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alexanderlightweight · 7 months

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Could you write something with Alec interacting with nephilim children

I like how you write him being careful with his words towards downworlder children so I'd like to know how'd you write him with nephilim kids as well

so i've known how i wanted to fill this for a while but i couldn't figure out hw to like, contextualize it and write it until now but here it is!

i hope you enjoy!

<3 lumine

Magnus doesn’t realize there is a difference with how Alexander treats children until nearly a year after first seeing Alexander with Madzie and then — slowly — other downworlder children.

It never occurs to him to consider how Alexander might treats nephilim children, until now.

There are a dozen adorable little figures who perk up the moment Alec steps after Magnus through the portal and they instantly swarm him.

“Commander!” They call and Magnus hides a smile with a hand, expecting Alexander to break into the normally warm smile he shares with Madzie.

“Debrief!”

It takes Magnus aback, to hear Alexander’s normally low and soothing voice — the voice he uses with children — take a gruffer edge. It’s still much softer than what he uses with adults, but it lacks a delicacy that Magnus has learned to recognize with Madzie and other particularly vulnerable children.

Despite his — what Magnus considers — abrasiveness, the children seem only more delighted. They form a double line and wait for him silently and with minimal shifting as Alexander walks through their ranks and… oh.

Magnus’ heart breaks as he realizes that he is not watching Alexander with nephilim children.

He is watching Alexander with shadowhunter trainees.

Bright eyed and newly runed children who are expected to soon be capable of running messages to Institutes, learning to take portals without getting sick, and who have long left their childhood behind.

If they ever had one at all.

Alexander treats them as the tiny soldiers they are until he’s through inspecting them — stopping to listen to quick and quiet sentence from each of them — and then his face softens.

“You did well, all of you.” He tells them and his hand falls on the tousled hair of the closest trainee and he looks down, mouth curling into a gentle smile. “I’m proud of you.”

They all light up at his sincerity, at the depth of his words.

They look as happy as Madzie when Alec lifts her onto his shoulders at the aquarium or when he stumbles over youtube tutorials to carefully twist and oil Madzie’s hair into appropriate braids.

“Any injuries after sparring?” Alexander asks and there is a chorus of proud denials and then two hesitant affirmations. “Status report,” Alexander says, dropping to rock onto his heels before the two with a calm face and voice.

“I broke my wrist!” One of them finally exclaims and she seems almost pleased about it, something eager in the way she presents her ‘report’. “And I told the trainer immediately! I didn’t try to ignore it this time!”

Magnus internally winces at the ‘this time’.

“Well done Elise,” Alexander murmurs and he pats her head as well. “You did excellent. After all if you hide an injury, then it will only get worse.” He says but it’s in a fond, pleased tone as if he’s repeated it quite a bit and is happy that it’s sunk in.

The boy next to her nods his head eagerly, “I lost a tooth! But the medics said it was still a baby tooth.” He gives a little gap-toothed scowl at that and Magnus now sees the lines creasing around Alexander’s eyes that mean he’s holding back a chuckle as he pats the child’s head.

“Well done, all of you. Remember to keep an eye on yourselves and each other. Elise and Loyiso both need to check with a medic before sparring tomorrow, can I count on their teams to make sure it happens? I’ll expect a report about what the medic says after training.” There is a chorus of determined agreements and then the children depart, all of them sending a last glance to Alexander before disappearing down through a hallway.

“I didn’t realize you had trainees.” Magnus says as they walk to Alexander’s office.

“Shockingly enough, I have one of the lowest death rates per Institute’s.” Alexander tells him quietly, though Magnus hardly considers that shocking. Alexander holds himself to a higher standard than almost any shadowhunter Magnus has ever met and he holds his Institute to similar quality. “Especially for an Institute in such a populated area as this. I train my hunters hard but beyond that and the fact that I won’t allow nepotism—” Alexander grimace here makes Magnus wince, he knows why Alec is so strict with it. “I’m known to be fair. People have been petitioning me to take trainees for months. I insisted on waiting until we were no longer an active warzone.”

Alexander rolls his eyes here and Magnus bites back his own scathing response to hearing that.

They manage to make it to Alexander’s office without any further delays and instead of his desk, Alexander slumps into the sofa he normally joins Magnus on.

“Alexander?”

“They’re practically babies, Magnus.” Alexander murmurs, “it wasn’t so bad when I wasn’t around other kids. Now I see Madzie and the rest and I just— what am I supposed to do?”

“Oh.” Magnus breathes out, his heart breaking because of course Alexander can’t risk softening around shadowhunter children. He’s going to be their commanding officer or at the very least, he’s going to be the standard of every commanding officer and trainer that they meet from now on.

These aren’t children who can grow up as slowly as they want or need.

These are nephilim babes.

Shadowhunters bred for battle.

Alexander can’t treat these children as actual children.

Not only would it be viewed as disrespectful or cast a bad light on the children themselves, it would only coddle them to the point where another Institute might throw them out or they might get themselves killed.

Spares, Alexander called them.

Fodder is what the clave considers them.

Not the heirs who will learn politics first, but the backups, the ones the clave might use as sacrifices and suddenly Magnus understands why they’ve been sent to Alexander.

Alec Lightwood does not sacrifice his people without cause.

Shadowhunters cannot understand duty without sacrifice but even then, it’s a relief to know that it’s just, especially for their children.

Alec is known to protect his people viciously. Oh, if they betray him and his code, he’ll bleed them himself, but those under his authority are also blessed by his protection.

Magnus understands better now, why parents would risk sending their children to Alec, even in the middle of a warzone.

Alexander won’t use them simply as bait.

It would cross his mind — the clave and Maryse trained him too well for it not to — but as soon as he became aware it was an option, he wouldn’t truly consider it and instead use it as fuel and strive to find and create other options until it was the last.

Unlike more clave-minded Institutes, who would rather save time than lives.

“I’ve put a note on their files, none of their teams will be allowed solo missions until all of them have met and matched their estimated growth spurts and then be evaluated. That will give them some more time at least, out of the field without supervision.” Alexander is rambling now, but Magnus merely sits next to him and rests his hand on Alec’s thigh, massaging the tense muscles gently. “I can get away with it because I used my siblings and I’s records and then scoured the database of submitted reports. Half of the injuries during a trainees missions are due to themselves or a member of the team being unprepared for a sudden growth spurt. On their part or on a teammates and so they all move out of sync. I’m also going to be rotating teams to ensure they can fit into other teams in case of emergencies with minimal friction.”

They’re good points and more so, it leaves Magnus aching with the knowledge that the reason Alec found this loophole is because of precedent.

What age was Alexander when he decided that he would change things?

That he had to change things so that it would be different for those under his protection.

Magnus knows Alexander isn’t perfect.

His darling is far from it and Magnus loves him viciously for it.

Alexander is raw with wounds from his childhood — or rather the lack of it — and ingrained prejudice still poisons the very base of his formative thoughts and yet he tries so very hard.

And yet all Magnus can think about is an Alexander, young and unable or perhaps even forbidden to speak up about his injuries as he forced himself to train.

Looking for praise or at the very least, reassurance and only being met with vitriol and bitterness.

Alexander may not be able to take these children to a park and push them on a swing until they think they’re about to fly, but he does right by them.

These children don’t need a bright plastic playground and pressing their noses against the glass of a captured ocean.

They need stability and protection and they need a Commander and leader willing to praise and acknowledge their efforts. They need someone who will remember their names and their accomplishments and — as Magnus listens to Alexander’s murmurs — who will know what they need.

Already Alexander is furthering a training plan, his mind nurturing strategies that will train these children to their very limit but not beyond — never beyond.

Alec will be a shield between them and the clave and perhaps even the expectations of their families until they are strong enough to do it on their own.

Magnus can already see the specializations that Alexander is considering for each child and how seriously he’s taking the fact that he’s responsible for not only their wellbeing, but their futures.

Competence is a beautiful look on Alexander and one he wears well.

#lumine writes #writing wednesday #writing wednesdays #shadowhunters #malec #magnus bane #alec lightwood

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rdbrainz · 7 months

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Hi there! If you're still accepting Bleach requests, may I see your headcannons based on the Bleach Jet art of the Espadas and Quincies in delinquent school uniforms (specifically Grimmjow, Nnoitra, and Bazz-B)? That official art just gave me major brain worms, and I really like your art and headcannons >.< Also, do you happen to have a Ko-fi/patreon to send donations to?

ACTUALLY funny enough I've been thinking about this art a lot myself lmao so I do have some headcanons! as for my ko-fi or patreon.. like I said before transferring money out of them is impossible where I am right now but I made a boosty acc (I'll link it in my bio)

First I wanna add that I just can't see Stark as a high schooler x). He has the vibe of a teacher who somehow ended up with the worst classes in school despite his formidable reputation. Though maybe he was a delinquent himself in the past so he knows how to deal with these little shits. He also has a soft spot for them so as strict as this man can be he cuts them a lot of slack. Like for example I'm sure Nnoitra would smoke in this AU so I think the first day Stark started working with them they met on the rooftop on the lunch break while Gilga was smoking and instead of scolding him Stark just asked for a cig. Nnoitra almost shit himself. I'm also sure he would ask his class to look after his daughter Lilynette so she won't get into any trouble with that attitude of hers. She's probably in middle school or a couple of years younger than them so yeah... the lil sis of the group...

Despite the differences and constant bickering Nnoitra and Grimmjow are basically attached at the hip. I can see them being childhood frenemies actually. Ulquiorra and Szayel are also somewhere in their orbit of course but these two are the worst duo to stumble upon. Very notorious

Ulquiorra is obviously the class president given the armband. He tries his best to mediate the conflicts between his classmates or make them behave better but it's all in vain. Mostly. Some days he's just not in the mood to be responsible and reasonable when dealing with all the bullshit. When trying to bring delinquents to reason you have to be either very respected among them or more fierce than them and Ulquiorra certainly lacks the authority because of his character and swaglessness. He's very scary when mad however. Everybody knows this by now but they just keep trying their fate. Like I'm telling you once he unbuttons his gakuran it's so fucking over

Unlike Grimmjow Nnoitra is actually bothered with his grades enough to try and work for them and/or study (not all the time of course what do you think he's a loser or something?) It includes scaring people into doing his homework, snatching papers out of Ulquiorra's hands right before the class starts (he's used to it so he carries around two sets of hw) or if he REALLY needs to pass an exam he goes to Szayel, the class smartass. The latter is literally equivalent to dying and going through hell to him because he has to abandon all his pride. If you have a shit ton of money you always can try and ask Szayel to help you. Sure. A little bit of humiliation and you actually know the subject. However when it comes to Nnoitra the freak won't let him breathe because: 1) he doesn't need his money, Nnoitra has plenty and it's already stolen anyway so what's the fun? 2) asking a fellow delinquent you have a beef with for help has different means of payment 3) he just really wants to fuck with this guy's head since he thinks Nnoitra is a curious fella. Gilga is well aware of all of this and he's well aware that Szayel will make him polish his boots with his tongue before even considering helping him with acquiring the forbidden chemistry knowledge. So he has to really work for it whether it's a fistfight or running errands for Szayelaporro. It's a good thing Grantz stays true to his word

Grimmjow has a well-accessorized uniform thanks to Nnoitra but his casual clothing is hilariously uncool. I'm convinced this guy has zero taste both in clothing and prints/patterns because he couldn't care less about what other people think is considered fashionable when all he needs personally is functionality and comfort. He knows how to rock a good hairstyle though but if he wants to wear flip-flops outside then so be it

Nnoitra spends all the money he gets on new accessories and CDs (and maybe sometimes porno magazines) for which he constantly gets picked on. If it's someone not from his immediate friend circle then it's not even worth thinking about - left, right, goodnight. As if he's gonna let anyone get too fucking cheeky with him. He's infamous for being called slurs and then bashing the person's head in for this every week because he wears heels and had to endure children being mean to him because of his eye in kindergarten and primary school so it's no big deal really. But if it's Grimmjow then it's a fucking word battle to death he just can't let it slide. Jaegerjaquez really thinks Nnoitra is gonna get strangled by one of his necklaces one of those days but whatever. It's up to him. His music taste however... Now that's something they quarrel about all the time. "I mean I'm not saying anything! Sure you can buy new TOOL CDs all you want.. cough cough... fucking loser.. cough"

Bazz-B was hell-bent on making friends with Grimmjow because he genuinely thinks this guy is awesome. Look at his laid-back attitude and vicious ways! His blue hair, his style! Ohhh, to be like him!!! Jaegerjaquez on the other hand was not very impressed with how annoying Bazz could get with his neverending attempts of talking to him. Too energetic and loud for his liking. He already has Nnoitra and his big fat mouth he constantly runs all he wants so another talkative guy next to him would be too much for his everyday life. He would literally tell him to fuck off and threaten him with a beating of his life but unfortunately it got Bazz even more fired up. Damn weirdo. And a major pain in the ass. They did find a common ground in the end though and it's... A motorcycle that Bazz owns. Bazzard suggested they could take a ride together as a last resort and it was all it took to buy Grimm. Imagine the most excited person you've ever met and they still won't be as excited as Grimmjow was at that moment. Instant fucking boner! "Dibs on driving though" "Deal!" Grimmjow was surprised to reveal that Bazz-B is actually fun to be around and not as annoying as he initially thought he was. Nnoitra made a joke about them having a date the next day though

I think here Bazz-B suffers the same fate as Sakuragi Hanamichi in the beginning of Slam Dunk which is constantly trying to get girls on a date but being brutally rejected each time lmao 😭It's not like he is a bad-looking guy no it's actually the opposite but his personality and hot-headedness are too much to bear for girls he's going after

Askin is a great negotiator and he knows his way around with words but other than that he sucks. He's not a bad guy, just chronically fucking uncool and has to hide behind other people's backs because of mediocre fighting abilities. He also gets in all kinds of stupid situations because he just can't keep his thoughts to himself sometimes which is a bad asset to his cheesiness

Äs Nödt is also not very good at fighting but he's more useful than Askin lol. A smartass and a menace who is talented at collecting data and black-mail on people by eavesdropping and other means. He's the one who proposes the most out-of-pocket ways of taking revenge on other gangs or teaching someone a lesson so you better be careful with him

I hope I'll make more art of this later cuz I'm a bit burnt out rn

#bleach #nnoitra gilga #grimmjow jaegerjaquez #ulquiorra cifer #szayelaporro granz #bazz b #bazz-b #askin nakk le vaar #as nodt

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elliewiltarwyn · 15 days

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Elilgeim "Ellie" Wiltarwyn

B A S I C S

Name: Elilgeim Wiltarwyn

Nicknames: 'Geim by childhood friends; Ellie by Mia at the end of ARR and by everyone (or at least those she knows) halfway through HW; El by her partners

Age: 24 in ARR, hc'ing that it's four years to the end of 6.0 and then another year or so to 6.55 -- so at present, 29ish

Nameday: 9th Sun of the Sixth Umbral Moon

Race: Sea Wolf Roegadyn

Gender: (trans) female

Orientation: Lesbian

Profession: Conjurers' Guild member, then Warrior of Light; would probably still be a conjurer, or scholar or even a writer in non-WoL AUs

P H Y S I C A L A S P E C T S

Hair: Red, usually shoulder-length when down, but in a ponytail most of the time. She usually brushes it until it's silky and clean, but recently somebody *coughdefinitelynot@oneiroycough* mussed it into a really messy kinda-butch look and she's found herself really liking it :V

Eyes: sort of the same slightly-cool blue as the tumblr dashboard you're probably reading this on >.>

Skin: Seafoam green-ish

Tattoos/scars: Slightly-pale red streak across her cheekbones and nose. Plenty of scars, one light one over her eye from Pearl Lane and more all over her torso; Zenos gave her the two biggest ones, one on her side at Rhalgr's Reach and one directly in the middle of her chest in Ultima Thule.

F A M I L Y

Parents: Father was Wiltitar, a retired Storm Captain, most well-known for retiring from and renouncing piracy and throwing his support behind Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn's Galadion Accord; met an untimely end in an alleyway mugging. (This does mean her surname should be Wiltitarwyn, and there's no good in-universe reason it's not. >.>) Mother is Keltbryda, a renowned and well-loved physician who mysteriously vanished, thought dead. Near the end of EW... Ellie discovers she was actually summoned to Sharlayan to lend her skills to the ark project. They definitely have a very normal conversation about this.

Siblings: None by blood, but she does have a childhood friend from school that she considers a sister this friend does not exist yet beyond that concept

Grandparents: A little too far back for me to think about >.>

In-laws and Other: None, really, because...by the time she marries her partners, none of their blood families are in their lives anymore either >.> (technically I think Lily's family is still alive, mom and nunh and two younger sisters, but she hasn't seen them in years)

Pets: Fat Cat is definitely canon, although I haven't figured out its name yet. also debating whether Rudy photobombing their holiday photos and stealing her nameday cake is canon and he just lives with them now.

S K I L L S

Abilities: Surprisingly in tune with the elementals of Gridania (though not enough to be necessarily okay with them) and thus fairly skilled at white magic/conjury. After a Very Certain Event in HW, she picks up a claymore and learns how to swing a greatsword and becomes even more in tune with her inner darkness. She picks up the reaper arts for EW, then post-EW drops them and learns martial arts from Lyse and her contacts in the Fists of Rhalgr.

Hobbies: Reading and studying, training, picks up sailing and fishing after EW.

T R A I T S

Most Positive Trait: An extremely strong and confident sense of justice/conviction of what's right and wrong.

Most Negative Trait: Gets tunnel vision frequently and is quick to leap to the most direct solution, no matter how unfeasible or unwise.

L I K E S

Colors: Red red red red red almost all the way up and down lol, and black for accents. Blue's a close runner-up, though.

Smells: the coast of Vylbrand, the steel of bloodied armor, coffee

Textures: Aetherwoven robes and corrugated steel; calloused hands and rough skin; surprisingly soft almost-silky hair

Drinks: Coffee, either pitch black or very specifically a spoonful of milk and one sugar cube

O T H E R D E T A I L S

Smokes: She did occasionally during the period of her life she spent on Pearl Lane, and will maybe take one if offered in the present, but she doesn't of her own accord anymore.

Drinks: Nope, even before the events of MSQ she did not have a great tolerance; after the multiple attempted poisonings (and as the one who was specifically blamed at the bloody banquet) she swears it off entirely.

Drugs: Not of her own accord again, but she will if offered recreationally.

Mount Issuance: Her red chocobo named Typhoon; she also uses the Garlond GL-II on loan from the Ironworks as long as she doesn't crash it. She's come close a couple of times.

Been Arrested: Likely a few times when in Pearl Lane, then less so as she got better about avoiding them, but not since becoming a conjurer.

---------

thanks for the tag @oneiroy!! I'm not sure who all's done this so uh forgive the double-tag if it is one, but I will tag... @eidingate @amons-hat-enthusiast @idalenn @starrysnowdrop @akirakirxaa, and of course you 🫵 if this strikes your fancy!

#tag games #wol questions #sorta lol #femroe #ffxiv gpose #ffxiv screenshots #onei i like your idea that there's no pressure if tagged just consider it an evil boop otherwise lol

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royalwriteroftheuniverse · 4 months

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Returning the Stones

1-the goodbye

Just incase 18+ theres fludd angst mentions of kissing implied intimate tons of sweet kissing and tears. Comments likes ans reblogging apprexitaed. No permission to repost anywhere else or to translate or to use in any ai story generator to finish it

I stood there as steve got his last good wishes from his team mates. I stood back watching tears in my eyes. I knew he only had a certain amount and im thinking back to the cinversariin we had after it was decided hed be the onky to return them

"Why do I feel like theres a but comming"

"There is" he took my hands, "sweeetheart even tho hank pym is back theres still that adjustment period everyone is going through and he csnt make more pym particles right now"

"Cant you wait? Time will always be there for you to return it?"

He took my palm, like he does when he's nervous and subconsciouslybdraws the same patterns he always does when he looked down.

"Yes and no. You see the way that Strange explained it is that time will continue on and yes and while we can wait the stones not being there is affecting us here and now as in the past they arent there. I could wait but if simething happens," he swollows hard, "something to you. I cant lose you."

"Steve nothing is going to ha-"

"You dont know that!" Hw yells and i jumo back almsot in tears.

"Im sorry, I'm sorry I didnt mean to "

"Strange said something didnt he?"

Steve looked uo with tears in his eyes and nodded.

"It doesn't mean it will but i can't bear the thought"

"And I can't live without"

"Neither can I, if Tony was here..."

"I know" I sob a bit as he pulls me intk his chest and cries too "if tony easnt gone id kill him all iver again."

This garners a chuckle from Steve.

"She's your last stop isnt she?"

I looked up i could only see the side if his cheek really but it was like i could see him go pale.

Not for the reasons yoy think. When insaw in the care facility, i mean yiu saw her every time she didnt remeber me and she eas so ha-

"I know happy and thrilled and saying shes worry you didnt get to live a full happy life."

It hurt me too it was so sad seeing her, I mean seing anyone like that would be saddening.

"I just want to tell her im ok and that I survived so she doesnt have those regrets and that...."

I pulled back a little and I whipesmone side of tears from my face and he whipped the other putting his hand on my chin and guiding it making sure I can't move away as he knows how scared and fearful i must me and he looked in my eyes .

"That l, I found the love of my life and I am so happy."

I let out a small chuckle with some tears.

"You know that right? That i love you. I love ypu more than anything. And ill always come back to you. Like a bad oenny you cant losemor that cat that never stopped following yoy home,"

On cue Midnight jumoed into our laps with a meow and using her head to burrow under steves tee for warmth like she always did garnering a laugh from both of us. I pulled away a but as steve took iut of hisnshirt and talked to her

"Youll take care off mommy right?"

"Take care of me why woukd she need to-" I statted bawling

"Oh honey no no no i didnt mean it oh no " he put Mid night down and grabbed me chuck and tight, so tiggt i almost coukdnt breathe. "Wrong words blvery wrong words. I meant if something haooened. Lets face it i don't have greay track records when it comes to saving the world. The first time i dissapeared for decades and I don't want that to happen my last time but im afraid of tha-"

"Last time?"

"Yea," he rubbed my arms comfortly "my last time, the world doesn need me not as much as you do. And i want to give thst life yoy want because i want it too. I see the longing in your eyes when yoy see a young couoke and a baby and i have the same in mine that wishing hoping dreaming. During these five years people havent needed me and ive been wnlanting to give it uo for a while now justtrying to figure out the best way to do it and yiu know ive been slowly limiting my cap duties."

I know,

I know yiu do. So after this i want to give you that. That family a real family a couoke of mini us's." He interlocked our fingers wispering "I hope to God they look like you".

I chuckled. "Once I return the stones uts you and me babe every day forever no interruptions. Ill be in that bed every day yoy wake uo and every night you go to sleep. Ill hold yiu hair back wvery morning sickness and yoy can try and break a finger or two or try to lift molojiner when youre giving birth."

That made me laugh

"Ill hadle the night and change every littke poopy diaper and we'll hold them together wheh they get thier shots and bad dreams. Ill help you kiss thier boo boos and scare away boyfriends"

Got thiee whole lives planned out hu?

Yiu betcha dolls and when they get marriednand have little ones of thier own ill hug them and then beat uo their husbands for doing thst my little girls "

I cracked up.

"Hey I will unless its done by oamossis no one is touching my daughters."

"You are too much"

He kisses my fore head and puts hair behind my ears,

"Yea well. Only the best for my family and if best means that i have to beat up thier husbands to out then in thier place so be it"

He rubbed my wedding band and engagement ring as we calmed down for a moment of silence.

You know I would never give you either of these if my heart bekonged to someone else, in another time or place. This wasnt because i was never, " he losed his eyes and sighhned then ooened them stuck here. I was here to find you. I felt more for you then I did her even at first look - i almost proposed."

I know i rememeber yoy did not try and cover well for that *i laughed*

"I tried"

"Yea so badly' I laughed and ran my fingers through his hair.

"I grew it out for you, ya know"

"I know. I cant wait to see how blonde it was from when it was in the early days of the avengers"

He chuckled.

"I love you," he wispered and kissed the bridge of my noise

"I love you," he wispered and and kissed my upper cheek.

"I love you," he wispered and kissed my lower cheek

"I love you," he wispered ad kissed the other cheek

"I love you," he wispered and kissed my other cheek bone.

"I love you," he wispered and kissed my fore head.

"I love you," he wispered and kissed fhe right side of my upper neck.

"I love you," he wispered and kissed my lips.

"I love you," he wispered and kissed the left side of my upper neck.

"I love you," he wispered and kissed the middle of my neck.

"I love you," he wispered and kissed my lips so very deep that i almost lost my brrath. And that was how that night went. Him showing his love he knew he didnt have to prove it but he did he heled me and kissed me anddid everything he wanted to so to make sure he felt like he knew i knew he loved me and more. That was how last night went too. The last night before this trip. A trio that i knew would be mear seconds for me for for him it could be years.

Then he walked over to me, he had tears in his eyes. Hia other team mates offered to come to help only ateve, i bruce and hank pim knew that wasnt possible. 6 vials. He had 6 and that was all. I was praying of somethin did go grong that last jump hed be able to grab more particles and get back to me. I also knew about the contingency they set up the older face the extra shield, just in case. So many just in cases. It meant to be steves way of dissapearing so we could live aort of loke clint and tony away from the spotlight and danger.

He hugged me again, wispering in my eqr Ill be back in seconds my love and i love you so much," i felt a tear fall from his face onto mine

"Itll be only minutes babe, 60 minutes the most and youll be back in my arms." I gave him reassurance

"I hope it works out like that nur every monute ill be thinking about getting back to you,"

He hugged me tightly. "I love you. And those seconds that pass here i told bucky to not let go of your hand,"

I chuckled.

"I know you. You need a hand and he wont let go. But if you two kiss i will kill him"

I laughed what?

"I just wanted to see that smile before i go"

Get your ass back here and ill give yku something to smile about tonight.

Oh is that a threat

"Oh no that promise," I smiled wrapping my arms around his neck and we looked into eachothers eyes and then he kissed me.

"This ring isnt leaving this chain and this chain isnt leaving my body"

"I know"

He took my hand as he walked up to the platform and I followed. He took his stance snd gave me one of the deepest longest kisses hes ever given me.

"I love you dont forget im waiting right here no matter what you do to retrurn those im here loving you forever. "

"I know I promise ill come back no matrer what i love you too much."

Steve gave me one last kiss on my lips and then a kiss behind me ear making me giggle

"I needed to see and hear that one last time."

I felt bucky take my hand and lead me down the strairs steves and my eyes never leaving eachother's. He looked at me as he put the helmet on and I squeezed Bucky's hand as Steve lifted his hand to presse rhe vutton and bucky squeezed mine as Steve dissapeared.

After 45 seconds my hand let go of Bucky's but Bucky bevee ler go of mine.

(Varient timeline endings comming)

Taglist

@nana1000night @whore-for-chris-evans @sparklybarbarianninja @patzammit @hawkeyes-queen @bookishtheaterlover7 (i know im miasing a few sry ill ads when i can find the name if u want to be added let me kno)

#avengers #ransom drysdale #steve rogers #ari levinson x female reader #ari levinson imagine #chris evans comfort #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers x reader #ari levinson #chris evans #steverogers #steve rogers au #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers x bucky barnes #steve rodgers fluff #steve rogers angst

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bbgem329 · 1 year

Text

Things Are Never As They Seem… Chapter Seventeen

Pairings—Sebastian Stan x Actress!Reader, Sebastian Stan x OFC (PR relationship)

Summary

You and Sebastian Stan have been dating privately for over two years. Everything is perfect until he is coerced into a PR relationship when he signed with a new agency to advance his career. Trouble ensues…

Warnings

MINORS DNI! 18++. Language. PR relationship. HW sucks. Fluff. Angst. Implied smut. Cyber bullying.

Series Masterlist

—————

January 26, 2021

Ella spoke your name softly, pulling your attention away from the pile of laundry you were working through, “Are you sure you want to take some time off?” You’d almost forgotten you were on the phone with her for all of two minutes, tuning out her rambling about some role you had zero interest in. “It’s just… Well, you just got back into things after lockdown and I’d hate for you to miss opportunities…”

You loved her.

You really, really did.

But you were more than a little fed up with her constant pestering.

All week she’d been on your ass about finding the next project–taking the next steps, knowing damn well you had a movie coming out this spring and would start filming another in LA near the end of March, early April.

What more could you possibly do?

February was really your only month off and you wouldn’t catch a break again until the end of July, early August.

You were taking your damn vacation.

And Ella damn knew it too. She was more than just wasting her breath at this point.

“Ella.” You sighed, struggling to keep the frustration out of your voice. “I’m taking this vacation. We’ve talked about this a handful of times now.” You ran a hand down your face, rolling your bottom lip between your teeth, “Seb’s mom needs this. This isn’t about me getting time off, it’s about spending quality time with her. She’s been alone so much recently.” You paused, trying to remain mindful of your tone, “So please don’t ask me again.”

You really didn’t intend for it to come out as stern as it did and you winced slightly at the long silence that followed as soon as the words left your lips.

“No.” The resignation in her voice was obvious, “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.”

You weren’t really sure what else to say and it seemed like she didn’t either. You never really snapped at her like that before but then again she’d never repeatedly ignored your request before either. You made a mental note to check in with Casey and Blake to see what was going on with her. Nothing had changed between the two of you as far as you knew but her attitude towards you for the last week said otherwise.

Thankfully, your saving grace came in the form of your lover’s incoming facetime call.

“Ella.” You said softly, “I have to go, Sebastian’s on the other line and I don’t want to miss him. I’ll call you later?”

“Yeah.” She sounded a little too relieved, “You go ahead. Talk to you later.”

You didn’t waste another second, slamming your thumb down on the green ‘accept’ button. Moments later, Sebastian’s beaming face appeared on the screen.

“There she is.”

Almost four years together and this man still made you blush with just one look.

“Look at you.” He cooed, leaning closer as he rolled over onto his stomach in bed, propping the phone against a pillow. “You look gorgeous, baby.”

Your eyebrows furrowed, lips pressed in a line to hide your smile as you glanced down at the little nighty you were wearing. You looked like an absolute bum with the weird heatless curl thing you found online wrapped up in your hair, eyepatch things under your eyes, and a mighty patch on your chin.

“You are such a fibber, Sebastian Stan.” You tutted, shaking your head at him. You propped your phone against the laundry basket on your bed and stepped back from the camera to give a little spin.

He gasped, hooded eyes tracing down to ogle your bare legs, “Are you wearing panties under that?”

You rolled your eyes, fighting to suppress a smile. “You are absolutely insatiable, Stan.”

“Only for you, baby.” He chuckled, shooting you a little wink. “Only for you.”

You shot him a shy smile as you picked up a tank top and folded it before placing it neatly in your suitcase. “I’m not.” You admitted quietly, “Wearing panties.”

“I knew it.”

You couldn’t hold back the laugh burst from your lips, “You did not.”

“God, I needed to hear your laugh.”

If you thought you were blushing hard before, you were sure you were red as a tomato now.

“I miss you so much, sweetheart.” He sighed softly, eyes locked on yours through the camera and in that moment you wished you were looking at them in real time, not through a screen.

No camera could ever bring justice to those cerulean eyes.

“I miss you more, Seb. “ You frowned a little, “I wish you could come with us tomorrow.”

He breathed out a drawn out sigh, “Me too. You know I would if I could.”

Twenty three days since you’ve been without him.

You wish you could say it got easier with time, having him away, but it didn’t. It wasn’t like this is the longest you’d spent away from him either. But for obvious reasons, it was harder to let him go this time. You were finally in a good place, you spent the holidays in complete bliss–just you and him in your own little world,then reality set back in and it was time to go to work again.

Things were going good between the two of you.

Better than good, even.

But part of you couldn’t help but wonder if that was because he was trapped up in his own little world on set in Canada and Catalina was all the way back home in Spain.

Life was easier when she wasn’t around and you weren’t the slightest bit ready for her inevitable return to the states when Sebastian finished filming ‘Fresh’ and returned to LA with you.

You knew the second she caught wind that he was back, she would hop her desperate ass on a plane first thing. And then you’d finally be forced to meet her.

God, you didn’t even want to think about what that would be like. All you knew, was that she definitely wasn’t going to like you. There was absolutely no way you were going to put up with her shi-

Sebastian called your name, pulling you from your thoughts.

“Sorry.” You shook your head, shaking yourself from those thoughts.

There was no need to get ahead of yourself. It was still January, that was a few months away yet.

“Where did you go?” He looked a little concerned, it was honestly a little cute with his brows all furrowed and his bottom lip plumped out in a small pout. “You okay?”

You laughed a little to yourself, picking up your phone before plopping on the edge of the bed, “I’m sorry. I was getting ahead of myself.” You shook your head, shoulders sagging a little, “I was just thinking about when I’m going to see you next–which is around my birthday,” You waved your hand lazily in front of you, “If everything works out of course. And it just reminded me that I’m going to have to meet Catalina and deal with her and yeah.”

His expression fell a little and you felt bad for bringing it up. But you were trying to be better about communicating your thoughts and feelings so you knew it was the right thing to do.

“I kinda forgot about her.” He tried to cover his initial reaction with a small laugh but you didn’t miss the way his eyes dimmed a little. “I actually got a call from Blake today. I almost forgot to tell you.” He shrugged, chuckling to himself, “I guess she had a little solo pap walk today and in every picture she is holding her phone out in front of her, flashing her lockscreen. You couldn’t see it clearly but it was obviously one of the pictures we took in Ibiza.” He shook his head, running a hand down his face, “We took so much footage that day.”

You don’t even try to hide your grimace, nose scrunching in disgust and teeth bared, “She’s kinda pathetic isn’t she?”

“She’s embarrassing me.”

“I’m sorry for bringing her up.” You frowned, tilting your head a little as you took him in, “I was just on the phone with Ella and she’s been up my ass about taking on another project instead of going on vacation and it got me thinking about the next couple months.” You glanced away from the camera, eyes trailing over your half packed suitcase, “After this, I’ll be booked until early August–just in time for your birthday, I guess.”

“It’s alright, honey.” Sebastian shook his head, his brows pulled down and his lips pressed together as his eyes wandered over your face, “You never have to be sorry for that. We can talk about these things–we should.” He paused, dipping closer to the camera, “You can talk to me about anything–everything. We are doing so good about being open and communicating. We are in a really good spot and I don’t want to lose that because you are holding things in for my sake.”

You nodded, “You’re right.”

You bit your lip to hide a smirk, “I don’t think she’ll like me much.”

“Well,” Sebastian’s nose scrunched cutely, that half smirk that always makes your heart race split across his face, “She doesn’t like me either… But she does like the attention my name brings her so…” He gave a little shrug, “She’ll either try to mooch off you or-”

“Nah.” You interject with a short laugh, “She thinks I’m the one thing standing between her and having you completely. She’s going to make my life a living hell. I’m sure of it.”

“Don’t say that.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “I won’t let her fuck with you, baby. That’s not going to happen.”

“Sebastian.” You huffed lightly, keeping your tone soft, “You and I both know you only have so much control here now. There is only so much we can do. She runs the show now and as long as she doesn’t break contract, no one is going to stop her.”

He mumbled your name, voice full of sorrow.

“It’s fine, love.” You forced a smile, one you knew he most definitely saw right through. “Seriously, it’ll all work out. Besides, what’s the worst she can do? As long as we got each other, we will be fine.”

He didn’t look fully convinced but let it go, for your sake you were sure.

“And I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I have an early flight tomorrow and would rather hear all about your day.” You shoved your suitcase over, and plopped over on your belly, “How’s my girl, Daisy?”

“Oh my God.” Your lover groaned, “You talked to her twice and now you love her more than me! This is absolutely unacceptable.”

“She’s so cute though.” You pouted, “I want to adopt her as our daughter.”

“She’s twenty three, babe!”

“So?”

—————

January 29, 2021

“Everything okay, dragă?”

You glanced up from your phone to meet Georgeta’s concerned gaze.

Your brows furrowed as you took in the messages lighting up your screen, “Yeah, just..” You shifted in your seat, shoving your phone back in your clutch. Hoping once it was out of your sight, it would be out of your mind. “I’ve been getting really weird messages and comments over the past couple days on all social media platforms.” You took a quick sip of water to clear your throat when your voice cracked, “I think it’s the same couple accounts just bombarding me but,” You trail off, shaking your head, “They are kind of nasty messages.”

That definitely didn’t ease her concern and you kinda felt bad for bringing it up but honestly it had been eating at you over the past few days and you really needed to get it off your chest.

It wasn’t unusual for you to get a gross comment here or there but since arriving at the resort down here in Mexico, it was like someone had opened the floodgates and your inbox and notifications were drowning with messages, comments, and tags. All of them shitting on your acting, your body, your clothes, your hair–everything and anything they could think of.

They were picking you apart.

And you didn’t know why.

It wasn’t like you had done anything recently. You hadn’t posted since before Christmas, and the last pap walk you did was with cast mates back on set in early december. It was quiet for you as of lately press wise, so you don’t understand what could’ve brought this unwarranted attention on.

You had planned to post a little of your trip, maybe a nice sunset picture or something to show your fans you were, in fact, alive but now you weren’t so sure it was a good idea. It wasn’t worth it to subject yourself to more hate.

Georgeta called your name softly, “What are they saying?”

You shrugged a little, brushing it off, “It doesn’t matter. I just don’t understand why this is happening all of a sudden.”

“It does matter though.” She frowned, reaching across the table to place her hand over yours, rubbing softly across your knuckles with her thumb, “It’s clearly bothering you. I can see it all over your face whenever you look at your phone.”

Just like her son, Georgeta had a talent for reading you. You could never ever get anything past the two of them.

You breathed out a soft sigh, eyes trailing the room around you as you leaned over the table, closer to her, “They’ve been messaging me, saying things like ‘Kill yourself’, ‘He doesn’t love you’ I’m not sure who they mean, not a single soul knows about Seb and I outside people we trust or have signed an NDA.” You shake your head, reaching to grab your half filled wine glass before taking a hefty sip. “A lot of shit about my body, my hair, my clothes. ‘She’s a terrible actress’, ‘She has nothing going for her’, ‘She’s ugly’. Every insult that you can think of, they’ve said it.”

“Miere.” The tone of her voice was nearly enough to make you cry, and the expression on her face didn’t help either. “That is awful. I am so sorry.” She reached for your hand again, taking your right between her own and bringing it to her lips to press a kiss to your knuckles, “They don’t deserve you or your attention. You are so much better than that.”

You blinked back the tell tale burn behind your eyes and tried with everything inside you to plaster on even the smallest of smiles. You’re sure it came across as more of a pained grimace than anything.

“Does my son know?”

“No.” You shook your head, “I didn’t want to distract him and really, it’s not like he can do anything to stop it.” You shrugged half heartedly, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, “There’s nothing any of us can do. I don’t know why I’m letting it get to me. I should just turn off my notifications and log out of social media for a while.”

“No.” Georgeta nearly shouted and her eyes widened as she looked around to make sure she hadn’t bothered anyone else in the restaurant. “You shouldn’t let them control you–Don’t let them win. They do not dictate your life. So you know what…” She stopped the waiter on his way by, “Can we get the check? And a bottle of red to go?”

“Of course.” The nice young man replied, “It’ll just be a moment.”

“Georgeta!” You giggled, “Don’t you want dessert?”

“No.” She smirked, “We are taking the bottle of wine down to the beach and we’re going to drink the entire thing down by the water and then I’m going to take picture of you dancing in the waves and then,” She scrunched her nose at you, waving her fingers in your direction, “You’re going to post a few.”

Your heart wanted to burst out of your chest right then and there. Georgeta was, hands down, the best woman you’ve ever met in your entire life and she never failed to amaze you.

“Are you serious, right now? Isn’t it dark out?” Your brows furrowed and you leaned forward to whisper the last bit. “Is it even legal to bring the wine down there?”

She rolled her eyes at you, an expression you could only describe as a ‘what-the-actual-fuck’ on her face, “We literally drank margaritas on the beach earlier. This restaurant belongs to the resort, of course we can bring the fucking wine.”

“Oh my God.” Your laugh was loud, so loud it drew eyes to your table, “Did you just say ‘fuck’? Georgeta!!” You shook your head, eyes wide, “I cannot believe you just said that.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

Your eyes widened even further, and you slapped a hand over your mouth to muffle your laugh, “What the– Do…Do you kiss you-your son with that mouth?”

For a second she looked a little bashful, her cheeks all rosy and her smile shy. She let out a little giggle, fingers pressed to her lips as she looked at you with wide, pretty eyes, “I think I’m a little drunk.”

“I was going to say,” You chuckled, “How much have you had to drink? Did you take a couple shots while getting ready for dinner?”

“Maybe.” She drew out her answer with a little giggle, giving her shoulders a small shrug.

Your eyes widened again, “Are you serious?” You laughed to yourself, in complete and utter shock. “I was kidding but you were serious! Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend’s mama?”

Taking Georgeta on vacation had shown you a completely different side of her. You always got on well before, you enjoyed the same things and brought something to the table that each of you lacked in other relationships–you as the daughter she never had and she as the mother figure you always lacked.

You were used to the put together, sweet, never-swore-a-day-in-her-life-and-only-had-one-glass-of-wine Georgeta. Not once had you expected to ever meet party-animal Georgeta.

And you were so here for it.

“Oh, miere, I’m having such a wonderful time with you.” She cooed, finishing her wine glass off before rising from the table. She tossed a debit card towards you, “I have to use the ladys room before we go to the beach,” She pointed at you, shooting you a stern look, “Use that card to pay for dinner. I’ll know if you don’t.”

You laughed, “Sure. Hurry though, there is more fun to be had.”

You watched her go, not missing the way she pulled her phone from her own clutch before she disappeared down the hall. You had no doubt she was calling Sebastian to tell him about what was going on. He was probably trying to get a hold of you both if the two missed phone calls you found waiting for you when you drew your own phone out of your clutch while waiting for the waiter to return with your bill and wine.

You should’ve told him about what was going down–the hate you were receiving. Thinking about it now, you admit it was wrong, especially after talking about communicating more and expressing your feelings. You honestly hadn’t thought it was a big deal and part of you was hoping that it would just blow over in a couple days. And you hadn’t told Georgeta not to say anything to him either so there was no doubt he was hearing about it at this very moment. She clearly had no filter when she had one too many glasses of wine.

That was fine, you could explain it to him later.

He wouldn’t necessarily be mad, he’d be upset for you if anything.

And maybe he’d have a better idea about it than you. Especially the comments about this undisclosed ‘he’ these accounts were messaging you about.

Could it be about him?

It’s possible but unless it was someone close to you targeting you that didn’t make sense. You meant it when you said no one outside of who you wanted to know, knew about your relationship. You had always been careful about sharing that piece of information and being mindful when in public, even more so with this fauxmance in full swing.

Maybe you were overthinking it, it was probably just some fan pissed off that you worked with their favorite. You just wrapped filming with Rege, you work with Henry regularly, and your next project that was announced in early December was with Pedro Pascal. They were all known heartthrobs, and naturally they all had jealous fangirls.

Either way, you would put it out of your mind for the night–heck, maybe even the rest of this vacation and actually enjoy yourself.

—————

“Are you sure you’re good?”

Not in a million years did you ever think you’d be tucking your boyfriend’s drunk mother in for bed, yet here you were.

Georgeta giggled loudly, directly into your ear, “I’m great, meire. Oh, I love you.” She wrapped her arms around your neck, yanking you down before pressing a handful of kisses across your cheeks and forehead, “Love you so much, Fiica mea.”

Fiica mea

You hadn’t heard that one before. You made a mental note to ask Sebastian.

You laughed, using the last of your strength to untangle yourself from her after placing a kiss of your own against her forehead, “Love you too. Sleep good.”

She mumbled sleepily, eyes already closed and mouth hanging open as she snoozed comfortably in her bed. She was still dressed in the sundress she’d worn to dinner and hopefully she wasn’t too bothered that you left her to sleep in her makeup. There was no way you were going to even attempt that. Not when it took you every last bit of energy to get her up from the beach.

You were pretty drunk yourself, stumbling steps with heavy limbs as you made your way through the day space of your suite and into your own room. You snatched your phone out of your clutch and stumbled into the bathroom, shivering at the cool air nipping at your wet skin.

You’d done the photoshoot.

And you’d had the time of your absolute life running through the waves in your white, long summer dress. It was just the two of you down there and you’d gone a little buckwild. There are over a hundred photos to attest to that.

You had never felt sexier than in that moment and looking at the pictures after, you looked sexy too.

Who knew Georgita had a talent for photography?

And after tonight, she would be accompanying you to every photoshoot for the rest of your life because she was the best hypewoman you’d ever had.

You leaned forward against the counter, elbows pressed to the cool granite as you swiped through your phone. You smiled to yourself when you found Sebastian’s contact and hit call. Not even a second later and his smiling face appeared on the screen.

“Hi.” You beamed.

“Hey, baby.” He chuckled, eyes squinting a little as he took you in, “Are you wet? Are you drunk?”

You giggled a little, “Yes,” You paused, rubbing your fingers against your chin, “ And maybe.”

“Yeah, my mom sounded like it on the phone.” He shook his head, smile growing across his lips, “And I saw your instagram post, baby,” He groaned, head lolling back against the headboard, “You looked so fucking good. It’s not fair how gorgeous you are.”

“Are you sure?” You grimaced, crossing your arms over your chest in hopes to stop your shivering, “It’s not too much?”

“No baby, not at all.” And you could tell he meant it, even with the buzz in your head. “You look absolutely gorgeous, the wet dress stuck to your body–showing off your curves but not revealing too much. You look..” He waved his hands, “You look so happy and carefree. I wanted to jump into the picture and join you.”

“I love you.” Your bottom lip jutted out on a little pout, “You always know what to say and it’s never just ‘you look good’ you always give reasoning and point out what it looks good…” You pause, “Am I even making sense?” You shrug, “Your mom is a bad influence and forced me to drink two bottles of wine with her.”

He belted out a loud laugh, the sound warming you to your core, “First of all, baby, you’re shivering please take off the wet dress and either get in the shower or put your robe on. We can still talk, just do something, I hate seeing you like that when I can’t hold you or help.”

You smiled to yourself as you moved to flick the shower on and began unwrapping yourself from the dress after you propped your phone up on the counter.

“Second of all, thank you again for doing this. She needed this so bad.” He smiled to himself, rubbing the back of his neck, “She keeps sending me pictures and telling me all about how much she loves you and how much fun she is having. I appreciate you so much, sweetheart.”

“You don’t need to thank me, baby.” You smile brightly at him through the camera, ignoring the way he discreetly ogles you as you let the dress fall to the floor, leaving you completely bare and exposed. “You know I love spending time with her and that I love her as if she were my own.” You close the distance, picking up your phone before stepping into the shower. “I hope you know that, from here on out, she’ll be accompanying me to every photoshoot. She’s the best hypewoman ever.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.” You let loose a little laugh as you set the phone up on a shelf, making sure it was out of the water before dipping under the stream to get your hair wet. “I’ll send you all the pictures. I got some of her too. You’re gonna love them.”

He hummed in agreement, the sound coming from deep in his chest and sending shivers down your spine, “Of course I will. My two favorite girls–the ones I love the most in this world. I can’t wait to see them, baby.”

You paused your shampooing to give him a pout, “I miss you so much.”

“I miss you more, gorgeous.” He shot you a sad smile, “I would give anything to be with you right now, in that shower.”

You spun around, pointing a finger at him, “Are you trying to get dirty with me, Sebastian Stan?”

The laugh he let out lit you up from inside out, “No.” He tossed his hands up in a defensive stance, “Of course not. Why would I want to get dirty with my sexy, wet girlfriend while she’s showering right in front of me?” He playfully rolled his eyes, “That’s just insane!”

You giggled, “Well,”

“Are you..?”

You shrugged a little, hands trailing teasingly over your breast.

“Fuck.”

Tonight you’d indulge with him and tomorrow you could talk.

Clearly Georgeta hadn’t told him about the hate and it’s definitely something that could be dealt with later.

You were on vacation and all else could wait.

—————

Tag list

@justlovelifeblog @inlovewith3 @buckybarnesandmarvel @sleutherclaw @snugglingbucky @perlaluna @littlewhiterose

@idontwannagomrstarkk @abihaaa14 @eclecticpatrolroadlawyer @sebsgirl71479 @getofffmydick @eccentricnos @barnesml

#sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan #sebastian stan fanfic #seb stan x reader #sebastian stan x female reader #sebastian stan x you #sebastian stan x actress!reader

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smallpapers · 1 year

Text

Updated profile pic!

Thanks to everyone for your support through the past year <3 I can't believe TOH has ended...

Some updates/ personal notes under the cut!! Like, its really personal its almost narcissistic!

PRONOUNS: I go by she/they now!!! I've always had a lowkey gender crisis (fueled by an existential crisis really) so I am FINALLY trying this out. Feel free to refer to me with they/them pronouns :) (I guess I should have seen something coming when I made my first proper OC over a decade ago as an aro ace agender lol)

TOH ENDING: I'm really sad that the owl house is over...but I'm so glad I got to meet so many cool people in the TOH fandom!!! I even had the pleasure of sending a few friends stickers as a small token of appreciation. I'm like super grateful for all the encouragement and notes! I don't talk much here but I do read the reblog tags :) The brainrot was so serious that it made me draw basically everyday the past year (even if its a small doodle) and i really feel like i grew as an artist, and I honed my skills although I still have a long way to go! I can see improvement in my framing and colouring skills :) I think I might do some funny compilation video in the near future...

A BREAK/MINI-HIATUS: I am considering taking a small break from fandom. It might be a few weeks or maybe less, depending on how quickly I get out of this slump. I am guessing its a burn out from all the negative news regarding AI 'art' and being tussled round by the twitter algorithms. Also maybe because i did two epic pieces back to back... I have a lot of ideas and I really don't want to stop posting art online! I want to do sort of a post-WAD/pre-epilogue HW comic series, as well as a grom animatic :)

THANK YOU HUNTLOW ugh they mean so much to me... I know its silly because its a silly little fictional ship. But its really unlocked some creativity in me that I lost? Along with such a lovely community, it has really inspired me to keep drawing! Maybe its a right place at a right time thing, but after watching ASiaS, it gave me brainrot so much that it kicked my other bad habits out the window! I got to do so much cool stuff i always wanted to do including making an animatic, comics, being in a fan zine, epic pieces, making stickers... I can't believe they are canon now its been such a journey to watch this ship and the shippers blossom :)

THANK YOU!!!! If you've ever liked or reblogged any of my drawings, especially leaving funny tags, I just really want to say thank you <3 I really do cherish all the comments I get!!!! and if you've read this far, I'm super impressed!

That's all from me for now!!

<3 papers

#smallishpapers #its a lot of personal stuff and some thoughts hahaha

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genevievemd · 1 year

Text

James Dean Daydream

Book: Open Heart Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Genevieve McClure) Word Count: 1384 Rating: G Category: Fluff, Ethan POV Trope(s): and one of them dabbles in music

Summary: The day Ethan Ramsey realizes he’s in love with a swiftie.

Warnings: none

A/N: This is really just pointless fluff that I’ve wanted to do this idea for a while lol And I also just love showing these cute little everyday moments between them. Enjoy the fluff, peanuts! And yes, I did in fact make the cover for this look similar to the 1989 album cover. I am who I am lmao

November 13, 2020

No matter how many years Ethan Ramsey has spent in medicine, working diligently in one of the country’s most prestigious hospitals, it never ceased to amaze him hw absolutely idiotic the world became on Friday the 13th. He didn’t even subscribe to the superstition, and yet, without fail, the date would come around and the emergency room descended into madness.

It was as if anyone with only half a brain cell watched it die and they gave into any and every intrusive thought.

And unfortunately for him, this was the second occurrence this year. Ethan didn’t even think anything could top the chaos of March 13th. The hospital had been running on empty, patients and residents, even doctors, were beginning to transfer to different hospitals. It was pure madness. He had foolishly believed that would be the worst he’d seen or would ever see.

Until today.

There had been no less than five major traffic accidents, the computer system was down and every staff member was locked out for close to two hours, Leland kept interrupting the diagnostics team whenever they finally had a moment to convene, and to top it all off, Ethan’s favorite resident had the day off.

Although it was a much needed one and it was at his behest. Genevieve had worked almost 72 hours nonstop with only a few hours of rest here and there. So he’d sent her home that morning, completely forgetting the date.

She’d texted him sporadically, offering to come back in, but Ethan refused. Gen needed to sleep and they could manage without her. So instead, he told her to utilize the quiet of his apartment and spend the day watching her favorite shows and catching up on sleep.

He’d almost forgotten the offer, until he arrived home that evening and pushed the button for his floor on the elevator.

A small part of him now regretted it. He was exhausted and all he wanted was a hot shower, dinner, and crawl into bed. Gen would most likely be her normal energetic self and eager to hear about all the “tea of the day”, as she would say. But, another part of him loved knowing he was coming home to her.

His bubbly and sweet rookie. The sunshine to his midnight rain.

A smile spreads across his tired face when he gets to his front door. Whatever song she was playing was loud enough to be heard quite clearly through the door.

If he had to guess, it was probably Taylor Swift.

He opens the door slowly, greeted with the sight of Genevieve in his Hopkins sweatshirt and a pair of leggings, hair in a messy ponytail as she dances and sings along to what is absolutely a Taylor Swift song. Using a metal whisk as her makeshift microphone.

Unwilling to disrupt the show, he gently places his briefcase one the floor and closes the door. Leaning against it with his arms crossed.

As the song progresses into the second verse, and she twirls back to the stove, he realizes she’s cooking. Ensuring that he came home to a homecooked meal after a long day. That knowledge melts his heart and almost forces him from his spot. But, he also doesn’t want to interrupt and miss the mini concert he’s getting.

He loves her like this, so free and happy. Enjoying the simple things in life to their fullest extent.

“He says ‘what you heard is true but I can’t stop thinkin’ ‘bout you and I’ I said ‘I’ve been there too a few times’” She sings the lyric with an excessive amount of dramatics and flare. Jumping right back into what she calls dancing as the chorus begins again.

At this point in their relationship, and friendship, Ethan is certain he’s heard every song ever made by Gen’s favorite artist. And while it may not be his cup of tea, he’ll never tire of seeing how excited and happy Gen gets when a song comes on.

Like when she accompanied him to the grocery store earlier that week. A song had come on when they were perusing the vegetables and she squeaked with excitement. Humming along and mouthing the words to him. It was one of the cutest things she’s ever done and a moment he burned into is memory.

Just like he’s doing with the one happening now.

Unable to resist any longer, Ethan joins her. Taking her hips in his hands and spinning her around to face him. As predicted, she screams in shock then breaks into a brilliant and beautiful smile. Dropping the whisk and wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Hi!” Gen beams, not at all embarrassed to be caught. Reaching to turn the volume of the music down. “Did you just get home?”

“I did.” He smiles back at her, leaning down to kiss her sweetly.

“I made dinner, I figured you could use a nice meal after the day you had.”

“Thank you, that was very sweet of you.”

“Always, babe.” She kisses him again, a little longer than before but no less sweet. Like she’s pouring her whole heart into the simple gesture.

After another second, Gen pulls away. Moving back to the stove to turn off the burner.

Deciding he’s not ready to fully let her go, Ethan follows. Pulling her back to his chest and kissing her cheek.

“You know, you’re ruining my Spotify every time you use my Alexa.”

“Ruining it, or adding some flavor to an otherwise boring list of top plays?” Gen laughs, the sound so pretty he can’t help but smile more.

“I stand by what I said, Rookie.” He lets her go, stepping to the side to take off his coat and tie. Though he keeps his eyes on her, noting how she continues to subtly dance along to the new song coming through the speakers.

“It’s your fault for picking me to be your girlfriend. You should have known; once a swiftie always a swiftie.” She laughs again, continuing to finish plating their dinner.

“Swiftie?”

“It’s what you call a Taylor Swift fan.” Gen steps over to him, patting his cheek. “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you all the lingo. Especially if we plan on staying together forever. You’ll need to know.”

“Right.” He nods, grabbing their plates and walking over to the dining table. “So the mentor would become the mentee?”

“Absolutely.” She follows close behind with two glasses and a bottle of wine. “Do you want to shower first?”

“I thought maybe we’d eat and then you’d join me in the shower.” He smirks at the blush that quickly rises to her cheeks, the way she bites her lip and look away for the briefest of seconds.

“That actually sounds nice. I missed you today.”

He takes the glasses and bottle from her hands, putting them down onto the table beside their meal. Taking her back into his arms a second later.

“I missed you, too, G.”

Whatever regret and dread he had before was now melted away. Along with almost every ounce of stress that had been heavy on his shoulders before walking in the door. And it was all because of her.

Her dancing and singing, the happiness of being reunited with her after a long day.

Ethan had purposely ignored her comment a few minutes prior, about being together for the rest of their lives. Not because he didn’t want that, but because it was still to early to be discussing those things. She still needed to finish her residency and decided on her future in medicine.

But he hoped that they’d be together through it all, because the love he feels for her – regardless of the fact that they’ve yet to voice it – was unlike anything he’s felt before. It’s healing and fulfilling. Bringing with it the type of happiness that only exists in daydreams and fairytales.

He didn’t care about their differences, he wanted to embrace them. Learn to love what she loves, like she’s doing with him.

He wanted a future where he continues to come home to find her singing and dancing with a metal whisk in his kitchen to a Taylor Swift song. Knowing that it would continue to dissolve the stress and pressure of the outside world.

A/N: Little does he know, his future self intentionally added Taylor Swift songs to his Spotify playlist so he could listen to them when he goes back to the amazon lol

thanks for reading, peanuts.

#ethan ramsey x mc #ethan x mc #open heart #open heart fanfiction #ethan x gen

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obsoleteozymandias · 1 year

Text

Specimen (Lady Dimitrescu x Reader)

A request for a friend of mine. Been elbow deep in res for a hot minute now lol

You weren't here for pleasure. You were an agent for the BSAA’s Field Research Division, and you were here for business. Today, that business took the form of hunting down one Alicina Dimitrescu. Little was known about the woman, save that she had ties to the fungal village which had the BSAA’s eyes on it. Supposedly, a very important person had been released into the village, and your bosses suspected that the HWS would be quick to follow. All you had to do was get in, get a sample for future studies, and get out.

It had started off well - you had successfully infiltrated the village, as well as Castle Dimitrescu, and you were on schedule to get your sample and leave all within the day. But of course, that couldn’t happen so easily. Nothing could.

You were almost out of breath as you sprinted down the elegant hall, your boots scuffing the floor as you went. You knew she was close - too close to outrun - and that woman knew this castle better than you did. That, and you were running out of space quickly. To put it simply: you didn’t stand a chance.

So when you reached the end of the hall with nowhere else to go, you turned slowly to face the monstrous woman slowly creeping towards you, her mouth curled upwards in a red-lipped smile.

“Well, this has certainly been fun, dear. But I’m afraid I don’t take too kindly to trespassers.” The woman spoke, her voice smooth and unfairly tempting in your ears. You couldn’t think of anything to say, simply standing there, staring at the lord before you as she approached.

Mere inches from you, such that your neck was craned up so much it hurt, she stopped. Her honey eyes locked onto yours, and for a moment, the tall woman’s face was blank without expression. Then, she spoke.

“You. What is your name?”

You shuddered, the sound ever so pleasing to your ears. Before you could think about your answer, you said your name. No codename, no pseudonym, just your name.

Dimitrescu seemed pleased with this answer, purring out “How lovely, I do love an obedient pet. Now, what are you doing here?”

“I was told to collect a sample from you,” You said, almost as if in a trance, “and give it back to headquarters.”

The lord seemed to think on your words for a moment, her eyes wandering off to a window to her left, before she looked back at you with hungry eyes and a feral grin.

“Well, I don’t think I can let that happen, dear. But I’d be happy to give such a pretty little thing a sample,” She leaned down to you until her mouth was next to your ear, “if you’d like a taste.”

You felt you face grow so warm it was painful. You could never deny how beautiful this woman was, no matter how dangerous she may be. The only thing you knew at that moment was that you would give anything - even your life - to get even a small piece of what this woman had - of whatever whimsical force was drawing you to her with such vigor.

“I…yes.” Was all you could respond with. The lady seemed utterly pleased with this answer. She drew her face away from you, only to scoop you up into her arms, holding you close to her bosom as she brought the two of you through the winding corridors of her castle, gently twirling a strand of your hair through her long nails. They could have walked for seconds or hours, you simply couldn’t pay attention to anything other than the beautiful visage of the woman in front of you. At some point, the lady had led you to a room with an expensive-looking couch, and gently sat, keeping you in her lap.

“Now,” Dimitrescu hummed softly, “If I’m going to give you something, wouldn’t it be polite to give me something first, darling?”

You swallowed, having a terrible sense of where this might be going, but nodded anyway, unable to stop yourself. The lord smiled at that, bearing her long fangs as she ran a cold hand down your face, cupping it and turning it up so that your neck was exposed.

“Now, you can be as loud as you want, dear, but I must ask that you stay still. I wouldn’t want to kill you.” Your blood ran cold, but before you could do anything, a long, slick tongue ran down your neck, making goosebumps blossom all over your skin. It was so cold, so much so that it felt warm. It was intoxicating.

The tall lady sucked and kissed at a spot near the junction between your neck and chin, definitely leaving a mark. You felt yourself flush with embarrassment when you realized that when you returned to home base (if you ever did, as you was dubious of that fact at the given moment), you would have to explain yourself to someone, most likely your boss, and making out with the supposed enemy was definitely not going to look good on your performance review.

All of your thoughts were disregarded, however, when you felt warm breath hover over the tender skin Dimitrescu had been sucking at. You whined, but were greeted with the brush of sharp teeth against your jugular. And then, like a bolt of lightning in a thunderstorm - you felt a sharp pain, and a searing pleasure that made you keel. You felt yourself grow faint, and yet infinitely more excited, and simply let your body loose in the hands of this wonderful caretaker.

“That’s it, darling” you heard, before your mind was overtaken with dizzy pleasure “Just a little more. Then we can really have some fun.”

When you woke next, it was to the gentle embrace of the vampiric woman behind you, cradling you like a prized stuffed animal. You remembered everything from the previous day with stunning clarity, including the words whispered between the two of you near the end of your excursion:

“I don’t think I can let you go now, dear.”

“I don’t think I want to go.”

#oz’s requests #x reader #resident evil x reader #oz writes #resident evil #resident evil matchup #lady dimitrescu x reader

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netherzon · 4 months

Text

Nadezhda

This is for the @hws-anthology Secret Santa exchange! I present to you, my gift for @arachnoidmater! Their request was "anything with Russia" so I hope this is alright ^^'

Pairing: Canada/Russia (not explicit)

Rating: Gen

Word Count: 3512

Featuring: human and dog OCs, dog sledding, Kuma is a full size polar bear again, and questionable winter camping advice

Summary: Russia takes a vacation to the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, where he meets an old friend and makes a new one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a special occasion whenever he came out this far. The travel had become much easier with the invention of planes, but there still wasn’t much out here. Not for him. Not for work. Not anymore.

Besides, it was nice to have something that remained mostly the same.

He made the journey slowly, using a train when he could, and when the train tracks ran out he rented a snowmobile. There weren’t always roads here either —the Chukotka Highway was still unfinished, and wouldn’t extend Lorino even if it was — but in the middle of winter that was not such a problem. There was plenty of snow.

Perhaps one day that would also change.

Thoughts for another time.

He rode all night long. A human would never be able to make this journey the way he did, especially not while carrying winter camping supplies the way he was. Regular camping supplies felt heavy enough until one experienced the weight of winter camping gear. He didn’t want to dig into those just yet, though. He needed to save food for the next part of his trip.

Plus, he liked arriving in the morning. That was half the fun of traveling east. Watching the gradual lightening of his surroundings, feeling the gradual warmth as the sun finally slipped up into the sky. The weather was pleasant despite the season, and it made him smile under the scarf covering the lower half of his face.

He rides all the way into town. People hardly glance at him as he goes by. Without proper roads, snowmobiles in the winter and ATVs in the summer were common forms of transport. He too utilized them when necessary, but he also found them cold. Inhospitable. He craved something else.

He passes many dogs on the ride, some of whom follow him to his destination. They run beside him, tongues lolling out of their mouths as he approaches the wooden building, their home. The bright blue exterior paint has been stripped away in some spots, but the painted sign is legible even from a distance: чуко́тская ездова́я - Chukotka Sled Dogs.

He pulls up to the porch outside. One brave dog approaches him, almost all black besides his stomach and a thin rail of white fur up his nose. He recognizes this as one of the eponymous Chukotka breed sled dogs. The dog puts its front paws in his lap, even with the engine of the snowmobile still rumbling, and licks at his face. This makes Ivan laugh. The dog responds by licking him more enthusiastically. He can hardly see through his goggles now, but that’s alright.

A sharp voice calls, “тень!” - Shadow, and the dog immediately climbs off his lap. A woman with a wrinkled face and long gray hair stands in the doorway. The dog obediently lays down at her feet.

Ivan grins at her. “I assume this is one of the leaders,” he says cheerfully. He stands from the snowmobile, wobbling a little as he readjusts the weight of his pack.

Pulling a rag out of one of her many pockets, the woman gestures for his goggles. The shine of the sun makes Ivan blink a couple times. A few other dogs gather around them. Even more approach the woman, hoping for treats. Ivan assumes this woman runs the tour company.

His goggles are significantly cleaner when she hands them back to him.

“I am Zinaida,” she says.

“Thank you, I am Ivan,” he says, appreciatively. He keeps it simple for now. The woman is not wearing a coat, and he can see she is already starting to shiver. Her skin has thinned with age.

Zinaida nods, and turns back towards the warmth of the building, making it clear she is uninterested in small talk outside. Ivan follows her. The entrance appears to be a singular office, with a small, lit fireplace to one side. Leather hides cover the walls to block the draft. It is sort of like an inside out yaranga. Seeing it makes Ivan both smile and feel deeply sad.

“Are you here for a tour?” Zinaida sits down heavily in a chair by the fire. The wood creams in tune with the crackling of the fire. She picks up a sewing project she must have been working on before Ivan got there. It’s hard to tell what she’s making, but it looks large and warm. She multitasks through the whole conversation.

Ivan drops his sack of camping gear on the floor and sits down in the other chair, quickly removing all his outer layers. Hopefully this will not take long, but it would be worse to overheat. Shadow places himself between them.

“No,” Ivan says, ”I only need a sled team.”

The woman regards him: his fur and leather gear, his content smile despite the season, his stature. She must judge him to be a competent sled driver, because her next question is “How long?”

Ivan watches her practiced fingers pushing and pulling thread through treated leather. Rather than a number of hours, he answers, “Three or four days.”

She frowns minutely. Ivan does not take it personally. A stranger has entered her town and just asked to take six of the dogs she and her family rely on for multiple days into unpredictable conditions without the usual supervision they get. This would give anyone pause.

Ivan knows Zinaida is not the type for spur of the moment adventures like this, but she must sense something abnormal about him. Something in his eyes or the way the light of the fire flickers across his face is something beyond human. After another few minutes of studying him silently, she says yes, to Ivan’s surprise. “Only my slowest dogs,” she specifies, “And I want all of your information before you go.” Her face makes it clear that Ivan will be found personally responsible for anything that might happen to the dogs, or if any of them are not returned. He readily agrees.

An hour later he has a lightweight wooden sled, the kind with a basket for multi day trips. He is grateful to store his heavy camping equipment there instead. Zinaida calls all the dogs in —- Ivan counts 26 at least —and singles out the slowest of them, so if Ivan proves to be a runaway dog thief, they would be able to catch him.

He is introduced to five new dogs: another Chukotka sled dog, one Siberian husky, and three Yakutian Laikas. A few have gray appearing along their muzzle. Ivan wonders if it was a natural coloration, or signs of age. It would explain Zinaida’s assessment that these would be the worst getaway dogs.

Regardless, they are all impeccably trained. “My husband and my son used to handle the dog training,” Zinaida explains as she tests his knowledge of harnessing the dogs. “Now, my son is teaching my grandchildren how to do it.”

Ivan does not meet any of these people before he leaves, but the loving warmth in Zinaida’s voice as she speaks of them prompts him to ask more. “So this is a family business?”

It is the wrong conversational path to take. Zinaida gives a noncommittal shake of her head, something between a physical yes or no. “It is how we live,” and she says no more about it.

“How old are your grandchildren?” Ivan goes for a less loaded subject.

Zinaida’s warm smile returns to her face. “I have five grandchildren,” she states proudly, “one is 14, old enough now that we are teaching him to see the trails so he can lead tours one day. Another is 12. When the 14 year old has learned, we will have him teach the 12 year old on the trails. The others are all under 8. We have them work with only the puppies for now.”

As she talks about her family, Ivan hooks the five dogs onto the gang line. A few other dogs paw at the harnesses, evidently disappointed at not being chosen for this ride. It is then that Ivan notices that there is no lead dog for this team yet.

“Sorry,” Ivan begins, interrupting Zinaida’s story about how one of her brothers once got into a fistfight with a whale, “who will be the lead dog?”

Zinaida glances towards Shadow. The dog waits eagerly by the end of the gang line, tail wagging. Ivan is sure that he is not the slowest of their lead dogs, but Zinaida says, “Shadow seems fond of you,” and so he begins strapping the dog in, more slowly than the others in case Zinaida decides she wants him to take a different dog.

She does not stop him. She merely scratches Shadow’s ear, and says a prayer for their safe travels.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nobody bats an eye at Ivan as they leave town, as unsurprised by dog sleds as they are snowmobiles.

The land around Lorino is an open, hilly tundra caught between the The team, used to hunting trips on the ice flows, begin curving towards the beach out of habit. They follow the tracks from other sleds that Ivan can still see, but he wants to remain inland. Ivan gives the command “Le!”, before he remembers the right word. “Ho!” he calls, and the dogs quickly turn. Ivan sees a thicket of trees in the distance, and he aims for those.

The weather remains beautiful in this open expanse of white, and the trees are still quite far. So far they’ve stayed at a relaxed jogging pace, but Ivan gives the command to speed up.

The dogs are zooming across the ice now. Ivan clings to the handle bar of the sled through his mittens and laughs, pure unburdened joy.

They pass many whale bone markers standing up through the landscape. Jaw bones and ribs curl up into the air, reminders of the area’s maritime culture. Further down the path they had been following Ivan spots two other dog teams, this time with hunting sleds, canoes strapped to the backs. He waves to them, still laughing loudly.

It takes an hour to reach the tree line. Here they pause for a light lunch. When Ivan unhooks the dogs two of them immediately begin play-fighting.

“You still have so much energy!” he laughs. When they notice him digging out six collapsible dog bowls, they quickly put aside their differences.

“You burn a lot of energy in this environment, so eat up!” He gives them each one scoop of the high protein dog food Zinaida had given him. It looks like fish mush. It smells like fish mush. It’s probably some kind of fish mush.

The dog’s lick their bowls clean. Ivan is glad for the bread and cheese he packed for himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was many hours before they stopped to camp for the night. He didn’t have a real destination in mind, so it was a good thing he couldn’t get lost. He could just ride and ride and ride, enjoy the wilderness, enjoy the company. Whatever guides him is something intangible, an internal sense of the path, a path. One that has not been used in a long time. It does not take long to reach a distance where they no longer see any other people.

When Ivan finally decides he’s found a flat enough area among the trees, they stop. This time, the dogs lounge around, having gotten most of their energy out on the way there. Their attempts to play are half-hearted, only the Husky is still in the mood. The others whine with irritation when she tries to engage them. One of the other dogs leans against his legs. They remain as vocal as before. Only the lead dog, Shadow, is still in work mode. He circles around the camp, sniffing everything, assessing, before flopping down right where Ivan had planned to put the tent.

He walks over to try and convince the dog to move somehow. It doesn’t work. Shadow stares up at him with big brown sad eyes, you wouldn’t make me get up and move would you? The plan is abandoned before he even gets a word out.

So the tent might be tilting slightly. Could be worse.

Shadow gets comfy, even curled up in the snow. Ivan stays bundled up as he searches for mostly level ground for the tent. It is most important that the thermal sleeping pads will not shift inside the tent. It will be their first defense from the frozen ground. Their next defense will be heavy duty sleeping bags, then their layers of clothes. The ancillary heat source, their fire pit, he arranges after the tent is situated.

The sun is beginning to set when he hears the echoing barks of a different team of dogs. The dogs around him perk up, curiously. He feels that itchy feeling they all get when another nation is coming closer.

Through the trees, another sled and dog team appears. Someone equally bundled up in furs clings to the back.

The mystery person’s identity is proven when Ivan looks further back and sees the great white bear following behind the sled at an easy pace.

“Hello!” Matthew greets him as the sled pulls up to Ivan’s camp. Pieces of his curly hair stick out from under the edges of his hat, bouncing as Matthew hops off and starts unhooking his own dogs. Matthew has also brought a six dog team, but he recognizes them as an Alaskan Husky, two Samoyeds, two Qimmiq dogs, and a Siberian Husky. Not breeds he’d be likely to find in Russia.

“How did you get all those dogs across the border?” He asks.

Matthew’s answer is cagey. “On a boat,” he says.

“Ahh,” Ivan laughs a little, “‘Illegally’ is what I am hearing.”

“Then you didn’t hear anything,” Matthew snaps back playfully.

“Perhaps I did not,” Ivan agrees, offering Kuma a nose rub as the bear nudges the side of his head. It’s a miracle that the dogs do not freak out at his presence in the camp considering their use in polar bear hunts, but he also knows Kuma manages to be invisible to humans too sometimes. It must be related to that. “What would you do if I did ask to see their papers?”

“I would show them to you,” Matthew answers honestly, “but it’s a hassle to do all that with border guards even for one dog, much less six all at once.” Ivan nods in agreement as Matthew continues, “So it’s just easier to bring them over through port. It’s not that they weren’t declared, I just had each one paired with a different crew member, they did the work for me.”

“Ohh, that’s a clever strategy!” Ivan is not at all bothered by Matthew’s flagrant disregard for the Federation’s pet import restrictions. If the roles were reversed, he would’ve done the same.

It is lucky Matthew picked up firewood on his way. Ivan had expected they’d go the first night without a fire as the wood they would collect around them would need to dry out before it was usable. Instead, they get a fire going then, and the difference in the warmth of the tent is tangible. They leave the fire burning low overnight. It’s not recommended, but Matthew assures him Kuma would wake them up if anything went wrong.

Matthew goes to sleep quickly, slightly behind from the shift in time zones. Ivan sleeps peacefully, lulled by Matthew’s light snores beside him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next two days they spend the daylight hours sledding. They gradually pack down the safe paths. When something appears dangerous they warn each other. Kuma keeps guard. If there were any wild animals who might have bothered them, the bear’s presence keeps them away, although the howling of the wolves at night still spooks the dogs.

When it is dark, they return to the camp they’ve established. They move the warm stones from the fire pit close to the tent each morning to maintain a heat source during the day. There is only one close call with their heat source. Ivan cut a small ventilation hole at the top of the tent so they can keep a candle inside. On the evening of the second day, Matthew accidentally knocks it over. He quickly grabs it, saving their tent from catching fire, but the hot wax and glass burn his hands badly. It will heal by the morning, but for that night Matthew pouts all through dinner.

“This is embarrassing,” he mutters. His face feels like it's burning as much as his hands.

Ivan scoops up another spoonful of their rehydrated rice and beans, “

Matthew opens his mouth to accept Ivan feeding him, but Ivan suddenly jerks the spoon back. He blows gently on it before presenting it to Matthew again. “Sorry, it looked too hot, and I would not want you to burn yourself,” he teases.

Matthew glares at him for a moment, before taking the food. “You’re gonna feed me s’mores by hand too for that,” he declares, “We still have a tent to sleep in because of me.”

Ivan’s smile widens, “Of course. You have earned it.”

They entertain themselves with various means. Ivan packed a couple small books. Matthew brought a pack of cards. During dinner they watch the dogs follow Kumajiro around. Whatever the dogs know of Kuma’s presence, it seems they can sense his body heat. The dogs go from sleeping all in a pile together, to snuggling with the bear. Occasionally Kuma huffs and tries to move away, but all twelve dogs follow him every time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The third morning begins as peacefully as the others, but with no small amount of disappointment that their vacation must come to an end. They do not speak about it. They do not have to. It is clear enough in how they reluctantly take apart their camp.

At least they will both be going through Lorino, so they will travel back together. Ivan must return the sled and the dogs to Zinaida, and Matthew’s return ship will leave from the harbor there.

Following the paths they’ve tread for three days now, the travel is faster, even if they don’t want it to be. The two teams burst out of the woods in a flurry of snow and coniferous evergreen needles. As long as they are in the woods they prioritize safety, but now the landscape stretches out around them again, flat and smooth. Ivan glances over at Matthew, the shape of his smile under his face guard. Matthew glances back, and briefly pulls down his face guard. His smile is better described as a mischievous grin when he calls out to his team, and suddenly they are racing away at full speed.

Shadow watches them pass by. When Ivan gives the call to keep pace with them, it feels like Shadow was waiting for it. Matthew’s laughter rings out across the ice when he glances back at them.

The last thing Ivan hears before the wind is roaring in his ears is a loud huff from behind him. Kuma had been keeping pace with them in the woods, but rather than speed up, Kuma starts to walk more slowly. The bear speaks into Ivan’s mind, I refuse to run.

By then Ivan is out of range to respond. He is confident Kuma will be able to find the town if they get out of view, because Matthew must be confident of that if he left the bear so far back in the first place.

Ivan’s dogs are slower than Matthew’s, so his chances of winning this impromptu race are none. When Lorino appears on the horizon, Matthew takes pity and slows his team down, allowing Ivan to pull up alongside them. The ride together into town. Matthew is still slightly ahead, but the fun doesn’t come from winning. Their smiles are equally wide as they stop outside Zinaida’s business.

“Well,” Matthew begins, “Thank you for inviting me to do this.” He does not unharness his dogs, likely planning on riding them to the boat.

“You are welcome,” Ivan answers honestly, “and you are welcome to come with me anytime.”

Matthew smiles sweetly. “Maybe we’ll make this an annual trip,” he adds.

Before Ivan can agree, Zinaida opens the door and the loose dogs rush towards her. Even as she turns away to keep them from jumping on her, she looks at Ivan appreciatively. Her relief at having all the dogs returned safely is palpable. Later, Ivan will offer to cook dinner for her and her family as another thank you.

A ship blows its horn to announce its approach, and Matthew interrupts, “I had better get going now, but seriously, thank you for inviting me.”

Ivan grabs his sleeve before he can get going. “We will do this again,” he states.

Matthew smiles, and calls “Hike!” to his team. Ivan watches them speed away.

“Did you have a good trip, then?” Zinaida asks behind him.

“Yes,” he answers, cold air burning his lungs, “Yes I did.”

#hws canada #hws russia #ruscan #canrus #my writing

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