?“

I grin.

”That obvious?“ I play with a strand of my hair. A nervous habit of mine. I’m usually not like one of those giggly girls, but for some reason he brings that out in me.

May the Force be with you

Characters involved: Bryce Lahela, Skyler Auclair, Kehlani Mae Auclair-Lahela & Alaia Rose Auclair-Lahela

(This is set in the future after Bryce’s & Luna’s twins are born 🥰)

Kehlani pulls at my shirt and I look down.

”Daddy?“ She asks.

I nod for her to continue.

”Uncle Sky said a bad word.“

They both look at Sky.

”How do you know it’s a bad word?“ He asks with curiosity swinging in his voice.

I sigh exasperated.

”What? I want to know how they know I used a bad word. So enlighten me ladies?“

Kehlani raises her eyebrows.

”We can spell.“ Kehlani says and Alaia nods her head.

”Duh.“ Alaia adds.

Sky and I laugh because they’re so adorable and honest in how they answer questions.

”Fair enough. To answer your question, because I am an adult. I can say that,“ Sky shrugs good-naturedly.

Kehlani puts her head to the side thoughtfully.

”So when I’m as tall as you I can say that too?“

Sky grins at the girls and shrugs.

”Sure.“

Kehlani puts her little arms up in victory.

”Yes.“

Alaia grins at her twin sister.

I groan.

”No! No bad words.“

I am so curious about some of your wip (please don’t feel pressured 🥰)

@socalwriterbee @txemrn @tessa-liam @cariantha @noesapphic @aallotarenunelma @inlocusmads @infactnoimmasitinthemiddle @sfb123 @angelasscribbles @storyofmychoices @trappedinfanfiction @karahalloway @ofmischiefandmedicine @alj4890 @socalwriterbee @harleybeaumont @mysticalgalaxysstuff @khoicesbyk @mydemonsdrivealimo

#wip Wednesday #open heart #the nanny affair

20 notes · View notes

sea-owl · 1 year

Note

Oh my gosh how did I not see it before. Portia is the perfect candidate to have someone isekai as! Might have to steal this idea later though lol. As for Michael and Simon I have a thought on that. With Portia making a name for herself as a business woman, no doubt Agatha Danbury would take notice and invite the baroness for tea with Mary Sharma where Kate and Simon meet and become quick friends which leads to Simon meeting the others. At some point this also leads to little Gareth joining the group.Philip meets Michael when he’s 12 at Eton and brings him home one summer and ever since he’s been apart of the family. Plus it lead to Portia gaining a business partner in Michaels mother and aunt. Now villain stories.

Simon: a man abused by his father leads him to grow cold and unfeeling despite being a rake. Not the biggest villain in the series, but Anthony seduces his mistress Sienna away from him, he decides to get revenge on him by seducing Daphne but refuses to marry her after they are caught kissing in the garden leading to Anthony killing him in a duel (though it was often debated in forums that Simon purposefully lost and was suicidal).

Michael: After his fathers death, his mother dealt with her grief by staying at his cousins house and doting on her nephew while frequently comparing her son to the future earl and having him fall short. As a result, Michael doesn’t tell his mother when one of maids starts touching him inappropriately when he’s 13 and later forces herself on the younger boy. All this leads to Michael being obsessed with his cousin John, viewing him as the perfect person, while trying to find comfort in the arms of many, many women. When he meets Francesca Bridgerton he falls in love at first but seeing her married to John causes him to go mad but rather than hurt either John or Francesca, he commits suicide instead.

Gareth: Another boy who was abused by their father and thus turned to a life of debauchery. Felicity hires him to seduce and ruin Hyacinth but along the way he falls in love with her and decides to kidnap her to Gretna Green only to be killed by her love later on. After befriending Agatha (well more like business frenemies) she casually mentions how one of her acquaintances heard about Gareth’s father drunkenly bragging about how he treats his young son. Cue Lady Danbury removing Gareth from that house and Simon taking him under his wing.

Lucy: Abused by her uncle and his friend, engaged to her gay friend who turns a blind eye towards how her uncle and his father touch his betrothed, her only light seems to be her best friend Hermione. Hermione doesn’t care that Lucy isn’t a pure maiden and takes her under her wing. Actually Hermione is the real villainess, with Lucy as her minion. Hermione, jealous of how Gregory Bridgerton has moved on from her, has Lucy try to seduce Gregory away from his lady love. But seeing his kindness towards her, Lucy warns the girl Gregory loves of Hermione’s plan and takes her place, resulting in her dying in a carriage accident. Of course, Hermione then lies to Lucy’s brother that Gregory Bridgerton planned his sisters death and the two scheme their revenge. Yeah Portia couldn’t care about Hermione much, but she will be damned if she doesn’t save Lucy! It’s actually quite easy, all Portia had to do was prevent the accident set up by Lucy’s uncle to kill her parents and her uncle is tossed in jail while Lucy grows up in a loving home and Lucy instead befriends Felicity and Gareth.

Will this work for how it ties in?

I should be fair to the others and give them an in with Portia's wayward home for villains. Original post here.

The first post will have Kate, Sophie, Phillip, and Penelope’s book villain backstories.

(Also I love seeing people create their own versions of my aus or adding on their own head canons. If anyone feels inspired please feel free to write or draw or whatever medium you want to use. Then tag me! I want to see it!)

Ok so here are my interpretations for their backstories/How they were as villains in book order:

Simon: Simon Basset is the first villain in the series. Being deemed useless since his birth his father basically had him locked away and isolated. This took a massive toll on his psyche and made him paranoid. It did not bode well when Simon’s father realized he could torture him more by throwing him in school where he would never be alone. Simon traded one prison to another, only this had horrible neighbors. The worst of these neighbors was Anthony Bridgerton. Anthony and Simon never got along, while Anthony acted as a teen boy would Simon was jumpy and was constantly stuck in survival mode. The final straw for Simon was a prank gone wrong and had broken the one thing Simon was able to smuggle from his mom. Fine, if Anthony did not care for other’s precious things, then Simon would destroy what was precious to Anthony. One ruined sister could ruin them all. Doesn’t Daphne debut in a year or two?

...

Michael: Michael Stirling is the villain in the 6th book in the series. Much like Kate Michael turned cold after being constantly found lesser compared to his cousin John, but unlike Kate he wanted that warmth back. Michael first thought that he had to be perfect like his cousin. When that did not work, Michael had tried to get it back through losing himself to debauchery. But then he met Francesca Bridgerton. Francesca, John’s fiancé, brought back the warmth that Michael craved so dearly, but she was engaged to John. John didn’t need this warmth like Michael did though, John had others that gave him warmth like Michael’s own mother. Michael needed that warmth, Michael needed Francesca. The night before John and Francesca were to wed Michael objected and stole the bride

...

Gareth: Gareth St. Clair is the co-villain of the 7th book in the series. The second, illegitimate, son of Baron St. Clair, his adopted father had seen it fit to neglect him to the point where he was living in poverty and starving. Despite Baron St. Clair’s attempt to kill him Gareth somehow miraculously survived. Desperately wanting the life of his much-loved older half-brother, Gareth had made a deal with devil. Felicity Featherington was back and wanted revenge for the execution for the only family member she loved and loved her. She thought a sister for a sister was fair. She seduced Gareth with the promise of the missing Whistledown money and the title if he helped her kill Hyacinth Bridgerton.

...

Lucy: The final villain in the series is Lucy Abernathy in the 8th book. A fan of the Featheringtons’ work she modeled her killings after by exposing her victims scandals and carving them into their bodies. If they just so happen to be suitors Hermione rejected and if people looking for a connection led to her, well no skin off Lucy’s back. Hermione shouldn’t have used her just to fuck with Lucy’s scum brother. Lucy supposed she hasn’t always been this way, but after the death of her parents she had become numb. It didn’t help that her uncle kept selling her to the highest bidder. The challenge of the hunt was the only thing to give Lucy a thrill, and she just set her sights on her biggest challenge yet, Gregory Bridgerton.

Now let me see how we can add the others in:

Simon: Simon was back in London for five minutes before his beloved godmother pushed him into her carriage and set out for the countryside.

“Aunt Agatha where are we going?” Simon asked her.

“There have been some rumors whispering about and I want to see if they are true,” Lady Danbury said, almost cryptically.

Simon knew he wasn’t getting anything more out of her so he just settled in and waited to see where they ended up.

Simon didn’t know what he was expecting when they pulled up to a country estate but what greeted him and Lady Danbury was nothing he could have imagined. The only way he could really describe it was chaos.

There were two girls practicing shooting with shotguns, they looked to be the oldest and youngest of them.

Three girls, two red heads, and a blonde, all about the same age, sat in a circle with different art supplies and they seemed to be drawing a boy who sat in the middle of the circle wearing nothing but a kilt.

The last group seemed to be the calmest as they were only reading until Simon listened in and heard that they were acting out different death scenarios for some sort of story they were creating as they went along. The book they had was on different poisonous plants.

Sitting under a tent with a pitcher of lemonade between were two women who Simon was guessing were the mothers to at least some of this brood.

“Lady Featherington,” Lady Danbury called.

The red head of the two women looked up, surprise on her face. “Lady Danbury, this is a surprise.”

Of course, his aunt didn’t even tell the host they were coming. She did love her dramatics.

“Simon, go introduce yourself to the other children. You need more friends,” Lady Danbury said with a wave.

Simon sighed, but then tensed up. He feels like he’s being sized up. Turning around he could see all the groups stopped what they were doing and were openly staring at him.

The one wearing a kilt came up to him and began to lead him to the others. “So we hear you need more friends.”

...

Michael: 13 year old Phillip had done half a year at Eton before deciding absolutely the fuck not. He would get a better education at home, and it was cleaner, and in the countryside. He takes his crazy ass best friend and his pseudo sisters before dealing with these animals again. The only saving grace about this place was his new friend the 16 year old Michael, and Phillip was about to pull a Penelope and drag Michael home with him. Phillip wrote to Portia that he was coming home and bringing a guest.

During the next break Michael had indeed gone home with Phillip, but that was more to do with the fact if he went back to Scotland he would have to listen to his mother and aunt dote on John again. Michael loves his cousin, honestly, but dear god could it get annoying. Besides Phillip’s home sounded interesting, he said he was a ward, and that he was the only boy in the house.

So Michael went to visit, and then never left. Phillip was right, there was a better education to be had here, and he quite enjoyed the shenanigans he got into with Phillip and the girls. Portia did force him to write home and visit once in in a while, but now that he wasn’t constantly around his family all the time Michael found his relationships with his family improved greatly.

...

Gareth: Upon the return to London Felicity is feeling lonely. Which is understandable, Kate, Sophie, and Prudence were all just launched into society, Philippa is getting ready to for her own debut next year, Phillip is getting ready to go to University, and Penelope and Edwina are looking at possibly starting to make business transactions under their mothers' guidance. It also didn't help that Felicity was the youngest at the age of 7 while the next two closest in age to her were 14.

One day Felicity comes across a ten year old boy in the park trying to read. Felicity was confused, she was only 7 but she could read better than him. For over an hour she sat with him and helped him get through a few chapters. When Felicity asked why he was struggling so much the boy told her that his father never taught him nor let anyone else teach him. Felicity gasped, education was important in the Featherington household, and then immediately took him to Portia.

"Mama this boy-" Felicity stopped herself and turned back to the boy. "What is your name?"

"Gareth St. Clair," the boy answered.

Felicity nodded and then turned back to Portia. "Mama this boy's father refuses to teach him how to read!"

Portia recognizes the name and immediately began scanning the boy over for any injuries. He was too skinny, she could see his ribs through his clothes, and his skin looked pale. The boy honestly looked like a stray wind could blow him over. No wonder Felicity dragged him to her so easily.

The next time Portia saw Lady Danbury she mentioned that her daughter had met Gareth, but the boy didn't seem to be in good health. That sent Lady Danbury after St. Clair where she immediately removed Gareth from the household and into her's. She and Simon began to try to play catch up for all the things Gareth was neglected for his health and education. Gareth went over to the Featherington household a few times a week to get some reading lessons from his new friend Felicity.

...

Lucy: Like Gareth Felicity had discovered Lucy. Portia could tell Felicity was getting bored at home now that Gareth was at Eton, so she signed her up for a watercolor class. There she had met Lucy and Hermione. Over the course of three months the girls had grown close. Close enough that Lucy felt comfortable enough to ask an important question.

“Felicity, do you know how old your sisters were when they first got their monthlies?” Lucy asked in a hushed whisper.

Felicity thought about it. The only one she could really remember when they got their first first monthly was Penelope and she had been about 13? Yeah, that sounds about right. “About thirteen.”

Lucy looked surprised, and disappointed. “Oh.”

Felicity’s new sibling senses kicked in. “Why do you ask?”

Hermione answered, “Lucy’s uncle said when she had her first monthly she would be ready for Haselby.”

“Hermione!” Lucy exclaimed.

Hermione’s answer didn’t sound right to Felicity, who had gone home and repeated it to Portia. Portia marched down to the Abernathy household and left with a new ward that same day. No one’s quite sure how she did it. They did know however that Richard could visit his sister, but should their uncle step a single foot on their property Portia will let Felicity use him as target practice for her shotgun.

...

For those that need a quick flow chart here’s the official order everyone joined the family and their ages. If they weren’t there in the first part when they probably should have been after this we’re just gonna ignore it and pretend they were:

Phillip became a ward when Penelope dragged him home when she was 8 and he was 10.

Michael comes to visit and just never leaves when he is 16, Phillip is 13, and Penelope is 11.

Sophie is taken in as a ward at 16. Penelope is 12, Phillip is 14, and Michael is 17.

Kate is 19 when they meet the Featherington. Penelope is 13, Phillip is 15, Michael is 18, and Sophie is 17.

Simon meets everyone about six months after Kate was introduced. He is 25 and everyone else is roughly the same age.

The year everyone returns to London Simon is 26, Kate is 20, Michael is 19 Sophie is 18, Phillip is 16, and Penelope is 14. Michael went traveling to India based on Kate’s stories, and Simon is busy with running Clyvedon. They were there for the first ball though.

Gareth also gets introduced the first year back in London. He is ten when Felicity finds him and she is 7.

Finally Lucy is 10 when Felicity, also 10 befriends her. Simon is 29, Kate is 23, Michael is 22, Sophie is 21, Phillip is 19, Penelope is 17, and Gareth is 13.

The year the Bridgerton boys ask the girls to dance Simon is 31, Kate is 25, Michael is 24, Sophie is 23, Phillip is 21, Penelope is 19, Gareth is 15, and Lucy is 13.

#if you haven't guess yet kate sophie and lucy get aged up a little bit and gareth gets aged down #this is just to make it a little bit easier for me to try to move them around the plot if i age pair them with a bridgerton #also portia being reborn in bridgerton even before her memories come back does have some dominion affect #villianess isekai au #bridgerton spouses #villian spouses #simon basset #michael stirling #gareth st clair #lucy abernathy #i think i went a little bit overboard again

40 notes · View notes