#that’s why his expression is so relaxed though instead of screaming in pain lol | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thestarswhim · 3 years

Text

Intertwining Connection

Summary: Since MK has Monkey King’s powers, wouldn’t they both have some sort of connection to each other?

An idea where MK might get a sense of what the Monkey King is feeling.

Words: 1,757

Notes: Descriptions of anxiety, but nothing major.

It was late at night, a few hours before MK would have to get ready for work, and there was barely any noise except for the occasional cars that drove by. So, it was a wonder when he woke up suddenly, gasping for air as if he just ran with all the strength he had left, and sat straight up.

He searched the whole room, alarmed, and confused, and uneasy — and when did he start using the golden vision thing? He blinked it away and rubbed at his eyes, trying to take deep breaths, but the weight still in his chest wasn’t letting up. Everything felt vague… like the feeling one would get after waking up from a dream, but… he couldn’t recall any of it if he did. The only thing that kept screaming at him was that someone was in danger. But, who?

He fidgeted slightly in his bed and clenched his blanket around his fists, causing it to scrunch up in his hands. He bit down on his tongue as he looked over to his gear and then slowly to the window — no. No, no, no, no, no. He was not going to just go out on impulse again and then end up finding nothing. He freaked about stuff like this before, where he felt something was wrong, and usually nothing bad actually happened until a few or more days after. And he took care of those things when they did happen. Most of the time. Besides, sometimes he was just overthinking things and nothing was wrong in the first place. So, he should breathe it in, breathe it out, go back to sleep, and not worry about it (for now), right?

...

But, still…

This felt different. It was more intense, as if it were a life or death situation, and that, by ignoring it, would be a grim, dark, scary mistake he did not want to consider.

There began an anxious sensation he didn’t feel before going down his back like some sort of chill, and it felt way too uncomfortable.

Okay. He should probably go and find that someone.

He quickly got out of bed, stumbling a bit as he grabbed his jacket and headband, and saw as he was putting on his shoes how much his hands were trembling. He wasn’t scared or nervous; rather, it was that sensation that would not leave, and it was bothering him — and he really needed to go find whoever was in danger.

Using the golden vision could help most likely, and maybe Monkey King knew what was going on? Given how strong this feeling was, it was probably another power of his, and it would be something MK would have to get used to more often. Great.

The thought of Monkey King, however, suddenly brought a flash of blue and gold into his mind. His breath hitched at the realization, and all the weight from his chest dropped to his stomach in an instant as he snapped his head to the window.

“Monkey King,” he breathed out, and before he could comprehend it, he was jumping out the window, staff in hand.

How could Monkey King be in danger? He could clearly handle himself just fine. Maybe this was all in his head, yeah. Probably… but of course he was still going to check because… because the feeling was only growing stronger, and the sharp sensation was fully enveloping him, and, and — he suppressed a frustrated groan. Focus, MK! Now wasn't the time! He had to get to Flower Fruit Mountain!

Before his body would reach the ground, he swiftly landed the end of the staff first with a resounding thud on the street and extended it forward to launch himself higher into the air. It would be quicker this way.

Though, luckily and surprisingly for him, he supposed, was that not even a second after, he caught an object in his view coming straight towards him, moving in a bit too fast for his liking, actually.

“Kid!” it shouted, tone tight and on edge, and a wave of dizzying fear penetrated his chest and left all at the same time, making his throat tighten.

“Monkey King?” MK choked to get out. He was okay! Maybe? Was he being chased probably? That sudden, intense beat of emotion took him longer to comprehend everything properly; it left his whole body fuzzy and dull, but also static with anxious induced adrenaline, his nerves feeling singed at the edge of his mind.

Which totally made him forget he wasn't on the ground and, rather, still in the air. The momentum he gained before was now dissipating and gravity was starting to catch up to him again, slowly dragging him down.

Oh.

He made a yelp jump out of his mouth when he hit something sooner than he thought, but as soon realized he wasn't in immediate pain and was being picked back up into the air in a swooping motion.

His mind processed that his head was against someone's chest, as he heard rapid, muffled thumping of a heart in his ear. Also he heard talking — and oh my gosh, Monkey King!

He squirmed around in his mentor's grasp, trying to get a better look at his surroundings in case someone was chasing him or something.

"Woah, hey," Monkey King started, and there was a slight tremble to his voice, but that could be from coming all the way over to the city. "Don't worry, it's just me."

They floated back down to the ground, where MK found they were on the cloud beforehand, and took a few steps back once he was sure he was not in the air anymore (that was a rollercoaster in it of itself) to assess everything, including Monkey King who seemed fine and gave him one of his side smiles. They were the only two present at the moment; he didn’t hear or see anyone else coming, neither was his senses buzzing out anymore. He slowly exhaled. This was all so intense for no reason.

“You all right, Kid? Why were you so high in the sky this early in the morning?” Monkey King chuckled, in a short, weird way, and, if MK was seeing right, he looked relieved himself.

“Yeah, I’m good. Sorta confused, but good,” MK nodded, twisting the staff in his hands. “And, well, I guess — are you okay? I thought something bad happened.”

Monkey King raised his eyebrows, his tail slowly swaying to and fro, and then swiftly changed into a more neutral, chill-like expression. He had been doing that a lot lately. “Of course I’m fine!” He then gazed around the area, eyes focused and distant at the same time. “Why? Did something happen?”

His voice had that certain edge again, but MK tried not to think too much on it right now, and instead relaxed his stature more and shook his head. “No? I mean I hope not. I woke up in this panic and it was not leaving no matter what I did which made me think it was something serious and that someone was in trouble, and then I had a feeling that it could be you? And now you're here, so I guess it was nothing? I’m not sure.”

Silence… and then, “unless something is wron—”

“Okay, kiddo,” Monkey King put his hand on MK’s head, “before you start freaking out again: I’m fine, and I’m pretty sure everything else is fine. It was probably a dream you had if anything.”

MK thought for a moment. It probably was, but, like before, he couldn’t remember any of it even if he tried. It was weird. He sighed, “I guess. So… why are you here, then?”

Monkey King stiffened, MK could tell from his hand still on his head and the way his fingers twitched in his hair, but it was so subtle and quick, no one would catch it. But, and for some reason, MK kept catching those small moments more and more, and he wasn’t sure if he liked that, or what to think of it.

His mentor put his hand back down and stretched. “Eh, ‘just wanted to smell the morning air, I don’t do it often. So, I thought I’d fly around the city for a while, and then, to my suprise, there you were nearly falling, so,” his shoulders shook from his small laughter again. “But, I suppose I should head back now since everything seems to have settled down, and you should try and get some more rest before you actually have to get up, okay?”

“Right,” MK said, and he wanted to say more, that look in Monkey King’s eyes made him want to, but… maybe now wasn't the right time. And maybe he was over exaggerating things. Monkey King was fine, and even if he was hiding anything, MK shouldn’t press on it if he wasn’t supposed to know. He had learned that by now…

“All right, Kid, lets go,” Monkey King smiled gently, and, before MK could question anything, he grabbed a hold of him and lifted them both back up on the cloud over to his balcony.

“Thanks,” MK smiled back while he safely landed his feet on said balcony. “I’ll see you tomorrow! Or, wait, today? What time is it?”

“Way too early to be up,” Monkey King reminded with a smirk, “so go to sleep or else you’ll be sweeping the whole mountain.”

“Wait, really?” Because no. No, thank you. Was that even possible, and who would even sweep a whole mountain?

Monkey King shrugged with a “I don’t know” noise. “I guess we’ll have to see later today," and, with a short wave and a wink, said, "see ya, bud!" and went zooming away.

MK watched him go once again, leaning his arms against the railing. The sun was just beginning to show up, the dark blue sky becoming a lighter shade of gray with warm tones peeking out between the buildings. As his mind went over everything, he closed his eyes and sighed, letting the light breeze brush over the tips of his hair.

He probably wasn't going back to bed.

~~~

Wukong road on his cloud on the way back to the mountain, hoping the wind would take his thoughts with it.

The kid… was he sharing…?

No. Maybe.

He roughly huffed. He had to keep his emotions in check, or else he was going to end up hurting the both of them.

~~~

Notes: This one was a bit shorter, but I wanted to write about it because the idea was pretty interesting to me, and it’d be cool if they explored more on how they’re sharing the same power, so... (and the part where I made Wukong catch MK was what inspired me to write it all in general because I thought it looked nice in my head and it was my first thought for the idea LOL)

BUT YES, I hope you enjoyed! And if any of you want to write out or do anything about this idea, go right ahead; I would love to see it!!

I might make this a series of little one-shots or even longer stories if I get more ideas for it, but, anywho, thank you so much for reading!! Much Love, and many Blessings! 😊

#monkie kid #lego monkie kid #monkie kid fanfiction #monkie kid fanfic #MK #qi xiaotian #monkey king #sun wukong #LMK #fanfiction #fanfic

80 notes · View notes

no-whump-on-main · 3 years

Text

Apartment 307-8 (Grabbed by the hair)

Hi guys!! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. School and work have been crazy but luckily I'm out of school next week so I'll have much more time and be posting more frequently! Apologies for the short chapter, I have no idea why but it just kicked my butt lol. I tried doing some cool multimedia stuff, I hope you enjoy! This is @sableflynn's BTHB request, grabbed by the hair.

TWs: Creepy, possessive whumper, mention of branding, also this chapter made me sad bc I love my mom and Elora's mom is sad so warning for that lmao

Elora was still lying there crying hours later. The tears had slowed from her initial keening sobs, but they still fell steadily down her face, accumulating in a small puddle on the tile by her head. She could see a bit of her reflection in the salty water; just her eyes, mostly. She saw green eyes that had once been so full of hope and life that were fading, the slow abandonment of hope almost making them gray out. She wanted to lie there forever, staring into her own eyes, until oblivion took her. If she cleared her head enough, she could pretend she was elsewhere, somewhere warm and loving; the blanket draped over her body did help with the fantasy, though she always knew somewhere in the back of her head that it was just that: a fantasy. She was still here. With him.

Clyde tried to give her time to recover, but his patience wore eventually. He began to get antsy after a few hours of watching her lie there, doing nothing but cry. Admittedly, he did enjoy it at first-seeing her so weak, so docile, because of him-but it eventually grew tiresome. Watching each tear drip down into the puddle became like watching paint dry.

He stood up abruptly. Elora was startled by the motion, flinching before stilling and watching him very carefully. What was he going to do?

“Get up,” he said simply.

Elora froze. She still felt sick, dizzy with pain and the lingering scent of her burning flesh in the bathroom. But why would he care about that? Why should she disobey him, when she knew what would happen?

Yet pride and pain got the better of her again.

“I can’t,” she whimpered. She felt weak. “I hurt. You hurt me.”

The piercing sound of a loud, sudden laugh began to echo through the bathroom. It reminded Elora of the laugh of a hyena. She winced.

“Darling, did you not think that was the point?”

Her expression hardened and her heart thumped in her chest. That was the point. She wanted to say something, but her mouth suddenly got dry.

The man simply grinned. “Get up,” he repeated, but she didn’t. She just laid there, dumbfounded.

He groaned angrily, rolling his eyes. “Fine,” he grumbled. “Be that way.”

He gathered up her hair in his hand, locked his fingers in a tight fist, and pulled up. Elora yelped and scrambled to get to her feet to relieve the pain, but he didn’t give her the chance; he carelessly dragged her off, out of the bathroom, through the hallway, and into the living room. She screamed and thrashed wildly, her hands desperately trying to push him away as her scalp burned like fire. Again and again, her feet scraped the ground to no avail, kicking and kicking but never able to gain enough traction to stand as she was mercilessly dragged. The man finally dropped her on the floor at the foot of a worn leather couch, releasing his death grip on her hair. Her hands immediately flew up to her head, applying gentle pressure to her scalp to try to ease the burning pain as she looked around the new room.

The living room was barren, like the man had half moved into it then given up. There was a dusty box in the corner, the couch, a worn coffee table, a small stand, and an old TV. Other than that, it was empty, in an eerie way. The aged carpet spanned the floor like an ocean.

The pressure didn’t do much and Elora dropped her hands, still wincing as the man plopped himself on the couch behind her, the leather making a loud crackling noise as he sat. She whipped her head around as her shoulders raised up to her ears instinctively. The man made a sour face, his features twisting into an ugly frown.

“Relax,” he commanded, forcefully pushing her shoulders down. At first, she tried to wiggle away, but that idea was abandoned when he tightened his grip, clearly as a warning. He grabbed the TV remote from the arm of the couch and turned it on. It started on some history channel documentary about cars, but Clyde quickly flipped through channels until he found the local news station.

A grin spread across his face as he read the blue banner spanning across the bottom of the screen. They were just in time.

UP NEXT: CAPE COD GIRL GOES MISSING; DESPERATE MOTHER PLEADS FOR HER RETURN

His hands wandered to Elora’s scalp and began to gently card through her hair. She inhaled sharply, and it took everything she had in her not to immediately shove him off. Somehow the gentleness felt worse than the pain; the false sense of care disgusted her. He was a maniac. He hurt her, he branded her, and now he was sitting on the couch petting her hair, pretending like none of it happened. It didn’t escape her attention how he set her on the floor instead of the couch, below him, like a dog.

The banner was bad enough, but she felt sick to her stomach when the station cut to a reporter sitting at a desk with a picture of her on half of the screen. It was the picture her mom took of her at the orchard last fall. It was candid; she remembered it. She was intently focused on a butterfly off on a tree, ignoring her mom as she snapped the photo. It was one of her favorite pictures of herself. And now, it was plastered all over the news.

The reporter on the TV began to speak. “Tonight, a desperate mother pleads for her missing daughter’s safe return. Elora Larkin, nineteen, of Barnstable county, Massachusetts has been missing since Friday night. She was last seen walking home from her job at Agathangelou’s bakery, wearing khakis, a black t-shirt, and black sneakers. The police have opened a tip line and are offering an unspecified reward for any information that leads to Miss Larkin.”

Elora felt a lurching sensation in her stomach, so visceral she wanted to throw up. That was her. On the news. Gone. Missing.

Behind her, the man chuckled.

“Look at that, baby. You’re all over New England.”

“I’m not your baby,” she snapped, turning around. But her head was spinning. All over New England? It wasn’t the Cape Cod news station on the TV. It wasn’t even a state news channel. It was entirely unfamiliar, the reporter’s face one she’d never seen.. So he’d taken her across state lines, making her chances of being found lower yet.

The man shushed her and put a finger up to her lips. “Watch.” She almost bit him, but decided it wasn’t worth the inevitable punishment that would follow. Besides, they might say something useful, something that could help her. She needed to pay attention.

The screen changed, and a missing persons poster popped up. Hers.

It was up for a minute before it faded away as the reporter came back on the screen.

“Such a sad story. Everyone in the studio is hoping and praying for her safe return. Unfortunately, vigilance is so important in this day and age. Up next, we have a recording of a press conference with the girl’s mother.

The girl’s mother. Her mother. Elora felt her heartbeat thumping in her chest.

And there she was. Jodie was standing at a podium in a building that had to be a police station. Demetrios was standing by her side, offering support by merely being present. While Elora hadn’t seen him cry even once in all the years she’d known him, he now looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Her mom started to speak. She looked so sad. Withered, like the life had been sucked out of her, from fear and overthinking and sleepless nights.

“My daughter-My daughter Elora has been missing since Friday night. She’s got-she’s got blonde hair, and green eyes, and she’s real tall. I’m sure pictures have gone around by now. She was walking home from work and-and then she disappeared. We were supposed to have dinner Sunday and she never came. It was supposed to be her weekend off. I- If someone has her, please, I’m begging you, let her go. Bring her home safe. She’s a good kid, she works hard, she rescues cats in her spare time...she doesn’t deserve this. And Elora, if you’re seeing this, I love you. I love you so much, honey. If you chose to leave, please just tell us you’re okay. It’s okay. You can go see the world, just tell us you’re okay. And if something-something bad happened, we’re gonna find you. I promise, baby, I love you and we’re gonna bring you home. Promise.”

At that point, she set the microphone down and began to cry, tears streaming down her face as she hurried off to an exit, the cameras following her for a few moments. Elora’s heart twisted in knots. Seeing her mom’s face brought her so much joy, yet knowing how worried she had to be made her feel sick with guilt.

But she promised. She promised she’d find her.

“That your mom?”

Elora stilled. He already knew the answer.

"She’s kinda pathetic. Could barely keep it together long enough to tell them about you.”

She went cold. “Stop,” she seethed. Her voice was eerily calm, given her anger.

"Or what?” he replied, twisting her hair up in his hand and giving it another tug.

Elora was silent. There was no or what. She knew that.

The reporter came back on the screen.

“Well, folks, that’s all we have on the case for tonight. Remember to be safe and vigilant. This has been Hannah Brown with News12.”

The man released her hair, picked up the remote, and turned off the T.V.

“Notice how they only talked about you, not me?”

Elora turned her head around. She was crying.

“What?”

He scoffed. “I said, notice how they only ran their mouths about you the whole time. Never said a word about me. You know what that means? They don’t know jack shit about me. They don’t know who you’re with or where you are. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but we’re in Connecticut. We crossed state lines twice. They’re never going to find you, you know that?

She tried to hide it, but he could see her expression falling with every word he said, hope beginning to seep out of her. She shook her head vigorously, her bottom lip trembling.

“N-no! No, they will, you’re just crazy! You’re just fucking crazy!”

A scowl formed on his lips. “No, they won’t.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but in a split second, his hand was gripping tightly around her throat, cutting off her air. Her eyes went wide.

“No one is coming to save you.”

Elora swallowed, fear bright in her eyes. She tried to rip herself away, but the man raked his fingers across the fresh brand on her collarbone, sending her to the ground, keeling in pain.

“We could’ve had a nice evening if you behaved. Listened,” he grumbled, standing and once again grabbing her hair tightly before dragging her off towards the bathroom.

Tags: @exploringspaceinpyjamas @all-whumped-out @badthingshappenbingo

#bad things happen bingo #whump #whump fic #whump writing #my writing #whumper #human whumpee #possessive whumper #creepy whumper #Elora #elora larkin #lady whump #whump blog #psychological whump #physical whump #apartment 307

21 notes · View notes

mageofseven · 3 years

Text

Now it's the younger brothers' turns ^^

The older brothers' post can be found here.

Also, just a little warning, Asmo's section starts out... well, in Asmo's specialty lol. The Avatar of Lust tries to act on said lust before the episode happens and the couple is forced to take a raincheck on it. Just a warning in case that makes anyone uncomfortable.

Asmodeus:

Oh boy, was this man terrified.

One minute, he was trying to have smexy time with his girlfriend, trailing down kisses from the top of her belly down towards her underwear, ready to slip it away when the episode started.

MC started screaming and hugging her belly. Since the woman was stripped of most of her clothes, Asmo had clear view of her belly, seeing each kick and jab stretch out and bruise her smooth skin.

The demon quickly jumped back from his human, eyes wide.

"D-Dolly??"

The only response he received was more cries of pain from his girlfriend.

The half naked man rushed out of the room, only to return a minute later with Satan in tow, obviously dragged against his will.

Satan's eye went wide at the scene and his face? Very red. I mean, he was just dragged in by his brother to find a mostly naked MC screaming in pain and with her belly riddled with bruises.

Doesn't understand what's going on, but the blonde makes a mental note to chew the fifth brother out later before rushing up to MC.

Starts trying out different spells on the woman, trying to figure out how to stop her pain, but only after he quickly covered her body with a blanket for the sake of his own comfort and MC's later on.

When the calming spell of all things solved the problem, Asmo pushed past the Wrath demon and wrapped his arms around the human, kissing her head over and over again, tearing up.

Any complaints that Satan shot at him in this moment were completely ignored. All that mattered to him in the moment was that his Dolly was okay.

After the couple had their moment, MC looked to Satan, blushing as she realized the state he had seen her in; that he was still seeing her in.

"I...I'm sorry about this." She said anxiously, wiping the tears from her cheek.

Satan waved away her words. It was an awkward and stressful situation, yes, but he most certainly didn't blame her.

The fourth brother asked the two of them to get dressed and meet him in his room so he could look into this matter more for them.

Discovering that MC's body was struggling with the dark energy absorption and that it was causing great distress within their son made the fifth brother beyond stressed. He tried to smile and pretend he was okay, but even MC could see the anxiety in that smile.

Becomes extremely clingy with his Dolly, more so than usual. Touching her in some way, whether with his arms wrapped around her waist, his hand holding hers, or cuddling up to her in bed, he needed her close; it was the only thing calming the anxiety choking his heart.

Satan was searching for a solution for the couple, but all the lust demon could think about was what if things got worse? What if...what if the pain got worse? What if his son hits some vital organs too hard amidst his panic episodes and ends up killing MC? Asmo was scared for his son too, but his more paralyzing fear was with his Dolly.

If he lost MC because of this...that would mean his own actions had caused the death of the only person he's truly loved in this way, the only person he's really ever opened up to and let himself be vulnerable with. If she dies...Asmo would be all alone again and the demon didn't think he could bear it.

Hearing that just talking to his son could help calm him and stop MC's pain? The man was overjoyed! Talking is definitely a specialty of his so the relief he felt at this news was immeasurable.

The next episode happened one night in his room while he was doing MC's nails. He was in the middle of painting her thumb when she suddenly flung herself into his chest and moaned in pain, tears filling her eyes.

Asmo dropped the nail polish, causing it to spill over the blanket on his bed, but the man paid it no mind.

He remembered the talk method, but didn't jumped into it right away since MC clung to him so tightly. Instead, he rubbed her back and and talked softly to her, trying to comfort his Dolly enough for her to let go.

After a minute or two, the human let go of her grip on his shirt, only to transfer it to his hand. Azzy didn't mind it all and let her squeeze it as much as she needed, but winced from the strength of it that he never realized she possessed.

Lowers his head down to her belly.

"Hey! It's okay. Go easy on your Mommy, Baby Boy."

Speaks softly and even starts gently rubbing MC's belly as he tells his son that he's causing his mommy a lot of pain, but they still love him and that everything will be okay. Tells his son that it's okay to be scared, but everything will be okay as long as he's patient and trusts his mommy. MC will absorb enough dark energy for him eventually so he shouldn't panic!

Slowly, the demon watched his son calm down, his kicks becoming less hard and less frequent till finally settling down.

Azzy kissed MC's belly a few times before rising from his knees and giving his Doll a kiss as well.

The episode ended in roughly eight minutes, but each one after that took less and less time and eventually, become almost non existent.

Asmo spends so much outside of episodes talking to his son and loving on MC's belly that the episodes almost never occur. It became a normal thing for Azzy to stop and talk to Liam as well as kiss and lay his hands on MC's belly. Their son was getting so much attention daily, feeling so loved and protected that his old panic that led to the episodes of him hurting his mother simply didn't happen like before.

Overall, one of the easier timelines for MC since she has a boyfriend who not only can express his love for their child so easily, but cannot help himself but to be a little excessive with it to the point where the problem all but disappears.

Beelzebub:

The couple was walking back from Madam Screams (MC was really craving chocolate and not only is Beely always down for some food, he's also really sweet and makes her cravings a priority) when it happened.

The woman just suddenly collapsed into her boyfriend, screaming in pain as he held her up, eyes wide.

Kept asking the human what was wrong, but she couldn't really answer. She managed to cry out about her stomach, about their babies, but nothing all that clear.

That was enough for the big guy though. He scooped her up and ran her back to House of Lamentation.

Literally broke down Lucifer's study door because he did not even stop to use the door nob. The oldest didn't even have time to get angry because MC was still crying and begging for her girls to be okay.

Lucifer had Beel sit the human on the couch before working his magic (yes, pun intended lol)

After he stopped the pain, the pride demon turned to his brother before asking various questions, trying to figure out what just happened. Beel was just as clueless as him though so the oldest merely sighed before scolding him for breaking down his door. I mean, Lucifer understood the urgency, but the door wasn't even locked 🤦‍♀️

Has Beel go take MC to lay down and send Satan her way to look into the issue before having him come back and fix the door.

So he did. He brought MC to her room and fixed the door while Satan checked her over, skimmed through book after book, and performed various diagnostic magick.

The sixth brother wanted to come back sooner and hold her hand through the process, but sadly the redhead didn't finish with the door till the tail end of the examination.

Luckily, he was right on time to hear the fourth brother's findings, hearing what happened to his Muffin and his girls.

To hear about the low absorption rate for the dark energy and his girls' fear... it broke the big guy's heart 😔

Satan said he'd need at least a few days to find a safe way to remedy the situation, but that'll be a bit of a challenge. Finding some spell or potion that's fully safe for humans and babies that can fix this problem? It was a taller order than some would think.

Though it wasn't safe in the long term, the couple was able to go to Satan or Lucifer for the calming spell to stop episodes in the meantime.

Getting the news from Satan that talking to his girls should help stop the episodes? The big guy was genuinely surprised. I mean, he's basically been talking to his girls since the very day his Muffin developed a baby bump; it never occured to him to talk to them during the episodes though.

"It's okay. Mama and Papa got you. Nothings gonna happen."

Tells his girls that they are safe in a soft, tender voice. Says that he knows it must scary, but things will get better because their Mama and Papa won't let anything happen to them.

The quickest of all the brothers. His girls were already so familiar with his loving voice that their panic died down rather quickly, ending the episode in about three minutes.

Another brother to talk to his kids outside of the episodes. I mean, he did it before he even knew it was necessary so why stop? In fact, just like with Asmo, talking to his girls became a constant daily thing. Like, MC couldn't even leave to use the bathroom without Beely kissing her belly and telling his girls that he'll 'see them when they come back'. Even little moments like that, the redhead just had to say something to his girls.

Because of the sweet excessiveness of it all, the episodes became incredibly rare, even more so than with Asmo.

Belphegor:

The two were taking a nap up in the attic room when the first episode happened.

Belphie woke up, not just from MC's cries, but from the human frantically slapping his chest, desperate for him to wake up

And boy, what a way to wake up. The sloth demon went from relaxed to panicked within a second.

I mean, he was able to keep his cool more so than Mammon or Levi, but the man was still confused and scared as hell for his girlfriend as she gripped his shirt and begged him to make the pain in her belly stop.

Trapped there by the woman's grip, the demon grabbed his phone from the stand and called Lucifer.

"I'm in the attic. Get up here now." He told the oldest impatiently.

Before Lucifer could ask questions or tell the youngest to watch his tone, he heard MC scream in pain in the background. Belphie quickly hung up and held his human close.

"It'll be okay, Butthead. Just hold out a little longer."

Lucifer was upstairs a minute later, rushing over the bed as MC let out a terrible scream. The two men could even see the painful kicks stretch out her skin even through her shirt.

The babies were extra receptive to the calming spell, even more than the babies in the other timelines, so the twins almost instantly settled within her.

MC buried her face in her boyfriend's chest, trying to calm her breathing as her tears slowed.

Lucifer started asking Belphie questions, but the younger brother didn't know much more than him. After all, he literally just woke up with the situation happening.

MC asked Lucifer if her babies were okay; they were now, but the oldest couldn't say anything else for sure.

This was when Satan was brought in and the couple learned about the slow energy absorption for their twins' souls. It broke MC's heart to hear that her twins were so scared and the woman honestly started to blame herself.

However, Belphie was beyond pissed. The babies were abusing his girlfriend because they aren't getting dark energy fast enough?

Still, the man has learned from his past mistakes. Instead of releasing his anger and flinging the blame on his kids in front MC, he left the room. He knew it would just hurt his Human more if she saw him like that.

The demon went to his own room, closed the door, and almost immediately kicked the wall, leaving a hole.

Belphie then sat down on his bed, head in his hands, and stayed silent for a minute.

Despite the thoughts swirling through his head...he knew they weren't true. This wasn't his kids' fault nor is he truly angry at them.

At this point in the pregnancy, he had already worked through his resentment of the twins because he saw that at the heart of it all, it was really just him projecting his self-hatred onto them and he knew it wasn't right. They never asked to be created; they are here inside their mom because of his own actions; his own choices

But since then, he's just had this empty space within him that he didn't know how to fill. Belphie didn't know how to feel about his kids and this situation almost made him fall back into bad thoughts about them.

Now that he's calmed down somewhat...they're all he could think about. At first, he was only worried about MC, but now that he let the whole thing sit within him, another part of it all stuck with him; his twins were scared.

Even though he didn't know how to feel about them, he chalked it up as another thing that was his fault. He... devil, no matter what, the Avatar of Sloth did not want them to feel that way.

After a couple more minutes, the man let out a big sigh and headed back to the attic to be with MC.

When the demon eventually heard from Satan about the talking method and how it could help the episodes, the seventh brother went quiet.

Belphie is simultaneously the brother who is the most uncomfortable with the method and the one who needs it the most; it really helped him grow and sort out his feelings about his kids.

When a new episode occurred and it was time to talk to his kids, the man was honestly at a loss of words at first.

"Enough. She doesn't deserve this!" He began, but then he looked up at his sobbing girlfriend's face before closing his eyes. He needs to do better; she needs him to. Belphie switched to a softer tone. "Your mom loves you more than anything...whatever it is that you guys need, you'll get it. She's not gonna let anything happen to you...I won't let anything happen to you, alright?"

Focuses on telling his kids just how important they are and how they're gonna be okay. Belphie and MC would never let anything happen to them and the man made sure they knew it.

The episode ended in about eight minutes, but they gradually finished quicker as time when on.

Originally, Belphie wasn't one to talk to his kids outside of the episodes, but sometime towards the end of the pregnancy, he sorta fell into the habit.

Only talked to his kids when MC was asleep though (or at least, when he thought she was asleep).

These talks were the main driving force for him to sort out his feelings for his kids. The demon really did love them, but the fact didn't truly hit him till they were born and he held them for the first time.

#obey me #obey me otome #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me mc #obey me next gen

105 notes · View notes

crystaljins · 4 years

Text

River lead me home | 01

Characters: Seokjin x Reader

Word count: 9.2k

Synopsis: Ever since coming to the human realm when you were child, nothing seems to fit, and this was just supposed to be a simple roadtrip to help you find yourself.

Is that too much to ask for?

Spin-off to A long journey home

Rating: Teens

Notes: You guys are gonna laugh... I tried to upload this yesterday but it screwed up and only the title got posted! Naturally I deleted the post and didn’t get a chance to fix everything up, but it’s finally here! My monster of a fic !!!! Updates will be weekly. Honestly this fic took a lot to write, and it’s been 8 whole months of working on it!!! So I hope you guys enjoy it T.T If not I won’t be made though LOL (edit: @blue1928 forgot to tag u soz)

p.s. I AM working on the HP prompts I’m just really busy this next couple of weeks LOL

Masterlist

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 FINAL

You’ve never really been particularly fearful of getting in trouble with your mother. She has always been a sweet and timid lady, the kind who would let her daughter get away with murder. And you are an adult, even if you don’t act like it, and so it’s not like your mother can do anything other than express her disappointment with your actions.

Kim Seokjin, on the other hand, can have you quaking in your shoes with just a look. He was your nextdoor neighbour growing up, even before you all fled your home realm. He has since moved out of his parents’ home into his own apartment to pursue his dream as a doctor (and to take home as many lady friends as he likes without his parents’ knowledge), but he is still very much a stern presence in your life, even as one of your closest friends. He likely feels responsible for you, since though the two of you were young when you were driven into the human world, he is three years older. He did once refer to you as something like an untrained puppy, which you guess is very reflective of how he views you. The result of such feelings of responsibility is him trying his best to fulfill all the duties of being your legal guardian despite having no obligation to do so. The effect is him being terrifyingly stern with you, despite him being a calm, good-humoured guy with everyone else he meets.

Which is why, when you wake up in a hospital bed with your leg wrapped in a cast, you know that today is the day Kim Seokjin kills you. If the job interview that you completely messed up isn’t enough motive for him to seek you out, then the fact that you tried to stop a purse snatcher and ended up breaking your leg in the ensuing scuffle after said thief’s motorcycle fell on you most certainly is.

In your defence, it wasn’t like you could just leave them be! Yes, you had not been back to your home realm once in the thirteen years since you and every other guardian were driven out, but at your core, you like to think you are still a Guardian. And so, as is custom, you cannot turn down a plea for help. And the young woman screaming in distress as a man on a motorcycle drove past and snatched her purse straight off her shoulder had certainly sounded like a plea for help! Really, Jin should be impressed, because the ensuing chase was something straight out of a movie, what with you in hot pursuit on your own bike (the one both your mother and Jin do not know you own). And you totally would have gotten the purse back if it wasn’t for the slight motorcycle crash. You’re not exactly sure what you hit since the events are a little blurry, but whatever it was, it ended up knocking you out and breaking your leg.

A slight commotion breaks out at the entrance to the room and by the way onlookers swoon, you know that your time on earth is up. For the only person that can stir such a reaction upon entering a room is Kim Seokjin himself. Guardians naturally fit most of the qualifiers of what humans consider attractive, but even by Guardian standards, Jin is ridiculously handsome. Even though you find him boring and the biggest nag to walk the planet, not even you are immune to his disarming good looks. You could probably sense his aura blindfolded and your eyes are always drawn to him in a crowd and so you easily pinpoint him amongst the crowd of onlookers before he spots you. Today is his day off and so he does not wear his usual doctor’s gown. Instead a well fitted button up shirt and trousers highlights the broadness of his shoulders and the elegance of his figure as he strolls through the room as if he owns it. You recognise the style- that particular combination of button up and trousers are his date clothes. Your heart plummets when you recognise the outfit. Jin will be extra irritated about having to check on you in the hospital on his day off. Why did the paramedics have to take you here of all places? You’ve really signed your life away this time.

He pauses to smile at a nurse who passes by and she is immediately dazzled. Though he is no doubt furious with you, and is frequently irritated by your shenanigans, to the rest of the world he is charming and funny and good-tempered. You watch the exchange with curiosity- the nurse laughs at something Jin says and there’s a faint flush to her cheeks. You will probably never have such an exchange with Jin- even if he relaxed enough to make a joke in your presence, it would probably be at your expense. Jin’s taste in women is very obvious- he likes women that match him in beauty, ones that are fantastic at making you feel like a potato in comparison despite your guardian heritage, however unintentionally. Something in you twinges at the thought- you wouldn’t mind having a normal relationship with Jin. One where he smiles at you and makes jokes and actually enjoys your presence. But he’ll probably never view you like that- he’s made it very clear throughout your friendship what you are to him.

The nurse points in your direction and takes Jin’s distraction as an opportunity to trail her gaze appreciatively over his figure, settling on his profile. She must be new to the hospital if this is the first time that she is experiencing what Jin’s coworkers at the hospital describe as the “Jin effect”. Any humans (and most guardians for that matter) who meet him instantly succumb to his charisma and absurdly handsome face and find themselves desperately in love. This nurse is no exception and you decide to utilise the momentary distraction she has provided Jin when she attempts to get his number by attempting to slide off your bed and scurry away.

A tug at the back of your collar has you stiffening. If this were a movie, there would be an uneasy swell of high-tension violin as you turn your head to find Jin has grabbed the back of your shirt to stop your slow escape. He must have utilised a spot of enhanced guardian speed to be able to cross the room so quickly. The violins in your head begin to screech in terror. Jin merely smiles and it is eerily charming. His cheeks puff out and his lips curl in a way that would dazzle the average onlooker but you see the lethal intent in his eyes. You barely manage to hold back a fearful shudder.

“Nurse Jo!” He calls, and his tone is playful and sweet which contrasts directly with the venom in his dark pupils. In their depths you can foresee your death. “It seems one of our patients is trying to escape.” His tone darkens and drops on the last word and you flinch, preparing for the end.

Only it never comes, and you find Jin hoisting you up by the back of your shirt and with the help of security rushing forward they wrangle you back into bed. They do well- the average human doesn’t stand much chance against the superior strength of a guardian, and you are currently fighting for your life. But with Jin in the mix, they have you strapped to your bed in no time, forced to listen to whatever longwinded and painful lecture Jin has prepared for you

He stands at your bedside, arms folded across his chest. You mentally write your will in your mind- Taehyung can have your Nintendo switch and his girlfriend can go through your clothes and take any that she likes. Your mother gets anything worth more than $20 in your bedroom (though she might be searching for a while to find such an item, if it even exists) and Seokjin can get custody of your evil cat. Maybe it’ll scratch his stupidly handsome face up and you can get revenge from beyond the grave.

“Are you going to tell me what happened?” Jin asks, and his voice is surprisingly calm. You look away, scratching at where the cast on your leg rubs at the skin of your shin. It’s stupid to wear the cast since with your enhanced healing abilities the break will be better by tomorrow, but the doctors of this world do not know that.

You are not fooled by the almost friendly, interested tone to his voice- there is anger bubbling behind the mask of polite curiosity. Likely he is holding back to full force of his fury because this is his workplace.

“Well, I’d like to preface by saying I had no choice. Was I supposed to just let the robber go?” You say. You were attempting to placate him before elaborating on the full story, but it appears to have the opposite effect. Jin’s eyes bulge out of his head and his face goes that interesting shade of red that only appears when he’s very, very angry.

“Robber? You took on a robber?” He says slowly, and you can tell it takes a few moments for the words to process. But gradually, the veins in his neck bulge and his eyes gradually widen and you wince as Jin erupts into what you like to call his “jants- Jin Rants.”. “Ya! Are you crazy? What were you thinking? What if you had been killed? I would have had to tell Auntie and then I would have had to organise your funeral because she would be inconsolable! If I even survived my parents trying to kill me for letting you die at the hands of a ROBBER of all people!” The impressive thing about a jant is the speed at which it is spat out. You are sure that professional rappers have nothing on the way Jin can spill out verses in a rage. He shoves a hand through his hair in distress and the ensuing messy look it generates is unfairly attractive- you think you see a middle-aged woman swoon in the hospital bed across from yours. Or faint. It’s hard to tell in a hospital. He continues screeching. “And then they’d PROBABLY make me MOVE BACK HOME as PUNISHMENT and there goes my social life! You could have ruined MY WHOLE LIFE, (Y/N)! What is wrong with you? Why do you always go making trouble like this?” It is those words, out of his whole rant, oddly enough, that causes you to stiffen. The implication that all you do is cause trouble. Which in a way you suppose you do. You cause your mother unnecessary worry- Jin is constantly sacrificing things to take care of you. Even your friends are constantly having to shout you meals due to your perpetual state of unemployment.

“I... couldn’t just leave it- they needed help, Jin.” You admit softly. Jin somehow hears your quiet admission over his furious jant and falls silent. He stares at you in confusion for a long moment, like he was expecting more of a fight, or some sort of annoying comeback. But the confusion is enough to subside his rage. The jant is over, with minimal damage. He drags over a chair and slumps by your bedside, once more running a hand through his hair.

“You’re so reckless. Robber’s rarely pull stunts like that unarmed! You may have enhanced healing compared to a human, but you still die if someone stabs you! And this is your third ER trip this month!” He scolds and his tone is far gentler than before- not unlike how one might speak to a child, rather than someone a mere three years younger than him. You meekly bow your head, chastised. “How do you think auntie would feel if anything happened to you, (Y/N)? You may be a Guardian, but Guardians aren’t invincible. You, of all people, should know that.”

You flinch, feeling as though he’s slapped you. He’s clearly furious with you if he’s willing to choose such a sore spot to shame you. For the thirteen years you have been in the human realm, it has just been you and your mother. You have not been able to forget that fact for a single day. Every day you awaken afresh with the reminder that there is a third member to your family who should be there but is not. Your father’s life was lost as you all fled, and your mother had found herself widowed with a headstrong young child in a foreign and unfamiliar realm. Jin’s family have always been around to help because you haven’t exactly been an easy child to raise, but there are some burdens that no one can lift from a single parent.

And you love your mother, and you really would do anything for your her. It’s just... you don’t want to pretend that you’re a human. For your entire time here, your guise as a human has felt like an itchy, poorly fitted jacket that you want to peel off and throw away. Humans are selfish and lazy and would leave a child on the side of the road and they’d been very quick to notice that you were different and target you for it- these are all things your father hated. To be human is to spit on the sacrifice he made for you... and yet to continue to fight it is also disregarding that he gave up his life to let you live in comfort.

Jin, with his handsome face and ability to charm anyone he meets instantly, has never had an issue settling into the human realm, and so he’s never really understood why you cling so much to your former home realm. He knows that you’ve never truly stopped grieving the life of your father, but he cannot understand why you do not see the human world the way that he does. He had very much taken to being a human and enjoys all the perks that come with it- the technology, the fawning women, the interesting and unique cuisines... Jin adores human culture. And so, it irks him that you constantly seem to be sticking out like a sore thumb.

“I’m sorry.” You say in a small voice and you’re so downcast that you miss the way that Jin’s face crumples with guilt.

“Just... try to be safer in the future. This realm has its own law enforcement. We don’t need to be guardians here.” He tells you softly. Then he clears his throat awkwardly. “How was the job interview?”

It’s an act of mercy- he’s trying to save you any further misery by changing the subject. Unfortunately, you have yet to break the news to Jin; you bombed the interview. Massively. It’s not like it was even a job you were that invested in. Just a fulltime job that involved doing some admin in an office. The exact, safe, boring job your mother has dreamed of for you since coming here and the exact job Jin has been pushing you to apply for because he’s sick of his parents nagging him to lend you money or take you out for dinner or give you lifts because your car broke down and you can’t afford to fix it. But you messed it up and you hate yourself for it. Hate yourself for disappointing your mother, and, if you’re really honest with yourself, for disappointing Jin. You’re already so aware of how lowly he views you and this just makes it sting that little bit more.

But it is the exact kind of job that will slowly kill you inside. You are trying to kill the part of you deep down that longs for something more. You don’t even know what it is you want. But killing that part and settling into this world and its ways and its customs mean giving in. It means forgetting. And for thirteen entire years, you have not been able to forget. How can you, when you left a piece of yourself back there, on the battlefield where your father had lost his life for your sake? He was not even given the luxury of a grave and yet you are supposed to be comfortable and post pictures on Instagram about how happy you are and go to brunch and just enjoy life? You... you can’t do it.

“I... don’t know.” You finally say. You shrug and glance away. “It felt like it went well. We’ll see if they call me back.”

Jin visibly brightens, unaware of your lie.

“I knew I had a good feeling about today!” He says warmly. “You’re totally going to get that job, I can feel it in my bones. Finally, my parents will get off my back!” He cheers. He probably means the last part as a joke but it’s just another sting; another reminder that Jin just sees you as a burden.

His celebration session is interrupted by an alert on his apple watch. He glances at whatever notification appear and winces. He glances at you like he’s done something wrong.

“I’ve got to go. I uh… I have a date.” He confesses. Jin is always tentative when he talks about the women he sees, like he’s anticipating some sort of reaction from you. You don’t know what reaction that would be, though, and you don’t think you’d ever feed his ego with any reaction other than a mild disgust and indifference. When you just continue to stare, he nods, more to himself than you. “I still have to sort all your paperwork to make sure you can get discharged so I probably can’t stay with you for your discharge. You don’t need a lift home, do you? I’ll probably have to drive straight there.”

Normally you would accept- though your broken bone heals faster than a human’s, it is still highly painful and inconvenient. But the thought of being in the car with Jin right now is highly unappealing. For some reason, lately when you spend time with Jin, you just feel more and more aware of how inadequate you are. You can’t help but notice the way people gravitate towards Jin. The way their eyes are constantly seeking him out or how a room brightens when he steps into it. And it’s not just his looks- it’s his everything. His demeanour, his smile, his success. He has taken to the human world like a fish to water and you just can’t. It’s not like you don’t want to. But his presence, his nagging, his constant disappointment with you… it’s a persistent, painful reminder of everything you can’t bring yourself to be. Not even for him, as much as you sincerely hate constantly disappointing him like this.

He adjusts his watch as you shake your head.

“I’ll just get the bus. I can still walk.” You say, plastering a smile on your face that hopefully seems sincere. Jin glares at you and reaches out to tap a finger against the firm plaster of your cast.

“Fine, but this stays on until tomorrow. I don’t care how fast you heal- I don’t want that leg healing crooked. Your mother will definitely notice if you suddenly have an extra bend in your shin. And no more chasing robbers- not even if it’s an old grandma with a cane being robbed. We stopped being Guardians for a reason.” He warns you. He adjusts his shirt cuffs and pulls out his phone to adjust his hair in the selfie camera before glaring at you. “I won’t tell Auntie about today because I don’t want her to worry. You can stay at mine tonight, so she doesn’t ask any questions when you hobble home in a cast.”

“Thanks.” You say and he’s oblivious to the bleak tone in your voice and the way your expression is downcast. If there’s one thing that has Jin oblivious to the rest of the world, it’s the prospect of a date. “Is the code to get in still the same?”

“I changed it to your birthday because that stupid pixie that always hangs around you worked out the code and keeps leaving my sugar open on the counter. I’m getting so many ants. I’m pretty sure he’s leaving it open for them.” Jin tells you already halfway turned around. You wisely choose not to tell Jin that you had told Jungkook the code to Jin’s apartment. Jin pauses before he can stride off. “Oh yeah. Auntie texted me- she wanted me to make sure you remember to come to dinner tomorrow and that you dress nicely. She has something important to say.”

“She could have just texted me herself.” You mumble, but Jin has already walked off, probably to sort the last of your paperwork before his date. A trail of sighing onlookers watch his departure. It just makes you scoff as you return to glaring at your cast. It itches.

You make a promise to yourself to use Jin’s kitchen scissors to remove it tomorrow so that he has at least some kind of inconvenience in his life. Nothing is more irritating than a blunt pair of kitchen scissors.

++++

Despite seeing Jin’s mother every other day, and renting the apartment directly across from her, your mother always acts like the president is coming over whenever Jin’s family comes for dinner. She pulls out the fancy glass bowls and the plates she bought with her first paycheck from the diner she was employed at when you were small. She vacuums the whole apartment and checks your room to make sure you’ve cleaned it in case Jin needs a bed to nap on after a long day at the hospital.

She’s never quite managed to get the hang of human cuisine and since the human realm doesn’t hold the magic stores available to cook Guardian food the way that she learned, you are always the one to make dinner. You’ve never once complained because you know that on some level, this is your mother’s attempt to compensate. This is the closest you will ever get to having a community with other Guardians, and Jin’s dad is the closest thing you will ever have to a father.

But even despite her usual frantic state whenever there’s a joint family dinner, she definitely seems more frazzled than usual.

“Is it meant to smell like that?” She asks with a grimace, leaning in to look at the salad you’ve thrown some vinaigrette over. You glance over your shoulder from where you are checking on the food in the oven.

“Yes, mum.” You say, standing and gently nudging her from the kitchen with a smile. “It’s vinaigrette- you liked it last time when I made it, remember? It’s why I made it tonight.”

Your mother digs her heels into the ground before you can drive her from the kitchen and send her back to wiping the already sparkling cabinets in the living room. She turns to scrutinise you carefully.

“Are you going to do your hair? It looks a little messy.” She frets. You raise an eyebrow. This is new. Your sweet, doting mother has never once criticised your appearance, not even when you went through that phase where you had an eyebrow piercing and dyed your hair neon green. Something is up.

“It’s just Auntie and Uncle, right?” You say suspiciously. “They used to bathe me when we lived in magregnum, mum.” You say. Using the original term for your home realm feels foreign on your tongue and your mother’s expression shutters at the sound of her original home.

“Well, a lot has changed since then.” She says softly. You’re about to question the strange, unfamiliar expression on your mother’s face. Something looks different about her... you squint when you recognise the shimmer of your favourite eye shadow on her lids.

“Are you wearing makeup?” You question. Her eyes go wide, and you can’t help but notice that her lashes are curled. But her answer is interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. Your mother pales and instantly she switches back into her jittery, pre-dinner self.

“Quickly, quickly!” She urges. “Dinner’s not ready yet!”

You shake your head with a smile at your mother’s familiar antics.

“It’s probably just Jin- Auntie and Uncle always make him come over earlier to help.” You call over your shoulder. You’re in a far better mood than you were yesterday, particularly after bending Jin’s kitchen scissors beyond repair during your attempts to remove the cast this morning before heading out and pretending you hadn’t been fired from your part-time job the week before. You had punched one of the senior managers for bullying the new hire. Your leg was mostly healed at that stage and Jin had told you that you could take the cast off before he left for work that morning. When you arrived back home in the afternoon, your mother had either chosen not to comment on your slight limp or had been too distracted by the stress of having dinner to notice. You are glad to have evaded her sad, disappointed eyes and the unwarranted comparisons to Jin for the day.

After a long few moments of peace in the kitchen, you can’t help but notice the lack of an annoying presence hovering over your shoulder. Usually when Jin arrives, he makes a beeline straight for the kitchen so that he can sample whatever it is you’re making and proclaim it decent (and then try and sneak some extra portions later in the evening when he thinks you aren’t looking). The complete lack of Jin’s presence to do whatever the kitchen equivalent of back seat driving is has you pausing with a sense of unease. It is the first clue that something is up- the door opens and yet the older guardian doesn’t make an appearance. Confused, you pause midway through pouring out melted chocolate from a glass measuring cup and glance over your shoulder.

“Minyo Dolkara,” is your mother’s tentative call and your eyes widen at the term of endearment. It is a common one back in your home realm, but your mother only uses it to comfort you when she feels you are truly upset. She is knotting her fingers anxiously together and beside her stands an unfamiliar middle-aged man. He smiles warmly at you, and your gaze lands on the arm he holds carefully around your mother’s shoulder. Your grip tightens around the handle of the measuring cup.

“Mum?” You ask, your tone laced with confusion. “Who’s this?”

Your mother swallows nervously and glances at the man in question.

“This is... my love.” She confesses. “Nigel. We met at my night classes and I... He...”

“I’m her fiancé.” The man, Nigel corrects. He is a friendly, round sort of man. The kind of man often seen on tv playing father to a rebellious teenage daughter in a sitcom. And his smile is warm and excited, like he’s happy to meet you. He directs that smile to your mother, and rather than look disgusted or uncomfortable, she merely beams back at him.

That’s probably what this night was for, in hindsight. And why your mother was so nervous. She planned this to introduce her new boyfriend... no, her new fiancé to you, and to Jin’s family. Dimly, in the back of your mind, you register all the unusual signs about tonight. The way she’d messaged Jin to make sure you were at the dinner despite the fact that she’s never been able to bring herself to make you do anything you don’t want to.... the way she’s been commenting on your appearance despite it never having bothered her before... how long has she kept this from you? How... how could she be seeing another man?

No words form in your mouth- instead, the face of your father hovers in your mind. After thirteen years, you can’t fully recall what he looks like and you weren’t able to bring any pictures over to the human realm with you. It has been long enough that you cannot recall his face or his voice. So, in theory, why can’t your mother meet someone new? Did you expect her to live as a widow until she died, alone and far from the home realm she grew up in? Of course, you didn’t. But for some reason, this man’s presence right now leaves a bitter sting like she’s plunged a knife into your chest.

The smile drops from Nigel’s face after a few moments of you staring blankly and his smile is replaced with concern. It takes you a while to understand it is because you have crushed the hand of the measuring cup in your tight grip. It falls to the ground and shatters, followed by a few drops of blood as red rapidly spreads over your clenched fist and lands on the ground. You haven’t used your enhanced strength in so long you almost forgot you had it.

“Fiancé?” You echo at last and though it is your own voice, it sounds distant. Like your ears are suddenly submerged under water. You don’t know what hurts you more in that moment- the painful reminder that the world is moving on without your father... or the fact that your mum has kept such a huge secret from you for who knows how long, probably because she was scared of how you’d react. “You’re engaged?”

“(Y/N),” your mother says, taking a step forward, perhaps to comfort you. She does it tentatively, like you are a beast she needs to placate. The people in your life- at least the ones who know your true identity- often approach you like that. Slowly and hesitantly, as if they don’t know how you will react. Like you are a ticking time bomb, ready to go off and cause trouble. Which in a way, you suppose you are. Things have always been difficult with you, after all. You never settled into human schooling well and you didn’t get into a good university like Jin, and you’re always getting yourself into trouble trying to help random people off the street. And your mother, your poor placating mother, is prepared to do the same thing she always does. Apologise that you had to leave your home, that the new human world isn’t to your liking, but gently remind you that it is, in fact, your real home now.

But you do not give her the chance to feed you the same tired lines. You’re so sick of hearing this lecture. Every time you wind up in hospital because you’ve interfered with a fight or been hit by a car trying to save a random puppy, Jin gives you the same, frustrated lecture. When you fail another interview or get fired from a new job, your mother is there to try and fail to hide her disappointment that you aren’t leading the life she’d planned for you. But not this time- this is too far. You’ve been trying to squash the part of you that is a guardian for their sake for so long now, but you cannot do it for him. For this man, this stranger, who has waltzed into your home like he owns it and announced that he’s marrying your mother. As if he has a right to just join your family. You are out the door before she or Nigel can offer a word of explanation.

You don’t see Jin until you crash into him. He steadies you with a hand planted on either shoulder. You glance up at his face, barely registering what he looks like through the blur of tears spilling forward. For a brief moment, the sight of Jin’s face (even blurred) and the familiar set of his broad shoulders fills you with relief. Even if Jin’s always viewed you as a bit of pain, he’s always been an important person to you, always ready to provide support. But then you see the look on his face.

Jin actually winces when he sees your expression. Perhaps he is realising it’s going to be one of those nights, where he sits up on the roof with you for hours and comforts you as you spill your guts. That’s how it’s always been, after all, ever since you were a small child and would run to him when you scraped your knee instead of your own parents. You would cry and he would offer some wise words mixed in with a stern reprimand and then his parents would congratulate him for being such a good influence on you. Even when you hit high school and started to realise for the first time that Jin didn’t view you with the same adoration you viewed him, he never stopped being that person for you. The shoulder to cry on, the rock to lean on. But now, he stiffens, as if steeling himself for the explanation behind your tears and he probably already has a speech half prepared in his mind. That’s the job he delegated himself, after all. To look after you, for as long as you are alive and giving him headaches. So, if it’s always been his job to do just that, why does he look like he’s just been asked to help clean a public bathroom at the sight of you in distress?

He... he doesn’t want to deal with you. That’s why he looks so uncomfortable.

You feel something inside you crumple. You can’t identify what feeling it is but, in that moment, you realise something. Everyone in your life... they all view you as a burden. Your mum had delayed telling you about her boyfriend until the last possible moment because your response would be difficult to handle. Jin’s parents see you as a hopeless child that their perfect son must look after. And Jin.... well you can see from the look on his face how he views you. It reminds you of a dark day, all those years ago in high school, a memory you thought you’d pushed down, and it surfaces now, before you can push it back down like you normally do. But then you set your shoulders- you were over the things Jin had said that day, and you aren’t going to allow the way that he looks right now to be the thing that resurfaces those feelings.

You shove past him. Over the past few months, you’ve been avoiding Jin more and more as your self-esteem plummeted lower and lower but today something tips over the edge for you. You don’t know how or why it happened but at some point, Jin has stopped being the person you can turn to when things get rough. And you have just realised that he no longer wants to be that person either, which hurts far more than you ever thought it could.

“(Y/N)!” You hear him call out to you, probably shocked that you aren’t caving immediately and telling him what’s wrong- after all, there’s probably only been one time in your life before this that you’ve done so. You ignore his call though, making a beeline for the staircase, and he does not follow you.

The place you usually go to when misery strikes is the rooftop of your crappy apartment building. You’ve spent countless hours up on the rooftop, watching the sky. It’s oddly therapeutic- the thing you used to miss most when first moving to this realm was the stars. Back home, they sparkle different colours like precious stones scattered across black velvet. Here, the smog of humans blocks their stars from the sky. But the brightest stars are somewhat visible on clear nights and they are the closest reminder you have of home. That’s probably why you have chosen the roof as your refuge. Since beginning to take refuge here when things go bad, you’ve accumulated a small collection of old furniture from whenever your mum goes on a redecorating spree.

What has resulted is a comfy little corner of the world you can call your own, away from everyone else. No one else seems to use this place, even if the rooftop is accessible to everyone in the complex, but that suits you just fine. It’s perfect for curling up and wallowing, much like you are desperate to do right now. There are a lot of confusing, painful emotions swirling around inside you, ones that you aren’t really sure how to deal with or process.

You slump down against the old picnic blanket you have stretched across the floor and let your head collapse against an old cushion your mum threw out years ago and peer up at the sky. Wincing, you idly pick out pieces of glass from your hand and watch the skin seal over almost immediately as you wonder if the sky really as beautiful back home as your memory tells you it was. Or, do you just want to believe things were better in the other realm? You’re not really sure but it really would be nice to go back. Not forever- as much as you hate to admit it, your family is here now, which makes this realm your home. But you want to see the place you came from. You want to see the stars and the valleys and the rivers. The night before you and your mother fled, your father had told you that everything about Magregnum would change by the time you were old enough to go back, except the landscape. Mountains cannot move, after all. A part of you longs desperately for that- to see the things that will not change and the landscapes that could not leave your father behind. The only reminders that you aren’t just a random human washed up in the bleakness of life, but a guardian. Something special and precious. Something better than what you feel like you are.

An annoying buzzing in your ear breaks the bubble of your pondering. You blink a few times and then sigh, turning your head to the side. A small figure, no taller that the height of your handspan, stands beside you with his arms folded. Small, insect like wings flap so rapidly they are little more than flashes, catching the light of the fairy lights you’d strung across the fencing of the rooftop a few weeks ago. The figure tilts his small head to the side and at this proximity you can see the way he frowns. He always has the oddest tendency to pop up whenever you are alone and miserable and likely he is displeased to find you in such a state yet again.

“Do you ever do anything other than sulk?” The creature asks. He is a pixie, as you know from your first interaction where he had very indignantly informed you that no, he is not a cross between a mosquito and a human in-between your attempts to squash him with a fly swatter. You grimace.

“No.” You snap, rolling onto your side to face away. Alas, the small pixie merely lifts easily into the air and sails over your face like he’s an Olympian performing high jump. He lands neatly in front of you once more and grins.

“What happened this time?” He asks, settling down into the picnic blanket cross legged. He plants an elbow on either knee and rests his chin in his hands. The buzzing of his wings slows to a gentle flap, which allows you to discern the thin, silvery veins that lace across the delicate membranes of his wings. You’ve always secretly thought it a shame that Jungkook is just a pixie, given his handsome face and charming nature, but being a human would mean the loss of his gorgeous wings. “Did Jin ground you again?”

“He’s never grounded me before.” You snap defensively. “And even if he did, it’s not like I would listen to him. He’s not my parent.”

Jungkook shrugs, leaning back to press his weight into his hands and stretching his legs out in front of him.

“Yes, you would.” He points out. “You always complain about Jin, but I know you always do what he says.”

You purse your lips and sit up. Jin is one of the last people you want to talk about right now. Jungkook stands up too, launching himself into the air so that he can settle on your knee.

“So what did Jin do this time? Change the code to his apartment again? Find out about your motorbike? Treat you to dinner?” Jungkook questions eagerly. You’ve never seen the pixie interact with another living being other than you, Jin or Taehyung (and on occasion your mother) and he had sadly informed you that he was the only one of his kind in this realm when you first met thirteen years ago. So, you have a theory that he lives out his need for drama and gossip and social interaction vicariously through you. It’s the only way to explain his constant interest in your life and the things that are making you sad.

“It wasn’t Jin.” You finally admit, lifting your gaze once more to the sky above. “Why are you even here anyway? Did you run out of YouTube dance covers to copy?”

Jungkook nods and settles down beside you. “It’s all pointless after a while.” He says forlornly. “It’s not like humans can see me. Only guardians will ever see me dance and they don’t care. I figured I might as well talk to one sentient being before I go crazy. The moths just aren’t great conversation partners these days.” He pauses. “So, are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?”

Jungkook’s confession has your resolve crumbling. Sometimes it is easy to forget that you, Jin and Taehyung are the only people Jungkook can mix with, as a pixie in a human world. Even if humans could see him, the government would probably deport him back to the other realm the second it found out he was threatening exposure of magical beings to humans. A strange sadness on his behalf overcomes you and that is the thing that makes you willing to confess what’s bothering you. “It was... my mother.”

Jungkook is silent and when you glance down at where he is seated upon your knee, he is also gazing in wonder at the sky above. He doesn’t press further but you still somehow feel compelled to share.

“She’s engaged.” You admit and the words feel oddly piercing amongst the soft hum of city traffic. They hang in the cool night air and suddenly the warmth of the night seems stifling rather than comfortable.

“I thought the Q’uvar were happy when that sort of thing happened? Don’t you all have those huge festivities in your village whenever a marriage ceremony happens?” Jungkook questions. The natural way the original term for your people rolls off his tongue testifies to his origin- despite him living in the human realm, there is no doubt he comes from Magregnum, just as you do. Even when you were living in the other realm, your people would refer to themselves as guardians. Only the really old-fashioned members of your race would use the language that had slowly died out over the years as the common tongue became the norm. Not for the first time, you are curious about Jungkook and where he popped up from. Jungkook turns to look at you and tilts his tiny head. His inky black hair flops to one side with the motion. “Shouldn’t you be happy that your mother is engaged?”

The unintentional reprimand slaps you across the face and you wince. In theory, you should be thrilled that after so much difficulty and hardship settling into this realm, your mother has found a source of happiness. She has worked so hard on your behalf to make sure you grow up safe and secure in this foreign realm and so the least you can do to repay her is to be happy when she is happy. But the niggling fear that always chases you holds you back. It’s a fear of change- of the way life seems to move too fast for you to catch up. Here you are, stuck in the past when even your own mother has managed to move on and build a life for herself.

“I should be.” You answer softly. You lift your knees and hug them close to your chest- Jungkook falls off with an indignant squawk. Moments later he rises in the air until he is eye level with you- even the buzz of his wings seems irritated.

“Well then, why aren’t you?” He asks, but the tone of his voice implies that his patience has been lost with you. Since the moment of meeting you all those years ago, Jungkook had assigned himself as a sort of pseudo-counsellor and confidante, but it does not mean he enjoys the position. No, more often than not, he is annoyed and puzzled by your seemingly trivial problems. You kind of enjoy such an attitude though- it makes the things that feel insurmountable to you become small and insignificant. Jungkook makes you feel like problems can be overcome. This time, however, his dismissive attitude has you feeling worse.

“Because I’m homesick.” You admit miserably. “Why does everyone seem to settle in here so well? Why am I the only one struggling? Why could everyone leave things behind so easily? How can they just pretend that they’re humans, and completely ignore the fact that they are Guardians?”

You press the palms of your hands against your eyes and release a long exhale. No one has followed you up here, after you rushed out like that. Who even knows what state your mother’s dinner is in? Hopefully she remembered to get everything out of the oven. Are they having fun without you? Is Nigel charming them, winning them over, getting them excited about the possibility of a wedding? Are they… are they really happy, in this realm? “Do you ever think about going back?” You question, after a long moment of silence. You drop your hands from your eyes.

“Sometimes.” Jungkook admits. “I wonder what it looks like now. Taehyung says it’s largely the same, it’s just the cultures and people that change.”

You stare out across the ugly concrete buildings that the rooftop view provides you. In this realm, everything moves fast and changes quickly. In the blink of an eye, a new building can pop up down the road or an entire family can move away from their twenty-year-old restaurant and close it without any warning. Back home, you remember things being steady and unchanging. Every morning, you would rise to the same mountain ranges, to the same fringe of forest, to the same river song. The only guardian you know who has gone back is Taehyung, and he validates that impression- forests and mountains do not change.

“I wish I had half Taehyung’s courage. I want to go back.” You confess.

Jungkook hugs his knees into his chest and mirrors your position beside you.

“What would it achieve?” Jungkook asks curiously. You shrug, picking idly at a stray thread on your jeans.

“Hopefully something.” You say. “I feel like I’ll never know what could happen if I don’t take the risk. I just… I feel like it’s calling me. It doesn’t want me to forget what I am. This realm doesn’t suit me because this isn’t my realm. Maybe I’ll find a place that fits over there.”

Jungkook nods sagely. A moth flaps past him and he smiles at it as it goes past.

“And what would you do once you’re there?” He questions. It does not take you long to give an answer. You’ve had this adventure mapped out in your mind since you were a miserable, homesick eleven-year-old.

“My dad used to have this phrase. “The river loves those who take the plunge.”. He’d always say it in the old tongue, and apparently it was an old guardian phrase that meant sometimes taking the risk was worth it. But apparently the phrase comes from a river to the east of our home. Dad said that the river is home to a special migrating plant, and it lights up and looks like shooting stars. They call it ‘the dancing river’. He promised to take me there, one day when the war was over.” You explain. “If rivers and mountains don’t change… then that’s that last piece of him I can find in that realm.”

“And that’s what you want to see, if you go back?” Jungkook asks. You nod and shift your position to the side of some old drawers you had rescued from your mother’s bedroom. Inside are a bunch of wrinkled old papers that you pull out and show him.

“Taehyung always brings me back a map whenever he gets back from over there to show me how things have changed. Look.” You point at a small blue line that trickles across the painted landscape of the map. The label is written in the common tongue. “River of stars” it says in sleek cursive. You know from matching it up with an older map that the name has changed but it’s the same river your father told you about. “It’s only a five-day hike from the portal.” You point at a small mark on the map- this has Taehyung’s writing scribbled on it, marking the join between the human realm and the magical one. “I could go and just... get it out of my system. See the river. Like a road trip but in another realm.”

Jungkook flutters over to peer at the small distance between the river in question and the portal on the map.

“I just have to go once. Just once. And see it- see the places he loved. And then I’ll settle into this realm and get the boring job Jin and my mother want me to have and marry an equally boring human. I’ll go to her wedding and watch her pretend like my dad never existed and like I’m not a Guardian.” You tell him. “I... we didn’t even get to say good-bye, Jungkook.”

Your voice cracks and Jungkook glances up at you in surprise. You rarely open up about your father to the pixie but he’s always curious when you do, like you’re sharing the story of an ancient war hero. Which in a way, he is. Though the war is fresh and recent in your mind, over a thousand years have passed back home, since your people roamed freely there.

“We just got word that he was dead, and we had to go, or we would be too.” You tell him, recalling the way Jin’s father had woken you two up in the middle of the night, pale as a ghost and drenched in your father’s blood. You remember running a lot that night and clinging to your mother’s hand. You had tripped and scraped your knee and you hadn’t been able to cry. And when you reached the human realm, your mother had shed a single tear and then shouldered on into your new life. No time or space to grieve. Not when there was so much uncertainty ahead. “No funeral or anything. I just... I want proof, that he was alive. I want to see the places he saw and just... I want to get a chance to say goodbye. I never even got to tell him that I love him one last time.”

Jungkook holds a hand to his chin as he ponders your words and then he looks at you. Though he is small, you can make out the dark colour of his eyes. His expression is soft and gentle. It reminds you of the look Jin used to give you when you’d come up here because the kids had made a mean comment about you not understanding their weird meme jokes or you were sad because you’d seen a kid hanging out with his father. Back before Jin had lost his patience with you, when he just got that the reason you couldn’t settle in was because of the cost it took to get to this realm safely.

“You know it wouldn’t bring him back, right?” Jungkook asks softly. “Everything you knew about that realm faded thousands of years ago. You won’t find home there anymore than it is here. And it won’t stop your mother from getting married.”

“I know.” You answer forlornly. “But maybe things will be better if I just get to… acknowledge what I am. Even if it’s only for five days.” Jungkook stares for a long moment and then nods, his shoulders set with sudden determination.

“Then let’s go.” He announces. You blink in surprise at his proposition.

“Go?” You echo. He nods and straightens, planting on hand on his hip and pointing the other directly at you.

“I am the first person to point out that you’re spoiled and selfish.” Jungkook reminds you, which has you wincing. “You don’t even know how lucky you are, to have so many people who love you. Do you know what I would give to be human? To have a friends and family like you do? And every day you spit on it. If this is what it takes for you to finally be content, then do it.”

You frown and look away from him.

“I don’t want to go when you put it like that.” You say, resenting the slight way your voice wobbles with hurt. You feel the slight tickle to your cheek and find Jungkook has pressed his tiny hand comfortingly to the side of your face.

“Don’t be hurt.” He says softly. “I do know why you’re struggling.” He offers you as comfort. “And I do understand why it’s so hard. To live amongst humans every day and pretend like none of the terrible things that went down over there really happened. But in focusing on the things you’re missing, you’re missing out on the things you have.” He explains. “So, let’s go, (Y/N). Let’s go see the Dancing River and find the peace you’re looking for.”

You stare at Jungkook for a long time, before offering the slightest nod. He’s right. What’s the use of waiting and hoping and holding out for something? Why not just go and find out if seeing this river will solve any of your problems? The river loves those who take the plunge, after all.

“Let’s go, Jungkook.” You agree, with the faint hint of a smile on your face.

What you don’t see, as you converse with Jungkook, is Jin slowly closing the door to the rooftop, first aid kit in hand. He gives one last glance at the doorway, wondering if he should join you and Jungkook before shaking his head with a sigh. He turns around and makes the slow trek back downstairs with a troubled expression on his face.

#kim seokjin x reader #jin x reader #seokjin x reader #castlebangtan #seokjin scenario #writing

124 notes · View notes

avenger-hawk · 3 years

Text

Tagged by @altraes (thank you, it was fun to do this~)

List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

(I wrote the first paragraphs because my first lines alone don’t make much sense lol)

1- ACQUIESCENCE (Minato/Itachi) my first fic ever. darkish but just a little, angsty. I’m proud of it cause another author wrote a sequel to it.

to ac·qui·esce: to accept, agree, or allow something to happen by staying silent or by not arguing. A flurry of leaves, swept away by the autumn wind, caught the Hokage's attention while he took off his large hat. That time of the year should have been warmer.

2- THE WILL OF FIRE (Shiita, Danzo/Shisui, Danzo/Itachi) This was dark and shiita fans didn’t like it lol.

Just like his owner, Danzo's studio was dark and dusty. The man didn't look as old as Hiruzen, but he was twice as scary; thus would think a boy of Itachi's age. Not him. He was not allowed to be afraid.

3- WHAT HE WANTED (Itasasu) Even tho I rewrote it cause I didn’t like how I initially characterized them and their dynamics this is my most popular fic. Maybe because it’s a post-ending, canon divergent, fix-it kind of story. Maybe because it’s Itasasu and I put so much love into writing their dynamics and, also, in giving Sasuke a good ending since canon didn’t do him justice.

Sasuke is where everybody wants him to be: in Konoha. With the battle and the arm he also lost the urge to fight. He's had enough of traveling. He's tired of chasing and being chased. So tired that even if he meant every word about starting a revolution, being the Hokage and build a new era, he had wondered, though only for a moment, if he would be able to really accomplish such tasks all by himself.

4- IN POWER WE ENTRUST THE LOVE ADVOCATED (Itasasu) THis is my second most popular fic. This one too was written after the ending and tried to give Sasuke justice. I planned to write a sequel but I got busy with other projects and lost interest in it.

The gates open, letting the shinobi in after a successfully completed mission. Being on duty the following day Sasuke declines his team mates' proposal to have dinner together, the reddish sunset light forcing him to squint as he walks towards the Hokage's office.

5- PRESSURE (Itasasu) Taken from In Power that can be read as a standalone oneshot.

Itachi wakes up to the sound of pouring water.

6- IN DREAMS (Itasasu, Izuna/Sasuke, DARKFIC). This is one of the darkest things I wrote. The Izuna/Sasuke crackpair was for @admiral-izusasu. The plot, the dynamics, everything has a double, or triple reading, plot related and metaphorical for other, real-life issues such as knowing people online, and emotional abuse from narcissistic people. I wrote it when I was fighting against one of these psychos, on tumblr itself, so this fic has a personal meaning for me. But also the plot and the canon divergent ending thing is cool, I think it’s one of my best fics, even though I coulnd’t care less about izuna.

They say that nature will always find a way. After the end of the war flowers keep blooming like nothing happened even if the light is fainter, filtered from the tall branches of the Shinju tree, now grown into a forest spread all over the world.

7- SOMBER CREATION PALE DESTRUCTION (Madara/Sasuke dom/sub-ish). Darkish? Who knows, I write darkfish stuff all the time. I was (and am) very proud of this fic, the canon divergent turn it took (who am I kidding, it’s really cool lol) and the weird relationship/dynamics these 2 created. So I didn’t update it anymore, because doing so would break their thin balance. Ssssh, don’t tell me it doesn’t make sense, I don’t believe you xD

History teaches that Madara Uchiha died at the hands of Hashirama Senju. Their statues were erected in the Valley Of The End where their battle was fought, where the shinobi god ended his best friend's life in order to protect the village they founded together. No one knows that Madara didn't die there.

8- IN THE DARK (kakashi/Sasuke, mob/Sasuke noncon). This is a very dark oneshot that I’m proud of, cause it ‘explains’ canon Sasuke personality in Shinden and later, and that I use as prequel for many fics, like WHW but also OFAF and Broken Things (see later for both).

Things never went as Sasuke wanted. After the war it's no different, although everything seems fine at first, Team 7 finally at peace with each other, the war ended and the village that Itachi protected, even as a dead man, safe. Nevertheless he is arrested when he's still in the hospital.

9- VICTIMS OF PEACE (Shisui/Sasuke dom/sub-ish) I am so proud of this fic, of its non massacre universe, of the dark-ish slow burn relationship between Shisui and Sasuke I wrote, tentatively at first cause no one did it or thought much about it, and because that non massacre filler was bad, but still it was inspiration. I know shiita fans hated me even more for this cause shisui is only paired with itachi, and also itachi/itasasu fans were disappointed but still. This is maybe the fic I’m most proud of.

If a traveler arrived from a random village in the Fire Country he would certainly notice how different Konoha was. He would not be able to pinpoint exactly why at first, because the buildings, houses and shops are similar, just like their gardens, fields and animals. Only after some thought he would understand that the difference is in their people: other villagers are relaxed and casual, even loud. Children run around the streets, chasing each other, playing tag or hide-and-seek. Their fathers bring them presents and their mothers buy them new clothes.

10- OF FEATHERS AND FANGS (DARK Narusasu) I received a lot of hate for this one, which makes me proud of it even more. so many naruto stans were butthurt by my characterization of him as a possessive not sunshine selfless boy and their dynamics as crazy.

Jiraiya used to complain that the first sign of getting old was waking up at night for no reason and not being able to fall back asleep. For Naruto, this only happened after the war.

11- BLACK ROSES (Itasasu, dom/sub-ish) Smutty Bloody Darky Hokage Itachi/Anbu Sasuke oneshot

Because of his farsighted politics, his loyalty towards his allies as well as his iron fist against his enemies, Itachi quickly became one of the most respected leaders in the shinobi world, and because of his unequaled diplomatic skills, along with his vast culture, impeccable manners and refined appearance, he became popular among nobles, including the Daimyo, whose official visits increased since the Uchiha rose to power.

12- NELL’IPOTESI GRANDE (=IN THE BIG HYPOTHESIS) (MetaMoro, not Naruto) I’m very proud of this one cause it’s a psycho-pass inspired longfic set in a retrofuturistic Italy with a totalitarian consumeristic regime. But that fandom is so shitty and they all hate me cause I called them homophobic fascists so no one cares. The excerpt is translated too.

He’s reminded of Pirandello’s* words as he’s riding the automatic taxi across the city, exiting the center towards EUR. COmpared to Milan with its skyscrapers, multilevel streets, automatic cars and incessant novelties, the capital is basically the same as it was portrayed in old illustrations: renaissance and 20th century buildings, seagulls, pines among the Roman ruins, sycamore trees on the Lungotevere, that was probably already busy with traffic when people travelled on horse carriages. (*an Italian writer)

13- DA UOMO A UOMO, MANO NELLA MANO (from man to man, hand in hand) (Metamoro) lol I was hated a lot for this one too. tbh the hate I received in the Naruto fandom is nothing compared to this other shitty fandom

For an artist like Fabrizio, mainly focused on expressing what he has inside, public relations are the hardest part of his job, especially when it’s about events where, instead of fans, of whom he perceives the sincere affection, other artists and professionals are invited. His experience taught him that most of them are hypocrites ready to jump on the winner’s bandwagon as quickly as to throw mud at the loser.

14- STRENGTH THROUGH WOUNDING (wip) (Obito/Sasuke, Obito/Itachi, dark.-ish)

There is something nostalgic in the eerie way the boy's screams resonate through the dark cavern-like hideout, their pain bouncing from one curved wall to another, their anguish filling their crevices. It’s like hearing his past self from an external perspective, like Madara did. Which is fitting, for Obito is Madara now.

15- WORDS UNSAID (wip) (Kakashi/Sasuke)

A black flame that cannot be extinguished: they had been warned about Amaterasu by Jiraiya, but seeing it was impressive nevertheless. The whole area was surrounded by black flames and the rain pouring hard could nothing against it. They found Sasuke there, surrounded, imprisoned by black flames that were extinguishing themselves, so they found a breach.

16- BLEEDING ME (Metamoro vampire/priest darkfic) No one can understand this in the Naruto fandom but it’s an AU interpretation of the Da UOMO A UOMO character dynamics where one is an emotional vampire-like person. I’m very proud of this fic tbh.

According to folk stories the forest was so big and full of dangers that God himself put a church where it ended, so that its priest would protect the people living nearby. It was a small, white building that didn’t match the typical stones and wood brownish ones of that region, with no stained glass windows or fancy columns, spires or gargoyles, only crosses with skulls and bones, and an engraving in an unknown language.

17- WILD CHILD (Metamoro cop/drug dealer AU). At this point I hate that fandom so much but I like my ideas and I write only for my girl whom I met in that very shitty fandom.

Everything seems bigger in children’s eyes. Like the playground in the courtyard of the church, with its slides and swings that for Ermal’s siblings were the setting of countless imaginary adventures which they told him in detail, enthusiastically interrupting each other, when he picked them up after school.

18- TRUE COLORS (Itasasu, dark, dom/sub) By now I’m only interested in writing dark IS and I enjoyed writing this one lol

"I knew you had it in you. You're a sadistic control freak. Even more than me." Orochimaru's voice resounded in Itachi's ears. Again.

19- OF FEATHERS AND FANGS 2: TO REPAIR WITH GOLD (Dark Narusasu). Cause I didn’t piss off NS fans enough I guess? lol this is ongoing and I like this idea so much

It's a rainy day in Konoha but no one seems to notice. Everyone is focused on the Hokage delivering his eulogy.

20- BROKEN THINGS (Shisui/Sasuke) My latest creation, I’m so proud of it cause it’s Shisasu again, my rarepair! and it was supposed to be a oneshot but it got longer because they have such a cool dynamic that things just happen and get longer.

In the Land of Water summers were hot and damp, autumn and spring were damp for the frequent rains and winter was no less, with its cold temperature and ubiquitous dampness. It wasn't a problem for Sasuke though.

Tagging: @renamon15 and all the other authors I can’t remember right now and who want to do this, tag me back so I can read your first lines lol

#I'm not reading nar fics so xD #I'm actually back into reading my old favourite bleach fics cause I used to be into bleach so much before naruto #ask meme/tag game #my writing #fics & art recs #lol for some reason the pressure first line seems funny out of context

15 notes · View notes

snkpolls · 3 years

Text

SnK Episode 61 Poll Results (for Manga Readers)

The poll closed with 359 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here.

---

RATE THE EPISODE 347 Responses

While this episode wasn’t as big of a hit as episode 60, overall most viewers still enjoyed the content and are looking forward to more next week!

amazing amazing! I'm so delighted with this season so far!

Im so beyond pumped i love everything

Dissapointing but acceptable.

I’m like angry I loved it so much.

I just wish we didn't have to wait a week

It was amazing. We all gotta apologize to MAPPA for ever doubting them.

It's a huge stepdown from episode 1. At times the animation was straight up painful to watch. My expectations were low and yet I'm still disappointed :/

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE SCENE/MOMENT? 349 Responses

Reiner-centric scenes were the highest on people’s radar, with 24.9% of respondents enjoying his reunion with the warrior cadets, and not far behind, 22.9% enjoyed Reiner bringing up the 104th at the dinner table. In third, with only 13.5%, was Pieck and Porco’s formal introduction to the audience.

Hearing Zeke greet his grandparents with such happiness warmed my heart. I do believe that he loves them.

They just had to add one last image of Ymir's broken face before she died, huh? :(

WE FORGOT TO ASK LAST WEEK D: WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SCENES/MOMENTS FROM EPISODE 60 WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 348 Responses

Last week we forgot to include what your favorite scenes were. The scene from episode 60 that got the most favor was Reiner’s, “I’m sick and tired… of walls” with 33.6% of the vote. 16.7% most enjoyed Zeke’s titan transforming scream. 14.9% were hyped about Reiner and Porco wrecking Fort Slava.

MAPPA WENT ALL OUT WITH THE CINEMATOGRAPHY IN THIS EPISODE. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE CINEMATIC PANS AND ROTOSCOPE ANIMATION? 349 Responses

Overall, a total of 74.5% respondents have positive feelings about MAPPA’s use of rotoscope animation and camera panning. Some felt like it was akin to watching a movie, while others are just happy to have the dynamic movement. A smaller amount of respondents didn’t have feelings one way or another, and a minority (about 10.3%) really are not a fan of this type of animation style for the series.

It felt odd sometimes as they used it for long scenes (like Udo talking or Gabi telling the story to her family) but overall it was pretty great and I prefer it to WIT's stale animation during season 3

I liked the more dynamic movement during dialogue, but my roommate found it super awkward and off-model. So a fifty-fifty split in a sample size of two lol

It could have been animated better, but I like the extra dimension it gives to scenes

Enjoyed it a lot! However, there were a few scenes that felt a bit off, like some frames were missing. Specifically, when Udo was doing all those gestures while talking with the rest of the Warrior Candidates.

It felt dynamic to the point of looking unnatural - some gestures and expressions just moved wrong

i'm split, in some scenes it was great (like reiner waking up), but in the dialogue scenes the constant movement seemed kinda unnatural and distracting

It was amazing but at the same time I'd didn't look fluid enough, especially at Udo's mouvements which made the character look kind of...video game-ish in constant moving.

I thought it looked great the rotoscoping,the movements all looked amazing

The animation during Urdu’s scene is so cool! I was caught of guard at first though lol. It’s so realistic!

NOW THAT WE’VE GOTTEN TO HEAR A LITTLE MORE OF THE NEW OST TRACKS, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SOUNDTRACK SO FAR THIS SEASON? 344 Responses

So far, reception to the newer music is overall positive. 31.1% are really enjoying the music and think the songs are being used immaculately, and 40.4% really feel that the song choice compliments the scenes they’ve been used in. 13.1% think the songs are good, but miss having that sole Sawano feel to them. 10.8% just feel the music is “ok” and 2.6% aren’t a fan of the new OST tracks so far.

I mean it sounds good, but we haven't gotten to important moments that require a memorable track, so we'll see!

First episode slapped because it really complemented the scene but it's more... generic. I didn't like how it was used in this episode, there wasn't enough of it and again, generic. I miss Sawano's unreal scores.

the animation absolutely blew me away, and i love the intense music that played during Reiners monologue

The music is fine.

I've heard both new and old songs from the previous seasons. Still too soon to make an opinion as we need to hear more.

I am deaf, I can't hear no damn soundtracks

That music guys when they came back to Liberio and reuniting with they parents, made me tear up but also because the scouts never had the chance to go back home with victory in the arms of their family, I wish I could have seen EMA like this.. It kinda felt unfair X) but I was happy for them nevertheless.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CLOSEUP OF ZEKE’S MOUTH? 346 Responses

Our first of probably too many crack questions in this poll, 32.7% thought the closeup of Zeke lighting his cigarette was cool looking. 21.4% are concerned about Zeke’s lung health. 19.1% are probably annoyed with us and simply don’t care (lol). 13.3% wouldn’t mind smooching Zeke, and 11% were just plain grossed out.

Does smoke even affect a titan shifter? Surely his lungs just heal themselves

ASMR for the eyes, right there. Aww yiss

It was awesome! Zeke is shown as relaxed person with a big drop of mystery.

Smoking Bad but he is gonna die in a year anyway

Suuuuuuucc

It might've just been an artistic choice to include it in there, but i gotta say I'm oddly fascinated and idk why

I don’t remember it lol

I didn't even notice.

Zeke looks hotter than he has ever looked

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION ABOUT ELDIAN ASSES? 341 Responses

Most of the responses seemed to feel rather positively about Eldian asses, with almost 40% seeking out Zeke’s ass wiping technique. About 17% simply stated their appreciation for them, while almost 13% are just thirsty. In contrast, a little over 17% seemed confused to the question’s inclusion and about 10% were confused outright.

MAPPA WHERE IS PIECK'S ASS

More into Eldian thighs, really

I bet Levi’s is nice

If only Eren had one

zeke has the energy of a straight man who doesn't wash his ass

Only Shadis' ass

GIVE IT TO ME 😏😏

They are like normal, human asses. Do not turn them into some magical, special snowflakes, just because they belong to Eldians.

Seek help

Enough

DO YOU WANT REINER TO GIVE YOU A HEAD PAT? 343 Responses

A definitive majority, almost 59 percent, openly expressed enthusiasm for the prospect of a head pat from Reiner. However, a near 30% fraction of responders didn’t seem too happy about this recent chain of less than serious questions. We’re sorry about that. 😅. The rest either didn’t seem interested in said prospect or noted they wouldn’t care either way.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE DECISION FROM MAPPA TO CONDENSE REINER’S FLASHBACK INTO (PRESUMABLY) A SINGLE EPISODE? 346 Responses

It would appear that the majority of those who took our poll express cautious optimism at the prospect of seeing all (or the vast majority) of Reiner’s backstory being adapted into a single episode, with a near 47% supporting the move, thinking it could make the narrative “more coherent”. Almost 20% argue it would work better pacing wise. On the flipside, just over 17% state that they would rather have a more accurate adaptation to the manga. 11.6% simply say they have no opinion. There were also more than a few write-ins.

I do wish everything could be animated to full detail, but pacing and structure will benefit here

They've done a good job so far, so I'll reserve judgement until I actually watch it.

It will be difficult as they're chapters with loads of dialogue, but they can pull it off if unnecessary stuff gets cut out or changed in some type of way (like watching Marcel's death for the sixth time, them breaking through the wall or even Jean and Eren fighting)

If they get the pacing right, then the rearrangement will be for the better.

Reiner flashbacks + Reiner suicide attempt + Falco meeting "Kruger" (more than 2,5 chapters) in a single episode? HELL NO! WTF MAPPA!

Worried and cautiously optimistic.

At least it looks like they're going to stick to just one episode for the RBA flashback. It was mostly just filler anyway, so there was never any need to stretch it out and waste precious time getting back to the Paradis side of the story

I doubt that that's exactly how it is, but if so, then I don't think that that's a wise idea

It’s gonna be rushed as hell

Reiner flashback is very long and there is tons of dialogue, so I dont know how its going fit in only one episode, but if they can make it work then its fine for me

WHICH CHARACTER DESIGN DID YOU LIKE BEST IN COMPARISON TO THE MANGA? 346 Responses

This question gave us a somewhat evenly split pie chart, but Porco nonetheless managed to gain the bigger piece with just over 55%. Surely due to that bomber jacket and haircut. Nearly 45% picked Pieck (gottem) instead. Must have been the somewhat inconsistent nose.

WHO’S SEIYUU DID YOU LIKE BEST? 335 Responses

On the flip side, 68.4% seemed to prefer Pieck’s soft voice. Porco with his (how the hell does Porco sound like… how can you describe his voice) managed to win the hearts of 31.6% of responses.

Pieck voice wtf? I imagined Pieck with a more Hanji-ish voice, not this sweet and high pitched.

DID MAPPA DO PIECK’S NOSE JUSTICE? 345 Responses

The debacle over Pieck’s POWERFUL nose gave us quite a colorful pie chart. Almost 39% of responses noted that Mappa was on point with Pieck’s nose for most of the episode. Afterwards, 26.7% stated that they thought that Mappa got it right only in some points of the episode. On the flip side, another 26.7% thought that Mappa was generally quite on point throughout the entire episode. A small minority (7.8%) thought that Mappa simply did a poor job.

The animation is good, and while I don't want to complain, I have a small problem with the drawings themselves. I feel like they lack precision (like Pieck's nose, idk if that's clear).

I'm grateful for Pieck's nose. I always respected Isayama for drawing imperfect characters, because this way he has made them to look more realistic. Even though Pieck has so-called imperfect nose, she is still absolutely gorgeous. Her imperfections are part of what makes her beautiful and unique.

PORCO’S HAIR - WERE YOU TEAM RED HAIR OR BLOND HAIR? AND ARE YOU HAPPY WITH HIS ANIME COLOR SCHEME? 345 Responses

A far less controversial debacle concerned Porco’s hair scheme. The folks supporting a Blond color scheme were universally content with his hair color (all 57.4% of team Blond). On the flip side, an almost universal approval was also present from team Redhead (13.6% of those supported his blond hair color). 27.5% of the responses seemed to care not about this issue at all, however.

NOW THAT WE KNOW PORCO BETTER IN THE MANGA, DO YOU THINK HE WOULD HAVE *ACTUALLY* DONE A BETTER JOB THAN REINER IF HE HAD INHERITED THE ARMOR AND WENT TO PARADIS? 348 Responses

Porco inheriting the Armored Titan is a rather interesting what-if scenario. Perhaps of the most interesting as a whole, so it’s no surprise to see a rather divided opinion of those who took our poll. A little over 36% believe that Porco doing a better job than Reiner on Paradis is a definite possibility. Just over 24% believe it’s not likely Porco would have done better than Reiner. On the flip side, 21.6% think that is is likely Porco *would* have a more successful conduct on the island. 9.2% believe that Porco’s success is a given and in opposition to that, 8.9% think that Porco’s success would have been basically impossible.

HOW ABOUT IF PIECK HAD GONE TO PARADIS WITH THE WARRIORS? 346 Responses

Much less division here, however. 70.5% of responders believe that Pieck’s possible trip to Paradis (in the initial attack) would have not have resulted in a given “mission success” for the Warriors, although she would have been a rather useful ally. Nearly a quarter, on the other hand, think that Pieck’s inclusion would have ended the story right then and there. The rather small minority of the other responders think that Pieck would not have been useful had she participated in the mission.

GABI HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER. HAS MAPPA BRINGING HER TO LIFE CHANGED YOUR FEELINGS TOWARD HER? 342 Responses

64.6% of respondents overall have positive feelings toward Gabi as of right now, with 39.5% having already been enjoying her character throughout the manga. 25.1% now view her more positively with her being brought to life. 20.2% don’t really care about Gabi either way, and 11.7% feel very negatively toward Gabi, without the anime swaying their opinions.

Gabi still sucks

Sakura ayane as gabi is probably the best thing to happen to me all year

WITH SUCH A DIALOGUE-HEAVY ARC, CUTS WERE INEVITABLE. WHICH CUTS WERE YOU DISAPPOINTED IN, AND WHICH CUTS CAN YOU LIVE WITH?

Overwhelmingly, the scenes that were most missed by manga readers were “Pieck walking on all fours/scaring Porco”, “Zeke mentioning the Ackerman Clan”, “Reiner’s smirk when his family talks about ‘Island Devils’”, and “The imagery of Eren and Armin wrecking ships”. Smaller character details, such as Reiner mentioning how he acted like Marcel on Paradis, Gabi wishing to understand Reiner’s feelings, Falco pointing out how Reiner almost had the Armor taken from him, were also very missed by manga readers, although just less so.

General Calvi talking about Zeke’s loyalty, Gabi getting praise from her parents when they reunite, and Magath trashing the Marleyan navy, were moments that many respondents didn’t feel strongly about one way or another, or felt that these were details that weren’t really needed anyway.

Cutting the scene where Falcon talks about why Reiner kept the AT was really bad. Also the table scene could have been better. Some imagery when Reiner was describing the 104th and his smirk.

The cuts the anime has done made the spectators less informed about some story background stuff. This is in order to direct attention to the marley's eldians planning how to overcome the world's disparagement towards the power of the titans.

I'm sad they cut the gate guards. They humanize the marleyans a bit. Hope they add their scenes next episode and do them justice.

I hope we will get the Gabi/Reiner talk about understanding each other through PATHS when she eats him next episode

Gimme crawling best giiiirl

MAPPA cut Pieck's ass so this episode wouldn't be so ass centered with Zeke's ass wiping technique. This is my theory lol

Great episode but U was so looking forward to the Reiner scene talking about Paradis “devils”. In the mange it was a powerful scene really adding to the duality of Reiner and the pain he has, and the animation did not do it justice. Plus some parts of his speech were probably hard to understand for a non mange reader without the flashback. (Like which one is referring to Jean for example). I really wish it had been better delivered

IS THERE ANY CHANCE WE’LL SEE SOME OF THESE CUTS ANIMATED IN A LATER EPISODE? 342 Responses

them into different scenes. Overall, the majority answered a big, fat, “maybe.” 15.8% are confident that what’s done has been done, and 12.6% are more optimistic that MAPPA will find a way.

Overall I was a bit disappointed. I feel like the amount of material cut from every conversation included really added up overall and gave it a very rushed feel to me. I really hope they add it all in later.

ON THE FLIP-SIDE, WHICH ADDITIONS/CHANGES DID YOU LIKE/DISLIKE?

The changes and additions that MAPPA made were overall viewed very favorably, with the scene of Porco and Pieck interacting with the warrior cadets being the most liked addition. This is followed closely by the overall character movement during dialogue scenes, the small detail about Pieck’s father being unwell, and Gabi shouting “Watashi!” on the train.

I loved the additional details made it very emotional

IT WAS A GREAT TIME TO BE GALLIPIECK TRASH

Sneakier Eren's a nice addition too

Porco my boiii I'm so happy he's here 💖💖💖💖 if mappa is adding some extra scenes then gimme more of gallirei 👀

WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 338 Responses

Unsurprisingly, 42% of respondents are hyped about Kenny’s brief return and Annie’s unlikely encounter with him in the Underground. 22.2% are eager to get that sweet Reiner angst as he is rejected by his Marleyan father. 17.8% are looking forward to Reiner’s training days.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

great! it was inevitable they would cut stuff but it hasn't changed any major plot point or thing i would want to see desperately

It was just really great to see the scenes animated, it adds another level of depth and understanding to the story I believe.

Loved anime-onlies missing Eren completely. Some even thought it was him but then noticed the leg and thought against it

I think it was very well done. Just need a little getting used to with MAPPA on the reins now. I think MAPPA added some scenes to show how those Eldians over there are still just human after all and they have their own problems to deal with. 8/10 episode.

I feel like they took a lot of emotion way from reiner. made him seemed stoic and determined to go to the island even though in the make he looked scared about having to return.

I thought the rotoscoping was really well done! I’m happy with the pacing, the fact that the episode felt like it went by fast is good considering it was dialogue based.

Incredible. The direction, the cinematic quality, we are feasting. MAPPA is elevating the story beyond anything I could have imagined! I'm beyond hyped for the rest!! But where is asshole Marley guards/Hobo!Eren's appearance as a favorite moment?!

Incredible, it adapts the source material very well while adding some touches that make it unique in it's own way. As a manga reader, I'm really glad that they're doing this because it feels like a completly different experience from reading it and makes me excited on what changes or directing choices they're going to make during the course of the season, great job so far MAPPA!

Such an amazing episode. Made 20mins feel like 5. MAPPA is doing fantastic. The characters have never felt more alive and the animation style is something I never knew I wanted until now.

I can't believe they didn't cast Mads Mikkelsen to voice Mads Mikkelsen

The episode was good but the dinner scene didn't do justice to the manga. It didn't have the same feeling to it. I saw a lot of anime onlys thinking Reiner was just trying to talk shit about the 104th. I feel like the flashbacks during that part in the manga gave it a nostalgic feeling that helped convey what he truly felt about his time on the island. His facial expressions were not quite there either. Specially sad because it was the moment I was expecting the most this episode and because it's a big part of Reiner's character, maybe next episode can kind of fix this.

I haven't seen the anime only poll results, but given personal conversations with them I imagine quite a few could care less about the Warriors and are looking forward to the 104th showing up to stir shit up. Boy are those folks in for a treat :)

I knew I'd feel more attached to all of them once they got animated. I didn't expect getting real thirsty for Lainah.

I was so happy with how much detail MAPPA put into the background scenery. Also, I think that an underrated moment during this episode was the Marlian douchebag triggering the Eldian soldier’s PTSD. You could really feel their terror, and THEY KEPT THE HOBO EREN PART IM SO HAPPY!

Its consistently very pretty and well animated which is great of course, but I worry the team won’t be able to maintain this quality for some of the meatier scenes in the later episodes. The fast pace of the episode (compared to the manga) as well as the many cuts make it a bit harder for scenes to stick, I wish there was a bit more breathing room at times. This also makes the fancy animation and frequent rotoscoping cuts feel less impactful for me—with every scene being cut down to its core ingredients, and every scene having at least one cut with more motion and energy than we’re used to, I can’t help but feel it all kind of mashes together without sticking out as much, leaving less of an impact. (I feel really really weird actually complaining about good camerawork/animation, what the hell lol) Also hobo <3

Plenty of questions about ass but no questions about the full ED? Or how we thought the episode did at hiding Eren in plain sight?

rip Reiner's chocolate abs :'(

The episode wasn't as interesting as the first one. I was yawning from time to time. Yet, I think that Mappa did a great job, because it's hard to animate full of dialogues chapters. I was disappointed of the fact that flashbacks from Paradis have been cut. I hoped to see Sasha, Connie, Ymir and Marco while Reiner was speaking about them. Without the flashbacks we just got the dry speech and this way hard to say what Reiner is really thinking about people he met on Paradis. We - as manga readers - already are aware of his feelings, but anime onlies may not know and see Reiner as cold hearted person. I'm not complaining over animations or the OST tracks because no studio is perfect and some small mistakes here and there won't destroy my fun. I just sit and enjoy the episode.

Very good, with the exception of the dinner scene, in which the director missed the mark completely with the tone.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 328 Responses

Thank you again for participating! We’ll see you again next week!

#snk poll #snk polls #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #snk #aot #snk s4 #snk spoilers

22 notes · View notes

photorose11 · 4 years

Text

Us Against The World

I am terrible at posting super late, ugh. When is my life NOT busy. lol I won’t go into it though. Here is my fic towards day nine of Ichiruki month! :) This randomly popped into my head last night, I couldn’t sleep so I stayed up super late writing it. Yes, it’s sappy. I am a sap. lol A lot of people liked my ‘I see you fall to pieces like a Hero’ fic, which made me really happy! I always appreciate the feedback; you guys bring joy into my life. Which I can definitely use more of lately, so thank you. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don’t own Bleach, wah.

_______

Rukia had been hoping it would be a normal day. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Rukia gave a frustrated sigh, leaning her back on the bench she was sitting on at the park near Ichigo’s house.

No, this was definitely not how she thought today would turn out.

It had started off like any other day since she had returned back. Since Ichigo’s powers were restored. It had been a week now.

A whole week Rukia noticed that something with Ichigo seemed.. off. She did not know how else to put it. She had noticed on more then one occasion how flustered he would get with her at times, each time he would look away; a blush on his cheeks before she would stomp on his foot or poke him in the chest; snapping him out of it.

They bickered as they usually did. How they always had.

Yet even Rukia noticed something seemed different between them. It was not something she had much time to really think about since returning. She had caught up with his family and their friends in the last week, in between fighting hollows with Ichigo, much to his delight.

Things had been going well, even with Ichigo acting off.

Until he had kissed her.

Rukia tapped her foot on the ground, her nails digging into her thigh as she thought back to that moment that had happened only half an hour ago.

They had gotten ready for bed. Rukia ready before him, she had went to lay on his bed and doodle in her sketchbook until he was ready for bed; and then go to her closet to sleep.

She had not expected him to say her name how he did when he entered his bedroom. Curious, she had turned her head to look up at him as he stood in the doorway. Eyebrow raised at the expression on his face, she had gotten up off the bed, placing her sketchbook in her closet before meeting his eyes again.

Their eyes had stayed locked on one another for what only felt like a second before he quickly took the few steps needed to be in front of her; leaning down and kissing her.

Rukia Kuchiki had never felt more shocked in her life.

She couldn’t tell if she had been more shocked that he had kissed her or the fact that she had kissed him back without hesitation. When he pulled away, looking down at her; she had froze. Violet eyes wide in surprise staring back up at him, before she quickly walked past him and ran out the door.

The raven haired Shinigami had bolted fast out of the bedroom, almost knocking into Karin as she exited her bedroom. Karin had given her a questioning look, about to ask her what was wrong but by then Rukia had been gone. Running down the stairs and out the front door, before she felt the sob in her throat come out as she kept running.

—-

Watching Rukia bolt out his bedroom door, Ichigo realized what he had done may not have been the best moment to do so.

Shit.

It wasn’t something be bad planned. He had not thought it through. He couldn’t think when he had entered his bedroom, seeing her laying on his bed in her nightgown, doodling in her sketchbook. He could only think how beautiful she looked. How much he had missed her.

Ichigo could not explain what he had been feeling since he had been reunited with Rukia. Every time he remembered watching her appear back into his view, after she had thrusted the sword through his chest; he felt something in his very soul that he could not ignore.

Their eyes had met, for the first time in seventeen long agonizing months; and Ichigo had known in that moment that he was in love with her, and it shook him to the very core.

He should have known. Considering how much he had missed her the last seventeen months of his miserable life without her. Considering how many dreams he had of her, the first month after their goodbye the raven haired Shinigami was in his dreams every night.

No one knew, but he had broke when she had left. After his friends had gone home, he had quickly disappeared back into his room; where he fell to his knees and cried.

Ichigo should have known.

The last week, spending time with her. Bickering with her. Fighting Hollows with her. Sharing moments with her. He could not ignore what he felt. He had tried to. Some moments Rukia would catch him whenever he zoned out (thinking of her) she would snap him out of it and they would continue on as usual.

Like things were normal between them.

Ichigo knew that things were not.

Which is why when he had saw her on his bed, relaxed and happy.. something in him had snapped. He did not realize he had even said her name until she looked over at him before standing up and laying her sketchbook in her closet. He couldn’t breathe, when their eyes met once she had looked up at him. He knew in that moment that there was no more holding back.

Ichigo had kissed her, and to his surprise she had kissed him back. He was expecting her to push him away, slap him over the head or kick him where it would really really hurt.. but instead she had eagerly responded back, without hesitation as she leaned up more as she gripped the front of his shirt in her hands.

When he had pulled away, the look in her violet eyes stole his breath away. It was similar to the last look she had given him when she had faded from his view seventeen months ago. Which he found ironic, because just like that moment from long ago; she had left. Before he could even blink, she was gone.

Ichigo ran to leave his bedroom to run after her, almost running into Karin in the process. His sister gave him an angry look, scowling up at him.

“What the hell did you do, Ichigo?” She asked, anger evident in her tone. Ichigo frowned, looking off behind Karin.

“Something I should have done a long time ago.”

Before his sister could question him further, he ran past her and was out of the house before she could even process what had just happened.

Ichigo stopped running once he hit the sidewalk, it pained him to do so because all he wanted to do was find her as quickly as possible and explain to her. But he knew it was probably best he take his time to find her, and give her the time she needed to think.

——-

Rukia looked up at the moon, as the memory played back in her mind on repeat.

She couldn’t ignore what she had been feeling for Ichigo for so long now. Since they had said goodbye seventeen months ago. It became even harder to ignore once they were reunited.

She definitely could not ignore how kissing him made her feel. It had felt right.

Perfect.

Life changing.

In that moment Rukia had felt like her heart could burst from her chest, due to the amount of love she felt for him.

She knew she was completely in love with him.

Then why did she run from him?

Laying a hand on her forehead, she gave another sigh before sniffing. She refused to cry anymore. She knew she should be happy. He had kissed her, which meant he must have been feeling the same things she had been feeling lately.

She wondered for how long.

She also wondered how they would get through this.

Looking back up at the moon again, Rukia knew in her heart why she had ran.

Rukia Kuchiki was scared shitless.

She had blocked out her heart for decades. Ever since Kaien Shiba’s death. Then she had met Ichigo Kurosaki and her whole life had been shifted off its axis and before she had known it she was overwhelmingly in love with him. It made her heart race. It made her chest hurt. It made her want to scream, to laugh, to cry.

Then he had kissed her.

She may have ran from him afterwards, but she knew she could not run away from her love for him. Rukia knew with the look he had given her before she bolted out the door, that he loved her. He loved her so much, and it frightened her.

Rukia gave a small laugh before another sob escaped her, a hand going to her mouth as she smiled through her tears because in that moment she realized something very important.

Rukia Kuchiki was scared of his love for her, but more then anything else, It brought her soul so much joy.

—-

“Hey.”

Ichigo slowly walked over to her, sitting beside her on the bench; making sure not to be to close to her.

It was silent for a moment before Ichigo sighed, looking over at her before looking up at the full moon.

“I’m sorry. I.. didn’t plan on doing that.”

Rukia couldn’t help but give a small smile before snorting at his words. It had been very obvious to her that he did not plan on doing that. The shocked expression on his face after he had kissed her had been a dead giveaway.

“I just..” she raised an eyebrow, looking over as he placed his elbows on his knees; before putting his face in his hands. It was silent for a long moment, but then he lifted his head up and turned to look at her. Their eyes met, and she knew.

“You drive me crazy, Rukia.” He broke their gaze as he gave a frustrated sigh, leaning his back on the bench before looking back up at the moon. She continued watching him, waiting for him to explain.

“Ever since I met you.. you’ve always been an incredibly selfless person. Hell, you risked your life to save mine the first night we met. You’ve risked everything for me. You’ve almost gotten yourself killed on multiple occasions, just so you could save me. It drives me fucking crazy.”

Rukia’s mouth dropped open, eyes wide staring at him before she sat up straighter and scowled. What the hell was he even trying to say?

Before she could reply beck, he turned towards her; a hand going to one of her knees. She looked at his hand, before looking back up at him and she stilled at the expression on his face.

“It’s one of the many reasons why I love you.”

Ichigo smiled at her then, a genuine smile that reached his eyes as he scooted himself closer to her. She didn’t know what to say.

“There are so many reasons. I love how passionate you are about being a Shinigami. I love how you protect everyone, no matter the risk. Even though it terrifies me to think that one day it may be the cause of you dying.”

He reached his other hand out then, laying a hand over her heart. She watched him stare at his hand for a long moment before their eyes met again. A chill ran down her spine.

“I love that you’re loyal to your friends and to your comrades. I love that you care so deeply for others, even if it hurts you to do so at times. Because I know you, Rukia. I know when you’re scared.”

Rukia wanted to cry at his words. He knew her down to her very soul, he always had. Seventeen months had passed by and yet he seemed to still know her better then she even knew herself at times. She knew then that he understood why she had ran.

“It’s okay to be scared. You may not be human, but you have a soul.” He took his hand off her knee, gently taking one of her hands in his before placing it over his heart.

“I have a soul too. Souls can not help what they feel. It’s not a bad thing. I know what I feel in my heart is not a bad thing.”

Rukia trembled as he spoke, his hand laying over hers as she felt his heart beat under her hand.

“It’s not bad that I’m scared?” she whispered out, afraid to look up at him. He gave a small laugh, his hand over her heart going to her shoulder.

“It’s normal, Rukia. I.. didn’t expect this to happen. You’ve always been important to me. The most important person to me. When I saw you again a week ago, after seventeen months of not being able to.. I knew I felt love for you. I knew in that moment that I’m in love with you. It terrifies me a little, to be honest.”

Her head snapped up then when she heard him mention love. She knew he had felt things, had known since he had kissed her.. but he..

“You’re in love with me?”

Rukia watched as he blushed, turning his head to the side a little so she wouldn’t see his face turning red.

“I thought it was obvious.” He muttered, before hesitantly meeting her violet eyes again. She couldn’t stop herself as she leaned forward, forehead resting beside where their hands were intertwined now on his chest. He brought his other arm over her shoulders as he held her to him.

“Was it obvious that I love you?”

The question was said softly, he barely heard her as her face was pressed against his shirt.

“No- wait; you do?”

Rukia slowly pulled away then, a coy smile on her face as she watched his blush spread across his face.

“Of course I do, fool.”

It was him this time that was surprised, when she leaned up to kiss him; a hand going to his face as he kissed her back. In this moment, she knew the joy she felt was stronger then her fear of love.

Because her love towards Ichigo was more beautiful then anything else.

Ever since they had met, it had always been the two of them. Side by side. As best friends. As comrades. Soul partners, really.

He had saved her so many times, she had lost count. He had went up against all of Soul Society in order to save her life.

As Rukia slowly pulled away from their kiss, smiling up at him as he looked at her in complete adoration; she knew no matter what it would always be them up against the world.

Rukia Kuchiki was definitely not afraid of that.

48 notes · View notes

kn1feinthec0ffee · 4 years

Text

in too deep (part 4) - jules

jules x reader

warnings: for the first time in this story, probably nothing really major!! very vague description of piercing removal?? (this is me trying not to spoil the movie for anyone even though this is the fourth part lol)

notes: this might be a little short, but if you look at the footnotes of the last part, i explained why

also should i say like what’s coming next before every piece like up here in this section or does nobody care bc i would totally do that SO next week is either going to be henry fluff, roman fluff, or roman smut 😳 if i finish them all before next week, you guys can let me know which one you want if you wanna do that

******************

“i’ve told you a hundred times, the business model is flawless,” you repeated. “every day we roll outta bed, hit the shore, and scoop up a day’s worth of merchandise. you know, nice shiny shells, maybe some skipping rocks; and then we spend the afternoon sellin’ ‘em. it’s pure profit, julie.”

“yeah, babe, that’s a good idea n’ all, but what happens when we get too big? we’re gonna have to hire a shell finder, and then it won’t be pure profit anymore. that could bleed us dry.” jules countered.

“shit, that’s a good point. what if instead of paying him, we give him a chunk of the company? like equity, right?” you suggested.

“oh yeah, true.” she murmured. “well we have the business model and all, but what are we gonna call it?”

you were trying to keep your calm, even in this terrible situation. you found that talking about the future, even though said future was entirely dependent on the fact that the two of you made it out of here alive, helped to quell your anxiety. or maybe it was just the fact that jules had an incredibly calming effect on you.

“hmmm, that’s a good one. i feel like that’s all you. i think you’re a little more creative than i am. i’m just the numbers girl.” you responded. the tinny, tapping noise of her tongue stud as she was deep in thought irked you. “babe, could you stop that? i keep tellin’ you, you’re gonna ruin your enam- oh fuck, wait!”

“what?” she asked confusedly. “your tongue ring! th-the stud!” you exclaimed. “what about it?”

“the locks- i can pick the locks with it!” you tried to maintain a low volume; after all, this plan didn’t need to be spoiled only moments after it’s conception.

“baby, it’s in my tongue,” jules reminded you. “how are you gonna get it out?” you winced as you realized the lengths your girlfriend would have to go to to get the two of you out of here.

“maybe if you do that thing that i hate - the one with your teeth - and just kinda pull on it, maybe it’ll just sorta, pop out?” you proposed. you heard a hefty sigh from behind you, hopefully signaling an attempt to escape.

“fine, i’ll try it.” you listened silently as she grunted behind you, pulling with all the force her tongue could muster. “sorry, babe, my tongue isn’t strong enough.”

“no, your tongue is so strong! it’s a great, strong tongue! could you try again?” you begged, but to no avail, jules knew she couldn’t pull it out. “what if you - um - just, like, kinda turn towards me - yeah, yeah, like that, and i just sorta - clamp down on it with my teeth and, y’know, remove it.”

jules spun back around at lightspeed, slamming her mouth shut as she internally cringed at your suggestion. “that’s gonna fucking kill!”

“i know, baby, i know it’s gonna hurt! believe me, i wish i had the piercing in my tongue, but i don’t.” you hung your head down in desperation. “julie, please, this is our only chance outta here.”

“you owe me,” she grumbled in acceptance. you heard the sound of fabric shuffling against the frigid concrete and you turned to meet her halfway.

“i owe you.” you whispered to her, placing a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. “you ready?” she nodded, holding her tongue out and closing her eyes as she braced herself for what was sure to be very painful.

“okay, one, two,” on three, you yanked your head back, successfully pulling the stud out. she clamped her mouth shut rapidly, trying to contain her scream. before you could praise her, the basement door swung open and in came george holding some sort of food.

you’ve got to be fucking kidding me, you thought. you kept your mouth sealed, hiding the ring beneath your tongue and hoping that jules would do the same. george approached the two of you, humiliatingly waving a ladle full of the dish in front of your face.

“come on, eat up. we don’t want you starvin’ down here now.” george smirked, his expression turning into scowl when you refused the food. “no? well, how ‘bout you?” he shoved the spoon towards jules, but he received the same response.

“fine. you’re gonna have to eat at some point, and i don’t particularly give a damn whether it’s my wife’s food or your own goddamn fingers.” he grumbled before heading back upstairs. as soon as the door closed, you heard jules spit the contents of her mouth onto the ground, panting as she took in breaths. “fuck.”

“shit, that was a close one,” you dropped the ring from your teeth into your open palm. “you good, babe?”

“yeah,” she groaned at the nasty taste in her mouth. “i just swallowed a bunch of blood. tasted like metal.”

“don’t worry, i got it from here.” you prodded at the keyhole with the stud, jabbing at it from every direction you could muster. you sighed as you couldn’t seem to get a good angle on your own cuffs. “fuck.”

“what is it?” jules asked. “y/n, don’t tell me we just ripped a hole in my tongue for no reason.”

“no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no way! here just - let me try and get at yours. could you like, sorta, present them to me?” she shuffled into the perfect place just within your reach. “yes, baby! that’s great!”

“alright you motherfucker. come on, you little piece of shit, fuckin’ dickbag,” you cursed to yourself as you jammed the stud every which way. “you little piece of fucking shit... oh, i fucking got it!” you exclaimed.

“oh yes, baby!” jules shimmied out of the cuffs, turning around to press little kisses all over your neck and cheeks. “i love you so much!”

as much as you loved her affection, you loved the idea of escaping this hellhole even more. “alright, alright,” you panted through a smile. “no time to waste. get mine.”

“okay, what do i do?” she questioned as she took the stud out of your fingers. “you just kind of stick ‘em in there, and then you kinda move it around until you find a catch point.” you answered.

“relax and feel it,” you directed, feeling her nimble fingers working the pin into the lock. “yeah, that’s right, just feel it. come on!”

suddenly, you heard a small snap, emanating from the cuffs. “oops,” jules mumbled under her breath. you forgot how to breathe for a moment. “oops?” you wondered out loud. “it, um, it broke.” she spoke so quietly she was nearly whispering.

“ohyougottabefuckingkiddingme,” you breathed out, trying to will the lump in your throat and the tears behind your eyes to go away as to not make your girlfriend feel bad. “whe- where’d it break?” you asked, expecting the worst possible answer.

“it - uh, it probably broke inside and now it’s just kind of in there!” she panicked. “oh baby. baby, i’m so sorry. i fucked it all up!” her head hit the pole with a soft thud.

“no, no, no, no, no, no, no! it’s okay, it’s okay!” you tried to deescalate the situation as fast as you could; the last thing you needed on top of being chained to a post was your girlfriend to have a breakdown. “hey, hey, come over here! c’mere, c’mere!” she crawled in front of you, wringing her head in her hands as she apologized profusely. “hey, it’s okay. you did your best. look, my leg is fucked, i can hardly walk anyways. it doesn’t matter. you got this, okay?”

despite your reassurance, jules still seemed a little shaky. “i- i don’t even know what to do, though. w-what do i do?” she looked over to sweetiepie who was waving her hand at them. “what is it?” she pointed in the opposite direction, directing jules’ gaze to an escape. “holy shit, it’s a laundry chute!”

a spark set off inside you; maybe getting out of here was possible after all. “can you get up there?” she nodded confidently as if to say ‘of course i can’. she pulled you into a fierce kiss, catching you by surprise. “i love you,”

“i love you too,” she grinned, making her way over to the chute and hoisting herself up inside, disappearing from your view.

you turned to sweetiepie, a desperate look on your face. “she better make it outta here.”

******************************

oops i may have accidentally went back and watched the movie a fifth time just to refresh myself on some of the dialogue but it was an accident i assure you

tags: @emmyrosee @flowers-in-your-hayr @willyourecognisemee @bill-skarsgard-owns-my-ass

#jules #jules x reader #jules imagine #jules oneshot #jules fanfiction #jules fanfic #jules fic #jules villains #villains #villains 2019 #maika monroe #maika monroe character #my writing

8 notes · View notes

wof-reworked · 4 years

Text

I got self indulgent and wrote a weird,,, kind of vent fic??? I’m gonna put most of it under the break

tw: anxiety, the aftermath of emotional abuse?? this fic is pretty much just Qibli having a breakdown lol

~~~~~

It had been almost 20 minutes, and Qibli’s talons wouldn’t come unstuck from the floor. Pushing himself against the stone wall, he tried to curl his body inwards, wings pulled over his head as he struggled to keep his breathing consistent. It was a familiar feeling, if not one he had ever wanted to feel again. He had to imagine sandstorm victims felt the same way, all smothered under an oppressive heat and force that seemed to squirm its way under his scales and itch at his skin.

The worst part was how minor it had started out. Just a sharp reprimand from Webs for goofing out in class, trying to impress Ostrich with some dumb jokes, a little sleight-of-hand trick he had learned. On any other day, Qibli would’ve been able to shake it off. And he thought he had, right up until Winter snapped at him after one joke too many, glaring at Qibli with what came too close to real anger for comfort, and the world had started to slip and blur around him with the sounds of the cafeteria washing over him like a tidal wave of overwhelming noise and chaos.

He had gotten too used to having dragons who knew him. Thorn and Six-Claws had always been able to spot when he was first starting to slip, had been able to drag him away from the edge and back into the warmth and safety of conversation, or let him gather himself silently. But even with Moon and her mind-reading, no one had really noticed when he got quiet, and his eventual exit and departure down to the underground lake.

“I bet they noticed, they just didn’t care.” The thought came to him, the statement settling in his stomach like a stone, heavy and dull. “And why should they? What do you do for them besides annoy them.” A voice chimed in Qibli’s head, separate and starting out quiet, though the volume grew fast and with it the words sharper. “All you do is bother the dragons in your life. You’re an embarrassment and a failure, and we both know it.”

“I want Thorn.” Qibli mumbled, half out loud and half in his head. “Oh, like she’s any better?” The voice taunted, curling around his head like a python slowly constricting its prey. “She can’t stand you. She has to regret having taken you in, but now it’s too late for her to get rid of you so she pretends to like you.”

“That’s not true.” Qibli thought back helplessly, unable to fight back the torrent of negative emotions. It was like trying to hold back the a river with only his talons, and he could feel himself slipping, dragged into their current

“She has Sunny now anyway, you were just there to fill that space until she got her real child back. She humored you, nothing more and nothing less, exactly what you deserve. And now you’re at Jade Mountain Academy, where she never has to see or deal with you again.” The words were familiar, even as the voice slipped in and out of different dragons. Sometimes it sounded like him, other times Vulture’s horrid, slimy tone would make its way into the sound of it. Worst of all was when it was Thorn, her voice piercing into his heart like a scorpion’s sting. “What, you thought you could be something to her? A son maybe? You weren’t even good enough for your real mother, what makes you even close to good enough for HER.” It continued, hissing into his ears and filling up his throat and lungs. Qibli fought back a whimper, curling even tighter as his body and head screamed at him in tandem. It was too much, he couldn’t breath couldn’tthinkcouldn’tmoveorevenscream-

The sound of talons clacking against stone cut his thoughts off for a moment, his wings twitching as he tried to push himself further out of sight, pushing his front talons up against his eyes. “Can’tlookcan’tletthemseeyoucryonlyheretohurtyouneedtorunneedtohidecan’tbeseencan’tlook” Qibli let out another shaky half-groan, unable to stop the noise from escaping his jaws. Eyes barely open, he saw a hint of rich green scales and a dragon’s talons. Turtle. Qibli reasoned, closing his eyes again as he dug his palms in deeper to his face, unable to stop the tears that seeped through the cracks in his talons and down his jaw. He heard a soft sigh as Turtle sat down in front of him. “Moon told me something was up, so I came to check on you.” Turtle’s voice was low and gentle, unassuming and neutral. “She would have come too, just, uhh, didn’t want to end up getting caught up in it too.” He added on, looking down to the floor.

“Well now aren’t you glad? You finally got someone’s attention, you needy little waste of space.” The voice wormed its way back into his thoughts, sinking its claws into his head and filling the space with its noise.

“Shut up, I don’t want to hear it right now.” Qibli thought back fiercely, shaking his head to clear it. Through his talons he saw Turtle glance at him, the Seawing’s eyes showing a hint of real concern. “Mmmphrh.” Qibli mumbled out loud in response, a fresh wave of shame and fear flowing over him. His mouth couldn’t or wouldn’t shape the right words, it was like trying to speak through a mouth full of sand. Feeling dumb and rather like a newborn dragonet, he made a half shrugging motion with his shoulders instead, the motion sending ripples of tension through his body and sending his thoughts racing faster, twisting in a cavalcade of fear and pain. “He’s not Cobra, he won’t hurt you, please just stop.” Qibli willed his body still and his thoughts quiet until they slowed to an uneasy crawl, circling just out of Qibli’s direct reach but still hanging over him, pricking and poking at him. Peeking out, he caught Turtle’s gaze for a moment, and any control he had broke into a roaring crash of emotions and his body locked up, freezing him in place as static noise filled his ears and drilled into his head. Turtle didn’t give any indication of noticing, but he did scoot closer, looking down at the huddled dragon.

“Is it okay if I touch you?” Turtle asked quietly. Qibli let out a muffled sob, the pressure on his eyes increasing and his vision getting blurrier until all he could see was the grey blob of the floor. Slowly, Turtle extended a wing, gently resting it over the Sandwing’s back and lightly moving it up and down along his spine. At that, the tension in Qibli broke and he sunk down, his breath hitching and sobbing as tears poured out from his eyes and dripped down to the floor. Turtle didn’t react, continuing to stroke him softly as he lightly pushed up against the Sandwing, his warm weight comforting against Qibli’s shaking body.

“I’msorry-” Qibli mumbled hoarsely after some time, catching his breath as he leaned against the chubby Seawing. His body felt exhausted, like he had flown through the desert for miles, and his eyes ached where he had dug his talons in.

“You have nothing to apologize for.” Turtle hummed quietly, settling into a more comfortable crouch, legs tucked underneath him. Qibli scoffed, tucking his wings up against his sides as he slowly sat up, his tail and arms aching.

“That doesn’t mean I have to feel good about you sitting through that though.” Qibli huffed, shaking out his limbs and rising to his feet. “I mean, I feel gross about it and I didn’t have to watch... any of this.” He admitted, shuffling his talons self-consciously.

“I mean, it would’ve happened whether or not I was here, right?” Turtle tilted his head, looking at Qibli with the look of a dragon trying to figure out the the right pieces to a nearly completed puzzle. “And, you know, I’d rather be here trying to help, or I guess at least make sure you’re safe rather than knowing it was happening and just deciding to pretend it wasn’t or something.” He finished, fidgeting. “And... I get it, you know.” Turtle’s voice quirked up at the end in faint amusement, “I mean, maybe not quite like that, but at least something similar.” He waved awkwardly at where Qibli had been crouching, ducking his head. “I know how bad it feels to tackle that alone.”

“Right.” Qibli winced, rubbing at his still-damp face with a talon. “I mean, if you ever need someone there... I’d be more than willing. Assuming I’m not being a hot mess myself.” He added the last part with a bit of bitterness.

“Thanks.” Turtle’s voice gave nothing away, but Qibli saw the Seawing’s pleased expression before it was wiped clean, back to his usual relaxed look.

“And I mean... there’s still time to swim before the next class, so that’s a positive to being down here,” said Turtle, looking at the water of the shore with barely repressed eagerness. “Just, you know, thought I’d mention that.”

“A Seawing? Wanting to be in the water? How shocking.” Qibli replied sarcastically, a faint grin creeping up his face as Turtle laughed and dove into the water with a resounding splash. With a start, Qibli followed, eager for the distraction. Casting a look back at the walls, he slid into the water, the chill biting into his scales.

It wasn’t perfect, that voice still lingered in the back of his mind, but as he swam laps with Turtle racing around the water, he felt it retreat away slightly, lose a little of the sharpness to its words. Taking in a deep breath, he dove down underneath the water, and his body floated peacefully in the new cool silence.

#wings of fire #qibli wof #turtle wof #sandwings #seawings #wof #can you tell I rushed the ending? Because I completely rushed the ending lmao #I just wanted to write some positive turtle/qibli interactions #anxiety bros look out for each other #Idk please do feel free to tell me if any of this is ooc #I do want to point out though that I also lowkey didn't edit this and wrote this on a whim #so not my best writing either #oh shit it's also like lowkey midnight #I TOLD YOU ALL I'D WRITE FANFIC THOUGH #JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE #this is hella self indulgent I'm sorry #sunny makes things #oh yeah this isn't really qirtle or a ship but it could be if you wanted it to ig

48 notes · View notes

kilyra · 5 years

Text

You Will

Eric Northman (True Blood) One-Shot

A/N: I did try to resist writing this but...look can we just blame @thatchampagnebitch? That was my main supporter for this (along with @suitsofwo3 @mysteryoflovve and @givemeabite who also deserve some blame credit for sending me love!). Also, to keep it reader-insertable I couldn’t go full blown on a height difference, but damn if I didn’t nod to it at least LOL

After your roommate goes missing, a worried Sookie asks Eric Northman to keep you safe until they know what happened. Turns out, not only does he not exactly mind, but takes his promise seriously. Maybe a little too seriously...

Warnings: Racy bits that start suddenly before there is consent. I don’t feel it crosses a line beyond what you’d expect from Eric on a good day, but it’s still fair to warn people. NO SPOILERS (I myself am only on S3 or 4, so this is an early Eric style fic...also, please don’t send me any spoilers), but hopefully you remember what it means to ingest vampire blood...

Perched on the very edge of the arm on your comfy chair, you couldn't tear your gaze away from the...man...in the corner. And not because he was stunningly handsome. No, you wanted to know exactly where he was for every second he was in your home.

Inviting Eric Northman inside went against every fibre in your whole damn being, but you weren't given much of a choice. So as he casually relaxed in your living room, you were on edge, literally, and openly staring him down.

The silent moments stretched out and his cold expression was impossible to read as he watched you. Finally, his eyebrow arched in a quick flick before the corner of his mouth faintly turned upward. “Do you always sit on your furniture like that?”

Only when you wanted to make a quick run for it.

“What do you care?”

The faint half-smile seemed to grow, but only slightly. “I don't.”

As he spoke, he shifted forward in his chair and you flinched. Hard.

Pausing, his grin became prominent, like a predator seeing a weakness to pounce on. “If I scare you so much, why did you let me in?”

On your feet you crossed your arms, hugging yourself tightly. “There's no arguing with Sookie...I tried.”

Glancing down at his hand, he absently traced along the seam of the armchair. With his attention briefly turned from you, you could breathe a little easier. Although you found yourself staring at his fingers as they stroked the fabric of your chair...

“Mmm, true. She is worried about you though. Apparently, your roommate going missing is of great concern to her.”

Giving your head a sharp shake, you rubbed your arm and turned away. “Yeah, but I don’t exactly feel any safer right now.”

His eyes snapped back up to yours as he tilted his head. “Have I done something to you? I don't believe I have and my memory is impeccable. But sometimes you humans all look the same, even the beautiful ones...”

There was still a ghost of a smile, just enough to leave you wondering if he was joking.

Your mouth ran dry. Turning on your heel you went into the kitchen, talking quietly to yourself. “No, I've just heard more than enough.”

One thing was clear – you needed a drink. You weren’t sure if you needed water or some damned hard liquor, but you needed a drink.

Reaching up in your cupboard, you went on your toes out of habit even though the glasses weren't that high. But as you closed your fingers, you felt a light breeze on your face and realized you closed your hand around nothing.

Before confusion set in, you heard a voice next to your ear. “I suppose that's fair.”

Gasping, you pushed yourself back, spinning against the counter and painfully banging your hip. Standing beside you, Eric held the glass as he watched you stop yourself from falling.

“Although most of what you've heard is probably true, I assure you it's in my own best interest to keep you safe,” he added, not affected by your scramble.

Gripping the counter with both hands you stared incredulously as he calmly held the glass out towards you. He made no attempt to loom over you, but you were suddenly aware of just how large he was. As you stared up into his ice-blue eyes, you felt a tremor start from the centre of your chest.

“Besides, I have no desire to hurt you.” He smirked as you looked down at his offering, but made no move to grab it. Humming, he nodded encouragingly and held it even closer to you.

Using all your strength, you let go of the counter with one hand and reached for it. Even you could see how badly your hand shook. You nearly dropped the glass as you snatched it away.

His smirk smoothed out into a soft smile as he let out a chuckle too low for you to hear. Continuing to shake, you gave up on holding the glass. It's not like you could fill it with anything as long as you were like this.

Your heart thudded against your ribs. Trying to set the glass down, it clattered loudly as the bottom edges smacked against the surface. Finally letting it go, you were just relieved it stood upright instead of smashing on its side.

Slowly letting his stare wander from your hand and up to your eyes, Eric's eyebrow arched high. “You really don't have to be so scared of me. Sookie wants you protected and the best way for me to keep her on retainer is to keep her happy.”

Even your lips trembled as you tried to form words. "Y-yeah well, i-if cattle were self-aware, they'd react the same to us. T-to humans...I mean..."

Running his tongue over his flat teeth, he narrowed his eyes. “Are you...calling yourself a cow?”

“Or maybe a pig? Bacon's good...” Your voice trailed off as you swallowed heavily.

A new sound filled your ears, and it took a second to realize it was his sharp laugh. For a brief moment, he just looked like a normal man laughing at a normal joke. His carefully styled short, blond hair stayed in place as he bobbed his head. The cool, woodsy smell of his cologne wrapped around you, drawing you in.

If he weren't a stone-cold killer, you might actually find him attractive.

As his gaze caught yours, the amusement dropped from his face. “That‘s what you think, hmm? Maybe it will help to know I don’t see you that way exactly.”

Your pulse was still racing, and it was making it hard to hear anything over the rush in your ears. “I don't...I mean, not that I care, but how exactly do you see-”

Before you could blink, Eric seized your wrist, pulling it to his lips. You watched in horror as he closed his mouth over your skin. Twisting your arm, you tried to wrench yourself from his grasp, but it was like fighting a marble statue.

In the back of your mind, a voice screamed. This is how you die.

But you were paralyzed. Not a sound came out as you watched, expecting to see blood dripping onto the floor.

Only, that didn't happen.

Instead, you saw the impossible. His tongue darted past his lips, sweeping over your skin.

Your knees grew weak, and you tightened your grip on the counter to stop from collapsing onto the floor. Finally fighting past your blinding numbness, you realized you could feel his tongue licking over your wrist. Lightly, he sucked and nipped as he moved his way up your arm, settling into the crook of your elbow.

Shooting you a side glance, his eyes were firmly glued to yours as he stayed clamped to your arm. Despite your fear, you felt a flutter in deep your stomach as heat rose to your cheeks. Wordlessly, your lips parted.

Letting out a shuddering exhale, your mind reeled, trying to understand what was happening. But you stopped struggling. Keeping his eyes on you, Eric finally lifted his head.

No blood.

Even as he grinned, showing no fangs, he looked dangerous. Blood pumped through your temples with such force you felt light-headed.

But you couldn't deny the fire you felt on your skin, still tingling along the trail of his lips.

Blinking rapidly, your eyebrows tightly knit together as you stared at your unmarred flesh. “I-I don't understand...”

“No? Maybe this will help,” he said, his voice lowered to a growl as he quickly descended on you again.

Nudging his way into the curve of your neck, his breath fanned over your skin before his lips claimed it. Part of you wanted to scream and part of you wanted to pull him in closer. Pressing your thighs together, you tried to ignore the sudden desire that was overtaking your panic.

This was wrong. He just lulling you into a false sense of security. At any second, you were going to feel his fangs ripping into your flesh. The pleasure of having his mouth on you was going to be replaced with pain. Searing pain. You needed to scream, to try to get help...

A soft moan escaped your throat as his tongue firmly swirled over the most sensitive area of your neck. Your body took on a mind of its own as you moved your hand to the back of his neck, letting your fingers nestle into his hair. You were so lost in the moment you didn't even realize this meant he had let your wrist go.

He had stopped holding you into place. And you weren't trying to escape.

Pulling away from your neck, his eyes flickered down to your mouth. Without giving you a chance to come to your senses, he captured your lips with his. He took control, his tongue commanding entrance which you readily gave.

Lifting your hand from the counter, you ran it along his arm, resting against his chest as his hands roamed over your body. Cupping your cheek, the kiss deepened, becoming more heated as you found yourself growing needy.

Maybe it was the adrenaline, but you found yourself dangerously close to tearing clothes off right there in the kitchen. You wanted to feel him. You needed to feel him.

Distantly, however, you realized there was a copper taste flooding your mouth.

His free hand dropped to your thigh and his fingers dug into your flesh until you lifted your foot from the floor. Smoothly, he guided your leg around him, pressing in closer against you. Your hips rolled into him as you squeezed your leg tight and clenched your hand on his chest. Your breaths were coming in ragged pants.

But that copper taste grew stronger.

Blood.

Finally jolted from your passionate haze, you pulled away. To your surprise, Eric didn’t stop you. Letting you slip out of his grasp, he watched you with a knowing smile.

“You bit me.” Your voice was husky and your chest heaved as you tried to catch your breath. Almost afraid of what you would find, you brought your fingers to your neck, bracing for a stinging pain. Nothing. Glancing at your fingertips you were confused when there no blood. It was only after wiping your mouth that you found a trace smear of red.

Not flustered in the slightest, Eric grabbed the shiny chrome toaster and held it up for you to look. “I didn't. See for yourself.”

Carefully inspecting your reflection you somehow weren't surprised to see he was telling the truth.

“Then what is this?” Your hand was steady for the first time all evening as you held it up for him to see the blood.

Lifting his eyebrow, he shrugged dismissively. “I promised Sookie I’d do everything in my power to keep you safe.”

A sinking feeling pulled at your chest as you noticed him lick away a spot of blood that bubbled up along his bottom lip. Did he...bite himself? Were you tasting his blood?

“What's that supposed to mean?”

Casually, his gaze wandered over your body making no effort to be subtle. You shifted uncomfortably, suddenly feeling light-headed again which drew a smirk from him as he continued to inspect you.

“You'll see.”

Rocking back a couple steps, you felt a surge of energy burst through your chest. Fear? Adrenaline? It ran through your whole body and out to your limbs, making every part of you feel alive. You wanted to run, or shout, or…

Clearing your throat, your cheeks felt warm and you held the counter tightly again. “I...I don't feel so good.”

Scoffing, he slowly ran his tongue over his lips as he locked his bright blue eyes onto yours. The warmth in your body drained down towards your core. You were on fire.

“You sure about that?”

You weren't. You felt good. Better than you'd ever felt before...

Slowly, Eric moved towards you, destroying the small bit of distance you had created. And you wanted that. You wanted more than that. As you looked down over his tightly fitting dark shirt, you had to fight the urge to tear it from his chest. You wanted your hands on his skin. You wanted his hands on yours.

Biting your lip you finally shook your head, trying to clear your mind. “I don't understand.”

Closing the gap, Eric pulled you against him, sending shivers down your body as he whispered in your ear.

“You will.”

Taglist: @foreverfaeries @flower-two @getlostinyourparadise @selfishkiddo @angelicshinigami

#eric northman x reader #eric northman #eric x reader #true blood

372 notes · View notes

beathewriter-blog · 4 years

Text

Forgotten [Darkiplier Short Fanfic.]

Request: none, but I wanted this.

Summary: Dark finally snaps at Y/N after a dire mistake was made, anger that had been held at bay for months now finally hitting the shore.

Word Count: 1,999 words 10,633 characters

Warning: Yelling/Crying, just overall angst. It doesn't really fit cannon, so that’s something too lol

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

“You have no idea what it feels like, so don’t you dare act as if you do!”

“Damien-”

“Don’t call me that!”

Dark’s voice had roared so loudly, so unhinged, it left his throat sore. His words were almost incoherent, harmful to the ears the way it shook and skipped, glitching as if it was a broken record. His hair was wild and frizzy, a messed brushed to the side of his splotchy, red face. His eyes were wide, pupils so small that they were barely seen in the dark. His white suit had been scuffed, tie undone as he gasped for air, nails digging into the desk he was leaning against. He looked drunken and furious, a dangerous mixture.

His body trembled as he was slowly failing to contain his anger, jaw clenched as he ran a hand across it, once again taking a deep breath. He breathed, the room silent for a beat before a puzzled look of confusion had masked his face. Even despite all these signs, Dark was hard to read- confused was too vague, yet staring at him had given no answer to how he was feeling.

The nearly pitch-black room was ominous and eerie, the only light shining from who knows where right onto Dark who had his signature red and blue aura around him. The sound of static had filled the place where silence should be, tension thick and heavy on your shoulders, weighing you down. When Dark speaks again, his voice is low and gravely, shaking in his fury.

“You know what he did, and yet you still went with him. You still saw him. Still smiled.”

“Laughed.”

It was a statement, not a question. The aura of bright blue and red had darkened greatly, turning into an almost murky black, with just hints and highlights of the colors they once were before. Despite standing still, his body had glitched back and forth, a copy of him even shown screaming even though no sound had come out. He runs his hand through his messy hair, only worsening it. You can see the tremble still in his hands as he continues to run his hand through his hair, before just grabbing it and tugging it as he let out a horrendous scream full of raw, untouched anger that had been buried deep down inside him.

It becomes hard to breathe, the atmosphere had darkened so much. Your ears shook and then started to ring at the glitchy sound of his scream, and it shuffled back and forth in your head so much that your eyes began to water and you stumbled, unable to stand up fully at the pain it caused. Seeing how this affected you, he took a deep breath, a shred of regret lingering in his eyes. Your chest slowly starts to ache, a depression laying over you as a sadness started to creep into brain. As you struggle to breathe, you had to focus on not crying. You wanted to say something- anything that would make him feel better but nothing came to mind.

“Why can’t anyone see that I’m the victim here?”

Dark’s voice was barely above a whisper, hardly heard by the human ear. The only reason you even understood it was because of how he glitched and stuttered, so it was more of ‘W-why, why can’t can’t’ and so on and so forth. His voice echoed as if he was speaking to a backing track.

“I was murdered! My life was taken away from me out of spite.”

Questions swam in your mind, you felt lost in the void. What were you to say? He was right. Hell, we have even right to be angry- to be upset. But, you could hang out with Mark if you wish, right? It was your choice. You weren’t a bad person for hanging around Mark, were you? You didn’t even know if they were talking about the same Mark.

Upon receiving no response, Dark had shook his head slowly, his anger becoming completely silent and still. He was no longer shaking, but his breathing was still ragged and harsh. He was still angry, you were sure of it, and his sudden silence was so absolutely frightening that you just froze in place, paralyzed with fear. His eyes just bore into you, as if he was seeing through you, his expression blank and mouth held in a straight line. His body stood straight and tall, towering over you.

“I really am the perfect villain in his story, he was right. The hero with humble upbringing.”

“Or am I wrong? Am I the hero instead?”

As he spoke, he began to walk towards you in slow and steady steps, an even pace. If you could shrink any more, you would, and it seemed your silence only angered him more as he awaited your answer. The depression had completely dissipated, making the pressure on your chest only grow more. Bug-eyed, you just stare in silence.

“Me? The bad guy? As if! Have you been paying attention to my story?”

You just manage to let out a long-held breath and give the smallest nod you could muster.

“I’ve tried-”

“Obviously not hard enough.”

You open your mouth to argue, but almost immediately shut it. You wondered what Dark had been thinking, what thoughts that may have come to hid mind. He looked troubled, on the brink of snapping. Eyes were the windows to the soul and yet his were blank, void of emotion. He began to pace back and forth, away from you as he wrung his hands together, fiddled with the cuffs on his sleeves and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Allow me this one moment of self-indulgence, because I feel as though I am great. I did nothing wrong… and yet..”

His words still echoed and glitched, rushing out fast and stressed. He was speaking so fast, you could tell his heart must be racing and panicked, his brain having trouble keeping up with the pace he was running.

“Do you know what it’s like to have no choice? This is all his fault and now he just left me here to rot.”

His voice cracked, stressing some words and rushing past others. You don’t think you’ve heard such raw emotion from him in one sitting before. However, he asked for his self-indulgence, so you shall let him speak.

“I always thought you were a pawn in his game, helpless, lost, I know the feeling. But you’ve been doing it willingly?”

Dark looked at you, his brown eyes stared deep into your soul- in your eyes, helpless and searching for answers. He stopped pacing, stood completely still, leaning forward and looking into you. And then, out of all things to do, he gave a soft smile, shaking his head back and forth. It made him chuckle, light and sweet which turned into a laugh that quickly died out.

And then, if you stared really, really closely at him as he hid behind his hands, which at first were just covering his mouth, muffling his words, they moved up to wipe tears from his eyes as he was silent as could be, shoulders shaking.

“Perhaps I’m the crazy one.”

He shrugged his shoulders, raising his hands in a big grand gesture. All of his movements were drastic and animated as if he were in a play. It was something truly extravagant to see, no matter how bizarre or psychotic it seemed.

“Did you just miss my pretty face? Is that why you never tell me to leave when I come and see you? Or do you truly hate me, and wish to torture me in such a way?”

He began to guilt you, eyebrows raised as he awaited an answer, and he just gave a wink and a sneaky smile like a snake. He rolled his hands as if to say ‘hurry up! Answer me, I’m waiting!’ and the whole time he was smiling something sinister, and you can’t shake the feeling that he is just trying to mess with you, to get in your head. Your look of discomfort must have showed because he laughed.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, were you having fun? Am I making you sad? Don’t you think you deserve to be after what you did to me? Only a terrible, horrible person would do that.”

His words echoed in your head, nearly physically impacting you. His eyes were narrowed, voice in a sing-song, taunting tone. Now, when Dark had glitched form place to place it was calm and calculated, multiples appearing of him every time he rephrased himself as he paced over to the desk once more.

“I just simply don’t understand.”

He appears behind himself, the two walking in sync.

“I can’t seem to wrap my mind around it.”

And now three.

“You truly have confused me.”

He suddenly appears in the desk, weaving his ring through his fingers, although he had been a few feet away mere seconds earlier, doing something completely different. His face was no longer red, eyes calm and a slight blush on his face. His legs were kicked up, and he was obviously relaxed, enjoying to toy with you. Fully aware of what he was doing and still not caring. He raised an eyebrow, slowly taking his legs from off the desk and leaning forward.

“I have so much power- I have all the answers, and yet you’d still choose him after all he did to me?”

Dark rested his head on his hands, head tilted like a dog lost and thought. In the dim light of the red and blue, he looked so innocent with his fluffy hair and chocolate brown eyes, face focused and zeroed in on concentrating. His eyebrows were furrowed as if he still wasn’t understanding.

“Is it your goal to make me suffer? Because I would really hate that for you. You don’t understand quite what you're doing, Y/N.”

His hands covered his cheeks, and he bit his lip, lost in thought as he scavenged for answers.

“Do you think I’m lying? Have you truly forgotten? I’ve been stuck. Trapped.”

“He said he would let me out. He PROMISED!”

The room shook, and the once again Dark had suddenly changed, becoming sporadic.

“I wore the white suit just for you. White’s always an angel’s color, so I suppose it fits, does it not?”

He lets out a long sigh, shoulders sagging slightly and ruining his rather perfect posture.

“I’ve been waiting patiently, I missed you. Now that we are here together, we can really get to know each other.”

His voice was soft again, but loud enough for you to hear- steady like a rock.

“Did you miss me?”

Upon once again getting no answer, he just laughed, and you start to wonder if you broke him. He seems something demonic, revengeful even. His eyes were happy and sparkling, night and day from when he had cried. His fingers were rung together, his thumb running back and forth over his ring. He hummed a small, static and glitchy tune as he flipped an idea over in his head.

“Games were always his forte, but I’m sick of giving anyone a choice at this point.”

He smiled again, waving his hands over you from head to toe. His eyes scanned you, taking you in and he simply blinked and brushed you off.

“We have both seen where free will has gotten us, have we not you traitor? My little Y/N.”

He spoke your name as if he was disgusted by you. And it hits you- he wasn’t happy. He was still angry; you had made a dire mistake. You had misunderstood.

“My, you made me suffer, it’s your turn now! We have an eternity here, and I think you should take a seat and listen. I’ll let you go once you know my story. What’s I’ve been through and suffered through,”

“Even from the hands you.”

#ahwm #darkiplier #dark #darkiplierfanfiction #darkiplierxreader #mark #markiplier #fanfiction #angst #sad #angry #a heist with markipler spoilers #a heist with markiplier #damien #celine #who killed markiplier

17 notes · View notes

royallyprincesslilly · 5 years

Text

Title: Late (22)

T’Challa X Reader

Chapter Warning: Plot, Supernatural/Paranormal Ideas, MAJOR BP deviation

Word Count: 6.2K

As always, thank you ALL for reading! I appreciate each and every one of you and your comments, likes, questions/asks, words of encouragement and even criticism in disguise as kindness. LOL.

If you enjoyed this please LIKE, REBLOG drop a COMMENT! ❤️ ❤️

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

-Y/N-

You softly groaned as you tried to move. Every move you made your muscles ached, muscles you didn’t even realize you had. You groaned again and opened your mouth; even your jaw was tight. You clenched your jaw and groaned louder this time. The pain from your jaws radiated through the roots of your teeth up through the bones in your face. The pain prompted you to snap your eyes open only to be met by the blinding sun. You squinted your eyes automatically and lifted your hand to shield your eyes. The action rippled pain throughout your arm; your answer to the pain was the scream out and move the rest of your body. Big mistake. The pain coursing through you was worse than the soreness after a first workout.

“Sshh, it’s all right.”

T’Challa’s soothing voice barely helped to end your alarm; it did make you feel better though.

“You are all right. Take deep breaths,” he advised. You listened and tried to slow your breathing. You tried to focus your mind on rising above the pain.

“That’s it Y/N, very good,” T’Challa’s smooth voice added.

After a few minutes, you felt you had a better grip of what was happening. You took one more deep breath and slowly opened your eyes. As if this was the first time you were using them, your vision was blurry. You blinked several times in an effort to see him better, but still, it remained blurry.

“My eyes hurt.”

“Yes, they will, as will every other part of you,” he informed.

“Why? Why do they hurt? Why can’t I see you?”

T’Challa didn’t speak for a few moments; you opened your eyes only to feel a burning sensation and closed them instantly.

“You’ve overexerted yourself.”

“I’ve exerted myself before, never have I ached like this. What aren’t you telling me T’Challa?”

He took a deep breath, and you felt his hand engulf your own. The warmth of his hand radiated across your skin and traveled through your arm. Before long, your entire body felt the heat of him. You relaxed more on the bed and allowed the heat from him to sooth you. His touch always worked to calm you, but this was different, now it felt as if his touch did much more.

“I know you have many questions Y/N; I know you want answers. I want them as well, and I promise you will have them--soon. For right now, I need you to not work against me; I need you to trust me. I know everything that I have done to you gives you reason never to trust me again; I know that, and I am ashamed of my actions. You have no reason to trust me, but I beg of you to,” T’Challa softly said.

You recognized the despair in his voice, and the gentleness as well as the apprehensiveness in his touch. This was not the self-assured, authoritative king; this was a sorrowful man, one who felt shame. You wanted to look into his eyes to see if this was yet another ploy or if your suspicions were right. You also knew that if you looked in his eyes and saw that he was genuinely remorseful, you didn’t know if you could handle it.

You took your hand back from his reach, and the absence of his warmth sent a fresh wave of pain through you. This pain wasn’t from your muscles or the pain of overexertion; this pain went deeper than the flesh. You refused to acknowledge or entertain the reason why. Instead, you focused on trying to recover from whatever the hell it was that was wrong with you.

Within minutes you saw a lush green forest and heard the melodious sound of birds. You felt the earth underneath your feet and the breeze across your skin as you sped through the forest. You saw the foliage zip past, but you were able to zero in on the details. Small details such as a ladybug resting on a leaf, the dewdrops on a spider’s web, the pebbles of dung on the ground. You could even smell the sunlight and the water from the waterfall. You ran all through the forest and touched everything.

Across the way, you saw a herd of elephants, and you wanted to go to them, but in the blink of an eye you ended up at the cliff. It all seemed familiar. You peered over it, and everything sped through your mind, jumping off the cliff, feeling the water against your skin, sitting next to T’Challa at the bank of the water, seeing his beautiful panther and another one, a more feminine one. You felt everything including the need to kiss him and let him finally claim that part of you that so desperately wanted him.

You jumped up from the bed gasping for air. You looked around from side to side. You saw and recognized the familiar surroundings of one of the palace bedrooms. You heard footsteps scurrying to you, and it was then you saw T’Challa, Ramonda, Shuri, and Zuri rushing to your bedside.

“Y/N,” Ramonda began.

You could see the same black and purple electrical current coursing through T’Challa as he reached his hand out to you. You leaped back and scurried off the bed. You pressed your back to the window and looked around the room. You were beginning to feel like before wasn’t a dream, and what you just saw wasn’t a dream. You held out your hand and recognized the same current. You looked up and heard Ramonda and Shuri gasp in unison as they watched you.

“What—the—fuck is going on?”

“Y/N, I need you to calm yourself,” Zuri cautioned.

“Calm myself? I can’t see you, all I see is red and orange flares. Why can’t I see you?”

“Y/N, it’s Shuri, listen to my voice. Focus on my voice all right. Everything is going to be all right. Listen to the sound of my voice and take deep breaths,” Shuri recited.

You did your best to follow her instructions, and after a few moments your vision returned back to normal, and there they stood gaping at you.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Sit down, all will become clear,” Zuri began.

You looked around at all of them and listened. Instead of walking back to the bed you walked across the room to the sitting area and sat in one of the plush armchairs. You’d spent enough time lying down. The three of them followed you and sat in the remaining seats, except T’Challa. Instead, he leaned against the mantel of the fireplace. His eyes never left you.

“What is going on? What is happening to me?”

“When you were injured from your fight with Nakia, your injuries were very severe. It was a miracle T’Challa found you when he had. Unfortunately, by the time the medical team was able to work on you, you’d lost too much blood, and your injuries were too vast for them to fix,” Zuri explained. He then looked around to Ramonda, Shuri and T’Challa hesitating. You wondered why.

As if sensing this, Ramonda leaned forward and took your hand. “Child, we didn’t have any other options, and we chose a risky one. We gave you the heart-shaped herb and placed you within the red earth in hopes that the ancestors would bestow their favor upon you and the herb would aid us where modern medicine failed us.”

“We?” You asked searching her eyes; she looked down then nodded.

“We all were surprised when the earth released you and had healed you. We praised Bast for the miracle.”

“When you awoke you were not yourself. You’d developed super speed and strength, and an endurance to rival any cheetah,” Zuri finished.

You looked at them all and finally to T’Challa, and it all became clear. You hadn’t dreamt the encounter in the forest; you hadn’t imagined the changes; it was all real. T’Challa’s expression was masked; he simply waited for you to speak.

“It was all real. The chase, the struggle, the waterfall, it was all real,” you surmised.

“It was,” Zuri confirmed.

“We’ve been scouring every record, every scroll to understand just what happened and how.”

You thought back to the ancestral plane, back to your conversation with T’Chaka, back to all you’d learned, and the test. Comprehension scraped at the edge of your consciousness, and you began to piece it together slowly.

“I was tested. Bast allowed it, the earth accepted me, the ancestors approved, the earth released me and Bast--,” you paused and looked at each of them.

“Bast blessed me.”

No one spoke.

“Somehow I passed the test.”

You felt dizzy as if everything was spinning and you were going to pass out. While you knew everything that happened and that what you’d been through, in fact, happened somehow it still felt unreal, it still felt like a dream. You gripped your head and closed your eyes.

“Are you all right?” T’Challa asked taking a step to you before he stopped.

“I’d like to be left alone, please.”

They obeyed and walked to the door without another word. Once alone you looked up and again saw the same vision as if you were looking through infrared goggles, you closed your eyes and tried to calm down.

“Calm yourself now. First the body, but only you can calm from within. Calm yourself.”

You gritted your teeth and focused on the words T’Chaka had spoken. You focused on your breathing, and slowly your pulse returned to normal and slowly you felt calmness. Once you opened your eyes you decided you needed to relax, the only way that happened for you was a bath.

You walked to the bathroom, and your reflection caught your eye. You slowly walked to the mirror and looked over your face. You looked the same as always, but you saw something different, something within you was not the same. You leaned close to the glass and stared deeper into your own eyes. You examined yourself with deep intent and tried to put your finger on it, but you couldn’t. You saw a flash of violet within your eyes, and you lurched backward. You stared at yourself expecting some animal to rip from your skin, but nothing happened. You took a deep breath in and shook your head.

“Get a grip Y/N.”

You lifted off the nightgown and stepped into the shower. Once the water beamed down onto your skin, you turned the temperature hotter. No matter how hot the water got and how much steam filled the room it didn’t feel hot enough. When you turned the knob again, you realized there was no more room to turn because it was already the hottest it could get you just stared at the nozzle. You closed your eyes and stood underneath the steady stream of water and allowed yourself the time your muscles needed to melt like putty.

After what felt like hours, you finally opened your eyes and felt substantially better. The ache in your muscles was gone, and the haze in your head had cleared. You felt as if you had a firmer grip on reality, or whatever the hell this was. You’d grasped that you’d almost died, and you were tested in the ancestral plane by the ancestors and Bast. You gathered that you’d passed and somehow could now run faster, smell better and see further. While it was alarming, you never felt fear, and you suspected it was because of your conversation with T’Chaka. Once you felt the water get cold, you turned it off and dried yourself. You felt more like yourself, and you were grateful for that.

As you walked out of the bathroom, you saw a tray of food had been left on the table by the window. The setting sun caught your eye, and you stopped in front of the window to admire the beauty of Wakanda. You could hear everything, the animals in the forest and everyone in the palace, on top of that you could feel the powerful energy radiating off the floor and spreading through you. The energy merged with yours and increased yours. All of these new sensations were overwhelming; you closed your eyes and tried to tune them out. It took nearly ten minutes for any amount of relief; once you’d accomplished it, you felt weaker. You gripped the edge of the table and tried to forge on.

You took the trey to the armchairs and sat down. You saw a stack of books on the floor next to one of the chairs and reached for the one on top. You skimmed the pages and noticed you could read faster than you’ve ever read before. It took you barely forty seconds to read one page and even more you understood and recollected everything you read. Your interest piqued and you couldn’t stop. So there you sat eating the delicious food sent from the kitchen and reading through all the books stacked on the floor.

Everything you read was incredible; it all spoke of records dating back to the previous kings and all of their knowledge on things that had started Wakanda and their very way of life. The text even touched on concepts only Wakandans experienced, the connection between the land and Bast, and the root of their beliefs. Reading about it you too felt a connection to it all, one that had gotten stronger since your time on the ancestral plane.

Once you’d made it to the sixth book, you’d finished dinner, and your hair had naturally dried leaving it in it’s curled and coiled state. You couldn’t stop reading. Once your eyes landed on the world “Soltihimi,” it was as if you knew what it meant, but you didn’t understand how you possibly could. The book never spoke of it directly; it was always just touched upon and always leaving more questions than answers.

By the time you’d finished reading the stack of books and doing your own research on the computer that was housed in the room, the sun was peeking out from behind the mountains. You hadn’t slept a wink, but you barely felt tired, you felt energized, and you were more than ready to get the answers you deserved.

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

-T’Challa-

He sat at the breakfast table along with his mother and sister. None of them spoke, either they were each lost in their own thoughts or the food. T’Challa leaned back and sighed out.

“Your pensiveness causes the entire palace to be uneasy T’Challa. Calm yourself,” his mother voiced.

“Mother is right, brother. Did you even sleep?”

T’Challa rubbed his forehead and tried to apply pressure to his temples in an effort to loosen the growing ball of stress he felt there. He hadn’t slept, but how could he?

As if not needing the answer his mother shook her head, placed her utensils down and turned to him.

“T’Challa--,”

“How can I sleep, mother? This is my fault. Everything I do no matter what puts her in harm's way. I am the root of it all. Me,” he finally voiced.

Those thoughts haunted him every night for months. Usually, he could quiet them just enough to claim a few hours rest but last night he could not, nor could he since Y/N’s accident.

“Brother--,”

“It is true, and you know it Shuri. First, I held her captive against her will, locking her away forcing her to remain in Wakanda for my own selfish purposes, then I give her the heart-shaped herb knowing that it could kill her and have adverse reactions. Now look, she is forever changed because of me. This is all my fault.”

Shuri looked to their mother, but neither of them knew what to say. They’d never seen him like this. They were so used to seeing the assured brother and son they loved; they didn’t know what words to say to comfort him.

“T’Challa you did what you did to save her life. If you had not intervened, she would have died,” Zuri piped up as he walked into the room.

“Yes, what you did was a risk and could have gone another way, but we should thank Bast it did not. She is alive and well.”

“Well, Zuri? She is no longer Y/N, she is something else entirely, something we do not even understand,” T’Challa interjected.

“We do know. She is experiencing similar abilities to you, her eyes change color as yours does, from everything you’ve told me I could gather a few things, Bast blessed her with the power of the panther just as she blessed you with your birthright,” Zuri explained.

“I did some research of my own brother, and based on what I found I am inclined to agree with Zuri. While the scripts in the temple are old and written by the kings of before, I found more mentions of the spirit warrior from ancient tribes dating back to the first king of Wakanda. The Spirit Warrior is the key to the growth of Wakanda. Kings can grow Wakanda but only so much until a Spirit Warrior is chosen. One has never been chosen before T’Challa. She was chosen by bast,” Shuri explained.

The excitement in her eyes shone brightly.

“She was chosen because her heart is pure, her soul is strong, and her love for Wakanda and its people is deep and true. Bast saw all of this. She was tested, and she prevailed. These abilities were a gift T’Challa,” Zuri finished.

He sat there and contemplated everything his family was saying to him. It made sense and even amazed him, but still, he couldn’t shake the guilt he felt at putting her in this situation. He took a deep breath, placed his head in his hands and released the breath. Zuri placed his hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

“This is not your fault. We will help her through this; we will work to understand this better.”

“Eh-em.”

He looked up and to the door and saw Y/N paused at there. She looked like an angel, but she also looked stronger. He wondered if her new “enhancements” had anything to do with it.

“I hope I am not interrupting.”

Shuri was the first to get up and hurry to her. She wrapped her arms around her and hugged her.

“You look much better.”

Y/N smiled and hugged her back. It had been too long since he saw her smile--truly smile. He missed it. He missed her. His mother soon followed and hugged her also. T’Challa looked down to his still full plate and sighed again.

“As beautiful as ever,” his mother said.

There were a few moments of silence he felt he should have filled with his own happy expression for her recovery, but he couldn’t speak. He was too wrapped up in his guilt. He wondered if she blamed him.

“Come eat,” Shuri said as she pulled her to the table.

As she sat, he looked over her features and saw no evidence of distress. He looked further down to her neck where not even a week ago had a sharp piece of glass protruding from it, today there was nothing there, no sign of injury or a battle to the death. Her skin had healed flawlessly. When her eyes met his he quickly pulled them away looking back to his plate.

“Y/N, I am pleased you’re looking better. We were just discussing the matter of your--resurrection,” Zuri began. She smirked.

“Resurrection; is that what we’re calling it? I guess you can call it that. I was practically dead wasn’t I.”

“How do you feel dear?” His mother asked

You took a deep breath and shrugged.

“The pain in my body is gone, my head feels less hazy; I guess you could say I’m calmer. It’s just—I can hear and sense everything, all at once. It’s overwhelming,” you explained.

“Your body is still adjusting to its metaphysical change,” Zuri enlightened.

“I need answers Zuri, I understand this is something new, but you must know something.”

“Your time in the ancestral plane, what happened?”

You took a long drink from your orange juice glass then sat back and tried to pull your thoughts together.

“I was there; it was beautiful, the purples, oranges, pinks, it’s peaceful. I can see why that is the chosen resting place for the kings,” you began. T’Challa was now looking at you.

“T’Chaka was the one to greet me.” T’Challa joined your eyes to look at his mother. She placed the tips of her fingers over her lips. You could see the tears welling in her eyes.

“He is at peace, although he misses you queen mother and you Shuri, and you T’Challa.” They all looked down overcome with emotion.

“The other kings were there. Also, he said my body was dying, and the Earth should not have accepted me, but it did. Then I had to stand before all the panther kings. They growled and circled me. It was terrifying. There was quiet, and that’s when I saw her.”

“Saw who?” Shuri asked at the edge of her seat.

“Bast.”

Once you said it, Zuri dropped to a chair and gaped at you.

“She revealed herself to you?”

You nodded.

“Yes, but she was a panther, a huge, beautiful, majestic, panther. She stared at me, and the pain was excruciating. It felt as if I was burning from the inside out and every organ was being twisted. After what felt like hours, the pain stopped, and T’Chaka told me I had to be tested, and I passed, and then I woke up here.”

T’Challa looked around at each of them as they took in the information. Zuri looked amazed, Shuri looked puzzled, and his beautiful mother looked emotional. When he looked at you, he found your eyes already on him. He felt she was keeping more to herself. Her eyes dropped to his lips, and she licked her own. He took a deep inhale and smelled every essence that made her. God her scent was intoxicating.

“This is incredible. Never before has this happened,” Zuri said smiling widely.

“Everything points to you being found worthy of the panther.”

“But why me?”

“We do not question Bast dear, she does what she pleases and does it for a reason. You were found worthy because you are worthy. You have always been worthy,” his mother added.

You smiled and looked down, he could hear the influx of your heartbeat and senses the change in your chemistry, your emotions were rising. He looked down at his plate. Never had he sensed you like this before. He’d never sensed anyone like this before. Weeks ago, yes, he could pick up on your moods, and even the differences in your smell, but now it was one hundred times worse. He could sense all of it and his only instincts were to console you in any way he could.

She looked up and back to him, and everyone in the room disappeared, the only two people left you and him. Since you awoke, he’d had the strongest urges he’d ever had to fully claim you as his. The day in the forest was one of the most painful he’d ever endured. He’d thought of pushing you against the tree and plowing into you, then he’d thought of sinking you down to the river’s bank and show you just who was the king. Now he just wanted to show you how sorry he really was.

“I can feel you.”

T’Challa bugged his eyes wide as he stared at you. He heard the words, but your mouth never moved. She knew he’d heard her. He saw the violet in her eyes spark before she looked down to her hands.

“Perhaps T’Challa can council you seeing that she is experiencing the same effects as you,” Shuri offered. He looked to her, and she gave him an encouraging smile. One that said she was trying to help.

“My king,” Ayo began at the door.

“There are a few matters that need handling. The council has been requesting a meeting since the events with Nakia and Ma’Uchi.”

With the mention of Nakia’s name, he saw you flinch, and he felt the stab of pain in his chest. You looked pained. As if catching herself Ayo lowered her head slightly to Y/N.

“I am sorry Y/N.”

“Its fine Ayo.”

“I am happy that you have recovered. We were all quite worried.”

She smiled and nodded.

“If you are feeling up to it perhaps a stroll through the village would serve you well, I know the people would rest assured to see you up and about,” Ayo continued.

“The people have been very worried,” Shuri added.

“Perhaps,” you responded.

“As for the King, Ayo I’m sorry he has other more urgent matters to attend to than the whims of the council. They can very well continue to wait,” his mother expressed in a tone that spoke of her annoyance.

“Mother.”

“I will not apologize, Wakanda could have been dumped into a plot of power and treachery. If it were not for Y/N, we would have been forever changed. You, my son, would be dead. They can wait,” she finalized.

Ayo nodded her head then bowed it and presented the salute before she walked out the dining hall. The room was left silent. He stood.

“I do have one or two things to take care of. So if you all would excuse me.”

He turned and walked out of the room without another word. He needed space right now. He didn’t know how he could face her knowing the hand he played in her woes. He didn’t know if his will was stronger than his guilt and shame.

******************

-Y-N-

After breakfast you walked around the palace, you’d seen it all before, but somehow it was different now. Everything felt different. Certain parts of the palace the energy was different. You felt overwhelming energy in the throne room, the gardens, and Shuri’s lab. The increase in energy was addictive. It made you feel as if you could lift an entire world by yourself. It gave you a dizzying feel as if you were under some drug. You used the time to gather your thoughts and emotions. As you passed palace workers each of them stopped to express their relief you’d survived. You had no idea you mattered to any of them. It touched your heart and made you feel like this was home more and more.

You hadn’t even thought about what you were going to do now. Before you had no choice, you’d been sent out of Wakanda because the king, the man you loved was marrying someone else. You had no choice but to move on. Now, things were different; or were they? You thought back to T’Challa at the table and his behavior. His distance was notable. He was aloof and unreadable. You couldn’t tell what he was feeling or thinking as opposed to other times. You tried to tone into him, but you had no idea what you were doing or even how to do it. His actions spoke of everything being different but for other reasons than yours. You were confused.

Everything had happened so quickly. The plan with Steve, Sam, and Tony; then your time with the Jabari, and the unfolding of the plan; and the battle at the wedding and then the to the death fight in your bathroom. All your emotions rushed through you and with it brought everything compounding on you like a ton of bricks. You could hear everyone’s thoughts one over the other; you could feel the pain all through your body where your wounds laid now healed. You could see all the energy from the ground and then blinding light. Everything within you felt unstable. Your heart felt as if it were going to burst right from your chest. It was overwhelming. You staggered to the closest wall, leaned on it and gripped your head. You fell to your knees and felt as if you were going to pass out. You felt strong arms wrap around you, and then it all went black.

When you opened your eyes, you felt the fresh air gently whip across your skin, and smelled the precipitation in the air. You could also hear the various sounds of animals and nature. You sat up looking around and dropped your jaw at the sight before you. You laid upon a soft daybed draped with sheer insect netting around it. When you slinked through the mesh, you stood on beautiful mahogany wood that gleamed, showing off its health. You walked forward to the insane panoramic view of Wakanda in all its glory.

The horizon was a faint blue with bursts of orange, purple and pink. All around you could see tops of trees and out to the ocean, but in the distance, you could see all the smaller lakes as they connected. As you walked close to the mahogany railing, you marveled at how beautiful this country was. No wonder T’Chaka and kings before were reluctant with opening its borders. They had much more than vibranium to protect. This was easily the eight wonder of the world, and all the others paled in comparison.

You slowly walked along the railing never taking your eyes off the view, everywhere you looked you saw more than met the eyes. You looked at the treetops that were more than one hundred feet away, and you clearly saw the macaque monkeys frolicking and chasing each other. You looked to the rivers and saw the Butterflyfish gracefully gliding through the water and even the African Lungfish skimming the bottom of the lake. You closed your eyes and inhaled and smelled the salt of the ocean, the richness of the dirt, the strong smell of varying animal feces and of course the sweet scent of flowers. Here your senses worked together; they weren’t all waring with the other fighting for dominance. Here, you were centered.

You opened your eyes as the scent of T’Challa filled your nostrils. You turned in every direction; you could smell him as if he was standing next to you. You knew that if you followed your nose, it would lead you right to him. So that is what you did. You followed the railing which led around the vast floor plan. Once you turned yet another corner there, he stood with his back facing you looking at an even better view of the setting sun. You stopped in your tracks and marveled at the sight of him with nature’s painting that was better than any art in the Louvre. As if he sensed you there, he turned around stared at you. When he turned, he looked peaceful, but once he laid eyes on you, confliction took over. You slowly approached him, and his eyes never left you. Once you joined him to look out at the sunset. You took a deep breath in and slowly released it.

“Is this better?” he asked. You looked at him and just knew what he meant.

“Much.” He nodded, and the silence continued.

“Where are we?”

“My hidden slice of heaven,” he responded.

“We should all be so lucky. It’s beautiful here, so peaceful.”

T’Challa nodded.

“When I became old enough that I could request things without having to seek approval I had this built in secret. When the life of prince T’Challa, the future king of Wakanda and the next black panther became too much, I came here. No one knew where I was. I stayed here for hours at a time. When I became a man, I spent days here while everyone stressed over where I was.” He smiled at the fond memories, memories you somehow felt as well.

“Shortly after I took the herb and became the black panther the changes within me sent everything in overdrive. I heard, smelled and saw everything and being surrounded by hundreds of people made it worse, there was so much to pick up, so much to process and it was not easy. Only when I came here did I realize everything stood still. I was able to center myself, control them rather than them controlling me. I was able to understand them, hone them.”

You understood.

“Is that why we’re here? For me to hone them?”

“I took a chance that this place would help you as it helped me. You cannot hone them until you understand them. I’ve had my entire life to prepare you have not. Even with a lifetime of preparedness, it was not enough; I had to deal with it first-hand.”

You thought over his words, he was right. You felt out of control, and you hated it.

“Okay.”

“Okay, sit.” He climbed over the railing and sat on it. You watched him as if he were crazy.

“You’re kidding. What if I fall?”

You peeped over the edge at the long, perilous drop.

“Don’t worry; I hear cats always land on their feet.”

You snapped your head to him and saw him smiling. Your heart pounded faster. That was all it took. You followed him and climbed over the railing and sat beside him. You sat there staring at the sky and tried shut off his scent. It was a hard task.

“Pick something to focus on. It can be anything. Pick one of your senses and focus on just that one sense. Tell me when you’ve picked one.”

You scanned the horizon and tried to look at one thing, but your eyes darted everywhere. The only thing that remained persistent was his smell. You stopped your searching and looked to him. You sank your teeth in your bottom lip. You were afraid. Was it smart to give full attention to the thing you’ve been trying to block out? You took a deep breath and looked back out to the sky then you closed your eyes.

“Okay.”

“Now from that one sense, pick out one thing with that sense. So if you picked your sight, pick one thing, either a specific tree or a particular color in the sunset; one thing with that sense.”

That one particular thing picked you.

“Okay.”

“All right, focus on it. Completely immerse yourself in it. The trick is to keep all the others at bay while finding one thing from that thing you’ve picked. For example, I’ve chosen my sense of hearing. My particular thing within my hearing is the sound of your heartbeat. From that, I will focus on it and nothing else, not your scent, not the lush green treetops, nothing else. From there I will pick one thing about your heartbeat, which is the fluctuations between slow and steady, to fast and erratic to barely audible. You try.”

You felt your heartbeat pick up speed and intensity and it was all because of his words. How in the hell did he expect you to focus on one thing when he was sitting next to you, smelling like the best meal you’d had yet to taste, and with your heart competing with the sound of a marching band’s drum player. You took a deep breath and tried to center yourself. You tried to follow his instructions. You took a deep breath allowing his scent to fill you. You felt your pulse race faster. You held his scent and refused to release it. From his scent, you tried to pick one thing from it. You concentrated more intensely and realized there was a fluctuation with his smell. At times it was stronger then weaker, and it even changed. You noticed no matter what it was; you loved them all.

Without even realizing it time stood still, everything was calm. You opened your eyes and looked to T’Challa who was already staring at you. The two of you sat silently just taking each other in. In your head you saw the night the two of you sat in the hotel room, the first night you nearly kissed. Then it moved to the night you finally did kiss, then to the night T’Challa kissed everywhere on your body. With every memory, his scent changed, and your heartbeat increased.

“Once you master that you know how that sense works, then you do it with the remaining others. The more you practice, the easier it becomes.”

“How long did it take you to master all of them?”

He smirked and looked back to the sky that was not black. The forest was alive with all the sounds of nature.

“When I became the black panther all of my typical traits enhanced. My stubbornness, my love of control, my competitiveness---,” he said before he looked at you.

“This is not a competition Y/N.”

You smiled and nodded. A peaceful silence fell between you, one that didn’t need filling with words. One that didn’t feel awkward or strange. This silence made you feel as if you weren’t alone; you truly felt a connection not only with Wakanda but the king sitting beside you.

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

TagList:

@kumkaniudaku @brianabreeze @sarahboseman @texasbama @heyauntieeee @airis-paris14 @thiccdaddy-mbaku @wakandas-vibranium @wakanda-inspired @theunsweetenedtruth @ashanti-notthesinger @reignsxjackson @halfrican-heat @ambthegamer @simplyyamberr @dramaqueenamby @muse-of-mbaku @sisterwifeudaku @mejustme06 @stressedgyal @ilcb7 @leahnicole1219 @destinio1 @maliadestiny @drsunshine97 @blowmymbackout @purplehairgawdess @thehuntoyobun @wakandamama @wakandawinning @profilia @zxddy-panther @h-challa @babygirlofwakanda @misswakanda2018 @challaxkillmonger @ororowrites @hutchj @myfavemarvelfanfics @lavitabella87 @afraiddreamingandloving @autumn242 @purple-apricots @skysynclair19 @hersheyskissesss-blog @blue-ishx @blublubleu @90sinspiredgirl @tchallaswife @tchallamakesmeh0lla @turn-thy-paige @blackchickfics @blackpantherismyish @inlovewithmakeupcomicsanimelove @naturally-bri @flawlesslybeautiful14 @qweentbh @lunaerly @theoutereffect @twilight-sapphire-lover @pupyluv247 @stark-red19 @cockyboysandsugarism @maverickabull @madbadsiren @aykanna @myaw731 @ruruly20 @mixedmelanin @brittyevans @bezzywazhere @laketaj24 @taint3dvirgin @soulsparker @theresnomoregoodones @syreanne @loveandcigarillos @heybriheyyy @wakanda-bcth @uhlxis @yaachtynoboat711 @geeksareunique @bultalongthewayside @ajspencer1892 @captiansaveasmut @imaginewhoever @terrablaze514 @starsshines-blog @scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade @darkandlovely94 @sithlordslut @wavyyc @naturalistamisslyn @nigarachi15 @madamslayyy @blackandfair @kreolemami @mylastnameisthe-fish @kaykay0829 @chaneajoyyy @tequilajay27 @blacklotus-of-the-black-kingdom @slimmiyagi @im5ftbutmythroat66 @jaeee-http @madhatterhelsing @sunflowerpsalms @wakanda-shit-is-that @deliciousstreetkidcroissant @jecourt @vebner37 @disneysdarlingdiva @melaninmarvel @alanastormborn @dolphinpink310 @wonderbell @ohleucothea @queentearra @bitchbetterhavemydinner @fentybabyy @kaykay4454fan @priya212 @kitkit1690 @chrismarcs @beautycomesindifferentformsworld @blackpantherimagines @ovohanna24 @sweetpeachjones @kslo000 @nubian-queen18 @omgsuperstarg @prettyprincessushio @treeondrea @ursapharoh05 @blackpinup22 @kaytauru @big3gocandykahn @kissingpineapples @ilcb7 @wildaboutchrisevans @fitfineandstayingalive @misspooh @michele-onel @gorjiss @blacklotus-of-the-black-kingdom @muva-milaje @limbo-limbo-limbo @awkwardlyabstract @blxck-brxndie @meeky-imagines @inlovewith3 @metalarmlover @mellowjellow6 @scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade @sweettea-and-honeybutter @thatrandomhetaliachick @missdeerstalker15 @marvelheaux @romanceoftheeveryday-blog @mufasathatniggatho @cltex84 @sweetbearcolorgarden @msincognito67 @blackpantherimagines @mosagram @mar-ta-3 @ljstraightnochaser @lewatigress @akimi-youngblood @bekahdean87 @teechallas-blog @jasmindaughteroftheworld @cocooned-butterfly @emoniclark22 @chereedrop619 @theblulife @niggarachi15 @msincognito67 @missdeerstalker15 @wakandamama @great-neckpectations @avenger-marvel-fan @arieljamiyla @avenger-marvel-fan @vibranium-soul @apileofmiscsomethings @niecey4cocaine @missumuch1918 @chillavesss @madamslayyy @heynessss @shamelessqueenobservation @cetouna @cosmicmelaninflower @tntnv @dopegalkk @babyblowomg @somansystars-and-westillstarve @determinednot2fall @zoezoe34 @chasingsunlight @cetouna @tntnv @dopegalkk @somanystars-and-westillstarve @diamyyyyy @give-me-a-million-dollars-pls @shyblackgirl @your-resident-evil @stillevansbae @sheisexcellent @oceanscorazon @hautehoneyfitness @bistoolada @sunigyrl @alanastormborn @igotmadskills @bekahdean87 @blackpantherimagines @adifferentme

#late fic #T'Challa #t'challa x reader #t'challa x you #t'challa fanfiction #black panther fanfiction #king t'challa #the black panther #black fanfiction #angst fic #slow burn #t'challa smut #Wakanda forever

144 notes · View notes

tastefullynefarious · 5 years

Text

Torment never looked so goddamn fine

Chapter 3 / 10 - Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son

Words: 3,387

Warnings: Stuff!, you can kinda see what to expect from the moodboard lol, SMUT!, emotions i think?, probably typos.

I was going for something, not sure how well it translated from my head but hope ya’ll enjoy!

°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

Masquerading as a man with a reason

My charade is the event of the season

And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know

On a stormy sea of moving emotion

Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean

I set a course for winds of fortune, but I hear the voices say

Carry on my wayward son

For there'll be peace when you are done

Lay your weary head to rest

Don't you cry no more

Billy had no idea if she'd still be there, but he didn't know where else to go, didn't have where else to go. In hindsight, it hadn't been his initial choice. He tried the quarry first but it was buzzing with horny teens basking in the late afternoon sun. He even went to stumble into the forest hoping for some alone and quiet, but he almost bumped into the chief of police, a trail a yellow flags in his wake. Billy didn't know if he had the energy to explain his bloody face nor to find out what was the cop doing. So he just hopped back into his car and drove aimlessly for a while, warm blood seeping from above his right eye. Passing by Motel 6 had been nothing more than pure coincidence. Sandy had been a good fuck, a great one even, but she was not his friend and definitely not his savior.

Despite his little rant, as soon as he saw the sign he turned the steering wheel and entered the parking lot almost mechanically. He passed the rooms on the ground floor, 01 to 10, in a daze. Would she still be there? Would she even open the door if she was? He went up the metal stairs and counted the doors, 11, 12 and finally 13, the world slightly spinning, or maybe it was just his pounding head wound. She was still a stranger despite their little midnight encounter a few days prior, she owed him nothing. If she was behind that door, she would send him away. He was not her problem, not her responsibility. Not a charity case.

The door flung open before he beat down this pride enough to knock.

"Well shit. Come on in." It was all she said as she stepped aside and he didn't question her sanity for letting him follow. Even in his state, blinking briskly to keep the blood out of his eye, it was hard not to notice she was only wearing an almost sheer bathrobe, her lean legs in full view.

She guided him to sit on the edge of the bed, gathering the notes and pages scattered on the mattress with some urgency before coming back with a first aid kit and began checking on his bleeding temple. Her cool fingers were already doing wonders for his headache. He relaxed into her touch, hands moving his head to find better angles with a steadiness and dexterity that only came from experience. His eyes never left her, the question of what was her story resurfacing like an undertone in the storm of thoughts that was raging in his mind.

"It's not that bad, head cuts just tend to bleed a lot." It was strange, the way all his wounds seemed to hurt less when she was the one treating them, her hands not particularly light as she whipped the blood away. And stranger still that she seemed to be able to find all the sore spots that weren't even visible, pressing her fingers to his side to see if his ribs were cracked. She even poked at his knee, an old surfing accident that didn't usually bother him, but a weak spot that his father sometimes exploited, knowingly or not. "Nothing's broken, but you should really watch yourself for a while. Stay off that leg as much as possible."

"Doesn't hurt much..." It was more of an afterthought. He knew the pain of broken bones well and that was not it. But she gave him a half smile, her eyes averting from his fast. His hands balled into fists at his side, anger running hot beneath his skin. He hated it, the pity, the walking on eggshells around him like he was one step away from breaking. He loathed himself even more because it was very close to the truth. But Sandy didn't seem to notice his fury, or chose to ignore it completely, picking up his left hand instead. Her brows furrowed as she examined the fast forming bruises on his knuckles, his fingers loosening at the unexpected touch.

"You should take a shower first. Then I'll bandage this up." He opened his mouth, but she was faster. "No complains, Billy! Get in that shower."

"You just want me naked." She faked an overly dramatic gasp, hand brought to her gaping mouth and wide doe-like eyes, but she was already moving backwards towards the door Billy assumed was the bathroom.

"Even if you discovered my wicked plan to get in your pants, you're not getting out of this, mister." There was a deafening silence left behind her as she disappeared from view and it rubbed Billy wrong. He shouldn't have come! Why did he? His usual routine would have been to seek an abandoned place where he could lick his wounds in solitude. So what brought him to this stranger's room? Sure, a part of him had been certain that he would only find an empty space, no traced left behind the mystery Florida girl named Sandy. But she had been still in town, still at the cheap motel, so what was he still doing there, sitting on her bed, waiting for her to dress his wounds for him? The damage was not even that bad this time around, the pain having mostly subsided already. He was left… numb, an endless black void inside of him screaming to be filled with something, anything, else.

Billy got up from the bed faster than he intended to, stumbling on the short distance to the bathroom. She was slightly bent over to reach the faucets, adjusting the water temperature. "Fucking finally. Get it."

Sandy sauntered towards the spot just past the doorway where he seemed to have caught roots. His eyes were dark, face set in all hard lines and jaw clenching. Paired with all the bruises and overall scuffed up appearance, he looked dangerous, the bad boy mothers warned their daughters about, the hungry wolf stalking the pen. The corners of her lips curled in a playful smirk, hands already tugging at his shirt. She pulled it over his head, her powers alerting her of the strain in his shoulders so she turned his dial lower. It was a risk, too much and he would start noticing something was off. Billy had other things on his mind though. One swift pull on the cord that held together the thin robe covering her and it was pooling at her feet, only a pair of lacy panties underneath. The snarl that came out of his sinful mouth was all kinds of cruel, his shoulders straightening as he inched even closer into her personal space.

"Were you already expecting company, doll?" She batted her eyelashes, eyes all big and feigning innocence.

"I was hoping you'd come around-" It seemed to be the correct answer, his mouth on hers barely letting her finish the last word. He pushed her backwards towards the shower and she made fast work of his jeans and boxers. In turn, he ripped the fragile lace than hung on her left hip letting the panties slide down her other leg just as they reached the shower.

The water was steaming, leaving their skin red and raw. Sandy turned their pain down another notch, breaking the kiss to wipe the blood from her nose, but masking it by quickly starting to nip and kiss down his throat. He let his head fall backwards as she went lower and lower, nails digging in his sides. A small groan escaped his lips and she thought he was enjoying it, but was surprised when he pulled her up and pushed her against the tiles rather forcefully, both her wrists caught in a vice like grip above her head.

On any other given day Billy would have more than welcomed her to wrap those lips around his cock, but he was desperate for something else. He lifted one of her legs, a jolt passing through his wrecked arm, but he ignored it, the pain already fading under the boiling water. He was inside her in one swift motion, her back a perfect arch and head pushed back against the hard wall. They settled in a frenzied rhythm, bodies slamming into one another with a ferocity that could almost be mistaken for passion. She moaned loudly and his eyes were drawn to her face, eyes half closed and lips parted. And blood flowing from her nose, still evident even under the heavy stream. She must have caught on his worried expression, his pace slowing down.

"Shit! Don't you dare stop now, Billy!" She rolled her hips with force and he followed suit, his thrusts becoming long and deep rather than fast. He let go of her wrists and wiped the blood off, her arms snaking around his neck instantly. She kissed him as soon as his thumb brushed away from her face, biting his lower lip and sucking on his tongue, teeth clashing as they rushed towards their releases. His now freed hand found her waist and pulled her even closer, fingers imprinting five dotted bruises on her skin. He wrapped her leg around, freeing his hand to tease her clit and she let out something between a moan and a scream as they both came, seconds apart. She rolled her head forward, resting it gently against his. The gesture was far from new yet somehow still foreign and he took a sharp inhale, the steam filling the minuscule motel bathroom making it particularly difficult. He checked her face for any signs of distress, but her eyes were closed and there was no more blood.

"You okay?"

"Better than." She lifted her eyes to meet his, but started coughing almost immediately. "But we should really get out of here before our skin melts off or we suffocate."

She untangled herself from him and turned off the water, the absence of both her body and the hot pour making him shiver despite the temperature still high in the small fogged up space. He followed her into the room, his eyes settling on her back. In better lighting he could finally see the long gashes marring her skin and they looked like anything but accidents. His hand shot up to trace one, but a baggy shirt was covering her before he could. She picked up the first aid again and sat on the edge of the bed, one leg underneath her. The burn-mark on her leg ran all the way from her the middle of her upper thigh to her waist line where he'd felt it.

"Sit." She patted the spot besides her, the tone of her voice sparking a little defiance in him. No one told him what to do! But he sat down nevertheless, towel wrapped around his waist. She was only helping him after all. She'd done nothing but help, taking his mind off of his father, off the aches in his beaten up body. He stared at her concentrated expression as she applied some cream on his shoulder, delicate fingers massaging it into his skin. When she moved to bandage his hand, he snapped at her a little, eyes averting from her when he thought she hadn't deserved it.

"Are you not even going to ask?!"

"Are you going to be honest if I do?"

"I don't know. Probably not."

"Well, that is refreshingly sincere." She continued her little ministrations unaffected by the exchange, while Billy was having a small breakdown on the inside, thoughts forming in his head only halfway through before another idea took their place, all mixed with images of his mother donning identical bandages and bruises to his own. Sandy's voice silenced the madness, cutting through it like a beam of light in the dead of night. "It's not hard to guess though. You already established your father is an ass, I just didn't realize how much of one."

Sandy let her hand fall on his chest and trail all the way down to where she knew the ribs were injured. She read his cuts and bruises like braille, each ache on his body mapped in her head and telling a story. Her powers allowed her to see the big picture better, distinguish between what was new and old. Her voice came out a little shaky as her eyes finally shot back to find his blues. "It happens often, too."

"It was my fault."

"I sincerely hope you don't mean that." When he gave no response, she caught his face between both her hands, thumbs pushing away some of the wet strands of hair. "There is nothing you could have done to deserve this from your dad. Any of it." He would have looked almost cute, a lost little puppy, if his eyes weren't so tired and sad. She could see in them that he didn't believe a single word she had uttered.

Billy stared back at the young woman, a range of emotions washing through him. It started with a seeping anger: who did this girl think she was? She knew nothing about him. It went on to a polar opposite calm curiosity: what had she been through? She looked like she'd seen some shit. It did a back-flip to annoyance: she was acting all high and mighty, but she was running away from her problems just as much as he was, she admitted it that night at the quarry.

Finally, Billy decided he wasn't up to reliving the 'fight' with his father, the memory still just a few hours old. There was no need for her to know how he disrespected Susan, reminding her that she'd never compare to his mom, and the unfortunate matter of Neil hearing him say it. In truth, he had no quarrel with Susan. She was the one who convinced his father to eventually let him buy the Camaro and not just take his hard earned money, arguing it would be useful to have another car. He just- he couldn't think clearly when she was trying so hard to replace her. There was also nothing heroic or dignifying about his torn knuckles, the wall he'd punched repeatedly in frustration the clear winner of the altercation.

Sandy's hands finally slipped away from his cheeks, accepting that he was not going to open up, and rested on her lap. He found his eyes drawn again to that little scar in the corner of her upper lip.

"What about you? Done anything to deserve that?" He gestured to his own lip, resisting the instinct to feel it with thumb. He was expecting some kind of sob story, but her face lit up with laughter.

"Never run around with scissors, that shit is real." He lifted an eyebrow, her words making close to no sense. Had she injured herself? Was she that big of a klutz? She just shrugged in turn. "What can I say, I was a bit of a mess a few years back. A walking danger zone." He wanted to ask more about that particular time of her life, but she shook her head dismissively before he ever got the chance. So he moved on to the next scar.

"And that?" He traced his fingers this time along a long gash peeking out of her short sleeve. It wasn't too obvious, barely a faint line a few shades lighter than her skin.

"Hmmm, got it in a bar fight."

"Bar fight?"

"Yeah. Believe it or not, some men are offended by my personality." There was an implied 'unlike you' at the end of her sentence, her eyes burning into his. Or so he liked to believe. "You should have seen the other guy though." The corners of his lips curled into a proud smirk. He could almost picture her, spunky and wild, breaking a bottle over some douchebag's head, taking no shit from anybody. He reached for her thigh, brushing his fingertips from the normal, soft skin to the rougher, scorched patch. It was almost three of his hands spawns wide, red and angry. He couldn't even begin to imagine how it would feel, the flesh sizzling and shriveling up.

"Must have hurt like a bitch." She shrugged again and he couldn't quite make it if it was bravado or she genuinely was over it.

"I don't really remember. Feels like it was a lifetime ago." She touched the mark herself, her eyes following his to it but not really looking. Her fingers brushed against his and he caught her hand without thinking. Which brought him in an odd stance, caught between wanting to pull her in and realizing he should push her away. The latter won by a landslide.

"I should go." It was getting late and there was no more reason to stay, she had served her purpose. He'd already spent more time with the chick than he usually did after a round of sex and he didn't want her to get any ideas. He went straight to the bathroom to gather his clothes, still damp from the steam and water they splashed around. It mattered little, the need to bolt out the door rising by the second.

Sandy didn't know what she'd done to offend him so, but it was not like she had been expecting him to stay over. From her experience with people in general, limited as it was, she thought she had a pretty clear picture of Billy's type. It was, in retrospect, not so different from her own. They both had walls put up, thick and high and mighty impenetrable. She was proud to be getting better at opening up and accepting her past as a lesson learned, but she had the advantage of breaking free of her torment. Billy stilled seemed to live it on a daily basis.

She was rummaging through some leftover pizza boxes when he came out of the bathroom looking confident and stone cold, ever the charming devil, but he wasn't fooling her. He went straight to the door to get his leather boots and Sandy took the opportunity to feel his sore points again, making sure she could keep the pain levels lower for him even from a distance. It was going to be a bit of a struggle to keep that up long term, but it was something she could at least try. When he nodded at her and opened the door, she crossed her arms.

"Billy!" He turned towards her, one foot already out the door, eyes wild with an emotion she couldn't quite place. She worded her next sentence carefully, not wanting to sound neither needy nor indifferent. "My offer still stands, you know? Come over anytime."

"Already miss me, doll?"

"You read me like an open book. Can I hide nothing from you?" She couldn't resist rolling her eyes. He was such a duffus. A drop dead gorgeous one, completed with the emotional fucked up baggage. He chuckled at her deadpan expression, the sound pure and honest. She'd succeed in not scaring him off. Probably.

"See you around, Sandy."

"See ya, Billy."

She watched him go from the doorway, followed him while he crossed the parking lot and started his car, her eyes narrowing when he drove off into the setting sun. He was still on the back of her mind when she was arranging the files on the lab and ever present in her thoughts as she brushed her teeth before bed. She was convinced she had Billy all figured out, but he was not the problem. She wasn't sure what her next move was with the whole Upside Down situation, or where to start looking for El and the other MKUltra kids. She didn't even know for how long she'd be in Hawkins. Only one thing was beginning to be certain though, the idea forming and cementing itself deep into her brain.

She had to pay Neil a visit before she skipped town.

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

I now have a Tag list, OMG, so precious (*≧ω≦*)

Let me know if you want to be added (or if I’m doing this wrong O_O)

@letsloveimagines ; @nightcraver

#stranger things #billy hargrove #billy hargrove x oc #billy hargove x reader #love at first sting #torment never looked so goddamned fine #fanfic #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove imagine

35 notes · View notes