#in retrospect I should have posed to crawling into the water but that would be hard too

[bookrat]

Aphaneramma, a marine temnospondyl amphibian with a cute crocodile face

#sculpture #temnospondyl #aphaneramma #I took pics from other angles but the sun ruined them #in retrospect I should have posed to crawling into the water but that would be hard too #cuz she floats aggressively

[thoughtfullyyoungduck]

This is awkward

Summary: could u maybe do a reddie x daughter where she gets her period, but wants to hide it from richie and eddie bc they’re guys, so she steals richie’s phone and calls bev for help. but like as she goes over to bevs house (maybe they live close) richie and eddie think she’s missing or lost and they freak out? i just feel like that’s such a reddie situation lmao

warnings: period talks 

In retrospect, she really should have seen it coming. All the signs they taught you about in health class presented themselves full force, from having abdominal pain and a bloating stomach after eating a cracker, to using the bathroom more than she usually has to. 

Never the less, it remained a shock when she wakes up at five in the morning to searing throbbing in her lower abdomen that leaves her helplessly whriting. The clock strikes six am at the exact moment she groans, curling her body into a fetal position and covering her stomach with her arms.

She lays still for a while, tossing and turning in an effort to find a pose that won’t hurt, but nothing helps, and so she decides to go to the medicine cabinet and fish out medication to reduce the ache. In order to do that, she removes the heavy silk comforter off her body, and shivers as her temperature reduces from the added coldness that sticks in the room. It’s nearing summer time, so the sun is gleaming up every last detail of the room even at six o’clock, rendering the lightbulb hanging from the ceiling useless.

She gets up, and as soon as turns around to readjust the comforter out of the corner of her eye she spots a red blood stain, soaked into the covers of her one person bed. Ellie’s first instinct is, embracingly enough, to cry, the sight of blood leaving her squeamish and ready to do whatever it takes to get rid of it.

Her pain tolerance is high, but the second a blotch of blood presents itself anywhere near or on her, it needs to be removed point black.  

It clicks in her mind what this situation means and what the logical explanation is, but she’s still in a daze that allows her to calmly rip the covers of the bed an paddle downstairs to the washing area, carefully avoiding to touch the blood itself, free of any panic or discomfort, beside the continues stabbing sneers. Only after disposing of the covers in the washing machine and shutting it with a small click, she sobers up and worries.

Ellie grabs a towel of a mountain of dry-cleaned clothes that Richie was ordered to organize room by room but forgot after a last minute stand up show the night before and wraps it around her middle. The towel specifically is her favorite, colored blue with the animations of winx club printed upon it, as a child her favorite cartoon show, with her name embroider on the top thanks to her uncle Mike. A trait she copied from Richie was that she lost stuff so much that Eddie got sick of it and started writing her name on article of clothes and shoes so that if someone found it they returned it to the right person, and because at the time Mike was practicing embroidery, he sowed her name in the towel as a gift.

The edges of the towel are worn out and frayed, but the texture is soft to the touch and smells like sunscreen, in a way tied to a few of Ellie’s preferred treasured memories. It’s the only at hand though, and time is of the essence, and she wants to wants desperately to avoid any more blood spillage.

Scanning the floor while hurrying to a bathroom Ellie cautions that she stays upright and doesn’t hit her toe against the doorframe like she idioticly does time and time again. She reaches the bathroom she unlocks the door from its hinches and opens it soundlessly, her parents lost in dreamland a door over. She feels weirdly docile about the whole thing, not at all trembling or making rash decision like she foresaw whenever she thought of this moment. The bathroom door shuts behind her, and she silently awaits for any sound to emerge from Eddie and Richie’s bedroom, but none materialize, thankfully.

At that point, there’s not much she can do. The house is empty of anything remotely resembling pads, with Richie and Eddie not needing them and Ellie hadn’t required them so far either.

Having two fathers is a blessing that Ellie is magnificently proud of, and most of the time she forgets that core families usually exist of one father and a mother. Richie and Eddie fill up any void that a mom could possibly leave behind, and so she is often oblivious that her home situations isn’t ‘normal’. There is nothing that a mother adds that Richie and Eddie don’t provide her, but maybe this is the one exception.

Ellie learned about menstrual cycles and how to deal with them via sex ed in school, but at home not a word was ushered about this. Unintentional no doubt, since Richie took it upon himself to bring up as much cringe-worthy conversations to shy her away from trying anything stupid. She never brought the topic up, and it must have slipped from Richie and Eddie’s mind too.

She debates waking up Richie and Eddie to drive her to the store, but it’s too early for that, the sops opens at nine, and there honestly sounds nothing worse but rousing her fathers for something like a period.

Richie will joke, and Eddie will research the whole thing down to the smallest details to aid her with all the knowledge found on the internet, but what she would really benefit from is a girl simply explaining the whole thing to her.

The solution literally falls in her lap, as Ellie accidentally knocks over the parfum Beverly left behind last time she visited. Aunt Bev and uncle Ben live two streets away, in a giant modern home they fosters pets in, at the edge of a forest.

They reside there any time they aren’t on their boat travelling around the world, but with Beverly six months into her pregnancy, they swore to not go on any outings up to the birth of their very first child.

Both Ben and Bev work every weekday, but if Bev is home, she’ll be happy to help, Ellie is certain. She should call first, to let Bev know she was on her way and to ensure Bev won’t contact the police on her, a figure appearing out of the blue early morning might not present well. The only problem with that is that Ellie’s phone was dropped in the water of a bath, cracking the phone’s screen from the hard landing and drenching it in water, causing all the phone’s functions to give out.

Calling aunt Bev is only an option if Ellie locates a phone, and her best bet on that is her pops.

Richie obsesses over his phone, and while he says that’s not the case, Eddie humorously hid it once and it send Richie in such a frenzy he explored the whole house top to bottom and discarded any and all cabinets to locate it.

Eddie chides the overexercise usage and resorts to conking Richie over the head if he dares to divided his attention to it for over ten minutes, but it’s all in a loving way, Eddie wouldn’t ever dream of hurting Richie.

A compromise was formed, Richie promising to leave his phone unattended on the bedside table at the end of the bed, and Eddie dialing down his complaints. The phone can’t ramify it’s toxic radiation from that far, but it’s close enough that the alarm clock rouses them up if necessary.

Invading Richie and Eddie’s bedroom is a dangerous game to play at, Eddie’s hearing out of this world with precision and picking up on the smallest, barely there clamor, but assisted with a tad of luck, Ellie might be able to evade waking them. After all, she’d rather get caught sneaking in, than having to provide a valid reason she ought to shop.

------

The clock strikes eight a.m. when Richie stirs awake, the light streaming through the window in such a way it glistens directly in Richie eyes, and in order to avoid it he swivels around on his stomach. His arm covers Eddie side, snoring loudly right net to his ear. Huffing out a laugh, Richie retracts his arm to cover his eyes from the sun that maliciously demands him to wake.

Eddie sniffles, his hand lifting in search for Richie and sighing happily when his fingertips bump against Richie’s shoulder, tugging his arm back in position.

‘Too early’, he grumbles, smacking his lips to rid himself of his dry mouth and burying his head further into his pillow. Richie laughs, kissing his husbands bare shoulder and readjusting Richie’s shirt he’s wearing after.

Weekends are a synonymous with rest and sleep, but Richie starts the day bright and fresh anyway, cooking a giant breakfast with Ellie to lure Eddie out of bed under the guise of food.

It strikes Richie as odd that Ellie’s not up and about it yet, he strains to hear any movement in the house but he comes up empty.

‘Aren’t you gonna make me breakfast, babe?’ Eddie asks his lips curled in a teasing smile, accustomed to their morning routine.

‘Sure thing Eds’, Richie says gooey, slobbering a kiss on the first part of Eddie he can reach, his temple, knowing that Eddie revolts the thought of kissing without brushing teeth first.

‘Wait I was kidding come back,’ Eddie whines, outstretching his arms to stop Richie from getting up but failing.

‘You’ll be so much happier when the food’s ready, trust me. I’m going to wake our munckin up too.’

He steps away from the bed, pulling his shirt, bunched up thanks to the wild gestures he performs in his sleep, down in the meanwhile and yawns so wide his jaw protests.

His limbs feel lose and relaxed of waking up not so soon ago, and they seem to be begging Richie to crawl back under the cover and cuddle with Eddie some more, but tour life stretched itself through all the aspects of Richie’s life these past months, and he really long for some time to spend with his daughter.

As he stumbles blindly, his hand scours the miniature table, but the only thing he can find are his glasses, neatly tucked away in what must have been Eddie’s doing after Richie zonked out.

At first he thinks he missed it, but then his glasses help him see clearly, and he notices that the phone is no longer there.

‘Hey, Eds?’

The only answer he receives is a grunt, muffled by the blankets Eddie hides under.

‘Did you hide my phone again?’ Richie asks, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Eddie shakes his head without looking up, napping on.

‘Huh’, Richie responds, deciding to let Eddie wake at his own terms. He probably ditched the phone somewhere and is drawing blank on where it could be, but it’ll be found again soon. With a deflated shrugs, Richie leaves the room to wake up his daughter, excited like a kid on Christmas to rope her into mischief.

Eddie huffs, forcing the blanket of off him and screwing his eyes open, scratching at a spot on his back that insistently itched all night.

Soon, Ellie will run in with coffee, with a meticulous steady head so none of it spills, and announce that breakfast is prepared. Some of it will be burned, other things will be so delicious Eddie will look forward to it every day of the week till he eats it again. Regardless of how good the food is, the most important thing is that it’s family time, and that no interruption or distractions occur but the laughter and unprovoqued leering both Richie, Ellie and Eddie gathered throughout the week.  

Eddie smiles contently, resting his eyes a tad longer and imagining the inviting warm smell flowing up from downstairs. What he gets instead is frantic running up the stairs, loud thuds that rattle the foundation and follow each other quickly, subsequently followed by the bedroom door ricocheting of it’s hinges.

The urgency behind it spooks Eddie, who scrambles out of bed before Richie manages to utter a word.

‘Ellie’s not here.’

----

‘Thank you for helping me aunt Bev’, Ellie reinforces Bev, who brought out mint tea and joined her on the sofa to watch tv.

The movie provided background noise to the conversation they previously held, Ellie a little intimidated otherwise.

‘Any time honey you know this.’

Bev smiles brightly enough that her pearl white teeth show, her hair in a braid swiped over her shoulder, she radiates happiness to a degree Ellie has never seen.

‘I love dad and pops, I do, but you know how they get’, Ellie grimaced, his hands twisting nervously in the hem of the shirt she wormed herself in on the way here. A laugh bubbles out of Bev, already nodding her head.

‘They mean well but yes. I’m glad you confided in me.’ On instinct, Ellie dropped her hand down to pet the soft fur of Ben and Bev’s dog, a lifelong companion to them but also to her. She swiped nothing but air, Ben took the dog on a walk in the park, leaving the two girls to discuss thing among themselves. It was sad she didn’t get a chance to say hi to them, but she figures she’ll visit again later.

‘I really should get going,’ Ellie starts, her hand enclosing the plastic bag filled with supplies Bev landed her gracefully. ‘Pops and I love arranging breakfast, so I should really get home before they wake up to me not hanging around the house.’

Bev blinked innocently, surprise grazing her features. ‘Well, it is nine am, will they not be awake yet?’

‘It’s not that late yet is it?’ Bev’s phone rings loudly, startling Ellie out of her stupor. Even from her angle on the phone, she deciphers her pops names before Bev announce that it’s Richie.

‘Oops’, Ellie mutters, grimacing as the severity of the situation begins to down on her. She’s in big trouble now. Accepting the call, Bev puts in on speaker, a hand apologetically stroking Ellie’s arm conveying that yes, Bev’s sorry, but Ellie might get killed today.

‘Beverly’, Eddie distraught voice shakes through the microphone. A sinking stone weighs Ellie down, flushed with guilt, she hadn’t thought she’d be here so long, she only counted a five minute drop by.

‘Do you know where Ellie is? She’s not in her room or in the backyard either.’ In the background something smashes to the floor, in addition to cursing that sounds more like roaring, and Richie running out.

‘I really think she snatched my cellphone. Maybe she called someone to pick her up?’

Bev attempts to capture their attention goes unheard, the bickering between Eddie and Richie hardly begun.

‘I fucking told you Richie, dump the goddamn phone so much.’

‘How the fuck is that my fault? It has nothing do with that’, Richie argues frustrate, it’s obvious from the way he snapped back at Eddie he is equally as overwrought as Eddie.

‘You’re right, it’s mine. I’ve pushed her away by being to hands on. I should have given her more freedom to do what she wanted and I-‘

‘Eddie no. I honestly don’t think there’s anyone less strict as you. You remember when she was ten and she asked for two ice creams in a row and you just gave them to her because we were on a vacation?’

‘Stop dad. Pop’s right, I’m not running away for fuck sake’, Ellie yells out eventually, frustrated by the conversations taking place.

‘Ellie?’ A chair is pushed back and screeches across the floor, intending on the floor Eddie hammered on about being careful on.

‘Stay where you are, we’re on our way.’ Richie grounds out, seizing hold of his jacket and racing to the car. The connection then severs and dead silence is left in its wake.

‘Good luck with that.’

----

Though Bev, Ben, Eddie and Richie live nearby, Ellie is shocked by the fast response as the car halts not fully parked, Eddie and Richie jumping out in pajama’s.

Bev opened the door, so they waltz right on it without regarding Bev, seizing Ellie in a close knit hug both Richie and Eddie participate in.

‘Don’t you ever, ever scare us like that again. You hear me?’ Richie threatens, his words crackling with relief that his daughter is fine.

‘I’m sorry, I won’t. I honestly thought I would be back before you knew it.’

‘Why are you here in the first place?’ The family remains close, Eddie’s hand holding Ellie’s forearm loosely.

A blush shoots up her cheeks, coloring them bright red at the question. 

‘Yeah about that, Is it not enough for me to promise to never do this again?‘

#reddie #reddie x daughter #this is so bad #I'm sorry #my writing #unfortunately #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrack #eddie as a parent #richie as a dad #reddie as parents

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Athazagoraphobia (Part 5)

Li walks alongside Lo, the halls are painfully quiet, any conversation is held in hushed tones. “Good luck.” One of the younger serving girls whispers as they pass. “She’s in a mood.” Adds another.  Li isn’t particularly worried; taking care of the girl since before the crown could fit on her head, she has seen the princess in all sorts of moods.She is abundantly aware that the princess can be difficult, she is long past being intimidated by it. 

They enter the throne room. “Good evening, princess.” They greet. The princess looks anything but cheerful. In fact the princess looks bleak-eyed and exhausted and yet there is a fierce glimmer in her eyes, a warning glimmer. When it is pleasantly clear that she will not be returning their greeting, Li opts to get straight to the point. “Azula, we heard what happened. Why have you banished all your servants?”

“All your Dai Li agents…” Lo continues. 

“And the imperial firebenders.” Li finishes. 

“None of them could be trusted. Sooner or later, they all would have betrayed me. Just like Mai and Ty Lee did.” Azula replies. Her voice holds sharp overtones of anger and more subtle undertones of hurt and anxiety. 

In unison with her sister, Li speaks, “Azula, we are concerned for you and your well-being.” Truly, Li sympathizes with the girl having seen just how much pressure she places upon herself. How much more pressure that her father adds.

The princess only lashes out further. “My father asked you to come here and talk to me, didn't he‌? He thinks I can't handle the responsibility of being Fire Lord. But I will be the greatest leader in Fire Nation history.” 

She is much more temperamental than Li is used to. Really they ought to tread carefully, but Lo speaks first. “I'm sure you will. But considering everything that has happened today…”

Li cringes to herself, though, maybe the princess would find it more patronizing if they tried to sugarcoat things so Li continues, “perhaps it's best if you postponed your coronation.”

Rage flares to life in Azula’s intense gold eyes. They have made a mistake. “What?! Which one of you just said that?”

Li exchanges a glance with her sister as Azula continues speaking, “what a shame. There's only one way to resolve this. You two must duel each other. I order you to fight an Agni Kai!”

Rather flabbergasted Li leaves Lo to speak first. “But…”

Li joins the conversation. “We're not firebenders.”

“Alright, fine.” The princess seems to reluctantly accept this reminder. Pointing at Li, she declares, “Lo, you're banished.” And then to Lo, “Li, you can stay.” The girl walks away before they can question her a second time. 

“I think it would be best if we both took our leave.” Li says.

“Or we can make our way into one of the hidden passageways and wait for her state to pass.” Lo suggests. 

Li considers. Venturing beyond the palace walls with the war reaching its climax posed a ri.sk. But was the risk greater than the one the princess herself posed should she discover them? “Her mind is elsewhere.” Lo continues. “She won’t search us out.” 

Li nods, “let’s stop at the kitchen along the way.” 

The duo wanders down a long flight of stairs that make several twists and turns before opening into a hallway that they follow for a length of time. They make themselves comfortable in rather small, secret underground annex. But it is spacious enough to be comfortably livable, at least for a few days while the comet unfolds. Fixed on the ceiling, there is a narrow, horizontal window that lets light in and offers a view, albeit a limited one, of the outside world. 

The few days leading up to the comet pass remotely uneventfully. The most excitement they receive is watching cataipede crawl up the wall and begin the first stages of chrysalis. The day after provides a shift in the atmosphere. 

Li thinks, at first, that it is the effect of the midday sky warming into the orange and red hues of a sunset. “It is beginning.” Lo notes. 

In which case, with the princess presumably attending her coronation, it is safe to emerge from hiding. Li vocalizes as much before standing up and stretching very stiff limbs. If the palace was sushed before, it is gravely quiet now. With the servants and much of the palace staff gone, the place is oppressively eerie. Their footsteps echo down the expansive hallway. A hallway that seems almost elongated by the change in atmosphere. 

“How long do you think her coronation will last?” Lo asks. 

“Long enough for us to restock our food supply and get some fresh air.” Li replies.  The pair scavenge the kitchen before making their way into the outside world. The sun may be blotted out by clouds (both natural and born of war machines and comet dust) but the comet itself provides plenty of light as begins to make its way across the horizon. 

The sky is tinged red, its reflection in the royal garden’s pond gives the waters an uncanny, coppery, resemblance to a pool of blood.  She and Lo wander to the nearest bench and unwrap simple sandwiches; a meal for their comet viewing. 

Distantly, they can hear the sounds of war balloons taking off and as the comet progresses comes the sound of a battle. The roar of fire slapping against fire, of explosions, the sounds of an agni kai. It is almost too close for comfort and keeps Li from fully enjoying her sandwich. 

She has her meal finished and is discussing their next move with Lo when comes an astoundingly bright bolt of lightning. She can imagine that it could be seen well and clear over the rim of the volcano. It is accented by terribly loud rumble of thunder. 

Thunder rocks the ground before all goes silent.  

Disturbingly so. 

Every now and again the sound of flames roar in the distant but they become less and less frequent as the comet reaches zenith. And then it does, it reaches its highest point and bursts into a brighter flare. 

A flare and then burst. 

Mayhaps it is that her sight isn’t what it used to be, but she swears that something--just a small chunk--has broken away from the comet. 

Li looks to Lo who gives a shrug. 

“We need to be gone when the princess comes home, maybe we should have a look.” Lo suggests. 

“These old bones, walking that far?” Li asks.

Her sister laughs, “no one is around we have our pick of any of the tanks.”

Li returns the wheezing cackle. “Like in the good ol’ days.” 

Interesting, in retrospect, to know that they were seeking out a taste of the past in something that would only distance them much further from it. 

The city passes in a blur, several times, Lo almost sends them careening into a building. By the fifth time Li grumbles, “let me drive you old moth-bat!” 

“Not a chance!” Lo clings to the wheel. “I haven’t done this in years!” Her laughter is of the howling variety and Li grins am almost toothless grin. She turns her head and spies the coronation square. She gives her own hooting laugh at the prospect of defying the princess in such close proximity. It is exhilarating, she will save feeling guilty for a later time.

A thin trail of dark smoke acts as a beacon, guiding them to where the space rock had collided. Lo rolls the tank to a stop near the rim of Capital City’s volcano. Li grimances, “do you think your old legs can carry you all the way up there?”

“It don’t matter.” Lo replies. “I’m only getting older, if I’m gonna go out, I might as well make it fun.” 

Li frowns. “You don’t have to rush to your grave.”

“Eh, who said this is gonna kill me.” She calls down, for the old coon has already scrambled herself halfway up the craggy rim. 

“You let me know what’s up there. My old legs won’t carry me that far.”  She chuckles to herself. Of course her sister still has her agility. She herself would rather stay where things are safe. She listened to the sound of Lo shuffling around.

“Well I don’t know what this is.” Lo calls at last. 

“What does it look like?”

Lo’s face peeks over the edge. “I can’t say. Every time I think that I’ve found the words for it, it changes.” 

“Has the princess driven you mad too?” Li asks. She doesn’t get an answer. “Lo?” The lengthy pause leaves her jittery. “Lo?” She calls again. She shudders, there is an unpleasant rippling in her soul. 

An incomprehensible blackness that seems to wedge itself into the interweaved souls of she and her sister. “Lo!?” She calls out a third time, louder, more desperate. 

Something is wrong, she can feel it in her core and yet she can’t say why it is wrong. 

It is an alteration. Perhaps not directly to her soul. But inadvertently as some type of spiritual poison works into Lo’s soul.

Her sister comes back into view, providing only a fleeting moment of relief before Li notices her shambling gait. She is moving slower and her descent from the rim is more uncanny than the bloody reflection on the garden pond. 

She forces a smile and tries to ignore the feeling of terror. “Lo, I told you that you shouldn’t have made that climb. Now you’ve gone and hurt yourself.” Li scolds. With any luck Azula’s coronation will have left her in a better, more generous mood. And perhaps she will allow for Lo to receive adequate care. “Let’s get you to the place.” She adds when Lo doesn’t respond.

Her sister’s gaze never leaves the floor and her hands seem to stiffly twitch every few minutes. And as they walk back to the tank she takes pause every now and again as her whole body shudders. 

It isn’t normal. 

Not even slightly. 

But Li wants to believe that her sister is fine. 

“How about you tell me what you found up there?”

She is met only with raspy breathing. 

.oOo.

It is a miracle that Zuko is the one to greet her and with a grand and glorious tale of victory. Li wishes that she can share in his joy. Instead she forces Lo forward. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her, Fire Lord Zuko. But you need to allow her to see the royal physicians.” 

Zuko gives a sympathetic nod. “What happened?”

“We saw something break off of the comet. Lo and I wanted to see what it was.”

Zuko pinches the bridge of his nose. “What is with you old people and doing crazy things? I think the comet has driven everyone nuts!”

“You might be right there, Fire Lord.” But exactly what kind of madness has befallen Lo. 

Zuko escorts the twins to the infirmary. Lo is surprisingly strong as she resists Zuko’s attempts to lay her down. It is a silent protest, but the old woman refuses to get in bed. Zuko seems to grimace. “Maybe I should have her taken to the institution with Azula…” 

In need of a distraction she inquires, “what has become of the girl.” 

“She started screaming. Just screaming. And breathing fire…” Zuko trails off. “She wasn’t...she wasn’t her.” 

“Yes.” Li nods. “She was unusually cross with Lo and I.” 

Lo gives another full body tremor and collapses onto the bed. 

Her skin doesn’t begin to liquify for another day. But when it does, it is absolutely putrid. 

Her eyes go red first. Completely red as each and every blood vessel seems to rupture. Li watches it happen; first her right eye and then the left. Li tries not to stare for too long lest she be forced to accept that there is something silvery-white, fog-like, slithering in the pits of red. 

Li can’t help but be reminded of the pond. 

She begins to think of it as an omen. 

An omen she had failed to recognize. 

“Lo, are you still in there?” Li asks on the second day. 

Whatever it is that festers within Lo’s soul, only seems to grow. Li feels it in her own soul and wonders if she will fall to the madness too.

Lo’s lips move and Li regrets having coaxed it. That same silver-white smoke seems to ebb with in her mouth. But it isn’t like any natural mist, it doesn’t waft up. It doesn’t leave Lo’s mouth at all. It simply clings to the corners of her mouth as though waiting. 

The third day is when the first glob of flesh slouches down Lo’s cheek. It peels from the corner of Lo’s right eye. 

Li darts up faster than she thought her aged body ever could. “Fire Lord Zuko!” She calls. But what is he going to do? He is no doctor. Perhaps it is only the instinct of years of being an advisor that compels her to inform him of what is going on before sending for a doctor. Or maybe it is that she is used to Azula’s wit and quick thinking; the girl may not possess a friendly demeanor, but she had always granted them access to quality healthcare. 

Whatever the reason, she is at Zuko’s side. And the Fire Lord is on his feet in seconds. 

“Sit down, Fire Lord. If the woman is sick, you need to keep far from her.” A guard declares. “In fact, have this one quarintined.” 

Zuko bites his cheek, his eyes go downcast. “She’s…”

“Fire Lord.” The man continues. “If this is the same thing that has emerged near the west rim…” He trails off. “There is already talk of getting you evacuated.” 

“Evacuated?” Zuko snaps. “What the hell is going on here?”

She can see it on him, the stress weeps off of him like Lo’s decaying skin. He probably hasn’t even finished the paperwork that would have his sister institutionalized, much less has he had the time to get used to how the crown feels on his head. 

“I’m in the middle of planning a victory and coronation ceremony. I still have to unchain…” 

“Those things can wait.” Says a second guard. 

“My sister…”

“We will take care of that.” Says the first guard. He eyes Li. “Will someone take this old moth-bat into quarantine. Agnidammit!”

“Be careful with her!” Zuko shouts as a pair of particularly uncaring hands grab her by her frail elbows. 

She scowls at the rudeness of the soldiers, she isn’t one to pull rank, but, spirits, she would think that they’d handle a royal advisor--especially one so aged as she--with a little more attentiveness. 

“We’ll give you a few days. If your eyes don’t go red we’ll let you out.” Says the man as he closes the door. It’s thick metal seals her away from the answers that she years for. It only opens once more for a different guard to hand her at least four days worth of food and drink.

She doesn’t see another human being for those four days. 

It gives her time to think. 

Think and agonize over what she doesn’t know and never will. 

No she never does find out what Lo had seen; what caused her body to jerk and shudder. Li is glad that her bones creak and groan too much for her to have seen it for herself. But only partially so. The other part of her knows that she should have been there. 

They were born together. 

They were supposed to die together.

If only they would have stayed in hiding. 

If only they had feared Azula’s wrath more. 

Day five rolls around--day two of her quarantine--and she knows that Lo is dead. In the same why she has felt the unintelligible vileness, she feels that the other half of her soul has been snuffed out.

She stops eating on day five. 

She is disturbed to realize that she feels hollow and free in equal measure; the death of her twin frees her soul and crushes it all at once. 

On day six, a guard--Shinu, as she comes to know him--comes to free her, which is more kindness than was, apparently, extended to the princess. 

She steps out of quarantine and back into the world. 

By then, most of it is gone.

#Avatar #Azula #Lo & Li #Zuko #Fanfiction

[fromthedeskofelizabeththird]

Painted in Red

This is the fourth Jumin x MC x V threeway I’ve written and I honestly can’t get enough of them. They’re perfect for one another in every way.This fic is one of the original ideas I had in mind for Violets are Blue and more than a smidge inspired by V’s new party suit. I hope you enjoy it!

Mystic Messenger | Jumin x V x MC | Explicit

MC just can’t decide.

If MC had a flaw, it was her indecision, from spending too long examining restaurant menus to concluding which colours suited her best. In retrospect it was a miracle that she downloaded the messenger app at all, much less happened to do so at exactly the right time.

After a year passed and the dust settled, one observation remained. In all of her time on the messenger and alongside the RFA, she had never gone on a date with any of its members, a fact that left her friends horrified on occasions they weren’t bewildered. What was so terribly wrong with her that not one of them had taken her fancy? How was she unmoved by the college student’s need for love and attention? Hadn’t she seen the appeal of the handsome actor?

The truth was a little more complicated, though felt incredibly simple to MC. It wasn’t indifference to the RFA and its members that left her single after so long, but her inability to decide between two equally good options.

It was Jumin’s quiet and all consuming passion that caught her attention first. She concluded early on that it was easy to laugh at his social inadequacies without any attempt to read between the lines. Jumin was always the first to answer the phone; always the first to offer up advice and always the first to shrug off his true feelings. It was easy to call him a robot and laugh at his clumsy displays of love than try to understand them.

And then there was V, the mysterious leader she did not even meet until two weeks after that first party. He was different to Jumin in almost every way and identical in several more. Jumin was as comfortable in his emotions as a child in adult sized shoes, while V wore only the pretty ones on his sleeve. They complemented one another perfectly, balancing out one another’s faults and drawing emphasis to their finer qualities. To state a preference would divide her heart in two and almost certainly cost her them both.

Useful, then, that making decisions did not come naturally to her.

She would pose naked in Jihyun’s studio, legs parted as she raked her fingers through her hair.

She would slip her feet out of her shoes and run her toes along Jumin’s crotch as they dined, drinking in his reaction like the fine wine at their table.

She would dig her nails into Jumin’s back; would usher Jihyun over to hold her in his arms instead of at a distance. She sent dirty photographs to Jumin from Jihyun’s bed, sent Jihyun risqué texts from Jumin’s bathtub, content in the knowledge that each was acutely aware of the other and only stepped in to enable her indulgence.

One year after her arrival she went home with both of them.

In the past year she had become an expert at reading between the lines. She knew Jumin’s true motives for offering to escort her home; was only too eager to accept Jihyun’s offer to join them.

Jumin’s love was bold and all consuming, Jihyun was almost too eager to please. To sleep with one was a wonderful treat. To have them both bordered on hedonism.

The journey to Jihyun’s house was almost awkward, all three of them knowing their true intentions and making a conscious effort to hide them. Driver Kim had almost certainly seen worse during the course of his career, but this was a secret they did not intend to share.

“I think we should organise a fashion show in the new year,” said Jihyun, redirecting conversation to hide his nerves. “I had a talk with Tiffany about her new diamond collection and it could be an excellent lead.”

MC let his words wash over her like water, thinking of diamonds even as her dress hit the bedroom floor.

She trembled as Jumin slipped his tie over her eyes, not out of nervousness but anticipation. He reached for her shoulders and she leaned into the contact, enjoying how warm and achingly familiar his hands were. She was reminded of roguish touches and lips across the back of her neck, though only temporarily, for he adjusted his grip to turn her once, twice and then again on the spot, letting go halfway through the final turn. MC raised her arms to steady herself, though stumbled anyway, her heart racing at the prospect of falling.

She had come to know V’s home very well, from his cluttered coffee table to the trinkets on his wall to the smell of a house left empty more often than not. She found herself disorientated, though, the moment she regained her balance. Suddenly the room felt enormous and entirely unfamiliar.

“Where are you?” She called, turning on the spot. “Jumin? Jihyu-“

She thought she heard movement and grabbed in that direction, ultimately snatching at nothing but thin air.

“Are you there?” She laughed, turning to her left and reaching out her arms. “Where ar-“

Her heart skipped a beat as her fingertips brushed against some sort of fabric and she took a step forward to get a better hold, only for something small and light to fall into her hand. She gripped it tightly, running her fingers across the fabric and taking in its shape. It was smooth and carefully embroidered, though perhaps most importantly shaped like a bow tie. The same pale pink bow tie that V had up until recently been wearing at his collar. She lifted it to her nose to make sure, smiling smugly at the familiar scent and leftover heat of his body.

She wrapped the fabric around her wrist and stretched out her hand to where she had originally caught the bowtie. Somewhat unsurprisingly, there was nothing there and she took a tentative step forward, freezing in place at the feel of someone draping fabric across her shoulders.

She reached out to touch it, recognising the size and scent as Jumin’s dress shirt.

“I know you’re there!” She said, hugging the shirt against her shoulders and taking two steps backwards, quickly stretching out her arm as someone reached to take the shirt back from her shoulders.

For a second or two, she grabbed at nothing, only for that someone to move closer, sighing in delight as she ran her hands over their exposed chest. She was only too happy to indulge them, flattening her hands to explore their body and map out every detail.

If she hadn’t already recognised him from his discarded shirt, touching him would have been a dead giveaway. Jumin was broader than Jihyun and deceptively well built, warm as a furnace and smooth to the touch. He was as perfectly built for snuggling on cold nights as he was to grip onto during sex and MC smirked in recognition.

“I see you there, Jumin,” she said, overjoyed when she lifted the blindfold to find her suspicions were correct. He really was standing there, naked from the waist upwards and looking more than ready to discard the rest.

She reached out to unfasten his belt and zipper, crouching down to her knees and pulling his trousers to his ankles.

“You know,” said Jihyun, “I almost think you wanted to get caught.”

Jumin didn’t bother to deny it, not even as he kicked off his trousers and took MC’s spot in the center, happy to be blindfolded with his own tie.

“Now,” said Jihyun, placing his hands on Jumin’s shoulders and motioning for MC to do the same. “One! Two! Three…”

Just as before, MC and Jihyun let go during the final turn, using the momentum to move away from him and hide on opposite sides of the room.

Without the blindfold her surroundings were all too familiar and she watched in delight at Jumin’s transformation. Between his duties at C&R and as a senior member of the RFA it was unusual to see him so vulnerable. It had taken her a long time to get used to seeing him naked, much less blindfolded and fumbling in the dark.

Jihyun was better acquainted with this side of him and wasted no time in creeping over. He patted Jumin on the back, only to dodge his outstretched hands and crawl back over to MC, tapping her on the shoulder and motioning towards Jumin, who still reached out into space. He gestured at the straps of her bra, giving her an enthusiastic thumbs up when she reached up to unhook its fastenings. She handed it to him and he clapped a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter before creeping back over to Jumin. For the briefest moment, she thought he heard Jihyun’s footsteps, for he turned in that direction and reached out so quickly that Jihyun barely had time to react. He hooked MC’s bra over his fingers and attempted to make a quick exit, only to freeze in place when Jumin patted a hand to his head with a smile.

“Found you, MC,” he said, casting aside the bra and sliding his palms over Jihyun’s chest, clearly searching for the curve of MC’s breasts and letting out a sound of confusion when he felt a shirt under his fingertips instead of a naked body.

He raised the blindfold, sighing in a resigned fashion when he saw Jihyun laughing in front of him instead of MC.

“You know the rules!”

Jumin reached down and dragged his underwear to his ankles, stepping out of them with far more grace than he had with his trousers. MC couldn’t help but chuckle at his near perfect posture even as he stood there in nothing but his socks. He was growing hard, perhaps as a result of MC’s near state of nudity or the knowledge of what was to come.

He lowered the blindfold back down over his eyes, fixing it in place before allowing them to spin him again. This time around, he caught his balance far faster and barely wobbled at all.

Jihyun returned to his starting position, creeping up behind Jumin as he blindly searched the room.

“I have a confession to make,” said Jumin.

“Oh?”

“I really did want to get caught.”

Jihyun laughed, standing up straight and making no effort to avoid his grabs.

”I can relate to that,” he said, reaching for his shirt buttons as Jumin lifted the blindfold.

Of the two of them, Jihyun was the most modest when it came to his body. He preferred admiring MC and Jumin to being on the receiving end. His reasoning was only too clear on the occasions he did remove his clothes.

MC knew only a few details about V’s childhood and his mother’s unfortunate demise. Most importantly, she knew it involved a fire. It didn’t come as a surprise to her, therefore, when she first saw the marks across his torso: patches of raised skin that did not quite match the rest. He didn’t like to go into detail about it and would move her hands away if she touched the scars for too long but even so, she thought it was beautiful; a spider web across his body that he did not permit just anyone to see.

He dropped his shirt to the floor, eyes darting around the room so that he didn't have to look them both in the face. He was only too happy to take the blindfold, fixing it in place in the practised fashion MC had come to expect from him.

Out of the three of them, Jihyun had the most experience when it came to losing his sight. He was almost blind when they first met and, even though his surgery had been a resounding success, it was impossible to dismiss the impact it had had on him both as an artist and a person. He had gained a morbid sort of curiosity when it came to the five senses, learning to sculpt and incorporate music into his work. He liked to paint blindfolded and try to paint concertos and as such had the biggest advantage of anyone in the room.

He was lighter than Jumin and far easier to spin, but also far less disorientated the moment they let him go. He reached out to gauge his surroundings in a well practised manner and made his way to the kitchen counter with barely any hesitation.

MC was far more interested about having fun than she was being the winner, a sentiment only half shared by Jumin, who had already developed a strategy. He positioned himself behind her, hands firm on her shoulders and gaze fixed on V. She knew his plan even without an explanation, and promptly faked a cough, the warmth of his hands on her not quite enough to distract her from exactly how close she was to his dick.

As expected, Jihyun turned to face them, turning this way and that to trace the noise. Once he was facing the right direction, she made a point to cough again, earning a squeeze from Jumin and smile from Jihyun.

She almost felt guilty as he reached out to touch her, only for her to duck out of the way.

“There you are, M-,” he said, reaching out to where she had previously been, only to find himself on the receiving end of the same trick he had played on Jumin.

“Well played!” He said, with an expression of genuine delight. “I think you’re getting better at this game.”

“I might have done a little studying.”

“You can study blind man’s buff?”

MC didn’t know why she was surprised; if anyone had the resources and determination to study playground games it was Jumin.

“Of course,” he said, sounding more than a little proud of his endeavours. “There seem to be a lot of books on the topic, but I had Assistant Kang narrow them down.”

Jihyun and MC shared a sideways glance, sharing the same unspoken observation.

Ah, there it is.

“In any case,” said MC, “you lost, V. Off with them!”

Jihyun reached for his belt, keeping eye contact as he tugged at its fastenings. He dropped it to the floor with a heavy clunk and then reached for his fly.

“I love the suit,” said MC, admiring the lightness of the fabric and subtle additions. He had been wearing a threadbare cardigan the first time they met and it would be an understatement to call the new suit an improvement.

He laughed as he kicked off his pants, leaving him in nothing but his underwear. He did not stop there, though, abandoning them alongside the rest of his clothes.

“I’m glad you approve,” he said, untying the blindfold and taking a few steps towards her. “I chose it just for you.”

“Really?”

“No.”

He pinched her nose.

“But I’m glad you approve.”

He draped the tie over her eyes once again and she reached out for his shoulder, heart fluttering at the knowledge that the game was over and the real fun starting.

“MC,” said Jihyun , “which of us is the better kisser?”

“I…”

Jumin leaned forward and rested both hands on her shoulders, lips ghosting the back of her neck. She bit her bottom lip, stifling a moan.

“The truth is…”

They were doing it on purpose, tormenting her in the knowledge of her debilitating flaw.

She couldn’t decide even as they lowered her to the floor, sitting her on her knees and guiding her lips to one of their cocks. From the size and shape she was sure it was Jumin’s, and snaked her tongue across the soft skin, holding onto his legs to keep her balance. He carded his fingers through her hair and gasped when she sat up higher to run her lips from shaft to tip, reaching out her hand to squeeze the base as she sucked the head.

It had taken months for Jumin to allow her to go down on him. He considered it crude and distasteful and, while MC grew paranoid that he was discomforted by her and not the act itself, Jihyun merely shrugged it off. It was not, after all, far from the realms of possibility that his distaste for certain behaviours had the same point of origin as his demands that Jaehee cut off her hair and wear glasses she did not need. The specificity of it left her curious (and Jihyun almost certain) of how often he had caught his father in compromising situations in the course of his life. Whatever the case, it came to matter less and less over time. After a year of experimentation and discoveries, Jumin developed curiosities of his own.

Jihyun reached down to her hand on his leg and helped her take hold of his own cock, which was equally hard and in need of attention.

“MC,” said Jumin, “which of us is bigger?”

Even if she could decide, she quite deliberately did not, responding by lacing her fingers around Jihyun’s cock and taking Jumin into her mouth so deeply that he did not bother to stifle his moans.

She paid close attention to both of them, moving her hands and lips from one to the other, the sounds of her jerking them off only fractionally more of a turn on than their moans of encouragement. Sometimes she would hit a particular angle and earn a jumble of syllables; more than once they held onto her head to keep her in place.

If she had a complaint it was that she couldn’t see them. She could feel Jumin leaning further and further into her touches the closer he came; could hear Jihyun’s breath hitching in his throat every time she ran her tongue over his tip. She had seen them come undone more times than she could count and going without left her no choice but use her imagination, which only compromised her more.

She remembered the first time she allowed Jumin to come inside of her; the crushing kisses and frantic thrusts that left her quivering under him. Among other things, spending time alone with MC seemed to have left him curious about how it felt to be a philanderer, sending gifts to his mistress and completely unapologetically leaving her pregnant with his child.

She remembered Jihyun pushing her against the wall in a forgotten corner of his exhibition and driving her half mad with his fingers. He had looked more than a little smug as she bit at the hand he clasped over her mouth, slipping the other hand up her skirt and into her cunt so forcefully that it left her shuddering his hips between his hands and the wall.

She couldn’t see them, but wanted to believe they looked exactly as they had then- the memory of past trysts enough to leave her starved for their attention.

She let them lift her back up to her feet, wondering which of them it was that laced their fingers with hers and guided her through the door of what she assumed to be Jihyun’s bedroom. She recognised the faded scent of pipe smoke and perfume that lingered in every corner; the hardwood floor that provided the perfect acoustics on the nights she wore nothing but high heels.

As homes went, Jihyun and Jumin’s were almost as familiar as her own. Normally she could navigate without looking, rushing back and forth to fetch bottles of wine or answer the phone without a second glance. Now that she was reliant on an unknown guide, the room felt several times larger and more foreboding than it ever had before.

Someone eased her down onto the edge of the bed and loosened their hand from hers, someone else positioning themselves behind her to support her weight and keep her in a sitting position. She leaned into them, reaching down to hold onto the bed covers as the person previously holding onto her hand spread her legs and slipped off her underwear. The past year had left her well versed in depravity, but the rush of cool air against her heated folds still left her blushing.

From scent she gathered that Jumin was the one to perch behind her and Jihyun the one running his hands over the inside of her thighs. Jihyun was the one to run his tongue over her clit, rolling his tongue over the parts of her that crave attention the most, all while Jumin turned her head towards him to steal the gasps from her lips.

She couldn’t move anymore; couldn’t tear her attentions away from the combined sensations. It was never disappointing when Jihyun went down on her, but the blindfold across her eyes robbed her of distractions. She could think of nothing else but Jumin’s hungry lips on hers, sometimes grazing his teeth against her bottom lip and using her gasps as an opportunity to slip in his tongue and explore her mouth as Jihyun did her clit.

She could feel her thighs growing tighter and tighter, a coil deep inside of her that grew more unbearable with every passing second. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to push them both away and have this moment to herself or drag them impossibly close. She dragged her lips away from Jumin as she came, crying out into the darkness as the feeling swallowed her whole.

Jihyun didn’t pull his lips away, coaxing more shudders from her as Jumin buried his lips in her neck.

She whined when both of them pulled away, leaving her cold and needy again even as aftershocks of pleasure ran through her.

“MC,” said Jihyun, as Jumin shifted his weight and gently lowered her onto her back, “which of us is the better lover?”

“I…”

She did not even bother to consider the answer, too taken by the sound of Jumin getting up from the bed.

“I…”

She fell silent even as Jihyun let go of her legs and Jumin took hold, guiding his tip into her.

She gripped onto the edges of the bed as he pushed into her, her pussy still quivering with pleasure and more than ready for him. She turned her head to the side and into the bed covers at his slow thrusts, taking her slowly until she took him to the hilt. From there he took her faster and deeper, the bed rocking from the force of his hips against hers.

“Please,” she said, the milliseconds between thrusts leaving her almost unbearably lonely, “please...I…”

He slowed down as if in response, reaching down to guide her back up the bed and onto all fours. She couldn’t tell anymore who was who; who kissed her on the lips before guiding her onto their cock; who it was that rubbed their finger over her clit before pushing into her. By then she could think of nothing but the feel of them both against her body, the sound of them losing all sense of pretense and taking her far more roughly than either would when alone.

She gasped raggedly, lost to her heated core and fluttering stomach. It was overwhelming, all consuming and she wouldn’t change it for anything. Every touch left her wanting more, unsatisfied even after she felt one of them stiffen behind her as his warmth spilled out. She wanted more even as the one in front of her yanked at her hair as their come dribbled down her throat.

She wanted more even as they curled up in the covers to catch their breath; peeling off the blindfold to admire their tangled limbs and naked bodies. She was not only indecisive but greedy to boot and only too enthusiastic about indulging in her worst qualities.

She couldn’t decide and never wanted to. She was content to spend forever torn between them physically and otherwise. Their affections might not last forever; one or more of them might move on.  In that moment, though, she wanted nothing more than to be dressed in diamonds and painted in red.

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