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opticfile · 10 months

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𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝

✧ super long wait i know :( i ended up rewriting the entire think 2k words in </3 i hope its worth it i didn't expect to get 500 votes in that poll!!

—✦ 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 // you were childhood friends with Alhaitham, but what went wrong along the way? after you having a falling out and move away, you reunite in adulthood and conflicting feelings envelop your life

—✦ 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 // Alhaitham

—✦ 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 // use of she/her pronouns, parental issues, divorce, unrequited love, weak attempt at angst, jealousy, alcohol, alhaitham being a jerk

5.9k words

You were seven when you met Alhaitham.

You stuck out your hand to him with a wide grin, bandages over your knees and bruises littering your shins from playing a little too rough. You were bright-eyed and excited to meet a new friend.

Alhaitham was different.

You didn’t know what to think of him. Perhaps the word for it is reserved, but in your little seven-year-old mind you just thought he was plain weird. He tilted his head at you and analyzed you before returning the handshake, and maybe he didn't know what to think of you either. You were only befriending him because he looked lonely reading that silly-looking book of his, you were doing him a favor.

“I’m Y/n!”

“I’m Alhaitham.” He furrowed his brows, “You’re a bit loud.”

You huffed, “I’m just me.”

He seemed to like your answer, and little eight-year-old Alhaitham smiled just the slightest bit.

“Well, then I guess that’s good.”

“Yup! So do you wanna play?” You rocked on your feet.

“I’m busy.” He gestured to his book.

“But books are boring,” You scrunched your nose, “we can play hide and seek instead.”

“...Okay, sure.”

You were hooked. Your interest was piqued and all of a sudden this weird boy was fascinating to you, you wanted to know everything about him. You trailed behind him and giggled at the things he said when he sounded funny and asked him stacks of questions that made him sigh. You were irreversibly obsessed with the boy.

You followed him around when he was on walks and dragged him along with you when he wasn’t. Alhaitham let you, too, he tolerated your noisiness and enjoyed your silliness, and was happy with it. You were thick as thieves, you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I’m taller than you, ya know.” You snickered, using your hand to measure your height but maybe your hand was a little unstable and made you think you were 4 inches taller than you were.

“What? No way, I’m definitely taller.” Alhaitham did his best to look down on you, or at least as far down as someone can look on a person the same height as them.

“Nuh-uh!” You said, “I bet I’m faster too!”

You raced Alhaitham and you don't remember who won. But you do remember the way you laid down in the grass and your chest heaved, and the way that sweat beaded at Alhaitham’s hairline as he grinned at you. Maybe another silly argument ensued about who won, a childish one that had no right or wrong, just the contrary nature of two kids being kids.

You remember poking around in rivers and little caves—the ones you were always too scared to go into but would shout into and listen for the echo—with him by your side. Perhaps he wasn’t the same as you, or maybe your interests didn't quite align, but that kind of thing doesn’t stop kids from being kids together. So while he read his books and pondered the biggest question a child can comprehend, you played in the mud and made bracelets out of flowers.

That year, you brought Alhaitham to your home for dinner one night. You had made this mud pie in the river and it was getting late, you asked him if he wanted to come eat at your house, and he nodded without hesitation. You ran up the path to your father who was sitting on the steps outside your house and handed him your mud pie with a smile, and he beamed down at you.

“Aren’t you quite the baker?” Your father kissed your hairline.

“Yup!”

“Who’s this little boy?” Your mother asked warmly, leaning the broom she was using against the house.

“He’s my friend! His name is Alhaitham.” You sat on the stairs by your father.

“Hello.” Alhaitham smiled shyly, “It’s nice to meet you.”

You remember that day and perhaps it's the memory that’s most sunbathed and joy-covered and dear to your heart.

You were ten when playing in the mud turned into something else.

It’s turned into making little cups out of the wild clay you found in the rivers near your home. You were an artist, and you know how Sumeru sees artists. Your mother supported you, she enjoyed you bringing her your little sun-dried pots and plates and she thought it was the cutest thing.

To your father, your little hobby seemed to be losing its charm. Were you really serious about this? Why were you spending your time doing something like this? Maybe he tried to hide it but maybe he also failed, because even if his words are kind, his face is not. Even if it’s past your bedtime that doesn’t always mean you’re asleep. Even if your door is closed doesn’t mean words don’t echo.

“Why can't she be more like Alhaitham? So naturally intelligent and he barely has to study…” He sighed, “We should’ve been harder on her from the start.”

Your mother pleaded with him, that you’re just ten. But your father only retorted cruelly.

“I will not have my daughter be a failure.”

You sniffled into your little nightgown while you hid in your closet and tears rolled down your eyes and you wondered if you could be more like him, you could gain your father’s praise and love. But in your little brain, you hated Alhaitham for stealing away the love your father would extend when you were little, but such conflicting feelings of affection and resentment are hard for a child to process, and you didn’t know what to make of it.

In the morning when you woke up your eyes were puffy and dry, your stuffed animal had fallen into the crack between your bed and the wall and you wondered if your father was still home. You peeked out of your door and were greeted by a quiet house and your mother drinking tea at the dinner table. Had she always looked this tired?

You were ten and a half when you started to copy him.

Everything he did, you imitated. Everything he said, you questioned him on. You just wanted to know and understand because you wanted to make your parents proud, what little kid wouldn't? But maybe your questions weren't as intelligent as you thought they sounded and maybe common sense and rational thinking could've answered your questions.

But you saw the world in color and art and not numbers and letters, how do you understand a world you do not see?

Yet you tried—and Alhaitham could tell.

He wasn’t sure if he was proud of you for advancing into intellectual spaces, or if he was tired of being your guide. Sometimes you’d peek over his shoulder at his book and he wondered if you could read the pages—you could, your father taught you how—and when he realized you could he waited a little longer to turn the pages. But slowing himself down to accommodate you was unpleasant. Alhaitham firmly believes in the pursuit of knowledge, yet he also believes in worrying about himself before he worries about others. And yet Alhaitham could not simply focus on himself when he was worrying about you.

He tried to push down the disdain because you were his friend. Three years strong, why should he let this dampen it?

(but his feelings and irritation only built and it was only a matter of time before you would notice it in the way he acted)

“Hey, ‘Haitham.” You chirped, “Can I borrow some of your books?”

“Maybe, which ones?” He looked over at you.

“I dunno, good ones. Maybe some that will make me smarter!”

He smiled, “Sure, but only if you promise you’ll take care of them.”

You tried to, really.

You had held them with care the first day you got them and turned the pages slowly so you wouldn't rip them. You made sure that no liquids would be around when you were reading so you didn’t spill anything on the pages. Your eyes traced the loops of the letters and you burned the facts into your head.

But on day two you accidentally ripped the corner of pg 54 and splashed some of your drink on pg 67. No amount of patting dry or rubbing clean would lift the stain, you only managed to lift the top layer of paper and make this uneven circle of damp, pink, peeling paper. You were afraid of the fact you broke your promise and afraid of how Alhaitham may react.

When you returned the books which now each had their own imperfections due to your clumsiness, you felt that sting in your nose that you feel when you’re about to cry. The look in Alhaithams eyes—that disappointment he didn’t know what to do with—was hurting your heart.

“It’s… It’s fine.”

You wonder if he was trying to be kind at that moment.

You were thirteen when your father smashed your dreams.

You made a vase for your mother, you painted it and put flowers in it and she put it in the dining table. But your father was a hard man, inside and out, and the vase wasn’t. The hardened clay proved to be softer than your father’s anger. Your heart wailed and you sobbed into your mother's shoulder as she soothed you, rubbing circles into your back.

“I think you should work towards academics like Alhaitham.” She whispered, “I will help you study.”

What could you do when your only talent was of no use to anyone around you?

Perhaps not even your closest friend is able to be charmed by your talents, maybe that's why he was looking at you with such disinterest. It seemed that your childishness was no longer something he can smile at, maybe it's because he’s fourteen and he thinks he’s too cool to play hide and seek with you now, but you couldn’t help but think no, something else is going on.

Yet every time you were with him, you noticed the way Alhaithams hair framed his face and the way his brows knit together when he was focused. You watched his hands as he flipped the pages. You brushed your pencil over your paper in the shape of his face and you tucked it away because it's your little secret and your crush will die out soon enough.

But every time you were with him you also realized how much smarter he was than you and how much you hated it. You saw the way he had changed and you wondered if you were changing too and if this was going to be good for your friendship or bad for your feelings.

You still resented him because your father liked him more. But then you looked in his eyes and you saw why.

Maybe you liked him more too.

You remember sneaking out of your room a few nights later, after another one of your parent’s fights, and wobbling over to Alhaitham’s. You tapped on his window relentlessly until his drapes were pulled back and he was left scowling down at you. You smiled in return.

Alhaitham opened his window, “What are you doing here at this hour?”

“I can’t- I can’t sleep.” You pouted, “You know how that is.”

“I might end up knowing if you keep me awake like this.” He rubbed his eyes.

“Can you come out?”

“Y/n-”

“Just for a bit, I need to tire out I guess.”

He looked at you with a severely irritated facial expression, taking a deep breath before admitting defeat. He turned from the window and threw on a shirt—you only realized he was shirtless when he stepped back, and perhaps it was more embarrassment than respect that made you turn your eyes away. Alhaitham climbed out of his bedroom window and shot you a glare, you were troubling him so and for no good reason.

Still, he entertained you. Maybe he did like you more than he thought, or at least cared about you to an extent. He thought of you as this annoying distraction, and yet he was letting you distract him in the middle of the night because he just felt kind of bad. It's unnatural, really.

“Do you think that-” You looked up—up—at him, “-we move or the sky moves?”

“What?” He looked down—down—at you, “Are you a philosopher now?”

“I’m just bored and you’re not talking.” You pouted.

“Sorry,” He looked away, “I just don't have much to say at this hour.”

Do you not have much to say at this hour? Or do you not have much to say to me?

“It’s fine.”

And you sat in silence. And the contrast between then and just a few years before made you cringe.

You were fifteen when you and Alhaitham stopped hanging out as much.

The decline between you and Alhaitham was a slow, painful one. It matched the decline of your and your father’s relationship, and his and your mother’s too. It seemed like every happy relationship in your life was fading into something sad and lonely.

He snapped at you for the first time, you think he was a bit harsh, really. But you only blamed yourself because he’s right, you’ve probably been clingy and annoying. You latched onto him for comfort and ignored the way he scowled at you and groaned. You didn't want to accept the fact he doesn’t like you anymore because you still really liked him, you admired him in every way.

“Y/n- Y/n, can you stop following me around like a lost puppy?”

“What? I’m just-”

“You’re just being annoying.”

“...How could you say that to me?” You frowned.

“Because you won't listen to anything else.”

The last time you saw him, you were sixteen.

Your parents separated and you moved away with your mother, you never really saw Alhaitham again after that. Maybe it was a good thing since after that day it was just awkward and uncomfortable. Part of you wonders if Alhaitham ever felt bad or thought of you. You imagined one of those classic rom-com moments. He found out you were moving away and had so much regret and guilt in his heart that he ran through the rain and mud to catch you before you left. Running up and waving his arms to get your attention before you left for good, and you would run to him and hug him and he’d apologize and-

And none of that happened.

So you tried to focus on yourself and your life and doing what you wanted to do with it. You pretended to be over him and never even mentioned his name out loud, and after a year or two you found new friends and people to hang out with. People who were like you, who enjoyed you, and who you matured with.

But your forever-teenage heart was still broken, and your sniffles echoed through the house to your mother, and she had to come into your room gently and hold you in her arms. Your mother ran her fingers through your hair, comforting you in the only way she knew how.

“I know that I shouldn’t be hung up on him-” You hiccupped, “-he was a complete dick to me but I just… I still love him, Mom, it hurts.”

She let you stain her shirt with your tears and snot.

“It’s okay, I know…” She hushed you, “It’s normal to feel this way, it’ll get better though, I promise.”

“But what if it doesn't? What if it doesn’t go away?”

“It’ll be okay. Just trust me.”

You hated having to move away from her, she was your rock and she stabilized you. But you left and ended up in Sumeru City, and that’s when you met Kaveh.

You giggled at his jokes and you enjoyed long talks with him, ones that didn't turn into arguments. The two of you would go out to lunch occasionally—and you paid since he was a bit… lacking in that area—with him. You learned about his job as an architect and you told him about your little pottery hobbies. Kaveh was the one to encourage you to pursue it as a career, you could sell your work or- or maybe teach it to others even! You were moved by his enthusiasm, maybe you would get into it.

You had invited Kaveh to your home a few times that year, but you had never been to his. Maybe it was a good thing, anyway, he always said he had a roommate that he argued with quite a bit. If this roommate disagreed with Kaveh, they’d also probably disagree with you. And you weren’t fond of intellectual arguments, just discussions. Arguments made you want to cry, really.

You often popped open a bottle of wine with Kaveh when he came over after a long day. You poured two glasses—and many refills—and sat at your countertop with him.

“You know,” Kaveh was tipsy already, “Tomorrow you ought to come over to my place.”

“Are you sure? You keep telling me about that roommate of yours.”

“He should be busy,” Kaveh smiled, “We’d have the place to ourselves.��

“Maybe then, why the sudden change of heart?” You tilted your head, Kaveh usually voted against you coming over.

“Maybe its the wine,” He groaned, “Maybe I just feel bad that I’m always coming over and eating your food and drinking your wine.”

“Oh, no, it's fine.” You reassured him, “You’ve done so much for me already, without you I would’ve never started teaching classes. I don’t mind you drinking my wine, I poured it after all.”

“I insist!”

The man who opened the door was not Kaveh, it was not even a stranger.

“...Y/n?” Alhaitham furrowed his brows at you, “What are you doing here?”

“Alhaitham-!” You said, startled, “I um-”

“I’m sorry but right now I don’t really feel like talking.”

“No, Alhaitham, I’m-”

“I’m sorry to disappoint after you’ve come all this way but-”

“I’m not here for you.” You glared. Come all this way? You walked for maybe ten minutes! Did he really think he was worth coming all the way to Sumeru city if you didn’t live here? The nerve of him…

“She’s here for me.” Kaveh grumbled behind him, “And you’re not supposed to be.”

“Kaveh, hey!” You smiled past Alhaitham.

“Sorry, Y/n, I tried to send a message that my roommate was still home but I suppose it didn’t make it in time…”

“Oh, no, that’s fine.”

“Come in, come in!”

Alhaitham simply stood in his place at the door staring at you, and there was this look in his eyes you couldn't decipher. You pushed past him gently and hugged Kaveh in greeting. How does it feel now, Alhaitham?

✧ A SCHOLAR’S MONOLOGUE

Alhaitham was twenty-five when he ran into you again.

He didn’t know what to think at first. You show up on his door—how you got his address he’s unsure—and look just as shocked as he does. The last time you two spoke must have been when he was sixteen, no, seventeen? An eight-year gap left much of your life unknown. Just looking at you now you were far more intriguing. Though perhaps you were always cute to him in a way, if only you were as cute once you opened your mouth.

But when you did open your mouth and he heard your voice his ears tingled at this familiarly unfamiliar sound, and then you said you were there for Kaveh and it clicked for him. Kaveh always did remind Alhaitham of you, that might be why he found himself so irritated by him. You pushed past Alhaitham and headed into Kaveh’s arms and that left Alhaitham wondering the extent of your relationship with him. It’s odd, really, his thought process right now.

Then he listened in on your conversation with Kaveh and as each question he had was answered he came up with three more. When did you start giving lectures? When did you move to Sumeru City? When did you meet Kaveh?

“My classes went so well today, I really can’t thank you enough for encouraging me to start.” You chirped at Kaveh with this smile that was so much softer than your goofy grin when you were kids.

(maybe you were only mentioning this because you want Alhaitham to hear how good you're doing)

“You always had it in you, I don’t deserve that much credit!”

So Kaveh is the one who encouraged you to start. Encouraging you is something Alhaitham rarely did now that he thinks about it. Maybe Kaveh’s friendship is a much better fit for you, then. But why does he long to get to know you as if he hasn’t known you from the age of eight?

You were so far from the sixteen-year-old neighbor he once had. You were mature, physically and mentally, you spoke with grace and confidence and your conversations with Kaveh were undeniably intellectual. This is different from the person who asked him “How come you’re taller than me?” at the age of eleven. He was captivated, enamored even, despite not wanting to admit it to himself.

So he kept eavesdropping, he kept learning about your life indirectly. Suddenly this memory of you—the one tainted by irritation and annoyance of having you follow him around for eight years—was replaced by this new longing to get to know you as if you were a stranger.

It’s odd, he thinks, this feeling.

✧ END OF A SCHOLAR’S MONOLOGUE

It’s really awkward to hang out with your new friend in front of your childhood ex-friend.

You were laughing at inside jokes with Kaveh and talking about your lives with Alhaitham just across the room holding a book in his lap. You knew he was listening, you noticed. You would glance at him, then away, but your eyes always wondered over again in curiosity.

Alhaitham was so different, yet exactly the same. He was taller, you noticed that when you walked in. His face was mature with this feeling that he’s been through a thousand challenges and overcome every one. He seemed just as intelligent as ever, obviously, and just as bland.

(that was just you being mean, though, you didn't really think of him like that)

Every time you looked over Kaveh noticed, and there was this knowing smile lingering on his lips. Maybe he thought you found Alhaitham cute, or maybe he had overheard everything that Alhaitham said and he was being nosey about your past.

Either way, he asked.

“So, are you going to explain what’s going on here?” Kaveh whispered a certain glint in his eyes.

“Kaveh! He’s right there,” You whispered through clenched teeth, “It’s not even that big of a deal.”

“Let’s take a walk then,” Kaveh announces aloud, Alhaithams head tilting towards the sound. “Come, Y/n.”

You stood with Kaveh, shooting him this playfully irritated glance and took his outstretched hand in yours.

“See you, Alhaitham.” Kaveh bid farewell.

“Bye.” Alhaitham spoke without looking back at you this time.

You only were allowed fifteen minutes of peace before Kaveh jumped on you again.

“How do you know him? Did you guys date?”

“What? No, archons no, we were neighbors as kids.” You scrunched your face.

(but your heart sped up and those feeling you buried were scratching at the lid of their coffin)

“Oh? Then why did you look at him like that? You almost started drooling~.” Kaveh teased, nudging you.

“Oh quit it.” You nudged him back, “I haven’t seen him in almost a decade. That’s all.”

“It sounds like you ended on bad terms,” He mused, “Ahem ‘I don't feel like talking right now’ and all.”

You giggled at his imitation, “Well, he called me annoying and told me to leave him alone before I moved away. I’d say those terms are pretty bad.”

“Wow, what a dick move.” Kaveh laughed lightly, “And you’re still looking at him with hearts in your eyes?”

“I am not, and you know it!”

“Aww, are you embarrassed?” Kaveh grinned, throwing an arm around your shoulder, “Hmm, perhaps you should look at me like that instead next time.”

You rolled your eyes.

You saw Alhaitham everywhere after that.

You learned from Kaveh that Alhaitham was the current Acting Grand Sage—a fact that blew your mind completely because wow, he’s really made it far hasn't he? You could almost imagine your father comparing you to him again, it made you laugh a little bit. Maybe that’s why you kept seeing him around, in the streets, in the corner of your eye when you were at the tavern, and (obviously) in Kaveh’s home.

It was like you were strangers who knew too much about each other to be comfortable in the same room. If Kaveh excused himself for a single moment you and Alhaitham would just sit in silence, glancing at one another and away when you get caught. For months, not a single word was shared between the two of you, and if it weren’t so awkward you might have enjoyed the silence.

The silence was broken on a cold morning when you were meeting Kaveh at his place to go out to lunch. Once again, it was not Kaveh who opened the door, it was Alhaitham.

“Hello.”

“Hi,” You mustered a smile, “Is Kaveh ready?”

From afar, you heard Kaveh shout, “I’ll be ready soon!”

Alhaitham stood in the doorway and you stood outside of it. Your arms were getting goosebumps from the unusually cold air and Alhaitham took notice.

“Come in while you wait.” Alhaitham stepped to the side and closed the door behind you when you entered.

You awkwardly thanked him and sat down on the couch, him sitting on the one across from you.

…

“So…” You murmured.

“Hm?” Alhaitham glanced up.

“How has the position of Acting Grand Sage been treating you?”

“I intend to resign as soon as possible.” He stated.

“Oh! Um…” You didn’t know what to say, such an odd response that you probably would never get from anyone but Alhaitham.

(it hurt to remember that you really do know this man, and at the same time you know nothing about him anymore either)

“I heard you’re teaching art classes now,” Alhaitham said, “How has that been?”

“It’s great! I love my students, really, they’re all so creative. They’re like little sponges, too, they soak up anything I tell them.” You giggled, and Alhaitham's lips twitched up.

“Y/n, I-”

“I’m ready now!” Kaveh chirped, walking out of his room, “Aplogies, I had some hair troubles.”

“Ah, no problem!” You stood from your spot, “Let’s head out then.”

You glanced at Alhaitham, and he met your eyes for a moment.

“Um, see you, Alhaitham.”

“See you.”

✧ TWO ROOMMATES DISPUTE

“I don’t understand why you’re acting like this.” Kaveh sighed.

“I’m not sure what you mean.” Alhaitham flipped the page in his book.

“Don’t give me that.” Kaveh glared at Alhaitham, “You know very well what I mean. I know we have our disagreements but ever since Y/n has been around more you’ve been-”

Alhaitham abruptly closed his book with a loud clap.

“I am not concerned with Y/n.”

“Oh really? Because you seem to be.”

“What of it.” Alhaitham glared.

“You act as if it's wrong for me to be friends with her just because you used to be friends,” Kaveh spoke irritatedly, “Like it or not me and Y/n are close friends.”

“What would you know about our friendship?” Alhaitham crossed his arms.

“I know what she tells me, that’s what.” Kaveh huffed, “Just because you ruined your own relationship with her does not mean that I have to end mine because you’re jealous.”

Alhaitham was silent.

“You have made no attempt to reconcile or get to know her and that is not my fault. I cannot argue with you over something so stupid!” Kaveh was nearly yelling about this.

He was sick of Alhaitham being cold to him after he hung out with you or when you were around, Kaveh could see the jealousy brewing in Alhaitham’s eyes and he was not going to stand for being glared at over it. Alhaitham’s inability to fix things with you was not Kaveh’s problem. Just because now you were more appealing of a person doesn't mean he gets to act like some overprotective, jealous boyfriend.

For Alhaitham, he was torn. His emotions toward you were all over the place, did he like you? Did he find you irritating? Did he more-than-like you? How does he get these feelings in order, and then how does he get his attitude toward Kaveh in order too? Alhaitham isn’t oblivious to the fact he’s been colder than usual to his roommate, or even outright passive-aggressive, but facing the reason behind it is harder than it seems.

Maybe Kaveh is right. He has to talk to you.

✧ END OF TWO ROOMMATES DISPUTE

You stared blankly at Kaveh.

“What?”

“Alhaitham and I got in a fight about you…” Kaveh explained.

“About me?” You frowned, “What? Why would you two ever do such a thing?”

“Other than the fact he’s a complete jerk,” Kaveh sighed, “I think he has some issues regarding you.”

“Oh, so he just hates me so much that he can’t stand me being around then?” You roll your eyes, “We’re adults now, why can’t he just get over it?”

(but your heart ached at the thought that he truly cant stand you, even now)

“I don't think its hatred, Y/n.” Kaveh sighed, “I think it’s rather the opposite, and I don’t think he knows how to handle it.”

“So, what, he likes me? And that’s why he’s being a dick every time I’m around?” You snorted, “Classy.”

“Yeah,” Kaved rubbed the bridge of his nose, “You know what, forget about Alhaitham. I’d like you to come over for my birthday celebration.”

A warm smile wiggled up your face.

“Of course.”

You were twenty-five when you attended Kaveh’s birthday party.

You brought him a gift all wrapped up—and a bottle of wine, as if there wasn’t going to be enough alcohol already—and hugged him tightly at the door. You were positively beaming, smile stretched from ear to ear.

“Happy birthday!” You cheered.

“Thank you, thank you.” Kaveh laughed, pulling you in and pressing a friendly kiss to your temple, “I’m so happy to have you here.”

“I’m honored to be here.”

You cracked into the alcohol with a jolly smile on your face and downed glass after glass until you were just tipsy enough to not have a filter but not drunk enough to fall over. This is where you’d stop for the night, where you were content staying and giggly. You celebrated Kaveh with all of the other attendees.

But the air was becoming suffocating and there were a few too many people near you right now, maybe you needed some fresh air or maybe you needed to go home but you were only willing to do one of those (and it was not the latter). You stepped out of the party quietly.

And Alhaitham was there.

You were there, and Alhaitham was there, and the night sky above you was the same as it was when you were thirteen and sneaking out of your room to see him.

“Alhaitham…” Perhaps there was a bit of bittersweet longing in your voice, perhaps it was just the waver of the alcohol.

“Y/n.” But the emotion in Alhaitham’s voice could not be mistaken for anything but what it was: emotion.

“How are you?” You asked quietly.

“I’m fine.”

“Just fine?” You let a smile play at your lips, and one tugged at Alhaitham’s too.

“I can’t sleep.” He whispered, “You know how that is.”

(and for a moment you were thirteen again and knocking on Alhaitham’s window)

“I do.” Waves of emotion ran over you, was it grief? Longing? Love?

If there was one thing you could say confidently, it was that unrequited love lasts the longest. The crush that never gets returned and ends up lasting for years. You knew this firsthand. You felt this kind of affection for Alhaitham from the age of, what, eleven? Twelve maybe? And now at twenty-five, you felt like the lovesick teenage girl you were ten years ago because that affection never left you and you wondered if you could make it leave.

“I’ve missed you.” You wanted to slap yourself for saying that, but in your tipsy state, the words forming in your brain were coming out of your mouth faster than you could shut it.

“Oh?” Alhaitham smiled teasingly, “How much?”

You furrowed your brows, “Oh, come on, Alhaitham. You can’t act like that after everything.”

“...” Alhaitham glanced away, “You’re right.”

“I really loved you, you know. And- And the way you treated me was hurtful. I was just a kid, you were cruel.”

“I know.” Alhaitham swallowed hard, his voice coarse, “You loved me?”

“Yeah like it wasn’t obvious?” You snorted, “Of course I did, you were my childhood best friend, the neighbor boy, I looked up to you.”

…

“Well say something.” You frowned.

“What do you want me to say?” He turned to you.

“I want you to be honest.”

Say sorry, say you loved me too, say something.

“I did not love you.”

You cringed, heartbreak trickling over your skin like acid rain- no, stinging you like a thousand needles.

“I didn’t.”

You felt your entire inner body cave in on itself as your heart cried because yes, Al Haitham has always been matter of fact as long as you have known him, but damn if it didn't hurt. You knew there was little chance of him returning those feelings, the unrequited ones you’d held onto for so long. Still, hearing him reject you over and over was like the final nail in the coffin, the coffin you laid in alive and well and clawed at to get out of.

“You were irritating, a bit airheaded, and you always distracted me no matter what I was doing.” Al Haitham continued, “So I didn't love you, I hardly tolerated you.”

You felt your face betray you, twisting into something hurt and honest as warm tears slid down your cheeks and your chest shook with rapid sniffles.

“But now… You’re brilliant, you’re witty and kind, and despite everything you’re here. So no, I did not love you, but now I do.”

“You’re such a dick.” You sobbed.

“I just told you I love you, that’s not exactly the best way to respond.” Alhaitham spoke as if he was amused, but the way his hand found your back and rubbed circles into it told you he doesn't want you to cry.

“But you said all that mean stuff,” You wiped your tears, “That was cruel.”

“Well that’s how I used to feel, you wanted to know how I used to feel, didn’t you?” He wiped your hair from your face and tucked it behind your ears.

“I can’t believe you.”

“I’m sorry,” Alhaitham muttered, turning you to face him. “You’re beautiful.”

“You’re a jerk.” You frowned, and he laughed airily and it sounded like music to your ears.

“Y/n, I love you. I mean it.” He rubbed your cheek gently, “If you’ll allow it, I’d like to get to know you much better than I’ve ever known you before.”

“Maybe.” You whispered, staring into his eyes.

“I promise you I’ll never hurt you again.” He murmured, placing a kiss on your hairline.

(and maybe it was a coincidence, but he wiped the spot that Kaveh kissed and you giggled at the thought that he was jealous)

✧ navigation.

#opticfile ✧༺࿐#genshin #genshin imagines #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #alhaitham #alhaitham gi #alhaitham genshin #kaveh #kaveh gi #kaveh genshin #gi x reader #genshin x you #genshin angst #i hope its not a big fat disappointment guys

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lainiespicewrites · 7 months

Text

Someone to take her home

Hey guys so I wrote this a while ago! This is a Henry one shot it an OFC because I'll die on the self insert hill! LOL it gives me so much comfort. Is that weird IDK. Anyway this story is kind of heavy. I wrote this to get out some feelings about an SA that I had experienced. I've always been someone that if I'm stressed I rewrite the situation with a comforting outcome or a better outcome to release the stress or make myself feel better. I wanted to sort of write myself a way to get some comfort from the trauma. And I hope having a character like this sweet soft version of Henry may help some of you too. I never reached out for myself for help and maybe I should have but if you experienced something please talk to someone. If you need someone to talk to or just want a place to let it out my DM's are a safe space <3 Just as disclaimer this doesn't mention any of the actual situation that happened to me. Just a filler to get out the emotion. Still this is a fluff with lots of love and sweet gentle young Henry bc I just know in my soul this was and is how he is as a person!

Warnings: Light Cursing, Trauma, Mentions of sexual assault. (Please reach out for help even if it's just talking to someone about your situation. My DM's are open if y'all wanna talk after this <3)

Description: OFC goes to college party and meets Henry and they become fast friends. and he helps her when things turn bad with a guy he warned her about.

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I stared at myself in the mirror one more time. I needed to leave soon. If I looked any longer I would find something I hated and talk myself out of going. So I grabbed my bag and turned off my bedroom light. Nervous didn’t begin to describe how I was feeling. I’d never been to a party like this before. Sure I’d been out a few times in high school. But it was usually theater cast parties. And one time my friend and I stole some captain morgan from her parents liquor cabinet. But this was on an entirely different scale.

Most of my drinking was a night in with the girls with wine or movie night drinking games. God I sound so boring. It’s not that I don’t enjoy partying. I was genuinely excited to be invited out tonight. Lilly and I had worked together for a few assignments in class. And we would say hi when we ran into each other in the dorms. But, I never expected to get a text this afternoon inviting me to her boyfriend's party. Purdue was an incredibly large campus. Upwards of 40,000 plus students. Yet somehow Lilly’s boyfriend Riley Hardesty seemed to know everyone. He was known for throwing huge parties all year. They weren’t exclusive. You could just be driving through the neighborhood and stop in. But she told me a friend of Riley’s had asked her about me.

Matt Parker. I know of him. He’s in my English 204 lecture. But we’ve never talked. But he is really attractive. So maybe something good would come from all of this! I decided just to walk as my dorm wasn’t far from the house Riley and his roommates lived in. It was a cool night in mid october and I was definitely regretting the little black denim skirt I was wearing. I was smart enough to wear a cardigan but it was still cold. Thank God it's only 2 blocks down. I bit my lip nervously. Am I even going to know anyone here? Anyone I actually talk to? It’s too late now. I already got dressed and ready. I walked here. I have to go through with this.

I took a deep breath and walked inside. Things were already full swing. I could hear the music outside before I even opened the door. No one seemed to notice me and honestly I was okay with that. I looked around scanning the room. Almost everyone had a drink in hand, standing around in groups talking. The smell of pot hit me immediately as I started to walk through the house. I wasn’t the least bit surprised. I made my way to the kitchen where I found multiple drinks, alcohol and mixers available. I kept it simple and grabbed a wine cooler. Something fruity. I was definitely going to need a buzz if I was going to be here longer than 5 minutes.

I pushed my way out of the kitchen and found a quiet corner to drink and observe for a while. I was busy listening to some guys talk about last weekend's football game when I heard someone’s voice. And I realized they were talking to me. I shifted my eyes seeing a guy standing next to me. He was maybe 6’1, blue eyes, and brown hair with soft curls. I gave him a gentle smile,

“I’m sorry, what was that?” I asked. He smiled and chuckled softly. His smile was beautiful.

“I uh, Just noticed your shirt. Are you a Def Leppard fan?” He asked. I looked down. I completely forgot that was the shirt I was wearing. I just thought a band t-shirt would look cute with the skirt. But

“Yeah! Well I know a few of their songs! My Mom was in her 20’s in the 80’s and she loved them!” I said.

“She has good taste! They’re awesome! Are you here by yourself? Not trying to be creepy I just noticed you were by yourself over here and I wanted to make sure you were alright,” He rambled. I nodded.

“I look that out of place huh? Yeah, I um. I’m friends with Riley’s girlfriend. Well not friends necessarily. But I know her. Anyway she invited me because of some friend of Riley’s but I don’t know this isn’t normally my scene. Wow that was a lot,” I blushed. “Sorry,” I mumbled.

“For?” He smiled, raising an eyebrow. “We’re talking. I like getting to know people! And I totally get it. This can kind of be a lot sometimes. I actually came with some friends but I needed to step away from all the crazy for a second. I’m Henry by the way.” He smiled, extending his hand. I took it and He squeezed mine softly.

“Alayna!” I said.

“It’s nice to meet you!” He smiled. “Which one of Riley’s friends? If you don't mind me asking,” He raised an eyebrow.

“Matt Parker,” I said bluntly. “You know him,” Henry took a sip of his beer and nodded.

“I do, He’s alright. We’re sort of friends I suppose. He may have good intentions. Listen, I know you don’t need my advice, but just be careful around him. I don’t know what you were expecting with him or hoping for. But he can be a little, well, if I had a daughter I wouldn’t trust him with her. But I could be wrong. I’m sorry, that was a bit much. I don't want to ruin your evening,” He said.

“For?” I smirked copying his face from earlier. “You seem to have pure intentions. Just looking out for someone. That’s really kind of you actually. I honestly don't know what I was expecting. But I can handle myself. I didn’t really come out tonight for him. I wanted to actually let loose and have fun for once. I’ve been trying to have more adventures, meet new people, make new friends.” I smiled looking him in the eyes on that last part. He gave me a big smile and held out his beer bottle to cheers me.

“To new friends,” He spoke and we clinked our bottles together. “I like you, I mean talking to you.” He said.

“I like talking to you too! I was honestly super anxious about coming tonight. I was worried I’d be too anxious and awkward to have fun or it would be too much. Because this is a lot. I’m 100% sure I saw someone do coke off the kitchen counter. But I’m actually enjoying myself. Right now anyway.” I laughed. Henry chuckled.

“Good! Well, I’m going to go find my friends but, what's your number? I’ll send you a text real quick and if you get overwhelmed or uncomfortable or need to escape all of this for a bit come find me! Or text me. I’d be happy to be there for you. And we can just chill out for a while.” I smiled and gave him my phone number. It was nice to meet someone as kind as Henry. You don’t meet a lot of people that… genuine and gentlemanly in places like this. He gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze before he walked off to find his friends. I wandered off to get another drink while I was standing in the kitchen waiting to grab another wine cooler. I felt someone lay their arm across my shoulder.

“Hey gorgeous,” I recognized Matt’s voice. I gave him a soft smile.

“Hi,” I spoke.

“I’m glad you came tonight, You having a good time,” He asked, clearly buzzed.

“Yeah,” I said tentatively “One hell of a party!” I laughed.

“For sure!” He smiled and moved to the side of me taking his arm off my shoulder. “What are you drinking babe?” He asked.

“Just Mike's lemonade.” I chuckled awkwardly.

“Aw come on girl you can do something stronger than that huh?” He joked. I shook my head.

“I probably could but I’d rather not get sick.” I said.

“Aw well come on at least do a shot with me?” He asked, giving me a puppy dog face and pouting. “Just tequila, we got training wheels!” He added.

“I don’t know… I don’t wanna get too crazy,” I said.

“Nah, it’ll be alright, it’ll just loosen you up a bit!” He spoke already pouring the shots. He slid one over to me. And a piece of lime. “Ready?” I picked up the shot and stared at it questioningly.

“Alright,” He smiled. We clicked the glasses and hit them against the table before taking the shot. It was super bitter. I immediately followed it with the lime. But it didn’t help much. When I looked up again Matt had gotten me another Mike’s from the cooler.

“Atta girl!” He smirked. He took a step closer and I took the drink from him. Then I heard someone call his name from across the house. They were starting another game of beer pong. “That’s my que babe, but wait for me yeah? I’ll come back to you after this game!” He smirked and left a wet kiss on my cheek before running off to join the boys.

Charming is certainly not a word I would use to describe him. But he’s nice. And he’s just trying to make sure I have fun. There’s no harm in that. I wandered around the party again. I opened up my new bottle and tossed the cap on a nearby coffee table. I thought about watching the beer pong game but I honestly wasn’t interested. I found the door leading to the backyard and saw there was a bonfire going. I stepped outside and found an empty seat by the fire. I watched it crackle for a bit and took a long sip of my drink. I felt a warmth inside me and knew it was coming from the alcohol. I started to relax as I listened to the fire and the white noise of the people chatting around me. It was a gorgeous night.

“Hey!” I heard a voice from behind me. “Funny meeting you out here!” Henry spoke, pulling up a chair next to me.

“Hey!” I said excitedly. “It’s calm out here. I like it!” I said. Henry smiled.

“I do too, I love a good fire. Fuels the soul.” He half joked.

“ I love the smell! Is that weird?” I laughed.

“No,” He chuckled softly “Not at all! So, besides the band on that very cool shirt, What other music do you like?” Henry asked, leaning back in his chair and taking a long swig of his beer.

“Oh all kinds. I’m a big lover of the stuff from the 70s though! Elton John, Heart, the Beatles, I guess they’re technically 60’s. I know it’s kind of old school but. I feel like they just don’t make music like that anymore.” I explained.

“Classic! I like it,” He smiled.

“What about you?” I asked.

“Oh I’m all over the place too. I’m actually a big country fan!” He smirked.

“I wouldn’t have expected that from you but I respect it. It’s not my favorite genre but there are definitely some good ones there!” I smiled. Henry and I chatted for a while. We talked about our majors. He's a history major. Where we’re from, he has an accent but I didn’t want to ask and be weird about it. He told me he’s from the UK. We talked about books, history and our friends. It was nice. A little while later I felt an arm around my shoulder again. I knew it was Matt.

“There she is! Did you think I forgot about you babe?” He asked.

“No,” I smiled blushing softly. He smiled.

“Hey Henry! Are you having a good time, man?” He asked. Henry nodded and finished his beer.

“Yeah! Actually I should go get another one. It was nice talking to you Alayna!” He smiled at me before he got up and left. I don’t know why but I could tell Henry wasn’t the biggest fan of Matt. He said they were friends earlier but I think he was just trying to be nice

I was shaken from the thought when I heard Matt’s voice again.

“Hey, follow me!” He said enthusiastically.

“Okay,” I smiled. I got up and followed him back inside. He led us upstairs and down the hall to what I assume was his room.

“Too many people out there, I wanted to be alone with you,” He smiled.

“That’s really sweet! It is pretty crowded.” I said.

“Yeah,” He said blankly. “Are you enjoying the party?” He asked.

“I am,” I said half telling the truth. I enjoyed talking to Henry.

“God you’re so gorgeous,” He said. “I always want to talk to you in class but you always leave so quickly I never get the chance.” He said.

“Thank you,” I blushed.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked. I don’t know if I wanted it or if it was the alcohol but I nodded. He smirked and leaned in kissing me on the lips. It was gentle at first but then he quickly started using tongue. I felt kind of awkward. So I backed away. “Oh sorry, you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I lied. He just nodded and went back to kissing me. I kissed him back a bit but then I felt him start to feel me up. I froze. I really didn’t want that. He moved his hand under my shirt and I stopped him.

“Uh Matt, I really don’t know about this.” I said nervously. He pulled back

“It’s fine, nobody's gonna come in, don't worry about it.” He said and started kissing my neck. Oh god this sucks.

“No I mean. I don’t… want to do this.” I stuttered.

“Come on, it’ll be fun babe, it’ll be alright.” He kept feeling me up and continued kissing me. I felt stuck. He pushed himself against me, grinding into me. He moaned. I swallowed hard. Fuck, I really didn’t want this.

“No, Matt, I really don’t want to.” I said again.

“Shhh just go with it.” he said, shushing me. “You’ll enjoy it, I promise.” He said, sliding his hand under my skirt and rubbing his fingers against me.

“No, stop Matt,” I said again, my voice quivering. He was definitely stronger than me. He used his other hand to take himself out of his shorts and he grabbed my hand putting it on him while he kept touching me, forcing his fingers inside. It hurt. I don’t know how but finally I found the strength to push him away from me. He stumbled back and fell against the bed and I ran out of the room. I could feel the tears stinging in my eyes already but I had to get out of this house. I quickly ran down the stairs and out the front door. Matt was pretty drunk so I don’t even think he tried to follow me. I walked a little way down the street and stopped letting out a sob. What the hell just happened. How did I let that happen? How could I have been stupid enough to trust him or follow him? I didn’t know what to do. I probably should have headed back to the dorm but I didn’t want to be alone right now. I took to my phone trying to think of who to talk to.

I saw I had a text. It was Henry. “Hey it’s me! Henry I mean lol feel free to text me anytime.” I sent him a quick text taking a deep breath and trying to pull myself together. I didn’t want him to see me like this. I was so stupid. He tried to warn me.

“Hey, it’s Alayna, where are you?” I sent it. To my surprise he responded almost immediately.

“By the fire, You okay?” it read.

“Would you wanna go on a walk with me?” I asked. There’s no way I could go back there.

“Sure :) where are you?”

“On the front sidewalk like 3 houses down toward campus.”

“Be right there!” true to his word about 2 minutes later I saw him walking down the sidewalk toward me.

“How are you?” He asked.

“Good,” I nodded absentmindedly.

“Were you leaving?” He asked.

I um,” I stuttered “Yeah, it was just… too much. I was gonna head home. I feel stupid I was just gonna walk home. I'll be fine, I’ll let you have fun. I don’t wanna interrupt your night.” I rambled.

“No! Please do! I’d be happy to walk you home. Talking with you was the most fun I had tonight actually.” He stated simply. I smiled weakly.

“I’m glad.” I said.

“Are you alright?” He asked me. I sighed trying not to get emotional.

“Yeah, just a little overwhelmed and tired.” I lied. We walked in silence for a bit. I couldn’t believe how kind he was. The fact that he would leave his friends to walk me home. He was genuinely concerned about me. That feeling made me even more overwhelmed and finally after everything I could help but start crying. I felt like I had no control over my body as I started to sob. I felt my shoulders start to shake. Henry stopped and put his hands on my shoulders.

“Alayna what's wrong?” He asked me. I tried so hard to speak.

“He wouldn’t.. And I said… no, but he kept…” it all came out in broken sobs. Henry didn’t say anything. He just pulled me into him and hugged me tightly. After a few seconds. I started to calm down and tried to steady my breathing.

“Shh it’s alright, just breathe.” I heard him say. I slowed my breathing. “Did he touch you?” He asked gently, trying not to upset me again. I couldn’t speak, I just nodded. Henry went stiff. I looked up and saw his jaw was clenched. “Mother fucker,” He mumbled quietly under his breath. Then he spoke louder “Do you want to go talk to someone? Like report it?” He asked. Again his voice was gentle. I shook my head.

“I can’t, I know I should but I really can’t, not now.” I said. He nodded.

“Okay, well let's get you home.” He said. I started to walk again. Henry kept an arm around me as we walked. We were quiet the whole way there. He walked me all the way to the door. Wanting to make sure I got in okay.

“Thank you,” I said. But just as he turned to leave I grabbed his hand. “Wait, please don’t go.” I said, trying not to sound desperate. Not that I had the energy to care.

“You want me to stay?” he asked. I nodded.

“Yeah, no, I .. I don’t .. You don’t have to, I’ll be okay.” I said.

“Hey,” He paused, grabbing my hand. “It’s okay, I don’t mind.” So I took off my shoes and slipped into the bathroom to change into some shorts. I laid in my bed and Henry sat next to me. “Do you want to watch something?” He asked. I nodded. And turned on my TV scrolling aimlessly. I stopped on some old 90’s sitcom.

“Thank you, for staying,” I said.

“You shouldn’t be alone right now. And I meant what I said. I had more fun talking to you tonight than with anyone else.” He smiled sympathetically.

“I did too,” I said. I sat up going to kiss him but he stopped me.

“Not tonight, darling. Believe me I would love to kiss you. But I think you’ll regret it later if you do this now. I like you. I’m not going anywhere. Let's take this slow. You’ve been through a lot tonight. I’ll still be here when you’re ready. But I think tonight you need to rest.” he said. The universe gave me Henry tonight. If I hadn’t ran into him. I’d have been alone after being sexually assaulted by a guy I barely know. Any other guy wouldn’t have treated me like him. He was so gentle and respectful. He was genuinely looking out for my best interest when he could’ve taken advantage of my vulnerability. I just nodded.

“I’m sorry that was stupid.” I sighed.

“No, it wasn’t” he put his arm around me pulling me into his side and I naturally rested my head on his chest. “You don’t need to apologize. Try to get some rest.” He spoke gently. I could hear his heartbeat and my breath slowed to match the rhythm. Eventually so did he. I looked up to find him asleep with his arm still around me. I settled in snuggling into his side. All the noise around me slowly faded away and I finally got to rest, falling asleep in Henry’s arms.

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That’s it you guys please let me know what you think. I love you all so much! You’ve shown my writing so much love 🥰

137 notes · View notes

hee0soo · 1 year

Text

Only for you

Summary: You surprise your boyfriend after he comes back from tour and spend some time with him!

Disclaimer: this fic is written and copyrighted by ©hee0soo on tumblr. do not rewrite or repost on any other plattforms without my permission.

Hongjoong often did not have time for you. Being busy writing and producing for the group and having just come back from a world tour after all!

He and the members were tired and had a few days to recharge before their schedule got hectic again but right now he was at the dorm doing absolutely nothing.

The leader didn´t get the chance to do that very often and his members tried to stay clear of him when he finally rested for a bit. Only one thing could make his rest period even better. And that was you!

You had missed the boy terribly while he was away. Time zones making it almost impossible for you to be awake at the same time so the two of you only send short messages of good morning, good night or I miss you´s to the other with the occasional video call here and there.

Now you finally had the chance of visiting him in the dorm! Hongjoong didn´t know you were coming since it was a Wednesday and you would usually be at work until late in the evening. That you had taken a day of to spend some well needed time with him was only known by Seonghwa, Yunho, San and Wooyoung!

The other members had used their free time to spend time with their friends or at the gym!

Hongjoong was sitting in the living room when you arrived at their dorm. He was busy watching some random Drama he wasn´t even following that much, while hanging on his phone! Waiting for you to text him!

Seonghwa let you in before vanishing in the bath room. Weeks of being away had kick started his cleaning habit and now that he had the time, and half of the members were out of the way, he would use it!

“Who was it?” the leader pondered, not looking up from his phone.

Instead of an answer, he felt himself getting embraced into a tight hug from behind. Not expecting the sudden contact, the leader flinched hard. Almost throwing his phone across the room while doing so!

“Easy! It’s just me!”

You teased the shocked man in your arms.

The man recognized your voice immediately and calmed down.

“Don`t do thaaat! What are you even doing here? I thought you were working today.” He whined looking up at you.

“Took the day off! Wanted to spend it with you instead!”

Kissing his little pout lightly you ruffled his hair a bit, before walking around him to take place on the couch with the leader.

Hongjoong pulled you into his side and pressed a kiss of his own to the crown of your head.

His phone slipped out of his hand. His entire focus being on you now!

“God I missed you love!” he sighed and hid his face in your hair, tickling his nose a bit.

“Missed you too! I´m glad your back!”

You started playing with the rings on his hand, admiring the one identical to yours.

It was a promise ring he had given you after 2 years of being together. Just a simple band but it meant the world to you!

“Your nail polish is a bit chipped…”

“Hmm, hit it on the corner of a table and it chipped of. I have to fix it before filming idol Radio tomorrow!”

Excitedly you looked at him.

“Can I do it?”

Hongjoong had to laugh at the anticipation on your face.

“Sure, why not? You know where everything is?”

Nodding quickly you jumped up and ran into his shared room with Seonghwa. The eldest member looked confused as you barreled past him. Making him almost drop his cleaning supplies in the process!

Holding the little bag with everything you needed to fix his nail, you skipped back to the couch and your boyfriend.

“DO NOT DRIP THE POLISH ON MY COUCH!”

Hongjoong burst out laughing at his member’s threat.

You pouted at the fact that the boy thought you would drip it anywhere at all!

Since Hongjoong only ever wore polish on one nail, you were very quickly done.

He watched as you concentrated on painting his nail smoothly and without any messy lines. Careful to make it look presentable to be on camera!

“Want me to do yours after this dries?” he offered as the polish dried slowly.

Nodding your head you quickly picked the color you liked most out of the very few he had, as he mostly wore black.

That´s how San and Wooyoung found the two of you as they left Yunho´s room where they were having a movie marathon!

You were sitting on the floor, hands placed on the coffee table while Hongjoong was on the couch, bent over to paint your own nails y/f/c!

“Hey y/n! Are you having fun?” Wooyoung grinned at you while going through the cupboards to make some ramen.

San was eyeing his leaders work scrutinizing.

“You missed a spot right there!”

The boy stepped back when Hongjoong glared at him.

Hands held high in surrender he sauntered over to where Wooyoung was preparing 2 bowls for them.

“Hyung can you paint our nails too?” they continued teasing.

Hongjoong took one of the cushions to throw them at the duo. Almost as if Seonghwa felt a disturbance in the force, he appeared in the doorway. Swiffer still in his hand!

“Kim Hongjoong!”

“But they-“

Seonghwa glared at his friend. So much so that your boyfriend jumped up to get the cushion laying on the kitchen floor.

“That´s better!” with that the eldest disappeared.

You giggled at the baffled and slightly terrified face Hongjoong made together with WooSan.

The troublesome duo half expected you to get scolded but their leader only shot them a dirty look before sitting in back down to finish what he started, looking softly down at you.

“He´s so whipped for them!” you could hear San whisper into his friend’s ear.

Hongjoong ignored them on purpose this time, not wanting to get scolded again!

“You know they´re right, right? You are whipped!” you smiled at him happily.

Hongjoong lifted his eyes from your hands to your face, closing the distance between your lips gently.

“Only for you my love!”

In the kitchen, WooSan were gagging at seeing their Hyung so in love.

#ateez #kim hongjoong x reader #ateez hongjoong x reader #kim hongjoong imagine #hongjoong x y/n #ateez hongjoong #kim hongjoong #ateez fluff #ateez fanfic #kpop writing #kim hongjoong x y/n #ateez x reader #kpop x reader #hongjoong x you #hongjoong

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dragonfly0808 · 4 months

Text

Aisha: The Thesis

I don’t know if I have to keep saying this but SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE FUCKING REWRITE UP TIL THE CURRENT CHAPTER (S4 CH 14)

First Things First

The very first words on Aisha’s character sheet are: Sporty, socially awkward dancer

I feel like it’s a bit difficult to explain my thought process when it comes to Aisha. I think most of us can agree she was def the most interesting and most fleshed out in the OG, from her badass intro to her backstory and storyline in s2, she was a young girl who ran from home to avoid being isolated and was loyal to the point of risking her life to save her pixie friends.

Something that was very important to me was showcasing Aisha as being socially awkward and having a hard time believing people like her due to her trauma, years of isolation and never really having friends her own age. Her main relations up til this point have been with Nabu (who she stopped seeing when she was about eight and never really knew), Anne (who she fell for but abruptly stopped seeing when she was twelve) and the pixies (who aren’t human and therefore can’t really give Aisha the experience of having very relatable friends)

Due to all this, an important focus for me in s2 was showing Aisha as feeling like an outsider, she’s not only new to an already very clearly established group who already fought a war together, but she doesn’t really know how to become part of the group and isn’t always sure whether she’s intruding or not.

I tried to show how her integration to the group is kinda slow, giving her a pre-established friendship with Helia so the two could bond over being the new kids and having her first bonds be with Flora and Brandon.

She doesn’t really feel like a part of the group until the girls’ make a mock welcome-to-the-Winx ceremony that they don’t realize is so very important to Aisha because she’s never been part of a group like this before.

^ All of that makes for someone who is incredibly loyal to her friends, everyone in the Winx is very loyal but for Aisha specifically it goes even deeper in the sense that, these aren’t just her best friends, they’re her first friends, the first people that ever made her feel accepted and safe and didn’t vanish on her.

Imposter Syndrome say What?

Imposter Syndrome is a real thing and Aisha suffers real badly because of it. This is smth I’m exploring in her arc during S4: Generation Why (Talk About How Fast We Grew). This affects her in 2 main ways-

She feels like she isn’t a real part of the squad after the confrontation with the Ancestral Witches back in s3 finale (I’ll talk a bit more about that in a moment)

She feels like she won’t be a good queen and often compares herself to Stella and Sky who’ve gotten more experience in that aspect. Aisha can feel suffocated by the thought of some day becoming the queen of Andros, even if she loves her planet, being ruler seems like smth that would take away most of her freedom, which is pretty much her biggest nightmare.

Now, I’ll take a moment here to say that I feel like I haven’t given Aisha the attention that she deserves due to s2 being when she’s introduced and s3 having so much PLOT going on that the character arcs got slightly lost for most of the squad. In S4 I want to redeem this cause my girl deserves some more focus. I will say that the Generation Why arc won’t be the beginning and end of Aisha’s evolution in s4, though it will have a pretty big impact on how she views certain things.

If I’m All I Have, That’s Enough

One of my fave moments in the entire rewrite, is Aisha’s fight against fake-Anne (the Ancestral Witches) where, as the Witches try to convince Aisha that the squad doesn’t truly care for her and only friends with her out of pity, Aisha makes it very clear that, even if that were true, she’d still fight for herself. Because she knows she’s someone who deserves to be fought for and protected.

But even if no one missed her… Aisha would not give up on herself.

She had been alone most of her life, which meant she’d had to take care of herself. And she wasn’t done doing that.

Maybe she still wasn’t all that comfortable in her own skin. Maybe she was still figuring out who she was and what she wanted. Maybe she still doubted herself and the way others viewed her sometimes.

…but that was okay.

She didn’t need to have everything figured out to know that she wanted to live.

If not to see her friends again… then just for herself.

Because she wanted to meet the person she would become someday.

Because the twelve-year old Aisha she’d once been had deserved to be protected. Just as her future and present self deserved that too.

So if no one was there to save her… then she’d save herself… for herself.

I really wanted to send a message that, while a lot of media will give someone with low self esteem some other motivation to fight for themselves, I really wanted to have Aisha fight for herself, to see that, if no one would fight for herself, she herself would still do it.

It’s a bit hard to phrase but I do think it’s been one of the most beautiful moments in the whole rewrite and while yes, Aisha still doubts herself and her place in the group, she doesn’t doubt that she wants to keep going and that she will fight for who she was, who she is and who she will someday become.

This kinda manifests in her finally standing her ground against her mom and making her see that all the shit she put her through in her childhood was wrong and only affected her in a negative way. It also manifests in her immediately feeling like she was exaggerating (pesky intrusive thoughts) and having to be pulled out of spiraling by Nabu.

I’m really excited to finally give her a bit more attention in s4, beyond just the current arc.

You Can’t Spell Lonesome Without Me

I feel like I’m bouncing all over the place with this thesis but just bare with me please.

Aisha’s main trait as a character is loneliness. She’s been isolated most of her life and, thanks to intrusive thoughts and imposter syndrome, her brain will make her feel alone and like she isn’t a real part of the group, which of course leads her to sometimes be lonely even when she’s with the other girls.

Because you don’t heal from that shit in just one year.

I really wanted this for Aisha cause it’s smth I myself struggle with due to some… really bitchy behavior from certain ‘friends’ in middle school, to this day it will take me 6 months to truly believe someone likes me and isn’t annoyed at spending time with me. I’m in college and middle school still haunts me, so I think it’s only realistic for Aisha to not instantly heal from what was probably an even worse situation.

Her loneliness is one of your brain constantly sabotaging you even when you’re happy with the friend group you currently have.

Thoughts Behind her Main Relationships

Flora: They are best friends, and their friendship is one of softness and comfort. They’ve both dealt with extreme loneliness and have both felt like not-quite-part-of-the-group at some point or another even if it’s for different reasons.

They have a perfect introvert/extrovert balance and are the best at bringing the other out of their respective comfort zones without making it feel forced or pushy.

Their friendship is midnight tea and sitting on balconies looking at the stars and dancing on the beach and cuddling after nightmares and doing each other’s hair and helping each other forget the pain and remember why they love life.

I feel like their friendship can be hard to explain because their friendship is one of quiet moments, of comfort and softness and the little things. It’s the flowers in Aisha’s sweaters and the seashells on Flora’s necklaces. It’s the comfortable silence and the random dance parties.

Nabu: Something I really wanted to do with this relationship was have Nabu kinda help Aisha heal her inner child. When he reveals his identity, they’re playing on a see-saw, they talk while sitting on swings, they run around the beach kicking water up at each other.

Nabu lets her act like a kid, something Aisha never really got to do thanks to her mom. He lets her feel like she can be childish and embarrassing cause she knows he won’t make her feel bad for it. They feel safe around the other, enough to act however they want to.

Another big thing in their relationship was trust and open communication, their situation is slightly awkward due to having an arranged marriage in their future, Aisha questions both their feelings, if they truly fell for each other or if they were just taking the convenient way out. Nabu is very clear that that isn’t the case and that’s what allows their relationship to flourish.

Going to Nabu is really one of the first times Aisha allows herself to go after something she truly wants, contributing to her coming into her own person.

Brandon: So, I would say Brandon might be Aisha’s first deep connection in the squad along with Flora. Brandon kinda sees right through Aisha and her self-doubt and he’s the one that really helps her start coming out of her shell.

The two are massive extroverts and love any and all outdoors activities, and they bond massively over this, constantly going for hikes, skateboarding or trying out new things.

And yes… Aisha does have a bit of a crush on Brandon at first, due to him kinda being the first guy she connects with in her teenage years, and him being… well… Brandon. While she never makes advances or even thinks about it (cause she would never do that to Stella) this does make her feel like an actual teenager, since she never really got the experience of having a silly little teenage crush.

The two are very close and, since both are very touchy people, it does contribute to the crush. Once the crush phase passes, Aisha sees him as a platonic soulmate, the two have a lot in common but wouldn’t ever really work as a couple cause they have too much in common. They are very supportive of one another and just really get one another.

Who is Aisha in this Rewrite?

Aisha is a young woman learning to be comfortable in her skin and to live and fight for herself.

She’s an incredibly loyal friend who struggles with imposter syndrome and intrusive thoughts. She’s working through that and trying to stop feeling like an outsider.

Aisha is someone who spent most of her life in isolation and wishing to run away, to be free. She’s someone who’s learning and embracing a new meaning of freedom and who is trying to come into her own in a way she can be proud of and that won’t restrict her freedom or make her go back to the lonely girl she once was.

Aisha is someone who, even at her darkest times, will fight for herself.

————

Masterlist

Aisha Moodboard

Aisha’s Instagram

Flora and Aisha Moodboard

Aisha and Nabu Moodboard

Aisha and Brandon Moodboard

#winx club #winx rewrite #winx #winx headcannon #winx fanfic #winx headcanons #winx aisha #winx moodboard #veiled wings and shattered panoramas #winx club rewrite

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magicalpoison · 1 year

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A taste for you (Vamp!Donnie x F!Reader)

this a lemon/smut - No minors, All characters are 18+ including reader

Requested by: @ashleighclark98

Pairing: Vampire Donatello (Bayverse) x Female Reader

Request: 89. Mating season 58. Turtle bedroom 142. “Bite me.” 123. “Don’t hold back.” 96. Making out with 5. “MINE.” and Turning into a vampire

TW: Smut/lemon, oral (female recieving), Swearing, Mentions of blood, possible - likely grammar errors

A/N:This one turned out to be my goddamn favorite, less talking, more just romantic, passionate and just intimate things. I spent so long tryna rewrite the beginning though that I gave up after a while. Still we are all here for the smut not the story!

How terrible, truly how terrible this entire mistake had been. Donatello, the genius he is, made an error of the worst kind. He had taken it upon himself to see if he could any way alter the ooze that made him and his brothers the people - or turtles they were today. Attempting to perhaps further him and his brothers own skills or to fix others they affected by the ooze, however, a spill brought by a flying skateboard, thank you mikey, lead to each brother coming into contact with the ooze. At first it held no real side effects, it seemed they were unchanged. That was their first contact with a human.It came as a surprise to all four brothers these strange changes, ranging from a heightened sense of hearing to the worst a hunger, a need for blood. All four brothers decided to remain in hiding until this matter was solved, so Donatello was under a bit of pressure this fine night. So excuse him for having forgotten to inform his girlfriend of the events at hand. He did not think she would be so brave to actually show up the sewers and his lab to demand the whereabouts of her boyfriend.

Donnie held his head down looking through the microscope eyeing the small sample of ooze as it moved under the glass. Him giving an annoyed hum at the unchanging ooze, it remaining unaltered by his added chemicals. The purple clad turtle adjusting his glasses seemingly blocking out the world only hearing a few mutters from outside his designated space. He just suspected it was all from Mickey, still determined to find a name for what they had become, claiming they were vampires or other things of such nonsense. “ (Y/n)! Wait” Leo called out following the angry and annoyed woman as she ran into the lab, ignoring the brothers as they tried to get her to leave. “Donnie!” Her usually sweet voice laced with anger causing the purple clad turtle to flinch a bit as he looked away from the ooze sample up to his sweet dove clearly fuming with such anger. It was only when he looked up at her, green eyes pleading for mercy that it hit him like a truck. Full speed and without warning a boiling rush of a feeling. “Dove…” He sighed his sweet pet name falling on deaf ears as (Y/n) anger for being stood up on their date was too strong to be swayed by sweet nothings.

“Nope! No Dove this or that, I need an explanation mister as to why i was left on a rooftop by myself?” She huffed glaring at the turtle before her eyes trailed the table before him. Papers, arrangements of chemicals and beakers strung about the usually clean lab. Indicator Donnie was struggling with whatever invention or ooze extrication he was working on. A deep inhale (Y/n) looked back at the turtle, his eyes lowered down. Donatello was trying to ignore the burning feeling coursing through his veins like a plague, a hunger. He squeezing his eyes closed tightly behind those large specs he wore did nothing against the thumping sound of her heart. He heard it clear as day, a soft rhythmic sound calming and maddening all at once. “It’s hard to explain Dove,” He muttered, hanging his head. (Y/n) frowned at his reaction, adding in the mess of a lab and room. Instinctively (Y/n) reached a hand out seeking to comfort the turtle but just as her fingers grazed the skin of his cheek his hand shot up gripping her wrist. (Y/n) jumped at the sudden grip, but came to relax as did his grip on her wrist did.

Those once green eyes opened to instead fade to a piercing red, gazing from his pretty little dove to her hand he held in his. Such a tiny wrist. He thought to himself looking at her hand running his thumb over her delicate wrist feeling her pulse race beneath her skin. Bringing her wrist up to his lips he pressed a delicate kiss along her soft skin. Even as his eyes closed he could tell she was flustered by such a move, her pulse speeding up making the man crack a smirk against her skin. Curious he looked up to see (Y/n) all flushed in the cheeks looking down at him all wide eyed. Such a cute reaction made the turtle want more, to see what other expressions she would make as his lips moved elsewhere along her skin. Donatello gave a low hum standing up he released her wrist from his grasp still leaving his dove standing there in bewilderment. Walking past her to the door of his lab he closed it, shutting himself and her off from the world and his brothers. He took a moment to collect his thoughts as the makeshift door clicked with confirmation that it was shut tight. Should he be doing this? Letting these thoughts go to his head and finally giving into hunger that rumpled inside him. He groaned even from these few feet away he could hear her breathe out a shaky sigh, the sound of the concrete beneath her shoes as she turned to look at him. She too finally managed to collect her thoughts.

“I just want to know why you bailed Don,” She gave a soft plea, his actions obviously enough to calm what anger she had. Donatello looked back at her with that usual nervous smile and gave a quiet “Tis’ the season I suppose, couldn’t risk it,” He said a fair warning that it was indeed mating season for his species, though he as well as his brothers knew that was not the whole truth. Truly didn’t matter or it mattered very much seeing as all she had been doing was standing in his presence, it alone was driving him to his limits. He walked up to the small woman, small in comparison to him at least. He is always towering over here, much larger than any normal man even at his young adult age of twenty. (Y/n) obviously didn’t believe him at first as the mess of a lab area said there was much more going on, but trying to speak about it proved futile especially to such charms. “Are you sure ‘cause it looks like-” (Y/n) was cut off again as she tried to touch or at least gesture towards the experiments with the ooze, and yet again Donatello had a grip on her wrist in a matter of seconds. This time however his hand didn’t remain there letting her wrist go and instead both those large green calloused hands held her face still long enough to press a heated unexpected but short kiss to them.

Donatello had panicked, worried she touched the ooze by accident and he let his body lead him to stopping it, its method of choice apparently being one of physical affection. (Y/n) didn’t fight it, falling victim almost immediately as she melted into the kiss and hands. He pulled away just as her lips parted expecting, craving more. Eyes opened to meet each other, it was only then that (Y/n) noticed the shift in eye color. Strange. She thought looking into those dark red eyes that bored into hers, eyeing her with a hunger and depth she could not entirely explain. Donatello gave in that very moment, looking down at her lips parted, breath held waiting patiently for more, for something else he caved. Behaving be damned, he was going to let instinct take over. His fingers tangled in her hair as he gave her a smile, a final warning to his need before he collided their lips together once more. Taking her breath with every move of his lips, pulling her closer by her head, leading her till she was fully against his plastron. Though each kiss was dripping with hunger it also held such passion, as if he stood to savor each movement from her.

(Y/n) felt her breath escape her, her chest heaving against the solid form of his plastron. His tall frame enveloped her, hide her from all sight and sound till it was only him in her senses. Hearing his amused hums and groans as the kiss developed into something more heated or as her hands trailed along his body. His lips all she could feel as the brushed and pulled at her own, prying her mouth open allowing him the access to have his tongue roam the inside of her mouth. Her eyes closed and yet her thoughts wandered playing images of what his face could possibly look like at this very moment, replaying the scenes of previous heated rendezvous they had shared, but all simple in comparison to what was happening now.

Donatello felt a frenzy of small taps along his shielded chest, a sign his love had to make when she required a moment. Without protest he pulled away letting the two a moment to breathe again, but remaining close. They sharing the air between them with each struggle and shaky inhale and exhale. (Y/n) pressed her lips into a thin line unsure of what to say or do in such a moment, though they done this plenty of times before this one remained to be different, to awaken her own human needs for satisfaction. Donatello seemed to realize this, how could he not when the pounding heart and pleading eyes were the only things he saw and heard. All he needs as well. He stepped back from her, the dissipation of body heat left both feeling strangely cold though both were dressed and feeling hot not moments ago. Releasing her from his grip he instead took her hand gently in his larger one as he led her away from his lab into the corner that became his room. Guiding her to walk backwards right into the side of the bed, letting her gently fall back with the lightest push.

She all too willingly allowed herself onto the springy mattress and soft sheets, him falling right after her, hovering over her for a moment. No words spoken, just begging glances exchanged before that primal instinct took over. His lips found hers again in a desperate heated kiss, this one rougher than the last likely to bruise to lips of hers, but what did she care.The (h/c) girl tossed her arms over the turtle’s shoulders and shell trying to pull him down close to her burning yet cold body. She needed some sense of closeness between the two but it remained a pointless venture as Donatello didn’t budge. Why? Because the kiss was not meant to last. He pulled away to instead allow those soft lips of his to linger down onto her neck. Hearing the rushing of her blood and the pounding of her heart do its finest to keep up with her aroused state, he smirked. “Mine~” He purred in between soft delicate kisses that quickly turned into light nips and licks along her throat. Sending a chill crawling down (Y/n)’s spine as she lay beneath him, hands exploring the firm body above her. His hands did the same, one remained holding him up to avoid crushing his pretty Dove. The other began exploring her clothed body, analyzing her outfit of choice to see if it would remain on or be removed soon enough. Thankfully it was a pretty little number she wore tonight, a dress. Donnie would be perfectly content with leaving her inside but still having access to the prize at hand.

Donatello seemed to have little patience at this moment, as did (Y/N). They both trailed their hands down past the other's hips to brush past the straining cores of their bodies. They sat there in their soft pants, laughing despite Donnie’s assault on her neck. "Donnie." Hearing his name breathed out like some unholy prayer made the purple-clad mutant shiver with delight. Oh how he wanted to hear her say that again. He pulled his face from the nape of her neck looking down at the woman beneath him. “Yes (Y/n)?” He returned her name like summer, hot till the end. “I’m sorry,” Her words caught him off guard. Yes, perhaps she arrived angry, but he was wrong for not saying a single thing about the events that transpired. He sighed, shaking his head at her pointless but meaningful words. “No, it's I who should be sorry. So allow me the chance to make up for it,” He spoke sweetly, words like silk yet sent a shiver of ice running along (Y/n) spine. She nodded, not able to find the words to deny him such a chance. This was especially when it was clear his genius mind already knew exactly how he was to do so. The turtle chuckled, he did indeed have an idea in mind. Instead, he let letting his hand trail down to her leg following her inner calf and thigh up and right back down. Donnie lifted himself off from above her, instead opting to kneel on the floor beside the bed. Slowly as if she were some delicate research and experiment he began to remove pieces of her attire, starting with her shoes. As he gently raised her leg, he kissed her teasingly along her flesh, removing each one with such care. Following her other leg then trailing up her lifted the trim of the dress slowly revealing more and more of her legs than her abdomen.

He chuckled at how silent (Y/n) fell looking up at her now propped up on her elbows watching him with that cute flustered face again. “If i do something you like then don’t hold back pretty Dove~” He purred knowing exactly how to time his words as they were quickly followed by a ghost-like kiss right above the lining of her undergarments. (Y/n) gasped and whined following such a light touch, he was so close to where she needed him most that only then did she realize how wet she was. Barely anything was touched and yet he had this woman soaked and craving more. Donatello smiled, the once dorky sort of quiet turtle almost looked smug, clearly proud of himself and his ability to get this woman going. The mutant did not torment his lover for long as he too was feeling the straining sinsation of his manhood against those shorts he wore, the did little to conceal the obviously erection he was sporting and while (Y/n) did take notice of it she was quickly distracted as Donatello rubbed a single digit along the thin cotton fabric of her undergarments. Over the concealed wetness of her cunt making her writhe against the bed. Slowly building such anticipation he slowly removed her panties from her body, (Y/n) not needing to move a muscle as the green mutant was strong enough to lift her hips for her with ease. Removing the fabric he tossed it aside for later clean up, turning his head back to her now exposed nether regions he leaned down not giving (Y/n) a moment to process the cold against her heated core before his tongue slid between her folds giving her a long teasing lick.

This motion prompted a very loud gasp to arise out of the woman as Donatello took a second to enjoy the lingering taste of her on his tongue. Only for a second though before it faded from him leading the mutant to lower his head back down for another and another. The mutant remained unmoving from his spot between her legs, his tongue hot from body heat remained tracing over her entrance, prodding it and rubbing against her clit in ways that drove (Y/n) mad. The young man was obviously fully aware of what he was doing and how to do it as she was nothing but incoherent cries and muttered of pleas on the sheets of his bed. Head hanging back as her elbows struggled to keep her up right, her body quaking with delicious delirium. Through her own cries and whispers of his name did she hear and feel his own moan against her trembling core. She forced herself to open her eyes peering down past her own body to Donatello enjoying his tasing of her, his hands firmly wrapped around his cock stroking the hardened member as he did so. Donatello from the time he began devouring his lover had grown a bit too needy for his liking, needing to desperately relieve some of the pressure he sought to get himself further down to his satisfaction with her. If the air in (Y/n)’s lung had not already been wasted on moaning and begging in bliss she would have felt it knocked out of her lungs again with such a sight.

It was the last straw needed for her elbows to give in, letting her upper body collapse onto the bed with a whine followed by his name. “Donnie~!” She begged for his attention, finally pulling the turtle from such a sweet dessert. Though he stopped his feverish eating he still remained in close proximity of her cunt, her feeling his hot breath panting slightly against her needy heat. “I need you.” She begged, one hand releasing itself from the sheets she held in a vice grip, the dark purple fabric remaining scrunched up as she reached out to the turtle before her. Donatello stood, not one to deny a lady, especially when they sounded so god damn hot begging like that. He stood up from his knees, both hands reaching down to take firm hold of her hips pulling her further off the edge of the bed and raising them to meet him. He leaned over down to her, his pretty little girlfriend looking so fucking beautiful as she laid there looking back at him waiting for his next move. “You are too cute princess~” He purred his tongue trailing his lips, wiping away any lingering residue from his feast. (Y/n) blushed, though she was sure it could not be seen through her already burning flustered skin.

“Who do you belong to?” His question came a bit as a surprise to (Y/n), nevertheless she found his lowered voice and demanding tone only to further her arousal. Donatello held her hips up with one hand pressed firmly up into her lower back. The other took hold of his shaft running it along her slick folds, his head teasing her entrance but not moving any farther till he got an answer. He raised a brow at her, those eyes piercing her with such an impatient and dominating gaze. Unlike her usual Donnie, but either way she loved it. “You.” Her words were nothing but a shaky whisper but it was good enough from the impatient Donatello. Sliding himself into her with such ease to feel her walls flutter around him trying to adjust to the large girth of him. He ventured back to his assault on her neck and collarbone as he whispered sweet nothing into her ears about how good she felt and how beautiful she was. He waited a moment more before pulling back only to collide with her hips again, bearing down into her core at a fast pace. Donatello was usually a man to take his time, but at this given moment he wanted nothing more than to reach his climax and to bring (Y/n) to hers.

“Fuck.” he groaned into her neck, his words of ecstasy drowned out by (Y/n)s repeating moans, his little dove singing for him in such a pretty way, but he could not risk her getting any louder. Sitting up Donatello resorted to clamping a hand over her mouth trying to muffle her lewd song. Besides it was only for him to hear, no one else should get such a pleasure as to hear her cry for him. His sudden hand forced her eyes open looking at her boyfriend in a lustful haze earning a smile from the ninja above her. “Shhh~ Bite me if you need to, but you must be at least somewhat quite gorgeous.” He whispered in her ear earning a desperate nod from his partner. With her moans now muffled (Y/n) needing to bite down on her own boyfriend’s hand to prevent her from getting louder, Donnie took that as a chance to pick up the pace and bite her himself. Attacking her neck leaving a path of hickeys and bruises along her sick and bucked into her hard. Both were already amidst the path to their arousal from his earlier teasing but now he was teetering the edge of it. Feeling his cock twitch in her as he raised her hips higher adjusting his position to plunge deeper he moaned in her ear, each lewd sound followed by a heave for air. The change in position allowed him the chance to hit that perfect spot for the already hazed (Y/n), her back arching off the bed and teeth baring down into the flesh of his hand. Donatello was also getting louder, resulting in him biting down into her neck a little harder than he intended, both drawing blood as they struggled to keep their voices down.

With him fucking into her like his life depended on it he found himself not thinking properly, trying desperately to find their climax. So as the sudden hint of blood, her blood touched his tongue he lost all sense of control. Opening his mouth wide to allow his fangs out he buried his teeth back into her. Iron taste of blood coated his mouth, a sharp and short lived twinge of pain shot through (Y/n)’s body, it seemed to be the final push that both needed. (Y/n) walls clenched around him at his base as Donnie gave a few final driving thrust into her before he came. His seed coating her walls as he pulled back from her neck. (Y/n) in her final attempt to remain silent through her own climax bit down as hard as possible on Donnie’s hand drawing her own small amount of blood that too found its way onto her tongue. Both released each other as the purple-clad turtle gave a few final small movements draining himself and her of all the energy they had.

Pulling out of her Donnie had to steady himself a moment still feeling the effects of such a high. He sighed walking away a moment to let (Y/n) try and catch her breath as he went on the search for a cloth suitable enough to clean the two up. Returning, (Y/n) sat up to meet eyes with the turtle as he assisted in cleaning her up. (Y/n) gave an audible small gasp but not at her still sensitive cunt but at the clear bite mark and blood on her lover’s hand. Reaching out she took it in her smaller hands pressing a soft apologetic kiss to his wound. “So am I forgiven?” He asked sweetly joining her on the bed as he discarded the cloth. The exhausted woman gave a soft laugh as she was pulled up close to his chest, cuddling into him she nodded. “I suppose that will do,” (Y/n) said, pressing a final kiss to his lips. Donatello smiled fully willing to accept that answer, ready to collapse into sleep with his lovely dove beside him.

#tmnt donatello #donnie x reader #donatello x reader #tmnt bayverse #tent bay verse x reader #vampire #vampire x reader #tmnt smut #tmnt lemon #spicy writing

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lambertdiary · 7 months

Text

After All These Years - Chapter Four

Chapter One ✩ ‎‎‎‎‎Chapter Two ✩ Chapter Three

Chapter Summary: Y/N and Chris help Dalton while he's lost in The Further and they're left to deal with something else taking him over. Y/N finally shows Dalton the blue box.

Word Count: 1.9k+

Warnings: possessed!Dalton, language

A/N: I’m not gonna lie, as I was finishing this chapter I realised how much I strayed away from the original request so I apologise if this is absolutely nothing like that 😭 at the same time I wanna apoligise for taking so long to update this mini-series but it was tumblr's fault, I wrote like an entire chapter but then it disappeared somehow? Like I guess it didn't save properly so I had to rewrite it but it wasn't the same as the first time and I couldn't remember how it went and I hated it every time I tried to replicate the original so I stopped trying for a bit. But I hope you still like it! As always please let me know what you think 🫶🏻

MASTERLIST ✩ SEND ME A REQUEST

Y/N froze for a moment. When she got Chris’ texts a million things went through her mind, but whatever she thought was the worst she was wrong, cause this definitely was.

Snapping back to reality, she ran inside and tried to turn on the light, but she failed. Dalton (who she was sure was not Dalton) got dangerously close to her and closed the door with a simple hand motion. Y/N didn’t know what to do, she wanted to say something but she couldn’t find her voice, and Chris was looking at them in pure terror.

“Dalton?” Y/N whispered, analysing his face trying to find him in his own body.

He shook his head and let out a devilish laugh “You are the one he used to lead me to” He said in a scarily low tone as his hand travelled to her hair, brushing it out of the way “Where have you been?”

Y/N swallowed hard as she processed the words that came out of his mouth, what did he mean by that? She looked over his shoulder and noticed Chris carefully leaving the bed and reaching for the lights that were laying on the ground. Dalton followed her eyes and landed on Chris, his stare filled with evil intentions.

He returned to look at Y/N, slowly adjusting his other hand in her neck. He grabbed her by the throat and she could feel her feet leaving the ground.

“Y/N!” Chris exclaimed and Dalton tightened his grip. Chris ran up to them, but just as she was gonna do something, Dalton collapsed to the ground, making Y/N fall on top of him.

She breathed deeply and they both went to check on him, noticing his appearance slowly going back to normal. The room was dark and eerie sounds were coming from everywhere, but after a moment of shakingly looking around, terrifying beings started to crawl from under the beds.

“Get the lights!” Y/N exclaimed, bringing Dalton closer to her to protect him. The things were fast to approach them, and Y/N was doing her best to kick them away when they got too close. Chris was on the other side of the room, connecting the lights together and illuminating the pitch black space.

It was an intense few minutes of them trying to protect Dalton and themselves from whatever was surrounding them, too immersed in their fear to utter a sound, but suddenly the things around them disappeared and Dalton opened his eyes, quickly getting on his feet and stumbling a bit as he made his way to his desk “Dalton?” Y/N whispered, scared another entity took him over, but he didn’t respond.

Dalton went straight to his canvas, and rushed to cover it with black paint. Y/N and Chris looked at him unsure, repeatedly scanning the room to check for other things.

“I have to save my dad” He finally said. It took him another minute to completely cover the canvas with the dark paint, leaving the red door behind it, but once he was done the light blinked a few times before completely going back to normal, the room being entirely illuminated once again.

He looked for his phone and swiftly dialled his mom, getting desperate when she didn’t pick up right away “Is dad back?” He asked immediately.

Y/N and Chris stayed with him while he talked to his parents, vaguely catching up on what actually happened to him when he was 10. He seemed troubled to learn the real reason he was in a coma and why he was so scared of the dark since then, but somewhat relieved to finally know what it all meant and that it wasn’t in his head. Once he finally hung up he proceeded to thank his friends for staying there with him even when he wasn’t himself, followed by a million apologies and trying his best to promise something like that will never happen again.

“Did I hit my head or something?” Dalton asked, running his hand on the back of his head.

“You did. You fell pretty hard on the floor” Y/N explained. Dalton nodded and looked around him, noticing the mess of lights still laying across the floor.

“I’ll go get some ice for you” Chris said leaving the room.

“Dalton, what did you do?” Y/N looked at him knowing he went too far.

He sighed and explained how he went back to the frat house to try to speak with the kid in Nick’s bathroom and ask him about the door, talking to her unsure the whole time as she was giving him a worried look.

“You went back to talk to the dead kid?”

“I didn’t have many options”

Y/N felt for him, he looked tired and she wished she could have been there for him “I’m sorry you had to go through that alone”

“I couldn’t risk putting you in danger” He smiled softly, but it faded when he noticed slight marks on her arms and neck “But I guess I did anyway”

Y/N shook her head quickly “It’s not your fault”

“I’m sorry” He said for the millionth time “I didn’t know that something like this could happen and I spent so many years resenting my dad for things he didn’t even do, and I would hate for you to hate me for-”

“Dalton, I don't hate you” Y/N reached for his hand and caressed it softly “You said it yourself, you didn’t know and I’m never gonna blame you for any of this, specially not after hearing how difficult it was for your family”

But before he could say something the door opened and both of them turned to look at Chris “The ice machine was broken but this should do” She said handing him a small ice package “Anyway, I should probably leave, I still have schoolwork I need to finish”

“Me too” Y/N stood up and followed Chris to the door “We’ll talk tomorrow and call me if you need anything. Are you gonna be okay” Y/N asked looking at him again, and he just nodded. They said goodbye to Dalton and left his dorm, but not before telling him he can stop apologising.

The next day Y/N and Dalton agreed to see each other after class, and since he didn’t have plans to chase after another ghost this time he didn’t cancel on her.

She went to her dorm first to drop off her school bag and the blue box caught her attention again. She opened it quickly to make sure everything was still there, smiling when the memories flooded her mind as she made her way to Dalton’s dorm, who gave her a hug as soon as he opened the door for her.

“Did you sleep better last night?” Y/N asked immediately after pulling away and closing the door behind her.

“I’m not sure but I think I’ll get there” They sat across from each other on Dalton’s bed “What’s that?” He asked when he noticed what Y/N was holding.

“Oh… uh- I found this before I came here. It’s a bunch of pictures of us, from before you moved and… I guess I wanted to show you”

Dalton’s eyes lit up and he rushed to sit next to her “Can I see?”

Y/N nodded as she opened the box slowly, feeling a little nervous for some reason but she handed it to him anyway. He was smiling the whole time, his eyes slightly filling with tears as he went through the old photos. Dalton remembered most of his friendship with Y/N, but seeing their younger selves show so much love for each other almost brought him back to those summer days where his only worry was selling enough lemonade and playing with her.

“I wonder why I didn’t have any pictures of you- of us” He corrected himself.

“I think I kept all of them” Y/N said, letting out a little giggle.

“Can I please keep this one?” Dalton held up a photo of them showing off a new sign for his lemonade stand, a little ‘Y/N + Dalton’ decorating the bottom of it.

Y/N smiled and rolled his eyes at him playfully “Okay fine, I’ll let you keep it”

“Thanks” He replied, admiring it for another moment before placing it on his desk. He put the rest of the pictures next to him on the bed and returned his attention to the contents of the box, finding more but just of Y/N, he could tell they were from after he moved. He took all of them and turned to face her “May I?”

“Sure, go ahead” Y/N moved to sit closer to him, her head faintly resting on his shoulder as he went through her pictures.

“You did theatre?” He asked, contemplating her in one of the many school plays.

“I was forced to!” She exclaimed “I wasn’t willingly dressing up in hot costumes”

He giggled before moving on to the next picture, coming across a few more of her school plays and then a couple of yearbook portraits. His smile grew even bigger at this “What happened to your hair here?”

“And now you just lost the right to look at these, so good job” Y/N said, taking the pictures from his hands and Dalton let out a laugh, his eyes falling on the box again and noticing a small piece of paper still at the bottom.

Dalton took it out and carefully unfolded it, a heavy nostalgic feeling invading him again “I made this for you” He said.

“Yeah, you gave it to me the day you left”

“And you kept it… after all these years”

“I promised you I would”

They locked eyes for a moment, but Dalton’s face started to get warm so he looked away and down at the drawing again “Leaving was really hard, but I always thought I would see you again, until you know…” He said, alluding to his coma “If 10 year old me could see us now”

“Yeah, it took too long but at least we’re together now, right?”

Dalton nodded and met her eyes again “If we hadn’t ended up in the same uni, and in the same building, who knows if we would have ever found each other”

“And if Chris wasn’t so nosy” Y/N joked, making both of them laugh.

“Exactly! How crazy is it that my old roommate got assigned with you”

“I know. I bet someone really wanted us to cross paths again”

Dalton smiled shyly and stood up, scanning his wall for a moment and then approaching it to hang up the drawing he made years ago.

“Sure, you can keep it” Y/N said sarcastically.

Dalton let out a laugh “Sorry, I just wanted to see how it’d look there”

Y/N stood up next to him and appreciated the drawing one more time, a warm feeling covering her heart as she compared it to the newest paintings of Dalton. His arm went around her waist and he pulled her closer to hug her tightly, kissing the top of her head before whispering “I’ve missed you”

She smiled at his words, the same happy sentiment she used to feel every summer coming back to her.

#after all these years #dalton lambert #dalton lambert x reader #dalton lambert fic #dalton lambert imagine #dalton lambert x you #dalton lambert fanfic #dalton lambert imagines #dalton lambert fluff #insidious 5 #insidious #insidious the red door #ty simpkins

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musingginger · 2 years

Text

rainbow in the dark // eddie munson

Synopsis – After getting out of the Upside Down and wounding Vecna, you tend to Eddie’s wounds and try to put the pieces back together.

Pairing- Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader, Eddie Munson x You

Warnings – season 4 spoilers!, season 4 rewrite (no one dies or gets left behind in the Upside Down), some cursing, NON VERBAL/NO DIALOGUE, incredibly angsty, fluff, smut, 18+ only, minors DNI, nipple play, p+v sex, soft!eddie, a tad bit of possessive!eddie, softdom!eddie, crying, emotional breakdown at the end (don’t worry, it ends, sort of happily).

Word Count – 3.3k

A/N- This one got me pretty emotional y’all, which is probably why it took me forever to write. I am fascinated by the way people process grief and big emotions and this work definitely dives into that. I also wanted to challenge myself and write a completely non verbal fic, which was quite the challenge! When I was editing, rereading the ending made me tear up a little bit, so I hope y’all feel the same way about this fic as I do. Any constructive criticism would be appreciated. Also, this is only edited by me, so apologies if there are typos. And of course, if you enjoy it, please reblog! Hope you enjoy! Thanks! <3

I do not grant permission for anyone to use my work. Under no circumstances, repost my work on any other sites. I do not consent to anyone taking my work and posting it as their own.

You could barely come to grips of what happened in the last few days.

You watched your boyfriend play the most metal concert of all time on top of his trailer in the Upside Down. After which, you had to endure his battle with the demobats. Watching him fall from the bites, it was almost too much to handle.

You’ll never forget hearing the screams coming from Dustin, how your heart pounded in your chest as you ran, your throat sore with screams of your own. Grabbing your shield, you were able to protect the three of you long enough to get out of there. You don’t know how you did it, it was all a blur, but luckily, you and Dustin got there in time, pulled Eddie through the trailer gate and to safety.

Steve, Robin and Nancy weren’t too far behind after wounding Vecna. You all knew that he wouldn’t be down for long, but for now, you were safe.

The drive home was silent. No music played. Just the hum of the engine.

Eddie was numb.

The near-death experience shook him to his core. You felt his legs tremble pressed to yours the whole ride home. His hand griped your thigh like it was the only thing keeping him on this plane of existence. It took everything you had to hold back tears. You placed your hand on the back of his neck, scratching his head lightly.

Steve dropped you and Eddie at your house. No one said anything as you both got out of the caravan and Eddie brushed passed the bushes that covered your front door, holding your hand the entire time.

Once inside, he double locked the door, something he’s never done before. You looked at Eddie as he stood motionless, hand pressed against the door, forehead flush with the wood.

Shell shocked almost.

You could see that he was still trembling, the chain on his jeans glistening in the soft light coming from the hallway. You help Eddie take off his sneakers and socks before kicking off your own. Tenderly, you pull him towards the bathroom.

You turn on the yellow light, causing both of you to squint. You try to pull your hand away carefully, but Eddie has a strong grip on you, unable to let go. With your free hand, you turn on the hot water tap and gently run your wrist through the stream to make sure water comfortable for him.

Your only concern is for him.

As steam starts to fill the small, yet cozy, bathroom, you gently take off Eddie’s outer layers. Jacket first, then Hellfire shirt. Finally, his pants and boxers.

Once the water was hot enough, you coax Eddie towards the clear water, careful of his injuries. He looks down, slowly putting his foot into the wet tile. Sliding down into the shower, making it a murky red brown. He quickly turns his head towards you, locking his eyes with yours.

Those chocolate brown eyes. Full of hurt, of worry, of vulnerability. His grip on your hand tightens, an unspoken need fills the air.

You nod, knowing. You only let go of his hand to strip yourself, sliding into the shower behind him. Eddie presses his body into yours, immediately knowing home.

His home is with you.

His head presses into your shoulder, warm water trickling down his back, making his fluffy curls limp from the weight of the water. Eddie lets out a gentle sigh of relief into your shoulder. Relief of what, you’re not sure.

Luckily the bats didn’t bite too deeply into his skin, and most of his wounds would be fixed with Neosporin and gauze. Fuck, you were thankful for that.

You grab the bar of soap, lathering it in your hand. Then you start the gently rub it across his shoulders, down his chest and up again. The bubbles turn brown against the bar. Eddie let out a small cry as you clean his wounds, which you soothed away with gentle touches.

Once you feel like his body has been scrubbed enough, you do the same on your own shoulders. Though not as dirty as his, you too needed to wash away the bad.

Grabbing Eddie’s shampoo, you release his hand to squeeze some into your hands. When your hands release, Eddie lets out a soft, pleading groan as you turn him around, getting him to face away from you.

You work up a froth from the shampoo and slowly start to work it into Eddie’s long, curly locks. Tenderly, you move your fingers through his coils. Your brow furrows as you hold back your own tears, fingers twirling through his hair. Deep brown and rust colors fill the bath water dripping down his back.

You do the same with his (really your) conditioner. Delicately, you detangle each spiral, watching them fall into a pretty pattern on his head.

Once you feel like he is washed, you can attend to your own hair. He turns to face you, burying himself again in your shoulder. Quickly washing and conditioning your hair, the entire time Eddie holds onto your waist gently. Silently turning him back around to face away from you, you carefully comb through his hair with your fingers and, surprisingly, you find yourself wanting to braid it.

Slender fingers trail through the long waves and start to braid it. Cautiously at first, Eddie didn’t typically let you braid his hair. But when no protestations come from the metalhead, you continue. Warm fingers weave through the tangles, making a plait starting at the crown of his head and working downwards.

You wished you were doing this under different circumstances.

Mostly clean now, you turn off the taps, watching as the dirty water swirls into the drain and use your hands to press Eddie into your chest. You both stand there until the tub is devoid of water, and all that’s left is your bodies.

After a fair amount of time has passed, you gingerly coax Eddie out of the steam and into a fresh, fluffy towel. You tuck it in around his waist before attending to your own, wrapping it around your torso.

He can’t look at you.

Wrapping a towel around yourself, you feel the grip of his rough fingers against your forearm. You find his fingers and lace them with yours, reassuringly.

He’s here. He’s safe. You love him. And he loves you.

You press your forehead against his, breathing him in. Even with the shampoo, the lingering smell of tobacco fills the air. You both close your eyes, enjoying the comforting steam that still filled the bathroom. After a few minutes, you force yourself to pull away from him.

Now you start the tedious task of bandaging him up. Finding the Neosporin, gauze, and bandages in the medicine cabinet, you dump your supplies into the sink. Your eyes scan over his body, finding each cut, scrape and bite. Squeezing ointment onto your fingers, before spreading it every angry red mark. Eddie lets out a wince each time, but you reward his patience with the process with a small arm squeeze or a shoulder kiss.

When you’re all done, you pull him into the bedroom, looking for some clean clothes for you two to wear. The only light guiding you was streaming in through the hallway. Golden hues filter through the abyssal blackness.

It was so dark outside. Too dark. Not even the pale blue moonlight lit your way.

While your hands were filled with band tees and sweatpants, you feel the rough grip of his hand on your shoulder, which makes you turn towards him. His eyes lock with yours. You get lost in the deep chocolate depths of his eyes, wide and bottomless.

He wanted to say something. He wanted to tell you every thought running through his head. But he couldn’t say anything.

Rough fingertips gently slide down your arm, finding your hipbone. Eddie’s wide hand palms your skin delicately. His other hand hovers over your cheek, like he’s not sure what he wants to do exactly. Furrowing his brow, he closes his eyes, shaking his head slightly.

You lean in, cheek brushing against his, as your fingers scratch the curve of his lower back. Eddie breathes softly in your ear; a sound of relaxation and concern leaves his throat. The tips of his fingers finally connect with your neck, so soft you barely could feel it if not for his pulse.

He lowers his head to your shoulder, lips pressed into the crook connected to your neck. Your warm scent fills his nose. Floral, amber and musk.

Eddie takes a small, shuffled step towards you, his bare chest pressing against the fluffy fibers still covering your body. Suddenly overcome by emotion, you press your face into his hair, holding back tears.

Eddie feels you shudder, pulling you into a hug, broad hands leaving warm handprints onto your shoulders. As hard as Eddie tried to hold it back, a hot tear hits your shoulder. Sniffling into your hair, breathing in your scent, reminding him that it’s over.

He’s here. He’s safe. You love him. And he loves you.

He pulls back, once again pressing his forehead into yours, letting out a sigh, noses brushing against one another. It was so silent. Other than your breathing, there was a void. Not even the nighttime noises fill the room. Energy buzzed, making the room shake with your energy.

In a flash, his lips are pressed onto yours. Hot, hungry passion breaks over you. His lips are pressing so hard into you that it hurts, a good hurt. It was a hurt that made you know that he was never going to leave you.

He needed you. Now.

He needed to feel something.

Calloused fingers weave through your damp hair, gripping it tightly as Eddie grips your waist with his other hand. You feel the desperation pulsing through his skin. You needed to feel him just as much as he needed to feel you.

Eddie’s strong tongue pries open your mouth, teeth biting your bottom lip, leaving dark red bruises. Both of your hands grip the sides of his jaw, pulling him in harder.

Wanting him closer. Needing him closer.

The pads of your thumbs leave deep depressions on his skin and hot pink marks on the apples of his cheeks. You feel his nails lightly digging into the nape of your neck as he kisses you with white hot passion. Eddie’s pulse throbs against the skin on your waist and you feel it quicken with every deep kiss.

He pushes you up against the bedroom wall, careful not to hit your head on the drywall. Eddie lets out a low groan as his lips break from yours, moving down your neck. You feel the hot flash of his teeth grazing against your skin, warm wet kisses pressing against the sensitive skin.

Moaning softly as you close your eyes, wanting to just feel in the moment. He leaves a path of burning fervor up and down the side of your neck. Each kiss harder and rougher than the one before. You nails dig into the muscles of his lower back, holding him in place.

Eddie grasps your earlobe in between his teeth, giving it an intense tug, making you cry out. Nipples hardening under the terrycloth fabric still covering your body. Eddie grabs your hands from behind him, throwing them up above your head.

His fingers lace in yours as he holds them there. You try to catch his lips once again, but he pulls away. His pupils dilated, his eyes almost black, dark, and deep with desire.

He looked like a feral hungry animal, and you were his prey.

You open your mouth to speak, wanting him to know that you were here for him for whatever he needed. A small sound left your lips, the beginnings of a word, but Eddie cut you off, pressing a hard kiss onto your mouth and crushing your body under his.

Softly, Eddie tucks a finger under the top of your towel, pulling back from your lips and looking at you, asking for silent permission. Panting, you nod, your body begging to feel his skin on yours, giving non-verbal consent. Eddie swiftly unhooks the towel from around itself, letting it fall to the ground.

Eddie’s hand relaxes around yours, setting you free, for now. You lean in to kiss his neck delicately. Sliding his hand over your back, slowly trailing his fingers along your spine up to the back of your neck as Eddie feels your warm breath against his ear. He turns you closer towards the bed.

Eddie slides his hand closer to the back of your neck and grabs a handful of your hair, tugging at it firmly as his hand wraps around it. Long tendrils getting caught around his rings. He leans in closer to you, pressing his lips against yours, biting at your bottom lip a little roughly, tugging at it with his teeth before letting it smack against your teeth as he lets go.

You whimper against his lips, hands finding their way to his waistline and his towel. Eddie slides his hand from your hair and slides it slowly over your shoulder. His large fingers wrap around your neck lightly, feeling a bit of a squeeze as your slender hands toy with his towel.

Eddie bites at your earlobe, his fingers tightening around your neck a little tighter. His hand reaches around to your backside and gives your ass a hard smack, making your feet jump slightly from the light pain. He then roughly grabs your ass, biting into your neck again.

You whole body was on edge, a coil ready to snap. You heart felt like it was going to explode out of your chest.

Your hands tremble as you loosen the towel around his slender torso. It falls to the floor, his cock released from the confines of the terrycloth. It springs up, pressed between your two bodies as Eddie roughly guides you onto your back on the bed.

Eddie falls on top of you, rough hand around your neck. He presses up just enough to bite at the deep red bruises he’s already left on your puffy lips. The tip of his pink cock gently brushes against your bundle of nerves, making you both groan with desire.

His kisses get desperate now. Panting cuts through the silent night as you both frantically grip at each other. He puts his fingers in his mouth, spitting on two of his digits before swiping it along the head of his cock. Eddie lines himself up with your already dripping pussy. Every second felt like a year. And neither of you could wait any longer.

Eddie places his free hand around your head, semi caging you in, as he slowly enters you. You let out a low cry as he stretches you sweetly and grip his forearm. He takes your hands and clutches them above your head, gently dominating you. The hand he had around your neck moves to your tits, the pad of his thumb flicking your diamond hard nipples.

Each thrust getting deeper, Eddie losing more of himself, lost in you. The tip of his cock taps at your G-spot with every deep stroke. It took everything you had in you to not cum right then and there.

Your fingernails dig into Eddie’s lats, leaving long red marks of passion. Or was it possession? You couldn’t tell in that moment. All you knew is that you needed him closer, you needed more of him.

Your right hand runs up along Eddie’s shoulders, over a bandage and into his hair. You grip the base of his neck tightly as he pulls your leg up, dying to get deeper. Unruly curls get tangled in your fingers, causing you to pull a little harder than you wanted to. Eddie didn’t care though.

A rough bandage rubs against your thigh, making Eddie wince, but the pain wasn’t enough to make him want to stop. You both find a steady pace, Eddie buried deep inside you. There was a mutual ownership in your love making.

Pretty sounds start to escape from your throat and into Eddie’s ear. The metalhead buries his head into your hair and neck, echoing your sounds. Your eyes close, goosebumps erupting all over your skin as you press your head back into the comforter.

The hand on your throat, moves to your neck and is replaced by hot, wet kisses from Eddie. His nose presses into the underside of your jaw as he closes his eyes, furrowing his brow. Torrid pants cover your neck as he slightly picks up his pace leaving droplets of moisture on your skin.

Warm, wet animalistic sounds add to the mixture of pants, groans, and sighs filling the room. You grip onto his hair tighter, as Eddie buries his face into your neck and jaw, pressing hard against your skin. You bite his shoulder, hard, making him let out a feral moan into your ear.

Legs start to shake for both parties as you climb the mountain to your climaxes. You were already teetering on the edge, begging to dive into the euphoric ocean together.

His bush was rubbing against your clit just right as you were desperately trying to hold on for him. Your eyes roll back into your head as you feel his movements become sloppy and erratic. Perfectly imperfect. You knew he was close.

Simultaneously, you both let out guttural screams as you cum together. The skin on both of you was speckled with shades of red and purple. You saw on Eddie’s shoulder the teeth mark your bite had left.

A small smile breaks out across your face for a second, forgetting everything that had happened and just enjoyed the moment. Eddie lets out a sharp chuckle, before suddenly overcome by emotion.

You feel a scorching tear fall onto your delicate skin. Eddie’s body becomes wracked with sobs, as tears stream down his face and into your hair. Low, mournful sounds leave his throat. He slides out of you and tries to roll away from you, covering his eyes, shaking uncontrollably.

You gently grab his shoulder, pulling him into you, softly shushing him. You adjust yourself against the headboard, pressing him closer to you, gently rocking him as he bawls. Running your fingers through his hair, brushing the mats away from his face.

You plant small kisses along his cheeks and forehead while his body let it out. Every scream, every cry, every moan was different from the one before. It made you choke up. Looking up to the ceiling, trying to fiercely hold back your own sobs, brushing back any tears that betrayed you. You had to be strong. You had to be strong for Eddie.

He’s here. He’s safe. You love him. And he loves you.

You stayed like that for a long while. So long that you watched as the color from outside turned from inky black to pale indigo. The sun was coming up.

The rocking eventually soothed Eddie and when you felt his grip soften against you, you knew the worst was over. For now.

Snuggling down into the bed, Eddie still held onto you, abet looser with every minute that was passing. You finally felt the vibrations of his soft snores against your throat. Pale light filtered into the room through a prism you had given Eddie for Christmas last year. The rainbow cascade against his skin, making him look angelic.

A rainbow after all that dark. You couldn’t help but snort at the irony which turned into a sniffle. One lone tear rolled down your cheek and you quickly brushed it away. You had to be strong. As you start to drift off, you say the mantra in your head once more.

He’s here. He’s safe. You love him. And he loves you.

tags: @theoreticslut @immatheoreticslut @misskittysmagicportal

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morgana-ren · 4 months

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Hi Morgana :)) hope you're having a good day. So I stumbled upon this video and the discourse in the comments https://youtube.com/shorts/cbtSWTjXvZQ?si=8g19VZHJUNI-5niU

And quite frankly got curious as I didn't get to play much of an early access Astarion but I do remember how his attitude at the tiefling/goblin party seems a lil different from early access to launch as well as his noble to charlatan change. So I thought that I could ask the Lore Mommy do you think he was changed that much and or how these changes shifted your perspective on his character. Because personally I do view him as a decadent and somewhat hedonistic as Ascended and those traits do show in his Spawn persona as well.

So just curious about your thoughts on this:))

Okay, I ended up fucking rambling and getting off topic here. This is too long for comfort. I'm sorry I just ended up blabbing, I swear that wasn't the intention lmao. I ended up looking into the comments at aforementioned discourse and it just reminded me of shit, so please forgive me. I tend to r a m b l e with a fuckin capital R. I'm talking in a more general sense and not at anyone in particular, most especially not you, so please don't think that. It's just my observations at large. I love questions like this and I hope this doesn't make you roll your eyes.

So, I got the EA version of the game when it was still fairly early. It was Patch 2, if I recall. It was interesting watching the group develop and grow as the writers and developers decided some things fit more than others because sometimes the patches were so drastically different than the last. Wyll actually got an entire rewrite between the EA and the full release. All of the characters we had went through changes (except Karlach and Halsin because they weren't there but they were likely tweaked behind the scenes.) A lot of Astarion's concept was already written, but his character was absolutely tweaked. The art book and a lot of the released designs are very early. We had them as of patch 2 where he was drastically different. In the beginning, they very much were going more for the stereotypical 'evil' follower. You could play as a good character and he would still like you, but he was very much geared for more debauchery-based playthroughs. It's also important to note that we really didn't get to demo everything. We only got the first act, and some of the more shallow aspects of it.

The thing about Baldur's Gate 3 is it is written so well because no character is good or evil. They are rounded, genuine characters with stories and lives and opinions of their own. You can dislike them, but you have to acknowledge they aren't written to be banal stereotypes. Astarion was a bit more of an evil clusterfuck in EA, but even then, there was a deep pain inside of him, and he was using his callousness and lack of giving a shit as a defense. Even then you knew something was very wrong. He mentioned Cazador because you ran into the Gur hunter, and you knew he was kept as a spawn against his will and was tortureda and had a very dubious past, but a lot of the character development wasn't in the EA-- because they didn't originally intend for it to be there.

But that doesn't fully change his character like some of the comments and other videos and posts I see seem to suggest. It seems like a lot of people have an egregious misunderstanding of his arc-- especially on tiktok and youtube shorts where the audience is younger and more prone to projection and group-thinking, echo-chambery line of thought.

Here's the rundown from what I remember deducing with EA combined with my personal playthroughs now that the game has released:

Astarion was absolutely a shithead before he was taken and turned. We don't know about his childhood, mostly because he doesn't know or remember, but I can say with certainty that he didn't become a dickhead after Cazador. Being taken made him worse, but he absolutely was an asshole before he was taken. He probably wasn't the traumatized, terrified young man he is now, but he was probably a real shit-kicker. He was on the winding path to darkness and they make this clear.

(His childhood was not touched on in the EA at all. All you knew is magistrate, vampire, gur killed him, Cazador, slave, and his dickish, libertine attitude.)

He is a noble though. This much we knew. He is privileged. Elite. He took without caring and doled out where he saw fit. He was your stereotypical rich boy-- or that's the vibe he gives off. He doesn't give off 'I earned my way into power' like Gortash does. He gives off 'I was born into privilege and I'm making it everyone else's problem.' He's educated and very savvy with language in a way that those of higher education access learn to be. He is well spoken and snubs his nose at 'lessers' in a way you see the wealthy do so casually. He was likely living a life of luxury and emerging into his own life in an Elon Musk-esque sort of evil powergrab. He might've always been a pesky little troublemaker, but he very much has 'I'm rich and I don't care about you' vibes, even beneath all of the trauma. This did not develop from Cazador. This was preexisting.

He was young. He was impulsive and dumb. He never had a chance to emotionally mature. It's entirely possible that, had he been left alone, he might've blossomed into a better person. But do not be mistaken, he was a bad person. Honestly, it's more possible to me that he would have just become another corrupt patriar with the city in his coin purse. Either way, fate played him a different hand than the one his birth had decided on.

You are told that he is a magistrate back in the city, which is true. When you play his origin story, you get options relating to it and it's actually been referred to a lot since the EA. He absolutely was some form of up and rising politician seeking power. A man with high ideas of himself, libertine proclivities, a self-centered attitude, and very much not a good person. Probably not horrible or sadistic for fun to the degree he is now, but definitely spiraling that way with the path he was on. The seeds had been planted already before any of his trauma happened.

I assume he wasn't quite important enough that his death would cause an uproar, but probably an impudent little upstart with his eyes on high political power just getting his bearings in the political world with help from mommy and daddy. The kind of petty asshole who abuses any authority he gets and doesn't care who or what gets in his way because he has some shit to prove and a life to live, everyone else be damned. That kind of person. He had ideas and ambitions, and is probably very open to corruption from the get-go. The kind of politician that dies in the street and people go "Hmm. Shame." and move on because they weren't anything special or grand. Just another corrupt asshole getting what they deserved. Another rich daddy's boy brought to the knife by the populace.

He was mourned. Someone missed him. But it wasn't the people of Baldur's Gate. That's for sure. He was forgotten before he became a true problem. Killed and stemmed. Just. Another. Cruel politician. Just another bastard with a big head. Just another.

In short, he definitely made some enemies and had drawn the wrong sort of attention during his time as a magistrate. Being the peacocking, lovely, arrogant young man he is, I bet he'd managed to make more people unbelievably pissed off than any sort of admiration, which normally for the rich isn't a problem, but... when it is, it really is, as you can see.

Even in the EA, he is very open with you tells you that the Gur, likely unhappy with a recent ruling he made, jumped him and murdered him in the street and you can let him kill the hunter. Thing is, Gur are not a violent people. If they attacked him like that, he did something to warrant it. It had to have been pretty nasty for it to have that consequence. The main difference is in the EA (later, of course, but still) you can find out that it was not Cazador that sent the Gur hunter. In fact, it was someone different entirely. I think it was someone named Maiden Fel or something. I do not remember. They likely switched it up. It was not the Gur looking of their own volition originally, but neither was it Cazador. But the EA was also slightly disjointed and broken so it's hard to tell what was canon at the time.

Astarion, in his shitty early days, isn't shy about his slight racism. He seems to dislike everything that isn't human or elven. It's entirely possible he had racial/cultural biases against the Gur and ended up pulling a ruling that was extremely unfair. It would be fair for them to seek retaliation.

This is never officially elaborated on as far as I know, but I do honestly believe that Cazador was almost more coincidence than anything. He saw a young, beautiful boy and went "Hmm... useful." He smelled blood in the water and saw someone that wouldn't be missed and offered them eternal life, knowing this silver-haired young man would be foolish enough to grasp it. He probably reeked of privilege. He would take it with open arms and without asking why or what for because that is what he was used to. Privileged people do not ask. They take. Cazador knew this.

(The point of me running through his past is to point out that not everything can be blamed on his trauma. He was at least kind of a bastard before this ever happened. And both EA and release have the similar trauma background almost identically.)

As we know, Astarion died that night. In the street. In a puddle of his own blood. He was scraped off the cobblestone and thrown into the cemetary, where he emerged the next night to his new life-- to Cazador. He didn't die. Astarion the Magistrate died. But Astarion, the stuck up, pompous, selfish asshole very much did not. In fact, that very same noble was forced to swallow a taste of his own medicine-- and it was a bitter fucking pill.

It made him worse. Trauma doesn't always make you soft and sweet. Sometimes, trauma makes you hard and cruel and angry and spiteful. Sometimes it doesn't make you apologetic; it makes you venomous. It makes you a spitting cobra rather than a loyal, empathetic puppy.

(Notice all I say about projection) Honestly, for me, it's nice to see that representation. Because my trama did not make me kind. It made me hurt. And it made me angry. And it twisted my mind into ways of thinking that I do not like. And you almost never see that. You see a lot of people who are kind and soft and gentle, but you don't often see those of us that were ripped apart and never managed to sew back together right. We do not bend and break our back and twist our tongues for others. Sometimes we are hurtful and mean and things that people paint as evil. Sometimes you grow claws rather than thick skin. Sometimes you grow fangs rather than a bigger heart.

So, more in line with the actual question, they very much did change up his arc. He was meant to be much more manipulative and shitty. It was datamined in the original script, I believe. That much was confirmed way earlier in the early access. But more or less, they went 'Hey, maybe we shouldn't write such a vapid dumbass character because it doesn't fit with the theme of 'complexity' we're working with here. Maybe we should make him more rounded. Maybe we should make him a person.' His story had been mostly mapped, but his character hadn't quite yet. And I'm glad they did.

Having him be a vacuous, shitty stereotype would have been a massive disappointment, especially in a game that is so deep.

Here's the bit though:

It is a CONSTANT throughout the game, EA and release; Astarion very much is an asshole. He is throughout the entire game. He can get better, but he's a dick. No two ways around it. His trauma didn't make him terrible, he very much already was a selfish person who ended up getting stunted. He learned to lie and manipulate to survive, but he wasn't a sweet boy when this happened to him. He was a 'bad' person who had something horrible happen to him that opened up his body and made him defensive and cruel, because he believes the world is cruel and indifferent to suffering, which goes in line with his earlier pre-kidnap thinking of 'Who cares?' It made him bitter for sure, but he already had those ways of thinking. He didn't care who he hurt. He didn't care about anyone. That's the entire bit with 'libertines' and the elite. He was already bad; it made him worse.

He was a fucking jackass. But notice I don't say evil.

He is not a character that empathizes or sympathizes well. He doesn't care what others are going through unless you teach him to, and even then, he is still learning. He is capable of trying if you steer him there. But in general? He rejoices in cruelty, being a general nuisance, being selfish, being power hungry, and being self serving. These are not solely trauma traits. These are not all defense mechanisms, though they can be. Astarion is a rounded character that is complex but right now is not the stereotypical 'uwu sad baby' shit that people love to do to him either. They made him relatable. Gave him tragedy. And people love to latch on to that to paint us as these pathetic babies incapable of our own thoughts who need to be coddled and babied and defended.

From EA, they made him more rounded. They made him less cartoonishly gimmicky. He's still a very selfish jerkoff, but he is scared, and vulnerable, and they made a point to emphasize that. He is not just evil hot vampire. He is scared, vulnerable, rude, pompous, arrogant, selfish, terrified, traumatized, angry, subdued--

and the list goes on. He is a person. He is a relatable person. But these traits he respects in the beginning? Selfishness? Greed? Self-serving? These are traits he admired before that were amplified by his trauma. These are traits that we condemn as a human race, but we still hone and harbor. These are things we have and we see and we experience day to day.

And that is why it is so easy to judge him and condemn him and try to paint him in black or white and call him banal morality labels like 'good' or 'evil.' It's part of why we have these arguments over his EA versus now. Because you see these good/bad things and immediately need to justify your love or hatred for him and defend or condemn him because you hear them and go "No! Wrong! I know he's selfish but he's not evil and--" and all of those other posts we love. People struggle with nuance. That is why it is so easy for people to make these videos defending their views. They grab keywords and examples and go "See!" and show little tiny snippets instead of an entire person. Hell, we do it in real life too. We point out one facet of someone's life and judge and condemn them based upon it. With Astarion, we see so much more, but even then, people still struggle.

People have real experiences with these values. People have personal feelings and judgments based on those things. They feel a need to analyze it, but most people do not know how. They cannot say "No, I just don't like him" or "Yeah, I enjoy him" and leave it at that. Similar to how I'm ripping this open right now. And I'm not condemning anyone. Clearly I'm going on a tangent right now over it. It's fun to do. But people feel like it's necessary. Like they have to.

In those comments, someone points out that media literacy is dead, and I'm inclined to agree. Everything is black and white and must be tucked into neat little boxes that are easy for people to digest. A bad character is a bad mean evil irredeemable character. A good character is a good character that behaves good and does things we expect from good people. Humans are no longer humans. They are not complex. They are not nuanced. They are one dimensional creatures to be judged and executed. That is why people struggle so hard with games this well written. Because it is not that simple. It is not in real life and it is not in the game.

Also in the comments here, it seems like everyone is arguing over a nonissue. It seems to stem from the fact that there's a lot of discourse over liking a bad character. People feel like his newer design is 'justified' and even though he is 'a jerk,' he is not 'irredeemable.' The entire thing is asinine.

No one deserves redemption. That is the fucking point of redemption. That is the entire whole ass point. Someone who does not deserve it working to redeem themselves. If you deserve redemption, you don't need it. If you need it, you do not deserve it. People forget that.

I see this a lot. People demonizing others who enjoy complex or more nuanced characters that are not wholly good. People saying characters are irredeemable and terrible and if you like them, you're a bad person. If you like villains, you clearly relate and you're a bad person. If you like this person, you're just like them and must be condoning their actions.

It's so fucking stupid. I see it with books too. People jump on protagonists because they think the term 'protagonist' means hero, and people conflate the two. I could go on a whole (new) tangent about this, but the point is people are incapable of processing that now, because we've really muddied the waters with morality and we use shame rather than critical thinking. We operate off of gut instincts like 'disgust' and 'hatred' and instead of thinking about shit, we just shove it away and condemn, condemn, condemn.

A natural consequence of this is people jump like dogs to twist that character they love or hate into a victim or something beyond their actual story. They will jump through hoops. They will do whatever it takes to avoid the stigma of being a 'bad person' in the eyes of some internet tiktok teen with a billion followers or some tumblr mom because they have been raised to believe that makes them a bad person and they will deserve the ostrasizing they get. They will be bullied and driven from the internet and sent anons until they go into fucking hiding. It's not okay to just enjoy something anymore. You have to justify it to some asshole. You have to break it open and twist it and defend it or burn it. You can't just exist.

People project. And holy fuck, have they projected on Astarion. It's another natural consequence of having such an incredible, well written character. People see themselves in him. In fact, people see themselves in him so much that they inadvertently take away his agency again in an ironic twist because people with similar feelings or experiences feel like they 'get' him better and therefore have more say over a fictional character than the character himself, the person who wrote him and the man who brought him to life.

My point with all of this nonsensical and unrelated bullshit rambling is that I loved Astarion in the EA and I love him more now. I would have loved him if they left him 'evil' but kept him rounded. His ascended ending is him falling deeply into his worst instincts for control coupled with his entitlement and need for safety. His spawn ending is him relenting and accepting and trying to be better within reason. He will always be Astarion. But he can make efforts to be better-- or worse. But he is always Astarion, and Astarion is decadent, and a bit of a jerk, and a stuffy noble elite with standards. He will always be like that. He will always be Astarion. He probably does better there with someone to babysit like Tav, but even a single spawn Astarion made great strides and effort.

I think we take that for granted a lot. We get people all up in their feelings and lashing out at people who like one ending or the other. We have people calling other people horrible people for trusting Astarion in the end of his spawn ending instead of coddling him and taking his fuckin' free will away again. We have people throwing food like kids in a cafeteria and it feels like no one slows the fuck down and wonders why they feel that way.

I like Astarion because he's an incredible character. I like him more in the release because he's more developed. He feels real. He feels like me. (See, projection.) I get it. People are not always pure good or pure evil. These are words we made up because we're an idiot little species that needs to categorize, same as why we name shapes and traits. But I liked him evil too. I just liked him. He just interested me. I always liked him.

He feels better in the release. More fleshed out. Less foreboding and more understandable. He's not Viconia from BG2 who is basically just there to be an evil temptress for 'hehe evil' characters. But guess what? It's totally fine if you wanna engage with him that way! If you don't like him, or you don't want to bother with making him better, you don't have to. If that's all you want to do, then hell yeah, baby.

At the end of the day, he is a model we can use to dissect ourselves. He can help us understand how we view complex issues. But it gets frustrating when people highjack it with an absolutely egregious misunderstanding of the story. Like things are so simple, you know?

In the EA, he was cool. He was really cool. But we didn't know much about him other than 'hehe evil.' We didn't know much about anything, and man, did we like to theorize. I can remember doing it years and years ago before the fuckin' game came out. But ultimately, it was always a projection of ourselves. What we wanted. What we saw.

They made him a more fleshed out being. They filled in the blanks. He is an arrogant fucking asshole, and he is rude, and entitled, and pompous, and cruel, and self serving and greedy and all of that 'evil' shit, but he is also human. He is capable of deep and profound love. He is capable of caring. He is capable of so much. He can be selfless and loving and caring and gentle. He can be genuine and honest. These traits do not define him unless he chooses to cling to them-- and he only does if he does not learn. And when he doesn't learn? He loses himself and fills his destiny of being the wretched, terrible perpetuator of abuse both on the populace and you. And that was the point. That happens when you lose yourself and give in to fear. It can happen to all of us. And sometimes it does.

But it really also isn't that deep, in the same breath. If you like the ascended ending which is a bit more in line with his original origins, so what? It's a cool ending. It's neato. It still has a clear and blatant message, but it's a fucking video game. Do what you like. If you think it's hot? So what? If you just enjoy the goddamned doomed narrative? So?

Not everything has to be a trial of who you are as a person. Not everything is that deep. Sometimes the answer is as simple as 'shit is cool' and it ends there. If other people look deeper into it, that sounds like a 'them' problem. That's their need to justify. That's their desire. Both EA and release are fantastic. Some folks have preferences. I liked both.

He's my boy. I love him for who he is and what he has done for me. And I'm grateful I got to see his development. I'm grateful I get a well written story with incredible characters. If people think he's wholly evil or good, that's their sack of beans, my dude.

#morgana and friends #astarion spoilers #holy fuck I really just sat here and wailed forever huh #I do not expect anyone to read all of this #I think it's my way of compounding my thoughts #nothing is ever simple with me eh

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fanfic-wonderland · 1 year

Text

NOTHING CHANGES ANYTHING {TEEN WOLF}

Synopsis: Penny Brooke is an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl; with an ordinary family, ordinary friends, and a plain old ordinary life. Nothing unusual seems to happen until her all-time crush and best friend, Scott McCall, gets bitten by a werewolf. From that moment on, Penny and her friends find themselves living through dangerous events happening at Beacon Hills, and all of their lives turn upside down...

**This is a rewriting of my old Teen Wolf fanfic of the same name.**

Word count: 2.2k

Ch.1 | Ch.2

=============================

CHAPTER TWO: THE NEW GIRL

The next morning, when I arrived at school, I spotted Stiles sitting down on a bench outside, his eyes glued to his phone screen. "Hey." Setting my backpack aside, I sat down next to him.

"Hello, Penny," he said without looking up. "How are you on this fine morning?"

"Oh, I'm great. The morning air really hits the spot, you know?" I said sarcastically. "How did your little 'investigation' go last night?"

He gave a small shrug. "Oh, well, you know, it could've gone better, I guess. We didn't find anything too interesting."

"So, no body, then?”

“No body, unfor—” Stiles looked up this time with wide eyes. "Wait, how do you—”

“Scott told me.”

“Goddammit,” He groaned. "No wonder he was being so lame last night. 'Stiles, this is dangerous, maybe we should go back’, 'Stiles, I need a good night’s sleep for tomorrow's lacrosse practice’, 'Stiles, I'm severely asthmatic—”

“Well, maybe you should learn a thing or two from him,” I cut him off, punching him in the arm. He winced in pain. "Who in their right mind thinks 'I'm going to find a dead body today’ and then actually drives up to the crime scene? Do you know how risky that is?”

“Okay, jeez!” Stiles was still rubbing the spot where I had hit him. "It’s not like any of us died, anyway. All Scott did was get bit by something.”

My mouth fell open at his words. "What? Wha- what do you mean he got bitten by something, what could've possibly bitten him?"

He shrugged. "Beats me. He told me this morning. Didn't he tell you?"

“No.” I ran a hand through my hair. That little shit didn't tell me anything.

But, before any of us could say anything else, Scott suddenly appeared by my side. "Hey, guys."

"Hey," I said while standing up, Stiles doing the same. "Glad to see you’re alive and fully well.”

He rolled his eyes once he noticed the sarcasm in my words. "Stiles told you, didn't he?”

“Yup.”

"Well, I thought you had told her already.” Stiles said defensively.

Scott looked at me directly. "I didn't want to worry you.”

"Oh, please," I scoffed, ignoring the mess of butterflies fluttering in my stomach. "You just didn't want to admit that I was right about this entire thing.”

"That as well." He admitted with a nod.

“So,” Stiles said, prolonging the vowel while burying his hands in his jacket pockets. "Let’s see it.”

Scott didn't say anything else. He looked around, and when he made sure that no one was paying attention to us, he slowly lifted his shirt up, revealing a piece of gauze taped on the right side of his abdomen, just above his waistline. The gauze was white but you barely noticed with the blood that had seeped through it.

"Whoa,”

“Oh my God,”

My eyes widened as I looked back up at Scott. ''How did that even happen?''

''Well, Stiles left me behind at one point—" I glared at Stiles and he stared at me before smiling innocently. “—And while I was looking for him, well, something appeared out of nowhere and... I got this,'' He finished his explanation. "It looked like some sort of wolf, and then after it fled, I heard it howling."

Stiles huffed. "Doubt it. There haven't been wolves around Beacon Hills for like sixty years, why would they be back now?”

“Regardless, of what bit you, it looks pretty bad,” I said, still staring at the wound and not at all staring at the exposed part of his abs. "And besides, it was all in vain, so I hope you’re happy.”

Scott suddenly smirked. "Actually it wasn't,” When Stiles and I stared confusedly at each other, he said, "Before that thing attacked me, I found the body.”

Stiles and I gasped in synchronization, while also taking a step forward at the same time. "How?”

"When I was looking for my inhaler,” Scott answered. "It was… terrifying finding it, to say the least.”

"Dude, this is great!" Stiles exclaimed. I gave him a puzzled look. "You found it before anyone, now we can go and tell my dad about— Oh my God.”

Scott and I followed Stiles’ gaze, only to find a redheaded girl wearing red lipstick and a very expensive-looking dress as she walked gracefully in the school’s direction. "Hey, Lydia, you look—” Stiles greeted her but Lydia walked past him without even acknowledging his presence. "—like you’re about to ignore me… as always.”

Scott patted his shoulder. "You’ll get over her.”

“Sure, It’s not like I’ve been in love with her since third grade.” Stiles said sarcastically. "You know what? I blame the both of you for her ignoring me. Scott’s dragging me down to his nerd depths and Penny can be a pain in the ass with her know-it-all attitude.”

"Okay, and what are you, then?” I asked him, raising an eyebrow and folding my arms over my chest.

“I'm obviously awesome.”

***

''As you all know," Our English teacher began while writing something on the chalkboard. "there indeed was a body found in the woods last night.”

I caught sight of Scott and Stiles exchanging proud looks with each other and rolled my eyes, turning back to the incomplete doodle in my notebook.

"And I am sure your eager little minds are coming up with various macabre scenarios as to what happened.” He finished writing. 'KAFKA’S METAMORPHOSIS’ read on the board. "But I am here to tell you that the police have a suspect in custody, which means you can give your undivided attention to the syllabus—” everyone in the classroom groaned. "—which is on your desk outlining this semester.”

As I glanced through the papers on my desk, I began to wonder if Scott and Stiles were dumb enough to go and talk to the suspect, and laughed quietly at the ridiculous thought. Quickly after that, I glanced up at Scott but my smile vanished as soon as I saw him. He looked alarmed, looking around as if something was happening, something that no one else was noticing. When he caught my eye, I mouthed, 'You okay?’

It took him a few seconds to react but eventually he nodded. Unconvinced, I decided to just ask him about it later.

The class went on like normal, with our teacher talking about things that most of the students didn't even care about. Some had already fallen asleep, others were doing retouches on their makeup, and a few were actually paying attention and taking notes. The back of Stiles’ head was slightly swaying back and forth, which let me know that he was about to fall asleep at any moment. But he jumped wide awake when the classroom door suddenly opened and a girl that I had never seen before walked in.

“Ah, you must be our new student.” the teacher stopped his lecture once he saw her. "Okay, everyone, this is Allison Argent and she will be joining us from now on, so please make her feel welcome. Allison, you may take a seat.”

With an awkward smile, Allison walked toward the only empty seat, which happened to be right behind Scott. As the teacher resumed with his class, I watched her getting some stuff out of her bag through the corner of my eye. As she kept searching inside it, Scott turned around and handed her a pen, to which she smiled and muttered a small, ''Thanks''.

Confusion and jealousy flowed through me, and I felt like someone had punched me in the gut once I took a better look at how his facial expressions changed drastically. His smile was so enormous that the corners of his lips almost met his ears and there was an unusual glint in his eyes that I didn't think I had seen before.

Oh my God, I thought, trying to turn my attention back to the chalkboard but failing miserably. He likes her…

***

I entered the girls’ bathroom to wash my hands before heading to lunch. While I was checking myself in the mirror and making sure that I looked close to decent, I heard a toilet flush behind me, and Allison came out of one of the bathroom stalls. I couldn’t help but observe her through the mirror as she walked towards the sink next to mine and turned the faucet on, lowering my gaze before she could think that I was being creepy. We stood there in silence, the sound of the running water being the only sound filling it.

I could see the appeal. She was beautiful, with long wavy hair and skin that resembled that of Snow White’s. It didn't help that her outfit was cute as well. "How are you liking the school so far?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. I hadn't meant to start a conversation with her.

Allison turned to me and smiled. Her smile was pretty, too, and her teeth were basically perfect. "It’s good so far. People have been nice. I honestly thought it was going to be horrible.''

I nodded. "Well, It's understandable. Switching to a new school is a tough change."

"It’s the worst," she agreed. "But I’ve switched schools so many times already that I guess I’m used to it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Seconds later, she asked, "You take English with me, right? I remember you because you were talking to that weird kid sitting in front of you."

I smiled. "I do. And yes, he’s very weird but I honestly love him for that. Don’t tell him I said that, though."

She suddenly seemed worried. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know he was your boyfriend…"

I burst out laughing, maybe louder than I should have. Allison looked puzzled. "Boyfriend? No, he's not my boyfriend. God, no!"

"Oh," She let out a sigh of relief and chuckled. "Oh, okay. Sorry again, I didn't mean to assume."

"No, you’re good!” I assured her as we both exited the bathroom. "Stiles is one of my closest friends, nothing else. The day that Stiles and I date, well, I probably lost all my marbles.”

"Stiles?," she furrowed his eyebrows. "That's his name?"

"Well, that's his nickname," I clarified. "Not really sure where it came from, now that I think about it..."

"What's his real name, then?"

"Oh, well It's-" I couldn't finish the sentence because just then Scott appeared out of nowhere. ''Hey!''

''Hi.'' Allison and I said at the same time.

Both of them locked eyes instantly, probably even forgetting that I was there, too. He was almost drooling as she beamed at him, and it honestly made me want to punch both of them in the face. I cleared my throat and made my presence known, instead. ''Oh, um,'' Scott spoke up first, the two of them breaking eye contact. He turned to me with hopeful eyes. "So, I was just wondering if you minded me giving Allison a tour of the school? I mean, if she wants me to.”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I forced myself to smile at him. "Of course not! Go ahead.”

I was hoping that Allison would decline his offer, but she looked way too happy to do that. "I’d like that,” She nodded then looked back at me. "I’ll see you later... uh..."

"Penny." I finished for her, still trying to keep a smile on my face.

She smiled back and then turned to Scott before joining his side. The two of them walked away, and Scott didn't even say goodbye to me.

I walked into the cafeteria feeling nauseous. Stiles was sitting by himself, carelessly devouring his food and not looking up even when I sat down in front of him. "Do you think Allison is pretty?”

He finally looked up, cheeks puffed out with food. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Who?”

“The new girl,” I reminded him and he let out an "Oh” sound. "Do you think she’s pretty?”

Stiles began to ponder before shrugging and continuing to chew. "Yeah, sure, she’s okay.”

“Scott seems to think she is —like, really pretty.”

"What do you mean?"

“Have you not noticed the way he’s been acting ever since she arrived?” I asked him. "It’s like there’s nobody else around him but her.”

Stiles let out a sarcastic laugh while taking another bite of his sandwich. "Bold of him to assume that a girl like her would ever like him back.”

"Oh, she does,” I pointed out in a flat tone. "Believe me.”

He sighed, letting what was left of his sandwich fall back onto his tray. "Okay, so maybe he’s a little bit attracted to her—”

“Oh, I don’t think It’s just a little bit,” I shook my head. "I’m talking 'Stiles-has-a-crush-on-Lydia’ level, probably.”

He gaped at me. "Already?”

I nodded slowly, the mere thought of Scott and Allison together sending a horrible shiver down my spine.

“Jesus,” He muttered. I stared down at my lap, not even feeling like talking anymore. Stiles didn't either, for a few moments, and when he spoke his tone was a bit more serious. "Look, I know it sucks to see the person you like liking someone else, but I promise you, there comes a time when you barely feel anything anymore.”

I frowned. "... Thanks? Was that your way of comforting me?”

"Well, I tried,” He said. I let out a soft laugh. It was nice of him to try; I appreciated his effort. "But hey, I'm sure your nails look prettier than hers.”

I smiled genuinely. "Thank you!”

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nehswritesstuffs · 1 year

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to be a captain is to be brave, to care, to love

Congrats--I’m the dumbass who posts fic for the wrong Straw Hat on another crewmate’s birthday lolol

9320 words; this hit me hard recently because, well, it just did (as in: I wrote most of this within the past few days); I have complicated emotions about Deadbeat Dad Yasopp and I guess this is my brain working through it; this does not take place in a continuity that contains Uta, mainly because I don’t really want to write her being a bratty little bully bc you know that’s what would happen; not an entire rewrite but does shift things a little bit to the left

to be a captain is to be brave, to care, to love; something very different happened on the day Banchina passed away: her son told the truth. [Usopp-centric slight AU]

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

She is dying.

That was the only thing that the doctor wrote on the paper before stuffing it in an envelope and sending it with a News Coo. That had been the week prior, and now it seemed as though the message was going to be for naught. He was sitting at the sick woman’s bedside, changing the compress on her forehead for a cool, fresh one.

“Where is Usopp?” she asked. The doctor shook his head.

“He ran off soon as I got here,” he replied, tone hiding the fact he’d told her twice already. “He’ll be back.”

“He’s such a silly boy.” She tilted her head and looked out the window at the clouds, bright and fluffy. “He has his father’s spirit.”

“Banchina…”

“No, he does; he’s going to become a wonderful person.”

The doctor sighed heavily. “I wrote to him.”

“Why…?” Her attention went back to the doctor, her eyes now sharp, all of her strength put behind them. “He was not supposed to know.”

“It doesn’t matter; he hasn’t come.”

“So you’d rather ignore the wishes of someone on their deathbed than let a free man enjoy the last moments he has at peace?” There was fire and venom in her voice, not heard by the doctor since they were young children. “It’s bad enough Usopp has had to watch me…”

“He deserves to know.”

“He deserves to be free.”

“He’s your husband; he should be here.”

“So you can torture him more?!”

“That’s not what this is and we both know it! It’s…!”

“Mom! Mom! Mom!” Usopp shouted from outside. Banchina gave one last glare before softening her face, not wanting a scowl to be how her son remembered her. “Pirates are coming! Pirates are coming up the slope!” The boy burst into the house and barreled towards his mother, tears streaming down his face. “Pirates are coming! That means that Dad’s back!”

“Usopp, sweetie, I need you to listen to me,” she said. “You’re going to have to be a good kid for me, alright? Make sure you grow into a good man, a good person, and never let them look down on you. Do you understand?”

“…but Mom…”

“I know your dad’s not there—please, don’t hate him for that. He’s very far away and can’t come back safely. It was my choice to stay here with you, and I’d do it over and over again…”

“Banchina, please…”

“I am talking to my son.” The doctor stepped towards the other side of the room at that, keeping his distance. “Please, Usopp, promise me you’re going to be brave, alright?”

“Mom…” Usopp’s tiny frame shook as he tried not to cry. “Just a little bit! Please!”

“I know what you’re doing, darling; don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

“…’China…?”

Banchina froze as her eyes went towards the door, seeing Yasopp standing in the threshold, body frozen in shock. All at once he stumbled into the house, nearly tripping over himself as he went to sit on the edge of the mattress at his wife’s side. Tears began to escape his eyes as he brought her limp, cold hand in both of his.

“I told them not to tell you,” she said, looking away in pain. “I didn’t want your last memory of me to be like this.”

“No, I’m glad I could come… I’ll take seeing you one last time while sick than never see you again at all.” His voice cracked and squeaked in pain—this was never what he had planned on when he left those years ago. “I’m so sorry… you were the only one who made this place worth it for so long…”

Banchina simply hushed him and offered the strongest smile she could. Yasopp bent down and pressed their foreheads together before kissing her gently. A sob escaped him as he pulled away, confirming to the little boy in the corner precisely what he had feared.

Banchina of Syrup Village was no more.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“So, how old are you, lad?”

“Uh… six…?”

“Oh… well, that’s a fucking bummer.”

Usopp stared at the red-haired man sitting at the table in the town’s only restaurant, who was currently involved in taking a large swig of beer. He didn’t want to be around his house at the moment, since his father and the village doctor were currently having a shouting match. The boy escaped the row by heading into town, where he saw the rest of the pirates his dad had come in with.

This one was apparently the captain.

“Everyone in town says that you’re the one that stole Dad from Mom and me,” Usopp said. The captain shrugged noncommittally—couldn’t refute that.

“What did your mom always say?”

“She said that ‘Dad left following his dream, the sea, his freedom’.”

“Then I think you should listen to your mom, kid.” The man adjusted the straw hat perched atop his head and took another drink. “You know, soon as your dad got news about your mom, we came straight here. I wouldn’t keep him from what he needs for anything.”

“Why’s that?”

“It’s my obligation, as the captain.” He paused as the waitress returned with food for the table, which he encouraged Usopp to sit and eat. “See, when you’re a captain, you need to figure out what it is that people need and how that’s different from what they want, and make it happen. Your dad always wants to travel the seas and very often needs to, but right now, what he needs is to be here.”

“You have a big crew—did they need to be here too?”

“No, but they wanted to come along, to support your dad, and it wasn’t anything that put a damper on their needs, so we all came along.” He watched as the boy’s face scrunched in thought. “It’s a lot to think about, I know. Don’t worry—you’re just a kid. You got time to figure it out.”

“What we don’t have time for is figuring out how this pit stop is going to impact our making it to the Grand Line without attracting too much attention,” said a tall, severe-faced man with dark hair. He took the smoldering cigarette from his lips and stubbed it out before beginning to eat. “We had a route, a plan, and none of it involved Yasopp’s hometown.”

“You can’t be so serious, Beck,” the captain chuckled. “We were planning on docking someplace for about a year anyhow… why not make it here?”

“…because I remember part of why it was so easy for him to leave to begin with.” He looked at the child currently nibbling on a fried chicken tender and sighed. “He really should have come here on his own and met up with us at the rendezvous point.”

“…and become a widow by himself…?”

“Minimize the impact on the locals—you know that.”

“Fuck…” It was then that Yasopp barged in the front door, looking fresh from a fight with a split lip and an impressive shiner. He found where his son was and blanched, going to his side immediately.

“You know better than to wander off on your own,” Yasopp gently chided. He removed the child from his seat and sat down, keeping his son in his lap. “We’re leaving soon as the captain is able to, okay?”

“Leaving…?” Usopp almost dropped the rest of his chicken tender. “Why…?”

“There are bad memories here,” Yasopp replied gravely. “I’m not going to make more by staying.”

“We can leave by nightfall,” the captain shrugged. He looked at the kid and raised his eyebrow. “Are you sure this is a good idea…?”

“If you grew up on a pirate ship, then I see no problem.” Yasopp picked up one of the neglected glasses of ice water and pressed the side against his black eye. “I’ll make sure to grab some things before we leave…”

“I’ll meet you at the house then, bye!” Usopp said. He wriggled out of his father’s grasp and ran out the door before any of the crew could snag him. Yasopp started to go after him, but was stopped by the captain.

“No,” the red-haired man said firmly. “He just learned he’s leaving. Let him make his peace with this place. Just because you never could doesn’t mean he can’t.”

Yasopp grumbled as he concentrated on the glass of water to his eye and grabbing a beer to occupy his other hand—captain’s orders sure were a bitch sometimes.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Usopp ran as fast as his tiny legs could take him. He ran through Syrup Village, dodging other residents, until he found a hole in a stone wall just big enough for him to shimmy through. On the other side was the expansive grounds of a mansion, which he rushed up to in order to knock on a very specific window. The little girl inside jumped in fright before running to open the pane.

“I’m leaving,” was all Usopp could get out, gasping for breath. The girl stared at him.

“What do you mean…?”

“My dad came… I’m leaving… today…”

“He what?! No way?!”

“Kaya, I’m scared!” The little boy began to shake terribly. “Dad came back, Mom died, and now we’re leaving and I don’t know when I’ll be here again!”

“…but why tell me…?”

“...because you’re the only one who’s nice to me!” He couldn’t bear to look at his friend, so instead he glared at a bit of wall as he cried. “I’ll come back to visit someday… I promise!”

“You gotta shake on it!” Kaya insisted. She stuck her hand out the window and waited for Usopp to take it, making direct eye contact. “You’re always talking about becoming a great warrior of the sea! Come back before you get too great, okay?”

“I promise!”

“Kaya? Sweetie? What’s going on in there…?”

“Usopp, run!” Kaya whispered. Her eyes were wide in not only fear, but excitement as well. “I’ll see you later, okay?!”

“Okay!”

The child sprinted off before his friend’s mother could investigate the room.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It had been an entire week and Yasopp wasn’t entirely sure what to do.

After making sure that his wife would get a proper burial and his son had everything he needed, he had returned to the ship with his six-year-old in-tow and the determination to do what Banchina would have wanted. Ever since they were young, she had encouraged him to find solace on the sea, to escape the glares and mumbled words of spite that came from the other villagers. She had always been too uneasy on the sea, and had insisted that she would be fine as he chased that freedom and acceptance he craved without her, and now… now she was gone and he had their kid, which was a bit more of an adjustment than he thought it was going to be.

Kids, for the most part, were messy creatures, and there wasn’t a lot of room for messes on a pirate ship. While Usopp didn’t have a lot of toys, he did have clutter that was liable to be underfoot, which wasn’t exactly a good idea. Limejuice had already fallen flat on his ass thanks to some marbles the boy was experimenting with, and Yasopp himself was already victim to a variety of mishaps involving the aforementioned marbles, a chemistry set that seemed to appear out of nowhere, and a slingshot armed with all sorts of things sticky and stinky.

“Thank fuck we’re almost at port,” the man grumbled. He watched as Usopp bounced around the galley in excitement at the prospect of somewhere new. Hongo nodded in commiseration, the pair both below deck due to particularly troublesome hangovers.

“Letting the kid run around on land would definitely be for the better,” Hongo said. “He needs to eat dirt.”

Yasopp turned slowly and stared at his crewmate. “What…?”

“You know—get dirty. Play with other kids.”

“I know you might have forgotten, but it’s not like the boy comes from a long line of kids everyone wants to play with. Banchina…”

“… was the only one to ever give you the time of day, I remember.” Hongo sipped at his water and grimaced at the sounds coming out of the kitchen. “Maybe some of her openness rubbed off on him?”

“If it did, then I hope the world is kinder to him for it,” Yasopp frowned. He was about to reach back into his memories when he heard Shanks’s voice from above, filled with both authority and excitement.

“LAND AHEAD! ALL HANDS ON DECK!”

“Oh! Did you hear that, Dad?! Land!” Usopp seemed to almost vibrate in anticipation. “An island!”

“I heard him, I heard him,” Yasopp grumbled. He and Hongo both knocked back the rest of their waters before depositing the mugs and heading above deck, with the small child all but dragging his father along.

A few minutes of the sea air rejuvenated Yasopp and soon he was helping out with the rigging, with Usopp standing by the prow in an effort to see where they were sailing. Shanks went up to the child and patted him on the head.

“That’s called Foosha,” he said. “We’re gonna stay there for a while, if the locals are amenable.”

“What’s that?”

“If they don’t mind that we’re pirates.” He saw that the boy’s eyes were still locked onto the small village at the island’s edge and smiled. “We need a place to operate out of—a base of sorts—in order to help build a name for ourselves.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Now get ready to go! You’re coming along on the first boat!”

The boy’s eyes went wide—he got to go! Important people got to go on the first boat! This was going to be great!

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

As it turned out, getting to go with the initial landing party was less exciting than Usopp imagined it would be—it was actually kind of boring. He had to stand there with his dad, Shanks, and Beckmann as the captain talked with this old man about terms of their stay and what the rules were and things like that. The boy fidgeted in place, which the village elder took notice.

“How very shrewd of you to bring him along,” the old man said. “I suppose you need a place for him to stay so he doesn’t see what you get up to?”

“Possibly, but I still take responsibility for my son,” Yasopp said, giving a short bow. “I can no longer leave him with his mother.”

“Ah.” The elder nodded knowingly. “We have a child like that here. Maybe your son will be a good influence.”

“Excuse my laughter,” Shanks snickered, “but that must be some rambunctious kid you got there if a pirate’s child is the better influence.”

“You’re just upset because Gramps didn’t take me!” shouted a tiny voice. The pirates saw a small child poking angrily around a woman’s skirt. “Maybe they’ll take me with them! Then I can finally get out of here!”

“Over my dead body, you little brat!” the elder snapped. The boy stuck his tongue out at him and the old man sighed. “The whole family is an odd bunch; it’s a long story.”

“We’re pirates—what do we care?” Shanks chuckled. He then put his hand on Usopp’s back and urged him forward. “Go play while us adults talk more boring stuff. How about it?”

The boy grinned at Usopp before coming out from behind the young woman. He launched himself at Usopp happily, wrapping him in a tight hug.

“Alright! A new friend!”

It might have been shrewd of Shanks, but it did work.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“So, you don’t have parents?”

“Nope!”

“…and it’s just you and your grandpa?”

“Yup!”

“…and he leaves you here because he’s a Marine?”

“Pretty much!”

Usopp stared at Luffy as the other boy poked at a beetle. He had spent almost the entire day wandering around with the kid and was trying to wrap his head around him, yet couldn’t. They were almost the exact same age, and yet he was being left alone? It didn’t make sense. Even when his mom died, at least his dad was there…

“What do you think he’d do if he came to town while the crew’s docked here?”

“Probably laugh and have a drink,” Luffy shrugged. “Gramps is never working when he’s here, so he doesn’t really care who does what unless it’s really bad.”

“…but we’re pirates. We’re supposed to be bad.”

“You don’t seem that bad to me.”

“Luffy, we’re six.”

“Yeah? And?”

“You really don’t get it, do you?” Usopp frowned. He looked over his shoulder and saw that more of the crew was coming into port. Even Bonk Punch seemed small from this distance. “We’re brave warriors of the sea! We fight guys like the Marines!”

“You don’t.”

“Well, yeah, not yet… but I will!” Usopp stood atop a rock and pointed at the sky. “It’s my dream to be a proud and brave warrior of the sea one day! Just like my dad! I’ll even have a crew under my care!”

“Maybe.”

“What do you mean ‘maybe’?!”

“You might be part of my crew!”

“Your crew?!”

“Yeah! If you’re gonna be like your dad, you’re gonna need a captain. You’ll need a Shanks! I can do that!”

“Then you’d have to fight your grandpa!”

“Oh, that’s just what we always do.” Luffy grinned and held up the beetle. “Isn’t this cool?!”

“It is…” Usopp agreed. The boys marveled over the bug for a moment before Makino popped her head out the back of her bar, calling them in to wash up. “Is she, like, your sister? She’s not your mom.”

“I guess? I dunno. She feeds me and makes sure I’m okay. Is that what sisters do?”

“It’s what my mom did for me, but I guess a sister can too.”

The boys piled into the back kitchen and went directly to the sink. “Makino? Are you my mom or my sister?”

“Luffy!”

“He’s alright, Usopp,” the woman laughed. “Now, are your hands clean?” Both finished washing their hands quickly and showed her for inspection. “Good, now your dinner’s at the bar.”

“Alright!” Luffy cheered. He brought Usopp into the main of the bar, where the Red Hair Pirates were already beginning to settle in for an evening of partying. Two plates of food and glasses of milk sat on the bartop, where Luffy and Usopp both sat down and began eating.

“Wow! Miss Makino’s cooking is really good!” Usopp marveled. “It’s amazing!”

“Yeah!” Luffy agreed. “She’s the best!” He then chewed the food he already had stored in his cheeks thoughtfully. “That’s someone I’m going to need for my crew: a really good cook!”

“I can cook!”

“No you can’t—you’re six.”

“Yeah, and I cooked for my mom! She showed me how to make sandwiches and boil macaroni for cheese!”

“That’s not real cooking! Real cooking needs meat!”

“Boys, boys, relax,” Shanks said, coming up to the bar to grab a bottle of grog that had been left out for him. He tossed it over to Snake, who pulled the cork out with his teeth before he began drinking. “Let’s focus on the fact that you agree the lady’s cooking is superb.”

“Flattery will not get you very far here, I’m afraid,” Makino chuckled as she came out of the kitchen. She passed Shanks two plates of food, which he took with a suggestive wink. “I should rat you out to Woop Slap.”

“I do enjoy living dangerously,” he laughed, bringing the plates out to the crew. Luffy and Usopp simply stared at each other, confused.

“Don’t worry about it,” Makino chuckled. “Now finish your dinner and you can go play upstairs, okay?”

“Okay!”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The next morning, Usopp and Luffy went down the stairs to find the entirety of the Red Hair Pirates still passed out in the main area of the bar. Usopp even poked his dad, who kept on snoring—no luck.

“Come on, you,” Makino said, guiding the boy over to where she had set out food. “If you don’t eat, Luffy will finish your plate for you.”

“No! Don’t you dare!” The boy hopped onto the bar stool and began hoarking down his food, needing to smack Luffy away a couple of times in the process.

Yeah, Makino thought, this was right.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Time passed.

The Red Hair Pirates would leave Usopp in the care of Makino, returning a few weeks later with all the treasure and tales of adventure the boy and his friend could want. He would practice with his slingshot, or his chemistry set, or anything else he could while they were gone, making his dad beam with joy and pride when he told and showed him everything he accomplished.

Time passed, and the year mark crept ever-closer.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Makino let out a blood-curdling scream, the sound of which went directly into Usopp’s young bones. Both of them were standing on the edge of the harbor, watching as Shanks intimidated the Lord of the Coast with just a glare, but not after losing an arm as he went and rescued Luffy.

“Fuck! We need to get out there!” Yasopp cussed as he ran towards the pier.

“Everyone! Clean up the rest of the bandits!” Beckmann ordered. “We got this!”

“Aye, aye,” Roux said. He and the rest of the Red Hair Pirates charged at the last of Higuma’s gang, while Yasopp and Beckmann rowed out to where Shanks was treading water. This left Makino alone to sink to her knees, completely in shock, as Usopp trembled next to her.

“I told him not to make them mad…” the boy shivered. “Why didn’t he listen?!”

“I… I don’t think it would have mattered,” Makino said, her voice quiet. She looked at Usopp, her eyes glassy with tears, and held him by the shoulders. “This is not your fault.”

“…but Miss Makino, I…!”

“The only person who’s at fault is the bandit, and he’s now dead,” she insisted. She then brought him in close for a hug. “Don’t you ever think otherwise, you understand?”

“…but…!”

“I know you plan on being there for Luffy, and I need you to know that it’s not your fault, got it? Sometimes… things happen… and we can’t change it, but we can control how we act for them.”

“O… okay…”

It was then that Yasopp finished rowing back to shore, with Beckmann attempting to hold Shanks still while Luffy sobbed uncontrollably. Hongo appeared with his emergency kit, attempting to stop what was left of his captain’s arm from bleeding out right there on the dock. Yasopp threw Luffy over his shoulder and brought him to Makino, who grabbed onto him tightly.

“I thought… I thought he could…” she said unsteadily.

“He was so concentrated on saving this little guy that it was too late,” Yasopp replied. He stroked Luffy’s hair as the boy cried into Makino’s shoulder before turning his attention to his own son. Scooping up Usopp in a hug, he ignored the fact that he was currently sopping wet and covered in his captain’s blood—all he needed right now was his boy. “I’m so glad he didn’t get you too—the fact both of you are safe… it’s worth more than any treasure.”

Shanks bellowed in pain, causing all four of them to recoil. Usopp stared at the man as he writhed under Beckmann’s hold and Hongo’s attempts at treating him.

‘A captain has to know what his crew needs,’ he thought. ‘He needs to make it happen. Luffy needed to live… and he made that happen…’

There, on the little pier at the edge of the little village, the little boy in his father’s arms realized something very, very important: a captain was not a captain unless he had a crew, and once he had them, he should be prepared to do everything for them… even die for them… just like his mom died taking care of him.

A captain took care of his crew.

A crew is a captain’s greatest treasure.

The people one cared for are worth more than all the gold in the Grand Line.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It took a few days until Shanks was able to be let out of bed. Hongo and Makino took turns watching him, waiting for the fever that set in to break, hoping he hadn’t lost too much blood. Once he was up and moving, Luffy seemed to completely forget that Usopp existed, instead clinging to the man who saved his life. It made sense to the other boy, but it still didn’t mean that he wasn’t at least a bit jealous.

It was a week since what the village was officially referring to as the “Bear Incident” and the Red Hair Pirates were enjoying themselves in Party’s Bar. Usopp was sulking in a booth while eating with his father, with Monster passed out on the opposite bench seat. Yasopp looked at the pouting lad and felt his nerves messing with his stomach. Fuck… why was this so difficult? He leaned in and lowered his voice so that only his son could hear.

“Usopp…?”

“Yeah, Dad?” He put down his fork as he saw that his father’s face was sad and full of worry. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to know if you like it here.”

“I do!” the boy replied, perking up. “Makino makes good food, and the people here are really nice, and Luffy’s, like, my best friend! After Kaya of course! Why?”

“Well… because…” Yasopp exhaled heavily, not enjoying his position. “Shanks wants to move on soon.”

“Move on…? To a different island…?”

“To the Grand Line.” He scratched his son’s scalp and watched as he grew quiet. There was something criminal about the boy having his hair and complexion, but his mother’s nose. “It’s very dangerous, you know, to be on the Grand Line. It’s more dangerous than fighting the Lord of the Coast. Even people who are born and raised there can’t survive.”

“I don’t think I want to go to the Grand Line.”

“…which is why I was talking with Miss Makino earlier, and her and I think it would be better if you stayed here, in Foosha.”

“What about you…?”

Yasopp bit his lower lip and breathed in deeply, trying to keep himself composed. “I can’t stay. I’m a sailor, and the sea calls to me. It’s why I never was around before—it’s too strong for me to resist.”

“Oh… is that why everyone but Mom said bad things about you back in Syrup? Because you can’t tell the sea no?”

“Yeah… something like that.” He then let out a slight chuckle. “Besides, not only am I a sailor, but a pirate. Mister Woop Slap says pirates can’t stay here for too long, or Luffy’s grandpa might come and beat them up.”

“Luffy says that’s just what his grandpa does like normal,” Usopp deadpanned. Well, it had been worth a shot. “It’s nice when you’re gone, but it’s better when you’re here.”

“Tell you what: I’m going to let you stay here with Miss Makino, where it’s safe and you have good people around you, and in the meantime you are going to do your best to become big and strong. When you do, come to the Grand Line and find me. How does that sound?”

Usopp broke into sobs, clinging to Yasopp’s shirt. The kid was unintelligible through his tears, but his father held him in his arms and pat him on the back, soothing him best he could.

“You’re one of the best things I’ve ever done, you know that?” he crooned. “I can’t bring you to the Grand Line and let you die. Then who will I have to live for?”

“I’ll miss you so much!”

“I know… and I’ll miss you too… but you have to be brave, Usopp. Be brave for me… and be brave for your mom. Please?” His son nodded into his chest. “There’s a good lad. I’ll always be proud of you… for everything that’s happened to us in the past year, you’ve been taking it very well.”

“When are you going to leave…?”

“Tomorrow.” He offered Usopp a smile and pat his hair. “Just remember that you have to let whatever happens to you push you forward, not back.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Different people get pushed differently by the same things, so don’t compare yourself or get too worried. You’re your mother’s son—nothing is going to keep you down for long. I know it.”

Usopp wiped his nose on his arm and laughed weakly. Yeah… he guessed so.

“Until then,” Yasopp said, “let’s party! Go get some cake from Lucky Roux! Big slices! Go on!” He shoved his son from the booth and watched as he scurried across the dining area to where their large crewmate was lording over an even larger cake.

What was harder? Leaving his kind and understanding wife and a baby who didn’t know him or his son just as they were just becoming acquainted? He didn’t think he had the answer, nor did he want one.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Dawn was just beginning to break and wash Foosha Village with a lovely golden glow. The Red Hair Pirates all were asleep where they had been partying in the bar; even Usopp was curled up in his father’s side… that was… until Luffy began to shake him awake.

“Hey, Usopp! Get up!”

“What is it?” the boy asked groggily.

“I’m hungry, and no one else is awake to cook.”

“What about Miss Makino?”

“Her door’s locked.”

Usopp groaned and tried to shake his father awake—nothing. So, instead, he found a lockpick set on one of the other pirates and went up the stairs with Luffy. He worked patiently, eventually getting the door to give way. The pair went into the dark room and tugged at the blankets, rousing the sleeping adult.

“Miss Makino!” Luffy whined. “We’re hungry!”

“Oh fuck…” was the reply, except it wasn’t Makino…

“Captain…?” Usopp frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“I… uh… fell asleep talking to Miss Makino. She’ll be down in a minute.”

“…but Shanks! You’re naked!”

“I know Luffy, just… fuck… go play until Miss Makino calls for you, alright?”

The boys left the room disheartened, but also very confused. Why was the Captain in Miss Makino’s room? It took until they were outside watching the bugs hum to life in the sunrise before Usopp realized what had happened, hitting him like a ton of bricks.

Luckily for him, the scream he let out was the same he made when a bug took him by surprise, so no one awake in Foosha paid him any mind.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

After a tearful goodbye at the docks, the Red Hair Pirates sailed off without their youngest member. The boy and his friend watched until the ship could no longer be seen on the horizon, heading off to the forest afterwards to go play with bugs. They did that for a couple months, playing during the day and pretending to be pirates up in their rooms at night, until one morning, Usopp came down the stairs and saw that Luffy was not there.

“He’s gone?!”

“Yes; his grandpa came this morning and took him to the mountains,” Makino said. “We can go visit him in a couple weeks, if you’d like.”

“A couple weeks?!”

“We’re supposed to take food up to the Dadan Family around then—that’s who he’s staying with.”

“Th-th-the D-d-d-dadan Family?! Is Luffy going to be okay?!”

“Pretty sure; his grandpa wouldn’t take him there unless the thought it would be for the best.” She watched as Usopp sat down at his usual bar stool while seeming very conflicted. “I told him about you, by the way.”

“You did…?”

“I did. He likes that Luffy has a friend in you. For the meantime, it’s probably better you stay here, with me, in a place that’s not a bandit-infested forest.”

“True, true,” Usopp nodded. A plate of food was then placed before him, brightening his expression considerably.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Kaya,

It’s me, Usopp! I know we haven’t spoken in a long time, but I thought I’d write to you now that I know where I’m staying! There was enough left over in my allowance to get some paper and Coo fee, so here I am!

How are you doing? My dad left me in a different village, where people are nicer than the ones in Syrup. It’s called Foosha, and it’s in Goa Kingdom. I live with a lady named Makino—she’s really nice! You’d like her! She owns a bar and I help out sometimes. It’s the only one in town, so lots of people come by. Pirates, Marines, bounty hunters, bandits—we see them all! I’m saving the money I make so Luffy and I can sail to the Grand Line when we’re older! Maybe you can come along too?

Oh, yeah, that’s right: you’re my first best friend, but Luffy’s my second best friend. He used to live with Makino too, but now he lives in the mountains with his brothers Ace and Sabo. Luffy ate a Devil Fruit! He can stretch! It’s pretty cool, but not as cool as my shooting skills! I’m getting really good and some day, I’ll be better than my dad!

Okay, it’s time to wrap up now. It’s almost time for bed. I’ll send this in the morning.

Usopp

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Luffy! Luffy, where are you?!”

Usopp looked around the treehouse, trying to find his friend. While it wasn’t unusual for him to not be there, at the same time it felt as though something was off. The boy shuffled around in an attempt to find any of the hideout’s usual suspects and got nothing.

Huh.

Shifting his backpack, Usopp cautiously wandered the forest in search of his friend. It wasn’t really like Luffy to not be around during Supply Day, when he and Makino brought food and drinks and other things up to Curly Dadan and her bandit crew. He was getting pretty good at dodging the dangerous parts of the forest—the things that Luffy’s grandpa said would make him stronger—and was actually beginning to like the place.

Except, when he finally found Luffy, he and Ace were standing near a cliff, the younger sobbing as they watched the Grey Terminal smolder in the distance. A couple sticks tied together into a cross had been stabbed into the ground and something sickeningly familiar coiled in the pit of Usopp’s stomach.

“Luffy? Ace? Where is Sabo?”

Ace was the one to turn around first, his face more dour and serious than the other boy had ever seen. “The Celestial Dragons murdered him. They didn’t care that he was just a kid.”

“I hate them!” Luffy hissed. “I want Sabo back! We made a promise…!”

“That’s not gonna help!” Usopp snapped. He then gasped, shocked at his own outburst, and softened his tone. “Wanting a dead person to come back isn’t going to do anything, like when my mom died. You have to be brave…” He then looked down at his hands—chapped from experiments with his chemistry set and wiping tables at the bar—and began picking at his fingers. “You have to let it push you forward.”

“Smart,” Ace nodded. He watched as Usopp pulled some food from his backpack and offer it consolingly to Luffy. “You sure you don’t want to stay here with us? There’s an opening now and… well… Sabo did like you. He’d like you being our third.”

“I can’t replace him,” Usopp said, shaking his head. “Besides, I learn a lot in the village! I don’t want to stop learning because I’m out here fighting to survive!”

“Fair,” Ace chuckled. The smile on his face was genuine, which made Usopp feel better.

“Then you and I can go!” Luffy insisted. “Ace and Sabo were already going to leave me behind! I can be co-captains with Usopp!”

“Luffy, that’s a lot of responsibility,” Ace warned.

“Well, yeah, but I’m gonna get stronger! And stronger! And stronger! And Usopp’s gonna get smarter, and we won’t let anything beat us! We won’t let anything like what happened to Sabo happen again!”

“We’ll do our best,” Usopp agreed. “Because that’s what friends do, right?!”

“Shishishi—right!” Luffy grinned through the remainder of his tears and snack. He and Usopp clapped their hands together, sealing the deal.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was a busy afternoon in Foosha Village, with many ships at the port on their usual trade stops. In Party’s Bar, the young teenaged busboy hurried to clear tables and wipe down surfaces, moving quickly as he worked.

“I’m gonna go wash some dishes, Miss Makino,” Usopp said, presenting her with the full tub. His boss was mid-pour of some beer and nodded as she finished it off.

“Let me know when you’re done, alright?”

“Yes, ma’am!” He carried everything into the kitchen and found that the water from when he did glasses a few moments earlier was still hot. Taking advantage of that, he got right into washing dishes, not even noticing that someone else had slipped into the kitchen behind him.

“Usopp, I’m bored!” The teen nearly dropped the plate in his hands at the sound of his friend’s voice. Turning around, he saw that it was definitely his best friend and co-captain, having snuck his way in without a problem.

“Luffy, I’m working.” He put his hands on his hips and scowled. “Don’t you know what a job is?”

“Jobs are boring—let’s go have fun!”

Usopp stuck his head out the kitchen door with a scowl. “Miss Makino! Luffy’s being a bad influence!” The woman in question simply smiled as she dried a glass with an expert hand.

“You’ve been working very hard, Usopp,” she said. “I think you’ve earned a bit of time with Luffy being a bad influence. Go on.”

“…but…!”

“Go! Go!” She shooed them both out through the back, insisting she had things covered until dinner. The teens then found themselves wandering around, with Luffy eventually bringing them to sit on the cliff overlooking the harbor.

“What do you think they’re doing?” Luffy wondered, his gaze unfocused over the ocean. Usopp shrugged.

“Ace might have made it to Logue Town by now… and my dad’s in the Grand Line, so I dunno…” He looked at his friend and wondered. “Are you sure you want me to sail with you?”

“Well, yeah, of course I do,” Luffy insisted. “You’re my friend and co-captain! Like how Ace and Sabo were gonna be co-captains!”

“…except, Ace and Sabo were brothers—your brothers—and I’m just a kid who lives in town.”

“That doesn’t make it different.” Luffy then laid down, turning his face to the sky. “We’re gonna do great things once we get to the Grand Line!”

“The two of us?”

“Well, yeah, but of course we’ll have a crew first. I’m sure Shanks and your dad will laugh at us if it’s just us two in a dinghy.”

“Ha, yeah…” Usopp hugged his knees and frowned at the ocean waves. “Doesn’t mean it’s not scary.”

“Shishishi—of course it’s scary!” Luffy laughed. “That’s the whole point of adventure, isn’t it? Doing things and seeing places other people are too scared of? Being more free than anyone else out there?”

“I guess, but…”

“You worry too much, Usopp.”

“Maybe that’s because you don’t worry enough.”

“Mmm… probably. But that’s okay. We’re still the captains, and that means we’ll take care of the crew and each other. That’s what counts, right?”

“Yeah… I guess it does.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Usopp admittedly wasn’t entirely prepared for when he set out from Foosha Village with Luffy, but he didn’t think that things would be as crazy as they became.

Making a new friend while surviving a mace-wielding nutcase? Check.

Recruiting a bounty hunter to the crew so powerful he was referred to as Pirate Hunter? Check.

Letting their new friend go off to do something as insane as join the Marines?! Check.

Team up with a girl to fight against a murderous clown that could slice himself into tiny bits? There was not enough insanity Usopp could conjure to have predicted that one.

However, when the young woman said that she was a navigator, there was a single request he had for where they would go next.

“So, this is where you’re from?” Nami asked. She raised an eyebrow at the sleepy little town. Their small boats were moored by the harbor and they were now walking along the path that led into the village. “There’s not a lot to it, is there?”

“No, but it’s still important to me,” Usopp said. “Let’s go see what’s going on these days!”

“Are we going to visit Kaya?” Luffy asked. Zoro and Nami looked at each other, then Usopp.

“Who’s Kaya?” Zoro wondered.

“Oh, that’s just Usopp’s super-best friend when he lived here!” Luffy explained. Usopp began to blush, which made the other two smirk. “He only talked about her, like, all the time when we were growing up!”

“We wrote a lot after I left, so we’ve been keeping in touch.”

“Well then, let’s go meet her,” Nami grinned.

Usopp swallowed hard—that was the look of a woman on a mission, and he wasn’t entirely certain he liked said mission. The crew meeting Kaya was sort of the last thing he wanted to do at the moment. He knew it was inevitable, however, and continued to lead them into the village, where everyone stared at them with some form of curiosity or disdain.

“Some welcome wagon this is,” Zoro noted as someone closed some window shutters at the sight of them. “I’ve gotten better receptions in dive bars in my bounty hunter days.”

“Well, Dad wasn’t too popular with the village, and Mom defended him, so she wasn’t liked a lot either,” Usopp shrugged. “Before I met Luffy, I only ever had one friend…”

“…and that’s this Kaya…?” Nami finished. He shrugged—well, yeah. “Do you think she’d like to come along?”

“Probably not—she’s been sick since her parents died a couple years ago. Even if she wanted to go, she’d likely need a doctor to come along too, and I don’t think any of us are good enough at medicine for that.”

“No, I guess not,” Nami said. She then noticed that they had walked past the last house, continuing on the path. “Uh… Usopp? Where does your friend live?”

“Right outside the village,” he said. “It’s how we became friends—we both didn’t live in the main part of the village, so we were practically neighbors!”

Except the crew didn’t expect his “neighbor” to live in a literal mansion, where the door was answered by a tall butler with slicked-back black hair and eyeglasses.

“Miss Kaya is too ill to visit with the likes of you; now go away.”

“Who the hell are you, telling me Kaya’s not doing well?!” Usopp fired back. He glared at the man standing in the doorway to Kaya’s house, unsure of the aura he was giving off. “I’m the Dread Captain Usopp, and I’ve been Kaya’s best friend since we were kids!”

“I’ve never seen you before,” the man sneered. He looked over Usopp’s shoulder at the rest of the crew, who were standing a few paces back. “Now you hooligans better leave before I call the police!”

“Klahadore! Don’t!” It was then that Kaya appeared at his side, looking rather cross. She also looked extremely frail, which was a distinct change from the girl who Usopp used to climb trees and play tag with. “This is the friend I’m always writing to! It’s him!”

“Miss Kaya! You should not be up!”

“My friend is back! That’s reason enough!”

“This is a charlatan, not your friend; besides, you are in no state to receive visitors.”

“Huh…” Nami muttered. “This is more interesting than I thought.”

“I’ll say,” Zoro agreed. He glanced over at Luffy, seeing that the captain’s fist was clenched. “Oi. Let Usopp fight his own battles.”

“This guy pisses me off,” Luffy said. “Usopp lies, but not about important stuff. Kaya’s one of his most important people.”

“I don’t know if that’s up for us to determine,” Nami added.

“We’ve been writing to each other to years! I’m her friend!”

“Miss Kaya has been corresponding with a young man from the city with prospects and standing,” the butler sneered. “You look like someone with neither.”

“That’s what Mother and Father told you so that you wouldn’t worry!” Kaya said. “We knew your ship was sunk by pirates, and that’s what Usopp’s dad is, but he’s a good guy!”

“Pirates are nothing but cowards and scoundrels.”

“Mother always said that his father was unjustly blamed and his mother brave for loving him! She hated having to stand by and watch, but she remembered! They were brave and loving people!”

Usopp sucked in a breath—he never heard anyone describe his parents in such a way. If that was what Kaya was always told, then maybe… was his dad wrong about this place?

“I cannot let us waste more time with these degenerates,” the butler said.

“Klahadore, that is enough! I command you—!”

Everyone went quiet as the butler slapped Kaya across the cheek. She stared at him, eyes wide and mouth ajar. Usopp froze in shock, unable to move. Luffy made a motion to hit the guy back, but Zoro put a hand on his shoulder. Not yet.

“Now look at what you made me do,” the butler hissed. “Your parents left your care to me, and now…” He looked at his own hand in irritation, which he then turned to Usopp. “You four are not welcome here. Do not attempt to contact Miss Kaya any further. Good day.”

The door closed in Usopp’s face and the teen—still in shock—could only gape.

“What the fuck…?” he breathed. “Kaya…?” He pounded both fists on the door and screamed her name at the top of his lungs.

“Come on,” Nami said, gently pulling him from the door. “We’ll figure something out.”

“…but…!”

“She’s right; let’s go,” Luffy frowned.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was the dead of night as Usopp snuck onto the grounds of Kaya’s mansion, heading directly over to where he remembered her room was. He knocked gently on the windowpane and stepped back, waiting for her to get out of bed. Soon as she opened the window, he hugged her tightly, an act which she returned.

“I can’t believe he did that,” he whispered. He then held her at arm’s length and tried not to gasp at the sight of her in the moonlight. “Has he ever done that before?”

“No… and he’s been apologizing since,” she replied. “I… I should have told you sooner…”

“Come with us,” Usopp blurted out. “We can get you out of here, see the world…”

“You know I can’t…!”

“We’ll just get a doctor on the way; it’s a priority anyhow,” he said. Seas… had Kaya always been this pretty? “Please…”

“I’m too fragile…”

“…from staying in this room! Come with us! Let me take care of you! Don’t tell me after all you wrote that you don’t want to see what’s out there?”

“Usopp, you know I do, but…!” She was cut off by the sound of someone else in the house, just outside her door. “Quick! Hide!” Usopp was just out of sight when the butler entered the room. “Oh! Klahadore! You didn’t need to come in!”

“You didn’t answer and I was worried,” he said. “Why is the window open?”

“I was a bit warm,” she lied. “Besides, I’m a bit restless.”

“Are you thinking about that boy again?”

“My friend, even if you don’t believe me.”

“Your parents left you in my care—it would be a great dishonor to their memory if I didn’t question the boy and his intentions regarding you.”

“His intentions…? Klahadore, his intentions involve going out to sea and becoming a proud warrior. He made a promise to visit me before he did, and he tried, and you ruined it.”

“A pirate’s child turning pirate is worse than both those things put together. His blood is poisoned…”

“…only because you don’t know him. Goodnight, Klahadore. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Despondent, the butler left the room and closed the door behind him, his charge waiting to hear his footsteps down the corridor before she flung herself back at the window, seeing Usopp hugging the wall in terror.

“Give me three days,” she said. “That’s when I’ll have the opportunity to get out of here.”

The grins they shared were brighter than the moon and stars combined.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“I still don’t know why we’ve got to wait,” Zoro grumbled. He and the others were sitting up inside Usopp’s house he used to share with his mom, the night after he talked to Kaya. The co-captain poked his head out the window, checking to make sure no one else was around.

“That asshole butler of hers takes a weekly trip to the next town over to get certain groceries,” he said. “We’ll help her sneak out then and leave notes with another butler and the village leader to kick Klahadore out while she’s gone. Then the five of us can head to the Grand Line.”

“No offense, Usopp,” Nami said, “but what can she do other than weigh us down?”

“She won’t!”

“The witch has a point,” Zoro grunted. “She’s practically an invalid; you can’t take someone like that to the Grand Line and expect everything to turn out okay. Maybe if we already had a doctor…”

“Luffy, can you back me on this?” Usopp groaned. He looked over at the other teen, who had his nose in a book. “Luff, come on…”

“I was just looking at this book—it’s got pictures from before we met!” he said. Luffy brought the book over to the table and set it down, showing a photo of Yasopp, Banchina, and a baby Usopp. “That’s your mom, right?”

“Yeah,” Usopp nodded. Something tugged at his heart—it was the first time he’d seen a photo of his mom in a long while. He turned the page and found one of him and her together, from right before she got sick. “You know, I never thought about her being the brave one until Kaya said it earlier.”

“She risked begin shunned by the village by being with your dad, from what it sounded like,” Zoro shrugged. “That, if anything, takes guts.”

“It really does,” Usopp agreed. He tensed up and stared at the door—someone was coming. The four all readied themselves, only for three kids to burst into the house.

“Pirates!” they cried.

“Uh… yeah…” Nami grimaced. This was going to be tedious, wasn’t it? “We’re pirates.”

“No, not you pirates!” the kid with the glasses panicked. “You’ve not done pirate stuff!”

“Well, we’re gonna do pirate stuff if I’m gonna be King of the Pirates,” Luffy said plainly.

“No, you don’t get it: there’s pirates at the slopes!” the one with the green hat explained. “And they’re talking about killing Miss Kaya!”

“Her creepy butler is with them, and he says he wants to kill her himself!” Glasses said.

“We think they want to blame you for it!” the third boy said. “You’re pirates too, but you’re not mean! Doesn’t Miss Kaya like you?!”

“She does,” Nami said. She looked over at Usopp, who seemed absolutely terrified. “So, Co-Captain, what do you plan on doing?”

“We’re going to save Kaya!” he said, entire body shaking in nerves. Luffy and Zoro both grinned, as they knew that this meant they were going to be able to finally pick a fight.

It was on.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

When all was said and done, Usopp was sure he didn’t like cats to begin with anyhow. Adding the fact that Kaya’s asshole butler was a famous pirate captain that supposedly had been captured and executed years earlier and planned on killing her in order to get her money and retire? Definitely not one of the things he had expected when he set off from Foosha.

The butler crumpled to the ground unconscious, knocked out cold from Usopp’s Ten Ton Hammer. Kaya had been underneath him, making it so she had to avoid him falling on her. She looked up at her best friend and nearly cried.

“Usopp, I…!” Kaya gasped as he lifted her up to her feet. They looked at each other and giggled awkwardly. “Thank you.”

“A captain takes care of his crew,” he said. He then swallowed hard at the realization of what he just implied. “I mean, a pirate’s crew is their friends, and… you’ve always been my friend, and…”

With a smile, Kaya placed her finger on Usopp’s lips, silencing him. They then both leaned in and kissed one another, chastely yet by no means less exhilarating. The only thing that stopped them was hearing gagging noises—the Pintsized Pirate Patrol had found them.

“Oh, and what are you three going on about?” Usopp frowned. “Wait until you see someone so pretty you have no choice but to kiss them!”

“Adults are so gross!” Green Hat scowled.

“Uh-huh, sure,” Usopp deadpanned. He felt Kaya’s arms warp around his middle and he sighed, his arm going around her waist. “Now where’s the rope? We need to tie this creep up before he wakes up and tries to kill us all again!”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Are you sure you can’t come along?” Usopp asked. He was sitting with Kaya on the beach, watching as Luffy, Zoro, and Nami got a tour of the Going Merry. They were getting the caravel as a gift for saving the town from the Black Cat Pirates, which honestly took the entire village by surprise. The only reason they even believed the teens was the fact that Merry backed them at all, so it was his honor to present them with their reward.

“I’ve got to get better first, but I think I’m going to do something else,” she said. “I want to be a doctor.”

“That’s… very different from sailing with us,” he acknowledged. “I’m just curious… why?”

“…because one day you’re going to be dragging yourself back here and someone is going to need to patch you up,” she giggled.

“Ouch, okay, fair.” They both laughed before he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips. “As long as you’re going forward.”

“Yeah.” She saw how much fun the others were having with Merry and she nodded to gesture in their direction. “Come on—a captain needs to take care of his crew, right?”

“Right.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Miss Kaya, the newspaper.”

Months had gone by in Syrup Village, with Kaya making considerable improvement with both her condition and her studies. She was reading a chapter on phlebotomy over breakfast when Merry brought in the paper.

“Oh, thank you!” She took it from him appreciatively. “There’s so much happening that it’s difficult to keep up, isn’t it?”

“It can be,” he agreed. Merry watched as her brow furrowed at the front page. “What is it?”

“Usopp…” She went to the bounty poster inserts and pulled out a small pile dedicated to the Straw Hat Pirates. There was Luffy, Zoro, Nami… ah… wait… Sogeking?! “They all have bounties now.”

“Well, would you look at that; you’re right!” Merry laughed. “Declaring war on the World Government? Oh, he is going to need to get patched up next time you see him!”

Declaring war on the World Government in order to save his crewmate… he really was a brave captain after all.

#One Piece #fan fiction #Usopp #Yasopp #Banchina #Monkey D. Luffy #Red Hair Shanks #Makino #also contains #Yasopp x Banchina #Shanks x Makino #and #Usopp x Kaya #if the U in ASUL was Usopp that would be so fcking insane

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slashcrz · 3 months

Note

I have seen you posting about this RP often but you have never posted an ounce of proof to back up your claims. I am also a bit confused as to why you remained in the group for so many months if you felt the admins were this bad? You even said you knew one of the admins from a previous group and thought they were bad and then still joined their group? It doesn't add up to me.

totally understandable. let me try and explain a little more about what happened in francehq, and why i feel everyone should take extreme precaution before joining this game... due to the nature of some of the experiences that myself, and others, had regarding the admin in question, i share the screenshots privately, off of anon, since they hold some personally identifying information. additionally - ive even had one person go through the effort of their changing their entire online alias just to avoid another potential run-in with the admins, after feeling bullied as well. there are at least 6 different personal accords about being victimized about this admin/admin team (see others sharing their experience after leaving here, and here. we also had support here.) i had 3 former members of francehq reach out to me to thank me for speaking up, sharing they had felt the same and had been gaslit by mars into feeling they were the problem. i can, of course, share these as well upon request but for the safety of those involved, i will be blurring their discord name. of course, many of the victims wish to keep their identity (mainly, their discord) private, i am sure you understand. this got long, so further intel is under the cut + screenshots.

as for the previous group (i assume you mean my comment here), i hesitated before joining francehq for awhile, but i firmly believe in second chances. i joined with a friend who also had concerns, but we wanted to trust that people can change. plus, in 1642 where i ran into mars before, it was just clique-y behavior, and ship chasing... nothing too major, things that can be grown from, right? unfortunately, it all got worse over the months spent in francehq. for me, my issues with mars started in september, and then we had a discussion in october where she admitted to singling me out & not writing with me due to a concern i'd brought up as a member to the admins. i was targeted, and i almost left. i stayed for my good friends, and our plots, and tried to just look past the behavior i was seeing. i think we all want to give the benefit of the doubt, when we can, right?

unfortunately, things worsened, and when things started to get racist and fetish-y, i took back to back hiatuses while i tried to make decisions. mind you - i had over 2k posts on my character blog! this was hours of my life, of my love. but the proof is in the pudding - i mean, look at francehq RIGHT NOW. 23 taken characters, between 3 muns - NONE of them are bipoc, and the majority of the poc are from idol music groups. it's extremely fetishy. additionally - here, here, and here is screenshots of the admin characters, and the relationships that were active (notice the face chasing? these are the characters in the group still).

the final kicker was when mars decided to rewrite the entire backstory of a taken character that she did not play. she decided that this character had to be white, had to be adopted, had to come from another noble family, and the mun had been writing this character for months. mind you - this character was not previously adopted and this character had a full intro, posted and everything. mars has a history of excessive godmodding (and character copying/theft). i can prove this, too. there was no genuine apology or effort made to rectify the godmodding.

ALSO - look at francehq. they have their askbox off, their replies off, their reblogs off, everything is locked down, and they are hiding. you dont hide, unless you have something to hide. i am happy to share my screenshots with anyone off of anon, if they reach out, and i've done so before! <;3 ultimately, it is up to everyone to make their own decision, but i have had 10+ people come forward ( even people i have never met ) with personal experiences with mars. PLEASE TAKE CAUTION. if you decide to involve with this group, please be careful. that is all i am trying to do is spread the awareness.

also lets not forget that mars literally made a colonial rp in the past with heavy slave elements

#rpc #rpt #rp

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the-alpha-incipiens · 5 months

Text

20 questions for fic writers

shamelessly stolen from @sapphicsandscience <3 questions and rambly answers beneath the read more!

How many works do you have on AO3?

63.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

451,140.

I’m kind of impressed that it’s almost half a million, but also just how much I wrote in the last two years after not writing/publishing anything at all in 2021.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently, Star Trek: TNG and PIC. Before that, the fandom I wrote the most for was Once Upon a Time. Everything else was just two or three fics, at least on AO3. I’ve been writing fic for decades so there are A LOT of fics and fandoms that have been lost to time. (Random shout out to Battlestar Galactica, which I wrote for back in my LiveJournal days!)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

I’m going to do two sets here, because my All Years one are all OUAT fics no one cares about anymore, and I have enough fics published from this year to have a top five of 2023 so my current fandom has something to read that will make sense to them lol.

All Years

The Fire’s Found a Home in Me - my Dragon Outlaw Queen magnum opus, the one shot collection that makes up the bulk of my Flicker Beat universe that divulges in season four. Technically “unfinished” but complete since it was never intended to have a true ending.

It Happened Once… - a Evil Captain Charming crackfic that honestly has way more kudos than I expected. This one for some reason sees a lot of traction still. It was originally supposed to have a just-as-cracky sequel, but I never finished it.

A Loaded God Complex - ah, Golden Queen, my guilty pleasure OUAT ship. Set in s6, this was the start of a set of one-shots that took the romantic Golden Queen that finally blossomed in that season and ran with it. Mostly involves a lot of dark power struggles masking as sex. Aptly all titled after Fall Out Boy lyrics, if I say so myself.

Put Your Venom in Me - another Golden Queen fic, see above.

The Computation - a little Dragon Queen one-shot I did, short and sweet. Honestly surprised it’s on here, because it’s not my best work by any means.

2023

peace - my Picard/Crusher fic set directly after the epilogue in the PIC s3 finale. I was pleasantly surprised by how much attention this fic has gotten. I had suspected I would end up writing a prequel, but I never thought it’d turn into the four part series that it has. I hope everyone still enjoys it.

Mastermind - the first Star Trek: TNG fic I wrote since I was a teenager watching TNG for the first time! This was entirely thanks to my friend Jess, if I’m remembering correctly? She prompted me to rewrite the season 2 episode “Manhunt” with Beverly in it instead of Pulaski, because my favorite toxic trait of Beverly’s is her jealousy.

what could’ve been, should’ve been (you) - my PIC s3 Picard/Crusher masterpiece. I got the idea for this by the end of episode two, struggled with it as the season went on, and then finally wrangled it into something that I truly love.

in the business of misery - jealous!Beverly makes a reappearance in this s4 TNG fic that fixes QPid. Because fuck Vash, okay.

trustfall - dlfshfsl this fic. If what could’ve been, should’ve been (you) is my PIC masterpiece, I think trustfall is my TNG one. I disparage it a bit by talking as if it’s shameless smut, but honestly I’m quite proud of it as a character piece as Picard and Beverly navigate a new relationship and new dynamics across 11k of words. Set in TNG s3, post-Sarek.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! I genuinely appreciate comments, because I find it quite difficult to give them myself, so as a part of trying to be better I also try to respond to comments. I’m an awkward turtle, though, so I feel like I usually end up babbling about things people probably did not care about. If I don’t babble, I usually just leave a short and sweet “thanks for reading” that I hope doesn’t come across as insincere.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably Winter Song, a OUAT fic I actually wrote for a holiday fandom advent calendar we did back in the OQ fandom. It’s a wedding fic, and smutty as is my usual, but it’s got a heavy dose of sadness. I sort of tried to make it hopeful in the end, because ending a Christmas fic with no hope felt like I was killing Christmas.

Another OUAT fic I wrote, A Spark to Ignite, was also really angsty, now that I think about it and doesn’t involve any character death (canon or otherwise). It was supposed to have a part two that fixed it but I never wrote it.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Oooh. I’ll be polite and not take “happiest ending” to be dirty, even though I could list SO MANY fics for that.

bound to break, my Greatest Showman AU that I wrote for Outlaw Queen (OUAT fandom, again) ends pretty cleancut happily after having some angst in the middle. And it’s technically a multi chapter fic, though it’s short lol.

I Know, I Know, I Know (I Feel the Same as You) as my Outlaw Queen college AU always makes me happy when I think about the ending.

8. Do you get hate on fic?

Not really. I’ve gotten some comments that were definitely unnecessary and mean-spirited, but nothing major. Truthfully, I’m not nearly a big enough deal to get hate.

9. Do you write smut?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Sorry, nothing against anyone who doesn’t, but writing smut is basically all I do. It’s what I was known for in my previous fandom. It’s the thing I find the easiest to write, and secretly I suffer from a lot of insecurity because I feel like it’s the only thing I actually write very well. For a bit, in the OUAT fandom, I felt a little like a smut jukebox and it was entirely my own fault. But I wrote a lot of fun things and ultimately I enjoy writing smut.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I definitely have in my distant fic writing past, but nothing recently. OUAT almost counts as a canon crossover, given the story of it.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, not really. My great network of fic writing friends have definitely provided excellent guidance and suggestions that have been enormously helpful, and that’s the closest I’ve gotten.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Lol I feel like this is impossible to answer? My current hyperfixation is Picard/Crusher, and that’s a ship I’ve loved for a very, very long time. So maybe it’s that. But I’ll always hold a place in my heart for Outlaw Queen and Dragon Outlaw Queen (especially for the latter, since I wrote SO MUCH of it). Adama/Roslin is my OTP from back in my LiveJournal days that will also be special to me.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

Funnily enough, it’s not a Star Trek one, even though that’s my current fandom. The WIP I really, really wish I had finished is Where the Burn Marks Form. I had SUCH PLANS for Dragon Outlaw Queen and Calida and got too intimidated by what I wanted to do to actually write it. Sometimes I think it’s for the best though, because I think any remaining DOQ fans might have been sad about what all was supposed to happen (though it was always supposed to have a happy ending).

16. What are your writing strengths?

Smut. Once upon a time (lol), threesomes in particular. Ironically I used to struggle a bit with writing just two people having sex after writing so much Dragon Outlaw Queen, but I find it not as difficult anymore.

Character voices. Not to brag, but something I pride myself on is getting a character’s voice right. It’s something I work very hard at, and stress a lot over, but generally feel like I succeed.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Literally anything else? You want long, detailed plotty fic? Sorry, can I interest you in a smutty one shot instead. You want something angsty? Not really my style. You want a well-plotted completely alternate universe fic? LOL please, I write fic so I don’t have to world build. Canon compliant or canon divergence or bust, baby.

I write on vibes, and I’m sure sometimes that is blatantly obvious. I have the vaguest of plans whenever I sit down to write something, and I go from there. Probably someday I should try to have actual concrete plans and not just “hmm what if i do this” vibes.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Lol okay let me piss off the entire Picard/Crusher fandom real quick: IN MY OPINION, it is annoying to write dialogue in another language unless it’s like… blatantly obvious what you’re saying. Very rarely is there a point to it, and it can be easily sidestepped by “blah blah blah,” he said in French. Basic phrases, sure. Pet names, have at it! Several sentences in another language?

Look I don’t speak French. If you put French in your fic, I’m having to pull out Google translate and heaven help me if it’s dirty talk, because now Google is translating “I want to fuck you,” to English from different languages (French, it’s French, I didn’t have this problem in my other fandoms). I wish if people were going to do that, they’d at least make a footnote (I would 100% be willing to find out how to format it) and!!! I think you can still use html to set it up so that when you hover over text, it gives you a little mouseover text where you can have the translation!!! That way I don’t have to one: try and scroll down to the end notes hoping for a translation and thus breaking my immersion as I scroll back up, or at least if it’s a footnote it’ll have an anchor taking me back to the sentence in question.

Sorry rant over, everyone please continue writing however you wish, I will deal. And honestly if you use the same French phrases enough I’ll learn them anyway, so it won’t matter in the long run. This absolutely is not a deal breaker for me when it comes to reading a fic, it’s just a pet peeve.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Um, probably Harry Potter but that is my long-forgotten days.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

trustfall as mentioned above for Star Trek: TNG. With trustfall, it was maybe the second or third fic I wrote for Star Trek (I mean, at least not counting back when I was in my early teens writing for it) and I really think it's just some of my best work? It's a smut fic, but I think there's really, really good character exploration in it. It easily could have just been a fic where Beverly soft dommes Jean-Luc and all you get is that final scene, but I think the build up really makes it worth it. idk idk I have a lot of feels for this fic lolol.

Wishes in the Dark for OUAT. My key party in Storybrooke fic!! aka my Awkward David fic. I think this is one of the best fics I've written, period, for a lot of the same reasons as above. It's 30k, it's got Dragon Outlaw Queen, but more importantly it's got David lusting after Regina and Mal and getting the chance to sleep with them with Snow's permission... and then also Robin joins in and David realizes some things about himself. There's a whoooole side quest of things that was supposed to happen after this story that I never wrote. It's also got some really tender Evil Charming, because I couldn't resist.

And that's all folks! Thanks for reading if you made it this far, I know I really rambled. <3

#text post #man i haven't posted on tumblr like this in forever #idk what to tag anything with lol #fic writer questions

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