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writingforstraykids · 1 month

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I owe you a kiss - Pt.9

Pairing: Minchan x femReader

Word Count: 2943

Summary: Minho and you spend a day at the art gallery, Chan takes you out for dinner by the river. Both of them try their best to make room for you and reconnect. You haven't been so happy in a while.

Warnings/Tags: fluff, dinner date, museum date, soft!min, soft!chan

A/N: Thought I'd surprise you with another chapter today that I wrote after posting chapter 8. I think we could use the fluff🤭🖤

PART EIGHT | PART TEN (coming soon)

You exchange a soft smile with your husband, tilting your head at him. “You’re okay?” you ask gently. For a moment, all you can hear is the low hum of the city life outside the window.

“Let’s go out today?” he asks suddenly, his voice cutting through the calm. “Just you and me.”

You study Minho’s face, swallowing at the hope in his eyes. It’s been three weeks since you clashed and you’ve been working on easing out the many strains those past months have taken on your life. Sometimes, Minho seemed a little hesitant, not knowing if you’d let him in enough. “Where would we go?” you ask, allowing a small smile to cover your lips.

“You mentioned that art exhibit at the new gallery downtown a few days ago. I thought you might want to see?” he suggests gently.

You feel warmth spreading through your chest at the thought of him still remembering that. “That sounds wonderful,” you say excitedly. “I would love to.”

“Yeah?” He smiles so sweetly that you reach out for him. He leans into your touch as you caress his cheek and searches your eyes carefully.

“Yes, darling,” you mirror his smile.

The two of you get ready in comfortable silence, side by side, occasionally sharing glances that hold soft smiles and unspoken words. As you step outside, hand in hand, the city greets you with the vibrant colors of an early evening. The sun, low in the sky, paints everything in hues of orange and gold.

The gallery is a modern space with stark white walls filled with vibrant art. You wander through the exhibits, Minho’s presence a steady warmth at your side. You’re busy looking at the different pieces, but his eyes can’t stop finding you. Once more, he notices how beautiful you are, how much he loves you, and how safe you always make him feel. A small smile settles on his lips as he watches you, following you around the rooms willingly.

At one painting, a chaotic blend of dark and light, you pause longer than at the others. Minho beside you observes the play of emotions across your face. “What do you see?” he asks quietly, not asking about the painting but the meaning you give it.

Your eyes linger on the canvas, chewing your lip a little. “Struggle,” you say, your voice soft in the almost empty room. “But there’s beauty in it too. The colors clash, and still they harmonize…it’s almost like…,” you pause, not quite sure if you should continue.

“It’s like us,” Minho finishes for you, his voice barely above a whisper. He turns to look at you, his gaze filled with understanding. “Finding our beauty in the struggle. Finding some light in the darkness.”

You meet his gaze, your heart aching at the truth of his words. You reach for his hand, fingers intertwining naturally as if they were made to fit together. “Thank you for bringing me here,” you say, your voice thick with emotion.

Minho’s thumb strokes your hand gently, and his eyes soften. “I’d go anywhere with you,” he replies.

You continue your walk through the gallery, and once you step outside, the sky has turned into a velvety blue, and and stars begin to peek out. You decide to take a little detour on your way back home, walking through the park. The city sounds soften in the background, replaced by the rustle of leaves and distant laughter.

The park is lit by scattered lamps, casting their golden lights on the winding path. You walk slowly, comfortable in the peace you feel with him. At a bench by the duck pond, you sit down with him, gazing at the water that glitters beneath the moonlight.

The air is cool by now, a gentle breeze teasing your skin, making you shiver. Minho notices almost immediately, his arm wrapping around your shoulders, pulling you into a warm hug. You lean against him, head resting against his shoulder, and sigh happily. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Minho confesses, voice laced with a warmth that reminds you he’s your home. “I missed just being with you without having to try and function. Just..us.”

You turn to look at him, eyes finding his in the dim light. “We don’t always have to be strong, do we? We can just be us, flaws and all.”

“No, we don’t always have to be strong,” Minho agrees, his hand gently cupping your face. As long as we’re together…that’s enough. That’s more than I could’ve ever asked for,” he whispers. Your lips meet in a gentle kiss before he squeezes your shoulder. “Let’s get back home, hm?”

The walk back is quiet but comfortable. As you reach the doorstep, Minho stops, turning to you with a serious expression on his face. “Let’s make a promise,” he says, eyes locking with yours. “No matter what happens, we keep fighting together, we keep finding beauty in the chaos.”

You nod, face softening at the desperation in his eyes. “I promise.”

Minho leans in, his lips meeting yours in a kiss to seal your promise. It’s soft and sweet and holds the promise and gentle words of today. “Come on, honey. Let’s see if Channie’s home yet,” he says, and you nod happily.

Inside, the house is quiet, making the atmosphere feel almost too serene. As you shed your coats and shoes, Minho calls out gently, not wanting to startle Chan, who might be home. There's no response, and he leads you through to the kitchen, where a note on the counter catches your eye.

"Out with Felix and Binnie. Don't wait up. - Chan" reads the neatly penned message, Minho's lips turning up in a small, knowing smile. "Guess it's just us tonight," he comments.

You nod, missing Chan but also relishing the quiet intimacy that the evening promises with just the two of you. "What do you feel like for dinner?" you ask, turning towards the fridge.

Minho shrugs, watching you with an affectionate gaze. "Anything's fine, as long as I'm with you," he replies, his tone soft.

Deciding on something light and easy, you opt to make a salad with all the fresh ingredients you have, adding grilled chicken for some warmth and substance. Minho sets the table, his movements relaxed, a playlist of soft music filling the background.

As you both sit down to eat, the conversation flows more freely than it has in weeks. Gradually, the dialogue drifts towards more personal topics, about how you've both been feeling and the little things you've missed about each other.

"It's been tough, hasn't it?" Minho says at one point, his fork paused halfway to his mouth. "But nights like this... they remind me why it's worth it. Why we're worth it."

You reach across the table, your hand covering his. "It has been tough. But I wouldn't want to face it with anyone but you," you admit, your voice thick with emotion.

After dinner, you clear the dishes together, a routine that feels comforting in its normalcy. Minho washes, you dry, and there's a gentle efficiency to your movements, a dance you've performed countless times before, each step familiar and reassuring.

With the kitchen tidied up, Minho suggests a walk outside. The night air is still warm enough to be inviting. "Let's just walk around the block, a little night stroll," he proposes, and you agree readily.

Outside, the neighborhood is quiet. Most of the houses are dimmed for the evening, and their inhabitants are likely winding down much like yourselves. You walk hand in hand, your steps unhurried, the silence between you comfortable and easy.

At one point, Minho stops, pulling you into a gentle embrace. "I love you," he murmurs, his voice barely above a whisper. "I know I don't say it enough, but I do. So very much."

"I love you too," you respond, leaning back to look into his eyes. “And you're right. Nights like tonight remind me of us, of what we have and what we're fighting for."

Returning home, you settle onto the sofa, Minho pulling a blanket over you both. You lean into him, your head on his shoulder, and he kisses the top of your head.

"Let's not wait so long to do this again," you suggest, your voice muffled against his shirt.

"Yeah," Minho says, his arm tightening around you.

As you nod in agreement, feeling the steady beat of his heart against your cheek, you realize that the struggles and the chaos of the past weeks have not been in vain. They've brought you to this moment, safe in Minho’s arms.

Chan finds himself back earlier than he planned. After his evening out, he feels the pull of home - of you and Minho - stronger than the laughter and light of the city streets. As he approaches the house, his heart is a mix of nerves and hope. He unlocks the door quietly, half-expecting to find the house still echoing with the tension of previous weeks.

Instead, he steps into a soft-lit silence, low music playing in the living room where he finds you and Minho asleep on the sofa, intertwined under a shared blanket. The sight makes him stop in the doorway, a gentle smile spreading across his face as relief washes over him. Here, in this scene of peaceful slumber, he sees the healing that has begun between you. It almost feels as if you’ve never struggled.

Chan sets down his keys quietly and walks over, his movements gentle to avoid waking you. The intimacy of the moment - the way Minho's arm encircles your waist, how your head rests against his chest - is so sweet. It reminds him of the depth of love and commitment that binds you together, a stark contrast to the coldness that had crept into your interactions lately.

Chan reaches down, tenderly brushing a strand of hair from your face. His touch is feather-light, a silent vow to himself to mend the threads of your relationship that he's held too loosely. The small action makes you stir, and your eyes flutter open, meeting his in a sleepy state.

"Channie," you mumble, your voice thick with sleep. "You're back early."

He nods, his hand moving from your hair to gently squeeze your shoulder. "Couldn't stay away too long," he admits, his voice low and warm. "I missed home."

Minho stirs next to you, his eyes opening to Chan's familiar presence. "Hey," he greets, his voice rough with sleep "We were just waiting up for you," Minho teases lightly, though the crinkles by his eyes show his sincerity. He sits up, adjusting the blanket over you, ensuring you're still covered and warm.

Chan chuckles softly, the sound soothing the lingering edges of his earlier anxiety. "It looks like you did more sleeping than waiting," he observes gently.

"Join us," you say, patting the space beside you.

As Chan settles beside you, the weight of the past weeks—the misunderstandings, fears, and pain—seems to lift slightly. Together, you sit in the soft glow of the room, the silence comfortable, filled only with the soft sounds of your synchronized breathing.

As the evening deepens into night, you all decide it's time to move from the sofa to the bed. Hand in hand, you help each other tidy up the living space before heading to the bedroom.

You all get comfortable in bed, Chan, in the middle this time, turns to face each of you, his eyes holding a soft light. "Thank you," he whispers, his voice barely audible. "For this. For us."

Minho reaches to squeeze his hand. “We love you, Channie.”

“I love you too,” he smiles happily.

Chan had suggested it: a quiet evening out, just the two of you. You agreed to the promise of a few hours solely with him, which sounded too good to pass. Chan suggested a small restaurant by the river, one that promised a breathtaking view.

Now that the evening is here, you feel nervous, a soft flutter in your stomach. It reminds you of the early days, the first few dates, and the awkward dance of not wanting to choose between Minho and him. You spend quite some time picking your outfit, wanting to feel beautiful and hoping to see the spark in Chan’s eyes you haven’t seen in a while.

Chan is not one bit less nervous than you are, choosing a simple but elegant shirt he knows you like. When he sees you, ready and waiting, his breath catches in his throat. “You look so beautiful,” he manages, his voice rough with emotion. The sincerity in his gaze and the slow smile covering his lips make your heart beat faster, and your eyes water a little.

“Thank you,” you whisper. “You look quite handsome yourself.”

“Thanks,” he smiles shyly, blushing a little.

The drive to the restaurant is quiet, with music playing in the background. Chan parks near the river just as the sun is slowly dipping below the horizon, painting the water with a golden glow.

Hand in hand, you walk to the cozy restaurant, which has soft lighting and a gentle, nonintrusive conversation. You choose a table near a window with a view of the river, now shimmering under the first touches of twilight.

You two fall into easy conversation as you eat, yet beneath the lightness of their conversation, deeper topics linger at the edges, waiting. "Y/n," he begins, his voice serious but gentle. “I know things have been tough. I know I've been... distant. Not because I want to be, but because I've been scared - scared of doing the wrong thing, of saying the wrong thing."

"Chan, I understand. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed, too, scared of pushing you away or making things harder for you,” you admit gently.

“I never meant to feel like you couldn’t come to me…or that Min is more important to me,” he tells you guiltily.

“I know,” you reply, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand. “But we're here now, and that’s what matters. We can find our way back together.”

Chan’s smile returns, his eyes lighting up as if a weight has been lifted. “I’d like that. A lot.”

As dinner comes to an end, Chan suggests a walk along the river. The cool breeze from the water is refreshing, and the rhythmic sound of the waves against the shore is soothing.

“Look at the moon,” Chan points up, and you both stop to gaze at the full moon, casting a silver glow over the river. It’s beautiful and peaceful, and for a moment, it feels like everything is right in the world.

“It’s gorgeous,” you comment, leaning into him.

Chan wraps an arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer. “Not as gorgeous as you,” he says, which makes you both chuckle.

The moment feels right, and you stop walking and turn to face him. “Chan, thank you for tonight. It means a lot to me. I’ve missed just being with you like this.”

He cups your face gently, his touch tender. “I’ve missed it, too—more than I realized. Let’s not let it go again, okay?”

“Okay,” you agree, and he leans in to kiss you softly and sweetly under the moonlight by the river.

On the drive home, the car is filled with comfortable silence. A song that you both love comes on the radio, and Chan reaches over to turn it up. You smile and start to sing along quietly. He joins in, and soon, you’re both laughing and singing at the top of your lungs.

Chan parks the car in front of your house and turns to you with a giddy smile. You smile softly, leaning over to cup his face. “My beautiful Channie angel,” you whisper, and he blushes a little. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” he smiles shyly. “My sweet baby girl.”

Minho greets you with a gentle smile as you step inside. “Had fun, you two?” he asks gently, giggling surprised as you give him a long, soft kiss. “Hey, darling,” he whispers adoringly.

“Come cuddle with us?” you plead softly, making him laugh.

“Please?” Chan asks sweetly, kissing his cheek.

“Fine, fine,” he laughs. “Go get ready for bed, I’ll be there in a bit,” he promises.

Not much later you’re all comfortable in bed. You’re in the middle, feeling safe between them. To your left, Minho’s warmth is a comforting pressure against your side, his arm thrown loosely over your waist. His fingers draw mindless patterns on the fabric of your nightshirt. Chan’s body is curved around yours protectively, his breath softly tickling your neck. Minho shifts a little, brushing a strand of hair from your face. His eyes meet Chan’s in a silent agreement of how much they love you.

“Comfortable?” Minho asks softly, barely above a whisper, as if he’s scared of speaking too loudly.

“Very,” you nod, agreeing. You turn your head slightly to smile at him, reaching to touch his cheek. Chan responds by tightening his embrace around you, his hand splaying across your stomach, grounding you.

The room falls into a comfortable silence, the only sounds are the soft rustling of the sheets and the steady, rhythmic breathing of three hearts in sync. You find yourself tracing the lines of Chan’s hand after a while, feeling the strength and warmth of his fingers intertwined with yours. Minho, feeling a surge of affection, leans over to plant a gentle kiss on your forehead, then Chan’s jaw. Chan smiles at the gesture, a small, happy sound escaping his lips. It feels perfect.

PART EIGHT | PART TEN (coming soon)

do not repost, translate, or plagiarize my works in any way here or on other platforms. ©️writingforstraykids 2024 -

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fairuzfan · 2 months

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I don’t ask this expecting you have THE answer or that there is one, but I follow a non Palestinian white man on insta (in addition to many Palestinian folks in diaspora and in Palestine) who mostly shares things from Palestinian ppl/sources.

He has several times criticized / shared criticism of charity dinners, music festivals etc raising funds for Gaza with the perspective of, it’s not appropriate to have a dance party or dinner while people are undergoing genocide, but also that in this moment, art isn’t resistance because there needs to be physical resistance, blockades of weapons, etc.

I’ve seen this echoed from some others especially critiquing white folks trying to claim “joy is resistance” right now, which makes sense to me, but i also wonder if it’s reductive to say art or music is not resistance because I feel like it can have a lot of power especially alongside social movements… was wondering if you had thoughts on this or perhaps knew where I could look to learn more.

Please ignore if this is too much, and thank you

I think things like writing and illustration and music feeds into the spirit of revolution and is necessary in that way. You have to energize the masses somehow, and to ensure that your message spreads as far as possible. A good way is to make art, or to sing a song, or write a story.

That's why Wisam Rafeedi wrote his book and different resistance factions make posters and videos — to spread their ideas and garner support among the masses.

It's not as important as putting yourself in immediate physical danger to incapacitate the colonial entity — but I think for Palestinians and other colonized peoples, they do need to make art to really process their thoughts. Of course there's a difference when a Palestinian in Palestine, a Palestinian in the diaspora, a nonPalestinian ally of color, and a NonPalestinian white ally do this. I won't deny that there's a nuance when it comes to this.

But writers who write about Palestinian Liberation historically have been assassinated because of how they participate in liberation actions and also spread ideas of liberation themselves. I don't know which white guy you're talking about but I feel like this is mostly a conversation that should be led by Palestinians if we're talking about Palestine because they understand the nuance of saying statements like "the only resistance is physical." I understand what he's saying to an extent but that does erase a lot of Palestinian resistance the past few decades by making sweeping statements like "art is not resistance" and kind of simplifies the issue at hand.

Charity dinners and galas and that stuff... I don't know what I think about them, I think that people are going to do it either way so my opinion doesn't really matter. Hey, if you're going to raise thousands of dollars for Palestine, I'm not going to stop you at all. I personally think you should try to avoid posting pictures and stuff like that from the gala itself if you're going to host one just out of courtesy.

I guess overall what I'm trying to say, art resistance becomes physical a lot of the time. I think its really reductive to say "art isn't resistance" and also personally insulting considering I have family members and friends who were journalists, creative writers, and artists and killed/targeted for their work.

Here's this article by Fargo Tbahkhi about the role of writing during a genocide that might be a good read. They also mention how Israeli propaganda (calling Palestinians "human animals"/"Amalek" as an example) is specifically a use of culture and writing to energize people to commit genocide. An especially poignant part that I completely agree with, and am trying to get at:

Palestine requires that we abandon this catharsis. Nobody should get out of our work feeling purged, clean. Nobody should live happily during the war. Our readers can feel that way when liberation is the precondition for our work, and not the dream. When it is the place we stand, and not the place we shake ourselves towards. In this way, what the long middle of revolution requires, what Palestine requires, is an approach to writing whose primary purpose is to gather others up with us, to generate within them an energy which their bodies cannot translate into anything but revolutionary movement. This is what Boal modeled for us in his theatrical experiments, which were dedicated to empowering audiences to act, to participate in a creative struggle to envision and embody alternatives. For Boal, theater was not revolution, but it was a rehearsal for the revolution, meant to gather communities together in that rehearsal. Creative work readies us for material work, by offering a space to try out strategies, think through contradictions, remind us of our own agency.

#palestine

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kelogsloops · 2 months

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putting this in the tumblr ask box bc idk where else to put it 🕺 does anyone even read these still

anyways i just woke up but i had a dream and you were a big part of it- i don’t want to say it was a nightmare or like a bad dream but like basically in the dream you announced that you would be quitting art and like retiring ig? it was for a few reasons but in that moment idk i just realized just how much you have had an influence on my life- you know that saying “you don’t know what you have until you lose it”? yeah…

honestly at first when i woke up i was so ready to call it a nightmare, like “oh my god?? you?? leaving?? forever?? noooo!” but as i’m sitting here awake now i realize eventually it’s probably gonna happen- maybe not in the way it was in my dream with you making a whole like announcement video and wiping your accs, but maybe quieter. i wonder if it’ll be that you stop making art, but i find that hard to imagine. i think it would happen slowly, less and less posts as the years go on. in my head even if you stop posting it, i’d think you’re still creating, making art for simply the sake of such. but then i think about how silly that thought is though, i don’t know you outside of your social media bubble. i don’t know your life and what happens there so to even assume something so quiet is pretentious of me.

like i said, at first i thought it was a nightmare, i can’t bear the thought of you leaving one day- especially for the reasons you gave in my dream it was like “i gave up, arts getting too much for me, and things are so competitive now no one wants my art anymore…” blah blah blah. it was all my own stress as an artist manifesting onto you i think- but anyways i hope that should the day ever come where you do end up leaving your socials and whatnot, i can only hope that it’s out of your own accord and you do so because you want to, not out of pressure or anything like that. like i’m not saying i want you to quit or anything, but what i’m saying is if it happens i just hope it’s something that you chose on your own. i just don’t think i could ever stand that happening though without letting you know how much of an impact you’ve had on my life.

i found your art when at a very developmental part of my life, so your work wether consciously or not i think has just become like a part of my brain wether conscious or not haha. whenever i go to draw even if i don’t explicitly go to look to your work for inspiration, it’s still there i can see it. it’s like just unconsciously ingrained at this point. but more than that though the whole idea of like “brb chasing dreams” and whatever and the whole idea that i feel you impart every time you share pieces of your journey as an artist to just keep going, i kind of stole that mantra for myself and started to tell myself that as well. even at my lowests, i’m still trying to follow that dream, even lost and i don’t know what direction i’m going in there’ll always be that dream as an anchor almost.

thank you for all that you’ve shared and thank you for being the biggest inspiration in my life. i know that’s quite dramatic to say, but i mean it in full honesty. whatever the future holds for you, i hope it’s kind. i hope you live a long life chasing all your dreams where at the end of the day, you’re happy. thank you.

waking up to find a message like this in my inbox has me feeling t e a r y. it's reading stories like these and hearing how my work has impacted people that makes this all feel so surreal sometimes. the fact that people would even care if i stopped making art one day or just disappeared is crazy... i'm very fortunate!

i've resigned myself to the fact that sure, one day (but hopefully never) i won't be able to pursue a professional career as an artist anymore, but if there's one thing that i can promise, it's that there is no reality in where i stop making art!

i don't know if i show it enough, but to each and every one of you who have been part of my journey so far, thank you from the bottom of my heart. it's messages like these that pinch me and remind me how it's all so worth it

forever #brbchasingdreams

#ask me #ask me anything #ask

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mrs-snape5984 · 4 months

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“Rescue my heart, I'm deep underground…”

“I'm crashing and I'm burning, so reach out your hand to me…” (“Rescue my heart” by Liz Longley)

First of all: this is going to be a very personal post, full of pathetic self-pity and misery…so if you’re feeling triggered by that or by a whiny, overdramatic middle aged woman….stop reading. Seriously.

I’m using my tumblr blog as some kind of personal diary…combining art with my own thoughts and emotions. Sadly, I have not a single spark of talent in my fibres, so I’m always looking for the right artists here on tumblr, who can help me to make my ideas come to life graphically (ignoring the melting of my savings).

I reached out to @madfantasy again for this very personal piece of art. Mani, my dear friend, you’re the only person, who’s perfect for my most personal, very raw requests. You created something so beautiful…so right out of my heart! I can’t describe, how grateful I am for your understanding of my ideas…for your talent…for your kind soul. 🖤 Thank you, love!

My life with ME/CFS sucks. I’m apologising for my harsh words and my lack of gratitude towards life itself, but that’s just how I’m feeling!

I know, I should rather be grateful for the things in my life, which I wouldn’t want to miss. I have three wonderful children, I have a few very good friends (in real life and - thanks to tumblr - also online). But…on some days (and these are actually pretty prominent at the moment), I just hate my life as it is now.

I’m spending my whole days in the darkness of my room, not capable of leaving the house (and often even my bed) without getting disoriented by the overstimulation of my mind and the exhaustion of my body. I can’t stand more than one person in my room…otherwise my brain can’t handle the noise and the movements of others. I can’t go to my workplace anymore…and I really loved my job! I can’t stay in contact with people properly, because most people don’t understand, why I’m not answering their messages or phone calls. I’m too exhausted and too overwhelmed with those things. Reading? Watching TV? Well, not for me anymore (at least for the most days) Every little bit too much (sometimes the smallest things!) leads me into the next “crash” of my disease…resulting in fevers, pain, loss of mental and physical capabilities…up to losing consciousness. Every fucking time!

All I want is to scream…scream my lungs out to let the pain and grief go! I want to scream out all those feelings of misery, which I’m only bottling up every day! But I know…just like talking…it would only cause another crash. Each crash is dragging me further down…and there’s no possibility of digging my way out of this again.

So, for this raw piece of art, I wanted the only person, who had never left me over the past 21 years, to hold me. Hold me, Severus…keep me safe…be my haven! Let me scream and cry and help me to find a way out of this hell…I’m begging you…

🖤 Severus & Julia 🖤

#i love severus #severus x oc #fuck me/cfs #Severus is my safe haven #i want to scream #personal shit #let it all go #severus snape #mani is wonderful #mani is our safe space #severus snape fan art #snart #severus fanart #severus snape art #snape art

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dracowars · 2 years

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hello!! can you do something with reader and draco as aurors and he’s been pining for her but she’s never really thought about it/is in a relationship/just broke up w someone etc. and he protects her on a mission or something and she realizes how much he cares for her and kind of a slow burn situation? post hogwarts and kinda fluffy & angsty (from draco atleast)

work buddy | draco malfoy

pairing: auror!draco x auror!reader

word count: 1,9k

summary: where draco and y/n work together as aurors

a/n: i hope you enjoy! feedback is always appreciated <3

warnings: angst

universe: harry potter

„Why were we chosen for such a task?!”, Draco snarls, walking a few steps behind you, sulking. With every step he takes, the branches break beneath his weight and the leaves rustle. “What even is the point of having a gamekeeper or Keeper of the Grounds of Hogwarts?! This school hasn’t changed a single bit-”

“Can you do anything other than complaining all the time? Seriously”, you interrupt him annoyed and turn in his direction, stopping him in his steps. “Just think of the good old days and stop waking up the critters that live in this forest!”

The Forbidden Forest has always been a place you have happily avoided. Back then when you were still going to school, and now as well. Unfortunately, you have been sent to Hogwarts as Aurors to track down and eliminate a werewolf who has holed up somewhere around here. What this elimination looks like? You have to see when you get to it.

Draco and you already knew each other from your school days, but you never had much to do with each other. It is only in the last few years that you have noticed him more often and you have met every now and then, often at moments when you would have preferred to avoid him. At the time, your friends persuaded you that he was deliberately looking for you because he felt something for you. Which of course was not true, it is ridiculous, but because of the constant comments from your close friends, you eventually got into it and developed feelings for him yourself. Which should have never happened.

Those feelings actually did not last that long anyway, because shortly after that Draco became a Death Eater and was responsible for many terrible things that happened at Hogwarts and in the entire Wizarding World. That is why you never thought that after you graduated, after all evil was wiped out and banished, you would see him again in the Ministry of Magic’s entrance exam to become an Auror.

The one who followed the pure evil suddenly wanted to hunt it down, how ironic.

That is why you are here now, the two of you, alone, in the forest, because you obviously know the terrain better than any other Auror currently active. Why they did not send Hagrid, you did not dare to ask.

“You know, I think you are right. I should enjoy the time I get to spend with you alone”, Draco agrees, hands proudly on his hips as you turn away, head shaking, and continue through the thick moss, with Draco close behind. “Besides, I really have a wonderful view here.”

“Oh wow. You are still just as bad as you used to be”, you chuckle humorlessly, but decide to not say anything else and you keep walking straight ahead, even though you can feel his burning gaze on you. Your former self would probably have sunk into the ground with embarrassment, but not only Draco has changed, but you did too. Somewhere deep inside, those old feelings you once had for him are still hidden, locked up, but so much has happened in the meantime that it will never grow into something more. And that is good.

“Why exactly are we looking for that creature in the middle of the night again?”, Draco asks seriously, interrupting himself every so often when he nearly trips over a root on the ground.

“Well, if you were paying attention back in Defense Against the Dark Arts, you would know how to deal with a werewolf. And that they love the full moon”, you explain, a little know-it-all. “Oh wait, no. Every child knows about the full moon, my bad.”

“And you are still as snippy as you used to be”, Draco chuckles softly behind you. “One of the reasons I love being around you. I love that side of you, partner.”

“Oh, you do?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I don’t love your annoying side, partner”, you counter and the next moment you hear how he slaps his own hand firmly against his chest, right where his heart is.

“Ouch, that hurt”, he whimpers playfully, which brings a small smile to your lips that he cannot see. Draco can be really annoying and overbearing at times, but you can tell he has changed. He is not the cheeky arrogant boy from the first year anymore. He is no longer the quiet, withdrawn boy of seventh year when he was burdened with a difficult task. He has changed, for the better, and if you could choose, you would still choose him as your partner over anyone else.

“How is your boyfriend anyway? What was his name again.. Louis? Liam?”

“You mean Luke?”

“Yeah, that guy! Tell me, how are things going between you two?”, Draco demands, while you gasp as you dodge a branch with your head, holding your illuminated wand rigidly in front of you.

“We are not together anymore”, you reply as unemotionally as possible. It has been a while since you broke up, deciding that it just does not work anymore. It was a brief crush, nothing more. However, sometimes you find it difficult to accept that you will probably never find the right one for you.

“Oh- That- I am sorry, I didn’t know-”

“Don’t worry, everything is fine. We just didn’t fit, that’s all.”

“I see..”, Draco clears his throat uncomfortably, apparently not expecting such an answer. In silence, you walk on, directly through the dense forest, the bright full moon above your heads partially covered by clouds. After some time, you reach a dark cave that looks like a shelter and approach it carefully. A temporary tent has been erected in front of the cave and the campfire next to it has burnt out, not even embers are left in it.

“What a nice little space- Hey! Don’t get too close!”, Draco calls you back loudly, clawing at your arm just as you were about to examine the tent more closely. “First rule of Aurors: never act rashly.”

“That is not the first rule-”

“Do you still want to risk it?!”, he asks you, almost upset, and lets go of your arm, which he had firmly in his grip before he could realize it.

“Obviously the werewolf isn’t here, Draco. I know what I am doing”, you smile provocatively and continue to look around the small camp while Draco waits in the middle by the extinguished fireplace, looking around.

Quietly, you trudge around a few fallen trees blocking the path when you suddenly discover footprints on the ground. Traces of huge claws that have dug into the damp underground.

“Draco! Look, there are tracks here!”, you call out to him, pointing at the tracks on the ground with your glowing wand. You only notice the orange eyes that suddenly light up in the bushes next to you when you hear a loud growl and a black shadow jumps on you.

Just before the giant beast can grab you, Draco throws himself at you at the last second, pulling you out of the way. Hitting the ground together in pain, some rocks and sharp branches pierce through your skin, Draco’s body beneath yours. Scrambling to your feet, shock is etched in your bones as you help Draco to his feet. Immediately, he pulls you behind him as you face the snarling werewolf.

With its orange eyes it watches you, your every move, before one of them was probably the wrong one and it jumps towards you aggressively.

“Alarte Ascendare!”, Draco yells loudly and the werewolf flies up into the air, in the opposite direction, buying you time. “RUN!”

Without hesitation and without the realization really hitting, you sprint off hand in hand, always looking behind to see if the creature is following you. Which it, of course, does. Since it is much faster on its four paws than you are on your two wobbly legs, you try to think of a solution as quickly as possible.

“Bombar-”

“No, we mustn’t hurt it! It is still a human”, you interrupt Draco, knocking down his hand in which he holds his wand. Your job is to eliminate the werewolf, but that does not mean you have to kill it.

“Arresto Momentum!”, you yell loudly and shoot the spell directly at the wolf, who gets hit and slows down accordingly. Without using any words to communicate, Draco knows exactly what to do next.

“Incarcerous!”, he shouts and in the next moment, thick ropes, which are conjured from thin air, wrap themselves around the werewolf’s body, around its legs, thus making it unable to move. Additionally, it is weakened by the slowdown spell, which is why it does not try to defend itself against the tight bonds.

You exhale with relief and put your hands on your knees, exhausted from the chase but glad that everything turned out alright after all.

“Y/N! You are bleeding!”, you hear Draco say worriedly, causing you to shift your gaze from the creature on the ground to him. In irritation you watch as he comes up to you and strokes your cheeks, where a branch must have hit you, tearing your skin, with the sleeve of his coat. You watch intensely as he scans your face for more injuries, the tips of your noses almost touching, making your heart skip a beat.

As your eyes meet, it feels like the world stands still for a brief moment. The wind blows through the branches, rustling through the leaves, and through your hair. Silence spreads in the forest, the stars and moon shining bright above your heads. The next moment, however, the world continues to spin as usual as Draco backs away from you, leaving only a warm spot on your skin which you subconsciously touch with your fingers.

“Thank you”, you say softly while he looks at you with wide eyes, as if he cannot comprehend how close you were just mere seconds ago.

“Are you.. hurt anywhere else?”, he asks, still concerned, his eyes fixed on your clothes, destroyed by the branches while his own probably does not look any better. Running your hands over yourself to make sure you have not seriously injured yourself, you shake your head. Draco looks quite relived at this, which elicits a giggle from you at the most inopportune moment ever.

“What?”

“Sorry, I just can’t believe you care so much about me”, you smile to yourself. It was supposed to be a joke, but it did not sound like it. You do not know what made you say this after you were just chased by a werewolf who could have killed you with one bite or transform you. It just came to your mind, and you said it.

“I- Well, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable-”

“I think it’s a nice feeling. Knowing that there is someone who cares about you.”

“I always care about you”, Draco mumbles so softly that you can barely hear it, which is why you ask him to repeat his words.

“Doesn’t matter. Not that important”, Draco brushes you off quickly, looking straight at you while clenching his fists as he makes up his mind. “Honestly, no, it is important. You are permanently on my mind, Y/N. I can’t think of anything else, back then I couldn’t think of anyone else. You are such a stunning person, and I would do anything to make you happy.”

Completely taken by surprise by his sudden confession, you look at him with wide eyes. Unfortunately, this reaction gives him the wrong impression and just as he is about to turn away in embarrassment, you grab his arm and make him look at you.

“I wish you would have told me that much sooner.”

“W-Why?”

“Because I think I feel the same way about you, Draco.”

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torakan · 29 days

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PART TWO!! TEXT VERSION

it was so long since i posted the first one haha hope you didn’t forget 🥲🥲

again, if there’re any mistakes - please tell me ^^

part 1

part 2 art

The next 24 hours all I did was hiding in the wall even though I was quite literally starving. You can’t blame me though, I was fearful for my life, okay? After such a day anyone would have stayed in bed and questioned their life choices…

However, it was pretty much a life and death situation, so I had to get up and find something before deciding if I should stay here or find new home. It’s a decision that you can’t take on an empty stomach, every borrower knows that.

Before you ask, I wasn’t worried all that much about this guy telling other people about me as seeing small people is quite abnormal for them and in best case nobody would’ve believed him, in worst… he would’ve probably ended up in hospital, but we will never know.

So, like that, I collected my thoughts, emotions and gear and went out on another attempt to get food. To be honest, i think my stomach was at the point of acceptance, I didn’t feel any hunger until I finally got to the kitchen counter and saw some fruits. Human wasn’t there but it didn’t mean anything to me anymore, I was too traumatized by yesterday’s experience. *Sighs dramatically*.

Maybe because the day before was extremely unlucky, I was rewarded with something delicious. There were grapes which are super convenient to borrow as humans won’t see any of them missing, some raisins and nuts. I took one grape right away and my stomach growled so loudly, even a half-deaf human granny would’ve heard, I swear. I bit it and transparent juice started to run down my chin which I wiped off right away. It was such a relief to finally eat something, I can’t describe this feeling honestly. Better would probably be the feeling of relief after you endured your piss or, even worse, poo, for an indescribable long time and then you finally get to the toilet and it’s just… ahh.

Anyway, back to the story. As I said, I finally had access to food, but I couldn’t afford to fill my stomach to the fullest at that exact moment since it would’ve been too difficult to climb back home in that case. That’s why I only ate one grape and took another one home as well as a couple of raisins and some nuts. And then the idea popped in my head. What if I left some food that can be stored for a long time to that one my favourite hiding spot? I thought it was a smart decision since in the case I ran out of supplies or had to make an urgent stop I would have something edible waiting for me. So, with that I went straight to the place where human saw me not so long ago. Imagine my surprise when I saw that he left something there. On the other hand, it was quite expected… I was terrified to even look at it yet alone touch, but I couldn’t avoid the smell it had. I tried something like this only at my 10th birthday and my mom told me it was chocolate that we ate as a treat. It was some kind of desert that beans eat for pleasure. Maybe the human I lived with wanted to poison me with that? Or to somehow use it to make me become his pet? I still wonder about this at night, but even though I was really curious about that “offering”, I was more interested in surviving, so I went straight up behind the books where there was a small niche for me to hide. I placed all the things carefully and returned to the counter to pick some more. This day was pretty chill since the human showed up at his usual time and didn’t bother. He was as quiet and relaxed as ever with the only difference, that when he was in the kitchen, I could have heard the music from his phone. It wasn’t unpleasant, on the contrary, I liked it. The guy hummed along with it and his voice wasn’t so bad either to be honest, so I just lay in bed and listened till I fell asleep.

For the next few days nothing weird happened, everything seemed to go back to normal with the only difference that now the human was openly listening to music and sometimes sing very quietly along with it. I didn’t hate it, it didn’t bother me, so it was fine. Till that one day when I was, again, hiding behind the books (I swear, that spot must be cursed, but it was too dear for me to give up and abandon it) after taking a shower in human’s sink in the bathroom and being already on my way home. He showed up in the house earlier today again and I just barely had time to react and hide. When he entered the kitchen, I already sensed that something was off. The way he threw the keys on the table, how he tossed the bag on the floor and his jacket on the couch showed that he was really frustrated about something. Honestly, he was quite scary in that mood, though I didn’t see him being like that too often. Hell, I only remember that happening once in the whole year and I was in the walls, safe but watching this up close was kinda… unsettling.

However, to my surprise, that didn’t last for too long. The guy calmed himself down within like five minutes or so, trying to take deep breaths, then he sat on the chair at the table and… yeah, he started crying. He was crying very quietly, as was everything he did, holding back tears and sobs, as if he was scared someone might hear him…

wait a minute… do you think he might’ve been thinking about me? He definitely couldn’t have forgotten out encounter, right?

I sighed. This human wasn’t making my life any easier. It’s not like I was pitying him or anything, humans are monstrous creatures, evil and cruel and every borrower knew that… Nah, lying has never been one of my strengths so, frankly, I did feel bad for him. This human didn’t try to do anything nasty to me for the whole week, which was a complete opposite of what I heard about them, so I couldn’t help but hope that he wasn’t that awful. I suddenly got curious about him. If he had so many opportunities to catch me and hurt me, why didn’t he do that already? And why was he crying right now? Was he hurt or something? Is human life that difficult? Borrowers usually aren’t sentimental, we only cry on very rare special occasions such as when we’re badly hurt or it’s a deadly situation, or when we break two or more bones at once and there’s no one for us to help to escape and we’re left there to die alone. But this guy didn’t seem to be physically hurt or in any danger, so why was he sobbing?

I couldn’t help it and finally set my eyes on the “offering”. It turned out to be a small round box, which most likely was a human bottle cape with some continents: a piece of chocolate (as I already knew) and a note. Oh no, he wanted to communicate… so it could’ve been a trap in the end… even so, I was already beyond fixing and too far from following the borrower rules, so maybe it wont hurt if I read it just this once…

thank you for reading ^^

comments and suggestions are appreciated

@gtzel @smallsday

#g/t #g/t community #borrowers #gt community #giant tiny #giant/tiny #gt writing #tiny #ocs #oc #my ocs #borrower

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sigmabateman · 10 months

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thank you so much @velvetcrowbar444 for tagging me to talk about 5 things im obsessed with at the moment!!

this got longer than i anticipated so im putting it under the cut, but for simplicity's sake i'll tag people up here: @nights-decay, @boycentriccplot, @flaming-tsunami, @sourgelatin no pressure though of course!

persona 5... ok i have to be honest ive been really reluctant to talk about this on here and its why ive been quiet the past at least week or so. no idea why. i guess cause its so different from the stuff i usually post about that i feel like, embarrassed? but i started playing persona 5 royal around may and really liked it but i didnt have the time to properly get into it until now and it has completely taken over my life entirely without me even realising. to be honest i could obsess over like a rock on the ground if i saw it at the right time in my life but hands down persona 5 is one the best if not the best game ive ever played in my life. the story is engaging, the characters are distinctive and realistic and i really really care about all of them, the gameplay is so much fun and combat is buttery fucking smooth like nothing ive ever played before, the music is top tier and what got me interested in the game in the first place, and the ART DIRECTION. it speaks for itself to be honest ESPECIALLY compared to the older games. i was shocked starting persona 4 because of how different it is to persona 5 like, persona 5 has SUCH a distinct visual identity as well as tone, themes, imagery etc it is all just so stunning and perfect and i want to live in it. but i think about it so often like literally 24/7 that i may as well be. i <3 persona 5 and i <3 YUSUKE KITAGAWA. he's definitely my favourite character and he came out of NOWHERE but hes actually everything in the world to me. one of the characters ever.

persona 4 is it a copout to say that? i did try and condense both games into one bullet point but 1. they're such a mainstay in my life right now i was struggling to think of more points and 2. it kind of lost its precision and didn't effectively convey just how personapilled i am right now. i originally wasn't gonna play 4, all i knew is that it was more difficult and less good so i thought i should stay away. but if you go anywhere persona-related on the internet (which i would warn against, the fandom is a fucking cesspit the likes of which i havent seen in a long time as an obscure-shit-enjoyer) you'll quickly run into adachi. and as a lover of men with high-pitched voices and sexypedia entries... i couldn't stay away. before even starting the game i had made a d6 and d20 with different adachis on each face so really it was just a matter of time. and you know what... it's not that bad. the graphics were a SHOCKING step down but i find the low(er) poly style really charming. the adachi model is too cute T_T whenever i see it in the game world i just wanna sit with it for ages. i wonder if i could get it like 3d printed so i could keep him on my desk with me at all times... its bad for me ! the combat is fucking clunky espeically compared to 5 and i kind of hate it but that just makes it more rewarding when i can finally stop LOL. some of the characters (especially the main few (yosuke, chie, yukiko)) took a bit to grow on me but its kind of sweet.. its like authentic.. our relationship is growing as i get to know them better... but dojima and nanako ive loved since i first set eyes on them. too cute. it makes me feel so fatherless. its like.. a lot more magnetic than i expected it to be. i love it even with all its flaws. i saw a meme about it being like twin peaks and thats kind of so real. and you know i love a murder mystery... so yeah tldr i like persona now. but its hard to talk about it on here because it is such a big fandom but not like an active one like spiderman or like good omens or whatever slightly more normal people are watching so its kind of intimidating. maybe ill get over myself, maybe ill go silent for 3 months until i get into something new. we'll see i guess LOL

my gender identity TUMBLR MOMENT I KNOW but i dont know.. ive had a lot of time to myself recently and its kind of brought things to the surface that i just didnt have time or space to think about before. turns out there was a LOT OF STUFF i was repressing without even knowing. like that tweet 'im probably nonbinary but i have a job so idrc about that rn'. i posted on instagram "gender around cis people: boy, gender around trans people: girlboy, gender by myself: computer program" and that kind of sums it up i think. can i coin like.. complicatedgender. where your answer to the question "whats your gender?" is "it's complicated..." cause thats me. its just COMPLICATED okay!!!! but my pronouns havent changed or anything so its chilllllll

going to bed at a reasonable time. i phrased that like a joke answer but its true. i downloaded pokemon sleep and now i go to bed at 11:30pm cause at 11 i get a notification saying my pokemon are sleepy and shit i gotta take care of my pokemon!! i dont even know if its doing me any good to be honest like i dont feel much better when i wake up but making myself get into bed and shut my eyes means more thinking time and to be honest my favourite activity is thinking. even if as silly as it sounds i never give myself time to do it. its playing a weirdly big role in my life rn so yeah id say im obsessed with it!!!

this asmr video. im secretly always posting about asmr so really i could just say that, but like, ASMR | The Mortician (No Talking – You're Dead) specifically is such a mainstay i can feel its influence seeping into my life like an infection. this video would actually show up in my recommended for YEARS but i never watched it. gave me a major ick for some reason. but then i got into this guys stuff and saw it again and thought id give it a go and now its like an extra limb. fuck my 3rd bullet point, this is my gender identity. i could not articulate in words what it is about the mortician that i love so much, but i really really do. i am certifiably obsessed. cant believe i made it through this whole thing without mentioning alex. but there you are. yay this was fun :D

#tag game

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danger-xylophones · 1 year

Text

Mand'alor's Gambit Part 5

warnings: references to murder, prison environment, reader gets a villain (antihero?) arc, Satine, references to a tragedy, shit ton of poorly translated mando'a

Shoutout to @cinlat whose wonderful characterization of Balic Cormac and OC Fynta Wolfe birthed a new oc of mine who shows up later. If you are at all a fan of SWTOR, I recommend reading Family is More Than Blood. It is truly a work of art and I'm always so thoroughly entertained reading it.

masterlist

<- part 4

.............................................

You better just fix your posture

And every hero needs his theme song, so

Who in here tryna start a riot?

...............................................

Sundari prison was huge. Somehow bigger than your child mind had remembered. Which, in all fairness, wasn't so impossible - you'd only visited three times after Dereth's initial incarceration. Once to confirm his sentence, one other to gloat over your new control in Dion. And once when Almec was imprisoned. You weren't intimidated by the sheer monolith that the prison was per se, but you did take a moment to take it all in which caught the attention of Maul.

"Are you alright, Governor?" He asked, head tilting forward towards you. His hands, as always were perfectly clasped behind his back.

With a shake of your head, you placed your helmet on while you answer. "Fine, I'm fine, Lord Maul. Merely observing the child mind's ability to warp images."

"I take it the prison is not how you remember it?" His voice hid a chuckle that you didn't appreciate.

"I have not been to the prison since I was a little girl." You huffed as you approached the entrance. "It is most certainly not like how I remember it." The guards puffed up at your approach until you raised a hand and bowed in the direction of Maul who came to a stop next to you. He waved the guards away and entered.

The inside of the prison was, for better or worse, exactly like you remembered. Cold and bleak, the cells awash in gross florescent lighting. Guards patrolled every level, only away from particular sections for a few seconds before another guard took up post. It was disheartening merely entering the building. You could only imagine what it would be like to be imprisoned here.

Maul made a humming noise in the back of his throat as he looked around. He seemed disinterested, maybe even bored with the place already. His gaze settled on one particular cell across from you, tucked into the corner. "They are yet to repair mine and Savage's cell."

You turned to him, aware that although he couldn't see your face he could probably sense your confusion. "You were imprisoned here?"

Maul's attention turned to you. "Courtesy of Pre Viszla. We were not here for very long." He hummed again. "Your father was here as well, we broke him out."

"Almec mentioned that you were the ones to rescue him - he didn't tell me you were also prisoners at the time."

"An oversight, but not a detrimental one." Maul turned away, taking a step in the opposite direction of where you knew Dereth and Satine to be. "Now, I will leave you to your devices - I am rather intrigued by the security measures here. Or, instead, disappointed in the lack of them."

You ignored the dig at the security, it wasn't remotely your concern anyways. "Very well, I will meet you here when I am done."

With a brief huff of 'acceptable' he stalked away. You didn't wait long before heading off yourself.

Satine's cell was first. You found the former duchess laying on the poor excuse of a bench offered in the cell. She was on her back, her hands were perfectly folded over her stomach, and hair laid out like a halo and draping down the bench to just barely brush the floor. Despite everything, she was still the picturesque image of what a duchess should look like - put together and serene. With a clearing of your throat, you addressed her. "Duchess Satine?"

Her eyes snapped open, clearly startled by the address but she recovered quickly enough. Sitting up, she turned to you. "I am she." She answered in a placid tone. But you caught the underlying skepticism.

With a deep breath, you reached up to remove your helmet and perched the object on your hip. "I am Governor Dion of Concordia. I've come to have a chat," You used your free hand to tap just above where the armor cam was hidden on your chest, "with you on behalf of both Clan Dion and Concordia and her sisters."

Her bright blue eyes stayed fixed on the cam for a moment before slowly sliding up to your face, a harsh, bitter edge you had never seen from her before overtook her calm expression. "I'm afraid we have very little to talk about, Governor, on account of your master."

Your eyebrow twitched at the thought of Maul in such a position but you kept your tongue. "The only 'master' I serve is Mandalore itself and her interests."

"Yet you have thrown your lot in with the sith."

"Ni aranar Manda'yaim." You emphasized once more.

Satine faltered for a moment, the harsh edge of her voice falling away to return to the calmer tone you associated with the duchess. "I see. So, what did you want to talk to me about, Governor?"

"Yesterday I received an alert from my advisor that someone attempted to gain access to Concordia's financials. Using an outdated code." You raised an eyebrow at her. "Would you know anything about that?"

"No, I am allowed no access to the outside world right now."

"But, you knew I'd allied with Maul? I made no formal, public declaration."

"Gossip becomes quite the commodity when there is little else to entertain." Satine sighed pointedly. "Plus with Almec's release, I knew it was only a matter of time until Clan Dion took a stand."

"It's unfortunate we've become that predictable." You snorted scornfully. "Regardless, do you know of anyone else besides you who would have access to the Sundari code?"

She made a face that told you she was seriously considering the question. "The only others I would know of are Almec, yourself, and Pre Vizsla."

That's what I was afraid of. You grimaced. If Vizsla had at all been like you, that meant he'd shared the code with his closest confidants. And one of those confidants was currently unaccounted for. Refocusing your gaze on Satine, you spoke again."Thank you, Duchess. You've been very helpful." With a performative glance over your shoulder, you lowered your voice to speak with her further. "On another note, how is your sister? I heard she and the Night Owls escaped the palace when Maul took over."

Satine's face fell. "As I said, Governor, I have had no access with the outside since my imprisonment." But, there was just the faintest glimmer of hope. "But, I am grateful to know she did truly escape. Thank you."

"Of course. It is a small comfort, I know."

"But one that is greatly appreciated. We never got along, but I still worry for her." Satine fell silent and you didn't know what to say following that. Luckily for you, Satine brokered an entirely new topic. "If I may ask," she began hesitantly, standing up from her bench to approach the cell door and you in turn, "will you help me?"

Your shock must have been clear on your face. The former duchess scrambled to elaborate, her voice pitched low and frantic. "Maul will destroy our planet and shatter the peace we've worked so hard to maintain, Governor. He must be stopped." When you didn't respond, she continued. "I don't have a plan yet but I need to contact the Jedi. There's a knight, his name's Obi-Wan Kenobi, he can help us."

Now, that name was familiar to you. He was the one responsible, albeit indirectly, for your takeover of Concordia. By ousting Pre Vizsla, him and the duchess left a void not only in the leadership of Concordia but in the thousands of other moons and asteroids that fell under its jurisdiction as a neutral province. A void which you happily filled. "Duchess Satine, I-" what could you even say?

"Please, Governor. I am just like you - I only wish to protect Mandalore and her people." Satine pleaded again.

You took a step back and became aware of the armor protecting your body. Of the blood soaked into the durasteel that would only be replenished as the centuries continued...if Satine never regained power. Under her rule, you'd been forced to play the part of a politician, parading around in finery too flimsy for your liking, let alone the inherited warrior spirit of your people. Your armor, your second skin, had to be discarded in order for your people to live.

Dion had suffered under her rule, losing millions of credits worth of export due to her staunch neutrality and refusal to let your people return to the family business. You'd almost been absorbed by Death Watch when the Vizslas offered sanctuary for your family. And that had been a whole different type of battle. She wasn't like you. She didn't care about her people or how they suffered in favor of her idealism. She cared only about her pacifism.

"I'm afraid you are mistaken, Kryze." You took another step back as her face fell completely. "Ni aranar Manda'yaim." You placed your helmet back on. "Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur." You walked away, ignoring the angry insults hurled at your back by the former duchess.

One interrogation down, one more to go.

Dereth's cell was sixteen levels down where the guards patrolled less frequently. Which would have been worrying if not for the fact he'd been in the prison for nearly 10 years now and never bothered to try an escape. Except for once during that odd stint with the Black Sun and Pykes making a half-ass attempt at invasion. But, several other prisoners had also made an escape attempt so you didn't hold that against him. As the lift slowed, you braced yourself. You hadn't seen Dereth in years - the last time was when you came by to explain that you were now the matriarch of Clan Dion after the unfortunate passing of your mother.

Dereth was quietly reading something on a modified datapad when you finally got to him. His hair, which was shaved to skin when he was first incarcerated was now down to just above his mid back. Dark brown locks done up in a pretty elaborate braid considering the finite styling tools he had on hand. His eyesight had evidently worsened, quite drastically too, going by the new presence of cheap looking frames perched on his nose.

Bracing yourself you approached the cell and lightly tapped your fist against the transparisteel. His head snapped up in an instant, an easy smile on his face that grew just that much wider upon recognizing you. "Well, " He chortled as he used his index finger to push his glasses back on his crooked nose. "su cuy'gar ori'vod."

"The same to you." You leaned against the door frame, helmet angled towards the man. "I see you're doing well."

"Given the circumstances." He huffed, waving a nonchalant hand around the small cell. "Let's not waste time; you didn't trek all the way from Concordia just to exchange pleasantries." The man sat up, conveying a restrained interest. "What do you want?"

With a grim hum in your throat, you voiced the thing you didn't want to admit. "Your opinion."

If he was surprised, he hid it well. Instead of any wide-eyed stare or gaping maw, his face changed very little - the only tell being a little twitch of his lips. "An odd request, but one I'm happy to oblige, vod."

Bowing your head, you lifted your hands to remove your helmet and hold it against your hip just as you had earlier. "What do you know of the recent changes in our...political front?"

Dereth angled his gaze to the ceiling as if waiting for the dull white tiles to give him the latest scoop. It seemed to work as soon his gaze was returned to you. "Satine's deposed, Pre Vizsla took over, something happened afterwards and no one knows what."

You nodded. "Mostly true. Kryze's detained here, Vizsla did take over but not for very long."

"So, who's the new mand'alor - you?" He chuckled and you had to huff out a laugh with him.

"No, an outsider. Darth Maul."

"Dar'jetti?" Dereth's eyes were blown wide now, all former decorum wiped from his face. "How the hell did that happen?" You gave him am unimpressed look. He nodded in understanding. "So, what do you need my opinion for?"

A deep breath in, "Do you think Dion is strong enough to rule Manda'yaim?"

Dereth was quiet for a very long time, rounded face twisted in thought so potent you doubted anything short of a mortar shell would shake him out of it. His hand rose up to pinch and rub at his nose, easing over the crook that had formed after being broken so many times and never healing properly. And when that gesture didn't give him any answers, he switched to massaging at his hands and up his arms. You watched in mild fascination as the patches of light and dark skin stretched and moved with the motions.

Finally he spoke. "Not right now. If we built up stronger warriors, had more numbers on our side..."

"I was afraid of that." You sighed. "Death Watch has abandoned us. We are once again a standalone clan."

"Are we not allied with the mand'alor?"

"We are." You conceded. "But he is sith. I'm worried what will become of Mandalore when the Republic finds out. Will we not go down with him?"

"I see." Dereth sighed. "Do you have a plan?"

That made you pause. Did you? Yes...and no. You would have to stick to your guns, work with Maul as best you could while siphoning power away from him and solely to you. But you had to do it in a way that made it seem like it was going back to him. Which was a hell of a lot harder to do in person. "The beginnings of one. I'll play it by ear." Dereth muttered something under his breath that you didn't quite catch but weren't bothered enough to have him repeat it. You chanced a glance at a nearby chrone and realized you were encroaching on an hour and a half spent talking to your two conversation partners. "I have to go." You turned away, prepared to leave without another word. If not for the soft, almost desperate call of your name.

"Ori'vod, wait, how's Chara?" You paused, debating if you should answer. But Dereth had been kind to you and allowed your questions. It was fair to allow his.

"She's fine." You turned back to him. "A bit preoccupied with running Concordia while I'm stuck in Sundari so we haven't spoken much recently." You met his eyes again. "She married." You broke the news to him quick. "Almeris snatched her up."

"Osik" he huffed under his breath. Your heart clenched in sympathy. Had things gone differently... "Vod..." Dereth's voice was soft, almost delicate as he called for your attention once again. "I didn't mean to kill him."

You placed your helmet on once more, "I know."

"She was destroying Dion."

You bowed your head, "I know...ret'urcye mhi." and walked away.

..............................

Maul was waiting for you when you arrived back at the entrance. There was no way of telling how long, he'd been waiting but going by the expression on his face (bored and grumpier than usual) it'd been just long enough to annoy him.

Squaring your shoulders, you approached, bringing his attention to you.

"Ah," he straightened his spine, arms falling behind him again, "I trust your meetings went well?" Maul's gaze was intense, boring into your eyes through the visor of your helmet.

Nodding, you took you place beside him. "Yes, they were...enlightening." You hummed in a tone far more pleasant than the nature of the conversations allowed. But Maul didn't seem to mind it. In fact, he almost seemed to enjoyed it.

His lips curled back, revealing sharp, stained teeth that almost glinted in the fluorescent lights of the prison. You supposed it was his version of a smile. "Good." Maul flicked his head away from you, turning his attention to the guard at his side. Although you couldn't see what passed between them, you understood that it had to do with your departure from the prison. Maul then turned and made his way to the elevator that would bring you out. You followed more slowly, lingering just a moment in the tense atmosphere of the prison.

And then you were alone with Maul once more. "So, what did you learn, Governor?" Instead of letting silence descend, Maul turned to you with his hands folded behind him.

Rolling your shoulders to move the weight of the armor around, you spoke carefully. "Satine was not the one behind the message." You started, sorting through information relevant to him. "And unfortunately, that leaves us back at square one."

"How so?" He asked with a tilt of his head.

"Ruling her out only confirmed my initial suspicions that the Night Owls are our most likely suspects."

"And there are no others you can think of?" Maul pressed, leaning towards you almost imperceptibly.

"Only Pre Vizsla. But I was under the impression you...took care of him." You picked your words carefully and watched for any adverse reaction from the sith. The most you got was a frown. "And Almec but he's already your servant as I am. He would have no need to go behind my back to get our records."

"Interesting..." Maul hummed quietly. No further conversation followed, not even after you'd both stepped back into the skycar that would take you back to the palace. But you couldn't help but feel on edge. Not because of the silence, but due to some nameless fear you couldn't place. The silence of the ride back was broken by the shrill chirp of your wrist com.

Without hesitating you keyed it on. "Governor Dion spea-"

"Alor!" A masculine voice yelled from the speaker.

"Almeris?" Alarm bells started to ring in your head. Almeris never commed you. "What's happening, where's Chara?"

"Fine, for now." He gritted out and you thought you could hear blaster fire in the background. "She's busy getting everyone out."

"Almeris, what's happening?" You emphasized, free hand involuntarily gripping at the leather of your seat hard enough to tear through it.

Silence and then, "One of the outposts was attacked - CF-8879dE. We don't know who it was or what they used but the whole thing went up in flames in a matter of seconds." Silence again. "They've retreated. Didn't get a good look at the armor."

"Were they mando?" You hissed into your wrist, all too aware that Maul was watching intently.

Almeris sighed over the comm. "No clue. Besbe didn't look like beskar."

An agitated sigh slipped past your lips as your free hand reached up to pinch the bridge of your nose. "Fantastic." You huffed. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Maul moving closer to you. Warily, you lowered your wrist in order to ask him what he was doing.

But before you could, he had reached out and keyed your wrist com on himself and brought it towards him. "Almeris, was it?" Maul asked into your wrist. You were left just staring at the side of his face, unsure whether to pull your arm away or not. "This is Lord Maul."

Almeris was silent for a long time. "Lord Maul?" He finally asked in a disbelieving voice.

"Yes, Almeris, cuun mand'alor cuyir darjetii." You scrambled to explain before he could say anything stupid.

"Ni haa'taylir." He huffed through the com and you could just imagine the skeptical look behind his helmet. "Tion'jor vaabir vi naritir laam ti cuun aru'e?"

Curse his traditionalism - judging by the eyebrow Maul had raised at you, it was about to get you both killed. "Cuy ogir'olar, dikut." You hissed. "Lord Maul," you emphasized, "you were saying?"

The eyebrow lowered but he maintained a skeptical look. "Almeris, am I correct in assuming you are a member of Clan Dion?"

"Yes, Lord Maul." Almeris bit out.

"What is your relation to Governor Dion?" Maul asked with a tilt of his head.

You could hear the hesitance in his voice as Almeris answered. "I'm her cousin." A cough. "Our grandfathers were brothers...I'm sorry, how is this relevant?"

Frowning you tried to tug your arm out of Maul's gasp. "I would have to agree, Maul. Can you please table this for later so I can get back to my people?"

Maul stared at you for a long moment, the look on his face completely unreadable. But, he relented with a cordial bow of his head. "Thank you," you raised your arm again, "Almeris, are you still there?"

"Yes, I am. Can't really go anywhere at the moment." The Dion warrior grumbled.

"Good, can you tell Chara I need to talk to her?" A flash of light outside the window caught your attention and you realized it was the reflection of the car in one of the windows of the palace. "As soon as she's available?"

"Yes, of course. She's checking on the survivors right now."

Your blood froze. "Do we have confirmed casualties?"

"Just one so far but not everyone's accounted for..."

"Shit." You couldn't help but swear. Shit, shit, shit. Of course this happens the one time you're off of Concordia for an extended amount of time.

"Governor." A low voice spoke into your ear, startling you out of the spiral you'd started to fall into. You looked up to find Maul looking at, one of his hands hovering just above touching your shoulder. "We have landed."

"Uh..." You shook your head as if it would clear your racing thoughts. "Tha-thank you." With a worrying shake, you raised your arm once more. "Almeris, are you still there?"

"Yes, vod." His voice was much gentler. "What do you need?"

"Tell Chara I will be on the first shuttle to Concordia I can get on. No statement is to be offered but the victims are allowed to shelter in the palace if they so wish or have no where else to go. I want a full investigation up and running by the time I'm back. Do you understand?" You rushed out, trying to force a plan to form as you spoke.

"I understand, alor. Take care." He spoke quietly before signing off, leaving you stuck on Mandalore. Shit.

The door closest to you suddenly opened, scaring the living daylights out of you. Reflexively, you brought your arm up in a defensive position. Only to slowly lower it at the sight of Maul. Without saying a word, he reached out a hand for you to take. "I contacted Savage, he has ordered some of the servants to pack your bags. A shuttle has also been hailed. I will accompany you to the hangar where Savage will meet us with our bags."

You started to nod, not really processing what he was saying as you settled you hand in his to let him help you out of the car. But just as you were settling your helmet on your head again to hide the panicked expression threatening to overtake your expression, you registered what Maul had said. "I'm sorry," you started, stopping in your tracks to bring him to a halt as well, "our bags?"

Maul nodded once, his expression placid. "Of course, Governor." He turned away and started walking again. "A problem on Concordia, is a problem on Mandalore."

...........................

Translations:

Aranar - Defend

Cuun - our

cuyir - is/are

Cuy ogir'olar - it's irrelevant

Besbe - kit

Dar'jetti- Sith

Dikut - idiot

haa'taylir - to see

Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur - Today is a good day for someone else to die

Manda'yaim - Mandalore

Ni - I

Ori'vod - [older] brother, sister, special friend

Osik - shit

Ret'urcye mhi - good bye, maybe we'll meet again

su cuy'gar - hello, you're not dead

Tion'jor vaabir vi naritir laam ti cuun aru'e - why do we put up with our enemy?

vod - brother, sister, comrade

#darth maul #darth maul x reader #maul x reader #maul #star wars #star wars x reader #x reader #star wars the clone wars #swtcw #the clone wars

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daphnefangirling · 1 year

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Bughead Appreciation Week - Day 1 Bughead Fandom Love Day

First of all: thank you @bugheadcentral for putting this together! I think we all need this.

I won’t even attempt to name all the people in this fandom I’m thankful for because I will inevitably forget someone and feel terrible about it!

I have been in this fandom since Jan. 2017 and so many people have entered (and some since exited but I still remember them fondly) my life because of this crazy show. There’s too many to name in just one post (and I have mommy brain and would forget some of you)!

If we’ve ever interacted, I hope I made you feel like you mattered and like you brought something into my life. You all have. So here are a few blanket statements:

1. I’m so very thankful for all our Bughead fic writers who keep finding new ways of writing our ship falling in love over and over again in thousands of different manners. They have been especially important since canon has been failing us.

2. Thank you to all the wonderful gif makers. I stopped watching at 4.16 and you guys allow me to see only the good Bughead stuff that’s happened since then and remind me of all the wonderful moments we got before things got so completely messed up.

3. Thank you to the ones I call the 'Bughead commentators' because even though I stopped watching, through following your blogs, I can keep up with what’s happening in the land of Bughead on Riverdale.

4. To every single one of you who has encouraged my writing in any way, liked, shared, commented on my stuff: thank you! You enrich my online life and bring me joy. I’m grateful for you.

5. And finally, thank you to all the artists who’ve drawn Bughead. I hope it’s no secret how much I adore each of you, just look at my art collection and you’ll see that.

So if you fall into any of these categories: I appreciate you and your contributions not only to the fandom, but to my life and I’m grateful for you. Thank you for being here.

And now a few ‘special thank yous'

To my dear friend @cheryllclayton I’m so glad we met through this fandom (thank you Dollihaze for that!) and that you came to visit me which cemented our friendship for life. You’re my ride or die and I love you.

To my gal @alpacalypseartb I adore you, I feel so lucky to have you as a friend. You are wonderful and so ridiculously talented, it’s almost unfair! I think you are wise beyond your years and one of the kindest souls I know.

My kindred spirit @jughead-art: becoming your friend is one of the loveliest things to have happened to me. We share a passion for Bughead art and I’m forever in awe of your collection! Thank you for always enabling me or talk me down from a bout of crazy in the best way always!

And last but definitely not least: @bughead-in-the-comics how I love thee, let me count the ways! You are simply amazing in all things comics!Bughead related and my fandom experience is enriched by your presence. Thank you for being such a dedicated fan and for consistently putting a smile on my face with your Bughead posts and our chats in DMs.

I’m so, so sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone and made you feel like you weren’t important to me. If you follow me and you’re reading this, you are important and appreciated and you should know that. ❤️

#bughead appreciation week #bughead fandom #bughead fam #bughead fandom is forever #bugheadcentral #friends not followers #fandom positivity #fandom appreciation #betty cooper #bughead appreciation week 2023 #bughead appreciation

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fluffytriceratops · 1 year

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Stressing Over Nothing.

I missed the three musketeers being together so I pulled this out of my ass quickly. I don’t really know what this is tbh. TvT Are Alba and Iris ooc, probably. Is this shit? Most likely. But you get what you get and you dont get upset lol. Anyway, I love my babies so I wrote a lil something about my babies, enjoy!! <333

Also- possibly part one? Might add onto it another time? Idk lol.

Tags: @thelaundrybitch @rheawritesforfun @digitl-art-monstr @turtle-babe83 @leosgirl82 @post-apocalyptic-daydream @mysticboombox @drowninghell @squirrelfurs @bibiz82 @raphslovemuffin80 @lec743

(If you would like to be tagged in my future TMNT OC related work, feel free to let me know and I'll happily add you!)

Have a lovely day/night! Stay safe! I'm sending all the virtual hugs to you! <3

Alba belongs to @rheawritesforfun ! 💙

Iris belongs to @digitl-art-monstr ! 💜

━

“Which dress do you guys think I should wear?” The second Iris and Alba walked into the room, Kristina had turned to them in a panic. Multiple dresses were sprawled around her room. There were so many her entire bed was covered.

Alba walked towards the bed and inspected a few, “Are these for your anniversary with Raph tonight?” She asked, turning back to flash a stressing Kris a reassuring smile.

“Yes. He won’t tell me what we’re doing, he insists on it being a surprise. All he said was to wear something nice.” The brunette reached her hand up to run it through her hair, and then she remembered she had tied it up in a bun moments before. She dropped her hand to her side with a pout.

Iris hummed, already setting aside a few of her favourites. “What about this one? I think this color suits your skin tone very well. Ooh, or maybe this one?” She walked across the room towards one she had spotted and began to examine it. Lifting it up to Kris’ body. “Hmm, it would be perfect but I’m not sold on the length. Especially since we have no idea what you’re doing.”

Kristina let out an exasperated sigh and flopped on the bed. Iris’ tails puffed and she quickly swatted her aside. “No! You’ll wrinkle them!” She clicked her tongue and Kris huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “A few wrinkles won’t matter if I wear the wrong dress.”

“Maybe there isn’t a wrong dress? You’ll look good in all of these, I’m sure any of them will do.” Alba suggested, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

“Or maybe you shouldn’t wear a dress at all. Just because he said you have to wear something nice, doesn’t mean you have to wear a dress.” Iris added, tapping her chin with a finger.

Kristina looked like she was about to implode. “That’s it. I’m over this.” She snatched up her phone from her desk and scrolled through her contacts till she got to the right one. Alba and Iris shared a quick glance before she pressed the phone to her ear. She paced in a circle impatiently as she waited for him to answer.

—

“Hello?”

“Leon, what the fuck does Raph have planned?”

Leo’s eye ridges raised at the sound of Kristina’s impatient tone. He had expected it to be Alba. Both expected and hoped, but hadn’t checked the caller ID before answering. He couldn’t stop the smirk from crawling onto his face. This would be fun. Kristina didn’t like surprises. This was something they all knew. It was only a matter of time before she fussed one of them about Raphael’s little secret date. “Ahh, Krissy. What a pleasant surprise.” At the mention, Raph immediately whipped around in his direction, eyes wide and alert.

It was a wonder he didn't get whiplash.

If it was possible, Leo’s smirk grew. Mikey let out a groan as he slapped some cash into Donnie’s hand. “Told y’a.” The purple branded terrapin muttered.

“Was that tonight?” Leo hummed, inspecting his nails absentmindedly.

Kristina huffed on the other side of the phone. “Don’t play games with me, I’m stressing out over here!”

Raph approached, stopping what he was doing, which was holding the ladder for Donnie as he hung up something and rushed over to his brothers side. Trying to hear what she was saying. He quickly shook his head to Leo. Silently begging him not to say anything.

“What makes you think I know anything?” He said cooly. Mouthing “I gotcha bro” to Raphael. He didn’t look convinced.

“Leonardo.”

“Honestly, Kris, I don’t know anything. Raph didn’t mention what he was doing, just that he was doing something. You called the wrong brother. If he would have told anyone it would have been Donnie. Just sit back and relax, have a drink or two. There’s nothing to stress over, hopefully.”

Donnie also whipped around at this, not knowing that Raph had left. The ladder swung beneath him, and if it wasn’t for Mikey running over and steadying it- Donnie probably would have fallen and eaten ass. Leonardo could only stick his tongue out at the sight of his brothers steely glare. There was a sigh on the other end of the call and Leo hoped she bought it.

“Fine… thanks for nothing.” Raph’s shoulders sunk in relief. And the rest of the brothers seemed to feel the same way.

“I guess I’m calling Donnie then.” And then they began to panic. But Kris had hung up before anything else could be said or done.

“Great going Leon!” Donnie hissed, climbing down the ladder.

“Man, why’d you have to say that!” Raph groaned, sliding a hand down his face. “Donnie you better not fuck this up!”

“Don’t blame me for Leo’s mistakes!”

“Guys chill. We got this. Donnie will convince Kris to drop it and we can get the girls to distract and calm down Kris till it’s time to shine. It’s a win win for everybody!” Leo sent a text to Alba, asking her to use her charms to do just that before he slipped his phone back into his belt, as confident in his plan as ever.

“Yeah, or she’ll see right through him, know somethings up and call Raph or I.” Mikey hummed, dusting his hands off of flour.

“Did you just use proper grammar?” Donnie was ignored.

“We’re totally fucked, we know Mikey can’t keep a secret and Kris knows when I’m lying!” Raph cupped his head, beginning to panic. Leo slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Relax big bro. It won’t come to that. Hopefully.”

It was right at this moment that Donnie’s phone rang. The mutant shot one final glare towards his idiot of a twin before answering it with a sigh. “Hey, Kris.”

—

Alba’s phone buzzed in her pocket, indicating she had a notification. She slipped it out as Iris comforted Kristina. It was a text from Leo. The brunette tried not to snort at the message, shaking her head to herself as she replied. Distract Kris? Normally that might be pretty easy, but this was no normal situation. “Donnie might not know anything either.” Alba returned her attention towards the two females.

Kristina sighed at Iris’ comment, “I know. But I have to know something. This is driving me crazy. They know I don’t like surprises.” She clicked on Don’s profile and hit call, pressing the phone to her ear. As they waited for him to answer, Alba grabbed Iris’ arm and pulled her to the side. “Leo says we need to distract Kris for a bit. Stop her from trying to figure things out. Keep the surprise a secret.” She whispered, and Iris nodded.

“How do you suppose we do that? You know how she is, she has to know everything.”

Alba’s eyebrows furrowed in thought. “I dunno, gimme a second and I’ll figure something out.”

“Please tell me that you know what Raph’s planning.” They returned their gaze onto Kristina who was now talking on the phone to Donatello.

“Sorry, Kris. I don’t know anything.” Her lips pulled down in a disbelieving frown. Her pacing had yet to seize, she’d wear the carpet down if she wasn’t careful. “Is that the truth, or did Raph ask you not to say anything?”

It was quiet on the end of the line for a few long seconds. “Of course it’s the truth!” Donnie sputtered, sounding a bit frazzled. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“Oh please, you’ve lied to me on multiple occasions. And I’m not convinced that this isn’t one of them. He told you what he has planned, didn’t he? Donatello, I swear— if you don’t tell me right now—“

“He didn’t say anything, I swear! And even if he did, my lips are sealed. You’re going to have to find answers somewhere else, Kristina.”

“Oh, pulling out first names now huh?”

“You started it!”

“And I’ll be the one who finishes it. Is Raph with you?”

“This is bad,” Iris whispered. Alba nodded in agreement. “Yup.”

Donnie was silent on the other end, Kristina could hear muffled voices and she rolled her eyes. “Put him on the phone, please.”

“H-he’s not here!”

“You’re a terrible liar. Put him on the phone, or I’ll tell Iris what I caught you doing the other day~” She could hear Donnie saying something, probably cursing her out, and then Raph’s voice came in. It was muffled, but it was clearly him.

“Hey, Kris. Leo here. Look Raph can’t come to the phone right now. You’ll have to wait to talk to him till your date. Alrighty then, bye bye.” And then he hung up.

“Son of bitch…”

“What did you catch Donnie doing?” Kris locked eyes with Iris. “You don’t wanna know…”

—

“Well that’s just great! She’s so gonna be pissed at me now!” Donnie hissed, snatching his phone back from his twin.

“What’d Kris catch you doing, Dee~?” It was Mikey who asked, having just barley caught the conversation between the two. Donnie’s face immediately flushed and he shot a cold glare in his direction. “Nothing! Never mind that!”

“Technically you didn’t let her talk to Raph, so wont she tell Iris anyway?”

“Fuck!”

“Kristina’s gonna be pissed at all of us if we don’t figure this out.” Raph stressed, biting his bottom lip agitatedly.

“You know she hates surprises!” Mikey called as he went back to the kitchen. He had work to do, hell, they all did.

“I know!” Raph roared back. “But I also know she’s gonna like this one. She’s been so stressed lately, I thought doing something extra special for our anniversary would make her feel better.” He winced at the sound of his phone ringing, he didn’t have to look at the screen to know it was Kristina. With a heavy sigh, Raph answered it. “Hey, baby. What’s up?”

“Look, I wont ask about the surprise, but I do need to know what to wear.”

Raph’s invisible eyebrows rose. “What? Is that what this was about?”

“…Yes. Partially.”

Raph shook his head, “Wear the outfit I got you.”

“Uh, I’ll need you to be a little more specific than that.”

Raph chuckled, “The newest one, from Emiko.”

—

Kristina looked insanely confused. “What outfit from Emiko? I didn’t get a new outfit from Emiko.”

“Yes, you did. I asked Iris to bring it to you the other day.”

Iris’ eyes widened and Alba caught the embarrassed look on her face. She tried to hide her smile from the cute kitsune, knowing exactly where this was going. “Gigi..”

Kristina turned towards her expectantly. Iris’ face was as bright as a cherry tomato. “I’m so sorry! I totally forgot! Raph called me and told me to bring you some box today, but I was a little… Distracted at the time.. Y’know with uh, Donnie.” She remembered the encounter quite well, since Raph had called at a very.. intimate time. Donnie was pleasuring her between the thighs, and Iris answered the phone on instinct. She had barley registered what Raphael was saying as she focused on not moaning in delight.

“You scandalous little minx.” Kristina grinned towards her cheekily, giggling to herself. “I guess outfit crises averted, then.”

“So that’s what was going on over there… Alright baby, I gotta go. Have you got anymore questions for me while I have you?”

“..Just one..”

“I can’t tell you what the surprise is.”

“Darn it.. I guess not, then. But if I think of more later—“

“You can text me anytime. I’ll answer as soon as I can. I love you, Kristina.”

“I love you too, Raphael.”

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theartoflovingthomashunt · 1 year

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My Top Posts in 2022:

Happily Ever After

This family has my entire heart. Thomas and Alex have been such a source of comfort and joy for me over the past few years. Writing them means the world to me. I adore them more than I can say. Then came Bogart, who is the cutest, most fun pup to write for. And finally, my precious twins, Felicity and Vincent, whom I share my birthday with. I love them so much!!! 🥺😭😍💛

I can't thank the beautiful and amazing @/artbyainna on Instagram enough for this stunning family portrait.

Birthday Art #6 of 6 for my self-care birthday week + "birthday" for @choicesmonthlychallenge

[All Thomas Hunt x Alex Spencer Masterlists] [Baby Hunt]

49 notes - Posted March 6, 2022

Three years ago today, I decided to join this fandom and I am so glad I did!

I had reblogged things randomly from a non-choices blog and liked things on my personal account but I had never really interacted with anyone or participated in the fandom. When I was in elementary school, I definitely was writing fan fiction, but then as I got older people made me feel less because of it and I stopped writing. Then I found this fandom community and decided to take a risk and pick it back up again. I never expected anyone to read it!

I'm truly grateful to everyone who has ever read or supported my writing here or on any of my blogs. You will never know how much it means to me! Thank you!

So how does one celebrate? With more fan art, obviously! 😍😍😍

One thing I've loved to do is see how different artist bring Thomas and Alex to life and I couldn't be more excited with how this latest art came out!

This adorable chibi portrait is by arssel_land on Instagram 💛

Thank you again for all your love and support. You (and HAlex) have helped me survive the last 3 years on this crazy planet and for that I am eternally grateful! 💖💖💖

50 notes - Posted July 8, 2022

The Best Kind of Distraction 💋

This gorgeous portrait of my forever OTP Thomas and Alex is by the always wonderful and talented @rosefuckinggenius!

I had a short drabble planned to go with it, but seeing as @choicesrcd2022 ends now-ish, I decided I should at least share the art. I'm hoping I can get time to write out the drabble tomorrow. 🤞

Prompts: @choicesdecember2022 kiss, @choicesrcd2022 distraction, @choicesholidays I’m so glad we found each other (always & forever)

[All Thomas Hunt x Alex Spencer Masterlists] [Red Carpet Diaries]

50 notes - Posted December 10, 2022

Thomas and Alex Hunt 💖💙

by @/hrhschreave on Instagram

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to win a commission from Amara in @/austie_romance 's 1,000 Follower giveaway. I am absolutely blown away by the talent and generosity of both of these lovely ladies. I can't thank them enough for making this portrait possible!

Prompts: one more (kiss) @choicesmonthlychallenge

[Masterlists: Thomas Hunt x Alex Spencer]

52 notes - Posted May 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

"Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches...I have stayed these years in my hovel because of you. I have taught myself languages because of you. I have made my body strong because I thought you might be pleased by a strong body. I have lived my life with only the prayer that some sudden dawn you might glance in my direction. I have not known a moment in years when the sight of you did not send my heart careening against my rib cage. I have not known a night when your visage did not accompany me to sleep. There has not been a morning when you did not flutter behind my waking eyelids." ~The Princess Bride, William Goldman

Thomas and Alex enjoying a quiet afternoon rereading one of their favorite stories.

I can't even explain how much I am in love with them and this art. Ainna (@/artbyainna IG) is literally the most beautiful genius and never fails to impress . I will be here crying over this for a while. It is everything I hoped and more. Thomas and Alex's love is infinite, they spend everyday choosing each other no matter how good or bad things are and I will always chose them. They are my comfort pairing and my happy place. I will never get enough of them or their love.

[All Thomas Hunt x Alex Spencer Masterlists] [Halex Commission tag]

62 notes - Posted October 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

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tough-girl9 · 2 years

Text

Five Moments of Feeling

Summary: Five moments in which Data experiences emotion and becomes just a little bit more human. A "if Data hadn't gotten the emotion chip" AU.

Part 1: Humor

Part 2: Contentment

Part 4: Offense

Part 5: Saudade

Also posted on AO3 and FFN

A/N: Keiko and Data’s friendship is criminally underrated, so I am fixing that wrong :)

Five Moments of Feeling Part 3: Pride

The third moment was in the Arboretum.

Keiko O'Brien was tending the finicky Talbroan fern that she had picked up at the last star base. The poor thing had been on the brink of death, its pale pink stems nearly translucent and the foliage withered and brittle. It needed precisely a fourth of a liter of water a day; just a few milliliters too much or too little would send it spiraling back into a state of disarray. No wonder they were practically extinct in the wild, Keiko thought as she carefully trimmed off a dead frond and continued her search for other signs of unhealth from the bushy plant.

The sound of the Arboretum doors whooshing open distracted her from the fern and she glanced up to find Data making his way around the potted bushes and shrubs towards her. She bounced up from her squatting position and gave her android friend a cheerful wave. "Data! Over here!"

He acknowledged her with a little nod and crossed the bridge that spanned the artificial stream that watered the main plot of the Arboretum. He stopped beside her and examined the Talbroan fern, making a small sound of interest. "It seems that your fern is recovering admirably since it came into your care. Are you pleased with its progress?"

Keiko grinned at the sincere interest in his voice. Tugging at the cuff of his sleeve, she encouraged him to kneel with her in front of the plant. "She seems to be doing wonderfully. You know, I wasn't sure for a little while there if she was going to make it, but look." She lifted up a large frond, revealing a small green bulge at the fern's base. "Talbroan ferns need to be in nearly perfect condition before they grow pods. If everything goes right, in a month or two, I should be able to harvest the seeds and incubate them in the botany lab. By this time next year, I could have four, five, maybe even more new ferns. It'll be a wonderful opportunity to study their life cycle and maybe even start a project to reintroduce them to Talbroa II."

Data nodded solemnly and looked at her with soft, serious eyes. "I am quite sure that under your competent care and with your passion for the project, it will be a success."

Keiko couldn't help the broad grin that spread across her face, and she pushed his shoulder fondly. "Well, somebody's been learning the human art of flattery."

Data gave her a mournful look of confusion, his lips curving into a slight frown. "My intention was not to offer unfounded accolades. The sentiment was entirely sincere."

"I know, Data." She patted his arm, still smiling. "I was just giving you a hard time."

"Ah," he responded, still looking mildly confused but no longer visibly concerned that he might have unintentionally insulted her.

Keiko stood and Data followed suit. "And how about your project?" Keiko asked, brushing off the knees of her gardening trousers. "How is the Vendikarian orchid doing?"

Data tilted his head to the side, his expression non-committal. "The orchid is in fact the reason why I decided to 'stop by'. Although it is not showing any signs of deterioration or wilting, it has yet to produce a blossom, which by my calculations based on the research I have done on this particular breed, it should have done three days ago. I wished to ask your advice on what I might be doing wrong. Would you be willing to examine it?" "Of course, Data." Keiko smiled warmly at him. "But I suspect you're being too hard on yourself. Actual botany isn't nearly as nice and neat as in a book, and plants don't do exactly what they're supposed to do exactly when they're supposed to do it any more often than people do. Isn't that why you wanted to look after the orchid yourself and get a taste of caring for a plant? To have the first-hand experience instead of just reading about it on the ship's computer?"

Data nodded. "That is true. So far, the act of researching versus engaging in the actual experience has been significantly disparate."

They headed over to the far side of the Arboretum together, following the winding stone path between the alien flora until they reached a row of potted plants by the side wall. Data knelt by one of them. "I have been watering it the recommended every third day, all well as providing it approximately fifteen to seventeen hours of artificial sunlight each twenty-four hour period. What is your opinion on its health?"

Keiko knelt beside her friend and examined the orchid, noting the rich, dark green color of the stem and the paler green of the large flat leaves with deep purple veins. "It looks perfectly healthy to me, Data," she said, squeezing the stem to test its firmness and running the leaves between her fingers to check for dry or wilted spots. "From everything I can see, it looks like you're doing a wonderful job with it."

The corners of Data's mouth perked into a little, pleased smile. "Do you truly believe so?"

"Yes, I do," Keiko replied with a smile, still checking for any signs of ill health, though she expected to find none.

Data gave a decisive nod. "Then I will trust to your superior personal experience on this particular topic and proceed with my watering and sunning routines as I have been doing so far."

Keiko was about to reply when she felt an object different than leaves or stems hidden behind the back of the plant. "Data," she said, pulling the leaves back, "look at this."

As she gently parted the leaves, the hidden growth was revealed. The orchid had produced a delicate stem, on the tip of which was a small bud with lovely pale orange petals peeping through the green casing. Data reached out to touch the bud with a gentle, almost reverent, brush of his long fingers. "It is preparing to blossom," he said softly.

Keiko gave him a fond glance and put a hand on his shoulder. "See, I told you not to worry," she teased gently. "It was just a late bloomer is all. I knew you'd be as good a plant parent as you are a cat parent. It looks like you've done a wonderful job with her, Data."

Data didn't reply, his hand still outstretched with his fingers just barely touching the plant, his body completely still. Keiko tilted her head and rubbed his shoulder. "Data? Are you OK?"

Data closed his eyes and shook his head slightly. "I…" he began slowly, "I…believe that I am experiencing a new emotion. One I have not felt before."

Keiko grew still, her face serious, knowing how much an experience like this meant to her android friend. "A new emotion? What do you think it is, Data?"

He shook his head again, eyes still closed, a look of intense concentration on his face. "I am uncertain. It…seems to be a positive emotion. I am happy that I have been successful at my endeavor in this area, but it is more than happiness. I respect your abilities and knowledge as an exobotanist and therefore place a greater level of gravity in your opinions on this topic than I would my other friends. The emotion seems to somehow be related to this respect I feel for you. I feel that I have been successful at accomplishing a goal, that I have done something that I set out to do and that I have done it well. Within the current context, I am unsure which emotion might be the best fit for what I am experiencing."

Keiko's smile had steadily grown as she listened to Data talk. As he finished, she leaned over to him and spoke in a quiet voice. "Try 'pride', Data."

Data's eyes flickered open, though they remained thoughtfully lowered, his head still tilted curiously. But after a moment, his golden gaze darted up to her face, his own features calm and content. "Yes," he said slowly, "yes, that feels right. I am proud."

Keiko hooked her arm around his, grinning. "As you should be, Data. As you absolutely should."

#star trek #star trek tng #star trek the next generation #star trek fanfiction #my writing #no emotion chip au #data star trek #keiko star trek #lt commander data #data soong #keiko o'brien #keiko ishikawa #emotions #friendship #fluff

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whimsicallyenchantedrose · 2 years

Text

Until the Stars Are All Alight--Chapter 20: The Pyre of Rumplestiltskin

Hello, and welcome to my entry for the Captain Swan Supernatural Summer 2019! This au combines two story ideas I’ve wanted to explore for a while. 1. What if CS existed in a Tolkien-esque, LOTR world? 2. What would have happened if it was Killian rather than Neal that Emma ran into when she was stealing the bug? Huge thank you to my beta, @blackwidownat2814, to @clockadile for the amazing story and chapter art, to @kmomof4 and @cssnsfor putting this event together, and to the ladies in the CSSNS chat who have helped me think through this story. If all goes well, I should be posting every Tuesday, and the story will have approximately 18 chapters plus the prologue and epilogue.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Summary: CS Lord of the Rings au: When Emma Swan steals a yellow Volkswagen Beetle, she has no idea it will lead her toward an adventure filled with danger and intrigue, sacrifice and a love stronger than anything she could imagine. Tasked with bringing the Savior home, the elf, Killian Jones of Misthaven travels to the Land Without Magic. Can he convince Emma to fulfill her destiny before the Dark One regains power and takes over all of the Enchanted Forest?

Rating: T

Word Count: 2094

Other Chapters: (prologue) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (21) (22) (epilogue)

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Chapter 20: The Pyre of Rumplestiltskin

A/N: I’m sorry in advance. It was necessary

The Underworld

The Underworld. They’d made it. Emma sprinted the last few steps into the cave, and then came to a stop, looking around and trying to catch her breath. Everything about this place was hard and sharp and hot. The stone floor of the huge cavern came to a promontory over what appeared to be a river of hot, red, molten lava. All around them was the smell of sulfur and brimstone.

This place really was hell.

With every fiber in her body, Emma wanted to turn around and leave this terrible place, but she knew she couldn’t. Her whole life had been leading up to this moment, and she wasn’t going to fold when things got difficult.

“Well?” Regina said from behind her, “what are you waiting for? Destroy the damn thing!”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Not helping, Regina.”

Didn’t the former wannabe queen think Emma would be doing just that if she had even the slightest clue how?

Emma thought back to the walk over here. While Killian had gone off to talk to Regina, she’d sought out Merlin, looking for some last minute advice about what she was supposed to do.

As usual, the wizard was effectively no help at all.

“Never fear, Emma,” he’d said with a reassuring nod. “When the time is right, the answers will come to you. You’ll know what you need to do, and you’ll be given all the help and support you need to do it.”

Well the time was right, and she had no more insights into what she had to do than she had before, and now that Merlin was dead, she didn’t even have cryptic wizard advice to point her in the right direction.

Wonderful.

“Swan?” Killian said, stepping up behind her and putting a comforting hand on her lower back. “We’re here. You’ve got our full support. Follow your instincts, and they won’t lead you astray.”

Emma felt a rush of love, of confidence rush over her. She had no more knowledge than before what needed to be done, but Killian’s faith in her had always given her faith in herself. What would she have done without him?

She took a deep breath (or as deep a breath as it was possible to take in the stale, fetid air of the Underworld) and squared her shoulders. “Maybe I’m just supposed to…toss the sword in the lake of fire? If the fires of hell won’t destroy it, I don’t know what will.”

“It’s certainly worth a shot, love,” Killian said, smiling in encouragement.

Emma stepped up to the very edge of the promontory, every step more difficult than the last as the heat intensified to the point that it felt like every breath she took seared her lungs. Once she was in position, she pulled Excalibur from its sheath, pulled back her arm and threw it as hard and as far as she could. She watched as the sword floated on top of the roiling surface of the fiery lake, and then slowly sunk beneath.

For a moment, she thought she’d done it. For a moment, she thought the sword had been destroyed, but a part of her knew it couldn’t be that easy.

And it wasn’t.

A moment later, the sword flew out of the lake and back into her hand, none the worse for wear. Not only was it undamaged in the least, it hadn’t even retained the heat from the fires; it was cool to the touch.

On to plan B….whatever that might be.

“Well that didn’t work,” Regina said. “So what now?”

“I don’t know!” Emma shouted, turning toward the woman and glaring in her frustration.

Killian stepped between the two of them. “Give her a minute, Regina.”

“We don’t have a minute!” Regina shot back. “Any minute now the Dark One’s going to show up. We need to finish this before he gets here!”

“No we don’t,” Emma said. She didn’t know how, but suddenly she knew. She had no more insight than before as to how she was supposed to go about destroying the sword, but she knew this with absolute certainty. “We need him here. For some reason, he’s vital to this, and without him, it doesn’t matter what I do; I won’t be able to destroy Excalibur.”

“Do you realize how insane you sound right now?” Regina shouted.

“She’s the savior!” Killian roared back, clearly losing what was left of his patience with the woman. “If she says the Dark One needs to be here, the Dark One needs to be here. Now kindly prepare yourself for a fight or go the hell away!”

Emma smiled, grateful beyond measure to have this man in her corner, even if no one else was.

“He’s not the only one, Emma,” she heard from the far corner of the yawning cavern. “You have many, many people backing you, and here we shall remain until the very end.”

Emma whirled around, shocked at the utterance. It was impossible; he was dead, but she’d swear the one who had just spoken to her was…

“Merlin!” she said. Impossible as it was, he stood there smiling at her, but he looked different, brighter, somehow, luminous. “But you’re dead!”

“So I am,” Merlin smiled, “but that doesn’t mean I’m gone. I told you that you would have all the help you need here at the end, and accordingly, here we are.”

For the first time, Emma noticed that Merlin was not alone. Dozens, maybe hundreds of luminous beings stood behind and beside him. Some she recognized–Robin Hood, most prominently–and beside him, Liam Jones. There was something different about Liam, though. Whereas all the others were bright, distinct, glowing, Liam was translucent, fading in and out.

“I’ve not yet passed into the spirit world,” Liam stated in answer to her unspoken question. “My fate has not yet been decided, so as now I hover between life and death, but until the battle is determined, I am your humble servant.”

But while there were people she knew in this other-worldly assembly, there were many, many others who she did not know, but whose faces were none the less vaguely familiar–a woman with curly graying hair and a motherly appearance. A man with a gray goatee wearing a crown on his head. A man with curly black hair standing beside a red-headed woman.

“You’re my ancestors, aren’t you?” she asked, looking around at everyone she could see.

“Aye,” Liam answered. “Yours and Killian’s. Just know that whatever happens, whatever befalls you, whatever is asked of you, we will be here until the end.”

“Swan?” Killian asked carefully. “Who are you talking to, Love?”

Before she could answer, dark purple smoke billowed, filling the entire cavern. When it cleared, Rumplestiltskin stood in its place, an evil grin firmly affixed to his face. Killian rushed forward with a feral shout, drawing his sword and preparing to do battle. Within moments, Regina joined him.

Rumplestiltskin giggled, the sound somehow both ominous and irritating, and then with a lazy wave of his hand, he knocked them both into the far wall. Shackles appeared, tethering them hand and foot.

“No!” Emma shouted. “Your beef is with me! Leave them alone!”

He giggled again. “My beef doesn’t have to be with anyone, ‘savior’.” He said the title as though it were something obscene. “You know what I want, and we both know in the end you’ll give it to me.”

“You know I can’t do that,” Ema said firmly. “This ends here and it ends now. You are done terrorizing this land.”

For a moment, anger flashed over his sparkly face, and it was terrifying to behold, but then the anger was replaced by a far more terrifying grin. “To stop me wil take a sacrifice too steep to be borne.”

And suddenly, in a flash she knew. She knew what she had to do, and she knew what it would cost her.

Everything.

It would cost her everything–Killian, Henry, her new found family, any other children that could have been born to her and Killian. The sacrifice she must make in order to destroy the sword was her own life, for it would take every ounce of her life force to pull the darkness into the sword and destroy it.

Emma turned and locked eyes with Merlin. He nodded somberly, and any hope she’d had that her intuition was wrong was dashed. Her heart dropped and the tears sprang to her eyes. She had to do this; there was no other choice, but how could she leave Killian? How could she leave her little boy?

She closed her eyes, took two deep, calming breaths, ignoring the Dark One’s continued taunts. Finally, feeling she had mastery over herself, she turned to look one last time at Killian, who was still straining against his bonds.

“I love you, Killian,” she said, her voice not quite steady. “Always and forever, I love you.”

And then there was nothing more for it. With one more deep breath, she raised Excalibur high over her head.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“No!” The shout tore from Killian, from the very depths of his soul. He knew what that ‘I love you’ was.

It was a goodbye.

This couldn’t be happening. Not again. He couldn’t lose the love of his life. He increased his struggles against the shackles holding him to the cavern wall, but all that accomplished was to deepen the lacerations on his wrists.

He was powerless to what was happening, and never in his life had he been so terrified.

Across the cavern, Rumplestiltskin suddenly realized what was about to happen. With a cry of rage and fear, he rushed toward Emma, but he was pushed back when he got within ten feet of her, as though she were surrounded by a protective force field.

With the sword raised in the air, Emma closed her eyes, concentrating hard, and suddenly, noxious tendrils of what looked like black smoke poured from the Dark One’s mouth and into the blade. Her arms shook, and a grimace (pain? exertion?) suffused her face, but she held the sword steady.

As the stream of darkness leaving Rumplestiltskin widened and deepened, Emma’s breathing became steadily more labored.

“Swan, please!” Killian pleaded. “Emma, don’t do this! The price is too high!”

He knew it was futile even before he uttered the words, but he had to try. Standing here watching the life drain from his beloved wife, unable to do a single bloody thing to stop it was worse than any torture the Dark One could have subjected him to.

Emma merely turned to him, gave him a sad smile, and then focused once again on the task at hand.

Killian didn’t know how long it took–likely only moments, but it felt like hours of agony. Finally the billowing smoke of evil coming from Rumplestiltskin slowed and then stopped. Emma fell hard to her knees. With one last defiant look at the erstwhile Dark One, she flung the sword into the fires of the underworld. With her task completed, Emma fell to the ground as the breath whooshed from her body.

“Swan!” Killian screamed, a cry of primal agony.

Rumplestiltskin yelled, diving head-first into the lake of fire just as Excalibur disappeared below the surface. His shrieks of agony as the fires consumed him were terrible to hear.

And then they went silent.

It was over.

Notes:

–Alright, before you start yelling, hear me out. 1. You all know I am all in with Captain Swan. 2. I’m also a fan of Outlaw Queen. 3. I’m basically allergic to any endings that are not completely happy. 4. There are still 2 chapters and an epilogue left to fix things. 5. This chapter may have hurt, but at least Rumplestiltskin also died a torturous death by fire, so that counts for something, right? Okay, now your yelling may commence.

–Up next: Regina is given an opportunity that is almost too good to pass up. Can she stay strong and do the right thing? Meanwhile, the Underworld begins to crumble after the sword is destroyed, and everyone back in Misthaven knows Emma was successful. They celebrate–until Killian returns with Emma’s body.

–The good news? I was on vacation last week, and I managed to not only finish this chapter, but also the first draft of the next chapter! You won’t have to wait long for chapter 21–it may even drop by the end of this week!

NEXT CHAPTER-->

#cssns #captain swan supernatural sumer 2019 #lotr/cs au #my fanfiction #until the stars are all alight

30 notes · View notes

trixxiephantomhive · 1 year

Text

I posted 99 times in 2022

That's 99 more posts than 2021!

55 posts created (56%)

44 posts reblogged (44%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@airi-p4

@nerdypanda3126

@verfound

@ris-reblogs

@heartwithavacancy

I tagged 51 of my posts in 2022

Only 48% of my posts had no tags

#lukanette - 13 posts

#luka couffaine - 13 posts

#miraculous ladybug - 10 posts

#art - 7 posts

#airip4 - 6 posts

#pro lukamari - 5 posts

#miraclous fanfic - 5 posts

#lukanette endgame - 4 posts

#wip - 4 posts

#this is so cute i love it - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 40 characters

#ver you’re an evil mastermind in writing

My Top Posts in 2022:

August Minific Challenge day 04!!

@lovebugs-and-snakecharmers

Today’s prompt is “How don’t you know the difference between your left and right?”

(Prompt list: )

WC is 693

Fugitive!Luka and Mari are making their way to London this time.

It’s the dead of night, and Luka and Marinette are running down the silent streets of Paris, trying to catch a ride on any bus that hopefully won’t call the cops on them.

They stop by a bus and Marinette and Luka go to board it. After getting on, the driver immediately yells for them to leave or he will call the cops, and in the heat of the moment Luka draws the gun Anarka had forced him to take with him when he started packing up to run. “Drive us to the Gare du Nord and don’t call the cops.” Luka sits in the frontmost seat facing the driver as Marinette takes the spot next to him.

The driver spits at them and curses. “Always knew you Vigilantes were freakazoids. I bet you’ve always been working with Hawkmoth.” Luka feels an almost predatory hiss climbing his throat but holds a straight face and just gestures to the gun.

The driver shuts up and takes them to where they wanted to go and Luka quickly pulls Marinette off the bus. “He’s gonna tell the cops where we’re going. We should transform to be safe then throw clothes over top.”

“Okay… and Luka… you wouldn’t actually shoot anyone… Right?”

The boy stares at her and almost drops his gun. “Of course not! It's just… we’re already criminals… It… seemed scary… I’m sorry Mar.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She smiles and quickly transforms and throws clothes on as they board the train, Luka having done the same. “I haven’t ever seen that side of you.”

“It’s the part of me I never want to be.”

“Mysterious.” The couple starts to giggle, some of the adrenaline fading away, as they’re already another step to safety.

After a bit of a trip, they carry their few things to the small residence in a quiet part of town and knock on the door. A slim woman seeming to be almost an exact copy of Sabine appears, quickly pulls the two weary travelers inside and gives them some tea.

See the full post

16 notes - Posted August 4, 2022

August Minific Challenge Day 16

Prompt: “Can I hold your hand?”

Word Count: 283

@lovebugs-and-snakecharmers

A rainy night where Marinette can’t help but wonder why Luka is standing outside in the cold weather.

Marinette looks out her window into the pouring rain, and sees a figure standing in the street. This person, something just seems off about them. Sad, or Lonely.

She goes down and out the bakery door. She walks up and sees it’s Luka, one of her friend’s older brother. A boy she’s grown a bit of a crush on.

“Luka?” She calls out, and he turns his head to look at her.

“Hey, what are you doing in the rain?” He asks.

“I came out because I saw you, why are you out here?” She looks him up and down and her eyes are drawn to his simple grey t-shirt soaked from the rain, and his tired eyes looking to be long past ready for a nap. “Do you want to come inside?” She asks, gesturing over to her house, the bakery door still open, caught in the wind.

“Okay” He calls out as she starts to run back towards the building. He follows her and they head up to her bedroom.

“Luka, What are you doing in the rain? and please let me get you something else to wear.”

“I just felt like it?.. And I guess.”

Marinette leaves him alone and gets a pair of pyjamas from her older and quite absent older brother’s left over things, assuming they’ll fit, since he would’ve been a bit bigger than Luka is when he left.

He gets up and changes, throwing his stuff into the dryer as well.

“Hey Luka, are you okay?’

“I think so, I guess everything has just been too much lately…” Luka sighs and sits on the floor. Marinette kneels down and then sits next to him, glancing over.

“Luka, Can I hold your hand?”

“Yeah..” Luka whispers back at her, his mind already shutting down for sleep, she takes his hand in her own and just smiles at the moment, hoping this can mean something for them in the future.

17 notes - Posted August 16, 2022

LBSC sprint Challenge for Prompt 5!

I put the original text prompt in the upper corner!

20 notes - Posted July 8, 2022

W.I.P Wednesday 11/16/2022

Bartender!Luka

Luka was just zoning out and serving customers the night Marinette returned. She entered with no fanfare, just quickly over to the bar seat she found the night a week or so back. Luka didn’t even remember her at first, until after she ordered and he caught the sound of her heart. The Music that made her seem so kind at first glance.

“You know, People usually… Come to bars for alcohol. Not glasses of water and fries. That seems more of a diner thing.”

Luka chuckles at this small girl while he serves her what seems to possibly become a new usual.

“Technically you’re labeled as a Bar and Grill. That just seems to cater more to the bar side, You don’t have a bouncer. And I got a lot of work done last time.” Marinette looks up at him, plainly stating her fact of why it makes perfect sense for her to sit there with a glass of water and especially good cheesy fries.

Luka smirks and nods as he wanders off to help others. During the night the acquaintances catch each other's eye a multitude of times. Luka quickly darting away from the attention each time. The night gets later and later, and Marinette begins to sketch more and more, Losing herself in the work. After what feels like no time at all she feels a tap on her shoulder. So suddenly in fact, she screams and goes to attack with a pencil “AHH!!” “Woah, woah. It’s just, your friendly bartender here. We’re closing up and I wanted to give you some time to get out of here”

31 notes - Posted November 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

This Again?

@lovebugs-and-snakecharmers sprint fic!!

Prompt I chose: I'd follow him/her to hell and back but I wish s/he'd just stop going there

“Luka I love you- but please stop almost dying.” Marinette adjusts her pigtails as she gets to work pulling stitches into her boyfriend's newest of many smallish injuries.

“I’m not currently almost dying. Just- Practising sword fighting while seeing who can go the longest without sleep isn’t a good idea.” Luka smiles and looks at her, ignoring the pain in favour of watching his beautiful girlfriend doing something with such precision and focus. A small blush creeping up his cheeks.

“It really isn’t. Are you alright though? I can’t imagine this is comfortable.”

“Eh- not the worst thing ever. I’m a Couffaine. We’re made for taking hits and dealing them back harder.”

Marinette laughs, his stubborn yet charming demeanour always managing to make her smile. Then she thinks for a second and looks at him

“You didn’t kill your best friend did you?”

“Nope! Just tossed him off the Liberty.”

“Luka!!”

“Don’t worry- he’s fine”

“Good. dummy.”

“I love you too Marinette”

“Oh hush..” after letting out a tired sigh she stands and gives him a quick kiss.

After getting sewn up, and not waiting around to let it settle, Luka gets up and starts making himself a cup of coffee. Also grabbing himself a fresh donut, swearing to Tom he’ll pay when he can (He has a tab of at least 96 Euros by this point). The large man doesn’t really care, noting that Luka is a nervous wreck around the love of his life’s father. Which has the girl’s parents chuckling to themselves.

Once the coffee is finished, Luka returns to Marinette’s room, and sits back on her chaise. The slightly exhausted boy trying to sip on the hot drink.

“Luka, seeing how long you can stay awake isn’t healthy.” Marinette looks at him, the concern written across her face.

“Don’t worry, I’ve stayed up longer from insomnia, and I doubt Dingo is gonna last any longer, he could barely hold a sword.”

“I can barely hold a sword on a full night's sleep. They’re heavy Luka”

“you’re just extraordinarily small. In a hot way.”

Marinette blushes and throws a halfway finished pillow at him. He gets hit and laughs looking at the black and green pillow

“Who’s this for?” He asks, wondering if she normally makes things other than clothes

“Just trying out something new”

“Cool.” Luka smiles, always impressed by the sheer awesomeness that is Marinette’s talent.

Marinette, slightly freezes, trying not to blush at Luka’s ever adorable smile.

The young couple just watch each other for a moment. Then slowly make their way closer to each other, arms extend, a hug turns into kissing, kissing turns into cuddling, cuddling turns into Luka staying the night, and that becomes use for the condoms Luka is forced to carry around by word of his mom.

“I’m still not sleeping. “

“Well then at least shush”

He gently hums, and moves his hand to stroke Marinette’s bare side. “Got it, quiet”.

38 notes - Posted June 13, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #false

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xraytheredx · 1 year

Text

I posted 578 times in 2022

That's 188 more posts than 2021!

31 posts created (5%)

547 posts reblogged (95%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@abitlyon

@sbpstudios

@hat-engineer

@othidar

@missazura

I tagged 253 of my posts in 2022

#bendy and the ink machine - 63 posts

#raysartwork - 20 posts

#joey drew - 18 posts

#sammy lawrence - 17 posts

#batim step right up au - 16 posts

#bertrum piedmont - 14 posts

#shadichi - 14 posts

#8-bit art - 12 posts

#pixel art - 12 posts

#johan ramirez - 10 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#i know i'm gonna forget the cool stuff later so best to write out what i'm thinking right then and then work the little things out later!

My Top Posts in 2022:

A fully pixelated version of the Archives from Chapter 4.

Holy Moley, this room was difficult. From the floors to the furniture, I had to figure out a whole way of making everything rounded out; lots of pixel-pushing and math, but man it was worth the effort in the end.

Also, our first instance of Lost Ones! Don’t worry, they’ll become a bit more... lively the further we go. >u>

“Bendy and the Ink Machine” is owned by TheMeatly

16 notes - Posted August 5, 2022

Runaway Buddy, Chapter 1: July 7th, 1946 (Part 1)

~ After a bit of searching, Buddy Lewek finds his way to the extraordinary circus, Colossal Wonders, and discovers quite a few surprises waiting for him. ~ ---------------- Set in @bertrumstrousers‘ Step Right Up AU; been working on it with him and others from his server for quite a while now, so I hope you all enjoy it. ^u^ A big thank you to @haunted-hijinxer for helping me with editing!

~~~~~ What should have been a simple 20-minute trip from Rosendale to Kingston managed to stretch into over half an hour, the result of the normal route apparently being under reconstruction. Late as it was, the old bus tried to speed up some in a small attempt to bring that early evening's ride to an end sooner. Though its driver had to be mindful of a few pedestrians and one ill-timed stoplight, it was finally able to bring itself to a stop at its designated curbside.

The moment the door slid open, all those aboard were more than prepared to begin filing out and onto the sidewalk, quite a few wearing looks of agitation, some of relief, and others wore no discernable expression at all. No matter the case, they were here now, best to get on with their own respective chores and errands already. All of them were quick to scatter and wander off amongst the rest of the crowd to do just that. Well, almost all of them.

Buddy made sure to square himself away in the nook of the nearest store front right after stepping off the bus, and there took time to stretch a little and fix himself up. In between straightening out his jacket and looping on the other strap of his backpack, he couldn't help but start looking all around the place. Truth be told, there wasn't very much here beyond the usual small-town shops and traffic, the same as a number of other towns scattered all around the outskirts he had seen coming in. Not to sound rude, the area was nice, scenic even but... he still had no idea where it was.

One of the two bundles of paper he had stuffed in his pocket got pulled out then, and unfolded to show the map hidden within. Spreading it wide, the teen scanned over whatever names and lines he could recognize across it while repeatedly glancing back at his surroundings for certain buildings or landmarks. Nearly as soon as this little back and forth had started however, it stopped, after one last over-the-paper's-edge check; another and possibly much easier solution had presented itself. Buddy fumbled but managed to fold up the map again and put it away, "'Scuse me! Excuse me, sir?"

The nearby old man looked up from sweeping off the front steps of his shop, confused, at least until he saw the younger lad making his way over, "Whatcha need, son?" he asked, opting to hold the broom at his side for the moment.

“Evening," Buddy greeted, "Sorry to bother, but I'm looking for Archgate? You happen to know if it's still here or did it already, uuhh...?"

He let the sentence trail off when it was obvious that he was just confusing the elder more. The old man had an eyebrow raised high, "What gate?" he asked. Buddy couldn't help but give a quiet annoyed groan. It was then that he brought out the other bit of paper he had, slimmer and more worn than the first, only needing to unfold it twice before holding it up for the senior to see. It turned out to be an old poster, very likely one that had spent time on the side of some outdoor wall before being peeled off and kept through the years as someone's keepsake. Illustrations of various odd characters decorated most of it, some posing and others performing outlandish or amazing stunts; each of them were captured in once-golden frames, arranged neatly across the page with the words "Archgate Circus" painted at the very top in large yellowed letters.

Both of the old man's eyebrows were raised now, looking at the thing. "The Archgate Circus. I was told it was somewhere here in Kingston, " Buddy clarified.

He waited a few long seconds as the man looked over the poster carefully, adjusting his thickly lensed glasses a little on the bridge of his nose. Even with time to think it over, the senior still sounded unsure with his answer, "... Well, there's a circus going on over that way, but it sure don't look like any of that," he said. One hand let go of the broomstick and waved lazily westward, "Go down this road and turn left at the big break in the trees. You can't miss all them tents."

"Perfect. Thanks so much!" With that, Buddy started walking fast in that direction, all too eager to bring his day of travelling to a close.

Exiting town down the west main road, there wasn't much to see on the surface; a large cluster of trees on the left with only a large ditch separating it from the pavement and on the right a large section of grassy field. Among the wildflowers and weeds, there were several cars parked alongside each other with a number of their owners leaving them behind in the makeshift parking lot, crossing the road, and onto the very wide worn out dirt path that cut right into the tree line. Walking down the length of it only took about a minute at most, but anyone could see what lay ahead at the very end far sooner than that.

The old Kingston fairgrounds, normally deserted minus the odd season's festival or concert, was now filled to the brim with fantastical carnival fare. Booths were set up with games and prizes to win, concession stands were selling all kinds of foods and treats; several tents stood tall and proud among them, holding their own side-show surprises and acts, no doubt, just as a circus should be...almost. Buddy looked around at it all with a healthy amount of excitement, as well as a large dose of shock.

Just about everything was done up in a dark and twisted horror theme, from the sound of distant music being accompanied by shrieks and wails to how no matter where you looked, you would find at least a few demon faces grinning back at you. The handful of performers he could spot walking around in the crowd seemed to be following that concept to the letter; the costumes they wore were elaborate, splattered if not covered head to toe in what looked to be black paint, or possibly tar? From a distance it was hard to tell which, but it scared the daylights out of passersby all the same. ".... Some of those rumors were pretty on point...." Buddy muttered to himself.

"Tickets!"

The young teen was snapped out of his thoughts and turned; out in front of the black and purple Big Top, there was a man standing at a tall podium shouting out to the patrons. He held his megaphone up high again, "Tickets, folks! Big Show starts in 5 minutes! Buy yourself a ticket and have it ready!"

A line of people had already formed, buying their tickets and heading for the main tent; two employees posted at both sides of the entrance happily took and tore each stub in half before letting anyone enter. Buddy paused, then dug into his back pocket for his wallet, opening it up; empty, save for a few bits of old lint, "Shit...". Out of everything in the fairgrounds, getting in there wasn't just one of the major things he wanted to do; he needed to get in. All thoughts turned to coming up with a plan B.

What he came up with wasn't something he was particularly proud of; a bit of walking around the perimeter and minding anybody who could be watching had led Buddy to slipping underneath a loose enough piece of the tent's tarp. Regardless, inside was inside and that was all that mattered. Other patrons were still busily moving about and filling the stands or chatting away loudly to one another while waiting to get their dose of thrills in just a few minutes. All of this gave the boy plenty of cover to sneak his way over to where he considered to be a good spot, crouched behind a few spare barrels and other equipment left between two stands. Not only would he have a good view of all three rings, but the action would be up close and personal.

It didn't take long for the audience to settle into their seats, nor for their chattering to quiet down into excited whispers once the lights began to dim. In its place, a drumroll from somewhere in the circus' band stirred to life. Spotlights from up above turned on one by one, lighting up a path across the stage and up to the large pair of black curtains at the far end.

The anticipation was left to grow for a few moments...

Suddenly the curtains were flung open with a crescendo of drums and in marched the show's ringmaster, being immediately greeted by applause and cheers from all sides and all too happy to wave to them all in return. Buddy however just stared in astonishment. The gentleman's attire alone demanded attention, every bit from his polished boots to his decorated top hat shimmering in gold or a deep purple hue. That was to be expected, but the sheer size of him was not. The man was huge, a giant compared to any other adult. From the hushed comments and murmurs Buddy could hear around him remarking the same, he wasn’t the only one shocked. Here was somebody that could not be easily ignored.

A microphone was lowered down and hung right above a small circular platform placed in the middle ring. Stepping up, the ringmaster took hold of the device and began to speak in a loud confident voice that cut through any other sound, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages! Welcome! I am your ringmaster, the Great Bertrum Piedmont!”

This time every bit of the crowd broke out into cheers in response.

Bertrum gave a delighted chuckle, "Before we get things started, I have one question for you all… are you prepared to be thrilled, to witness the wondrous and exciting?"

As he spoke, his free hand moved to his belt and unclipped the looped-up whip there; a flick of his wrist and the length of it flung out and rested on the dirt floor. A hasty strike of a small hidden flint and the entirety of it up to the very tip was coated in flames.

"Are you ready for these Colossal Wonders~!”

There was one swift motion and a loud CRACK! echoed throughout the tent; the burning light of the whip quickly began to spread from where it had struck, just on the edge of the ring until it had managed to surround the entirety of it. Surprisingly, it didn't stop there; through some unseen means, the fire was able to branch itself off in opposite directions and repeat its route with the sister rings as well.

Any apprehension the audience had about the flamboyant introduction were promptly diverted by the whole band striking up into their first score. It was jarring in its beginning, but melted into a dark, bouncy melody, perfectly suited for what followed. In that same moment, the curtains opened again as wide as they could go; a twisted parade came out of the darkness and began its course around the whole stage. Large beasts of all kinds walked alongside demons and tamers, other performers riding atop or in the carriages they pulled along behind, all of them waving at the once again ecstatic crowd.

Even if he had to duck down from a few getting a little too close, Buddy took it all in with the biggest grin on his face; colossal wonders was right, this was amazing! He watched one very ornate black and gold carriage roll by with only one passenger, from what he could tell a tall and thin woman dressed all in black, save for the angel wings she had on... or did he see bat wings? It came and went too fast to really tell; ---

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18 notes - Posted January 22, 2022

A fully pixelated version of the Inkwell Room from Chapter 4. “Bendy and the Ink Machine” is owned by TheMeatly

21 notes - Posted August 19, 2022

Fully pixelated versions of the Level S Elevator and Management Rooms from Chapter 4. >u<

Finally reaching the lower levels of the Studios; the further I go, the crazier things get, the more little details I notice, and the more dirt and ink I need to draw on the walls XD We’re starting off with small spaces here, so decided to pair these areas together for you all, along with another lil’ Meatly doll tossed in. (Collect him, add him with the others in your inventory✨)

“Bendy and the Ink Machine” is owned by TheMeatly

57 notes - Posted July 29, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

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60 notes - Posted March 3, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#Leave it to the CoC crew to be the most popular out of my stuff this year X''D #Here's hoping I can share even more fun artwork in 2023! ^u^#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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