#this caused me so much hassle and it wasn't even worth it

[boliv-jenta]

I keep thinking about Joel and his no-age-gap girl.

What if they keep getting caught making out in public. Not in a exhibitionist way (unless you want to), but more in a person on patrol sees this couple getting frisky in a nook and they go to break it up way.

They think it's a couple of teenagers who snuck away, the way the couple is going at it. They get close, clear their throat, "ok, guys, go home now-" only to have years scared off of them when Joel Miller turns around, kiss swollen lips turned down in a frown.

"oh! Uh..." They see you just beyond Joel, trying to hold on your laughter, and they carefully back away. "Sorry."

The third time this happens they're near tears. "You guys come on. Please just go home."

This thought made me laugh so much. This is where my head went with it...

Babygirl

Ellie often thought that maybe she was immune purely out of stubbornness. Her body just refused to give in. Her whole life, she'd been called stubborn. She'd never backed down from a challenge, something that got her in trouble more times than she could count.

That's why it was it was odd to her than she was here, stubbornly trying to stop others causing trouble. Tommy had tasked her with patrolling the interior of the wall around Jackson and checking each of the lookout towers. Since the wall had been reinforced, not all the towers were manned all of the time. They were often left unattended for days, leaving them open to be the perfect place for kids goofing off or getting up to no good. Tommy saw this as a test. If she did well, he'd give her the route around the outside of the walls, then further afield.

From the discarded beer bottles and rearranged furniture, Ellie knew some kids had been having a good time in the towers. One time, she swears she must have only been minutes behind them. The beer was still cold and the blankets still warm.

It drove her so mad that she went around confronting all the teens in Jackson. Each one of them swore up and down that they were innocent. They were all so done with her relentless questioning about it that she knew they must have been telling the truth because lying was not worth all the hassle she was giving them.

Tonight, she could accurately hear then giggling as she ascended the stairs to the last tower. "Fucking finally." she breathed to herself. Feeling triumphant, she took out her flashlight, ready to jump out and catch whoever had been driving her insane these last few weeks.

The last thing she expected was for the light to land on Joel. His broad frame blocking his companion from view. "Joel?!"

"Ellie! This is not what it looks like." He turned to her. His hand still under your shirt resting on your waist, his lips looking even fuller, swollen from the make-out session she had clearly interrupted.

"Oh yeah? The Doc here giving you CPR lessons?" Ellie crossed her arms across her chest and eyed him disapprovingly.

The laughter that bubbled from you made Joel turn his attention back to you. With a soft shrug, you smiled at him.

The redness at Joel's cheeks from the alcohol and the arousal deepened with anger. "There's nothing wrong with anything going on here. We're grown adults. Why don't you go carry on your patrol."

"I can't. This is part of my patrol. Tommy told me to keep the towers clear. So you, Joel Miller, are in big trouble. I will give you a minute to make yourselves decent." She pointedly shone the flashlight at the couple of open buttons on Joel's shirt before turning and marching off. Her nose in the air and her strides full of an air of authority.

While she waited just down the stairwell, she let out a little giggle. Once it died down, it was replaced with the sounds of lips smaching from above. "I mean it you two! Big trouble. Move yourselves!"

More minutes passed than she was comfortable with hearing Joel making out. It wasn't that she wasn't happy for him to have found someone and she liked you plenty. Just Joel, making out, ew. "You guys, come on! Please just go home!"

The pitiful tone in her voice made Joel reluctantly pull away. "I think she's definitely going to be staying at Dina's after this. My place for a night cap?" He whispered in your ear.

The next day, Ellie confidently told Tommy that there would be no more problems with the towers and unwanted visitors. Tommy had agreed to let her accompany him on the route around Jackson. Ellie walked out happily, poking her tongue out at Joel as he entered the room.

"Did you really have to mess with her to draw out her probation just a little bit longer? You know she wants to be out on patrol." Tommy asked his brother.

Joel clapped his hand onto Tommy's shoulder. "Of course I did. She's my Babygirl."

#pedro pascal character fanfiction #joel miller #ellie williams #tommy miller

[lifesver]

@creatureshrieks said: Though no one could rightly say they fully trusted the newest 'addition', what with all his escape attempts, let alone due to the sheer fact he'd trespassed on their property to expose them, Bubba found he didn't mind Leland so much anymore. Not like his eldest brother who still insisted they should kill him and be done with the whole mess, but even Bubba had begun to protest these comments in his own way. Leland didn't hurt him anymore - and that was good, right? Bubba had been out working in the fields for part of that day, but his lumbering footsteps and half-words are easily heard as soon as he enters back into the house - especially as he seemed to be calling out for Leland. He makes his way towards him, holding an exceptionally large sunflower in his hands. He presents with a grin, hidden just barely underneath his 'leather' mask. He sounds happy, even a little insistent for Leland to take it. It's a gift for him!

leland had started to suspect he wasn't ever getting out of this place. and really — it had been some time since he'd last tried. he still thought about it, sometimes, of course. whenever a door was left open, or it seemed as though no one was paying much mind to him. he still missed his friends, and his family. but he knows better, now. after all his failed attempts at escape — and after being wrangled like a runaway animal enough times — mostly, leland was tired. it was never worth it. and getting to feel the sun, even through the upstairs window, was far better than the cell he'd spent his time in. he has the slightly amusing thought, that this was probably what most house cats must feel like, perched by a window watching the daylight shift across the world outside.

anyway — the people here, strangely, tolerate him most of the time. treat him okay. though, maybe that was more in an effort to avoid johnny's ire, or sissy's complaints, about treating their guest with some respect. leland knew the truth, of course — he was still on a leash, even now. and the quiet voice in his head says; if anyone outside really missed you, they would have come looking, right?

the sound of the front door abruptly opening from downstairs pulls him from his thoughts — makes him realize he's been re-reading the same line of text over and over for the last minute or so. leland tilts his head toward familiar, cheerful vocalizations coming up the stairs;

❝ big guy, hey, ❞ leland shoots bubba a careful smile, looking up from the book he balanced on a knee. a dusty thing he found amongst the junk downstairs — and a little more thrilling than a farmer's almanac, at least. it was about friends on a roadtrip, and it was dog-eared in a few places already, probably from its previous owner. he tried not to think about whose belongings he had gone through to find it.

once, he might have been put on edge by the sight of the large masked man lumbering toward him; the big guy — bubba sawyer, who despite his imposing figure, and the trouble leland had personally caused him, still tended to hassle him the least around here. was almost friendly — and had bandaged his injuries once or twice when he was still down in the cells.

in his hands, probably the biggest sunflower leland had ever seen. he was familiar with the fields surrounding the sawyer property; he'd wandered them when he was allowed to. but this was an exception — which meant bubba probably took some time picking it out. the gesture is kind. a simple one, but one that makes leland's expression brighten genuinely. brows shoot up in question;

❝ oh uh — for me? really? ❞ he peers up at bubba again, who quietly urges him again to accept the gift. leland laughs gently, setting down his book next to him, and taking the flower from bubba's insistent hands. one hand clutched supporting the stem, he lightly adjusts the petals with his fingers, smooths them delicately. ❝ ... i think you might have found the most model sunflower ever. like, if there was a competition, it'd probably win first place. ❞ they’ve had a few discussions of this kind; bubba had noticed him staring out at the fields before. and leland told him about how a friend of his had once told him all about sunflowers, and marigolds, and roses, and,

— leland feels his chest squeeze, and he lets out a shakier sort of breath, but his smile remains; ❝ it’s really pretty. thank you. ❞

#thank u for the wholesome content bubba thats so cute #leland who's going thru the horrors and stages of grief in these verses receiving a gesture of kindness: 🥺 #creatureshrieks #( ☆ ) ⸻ THE FILM WHICH YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE... / ic.

[amphoraeus]

Call me a curmudgeon but so far I am not impressed with Reshade in my game. It hates Selene. Look at her! She's blurry! What is causing that?

Also this is the chicken coop with reshade. I could do this with photo editing. But I guess it saved some time because all I did was brighten the photo.

Also, how in the world do you get your reshade to focus only on one thing? Like on your sims or a plant or whatever? Because I tried that and nothing happened. I even turned my edge smoothing off (I read that would help?) and pretty much everything was blurry. This is more hassle than it's worth D:

Oh and I turned edge smoothing back on for these pics so that wasn't the issue here. Or was it? idek.

#sims 3 #ts3 #reshade #amphora being salty

[sansxfuckyou]

Fluent in Flowers

Summary: Sapnap starts gardening, but he doesn't really know who to give the blooms too; thankfully the first person that comes to mind is unversed in flowers.

Warnings: Check Ao3 port for full tags

Authors Note: Happy SNF week! I didn't know it was happening until this morning so I'm sort of trying to catch up with it, @sobredunia I subjected you to this, have the full things. Anyways, if ya'll enjoyed maybe consider reblogging or dropping by on the Ao3 port to leave a comment or kudos

Their hands brushed against each other briefly as Sapnap handed George the thorny vines, bright red blossoms mingled with the small cuts across his hands. He wiped down his hands on his pants, denim digging into minuscule wounds (they ached and stung but it was worth it to get a flower for his friend). George held the flower gently, letting the stem rest between fingers, so much of the vine had buds in bloom there wasn't a lot to grasp.

He gave a small smile, "So, what's with all the flowers lately?"

"Been getting into botany, and it's a hassle to sell singular flowers," Sapnap explained, fumbling as he pulled out his phone, easily pulling up a picture of his garden. It was small, and green, but there was buds here and there yet to bloom, "None of the really cool ones are blooming yet."

George inspected the photo, giving a hum as he zoomed in on it. He brought the thorny stem to rest in his hair, bright red blossoms matched his mismatched eyes, "Nobody makes an entire garden just cause."

Sapnap shrugged, "Then consider it a first in the history of ever, once I have enough to make bouquets then I'm selling."

"Fun," George answered with, twisting locks of brown hair with the leaves and pinpricks on the flower, being ever so careful to not ruin the blossom as he did so.

"Not only am I gonna get some quick cash out of it but I'll also get some experience," Sapnap said, he grinned a bit as he did so.

And I'll have gifts to give, and I'll learn how to speak without speaking, and I'll be able to say-

"Then you'll have to teach me," George answered with, forcefully yanking Sapnap from his thoughts, "Thanks for the flower."

"You're welcome," Sapnap said, he added on a layer of grandeur to his voice, giving a small bow as he did so. He faltered for a brief moment, "My liege."

The motions drew a small laugh from George, "Liege? What are you a knight?"

"I could be your knight," Sapnap countered with, he spoke too genuinely, he spoke too confidently.

"Sure you could," George answered with, the grin on his face softening as he spoke.

-/-/-/-

Sapnap held a bundle of sunflowers in his hands as he knocked on Georges door, he heard a distant 'its open!' before turning the door knob. He took a few steps in and the house was soft, the color of the walls, the way the furniture was placed- it just felt cozy. If he didn't know George lived there he'd never be able to tell, even the stray shirt on the couch wouldn't be a give away with its stupid graphic on it.

He hesitantly stepped further in, kicking off his shoes as he did so. Three steps in a mirror caught his eye, one at head height, he glanced at it. His hair was mussed up, and the sunflowers were a bit tarnished, some petals torn or dirty. The stems were thick, trimmed down to a reasonable height despite the size of the bloom atop it. He probably could've chosen better, could've grabbed a bouquet he was going to sell.

But George hasn't minded the choice of flowers in the past- all the vases laying around are proof of that.

What feels like hundreds of vases sit on every surface imaginable, some of them aren't even real vases. Mugs, pitchers, old yogurt containers, anything that can hold water now holds at least one flower. The entire house smells like flowers, it feels like the perfume aisle, but in a good way.

"George?" Sapnap called out, not exactly wanting to take a wrong turn or end up seeing something he's not supposed to.

"I'm in the kitchen!" George calls back from presumably the kitchen.

Sapnap follows his voice, making sure to hold the bouquet high and close to his chest, him and George may be close, but trailing sunflower seeds down the hall isn't always welcome. He refrains from letting a hand trail across the walls, he doesn't refrain from staring at the bouquets. He's shocked most of them are still alive, half of the flowers should be dead, it's been over a month since he dropped off some of them. He almost finds it cute how George placed them all together by color, or as close he could get to color coding. The occasional mistake here and there brings a flavor to the array, Sapnap doesn't dare try and fix them.

He turns the final empty doorway (it acts as no more than a mere archway now) and finds George sitting at a small table in the middle of the kitchen, eating a slice of toast. His friend perks up and gestures vaguely for the botanist to come over, he's smiling a little bit, a small amount of excitement on his face at the sight of the flowers his friend is holding. Sapnap takes a seat opposite of George and lays down the small bouquet of sunflowers, his friend eagerly sweeps it into his arms.

"I was wondering when you'd drop by," George said, running his hands across the expanse of leaves, some almost as large his hand. The bloom itself, petal and all, easily dwarfs some of his features, he holds it up to his chest.

Somewhere in the back of Sapnaps mind he's thinking about how pretty his friend looks. How much the brightness of the flowers matches his smile and his eyes. How happy he looks holding a bouquet of unruly flowers that easily snap and crumble.

"I thought you'd forgotten," George said, this time a little bit quieter as he stood up.

That comes as a shock, "You thought I forget?"

George nods, "Yeah," He pulls down a pitcher and turns on the faucet, "You're usually dropping off flowers on Sunday, not Tuesday," He grabs a pair of scissors to cut the sunflower stems.

I had to make sure they were perfect, I didn't want to halfass my choices, I wanted to say that I lo-

"The bouquets were selling like hot cakes, didn't have a good chance to make you one," Sapnap lied, forcing aside his train of thought once more to give a response. A real response, one that's been thought out, one that isn't digging too deep into his psyche.

George gives a hum, "Maybe I could help you?"

"It's hard work," Sapnap said, giving a response without skipping a beat, a part of him want to keep George out, the rest wanted to let George in. His garden was his last safe space, the last space he could actively run from his turmoils that were rooted so deeply in his chest. The last place he could forget and move on even if only for a brief moment, it was his solace.

"I know," George said, "I just think you're spending too much time in the garden and not enough time for yourself," He placed the pitcher of sunflowers down on the kitchen table, right beside the mug full of babys breath, the light pink blossoms contracted the yellow perfectly.

"And what makes you say that?" Sapnap asked, pushing out his chair a little bit as George made his way to stand behind him.

He tilted his head back to meet his friends gaze, nearly flinched when hands were placed on the top of the chairs backrest. He tensed when George brought a hand to his shoulder, running along the front of his shoulder, tracing his collar bone, caressing arteries, up until it rested at Sapnaps cheek. He wiped off a smudge of dirt, seemingly ignoring the light pink that dusted his friends cheeks.

"You never walk around with dirt on your face," George answered with, bringing his other hand up to Sapnaps face as he spoke.

Sapnap gave a hum, afraid of what might come out if he opened his mouth.

George smiled a bit, it sent little shock waves through Sapnap, "So, can I help you out in your garden?"

"I," Sapnap began, almost breathlessly, "I, yeah, sure."

"Great," George answered with softly, he leaned down to place a small kiss on Sapnaps forehead. To Sapnap it was electric, to George it probably meant nothing.

"But first you gotta prove you know what to do," Sapnap said, doubling back on his statement as the realization that he could be letting a fool into his garden set in, "Make me a bouquet, then I'll decide if you're ready."

"Challenge accepted," George said, slowly pulling back from Sapnap as he spoke, "Give me a week, any other guidelines."

"Only one," Sapnap said, "You can only buy one flower, otherwise you have too use what's laying around the house."

"Fine by me, you've already given me enough to make a hundred bouquets," George said, he smiled as he spoke, a devilish one, cat-like in nature, it made Sapnaps heart do flips.

"Then maybe I want more than one bouquet," Sapnap answered with, trying to keep an air of playfulness to his voice.

George gave a hum, "You'll have to wait and see what you get then- it'll be something great, I promise."

-/-/-/-

Scissors cleaved stems in twain, turning spikes to nubs and trimming off unneeded buds as he went along with it. He carefully nudged the petals back into place, tugging the rotting ones away. He gave a pained sigh as he placed it to the side, it was a great flower, amazing even, but nobody wants an imperfect flower in their bouquet. Except George, he seemed fine with the little imperfections littering his bouquets, he enjoyed them plenty.

Sapnap reached for another sprig of lavender, this time made of perfect purple hues, no room for mistakes. No room for flaws, he wants to sell these doesn't he? And little screw ups don't sell very well, he's just glad that his personality isn't what sells bouquets, if it was then he doubts he'd sell at all. He looks in a mirror and sees mistakes, he talks and he hears cracks and mess ups in his vernacular. He simply stands around and just acts natural and he just feels so disjointed around the right people that make him feel things that are wrong.

He placed a cluster of rhododendrons into the bouquet he was working on, they were a lilac hue. He reached for his twine and tied the stems together, it could go without a rose, most of them were too flawed to fit in anyways. He held it up, it was a little bit shrimpy compared to his previous bouquets, but it would still sell. The people only bought big extravagant bouquets near valentines day, smaller ones later into the summer just made nice gifts.

He heard someone knock on his gate, he took a deep breath before standing up. He brushed the dirt from his pants, grass stains too deep in to be brushed away so simply. He made his way to the gate to find George, he was grinning, an expression Sapnap didn't see on his friend very often.

Friend.

The garden isn't the place to abandon that word anymore.

"So, finally finished your magnum opus?" Sapnap asked, leaning an arm on the gate as he spoke.

"Two actually," George said, lifting a bouquet. It was made of randomly assorted flowers, colors and shape matching nicely, "This one is for the initial test."

Sapnap held it in his hands, all the stems lined up nicely, the flowers clumped together with minimal holes. He tossed it between his hands a couple times to check the balance, it was perfect. He quirked a brow, "Impressive, where you studying?"

"Learned from the best," George said, he knocked the tip of his foot on the gate once more, "Let me in?"

Sapnap opened the latch on the gate and swung it open, "Gladly."

George took a couple steps in, stunned into freezing at the amount of flowers in Sapnaps yard. He placed down the second bouquet he had made before letting himself truly marvel at the sight. There was every flower he knew and some that he didn't know at that, he stepped further in and Sapnap joined him. He simply stared in awe at the sight, Sapnap reached for his hand, releasing as fast as he gently tug. George gladly followed Sapnaps lead, albeit rather slowly, his friend reached for his hand once more and this time George grabbed it.

He didn't let go, red shot directly to Sapnaps face, he almost felt lightheaded. He wouldn't dare shake his hand free though, especially not when George interlocked their fingers. Snaking between partially dirt smeared fingers with his own, he rubbed the back of his hand with his thumb. Sapnap stayed silent, he couldn't open his mouth to say anything because all that would come it is I love you and he can't risk that.

He tries, "George."

"Yeah?" George asked, he sounded almost distant, but he turned to face Sapnap.

"I," His grasp on Georges hand tightened a bit, "You're holding my hand."

Georges expression shifts before he lets go, "Sorry, didn't even notice."

"No!" He can't stop the words from spilling out as he reaches for Georges hand again, desperately at that, "I, I don't mind, it just caught me off guard."

George gives a Cheshire grin, "C'mon, we've been friends forever, friends hold hands."

Sapnap nodded, "Yeah, I guess that they do," That was his chance and he fucked it up, "If you wanna make a bouquet have at 'er, mi casa su casa."

"Maybe in a bit," George said, "I still haven't given you the second bouquet I made."

"But you already passed man," Sapnap said, George nodded.

"Still, this one is more or less a gift," He turned to head back to the gate as he spoke, "I'll be back in a second, I promise."

Sapnap gives a weak wave to his friend before turning to his garden, he should move into different flowers. He should get exotic ones, he could do all sorts of things to his garden, but he chooses against it because what he has now sells. He reaches for the series of imperfect flowers and grabs his twine, there's more than enough to make a full bouquet, but they're too flawed. He arranges them until it feels comfortable with how they balance and line up before tying the string around the stems.

He places it back down on the bench before turning around, he's greeted with George.

"Christ that was fast," Sapnap muttered under his breath.

"I did say I'd be back in a second," George said before pulling a cluster of flowers from behind his back, "I made this one for you."

"For the test right?" Sapnap asked, George shook his head.

"No, for you," George echoed his words, trying to drill it into Sapnaps head, he nodded absently as he looked at the flowers.

It mostly consisted of carnations, a mixture of colors, but mostly red or pink hues. There were sprigs of cherry tree blossoms mixed into it to balance the blend. Calla Lilies, Ranunculus, even Orchids are all mismatched in the bouquet. It's balanced nicely, it sits heavy in his hands, the stems are cut to be around the same length. The craft is well done, the flowers look nice together, but it's come to the point where he can't remember all the meanings without looking them up. He's sure that they don't have much of a deeper meaning at that, George isn't a botanist (yet at least).

But what stands out the most are the tulips.

"Thanks," Sapnap wasn't sure what else to choke out, "It looks really pretty."

"Do you remember the meanings?" George asked hesitantly, Sapnap shook his head. He took a shaky breath, "Want me to list them off for you?"

"Sure," Sapnap said, "Start with the Freesia."

"Trust, complete trust, unfaltering and everlasting trust," George said. He gestured to the next set of blossoms, not even taking a moment to pause cause if he did he wouldn't continue, "The Ranunculi stand for charm, charm and attraction at that."

Sapnap opens his mouth to speak, but all that comes out is silence.

"The Calla Lilies are for beauty, they're distinct," George explained, he barely paused to breath, refusing to lift his gaze from the bouquet, "Orchids are also for beauty, but they double down with strength and elegance as well."

Sapnaps grip on the bouquet tightens a bit, he swears that the sting coming to his eyes aren't tears.

"Carnations are fascination and distinction, commitment joins what they stand for as well," George stated, this is it, last one, he goes all in and he might get sent home. But that's fine, he doesn't care, "And the Tulips, I was torn between Tulips and roses honestly, but I chose Tulips because they're more complex, like you," He takes a shaky breath before speaking again, "Their meaning comes from the Persian tale of Farhad and Shirin- two lovers who would rather die than be apart."

"I," Again, Sapnap is rendered speechless.

"At least that's what I read online, didn't bother verifying across the board," George got out quickly, "I probably should've thou-!"

The air is squeezed from his lungs as Sapnap pulls him into an impossibly tight hug, head buried in Georges shoulder. He's shaking a little bit, tears soak into the fabric of Georges shirt and blunted nails with dirt and greenery stuck under them dig into his back. The bouquet is dropped, he didn't mean too, but he can't bother to pick it up again either way.

"I love you,"

The words come out choked and strangled, but raw, so fucking raw and desperate for relief. A hundred worries tie them down and the strings are snapping as the flowers sink in. As that flurry of petals and meaning swirl around in Sapnaps head and alleviate everything that was weighing him down.

George places a kiss on his forehead, and then another, and then another, a bit lower this time. He's smiling, covering Sapnap in kisses in a garden of flowers on a whim and he's smiling. Hands run up Sapnaps side, lifting his head a bit as he trails closer and closer until they're actually kissing. It's like fire, and it's everything Sapnap wants and needs, it's perfect even though it really isn't and George doesn't seem to care either.

"I love you so fucking much,"

The words blur into each other, repeated by each it doesn't matter whose saying it because it's out there. It's true, it's happening, they're in love and now they know it goes both ways. They're a laughing mess, tears streak across Sapnaps face and Georges eyes are a bit glossy. Somewhere along the line they buckle to the ground, lost in a mess of grass and stray blossoms, grass stains and twigs don't dampen the mood. George takes Sapnaps face in his hands and leans down until their foreheads touch, Sapnaps hands rest on Georges waist.

"I love you," He speaks it quietly, euphoria floods into his voice at every edge.

"I love you too," Sapnap echoes back, tugging Georges form a little closer.

#snf week #sapnotfound #georgenap #sapnap #georgenotfound #dsmp #dream smp #dsmp fic #dsmp fanfic #writing #fanfic #fanfiction #fan fic #fan fiction

[barrenstars]

@withsorrowandregret : “ why did you come? ”  (zoya for bay yi)

the rows of people locked eyes on her are incredibly intimidating, but bai yi's posture remains relaxed, her smile still bright across her face as her pale blue hues slowly flicker from each legion soldier. bai yi is unlucky, perhaps the most unluckiest woman on the planet, you see. she should have known something was dangerous about the mission if her employer was offering so much money for it. they even offered to pay half before and the rest after the job was complete, which did raise some red flags, but unfortunately for whitestones, they needed the money, so bai yi decided to take the job on just in case something did go awry or terribly wrong. che and k.k were too dear to her. now she's glad she did so, because not even fifteen minutes into her job did she stumble upon the entirety of the legion gang, the most dangerous gang in syndicate.

not only that ; their leader was here. and her presence alone was terrifying, bai yi could barely keep her composure.

the monster of a woman speaks up, causing bai yi's attention to flicker back onto the power house. for a moment she contemplates offering her the truth, but... no. despite who this was and the general fear bai yi felt, she was still, after all, bai yi.

the grin that spreads across her face is sly, almost sneaky. ❝ me? i fancied a nice stroll in an underground cave. you know, the usual. i'm assuming you all enjoy getting your evening steps in as well? ❞ a chill runs down her spine at the scowl she receives from the legion foot soldiers, but her smile spreads into a toothy grin. no, of course they weren't here for an evening stroll, they were here for the same reason as her. they were searching for the inheritance. only, now bai yi wasn't too sure she wanted to find it, not if it meant she had to go toe to toe with zoya, and then every single member of her gang by her side. bai yi liked to think of herself as strong, but she'd lose against zoya in close combat. everyone else? yeah, she could take them out. but was it really worth the hassle? she wasn't so sure.

money was money at the end of the day, and if she didn't bring in anything from today k.k would surely spank her. so she heaves a sigh, it being evident how she doesn't want to move forward that she doesn't want to engage in combat with this gang, she was going to lose. she will lose. but... if she can take out just a few of the soldiers, she could worm her way by the gang and get to the bottom of the cave thanks to her inhuman speed. all she needs to do is get by zoya, however.

shifting her stance lazily, one hand inches behind her back, her fingers drumming over the handle of her sword, halo. the atmosphere grows colder, and the speedster becomes aware of the fact that she is the prey that the predators are waiting for. still, some prey were also predators. fluttering her lashes towards the leader, she gives her best seductive smile, followed by a cheeky wink. ❝ if we're going to fight, zoya, would you be nice enough to give me the first hit~? otherwise, i won't stand a chance against you! be nice to me, will ya? ❞

#BAI YI. / answered #withsorrowandregret #withsorrowandregret: zoya #hehehehehehehe #you sent this in and i immediately knew it was their first official meeting #b.ai y.i like yeah yeah i can get by z.oya and finish the job #only we know z.oya is already planning her funeral or their date

[excitingrbl]

it'll be two years next month...

...that I've been legally divorced.

I knew it was definitely the end in 2016. meaning, there would be no more reconciling or attempts to for the greater good of the family. the other party had some other agenda still in mind because no matter how clear I was that a divorce was needed, I was met with resistance until 2020. that logically tallies up to be only 4 years but I stated that we should get a divorce after we had been married a year. I was told that I was giving up too easily.

if you haven't heard this from anyone else, please listen when I say that choosing to walk away from abuse (doesn't matter the kind; walk away from it) and/or toxic behavior that is not changing is not just giving up. there is no right way to stay in a harmful situation, mentally, physically, otherwise. unfortunately, if your partner isn't leaving visible bruises, scars, or causing obvious signs of neglect, people will minimize your shit. as hard as it may be to get through that alone, I do encourage pushing through.

it'll be two years next month that I've been legally divorced with the ex-husband having a child support decree of $182/per month. since he wasn't working at the time of the divorce, the amount was based on his attained education. since we've been divorced, he's had 3 different jobs. I haven't taken him back to court. he also went back to school and if I'm not mistaken, has completed whatever he returned for so that means more education. I haven't taken him back to court.

because I don't want the hassle of court, as long as he pays what he was decreed to pay, he'll hear nothing from me. does my daughter deserve more support than this? OF FUCKING COURSE. she deserves emotional support from BOTH of her parents. she deserves financial support from BOTH of her parents. before anyone says the $182 IS financial support, sure. however, anyone actively raising a child full-time knows that $182 is insulting to the amount required to provide for a child every month. so when he doesn't pay or pay on time, it's a reminder of how much he doesn't care.

he didn't decide out of the kindness of his heart to give me $182 a month to contribute to the raising of his child. he pays it because the court told him he has to as a result of us getting divorced. during the divorce, I found out that he pays two of the mothers he had children with after our daughter, $200 a piece. even more of an insult that there's not even a thought of rounding up $18. I pause when this thought crosses my mind because if he was truly paying the other mothers $200 a month but didn't even care to send anything for our daughter until he was told he had to, what makes me think he gives a fuck enough to round up? silly me.

why didn't I seek child support prior to the divorce is a question I've been asked here and there. the amount of mental stress required to follow through with everything wasn't ever worth it to me. the paperwork alone is enough to fuel whatever rage I have tucked away to keep moving forward. 21 pages of a document asking the basic of questions but because they're so basic, it's a constant poking of the bear kind of thing. there's also a chance that I will have to prove he's the father, beyond the birth certificate. even more insulting and a reminder that I was once involved with someone who really don't give a fuck about nobody but himself.

I'm also reminded that he's supposed to pay 50% of all our daughter's medical bills. he doesn't because I don't send him the bills. he didn't have a job so what good would it do? we're supposed to tell each other whenever we move and give each other the new addresses. I still don't have a address of where he lives to this day. I even reminded him when I moved. nothing.

these are all things for which I can take him back to court. however, it will be on my dime. much like literally everything else. the divorce he refused for years, included. so I often sit and ask myself "is going to court worth it?" and because he knows this much about me, he "safely" assumes I won't take him to court. stress is a major trigger to my diabetes being unmanageable so these assumptions are no longer safe to make. I shouldn't have to remind a father to pay a crumb of financial support every month. not even once should I have to remind a father to give a fuck, even if it is a small one. especially when no one has to remind me to provide for our child every day, week, month, year of her life.

and when we reduce this entire post down to that, it's clear to see why I asked for the divorce the first time, 10 years ago. no one should have to remind you to take care of anyone you claim to love. if you need reminders, you might also need to sit with your definitions of love and priorities.

#LIFE #divorce #child support #stress #irresponsible #parenting

[inthedayswhenlandswerefew]

Just wanted to pop in and say that, as per usual, Now I'm Covered in You is a fantastic story, so imaginative and wonderfully written. You have such a talent to make all the characters so compelling and interesting, which makes the story even more immersive and fun to read. Thank you for sharing your writing with us!

I must admit that after North to the Future I couldn't read anything HOTD related that wasn't Aegon centric cause the story was just that good and your Aegon was amazing and so real and human. It's only appropriate that Aemond is getting that treatment now. Thank you for "curing" me lol.

BESTIEEEEEEEEEEE!!! 😭😭Thank you so much for your love for me and this fic! I really thought I was done after NTTF and when I first got the idea for NICIY (much to my shock and dismay), I was pretty determined not to write it because a) I had planned to focus on my book and b) I convinced myself that the world did not need another HOTD fic from me. Then the story just became too...loud? real? vivid...? I'm not sure what the right word is but regardless, against my own will I was forced to write it. 😂 Now of course I'm very glad I did. At least 10 times a day I wonder if writing is worth the hassle and doubt my ability to do these stories justice, so I really could never express how thankful I am for your support. 💜

(I do hope I haven't made you grow too attached to some of these characters...considering what will become of them... 👀)

[aviewfrommercury]

One day, Persephone (no relation) was out for a walk, and passed by a lake. In a freak accident, she dropped her beloved scythe, and it fell beneath the water.

Before she could figure out what to do, a beautiful nymph broke the surface, holding an almost equally beautiful scythe made of solid silver, and asked, "Did you drop this into the lake?"

"Er, no," replied Persephone. "Tha' ain' mine."

The nymph dropped back below the water, and returned, this time holding a scythe made of solid gold. "Is this what you dropped into the lake?"

"No." Said Persephone again. "Tha' ain' my scythe either."

The nymph dived down, and on her third ascent, she was carrying a wooden scythe. "Is this what you dropped into the lake."

"Yeah!" Persephone smiled, "Tha's my scythe alrigh'!"

The nymph handed her the scythe, and said "In reward for your honesty, you may also have the silver scythe and the gold scythe."

"Oh." Persephone paused for a moment. "It really weren'- I mean, tha's very generous of ya, for sure, bu'..."

The nymph was puzzled. "What's the matter?"

"Well i's just tha'... I'm guessin' you don' ten' a do much farmin', wha' with livin' in a lake an' all, bu' gol' an' silver, they don' really keep an edge very well. Wouldn' las' very long. An', there's a reason the handle ten's a' be made a' wood. Those both look really 'eavy. Try and swing them through 'arvest an' you'll just do your back in."

"That's..." The nymph was somewhat taken aback. "What if you sold them, instead?"

"Don' think I know anyone 'oo'd wan' a' buy either of 'em. For the reasons I ou'line'."

"What about selling them to someone with a lot of money?"

"In my experience, people with a lo' o' money don' ten' a' 'ave much use for scythes, golden or otherwise. An' if they did, I'd imagine they'd be lookin' to buy a really goo' one. Y'know, made ou' a' steel or summi'. Maybe wi' some magic on it too. If anythin', I figure you'd wanna sell 'em to someone 'oo barely 'ad any money, since they'd be the ones lookin' for summit cheap. 'Cept o' course, you wouldn't get much from 'em, 'cause if they could afford a goo' price, they'd buy a proper scythe instead."

"Um." The nymph was fairly certain that wasn't how this was supposed to go, but was having trouble deciphering Persephone's accent to actually pick at the logic behind i'. It. (It was slightly infectious.) "Maybe you could... Sell it to someone who wants to show off how much money they have?"

"That don' make sense. You can't show off 'ow much money you 'ave by spendin' it. Tha's like tryin' a' show off 'ow much food you 'ave by eatin' it. If you do that, you ain' got it anymore."

"But- but they're literally worth their weight in gold and silver!"

"Well, sure. Bu', if someone was lookin' a' buy 'em for tha', they already 'ave their weigh' in gol' 'n' silver in coins. An, unlike coins, you can' spend' a scythe on anythin' tha's worth less than' the scythe. You try an' buy some brea' with it, an' you'll get so much it'll go mouldy afore you can eat a few loaves. If the baker even 'as tha' many. Whereas wit' coins, you can jus' spen' a few o' them, and keep th' res' for summi' else. I guess ya' coul' try cuttin' them int'a pieces, but it tha' would be a hassle, an' there'd be th' cos' of the saws you'd ruin... In gen'ral there's a reason we ten' a use coins as coins instea' a' scythes."

"I really just thought that- I mean, I've had these two scythes lying around the the lake since I moved in, and then someone finally comes along and drops a normal scythe in, and I thought it would make you happy, and I didn't expect it would be all this!" It was a bit difficult to tell, but the nymph's eyes seemed to be getting slightly more moist than normal, even by the standards of someone who spends nearly all of their time underwater.

"Aw, I'm sorry lass. Really, it was pro'er nice o' ya to ge' me back my scythe! I really do apprecia'e tha'!"

The nymph sniffled. "But you're still stuck with a pair of metal scythes you can't do anything with."

Persephone thought for a moment. Then she said "Ah, I 'ave an idea. 'Ere,-" She held up the silver scythe. "Was this th' scythe you gave me?"

"Erm, yes?" said the nymph, distracted for a moment from her sadness.

Persephone held up the golden scythe. "Was this th' scythe you gave me?"

"Also yes?"

"As a rewar' f'r y'r 'onesty, you may keep both th' silver and the gol' scythes." Persephone handed the scythes back to the nymph, who slowly began to sink under their combined weight.

"But what will I do with them?"

"Well, maybe if you spo' someone wal'in' past, y' could ask 'em if they want a scythe. I don't think you 'ave to wai' for someone 'a drop anythin' in. Jus', y'know, give 'em away."

"I cannot help but feel-" The nymph bubbled as her mouth slipped below the waterline. "That this was all a waste of time."

"Nah." Said Persepone. "Mee' a new person, consi'er differen' perspec'ives on things. I's jus' wha' life is, all in all." Persephone smiled, and went on her way.

The nymph spent some time pondering economics, having rarely had a need to before. She also resolved to try and use as few apostrophes as possible, if only to give the poor piece of punctuation a period of respite.

Discerning the moral of this tale, despite the magnitude of its self-evidence, is left as an exercise for the reader

#Persephone Cloudsong

[s3898709]

Week 7

Reflection

From the testing session in the Capitol during the mid-semester break, the key change that I needed to make was to "be bolder". Once again, the colours aren't right (probably due to the architecture works and the amount of white that is in the space), and we can also now clearly see and compare it to the screen and how off it is (even if they are digitally the same hex colour). Luckily, I was given the opportunity to just play with the colour wheel directly in the space, so I now feel like I've got the colours done. Just need to get it ready for the next demo.

Also, going along with the theme of being bold, it was suggested that I add more 'flourishes' for when something happens on screen, so given that I'm not using the screen lights for pretty much anything currently, I'll probably end up using those lights for this.

The other thing that was noticed (or wasn't) was the team's progress within the roof. In general, I got the census that people would prefer that the entire rim lit up rather than individual lights (which will be easier for me, so that's a bonus).

Overall, though, I think the syncing up with lights with the video worked out well! And other than some more tweaks to get the whole thing in a draft state before next week's test session, it will be great because that demo was only half complete!

Research

Now, here's a bit of disappointing news. I can't find many academic sources or works that depict exactly what I want to do. Most of eSports flashy lighting procedures go into what I call the 'intro', which is essentially a hype reel before the game begins. The most that tends to happen in both the eSports scene and real-life sports is some animation (and maybe some lights turn on) when something like a goal (or in the same games akin to a goal) is scored. Nothing that really gives any indication of progress, or when a team holds possession. 

Now there are probably two main reasons behind this. The first is that it requires a lot of setup, and there are a lot of scenes to create if this were to be produced in a live setting (or a lot of complex code interacting between different applications and APIs). The second reason is that it doesn't make sense in a lot of games to have this sort of progression system. The game most akin to Splatoon in terms of its competitive ruleset is Overwatch. In Overwatch, you can respawn, and the rulesets are objective-based, rather than on elimination that occurs in many shooters or a 'goal' system like real-life sports and other sports like video games. Add in the fact that Splatoon has very distinct colours for each team and you can see why this idea hasn't been incorporated on a large-scale basis.

Progress

This week, I'm really trying to finish of the lighting design. That's because there will be such a long break before the next Capitol test, and also, I need to get some of the video elements (like the intro and getting commentators) started!

While I didn't really run into many challenges per se (other than testing what presets work the best with what I'm trying to produce), the biggest issue I ran into this week was the constant crashing of Pharos. I think in one night I encountered three crashes (which made me lose around three hours of work total). I think the issue with this was that I had my editing software, Final Cut Pro, open at the same time as I needed to test some things with that open simultaneously, but that ended up causing more hassle than it was worth (...yay).

The key changes I've made this week were changing up the colours and incorporating the other feedback (discussed above), as well as getting the intro in place. The purpose of the intro is to hype up the audience before the set begins, so I'm planning on starting with a small amount of lights, and then building it up so that people really feel like they're in for an awesome time. Luckily I decided on the audio piece early as it fits right into what I want to do (Surrender Peace by Grabbitz). The song itself builds up to a drop and the instruments combined with the style they're played in have a very similar vibe to Splatoon, so that's why I picked that track.

You can see this week's draft here ->

#Youtube

[popotobun]

1 - Envoy

Kell rocked forward on his toes, testing the fit of the new shoes. They pinched at his toes slightly, an unfamiliar shape on his feet that he'd eventually adjust to. He hoped…

He was set to attend some sort of banquet and dine with the Admiral, someone who had hardly spoken more than a few sentences to him and seemed to think him a hero… he supposed he'd saved a good many lives with the information he'd uncovered, but… "I didn't do anything more than wave an axe around!! It was Y'shtola who found the clues. Baderon who translated the note! Why do I have to dress up and go to this..?"

"Because the Admiral asked for you, of course. You can't just say no to her! I'm not even important and I'd show if she asked me." Satoto sat, feet swinging, on the bed, her head following him as he moved.

Belatedly, Kell realized he'd been pacing, his arms crossed and ears low. He paused, trying to calm his nerves. It didn't work and he just ended up tapping his foot, almost thumping with the agitation building up. Satoto trying to hold in her laughter in wasn't helping.

"Fine! I'll go, but I don't like it. I don't want be a hero, I just want to help people out a bit and see the world." Kell knew he was pouting, he probably sounded petulant as a matter of fact.

Satoto stood, helping him fix the bow he'd put on to tie the outfit together better. Instead of armor and an axe, he'd go into battle with fitted slacks and a vest that his sister assured him would impress. He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and hoped this would hurt less than the fight with the Voidsent had.

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

When he next saw the light, Baderon was not the face he expected to see. A cheery grin and a chipper voice that cut through the last dregs of unconsciousness, "Mornin', sunshine. All a bit much fer ye, was it?"

Kell sat up, holding his head, "What happened..?"

"...What 'appened? Ah, ye don't remember, then." Baderon clapped a hand on Kell's shoulder, "Ye keeled over in the middle o' the banquet, an' caused a right stir. 'Ad to carry ye back to the Wench meself. Well, I say “carry”...'twas more a matter o' draggin' an' rollin'. Too much cake, I reckon."

Kell tried to protest, as he'd hardly eaten a thing, but Baderon was already moving on.

"Anyroad, don't fret─'tis little wonder ye was exhausted after everythin' ye've been through lately. Yer little nap seems to 'ave put some color back in yer cheeks, though, so I'll leave ye to it."

Kell nodded, since he was surr he couldn't get a word in edgewise. Baderon did so love to yap. He waved as the man started for the door, but paused before he could open it.

"...Bugger! I almost forgot: the Admiral wants to 'ave a word with ye. When ye feel up to it, talk to Zanthael an' 'e'll let ye in to the command room. Oh, an' stay awake, eh? I'm told ol' Merlwyb was in the middle o' tellin' ye a story when ye started snorin' last time, an' I doubt she'd look kindly on it if ye repeated the trick!"

Kell swore to himself and dragged himself out the bed. Better to face this before he had to deal with Satoto (who would probably be worried out of her head). He still hadn't told her about the visions and the voice speaking to him. The Mothercrystal, it claimed to be, and he couldn’t deny the majesty of what he'd seen. The powers he had gained from it… 

First, the Admiral. Then he could talk to Satoto.

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

Kell was still reeling and it had been hours…

Envoy?! Personal envoy of the Admiral?!? He was going to have to deal with even more leaders now… Leaders of whole citystates! It wasn't hero work, thankfully, but it was just as tedious!

He… at least had access to the airship network now. That would help with getting around. It was probably worth the hassle. Hopefully…

Kell was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't see Satoto before they nearly collided. It was a simple flash of insight and some footwork from the lalafell that saved them both. "Kell! There you are, been looking for you everywhere!"

Kell took a deep breath. Time to tell everything that had happened so far…

#ffxivwrite #ffxivwrite2023 #oc talk: kell #oc talk: satoto #sorry for the spam #but i'm adding these here now!

[nikosasakis]

( — Zelda Fitzgerald )

#evan buckley #eddie diaz #christopher diaz #911 on fox #911 fox #911edit #911 #buckleyevan #sunshinestrand #userkinga #mine #buck gifs #chris gifs #eddie gifs #buck & chris #my gifs #this caused me so much hassle and it wasn't even worth it #other version looked better #but it was also far too big for tumblr rip #welp i hate it but here we go

[mychemicalimagines]

Small Family

Requested? Yes by @ms-reader "What do you think about Steve x single!mom reader? (It's more than steve rogers x reader 😜) what if they meet in the park? Will the kid run with a small plastic shield and pretend to be Captain America? Steve will start talking to him, the little one will introduce him to his mother and they fall in love with each other."

Warnings: None! Just Fluffffff

Words: 2474

A/N: Here is your request my lovely! I hope you enjoy! I had so much fun writing this. I didn't put an exact age on the son so that's up to interpretation. All mistakes are my own!

To be tagged in my Forever Tags or My Marvel Tags, please comment, message me, submit an ask or tag yourself in my bio!!

Y/N only gets one day a week to enjoy what she loves. Reading and playing with her son. She’s an assistant to one of the largest business CEOs in the city of Manhattan and he’s always having her run around, doing errands for him. He gives her one day off a week and she’s always thankful for it. After cleaning her entire apartment this morning, while her son was at daycare, she decided to make the day worth it.

She packed a small lunch box with a few sandwiches and some fruit, making sure to take two cans of pop, a juice box and a few bottles of water. Dressing in a nice summer dress and sneakers, she grabs her favorite throw blanket off the back of the couch and makes her way to the front door. The nearest park was only about a ten-minute drive from the daycare, so it wasn't much of a hassle.

Here she is now. Sitting on her favorite F/C blanket, leaning against a tall tree, enjoying the shade as she reads her favorite book while Eric, her son, runs around in front of her, playing with his plastic Captain America shield. The sun is bright in the sky and the wind is blowing ever so slightly, giving a nice breeze.

Couples are walking around, holding hands while others are playing with their puppies. It makes her heart swell every time she looks up and sees Eric making fighting noises as he fights pretend ‘bad guys’. She also loves looking around watching all the other children playing in the playground. Especially when the child, who was eating some fruit, waved at her.

She gave him her widest smile with her own enthusiastic wave causing the child to giggle. Y/N looks up from her book, checking on Eric when she sees him staring at a man who was walking across the park sidewalk.

“Eric, it’s not very nice to stare.” She reminds him, putting her bookmark in between the pages she was reading.

“But mommy, I think…I think that’s Captain America.” He says, watching the man.

“Baby, it’s still not nice to stare.” She stands up from the blanket.

Eric nods softly and turns around to look at her.

“I’m sorry, mommy.”

She walks over to him and kneels down before kissing his forehead. She then starts to pretend to be a bad guy as her son pretends to be Captain America. Eric fell in love with the superhero after he found out that he saved his mother during the fight with Loki the year before. He wanted to be just like the captain when he grew up.

Strong. Brave. Saving people.

The young boy idolizes the man with everything he has. His room is even red, white and blue just for the superhero. As Eric throws the plastic shield toward his mother, just as he has seen the captain do before, the man he has seen walking down the sidewalk stops in his tracks. He watches as the mother pretends to fall to the ground, hurt.

Eric laughs and runs over to his mom, landing on her stomach causing her to squeal with laughter as he starts tickling her. Steve Rogers grins to himself, watching the mother and son play. He bites his lip before walking toward them. He doesn’t know why but something in his gut was telling him to approach them.

He kneels down and picks up the plastic shield, holding like he would his own.

“Excuse me, Captain.” He says, capturing the young boy’s attention.

Y/N tilts her head back as she continues to lay on the ground, eyes widening slightly as she sees THE Captain America holding her son’s shield.

“I do believe you dropped this.” Steve smiles and kneels down next to them.

“Your…your…” Eric stutters slightly, staring at the man.

“I am.” He chuckles. “But you can call me Steve.”

“I’m Eric!” The young boy says, a large smile appearing on his face.

“Well, Captain Eric, I do believe this is yours.” He says, holding out the shield.

“Thank you!” He says, taking it from the man.

Y/N sits up and watches the two, her own smile forming. Steve looks up and he freezes slightly. He finally gets a good look at her and she takes his breath away. The way her H/C hair is styled is beautiful. Her E/C eyes shine like they were made of diamonds. Her smile…Don’t get him started! There’s a small familiar feeling in his stomach that he’s met her before, but he has no idea how.

He shakes his head slightly, snapping himself out of his daze. He clears his throat and puts his hand out.

“Hi, I’m Steve.”

She giggles softly and shakes his hand.

“Y/N. And I know who you are. You saved my life last year.”

“I did?” He asks, raising his eyebrow slightly.

“Yes, sir. I was at the Barnabas building when it was collapsing.” She reveals, blushing slightly.

He chuckles slightly, realizing where the familiar feeling was from. Remembering the beautiful woman from the year before, a smile blush appears on his cheeks. He only saw her for a few moments when he saved her life and now, he’s officially meeting her again.

“Well, Miss Y/N, it’s nice to see you again.” He squeezes her hand softly before letting go, not wanting her to feel weird about the small spark he felt.

“Mr. Steve?” Eric speaks up, breaking their small moment. “Would you like to have lunch with us? Mommy made sandwiches!”

“As long as mommy is okay with it.” He says, looking back at the woman.

She grins softly and nods. “Mommy is perfectly fine with it.”

“Yay!!” Eric says, excitedly, rushing toward the blanket his mother laid down earlier.

Y/N giggles softly, watching him lay down his shield before opening the small lunch box she packed. Suddenly a hand is put in front of her face causing her head to snap up. Steve smiles down at her, patiently waiting for her to take his hand. When she finally does, he gently helps her off the ground.

She doesn’t let his hand go until they sit down, side by side, on the blanket. Eric, being the young gentleman he was, passes out the sandwiches.

“You’re not allergic to peanuts or strawberry, are you Steve?” Y/N asks, taking her sandwich from her son.

“I am not!” He smiles at her.

“Good! Because today’s lunch is peanut butter, topped with jelly on white bread.” She teases as if they’re in a fancy restaurant.

“My favorite!” Steve smiles, opening his own wrapped sandwich.

“Mine too!” Eric says, falling to his butt in front of them.

Y/N giggles and opens her sandwich before reaching into the lunch box.

“Would you like a drink, Steve? I have pop and water.”

“A pop would be fine.” He smiles before taking a bite of his PB&J.

Y/N passes him the second drink before opening the juice box for her son. Eric politely thanks his mother before taking a sip. For the next twenty minutes, the trio have a wonderful conversation, getting to know one another. When Y/N starts to clean up, Eric looks at Steve with a smile.

“Steve, would you like to play ‘bad guys’ with me?”

The captain looks at the young boy’s mother who nods softly, letting him know that he’s allowed to play with her son. Steve grins and looks at him.

“How do we play?”

“Since you’re here, I’m Captain America…” Eric starts, picking up the plastic shield. “And you’ll be a bad guy who captured mommy!”

Steve nods. “I can do that. With you as Captain America, I don’t know if I even stand a chance!”

“Just be careful.” Y/N says, zipping the lunch box. “No actual punches, Eric.”

“Yes, mommy!” He says, jumping to his feet and running to the small clearing he was in before.

The original Captain looks over at the young boy’s mother and smiles.

“I’m sorry for what I’m about to do.” He says, standing to his feet.

Y/N raises an eyebrow, looking up at the older man. Before she can question his sentence, Steve reaches down and wraps his arms around her, picking her up bridal style. She squeals softly, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.

“Sorry, ma’am. Gotta capture the damsel.” He grins, walking her over to the clearing.

She laughs, tilting her head slightly. He smiles and stands a couple feet away from the young boy, making sure to have a good grip on her body without hurting her.

“Oh, no!” Y/N teases, causing Steve to chuckle softly, wanting to stay in character. “Help me, Captain. I’ve been captured by the bad guy!”

“Don’t worry, ma’am! I’ll save you!” Eric calls out to her.

“No, you won’t Mr. America! She’s all mine!” Steve says, putting her down, pretending to tie her arms together.

“Stay away from her, bad guy!” Her son calls out again, running toward Steve, holding up his shield.

Steve jogs toward him, still pretending to be the bad guy, allowing Eric to throw punches toward him. Y/N watches them with a smile. Eric’s father was never around. As soon as she told him she was pregnant, he left immediately. No ‘goodbyes.' No ‘I can’t do this.’ It was her saying she was pregnant, and he got up off the couch, grabbed his jacket and walked straight out the door.

Ever since then, it’s been Y/N and Eric. They never needed anyone else. Y/N does everything she can for the young boy but seeing him play with Steve? It’s like a dream come true. Seeing her son with a father figure but they don’t know if they’ll ever see him again. She hopes so. Seeing him with her son is probably the second cutest thing she’s ever seen in her life.

The first being her son when he was born of course.

Y/N watches as Steve falls to the ground, pretending to be hurt just as she did a half hour before. Eric playfully jumps on him, laughing. Steve laughs along with him before picking him up and holding him in the air. The young boy squeals and holds his arms out as if he was an airplane. Y/N smiles widely, watching them together.

The trio play for another hour before she decides it’s time to go home.

“Mr. Steve? Will we see you again?” Eric looks up at him as he picks up his plastic shield.

The older man kneels down in front of the young boy with his backpack that the boy just zipped up.

“Would you like that, Eric?” He asks, helping him put on the bookbag.

“I would. Very much.” He nods fast.

Steve looks up at Y/N, who just finished folding the F/C blanket.

“As long as he wants to.” She smiles at him.

“Then I would love to see you guys again.” Steve answers the young boy.

“Yes!” Eric says, running to the small clearing as his mother finishes packing up.

He smiles, watching the young boy for a moment before contemplating something. The real Captain stands up and takes the small step toward the mother, putting his hands in his pockets.

“When…Umm…When would you like to get together again?” He asks, looking down at her.

Y/N looks up at him, biting her lip softly.

“How about tomorrow for dinner at our house?” She suggests nervously. “I get off work around 5, if that would work?”

“That would be great!” Steve answers almost immediately. “Do…Do you think I can get your number? Or I can give you mine?”

“I can give you mine…” She says, picking up the lunch box with her book and blanket in the other hand. “So, you can call me when you are ready to leave, and I can give you my address.”

He pulls out his flip phone from his grass-stained jeans and holds it out to her. She giggles and puts the lunch box down before taking the cell phone. Remembering how to work it from having her own years before, she programs her number into the contacts before closing it, loving the small clank sound it makes.

Steve grins and takes it back, slipping it into his pocket as she picks the lunch box back up.

“Let me walk you guys to your car.”

“Oh, you don’t have…”

He politely cuts her off with a shake of his head.

“I want to.” He smiles, gesturing toward the parking lot.

She blushes softly and calls out to her son, who excitedly runs to her. Steve walks them to the car, happily listening to the young boy blab about nothing. Y/N puts the blanket and lunch box in the trunk while Steve helps Eric into his car seat, buckling him up correctly. After saying his goodbyes to the small boy, he closes the door and looks at his mother.

She smiles at him while getting the keys out of her dress pocket. Steve opens the driver’s door for her, a grin on his own face.

“Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow.” She answers.

She bites her lip softly before leaning up on her tiptoes. He leans down slightly, thinking she’s going to tell him something but instead, she kisses his cheek. A blush appears on his face that he’s praying she didn’t see. She blushes herself, shocked that she even did that before getting into the car. A large smile covers his face as he shuts the door behind her.

Y/N starts the door and Steve watches as Eric says something to her in the car. She then rolls down the window and the young boy waves excitedly at him.

“Bye, Mr. Steve!!”

“See you tomorrow, buddy!” He says, giving him his own wave.

“Tomorrow?!”

He hears Y/N laugh and nod, repeating the word like she did seconds before. “Tomorrow!”

“Yay! See you tomorrow, Mr. Steve.”

He waves again and watches as the small family pulls out of the parking spot. Y/N waves before turning and driving down the road. Steve watches until the car is out of sight. A grin appears on his face again before he bites his lip and pulls out his phone. He looks into his contacts to see if she actually put his number in.

The grin forms again as he sees the contact ‘Y/N&Eric<3’. Butterflies form in his stomach as he thought of spending tomorrow with them as well. He closes his phone and puts it in his pocket before walking down the road, thinking of what he should wear the next day for his date…

Is it a date? He would hope so.

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers imagines #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers love story

[comfortscripts]

Offscreen Prince ¬ Ben B.

Plot - Who would have thought that playing Rapunzel would lead you to your own prince charming?

Genre - Fluff ☁️

Pairing - Ben Barnes x Actor!Fem!reader

Notes/Warnings - Age gap (Ben is 40ish and reader is early 20s), this takes place after they finished filming so during press. Basically saw a fancast of Ben as Flynn and my mind went wild. This is just self-indulging cheesiness but oh well.

Word Count - 1.6k

"So Y/N, how did you find the whole process of getting into the hair and makeup? From some of the behind-the-scenes, it looked like such a hassle." Spoke the interviewer, asking the same question that plenty of interviewers had hours before. Not that you could blame them, no matter how tired you were of the question, it was still their job.

Faking a simple giggle before answering. "Oh definitely, there was about 20 pounds of hair extensions to deal with every morning and whilst the dress was beautiful, being in a corset for more than an hour is suffocating. But that being said, I think all the hassle I had with the costume was nothing compared to what crew had to deal with by putting it on me and maintaining it."

"I'd say the hassle was worth it. You truly look like a Disney princess, absolutely stunning."

You were used to compliments every now and then from an interviewer, some were pleasant and some had you walking out but that’s a whole other story. His compliment was kind enough and correct, even if you do say so yourself. The lilac dress that was crafted to your body, flowed and contoured perfectly to create the image of a princess, whilst the long golden wig created an aura of power around your character.

"Well she always looks stunning, more queen-like than princess I'd say"

The deep British voice responded before you could even open your mouth, not that you minded. Your co-star, Ben, spoke with such a manner that it was like listening to velvet and your ears would drink up the sound without ever being quenched. The Brit and yourself had a flirty relationship which blossomed over the course of the film, with compliments and suggestive jokes being fired between the two of you only behind closed doors, but this was uncharted territory.

Shifting your eyes from the interviewer's, you sent Ben a shy smile framed by the light blush that graced your cheeks. If your heart wasn't racing enough at his comment before, the gentle smile he returned was causing a storm of flutters to completely throw off your heartbeat.

"Oh please, says the Disney prince" You retort suddenly reminding yourself that you are in the middle of an interview. If you had stayed looking at Ben, you might have accidently confessed right there on camera, so you turned back to the interviewer.

These feelings were eating you alive but you had a plan; wait till the end of the press tour, just in case he doesn't feel the same. You didn't want to risk ruining the atmosphere around the movie or losing him as a friend but you knew at some point you were going to burst with emotion.

After the interview was finally over, you felt the last drop of energy leave your body. Bidding farewell to some of the other cast members, you trudged back to your hotel room. Only another week of press then you were free from the bundles of commitments.

The feeling of the satin sheets welcomed your being as you flopped onto the hotel bed, debating the idea of getting room service or just partaking in a much needed nap. Before you could weigh the decision, the grumbling and constricting of your stomach had made the choice for you. Room service it is.

Reaching over to dial the phone, two sharp knocks stole your attention away. Internally groaning at the thought of it being your publicist asking for more press stuff. But as you opened the door, you were pleasantly surprised to find a dark-haired Brit standing there with his hand encasing the neck of a bottle of wine whilst the other was gripping a large pizza.

"I was bored and drinking alone is no fun, so care to join?"

Never being able to say no to that man or the goodies he offered, you stepped aside and led him through to the living area of your suite. Retreating into your sofa, the actor was close enough that you could feel the warmth radiate off him as the smell of his cologne evaded your senses to fog your mind.

Indulging in wine, pizza and good conversation was exactly the remedy you needed to relax from all the stress. Allowing yourself to slip away from your responsibilities as Ben did the same, you felt more at peace with him than ever before. You were openly blushing and flirting back, as was the man. Laughter filled the air, only becoming more common as the wine dwindled.

A buzzing noise broke your bubble of relaxation, the vibrating sound emanating from your phone. Whilst you would often ignore any messages during a moment like this, being on a press tour meant that you often got schedules last minute, so checking your phone was crucial. Sliding open the device as Ben finished off the last drop of wine before heading to the fridge in search of another bottle, you saw it was from your other co-star, Xenia.

Xenia; God, Ben could not have looked more in love with if he tried!!!

Xenia Sent A Video

The initial text sobered you up instantly, stomach flipping with excitement and curiosity as you clicked the video. It was a fan-edit of the interview from earlier in the day captioned, 'I want someone to look at me the way Ben Barnes looks at Y/N L/N'.

Quickly checking to see if Ben was still wine hunting, you pressed play. As it started, you realised that it was Ben's reaction to your Disney Prince compliment. The Brit's cheeks faltering from trying to supress the smile your comment had caused and hands shifting, wishing they were caressing yours. But the give-away were his captivating eyes, focused on you like you were the only source of light in a darkened room, like you were the only thing good in the world. The look you give to someone you are irrefutably in love with.

Being entranced by the video, attempting to comprehend the emotion these looks were conveying, you didn't notice the presence of a certain man returning to his seat right beside you. His curiosity high at what had managed to take away your attention.

"What's got you so caught up? Am I truly that boring?" Jested the older man.

His voice broke your trance as if being an antidote to a spell, your cheeks flushed at the realisation that he caught you. Attempting to play it off you responded. "Oh shush, you could never bore me. It was just a fan-edit that took my fancy."

"Can I see?"

You realised in a millisecond that you couldn't escape this. If you said no, it would give away that it was more than just a simple fan-edit but if you said yes, it could ruin everything by bringing those emotions up to the surface. But you had no choice, either could go wrong, so you chose the latter. Rewinding the video, you passed the phone to the dashing man who held your heart and now, your phone.

The video, which was barely 15 seconds long, seemed to last for hours. Your hands grew clammy as the possibilities of all the outcomes swirled through your head like a hurricane. Before eventually, the video ended and the man laughed.

"Wow, I never thought I was that obvious. Geez, maybe I'm not actor material."

You took a second to wrap your head around the reaction but your heart had already taken the new information. Haphazardly throwing your phone onto the table, you met the gaze of the brunette.

"Wait, you mean that? You actually look at me that way?"

It was as if Ben had finally realised what he said. His eyes filled with a concoction of fear and hope, swirling through his dazzling orbs fighting for dominance. Inhaling deeply, he shifted his entire body towards you.

"I never meant for it to come out this way but yeah. I'm whole-heartedly in love with you and how could I not be? All those compliments, they were real. You are beautiful, kind, caring and god, you make me laugh so hard that my lungs exhaust themselves. I just couldn't risk losing you over these feelings."

Hanging onto his every word, you felt yourself give into your heart fully. The excitement and pure joy that was beating through you was unexplainable but you knew in that moment, you weren't planning on hiding your feelings any longer.

Without thought, your hands found the back of his neck as you connected your lips in the heat of the moment. Eruptions of butterflies took sanctuary in your stomach as you felt your skin tingle with sparks. Ben revelled in the taste your lips provided as if he was a starving man. In some ways, you both were starving for the love that was hidden for these many months but now, it was unleashed and neither of you would ever have to go without again.

Breaking apart for air, you felt a beaming smile take over. The loving gaze of the actor protected you as you regained your breath. His plumped lips seemed even more enticing now you had tasted them, his arms wrapped around you like this was how it was always meant to be.

"So I guess the only question left is, could I be your off-screen prince as well?"

Giggling at his childish but romantic question, you communicated your answer via a fleeting kiss. Pulling away, you nestled your head into the crook of his shoulder before feeling his arms tighten around your body. This was home, this was the love those Disney movies had been talking about.

"I love you, my prince"

"And I love you, princess"

#ben barnes x reader #ben barnes #ben barnes imagine #ben barnes fic #ben barnes fandom #ben barnes fluff #the darkling #general kirigan #prince caspian #billy russo

[sereia1313]

Banner provided by the always talented @cakeit0n for the @sesskagddn April 2022 prompts.

Summary: Kagome's power begins to wean, and she struggles to come to terms with the cause.

Read it on Ao3, Dokuga, and FFnet.

Inspiration: "If Our Love Is Wrong" by Callum Scott

Count

Kagome ducked, cursing as her arrow flew wide of its target. If not for Inuyasha's quick maneuvering, the boar youkai would've impaled her.

"Get your head in the game, K'gome!" he groused, resting Tessaiga on his shoulder. "I'm startin' to lose count of all the times I've had to save yer ass."

Kagome reminded herself that maiming her best friend would be more hassle than it was worth.

"Sorry," she said, picking up her arrows, "I've got a lot of my mind."

Inuyasha snorted. "Keepin' yerself alive is more important than anything the bastard has to offer."

A dark blush spilled onto Kagome's cheeks, but she flipped her hair over her shoulder. "He deserves a proper answer."

Patience

Patience had never been Kagome's strong point, and she had a feeling it wasn't Sesshoumaru's either, but she wasn't going to rush something as important as courting.

Especially with how well things were going.

The attraction was still new, fresh, her face breaking out into a bright smile every time he entered the village. Even when he was there for Rin, his youki would reach for her, a gentle caress to her senses as she waited her turn.

He'd been serious from the start, but Kagome had been wary, both for her sake and everyone else's. The Western Lord had persevered though, giving her time to come to terms with the fact that there wasn't an ulterior motive.

Sesshoumaru wanted her.

Control

"Yer control is slippin'."

"It is not." Kagome shot an arrow at him to prove her point, but just like the last, it flew wide; Inuyasha didn't even have to move to avoid it.

"What I tell ya? Yer head's gone to mush ever since—"

"Finish that sentence, and I will set you on fire."

Inuyasha sighed, then sheathed Tessaiga. "I'm not the only one who's noticed, K'gome. It's like you fell through the well all over again."

Kagome would've stomped her foot if she wasn't thinking the same thing. Her powers had been fluctuating to the point of being uncontrollable, and it was starting to affect her ability to keep people safe.

Ignite

"You are troubled."

A sigh escaped her lips, her shoulders slumping as Kagome threw a stone into the bubbling river. "Is it that obvious?"

"Only because you are trying so hard to conceal it." Sesshoumaru sat down beside her, and she leaned against him, taking comfort in his presence.

"Inuyasha thinks you're corrupting me."

A pale eyebrow rose. "You are the one who initiated—"

Kagome covered his mouth with both hands, a blush igniting her cheeks. "Not like that! We all know that a miko's power being tied to her purity is an old wives' tale." She felt him smirk a second before his tongue slid along her palm.

Embark

"We agreed to embark on this journey together, Kagome," he said once she'd released his mouth. "If you are having second thoughts—"

"No!" She shook her head vehemently. "No. I want this. I want you. I just…" She gazed at the river, willing it to give her guidance. Sesshoumaru's hand settled over hers, his steadfast support a balm to her weary soul.

If it was only temporary.

She was at a crossroads, the future bright and promising. And yet she still found herself hesitating, the past screaming as responsibility clawed at her back.

"Who am I if I can't protect people?"

Float

Her guilt continued to gnaw at her, tempering her reiki even during her deepest meditation. Normally, clearing her mind came easily, lifting the weight of duty from her shoulders and giving her the chance to relax.

But the shame of not being able to assist in the latest attack was a bitter pill to swallow, and Kagome flopped onto the grass, the clouds above seeming to taunt her as they floated by.

"Ye dwell too much, child. It clouds your judgement." Kaede didn't bother to sit down, her cane wobbling as she stepped closer.

"Easy for you to say," Kagome grumbled. "Kirara isn't nursing a sprained foot and a gauge in her side because of you."

Cast

"Perhaps not," the older miko lamented, "but I also know the kit would be worse for wear had ye not interfered."

It should've been an easy extermination, the hoard had barely been worth mentioning, which was why Kagome had tried to take them on herself, her need to prove herself outweighing any remaining common sense.

If Shippou hadn't been passing by on Kirara—

Shaking her head, she drew her knees up to her chin. "I should've been paying better attention. Been more prepared." Sesshoumaru would be disgusted with how much she'd had to rely on others, considering the amount of time he'd spent training her.

"Cast aside your doubt, child. The rest will follow."

Lift

Kagome lifted her head to the sky, Kaede's words lingering. The clouds continued to move, unaware of her plight, and she wondered if the gods had ever been conflicted in their choices.

She snorted. They probably had, then after making a mistake, had likely claimed it was part of their master plan.

What was her plan?

What did she want?

Youki slid up her spine, and she scrambled to her feet, running towards its owner as he welcomed her with open arms.

"I had thought to heal your wounds."

Kagome grabbed fistfuls of his hair, pulling him down to claim his mouth.

Ascend

Sesshoumaru returned the kiss with vigour, Kagome's heart ascending to new heights as he shuddered under her assault.

"I'm sorry," she whispered when they finally pulled back for air.

"Whatever for?"

She struggled to put it into words, trying to convey with her body what her mind could not as she pulled him closer.

This is what she wanted. He was what she wanted. And damn anything and anyone who stood in her way.

Including herself.

Going up on tiptoe, Kagome brushed her lips along his jawline, nipping at his skin as she got closer to his ear. "I love you."

Begin

Accepting her feelings for Sesshoumaru set in motion a slew of new beginnings that Kagome found herself unprepared for.

Jaken referring to her as 'Lady' being at the top of her list.

But it also brought things into perspective. No longer was she second-guessing herself when it came to her place in the pack. And once that thought became cemented in her mind, Kagome's reiki returned with a vengeance, each arrow meeting its mark.

Pride radiated off her intended as they moved in tandem, power colliding—combining—before decimating the youkai that threatened the peace of the Shiro.

Halt

"Ever planning on admitting you were wrong?"

Inuyasha halted in his movements. "I was right that it was the bastard's fault."

A pebble ricocheted off his shoulder. "It had nothing to do with demon corruption."

"Keh." He went back to sharpening his sword.

"Loving someone is only wrong if it hurts you."

"You sure it ain't doing that?" His subdued tone stopped her from throwing another pebble.

Kagome gave him a reassuring smile. "Absolutely not. I think I'm actually more powerful now."

Her friend sighed, then grabbed the hilt of Tessaiga, the weapon transforming in a flare of power. "Care to test it out?"

Grinning, Kagome jumped to her feet, not even bothering to grab her bow. "You're on."

#sesskag #apr22skddn #discord drabble night #ddn042022 #sesskag drabbles #sesskag fanfiction #sesskag fanfic #cakeiton #creator: cakeiton #creator: sereia1313 #sereia1313 #better late than never

[hisredhysteria]

Most to least likely to:

Want children:

Swindler [A natural with children, she doesn't know if she wants them for sure until a little later in life]

Courier [Despite being very busy, he'd not mind eventually having kids with someone he trusts. He's also a child magnet, which may annoy him in some cases-]

Doctor [Children are perfect specimens for her dissecting craze. Hers or not. She's also not awful with parenting if she needs to...but somewhat neglectful and very harsh. They're more or less tools to her]

Hoodlum [He wouldn't mind having children of his own as much as some of the others. He'd probably even be a better parent than others too. He likes the idea of having a mini him, but questions if it's worth it to bring another life into an unfair world]

Brawler [He leans on the edge of not wanting kids, simply because they're a hassle and he's got bigger and better things to worry about. He'd be a semi-decent parent if he put his heart into it though]

Hacker [Children are a chore and may get in the way easily by causing him to be restricted to certain duties as a parent]

Cutthroat [Has not even thought about the possibility, would possibly become jealous if his s/o spent too much time with the child, and he just wouldn't be a great parent...he's sometimes a child himself-]

Cry during a movie

Hoodlum [He grows attached to a specific character right away and mourns their losses with them or the loss of that character. He probably sees himself in their position too]

Swindler [She grows attached to the characters quickly too, but she doesn't exactly self-insert herself like Hoodlum might. She's just sympathetic]

Brawler [He gets attached to the characters, but is much too worried about what the characters goal actually was when something sad happens. He gets frustrated more so than hurt or sad. He likely won't cry but there might be a special instance where he does]

Courier [He's both sympathetic and apathetic. He feels for the characters and isn't too quick to become hurt when characters make decisions that cost them their lives- he may also see similarities between himself and a specific character, yet he can't quite bring himself to tears over certain things either]

Hacker [Although he definitely identifies with one or more of the characters, he's not exactly sentimental and is more so to become dissatisfied with an unhappy ending than to become sorrowful about it]

Doctor [Oh well, sad things happen and people have to move on—]

Cutthroat [He probably wants to see his favorite die. Dying isn't a bad thing and the plotline itself isn't really something he was paying attention to..]

Fall in love

Cutthroat [He falls in love with the first person who catches his interest. It might be hard for someone to actually catch his eye, but he's head over heels at first glance]

Swindler [Even if the idea of being in love is scary, she doesn't have her walls up far enough like the rest do to be opposed in some way to being in love]

Hoodlum [He'd accidentally fall in love with someone he clicks well with]

Hacker [He's not scared of love in anyway and is open to feeling such a way because it's new and interesting territory]

Courier [He'd fall in love with the right person, just not easily because he's got his walls up rather high and it takes someone special, persistent, and patient enough to break them down]

Brawler [He's okay with being in love, but he's not really looking for that so in terms of falling in love he probably wouldn't-]

Doctor [People are more or less pawns and she's okay keeping them like that]

Stand you up on a date

Doctor [Who are you again..? When did I say I'd go out with you—? Oh right, you have something for me]

Hacker [He decided it wasn't worth his time when he found something more thrilling to take part in-]

Brawler [He got distracted doing something he thought would be cooler—]

Hoodlum [Probably chickened out-]

Courier [He is not going through the hassle of scheduling a date just to stand you up, although he might have to if work gets in the way-]

Swindler [She's super sweet, of course she'd never go out of her way to stand you up]

Cutthroat [Way too excited to forget— Murder can be done later too]

Risk their life to save you (this one is probably easy to guess-)

Cutthroat [He's not letting his angel die in the hands of someone or something else]

Brawler [Adrenaline and excitement caused him to do it]

Swindler [She risked her life to save a cat...and died for Brother and Sister to escape...chances are if she loves you, she'll die for you]

Courier [He'd have to care enough about you, but chances are he believes in his own skills enough to risk his life knowing he'll come out alive anyways]

Hoodlum [He's cowardly but certain circumstances can push him to the edge]

Hacker [He doesn't like to get into head on fights with anyone and if he's not alive, how's he supposed to find what lies beyond greater territory? He just might though]

Doctor [She's not risking her life for you or anyone for that matter]

Get sick

Courier [He's a smoker and riding on a motorcycle without a helmet definitely causes irritation to your sinuses...trust me—]

Swindler [She may have a weaker immune system given she isn't exposed to much and is rather frail]

Cutthroat [He's frail for who he is so infections are a common occurrence...also seeing as he's not afraid to be soaked in others bodily fluids either...]

Hoodlum [Oh he definitely catches the flu then catches another strain of the flu while still getting over the other flu..]

Doctor [She rarely gets sick...but maybe can because she works in a lab...? That could expose her to potentially dangerous things]

Hacker [I'm gonna be honest I don't know why, I just think he's immune to almost anything. Like everyone else is sick and he's just in the middle of it doing well-]

Brawler [He keeps himself in shape and eats decently well so he's got a strong immune system]

#the color coding is giving me a headache- #this was for fun! #I'm curious where others would place them- #akudama drive

[professorsnape394]

The Potions Master’s Apprentice

Chapter Nine: Letters, Lovers and Loyalties

A/N: This is the ninth part to my fanfiction ‘The Potions Master’s Apprentice (Severus Snape x OC)’. Chapters 1-16 can be found already uploaded on Wattpad under the same name. Feel free to leave requests in my inbox for anything Snape related you want me to write. Leave a comment below if you wish to be added to my tag list.

Pairing: Severus Snape x OC (Dumbledore’s Granddaughter)

Summary: A talented young witch is employed as an apprentice professor at Hogwarts, but who will she be working under? Severus Snape is not best pleased with his new responsibility of taking on an apprentice, however she is relentless to create a friendship between them. Will she be successful? Or might the friendship just go a little two far? With the eyes of her grandfather constantly watching over them, an attempt at a relationship might not be in the cards for Aria Dumbledore and Severus Snape.

Word Count: 2185

Warnings: n/a

Credits to Gif Creator

Yet another letter dropped into the lap of Aria Dumbledore as she sat absentmindedly sketching. Dropping her quill back into the small pot of ink which balanced on the arm of her chair, a small sigh escaped her lips. She had been expecting another to arrive any day now.

Aria allowed herself a small glance in the direction of her desk where the ever growing pile of unopened letter sat gathering dust. Disregarding her drawing, Aria traveled to her desk, fingers fumbling with the edge of the envelope. Admittedly, Aria's mind had been focused on that small pile of letters the past few days, and consequently the man who sent them. She couldn't bring herself to reply to his constant inquiries, but she had considered there was no harm in opening a few of them. She longed to hear from him, though she had been in denial for so long now she wasn't sure what to expect from his most recent letters.

Waiting no longer she ripped the paper from its wax seal, her eyes quickly scanning every word on the page.

My dear Aria, Though I know you say you cannot reply to my letters, I write them all with the hope that you will find the time in your busy schedule to at least read them. As always things are quiet here without you. Too quiet. I miss your voice. I miss hearing you sing to yourself in the shower thinking no one can hear you, I miss hearing you hum as you wander aimlessly through the house, I miss watching you draw as I pose for you, but most importantly I miss holding you in my arms. I long for the end of the school year when we will be reunited and I will have nothing to miss except maybe writing these letters. I long for a response to my letters, my darling. I simply must know that you miss me as I miss you. In the mean time I will continue to write to you to keep myself distracted from everything terrible happening in the world, by simply thinking of you. All my love, S.

Aria couldn't help but feel a great pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach for ignoring the letters, but she couldn't bare the thought of reading them, while she was still coming to terms with how she felt when she decided to leave for Hogwarts. She knew immediately she would not be able to maintain a long distance relationship with him. Though he was the first man she had ever loved she had been too cowardly to confess her feelings for him in person, let alone on a piece of parchment. She knew she was a pathetic coward from the moment he told her he loved her and she could not find it in her to return the favour. Her cowardice was more than proven the day she left for Hogwarts. Aria had planned to break up with him, to avoid further heartbreak down the line. But she could not even find the courage to do that.

Instead she was living in denial. In her mind they had broken up, and refused to face up to whatever she was truly feeling until it was absolutely necessary. Her plan had been to distract herself as much as possible, suppress her feelings and just forget about the situation completely. And to be totally honest her plan had been working for her, with the exception of a few off days such as today. However when it came time to wake up and face the music she had no idea what her plan would be then.

Leaving the letter open on her desk she took a stroll around the grounds of Hogwarts to clear her mind. The time to figure out all of her problems was not now. She was still a young, carefree woman and she didn't want the burden of guilt stopping her from living her life however she so wished.

Arias walk led her to the village of Hogsmeade, and after working up a light sweat, the young professor opted to pop into the Three Broomsticks to quench her thirst.

Unsurprisingly for a late Tuesday evening the place was barren. Besides for a drunken wizard practically falling off his bar stood, a crazy witch whispering to herself and two well dressed men, sitting out of place in a side booth, the place was completely deserted. Planning to only stay for a pumpkin juice Aria took a seat at the bar and begun chatting to the same barmaid who had served her and Severus all those weeks ago.

"Busy night?" Aria joked, rolling her eyes at the drunk to her right.

The woman laughed in return, handing over a glass of pumpkin juice. "This is pretty much the standard, at this time." She shrugged, polishing off a perfectly clean glass, to keep herself busy. "That one over there doesn't even order anything, but its not worth the hassle kicking her out." She gestured to the old hag in the corner, her perfectly polished nails glistening in the dim bar light.

"I wish I could say I felt sorry for you, but a break away from the chaos that is Hogwarts is a slight relief." Aria sighed. She was still not used to being around so many people all the time having spent the past few years alone, besides her mother, she often needed time alone to breathe.

"Oh, then you must be new. I've had my fair share of lonely professors spend an evening behind my bar, and I usually remember who's spilled their whole life story to me. Though you do look familiar, what do you teach?" She finished up with her glasses, leaning her elbows on the bar to get a closer look at the younger woman, her breasts practically falling out her blouse.

"I'm just an apprentice for now. I'm the new Potions Mistress." Aria smiled, taking a small sip of her drink.

"Oh yes, now I remember. You came here with that Severus. He's not unfamiliar with our whiskey selection, if you know what I mean." Both women rolled their eyes in unison. "He doesn't seem to talk much though, I can't say I know anything about him. I must admit I was surprised to see him with a gorgeous young witch like yourself."

"You weren't the only one." Aria scoffed, finishing off her pumpkin juice.

"Well it makes a little bit more sense now." She laughed, a set of pristine pearly teeth emerging from her red glossy lips.

It seemed Aria was not the only one who had been admiring the woman's beauty, and almost right on cue the drunk decided to look a little bit more lively, demanding another pint. Reluctantly the barmaid obliged, shooting Aria an apologetic look.

Aria couldn't help but notice the gruff looking man practically throw himself over the bar in order to get a good gawk at the barmaids behind. The slightly older woman seemed unfazed by the mans actions, in-fact Aria wasn't entirely unsure she wasn't enjoying the attention. Choosing not to interrupt as neither party seemed to object to the altercation, Aria kept her mouth shut.

That was until the man's attention turned to her. The barmaid disappeared from view, presumably to refill the barrel the drunk had practically drowned himself in. "Haven't seen you around here before." He started harmlessly, though Aria did not miss the way his eyes seemed to scan the whole of her body.

"Just moved into Hogwarts, haven't seen much of Hogsmeade." Aria admitted, but made the conscious decision to turn away from him, hoping not to engage in any further conversation.

"You a friend of Ros'" He asked, intrigued, while downing a good half of his pint.

"Not really, no." Aria shrugged. "I didn't even know her name until just now."

"Rosalind Rookwood." He edged his seat closer to Arias. "Fantastic barmaid, though I wouldn't say it was her best profession." He winked.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." Aria turned her nose up at the man, just praying he would leave her alone.

"Well, you know, bein' a barmaids fine an all, but it doesn't always pay the bills. Miss Rookwood's got her fair share of stories to tell, and not all of them her own." He laughed, the potent stench of his alcoholic breath suffocating Aria as he leaned in closer, wrapping a heavy arm around her shoulders. "If it turns out teaching isn't for you, just know you'll have a loyal customer in me." He hiccuped, his free arm, reaching down to stroke the woman's exposed thigh.

Instinctively Aria gripped onto his wrist, forcing it off of her. "What the hell do you think you are doing!?" Aria exclaimed, pushing the man away from her. "Don't you dare lay your hands on me again."

The drunk showed no sign of guilt or remorse, he simply chuckled to himself, revealing a shocking lack of teeth. Disgusted, Aria made to move but found herself cornered against the bar.

Fortunately the altercation had caused enough disruption to alert the two men having a casual evening drink. Instantly one rushed over to her aid, stupefying the old man. The second man followed suit and made it his business to remove the frozen figure from the bar.

"Are you alright?" The first man asked, his brow furrowing with worry.

"I'm fine, thank you for stepping in." Aria smiled, brushing herself down, as though she was riding herself from the drunks disgusting touch.

The man returned a boyish grin, his eyes bright blue and full of kindness. Aria had never seen anyone like him. His presence was almost cartoon like, with positivity radiating from him. Aria couldn't help but let out a nervous laugh, her smile growing just by looking at him. His energy was contagious.

"Is... is there anything I can do to thank you?" She tried your shake herself back to reality though remained entranced by him.

"Nothing at all. I'm just glad I was here to help." He extended a hand, almost nervously, introducing himself. "Alexander Turner, pleasure to meet you."

"You too." Aria blushed, unable to break eye contact with the man, and was now incredibly aware of how dumbfounded she must look. "I'm Aria" She stuttered, the sound of his friend retuning sending her back to reality. "I apologise for staring, but I just can't seem to take my eyes off you, you have an enchanting aura about you. I'm sorry if I may seem a little strange."

"There's no need to apologise, I get it all the time." He laughed, though not arrogantly, it was sweet and innocent. "My mother's a Veela." He added, almost embarrassedly, upon noticing the slightly look of confusion appearing on Arias face.

The couple shared an awkward smile, both at a loss for words.

Alexander's friend passed by the pair silently, slapping him encouragingly on the shoulder before disappearing behind the bar, Rosalind following closely behind.

Aria noted the difference in both attitude and appearance in the two men, finally able to distinguish between the two. The friend was tall and broad shouldered, his hair messy though not long. He gave off a sort of American football, "bro", fratbroy vibe. In other words kind of arrogant and full of himself. Clearly he saw himself as the one in control. Alexander on the other hand was more slim, but not skinny. Tall but not lanky. Innocent but not naive. His clothes appeared similar to his friends but presented more neatly and well put together. She assumed he felt sorry for his friend, knowing his Veela parentage would gain him lots of female attention, and in return Alexander simply allowed himself to get pushed around to boost his friends ego.

With a roll of his eyes Alexander practically confirmed her theory and Aria couldn't stop herself from laughing once more.

Knowing that while Rosalind and 'Braydon'; as he turned out to be, would not be returning any time soon, Aria and Alexander chose to occupy one of the booths and get to know a little bit about each other, where Alex truly confirmed all of Aria's suspicions.

Upon Braydon's return, he flashed his rather large biceps, kissing each one in turn as he flexed them, before letting out a hearty growl, presumably this was a display of male dominance among his kind. His kind being; douchebags.

With another roll of her eyes Aria bid farewell to the men, thanking Alexander once more for his heroic rescue.

"How about a date?" Alex called nervously as Aria had just about reached the door.

"I'm sorry?" She replies, caught off guard.

"A date, here, with me. What do you say?" Aria shook her head unable to look away from that damn charming smile of his.

"I'll agree to a few drinks." She clarified. "Just send me an owl, you know where I'll be." And with that she disappeared once more down the path to Hogwarts, the grey sky above all the while threatening to rain down on her.

Taglist: @ayamenimthiriel @lizlil​

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