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ddoxhan · 2 months

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my love is all mine

my baby here on earth showed me what my heart was worth so, when it comes to be my turn could you shine it down here for her?

word count : 4.4k words

genre : fantasy; alternating between fluff and angst that would make your heart clench; childhood best friend! aeri x pianist (but actually a time traveler)! reader; arriving at this dimension, you realized how much you still love her

t/w : mentions of death, apocalypse thingz

a/n : full version out weeeeee :D that was some roller coaster of realization and pain knowing that nothing lasts but one thing :') please do leave some feedback so I can improve when it comes to plot heavy fics and enjoy !

tic, tic, tic, tic.

'where am I?'

your surroundings were unfamiliar, as it should be. but with it, came a sense of comfort. whenever you warped through the portal, your head would hurt like the worst hangover for a while. but this time, it unusually hurt less. you were sitting by the piano, a music sheet of chopin, perhaps. you weren't the most well-versed around music.

you stood from the piano stool to slowly observe the things in the room in hopes of gathering more information about this person. undoubtedly, you looked like yourself but this body you possessed wasn't you. you were orphaned, barely survived the apocalypse of your own world, thrown into a dystopian organization served to stop further apocalypses in other worlds.

learning about the countless dimensions you had to travel to, surely, this one couldn't differ more than the rest. the person who lived as you in this world had everything you had ever wanted. loving and supportive parents, friends who were always there for her, a promising future career as an aspiring pianist. but as you gain the memories of this person, the depressing emotions were rather contradicting.

this person felt lonely amidst of everyone, she never felt understood. no one had ever saw through those smiles and laughs. not even this girl who looked like her best friend. then tears started to flow down your cheeks uncontrollably. it couldn't be. she couldn't be.

feeling a little dizzy, you took a seat on the piano stool as you dried your tears and tried to wrap your head around the current situation. of the many dimensions, why this one? you tried so hard to forget everything about her, drown down emotions that were unnecessary for your line of work. it had been forever since the last time you had thought of her. and this time, she wasn't going to just be a memory.

as the metronome lulled you into a daze, you were brought back out of it by the sudden swing open of the bedroom door.

"hey! we literally said to meet up at our usual place! what's taking you so long?"

"huh?"

a girl barged into your room and folded her arms against her chest, seemingly upset that you had stood her up. but you couldn't seem to remember when you had made that promise to her.

it was her. it had been so long, too long since you've seen her with your own eyes. you didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse that you had never encountered her in the past dimensions. but seeing her in front of you, it was getting really hard to not break down in tears.

the wave of guilt and sadness washed over you as you took in how beautiful she still looked, or rather this version of her looked exactly like the love of your life. the love of your life who you couldn't hold onto as her hand slipped from yours, forever gone as she disappeared into the smoke of debris.

you still needed time to gain the memories, so you made up an excuse, hoping she would buy it.

"sorry, it must've slipped my mind. you still up for it?"

you stood from your piano stool as you flashed her an apologetic smile. that made her sigh and roll her eyes, once again defeated by your puss-in-boots eyes cause really, there was never once she had been able to not waiver at the sight of them.

"you bet I am, now get your ass outta here and we have to hurry cause we're already late for the performances."

the look of confusion on your face makes the girl pause in her tracks, extremely confused and cautious of you because you didn't seem to be her best friend, in the sense that you didn't feel like her.

"performances. weren't you there when jaemin told us they'd be busking today?"

"right, yes. the boys' first big performance for that influencer's event."

that part of the memory registered just at the right timing. if you took any longer to respond like her best friend, she would have probably took the shovel in the backyard to whack you. the girl wasn't like your lover, way feistier and carefree. it served as a reminder that she wasn't, this girl was not the woman you had loved wholeheartedly and should not be.

"yes. now let's go."

the girl had to drag you out of your house because of how slow you seemed unusually.

"god, I was so close to knocking some sense into you."

"sorry, I've just been really out of it today."

your infamous cheeky smile never fails to have her shake her head in disbelief. in disbelief of how adorable you always looked with it.

"jaemin! we're here!"

aeri screams across the barricade as the said boy turned his head towards her direction, while you trudged behind her, ensuring that she wasn't falling over anything or anyone from excitement.

you learned her name when you two left your room as your dad shouted her name from downstairs. aeri, it was a pretty name and suited her really well. you couldn't help but draw similarities between the woman you knew and her. but they were also two very different people and that was something you shouldn’t forget.

"hey! I thought you two wouldn't make it before our cue. what happened?"

he had known you two for ages and it was unlikely of you to be late to something, especially when it involved close friends.

"this girl here had forgotten about this. unbelievable if you ask me."

"that's quite true. you good?"

aeri and jaemin truly cared for the person you are temporarily posing as. the gazes that you were receiving felt foreign, accountable to your lack of interaction with people. people who actually mattered to you. each and every time you had warped to another dimension, you would disappear to do what you must to prevent apocalypses regardless of what memories flowed through your consciousness.

it doesn’t take long to get everything in place and run the plans to break the sequence of events, given that you were one of the organization’s elite agents with a flawless portfolio. all that didn’t matter to you, life was already meaningless so why care much?

but the moment you had seen that very smile on her face in that photo frame, you wanted to stay in this dimension longer. even if it meant spending more time than you should in a single dimension.

"yeah, don't worry about me. I just had a splitting headache earlier today and I've just been out of it. I'm all good now though."

you regained your composure after some time and adjusted well with your new surroundings. the reaffirming clutch of your hand in aeri's was very comforting surprisingly, but you didn't understand why.

although she had bore similar physical traits with your lover, there was no reason to feel the warmth seeping through the clasp of your hands. and before your consciousness could give you an answer, your blood ran cold as the image of watching her slip through your fingers into nothing, bringing up the very emotions you were trying to suppress for years.

there was not a single day that you could sleep well as the endless nightmare of that event left you in a void of emptiness and desperation. the desperation of wanting to redeem yourself by saving other dimensions where different versions of her would live, regardless of whether different versions of you were there for her.

but absolutely none of that, would bring your lover back into your arms, safe and sound. smiling at you like those mundane days you had, which you would give anything to get them back.

"great. you two find your seats near the fronts, performers' privilege."

he proudly points towards two empty seats which were inevitably yours since the show had already started 20 minutes ago.

"wow, for once, na jaemin has done an amazing job."

"for once, stop roasting me. now shoo, I need to get my hair fixed."

the bickering between the two seemed so natural that you had kept quiet, not knowing if it was your place to interfere the conversation.

this was something you had always feared when you meddle with a dimension, the feeling of belonging. belonging somewhere that wasn't meant for you. would it hurt to feel? no. but it hurts knowing that whatever you did in this dimension, it wasn't you who did it. in the eyes of others, it was someone else. the deeds you do, the memories you share, the love you yearn.

once upon before the apocalypse, life was like this. concerts, outings, bonding, but it was also a time of weakness. your weakness of being powerless to protect the things precious to you, the people once dear to you. but when you've found the power to, you've lost beyond salvation, and there was nothing left to protect.

as you made your way to the seats, aeri couldn't hold back the urge to ask. because the way your eyes didn't carry that special shine her best friend naturally has, concerned her.

she could sense something different seeping from your usual aura. on certain days when you're not in the best condition, there would be times where she can tell that you aren't happy or upset about something and she'd find the right cure to your sour mood.

however, today felt odd. it was seemingly an aura that she hasn't seen from you. you weren't feeling good, but it felt as if you lost the fire in you. the fire you had bore in your soul for your passion. if it had been a bright red fire, it's like it turned into a calming blue one. somewhere in you, you've lost something, never able to ignite a bright red fire ever again.

aeri had convinced herself that perhaps you were tired from piano, burnt out and taking a break from it to regain that passion.

the previous act had just ended, and everyone were to take a five to check if everything was in order. the blaring speakers and annoying mc finally stopped ringing in your ears. instead, a soft voice tickled your right ear, sending shivers down your spine.

"baby, are you really okay? you don't seem to look well."

the girl had leaned in to whisper, and it almost short-circuited your brain with how proximity was out of the window instantly by that small gesture.

"yeah, I'm fine, what makes you say that?"

"you look.. different."

"and you feel different too."

it was as if she had known from the start, that you weren't her best friend she knew. yet, she was trying her best to make sense of her confusion. deep down, you knew that all of this was making no sense. absolutely no sense how you were sitting here with a person in the face of your lover, waiting for your friend's performance in the middle of the summer. all it took was a step out of the house and another step back to report to your superior of your work.

and here you were, reminiscing the memories you had. they were irreplaceable, and will never be. but no one can stop you from making new ones either. just this once, you say. just this once to hold her in my arms one last time.

as your arm grazed against hers, you were looking into her eyes for the first time since the evening started. never have you realized that she had such mesmerizing eyes, pulling you in like gravity.

when you had gazed into her eyes, she spotted a glimpse of admiration, the one that she was ever so familiar with. it put her at peace, reassured that you were alright that night.

your demeanor changed since that night, but she decided to brush it off, convincing herself that she was just overthinking again like she usually does. but maybe, she should have questioned further.

who were you?

you were a fever dream, but also a lifetime nightmare.

minutes turned into hours, and hours turned into days. the sense of time is only perceived in dimensions that were able to escape apocalypse. back at the headquarters, time was fluid, seemingly long at certain moments and short when you don't even notice. which was why you weren't too worried about residing longer in this dimension beside aeri.

"hey, what do you think about love?"

as she laid her head on your lap as you leaned against her bedframe, the question took you aback a little. this very question was presented to you ages ago by your lover, vaguely remembering the scene in your head. but you remembered your response to it, and it doesn't apply to you anymore. 'love is when I find myself staring at your eyes and get the butterflies each and every time.'

"love is like a thorn in a rose waiting to prick the chosen one."

"it's something so beautiful you can't help but to get close to, and once you admire and realize its worth, it pricks you. leaving you to bleed, it creates a kind of pain that numbs you, yet you reach for it again like none of that happened."

"it makes you yearn for it, and when you've had too many wounds, that's when you notice that you're hopeless."

you never forgot how it felt to love her, it was all too familiar when it felt so natural to fall for aeri, which you almost couldn't resist. the way her eyes curve into crescents as she smiles, the way her scent fill your senses when she leans on your shoulder, the way you feel the butterflies when you stare into her eyes.

it scared you.

this wasn't where you were to belong. yet, the feeling of loving her permeated through your entire being, unable to shake off as you willingly dive deeper into your emotions.

"girl, did someone hurt you?"

aeri laughed away, thinking that you were half-heartedly joking and sarcastically answering the question. her best friend wasn't the type to dwell in the topic of love and dating. she had better priorities in life, which was the piano that sat in her room across from aeri's.

the lack of your laughter made her frown instantly, cursing at herself for perhaps making a mistake.

"what's wrong? did someone really-"

"no no, nothing's wrong. I just thought of that when you asked me. it just felt like love is a rose, it can be beautiful and romantic to some, but also a painful past for others."

"well, you're not wrong. remember that guy from middle school? he was literally the biggest idiot in class and he had the balls to confess to you with a bunch of roses in front of the whole school."

"yeah, that was definitely not it."

you laughed along, but you couldn't. the story was too familiar, this was what happened to you ages ago. not this person you were posing as, but you. the details matched your experience, but only that the person receiving the confession being your lover.

it was too hard to just brush it off as a coincidence. many could be, but this was too specific. timelines matched but with only the people as a difference. the thought of this dimension being a parallel universe of yours brought shivers down your spine. what if it was? what if this dimension's apocalypse was inevitable, just like yours?

many what ifs were not going to stop the apocalypse. you were the only hope to save the world, but screw the world. all that crossed your mind as you caressed her hair was only one thing that mattered to you.

'I will keep you safe, even if it meant that I'd never be able to see you again.'

jaemin and jeno had agreed to go together to a frat party you were technically forced to go by some jock you bumped into in the hallway while you were on your way to meet aeri. the dude kept pestering that you blatantly spat in his face that you were going. he didn't mention that you couldn't have people tag along, so you had asked the boys if it was possible to stick around in case things get out of hand.

the girl though, she had the balls to say that she was worried about you. she was going to stick with you the entire time you were there in case some idiots decided to hit on you, she'd be able to swat them away. the audacity, you thought.

if anything, guys were clearly going to swarm over her instead, and you'd have to act as her bodyguard. given that you're a good three to four inches taller than her, that itself would be possible to scare a majority. nothing could get her off your arm as you walked into the house, reeking of alcohol and sweat already at nine. before you could even show your face to that jock and perhaps head to the quietest area which was probably the pool, you felt eyes on her. maybe this was a bad decision after all.

you didn't want to ruin the mood for the many people who were enjoying this, so all you could do was subside that indecipherable internal anger of yours and find that idiot so you could leave this instant. the dirty looks all over aeri made your insides churn and boil, no matter how much you tried to understand why, you never could.

you didn't love the girl, she was a different person from your lover, just bearing identical physical traits. it was something that you had been telling yourself ever since you arrived here two months ago. that was how long you’ve spent being here, than the usual one-week stay.

trying so hard to deny that you harboured feelings for aeri, your efforts were all in vain when all it takes is just a flash of her smile. even during this moment of her laughing along with jaemin and jeno, it reminds you too much of her. the smile you would see when she feeds the stray cat outside your office, the laughter you would hear when you tickle her during pillow fights.

why was it so hard to walk away and do what you were sent to do here initially? why did fail to resist the sweet temptation of being in love again? when you couldn’t even hold onto that hand of your lover? the hand in yours felt so warm, contradicting the chilly feeling that set into place ever since that day.

she started melting the glacier of ice, while you took a step back to freeze it again. because it’s wrong, so wrong.

"I see hyunjin there."

jeno's voice caught your attention along with the name. following his point of direction, you finally spot that jock chatting away in the kitchen corner with presumably his friends. definitely, you weren't going to let the girl tag along cause enough was enough, another guy and you were going to tear this place down.

"aeri, can you stay with jae for a bit? I'll go say hi then I'll be right back. jeno's gonna be here so don't worry."

although she was very reluctant to let you go alone, you showed her those shining eyes, praying it works again this time. thankfully, she gives you a nod and heads off with jaemin first.

as you made your way towards hyunjin, you were extremely disgusted at how his friends were eyeing you up and down, like you were nothing but just an item. him on the other hand, was a lot better surprisingly.

it reminded you a lot of your high school days. the times when your lover had numerous suitors waiting in line to be her one and only. but she had eyes for you. you were still oblivious of the heart eyes you got from her then. it took you years to realize before you dated. it was the exact definition of ‘she fell first, but you fell harder’. until now, it still pretty much applied.

"hey! you made it!"

"yeah, you were following me around for three days, asking me to come."

he laughed awkwardly, even a little shy. what was this boy's deal?

it was as if the tables have turned, you now dealing with these boys who were fawning over her. perhaps in this dimension, you were quite a popular one.

"I just wanted to get to know you more, so I thought of getting you to come and spend some time together."

as much as he seemed nice, you weren't interested, and unwilling to lead him on to thinking you were.

"sorry, I have a boyfriend. but we could still be friends."

a little lie wouldn’t hurt him, and jeno was conveniently standing on guard with his supposedly scary aura which you found amusing.

you extended your hand politely in hopes he wouldn't have a freak out and frantic screaming that his love interest had an alleged boyfriend.

"I see... well then, great to be your acquaintance. I hope you have enjoy your time here."

you started to notice that his friends weren't eyeing you eerily, but rather that it seemed that they were wary of your intentions with hyunjin. it was as if you were about to play with this boy's heart, and that's when you remembered that rumor of a varsity player being dumped by that good-for-nothing cheerleader.

in fact, you witnessed that cheerleader sucking off some other guy’s face in the stairways. you’ve never made such a fast u-turn in your life, which you probably should have when you were making that decision to join the organization. but have you not joined, you wouldn’t have had the chance to meet aeri. and maybe you would have been long dead.

who knows? you might have met your lover in the afterlife when the creatures found you, had it not for the organization.

if fate decided to play a game, you had no choice but to shoot your shot at it.

"thanks for the invite."

"jaemin, please tell me I'm not crazy. I swear that's not her."

"if that's not her, then who is she? come on, aeri. be real."

"I am being real. she keeps avoiding the hugs I give her, and when I get a little closer, she literally freezes up."

the girl ran her hands through her hair in frustration, not knowing what is the truth and what isn't anymore.

for the past two months, she sensed something different about you. were you drastically different? no. something was, and she just knew. but what? these were the questions that had occupied her head for the past week.

she noticed you avoiding her eyes, taking brief glances only, as if you were afraid. afraid of getting your feelings hurt. but why should you? you've been best friends with aeri for as long as you could remember. if anything, you two were inseparable according to reliable sources like jaemin and jeno.

the only thing was, the memories you gained from the owner of this body. it was torturing you more than you thought it should. the smile on her face through these eyes, the sweet laughter through these ears, the gentle touches through these fingertips. endless nights of witnessing aeri fall asleep before you did. just like those times you did when she was your lover.

"that's it? sis, I thought she'd turn into a werewolf or had poisonous potions in a secret room or something."

"and you're the one who's telling me to be real."

"and you're an idiot. sounds like she just likes you to me."

a thousand questions popped in her head. then those questions were given their respective answers as she put together the puzzle one by one. maybe, you liked her. maybe, you loved her.

but why? nothing had changed between you and her so why now? she admits that she had felt attracted to you at times, but she couldn't be sure that she had feelings for you. however she was uncertain, you hadn't been the most expressive these days and she wasn't a mind reader.

when she saw you emerging from the crowd with jeno, she knew that she needed answers before the night ended.

unfortunately no, aeri didn't get any answers because she didn't have a chance to ask. her frustration fueled the endless beer refills which ended her drunk on your back as you prepared her for bed.

and you were lucky that she hadn't gotten the chance to do so. for the past two months, every day you woke up to was a curse in disguise of a blessing. the realization that hit you every time that like a reminder at the back of your head, that aeri wasn't your lover. and every single thing you've done with her won't remain as time spent with you, but her best friend who's the best pianist to her.

all she remembers when she woke up the next day was nothing, with a hangover that was giving her the worse headache. and you remember everything too vividly.

that night, as you tucked her hair behind her ear, all you could do was hold back sobs as a tear managed to escape, trickling down your cheek.

you couldn't sit by and enjoy this newfound life any longer. the day this world ends was getting closer and you had a mission to prevent the apocalypse. you weren't waivered by the possibility of a punishment that would cost your life. you were terrified of witnessing another time of losing someone you loved, someone you love.

you love aeri, yes. but was it the remnants of the love you had for your lover? although that may have been the case, you couldn't deny that her and aeri shared countless similarities. it was wrong to keep drawing resemblances between the two. nevertheless, one thing was for sure.

this version of you in this dimension, had loved aeri for a long time.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

"I love you so much."

"please forgive me."

"nothing in this world belongs to me. but this love, my love is all mine, forever for you."

#giselle #uchinaga aeri #aespa #aespa fluff #aespa angst #aespa imagines #aespa scenarios #aespa x reader #giselle x reader #feat nct dream #feat jaemin #feat jeno #Spotify

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catscidr · 3 months

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I think we have all seen the "Argenti thinks the Reader is Idrila" stuff on here. But what if the reader actually is Idrila? So I wanted to request Argenti/Idrila!Reader (gn or afab reader) headcanons or a oneshot where Idrila, who has taken on a mortal identity after [Insert tragic event here], and meets Argenti. They develop feelings for each other, Argenti finds out she is Idrila, they end up dating. (Maybe or maybe not in that specific order) I thought maybe after protecting her followers from Nanook she disappeared to ensure Nanook doesn't target them anymore? That part isn't as important so feel free to add whatever backstory you think fits^^ Thank you in advance, I really like your writing!

NONNIE omg im booting up star rail rn to stare at him lovingly. also i changed the scenario a smidge so reader is her own person while also being idrila? if that makes sense......?? yeah. also bc otherwise id be writing ten thousand words n i didnt want ur ask to grow dusty in my inbox d(;∀;d) but tysm for the prompt i couldn’t stop thinking about it ueue. also hey gang peep me trying to make my blog look more coherent n nicer looking. am i doin it ⸝⸝⸝⸝⸝⸝ cw: a smidge of amnesia and soulmate trope (it’s not that bad, trust), fluff, love at first sight (does that even count in this scenario....), argenti and reader are dancing around the topic a lot bc argenti is a gentleman and doesn’t want to pressure her to talk. blurbs to set up the plot + a fic after them hehe. not proofread, writer’s block is killing me includes: fem reader (he refers to reader as "my lady"), argenti, natasha, luocha is kinda there wc: 2,3k

-ˋˏ You’d go to Natasha’s clinic at least once every other day because you always had the worst migraines. To the point where you almost got beat up by a Flamespawn one time when you were clearing out calyxes (thankfully there was a Silvermane guard patrolling the area, otherwise you would’ve been charred). The doctor always says the same thing; “Stop looking for fights so often”, “Let your body rest”, “I can’t prescribe you antibiotics”, and your favorite, “Stop slamming my door open I can’t do anything about your headaches”. She was a good friend, but whenever she repeated how she couldn’t be of any help to your predicament, you’d wish you could just take that glass vial hanging from her outfit and chuck it far, far away out of spite.

-ˋˏ Obviously it wasn’t her fault- she'd done everything she could. Natasha even had you undergo the Underworld’s equivalent of an MRI scan because of how frequently you would visit her, insisting that something was wrong. The symptoms consisted of forgetting important things too often, feeling a foreign buzz in your limbs and brain, having a sudden burst of elemental energy come out of your attacks and a myriad of benign but annoying, irritating signs that something was up with you.

-ˋˏ It became more of a chore than anything to leave your room. Some days you felt fine, but then when you’d go out again and beat up wave after wave of enemies in Caverns of Corrosion you would keel over, clutching your head while vague images of what could only be described as a fever dream ran through your mind.

-ˋˏ You decided to leave the Underworld for some time- considering your absence like some sort of “vacation”. You heard of a wandering doctor (and merchant, apparently) by the name of Luocha and, from the people that crossed paths with him, it seemed like he was extraordinary at his job. A trek to the Xianzhou Luofu would be a long one, but after weighing your options you thought you’d give it a try (it was worth it if it meant you’d stop waking up at ungodly hours, holding your head in your hands while hoping, praying that the pain stops.)

-ˋˏ You (somehow) made your way to the Xianzhou Luofu from Jarilo-VI. As competent as you were however, being stranded on a foreign planet with no map nor local to guide you was... a challenge. In retrospect, maybe you should’ve gotten in contact with that Luocha doctor and had him come to Belobog instead of you going to him since, well, he was a traveling merchant. Going from planet to planet is what he does (you assume).

✧✧✧

If you had read up more on general information about the Luofu you would have been aware of how many enemies were roaming around the docking area. But you didn’t. So, unbeknownst to you, a rogue mara-struck soldier was on your tail, trying to sneak up to you to snag the goods you hid in your bag (which were basically just different types of painkillers and sustenance that bodes well on an upset stomach. He doesn’t know that though.)

Your head was throbbing; ever since you set foot on the planet, your physical health had slowly dropped down to levels you wouldn’t be enduring if it wasn’t for the promise of a competent doctor once you get to the main city. Painkillers weren’t working, your feet hurt and to make matters worse, you felt the familiar lack of something in your head. It was so bad to the point where you had to have a tangible mark somewhere to remind you that you did, in fact, just take something for your headache and if you took two more painkillers, your body wouldn’t agree with your decision. It was a struggle even remembering what you did five minutes ago, no way were you going to be in top shape, beating up every enemy crossing your way.

Clouds began covering the bright sun, casting shadows over the desolate, geometric area. You huff, irritated that, from the looks of it, you won’t be able to find a cozy place to set up camp. Though sleeping on a ground made of primarily iron and steel was considerably less nerve-wracking than sleeping on the mushy, cold, dirty ground of Jarilo-VI. So, with a pout aimed at no one in particular, you find some place that you deemed decent enough to set your humble tent. It wasn’t often that adventurers slept outside of safe zones, however with your condition you couldn’t afford to miss out on some rest and possibly get even more lost than you already are.

You set your heavy backpack down, rolling your shoulders to soothe the ache in your muscles from carrying something so bulky. As you ruffle through your belongings, you open a bottled soda and take a swift gulp, sighing contentedly at the pleasant taste on your tongue. Now that you were sat and could rest your bones (until you started setting up your tent, at least), your ears were able to pick up on some not-so-distant footsteps.

There’s no time for you to react; the mara-struck soldier that had been following you lunges at you, aiming for your bag. Your eyes widen and you open your mouth to yell, but before any sound can leave your mouth, a long, red and gold spear pierces the ground between you and the rabid man, making you yelp in surprise. You scurry as far back as you can in your current state; however, the soldier doesn’t have time to take advantage of your weakened stature. The owner of the spear lodges himself before your shaking figure and the mara-struck, yanking his spear out of the ground with impressive elegance, and summons an array of thorny vines to catch your assailant.

It takes little to no effort for the seasoned fighter to take down the mara-struck as he swings his weapon, swiftly knocking the blunt end on the soldier’s plexus, knocking the wind out of him. A strangled scream leaves his throat as he scampers away, leaving your belongings safe with you and the strange red-haired man. He lowers his spear, careful to keep the sharp edge far from you, and turns around to face you properly. His brows raise a smidge for a split second before he composes himself and bows before you, the action short and curt.

“It would have been a shame to lose a beauty such as yourself,” he says smoothly, straightening his back to look down at you with a warm smile. He stretches his hand out, a polite offer to help you stand up, as he continues speaking. “My name is Argenti, I belong to the Knights of Beauty. What might you be doing so far away from civilization, dear...?” he trails off, waiting for you to introduce yourself.

You were in a state of shock, your mind still processing what had happened in such a short amount of time, that you failed to notice the lack of pain at the back of your head. As you meekly tell him your name, you hold onto his hand to help yourself up- as soon as his armored glove comes in contact with your hand something flashes in your mind; too quick to allow you to think about it too much, or to recognize what you saw for a millisecond.

“So far away from civilization... do you know how to get to the city?” you ask as you feel a glimmer of hope spark in you. His words were refreshing, probably the best thing someone has ever said to you in the past month. He nods, reaching into his pocket to fish out a blue handkerchief embroidered with a delicate gold trim. Argenti hands it over to you and you gratefully take it, blotting the sweat and... dust off of your face.

“I have made my way around the Luofu for long enough to show someone the way,” he says kindly. “Besides, even if I didn’t, I would still offer to accompany you through your trek. It is my duty as a Knight of Beauty, for I must uphold chivalry and distinguished manners, in the name of the Goddess guiding me.” His words resonate within you, making you beam, nodding in understanding.

Your reaction doesn’t go unnoticed by the knight. As you hand his handkerchief back, he smiles at you and gestures to your bag. “What brings you so far from your homeworld, my lady?” Argenti asks gently, though a glimmer of doubt swirls in his sparkling, verdant eyes. The question makes you pause, a memory flashing in your mind too suddenly for you to know what it meant. Although, from what you could tell, you knew you could trust him with what troubled you somehow.

“Ah, it’s a long story,” you start sheepishly, “I’ve been having these incredibly painful migraines recently. And sometimes I feel like my memory is fading too quickly for what would be considered normal,” you say, trailing off slightly at the end. “I’m looking for a healer, a doctor by the name of Luocha...?”

Somehow, the doctor was currently the least of your worries. You’d never felt so refreshed before, at least not that you could remember; simply being in Argenti’s presence seemed to be enough to make your aches disappear like a starskiff smoothly gliding through a cloudless sky.

“I’ve seen the man only a handful of times,” Argenti mutters aloud, pulling you out of your thoughts. “I can do my best to guide you to him, but if I may... you don’t seem to be injured?” the knight says, his voice trailing off into a questioning tone despite the observation. You shake your head, wondering how you should explain your predicament to the man.

“Like I said, it’s a long story,” you say again, shrugging sheepishly. You wondered if you should even go into the nitty gritty- he could always just be making small talk to help you get comfortable or something. Sensing your unease, he changes the spotlight to him instead.

“There’s no need to delve into details if you wish to keep them secret,” he says with a kind smile, bending down to take ahold of your hand- gently pressing a chaste kiss on the back of your hand. Red flushes your ears immediately, words caught in your throat at the sight of his hair cascading over his shoulders, a beautiful contrast from the gold and silver armor glittering in what was left of the sunlight.

“As for myself, like I mentioned earlier, I am a Knight of Beauty. I’m on a quest to find my dear Goddess Idrila once more, for I need to pay my respects to them after they saved me from a particularly grim fate.” His words echoed in your mind, your brows knitting together as you felt what could only be described as a cold bucket of water being dunked on your head. “I-Idrila?” you parrot, your voice coming out as a choked noise. Argenti perks up, the hand that had been softly holding onto yours now holding it with a firmer grip, his other hand joining it.

“Yes, Idrila. Have you ever heard of them? Or...” he trails off, looking deep into your eyes expectantly, almost as if he knew something you didn’t. His eyes seemed to suck you in, bringing a comfortable wave of warmth over you, making you yearn for something.

“I...” you begin, your gaze falling down to look at your feet. As you thought long and hard about what you wanted to say, what you tried to remember, you slowly look over to his spear, lying flat on the ground- long forgotten since the fight earlier. As if a lightbulb went off above your head, you perk up just as he did, and look at him, beaming. The words were caught in your throat; there was so much you wanted to say, to declare, to do in this moment of clarity, but with how fast your mind was running to catch you up on the current events of your life it was a struggle.

“Argenti,” you murmur, the name rolling off your tongue smoothly, as you realized seeing the traveling merchant was no longer required. Though the road might have been arduous, and you may have almost lost your mind in the process, being with Argenti suddenly made everything make sense. That’s why your migraines mysteriously disappeared as soon as you were in the knight’s presence, that’s why you had gaps in your memory, that’s why you were freakishly powerful... at convenient times.

Everything clicked into place.

The both of you share a pregnant pause, eyes locked together as the world seemed to come to a stop around you. If it were possible, you’re sure there would be delicate, silky rose petals floating around your figures, suspended in the air. You glance down at his lips, and for the first time, make a decision with a clear head.

His lips felt smooth against yours, the faint taste of vanilla mixed with roses transferring to your own lips. The kiss almost felt like it could be the result of a symbiotic relationship; now that you had Argenti, or at least had him by your side once again, you didn’t think you’d be able to continue on without him.

#i may or may not have butchered the ending bc i DIDNT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THEM /SOBS #i did my best #୧ ‧₊˚orderup!#hsr x reader #honkai star rail x reader #argenti x reader #argenti x fem reader #argenti x you #argenti x y/n

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jamdoughnutmagician · 1 year

Text

When Worlds Collide

Eddie Munson x Reader

Summary: When Uncle Wayne asks about the girl that Eddie's been sneaking out to see, Eddie’s two worlds collide when the two most important people in his life are about to meet.

Warnings: None that I can think of? Unless shamelessly indulgent fluff and perhaps bad writing count?

Word Count: 2,132

Authour’s Note: I posted a small eddie fic last night and I wanted to post this one too because I was low-key proud of it. We’re going into 2023 and I’m embracing the cringe of not only reading reader insert fanfic, but also writing it too.

Eddie slowly tiptoed his way back into the trailer after initially sneaking out to visit his girlfriend's house to spend the night there. He knew his uncle Wayne would probably be back from his late night shift at the plant, so with any luck his uncle would be fast asleep, passed out on the pull-out sofa bed. All he would have to do is quietly slip past him and get back into his room and Wayne would be none-the-wiser.

Eddie unlocked the trailer door as quietly as he could, but he swears that every move he makes is suddenly louder than it has ever been before. The jingling of the keys in the lock ringing out in the otherwise silent night. Stepping through the door Eddie sees the one thing that he wasn’t expecting to see. His uncle Wayne, sitting on the sofa, not asleep, but wide awake, unlacing and pulling off his work boots. They lock eyes, sizing each other up.

“H-hey, Wayne, um how was work?” Eddie asks, hopefully, trying to dodge the question of what he was doing out so late.

“Same old shit, different day. The usual.” -Wayne huffed out in his gravelly voice- “So, who is she?” a wry smile gracing the older Munson's face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about?” Eddie was never very good at playing dumb. It was even worse when it came to you. Any time he thought of you he could feel his face heat up with a blush.

“Son, you’ve got this dopey grin on your face like I've never seen before. She must be real special if she’s got you like this”

Busted. Eddie had no choice but to come clean. It wasn’t like he was exactly keeping his relationship with you a secret, it’s just that he and his uncle never really had these types of conversations. That was just the way things were between the two Munson men.

“C’mon, boy, tell me about her then.” Wayne encouraged.

“Well, she’s a friend..” Eddie started.

“I should hope so.” his uncle teased in his gruff voice.

“..and well she’s just super pretty and really cool! She likes D&D and she likes the music my band plays, god Wayne, she’s just the best!” Eddie finished, his smile beaming across his face.

“She sounds like a keeper, son. So when do I meet the girl who’s got my boy wrapped around her finger?”

“Y-you’d want to meet her?” Eddie stumbles over his words. The thought of the two most important people in his life meeting? How was that going to go?

“Sure I do, son. If she’s important to you, then she’s important to me.” Wayne nodded as he reached out a hand to ruffle his nephew’s hair.

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

It had been a few days since his uncle Wayne posed the idea of meeting his girlfriend and Eddie was about to talk to you about it. He could talk to you about everything and anything, so why was he so nervous to ask you if you would want to meet his uncle? Eddie knew that he didn’t have a huge family, but it was important to him that you meet the man that he’d looked up to his entire life, the man who made Eddie the man he was today.

Eddie was laid back on your soft bed, his eyes darting across the room, taking in the way that your bedroom was so neatly organised, with your little trinkets and jewellery decorating you vanity table and the small soft teddy bear sitting at the foot of your bed, Mr. Snuggles, he came to find out after gently teasing you for still having stuffed animals in your bedroom one night. He remembers telling you that he should be the one you should be cuddling up to at night. That conversation led to you telling him that “of course I love snuggling up to you, Eddie. You’re my Eddie-teddy” and suddenly your nickname of ‘Eddie-bear’ for him stuck, not that he minded.

“Hey, so you know how I’ve met your family, right?” Eddie starts.

“Yeah, and they loved you, you were so sweet around them!” you came back.

“Hah, yeah, well I was talking with my uncle about you the other day..”

“All good things, I hope”

“Always. Scouts honour.” -Eddie crosses his fingers across his heart- “So, my old man really wanted to meet you. Said something about wanting to meet the girl who has me ‘wrapped around her fingers’” Eddie finished with his fingers doing air-quotes.

“Really? He said that about me?” you chuckled.

“Yeah, but it’s totally okay if you don’t want to, I understand it can be intimidating meeting the family can be scary and all, so you can say no, and I won’t-”

“-Eddie..” -you stopped him mid ramble by grabbing his hand and intertwining your fingers with his- “I would absolutely love that. If he’s as important to you as what he seems then I want to meet him” you finished, your eyes looking up at him with love.

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

You finished up the last of your makeup in the mirror whilst you waited for Eddie to pick you up from your house, a light wash of eye shadow, and black mascara decorating your eyes, a sweep of warm blush over your cheeks and a dab of pink lipstick over your lips. You figured that it would be best to keep your makeup simple if you were going to meet Eddie’s uncle, wanting to make a good first impression, not wanting to give him any reason to not like you.

With a final check over of your outfit, a pair of light-wash high-waisted denim jeans and a soft pink sweater, a pair of small skull and crossbones stud earrings (that had been a birthday gift from Eddie the year before) and your favourite pair of off-white converses. A quick ruffle of your hair before the sound of a car horn beeping outside your house gets your attention, the familiar sound of Eddie’s van alerting you to his presence.

Walking downstairs from your room, you go to open the front door.

Eddie embraces you with wide open arms, bringing you into a comforting hug as he places a gentle soft kiss to your temple.

“You look gorgeous, sweetheart” he mumbles against your hair

“Thanks, Eddie-bear, I really just want your uncle to like me” you shyly admitted.

“He’ll love you, baby. He’ll love you, because I love you, okay? There’s no need to be so nervous” Eddie reassures you. “Now whaddya say we get in that van, and make our way back to my place?”

The ride to Eddie's trailer, although filled with the sounds of one of Eddie’s Black Sabbath tapes playing lowly in the background, was unusually silent, the nerves of meeting one the most important people in Eddie’s life playing on your mind.

Eddie could see that your mind was drifting, and the nerves of what was about to come was playing on your thoughts. He let one of his hands fall from the steering wheel, to briefly intertwine with yours, his larger hand with clunky metal rings a stark contrast to your smaller dainty hands, delicately painted nails in a pretty shade of blue.

“Hey” -Eddie started, whilst he saw your eyes were on him- “It’s all going to be fine, trust me.”

“Thanks I guess I just get on my own head sometimes”

_________

Eddie pulled into the parking space outside his trailer, opening his door before walking around to your doorside, to hold your hand as you jumped out.

He led you to his trailer, as he had done so many times before, but this time was different. It wasn’t going to be just you two in his bedroom laughing and spending time together. It was going to be a nice evening, spent with Eddie and his uncle.

Eddie opened the trailer door, shouting out into the living space inside

“Hey Wayne! I hope you don’t mind. I brought a visitor with me!” Eddie joked.

Eddie placed his large hand on the small of your back to comfort you, as he ushered you into his trailer.

“Boy, what the hell are you talking abou- Oh! Hello sweetheart.” Wayne softened immediately, so this was the girl his nephew was so enamoured with.

Ah. So this is where Eddie got his gentlemanly qualities from you think to yourself.

“Hello Mr. Munson, it’s very nice to meet you. I’m y/n, Eddie’s girlfriend. Thank you for inviting me to your home, it’s lovely.” you extended your open hand to Wayne in a, what you hoped came off as a confident, handshake.

“Aw come on now, don’t need to be so formal, you can call me, Wayne.” he says with a drawl, accepting her outstretched hand and giving it a welcoming shake.

Eddie looks at the interaction between his uncle and his girlfriend with hopeful eyes, and he swears that he can see his uncle’s usually tough exterior being softened at his girlfriend’s sweet and kind nature.

“So, shall we get something to eat? I could really go for some pizza, what say you guys?” Eddie pipes up, changing the subject.

“Alright, boy, I’ll get to ordering, you and your lady go and sit on the couch and I’ll join you in a moment. Pepperoni alright with you, sweetheart?” Wayne turns his eyes to you as he begins to dial the pizza delivery number.

“Sounds perfect!” you smile.

_____________

“So how did my boy manage to get a lovely girl like yourself to go out with him?” Wayne asks, nudging Eddie with his elbow.

“Well we actually sat next to each other in English class and he asked me if I could help him with his report on Hamlet, so we spent some time in the library going through stuff together and then I told him he could always come over to my house if he needed any extra help..”

“-Which I definitely took her up on, not only because I desperately needed help with my failing grades, but because I thought she was cute-” Eddie interjected with a blush rising to his cheeks. “-and then we got to talking about other things like Hellfire, and my band so I invited her along to come see us play at the hideout.”

“Which I could not turn down, because I wanted to spend time with him away from school and I was so amazed at his performance! It was great to see him in his element like that.” you admitted.

“Well, aren’t you kids cute?” Wayne chuckled to himself.

___________

The rest of the evening went well with the conversation between the three of you flowing easily

“I should probably drive y/n back home, I promised her parents that I’d bring her back safely.” Eddie says as he stands up, offering his hand to you.

“Oh, yes of course.” she says as she takes her boyfriend's hand helping her off the couch.

“-Thank you so much for making me feel welcome in your home, Mr. Muns-I mean, Wayne. I’ve had the loveliest time meeting you!” she reaches out her hand to the older Munson man.

Taking her smaller hand in his Wayne, brings her closer into a friendly hug.

“Sweetheart, you're always welcome here, it’s been a real pleasure meeting you, too.” Wayne gruffs out as he pulls away.

Eddie watches carefully between the two of his favourite people, he couldn’t have imagined this meeting going any better, he thinks, with a wide grin gracing his features.

“Darling, why don’t you head off to the van, I’ll be there in a moment. I’ve just got to finish up something here quickly.” Eddie poses, giving her the keys to his van.

“Sure, don’t be too long!” she teases, pecking his cheek in a gentle kiss, and turning to make her way out of the trailer and towards Eddie’s van.

“So?….” Eddie bounces on the heels of his feet as he lets the question hang in the air.

“Son, I think she’s lovely. She’s a real keeper, that’s for sure.” Wayne assured his nephew.

“You do?”

“I do.” Wayne nods “-and I think if you ever do anything to upset that sweet angel of a girl, then you’ll have some serious explaining to do, son” Wayne warns Eddie.

“I won’t, Sir. I love her too much to do that to her” Eddie admits honestly.

“Good boy, that’s the right answer. Now go take your girl home, she’s waiting on her knight in shining armour.” Wayne teases, ruffling Eddie’s fuzzy hair.

Eddie makes his way out of the trailer, before leaning out the door one final time.

“Thanks so much for doing this Wayne, it means so much to me.”

#eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x reader fluff #stranger things fanfiction #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson stranger things #eddie munson #stranger things s4

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st7arlight · 7 months

Text

meet the sims-blackwood family!! this is set post-200 in a new world where the fears are weaker and more hidden in the shadows, but quickly building strength as more avatars and artifacts are born. meet blaire and not-adam, two students in jon’s homeroom and english class!

worldbuilding and brainstorm notes under the cut :D

the student ocs i created here are

-a transfem student who straight up doesnt have a name. you can call her anything but her deadname. its a fun game the class plays. it started as a gag but jon went “yeah okay ive seen weirder and kids deserve a chance to explore” so he comes up with a different name every day during roll call. shes v chaotic and inspired (personality wise, not funky name lore) by an irl friend of mine

-the student she has a crush on and is best friends with, an AP art student who uses they/she pronouns

they both eat lunch in Jon’s classroom, where they eventually notice that he never really eats much? just. reads a book in his free time, maybe has cereal bars occasionally

they form really close bonds with jon and he sponsors their lgbt club,,,, the second student realizes she’s agender when hes explaining the ace spectrum,,,,,, they come across The Horrors that were released when jmart moved on to Somewhere Else and he saves them,,,,,,,,, after they start to understand that “something spooky is here bc of mr sims but he was a victim in it” they sneakily start categorizing what they call “The Horrors” into 9 groups and get into shenanigans. they save jon at some point

their romance follows the plot of jmart’s but jon notices student B treating student A like he did martin at the start of the year and intervenes

so theyre healthier

(maybe jmart adopt student b, as they’re in a rlly unsafe home environment and thats why they started lashing out at their buddy)

at the beginning of the year student A knows shes trans but isnt sure what name to use. her buddy suggests not-adam (as she isnt suuuper uncomfy with her deadname, just that its too masc for her) so they call her that for a good bit and it comes up occasionally until they learn about the fears and the joke kinda. sours.

jon called her anything but that. not-adam thought it was because he didnt want to deadname her (and she insisted she was cool with it and thought it was funny) but she said that he can use a name that isnt adam, just not to stick to one bc she didnt want to feel boxed in

so the joke of her being anything but adam began

!!! WHAT IF NOT ADAM HAS AN ENCOUNTER WITH A STRANGER OBJECT THAT MAKES EVERYONE UNABLE TO SEE OR REMEMBER HER??? AND (character B) IS THE ONLY ONE WHO REMEMBERS HER BUT STILL CANT SEE HER!!!! AND THIS IS HOW JON REVEALS HE KNOWS STUFF ABOUT THE SUPERNATURAL

student b breaks down only a couple days in when she realized something was deeply, truly wrong, earing lunch (seemingly) alone with jon in his classroom. she says something with “not-adam” and “nobody remembers her but me” and jon’s trauma plus eye powers helps break his illusion, even though he doesnt remember her still

WHAT IF THIS IS AROUND WHEN NOT ADAM IS STARTING TO SEE HIM AS A FATHER

he adopts her bc she still legally doesnt exist and her family doesnt remember her , and its not like jmart already have fake identities anyways. they break the curse but everyone but B and Jon are completely wiped of her memory, just can finally see her now. its a mush of stranger, spiral, and lonely bc the horrors work different here

…she eventually settles on a name because she desperately needs to be reminded that they know her, they remember her, and that they remember all of her. (jon doesnt remember *everything* still, but most. every now and then she or B references something and they pause when they realize it was another memory lost to The Horrors)

oh also jon wears combat boots bc of daisy now. unrelated but important

im realizing my plan of them adopting B is a little funky with them adopting not-adam. however, unconventional found family prevails in tma. B just stays at their house most of the time bc she is neglected a lot at home so it usually isnt noticed when she disappears. theyre both 16 so fighting for custody when they can move out so soon is deemed too much stress on the teens. not-adam’s family actually are v loving and great, they just. dont remember NA. they dont remember how to love her, that they ever did

(thats why B needed to remember her. also, the effect intended of the horror was to torture NA until she died unnoticed and she will either be remembered by everyone when her body is found or will rot unseen until shes gone. or become an avatar, if she chose to embrace it. B was an intended victim of the leitner, the fear of nobody believing you and losing someone you love feed the Horrors)

(jon and his funky eye powers are likely the only reason NA didnt die)

in the end A picks the name astrid, but jon still calls her any name he can think of that starts with A when calling her down for food n stuff

anyways jmart unofficially adopting queer teens bc found family is so themcore but i *know* the fates would never allow them to do anything conventionally or fully legal

(all of this copy-pasted from me infodumping in a tma chat in the past couple hours)

#tma #the magnus archives #magnusposting #ramblings #tma fanart #magnuspod #jonmartin #somewhere else #tma family au #my art #mine #art tag #digital art #artists on tumblr #art

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pokemon-ash-aus · 1 year

Note

I absolutely ADORE your Teacher Assistant!au, do you have anymore art or hc's for it?

I dooo!!! God what did i write last time? I dint remember so here's a lil baby Eevee eventually evolving!!

Headcanons:

-Ash's Aura isnt something he can turn off EXCEPT when he's under extreme stress or duress that he can't handle. It's akin to a Sensory Overload for him, everything gets muted and it feels like he looses his ability to hear and see even though its still there.

- Pikachu is crazy expierenced and strong, he doesnt tell the Newbies that he's beat up legendaries because he wants them to see him as the fun- if slightly crazy- friend and partner!

- Ash actually has a lot of Eggs back at the farm because of his pokemon either, a) Populating or b)finding eggs at random.

-Because screw Gender evo's. Gender Specific pokemon have a branched evo that is either Nonbinary or including a Male line. The primary account being Bounsweet!

- Ash's Pokemon all know (at least) one move out of their Species normal repitoire. Bukbasaur with Dig and Gust, Charizard with all 3 Elemental Punches, Squirtle with Dragon Pulse. They're not overly good with it, its a lot of testing and mostly used as a last minute resort wih lots of build up.

-The kids recognize that Ash isnt that much older than them and they know he's barely considered their senior but they cant help but admire how he acts and talks and the stories and lessons he can teach. Its better when Ash fully admits he doesnt understand something and asks them questions about it, it makes them feel like he truly sees them as friends (he does)

-There's another student joining in that has yet to be seen (But they are a canon character) mostly for an even amount of students.

- Ash and Lusamine have major beef with eachother. Its hatred on first sight. They do not become friends, they don't become buddy buddy, Ash barely tolerates her and even that drops when she's good and grants the students Ultra Guardian status. *They're CHILDREN Lusamine!*

- Ash is very touch affectionate with his students. Pats of affirmation, small side hugs, shoulder nudging etc. He's not onto full on hugs of comfort, that gives him the heeby jeebies but its still more affection than most of the students are used to.

- Dont be fooled Ash may be expierenced and has stories to boot, But he's still an idiot. "That's an Oxymoron!" "Dont call the strategy a moron, they cant defend themselves!"

- Ash typically defaults to it for Pokemon until he knows them personally. He's especially vicious with correcting older folk on pronouns just to piss them off, most pokemon dont really care but at times its a sweet gesture, especially if the folks are particularly nasty.

- Ash has met Viren before and vice versa. It was a brief meeting on a boat and both of them left extremely bitter about it. Ash comoletely forgot about Viren but Viren remenbers Ash as that "15 year old Brat!" its extremely funny to have a one sided hatred when the other party barely remenbers you

- Ash is bad at matching names to faces, but its not malicious. If you dont see him everyday, he's bound to forget

- Ash and his pokemon speak a lot of languages, but only he and Pikachu can really read, and even then its still trial and error. He has a lot of moments of pausing and trying to translate on slower days.

- Pikachu has trained to be able to feel aura and see like his partner. Its no where near as strong as Ash's and it drains him fast, but he wants to know what Ash sees and feels.

That's all i got for now :D

#pokemon #teachers assistant au #Ask

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uraveragelonelyhuman · 1 year

Note

Hi! First off, I just wanna say that I love your writing! It is very very good and I enjoy it very much :D

Second off, I have a request for TWDG

So, how would Marlon, Louis, Clem, Violet, and anyone else you want to add react to their future S/O who has a cat they really really love. Like, say if reader was with Clem whenever her and AJ got rescued. When reader wakes up, they immediately start looking for their cat and when whoever come to check on them, they bring out a knife they have in their shoe and start threading them until reader gets their cat back.

You don’t have to use that idea, just a little thing I thought of. Thank you for your time and thank you if you decide to write this! (Btw if you do you have a request that’ll be prioritized on my blog!)

Have a great day/night!

(Yo! Sure I can! I may have messed this up a bit, so sorry. Anyways, here ya go! Enjoy!)

Marlon, Louis, Clem and Vi x Reader who's missing their cat Platonic, Brother AJ and sibling Reader

MARLON

When they heard the crash and found you guys, Marlon didn’t see your cat around

Much less even know there was a cat in the beginning

So when he heard you had woken up, at first he was sorta relieved but apprehensive

Didn’t help when first thing you did when meeting was pull out a knife they missed in your boot and point it at his neck

You were demanding your cat

Marlon was so fucking confused

“What cat- there was no cat when we found you two and the boy.”

“...whAt-”

When he finally explained, he felt bad because you looked so sad

Your heart was so broken

Your cat was gone

You didn’t know if it ran away or had been eaten by walkers

And Marlon also felt bad because he knew what it was like being attached to an animal

Like he didn’t know what he would do if he lost Rosie

Clem also helped you trying to find it, Marlon tagged along also

And there was no luck until Marlon heard meowing by the gate

He jumped ngl

He then saw the cat

He felt so proud when he returned it to you

Felt like a damn hero with his hands on his hips

He loves the cat also!

He doesn’t like when the cat tries to play with his haier thinking it’s a fellow cat but-

Rosie surprisingly liked it too

Your cat liked him a bit too

Because we all know that if your pet doesn’t like them they gotta go

So yay! All good

LOUIS

Louis when he came to check on you was kinda excited new people were at the school

He and the others hadn’t seen anyone for a long time

But that excitement quickly turned into fear when he was thrown into the wall with a knife to his neck

Hands up and saying “Ay! I come in peace!”

Only thing he got from your yelling was that you had a cat, your cat was gone, and you wanted your cat

Problem was…Louis had found it and claimed it as his own-

Dw he was glad he had what you wanted

But he found the amazing creature who loved him and he loved it

Was so sad that he couldn’t keep it

He missed animals

Except Rosie, loves her to but he hadn’t seen a cat in a long time

Once you took the knife away from his neck he was like

“Okay, thank you for not murdering me- and yeah, I got a cat. What does your cat look like?”

And once you told him he felt so sad he had to part ways with the amazing animal

But nonetheless he gave it back

Felt happy he reunited y’all

And also was so freaking happy because the cat followed him around

You didn’t wanna tear him away from the cat so you let them hang out

And Louis and the cat are best friends now

The cats always on his lap or sitting on his shoulder when eating dinner or playing a game

Always plot

Anything and everything

Pranks, gossip, day-to-day routine

Have their own language

CLEM

You had been with Clem and by extent AJ for a while

So she was pretty used to your cat

She loved it also

The cat was so cuddly

Also AJ loved it also, ever since he was a baby he always seemed fascinated by the little cat

So when you and Clem woke up and you started freaking out about your cat

She sorta panicked also and tried helping you find it

When y’all were introduced with everyone at the school your cat was still missing

Until you guys went hunting, Clem heard meowing and thought it was your cat

And she was right, she found the little feline in a tree as walkers were trying to get it

Once she killed the walkers the cat seemed so excited to see a familiar face and jumped down to her

She walked back with your cat in hand and was so relieved when your eyes sparkled seeing your animal

She missed the cat too tbh

AJ also was excited to see it again!

Vi before it all absolutely loved cats

I believe she had one at some point

When the world went to shit she didn’t think about cats a lot

But when she did she never thought she would see one ever again

So when she went with Marlon and Louis when they heard the crash

She was shocked when she saw you, Clem and AJ all in the car surrounded by the dead

And even more shocked when she saw a cat there

The cat didn’t stick around though, hesitant but ran off when it saw the three teens

Vi was a bit sad but helped you guys out

When she heard you woke up and went to check on you she also got a knife to the throat and was threatened

When she heard you saying you wanted your cat it seemed like it clicked

She explained to you what happened to the cat and you seemed scared a bit

Like the cat could’ve been eaten or gotten hurt

So she helped you in finding the cat

In the hunting grounds, maybe in the school or she once snuck you guys out to the train station to go and find it

But no luck

Until one day she found out it had snuck through the gates and hid behind some of the bushes

She got it out with some food and it liked her a lot

It rubbed it’s head against her hand when she picked it up and let me tell you she loved it so much

When she returned it to you she was happy at how happy you two seemed

But it didn’t end there

No ma’am

The cat loves sticking around her

Y’know those movies where someone dramatically sits in a chair, turning it around with a cat in their lap and is like

“I’ve been expecting you…”

THAT'S VI AND THE CAT

“I’ve been expecting you, (Name).”

“...How long have you been waiting there for me to come in?”

“A while actually. Louis came in and I thought he was you but he passed out in fear- I’m pretty proud of myself.”

You can’t tear them away from each other

Ever

PLATONIC AJ

You had been with Clem since the beginning, and there when AJ was born

AJ never remembered the cat coming along, in truth it was there before he was

The cat was pretty old

But he loved it so much

He never really understood there wasn’t a lot left

But he always liked holding it and how the cat always liked nuzzling its head against his hand

So when you and Clem were asleep, he was angry he couldn’t see you guys and was in a strange place with people he didn’t know

He was also angry because your cat was missing

So he tried finding it everywhere

The others didn’t know what he was looking for because he didn’t tell them and didn’t wanna talk to them without you guys

Everyone just sees him looking under tables like

“Kitty? Where’d you go? (Name)’s gonna wanna see you when they wake up.”

So let’s just say when you guys woke up he felt sad and a bit disappointed in himself because he couldn’t find the cat

So he tried even harder

And he did find the cat

And he felt so proud giving it back to you once he did

The cat also was so happy to see him

Little cat member of the family

163 notes · View notes

the-dumpster-fire-of-life · 1 year

Note

Hi! First off, I just wanna say that I love your writing! It is very very good and I enjoy it very much :D

Second off, I have a request for TWDG

Have a great day/night!

(Hey! This is basically same thing on my other account, I copy and pasted the request so I could put it on both of my accounts if that makes sense lmao. Anyways, Enjoy!)

Marlon, Louis, Clem and Vi x Reader who's missing a cat Platonic, brother AJ and Sibling reader

MARLON

When they heard the crash and found you guys, Marlon didn’t see your cat around

Much less even know there was a cat in the beginning

So when he heard you had woken up, at first he was sorta relieved but apprehensive

Didn’t help when first thing you did when meeting was pull out a knife they missed in your boot and point it at his neck

You were demanding your cat

Marlon was so fucking confused

“What cat- there was no cat when we found you two and the boy.”

“...whAt-”

When he finally explained, he felt bad because you looked so sad

Your heart was so broken

Your cat was gone

You didn’t know if it ran away or had been eaten by walkers

And Marlon also felt bad because he knew what it was like being attached to an animal

Like he didn’t know what he would do if he lost Rosie

Clem also helped you trying to find it, Marlon tagged along also

And there was no luck until Marlon heard meowing by the gate

He jumped ngl

He then saw the cat

He felt so proud when he returned it to you

Felt like a damn hero with his hands on his hips

He loves the cat also!

He doesn’t like when the cat tries to play with his haier thinking it’s a fellow cat but-

Rosie surprisingly liked it too

Your cat liked him a bit too

Because we all know that if your pet doesn’t like them they gotta go

So yay! All good

LOUIS

Louis when he came to check on you was kinda excited new people were at the school

He and the others hadn’t seen anyone for a long time

But that excitement quickly turned into fear when he was thrown into the wall with a knife to his neck

Hands up and saying “Ay! I come in peace!”

Only thing he got from your yelling was that you had a cat, your cat was gone, and you wanted your cat

Problem was…Louis had found it and claimed it as his own-

Dw he was glad he had what you wanted

But he found the amazing creature who loved him and he loved it

Was so sad that he couldn’t keep it

He missed animals

Except Rosie, loves her to but he hadn’t seen a cat in a long time

Once you took the knife away from his neck he was like

“Okay, thank you for not murdering me- and yeah, I got a cat. What does your cat look like?”

And once you told him he felt so sad he had to part ways with the amazing animal

But nonetheless he gave it back

Felt happy he reunited y’all

And also was so freaking happy because the cat followed him around

You didn’t wanna tear him away from the cat so you let them hang out

And Louis and the cat are best friends now

The cats always on his lap or sitting on his shoulder when eating dinner or playing a game

Always plot

Anything and everything

Pranks, gossip, day-to-day routine

Have their own language

CLEM

You had been with Clem and by extent AJ for a while

So she was pretty used to your cat

She loved it also

The cat was so cuddly

Also AJ loved it also, ever since he was a baby he always seemed fascinated by the little cat

So when you and Clem woke up and you started freaking out about your cat

She sorta panicked also and tried helping you find it

When y’all were introduced with everyone at the school your cat was still missing

Until you guys went hunting, Clem heard meowing and thought it was your cat

And she was right, she found the little feline in a tree as walkers were trying to get it

Once she killed the walkers the cat seemed so excited to see a familiar face and jumped down to her

She walked back with your cat in hand and was so relieved when your eyes sparkled seeing your animal

She missed the cat too tbh

AJ also was excited to see it again!

Vi before it all absolutely loved cats

I believe she had one at some point

When the world went to shit she didn’t think about cats a lot

But when she did she never thought she would see one ever again

So when she went with Marlon and Louis when they heard the crash

She was shocked when she saw you, Clem and AJ all in the car surrounded by the dead

And even more shocked when she saw a cat there

The cat didn’t stick around though, hesitant but ran off when it saw the three teens

Vi was a bit sad but helped you guys out

When she heard you woke up and went to check on you she also got a knife to the throat and was threatened

When she heard you saying you wanted your cat it seemed like it clicked

She explained to you what happened to the cat and you seemed scared a bit

Like the cat could’ve been eaten or gotten hurt

So she helped you in finding the cat

In the hunting grounds, maybe in the school or she once snuck you guys out to the train station to go and find it

But no luck

Until one day she found out it had snuck through the gates and hid behind some of the bushes

She got it out with some food and it liked her a lot

It rubbed it’s head against her hand when she picked it up and let me tell you she loved it so much

When she returned it to you she was happy at how happy you two seemed

But it didn’t end there

No ma’am

The cat loves sticking around her

Y’know those movies where someone dramatically sits in a chair, turning it around with a cat in their lap and is like

“I’ve been expecting you…”

THAT'S VI AND THE CAT

“I’ve been expecting you, (Name).”

“...How long have you been waiting there for me to come in?”

“A while actually. Louis came in and I thought he was you but he passed out in fear- I’m pretty proud of myself.”

You can’t tear them away from each other

Ever

PLATONIC AJ

You had been with Clem since the beginning, and there when AJ was born

AJ never remembered the cat coming along, in truth it was there before he was

The cat was pretty old

But he loved it so much

He never really understood there wasn’t a lot left

But he always liked holding it and how the cat always liked nuzzling its head against his hand

So when you and Clem were asleep, he was angry he couldn’t see you guys and was in a strange place with people he didn’t know

He was also angry because your cat was missing

So he tried finding it everywhere

The others didn’t know what he was looking for because he didn’t tell them and didn’t wanna talk to them without you guys

Everyone just sees him looking under tables like

“Kitty? Where’d you go? (Name)’s gonna wanna see you when they wake up.”

So let’s just say when you guys woke up he felt sad and a bit disappointed in himself because he couldn’t find the cat

So he tried even harder

And he did find the cat

And he felt so proud giving it back to you once he did

The cat also was so happy to see him

Little cat member of the family

147 notes · View notes

chickensarentcheap · 6 months

Text

In a Heartbeat: Chapter Four

Fandom: Extraction

PAIRING: TYLER RAKE AND ESME DRUMMOND (ESTABLISHED OFC)

WARNINGS: angst. Big time angst.

SUMMARY: Dhaka nearly ended everything before it even began. In it’s aftermath and with Tyler’s life teetering on the threshold between life and death, Esme is about to realize just how strong she can be. And that love happens when it happens. There’s no rules. No rhyme or reason. No timeline.

Tagging: @tragiclyhip @munstysmind @themaradwrites @youflickedtooharddamnit @secretaryunpaid @asirensrage @thebejeweledwatercat @karimac @residentdormouse @kmc1989 @ninjasawakenedmystar @alisbackalleybbq @arrthurpendragon @ocappreciation @occommunity @theesirenteller

Warnings: none really. Just some canon stuff from E2.

Link to Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48691714/chapters/129185005

My tag list is OPEN. Please let me know if you'd like to be added :D

****

TWO MONTHS LATER

“I hope we don’t forget anything,” Esme laments, hands on her hips as she surveys the room. “It’s not like we can just hop in the car and head over here to pick shit up.”

“What’s there to forget? I came in here with basically nothing.”

“I’ve bought all kinds of things since then. Not to mention everything Nik has picked up for us along the way.”

With her head cocked to the side and an index digit pressed to her lips, she uses the fingers of her free hand to count out the various items, announcing each out loud. Brand new sneakers, t-shirts, several pairs of sweatpants, and shorts were all purchased to be worn during his gruelling and often painful physiotherapy sessions. A handful of smaller personal effects: toothbrush and paste, electric razor, brush and comb. And a brand new winter jacket, beanie, and boots for the start of their life in Austria.

Tyler winces as he gingerly rises from the couch across the room; using both the coffee table and a simple, black metal cane for balance and support. That morning’s final rehab session had seemed especially brutal; an already weary and aching body pushed even further past its limits. Yet it’s a welcomed pain, a sign that things are working correctly and that he’s healing and well on his way to recovery. And while he isn’t thrilled about having to use an assistive device or having to sport the brace that keeps his surgically repaired right knee stabilized, it’s far better than the alternative of not being able to walk at all.

Or, worse, being dead.

He slowly makes his way towards her. “What about my other boots?”

“What other boots?”

“The ones I had on my feet. When I was brought in here.”

“Babe, I threw those out the first day.”

He scowls.

“I tried, believe me. I wanted to save them. But they were completely unsalvageable.”

“They were practically brand new.”

“Brand new a decade ago, maybe. They had definitely seen better days. They were a complete mess BEFORE Dhaka ever happened. I promise I did my very best. That I tried everything I could think of short of giving them mouth-to-mouth. They flatlined. There was no hope.”

It’s the truth. She HAD tried to salvage them. And the bulletproof tact vest that he’d been wearing. And she can vividly remember the moment she’d stood at the sink in one of the many public bathrooms, working her fingers raw as she used scalding hot water and soap from a hand dispenser to vigorously and relentlessly scrub at all of the blood. It had still been damp and fresh, and the smell of copper had hung heavily in the air; the water, soap suds, and the porcelain of the sink turning a bright, furious red. And she had sobbed until she was breathless and gasping for air; tears streaming down her face as her desperate and terrified brain tried to make sense of where she was, what had happened, and just what she thought she would accomplish.

He’s going to use them again, she had argued. Common sense no longer her friend and ally. He’s going to be okay, and he’s going to wear these, so they need to be clean.

They HAVE to be clean.

“Those were my favourite ones. I had them for years. And you just go and throw them out? What…?”

“I’ll buy you another pair.” Her response -and tone of voice- is far more curt and aggressive than necessary. And she immediately regrets it; noticing the concern that darkens his eyes and furrows his brow. “Maybe you’ll like them better,” she quickly adds and throws in a half-assed smile.

It was the stroll down memory lane; the visit to that dark and scary place that she has no desire to ever return to. But the harsh reality is that while she may never step foot in Dhaka again, it will forever be etched in her mind and upon her soul. A traumatic and harrowing experience that haunts her in the dead of night and on those early, rainy or snowy mornings; when the house is still and eerily quiet and she has too much time on her hands to think.

“Esme…” Tentatively reaching out for her, his knuckles skim along her cheek, hating the tears that sparkle in her eyes and the way both lower and chin tremble as she fights back her emotions. “...I was joking. Just giving you a hard time. Teasing you. I didn’t…”

“I’m sorry. For snapping at you. I guess I’m just really overwhelmed. It’s hitting home, you know? We are FINALLY getting out of here. And in less than ten hours, we’re going to be starting a whole new life. In Austria. Together.”

“Is that a bad thing or…?”

“No! God no! I have been waiting almost nine months for this. For you to be healthy enough to walk out of here. This is everything I have wanted for so long; for you to get back on your feet and for us to hide ourselves away and concentrate on each other.”

“And you’re not doubting your decision or questioning whether or not we’re doing the right thing?”

“Are you?”

“I asked you first.”

“I’ve never questioned if I’ve done the right thing. Not when it comes to you. Do YOU have cold feet?”

“I’m a little nervous,” he admits. “Last time I lived with someone, it didn’t end so well. And it was mostly my fault. Guess I’m just worried I’m gonna fuck it up. That I’m going to end up being a huge failure and you’re going regret every hooking up with me and…”

“That’s NOT going to happen. It’s NEVER going to happen. And what if it’s the other way around? What if I drive you so batshit insane, YOU regret ever meeting ME?”

“Esme, I love you. More than I ever thought I could love someone. But you weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet. You’re small enough to carry around in my pocket. I think I can handle you.”

“Well, you know that say; about tiny people being the ones you really have to watch out for. We’re sketchy, cagey little things. Everyone underestimates us.”

“What are you going to do? Bite me in the shins? Head butt me in the nuts like an angry goat?”

“Did you honestly just compare me to livestock?”

“Goats are little and cute. You’re little and cute. It’s an accurate comparison.”

“That isn’t the smooth and effortless save you think it is.”

“If you ever do come at me, all I have to do is…” Placing palm flat on the top of her head, he easily holds her at arm’s length. “...and that’ll keep you right where you are until you calm down. Can’t even take a swing at me. Your arms won’t reach that far.”

“Is this how it’s going to be? For the rest of our lives? You taking cheap shots just because I happen to be vertically challenged?”

“Vertically challenged?” He chuckles when she slaps his hand away. “That’s what the kids are calling it these days? You’re not just a short ass anymore?”

Smirking, she returns her back to him, returning to the open duffle bag in the middle of the bed. “You are really pushing your luck, buddy. You’re already on my second-to-last nerve, and we haven’t even gotten to Austria yet. All the shit I’ve done for you in the past nine months, and this is the thanks I get? This is how you show your gratitude? By making fun of me?”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Draping a forearm across her collarbone, both knee and back crack when he bends down to press a kiss to her temple. “ I’m sorry that you’re freakishly small. And that your parents’ DNA screwed up somewhere along the way, and you haven’t grown since you were twelve.”

Smirking, she directs a playful elbow into his stomach. “Asshole.”

“You’re just way too easy to pick on. You know I only do it to get a reaction outta ya, right? It’s fun; seeing you get all hot under the collar.”

“If that’s your idea of fun…”

“Well, I can think of a few other things I’d rather resort to for a good time, but…”

“Have you ever thought that maybe I’M the normal size one and you’re just freakishly tall?”

“I hate to break it to you, but being four foot nothing is NOT normal.”

“I’m five foot three, thank you very much!”

“Be honest.”

“I am being honest! I’m five foot three!”

“You wouldn’t be five foot three even in heels. Tell the truth.”

“I am! I’m…”

“Esme…”

“Fine…” She sighs in exasperation and surrender. “I’m five feet. And three-quarters!”

“Those three-quarters don’t matter.”

“Sure they do. They make me closer to five foot one, don’t they? And for the record? You are freakishly tall. And big. In many ways.”

“I would be to you. You’re a munchkin.”

“I swear to Christ…”

“What are you going to do? I can’t take a threat seriously when it comes from someone that practically doesn’t have to kneel when they’re giving me…”

“You are one SICK human being, you know that?”

“In all the ways you like best.”

“I also think you have some weird size kink going on.”

“Size kink? What the hell is THAT?”

“Technically, a kink just means unconventional sexual behaviour or preferences.”

“I know what ‘kink’ means. But size kink?”

“You get off on the fact that I’m so much smaller than you are. It was probably one of the things that attracted you to me. You liked the idea of being so much bigger; all that power and strength compared to my size means you can dominate me much easier than other people. And you DO like being in charge, so…”

“You were tiny and cute. I liked that.”

“So did your dick, apparently.”

“I will admit, it did like it. A lot. It still does.”

“Definite size kink. I’m freakishly small, and you’re freakishly big. We’re a very odd couple. You see the way the nurses and everyone here look at us whenever we’re out for walks together.”

“I just assumed it’s ‘cause you’re so fucking hot.”

“As much as I appreciate you consistently stroking my ego, it’s because we look weird together. Maybe not in a BAD way. But we do. And there’s nothing wrong with having a size kink. That’s something to be ashamed about. I guess maybe I have one too. I seem drawn to men that are a lot taller than I am.”

“Everyone is taller than you are.”

“But you’re definitely the record holder when it comes to height. And weight. You’re well beyond what’s normal for me.”

“I’m sorry. That I wrecked your vagina for everyone else.”

“Tyler, I swear…”

“Who am I kidding? There isn’t going to BE anyone else.” He reaches over her shoulder for an item at the top of the bag. A small yet neatly wrapped bundle; pristine white tissue paper secured by strips of purple satin. “What’s this?”

“This…” She snatches it away before he can get a firm hold on it. “...is none of your business.”

“Whose is it?”

“Mine.”

“Why’s it a secret?”

“It’s not a secret. It’s a surprise.”

“For who?”

“Who do you think? Jesus….”

“But I don’t like surprises.”

“Well, too bad. Learn to like them. You’re in for a lot of them, trust me. Living with me is no easy feat.”

“If you’re talking about me finding out about your twelve different personalities…”

“Don’t make me smother in your sleep.”

“Can’t I get some kind of hint? When it comes to what to expect? Give me something here. Just something small. So I can kinda prepare myself.”

“Nik was NOT kidding. When she told me how difficult you can be. On the bright side, I have experience with FAR more problematic people than you.”

“Baby, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

“If you’re trying to scare me away, it isn’t going to work. I’ve already been through the depths of hell with you. There’s no way it could possibly get any worse.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Esme.”

“Please…” She gives a derisive snort “....you’re harmless. Everyone else who meets you may think you’re scary and intimidating, but you’ve never made me wet my pants.”

“I’ve made you wet them in different ways.”

Sighing in exasperation, she briefly closes her eyes.

“Just give me a little hint. About what the surprise is. I’m not asking for much here.”

“You are such a control freak, you know that?”

“I just don’t like surprises. I like knowing what’s coming. What to expect. So cut me a little slack, yeah?”

“It’s something to wear.”

“For who to wear?”

“For ME to wear. It’s black, and it’s soft, and it’s sort of shimmery. And it’s something for our first night in our own place together.”

“It’s something like THAT.”

Nodding, she zips up the bag and turns to face him. “Do you realize it’s the first time we will be completely alone in NINE MONTHS? No nurses, no doctors, no one just wandering in whenever they feel like it. No Nik or Yaz just showing up out of the blue. Just me and you. In the middle of nowhere. Where no one can hear you scream.”

“You’re the noisy one.”

“I meant when I kill you.”

“If a bullet to the throat can’t do it, what makes you think you can?”

“Oh baby, I have powers that you can’t even begin to understand. You’re not the only one that can be difficult to live with.”

“You know, you might be the first person I’ve ever been legitimately scared of.”

“You should be. I have ways of hurting you….” Sliding a hand between their bodies, she slides her down down his stomach and allows it to briefly rest on his crotch. The tip of her tongue sweeping across her top lip as she gives a firm squeeze. “...that no one else has ever thought of.”

“I’m spooked.”

“Rightfully so.”

“You’re going to cut my dick off, aren’t you.”

“If I find your dick inside of anyone else? You’re damn right I will.”

“You’ll never have to worry about that. I may be a lot of things, but a cheat isn’t one of them.”

“But for just being an insufferable asshole at times? I would NEVER. I’d miss your dick way more than even you would.”

“So that IS why you’re with me. It’s totally the dick. And what I can do with it.”

“Well, it’s not the ONLY reason. But it is pretty high on the list.”

She squeals when he aggressively smacks her ass, laughing as fingers bite through the denim of her jeans and he pulls her tightly against him. A long, content sigh escapes when he kisses her; standing on her tiptoes with both arms wrapped around his torso as she eagerly responds. Her eyes remaining closed when he pulls away, smiling at the feel of soft, warm lips as they connect with her forehead.

It remains a mystery. How such an enormous, strong man known for his strength and his aggression and violent and bloody lifestyle, can possess such tenderness. But he’s an entirely different being when they’re alone, and the outside world ceases to exist; patient and kind, his face and his voice much softer, his touch and his kisses so attentive.

“For the record…” Remaining on her tiptoes, her eyes flutter open, and she smiles up at him. “...I DO love you.”

“I know. I’m not quite sure what I ever did to deserve it, and sometimes I wonder if you’ve lost every ounce of your sanity, and that’s why you stick around, but…” His hands move upwards, the simple movement causing pain in the surgically repaired left shoulder. But he successfully bites back the wince, refusing to allow his broken yet healing body to ruin the moment as he cradles her face in his palms. “...I do know it. And I love you. Even when I’m giving you a hard time.”

“It’s part of your charm. I think.”

“So what’s going to happen when you put that surprise 0n and things don’t work properly? On my end.”

“It’s not that it NEVER works. It’s just that it’s hit or miss.”

“We’ve never actually tried…THAT.”

“But we’ve tried other things. With a forty percent success rate. That’s pretty damn good, considering what you’ve been through and all the drugs you’ve got in ya. And maybe being away from here will be just what you need; to get those numbers up even higher. Once we’re home, you’ll be totally relaxed and not worrying about anyone wandering in.”

“But…”

“But, we deal with it when it happens. IF it happens. Like I told you and SHOWN you, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.”

“.If you even dare bring out sex toys or even think about putting Viagra in my coffee…”

“I’m not going to put it in your coffee. I’m going to put it in your scrambled eggs.”

“Joke’s on you. I only eat fried.”

“I will be patient and understanding and let the problem…the ISSUE…work itself out. It isn’t permanent, Tyler. All the doctors have told you that. It’s just how you're responding to everything. You were clinically dead nine months ago; your body is still healing, and some things are misfiring along the way. And you’ve got enough meds in you to knock out a horse, so…” She presses a kiss to the underside of his chin. “Are you nervous?”

“About my dick not working properly for the rest of my life? Yes.”

“I mean about us. Building a life together. Does that spook you, too?”

“Not for the reason you think. You think it’s something to do with you.”

“It’s crossed my mind; that maybe you’re having second thoughts. About me. As a person.”

“I’ve never had any second thoughts when it comes to you. It’s all me. And my issues. The last time I lived with someone, it didn’t end very well. And I was the main reason.”

“Things hadn’t been good for a while,” she reminds him. “Long before your son got sick. And both you AND her were to blame for that.”

“She deserved a lot better than what I gave her. I had no business getting married. Not when I was totally committed to the military. She was always second. And she always would be. If we’d stayed together.” . “Do you wish you had? Stayed together?”

“No. It happened for a reason. All of it. Had our marriage been healthier and had my boy not gotten sick, I never would have gotten into the job, and I never would have crossed paths with Nik. Which means I never would have met you. And I wouldn’t give that…YOU… up for anything. Or anyone.”

Tears well in her eyes. “And to think, legend says you’re a man of few words.”

“Guess the ones I DO say are worth it.”

“I’m nervous too. For the same reason you are. I don’t exactly have the best track record, either.”

“None of that was your fault. What happened with Mark. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I should have left sooner. But I kept going back. I kept believing all his bullshit and all his promises. No matter how many times he hurt me. And where did I end up? Where did being a stupid little girl lead me?”

“To this fucked up circle we’re both caught up in. It led you to Nik. To me. I don’t think you did too bad.”

“I’ve definitely traded up, that’s for sure.”

“I’m not him, Esme. I know it’s easy for me to say and not so easy for you to believe. But I’m not. I never will be. We’re gonna be alright.” The pads of his thumbs skim along the tops of her cheeks. “If we can get through the past nine months, we can get through anything. I’m sure of it.”

Turning her face up for another kiss, her hand tightly grips the back of his neck. It’s an addiction: the taste of his mouth, the smell of his skin, the press of his body against hers. No one has ever made her feel that way before; so overwhelmed by not only love and adoration but animalistic want and need. And she gives a mewl of disappointment when the moment comes to an abrupt end; interrupted by the sound of heels clicking along the tiles, followed by the clearing of a throat.

“Is that all the two of you do?” Yaz grumbles as he follows behind his sister, dutifully pushing an empty wheelchair. “I swear, every time we walk in here, you’re all over each other. Can’t you wait until you’re alone?”

“Can’t YOU knock?” Esme retorts, as she slips out from between Tyler and the bed and greets both her friends with warm, tight hugs and kisses on the cheek.

“He’s just jealous that no one kisses him like that,” Nik takes a cheap yet teasing shot at her younger brother. “Or even wants to.”

“There’s a lot of people that want to!” Yaz angrily informs her. “I just don’t want to kiss them! Have you ever thought of that? And how do you know what I do and don’t do? I could be doing a lot of things…a lot of PEOPLE…and….”

“And what? And nothing. Of course I know what you’re up to. We live together. Your room is across from mine. Not to mention the walls are thin. No one is buying what you’re trying to sell, lonely boy.”

Scowling, Yaz mumbles a string of profanities and insults in both Arabic and French and then purposefully steers the wheelchair over his sister’s foot.

“What’s up with your shirt?” Tyler lays the end of his cane against Yaz’s torso, eyeing the monstrosity with the utmost disgust. “Lose a bet or something?”

“You don’t like it?”

“No.”

“I’ll get you one. What’s your size? Forty-four regular?” Reaching out, Yaz playfully squeezes one of Tyler’s biceps. “You’re a little bit slimmer, no?”

“Shut up.”

“I missed you, too.”

“Valentino?” Esme fingers the item in question, giving a nod of appreciation and a low, impressed whistle as she studies the sea of colours and the unique pattern. “Get him one. He won’t wear it, but I will.”

Tyler frowns, his nose wrinkled in disgust. “Not if we’re out in public together, you won’t.”

Scoffing, she picks up a discarded sling and slaps him in the stomach with it. “Like you actually have a say in it.”

“Your life is no longer your own,” Nik informs him, as she helps him into the sling, ignoring the mumbles of protest and the profanities he spews in the process. “Your bachelor days are over. Now you have someone telling you what to do and when to do it.”

“Which is exactly what he needs,” Yaz adds. “It’ll do him some good. Have someone around to keep him on his toes. Hold him accountable for his bullshit.”

“You realize I can hear you, yeah?”

“You’re going to have someone cooking and cleaning for you and…”

“Hey!” Esme objects. “I never said anything about cooking and cleaning. I’m useful in many ways. But those are NOT two of them.”

“She’s already told me she can’t cook for shit. Apparently, she kept sweaters in her stove. When she lived in Prague.”

“The closets weren’t big enough,” she explains. “And I CAN cook. I’m just not any good at it”

“It’s going to be the blind leading the blind,” Nik chides. “This should end well. Who kills who first is what I’m wondering.”

“He’ll drive me to the brink of a mental breakdown before either of us has a chance to resort to homicide,” Esme informs her, and playfully pinches Tyler’s side. “He’s been testing the limits of my patience since he woke up this morning.”

“I warned you. As soon as you started talking about this whole living together thing. I told you he was difficult. That you had no idea what you were getting yourself into.”

“He’s just anxious to get out of here,” Yaz reasons. “I mean, do you blame him? Not everyone gets to take their favourite nurse home with them. I heard you give really good sponge baths. With a little something extra thrown in. A happy ending. VERY happy one, actually.”

“Jesus….” Nik shakes her head. “...Yaz…”

Tyler frowns. “You weren’t supposed to repeat that.”

“I’ll take it as a compliment,” Esme assures him, then nods at the wheelchair. “Sit.”

“Why?”

“This is your ticket to freedom!” Yaz manoeuvres the apparatus behind his old friend. “We’re breaking you lose!”

“I can walk.”

Esme sets the brakes on the chair. “You know that. And we know that. Even the doctors and nurses know that. But the hospital says this is how it has to be. So you either leave this way, or you stay here forever.”

“That’s stupid.”

“I don’t make the rules, babe. But unfortunately, I’m the bad guy that has to enforce them.”

“And you say I’ve been testing YOUR patience?”

“You’d miss me if I weren’t around, giving you a foot up the ass every now and then.”

Wrapping both arms around one of his, she keeps a firm hold as he slowly lowers himself into the waiting chair. And while her much smaller and lighter frame would offer no real assistance if he were to slip or lose his balance, it still gives him a sense of security. Further proof that she is indeed his ‘safe place’; the one person that he feels most comfortable with and isn’t afraid to be vulnerable and needy in front of. Far stronger and mightier than he ever could have anticipated when they’d first met. A tiny and seemingly weak woman who is anything BUT.

And a total pain in his ass at times.

“You’re looking good,” Yaz praises, as he collects the duffle bag and a lone suitcase. “You clean up nice. I’m kind of disappointed, though; I thought for sure you’d do something different with the hair.”

“She wouldn’t let me. I was going to tell the barber to just shave it all off so I could start over again, but…”

“I would have had to kill both of them,” Esme finishes, and combs her fingers through his longer top tresses. “It suits you. It’s the perfect haircut. My absolute favourite.”

“You haven’t seen my hair any other way. So how do you know this is your favourite?”

“Well, I’ve already had the best, right? So why settle for anything else.”

“You’re difficult. You know that, yeah?”

“Mmmhmm.” Moving to stand behind the wheelchair, she tugs affectionately at his ears, then leans down to press a kiss to his temple. “You ready?”

Nodding, he turns his face into hers, lips meeting the corner of her mouth. “As I’ll ever be.”

*****

The cabin is nestled in an isolated valley miles above sea level. Miles away from neighbours and the tiny ‘downtown’ area, it’s nothing but a mere speck of wood, brick, and cedar shingles swallowed by a sea, spruce, and fir trees. Its front door mere steps from one of the many lakes in the region; the crystal clear waters now snow-covered, their abundance of fish gathered somewhere under feet of thick, smooth ice. Across the expanse of land lays the base of the Grunberg mountain range; more feral and isolated than its many counterparts in the Gmunden region, but still a ‘must see’ for both tourists and those who enjoy its more difficult -and sometimes perilous- hiking trails. Yet despite all the beauty -in its most raw and pure forms- he’s not been able to notice anything outside the rental car; instead, he's too caught up in watching and listening to Esme as she sits behind him. A woman who was born and raised in Colorado and whose family home sits less than five hundred metres from the base of the Rockies, she’s like a kid on Christmas morning. With each turn the tires make on their climb, her reactions grow in glee and intensity: the sighs of enjoyment, the gasps of awe, and the way she clasps her hands together and bounces up and down in her seat.

It's that experience that he finds himself enthralled by, emotion choking at him as tears prick at his eyes. After being so fearless and strong over the course of the past nine months, she suddenly exudes an almost childlike innocence. So completely caught up in the moment that everything else around her has ceased to exist; she has found a slice of heaven, and she isn't missing a single second. This tiny and fierce woman who has been through so much heartache and brutality in her life yet refuses to lose an ounce of her spirit. Somehow still able to see and appreciate all of the beauty around her and experience things with such passion and wide-eyed wonder. And he's never seen anything more beautiful.

He’s out of the car and at her door before she even has the chance to open it. It’s all about the smallest of gestures right now; having to partake in less strenuous moments and activities in order not to inflict more wear and tears on his still-healing body. His strength and stamina are still not where he had hoped they would be; still teetering on the edge of sixty percent and increasing at an extremely slow pace. But she appreciates even the smallest of gestures and the effort behind them; her tiny hand fitting so perfectly into his much larger, more powerful one as she allows him to help her out of the vehicle.

“Look at it!” She gushes, as her fingers push through his, and tucks herself into him. Their joined hands resting against her stomach as they take in their surroundings; the pristine white of the snow and the lush green of the trees, and the slivers of sun that attempt to sneak through thick, gray clouds. The air so fresh and crisp it burns their lungs; a welcome and refreshing pain after months of breathing in stale, hospital air and the combination of antiseptic, sickness, and cleaning solution.

And death. Lots of death.

Esme gives an excited bounce on her heels, then tilts her head back and beams up at him. “Isn’t it beautiful? Isn’t it PERFECT?!”

“Even better than the pictures. So what is this, Nik? A rental? Lease to own? It can’t be one of yours. This is slumming to you.”

“Consider it a gift. From Yaz and I. It’s the least we could do. Considering…” Her voice trails off; the wounds caused by Mahajan’s betrayal still raw and fresh. The failure to receive full payment pales in comparison to the real damage done; the heavy burden of both physical and mental trauma that the main players will carry with them for weeks and months. Maybe years.

Perhaps even forever.

“Did you bring my chickens?” He inquires, as they follow Nik and Yaz to the cabin; Esme offering what little support she can as she snakes an arm around his waist and places her free hand on his stomach. The queen of the ‘simple gesture’; desperately wanting and needing to help and someone finding even the tiniest and most mundane of ways to do it. And it feeds directly into her love language; an almost overwhelming desire to touch and BE touched. Starved of real love and genuine affection for so long that seeking it out has become a near obsession. And although he’s been touch starved for just as long and is still trying to adjust to her level of neediness, it’s an obsession that he’s more than willing to nurture.

Reaching into her jacket pocket, Nik fishes out the keys to the front door. “We ate them.”

“What about my dog?”

Yaz sets the suitcase on the porch and drops the duffle bag into one of the empty deck chairs. “We ate her too.”

“Jesus…” his sister grumbles. “...Yaz…”

“I’m kidding. She’s in the house.”

“So…” Tyler shifts his weight from one foot to the other, wincing at the pain that settles deep in the right knee. “... what are we supposed to do now?”

Esme shrugs. “Anything we want, I guess.”

“I mean, you could go on hikes. Learn to knit. Try to reach mindfulness,” Yaz suggests, then gives a small shrug. “You’re going to like it here. Alright, brother…” Lightly punching Tyler in the left shoulder, he turns to head for the car. “...I’ll send you that shirt!”

“Hold up!” Esme calls out, then gives Tyler’s side a squeeze before hurrying after her friend. “I forgot something!”

He watches her as she goes. The way those tiny feet shuffle through the snow and over the ice that lies below. The bottom of her ponytail, the ‘strings’ that dangle from the sides of her colourful wool beanie, and the pom-pom on top swaying and bouncing with every single step. And for a brief moment, panic and uneasiness set in; the irrational fear that she’s going to simply climb in the car and take off. Leaving him all alone in the middle of nowhere.

Even more tarnished and broken than when she’d found him. And he’s only moments away from chasing after her when Nik captures his attention, jamming the corner of a small cardboard box into his stomach.

“What’s this?”

“We packed up your house. That’s all we found. Your entire life fits inside one little box. Maybe it’s time to change that.”

“I’ve already started.” He glances toward Esme and Yaz as they linger by the rental. The latter teasing the former about her flushed cheeks and nose, Esme playfully scowling and pouting in response. Catching her friend off guard when she affectionately ruffles his hair and then scoops up handfuls of snow and shoves them down the front of both Yaz’ jacket and sweater. As the younger man squeals and squirms and attempts to flee, her infamous giggle floats in the air and causes a smile to tug at the corners of Tyler’s mouth. The noise high-pitched and childish, yet somehow the most amazing goddamn thing he’s ever heard. “Get back to me in a couple of months. I bet there won’t be enough boxes in the world.”

“Be good to her. Treat her right. She deserves that. Especially after she’s been through.”

“She does deserve it. I’m not going to fuck this up, Nik. I refuse to.”

“Good. Because she has put everything she is and everything she has into you. She’s trusting you with her whole heart. And if you hurt her…”

“Not gonna happen.”

“And be gentle with her. As strong as she’s been, there’s a traumatized and scared little girl in there who needs to feel safe. Protected. And most importantly, she needs to feel loved.”

“Is there where you threaten to break every bone in my body if I do her wrong?”

“No. It’s where I threaten to break your face.”

Smirking, he watches as Nik makes her way toward the car; Esme and Yaz already exchanging a final hug and kisses on the cheeks. “When will we see you again?”

Her eyes and smile are softer than usual, possessing a level of finality that hits hard and extremely deep. “When we all have something to celebrate.”

“You’re going to love it here!” Yaz reassures him. “Enjoy your retirement!”

That word again. Retirement. Something that seems so foreign to him. He’d spent decades relying on his brawn, strength, and the skills he’d developed both in the military and then on the job. And now here he is, about to embark on an entirely different path; his body bruised and broken and completely unreliable.

The snow crunches under the soles of Esme’s boots as she scurries over; leaning her back against his front as they watch their friends depart. A now mittened hand waving the entire time; until the car reaches the end of the drive, makes a sharp left, and disappears from sight.

Tyler sighs.

She tilts her head back and peers up at him, concern beginning to diminish the sparkle in her eyes. “You okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“It’s a big step. This is all really happening. You. Me. Us. It’s okay to admit you’re spooked.”

“Are YOU?”

“A little. What if you find out you don’t like me very much?”

“Not gonna happen.”

“I mean, it’s possible, you know. To love someone but not LIKE them.”

“Not gonna happen,” he sternly repeats, then leans down to peck the tip of her nose.

“Nik said she picked up some food. Enough to get us through a few days at least. That way we don’t have to rush; we don’t have to run into town right away and grab things. Are you hungry?”

“I could eat.”

“Let’s go and see what she picked out. And get a fire started. Did I forget to mention that it’s heated by a fireplace? I think I forgot to mention that.”

“Yeah, you did.”

“Let’s go. Before the cold really starts to set in. It can’t be making your knee and your shoulder feel very good. So let’s….”

He stops her when she attempts to step away. Capturing a tiny, mittened hand in one of his and drawing her tightly against him; his back and surgically repaired knee cracking when he leans down to kiss her. And when he pulls away, he takes a moment to take it all in; the redness to her cheeks, the freckles that grace the bridge of her nose, and the errant snowflakes that nestle in her lashes.

“You’re beautiful.”

Her smile returns. The one that causes her eyes to sparkle and dance. That he’d fallen in love with almost nine months ago. He’d never admit it, of course, the things that he’d been feeling and experiencing from day one. Not out of embarrassment or shame, but because he doesn’t quite understand it himself. How you can be so head over in heels, so damn fast.

“Come on,” she says, still holding his hand as she steps away. “Let’s go home.”

#Tyler and Esme series #Tyler Rake #Tyler Rake fanfic #Tyler Rake fan fiction #Extraction #Extraction 2 #Extraction fan fic #Extraction fan fiction #Chris Hemsworth #Tyler Rake x OFC #Esme Drummond #Esme Drummond-Rake #Nik Khan #Yaz Khan

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golden--doodler · 11 months

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Looook, it's me with another ask! Okay okay, three headcanons for each Belcher, go :D!

Headcanons about all of the Belchers from Moi? You keep spoiling me with these perfect, perfect asks!!! 😭

Okay, let's start with Bob. Talking more about Bob makes me so happy because I'm still sad about not including him as one of my favorite Belchers (Linda and Gene just called to me too strongly, though).

1.) This ties into my AU, but his hatred of Jimmy Pesto began when Jimmy Pesto made a snide remark about Linda, something he's never been able to let go of ever since. He definitely hyper-fixates on their rivalry, I think it's gotten to the point where he's even more invested than Jimmy himself. Jimmy doesn't even remember what he said, but Bob will never forget.

2.) While he will never pick favorites out of his kids, of course, his favorite kid when they were a baby was actually Gene, believe it or not. While it was a close second with Tina because she was so quiet and good, Gene was just such a wild baby that he actually found it quite entertaining. While there were some moments where that ended up making him extremely stressed (like when Gene ate a fern) his antics always made Bob laugh more than he'd care to admit. It kind of reminded him why he loved parenting in the first place.

3.) Whenever Bob becomes too stressed out or overstimulated, his favorite thing to do is to hide in the employee bathroom and read something while Linda and the kids take care of everything. We already know from "Ancient Misbehavin'" that Linda loves it whenever he reads, so she supports this wholeheartedly.

Onto Linda now! :D

1.) I touched on this in my comic prologue I posted a while back, but Linda and Gayle occasionally got taken to the beach when they were kids if Gloria had some sort of work business to take care of around there. They always loved it there and would always try to look for shells so they could hear the ocean, even though they were already at the beach and could already hear the ocean very well.

2.) She was actually not as much of a social butterfly during her school years as one might believe. She did find her crowd, especially Ginger, but a lot of people, unfortunately, thought she was too much, and didn't like it if she spontaneously burst into song or rambled about something she enjoyed. She also used to get teased a bit about her braces. This is why she related to Tina during "These Boots Are Made For Stalking" and had that whole speech about how Tina wasn't the only one who wanted to change herself to be seen as cool. These experiences actually led her to be a bit nervous about rambling in front of Bob when they first started dating, but he loves it whenever she goes off on her tangents, so she's very easily excitable in the present.

3.) Linda is the reason that they all know Teddy! This was before the kids were even born, and their sink was having major issues. She tried calling a couple of handymen other than Teddy, but none of them were available. She eventually found him, and he came over and was immediately won over by her presence. After he was done, he revealed that he hadn't eaten all day yet, and she had Bob make him a burger. The rest is history.

Now for my precious, awkward baby girl Tina.

1.) She's been doing her signature groaning for as long as she could remember. It's always been her way of (to quote Sadness from "Inside Out") "slowing down and obsessing over the weight of life's problems". She heard Bob making a similar noise when he was upset and she copied it. It just kind of stuck from then on.

2.) She's known Jimmy Jr. for a very, very long time, basically since they were in preschool. When they first met, he was really upset about being by himself, so she went up to him and asked him to play blocks with her. He agreed, and it got his mind off his homesickness. He still remembers that day, though if asked, he will deny it. Tina treasures that memory a lot.

3.) Her first boy crush was actually on a member of Boyz 4 Now, much like Louise. She's known about the band for a long time, and the first time she stumbled across them, she was completely enthralled by Griffin. She hasn't stopped loving this band and boys ever since that day. Griffin is still her favorite member.

It's Gene time!

1.) The first piece of music Gene ever made on his keyboard was abysmally bad (to be fair, he was very young when he first got it) but his family, especially Linda, acted as if it was incredible and the best thing in the world. This boosted his confidence enough to continue playing around with his keyboard and realize how much he enjoyed creating music, and he got a lot better! It says a lot when he was able to eventually make things like "Electric Love" and "Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl".

2.) He actually really enjoys movies, a trait he got from Bob. It's why he was so excited to stage a "Die Hard" musical in the first place and why he got excited about that one Western movie during the first season, and why he keeps making random film references (like when he said "you can't handle the tooth" in the movie). He's actually wondered if having a career doing film scores would be fun, but he's still pretty deadset on wanting to be in some sort of band because he loves "The Itty Bitty Ditty Committee" so much.

3.) He enjoys putting on dresses a lot and used to wear Linda's, but they're way too big on him. Now, he tries wearing some of Tina's, though they are still slightly large on him. He thinks they're way prettier and more comfortable than men's formal wear, and they give him gender euphoria :D However, he has yet to wear any in public. His favorite feminine thing to wear are ballet outfits, and he apparently canonically used to take ballet lessons at some point.

Last but certainly not least, Louise!

1.) Louise actually respects Linda, more than she will ever admit. She's super curious about Linda's early years, especially because how Linda has said that she did things like set fires. Louise desperately wants to hear more context behind these random anecdotes. She also admittedly thinks it's pretty cool how Linda sprung her out of detention for ice cream that one time.

2.) She met Regular Sized Rudy when they were really young, around preschool or kindergarten. He was the only person who actually approached her, and didn't mind when she started going on about the random tricks she wanted to pull on other students. She didn't go through with most of them, but they did steal another kid's crackers during snack time together. He was the first one to ever compliment her ears.

3.) She first got Kuchi Kopi because as a toddler, she was pretty fussy and didn't like sleeping through the night or taking baths. She would regularly sneak into Bob and Linda's room to sleep because she didn't like being alone. However, when presented with the night light for the first time, she got super enthralled, and Bob and Linda thought of it as a miracle. They were super exhausted at that point, and seeing her so calm was incredible to them. But the best night's sleep she would ever get was snuggling with her parents with the night light (she definitely didn't like sleeping alone when she was young).

I could probably go on but here are some of my headcanons! I hope this was fun to read because I had a lot of fun with this.

#bobs burgers #belcher family #thank you so so much for this!!!#this was so much fun to do oh my lord #i love this crazy lovely family and i'm so happy i got an excuse to ramble about them #also i checked the wiki after writing most of this and apparently it's actually canon that griffin is tina's favorite boyz 4 now member #asks

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iosagol · 1 month

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finished Ragnarok, feeling very warm and happy

so I hated the way Fjord's character was basically just a copy of Vidar for no discernable reason for over half the series, poor boy's entire set of complex ideals and history were all slam dunked into a gutter the moment the funeral somehow switched his entire brain chemistry

were the giants inconsistent in their characterization and intelligence levels, sure

did I dislike Magne basically being Smeagol for most of season 3, yeah

but aside from those three things

Wow I really really love this show

I heard a lot of complaints that there weren't big battle scenes but idk I'm not a battle scene child so I didn't care :)) I was so happy to have a show full of hiking in mountains and cooking in kitchens and going to the Edda Grill, with plenty of character-centric work all the time always

I loved how normal everything felt. The Seier's house looked like my aunt's house. The clothes the middle class characters wore all looked worn and pretty common, I could probably find their clothes in a thrift store.

All the small quirky things were so gooddddd

I love Magne's 24/7 facial expression of complete and utter "No thoughts, what the hell is happening to me, I'm so done with this life" except for the times when he's accidentally knocking over trees and playing catch with his own hammer and then he smiles so much :D Love how he's the mid guy at school, a virgin, nearsighted, internally panicking always and forever. He had some very interesting arcs and asked a lot of interesting questions. Looks like the brother of a friend of mine. Very chill person.

Laurits is such a joy, of course. Head over heels for him watching Finding Nemo twice to cope with Fjor abusing his tapeworm child, having a crying fit while making soup and blaming it on the onions, shopping for boots on Amazon + saying he's busy, and casually working as a double agent between the gods and giants for over a year to earn money so he can feed his child. Beautiful man, beautiful attitude, convinced me to start using mascara.

Jens grew on me. I was kind of annoyed about him while Laurits was just pining over him, but he redeemed himself being the only living creature with a braincell in season 3 and staying sane despite all the insane drama and his boyfriend having a massive scary tapeworm child <33

I love the women of this show and how they're all very beautiful but they're not hypersexualized or dumbed down like women are in the Thor movies in Marvel.

Turid made me think about my own relationship with my mom, 10/10 most complex mother I've seen depicted in media. Love how she comes across as both so worn/tired and so loving/caring. I loved her acting. Beautiful performance from her.

Saxa was very hard to read, I think. Her motivations were all over the place and I could never tell whether to pity her or hate her. But I liked how unpredictable she was, I really did. It was a lot of fun to watch her switch around, and it made sense for her character since she has a lack of emotions. She gave Azula vibes quite a bit.

I was always happy to see Iman onscreen <33 A cute, fun, silly girl who likes to flirt but isn't an idiot? Who wins fights by being precise and conserving her energy? Who uses her powers to get things for free and squeals happily about it? Got so excited that her friend could lift her up and down with one hand? She's either Batman or Robin? A gem. A real gem.

And Isolde. I'm sad she died because she was my favorite character up until then, loved her snark and loved that there was a super chill fun friendship there, but she kind of became the beating heart of the show when she died. Loved that she was this underlying reason to keep pushing forward and advocating for change.

Vidar was super funny to me because he was all fun and horny games when Magne was just learning his powers but then Magne killed Vidar's dog and that man actually ripped off his clothes and swore vengeance on the house of Thor and lost his tiny brain in a split second, he's the funniest man of all time

Ran... I don't know. She didn't really resonate with me at any point? I liked the way she always shifted in the giant family, adopting whatever mindset would keep her family together at all costs. Very much a bitch though :) I really like the Ran Jutul who gave that awesome speech, she was so cool ;D

Erik looked better with a beard, that's all I'm saying, are you really a Norwegian man if you don't grow a red beard fr

I vastly enjoyed that entire thing of "Norse mythology wouldn't work in the modern age because it's all fighting and killing and that's not allowed now" and the show literally was the exact reversal of that, it was all strategy and scheming and laying down weapons :D

The cinematography was remarkably fresh, it felt like it was actually trying to be engaging and interesting. Loved the lighting choices at all times, loved the nature shots, loved the minimal usage of CGI

This show made me get into researching climate change and I'm really grateful for that too

Really intrigued by the negative stance it took towards big corporations manhandling citizens' lives, felt dystopian in an extremely down to earth way

Loved the twists and adaptation choices

THE SOUND TRACK

The SONGS

Love the music to hel and back fr

Loved the finale since I interpreted it as Magne just reconsidering how the final battle could have gone, overcoming his trauma, and moving on from the fight for good.

4.67 stars out of 5. :))

#ragnarok netflix #Magne seier #laurits seier #Turid seier #fjor jutul #Saxa jutul

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eclipsethemagic · 2 months

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Rain |JJK|

Summary: Jungkook loves you, he really does. Loving you comes a price every time y'all are together.

Rating: M

Warning: there isn’t really any warnings.

⭐️Masterlist ⭐️Jungkook Masterlist

He was the one who choose his career before you and done it time to time, again and again. Here he is, outside your house building up the courage to knock on the door. He got back this morning and didn't tell you he did. The last words you told him was that he could forget about you and never come back. Well you said it more harsher then that but Jungkook didn't wanna repeat the words.

The rain pours harder as Jungkook gets out the car, his hood on his head. Running to the porch his heart beats faster and faster. "This is it." He mumbles to himself. He lifts his fist to the door, knocking three times against the red wooden door. Jungkook stands there, the rain behind him hitting the ground peacefully. The door unlocks before opening up. You stand there, in one of his black hoodies with white running shorts on. Fluffy brown socks on your tiny feet compared to his.

Y'all both stand there not really saying a word. His dark brown eyes look so soft compared to yours. You sigh and move to the side. "Come in." Soft but stubble. Jungkook noticed every since y'all been together you been that way. Soft but stubble. He walks in, taking off his black army boots and sit them besides all of your shoes.

"What are you doing here?" She ask after shutting the door behind her. Jungkook shrugs. Why is he here? He didn't notice he was outside her house until he seen her black car that is always parked in front of the driveway. A car he got her for her birthday when they was both 19. The money he saved up for her. Everything that was in this house, he got her. When she was 21 he got her the house, well they both put money in it but Jungkook did most of the work. He took care of her and handled everything while her mom was sick. "We need to talk." Jungkook says and looks back up at her eyes. Them soft orbs he missed so much. "There's nothing to talk about. You choose what you choose remember?" Jungkook remembers, he remembers perfectly that night. All he can hear her say was that he left her. Which isn't true. "What the fuck do you want me to do?" He ask her. She sighs and shrugs.

"There's nothing for me to do. It's my FUCKING job."

"And I'm your girlfriend!"

"Oh so now you're my girlfriend? You finally wanna put a title on us." His words stuck her heart. Tears form her eyes leaving her vision blurry. "I'm sorry." She mumbles and sniffles letting the tears fall. She didn't mean to hurt him. All she wanted was for him to say home, that's all she really asked for him. The rain pours harder outside, Jungkook hands are balled up beside him. A sob escapes his lips as his eyes close. His heart breaking as he sees the flashbacks from his brain.

All the memories flowing through him, all the times he cried, begging her to understand. The endless fighting he never wanted. "All I want you to do is understand me! Why can't you understand that I'm doing this for you!? For me! For us!" He screams finally looking at her. "I never wanted this kook...I just wanted my boyfriend." She whispers and wipes her eyes. "And I wanted my girlfriend to understand me."

"I do!"

"No you fucking don't. And I know you don't. You see this?" He points at himself and her. "Every time we try to communicate what happens? We fight. Have sex right after and I fucking leave." His voice low the raw emotions that flood his mouth. "Do you really want that to happen every time? Do you?" You don't answer, which makes jungkook nod and walk pass you reaching the door handle.

"No! Please kookie." She reaches for the back of his hoodie. Jungkook puts his forehead on the door. She sobs, it hurts him. It hurts to know that he's the one making her cry, it hurts him that they both suffering. "Please." She begs him. He lets out that final cry before going open the door. "I need time." She let's go of him and breaks down finally letting out all her emotions. Jungkook keeps going, him too crying as he gets to the car.

Somethings just ain't meant for them. And loving her isn't one of them.

#bts fanfction #bts #kpop #jungkook #oneshots #angst #jungkook hard thoughts

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sparklecryptid · 1 year

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lols, who realizes Anordil has no idea that the other two have been under the impression that the THREE of them were courting first? Like, THEY'VE EXCHANGED GIFTS probably?

Oh wait, waitwaitwait, Anordil left with her mother when she was still a child, right? And like, she was barely an adult when her mother left, and post apocalyptic Beleriand was a nightmare so some talks might not have been had amid survival. And her Ada is, well, kind of nuts for a very long time, so not someone Anordil probably considers asking about this stuff.

Is- is she perhaps missing some key points of Elven social culture? Like, she has memories of Tolkien, and presumably at least skimmed the deeper lore like LACE? So she has vague memories of Elven society being one way, when in reality Tolkien got the broad strokes right but also surely made up bits to fit his own cultural upbringing.

Intellectually she knows not everything matches up, given she's helping two male elves get together and has possibly had lovers of her own here and there (MOAR angst bc her past lovers FORGOT her bc she's the 52 Hertz elf) and knows the 'sex is marriage to elves' thing is phooey, but she has no idea the emotional INTENT behind some of whats been going on between the three of them is in any way COURTING.

Erestor: Is this on us? Were we not clear? I gave her that lovely blank book. She gave me those three inkstones from the east and you that lovely tooled utensil pouch. You gave her BOOTS!

Glorfindel: I thought the new boots were overkill even. Naneth would have twisted my ear for being so forward if I'd done that in Valinor! (Note: Boots would ABSOLUTELY be like a stage three courting gift normally, stage two at the earliest. Shoes of any kind are hard to make, require precise fitting, and a skilled craftsperson. Glorfindel, if he didn't make them himself, would have dropped a LOT of coin on them. But Anordil has traveled so much, so hers were probably worn, and he'd seen her trying to fix the unmendable wear in them so-)

So like, maybe Elrond and Celebrian watches this and do a little math, and it slowly dawns on them that Anordil is MISSING CONTEXT. Oh, dear, they're going to have to have a TALK with her when she gets back, aren't they. Elrond is going to have to explain noldor social moors to his older sister. (Celebrian: It will be lovely practice for the twins one day? XD)

(*facepalm* I meant this to just be a jokey two paragraph thing but my brain must WORLDBUILD. It would not stop going, "wait and what about-" as I typed! Ugh, sorry!)

no that's exactly it! Anordil ~~logically~~ knows that she is missing bits of culture that she /should/ know considering who her parents are and what she is it's just-

her mother never really had time to teach her about things like 'courting 101' amidst the whole 'we are on the precipice of morgoth killing us all' and 'oh. the land is literally sinking beneath our feet as armies fight it out. okay' thing and anordil never gave it too much thought so she just sorta shrugged and went on with life!

and all of her other brief encounters with what could be called lovers were over in less than two years (most of them were with Men, but there was that one very cute dwarf lady that Anordil had a lot of fun with. there were a few elves too, but she always left or broke things off before they got too serious)

Anordil: *Comes back a year later* i have gifts!!! :D this is for the twins and this is for arwen and this is for elrond and this is for celebrian. and OH i got a pretty quill from a scribe for erestor and glorfindel has a new hair clip for reasons-

Elrond: you do know the gifts they gave you were courting gifts right?

Anordil: *drops erestors quill back on the table where she was showing off her haul to Elrond*...thats a thing?

Elrond: yes. its a thing.

Anordil: *error local elf does not believe that anyone would want to seriously court her let alone the two people shes had eyes on error*

#anordil has a case of low self esteem from being the 52 hertz elf #she does not BELIEVE that they would want her so the fact that they were trying to court her breaks her brain a bit #the light of dawn verse

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comfort-questing · 1 year

Text

28. "you're safe now"

I helped them out!

---

the morning might have come somewhere above them, but there wasn't any sign of it in the depths of the prisons; she had rested his head on her lap at first and then huddled next to him on the ground to keep both of them warm, the heat of his fever making that an easy task enough. he'd murmured to her now and again throughout the night, names that weren't hers and fragments of conversations without key or context, but calmed at her whispered reassurances. she had the dubious gift of consciousness, and awareness of their whole predicament.

whether the Lady would miss her at this point she didn't know. she'd gone missing before, although rarely enough overnight, and never to the prisons yet. someone would know she was gone - Clarinne definitely, but her bunkmate had never been one to interfere, being too busy with her own clandestine matters.

and in any case, what difference would that make? her bravado-filled statements to the guard the previous night were all empty air, really. her ladyship wouldn't brave her husband's displeasure to protect a silly, willful lady-in-waiting who'd gone soft for a rebel.

so she clutched his hand, the man whose name she didn't even know, whose life she'd defended for at least a few more hours at the cost of her freedom, and waited.

when the echo of booted footsteps on the stairway roused her from her half-drowse, she clenched her teeth and prayed wordlessly under her breath, unsure what even to be hoping for. certainly the uniformed guard that came into sight, lit by a single candle in their hand, wasn't any reassurance, although the light didn't reach to show the expression on their face.

"Zavi?" the guard said, just low enough to be a whisper.

the prisoner startled, restlessly, eyelids fluttering for an instant, whether at the light or the word she couldn't tell.

"thought it'd just be him," the guard said, or the person in the guard uniform anyway. they knelt down by the bars, taking out a small file to begin work on the door hinge. "but anyway having another one in the cell makes a good alibi. Vern will just be in trouble for throwing you in here without searching you first, and of course you're the one who brought the stuff..."

every inch of her, taut with fear, now began to relax into trembling. "who are you?" she asked.

"that's not important. a friend of Zavi's, anyway, and sounds like you're a friend of his too, one way or the other." the file must have been well-made, or the hinge just old, because its rasp was already growing shriller. "and having someone else will be a help because I think he'll need to be carried, from the look of him."

"yes. he's ill. the wound on his shoulder is infected. I've - been doing what I can."

the person in the guard uniform nodded, curtly. "of course. any particular reason why?"

"because I've seen too many nasty things happen in this palace and I just couldn't let one more. you know. it's silly, but - I had to."

it sounded silly, childish when she said it that way; but the other didn't laugh, and only nodded again, and went back to filing at the hinge.

---

despite everything, it was early gray dawn when the three of them left the palace by one of the back doors, losing themselves quickly in the haze of the shadowy hedges. their benefactor had her blindfolded then, and spun her around a few times as she staggered, dizzy; then hurrying down hidden lanes, and over dirt and grass and dirt again, and a creaky door opening.

"here's Zavi and - and a friend. she was helping him in there, and they caught her too."

then the blindfold pulled off, and a collection of motley folk in what looked like an abandoned barn of some sort, two of them already hurrying to take Zavi from the erstwhile guard's back, and one to approach her, saying gravely:

"don't worry, miss. you're safe now."

and as she sank to the floor, knees weak with delayed panic, she realized blankly she had completely destroyed whatever she'd meant to be doing with herself - but there would be something new presently, no doubt, and there would be time to figure out what it was. and for now she was tired, and the straw below her was soft as the man led her to a place by the side wall, so she let sleep take her.

#whump #hurt comfort #febuwhumpday28 #febuwhump #that's a wrap #and now i will sleep myself and continue to nurse my dumb cold

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latibvles · 2 years

Text

SAD, BEAUTIFUL, TRAGIC.

beautiful, tragic. // ronnie and the olive tree.

in which a hand is taken, an olive branch offered.

masterlist | gallery | taglist

TAGLIST: @liebgotts-lovergirl , @monalisastwin , @softguarnere

WARNINGS: brief discussions of war crimes ( killing medical personnel ) , period-typical sexism , ostracization. not all soldiers are feminist kings :/

SUMMARY: two days of parties are one hell of a way to kick off their return from France. Although a pot is definitely stirred at the Officer's Party at Littlecote.

DEDICATIONS: to my sweet Dove — watching you catch up on this fic was not only a RIDE, but a great motivator. I love you very much <3 and a special thank you to @mercurygray for listening to me breakdown this ordeal to its bare bones. such an amazing writer and a kind soul truly <3

At the end of the day — the military was still a job.

It had its ways of reminding its members of that. The check that comes in every month — of which Daisy always sends half home to her mother, because it’s her mother’s insistence that she doesn’t send the full thing — is a more pleasant reminder. However there were other, much more frustrating reminders. The military was a job — which meant that no matter how many people they saved, how many boys would make it home at the end of this thanks to the women at work; the powers that be would always find a way to make it seem as though she and many others didn’t belong.

They’d only just started making what the male officers made thanks to Colonel Blanchfield’s pushing in the States. Upon a very lengthy and detailed report written up by Ginny and a few other head nurses — they’d slowly been able to wear trousers in the field, which was much more practical (and even then, not everyone had received the new uniform). Beyond the obvious power imbalances, they also had their subtler ways of reminding them that the military is a job, and a woman’s place is still at home.

She tries to ignore the scrutinizing stares as she leans into the conversation Ginny’s having with the Head Surgeon from the 42nd — they hadn’t seen him since they departed for Carentan in June. Thankfully, all seems to be going smoothly now that their own nurses are settled in, which was always good to hear.

Daisy smooths out the front of her dress — a dark velvet red number that she probably wouldn’t have worn without Patty’s insistence — smiles and laughs when they crack their jokes even if she hasn’t been listening to everything being said.

The celebrations began a little bit after they made it back to England. Just last night the ANC had a smaller ceremony commending them for their duties on D-Day, which preceded a larger regimental award ceremony and parade for the Airbourne. There’d been a lively party, an airshow, Rita had been giggly and drunk as they made their way back to her billet to tuck her in.

Tonight is a more formal, intimate affair at Littlecote House for the officers. Men and women in dress greens and party dresses are sprawled out across the expansive lawn of the estate — round tables with white cloths and chairs laid about, dinner served and wine glasses and pints of beer filled as people mingled and danced.

At home, Daisy never minded a party. Here — she kind of does.

The muttering of officers who are little more than Battalion pencil pushers sours her mood just enough for her to really pick up on it. It always seemed that the officers who did the least had the most to say about women holding any type of rank. The ones who earned their place through merit in the field had no qualms about a woman’s presence — or rather, if they did, they kept it to themselves. The ones who likely hadn’t held a gun since boot camp, however, loved to sneer and scrunch their noses with reckless abandon.

If she was feeling particularly impulsive, or if she were drunk, she’d probably return the malicious look with a glare of her own.

She refocuses her attention on the woman and man at her table, listens in on their conversation.

“I hear that some of the Germans are shooting medics now,” Ginny starts out. “They’ve been talking in circles about what to do about all that. The answer to it’s right there, it’s not nearly as complicated as they think.” The surgeon simply chuckles.

“That so, Brant? And what answer is that?” The blonde lets out a huff, frustration escaping with each breath she takes.

“There’s no reason why a woman can’t be a combat medic. They don’t want us shooting guns and blowing things up? Fine by me. But I think it’s really close-minded that they’d rather retrain a completely new man from scratch than let an experienced nurse into the field.”

Ginny’s gaze shifts over to Daisy, who’s simply nodding along. Their unit had become something of a unique case — they initially belonged to 128th Evacuation Hospital; new additions to an esteemed 42nd Surgical Hospital that once served in North Africa. However, in the aftermath of Normandy, it seemed now that some of them wouldn’t be remaining with the Hospital after all.

The surgeon also turns to look at her, and it’s only then that she realizes they want her input on the subject.

“I don’t… think it’s a bad idea,” Daisy starts out, taking her lip between her teeth for a moment. “But they didn’t even want nurses as full-fledged officers until a couple years ago. I wouldn’t mind doing it myself — but I guess it all depends on where the brass stands with it,” leaning forward slightly, she wipes her palms on her dress, then cracks a smile. “But I’m also not too crazy about those six-button flies the men have to wear, so I could do without ‘em.” This garners a laugh from the two, and thankfully she’s now out of the hot seat.

They continue their discussion and Daisy wrings her hands as her gaze shifts to the dance floor where Patty seems to be giggling at something her partner is saying to her — another officer Daisy doesn’t recognize, but so long as her friend doesn’t seem off put then that’s fine by her.

Rita’s notable absence, however, does rub her the wrong way — and she rises from her feet to solve that question, with a quick ‘I’ll be back’ leaving her lips as she does so. The last she’d seen, the woman had been talking with another officer she didn’t know all that well — 2nd Lieutenant Walker, who Rita had introduced as another transfer from the North Africa campaign, the rest of them meeting him at yesterday’s airshow. She wasn’t sure what to make of him.

Daisy moves through the several guests, and finds herself walking into the estate itself. Here, there are notably more men about — she can tell from the distinct deep-voiced clamor and the sea of drab olive. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that most people here want to talk about the war but also don’t, based on how they dance around discussions of Operation ‘Overlord’ and its success, wanting to know what comes next but also not wanting to know. She doesn’t blame them for their curiosity.

She finds Walker first — which isn’t hard because the Lieutenant is obscenely tall and that was one of the few things she remembered about him from the day prior. Before she can call his attention, a man he’s speaking to nods his head at her, narrows his eyes, and Walker turns around. The first thing she notices is the bright red handprint on his cheek. Daisy tries not to cringe.

“Ah… Miss… Clarke was it? Diana’s friend?” he asks slowly, as if Daisy’s going to reach up to smack him next. Depending on his words — she just might. He likely knows that she hates being called Diana. Everybody does.

“Yeah, Rita’s friend,” Daisy can’t pry her eyes away from the handmark. “Where is she? By the way?” There’s a small rumble of chuckles from the other two men that she desperately wants to tune out, but she can’t turn off her ears.

“Probably getting a drink,” his fingers creep up to caress his own cheek, and he says it so dismissively that she’s inclined to believe him — because if he said something to provoke that reaction, then a drink is more than likely her next possible step. Daisy smooths out her dress once more, fixing her gaze on Walker’s eyes. “Please, don’t worry about me, Nurse.” She isn’t sure if that’s meant to be patronizing or not. It sounds patronizing.

“I definitely wasn’t,” Daisy retorts with furrowed brows. Given the expressions of the two men behind him — eyes narrowed, noses scrunched, their gazes fixed on her — and of course, knowing how her friend is, she can come to a pretty safe conclusion that whatever he said probably warranted a slap. Possibly much worse. Still, she has to ask. “Dare I ask why you even got… that?”

“Are you hoping to give me a matching one on the other cheek?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” But I wouldn’t be opposed, either, she adds silently. Daisy stares at him intently, biting the inside of her cheek to retain her nerve, and he meets her gaze. For a second, they stare, and Daisy almost feels like she’s caught in one of those “barroom brawls” from the Westerns that James dragged her out to see when he had spending-money. Who’s going to be the quicker draw? He narrows his eyes, she raises her brows. He takes in a breath.

“Nothing that wasn’t true, Miss Clarke,” Daisy’s never cared much for her rank, but the lack of it is more noticeable coming from his mouth. More chuckling, she can only hope her cheeks don’t flush from her own irritation. This is a battle she can’t win — not on her own, anyway. She doesn’t entertain Walker with a goodbye, making her way towards the parlor room they’d fashioned into a bar. She only takes a brief glance inside, sees Rita amongst other women, and knowing that her friend was safe, she decides to simply remove herself from the mingling until her face cools off.

Bitter remarks didn’t need to fall from a man’s lips like prayer in order for them to belittle the women surrounding them. The chuckling and narrowed eyes and exchanged looks were like a pack tactic — a subtle reminder of us and them, if she’s ever seen one. Her parents taught her that respect came in many forms, and it didn’t take long for her to learn that that was equally as applicable towards disrespect. The notion makes a knot form at the base of her skull, a dull ache as Daisy fingers herself walking a bit away from the party on the lawn, pressing herself against the cold stone.

She reaches in the small purse, also bought alongside the dress. She clicks her tongue in disapproval. Speirs still had her lighter, which meant nothing to fidget with. Or light a cigarette with. Or both. Regardless, she actually needed it back, and she didn’t see him inside with the other men — so Daisy takes to looking around in hopes she’d be able to pick him out.

To her recollection, he never hated parties either. At least, not the ones she’d seen him go to. James had always been the more extroverted of the two — but Ronnie never looked too out of sorts in the passenger seat of her brother’s car. The ones that she’d been at were usually family parties and block parties if that was anything to go off of either. Her eyes scan the lawn, the officers, she even dares to look over at the dancing couples at the heart of it all — but doesn’t see his face amongst the people. So she wanders, looking at the people lingering on the edges of the party.

She has to pause for a moment when she sees him.

He’s smiling — a far cry from the pensive and hurt expressions she’s seen him don in nearly all of their interactions. Hair neatly parted and gelled, ribbons pinned on the front of his jacket, cigarette burning between two fingers as he talks to another man. He’s handsome and she wants to scorn her own cheeks, because if they weren’t flushed before, they certainly are now. Daisy seriously contemplates forgetting about the lighter all together, but Speirs looks up and spots her.

It’s a brief second where they stare at one another before he looks away again — and eventually whoever he’s talking to excuses himself. In turn, she approaches — unsure if it’s willing or some force compelling her forward. He stands by one of the outer tables on the edges of the setup, not entirely detached, but enough for a moment of reprieve from lightly-covered war talks.

“Thought I’d find you here.” Speirs’ brows rise a bit, and she watches as he taps some of the ash off the end of his cigarette.

“That so?” he sounds the slightest bit amused — and she can only assume the mirth in his voice is from whatever conversation he had prior. She shrugs, moving to stand beside him. From this spot, there’s a clear view of the stairs leading into the house, the band, the people mingling. An almost perfect people-watching spot. She’d even call it strategic. Even when the party is, technically, for him, he’s still acting like some kind of presence rather than someone who takes up space himself.

“You did the same thing at Mrs. O’Reily’s last block party. There’s just no hot dogs this time and we aren’t being terrorized by small children.” His shoulders shake in what she knows now, is certainly a quiet chuckle.

Besides their brief moment of… solidarity on the ship to Southampton, they still hadn’t exactly become buddy-buddy. It was starting to feel like they just didn’t know how to be. There were lighthouses all along the shore — brief moments of understanding in the midst of muddled and messy conversation — so far, they’d evaded the rocks, narrowly at that, but where the hell were they supposed to dock?

“So what would you call the people here then?”

“Big children.”

He laughs again.

Lighter long forgotten, her hand drifts to her handbag once again, as she looks out, fingers creeping into its opening. She tilts her head to look at him fully, takes a sharp breath as her fingers meet the smooth texture of the photograph.

“Thanks again for the letter, and uh… you know… I figured you might…” Speirs turns and looks at her and for the first time in her sixteen years of knowing him, she almost flounders under the intensity of his gaze. It’s not like she hasn’t held his full attention before. He always gave his full attention to anyone who spoke to him. Didn’t matter if it was an old man, a girl, or a little kid pestering him at a block party. Her fingers curl around the photograph a little tighter in hopes to not lose her nerve. “Well, my mom sent me this with the mail and she thought you might want to see it too,”

“Your mom knows I’m—”

“More like she was hoping. And she likes to assume. Lucky guess.” Daisy pulls out the photograph, holding it out to him. Tentatively, Speirs takes it and looks it over. She focuses less on the photograph itself, and moreso on his expression. Something softens — the corners of his mouth, brows raising in a way that’s undeniably boyish. Familiar. Like Ronnie. Something in her aches at the familiarity of it, and selfishly, she wishes he would wear such an expression all the time. It’s almost cruel — wishing he were soft when the world around them demands everyone to be hardened, at least to some degree.

“Y’know he actually got me to have a drink at that party,” Speirs recalls aloud, looking at her. Daisy’s brows shoot up, but before she can make some sort of teasing remark, he immediately adds, “a drink, I was still walking in my house myself.” She smiles and nods and folds her hands neatly in front of her.

“I just remember waiting up all night ‘cause you two were gonna tell me about it, and then fell asleep since you took forever.”

“You can blame your brother for that, not me.”

“Are you trying to pit me against my own sibling?” Daisy intentionally shifts her tone to one of mock offense. He rolls his eyes, scoffing under his breath.

“To save myself from your earful? Damn right I am.”

She laughs in a way she hasn’t in quite some time — nostalgia floods her being at the sound of her own amusement. It comes effortlessly, just like it used to, and for a moment they’re not preparing to go back into a combat theater. They’re at some fancy party, laughing and people-watching. If she didn’t know any better, she’d half-expect to see her mother and brother dancing a few feet away to a crackling radio rather than a band in full swing. After a moment, she watches as Ronnie extends his hand again to give it back to her. She immediately puts up her own hand to deny him.

“Keep it.”

He quirks a brow at her, questioningly.

“After all this… they’ll probably send me back to France, or maybe somewhere else. Another hospital. I dunno. Wherever it is — we might not uh… see each other for a while. Maybe we will. I don’t know,” her gaze lingers on the photograph a moment longer. She couldn’t pretend he didn’t exist. But it didn’t mean that they were back to… whatever it was before — nothing had been sealed with that kiss on the cheek, with that helplessness as the train took him away. “So in case we don’t, just keep it. I write to her all the time anyway.”

Ronnie looks at it, and then back to her. She watches as he slips the photo into his jacket pocket with a tentative nod, and for a moment there’s a lapse of silence between them. Daisy can’t look away from him.

“...and I’m sorry,” his brows furrow — but not in the way that would show he was upset. “Regardless of reason, I shouldn’t have iced you out like that when we met up. It’s not fair to you. It was…” Daisy furrows her brows now, attempting to come up with a better word. No dice. “...mean. I’m sorry for that. I still want to be your friend I just…” she bites the inside of her cheek for a moment, looking away from him. “That’s for you to decide. I don’t know. But I owe you that much.”

She doesn’t know what his expression may hold, but it feels like an entire minute passes — Daisy swears she may have drawn blood from her own cheek biting before the man beside her speaks again.

“It’s okay, Dais,” another pause. She feels the back of his hand bump hers, and turns to look at him. “We’re okay. But thank you for that and for this.”

There’s sincerity in it — which she concludes from his gesture more so than his face, which has resteeled into its neutral expression.

“No need to thank me,” Daisy smiles at him, soft and what she can only hope is reassuring.

“Hey! Sparky! Get over here!”

Ronnie flinches at the voice, before smiling once again, although he looks mildly bewildered. Daisy can’t help but giggle as there’s another drawn out, almost melodic “Sparky Speeeeiiiirs!” coming from somewhere on the lawn.

“Sparky?” She questions, and he narrows his eyes halfheartedly.

“Don’t you start now,” Ronnie’s warning is hardly anything, so she just giggles again. His head turns to the officer beckoning him, then back to her. “Will I see you again? In England, at least?”

Daisy pauses and presses her lips into a thin line. She won’t give him a false promise. The uncertainty is glaring both of them in the face, presently.

“I hope so.” she decides on, and that seems to be enough for him. He gives her a curt nod, and then turns on his heel, moving towards the person beckoning for his attention.

She can’t help but feel a little helpless again, watching him go.

#band of brothers #fic // sad beautiful tragic #ronald speirs #hbo war #ron speirs #band of brothers fic #hbo war fic #ron speirs x reader #ronald speirs x oc #world war ii

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