#and how there's genuine HORROR on her face when he says 'i heard about all that'

[yuellii]

catch me if you can, salvatore

𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 there are quite obvious red flags in your relationship, and they’re all from him

feat. neuvillette, zhongli, pierro ( separately )

note. reader’s gender unspecified, the old men of genshin ( i’m so sorry ), established toxic marriages given the prompt, possible fontaine lore inconsistencies

> [part one] . part two

NEUVILLETTE. always too serious

Your bedroom was a space sadly quieter than even the outdoors. For at least on your doorstep, the sounds of crickets were heard, the mechanical noises of distant construction were there—but here, there was not even a sound.

Perhaps you were too sensitive. But you also thought a spouse had every right to feel love and respect from their husband, and you felt none of that. The suffocation of this Fontaine air only brought up an even more suffocating man, and you fear you may lose your breath before even coming to your senses.

“You’re up late.” He stood right behind you at the opening of the balcony. Of course, you didn’t hear him coming from inside that silent fortress of a household. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

His words—you wish he didn’t say them, for they’ll unwillingly fill your thoughts with the idea that he cares. But sometimes ( or perhaps most ), you were too foolish to counteract that.

“Couldn’t sleep,” you simply said, continuing to stare out into the blue aura of the nation. A technicolor world made of music and machine—but unfortunately, your husband was only like a machine. “Was so caught up awake, completely immersed by your current court performance,” you yawned sarcastically.

He grumbled, “It’s a court hearing, not a silly performance.” Then, he joined you at the bar of the balcony, perhaps far too distanced from you for your liking. He was never next to you; always paces away just light tonight. “And I’ve been telling you, I can sign you up as a spectator or part of the jury.”

You almost snarled after he failed to pick up your sarcasm. “I’d rather die before you did that,” you scoffed. “Me? Sitting in that stuffy courthouse whilst you talk for hours? If it were my way, Her Grace would’ve had her way a long time ago. Perhaps you can learn from her, sometime. It can loosen you up for once.” He turned to glare at you.

“Oh, spare me the levity.” From the way he suddenly straightened his back, presenting himself a towering height over you, you knew you were about to be scolded. “If you cannot take the Court of Fontaine for what it is instead of a laughing stock, than perhaps you should be the next one on a treason hearing for exile.”

Your stomach dropped. As inconceivable as it sounded, you wouldn’t put it past him with how booming his tone was. And… coming from your own husband… “I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful, good Monsieur.” To very man that wore your wedding band. “But spare me one truth…”

“Right now, are you my husband, or are you the Chief Justice?”

You immediately regretted the question once his eyes looked ready to kill.

⎯ ✧ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

ZHONGLI. overprotective

Sunrise, Midday, Sunset, Midnight.

You could only see the light from the cold glass of your window, or the freshest air from your porch. Sometimes the fresh sea breeze of the harbor, but that was more of a rarity.

You loved Liyue Harbor; so did your husband. Living in Jueyun Karst was safe, sure, but it was boring. And maybe, there was a time that you loved the harbor so much during Lantern Rite—a time where lanterns graced the sky and fireworks were heard all the way from your small home in Minlin. So much, in fact, you almost felt like Rapunzel in those fairytale books when she leaped out of the comforts of her tower to chase the lights.

And even moreso like Rapunzel when Zhongli saw you at the harbor with a look of horror on his face, not caring of the genuine smile you carried before dragging you away by the wrist. Perhaps it was then that you felt more like his scolded child than his ‘beloved’ spouse.

Could he not see the light in your eyes as you pranced around the harbor? Could he not understand how boring it was to be cooped up in the mountains for your ‘safety’? It sucked, it really did. And it sucked even more once you tasted freedom at the harbor, once you met people that would never shackle down your life to never experience the many joys that Liyue had to offer.

“Am I your partner, or your controlled child?!” you seethed once he dragged you back inside the house.

“I am simply bringing you back after you failed to listen to me,” Zhongli calmly stated. Calm, he was also so calm, emotions be damned. “I told you not to go to the harbor, especially on your own. Have I told you what happened before through the tale of Osial?”

You coughed out in exasperation. “You’re acting like this during a festival?” There was a clear betrayal in your voice—it was truly something he had been hiding from you all this time. “You’re just going to let me be locked up in here, because you think a festival is unsafe?”

“It’s for your protection.”

“‘Protection’, give me a break, Zhongli.” You were near desperate to go back, like once you got an inch of freedom, you suddenly needed it all—but perhaps he only saw you like a partner who needs to be more controlled. “I married you for all your adventurous tales,” you reasoned. “You sounded much more excitingly interesting than you actually are, I fear.”

He continued to stare at you, face hardening into something of a glare like a parent disciplining a child. You hated it. You hated this, you hated him. And as he walked back out with the door locked by some force, you could only wonder how you married a man so cruel.

⎯ ✧ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

PIERRO. a master manipulator

“You know I love you.”

The large pads of his fingers massaged coarsely through your hair at the very top of your head, brushing the your scalp almost delicately like a doll.

“Right?”

It felt almost like Hell itself to feel flutters in your stomach from the way the deep mess of his voice resounded in your ears. It was akin to signing a contract with the devil, like this feeling of infatuation was a demon’s sickly trick. “I do.”

He hummed in contentment. Not like you pleased him with your answer, but like you answered him correctly, as if this some sort of test where there was only one right answer.

He had you seated down on his lap, and it still made you feel like a doll. But there was an uncertainty in it—one that made you question if you should be feeling used and disgusted, or in love with being pampered by your husband like this.

You married a leading man of the most dangerous elites. Perhaps the fluttering feelings pulling at your heart were more of a warning sign than something good, but you couldn’t help it when he made you feel so special. Special words, special treatment—so painfully addicting and so obvious to win your favor for your hand in marriage.

“When the time comes,” he whispered once more, as if speaking the holy words only pure lovers could dare to hear, “would you die for me?”

You should’ve know this was coming, truly. It should’ve been clear the moment he courted you, and painfully obvious once he wanted to wed you. A puppet he could control at his will, someone who looked so innocent compared to the dangerous looks of the Fatui—a person easily stricken by love and compliments, easily you.

But he captured your heart in a way that was devouring, like your love was swallowed into a black hold the moment you showed any weakness. He trapped you in a web you could not escape once pulled in, and you feared you were truly doomed from the start. But that was how the leader of the Harbingers worked; and that was how you gave up your life.

“Yes, I would.”

#zhongli x reader #neuvillette x reader #pierro x reader #harbingers x reader #genshin men x reader #genshin imagines #genshin x gender neutral reader #genshin x reader

[thepersonnamedsam]

Hey hun, how are you?❤️ i saw you had only one tim bradford imagine. Can you do one from Tim’s pov where the reader is a part of the crew and she gets hurt during an operation with them and Tim who secretly has feelings for her has to save and protect her? Thank youu. Much lovee 💖💖

thank you so much for your request!

pairing: Tim Bradford x fem!reader, The Rookie x fem!reader

summery: see request :)

pt. 2

word count: 1.6k

warnings: age gap - reader is a rookie, reader getting hurt, season 3 spoilers, reader getting shot, blood, some swear words

note: enjoy :)) i hope it's something like what you had in mind

masterlist / taglist

It was your last day as a rookie. Chen and West were just as excited as you were. Finally, those days of Tim-Testing, as Lucy likes to call it lovingly, were going to be over. It was sad having to part from Lucy, you two have been riding together with Tim since the start of your rookie days. It wasn’t sure if Tim or Lucy would stay your partner, it had still to be determined. 

As you all sat in the car, Tim spoke up about the elephant in the room; both of your future in the station. “I’m just going to say it, Chen, you don’t have what it takes to be an undercover agent. You don’t have the killer instinct. And you, y/n, I don’t know if you’d make a great detective”, his eyes stayed on the road as you and Lucy looked at each other. “And what do you mean by ‘the killer instinct’?”, Luca was curious, she really wanted to be an undercover agent, so she would take all the help and information she could get. 

“You don’t have what it takes, it’s that simple. You must make your targets your best friends and then, bham, stab them in their backs. You don’t have that.” 

“Okay, uhm, thank you for that. I, uh, really appreciate it. Since we’re on our confessing train, I just wanted to tell you something, before we probably part”, Lucy looked back at you from the passenger seat and winked at you. What exactly was her plan? 

Tim had a confused look on his face. He was thinking the exact same thing as you did; what the hell was Chen’s plan. 

“It’s a little weird with y/n in the car, but when will I ever have this opportunity again. Tim, I like you, and not just a bit, I really like you. And I don’t know what we should do about it, because I feel your connection to me as well.” 

Tim was shocked, Chen liked him? No, this couldn’t be, he didn’t want it to be. Because he had been secretly thinking about you and counting down the days you were officially without a TO. If Chen liked him, what would you think? Did you know and helped her confess her love to him? So many questions were going through his minds, but they immediately stopped, as he heard a loud and annoying laugh. 

Lucy Chen was laughing at him. She was laughing at his shocked face and his horror filled eyes. She was laughing at him how genuinely confused he looked and how his body tensed up immediately. 

“Chill, Bradford. I was just joking. See, I do have your killer instinct”, Lucy said tauntingly to him. All while you were snickering to yourself on the backseat. His eyes found yours through the rear mirror. “And what are you laughing about?”, Tim’s look changed from shock to a cute smile. He couldn’t stop himself, as he saw you giggling all by yourself. 

You instantly stopped laughing: “Nothing, I was just looking for potential crime.” Tim smiled; sure, you were. 

Time went by, calls were answered, and crime was stopped but nothing interesting really happened. It was your last day as a Rookie, you wanted to have one more day of supervised action, oh, how you wished you could have taken that statement back. Because as soon as that AMBER-Alert came in, chaos erupted. 

An infant was missing, the drug-addicted and known criminal father was suspected. But as you three arrived at his appartement, the baby was not there. What he did have was a gun. You didn’t see it, but Tim did. It was too late to warn you, so as you tried to calm him down, he took his gun and shot you right through the stomach.

You fell to the ground.

Pain shooting through your whole body.

Your eyes closed, feeling like you were dying. 

Tim saw the whole thing in slow-motion, he saw the bullet rip through your body. He saw your body hitting the ground. He saw as your eyes rolled back into your head and he saw the life leave your body. Fuck – he was scared. What if you died? He would never be able to tell you his feelings. 

As Tim stood there frozen, Lucy arrested the man. She read him his rights and stored him away in the car. As she came back, she expected Tim to be performing first aid, but he still stood there, stuck, and frozen to the ground. So, she rushed to you, put pressure on the wound, you didn’t react – not a good sign. 

“For god’s sake Tim, would you do something?! Call for backup!”, Lucy was screaming. Tim snapped out of it, seeing his love hurt on the ground, he had to do something. He called for backup, and he rushed to your side. Taking your hand into his, squeezing it and hoping you would feel it. 

Lucy saw him holding your hand, wondering why he would do such a thing, it was Tim after all. The ambulance soon arrived and transported you to the hospital, all whilst you still were unconscious. Tim rode with you to the hospital, refusing to leave you alone. 

And as you laid there in a hospital gown, eyes closed and a tube down your throat. The bullet hit your large intestine and cause internal bleeding. You were stable after surgery, but the doctors didn’t know how long you had to stay in a coma. That’s why Tim was sitting at your bedside day and night. He had taken some vacation days to stay there with you, in hopes you would wake up soon. 

“I know you probably won’t hear this or me or anything basically, but I just have to let it out. If you die and I have waited too long to tell you, I don’t know what I would do with myself.” His cheeks were stained with tears. He had not cried in a long time, so him crying over you, just showed how much he actually cared about you. 

“I like you, no, I love you. I have for a long time. And I have not had the guts to tell you, because I didn’t want the others to think you only graduated because you were dating your TO. I wanted to tell you this evening, but this motherfucker ruined my plan.” 

Silence grazed your room. The only thing you could hear was the machine monitoring your heartbeat. A steady rhythm was heard, peep, peep, peep. His head spun. He thought after he confessed his love, you might wake up, miraculously of course. But you didn’t. You were still lying there with no reaction to his words whatsoever. 

Days had gone by, and you still didn’t wake up. It was hard for Tim, you technically graduated from being a rookie. Chen, West and Nolan all came by that same evening to celebrate a little, Nolan of course celebrated you and his other two friends, him not graduating that day hurt him a little bit. Lucy also came by every other day too. She sat there with Tim, still wondering why he was sitting there every day and waiting for you to wake up. 

Tim had to leave you alone. His work called and he had to back to being a police officer. It hurt him, not knowing when you would wake up. So, when he got the call from the hospital, his siren was on, and he sped to you. Walking slowly and nervously to your room, he wondered if you heard what he said. If you knew that he loved, you. 

As he stood there, leaning in the doorway, and looking at you, you slowly opened your eyes. Looking at him, him lightly smiling at you, you were thinking back to the day it all happened. You always liked him but were always too scared to tell him. Not knowing he felt the same way, you laid there awkwardly and waited on him to say something. 

“I’m glad you woke up”, he said. He smiled, his concern for you leaving his body. Walking towards you and sitting down you your bedside, he looked at you. He looked at you with so much love in his eyes, you couldn’t believe it. Some snippets from the coma came to your mind. “I like you, no, I love you.” No, this can’t be true, Tim would never be this sentimental. 

He took your hand in his, squeezing it hard. “Is it true you like me?”, a grin prominent on your face. A crimson color was faintly seen on his face. He was blushing! “You heard?”, he wasn’t sure if he liked that you knew. On one side he was glad, because he wouldn’t have to confess his love to you, again, on the other hand, how would he proceed? 

“I don’t like you”, he looked at you with some kind of desire in his eyes, “I love you.” 

The beeping sped up; your heart was racing.  “I love you too”, you said and squeezed his hand back. And as if planned, West and Chen walked through the door, they had heard that you woke up over the radio and as they rode together, they had decided to pay you a visit. Tim stood up from the bed, having to let go of your hand. 

“How are you? I’m so glad you woke up!”, Lucy smiled and gave you a hug, the same did Jackson. You were glad your friends were here, but you’d rather be alone with Tim right now. Having just confessed your feelings to one another, you just wanted to spend some alone time together. 

“I’m good, thank you so much for stopping by, I appreciate you all!” 

Tim had watched the interaction from the doorway. He smiled lightly, seeing you happy made him happy. A warmth spreading through his body, he was content. 

°°°

next part

#the rookie x you #the rookie x reader #the rookie #tim bradford #tim bradford x reader #lucy chen #john nolan #the rookie season 3 #s3

[lincolndjarin]

Best Kept Secret

chapter twenty six : crucifixion

ao3 link ✿ series masterlist ✩ main masterlist ✧

pairing : bodyguard!Din Djarin x afab!princess!reader

rating : 18+ mdni

word count : 12.7k

summary : judgement day.

warnings: major character death, above canon typical violence, very brief references to suicide, torture, body horror (briefly), feelings of despair, blood, wounds, general kodo grossness, vomit (reader vomits several times, it is never described in detail), language, angst, brief smut, pregnancy, death, reader is not doing well in this like she's at a breaking point, i may have missed some so feel free to let me know.

a/n: please read the warnings on this chap! it's the most serious of the bks updates, definitely a bit more intense than the rest. gonna work on getting 27 out within the next few day. i've been terrified of releasing this chapter since i started writing it so once i post this i'm going to dig a hole and sit in it and hide for a while lmao.

i changed my editing style so if there's spelling errors lmk!! apologies in advance!!

“My room is too big.” 

He bursts into genuine peals of laughter and you gently smack his arm.

“Don’t laugh, it’s a serious issue! My room is enormous.” You’re giggling along with him now, it’s the hardest you’ve ever heard him laugh. You both just laugh for a few minutes, as if each other's company is the most amusing thing in the world. 

Once your giggles fizzle out you wait another moment before breaking the silence. 

“Where did you grow up?” You can’t see him but you can sense where he sits in the darkness, you crawl forward so you’re sitting between his legs, your own legs wrap around his waist. “I’m just curious.” 

“Aq Vetina.” You can’t recall anything about the planet. You aren’t even sure you’ve heard of it. 

“Do you remember your parents well? You don’t talk about them very much.” You put your hands on his shoulders, ever so slowly moving them up to his neck until you’re cupping his face. 

“I’ll never forget them.” He whispers. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. We can’t change the past.” You rub your nose against his, bumping them together as you hum and nod. “My mother loved ships. We didn’t travel, we never had a reason to, but she would take me outside and we’d watch ships fly past. I could never comprehend how she knew the name for all of them, it blew my mind.” You wrap your arms around his neck, staying silent in hopes that he’ll continue, he so rarely speaks so much. “My father worked a lot but he always made time for us, he was always home in time to say goodnight to me. He was always around when I needed him, he always provided for us. On his day off he’d spend the whole day cooking, I’d sit on the kitchen counter and tell him what my mother and I had done that week. When she’d come home we’d all eat dinner together.” 

“You sound like you were a happy child.” You can’t help but smile. 

“I never had reason to be otherwise.” He says it so matter of factly that you don’t doubt it for a second. He was loved. It only makes you smile wider.         

“What were you like, as a child?”

“Well behaved.” You immediately begin laughing once more. 

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Believe it. My mother homeschooled me, she always made sure I had manners. I wasn’t particularly athletic or talkative so I didn’t play with other kids a lot. It was just me and mama.” He sounds far away, it makes you want to hold him close and never let him go.

“So what did you do all day?” Your tone has softened significantly. 

“I would sew.” 

“Be serious.” He’s the one who laughs now at the disbelief in your voice.

“I am! I would sit with my mother after my lessons and we’d sew.” His fingertips dance along the back of your neck as he reminisces. 

“What kinds of things?” You don’t tease. When you really think about it you suppose such a hobby is fitting for him. A task that requires precision and care. 

“I would help her make clothes and blankets that she would sell most days. On the weekends she’d let me do whatever I wanted so I would practice my embroidery.” 

“My heart is actually about to explode out of my chest, you’re so cute.” You put on a mocking tone but the thought of such a thing really does make your heart clench. “Little Din Djarin stitching his name into his clothes.”

“You’re a cruel woman.” He leans forward, knocking his forehead against yours, almost as if he were reprimanding you. 

“What sorts of things would you embroider?” Your tone goes back to genuine, you could listen to him talk about himself for days and you’d never get bored. 

“Whatever my mother wanted. I would ask her what I should do and then I’d stitch it onto her blanket or the hem of her skirt. Mostly flowers, she loved daisies.” You’re pretty sure one of your ovaries literally popped at the thought of a little boy with dark curls and big brown eyes sitting beside his mother and embroidering a daisy onto her skirt. Your heart flutters a bit as you think of the necklace he got you. The silver outline of a flower you now realize is a daisy. “If he was ever gone for more than one night for work my father would bring her daisies, one for each day he was away.”

“Do you still know how?”

“I used to fix Grogu’s clothes when he ripped them but I haven’t done much else since I was a boy. He says it with finality but you carry on, not wanting him to stop talking. 

“What were their names? Your parents?”

“Clara and Arin Djarin.”  

“Those are pretty names.”

“What was it like for you? You said you had seven siblings right?”

“Eight actually.” You think of them now. There were eight of you and your parents' love for all of you combined wasn’t even a tenth of how much Din’s parents loved him. 

“Do you like having a big family?” He lifts you off of his lap, laying you back down as he crawls on top of you, laying against your chest. 

“I love it. I miss my siblings everyday, do you think we’ll be able to visit them someday?”

“If it’s safe to, of course we will.” He tilts his head, if you weren’t in darkness he’d be looking at you. 

“I wish they had visited here. They would have loved you.”

“You think?”

“Are you kidding me? The younger ones would adore you.” You tangle your finger in his hair, scratching his scalp. “Kids just naturally like you.” 

“They just haven’t learned to fear me.” You frown when he says it like a fact.

“I think it’s more than that.”

“Yeah?” The hopeful tilt to his voice has you leaning down to press a kiss into his hair. 

“Kids are intuitive, they can sense that you’re a good person.” He tenses up as you tell him he’s a good person. You know exactly what he’s thinking about now, how he punched your husband and then refused to leave. 

Neither one of you wants to talk about that though, not today. 

“What kind of room would you want? Since your current room isn’t to your liking.” He’s quick to change the subject and you let him.

“In all honesty, I like the cabin, I wish we could just live there.” You run your fingers through his curls as you think about it, gently pulling through any tangles.

“My cabin?” His voice is full of uncertainty as he pulls back a bit.

“It’s nice.” You feel a bit defensive, you consider the cabin to be the closest thing you have to a home. “Can you imagine getting to stay on Naboo? We could spend our mornings walking the market.” You rest your hand on the back of his neck now. “We could get jobs in the city, and then at night we’d come home.” 

“To the cabin?” He still sounds rather skeptical of your hypothetical future. 

“I’d cook dinner, you’d do the chores.”

“The cabin’s a bit small for us.” 

“We’d make it a bit bigger, add a few bedrooms, we don’t need that much space.” 

“A few?” He turns his head, his lips brush against your collar briefly as he kisses you there, freezing up when you speak again. 

“At least two, one for us and then some for any little Djarin’s who might need space.” With that he sits up entirely, his legs straddle your stomach.

“Little Djarin’s?”

“And Grogu, he would come live with us as well.” 

“You’d want him to live with us?”

“Of course, he’s a little Djarin.” Your hands rest on his thighs now as he seemingly ponders above you. He hums to himself in silence for a moment and you can’t help but grin at how seriously he’s taking all of this. 

“How many?” He finally speaks again and you laugh at the bluntness of his question. 

“Kids?”

“How many would you want?”

“You go first.” You haven’t ever talked about this sort of thing so you want to gauge his answer first so you don’t scare him too much with all the kids talk. 

“Maybe five? Or six.”

“Six?” Your voice pitches up immediately and you feel a rumble in his chest as he laughs. 

“Or five.”

“How about two, counting Grogu.” Turns out you didn’t need to worry about scaring him off. 

“How about three?” Three is manageable. 

“Counting Grogu?” 

“Counting Grogu.” He seems satisfied with that. 

“I suppose we could have three, you’re the one who has to build all the extra bedrooms.” 

“I don’t mind.”

“I’d work at the library and you’d work in a shipyard, we’d take turns staying home with the kids.” You pull him back to you, taking his hands and dragging him to lay his head on your chest once more.

“I’ve got enough savings, neither one of us has to work if you’d like.” It sends a twinge of pain to your heart how real this conversation has become, knowing that this exact dream isn’t possible. 

You could always make parts of it real.

Someday. 

“I’d want to work, to get out of the house, but you could stay home if you’d like.”

“When they’re still ik’aad, at least for the first few years I’d want to be with them.” He’s going to be a wonderful father. 

“Then I’d work, not long hours, just enough to get me out of the house, when I come home I’d give you a break, you could do the shopping and I’d watch the little’s.” 

“We’d go as a family, I wouldn’t want ‘a break.’” 

“You’d want to wrangle three kids in the markets?” You scoff in disbelief but he continues to sound completely serious. 

“They’d be well behaved.” You seriously doubt that. 

“What about either one of us makes you think our children will be well behaved? Is Grogu well behaved?” 

“We’ll manage.”

“They’ll be wild.” They will, not they would. 

“And smart.” He sits up again, hovering above you to give you a quick kiss. 

“And happy.” There isn’t a doubt in your mind that your children would be happy with Din as their father. 

“You’d really want to live here? I could build us a house anywhere.”

“I like Naboo, at least everything outside of the castle. I don’t even mind the castle, I just don’t care for the people inside it.” It’s true, somewhere along the way this place grew on you immensely. You love the city and the people in it. “And they’d get to play in the garden.” 

“I would build you a cabin anywhere you wanted, and I’d plant you a new garden.” He kisses along your cheeks and forehead as he speaks. 

“You wouldn’t need to plant me a garden if we lived here.” You insist. 

“We can’t live here, mesh’la.” He rubs a small circle with his thumb against your cheek. “This is too serious now, we’re supposed to be relaxed today.”

“When did we agree on that?” You muster up a weak laugh. 

“It was a silent mutual agreement.”

“I’m plenty relaxed.” You mumble. He buries his face in the crook of your neck, his stubble tickling you as you let out an airy giggle. 

“I’m actually very tense and I think we should take a break from all this talking and take care of that.” He mumbles against your shoulder.

“Oh?”

“Mhmm.” He emphasizes his point by pressing his erection against your hip, you hadn’t even realized that this is where he was going with that. 

“How long have you been waiting to jump me?”

“When we started talking about the five kids I was gonna put in you.” He continues to nip at your neck and shoulders as he speaks. 

“Skipping the agreed upon three and going straight to five already? You’re not even going to attempt to negotiate for four?” 

“So you’re open to four?” He pulls back and you can hear his smile. 

“Let’s start with one and go from there.”

“Right now?” His hips stutter down a bit against yours. 

“Maker, you’re insatiable.” You both burst into another fit of laughter. 

“What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

“I could get pregnant, and considering the lack of sex I’ve had with my husband I’m sure that might raise a few eyebrows.” 

“It would never get to that point, when we’re in the clear with this whole Kodo mess I’m getting you out of here.”

“Like… actually leaving Naboo?” 

“Exactly like that. I’m gonna take you far away from here when this is over, gonna keep you all for myself.” His hands move down, giving your hips a squeeze. 

“I’m already yours.” You laughed, rolling over to be on top of him. He’s right, if you’re going to leave anyway then what’s the worst thing that could happen? 

You never talked about that night after that. 

When everything sorted itself out you realized how crazy your fear had made you. You couldn’t just leave. At least that’s what you’d told yourself, now you feel like an idiot for not holding him to his words. It wasn’t realistic, you both knew actually leaving would take so much more preparation than a few whispered ideas during a time where neither one of you was in any position to be making such promises. 

It was just talk.

Lysa came to get you from the dining room. 

After everyone left you had no motivation to move, you just stood there, frozen in time. After a few hours she found you, she had taken your hand and walked you back to your chambers. She held your hand, she kept you upright when you threatened to crumble. And when you felt a wave of nausea ripple through you she rushed you to the fresher, a hand on your back as you threw up all over again. 

You sat breathlessly on the tile, Lysa rubbing your back.

“Gods, I’ve been nauseous since the wedding. Even before everything fell apart.” It’s the first words you’ve spoken since they took Din, your stomach is still churning. “This has never happened before.” You groan, you’ve had many moments of upset throughout your life, but none that made you physically ill. Lysa looks almost painfully worried. 

“Ma’am… is there a chance you might be…” 

Kriff.

You never talked about that night after that. 

Maybe you should have. 

You both did a lot of things during those days. You had been so angry, and he had done everything in his power to ease that anger, to keep both of you as happy as someone could be in your situation. 

You shouldn’t have used that as an excuse to be reckless. 

“I’d like to go to bed.” 

“Of course.” She helps you to your feet, walking you back to your room, you turn to her one last time before you close the door. 

“I’m sorry. Elaine never should have gotten involved in all this.” You’d trade places with her in a heartbeat if you could. 

“It’s not your fault.” She truly seems to believe that. 

Except it is. Elaine never would have found herself in this situation if she hadn’t so often been helping the two of you keep your secret. 

“Goodnight, Lysa.” 

“Goodnight, princess.” 

You lay on the bed, unable to bring yourself to sleep in the closet. 

It’s cold. Colder than Hoth, as you stare at the ceiling in your far too big bed in your far too big room. Even bigger now that it’s just you. 

You let your hand roam down your torso to rest on your stomach.

Just you, hopefully. 

☆

You’re now having nightly dinners with Kodo. 

You don’t get any respite from him, you just want to stay in bed. You’re nauseous and tired and your head hasn’t stopped spinning since that night. A million thoughts a minute. 

Where is he?

Is he okay?

What the fuck can I do about it?

Mostly that. 

The worst part is your lack of a plan. If the roles were reversed Din would have already rescued you and you’d be living happily ever after. 

But that isn’t how your story is going. Instead you are alone, with no scheme on how to get to him. It’s only been three days but it’s driving you insane, you have never known such hopelessness, it’s maddening. To sit alone in your room all day, staring at the ceiling until Lysa comes to dress you for dinner. Neither one of you ever speaks, afterall, what would you say to each other?

“I’m sorry the love of your life had been sentenced to die?”

How morbid. 

Not that you’re above being morbid. 

You think about it often. How easy it would be to drive your dinner knife into Kodo’s throat. You’re seated beside him now at dinner, both of you at the head of the table, joined by the rest of his family. 

The thought of killing him is the only thing that brings you peace these days. You’ve never once in your life been violent until now. Din is good. He’s a good man. In every way he is the opposite of your husband yet Din is the one locked away, Maker knows where, while Kodo is being rewarded. 

It doesn’t make you mad, it makes you furious. 

It makes you want to poison his wine. 

But you don’t have poison. 

And you can’t put yourself in danger. Because you feel fundamentally different, and even if you refuse to think that such a thing is possible you know you wouldn’t just be putting yourself in danger. There’s more at stake now. 

That’s what you tell yourself to stay calm, a feat that is getting harder by the minute as you’re sat beside Kodo who is currently bragging about how he defeated a Mandalorian. 

“They aren’t as strong as you think they are. Under the armor they’re weak, pathetic.” 

It took six battle droids to keep him down. You didn’t even get near him. 

“Some people just need to be taught a lesson, don’t touch what isn’t yours.” He sneers and the rest of the table erupts into laughter. “I certainly taught that horned bitch a lesson as well, you all should have seen what they brought me last night.” 

You perk up, this is the only thing they’ve said in days that truly matters to you. You’ve heard nothing about the current state of either of them until now. 

“What did they do to Elaine?” Everyone’s head turns to you, all their expressions look as if you’ve announced something treasonous but Kodo smiles as if he were explaining something to a child. 

“She was properly punished, the way someone who observed such a crime with no intervention should be.” He puts his hand over yours when he says it. 

You don’t ask for any follow up. 

You don’t think you could stomach it, so you stay silent for the rest of your meal. When you’re finished you stand, the rest of the table is starting to pour more drinks but you simply lean down, mumbling something about being tired before giving Kodo a quick kiss on the cheek and dismissing yourself. 

You’re waiting for the night where he joins you in your chambers, after all his father is dead, but it has yet to happen. He had told you that once he was king he would be in need of heirs but he seems happy enough with his pleasure houses and you’re more than grateful for the women you entertain him so you don’t have to. 

So you return to your chambers alone, peeling off your gown before burying yourself under the covers. 

Sleep evades you as you toss and turn. You aren’t even tired, there’s too much going on in your mind, there’s no room for exhaustion. After about an hour you manage to drift in and out of unconsciousness, earning a brief reprieve from your anxieties until a sharp knocking has you jolting upright. 

You don your robe, rubbing sleep from your eyes as you rush to the door, you’re too tired to wonder who might even be bothering you at such an hour as you pull the door open. 

Lysa?

“We have to hurry, ma’am.” She grabs your arm, frantically tugging you into the hall. 

“Lysa? What are you doing? Are you okay?” 

“I am fine, but we don’t have much time.”

“Surely you have enough to tell me where we are going.” 

“Do you want to see him or not?” 

Din.

You nod, taking her hand as he rushes onward, stopping at each hall to peer around the corners until you make your way to a servants stairwell, skipping several steps in your descent until you run out of stairs. You’ve never been down here, you didn’t even know there were dungeons until recently. 

It makes your stomach twist in knots the moment you stare into the darkness. 

“Are there no guards?” You whisper, squeezing her hand.

“Not for the next hour, I’ve made sure of it.” She begins walking down the poorly lit corridor, pulling you along behind her. 

The stone floor is damp and it smells of mildew. Your bare feet are already freezing after just a few steps.

Every cell you pass is lit from the outside with a hanging lantern, they’re mostly empty, but you catch glimpses of movement out of the corner of your eye every now and then. In all honesty you’re doing your best to take in as little as possible, you don’t want to think about Din being down here in such a place, but there’s one element you can’t ignore. 

The wailing. 

Someone is weeping, a low, sorrowful song filling the vast maze of halls and you realize quickly you’re heading in its direction, Lysa tenses beside you as you continue on. You’re about to turn one more corner when she abruptly stops, turning to face you.

“He needs to eat.” She removes a fistful of rations from her apron pocket, shoving them into your hands. 

“He hasn’t?” He’s been down here for three days. 

“He won’t… let me.” You pause, cocking your head to the side and she gives you an apologetic look when she turns. “He won’t let me uncover his face.”

Oh. 

“I’ll feed him.” You nod slowly, tucking them into your own pockets before turning the corner. The contents of the cell immediately on your right have you stumbling backwards but Lysa is not swayed, pulling a key from her pocket, unlocking the door quickly before handing it to you. 

“He’s two cells down, on your right.” She doesn’t look at you as she rushes in, pulling a roll of bandages from her dress. “Shh… it’s okay, I’m here.” Her voice goes soft as she kneels beside Elaine. You can’t help it as you step into the entryway of the cell. 

Well, you’ve found the source of the wailing. 

She’s sat on a cot, curled in on herself as Lysa carefully peels back a series of soiled bandages from her face. 

“I’ve got you, it’s just me.” She continues to make an attempt to sooth a rather hysterical Elaine as she peels back the final layer of bandages and your stomach flips. “You’re okay, love, I need to change these.” You don’t know how Lysa is so calm, even in the darkness you can see the extent of her wounds. Now you know what they brought Kodo last night.  

Both eyes. 

“She was properly punished, the way someone who observed such a crime with no intervention should be.” 

Oh gods. 

You’re worried you may collapse as you watch Lysa tend to her with no hesitation, cleaning them with a careful hand before she begins to redress them. You can’t bear to watch any longer as Elaine begins sobbing once more. You try desperately to force the sight of your mutilated friend from your mind as you count down two more cells before quickly fumbling for the lock, letting it hit the floor as you take the lantern outside the door off its hook, bringing it into the dark room. 

It isn’t like Elaine’s cell. 

There’s no bed or interior light, it’s terribly dark and fetid, his cell running deeper than her’s. It takes a few steps for you to finally illuminate the room enough to see him. 

Maker. 

What have they done to your Din? 

You don’t hear Elaine anymore, there isn't a single thing that could distract you from the scene in front of you. There is nothing but the sight of your kar’ta. There’s too much for you to worry about, you don’t even know where to start, you’re frozen in place, a small part of your brain refuses to recognize the man before you as Din at all. He shouldn’t look like this. 

Armorless. 

They’ve stripped him of any clothing you recognize, the thought alone makes you nearly lose your dinner. 

They took his helmet, replacing it with a linen sack.  

Did they see his face?

You briefly have to shut your eyes, taking a deep breath as you take in the rest of him. His clothes are too thin, he must be freezing, they’ve dressed him in a cotton tunic and trousers that end just below the knee. You can see just how beaten and bruised he is. Unlike Elaine he’s in chains, kneeling on the floor with his hands shackled, taut above his head. You swallow the lump in your throat and finally crouch down in front of him, setting the lantern down beside you as you reach out to place a hand on his chest.

“Din…” Your voice cracks and the moment you come in contact with him he flinches back. Suddenly you know how Lysa held it together so well with Elaine, she just had to. You can’t fall apart, who would care for him now if you did? “It’s me, just me. Just me.” You whisper and place a hand over his heart but withdraw it quickly when he trembles under your touch. You ache at the sight of it but more than anything you’re confused, it only takes a moment for you to realize the issue. 

He doesn’t have his helmet. They’ve not only left him here blind, but deaf, of course any touch would frighten him. 

He assumes you're here to harm him. 

You lean in, careful not to come in contact with him as you speak clearly and loudly. 

“Din?” His trembling stops instantly. You find it a bit troublesome how much worse his hearing seems to have gotten in such a short time, you’re half tempted to reach under the bag to make sure he still has his ears. 

“Sarad?” Oh, Din. His voice is terribly small and it sends you forward, wrapping your arms around him as you pull him into an unreciprocated embrace. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” You make sure to speak loud enough for him before pulling back, placing your hands against the fabric covering his face. 

“Are you okay?” He coughs a bit as he asks and you almost laugh at how ridiculous the question is considering the state he’s in. Are you okay? 

Technically no. 

But far better than he’s doing. 

“I’m perfectly fine, what can I do for you? Are you hurting?” You feel his face through the bag as you look down across his body. It doesn’t look like there’s been any permanent damage outside of a pretty nasty cut on one of his legs. 

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Now’s not the time to play the hero, Din.” He flinches a little and you calm your tone immediately. What the hell did they do to him? “Just let me help.”

“How’d you get down here?” 

“Lysa, she says you aren’t eating.” 

“She’d have to lift my- the bag to do it.” He sounds apologetic, as if you could ever fault him for following his creed. 

“It’s okay… may I?” You bring your hands to the hem of the bag but his head turns sharply.

“I- I don’t want you to look.” 

You have no response. He’s always wanted you to look. 

“I just, I don’t think you wanna see the condition I’m in. I don’t want your only memories of my face to be this.” He whispers when you don’t respond.

You should have looked when he asked you to. You should have done a lot of things differently. 

You shouldn’t have waited so long to look. 

You shouldn't have waited so long to tell him you loved him. 

You should have just let yourself love him. Why did you fight it for so long? It seems silly now. If you could do it all again you would have just taken his helmet off the first night you met him and you would have married him right then and there. You would have left Naboo that night.

And you would never keep any of it from him. You would tell him how important he is and how loved he is, you wouldn’t make him wait. 

Even now you can’t help it though, censoring yourself out of fear. Do you tell him about how nauseous you get every morning? About the way Lysa stares at your belly when she does your makeup? 

No. 

It wouldn’t do either of you any good, not when he’s in this situation. 

You take hold of the edges of the bag once more, gentler this time. 

“I’ll close my eyes.” You lift the fabric completely off of him, setting it in your lap as you simultaneously shut your eyes. You keep one hand on his face, using your thumb to find the corner of his mouth as your other hand fumbles to open a ration bar. You feel him part his lips as you feed him. He’s barely chewing, eating quickly and swallowing most of it whole. “Have they fed you at all?” You whisper as he finishes the first bar in a matter of seconds, his teeth lightly scraping against your fingers before you withdraw them, tearing open another bar.

“No.” His voice is still soft as you go to feed him once more, opening each package until he’s eaten them all. 

“Are you still hungry? I could see if Lysa has more.” 

“I’m okay.” You let your head fall forward, resting your forehead on his. 

“What else can I do for you?” 

“Nothing. Being here is enough.” 

If you had felt helpless before it was nothing compared to this. This is more than helplessness, it’s despair. 

“I’m sorry.” You pull yourself further into his lap, wrapping your arms around him in the process. 

“Hey… none of this is your fault.” It certainly feels like it is. Why does he keep comforting you when he’s the one shivering and alone down here? 

“Please, there has to be something I can do to help you.” 

“There is one thing.” You almost open your eyes, you're so relieved, you just want to ease his pain. 

“Anything. I’ll do anything.” 

“I need you to promise me you won’t look.”

“Won’t look?” Your eyes are already closed, you couldn’t look any less if you tried. 

“When they do it. I don’t want you to see it- it won’t be pretty.”

When they separate his head from his body. 

“I won’t.” You can’t deny him this, you’ll give him anything he wants. “Do you know how much I love you?” You whisper before leaning forward another inch to kiss him. 

The question is genuine. It terrifies you to your core to think that he may not know just how much you love him. 

“Of course sarad.” He murmurs against your lips until you let your head rest on his shoulder, fighting back tears. 

What do you say now?

What do you say to a man condemned to death? 

“I love you.” You mumble into the thin fabric of his tunic. 

“I love you too.” After a moment more with him you hear metal jingling as Lysa locks Elaine's cell once more. You quickly pull back from him, pulling the bag back over his head, once you know he can’t see you anymore the tears flow freely. Lysa steps into the cell and you remove your robe, wrapping it around him, immediately he begins to protest. 

“Mesh’la, you can’t leave this here.” His voice is strained and it makes you sick to think he started crying once he was out of sight as well. 

“Please, y-you’re gonna freeze.”

“They’ll know you were here, sarad’ika.” 

“Din…” You’re practically babbling as Lysa removes your robe from his shoulders, an apologetic look on her face as she grabs your arm. 

“Ma’am, I’m sorry, but we need to go.” Tears sting your eyes as Lysa urges you to hurry but you don’t want to leave him, you want to stay, no matter the consequence. You pull away from her, wrapping your arms around his torso. 

“You need to go.” His voice is urgent through the fabric as you cling to him tighter. 

Would it be easier to just stay? Get caught and join him at the executioners? You’re genuinely considering it when you feel your stomach churn once more and you’re reminded of the exact reason why you can’t stay. Before you lose your nerve and shatter completely you lift the bag, just enough to give you an eyeful of his split lip and bruised jaw as you gently lean in and kiss him one more time. 

Doing everything in your power to remember exactly what it feels like.

The curve of his lips and the shape of his chin, the overgrown stubble brushing against your skin as you press your face harder against his, desperation taking over as you taste salt on his lips. You hold him as long as you can, until you hear Lysa urging you to make haste once more. 

“I love you.” You press your forehead to his through the fabric, feeling the familiar shape of his face against yours. 

“I’ll always be yours.” 

That was the last thing he was able to say before you let Lysa drag you out of the dungeons. 

☆

It’s like everythings suddenly back to the beginning. 

You wake up alone, you go to bed alone, and you wander the castle alone.

There is no plotting or scheming to free Din. 

Even if you were a trained killer or bounty hunter, it would be more than difficult to get him out of the dungeon and on a ship off Naboo. It would be even harder to do so when you’re one of the most recognizable people on the planet. 

He is buried deep beneath the ground and there is nothing you can do about it. 

After all, you're just a doll. 

You don’t know when it happened but all your clothes are blue again. Every dress Lysa fetches from the closet is a different shade of blue and all your nightgowns are the color of the sky. A personal brand put on you by Kodo. It’s clearly more than just a preference now, it’s a reminder to you and everyone else that you’re his. 

And time blends. 

You know a date was set right around the time you visited him. One week until Kodo’s coronation and two until the execution. His first public event after being crowned king will be a death sentence, how fitting. 

So you wake. 

And you sleep. 

And you walk. 

Kodo never replaces Din and you haven’t seen Leo since that night, so you’re completely alone. It’s like he’s rubbing in the fact that you’re powerless. There’s no need for you to have a guard, you can’t leave. If you tried you’d be escorted back in an instant. 

You tried to convince Lysa to let you see him again last night. 

“Please, just a few minutes-“

“I’m sorry ma’am, it’s just not possible. The only reason I was able to get you down there the first time was because the guard that usually lets me in was working nights, he won’t be working nights again until next month.”

Din won’t live to see next month. 

“Is he eating?”

“He won’t let me-“

“You need to insist. Tell him I insist, and tell him you’ll close your eyes.” 

She pins back a bit of your hair, leaving half up and half down. You both bask in the silence for a moment.

“I’ll make sure he eats.”

“Thank you.”

That had been the last conversation you had with Lysa. 

She doesn’t come to dress you in the morning. You think nothing of it and dress yourself in the gown she’d laid out last night. It’s a bit difficult, putting your coronation gown on on your own but eventually you manage, when you’re fully dressed in the obscenely decadent blue fabric you begin to worry. 

You have no reason to assume that everything is fine. It would actually make sense for this to be a worst case scenario situation, everything else in your life is right now. 

You’re about to leave in search of her but you decide against it. Sitting at the vanity and doing your makeup as quickly as possible, the last thing you need to do right now is give Kodo a reason to be upset with you, you have to be presentable. You smear the shimmering blue eyeshadow across your lids before rushing out of your room. 

The halls are full. Servants move quickly from room to room, cleaning every inch as you carefully push through the crowds, making a beeline towards the dining room. 

Kodo is seething when you push open the large doors. 

He stands at the end of the table, shoving an armored guard as the veins in his neck jut out in his rage. 

“Where could she have possibly gone? She’s blind. You’re telling me some blind bitch outsmarted my entire guard?” 

Your heart flutters at the thought.

They escaped.

Your hope is shattered the moment Kodo begins speaking again.

“At least we still have the Mandalorian… I want security tripled, guards stationed outside his cell at all times.” He continues grumbling for a moment until he realizes you’re there. “Happy coronation day dear wife! I’m afraid we’ve had a rough morning here, somehow in the night the Togruta girl escaped, do not fret, we’ll find her.” 

God's you hope not.

Even if things are worse than ever regarding Din there is one flicker of light in that darkness. Lysa got Elaine out. Knowing that almost puts you at ease.

“Happy coronation day.” You actually manage a smile when you look at your husband, it’s weak but it’s genuine. You want to be mad that they didn’t help Din escape but you just can’t be. You know they most likely tried but if the roles had been reversed and you could only get one of them out you wouldn’t hesitate. 

So there is no animosity. Just a flicker of happiness for them.

They got out.

☆

You were under the impression that a coronation was a happy event. Yet when you step out onto the castle steps it seems to be quite the opposite. 

They look miserable. 

All of their faces are sullen and dejected. How shocking, no one is excited about Kodo being crowned king. He didn’t have any of the outside of the castle decorated or made presentable in any way. No one reacts when Kodo reads from an ancient looking book until a crown is placed on his head. 

A moment afterwards you’re instructed to kneel and a tiara is placed onto your head. 

The audience is silent and you feel shame when you stare out at them.

Even if you don’t have very much power you still feel as if you’ve failed them. The feeling follows you when you’re directed to the dining hall with Kodo.

“I have a couple gifts for you, wife.” His twisted smile makes your stomach turn as you enter the dining hall, now decorated with blue and gray banners.  

“A gift? You shouldn’t have, my king, I- I didn’t get you anything.” You feign remorse as you take a sip of the wine in front of you on instinct before spitting it back up into the cup. 

“That’s more than okay, you’re my gift, sweet wife, all mine.” The thought of such a thing makes you sick, you smile despite yourself. 

“That’s very kind.” You’ll only ever be Din’s. No amount of blue fabric and faux smiles can change that. He snaps his fingers and a large box is brought to you by a servant, they set it directly in front of you on the table. You look at Kodo who nods, sitting back in his chair as you stand, the box is wrapped in checkered blue paper, a large bow adorning the top. Your hands tremble a bit as you take hold of the edges of the ribbon, tugging on them until the bow slips free, much to your surprise the entire box falls open, the sides collapsing giving you an immediate view of the contents. 

The silver, shimmering contents. 

Din’s helmet. 

Polished like new, it sits before you, and the room suddenly empties. It’s as if you are completely alone, despite all the eyes that are most definitely pinned on you right now. Your hands continue to shake as your fingers wrap around the beskar steel, like you would when you held Din’s face, lifting it to glare into the visor. 

Empty. 

You can’t help but stare at your own emptiness reflected back at you. 

You want to hold it close, press it to your forehead but you’re snapped back to reality by the grating sound of Kodo’s voice breaking you from your focus on the helm between your hands. 

“That’s only one of your presents, open the next one.” He hisses gleefully. 

You set the helmet down, realizing there was another, much smaller box underneath it. Silently you scoop it up and cradle it in your hands. It’s a larger than a ring box, it just barely fits in your palm as you ever so gently open it, swinging the top open as if it were a tiny treasure chest.              

Huh.

It takes a moment.

You aren’t exactly sure what it is you’re looking at at first but when it registers your entire body tenses up, your grip tightening on the gift box. 

Bloody and pink, a tongue. 

Of course you know better than to assume Kodo would give you any old tongue. This is a special someone’s tongue. 

No, no, no, no, no. 

You had loved his tongue before anything else.

He can’t do this, he cannot do this to you.

You had fallen for his sharp wit first, it was what drew you into him. His sweet words had won you back, his declaration of devotion.

Now you hold all of that in the palm of your hand. 

“What do we say?” His nasally voice breaks through your mental anguish. 

No.

“Come on, where are your manners?”

Please. 

“Thank you.” Your whisper is nearly silent as you struggle to keep down the scream bubbling in your throat.

“What was that?” 

You clear your throat. 

“Thank you.” 

He makes you take it with you. You don’t bother telling him you won’t be attending the coronation ball in a few minutes, it’s not like you’ll be missed. 

In one arm you’re cradling his helmet, in the other the little blue box. 

You set each one down carefully onto the bed, even if it’s a bit demented these are the only parts of him you have left. You stare at the little box. 

You have never been hateful. 

Kodo made you into this. You are full of hate, for most things at this point. You hate your husband, you hate your room, and most of all you hate the little blue box on the bed. 

And the music starts. 

It must be deafening in the hall for you to hear it from your room but it’s there, loud and demanding of your attention. 

You’re moving before you even have a chance to think about it, in a few quick strides you’re standing beside the vanity, your hands gripping the top of the mirror as you pull it down in one swift motion, the contents spill everywhere and the glass shatters in an instant, shards splattering the floor but you take no time to process it. 

You move on to the next thing.

You yank each drawer from the dresser, throwing them to the floor, clothes strewn about until it’s light enough for you to push the entire dresser over. In your frenzy you go about the room toppling every stupid fucking table over. So many fucking end tables in  one room, and you throw everyone to the floor, trinkets and vases clattering to the ground as you destroy the room. You get a rush of adrenaline as you lift one of your nightstands and throw it against the wall leaving a small dent but more importantly the force of it makes anything hanging on the wall tumble to the floor, glass frames shatter. 

Your chest heaves as you stare at the carnage.  

And it isn’t enough.

Your face is wet with tears and your hands with blood from cuts you didn’t feel upon your skin as you tear open the closet door, the pile of blankets mock you from the floor, you grab them, your vision now blurry with tears as you pull them out of the closet, throwing them onto your bedroom floor. When you return to the closet you’re in a frenzy, you tear at the fabric before you, yanking each and every dress off their hangers, ripping what you can.

There is nothing else for you to do, so you destroy everything you can get your hands on until the only thing left untouched is your bed, left in pristine condition as you let out a small sob. 

Maybe you are a hateful person now. 

You feel as though you have every right to be at this point. 

You step over the shard of glass, giving your bloody hands a glance before wiping them on your gown.

Happy coronation day. 

You sit on the bed, your trembling fingers wrap around the helmet, now that you’re alone you waste no time to hold it against you face, until your body just gives up, too tired to stay awake anymore.

☆

A guard wakes you in the morning, knocking on your door, when you answer it they tell you Kodo requires your presence in his chambers.

You dress in a blue gown that you don’t look too closely at. Stopping at the fresher on the way, rinsing the dried gore from your palms, wincing as you clean your wounds. None of which seem too deep. 

You want to cut Kodo’s tongue out, to make him feel it. But you know that sort of thing would be an impossible task. So you daydream about it as you walk. You’re more than displeased when you open the door and are greeted by Leodall. You hadn’t seen him since that night and from the looks of it he wasn’t expecting you. He swallows loudly when you step inside Kodo’s room.

Normally you’d be curious, you’d probably take a look around but your eyes refuse to focus on anything but Leo as you scowl at him. 

“Why’d you do it?” You don’t hesitate to ask, you have no idea how quickly Kodo will be joining you. 

He simply stares at you, shame apparent on his face.

“You owe me an explanation at the very least.” You cross your arms in front of your chest as he clears his throat. 

“I thought he’d reward me.”

You laugh. A harsh dry sound 

“What could he have possibly given you that you couldn’t have just asked me for?” Your gaze never softens and you’re practically seeing red as you stare at him.

“I thought he’d give me a lordship.” 

You can’t help it as another crisp and pained laugh slips past your lips. 

“You thought Kodo would raise your status? I thought you were supposed to be smart.” Is he an idiot? “He doesn’t see servants as people, if you wanted such a thing you could have asked me, maybe I could have done something.” 

A glimmer of something similar to hope flashes through his eyes. 

“Would you- would you consider doing so now?”

“You cannot be serious-” Your expression goes from fury to disbelief as you stand. 

“It seemed worth asking.” He puts his hands up defensively as you storm up to him, poking a finger into his face. 

“You slimy little weasel, it should be you on the chopping block, not him. If it were up to me I’d have them put your head on a spike.” The words pour out of you like venom. 

“I would be nicer to me if I were you.” He sneers and your incredulity only grows. You can’t help it, you scoff in his face. 

“I would rather die.” A part of you really means it. 

“You might if you aren’t careful, I saved your life by letting Elaine and your Mandalorian take the fall, I could have told the king that you were a willing participant. I saw the two of you together, I read your little rules. He never forced himself on you. I wonder what Kodo might think about that.” You aren’t a fighter, you’ve never so much as thrown a punch in your life but you grab him by the collar of his shirt and slam him into the wall, the back of his head hits the stone and you don’t feel an ounce of remorse as you do so. 

“Do it.” You tilt your head to the side, almost as if you’re taunting him. “Tell him.” Any of the confidence he briefly had is gone in an instant. “The moment you do I’ll tell him that you’re covering your tracks, and that you made a pass at me. I wonder how Kodo would reward you for trying to touch what’s his?” Leo’s head turns as you both hear Kodo’s piercing voice in the hall. You release your grip on his shirt, brushing off your gown as you turn towards the door. Kodo and three others make their way into the room as Leo coughs behind you. 

“Dear wife, I have another gift for you.” He takes a step to the side, gesturing at a line of three people you don’t give so much as a glance. He doesn’t even seem to notice the obvious tension in the room. “A new staff!”

“I don’t need a new staff, I’m fine on my own.” You abandon the pleasantries. You’re in such a state of upset right now, what's the point? 

“You’re the queen now, staff is required. These three will replace the ones you've lost in a week, until then Leodall will be training them intensively to tend to your every need. Two guards will also be assigned to you but I promise they will be much less loathsome than your Mandalorian.”

All five of them will be trained to keep an eye on you. To report back to Kodo, after everything with Din you should have known he’d keep you on a shorter leash. 

You barely look at them. 

You hate them. 

You shouldn’t, they’ve done nothing wrong, but you hate them. 

You give each one a quick up and down, naming them in your mind. 

A BD-3000 droid commands the most authority just based on how she stands so you mentally note her as Elaine's replacement. You’ll call her new Elaine. 

New Lysa is a pasty young blonde woman with rosy cheeks. You truly wonder how well informed she has been on your circumstance. She’s smiling from ear to ear and seemingly couldn’t be happier to be here. 

And new Leo is somehow even more nervous looking than actual Leo, practically shaking like a leaf at the sight of you. The bags under his eyes are worse than your own. A lanky thing with messy brown hair. 

There’s no reason for you to fight this, Kodo always gets his way so why bother. So you nod. You don’t pretend to be grateful this time, instead you shove your way past all of them, content to return to your room and never leave. 

☆

The morning of the execution comes before you’re ready for it. 

Of course you didn’t sleep last night, how could you?

You dress yourself, apparently your new staff isn’t starting until tomorrow, not that you mind another day to yourself. You manage to find something that isn’t blue, a gray dress trimmed with gold, the closest thing you’ll find to funeral attire. No one else will dress with any respect for him but they can’t stop you. Your vanity is destroyed so you don’t bother with your hair or your makeup, you simply don’t care enough. 

For the most part you feel nothing when you open the door, only emptiness until you look down. 

Someone left you a small vase of flowers. 

You pick them up, taking a closer look but your heart skips a beat when you do so.

Daisies. 

After a few short breaths you throw the vase into the wall across from your door, tiny shards of porcelain fly everywhere as two servants at the end of the hall give you a look of horror. Your shoes crunch over the remains of it as you make your way down the hall and to the entryway of the castle. 

Kodo insists that the two of you get to see him first. 

You’re sweating wildly out on the steps as you wait.

Long before you’re ready for it they bring him out. 

A shivering skeleton of a man with a linen bag over his head, immediately bile rises in your throat. Kodo is grinning ear to ear when his legs are kicked out from under him and he’s forced to kneel.

Kodo himself reaches forward and tears the bag off, too excited for any decorum or finesse. 

You gasp as you stare down at the broken man before you.

In all honesty he isn’t at all what you envisioned. 

His eyes verge on being hazel; they're such a light brown. You’d always pictured them to be nearly black. It doesn’t matter what color they are though, when you see the tears forming in his lash line you flinch, clutching the ring on your necklace to silently let him know silently just how much he means to you. 

He’s a mess. 

You don’t like looking at what those weeks in the dungeons did to him and the last thing you need to do right now is empty your stomach on the palace steps. 

He’s too thin. Far, far, too thin, it’s like his entire being has shrunk down. He’s hollow.

Your breath hitches when Kodo grabs a fistful of his dark hair, forcing him to turn and stare at the crowd. They must have cut it while he was down there it’s a mess, jagged edges and shorter than you’re used to. 

“This man has committed an act of treason against the crown.” His voice is loud and booming as the city goes quiet. “For such a crime he shall face the proper punishment.” He yanks him downawards, you watch in horror as Din’s head hits the stone, an incoherent mess of sounds pour from his bloody mouth and you have to look away. 

He didn’t want you to look.

You remind yourself to try and calm your breathing. You can hear the scuffle as they drag him to the guillotine, placing his neck into the wooden divot, your heart threatening to beat out of your chest as you turn to look. His eyes are everywhere but on you as he looks at the people around him, desperately pleading for his life. Not a single person so much as glances at him, afterall, it’s just nonsense, no one can understand him without a tongue. 

You can’t stand it, you almost cover your ears but you manage to resist as Kodo puts an arm around your waist, pulling you close to him. 

“You’re welcome, sweet wife.” He whispers, his breath hot and wet against your ear. 

Fuck it. 

You don’t suppress the shudder in your spine as you shoot him a look of disgust. In a matter of moments everything you care about will be gone, why pretend any longer.

A bellowing chime plays from a nearby clock tower and you know it’s time, you straighten up as you stare at the guillotine in abject horror. 

This is it. 

Your chest rises and falls in sharp short bursts as everyone prepares themselves, a hush forming among the crowd on the street. 

And it begins, a chain reaction that you cannot stop now that the executioner has his ax raised above his head.

You had expected more. More time.

A part of you thought that time would slow, that you’d have a chance to stop it. 

But no. 

There is no epic fairy tale moment where the sun glimmers off of the blade and the executioner raises his ax, giving you this perfect moment to run to him, to shield him from the inevitable, to beg them to take you with him. 

That moment never comes. 

You barely have enough time to close your eyes like you promised him. In one unbroken motion the rope is cut, the blade falls and boom. 

Just like that, he’s gone. 

When you hear the metal slicing through the air you squeeze your eyes shut, hearing only the wet crunch as it cuts through flesh and bone. A soft, squishy thud when his head hits the stone. 

In fashion with your decision to no longer hide your disgust from Kodo you vomit. Bending down you puke onto the stones, spraying your own, and Kodo’s feet. The triumphant smile on his face vanishes as he realizes what’s happened. You wipe your mouth on the back of your hand, refusing to look at Din’s limp body as you give Kodo one last look of detestation before turning around and running back into the castle, not caring what anyone thinks anymore.

The moment you’re inside the reality of it all settles in as you feel tears falling wildly as you run up the steps to your room.

☆

You have been good, and kind, and in return the maker rewarded you by killing the love of your life. 

So when you stand in the center of your demolished room you do the only thing your body can do at this point. 

You scream. 

From deep within your stomach, you scream, loud and raw. 

If anything was left unbroken in your room you’d be throwing it at the wall. But there’s nothing so you scream. 

You shriek.

You howl. 

And you wail.

You scream until there is no more noise. Your voice, like the rest of you, gives up. 

You aren’t sure how late it is when you finally stop. You’re tired and it’s dark outside and your throat is raw. 

And you lay on the floor. Because the bed is too big, and too cold, and the closet is so empty. So the only place left to sleep is there. You lay on the floor with no more tears to cry and no more sounds to scream as you stare at your bed, only from this angle can you see a rectangular shape under your bed frame. 

You wipe your nose with a stray piece of fabric before slowly crawling over to it, you sit on the floor and when you retrieve the item a brand new lump forms in your throat as you stare down at the box Din had bought all those days ago at the market. 

Your failsafe. 

With quivering hands you open it, staring into the small space containing a mess of items but what catches your eye is a piece of folded paper with your name on it. You take it between your fingers, opening it, careful to not let your tears fall onto it. 

Sarad’ika,

If you’re reading this then I’m afraid things aren’t going all that well for me. There are plenty of possible reasons as to why I’m no longer with you, but what’s important is that I plan on doing everything in my power to get back to you. There is only one thing in the galaxy that could keep me from your side, and if that is my fate then this box will ensure you’re taken care of. 

The most important thing is for you to get off this planet. I have included a few possible plans for you, do what you have to to survive. Elaine will help you escape. 

You can seek out Greef Karga on Nevarro. Tell him Din Djarin sent you, tell him what’s happened and he will see to it that you are cared for. Explain our circumstances and I am certain he will provide you with safe lodging. 

Tatooine is also an option. You’ll find a Mandalorian there by the name of Boba Fett, he will not turn you away. You will be protected there, if you need to relocate for some reason after that he will help you locate the Mandalorian convert. Show the Mandalorians your ring and you will be cared for the rest of your life, the convert will protect you. 

As an absolute last resort there is a planet located in the Outer Ring called Ossus. There is a school there, taught by a man named Luke Skywalker. I doubt he would be eager to take you in but you must insist. Bring the chainmail, they’ll know who sent you. Take care of each other. 

In this box you will find enough credits to get you off planet and take care of you for several months, a year if you’re frugal, I suggest you take a few jewelry pieces to pawn off for extra credits as well. You will find a small chainmail shirt, and a necklace of mine. 

And lastly you will find your vibroblade. 

Protect yourself. You’re strong, and more than capable of doing so.

I have one request for you, please, I will only ask this one thing of you. 

Be smart. 

You are the smartest and kindest person I have ever had the honor of knowing. Be smart, take care of yourself. If the roles were reversed I know that I would go to extremes to either get you back, or find justice for you. And all I can do is ask that you do not attempt any such thing, the only thing I would ever want for you is safety and happiness. 

So seek those things out. 

Be safe. Be happy.   

I was lucky to know you, and even luckier to be yours. 

an ner kar'taylir darasuum, 

Din

All my love. 

You flip the paper over, desperate for more, more Din, but all you find is scrawled coordinates to each location. Your fingers sift through the items, everything he promised is found inside but you latch onto the blade. Laying back down on the floor you clutch it between your fingers as you think of Din.

Din, who was yours.

Din, who they took from you.

Who Kodo, took from you. 

And your grip on the knife tightens. 

☆

Two guards stand outside your door round the clock now. 

They never follow you or come into your room but they’re there, silently watching as you direct all your anger at your new staff. As promised Leo trained them to be as persistent and infuriating as he was. 

When the two new girls come to fetch you in the morning you can’t help it when you scream at them to leave you alone and to stop trying to clean the ever growing mess of things. 

It doesn’t matter that it isn’t their fault, you can’t stand the sight of anyone. 

All three of them try. New Elaine and Lysa show up three times a day, trying to dress you and squeeze their way past you into the room but after enough shrieking they always leave you be. 

New Leo usually tries once or twice a day, you don’t even look at him. You always stare at the floor, when he tries to speak you give him the same treatment as the girls, screaming at him and slamming the door. 

Why should you let them in? You know what they are. They’re here to spy on you, to be Kodo’s eyes while he’s busy being king. They’re easy to evade. When you leave to fetch yourself food or a book from the library you easily outrun them. The two girls are worse at navigating the castle than you were when you first arrived and new Leo has a bad leg, sometimes he’ll make attempts to limp after you but they’re always unsuccessful. 

You think of nothing, day after day because there is nothing to think about. 

Except for the fact that Kodo took your future away from you. He took everything from you. 

If you thought time was blending before Din’s death nothing could have prepared you for now. You don’t track the days as well, you keep your curtains drawn and only leave when you get hungry or start to think of Din. The last thing you need to do is have another screaming fit so you keep him locked away in your heart, an ache that’s always there that you don’t address. 

One day, in a fit of tears you took your knife and decided on a whim to kill Kodo. You didn’t care about the repercussions at that point you just wanted him to suffer but the moment you opened the door you nearly tripped, stumbling backwards the guards didn’t so much as glance at you. 

Another vase of flowers.

You’re tempted to just kick them down the hall but you can’t help yourself when you lean down to pick them up. 

A bouquet of blue lilies. Your nose twitches at the sight of them, out of the corner of your eye you see new Lysa and new Elaine approaching so you take the opportunity to slam the little glass vase into the stone floor. Glaring at them when you do before returning to your room. 

☆

Maybe it’s been three days since Din died. 

Maybe it’s been three months. 

You aren’t sure.

You aren’t sure when you made plans to kill Kodo either but suddenly you have them. A fool proof way to get him alone. 

And suddenly you’re dressed for the first time in, well, however long it’s been. In a baby blue nightie with a robe you march out into the hall. The guards watch in silence as you walk away, your bare feet scampering down the stairs until you find yourself watching the main entrance. Waiting for your loving husband to make his nightly trip to a pleasure house, a trip that is typically accompanied by guards. 

You grip the handle of the knife in your pocket as you wait until you finally hear footsteps approaching. 

“Kodo, honey?” You step out from behind the stone column, holding your robe closed as you bat your eyelashes at him. He stumbles around drunkenly until his eyes focus on you. 

You’ve only used your voice for screaming for so long you sound meek, exactly as you want to right now. 

“Wife?”

“I thought maybe you’d like to join me tonight…” You hold a hand out towards him, putting on a sickly sweet tone of innocence. His mouth twists into a grin. 

“I knew you’d come around eventually.”

He doesn’t question where you’re taking him, he simply follows.

What a joke. 

You pull him up the stairs, you know from hide and seek where to find an empty room so you guide him there in calculated silence until he trips a bit, laughing to himself as he stutters.

“I knew if I got rid of the Mandalorian you’d realize how much better I am than him.” The statement doesn’t sit right with you and he can see it on your face, even in his drunken state he can sense your confusion. 

You both stop, you’re above him on the stairs as you turn and stare into his eyes.

“You- you knew?”

He simply nods, that sickening smile of his is plastered on his face. His icy blue eyes shimmer with delight. 

“How long?”

“When Leo told me I remembered everything. That little altercation in the hall when your boy knocked me out came right back to me, from there it wasn’t hard to figure out.” Your eye twitches as he speaks.

He knew you loved him and he took him from you anyway.

Any hesitations you had are gone as you nod, pulling him onward until you reach the large vacant tower room. He’s so drunk you decide to just drop the voice, pointing at a spot on the floor. 

“Lay down.” You mumble, reaching into your pocket once more.

He eagerly does as he’s told, laying down on the cold stone, you take a deep breath, in one swift motion you grab your knife, holding it behind your back as you toss your robe aside. He gives you a toothy grin as you ever so slowly walk to him, standing above him before sitting, straddling his waist. 

You look him up and down, one last time. 

Your loving husband. 

One of his hands plays with the blue lace of your nightie as you collect yourself. You look up at the ceiling briefly. 

I’m sorry. 

Not for Kodo, but for Din. This is exactly what he didn’t want you to do. 

You aren’t a killer. And you aren’t hateful, but a person can only be pushed so far before something breaks. 

Be smart. 

You think of Din’s note one last time before you bring the blade out in front of you and slam the blade into Kodo’s chest. 

He makes a sickly wet sound, coughing as he stares at you in shock.

You remove the knife, the hot steel cauterizes his wounds, there isn’t so much as a drop of blood as your face twists with fury and you bring it down again into his stomach now. 

How dare he look surprised by any of this. 

After what he took from you? He deserves galaxies worse. 

So you remove the knife. 

And you stab him again.

And again,

and again,

and again,

and again,

and again.

Until there is no more shocked look on his face. You don’t have a snarky remark or a statement to commemorate your revenge, you’re all used up at this point, all you have is this, this stabbing motion. 

He didn’t even have a chance to fight back.

You crawl off of his body, sitting on the stones as you toss the knife to the side, waiting for a rush of euphoria. 

But it never comes. 

It doesn’t feel as good as you thought it would. 

Staring down at Kodo’s lifeless body. You let yourself crumble. Collapsing down onto the floor, gasping for air as you sob. 

This was never going to bring him back. 

You lay there on your hands and knees for quite some time, just wailing, because what else are you supposed to do right now? You realize far too late that this was never an act of malice, some demented and shattered part of you thought that this would somehow bring him back, that it would give you peace. 

They won’t execute you. 

You planned this exactly so they wouldn’t.

Kodo didn’t tell anyone about your relationship with Din in much detail, not enough for them to assume that you could be with child. Everyone will assume that it’s Kodo’s. They won’t kill you, they can’t. 

Not if they think you’re carrying Kodo’s child. Now that Kodo’s dead, there’s no one to tell the royal family that you never consummated your marriage, your child is the most well protected person on the planet. The future monarch. It’s almost funny, you haven’t permitted yourself to think about the stirring within you as a child until just now, in this moment of weakness. A child, your child. 

Who will most likely grow up without a mother because of the decisions you've made today.

You bite your fist, swallowing a scream as you sit back on your heels. 

Your child will never know how loved they were. Your little one will never get to sit beside their mother while their father teaches them to sew. You put your head in your hands as you wail, no longer caring who hears. Your fate is sealed, what does it matter? 

You don’t turn when you hear someone coming up the stairs. When they pull you into their arms you try uselessly to shove them away. Your vision is blurry and filled with tears as you stare up at the unfamiliar figure now holding you. They rub your back, drawing swirls and stars against your spine as they pull you closer. 

“It’s okay, I’ve got you.” They mumble into your hair. You dry your eyes hastily on your sleeve, confused by the voice you’re hearing, it’s painfully familiar, on instinct you wrap your arms around their torso, pulling yourself into their lap as you both sit on the floor beside Kodo’s body. “You’re okay, I’m here.”

“I’m- I’m sorry.” You whisper against the stranger's shirt. You knew you weren’t hateful. You’re certain of it now because even though he took quite literally everything from you, you still feel bad when you look at Kodo. 

A large hand cups your face, pulling you back to their chest so you can’t see the corpse anymore. 

“I didn’t mean it- I- I didn’t mean to kill him. Well I did but I just-” You begin to ramble as a fresh flood of tears begin sliding down your cheeks. 

“Hey- hey it’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it. We gotta get you cleaned up, okay? I’ll take care of this, I’ll fix it.” Their arms tighten around you, giving you a reassuring squeeze. You finally find the courage to look at your companion and it takes a moment for you to even realize who you’re looking at. 

New Leo. 

Why would he help you? You treat him like shit. When you look at him he looks like he’s about to cry and for the first time since Din was taken from you drop the walls you’ve put up and you let yourself feel bad for him. You show an ounce of kindness to him because in all honesty he’s the first person to make you feel safe since the night Din was taken from you. 

A lighthouse while you sail through a storm.

So you hug him. 

You pull yourself closer to him and you offer him a comfort you haven’t known for days.

“I’m sorry… for all of it, but especially the flowers, I should have told you, I just- you wouldn’t let me and the guards wouldn’t let me in without your permission and you just wouldn’t look at me.” He begins to mumble his own apologies, sending a surge of confusion through you. 

You furrow your brows, pulling back once more giving him a perplexed look as you search his nearly black eyes for some kind of answer. 

And it clicks. 

All at once it snaps into place and you want to say his name, so desperately, but you’re terribly afraid of being wrong. 

And then he smiles. A soft smile that makes you feel okay and you don’t even care if you’re wrong and you don’t care if it doesn’t make sense you just have to ask.

“Din?”

☆

a/n : yeah so uhhhhh yeah uhhhh this is the first chapter i've ever written where im actually very fond of the writing and nervous about the plot stuff so im gonna go hide?? and just vanish for a while lol

//

I don't have a tag list anymore !! follow @lincolndjarinnotifs for updates!!

#lincolndjarin #the mandalorian #best kept secret #bks #din djarin #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian fanfiction #the mandalorian x you #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #din djarin fanfiction #mandalorian smut #din djarin smut #pedro pascal #din djarin/reader #din djarin/you

[onestopfanficshop]

babysitter's club

pairing/warnings: hobie brown x f!reader; she/her pronouns used! cursing, some smooching, potential misuse of british slang (i'm sorry brits 😭), no phonetic spelling of hobie's accent, mayday being chaotic and adorable, reader and hobie talk about their future (kids), hobie and reader get to pretend to be domestic homeowners for a night, absolutely illegal amounts of fluff

word count: 3k

author's note: WOW okay. this took me over two months (?!?) to write. this is what happens when you take summer classes to get ahead 😔 but ANYWAYS! i hope you guys enjoy this!

"Only give her the one with carrots and the apples if she gets really fussy, okay? Tonight is peas, and... she's made it very clear how she feels about peas, so, good luck," you heard Peter say, chuckling as he closed the fridge and explained more of Mayday's feeding schedule to Hobie.

"Do I look okay?" MJ asked, stealing your attention away from the scene in the kitchen as she fussed with her hair in the hallway mirror.

"You look absolutely perfect," you reassured her, slightly adjusting the necklace that she was wearing. "Make sure you don't forget your umbrella though; I heard it was supposed to rain."

You saw the boys approaching you two from the kitchen and broke out in a grin.

"You lovebirds have nothing to worry about. We'll take good care of Mayday. Right, Hob?" you said, glancing sideways at you him.

"Yes ma'am," he confirmed, giving you a two-finger salute.

"If you guys need anything, just call, okay?" MJ said over her shoulder, stepping through the door that Peter was holding open for her.

Do not call, Peter mouthed when MJ's back was turned, pointing his two fingers at his eyes and then pointing them at you two. You waited until the door closed before you started to giggle.

"Looks like somebody's trying to get shagged tonight," Hobie chuckled, leaning against the living room wall as Mayday giggled happily from where she was seated on her playmat.

"Hobie! There is a child here for crying out loud!" you say exasperated, swatting at his shoulder.

"What? It's not like she knows what that means, love," he responded, looking at you with a lazy grin.

"Can you just—at least attempt to behave, please? I'm not trying to babysit two babies tonight, thank you very much," you say, rolling your eyes as you plant your hands on your denim-clad hips, eyes raking over the messy state of the living room. You made a mental note to pick up Mayday's toys off the floor before MJ and Peter came back.

"Listen, all I'm saying is—,” he pauses, crouching down in front of Mayday and picking up a toy that she had dropped to give it back to her. "If my theory's right—which it most definitely is—we'll be babysitting two babies in no time," he said mischievously.

"Oh my God. You did not just say that," you said, moving to sit cross-legged to the side of Mayday. You tried to stay serious, but you're unable to stop the smile spreading across your face.

"I'm only teasing, promise," Hobie grinned. "You wanna order in?"

"Already did. Wanted to be 100% certain that I was the one who ordered," you say, learning to the side a little as you pulled your phone out of your back pocket and unlocked it to check the status of your delivery.

"Yeah? Why's that?" Hobie asked innocently. Your thumbs pause their scrolling as you look up at Hobie, utterly unamused.

"Because I absolutely will not be bombarded with those ridiculously spicy wings you got for us last time. Genuinely unhinged behavior on your end to not warn me," you say, shuddering as you recall the horrors that your tongue experienced last week. Hobie threw is head back as he laughed, watching your face curl up at the memory.

"Ah, I wish you could've seen it, May-May," he told the child, his face lighting up as he heard Mayday giggle upon hearing his laugh. "Her eyes were so bloody red, like this," he said, chuckling as he pointed to the sleeve on his shirt.

"He's exaggerating, honey; don't mind him," you say, tickling Mayday under the chin, causing her to laugh even more. "My eyes were not that red, Hob," you protested as you smiled at Mayday.

"They absolutely were. I have photo evidence," he rebutted.

"Wha—you took pictures?!" you ask incredulously, whipping your head towards him. "Hobie, I swear on everything, you better dele—"

You're interrupted by the sound of rapid knocking on the door, causing Mayday to make a startled noise as she fearfully grabbed at your arm with her tiny hands. Hobie made his way over to the door as you tried to soothe the girl.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay, honey," you say soothingly, hoisting her up and holding her snug on your hip as you untangled your legs to stand up. "It's just the door, bub." You watched as Hobie kicked the door closed with one leg, balancing the pizza on one hand while he locked the door with his other hand.

"Dinner's served," Hobie said triumphantly, setting the box down on dining table.

"We gotta get you your dinner too, huh, May?" you said, gingerly setting her down in her high chair before you tugged open the fridge. You squinted, staring down the rows of puréed baby food before turning to Hobie. "Which one of these are we supposed to give to her again?" you ask, picking up one of the cold jars and turning it over in your hands.

"Tonight is P-E-A-S," Hobie says, recalling what Peter told him. He leans on the kitchen island with his forearms as he skims the paper with the list of instructions that MJ and Peter left for you two. "And then after that is her bath, and—"

"Why on Earth did you just spell pe—"

Your sentence is cut short by Hobie swiftly covering your mouth his his large hand, eyes going wide.

"She hates 'em," he whispered. "Even sayin' the word P-E-A-S throws her into a hissy fit."

"Okay, well—," you throw up your hands in disbelief before planting them on your hips. "When she sees the jar of green P-E-A-S, I'm pretty dam- dang sure that she's gonna know what they are," you pointed out, catching yourself before you swore as you tugged open the drawers to find a tiny spoon for Mayday.

"Nice save," Hobie said, smirking as he took a seat at the dinner table in front of the baby.

"Listen, if she's gonna be upset eating this, you have to be the one to feed her," you sighed. You pulled the jar out of fridge and set it down in front of Hobie, along with the spoon.

"Why me?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Because she literally adores you?" you replied, as if it was common knowledge.

"Who doesn't?" he said, grinning.

"Alright, funny guy. We'll see if you're smiling when you have the 'vegetable-that-must-not-be-named' thrown all over you," you said, smirking as you opened the pizza box to help yourself. Hobie's hand covered the lid of the jar, and he gave it a firm twist, opening the jar with a pop.

"That's not very fair, love, innit?" he said, frowning at you as you got up to tuck a bib around Mayday's neck.

"It's actually very fair, in my opinion. This is payback for destroying my taste buds last week," you say, settling back into your chair and giving him an expectant look.

"You're never letting that go, eh?" he said, shaking his head. He scooped some of the food onto the baby-sized spoon, gauging Mayday's expression as he cautiously moved the spoon towards her mouth. The baby tentatively accepted the food, tasting it for a second before she scrunched up her face in disgust. Just like you predicted, she spit the food out of her mouth, nearly missing Hobie's shirt as she let out a short wail.

"Uh-oh," you say smugly, taking a bite out of one of your pizza slices. "You having fun yet?"

"May, c'mon," he pleaded with the infant, ignoring your quip. "S'not that bad, I promise," he said, trying to get her to take another spoonful. But Mayday remained defiant, turning her head to the side when Hobie brought the spoon to her mouth again as she let out little cries of frustration. He set the spoon down with a sigh.

"Man, why even make her eat this if she hates it?" he asked to no one in particular, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "Kid’s clearly miffed. I say we give her the one with the apples n' the carrots."

"Absolutely not. You get babies on the sweeter stuff now, and they'll never touch vegetables again," you declare adamantly, sliding the baby food over to yourself. You turned around and grabbed a spoon out of the drawer behind you.

"Look, Mayday!" you say cheerfully. You grabbed the spoon, scooped out a bit of the purée, and slathered it on your pizza slice. You mentally prepared yourself for the taste before you took an exaggerated bite, and the infant watched you curiously.

"See? It's really good!" you reassure her, encouraging her to try a spoonful of her food again. This time, she accepted the food from you, although her face still scrunched up every time she took a bite.

"You're a bloody baby whisperer," Hobie said in awe. "Are sure she likes it now?" he asked, taking note of the faces Mayday was making.

"Yeah, she just—" you paused, scraping out the last of pea purée and feeing to her. "A baby's gag reflex is closer to the front of their mouth. That's why they'll sometimes make faces when they eat a new food. Doesn't mean they hate it; they're just trying to decide if they like it or not. Right Mayday?" you say. The baby cooed in response, drooling out a little bit of her dinner. You lifted up the corner of her bib and wiped off the food that had gotten around the corners, and Hobie grinned as he picked up the empty jar, rotating it around and showing it off to Mayday.

"Nice job, kid. Did all that on your own," he said grinning, holding his palm up for a high five (Mayday ended up missing his palm almost entirely, but when you have limited fine motor skills, it's the effort that counts).

"Good job, May!" you beamed, pinching her cheeks. "Alright, lets get you cleaned up for your bath, yeah? We gotta let Hobie eat," you tell her, picking her up from her high chair.

"Finally," he said with an exaggerated sigh.

"So unbelievably dramatic!" you called over your shoulder as you carried Mayday to the bathroom.

Bath time, thankfully, went relatively smoothly (well, minus the part where May tried to play the "water drums", which got an ungodly amount of water onto the floor and subsequently, onto you. You're 99% sure Hobie taught her to do that at some point and made another mental note to lecture him about it later). After you dried her up and got some lotion and baby powder on her, you changed her diaper before getting her into her pajamas. By this point, she was pretty exhausted, and you could see her little eyes fighting to stay open as you laid her down in her crib.

"You were awesome today, May. Get some shut-eye for me, okay?" you said softly, kissing the top of her head. She was already asleep before you even finished your sentence, and you smiled at her one last time before you turned off the lights and quietly shut the door.

Hobie's head turned away from the TV at the sound of your footsteps padding on the floor, and he looked like he was trying to hold in a laugh.

"You look like you've gone swimming," he remarked in an amused tone, looking you up and down.

"You try giving a hyperactive eleven month-old a bath," you reply, sighing as you plopped down next to him on the sofa. You looked down at the splashed cuffs of your jeans before shrugging. "It'll dry, right?"

"For sure," Hobie nodded. "But aren't most eleven month-olds hyperactive?"

"Yeah, but most eleven month-olds aren't Mayday," you say, chuckling as you leaned your head onto his shoulder.

"True that," he laughed, draping his arm across your shoulder.

You two sat in a few minutes of comfortable silence, watching as a random 90s romcom played on screen at a low volume before you spoke again.

"Hey, Hob?" you ask.

"Hm?" he responded, still half-focused on the movie.

"I'm gonna ask you something, and I want you to be honest," you say. You adjust your position so that you're lying on your back across Hobie's lap, hands folded on your chest. He tears his eyes away from the screen and gives you his full attention.

"What is it, love?" he asked, brows furrowing slightly as he looked down at you.

"Did you teach Mayday to play the drums with water?" you ask, fighting back a smile.

"No...," he said mischievously, raising his eyebrows at you.

"Hobie!" you exclaimed quietly, trying not to wake up Mayday as you slapped his thigh.

"Nah, I really didn't. Swear down," he said truthfully, laughing softly as he put his hands up in protest. "Really, you oughta be lookin' at Gwendy for that. She let the kid have a go at her drums once—it was adorable. I mean, also terrible, because she kept missing the actual drums, but still adorable."

"Oh my God, that is too cute. I would've paid money to see that," you replied, fighting back a yawn.

"Yeah? I think Pav and Miles got it on video. I'll have em' send it to you," he chuckled, tracing random shapes on your cheekbones with his thumb. "You tired?"

"Yeah, but...," (this time, you let out your yawn) "...don't let me fall asleep here. I still have to pick up May's toys and put them away. Don't want Peter and MJ coming back to a mess," you sighed.

"Already did that, love," he said. You let your head loll to the side as you looked at the corner of the living room—sure enough, the toys were all neatly put away in the toy chest, and Mayday's playmat was rolled up and tucked away.

"You're an actual lifesaver," you say. You're about to let your eyes relax before you remember another thing, shooting them open again.

"Shit. I gotta do the dishes," you say. You're about to sit up before Hobie plants a hand on your torso, gently pushing you back down.

"Took care of that, too. And recycled the box. And the jar," he tells you, grinning down at you. "I'm a world-class babysitter, c'mon now."

"And a world-class boyfriend," you say, smiling as you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him down to capture his lips in a sweet kiss. He grabbed both sides of your face and started attacking your face with kisses as best he could at the awkward angle, causing you to let out a giggle.

"Hobie! You're gonna break your neck," you protest against his lips.

"Mm, small price to pay for getting to kiss you," he said, smiling.

"Nuh-uh, because then you'll have to get surgery, and you'll have to go through physical therapy, where they give you a bunch of instructions on what to do to get better, and we all know you hate being told what to do–"

"Alright, alright, point made," he laughed, giving you one last kiss before sitting up straight.

"God, I had no idea that taking care of a baby for a few hours would make me this tired," you sigh, rubbing at your eyes. "How on Earth do Peter and MJ manage to do it every single day?"

"Yeah... s'kinda mad when you really think about it," Hobie said pensively. "I mean, it's non-stop from the moment they're born 'til they move out. Guess you gotta take it day by day, yeah?"

You made a small sound of understanding, pondering what he said.

"How do you feel about... y'know, having kids? Like one day?" you ask quietly, craning your neck to up at him.

“Why? Are you…?” he trailed off, looking at your abdomen with raised eyebrows.

“Nonono, I’m not,” you reassured him, giggling. “I was just wondering.”

"Well, of course," he replied, sinking into the couch a bit more. "I love kids. I'd wanna adopt a whole bunch of 'em. Don't know if I'd be any good at the whole parenting thing, but..." he trailed off, chuckling to himself.

"You would be. I can see the way you are with Mayday; you're practically a natural," you said decidedly. "Me on the other hand... I dunno."

"You don't know?" Hobie said, snorting out a laugh. You turned your head to look at him, frowning.

"Don't laugh at me!" you protested, swatting at his shoulder.

"M'not laughing at you, swear," he said. "It's just funny you're saying that because you were a natural with May. You'd be an amazing mum."

"Really?" you ask, craning to look up at him.

"Really," Hobie confirmed, planting a quick kiss on the tip of your nose. You started to giggle, but the sound was quickly drowned out by a loud clap of thunder in the distance. You sat upright, startled by the noise as you peered behind the couch at the windows, and you were met by the sight of a sudden downpour.

"Oh God... I really hope that didn't wake up—"

Right on cue, you and Hobie heard the static noise of Mayday wailing through the baby monitor. You sighed as Hobie gently untangled himself from you, patting your thigh twice.

"I'll go get her," he reassured you, leaving the living room and disappearing into the nursery. You flopped back down on the couch again, groaning when another clap of thunder struck a few seconds later. You heard the sound of Hobie's socks shuffling on the ground, causing you to sit up and turn your head. You were greeted by the sight of a sleepy and disgruntled Mayday, who was clinging to the collar of Hobie's worn t-shirt. Her hair was frazzled, and her poor eyes were red from all the crying.

"Aw, it's alright, honey," you said soothingly. You outstretched your arms to Hobie, and he handed her to you to hold her. She curled up in a ball against your chest, watery blue eyes looking up at you as a few more lone sniffles came out.

"It's just a bit of thunder, love. You're alright as long as we're here, yeah?" Hobie chimed in. He sat next to you now, smoothing down the red hair on the baby's head in an attempt to calm her.

"You wanna stay here with us until the storm's over?" you asked gently. May let out a soft coo in response, so you took that as a yes. You grabbed the throw blanket that was sitting next to you on the couch and draped it across all three of you, and you let your head drop onto Hobie's shoulder. He wrapped an arm around you and Mayday to tuck you both in. It wasn't long before the three of you fell into a peaceful sleep.

The door opened an hour later with the soft click of the door unlocking.

“Well, that was the most fun I’ve had in a while, honey,” Peter said, kissing the top of MJ’s forehead.

“Until it started pouring,” she replied, laughing. “What d’you think the kids are up to?”

Mary-Jane’s question was answered as soon as they rounded the corner. They were greeted by the sight of the three of you tangled up with the fluffy throw blanket hanging halfway off the couch. Hobie’s head rested on top of yours, his arms wrapped snugly around your waist. Your arms were around Mayday, who was sound asleep—a string of drool was dangling from her mouth, which was precariously close to landing on your jeans.

“Well, would you look at that,” Peter whispered, chuckling. He dug around in his pocket and grabbed his phone to snap a pic of the sweet scene in front of them.

“We’re definitely framing this.”

#hobie brown x fem!reader #hobie brown fluff #hobie brown x f!reader #hobie brown #hobie brown x reader #across the spiderverse #astv hobie #spiderman atsv imagines #spiderman atsv x reader

[banquetwriter]

I saw you were taking requests for Carl grimes so maybe a fluff with Carl and reader who has ADHD and they’re in Alexandria but she’s like hella overstimulated and overwhelmed because everybody and everything’s new and like “better” and she genuinely just does not know what to do with herself. You don’t have to do this btw! Have a wonderful day/night!

୨୧ Breathing ୨୧

pairing: Carl Grimes ♡︎ Fem!Reader

warnings: ୭̥⋆*｡ crying, some angst, one mention of sex (incredibly mild) small mentions of canonical violence, reader has panic attack

summary: ʚ after being overwhelmed your favorite grime’s comforts you ɞ

Words: 1374

AN: RAAAHHH thank you sm for the request, i tried to focus on how i personally feel when i get overwhelmed and overstimulated. i didn’t make her very bubbly or stereo typically “adhd” however i tried to model it after mine lol

You hated everything about the apocalypse. You hated never feeling safe, never having enough food, and never being clean ever. You hated being on the run always. You fucking hated it.

But still, you found yourself anxious. A nice woman named Deanna sat you down and Interviewed you. Your heart was racing, it had been for a long time. It was the same feeling you felt being adopted by Glenn and Maggie, the unofficial daughter of the couple.

Feeling like you might start crying but you can't pinpoint your feelings. Being so light-headed the air feels like it is made out of cotton candy. You had stayed quiet to avoid any meltdowns in front of anybody.

You had been assigned one big house. Michonne and Rick take one room, Daryl another, and you bunker with Judith. You found her little coos and cries comforting sometimes. They grounded you when you felt clueless.

Judith and most importantly her brother Carl were what got you through everything. Glenn’s death, a man who was your father. Carl had since you got to the prison. It was hard not to fall in love with him. Even if it wasn't the right time or place. You couldn't help it.

It's how you accepted the prison. It's how you accepted what happened at Terminus, and it was going to be how you accepted this new world you found yourself in. Carl got his own room. You weren't upset by it.

He needed his space. He had been through too much. It was after dinner. You were sitting on the stairs. It was all too much. It was going to go away at some point…

You knew it. Nothing was safe forever. You knew that, you weren't some stupid child. The feeling was back of unintelligible panic. The feeling of horror creeping up your throat. The dizziness, and now you couldn't help but cry.

The cool air of the nighttime clung to your skin. You were sweating even though the night was cold. Hot tears streamed down your face. How could you help these people? How could you possibly help? Hell, you were fear-stricken over being someplace new.

You let out a sob you had been holding in for weeks. Everyone was in the house either cleaning up or windowing down for bed. You told them you needed to go on a walk before bed.

��You were too restless’ that's what you told them. But here you were sitting down on the steps. A full belly, sobbing your eyes out. Carl had noticed of course he had.

You heard the door close behind you. You stood up, the hot tears still streaming down your face. “Hey, woah,” Carl said, clicking the door shut and walking up to you. You couldn't say anything, fear holding your heart.

You speedily tried to wipe the tears away from your face. His hands come down to your shoulders. His fingertips ghost your skin and shirt. “I-I'm sorry,” you mumble out before the tears start spilling from your eyes again.

“Hey hey hey,” he whispers, pulling you into his chest. His strong hand finds its way to the back of your head, the other snaking around your torso. There it was again. His heartbeat thumped through his chest reaching your ears.

“I'm scared,” you whispered. He pulls away from you keeping his hands secured on you. “I-I know you are y/n. I am too. But it's going to be ok, trust me.” he said, his hand coming up to your chin and holding it up. “How do you know we are going to be ok?” you ask, shaking my head.

“I just know,” he said, his voice soft and comforting. “Because I am here. Because you're here with me.

Judith is here, so is my dad, Michonnee, and Daryl…” he said. “We are all here with you. I know how scared you are because-” he started. He shifted his weight on his feet.

You looked up at him. Your eyes are full of tears. The sight alone broke his heart. He promised himself he would always protect you. After you got separated from the prison. He was never ever letting you out of his sight again.

“Because I'm scared too. This place could fall, or not be safe. I'm scared too.” he says leaning much closer to you. “That's not it. It's all so new. Everything is better. I don't even know what to do. I don't remember how not to be so broken.” you whispered.

Your words hit like a confession to a preacher. “Y-Your not broken,” he said trying to comfort you. “No Carl I am. I think we all are. And I don't know how I'm going to do this.” I said, feeling the tears start to slip out.

“You don't have to do this alone, or even right now. Taking it one day at a time would be a good place to start,” he said, trying to wipe your tears away. “Ok.” is all you said, the heat radiating off of him calming your rapid and hyper thoughts.

“Tonight, how about you sleep with me? In my room?” he asks. “Really? What about Judith, what would your dad and Michonne say?” you ask, pressing your body against his. Time seemed to stop. His blue eyes shine into your soul.

“We can keep Judith in there too. Two people watching her is safer anyway. And don't worry about my dad ok? I will talk to him.” he says, moving both of his hands to your cheeks. Placing a small kiss on your forehead.

You swore you could feel your heart soar high above all the clouds and skies. You silently nod your head, “Go and get ready for bed and meet me in my room ok?” he says nodding towards the house. You smiled walking in.

The group looked as you rushed past them. Carl followed suit walking into the house. His hands were on his hips. “Y/n is going to stay with me tonight. In my room.” Carl said, looking at his dad.

Michonne’s eyebrow shot up. She looked at Judith with a smirk and turned around leaving the boys to discuss. “Carl-” Rick says in his stern voice. “It's not like that Dad,” he says, putting his hand out. Rick’s head turned to the side.

“She is scared, Dad. And I made a promise to protect her. She doesn't trust this place yet. I'm not gonna let her go.” Carl says, his face staying stern. He wasn't going to take ‘no’ for an answer. You were all that mattered to him right now.

Rick rubbed his chin, “Look alright. She can stay in your room as long as you take Judith with you.” he said, walking up to his face. Rick used his pointer finger and used it to tap his son's chest. “If I hear any funny business-” he says in full seriousness.

“Ew. Gross dad.” Carl says, rolling his eyes. Walking past him and running up the stairs to the bathroom. He gave a small knock on it. He heard your voice waver out a Small “Yes?” he smiled.

“It's me, Carl. You ready for bed?” he asked you. “A-Almost. Got distracted again,” you shouted from the bathroom. Carl felt his smile grow wider. “I'm gonna put Judith down now ok? Join me when you're ready,” he says, starting to walk away.

“Ok! Thank you!” you shout from the bathroom, continuing to get ready to sleep. Carl brought his baby sister and a crib into his room. Making it all nice for her. That's when you walked in. You were so beautiful.

In a plain new outfit. Eyes red and puffy from crying. You still were the prettiest thing he had ever seen. You silently sat on the bed. Carl smiled at you, something you returned. He took his hat off, placing it on the bedside table. He crawled on the bed and behind you. Beckoning you to join him under the covers.

Something you did with ease. The comforting smell of Carl Grimes fills your nose. As his hands snake around your torso to hug you. His nose gently rubs against your neck.

“I love you.”

#carl grimes headcannon #carl grimes x you #carl grimes x oc #carl grimes x y/n #carl grimes #carl grimes x reader #twd #the walking dead #the walking dead carl

[consistencynevermether]

Breaking down walls- Astarion x reader

Astarion x "uses humor to cope" reader, second person POV, 1.4k words, gn reader

tw- Mentions of Cazador, nothing else really?

a/n- ive been so obsessed with this little dude i love him sm. this is my first time writing fanfic online so any advice is welcome :)

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

You had never been good at genuine emotions. It was always so much easier to joke about such things, as a way to make people feel less shitty about their situation than to actually talk about the reality of things.

It’s what you had done with Karlach, making up all sorts of outrageous stories about the fun you and your best friend could get into once she was free from the furnace that burned inside of her. Even though deep down you had no idea how to free her from the flames. 

You had done it with Gale, making up jokes about his stereotypical “wizards tower” whenever he was feeling down about Mystra. Even though deep down you had no idea how he was supposed to cope with what she demanded of him. 

It was easy to joke. To make people feel good and laugh for a short amount of time. That’s what you told yourself. 

But the truth was, the alternative was hard. Feelings, reality, genuine bonds, they all meant you had to put down your walls. And the other person had to do the same. And deep down, you feared letting down your walls for someone, only for them to keep theirs up. 

It was probably why you liked Astarion so much. While you put up a front of jokes, he puts up a front of flirty advances. Both of you knew you were putting on an act, yet neither minded. Neither dared try to climb the other's wall. 

And so the two of you formed a bit of a routine, he would flirt, and you would tease. Both of you dancing around how you really felt like leaves fluttering in the wind. A subtle glance there and a stray brush of the fingers here made you think, or maybe hope, that he really felt something for you. Just a little. Or maybe that was wishful thinking on your part. 

But he’d never seen the sadness in your eyes when he would say those sweet words to you, both knowing he didn’t mean them. And if you had any say in it, he never would. It was better that way. Easier. Safer. And you’d be damned if you ruined the current relationship you had with him. Because at least you got to be close. A few genuine words among a sea of deception was far better than him shutting you out completely. Better savor what little you can have than lose it all right? 

That had been your mantra, right up until that night. 

You had had a bout of insomnia the night before, and so you had offered to take the first watch tonight. You'd hoped staying up extra late meant that after your watch you would instantly crash and hopefully fix your sleep schedule a little. 

It had started a little before midnight, you had heard Astarion mumbling something under his breath, tossing and turning. You had heard somewhere that elves only sleep for about 4 hours, so you figured it was best to leave him be. He’d be up soon anyway. 

And that plan worked fabulously. For about 5 minutes until the mumbles became more like cries for help. You knew what, or rather who he was dreaming about, and it hurt to see him in so much pain. 

Lifting yourself up from the rock you were seated on, you made your way to shake him awake, only for Astarion to shoot upright as you were about to grab his shoulder. 

Your eyes met, only inches apart, your face filled with mild shock and his with horror. 

Quickly recovering, you took a step back, giving him proper space so as to not add to his obvious terror. Unfortunately for you, trying to get away meant stumbling over your own crouched form and landing on your rear with a yelp. 

For a second you both sat there, you not daring to even breathe too loudly. while he looked at you in slight confusion, though that was mostly covered by the blinding terror still on his face.

You sat there in silence for a few more moments, before your brain finally kicked in and you realized you needed to say something, now. Preferably without sounding like a complete lunatic, freak, or wackjob.

“I-“ 

you open your mouth to speak, but Astarion beats you to it, his velvety voice cutting through your uncertain, cracking tone. 

“You know, you’re not the first person I’ve left speechless, although normally it’s for quite a different reason.” 

Astarion's tone was playful, but the slight shake in his voice was obvious. Once again, you couldn’t see beyond the walls he had built.

“Anyways love, sorry for disturbing your watch. Feel free to go b-“

“I was thinking of what to say.”

Your sudden interruption earned an eyebrow raise from the pale elf. 

“That hard for you darling? Maybe because you’re stunned by how beautiful I look when asleep?” 

He was giving you a way out. A way to laugh this all off and pretend like it never even happened the next morning. If it were any other time you might have taken it. If you didn’t see the fear in his eyes. If you didn’t see the way his hands were still shaking. If deep down, you didn’t want to break down your walls for him. 

Before you could think better of it, you opened your mouth. 

“I could say that Cazador can’t hurt you anymore. That you're safe here. But you're clearly hurting, so that isn’t true.” 

Now it was Astarion’s turn to look shocked. He hadn’t mentioned the dream was about Cazador but he didn’t have to. You knew all the same. He looked like he wanted to say something, to object maybe, but if you didn’t say what you wanted to say now you may never do it again. So you spoke again before he could.

“I could say that I’m going to rip that bastard limb from limb for you, but-“

You shrug and gesture vaguely to the camp around you. The supplies you all had managed to scrounge together, and your weary companions sleeping silently nearby 

“We don’t exactly have a plan now, do we? Hells we can’t even figure out how to be rid of this damn tadpole. So saying that’s definitely out, nobody wants to hear empty promises” 

A dry bark of laughter escaped Astarion,s lips, probably out of shock from your brutal honesty, but you weren’t done yet.

You opened your mouth one more time, voice shaky but eyes locked onto his all the same.

“I could-

I could tell you that I don’t know everything about your past. About what all he did to you. But I do know that whatever your future holds, I will be there. I will stand beside you and I will not leave. No matter what you choose I will support you. I will stay. And you will not go back Astarion. You will never go back under him. Not while I breathe. Not when you can still fight. You won’t do this alone, I swear that to you.”

And just like that you had broken down your walls. There were no jokes, no double meanings, no way out of it. Because despite the fear, you wanted to be seen. And you wanted to see him too. Not the act that he put up, but the real genuine version of him, scars and all. 

Astarion looked at you in silence, it was his turn to be rendered speechless. Despite all your bravado before, this was terrifying. Honestly, jumping into a pit of hungry manticores seemed more appealing than this current conversation. You looked down at the ground, unable to hold his gaze any longer. A million thoughts ran through your mind, but no matter what you wouldn’t take it back. You couldn’t go back to stealing glances at him and smiling at his honeyed words, secretly wishing he’d meant them. Not again, you just ca-

A cool hand against yours stopped your train of thought right in its tracks. 

Long, slender, Pale fingers wrapped around yours. And your mind went silent.

You whipped your head up to Astarion, but he wasn’t looking your way. His eyes were focused on the horizon, not even stealing a glimpse in your direction. But he gently weaved your fingers together more. His grasp was firm, yet still slightly shaking. 

A crack in his wall. A start. A glimpse at the real Astarion you so desperately wished to see. 

You sat together in silence. Your hands never left each other's grasp, not until you were eventually overtaken by sleep.

#baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate astarion #astarion x reader #astarion romance #astarion x tav #astarion x you #astarion x mc #bg3 astarion #bg3 spoilers #baldurs gate 3 astarion #astarion fic

[padawanlost]

What actually happened between Tru, Ferus and Anakin in that final book? I read it a long time ago but as far as I know, Anakin had not been asked to fix Tru's lightsaber, he accidentally heard them talking about it, figured out what they missed and simply didn't say anything at the moment. He planned to tell after and genuinely forgot

"All right, I fixed it." Ferus put the handle back together and handed the lightsaber back to Tru. "You shouldn't have any more problems. Your power cell is boosted." Anakin started to step forward. If Ferus had worked on the power cell, that meant that Tru needed to check the flux aperture again. Anakin had tweaked it before, but it might need an adjustment to compensate for the power boost. Anyway, it would be wise to double-check. Anakin had better tell him. But he stopped when he heard his name. "Why didn't you ask Anakin to fix it?" Ferus asked. "He's better at this than I am." "He was busy with Obi-Wan," Tru murmured. Anakin realized that Tru had evaded the question. He could have asked him to help. He frowned as he watched the two Padawans, their heads close together. Tru was drifting away from him. He could feel it. [Jude Watson. The Final Showdown]

On Korriban, while Ferus fixed Tru’s lightsaber, Anaki overheard their conversation. He didn’t know for sure the lightsaber was faulty but he believe he could do a better job because he had fixed it before and knew it better than Ferus how to adjust it. However, because of his rivalry with Ferus and his fear of losing Tru’s friendship he didn’t say anything to either of them.

Not long after they ended up in a fight and that’s when Anakin realized something was actually wrong with Tru’s lightsaber:

The creatures carved from stone that sat on the ledges took flight in shimmering images of fire and destruction. Tru ducked as one of them flew directly in his face, but the creature became nothing but particles of dust. Anakin saw Tru grip his lightsaber more tightly. Tru's lightsaber! He had forgotten to tell him to check the readout for the flux aperture! He had walked away, angry and hurt. Why hadn't he remembered? Had he wanted to forget? He couldn't do it now. If he did, the Masters would know that Tru's lightsaber had broken and he hadn't told Ry-Gaul. He would get himself and Tru in trouble. And Ferus probably had fixed it perfectly, the way he did everything else. [Jude Watson. The Final Showdown]

Not reporting a problem this big to your master was a big no-no and that’s why neither Tru non Ferus told their masters of the issue. And Anakin, in anger, rationalized that he couldn’t tell either and since Ferus was so perfect he probably could solve the problem.

Tru had leaped up on a tomb to fight two zombies. With his flexible arms and legs, he moved like a rolling wave. He took down three thermal detonators that were flying through the air. He swung his lightsaber in an arc. It flickered. Anakin watched in horror as it buzzed, the shaft flickering again and again. It was losing power! Tru was in the middle of them. Obi-Wan hadn't seen it. He had charged forward, the way to Omega now clear. Everything in Anakin screamed to follow Obi-Wan, to be in on the capture of Omega. Except one thing. Friendship. But he had hesitated too long. As he watched, Ferus and Tru exchanged a glance. Simultaneously, Ferus and Tru flipped their lightsabers through the air. Tru caught Ferus's, and Ferus caught Tru's. [Jude Watson. The Final Showdown]

Eventually Ferus and Tru exchanged lightsabers as the mission went one. When Darra, their fellow padawan, noticed Ferus was in trouble she tried to help but ended up in front of them.

Anakin wrenched his attention back to Tru. Because Ferus was watching Tru's back, he was the only one in Omega's path. The Jedi Masters had all been at the fore of the fight. Ferus's lightsaber flickered in the dark. Seeing that he was in trouble, Darra Force-leaped toward Ferus, her lightsaber held high, determined to save him. Anakin saw the smile on Omega's face when he fired. The bolts hit Darra straight in the chest. She fell, still keeping her body between Omega and Ferus. Soara cried out. Anakin felt the moment spin out into impossible time, time that froze everything, even his heart.   [Jude Watson. The Final Showdown]

As a result of all this, Ferus Olin resigned from the Jedi Order and Tru ended his friendship with Anakin:

[Anakin] felt a rustle behind him, and saw Tru backing out of the chamber. "Tru!" Anakin called. Reluctantly, Tru edged in a few steps. "Do you know anything?" Tru shook his head. He didn't quite meet Anakin's eyes. "I haven't seen much of you since we've been back," Anakin said. "I know." […]"You were thinking of the mission," Anakin said. "We were all wrong," Tru continued, as if he hadn't even registered what Anakin had said. "We did our best," Anakin said. "And Omega is dead." "So is Darra." Tru turned and walked out. Anakin started after him. Something was wrong. Something had changed between him and his friend, and he didn't know why.

"But I did. I knew that Tru's lightsaber had malfunctioned. I offered to fix it secretly. I did not tell his Master or urge him to do so. His lightsaber failed in battle, and Darra was killed trying to protect me." "But you thought you'd fixed it!" Ferus stopped. He gazed at Anakin for a long moment. "You knew?" he asked. "You knew Tru's lightsaber had broken? You must have seen me fixing it." "I didn't say that." "No. You didn't. But there are only the two of us here, Anakin. You don't have to lie." Anakin said nothing. As usual, Ferus was trying to trap him, trying to show Anakin how much nobler he was. "When we got back, I took it to the Jedi Master Tolan Hing," Ferus said, naming the Jedi who was known for his expertise in the workings of a lightsaber. "He told me that that the fusing between the flux aperture and the power cell needed a slight adjustment. Nothing major — Tru might never have noticed it. Except that in battle, the power drained faster than normal." "I don't know why you're telling me this…." Tru's voice came from behind him. "Because you fixed the flux aperture. And you would have known that it needed to be rechecked after the power cell boost." Anakin turned. "You didn't come to me!" Tru shook his head. "That's funny. Shouldn't you have said, But I didn't know it was broken?" "You're trying to trap me," Anakin said. "Both of you," he added, with an angry look at Ferus. "Tru, I would never do anything deliberately to put you in a position.." Tru's face hardened. His silver eyes held a sheen Anakin had never seen before. They were icy, as though Anakin could slip off his gaze. "I wondered," Tru said. "When we got back here, I wondered if you knew. I saw how you froze in the tomb. 'But not my friend,' I said to myself. 'My friend would not do that.' But then I thought about how you feel about Ferus, how angry you had been. You would want him to get in trouble, even if it meant exposing me." "That's not fair!" "And suddenly I realized — yes, Anakin could have done that." "You're looking at this all wrong," Anakin said. But how could he explain? He couldn't admit that he knew that Tru's lightsaber was broken because he couldn't explain why he'd forgotten to tell him to readjust it. He still didn't know how he'd forgotten something so crucial. Tru would think he'd deliberately forgotten it. There was nothing he could say to convince him otherwise, because he himself didn't know. "I don't think so," Tru said. "I think I'm truly seeing you for the first time." Anakin swallowed. He didn't know what to say. This was an unfamiliar Tru, not the friend of his childhood. "I'll see you outside," Tru said to Ferus, and walked out.

Darra’s death was traumatic to all of them but the way they treated Anakin was very biased. At least, for characters who was supposed represent what a “good jedi” was supposed to be. Neither of them truly listened to Anakin’s explanation. And the author fails to give Anakin’s much depth beyond: he’s jealous/angry. I mean, it feels like everyone already knows he will become Darth Vader. And that’ so unfair to young Anakin.

#ilovescarletwitch #ask #anakin skywalker #tru veld #ferus olin #sw meta #meta: anakin #txt #mine

[avenirdelight]

Take Care

Son Heungmin

Sonny is recovering from an injury and he’s going away for the world cup. [Requested]

Warm food was ready on the table. She had bought those bath bombs that he liked, refilled his favourite soap, and replaced the empty bottle of face toner. She had changed the bed sheet and covers. The aromatherapy candle in the bedroom was ready to be lit. She had set the house to perfection and got everything ready so Sonny would have the best comfort.

She had felt the horror just over a week ago when she received the news about Sonny being injured. Things had been a blur since. Some examinations, a surgery, recovery sessions, and endless discussions about the world cup. Even though a fractured eye socket wasn’t a huge injury, it didn’t make it less overwhelming especially when Sonny’s participation at the biggest tournament is at stake.

But thankfully everything was going the right way. Sonny was all better now and was confirmed to be a part of the world cup squad. He’d started to do his own sessions of training and today he’d gone to the stadium to watch the match; she’d chosen to use the time to clean the house and do things she hadn’t had the time to do.

The night was getting deeper, but she patiently waited for Sonny to come home. She rushed to the door when she heard Sonny’s car pull up. Even though she knew he was okay—she saw those photos of him and Rodrigo after the match, both men had wide smiles plastered on their faces—she couldn’t help but to worry. She had actually asked him to stay home but he insisted on going, saying he needed to watch the last match and see his mates before going away for the world cup.

“Hi. You okay?” She asked, welcoming Sonny with a hug.

“I’m okay. Like I promised, I came home safely. All good. Nothing to worry about.”

“I simply can’t not worry about you.” She hugged him a little bit tighter. After the injury she had been feeling awful every time she had to let Sonny get out of the house. She honestly would prefer to have him stay home so he could always be under her watch.

Sonny led himself to the kitchen as she asked him about how the match had gone, she trailed behind him. He animatedly bragged about how Rodrigo had scored two goals, how the boys had put on a fight. Sonny looked genuinely happy and that gave her a little bit of relief, mostly because he’d been a little bit down lately because of the injury.

“The mood was good. It was nice to get a win before the break. Everyone was happy and— Wait a minute.” Sonny only wanted to get some water at first, but the sight of the dining table caught his eye, so he stopped. “You cooked? Oh, no. I already had dinner, babe.” He turned to her with an apologetic look.

“I know. It’s fine. I just cooked a bit just in case you were hungry,” she shrugged. “Do you want to just take a bath? I’ll run the water.”

Sonny immediately took a seat and picked up a fork. It was already too late for dinner and he really shouldn’t be taking any more carbs today. Though he knew she wouldn’t even get upset if he didn’t eat it, the food she had cooked was still warm and looked very appetising. He couldn’t resist, especially when he knew it was going to be good.

“Baby, this is so good,” he commented as he munch on the food. His eyes sparkled like it always did every time he ate her food, which gave her that warm and fulfilling feeling. He gave her a smile, which was infectious, she smiled too. “I need to have some bites. Please don’t tell my nutritionist.”

She giggled as she ran her hand through his hair. “I won’t. How about the bath? You feel like taking a warm bath before bed?”

A cheeky grin appeared on Sonny’s face, and he nodded.

—

“I feel like it’s my birthday. You’re kind of spoiling me tonight,” Sonny said as he got in the bathtub. The water was turquoise and smelled nice from the bathbomb; his favourite one, he always said that it made him calm and relaxed. “This is really comfortable, innit?”

“You tell me,” she said, pulling up a stool so she could sit near him beside the bathtub. “I think you’re really gonna have a good night's sleep tonight. Watched a fun match, ate good food, end the day with a warm bath…”

“I know. Today was a good day. Almost feels like my birthday because I feel like you’re spoiling me.” Sonny reached for her hand and gave it a light squeeze. “Thank you.”

She shrugged. “It’s not much.”

“No. Thank you for everything. You’ve been taking a really good care of me. I really don’t know what I’d do without you,” Sonny said, staring into her eyes. She knew he meant every word, she could feel how genuine he was being. 

She let out a little sigh as her other hand went to his face. She graced her fingers on his cheek very carefully, still scared to hurt him even though he said that he no longer felt any pain. Sonny seemed to melt into her gentle touch, closing his eyes and slightly leaning his head, wanting more of it. She, on the other hand, felt her heart clenched when she stared at his healing scar.

“I’d do anything to help my baby recover and stay fit. He needs to captain his country at the world cup, remember?” She gave him a reassuring smile. Sonny drew her hand closer to his lips and placed a kiss on it.

—

“Promise me you’ll take care of yourself,” she muttered. The worry was creeping back and it showed in her voice. It was quite a tiring day for her and it was time to get some rest, but she just couldn’t stop thinking. “Listen to your coaches, get enough rest, have fun.”

They were in bed, lying face to face as their hands linked. Both were wearing matching pyjamas, covered by a warm blanket. Sonny was already drifting to sleep and honestly she could easily fall asleep too now, but she still wanted to use the opportunity to just stare at his beautiful face.

Sonny was going to leave in three days for the world cup, they’d be away from each other for a moment. She’d go with his family once the tournament started but they would only have very limited time to see him, so she was determined that she’d make the best out of the next three days with him.

“Are you still listening?”

“Hmmm,” Sonny responded.

“Promise me you won’t get injured again…”

“Can’t promise that. But I’ll try,” he vaguely mumbled.

“Promise me you’ll win the games.”

“I’ll try…”

Her lips perked into a small smile when Sonny opened his sleepy eyes and blinked them slowly a couple of times before meeting hers. “I need you to promise me something too,” he said. He sounded rather serious. “Take care of yourself. You’ve been stressing out so much, so once I depart for the world cup, I want you to take a break, have time for yourself.”

She simply nodded.

“Go have lunch with your best friends, bake some cookies, go shopping, do whatever you want. Okay? Stop worrying me for a second. I’ll be fine. Okay?”

She giggled and shuffled closer to put a kiss on his cheek. “Okay, I promise,” she said, kissing his cheek once again.

“Come here, now.”

Sonny opened his arms and she fell right into his embrace. He hugged her tight and caressed her back, kissing her on her forehead. She put her palm against her chest, feeling it heaving up and down, feeling his heartbeat. The conversation eventually ended and it didn’t take long until they both fell asleep. She fell asleep with a smile on her face, knowing that this had been a good day, for the first time in what felt like forever. She didn’t mind that it had been rough lately, but all that matters was that Sonny was happy again and getting his spirit back. And maybe she had to give herself a little credit for that.

—

thank you for everyone who has been reading my sonny fics, i really appreciate it🥺 i hope you enjoy them!

i hope you liked this one too. i currently take requests so you can send them in! likes, comments, and reblogs are highly appreciated. thank you!💖

My Masterlist🤍

#avenirdelightwrites #son heung min imagines #football imagines #footballer imagines #son heung min one shot #football one shot #footballer one shot #football fic #footballer fic #imagine #one shots #fanfic #fanfiction

[satansapostle6]

X

Josh Futturman has always had a crush on his beautiful coworker, the sharp, sexy scientist he thought he could only dream of talking to.

Warnings: Mature themes/language. Sexual content.

Part Nine

Part Ten: Futturman Men

When Josh and Brynne finally emerged from the bathroom at Josh’s parents’ Christmas party, Brynne had cleaned up and neatly clipped her hair into a makeshift French twist with a clip she’d had in her purse. When she and Josh awkwardly left the bathroom, they ignored Josh’s Uncle Barry standing outside the door as they rejoined the party.

Naturally, everyone else was perfectly fine apart from Barry. Josh had no idea why, but his father’s younger brother had something up his ass the entire night. Throughout the rest of the dinner, he couldn’t decide between giving Josh a smoldering death glare, and looking Brynne up and down.

Josh without a doubt would have much rather he just given him the death glare the entire time. That, he could’ve handled, without being too bothered for the rest of the night. But now that Barry’s middle-aged male bitterness was affecting his date, Josh felt compelled to interfere, despite his usual, pacifist nature.

“Brynne, it’s so impressive to me that you’re the head of your department,” Diane Futturman expressed graciously, “I’m sorry if I’m being redundant…”

Normally his mother’s behavior would’ve made him nervous, but Josh was aware he had other family members to worry about at the moment.

“No, not at all, Diane,” Brynne chuckled, “You’re so sweet. Really. Josh told me his family was friendly, but this is beyond anything that I was expecting. Thank you so much, for having me.”

“Any time, Brynne,” Josh’s father chimed in, “You’ll always have a place in the Futturman house.”

Brynne smiled genuinely as they continued to discuss her work with her, with Barry trying to scoot his chair even closer to her.

“You’re really a doctor?” Barry interrupted.

Diane and Gabe both looked at him in horror as the Senecas awkwardly sat there, trying to figure out how to process what they’d just heard. Josh was livid, his knuckles pale as he gripped his fork for dear life. He’d never felt like this towards someone before, but in that moment, he wanted to throw the fork at Barry.

“Yes, I’m a doctor of science,” Brynne tried her best to be cordial.

Josh glanced over at her urgently, trying to get her attention so that she knew he didn’t intend for this to happen.

“I’m so sorry,” he mouthed apologetically.

But Brynne just shrugged it off, not particularly affected by the ramblings of his drunk uncle.

“Doctors are hot,” Barry Futturman belched.

Melinda Seneca frowned awkwardly as she glanced down at her plate. Josh’s parents were growing increasingly worried about Barry as he sat there, half-eating his food, almost too far gone to continue.

“I take it you’re a Patrick Dempsey fan?” Brynne smiled through the annoyance.

“Ha-ha!” Diane forced a cheerful laugh so as to try and move the conversation along. “Brynne, honey, you’re hilarious! You should have your own stand-up show!”

Unfortunately, Barry didn’t take the hint.

“Say, you do prostate exams?” he grinned, taking a sip of his drink.

“Barry,” Gabe warned, trying his best to remain polite in front of the guests. “Why don’t you have more potatoes?”

“I don’t want potatoes, Gabe,” he responded, looking over at Brynne beside him. “I wanna know how your pansy son managed to score, twice, with this stacked Amazon!”

Everyone at the table was speechless. Both of Josh’s parents looked like they had seen ghosts, as the Senecas began to look more and more like hostages.

“Barry!” Gabe exclaimed. “Don’t be crude!”

“You know what’s crude?” the balding man said with a mouthful, not even swallowing before adding more whiskey to the equation. “What these two were doing upstairs, and in the bathroom!”

Diane gasped as she buried her face in her hands out of embarrassment at her brother-in-law’s behavior.

“Barry, that’s it, you are cut off!” Gabe said sternly, trying to take control of the situation.

“Oh, yeah, I’m cut off?” Barry challenged him mockingly.

“Shut up,” Josh said through his teeth, tired of the inappropriate display.

“Gabe, will you tell my nephew that if he disrespects me one more time, I’m gonna—”

“No, Barry, if you disrespect Brynne one more fucking time, you’re out of here!” Josh promised him.

“You can’t kick me out!” Barry scoffed. “This isn’t even your house—”

“Shut the fuck up!” Josh shouted.

Brynne looked at him in bewilderment, surprised at this side of him.

Barry started to rant. “Don’t you fucking tell me to shut up, this used to be my house—!”

Gabe Futturman rose in anger, as even Diane seemed concerned.

“This is the Futturman house, and if you speak about any of our guests that way one more time, you can go ahead and see yourself out!”

This might not have seen like a particularly intense display of anger, but for Gabe, it was definitely something unexpected. Josh looked up at his father proudly, glad to have some back up in the situation. Brynne just looked over at him, gauging his emotions the entire time.

“Fuck you guys!” Barry shouted incoherently. “You all think you’re better than me—”

”We don’t fucking think we’re better than you, Barry, we just think it’s beyond weird that you’re trying to hit on my date, who’s, like, half your age,” Josh assured him.

“I’m not ‘hitting on’ anyone—!”

“Yes you are,” Josh said impatiently, “And it’s disgusting, no wonder your wife left you—”

“Oh, really?!” Barry yelled. “You’re gonna talk about my divorce, when your fucking date looks like she used to have a—”

Loud gasps cut through the silence as Josh impulsively threw a glass of water on his uncle’s face, liquid spilling everywhere as he stood there, a blank expression on his face. Josh was mortified as he realized what he’d done.

“What the fuck?!” Barry yelled, slowly wiping his face.

“I—” Josh was stunned, still holding the glass of water as he stuttered fearfully, trying to come up with an explanation as he set the glass down.

He turned to his mother, somewhat horrified by the scene that he’d caused.

“Mom,” he began, “I’m sorry—”

“No, Josh,” Gabe interrupted adamantly, “Futturman men stand up for their women. You have nothing to apologize for.”

Josh saw the look of pride in his father’s eyes, silently nodding as he understood. Brynne stood beside him, gently taking his hand as she led him away.

“Come on,” she said under her breath as they both silently decided to go back upstairs.

“You… did you really just do that for me?” Brynne Johansson asked softly.

“I…” Josh paused for a moment as he sat down on his bed, looking up at her with wide eyes. “Yeah. I guess I did,” he said somewhat sheepishly.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she smiled. “I could’ve ignored him.”

“That’s not the point,” he said chivalrously. “The things he said were deplorable, and I had to do something.”

“Well. I appreciate the gesture,” she told him, taking his hands as he smiled up at her gratefully.

Josh had no idea what a woman like her wanted with him, but he was glad she seemed satisfied with him so far.

“I’m really sorry this night has been so horrible to you,” he sighed frustratedly.

“What makes you say that?” she wondered.

“I don’t know, the office party?” he reminded her. “And now, this?”

“Josh,” Brynne said, expression serious. “Tonight was not horrible for me.”

“It wasn’t?” he asked skeptically.

“No,” she promised him. “We went on a nice date, and… we did some things that were really nice, and some things that were even nicer.”

Josh smiled at her kindness toward him, and surprisingly, she leaned in to kiss him, lips pressed against his as he gladly reciprocated. It was still surreal to him, kissing the one woman he had only ever dared to stare at in the hallways. He was kissing her, and holding her, and he smelled the heavenly scent that surrounded her body.

She was beautiful, perfect, and he melted as he felt her giggle into the kiss.

“What?” he asked with a smile, embarrassed.

“Nothing,” she murmured. “It was just hilarious watching you dump that glass of water on Barry’s face.”

Josh chuckled bashfully as he kissed her.

“I would’ve punched him in the face if I could,” he promised her, starting to realize that wasn’t the most masculine choice. “I’m sure that was kinda silly,” he admitted.

“No,” she promised him, deepening the kiss, “It was sexy…”

Josh sighed as she made his heart skip a beat.

-

Part Eleven

#josh futturman #josh futturman imagine #josh futturman x reader #josh hutcherson x reader #josh hutcherson imagine #josh hutcherson fluff #josh hutcherson #josh hutcherson fanfic #future man #future man x reader #future man 2017 #peeta mellark #mike schmidt

[the-name-is-z]

SKELETONS | ch. 16

daryl dixon x f!oc

masterlist

a03 link

Summary: Iris quickly recovers from her accident and has a brief discussion with Daryl. Rick decides the group needs to know a little more self-defence. Warnings/Information: AMC's The Walking Dead OC Insert | 18+ Advised | strangers to lovers; the slowest of slow burns; gore; angst; horror; humour; m/f; recovering from a car accident, daryl being sentimental (yes, deserving of a warning), discussion of surgery, training a kid to use knives, walker dismemberment

Chapter 16 - Recover

When they pulled in and Iris shambled off of the bike, she ignored Daryl as she staggered toward the camp. Andrea, Lori, Carl, Dale and T-Dog came rushing toward her. Shane was nowhere to be seen, and she was glad for it.

“Oh my god, are you alright? What happened?” Lori asked.

“Fuckin’ deer.” Iris mumbled, reaching up to touch her head wound and scratching off some of the blood. “I’m fine.”

“Come on, let’s make sure you’re alright.” Dale beckoned, pulling her into the house. Andrea handed her a glass of water.

“Thanks.” She mumbled. Carl came in quick, followed by an exasperated Lori.

“I’m so sorry, sweetie, I never meant for this—“ Lori began.

“It’s alright. Not your fault. I’m sorry I couldn’t bring them back.” Iris replied, her speech a little slurred. Lori shook her head.

“Shane went to find them.” She murmured. Iris nodded, running a hand over her face.

“I’m glad you’re okay.” Carl said, offering her a smile. Iris tried to reciprocate, flicking his large hat.

“Thanks, cowboy.” She replied.

Daryl peered through the window into the sitting room from sitting on top of his bike, messing with the rubber of the grips. 

-

Beth was still dehydrated and catatonic in the morning, and Iris was annoyed at the throbbing headache in her brain by the name of Daryl Dixon. Also, the real, painfully throbbing headache from her concussion. Just thinking about their conversation irritated her. Not because she was genuinely mad, because she wasn’t. But because an argument like that was so incredibly childish given the circumstances. It was petty and ridiculous, and had no real merit. She knew it, Daryl knew it, and yet it sort of felt good to just let off a little bit of steam. But not at the expense of a concussion.

Iris stepped into the bedroom of the farmhouse to see Maggie sitting beside her sister, stroking her hair. She had her hand clutched tightly around Beth’s, small tears in her eyes.

“How’s she doing?” Iris asked.

“Okay, as far as I can tell.” Maggie murmured.

“Do you need anything?” Iris asked, tilting her head. Maggie offered her a small smile.

“Nah, I just wish my dad was here.” She replied.

“She’s a strong kid.” Iris stated and Maggie nodded, more tears lining her eyes.

“I was just reminding her about— nevermind.” She murmured.

“About what? I’d love to hear…” Iris replied softly.

“My dad would die if he heard this.” Maggie grinned. “My first summer back from college, I drove home, dumped my stuff off, went straight out to the stable for a ride. My family comes back from church and Beth grabs my things and starts unpacking my stuff upstairs.”

“That’s sweet.”

“Yeah, until this one here starts rifling through my backpack. She finds this little plastic container with these pink and green candies inside.” Maggie continues. Iris smirked knowingly, nodding along. “She didn’t even know I was on the pill. She was so freaked out by the idea of me, boys and sex that she runs outside and chucks them in the duck pond. And I ride up, I see this, I’m screaming. She’s crying and Shawn runs outside, thinks one of us is drowning. 

Soon as he figures out what’s going on, the jerk busts out laughing so loud that my horse rears up and gets mud all over the three of us. My dad comes out, ‘what the heck is going on out here?!’ and she turns around, bats her eyelids and says, ‘we’re just swimming, daddy.’ In her Sunday dress, all covered in snot and mud.” She stopped, sniffing as a tear ran down her cheek.

“Rick, and Glenn, they'll get Hershel. They’ll be back soon and she’ll be up and at ‘em.” Iris consoled. Maggie nodded.

“Glenn’s a good guy.” She murmured.

“Yeah, he is.” Iris replied, offering a teasing grin. Maggie huffed at her expression, rolling her eyes playfully.

-

“You sure you wanna come?” Shane asked as he and Daryl loaded the back of the SUV with weapons. Daryl looked slightly out of place wearing a shirt with sleeves, his red bandana tied around his neck. He did have his angel-wing leather vest, however, which eerily reminded Iris of home.

“Bite me, Shane.” Iris replied sweetly, offering a smile as she double-checked all her knives. Daryl’s lips curled up at the corner and he looked up, seeing Iris turn away from him. Shane raised an eyebrow, exhaling through his nose as he slammed the trunk shut. T-Dog and Andrea walked over, bringing over some food for the road, just in case.

“Guys.” Andrea said, pointing to the road. A red chevy was driving toward the farm, rather quickly. They didn’t stop at the camp, instead pulling right up to the house. Carl and Lori came out right away, everyone at the camp jogging to meet them. Rick, Hershel and Glenn got out of the truck, present and accounted for, and seemingly unharmed.

“Dad!” Carl cried, leaping into his arms. Rick embraced him tightly, Lori joining quick. Maggie ran out and Hershel stepped forward, expecting to meet her, but she sidestepped him, hugging Glenn instead. Iris’ eyebrows shot up but she didn’t say anything as Hershel scoffed, walking toward Patricia.

“Patricia, prepare the shed for surgery.” He instructed sharply.

“Surgery?” Iris asked, frowning.

“Who the hell is that?” T-Dog asked, pointing to the unknown kid sitting in the backseat of the chevy. There was a strip of red fabric over his eyes like a blindfold, but he seemed either asleep or unconscious. His lips were pretty pale, and Iris suspected the kid was the one who was injured.

“That’s Randall.” Glenn answered, seemingly over-it. Daryl, Andrea, T-Dog and Dale approached him while Iris approached Rick with a few others, expecting an explanation.

“We couldn’t just leave him behind.” Rick offered once they all got reacquainted, gathering together in Hershel’s dining room. “He would’ve bled out, if he lived that long.”

“It’s gotten bad in town.” Glenn stated, shaking his head.

“What do we do with him?” Andrea asked.

-

“I repaired his calf muscle as best I can, but he’ll probably have nerve damage. Won’t be on his feet for at least a week.” Hershel announced, wiping his hands with a cloth as he walked into the room.

“Do we want him to be on his feet? We don’t know this kid.” Iris murmured.

“He’s just a kid.” Rick replied. “But once he’s up, we give him a canteen, take him out to the main road, send him on his way.”

“Isn’t that the same as leaving him for the walkers?” Andrea asked.

“Nope.” Iris said pointedly. 

“He’ll have a fighting chance.” Rick agreed, nodding.

“Just gonna let him go?” Shane asked with a scoff. “He knows where we are.”

“He was blindfolded the whole way here. He’s not a threat.” Rick retorted.

“Not a threat. How many of them were there? You killed three of their men, took one of them hostage, but they just ain’t gonna come looking?”

“They left him for dead. No one is looking.”

“We should still post a guard.” T-Dog murmured.

“He’s out cold right now, will be for hours.” Hershel explained.

“You know what? I’m gonna go get him some flowers and candy.” Shane spat. “Look at this, folks! We back in fantasyland.”

“You know, we haven’t even dealt with what you did at my barn yet.” Hershel said loudly, stepping toward Shane as he meant to leave. “Let me make this perfectly clear, once and for all— This is my farm. I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. So do us both a favour— keep your mouth shut.” Iris grinned widely. Shane sucked on a tooth, sighing as he looked over everyone around the table. He spun on his heel and left. 

The group slowly dispersed, cooling off as they got back into their rounds of… as close to normalcy as they could get. Iris leaned her head back as she stood in the sun, letting her skin soak up some vitamins before she went to sit in the shade. She heard the tall grass crunching behind her and opened one eye, looking at Daryl as he stood, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“If it isn’t my hero.” She murmured. She wasn’t mad about it anymore, but she wouldn’t let everything go right away.

“Don’t call me that.” He replied softly. She opened one eye again, turning to face him. “I ain’t your hero, and you ain’t mine. But you saved my life, and I saved yours. We’re even.”

“Are we?” Iris replied, raising an eyebrow. Daryl paused, looking down at his feet before shaking his head.

“Nah.” He muttered, stepping closer. Iris froze, unsure of his actions before he grabbed her hand and placed his red bandana into it, closing her fingers before letting it drop. She held it up before looking to him.

“What’s this for?”

“’s so it’s an even trade.” He replied simply. For the one she’d ripped and given him, to staunch his bleeding. At least, if she needed this one to save her life, it was already red. Her face softened as she looked down at the bandana in her hands, and he was almost uncomfortable with how genuinely she looked at him next.

“Thank you.” She said softly. He said nothing in return, simply nodding before turning and making his way back toward his tent. Iris didn’t think he, or anyone, frankly, noticed how much that bandana meant to her. But over the past week or so, she had found herself reaching for it and finding it gone. Now, at least, she had this one. 

Daryl didn’t bother to mention that he had also asked Carol if she could help him remove the stains from her old one and try to sew it back together.

-

Dale let Iris know that he’d explained to Rick how he felt about Shane, and what Shane had said to them. Each threat, each choice, each part of Shane that made him a danger to the group. And Rick took Shane on a little drive to set it all straight. Well, to drop off Randall as well, but to set Shane straight was a big part of it. Iris understood how Rick thought he should do things, but Shane was as much of a ticking time bomb as the damn CDC. Except his actions weren’t triggered by the ramblings of a crazy doctor, it was all him. 

Iris… she didn’t think Shane was going to make it. He was going to blow, or he was going to get exiled by the group, or he was going to be killed, or die. He wouldn’t do any of it without a fight, but the way Shane did things was not what built a long term community. An army, maybe. A group of crazed survivalists, but not a community. Not what the world needed.

“Iris.” Rick called, stalking across the camp. The triumphant leader returns. 

“Yeah.” She called, looking up from her knife collection. 

“Shane and I spoke, and we agreed that we need to start using our knives more. To keep quiet and save ammunition. Take a page from your book.” He explained, gesturing vaguely to her weaponry. She nodded, tipping an invisible hat dramatically. Rick’s lips quirked upward and he took a breath. He took everything so seriously. “I was hoping you could give us some direction at some point. Best ways to take down a walker with a knife, face to face or from a distance.”

“I’m not opposed, for sure. But the throwing thing, that comes from years of pre-walker practice.” Iris explained, sitting back and looking up as he squatted down next to her. She picked up a throwing knife, aiming and letting it fly. About twenty feet away, T-Dog lurched to the left as the knife embedded itself in a target she’d carved. “Sorry!” She called. He made a face, waving her off. Rick chuckled.

“Alright then. Face to face it is.” He agreed. “Can you start with Carl?” He asked. Iris blinked, but that was the only surprise she would show.

“Of course.” She nodded, shaking his hand as he got up and walked off to his next leadership task. She turned to see him kicking rocks up and down the road. He looked rather bored. “Hey, cowboy!”

“Yeah?” He asked. Iris waved him over and he started running, meeting halfway.

“Your dad wants me to teach you some knife skills. You in?” She asked. He grinned.

-

“Okay, we’ll start with this one, alright?” They were a little ways in the forest and she handed him an average size knife. Long enough, sharp enough, small enough. Lori and Rick both knew where they were and Carol volunteered to come with, to watch and learn. “This is a pretty standard size, good for learning. You can keep that one, okay? But you take care of it like a chef, you hear me?”

“Yes ma’am.” He agreed, flashing a grin.

“Now you can grip it forward, or you can grip it backward, but however you grip you stick with it so you don’t drop the knife. This determines how you stab the walker.” She explained. “Now the method that works the best is to take it down first, especially because a lot of ‘em are gonna be taller than you till you grow, okay?”

“Okay.” He stood up, copying her stance and she smiled. She whistled sharply, and a single walker groaned as it started toward them in the forest.

“You wanna kick out their knee. So you can do this from the front or behind, whichever is safest in the moment. From the front, you can either kick it out to break it, and the walker falls pretty straight, or you pull, and they fall toward you. That’s a little more dangerous. From the back, you kick forward so they fall away from you.” She explained. Once the walker got close enough, she demonstrated, and the walker slumped to the ground without much fight.

“What happens if it doesn’t fall the right way?” Carl asked.

“What matters is it gets on the ground and that you feel in control. If you panic, it gets unsafe.” Iris replied. "Now once the walker is on the ground, you pin ‘em. If they fall on their front, put your foot right here at the base of their neck, between their shoulders. Pins their head and arms sort of at the same time.” She replied. “C’mere, put your foot up, see how hard you have to hold it?”

“It’s strong.” He grunted, the walker fighting against the ground. 

“Mhm. Don’t underestimate them, alright? They might be mindless but that means they’ll do whatever it takes to sink their teeth in.” Iris warned. Carl nodded. She took over again, finding it much easier with more practice. “Here, I’ll dismember squirmy here for our practice.” She reached down with a longer knife, cutting off the walker’s arms so he couldn’t reach for them. Iris tossed them somewhere in the woods.

“Gross.” Carl recoiled, covering his nose because of the smell.

“Get used to it, cowboy.” Iris grinned. “Now until you get stronger, it’s better to find the weaker places on the skull to stab them. That means eyes, under the chin, in the ear, or here.” She pointed to places on her own head. “You can feel on your own head for the soft parts versus the thick skull.”

“Like right here?” He asked, pointing to a particularly soft spot on his own head.

“Bingo, little man.” She agreed. “Now why would it be better to choose a soft spot?”

“Because its easier to stab?” He asked.

“That’s half of it. Wanna venture a guess, Carol?” Iris called, catching her attention. Carol shrugged.

“So it’s easier to pull out?” She asked. Iris put her fingertip to her nose.

“Exactly. You find yourself in a position where you need to fight off more than one, it’s a hell of a lot easier when your knife doesn’t get stuck because you chose to shove it through some thick bone. These guys might rot, but they rot slow. Now take your time, you can kill this one, okay?” 

She motioned to the armless walker she was holding down, and in one swift motion, Carl buried the knife in the base of it’s skull, and it stopped wriggling. He pulled the knife out in a second motion, rubbing the gore off on the walker’s clothes.

“You’re a pro!” She beamed, and Carl grinned back. “You wanna try one now? I think I hear another one coming.”

“I… I’m nervous.” Carl admitted, gripping the knife tight in it’s hand.

“You got this. You watched me, you know how. I’ll be right here, nothing’s gonna happen to you, cowboy.” Iris encouraged. She watched as the smaller walker approached, and Carl ran around to the other side, kicking it’s legs out. Iris smiled as he used both feet to pin it down, planting the knife into it’s skull.

“I did it!” He cried. Iris held up her hand and he gave a gnarly high-five. She half turned, smiling to her other student.

“Your turn, Carol.” She invited. Carol paled a little and cleared her throat.

“I’m okay just watching, for now.” She said quietly, smiling softly at Carl. Iris nodded.

“Alright, well let me know if you change your mind. Let’s go again, cowboy. Try a different direction.”

Taglist:

@heidiland05 @ryoujoking @catlalice @maxinehufflepuffprincess @lowkeyhottho

#thenameisz #daryl dixon #daryl dixon x reader #skeletons #the walking dead #the walking dead daryl dixon #twd daryl #twd daryl dixon #daryl dixon x oc

[babbling-idiot]

Could I please request a Colin gray x fem cheerleader reader who has powers like telekinesis, healing, the ability to heal and control plants and has visions of the future meeting and dating headcanons and her telling Colin about her powers and her saving him from Jennifer too . thank you.

(This is a combination of two different requests, so I hope you both like this and that I haven't angered you with how long it took me to get it out to you.)

For the longest time you and colin had been friends. No one would ever suspect that the two of you were friends just based on your high school image. Plus, most people believed that he disliked the boy and girls of the school who were "popular". Though that was mostly the case, you were special. He had known you for a while and had formed the biggest crush on you and you the same. You being a cheerleader and him the goth kid, no one ever would have thought that you would ever agree to going on a date with him. But for a while you had this crush on him that was almost if not intense. When he did take you on a date, it had gone completely different from the way he thought it would. He hoped and perhaps prayed that the date would go wonderfully with maybe the hope for another date to be set in the future. Instead, while you and him were eating a group of guys from high school walked in. Greeting you like they always do with an extra hidden meaning behind it. When their eyes landed on Colin the onslaught of awful comments started to pour. Not only were they just awful. They made him uncomfortable, and he felt the need to just curl up and disappear from the diner. You could see this plastered on his beautiful face. The look of complete defeat. So, without bringing much attention to anything you looked to where the guys were headed and could see a younger boy, possibly a freshman, mopping a certain part of the floor from a spill that had happened moments before the group got there. Focusing just a small bit you were able to make the back wheels of the mop bucket stop rolling and the pressure the boy had put into pushing the bucket forced it to topple backwards and spill to the floor. The shocked gasp from the younger boy was enough to distract the guys for a moment before they all ended up tripping and slipping down into the giant puddle of dirty mop water. And for extra effect you laughed. It was kind of hard to have a genuine laugh knowing that you had made it happen, but the way they fell and the almost happy look on Colins face was enough to help you really sell it. 

When the night had come to an end, colin had walked you to your door after pulling up to your house. He gave you a peck on the hand, as cheesy as it was you reciprocated with a kiss to his cheek. Pulling away you twist the nob to your front door. Turning to face a stunned Colini you smile. 

"So, you want to go out again next week sometime? I heard there was a new horror movie coming out and didn't really want to go alone." 

He's shocked to say the least but nods his head in excitement. 

The next few days were strange for colin. He had witnessed a few strange things about you that he couldn't explain. Like that fact that you were able to use your mind to do things. Moving objects was something he had seen you do but didn't tell you he saw. 

Sadly, in your case you and Colin had yet to become an item. You wanted to wait a couple date in to make that decision. And so, when a certain someone asked him to hang out, you had no say in the matter.

In the following moments after that things began to seem odd. At least the air hanging around Colin. There was dread, and somehow you could feel it coming from one person. You weren't a confrontational person, but you did keep a watchful eye on Jennifer Check. You especially watched as she stared Colin down throughout the day after asking him to hangout. You knew that in her words. Hanging out is something else. So, in the hours leading up you watched her. Kept a rather close eye on her aura and was able to find out what she really is. Before you knew it you had followed her to this unknown location. It was abandoned and for a moment you thought it was a trap for you. But then quickly remembered Colin had agreed to see her. You could hear his music playing as he drove up the street. When he stopped his car and walked inside the building you knew right then and there that it was over. He was dead and that if you could get in there fast enough you could save him. 

Minutes felt like hours as you waited for Jennifer to leave. And when she finally walked out the front door with blood coating her hands, face and jacket you winced in thought of what he could possibly look like. When you were sure she was gone you got out of your car quickly and ran inside. Slowly down to a stop when you could see his legs on the floor. Blood was already pooling all around him. Looking at him in this state was the most painful thing you had ever experienced. You felt as though your world stopped spinning. You walked over behind his head and lifted his to set it in your lap. Placing your hand on his forehead you begin to focus. Soon enough the blood around him began to disappear. The blood on his face also gone with the focus you were emitting. Leaning back a few inches you waited for him to wake up. Most times whoever and whatever you were bringing back would jolt up right and freak out. Sure enough, Colin jolts upright. He gasps in shock as he is able to breathe in a breath of fresh air. You slowly place a hand on his shoulder, and he gasps again yet this time it's in fear. He jumps back when he sees you and looks at you for a moment before relaxing. He breaths shakily before speaking.

"I know about your telekinesis. And your healing power. I hoped you would come to save me, I prayed and hoped to everything that could hear me that you were just right outside the door, I'm so happy you're here." 

He says as he starts to tremble and move closer. Soon he is gripping your jacket lapels, and his face is buried in your shoulder. Tears are wetting you through the clothing you wear. Finally, he begins to calm down and you speak to him. 

"I knew something was off about her before you even agreed to go out with her. I know now that I was right, but I am glad I was here. I won't let anything hurt you ever again. I swear."

You planned on keeping that promise to him. For as long as you were alive you would protect him, especially from Jennifer Check.

#colin gray x reader #colin gray headcanon #colin gray imagines #colin gray #jennifers body #kyle gallner

[numinousmysteries]

Dancing the Tandava (4/10)

[on Ao3] @today-in-fic

Geneva, Switzerland 2023

Hannah forgets William’s parents were coming to visit until she hears knocking on the door. She’s been up all night in a panic and is so tightly wound that the sound of the knock makes her whole body flinch.

Last night, she and William had been watching a movie on his laptop, both lying face down in his bed, propped up on their elbows. He has a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of old sci-fi and horror B-movies, and, after learning she’d never seen Plan 9 From Outer Space or Attack of the 50-Foot Woman, he’s made it his personal mission to expand her horizons. As aspiring physicists, they’ve made a game out of poking holes in the films' plots, but she can tell he genuinely enjoyed them.

They were midway through The Thing when William got a call. Dr. Bellona needed his assistance immediately for a special project at the large hadron collider. She heard William agree to come into the lab even though it didn’t make any sense. They were both research interns for Dr. Farber, whose office was next door to Bellona’s. Besides, interns aren’t certified or trained to work directly on the collider, and they’re never urgently needed at 9 p.m.

“Bellona?” she asked. “Didn’t you say you saw him doing something weird near the Shiva statue on your way home today?”

“Yeah,” William replied, getting out of bed. “I guess now I can ask him what he was up to.”

Hannah had a bad feeling. She bit her lower lip and tried to resist the impulse to pull him back onto the bed as he rose up.

She watched as he pulled a thick navy sweater over his gray t-shirt. A thin line of his toned abdomen peeked out as he lifted up his arms and she forced herself to look away. William is her best friend, the first person she’d ever met who could keep up with her in debates about loop quantum gravity. He’s also undeniably hot: Tall and lean, with piercing blue eyes, and a strong jawline. She teases him for being a jock because he played varsity basketball and baseball in high school, but she secretly appreciates his body as much as his mind.

They’re only friends, though—and roommates and co-workers but nothing more. They don’t talk about their dating lives, although based on how much time he spends either with her or at the lab she can’t imagine his is any more exciting than her own non-existent one. Sure, she feels an electric jolt whenever his hand grazes hers, but William Mulder could probably get any girl he wants. Well, maybe if he toned down his own nerdiness a little.

“I’ll be back soon,” he said, leaving her alone on his bed. Hannah groaned in protest but she could already hear the apartment door shutting behind him.

She waited up for him to return. An hour, then two, then three. She texted and called him but he didn’t respond. Finally at 1 a.m. she pulled a puffy coat over her pajamas, slipped on a pair of boots, and marched down to the ATLAS facility at CERN where she and William worked. She tapped her key card to the sensor at the door but it lit up red and didn’t open. When it failed two more times, she knocked at the door, getting the attention of a security guard she hadn’t seen before.

“Can I help you?” he asked, poking his head out the door into the cold night air.

“Um, I left something at my desk. I just wanted to come pick it up.”

“You’ll have to come back in the morning,” the security guard said sternly. “There’s been an incident and the entire facility is on lockdown.”

“An incident?” she asked, scrunching her brow in concern. It seemed too quiet for there to have been an accident at the facility. There were no sirens or crowds assembled. “What kind of incident?”

“Not sure,” he said. “But someone’s gone missing in the collider tunnel.”

“Missing?” she asked. It wasn’t possible. The large hadron collider was housed in an underground tunnel made of reinforced concrete. It was huge, nearly 17 miles in circumference, but entirely enclosed. There was nowhere for someone to go missing.

The guard just shrugged and started pulling the door closed.

“Wait—” she said, yanking the glass door back open. “Who is it?”

“An intern, they think,” he said. Then he shut the door.

Hannah’s bad feeling got a lot worse.

Back at the apartment, she spent the rest of the night texting other interns in their cohort to see if anyone knew what had happened, but everyone was either asleep or equally clueless.

When she heard the knock at the door she perked up, thinking it was William and he’d forgotten his keys. She didn’t expect to see his parents there instead. She met them once before, when she stayed at their home for a weekend over the summer. William’s mother, from whom he inherited his eyes and coloring, was a doctor and scientist, the kind of accomplished and serious woman she hoped to one day become herself. His father, who looked nearly exactly like an older version of William, was funny and, as William warned, did tell some strange stories but she found them fascinating. Hannah sat aghast as Mr. Mulder recalled a liver-eating monster, a telekinetic killer, and satanic PTA members. William and his mom only rolled their eyes, clearly having heard (or, in Dr. Scully’s case, lived through) these tales before.

Now, she watches as William’s mother’s face drops when she tells her he’s gone.

“Where is he?” his father shouts, cutting through her shock.

Hannah tries to answer, but she only starts crying harder. Dr. Scully drapes an arm around her and leads her to the living room sofa. The coffee table is cluttered with her and William’s books and notebooks and the remains of their takeout dinner from the night before. They would have cleaned up after the movie but then William was called away.

Hannah buries her head in her hands, trying to slow her hyperventilation, as Wlliam’s mom sits down next to her, rubbing her back. She’s ashamed to be such an emotional mess in front of them, but she can’t help it.

“Mulder, why don’t you get Hannah a glass of water?” Dr. Scully asks softly. William’s parents call each other by their last names, a holdover from their days as FBI partners. He said it was embarrassing, but she thinks it’s sweet.

Mulder returns with the water and Hannah sips it slowly.

“Hannah, can you tell us what happened?” Dr. Scully asks gently, still with a calming hand on her back.

Hannah takes a deep breath, trying to steady herself.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Scully,” she says.

“Dana,” William’s mom interrupts. “You can call me Dana.”

“Okay,” Hannah continues. “He was called in last night to assist on a project with the large hadron collider, but he never came back. I went down to our worksite and they told me he’d gone missing inside the LHC tunnel. But that’s impossible. The tunnel is fully enclosed.”

She pauses to wipe the tears off her face with her sweatshirt sleeve. “I think this physicist Dr. Bellona has something to do with it. William saw him yesterday leading some sort of ritual outside the Shiva statue and then he was the one who called William last night.”

“What Shiva statue?” Mulder asks, his eyes darting from Hannah to his wife.

“Um, there’s a statue of the Hindu god Shiva right behind our building. Apparently, Dr. Bellona was chanting and scattering something there with these other people and he kind of stared down William when he saw him.”

“We have to go see that statue,” Mulder says, already headed to the door. His frenetic energy reminds her of William when he’s excited about a new idea.

“Is that okay, Hannah?” William’s mom asks. “Can you come show it to us?”

She guides them outside to a courtyard in between her apartment and the neighboring office building. There, on a granite podium, stands a giant brass model of a majestic Shiva dancing in a fiery halo. He has one foot on the back of a smaller being, and the other raised in the air in celebration.

“This is it,” she says. “It was a gift from the Indian government. What do you think Bellona was doing here?”

Mulder steps forward to examine the statue.

“I don’t know,” he says, rubbing his fingers along the engraved plaque on its base. “But I saw this same symbol earlier this morning in the taxi that took us here from the airport. The driver had a medallion hanging from his mirror that looked exactly like this.”

“It’s probably a coincidence,” Dana says. “But I have to admit, it’s odd. Why is there a religious statue at a scientific center?”

“There are parallels between the story of Shiva dancing the universe into existence and the movement of subatomic particles,” Hannah answers. As a self-proclaimed atheist, she’d asked herself the same question upon coming to CERN, confident that all answers could be found in science. But the more she learns about particle physics, the more mysterious the world seems. “Carl Sagan called Shiva’s cosmic dance the most elegant and sublime representation of the creation of the universe.”

“She quotes Sagan,” Mulder says, smiling. “No wonder William likes you so much.”

Hannah blushes. Glancing down, she spots a green, trifoliate leaf on the pebbled ground. It’s bright with two smaller leaflets and a longer, wider one in the middle, and stands out against the gray of the stones on the walkway. As she looks around on the ground, she sees a few more dispersed around the statue.

“Look at this,” she says, bending down to pick it up. “Maybe Bellona was scattering leaves.”

“Let me see,” Dana says, reaching over to take the leaf from Hannah. “It looks like it’s from a citrus plant, possibly tropical. I don’t think it’s from anything that grows around here.”

“Hannah!” a French-accented voice calls out and all three of them turn around.

It’s Emmanuelle Toussaint, a young French engineer who works in the LHC control center. Hannah had met her at a cocktail reception for women at CERN and the two had become friendly. If there really was an incident with the LHC, Emanuelle would know about it.

“Did you hear what happened?” Emmanuelle asks, striding over to the statue near Hannah and William’s parents.

“To William?” Hannah blurts out desperately.

Emmanuelle looks confused. “No,” she says. “The LHC operated at 15 TeV last night.”

“That’s physically impossible,” Hannah says under her breath.

You don’t need to tell me that,” Emanuelle responds excitedly. “I saw it with my own eyes from the control center, though. We’ve calibrated and recalibrated every detector and we’re still getting the same reading.”

“Scully, I might need some translating here,” Mulder leans over to Dana to whisper.

“I don’t think I understand what’s going on either,” she says.

“The collider has a maximum total collision energy of 14 TeV, or teraelectronvolts per beam. It’s only ever operated at 13 TeV, though, and achieving 15 TeV would require physical upgrades that are years away,” Hannah explains.

“Sorry,” she continues. “Emmanuelle, these are William’s parents, and,” she pauses. “William went missing last night.”

“Oh my goodness,” Emmanuelle gasps, bringing a thin hand to her mouth. “That was him with Dr. Bellona.”

“What happened?” Dana asks.

“Dr. Bellona was the one running the experiment last night. There’s footage of him inside the tunnel working on a calibration with someone else. I didn’t realize it was William with him. Then, there was a power surge and we lost connection to the cameras. When they came back online, Bellona was still there but William wasn’t.”

“Where could he have gone?” Hannah asks.

“I don’t know,” Emmanuelle continues. “But Dr. Bellona called the control room and wanted us to begin the collider run. We obviously can’t do that if anyone is still in the tunnel and, since we didn’t see William exit, we couldn’t start the collider. We locked down the facility and had the technicians do a full sweep of the tunnel. No one was there. Bellona insisted William had exited with him and had gone home, and since there was no sign of him in the tunnel, we figured he was telling the truth. That’s when we started the experiment and the LHC hit 15 TeV.”

“But William didn’t come home,” Hannah says quietly.

“What would happen if the collider ran while he was inside the tunnel?” Mulder asks.

Hannah glances at Emmanuelle. They both know it would be instantly fatal for anyone to be exposed to the high voltage and intense magnetic fields generated by a run of the particle accelerator. Hannah’s heart thumps hard in her chest.

“It is impossible,” Emmanuelle says, shaking her head. “We would never run an experiment with anyone inside. There are too many safety protocols in place. And no one was inside at the time. I don’t know where William went, but I can promise you he was not in the tunnel.”

“I think we need to talk to this Dr. Bellona,” says Dana.

#xfiles #txf #xf fanfic #msr #xfiles fanfic #x files #the x files

[t4tower-of-t4terror]

Twst horror movie taste hcs

A response to smthn in my ask box! I've actually had this in my drafts for over a year!

Riddle

DEFINITELY was not allowed to watch horror movies

I feel like his dormmates have been easing him into the genre a little

He likes Carrie. He finds Carrie White relatable

I feel like Riddle would also like early horror. Universal monsters and maybe a little Hitchcock

But he can't do gore and he isnt a huge fan of slashers

Trey

Casual horror fan. Pretty decent taste

Like he's seen most of the big franchises (Halloween, NOES, Friday the 13th, Scream, Child's Play, etc.)

He seems like either a 70s horror kinda guy or a 90s-2000s horror kinda guy.

Maybe I'm projecting but. I feel like he'd enjoy Black Christmas

Probably secretly enjoys really fucked up insane movies. Curse of science club

Cater

LOVES schlocky slashers

Definitely watches Dead Meat. I feel it in my bones.

Cater likes campy stuff above all. He HAS done a Jennifer Check Halloween costume.

Probably loves The Lost Boys, The Craft, Jennifer's Body, Bride of Chucky, Rocky Horror, all of that fun stuff

Him and Trey have occasional marathons. Sometimes they invite Riddle

Deuce

LOVES HORROR STUFF

Has a tendency to get spooked by it, though

He absolutely loves the Friday the 13th movies.

Has probably done a Billy and Stu costume w Ace

Ace

He's such a wuss but he pretends he isn't

This fuck chooses the scariest shit during horror movie nights and almost pisses his pants

His fav is probably Fright Night. Idk why

Leona

He "doesn't watch movies"

I think he'd fw Chucky though

Ruggie

Black comedy lover

HUGE fan of b-movie franchises like Leprechaun, Gingerdead Man, Evil Bong, etc

I feel like he watches Troma

Avid $5 movie box enthusiast

Jack

I don't think he'd watch any

He gets too upset

Azul

Hes a coward

He really likes movies where the killer gets revenge on their bullies

Idk why but I think he'd fuck with paranormal horror

He likes The Shining. No clue why

Jade

SCARY TASTE BAD TASTE

He's an extreme horror fan

He's seen it ALL

like. Homie can watch the most fucked up shit with a straight face

He recommends Salo at parties. He also is no longer allowed to go to parties.

Floyd

Like Jade.

Fucko will absolutely be like "we shld watch Slaughtered Vomit Dolls!!! I've heard it's really fun" so he doesn't get invited to Halloween parties.

Kalim

Also doesn't watch horror

He gets emotional when certain characters die

He does fw hocus pocus though

Jamil

Also a really graphic horror fan

He probably likes it as projection

He also likes complex psychological stuff. More of a casual fan but has a morbid curiosity with the genre

Really likes "descent into madness" movies

Vil

ARTHOUSE MOVIES

But I feel like Vil wld adore Black Swan specifically. It's a personal callout

Vil likes the darker, artsier vampire movies. They prioritize aesthetic above all else and WILL critique period-inaccurate costuming

But has one rlly campy guilty pleasure franchise. Idk why but I wanna say Sleepaway Camp. Pretends the ending of the first movie doesn't exist.

Rook made her watch Serial Mom and she kinda fucking loved it

Rook

I'm split here. Because this man is a fucking FREAKAZOID

Either he only watches deeply artsy pretentious horror films for the beauty in it

Or he has a collection of "horror" DVDs that are VERY VERY DUBIOUS. And probably real

Whatever. Rook Hunt I recommend The Hunger with David Bowie and Katherine Deneuve because it suits him. Also Hellraiser for graphic gore and also weird erotica.

Also he's a John Waters girlie. I believe it with my whole fucking soul.

Epel

Why do I wanna say Final Destination or Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

Surprised by how much his dormmates actually enjoy bloody horror movies. Despite that, he handles mainstream horror better than he handles Vil's arthouse horror or Rook's whatever the fuck Rook watches

Idia

Category 5 autisms about Perfect Blue

Genuine diehard horror fan. This is canon btw

He has a canon niche horror franchise he made a detailed Halloween cosplay of. This is a fact.

Also. Re-Animator for obvious reasons

Ortho

He is the horror, if you think about it.

Also he watched Videodrome because of the film club and got really into it

Malleus

I can only imagine him watching black and white horror. And distinctly romantic vampire movies

Bride of Frankenstein girlie

Lilia

All of em

ALL. OF. THEM.

Old weird bat man liked horror movies that only 5 people have ever seen. He has the most insane letterboxd page known to man

Silver

He doesn't have much interest in horror as a genre

But maybe Nightmare on Elm Street. Lilia made him watch it

He liked Dream Warriors.

Sebek

Tried to sit through a horror movie because Lilia likes them but he couldn't do it

[powderblueblood]

i need to know whats the most embarrassing thing lacy has found in eddie’s room and vice versa! (and ronnie too actually, cant forget our queen)

god this is so near and dear to my heart you have no idea

first thing, the overarching constant motif with this little non-throuple is whenever one of them leaves the room, they yell to the other, “DON’T SNOOP!” and naturally they immediately begin snooping.

eddie’s is the thick manila folder detailing (heavily detailing) the life and times of his fictional tiefling girlfriend who is named finore aurora. finore aurora. one more time i’m gonna give that to you, finore aurora. say that out loud. five times fast. that’s diabolical, eddie.

how does lacy know she’s his girlfriend? well, there are several longhand accounts of him dancin’ and romancin’ this creature which, though genuinely quite moving and beautifully written (and dirty!), make her feel like she is losing her mind. kind of out of jealousy, a little bit. so oftentimes, when she’s in a shitty mood, she’ll hit eddie with a little, “i don’t know, why don’t you go ask finore aurora, asshole?”

lacy’s took some digging to find because she’s an expert in the art of squirrelling herself away. but deep deep deeeeep under her bed is a shoebox with a little tape recorder. and in that tape recorder is a tape, which features lacy doevski… pretending to be interviewed. like she’s on dick cavett. like she’s on johnny carson.

eddie only got as far as lacy saying that, “no, i like being on tv… as long as it’s not my job. i like being on tv, it makes me feel like an american. it’s like owning a car,” before he heard her footsteps and he had to slip the tape in his back pocket because there was no way he wasn’t sparking a joint in the van and listening to her harp on for what turned out to be twenty full minutes. just talking to herself. waxing on about successful books she hadn’t yet written and society pages she hadn’t yet featured in. there’s a part where this supposed interviewer asks her something about loneliness, and lacy goes, “do i have a fear of loneliness? no. loneliness is an inheritance. i’m trying to figure out how to spend it wisely.”

that stuck to eddie’s ribs.

one day, in the van, seemingly apropos of nothing eddie does ask, “baby, do you miss owning a car? do you feel like… less of an american, no longer owning a car?” not a drop of blood is left in that poor girl’s face.

as for ronnie, this was a joint discovery made by the gruesome twosome. they were rushing out to the hideout for corroded coffin’s weekly engagement and ronnie asked them to grab something from her wardrobe—not realising that when they opened it, they’d find a bunch of barbie dolls, all sat in a semi circle.

“no way. i’ve known ecker since i was knee high to a grasshopper—“ “—okay, grandpa—“ “—and she’s so not a barbie girl.”

but you don’t know about women, eddie munson! you don’t know about the secrets they keep. the speculation of this little collection of wide-eyed, attentive dollies ranged from satanic ritual (real this time) to homosexual experimentation (“a dry run, before she hits the bars in college.” “what, like making out with the dolls? making the dolls make out?” “you’ve got so much to learn about girls, babe.”) to practicing for her valedictorian speech with a non-judgemental audience.

the last one was the closest, for ronnie’s real use for her cluster of barbies was… well, look. listen. before lacy, she had a zero sum of female friends. her life was incredibly testosterone filled, between hellfire and the band, and because of that, ronnie got a little stunted when it came to making friends with girls. so she used these barbies (which she did have since childhood, she just hid from eddie because ew… girl stuff… the horror of internalised misogyny) to have, y’know. girl talk.

she called it the state of the union, if that makes it any better. it doesn’t! lacy’s still trying to figure out a way to bring it up to ronnie because eddie’s too scared that the dolls might be haunted.

#powder room talk #potatobeanpies #hai brainrot #edlacy #ronnie ecker vs the world #r. ecker by powder #e. munson by powder #l. doevski by powder

[topazy]

Tomorrow’s promise

Paring: Shane Walsh x reader, Rick Grimes x sister reader

Warnings: Mentions if vomit

Chapter: 2.02

You closed the door quietly behind you and tiptoed into the living room while clutching the baby monitor to your ear. Hearing a chuckling noise, you look across the room and see Shane smiling at you, shaking his head before turning to face the TV again.

“That’s him finally asleep,” you whisper. Shane gently pulls you down towards him so you're sitting in his lap. He runs his finger over your shoulder with his free hand while his other hand holds his beer. He didn’t often drink, only when he was watching a football game. “Who’s winning?”

“I've got no idea,” he kisses the back of your shoulder. “I was too busy watching you in mom mode.”

You roll your eyes and say, “I was hardly in mom mode, just aunt Lily mode.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” he chuckled. “One of these, you're going to be begging me to have one of our own.”

You smile and say nothing else, knowing that you can’t share your biggest fear with Shane. You were afraid you weren’t cut out to be a mom. You loved Carl, but you weren’t sure if you could be a parent.

“Do you want me to take him for a moment?”

“No, I’m good.”

You were walking at the back of the group while gently rocking Jace, who had just stopped crying. Luckily, only one walker was attracted by his screaming, and Daryl shot it in the head with an arrow before it got close enough to bite anyone.

Lori lets out a frustrated sigh, “You're covered in vomit.”

“And dirt, blood, and probably piss as well. But like I said, I’m good.”

“You're being ridiculous, I’m his auntie,” she looks ahead to make sure nobody else is paying attention to your conversation. “Are we going to address the elephant in the room?”

“Carol’s daughter is missing. Once we’ve found her. Shane, Rick, and Carl are back safe, sure. We can address you, fucking Shane.”

You watch as Lori’s jaw clenches as she struggles for a comeback. Maybe it was petty to hold a grudge during an apocalypse, but Lori being the person Shane slept with hurt more than any pain you’ve felt before, and the worst part was she didn’t seem to care.

“For God's sake, Lily, at times you behave like a child-” Lori is cut off by a gunshot in the distance.

—

The rest of the walk through the wooded area was mostly in silence since the gunshot. Something felt off, everyone was acting more tense. It reminded you of the feeling you’d get watching a horror film, when you're waiting for the killer to pop up.

“Are you still worrying about it?” Andrea asks when Lori stops walking to look back in the direction you’ve come.

“It was a gunshot.”

Daryl nods in agreement, “We all heard it.”

“Why one? Why just one gunshot?”

Seeing the genuine panic on her face, you decide to say something. “I don’t think it was them. Neither Rick nor Shane would fire a bullet out in the open like that, it would make too much noise, and they wouldn’t risk it.”

“Shouldn’t they have caught up with us by now?” Carol asks.

“There’s nothing we can do about it anyway,” Daryl says calmly. “I can’t run around these woods chasing echoes.”

Lori raises her eyebrows, “so what do we do?”

“Same as we have been doing. Beat the bush for Sophia, work out a way back to the highway.”

Agreeing with Daryl, you start to walk forward again, you only look back when you notice him marching towards Carol, who had started to cry when Andrea said she was praying for her little girl. “I’ll tell you what it’s worth... not a damn thing. It’s a waste of time, all this hoping and praying. We’re going to locate that little girl, and she’s going to be just fine. Am I the only one zen around here? Good lord.”

You do your best to stifle a laugh at the last part, despite how rough he may look and sound, Daryl was all heart. He just didn’t want anyone else to know it.

—

“Oh my god, Jacey, for a boy who doesn’t eat a lot, you sure are sick a lot,” you mumble while stopping to unstrap Jace from your chest.

You pull off the shirt you are wearing and toss it to the ground, leaving you in just a vest top. With Jace safely back in his harness, you start to catch up with the others, and you notice Andrea has walked away from the rest of the group. You look around until you spot her swatting at flies while two walkers creep up on her, “Andrea get down!”

You pull the gun from your belt and fire three bullets. The first two only grazed the walker, but the third struck him in the head.

While you shot the first walker, Andrea tried to run away but fell to the ground with the second walker only inches away from her.

You watch as a woman with short brown hair rides up on a horse and hits the walker in the head with a wooden baseball bat. The brunette looks between you all, “Lori? Lori Grimes?”

“I’m Lori.”

“Rick sent me, you’ve got to come now.”

“What?” She asks, confused.

“There’s been an accident, Carl's been shot. He's still alive, but you’ve got to come now.”

Lori freezes on the spot as she tries to process what she’s just been told. You place your hand on her back and say, “You need to go with her; go to Carl.”

She snaps out of her trance and throws her backpack on the ground, then gets on the horse, much to Daryl’s dislike. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. We don’t know this girl. You can’t get on that horse.”

“Rick said you had others on the highway, the big traffic snarl? Backtrack to Fairburn Road Two miles down is our farm, you’ll see the mailbox, whose name is Greene.” She says this before quickly speeding off on her horse with Lori.

You reach your hand out and help Andrea to her feet, asking, “Are you okay?”

She pats herself down and says, “I’m fine, and Carl's going to be just fine as well.”

“Yeah, I know,” you nod. “We should keep going if we want to make it to the farm before nightfall.” You spin around, trying to remember what direction you were going in. “Which way is it again?”

Glenn, Andrea, and Carol all gave you a sympathetic look instead of answering your question. Daryl slung his crossbow over his shoulder and said, “This way.”

—

You tried to make sense of Carl being shot. You understand how serious the situation is, but you can’t grasp the fact that he could die. You didn’t want to. He was just a child, still just a baby in your eyes, and none of you could let him go.

“Is she okay?” Dale asks, looking in your direction.

“She’s still in shock, poor thing,” Andrea sighs. “But I’m in, I’ll stay here as well.”

Your eyes widened at the last part, you’d completely zoned out and missed the conversation that was taking place. “Sorry, what’s happening?”

Dale informs you of their plan. “Me, Daryl, and Andrea are going to stay with Carol in the RV tonight in case Sophia returns.”

“That's a good idea. I just need to grab a couple of things and head to the farm. I’m assuming he’s coming with me?” You ask quietly, pointing at T-Dog, who was slumped down on the ground with his back against a broken-down car.

The older man nodded and said, “Glenn will go with you. You can take Carol’s Cherokee.”

Glenn shook his head, understandably not happy about needing to leave the RV, he’d become attached to it.

You reach for him subconsciously and grab his hand and say, “Please, come with us. I don’t know if I’d be able to protect Jace and T-Dog on my own if I run into walkers.”

Reluctantly, he agreed, “How bad is he?”

“That cut has gone from bad to worse. He has a very serious blood infection,” Dale says seriously. “Get him to that farm and see if they have any antibiotics. Because if not, T-Dog will die, no joke.”

You watch as Daryl walks over to his motorbike and pulls a couple of dirty rags off it before pulling out a plastic bag full of pills. He tosses the rag at Dale, saying, “Keep your oily rags off my brother's motorcycle. Why’d you wait until now to say anything? I got my brother's stash. Crystal, X. You don’t need that. I got some kickass painkillers. Oxycyline. Not the generic stuff either, it’s first class. Merle got the clap on occasion.”

On any other day you would have laughed at his clap comment, but instead you picked up the drugs Daryl had left out and handed them to Glenn, “You want to help T-Dog and I’ll get our stuff?”

“I’ve already got it.”

You spin back around to see Daryl holding yours and Glenn’s backpacks. He had moved so fast, you hadn’t even noticed him going inside the RV and back out. You reach for the bags and say, “Thanks.”

He holds onto them while walking towards Carol's car. “I’ve got them…you’ve already got a heavy load on you anyway.”

“What a gentleman,” Andrea scoffs.

You watch as Daryl tosses the bags into the back seat, “hope that had nothin fragile in them.”

Once you check that Jace didn’t need to be changed, you step into the front passenger seat at the same time T climbs into the back. You felt bad that Glenn was leaving with you when he didn't want to, but what you said before was the truth. If, for any reason, you were surrounded, you didn't think you were a good enough fighter to protect yourself, your son, and T-Dog.

Glenn began to talk as he drove away from the highway and towards the farm, but nothing he said made any sense to you; the reality of what was happening was finally kicking in. It must've been an illusion, some trick of the mind, that was blocking you from the overwhelming feeling of grief and pain over your nephew being so close to death, even though you had every faith he’d pull through.

To make matters worse, you had a gut feeling this was just the beginning and the bad things would just keep coming.

#The walking dead #shane walsh x you #shane walsh x reader #fear the walking dead fandom #fear the walking dead fanfict #Shane Walsh #daryl dixion #TWD #lori grimes #rick grimes sister #rick grimes x reader #twd fanfiction #the walking dead fanfic #the walking dead x reader #Shane Walsh/you #Shane Walsh/reader #tomorrow’s promise

[kickedshins]

readalong riverdale playlist guide

songs have been added in no particular order. sometimes songs tie to broader visions of a musical episode, but some are just “they should have shoehorned this in somewhere in that classic riverdale way”. all songs are musical theater songs. yes i know they did superboy and the invisible girl but they did it wrong (sorry cami, you were great). this is an eternally updating playlist and guide. enjoy!

Corner of the Sky, from Pippin: Archie!!! This literally could happen anywhere at any point in time. What is this song if not Pippin going left Pippin going right. Put this wherever your heart desires. I want to come up with a Pippin musical episode plot because it’s so good. Jughead singing "Simple Joys" over a montage of Archie not dealing with his problems… I’m getting carried away.

Kind of Woman, from Pippin: Veronica would sing this in an entirely unselfaware way. I’m thinking early season two. Isn’t it a beautiful vision?

Superboy and the Invisible Girl, from Next to Normal: THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A COOPERS SONG. I’m mentally rewriting the n2n episode with this being a Coopers song.

Could I Leave You?, from Follies: A timeskip Veronica and Hermione duet at their respective shitty husbands. It ends with Hermione resignedly going back to the minutiae of marriage and with Ronnie shooting Chad in the face. Don’t worry about how this messes with plot this isn’t about that.

Your Fault, from Into the Woods: Read this post and envision a beautiful ITW episode.

I’ve Never Been in Love Before, from Guys and Dolls: Okay honestly? Archie and Josie duet. Cuter than "Fight For Me", imo.

Mother Knows Best, from Tangled: Alice, duh. Season one or season seven.

Do You Hear the People Sing?, from Les Mis: Season six union stuff baybee! Hand in hand with "Bread and Roses". It also would be really funny to have KJ and Vanessa, who in my opinion suffer the most from iPhone Voice in the cast, to do such a grand musical-y song. It would not be very good but boy would it be entertaining.

Therapy, from Tick, Tick… Boom!: BUGHEAD DYSFUNCTION DUET YES PLEASE. Let’s say season four. "Exquisite Corpse" vibe, but suppress it all. Maybe the problem’s simply codependency!

Get This Right, from Frozen II: Okay hear me out this is one of the most stupidly romantic songs I have ever heard. An Archie song, obviously. Timeskip Varchie. Maybe he’s actually about to propose, maybe not, doesn’t matter. All that matters is how much I genuinely think KJ could have slayed this song.

Being Alive, from Company: Obviously go read Jughead’s Weird Fantasy right now if you haven’t already. But even in Riverdale canon I would want Jughead to sing this in timeskip. If we’re getting specific it feels very Tabby tucking him in after he gets too drunk at the key party. Sorry for nixing the gay subtext by putting it next to a Jabitha moment jail for a million years for me I know. It could also be after Archie calls him when he’s in NYC. There you go, gay people.

Something’s Coming, from West Side Story: Season one or seven Archie. Just feels very wholesome. I think it would be cute. Could be performed on stage if season one.

How Did We Come to This?, from The Wild Party (Lippa): A Veronica La Bonne Nuit performance that somehow becomes a group number (she’s the only one singing on stage though). Season three. No "Queenie Was A Blonde" tag. I could make an AMV to this song. I should not do that I already have three in the works. But I could.

Run Away with Me, from The Mad Ones: This is purely self-indulgent because I like on-the-road Jarchie and I have a soft spot for this mediocre musical for personal reasons. 

Suddenly Seymour, from Little Shop of Horrors: Choni! Choni forever and ever amen. Season seven, I think, when Cheryl finally accepts that she’s a lesbian and is facing homophobia from her family/society/etc. Cheryl is Audrey which is funny because “mama was poor” lol no she wasn’t. They should go all the way and get the rights to change the lyrics to Suddenly Toni. Neither Madelaine nor Vanessa has the right voice for this song even a little bit. I do not care. 

Partner in Crime, from Tuck Everlasting: Betty and Archie. In my wildest fantasies this is like a season four flashback to them as kids and we have kid Barchie sing this song but other than that I think this could be a number when they’re hooking up in timeskip. Even though I don’t approve of Barchie hooking up in timeskip because I hate straight people I do think they would slay this. KJ specifically I think would sound great on this, it’s not really a Lili song but oh well. Another version that would be incredibly funny but not as good would be having timeskip Veronica and Reggie sing it about, like, actual crime.

Totally Fucked, from Spring Awakening: Kevin-centric group number in the style of "In" or "Beautiful". Could be anywhere from seasons two to four. Maybe we include the “did you write this?” thing with Betty and Jughead as Melchior. They did some expose for some paper. You know how it is. I wish the Riverdale characters were allowed to say fuck so bad.

Moving Too Fast, from The Last Five Years: Timeskip Jughead. It almost fits but doesn’t in a way that’s oh-so-Riverdale.

The I Love You Song, from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee: Sad. Shared between Betty, Veronica, and Cheryl, but Veronica-centric (could be an unhinged La Bonne Nuit performance from her with cutaways to the other two, actually). Whenever the most amount of parents in this group are in jail. There’s at least one meaningful shot of Jughead reacting.

I’m Breaking Down, from Falsettos: Okay this one is sort of cheating because I don’t necessarily want to fit it into the actual canon of Riverdale I just think if Archie had come out in high school Veronica would have pulled a "The Ladies Who Lunch" and done this at La Bonne Nuit. I think Cami would body that.

What Is This Feeling?, from Wicked: Hear me out. Bret/Jughead duet.

For Good, from Wicked: Betty and Veronica, season seven. Or quad number in late s4/early s5 before the timeskip. I think Lili would sound gorgeous on this, especially the bridge.

Two-Player Game, from Be More Chill: Look Joe Iconis wrote music that was used in Archie: The Musical let me have this okay. Season one Jarchie. Jughead as Michael obviously even though he’s nothing like Michael and Archie is nothing like Jeremy. I just want to make Cole Sprouse say “favowite”.

Mother’s Gonna Make Things Fine, from A New Brain: I have a whole beautiful vision for an A New Brain musical episode that takes place in season four. It’s too long to get into right now but just know it’s there and it’s gorgeous and I’m going to fully flesh it out soon. Once again this is obviously an Alice song, except instead of well-meaning Jewish mom it’s overbearing evil (albeit MILFy) WASP. She’s fretting over Betty because Betty’s fretting about college or Jughead or something who cares. I just need Mädchen to do this.

Change, from A New Brain: This would happen about three quarters of the way through the episode. In classic Riverdale fashion they’d get a little insensitive with it and this would be a Ronnie La Bonne Nuit performance. Change the government kill the mayor! Say that! Even if the mayor is your parent! Especially if the mayor is your parent!

Brain Dead, from A New Brain: This is my favorite part of my A New Brain musical episode. It’s once again a Bughead repression duet. Just imagine the lavender marriage dream sequence anger tango they would do. I also think Cole Sprouse wouldn’t sound too horrible on this song. High praise. No lyric changes Jughead is saying “as the MD lifts me in his cruisy chiseled arms”. I’m getting angry about the fact that I will never get to see this on my screen I’m going to do some breathing exercises to calm down.

Take Me or Leave Me, from RENT: We’re gonna split this up among couples in classic Riverdale fashion. Timeskip, our Maureens are Kevin and Veronica, and our Joannes are Fangs and Archie. The Joannes don’t really work so maybe we’ll pull another classic Riverdale and cut their verses. Unfortunately the best line of the song (“Women, what is it about them? Can’t live with them or without them!”) has to be cut. I wish Choni could also sing this but alas it can’t work in this. Mostly this is an excuse to give Casey Cott more stuff to sing and I think it would be hilarious if he sung this.

Tango: Maureen, from RENT: Honestly, Riverdale both could and would do a really messy RENT episode. I should ruminate further on that. Anyway. I don’t actually know where or how this could work but I want it to be a weirdly sexually charged Vughead duet. But that makes Betty or Archie Maureen, and they are not Maureen… I don’t know. This one’s just in here because I like imagining Cole Sprouse dancing, and because I think Jughead is Jewish and it would be really funny to hear him say “Riverdale Jewish Community Center”. Let’s go with timeskip. She cheated! She cheated! Betty cheated! Fucking cheated! Oh, shit, could this be a Jarchie song in timeskip when Betty and Archie are hooking up? I think it could! Wow. Good work gang.

Razzle Dazzle, from Chicago: I’m also creating a beautiful Chicago musical episode that I don’t have time to detail right now but trust me it’s awesome. It’s in season four, Hermosa is relevant to it. Anyway this is another Kevin-centric group number where everyone is lying to different people about different things. Crucially, Cole Sprouse says the line “they’ll never know you’re just a bagel”.

I Can’t Do It Alone, from Chicago: Veronica’s asking someone to help her scheme!

Mister Cellophane, from Chicago: GAY KEVIN. NEED I SAY MORE.

My Own Best Friend, from Chicago: Beronica duet. Lives would be changed. They’re sort of fighting at this point in the episode so there would be an underlying current of potential hatefucking. But that’s sort of always the case with this song tbh. Also this isn’t on this playlist but imagine Reggie singing "Roxie". So bad. So good.

American Idiot, by Green Day/from American Idiot: Songs from jukebox musicals count too, right? Archie-led group number obviously. Let’s go with season six, but it could be season one or five, too. Maybe he is the faggot America. Jughead says the line “now everybody do the propaganda”. There’s a coordinated dance thing a la "Random Number Generation".

A Cockeyed Optimist, from South Pacific: Archie, duh. Season one, six, or seven. Probably sung directly to a Lodge.

Watch What Happens, from Newsies: Betty, season four. She's doing a piece on the community center that Archie and Mad Dog co-run. I think Lili would slay this honestly. I debated adding the reprise largely so that I could have Cole sing the snake line and to have an iconic "the poor guy's head is spinning" thing side note how can I make Davey and Jack about Jughead and Archie someone needs to shoot me. Anyway we'd cut the stuff about Katherine being into Jack in this song obviously because Betty is unhappily hetero with Jughead. Hashtag women in journalism.

Matchmaker, from Fiddler on the Roof: 50sdale girls. Really strong fun gay visuals exist in my brain for this one.

Anything You Can Do, from Annie Get Your Gun: Vughead. Neither can I!

Let Me Entertain You, from Gypsy: Ronnie duh. Season three-ish La Bonne Nuit Era. Or Polly Amorous.

I Cain't Say No, from Oklahoma!: 50sdale Betty sexual awakening era. I can SEE a beautiful beautiful dream sequence vision where she dances around flirting with Archie and Jughead and Reggie and Veronica can't you.

Tribulation, from Schmigadoon!: Yes this is a TV show not a staged live musical who cares. I don't like Music Man I'm not putting "Ya Got Trouble" on here. Alice gets a patter I don't think Mädchen would be particularly good at it but it would be extremely fun. Season seven most likely, but let's be real it could come at any point in the show.

Naughty Baby, from Crazy for You: You think I'm about to say Veronica or perhaps Cheryl don't you. WRONG Dark Betty. Oh it would be so cringe so painful so bad so terrible. It must happen. I don't know when in the show it happens it could literally be any time in s1-6.

With One Look, from Sunset Boulevard: Ronnie... I'm thinking s5 Riverbucks era.

that's all i have for now but there's more to come :]

#riverdale #kickedshins originals