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saskiahaggens · 2 years

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After the storm Part 5

Masterlist Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Ploy Ending

Pairing: Jake x fem!Reader x Richy x Phil (?)

Warnings:

contains spoilers

mentioning of death, fire

Word count: 1566

Please remember that English is not my first language, so please don't kill me.

'I must save him. Y/n would hate me if I leave him here.’ Those were Jakes’ thoughts when he saw Richy back in Ironsplitter.

He leaned against the stonewall, his eyes closed. He was encircled by flames and didn't appear to be trying to save himself. He gave up on himself a long time ago.

Jake, on the other hand, wanted to protect you in whatever way he could because he loved you. At least he thought he loved you, since he had never felt that way about anybody else before. He undoubtedly thought about you more than he should have. Even though his life was in danger, he was thinking about you right now. He couldn't help himself. You seemed to be everywhere. You were everything to him.

He still despised Richy, and the idea of helping him made him sick. While he didn't hear or see Richy confess what he did, he wasn't a moron and recognized his clothes and injuries from earlier phone calls.

You'd probably still like him as much as you did before, but he despised Richy more than anybody else. But he wasn't doing this for himself. He was doing this for you.

Jake tosses his phone aside without further ado. He didn't want to do it, but it was necessary. You may hate him for it later, but he couldn't care less right now. He approached Richy and put his arm over his shoulder before helping him up.

Who the hell are you? "Leave me alone.", he screamed, attempting to free himself.

I don't like this either. Just know that I'm only doing this for Y/n.

"Y/n? Is she alright? She isn't here right? "

"No, luckily not, otherwise I would have killed you. Now stop talking and start walking. Let's just hope your little fire distracts the FBI," he said as he dragged him out.

Even though it was the beginning of summer, it was rather chilly outside. It began to rain as the guys struggled to move away from Ironsplitter. Jake felt awful about not speaking to Hannah, but he needed to get away. Richy, on the other hand, simply desired to relax. They wandered for quite some time before finding some shelter. It was a little cave.

A mine entrance was most likely meant to be built there, but the cave was clearly too unstable at the time, therefore the construction was stopped. Jake sat Richy down before falling asleep himself. They stood there for a while, looking at the wall. It was dark, and the only sounds heard were their heavy breathing and the rain outside. "Thank you... I guess," Richy murmured after a while. You should thank Y/n. I merely saved you for her, not because I wanted to," Jake said as he closed his eyes. "Did you speak with her? Is she all right?" "As okay as she can be after threatening calls and all this crap you did to her."

"I'm sorry for everything, but I can't explain it right now. My arm hurts like hell. "

"Can you make it till dawn? In our situation, running across the forest at night to find a town is suicide."

"I'm hoping so. Maybe I'd bleed out before that, but that wouldn't bother you, would it?"

"I saw far too much. Things you can't even imagine. I sacrificed everything for the few people I loved... but still..."

"Still what?"

"I confessed my feelings for Y/n. She said she'd answer me when we see each other in person. She just didn't want to hurt me. There was always someone she preferred."

"Oh yeah? And who should that be? As much as I know she liked you too. "

I'm talking about you. She often wrote about you. I don't even know if she noticed it.", he mumbled.

"I don't think she will after tonight."

"Well I do, because she is a good person." You could have killed her whole family and she would still find a way to forgive you. "

"Did you read what she wrote to me in the mine?"

"No, I just know her too well."

◇◇◇

He didn't know what happened between them afterwards. Jake helped him recover from his injuries, and they even found a place to stay.

He had no idea why he let Richy stay with him.He convinced himself that all he wanted wasn't to be alone. But, even though he didn't want to accept it, he recognized a little piece of himself in Richy. "Y/n is coming to Duskwood," he told Richy of his latest discoveries. "Really? Are you sure? Do you still want to meet her after everything that happened?" "Yes. Yes. And definitely no.", he grumbled something and plopped down on the couch.

"But why are you telling me this then?"

"I don’t want her to notice us, but we could see her. At least if you want to. ", Jake suggested.

"Of course, but she is not stupid. She will defiantly notice us."

"Maybe, but I don’t know if she should know about us, you know? Her life will probably be better without us in it. "

"You really like her, right?"

"Like you don't. So what do you think? Should we let her know about us?"

"It will be completely up to her. If she talks to us when she sees us, she can know. "

◇◇◇

"What was it that took you so long? Has anything happened?", Jake asked Richy when he came back.

While Richy took you home, he improved Nymos even more, but was worried at the time he finished. Still he didn’t let it show.

"No, I just stayed a bit. I think the attack worried her more than she showed."

"It won’t happen again."

"Why didn’t you want to tell her about your pursuers?" I understand if you don’t want me to know, but why not Y/n? "

"It’s hard to explain and it may be a saver for her if she doesn't know."

"I hope you know what you do, Jake. I just want this to be over. "

"Me too, Richy. I will make sure of it. I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me. "

◇◇◇

"Hello?", Richy asked when he got a phone call.

"It's entirely his fault."

"Hey man, I think you've got the wrong number."

"I don’t think so, Richy. You should hurry up. "

His blood froze when he heard these words. Except for you and Jake no one has his number.

"What do you mean?"

He never received an answer since the person on the other end of the line hung up. He yanked the phone down, frustrated, then checked it again after a vibration.

It was a simple picture, but this simple image broke his heart.

A destroyed car and you lying in front of it. He got flashbacks from ten years ago and jumped up in no time.

He didn't know where you were, but he knew where to start his search since he recognized the car.

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mite75 · 3 years

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The lion is awake

#byleth #fire emblem #fe3h #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem byleth #my art #ugg i worked so hard on this and it turned out poor >_>;;#but its w/e #what i had in mind while making this was a vibe i got when byleth first woke up and even later into the gd route #she was just living her life and all the sudden her WHOLE old life was taken from her with the death of her father #she fights hard but basically dies and reincarnates as this old god/human mix to find herself years in the future #then to even later find her whole life from the start was a ploy to try to bring back said old god #hell world #the whole second half of the game really makes me want to characterize her as slightly unhinged and a little angry

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writethelifeyouwant · 3 years

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Always With The Scissors

Pairing: Sam Winchester x Reader / Dean Winchester x Reader / Sam x Dean Rating: 18+ Tags: sloppy seconds, voyeurism, angst, objectification of women, slut shaming, dirty talk, cum play, pining!Dean Word Count: 2.9k Created for: @spnkinkbingo - Objectification | @negans-lucille-tblr - Man Crush Monday: Sam and Dean / Two for Tuesdays: Smangst / Sinful Sunday: Sloppy Seconds A/N: Super big congratulations of 7,000 followers!! You deserve every single one and many many more ❤️

Dean has a very specific kink. He knows it makes him sound a little creepy... okay, a lot creepy – okay, he is actually a full-on creep – but he never cums harder than he does when he's inside a girl his little brother's just fucked. And it’s not that his brother has awesome taste in girls and Dean is just jealous and wants in on the fun too. It’s not even that he has a big kink for sloppy seconds. It had never appealed to him before they started playing this sick sort of game they’ve been playing since Sam decided he was over Jess enough to start sleeping around again (he knew Sam was nowhere near ready for another relationship).

Dean remembers eyeing up a petite little thing at the bar once and then noticing Sam checking her out not too long after. Ever the gracious big brother, and not creepily concerned with Sam’s sex life, Dean figured he’d bow out and let Sam take the swing at this one — but then Sam caught Dean looking at her too, and tried to back down to let Dean have at it. Dean couldn’t have that. So he suggested the ploy that got them where they are now, they play Rock Paper Scissors for the chance to shoot their shot; Dean always loses Rock Paper Scissors.

The part of the night they hadn’t anticipated was the girl they’d been ogling spotting them playing a game for the chance to fuck her, and suggesting that they don’t need to choose, they can just take turns. That had been the game changer.

Listening to Sam fuck her stupid through the wall of the motel room is seriously hot, and Dean has to fight to keep his hand out of his pants the whole time he sits waiting, hearing Sam grunt out filth that he never imagined he’d hear from his little brother’s mouth. And when Sam lopes back through the adjoining door between their rooms with sex ruffled hair and a smirk, with a quick aside of ‘She’s all yours’ before he ducks into the bathroom for a shower, Dean swears he feels his knees go weak.

Quick as he can, he makes his way into the ‘sex room’ as he decided to call it in his head, and found the girl laying in the centre of the bed, legs draped open, playing with the cum leaking out of her pussy. Dean has to grab himself through his jeans, scared he’ll come on the spot if he doesn’t cut himself off.

“You gonna fuck me or what, big boy?” The girl leers at him, and Dean strips down like he’s being timed and slots himself between her thighs and pushes home in one go. He finishes embarrassingly quickly, with Sam’s cum sloshing around his dick and leaking into his mouth where the girl had painted it on like lip gloss. He devours every drop.

Dean catches Sam’s eye from across the bar and nods towards the girl he’s picked out as a target. It’s a college bar, so Sam does the approach, seeing as he's the one who looks like he could still fit in here. Dean drops himself in a chair and watches Sam work, proudly — he’s the one who taught the kind everything he knows after all. He watches as Sam charms her easily, gets her a drink, asks if she wants to come sit down and motions to the table Dean’s sitting at.

“Dean, this is Y/N,” Sam introduces her, smoothly pulling out a chair for her and pushing it back to the table — a true gentleman. “Y/N, this is my brother, Dean.”

“Hey there,” Y/N smiles at him easily, and Dean can tell they’ve picked someone up for a good time.

“Hey yourself, sweetheart,” Dean gives her a wink and leans in closer. “So, Sammy tell you how we’re hoping this night’s gonna go?”

“He did,” Y/N nods and shoots a smirk at Sam, who reciprocates, and Dean feels his guts churning. “Said the back seat of your car was real comfy too,” she grins mischievously.

“Sam even puts a blanket down most of the time, real class act,” Dean laughs, gulping down more of his drink.

“Wow,” Y/N is sarcastically amazed, “you fellas know how to treat a lady right,” she sounds bitter but Dean can tell she’s joking. She wouldn’t have followed Sam over here in the first place if she wasn’t.

“We try our best,” Sam grins at her charmingly, and Dean can see Y/N melt a little looking at his baby bro’s eyes — he can’t blame her.

Several drinks later, Y/N starts getting handsy with both of them, and Sam suggests they think about moving their little party of three outside. They show Y/N out to the car, Dean opens the back door with a flourish and she slides gracefully inside, glancing back out with a hungry look in her eyes. “So, who’s joining me?” she flutters her lashes seductively, like we need any convincing, Dean thinks to himself.

“Sammy,” Dean grunts, making a ‘come here’ motion with his hands and then holding one out flat and the other on top in a fist in preparation. Sam sidles over to Dean, gait smug, like he already knows he’s gonna win and get first crack at Y/N — which of course he is, because that’s how Dean likes it. He holds up his hands in a mirror of Dean’s, and eyes not leaving each others’ they both beat their fists against their palms. 1, 2, 3.

“Ooh,” Sam hisses in mock sympathy when they look down and see Sam’s ‘rock’ beats Dean’s ‘scissors’. “Always with the scissors, Dean,” Sam gives him a condescending pat on the shoulder, like he doesn’t know what Dean’s doing, and maybe he doesn’t, Dean thinks. Maybe Sam truly doesn’t realise how fucked up I am.

Dean turns to head back into the bar as Sam slides himself into the backseat next to Y/N, but he stops in his tracks when she calls out the window — “Sure you don’t wanna watch, handsome?” Dean freezes, the possibility of actually getting to see Sam fuck this girl, not just imagine it, is more intoxicating than the drinks he’s downed tonight. To actually see Sam, stripped and vulnerable, losing himself inside some cunt… Dean had never even considered that as a possibility before, but now that the thought is in his mind he needs it, craves it. He spins on his heel, looking back at Sam, inwardly praying that his little brother will be gracious enough to grant him this one thing.

“I don’t mind,” Sam smirks, eyes darting back to Y/N and raking down her body. “If she wants you to watch her get used like a little fucktoy, she can have that.” Dean is back by the car in a heartbeat. Sam pulls the back door shut as Y/N climbs on his lap and starts kissing him, while Dean checks around furtively and slides into the front.

Y/N moans start to fill the small space of the car’s interior as she grinds enthusiastically down onto Sam. Dean watches Sam run his hands down her back and up under the hem of her skirt. He wishes Sam would take her skirt off so he could see Sam’s hands on her ass, see his fingers tearing into the lace panties that Dean had gotten a glimpse of when she slid into the backseat earlier on. They pull apart and Y/N pushes Sam’s shirt up and over his head, messing up his hair, before she runs her fingers through it and holds on tight, earning a pleased groan from Sam. Dean catalogues that knowledge for later use – not that he thinks he’ll be in a position to test it out on Sam, but it will be a nice detail to add to his tragic imaginary Sam, the one that knows how sick he is and doesn’t care.

Sam’s hands sneak up the back of Y/N’s top and Dean watches as he removes her bra with practiced ease, and he nods to himself – respect. Sam must be feeling her up now because his arms have disappeared to her front and she’s letting out some pretty little whimpers and arching into his chest. Y/N pulls her top off, then reaches for Sam’s jeans, undoing the belt, button and zip quick as she can. Sam pushes her off him and she sprawls to the side, facing Dean now, and her eyes seek him out.

Her chest is heaving, her breasts shuddering with each rise and fall of her chest, and Dean spends a moment taking in her body, appreciating the curves, before he notices her hands have snuck beneath her skirt and she’s clearly touching herself while she watches him. Dean flushes, reaching down to adjust himself in his jeans. “Enjoying the show?” she winks at him, and Dean nods wordlessly.

“Get back over here, and let’s give him a real show,” Sam grabs Y/N and drags her back onto his lap, still facing Dean. She straddles him and rubs herself over his crotch. Sam snakes his arms around her waist and pulls up the front of her skirt, so Dean can see Sam’s cock thrusting between her thighs, against the glistening satin and lace panties she’s wearing. Dean feels his dick leap in his jeans, and he reaches down to adjust himself again before he decides to just give in and let down his zip, pushing his hand inside his boxers to fist himself out of the material. “Wanna see me fuck her?” Sam grunts, eyes flicking up to catch Dean staring at their grinding hips.

Dean feels his cock leak across his fingers at Sam’s words. “Fuck yes,” he groans, stroking himself harder. “Fucking give it to ‘er Sammy.”

“Want me to give it to you sweetheart?” Sam breathes against Y/N’s neck, tucking her hair tenderly behind her ear and nipping at her earlobe. She squeezes her eyes shut and whimpers, Sam’s way with words clearly affecting her. “Gonna be a good little slut and take my cock? Let me use you up and then hand you over to my brother to finish you off?”

“Fuck, Sam please, please, just use me,” she pulls her panties to the side and tries to get Sam to slip inside her but she can’t quite find the angle, and she whines, desperate and frustrated.

“Wow, for someone who just wants to be a set of holes you sure are needy,” Sam growls and gets his cock in the right place and pulls her down his shaft slowly. “Thought you told me inside you’d let me do whatever I want to you, and you wouldn’t put up a fuss?”

“Just fucking fuck me already, please Sam,” Y/N is begging, grinding down onto Sam’s cock like a whore.

Sam finally stops teasing her and follows through on his promise to use her. One of his hands comes up to wrap around her throat while he uses his other arm to keep her body pressed close against his, and he punches his hips into her hard, without abandon. Dean nearly chokes every time he catches a glimpse of Sam’s cock, bare and shiny with her slick, before he pushes back into her. It’s better than he could have imagined, watching Sam actually rail into a pussy instead of just hearing it through some flimsy drywall. It’s much easier to picture what Sam would look like fucking into him now that he’s seeing this.

“She feel good Sammy?” Dean is horrified to hear how strained his voice is when he speaks. He sounds like a goddamn girl with how fucking breathy he is.

“Uh huh,” Sam fucks into her quicker, like Dean’s question has spurred him on. “So wet, can feel her soaking into my thighs,” he moans. Dean refuses to let out the whimper that’s trying to escape his throat. “Gonna be even wetter for you,” Sam continues, leering up at Dean through his lashes, chin looped over Y/N’s shoulder. “She’s gonna be all messy when I’m done with her. But you like ‘em like that dontcha? Like ‘em strung out and used up?”

“Fuck,” Dean does almost whimper.

“Oh god,” Y/N whines, dropping her hips down in earnest against every one of Sam’s thrusts, and she snakes a hand down her front to start rubbing over her clit.

“Oh you wanna cum, do you? Think you earned that yet?” Sam bites against Y/N’s neck and bats her hand away from her core. “I think you’re gonna have to do a bit more before you get to cum. Gotta let me cum in you first, huh? Then you’re gonna be a good little cocksleeve for my big brother to get off in, and then, maybe, if you’ve been a good girl, we’ll make you cum.”

“Fucking hell,” she moans heavily, dropping her head back onto Sam’s shoulder. “C’mon then fuck me, want your cum inside me, please,” she whines, voice piercing in the small space.

“Yeah, that’s what Dean wants too,” Sam smirks, but he’s not looking at Dean now, he’s got his eyes closed tight and his head buried against Y/N’s shoulder. Dean thanks fuck for that, because when he heard Sam say that he knows Dean wants him to cum inside Y/N, Dean thought he was going to die of embarrasment. Obviously he wanted that, and in the back of his mind he knew Sam must know that he likes fucking the girls second, but they’d never talked about it. What did Sam think about the fact that Dean got off on fucking his little brother’s cum back into whatever warm body they’d picked out that day? He must be okay with it because they keep doing it.

Dean’s existential crisis is cut short when he hears the tell tale gasp and cut off whine that means Sam is cumming, and he looks up just in time to catch the pure fucking bliss on his little brother’s face. His eyes flick down to where Sam and Y/N are joined and he watches, mesmerised, as Sam pulls out, his cock laced with the white of his release.

“Open your mouth, bitch,” Sam grunts, and shoves Y/N off his lap and onto her hands and knees so she can suck the cum back off his cock. Dean’s breath catches in his throat, desperately hoping she doesn’t swallow.

When she pulls off of Sam with a wet sound her mouth stays open and Dean can see the cum slipping from her lips. He reaches over the seat impulsively and grabs her hair, yanking her towards him and slamming their mouths together. Dean sucks her tongue into his mouth like he wants to bite it off, and he can’t keep in the moan that bubbles up from his chest when he tastes the bitter edge of Sam’s spunk on his tongue.

“C’mere,” Dean grunts against Y/N’s lips, dragging her over the top of the seat. It’s not graceful, it’s not attractive or sexy, it’s born of the intense desperation Dean has to feel something hot and wet around his dick, and when he pushes into Y/N’s cunt he knows he’s not going to win any records for stamina tonight. She’s tight, but it’s an easy fuck because she’s so so wet. Dean can feel Sam’s cum squeezing out of her every time he fucks in, pushing the creamy liquid out around his dick and grinding it into his jeans. They’re going to be ruined but he doesn’t give a fuck because this feeling is always worth it.

Y/N’s head is buried in the crook of his neck and Dean’s forehead is smashed into her shoulder as they cling to each other. Dean jumps when he feels hands on his shoulders, because the fingers are facing the wrong way for them to be hers – they’re Sam’s. He leans across Dean to kiss Y/N roughly, then yanks her head back by her hair, holding her out in front of Dean so they can watch her tits bounce while Dean fucks into her mercilessly.

“What d’ya think Dean, do we let her cum?” Y/N whines at the words and Dean can hear Sam smirking. “You’re gonna cum anyways aren’t you, you fucking slut. Gonna squeeze his cock real good for me? That’ll make you a real fuckin’ whore won’t it, going home with two guys’ loads in that pussy, huh?”

Sam’s taunts are cruel and mocking and fucking hot and Dean has never had to listen to Sam’s dirty talk while he was actually fucking something and he can’t handle it. He stills inside Y/N, gasping as he pumps his release inside her, mixes it up with Sam’s. Y/N is shaking around him and Dean thinks she must have cum too but honestly he’s so far gone he can’t even tell.

When Y/N climbs back over the seat to find her clothes, Dean stays put, still trying to catch his breath. He hears Sam open the door and walk her out, back to the bar. He shakes himself from his reverie and rushes to tuck himself back into his boxers. His jeans feel sticky, and they probably are ruined but he still doesn’t care. It was absolutely worth it.

We’re All Mads Here: @vulgar-library @tintentrinkerin @negans-lucille-tblr @fandomfic-galore @petitgateau911 @schaefchenherde @kickingitwithkirk @little-diable @laxe-chester67 @kassyscarlett @austin-winchester67

All SPN: @cemini-winchester @akshi8278 @stoneyggirl @deandreamernp @lyarr24 @lovealways-j

#bees7ksoftheweekchallenge #spnkinkbingo #sam x reader #dean x reader #sam x dean #sam winchester smut #dean winchester smut #wincest

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kind-of-crazy-butthatsokay · 3 years

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Mischief and Teaching

(or "teaching mischief"?)

Summary: You have a natural talent for Seidr, the magic of the nine-realms. When your powers grow out of every teacher's control, your parents seek help at the palace. Will you find a teacher?

Pairing: Loki x fem!reader

Word count: 1.7k (God, I was so worried I would end up with more than the word count allowed, but I thankfully managed. Phew)

Warnings: 18+ even though there's nothing for this. All my work and my blog is 18+, Minors dni. Apart from that, there's a lotta fluff and humor in this one.

Author's note: This is my first submission for @syntheticavenger's 5K Follower Celebration "How it started - How it's going" Challenge! It's a really cool drabble challenge. Find the post about it here and check it out.

The prompt I received was: "Loki/'Magician's' Assistant'"

Now, I admit that had a lot of smutty potential but for once in my life my brain decided to go down the funny, fluffy road instead of the angsty, smutty one. There's gotta be a first time for everything, huh?

...

How it started:

“No, mother. I don't have the need for an assistant and neither do I want one. I work best alone,” Loki said, voice tight as he tried to keep his tone polite but firm.

But Frigga kept nagging. She wouldn't be the Queen of Asgard if she gave up simply because someone had told her no. Looping her arm through Loki's she pulled him close to her side as they walked through the corridors of the palace.

“She wouldn't be only your assistant. You would also be her teacher,” she replied and steered him down a wide hall, smiling politely at the Lords and Ladies passing them.

“I don't have the desire to teach anyone. I'm certain she can find someone to teach her elsewhere,” he dismissed.

“I'm not telling you to commit to anything just yet. I merely want you to meet her. She and her parents travelled all the way to the palace to request our help in this matter,” his mother said in an attempt to appeal to him.

Loki sighed, barely keeping his eyes from rolling back in his skull in annoyance.

This girl his mother kept talking about was the daughter of a lowly Lady and her wife. They came from the furthest branches of Yggdrasil all the way to the golden palace just for an audience with the queen.

Frigga was widely known for her magical powers, so she was the first person the family turned to. People rarely requested audiences with the Queen. Usually it was Odin who attended to any matters brought to him by the Asgardian citizens.

Loki felt a spark of satisfaction at the thought of Odin's irritation when someone asked specifically to see Frigga and not him. He was so entitled to his position of Allfather and King of the nine worlds, he couldn't wrap his head around the possiblity that he wasn't all-knowing and not fit for every task.

It was that brief moment of petty joy over his father's irritation that made Loki reconsider his options. Sure enough he was known for his magical powers, even if not as renowned as Frigga. But either way, it gave him something he could hold over Odin's head, something he was able to do neither the old man nor his golden haired brother could.

This opportunity might open up new doors for him in the future and help him build his reputation to, in the end, rise above Odin and his childish ploys or Thor and his brute strenght.

“Fine, I will agree to meeting her, nothing else,” Loki gave in. His lips twitched into a little smile when Frigga smiled up at him widely and squeezed his arm with hers.

“That is all I wanted to hear. I am certain you will like her,” his mother said cheerily and pulled him along into the direction of the potion room where she had told the girl to wait with Thor to keep her company.

“Tell me what I have to know about her, mother. I want to know who I am talking to before I face her,” Loki said just as they rounded another corner and drew closer to the room the girl and his brother were waiting in.

“The girl's mothers are Ladies of lower nobility. Their daughter always seemed to have an affinity for Seidr, but the last years her powers grew and became harder to control. They tried to find teachers to help her, but no one could handle the extent of her powers. They were at their wit's end and the last resort they could think of was the palace. They hoped to find help here, so they came and requested an audience to explain their situation,” Frigga informed him.

“So she's powerful? How powerful exactly?” Loki asked, diggign deeper to get all the information out of his mother he could.

“Powerful, yes. You'll see for yourself. But she's inexperienced. Not one of her teachers could keep her contained for long. She needs someone who is able to hold a candle to her and I daresay you are fit for the job,” his mother answered before finally stopping in front of the room the girl was waiting inside.

You heard voices outside the door and started to panic.

The room was a mess, potion ingredients strewn across the floor, broken vials and furniture scattered in the whole room. Your magic was nervously swirling around and inside you, waiting to be used, to help, but unable to because you didn't know how.

“My Lady!” Thor boomed in front of her, his voice nasally and laced with panic. He was sitting on a small stool, his huge frame curled on top of the tiny piece of furniture. “Fix this, quickly! Before they see and-”

His words were cut off by the creak of the double doors.

Silence filled the room and you turned around slowly, face growing hot as you saw the other Prince and the Queen taking in the mess. Their gazes simultaneously moved from their surroundings to you and you cleared you throat as you curtsied awkwardly.

“Your highness, my prince,” you greeted them and then continued to introduce yourself. Maybe you could salvage the situation with your more or less decent manners. But before you could set off to a lenghty apology, Queen Frigga tilted her head to the side and tried to get a look at her blonde son hiding behind you as much as his broad frame allowed it.

“Thor? What in Asgards name are you doing hiding behind our guest? Step up and explain what caused this chaos,” she demanded, her voice not allowing any protest.

You stiffened when you heard Thor get up from the stool and step next to you. You could see him in your periphery and had do bite your cheek to keep from breaking into laughter. Keeping your gaze carefully trained on the pair standing in front of you, you waited for someone to break the stretching silence.

What you saw as you watched the pair surprised you.

Frigga's lips curled up into a smile and she quickly reached up her hand to hide the curve of her mouth behind her palm. The Prince was staring at his blonde brother, lips slightly parted and eyes wide. Then his lips, too, curled up into a smirk, but unlike Frigga he didn't bother to hide it.

“I, uhm... I was just curious and wanted to see what she could do, so we...well,” Thor stuttered trailing off when Loki started chuckling and Frigga cleared her throat in an effort to conceal her laughter. She looked at you and nodded, giving you permission to talk.

“Well, your highness,” you started, laying out your words in a way that would shift most of the blame to Thor. “Prince Thor was curious about my magic, as he said himself and asked me to show him what I was able to do. I declined politely, knowing I am not fully the master of my Seidr but he kept nagging me and gave in. It would be rude to deny a Prince, I thought. So I tried my best, I really did, but... I didn't go that well.”

“Obviously,” Loki stated, gesturing vaguely at his brother whose head at this point had turned crimson. It clashed horribly with the bright purple trunk that grew where his nose was supposed to be and dangled down all the way to his navel. The gigantic elephant ears sprouting from his head not all too unsimilar to the wings of his helmet were of the same vibrant colour.

The raven-haired Prince eyed you closely, his eyes narrowing a fraction. You did your very best to keep the amusement off your features, because really, Thor was just asking for it. He kept nagging you, getting on your nerves until you gave in and gave him a little show of your powers. It's not your fault you couldn't fully control them.

Despite trying very hard to look apologetic, you were sure Loki saw through right your facade going by the almost imperceptible upturn of his lips. He turned to his mother and nodded.

“I'll do it,” he said firmly and unhooked his arm from hers to approach you. He bowed down a little and reached out to take your hand. Bringing it to his lips, he brushed a soft kiss to it and smiled charmingly.

“It is very nice to meet you, My Lady. I have heard of your search for a worthy teacher. I am all too happy to offer you my services as your teacher and master,” he said pompously and you suppressed the urgle to giggle bashfully.

“It would be my pleasure to be your student,” you replied with a smile.

Loki nodded, more to himself than you and said, “You will make for a fine student and an even better assistant. I am sure of it.”

How it is going:

“Quick now! We have to be ready when he appears,” Loki called to you from the other side of the corridor.

You ducked into an alcove and got into position, sticking your head around the corner to give Loki a signal that you were ready. He did the same and then mirrored your movement, silently molding back into the alcove and cloaking his figure with an invisibillity spell he had taught you early on.

The two of you waited, hearts beating faster as excitement took you over, mixed with gleeful anticipation. Your Seidr twisted and twirled under your skin, almost making you vibrate with the contained power. And this time, you knew how to use it to your advantage, how to make it obey your commands and aid you in your often mischievous schemes.

'He's coming' Loki's voice sounded in your head and mere moments later you, too, heard the loud stomp of Thor's steps followed by his entourage of warrior friends.

You smiled gleefully.

'Let's turn him into a real elephant this time'

Loki's chuckle echoed in your thoughts.

'Shall we make him green?'

And again, congrats on 5K! That is such a huge achievement and you definitely deserve it, seeing how hard you work for it through all that content and amazing stories <3

'I'll leave that to you. I am open for anything. A pretty pattern would hurt either' you replied and then shifted into a more alert stance when Thor came closer. Your Seidr spiked with your excitement and when Thor reached the mark you and Loki had agreed on, you got to work.

...

There you go, my first entry! I hope you like it @syntheticavenger, it was a delight to write, hehe.

#synths5kfollowerchallenge #drabble challenge #loki odinson #loki drabble #loki x reader #seidr and magic #teacher Loki #thor odinson #queen frigga #mischief and mayhem

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falcor-thee-luck-dragon · 3 years

Text

When We Meet Again

Loki x (f)Asgardian reader

Summary: Loki has just seen how terribly is life ends, fortunately, yours is not done with his quit yet.

Warning: death but things get better

Masterlist

Loki had not a damn clue why in all the nine realms about what he was doing in wherever the hell he was. What was it called again? TVA, now what did that exactly stand for? And why is he even wearing these awful beige colors? His poor armor is seemingly no more, that was fine Asgardian leather too, those bastards.

So far today, or whatever time it is anymore. He’d been captured by the Avengers, teleported to some remote landscape where he got a suit full of sand, snatched and manhandled by time police something. Then taken into a strange building, stripped of his armor, given the ugliest clothing he’s ever had to wear.

And.

He was tried for crimes against the timeline where he was obviously found guilty no matter the vocal swindling the God of Mischief attempted. Then to top it all off, some grey haired know-it-all calling himself Mobius decided to spare Loki’s life and make him walk all the way into his office. Which is by the way incredibly boring and unnecessary, to Loki that is.

Why is he here again?

This guy Mobius has done nothing but further irritate the stubborn Asgardian, constantly pressuring Loki for his true insight and reasoning for all the chaos and lies he’s ever committed throughout his lifetime. Loki, not having it one bit, didn’t actually bother to care nor comply until the tables started turning in ways he did not expect in the slightest.

And he doesn’t get surprised easily.

Then and only then did Loki shut up and listen. Although after the tape reeled out he still couldn’t understand why he was even here in the first place? He learned that his mother suffers a terrible fate, his father dies, his home of Asgard is no more after Ragnarok, his brother is left alone in the universe without him due to a certain Mad Titan. But worst of all. He has no idea what happens to his dearly beloved Y/N once he’s killed off by Thanos.

He hadn’t even thought about her till now in fact. With everything going on, she was left to the back of his mind, and anyways. He left her a year ago when he fell from the Bifrost, that’s the last of her he ever saw but according to this Loki he just watched.

Himself and Y/N had met after New York when he arrived in Asgard with Thor, walking into the great halls with golden chains around his legs, wrists, and throat. Not much was said between the two at first, but in those months after, she’d visit him every single day until the dark elves came and then Y/N, himself, and Thor essentially went rouge for awhile.

The dark elves supposedly killed Loki off, but it was a ploy that Y/N was told about beforehand. Then while Thor was on Midgard, Loki and his beloved lived a pretty solid life in secret since he was disguised as Odin. Hence some time later, Hela fucks everything up, they’re stuck on Saccar for a few weeks. Back to Asgard for a final showdown and thus goodbye Asgard forever....what’s next? oh it’s just Thanos.

Where Loki is murdered and well……he has no idea what happens to Y/N next. Which has not done anything to sway is nerves one bit.

Seated on the other chair because he threw the first one at the screen, Loki’s face shows a handful of clustered emotions while he processes the past ten minutes showcasing his life and legacy. Clasping his hands together on the table, his blue irises study worriedly up at Mobius, “What of me now? My whole life leads to nothing adheredly prominent but death for me, and now I’m stuck in this place. So, telling by your face, I presume I’m never allowed back on my original timeline.”

Mobius nods, “That’s correct.”

“Well then.” Presses Loki with an annoyed scowl, “Why am I here? What good could I possibly do?”

Mobius gives the trickster god a knowing look, halfway between concern and amusement, “Because of her.” He rewinds the film to a freeze frame of Y/N while Loki’s eyes find the source of concern for the moment. She’s undoubtedly beautiful, standing defiantly against the forces of Hela’s undead army on the bifrost like the fearless warrior she is.

Asgardian armor shinning beautifully in the sunlight as she raises her obsidian sword to her foes. His beloved Y/N, the Goddess of the Hunt. It’s no wonder she’s lived this long, her strength and ability to perform so well in battle is unmatched to even the likes of Thor. She always did impress him with her swordsmanship, but her wit and charm was enough to have the god tripping up the royal steps.

Loki’s brows furrow, “Why her? Wait…do you know where she is? Right now?” He rambles urgently, wanting desperately to know what becomes of his lover once he’s deceased.

Mobius gives him an almost solemn glance, “Y/N……she doesn’t survive Thanos either.” Begrudgingly admits the TVA worker who watches as Loki’s face falls, eyes pricking with tears as he reveals a heavy amount of shock.

Loki’s heart sinks, how could you not have survived? “What?” He whispers in astonishment, blinking back his sorrows as he awaits the truthful answer.

The greying man gives a low nod, “She gets severely injured trying to kill Thanos after he, well, you know. She...” Mobius bows his head as he lets slip a small sigh, “..fought to the death for you. She saved Thor.”

“So, so wh-what? What are we supposed to do then?” Exclaims Loki, “I can’t just…I don’t want her to die, that’s just. It’s not fair…”

“Now hold on a minute, collect yourself.” Ushers Mobius with a small wave, “There..”

“There’s what! If this is all going according to the timeline then how are we to save her? I mean..” Loki breaths out a nervous laugh, “…you said it yourself. This is just how it’s supposed to be. I’m supposed to do all that and thus the love of my life is destined to die anyways.”

“That is true. Yes.”

Loki gives him a baffled look, “Then what’s the exception?”

Mobius smirks before leaning into the table, “You see Loki. Some timelines are ever so slightly altered from their usual course. Which doesn’t usually end up to anything dramatic, although now in this one, somewhere along the lines something happened to do just that. Cause something a bit dramatic if you will. Be it a tiny kink in the timeline from a magical source not understanding their power, or an Asgardian warrior who happened to steal a valuable object when they shouldn’t have…”

Loki’s expression shift into deep confusion, “What? This can happen? Why didn’t anyone stop it?”

“The course didn’t change. So we didn’t need to interfere.”

“Alright then….why now? Why her?” Points Loki to the fearsome image of you still on the screen.

“Because she has an ancient amulet that doesn’t belong to her, this object is owned by someone from another timeline who is going to need it. Now, it’s hard to say how or when she got this thing. But in her timeline, she’ll die with it on and no one will be around to take it back…”

“Right. She, dies alone.” Mutters Loki solemnly, face shifting into a frown.

“Yes. But…we can save your dear Y/N in this one specific timeline because of the circumstances surrounding her. And ironically, you’re here to help me, which will make everything greatly less terrifying for her when she comes here.”

Loki immediately rises to his feet, “Wait, she’s coming here?”

“Yep. We would never restart her. She’d probably end up as one of our scouts or timeline bounty hunters…”

“Timeline bounty hunters?”

Mobius shrugs, “People who hunt down and either kill or stun someone dramatically interfering with the timeline for us. They’re incredibly valuable.”

“Alright and what if she doesn’t want that? Then what? You kill her, lock her in a prison for eternity?” Snaps Loki in irritation, desperately not wanting this version of you imprisoned just for existing with something you should never have come into contact with.

“Y/N would never have her freedom taken from her, we’d simply set her in another universe if she wasn’t willing to join the TVA.....possible memory wipe.” Mutters Mobius as Loki gives him a look, “If necessary.”

Loki open his mouth to speak though nothing appears to come out he’s so perplexed by this whole new ordeal. Learning on the fly is beginning to become increasingly more difficult and all these different timelines are messing with him.

“Alright so, how….how and where do we find her?”

“I’m glad you asked.” Smiles Mobius as he pulls something metal out of his back pocket. “I’ll get you a jacket.”

——

This wasn’t supposed to happen, you were on a set course for Midgard with the last of the Asgardian’s, nothing was supposed to destroy most of your ships and then…

“Don’t move. He wants you alive.” Growls the horned woman as she presses a shimmering razor sharp sword against the side of your neck.

You keep as still as physically possible, a low simmering rage building inside with every passing moment held captive in the claws of death as you watch Loki attempt to sweet talk Thanos. Thor kneeling down at your side, doing no better then yourself as you two keep at the mercy of Thanos’ children. These atrocious beings warped by his toxic mindset for universal rule.

Loki smirks, face pale and bruised from the fallout of the ships as he stands in front of Thanos, “I consider experience, experience.” States Loki as he rests a hand on his chest, “Almighty Thanos, I…Loki, Prince of Asgard….Odinson….rightful King of Jotunheim…God of Mischief, o herby pledge to you…”

Your tearful eyes widen in fear as he materializes a dagger into his hidden fist, “…my undying fidelity.” A second later the dagger is thrust upwards towards the Mad Titans throat but is quickly caught before Loki is able to make any significant damage. Your breath immediately catches in your throat as you tighten your grip onto Proxima’s strong arms that still hold you in like a cage.

Thanos appears unamused, “Undying? You should choose your words more carefully.” Before snatching Loki up by his neck in one swift motion, a small gasp escaping from your lips as the Titan smirks. He almost laughs in mockery at Loki’s chanced efforts, purple face showing no remorse as his fist begins to squeeze.

“No!” You seethe through clenched teeth as Proxima presses the blade into your neck, drawing a tiny trickle of blood.

Your lip quivers as Loki struggles to speak, face going bloodshot as his veins purple with the intense pressure, “You…will never be….a…god..” Crack.

“Nooooo!” You scream with rage while the Mad Titan maliciously grins, eyes set onto you and Thor before he takes a step forward. Dropping Loki in front of you both like a piece of discarded trash, the blade on your neck at this point feels like a simple paper cut to the pain and anguish rising in your heart.

“No resurrections this time.” Adds Thanos with a satisfied nod as he turns to face his Black Order, “Kill the man, leave the other as an example.” Commands Thanos before turning to walk over to his discarded helmet.

Proxima pushes you violently to the dirt before aiming her weapon at Thor, in a flash you’ve sent her across the room with the rage of a lioness. Thanos’ head snaps up to meet your furious gaze but before he’s able to move you’ve thrown her sword straight for his head.

You move in a red blur across the desolated place, too fast for his children to catch, but just slow enough for him to sway a hand at your shoulder. He misses, just barely. You skid across the ground before unleashing your famous metal whip unto the hulking Titan. He receives a hard bloody slash across his left cheek as the pale goblin like follower launches themselves at you.

“Graaahhhh!” He yells as your whip catches him across the legs where he falls hard onto the earth like a thundering heap of logs.

Soon you do battle with the Mad Titan for a short time before he takes your exhausted efforts into account. And a moment later your whip is thrown to the side as he uses a piece of broken ship to spear you in the lower abdomen. Your world is pain and misery, you can hardly stand you’re so exhausted from the shipwreck, witnessing the love of your life die in front of you, and how Thanos has beaten you down to nothing more then a withered rose. Your thorns still sharp and bloody though your pedals feel like they’re burning to an ashy crisp.

Smirking in satisfaction, he pulls the makeshift blade out before watching as you fall to your knees. Your weary gaze fights to keep your scowl as you suck in jagged breaths.

“You will join him soon enough.” Whispers the purple monstrosity, eyes trailing your damaged form as you fall slump to the ground. He then walks off to join his entourage, leaving you to bleed out alone in the carnage.

——

Loki’s green irises gleam with unshed tears as he watches you struggle to breath, your breaths are low and shallow as you suffer from the final blow to your tired vessel. He blinks, turning his troubled gaze over to Mobius who’s right next to him, “We have to do something. She’s dying.” Whisper yells Loki to his new companion.

“I can see that. Wait a moment.” Wait a moment? Wait a fucking moment?

Loki’s gaze shifts from you and then back to Mobius, “We can’t, wh-what? Y/N is dying..”

Mobius holds up a finger, “Fifteen seconds..”

“Wh..”

“Shhh.”

Loki waits another ten seconds longer and soon Thanos uses the gauntlet to destroy a part of the dying ship, it bursts into flames before he disappears into a cloud of dark blues and purples along with his four followers.

Loki snaps his attention back to Mobius, “Now can we?”

“Yes.”

——

Awakening in a cell of white, you’re thankful that the overhead lights are dulled and not obnoxiously blinding you. Now where even are you? Your eyes trail from the pale ceiling over to a silver coated door on your right. The wall appearing to show an area resembling that of a window, although when you rise to investigate you’re greeted by the image of yourself.

So it’s a mirror.

Your room is clean as a dime, about as large as a prison cell in Asgard but this doesn’t exactly look like a prison. Thanos! Your nerves prick as you bend your neck to find your lower torso wrapped in a thick white bandage. Your whole attire in fact completely in white, besides the socks that are grey. And the mysterious amulet you’ve had for years is nowhere to be found either.

Steadying your anxious breaths, your mind swims with everything that’s happened in the past however long it’s been, oh that’s right you were stabbed by Thanos after…

A sob leaves your throat at the horrific memory, Loki, your beloved Loki was killed right before your very eyes by the Mad Titan himself. So violently, so quick, and you couldn’t do anything to stop it. Nothing.

“oh my love I’m so sorry.” You whisper while tears slide down the sides of your cheeks. Your throat feels tight as a knot and your legs give out once again as more gasps for needed breath flow into your system from the adrenaline of panic and grief.

For a couple minutes do you let out your heart and soul into the small room of white. All your pain and anguish bouncing off of the walls for everything and everyone you’ve lost up to this point. It’s almost to much to take.

After a good cry, you press your hands to the cool tiled floor while you keep half-seated on the hard ground. Something new flickers into your chest that you didn’t know you even had. A growing rage building and building, you’re stuck here, Loki is dead. And Thanos is alive somewhere in the universe.

Jumping to your feet, you close your palms against one another and take a calculated breath. Quickly opening your palms, a shimmering silver and blue laced sword emits from your magic in the aftermath. Perfect. Holding the hilt tightly in your fist, you stand ready to slash at the mirror just as a man in a strange outfit opens up the door.

You freeze as he lends a friendly smile, “Hi there, you’re up.” You keep silent as he takes a cautious step forward, “Uh, we don’t use those here. Could you maybe put that away? And come with me?”

Lowering the sword you frown, “Where am I?”

——

Standing in a new room, much larger then the first and admittedly less clean though that’s the least of your concerns. The man who now calls himself Mobius, stands across an office table from you while you stare him down suspiciously. Sword still in hand at your side. He smiles, “Now, I just explained the reason why you’re here okay. So, I just have one more thing to add..”

“Which is? I just watched everyone I ever cared about die and now I’m…I’m wherever the hell I am?”

“The TVA.”

“Yes, that.” You snap, “What do I even do now? I can’t ever go back to my own timeline because I’m supposed to die which is, if I may add, ridiculous and cruel. I’m the Goddess of the Hunt for goodness sake’s! I’m a warrior of Asgard I don’t deserve to die like that! Now I can never avenge my husband! Dammit!”

Mobius’ brows raise at that while he holds a palm out, “Please keep the weapon down Y/N, there’s someone you should meet first.”

You scoff, “I’d like to refrain from meeting anyone else thank you very much!”

“Even me?”

That voice. No. It can’t, it absolutely could not be, that’s impossible.

But you also thought all this was impossible twenty minutes ago before your whole life was turned upside down. You swallow, taking a shaky breath before twisting around in a blur. Sword raised to the intruders face. His handsome face. That familiar face. Him.

You breaths are heavier now as you stare him down, “What illusion is this? Some fucked sorcery perhaps? Necromancy?” You growl, face contorted in frustrated anger as you threaten Loki. But that can’t be him. Right?

This shorter haired Loki dressed in the same attire as Mobius, though he shares a relived smile, eyes glossy as he studies your face, “Answer me!” You snap with a threatening shake of your sword, “Who are you!? And why….why do you look like him!?”

Loki opens his arms before shrugging and resting them back down at his sides, smile never leaving his lips once, “I am him. Although I am from another timeline.”

You keep your sword raised to his face, a deep stubbornness in your vessel that you can’t bring yourself to admit this is all real, “You’re not him. You’re not my Loki…..but, you are….but you’re not. I don’t, I don’t understand?” You whisper in frustration while your wary eyes dance from Loki to Mobius and back to Loki once more.

Loki’s face softens, “He told you everything Y/N.”

“I know he did!” You yell harshly, “But I watched my husband die in front of my very eyes and now….you-you’re here and clearly you are a Loki but you’re not my Loki!”

He lowers his head at your irritation, saddened that you aren’t taking to him so kindly as he would have liked. He avoids your heated gaze as you keep the blade in its place by his head. Loki awaits your possible wrath, he doesn’t blame you after all. He never lived all those years after New York with you, never shared those moments together on other planets and places. And he never will.

Your heart hurts and your mind feels foggy with conflicted emotions and feelings all swimming about like a wild riptide. But you couldn’t lie to yourself if you even tried, and although he hasn’t been there with you all along, after all this time, this is him. This is your Loki.

Frowning, you slowly bring your sword back down to your side, “But you are him, aren’t you?” Loki shares a small nod as you calm your breaths again, “No matter what, no matter where….you’re still Loki in every timeline. The Loki I’ve always known.”

His bright blue irises immediately find your weary eyes, “Always.” He then chuckles, “Even if that is unfortunate to some, or most.”

You take a step back before setting the metallic weapon onto Mobius’ desk, turning once more to look at Loki in now a less threatening way, “What about Y/N in your timeline then? She’ll be devastated.”

Mobius points up a finger, “Her story shifts, actually. She goes to earth, becomes an Avenger with Thor. And decides to stay. I think, if they told me right, she finds someone with long dark hair like you.” Adds the grey haired man to Loki. “Point is, it works out. And you two, are still here.”

“We are.” You mutter, eyes trailing around Loki’s handsome features. He looks so different yet the same as he always has. Face chiseled like a marble statue, eyes kind and inviting when focused on you, dark hair slicked back in his usual style. And those beautiful eyes of his, never leaving yours once, they’re the same as they’ve always been.

Except these eyes are not so tired and aged from the passing hardships of time and running and fighting and keeping yourselves alive. They are still bright and wondrous, this Loki hasn’t witnessed the death of his family in real time. The loss of his kingdom or what Thanos would do to him.

He is not the Loki you left in the rubble. However, he is a Loki who loves a Y/N. And it doesn’t matter if you two have personally never met one another like this until now. Because you have met each other before, just in different timelines and in different places.

You let out a sigh as you wander a couple feet away from the two men, eyes back onto Loki as he watches your every move. “The universe took you from me once, somehow, someway….it’s reunited us once more. And I want to hate it, I really do…but I was destined to die, and I didn’t.” You pause a moment before taking a step closer to him, “You are my Loki, in every lifetime, no matter how far we go or what happens. I already know you, probably more then you know yourself at this point.”

Loki chuckles as you share a tearful smile, “But I know one thing…and that you love me, because that’s the first thing you told me when you came back from Midgard. Besides sorry.” You snicker as he gives an embarrassed shrug, “No matter what happens or what timeline we’re in, I will always love you. And I will not fail to protect you ever again.”

Loki purses his lips together into a tearful smile at your words, face softening when you share a small grin of your own. “My dear Y/N, how I’ve missed you.” He mutters before giving the projector a small glance, “I saw our lives, it was beautiful. Truly. Although I was surprised, we got married?”

You nod, “We did, in secret of course. It was during your rule in Asgard when you pretended to be Odin for some time.” You reveal before smiling once again, “Sneaky bastard.”

“Well..” Starts Loki with a handsome grin, “…I’ll do all I can to earn that heart of yours.” Eyes sincere and true while he reaches out to take your hand with his, “To truly deserve it. It’s only right.”

Squeezing his hand, you greet him with a small smirk, “I have a feeling you already have.”

#loki #loki x reader #loki x you #loki x y/n #marvel imagine #marvel x y/n #marvel x reader #marvel x you #loki laufeyson

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ectonurites · 3 years

Note

can anybody please explain the appeal of tim drake because ive been into the batfamily for a while now and tbh im really confused on why people like his character so much compared to the other robins. like they all have their own thing going on and he just... doesnt?

Have you read his Robin solo? Because if not and you want to try to like him but just don’t understand why people do, that’s what I’d recommend. That and like, Young Justice 1998.

Because Tim definitely... does have his own thing going on. Maybe not in the same way as the others, but like, there’s a reason he has a 183 issue long solo comic that ran for like 16 years: he was fun to read about!

But I will give some more specific thoughts on the subject as a Tim Drake Appreciator™ (this got long im sorry)

The appeal of Tim (especially early on Tim) is kinda the fact that he’s this more normal kid. For a while that is his ‘thing’. He was basically designed to be a self-insert (he definitely became more than that along the way, but from the start he was meant to be relatable) in a different way than how Dick and Jason had been before him.

Like the role of Robin from the start was this way to create a character young readers could identify with more, could see themselves in more. And Dick and Jason did that, but they still had this element to their lives and stories that was more... unattainable for the average reader. Dick was a circus prodigy, Jason was either also a circus prodigy if we remember pre-crisis or if we go with his post-crisis story he’s this street-wise orphaned kid who had a really tough life but still went on to be a hero anyways. Obviously those lives are relatable for some people, but those’re definitely not as broadly recognized as common upbringings especially not by DC trying to market to the ‘average’ kid/young teen.

But the creation of Tim changed the game a bit. Dick and Jason were these aspirations a kid could look to like ‘wow I want to be cool like that!’ but Tim was a Robin designed for kids to look at and go ‘wow, his problems and civilian life are just like mine AND he’s a hero, I want to be cool like that!’, ya know? Tim was... just a clever kid with an average life who managed to connect some dots and had enough drive to want to fix things he saw were a problem, he didn’t have the same kind of heightened drama backstory the others did. The Robins that came after Tim definitely didn’t have this idea of relatability in mind the same way either. Unfortunately Steph’s time as Robin was much more of a marketing ploy than an actual like... decision to make her Robin, so it’s hard to really fit her into this conversation. But Damian from the start was first of all initially created not to be Robin but just as the son of Talia and Bruce back in the 80’s, but when he was later reimagined into the character that would become Robin he had the whole ‘raised by and is the heir to the league of assassins and is the son of batman’ thing going on still. He just was not supposed to be relatable that same way, he was a character designed with different things in mind.

I really think it was more just DC’s 90′s era younger-audience comics in general that tried to push that relatability thing (like in YJ how Cissie even after quitting the team stays a major character as a civilian throughout, and the civilian aspect that’s super present in Bart’s 90s solo too, etc), but later in the 2000’s that idea was definitely pushed to the side in favor of... putting in even more dramatic superhero-y stuff.

And the other thing that’s... such a more normal thing but it actually made him unique here, was that Tim’s dad was still alive until like 2004 (so 15 years into Tim being around as a character). This gave Tim a lot more typical ‘family school girlfriends normal life etc’ problems on top of/in contrast with his superhero problems. These just manifested in very different ways than they could with the other Robins because of that unique situation with a living civilian parent who doesn’t know about hero stuff (until he did find out which lead to that whole Unmasked thing, but there was only the brief time around War Games & Identity Crisis where Jack knew Tim was actively Robin and he was... still alive) Tim also had his life at school expanded way more than most other Robins, like, he had such an extended supporting cast of civilian friends which is a really interesting thing to read about (and the fact that he hasn’t had that stuff since the New 52 I think really hurts his character)

And then related to that loss of his dad... Personally another thing about Tim that really interests me is how a lot of things were more... his choice. if that makes sense. A lot of characters in the Batfamily were struck with tragedy/extreme trauma before they became heroes and that’s what spurred them into this life of becoming heroes. Tim’s situation wasn’t like that at all! When he first got involved in everything during Lonely Place of Dying, the only tragedy he’d experienced was watching Dick’s tragedy happen. Which sure yes traumatic obviously, but that’s not the same as how pretty much all the other Bats had gone through these very personal losses or other sorts of very first-hand personal traumas that served as motivators. Tim didn’t start to experience those things until after he got involved in the hero life, and aside from his Mom’s death which was more of just an unrelated incident (that technically happened before he was officially Robin but it was during his time training to become Robin), pretty much all these other tragedies and things... would not have happened or been experienced by him had he not become Robin.

That’s not me placing blame on him or anything like that, because god no that’s not how that works, but it’s very interesting because from his point of view he definitely feels that guilt because he knows him being Robin played a role in a lot of it (Thinking specifically about in Adventure Comics #3 when Kon even says “I know what guilt does to you” to him like it’s... it’s a thing with him!). His dad was murdered because he was Robin. He only met Steph and started dating her through being Robin, and thus he would not have experienced the loss of his girlfriend dying like that had he not been Robin. Tim met both Conner and Bart through being Robin, and would not have had a personal connection to them when they died otherwise. The whole Bruce’s death thing after Final Crisis, like. I could go on honestly, that was only talking about losses not even his own experiences nearly getting killed, but yeah, all these personal tragedies were experienced by him specifically because he chose to bring himself into this life, which I think in turn plays into how throughout his comics you see him go from having this really optimistic view on things and being really hopeful to seeing him at that low point he reaches by the time of Red Robin. (thinking about that one post that points out how Tim started out in the 90′s as an optimist and Steph a cynic and by the time they were Red Robin and Batgirl in 2009 they had switched outlooks...)

I also think that him having had such a great team book with the original Young Justice can help contribute to people liking him. His friendships with the rest of the core four and that team in general are really compelling. (and that’s something like again when looking at the other Robins, while Dick had the Titans ofc, Jason never really found footing with a team outside of like one mission with the Titans and then We All Know How Damian’s Teen Titans Stuff Went. Steph also only ever really worked with a team outside the batfam on very brief occasions) and even though I’m not as big of a fan of the 2003 Teen Titans run that came after YJ, people who read Young Justice and also that could follow and be attached to those same characters over a pretty decently long period of time.

Idk man, I don’t really have an ultimate point here i’m just rambling. I can definitely understand not seeing the appeal to him right away (honestly i’ve been into Batfam since like 2013/2014 and Tim did not become one of my faves until 2020) especially if like... idk when you say ‘into the batfamily’ that can mean a lot of different things. If you’re reading more like the bigger events with the batfam sure Tim can kinda fade into the bg a bit, if you’re more talking about fanon the fanon version of him is prettyyyyy uhhhhh not really the same as how he was in pre New 52 canon, if you’re mainly reading New 52 era Batfam stuff then that Tim I also don’t understand the appeal of bc thats Not My Boy, if you’re interested in a different member primarily and only familiar with Tim when he shows up in things focused on that other character then it’s easy to not really understand the appeal right away bc he’s more there to support that character rather than shine in his own right.

I think it’s also worth mentioning he’s just not everybody’s cup of tea, and that’s totally fine. Like, these are fictional characters and sometimes you just will vibe with a character and sometimes you won’t! idk if this helped at all or even made sense. but yeah. I just think he’s neat 😌

#Anonymous

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girlofprey7 · 3 years

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Why Apritello works/doesn’t work:

a short analysis and essay about April and Donatello’s overall dynamic and development in the 2012 show.

Apritello as a pairing is a pretty damn controversial topic in the TMNT 2012 fandom, and with good reason. Some fans may dislike or be against April because of her apparent rudeness or ungrateful nature towards everyone’s favourite brainy turtle, and Donatello may be thrown under the bus for his questionable and quote on quote ‘creepy’ behaviour towards April in the earlier seasons. Because of these observations, it has lead many fans to believe that relationship is unhealthy, toxic, and even going as far to call it emotionally abusive.

Today, we’re going to be looking at WHY fans may come to that conclusion, while also trying to look at the positive and promising sides of their relationship, in order to work out if their relationship works or not. We’ll be going through the moments where both sides have shown signs of toxicity, as well as signs of respect, trust, and love.

Also I just wanna say that this is my personal opinion, and though I am trying to fully consider all points from both sides of the argument, if you don’t agree with my overall thoughts, that’s perfectly fine. Just please keep your anti posts out of the Apritello tag where us fans can’t see them.

First we’ll be starting off With the Crusher himself, Donatello.

Let’s look at his examples of his toxic behaviour first:

He did follow her around New York in Target:April O’Neil. I may love Donnie, but I’m not going to deny that this decision was wrong, nor am I going to make excuses for him. He should have given April time to come to terms with herself, instead of following her and pushing her further over the edge. This was not a good thing to do, and while I wouldnt call it whole heartedly toxic, it was highly disrespectful of April’s space.

He tried to close up on her face when he was watching her with Metal head on the roof top. This is also highly disrespectful of April’s space, and could also be considered quote on quote ‘creepy’. There’s not much to say about this scene since it was pretty short, but all I can say is that he didn’t attempt to do it again after April called him out, though it still wasn’t respectful of him to do.

He got really jealous whenever April got remotely close to Casey, or when Casey got close to April. This is only in season 2 and maybe early 3 as far as I can see, but Donnie really didn’t do well whenever Casey was around April. He tried to pull them apart aggressively from hugging in Chinatown ghost story, and would constantly childishly fight and bicker with him for April’s attention. This is definitely an example of possessive nature, but I wouldn’t call it controlling nature as well, as he never outright insulted her or judged her for hanging out with Casey, he just bickered and fought with him.

Ok, so currently that’s all the So called toxic behaviour I can think of that was in the show, but maybe I’ll be able to find more examples that people use once I watch more of the series again.

Now, let’s move on to April’s purely Toxic behaviour in the relationship:

She stopped any chances of Donnie communicating his feelings or their relationship to him. The main example being in the invasion when she silenced his confession, while nervously saying that it just makes things hurt more. While her motivation behind this behaviour is still up for debate, I won’t deny that she should have tried to listen to what he had to say first, as well as try to communicate her own emotions better with him too. This is an example of miscommunication, and bad communication between a pair.

She would often get annoyed at him when he tried to help her or protect her, like in the Kraang conspiracy when he told he he’d protect her in the fight, and she responded with, ‘protect yourself,’ in a frustrated tone. She could have told Donnie that she didn’t need his help and that she could take care of herself politely, but she made a bad choice with her words and tone. This is an example of lashing out, without thinking of the partners feelings first. But this not completely count as emotional abuse.

She yelled at him, blaming him for losing her Crystal in Bats in the Belfry. This WAS partially caused by the fact the Crystal was controlling part of her emotions and actions, but it was still a hurtful thing to do to Donnie, who was trying to be patient with her throughout. This is an example of ungratefulness towards your partner, as well as lashing out and not considering their feelings first. Again, this is a bad thing to do either way, but I’ll have to look at her other instances in order to determine whether it’s truly emotional abuse.

(I don’t know whether her not actually outright telling either Casey or Donnie how she felt should be considered totally toxic behaviour or not, so I’m just gonna leave it as a half point for her lack of responsibility with the triangle.)

She doesn’t always appreciate him, or show her appreciation when he does something nice for her. This may be connected to number 2, in which when he would attempt to protect her or help her with something, she would sometimes respond in a stubborn and annoyed manner, not being fully appreciative of his help.

Ok, so again, this is all the so called toxic behaviour that fans usually seem to bring up while talking about The relationship, but this is also all the instances I remember her displaying in the series, but if I think of any more examples that people use I’ll add them.

(Also the claim that she may have been making mixed messages is connected to number one if you were wondering.)

Now before we move on, I just want to say something real quick. I love Apritello. Yeah it’s got it’s flaws, but I mostly blame the writers for that, and not the actual characters themselves. Hell, even with the problems I think it was pretty well written for an action show overall.

Also, I’m not trying to decipher which one of the pair had the most toxic behaviour, or who was the problem in their relationship, since both April AND Donnie have done things that I don’t agree with. I’m just trying to figure out whether the good on both sides, outweighs the bad on both sides.

So now, we’ll be looking at the pairs examples of respect/support/love/and trust.

Starting with Donnie:

When he comforted April when she was infected with the gas in Fungus Humungous, he never tried to take advantage of her fearful state, and instead just wanted to make sure she was Ok. This is an example of respect and support towards a partner, and not attempting to further your chances of being with them. Though Donnie still has his undeniable love for her (yes and at this point I’m pretty sure it passed crush territory), he is still able to treat her as a friend and comfort her without the motivation of getting with her.

When he followed April in mutagen man, though it was undeniably a bad thing to do, when April chewed him out for it and said without hesitation, ‘I never want to see you again,’ he felt guilty and remorse for it, and stopped doing it after that. He didn’t follow her again, knowing she needed space after the incident with her dad. This is what separates him from being a stalker. A true stalker would know what they’re doing is wrong, feel absolutely no remorse or guilt for it, and continue doing it even when he is told to stop. Donnie felt guilty and bad about it, even though he didn’t necessarily know what he was doing could be considered wrong, and stopped doing it. This is why he isn’t a stalker, and also shows his respect for April’s space and feelings.

When he gave April a music box in A foot too big, (yeah you knew I was gonna talk about this episode eventually) she acted uncomfortable with his forward ness, as well as the fact that he said nothing the whole time and the box was another obvious ploy to start something between them, showed by the picture of him inside, as well as the heart on the front. After living with big foot, he realised his actions were uncomfortable to her, once again felt guilty and remorse for it, and apologised to her at the end of the episode. He respected what she felt, and was willing to sacrifice his happiness for her. He stopped his behaviour after that and became more chilled and subtle with his crush. Sure he still bickers with Casey like the episode after, but I think that’s just their dynamic/relationship more than it is them fighting for April. My point is, he improved as a person because of HER.

He trusts April to make her own choices and shape her own path and goals in life. An abusive or toxic partner wouldn’t approve of your goals or chosen path, and would instead attempt to steer you away from them in order to change who you are. Donnie however supported April on becoming a kunoiche, and becoming a capable fighter like him and his brothers. He wasn’t at all threatened by her improved growth or skill, nor did he feel the need to put her down or make her weaker just to make himself feel more important. Hell, he even laughed with pure happiness when she took out Tigerclaw with that badass kick, showing that he loves what she’s become, and loves the path she’s made for herself.

He always allows HER to make the moves of affection, and never forcibly kisses her or hugs her without knowing she’s ok with it first. Again, this shows he respects her personal space as well as her wants in the relationship.

He knows when she’s gone too far, and though he does call her out on it, he still does it respectfully. Like the arc with the Aeon crystal and was acting out. He knew the Crystal was making her act that way, and wanted to help her overcome it instead of pretending that it wasn’t a problem. I have more to say on this particular point later, but I’ll wait till I find more prominent examples.

In the Gauntlet, when she broke down after her dad got captured for (I think) the second time, when she went to him for comfort, he comforted her and promised her that they’d get him back. Just like with the first example, he wasn’t trying to take advantage of her state to get with her or anything, he just wanted to be there for her, and make sure she was ok. Not as a romantic, but a friend.

He helped calm her down when she was mad at Shinigami after being beaten, telling her to not let her get to her, therefore calming her down. This is a sign of support of the others feelings and trying to make them feel better.

(This is more of a good thing on both sides as well as just something I find funny and endearing) they both bicker with one another in a banter sort of way. Remember the ‘bait doesn’t talk back’ and the ‘real kunoiche on our side?’ . He may be crushing on her, but that still doesn’t mean he’s not gonna blurt sassy facts at her and bicker with her. He still aknowledges that she has flaws, but as we’ve constantly seen, he still loves her flaws and all.

He apologised and took responsibility for his mistake with the transmitter at the end of eyes of the chimera, trying to make April feel better by even bringing her a hot beverage after the fiasco. This is a sign of looking out for the other and owning up to your mistake that may have hurt them.

Now let’s move onto April:

She apologised to Donnie personally for holding the grudge, and thanked him for sticking by her even when she was mad at him. She wasn’t thanking him for following her or anything like people may think, just thanking him for still being patient and kind with her. Also, while she was holding the grudge, she remembered what he had told her in Target, ‘some things are just beyond our control’. Which may have had a partial role in helping her come to her senses again.

She ALWAYS calls Donnie whenever she’s in trouble or in danger. I’ve seen this labelled off as codependency or her taking advantage of his feelings, but I see it much differently. In my opinion, this shows how much trust she has in him to save her, and help her whenever she needs it.

It was her memories of Donnie that helped her break the control of the Crystal. Donnie unconsciously motivated her be strong enough to defeat Za Naron and break her corruption. She broke through it, and became better, because of him.

She tried her best to get through to him TWICE in the Dream beavers episode. She was gentle and careful with him all the while (well apart from when she was slapping him to wake up, but that was when she was desperate). She was almost always seen by his side, and was close to panicking when he stopped breathing. And as soon as she found out he was Ok, she kissed him. Not for gratitude, not because she needed to make him feel better, but because she was happy he was ok.

When Donnie got injured in Monkey Brains, she told the guys off for teasing him, and was the only one to help nurse him back to health, being gentle and kind with him throughout.

She calls him out on his behaviour when she knows he’s doing something wrong. A lot of people see it as a bad thing when she tells him off for his poor decisions and behaviour, but I see it as a thing their relationship needs. A toxic relationship would most likely have both partnered not aknowledging the bad things that either one has done, and pretending it didn’t happen, or just be uncertain with telling them off. April doesn’t do this with Donnie. She aknowledges when he’s doing something bad, and call him out for it. In Target, she did t sugar coat it or stay silent about Donnie following her. She told him that he was doing something wrong, regardless of his intentions, and that he had to stop and respect that she needed to be alone right now. And like I said, he backed off and never did it again. And again, he improved, because of her.

She got mad at Casey for laughing at Donnie when he was stung badly on Dreggs planet, and was the one to help him back to the ship to be healed. When she knew he was ok, she kissed him again like in In Dreams, simply because she was happy he was Ok.

In Of rats and men, when Donnie told her that they had this covered, she responded with, ‘you always do,’ while smiling warmly, and with him smiling back. Romantic or not, this again shows the amount of respect and trust they have for each other. April instead of insisting she help or stubbornly barge back in, simply showed a sign of trust with him, knowing that had faith in him, and his brothers. This scene alone just shows the trust they have in their friendship, romantic or not, and that’s one of the things that makes them work in my opinion.

In the end of eyes of the Chimera, when Donnie apologised to April for using the transmitter on her, she wasn’t upset with him at at all. She’s said she was glad that Donnie used the transmitter on her because it allowed her to access her powers and learn to use them more. She tried to see Donnies mistake in a positive light, and appreciated him for his help nevertheless. This is an example of appreciation towards a partner, and aknowledging that their intentions are good and seeing them in a positive light instead of being disappointed with them.

For my final words, I just want to put in what the most common definition of an abusive/toxic relationship is.

In my definition, it is any relationship between people who don’t support eachother, where there’s constant conflict, and one often seeks to undermine the other, where there’s competition and disrespect, and most importantly, degrade and become worse as people just by being with one another.

And as far as I can see within the examples I’ve listed, both Donnie and April support each other throughout everything bad that happens to them, any conflicts that befall them they manage to get through, and have never purposely sought to undermine or hurt the other.

I want you to look at that last sentence again, and ask yourself: did April and Donnie grow as people or become better with overcoming their problems by being with one another? Because in my opinion, that’s how you really separate a toxic relationship from a good one.

So as for the question, are Donnie and April toxic or healthy?

Well, in my opinion, they DO work together, and their relationship is NOT abusive or toxic in any way shape or form. Both Donnie and April, though they had their flaws in the beginning, unconsciously and consciously helped eachother become better versions of themselves by being there for eachother throughout the series, as I have illustrated with the majority of my points.

And that my friends, is pretty damn FAR from abusive. In fact, that’s pretty much the complete OPPOSITE of abusive.

#tmnt 2012 #analysis #tmnt 2012 april #tmnt leonardo #tmnt apritello #healthy relationships #toxic relationship #reblogs are greatly appreciated!!

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hageny · 3 years

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Succession Thoughts: Gerri x Roman

AN: Points two and three in this post were requested by @thinkingfixatingobsessing, who wanted me to dissect those moments. Thanks goes to her for the ideas.

1. Brother Against Brother.

Roman’s introduction in Succession sees him coming back from California to congratulate Kendall on what his siblings--at this point--believe is his new position as next CEO of Waystar. We find out in this scene that Roman was once working alongside Kendall--in a position Roman only refers to as “not as high” as Kendall’s--before he was shipped off to CA for being, in his own words, “a bad fit”. The further we get into the series however, the more hindsight helps in analyzing this first scene, and we realize two important things. Firstly, when Roman claims he was not right for the company, we can almost hear Logan’s voice in the shadow of Roman’s words, saying that he was a bad fit: too incompetent, too unreliable, not enough of a shark. The more we see of their dynamic, the more we realize Logan is the one who doesn’t believe in Roman and Roman more or less parrots to others what he has been told his whole life. We can also safely assume that Roman would have remained this way--directionless, unmotivated--had he not been taken by Gerri under her wing. I’ve mentioned in other posts how her belief in him is vital to his change in direction, so I needn’t go into great detail here, but Roman--depicted as un-invested in Waystar from the get-go--is invested enough to push Gerri as CEO only one episode later, which is interesting to say the least. Secondly, we see in this scene a foundation for what will later become Roman’s motivation to betray his own family and oust them and secure power for himself. We know from later episodes that Kendall is repeatedly given passes for bad behavior and privileges his siblings don’t get, Roman in particular. This however, is a pattern that precedes the show, as we see Kendall only three years after his cocaine spiral set to take over the company in spite of a history of poor decisions while Roman is depicted as simply ‘too stupid’ to run Waystar when he doesn’t engage in the same risk-taking that his peers do, drugs included. The bitterness Roman needs to accomplish his goals has a core located in his upbringing, and grows larger as he gets batted around in lower-level jobs in the company while watching his brother sail past him to take the reigns.

2. Blank slate.

In Prague, we see Roman and Tom at Tom’s bachelor party scoping out the women and seeing if there are any that catch their eyes--particularly Tom, who is interested in exploring the opening given him by Shiv to ‘engage himself’ with other women for the evening. This marks Tabitha’s first appearance in the show, as she catches Tom’s eye, who quickly points her out to Roman, waffling whether or not to approach her. Roman attempts to make a sexual/salacious remark to describe what he might do to her, but is unable to properly express anything, saying, “Fuck yeah, I’d be all over that. I’d like...I’d fucking...arggh, fuck!”. We see here a moment that ties into Roman’s sexual hang-ups, first touched on by his first girlfriend earlier in the season, and explored in greater detail in his relationship with Tabitha. What’s key in his inability to express himself here is that Tabitha, from the beginning, before the start of her relationship with Roman, is unable to strike enough of a nerve with him for him to even be able to express how he might engage with her sexually, which is interesting given his ability to make sexually charged remarks in other settings. It also stands in stark contrast to his ability to come on to Gerri during their first moments on camera. Where he fails to find words to even say what he might do to Tabitha, even something as simple as “I’d fuck her hard”, he tells Gerri expressly that he likes to “lube up and fuck”, and while he does not necessarily mean it literally, he can still look her in the eye and flirt with her without hesitation, and proceeds to do so throughout that scene. He is later able to have phone sex with her--another scene where the show purposefully parallels his relationship with Tabitha, who he hangs up on--and tells her at that moment he wants for her to hear him masturbate to the sound of her voice--again expressly telling her sexually what he wants to do and then following through. In Hunting, he waits for her to come close to him and begin buttoning his shirt before telling her, “You know, if I were capable of any sudden movement I would totally pounce on you right now.” All of these moments spiral out of this first moment with Tabitha, where the show begins, even then, to showcase Romans’ inability to sexually engage with her while being able to do so with Gerri from the beginning. The reasons Roman is wired this way can be tied to his trauma as a child--his need for humiliation to get off with Gerri--but it can also be seen as possibly hinting that Roman and Gerri’s relationship goes back farther than we know, spelled out in his ability to flirt easily with her and engage with her in ways he cannot with younger women, and in Gerri’s ability to understand him deeply enough that she is able to please him without even sleeping with him.

3. Roman’s Wife.

The scene where Roman proposes to Gerri can probably be dissected a million ways--as can really any of the show, to be fair--but I will touch on one interesting facet of this scene. There is--as there are many times over the show--a parallelism at play here between Tabitha and Gerri. In Pre-Nuptial, Roman proposes to Tabitha by asking her, “What if I was prepared to marry you?”. When Tabitha balks at the suggestion, he elaborates that because his siblings are married, or have been, that he should be too, insinuating the decision is made more-so to follow suit. It’s not that he doesn’t like Tabitha--he precedes his proposal with a list of her best qualities, after all. It’s more-so that this scene makes it obvious that his desire to marry her doesn’t come from a desire for her as a person, merely his desire to be on-par with his siblings with regard to lifestyle choices. That proposal culminates with Tabitha asking Roman, “Do you think this is the way to get someone to stay?” to which Roman doesn’t respond, but the audience already knows the answer. Roman’s desire not to be alone precedes his actual interest in her, and Tabitha is smart enough to suss out that she is not the one for him, merely the one he is with right now. When Roman proposes to Gerri, he takes a much different approach. Roman’s proposal is something of a surprise, but yet it also is another step in a relationship wherein the players are already entrenched in a sexual affair with one another. Roman throws out the question as casually as he can and then when Gerri reacts with surprise, Roman quickly subverts the seriousness of the moment by jokingly telling her that if not marriage than simply abducting her will suffice. He also adds on that their eating one another--again, not literally, although he makes reference to Germany’s famous Armin Meiwes--suits his fancy, implying that being ‘one’ with her even in oneness’ most brutal, animalistic way is enough for him. Where he loses his patience with Tabitha when she rejects him, finally snapping, “Do you want to get married or not?”, when Gerri reacts with shock he merely plays it cool and offers her alternatives, finally slipping out of the room and leaving the ball in her court. Roman would most certainly like Gerri to stay, but he doesn’t use marrying her as a ploy to get her to do so merely so he isn’t alone--a narcissistic reason for marrying someone that satisfies only his own ends. He is comfortable enough in his relationship with Gerri to allow her to roam independently and decide for herself what she wants. He doesn’t force any aspect of their togetherness, merely presents her with different opportunities to see how she will react and if she can keep up with him. Gerri proves time and again that she is capable and Roman ups the ante in response to her prowess. His desire to marry her is based in what we know from the “Rockstar and the Molewoman” scene as his ability to see them as a team. To him, Gerri is an equal, not a belonging or a means to evade unpleasant emotions. She fulfills him in a way Tabitha and others cannot, and so when he asks her to marry him, he is also showcasing to the audience his view of her as an equal, and a prime candidate for the role of wife.

#gerri/roman #gerri x roman #gerri kellman #roman roy #succession #succession hbo #hbo succession #succession thoughts

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cosmicjoke · 3 years

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Alright, onto chapter 59 and 60 of AoT!

Chapter 59 of course has the big scene between Levi, Armin and Jean, and once again, we see Levi’s immense kindness on display, underneath the blunt honesty he also lays on his squad.

I feel like this scene really ties into my last post, and what I discussed about the 104th’s judgmentalism towards Levi, and how quick they were to condemn him for the actions he took. What strikes me during this scene from chapter 59 is how polar opposite Levi is in his own behavior from what the 104th’s was through chapter’s 57 and 58. That is to say, Levi’s utter LACK of judgmentalism towards his squad. This is one of the most remarkable things about Levi, and one of the traits that most highlights the actual goodness of his heart.

We see both Armin and Jean struggling immensely here with what happened in the wagon with that MP, Armin with the terrible guilt and fear that he killed a good person, and Jean with the awful guilt that his own hesitation and lack of commitment endangered everyone’s lives, and put the responsibility of taking a life on Armin.

What I find really interesting and telling about this scene is how Armin starts to voice his fear that the only reason he was able to kill the MP first was because she hesitated to kill Armin, but he can’t bring himself to ask the question to Jean, only imply it. And Jean, for his part, isn’t able to confess that that’s EXACTLY what happened. None of them want or are able in that moment to give life to their sense of guilt by admitting the truth of what happened.

And then... Levi steps in and does it for them.

He just flat out says the truth, where no one else was in that moment willing or able. That Armin was able to get his shot off first because the MP hesitated, and by saying so, he essentially forces Armin and Jean to confront the reality of what’s happened, and what they’ve done, and to come to terms with it. Levi then just flat out tells Armin that his hands are already dirty, and that there’s no going back to who he used to be, so he might as well just accept that this is who he is now. We see Mikasa start to make a protest, again, but Levi cuts her off and keeps going, to tell Armin that, if he hadn’t acted as he did, WHEN he did, Jean would likely be dead, and he tells Armin that he saved them all by getting his hands dirty, telling him that he’s grateful to him for that. Once again, we see Levi be the first and really only person there to express his gratitude and go out of his way to say thank you to one of his comrades for doing what needed to be done. He knows that Armin’s actions came at a great cost to himself, and he acknowledges that by expressing his gratitude for Armin’s sacrifice, for helping all of them, and giving a part of himself up in the process. This is exactly what Levi was trying to explain to them during the confrontation with Historia. That even if it means taking on the burden of guilt, or self-hatred, or being made to look like villains, none of that matters in the face of the greater good . Levi does the exact same thing with Jean, then, when Jean apologizes for judging Levi and his methods, and promising to not hesitate next time. Levi, once more, is brutally honest with Jean, telling him that, yes, because he hesitated, he put all of them in danger. Jean says he’s sorry, but then Levi tells him that what happened was “then and there” and “that’s it.”, before proceeding to tell him that he himself doesn’t know what’s right or wrong, and he wouldn’t try to tell Jean what is, that Jean may very well be right. Jean shows shock at this, and Levi’s willingness to consider Jean’s side and his thinking, despite how it put them all into a precarious position.

What gets me about this scene is how sharply it contrasts with the scene from chapter 57. Levi is totally upfront with his squad, telling them what he thinks and feels to their faces, being completely honest, and forcing them to be honest too, even though the truth is painful and sometimes ugly. He is, in turn, completely uncritical and non-judgmental towards Jean and Armin. Rather then condemning them, or belittling them, he tries his very best to comfort them and encourage them, and make them understand that they have nothing to feel guilty over, nothing to beat themselves up for. How, in fact, their actions were critical in aiding in all of their escapes. All of this is in such sharp contrast to how all of them acted in chapter 57, where Jean, Connie, Mikasa and Sasha were all highly critical and judgmental toward Levi, and how they only voiced those critics among themselves, not having the guts to say any of it to Levi’s face, the way Levi tells them without hesitation exactly what he’s thinking. This whole thing, I think, serves as a harsh lesson for the members of the 104th about the foolishness of being quick to judge and condemn without having a full grasp or understanding of the circumstances, the situation, or the person. Jean expresses remorse at having so quickly dismissed Levi’s methods as wrong, and says he’s sorry. But Levi doesn’t hold Jean’s own judgment of him against him, or tell him “apology accepted”, but rather tells Jean that he isn’t wrong to feel the way he did, basically telling Jean that it’s alright for him to think of killing as wrong, even still. When he tells Jean that what happened was “then and there. That’s it.”, he’s telling Jean that not all situations are the same, and that just because he made the wrong call in that particular circumstance, it doesn’t mean that a hesitation to kill in the future will be wrong. Levi is showing such a deep level of understanding and consideration for Jean’s feelings in this scene, and it’s just truly remarkable to watch unfold, again, especially, in light of how quick his squad was to judge him not that long before. We see Levi’s compassion for Jean’s feelings, and his consideration of his feelings here have an impact later on, between Jean and Marlowe, when Jean gives Marlowe a chance to prove his sincerity by not immediately killing him, even when he had the chance. We see Jean finally having listened to Levi, having heard his words and understood what he meant. That this situation was different from the one with the female MP in the wagon, that here, he WAS right to hesitate, here, he made the right choice. Levi is always impressing onto those around him that they can only ever try and make the right choice in any, given situation, and that they can’t expect those choices to always be the same across the board. That different circumstances call for different decisions, and there’s no point in beating yourself up or regretting those decisions that are made in the moment. Levi never puts unrealistic expectations or pressure on anyone around him to be perfect. He always tells them they’ve done a good job, just for trying. And that is just so incredibly sweet, and kind, and once again, really exemplifies just who Levi really is. Just that lack of judgment, that lack of condemnation, and the respect he shows to everyone by being HONEST with them, is amazing.

It’s interesting too, going through the rest of the chapter, and then chapter 60, when we see that Levi isn’t just some needlessly violent person that kills all the time. He doesn’t kill a single MP when they ambush them at their base, nor does he kill Marlow and Hitch, or the commander they take from the Interior Squads HQ. Once again, Levi’s squad gets another lesson in who Levi really is. That he’ll kill when it’s necessary, when it’s the lives of him and his comrades on the line. But when it’s a less dire situation, he doesn’t resort to it at all. He isn’t like Kenny, for example, who kills even when he doesn’t need to.

Another scene that really stood out to me in chapter 60, that I don’t think was animated, was when the commander they took from HQ tries to manipulate Levi into giving himself and the rest of his squad up, and tries to use Levi’s compassion against him, by telling him to save the lives of Erwin and his other comrades that have been arrested by giving up their own. This reminded me heavily of when Zeke tries to escape from the forest by turning Levi’s comrades into Titans, believing Levi won’t be able to kill them and thus leading to his own death. This kind of psychological deviousness, and attempts to use Levi’s compassion against him are particularly ugly, I think, particularly cruel and cynical. Especially in contrast to Levi’s own honesty and bluntness. Again, it only throws Levi’s own idealism and hopefulness into relief, seeing it clash up against the kind of psychologically manipulative games people like this MP and Zeke play at.

The way this commander of the interior MP’s tries to play head games with Levi by guilt tripping him, by claiming some of the people in HQ that they took down were only servants, and then implying that Levi doesn’t care about his comrades because he isn’t willing to turn himself and the other squad members in to save them is such an unkind thing to imply, because we know, and I think the MP knows, exactly just HOW much Levi cares about his comrades, and that’s why he tried this particular ploy. There isn’t anything much worse than the type of person who would use another person’s kindness and compassion against them this way, and again, the same way we see Zeke use it against Levi in that forest. And the same way we saw Levi’s pain and anguish in the forest when he realized what had happened, and what he would have to do, we see it too in the following panel here. Levi has, once again , an anguished look on his face as he readily admits that some SC members lives are worth more than others, meaning of course Eren and Historia’s lives are more vital than any of their own in overthrowing the corrupt government, and he understands in that way that even if it means Erwin and the others dying, it’s a sacrifice they have to be willing to make. You can see how these choices weigh down on Levi, how much it hurts him to have to make those choices, but tying back in to his earlier conversation with Armin and Jean, he has to be willing to make them in order to help the most people, and he never deludes himself about it. Levi is about as straightforward as you can get, he doesn’t mince words or try to play games, and he doesn’t lie to himself about any of it.

We get more of that honestly when he breaks the commanders arm and tells him straight that that was for refusing to answer his question.

That kind of honestly, both about himself and others, is part of what makes Levi not only the most heroic character in SnK, but also, in many ways, the bravest.

#attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #Levi Ackerman #meta #thoughts #chapter 59 #chapter 60

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mizelophsun11 · 3 years

Text

Mizeloph's Tale Chapter 6

Pairing - It is still General Kirigan x OC Sun Summoner, but it will eventually become Kaz Brekker

Summary - There are still unanswered questions about Anna and the Crows are discovering that there is history. Inej wants answers and all Kaz wants is to push it all down, but will he? Or will he answer some questions of his past he never thought would matter.

Word Count - 1679

Kaz had been working hard to find a way across the Fold, through his troubles he was able to acquire a man named Arken Visser, his title being The Conductor. With Arkens skill they had a way through the Fold, but there was more that Arken had in his clutches. He had also acquired access to a Heartrender who would be the key to getting them into the Little Palace. Arken has been annoying Kaz, he needed to make sure Arken knew his place within the group.

“I didn’t hire you simply to get us across the Fold” Kaz said “You’re with us because you have an understanding of smuggling Grisha out of the Little Palace, which is where our target is”

“Yes the Sun Summoner�� Arken said

“Alleged” Kaz countered, he was still doubting that there was a possibility of his childhood friend being the Sun Summoner, for him Kaz would not believe it until he saw her

Inej rolled her eyes “Kaz, they would not keep a fraud in the most secure location in all of Ravka” she knew that there was more to what Kaz was saying with calling Anna the alleged Sun Summoner

“Anna Mizeloph is not guaranteed to be the Sun Summoner. Inej there is nothing right now that proves she is the real deal” Kaz was still in some sort of denial streak surrounding Anna

“But Kaz she is real, I don’t know when it will go through your mind, there is no reason to argue that she is the Sun Summoner” Inej was trying to get a point across

Kaz gave Inej a look “we will continue this discussion later” Kaz turned to Arken “This contact we are meeting up with, you are sure they can get us into the Little Palace?”

“Yes, she is a Heartrender after all, someone that I trust, not once has she led me astray so far” Arken was showing them the way to where Nina lived

“Even if you trust her, how do I know we can trust her? There is no use if she is persuadable in any way” Kaz didn’t want to be blindsides. This was a big job and so he didn’t want to put his trust towards the wrong person, there was always the change that this Heartrender could turn on them during their mission when the time was right

“Nina grew up there..” Akren started but was cut off

“Most Grisha grow up in the Little Palace” Jesper said, the key word being most

“Very few would betray their general, and fewer would help foreigners kidnap their one of their most prized possession” Kaz needed more than just Akrens word, there needed to be something else to convince him that this was smart

“Nina is what you say.. A radical, she thinks that Grisha should decide for themselves if they serve the Crown or not, she despises involuntary service more than she does Fjerdans” Arken knew that this was a good convincing point, but from Kaz attitude, Arken knew that he might have to drive the selling point a bit more when they meet Nina. That way Kaz would be able to evaluate Nina himself and see how trustworthy she is for this mission.

They arrived at the inn where they would meet Nina, on their way in Kaz noticed the innkeeper counting Fjerdan krydda. He knew that probably meant Nina would not be in her room and he was correct. They opened the door and the room was in disarray, chairs were on the floor and evidence of a struggle was prominente. The way that Nina’s luggage was unorganized was evidence that someone possibly searching for something and then abandoned it. As everyone began to search for any clues about what had happened, through the search Kaz looked around the bed then flipped over her suitcase hood with his cane to find a Drüskelle pendant underneath.

“She’s gone, kidnapped it seems” Kaz picked up the pendant

Jesper walked over and looked at what Kaz was holding “what is that?”

Akren walked over and saw the pendant “Drüskelle. They are ruthless Grisha hunters.. But I don’t understand how they would have found her, Nina is always very careful”

“The innkeeper, he was counting Fjerdan krydda when we walked in, most likely he ratted her out” he tossed the pendant back onto the bed not needing it

Arken sighed “If they did take her she is probably on a ship to Fjerda by now..”

Kaz looked out the window “they had a clear line of attack” he looked over at Inej “take a look, make sure there aren’t any more surprises” Inej nodded and began her search to see if there was any more surprises

They left the inn and stood outside waiting for Inej to come back, Kaz was already trying to think of another way into the Little Palace. There had to be another way in besides Nina, but at the moment Kaz could not come up with something. While the idea of having an insider to the Little Palace was smart, Kaz was glad that it would continue to be the four of them.

“Well.. that’s that I suppose” Jesper said

Arken nodded “We lost our way into the Little Palace”

“All clear” Inej said when she go back to their group, she was glad that there was no one left, but that meant the Fjerdan had been gone for a while and their contact was far away by now

“This seems like a reasonable juncture to abandon this whole Sun Summoner plan” Arken knew that there was no use now since the key to this ploy was probably on a ship

Kaz glared at Arken “Abandon? We’re in this now, I know what a million kruge means to me, what does it mean to you?”

“Freedom” Inej answered right away

“Fun. But it might not last very long, a few months at most” Jesper smiled

“..Retirement” Arken had been working for so many years, he was ready to never have to do anything again until he eventually died a natural death

“Right, so we push forward” he looked over to Arken “get us across the Fold, when we get to the other side I will figure out the rest”

Arken sighed “fine, to cross the Fold I will need 20 pounds of Alabaster coal, a peck of Majaloun jurda that is not the kind from Kerch, it's too weak and a goat. Now, we must meet in the dead of night, there is a wreckage of a skiff northeast on the edge of town”

“Sooo.. who gets what?” Jesper asked knowing divide and conquer was the best way to get everything

“Inej, get the jurda. I’ll get the goat and Jesper..” he pulled out some money and handed it to Jesper “just the coal, no detours” Jesper nodded and walked off

Everyone started to go their separate ways, but before Inej disappeared she wanted to continue their conversation now instead of waiting. Kaz noticed and stopped, he had said they would continue with what they were talking about earlier and he guessed Inej wanted to do that now. He knew that she still wanted some questions answered about Anna and what his past with her was, it would be better to just get it done and over with now instead of continuing to push the topic away forever. Kaz would much rather continue to push everything down, but knew that it would become more bothersome if Inej continued to fight with him about Anna.

“Inej, I want you to focus on this job, but that doesn’t seem to be possible unless we have one last conversation about Anna Mizeloph. I want your entire focus on the job after this discussion, understood?” Kaz said sternly, he wanted everyone focused and right now that did not seem possible for Inej unless they had one more discussion about Anna Mizeloph

“Alright, why are you in such denial about Anna Mizeloph being the Sun Summoner? I know that you don’t believe in Saints, but I feel like there is something more” Inej was digging for answers and wasn’t sure what she would find

Kaz sighed “what I say stays between us, understood? I don’t want you even talking to Jesper about what I am about to tell you”

Inej nodded “yes, of course, this will stay between us I promise” she had expected a bit more of a fight from Kaz, but decided not to question it

Kaz looked down at his gloved hand that was not holding onto his cane, opening and closing it and taking a deep breath “she was.. Everything to me. We stuck together, maybe in the beginning it was out of necessity, but it became something more. There was not a moment where we were not together and when we were split up, for me it was as if another piece of me had drowned in that ocean” Kaz could remember how he would always comb his fingers through her long white hair, it was what he did to calm her down. Something to her that she was so self conscious about was the key to making her feel at peace for once. He looked down at his own hands that were covered by black leather gloves, they were not always like this. Kaz never felt so vulnerable because of one person, the details of when they were together never faded. However, he needed to push all of that down and pretend like he had moved on, but in truth he never did.

“Kaz..” Inej could tell through him talking about her, Kaz was bringing emotions back he never planned on having “thank you for telling me”

“Now I want you to focus on the job, go get the jurda” Kaz said walking off to get the goat

Inej nodded and disappeared, she felt a bit better and even though there was the risk of pushing Kaz too far, Anna Mizeloph seemed to be the only exception.

Author Note - Thank you so much for everyone support! It has meant the world to me that there are other people who are seeing my work and enjoying it! I am sorry these chapters might take longer depending on how much editing I decide on doing. I have also been busy with just life and having to run around getting things done. I hope that I can start posting a bit more! I also love seeing everyones comments so please continue to leave them or pm me because I really enjoy talking to everyone!

Tag List - @rika90 @itsemy01 @hotleaf-juice @teatimeforusreaders @benbarnes-supremacy @graciefullygracie @aleksanderwh0r3 @klaudosh @herbatkazmiloscia

#shadow and bone #the grisha series #shadow and bone fanfiction #grisha fic #grishaverse #ben barnes #freddy carter #general kirigan #kaz brekker #general kirigan x reader #kaz brekker x reader

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thinkingisadangerouspastime · 3 years

Text

laughter/joy

Written for Day 1 of @aangweek! Read here on AO3.

~*~

1. laughter/joy - after the fire, new maps are drawn / nothing to cry for, new dreams are born / out of the ruins, flowers will grow / people rebuilding, stone by stone

Aang had been… unusually silent during their first few hours at the temple. Well, maybe ‘unusual’ wasn’t the right word. A heavier gravity to him was to be expected, seeing as the official reconstruction of the Southern Air Temple was set to begin in upcoming weeks. Which meant their group of friends was currently working together to create basic blueprints of different areas. Katara would never have demanded Aang be his normal, talkative self as he combed through the ruins of his home, because spirits was that an unfair standard to hold him to.

Still. That didn’t mean she couldn’t worry.

But how could they cheer him up? Katara didn’t want to make light of the turmoil she was certain he was going through, and yet she also just - she wanted to comfort Aang. See him smile or hear him laugh at least once while they were here. Katara couldn’t bear to watch the invisible load weigh heavier and heavier on his shoulders any longer.

At the moment, they were all mapping out the weakest parts of the temple, since reconstruction would have to begin with those more fragile areas. Toph and Zuko were one group, so Toph could sense the areas of unsteady infrastructure with her earthbending and Zuko could draw it out. Aang had gone with Suki, as he could reference his memory to compare what had changed from the past to the present while Suki marked down the most significant alterations.

Which had left Katara with her brother. For obvious reasons, Sokka would be the one examining the rubble while she would be the one mapping it out.

The work was long and tedious, though it was more painful than it was boring. While a formal ceremony had been provided for the Air Nomads a few weeks earlier at Aang’s request - a way to send their spirits off in the traditional Nomadic manner - every now and then a slab of concrete would be displaced and reveal a set of charred bones. Which only made Katara worry about Aang more. If it was nauseating for her to witness, she couldn’t imagine what the experience was like for him.

“We need to do something for Aang today,” Katara said when they’d all stopped for lunch. Aang had momentarily left to investigate a particular room in the temple, so she’d seized the initiative to launch a let’s-cheer-Aang-up plan. Their group sat in a circle on a small striped blanket, Appa stretched out comfortably behind them. “I - I don’t know what, but there has to be something we can do to help him feel more like himself.”

Suki nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. He seemed so…” She pursed her lips. “I don’t know how to describe it. He wants to restore the temples, and it’s clear he’s happy to finally start, but…” She shook her head. “It’s just hard for him, I think.”

“He barely said a word the whole time we were eating,” Toph pointed out. “I mean, he didn’t even jump in when we started making fun of Zuko.”

Zuko rolled his eyes as everyone snickered. “Normally I’d be offended, but I noticed how quiet he was, too. That’s… unlike him.”

“Okay, so we’ve agreed we need to do something,” Sokka said, crossing his arms over his chest, “which means now we have to figure out what that ‘something’ is in the two minutes we have before Aang gets back.”

Katara grimaced. Her brother made a good point, disheartening as it was to admit. They needed to work fast. “Everyone. Start throwing out ideas!” Even a terrible suggestion was better than none at all.

“Er, we could make fruit pies for him?” Zuko offered, brow furrowing in contemplation.

Katara shook her head. “Not a bad idea, but it would take way too much time. Anything else?”

“Someone could play airball with him,” Suki suggested. “Didn’t you and Sokka do that the first time you visited the temple?”

Katara made a so-so gesture with her right hand. “Sokka did, yes, but I don’t know if it’s worth the risk of him mentally reliving everything about our first visit here.” She hesitated, returning her hand to her lap. “He… found Gyatso’s skeleton that day, too.”

Suki’s eyes widened. “Oh. Understood.”

“Guys!” Toph hissed, her palms flat on the ground. “He’s coming back!”

Katara cursed under her breath. They’d just have to suck it up and put something together for Aang later -

“Wait!” Sokka exclaimed. “I’ve got an idea!”

“Save it for later, Snoozles!” Toph whispered, but Sokka shook his head.

“Trust me! Just follow my lead.”

Katara resisted the urge to drag her palm down the side of her face. Great. Sokka’s ideas more often than not ended in utter disaster. Tui and La, she was begging for this to be the exception.

As Aang returned to their impromptu picnic area, Sokka jumped to his feet to greet him.

“Aang,” he said sternly, placing a hand on his hip, “I am very disappointed in you.” He gestured to the rest of them still sitting on the ground. “In fact, we are all disappointed in you.”

Aang blinked, taken aback. “You - what? Why?”

“Because.” Sokka shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “How could you not tell us that it was Appa’s birthday?!”

Aang stared at Sokka in total confusion, and Katara didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Of course her brother would come up with something that toed the line of believable and improbable.

“It’s… what?” Aang finally said.

“Appa’s birthday!” Sokka repeated. “C’mon, Aang. Did you really think we wouldn’t find out?”

Katara decided to throw her brother a line. Admittedly, he wasn’t floundering just yet, but she didn’t want to leave him treading water alone. No one could ever say she wasn’t a merciful person. “We had to find out from Appa himself!” she said, standing to move next to the sky bison. She scratched Appa’s cheek. “Isn’t that right, Appa?”

Please play along. Please play along.

Appa gave her a dubious side-eye before roaring, and Aang’s eyes widened.

“I didn’t know you knew your own birthday, buddy!” he exclaimed, airbending over their picnic area to land beside Appa. The breeze blew Katara’s hair back. “I’m sorry!” He gave the sky bison a tight hug. “How can I make it up to you?”

“He, uh, he actually already told us how he wants to celebrate,” Zuko stammered. “He thinks… He thinks we should…”

“Braid flowers in his fur!” Suki finished, and Zuko’s shoulders slumped in relief. “Like - Like when you guys first met those nomads in the… Earth Kingdom, right?”

“Yes, exactly,” Katara confirmed with an aggressive nod. Tui and La, she prayed they weren’t coming off as too emphatic. “And he told us we can - we can make flower crowns for each other, too!”

Out of the corner of her eye, Katara could see Toph pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. She couldn’t blame her friend for such a response.

For a moment, Aang didn’t speak, and Katara was terrified their ridiculous ploy would crumble to pieces.

Then he shrugged. “I like flower crowns.”

Katara was barely able to contain her sigh of relief, and she knew her shoulders had visibly dropped at his words. Ah, well. If Aang was suspicious of their rambling, at least he’d decided not to press the issue.

They spent the next half hour collecting flowers from around the Southern Air Temple. There were more than Katara had expected, especially considering the high altitude. She nearly cried tears of joy to see Aang passing through his home with a gentle warmth to his eyes rather than the previous quiet sadness. When they all began braiding Appa’s fur and weaving a rainbow of flowers into them, Aang smiled, too, complimenting his bison about how stylish he’d look when they were done.

There was nothing more beautiful than Aang’s smile.

It didn’t take long for their group to begin reminiscing about different memories with Appa. In honor of his “birthday,” after all.

Toph talked about how the very first time she’d flown on Appa, she’d been certain death was a more pleasurable experience. Suki recounted the story of when she’d found Appa and nursed him back to health, which prompted Zuko to tell the tale of his own Appa rescue mission.

Aang pulled them both into a tight hug before braiding strings of flowers in their hair, too.

Sokka was the one who brought up the cave of two lovers and his experiences of being trapped with the nomads, and Katara couldn’t resist the urge to tease Aang about his ever-so-romantic I’d rather kiss you than die! compliment. That particular story earned laughter from all, Aang included, who made a teasing remark about how clearly it worked before pressing a kiss to the tip of Katara’s nose. She dropped a pink flower crown on his head as he pulled away.

Joy was in the little things, Katara knew. And sometimes, joy was in the things that hurt, that ached, like the ruins of a once-beautiful air temple.

No. It was still beautiful. Because they were here, breathing life into death. Because out of these ruins, flowers were growing. Because out of loss, joy could bloom, too.

Aang laughed at some offhand comment from Sokka, and Katara smiled.

It was their favorite sound.

~*~

honestly this is my least favorite ficlet of what i've written for each day lmfao. but that does mean we can only go up from here! see you tomorrow for day 2 - family/gyatso :)

#aang #aang week #atla #avatar the last airbender #katara #sokka #zuko #toph beifong #suki #appa #atla fanfic #atla fanfiction #amy writes #the gaang #aanglove

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nbrook29 · 3 years

Note

99 🖤🖤

Hello there! You’re officially my last dialogue prompt 🤩 I’m sorry this took so long, anon, I hope you’re gonna like it at least a little 🤓

I don’t take prompts for this challenge anymore. Just wanted to put that out there 😇 There are so many amazing ones on that list, but as of now I have 3 WIPs and one additional one in the works and I’d like to finish them before wtfock ends 😅

Anywho, here you go!

99. “I don’t think I’ve ever played spin the bottle.”

* * *

Robbe is going to kill Moyo.

In fact, he's going to kill all three of his so-called friends because none of them protested when Moyo, tipsy and on his way to drunk, announced that this party sucked and was in dire need of some spice.

He wishes he had listened to his past self and stayed home just like he had originally planned. It was supposed to be a quiet night in, editing videos or maybe spent in bed rewatching Romeo and Juliet in peace with no broers around to mock his movie choice while stuffing his face with onion chips and pretending the movie does not make him emotional, no sir. The wetness in his eyes must be sweat, not tears.

Then, after the movie would have ended, his sulking levels high, it would be time for his favorite activity of recent - daydreaming about reality in which he actually had the fucking guts to make a proper move instead of turning red everytime a certain someone was in his close proximity; smiling at him with that perfect sweet lovely smile that turned his already gorgeous features so much more beautiful that Robbe could weep.

And doesn’t that sound like a magnificent evening?

It may sound kinda lame, Robbe is a man enough to admit that, but the prospect of spending the night watching his friends salivating over girls they can’t get being the alternative wouldn't be particularly alluring to anyone, he guesses. Especially since he never partakes in that salivating part himself, instead chugging one beer after another and playing his designated role of a wallflower.

Story of his life.

The whole thing just plain sucks, because it’s not like his friends aren’t well aware of the fact that Robbe’s interests lie elsewhere and that he’s usually bored out of his mind at those parties. But when there’s at least a semi-attractive girl around them they don’t care about anything else but getting her number and Robbe’s not exactly their priority then. In fact, he could well enough not be there at all and it wouldn’t make much difference. It happens every time they drag him along to those parties and every time he just stands there, rolling his eyes on their embarrassing attempts of flirting.

Not like he’s the master of flirting himself, but even he’s not capable of stooping as low as they usually do.

This time, he reluctantly agreed to come to this one, against his better judgement, after Jens bugged him about it for their entire biology class, trying to convince him it was going to be more of a small gathering rather than a party. And frankly speaking, he did that just to make him shut up so mrs Jansen stopped glaring at him. Like he was the one running his mouth.

Once Robbe said the magic words “I’ll be there” there was no way of getting out of it. Still, his plan was to come by for an hour or two to get the broers of his back, drink a few beers, talk to Jana maybe, and then quietly leave when everyone would be too drunk and too busy tonguing at each other's tonsils to notice he's gone.

But to his surprise, the party turned out not to be the typical banger they usually attended. It wasn’t even that bad and he was kinda having fun since he wasn't forced to play the guys' sidekick-gay-friend this time around and instead was dragged by Zoe to the kitchen to drink shots with her, Jana and Luca right after he arrived.

However, parties are not really his scene in general so when it started getting really late he finished his last Buttery Nipple shot composed by Luca (don’t ask) and was just about to make an apologetic face at the girls and say his goodbyes.

But then Noor and Brit arrived.

With him.

And Robbe almost swallowed his tongue.

Nobody should have the right to look this good but there he was, laughing with Milan in the hall while taking his signature leather jacket off, running a hand through his smooth like silk hair (Robbe's convinced it's indeed very silky) to ruffle it a little like it ever needed any styling, and in general looking like he had just walked out of Robbe's dream straight into Milan's apartment.

Sander Driesen.

The reason for Robbe’s cheeks being permanently stained pink as of late.

They met at one of those after school clubs led by Amber several weeks ago that Robbe came to only because he agreed (after pretty much being blackmailed into it) to play Aaron’s wingman in winning Amber’s heart.

He was gone as soon as those green eyes met his and the boy in front of him, wearing a black Bowie t-shirt and a leather jacket, shook his hand while smiling a little unsurely but still friendly, never breaking their eye contact as he introduced himself in a honey-like voice that penetrated every cell of his body, knees buckling a little, heart stuttering, the whole shebang.

He’s still thanking god he managed to hold back the whimper that was about to get out when he was saying his own name back.

Needless to say, the meeting became much more bearable after that.

Even having to witness Aaron’s cringeworthy attempts of gaining Amber’s attention weren’t that bad anymore. Not when they made Sander chuckle under his breath and catch his eye over Amber’s shoulder, winking at Robbe with a mischief dancing in his eyes as he bit his lip to keep his own laugh at bay.

And then, Amber came up with some stupid “love excercise” or whatever the fuck she called it and made them all hold hands in a circle. She claimed it released stress and spread positivity or some other bullshit, but Robbe was convinced it was just a ploy she came up with to hold the school’s number one fuckboy Senne’s hand (who, if Robbe had to guess, also wasn’t there out of his own free will).

Robbe wasn’t a very touchy-feely person, especially with people he had no business of touching in the first place so the whole thing was beyond painful. Thankfully, Jana came to his rescue, snatching his right hand as they exchanged smirks over Amber’s lofty speech about positive energy filling their bodies.

But then someone else gently took his other hand and when he went to inspect who it was, annoyance already starting to creep in, his mouth went dry, eyes going up, up, up the person’s leather-clad arm before stopping on Sander’s face, looking far too entertained.

The boy took an overly deep breath, eyes closed and face feigning seriousness, breathing out loudly.

“Ahh, I can already feel that rush of energy,” Sander leaned in to whisper to him, a teasing tilt to his voice making Robbe giggled at his antics.

“I guess Amber was right then.”

“No no, I don’t think it’s Amber’s techniques, I just think it’s because of you.”

Robbe just gaped at this shameless flirting, receiving another wink when caught blushing deep pink. Sander seemed unfazed though, totally chill, like saying lame lines and winking at boys was in his everyday repertoire. It definitely wasn’t like that for Robbe, and definitely not from boys as cute as Sander.

He should have probably rolled his eyes at him, called him cocky and full of himself. And yet.

There was something about Sander’s demeanor that screamed it was all a facade, and that underneath there was a huge dork that came out right after that guard was let down. Robbe couldn’t even be annoyed with the smug winking because it was adorned with such a cute smile that it called for a fond eye roll rather than scoffing.

Before he could form at least a half cool response, Amber started shushing all of them with a bossy face, glaring at every person that dared to make a sound. So with a rush of sudden boldness, Robbe just squeezed Sander’s hand and looked at him from under his lashes, biting his lip in an attempt at being coy (and cringing at himself internally) despite his body thrumming with nerves standing this close to Sander, and for some unknown reason it brought the desired effect.

Sander kept smiling at him surreptitiously throughout the entire meeting, making him laugh with his playful faces at some of Amber’s more ridiculous statements, and it felt like they had an entire conversation even though they didn’t exchange one word during that half an hour.

When they were finally free to go home it was after 21, Robbe realized with a whine. After they all collected their things and were ready to leave, Sander turned around in the doorway, searching for Robbe’s eyes while ignoring the rest of their friends crowding against the door, and when Robbe glanced furtively into his direction his expression turned almost bashful as he said bye, Robin.

And then again with the winking.

Good god this boy.

And how cute it was he couldn’t actually wink? It looked more like a reinforced blinking, but he still looked cute doing it.

Once Robbe came back home that evening, thoughts occupied with bleached hair and the smell of leather jacket, he couldn’t stop himself from searching for Sander’s social media. In just one sitting he gathered a handful of information, finding out Sander was a year older and recently transferred to his school (which would explain how he had missed him in the corridors). He also had a photo with Amber down at the bottom of his profile and from the caption it seemed like they were cousins.

Robbe’s fingers hovered over the ‘follow’ button, but he didn’t want to seem like a stalker so he just closed the app, throwing his phone on his bed in exasperation feeling sorry for himself and his inexperience in talking to boys.

The universe decided to be graceful for him for once in his life though and put Sander on his path again only 3 days later.

Like every Saturday afternoon Robbe was in the skate park with the broers, taking piss of one another’s skills and trying out new tricks while basking in the October sun that felt more like it was full on spring rather than the beginning of fall. He was in the middle of showing off some of his best tricks to the sounds of his friends hollering when he caught sight of bleached hair in his peripheral, almost falling straight on his ass. But luck was on his side and he avoided making a spectacle out of himself.

Once he was safely on the ground, skateboard under his foot, he glanced in the direction of white hair one more time to see Sander lowering his vintage camera and whistling, making an impressed face and promptly causing Robbe to downcast his eyes bashfully.

“Hey.”

“Hey, Robin.”

Robbe sighed. “It’s Robbe.”

“I know, but isn’t that a cute nickname?”

Robbe ducked his head, smiling a little to himself, cursing the heat rising in his cheeks. “Are you always this annoying?”

For a moment, Sander seemed to be taken aback, but then he must have noticed the teasing glint in Robbe’s eyes because he relaxed visibly, confidence back on his face.

Then, easily and offhandedly, he said, “No, just with very certain people.”

If Robbe had any doubts before about Sander taking immense pleasure out of teasing him, he didn’t anymore. He was flashed with another mischievous smile and then Sander nodded at the bowl.

“That was pretty awesome.”

“Thanks.” Robbe scratched at the back of his neck self-conciously, ignoring his friends’ intrigued faces and praying they didn’t say anything stupid. “To be honest, these aren’t even that difficult, anybody could do them...”

“Pff, I tried this skateboarding thing once and let me tell you, I was an absolute disaster so don’t sell yourself short.” Sander nudged at his shoulder with a knowing look, the contact sending a shiver through Robbe’s entire body.

“So what are you doing here if you suck at it?” He sent him a toothy grin when Sander gaped at his brazen words, faux-scandalized.

He then lifted his camera swiftly and took a photo of Robbe’s dumbfounded face.

“I’m only around this deadly thing to take artsy pictures of cute boys.”

Looking very proud of himself, Sander laughed at his indignant spluttering, refusing to show Robbe the photo at first, giving in a few seconds later under his killer pout (Sander’s words).

“So, is this where you spend your afternoons?” he asked casually once they sat down at a nearby bench, Sander scrolling through his camera roll and showing him the photos.

Robbe nodded, watching Aaron from afar attempting the backside ollie and failing miserably. It pulled out a snort from Sander.

“Well, you’re definitely better at it than your friends.”

Elbowing him in the side as a sign of loyalty to his friends, he replied. “Jens is actually better than me.”

Sander sent him a curious look. “Is he your boyfriend?”

“What?! Eww, no! I have way better taste than that.” It’s not like he’d admit he had crushed on his best friend a year ago. So, hopefully, he sounded convincing.

Sander lifted his hands in surrender, laughing at his outburst. “Okay, okay, message received, only the cutest boys for you,” he paused, biting at his lip to hold his smirk. “Makes sense,” he muttered under his breath, but Robbe heard him anyway.

Later that day, he got a instagram notification that informed him that earthlingoddity was following him as of now and damn if that didn’t make Robbe’s heart beat faster.

earthlingoddity sent you a link

S: Considering today’s unfortunate incident, I made you a bowie playlist, need to teach the youngsters like you the real music 😎😏

The first message from Sander made him scoff, but he rolled his eyes at himself anyway when he remembered his conversation with him at the skatepark, asking about the shirt and prompting Sander to quiz him about David Bowie’s songs.

Robbe hid his face in his hands at the mere memory.

Space Cowboy.

How embarrassing.

Sander tried so hard not to burst out laughing at Robbe’s confusion when his answer was met with a blank stare, bless him.

R: So you're one of those people?

S: What people?

R: Self-righteous hipsters 😜

S: Now now Robin

No need for names 😩

R: It's Robbe

R o b b e

S: Okay Robin ;)

R: 🙄

Unbelievable

S: So

What's up? 🙃

They kept up at this casual texting for 2 recent weeks, getting to know each other, and Sander confirming that he does, in fact, have a soft side. Robbe also realized he was a much bolder person when no face to face interaction was required when he had more time before responding to Sander. Then there were the occasional “hellos” at school when they crossed paths in the halls, but so far their friendship, if he could even call it that, hadn’t evolved further.

In fact, this party was the first time Robbe had seen him in a week.

Their eyes met for a few short seconds and Robbe waved at him, immediately after wanting to bang his head at the table because who the fuck waves these days?

Sander didn’t seem to mind this dorky display at all, beaming at him from across the hallway and not paying much attention to Milan who was talking his ear off. A second later, he was out of Robbe’s sight, dragged by Milan and the girls to the living room, leaving him staring longingly after him.

Before Robbe got his shit together and on shaky legs went there to maybe squeeze out a few words to him, Moyo was already on his way of arranging people into a circle and producing a bottle to spin.

What a bad fucking timing.

This was so not Robbe’s idea of fun so he started to surreptitiously backing off to the hall to slide out the door but Jana, the traitor, grabbed his arm and sat him next to her, seeming very excited about the game.

It’s not like he was the only one reluctant to play though. Sander’s face looked rather bemused too.

“Come oooon, Sander,” Noor groaned at him, pulling at his sleeve relentlessly to make him plop his butt on her left side. “You promised to leave that sulky slash lovesick face at home and have fun. This is fun!”

“I think we have a different definition of fun, darling,” he retorted, his gaze sweeping through the half-drunk faces, stopping at Robbe’s for a millisecond. It was so quick he thought he imagined the apprehensive look on his face, but then Sander did sit down, letting out a long-suffering sigh and promptly avoided his gaze throughout the game. Which was clearly an intentional effort because they sat exactly opposite each other.

To say Robbe was confused would be an understatement.

And that’s how he finds himself here, sitting in a circle amongst his friends and several strangers who keep hollering and shoving tongues in each other’s throats. He had one close call when the bottle spinned by a redhead girl almost pointed at him, making him hold his breath but then stopping on Moyo sitting on his other side, who was way more eager to fill the deed.

When it’s finally Sander’s turn to spin the bottle, Robbe's heart starts beating double time and he twists his fingers nervously. He realizes with dread that there is no good outcome of this situation; if it lands on any of his friends or any of those few people he only vaguely recognizes, he’s going to have to watch Sander play tonsil tennis with them and his stomach turns unpleasantly with something akin to jealousy at the mere thought.

But if it lands on him?

Oh god.

The bottle is spinning already, Robbe having missed the moment Sander put it in motion, too busy wrangling with his thoughts about what he should do. The fact Sander has been avoiding his eyes ever since they started this stupid game makes him even more nervous about the whole thing.

Then the bottle stops, pointing at him so accurately that it leaves no room for question.

And Sander’s face positively falls.

Sitting near him Jens and Moyo are giving him subtle thumbs up and not so subtle shit-eating grins with Aaron next to them clearly confused at their behavior all the while Sander looks like he’s in pain.

Eyes glued to the floor, body rigid, looking like he’d want to be anywhere but here.

People are staring at them, waiting for something to happen and Robbe feels nauseous.

And so humiliated.

How could he misinterpret Sander’s behavior so much? And it’s not even that, not really. Does the idea of kissing him disgusts him that much he can’t even give him one stupid kiss to avoid putting Robbe on the spot?

From the corner of his eye he can see Noor elbowing Sander in the side and there’s an entire conversation happening between them without one word being uttered.

Then, several things happen at once. The boys let go of any subtlety and start whooping and hollering like they want to force Sander to make some kind of move, there’s a loud whack coming from the kitchen where one of the couples went to continue their PDA so Jana and Zoe get up to check the damage and then Adi, who has been rummaging through the liquor cabinet for the last ten minutes, yells that he found a ten year old whiskey, making the broers scrambling off the floor to get their hands on it.

The rest of the people are still here with them though. Still staring. And Sander still seems to be rooted to the spot.

And Robbe has had enough.

Ignoring Noor’s soft Robbe, he gets up and with a heavy heart almost runs to the door, putting his jacket on in a haste, frustration and shame cursing through his body as he runs down the stairs two step at a time, wanting to get outside as fast as he can.

The cold air washes over him once he reaches the entrance and he breaths in shakily, feeling his eyes welling up despite his hardest efforts not to cry.

It just hurts. It really hurts. And if he’s being honest with himself, the fact that there have been witnesses to his humiliation is a small part of the reason why he feels this way. It’s about the fact that it was Sander.

Sander. This boy who let him believe there may actually be someone interested in him. In that way. Sander, who flirted with him, complimented him, smiled at him, listened to him and sent him Bowie playlists.

Sander, who he felt more connected to recently than to any of his friends.

He wipes at his eyes angrily, scoffing at the fact that this asshole was able to make him cry, when he hears rushed steps on the sidewalk behind him.

“Robbe!”

Walking faster, he tries to ignore the sound until there’s a hand on his shoulder stopping him in his tracks. He turns around ready to blow out in Sander’s face but the boy is faster.

“I’m so sorry for that,” he pants, voice tinted with desperation, apologies written across his face as his eyes flit all over Robbe’s like he’s trying to read his mind.

But Robbe only lets out a humorless laugh. “No worries, I understand, you were very clear. Point taken,” he sneers, starting to walk again.

“No, you don’t understand,” Sander pleads with him, taking his hand in his own to keep him from leaving. Robbe wants to pull it back, but the distressed look in Sander’s eyes makes him hesitate. “I didn’t want our first kiss to be a part of some stupid game. Not when I spent weeks trying to come up with a perfect scenario for our first kiss in my head.”

Robbe promptly loses his breath at his confession.

“You wanted to kiss me before?”

“Ever since I saw you,” Sander confirms in a small voice. His demeanor lacks the confidence Robbe got acquainted with, ripped of any trace of the usual conckiness. Instead, Sander appears almost shy, biting his lip nervously as if waiting for a blow and heart-breaking rejection.

There won’t be a rejection though. Not tonight.

Without second-guessing himself, Robbe takes that one step that still separates them and seals their lips together, hands drifting to Sander’s rosy cheeks on their own, like there was a magnet pulling them in. Sander is stunned at first, his lips unresponsive, but it only takes about three seconds for his brain to catch up and then.

Then.

Then there’s Chernobyl in Robbe’s head.

Fuck.

The way this boy kisses.

Phew.

Robbe’s brain shuts off as Sander’s mouth moves over his with intention, sliding together in a rhythm that leaves him breathless. It’s almost impossible to keep all the noises that threaten to escape inside, one small whimper getting out without Robbe’s accord, but it’s okay because it gets swallowed by Sander’s unyielding lips right after it leaves Robbe’s, making Sander pull him even closer.

Eventually, they have to stop, getting dizzy from the lack of air. When their mouths do separate though it’s only for a centimeter and they keep panting in that small space between them, soon breaking out in quiet giggles.

“I've wanted to kiss you ever since I saw you too. Ever since that stupid meeting,” Robbe admits, feeling brave and like he’s floating on air, no confession scary enough right now. Sander looks very pleased with his words, and Robbe can feel the telltales of his regular confident smile coming back to his face under his lips when Sander pecks him softly.

Then, he draws back, regarding Robbe with eyes full of mischief.

“I only joined to meet you.”

That makes Robbe cock his brow in surprise and he searches his face for a lie or at least a joke, but he doesn’t find any. “You saw me before?”

There’s a pause and then Sander’s smile turns softer. “I saw you the first day of school.”

And, wow. He did not expect such a turn of events.

“You were sitting at a lunch table with your friends, deep in thought, looking so beautiful you took my breath away. It felt like I saw an angel.”

Blood floods Robbe’s cheek and he drops his eyes under Sander’s intense gaze, because he’s not used to such praise, or praise whatsoever. And then there’s Sander, looking at him like he’s something precious, like he hung the moon and stars, touching him so gently and kissing him so passionately and Robbe feels like passing out.

Sander must have sensed he was getting overwhelmed because he chuckles quietly and cradles his cheek in his palm, thumb sweeping under his eye in a soothing motion as he leaves a few small kisses on his other cheek, melting Robbe in a pile of goo right there on the sidewalk, quiet night around them.

Once he pulls himself together, he can’t resist the tugging at the corners of his mouth and a full-blown smile blooms on his face that’s instantly matched by Sander’s own.

“You know, I don’t think I ever played spin the bottle before but I’d give it zero stars on booking.com,” he declares suddenly pulling a laugh out of Robbe. “I was so scared I’m gonna have to watch you kiss somebody else, phew!” He places a hand on his chest comically, turning on the dramatics. “My poor heart wouldn’t take it, Robin!”

And fuck, he’s so cute that Robbe can only laugh at this (his?) dork, fondly rolling eyes at his antics.

“Yeah, I didn’t want anybody to kiss you either. And it’s Robbe,” he adds with a long-suffering sigh, futilely, he’s sure, but it’s still worth it because Sander’s cheek in tongue expression lets him know the boy loves to rile him up and is not going to stop anytime soon.

Still, to wipe off the smug smile for the time being he pulls him back into a kiss by the lapels of his leather jacket and Sander doesn’t exactly protest such. The second kiss is slower, more thorough, but still mind blowing enough for Robbe to feel heat tugging at his stomach.

“Will you go on a date with me? Tomorrow? Or any other time you’re free? Please?” Sander whispers in the small space between them after they finally break apart, foreheads resting against each other and fireworks going on in Robbe’s brain. Despite them standing so close Robbe can see Sander’s face pretty clear, and he can see his hopeful but tentative expression as he waits for him to answer, eyes growing unsure with each second of silence.

Not wanting to keep him in suspense anymore, he gives his parted lips one more lingering kiss, too weak to resist them when they shine so prettily in the street light above them. “Tomorrow sounds perfect.”

#wtfock #og easter eggs because it's cute af #😌

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coffeestainsandcashmere · 3 years

Text

Let No Man Steal Your Thyme - (older Dramione), Part Three

Wow! Thank you so much for your feedback and apparent enthusiasm for the previous parts, and for your excitement to see more in the future! I never imagined it’d get any traction, but I’m staggered and touched to see that people are enjoying it!

Here’s part three for you, as promised. I had written twice as much as this (around 7k in total) for part three, but I split it up into two. Part Four will go up tomorrow after I’ve given it another once-over. It’s tooth-rottingly adorable really. There’s pizza involved. And a little delving into the past.

Content warnings for part three: unexpected run-in with Ron, passing mention of past alcohol abuse (Ron), and general prejudices against Slytherins. Again, this isn’t supposed to be a Ron-bashing story, but relationships do break down when fundamental beliefs don’t align. If I seem harsh on Ron, I don’t really mean to be. Hermione also isn’t perfect or unbiased, but she has perhaps slightly more reason to be upset with him than he does with her. It will all be explained in a later part, I promise, but it has been hinted at already in the previous two parts.

Part One | Part Two

___

Friday found her lingering awkwardly in the Ministry’s echoing Atrium, waiting for Theo to come out of his last meeting of the day, up on level five. The problem with being the former Minister for Magic - and one so famously young - was that quite literally everyone knew who she was. So far, in the ten minutes she’d been standing there, a seemingly ceaseless line of twittering assistants and employees had come cringing up to her to ask if she needed anything.

She’d just sent the latest one packing with a tight-lipped ‘no, thank you. I’m just waiting for a friend,’ when someone cleared their throat behind her, and a familiar voice made her heart clench and her breath come short for half a moment.

“’Mione? What are you doing here?”

“Hi, Ron,” she sighed, even before she turned to face him.

In the decade or so since their divorce, he’d actually done pretty well for himself. Gone was the lingering paunch that had crept in towards the tail end of his quidditch career, and now he looked… well, quite frankly, he looked really good. He reminded her of Charlie Weasley a little, with floppy, roguish hair and a surprisingly lean figure once more. Becoming the coach of an internationally-recognised quidditch team suited him, clearly. That, and a happier, second marriage with Lavender, she supposed.

“How are you?” she asked, trying not to sound too stiff and failing abysmally.

“Good,” he said, rocking back on his heels for a moment with his hands shoved into his pockets. “What, uh, what brings you here then? Miss the place too much?” he asked with a little snort of laughter.

“Hardly, Ron,” she said with perhaps a little too much feeling. “No, I’m waiting for Theo.”

At the mention of Theo’s name, Ron’s eyes darkened. “Why?” he blurted.

“Why? Because he’s my friend, Ronald,” she said. “And what are you doing here? Come to blag your way out of another ‘drunk and disorderly in possession of a broomstick’, hmm?”

She knew even as she said it that her snide comment was uncalled for, and that she was being disproportionately petty, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. Something about his lingering, bone-deep resentment of the people with whom she chose to associate these days just brought out the worst in her even now. She wasn’t proud of it. In her defence though, how many times had he tried to use the whole ‘The Minister for Magic is my wife’ ploy to get out of scrapes like that in the past?

Ron’s freckled face flushed at that. “I’m clean and sober now, Hermione,” he said. “Have been for the past five years, which you’d know if you ever came to any of Harry’s dinners. We used to be the ‘Golden Trio’ for fuck’s sake…”

Very quietly, and with what she thought was a remarkable degree of renewed self-control, Hermione said, “Excuse me for not wanting to intrude on your happy family, Ron. I am pleased to hear that though. That’s no small achievement. Congratulations.”

“But you’d still rather go scuttling off with the Slytherins instead of having dinner with me and Harry?” he said, eyes flashing.

There it was. There was the comment — the little dig at her choices — that she’d been waiting for ever since she’d mentioned Theo’s name.

“I hear that you and that lot are pretty tight now. Even dragged Neville into it.”

Her already-simmering outrage crept a degree or two hotter beneath the surface, and Hermione blinked rapidly. “‘Dragged’ Neville? Is that what you call his perfectly healthy and happy relationship with Pansy?”

“He wouldn’t have had anything to do with her if it wasn’t for you and Nott meddling. He’d have settled down with Hannah instead of leaving her for some Slytherin trust-fund bitch. You know she’s still heartbroken about it?”

Her eyebrows rose. That wasn’t how it had happened at all, though she knew Hannah was still upset, and she’d just opened her mouth to say so when she felt the prickle of other people’s eyes on them.

“I’m not discussing this, Ron, and I’m certainly not starting something here in the Ministry Atrium, for God’s sake,” she said, turning away. Her ears were starting to ring as her magic crackled inside her and she took a long, steadying inhale to try and calm down. People were indeed starting to stare, and she thought she glimpsed Gabriella Guile lurking near the sandwich shop with one of Rita Skeeter’s bloody ‘Quick-Quotes Quills’ hovering at the ready. “Please, Ron.”

He stepped in close and snarled, “Well, at least some of us still remember where our loyalties lie.”

Hermione saw red at that and spun back round to face him, eyes flashing and hair expanding like a Devil’s Snare. “Loyalty?” she spat. “You — you of all people — want to lecture me about loyalty?!”

Clearly he hadn’t followed that thought through to its conclusion before opening his mouth. He turned beetroot red and took half a step back, hands up defensively. “Look, Mione, I’m sorry. I didn’t come over to start another fight. It’s not like I expected to see you here - you don’t even work here anymore, and it’s not like we hang out or anything. How was I to know?” He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m meeting Harry when he gets off work and we’re going for a drink at the Leaky. Let’s... Lets just forget it, ok?”

A hand landing gently but firmly between her shoulders made her jump and she whipped round to find Theo standing behind her, looming over her from his six-foot-something height. “Alright, love?” he asked in a steady baritone without taking his eyes off Ron.

“Ready to go,” she said tartly. “Say hi to Harry for me, Ron.”

And with that, they left the Ministry by floo for Theo’s.

As she stepped out of the swirling green flames of the fancy, Mayfair town-house’s marble fireplace only a moment or so behind him, she found Daniel rising from the sofa to greet Theo with a kiss, and once Theo had moved off through the house to hang up his cloak, he opened his arms to hug her warmly.

Dan, always a pleasure,” she said. “How are you?”

The unexpected meeting with Ron left her oddly rattled. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen him at all in the decade since the divorce - his little sister was her own best friend, and she’d met Bill Weasley on more than one occasion during her time at the Ministry, but still, to see him doing so well for himself and to see him so happy should have made her pleased. After all the years of shared friendship that she genuinely cherished, she should have been happy for him.

Instead it galled and made her uncharacteristically bitter to know that he had everything he wanted now and he still couldn’t resist trying to rubbish the few things she had left of value in her life. Theo and Daniel were among her closest friends, and to her surprise, the rest of the Slytherins had adopted her into their little group without question.

“Let’s start a bit early, shall we?” Theo chimed as he re-entered the living room with three champagne flutes and a bottle of something French and no doubt eye-wateringly expensive floating in front of him. Since that left his hands free, he began undoing his cuff links as he walked. “The others should be here soon enough anyway, and I just closed a deal with the Ministère des Affaires Magiques de la France that I’ve been trying to hash out all year. Yay me.”

His flawless French accent made Hermione smile. Everything just seemed so easy and natural to Theo; it might have enviable if he weren’t such an affable sweetheart to go with it.

“Yay you,” Daniel chuckled, eyes glittering with affection as Theo handed Hermione a very full glass. “To my brilliant husband.”

Two hours later, amid the happy murmur of conversation that now filled the gorgeous, airy ground floor, Hermione looked up as the floo whooshed and Draco Malfoy stepped out. She’d begun to think he wasn’t going to show, and when she caught sight of him, a weight unexpectedly lifted from her chest. Something, at least, was going right today.

He had a heavy, black cloak around his shoulders and a bundle of brown paper parcels under one arm, printed with the logos of various Diagon Alley shops, though it was well past most of their closing times. She wondered where he’d been in the meantime, but didn’t want to pry.

Whether out of surprise or curiosity, the chatter in the living room sputtered out a little at his arrival before Pansy rose to her feet and flung her arms around his neck. “Draco, darling!” she laughed as she air-kissed his winter-pink cheeks and hissed melodramatically in his ear — loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear —, “I’m so glad you came; Blaise owes me ten galleons. He said you wouldn’t come.”

Draco twitched his lips fondly into something that was almost a smirk and unclasped his cloak as she stepped away from him. He folded it up neatly atop the parcels beside the now-still fireplace and shot her a look. “Glad to know how much my company is worth these days, Pans,” he drawled.

As he straightened, Hermione actually sank her teeth into her lower lip at the way his bespoke charcoal grey suit fitted him, accentuating his long, lean figure, with narrow hips and broad shoulders. He looked every bit the successful businessman while she was slouching around in the jeans and mauve hoodie she’d thrown on in the back room after closing the bookshop for the day. No wonder Pansy had given her an affectionately pitying grimace when she’d greeted her earlier.

Theo rose gracefully from his seat beside her on the sofa to join Draco and Pansy by the hearth, and he hugged Draco fondly, murmuring something in his ear. The two were almost a match in height, though where Theo’s hair was a warm, copper-streaked, chocolate brown and his skin a tanned, freckled olive, Draco’s hair and skin were almost as colourless as the marble fireplace behind him.

When Draco drew back this time, he spotted Hermione over Theo’s shoulder. He offered her a slow incline of his head, and allowed a clinking tumbler of whisky and ice to be pressed into his hand by Theo.

Hermione wasn’t really sure quite what she’d been expecting from Draco when she’d invited him to join Theo’s usual Friday night drinks. Whatever it had been though, it wasn’t the thoughtful, considerate conversationalist she now found engaging Neville in detailed discussion about the disadvantages of farming dittany commercially. For some reason, Draco’s icy exterior and apparently reclusive behaviour had made her think he might be socially awkward, but apparently one can’t train the upper-class manners out of someone once it’s been bred into their bloodline for umpteen generations, even after a dusty decade of disuse. Further to her surprise, he actually seemed genuinely interested in what Neville had to say about the difference in potency between rare, wild-harvested dittany and the farmed stuff.

Meanwhile, she just sat on the sofa with Neville on her left and Theo on her right, and only half-listened to the talk around her, not participating at all.

Despite everyone’s obvious enjoyment of the gathering, Hermione found herself unable to muster any of her usual social enthusiasm, and remained in pretty subdued silence. After a while, Neville politely excused himself to find Pansy, with an earnest promise to follow up on something or other for Malfoy, and his seat was not reoccupied.

In the lull, Malfoy took the opportunity to lean across the space from his armchair to the sofa and murmur, “Everything alright, Granger?”

From beside her, Theo looked round and slung his arm causally over her shoulders and squeezed. “Hermione had a small run in with her ex-husband in the middle of the Ministry Atrium.”

Draco’s eyes flashed and his lip curled minutely.

“Nothing dramatic, but the prick had the nerve to insinuate that Slytherins make for poor company. Luckily, dear Hermione reminded him that we’re not all still twelve years old...”

She managed a smile at that. “Don’t let me rain on your party, Theo, but I think... I think I will head home now.”

“Feel free to floo,” he breezed, waving the hand that had been around her shoulders with a flash of the gold signet ring on his little finger, “But obviously I’d much rather you stay and drink yourself into a giggling stupor again... It’s been far too long since that happened.”

“You drink yourself into a giggling stupor every Friday, Theo. I’m sure you can manage to do it again on my behalf tonight. I’d love to stay, but it’s all getting a bit... loud now anyway...” she said vaguely. “I think I’ll walk home.”

Theo just nodded and gave her an affectionate little wink that would have looked corny on anyone half as charming. “Take care of yourself, sweetheart. Say hello to whatever your book-du-jour is for me. Will it be Emily or Charlotte this time?”

Draco frowned in confusion and she laughed a little. “Charlotte.”

Still cleanly nonplussed, Malfoy looked from Theo to Hermione before Theo grinned at him. “Brontë,” he said conspiratorially. “Muggle author.” He looked back to Hermione and said, “Means it’s an evening with dear Jane Eyre then. Haven’t you read that a hundred times?”

“More, probably,” she chuckled, standing. “Goodnight, Draco. I’m glad you came. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

He nodded, looking slightly winded for some reason, and offered nothing else.

After saying goodbye to a few people, and finding that Pansy had somehow managed to drape herself successfully across Neville’s lap despite the fact that he was sitting on a bar stool of all things, Hermione headed for the front door and slipped out into the night alone.

With her coat still over the crook of one arm despite the biting wind, she made her way from Theo’s cushy house out into wider Muggle London, and from there she began to meander.

Just as she crossed the boundary into Hyde Park, she heard running feet and someone calling her name. To her surprise, she turned and found Malfoy loping along the pavement after her.

Halting, she waited for him to catch up and looked curiously up at him. His pale cheeks were flushed pink again from the bout of light exercise, his breath billowed white, and his hair seemed to glow like burnished silver in the harsh light of the street lamps. It was hard to doubt the rumours of him being part Veela in moments like that.

“What is it, Malfoy?” she asked when he didn’t articulate the reason for his hasty journey. “Did I forget something?”

“No, I —“ he faltered and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. The motion ruffled his hair into something altogether softer and more attractive. He cut it much shorter at the sides now but left the top longer, and it had an attractive wave to it that had once been oiled out of existence in his earlier years at Hogwarts. “I thought — ach, this was a stupid idea.”

“What do you mean? What was a stupid idea?”

“I thought I’d come after you and see if you were alright. You looked fucking miserable back there, Granger.”

“You taught your son foundation spellwork with that mouth, Malfoy?” she countered, slightly staggered by his apparent thoughtfulness. This was not the Malfoy she remembered at all, and it was gratifying to find that her experience of him over lunch had not been a one-off.

He smirked and the effect was disarming in a way it never had been at Hogwarts. “I do try not to swear around him, but if he’s learnt something uncouth, I couldn’t promise it didn’t come from me. Or Theo. Actually it’s more likely to have come from Theo.”

She laughed suddenly. “Your little mandrake,” she sighed.

Something odd passed across his face and he stuffed his hands into his jacket pocket. “Salazar’s balls,” he cursed. “It’s colder out here than I thought.”

Wandlessly, she murmured a spell to extend the radius of her own extant warming charm to surround them both. “Better?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled. “Left my cloak and stuff back at Theo’s.”

Hermione smiled and gestured with the arm holding her coat. “I’d offer you mine, but I’m not sure even you could pull off a Muggle women’s rain mac that’s several sizes too small for you.”

“Oh I don’t know,” he said. “I think I could transfigure it into something… workable.”

“You sound just like Theo and Dan and Pansy,” she groaned. “They’re always threatening to take me shopping. I’m terrified to let them loose on my wardrobe. I’m afraid I’ll never see another pair of comfy jeans again!”

“Don’t listen to them. The way you dress is just fine,” he said easily. “Besides, you give that lot an inch and they’ll take a mile. You should always stand your ground, especially against Pansy…”

“Well, I’ve got Nev on my side too,” she said. “Though even I have to admit that she’s had a positive effect on his wardrobe. Maybe I should let her take me shopping after all... I probably couldn’t afford the places she shops though,” she laughed, then looked up to find an odd light in Malfoy’s grey eyes. “You really came haring through London after me just to check I was alright?”

“And walk you home if you’d like,” he added. “But I’ll leave you in peace if I’m imposing. Heavens know you’ve had one pushy bloke to deal with already today...”

“The last thing I think of you right now is ‘pushy’, Malfoy. I think you’re very kind to come after me.”

He looked away at that and a private smile graced his lips. Bloody hell though; where some people’s looks seemed to have been watered down with age, Malfoy’s features had been honed and refined by time into something akin to a masterpiece, with high, sharp cheekbones and a slim, and clearly very fit and healthy, figure. It made her stomach swoop and ache again in a way she hadn’t felt in years. It also made her feel a little self-conscious of the softer curves she was carrying around her hips, arms, and lower stomach these days. Hefting books around kept her strong, but a largely sedentary life in the bookshop wasn’t doing wonders for her once-svelte figure, it had to be said.

He nudged his elbow out a few inches and she smiled, taking the offer and sliding her fingers into the crook of his arm.

They set off and walked slowly, aimlessly, along the walkways of Hyde Park, and for a long time neither of them spoke. A cyclist shot past them at one point, and Malfoy watched him disappear into the distance with an inquisitive frown, as if trying to figure out how it could possibly function. He never said anything though, and they carried on, warmed by Hermione’s spell and encased in an oddly amicable silence.

It was Malfoy who broke the silence at last. “You find this strange, Granger?” he asked, glancing down at her.

Her breath caught as she stared up into those full-moon eyes of his; bright and silver and so god-damned intense. Gone was the pinched look of fear and insecurity lingering in the corners. Gone was the cruel, steely glint. The lines of his face were still hard and severe, and he carried a hefty frown most of the time, and that trademark pointy chin was still there, but he really had grown up, inside and out, and it showed.

“Strange?” she croaked. “What, you and me walking arm in arm through Hyde Park at seven in the evening?”

“Mmm,” he nodded.

“A little,” she admitted as she looked ahead up the path. “A little.”

Part Four

___

As before, if you like where it’s going and want to see more, do let me know! I will post it on Tumblr as I write it, and once it’s all complete, I’ll plop it onto AO3 in one go. That way keeps the pressure off a bit, I think? Anyway, let me know if you’re enjoying it, and why, either by reblogging this or sending me an ask

writing masterlist | Ao3

#dramione #older dramione #draco malfoy x hermione granger #hermione granger x draco malfoy #draco malfoy #hermione granger #dramione fic #older dramione fic #hermione x draco #let no man steal your thyme

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charming-charlie · 4 years

Text

Lunch Break

Title // Lunch Break

Pairing // Evan Buckley x Reader

Warnings // Jealousy mostly? Little bit of teasing and some implied oral too.

Summary // Jealousy rears its ugly head at Station 118.

Word Count // 2.5k

Prompt // Buck's reaction when you ignored him because of something // “Come and sit on my lap, baby.” with bucky pls // “I wish I could tell the world.”- “Go ahead.”- “OKAY WORLD GUESS WHAT *insert name here* IS MY FREAKING BOYFRIEND/DATEFRIEND/GIRLFRIEND AND I REALLY-”*A puts hand over B’s mouth*- “I did not mean literally!” reader x evan omg

It was a perfect, beautifully sunny day in Los Angeles. The birds were singing, the air was warm, and life was good. Then again, you were just in a good mood. You had a romantic meal with your boyfriend, Evan Buckley, and he spent the night at your apartment. Nothing sexual happened, unfortunately, but you were okay with that. The dinner was followed by some hard yet serious conversations where the two of you let everything out and shared the most intimate thoughts. By the time you checked the clock, it was two in the morning and Buck had to get some sleep. He had an early shift the next morning.

When you woke up, he wasn’t there, but he did leave a fresh pot of coffee and a sweet text message saying he was looking forward to seeing you later. You figured it should be sooner rather than later, and you took the rest of the morning to shower, get dressed, and go through your morning routine.

It was around early afternoon when you arrived at the firehouse. Apparently, the crew just returned from a call. Chimney was putting equipment away and when he spotted you, his face melted immediately into shock. “Oh no. Who told you?” Chim asked once you finally reached within earshot.

The phrase lingered with a certain dread and you stopped in your tracks to look at him. Giving him a slight head tilt to emphasize your curiosity, you let out a confused smile. “Told me what?”

Chim couldn’t look more like a turtle if he tried. His shoulders hunched as if he were trying to hide or disappear. He turned back to the equipment, grabbing two very menacingly looking hammers and hooking them into one of the compartments on the firetruck. “Told you about our call. Buck and the girl,” he mumbled into the air. You had to strain to hear him, since he was avoiding your gaze completely.

“What girl?” you couldn’t help but ask.

Chimney pursed his lips and he closed his eyes. It was almost like he was trying to rack his brain for something else to say to you, but he sighed in defeat. He turned to look at you. “Buck scored a girl’s number on the last call. He didn’t deny it or said he was seeing someone.”

You were taken aback by that and the wheels in your brain were already turning. You couldn’t see Buck doing that, not after how close the two of you grew, and the sweet text message that was still on your phone. Yet Chim looked worried. Not for Buck but for you. You couldn’t help but think there was some truth to what Chim was telling you, especially given the fact that he was a terrible liar. This didn’t seem like a lie.

The more you thought about it, the more upset you became. Even though he spilled his guts last night, talking about how he transformed from Buck 1.0 to Buck 2.0, maybe that was all an act. Maybe that was just his move, a ploy to get unsuspecting women to fall head over heels for him. Maybe he was Buck 1.0 the entire time.

You nod at Chim, your way of thanking him without saying anything, and you turn on your heels to leave the firehouse. You tried to ignore Chim’s stare into your back but soon got distracted by seeing Buck walk toward you with a smile. He looked so pleasantly happy that for a second, you wanted to believe he has truly changed, and yet you could not bring yourself to smile back.

“Hey babe. Miss me already?” Buck asked you. He reached out to touch you, but you immediately pulled back and walked around him, like he wasn’t even there.

The smile fell from Buck’s face as you walked away from him. You didn’t even acknowledge him. It kind of hurt when you didn’t text him back but now you’re straight up ignoring him? What gives?

He followed the trail that you left behind, and it led him to Chimney, who was still busy restocking the truck with fresh supplies. “Hey Chim, do you have any idea why Y/N seems mad at me? She just walked off without saying anything.”

Chim shut one of the compartment doors with a loud thud, causing Buck to jump at the metallic sound. “I told her about the girl’s number you got earlier,” Chim said. He was now also avoiding Buck’s gaze. His eyes were staring right at the side of the truck, as though it were fascinating and capturing his attention.

“That—wait, what? That girl gave me her number to give to Eddie,” Buck went on the defense, looking defeated and upset, “how did she—I don’t understand. Y/N thinks I would do that?”

It sounded like he was talking to himself now and Chim used that opportunity to slip away and find somewhere to hide. Sure, he may have made a situation worse by not fully understanding what happened, but it was best to get out of there while Buck sorted through his thoughts. Buck thinking could be dangerous sometimes.

He whipped out his phone and starting texting you at lightning speed. He would send one sentence after another instead of a whole wall of text. He did this, knowing you would get every single notification. Your phone would constantly buzz from the incoming messages. You’d have to talk to him.

An hour went by and Buck was running out of things to send to you. He started sending every emoji individually, one by one. By the time he sent the yellow smiley with the halo, his phone rang.

“Y/N,” he answered with a hesitated smile. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, “I knew that would work.”

“What worked?” the voice on the other line was not you, but rather his sister, Maddie.

The defeated slump of Buck’s shoulders would have made a cartoon noise as he sat down in one of the comfy leather chairs at the firehouse. He lied; his hopes were up but the voice of his sister popped them away. He tried to put on a brave face to help mask his saddened voice, but Maddie wasn’t convinced.

“Nothing, what’s—”

“Are you and Y/N okay?”

Maddie interrupted him and Buck leaned back. He hated the fact that you were ignoring him when there was a simple explanation to the situation. Buck opened his mouth and was about to say something, anything, to get his sister off his back, but Maddie retorted with a smooth and confident, “Don’t lie to me.”

How she was able to read her brother over the phone was a mystery unto itself.

“She’s ignoring me,” Buck replied with a sigh. He didn’t really want to talk about it. He wanted to go back and continue texting the entire emoji alphabet to you. It hit him, then, that if you were trying to call him, the call wouldn’t go through since he was on the phone with his sister. Quickly sitting up, he mumbled a super-fast and hardly audible “I gotta go, Maddie. Talk later,” before he hung up on his sister and went back to staring at the phone.

You didn’t text him back and there was no indication of a missed call.

It took everything in his willpower to not chuck the phone at the wall, purely out of frustration. If he were not on duty right now, he’d be at your apartment and talk things out. His hand tightened around his phone, just in time for his best friend to stroll on by.

“You okay?” Eddie asked, looking at Buck with curiosity.

“It’s your fault,” Buck said suddenly. He couldn’t hide the bitterness in his voice as he rose to his feet.

“What is?” Eddie asked cautiously. He was walking backwards, away from Buck. When Buck was angry, it wasn’t a pretty sight. There was no violence or anything like that, but tensions did rise high when their resident goofball wasn’t his usual self.

“You and that girl flirting on the call today, and I’m supposed to give you her stupid number that she gave me to give to you and now my girlfriend isn’t talking to me because of you and that girl’s number and I’m going craz—”

Bobby was hearing the commotion and he quickly walked over to the scene. As the captain, he had to make sure his firefighters played nice. “Everything okay over here?” Bobby asked, looking back and forth from Eddie to Buck.

“Did you try calling Y/N?” Eddie interjected while ignoring Bobby’s question. He was unfazed by Buck’s tangent to make a point, something he was pretty used to after working at Station 118 for so long.

Buck stopped and immediately shut his mouth. The resentment on his face changed into something else. What was it? Guilt, maybe?

“What did you do?” Bobby asked while turning to Buck, “never mind, I don’t want to know.” After dealing with Buck and Eddie’s antics at the firehouse, sometimes Bobby needed to pick and choose his battles. He wasn’t going to pick and choose this one.

“Cap, can I…” Buck sheepishly started asking a question, like he was about to be scolded or something. He avoided Bobby’s gaze and let his voice trail off.

Bobby looked at Eddie, who shrugged and raised his hands in surrender, wanting no more part of the situation. Eventually, the Captain exhaled and nodded. “You have one hour, Buck. I’m making this your lunch break.”

With that, Evan Buckley was on a mission. He stopped by the farmer’s market and bought a bouquet of flowers and he raced to your place. The elevator in your apartment building was out of order, forcing the young but thankfully in shape fireman to dash two, sometimes three stairs at a time. He was just there this morning and it already felt comfortable, like he could see himself being more familiar with the apartment building as time went on. He hoped he would, but he just recently learned not to get his hopes up.

He rapped a few times on the door and used the flowers to cover up the peep hole so that you couldn’t see he was standing there.

“Who is it?” you asked through the door.

Buck wasted no time. “Delivery.”

“I didn’t order—” you began until you saw him. He was standing there, looking gorgeous like always. Every bone in your body was telling you to look away, shut the door, and go back to ignoring him. You turned away from him, and he held out the beautiful bundle of flowers.

“Delivery,” he said again, this time in a more apologetic and remorseful tone.

You took the flowers from his grip, and your fingertips brushed over his lightly. If you weren’t mad at him, you would be picturing those fingers brushing over other things, like different body parts.

“Today was a misunderstanding,” Buck said. He was giving you a look, a sweet, innocent look, and it was hard to look away. He knew just how to keep you captivated, how to keep you interested, and you found yourself opening the door to invite him in. He smiled a little and walked into the apartment that he was in only hours before.

It was a small place with one bedroom. Nothing like his two-story loft that he got to enjoy when he wasn’t working. However, the smaller apartment made things seem cozier. Even he couldn’t explain it, but he did like being there.

“The phone number was for Eddie, not me. The whole thing is a misunderstanding. Miscommunication at the firehouse, it’s not exactly uncommon. I wouldn’t do that to you,” Buck was saying. You were hanging on his every word. Sure, you may have taken things a bit extreme by ignoring him, and yet here he was, willing to fight for you and fight for a place in your life. You must give him credit for that.

“You really mean a lot to me, Y/N. I wish I could tell the world.”

“Go ahead.”

Buck stared at you, slowing blinking at your sudden permission to share his feelings. While last night’s deep conversations were perfect, it made the two of you closer to each other. Buck was in denial, but after realizing he could possibly lose you, even over something as a simple mistake, it made things a lot clearer to the fireman.

“Okay world, guess what!” Buck started shouting, catching you off guard, “Y/N is my freaking girlfriend and I really—”

You put a hand over his mouth. He was loud and you had neighbors on both sides of you and the walls were paper thin. The last thing you wanted was to deal with the cops over a noise complaint that your man was professing his love for you in a neighborhood apartment complex.

“I did not mean literally!” you whisper-shouted to Buck.

He was grinning behind your hand. You could feel it. His hidden smile only made you smile in return. Yeah, perhaps you were a tad dramatic today but so was he. Maybe it was proof that the two of you just felt fiercely for each other and needed the clarification that things were going to be okay.

Buck moved away from you and plopped down on your cream-colored loveseat. Your whole body turned to look at him as he relaxed. His eyes never left your gaze. He was staring at you, but not in a way that made you uncomfortable. There was a swirl of emotions in his eyes. He was staring at you, admiring you, like you were a work of art. In his eyes, you were.

“Come sit on my lap, baby.”

You didn’t need to be told twice. You walked up to him and sat down, one leg on either side of him as you straddled his waist, facing him. His hands found themselves pressing into the curves of your waist while your arms snaked themselves around his neck. “Don’t tell me you left your shift for this,” you told him in a whisper. His head seemed to be getting closer and closer to you, and you found yourself gravitating toward his lips.

“I’m on my lunch break,” Buck whispered against your lips.

You pushed your body against him. “Then you better eat something before you go back.”

Buck only smirked as his fingers slipped under the fabric of your shirt. Your little daydream from earlier, the one where you didn’t want to imagine Buck’s fingertips going places, was starting to come back the very moment he touched your bare skin.

“I’m working on it,” Buck replied huskily before letting his lips move against yours in a desperate need to claim them.

The drama from the afternoon seemed to evaporate and a bubble started forming around you and Buck. For now, at least for however long he had on his lunch break, nothing could pop the bubble. You two were in your own little world, safely confined within the walls of your apartment. Too bad your walls were paper thin though. Your neighbors might file a noise complaint after all.

#evan buckley #evan buckley x reader #Buck #buck x reader #911 #9-1-1 #writing request #oliver stark

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reluctant-mandalore · 3 years

Text

Life Day Headcanons (Fennec Shand x Reader)

Warnings: Fluff, holiday celebrations, kissing, established relationship, not beta read.

Pairing: Fennec Shand x gn!Reader

a/n: Soooo when I mentioned earlier that I was working on some Life Day (christmas) hcs for Din and some other Characters from the show, quite a few people showed some interest in Fennec Shand. Sooo her hcs are going to be the first I’m posting for the night. Din is going to come later, and Paz (maybe boba too) will be coming Saturday. Fennec is a bit more affectionate here, as I imagine once she opens her heart to someone she becomes more comfortable with showing them some sweetness. Sooo enjoy some soft and fluffy Fennec!

+ Fennec hadn’t planned on really celebrating Life Day this year. She had a busy schedule as being Fett’s right hand woman and everything of course, but seeing you excited for the Holiday had made her want to.

+ She had actually ended up clearing her schedule for the date, making it so that she could spend the whole day with you in celebration.

+ Your excitement had even made her start to look forward to the day as well. Not only because she got to spend it with you, but also because admittedly it had been a while since she had actually spent a Life Day that wasn’t just getting drunk at a Cantina after a job.

+ Before Life Day would arrive, Fennec would spend some time going about your tiny home to decorate the place for the occasion.

+ She had even found a tree to put up in your living space. How’d she managed to find a pine tree in a desert of all places? You’d never know and she’d never tell.

+ Fennec had also finished the majority of the decorating herself, wanting to surprise you when you had returned home, though she did leave the tree for the two of you to do together.

+ When decorating the tree, she had given you a lift to put the star up, pulling you down into a kiss quickly afterwards, before watching your face light up with glee as she turned on the lights for the first time.

+ While decorating, Fennec had ended up putting mistletoe all around the place. There was a bundle hanging in every room and in every entryway once she had finished. She wanted the house completely covered for some sweet Holiday kisses.

+ She knew that she didn’t need an excuse to kiss you, but she had always ‘secretly’ loved coming up with some fun or cheeky ways to steal one from you when she could. Mistletoe just happened to be her latest ploy at doing so, not that you minded in the slightest.

+ The first time when you two had shared a kiss under some mistletoe was actually the day you had come home to find out that she had decorated the home.

+ She had snuck up behind you, holding the bundle above your heads with a teasing smirk spreading across her lips.

+ “Oh would you look at that darling… we’re caught under some mistletoe. Guess we should do something about that, hm?”

+ Fennec had known exactly what to get you as a gift for Life Day. She had paid close attention to your interests, mentally taking note of anything she thought was of importance.

+ Honestly, she knew you better then you knew yourself by this point.

+ She also would end up going overboard with the presents. She had meant to only get a few, but would return with a dozen or more, having a strange need to spoil you.

+ She would end up buying so many things for you that they would barely fit under the tree, but she would somehow make them fit anyway.

+ Fennec tended to be a practical woman, so most of her gifts had been things she knew you needed or used often, with a few that she thought you might like or find useful in some way.

+ One of these gifts happened to be the softest and warmest blanket you had ever owned.

+ “I know you complain about how cold it can be when I’m not here at night, so that should keep you warm until I can come home.”

+ Knowing this practical side to her, you had done the same, buying her items you knew she would use or may have needed a restock of.

+ Although you had gotten mostly things you thought she could use, you had gotten her one thing that didn’t quite fall into that category.

+ The gift in question was a round silver medallion with a matching chain. The front of the medallion was a little plain with a few spiraling carvings and a soft orange gem in its center. The back on the other hand, had both of your names engraved into its smooth surface.

+ Fennec didn’t typically wear jewelry, so you hadn’t expected her to actually wear the medallion, but she had insisted on you putting it on her right then and there.

+ She now wears the medallion everywhere, keeping it as a reminder of you wherever she goes.

+ Although most of Life day was just spent with you two together, you didn’t spend it completely alone.

+ Later in the evening, you would have some of your friends (Boba and Din mostly) join you for a grand meal that Fennec had somehow prepared without you noticing.

+ It had turned out to be a nice evening between friends—filled with lots of laughs and smiles—quickly becoming one that Fennec would remember for the rest of her life.

+ After everyone had left, and the mess had been cleaned up, Fennec had wrapped her arms around you while humming. She had brought you out to the center of the room, where she would slowly rock with you in the dimming candle light.

+ During your little dance, Fennec would whisper the most sweetest things to you, showing you some more of her affectionate side—a side to her that she was still opening up to you day by day.

+ Eventually she would pull back, allowing for herself to steal herself a kiss before suggesting some hot chocolate as a treat to settle down with for the night.

+ Using some of her connections (Fett. Fett gave her the packets), she had been able to find you two some hot chocolate to make and share.

+ You two would end up drinking the delicious chocolate brew while sitting together by the fire for the rest of the evening.

+ Life Day would officially end with you two cuddled by the fire, snuggly wrapped in that blanket Fennec had gifted you earlier.

+ While like this, Fennec would end up peppering your skin with soft kisses. Praises had left her lips at each kiss, as found herself trailing her fingers along your form underneath the sheets.

+ The two of you would eventually fall asleep together there, tangled in each other's arms and warmth, as your first Life Day together came to an end.

#the mandalorian #fennec shand #fennec shand x reader #fennec x reader #the mandalorian headcanons #headcanons #the mandalorian fanfic #my fics #mandalorian #star wars #star wars fanfic #star wars headcanons #gender neutral reader #star wars life day #sdhjfdsbf #she may be a lil ooc #but tbh we dont have much of her to work off of #sooo #enjoy some fluffy fennec

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