#this is a joke between me and my friend group and we were cooking a lot

[sublimeaether]

setsuna would convince ayumu to couple cosplay as sasuke and sakura (along with bringing shizuku as naruto). you can’t convince me otherwise

#love live #love live nijigasaki #love live nijigaku #ayumu uehara #setsuna yuki #shizuku osaka #azuna #this is a joke between me and my friend group and we were cooking a lot

[chaethewriter]

You're dead to me [2]

dad!Jake Sully x human!daughter!reader

In which Jake Sully leaves his life on earth to settle down with the Omatikaya people as Toruk Makto. Having a family that consists of four kids with Neytiri, everything seems to work out just fine, but what if the past comes back for him? And his babygirl is right there in front of him?

warning: english isn't my first language, daddy issues, idk how one lives with zero gravity, barely proofread

Word count: 2,3k

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What actually took six years didn't feel like that to you at all. One moment you closed your eyes as you were put into cryosleep and after what felt like one second passed, you got woken up from your deep slumber. The claustrophobic space you are in makes something inside of you itch. Good thing you were into cryosleep, you couldn't have survived sleeping in this tube every night for six years in a row. Once your tube was pulled out of the wall, you immediately feel yourself floating. So this is what space felt like.

"Drink and eat lots, since you will feel very weak!", a loud voice echoes through the room as one by one everyone left their cryosleep. You float through the room with a smile on your face as you hold onto handles, lockers, anything to keep your balance. An excited scream could be heard from behind you, it was your friend Raja. "You are not dead I see," she jokes as she floats towards you, her arms wide open to invite you in a hug, "this is honestly insane, I can't believe that we are actually doing this!" You wrap your arms around you as you share her excitement, "I know right? We worked so hard for this, I can't believe this is happening." You met Raja on your first day being at the resistance base. She shared her passion for nature with pride and you always admired her for this. A cough is heard behind your back and Raja looks over your shoulder to see who it was, "Seb!" she squeals as she carefully gets out of your hug, floating towards their other friend to engulf him in a hug. You watch as Raja and Seb share their excitement with each other. They really didn't age at all while being in cryosleep, such an interestingly concept it was. You float towards them, holding onto Seb's shoulder to keep your balance and not pass out, because damn they were right. You feel so tired and weak. If you weren't in space right now you probably would have fallen to the floor. Your limbs felt like cooked noodles, you really needed to eat. "The trio is back at it again to cause havoc!!" Seb ruffles your head, your hair tangling in between his fingers as he did so. The three of you were the inseparable trio. While you had a group of friends you hung out with, you three always just stuck together like glue. It may have been the fact you bonded over being reckless warriors, thriving on the thrill and action, or the fact all three of you were top students, but that doesn't matter. Raja and Seb are your partners in crime til death do you all part. The two are engaged in a deep conversation, but you didn't bother to listen or chime in. You wanted to explore, and see what you worked your entire teenagehood for. Grabbing onto the handle against the walls, you made your way towards the huge window, were also most of the crew was floating around. You had to see this for yourself, you had to believe it with your own eyes. What if you were still dreaming?

"Excuse me, Pardon me!", still not used to not having any gravity, you keep bumping into other warriors. A 'watch where you're going!' was screamed your way, but you paid no mind to it as you had more important things to do. Floating past the last person that kept you from seeing outside, your eyes immediately widen at the beauty that lay in front of you. A planet, looking exactly like earth, right in front of you. It was beautiful, the true meaning behind mother nature. You bring your hand towards your cheek to pinch yourself, was this real? Were you truly experiencing this? When you pinched yourself so hard, leaving a red mark on your skin, and you didn't wake up you knew this was real. You were knocked out of your senses pretty quickly, as everyone was told to dress up, eat and get together in the common area. Where that was? No idea, but what you knew is that you were excited as hell. You basically swam through the air towards the lockers, where your supposed gear would be. The sight was probably incredibly silly, you thought, you probably looked like a swimming frog. Yet you didn't care about the stares that were given you. The only thing on your mind was to see Pandora with your own eyes— not out of books, notes you had to read, or drawings. You left without telling Seb or Raja, but you would probably find them, considering you're going to the same destination and those two definitely weren't to miss.

You float past all the lockers with nameplates, looking for your name. You were told that they were in alphabetic order. Last name. You could never escape him, could you? You proceed to float, using the lockers to pull yourself up and speed up towards the lockers that start with 'S'. Upon floating in front of the name that haunted you every day, you sigh and slam the locker open. Clothes sealed in recycled plastic, a pair of shoes, and an oxygen mask. Fortunately, it wasn't those old aquarium-like masks. When you learned about those you thought they were ugly as hell: a head in an aquarium. Those were designed like gas masks. Was that the best way to explain them? They only covered the mouth and nose part to breathe properly, it didn't cover the entire face anymore. You flash a skeptical expression towards the clothes in your arms. They were dark colors, dark colors in a hot amazon-like forest? If it were up to you, you wouldn't have chosen a little more, bare, clothes. For the sweat to at least dry up and not soak in the clothes. "Weird choice of clothes, right?", Raja appeared next to you, out of the blue, making you flinch. You quickly managed to cover it up and compose yourself, "I'm gonna end up looking like a crab while fighting a villain, kind of embarrassing." she laughs at your reply and grabs a hold of your forearm, "come on let's go change. Seb already went to change!" And with that, your friend pulls you with her. Changing your clothes was kind of awkward. The room was a big space where all women changed next to one another. It gave PE class vibes. You felt sticky and disgusting as you changed out of the clothes you wore for six years. Wearing fresh, clean clothes is always better than nothing. The material feels nice against your skin, and very cooling. As you look in the mirror, fixing every detail to look as neat as possible. You roll your sleeves up just a tad bit and tried to loosen the corset-like clothing piece around your upper body. It doesn't look exactly like a corset, but it's one of those clothing pieces that have a corset built into it. The mask is hanging against your hip, ready to be used 24/7 once you stepped foot on Pandora. The pants were a little wide thankfully, enough space to move into. "What is it with the corset though? Who wears a corset while fighting?" "Maybe it's bulletbroof or something?"

After this whole ordeal in the dressing room with some people whining about the clothes being too hot, while others were second guessing if the outfit was nice to fight in, you finally made your way towards this common area. There everyone was awkwardly sitting, what one could call sitting in space. Everyone was given a granola bar to snack on and a sealed bag with a sweet drink in it. You leaned against Seb, as you were too tired to use your strength to hold onto anything. Eating the bar and sipping from the overly-sweetened drink, you listened to the peptalk your superiors were giving you all. It was something about protecting Pandora, RDA and the forest Na'vi, but you really were too tired to listen. It was most likely the talk they did every time before you went into cryosleep. If you missed anything you could just ask Raja or Seb about it.

What almost felt like a decade to you, actually took just a few hours before you finally landed on Pandora. During the landing all, maybe twenty of you in total, were seated as you braced for impact. It wasn't too bad, it was like a plane landing. Before the doors opened, the duffel bags you took with you were placed on your laps. For your instance, the bag with the wrapped katana you got from your lieutenant was handed to you. You put your mask against your face, pressing it down and securing it as you breathe in the oxygen from the earth. Red lights flash through the area you're in with the others as the secured door lowers to the Pandorean ground, revealing the beauty of mother nature. You rise from your seat as your seat belt was already unclasped. Without waiting any longer, you rushed to the outside world in a heartbeat. Watching your surroundings, it seems like you landed on the resistance base. Unlike the RDA base, which you saw during your learning process, this one was more integrated with mother nature rather than destroying it to make space. It was so organic, so natural. A team was already waiting for your arrival, all standing in a row as you lock gazes with a Na'vi. Unlike the things you were taught about Na'vi clothing, this one was wearing human clothes. Could this be what one would call an avatar? The same situation your dad was also in? You start thinking he was your dad, but it didn't look like him at all. You knew avatars were supposed to look like their 'owners'. Even though it was supposed to be your dad's brother's avatar, they were twins. One would ask 'you don't know what your dad's avatar body looks like?', but honestly as you said many times you tried to pull away from the hauntings Jake Sully got you. The insecurities, and issues you got from his betrayal, his departure. It truly hit you like a truck. Questions would pop up like:

Were you enough?

Was there something wrong with you?

Why didn't he come back to you?

You couldn't take talking about your dad's new life. Selfish one may call it, then you were selfish in their eyes. You didn't care. Wanting your dad, is that selfish? Missing your dad, is that selfish? Angry because your dad wanted a new life without you, is that selfish? You yearned for him, yet despised talking about him. That's why you don't know what he looks like, what he is up to. You just know his history: put into the avatar body from his brother to follow military orders. From only caring about getting a paycheck to protecting the natives. He was crowned with the name Toruk Makto as you were taught. Mated to Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'Ite, daughter of the Olo'eyktan and Tsahik. When you first heard about this, you felt sick to your stomach. Reality hitting you even harder at age thirteen. It was already bad enough to know your dad left you, but also getting to know that he settled down while you spent your time waiting for him? You remember running out of the classroom when a superior taught you this information. This was also how you got in contact with Raja and Seb. They comforted you while everyone else thought of you as weird, weak. They were the first people, besides the superiors that came in contact with you, that came to know about your dad being Jake Sully, about the struggles you got after he left. Yet, they didn't laugh at what you thought was exaggerating. They listened carefully to your words as the tears rolled down your cheeks.

'We were attached to the hip, what went wrong?'

'Did I make him unhappy?'

'Was I too much for him?'

'Was he looking for something more rather than being a single dad?'

You spilled your insecurities to them and they never uttered a word about it to someone else. You will be forever grateful for them. You were so lost in thoughts, getting slightly emotional at all these thoughts about your dad, until a hand rested on your shoulder, "and last but not least, you must take her with you. She's our best warrior, Norm. She will need to stay on the battlefield, closest to the war." So Norm was his name. A pretty goofy one if you had to be honest. The avatar named Norm stood at least 10 feet tall as he looked down at you, literally. You just reached around his crotch area, which is kinda embarrassing because imagining running into his front. Hopefully, he likes to travel in his human body more. "Then that's settled, Oel Ngati Kameie." His hand rested against his forehead, slowly bringing it down to his chest. You flashed him a kind smile in return, ready for whatever adventure you will come across, "Oel Ngati Kameie."

But only if you knew.

.

.

"They have arrived, they will help us."

"They're sky demons! All the same!"

"I used to be one as well, yet I had a change of heart. Please accept the help they will offer us, for our people, for our family, our fortress." his hands grip hers, intertwining their fingers as he spoke to her in private, away from the children. He opened his mouth again, pressing his forehead against hers, "please, Ma Neytiri."

A/N: first of all, thank you all so much for the positive feedback. I honestly didn't expect it I'm gonna be fr😭 it gave me enough motivation to write part 2, so here it is, earlier than expected. I hope you enjoyed <3

also i hope no one noticed me accidentally posting the draft cause that was silly

Taglist (I couldn't find everyone):

@hoodiepandaninja16 @l0v3e1i @neteyamforlife @noname2246 @bunnyrose01 @littlelia007 @j0551 @navs-bhat @fyfy-world @hellok1ttycake @coterami @lwozy @erenjaegerwifee @n1ght5h4d3-24 @kahlowy @iloveavatar @farleyis @reguluscrystals @inomoikawa @bobojojoba69 @m3ll0n1xx @eternallyvenus @shyskybbb @imakms @keira7664 @alice121804 @aimsro @carollise @jjkclub @onlytays @wolfiealina @guska0 @yeosxxx @dakotali @destinylb @degenweeb @sunshinewwx @alohastitch0626

#jake sully #dad!jake sully x reader #dad!jake sully #dad!jake x daughter!reader #dad! jake sully #jake sully x human!reader #jake sully x daughter!reader #jake sully x human!daughter!reader #jake sully x reader #neteyam x reader #neteyam #neteyam x sister!reader #lo'ak x sister!reader #sully family x reader #spider sully

[gummygowon]

my girl(s) | choi san

word count: 1.27k hehe

genre: fluff bro so much, slight childhood friends to lovers, established relationship, soon to be dad!san x pregnant!reader

warnings: san just worrying too much that he gets exhuasted

song playlist: my girl - the temptations, be my baby - the ronettes, la vie en rose - èdith piaf

author's note: seeing san get heated about how that one husband treats his wife made me think about how sweet and caring san would be in a relationship and then i started playing fifties's music and boom here where we are

choi san was just an absolute gentlemen, it was one of the many reasons why you loved him so much.

you vividly remember when you were younger, san declaring to the dinner table that his wife's hands will never be wet in the future, promising that he will be doing everything for her which impressed all the other neighborhood parents. a few parents joked at him to remember their daughters in the future which you rolled your eyes at. san was obviously bluffing and trying to impress everyone. you found it hard to believe that a man would be able to care so much for his wife like san said.

it was almost laughable how wrong child you was.

san quite literally did everything around the house, always insisting that you go lie down and relax even though he just came home from work. it was definitely a hassle trying to get your husband to relax let alone sit down after dinner since he was always insisting that he did the dishes even if he cooked.

"san, baby go shower," you whisper into his ear while he was doing the dishes, "let me do this. go relax."

instantly turning around in protest, san folds his arms in front of his chest, "no."

"san," you warn, the mother in your voice coming out.

"absolutely not." san protests, standing up even taller to tower over you, "you are my pregnant wife who needs to rest. i need my girls to rest."

"san, we don't even know the gender yet." you argue. it was only today that you found out you were pregnant after you realized that you were two weeks late and sped to the nearest drugstore for a test.

"i know but i think we're having a girl." san says knowing with smile on his face, he was just getting excited at the thought of having a baby girl. "still though, you should rest."

"san, i'm fine, you on the other hand should rest."

"but-"

"who has a eight hour shift at seven am tomorrow baby?"

"i do." san dejectedly answers with a pout on his face. san didn't hate his job as a martial arts instructor but if he had to choose between you and his job, he would choose you without a doubt over and over again.

"i promise when my belly grows you can pamper me all you want but not yet. you still need to take care of yourself before i'm unable to take care of myself."

"promise?" he asks as he intertwined his fingers with you.

"promise." you answer before sealing the deal with a kiss.

a few months later, when the baby bump began to show, san became even more protective of you.

finally on your maternity leave, you spent the time at home reading parenting books and knitting clothes for your baby making an assortment of colors. sometimes, you ventured down to the dojo that was connected to the house causing san to stop whatever he was doing and guide you down the stairs.

"yah! choi san!" you shout at your husband who completely abandoned his lesson to aid you, "i can walk down just fine! go back to teaching!"

"no!" he argues before turning back to his class to yell, "five minute water break!"

a collective "yes sir" was heard from the group as the students dispersed to the sidelines.

"san, i love you but i promise i'm fine!"

"i know, but i still worry over you my love." san confesses as he carefully holds your hand as you walk down.

"aigoo..."

closer to your date, you spent most of your days either in the dojo working at the front desk so that san could keep on you (more like you could keep an eye on him) or upstairs reading more parenting books and preparing the baby's room.

"how's the baby?" wooyoung asks, an old friend of san who occasionally stopped by the dojo to check up on you and take out san to relax.

"doing great! the doctors are saying the baby is healthy and don't see any problems or complications yet."

"ahhh, that's great to hear! how's san doing though? still stressing?"

"oh you bet he is." you sigh, running a hand through your hair. "taking him out for a drink tonight?"

"trying to but you know he doesn't like to leave your side."

another sign escapes your lips, it was possible that san was stressing you out by not being able to relax. "i'll convince him. he's been worrying too much."

"good luck with that one." wooyoung laughs.

"woo!" your husband shouts at his best friend coming out of the studio to the front with a towel in hand. "what brings you here?"

"just checking in your wife and the baby." wooyoung starts before flashing a quick glance at you, "but the boys and i are about to head down to the bar if you wanna grab a drink."

"ahhh, you know i would love to but," san says looking down at you with a smile. lately he's been running around the house trying to satisfy you're weird pregnancy cravings and help with the morning sickness all while still working full time down at the dojo. the stress and exhaustion was evident on your poor baby's face as the eye bags deepened and he wasn't his cheery self.

instead of returning the smile, you frown at him confusing san. "go sannie, i'll be fine."

"don't-"

"san, i will be okay." you laugh a little, trying to ease san's nerves, "i'll be down the street okay, baby? you deserve a break."

san looks back at wooyoung who looks eerily similar to the devil on his shoulder. "are you sure? what about dinner?"

"your mom dropped off some soup for us earlier, i can eat that. go out, have fun! you need to have some fun once in awhile baby."

"fine, but not too late." san complies while pointing a finger at wooyoung.

"i promise to bring him before eleven ma'am." wooyoung promises saluting to you before shooing san to go get changed.

"take care of him woo!"

the day of the pregnancy was absolutely terrifying yet exciting. it was the thrill of finally becoming parents that was the only thing keeping you sort of calm. your mind wandered every now and then to the idea of you being a bad mother but san was quick to shut down those thoughts.

you guys still didn't have any idea of what the gender was, deciding it would be fun to find out the day of. san was still confident that you guys were going to have a girl even though all the ajummas begged to differ with their superstitions.

"it's a girl!" the doctor exclaimed cuddling the newbown baby.

"i told you!" san shouts jumping into the air out of excitement before wrapping his arms tightly around you, his lips on your forehead. "thank you. thank you so much." tears of happiness flowed from san's eyes as he held you close, his warm embrace making you feel overwhelmed with his love.

"i love you so so much." san cried into your neck as he looked through blurry eyes at you cradling your daughter.

you couldn't even say anything too tired and overwhelmed to give a proper response. instead, you just cried with san holding the baby so close to your heart.

it felt refreshing? calming? something like that to be able to cry away your emotions. even the worries of becoming a mother washed away and instead hope and excitement for the future replaced the negative thoughts. you couldn't believe that you finally have a kid with the love of your life, not even just the love of your life but your best friend in the whole wide world.

god, you were so lucky to have a san in your life and he was just as lucky or even more to have you in his life. now, the both of you were fortunate to have a third in your new little family.

san let out a sniffle before planting a wet kiss to the crown of your head, "my girls."

#the delusions delusioned here #ateez oneshots #ateez imagines #ateez x reader #ateez x y/n #ateez fluff oneshots #ateez fluff imagine #ateez fluff imagines #ateez fluff #choi san oneshots #choi san fluff #choi san imagines #choi san x reader #san oneshots #san fluff oneshots #san fluff #san imagines

[wolken-himmel]

In which (Y/n) likes to cook Deuce food as a way of showing affection.

He doesn't seem to really understand the implications of the prefect's gesture, though.

Request by anon.

"Hey, how come you only make food for Deuce? I'm also hungry!"

"Stop complaining and eat your apple, Ace."

"No, (Y/n)! I don't want an apple... I want sandwiches, like the ones you made for Deuce."

It was just another schoolday during the afternoon that the four of you spent lounging beneath a tree in the courtyard. A few other groups sat huddled amongst each other nearby, although the courtyard was only sparsely populated.

A small discussion had broken out between Ace and you as soon as he had seen you open your bag to hand a carefully wrapped lunch box to Deuce. A shy giggle escaped your lips when your fingers brushed his when you gave the box to him. Deuce had taken the box eagerly, an aloof smile on his lips.

Grim crossed his arms in dismay. "You're right, Ace." His curious eyes watched as the blue-haired boy set aside the lid and pulled out a carefully crafted sandwich. Despite the absence of tuna, the cat still felt his stomach rumble painfully. "I don't get any special treatment by my henchhuman, either... What has this world come to?"

"Maybe (Y/n) just likes me more than you," Deuce said with a grin, though the smugness of his voice soon ebbed away again. All that remained was a satisfied look in his eyes after he had gulped down his first bite. "Of course, I was just joking. Thank you for the food, (Y/n). I very much appreciate it."

"N-No issue, Deuce!" Your fingers wrestled with one another nervously while you watched for his reaction. When his eyes met yours again though, you couldn't help but avert your gaze. "I hope you like it."

"Everything you make is tasty," he said with a full mouth.

Still dissatisfied by your stubbornness when it came to anyone but your little favourite Heartslabyul boy, Ace turned to Grim and furrowed his eyebrows. "Deuce may have meant it as a joke, but I think he's really onto something there," the red-head mumbled, so that only the cat could hear him. "Do you think...?"

"Yes, it could be very possible," Grim replied without having heard the whole question.

You eyed the duo suspiciously after having recovered from your interaction with Deuce. At the large grins these two troublemakers wore, you narrowed your eyes at them. "What could be 'very possible'?"

A confident grin graced Grim's face. "Well, we have a certain theory. Would you like to continue, Detective Ace?"

"Why, thank you, my assistant," Ace replied with a posh accent. Being referred to as assistant had Grim seething, but his complaining was stopped by a single raised hand. The red-head's eyes gazed you up and down critically. "The two of us have suspicions that you might have a crush on our idiot friend."

"Shhhh—!" you cried out in desperation and waved your arms around.

Much to your horror, Deuce perked up at the sudden accusation. His food lay forgotten in his lap while he finished chewing a carrot. "Really?" he asked you with wide eyes. "You have a crush on someone? What's their name? Do you also cook for them?"

While Ace and Grim began laughing their souls out, you were left to defend what remained of your honour. With your cheeks as hot as a campfire, you managed to seethe out, "You really are an idiot, Deuce..."

"What?" He tilted his head to the side in confusion, a gesture you found awfully adorable. "Where did that suddenly come from?"

You gritted your teeth together, hating the thought that you would have to literally spell the situation out to him. Yet, you were left no other choice when he merely pressured you with another confused look. A string of curses escaping your lips, you threw your hands into the air in exasperation. "I thought it was obvious with the lunch boxes I always make for you. I don't cut the carrots into hearts just for anyone," you whispered awkwardly.

For a while, your monologue left him speechless. "I didn't know I was special." His eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Well," you breathed out shyly, "you are very special to me, Deuce."

Your little moment was interrupted by Ace's obnoxious laughter. He scooted closer to his friend and punched his shoulder. "Have you finally figured out who (Y/n) has a crush on, Deuce?" he asked while snatching the other half of the sandwich for himself.

Deuce remained silent for a while. But when realisation came to him, it came down crashing hard. In his panic, he almost threw the lunch box to the ground with how quickly he jumped to his feet. "Oh." His intense gaze made you feel small and scared. When he noticed your squirming, his eyes softened apologetically. "Oh! I never realised— I never realised you had a crush on me..."

"Finally..." Ace breathed out and took another bite of the sandwich.

"Took him an eternity..." Grim nodded along, eagerly grabbing a heart-shaped carrot piece when Ace offered it to him.

A soft sigh escaped your lips, and you only reluctantly raised your gaze to observe Deuce's expression. "I-It's alright..." you muttered awkwardly. You could at least try to salvage the situation as best as possible. "I was always too shy to say it to you outright, Deuce."

He didn't reply, though. The silence left you squirming even more in discomfort.

"I think his brain stopped working," Grim muttered between big bites.

The entire situation came crashing down upon Deuce all at once, like a large wall that had just crumbled down upon him and buried him alive. As if he had just returned from the dead, he jolted up and stared at you with wide eyes. "You like me? Me?" he cried out and buried his face in his shaking hands. "The lunch boxes make sense now..."

You put a hand on his shoulder. "Deuce? Are you alright?"

"Oh right, I'm sorry." He took a deep breath, and he finally managed to get his act together. When he removed his hands from his face, he revealed a beaming smile to you. Your heart skipped a few beats when he took his hand into yours. "Well, (Y/n)... what do you think of us cooking together sometime. Like a... date?"

"I would love to."

"You could cook stuff for us!" Ace suggested and eyed the empty lunch box in dismay.

Grim nodded along eagerly. "I mean, we brought you two together, after all."

#twisted wonderland #twst x reader #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst #reader insert #y/n #disney twst #twst x you #deuce spade #deuce spade x reader #twst deuce spade #twst deuce #twst deuce x reader #twisted wonderland deuce #gender neutral reader

[fallingintoyourlilaceyes]

Easy smiles and loud laughter (Osferth x reader)

synopsis: 5 times Osferth made you laugh and 1 time he made you cry

warnings: fluff, pregnancy, angst, character death, afab reader

word count: 1.6k

taglist: @hopelesswritergall

(If you want to be tagged in the `kissing booth AU´, for a specific character/fandom or in general let me know in my asks, comments or DMs)

The first time Osferth made you laugh, you didn´t even know his name yet. You were working your shift at the ale house serving food and drink to the patrons, when suddenly the door swung open. The cold fall wind sweeps through the establishment, prompting you to whip your head around towards it right as you set down a pint in front of one of your regulars. He stumbles in a few steps behind the rest of his friends. While they are laughing boisterously, joking and pushing each other around as they do, he is a lot more quiet. A shy blush on his otherwise sickly face. You can tell this has not been their first stop in search of something to drink. Nonetheless you serve them whatever they order and when night falls you are not surprised when they ask for free rooms they could stay in for the night.

“How many rooms will that be?” You ask with a tired but friendly smile in place on your lips.

“Well, that depends, you see.” The man with short dark hair and a beard says with a mischievous grin.

“Depends on what?” You ask curiously.

“Depends if the baby monk is gonna grow a pair and talk to the pretty serving girl he fancies or not…” He and the other men laugh, though not in mean spirit. Your facial expression remains unchanged until you see the monk, the Irishman alluded to. His face is as red as a tomato and his eyes are glued to the floorboards as if there is nothing more interesting in the world.

“Finan…” He whispers sharply to his friend, making you break out into a chuckle anymore. He was just too adorable.

“Well? What´s the baby monks name?” You turn to fully face him as you ask.

“I am called Osferth.” His voice is quiet, but at least he looks up at you through his lashes.

“Well, it is nice meeting you, Osferth.” You chirp and wink at him, before turning back to the other men, who very badly try to conceal their laughter. “You are in luck. We have just enough rooms left for you.”

The second time he makes you laugh, you had just joined the group around Uthred a short time ago.  Still new to the life and the people, but you had made quick friends with Finan. The Irishman had a loyal and funny side that you could only appreciate. Even more so when watching him and Osferth spar. You weren´t much of a fighter yourself, so you had dedicated yourself to learn how to heal, to at least be of some use. So, while you watched the two men train, you studied any relevant book you could get your hands on. It is during one of those instances, that you get interrupted. Finan had just `defeated´ Osferth once more when he turns to an approaching figure in the distance. A smile spreads on his lips.

“Go, fetch Lord Uthred. Tell him we have a visitor. And tell him it is a woman.” He says to the blond man beside him.

“How can you tell it is a woman?” Osferth asks. Earning a raised eyebrow from Finan and an amused headshake from you.

“You have to ask?” The look Osferth gives the Irishman is what beckons a laugh from you as you stand up from the fur that you had laid out underneath you.

“I will go and get Uthred. You two stay here and greet our guest.” You say as you make your way inside.

The third time he makes you laugh, your little group sits around a campfire. It has gotten cold fast and the lot of you are freezing even through the furs over your shoulders. The mood between the five of you had dropped just like the temperatures. Icy silence hanging in the air, the only sounds around are the chattering of your teeth, the crackling of the fire and the bubbling of the stew that was cooking above it.  Then into the silence sounds Osferth´s voice.

“It is so god damn cold I cannot even tell the stones in my shoes from my toes.”

It is a stupid joke, really. And neither of you feel like laughing. Yet, unlike your companions who scoff at his words, a laugh leaves your lungs. The sound light, almost bell-like and bringing an unknown warmth to his insides. Meanwhile, you can´t stop laughing. Even under the looks of Finan, Sithric and Uthred, who all silently question your sanity at the moment.

The fourth time he makes you laugh, you are sure is the moment you really start living. He pulls you aside during the day. A serious expression firm in place on his face, that is rarely seen anymore in quiet times like these.

“Is everything alright, Osferth? What is it you so urgently wished to speak about?” You ask quite worried by his behavior.

His eyes are trained to the ground, like the first time you had met. Avoiding yours at any cost, as a blush dusts over his cheeks.

“I um… I needed to… To talk to you about…” He starts to play with his fingers from nervosity.

You step closer to him and lay a gentle hand on his cheek, making him look at you, which has him in even more of a nervous mess than before.

“It is fine to take your time. Just take a deep breath for me and then try again.” You take a deep breath for him to mimic, which he does. Finally calmed down a bit he even is capable of looking you into the eyes.

“In the months since you have joined us, I have caught myself falling for you. Deeply. And though I am aware that you do not feel the same, I still needed to tell you.” You want to hold in your laughter as to not possibly hurt him more, but when Osferth looks at you with what can only be described as puppy eyes, you can´t hold it in anymore.

“I love you too, Osferth.” You kiss his warm cheek, which instantly becomes a deeper shade of red and watch a small, happy smile break out on his face to replace the serious look from before.

The fifth time Osferth makes you laugh, the two of you had just found out that you were with child and couldn´t be happier. In those days a smile seemed to be plastered on your faces constantly. To Uthred´s and Finan´s amusement. Sithric seemed to be the only one with a little understanding, congratulating the two of you and then backing off. You still traveled a lot, but you had built yourself a nice life in Rumcofa. One night you lie in bed, cuddled close under the furs, one of his hands resting on your belly that would soon swell.

Laying one ridiculous name on you after the other until you feel like you can´t breath anymore from how hard you are laughing.

“What do you think about Uthred or Finan if it is a boy?” You suggest while catching your breath, though it is clear that it is meant with all the sarcasm in the world.

“I think they would never speak to us again if we would choose either of those names.” He chuckles along with you. And as he still speaks you get the perfect idea.

“Alright. Enough with the jests… I am thinking Leofric if it is a boy and Mildred if it is a girl.” You whisper, laying a gentle hand atop his. Turning your head you see his eyes shimmering with tears. “I am taking we have found ourselves some baby names?”

“Yes.” He says, clearing his throat, “Yes, we have.”

In that moment everything feels more real than ever. The love you share, the pregnancy, the life you have lived so far and the life you would soon live.

The one time Osferth makes you cry, is the day you are sure you will never feel alright again. The attack on Rumcofa came seemingly out of nowhere and without any real fighting skills you were of no great use. Running around to heal people left and right to the best of your ability, though you are aware that it isn´t enough. The attackers are too strong and too fast.

When you hear a scream by the docks you quickly run towards it. Not quick enough as it seems. With cold horror you have to watch as Ingrith is being thrown off her horse and Finan leave Osferth to help her. With shock freezing you in place you have to watch as your love gets stabbed by one of Aethelhelms men. Your mouth opens, though you don´t hear the scream that comes out of your lungs. Finan is by Osferth´s side before you are. Holding him in his arms as blood flows heavily from his side and the corners of his mouth.

“No! No, no, no, no… My love, look at me. Please look at me.” You ramble desperate to stop the bleeding from the wound on his side.

“I don´t want to die…” His cries become quieter and more strained as the seconds pass.

“Shhh, save your strength. You will not die today. I will not let you.” You sniffle, not even sure if you can believe yourself as you wipe away the tears that cloud your vision. Returning to your efforts to stop his bleeding you don´t see his eyes become more dull, until all the life has drained from them. The already shallow breath ebbing in his chest and his head falling to the side. You refuse to admit his loss at first, but when there is no lying about it anymore and your lips graze his forehead one last time, you let your tears run free. That day you are certain a part of your soul dies with him.

#Osferth #osferth the last kingdom #osferth x reader #osferth tlk #baby monk #the last kingdom #tlk #osferth fanfic #the last kingdom fanfic #tlk fanfic

[lowkeyrobin]

hey! (just wanna say I really love your writing and especially the ones on mental health)

could I ask for more of the reactions to an Australian accent, but with the cricket crew instead? (those who are okay with x reader ofc)

tysm!!! have a wonderful day!

ah omg thank you 🫶🫶🫶 I've been working really hard esp on those ones + the fact I've always kinda struggled w mental health stuff so I rlly pour my heart out into those ; and he's of course!! sorry if I misunderstood you on that last one by the way LMAO ; gonna keep this as a oneshot tho because it was way easier than a preference format for some reason ; also I wish we got more freddie, tommy, tubbo & ranboo pics while we could 😔🙏

HANDSOME BROS ; australian accent

summary ; youre the only aussie in a group of british kids (and an american)

warnings ; language, lots of ball jokes (sorry tommy)

genre ; fluff

word count ; 1.4k

masterlist

Showing up for Tubbathon 2024 was a wild one.

Having your hand duct taped to Tommy's was also a whole thing in itself. At least you weren't working with Ranboo, who had no idea how to cook, unlike their poor partner Freddie. Recipe For Disaster was probably a horrible idea to join.

You and Tommy, Green Team, versus Ranboo and Freddie, Orange Team.

You'd never really talked on stream before. You either communicated through Minecraft signs or in-game chats. If you did speak, however, you'd often use a voice changer to make you seem a little more understandable, as you knew your accent was a bit difficult to understand sometimes.

You'd also met with your friends in real life before, of course, but you made sure the entire trip you strained your voice to sound a little more understandable.

But, now cooking with one of your long-time friends, the big guy TommyInnit himself, you didn't seem as worried or insecure when you spoke. I mean, you'd barely spoken, but you were in a comfortable environment - Tubbo's house - and were accompanied by friends you'd known for a long time now.

The stream had started and Tubbo had explained your rules, leaving the two groups to get to cooking.

"Hey, mate, can you hold the bowl while I stir the eggs?" You kindly ask Tommy, wriggling a whisk out of the jar between the stations.

The blonde blinks in silence, staring at you, "Your accent went 0 to 100 very quickly, Y/n/n" He giggles.

"Wait, what?" You glance about, feeling a little nervous as you plop the whisk into the measuring cup, needing to stir the eggs.

"Not in a bad way! Like, I never noticed your fuckin' accent was so, like, heavy before? You didn't sound like that last time we met up, or talked" He shrugs as he explains himself.

"Oh" You shrug, watching as he secures his free hand around the handle of the glass measuring cup. You begin to whisk the eggs, poking at the yolks to make it go a little bit faster. "I mean, I usually use a little voice changer to make me a little more understandable"

"Ohhhhh, wait, that makes sense" He nods, "Ow! Calm down, I'm not trying to get surgery on my wrist now!" He quickly pulls his hand away, feeling something pop.

"Shit, I'm sorry! Are you alright?"

He bites his tongue, nodding as you reach for his hand. "I'm good"

You gently grab his wrist, quickly and lightly kneading the area for him.

Ranboo looks up, seeing you two distracted in your green aprons. "They're taking a massage therapy break already" they comment, tapping Freddie on the shoulder.

"C'mon, man up, Tommy! You'll be okay" Freddie lightly smiles, cracking a few eggs over the measuring cup, which they'd just struggled to find.

"Dude, I just had surgery on my crowned jewels, I don't think I will!"

"Good God, help me now" You chuckle

Ranboo and Freddie go silent for a moment before the boy with the red hair speaks up.

"You weren't kidding about the voice changer, were you?"

You shake your head no, "Why would I lie about that, mate?"

The two shrug, hearing Tubbo fake yell at them for cheating since they were conversing with you. The four of you jokingly plan a rebellion that you'd put into place for later, deciding to focus on the food right now.

"Tommy, Tommy, the plate, not the floor! If you drop that I'll actually kill you"

"It's on the damn plate!"

Tommy quickly sets the pan down to help you fold the guacamole together, using his one hand to hold the bowl while you rushingly mix it all up. From the avocados to the lemon juice, you got it to a nice consistency, and, with a struggle, get a dab of it on the paper plate you were given next to the burrito.

"I think he's gonna like it either way, considering most of what he eats, he orders." You shrug, setting the bowl of guacamole down.

Tommy lightly laughs, "Yeah, that's true"

You were finished before the timer, luckily, however, Freddie and Ranboo were still working, using each hand to do their own tasks to work a little faster.

"Tubbo, can you understand me with my accent this thick?" You shout into the other room, purposely making your voice and accent sound a bit thicker to try and mess wirh him.

It's silence until he answers, like he needed to translate your words. "Barely!"

You and Tommy laugh, chatting away while the other group works.

"What's Australia even like? Just like... giant spiders and kangaroos?"

"Holy shit"

"I'm serious! It's not like I'm going anytime soon"

"Well, it's not that. It's like the UK but much warmer, and yeah, kinda scarier. It's like a real-life Better Minecraft mod"

"You guys have armored skeletons attacking you??" Tommy laughs as he teases you.

"I hate you!" You laugh

"I love how you say 'you', it sounds so dumb"

"It sounds like how you Brits say it!" You smile, using your free hand to try and fight him in a playful manner.

"Dumb in a nice way! Dumb in a nice way!" He shouts, trying to use his free hand to protect himself from the cat fight. "They weren't lying when they said you Aussies fight like wild animals, what's next, you gonna kick the shit out of me?" He asks, egging you on.

"I'm gonna kick you in the crown jewels if you don't shut up!" You joke, making him scream in terror, probably killing the viewers' ears as well.

He yelps, falling back as he drags you down with him, having slipped on himself.

"Tommy!"

"Ow!"

"Jesus Christ, they've broken each other's backs off that floor, I heard it" Freddie lightly laughs, holding the paper plate up for Ranboo so they could put the food on it. "I think Y/n's dead"

"Tubbo! We need the ambulance!" Ranboo laughs, "Get Eryn back here, they actually can't get up! The tied hands have impaired them tremendously"

"Tommy, just stand up!"

"My balls hurt!"

"Then let me stand up, I can't when you're holding your dick together!"

Eryn quickly rushes over, helping the both of you stand up slash getting Tommy to release his tied hand from his crotch. You help him up and pat him on the shoulder with your free hand as Tubbo wraps up the time.

In the end, your groups nearly tied, you and Tommy one point behind Freddie and Ranboo. Honestly, they did deserve the win.

"I still can't believe you fooled us with the voice changer, even changing your voice in real life. I swear, you sound totally different," Freddie lightly chuckles, freeing himself from the apron.

"In a good way, though" Ranboo adds, "Your accent is really fucking cool, trust me"

You lightly smile, freeing yourself from Tommy's sweaty hands. "Thanks- ow, holy shit!"

"You think that hurt?" The blonde teases, having ripped the rest of the duct tape of your hands.

"Piss off"

After the stream ended, Tubbo turned on some music while you guys cleaned up. He and Eryn were sorting out the lights, cameras, and microphone while the four of you cleaned up the kitchen. You decided to clean each other's messes, trying to make it a little more enjoyable, which none of you minded.

The music, picked my Tubbo himself, was an early 2000s hip hop mix, titled something like 'Greatest 2000s Hip Hop Hits' or something. And of course, Ranboo and Tommy were getting down to it, mostly leaving you and Freddie to do the cleaning while you laughed at them singing and dancing along.

Tommy was bouncing around, not focused on cleaning whatsoever as he tugs on your hand, wanting you to join in.

"Y/n, Freddie, cmon!"

"This isn't High School Musical, dude" You reply

"You deserve a break!" Ranboo shouts, pulling Freddie into whatever fucked up dance trapezoid you guys had going on.

You sigh and set down the cups you were washing and turn the water off. You spray the water from your hands on Freddie, starting a war as you join their little dance party.

Freddie gasps and smiles, throwing the little bit of water in the measuring cup at you in retaliation.

"Australian versus Brit! Who will win!?" Tommy shouts with a little laugh.

"Hopefully not the American"

You fake shudder and nod. "Yeah, I agree with that, Ranboo"

#lowkeyrobin #mcyt x reader #mcyt preferences #mcyt oneshot #tommyinnit x reader #ranboo x reader #badlinu x reader #tubbo x reader #freddie badlinu x reader #cricket crew #cricket crew x reader #gn reader #gender neutral reader #they/them reader

[ohfallingdisco]

Playing with an incorrect quotes generator and these were so in character

Will: Everytime I hear someone talking about updog, I’m torn between not wanting to fall for it and wanting to help them complete their joke.  Mike: Okay, but what is updog?  El: Updog is a long sausage in a bun, often served with ketchup, mustard, onions, and/or relish.  Dustin: No, that’s a hot dog. An updog is when a new version or patch of an application is released.  Lucas: No, that's an update. You’re thinking of the fourth largest city in Sweden.  Max: No, that’s Uppsala, updog is the giant spider in Harry Potter.  Will: That’s Aragog. Updog is a symbol conventionally used for an arbitrarily small number in analysis proofs.  Dustin: You’re thinking of epsilon. Updog is an upward-moving air current.  El: No, that’s an updraft. An updog is the modern version of a henway.  Mike: What’s a henway??  Will: Oh, about five pounds.

Mike, banging on the door: Argyle! Open up! Argyle: Well, it all started when I was a kid... Will: No, he meant- Jonathan: Let him finish.

Mike: How did none of you hear what I just said?  Lucas: I’ve been zoned out for the past two and a half hours.  Will: I got distracted about halfway through.  Dustin: Ignoring you was a conscious decision.

Max: Hey Mike can I get a sip of your water? Mike: It's not water. Max: Vodka, I like your style! Mike: It's vinegar. Max: Wh-Wha- Mike: It's vinegar, COWARD.

Will: *Posts a super low-quality image to the group chat*  Mike: If I had a dollar for every pixel in this image, I’d have 15 cents  Will: If I had a dollar for every ounce of rage I felt in my body after I read this text, I would have enough money to buy a cannon to fire at you  El: Actually I did the math, Mike would have $225, not $0.15.  Mike: I’m right here....  Dustin: If I had a dollar I would buy a can of soda :)  Will: while you’re there could you buy me an apply juice please?  Dustin: Sorry I only have a dollar  Will: :(  El: Hey I just realized my friend is right, Mike would have $22,500 because it's a dollar for every pixel, not a cent  Dustin: If I had $22,500 I would buy a can of soda and an apply juice  El: You can buy anything you want with $22,500  Lucas: Yeah and they want soda and apply juice  El: Apply juice to what  Max: Directly to the forehead  Mike: Great chat everyone

Max: Is stabbing someone immoral?  El: Not if they consent to it.  Lucas: Depends who you’re stabbing.  Dustin: YES?!?

Lucas: Isn’t it weird that we pay money to see other people?  Mike: Plane tickets?  Will: Concert tickets?  Dustin: Prostitution?  Lucas, holding his broken frames: Glasses.

Mike: What did you guys get in the yearbook? Will: 'Prettiest Smile' Lucas: 'Nicest Personality' Dustin: 'Most likely to start a bar fight' Max: 'Least likely to start a bar fight, but most likely to win one'

Argyle: You lying, cheating, piece of shit! Jonathan: Oh yeah? You’re the idiot who thinks you can get away with everything you do. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD Argyle: I’m leaving you, and I’M TAKING WLL WITH ME Mike, picking up the monopoly board: I think we’re gonna stop playing now.

El: HELP! I TOLD JONATHAN I’D COOK DINNER TONIGHT BUT I CAN’T COOK!  Will, pouring milk directly into the cereal bag: And you thought I could help?

Murray: Dammit, Hopper! Hopper: What?! It wasn’t me! Murray: Sorry, force of habit. Dammit, Joyce! Joyce: Not me either. Murray: Oh...Then who set the house on fire? Alexei: *whistles*

#st textposts #stranger things #st incorrect quotes #willel #the party st

[oc-aita]

AITA for becoming my ex-best friend’s nemesis after he ditched me to join a superhero team with my bullies?

Some context. I (16F) have been best friends with this guy Gale (16M) since…forever. Our moms were in the same pregnancy support group and we went to the same kindergarten and we’ve basically been inseparable our entire lives. We’ve always been there for each other when times were tough- my dad died in a freak accident at work when I was 5 and his family really helped me and my mom, and we offered similar support when his older brother died a few years later.

I don’t want to minimise Gale’s issues but he’s lived a much more comfortable life than me. His dad is the CEO of a construction company and they have a normal sized house in a nice area (difficult to get in our city). Meanwhile my mom works 3 minimum wage jobs and barely affords the rent in our run-down apartment in the most dangerous part of town. He’s super sociable and gets along with everyone, while I’ve been bullied since the day I stepped on the playground. We’re both equally smart but teachers see him as charming while I’m the disruptor. The only real “advantage” I have is athletically. Gale was never interested in doing extracurriculars, but the 2 neighbours on our floor teach martial arts and REALLY like my mom’s cooking so I’ve been getting free Jujustu and Capoeira lessons since Elementary school. But I never really made friends in those classes so it’s always just been me and him.

Anyway a couple days after Gale’s 16th birthday he started acting wierd. He was spending less time with me, hanging out with other people and dodging the issue anytime I asked him about it. He was still friendly during school but anytime I wanted to hang out he’d say he couldn’t. I wasn’t angry, just concerned, especially since he’d been getting closer with a select few classmates who’d been especially ruthless when bullying me and often picked on him too. Eventually he relented and told me that his dad had volunteered to be the coach for the “Lacrosse team” and signed him up for practice every day after school and he had no say in it. I said it was fine and he didn’t need to hide that from me but he said he felt bad bc he couldn’t hang out as much.

I spoke with my mom about it and she said I should ask about joining the lacrosse team too if I really wanted to keep spending time with him, so I did. And it turns out the Lacrosse team was a LIE. Well it did exist, but they were using it as a cover. Turns out Gale’s dad was our city’s superhero (his name is “Tempest” and he has weather powers) and he’s been acting as his sidekick and leading some kind of young justice-esque teen supersquad with my 3 bullies. Btw, I only learned this AFTER I showed up to Lacrosse practice where I was ridiculed by them and Gale cut off our friendship entirely. Initially I was going to forgive him bc he kept giving me guilty looks at school and I figured he probably ditched me for my own safety. But then he told the bullies ABOUT MY DEAD DAD, apparently in an effort to get them to sympathise with me and leave me alone. This obviously didn’t work and now the entire school knows about my home situation and I’ve been the butt of so many hurtful jokes.

Anyway the only reason I found out Gale’s secret was because I was one of the civilians caught in the crossfire between their squad and his dad’s nemesis, some supervillain named “The Underking.” This Underking guy saved me from falling debris at some point, and I followed him back to his headquarters out of morbid curiosity. Initially he was furious and tried to get rid of me but then I learned that not only was this guy BEST FRIENDS WITH MY DAD, HE WAS THERE WHEN HE DIED AND IT WASNT AN ACCIDENT. Apparently the factory they worked at was destroyed by a supervillain, and when he went after him he learned that the guy was being paid so the building owner could commit insurance fraud. All the villains currently attacking the city were getting similar payments, and the Underking was masquerading as a bad guy to try and get in good with them and uncover who was behind it.

I begged him to let me help find out who killed my dad, and while he didn’t want to at first, I told him that I knew the secret identities of everyone in the hero squad that just defeated him and what their weaknesses were. He gave me this suit that gives me invisibility powers and now I’m an “intern” at city council because it turned out this guy was THE MAYOR.

I started this whole out of spite but working for him has actually been really nice? He’s become like a surrogate father to me; he tells me stories about my dad, his lackeys help me with my homework, and he’s been paying my mom’s rent. He’s encouraged me to put more effort into my martial arts classes; I actually started making friends with the other people there and now my mom has more money I can afford to go out and do nice things with them.

Gale, his dad, and my bullies all know I’m the Underking’s new sidekick causing mayhem around the city. I tried to hide it but I got tag-teamed a couple fights ago and they ripped my mask off. The Underking lost that fight but I sure didn’t! Seeing the fear in my bullies eyes when they realised the girl they’d been throwing in dumpsters can roundhouse kick with near-professional precision was the highlight of my week ngl. They’ve FINALLY stopped harassing me at school because of it.

Part of me still feels bad though, Gale told me that he never wanted to work with my bullies and wanted me on the team instead but his dad said no. Whenever we fight in the field it feels super personal, and he always looks super betrayed. A couple times he’s even begged me not to fight. I just can’t help but feel like he decided that being a superhero was more important to him than being my friend. But when I put it that way I feel selfish. AITA?

#original character #am i the asshole #aita #death ment

[frogs-with-tea]

I think the One Piece Sound idea is Galaxy-brained. It has so much potential! The setting can be so rich, both in scenery and emotion: they’re all seeing the water and the sky and the forest all the time, but they all grew up there and they’re kinda stuck there so they don’t notice the beauty unless something brings their attention to it. And the potential for the characters! The main crew are 20-somethings living in a tourist trap - the older adults are going to consider their minimum-wage dead-end jobs (or lack thereof, looking at Luffy, king of the bums as far as they’re concerned) to be a sign of their laziness or whatever.

I’d like to think that Nami runs scams on the boardwalk to fleece tourists as legally as possible. She supports Luffy’s search for the One Piece bc she wants to be rich and famous.

I’d like to think Luffy is the goofy guy selling t-shirts out of Usopp’s van with absolutely incredible good luck (no matter what happens, he always bounces back). He’s always at every single one of Zoro’s kendo tournaments: he was the only person cheering Zoro on at Zoro’s first competition, where he foolishly challenged the current champion and got his ass beat to hell. Zoro calls him captain as an inside joke between them; they were friends first out of the group and they are each others ride-or-die. Everybody thinks Luffy is just a childlike dumbass until Luffy sets out to challenge and take down cruelty and greed in the town.

Since he was young, Sanji wanted to go to culinary school but he’s afraid to leave the town: ‘Zeff needs me, the restaurant needs me’. (‘If I leave, the Vinsmokes will find me’) After Zoro gets pregnant, Zeff is on Sanji’s ass constantly about mating/marrying the Cactus. Zeff’s views are a little old fashioned but his heart is in the right place. Sanji has the self-esteem of a flea so he’s really conflicted about it. When he finds out that people are looking down on Zoro bc he got knocked up by ‘just a line cook’ he goes nuclear (I’m thinking about a parallel between this mis-characterization of him and his bounty posters in canon being caricatures of him)

Usopp runs a “Ghost Tour!” that is 200% bullshit and he changes up the locations and stories every couple months. It is the highest-rated attraction on Trip Advisor for the town.

Robin works at the library and she’s got an extremely morbid sense of humor, which terrifies Luffy/Usopp/Chopper BUT she’s doing a lot of the reading research on the treasure and she helps in the search a lot.

Anyway, all of this is to say I think you’ve got a really winning concept on your hands and I wish you all the luck and energy to see it through!

Hey there!! It makes me really excited to hear that you're so passionate about my AU ideas!! I've actually laid out a lot of my ideas on my personal blog @spock-smokes-weed, all under the tag #one piece sound au.

My ideas for Nami and Usopp is that they would be the ones experiencing the most "my life is in a rut" type feelings since they don't have much outside of work and the straw hats. Nami works at a bait shop with her sister, cus I thought it would be fun to position Nami in the old-school economy of the town, fishing. I thought it would be a fun setting for Nami cus she's both a getting dirty with her hands kind of person and a girly girl. With Usopp, in my mind, he's that one friend who's always bouncing from job to job. If this AU is about early 20s eunni, then we all have a friend that can't seem to find a job that makes them happy or they can tolerate. Usopp is an artist at heart and a big personality, I think he'd find it hard to get fulfillment bussing tables or washing cars.

Luffy is pretty straightforward. Living in his van with his dog (Chopper), being a menace to society.

And honestly, I don't see Zeff being the traditional type at all or would give Sanji any grief about marrying Zoro. Since he exclusively hires ex-cons to work on his staff, and already has a non-traditional family with Sanji, I can't see him thinking marriage would solve any issues between Sanji and Zoro. Zeff is a big feature in the story and Sanji's biggest pillar of support, but his advice mainly comes down to "just do the right thing and take responsibility." He just wants Sanji to step up as a father and not run out like Judge did to him. Sanji doesn't react to Zoro being pregnant well (at first. he's terrified of being a father, and that causes him to lash out) and Zeff very much gives him some tough love about stepping up and taking responsibility for his actions.

And for a note about the Vinsmokes, with this AU I'm not looking for a pure 1:1 with canon. So they might be evil royalty in canon, but since I'm taking inspiration from slice-of-life, I'd rather refit them to fit tropes from that genre. I have two posts on Judge specifically and my ideas for his roll in the story, but the TL;DR is that he's a narcissistic deadbeat who only resurfaces in Sanji's life to take advantage of him and ask for money.

As for the other straw hats, I have a post here about where I think they'd fit into the town.

Also, I have a post about Zoro's focus of the story, mainly being his battle with his strength and masculinity and his struggle with the judgment he gets from the town around him.

This was all super long but I just get so excited when ppl say they like my au and all I want to do is share all the ideas I have cataloged (both on here and in my brain)

#ask box #non art #one piece #one piece sound au #sorry it took me a min to get to this ' #you can only do embedded links on desk top and i was at work all day

[innorogers]

A Barbacue Day

A fragment of a very long story I’m trying to put together

You went on a Sunday bbq hosted by Chris, with your best friend. Whose not some “Regular guy”…

"Well, this doesn’t look so bad," Lewis came over to help me with the salad. He stood by my side while I arranged the plates, whispering in a low voice.

He glanced over his shoulder at the entire party taking place in the courtyard.

The girls were in the pool, sipping drinks as they gracefully slid their beautiful bodies into the water. The guys were celebrating any stupid thing going on, just like a group of teenage soccer players. A typical summer day. So American.

Gosh, too American.

Scott and Chris were chatting with beers in hand while preparing the barbecue, if you could call that food. I mean, Scott is good at cooking anything, but Chris, well… we’ll just leave it there.

I followed Lewis’ gaze and looked at the companions surrounding them. I mean, him.

From time to time, Chris would turn to look at me, and give me that smile that was a mix between "I'm SO sorry" or "Please come rescue me."

"I must say, you were never very popular with other girls," Lewis observed Chris, furrowing his brow as he noticed all those beautiful women surrounding him, making jokes as they inadvertently ran their hands over his shoulders or arms, completely ignoring the fact that he was hosting a party at his house with his date.

"But I didn't expect you to be less popular than him."

“You and I both know that it's going to take more than a bunch of mean girls to scare me away from anywhere.” I smiled as he put the arugula in the bowl, and I laughed. “Do you remember our first competition in Monza?”

"Ugh." Lewis put his hands to his face and laughed too. "Gosh, they were so mean! Damn, they couldn't believe it, you, a woman, and me, a black guy, in the competition?"

"Do you remember the look on that guy's face when he told us 'the service hall is that way'?"

"Oh God, and when you told him in French, 'we came to compete'... his face!" Lewis burst out laughing, and he had to cover his mouth to keep from spitting out the piece of apple in his mouth.

"You and I have come a long way." I smiled.

He smiled back, full of warmth and gratitude, and he put a hand on my shoulder. "Yeah, girl, it’s been a hell of a ride.

***

"What the heck were those two talking about?"

Chris thought as he flipped a piece of meat that looked like charcoal. Scott was looking at him with a "dude..." expression.

“Bro, that’s like a rock…” he observed the piece of meat lying there on the barbecue.

“Is he? I don’t think he's stronger than me. I mean, he's obviously a star and a great guy, but he's not even much taller than her…” Chris stared at the kitchen, where those 'best friends' were laughing and joking so hard they looked like a bunch of idiots.

Well, not her. She is beautiful. Especially when she laughs. God, he loves it when she laughs.

But him.

Yeah, what the heck are you laughing about? Dude, the men's zone is over here. Stay away from her. Get your butt over here. Screw it.

“I meant the meat, Chris,” Scott said carefully, and he turned to watch whatever his brother was seeing.

“Oh, come on, she said they were friends,” Scott said, carelessly, and then observed, “But…”

“What?” Chris said sharply, turning to his brother.

“Well…”

“WHAT?”

“I mean…” Scott shrugged, as if saying that's not a big deal. “I would LOVE to be friends with Lewis Hamilton. I mean, you're Captain America alright, but THAT guy over there, he's a 7-time F1 champion… There's actually only two people in history who did that… oh no, wait, no, he's the only one with that title. So, hell yeah, I would love to be friends with him.”

And he added rapidly when he received the icy look from his brother: “I'll be friends with him; I would definitely date you.”

“Hey, what’s up? What are you guys talking about?” Michael interrupted them and looked at the barbecue. “Chris, this looks like crap. Are we supposed to eat that?”

“We were talking about how lucky that girl is. She's friends with Lewis Hamilton but dating Captain America,” Scott replied, laughing, and quickly added: “Of course, the second part is the best one.”

“Well, she's not into him, that’s for sure,” Michael observed those two friends, who started making drinks. “They've been friends forever; that's obvious. But feelings? Nah, I don't think so. Not from her, at least. Your girl loves you, dude.”

Chris grabbed a beer from the bucket, opened it single-handedly, and by the time he passed it to Michael, he reacted: “So what? Is he into HER?”

“I don't think he is, Chris.”

#chris evans #fanfic #chris evans x girlfriend!reader #chris evans x ofc

[writingpencil]

Beyond the Monster

Holy shit, this one is SIX years old (2019)

It definitely shows too (*sigh* cringe is dead but my era shows)

So, the OG concept was that, two years ago, a zombie outbreak made teens Rhys, Kiki, Jon, and Zyrann form a group to survive. Now they're nineteen, almost twenty, on their way to South Carolina, where there's supposedly an outpost.

However, Zyrann(1st person POV) gets sepereated from his group(I honest to god thought Zyrann was a girlie lmao oops) and has a bad accident. Thankfully, they are saved by Zero and his wolf, Echo, who later agree to help him reunite with his friends.

(Also Zy's group calls the zombies "mutants" while Zero calls them "roamers")

Prolog

“Kiki Taria,” 

“Here!”

“Jon Rider?”

“Present and accounted for.”

“Rhys Brewer?”

“I’m not late!”

The rest of the class, including our teacher Mr. Dendwin,laughed at Rhys’s usual “jokes”, if you can even call them that. I never found Rhys to be funny, or Jon to be smart, or Kiki to be pretty, but they were. Some could say they were the best part about humans, their minds beyond what is natural.

That’s major league bs. 

They were like the rest of us; human. 

And yet I found myself being friends with these three. . .

Not my choice, parents are friends so we spent many an afternoon at each other's houses and played in the backyard.

Well. They played and I sat in a corner reading. 

I do that all too much; read. 

I read all I can, whatever you put in front of me I’ll read it. Something else. . . I draw, whatever that’s good for. I’m actually drawing right now, ignoring what Mr. Dendwin is saying other than listening for my own name. 

“Zyrann Zen.”

I simply just raised my hand, a custom between my teachers and I. They simply mark me down and I don’t have to speak. 

I adjusted my mask, and continued to draw. 

Kiki passed me a note, neatly folded up in that “perfect” way. 

She didn’t write it tho, the handwriting belongs to Jon;

Hey Zyrann,

Would you like to join Kiki, Rhys, and I for lunch in the library? We plan on going there again after school. Also, Rhys said it was okay that you could stay with him.

Just show up.

-Jon.

I’m going to show, lunch is boring and there is no heart in my home. . .

Chapter 1

Where the heart is

“Wake up, Zyrann.” Kiki had to shake me in order for me to wake up. 

I just looked up as if her shaking me didn’t, almost, give me a concussion. “Kiki, where are Rhys and Jon?”

“They took the jeep to Misty Hollows,” Kiki said, she started to cook an MRE we found.  And of course they took the jeep, that’s Jon’s intelligence for you. He’s a smart cookie. 

“Kiki, you’re cooking it wrong.”

“What?”

I re-showed her how to actually cook an MRE. Thankfully we even had MREs, none of us have anything to make a fire with. 

Please don’t underestimate Kiki, she really is smart but she gets absent-minded a lot. Not her fault, actually, it’s a trait that her family passed down. She use to complete her homework and tests that way; staring off into space and letting her subconscious do all the work, she never got a wrong answer.

Kiki and I had shared the MRE, she said the boys had shared a can of peaches before they headed out. Misty Hollows looks promising for medical supplies as well as food, with little to no mutants. 

Mutants. . . Right.

Mutants are the equivalent of the roaming, walking, crawling, ugly dead that people love to butcher from comics. But, our version of mutants are different since they separate into categories. 

There are the walkers; they can’t run or move at all unless it is walking. They are really easy to avoid and super weak, and may be pathetic if you die from one of them. A horde is the same way, except it’s twice as terrifying. 

Then runners; Only run, and not as weak as the walkers but weak enough to be considered weak. They are fast, faster than the average human, and hard to run from. A horde is. . . imagine a large group and they are trying to get you and eat you while you try and run ahead. Yup, that’s scary.

Crawlers are typically legless, and that’s not a joke. They crawl, they sneak, they bite. And some can crawl on walls. . . I like to call them spiders. 

Next is the Brawlers. They’re twice the size of a six foot human, and could probably one punch you. They typically are surrounded by a horde of mutants, walkers, so the walkers can find the humans and the brawler can destroy them. In one world, they are demons. In the other world, they are like protective mothers who are only trying to feed their babies. I’m not joking; I observed a brawler and her crowd and she literally grabbed a carcass and gave it to them. 

The father, or so I’ve seen, is what we call the Gladiator. They are two feet taller than Brawlers and can destroy entire buildings as tall as New York’s skyscrapers. And the Gladiator, because there is only one or two, remains in Manhattan eating whatever he can catch. 

Thankfully we managed to avoid Brawlers and the Gladiator, but that’s because we stick to the trees since Brawlers and Gladiator cannot go through them without damaging themselves first. 

“Zyrann. . .” Kiki said. 

“Yup.”

Kiki simply shrugged. “If we were to make it to South Carolina, do you think we could make a pit stop in Sunstone Valley? It’s a pretty small town but I know where it is.”

I nodded. “I’m with you, I know you want to find Hayden. But, really, it’s up to Jon.”

Jon is our leader, he makes the major and most of the final decisions. For two reasons. One; Jon is smart. Two; Jon is logical. 

But, knowing Jon, he’ll let us go to Sunstone. 

Crack.

We both stopped moving, and looked around making little noise as possible. I pulled out the pistol and readied it, Kiki took out her’s. 

“Zyrann. . . We don’t have silencers!” Kiki whispered to me. 

“I know,” I whispered back. “Don’t shoot unless absolutely necessary. Run if its a walker or crawler, shoot if its a runner.”

Jon’s gonna hate me if I get Kiki killed. 

“Stand.” I whispered as I stood myself. Kiki followed. “Get your bag.”

Kiki, quietly, put on her bag. She keeps the food and water. I already have my bag on, I keep track of whatever they miss. Jon has back-up weapons and ammo, Rhys takes the medical supplies. 

A surprise from our joker; He’s a decent doctor. 

Kiki got out her walkie-talkie. “Rhys, Jon, come get us. There’s something here and it’s not friendly.”

Jon’s static voice came through; “We’re coming back, meet us by the road.”

“Okay.”

Kiki and I just got out of there, the woods I mean, and we waited by the road at the ready. Honestly, I’m sure we just panicked and it was just a mouse or rabbit or something. . . But I rather be safe than sorry. Especially these days. 

That same black jeep sped on over to where Kiki and I were waiting. 

“Hey party people!” Rhys said, thankfully Jon was the one driving. “Get in already! Zyrann, your mask is crooked.”

I fixed my mask as I got in. 

“Where we heading off?” Kiki asked.

“South Carolina, where else?” Rhys deserved that slap to his head. 

Jon took off before he answered. “I was thinking we’d go to Redwick, then we could make a stop to Silverkeep, and then Icemeet.”

That would take us a week, that’s without pit stops or resting or sleeping. 

“Did I make you mute, Zyrann?” Rhys asked, we had been driving for an hour or two and he and Kiki switched seats. 

I pointed to my mask. 

“Sorry,” Rhys said. “Can you talk, please? I’m real sorry!”

I looked out the window, completely ignoring Rhys. 

My mask. . . Yes, my mask. . .

My mask is just a plain white hockey mask that covers all of my face, the mouth area had a red ‘x’ over it. . . I’ve been wearing this mask my entire life, from birth and soon to death. And, for some reason, whenever someone mentions it I immediately don’t talk for the rest of the day or longer. I remember going silent for an entire week because someone mentioned it.

I also remember not talking for a month when Rhys attempted to touch it.

Heh, he still tries to touch it.

“Come on Zyrann!” Rhys whined. “I’m sorry!”

I ignored him. 

Jon and Kiki looked at one another, they nodded. 

Kiki looked back at us. “We need to make a pit stop for gas, in Civil.”

Jon drove into Civil, parking the car away from the gas station. Kiki got out with Jon and they both went to get gas. . . What?

An awkward silence loomed between Rhys and I, Kiki and Jon weren’t coming back until he and I made up or something stupid like that. But talking is out of question.

That doesn’t mean Rhys isn’t going to try.

“So,” He started with. “For once, it’s not raining huh? It’s nice out, I like it!”

Although I agree, I’m still not talking Rhys. 

“Remember when you use to sleep over?”

Rhys. . . Why would you bring that up? What are you doing, Rhys?

I shifted my gaze over to Rhys, he was looking down at his hands, which shifted nervously.

Rhys continued; “I was always confused on why you wore that mask, even when you sleep. I always thought that is must of been uncomfortable. . . You know I almost saw you without your mask once?”

I twitched.

“Funny enough, it was two years ago. . . Before everything went down.”

That day? 

“Yeah,” Rhys said, he noticed I twitched. “You were in the guest room and Mom sent me to go get you, you left the door opened. I almost caught you in the mirror but I opened the door and I didn’t get the chance. . .”

Yeah, I hate remembering that day. 

We were seventeen, last year of school. I do take my mask off, occasionally. Like bathing or sleeping, only when I’m by myself, and just because. I wanted to take it off that day, just to remember what I looked like. 

I stared myself for a good ten minutes, at my dark brown hair and way too “perfect” shade of blue eyes, my fairly translucent skin. . . Not an ounce of my father was there, just mother. Father said I was everything she was; looks, personality, skills, even our childhood was the same. 

But I doubt Mother would be happy with Father, she use to be so cheerful though that it's hard to imagine her being angry. 

Back to that day. . . 

Rhys had entered my room, bright and cheery and thrown a mouthful of breakfast puns at me. I had to quickly put my mask on, it was crooked so I fixed it and played it off as if that was what I was doing.

Then, his mother screamed. 

We both ran to see what was the matter. Rhys mother was on the floor, being eaten alive by some random lady that had spikes growing from her back. You could just see the life being drained. . .

I pushed Rhys back into my room, locked the door, and just started to panic. 

Rhys had to sit and he started to cry, his sobs stung me. . . Stabbed right through the heart. 

“She. . . she. . .” He could barely speak.

I sat beside him and comforted him the best I could. 

While Rhys cried into my shoulder, I called Jon. He and I made a plan and he drove to pick us up after Kiki. Rhys and I had exited through the window. And, we went from there. 

How can I stay silent after that?

“Rhys. . .” I barely managed to get out. “Come here. . .”

Rhys moved over to me, I instantly wrapped him into a hug. 

I hate this! I hate all of this! 

My best friend had to suffer, watching his mother get eaten before his very eyes! 

No. . . stop it Zyrann. . . you knew who she was. . . what kind of person she was. . .

You have to hold him, you’re all he has left anymore.

“Sorry Rhys. . .” 

“It’s fine, my fault anyways.”

“No. . .”

Rhys laughed. “I really do want to see you though.”

“No. . .”

“I can’t just,” Rhys reached for my mask. “Pull this off and-”

I grabbed his wrist. “No.”

“Can you say something other than no?” 

I smiled. “Yes.”

Rhys rolled his eyes. “I hate you.”

“No.”

“Not again! I will hit you!” 

“Try.”

I immediately exited the car and sprinted towards Jon and Kiki, with Rhys chasing me. I hid behind Jon and couldn’t stop laughing, or giggling, doesn’t make a big difference.

“We can’t leave the kids alone for two minutes!” Jon said.

“We’re older than you!” Rhys retaliated. 

That part is true, but we’re all nineteen and soon to be twenty for Rhys and I. 

“Aw, come on, Jon,” Kiki said. “At least Zyrann is feeling better,”

Jon nodded. “Come on, back to the car we go.”

Usually, one of us would groan or complain, even Jon, but by now. . . I’m sure we’re use to the road in the two year span we’ve been driving. The first car was Jon’s, that ran out of gas. Our second car got kidnapped by false friends. This is our third car.

Right now; Jon’s driving, Kiki is looking at CDs, and Rhys was searching through his bag. 

“Rock or Punk?” Kiki asked.

Jon voted on “Rock.”

Rhys voted on “Punk.”

Kiki looked at me and I just shrugged. Personally, I like rock music and punk isn’t bad either. I’m not real picky when it comes to music, same way with most things. 

“Um,” Kiki closed her eyes and randomly chose one. Rock. “Oh! Okay!”

Rhys rolled his eyes. Rhys hates rock music, for some reason, and doesn’t like punk music either. He just has some type of hatred towards it, so he went with the music he hated less. 

To end Rhys suffering, I took out some ear plugs I had. As I mentioned before, I keep everything I consider useful. That doesn’t mean I don’t carry food, water, or weapons. 

“Here.” I said, giving Rhys the ear plugs.

He happily took them and smiled when he couldn’t hear a thing. 

We had to make a stop for the night, we were all too tired to continue. So Jon parked the car off road, we were surrounded by forest. We all got out, Jon sat in the cargo back of the jeep while Rhys and I chilled on the ground. Kiki took out two cans of oranges, which I opened with one of the two can openers I had. 

“You can eat Rhys.” I said, giving him the can. 

“You gotta eat too Zyrann.”

“I’m fine, I’m not hungry anyway.”

“Eat.”

“No.”

“Zyrann!”

I smiled, even though Rhys can’t see it. 

I stood and started to walk towards the forest.

“Where you going?” Rhys asked.

“My business.” I said and continued to walk away. 

“You should take your bag.” Jon said.

I shrugged. “I’m going to be gone for two minutes, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

Honestly, I wasn’t planning on doing what they thought I was. I was going to be by myself for two minutes, chill in a tree without my mask on. 

I did find a suitable tree that I was able to climb up and just relax in. I took off my mask and breathe in the air. A gentle breeze blew, my hair moved ever so slightly with the leaves of the trees and the grass on the ground. I stared at my mask, just for a moment, before switching my gaze back to the trees. 

“HOOOOOOOOOOWL!”

The call of a wolf’s echoed from somewhere in the forest, they are not common here other than in wildlife parks and zoos. I never liked either, no one likes being caged or watched, or laughed at.

Wolves are beautiful creatures, I read many tales about wolves - both fiction and non-fiction. I like the black wolves the most, the white wolves taking second, followed by greys and the others are just fourth together. It was the way I grew up; liking dark things more than fairy tales. Mother was the same way, she read to me these stories she called “creepypastas”, essentially internet scary stories spread around. My favorite is-

I guess I really am like Mother, getting off topic. 

“HOOOOOOOOOOWL!”

Hmpt. That wolf likes howling, maybe it's unaware of how the mutants work. They love sound. It’s not about sight, many mutants have bad eyesight, but the other senses will guide them like a parent with their child. 

I do not blame the wolf for not knowing, it sounds really young. Wolves live to six or eight years in the wild, maybe it’s right around two years old. . .

When a minute passed, I put on my mask and made my way down the tree and started the trek back to the group. 

I instantly became loss. 

I ended up just wandering the forest for minutes at end, sure that everyone was worried sick about me. 

The wolf had howled again, it was closer to me than before. . . 

“Shi-!” I wasn’t looking where I was going and completely, blindly, fell off a cliff. 

I’m not even exaggerating, I fell and rolled on the side of a cliff into a river at least ten feet deep and sunk to the bottom. 

There was no current, so I just stayed at the bottom. . .

I lost consciousness. . . In a sea of black. . .

Chapter 2

Wrong type of person

“Shh Echo,” A voice said, it sounded male but soft. “Hand me the disinfectant. . . thanks pup.”

I felt a sharp sting to my side, it made me move and let out a similar sound to pain. 

“Easy, Echo,” The voice spoke. “He’s just waking up. No, pup, leave his mask alone.”

I blinked a couple times, the sun blinded me and I immediately shut them. I went to sit up but a hand was placed on my chest and kept me on the ground.

“Don’t move,” The voice said. “You hurt yourself and will take out your stitches.”

“S-Stitches?” I managed to squeak out. 

“Yes, you cut your head open. It’s not as bad as you’d think.”

I felt someone, maybe the person the voice belongs to, wrap some bandages around my stomach and side. 

The voice chuckled. “You took quite a beating, falling off of Divers’ Cliff like that- Echo! Down girl!”

I felt a pressure against my chest making me cough, it was gone just a second after, followed by a whimper.

“Shush Echo, I know you’re trying to help, pup.”

“Who. . . are you?” I asked.

“Drag the bag under the tree, pup.” The voice avoided my question. “Yes Echo, I’m sure I can pick him up.”

“What?”

“Hold still.”

He placed his hands and arms on my back and under my knees and lifted me off the ground. It hurt and it took all of me not to complain. He moved me only a couple feet away in the shade of a tree and had me lay against it. 

“You’re out of the sun,” The voice said. “You can open your eyes.”

Which I did.

Before me was a man kneeling in front of me. He had platinum blonde hair and dark green eyes, pale as me, wearing a dark green hoodie with the hood up and a pair of jeans and running shoes. He wasn’t frowning, or smiling, he was just there. . . 

Staring at me. 

“Hello. . .” I soon became very nervous, and this was all I could say. 

“Hello.” He said, his voice surprised me, despite me already hearing it. 

A sleek black wolf nudged a dark green bag at this man’s side, it had blue eyes the shade of the sky. 

“Thank you, Echo,” The man said, petting the wolf’s ears and neck. “Good pup, arencha girl?”

The wolf accepted the man’s petting and licked his hand. The wolf, a female named Echo, turned to look at me.

“He’s all right, pup.” The man assured Echo. “He may be dazed though, so be soft.”

Echo nodded, then licked my cheek like a puppy meeting a new person.

The man looked up at the sky, mumbled something I couldn’t hear, then turned to Echo.

“Echo, hunt.”

Echo nodded and ran faster than the wind in a certain direction.

The man held his hand out to me, but my nervousness didn’t let me shake it. The man just simply put it down, rummaged through his bag, and took out a pill bottle. He took out one and put the bottle back in his bag.

“This should help,” He said. “It’s a pain pill, nothing too high but it will help nonetheless.”

“I’m not in pain.” I said. 

“You will be.”

“Is that a-”

“A threat?” The man cut me off. “No, but soon enough when your body becomes fully conscious with your mind your muscles will be sore and your bruises will be pain filled. Please, for your sake and mine, take it.”

I, extremely slowly, took the pill and swallowed it. 

“I. . .” What do I even say?

“Tell me your name,” The man said. 

I’m glad I don’t have to start the conversation.

“Zy. . . Zyrann.”

The man nodded. “Nice to meet you, although I would have preferred a different situation instead of saving you from drowning.”

“Th. . . thank you.”

The man shrugged. “It’s nothing, but I advise you to be more careful Zyrann.”

The way he said my name. . . it sent chills down my spine. 

“What. . . is your. . . name?”

The man hesitated, he went to open his mouth but quickly shut it. 

“Please?” I begged.

The man nodded. “I’m Zero.”

Zero. . . 

Echo came back with a brown rabbit in her mouth.

“Good girl, Echo,” Zero said. Zero stood and went a bit away from me. He took a foot long stick, maybe, and tied a rope to it. Echo had some dry grass and small twigs and put it besides Zero. Zero took his rope and stick and another stick and did this. . . fancy way of making a fire. 

He made smoke, blew on it, and a small flame blazed. He had Echo fetch some stick and made a fire roar. He skinned the rabbit, put the fur aside, stuck a stick through it and made a quick spit.

I gagged at the skinning and the stick part. 

Zero looked up at me as I did it and said; “Don’t throw up, you’ve lost too much fluid as it is.”

Echo rubbed her muzzle against my stomach, which made it feel better. I lifted my hand a bit off the ground, Echo tucked her head under my hand and let me rest it there and pet her. 

Than I instantly remembered my friends.

“Jon, Kiki, Rhys. . .” I said their names and tried to move, but Echo placed her head on my stomach and prevented me from going far.

“Easy Echo,” Zero said. “He can’t go as far as you’d think.”

Echo eased herself but still wouldn’t let me go anywhere.

“Your friends ditched you.” Zero said bluntly.

“Wh-”

“Too many roamers. . .” Zero explained. “They looked, but they couldn’t stay. They are miles beyond us and it will take you a while to even catch them.”

“We’re heading. . . South Carolina. . .”

Zero gave me an odd look. “Why would you head to the Carolinas?”

“Outpost. . . civilization. . .” 

Zero sighed. “Oh. . .”

“Need to go. . . Sunstone. . . Valley.”

“That’s beyond a mistake.” Zero said. “There are two gangs who fight there all the time, the Blue Phantoms and Lost Souls. They’ll be killed on sight, or if they’re unlucky, taken to the camps.”

“My friend,” I coughed, screw this pain. “Kiki, her boyfriend’s there. Hayden Mayyor-”

“Mayyor.” Zero spat. “He’s such an asshole, did you not know he leads the Blue Phantoms?”

“No. . . Hayden’s a good man.”

“Who kills innocents at will, without complaint or hesitation.”

“Shut it.” I hissed, a weak hiss but still a hiss. “I know Hayden, he’s no murderer.”

“Guess you’re wrong.”

I wanted to scream at him, but I had no energy to do so. 

Zero sighed. “Sorry. . .”

I didn’t speak. 

Zero took out a hunting knife and skinned a small chunk of the rabbit off, inspected it, then gave it to Echo. 

“Not cooked enough,” Zero explained. “It’s too raw, pink. Echo, you can go hunt for yourself or scout our surroundings. Sixty feet radius.”

Echo got off me and ran off. 

“Do you truly plan on going to the Carolinas? To Sunstone?” Zero asked.

I nodded. “Of course I do, I’m not going to abandon my friends.”

Zero sighed, he sighs an awful lot. “Then I wish you luck.”

“You can’t come with me?” I asked. 

Zero shook his head. 

“I’ll die without you helping me, I can’t make it on my own. . .”

Zero didn’t speak at first, he remained in thought for moments on end.

“Fine.” He said finally. “I’ll take you to the Carolinas, or you reunite with your friends, but I’m leaving after that. Got it?”

I nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet.”

Zero cut another chunk of the rabbit off, inspected it, then ate it. 

“Rabbit’s done Zy.”

I could move, despite how sore everything was and that I was beyond tired and that it was slow and filled with pain. I sat up from my slouching and held out my hand. Zero gave me a sliver of rabbit, which I ate slowly. Zero ate some, but he took the rabbit skin, stood, and walked off.

“Where are you going. . ?”  I asked.

“Just over here.” Zero said, he went only a couple yards away, knelt down and dipped the rabbit fur into. . . water? He was cleaning it, and came back. 

I watched as Zero took out a small suitcase box with many spools of different color thread and varies of needles. He started to sew away on the fur, turning them into. . 

Gloves? 

When Zero was finishing up, Echo came back and pawed at the ground. She pawed three times, and pointed her head to my right. 

“Okay,” Zero put aside the fur gloves and put everything away into his bag. He put on his bag, took the gloves, and put the gloves on me. “We have to leave, Zy.”

“I kinda. . . can’t move fast.”

“I know.” 

“I’ll try and-”

Zero picked me up as he did before, was he seriously going to carry me?

He was seriously going to carry me!

Zero carried me out of the woods and onto the road, Echo followed closely.

“Will you have to carry me for long?” I asked.

Zero chuckled. “No, although I’m sure you wouldn’t mind. In an hour, you’ll be able to walk fine and not slow as a snail.”

“Although I’m sure you wouldn’t mind?’ What’s that supposed to mean?”

Zero didn’t respond. 

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #writing #creative writing #writers #writer #long post #long read #prompts #writing prompts #cringe is dead but so am i #zombie #horror #“horror” #i cant call it horror can i

[scarfwrites]

Forgive & Forget (To Mend a Broken Heart Part 10)

❅ Iwaizumi x Singer Fem!Reader

❅Format: Fluff, Crack, Angst, Comfort

❅Warning: none

❅Authors Note: a little fluff n comfort from the angst also mostly written

“WE’RE HERE!” You hear a group of people yell 

You and Iwaizumi look where the noise is coming from to see all your friends pushing each other through.

“LET ME IN!” Hinata yelled pushing the others

“STUPID DON'T PUSH US WE'RE GONNA TOPPLE” Kageyama scolded

“I WANNA GO FIRST!” Bokuto whined loudly

“Y/N's first friend privileges” Maki said pushing them aside

“THEN I'M GOING FIRST!” Oikawa yelled shoving everyone aside

“No I don't think so” Kuroo scoffed

“Stop pushing each other you morons” Tsukishima rolled his eyes

“Y/N are you okay?” Akaashi said heading in 

“Yeah! Thanks to Zumi” you smiled brightly at him as he blushed profusely

“Wow how sweet of him” Oikawa said smugly earning a pillow thrown at his face

“WE HEARD EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED, WHERE IS THAT BASTARD?!” Bokuto yelled as he got up from the floor

“Calm down Bokuto he’s clearly not here” Akaashi said

“Oh if he was here, he’d get murdered the moment we came here” Kuroo smirked

“He has some balls yelling at you” Oikawa said darkly

“Next time you’ll see him in the grave” Maki smirked proudly

“You don't have to crucify him it's not even his fault and he's only been like this once” you defended

“If he does it once he'll do it again” Tsukishima scoffed

“Let's not think about that idiot it's making us all depressed” Matsun chimed in

“YEAH CHEER UP TIME!” Bokuto jumped in joy as he ran to sit next to you

“DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME!” Hinata cheered as he sat in between you and Iwaizumi

“Godzilla again?” Matsun chuckled

“If you don't like it you're free to leave” Iwaizumi scoffed

“Awww is Iwa-chan mad because we ruined his alone time with Y/N-chan” Oikawa smirked smugly as the others burst out in  laughter

“Someone really needs to teach you how to shut your fucking mouth” Iwaizumi said intensely as an intense aura suffocates the room

“You're in for it now” you giggled 

“WAAAAH Y/N-CHAN HELP ME” Oikawa yelled as Iwaizumi began chasing him as the others continued laughing

Suffice to say Oikawa got very harshly reprimanded both physically and mentally. After that everyone decided to watch movies whilst you, Tsukishima and Akaashi were in the kitchen making dinner for everyone.

“You still have the master hands for the culinary arts Kaashi” you smiled

“Thanks but it really isn’t that impressing” Akaashi smiled back

“I mean it you’re so much better at cooking than me” you continued as you chopped up some of the food

“Cut the gross sweet stuff don’t you have a boyfriend” Tsukishima said sarcastically

“Is it wrong to say sweet stuff to my friends? Or are you saying that because you want to be complimented” you teased playfully

“Pfft I wouldn’t want any of that sweet shit you say to your boy toy” Tsukishima rolled his eyes

“Speaking of which” Akaashi cleared his throat “I don’t mean to pry but can I ask if it was the first time he did that?” Akaashi inquired

“Yea this was the first time and he wasn’t mad per se” you tried to explain

“Pfft Iwaizumi says otherwise” Tsukishima scoffed as he turned on the stove

“Well he was a bit mad but mostly just worried but still a bit scary” you said sheepishly

“So you’re a pussy now” Tsukishima snickered as you glare

“Let’s stop with the jokes continue Y/N” Akaashi said pouring the ingredients in a bowl

“He just sounded worried but… his aura was tense and he didnt do anything wrong well besides what he said to Zumi” you sighed sadly

“What did he say?” Akaashi questioned

“He doesn’t trust Zumi like at all and he kept berating him and I don’t blame Zumi for defending himself but… I just felt really overwhelmed and i felt responsible for all the stuff he said to Zumi as he was really hurt” you said as tearings begun flooding your eyes

“Hey Hey don’t cry Akaashi” said as he hugged you “It was out of your control and was completely not your fault” Akaashi continued as he rubbed your back

“If it anything It’s that shithead’s fault for saying all those shit to him” Tsukishima said angrily

“Thanks but let's not talk about anymore please?” You said wiping your tears

“AKAASHIII Y/N TSUKIIII WHEN’S DINNER” you all hear Bokuto wail

“Calm down or you’re going under the table” Kuroo scolded lightly

“WAAAAAH! Y/N KUROO’S GONNA PUT ME UNDER THE TABLE” Bokuto wailed even louder

“Calm your shits down you two I’m tryna watch the movie here!” Oikawa complained

“Then don’t complain so loudly” Matsun chimed in as you three sigh

“Dinner’s almost ready, don't worry! And Kuroo please don't put him under the table” you yelled from the kitchen

“I can’t keep that promise” Kuroo replied as you chuckled

As the three of you focus on cooking dinner your phone was left unattended on the couch when a sudden ping was heard alerting everyone in the room.

“Isn’t that Y/N’s phone” Kageyama said

“Yeah it is!” Hinata said examining the phone

“Is someone texting her it keeps pinging” Matsun asked pausing the tv

“Lemme check” Hinata said opening the phone

“IT’S DAISUKE!” Hinata yelled quietly

“WHAT!” Oikawa quietly screamed

“CHECK IT! CHECK IT!” Bokuto insisted

“Alright alright wait!” Hinata said 

“What’s her password” Hinata asked looking at everyone

“Her birthday?” Kuroo said

“No she’s not as stupid as the flatass to put her birthday as her password” Makki scoffed

“HEY I’M RIGHT HERE YOU KNOW” Oikawa yelled 

“I bet Iwa-chan knows the password” Oikawa smirked smugly

“What makes you think that” Iwaizumi glared angrily

“Oh nothing anyways just open it!” Oikawa insisted as Iwaizumi scoffed and took the phone and imputed the password

“He really does know it” Kageyama said in shock

“I wanna know her password! Why hasn’t she told me!” Bokuto pouted

“Calm down Bokubro it’s not the problem here” Kuroo said as everyone read through the messages

“Ew what is this apology” Maki said in disgust

“He’s more plastic than a Ken doll” Oikawa said in annoyance

“For one I agree with him” Kageyama said in annoyance

“He definitely did not mean that apology to Iwaizumi” Kuroo said reading the message again

“As if I care about that shithead” Iwaizumi scoffed loudly

“Let’s see more!” Bokuto said grabbing the phone from Hinata’s hands

“HEY WHY ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT MY PHONE” you yell as they screamed in surprise

“We weren’t peeking, we were looking at your new phone case!” Hinata lied as sweat dropped from his head

“You don’t have to lie it's so obvious” Tsukishima sighed rolling his eyes

“We’re not lying!” Bokuto insisted

“Alright fine just give it to me” you said snatching the phone away from Bokuto’s hands

You then read all the messages that Daisuke sent you and after a few minutes of thinking and everyone staring at you with weird faces you decided to respond

“Water under the bridge my ass” Kuroo said in annoyance

“Ew forgiving? disgusting” Oikawa chimed in with Kuroo

“I FEEL BETRAYED” Bokuto whined

“Those three are unbearable” Tsukishima sighed looking down

“I didn’t say I forgave him Y/N” Iwaizumi glared at you

“C’mon Zumi like he said his emotions got the best of him and he was just worried anyways” you defended

“I don’t care didn’t you hear everything he said to me” Iwaizumi fought back as the others stare not knowing what to do

“Please Zumi I’m sorry for what he said but can you just give him one more chance? Please?” You pleaded looking into his eyes as they soften

“Fine but only just this once” Iwaizumi said looking away

“Thank you!” You hugged him tightly whilst he did the same

“HEY! WHERE’S MY HUG!” Bokuto pouted as he whined

“I want one too!” Hinata chimed in

“Alright fine you dummies” you said hugging them both as they both had the brightest smiles

“Everyone! Dinner’s ready” Akaashi called out

“Well it’s time to eat” you smiled

You all had a filling dinner and all decided to sleep at Iwaizumi’s house. They definitely planned sleeping here since they all brought clothes and other necessities for sleepovers. You fell asleep quickly as you were extremely exhausted from earlier. Iwaizumi admired your sleeping face. From the day he had he found it relaxing and quite adorable. It was a refreshment from the trouble he had sleeping that night knowing that you were still being manipulated by that shithead. He can’t do anything but watch from afar he thought.

MASTERLIST

TAGLIST(OPEN) @byeolofseonghwa @noideawhothatis

#iwaizumi fluff #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x reader fluff #iwaizumi x reader #iwaizumi fanfic #iwaizumi fic #hq x reader #hq x you #haikyuu x you #iwaizumi smau #hq fluff #haikyuu angst #haikyuu fluff #iwaizumi angst #iwaizumi comfort

[helloalycia]

a new life [three] // layla el-faouly

summary: as you spend time with layla as a friend, you're forced to decide whether or not you can keep her in your life.

warning/s: none i don't think ??

author's note: and here’s the last part! glad the few people who are reading enjoyed it haha, hope you like the conclusion :)

one / two / masterlist / wattpad

Layla: i know you said you prefer the colour silver over gold but you wear both colours when it comes to jewellery, so which do you prefer?

When I got Layla's text, I was cooking dinner for my mum and I and it took me a minute to realise what she was talking about. She was in Egypt at the moment and even though she'd joked about getting me a gift, I didn't think she actually would.

Me: Layla you don't have to get me anything!

Layla: don't be annoying and tell me please thanks

I sighed, rolling my eyes.

Me: i'm serious, don't buy me anything. i don't want a gift

Layla: okay, i'll just take a guess and if you hate it, what a shame

Me: you're infuriating, d'you know that?

All she did was send a wink face emoji, making me roll my eyes yet again before pocketing my phone.

Things with Layla were going well, as well as they could considering I knew I was still in love with her. I tried so hard to keep it purely platonic between us, knowing it was what she wanted and what would be best for me, but I couldn't help how I felt for her. Even getting to know this older, mature version of her and catching up on everything I missed didn't change my feelings for her. It only made me fall harder.

I couldn't tell her, it wasn't fair to. She was here for me in the best way she could be and she didn't have to be. I needed to move on, I knew I did. Everything else in my life was making sense again – I had my retail job and was looking for new jobs, I'd made friends at work, I didn't hate going to my support group anymore and had even made a few friends there, too. It was all good again, but Layla... that was the one thing I was too selfish to not appreciate.

I wanted more because it had always been her and it always would be. Ever since we'd first met back at university, I knew she was the one...

"Okay, you have to leave because my new roommate is probably here now and going to think I need to hold my mum's hand for the first day," I said to mum when we were in the hallway of my new dorm.

My mum chuckled before handing me the final box of my belongings. "Okay, fine. But I'll have you know that I'm cooler than you think and I don't think your new roommate will disagree."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I said, eyes glancing down the hall and to my door distractedly.

"You'll be fine," my mum said with a reassuring smile when she caught me staring. "Give me a call tonight so I know your day went okay, yeah?"

I released a breath and looked to her, feeling a little better. "Thanks, mum. I promise."

She pulled me in for a hug which I returned with one arm since I was still holding the box. I gave her a kiss on the cheek before waving goodbye to her, then made my way to my new dorm for the year.

I'd moved all of my things in already, save for the box in my hands, and my new roommate hadn't shown up yet, so I wouldn't be surprised if she was there now. It was nerve wracking, I wouldn't lie, since it would be the first chance to make friends before the semester officially started, but I was excited, too.

Letting myself in to my room, I was correct because I spotted my new roommate sat on her phone on her bed, some of her things sprawled on top as if she'd just emptied her whole suitcase there before. When she heard the door open, she looked up and flashed me a smile, putting me at ease instantly.

"You must be my roommate," the girl said, waving a little. "I'm Layla."

I returned her smile, hoping she couldn't sense my nerves, and nodded towards her whilst putting my box on my bed. "Yeah, that's me. Nice to meet you, Layla, I'm Y/N."

She hummed, pulling her legs up comfortably and giving me all her attention. "So, Y/N. What are you majoring in?"

I took a seat on the edge of my bed, leaning back on my hands a little. "English Literature. How about you?"

"Oh, that's cool! I'm doing Archeological Science," she answered.

Trying to break the ice a little, I joked, "So, what are your assignments like? Do you just pull up to the local sandpit in the park and see what you can find?"

Her eyebrows creased a little, smile fading into one of confusion and, I think, offence, and that's when I realised that maybe she didn't have the same sense of humour that I did.

"Shit, I'm sorry," I said quickly, straightening up. "I didn't mean to offend you. It was just, erm, a silly joke."

She tilted her head, brown eyes studying me curiously. "You picked English Lit, you said?"

Embarrassed that I'd already made things bad between us, I nodded in response.

"So, what do you do? Go find Shakespeare's grave and reread him his own work?"

I blinked, it taking a few seconds for me to realise that she was poking fun like I had done to her. A smile appeared on her face and I let out a breath I was holding, beginning to laugh with relief.

"Fair enough," I said, and she laughed, too. It was then that I noticed she had a really pretty laugh. A pretty, smile, too.

"I don't have high hopes for the degree," she admitted once we both stopped laughing, "but I promised my dad I'd do it."

"But why archaeology?" I asked, curious, because it wasn't a common thing to choose to study.

A pride-filled smile appeared on her lips. "My dad is an archaeologist. Dr Abdallah El-Faouly. He taught me everything I know about my history and culture, and the beauty of discovering artefacts with a history in itself. I just want to be like him."

It was impossible not to smile as she spoke about her father and her love for his work. I could see her holding back her passion as she spoke, but it still seeped through and, honestly, it was lovely to witness.

"That sounds amazing," I admitted, and her expression softened. "I hope you get to follow in his footsteps someday, Layla."

All it took was for her to bite her lip to contain her joy, and that's when I knew she had me hooked. Curly brown hair, matching brown eyes, freckled face, stunning smile... yeah, I was hooked.

I should have known my attempt at being just friends with Layla wouldn't last long. It was almost four months after the snap, after my life had been turned upside down, after I had to readjust, that I realised I couldn't take it anymore.

Layla and I had watched a film at the cinema before deciding to get some dessert instead of savoury food. We were sat at a dessert shop nearby, eating ice cream and waffles, and I was enjoying every second because, as always, no effort was required to be a certain person or act a certain way – I could just be myself around her.

"I think the gold was a good choice," Layla said between bites of ice cream, nodding to my neck. "You suit it."

I looked down at the necklace I was wearing, the one she'd bought back as a souvenir from Egypt for me a week ago.

"Thanks," I said with a small smile, glancing up at her. "I love it."

She returned my smile, making my heart do somersaults in my chest. I hated the effect she had on me, but I loved it, too.

"So, tell me more about your new job," she said, motioning to me with her spoon. "When does it start?"

Recently, during my job hunt, I'd been lucky to receive a response and land a job at a publisher's house in the city. It was only an assistant's role, but it was something fun that I could see myself exploring further, so I was quite excited.

"A few weeks yet," I told her. "It'll give me time to finish my job up now and finally be done with retail."

She laughed at my shudder. "God, you really hate it, don't you?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you kidding? An old lady yelled at me the other day because I didn't know what size she was in cardigans. How is that fair?"

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Well, I'm happy for you, Y/N. You're moving onto better things. And it can only go up from here, right?"

I exhaled gently. "God, I hope so."

We spoke some more about my new job and what I would be getting up to, along with a few other random topics of conversation, before finishing up our dessert. Layla had driven us, so we took our time walking back to her car, enjoying the fresh air and walking off our desserts.

I took a deep breath, inhaling the cool air, before exhaling. "I love that. D'you not think the nighttime air smells different to the daytime?"

When Layla didn't respond, I glanced over at her, only to see her staring at me with a raised eyebrow and stifled smile.

"Don't look at me like that, you know what I mean," I said with a playful eye roll, feeling my face heat up.

She laughed, nudging me in the side slightly as we walked. "I know what you mean, 'ant ghabi (you idiot)."

A smile ghosted my lips at her insult; I only knew what she'd said because she regularly called me an idiot in Arabic all through university. I hadn't heard it in a while though.

"So, do you have any trips coming up soon?" I asked, changing the subject. "I know you just came back from Egypt, but you don't strike me as the type to sit still for too long."

She ran a hand through her hair, glancing at me. "Well, you'd be surprised to hear that no, I don't. Not at the moment." When I gave her a surprised look, she continued, "I might give it all a break."

Sensing this might be a bigger topic then I realised, I spotted a bench on our walk and nudged her gently, signalling for her to follow me. We both took a seat and I turned my body, giving her all of my attention.

"Okay, you may continue," I said lightheartedly, and she gave me a small smile before sighing quietly.

"I don't know, I just think that I might try something different," she clarified. "I was thinking of focusing on my dad's studies, you know? There's a lot of stuff he didn't get chance to publish before died and I just– I thought it might be nice to decipher it all somehow."

Layla hadn't mentioned her father since she'd told me about his death, and it wasn't something I brought up because I wasn't sure if it was appropriate. Right now though, as she spoke of him, I felt honoured that she trusted me with this. But I also felt guilty because it reminded me of how she had to lose him and I couldn't be there for her.

"That sounds like a good idea," I said softly, offering her a small smile, but it was halfhearted. She leaned back on the bench, and I couldn't help but say, "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you lost him."

Lifting her eyebrows, she looked to me. "Y/N, that wasn't your fault. You couldn't help it."

I frowned, shaking my head and looking down momentarily. "Still. I wish I could have been there for you. I don't like the thought of you having to have gone through it alone."

"I had your mum," she assured me, and I looked up to see her nodding. "She was kind to me. Always is, but especially then. I just... I know I should be used to it, to him being gone and to his death, but it makes me more angry than it does sad. He was murdered for doing his job and it isn't fair. I just want to keep his legacy alive somehow."

Acting instinctively, I rested my hand on hers, squeezing it gently and earning her attention.

"It's not fair, you're right," I agreed, "but what you're doing, and what you'll do, is amazing. You'll keep his legacy alive and create your own, too, Layla. I know you will."

A sweet smile fell on her lips as she met my gaze. "Thank you. For believing in me."

If only she knew I always would.

"Anytime, Layla," I settled with, returning her smile.

My favourite thing about her was the way her eyes would sparkle in the light, the brown appearing golden, even in the dark, and that's what they were doing right now. I couldn't help but get distracted again, my gaze drifting down the slope of her nose, the dip of her cupid's bow, the dimple in her cheek, the freckles dusting her skin, the softness of her lips...

She never looked more beautiful than when she was confident in herself, just like right now. And I so badly wanted to lean forward and kiss her. I missed her – her taste, her touch, being with her – even though she'd been with me this whole time. I'd made so much progress in accepting my new life these past few months, but it was as if that all went down the drain as soon as I looked at her. Really looked at her.

It wasn't fair that I had to lose everything and start over. It wasn't fair that I couldn't just lean forward and close the gap between us. It wasn't fair.

Suddenly, I let go of her hand, the absence of warmth as noticeable as the hurt in my expression.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked, dipping her head to find my eyes, but I was afraid of what I'd do next if I looked at her, so I simply stood up and dusted myself off.

"Yeah, I'm good," I assured her. "We should head back though. It's getting late."

She nodded and stood up, too, joining me in walking back to her car. My thoughts were running a million miles a second, my heart following a similar pattern in my chest. I wasn't sure why this was any different to the time I'd spent with her thus far, but it was. My whole body was hurting, physical and undeniable pain, from not being able to be with her in the way that I wanted. I thought being friends could be enough, but it wasn't. I was in love with her. I always had been.

The car ride home was quiet, awkward because I'd made it that way, but I wasn't going to pretend I was okay when I wasn't. Layla asked me several times if I was and I had to lie, telling her I was just tired, when deep down my eyes were burning from trying not to cry at my whole situation. It hurt too much to just be friends, and I was beginning to think that not having her in my life at all would be easier.

When she finally reached my mum's house, she turned the engine off and paused, clearly about to say something. But I wasn't sure I could take sitting in her car anymore, so I mumbled a quick goodnight and got out like the vehicle was on fire.

"Y/N, wait," she said, but I'd already shut the door and began walking to the front door. Surprisingly, she got out the car and called my name again, but I ignored her.

I came to a halt halfway to the door when she ran in front of me, stopping me from going any further. She had a confused yet concerned expression on her face, eyes flickering over me to try and figure out what was wrong.

"What?" I said, staring at her through glassy eyes.

Her lips were pressed together into a frown. "What did I do wrong?"

I swallowed hard, my own frown appearing when I saw the worry in her eyes. I blinked, a tear rolling down my cheek, and shook my head apologetically.

"I can't do this anymore," I told her, knowing what I needed to do.

She didn't look away. "What? Do what?"

I took a small step back, motioning between us. "This. Us. I can't keep pretending that being your friend is enough, Layla, that is doesn't fucking hurt every time I'm with you."

"I don't understand," she said, taking a step forward and reaching out towards me, but I stepped further away. "Y/N, please, just–"

"No! I can't," I said, shaking my head quickly. "It's not fair.

She searched my eyes for an answer. "Y/N."

I met her gaze, the ache in my chest growing stronger. "I'm in love with you, Layla," I admitted, the tears running free. "I never stopped. And I know I may seem like I'm being ungrateful or childish or whining, but I don't care. Nothing changed for me. I can't not be in love with you. And I can't keep pretending that it doesn't break my heart that I can't be with you anymore. It's not fucking fair, okay? I lost five years of my life and I lost you. It's not–" I sucked up a breath, looking away from her. "It's not fair. And I can't pretend it is. So, I don't want it anymore. We shouldn't– we shouldn't see each other anymore."

I could feel her eyes boring into me and it made me feel exposed before her. It was probably a mistake telling her the truth, but it had to be done because my heart was crumbling the longer I pretended.

"I'm sorry," she finally spoke, and I glanced at her for a split second to see her own eyes tearing up, breaking my heart. I never wanted to upset her. "I didn't know this was hurting you, Y/N. That was never my intention."

"It doesn't matter," I said with a hoarse voice. "I know you've got your life. And I know I'm ten steps behind that. You grew up, I didn't. You've changed and I haven't. I understand that. I just can't handle it."

"No, wait," she stopped me. "Y/N, I don't think that."

I clenched my jaw, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. "You don't need to explain, Layla. I just– I'm gonna go."

As I tried to sidestep her and walk away, she grabbed my wrist and tugged me back, making me freeze at the contact.

"Please, just let me speak," she said with a pleading voice, and all I could think about was the burning of my skin where her hand touched my wrist.

"What?" I muttered, reluctantly lifting my eyes to meet hers.

Her dark ones were filled with tears, flickering between mine, saying a million different things and also nothing at all. My heart was caught in my throat as I waited an eternity for her to speak. But then she did something else instead.

She kissed me.

Her hands cupped my neck, tugging me close as she pressed her lips to mine, and I fell into her with no hesitation. I'd missed her so much; the feeling of her lips against mine, the warmth she radiated, the tenderness of her hands on my skin – I'd missed it all way more than I realised. So much, in fact, that when she pulled away slightly, tears were rolling down my cheeks uncontrollably.

"I miss you so much," she mumbled against my lips, eyes still closed. "I should have told you sooner. I just– I thought things would be different. I thought I was different. And you needed a friend. But I was wrong. I–"

I rested my forehead against hers, screwing my eyes shut. "I miss you, too."

She exhaled softly with relief, her breath fanning my face. "I only want you, Y/N."

I lifted my hand to the back of her neck. "You always had me, Layla. Always will."

She smiled sadly, nodding, before closing the gap between us again, capturing my lips in a short, salty kiss.

"Don't go," she murmured once she pulled apart and put her head into my shoulder. "Please. I can't lose you again."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, pulling her close and hugging her tightly. "Not again," I promised her, kissing the side of her head. "Not if I can help it."

She nodded into my neck, and I felt a dampness on my shirt when I realised she was crying, too. I didn't let go of her, simply standing there in the dark, clutching her like she'd get torn away from me at any second.

I was never letting her go again.

#marvel #marvel imagine #mcu #mcu imagine #layla el faouly x you #layla el faouly x reader #layla el faouly #scarlet scarab #moon knight imagine #moon knight #may calamawy

[starryjeekies]

~ Comfortable ~

Pairing: oh yejun x gn!reader

Genre: fluff

Summary: your life with your best friend has been easy going and comfortable. the routine you two have has made you content in life. your usual late night talk goes a different direction when yejun asks you a question.

Warnings: none!

Words: 1.6k

A/N: hello! this was a request I got in my box a while ago and finally got out of my writers block enough to be able to try and clear it out! this is just a little yejun blurb I thought of and decided to write out. it’s not proofread so if there are mistakes let me know. my requests are open! happy reading ^^

Things had been comfortable for a while. There weren’t many parts of your routine that you didn’t find enjoyable. Sure work could be a drag at times, but you always found a little bit of meaning in what you did most days. What you did before and after work was what made you prepare and forget about the more stressful parts. There was always a cup of warm tea or coffee that would get you ready for the day ahead. Stretching your body out so you can be ready for whatever comes at you. Once you were home, there was the lovely comfort of your place and the familiar smells of your air sensor spraying your favorite scent. There also usually was a lovely mop of curly brown hair waiting for you on your couch.

Yejun had been a best friend of yours for years. You had met him through your classmate, his older sister, when you had done a group project one time and ended up becoming closer to him than her. He would start asking you for help with homework instead of her because she was “annoying” but you figured it out pretty quickly because he enjoyed your company. You two understood each other and what made your atmosphere comfortable. So you had been there for him when he had auditioned for E Ent. and got in. You were there for him when he was put on a diet but the staff didn’t realize he has a fast metabolism so you would buy him snacks and eat them together whenever you got together. He was there for you when you joined university and when you graduated.

Today was no different when you walk in the door and see him lying on the couch with some fried chip food in his hand, watching your TV. “Well good evening to you.”

“Hello there, took you long enough.” He turns his head to you slightly, stuffing his mouth. “Thought I would need to call the police and report you missing.”

“I’m only ten minutes late than when I usually get home.” You huff, kicking your shoes off and putting your coat on the hook. “It’s Friday, it’s going to be busy.”

“Well now we can cook dinner.” He says, shutting off the TV and getting up from his spot.

“We? You mean I cook and you keep me company?” You laugh at his joke, not minding that you cook because he always cleans.

“If that’s how you want to put it.” He shrugs, walking into the kitchen to find something to make.

You change into your comfortable clothes and go back into the same routine as you have before. You make dinner, talk about your day while you eat, clean up, and move onto your balcony to look at the little park that’s in the middle of your complex. Now that it’s getting chilly, you pass him the hoodie he stashes at your place while getting cozy in your own blanket. There’s someone who is jogging down the concrete path. Another person is walking their dog with a little coat on. It’s serene and peaceful and there’s no need to force conversation between you two.

“The boys keep asking about you.” He mentions.

You chuckle and glance at him. “Oh really? It has been a while since we hung out. Hasn’t been since Dark Dream promotions ended, right?”

“With everyone, yeah. So maybe I have to bring you around soon so they stop pestering me.” He smirks, knowing his friends adore you.

“I’m surprised that they pester you. You are their baby after all.” You joke.

“You pester me.”

“You’re not my baby.”

“Wow, wow, okay now I’m hurt.” He feigns his pain, clutching his chest.

“What, do you want to be my baby?” You lean back in your seat and stare at him, feeling how different it is to call him “baby” and not in a teasing way.

“Don’t make it weird.�� He waves you off and he hides his face from you. “I can’t have you insinuating we should date too.”

A slight wave of shock comes over you, realizing what he means. “Wait, your bandmates want us to date? That’s suspicious.”

“I know, right?” He exclaims, his brown eyes locking on the small fountain in the center of the park. “They think because I talk about you, I have a crush on you.”

“Well, how do you talk about me?” You wonder, wanting to know what he says. “It has to be how you talk about me that gives them that idea.”

“Nothing too out of the ordinary.” He shrugs, not getting what his friends mean. “I will update them about you, make sure that I make it to your place for dinner twice a week whenever I don’t have schedules, I pay you back for whatever you feed me.”

Trying to look at it objectively, that does sound like things someone would do for their crush. Again, a lot of things that you two do seem like things a couple would do now that you’re thinking about it. “I can see it.”

“Not you too!” He groans, going back to hiding his face.

“Now wait, let me make my case.” You start, trying to keep him from shutting you out. “You’re an introvert, you’ve got maybe one or two other friends besides me that you hang out with but you come to see me the most. So it makes sense that the one person you hang out with the most besides them looks like a romantic interest.”

He’s quiet for a moment, then lets out a sigh. “I guess I can understand it now.”

“It’s not a bad thing, it just shows how close we are.” Your chest burns lightly, feeling a small sense of awkwardness set in. Sure, you and Yejun still have awkward moments; neither of you two talk about your feelings all too often unless they’re overwhelming and you need each other. So talking about romance with each other is foreign.

“Could you even see us dating?”

The question shocks you a lot, wondering where this is now coming from. Something stirs in your gut, a former feeling you’ve had in the past. You shrug, not really knowing how to answer it. “I mean, knowing us, it wouldn’t be that much more different than how we are now.”

“How so?” He sounds curious now, wanting to pick apart your words.

“I don’t know, like, we already put our full trust in each other, care about each other, have dinner, talk about our lives and what we want to do with each other in mind. I’m the only person you do skinship with. If you think about it, the only thing that is missing is feeling attracted to each other.”

He goes back to being quiet which isn’t abnormal. If he has his answer, he doesn’t have to probe further. You two go back to your silence for a while before he asks, “Would you want to date?”

“Do you want to date?”

“I asked you first.”

You chuckle, taking a glance at him. His face is serious. You can see underneath the curls on his head that his eyes are focused on you. “I’ve thought about it before. Back when you had just joined E’last, we both started to find ourselves more and grow with each other. I felt special to be part of that with you. I thought about what it would be like to continue to do that.”

Yejun takes in your words, watching you open up little by little to him. “And now?”

“I’ve found comfort where we are.” You smile at him, but see him still be expressionless. “If we want to try dating, I’d be willing to put as much effort into it as you are. Like I said, it might not be as different as we are now. If not then, there’s nothing lost. We can continue one as we are.”

He nods slightly, his eyes glittering in the moonlight. “And if we try?”

Your smile stays on your face as you reach your hand out to him. He slowly takes it and laces your fingers together. Your chest grows warm again, feeling him be vulnerable too. “We can try at your pace. If it works, then it works. If it doesn’t, then we can at least say we tried. Would you want to date?”

“It’s been on my mind recently, but I didn't really know how to bring it up.” He mentions, giving your hand a light squeeze. “So, yeah, that’s kind of why I brought it up.”

“Well I’m glad you did.” His smile finally cracks at that statement, his big grin coming out. “I definitely wouldn’t have brought it up.”

“I wouldn’t have if Rano didn’t push me into it. He says you are, ‘too cute to miss a chance with.’” He states, feeling the awkwardness set in again.

“Wow, so you’re just making sure Rano can’t shoot his shot?”

“No, I’ve been repressing my feelings for you for five months and don’t want him to take away my chance.”

You laugh at him, pulling your chair closer to his. “I get it, I get it. But I’m surprised it only took you five months.”

“Oh you shut up.” He jests, resting his head on top of yours.

The comfortable silence comes over you two again, listening to the sounds of the outside together. Everyone seems to have retired to their homes for the night and you are no different. Eventually, you and Yejun retire inside for the night, ready to binge watch a drama series while cuddling on the couch. While this is normal for you two to do, now there’s another warm layer to add to you two.

#e'last #elast #e'last imagine #elast imagine #e'last blurb #elast blurb #oh yejun #oh yejun blurb #oh yejun imagine #e'last fluff #elast fluff #oh yejun fluff #e'last yejun #elast yejun #fluff #imagine #blurb #this was cute

[amarantine-amirite]

Mall Rats

I had a difficult time making new friends. The prevailing message of the media landscape was "don't get bullied because there's no way out" made me not trust people.

I'm not joking; it was everywhere. Tales of kids killing themselves because of bullying dominated the news. Celebrities, schools and companies would spout "it gets better" despite bullying victims rarely surviving past the age of 16. Worse still, therapists told bullied kids that they were helpless under a capitalist system to get them to join whatever nefarious plot they cooked up.

Surprisingly enough, I struggled to make new friends because I didn't have my parent's help. Most kids make friends through their parents. Jimmy becomes friends with Reba because Jimmy's mom is friends with Reba's mom. I had to find friends myself because my autism isolated my parents, something that was hard to do because my social skills were so stunted.

I managed to befriend a couple of kids. Sandi and Paetynn were both in drama club and they took in Emily roughly the same time I met them. Emily was one of those types of people that was afraid of literally everything. try to think of the most innocuous thing you can, and she'd be afraid of it.

I figured they were harmless. They weren't popular and they took in two people who struggled to socialize. I was wrong.

Paetynn decided that our friend group had a new rule: we had to have our ears pierced, no exceptions. Sandi and Paetynn already had theirs done, so nothing changed for them. The only change for me was having to wear earrings on a regular basis. I didn't because the only earrings safe to wear in shop class were banned under the dress code. Emily didn't have her ears pierced and she was terrified to get pierced.

"That looks like it could be a creepypasta, and you say you feel OK with it?" Emily quirked an eyebrow.

Sandi chuckled. "Your definition of creepypasta is laughably loose, Em." She said in a mocking tone.

Paetynn chimed in. "I could see where you're coming from if it was somebody like Claire's. But this place is a legit cosmetologist."

"Yeah," I nodded, "It was the place I had mine done." In fact, that was part of the reason why I picked this place. Paetynn made me book the appointment.

Paetynn shook her head with a teasing grin. "Exactly. Judy got her ears pierced here. You have no excuses."

As we approached the entrance to the mall, Emily's heart raced. We soon learned that it wasn't the prospect of getting her ears pierced that made her nervous. It was the hard, shiny walkway that sent shivers down her spine.

"Now, what's the problem?" Sandi rolled her eyes.

Emily pointed to the walkway. "I hate hard shiny floors" she said breathlessly.

Mind you, I get why people get them. Hard shiny floors look good. Hard shiny floors are easy to clean. "What the hell is your problem with the floor?" Paetynn demanded. She lost her patience with Emily.

Emily stood there, looking at Sandi while she ranted, "Hard shiny floors are the perfect catalyst for a brain injury. You can find them everywhere in public places; they are slippery and hard. It's even worse outside because if there's any weather, it's like walking on a skating rink." She tried to run back to the taxi loop, but she slipped on the walkway.

We soon saw what she was talking about.

She didn't hit her head on the ground and split her skull open. Instead, she went for a ride that ended in a 13 foot drop into a sinkhole.

The fall caused her to sprain both ankles. She also landed in a pile of huge rats. She couldn't scream because she didn't want them to jump into her mouth. One of the rats bit her.

Paetynn and Sandi's laughter rang out. "It's not funny! It's traumatic!" Emily protested in a wounded tone. None of us could see it, but I could feel her slowly burst into tears.

Paetynn tried to stifle her laughter, but it bubbled out despite her efforts. "I'm sorry, but that's funny," she managed to say between chuckles.

I walked away. That moment made me realize that I needed new friends.

@witterprompts

#Writing #writers #writers on tumblr #short fiction #short story

[outeremissary]

!! (a surprise for you :))

A surprise indeed, haha. As usual, this was how I discovered I had posted something. This was uhh. Not my most prepared night for it.

Hmm... I guess this will just be random rambling, and I don't have any nice, new art for this, so it's going to all be old art that's mostly not colored (lot of it is years old and I hadn't uhhh figured out the color thing). Anyway, Caina Lilindel, the ghost who haunts this blog and I am geased to have as my pfp forever.

First the meta notes: Caina was a grugach (mechanically wood elf- the UA for grugach hadn't been released yet) rogue inquisitive I played in a Curse of Strahd game that ran from 2017 to 2020. He was loosely based on a side character from an abandoned project I worked on periodically during my first year of university (which was then loosely inspired by something in VtM, but that's not important), and I made him as a quick, edgy character who I wouldn't mind dying because the DM was very adamant that the first area was a meat grinder and we might TPK. He survived though, and I was left to play my joke concept straight. And then I got really into that. Really, really into that.

Caina was a secretive exile who had been wandering the world alone for almost three decades at the start of the game. He was sharp-tongued and abrasive, never willing to help anyone for free. He hated risk but easily plunged into recklessness at the behest of emotions he made only the barest efforts to keep in check. He was always pushing away those who might befriend him, and every time someone responded to his vulnerability with kindness he recoiled as if they could burn him- or as if he would burn them. He hated being touched but yearned for intimacy. He killed without a second thought but argued passionately against dealing out further death. He was an absolutely wretched liar on the occasion he tried, and in moments of peace he was an excellent cook and unfailingly kind to children. His primary hobbies were card games and reading unimaginably trashy novels- he was the only member of the party who recognized van Richten, and that was because he was a longtime fan of a horribly prolific series of pulp thrillers based on van Richten's adventures. He had a way of following those he respected or cared about as if starstruck- he never knew what to do with his feelings. And despite his own tendency to break his word or bail on things he could never recover from anything he felt was betrayal. I always loved the combination of vulnerability and prickliness.

(backstory summary that got ahead of me ahead. and this. isn't even everything.)

Caina was born in a small semi-nomadic community in a hilly land and lived his early life without ever straying from his home. Life moved slowly and quietly there, the circular turning of seasons the only visible mark of the gentle passage of time in a community of near immortals. He was one of very few children and the spacing between the youths of the community was easily such that a child could be the only in their age group all their young life until reaching the more even ground of adulthood. But Caina was fortunate. There was another child his age in his home: a boy born the very same year as him, timing so close that the two were often called twins. That boy was Avél, Caina's best friend, constant companion, and the first person to lose his life at Caina's hands.

Caina was a quiet, diligent child who always went along with everything his more outgoing friend wanted to do. From a young age they shared the same dreams of adventure and tale-worthy glory far from home- although Caina would never be able to say if heroic legends had always set his heart racing or if this dream too was simply following Avél. He was known as a sweet child, one constantly fretted over and sheltered by his mother, who feared for a son who had been born sickly, and his grandmother (the family matriarch), who was intent on raising an eldest son who would be useful to his family. He would have duties when he aged, his grandmother knew: to his parents, to his grandparents, to his cousins, and if the Most Revered was good, to a sister who could pass down the name of the family to another generation. It wasn't for eldest sons or only sons to stuff their heads full of fairy tales and stray.

In contrast to quiet Caina, Avél was a troublemaker and a free spirit. He was never one to be confined by a rule if he could challenge it, and as a second son with no sister who would one day rely on him to keep the house for her, Avél's life had a certain openness to it. His tricks and disappearances were met with gentle scolding but never with restriction. He could imagine any future ahead of him, could dream of danger and distant lands, of anything in the world he desired. Anything he wished for might be his. And what he wished for was to be taken under the wing of the gruff old huntress Siyir. Siyir had been further afield than any of the others who wore the title of ranger. She had gone well beyond simply charting the movements of the community or passing messages between the pockets of the grugach people or brokering trade deals. Siyir had slain a griffin. She had descended into human lands, had seen mountains that spat fire and waters that spanned the horizon. She was Avél's vision: a legend who had stepped through campfire flames to stand in the mundane material world. And of course, this meant that Caina worshiped her too.

So the stage of life was set. Two boys, near opposites in every way, but each the other's closest confidante and the mirror of his own experiences- or perhaps less a mirror than a shadow and the bright thing that cast it. Avél pulled Caina out of his shell and into new experiences. He supplied dreams enough for two and invented adventures to match. There was an awe that Avél inspired in Caina. He wanted to nurture passion that could match his friend's to more truly inhabit their shared dreams. He wanted skills to match Avél's natural athleticism and way with words. It gave him a hunger to keep up, to learn, to know, to show that he too was equal. But nothing he did ever seemed to bring the two of them even. His boldness crumpled under caution, his hesitance and appeals to the wisdom of elders earning him affectionate teasing as a stick in the mud. He could never run as fast or far as Avél or climb as high or win tussles between them without tricks that brought out whines of "no fair! do it right!" The skills Caina learned alone bored Avél. Cooking was dull and far beneath a legend, Avél insisted. Wayfinding was useful but too much work- Caina was the smart one, so he could take care of it, couldn't he? And the runes of a seldom used writing system (taught to Caina by the community's shaman) were entertaining only for an afternoon or two- he laughed when Caina asked later if he'd been practicing them, and Caina's ears burned with shame for finding them so fascinating in the first place.

With age came a sharper sense of the distance between them. Avél was the golden child of the community, Caina his keeper. When Avél broke his arm falling out of a tree on a forbidden excursion it was worth a day's scolding that quickly melted into doting and repetition of the grand tale of his adventure for months, while Caina was reprimanded for allowing Avél to hurt himself and then quickly forgotten as more than a timid accessory to Avél. Siyir took interest in Avél, but Caina quickly realized had little in him: she hardly acknowledged Caina when she spoke to the two of them together, and she had a way of only offering things when Caina wasn't around. And Avél, for his part, hardly seemed to protest surprise hunting trips at dawn or archery advice when Caina was unavailable. He always shared what he learned afterwards, but no matter how many times Caina asked for Avél to bring him along the next time there was always an excuse when that next time came around. Suspicion set in that his friend was hoarding time with the huntress to himself. And when the changes of puberty began Avél grew taller and filled out better. His features emerged from teen acne as defined and handsome, new edges to his face only making the soft twinkle in his eyes seem brighter and the creases of his smile kinder. Caina stayed spindly and awkward. It was painfully clear that strength would never come to him naturally, and without it a slight edge of grace didn't feel like much. He began to distance himself from Avél to have time to hone skills his friend had and he felt he lacked. But it was never enough to do more than keep up. Just to keep up, and hope desperately that Avél's aimless talent would one day lose to training.

And then Caina's mother gave birth to a daughter, and Caina was too old to miss the meaning of the event. The first brother's duty was to his sister- to be a part of her household more constant than a partner, for those were fluid and often changed over the long turning of the decades, and more vigorous than a mother, who would one day be claimed by the years. To share in her generation and her legacy. Caina would go from a childhood sidekick to Avél to a supporting character in the tale of Cailo. There would be no breath for his own story, his own adventures. Like that he added Avél's freedom to the endless list of envies.

Yet Avél, in his careless optimistic way, never acknowledged the change. They still had the same dreams, the same loves, the same life. Even as Avél spent more time with Siyir as Caina helped care for his baby sister Avél danced around it. Any time the future was questioned Avél suddenly had a new story that needed telling immediately or somewhere to go or something that needed doing. And sometimes he simply laughed and pushed it away.

In the midst of this stormy sea of adolescence, Siyir decided to take an apprentice.

The decision wasn't an announcement, but a challenge. The ranger let it be known to all of the youths that she would take on whichever best passed a series of tests she set. Worth, she said, was the only way to decide who was fit to carry a legacy like hers. And that worth superseded all else: she would take her chosen apprentice and no other, and it was known without ever being said that likewise nothing could take her chosen from her.

Worth.

Worth.

Caina knew all her skills secondhand, but had practiced them to the best perfection he could imagine. He knew the one who would ultimately be the only true competitor inside and out. Siyir had never seen him, but he could make her. He would show her that he was worthy.

He matched Avél in every test. He could shoot, he could hunt, he could track, he could pitch a camp of his own. He was still Avél's superior when it came to navigation, even if his friend had improved. The few other challengers quickly proved half-hearted and dropped out. It was only Caina and Avél, just like it had always been.

The night before Siyir's last test, Caina returned home late. He had gone out to gather herbs for the shaman, Galen, and been sidetracked by the urge to practice one last thing. When he passed by Siyir's dwelling, he caught the sound of a familiar voice that gave him pause: his grandmother was in Siyir's home.

He crept closer, and the conversation became clearer. His grandmother was asking what she was meant to do if Caina won the contest. Who would be there for Cailo? Was their family simply to dwindle, plagued by foolish wanderlust and misfortune? Caina could hear in his mind Siyir's counterargument: that many daughters grew up alone, that Cailo didn't want for cousins who could help her, that their father was still with them and far from old. That one son was an acceptable concession for a woman who had once shot a griffin from the sky. That maybe Cailo didn't want her legacy either.

But Siyir said none of those things.

"Avél is my apprentice." It wasn't her usual brusque tone. It was a reassurance, a gentle correction. "I just couldn't let it get to the boy's fool head by letting him have that without a little fight."

Every semblance of hope evaporated. He hardly remembered the rest of the night- only the listless dreams that tore at him whenever he tried to rest. He was trapped in a haze.

He was still in that haze when he rose before dawn and found Avél.

They walked out and away from the early spring camp, Avél chattering all the way and glancing over here and there at Caina with something that sometimes looked like relief and other times looked like guilt. Caina was quiet for the most part. He smiled and nodded and urged Avél on. Once or twice he laughed. It was so easy to slip into familiar patterns while following familiar paths. By the time they reached the cliff over the falls, the light made it clear that despite the lingering morning mist dawn was well behind them.

Many years before, a lone long-branched pine growing at the edge of the falls had fallen. The reason was unknown- no one had been around to see it go- but now it lingered in death as persistently as it had in life, laying its lattice of branches out across the open air to form a precarious bridge from one side of the gorge to the other. Mist from the falls left it permanently slick, and between the spring rains and the snowmelt still trickling down the surging falls had crept in precariously close.

When they were younger, they had often talked about crossing it. Avél had take a few steps out, falls plunging down on one side and open air on the other, and Caina managed a half step before begging Avél to come back. "Next time I'll do it," Avél always laughed.

"What do you say- for old time's sake?"

To hear the proposal come from Caina stopped Avél dead. His laughter wasn't the familiar bell of joy. It cracked at the edges- nerves, perhaps, or surprise.

"As if I could say no."

And Avél stepped forward, hesitating a moment at the edge. His eyes flicked to Caina and his mouth hardened into a thin smile. He took his first step onto the trunk. A few steps later, Caina followed.

Looking back, Caina was never sure what he had wanted from that morning. It was like a dream, the roaring falls eating the sound of the world around them and the mists swallowing everything outside that tiny expanse and the figure of his friend.

Somewhere near the center, Avél stopped. He turned and shouted something. Caina read the words on his lips: Let's go back.

Avél was moving his feet, trying to reposition to walk back, when the dreadful inevitable happened. In the blink of an eye he had gone from upright to clinging to one of the branches jutting out from the edge of the trunk below. There was no thought when Caina rushed forward recklessly, bracing himself against one of the more solid branches as he grabbed a slick hand just in time as his beloved friend's support cracked and fell away, useless. Avel dangled at Caina's mercy, clinging with both hands onto Caina's arm as he struggled to find a foothold to pull himself up.

In this moment of nightmare, lucidity returned.

Caina would never be able to say why he brought his friend to the falls. He didn't know why he challenged him at their stupidest, most dangerous childhood game. He didn't know why he followed so close, never allowing Avél the space to turn around. All coincidence. All error. None of it conscious. None of it him.

But he could never forget the moment he chose to let go.

If Avél screamed, Caina never heard. The falls swallowed the sound greedily. In the constant roar of white noise, it seemed like Avél was as silent as a shadow, and when he disappeared into the mist below he became every bit as transient.

There were searches, of course. There was weeping. And finally there was blame. Caina hadn't planned the crime, and only began to hide it too late. Put before the gods in all of Galen's power, he cracked. He had believed like a fool that he had hated Avél. Now as its target he understood what true hate was. Yet for all that, there wasn't heart in a community that couldn't remember ever having an execution to kill another so soon after their loss. No one could remember the curse ever being used either, but Galen knew it all the same.

It was with nothing but the clothes on his back and a new fear of death that Caina left the home he had been cast out of. The brand of defilement burned on his hand, the angry red scar weeks from true healing. Cast out from his home, from all kin, from the sight of the gods themselves, who had sealed his exile with the cursed brand. The legend he had made for himself was one of misery. And beyond its edge, only wandering without rest- always running from the guilt carved into skin and soul.

#I'm sorry this is so so long he's been on my brain lately actually #I am once more ruminating on his life and his world #the caina family tree is Real and very interesting to me because he was actually raised in his paternal grandmother's household #instead of his maternal grandmother's (much more common) #his mother was adopted into his father's family because there hadn't been any daughters in over two hundred years #and it was a source of great anxiety for his grandmother. she had a son and male cousins and nephews #but sons and male cousins and nephews aren't enough. they give support but not legacy. and they wander off if you have too many. #but there was always tension having someone else's daughter in the household #I did not mention galen at all. or hino. or cailo. I'm sorry to have not gotten to talk about any of those three. #I had already gotten Too Sidetracked by lineage and was trying to focus it down!! so siyir was most important #I developed some mythology as well for this. by the end I uhh. don't think that what I was working with resembled my source material at all #my corellon larethian was fun though #I'm going to REALLY regret this in the morning #which is. hm. three hours from now #ask game #ask me emithing #caina lilindel #userharps