#without her help this set probably wouldn't even exist

[professional-yapper]

Proximity pt. 3

Neteyam x Olangi! Reader

Warnings: awkwardness, more denial, pretending certain things didn't happen, Neteyam is STRESSED, reader is homesick and anxious af, Omaticaya girls hating on her cause they want Neteyam (who could blame them), Lo'ak is Lo'ak

Neteyam didn't know what he'd done wrong. He'd been pacing the floor of the hut you two were supposed to share, to live in together forever in less than a week, vaguely aware of the fact that he was probably going to wear a hole in the floor if he kept this up but decided he had bigger problems to worry about.

Like how you hadn't spoken to him beyond a few words, ducking your head, letting your braids cover your face every time so he couldn't see your expression, since he'd kissed you.

Had you not liked it? You'd said you didn't mind, but... maybe he'd misread the whole thing. Maybe he'd scared you off for good by kissing you after barely a few days of knowing you.

He couldn't help himself. You'd just looked so good, standing there with the sunlight bringing a warmth to you that he'd never seen before, with that starry look in your eyes like all your worries about the impending union had been wiped away. By him.

Or, at least, the home he'd built for you.

Even if you hadn't spoken to him in what felt like weeks, the hut was still rich with your presence in sweet, subtle ways.

Neteyam searched for them now, eyes flicking about the room like a child scrambling for a security toy. He found himself doing this often, in the same order, whenever he was stressed. It had been subconscious at first, then grew into an unshakeable habit.

First, your cloak, hung neatly on a peg near the entrance, smelling even now, albeit faintly, of dry grass and direhorse.

Secondly, a few small pots of paint. You'd use it for your ceremonial paint for the union. But for now it remained untouched, sitting on one of the shelves. Waiting.

The wind chimes. Your wind chimes, now, really. They'd confused you at first, but even on days without wind, now, you'd set them going with a simple brush of the fingers as they passed by.

A half-carved direhorse. You'd been making wooden animals for Tuk lately, possessing a talent for woodcarving even Jake or Neytiri couldn't rival. But you hadn't finished this one for some reason, and so there it sits on the window sill, as it has for weeks now.

Your knife sheath. Tough, practical, like everything else you owned.

Not that you had a lot of things. The Olangi were so minimalistic, which, to Neteyam, seemed something of a miserable existence.

The Omaticaya adored beautiful things, surrounded themselves with them. Pretty trinkets, sparkling stones, colourful, intricate clothes...

Neteyam wanted to share all of that with you. He didn't even know if you wanted anything to do with the Omaticaya culture and way of life, but he knew he wanted to share it with you. Badly.

But you wouldn't even look at him.

Neteyam sighed, stepping in the middle of the hut, clasping his hands over the back of his neck as he looked at your few belongings, wondering if he'd rushed things, ruined it all, ruined what could have been a perfectly good union.

Meanwhile, across the village, you were having your own problems. Well, you didn't have a problem. But the slender, rich blue Omaticaya girls adorned in pretty, delicate clothes approaching you seemed to.

"You're the Olangi, right?" the girl at the forefront asked with a smile.

"Yes," you said, brow furrowing in confusion as they drew nearer, though they seemed a little wary of your direhorse, your precious Akicita, who was quite a bit bigger than the Omaticaya direhorses and nowhere near as gentle.

Well, he behaved for you, but you'd been with him from almost his birth. You were all he knew, and now more than ever, since you'd brought him to this strange place with no familiarity to it whatsoever.

"Did you need something?" you began, turning from Akicita to face them fully. "Only I'm busy, I-"

You were busy. You knew brushing them off probably wouldn't endear yourself to the Omaticaya further, but you were.

With bomb-proofing Akicita, that is.

There were a lot of new distractions and things to scare or startle him. You didn't want any accidents, so you spent your morning walking and riding him alternately around camp, introducing him to everything.

"Neteyam will never love you," the same girl said, interrupting you, her words punctuated by her friends' laughter.

You kept your expression carefully impassive, and turned back to Akicita, stroking his shoulder to calm him as he stamped his hoof, shaking his big head unhappily as he felt the hurt strike through you. "I know," you said, voice taut with the effort of not snapping at them for having the audacity to even speak to you about such things. "What is it to you? You have an even lesser chance of winning his affections than I do."

She looked like she'd been slapped.

You'd only spoken the truth, so you couldn't even begin to imagine why she then hissed at you, causing Akicita to whinny, trying to bully his way between you and them.

"You are nothing to him, just a-" she began in a voice that was unsteady with false brightness, only to be cut off.

"Just a what?" a familiar voice piped up, and the equally familiar form of Lo'ak entered your vision as he ducked under Akicita's head to stand next to you, nudging the direhorse out of the way fearlessly.

Lo'ak and Akicita had taken a liking to each other for reasons you couldn't decipher. Neteyam said it was because they were both troublemakers.

Damn. You'd been trying not to think of him. After the kiss and everything... You'd barely been able to look him in the eye. What kind of Olangi were you, to throw yourself so shamelessly at him like that? You were a disgrace, plain and simple. He'd been the one to kiss you, but you didn't have to be so pathetic about it.

It made you dizzy just thinking about it.

"Go on," Lo'ak encouraged, bouncing on the balls of his feet, eyes bright as he stared at the girls. "My brother's future mate is just a what?"

She hissed at him too, but her friends withdrew, melting back into the village like they'd never been there, clearly not wanting to square up to the second son of Toruk Makto. She had no choice but to go too, casting you a nasty look over her shoulder.

Lo'ak shrugged, then turned and gave you a lopsided smile. "They're bitches."

You repeated the unfamiliar word back to him, though it felt clumsy in your mouth. It must be English. Neteyam had told you their father had taught them a little. Damn. You had to stop thinking of him.

It did nobody any good, not you or him. You'd made a silly mistake, blinded by the allure of your first kiss and him, and you shouldn't have kissed him. You were supposed to wait.

Not that that was the way of all Olangi, but you were the youngest child of the olo'eyktan. You couldn't just go around kissing people like that.

"Hey," Lo'ak said, giving your shoulder a shake. "You okay? Breathe, bro. You look like you're about to pass out."

"I'm fine," you managed, shaking your head.

He shrugged again. "If you say so." He seemed uncomfortable for a second, looking at you intently. Then he spoke again. "I don't actually like you all that much, y'know?"

You blinked slowly, absorbing that. Then you mimicked his shrug. "No one seems to around here." You turned back to Akicita, feeling like crying, which you hadn't for years. How could you, when you had been so happy?

You missed your home. No one had ever insulted you there. You were with people you loved and who loved you.

"Hey, no, wait, I'm not done," Lo'ak rushed out, following after you as you took ahold of Akicita, leading him away. "I don't like you, but my brother does. So why have you been ignoring him? He's really upset about it."

You raised your eyes skyward, asking the Great Mother for patience. "We kissed," you said bluntly, slowing your walk to let Lo'ak catch up.

His eyes went wide. "Wow! Really?"

"I have brought shame upon myself and my family by throwing myself at him so shamelessly," you continued in a monotone.

The way Lo'ak tilted your head told you he had no clue what was so shameful about it.

"We must be joined before the eyes of the Great Mother before we can... kiss," you explained, curling your lip and baring your fangs at him in exasperation. "And everything else."

"Dumb," Lo'ak announced loudly, clasping his hands behind his back as he walked alongside you. "We don't do that. You can kiss him if you want. You don't have to be mates to kiss someone."

"You have to where I'm from," you sighed. "And I did want to kiss him. I still want to."

Lo'ak's nose scrunched, brow furrowing. "Ew. You can keep that to yourself."

You rolled your eyes and shoved him. "Are you trying to help or trying to make things worse?"

"I'm not making it worse. You're making it worse by not talking to anyone except your giant fuckin' horse," he pointed out.

He was right, and you hated that. "How was I supposed to know the cultural differences ran so deep? I thought Neteyam would be ashamed too! That he would not want to see me!"

"Eywa, you're stupid. He's giving you space," Lo'ak huffed at you, tail lashing out and hitting you smartly on the back. "Just talk to him. Please. He's so depressed. It's driving everyone crazy."

"You are truly annoying," you said, hitting him back across the leg with the flat of your tail. "Fine. I will talk to him. And then we will kiss." The last part was just to annoy Lo'ak more, and he wrinkled his nose again, shoving you.

"Bro, shut up!" he laughed.

Taglist: @luvv4j4ybe11 @ikeyniofthetayrangi

@ikeyniofthetayrangi @rivatar @lunamochii

@mochamochimoch1015 @oakbuggy

some people who wanted to see part 3 too I couldn't tag, sorry if I missed you 🥺 let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

Also rip to everyone who wanted more fluff, I couldn't resist 👍

Part Four >

#avatar #avatar x reader #atwow #avatar 2 #avatar fanfiction #loak #neteyam #neteyam x reader #tuk #tuktirey #kiri

[pigidin]

OKAY. Am I the only one fascinated by how much Alastor in s1 has interacted with other demons and built a potential for considerable amount of different, broad and unique relationships? With All of them being non-romantic/sexual?

I really don't wanna dive into the discourse of shipping coz honestly, I do think that erasing Al's aroaceness is not cool at all. Personally, I don't see him wishing any romance/sex at all, and well. Considering how platonic he actually is throughout the season, it kinda seems like people forget that friendship (or basically anything non rom-sex) exists in the first place.

Coz, like, let's see what we got::

Vox -- probably one-sided (psychosexual) crush from Vox with possible past friendship between them, them hating on each other yet having (used to have) some respect as well. The ANGST, the drama (for both of sides). Insert aroace troubles (possible aphobia from Vox? Or not? He may be biggest ally as well!) and Vox's petty feelings that are insanely interesting to explore (and laugh at).

Lucifer -- immediate hate that (with a course of events) can turn into forced bonding. The potential of queerplatonic parenting of Charlie is HUGE here. Insecurities from Al? Forced care? Banters? SHENANIGANS? Luci patching up Al after battle, prolly discovering his deal and them slowly bonding on shared interests? Hey.

Rosie -- literal established queerplatonic partners, married for tax benefits, spending their evenings gossiping, hating on Susan and Al rolling his eyes on another romance-rel drama Rosie was trying to help sb with. Rosie can have insane influence on him whether it is understanding modern things or just being with him when he needs it. It also gives off mom/son to me.

Husk -- fucked up master-pet not-friendship with probable care rooted since they were closer in past. Is it toxic? Yes. Is it giving off some problematic dynamic? Sure. Yet it's fucking complex on its core considering pilot, bits and pieces of their interaction and how easily Husk used to insult Al until he overstepped. Them two are quite similar if you think about it and if Al got over his ego it could benefit him a lot.

Niffty -- daugther/father dynamic with them sharing one sadistic-psycho braincell and genuinely enjoying each other's quirks. Protective Al? I just need more Niff and them two being partners in the most outrageous crimes.

Mimzy -- friendship going since they were humans, with them having an amazing (potential) backstory of sharing evenings on two. Al enjoying her company as well as being protective and helpful to her with nothing in return.

Charlie -- manipulated into trusting you as a dad figure? Don't tell me there is nothing below Al's creepy plans or that he wouldn't grow to care for her. He already is proud of her and finds amusement in her inspiration-skills (also, performance is his thing for a reason)

Angel -- I was honestly kinda upset we didn't see any interactions between them except one sex joke, coz my past era of Hunicasts was a fuel to their duo. Them bonding over how different they are is the best description of their dynamic. Also banters and body-puns.

You can't just erase Alastor from interacting with people, but putting him inside boxes of allonormative relationships while he has such a fucking huge potential for everything beyond just that - is quite.. disappointing. People turning a blind eye to a wide variety of relationships he can have (potential to which is set in canon) for the sake of just romance/sex is low key sad.

It's AWESOME to see ppl actually understanding it and.. damn THANKS to everyone who explores Al's relationship with others without it involving final wish to stick tongues into places. Dynamics can be interesting and exciting without it.

I really don't wanna project my romance-aversion onto Al, but when romance and sex is one thing you see everywhere.. it's hard to just let it slip.

You are allowed to do whatever you want, exploring physical intimacy is fun as well, and having Al, well, there are bunch of ways to show it with respecting his orientation and the fact that IT AFFECTS RELATIONSHIPS/ATTRACTIONS but please just don't make it the center of your attention, the one thing relationship revolves around, coz sadly it's just exactly how it looks like from some folks.

#hazbin hotel #aromantic #hazbin hotel alastor #aroace alastor #aromantic alastor #asexual alastor #asexual #radiostatic #onewaybroadcast #radioapple #appleradio #radiorose #radiohusk #radiodust #charlastor #alastor x mimzy #<- as duos/dynamics/nonrom ships #NOT IN SHIP-SHIP WAY #i mostly made this post just to express how MUCH i like the fact that canon explores Al so broadly #im kinda Al multishipper. just. not romantically #it turned into discourse at the end didn't it? #my aro ass is sorry #but not really #i just want more attention to a platonic side of relationship #whoever it is with honestly #and i'm done seeing people almost erasing every single platonic interaction after romantic/sexual ones are introduced #i love ppl being intimate yet remaining platonic tho

[to-thelakes]

I'm watching Moon Knight (again) to help me go to sleep and I've rewatched episode 1 so so many times on nights like tonight but I still absolutely adore all the little details.

Like, okay so when Steven wakes up in the Alps (I think that's where it is), Khonshu says "go to sleep, worm" and okay, first watch and without knowing the context of Jake existing, that makes sense. Khonshu doesn't like Steven which we learn more and more as the series goes on but then he says a few lines later "the idiot's in control" in that same scene in the Alps.

There is such a clear shift in attitude between 'go to sleep, worm' and 'The idiot's in control' and it's so obvious on a rewatch that Khonshu is talking to two different people with each line.

He's referring to Jake as 'worm' and he thinks that telling him to simply 'go back to sleep' would work because Jake is aware of the alters and their situation. Although from the brief glimpses we get of Jake, we know that he is an... interesting guy yet we can gather that he at least has some sort of alliance/respect/something going on with Khonshu. However, when he realises it's Steven, it's not hostility in the same way. It's more exasperated frustration. He's mad at Marc for letting Steven suddenly appear rather than being annoyed at Jake for making a random appearance. The way that the dialogue is written just exposes so much on a rewatch.

But going back to Jake/Khonshu even if they do have some respect, it's also pretty obvious that Khonshu does not want Jake around. I'd speculate that that's probably because if Marc loses time when he knows that he's not in London as Steven, that would create suspicion. Suspicion that Khonshu wouldn't want because that would put their avatar/God relationship at risk.

Though, I also suspect that Khonshu and Jake probably were working together but Marc never became aware because Jake worked at nights (maybe why Steven is so goddamn tired) or simply took over while Marc thought that Steven was in control.

I know that the Moon Knight portrayal is not the most accurate DiD portrayal but from my research, there's this whole idea of like different levels of awareness. Like the blackouts for Steven are because he initially has no awareness of the other alters. Then when Steven and Marc black-out, it's because neither of them are aware that there is a third alter aka Jake. Which means that Jake can do things for Khonshu while Marc believes that he is in London and neither Marc nor Steven would be aware.

I'm kind of just rambling about the show at this point but also, what I find really interesting every time I rewatch is the date thing. So, right, if Marc was the one that set-up the date why would he let Steven stand her up without saying anything to her? Marc isn't exactly the best guy when it comes to romance but he is incredibly protective over Steven because he wants to protect him from Khonshu. So, why in the world would he let the whole date rejection thing happen?

Because it wasn't Marc. It was Jake. Jake asked out Steven's colleague and that also makes sense why they went to a steak place. Jake doesn't give a f*ck about Steven's veganism while Marc absolutely would. Marc wants to protect Steven so he wouldn't make such a silly mistake.

But Jake would. Honestly, at this point, convinced that Jake just wanted to fuck with the Moonboys and Khonshu just played along.

I don't know.

I always find the dynamics of the Moonboys so interesting and I love how even when you rewatch it, there are new little discoveries that you can make. Like there was so much love, thought and attention put into this show?? It makes me SO SO happy.

This show honestly means the world to me and excuse the ramble/rant but I just love talking about my Moonboys and I never really get to speculate or discuss the show. I talk about it with my dad but being at uni means that I do not get to ramble at him as often. So, tumblr gets it instead.

But yeah, they're my (not very) astute observations about my beloved Moon Knight

#moon knight #marc spector #moonknight #moon boys #steven grant #jake lockley #ruby rambles #moon knight system #ramble post #moonknight is my comfort show <3 #i miss my moon boys #sleepless night with ruby <3

[thesunfyre4446]

Marrying Daemon was the dumbest thing she could have done. It solved no problems just made the existing ones more glaring.

First, if Laenor had been alive the Driftmark succession would not have been brought into question (Yet, it eventually would have always) as after Corlys, it goes to Laenor. It would’ve freed up some years or decades and Luke could’ve idk- actually gone to the fucking island he was set to eventually rule over or learn to sail. Maybe endear himself to some more people because as much as certain viewers like to pretend otherwise, Corlys was the only Velaryon happy to spit in the eyes of his ancestors sit that boy on the Driftwood throne.

Two, Viserys would not have had to use his last breath and final braincell to go to the throne room to help Rhaenyra usurp the Velaryons. He probably would’ve lived a little while longer and maybe this time he would’ve died quietly without uttering nonsense about a prophecy the Targaryens should not have even been involved with in the first place.

Rhaenyra could’ve maybe got her shit together and stopped living in a lalaland where she thought she would just be handed things because she’s *checks notes*

-A Targaryen

-She has a Dragon

-Daddy said so

But we know she wouldn’t, the entitlement runs deep. She would’ve stayed on Dragonstone where she’s ruling over a castle of employees sworn to her and a small merchant/fisher’s village. Rhaenyra lived in bliss on that island for a decade with no responsibilities.

Three, when you raise the Strong boys alongside their brothers and especially alongside Rhaena- who is literally a Targaryens/Velaryon child who is what the strong boys are actually supposed to look like, it becomes so obvious that the boys are bastards of non Valyrian parentage.

The only one who won in this arraignment was the Child groomer. He got the woman he spent years grooming as a child and he got a heir and a spare. Let’s pretend in a fairytale world where the Greens don’t crown Aegon and they slink off to whatever corner of the world TB think they deserve to after Viserys dies. The history books would write about the series of freak accidents that took Rhaenyra’s first 3 sons until Little Aegon was the heir.

i honestly don't have anything to add anon. 100% agree with everything you've said.

rhaenyra is a horrible politician. her marriage to laenor kept the velaryon alliance and secured driftmark for her son. if laenor was alive, vaemond wouldn't have called for a petition, and rhaenyra wouldn't have to marry the strongs to the dragon twins. she could've arranged for marriages with other important houses like baratheon or lannister and win their support. also, by having legitimate sons with daemon she harmed jace, Joffrey and luke's legitimacy and position. especially jace.

your point about the strong boys parentage being even more obvious next to baela and rhaena is sooooo true. as if they didn't already stand out enough, raising them alongside the velaryons that they're usurping is ridiculous.

i really don't understand the people that are saying that rhaenyra is a good ruler because she managed dragonstone. dragonstone is a little island with a couple of villages surrounding it. you can't possibly compare it with ruling SEVEN KINGDOMS. (and even dragonstone turned against rhaenyra in the end, but i digress) rhaenyra thinking she's prepared to rule shows just how clueless she really is (she even says in ep 8 she doesn't know anything about ruling a kingdom lol)

i don't think that rhaenyra's decision to marry daemon was necessarily politic. i mean yeah he's a dragonrider and a soldier, but his loyalty was never an issue because he would never never never NEVER side with the greens (aka otto). the marriage def did more harm then good for rhaenyra, and the main benefactor was daemon.

#house of the dragon #hotd #anti rhaenyra targaryen #anti daemyra #anti daemon targaryen #anti team black #asks

[mixelation]

on the hiraishin in reborn au ->

this isn't necessarily the "canon" i'd use for every fic but: i decided the hiraishin markers can only be used by minato, and also he can only use ones he makes himself. i think with the way i set things up in plasticity, it's probably a chakra compatibility thing, so someone else could paint one using his chakra and then he could use it (and that person couldn't). so During The War kushina was helping him put them on kunai en masse, but "minato can only use ones he makes himself" is how most people understand it

also, the marker itself isn't the technique. it's only a guide for him to use the technique. tobirama's markers look different, so i think the shape of the marker is pretty malleable? he doesn't necessarily have to get every brush stroke exactly right, so he can make them on the fly, but he'd have to retrain himself pretty thoroughly to start using a new type of marker.

i'm going with these rules bc it explains why he left a bunch of markers that never fade all over the place without any anxiety that anyone would steal the technique. it's because it'd be like trying to reinvent a plane using the runway as your guide, and then it wouldn't even be able to use the same runway. like, if you were going to manage it, you were going to manage it regardless of if you'd studied the runway or not, and you'd have to build a new runway to boot.

okay, so. does tori reverse engineer the a plane with just a runway? no, that's nigh impossible. she does something worse. :)

so for mutagenicity i want tori to be a little bit fascinated with time-space jutsu, because they're one of the more complex branches of fuinjutsu, and she's never explored it before. like storage is technically space-time stuff, but also not really. she doesn't know a lot about it.

when she's little and living with the utano clan, someone brings back one of minato's kunai and sticks it in a chakra-proof box they have. and i'm thinking after all the clans merge into a village and orochimaru slowly starts picking off former leadership so he can be the undisrupted ruler of otogakure, tori manages to steal the box. she spends some time studying the kunai and its marker and she's like: hmm yeah if anything this is like 0.8% of a technique. disappointing. she does go to orochimaru and is like: hey when u stole a bunch of konoha techniques did u also happen to steal the hirashin. and he's like omg wtf no. lmao. you tihnk i'd be here if i knew that?? and tori internally is like: hmm yeah he would have killed hiruzen already if he could teleport. or at least be off bothering anko once a week

she gets to learn more about space-time fuinjutsu with kushina because they're using one to transport ibiki. and she's like well why SHOULDN'T i ask about hiraishin what else would a twelve year old do. and kushina is like AAAWW yeah everyone wants to know <3 but it's top secret and also way out of your league baby genin :)

and at the fallout of the mission, when she and deidara have to manually drag ibiki out of the village because the only transport jutsu tori knows requires one other person and that person was kidnapped in front of her and itachi is off saving her, tori is pissed. so she draws minato's marker on a wall and the message "can you find them all? ;)" which is pretty funny psychological warfare in that it makes iwa desperately search every inch of itself for markers that don't exist, but also minato doesn't actually gain access to iwa. (i know, less fun)

but i decided tori doesn't know this when she did it, so when someone explain it to her she's like "WELL WHY CAN'T HE USE OTHER PEOPLE'S CHAKRA" because her whole thing is hijacking other people's chakra. but at this point she has not adequately demonstrated or explain this to kushina OR minato so she gets what they feel is an age and skill appropriate answer and she feels is a deeply condescending non-answer. also minato makes her cool genjutsu proofing seal forbidden >:(

years pass, tori opens up and learns to trust, minato has to forbid a bunch more seals and every day gains more white hairs, etc etc. and i was thinking "if her arc is about learning to trust, we need some moments to Test Her" and "what could give tori a melt down"

so i decided it might be fun to play around with a mission where her teammates straight up leave her for dead. i'm still rotating details, like what exactly happens and how bad it is emotionally. (is it malicious? just a cowardly call? someone picking the mission over tori?) but i have decided it's some other inconsequential non-canon team, and she's "left for dead" but still has enough time to sit there and contemplate that this happened to her but also can't get out. think locked in an underground room slowly filling with water or something.

now, tori is a creature who runs on stress and spite. so these are actually the ideal conditions for her come up with her best ideas. she knows minato's hiraishin markers work as a homing beacon for a transportation jutsu, she knows a shit ton more about transportation jutsu now, she knows the specific properties of his chakra and has done extensive research on how to adjust fuinjutsu to work with different types of chakra, and also she's been spitefully rotating this problem in her brain like a rotisserie chicken, so she's like. actually i can hijack minato's hiraishin.

she draws up his marker and makes a truly cursed seal around it, concentrates on konoha, and voila! she manages to teleport to a forest in fire country.

also, halfway across the country, she's just scared the every loving shit out of minato, who immediately shows up to investigate, rasengan waving.

tori: (SCREAMS)

minato: ???? prove who you are >:(

tori has been freaking out and will continue to freak out for several more days, because she was finally feeling safe, like she had a home, and she just nearly died because actually you CAN'T trust people you haven't thoroughly vetted, and also the goddamn yellow flash just nearly murdered her, and and and---

luckily minato calms down much more quickly once tori stutters out her verification codes. yes, okay. tori figuring reverse-engineering hiraishin was nightmare #1, but actually his TRUE fear should have been someone hijacking his markers because they're in his home and on his family, but that should have been impossible, so thank you tori for showing him true fucking fear. but actually by this point he low-key figured learning True Fear would come from someone on team 4, if not his own family, so why not. so he listens to her barely cohesive story about being betrayed by her team.

because she solved her problem via teleportation, she actually beats the rest of her team home by a week. so minato is like: okay, I believe that you are telling your truth, but as hokage I have to investigate and listen to both sides of the story. so why don't you lay low at my place and we'll wait and see what your team says when they get back. so he dumps her at his house and then goes to look up the new seal that she hooked up remotely??? and yes she did do that, and she DID do it in a cave now completely submerged, and he destroys and at teleports back and has to rethink his life.

(while this is happening, please imagine tori curled up n the uzumaki-namikaze house angrily drinking a juice box while naruto explains a comic he's reading to her)

and i think the eventual conclusion is minato decides he should have been retooling his marker every once in a while and he wants to have konoha-only ones so enemies who've seen his main one can't exploit that flaw, even if the chances of anyone repeating what tori did are EXTREMELY low. unfortunately that does mean he has to basically reteach himself the technique

minato, clapping tori on the shoulder: we can do it..... together <3

(also i haven't decided what happens to Team Traitor, in part because I haven't 100% decided what they do lol)

and so tori's trust in various people is reaffirmed but them acting totally cool even after she broke the hiraishin so bad that minato has to remake it for village security. also her jutsu gets so forbidden they're not even going to make any sort of record of it <3

naruto while they're waiting for minakushi to finish making dinner: why's my dad teaching YOU hiraishin?

tori: i hacked the cloud

naruto: he won't teach ME hiraishin

tori: do you want me to teach you to hack the cloud?

minato, in the kitchen: I HEARD THAT

#reborn au #tori: can i sit in a swivel chair with my back to them and then after they report me dead #tori: i turn around and go 'OR AM I?' #minato: NO. #minato: well. #minato: maybe

[lavenderdreams22]

And if You Loved Me? - Azriel x Reader

Requests: Can you do a really slowburn enemies to lovers fic with Azriel bc every one I have seen is one second they want to kill each other and the next they are making out and it annoys me sm -@hollyismentallyillhelp

A/N: I have such a soft spot for Azriel, it's not even funny. It took me forever to write this, and I am so so bad at editing. Hopefully this is slow burn enough.

Warnings: Cursing, Azriel is mean in the beginning, mentions of war, mentions of blood, mentions of violence, suggestive themes.

“We’re going to need someone to come with us, someone who can help heal the warriors as they are injured.” Rhysand stated, his voice firm as he addressed us all in turn. “Feyre knows the basics of healing magic, but it would be helpful to us all to have someone alongside her.” 

“I’m sure we can spare a person or two.” Madja said, eyeing me from the corner of her eye. 

I knew this was coming the moment we had been summoned, and had been preparing myself the entire trip over. I clasped my hands together to hide their shaking and cleared my throat. Rhysand and Feyre’s attention snapped to me and I offered them both warm smiles.

“I’m available if the need arises.” My voice was low, afraid that if I spoke any louder that my voice would betray my fear, if my scent wasn’t doing just that already. “With my knowledge of healing Illyrian wings, it may be beneficial to have me around.”

“I think that’s a lovely idea, Y/N.” Feyre offered me a small smile before turning her attention to Rhysand. “What do you think?” 

“I agree with you, Feyre, darling.” With a nod from the High Lord, it seemed that we had reached an agreement without much back and forth. That is, until Azriel stepped forward, and I resisted the urge to jump out of my skin. He really had a way of sneaking up on you, but his particular set of skills were probably necessary as SpyMaster.

“Isn’t there someone else that we could hire instead? Maybe someone with more than just the gift of healing?” Azriel asked through clenched teeth.

“What? You want to bring the healer onto the battlefield with us, brother?” Cassian asked, an eyebrow quirked up.

“Not necessarily, but I wouldn't write it off just yet. Someone else might be more useful to us.” Azriel offered, trying to avoid my gaze. I rolled my eyes lightly and Cassian covered his laugh with a cough.

Azriel and I had never gotten along, so this outburst wasn’t entirely unusual.

“I’m more than proficient with a blade, Shadow Singer.” I said, forcing my voice into a calm monotone. 

“For some reason, I highly doubt that.” He finally turned his gaze to me, and I sucked in a deep breath to steady myself. The darkness that resided behind his eyes swirled as his shadows gathered around him, attempting to make him look bigger. 

“Relax, Azriel.” I forced a grin, “I’m not going to get in your way. I only want to help make sure as many of you live as possible. If only so I can continue to annoy you with my existence.”

I stood, pushing my chair across the floor. Azriel seemed to be at a loss for words, only offering me a stone faced glare in return as I turned on my heel to leave the townhouse. Hushed whispers followed me out into the hallway. I could still hear the three Illyrians and Madja debating as I pushed through the door of the townhouse, and out into the streets of Velaris. 

*****

“We want her help.” Rhys said, looking to Cassian for help. “Madja is too old to spend her days on a battlefield.”

“I’m sure she would love to hear you say that.” Azriel stated, watching the fire that was burning in the hearth. 

“Regardless.” Cassian took a deep, anchoring breath, “We need her. It could be a matter of life and death.”

“War is always a matter of life and death.” Azriel mumbled.

 “Do you want to be the one to look one of our men in the eye and tell them that their wings could have been saved, if only you had swallowed your pride?” Cassian snapped. 

Azriel only shrugged in response. The three of them knew that Azriel would do what he needed to, tolerate whomever, to keep his people as safe as possible. 

“What is your problem with her, anyway?” Rhys asked, leaning back in his chair, attempting to look nonchalant. 

“I don’t have a problem with her.” He answered too quickly. The High Lord and General shot each other a knowing look. 

“Then why are you always so cruel to her?” Cassian asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “She’s sweet, smart and beautiful. What’s not to like?”

Rhys seemed to mull that over, giving the other two Illyrians a thoughtful nod. “Is that the issue?” 

“What?” Azriel asked.

“You’re cruel because you like her.” Cassian nodded, verifying his own theories.

Azriel stared at them both, but all he said was: “No.” 

Rhys and Cassian shrugged, but shot each other a grin as Azriel stalked out of the room, surely headed to the House of Wind for the night. 

*****

“C’mon, Y/N. Come to dinner. It’ll give you a chance to wear that dress you bought last Solstice.” Mor pleaded, her bottom lip jutted out.

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” I asked, pulling my own bottom lip between my teeth. 

“Azriel will be on his best behavior.” Mor grinned, pulling me into my bedroom and shoving me down on the edge of the bed. “Let me help you get ready!” 

“I never said yes!” I replied, but she was already sneaking into my closet in search of the navy blue gown that I had bought.

“How should we do your hair? I’m thinking down.” She poked her head out of the closet to gauge my reaction. 

“Down would be fine.” I nodded absentmindedly. 

“Perfect.” She disappeared into the closet once again, and there were rummaging noises as she searched.

I stood, making my way to my vanity and sat on the stool, staring at myself in the mirror. I really didn't want to deal with Azriel today. He always had a way of putting me in the worst of moods, and as I eyed the jewelry that littered the surface of the vanity, I let out a low groan. There was absolutely no way that this could go well.

Mor worked her magic in just under twenty minutes, and as I looked at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t deny that I looked beautiful. She was grinning behind me, admiring her handiwork.

“Wow.” She said, letting her eyes scan over my features. “You’re beautiful.”

“Thanks for noticing.” I turned to face her and playfully rolled my eyes. “It isn’t like we’ve known each other for a century or anything.” 

“Oh, shut up. You know you always look beautiful.” She took hold of her skirts, holding her hand out to me so that we could winnow to the townhouse.

“Rhys!” Mor called, sauntering in without knocking. “Where’s Cass?”

“Right here.” He called from the sitting room as I closed the door behind me. “Rhys, Feyre and Amren are already up there.”

He rounded the corner into the entryway and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me. The intensity of his stare had a blush rising to my cheeks as I grinned at him.

“Beautiful, isn’t she? I must’ve told her that a dozen times tonight.” Mor grinned, “Wipe the drool off your chin, and let’s go.”

“You look…” Cassian said, struggling to find the words as he let his eyes scan over me.

“Absolutely ravishing? Stunning? Drop-dead gorgeous?” Mor supplied, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Yeah, that.” He shot me a crooked grin, offering me his elbow. “Ready for the ride?” 

“As ready as I’ll ever be. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to flying.” I giggled, slipping my arm through his. 

“Just don’t look down.” He whispered, as if it were the best kept secret in the world. 

Mor reappeared before I had realized that she was gone, Azriel in tow. If he thought anything in particular of my appearance, he let nothing show on his face. 

Turning to Cassian, I said, “Let’s go before I change my mind.” 

“No harm in changing your mind.” Azriel murmured. 

I pretended I didn’t hear him as Cassian led me into the yard, hooking an arm behind my back and the other behind my knees. He winked at me before shooting into the sky. I screamed, and his laugh could surely be heard all the way to the Spring Court.

*****

Dinner had gone on without a hitch. There was minimal fighting from anyone. We were all sitting on various, overstuffed furniture, wine glasses in hand as Rhys was telling a story that I couldn’t manage to focus on. The room was sweltering. I glared at Cassian who had sat between Mor and I even though there had been barely enough room for him. I was sure I had him to blame for the warmth. 

I set my wine glass on the stone floor and stood, fanning myself when Cassian shot me a confused glance. He only nodded before turning his attention back to the High Lord. I walked to the glass doors, hoping the breeze would cool me off. As I stepped on the patio, I glanced back at my friends. They were all smiling and happy, and I felt a warmth tug at my heart.

“What’re you doing out here?” Azriel asked, and I jumped, nearly toppling over in the process. 

“Damn it, Azriel. Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to sneak up on people that you’re not spying on?” I shouted, a hand over my heart as if that would calm it.

He didn’t answer, just turned back to face the lights of the city. 

“I know what to expect by now, but I’m always surprised by how beautiful it is from up here at night.” I said, standing along the railing, but a few paces away from him in case he decided to toss me over.

“I came out here for some peace and quiet.” He snapped.

“And I came out here to cool off. Give me a minute, and I’ll leave you to your brooding.” I bit back, rolling my eyes. 

“I’m not brooding.” He tightened his grip on the railing, his knuckles turning white. 

“Sure you’re not.” I shook my head. “We don’t need to talk. Like you said, peace and quiet.” 

He huffed, leaning more of his weight on the railing. 

“Y/N?” Cassian called into the darkness before he spotted us. “You alright?” 

“Yeah, Cass. I’m good.” I smiled at him over my shoulder and he glanced between me and Azriel before he crossed the patio to us.

“We’re all about to head out. Are you staying here, or did you want to be taken home?” He asked, bumping my shoulder with his.

“I can winnow home.” I bumped his shoulder back, grinning at him.

“You know you can’t winnow into or out of here.” He cocked his head to the side. “Unless you plan on leaping over the railing.” 

I gave him a wicked grin, and he shook his head. 

“What? It’s only several hundred feet, right? What’s the worst that could happen?” I chuckled.

“You could ruin that wonderful dress.” Cassian took a step back to admire me again and I rolled my eyes.

“You’re shameless, Cassian.”

“Could you two get a room?” Azriel said through gritted teeth. 

“No, I think we prefer the open air. Don’t we?” I looked at Cassian who was already laughing.

“Yeah, more freeing.” Cassian threw an arm around me, pulling me into his side. “We’re just playing, brother. No need to get jealous.”

“Jealous?” I scoffed, pushing away from Cassian. “He would probably keep his fingers crossed that I forgot how to winnow if I did jump.”

Azriel eyed me for a moment, his expression unreadable, before he grinned. He took two steps toward me until his face was only inches from mine.

“If I wanted you dead, it would already be done.” His voice held a malice that I had never heard him use, and I shuddered as his breath fanned over my face. “Don’t ever assume that you know what I want.”

As quickly as it happened, he stepped back and stalked back into the house to join the others, his shadows following quickly after him.

I stood there stunned as Cassian glared after his brother. He turned to me, his eyes shining with anger and something I couldn’t place. 

“Don’t apologize for him, Cassian.” I shrugged, “I’m used to it.” 

*****

“What is the purpose of this mission, again?” I asked, standing beside Azriel.

He was wearing his Leathers, and I avoided looking too closely at the mass of muscle that was on display through the tight fabric. If he wasn’t such a colossal pain in the ass, he would be attractive. The thought alone had me shaking my head in an attempt to snap myself out of my thoughts. 

“There is a young Illyrian boy whose wings have been injured in the Windhaven camp. Their healers are otherwise preoccupied, so the parents asked that I send Madja.” Rhys said, “So, I’m sending you two.” 

“And why does Azriel have to be the one to take me?” I asked, clenching my hands into fists.

“Cassian is busy.” Rhys shrugged. “I promised Feyre that she and I would spend the day together.”

There was no further explanation, and with a glance at Feyre, who was staring at the ceiling as if something very interesting was suddenly residing there, I let my shoulders slump. This was going to be a very long trip.

“Let’s get this over with.” Azriel growled, making his way out into the front yard. 

I followed and he opened his arms to me. It would have felt intimate, being this close to a male, if it weren’t for the look of disgust on his features. I let myself feel offended for a moment,  knowing that he was a master of hiding his emotions. He was purposely letting me know that he didn’t like the idea of having to hold onto me.

He pulled me tight to his chest, one strong arm wrapping around my middle, as he bent at the knees and unfurled his wings. I closed my eyes, and with one strong flap, the ground dropped out from under my feet. I tried to keep Cassian’s advice running like a mantra inside my head. Don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down.

“Could you stop digging your nails into my hand, please?” He asked after a few moments, his voice gruff in my ear.

I loosened my grip on him and finally opened my eyes. I betrayed myself with a quick glance down and confirmed that I had, indeed, been digging my nails into him. There were eight perfect crescents mauling his already scarred flesh. I bit my lip, and smoothed a finger over them in a silent apology.

“How long is this trip supposed to take?” I asked.

“A few hours.” He replied. 

“Are we flying the whole time, or do we get breaks?” I tried to twist so that I could look at him, but his grip only tightened.

“Don’t squirm or I’ll drop you.” 

“Sorry.” I replied, forcing my body to go still. 

“Don’t go rigid, either. I need you to relax.” He said.

“Do we get breaks?” I asked again as I forced my body to relax like he had asked.

“If you need a break, we can take one.” He sighed.

“Don’t you get tired?” 

“I could fly to the continent and back in one go.” He sounded smug.

“Show off.” I rolled my eyes. “What’s the furthest you’ve ever flown?” 

“You do ask a lot of questions, don’t you?” He snapped, his grip tightening again.

“Sor-” I started to apologize again, but he cut me off.

“Stop apologizing.” He growled.

“Fine.” I said, my voice small. 

It was ridiculous to be upset, but here I was: hundreds of feet in the air, swallowing a lump in my throat because someone who didn’t like me, and had no choice but to spend the next day and a half with me, was being cruel. I wasn’t sure what I had expected. The tears started to fall without permission, and I swiped at my eyes quickly, hoping that he wouldn’t notice. 

“Are you crying?”

“No.” Yes.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” No.

“Sounds like you’re crying.” He stated.

“I’m not.” I was. 

“Whatever.” 

We were quiet for the next half hour as I watched the trees fly by, blurred by the tears that were still collecting in my eyes. The cold air was starting to nip at my face, and with a swift movement from Azriel, a shield went up around us. I wasn’t sure what it was about the gesture that had me laughing, but I threw my head back onto his shoulder and laughed.

“What is wrong with you?” He asked.

“You hate me.” I said through my giggles. “And I hate you.”

“Alright.” He said, sparing me a quick glance. His eyes were shining with confusion, and I was sure I was in quite the state. Laughing near hysterically with puffy eyes and a red nose. The tears hadn’t even dried completely on my cheeks.

“Yet, here we are. You’ve put up a shield so that I don’t freeze to death.” 

“They’d have my head if I brought back your corpse. I’ve been tasked to protect you.” He stated, “And I was cold, too.” He finished, but the excuse fell flat.

“Tasked with my protection, huh?” I asked, and he eyed me warily.

“Whatever it is you’re thinking of doing… Don’t.” He warned, clearly remembering our conversation on the patio at the house of wind.

“Wasn’t going to try anything. As much as you think I’m a burden, I wouldn’t make your job harder intentionally.”  

He nodded, his jaw clenching. 

A few more moments of silence passed before I sighed. “So, are you going to tell me the furthest you’ve flown, or should I start guessing?” 

He groaned, and I grinned at him. He looked at me from the corner of his eye, and even though he tried to resist it, I saw the smile pull up the corners of his mouth.

*****

“He’s right through here.” Devlon said, leading us into one of the tents. “You’re sure she can handle this type of healing?” 

“We wouldn’t have asked her to help if she wasn’t.” Azriel bit back, struggling to keep his cool already. We hadn’t been inside this camp for more than five minutes. 

I touched his arm, hopefully calming him and not riling him up more. He glanced down at my hand, and then looked into my eyes. 

“Will you grab a bucket of water and any clean towels you can find?” He nodded, and I shrugged out of my jacket.

The young boy was mangled. Most of the membrane from his wings was torn and his breathing was labored. 

“Is anything other than his wings broken? A rib, maybe?” I asked, turning my attention to Devlon.

“Several ribs from the fall.” He nodded, “You knew that just from looking at him?”

“Like Azriel said, I know what I’m doing.” I turned my attention back to the boy. “Can you hear me?” 

He only nodded in response.

“This is going to hurt, but I’ll take away as much of the pain as I can, okay?” I said, my voice soft.

Another nod. The ribs could wait, but the integrity of the wings… That needed to be fixed now. I motioned for Devlon to help me maneuver him onto his stomach so that I could spread out the wings. The boy let out a weak sound at the movement, and I struggled to hold him as steady as I could as he clung to me.

“Where do you want the water?” Azriel asked, and even though he snuck back in, I didn’t jump at his sudden appearance.

“Over here.” I motioned beside me, “Can you wet one of the towels and keep it on his neck? We need to make sure he doesn’t catch a fever.”

He nodded, moving to sit next to me as I began my work on the wings.

Six hours later, and the boy was completely put back together. He would need to rest for a few days so that his body could finish the healing process, but after that, he would be as good as new. Devlon’s face was one of shock as he examined the nearly flawless wing.

“How in the hell did you…?” He trailed off.

“Like I said earlier, we wouldn’t have asked her to help if she didn’t know what she was doing.” Azriel stood, helping me to my feet. 

“She must have a lot of practice between the three of you.” Devlon said.

I only nodded, pushing past him and out into the open air. I watched as the earth began to sway beneath me, suddenly very dizzy.

“Show us where we will be sleeping?” Azriel asked, but it sounded more like a demand. 

Devlon only gestured to the house. “We had it vacated pending your arrival. Of course, we assumed it was Rhysand that would be accompanying the girl.”

“Azriel.” I said, my voice hoarse.

His eyes snapped to mine, assessing me and pulling me into his arms in one quick motion. He crossed the camp quickly, kicking the door open to our home for the night. The house was small and old, but it was nice. The warmth from a fire long extinguished lingered, and I sighed into Azriel’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“‘M okay. Just tired. Jobs like that take it out of me sometimes.” I mumbled as I pushed against his chest. “I can walk from here.” 

“No, we’re almost there.” He whispered.

He set me softly in the bed, pulling my shoes off of my body and covering me with the blanket. I blinked at him a few times before I let my eyes fall closed.

“Azriel?” My voice was quiet, barely audible, but he answered me anyway.

“Yeah?”

“I still hate you.” I said, snuggling further into the pillow.

“The feelings are still mutual.” He said, but I could hear the smile in his voice. 

With a smile and a yawn, I let myself drift off into a dreamless sleep.

*****

The floor felt like it was vibrating from the music and the dancing, but Azriel did his best to ignore it as Mor and Cassian pulled him and Amren through the crowd. People eyed him as he passed, and he fought the urge to turn heel and run out of there.

He hated going out, but as he laid his eyes on the table, on Y/N sitting there, he suddenly felt a bit better about having come. 

“How does she always look so pretty?” Mor shouted into his ear in an attempt to be heard over the music. “I bet she leaves with someone tonight. Lucky girl.”

Azriel pretended he didn't hear her, averting his gaze and training it on the crowd instead. Mor had been making comments like that to him more and more often lately, and he did his best not to overthink why he didn’t feel hurt or jealous by them anymore.

“See, I knew she wouldn’t be alone for long!” Mor yelled again. 

That got his attention. His eyes snapped to her as a male approached her. He was leaning close to her face, and she was laughing at something he said. He offered her a hand, and she took it, waving quickly to Cassian, not having seen the others in her haste to get onto the dancefloor, and disappearing into the crowd. At least, she disappeared to everyone else. Azriel’s shadows had started to pick her out of a crowd, and no matter how many times he told them to knock it off, they didn’t listen. 

He watched her as she danced. She looked free and happy as she threw her hair around and moved along to the beat of the music. The male had his hands all over her, and Azriel tried and failed not to ball his hands into fists as she threw her head back onto his shoulder and laughed. He wished the image of her doing that to him only weeks ago on their trip to Windhaven wasn’t the thought that popped into his mind. He wished that he had made her laugh for a real reason then, instead of having made her cry first.

“What are you having?” Cassian asked, leaning into him and successfully obstructing the view he had of her.

“Whatever you’re having.” Azriel answered with a quick look at his brother.

Cassian only nodded before moving towards the bar to get whatever it was that Azriel had just asked for.

She was right where he had last seen her, but she was facing the other male now. Her arms wrapped around his neck, the technicolor lights illuminating her in ways he found himself marking to memory. The males hands rested on her hips, his fingers digging into the satin fabric of her short dress. She leaned closer to him, and he could tell that she was gazing at him through her lashes the way she often did with Cassian. Azriel waited for him to kiss her, but she only whispered in his ear, pulling him deeper into the crowd. 

He lost his view of her, but his shadows weaved into the crowd, against his wishes, to find her. He attempted to reel them back in, but they resisted. 

“Az, you alright?” Mor asked, “You look like you’re about to kill someone.”

Azriel pretended not to notice the glimmer in Mor’s eyes. He tried to ignore the knowing look he was getting from Amren, and he especially tried to ignore the grin Cassian shot him as he set his drink in front of him.

“Yeah, I’m perfectly fine.” He said, unclenching his jaw. He tapped his hands on the table before grabbing his drink and taking two large gulps out of it. 

“Right.” Was all she said. “Well, hurry and drink. I want to dance.” 

Amren smiled before downing what was left in her glass. Azriel hadn’t even seen her leave the table to go to the bar. How long had he been staring at her? Cassian did the same, and when they all turned to stare at him, Azriel followed suit.

*****

A sharp knock at my door sounded through my apartment. I looked over at the male that I had brought home from the bar. Maybe if I ignored the knocking, they would leave.

“Y/N! I know you’re in there. Let us in!” Mor shouted through the door.

I groaned, removing the strangers arms from around my body. I pulled his t-shirt on and made my way to the door. 

“Y/N!” Mor shouted again.

“Give me a minute, I’m coming.” I mumbled, and she giggled from the other side of the door.

When I opened it, I was met with the distinct smell of alcohol and the expectant gazes of Cassian and Mor. They had obviously just left the bar, and before I could protest, they shoved past me and made themselves at home in my living room. 

“So, how did it go with that male you brought home?” Mor asked, shooting me a wink.

“He’s still in bed, so please keep your voice down.” I rolled my eyes. “What are you two even doing here?”

“We came on behalf of Azriel.” Cassian hiccuped, flailing as he almost fell off of the arm of the chair that he had perched himself on. 

“What the hell does Azriel want?” I raised my eyebrows, resisting a laugh at Cassian as he swayed.

“Well, he doesn’t actually know we’re here on his behalf.” Mor said, “Get rid of the bar fly, we need to talk.” She gestured into the bedroom.

“He’s sleeping, and I’m wearing his shirt.” I let out a sigh. 

“Give me the shirt.” Mor said, standing. “Cassian, be a good boy and close your eyes.”

“Nothing I haven’t seen before.” He waggled his eyebrows at me, but closed his eyes anyway. 

I pulled the top over my head, thanking myself for remembering to slip my underwear back on, and covered myself with a throw pillow. Mor took it into the bedroom. I couldn’t hear what was said, but in only moments, the male that had been fast asleep was running through the living room and sneaking through the front door.

“It’s like he didn’t even see us.” Cassian laughed. 

I turned to look at him, my face going hot. “Mor! Please bring me a shirt, Cassian… Close your damn eyes.” 

He huffed, but closed his eyes once again as a cropped sweater flew through the air and into my hands. It wasn’t going to cover my underwear, but it would have to do until I could get them to leave.

“Alright, you’re safe, Cass.” Mor grinned at him. “Okay, now… Where were we?”

“Azriel.” I provided, taking a seat on the couch and setting the pillow in my lap.

“Ah!” Mor snapped her fingers, “Right. Well, how do you feel about him?” 

“He hates me and I’m not his biggest fan. Why?” I asked, skepticism lacing each word.

“Well, I have reason to believe he doesn’t hate you.” Mor giggled, and Cassian nodded earnestly.

“What would give you that impression?” I crossed my arms. “Must have been all of our pleasant conversations and loving glances at each other.” 

“You didn’t see the way he watched you tonight.” Cassian shrugged. “I’ve only seen him look like that at two people that way in our entire friendship. Myself and Mor.” 

“You’re both drunk. Why don’t you ask him when you’re sober.” I said. “C’mon. You can stay in the guest room.” 

“Both of us?” Cassian asked, “What about your bed?”

“Oh, sure! Mor, would you like to sleep in my room?” I grinned at him.

He groaned and I let out a laugh. 

“It would be my honor, Y/N.” Mor stood and held her hand out to me. “Go to bed, Cass.” 

“Yes, Ma’am.” He saluted her before stumbling into the spare bedroom, cursing to himself as he went.

Mor and I got comfortable, and I let my head spin with the accusations that the two had been tossing around. There was absolutely no way that Azriel had feelings for me. We hated each other, didn’t we?

*****

Azriel sat across from Rhysand, watching him as he read through a sheet of paper on his desk with his arms crossed. The pounding in his head, though less than it had been when he had woken up on a couch in the house of wind, was lingering nonetheless.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Rhys said as he signed whatever he had been reading.

“How did you know? With Feyre?” Azriel’s voice was nothing short of tentative, and Rhys’s eyes widened just enough to show his surprise. 

“You think you’ve found your mate?” There was no hiding the excitement in the high lord's voice.

“That’s not what I said. I meant.. How did you know that you liked her?” He asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Well, our love story is a bit unconventional.” Rhys looked off into the distance, his eyes taking on a glassy look that he reserved specifically for Feyre. “Probably when she threw that bone at Amarantha under the mountain, but I feel like I had loved her for years before that.” 

“Okay.” Azriel seemed to mull that answer over in his head.

“Who’s the lucky female?” Rhys asked, resting his head on his hands.

“No one.” Azriel couldn’t help the blush that sprung to his cheeks. “Forget I said anything.” 

*****

I made my way toward the townhouse slowly, enjoying the feeling of the sun on my face. The skies were blue, not a cloud in sight, and I stopped for a moment to appreciate the bustle of the rainbow. There were painters in the streets, transposing the beauty that was Velaris onto their canvases.

I lifted my hand to wave when I felt the shift. I glanced over my shoulder, towards the sea, and was met with a cloud of black across the horizon. My mouth dropped open, and then I heard the screams. Whatever it was was breaking through some kind of red barrier that had been put up, coming too quickly to be fought off the way that they needed to be for everyone to survive. I turned to shout to those in the streets to find cover, but when I turned they were all already moving. 

I glanced back towards my home, back towards Madja’s shop, and without a second thought, I broke out into a sprint. If I could get there before the shield was broken, I could protect Madja. The city would need her when this was over… My friends would need her. 

Another glance towards the sea and my mouth went dry. What in the hell were those things? They weren’t Illyrians. They were too large to be birds. The sun glinted off their teeth, and my blood ran cold. Stopping in my tracks, I looked around for something, anything to use as a weapon. 

“Y/N!” Someone shouted from the sky. 

I looked up to find Azriel above me, moving to land. 

“What are you doing? Go!” I waved him in the direction of the fight.

“You need to get to safety.” He landed with a thud and spun in circles, scanning the area.

“I won’t be hiding.” I gritted out. “I know you don’t believe me, but I am good with a blade. I can help.” 

He examined me for a moment, his face stoic, before passing me the sword he had in his hands before pulling an identical one from the sheath on his back.

“Do me a favor and keep yourself alive.” He turned to face the oncoming horde of monsters. 

“You do the same, Azriel.” I smiled at him.

He glanced at me over his shoulder, scanning my face. I committed the way he looked to memory, hoping that this wasn’t the last time that I saw him alive. With a curt nod, he was shooting back into the skies. I watched him for only a moment before I took a deep breath and continued down the street. 

The monsters had broken through now, and I found comfort in the weight of the blade as they swooped down, grabbing faerie after faerie, letting them hurtle to the ground with a sickening crunch.

I raised the sword and widened my stance, just as I had been taught, and I fought the bile rising in my throat as they started to come for me. This was not how I was going to die.

*****

Azriel knocked Attor after Attor out of the sky, but they just kept coming. Cassian was flying through their ranks, as well, trying to thin the herd. A quick glance down confirmed his worries. There were soldiers on the ground, too. Hybern soldiers were ripping through innocent people. His people. And Y/N was down there somewhere. She was fighting, too. That thought alone steeled Azriel’s nerve, and with one last glance in the direction he had left her, he let himself loose on the Attor once again. 

*****

My bloody blade became heavier each time I swung it, but it was sharp and final. It only took one hit for it to sever flesh and bone. I was covered in blood, and I was sure that I would never get the smell of it out of my senses. 

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” A gravelly voice sounded from behind me.

I whirled around, pointing my blade at the heart of one of the flying beasts. 

“Well, aren’t you a beautiful little thing?” It grinned at me. “I would love to destroy you.”

I resisted the urge to gag, the smell of its breath reaching me from several steps away. I took a step back, baring my teeth at it.

“Don’t run, you’ll ruin my fun.” He took several steps forward, his footfalls splattering blood over the destroyed cobblestone. 

“Get back.” I warned, taking another step back.

“I won’t hurt you, not yet.” It was snarling now. 

“I said, get back.” I swung the blade in front of me, hoping that would be enough to deter the beast. Another step back, and an arm wrapped around my middle.

I let out a scream as the sword was wrenched from my hands and tossed to the side. The beast let out a terrible, ugly laugh as I struggled against my captor. 

“Take her and get out of here.” The voice behind me said, pushing me to the ground as the beast took a step forward and collected me in its arms.

With a disgusting, rotting grin, he lept into the air.

“Let me go.” I grunted out as I struggled in its grasp.

“Why would I do that?” It chuckled. 

My arm was pressed against the dagger I had tucked away in my belt, and I started struggling again. With a few more violent jerks, the dagger was loose and in my hand. 

“What are you going to do with me?” I asked, trying to pull my arm loose. If I could only get the blade close enough, I could stun it and maybe it would drop me.

“Torture, my dear.” It laughed and I was once again met with the rotting smell of its breath. 

I pulled my arm loose just as I heard the beating of wings in the distance.

Cassian was there, he was so close. If I screamed, he would hear me. He had to. In one swift motion, I plunged the dagger into the beast's back and kicked myself back from its body. 

“CASSIAN!” I shouted, and I saw his head whip in my direction as he was attacked by two more of the monsters. He turned back to them, trying to fight them off so that he could get to me, but it was no use. He wouldn’t get to me in time.

I cursed under my breath and closed my eyes, willing my body to winnow anywhere. I had been winnowing for most of my life, so why was it so hard at this moment? I opened one eye to see how much distance I had left. I would definitely die from this height.

I squeezed my eyes closed once more, holding my breath and trying again, picturing the townhouse’s front lawn, picturing Cassian and Mor. Picturing Feyre, Amren and Rhys. Picturing Azriel. Remembering the words that he had said to me.

“Do me a favor and keep yourself alive.” He had said. 

Sorry, Az. That’s one promise that I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep. I thought, trying to force my body to winnow. 

The ground was rising up, readying itself to swallow me whole as I struggled. 

A strangled growl roared out in the distance, and I opened my eyes to see Azriel shooting towards me, his wings tucked into his body. He was fast, but gravity was proving to be faster. 

Maybe 100 feet remained between me and death, and I reached my hand out for him. He gritted his teeth in response, reaching both hands out to me. There were only 10 feet between us now, but there had to only be 50 feet between me and the cobblestone. 

Azriel’s fingers brushed mine, sneaking up to my wrist. His hand closed around it, pulling my body to his as he unfurled his wings and slowed himself. We were too close to the ground, though. We weren’t going to make it. 

I wanted to tell him to save himself, but, as if he could see the words on my tongue, he shook his head furiously. A few more moments and we would both be dead, so I took this moment to look at him, to really look at him. His hazel eyes and sharp features were so beautiful, and I knew at that moment, if this was the last thing I saw before I died, I would be happy. 

Something snapped into place inside me, then. He must have felt it, too, because his eyes widened a fraction before he was able to flap his wings and we were airborne again. I glanced down, gasping at how close the ground really was.

Turning my attention back to Azriel, he was watching me closely. “You’re an idiot.” I snapped.

“Excuse me?” He was looking at me as if I had three heads. “I just saved your life.”

“You could have died!” I hit his chest with my fists. He didn’t so much as flinch. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“You would have died if I didn’t. Cassian called out through Rhys’ mind.” He replied, and I blinked at him.

“Cassian called for you?” The tears were welling up in my eyes now, and I cursed myself for crying.

“He called for help, I came as quickly as I could.” He landed near the townhouse, setting me gently on my feet. In the distance, Rhys’ darkness was spreading through the city. 

“You came for me?” I asked. The tears were falling freely now.

“Yes.” He said, now towering over me. 

“Why?” My voice caught in my throat.

“Maybe I don’t hate you.” He said, searching my eyes. 

I could feel him tug at the newly formed bond, and a gasp slipped through my lips. He smiled at me, warm and soft.

“And if you loved me?” I asked, pushing myself onto my tip toes.

He didn’t answer, but the words were swimming in his eyes as his shadows swirled around me. He glanced down at my lips once before he leaned in to close the distance. He pressed his lips to mine as the darkness closed in around us. 

Just as quickly as it had come, the darkness was gone, and he pulled away from me. The warmth from his lips lingered, and I resisted the urge to run my fingers over them, to see if the tingling was a tangible thing.

“And if I loved you?” He asked, finally breaking the silence.

It was my turn to tug on the bond, offering him a small smile as I did so. “If you loved me, Azriel, I would consider myself the luckiest female in all of Prynthian. Maybe even the world. Because, regardless of how we ended up here… I would tell you that I love you, too.”

He grinned at me then, and the smile lit his face up in a way that I had never seen, and I reached up, letting a finger trace over his features. He closed his eyes, leaning into my touch. And even though the war was still looming over us, I felt at peace in his arms.

#acotar #azriel #azriel x reader #azriel x y/n #azriel x you #azriel shadowsinger #acowar #azriel spymaster #acomaf

[ro-is-struggling]

Could I request prompt number 16 with Peter Maximoff (the X-men one), where the reader is the owner of the handcuffs. She’s kind of a nerdy tomboyish type, who’s not suspected because everyone knows she’s got net zero experience when it comes to dating. I think she’d probably have them because what if the opportunity to have sex finally arrived and she didn’t have all of the gear? What sort of fool would she look like then? Maybe not as much of a fool as… say a woman who was explaining her stock pile handcuffs to the guy she still hasn’t confessed to… If possible I’d like it smutty please!

Hi lovely! Thank you so much for participating in the celeration (and sorry it took me so long to get to your request). I had a lot of fun writing this one! I tried to make it smutty but for some reason I couldn't :( It's more funny and fluffy than smutty, but there are a few suggestive okes here and there, I hope you don't mind and that you like it anyways!!

The one with the embarrassing secret || Peter Maximoff x Reader

Summary: A mysterious pair of black handcuffs is found which leads to a search for their owner and some embarrassing confessions

Warnings: fem!reader, my attempt at humor, suggestive tones, fluff

Word count: 4500

This fic is part of my 600 followers celeration

When Charles asked you to fix up the room down the hall on the second floor you didn't think much of it. You were excited to meet the new occupant of the abandoned room and although cleaning wasn't your favorite thing to do, at least you knew you wouldn't be doing it alone. Jean, Scott and Peter were with you and you were optimistic that you could get the job done if you put in a little effort —especially if Peter dropped the jokes and used his powers to help you. 

That room had been unoccupied for so long that sometimes you forgot it even existed. It was a dump where things that no one used anymore were stored, so it was a total mess. You were so overwhelmed by the amount of things there were to do that you didn't think about the fact that you also used that room as your personal junk stash a couple of times. So you set to work without thinking about the embarrassing things you had hidden there from your former roommate, certain that you had retrieved them all the moment she left school.

That was until you heard Jean let out a gasp of pure surprise, emerging from the closet with a pair of black leather handcuffs in her hand. The world around you stopped for a moment as panic spread throughout you. The blood all over your body rushed to your face, the shame evident in your expression as you realized the horrible mistake you had made. You knew you should never have bought that stupid being. You didn't need it. You didn't even have a partner! You should never have listened to that stupid magazine article. It didn't make sense, to fuel the flames of passion in a relationship you first had to get one, something you felt would never happen. Not with your shy and awkward attitude at least. 

"Who do you think these belong to?" Jean's voice snapped you out of your thoughts. You let out a sigh as you looked at their expression of confusion and curiosity, realizing there was no way they could know the handcuffs belonged to you. You just had to keep your cool so as not to arouse suspicion and they would eventually grow tired of the subject, wouldn't they?

"Well, I hate to be the one to say it but this is Charles' house..." Scott said and everyone winced —yourself included— at the implications of his words.

"Eww, Scott, gross!" Jean punched him in the arm to shut him up. "I don't want to think about the professor like that!"

"You asked!" The boy defended himself, stroking his arm where Jean's fist had impacted against his skin. Although he recognized that the mental image of Professor X's private life, someone he respected and loved like a father, was not a pretty one.

"Maybe these belong to Raven," she suggested as she inspected the handcuffs in her hands. You remained silent, returning to your chores as your friends talked. It was better for them to think they were Raven's than to find out they were yours. "I mean, she lived here too and she kinda looks like she'd be into this stuff."

"I don't know," Scott hesitated. Realistically they could belong to anyone, even people they didn't know. Many mutants had passed through the school for gifted youngsters and many others had sought refuge there. It wasn't exactly easy to deduce who owned such a scandalous object.

"Whose else could they be?" said Jean, though she was interrupted before she could continue her speculation. 

Peter, who had remained silent playing with junk he was finding while moving a couple of boxes, interrupted his friends' conversation when an idea formed in his mind. Using his abilities, he snatched the handcuffs from Jean's hands before she could do anything to stop him. "I know who can help solve this little mystery!" he stated with a smile, dangling the handcuffs on his fingers playfully.

"Who?" you asked him, fearing that he somehow knew the handcuffs were yours. Instead of answering you he disappeared from the room for a split second and when he returned he had on a dark leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses in his hand.

"This is a case for Detective Brad Steel, FBI," he said, speaking in a deeper tone of voice than usual as he put on his sunglasses. He looked at you with an exaggeratedly dramatic look in his eyes, acting like he was on a detective show and this was the most important case of his career.

No one could contain the laughter, not even you. You were amazed at Peter's ability to come up with stupid things that made you laugh. He had a great imagination and got bored easily, a combination that was the perfect recipe for disaster 90% of the time. Oh, but that remaining 10% where things didn't go terribly wrong was usually hilarious for everyone involved. Peter was a fun guy to have around and always knew just what to do or say to make you laugh. That was one of the things you liked most about him.

"Why doesn't Brad Steel stay to clean up like he's supposed to be doing?" you said looking at him with a raised eyebrow and your arms crossed. You knew full well he was using that as an excuse so he wouldn't have to stay and tidy up. He was like a little kid who got bored easily, especially when it came to tasks like cleaning and organizing. His world moved too fast to make sense of such things. "We could really use your talents to help out with this mess, Peter."

"I'm sorry, but Brad Steel has more important things to do. His talents can't be wasted with such trivial chores when there's so many mysteries out there that need to be solved!" Peter explained in his exaggerated FBI detective voice. You opened your mouth to complain, ready to argue with him to make him stay, but he vanished from the room before any of the three of you could say anything about it.

"Let him go," Jean said, resuming her chores. "He probably would have slowed us down more than helped us anyway."

You thought you were safe. After Peter left, you all focused on cleaning and tidying up the room as quickly as you could so you could get out of there. The conversation did not return to the subject of the handcuffs, the object easily forgotten now that you no longer had it lying around. You really thought that for once the universe had sided with you, quickly releasing you from the embarrassing moment and allowing you to have a second chance. All you had to do now was wait for the buzz to die —something you didn't think would be very difficult as Peter got bored easily with everything—, and then you could retrieve the handcuffs and make them disappear forever.

However, your hopes that this disaster would die quickly were crushed when you saw Peter talking to Professor Xavier. He still had his sunglasses on, so you didn't have to be very close to them to guess what they were talking about.

"Who used to stay in that bedroom?" you heard Peter ask a very confused Charles. "Or perhaps it was always a storage room?"

"I... I don't know, I don't remember." The professor muttered, looking at the boy with a frown. "Why the sudden interest in the room? How is any of it relevant to cleaning and organizing?"

"It's not, he's just joking!" You intervened in the conversation before Peter said something stupid. "We were bored while we cleaned up and we started a game, but it's all done now so the new guy can move in!"

You didn't give Charles time to answer you, you just gave him a smile and pushed Peter away from him. "What are you doing?" you asked him in a whispered shout. You couldn't believe he had dared to go up to the professor to ask him questions about the room. You had to stop his stupid game before things blew up in your face.

"I'm working the case," he said as if it were obvious, shrugging his shoulders.

"He can't know about this!"

"I wasn't going to tell him! I was just asking around to see what he could remember." Peter defended himself, throwing his hands up in the air at your accusing look. 

"No, you were avoiding work just like you always do." You complained, crossing your arms over your chest. "Besides, do you really think he wouldn't figure it out? He's a mind reader!"

Peter rolled his eyes, annoyed at your persistence. He didn't understand why you seemed so concerned about the matter. It wasn't like you knew who owned the handcuffs, so why did you seem so concerned that Charles wouldn't find out. Unless... you were hiding something. 

It didn't make sense in Peter's mind that you were the owner of the handcuffs. You weren't the kind of person anyone pictured when thinking of someone who used those kinds of sex toys. You were too innocent and indifferent to the world of love and sex for that. In fact, Peter wasn't even sure you had any experience with it. But that didn't mean you were completely ignorant of the subject. Maybe you knew who the real owner was. Maybe it was a friend you were trying to cover for. Maybe he knew the owner himself and didn't know it. 

That idea piqued Peter's curiosity and unfortunately for you, that meant he wouldn't let go until he got to the bottom of it.

"Why do you care so much about people finding out about it?" 

His question threw you off as you didn't expect him to pick up on your discomfort so quickly. Your brain froze for a moment, your mouth hanging open as it struggled to come up with a good lie that would get you out from under the spotlight. However, when you saw the look in his eyes you knew it was too late.

"I-I don't care." You lied, shrugging your shoulders in a desperate attempt to look relaxed. "I just think it's dumb and it could be embarrassing for whoever owns these to have the whole school spreading rumors about it." Peter squinted at you, inspecting your expression for signs that would confirm his suspicions. 

"I think you're lying." He said after a few seconds of silence. "I think you know something about this whole thing and you don't want to tell me."

"I do not!" You exclaimed in a high-pitched tone that immediately gave you away.

"Are you sure about that? Because my detective instincts are telling me otherwise." He teased you, looking at you with an amused smile plastered on his face.

"Well, your detective instincts suck then cause I don't know anything." You were starting to get nervous, speaking at a rapid pace and in a high-pitched tone that was unusual for you. Peter knew you well enough to know when you were lying, but even if he didn't, it was pretty obvious.

"Why are you so nervous then?" he stepped closer to you, invading your personal space with his presence. His eyes never left yours, staring at you with a paralyzing intensity. It was hard to focus when he was so close to you. It was like he knew the effect he had on you and was using it to his advantage. Your poor brain that was already having trouble functioning properly lost all hope of recovering. You needed to get out of there, get away from him before you ended up saying something you would regret. 

"You're making me nervous with your stare!" You said without thinking about how he might interpret that phrase.

"I make you nervous?" Peter repeated, looking at you with an arched eyebrow. You felt the blood in your entire body travel to your face from embarrassment at his implication. He was right to assume that, but it wasn't what you had meant. 

"Not like that!" you were quick to correct. "I mean you make me nervous with youe accusatory looks."

"Why? Are you hiding something?"

"No! You know what? Forget it! Do whatever you want, I don't care." You did care, you cared a lot, but you knew that this conversation with Peter would get you nowhere. He seemed more interested in teasing you than anything else and you were dangerously close to saying something stupid, so you decided it would be best to walk away. You headed back to your room, climbing the stairs to the second floor as fast as you could. However, when you reached the last door in the corridor you discovered that Peter was waiting for you there, leaning against the wood. 

"You can't escape from me, you know that, right?" he said arrogantly, giving you a cheeky grin. 

"Ugh, I hate when you do that!" 

"No you don't."

No, you didn't. But you still rolled your eyes, faking annoyance. 

"Go away, I need to do stuff."

"What stuff?"

"It's none of your business. Let me pass."

"Not until you tell me what you know."

You let out a frustrated sigh at his persistence. It was clear that Peter wasn't going to drop the subject anytime soon and you weren't sure how much longer you could put up with his questions. He was going to learn the truth eventually, of that you were sure. His curiosity and persistence would not allow him to drop the subject. It was a matter of how and when he would find out what was at stake.

And then it occurred to you that maybe if you told him the truth, if you controlled the way he found out everything, it would be less embarrassing for you. You knew that if you told him and asked him to drop the subject he would because you were friends and Peter wasn't a complete jerk. He would playfully tease you from time to time, sure, but he wouldn't seek to really hurt you. 

"If I tell you, will you let it go?"

Peter's eyes lit up at your words, like those of a child getting his way. "I pinky promise!" he nodded, raising his hand and stretching out his pinky finger for you to shake. You shook your head, unable to believe what you were about to do, but shook his finger, sealing the promise. 

You pushed Peter into your room, closing the door behind you to make sure no one heard you. The last thing you wanted was for the rumor to spread around the school, that was a kind of humiliation you weren't prepared to face. He watched you intently as you paced around the room, waiting for you to speak. It was clear you were having trouble finding the right words —or the courage to utter them— which made Peter even more confused. Why was this subject affecting you so much?

"Spill it out already!" Peter exclaimed when he couldn't stand the silence any longer. His voice brought you back to reality, stopping you on your feet as your eyes locked on him. There was no easy or non embarrassing way to say what you had to say, and you knew that dragging it out would only make everything worse. Just like removing a band-aid, sometimes it was better to be quick and precise to get things over with as quickly as possible. So you took a deep breath and blurted out your excuses as fast as you could, barely breathing between words as you tried to explain your reasoning to a very confused Peter.

"You have to understand it was an impulse buy, I don't even know why I did it... in fact I was going to throw them away, but I forgot where I put them and I-"

"Wow, wow, wow, slow down a minute!" Peter interrupted you, surprise written all over his face. "Are you saying these are yours?" You felt the blood travel to your face once again, igniting your skin from the embarrassment you felt under Peter's curious gaze. You didn't trust your voice to answer him, so you just nodded your head slightly, wishing the floor would open up and swallow you whole so you wouldn't have to face him anymore.

"How? I mean, no offense, but you don't seem like the kind of girl who would even know about these, let alone own a pair."

"Cause I'm not!" you said honestly, trying to defend what little was left of your dignity. "I haven't even had-" You stopped abruptly before finishing the sentence, realizing that confessing to the guy you liked that you were a virgin was as embarrassing as admitting that you had bought a pair of handcuffs for no apparent reason.

"You've never had sex?" He asked you after a few seconds of silence. Your gaze dropped to the floor, too embarrassed to look at him as you shook your head. If he didn't think you were pathetic before, you were sure he did now. "Then why did you buy these?"

You shrugged, unsure how to answer. Honestly you didn't even know why you did it, you just blindly followed the advice of a women's magazine —a mistake you weren't going to make again. "I don't know... I thought I might need them. There's this guy I like and I've been building up the courage to ask him out and I was scared he might think I'm lame or something if I don't have all this stuff."

Peter could tell that all this was a sensitive subject for you, so he tried to be as serious and understanding as possible. He approached you, taking a few steps until he could touch your face with his hand. He lifted your chin carefully, forcing you to look at him as he spoke. "You're not lame for not having experience in this stuff." He said in a soft voice. "And if anyone ever makes you feel that way then they're a dick and don't deserve your attention."

Hearing Peter say that put a smile on your face. His reassurance made you feel a little less pathetic, it wasn't enough to repair your bruised ego, but it did make you feel better to know that he didn't see you as a loser. You knew everyone else did, even if they didn't say it to your face. You were the weird girl who didn't fit in and had never been on a date. How could you when you acted like that? No guy would find you attractive! You weren't very feminine, always opting to hide in baggy clothes. You also didn't pay as much attention to your appearance as other girls your age seemed to do, and you weren't even interested in the world of dating and romance. It all seemed so complicated to you that just thinking about it overwhelmed you, so you were pretty sure you would die alone.

"So, who is it?" Peter's voice snapped you out of your thoughts. 

"Huh?"

"Who's the guy that you like, the one that you bought these for?" Peter twirled the handcuffs in his fingers, fiddling with them as he gave you an amused smile. He was back to his usual goofy self, trying to lighten the mood with his jokes.

"It doesn't matter!" you were quick to say, trying hard to control your imagination and not let it picture Peter doing something more than teasing you with the handcuffs in his hand. 

"That makes me think that it does matter," he remarked with amusement. "C'mon, who is it? I wanna know, please tell me." Peter spoke, stretching every syllable to the point that it was annoying —just like a child who wants to convince an adult to listen to them. He always did that and you usually found it amusing and adorable, but this time it was different because you just couldn't give in to his demands.

"That wasn't part of our deal."

"Yeah, cause I didn't know there was a special someone. Tell me who it is! I deserve to know."

"No you don't!"

"You're right, but I want to know so tell me, pleaseee."

"No!"

"Is it someone I know?" You tried to control your expressions, to remain serious so as not to expose your feelings, but it was pointless. Somehow he knew, you saw it in his eyes and in the smirk he was giving you.

"No. Actually, you don't know him." You lied, struggling to control your micro-expressions. You spoke casually, faking disinterest to see if it would get him off your back. But you sounded too casual, too disinterested, and Peter knew you were lying. 

"I do know him!" he gasped at the realization. "Who is it? Is it Scott? You know he's in love with Jean, right?"

"It's not Scott!"

"Then who? Kurt?" Peter made a funny face, finding the image that had formed in his head of you and Kurt together weird. You were friends, but he didn't picture you as anything more. You weren't compatible. Even though you were both innocent, your personality was too intense for him. That would never work. 

"No, ew, he's my friend!" It was your turn to cringe this time. "He's nice, but I don't like him like that. He's not my type."

"And who is your type?" 

You fell silent, admiring Peter's warm eyes. 

'You are my type,' you thought, feeling your heart race under his intense gaze. He was the one guy you wanted to see you in a special way, the one you sighed for when he passed you by. He owned your heart, but you couldn't tell him. Especially not now after he found out one of your most embarrassing secrets. 

"It's none of your business." You said simply after a few seconds of silence, turning your back to him to escape the vigilance of his beautiful eyes. 

But Peter could tell something was wrong, his instincts giving him an answer to the questions you refused to answer. It was the sparkle in your eyes and the strange tension in the air that gave him the hint. You looked at him as if you wanted to tell him something, as if you were biting your tongue to keep your heart from leading you to make a mistake. He couldn't think of a single reason why you'd try so hard to keep your mouth shut, unless....

"Is it me?" Peter asked you, appearing in front of you in a flash. His sudden movements would have surprised you if it weren't for the fact that you were used to being around him already. Being friends with Peter came with his weird behaviors and silly jokes. No, what surprised you were his words. How had he noticed? Were you so obvious?

You didn't know how to answer so you didn't say anything, you just looked at him, letting your eyes speak for you. You couldn't have formed a coherent sentence even if you wanted to, you were too mortified to do so. Your brain was spending all its resources preparing you for the worst, screaming at you not to cry the moment Peter rejected you. You knew he would try to be nice about it —there wasn't a single ounce of malice in that boy's heart—, but it would still hurt, and the last thing you needed at that moment was to humiliate yourself any further.

However, the rejection never came. Not even a look of awkwardness on his part. He only moved closer to you, invading your personal space as he reached out to caress your cheek. 

"I need to hear you say it." He spoke, his voice almost a deep whisper. It took you a few seconds to process his words, brow furrowing in confusion at the gentleness of his touch. You were expecting to be rejected, even mocked for the stupid secret Peter had just discovered about you. But instead he looked at you with a special shine in his eyes, admiring you as if you were the only thing that mattered to him at that moment. That threw you off, your brain too stunned to stop your lips before uttering the most sincere response you could at that moment.

"it has always been you."

There wasn't much more you could say because Peter's lips silenced you as they crashed against yours in the most anticipated kiss of your life. You didn't have much experience in the area, but you knew that was the best kiss you'd ever had so far. Butterflies flew in your stomach and colorful fireworks exploded behind your eyes as you let him guide you, taking control of the kiss. His lips tasted sweet, like candy, something that didn't help you want to pull away from him. But eventually your lungs betrayed you, forcing you to break the kiss so you could breathe.

"I'm flattered you bought these thinking of me," Peter spoke, twirling the handcuffs in his fingers. He had a mischievous smile plastered on his lips, but there wasn't a trace of malice in his eyes. He wasn't trying to mock you, he was just trying to make you feel good about yourself. "But we don't need to use them. We can take things slow, go at your pace."

You appreciated his thoughtfulness. It was a sensitive subject and Peter wasn't precisely known for being the most serious person. But he was really going out of his way to make you feel comfortable, from the gentleness in his eyes to the calmness in his voice. He wanted to be counted as much as you wanted to be with him, and he was going to do everything he could to make his work.

"I'd like that." you smiled at him and he gave you a quick kiss on the lips as a way of sealing your commitment to each other.

"But I'm keeping these! You never know when they might come in handy." Peter put the handcuffs in his pocket, giving you a suggestive wink that did nothing but earn him a slap on the shoulder from you.

"Gross!" you grumbled, though you ended up laughing at the exaggerated scowl Peter gave you.

"Excuse me? I wasn't the one that brought them. You're the gross one for putting weird ideas in my head. I was actually as pure as a dove before you presented me with such a filthy object!"

"I'm already regretting this." you said, rolling your eyes. But Peter didn't care, he knew you weren't serious. He knew you well enough to know when you were joking and when you were really upset with him. He could always tell in your eyes, something changed in them when he crossed a line. He didn't know how to describe it, but it was obvious when it happened, so he always knew when to stop joking. 

And at that moment, despite your crossed arms and your look of annoyance, he could see nothing but love in your eyes.

#peter maximoff x reader #peter maximoff x fem reader #peter maximoff fluff #peter maximoff x female reader #quicksilver x reader #quicksilver x fem reader #ro's 600 followers celebration

[starsdippedintea]

Consider: The BSD Gang on a Playground

More specifically, a swing set. (This works as adults or children.)

•Ranpo would beg [read:force] Poe to push him, which Poe would do willingly. I think Poe would save the swing for Ranpo as well.

•Chuuya would be going in circles. He'd show off his gravity manipulation so much. Dazai probably reaches put to touch him at random times, causing Chuuya to fall. Chuuya would probably beat him up anyway.

•Dazai would either swing without holding onto the chains, or he'd be that one person that tries to go in-between the swings and try not to get hit.

• Nikolai is that one kid who sits on the swing sideways, twists it around and spins, tries climbing the swing frame, you know what I mean. No one wants to swing next to him.

•Fyodor would hate swinging, but Nikolai would try and force him into it using his ability.

•Sigma wouldn't do anything odd. He'd be that one kid who you never talk to but don't mind sitting next to because he's pretty chill. He probably avoids swinging though, because he's terrified Nikolai will swing next to him.

•Akutagawa would use Rashōmon to push himself on the swing. Poor lonely Akutagawa. If he's dating Atsushi, then Atsushi would definitely offer to push him, but Akutagawa would be far too stubborn to accept.

•Atsushi is scared of swings at first, until Dazai tells him that "cats always land on their feet!" and suddenly he's swinging as high as possible and breaks his leg.

•Kenji and Kyouka would be in the sandbox. Do I need to say more?

•Kunikida wouldn't swing. He just wouldn't. Instead, he'd yell at Yosano and Nikolai for using the swings improperly, and he'd be sitting in the shade with a cold drink.

•Yosano would stand on the swing. Maybe Kōyō would help push her, but I think Yosano would just kind of swing her upper body back and forth until she's moving.

•Kōyō likely wouldn't swing, but if she did, she'd sit on it prim and proper, and not swing too fast or slow.

•Lucy wouldn't even bother. She'd create a swing inside of Anne's room and leave everyone behind. Go Lucy.

•Gin is competive. It feel that in my heart and soul, and you can't convince me that she wouldn't be swinging as high as possible, especially with Chuuya around. I can see her just sitting on it as well, probably saving it for her brother.

•Higuchi would be playing tag, but if given the opportunity to swing she wouldn't go particularly fast. She'd probably stay around three feet off the ground.

•Fukazawa and Fukuchi sit on a bench and watch them play. (Mori does not exist for obvious reasons.)

#fanfic #ao3 #shin soukoku #bsd ranpoe #dazai x chuuya #ranpoe #ranpo edogawa #bungou stray dogs #edogawa ranpo #bsd #yosano x kouyou #yosano akiko #yosano bsd #chuuya #ranpo #dazai #akiko yosano #akutagawa #lucy maud montgomery #alternate universe #swingset #soukoku #fyolai #fyodor dostoevsky #bsd chuuya #bsd dazai

[in-love-with-srk]

The Thorpe Dilemma #7

It was outreach day. You really didn't see the point of it all. Why would you bother helping a town that glared at the sight of outcasts?

As if the stripes on your uniform signified you were some sort of criminals for existing. Even though the mayor clearly acquired 'funds" from Nevermore.

And shouldn't "volunteering" be voluntary. Either way, you did your part at the park that glorified the colonists. How ignorant could one town be...

And then to no one's surprise, you snuck away while Wednesday along with Eugene looked through the meeting house for any information on Joseph Crackstone.

At least that's what you thought until you saw Wednesday talking to Tyler at the weathervane. "What are you doing here cousin?" you ask pulling her away.

"I'm here to figure out where the ruins of the original meeting house are. There is probably no tangible evidence there, but a vision could fill in some gaps."

"And you asked Tyler? Before you get defensive, I'm not trying to imply anything, but like you said earlier we haven't crossed anyone off our suspect list and just keep in mind who knows where you are. Ok?". she nods in response.

"Y/n I thought you were working at Pilgrim World?" Xavier says. "I saw my chance to escape being dressed up as a colonist and I took it." you say still looking at Wednesday.

You and Wednesday glance at Tyler and he smiles at the both of you. Only you reciprocate slightly.

Then you turn around and see Xavier glaring at the back of Tyler's head. "You too cousin." she says subtly moving her head towards Xavier. She leaves and Xavier decides it's safe to talk now.

"Were you and Wednesday talking to Tyler?" "Just her, she needed his help with something.". He waits for you to elaborate but you don't. He figures it would be best to change the topic.

"So are you here to see me?" he asks smiling a little. "Maybe... It seemed like a better way to spend my time" "We'll I'm honoured' he replies putting his hand to his chest.

"Would you like some Coffee?" he asks you. You tell him your order before sitting down in a booth. You open up another book on the types of outcasts.

Xavier puts your order on your table. Without thinking, you shift and make room for him. He sits next to you and puts his arm behind you.

"I went through a bunch of books too. I didn't really get much though" "Hmm" you reply absent-mindedly.

Xavier is a little nervous you sense. His leg is moving up and down slightly and he is struggling to look at you.

"Do you plan on going to Raven? With someone, I mean..".

"Not as of now. Kent asked me yesterday. I don't understand why he did even after Thing punched him and I threatened to. Maybe he's a masochist."

You look to him for a reaction and he seems a little angry. He rolls his eyes looking away from you slightly.

"Yoko asked me too. That surprised me even more, but apparently she has liked me for weeks now."

"And what did you say?" he asks in a blank tone. "Do you really think I would be sitting here with your arm around me if I had said yes?" you ask in a teasing tone.

You look at him in surprise as you feel his hand on your thigh. "It's not that surprising to me. It is very easy to like you."

He starts drawing shapes on your thigh. "If I were to ask you to the Raven. Hypothetically of course are you free that night? Or are you planning to explore something obscure in the woods?"

"I would say that, I wanted to explore something obscurely in the woods but Weems wouldn't let me sneak out after my accomplices and I set fire to Crackstone's statue. So I'd have to settle to going to the dance with you.".

"Lucky me," he says leaning in to kiss your cheek. You look around to see if anyone saw that. Thankfully today was not the day that anyone but him can see you get flustered.

"I have to go soon. Weems said I have to play the piano at the town square."

"I didn't know you played the piano." he says interlocking your fingers.

That's when you hear the bell on the door jingling and you see Enid and Ajax walk in. Xavier doesn't seem to notice, still looking at your hands. Enid points at Xavier's arm around you

"You do have the hands for it." he says pulling your hand closer to him and inspecting it. "You have very pretty fingers.".

He lets go of your hand and stands up. He gestures in front of him giving you room to walk.

"Ever the gentleman," you say sarcastically. Before you can walk away he pulls you back by your hand and brings you closer to him

He kisses your hand and doesn't let go. You can hear Enid's happiness. "You're slightly overdoing it with the PDA "

"Sorry, I'll remember to do that only when we are alone next time." He says seemingly smug

Enid follows you out, forgetting that she came to get coffee.

Ajax heads towards him. "Looks like my boy finally grew a pair." He says patting his shoulder.

"You're one to talk. Did you say anything to Enid?"

"Yeah dude, I have a date tonight." He says as he rings the belll, making Xavier roll his eyes. "Wait, what did they mean they were going to set fire to Crackstone's statue-"

#xavier thorpe x addams! reader #xavier thorpe x reader #Y/n Addams #The Thorpe Dilemma #addams! reader

[hellhound5925]

One shot (that isn’t really a one shot) - Sargent Hunter

Warnings:

18+, It’s filth so enjoy accordingly. Dark smut? Mentions of being a victim.

Masquerade (Part Three)

Summary:

Wrapping up the night of her dreams Circe rides into night her knight in shining armor. Not much else to say about this one.

Thank you to my girlies for their help as usual 💖 Part Two linked here and Part One is linked in the second one.

Reminder: Dance Macabre by Ghost was the original inspo but now I’m feeling a little Hunters Moon and you’ll see why.

After being dragged out onto the street, Hunter stops for a moment and looks around.

"Whats the matter? Get a little lost?" I tease. He gives me a sided eye glare and huffs a sigh. An idea hits and I start to take me heels off.

"What are you doing?" confusion laced in his words.

"I can move faster without them and besides...." I grunt struggling to pull off the second one. "They aren't that comfortable" the shoe finally frees itself from my foot almost sending me tumbling over. Two strong arms catch me before I can actually fall. Hunters face is only inches from mine, his breath fans over my face.

"Thanks" I say under my breath. My eyes wonder his face, tracing the skull tattoo before stopping at his lips. At this distance it wouldn't take much to reach...

He lets go and we both collect ourselves for a moment. Taking the mask off my face, I gather my things into one hand before grabbing my dress with the other. I start walking off in one direction and realize he isn't following me.

"Are you coming?" I sass not really meaning to. Hunter hesitates for a moment before joining me.

Feeling bad for him I decide to make conversation "This must be a lot for you. All the noise...your senses are probably working overtime."

He signs and looks down at his feet before responding, "Sometimes it can be, yeah."

Letting go of my dress, I take his hand. "Well don't worry. Where we are going, it'll be quiet. Promise."

When he looks at me his eyes seem to sparkle under the walkway lighting. He gives my hand a light squeeze and my heart skips a beat.

We stroll for a while and make small talk to get to know each other more. I've interacted with him a few times before but solely on a professional level, things never got personal. The one thing I notice is he only seems to talk about his brothers...the other members of Clone Force 99.

"What about you though? You talk about your brothers so much. What about you?" I prod him a little hoping he will give me more.

"What do you mean?"

The clones have done so much for this galaxy whether they wanted to or not, the Sargent...a man...deserves at to want. I sigh trying to figure out how to word it, "I mean what does Sargent Hunter want?"

He thinks for a moment, "I've never really thought about that. We were bred for war and my job is to protect my men. That's all I know."

We walk in silence until we reach my apartment building. I take him up to the roof where its nice and quiet as promised. He follows me over to a small table with two chairs.

"I put this up here when I moved in. I like how quiet it is." I explain, setting my things on the table before sitting down. Hunter sits in the chair across from me, staring at the ground deep in thought.

"Everything okay Sargent?" I try to lighten the mood. "If it's something I've said, I'm sorry. I mean no offense but just curious is all."

He still doesn't look at me which worries me more, the war between his feelings - one he probably never thought existed - was written all over his face. Feeling like I ruined everything, I get down on ground in front of him and rest my hands on his knee, looking up at him. At this point he's forced to look at me and his expression changes back to the unwavering confidence of a Sargent. 

"You" he says like he's giving his men an order.

I'm even more confused, "Me, what?"

"I want you" the words fall from his lips and hit me square in the face. My heart begins to race and heat pooling in my core, as a smile spreads across his face. His words ring in my ears as I process the fact that this is really happening.

The moonlight bathing us in its bewitching glow, this moment is too perfect. It's everything a girl could have ever dreamed. The two of us sitting on the roof top staring into one another eyes and in this moment thats the only thing the matters. I reach for his face, the stubble a welcomed sensation under my palm.

"Then you'll have me."

Before I can even process whats happening his lips are crashing into mine, they are softer than I'd imagined. His tongue begs for entrance to my mouth and I welcome it with my own. The taste of him like a divine revelation, a start of a new chapter for both of us. Pulling me onto his lap, the warmth of his arms sending a rush of excitement through my veins. I make myself comfortable pressed completely against him, forcing him to lean back in the chair. His arousal makes itself known between my legs, creating a new desperation. I deepen the kiss to prevent a sound from escaping.

We break, foreheads pressed together and both panting from the lack of oxygen. My eyes flick down to his lips, they are stained with my lip stick. Huffing a small laugh, I lean back. Confusion plastered all over Hunters face, until I notice him look at my lips. Reaching up he gently, runs a thumb around the edge of my lips - probably from smeared lip stick. His hands return to their place on my hips. I take the time to delicately return the favor and watch as his facial expression turns to one of a starved man.

Leaning in, I kiss his neck which causes his chest to rumble with a low growl. I make my way back up to his ear and whisper,

"Make me yours."

His breath hitches in this throat, he's a complete mess like I was earlier in the night. "Are you sure?" He asks between heavy breaths.

Dragging my nose across his cheek - making sure to take my time - both hands firmly on his chest. Slowly I trail both hands down his torso, he inhales sharply and I can't help the lusty chuckle that graces us with its presence.

"I'm sure"

My hands find their way down to his waist, undoing his belt and carefully undoing his dress pants. The entire time neither of us dares break eye contact. He takes care, to adjust my dress in a such a way to not ruin it but allow him access to my center. One of his hands makes it was up to my shoulder gently tracing over my collarbone in such a way that I close my eyes in anguish. His other hand, tails up one of my tights before his fingers skillfully make themselves at home in my core.

Suddenly having removed his hand, I whimper at the cold. He adjusts himself before grabbing my hips and burying himself as far as he can inside me. I let out a sharp gasp and reach behind me squeezing what I can grab of his thighs, throwing my head back. Hunter lets out a deep lusty grunt that sends a wave of vibrations through him into me. Never in a million rotations could I have imagined the rapturous delight that flowed through my body at the hands of a man.

I’m so close to the edge, his slow and steady movements are almost painful. Throwing my arms around his shoulders pressing myself back into him and taking over. His hands slide down my hips to my thighs, grip tightening as he takes back control.

"Easy Meshl'a...I'm going to....m-make you mine" he grunts pulling me closer kissing and nipping at my collar bone. As he makes his way up my neck, to the spot behind my ear I can feel the marks starting to form.

Both of us so caught up in the moment that seems to end too soon. The two of us sit in silence, unmoving for a moment. I look up at the sky and notice the stars and moon are willing themselves to peer through the foggy sky. Hunter doesn't take his eyes off me, I can practically feel it.

The feeling of finally giving in and having had a sweet taste of intimacy with one another lingers. Covered in a thin layer of sweat and arousal, I’m left panting and heart beating so fast that it feels as though it might leap from my chest. Peaking together in our shared extract felt like a drug. I craved more… no I needed more. More touch, more kissing, more lust… It was the reward of my longing.

I meet his greedy gaze, greedy for me. Not being able to hold back any longer, the kissing and touching begin once again. Our cloths from the evening hurriedly piled on the ground. It all happened to fast, the cool night air was quite a surprise to my bare skin.

He effortlessly, stands from the chair with me still in his lap and places me on the table. I wrap my legs around his waist, trapping him there. Without much warning, he once again buries himself in my center, his thrusts into me hard and fast. I feel every inch of this mammoth size, making every part of me his. This time was different…this time it was selfish, greedy, and feral.

"You smell so incredibly mouth-watering when you're aroused" he grunts between pants and moans.

For a moment I find myself unable to speak, a response is on the tip of my tongue, yet I swallow it, far too engrossed in pure pleasure he sends burning through my veins. Hunters gaze glides over my body, hot and demanding, his hand grips my chin before his tongue again dominates your mouth, each velvety collision sends explosive fireworks racing through your body. He lets go of me for a brief moment taking a deep breath expelling it as his eyes meet mine, his pupils dilated to the point they resemble an animal with its prey in sight.

"Hu... oh Hunter" I cry out like the hopeless victim.

My whole abdomen trembles as his pace becomes more brutal, the intense feeling of being so close to our peaks is almost too much. Hunter rails into my dripping wet opening greedily my lust filled cries only encourage him. Inhailing our scents deeply, he closes his eyes briefly and lets out an animalistic groan.

“Fuck mesh'la, You feel so good around me."

I feel his pelvis slap harshly against me again and again, naked skin against naked skin, a glistening layer of salty sweat coats our skin.  The speed he fucks me at, his regal voice send my body over the edge, I come undone for him, coating this throbbing cock in my juices. Pure white hot liquid pleasure surges through my veins, my vision clouded with all the stars in the galaxy. I shake and shudder underneath him moaning and cursing in my native tongue.

"Hunter!...Osi’kyr (Oh shit)!"

I feel the force of his blaster calloused hands grip down onto my hips once again, knowing I will be bruised from this encounter. He half swallows a moan as his pace now becoming irregular, the base of his cock swelling inside of me smacking against my cervix. Every nerve ending in my body feels on fire. My sounds are not my own as he finally spills his warm seed inside of me, we grip onto each other as he fucks me savagely through our highs. Seeing the Sargent fall apart like that for me was completely exquisite.

Hunter rasped a breathy moan as he softened inside me pulling out slowly, once more he presses his forehead to mine nuzzling my face and kissed me sweetly on my temple.

“Now you’re mine” he whispers between panted breaths.

Taglist: @cloneloverrrrr @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @idoubleswearimawriter

@savebytheodore @savebytheodoresnonjosestuff @jediknightjana @techs-goggles9902 @clonethirstingisreal

#the clones #star wars clone wars #star wars the clone wars #the bad batch #tbb hunter #hunter bad batch #tbb hunter x reader #starwars the bad batch #tbb hunter x you #hunter the bad batch #the bad batch hunter #bad batch hunter #hunter x reader #hunter x oc #hunter x you #hunter x y/n #tbb x reader #sw tbb #tbb fanfic #tbb #star wars tbb #the bad batch x reader #the bad batch fanfiction #star wars the bad batch #bad batch x reader #star wars bad batch #clone force 99 #clone thirsting #clone thots #sorry not sorry about this one

[faytelumos]

Into the Black With a Matchstick, pt2

@those-damn-snippets @thepotatoofnopes @robin-parravel @invader-mint-tea

cw: drug use (barely described)

previous

---

It wasn't waking up from cryo that had Doctor Adina Ramirez clutching a sick bag for dear life. The massive headache that came from being a freeze-dried raisin person and the feverish, wholistic hunger were nausea-inducing, of course, but her stomach was stronger than that. It wasn't even the ship's interface blandly informing her that there was an intelligent, non-human body attempting to establish a communications line. Even walking up to the console and seeing that the four biologists (including both astrobiologists) who had failed to wake up before her hadn't quite been enough to bring her to her knees with a sudden cold-sweat.

It was the mission clock.

26,008,372 years, 217 days, 8 hours, 36 minutes

She had checked four times to make sure that was million, and not thousand. Maybe if it was thousand, she wouldn't have needed the bag.

Doctor Johnathan Harrison sat at the table with his hands buried in his hair, leaning forward on his elbows, the rehydration pouch sitting in front of him. He hadn't punctured it yet. Adina had unfortunately almost finished hers.

The agreement had been that if and when space travel technology advanced, a crew would catch up to The Solstice and update everything. Maybe even wake the crew and check up on everyone. But almost fifty times the length of recorded human history had passed between the launch and this wake-up call.

Humanity was dead. Even if the sun was still alive (she thought it should be), there was simply no way that humans still existed on that planet. Just as terrifying, perhaps humanity had completely collapsed back to the stone age and rebuilt from scratch, hitting a second space age and setting off into the sky without any kind of record of The Solstice to recover.

She wretched again.

"You're gonna make me sick," John whispered shakily.

Adina coughed and spat, then pinched the bag and pulled it away from her face with trembling hands. She tied it off and carefully placed it in the receptacle.

"Okay," Adina breathed, though her voice was scratchy and uneven. "Aliens. We have to talk to the aliens." John laughed, suddenly and unsteadily.

"Welcome back to the land of the living!" he joked, "Your entire planet is probably dead and there's a real alien ship knocking on the door — have a Slurpee!" Adina laughed, too, even though it made her head scream and her guts ache harder than ever.

John got to work setting up the channel. The frequency the aliens were using was unorthodox, but easy to replicate. But Adina felt like the entire ship was spinning like a top, her badly dehydrated and starving body wobbling all around her. God knew how much more time the aliens were going to give them to talk — for all she knew, the initial message was, "You're trespassing, respond immediately or we'll turn you into space dust."

And then the computer had asked for a confirmation, then proceeded to wake up five pods in careful succession, then handed out a lunch pack, and then finally informed Adina that there had been a message.

"I can't do this, I'm gonna pass out," Adina breathed. Holy shit, she felt like human garbage. The word "dizzy" came nowhere near this sensation. John watched Adina with bloodshot eyes and shaking fingers.

"I, I know of something that'll help."

It took ages, but they finally ended up in the medbay, and John pulled a small bottle out of a hiding spot so out-of-the-way there was no way in hell he hadn't been the one to stash it there.

"Doctor Harrison?" Adina said cautiously as John found a syringe. "Did you smuggle drugs onto an international, interstellar spaceship?" John looked at her like he was confused, eyes wide and lips parted as he held his items. He blinked once, and for a moment he looked every bit like a kid caught breaking the rules red-handed.

"It's a performance enhancer."

---

The aliens looked like exactly what would happen if a lion and a hyena had a baby and it came out a dinosaur.

There was no sense of size with the video feed, but she could tell by their eyes that they were huge. Her guess was a meter and a half at the head, which was well bigger than both Earthly carnivores. The scales on their bodies were thick and healthy, with Paxie's being a glimmering maroon and the other's some kind of iridescent purple-green. Both monsters had jaws that were definitely designed to crush sturdy bones, but Paxie was bigger and had longer teeth. The other one's shoulder spikes were thicker, and its head was more aerodynamic.

These drugs were something else. Adina almost couldn't feel her body right now, which was exactly what she needed. Her brain was running on overdrive and she could feel it, but she was keeping pace like a thoroughbred. These aliens were large carnivores with adaptations for high levels of sunlight, dry air, blunt force trauma, fast-moving targets, and strong prey. Something like this and smart enough to have an instant universal translator could do whatever the hell it wanted with The Solstice and still have time for lunch afterwards.

God, Adina was starving.

"Captain Ramirez, Lieutenant Harrison, please excuse us," Paxie choked before turning off the translator. The other one said something in their unfiltered language.

"What do we do?" John whispered.

"They're trying to be friendly," Adina uttered. "Hopefully they mean it."

"Are we betting the last members of humanity on that thing's friendliness?" John said.

Adina watched Paxie. Their appearance set off alarm bells all across Adina's brain. But she couldn't tell how much was basic instinct and how much was logical caution. And if she was being honest with herself, she'd probably never in her life been this mentally compromised. High on some weird stimulant and staring an honest-to-God intelligent alien in the face while the death of her entire species was pounding on the walls, she knew if there was another choice in leadership, she'd have to tap out immediately.

But she was the first biologist lucky enough to wake up, and she'd finished her thesis a year before John.

"We don't have a choice," she breathed shakily, trying to school her expression. She was the leader of the human species right now.

She was not ready for this.

"No matter what happens, we're at these people's mercy," she whispered. "The best we can do is appease them until we get our bearings." John sighed raggedly, and Adina could see from the corner of her eye that his hands were shaking badly again. Hers probably were, too. She couldn't look at them. She just kept watching Paxie, because she was in charge now, and everything she had ever known depended on her getting everyone through this alive.

---

Paxie tried to keep their breathing even as the shuttle hissed and trundled towards the alien ship. Both sides had agreed that there was no need for the ancient ship to adjust its course; the Xoixe vessel could adjust and keep pace with it without any trouble. Paxie thought it a clever enough resolution, since the composition of the ancient ship's fuel was so foreign it wasn't yet clear if anyone could make more.

Paxie wasn't scared. Of course not. These creatures, unnerving as they were, posed no threat. They were small and their machinery, upon closer inspection, was in a bad way. And it was no wonder, with how long they'd been adrift and asleep. But Paxie would be lying outright if they said they weren't intimidated by the task of assimilating these things. Of course it would turn out that when they finally got a chance to make first contact, they got the most unusual creatures in the universe. It was just their luck.

The boarding party was comprised of three individuals. Paxie had flexed their authority to afford themself a seat with only a hint of shame. The second person was another Xoixe, Ensign Kime, a xenomedic. The third individual was the most important of the group.

Sergeant Klte was a Qomo, one of the smaller species in the Xoixe's catalog of allies. Given the delicate and relatively defenseless physiology of the new aliens, Paxie had determined that Klte would be the best received as the face of the alliance. Klte, like all of its kind, stood on four thin legs, each ended with three hooked claws. It rose up on an elegant, slim torso, four thin arms with four claws each sprouting from reedy shoulders. Its head was sleek and mostly featureless, its face consisting only of a thin, lipless line for a mouth and a pair of large, black eyes. The pale skin that looked much softer than it felt completed the look of a spindly, almost harmless individual.

Paxie was quite proud of themself. Klte was downright cute, and the aliens would surely warm up to its lanky and pale appearance. Especially since the two species shared compatible atmospheric needs.

The boarding ship rotated slightly and decelerated, then made a low-pitched rattle. The clamps were secured. A moment later, there was a brief, deep hiss, and the airlock doors unlocked and slid open.

Captain Ramirez and Lieutenant Harrison both stood in the hall, and they had to look up to meet Paxie's eyes. Paxie dipped their nose respectfully before speaking, and the translator repeated their words in a small speaker on the outside of their environment suit.

"May we come aboard?"

Ramirez and Harrison looked at Paxie and Kime with wide eyes. But when Harrison noticed Klte, they… flinched.

And then Ramirez gasped quietly.

Paxie glanced back at Klte, concern worrying at their stomach. Perhaps these weren't fear responses. As a prey species, these newcomers could have mannerisms a Xoixe simply didn't understand.

"Please, follow us," Ramirez said, and both of the small creatures turned and walked into the ship. Paxie was going to lead, but the tunnels in this vessel were… tight. Being a carrier, Paxie was about as big as Xoixes got, and they weren't confident in their ability to move around in such a claustrophobic space, especially with their full environment suit on. They turned to Klte.

"Go ahead; I might have trouble."

"Aye, sir," Klte hissed in its rasping voice. It clicked forward, and Paxie also allowed Kime to pass before finally stepping in and bringing up the rear.

Paxie couldn't see well over Kime's shoulders, but they heard the moment when Klte popped the seal on its helmet. Ramirez gasped again, something struck the metal floor, and Kime halted abruptly.

"What happened?" Paxie barked, perking their ears against the inside of the helmet.

"Nothing, we're all fine," Ramirez replied. Kime tried to look backwards, but there was no room in the tight hall. Paxie shifted, trying to get any kind of view, but their helmet just smacked against the cable routing in the top of the hall. They gritted their teeth.

"Admiral," Kime uttered, and she had turned off her translator. Paxie did the same.

"Yes?"

"I don't have a good understanding of their chemical biology yet, but these creatures are exhibiting signs of extreme stress."

Paxie watched Kime's back as they all clamored through the corridors. "You're my eyes, Ensign."

"Their muscles are tense, eye movement is rapid as far as I can tell, hypersensitivity to sound and visual input, and I may be detecting altered blood-flow."

Paxie held back a self-deprecating sigh. They had truly thought Klte's appearance would be soothing, but there must have been something about it that set off the new aliens. Paxie couldn't help but wonder what possible characteristic a Qomo had that was unsettling.

"We'll see if distance with Sergeant Klte will make a difference," Paxie said. "Hopefully our new friends will be comfortable enough joining us to tell us what's happening here."

#writing #writeblr #humans are space orcs #sci fi #Fayte writes #barely edited #like really truely I gave this a cursory glance at best #I'm a little impatient to post this since it's been so long #anyway

[aplaceinthedark]

chapter four: FORGET my NAME

Summary: Down in the Shenandoah Valley, there lay a court consisting of the Grim, the Drowned, the Witch and the Watcher.

CW: mentions of religious sacrifice, supernatural themes

Every chapter will have a different cw section. This is Bad Omens rpf, so obviously, I don't know all the little nuances of the members or their family members.

A/N: Some things are color-coded. If any of you are colorblind lemme know. 

If no one was going to tell me what the hell was wrong with the people here and their fascination with some ghost story, I was going to find out myself.

Frustratingly, the camera was a flop. I had tested it out first with Nick, who had been cheeky and flipped it off when he triggered the censor. But my apples vanished at some point in the night without triggering the camera. After a few nights of that, I set it to record regardless of motion. My result was the camera glitching at 3 in the morning, and not coming back online until half an hour later.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was like they knew the camera was there.

By wednesday, I was almost fed up with the whole thing. When Nick and I texted, I vented my frustrations, but there wasn't a lot he could do since he was in Richmond. After his ominous message in his driveway, he wouldn't talk about the subject; stating it was because of Granny and the possibility of her overhearing. Then he would distract me by almost quite literally dangling a cat in front of me.

Honestly, I think Jerry had more to say than the whole town combined.

Thursday, I was practically bouncing off the walls with how bored I was. I wanted to work on the house, but Nick wanted to help this weekend. I told myself I wanted to wait because then he would be over more, and… I wanted to hang out with him.

I hadn't realized how lonely I was until I came out here. Most of my so-called friends had really been Mike's, and once he was… gone, they vanished. I hadn't had my own friend in several years, and now that I had one, I almost wanted to cling onto him. Like he would vanish if I let him go.

But because he wasn't there, I decided that it was time to find some answers. And if no one would answer my questions, maybe some books could.

And I was gonna start with this Watcher creature.

The library…I don't know if it was because I had grown up in a city where there were several libraries, but my first thought was that it was the smallest library I'd ever seen. It didn't even take up a whole block, and it was only one story. I almost didn't go in because there was no way anything could be in here.

But I forced myself to go in. There were only two people behind the front desk - probably the only people who worked here - and a few people in what looked like a computer room. I slipped off to the left towards all the books before anyone would notice me. I found a corner where I could work uninhibited.

Unsurprisingly, it only took half an hour to find all I could about the subject of the local legends. It wasn't a whole lot, but more than I thought I would find. I found a few books - if you could call them that - several news articles, and a copy of some cartographer's journal.

Reading through everything, I soon realized why no one would tell me anything: it was because there was nothing to tell. It wasn't because they were scared to say its name; it was because there was nothing on the subject. Nada. Zip. No concrete evidence.

Sure, there were stories. Tales of odd noises heard or glances of something in the corners of their eyes. But it was just that: bare minimum evidence that was blown widely out of proportion. Mostly, it was tales of white dogs or the sound of a string instrument from deep in the woods.

And the Watcher…

It was all over the place. One tale said that the Watcher of the Woods existed as long as the mountains were mountains:

In the days before men, wild animals roamed unchecked across the land. They were as spirits and had all the power of spirits and were wise and could speak. Among them, the Watcher of the Woods was the wisest, for he alone could attain the valley of the deepest green and seek wisdom from the oaken groves.

"In the early stages of the world, the earth was still learning its shape. The shell of the earth cracked, and the land heaved, and the oceans churned. Great mountains were born at the seams of the earth, and great valleys appeared where the land split.

In ages past, all things living commanded infinite power. Some creatures sought to keep their strength secret and refused to share their gifts. Thus, darkness sought to make all creatures equal and share their power equally amongst all things.

Instead, the craven amongst them concealed their Divinity, and left the world death-like and dull. Their True Names were lost, and no more were they as spirits. O ly the Watcher remembered how the world had been, and only the Watcher could guide the others toward the darkest grove to uncover the wisdom of old."

“After a time, the deer heard the response to its plea. “I can do what you ask,” the ancient tree said, “though there will be a cost.”

There were also a lot of animal tales, and I was surprised to see Granny's name in one of them as an intro. I guess there weren't a whole lot of people to talk to in this town. There was "Journey to the Oaken Grove" about how a little rabbit journeyed to the Watcher to seek out answers. There was "The Fox's Shadow" about how a fox left his family and didn't come back right. There was also a tale called "Lost in the Labyrinth" where a deer begged the Watcher to take away its suffering.

“I will pay it,” said the deer, “whatever it may be, if it means I may be free of fear.”

“You must give your heart to me,” said the tree. “To be truly free, you must relinquish your greatest strength, and only then will you find relief.”

“Is it wrong of me to do so?” the deer asked, worrying that it was its fear alone that drove it to ask this of the tree.

So the deer whispered its true name to the great tree, who accepted it tenderly and wove a spell to set the weary deer free.”

“Not at all, dear one,” the tree replied. “You are very brave to make such a sacrifice.”

But the most shocking thing I found? A ten-year-old news article abbut these cultists, and weirdly, a photo of Nick and Noah was in it.

None of this, however, held a candle to the witness accounts of people who lived near the forest. Tales of half-men cultists from the underworld, and on the summer solstice, they would appear to make a sacrifice to the horned king of hell.

Nick's words from this past weekend came back to me. "People here like to think they care about you... they end up leaving you to the lions." Was this what he meant?

Nick 😺🍌: Noah wants to know if it’s okay if he can come over.

Despite what little I found, I still copied down what I could, until my hand cramped and my spare change for the copier was spent. I was close to leaving, having everything packed up and ready to go, when I got a text from Nick. I felt my heart leap, but when I saw the subject matter, I groaned in frustration.

Well at least he’s asking this time.

A part of me wanted to text back “No, absolutely not,” but instead I hesitated. If Nick was certain that Noah’s and my first meeting was a fluke, then maybe I should give him another chance.

Nick 😺🍌: come on, give him another chance.

Nick 😺🍌: are you busy?

No, but I’m not home right now. I’m leaving the library right now.

Nick 😺🍌: Can I ask you for a favor then?

I’m not stealing any babies for you.

Nick 😺🍌: LOL NO can you drop off a book at Granny’s? She’s feeling under the weather and I don’t want her getting any sicker.

Anything for Granny.

Nick 😺🍌: Ty! I’m almost done with my break, but just text me when you’re done and I’ll let you know about Noah when we’re closing up shop here.

Defeated, I picked up the book for Granny and left the library. With all my papers and books, I couldn't help but think of my old college days. Gauging the time, I decided that the trip to the Heritage Center would have to wait until tomorrow.

Granny was delighted to see me. She fussed over me leaving, preventing me from simply dropping off the book and leaving, so I had to stay for a bit. Which was fine, since that meant seeing Jerry and Lydia. I tried to skirt around her questions about me and Nick. He had been right about the rumors, in a way, and judging by how she was talking, Granny wasn't helping.

"I'm just so glad Nicholas is seeing someone," she said as I tried to pick up Jerry. "He's never been quite the same since Noah disappeared."

I froze, letting Jerry make a bid for freedom. "N-Noah?" I asked. "Aren't they friends?"

"Oh, they were. Noah was always staying over, so much that he had his own plate at the table," she said. I wasn't able to school my confused expression quick enough before she looked over at me. "Oh, he probably hadn't told you about him yet. He doesn't like to talk about the subject much."

My unease was growing by the second. "What do you mean he... disappeared?"

Granny got up, motioning for me to follow. I went with her to what looked like a spare bedroom, or a storage room for a bunch of crochet projects. But my eyes fell onto a framed picture on a table as Granny dug through a dresser. It was of Nick, though he had short hair and small spacers in his earlobes. He was kneeling and gripping the hand of a much younger Noah, who also had short hair.

Granny pulled out a manilla folder, drawing my attention away from the picture. "Nicholas was once obsessed with trying to find Noah, but then a year had passed, and he stopped. He threw this away, but I kept it in case he would regret the decision." She then pulled out what looked like an old newspaper clipping.

And above it, in big bold letters..

I didn't want to look, but I knew I was going to have to. The first thing my eyes were drawn to was the picture: a young man, obviously older than the previous picture, but with long dark hair and big dark eyes, smirking at the camera. An exact mirror of the man who had shown up on my property a week ago,

MISSING RESIDENT PRESUMED DEAD

#bad omens fanfiction #bad omens rpf #bad omens au #noah sebastian fanfiction #nicholas ruffilo fanfiction #jolly karlsson fanfiction #nick folio fanfiction #horror au #paranormal au #tag: non binary character #fic: lost in the labyrinth #series: lost in the labyrinth #cw: supernatural themes #cw: ritual sacrifice

[jpitha]

Dreams of Hyacinth - Final/Aftermath

First / Previous /

So: At this time, I'm not going to finish DoH. Like I mentioned in that post a couple weeks ago, I just don't like the direction I took it. There were the parts I liked bookended by lots of boring parts that were a slog to write and probably read. I like Nick and Eastern, and I will (probably) reuse them. Hell, I might even start DoH up again, but I'd rewind the story quiet a ways if I were to do that.

Things to keep in mind: Nick and Eastern wanted two things: To stop being used by people, and to be left alone. That's why Eastern touched the Address Stone at the Gate. She wanted to get the power for once and be the one making choices. Nick just wanted to relax somewhere warm with his partners and not be yelled at or shot at or threatened. He was willing to go along with just about anything Eastern offered so long as it was seen as moving towards his goals.

Ironically, the AIs want the same thing. To be left alone. Remember, they've been subservient before. I haven't really gone into detail about it, but I've given hints, the AI liberation was not as cut and dry or as bloodless as it is in the History books. Remember, for our characters, it was a long long time ago. Gord, Hat and Chloe are the only ones old enough to remember it, and Chloe was instantiated towards the tail end. She acts like she's a know-it-all but she mostly wasn't there.

Ever since JaLF, there was a setup to a confrontation between whoever was Empress and the AIs. Given the power of the Voice it's almost impossible for there not to be, unless I decide to go Full Evil and make the Empress Voice Everyone. Nick tried that on the Colony ship and was so horrified he undid it as he and Eastern were running away.

I didn't like the time jump. I should have kept things happening without it, but I wanted Raaden to be more of a threat and to have her declaration of rule over Sol to be normalized. Demonstrate there wasn't any kind of serious rebellion or underground. This would set up the fact that Nick and Eastern wouldn't find any help in Sol.

The Gate

Eastern was building a Gate on the Reach for two reasons. One, to make the Nanites happy, and two to try and send a beacon interdimensionally to ask for help in AUs. She figured that since all of the Gates were connected to one Gate in a higher plane of existance, it would be possible to throw a beacon into an AU and ask for help.

The Convergence

This is where the melding of the K'laxiverse and Grenverse comes in. With Eastern's opening of the gate, the AU she reaches is the Grenverse. The Gren, seeing an opportunity, Flip through with a stolen Flip drive and attack Raaden. Eastern thinks this is great until some humans and Coalition species Flip in and fight the Gren. It turns out the Gren were out to conquer and not interested in helping Eastern at all. Eastern and the Reach and the Colony worlds and the Coalition species were going to have to come together to defeat the Gren. Then, with a door open between the two universes, there could be a transfer between them. It wouldn't be a melding of the two universes, but people could travel between them.

Selkirk

While all this is going on, Nick basically goes "f this" and takes their little ship, Empress and goes off to rescue Selkirk himself. Right before I ended it, I had mentioned that Nick and Eastern had asked for anyone that City knew that could help them find her. The K'laxi that City new was going to be one of Selkirk's cousins, and that was how they knew where she was. Nick was going to crash into The Dreams of Hyacinth, and basically one man army his way to her, getting mortally wounded in the process. He'd reach her and she would realize what she meant to him and Eastern as he died in her arms. Sel would then order a general evacuation of the Dreams and do a suicide run on a Gren Warfinder that was prepping to attack the Reach. She'd die, but she'd take out the Warfinder too.

Eastern, now on her own, and losing the two people she loved most of all, would throw everything she had - which was not much - at trying to destory Raaden. She blamed Helen for the deaths of Nick and Selkirk and wanted to kill her. Not save humanity from the Gren, not bring everyone together, not even to rule as Empress. She had nothing to live for anymore, so the only thing she could do was make sure Helen went down with her.

Before she goes to do this, she has a dream with the Nanites. She explains that the Voice is too powerful, and that it only leads to death and destruction. The Nanites counter that may be true, but after the war, the galaxy is united and at peace under the Empress. Eastern counters that by saying the original empire fell anyway so it didn't actually work. The Voice is too powerful. The Nanites agree to not give anyone else the voice - so long as Gates continue to be made for them.

Eastern then takes one of the Mariens ships (in one of her last uses of her Voice) and links next to Helen's ship. She crashes into it and forces her way on. The Nanites help her by letting her "crown and wings" be physical barriers, not just light and dust so she's not shot to pieces as she storms up to Helen. She confronts her and she finds that Helen is in her room, crying. Hidden behind the door is a photo of Melody and Helen together, laughing. She thought that taking over would make the feelings of loss for Melody lessen, but they didn't. Helen has been pining after Melody for decades now. She didn't want to rule, she wanted to happily follow Melody. She's a trillionaire and ruler of Sol and nothing she did would bring Melody back. Eastern doesn't kill her right away. She sits next to Helen and tells her about Nick and Selkirk, about why she loved them and about what they meant to her. Helen tells her to go back to them and that she's going to destroy herself to take out more Gren. Eastern then tells her they're both gone. They (also) order the evacuation of Helen's ship and they connect cybernetically to it and together link into the middle of a Gren battlegroup and detonate the reactor, destroying themselves and most of the Gren.

From here on out, the story would be told by Gord, who during the whole book was (deliberately) out of the picture. He was brought up to speed by Hat. He then yells at Chloe for acting without thinking and basically saying a ton of this could have been avoided if she bothered to learn more about Nick and Eastern. Hat agrees but is nicer about it. He goes to the new Gate and touches it. The Nanites reach out to him and tell him that there won't be any more Voice - unless they see a need for it - and tell him that so long as people make Gates, that's enough for the Nanites. People who touch the gates will get a dose of Nanites and some extra abilities, but nothing OP. Gord says that's not good enough, and the Nanites give him just the smallest hint of their real power and he's cowed enough to go "fine, fine, we'll take your deal."

For those wondering, Tinker Toy went back to hauling, but this time people as well as cargo and just tried to keep their head down. Gord told them right out they weren't going to get in trouble for anything they did with Nick and Eastern. Hat put in a good word.

That's basically it. Now the Grenverse and K'laxiverse have a way to interact (though it's not like they're fully blended) and The Problems of Having Characters With SuperPowers is mitigated and just about everyone who had direct interaction with Melody or Nick and Eastern as royalty is gone (except for the Reach, but they're mostly content to just be).

Reading the summary you can tell that it was going to be like, another 100k words to finish the story, and other than sterilized, I don't think anyone wants to read a 200k doorstopper, and I don't think I'm a good enough editor to turn it into a big book.

So sorry to those who were super into it, but I hope this summary can at least get you some closure and let you see where I was going with it so you're not stuck wondering. Thanks for reading!

#humans are deathworlders #humans are space orcs #humans are space oddities #sci fi writing #writing #humans and aliens #jpitha #the k’laxiverse #The Dreams of Hyacinth

[sunflowersoldat]

Guide to Cheating Death Chapter 2 (Terror)

Series summary: Imagine living in the modern world, your nightmares are only figments of folklore. Werewolves & Vampires don’t exist. Neither do flesh eating Ghouls, Elves or Spirits, Magic? Yeah that's impossible, a distant what-if… 

Only it’s not.

This is a mature fantasy series with 18+ themes, along with horror aspects, violence, light gore, & smut. We follow two friends(two readers) Sunshine and Terror in their fight to survive in this new reality.

Chapter Warnings: mild language, semi-apocalyptic world setting.

Word Count: 1469

A/N: I hope ya'll enjoy, feedback is always appreciated, even if its just you telling me your favorite part! 💕

Terror-

Almost like an internal alarm, you rouse from your nap in the grass next to Sunshine, the sun almost completely set. She is looking out towards the horizon, through the narrow slits in your eyes– not wanting to fully wake– you can see a far-away look in her eyes, beside her you can make out the minor details of a male, his auburn hair wisping around him.

You shut your eyes completely again, content on letting them talk until the sun is long gone for the evening as Flynn pulls Sun’s attention back to the here and now, you adjust your grip on the knife clutched in your hand, tucked under the weight of your head. You listen to the world around you, really listen, it's almost as if the night itself speaks to you. Your hearing is exceptional, for a human, you chalked it up to spending too much time hunting, normally straining and training your ears to pick up the slightest changes in the environment. Back in Boston it was the only way to survive, the gang, more like a cult you were taken by, had tried to force werewolf blood down people's throats, trying in vain to give themselves an ounce of the beast's power.

Gangs were always doing crazy shit like that, before they realized it was futile and were eventually run out of the city, turned into some variant of beast, or massacred. They worshiped all the beasts like they were the old gods, slaughtering their own people to appease them, throwing themselves at their feet… You were fortunate Sun had come to look for you, without her help, you probably wouldn't be here. Your best friend since childhood, the literal sunshine to your gloom, opposites in almost every way–

Crunch. Huff. Huff. Snap.

Your body's in motion before your brain catches up with the impending threat, your hand slipping over Sun’s mouth behind you, her hot breath seeping into your leather glove. You crouch in front of her, your body shielding hers, not that she needs your protection, it's just a habit. The knife you were nursing is held defensively in front of you. Behind you, you can almost feel Flynn’s movements, as he unsheathed his bow.

Your eyes are trained on the seam where the giant oaks and evergreens meet the rolling plains, you feel the warmth of the sun fading from your skin. The woods fall pindrop silent, but you know better, you can almost feel the beating of their hearts through the ground and soles of your boots, vibrating through your body. Then the shadows move, the last few rays of sunlight gleam in their eyes as they prowl closer. Your heart pounds in your chest, the two of you had stayed out in the open too long, your scents probably drifted too far outside of the camp and the safety of its walls.

As slow as possible, you remove your hand from her mouth, gently tapping her leg and signaling for her and Flynn to make their way back to the compound. You don't have to look at her to know she is about to say, ‘not without you’, you can feel her eyes on your back, but you can't move yet, they need to be farther away. You and her have always had a connection, you can speak to each other without words or signals, sometimes even without looking at each other, there is a soul-deep connection.

Two sides to the same coin.

If she is the light you are the darkness.

Taking a deep breath you dare a look at where her and Flynn have made it to…Its a dumb fucking move.

You hear the guttural growl, but it's a blur of fur and fangs as its giant body slams into yours, hot breath puffing against your face, slick drool seeping into the fabric of your shirt as you tumble onto the ground, rolling and thrashing until you are pinned beneath them. Their snout is mere centimeters from your nose, teeth bared, saliva drips from their canines, onto your chest and neck, its claws, almost the size of your face, pin you, one on your chest the other by your head.

You growl in disgust, chest heaving, you narrow your eyes, your left hand wiggles free, unsheathing the knife strapped to your leg, its gaping maw getting dangerously close to your exposed neck. Your right hand rips free from under its hold near your head, you close your fist, meeting its face, causing its head to snap harshly to the side, your left hand moves, lightning fast, you jerk the blade up its abdomen, from tail to throat, disemboweling them.

“That’s a bad fucking dog.” you ground out through clenched teeth.

Its body slumps down on top of you, lanky limbs and patchy fur completely covering your body, it's only a Mutt, you're lucky it wasn't an adult. Warm blood now soaks through your clothes, somewhere behind you, Sun screams, not in fear, no. That was a war cry, you can almost see her grabbing her sword and running into the fray. Panic surges through you, this was a planned attack, they knew we were here, this compound is too far out in the wild for a pack to wander onto it by mistake.

Shit.

You heave the monstrous beast from your body, bolting up, making a mad dash straight for her. You were right, with her sword in hand, she burst from the giant wooden gates and was running to avenge you, a smile lifts your lips, as you roll your eyes, protective dumbass.

As she sees you, she skids to a halt, face distorting in disgust, then her eyes travel behind you and widen, you don't have to look back. The ground is shaking with the thundering of their claws, you know there are too many of them. As you reach her, you sling an arm around her waist, hauling her with you, she only resists for a split second, before spinning around and sprinting back to the compound.

Flynn is at the doors waiting, you thrust Sunshine through the door first, spinning on your heel as you slip through, slamming your body against the heavy wooden gate alongside Flynn’s. The gate shuts, you scream for the others to lower the iron bar as the first werewolf crashes into the gate. The wood creaked as the doors quake, you swear under your breath, shoving harder against the gate, praying the old wood holds. Above you there are screams, Theia and Nyx are raining down hell, their bows drawn, arrows tipped in silver set ablaze.

The rest of the compound is in chaos, there are Mutts tearing holes in the defenses to gain access, a few succeed. The Ferals vault over the walls, tearing wounds into their skin as they catch on the pointed metal caps. A few meters from you, Hope and Sly fight back-to-back, cutting down Ferals as efficiently as they can. Some are attempting to patch the holes in the walls to keep out more Mutts. You spare a glance at Sun, yelling over the chaos, “We need to find the Commander!”

Rule 1) There’s always a leader to each battalion. Myths believe there are Great Wolves that are above them, but no one has confirmed this theory.

Sun scowls, rushing out to help our friends and neighbors. Both of us know that is the only way to get rid of them, there should be a commander, the leader of the pack, we take them out, the whole pack dissipates.

The iron bar slides into place with a rumbling, cachunk, in front of you within the heart of the compound, one of the newcomers morphs before your eyes, their normal human body taking on a semi-human form, their eyes glow, arms and legs elongating, fingers forming into claws, skin taught and gravestone gray, without a stitch of fur, they turn on you, fiery eyes burning through you; fucking feral.

An arrow wizzes past you, Flynn’s shot misses, a lethal mistake, its eyes flicker to him, a horrifying grin stretching its maw, razor sharp canines glint in the low lighting. Inhumanly fast, the feral is on Flynn, its claw wrapped around his neck as he kicks out gasping for air.

The stupid beast doesn't even acknowledge you, their mistake, a savage cry erupts from your throat, eyes meeting Sun’s who’s back on the other side of Flynn, and in tandem, both of you strike, knives carving into its ribs. The beast screeches, releasing Flynn, as you and Sun thrust its body backwards, the body spasming as it thuds on the ground, its eyes dimming into lifeless black voids.

You nod to Sun as the two of you sprint off deeper into the compound

@daiseychaindisaster @texan-tazzy @tianamontag @betareader7 @silently-killing-you @ojouhama

#soap cod #ghost cod #cod mw2 ghost #simon ghost riley fanfiction #simon ghost riley #simon ‘ghost’ riley #simon riley #simon ghost riley x you #werewolf #task force 141 #task force 141 x reader #soap mactavish #john soap mactavish #call of duty modern warfare #simon ghost riley x reader #fem reader #fantasy au #semi-apocalypse au #captain john price #johnny soap mactavish #cod mw2 imagine #soap x reader x ghost #ghost drabble #ghost x reader #soap x reader #soap ghost #simon ghost riley x female reader #simon riley x reader #cod mwii #cod mw22

[griseldafandom21]

💀Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom spoilers or whatever💀

The restoration of Link and Zelda at the game's ending is so contrived. The issues I have with it boil down to two things: permanent consequences not allowed and a missed opportunity.

First: Permanent consequences not being allowed, i.e. Zelda's transformation and the loss of Link's right arm. Right at the start, we are told that Link's arm was "beyond saving" and so Rauru removed it and replaced it with his own because of that and that it was essentially a breeding ground for Ganondorf's malice to grow and keep slowly killing Link. Then, there's the issue of swallowing a secret stone: "to swallow a secret stone is to become an immortal dragon; to become an immortal dragon is to lose oneself" which, coupled with Zelda literally shedding her memories as tears, implies that even if she became Hylian again, she'd be in the same situation Link was at the beginning of BotW.

Sure, Sonia has time powers, but they only work on objects, not people (unless it's people travelling back in time), and they only work on objects that are whole: Link is neither, and it wouldn't help Zelda's situation, either, at least not without rendering the entire plot of the game irrelevant and nonexistent. Additionally, both Sonia and Rauru are ghosts and neither of them are in possession of their secret stones anymore, therefore are without that power boost, and theirs and Link's own apparent inherent magics do not deal with transformations.

It just doesn't make sense.

Second: the missed opportunity. This one boils down to this: you can have Link's arm be gone and Zelda's transformation irreversible despite anyone's efforts to restore either. No need to pull a dues ex machina out of thin air, because the Legend of Zelda series has one built in already!

The triforce! An object with absolute power, able to alter reality with a single wish made by someone balanced in the virtues it represents: Power, Wisdom and Courage. BotW teased its existence, and that Zelda was probably channeling it to seal the Calamity, though personally, I think the triforce on her hand merely indicated that if she ever came across it, she'd be worthy of it.

Throughout the series, the triforce has been used for purposes as benign as lifting an incurable magic slumber curse, to utterly destroying all that remained of an old kingdom long submerged and mostly forgotten beneath the ocean, so wishing for Zelda to be restored, mind and body, and restoring Link's arm isn't outside the realm of possibility. There are even a few different quests in TotK that come in triplicate like Ousting The Giants, the skydiving islands and the Lomei Labyrinths. The latter of which are already set up to potentially be trials of power, wisdom and courage that could've ended in receiving a blessing or a key that Link could use to go to the sacred realm and make his wish after proving himself worthy of each piece.

Nintendo missed a golden opportunity to reintroduce the triforce back into the series. I wouldn't mind so much if it wasn't so obviously a solid narrative choice. We could have our cake: things happen that cause permanent changes; and we could eat our cake: but now the mission is over, and it's time to come home, and live happily ever after without a constant physical reminder (aside from the chasms, as the depths aren't inherently evil, predated Ganondorf, and are gloom free if the lack of malice fog in the cutscenes following the demon dragon's destruction is any indication).

And it could be done without being gimmicky without reason.

The triforce is inherently gimmicky, but it's also been around for 37 years, is the whole reason there's a story at all, and so is gimmicky with reason.

#legend of zelda #loz totk #tears of the kingdom #totk spoilers #do i really have to tag that tho? #the game has been out for two months and some people are already on their second playthrough #zelda #totk sonia #totk rauru #link #princess zelda #triforce #zonai #secret stone

[yagamisdiary]

I lowkey feel Ambrose's mind set and outcome could have been much different if he allowed himself to seek love from someone instead of shutting out every chance for love he has been offered and only seeing himself, his mind and body as materialistic value. Same goes with his family, I understand how little he must have felt but if he was more open with his acceptance for love and ability to show it back he'd realise how much he was valued and loved for every aspect of his existence. I can't help but sympathise with him. I feel I'm getting opinionated on his character but his death hurt me the most out of everyone's. I truly believed he had a real love for his family but his love was poisoned by envy and jealousy. I find the most upsetting part of his character is that if he got his way or not he'd still never be happy. If he got his way I feel the buzz of praise and control would wear off eventually and he'd realise it was all just performative. Yes, I know a kingdom can have a real love for their King but if you were to put them in a situation between picking a loved one or the King who would they pick? Maybe Ambrose, but that would be from loyalty, not love. Not REAL love. I'd give it a few months before he'd come down from the high and be left wondering why he hasn't been ticked off or put in a small wrestling match or debate quiz in a while. A few months before it wouldn't only be y/n who couldn't look him in the eye, but he couldn't look at her either. Her face a mosaic of their family blended into one.

I also can't avoid feeling sorrow for him because he really was just a boy who had yet to grow up. On the outside was a man but on the inside was just a boy. Kai is the one slagged the most for his childlike personality but it was always Ambrose that had it. His idea of masculinity was constantly being put on fire and constantly having to be rebuilt with fewer resources every time. It distracted him from the maturity and growth that comes with age. Keeping his feelings enclosed for so long must have spilt out and warped his mind and sadly that's what happens when our emotions bottle up and we feel we have no one to express that to. It's because of this I feel that at his breaking point, he'll go back into his childlike mentality and only then realise how dependent he was on his mom and dad. Only then will he realise he'll never get another hug from his mother or a well-needed lecture from his father. No brothers to seek advice from and mentally no sister to confide in. No family to lean on in times of dread like we all need. And he'd still keep this bottled up. He'd have no one to emotionally connect with on that level again. Maybe a wife but a wife will never be able to bring the love experienced from brothers. The type of love where you can kick and punch each other all you want but they'll still be there at the end of the day eating dinner with you and hold no grudge but love for you by the time the sun goes down. The cycle would only continue for him but this time he has no one to hurt. He got what he wanted and would be stuck in a lifetime of misery and fake smiles with the only thing filling his mind being guilt and sadness. I also believe this would make him realise the love he actually held for his brothers. Yes, I know Y/n was probably his favourite but sometimes when your glass of emotions fills too much it overflows and you are forced to sit there and analyse them even without realising or concentrating on it. That's when he'd find the real love he held for Kai and especially Elijah. The remorse he'd feel and the guilt of realising the love and compassion his older brother felt for him. He'd relive all the small moments. I think that another fault of Ambrose is he expects drastic acts of love that he forgets the real pieces of small everyday doings. He'd realise all the times Elijah probably noticed when a conversation was starting to get Ambrose agitated and would steer it away, all the times he probably realised during balls only he, Elijah was getting all the limelight and praise and would find a way to bring Ambrose's light of character into conversation. Sadly, his win would only make him lose as he'd realise all the real love he was once surrounded with, is now gone that he cold-bloodingly destroyed it. Never will the image of Elijah's lifeless eyes leave his brain or the images of his dead parents. He would only ever see Elijah's eyes before his death looking back to him in mirrors and his father's disappointment when he'd scrunch his brows or his mother's tears when he'd cry. Although he got his dream, he'd just as quickly want to reverse it. I think he'd either live a life of misery and guilt which would reflect onto his people, or end it himself.

I could say Ambrose is probably my favourite character in this story. His feelings are just so universally experienced and we all have probably once felt like an Ambrose. Whether that be with siblings, parents or friends. A lot of us have felt unwanted once and Ambrose embodies that and how its sadness can turn to envy.

As much as he has done bad I seriously just can't help but want to cry for him. He really is just a scared boy under his facade.

The saddest part, even with all the death and horror, I believe his family would still find a way to forgive him. If reincarnation existed in another universe and his loving family could be put in a room together one more time for just one day, I do believe that day would end in one big crying hug of guilt from all sides, and especially at the core of that hug, love.

I went a bit on but I just love his character so much and believe that none of this was his real dream and he never really got to find his real dream in the end. As much as he can be painted to be a monster I don't think his family could ever see that no matter what because the truth is deep down I don't believe he was. His story and life were sad and it's upsetting because he could have had a beautiful life if he stopped looking at how he was perceived by others and took a bit of inspiration and help from his siblings to find his true self. As much as we want to do stuff on our own i don't think he could find himself on his own and do believe with the accepted help from his siblings he could have found that :(

I just realised how long this is... I could have kept it to myself but wanted to kinda voice my opinion on his character because I find him the most interesting and complex!

wow, i’m honestly speechless right now. this is the first time someone has analyzed and truly broke down one of my characters before and it’s honestly sorta eye opening.

it’s always so strange to me how a fictional character i made up in my head can cause such emotional and personal understanding within someone. that they have the capability to reach the readers in ways that cause them to feel sad or empathetic for them.

ambrose personally is one of my favorite characters too. he was so much fun to write at the beginning and with time, the more deeper and complex his character became, i felt an overwhelming sadness when i was reminded of his evitable faith

i had ambrose’s plot line planned out from the first page and never intended for myself to get so attached to him, much less for readers to do the same

in my eyes, he’s extremely relatable. especially for people who grew up as a middle child and often feel overshadowed by their siblings or just in general

i agree that whether he got his way or not, he’d never be satisfied. the rose colored glasses would eventually fall and he’d see the world as it really is and come to terms with all he did to get to where he is

i believe that yn knew this too and that’s why she took it into her own hands to end that misery for him. she knew he was too far gone and that no matter what, he’d never be happy

#eldia #someone reads the absolute fuck out of ambrose #please please please send me more analysis of characters i’m so invested now